A group of University of Toronto scientists and doctors have published an article offering an estimate that based on Coronavirus cases traveling from Iran to other countries it is statistically possible that 18,000 people are infected in the county. The research results were published on February 24 based on information available until that date. Researchers focused on volume of travel from Iran to other countries and proven cases of infected people arriving in other countries, such as Lebanon and Canada. Based on statistical models the study says up to 18,000 people might be infected in Iran. Given the low volumes of air travel to countries with identified cases of COVID-19 with origin in Iran (such as Canada), it is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a COVID-19 epidemic of significant size for such exportations to be occurring, the research paper says. So far, the Iranian government has announced only 95 cases and 16 deaths. This ratio raises questions about the reliability of official figures issued by the government. Sixteen fatalities mean that Iran has at least a few hundred cases of infected patients. In addition, many citizen reports speak of dozens of deaths. Also, a member of parliament claimed February 24 that only in his constituency 50 people had died of the virus. Iran admitted having COVID-19 cases on February 19, the same day two people were officially announced dead because of the virus. This raised questions of a government cover-up or lack of timely reporting about the spread of the disease. Locals are pictured wearing masks in the city Najaf, where Iraq's first confirmed coronavirus Covid-19 case came to light, on 25 February. (Getty Images) The coronavirus outbreak has left many experts wondering how many people may catch the infection. Virtually unheard of just two months ago, the Covid-19 strain has spread well beyond its epicentre in the Chinese city Wuhan. More than 80,300 cases have been confirmed globally, of which 77,660 are in mainland China, according to John Hopkins University data. The death toll exceeded 2,000 on Tuesday. Read more: Coronavirus Covid-19 'mild' in more than four in five cases In the UK, 13 cases have been confirmed, with health secretary Matt Hancock stating more are expected. Amid fears the outbreak may become a pandemic, the World Health Organization stressed the term does not fit the facts. A Harvard doctor later predicted between 40% and 70% of people all over the world could catch Covid-19 within the next year, with the vast majority of cases being mild. Other experts have questioned this claim, stressing it is too early in the outbreak to predict how it may play out. People are pictured wearing masks in Milan on 25 February. Italy has the most confirmed Covid-19 cases in Europe, with 283 incidences. (Getty Images) Is it possible to predict how many people may become infected with coronavirus Covid-19? Plateauing infection rates have left some quietly optimistic Covid-19 may have peaked in China. A change in how the virus is diagnosed caused cases to spike over night, from 44,700 on 12 February to 59,800 the following day. Incidences have since been rising more slowly. Mainland China had 77,200 confirmed cases on 24 February, increasing by 500 patients the next day. Nevertheless, the infection is taking hold thousands of miles away. South Korea is second to China, with 977 confirmed patients and 10 deaths. Italy is faring worst in Europe, with 283 incidences and seven deaths. To try and get a handle on the outbreak, scientists from all over the world are investigating how infectious Covid-19 really is. Read more: How to stay calm amid the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak Dr Marc Lipsitch - from Harvard - predicts that within the coming year, some 40-to-70% of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, The Atlantic reported. Story continues But, he clarifies emphatically, this does not mean all will have severe illnesses. Other experts have questioned how much weight this prediction holds. These figures are calculations from the estimated basic reproduction number, said Professor Christl Donnelly from Imperial College London. This is the number of people an infected person goes onto infect. A reproduction number of two would mean every patient is expected to pass the virus to two others. [These calculations] assume transmission continues at that rate, said Professor Donnelly. Interventions bring the reproduction number down. The province Hubei, of which Wuhan is capital, has been under lockdown for more than a month. Its almost 60 million residents have seen public transport restricted, shops shut and flights suspended. Residents of Italys Lombardy and Veneto regions are also affected, with 11 towns under quarantine. This is not the first time Covid-19s reproduction number has been debated. Scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) previously estimated the number fluctuated between 1.5 and 4.5 before travel restrictions were introduced in Wuhan, stressing substantial uncertainty. This led them to predict the outbreak may peak in mid-to-late February. Speaking at the time, Dr Robin Thompson from the University of Oxford, said: One proviso must be forecasting the peak of any outbreak is challenging, and so there is significant uncertainty in estimates of both the timing of the peak and the total number of cases that will occur. Read more: How is the coronavirus Covid-19 diagnosed? Despite ongoing research, Covid-19 remains somewhat mysterious. Transmission is a feature of the virus and thats not understood, said Professor David Heymann from the LSHTM. Models are estimations. They may be true today and not tomorrow. Professor Heymann described Professor Lipsitchs prediction as an upper estimation of what could be to come. Even when more is discovered about Covid-19, it may be difficult to classify the virus transmission, with rates varying according to the circumstances. Pathogens sometimes get stamped with a reproduction number, said Professor Donnelly. It can vary depending on household size and in hospital settings. A local tries to carry on as normal in Beijing on 25 February amid China's Covid-19 outbreak. (Getty Images) What is the new coronavirus Covid-19? Covid-19 is one of seven strains of the coronavirus class that are known to infect humans. Others range from the mild common cold to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak that killed 774 people in 2004. Most of the people who initially became unwell worked at, or visited, the Wuhan market. The only know method of transmission is face-to-face via infected droplets that have been coughed or sneezed out. Symptoms tend to be flu-like, such as fever, cough and breathlessness. In the most severe cases, victims develop pneumonia. This comes about when a respiratory infection causes the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs to become inflamed and filled with fluid or pus. The lungs then struggle to draw in air, resulting in reduced oxygen in the bloodstream. Without treatment the end is inevitable, said the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. Deaths occurs because of asphyxiation. While no one can say for sure where the virus came from, bats seem most likely. The nocturnal creatures are thought to have been behind Sars and fellow coronavirus Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers), which killed 858 people in its 2012 outbreak. Scientists from Peking University in Beijing suggested snakes may have been the intermediate host for Covid-19. A team from South China Agricultural University later found it could have jumped from bats to humans via pangolins. Covid-19 has no specific treatment, with care being supportive - like ventilation - while a patients immune system works to fight off the virus. To prevent infection, the NHS recommends regular hand washing and avoiding those with suspect symptoms. This decision was made in order to strengthen the system that would prevent the penetration of the new Chinese coronavirus into the territory of Ukraine Ukraines Cabinet of Minister appointed Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko as the Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine. This was reported by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. "We have appointed Mr. Viktor Lyashko as the chief sanitary and epidemiologist of the country. From now on, this person will personally coordinate the actions of the state authorities and all necessary services in order to qualitatively organize the work on prevention of penetration of the virus into Ukraines territory," he said. According to him, this decision was made in order to strengthen the system that would prevent the penetration of the new Chinese coronavirus into the territory of Ukraine. As we reported earlier, the first case of infection with Chinese coronavirus has been observed in Romania. The information was provided by Reuters with reference to the local TV. According to the media, the infected man came back to Romania from Italy three weeks ago. The patient is now at the infectious disease hospital in Bucharest. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:13:03|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LUSAKA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Anti-drug authorities in Zambia on Wednesday said they arrested 50 people for allegedly trafficking in over 60 kilograms of cannabis. The suspects, including 46 males and four females, were arrested in a notorious shanty compound in Chibolya in Lusaka, the country's capital. Theresa Katongo, Spokesperson of the Drug Enforcement Commission, said the suspects were arrested for trafficking in a total of 62.9 kilogram of dry loose cannabis. This followed a joint operation conducted by security wings, she said in a statement. Other seizures made during the operation included 3,350 tablets of diazepam which when taken with alcohol and other drugs may cause drowsiness. And Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo confirmed the raid and seizure of the drugs and warned that security wings were determined to fight the illegal trade in drugs. Loading the player... Sebi finds prima facie violations of corporate governance at IndiGo We'll offer them a deal they can't refuse: Piyush Goyal on India-US trade pact Mastercard names new CEO, Ajay Banga to assume new role of executive chairman Trump woos India Inc to invest more in US, promises easing of regulations further US President Donald Trump wooed Indian industry leaders to invest more in America, promising to reduce more regulations in his country as he looked for overseas investment to boost the economy there. Speaking at a high-profile CEO round-table which included captains of the Indian industry, Trump reassured that regulations "will only get better" for investment in the US. Indian economic growth likely accelerated a touch in the October-December period after its weakest expansion in over six years in the previous quarter, a Reuters poll showed, with a small rebound in rural demand and private consumption expected. Annual gross domestic product growth likely rose to 4.7 percent in the last quarter of 2019 from 4.5% the previous quarterA preliminary probe by markets regulator Sebi has suggested prima-facie violations of corporate governance and listing disclosure norms in certain related party transactions involving budget carrier IndiGo's parent firm InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, sources said. While the company said it has not received any communication from Sebi in this regard, shares plunged sharply in afternoon trade on Tuesday.Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal assured that India and the United States needed to move to a new level of engagement with a lot more two-way play in strengthening defence and energy cooperation. Speaking at the "US-India Forum: Partners for Growth", Goyal said that India would offer something that the US couldn't refuse.Mastercard's Indian-American President and Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga will step down from his role and assume charge as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, as the payments giant announced Michael Miebach as the new CEO. Banga will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2021. Miebach, currently the Chief Product Officer, will become Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors on January 1, 2021. REYHANLI, Turkey The baby wasnt moving. Her body had gone hot, then cold. Her father rushed her to a hospital, going on foot when he could not find a car, but it was too late. At 18 months, Iman Leila had frozen to death. In the half-finished concrete shell that had been home since they ran for their lives across northwest Syria, the Leila family had spent three weeks enduring nighttime temperatures that barely rose above 20. I dream about being warm, Imans father, Ahmad Yassin Leila, said a few days later by phone. I just want my children to feel warm. I dont want to lose them to the cold. I dont want anything except a house with windows that keeps out the cold and the wind. Image Ahmad Yassin Leila and his infant daughter Iman, who froze to death. Syrias uprising began in a flare of hope almost exactly nine years ago. Now, amid one of the worst humanitarian emergencies of the war, some of those who chanted for freedom and dignity in 2011 want only to ward off the winter cold. The sister of mum-of-three Natalia Karaczyn has told a jury of the moment her brother-in-law told her he killed her. Rafal Karaczyn (34), of Crozon Park, Sligo, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 30-year-old wife Natalia Karaczyn, at their family home in Crozon Park between April 29, 2018 and May 1st, 2018. Natalia's sister Magdalena McMorrow, otherwise known as Magda, gave evidence at the Central Criminal Court this morning. She said Natalia and Mr Karaczyn were separated for a year prior to her death and they were living in the same house but sleeping in separate bedrooms. She said Natalia had been trying to get Mr Karaczyn to move out but that he was just not agreeing to it [the separation]. She added that when Natalia was out socialising with friends hed be ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing her. Magda was doing a 24-hour residential care shift from 12 noon on Saturday, April 29, 2018 to 12 noon the following day when she got a message from Mr Karaczyn at around 9am on Sunday, April 30, 2018, saying that Natalia hadnt come home and that he didnt know where she was. Magda said thats when she started to ring her sisters phone and send her text messages. I just wrote where are you?, she said. She said she rang two of Natalias friends to see if she was with them but they said they left her at The Garavogue Bar at around 2.30am or 3am. Magda also told the court that she checked to see if her sister was at Sligo General Hospital that morning. Magda said around 10am on that Sunday she started to get really nervous. She would never have just not gone home, she said. Shortly after this, Magda said she told gardai that she believed her sister was missing. Before going to the garda station to make a statement, she went to Tesco to print out a Snapchat picture she had of Natalia on her phone from her 30th birthday. After making her statement, Magda told the court that she drove around Sligo town and tried ringing people whom she thought might have been able to help her locate Natalia, including a bouncer from The Garavogue Bar. She said, following her inquiries, she learned that Natalia was with a man that night. Bernard Condon SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, also read out a series of translated text messages between Magda and Mr Karaczyn on the morning of Sunday, April 30, 2018. The court heard that just before 11am, Mr Karaczyn texted Magda damn, Im getting nervous. Just after 1pm, they had another exchange of texts in which Magda told him that the guards had a contact for the guy that Natalia was with that night. Magda also went to this mans workplace and spoke to him, she said. She said later that afternoon, Mr Karaczyn and her searched Natalias home. She said after they searched the house, Mr Karaczyn was outside smoking and she went to give a hug. He was very nervous, he was very stiff, extremely stiff and didnt hug me back. I just thought he was nervous, Magda said. Magda agreed with Mr Condon that she and Mr Karaczyn shared numerous phone calls over the rest of the evening. Asked if, at around 10pm that evening, Mr Karaczyn was still suggesting that he didnt know where she was, Magda said: Yes, 100 per cent. Magda said on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, she went to the home of Mr Karaczyns employer where Mr Karaczyn was. She said when she arrived, Mr Karaczyn was sitting on the floor with his head buried in his hands and that he was crying. She gave him a hug. She said Mr Karaczyn told his boss: You tell her, I cant do it. The employer then told her: Shes dead. Magda said she just screamed in response. Magda said Mr Karaczyn told her that Natalia had got messed up with the wrong people and that Travellers had come to their house and put a gun to his head and threatened to put a gun to the heads of his children if he didnt leave a back window open to allow them come into the house and hurt Natalia. She said Mr Karaczyn told her he let the window open to allow them gain entry into the house and that he then found Natalia dead and brought her body to a forest. I believed every word, Magda told the court. An arrangement was then made for Magda and Mr Karaczyn to go to the guards and Magda identified Natalias body later that evening. Later, Magda was brought to Ballymote Garda Station and was in a room alone with Mr Karaczyn when he told her I did it, I did it. Magda told the court that Mr Karaczyn told her that he and Natalia had had an argument. She said he said that Natalia went into the box room to get changed and to go to sleep when he went after her to say where were you? and that she was pushing him out of the room. Magda said he walked into the room again and during their arguing he grabbed her and strangled her. Magda said he told her that he lay down with her on the mattress that was on the floor of the room for ten minutes afterwards. She said he then told her that he put her body in the boot of the car. Magda said Mr Karaczyn was crying as he told her this. She told Mr Condon that she was comforting him as he spoke to her. I dont knowI just felt likeI felt really sorry for him. I think it was shock, I dont know. The trial continues before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of seven women and five men. By PTI PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said that children would be taught to keep off from the porn sites, which he said was a leading cause of crime against women. The awareness drive would be carried under "Unnayan" scheme, already in action in the state-run schools across Bihar, he said. The CM dwelt on the subject while replying to a discussion on the motion of thanks on the Governor's address to the joint session of state legislature on February 24, 2020. Under the programme, students of 9th and 10th standards in state-run schools are imparted lessons using information technology as a supplement to classroom teaching in a bid to make learning more interesting as well as receptive. The Unnayan scheme, which was initially started in Banka district, has been extended across the state from September 5, 2019. "Dangerous and obscene contents are being watched on porn sites across the world. People are viewing vulgar stuff on a mobile phone. Children are becoming victims of it...We are against porn sites and have written to the Centre for a complete ban on it," Kumar said. In the midst of nationwide outrage over rising cases of gangrape across the country, Kumar had on December 16, 2019 written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to ban all "porn sites and inappropriate content" available on the internet. The chief minister also made rich reference of government's efforts in the field of environment protection and achievements under "seven resolves" of good governance. Talking about "Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali" environment campaign, Kumar said his government has taken a decision to hold debate and discussion on every first Tuesday of a month on "environment protection and climate change" in schools, colleges and government institutions. Besides, painting and essay competition will be conducted in schools, he added. Some 2.51 crore saplings will be planted on a single day on Prithvi Diwas (Earth day) on August 9, 2020, with an objective to expand state's green cover, he added. Kumar talked in detail about progress of the projects under the "seven resolves", majority of which have been completed while some others like piped drinking water and construction of concrete drainage will be finished by June this year. Under another similar scheme, the state will be made open defecation free by the end of this year, he said. It will not be mandatory for elderly persons to get their biometric verification done for availing pension under Mukhya Mantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana, Kumar said, adding they can get their physical verification done for the purpose. He also announced that the state government will be bringing an amendment to Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy, 2016 to expand its benefits for agro-based industries and agro-processing units in the state. The decision - which has been taken following a meeting with farmers during a pre-budget consultation on February 19, 2020 - has been taken with a view to enhance farmers' income. Earlier, participating in the debate during the post-lunch session, leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav mockingly refered to "double-engine government in Bihar" (NDA rule at Centre as well as in the state), saying while one engine was indulging in communalism another was engaged in corruption. Yadav sought to know about steps taken to provide employment to around seven crore youths of the state while referring to NSSO report highlighting high rate of unemployment in Bihar, which ranked 18th among major states on the parameter. The House passed the motion through a voice vote, though members of CPI(ML) walked out of the House expressing dissatisfaction over the CM's reply on providing land to the poor people for building houses. A top U.S. public health official warned Americans yesterday to prepare for the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, inside the United States as the number of cases continues to rise. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The term coronavirus refers to a class of viruses that often spread from animals to humans, including SARS, MERS and the common cold. To reduce confusion about this new coronavirus, public health agencies adopted the name COVID-19 to identify the strain that emerged in Wuhan, China in December and has infected at least 78,000 people worldwide, according to the CDC. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, coughing and shortness of breath. So far, 53 cases have been identified in the United States, including 12 from travelers to China, two from close contacts of those travelers and 39 from the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship that docked in Japan. The illness has not yet spread outside of those directly affected by travel to Asia. So the first tip to avoid exposure is to check travel notices posted by the CDC and World Health Organization, which are warning all travelers to avoid nonessential trips to China and South Korea. Caution is also urged for those heading to Italy, Iran, Japan and Hong Kong. Experts suggest taking the same precautions recommended to prevent the spread of other viruses such as the flu: Washing hands with soap and water, coughing into your elbow and not sharing dishes or utensils. Avoid people who are sick and try not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth. People with symptoms should stay home. Those who are sick and have traveled to affected areas should see a healthcare provider and notify them of possible exposure. The CDC does not recommend that healthy people wear facemasks unless they care for patients. Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others, according to the CDC. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility). Alabama public health officials have already announced they are working closely with the CDC to monitor people who have traveled to affected areas. If COVID-19 begins spreading in the United States, public health officials might close schools and business conferences, CDC experts said yesterday. Members of the public should be prepared to avoid travel and crowded places, they said. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Nearly every candidate onstage went after Bernie Sanders within the first minutes of the 10th Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night. Mike Bloomberg argued that the Russian government wanted to aide Sanders' primary bid because he would lose in the general election. Pete Buttigieg attacked Sanders as the "chaos" candidate. Elizabeth Warren argued that while she agreed with Sanders on many issues, she would make a "better president" because she's detail-oriented and could "actually get it done" in Washington. And Joe Biden went after Sanders over his record on gun control, localizing the issue by referring to the 2015 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Nearly every candidate onstage took a shot at Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont within the first few minutes of the 10th Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night in Charleston, South Carolina. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City was the first to hit Sanders, arguing that the Russian government wanted Sanders to win the primary because he would lose to President Donald Trump in the general election. "Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected, so you'll lose to him," Bloomberg said. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, built off of Bloomberg's comments and argued that Sanders was the "chaos" candidate. "If you think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders versus Donald Trump," Buttigieg said. "Think about what that would be like for this country." Story continues Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts argued that while she agreed with Sanders on many issues, she would make a "better president" because she's detail-oriented, would "do the hard work," and could get things done in Washington. She also accused Sanders' "team" of trashing her. And former Vice President Joe Biden went after Sanders over his record on gun control. He localized the issue by noting that a white supremacist used an assault weapon to massacre nine black worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015. "Walking distance of here is Mother Emanuel church. Nine people shot dead by a white supremacist. Bernie voted five times against the Brady bill, and wanted a waiting period," Biden said, referring to Sanders' opposition to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act in the 1990s. Tuesday night's debate was widely perceived to be Sanders' to lose. The Vermont lawmaker cemented his status as the frontrunner after appearing to win the popular vote in the first three states to vote and the most delegates in two of those states: New Hampshire and Nevada. Sanders was also spared much scrutiny at last week's debate in Nevada, as his opponents focused heavily on attacking Bloomberg, the newcomer to the stage. Read the original article on Business Insider . , . , , , , , , ... Perched on the edge of the harbour and beneath its famous bridge, it would be difficult for the historic North Sydney Olympic Pool to sit any closer to the heart of the city. And yet the venue's apparent status as "one of the most Instagrammed pools in the world" and its ability to attract school swimming carnivals from "the other side of the bridge" have cemented its position as "a regional facility", North Sydney Council's independent mayor Jilly Gibson says. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg visited the pool with the mayor of North Sydney, Jilly Gibson, and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman during an election campaign stop last April. Credit:Jessica Hromas The controversy surrounding the "sports rorts" scandal engulfing the Morrison government has spread beyond Federal Parliament to the $58 million revamp of North Sydney's ageing public pool. Cr Gibson said she was "surprised" to learn a $10 million federal contribution promised for the project was drawn from the government's $150 million "female facilities and water safety stream". 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. 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 Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key ally of President Donald Trump and an advocate of a strong U.S. military posture in the Middle East, urged the president to "up his game" in Syria by declaring a no-fly zone "to protect women and children of Idlib from being massacred." The area is the country's last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian government's military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with nearly 1 million people displaced from their homes since Dec. 1. "The Russians and the Assad regime need to be held accountable by the international community," Graham said. "It's just not the United States, it's the entire world. And it really breaks my heart." Airstrikes on rebel-controlled northwest Syria killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including two students and two teachers, opposition activists said, as government forces captured Kafranabel, a town considered a symbol of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. Tensions have been running high between Turkey and Russia, which support opposing sides of the war in Syria. The Syrian government offensive has shattered a fragile cease-fire agreement that Turkey and Russia reached in 2018 and Turkey has threatened military action unless Syrian forces retreat to positions they held before the advance by the end of February. Hundreds of people gather around a dusty square in Daloa, in the Ivory Coast, transfixed by films projected onto the side of a giant truck. It is part of the Cinema du Desert project, which aims to educate West Africans about the dangers of making the perilous journey to Europe. Children giggle and applaud as one of the cartoon characters on screen, a coxer (human trafficker), proclaims: Quit your job and leave! People will employ you to work at the Eiffel Tower You will become a millionaire very, very quickly. As the evening wears on, the films give way to documentaries featuring graphic accounts of beatings, sexual assaults and death in the desert and at sea. The crowd falls silent. According to the UNs International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are about 8.4 million migrants in West Africa. While most of these people move intra-regionally, significant numbers also try to reach Europe risking their lives on a perilous journey. Ivory Coast is the country from which the second-largest population of West African migrants originate, with 526 Ivorians arriving on the Italian coast between January and May 2018. Countless others perished before they could get there. The Cinema du Desert is trying to change that. The brainchild of Italian Davide Bortot, 34, the mobile cinema has moved around West Africa by truck for more than a decade. In 2009, while travelling through Mali to deliver supplies to NGOs, Bortot was stunned by the welcoming attitude of the local population. In every village, people wanted to invite us into their homes, says Bortot. To give something back, we thought about screening a movie. We stopped near Timbuktu and showed Alice in Wonderland. People went crazy and we had to keep playing films all night long. Since then Cinema du Desert has covered more than 150,000km, showing films from Siberia to Mauritania. In 2017, the Italian Government asked the Cinema du Desert to broadcast an awareness campaign about the perils of migration through a project called CinemArena. It first held 110 screenings in Burkina Faso and hopes to have screened films for at least 20,000 people by the end of its latest campaign in Ivory Coast. Story continues Parking up in Daloa, a bumpy six-hour drive northwest of Abidjan, Bortot and his team begin hoisting a screen over the side of the truck and setting up speakers. Before long a crowd gathers. The town of about 300,000 is an important hub for those making the journey to Europe. The evening starts with live dance performances. Shortly after, an Ivorian IOM official, Souleymane Barthe, explains the purpose of the evening to raise awareness of the dangers of clandestine immigration. We are working with the cinema mostly to raise awareness of the tragedy that migrants live, he told FRANCE 24. In Africa, cinema is an important way to communicate because even illiterate people can be informed directly of the dangers. During intermission, Barthe asks the crowd what they think of the films. One man takes the microphone, stands up, and exclaims: There are no jobs here. How can we stay if there are no jobs? His sentiment rings true for many in the audience. The vast majority of Ivorian migrants are young men under the age of 35. Around 90 percent of those who leave the country say they do so to find better-paying work. Barthe estimates that projects like the Cinema du Desert have a positive, if unquantifiable, impact. We have not tested the effectiveness of this project, but I think it is. People tell me that they were unaware of the dangers before watching the documentary, he said. In Daloa, it is often viewed by mothers, who before were calling for their children to leave. In 2018 the Italian interior ministry, then headed by right-wing populist Matteo Salvini, signed off on a new wave of funding for CinemArena via the IOM. Cinema du Desert was one of a number of mobile cinemas to show films in five West African countries. The motivations of an anti-immigrant populist like Salvini may be clear, but Bortot says that does not matter. Even if one person gets more information to be able to think about what he is doing, it is a good thing. The main point is not to lose your life, or become a slave in Libya, or cause your family financial difficulties the journey is always more expensive than you think. The dinosaur in the cupboard under the stairs The mystery surrounding dinosaur footprints on a cave ceiling in Central Queensland has been solved, in article published in Historical Biology, after more than a half a century. University of Queensland palaeontologist Dr Anthony Romilio discovered pieces to a decades-old puzzle in an unusual place - a cupboard under the stairs of a suburban Sydney home. "The town of Mount Morgan near Rockhampton has hundreds of fossil footprints and has the highest dinosaur track diversity for the entire eastern half of Australia," Dr Romilio said. "Earlier examinations of the ceiling footprints suggested some very curious dinosaur behaviour; that a carnivorous theropod walked on all four legs. "You don't assume T. rex used its arms to walk, and we didn't expect one of its earlier predatory relatives of 200 million years ago did either." Researchers wanted to determine if this dinosaur did move using its feet and arms, but found accessing research material was difficult. "For a decade the Mount Morgan track site has been closed, and the published 1950s photographs don't show all the five tracks," Dr Romilio said. However Dr Romilio had a chance meeting with local dentist Dr Roslyn Dick, whose father found many dinosaur fossils over the years. "I'm sure Anthony didn't believe me until I mentioned my father's name - Ross Staines," Ms Dick said. "Our father was a geologist and reported on the Mount Morgan caves containing the dinosaur tracks in 1954. "Besides his published account, he had high-resolution photographs and detailed notebooks, and my sisters and I had kept it all. "We even have his dinosaur footprint plaster cast stored under my sister's Harry Potter cupboard in Sydney." Dr Romilio said the wealth and condition of 'dinosaur information' archived by Ms Dick and her sisters Heather Skinner and Janice Millar was amazing. "I've digitised the analogue photos and made a virtual 3D model of the dinosaur footprint, and left the material back to the family's care," he said. "In combination with our current understanding of dinosaurs, it told a pretty clear-cut story." The team firstly concluded that all five tracks were foot impressions - that none were dinosaur handprints. Also the splayed toes and moderately long middle digit of the footprints resembled two-legged herbivorous dinosaur tracks, differing from prints made by theropods. "Rather than one dinosaur walking on four legs, it seems as though we got two dinosaurs for the price of one - both plant-eaters that walked bipedally along the shore of an ancient lake," Dr Romilio said. "The tracks lining the cave-ceiling were not made by dinosaurs hanging up-side-down, instead the dinosaurs walked on the lake sediment and these imprints were covered in sand. "In the Mount Morgan caves, the softer lake sediment eroded away and left the harder sandstone in-fills." ### Michael Willis, 74, was caught with nearly 500 vile pictures on his computer equipment, a court heard Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Michael Willis has been jailed for 18 months after he was caught with nearly 500 indecent images of children. Ex-Parliamentary candidate Willis, 74, was caught after police raided his yacht in Plymouth, finding the vile pictures on his computer equipment. Willis, who went under the stage name Steve Merike, worked with BBC Radio One in the 1970s, and was also a DJ on the famous pirate station Radio Caroline. He had previously told police in interview that he had been 'intrigued by the Jimmy Savile affair' and wanted to pass on his findings to a sociologist. Judge James Townsend has now jailed him for 18 months at Plymouth Crown Court - his second conviction for possession of indecent images of children. Willis had been handed a suspended sentence at Leicester Crown Court in 2015. He moved to Plymouth, where he lived on his boat Appalachian Spring at Plymouth Yacht Haven. Willis denied possession of 238 Category A indecent images of children on his computers - showing them being sexually abused by adults. He also denied having 226 Category B images. Willis, a former college lecturer and school governor, pleaded guilty to having just 10 pictures in the least severe class, Category C, on a memory stick. Police raided his yacht back in August 2017. He took the witness stand to declare that he found some of the more severe images 'absolutely disgusting'. But the jury heard he was also caught with Category A images when he was arrested in Loughborough back in 2013. Willis admitted that he used file-sharing software to find indecent images. Judge James Townsend has now jailed him for 18 months at Plymouth Crown Court (pictured) - his second conviction for possession of indecent images of children But he claimed he had no idea how the more severe pictures appeared on his laptop, desktop and the memory stick. A jury quickly dismissed his story and found him guilty by unanimous verdicts after a two-day trial. Willis pleaded guilty at in Leicester in 2015 to nine counts of downloading indecent images and movies of children between 2006 and 2013. He had claimed to the police that while some of the images were downloaded others appeared because his computer had been hacked. Willis was in possession of the images while standing as a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Loughborough at the 2010 General Election. He lost to future Tory education secretary Nicky Morgan. Willis, as Merike, was a presenter on the television show called Pop Quest and interviewed stars such as T-Rex's Marc Bolan. He had also worked at Radio Trent in the 1980s, where a colleague was late television presenter Dale Winton. The BBC staff website stated that Mike Willis started his career with Radio Caroline and then progressed to a short spell on BBC Radio 1. He worked for BBC Radio Trent in the 1980s. He ran stations in Australia and lectured on the radio and in the media. Willis also lectured for 15 years at New College Nottingham and Nottingham Trent as well as being the governor at a number of schools in the Midlands. He also stood unsuccessfully for various councils in Leicestershire. British-Lebanese lawyer said she is delighted to represent the Rohingya before the International Court of Justice. The Maldives has hired the services of prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to represent the persecuted Rohingya at the United Nations court. I am delighted to have been asked to represent the Maldives before the International Court of Justice [ICJ]. Accountability for genocide in Myanmar is long overdue and I look forward to working on this important effort to seek judicial remedies for Rohingya survivors, the British-Lebanese lawyer said. Clooney is married to Hollywood actor George Clooney. The Maldives said it will file a written declaration of intervention at the ICJ supporting the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar. In line with the decision taken at the 14th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation [OIC], the Republic of Maldives intends to extend its support for the efforts to seek accountability for the acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya people, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said. The move comes after The Gambia filed a case of genocide against Myanmar at the ICJ last November. The court ruled that Myanmar should take measures to prevent the genocide of the community. Rohingya leaders welcomed the move by the Maldives. Ro Nay San Lwin, rights activist and co-founder of Free Rohingya Coalition, said in a tweet: #Rohingya have been seeking justice since 1978 when genocide against them effectively began. Your action today speaks louder than the countless statements about us which are issued. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The Rohingya, described by the UN as the worlds most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012. According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh to more than 1.2 million. Since August 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya have been killed by Myanmars security forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA). More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while at least 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience. Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmars army and police and more than 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down while 113,000 others were vandalised, it added. The announcement of her departure after 14 seasons comes at a pivotal moment for one of Marylands most significant cultural organizations, which continues to wrestle with long-standing financial problems. The orchestras administration abruptly canceled last summers programming as it tried to shorten the 52-week season to 40 weeks, part of an effort to address $16 million in losses over the past decade. After the musicians were locked out in June, management and the musicians agreed to a one-year contract that allowed the current season to start in September. Following US President Donald Trump's two- day visit to India, the United States on Tuesday lauded India's role as a net provider of security, as well as developmental and humanitarian assistance in the Indian Ocean Region (IOC). A joint statement by both the counties put out late on Tuesday night said: "The United States appreciates India's role as a net provider of security, as well as developmental and humanitarian assistance in the Indian Ocean Region. India and the United States remain committed to sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure development in the region." The two countries also noted India-US partnership will play a key role for a free Indo-Pacific region where international law will be abided. "A close partnership between India and the United States is central to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. This cooperation is underpinned by recognition of ASEAN centrality; adherence to international law and good governance; support for safety and freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the seas," the statement read. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump expressed the desire to enhance maritime domain awareness sharing among the United States, India, and other partners. "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump decided to strengthen consultation through the India-U.S.-Japan trilateral summits; the 2+2 Ministerial meeting mechanism of the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and the United States; and the India-U.S.-Australia-Japan Quadrilateral consultations, among others," statement further read. The US President concluded his maiden two-day official visit to India on Tuesday. During the visit, he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with PM Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security personnel patrol streets following clashes over the new citizenship law, at Bhagirathi area of northeast Delhi on Feb 26, 2020 (PTI) When communal riots were a recurring sore in the walled city of Delhi in 1986-87, then senior Delhi Police officers led by Ved Marwah had worked on a blue print. With the motto that prevention is better than cure, they came up with inter-community citizen mohalla committees for ensuring a year-round amity and vigilance against mischief makers. These committees, as the first sentry to stem trouble, stood the test of time and enabled better policing of narrow bylanes of the old city through several political upheavals. Since then, the walled city (where Hindus and Muslims have always lived cheek by jowl) has largely remained immune to several instances of provocation in 1992 and even in 2019 when a petty fight over parking flared up. However, the riots on the streets of North East Delhi over the last three days have shaken us, raising the question as to whether a deeper malaise has remained unaddressed despite the lessons learnt in the walled city? On the face of it, the riots could be attributed to the total collapse of proper policing, lack of intelligence on local ferment and even reckless and irresponsible posturing by some politicians. They could also be reflection of an angst over a rather directionless agitation that questions the validity of a parliamentary law, which is now before the Supreme Court for a final word on its constitutional congruity. Sadly, once it was a model force for the rest of the country, but today the Delhi Police has seen its image take a severe beating, especially over the last few months. Even its veterans have raised questions as to what happened to its leadership. The preliminary reports of the latest round of rioting in Delhi have pointed to a free-for-all, with no policemen in sight or elders in the both communities trying to act as a bulwark against senseless violence. Of course, there are individual stories of some Hindus trying to save their Muslim brethren and vice versa. Even waving of the national flag and copies of the Constitution, which is a familiar sight in the two month-long sit-in at the Shaheen Bagh and 18 other places across Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were conspicuous by their absence. Instead, reports of armed men of being roped in from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh for directing the mayhem have added to the lethal matrix. A photograph of one of them pointing a pistol at a policeman went viral on the social media. It also showed a co-relation with the number of people succumbing to death or admitted in nearby hospitals due to gunshot wounds. Never has Delhi seen so many people being shot at during a riot. Local politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers and newly-elected MLAs, chose Gandhijis samadhi (Rajghat) to make their appeal for peace rather than visit the trouble spots. The debate about the lack of police powers with the city government made a comeback. With the entire responsibility of law and public order in the capital resting in the hands of the Union home ministry, questions began to be asked about the efficacy of such an arrangement. Kejriwal, who attended a high-level meet chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, initially expressed confidence in the Centres ability to rein in matters with the help of Delhi Police. However, in less than 24 hours, he called for the affected parts to be handed over to the army as he thought the police could not do the job. Surely the local government could do more than that to restore normalcy, though the police response invariably reflects the bias of the ruling party and this is due to much-delayed institutional reforms. Yes, the Union home ministry could have done more in letting the Delhi Police act faster. The perception that for over 72 hours the Delhi Police top brass could not act or watched helplessly when hundreds clashed, torching homes, shops, and vehicles wont help the credentials of Shah as a tough handler of internal security. Between the conspiracy theories that see a link between US President Donald Trumps visit and the scaled up anti-CAA protests, and the resultant violence, the role of politicians across the spectrum and, also of those who worked behind the protests in Shaheen Bagh and other places is under cloud. Indias tryst with destiny is back on the scanner for yet another time? SUTTER COUNTY, Calif. One man is dead after a shooting in Sutter County, deputies announced in a press release Tuesday. The Sutter County Sheriffs Office said they responded to a man who called saying he had just been assaulted and threatened by his friend. Deputies said the friend was identified as 52-year-old Rhett Michael Gregoroff. Once deputies arrived at the scene, they said Gregoroff had died from a gunshot wound. The investigation indicated that the shooting was a direct result of the dispute between the man who called in and Gregoroff. The case is still under investigation and ongoing, according to deputies. Action News Now is working to learn more. MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pershing, BlackRock, Merrill and AIG top the list of best-in-class communications in DALBAR's 22nd Annual Trends and Best Practices in Investor Statements. Each of these firms offers a superior standard of care through informative and digestible account statements that provide more than simply the required details. Pershing achieved its highest score ever, earning the number one rank among brokerage statements for a second year in a row, while Merrill and Morgan Stanley remain close behind at #2 and #3, respectively. BlackRock earns the number one ranking for mutual fund statements, a position the firm has held since 2007 while AIG enjoys an 18th consecutive year as the leading variable annuity statement. For Merrill, 2019 marks the 9th consecutive year the firm's retirement statement has achieved the top spot. Fee transparency continues to be a trend, with Baird adding more clarity on embedded commissions and Charles Schwab enhancing the level of detail on stock borrow fees. Many firms are also focusing on enhancing the presentation of investment data. Pershing overhauled mutual fund details and combined statement sections to create a robust Your Mutual Funds section. A few other firms emphasized life insurance and annuities. Merrill now categorizes life insurance and annuity contracts under six distinct headings and offers additional details such as surrender values, death benefits and even outstanding loan balances. Morgan Stanley tackled both areas, expanding the Account Detail sections to include income annuities and information such as living benefits and surrender values while at the same time creating subsections for non-sweep money market and open-end mutual funds. DALBAR's Trends and Best Practices in Investor Statements report recognizes firms that prioritize the account statement's role in facilitating understanding of investments and fostering relationships between clients, firms and advisors. For more information about this report or insight into what makes a best-in-class statement, please contact [email protected]. DALBAR, Inc., the financial community's leading independent expert, evaluates, audits and rates business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. Launched in 1976, DALBAR has earned recognition for consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. DALBAR awards are recognized as marks of a superior standard of care in the financial community. SOURCE DALBAR, Inc. Mass Copyright Infringer TikTok Shouldnt Be Eligible For Compulsory Mechanical License Musician and artist advocate David Lowery argues that TikToks parent company ByteDance should not be allowed to obtain compulsory mechanical licenses to launch a streaming service because of the level of copyright infringement on TikTok. Guest post by Dr. David C Lowery of The Trichordist The Financial Times reports that the parent of mass copyright infringer* TikTok plans to launch a streaming service: The Chinese company behind the popular video app TikTok is set to go head-to-head with the likes of Spotify and Apple in the music streaming market with the launch of its own rival service. ByteDance is in talks with the worlds largest record companies Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music for global licensing deals to include their songs on its new music subscription service, according to people familiar with the matter. Oh really. So let me get this straight. Executives at the major music conglomerates have largely sat on their hands while TikTok/Bytedance has engaged in a pattern of willful mass copyright infringement against songwriters, and now are gonna help TikTok/Bytedance launch a streaming service? Not if I can help it. Starting in 2021 all streaming services will get a streaming mechanical license through the Copyright Office/MLC. Regulations that govern the federal compulsory mechanical license already forbid mechanical licenses on unlicensed recordings. This was originally designed to keep old school bootleggers from taking advantage of the federal license. In my opinion, regulations should be updated to prevent mass digital infringers like TikTok from using the compulsory license. Obviously, the copyright office would have to distinguish between a company that might incidentally infringe on a limited number of songs and a company like TikTok that apparently has no licenses at all for compositions, knows this, and refuses to license. But its not impossible. The Copyright Office should be required to conduct a review or at least hold a public hearing before they allow a company to take advantage of the federal compulsory license. Why? If the federal government is going to take away songwriters individual right to license their work, the feds should make sure they arent, in turn, licensing to scofflaws, scammers, and criminals. Seems sensible right? Further, I caution against farming out this process to the MLC as they have already demonstrated they are not keen on transparency or oversight. The revolving door between big publishers that dominate the MLC and digital services invites corruption and cronyism. The Copyright Office should make sure that independent writers are not forced to license to a company ripped them off in the past. Failing to vet licensees will create an extreme moral hazard for the copyright office. Licensing willful mass infringers would effectively make the copyright office complicit in money laundering, as a company like TikTok could take dirty money from infringing activities and effectively wash it by creating a licensed service. My hope is the Copyright Office address this matter in the next few weeks. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *There is a false narrative going around the music business that TikTok only infringes because they host User Generated Content. Thus it is protected from claims of infringement by the DMCA safe harbor. This is absolutely not true. Spend some time with the app and verify this, but in short, it clearly offers sounds to users to use in their videos. These sounds do not come from the users devices. They come over the network connection via the TikTok app. (Distribution! exclusive right 3) Next It makes copies of those sounds on the users devices. (Copies! exclusive right 1). Users are not copying and distributing. TikTok is. Thus like Grooveshark, it does not get the benefit of the DMCA safe harbor. It has now hired some of the smartest music licensing lawyers in the world. Yet TikTok knowingly and wilfully continues to commit mass copyright infringement. WTF? If I was a lawyer working at TikTok? I would make sure I can pay my mortgage without a law license! Share on: A new government-backed international partnership between Swedish and Indian companies and institutions has been launched with the aim of improving road safety and helping to reduce the huge number of traffic-related fatalities that occur annually in India. The governments of Sweden and India originally signed an innovation agreement back in 2018, and the new Sweden-India Transport Innovation and Safety Partnership (SITIS) is a concrete example of the cooperation between the two countries. SITIS was launched in Stockholm last week in the presence of Indias Minister of Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and Thomas Eneroth, Swedens Minister for Infrastructure, as well as CEOs and senior management of various Swedish and Indian companies, academia and research institutes. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Leading Swedish and Indian companies and institutes with expertise in road safety have come together to form the SITIS as a long-term platform for innovation and to act as a centre for excellence on traffic safety research. The SITIS partnership will build deeper understanding of traffic safety in India, and also provide insights into the core challenges facing many fast-growing economies with similar challenges and their potential solutions. This will provide a unique ability to inform and evaluate policy and technology priorities in both countries. The lessons learned from SITIS research will be used for development needs in different parts of the world in order to strengthen and improve traffic safety as widely as possible. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that while there are more than 150 000 deaths per year on roads in India, progress on reducing fatalities has stagnated in Sweden. Governments agree that there is great potential provided by new developments, such as connectivity, electro-mobility, automation, digitization and artificial intelligence (AI), where both India and Sweden could implement effective technology and system-level measures to improve traffic safety. This demands an integrated approach where mobilising stakeholders and implementing cost effective measures is a key challenge. SITIS aims to achieve that by bringing together leading organisations in the road safety arena from Sweden and India to help deliver the United Nations 2030 Global Goals for sustainable development (SDG) and enable efficient global transport systems, and remove obstacles for societal growth and prosperity. Strong action for road safety is essential to support Indias ambition to cut fatalities by half in the next 10 years. We know that road safety is crucial to driving prosperity and development in the world. The reason why I am so delighted that SITIS is now in place, is that we can now entwine deeper into Indias ambition to reduce fatalities on road, explained Martin Lundstedt, CEO of the Volvo Group, one of the initiators of SITIS. We can all use these learnings to support our safety efforts across other parts of the world, as well as Sweden. By getting leading companies and premier research and academic institutes of the both countries to work together, we have the combined potential to accelerate safety progress through new and innovative solutions. Vikram Nair, Tech Mahindras president for the EMEA region, added, The establishment of SITIS is a testimony of how the industry and academia can successfully come together to create value for citizens. Through this platform, our aim is to address the current traffic safety challenges in India and suggest potential solutions be recommending policy reforms to reduce traffic fatalities. Follow us on twitter @TrafficTechMag After 35 public comments from concerned community members and affected parents at a special meeting Tuesday night, the Conroe ISD board of trustees unanimously passed a rezoning recommendation to help with overcrowding at several elementary schools in The Woodlands. Since December, community and administration representatives on the districts attendance boundary committee have been working on a rezoning solution. Most notably, Sally K. Ride Elementary is currently operating at 131 percent capacity while using 12 portable classrooms, the most of any school in the district. Neighborhood worries The heart of the contention centers around the neighborhood of Jacobs Reserve, which sits north of FM 1488 and has 323 geocoded students. Currently, Jacobs Reserve students attend Ride Elementary. In all three scenarios presented from the committee to the community in January, all 323 students would be moved together, which was what the neighborhood had asked the committee to do through comments given during the rezoning process. In the recommended scenario from the committee, all of the students of Jacobs Reserve will move to Galatas Elementary. To accommodate capacity at Galatas, 146 students will be moved from Galatas to Tough Flex from two geocoded zones. In response to the plan, Galatas parents came up with their own rezoning scenario and flooded the board with emails about their concerns, and submitted hundreds of comments to the committee asking that their students not be split so that another community can stay together. Previous recommendation At the Feb. 18 regularly scheduled meeting, the board failed to pass the recommendation for Scenario A 3.1.2 brought to them from the committee when the vote was split 3-3 (Board President Datren Williams was out of town). Several members expressed concern that the recommendation would be a band-aid plan and another rezoning will likely have to happen in a few years. Parents and board members alike wanted to know if another plan could be created that would be a longer-term solution to the growing population in The Woodlands. Many argued that the solution is to build a new elementary school in the FM 1488 corridor, but this wont be available for several years and would likely have to be included in a future bond. While the district does have cash in hand that could potentially be used to build a school, as was brought up by a concerned community member at the meeting, Superintendent Curtis Null said building a school with cash isnt the most efficient way. I dont anticipate that being the case, Null said of the board considering using the cash in the fund balance for an elementary school in the FM 1488 area. Its a large investment. By the time you talk about buying land and building a school, youre well over $40 million dollars, which depletes all of the available savings that could be used in case of emergency or in other things that may come up. Across the district, Null said, there are other feeder zones that dont have room to move people in. Because of this, he doesnt expect the board to vote to use the cash in the fund balance to build a school in an area that does have room to move students into. We are able to move and get all of our students within schools, Null said. I think that will be something that they consider in the future. but thats a long-term plan, I dont believe thats a short-term plan. Planning for growth The plan that was passed at the special board meeting puts all of the schools in The Woodlands area at or under 110 percent capacity. When several schools in a feeder zone with no more room for students hit that capacity, Null said, a new school would be built. Im very disappointed that their plan that they feel was the best is still a band-aid plan and it displaces students from their current school to make room for another, said Michelle Nolen, who has a third-grader at Galatas. I just don't think it was necessary to move kids out of that school when we have schools a the back of The Woodlands that have capacity to take Jacobs Reserve in full. Nolens neighborhood wasnt rezoned this time, but shes worried that they could be in a few years. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com Swedish teen campaigner has met Pakistani rights activist during a visit to the prestigious Oxford University, generating buzz in social media. Thunberg, 17, made the trip to Lady Margaret Hall where she met the 22-year-old laureate on Tuesday, the BBC reported. Thunberg is set to join a school strike in Bristol this week while Yousafzai is studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford. Yousafzai posted a picture of the two young activists on Instagram, saying simply: "Thank you @gretathunberg". "She's the only friend I'd skip school for," she said on Twitter. Shes the only friend Id skip school for. pic.twitter.com/uP0vwF2U3K Malala (@Malala) February 25, 2020 Also posting on social media, Thunberg said: "So...today I met my role model. What else can I say?" So... today I met my role model. What else can I say? @Malala pic.twitter.com/n7GnXUngov (@GretaThunberg) February 25, 2020 It is not known what the pair discussed, the report said. According to Alan Rusbridger, the principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Thunberg spoke to students about "science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more" during her visit. Commenting on the meeting between Thunberg and Yousafzai, Jennifer Cassidy, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, wrote: "I walk out my door, up one street and see @Malala and @GretaThunberg talking outside. "Two powerful young women standing for justice, truth and equality for all," Cassidy tweeted. Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said: "What a photo... the two most influential young women of my lifetime meet in Oxford." But some were less complimentary, describing the pair as "overrated", the BBC report said. Twitter user Luis Hulyer said: "One risked her life to go to school, the other plays truant." Two years ago, Thunberg started missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish Parliament building, in what turned out to be the beginning of a huge environmental movement. She has become a leading voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world. Thunberg has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. In 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head, neck and shoulder by a Taliban militant while returning home from school. She angered the Taliban by writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists in the picturesque Swat Valley in Pakistan. After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham. In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, at the age of 17. Three years later she accepted a place to study at Oxford. The more a client understands what is available to them, and the reasons you recommend one thing over another, the more comfortable they will be. If I can relieve even a little bit of their anxiety, then Im doing my job, he said. Martin is now the VP of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate Affinity, which launched in 2017. Hes been in the mortgage business for almost two decades and kept within the same family of companies since then. Finding an organization thats a great fit and flourishing within that organization is something that he stands by. Bouncing around might offer some opportunity, but there are disadvantages that comes with that, whether its learning new systems or not having those long-built relationships with management. These relationships are the biggest advantage of having that longevity, he added. Most of his business is largely focused in Connecticut, so not only are relationships tight within Guaranteed Rate Affinity, but with realtor partners and clients as well. Martin said its hard not to be passionate when youre working in your own backyard. Not only do I get to work side-by-side with real estate agents that I see regularly, its also really great to do a transaction for someone whos going to be sending their kids to the same school your kids go to. Aside from strong relationships in and out of the office, becoming an expert in one local area has been a huge edge up for Martin. While originators can work effectively across multiple states, Martin believes his expertise in Connecticut does come across when speaking with his clients. British investors are seeing Vietnam as a lucrative market to extend their businesses Photo: Le Toan The UK officially left the EU last month and has embarked upon a transition period until the end of the year. If the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is adopted by the European Council and Vietnam this summer, Vietnam-UK trade activities will still be able to benefit from the agreements tax incentives for several months. What is your vision on both nations trade ties during this transition period? Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Tran Ngoc An The recent ratification of the EVFTA and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the European Parliament and their upcoming adoption by the Vietnamese National Assembly in May is of historic significance in the trade and investment relations between Vietnam one of the most sustained and fastest-growing economies in the world and the EU, the second-largest economic entity. The ratification of these two agreements is a clear manifestation of the great importance the EU attaches to doing business with Vietnam given the fact that so far the EU has concluded similar agreements with very few countries in Asia-Pacific. Together with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EVFTA has been considered as a new-generation and high-standard agreement which is expected to facilitate vigorous growth in many areas including goods and services from both sides through the elimination of over 99 per cent tariff lines and the significant reduction of tariff barriers. For Vietnam, the EVFTA and the EVIPA will create more advantages for more Vietnamese goods to enter the EU market, especially in areas where we have great strength and potential and enjoy preferential tariffs including textiles, footwear, agricultural, and aquatic products. Among these sectors, garments and textiles will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the EVFTA following its ratification with expected increase of 81 per cent of turnover to the EU. For the EU, more manufactured goods, pharmaceuticals, and services from the blocs member states will be seen in Vietnam. The two agreements will also facilitate the flows of high-quality investment from the EU into Vietnam, especially in advanced technology and news areas of digital economy such as 5G, AI, and renewable energy. Even though the UK has officially left the EU, the transitional period will last until December 31, during which the EVFTA and the EVIPA will have the same effect on the UK as with EU members. Therefore I am confident that bilateral trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the UK in 2020 will continue to be on an upward trend, and be further boosted thanks to preferential treatments and new opportunities offered by these two agreements and owing also to the momentum already gained in recent years in the Vietnam-UK relations. However, as the EVFTA is expected to take effect in May, the direct positive impacts of the EVFTA on the Vietnam- UK bilateral relationship will not be big. Do you think that the lack of a bilateral FTA between both nations will reduce the economic attractiveness of the Vietnamese and UK economies, especially now Vietnam is boosting its investment climate and the country is seen as an attractive investment destination in the region? The steady and rapid growth in bilateral trade in recent years, based on World Trade Organization rules, has proved that the two countries have great potential and a strong foundation. There are high complementarities of the two economies, and a shared belief in free trade, multilateralism, and the rule of law, among other things. Beyond doubt, with or without a bilateral FTA, trade and investment between the two countries will continue to develop. However, an advanced bilateral FTA, similar to the EVFTA will definitely have a very positive effect on our economic relations. Fully aware of the importance of such a bilateral FTA, Vietnam and UK have been active working on this, fundamentally based on the multilateral EVFTA. In the context of Brexit, early conclusion of FTAs with non-EU countries is of high priority to the UKs post-Brexit trade strategy. Given that Vietnam and the UK have a lot in common and there are many complimentary factors in our economies as well as the existence of our strong common desire to ensure no disruption of the flow of bilateral trade and investment after Brexit, I strongly believe that the bilateral FTA will be concluded this year, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership. Thus, there will need to be an FTA between Vietnam and the UK after Brexit. If so, what will the benefit be to the two economies? A next-generation, top-quality bilateral FTA similar to the EVFTA will have very positive effects on boosting our trade and economy. Products that are Vietnams strength such as electronics, shoes, textiles, furniture, aqua products, and agricultural products, as well as items that are in major demand in the UK, will see a significant increase in the middle and long term. On the other hand, there would be greater opportunities for British companies in the areas of services, finance and banking, insurance, consultancy, high-tech and renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and British products like luxury cars and whisky to strengthen their foothold in Vietnam. The UK wants to join the CPTPP, of which Vietnam is a member. How is that plan looking today, and if the UK succeeds in access to the CPTPP, how will this impact on Vietnam-UK investment and trade ties in the future? The CPTPP is an open agreement. It does not require parties to be Pacific nations. However, accession would require support of all of the existing CPTTP members. At the moment, as I understand, the UK is still considering of pros and cons of joining the CPTPP and has yet to make up its mind whether or not to apply for CPTTPP membership. The bilateral FTA we are discussing with the UK is fundamentally based on the EVFTA, in substance that shares many similarities with the CPTPP. So if ever the UK becomes involved with the CPTPP, there is a strong possibility that our bilateral FTA will already be in place. Therefore, I dont think the UK joining the CPTTP would have major effects on bilateral Vietnam-UK trade. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung is set to pay a working visit to the UK this week. How will this visit be important to the trade relationship, and what can you expect from British investment flows into Vietnam in the time to come, especially in the financial world? At present, the UK ranks 15th among the largest foreign investors to Vietnam with total capital of $3.7 billion. However, there is still big room for further improvement given the fact that the UK is in the worlds top five biggest investors and its huge financial resources available for investment and strong demand for boosting export as a priority of its Global Britain strategy. In recent years, Vietnam has become an attractive destination for UK investors in Asia-Pacific due to its sizeable market, rapid growth rate, socio-political stability, a big pool of skilled labour force, and the accessibility to other markets thanks to its FTAs with partners. The upcoming visit to the UK by Minister Dung and his entourage, with high-level talks planned with relevant UK ministries and agencies, and a series of meetings with leading companies and scientists, will create new momentum for further boosting bilateral trade and attracting high-quality investment from the UK to Vietnam. The death toll in religious riots in Delhi has risen to 27 and the citys leader has called for the army to be deployed, as Indias capital assessed the damage on a tense Wednesday morning. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called the three days of violence alarming and said police had lost the confidence of the public. The army should be called in and a curfew imposed in affected areas [in citys northeast] immediately, he said. Supreme Court judges were among those criticising the failure of the police to stop marauding pro-government mobs beating Muslims in the street, chanting Hindu nationalist slogans and setting fire to Muslim-owned shops and homes. Just one person has been arrested so far on suspicion of taking part in the riots which have come about after a contentious new law that fast-tracks citizenship for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam Witness reports and videos on social media showed a burnt Muslim shrine and a mosque that was vandalised and set on fire in the Ashok Nagar neighbourhood with two flags, one of the Hindu deity Hanuman and another of India, raised on its roof. The number of those injured in the clashes, both Hindus and Muslims, has risen to 190. Hospital officials said they treated many victims for gunshot wounds, while others were beaten with sticks, suffered stab wounds or were hurt jumping from heights. It is the deadliest communal violence in the capital since 1984, when thousands of Sikhs were killed by mobs after prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. But comparisons were also drawn to the 2002 riots in Gujarat, when police were accused of letting rioting Hindus massacre around 790 Muslims across the state. The chief minister in Gujarat at the time was Narendra Modi, while Amit Shah his right-hand man and Indias current home minister was then the states home minister. Mr Shah is now responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi, and on Wednesday the opposition leader Sonia Gandhi called for him to resign over the riots. She told reporters the outbreak of communal violence should have been predicted after a vicious Delhi assembly election this month in which Mr Modis ruling BJP repeatedly vilified peaceful anti-government protesters, many of whom are Muslims, as traitors. Amid heightened tensions, the situation appears to have boiled over on Sunday after a prominent BJP politician, Kapil Mishra, called on Hindu nationalists to take to the streets and give an answer to sit-in protesters demonstrating against Mr Modis new citizenship laws. Where was the home minister? the Congress leader Ms Gandhi asked. What was he doing? What did the intelligence agencies say after the Delhi elections and what action was taken then? It was clear that riots were going to spread. The [Modi government], especially home minister Amit Shah, is responsible for the current violence and we demand his resignation. Mr Modi was also criticised for his failure to condemn the rioters, some of whom were heard chanting his name as they walked down smoking highways littered with debris. He has been hosting a state visit by Donald Trump, which concluded on Tuesday evening. The prime minister finally tweeted shortly after midday on Wednesday, calling for calm three days after the violence began. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times, he tweeted in English. It was not translated into Hindi. Police and paramilitary forces appeared to be deployed in far greater numbers on Wednesday, and firefighters who had been unable to reach affected areas in previous days said they were able to get through. The situation is relatively better than yesterday ... there are no rioters on the streets, Atul Garg, the director of the Delhi fire department, told Reuters. The relatives of those killed in the clashes have complained that police are not handing over the remains of their loved ones. The father of Rahul Solanki, one of those killed in the clashes, told the Scroll website his son stepped out of the house to buy milk for tea and ended up getting shot. Like many, he criticised the police for failing to protect civilians. The rioters are winning, he said. The government and the administration are doing nothing. Meanwhile, critics hit out at the US president for failing to raise the issue of the citizenship protests, and the brutal backlash meted out to demonstrators, during his visit. On Tuesday, Mr Trump instead focused on what an honour it was to be able to address a political rally of 125,000 people in Gujarat on Monday, and lavished praise on Mr Modi as a fantastic leader and such a nice man. Before leaving Delhi, with the riots in full flow just 15km away across the city, Mr Trump admitted he had seen reports of what was going on but did not bring it up with Mr Modi himself. I want to leave that up to India, he told reporters. I hope they are going to make the right decision for the people. Around 100 bakery staff in 34 Tesco stores across Northern Ireland are facing redundancy as part of group-wide cuts. The grocery giant is cutting around 1,800 roles as part of changes to bakeries in Tesco's large supermarkets. The company confirmed two to three staff per large store will be affected in the cuts from May. Tesco said it would convert 58 of its bakeries to be able to finish off pre-baked products in-store, and 201 sites will only bake some of its most popular items from scratch. It said the move, which will not affect bakeries at another 257 sites, means it will need fewer staff members. It has 55 stores in Northern Ireland. Jason Tarry, Tesco's UK and Republic of Ireland chief executive, said: "We need to adapt to changing customer demand and tastes for bakery products, so that we continue to offer customers a market-leading bakery range in store. "We know this will be very difficult for colleagues who are impacted and our priority is to support them through this process. We hope that many will choose to stay with us in alternative roles." Tesco said it would look to find other jobs for the staff, with "thousands of store vacancies" expected to be available between now and May. A spokesman for Tesco said the firm was at the start of the consultation process. "From May we are making the following changes in our large in-store bakeries. (We are) altering our space and range to cater to changing demand, including the increase in alternatives to traditional loaves. "Due to some stores doing less scratch baking, as well as the simplified routines these changes will bring, we will unfortunately need fewer colleagues to work in these areas. "At this difficult time, our priority will be to support those colleagues impacted, including finding an alternative role from the many thousands of vacancies we will have available across our store networks between now and May, for those who wish to stay with us." Retail NI chief executive, Glyn Roberts, said his thoughts were with the staff who are potentially losing jobs. "We wish them well and hope they have the opportunity to go on to further employment," he added. Mr Roberts said that bakery habits were changing for consumers and retailers and bakeries need to continue to evolve, whether they are small independent operators or part of larger retailers. "There are members of ours who are bakeries and are very busy," he said. "We have a seen a trend for many local butchers and bakers making a comeback over the last few years. We had dominance of larger supermarkets for 20 years, now people are seeking out alternatives." At 35.7%, Tesco has the biggest share of all the main operators in the Northern Ireland grocery market. 2020 United States Mint Proof Set WASHINGTON The 2020 United States Mint Proof Set (product code 20RG) will be available for purchase starting on February 27 at noon EST. The set is priced at $32.00 and includes the following ten coins from the United States Mint at San Francisco: Five America the Beautiful Quarters Program Coins with reverse (tails) designs honoring the National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa), Weir Farm National Historic Site (Connecticut), Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (United States Virgin Islands), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (Vermont), and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas). One Native American $1 Coin with a reverse design featuring a portrait of Elizabeth Peratrovich, whose advocacy was considered a deciding factor in the passage of the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Law in the Alaska State Legislature. The foreground features a symbol of the Tlingit Raven moiety, of which she was a member. Inscriptions include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ELIZABETH PERATROVICH, "$1," and ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW OF 1945. The obverse design (heads) retains the central figure Sacagawea carrying her infant son, Jean Baptiste. The inscriptions are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. One Kennedy half dollar One Roosevelt dime One Jefferson nickel, and One Lincoln penny. The coins are sealed in two lenses and packaged in a decorative carton emblazoned with an image of the Washington Monument at sunrise on the front. The back of the carton displays images of each national site honored in 2020 with interesting facts. A Certificate of Authenticity comes with each set. This year, the Mint is including a proof finish 2020 Jefferson nickel from the West Point Mint with each United States Mint Proof Set. This special coin is packaged separately in clear United States Mint plastic wrap and inserted into an envelope. The United States Mint Proof Set is the first of three annual sets to include a premium nickel with a W mint mark in 2020. The United States Mint Silver Proof Set will include an additional premium nickel in a reverse proof finish, and the United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set will include an additional premium nickel in an uncirculated finish. Orders will be accepted at catalog.usmint.gov and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Information on shipping options is available at catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html. The United States Mint Proof Set can also be purchased through the Product Enrollment Program. Visit catalog.usmint.gov/shop/product-enrollments/ to learn more about this convenient ordering method. Like many United States Mint products, this set will be available at the Mints sales centers in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and Denver. Availability may be limited and subject to change. About the United States Mint Congress created the United States Mint in 1792, and the Mint became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. As the Nations sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage, the Mint is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; silver and bronze medals; and silver and gold bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers. Note: To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, the United States Mint will not accept and will not honor orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of Feb. 27, 2020, at noon EST. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Visit usmint.gov/about to information about the United States Mint. Visit catalog.usmint.gov/email-signup to subscribe to United States Mint electronic product notifications, news releases, and public statements. Sign up for RSS Feeds from the United States Mint and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. United States Mint Connecting America through Coins Death toll in worst violence in decades to hit Indian capital rises with police accused of partisanship. The death toll in the worst religious violence to hit Indias capital in decades has risen to at least 25, according to a health official. The violence was triggered after Muslims protesting against a discriminatory citizenship law were attacked. Over 200 people have been injured during four days of violence in Muslim-populated areas of northeast Delhi, with police accused of looking the other way as a mob on Sunday went on the rampage, killing people and damaging properties, including mosques. What sparked the violence? The violence was triggered after weeks-long peaceful sit-ins in New Delhi against a new citizenship law were attacked by Hindu nationalist mobs. Muslims, Indias largest minority, say the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last December discriminates against them and goes against the countrys secular ethos. Parts of the capital descended into violence on Sunday after a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader warned Muslims against continuing with sit-ins. Over the next days, northeast Delhis Karawal Nagar, Seelampur, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, Vijay Park, Jafrabad, Chandbagh, Mustafabad and Yamuna Vihar witnessed pitched battles between Hindus and Muslims. Indias Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted US President Donald Trump as the violence continued, has been criticised for not acting on time. On Tuesday night, civil society members carried out a solidarity march against the violence. Here are the latest updates: Wednesday, February 26 Deeply troubled: US Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said he was deeply troubled in over the deaths in connection with the communal violence taking place in the Indian capital. Deeply troubled by the deaths from the communal violence in India over the past couple of days. The right to protest is a key aspect of democracy, but they must remain peaceful and police must ensure the safety of all, he said. US embassy in India advises caution The United States embassy in India sent out a security alert advising its citizens to take caution amid the violence taking place in north-east parts of Delhi. US citizens in India should exercise caution in light of violent demonstrations in Northeast Delhi and avoid all areas with demonstrations, the statement said. Death toll rises to 25: Health official At least 25 people have now been killed in the violence, according to a health official cited by local media outlet Asian News International news agency. The death toll was given by Sunil Kumar, the medical superintendent of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where many of the victims have been brought for treatment. Modi calls for calm Modi has finally broken his silence on the Delhi violence, saying peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest, he tweeted. Victims of Delhis deadly violence fill hospital Patients on stretchers crammed the emergency room, while relatives of the dead wailed outside a morgue as injured people continued to pour into a public hospital. Rahul Solanki, a 26-year-old Hindu, died from a gunshot wound, according to his family. His younger brother, Rohit Solanki, said he was shot walking to a shop to buy milk. The corridors of the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital at New Delhis eastern border are often crowded, but on Wednesday hundreds thronged its wards as doctors worked through the night to treat injuries. People leave violence-affected areas Many people living in mixed neighbourhoods, both Hindus and Muslims, have moved out in the wake of the violence. Twitter user Md Asif Khan posted a video from @imMAK02 handle that appeared to show people leaving Mustafabad area of Delhi with their belongings. Victims of arson have accused the Delhi Police of abetting the Hindu mob during the violence. Pakistan PM condemns violence Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the violence in Delhi, saying whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed. I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country. The Muslim man being violently beaten by a Hindu mob in this widely shared photo has survived [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters] Call for army deployment Riot police patrolled the streets of Indias capital on Wednesday and the citys leader called for a curfew. Muslim settlements in a slum in Ganga Vihar, Gokulpuri has been scorched. The Hindus whose settlements were spared told us that men chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' came around 9:30 pm and set fire to the Muslim households. Police stands by, helpless. @newslaundry #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/mguaUOBrVa Ayush Tiwari (@sighyush) February 25, 2020 Delhis chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, called on Wednesday for the army to be deployed and for a curfew to be imposed over flashpoint northeastern districts. Army [should] be called in and curfew imposed. Day after the mayhem On Wednesday morning, AFP saw people cleaning out the blackened and trashed interior of a mosque in the Ashok Nagar area burned out during the violence. A video circulated on social media and verified by AFP showed men ripping off the mosques loudspeaker on top of the mosques minaret and placing a Hindu religious flag and an Indian flag. The new citizenship law has raised worries abroad that Modi wants to remould secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalising the countrys 200 million Muslims, a claim he denies. The mosque was set on fire in the Indian capital on Tuesday by Hindu mobs [Sajjad Hussain/AFP] Court ask leaders to reach out to victims The Delhi High Court has asked leaders to reach out to victims of violence. We cannot have another 1984 under the watch of this court and under the watch of all of you, Justice S Murlidhar said referring to the last major violence in 1984 when nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed. Schools closed The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting against the citizenship law escalated on Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, 43, a resident of Mustafabad. Khan said the mobs were wielding iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks and attacked the homes of Muslims amid chants of Jai Shri Ram, or Victory to Lord Ram, the popular Hindu god of the religious epic Ramayana. I dont know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down, said Khan who took shelter inside a mosque. The violence has forced authorities to close schools and place a ban on assembly of people in the affected areas. Opposition demands home ministers resignation The leader of the main opposition Congress party has sought resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for failing to control the deadly violence. Watch | Water cannons used to disperse JNU, Jamia students protesting outside Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's house last night.#CitizenshipAct #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/mbEb6dnamv NDTV (@ndtv) February 26, 2020 What was the Home Minister doing since last week? What was the Home Minister doing earlier this week? Sonia Gandhi, the president of Congress party, said at a news conference in New Delhi. The central government, including the Home Minister, responsible. The Congress party demands that he resign immediately. Body of intelligence officer found The violence-affected areas remain tense. On Wednesday, the body of an Intelligence Bureau officer, Ankit Sharma, was recovered from a drain. Hindus and Muslims collecting burnt pages of the Quran outside the mosque that was vandalised in Delhi yesterday https://t.co/gD0RYfWj2D Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 26, 2020 Sharma was allegedly attacked by a mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death, according to Indian media reports. It seems Workforce Solutions Alamo chief executives cant depart the agency without suing it. George Hempe, who led Workforce Solutions Alamo for about two years before his contract ended in June, alleges in a lawsuit that he was subjected to discriminatory treatment at the agency and was let go because of his age, race and disabilities. Hempe, whos 65 and part Hispanic, says he has Type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic liver disease and a drooping eyelid that affects his eyesight. The latter is known as Horners Syndrome. An agency of the Texas Workforce Commission, Workforce Solutions Alamo oversees a network of service providers and contractors that match people and jobs. The agency also provides child care, career counseling, job-search workshops, training, job fairs and labor market information services. On ExpressNews.com: Workforce Solutions Alamo settles lawsuit by ex-CEO Gail Hathaway, who preceded Hempe as permanent CEO, sued the agency for breach of contract and emotional distress over her 2016 firing. Hathaway sought damages in the range of $200,000 to $1 million, but ultimately settled for $24,242 in wages, $30,000 in nonwage damages and less than $20,000 in attorneys fees in 2018. Hempe also seeks damages in the range of $200,000 to $1 million. Workforce Solutions Alamo has yet to answer the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in state District Court in San Antonio. Calls to lawyers for the agency werent immediately returned Wednesday. Hempe beat out 177 applicants screened by Workforce Solutions Alamos board to land the CEO post in 2017. A longtime workforce development executive, Hempe had served as CEO of the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board in Massachusetts from 2014 to 2016. Workforce Solutions Alamo paid him an annual salary of $152,000. In his lawsuit, Hempe says he led the effort to turn around the performance of Workforce Solutions Alamo in a mere 12 months to where the agency became number one in its division when it was towards the bottom. Hempes last evaluation was excellent and the board awarded him a $20,000 raise, according to his suit. He was placed on administrative leave May 9 without any written documentation, his suit says. Staffers had been told he allegedly missed a lot of meetings when he was ill. Hempe was informed of a pending investigation by agency attorney Frank Burney and human resource representative Lisa Bartee, the lawsuit says. The complaint describes Burney as Caucasian and Bartee as black. These individuals had a meeting in the office under the pretext of providing plaintiff with guidance during his performance improvement plan when the defendant agency then unilaterally ended (Hempes) contract effective June 5, 2019, the suit says. Board Chairman Juan F. Solis III was present during Hempes firing, the suit says. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Hempe says the investigative report did not justify him being placed on a performance improvement plan, which he adds he didnt have the opportunity to complete. He also says he was threatened by Ricardo Ramirez, identified in the lawsuit as the agencys program director. Ramirez accused Hempe of aiding a terminated employee, the suit says, and his comments led to Hempes firing. Hempe asserts that he was illegally discharged under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act and that a motivating or determining factor was his age, race and/or on account of his disabilities. The suit seeks damages for lost earnings, and past and future mental anguish. It also seeks punitive damages. Hempes attorney didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Another former Workforce Solutions Alamo employee, Cynthia Faris, sued the agency last month in the same court alleging she was wrongfully terminated in September 2018 in retaliation for complaining about a hostile and sexist work environment under Hempe. Farias worked at the agency for 23 years and served as chief of staff and board liaison at the time of her departure. She also is suing for violations of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act and seeks damages in the range of $200,000 to $1 million. Last week, Workforce Solutions Alamo issued a general denial to Farias allegations in response to the lawsuit. The case is pending. Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD The ECONOMIC Freedom fighters of Ghana (EFF-GH) laments with the masses and is much disappointed in the board of GETFUND and the beneficiaries of its scholarship scheme who happens to be public servants, ministers and MPs. GETfund as a public institution that gives fund and scholarships to needy but brilliant students who are financially handicapped to enable them to proceed with their education to serve the country has over the years sponsored politicians and deny the claim of the masses. Following who GETfund awards scholarship and funding to, revealed that their new beneficiaries are our abled politicians who should be supporting the less privileged. We are wooed to note that, the minister of education and some ministers and parliamentarians are the ones enjoying the taxpayers' money that is allocated to supporting the poor in education, that is the hopeless masses. The masses weary in the acquisition of these scholarships that are their rights and privileges to enjoy as citizens. These people pursuing these scholarships are sometimes described as hapless people because of the tightness in getting one, not knowing our leaders are the very people taking the scholarships for themselves and cronies. And to hear that some of these officers earned up to $50.000 in just three weeks of academics call for surcharge and a refund to the public purse. The fractions of GETFUND must not get into the purse of individuals but must serve its intended purpose. The only way the poor but brilliant child can get quality and higher education is through GETfund, so what happens now, that we can't point more needy people on the list of scholarship beneficiaries. However, the rich and political class whom the masses should be benefiting from are the ones benefitting from the masses. Gone are the days we receive furniture and classroom block from GETfund but now, the politicians are dipping their hands and exploiting the system. We are subtle to the occurrences in GETfund and we are calling for an immediate investigation. The EFFGH is hereby calling on the Auditor General to submit the complete list of beneficiaries. This is because we can't believe is only ministers from the ruling NPP party have benefitted from this but also some NDC ministers and public servants equally enjoyed the privilege of the poor illegally. We are also calling on the special prosecutor to investigate the officials of GETFUND who supervised this public scam. We sense Corruption in how the officials conducted and carried their duties. Issued by the secretary-general. ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF GHANA. ANTHONY AKUDAGO 0244940504/0554557284 Burma Myanmars Wa Army Confirms It Has a Helicopter Bao Youxiang, the chairman of the United Wa State Army, inspects UWSA troops at a parade to mark the 30th anniversary of the groups founding, in Panghsang in April 2019. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy The United Wa State Army (UWSA), Myanmars largest ethnic armed organization, on Wednesday confirmed it had acquired a helicopter, making the northeast-based rebel group the nations first to possess such an aircraft. A UWSA spokesman denied speculation that the groups latest acquisitionwhich was reportedly ordered and delivered from Chinawould be used for military purposes, insisting it is only for personal and leisure use. U Nyi Rang, the UWSAs liaison officer, confirmed that the UWSA had acquired a four-seater helicopter, adding that it was purchased late last year and is already in use. It is the first time the UWSA has bought a private helicopter, he added. It is just for personal use and for leisure, and is not for any other purpose, he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, saying rumors about the UWSA owning military helicopters were false. The UWSA, which has an estimated 30,000 soldiers and 20,000 auxiliary troops, showcased its sophisticated arsenal of military hardware during a parade in April last year. U Nyi Rang declined to divulge the price of the helicopter, where it was bought, or whether the group paid tax on the purchase to the government. However, local news sources have reported the aircraft is Chinese made and was purchased in September 2019. Depending on the model, the price tag for a four-seater private helicopter is in the range of US$250,000$1,700,000 (about 360 million-2.5 billion kyats), according to two finance and aviation websites. Union government spokesman U Zaw Htay said at a press conference at the Presidential Palace on Feb. 21 that the Myanmar government would purchase an Italian-brand helicopter for use by cabinet ministers during emergency response activities following natural disasters. The helicopter, which can seat 15 people, cost US$14.35 million. U Zaw Htay said the Union Parliament had already approved funding for the purchase. Myanmars civilian government is due to take delivery of its first ever helicopter in April. It is currently being assembled in Malaysia. The spokesman added that until now the government did not have its own helicopter, forcing cabinet ministers including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to rely on military helicopters when overseeing emergency relief efforts or monitoring post-conflict situations. Boarding military choppers has left political leaders vulnerable, especially when flying over restive areas where ethnic rebels and the Myanmar military are clashing. On Feb. 19, a military helicopter carrying a Myanmar Union minister and the Rakhine State chief minister came under fire. Neither minister was hurt in the incident, which occurred as they were traveling to Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State to meet schoolchildren who were injured when an artillery shell struck their school a few days earlier. You may also like these stories: Switzerland Agrees to Resettle Wife, Children of Myanmars Rakhine Rebel Leader KNU Rejects Myanmar Generals Appeal to See the Big Picture Angry Exchange Between Military MP, Speaker Mars First Day of Myanmar Charter Debate 16-year-old Le Nam woke up at 9am, having no idea what day of the week it was. For a tenth grader at Quang Tri Provinces Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, the unexpected school closure due to the coronavirus outbreak has been unbearably long. It was fun for the first couple of days, he said. Who doesn't enjoy a longer Lunar New Year Holiday? When it came to the second week, my friends and I started getting bored and a bit worried that we may have our summer vacation cut short by extra classes. As of Saturday, Vietnam had extended school closures till the end of February, leaving some 22 million kindergarten and secondary students at home. Although many schools, mostly in big cities, have offered online classes with teachers livestreaming their lectures via Facebook or Skype, the others simply ask their students to complete worksheets downloaded from their websites then email them. It is all about revising. We have not learnt anything new, said Hong Minh, a twelfth grader at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted. I do not know how I'm going to prepare for the national high school examination if the situation persists, she said. The examination, scheduled annually in June, is a major event in Vietnam which decides whether students can graduate from high schools and enrol in higher education institutes. It demands focus from students and teachers, especially in the final semester. I have tried to self-study but it's not been effective as I have no teachers to help me, Minh said. She has no clue where to start while the workload seems overwhelming. Most Vietnamese students spend their after-school hours in extra classes, mostly in maths, Vietnamese literature, English, chemistry, physics and biology the major subjects that appear in the National High School Exam. Amid epidemic fears, those classes are closed. Even at universities, self-studying accounts for only 20 per cent of a common syllabus, making it a real challenge for students to acquire knowledge by themselves during the school closure. All the e-learning materials have been developed after the students were asked to stay at home, so it is a temporary solution rather than a learning archive, said Nguyen Quynh Giang, an English teacher in Quang Tri Provinces Huong Hoa District one of the most disaster-prone localities in Vietnam where schools are closed several times a year due to floods and storms. Not many students are proactive enough to approach teachers for recommendations on books and study material, she said. As 80 per cent of our students are from ethnic minority groups, they are quite dependent on teachers. The coronavirus has led to an unprecedentedly long school closure in Vietnam, but on the other hand, it has offered educators opportunities to think about solutions for distance learning, not only to respond to epidemics but also suit the changing demands of learners. There were suggestions made to make homeschooling a legal alternative to public and private schools when the amended Law on Education was drafted in 2018, but that came to nothing, so it is essential for teachers to encourage students to self-study by helping them sharpen their critical thinking and research skills. My daughter has been assigned to read more books and write short reviews on her favourite characters and plots while she's at home, said Vu Khanh Linh from Hanois Hai Ba Trung District. The new curriculum, which will be implemented nationwide from 2020-2021, aims to inspire students to learn by themselves to effectively apply their knowledge and skills in practice. Only when individuality and flexibility are upheld will students make the best use of their time and effectively learn wherever they are, even curled up in a blanket during an unwanted school closure. VNS HCM City proposes school closure extension for coronavirus prevention HCM City authorities have proposed further temporary school closures until the end of March for fear of coronavirus. Vietnam lengthens school closure to prevent COVID-19 spread The mandatory closing may be closed until the end of February or more depending on the evolution of the epidemic. Georgia senators voted Monday to let people build homes that could be flooded by dams without raising safety standards for the upstream dam. The state Senate voted 47-6 to pass Senate Bill 319, sending it to the House for more debate. It would let structures be built in a dams inundation zone. The structures would have to be built to withstand a dam breach and be certified by an engineer approved by the state Environmental Protection Division. However, construction would not prompt a dam to be upgraded to a Category 1 dam. Those dams are subject to regular inspections and other rules because their failure would result in probable loss of life. The bills sponsor, Republican State Sen. Frank Ginn of Danielsville, says the move would protect dam owners from having to choose between taking on costly upgrades or removing a dam. A Category 2 dam is any dam that does not have inhabitable structures in its inundation zone. They dont have to meet any regulatory requirements. An investigation by The Associated Press last year identified 1,688 high-hazard dams rated in poor or unsatisfactory condition in 44 states and Puerto Rico. Georgia led the nation with nearly 200 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Georgia Politics She stole the hearts of a nation on this year's winter Love Island. And Shaughna Phillips, 25, revealed she is best friends with 59-year-old Jonathan Ross's daughter Honey on Instagram on Tuesday. Honey, 22, appeared on ITV's Lorraine earlier in the day to talk about how she felt pressure to slim down while growing up in a 'toxic' industry because of her parents. Who would have thought? Love Island star Shaughna Phillips took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal that Jonathan Ross's daughter Honey is her best friend But says she's now more confident at size 18 than her slim friends. Shaughna was clearly very proud of her friend as she took to Stories to post a picture of Honey on her TV. She wrote over the top: 'Yasssssss Queen... that's my best friend guys.' Sweet: Shaughna and Honey haven't been pictured together on Instagram and it's unknown how they know one another An important topic: Honey spoke about body confidence to Lorraine Kelly earlier in the day No doubt she was proud of Honey as she said some pretty inspirational things while on the show. The body image activist claimed that she's more confident than 'all of her thin friends' and says three of them have been 'close to death' after battling eating disorders. Honey explained that despite her pals having the kind of body 'society likes', she feels more confident in her skin, and revealed that three of them have had 'really life-threatening eating disorders'. Honey told that though it wasn't the intention of her parents, the industry she grew up in was 'quite toxic' and she never met anyone who 'looked like her'. Meanwhile, no doubt Honey was supporting Shaughna on her recent stint on Love Island. She was eliminated from the show shortly after her love, Callum Jones, 23, returned from Casa Amor with new girl Molly Smith, 25, leaving Shaughna heartbroken. A heartwarming video of two medical attendants dancing in front of a hospital to celebrate recovery of several patients from COVID19 has gone viral on social media. The video was shared by Peoples Daily, China, with the caption: #HeartwarmingMoments: Two medical workers dance ballet in front of a hospital in E Chinas Anhui to celebrate the recovery of six more #COVID19 patients. The shared video shows that the two medical attendants started dancing ballet in front of a hospital in E Chinas Anhui to celebrate the recovery of six more COVID19 patients. Take a look at the heartening video: #HeartwarmingMoments: Two medical workers dance ballet in front of a hospital in E Chinas Anhui to celebrate the recovery of six more #COVID19 patients. pic.twitter.com/p27njb7evk People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 25, 2020 Soon after the video surfaced, the medical workers were hailed by social media users who called them heroes and angels. A user wrote, So happy I am seeing that doctors are dedicated for patient. Even knowing that they are in danger. Serve humanity, serve planet. Another wrote: Great news. Our thoughts are with everyone in China. A post read: They are stressed. They cheer himself up (sic). Great job! I pray for China, a user remarked. Peoples Daily, China, also shared another video detailing a different celebratory dance. Drop the beat! Lets take a break in the battle against #COVID19 and dance! they wrote. Drop the beat! Lets take a break in the battle against #COVID19 and dance! pic.twitter.com/4r8lfNcEZX People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 20, 2020 The coronavirus death toll in mainland China has increased to 2,663 with 77,658 confirmed cases. FinnGen, a large-scale academic - industry, genome research collaboration in Finland now includes eleven industry partners with the addition of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Maze Therapeutics. Several recent studies have shown that new drugs are more likely to be approved if they target a gene linked to the disease. For this reason, many pharmaceutical companies have started to deploy a new strategy by investing into genomics studies, such as FinnGen. FinnGen will produce comprehensive genome variant data of 500 000 Finnish biobank participants. The genome data is combined with longitudinal, life time follow-up health data originating from multiple national health registries. The unique data combination allows the FinnGen researchers to identify correlations between genetic factors and health outcomes in the Finnish founder population. The study has a great potential to address the global need for large datasets that enable genetic discoveries and enhance drug target identification and prioritization. Thanks to our unique cooperation model, fast progress and the great potential of the Finnish research environment, FinnGen has been found as an attractive opportunity by many pharmaceutical companies. In addition to the seven initial industry partners, two more joined in early 2019 and with Janssen and Maze Therapeutics now on board, FinnGen is among the largest public-private studies in the world." Aarno Palotie, FinnGen Scientific Director from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki FinnGen dataset already contains genotype and health data from more than 200 000 Finns. FinnGen has given a strong boost to the Finnish biobank network with on average 7 000 new samples collected each month. The amount of data will increase throughout the project, with 40 - 50 000 individuals added every six months. "As a start-up company, we at Maze believe that the genetics being explored in Finland will lead to important new advances in medicine. Our approach focuses on leveraging genetic information to support an integrated platform to improve research and development, and we're delighted to join the consortium as we advance that effort", says Timothy Behrens, Head of Human Genetics and Immunology at Maze Therapeutics. The collaboration will build on FinnGen's existing consortium agreement with nine international pharmaceutical companies and all the relevant Finnish public stakeholders. The other industry partners, Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), MSD (the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ USA), Pfizer and Sanofi warmly welcome the new members to the FinnGen consortium. "Funding provided by the new partners will allow us to further enhance FinnGen recruitment efforts and focus on targeted recruitment in several clinical areas that are medically extremely important but often underrepresented in largely healthy, working age volunteer population studies", says Mark Daly, Director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM). The legal entity to the agreement with FinnGen is Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. On February 19, which coincided with the Democracy Day of Nepal, Nepali media faced an unusual situation emanating from a strongly worded statement from the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. It said that an article reproduced by The Kathmandu Post on February 18 from The Korea Herald written by former United States ambassador to Nato, Ivo Daalder, was published with malicious intention, and that it deliberately smeared the efforts of the Chinese government and people fighting the new coronavirus epidemic. The article critical of Chinas response to the Covid-19 also carried a picture of Chinas leader Mao Zedong on the countrys 1,000-yuan banknote wearing a mask. The embassy accused the newspaper for having viciously attacked the political system of China. But the statement did not end there. By personally targeting the Posts outgoing editor, Anup Kaphle, it said that there were ulterior motives behind the consistent attacks on China, and that It is regrettable that Mr Anup Kaphle, chief editor of The Kathmandu Post has always been biased on China-related issues. In most inappropriate and undiplomatic language, the statement further read, This time he (Kaphle) went as far as disregarding the facts and becoming a parrot of some anti-China forces and, therefore, his ulterior purpose is destined to failure, adding without specifics, The Chinese Embassy in Nepal has made solemn representations to the newspaper and himself and reserves the right of further action. The threat was immediately condemned by a group of 17 editors of Nepals newspapers and magazines who said the statement violated diplomatic norms. This was unusual and surprising because so far China has always opted for diplomatic routes through the home and foreign ministries to express its unhappiness over certain events in Nepal. China is also considered to be a pragmatic player in Nepal, and the public opinion is one of a friendly and supportive neighbour. Chinese ambassador to Nepal, How Yanqi, who is quite popular in the country due to her fluency in the Nepali language and her affection for Nepali music and culture, immediately tweeted the statement that provoked a fierce debate on the social media with many calling it a challenge to Nepals sovereignty and an interference in the functioning of the free media. Some even asked what kind of backlash would be seen in Kathmandu if such a statement was issued by the Indian embassy given the past experiences and in light of India being perceived as an interfering neighbour. But there were strong opposing voices too that questioned the rationale of the article in the first place at a time when a close neighbour is passing through a difficult time. But clearly this is a sign of high-handedness on the part of a diplomatic mission, emboldened by its high comfort level with the ruling establishment in Kathmandu. This also highlights how Chinese engagement with a small country is leading to its diplomacy becoming arrogant. There is no evidence of such a statement from the Chinese embassy in Seoul where the article was first published. But in the case of Nepal, this stems from the efforts of the communist leaders to bend over backwards for China in order to replace over-dependency on India. Nepal has over the last few years developed deeper bilateral ties with China, a country which had for decades limited its role as a friendly country and being happy with Nepal taking the One China policy and restricting activities of some 20,000 Tibetan refugees present in the country. But slowly, and especially from 2015, the year Nepal was wrecked by the devastating earthquake followed by a border blockade due to anti-Constitution protests by the people of the Terai region, China-Nepal relations moved from a developmental partnership to a strategic one. From being a signatory to the Belt and Road Initiative, Nepal now has access to seven transit points and three land ports in China. Besides crucial infrastructure development in Nepal, the two neighbours have committed a cooperation in wide-ranging sectors from energy to culture, tourism, education, traditional medicine, and others, thereby making bilateral relations a comprehensive and an all-encompassing one. President Xi Jingpings Nepal visit in October 2019 elevated bilateral ties to secure China the space in Nepal that India traditionally occupied. These developments have taken shape keeping in view the present Nepali establishments desire to cultivate closer ties with China as a counterweight to India. The deep political linkage between the Communist Party leaders of Nepal and China has now come out in a more visible manner. It is to be seen if KP Oli, whose Nepal Communist Party fought the last general elections on a strong nationalist agenda (which translates to being anti-India in Nepal), would show the same boldness in dealing with China and reminding the latter that the constitution of Nepal upholds the freedom of speech, and that a foreign power cannot dictate terms to a free media in a democratic polity. Akanshya Shah is a Nepali journalist and researcher based in New Delhi The views expressed are personal Chances, amounts of weekend snow still up in the air Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Tuesday theyve asked the Pentagon to keep potential coronavirus patients at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland rather than transport them to local civilian hospitals for testing and isolation. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Nirenberg and Wolff said they consulted with local hospital systems before making their request to stop the practice of moving mildly ill patients to the Texas Center for Infectious Disease and driving them off the base for medical tests. They said their goal is to ensure the city continues to have the capacity to treat the sickest patients while limiting local residents exposure to the highly contagious virus. The letter underscores a divide between local health experts and the Defense Department, which has required evacuees to be taken by a specialized ambulance to medical facilities in San Antonio when they appear to be ill and require testing or hospitalization. Were not at loggerheads with the CDC. I think they know exactly what ought to be done, Wolff said, referring to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its a difference of opinion with the military, the Department of Defense, I might say. Wolff said the hotel where the evacuees are living is fenced off and guarded by marshals. Its not a threat to the rest of the base, he said. In fact, most of the people at that base live in San Antonio, so we dont think its a threat to the military. But we do think its a big threat when you transport them out into our community. Wolff and Nirenberg wrote that they understood the Pentagon wants to prevent active duty personnel from contracting the virus, thereby affecting military combat readiness. But both also noted the evacuees are isolated on the installation, and that testing and evaluation assets exist on the base including the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, a state-of-the-art medical facility just a short drive from the hotel. On ExpressNews.com: CDC warns of possible virus spread in U.S. Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News The mayor had not received a response from Esper early Tuesday evening, and the Defense Department did not respond to questions sent earlier in the day. The judge and mayor say their letter was prompted by a conference call Nirenberg ordered Friday with more than three dozen health-care experts. The consensus became very strong that they should not be moving these people unless they have symptoms, theyve been tested and the test is confirmed, Wolff said. Those concerns arent new. Wolff raised the issue in a Feb. 18 letter to U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-San Antonio, asking the Defense Department to update current procedures to test quarantined individuals at Lackland on the base instead of transporting them to a local hospital. Roy, in turn, sent a letter the same day to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar listing 11 questions, one of which asked, Does the extra transportation and movement of sick patients put San Antonio and Bexar County residents further at risk? It wasnt clear if Azar contacted Roy, whose office did not respond to a San Antonio Express-News query. A warning from CDC official Dr. Nancy Messonnier, who said in a media telebriefing Tuesday that the agency is preparing as if we are going to see community spread in the near term, alarmed Wolff further. WIN TICKETS: Spurs Nation is giving away four box seat tickets to the March 22 home game. I was worried last week, I worried all week long and then I got a bit more concerned today when the CDC put out that strong statement, Wolff said. I thought, wow, what does she know that maybe we dont know? Did you read her statement? Were asking the American public to work with us, to prepare for the expectation that this is going to be bad. Messonnier is director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The Washington Post reported that Azar and other top health officials, in a hastily convened afternoon news conference held after the Dow fell 800 points in the wake of the CDCs warning, downplayed Messonniers statement, saying the United States wanted to have a large-scale response prepared just in case there was person-to-person spread. We believe the immediate risk here in the United States remains low, and were working hard to keep that risk low, said Anne Schuchat, the CDCs principal deputy director. At Lackland, six of 235 evacuees from a flight out of Wuhan, China, that arrived Feb. 7 and passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus and required care, Wolff and Nirenberg wrote. On ExpressNews.com: Six evacuees at Lackland have virus Their letter, which was emailed Monday to the Pentagon, said more than 18 evacuees had been transported from Lackland to local hospitals or the Texas Center for Infectious Disease. Most of those sent to Methodist Hospital | Texsan and the Center for Infectious Disease either had asymptomatic positive tests or very mild signs or symptoms. Those patients, they wrote, filled valuable beds with patients who could appropriately be managed in isolation at JBSA-Lackland. The negative-pressure isolation beds in these facilities are valuable, but limited, commodities that should be reserved for the sickest of our patients. Nirenberg and Wolff went on to say the policy is unintentionally forcing CDC and Health and Human Services staff to use methods that are counter to prudent management of a contagion in a quarantine environment, and it is resulting in the unnecessary transport of evacuees to hospitals or other areas in the city. The concern is if new evacuees from the cruise ship cohort come back with a large number of positives, well be faced with a situation based on the (Defense Department) policy that we would have to move the evacuees off base very quickly and in large number, and that doesnt make a whole lot of sense if what were trying to do is preserve capacity to treat known infected patients in local hospitals, Nirenberg said. Its really about making sure that we have capacity available to deliver the best care in the safest manner possible to any known infected evacuees, he added. And that is why we are asking (the Defense Department) to change their policy that has them move people off base so quickly with no medical reason for doing so. sigc@express-news.net Click here to read the full article. Pictured above: The Das Boot crew Colin Teevan (head writer of season 2), Tom Wlaschiha (actor), Clemens Schick (actor), Oliver Vogel (Bavaria Fiction chief creative officer and EP on Das Boot), Vicky Krieps (actor), Rick Okon (actor). Bavaria Fiction celebrated its latest TV productions at a glitzy soiree at Soho House in Berlin on Monday. More from Variety The powerhouse TV division of Bavaria Film has enjoyed huge success with Das Boot and its newest series, Freud, opened this years Berlinale Series sidebar. Its also rolling out Arctic Circle, a Finnish-German coproduction, which recently premiered on ZDF. Bavaria Fiction focuses largely on the German-speaking market but its looking to further expand its portfolio. We moved into international productions four years ago with Das Boot, a hugely successful series, being sold to over 100 countries, including Hulu in the U.S., says Bavaria Fiction managing director Jan S. Kaiser. Das Boot season two premieres on Sky in April. With our executive producer Moritz Polter we have somebody who comes from the international sector, Kaiser adds. With him we have co-produced Arctic Circle with Yellow Film & TV, co-produced Freud with Satel Film and, together with Oliver Vogel, produced the Sky Original Das Boot. In France we co-produced the series Deutsch-Les-Landes with Telfrance for Amazon and Deutsche Telekom and at the moment several new series are in the works. In addition to the public broadcasters in Germany, streamers like Amazon, Netflix, Telekom and of course Sky are very interesting for us. Bavaria Fiction is building up its international division with Polter as one of the pillars of our business. Over the next few years we want to build a pipeline of series and further develop our international business, Kaiser says. Story continues With global audiences increasingly embracing foreign shows, Bavaria Fiction could well have more hits on its hands. You have to ask, what is international and what is German? chief creative officer Oliver Vogel points out. You can make something that is international and it doesnt work and you make a German production and its distributed around the world and it works. With Freud, its a brand, Vogel says. Sigmund Freud is well known around the world. Its a brand that is internationally recognized. It was similar with Das Boot. When we told people in the U.S. that we had the rights to Das Boot and were planning an international series, we didnt need to explain to anyone what the series was about. When brands are so strong even if its an old German brand then it can well be that German content goes global. Among the talent and industry reps attending the party were Arctic Circle stars Clemens Schick and Maximilian Bruckner, and the key cast of Das Boot: Franz Dinda, Vicky Krieps, Rick Okon, Tom Wlaschiha and August Wittgenstein. Also on hand were local thesps Jonathan Berlin, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Christine Urspruch and Anna Schudt as well as filmmakers Gregor Schnitzler and Rainer Matsutani. The bash attracted such high-profile TV execs as Skys Marcus Ammon; Christian Granderath of NDR; Robert Franke (ZDF Enterprises); Frank Jastfelder (Sky); Peter Kerckhoff (Deutsche Telekom); Jana Kaun (ProSiebenSat.1 Media); Florian Kumb (ZDF); Tim Werner (Mainstream Media); and Thomas Munzner (Joyn). Political talks how host Anne Will, ARD news anchor and deputy chief editor Helge Fuhst, and Christina Bentlage of regional funder Filmstiftung NRW likewise stopped by for a drink. Bavaria Manfred Haus-Pfluger (M.D. Bavaria Fiction), Tessa Mittelstaedt, Matthias Walther (M.D. ndF) (Courtesy of Andreas Schlieter) Bavaria Tim Werner (CEO, Mainstream Media), Jan S. Kaiser (M.D., Bavaria Fiction), Georg Hoss (head of legal, Bavaria Film) (Courtesy of Andreas Schlieter) Bavaria Arctic Circle actors Maximilian Bruckner and Clemens Schick (Courtesy of Andreas Schlieter) Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australias prime minister and Israels president on Wednesday discussed an extradition request for a former school principal whose alleged abuse of dozens of Australian schoolgirls has cast a shadow over the Israeli leaders visit. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Reuven Rivlin discussed their strong commitment to seeing justice in the case of the former principal, Malka Leifer, during a meeting at Parliament House, officials said. An opposition lawmaker said Rivlin had offered to personally intervene in the case if progress is not made in court this week. Leifer has been fighting extradition from Israel for six years and the legal wrangle to bring her before an Australian court has caused a diplomatic strain between the allies. Rivlin has been criticized for declining an invitation to meet three of the alleged victims during his visit this week to the Australian city of Melbourne, where Leifer was the principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school until 2008. Lawmaker Josh Burns, who represents an electorate where the three alleged victims sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper live, said he raised their plight when Rivlin held a meeting with senior opposition lawmakers. The Associated Press does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but the siblings have spoken publicly about their allegations. I was pleased that President Rivlin advised me that if hearings scheduled this week do not see this matter progress towards Malka Leifer being extradited to Australia, he will personally meet with the Chief Justice of Israel to discuss how this matter can be expedited, Burns said in a statement, referring to President of the Supreme Court of Israel Esther Hayut, who is also known colloquially as the chief justice. "This matter has dragged on far too long. These victims deserve justice and I will continue to fight until Malka Leifer is back in Australia facing trial, Burns added. Story continues Rivlin's office did not immediately respond to a request for details of any undertakings regarding the case he had given during his visit to Australia. Erlich wrote in a letter to Rivlin through the Israeli Embassy in Australia after the president declined to meet the siblings, We did not wish to ask you to interfere with the judicial process, only that you use your authority to ensure this case ends in a timely manner. Sadly, the president has underestimated the importance of this case to the Jewish and wider Australian community and the supportive encouragement that such a meeting would produce, she added. Manny Waks, Melbourne-based chief executive of Kol vOz, a Jewish organization that combats child sex abuse, said it was regrettable that the president could not find time to meet the sisters while in Melbourne. It seems President Rivlin has his priorities wrong on this trip, Waks told The Australian newspaper. Neither Morrison nor Rivlin mentioned the case during brief public comments they made in Canberra, Australia's capital, before their bilateral meeting. Morrison praised the stridency of the judiciary in Israel as one of the great principles and values that underpin freedom for which Israel stands. Rivlin described Australia as a beacon that helped the world understand Israels position. He praised Australias decision in December to oppose an International Criminal Court investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Dozens of pro-Palestinians demonstrators rallied outside Parliament House before the meeting, carrying signs including, Israel is not above the law. On Leifer, Rivlin told Australian Jewish News in a recent interview that he was confident that Israel does not allow those who have committed crimes to avoid justice. I understand how painful and difficult the case of Malka Leifer is for the Australian Jewish community and for Australians generally, he said. The professional opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the State Prosecutors Office is that the extradition should be carried out as soon as possible and are doing everything possible to expedite it, Rivlin added. Australia requested Leifer's extradition in 2014 on 74 charges of child sex abuse and more than 60 Israeli court hearings have followed. The Jerusalem District Court last month granted Leifers attorneys' request to review a psychiatrists' ruling that she is fit to stand trial for extradition. Burns, the opposition lawmaker, and government lawmaker Dave Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, introduced a motion in Parliament earlier this month demanding Israel immediately extradite Leifer. A date for a vote on the motion has yet to be set, but it is expected to be carried with the major parties support. A minor girl attempted suicide here on Tuesday by setting herself ablaze after she was allegedly raped by three men. The victim has sustained about 95 per cent burns and is in a critical condition. She has been referred to a hospital in Nagpur. "The 14-year-old girl was admitted to the district hospital after sustaining burn injuries. She is in a critical condition," said Dr. Anand Malviya, Medical Officer, District Hospital Betul. The police told ANI that the investigation into the matter is underway. "The girl was admitted in the hospital. She told that some people have raped her. She is in critical condition. Our team is investigating the matter," said DS Bhadauriya, SP Betul. Further, an investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajesh Asnani By Express News Service JAIPUR: Security arrangments for Pakistani pilgrims visiting Ajmer Sharif Dargah and Urs have been tightened after a man threatened to bomb the dargah if they (the pilgrims) were allowed to visit these sites. Thirty-six-year-old Sandeep Panwar, a native of Arayi in Rajasthan, was irked by the news of pilgrims across the border arriving in the country and decided to issue a threat by calling the Collector's office. He has since been taken into judicial custody. "In view of the seriousness of the case, the police showed promptness in the matter and immediately traced the phone call, late Tuesday night," said Ajmer SP Kunwar Rashtradeep. Despite the tensions between India and Pakistan especially after the Pulwama attack, many Pakistani pilgrims were reluctant to visit these places, but in a significant breakthrough, 260 Pakistani pilgrims will be able to visit the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah from February 28. "In view of the seriousness of the case, the police showed promptness in the matter and immediately traced the phone call, late Tuesday night, police arrested a young man named Sandeep Panwar", said Ajmer SP Kunwar Rashtradeep. Ajmer administration is taking no chances and has undertaken elaborate security arrangements for their safety as well as other arrangements like boarding and lodging, said Collector Vishwamohan Sharma. About 200 to 250 hundred policemen will be deployed upon the pilgrims' arrival on behalf of Ajmer Police. Security agencies will also be vigilant so that no unwanted activities of any kind can take place. Intelligence and other security agencies will also keep a close watch. Meanwhile, the ceremonial opening of the 808th Urs of Khwaja Garib Nawaz took place on February 25. [February 26, 2020] VMware Carbon Black '2020 Cybersecurity Outlook' Report Reveals Evolving Attacker Behaviors, Relationship Dynamics Between IT and Security Teams RSA (News - Alert) CONFERENCE--VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today released the VMware Carbon Black "2020 Cybersecurity Outlook" (1) report, which offers a holistic view at how attackers have evolved, what defenders are doing to keep pace and how security and IT teams can work together in 2020 and beyond. Click here to download the full report Using the MITRE ATT&CK framework as the backdrop for Section I of the research, the report uncovers the top attack tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) seen over the last year and provides specific guidance on ransomware, commodity malware, wipers, access mining and destructive attacks. In Section II of the report, VMware Carbon Black collaborated with Forrester (News - Alert) Consulting on a 624-person survey (IT / security manager and above, including CIOs and CISOs) to explore the current state of IT and security relationship dynamics from the C-level to the practitioner level, and how these will evolve. Among some of the key findings from the report: Attacker behavior continues to become more evasive , a clear sign that attackers are increasingly attempting to circumvent legacy security solutions. Defense evasion behavior was seen in more than 90 percent of the 2,000 attack samples we analyzed. , a clear sign that attackers are increasingly attempting to circumvent legacy security solutions. Defense evasion behaviors continue to play a key role with ransomware (95 percent of analyzed samples). These ransomware attacks are heavily targeting organizations in energy, government and manufacturing sectors . and sectors Wipers (attacks that can overwrite data and clear hard drives) continue to trend upward as adversaries (including Iran) began to realize the utility of purely destructive attacks. IT and security teams appear to be aligned on goals (preventing breaches, efficiency, incident resolution) but 77.4 percent of survey respondents said IT and security currently have a negative relationship , according to our study conducted with Forrester Consulting (2) . (preventing breaches, efficiency, incident resolution) but , according to our study conducted with Forrester Consulting . 55 percent of survey respondents said driving collaboration across IT and security teams should be the organization's top priority over the next 12 months, according to the study (2). over the next 12 months, according to the study More than 50 percent of survey respondents said that both security and IT will shar responsibility for key areas like endpoint security, security architecture and identity / access management over the next three to five years, according to the study (2). For a full look at the key findings and to download the full report, click here. "Defenders must stop thinking about how to achieve results on their own. Defenders must continue to build bridges with IT teams. The time for cooperation is now. We can no longer afford to go at this problem alone. We need IT teams to look toward security solutions that are built in and not bolted on. It's time for security to become part of our organizational DNA. It's time security becomes intrinsic to how we build, deploy and maintain technology," said Rick McElroy, one of the report's authors. VMware at RSA Conference 2020 Product demos and more will be on display this week at the RSA Conference in the Moscone North Expo, booth #6145. VMware Carbon Black will be in Moscone Expo North, booth #5873. Learn more about VMware's security strategy and portfolio here. On Wednesday, February 26 at 10:30 a.m. PT in Moscone West, VMware's Sanjay Poonen will deliver the keynote address: "Rethink the Way You Secure Your Organization with Intrinsic Security," which will discuss how making security intrinsic can unlock new advantages and make life easier for security practitioners. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to customers globally, aided by an extensive ecosystem of partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html VMware and Carbon Black are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites. (1) '2020 Cybersecurity Outlook Report' - a VMware Carbon Black research project. Using the MITRE ATT&CK framework as the backdrop for the Section I of the research, the report uncovers the top attack tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) seen over the last year and provides specific guidance on ransomware, commodity malware, wipers, access mining and destructive attacks. In Section II of the report, VMware Carbon Black collaborated with Forrester Consulting on a 624-person survey (IT / security manager and above, including CIOs and CISOs) to explore the current state of IT and security relationship dynamics from the C-level to the practitioner level, and how these will evolve. (2) Source (News - Alert): a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of VMware, January 2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005242/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ohio church pays off kids lunch debt in 10 school districts Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment When pastors at a church in Ohio presented a challenge to pay off childrens lunch debt in two school districts, they weren't sure what would happen. They were shocked when the congregation gave enough money to eliminate lunch debt in 10 districts. "Because of your generosity and because of the abundance and grace of our God, not only did we hit that goal but exceeded it and to date over $40,000 have come in!" Salem Church of God Lead Pastor Steve Southards said on Sunday. The Clayton, Ohio, church had initially reached out to two neighboring school districts Northmont and Brookville, which had a combined student lunch debt of over $14,000. Though unsure about the congregations ability to give that much, Southards and the churchs Next Steps pastor, Bob Hawker, decided to announce the project during last Sundays service. Within four days, members gave $40,000, enough to pay off outstanding lunch debt in 10 school districts. The church can now eliminate lunch debt also in the districts of Vandalia-Butler, New Lebanon, Milton-Union, Tri-County North, Franklin-Monroe, Troy, Eaton and Kettering. One school food service manager was pretty emotional. He said theyve [had the debt] for so long, Hawker said. There was immense gratitude. Our schools spend so much of their time giving and giving, so for them to get to receive is a big deal. As a church, we want to go looking for trouble, and we want to right a wrong, Lead Pastor Steve Southards was quoted as saying. We want to show the love of Jesus in really tangible ways that meets the needs of people. Northmont Superintendent Tony Thomas said, Its nice to be in a community with a place like Salem Church of God, who obviously is doing something right because the fruits of their generosity have really exploded. For us, the focus is the kid. The kid cant be the victim. I dont know what the parents situations are. But we deal with kids. And nobody wants to see a kid not eat. The church now wants to set up an angel fund to pay off lunch debts on a regular basis. On Sunday, Pastor Southards thanked the congregation in his sermon and told them that the media interviewed him but edited out the credit that he gave to Jesus. But I believe with all my heart that God is the one who moved in our hearts for this deal, he said, adding that its amazing to see what can happen when we are sensitive to Gods voice in our hearts. Southards also gave credit to Hawker for his extraordinary leadership, saying it was his idea to start the program and that he reached out to all the school districts. Generosity is contagious, Southards said, and human beings have a desire to be generous because God is generous. Giving brings joy into the hearts of the givers also, he stressed. The pastor quoted 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The India-US joint statement sent out a stern warning to Islamabad asking it to ensure that no territory under Pakistan's control were to be used to launch terrorist attacks, and also expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and the Pathankot attack. The White House late on Tuesday issued the statement following the return of US President Donald Trump after his two day state visit to India on Monday and Tuesday. The statement said: Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership As the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies recognizing the importance of freedom, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights and commitment to the rule of law, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump vowed to strengthen a India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchoredAin mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump pledged to deepen defence and security cooperation, especially through greater maritime and space domain awareness and information sharing; joint cooperation; exchange of military liaison personnel; advanced training and expanded exercises between all services and special forces; closer collaboration on co-development and co-production of advanced defence components, equipment and platforms; and partnership between their defence industries. Noting that a strong and capable Indian military supports peace, stability, and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, and reaffirming his pledge to support the transfer to India of advanced U.S. military technology, President Trump welcomed India's recent decision to procure MH-60R naval and AH-64E Apache helicopters. These capabilities will advance shared security interests, job growth and industrial cooperation between both countries. As India works to acquire new defence capabilities, President Trump reaffirmed India's status as a Major Defence Partner affording it the highest consideration for procurement and technology transfer purposes. The leaders looked forward to early conclusion of defence cooperation enabling agreements including Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump resolved to enhance security of their homeland through cooperation and to jointly fight international crimes like human trafficking, terrorism and violent extremism, drug-trafficking and crimes in cyberspace.A They welcomed the decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and India's Ministry of Home Affairs to reinvigorate the Homeland Security Dialogue. As a demonstration of their shared commitment to combatting the threat that illicit drugs pose to their citizens, they announced their intent to establish a new Counter-Narcotics Working Group between their respective law enforcement agencies. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump recognized the increasing importance of the trade and investment dimension of the India-United States relationship, and the need for long-term trade stability that will benefit both the American and Indian economies. They agreed to promptly conclude the ongoing negotiations, which they hope can become phase one of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that reflects the true ambition and full potential of the bilateral commercial relations, advancing prosperity, investment, and job creation in both countries. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump welcomed growing links between India and the United States in trade and investment in hydrocarbons. Through their Strategic Energy Partnership, India and the United States are seeking to enhance energy security, expand energy and innovation linkages across respective energy sectors, bolster strategic alignment, and facilitate increased engagement between industry and other stakeholders. Modi and Trump noted the potential for the U.S. to meet India's goal to diversify its import base for coking/metallurgical coal and natural gas, welcoming recent commercial arrangements intended to accelerate access to LNG in the Indian market. Prime Minister Modi President Trump encouraged the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Westinghouse Electric Company to finalize the techno-commercial offer for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India at the earliest date. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump expressed satisfaction with their longstanding and practical collaboration in science, technology and innovation. They welcomed an endeavour by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for development and launch in 2022 of a joint mission with the world's first dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, and applauded discussions that advance cooperation in Earth observation, Mars and planetary exploration, heliophysics, human spaceflight, and commercial space cooperation. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump expressed their desire to increase higher education collaboration and educational exchange opportunities, including through the "Young Innovators" internships, and welcomed the recent growth in the number of Indian students in the United States. In support of global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks such as novel COVID-19, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump committed to continuing their successful efforts in the areas of prevention, early detection, and rapid outbreak response. They hailed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to promote access to high quality, safe, effective, and affordable medications for Indian and U.S. consumers. They welcomed the conclusion of an MoU which will help both countries address mental health challenges through innovative approaches. Strategic Convergence in the Indo-Pacific A close partnership between India and the United States is central to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. This cooperation is underpinned by recognition of ASEAN centrality; adherence to international law and good governance; support for safety and freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the seas; and unimpeded lawful commerce; and advocacy for peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in accordance with international law. The United States appreciates India's role as a net provider of security, as well as developmental and humanitarian assistance in the Indian Ocean Region.A India and the United States remain committed to sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure development in the region. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump welcomed the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announcement of a $600 million financing facility for renewable energy projects in India, and the ADFC's decision to establish a permanent presence in India this year. Taking note of their countries' shared commitment to advancing effective development solutions in the Indo-Pacific and globally, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump look forward to a new partnership between USAID and India's Development Partnership Administration for cooperation in third countries. India and the United States took note of efforts towards a meaningful Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and solemnly urged that it not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of all nations according to international law. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump decided to strengthen consultation through the India-U.S.-Japan trilateral summits; the 2+2 Ministerial meeting mechanism of the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and the United States; and the India-U.S.-Australia-Japan Quadrilateral consultations, among others.A Prime Minister Modi and President Trump looked forward to enhanced maritime domain awareness sharing among the United States, India, and other partners. Partnership for Global Leadership Prime Minister Modi and President Trump committed to working together to strengthen and reform the United Nations and other international organizations and ensure their integrity. President Trump reaffirmed the support of the United States for India's permanent membership on a reformed U.N. Security Council. He also reaffirmed U.S. support for India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group without any delay. India and the United States recognize that, to contain the build-up of sovereign debt in developing and low-income countries, it is important to ensure responsible, transparent, and sustainable financing practices for borrowers and creditors. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump expressed interest in the concept of the Blue Dot Network, a multi-stakeholder initiative that will bring governments, the private sector, and civil society together to promote high-quality trusted standards for global infrastructure development. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump noted the importance of advancing education, economic empowerment and entrepreneurship of women and girls through finance, training, and mentorship initiatives, as well as measures to promote their full and free participation in the economy, in line with the United States' Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and the Government of India's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme. India and the United States share interest in a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. They support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in a sustainable peace; cessation of violence; elimination of terrorist safe havens; and preservation of the gains of the last 18 years. President Trump welcomed India's role in continuing to provide development and security assistance to help stabilize and provide connectivity in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump denounced any use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. They called on Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot. They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D-Company, and all their affiliates. India and the United States are committed to an open, reliable, and secure Internet that facilitates trade and communication. India and the United States recognized the need for an innovative digital ecosystem that is secure and reliable, and facilitates the flow of information and data. The leaders intend to foster cooperation among their industry and academia for open, secure, and resilient supply of strategic materials and critical infrastucture, and to independently evaluate the risk associated with deployment of emerging technologies. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Proper structures must be instituted to ... New Delhi, Feb 26 : Police Commissioner of Delhi Amulya Patnaik was notably missing from all important meetings of the top police officers chaired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at Seelampur on Wednesday afternoon. Top sources said that Patnaik, a 1985 batch IPS officer, was supposed to be present in the meetings. However newly appointed Special Commissioner S.N. Srivastava turned up with Doval at the DCP northeast office to assess the situation. Special Commissioner (Law and Order) of Northern Range Satish Golcha was also present in the meeting where several key decisions over strategic deployment and action against rioters were taken. Police sources said Doval felt that adequate forces should have been moved in well on time. In fact, as Doval took control of the situation, a heavy contingent of paramilitary forces, including Border Security Force (BSF), was rushed to the riot-affected areas of northeast Delhi. The NSA also asked the police officers to increase patrolling in key pockets which were marked communally sensitive. Later, on Wednesday evening Doval met several residents in Seelampur and Jafrabad area and was heard saying "jo ho gya so gya. Now I am here, we will work together to ensure peace." Sources said Doval, who represented the Prime Minister's Office, later briefed Home Minister Amit Shah about the initiatives taken by Delhi Police since Tuesday night. In fact, once American President Donald Trump left Delhi on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting with Doval, where the latter was given enough hints to immediately take over the supervision of Delhi police which hitherto seemed to have failed in controlling one of worst riots in the national capital in recent times. Sources said the PMO was also surprised that despite the availability of police and paramilitary forces, inadequate forces were deployed at hotspots in northeast district. The role of Amulya Patnaik, who ostensibly failed to tighten up the security apparatus in the affected areas, was also assessed by the Centre. Sources said that around 150 companies of Delhi Armed Police (DAP) and Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs) are available with Delhi police. As many as 24 companies are directly allocated to Commissioner of Police while 15 companies are deployed with the districts, each DCP having one company at his disposal. Besides, 8 companies of additional armed forces are available round the clock. Sources said that 110 companies of CPMFs are also available in the national capital. "Even if a major portion of the forces was engaged in the security arrangements of American President Donald Trump, adequate forces from the reserved pool could have been rushed by Sunday evening when violence erupted in a few pockets of northeast district," said an official of the Ministry of Home Affairs. "The assessment of the situation at Ground Zero and subsequent action required to address the problem were also not up to the mark. (Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan can be contacted at sanjeev.c@ians.in) Donald Trump's re-election campaign has filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing America's newspaper of record of intentionally publishing a false story last year about Russia's interference in the 2016 election. In the lawsuit, which the campaign annouced was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, the campaign alleges that the Times published a false story on 27 March 2019 claiming that Mr Trump and his campaign had engaged in a deal with the allies of Russian president Vladimir Putin to help his campaign in 2016 in exhange for a pro-Russia policy once Mr Trump became president. It marks an escalation between Mr Trump and the news media, which he has often derided as "fake news" while complaining about critical coverage of his administartion that he often says is biased against him. "Today the President's re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the Campaign had an 'overarching deal' with 'Vladimir Putin's oligarchy' to 'help the campaign against Hillary Clinton' in exchange for 'a new pro-Russian foreign policy starting with relief from ... economic sanctions,'" said Jenna Ellis, the senior legal aide to the presiden'ts re-election campaign, in a statement. The lawsuit, which originates from the campaign and not the presdient himself, falls roughly in line with his past comments, including the characterisation of elements of the news media as "the enemy of the American people". In response to the lawsuit, a New York Times spokesperson said that the Trump campaign was attempting to punish an op-ed writer for having an opinion that offended the president and his campaign. "The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable," the statement reads. "Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case." The lawsuit marks just the latest clash between Mr Trump and the news media, with the president having frequently attacked the Times as well as other prominent national news outlets for their coverage of him. In the past, the White House has even gone so far as to revoke access to media briefings for a CNN reporter who had asked the president a question and did not quickly give up his microphone when asked. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot legally be handed to the US for 'political offences' because of a 2003 extradition treaty, his lawyers have claimed. The 48-year-old is wanted in the US for allegedly conspiring with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to expose military secrets between January and May 2010. A US grand jury has indicted Assange on 18 charges - 17 of which fall under the Espionage Act - including conspiracy to receive, obtain and disclose classified diplomatic and military documents. The Trump administration argues Britain's Official Secrets Act removed the 'public interest' defence when it came to revealing security matters. But Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing the Australian, said extraditions for political offences is not allowed until the Anglo-US Extraditions Treaty set up 17 years ago. Julian Assange, sketched in the dock at Woolwich on Monday yesterday, should not be extradited because it would breach the 2003 Anglo-US Extraditions Treaty, his legal team says 'We say, firstly, Article 4.1 prohibits extradition for political offences in accordance to long established processes', he said. What is Julian Assange charged with in the US? The US Department of Justice has charged Wikileaks founder Julian Assange with 18 crimes - 17 under the Espionage Act and one under computer hacking legislation. Officials say Assange, as founder of WikiLeaks, endangered US informants in Iran, Syria, China, Iraq and Afghanistan by publishing unredacted documents that identified them. The 18 charges against Assange, filed in Virginia last year, are: Count 1: Conspiracy to receive national defense information Counts 2-4: Obtaining National Defense Information Counts 5-8: Obtaining National Defense Information Counts 9-11: Disclosure of National Defense Information Counts 12-14: Disclosure of National Defense Information Counts 15-17: Disclosure of National Defense Information Count 18: Conspiracy to Commit Computer Intrusion (Hacking) Advertisement 'Secondly, that treaty is the basis for this extradition request of international law,' said Mr Fitzgerald. 'The offences with which Mr Assange is charged, and for which his extradition is sought, are, on the face of the extradition request itself, political offences.' The court was told that Assange is currently on medication and may require short breaks. International law provides protection from being extradited for political offences, said Mr Fitzgerald. The court needed to consider, argued Mr Fitzgerald, various protections enshrined in both international law the European Convention of Human Rights 'If you detained, and Mr Assange is detained, in pursuance of an extradition request that engaged article 5 of the European Convention,' said Mr Fitzgerald, 'If you are detained you must be detained in a manner prescribed by law that is not arbitrary.' Along with the article protecting from unlawful detention, the defence invoked the common law right of due process, present in the Magna Carta. Mr Fitzgerald asked the court to a adopt 'a more profound approach' when considering these protection. '[We must say] what are we doing? 'We are involved in an extradition process that involves a treaty. 'Without a treaty the process would be wholly unlawfully,' said Mr Fitzgerald. He added that the very treaty on which Assange extradition relies provides an exception for the very kind of political offences for which he is charged. But District Judge Vanessa Baraitser him that the court relied on UK law, and Parliament removed the political defence provision in 2003. Dozens of his supporters gathered outside Woolwich Crown Court chanting 'free Julian Assange' for the third day in a row Mr Fitzgerald replied that the version of the treaty signed by the UK government in 2007 still contains that provision. 'There is nothing in the 2003 [Extradition] Act to prohibit reliance upon the express provisions of the treaty protecting against extradition for political offences. 'And it is significant that this treaty was ratified after the 2003 act came into force,' said Mr Fitzgerald. 'There is nothing in the 2003 act to exclude reliance on the abuse of process protection invoked here where extradition would be in direct conflict with the express provisions of the treaty that forms the whole bedrock of the extradition request.' The protection against being extradited for political offences, argued Mr Fitzgerald, is extensively applied. 'It is a prominent and important feature in US extradition treaties including all the US treaties with western democracies,' said Mr Fitzgerald. The US signed political offence exceptions in their treaties because they don't want their citizens deported, but when wanted someone extradited, it 'suddenly doesn't matter', the court heart. Wikileaks Editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson (left) arrives at Woolwich Crown Court for the third day of Julian Assange's extradition hearing There is a 'lack of symmetry' in the way the rules apply in the US and the UK, the court heard. 'In short, the process which applies on one side of the Atlantic doesn't apply on the other one,' said Mr Fitzgerald. The espionage allegations against Assuage were, by their very nature, a political offence. The judge asked James Lewis QC, for the US Government: 'Do you dispute it is a political offence?' Mr Lewis replied: 'We do not accept it is deals with a pure political offence. It is a relative political offence.' Assange was charged following an FBI investigation on a 'conspiracy to commit computer hacking as well as unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified information, endangering human sources'. The court has heard Assange had a 'thermonuclear option' he intended to use if it looked as though he was in danger of being arrested or WikiLeaks shut down. In 2010, he released more than 250,000 unredacted State Department diplomatic cables. The indictment said these 'included names of persons throughout the world who provided information to the US government in circumstances in which they could reasonably expect that their identities would be kept confidential. 'These sources included journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and political dissidents who were living in repressive regimes and reported to the United States the abuses of their own government and the political conditions within their own countries at great risk to their own safety..' Mr Fitzgerald told the court that legal authorities state crimes committed 'seeking to change government' policy qualify as political offences. 'On the government's own case, this is about policy - policy in Guantanamo, policy in the Iraq war, policy in the Afghanistan war and an attempt to change that policy, to reveal what was really going on and the loss of life and war crimes,' he said. Mr Lewis called the defence's claim that Assange was entitled to protection under the terms of the Extradition treaty 'a bold claim'. '[The treaty is] not incorporated into domestic law. 'Only once it has been incorporated can individuals claim rights and protections,' said Mr Lewis. 'Parliament has abrogated the political offence exception to extradition when passing the Extradition Act in 2003.' Assange has 'no right' to argue for a political offence exception after that provision has been removed from parliament, said Mr Lewis. Given that Assange has 'no rights derived from the treaty', argued Mr Lewis, there was no abuse of process' issues. Mr Lewis added that they disputed that the offences Assange is charged with are political offences. 'If the court was entitled to, and we say it is not, to afford a right to Mr Assange from the treaty, the first thing would for this court to consider what a political offence under the United Kingdom and United States treaty meant,' he added. The court heard that the UK and the US had slightly different definitions of what constitutes a political offence than some of the authorities Assange's barrister cited. 'In this side of the Atlantic, the only standard that this court could use is that set out in English authorities, all of which do not support his argument that the conduct with which Mr Assange is accused of falls under political offences,' said Mr Lewis. The proceedings were interrupted when Assange abruptly stood up in the dock while waving his arms around. When asked if he was okay to continue, he protested being unable to speak to his defence, adding he couldn't in confidence as he was flanked by guards. 'This case already has enough spying on my lawyer as it is,' he continued. 'I have very little contact with my lawyers.' 'Generally speaking, defendants have no voice unless and until they decide to give evidence,' said judge Baraitser. 'There is no reason to make an exception in your case I am afraid.' The judge proceeded to rise for five minutes to give Assange the opportunity to talk to his legal team. When the short adjournment ended, Mr Fitzgerald told that Assange was finding it 'difficult' and 'unfair' that he wasn't able to communicate with his lawyers during the proceedings. Judge Baraitser asked: 'Is this different from any other criminal or extradition proceedings, the position that Mr Assange is currently in?' Mr Fitzgerald replied that this was exasperated by his client's medical condition. The judge said: 'Do you think that is a matter I can adjudicate in court given that is a security issue?' She added the only thing in her power in this case would be to hear a bail application. Mr Lewis intervened to say that he didn't believe that allowing Assange to sit with the defence team required him being bailed out. 'How do you think we would remain in custody while fully in the well of the court? 'He wouldn't be in the dock,' said judge Baraitser. Mr Lewis said: 'If there were security officers either side of him he would be in custody.' In certain cases heart at the High Court, certain defendants in custody had been allowed to sit outside the court, said Mr Lewis. 'That is generally speaking when there has not been an ability in the High Court to have a dock,' he added. Mr Lewis said he was 'neutral' on the issue of Assange sitting with his legal team but that he would oppose any bail application. Mr Fitzgerald said: 'We respectfully submit this is a gentleman of an intellectual nature and there is no reason why he should not be able to sit with us during the hearing.' Judge Baraitser told both parties that she would be able to hear a bail application on this matter tomorrow. Mr Lewis acknowledged the defences point that there was a 'lack of reciprocity' and 'imbalance' in the extradition treaty. While the treaty was in fact law in the States, Mr Lewis said there was no equivalency in UK law. 'There is no such thing as a political offence in ordinary domestic law. 'It only arises on the international plane and in the context of extradition,' he added. 'It cannot ever be said we couldn't prosecute members of the IRA for sedition.' The defence lawyers are trying to create a right for Assange 'through the back door,' added Mr Lewis. The abuse of process argument raised by Assange's defence only applies in cases where there is prejudice caused by the prosecution, the court heard. 'That is not the cause in the extradition request,' added Mr Lewis. Manning was imprisoned from 2010 until 2017 when her sentence was commuted, but she is currently in jail for her continued refusal to testify before a grand jury against Assange. Assange went into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for sexual offence allegations which he has always denied. He was jailed for 50 weeks last April after breaching his bail conditions when the asylum period granted to him expired. In November Swedish authorities dropped the rape allegations made in 2010. The hearing continues. At least five American universities have cancelled their study abroad programs in Italy and called students back to the US amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Syracuse University in upstate New York, Elon University in North Carolina, Florida International University, as well as Connecticut institutions Sacred Heart University and Fairfield University are among the schools recalling their students. As of Wednesday afternoon in Italy the death toll for coronavirus rose to 12 and 374 cases have been reported. Italy is the second most popular destination for American students studying abroad, behind the United Kingdom. In the 2017-2018 school year, nearly 37,000 Americans studied in Italy, according to the Institute of International Education. At least five American universities are canceling their study abroad programs in Italy and calling students back to the US amid the sudden spread of the novel coronavirus. Girls wearing protective masks in Florence, Italy on Monday pictured above Italy is the second most popular destination for American students studying abroad. In the 2017-2018 school year, nearly 37,000 Americans studied in Italy, according to the Institute of International Education As of Wednesday afternoon in Italy the death toll for coronavirus rose to 12 and 374 cases have been reported This map shows the global spread of coronavirus with 374 cases reported in Italy Syracuse announced Tuesday it will assist the 342 students studying abroad at its Florence campus to return to the US, sharing concern over restrictions on the students' ability to travel and move within the city. 'We believe this is absolutely necessary to reduce the risk of our students being unable to leave Italy due to Italian confinement efforts,' Steven Bennett, the university's senior vice president for international programs and academic operations, said. Sacred Heart University decided to call for 17 students to return from a program in Rome by this weekend, and Fairfield University is closing a program in Florence that enrolls 142 students. Twenty-one Elon students in Florence also have been asked to return to the US. Florida International University announced Tuesday that it cancelled all study abroad programs in Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea due to the coronavirus. 'Out of an abundance of caution and our responsibility for duty of care, we primarily want to protect our students and employees well-being,' Kenneth G. Furton, FIU's provost and executive vice president, said in a statement. Syracuse announced Tuesday it will assist the 342 students studying abroad at its Florence campus to return to the US. Florence is located in northern Italy where the greatest coronavirus concern is Elon University announced Tuesday that it will bring its 21 students studying in Florence back to campus and suspend the program for the semester Many universities in the US, Australia and Europe already have canceled study abroad programs in China, where the outbreak began. Around the world, more than 81,000 people have been infected. More than 78,000 of those have been in China, where more than 2,700 have died. While many universities have been monitoring reports of the virus' spread, a growing number have decided to call for students to leave midway through the semester. The University of New Haven has recommended that the 80 students at its program in the Italian region of Tuscany return to the U.S. The university will assess in late March whether it's safe for them to return and, in the meantime, the students will receive online instruction, school officials said. New York University announced Monday it is suspending its classes in Florence and will begin holding classes remotely next week. The school encouraged students in off-campus housing in Italy 'to make alternative arrangements, such as returning home'. Tourists with protective masks pictured in Florence, Italy on Tuesday A medical tent pictured in front of the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence 'While we do not believe there is a pressing health threat to the NYU Florence community, the past month has taught us that countries may swiftly and unexpectedly make decisions that can significantly affect one's ability to travel,' NYU spokesman John Beckman said. The university already transitioned to online instruction at its program in Shanghai. Middlebury College, which has programs in three Italian cities - Ferrara, Florence, and Rome, moved one student from the Ferrara location in northern Italy farther South to Rome. Brown University is keeping its program in Bologna open, as is the American University in Rome and Johns Hopkins University's campus in Bologna. A total of 60 Americans now have coronavirus, but 45 of those cases are people held in quarantines after evacuation from Wuhan or the cruise, while only a small number were detected in the US after traveling to China The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend reconsidering travel to Italy, except in the cases of older people or people with chronic medical conditions. However, the CDC has warned against nonessential travel to China since January, a move that led a slew of university to cancel all university-sponsored travel and study abroad programs there. While the coronavirus only recently landed in Italy, in the US there are 60 reported cases of the virus as of Wednesday afternoon. Of those 60, 15 are cases related to travel or close contact to travelers in the US, according to US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Three cases come from Americans evacuated from Wuhan and 42 cases are evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Global cases have now surged past 81,000, with well more than 2,700 deaths - though the vast majority of fatalities have still occurred in China, where the outbreak began. CDC officials have warned Americans to prepare for the infection to spread, despite President Trump's reassurances that the virus is 'under control' in the US. Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in Zambia says it has seized the controversial newly-imported exotic car, Bugatti, which came into the country through the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on Monday Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The government is open to giving Dennis Uy's Dito Telecommunity elbow room to roll out mobile services as the novel coronavirus outbreak could delay shipments of steel and fiber cables for cell towers. Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan II told reporters on Wednesday that he is willing to accommodate Dito should the third major player find itself in force majeure, or a situation which is out of its control. "Siyempre bibigyan natin sila ng palugit, hindi tayo ganung ka-strikto [Of course we will give them some leevay, we are not that strict]," Honasan said after inspecting Dito's site in Quezon City. "The law, the regulations are not that rigid." Last week, Dito said it would only be pushing through with a "technical" rollout by July 8, 2020 a one-year deadline set by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) after the network secured the license to run a telco business in the Philippines. RELATED: Duterte: No corruption in selecting third telco player A technical audit meant getting checked by National Telecommunications Commission if it is on track to provide mobile network services to Filipinos. Commercial rollout or the distribution of SIM cards to subscribers would only start by March 2021, Dito said. The telecommunications company backed by businessman Dennis Uy with China Telecom must put up at least 1,600 towers in the next five months to meet the technical requirements. However, only 600 structures have been finished or are under construction at present. Network officials admitted that building the remaining 1,000 towers could be tricky as the novel coronavirus outbreak disrupted manufacturing and import shipments from China where it sources steel, as well as fiber optic cables. However, Dito Telecommunity Chief Administrative Officer Adel Tamano said further delaying the rollout of services would be their last resort. "Unless we have exhausted all possible alternatives, thats the only time we would even consider citing a force majeure situation," he said. Dito, once called the Mislatel consortium, paid a 25.7-billion performance bond to the government as it committed to provide internet service with a speed of 27 megabits per second to more than a third of the population on its first year of operation. The company earlier claimed it wants to corner 30 percent of mobile subscribers in the Philippines in its first three years. READ: Mislatel's committed service, coverage 'disappointing' expert Busting the duopoly of Smart and Globe has been a campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Honasan said the government can always forfeit the performance bond should Dito fail to deliver. RELATED: Honasan floats idea of PH gov't-run telco CNN Philippines Correspondent Sandra Zialcita contributed to this report. A Korean Air flight attendant diagnosed with the novel coronavirus may have spent time in Los Angeles last week. South Korea's Centre for Disease Control confirmed on Wednesday that a female flight attendant who serviced a February 15 flight from Tel Aviv to Seoul has tested positive for the virus. South Korean media outlets are reporting that the flight attendant also worked on two flights KE017 and KE012 which traveled to and from Los Angeles International Airport on February 19 and 20. Reports have not been confirmed by Korean Air. Passengers leave LAX after arriving from Shanghai, China, after a positive case of the coronavirus was confirmed in LA county on January 26. South Korean media outlets are reporting that a flight attendant with the virus may have visited Los Angeles last week Korean Air employees are seen at Los Angeles International Airport wearing masks to prevent the coronavirus infection. A flight attendant with the company has been diagnosed According to ABC7, the woman may have spent some time in Los Angeles before working on the return flight. Los Angeles County health officials confirmed that they are aware of the media reports and are awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control. If it is confirmed that the Korean Air flight attendant traveled to Los Angeles last week, the Los Angeles County health department said it will trace where the woman traveled and make that information public. Korean Air crew and airline passengers wearing face masks walk inside the international terminal at the San Francisco International Airport. The airline has been hit financially after a flight attendant who may have been on a US-bound flight was diagnosed with the coronavirus South Koreans tourists gather after returning from Israel at Incheon Airport. The flight attendant also traveled on a flight to Israel from which 30 other cases have been confirmed On the Tel Aviv flight, the attendant interacted with a church group. Thirty other infections have been linked to the group so far. Korean Air announced that it is closing its operations centre at Incheon Airport, the largest airport in South Korea located in the Seoul area, to disinfect the premises. The company, which has been hit hard financially by the spread of the virus, has released the measures it is taking to protect its passengers and employees. 'Korean Air flight attendants are recommended to wear masks and plastic gloves on all routes, and the airline is loading each flight with adequate equipment in preparation for any possible infection onboard: masks for passengers seated near suspicious patients and hazmat suits for flight attendants who may need to take care of onboard patients,' the airline states. 'Additionally, masks and hand sanitizers are prepared at airports and sales offices where employees provide face-to-face services. The airline will also provide sanitary items such as masks and hand sanitizers to domestic and global offices, including China, that are facing a huge mask shortage'. Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the new coronavirus at Korean Air's Incheon Operation Centre at Yeongjong Island, South Korea A South Korean health official sprays disinfectant in front of a building of Korean Air in Incheon on February 25, after a flight attendant with the airline was diagnosed with the virus A chartered Korean Air B747-400 with South Koreans from Wuhan brought back some 330 people from the Chinese city that has become the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. South Korea has now registered the second largest outbreak in the world South Korea has reported the largest outbreak of the coronavirus outside of China, as at least 40 countries have now confirmed a case. There have been more than 1,100 confirmed cases of the virus in South Korea and 11 fatalities. Confirmed cases include one U.S. soldier stationed there, the first U.S. service member to be infected. A U.S. military statement said Wednesday that the 23-year-old man is in self quarantine at his off-base residence. An American soldier stationed in South Korea has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first U.S. service member infected. Personnel are pictured at Camp Carroll About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. Camp Carroll is pictured The soldier was originally based in Camp Carroll in a town near the southeastern city of Daegu, where most of South Korea's virus cases are clustered. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. According to The Military Times, the infected soldier was at Camp Carroll between February 21 and 25, and visited neighboring Camp Walker this past Monday. The same day, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) revealed that a widow of a retired soldier, aged 61, had contracted the virus and had visited Camp Walker's Post Exchange on February 12 and 15, when she may have been contagious. The USFK is now conducting 'contract tracing' to see who else could have been exposed. South Korea has raised its national threat level to 'red alert', its highest level. An official disinfects a road near a state facility in Jincheon, South Korea, as the country raises its national threat level to 'red alert', its highest level, amid a rapid growth in the outbreak A worker from the Korea Pest Control Association sprays disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on February 25, 2020, as the outbreak worsens in the country The first case of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County was confirmed on January 26. The person had recently returned from Wuhan, the Chinese centre of the outbreak, and was a non-resident traveller. There are currently 24 people confirmed to have or have had the novel coronavirus in California, including one case of person-to-person transmission. The two people involved in the transmission were spouses, one who had recently traveled to China and one who had not. Only six of these cases were confirmed in the nation while the other cases involve people repatriated from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship in Japan or evacuated from China. Three people in the state who were diagnosed have since recovered. 'The California Department of Public Health is closely coordinating with the CDC and local partners to address novel coronavirus 2019, and we are prepared,' Dr. Sonia Angell, California Public Health Department Director and State Health Officer, said in a press release. 'The novel coronavirus is a serious public health concern, however the risk to the general public in California remains low'. San Francisco, however, declared a state of emergency this week despite having no confirmed cases. Coronavirus has now sickened more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700 - with almost 700 cases linked directly to the Diamond Princess So far, 57 cases have been confirmed in the United States - 14 in the nation, 40 from citizens repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and three evacuated from China There have been 57 US citizens confirmed to have the virus so far. Fourteen people were diagnosed in the nation while 40 people were citizens repatriated from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship in Japan. Three others were evacuated from China. The virus' toll worldwide continues to mount, even as Chinese officials reported a slowing in the number of new cases. As of Tuesday, the spread of the illness had sickened more than 81,000 people worldwide and caused over 2,700 deaths. The vast majority of those infections remain in China, where 518 new cases were reported Tuesday and another 71 deaths, 68 of them in the central city of Wuhan, where the epidemic was first detected in December. The updates bring mainland China's totals to 77,780 cases and 2,666 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. On Monday, the White House said Trump's administration is asking Congress for $2.5 billion to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus, including more than $1 billion for vaccines. The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment and protective equipment. But the request was immediately slammed by Democrats as insufficient with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling it 'completely inadequate' to the scale of the emergency. On Tuesday, CDC officials said it's no longer 'a question of if...but when' the coronavirus will spread in the US. Facing the ire of the Opposition over unfulfilled poll promise of giving free smartphones to the state youth, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday informed the Punjab Assembly that the distribution of mobile phones was delayed because of coronavirus. Winding up the discussion on the governor's address in the budget session, Singh said the phones would arrive and distributed as soon as the coronavirus outbreak in China is contained. China and countries around the world are scrambling to contain the spread of the epidemic, which first surfaced in Wuhan city in the Hubei province. "(Free) smartphones is one of our promises. At this point of time, there is some delay because of this coronavirus," Singh said. "Telephones are under order. As soon as coronavirus is lifted, goods will start coming from China." "Be it one month, two months or four months. Whenever coronavirus is lifted, they (smartphones) will arrive and then will be given," the chief minister said on the floor of the House. The Opposition SAD, BJP and the AAP have been vociferously criticising the ruling Congress for not allegedly honouring its major polls promises, including distribution of free smartphones. Last year, the chief minister had announced that the smartphones would be distributed by January 26. He had said that the mobile phones would be distributed among Class 11 and 12 girl students of government schools in the state. But on Republic Day, Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla had said the phones were expected to be distributed by March 31. Before coming to power in 2017, the Congress had announced in its election manifesto that in order to "encourage and incentivise" youth to use digital technology in day-to-day lives, it would distribute free smartphones. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VICTORIA - A hospice society in British Columbia is having its funding stopped because it will not comply with the province's policy on medical assistance in dying. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VICTORIA - A hospice society in British Columbia is having its funding stopped because it will not comply with the province's policy on medical assistance in dying. Health Minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that Fraser Health will halt funding to the Delta Hospice Society in 2021 after giving the organization a required one year's notice to end its service agreement without cause. The contract gives the hospice about $1.5 million annually, which covers 94 per cent of the cost to operate 10 beds at the Irene Thomas Hospice. Dix said "the crucial point" in the decision is that a patient's choice matters most. "It is not a decision for any organization to impose or influence on patients. Put simply, an individual has the right to receive medical assistance in dying where they reside in B.C.," he told a news conference. B.C. developed its policy after the federal government made it legal in 2016 for patients to get medical assistance in dying under certain circumstances. The provincial policy requires a hospice to allow patients to access medical assistance in dying if its beds are more than 50 per cent publicly funded. A representative for the board of the Delta Hospice Society could not be reached for comment. Liberal health critic Norm Letnick urged the government to work with the hospice society over the next year to find a solution to the issue. The facility is on land owned by Fraser Health and the health authority will ensure people continue to have access to its 10 beds, Dix said. In a statement, Dix said the province is "taking this action reluctantly" and a long-term solution is being explored for the hospice, which could include placing the Irene Thomas Hospice under public management. "Given the significant financial contributions Delta community members made to build the facility, this would be the most desirable option," he said. "Alternatively, we could pursue another Delta site. In either scenario, the 10 hospice beds represented by the existing facility will stay in Delta." Dix said patients make decisions about their medical care in consultation with their doctors and family, adding: "No organization can influence this decision or impose it. "I respect anyone's right to disagree, and no one has ever required hospice staff to deliver medical assistance in dying, but they must allow eligible residents who want the service to access it." The government says more than 3,000 people in B.C. have chosen medical assistance in dying in the past three years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25. 2020. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said funding for the hospice ended on Tuesday. Passengers at Milano Centrale train station in Milan, Italy, wear protective respiratory masks as restrictive measures are taken to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (PA) A doctor for the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised people not to get too close to each other in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Dr David Nabarro said there should be more social distancing as the disease, officially known as Covid-19, continued to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic. The WHO coronavirus response envoy told BBC Radio 4: The most important thing we are realising is its really infectious but its infectious if you are close up with people. So social distancing, learning to actually not have to be very close with each other, is really important. Dr David Nabarro has advised people not to get too close to each other, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. (PA) The infection continues to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic. (PA) As of Wednesday, a total of 7,132 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK. Of these, 13 have tested positive, eight of whom have since been discharged from hospital. Some schools in the country have closed while others have sent pupils home for fear they may have been exposed to coronavirus during ski trips to northern Italy. In Italy, the number of people infected grew 45% in 24 hours to 322, and deaths of patients with the virus rose to 11. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. The first positive test in South America has been recorded after a 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy tested positive, it has been reported. Read more: UK schools close as coronavirus panic spreads across Europe Dr Nabarro said face masks were not effective in protecting against the virus. He told LBC: "People misunderstand the face mask. They think it is about protecting themselves, but it's actually about protecting others if you are producing a lot of respiratory droplets. He added: "People tend to touch them a lot, and if you touch your face mask when it's wet, then whatever respiratory bugs you've coughed out will go on to your hands and then you'll put it on other surfaces. "So generally no, it's not necessary to wear a face mask." Story continues Read more: In numbers: How coronavirus has spread around the world Staff assigned for coronavirus tests at the Molinette hospital in Italy. (PA) Health secretary Matt Hancock said official advice has been changed to say people who have been to anywhere in Italy north of Pisa should self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms on their return to the UK. He told MPs on Wednesday: We have a clear, four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate. Hancock said guidance has been published in recent days for schools, employers, first responders, social care and the travel industry. He said: If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited. There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education. In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice. Hancock said it is important not to overreact in response to Covid-19 and that there is no clinical benefit to using thermal imaging at airports to screen passengers. Overreaction has its costs too, economic and social, he said, and so we have to keep the public safe but we also need to act in a way thats proportionate. Public Health England announced that flu patients will now be assessed for coronavirus to see if it is spreading. The total number of cases of coronavirus in China is around 77,150, while the death toll is approximately 2,592. Outside mainland China, the outbreak has spread to some 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of around two dozen. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- So much for sequins and ostrich feathers and three-story floats. The attention-grabbing accessories for this years Brazilian carnival were balaclavas, side arms and a backhoe gone wild. The premier parade ground was Ceara, a populous northeastern state where rebel police demanded budget-busting wage increases on pain of a walkout, even as tens of thousands of revelers hit the unguarded streets. Hometown lawmaker Senator Cid Gomes was having none of it and charged at the mutineers atop a backhoe, only to be shot twice by a masked protester. Gomes is in a hospital and reportedly in stable condition. Not so Brazil where, unlike the finite pre-Lenten merriment, the fiscal carnival is the fiesta that never ends. Spending beyond ones means and passing on the bill to everyone else is as Brazilian as samba. Thankfully, not all such demands end in violence. Yet the Ceara cops and their brethren in other states are in the vanguard of a long line of government paid grievants, whose demands roil the public peace and hold authorities to ransom. Brazilian security forces, including military police, the investigative civil police and prison guards, staged 715 strikes from 1997 to 2017. Police in at least 10 other states are pressuring for bigger paychecks. Its no coincidence that the strikes flare up during the carnival break, when millions of merrymakers hit the streets and as many others flock to holiday getaways. The crowds are a magnet for crime and mayhem. Hence the opportunity cost for mayors and governors counting on toughing out a security strike and the temptation of caving to the rabble even if it means kiting a check. Cops are just part of the problem. No less than 60% of Brazils 5,570 municipalities rely on revenue transfers from the federal government. The National Confederation of Municipalities found in a survey that 69 townships in a sample of 733 declared financial calamity in 2019, essentially admitting to municipal bankruptcy. Another 229 municipalities nearly a third of the total surveyed say they could join the rolls of the penurious this year. Story continues State governments are equally bereft. About half (13) of Brazils 27 states earned a C rating on the Brazilian Treasurys descending solvency scale from A to D, meaning they blew their legal spending limits. C-rated states and towns are ineligible for loans. Brazil has passed several measures over the past decades to curb such wanton accounting, including the heralded 2000 Fiscal Responsibility Law. Governors and mayors are bound to spend no more than 60% of their revenues on personnel. The subsequent fiscal recovery plan in 2017 accredited governments in the red for bailouts and debt restructuring, but only if they committed to contain spending, cut the pension bill through reform and privatized publicly owned companies. Nonetheless, most of those efforts fell short. Fueling the emergency is the ever burgeoning bureaucracy: The number of municipal civil servants rose nearly 53% between 2004 and 2018, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Personnel absorb 61% of state and local government revenues, often forcing governors and mayors to shortchange investments. No wonder Brazils subnational governments spend well above the average of their wealthier counterparts in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Bottomless political appetites are only partly to blame. A far more daunting challenge is Brazils profligate constitution, written by idealists who pledged to pay down the countrys woeful social debt by locking in budget commitments to health, welfare, pensions and generous salaries. The resulting budgetary straitjacket left administrators with Hobsons choice: Slash payroll and risk violating the constitution or keep bloating personnel costs, which hoover up 61% of state and local government revenues, and shortchange public investments. Bad management has aggravated the problem. The biggest states are also some of the biggest offenders. Just six states with more than 40% of the national population and nearly two-thirds (62.8%) of gross domestic product owed R$630 billion (around $130 billion) by 2017, according to a recent study by the University of Torontos Global Economic Policy Lab. Because the federal government and state-owned banks held most of that debt, a default could rip through the economy, threatening national solvency. The nations two biggest regional economies, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, are among the countrys greatest credit risks, with total indebtedness topping 200% of net revenues. Pensions for security forces add disproportionately to the bill. At the national level, armed forces retirees represent 31% of federal employees, but nearly half of all federal government public sector pension spending. Subnational governments carry an even heavier burden, with 14 of 27 states spending more on retired police and firefighters than they do on those on active duty. One of the most onerous cases is Minas Gerais, where Governor Romeu Zema agreed to a 41.7% pay raise for security forces rather than risk a crime spike during carnival. Crowd-surfing state lawmakers quickly extended the indulgence to other public employees. Yet Minas Gerais, Brazils third largest state economy, is deeply in debt and so bound by the federal bailout pact to forego salary increases. Few politicians have worked to fatten Brazils thin blue line more than President Jair Bolsonaro. Before staking his presidential run on a promise of downsizing the bureaucracy alongside market-friendly economy minister Paulo Guedes, the former army captain and lawmaker had built his 28-year record in congress on lobbying for the men and women in uniform. His acolytes strongly encouraged a 2017 police strike in Espirito Santo state; the homicide rate exploded as beat police folded their arms. Bolsonaro also convinced Guedes to exempt the armed forces from last years pension reform, opening the door to a far more generous plan later in the year. Each state will have to thrash out its own pension plan for police and firefighters, who have shown their valor at the picket lines. The barracks rebellion in Espirito Santo led the Supreme Court to declare walkouts by security forces unconstitutional, so ending years of legal equivocation favoring rogue cops. Nonetheless, state and local governors facing crime spikes continue to look the other way when police strike or even indulge them by granting amnesties to sanctioned cops. Last week, Brasilia dispatched regular army troops to Ceara to keep the peace. Tellingly, however, no one in Bolsonaros inner circle condemned the police revolt, although Bolsonaro quipped that Gomes didnt have a license to operate a backhoe. Justice minister Sergio Moro declared on Monday that despite the spike in homicides since the strike, he saw no evidence of absolute disorder in the streets. The joke may have been lost on the state of 9.1 million, as homicides surged during the police walkout. Government bean counters were also likely not amused. The National Treasury has no legal obligation to rescue profligate regional governments. Fiscal hawks also warn that bailing out slackers only encourages more slacking. The reality is more complicated. Politically, its just not viable to allow a meltdown in states and municipalities, many of which are strapped with structural difficulties such as loss-making payrolls, pension obligations and social benefits, or calamities like the mine collapse in Minas Gerais said Adriana Dupita, of Bloomberg Economics, referring to the 2019 dam breach which took more than 250 lives. With national governments finances already distressed and the world economy weakening as China slows down, Brazil is in a difficult place, Monica de Bolle, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told me. If deeply indebted states like Minas Gerais or others go bankrupt, that can actually provoke a domestic crisis. Brazil has seen that before. Its still a ticking time bomb. Policy overhauls now in the pipeline rewriting the regressive tax code, privatization and remaking state pensions could offer relief to states and towns skirting insolvency. Fortunately, the customarily reactive Brazilian legislature has shown some reformist mettle. Yet these initiatives will languish without backing at the top. With Bolsonaro apparently more committed to dishing out partisan zeal than parsimony, the prospects for salutary reforms look uncertain. In fairness, no one government laid this trap. The Brazilian left had its go last decade when creative accounting by the Workers Party helped trigger a record recession from which Latin Americas biggest economy is still reeling. Now comes a right-wing president who winks at fiscal folly when he doesnt outright encourage it, from governors palaces to police headquarters. It may not be the sort of threat to democracy thats kept Brazilians in a lather ever since Bolsonaro took charge in Brasilia. But its one the country can no longer afford to ignore. To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at mmargolis14@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Matthew Amici, 52, of Havertown, moved out of One Ardmore apartments in December after he and his wife experienced what they say are mold-related symptoms. Aimco, the company that owns the building, said its inspections show no problems. Read more Just getting the One Ardmore apartments built was an epic struggle that spanned more than a decade. Lower Merion traditionalists called the building architecturally overwhelming. Neighbors fought the states $10.5 million grant all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and lost. Finally, last spring, the $58 million, 110-unit luxury apartment building opened in downtown Ardmore, just off Lancaster Avenue. Built by Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff, it has been heralded as a catalyst for Main Line revitalization that could draw new businesses and development. It has vision, former Gov. Ed Rendell said at the April 2019 ribbon cutting, which was also attended by Gov. Tom Wolf and local officials. But One Ardmore, where the monthly rent exceeds $3,000, is now facing yet another unforeseen hurdle: complaints about mold and poor air quality that a handful of residents say has sickened them and, in some cases, forced them to leave. The allegations have triggered extended debates on Facebook and the Nextdoor app. The company that owns the building calls the negative posts misinformation based on unfounded and unscientific claims. When Hannah Wood, a 24-year-old massage therapist, moved into the building last May with her fiance, it was like the perfect setup, she said. They were among the first tenants of the apartments, built just five minutes from her workplace. But Wood soon started suffering from unusually bad allergies. She had a runny nose for months. When she went into the bedroom, shed get asthma attacks. Her doctor prescribed a steroid inhaler. A week before Christmas, the couple left the building. I couldnt live there, she said. We didnt want to move. Upon completion last April, One Ardmore became the property of Apartment Investment & Management Co. (Aimco), a Denver-based company that had also acquired other Dranoff properties in Philadelphia. In a Jan. 29 letter to residents and subsequent interviews with The Inquirer, Aimco officials have insisted that there is no mold in the building. Inspections by two outside consultants did not detect any excess moisture or other problems that would make mold grow. We have found no issues in any of the apartments, said Peter Cappel, Aimcos vice president of environmental health and safety. He said corridors and other common areas in the 282,000-square-foot building have also been inspected. I dont think its a legitimate concern, Cappel said of the mold complaints. I think weve ruled that out. Im confident its a nonissue. Video taken inside the building last month showed water pouring down from the roof onto a stairwell. Cappel said that it was a leak due to heavy rain, and that the water was only coming into contact with metal and other materials that wouldnt support mold growth. The concerns about potentially moldy air at One Ardmore became public in January, when former resident Matthew Amici wrote on Facebook and other social media platforms that soon after moving there with his wife in August, he began experiencing headaches, rashes, and respiratory problems. He said his doctor suggested he test their apartment for mold, and a mold consultant he hired determined that the structure was uninhabitable. We said, OK. We got to get the hell out of here, said Amici, 52, a sales consultant. They moved out on New Years Eve. Matthew Solomon, an attorney representing Amici, said he is aware of five other current or former residents who have complained of symptoms that could be due to mold or some type of exposure to something in the building. The tests they ordered have shown varying levels of mold, he said. Its not being addressed properly, and its a problem, Solomon said. If there is mold in the building and its allowed to grow and is not properly remediated, its going to get worse. But testing for mold can be tricky. Lance Eisen, chief operating officer of the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors, said certain testing methods are sometimes selected based on the clients desired outcome. It depends on what youre trying to show, Eisen said. Or not show. The firm that Amici hired used the ultrasensitive Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI), which is a research tool developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is not recommended for residential testing. Cristina Schulingkamp, an environmental engineer and indoor-air expert at the EPAs Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, said the ERMI test will almost always pick up mold spores because they are present in both indoor and outdoor air. EMRI only indicates the presence of mold spores, and not necessarily that there is a mold problem, she said. Schulingkamp said a visual inspection is usually the quickest way to locate the cause of a mold problem. But she and other experts acknowledge that those inspections are not always definitive and could also fail to detect mold. Michael Menz, one of the consultants hired by Aimco to inspect the building, said his firm performed visual inspections and used a moisture meter and infrared camera, finding nothing abnormal. Everything was fine, he said. Aimcos consultants did not analyze any air or surface for mold, Cappel said. Two other residents interviewed by The Inquirer including one who said he is highly allergic to mold and lives near Amicis former unit said they had experienced no health issues. Dranoff, whose firm developed the property, did not respond to a request for comment. Amici and Wood said they are considering their legal options. For leaving their apartments early, Aimco demanded payment of thousands of dollars in fees. They have basically been telling the other tenants that were conspiracy theorists, Wood said. Amici said follow-up tests showed high levels of mold in his blood. He said hes still experiencing respiratory and sinus problems, as well as fatigue and anxiety, which he believes were caused by mold exposure. Were not looking to say anyone is a liar or anything, but its peoples health, said Solomon, his attorney. If a tenant comes to you with what clearly is a sickness, dont send them a $17,000 early termination fee. This is a publicly traded corporation, and theyre really not treating these residents properly. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Aimco described the complaints as a landlord-tenant issue that is currently in litigation. Aimco takes any claims of mold very seriously and each resident signs a lease addendum requiring them to contact us immediately if they suspect any problems, the statement said. Even though required by their lease, the residents in question never made a complaint to our property management team about mold or any other air quality concerns; they informed us of their concerns only following false claims online and discredited testing using a methodology not approved by the EPA. Eisen, of the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors, said the fact that One Ardmore, with its fresh brick facade and young vines winding up the side, is less than a year old doesnt mean that its immune from air-quality issues. Mold can grow in a matter of days, he said. Nor is he surprised that Aimco and the former residents have hired consultants that reached opposite conclusions, given the lack of licensing requirements for mold assessment and remediation. It depends on the brush youre using and what kind of picture youre painting, Eisen said of mold testing. Its a very deep rabbit hole. Dr. Mark Kline, who founded an international pediatric HIV/AIDS program credited with saving tens of thousands of lives, has abruptly stepped down from leadership posts at that organization and two elite Houston medical institutions. Texas Childrens and Baylor College of Medicine Wednesday jointly announced the departures, which come less than a year after the hospital nominated Kline for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, the worlds largest provider of HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Kline was president of the initiative. He also resigned as physician-in-chief at Texas Childrens and chairman of the department of pediatrics at Baylor, according to a Texas Childrens news release and an email to the Baylor community from school President Dr. Paul Klotman. The documents gave no reason for the resignations and Kline could not be reached for comment. Neither document thanked Kline for his nearly 30 years of service at the two institutions nor for his work with the pediatric AIDS initiative, known as BIPAI. Kline had held the two Houston positions since 2009, when he was selected to succeed the late Ralph Feigin, whod died of lung cancer the previous year. Kline was only the third physician-in-chief in Texas Childrens 65-year history and the third pediatrics chairman in the Baylor departments 72-year history. Kline remains on the Baylor faculty, said a spokesperson, but is no longer affiliated with Texas Childrens or the pediatric AIDS initiative. As of early Wednesday, his name had been removed from the leadership listings of any of the three institutions websites. His role with BIPAI, a Peace Corps-like program that dramatically scaled up pediatric HIV/AIDS care in Romania and Africa at a time when few organizations were mentioning children, made Kline an internationally revered figure. For his contributions to pediatrics and global health, for instance, then-Houston Mayor Annise Parker proclaimed Oct. 18, 2013, as Dr. Mark W. Kline Day. On HoustonChronicle.com: Baylor pediatric AIDS program turns 20 The initiative began as Klines scribbled notes on a legal pad, written on a flight back from Romania more than 20 years ago. The sight there of hospital wards filled with tiny, skeletal, dying children haunted him. Over the years, the program would grow, from an initial foray into Romania into a program that treated more than 300,000 patients in 11 countries, most in Africa, then ground zero for the epidemic. The program has saved thousands of pediatric AIDS victims on the brink of death, prevented HIV from progressing to AIDS in many more and trained more than 90,000 health care workers to continue the work. It also provided a model of how to tackle other conditions in the developing world such as tuberculosis, malaria, sickle cell and malnutrition, all of which the initiative now treats and led Baylor and Texas Childrens to launch a BIPAI-like initiative in 2017 to fight cancer in Africa. Last fall, BIPAI celebrated its 20th anniversary. Kline was the man of the hour at the events. The institutes board of directors will meet soon about future leadership plans for the initiative, said a spokesperson. Mike Mizwa, BIPAIs chief operating officer, will continue to run the initiatives day-to-day operations. The Houston institutions named Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief at Texas Childrens, as the hospitals interim physician-in-chief. And Dr. Gordon Schutze, a Baylor pediatrics professor in retrovirology, was named the medical colleges interim chairman of the pediatrics department. I have the utmost confidence in Dr. Versalovic and Dr. Schutzes leadership during this period of transition and am proud of the world-class care Texas Childrens Hospital will continue to provide, Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Childrens, said in the news release. A national search will be launched for Klines successor at Baylor and Texas Childrens. For the non-interim jobs, one person holds both positions. During Klines tenure, Baylor pediatrics more than doubled in size to more than 1,300 faculty members, the most of any U.S. medical school. The editor-in-chief of Rudolphs Pediatrics, one of the fields most recognized textbooks, Kline has authored more than 250 scientific articles and textbook chapters and received more than $150 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kline graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1981 and did his pediatric residency training, chief residency and a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Baylor and Texas Childrens Hospital, before joining the Houston colleges faculty in 1987. The resignation marks the second departure of a renowned Baylor-Texas Childrens doctor in the last two years. Dr. Charles Fraser, one of the nations pre-eminent pediatric heart surgeons, stepped down as Texas Childrens chief of surgery in January 2018, before surfacing a few months later as chief of surgery as Dell Childrens Medical Center in Austin. That move was also considered shocking. todd.ackerman@chron.com Fianna Fail and the Green Party will start substantial policy talks today as efforts continue to form a government. Fine Gael's parliamentary party will meet to discuss its options after Leo Varadkar's meeting with Micheal Martin yesterday. Following the meeting, Mr Martin indicated that Read More: Rural Independents, including Mattie McGrath and the Healy Rae brothers, are also meet Fianna Fail later today. Yesterday, a Read More: Last night Sinn Fein held its second public rally in Dublin with more than 500 people attending the packed out Liberty Hall. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticised the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail for refusing to meet them for government formation talks. She said: Sinn Fein wants real change and I know all of you here want real change. For the first time ever, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael did not win a majority of votes that represents a seismic change. They are trying everything to keep Sinn Fein and everyone who voted for them out of power. That is a very deliberate tactic. It may be a Valley under siege, its leaders locked up, its people subsumed under an uneasy peace, but somehow Kashmirs startling beauty still manages to make its presence felt, in the most unlikely ways. Witness the headline-making anarkali worn by Ivanka Trump to the reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday night. Created by one of Indias most celebrated fashion designers Rohit Bal for his 2018 Guldastah line, it featured the maestros famous floral embroideries and is a paean to the beauty of his birthplace Kashmir. Bal hails from a Punjabi clan, with its roots in Lahore, which had lived in Srinagar for many generations, and his sensibilities have been informed by this. Which explains why on Tuesday, even as his outfit was making headlines as the president of Americas daughter sashayed gracefully in it, Bal appeared stoic, in his moment of triumph, refusing to cash in on it like many of his peers would. For a couple of months, his team had worked closely with Ivankas team and he had been consulted throughout the procedure right up to what hairstyle would best suit the outfit; from the original 15 or so outfits which they had liked from his repertoire, Bal informs that the final lot had been pared down to three. It was a very pleasant experience he said, when we spoke yesterday. There was a minimum of fuss, lots of civility and they had insisted on paying full price for everything, he said, adding Whats best is that there were no real alterations required, as Ivankas measurements matched our own exactly. So why has he not made a song and dance about his success? I am pleased and happy of course, he said, when we spoke yesterday, But with so much going on in the Capital, so many lives lost, I dont feel the time is right. Moving Store Shes been one of Mumbais most influential interior designers, someone whose distinctive style of combining traditional Indian art and antiquities with an international contemporary sensibility has more or less defined the drawing room aesthetic of the city; and now with the recent moving of her eponymous store from Gamdevi to what has come to be the citys hub for interiors, the Raghuvanshi Mills complex, it appears that Kavita Singh is only going from strength to strength. Kavita Singh The new place houses art, furniture and striking standalone statement pieces, she said, when we spoke yesterday about the 2,000-sqft space, which she says has already begun to see regular footfall since it opened its doors a few weeks ago. And, along with walk-ins by the general public, it will also make it easier for my clients to choose their own pieces once their homes are ready, says the workaholic, who amongst other assignments, is currently designing the interiors of the five-storey residence of the family behind the iconic Amrapali jewellery brand in Jaipur. Incidentally, she informs of another happy offshoot of her recent move: Her earlier premises have been handed over to her daughter, the environmentalist and animal lover Nandini Singh, who will be using it to extend her NGO initiatives. It will be a kind of Oxfam, where NGOs can showcase their products for sales and people can donate what they do not need for the needy, Singh informed. Tweet Talk I am sorry to say but I am told now that he may not even be my brother. But son of someone else. Its sad that #Samirmodi not who I thought who is. Lalit Modi, commenting about the crisis in his family following the death of his father KK Modi The Singing Swami This weekend when a well-heeled group of Mumbaiites visiting an ashram ran into Radhanath Swami, the Mumbai-based Bhakti yoga practitioner and member of the Governing Body Commission in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), they were charmed to learn that the 70-year-old progeny of Jewish immigrants to Chicago, who had spent a good part of his youth as part of Americas hippy counter culture, had not forgotten his roots completely. Radhanath Swami (Suresh Bhojwani) May I take a picture of you? a SoBo industrialist had respectfully asked the swami, and on being given the go-ahead had poised his camera on the spiritual leader, instructing him to smile. I was feeling light-hearted and relaxed, so just like that, I followed it up by crooning the first line of the iconic Nat King Cole hit of the 1950s, whose music had been composed by Charlie Chaplin. I sang Smile, though your heart is achingsaid the industrialist. And sure enough, we are informed that his tune had brought a beatific smile on the swamis face, but that wasnt all. Without missing a beat, the holy man is said to have sung back the songs following line: Smile, even though its breaking And by the end, the duo had sung through the entire song, in perfect key together. He told me that he used to hear his father sing it in his youth, said the delighted industrialist, adding, Who would have thought that this deeply spiritual man, clad in saffron robes, his head tonsured in the monks tradition, could do that? Nonfiction March 1 Peace in the Storms of Life: Devotional Encouragement for Women by Julie Rayburn (Barbour, $12.99, ISBN 978-1-64352-321-7). Christian speaker Rayburn provides 125 devotional readings to challenge readers to investigate Gods words in order to find strength and peace during hard times. The Biblical Hero: Portraits in Nobility and Fallibility by Elliott Rabin (Jewish Publication Society, $29.95 paper, ISBN 978-0-8276-1324-9). Rabin, editor of HaYidion, a publication for Jewish day schools, addresses core biblical questions, such as, What does the Bible say about what it means to be a hero? and Why do people need heroes? March 2 Crossing the Lines We Draw: Faithful Responses to a Polarized America by Matthew Tennant (Judson, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8170-1812-2). Primarily addressing ministers, pastor and scholar Tennant provides insights gleaned from scripture to inspire dialogue within congregations and in communities. March 3 Enough About Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self by Jen Oshman (Crossway, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-4335-6599-1). Oshman, coplanter of Redemption Parker, an Acts29 church in Colorado, asks Christian women to look away from self-improvement in their search for life and joy, and instead provides a path that leads back to Jesus. No Such Thing as Cant: A Triumphant Story of Faith and Perseverance by Lisa and Tyler Sexton (Focus on the Family, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-58997-973-4). Tyler Sexton, a physician with cerebral palsy, shares his story of becoming a role model for others facing adversity, and discusses how his faith and training have led him to work with children. Longing for an Absent God: Faith and Doubt in Great American Fiction by Nick Ripatrazone (Fortress, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-5195-4). Ripatrazone, culture editor for Image Journal, explores the writings of devout American Catholic writers in the years before the Second Vatican Council, including Andre Dubus, Flannery OConnor, and Walker Percy. Mahabharata: The Greatest Spiritual Epic of All Time by Krishna Dharma (Mandala, $34.99, ISBN 978-1-68383-920-0). Hindu priest Krishna Dharma introduces and translates the Sanskrit epic The Mahabharata for a modern audience. On Marriage by Timothy and Kathy Keller (Penguin, $10 paper, ISBN 978-0-14-313536-4). The Kellers, who have been married for 45 years and cofounded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, consider the spiritual meaning of marriage. March 10 Seasons of Moon and Flame: The Wild Dreamers Epic Journey of Becoming by Danielle Dulsky (New World Library, $17.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-60868-642-1). Witchcraft practitioner Dulsky seeks to help readers return to the Earth as a respite from work and technology-driven lives, and shares information on a number of rituals and ceremonies. The Knights of Columbus: An Illustrated History by Andrew T. and Maureen H. Walther (Square One, $34.95, ISBN 978-0-7570-0308-0) explores the 1882 founding of the Catholic organization in New Haven and how it has grown to nearly two million members across the world. Ancient Roman Afterlife: Di Manes, Belief, and the Cult of the Dead by Charles King (Univ. of Texas, $55, ISBN 978-1-4773-2020-4). King, professor of history at the University of NebraskaOmaha, details Roman beliefs about the power of the Manes (deified deceased members of ones family) to sustain life and bring death, and explains the rituals the Romans performed. March 17 Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage, Activism, and Hope Across Religions, edited by Daine Faires Beadle and Jamie Lynn Haskins (Chalice, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8272-0089-0). In 30 first-person stories from eight different faith traditions, contributors share how faith has inspired courageous acts of justice and love. Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalists Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest by Ally Sands (Page Street, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-64567-003-2). Herbalist Sands teaches readers how to practice self-love with herbs that can tap into love, healing, protection, and prosperity. Drinking with Your Patron Saints: A Sinners Guide to Who They Were and What to Drink in Their Honor by Michael P. Foley (Regnery History, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-68451-047-4). Foley follows up Drinking with Saint Nick to provide cocktails and stories in honor of different patron saints, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Boniface, St. Florian, St. Jude, and St. Patrick. Guiding the Next Great Generation: Rethinking How Teens Become Confident and Capable Adults by Jonathan Catherman (Revell, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3657-6). Catherman looks to guide adult Christians on how to instruct 21st-century youth on becoming confident and capable adults. March 20 Teachings for an Unbelieving World: Newly Discovered Reflections on Pauls Sermon at the Areopagus by St. John Paul II (Ave Maria, $20, ISBN 978-1-59471-985-1) is a newly discovered work written by Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow just after Vatican II, before he became pope, concerning faith in a culture of skepticism and unbelief. March 24 Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us About Freedom by Kelley Nikondeha (Eerdmans, $17.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-6429-1). Nikondeha, codirector of the Communities of Hope community development enterprise in Burundi, considers the women of the Old Testament, including the mothers of Moses, Miriam, and Zipporah, and connects their struggle against the oppressive regime of the Pharaoh with injustices in modern times. March 25 American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God & Public Lands in the West by Betsy Gaines Quammen (Torrey House, $18.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-948814-14-0). Historian Quammen tells the story of the Bundy family, who are famed for their armed conflicts in the West dating back to the very first Mormons who fled the Midwest for the Great Basin. Fiction March 1 Colonial Fort Brides: 4 Stories of Love on the Edge of the Frontier by Kimberley Woodhouse et al. (Barbour, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-64352-311-8). In these four novellas, brave women play pivotal roles at Colonial forts. March 3 The Crows Call (Amish Greehouse Mystery) by Wanda E. Brunstetter (Shiloh Run, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-64352-021-6). In an Amish town in Pennsylvania, Vernon King, his son, and son-in-law die in an accident, leaving three women to cope with their deaths and become the sole providers of the family they have left. March 17 Time of Jacobs Trouble by Donna Vanliere (Harvest House, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7369-7875-0). Physical therapist Emma Grady is going through a normal day when her favorite patient vanishes in front of her. Wondering if this is the predicted end-times, she begins a desperate search for answers. March 31 Starfish Pier: A Hope Harbor Novel by Irene Hannon (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3614-9). Ex-Delta Force operator Steven Roark and first-grade teacher Holly Miller form an unlikely relationship based on arguments over a public monument in their coastal town. China has most of the apparatus of the totalitarian societies described in Orwells book. China uses facial recognition software and ubiquitous digital surveillance to keep track of its citizens. The internet is censored and monitored. Real-life thought police will arrest you for expressing opinions opposed to the government or its policies. Millions of Chinese have been arrested and sent to reeducation camps for brainwashing (the lucky ones) or involuntary organ removal without anesthetic (the unlucky ones who die in excruciating pain and are swiftly cremated as a result). While these atrocities are not going to happen in the U.S. or what passes for the West these days, the less extreme aspects of Chinas surveillance state could well be. And while you might not be arrested for expressing unpopular opinions or challenging prevailing dogmas (at least not yet), you could face other sanctions. You could even lose your job and find it nearly impossible to find another. You can certainly be banned from social media Anything seems to go on social media (primarily Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and a few other platforms) unless youre a conservative personality or politico. Thats where the censorship begins. Many conservative social media participants have had their accounts closed or suspended, not for threats or vulgarity but for criticism of progressive views (albeit criticism with some sharp edges). Meanwhile, those with progressive views can say almost anything on social media, including the implicit endorsement of violence. But nothing happens. Other conservatives report being the targets of shadow banning. Thats where your account is open and seems to operate normally, but unbeknownst to you, much of the network is being blocked from seeing your posts and popular features such as likes and retweets are being truncated and not distributed. Its like being a pro athlete who finds out the stadium is empty and no tickets are being sold. Thats bad enough. But Twitter took the war on conservatives a step further. Well, one of the most widely followed accounts on Twitter is none other than Donald J. Trumps, with 68 million followers. President Trump uses Twitter to announce policy initiatives and personnel changes and to offer pointed criticism of political opponents. Its a major platform for him. Last month Trump issued a tweet that identified the so-called whistleblower of the Ukraine phone call that led to his impeachment. Thats not as big a deal as it sounds because everyone in Washington knew who the whistleblower was (you can look his name up on the web), and he wasnt even a real whistleblower because he didnt meet statutory requirements. Still, Twitter blocked Trumps tweet. Twitter blamed a temporary system outage, but that claim was highly suspicious. Later, Trumps tweet was restored, but the original account that Trump linked to had been deleted. No one ever said that politics was fair. But Twitters blatant interference in the election could have adverse consequences for the company in Trumps second term. And a few social media companies are now de facto censors, taking over the job from the government. Given their massive media footprint, they wield extraordinary influence over the American public. Theyre in essence becoming propaganda outfits. Its not just here of course. Canada, for example, is actively pursuing digital surveillance to track the activities of law-abiding citizens. A report for the Bank of Canada says that financial information gathered from digital transaction records could be used for sharing information with police and tax authorities. If all transactions are digital (including credit and debit cards), authorities can track your whereabouts, buying habits, restaurant choices and much more. They could also reveal your political orientation and personal associations. Its not difficult to imagine the police and tax authorities using that power to make life extremely difficult for those who criticize the government or sacred ideologies like climate change. If you think that sounds extreme, some have actually advocated jailing climate change deniers. Do you think Im making that up? Well, the executive director of an outfit called Climate Hawks Vote said Put officials who reject science in jail. The Nation also ran an article called, Climate Denialism Is Literally Killing Us: The victims of Hurricane Harvey have a murderer and its not the storm. How long, its author asked, before we hold the ultimate authors of such climate catastrophes accountable for the miseries they inflict? And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Koch brothers should be in jail, with all the other war criminals. Well, David Koch has since died, so hell escape Kennedys justice. But their war crimes consisted of funding organizations that question the climate change alarmism the media is constantly feeding us. But guess what? Theres plenty of hard scientific evidence that refutes the alarmist view. This article isnt the venue to get into it, but the scientific case against climate alarmism is much stronger than the case for it. But if you dissent against the official view, todays tech censors will silence or marginalize you, no matter how valid your point. The problem is, the trend is moving very quickly in this direction and its difficult to stop. And sophisticated surveillance technology to monitor citizens is already in place For example, cameras with the latest surveillance technology can spot and match millions of faces in real time with an accuracy rate of over 99%. Theyre touted as anti-terrorism and anti-crime tools, which they certainly are. But as Stalins ruthless secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria said, Show me the man and Ill show you the crime. Its easy to see that power being abused to target everyday citizens. (By the way, Beria would ultimately prove his own point, as he was later arrested and executed for treason). And actually, many people welcome intrusive surveillance technology on the grounds of convenience. As an example, look at microchipping, where people are injected with a small microchips beneath their skin. Microchipping has been associated with an Orwellian nightmare in which Big Brother constantly monitors your every move. Well, over 4,000 Swedes have already happily volunteered to have it done. In addition to account information that negates the need to carry cash or credit cards to pay for goods, these chips can contain personal information. Its all happened fairly quickly. Just a few years ago, the very idea of it would have sent chills down the spines of most people. But thats how fast Big Brother can go from nightmare to reality, and appear benign or even beneficial. Big Brothers on full display in China right now, but he could be on his way here before too long. By Trend Azerbaijan seeks to reduce energy consumption, vice president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences, candidate of technical sciences, associated professor of Russias Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation Arseniy Mitko told Trend. Mitko noted that the conditional fuel savings in the electric power industry in Azerbaijan in 2007-2012 amounted to about 1.7 million tons per year (thermal power plants mainly use natural gas in the amount of about 5 billion cubic meters per year, generation losses are estimated at 1 percent of the total power generation). As a result, by 2012, on average, 131.8 tons of conditional fuel were spent on production of 1 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is 12 percent less than in 2009, the professor added. It is assumed that in the future, electricity generation will expand through the commissioning of renewable energy facilities, and electricity production may grow by 2.6 billion kilowatt hours per year. Thus, renewable energy power plants will allow additionally saving up to 1 million tons of conditional fuel of primary energy per year. Mitko noted that Azerbaijans long-term goal until 2030 is to achieve a 30 percent share of renewable energy in the expenditure part of the energy balance and a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the level of 1990. Mitko emphasized that the EU provides financial assistance to Azerbaijan to implement the set targets. The professor reminded that in 2004 Azerbaijan adopted a state program for the development of alternative energy, in 2009 the corresponding agency was created under the Ministry of Industry and Energy, which in June 2012 was transformed into an independent state company called the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. The scope of this organizations responsibilities includes resolving issues related to the development of projects, the purchase of equipment, construction of renewable energy facilities, the operation of energy equipment and the development of the infrastructure necessary to expand the use of renewable energy sources, Mitko said. Azerbaijans national energy system has significant energy saving potential in the transportation sector, the professor noted. At the end of 2011, network losses (over power lines) amounted to 4.59 percent of the total volume of transported electricity (4.7 percent in 2010), in power distribution networks this indicator was much higher - about 16 percent. The Azerbaijani government of the country assumes that further measures taken will allow expanding the export of electricity to 8-10 billion kilowatt hours per year. In the modern era of innovation, the industrial system of the format of the 19th-20th centuries begins to be replaced by new principles of the socio-technological organization of society, and Azerbaijan is trying to comply with these principles. Mitko believes that the vector of transformations, affecting all aspects of human life, is aimed at the post-industrial management system and the integrated economic system of a multilayered economy (combining private initiative and business activity, strategically innovative function of the state and social orientation of the economy). The process of forming a multilayered structure has been also launched in the energy sector, which involves the synthesis of centralized and autonomous energy supply, and in addition - intellectual management of production, transportation, storage, distribution and consumption of all types of energy, Mitko added. A sharp increase in the scientific and technological progress led to a new technological revolution, the expert said. The industrial economy is using the capabilities of existing energy technologies (energy threshold), which led to the formation of conditions for another innovative energy leap and transition to the next technological level, where a special place is given to the renewable energy sources. At the same time, there has been a tendency in the modern society to widen the gap between the volume of needs of growing population of the Earth and the physical capabilities of the planet to meet these needs, Mitko added. In the middle of the 21st century, advanced countries moving towards a post-industrial mode of production and the 6th technological mode, passed the first point of no return in the large-scale introduction of energy-efficient and energy-saving, as well as renewable energy technologies in all sectors of the economy, the expert said. Moreover, the state was and remains the guiding force to expand demand for these technologies with the active support of most layers of society and business circles, Mitko said. In the future, the pace of this process will increase until restraining contradictions accumulate, which will be overcome at a new level of economic and social development. At the end of the 20th century, the CIS countries were backward in their development and were forced to look for the ways to survive in the new conditions, the expert said. Therefore, the sphere of energy efficiency was not their priority. In the current century, the attention of the CIS countries to these sectors has intensified as they are a prerequisite for ensuring the continued economic growth. In 2000s, the CIS countries developed appropriate measures and began to implement them, Mitko said. The leading countries, especially the US, have actively rendered and continue to render assistance in these issues. Thus, the program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on the introduction of Central Asia Energy Efficiency Support Program (CAEESP) involves rendering of various types of support, including financial support, the expert said. The regional program is implemented by ICF International, Inc. in such countries as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Mitko said. The activities are carried out within CAEESP, namely, assessment of the situation and setting of priorities; raising the level of awareness of interested people and training in existing approaches in the field of energy efficiency and energy-saving technologies; development of energy saving projects and assistance in attracting financing; support for private energy service companies; regional analysis and recommendations in the field of energy efficiency. The CIS countries, including Azerbaijan, by the world standards have big potential in renewable energy resources, Mitko said. In a number of economies, the relative indicator characterizing the share of renewable energy sources in the structure of the energy balance is at such a high level that the industrialized countries, with a large-scale concentration of financial and other resources, may reach only by the middle of this century, the expert said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz San Juan County Sheriff's Office A missing woman's body has been found more than 200 miles away from her home in New Mexico. Sasha Marie Krause, 27, went missing last month after she was last seen outside Farmington Mennonite Church, and now authorities are saying she was murdered. "To Sasha's family, I give my heartfelt condolences, on behalf of not only myself, but the San Juan County Sheriff's Office," San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said on Tuesday. "Our investigation now transitions to a criminal investigation." Her body was found in Coconino County, Arizona, which is just north of Flagstaff. A post-mortem examination confirmed the body was Ms Krause, but officials have yet to confirm the cause of death. Investigators are now working to find and apprehend the person who "kidnapped and murdered" the woman, Mr Ferrari said. The search started when Ms Krause went missing on 18 January after last being seen at her church. Authorities at the time called the death "suspicious" because her car was left in the parking lot, but they also believed she could've left at her own free will. Aerial and canine searches turned up nothing in the surrounding area. A $50,000 reward by the police also yielded no credible information about the missing woman. Then, this past weekend, a camper discovered the woman's body in Arizona and alerted authorities. People close with Ms Krause said they knew all along that the woman was kidnapped. "We were convinced from the start that it was an abduction because we are a close-knit community. We know our people. We knew her integrity," Samuel Coon, an editor at Lamp & Light Publishers, where Krause worked, told the Daily Beast. "Sasha was a person of deep integrity, very level-headed. There is no one I would have less expected this to happen to," he added. Read more Democrats in China to hold primary online due to coronavirus outbreak Trump's White House branded 'insane' for handing top job to student Colbert's brutal takedown of Bloomberg leaves his own audience wincing Trump claims coronavirus outbreak is 'fake news' conspiracy- live I am honored to assume the role of Country Director at ADBs Sri Lanka Resident Mission. I have had the opportunity of managing ADBs transport sector portfolio in Sri Lanka in the past, and have gathered insights about the countrys development needs, Mr. Chen said. I look forward to further strengthening ADBs partnership with the country and supporting its development in public and private sectors. Mr. Chen succeeds Sri Widowati who retired from ADB in September 2019. In a career spanning nearly two decades, Mr. Chen, a Chinese national, joined ADB in 2007, and has worked in the organizations Pacific and South Asia departments, overseeing projects in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. Since 2017, Mr. Chen was the Senior Advisor to the Vice-President (Operations 1) and led quality management on strategies, business plans, projects, and technical assistance in 16 developing countries in Central and West Asia, as well as in South Asia. Mr. Chen holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in the United States; a masters degree from South China University of Technology; and a bachelors degree from Tsinghua University in the Peoples Republic of China. He has authored sixteen publications on transport asset management, climate change, and publicprivate partnership, including three in peer-reviewed journals. Sri Lanka has been a member country of ADB since 1966. Since then, ADB has provided Sri Lanka with USD10 billion in loans and grants, including USD818 million in 2019 alone. ADBs priority areas for support in the country are transport, energy, urban development (water supply and sanitation), education, and finance./. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The Supreme Court has postponed discussions on the case filed against ABS-CBN on Wednesday, leaving the network free to dispute the allegations in public for at least two more weeks. The high court did not act on the quo warranto case lodged by Solicitor General Jose Calida which seeks to nullify the network's existing franchise weeks ahead of its expiry. The topic was on the magistrates' agenda this week, but they did not make any move regarding the case. READ: ABS-CBN franchise to expire on May 4, 2020 DOJ The ABS-CBN case would be tackled by the high court during its March 10 en banc session. "This is to give the justices time to go over the pleadings submitted by the parties, including the comments recently filed by the respondents," court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said in a statement. Calida on February 10 asked the SC to cancel ABS-CBN's legislative franchise, claiming the network committed "highly abusive practices" that violate the terms set by Congress when it started offering the pay-pe-view KBO channel and when it supposedly allowed foreign investors to control the company through the sale of investment tools. The government's top lawyer also asked the court to issue a gag order against the Lopez-owned network, accusing that it "engaged in propaganda" after the case was filed. He said several video and online news reports released by the TV station meant to "elicit public sympathy," warning that these could influence the court's decision on the case. Calida said these violate the sub judice rule, which prohibits anyone from publicly assessing an ongoing case to avoid pre-judgment. READ: ABS-CBN wants Supreme Court to dismiss Calida's plea to void franchise The media conglomerate filed its response on Monday, saying Calida was wrong in filing the complaint before the court. It noted that Congress, not the Judiciary, has the authority over the grant or cancellation of franchises given to media and utility companies. ABS-CBN said the supposed violations can be resolved by administrative agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Telecommunications Commission, and the Philippine Competition Commission. ABS-CBN cautioned against the grant of the quo warranto as this would have a "chilling effect" on other media outlets reporting on the President and the government. It added there was no "substantive evil" to justify the closure of the network's broadcast. The Kapamilya network has mantained that it did not violate the law. The media giant, however, apologized to President Rodrigo Duterte during a Senate hearing last Monday for airing a controversial ad against the former Davao City mayor during the 2016 campaign season. Duterte has repeatedly ranted against the network, saying it failed to air his political advertisements for the 2016 elections. He made a vow that ABS-CBN would be out of business this year, even telling the Lopezes to just sell the company to a new owner just to stay on air. ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo Katigbak explained that the channel failed to air 7 million out of the 182 million worth of commercial spots which Duterte's camp bought in the last few days of the 2016 campaign period, citing the purchases came late. TIMELINE: ABS-CBN franchise Media groups have earlier cried foul over Calida's bid to forfeit ABS-CBN's franchise, saying it was an attack on press freedom. The Solicitor General has denied that the case he filed was politically motivated. Law group Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Domingo Cayosa said the court needs a "good and complete understanding" of the facts and arguments raised by the camps of Calida and ABS-CBN before it can decide on the issue. However, the case could be rendered moot if a decision would be handed down after the network's franchise expires on May 4. "Theoretically, kung hihigpitan talaga ay maaari pong mawalan sila (ABS-CBN) ng prangkisa at the time of the expiry date [Theoretically, ABS-CBN may lose its franchise when it expires if the government tightens the implementation of the law]," Cayosa told CNN Philippines' Balitaan. "In terms of the law, it may be much better that ABS-CBN gets a legislative franchise before it expires or to get any other formal authority for the extension rather than just relying on the administrative extension by NTC (National Telecommunications Commission)," the head of the lawyers' group added. "It would be for the good of everyone, our country including, na maresolba na 'yan sa lalong madaling panahon." A number of lawmakers have said the NTC can issue a provisional authority once ABS-CBN's franchise expires, given that there are pending bills that would grant the network another 25 years on air. These measures, however, are far from securing approval from the House of Representatives and the Senate. A joint resolution filed by Cebu City Representative Raul Del Mar last week seeks to extend the network's franchise until June 30, 2022 to give lawmakers more time to thresh out the issues faced by the network. With the future of several of the campaigns hanging in the balance, the candidates let loose, throwing their arms in the air and shouting over one another, presenting a cacophony from a party that, as it approaches its biggest voting day, has made no strides in its quest to figure out where its headed. They debated capitalism and socialism, a host of liberal ideas and cautions about their cost, struck at one anothers pasts and questioned the legitimacy of their promises for the future. A new study has found that socioeconomic status (SES) has the strongest impact on whether secondary school students study the STEM sciences. A research team drew on data from over 4,300 pupils in Australia, and also looked at Indigenous students who are less likely to study all sciences. Lead by Dr Grant Cooper of RMIT University and Professor Amanda Berry of Monash University, the study - published in the International Journal of Science Education - highlighted the demographic predictors of secondary student science enrolment. They found that female students are much less likely to study physics, more likely to study biology, and have roughly average participation in other areas such as chemistry. The study notes, however, that these categories are not mutually exclusive. Indigeneity, gender, and low SES status can all manifest in the same student, complicating the results. The authors point out a worrying lack of initiatives to improve low SES students' access to science. "Australia has one of the highest levels of school social segregation of all OECD countries, meaning schools mainly enrol students from low or high SES backgrounds." This problem is worsened by a lack of diversity in school syllabi. Dr Cooper and Professor Berry argue that "a significant challenge for educators and school leaders is the implementation of a science syllabus that meets the diverse needs of students, particularly for underrepresented cohorts, who are less likely to have access to valued cultural, social and science capital." Lower SES schools are less likely to have enough resources, such as books, materials, and laboratories, to support student engagement in science. The researchers point to the Finnish education system, in which students from different socioeconomic backgrounds study together. "A students' ease of access to, and a sustained immersion in cultural, social and science capitals facilitates a habitus and identity that embodies a sense that 'science is for me'." Indigenous students face challenges in all forms of science except earth/space science, in which their participation was similar to other Australian children. The researchers suggest that this might be to do with cultural traits that emphasise a connection with the land. "This result may be explained by Aboriginal Peoples' spiritual connectedness with Country, with land forming the basis of Aboriginal relationships, identities and cultural practices. Earth/space science syllabi commonly explore the interconnections between land, ocean and atmosphere." This result may offer a clue as to how to better include Indigenous students in science, by incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the course content. They note that the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has attempted this. "[They have introduced] new science elaborations addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. An important purpose of these elaborations is the hope that ... 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are able to see themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum of each of the learning areas, [and] can fully participate in the curriculum' (ACARA, 2018, para.1)." While female students did show lower participation in physics, they were more involved than male students in biology, and about the same in other sciences. The researchers suggest that more needs to be done to encourage female involvement in STEM. "Initiatives focusing on knowledge, ability, motivation and feelings of belonging could increase the interest and persistence in STEM education." ### Advertisement A couple are locked in a desperate battle to evict a group of nightmare tenants who have left their home resembling a bomb site - and they can't get rid of them. Leanne and Adrian Tuffley, who own the four-bedroom house in Oamaru on New Zealand's South Island, planned to knock down the property and build townhouses - so gave its occupants a 90-day notice to leave by January 15. But the tenants had other ideas. Not only did they refuse to leave the home, but they stopped paying rent. There are three dogs and 11 people living in the Tuffleys' home, including seven children, with the group hoarding an incredible amount of junk and garbage throughout the property. The hoarding tenants junk includes machinery, cars, piping cars, bicycles and other miscellaneous items, and stretches throughout the home and outside onto the street The clutter includes cars, bicycles, machinery, piping and other miscellaneous items, and stretches throughout the home and outside onto the street and footpath. Ms Tuffley told Stuff the unwelcome tenants had reduced their property to less than its land value. 'What right do these people have to our property?' she said. The Tuffleys were granted possession of their house on January 20 by the Tenancy Tribunal, which also ordered the tenants to pay $2,483 and their bond to the owners. Police helped to evict the tenants on February 10, but a week later they applied for a rehearing. Remarkably, the tenants were allowed to return to the property on February 20. The Tuffleys said the Ministry of Justice told them there is nothing they can do until the rehearing on April 20. A New Zealand couple have opened up on their desperate battle to remove a group of hoarding tenants from their home (pictured) They were advised to get a lawyer and apply for another eviction notice. 'We can't afford a lawyer at the drop of a hat,' Mr Tuffley said. Mr Tuffley believes that once tenants have been evicted and received a trespass notice, they should be unable to regain possession of a property. 'I then rang the bailiff who said "no that's not correct", if they've already been evicted you don't have to apply for another one so I'm going to the police,' he said. The couple said their frustrating process highlights that residential landlords don't have the means to remove unwanted tenants, even with their legal eviction notice and possession grant from the tribunal. The Tuffleys have been forced to delay their development plans. There are 11 people living rent-free in the Tuffley's home, including seven children and three dogs Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 05:38:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended Yemen financial and travel ban sanctions until Feb. 26, 2021, and the mandate of the Yemen Panel of Experts until March 28, 2021. A UK-drafted resolution determines that the situation in Yemen continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security, and decides to renew the sanctions measures. According to the sanctions, established in an earlier resolution in February 2014, all member states shall freeze all funds, other financial assets and economic resources on their territories, which are owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the individuals or entities designated by the sanctions committee; and all member states shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals designated by the committee. Under the 2014 resolution, a UN sanctions committee for Yemen has been formed to report and decide on transition spoilers. After two days of communal clashes that claimed 24 lives, a brittle quiet settled over parts of riot-hit northeast Delhi on Wednesday but there was violence in some other places with shops set ablaze and the body of an IB staffer found in a drain. As police conducted flag marches and security personnel spread out across the northeastern edge of the national capital in a bid to quell the violence raging since Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first reaction appealed for peace and brotherhood. Asserting that it was important for calm to be restored at the earliest, Modi said on Twitter, "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy." National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited some riot-hit areas. "What has happened has happened. Inshallah, there will be complete peace here," he said as he walked through the mostly mixed neighbourhoods and congested lanes of northeast Delhi and met locals. On Tuesday, he undertook a late night tour with Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and newly-appointed Special Commissioner S N Shrivastava. Shrivastava's appointment came in the wake of Patnaik facing flak for failing to curb the spiralling violence in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's visit, sources said. The Delhi Police said it has arrested 106 people for their alleged involvement in the violence and have registered 18 FIRs. "No untoward incident was reported on Wednesday and PCR calls from northeast Delhi have reduced," Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa told reporters. On day three of the trouble, the death toll rose from 13 on Tuesday to 24 on Wednesday. "The death toll has risen to 24," GTB Hospital Medical Superintendent Sunil Kumar said. Unusually, the estimate of more than 200 injured and the dead has come not from the police but hospital authorities. Hospital authorities said of the 22 deceased at the GTB, at least nine received gun shots. One of the deceased is also a woman, authorities said. Calling the situation in northeast Delhi "alarming", Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Army should be called in as police is "unable" to establish control. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury described the Delhi violence a "chilling reminder" of the 2002 Gujarat riots and demanded that Army should be called to control the situation. At the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Kejriwal said the common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence and alleged that outsiders, some politicians and anti-social elements were behind it. He also announced Rs 1 crore compensation for the family of Rattan Lal, the Delhi Police Head Constable who lost his life in the violence. Kejriwal, along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, later visited the violence-hit areas. Away from 'leader-speak', fear hung like a heavy cloud over the area, littered with the detritus of a riot -- mangled and charred vehicles, bricks, stones and jagged glass. The Intelligence Bureau staffer, identified as Ankit Sharma, was found dead in a drain in Chand Bagh where he stayed. Sharma may have been killed in stone pelting, officials said. Shops and schools were closed and many streets deserted with police making announcements that no one should come out of their homes. Officials said the CBSE Class 12 English exam on Thursday has been postponed in the northeast and parts of east Delhi in view of the turbulent situation due to violence. There was heavy deployment of force in Chand Bagh with security personnel not allowing anyone to come out. The blackened walls of a 'mazaar' in the locality spoke volumes of the violence the day before. In Ashok Nagar, a mosque was vandalised and set on fire by miscreants, a day before. The shops outside the mosque, belonging to Hindus and Muslims, were also set on fire. After two days of mobs roaming unchecked through the streets, looting shops and setting property on fire, the uneasy quiet was a respite. But not everywhere. In Gokulpuri, for instance, smoke darkened the skies with rioters setting on fire shops. Meharban, in his mid-thirties, was allegedly beaten by a mob in Chand Bagh area and later thrown into the drain. "I went to buy flour. People there asked whether I was a Muslim and then started thrashing me. They later threw me in the drain of Chand Bagh," he said. The incident occurred around 2.30 pm. Meharban, who sustained head injuries, could barely talk, was taken to a hospital in a PCR van. Their livelihoods lost with their shops looted and their children in a state of panic after witnessing the bloodshed, many people were seen leaving their homes. Among them was a family that promised to be back, but said they did not know when. At the GTB Hospital, many grieving family members were waiting to collect the bodies of their dear ones. Asked if the victims have been identified, GTB Hospital Medical Superintendent said, "Many people have been identified, some are yet to be." He, however, declined to divulge the identity of the deceased. Patients have several kinds of injuries, including from gunshots, stones and other weapons and many were hurt while jumping from rooftops to escape the rioters, hospital authorities said. The "gush" of injured patients had reduced to a trickle. The injured recounted horrific accounts of violence that they witnessed and how they managed to escape the deadly violence. Districts magistrates of North-East and Shahadra districts accompanied by senior officials of the Revenue Department and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) were also the hospital to take stock of the situation. Holding the Centre and the Delhi government responsible for the violence -- perhaps the first time since 1984 that the city has seen such scenes of communal mayhem -- Congress president Sonia Gandhi called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah. "The conspiracy was witnessed during Delhi polls and BJP leaders gave hate speeches creating atmosphere of fear and hatred," she said. The slugfest continued with the BJP, in turn, accusing Gandhi of politicising the violence. "Violence is ending. Investigation is on to find out the truth and identify culprits... At such a time, attacking government and politicising violence is dirty politics," said Union minister Prakash Javadekar, adding that it also demoralises police. That was also a concern of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who asked a Supreme Court bench not to make any adverse observations relating to the violence as it will demoralise the police force. An apex court bench of justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph lashed out at law enforcing agencies for allowing the "instigators of violence" to get away and said they should act as per law without waiting for somebody's nod. "If somebody makes an inflammatory remark, police has to take action," it said. The Delhi High Court also reprimanded Delhi Police. "... We should never allow another 1984... especially under the watch of the court and under your (Delhi Police) watch... We have to be very, very alert," a bench of justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani said. In a midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court directed police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A California man convicted of mail fraud escaped from a Utah jail on Tuesday night after posing as a fellow inmate who was due to be released. According to authorities, Kaleb Wiewandt, 40, was allowed to leave Weber County Correctional Facility in Ogden because staff believed he was another inmate - Matthew Belnap, 36. Belnap was supposed to be freed after spending more than 70 days in jail after pleading no contest to retail theft charges. However, when prison staff called for Belnap to gather his belongings, surveillance footage shows it was Wiewandt who grabbed his stuff and left. Court documents state that Belnap helped Wiewandt shave his head to look like him and he also gave Wiewandt his identification card. Kaleb Wiewandt (left) escaped from Weber County Correctional Facility in Ogden on Tuesday night after posing as fellow inmate, Matthew Belnap (right), who was due for release Wiewandt recited Belnap's date of birth and Social Security number to jail staff before he was released. It's unclear why Belnap allegedly agreed to help Wiewandt go free from jail while he remained behind. Belnap has now been charged with obstruction of justice for his role in the escape. Wiewandt is from Orange County, California, and authorities believe he might try to go there but theorize that he's still in the Ogden area. He had emailed with a woman about plans to pick him up from the jail Tuesday night, according to jail staff. Wiewandt had been inside Weber County Correctional Facility since December, one month after he was arrested in California for having escaped a halfway house for parolees in Utah in September 2018. The escape occurred at Weber County Correctional Facility in Ogden, Utah on Tuesday night. The local sheriff's office is now conducting an investigation into how the case of mistaken identity occurred He was in the halfway house as part of his supervised released after he pleaded guilty in 2015 to mail and wire fraud in a federal court in Arizona. He acknowledged taking part in a scheme to steal stamps from post offices over two years. He and others stole $1.2 million in stamps and sold them for nearly half of that value. He was sentenced in 2016 to four years and three months in prison, and three years supervised release. It's unclear where Wiewandt went after he escaped the Salt Lake City halfway house until his arrest in November 2019 in California. He was brought back to Utah to face charges of escaping custody. He had pleaded not guilty to that charge and was awaiting a May trial. David Shapiro, his attorney in that case, didn't have any comment about his client's escape. A local sheriff said an investigation will seek to assess what went wrong and how they can prevent it from happening. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The fall of the Berlin Wall was to bring about one, integrated world market where goods and services freely traversed borders without the interference of meddling ideologueswhere the agricultural, mineral and man-made treasures of one country would be available to anyone, anywhere who was willing to pay for them: oil, gold, diamonds, soybeans, palm oil, wheat, computers, software and myriad other products of the earth and of human endeavor. It's not working out that way. Not every country completely bought into this idea of an almost frictionless international capitalist order overseen benignly by global organizations created by treaties adhered to by all the world's nations. Among the most obvious is China. China has started to treat rare earth elementswhich are critical to practically everything electronic these daysthe way the Atreides family, a ruling family in the Frank Herbert's science fiction novel Dune, treats "melange," a substance that extends life and increases mental ability and only comes from one planet, one that the Atreides happen to control. The Chinese dominate the rare earth elements market because most of what is mined worldwide comes from China. The country produces 80 percent of global output. But it also controls 85 percent of the processing capacity. The second figure means that some rare earths mined outside of China are sent to China for processing. The Chinese, of late, have started to reorganize the industry, presumably to have better control of it. And events in the last year have shown that small disruptions and Chinese desires to make use of more and more of its rare earths in products it makes itself can have big effects on rare earth prices. When the Chinese have used their leverage in the past, prices skyrocketed. Related: Oil Prices Extend Losses As Market Fears Pandemic Rare earths aren't the only commodities for which resource nationalism has come back in vogue. Some 90 percent of palm oil is produced by just two countries, Malaysia and Indonesia. A kerfuffle between the Malaysian and Indian governments regarding India's invasion of Kashmir led to a ban on palm oil imports from Malaysia. Resource nationalism can work both ways. But it turned out that the Indian import ban was followed by increasing imports of palm oil into China which was trying to make up for the loss of soybean imports (another oil crop) from the United States due to trade frictions. The price of palm oil sailed upward. Indonesia controls a substantial part of another commodity market, nickel. The country's decision to ban nickel ore exports and move to develop its own refining industry gave a severe bump to world prices last year. Resource nationalism is a counterpoint to the cornucopian dreams of the world's resource optimists. Resource nationalism would not be possible in the world where everything we need is plentiful or if not plentiful, can quickly be supplanted by a substitute of equal capability. It turns out that rare earths are hard to find a substitute for. It turns out that even nickel is hard to find a substitute for in the short run. It's possible that all the flat screens, cellphones, industrial magnets, wind turbines, computers and other electrical devices that depend on rare earths could eventually be re-engineered to do without them. But the cost to do such re-engineering and the materials needed might make many devices that today are ubiquitous unaffordable to many. The uneven distribution of resources makes resource nationalism possible. But what makes it likely to become a broader phenomenon in the future is the rate at which global society is consuming practically everything. Related: No Financing And No Demand: Chinese Refiners Run Into Trouble One example for which I could readily find historical estimates is oil. From the beginning of the oil age through 2007, global society is estimated to have consumed approximately 733 billion barrels. From 2008 through 2018, the world has consumed 371.2 billion additional barrels. Thus, in the space of just 11 years humans have burned through about one-third of all the oil ever consumed. Put another way, we have consumed half again as much oil in 11 years as was consumed by humanity in the first 148 years of the oil age since 1859 when Edwin Drake kicked off the modern oil age with his well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Geological Survey reports world production of rare earths in 1994 as 64,500 metric tons. In 2017 production reached a little more than twice that number at 132,000 metric tons. But production has started to accelerate abruptly in response to increasing demand, jumping to 190,000 metric tons in 2018 and 210,000 metric tons in 2019. Our consumption of many critical resources is accelerating at similar rates. Such growth cannot go on forever. I am reminded of economist Herbert Stein's truism that if something cannot go on forever, it will stop. The trouble is, we don't know where the stopping point is for production growth of most of the resources we need. And, we are doing precious little to prepare for that day. By Kurt Kobb More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: On the first anniversary of Balakot air strikes, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew a five aircraft mission from Srinagar air base along with air warriors who were part of the operation to pound a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria flew a MiG-21 Type 69 aircraft in a formation also comprising two Mirage-2000s and two Sukhoi-30 MKIs. Commemorating the operation, the IAF said it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with other defence services in discharge of its sacred duty of defending India's sovereignty and integrity. The IAF chief flew the five aircraft mission to commemorate the the Balakot operation when India's warplanes hit a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot on February 26 last year to avenge killing of 40 CRPF personnel in the Pulwama terror attack. Pakistan retaliated the next day but the IAF had foiled their plans. The attack by India and subsequent retaliation by Pakistan triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The IAF said aircrew who were part of Wednesday's five-aircraft mission that flew from Srinagar air base had participated in the operations on February 26 and 27 last year. "February 26 was a momentous day as it bore testimony to the professionalism and operational preparedness of men and women of the IAF who successfully executed a very complex mission and achieved their objectives under extremely challenging conditions," the IAF said in a statement. "On this day, the IAF salutes the spirit, tenacity and sacrifice of its brave air warriors and assures the nation of its unstinted resolve," it said. Sixteen Mirage aircraft, six armed with Spice bombs and another six with Crystal Maze missiles crossed over to Pakistan early in the morning of February 26 while four others escorted the main fleet. Five Spice 2000 bombs hit the targets while one was not successful. The most visible face of the confrontation was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman whose capture by Pakistan after downing his MiG-21 fighter triggered the most serious military crisis between the two neighbours in decades. But diplomatic outreach by major powers and India's stern warning to Islamabad led to his release after two days, averting further escalation of the conflict. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JACKSON, MI Jonathan Greene is new to the city manager role, but he's not new to Jackson. The new interim city manager has worked in Jackson since 2009, serving as the Downtown Development Authority director, economic development director, assistant city manager and most recently the director of public works. City Council unanimously voted to make Greene the interim city manager for the next six months, foregoing for the time being a search to fill the job being vacated by the departure of Patrick Burtch. Mayor Derek Dobies described it as a vote of confidence. I have full confidence that Jonathans going to do a great job, Dobies said. I dont see a need for a search right now. I think Jonathan has a lot of strengths that we lose, going out for a search. Burtch named Greene acting city manager before his departure on Friday, Feb. 21. It makes sense to hold off on a search for a new manager and give Greene time to prove hes right for the job, Burtch said last month. "He will push like I push," Burtch said. "He's not that much different than me, when it comes to that stuff. And he needs to, because there's still tough medicine that has to be administered here." Council will decide Greene's salary at the March 17 City Council meeting. Right now, he's on the top step of the scale on grade 20, making about $124,000 per year. The city manager position is a grade 22 position the highest one and ranges from $126,400 to $183,700. Burtch had a $170,000 annual salary in his final year, before leaving for a job in Maumee, Ohio. Greene grew up in Hartland in Livingston County, earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Oakland University and has a master's degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. Before coming to Jackson, Greene worked in economic development and housing in Eaton County, he said. "The last several years have been great for development in downtown," Greene said. "I'd like to continue that great progress (and) push it out into our neighborhoods." His first big task is finding an amicable solution for raising water rates to replace all lead service lines which Burtch said will cost the city $232 million. Greene plans to bring a proposal for the council to consider at the March 17 council meeting, he said. More Jackson news: Love him or loath him, the feather-ruffling Patrick Burtch changed Jackson State of the City address to focus on expanding progress to Jacksons corridors $6.4M American 1 Event Center opens this weekend at Jackson fairgrounds Sarah Boone is seen in police custody in a video released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Twitter/@OrangeCoSheriff Sarah Boone, 42, was arrested on charges of second-degree murder on Tuesday in the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr. The Winter Park, Florida woman called police Monday afternoon after finding her boyfriend dead in a zipped-up suitcase. She said that she had zipped him up in the suitcase during a game of hide-and-seek, and went to bed without realizing he was still in the luggage. But police later saw videos on her phone showing her taunting him for cheating on her as he struggled to get out of the suitcase. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A Florida woman was arrested on Tuesday after her boyfriend was found dead in a zipped-up suitcase. Sarah Boone, 42, claimed that Jorge Torres Jr's death was the result of a hide-and-seek game gone wrong. But police decided to arrest her after seeing two troubling videos on her phone, showing Boone taunting Torres as he struggled to get out of the luggage. According to the arrest affidavit written by Detective Chelsey Connolly, which was reviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Boone said she and her boyfriend spent Sunday evening sharing a bottle of Chardonnay while painting and doing puzzles. Later in the evening, they started playing hide-and-seek, at which point they thought it would be funny for Boone to zip Torres into a blue suitcase. If convicted, Boone faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. Orange County Sheriff's Office Boone initially told police that she left the zipper slightly unzipped and that two of Torres' fingers could get through. She says she wandered off and went to bed, figuring that Torres had gotten out of the suitcase by himself and followed her to bed later. The next morning, she told police that she woke up to several calls but ignored them, thinking they were from her ex-husband. She finally woke up around 11 a.m. and figured Torres was just downstairs job-hunting. But when she finally went downstairs, she couldn't find him, and then realized he might still be in the suitcase which turned out to be true. Story continues By the time she opened the suitcase, Torres was unresponsive and not breathing, the affidavit reads. She didn't call authorities immediately, and instead calling her ex to come over first. When he got there, he told her to call 911, Connolly writes. Torres was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after, around 1 p.m. The affidavit noted that there were long fingernail scratches on Torres' upper back and neck, he had a busted lip, and that there were bruises on his shoulder, skull, and forehead consistent with blunt force trauma. It didn't say the precise cause of death. Boone gave police consent to look through their phone, and they found two videos on it showing Torres struggling to get out of the suitcase, according to the affidavit. In the first video, Torres is heard yelling Boone's name and trying to get out of the suitcase while she laughs. "Yeah, that's what you do when you choke me. You should probably shut the [expletive] up." Boone said in the video, according to Connolly. "That's on you. Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me." "I can't [expletive] breathe, seriously," Torres said, according to the affidavit. The second video shows Torres crying out and struggling to get out of the suitcase from a different position. During a second interview with investigators, Boone was confronted with the videos, and couldn't even get halfway through watching one of them, according to the affidavit. She said she doesn't remember recording the videos and admitted that they "looked 'bad,'" according to the affidavit. Boone said she couldn't say why she went to bed without freeing him from the bag. She then "contradicted her original statement" that she wasn't intoxicated "and began to blame the consumption of alcohol," Connolly wrote. Boone is currently behind held without bond at the Orange County Jail. If convicted, she faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. Read the original article on Insider The global telecom billing outsourcing market is expected to post a CAGR of almost 6% during the period 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005583/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Telecom Billing Outsourcing Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) The growing consumer demand for high-quality services is compelling telecom operators to offer multiple product catalogs, such as a combination of voice, data, and text. With the rise in the number of unique mobile subscribers, billing process management is becoming more challenging for telecommunication service providers. To overcome such challenges, telecom operators are increasingly outsourcing the billing process, which is driving the growth of the market. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40001 As per Technavio, the rising popularity of convergent billing will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2020-2024. Global Telecom Billing Outsourcing Market: Rising Popularity of Convergent Billing Telecommunication companies are increasingly adopting convergent billing solutions to provide personalized offers and deals at attractive prices. It allows customers to avail multiple services at discounted prices under a unified billing system. It also allows telecom operators to provide centralized customer care and support for both prepaid and postpaid customers. Moreover, convergent billing helps telecom operators to attract new customers and encourages existing customers to add new services. The increasing popularity of convergent billing is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the global telecom billing outsourcing market during the forecast period. "Emergence of cloud-based billing services and the evolution of next-generation technologies will further boost market growth during the forecast period", says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Global Telecom Billing Outsourcing Market: Segmentation Analysis This market report segments the global telecom billing outsourcing market by geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America) and customer type (wireless and fixed line). The APAC region led the market in 2019, followed by Europe, North America, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to maintain its dominance over the global market. This is due to a significant rise in the number of mobile and fixed line subscriber base in the region. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005583/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: https://www.technavio.com/ [February 26, 2020] Volvo Launches Four New Trucks by Stacking Them On Top of Each Other in Spectacular Film -- Complete with President On Top GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Feb. 26, 2020 /CNW/ -- Volvo Trucks' latest launch film has reached new heights. To demonstrate the power and strength of its four new vehicles, Volvo built a colossal 15-metre, 58-tonne truck tower, stacking its four new trucks on top of one another. Adding to that, they stood president Roger Alm on top. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8694451-volvo-launches-four-new-trucks/ In the truck industry, releasing one truck is a huge project. But releasing four at the same time is almost unheard of. When renewing the entire range of heavy duty trucks, Volvo Trucks went for a different approach. The unusual film is set in the dead of night and starts by showing the truck tower as a huge monolith glowing in the distance. As it moves forward, we see wolves in the foreground and catch a glimpse of a female driver. As the film reaches its climax, complete with smoke and lighting effects, we see that the man standing on top of the truck tower is actually Volvo Trucks' president Roger Alm. See the film "Volvo Trucks - The Tower feat. Roger Alm" The release of the film comes one day ahead of the official launch of the heavy duty range in Europe, which includes the Volvo FH, Volvo FH16, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX. The four trucks represent about two thirds of Volvo Trucks' deliveries. "This is our biggest launch ever at Volvo Trucks. They ill have a huge impact on our customers' profitability and ability to compete both for business and the best drivers. Im used to being on top of things, but for me, shooting the truck tower was definitely an unusual day at work. And let's just say I have a certain respect for heights. Im a down to earth guy," said Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks. The film was shot in late 2019 on a testing ground outside Volvo's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. Both the truck tower and the majority of the visual effects are real, including the smoke and lights, which a behind-the-scenes film reveals. "It took about a month to design and build the tower and make sure it was safe to drive. Essentially, this was made possible thanks to the sturdy construction truck, the Volvo FMX, and its new 38-tonne bogie being able to carry the weight of the others. But it also required a steady speed and course, accomplished by the Volvo Dynamic Steering technology and a skilled truck driver," said Markus Wikstrom, engineer at Volvo Trucks and part of the engineering team behind the tower. Click here to see the behind the scenes film For more information, please visit the Volvo Trucks website and social media channels: www.volvotrucks.com www.facebook.com/VolvoTrucks/ www.instagram.com/volvotrucks/ www.linkedin.com/company/volvo-trucks/ LINK to high resolution images. Press images and films are available in the Volvo Trucks image and film gallery at http://images.volvotrucks.com About Volvo Trucks Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of dealers with 2,100 service points in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 14 countries across the globe. In 2019 approximately 131,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Volvo Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care. For further information, please contact: Jan Strandhede, Media Relations Director, Volvo Trucks Phone: +46-31-66-00-00 Email: [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1095034/Volvo_Trucks.jpg View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/volvo-launches-four-new-trucks-by-stacking-them-on-top-of-each-other-in-spectacular-film--complete-with-president-on-top-301011058.html SOURCE Volvo Trucks [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Pepys, famed for writing an eye-opening diary, was an MP from 1679 to 1688 A secret doorway which would have been used by diarist Samuel Pepys has been rediscovered in the House of Commons. The entrance, which was created for the procession to the Coronation banquet of Charles II, dates back 360 years. It would also have been used by William Pitt the Younger and the first defacto prime minister of Britain Robert Walpole. It has been hidden for 70 years behind wooden panelling in a cloister that was formerly used as offices by the Parliamentary Labour Party. A brass plate marks where the doorway had once been in Westminster Hall. Historians believed it had been filled-in following reconstruction work after the palace was bombed during the Second World War. But it has now been rediscovered in the course of the Palace of Westminsters Restoration and Renewal Programme. Liz Hallam Smith, the teams historical consultant from the University of York, said: We were trawling through 10,000 uncatalogued documents relating to the palace at the Historic England Archives in Swindon, when we found plans for the doorway in the cloister behind Westminster Hall. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle examines the entrance, which was created for the procession to the Coronation banquet of Charles II in the 1660s It has been hidden for 70 years behind wooden panelling in a cloister that was formerly used as offices by the Parliamentary Labour Party As we looked at the panelling closely, we realised there was a tiny brass key-hole that no-one had really noticed before, believing it might just be an electricity cupboard. Who was Samuel Pepys? Samuel Pepys was a competent bureaucrat whose 10-year diary opened an illuminating and often disturbing door on to 17th Century life. Born in 1633 he rose to a senior role in the Admiralty which oversaw the Royal Navy under Charles II and his son James II. But as the Stuart monarchy fell, so did his fortunes. He spent nine years as an MP for Harwich in Essex before losing his seat after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. But it is his diary of more than one million words for which he is best known. It paints a vivid picture of his life in Stuart London. He started the diary when aged 26 in 1660 - the year of Charles II's coronation. It provides a firsthand account of events including the restoration of the monarchy following the Civil War, including the monarch's crowning. But it has a darker side. It shows Pepys as a corrupt official and a serial womaniser - even a sex offender by modern standards. His wife Elizabeth was 14 when they married and he recorded his regular sexual assaults against female servants. He also suffered constant pain from bladder stones. Samuel Pepys died aged 70 in 1703. Advertisement Once a key was made for it, the panelling opened up like a door into this secret entrance. Pepys, famed for writing an eye-opening diary of 17th Century life, was an MP from 1679 to 1688, before his association with the Stuart monarchy saw him lose office following the Glorious Revolution. House of Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said: To think that this walkway has been used by so many important people over the centuries is incredible. Mark Collins, Parliaments Estates Historian, said he was certain the doorway dated back at least 360 years. Dendrochronology testing revealed that the ceiling timbers above the little room dated from trees felled in 1659 - which tied in with surviving accounts that stated the doorway was made in 1660-61 for the coronation banquet of Charles II. Research showed the route was used by part of the procession which passed from the old House of Lords into the hall where the king and queen were seated. Thereafter, the doorway was used at subsequent coronations, by the Speakers procession and day-to-day by MPs to access the original Commons chamber, which was then sited where St Stephens Hall stands today. Although blocked up in 1807, the doorway was briefly revealed twice before the most recent rediscovery. It was found by the architect Sir Charles Barry following the fire of 1834, which destroyed much of the Medieval palace. He used it to allow MPs to access their temporary accommodation while much of the palace was a building site. Historians believed it had been filled-in following reconstruction work after the palace was bombed during the Second World War But it has now been rediscovered in the course of the Palace of Westminsters Restoration and Renewal Programme Dendrochronology - tree ring testing - revealed that the ceiling timbers above the little room dated from trees felled in 1659 The doorway was blocked up in 1851 but - following bomb damage in 1940 - it was again revealed by workman installing a ventilation system for the rebuilding of the Commons by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. On this occasion, a small secret access door was set into the panelling of the west Cloister, but because of the subtle nature of its construction, it remained largely unseen and then forgotten. The team found the doorway after discovering the original hinges for two wooden doors. They also found graffiti from bricklayers who helped Sir Charles Barry restore the palace following the fire of 1834. One piece of writing left by men who helped block the passageway on both sides in 1851 read: This room was enclosed by Tom Porter who was very fond of Ould Ale. Its quite incredible how this writing has survived and can be read so easily, despite having been scribbled in pencil, said Dr Collins. We would love to hear from any descendants of Tom Porter or his colleagues and invite them to see where their relatives once worked. MINGORA, Pakistan -- A local leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and member of an anti-militant group has been gunned down in the country's restive northwest. Javedullah Khan, who was appointed as the bureau chief of the daily Ausaf in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province's Swat district last month, is the 15th member of his family to be killed since 2008, according to a cousin. "We are politicians. It is the state's responsibility to provide us security," the cousin, Mumtaz Khan, told RFE/RL on February 26. Javedullah Khan, 36, was travelling in the town of Matta late the previous day when unidentified assailants opened fire on his car. A police guard accompanying him was unhurt. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, which local peace committee member Fatehullah Khan called a "targeted attack." "We feel that insecurity is once again spreading in the area. The state should ensure our security" against such attacks, he told RFE/RL. Local police official Ali Muhammad said many of Khan's relatives, including "a brother, uncles, and cousins were killed due to their involvement in anti-Taliban peace committees." Tribal vigilante forces, known locally as peace committees, have been set up in northwestern Pakistan to defend villages against militants. London-based Amnesty International said Khan's killing "underscores the dangers that journalists working in Pakistan, particularly areas affected by conflict, face." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) urged the government to ensure the safety of journalists and bring perpetrators to justice. Earlier this month, the dead body of journalist Aziz Memon was found with wire tied around the neck in an irrigation waterway in the southwestern Pakistani province of Sindh. A local lawyer, Feroz Shah, was killed in an attack in the same area about two months ago. The Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for that attack. With reporting by AFP Cookie Preferences Cookie List Cookie List A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes: Strictly Necessary Cookies We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. 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Targeting Cookies We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. More than 5,000 trade visitors attended Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) and MRO Middle East to interact with the 330 exhibitors and attend the IFEC Seminars taking place on the show floor. The show closed today after two days of dedicated aircraft interiors and MRO focused announcements, agreements and networking. Exhibitors have been thrilled with the events with many already committed to return for next years edition which include MRO service provider Sanad Aerotech from the UAE, the leading MRO in Saudi Arabia Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI), French Batiflex flooring manufacturer Gerflor and German aircraft cabin electronics supplier KID-Systeme. In addition, some companies including Aerospace Technical Services and Honeywell have increased their space for next years event. Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub chose the event to host a networking session for key exhibitors and aviation companies this morning. Mohammad Al Falasi, Aerospace director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, presented an overview of the project and showcased its benefits and solutions to the industry, including the including recently launched projects such as Supplier Complex, Helicopter Centre, and Office and Retail. MRO Middle East is one of the most prestigious and important events in the Middle East, said Al Falasi. It attracts of our potential clients, as the majority of the big aviation companies are part of the show. AIME also featured the second day of IFEC Seminars on the show floor. Opening the days discussions, Steney John, technical manager at Inmarsat, examined the next step in aviation connectivity and revolutionising inflight capabilities. Other speakers included representatives from leading companies including Sitaonair, South African Airways and Yahsat. Chair of the IFEC Seminars, Rick Lundstrom, editor of PAX International, said: The topics discussed were at the cutting edge of the industry and the agenda spanned the whole IFEC supply chain, from the satellite providers and content providers to case studies of airlines and of course passenger experience. AIME and MRO Middle East has always been popular for its dedicated position the only one of its kind in the Middle East region, said Caryn McConnachie, Aerospace director of show organisers Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East. Seeing the response from exhibitors and visitors is gratifying, and demonstrates that the aircraft interiors and MRO sectors are still booming in the Middle East, driven not just by the fleets of the big Middle Eastern airlines, but also by the many smaller airlines in the region. Were so pleased at the success of MRO Middle East 2020, said Lydia Janow, managing director/Events, Aviation Week Network. She added: The demand from exhibitors to return in 2021 just reinforces our belief that this event brings a necessary platform to the industry in the Middle East and further afield. AIME and MRO Middle East will return to Dubai World Trade Centre from March 2 3, 2021. - TradeArabia News Service A Russian news channel is broadcasting the names of 12 million Soviet soldiers killed during World War II, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in May. The unprecedented move by the state-controlled Rossiya 24 news channel reflects the Kremlin's efforts to use the conflict to stir national pride. The initiative was launched on 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' - February 23 - and is timed to end May 8. Russian TV channel Rossiya 24 has begun broadcasting the names of all Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War (right), which will take 76 days to complete The next day is Victory Day in Russia when tanks roll and infantry march through Red Square to mark the end of the war in Europe. Russia is set to hold large-scale celebrations this year, 75 years after the Allied victory over the Nazis. The USSR suffered particularly heavy losses of some 27 million people, according to official figures. Rossiya 24 said its aim was to commemorate Soviet heroes 'regardless of rank'. It said the project would 'create a factual basis to counter attempts to falsify the history of the war'. The display will finish on May 8, the day before the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany (pictured, soldiers rehearse for the parade) Russia has frequently accused Western countries of downplaying its contribution to defeating the Nazis despite the huge Soviet losses. Tensions with some countries have risen ahead of the May 9 anniversary, in particular with Poland, which President Vladimir Putin recently accused of collaborating with Hitler. Warsaw has in turn accused Moscow of 'renewing Stalinist propaganda'. The names of 12,677,857 soldiers killed and missing from the war are being aired on Rossiya 24 around the clock in black and orange, colours associated with the Russian military. The names are listed on the right hand side of the screen, scrolling from top to bottom under the heading 'Remember Each One,' with 6,070 appearing per hour. This Morning viewers thought they were hallucinating when they watched Alison Hammond interview a tree on Wednesday. The presenter, 45, had fans at home in stitches when she was filmed chatting to a 1000-year-old oak tree in Liverpool, which has been nominated for European Tree Of The Year. Hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield couldn't contain their laughter as they watched poker-faced Alison quiz the sessile oak about its rich history via the medium of a tree whisperer. Barking up the wrong tree! This Morning viewers thought they were hallucinating when they watched Alison Hammond interview a tree on Wednesday Approaching the oak, Alison asks tree guru Holly Worton: 'I've interviewed Hollywood superstars... but never a tree! 'Do we need to touch the tree? Do I just ask the tree a question?' Taking the responsibility very seriously, the bubbly presenter begins: 'OK so here we go, for our exclusive interview. 'First of all, you are up for this amazing, prestigious title. How does it feel to be nominated for European Tree Of The Year?' Alison presses her ear closer to the trunk, a deadpan expression on her face as she pretends to listen for a response. Bizarre: Taking the responsibility very seriously, the bubbly presenter begins: 'OK so here we go, for our exclusive interview' A bit wooden? Alison quizzed the ancient oak about its history via the medium of a tree whisperer named Holly Worton Speaking through the interpreter, the tree replies: 'It feels very exciting, it's an honour to be recognised in this way.' Probed further, the tree says: 'Well if people get out there and vote for me, they're really good. This is a community and the more people that come to see me will come to see them as well. 'All of the people standing here and all the people that have come, walking through this park.' However, when asked the age of the tree, which viewers had been told was around 1000 years old, the interpreter appeared to have been caught out. She said: 'The tree does not measure time so the tree does not have an exact answer'. Hilarity: Incredulous viewers couldn't believe what they were seeing, with most finding the segment completely bonkers (in the best way possible) Baffling: This Morning viewers were amused by Alison's deadpan expression and earnest questions Incredulous viewers couldn't believe what they were seeing, with most finding the segment completely bonkers (in the best way possible). One enthused: 'AlisonHammond interviewing a 1000 year old tree on @thismorning has to be my favourite TV moment. EVER!!!' Another posted: 'either my heads gone or Alison Hammond is interviewing a tree live on air with .... a tree whisperer. #ThisMorning'. 'there are some utterly ridiculous things on TV these days, Alison Hammond whispering to a tree has to be up there!! Complete madness!!', a third (less amused) person wrote. Another shared: 'Screaming at the tree interview on @thismorning never laughed so much! Made my day tbh.' Oops: When asked the age of the tree, which viewers had been told was around 1000 years old, the interpreter appeared to have been caught out Identity and access management in 2022 - what will the future look like? As we enter into 2022, there is still a level of uncertainty in place. Its unclear what the future holds, as companies around the world still contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working has been encouraged by most organisations and the move to a hybrid working system has become business as usual, for the majority of businesses. Some have reduced their office space or done away with their locations altogether. Following best security practices With all this change in place, there are problems to deal with. According to research, 32.7% of IT admins say they are concerned about employees using unsecured networks to carry out that work. Alongside this, 74% of IT admins thought that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow best security practices. This need to manage security around remote work is no longer temporary. Instead, companies have to build permanent strategies around remote work and security. The coming year will also create a different landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Here are some key predictions for next year and what to start preparing for in 2022: The reality of SMB spending around security will hit home SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working, especially in comparison to their size. They had to undertake significant digital transformation projects that made it possible to deliver services remotely, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weve seen a shift in mindset for these companies, which are now more tech-focused in their approach to problem solving. According to our research, 45% of SMBs plan to increase their spending towards IT services in 2022. Around half of all organisations think their IT budgets are adequate for their needs, while 14.5% of those surveyed believe they will need more, to cover all that needs to be done. Identity management spending to support remote work For others, the COVID-19 pandemic led to over-spending, just to get ahead of things and they will spend in 2022, looking at what they should keep and what they can reduce their spending on. Areas like identity management will stay in place, as companies struggle to support remote work and security, without this in place. However, on-premise IT spending will be reduced or cut, as those solutions are not relevant for the new work model. Services that rely on on-premise IT will be cut or replaced. The device will lead the way for security We rely on our phones to work and to communicate. In 2022, they will become central to how we manage access, to all our assets and locations, IT and physical. When employees can use company devices and their own phones for work, security is more difficult. IT teams have to ensure that theyre prepared for this, by making sure that these devices can be trusted. Wide use of digital certificates and strong MFA factors Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication There are multiple ways that companies can achieve this, for example - By using digital certificates to identify company devices as trusted, an agent, or strong MFA factors, like a FIDO security key or mobile push authentication. Whichever approach you choose, this can prevent unauthorised access to IT assets and applications, and these same devices can be used for authentication into physical locations too. Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication. Understanding human behaviour Alongside this, it is important to understand human behaviour. Anything that introduces an extra step for authentication can lead to employees taking workarounds. To stop this, it is important to put an employee education process in place, in order to emphasize on the importance of security. The next step is to think about adopting passwordless security, to further reduce friction and increase adoption. Lastly, as devices become the starting point for security and trust, remote device management will be needed too. More companies will need to manage devices remotely, from wiping an asset remotely if it gets lost or stolen, through to de-provisioning users easily and removing their access rights, when they leave the company. Identity will be a layer cake Zero Trust approaches to security Identity management relies on being able to trust that someone is who they say they are. Zero Trust approaches to security can support this effectively, particularly when aligned with least privilege access models. In order to turn theory into practical easy-to-deploy steps, companies need to use contextual access, as part of their identity management strategy. This involves looking at the context that employees will work in and putting together the right management approach for those circumstances. For typical employee behaviour, using two factor authentication might be enough to help them work, without security getting in the way. How enterprises manage, access and store identity data There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time For areas where security is more important, additional security policies can be put over the top, to ensure that only the right people have access. A step-up in authentication can be added, based on the sensitivity of resources or risk-based adaptive authentication policies might be needed. There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time, so that it aligns more closely with those use cases. Identity management critical to secure assets in 2022 There are bigger conversations taking place around digital identity for citizenship, as more services move online as well. Any moves that take place in this arena will affect how businesses think about their identity management processes too, encouraging them to look at their requirements in more detail. Overall, 2022 will be the year when identity will be critical to how companies keep their assets secure and their employees productive. With employees working remotely and businesses becoming decentralised, identity strategies will have to take the same approach. This will put the emphasis on strong identity management as the starting point for all security planning. ASHBURN, Va., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telos Corporation , a leading provider of cyber, cloud and enterprise security solutions for the worlds most security-conscious organizations, today announced a Strategic Alliance Agreement between the company and Brandes Associates, Inc. (BAI). This agreement allows Telos and Brandes to pursue joint initiatives to provide secure organizational messaging solutions based on Telos Automated Message Handling System (AMHS), operating in conjunction with BAIs Syndeo Intelligent Gateway (SIG), to customers in the United States and in allied nations. We are excited to partner with BAI to aggressively pursue new opportunities while maintaining market leadership in web-based organizational messaging, said Ken Fagan, vice president of secure communications, Telos. BAI has a history of providing great value to the market, and we are proud to be able to extend that commitment to excellence with our growing customer base. Telos AMHS supports over 70 organizations around the world, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, all Combatant Commands, the US Army, US Marine Corps, US Air Force, and multiple defense agencies, as well as the intelligence community (IC). Over the past several years, Brandes has established a great working relationship with Telos, which has been evident in key programs with the DoD and IC customers, said Aaron Anderson, president, Brandes Associates. Weve built our messaging products, capabilities and services to address customer needs, unique interfaces, and mission goals through which we have opened new markets and developed customers that were previously unknown. The Syndeo Intelligent Gateway is currently deployed around the world to support intelligence sharing and organizational messaging. About Telos Corporation Telos Corporation empowers and protects the worlds most security-conscious organizations with solutions for continuous security assurance of individuals, systems, and information. Telos offerings include cybersecurity solutions for IT risk management and information security; cloud security solutions to protect cloud-based assets and enable continuous compliance with industry and government security standards; and enterprise security solutions to ensure that personnel can work and collaborate securely and productively. The company serves military, intelligence and civilian agencies of the federal government, allied nations and commercial organizations around the world. The company is a recipient of the prestigious James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award from the Defense Security Service (DSS), awarded to less than .03% of eligible organizations. For more information, visit www.telos.com and follow the company on Twitter @TelosNews . Funds will be used for advancing the Company's next generation immuno-oncology drug candidates, including lead anti-CD47 product for the treatment of solid tumors through Phase I/II study in addition to advancing preclinical pipeline JERUSALEM, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KAHR Medical Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel drug platform based on bi-functional, immunotherapeutic fusion proteins known as Dual Signaling Proteins ("DSP") today announced that it has raised US$18 million from a global syndicate of leading investors. Completion of the financing round is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur early next month. The round was led by Flerie Invest AB, Oriella Limited, Hadasit Bio-Holdings (HBL), Pavilion Capital and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. Proceeds will be used for advancing the Company's next generation immuno-oncology drug candidates including the clinical development of the Company's lead product, DSP107, an anti-CD47 therapy for the treatment of solid tumors through a Phase I/II study and the preclinical advancement of additional pipeline projects. In September 2019, KAHR Medical announced a clinical collaboration with Roche to evaluate KAHR Medical's lead program, DSP107, a SIRPa-41BBL DSP, in combination with Roche's PD-L1-blocking checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in patients with advanced NSCLC who are refractory to existing immune checkpoint inhibitors. KAHR Medical expects to begin a Phase I/II trial in H2 2020 at leading sites in the US to evaluate DSP107 as a monotherapy and in combination with atezolizumab, following the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food Drug Administration (FDA). "We are grateful to our existing investors for their continued support and are pleased to welcome Oriella, a prominent private equity and technology investor in Israel, with an expanding focus on life sciences," said Yaron Pereg, Ph.D., CEO of KAHR Medical. "We are also proud to have Pavilion Capital join our investor base. Pavilion Capital brings a track record of success and expertise in the biopharmaceutical sector. We look forward to using this funding for advancing our next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline for the benefit of patients, who are non-responsive or refractory to existing immunotherapies." "We are excited to lead this financing round for KAHR Medical together with other distinguished investors," said Thomas Eldered, Chairman of Flerie Invest AB. "Despite advances in the treatment of cancer, there is still a clear need for additional therapies to broaden the patient population that will respond to cancer immunotherapies. We look forward to supporting KAHR Medical in developing effective treatments for cancer patients." Mr Vincent Tchenguiz, a British entrepreneur and beneficiary of the trust that owns Oriella commented, "We recognize the strength of KAHR Medical's proprietary platform and believe that the company's products have the potential to offer unique value to patients suffering from cancer. We are keen to work with the Company as it matures, and we look forward to helping it fulfil its mission of bringing new therapies to cancer patients." Timothy Low, Head of Healthcare Investments, Pavilion Capital, said, "We are delighted to join KAHR Medical's syndicate of investors, and believe the company has a tremendous opportunity to contribute new targeted therapies to the field of immuno-oncology." Michel Habib, CEO of HBL, stated, "HBL has been supporting KAHR Medical since its inception and we are very pleased with the company's impressive development. We are proud to continue to support the company together with other existing and new global investors and look forward with anticipation to the beginning of clinical trials." About DSP107 and the Phase I/II study DSP107 targets CD47-overexpressing tumors, simultaneously blocking macrophage inhibitory signals and delivering an immune costimulatory signal to tumor antigen-specific activated T-cells. CD47 is overexpressed on many cancer cells and binds SIRPa on immune phagocytic cells to produce a "don't eat me" signal. DSP107 binds CD47 on cancer cells, blocking interaction with SIRPa and thus blocking the "don't eat me signal". Simultaneously, DSP107 binds 41BB on T-cells, stimulating their activation. These activities lead to targeted immune activation through both macrophage and T-cell mediated tumor destruction. In combination with atezolizumab, DSP107 has the potential to enhance anti-tumor immune response. The planned Phase I/II study will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of DSP107 in advanced solid tumors. The safety and preliminary efficacy of both DSP107 monotherapy and combination therapy with atezolizumab will be evaluated in patients with advanced NSCLC who are refractory to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. KAHR Medical will be the sponsor of the study and Roche will provide the clinical supply of atezolizumab. About KAHR Medical KAHR Medical develops the next generation of immuno-oncology drug candidates for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Its proprietary technology enables the construction of targeted bi-functional biological drugs generated by fusion of the active extracellular domains of a TNF-SF ligand and a type-I membrane protein. DSPs have two functional ends, which can simultaneously block and/or activate two reinforcing biological signals resulting in a synergistic outcome. The unique DSP composition ensures target activation and increased potency by assembling a high multimer protein structure which is essential for activation of the TNF receptor family. For more information, please visit https://kahr-medical.com/. Company contact: Tsipi Haitovsky Global Media Liaison KAHR Medical +972-52-5989-892 Tsipihai5@gmail.com The Toronto luxury housing market is seeing an intense four-way battle between boomers, young executives, property investors, and foreign buyers. Royal LePage Partners Realty sales representative Steven Green noted that this pitched competition is driving the low-supply environment evident across all residential asset classes. Some of the citys most desirable pockets have a very low inventory of listings, which is unfortunate for sellers who want to move up in the same neighbourhood, Green explained. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has agreed to accept responsibility for the gas explosions on Sept. 13, 2018, in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover that killed one individual, injured 22, and damaged homes and businesses. According to the terms of a plea agreement with the government, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (CMA) will pay a criminal fine of $53 million, which prosecutors said represents twice the amount of profits that CMA earned between 2015 and 2018 from a pipeline infrastructure program. The parent company, NiSource, has also agreed to sell CMA and give up any profit from the sale. Were here because this investigation found that Columbia Gas, through a pattern of flagrant indifference in the face of extreme risk to the life and property, knowingly violated minimum safety standards, said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling at a press conference announcing the settlement. This disaster was caused by wholesale management failure at Columbia Gas. Bay State Gas Co., which does business as CMA, has agreed to plead guilty to violating a minimum safety standard of the federal Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act for failure to implement procedures to prevent the over-pressurization of its low-pressure gas distribution system in South Lawrence during a pipe replacement project known as the South Union Project. In addition to a fine, CMAs operations will be subject to monitoring during a three year period to ensure Columbias compliance with federal and state safety regulations. The U.S. Attorneys office said it has also entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with CMAs parent company, NiSource, based in Indiana. As part of the DPA, NiSource has agreed to undertake its best reasonable best efforts to sell CMA, after which NiSource and CMA would stop all gas pipeline operations in Massachusetts. In exchange for the governments agreement to defer prosecution of NiSource as a result of CMAs conduct, NiSource has also agreed to forfeit any profit it may earn from the sale of CMA and implement each of the safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board resulting from the Sept. 13, 2018 incident. CMA said in a statement that it would take full responsibility for the September 13, 2018 tragedy that affected its customers throughout the Merrimack Valley. According the U.S. attorneys charging documents, during the afternoon of Sept. 13, 2018, the over-pressurization of a low pressure gas distribution system in South Lawrence caused multiple fires and explosions in the communities of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. As a result, one individual in Lawrence was killed and another severely disabled, 22 people were injured, and approximately 131 residential homes and commercial buildings were damaged. What Happened The charges filed against CMA allege that the company recklessly disregarded a known safety risk related to regulator control lines sections of pipe connected to regulator stations that helped monitor and control downstream gas pressure. By at least 2015, according to an internal company notice, CMA knew that the failure to properly account for control lines in construction projects could lead a catastrophic event, including fires and explosions. Aging cast iron pipes were being replaced, but the failure to remove or relocate control line pipes that were later abandoned would automatically cause regulator stations to continually increase pressure to the point of dangerous over-pressurization, according to the government. The failure to account for control lines that led to the Sept. 13, 2018 event took place during a pipe replacement project known as the South Union Street Project that began in Lawrence in 2016. Throughout the project, the government says CMA disregarded the known safety risks related to control lines, and instead focused on the timely completion of construction projects to maximize the companys earnings. The charging document alleges that the company failed to implement any plan or action to ensure against over-pressurization and that failure led to the eventual fires and explosions in the Merrimack Valley on Sept. 13, 2018. The agreement with NiSource acknowledges the fact that NiSource has previously made voluntary restitution payments to the victims of the 2018 incident, and has agreed to seek to resolve all pending civil claims. The U.S. attorney said most of the $53 million fine will be directed to the Justice Departments Crime Victims Fund, which funds victim services throughout the country. Separately, CMA reached a $143 million settlement last July with residents and businesses affected by the explosions. It also signed an $80 million agreement with the three communities and reached a settlement with a family whose child was killed during the explosions. Photo: In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, firefighters battle a large structure fire in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Emergency crews are responding to what they believe is a series of gas explosions that have damaged homes across three communities north of Boston. (WCVB via AP) Related: Topics USA Massachusetts All-British lager Fabal aims to take on continental competitors British brewer Hiver is hoping to take on continental lager brands with its newest beer. Fabal Lager is due to launch at BrewLDN on 27 February following soft launches at London venues The Dorchester and The Royal Oak Marylebone. It became the latter venue's best-selling lager in a six-week trial. Hiver, known for its honey beers, believes Fabal is the only English lager to exclusively use English ingredients. It is also thought to be the first UK lager to use pressed barley - which is steamed and rolled - alongside roasted malted barley. The 4% ABV lager - which is suitable for vegans - will initially be available in 330ml bottles and 30 litre kegs, with new formats in development. Nectar Imports will be its exclusive draught distribution partner. Hannah Rhodes, founder and creator of Fabal, said: "The brand has been developed from a passion for showcasing UK ingredients to create a truly classic lager style with a delicate, balanced flavour. In blind taste tests it more than held its own against other premium and craft lager brands." 26 February 2020 - Bethany Whymark Isuzu Motors India, the Japanese manufacturer of popular D-MAX pick-ups, inaugurated a new 3S (Sales, Service and Spares) outlet of Torque Isuzu in Mehsana, Gujarat. The new facility adds the existing sales and service touch-points of Torque Isuzu located across six locations in the state. The company also inaugurated the newly refurbished outlet in Rajkot as per the Isuzu dealer identity standards. The new outlet in Mehsana is set up at an area of around 8000 sq.ft., located conveniently on Mehsana Ahmedabad Highway, to offer seamless access to the world-class utility vehicles built on the highly dependable D-MAX platform. The new facility adds to the network of touch-points already operational in Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Rajkot and Vadodara. Speaking at the inauguration, Takeshi Hirano, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Isuzu Motors India said, We have always remained committed on delivering the right product and right service at all times. The D-MAX pick-ups have gained a strong traction in the state of Gujarat, thanks to its versatility and performance. Torque Isuzu has been working towards enhancing the customer experience with the range of Isuzu pick-ups. We are happy to open another important touch-point of Torque ISUZU in Gujarat that will address the growing demand for our range of utility vehicles. Kuren Amin, Managing Director, Torque ISUZU, said, We are happy to be serving the customers of Gujarat with the highly dependable range of Isuzu D-MAX pick-ups. Today, with seven outlets of ISUZU in the state, we are well-placed to adequately meet the growing demand for these reliable utility vehicles in the region. This new outlet in Mehsana will further increase our customer base and together with ISUZU we are committed to delivering value to all our customers. Isuzu D-MAX Regular Cab: The Isuzu D-MAX Regular Cab, a single cabin pickup, is a tough, powerful and reliable workhorse that is globally known for its performance and life-long durability. The Regular Cab is available in both flat deck and cab-chassis variants. The flat deck variant excels in meeting the wide range of applications in commercial transportation, while the Cab-chassis variant is an ideal choice to build reefer containers for cold chain transport applications. The Cab-chassis variant can also be customized for special purpose applications in the logistics and allied businesses. D-Serve ISUZU offers the popular D-Serve package at no additional cost for Regular Cab model. The package provides Free Periodic Maintenance for 3 years / 100,000 km (whichever is earlier) - includes PMS parts, lubricants, related labour costs and certain wear and tear items. This excludes accidental damage related repairs. This limited period offer is valid for all new purchases of Regular Cab models. The price of the D-MAX Regular Cab Flat Deck Variant is Rs 7,59,303 (ex-showroom, Mehsana). Isuzu D-MAX S-CAB: The Isuzu D-MAX S-Cab, a 5-seater Pick-up, offers a unique combination of Space, Performance and Strength in Smart proportions. It caters to the modern businessmen and professionals who seek a high level of sophistication, space. The S-cab is now also available in a Hi-Ride variant, which provides a higher ground clearance required for travelling smoothly over challenging roads. The S-CAB is also ergonomically designed and offers superior features for safety, comfort and convenience for the modern Pick-up driver. The price of the D-MAX S-Cab Hi-Ride Variant is Rs 9,37,633 (ex-showroom, Mehsana). Isuzu D-MAX V-Cross: The Isuzu D-MAX V-Cross is Indias preferred Lifestyle and Adventure Utility Vehicle, caters to those SUV buyers who seek adventure and want to stand out among their peers. The recently launched new V-Cross now comes with new design giving a more aggressive and solid stance on or off-road. It has new 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, bi-led headlamps and many more newly added features that make the exterior design of vehicle truly aspirational. On the interior, it gets all-black upholstery with perforated leather seats, piano black garnish finish on the dashboard, new 3D electroluminescent meter, Gear Shift Indicator and more. The new V-Cross is also loaded with features like PESS, speed-sensing auto door lock etc. Safety is further enhanced with Co-driver Seat Belt Reminder, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control. The price of the D-MAX V-Cross starts at Rs 16,52,846 (ex-showroom, Mehsana). Isuzu mu-X: The Isuzu mu-X is a premium 7-seater full-size SUV. It is a perfect combination for those buyers who seek not only style, power and a dominating road presence but also want to have the best-in-class space and comfort for their family. The new mu-X comes with refreshed exteriors (front and rear), exuding more aggressive stance, premium Lava Black interiors, additional safety features including 6-Airbags (front, side and curtain), Hill Descent Control (HDC) and 18-inch multi-spoke twist design diamond-cut alloy wheels making the SUV sportier and muscular. The price of Isuzu mu-X starts at Rs 27,31,504 (ex-showroom, Mehsana). 5ecure - The Isuzu mu-X now comes with an extended warranty of 3 years / 50,000 km (whichever occurs earlier) on the ISUZU mu-X Powertrain, comes in addition to the 5ecure comprehensive warranty package, which offers a 5 years Comprehensive Warranty and 5 years Free Periodic Maintenance, for 1,50,000 km (whichever occurs earlier). 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 A sign featuring a picture of Peter Nygard outside his Times Square headquarters in New York City: AP Police and federal agents raided a building in Manhattan belonging to fashion mogul Peter Nygard on Tuesday morning as part of an investigation into sex trafficking. The New York Times reported that law enforcement officials were seeking evidence for an investigation. Mr Nygard is the chairman of Nygard International, a Canadian womens fashion company. The 78-year-old, who 10 women have recently accused of raping them at pamper parties, has been under investigation for the last five months by an FBI and NYPD joint child exploitation task force. He has denied allegations of wrongdoing. His spokesman has said his client expects his name to be cleared. The rape allegations against Mr Nygard are said to have occurred at his estate in the Bahamas. Dozens of other women have made allegations against him since the initial lawsuit was filed against him. The lawsuit claims that Mr Nygard lured the victims to his estate and forced them to commit sex acts. The suit alleges that women who tried to leave the island were harassed by Bahamian law enforcement that were taking payments from Mr Nygard. The allegations against Mr Nygard cover a 40-year span and include the stories of some women who say they were abused when they were teenagers. Most of the women worked for Mr Nygard in some capacity. Nine women have alleged that he raped them, while another nine have made sexual harassment complaints against him. (Annie I. Bang/Invision/AP) The pamper parties where the women were allegedly abused were attended by political figures, it is claimed. The scheme was so successful that victims who escaped Nygard Cay were often brought back to the Cay by the Bahamian police, the lawsuit claims. Ken Frydman, a spokesman for Mr Nygard, told CNN his client was not surprised by the raid on his headquarters in New York. Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. He has not been charged, is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation, Mr Frydman said. Attorneys Greg Gutzler and Lisa Haba, who represent Mr Nygards accusers, issued a joint statement condemning Mr Nygard. We want these women to know that they are stronger, and their voice is more powerful, than the man who inflicted this horrible alleged abuse. Peter Nygards reign of terror has come to an end and we are committed to ensuring that he is brought to justice, the statement said. Four jailed in UK for smuggling in 29 Vietnamese A British court sentenced four men to prison on Monday for trafficking 29 Vietnamese, including 17 children, from France into the U.K. The Truro Crown Court gave Jon Ransom, 63, Glen Bennett, 55, and Frank Walling, 72, four and a half years each and Keith Plummer, 63, three years and four months. They were charged with "assisting unlawful immigration" for their role in smuggling the Vietnamese nationals, including 17 children to Newlyn, a seaside town in Cornwall in southwestern U.K., by fishing boat in April last year, a statement from the court said. Once in Newlyn, the Vietnamese were bundled into a windowless van to be taken to a hideout. Police officers acted upon a tip-off, stopped the vehicle and found the Vietnamese crammed inside the back of the van. The indictment said Walling owned the boat and had sailed it across the English Channel from France along with Bennett with the Vietnamese nationals while Plummer hired and drove the van with Ranson. Judge Robert Longford said the defendants were "trading in human misery." "This was a well organized, for-profit operation. In that van, being carted about like freight, were 29 living breathing, desperate human beings whose plight you cared not one jot for," he said, as cited by the court statement. The victims have since been referred to the Home Office and social care services, the court said. The sentencing came even as British police officers were in Vietnam to meet with families of 39 Vietnamese killed in a refrigerated container truck in Essex last October. The two youngest victims were 15 years old and oldest was 44. Their remains were brought home in November. The Essex police recently wrapped up post-mortems, which found the cause of death was a combination of hypoxia and hyperthermia in an enclosed space. Vietnam is consistently one of the top source countries for modern slaves in Britain, with at least 3,187 Vietnamese victims being identified since 2009, according to official data. Victims trafficked from Vietnam most commonly end up being exploited, often in cannabis farms and nail bars, but many are also sexually exploited, according to a report commissioned by Britains independent anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland. The situation in the riot-hit northeast Delhi "is under control", National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said after he held a meeting with senior officials of the Delhi Police and visited some of the affected areas on Wednesday afternoon. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. Doval, who has been tasked with checking the violence, held a meeting with the top brass of the Delhi Police at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) in Seelampur. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, newly-appointed special CP S N Shrivastava, Special CP (Law and Order) Satisha Golcha and DCP of northeast Delhi Ved Prakash Arya were among those present in the meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. This was Doval's second visit to the office. He had visited the office and met senior officers on late night on Tuesday. After the meeting, Doval went Jaffrabad and Maujpur to take stock of the situation. He interacted with locals and assured them about ensuring peace in the area. "The situation is under control and people are satisfied. We have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police is doing their job and is alert," he told reporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cheetahs are in danger of extinction, but experts have demonstrated a 'scientific marvel' that could stop this tragedy from happening. Two cheetah cubs were born through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer into a surrogate mother at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The cubs, one female and one male, were delivered on February 19th by their birth mother Isabelle. Cheetahs Kibibi, the biological mother and Isabella received hormone injections to stimulate follicle development and their eggs were fertilized with semen originally collected early last year from two males. Scroll down for video Cheetahs are in danger of extinction, but experts have demonstrated a 'scientific marvel' that could stop this tragedy from happening. Two cheetah cubs were born through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer into a surrogate mother at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium This is the third attempt by scientists to successful inseminate and produce healthy cubs. Dr. Randy Junge, the Columbus Zoo's Vice President of Animal Health, said: 'These two cubs may be tiny but they represent a huge accomplishment, with expert biologists and zoologists working together to create this scientific marvel.' 'This achievement expands scientific knowledge of cheetah reproduction, and may become an important part of the species' population management in the future.' The team has noted that Kibbi, which is six and a half years old, and Isabella, which is 9 years old, have genes that are valuable in maintaining a strong lineage of cheetahs in human care. The cubs, one female and one male, were delivered on February 19th by their birth mother Isabelle (pictured) The team has noted that Kibbi (pictured), which is six and a half years old, and Isabella, which is 9 years old, have genes that are valuable in maintaining a strong lineage of cheetahs in human care Eggs from both females were extracted and fertilized in a Columbus Zoo laboratory using thawed semen originally collected in February 2019 from two cheetahs: a male from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and another from SCBI. The early stage embryos from Kibibi were then implanted into Isabella. And then about a month later, an ultrasound revealed two fetuses were growing inside of Isabella the father of the cubs is 3-year-old Slash from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. Jason Ahistus, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center Carnivore Curator, said: 'I am very proud of the team for this accomplishment.' 'It gives the cheetah conservation community another tool to use in cheetah management, both in situ and ex situ.' Eggs from both females were extracted and fertilized in a Columbus Zoo laboratory using thawed semen originally collected in February 2019 from two cheetahs: a male from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and another from SCBI. Pictured are the baby cubs The early stage embryos from Kibibi were then implanted into Isabella Then about a month later, an ultrasound revealed two fetuses were growing inside of Isabella 'It really opens the door to many new opportunities that can help the global cheetah population. This is a big win for the cheetah.' The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies cheetahs as 'Vulnerable,' with a decreasing population trend in their native Africa. Threats like habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with livestock and game farmers, as well as unregulated tourism has left these animals with just 10 percent of their habitat. Scientists estimate the population has declined to only about 7,500, and activists and experts are now petitioning for them to be added to the endangered list. (Newser) Veggies served by sandwich chain Jimmy John's have been linked to five outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella over the past seven years, affecting consumers in at least 17 states, the FDA said Tuesday. The most recent outbreak saw 22 people in Iowa sickened with E.coli in late 2019. All of the 20 people interviewed said they'd eaten at Jimmy John's. The chain "engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers," reads a warning letter sent to the company. Jimmy John's was told to respond with "the specific things you are doing to address this violation" within 15 days or face enforcement action "including seizure and/or injunction." A similar letter was sent to Iowa-based Sprouts Unlimited Wholesale Foods, a Jimmy John's supplier, reports USA Today. story continues below Jimmy John's president James North says sprouts have been removed from all 2,800 locations in 43 states "out of an abundance of caution" rather than "any known, immediate threat," per CNN. "Food safety is our top priority," he adds. But in a Tuesday release, FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas said Jimmy John's "has not demonstrated implementation of long-term sustainable corrections to its supply chain to assure the safety of ingredients." Ten people in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsineight of whom had eaten Jimmy John's sproutswere infected with salmonella in February 2018. The chain was also implicated in three E.coli outbreaks affecting 56 people across various states from 2012 to 2014, with most reporting to have eaten sprouts. Cucumbers were cited in a 2013 E.coli outbreak that sickened eight people in Colorado. (Read more Jimmy John's stories.) One of two candidates in Guinea-Bissau's presidential election said he would be sworn in on Thursday, even though a bitter row over the vote remains unresolved after nearly two months. Umaro Sissoco Embalo made the announcement on social media on Wednesday, referencing a decision in his favour by the country's electoral commission. "In a spirit of unity and national harmony, I invite all my compatriots to my inauguration ceremony, which will take place tomorrow," he said. Embalo, a 47-year-old former general and prime minister, won 53.55 percent of the votes in the December 29 elections, according to the National Electoral Commission. Domingos Simoes Pereira, 56, from Guinea-Bissau's traditional ruling party, the PAIGC, won 46.45 percent -- a score that he has denounced as fraudulent. The Supreme Court, responding to a petition filed by the PAIGC, has issued rulings requiring a check of the vote tally sheets. Guinea-Bissau. By Jonathan JACOBSEN (AFP) However, this has failed to resolve the dispute, and a row has arisen between the Supreme Court and the election panel. On Tuesday, the election commission confirmed the results that it had announced, while the PAIGC stood by its objections. A Guinea-Bissau lawyer, Armando Tchoba Dos Santos, told AFP that the Supreme Court was required to issue a new ruling in the affair within 48 hours. Guinea-Bissau, a West African state with a reputation for graft and as a transit point for cocaine smuggling, has seen four coups and 16 attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. Two-thirds of its 1.8 million people live below the poverty line despite abundant reserves in bauxite and phosphates and rich potential in forestry and tourism. Embalo had said on Sunday, on his return from a foreign trip, that he expected to be inaugurated on Thursday and that it would be a low-key affair. Guinea-Bissau "cannot afford the luxury of a sumptuous ceremony," he said. His victory has already been recognised by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, by the United States and by Senegal, Guinea-Bissau's influential neighbour. However, parliament has to give the go-ahead to the inauguration, which faces the challenge of securing the support of the PAIGC, which wields the majority in the legislature. The country's constitution provides for power-sharing between the presidency and the legislature -- often stoking institutional tensions. "It is more and more difficult to think of a scenario under which Embalo will not be inaugurated," said Pedro Seabra, a specialist at the Center for International Studies thinktank in Lisbon. "But what we don't know is: When?" The armed forces has said it will not intervene, and its chief of staff has vowed to send any agitator "straight to the cemetery". The country's last coup, in 2012, was followed two years later by presidential elections. "It may be unprecedented in West Africa to have a Supreme Court decision that fundamentally changes the results of a presidential election," said analyst Vincent Foucher. "But who knows? Guinea-Bissau is full of surprises." The prominent human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney has been hired by the Maldives to represent it at the highest court of the United Nations to seek justice for Rohingya Muslims. The Maldivian government said on February 25 that it will formally join the mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia in challenging Myanmar's military crackdown in 2017 which led to at least 7,40,000 Rohingyas to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Last month, in a unanimous ruling, the International Court of Justice had ordered Myanmar to implement emergency measures to prevent the genocide of the minority Muslim community. Clooney has successfully represented former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed and secured a UN ruling stating that his jailing for 13 years in 2015, was illegal. According to the international news agency, Clooney was quoted by the Maldives government that the accountability for genocide in Myanmar is long overdue and she looks forward to working on an important effort and seek the judicial remedies for Rohingya survivors. Read - Why Rohingya, Ahmadiyya Muslims Not Covered Under CAA? Karat Asks ICJ verdict on Rohingyas Earlier, the UNSC had discussed the verdict by the International Court of Justice on Myanmar but did not take any action on it, according to reports. ICJ had previously ordered Myanmar to prevent genocide from being committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority. UN's top court insisted the country take emergency provisional measures and urged to halt all persecution of the ethnic group including killing, raping, and destroying homes and villages. Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, the court's president said that the ICJ is of the opinion that the Rohingya in Myanmar remain extremely vulnerable. Read - 14 Rohingya Refugees Die As Boat Capsizes Off Bangladesh Coast: Report It was a unanimous decision when the court also ruled that it has the authority to consider a genocide case against Myanmar by creating international legal obligations on the country. ICJ has ordered Myanmar to take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to its acts against the Muslim minority. Nearly 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee into camps in Bangladesh after the military of Myanmar launched a violent crackdown on the group in 2017. This, according to the UN officials was 'genocide'. This case in the International Court of Justice was the first legal attempt by the peace-making body to bring the country into justice over the crisis. It was also a rare example of a country suing another over an issue to which it is not directly a party. The tiny west African state of The Gambia, which is acting on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Corporation asked the court to halt the 'ongoing genocidal actions'. Read - Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Seeks EU's Support For Return Of Rohingyas Read - Myanmar Reimposes Internet Blackout Amid Escalating Violence In Rohingya Villages (With inputs from agencies) Dmitriy M. Niyazov, the last marshal of the Soviet Union, once considered the most powerful in the world, died at the age of 95. He was the last marshal of the Soviet Union in Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said that Dimitri was battling a long illness. He took his last breath in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Dimitri played a key role in the coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Parliament session adjourns in China, ruling party gives reason Between 1987 and 1991, Defense Minister Dimitri participated in the coup attempt against Gorbachev in August 1991, a year after he took the position of Marshal. However, his coup had failed. The people associated with it were arrested three days later. However, after this effort, the collapse of the Soviet Union was ensured. The Soviet Union was finally disbanded in December 1991. After this, Dimitri was put in jail. Indonesia: Flood outbreak continues in capital Jakarta He was finally released from prison in 1993 and was granted amnesty for his role in the failed coup in 1994. On February 4, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu honored him with the Award for Merit to the Fatherland. He was also honored by President Vladimir Putin. He was awarded the Order of Honor in 2004 and the Order of Alexander Nevsky in 2014. NRC will not apply in Bihar, Legislative Assembly passed resolution Beijing, Feb 26 : Public security authorities across China have handled around 22,000 criminal cases related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as of Monday, a media report quoted the Ministry of Public Security. A total of 4,260 suspects implicated in the cases have been detained, Vice Minister Du Hangwei was quoted by Xinhua as saying at a press conference on Wednesday. So far, police have cracked 688 cases involving the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy protective materials, with more than 1,560 suspects apprehended and over 31 million fake or inferior face masks seized, Du said. A total of 49 police officers and auxiliary police officers across the country sacrificed their lives while on duty during the epidemic outbreak, said Du. He added that public security agencies will continue to crack down on crimes, including interfering with transportation and logistics, price gouging and disrupting the production order. Du also urged police officers to avoid violence in enforcing laws and carry out investigations in strict accordance with the law. Police officers should crack down on illegal activities severely hindering epidemic control or business resumption while educating those involved in minor cases, Du added. WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring released its Regulatory Forecast 2020: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year today, a report that explores the impact of regulatory changes on the technology industry and other sectors, and provides insight into the trends that in-house counsel can expect to face in the coming year. The cover story, "Antitrust in the Digital Age: How Antitrust Investigations into Big Tech Impact Companies in Every Industry," discusses why there has been an increase in antitrust investigations and the effort to crack down on potential abuses among large technology companies. The driving forces behind the increased regulatory focus include access to the data, online platforms, and cutting-edge technologies that define competitive advantage. "Despite the current administration's stated focus on deregulation, both the federal and state regulatory regimes are alive and well; they are just manifesting in different ways," said Philip T. Inglima , the chair of Crowell & Moring. "Our report demonstrates that technological changes in industry are fueling an evolution in regulation, with positive and negative outcomes. It is a guide to anticipating and adapting to the changes that will surely come in the year ahead and for years to come." "The regulatory environment has not kept pace with the rapid growth of technology," said Shawn R. Johnson, partner and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Antitrust Group. "In the antitrust arena, Big Tech is at center stage as the government works to address potential abuses. But this is not just about Big Tech. In the end, all companies are becoming digital. From how we view the role of data privacy to acquisitions, these investigations are going to impact a wide range of businesses for the foreseeable future." In the article focused on government affairs, "A Surprisingly Open Door for Legislation," James G. Flood, former counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer on the Senate Judiciary Committee and now chair of the firm's Government Affairs Group, examines the potential for new federal legislation despite the common misconception that Congress stops functioning in an election year. In the insurance article, "AI and Insurance: What's in That Black Box?" Laura Foggan, chair of the firm's Insurance/Reinsurance Group, explores how AI leverages big data to find correlations, inferences and predictions, and warns in-house counsel that cutting-edge technology could be a double-edged sword. Additional articles in the Forecast include: "Not only is there no rest for those watching the regulatory front, but, driven by uncertainty, that front is larger and perhaps more active than ever," said Dan W. Wolff, chair of the firm's Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice. "The goal of the Forecast is to help general counsel better monitor that front and also move forward along with it." All of the articles from the Forecast are available at https://www.crowell.com/regulatoryforecast . Follow the conversation on social media with #RegulatoryForecast. About Crowell & Moring LLP Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels. Contact: Andrew Loeb Senior Coordinator, PR 202.624.2792 [email protected] SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP Related Links http://www.crowell.com Stag's Leap Wine Cellars stunned the world in 1976 when its 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon bested some of Bordeaux's first-growth wines in a tasting in Paris. It was the winery's first commercial vintage, a wine produced from young, three-year-old vines. While the "victory" over the French in "The Judgment of Paris" continues to be hailed throughout the world and the winery is still humbled by the achievement Stag's Leap Wine Cellars enters its golden anniversary year with a renewed commitment to producing complex and age-worthy wines. "The Judgment of Paris put Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, the Napa Valley wine region, and the entire American wine industry on a path to worldwide renown," said Winemaker Marcus Notaro. "It's a legacy everyone at the winery, in the vineyard and in the tasting room carries forward each day, while pushing the boundaries to do even better." In celebration of the 50th Anniversary, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars will be participating in high-profile consumer, trade and media events at the winery and around the world. Consumers are encouraged to attend these events or come visit the winery to mark this milestone anniversary. The winery kicked-off its 50th Anniversary activities at South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) on February 20-22. Other key events in the U.S. include: Pebble Beach Food & Wine ( April 16-20 ) ) Stags Leap District Vineyard to Vintner Dinner ( April 24 ) ) Big Bottle Party at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ( May 7 ) ) Auction Napa Valley with 50 th Anniversary Live Lot ( June 4-6 ) with 50 Anniversary Live Lot ( ) Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Annual Dinner in the Vineyard ( August 15 ) ) Stag's Leap Wine Cellars will be the featured winery at approximately 200 consumer dinners across the U.S. at two iconic steakhouses ( March 7 ) and (August 20). For more information about 50th Anniversary celebrations at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and beyond, please visit www.StagsLeap50th.com. Since acquiring the winery in the summer of 2007, the historic partnership of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and the Antinori family (Tuscan vintners since 1385) has worked tirelessly to preserve the Stag's Leap Wine Cellars legacy and to set the bar even higher for the decades to come. "Very few brands have longevity and staying power," said Jim Mortensen, President & CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. "The ones that stick around stay true to themselves and continually push the envelope. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars follows this model. No resting on laurels or autopilot, but rather a drive to ensure the next 50 years are even more glorious than the first 50." A step back in time puts Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' current and future plans in perspective. The estate was founded in 1970 with the purchase of orchard land in what is now the Stags Leap District AVA in southeastern Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes replaced the prunes and walnuts, and the winery was built in 1972. A wine was made there in that year, but it was the 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon that impressed and shocked a panel of experts on French wine. In the 1976 Paris Tasting, a blind tasting, they chose S.L.V as the finest red wine in the group, without knowing its provenance. "It's a good time to reflect on what Napa Valley was like when the winery was first established," says Notaro. "There were more prune orchards than vineyards, very little infrastructure, and certainly no guarantee of success. The 1973 S.L.V. proved that a can-do spirit, keen attention to the viticulture and enology practices and a remarkable site could produce California wine on par with the best of Europe." Twenty years after the Judgment of Paris, in 1996, the Smithsonian Institution created a display documenting the groundbreaking tasting and wine's coming of age in California. The 1973 S.L.V is now part of the permanent collection in the National Museum of American History. Looking back also helps put into perspective the impetus to plant grapevines at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. In 1961, Nathan Fay was the first to cultivate Cabernet Sauvignon in the Stags Leap region, discounting opinions from others that the area was too cool for red Bordeaux varieties. It proved to be perfect for ripening luscious dark-berry fruit aromas and flavors in the grapes, firm yet supple tannins in the wines, a refreshing acid character from start to finish, and the structure that promises longevity in the cellar. A tasting of Nathan Fay's exceptional homemade Cabernet in 1969 from his own ranch, led the winery to purchase and plant the adjoining ranch, now known as S.L.V. In 1986, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars bought Fay's 66-acre vineyard and named it FAY in his honor. Today, it remains one of the great Napa Valley vineyards, producing fruit with an abundance of supple red and blackberry character, perfumed aromas and seductive, fine-grained texture. In 2001, the winery purchased an additional estate vineyard (Danika Ranch) on Big Ranch Road in the Oak Knoll region as a source of beautiful Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Twin Creeks Vineyard in the hills of Wooden Valley, northeast of the city of Napa, was acquired by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 2016, to add Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to the ARTEMIS program. In 2019, Greenwood Vineyards, a 56-acre vineyard located north of the town of Calistoga, was also acquired with grapes intended for ARTEMIS. About Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Considered one of the "first growths" of Napa Valley, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars produces renowned Cabernet Sauvignon from its historic Stags Leap District estate vineyards. Founded in 1970, the winery brought international recognition to California winemaking and the Napa Valley when the 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won the now famous 1976 Paris Tasting, also known as the "Judgment of Paris." Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' three estate-grown Cabernet SauvignonsCASK 23, S.L.V. and FAYare among the most highly regarded and collected Cabernet Sauvignons worldwide. The same classic style of the estate wines is expressed in the Napa Valley wines AVETA Sauvignon Blanc, KARIA Chardonnay and ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon. www.stagsleapwinecellars.com About Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ste. Michelle's Washington portfolio includes: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, 14 Hands, Col Solare, Northstar, Spring Valley Vineyard, Merf, INTRINSIC, Seven Falls and Domaine Ste. Michelle sparkling wines. In California, the company owns Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (with Tuscany's Antinori family), Conn Creek (Napa Valley), and Patz & Hall (Sonoma). Ste. Michelle also owns Erath, in Dundee, Oregon. The company became the exclusive U.S. importer in 2006 for Marchesi Antinori wines of Italy and Chile's Haras de Pirque, for Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte of France in 2009, and for New Zealand's Villa Maria Estate in 2010. www.smwe.com SOURCE Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Related Links http://www.stagsleapwinecellars.com Food boxes, personal care and cleaning supplies donated by the Church of Christ The Walla Walla Church of Christ reached out to Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, Inc. for assistance and the nonprofit organization sent a semi-truck full of flood relief supplies from Nashville, Tenn. The supplies arrived in Waitsburg on Monday, Feb. 17. Two volunteers drove 2,200 miles with the supplies valued at $72,000. Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort immediately responds to any major disaster in the continental United States. They contact the leadership of local Churches of Christ in or near a major disaster area. If the leadership says their local congregation wants to help, they send and turn over to that congregation truckloads of emergency food, personal hygiene, infant care, water, cleaning supplies, and pallets of additional basic needs, for them to distribute to the disaster victims. Included in the delivery are multiple blankets, brooms, box fans, food boxes designed to feed one family of four for one week, which include such shelf-stable staples as instant rice and coffee, granola bars, crackers, pinto beans, chili mac, tuna, fruit cocktail, peanut butter, instant mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and pasta and more. Buckets filled with cleaning supplies including cleaning brushes, enzyme spray, sponges, disposable gloves, rags, spray wipe cleaner/detergent and disposable gloves were also part of the shipment. Additionally, there are boxes of personal care supplies with toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc. included in the donation. The McGregor Co. donated the use of a forklift and operator to complete the transfer of supplies to a nearby home. The homeowner is donating the space to the relief efforts "until it's all gone." she said "I went down and donated some stuff to the church, I happened to be sitting there when they got the call (about the truckload of supplies)" and she immediately offered up her garage which had recently been cleaned out in advance of putting the home up for sale. If you are in need of supplies, contact Matt Wyatt (916) 622-9932. Bug bounty platform HackerOne said six hackers on its platform each made at least a million dollars from ethical hacking in 2019. Additionally, the number of hackers who earned at least $100,000 over the course of their ethical hacking careers tripled compared to 2018. That puts the potential earnings power of a hacking career well above todays global average IT salary of $89,732, said HackerOne. In total, its community earned $40 million in bounties almost as much as all previous years (2012-2018) combined. Hacking is a viable career HackerOne said hacking is a potentially lucrative career, and is showing immense growth. The concept of hacking as a viable career has become a reality, said HackerOne. Not only are more hackers earning most or all of their income from hacking, theyre making a good living doing it. HackerOne said it has over 600,000 registered hackers and has had a total of over 150,000 valid vulnerabilities submitted proof that ethical hackings popularity continues to rise. Companies need to catch up HackerOne said many organisations arent using ethical hacking to its full potential. According to the platform, nearly two-thirds of hackers said they had found bugs, but chosen not to report them. This was due to a variety of reasons, including threatening legal language posted on the organisations website, companies not having a channel through which to report findings, and companies being unresponsive to bug reports. Their reasons for hacking may vary, but the results are consistently impressing the growing ranks of organizations embracing hackers through crowdsourced security leaving us all a lot safer than before, said HackerOne. Ethical hacking in South Africa South Africa isnt excluded from the benefits of ethical hacking, however. In an interview with MyBroadband, security researcher Bright Gameli Mawudor explained how he accidentally uncovered a text file full of MultiChoice credentials on a misconfigured web server in the middle of a live demo. Mawudor said that what he found was deeply troubling, and if he had been a malicious hacker, he could have done a lot of damage. I would have been able to use those credentials to log into the monitoring of live [sports] matches that were going on, [or] into the VPN and into the internal network, said Mawudor. From there, Mawudor said he could have shut down systems or manipulated live broadcasts. Instead, he disclosed the issue to Multichoice. Now read: Yunus Carrim drops MultiChoice bombshell Durian fruit sits on display at a stall on Petaling Street in the Chinatown district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The Malaysian ringgit could weaken further as the country grapples with a host of issues ranging from this week's political upheaval to the coronavirus outbreak that's spreading beyond China. That's according to Gerald Ambrose, chief executive officer at Aberdeen Standard Investments Malaysia. "Malaysia, after a little bit of a recovery last year, does appear to be ... one of the sick men of the region," Ambrose told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on those remarks. Commenting on the outlook for the Malaysian ringgit, Ambrose said: "I don't know how much weaker it can go. I don't know how much a weaker currency will actually help the economy." Malaysia's 94-year-old prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, unexpectedly resigned on Monday. His decision threw the country into turmoil, and broke apart a coalition of parties that ruled the country for less than two years after its surprise win at the 2018 general elections. Since the start of the week, the Malaysian ringgit has weakened significantly against the greenback, last trading at 4.235 per dollar after seeing levels below 4.17 last week. Commenting on whether the central bank might step in to support the currency, Ambose said: "I don't think Bank Negara with reserves of what, slightly over a 100 billion U.S. dollars is gonna blow a lot of that supporting it if everyone wants out." Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), said Monday it was "closely monitoring conditions in the financial markets." "While ringgit movements will continue to be market determined, BNM's market operations will ensure sufficient liquidity and orderly financial market conditions," BNM said in a statement. Mahathir has since been appointed interim prime minister by the Malaysian king, where the veteran politician will continue to oversee administrative matters in the country until the appointment of a new premier and cabinet. The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Brazil - meaning the infection would have spread to every continent on the planet barring Antarctica. Health officials confirmed on Wednesday that the first case of the fast-spreading virus had been detected. It comes as health officials look to contain the spread of the virus worldwide. In the 7,132 people in the UK have so far been tested. Of these, 13 have tested positive, of whom eight have been discharged from hospital The 61-year-old patient in Brazil is thought to have recorded a positive test on Tuesday night, having recently returned to the country from northern Italy, the most-affected coronavirus region in Europe. Local reports said the patient had mild signs of the illness and is currently in isolation at home. Elsewhere, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that while the immediate risk there was low the global situation suggested a pandemic was likely and a question of when, not if. A police officer wearing a mask talks on the phone in front of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in La Caleta, in the Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain. (AP) Fears are intensifying over the spread of coronavirus in Europe as France reported its second death and the number of people in Italy with the virus continues to climb. Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or up 45% in 24 hours, and 11 people have now died. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland also reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. School closures The first case of coronavirus in Brazil comes as British schools have closed over fears the virus could spread. Some have closed while others have sent pupils home for fear they may have been exposed to coronavirus during ski trips to northern Italy. On Tuesday, Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, and Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough announced they would be closed for the rest of the week. Both schools said that this was to allow for a "deep clean" after pupils and teachers had returned from ski trips in northern Italy. Story continues Trinity Catholic College said that a "small number of staff and pupils" had started showing mild flu-like symptoms following a ski trip. Forza Italia MP Matteo Dall'Osso and Maria Teresa Baldini of the Brothers of Italy wearing protective masks in the Chamber. (PA) Child wearing a protective face mask against the coronavirus at the park while playing football in Rome, Italy. (PA) Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire also said they had closed "because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school" and St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington told parents it would be shut on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sandbach High School in Cheshire said students and staff who visited Aprica, in Italy's Lombardy region, were to stay indoors and self-isolate. A third Cheshire school, Brine Leas School in Nantwich, said its sixth form was closed due to staff shortages following Government advice regarding travel to Italy. Students from Penair School in Truro, Cornwall, Salendine Nook High School in Huddersfield, Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby and Newquay Tretherras in Newquay, have also been advised to stay home after returning from ski trips. A technician examines the test kits for coronavirus at a company, Yangzhou city, east China's Jiangsu province. (PA) Flu patients to be tested In the Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested today that home testing will be rolled out more widely, to complement existing hospital testing and the isolation pods which have been sited at hospitals in England for people who turn up at A&E with symptoms. He added: We have a clear, four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate. Public Health England also announced that flu patients will now be assessed for coronavirus to see if it is spreading. Hancock added that official advice has been changed to say people who have been to anywhere in Italy north of Pisa should self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms on their return to the UK. Read more: These are the 9 countries where the coronavirus has become fatal Britons who have been in locked-down regions of Italy - including Lombardy and Veneto - were told they should self-isolate at home for 14 days even if they have no symptoms. The Foreign Office later updated its travel advice, with a spokesman saying: "We advise against all but essential travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto, which are currently in isolation due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus. "Any British nationals already in these towns should follow the advice of the local authorities." People stand on their balconies of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife. (AP) Hotel workers queue to get tested at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife. (AP) Hotel lockdowns Britons were among the 700 guests at hotel in Tenerife who were told to stay in their rooms after an Italian doctor there was diagnosed with coronavirus. The Italian doctor and his wife tested positive and were placed in isolation in hospital, the Canary Islands government confirmed. It said the couple had travelled with eight other Italians who were showing no symptoms. The Canary Islands government added that more than 100 tourists at the hotel who are believed to have not had any contact with the couple will be allowed to leave, but it is not known if they include any Britons. Read more: Five European nations confirm new coronavirus cases A Foreign Office spokesman said its staff was offering advice and support to British people at the hotel. The 108-room Grand Hotel Europa in the Alpine tourist hub of Innsbruck in Austria was sealed off after a receptionist was one of the first two cases of the virus in the country, Reuters reported. Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at a bus garage in Seoul, South Korea. (AP) A Catholic devotee wearing a protective mask prays during Ash Wednesday rites in the Philippines. (AP) Coronavirus in numbers As of Tuesday this week, a total of 6,795 people have been tested in the UK with 13 positive cases. The Department of Health also added Iran, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and parts of northern Italy to the list of places where travellers need to follow clinical advice. China has reported 78,064 cases and 2,715 deaths, while South Korea has the second highest number of cases with 1,261 and 11 deaths. Above 800 people underwent testing for coronavirus in Kazakhstan, Health Minister Yelzhan Birtanov told an interview with Khabar 24 TV Channel, Trend reports citing Kazinform. According to the Minister, all travelers arriving in Kazakhstan should undergo testing for the coronavirus. First of all, it concerns those arrived from the countries affected with the novel virus. He also stressed that there are no cases of coronavirus infection in Kazakhstan. All those arrived with infection symptoms are admitted to hospitals and monitored further for 14 days more. Above 800 people underwent testing at large. No one was tested positive. Nevertheless, it is essential to further monitor the situation, the Minister resumed. Crying and visibly upset, a 59-year-old Port Hope woman pleaded no contest this week in Gladwin County's 55th Circuit Court. Corinne Damm was originally charged with attempted murder. On Monday, she pleaded no contest to vulnerable adult abuse third degree, per a plea agreement. She is set for sentencing at 1:20 p.m. March 23 in Gladwin County's 55th Circuit Court. Gladwin County Assistant Prosecutor Norm Gage agreed to the lesser charge. Circuit Court Judge Tom Evans told Damm she faces up to two years in prison and/or $2,500 fine for the high misdemeanor charge. She remains out on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond. Damm was accused of severing tubing and shutting off her mother's life support at the Gladwin Pines Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center on Feb. 1. Her mother showed her where the scissors were in her top nightstand drawer. Damm told at least one nurse that she was planning on shutting off her mother's life support. Damm told police she didn't want to hurt her mother; she just wanted her pain to stop. She said her mother was hooked to a feeding tube and was in a lot of pain. Damm was reportedly visiting her mother, 78, at the facility, according to Gladwin Police Chief Eric Killian. During the visit, Damm cut tubes and turned off the victim's life support. There was about a minute lapse before a nurse responded to the machine's alarm, indicating a problem, and immediately turned the machine back on. While turning the machine back on, the nurse told police that Damm was sitting next to her mother telling her she could go to heaven now. She said her mother knew she would go to heaven, as she is a strong Christian. One of the nurses reported the patient was stable and Damm was cooperating, that there wasn't a need to get authorities involved. However, Damm had already notified police herself and then waited for authorities in the nursing home lobby. Damm's sister also learned of the incident and demanded police be involved and arrest her sister. Damm was arraigned in 80th District Court on Feb. 3 and later bound over to circuit court. Evans encouraged Damm to come up with some or all of the money that will be due in court fees and fines. (Alliance News) - Zenith Energy Ltd on Wednesday said it is in advanced negotiations to contract a rig to be used to perform drilling operations in the Republic of Congo. This comes after the oil & gas producer said in December that it agreed to buy 80% of Anglo African Oil & Gas' Congolese business Anglo African Oil & Congo SAU. Anglo African Oil & Congo owns 56% of the Tilapia oilfield. Earlier in February, Zenith said it had identified two drilling rigs to performed planned drilling operations. On Wednesday, it confirmed that it is in advanced discussions to contract one of the identified drilling rigs, which is expected to become available in the next 30 days. The company intends to commence drilling in April. "It is the board's view that there is significant potential for near-term value creation in Zenith's equity due to a number of business development activities we are pursuing, foremost amongst which is completion of the AAOG Congo acquisition and the planned drilling activities in the Mengo and Djeno horizons," said Zenith Chief Executive Andrea Cattaneo. "We remain fully focussed on achieving completion, having recently met extensively with all the relevant authorities in the Republic of the Congo. As evidenced by our advanced negotiations with a local drilling contractor, we intend to commence operational activities without delay once completion is achieved," Cattaneo added. Drilling is expected to be funded by the company's EUR25 million medium term notes programme, as well as certain repayments due to AAOG Congo from Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo as a result of past work performed for a total amount of around USD5.3 million. Zenith Energy shares were trading 8.2% lower at 1.17 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London. By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) speaks at an Impeachment Now! rally in Washington on Sept. 26, 2019. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MoveOn Political Action) Influential Michigan Democrat: South Carolina Debate Was A Disgrace Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) called on the 2020 Democratic candidates to focus their attention on other issues instead of trying to destroy one another after Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina. It was a disgrace, Dingell said on Wednesday. It was a circular firing squad. Theyre forgetting about what we need to be focused on. Even though she is a first-term member of Congress, Dingell was married to longtime Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), who was the son of a Democratic Congressman. When Dingell died in February of last year, his wife ran for his seat and won. Theyre contributing to the fear and hatred in this country. Im sure Russia and China were delighted at their performance, she told Fox News. Some critics have panned the CBS moderation team for failing to get the candidates under control, but Dingell suggested she doesnt agree with that assessment. Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tom Steyer walk on stage prior to the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) It was disgusting. They [talked over] each other. They fought each other. They came with lines to destroy each other, Dingell told the news outlet. They are all strong candidates, said Dingell, but if they keep tearing each other apart, they are helping each other make sure none of them are strong at the top of the ticket. During the debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the current frontrunner, came under sustained attack by the other candidates who tried to paint him as a sympathizer to communist regimes. Sanders said he denied that he supports authoritarianism. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg warned that if Sanders became the nominee, he would be easily defeated by incumbent President Donald Trump, who would focus on Sanders support of socialist policies. If you think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting, imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders v Donald Trump, he said during the debate. Sanders denied that his policies are radical and said, Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why. The South Carolina primary takes place on Saturday and will be the first state to feature a plurality of black voters. Days later, on the March 3 Super Tuesday, candidates will be vying for more than a third of the delegates. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, speaks during testimony by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in Washington on Feb. 26, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) House Democrats Argue Against Diverting Ebola Funding to Coronavirus Response House Democrats argued against diverting funding for the new coronavirus from preparing for the Ebola virus as they said that the $2.5 billion the White House wants for combating the new virus isnt adequate. The White House submitted an emergency request to Congress on Feb. 24, asking for $2.5 billion to combat the new coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. The money was meant to help research vaccines, boost the surveillance network, and other efforts, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told a congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday. Part of the proposal featured moving $535 million from the Ebola preparedness account. Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Subcommittee told Azar that they didnt appreciate that part of the proposal. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the chairwoman, said that shifting the funds would be akin to robbing funding for other emergency activities to pay for this emergency. Asked whether he agreed with the cuts to Ebola preparedness, Azar said: Right now the most pressing need is the novel coronavirus. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifies before the House Appropriations Committee in Washington on Feb. 26, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) The funding can be restored to the Ebola program in the coming years, he said. That is a pressing need but I certainly think that you understand as secretary that public health crises keep coming, so you prepare, Rep Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) responded. Azar said the money, if approved by Congress, would go in part toward procuring 300 million additional N95 masks, which are used by healthcare workers treating suspected or confirmed patients. The United States has 30 million surgical masks at the moment and 12 million N95 masks that are usable, he said. A stockpile of another 5 million N95 masks are no longer certified, he said. Some of the money would go toward helping fund domestic manufacturing of more masks to add to the stockpile. I do want to caution: it will take time because China does control a lot of the raw materials and manufacturing capacity, he said. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said that House Democrats feel the funding request is inadequate to effectively combat the threat of the new virus. Children wearing surgical masks watch the annual Lunar New Year Parade in Manhattans Chinatown in New York City on Feb. 9, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) It is alarming that the administration is proposing to take money from one emergency to pay for another, which would leave us more at risk for emerging diseases and is an irresponsible approach to combating what the WHO has said is a potential pandemic. House Democrats also said that the administration took too long to request funding. The number of cases in some countries have spiked recently, prompting U.S. officials to warn that community spread in America is likely, even as they emphasized that the virus is currently contained in the nation. Some lawmakers said they were supportive of the Trump administrations efforts against the virus. I think you guys, your team have done a really remarkable job in responding to something that this committee has been preparing for for years, Rep Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the subcommittee, said. I want to thank the president, he added. The presidents taken very strong and decisive action here in terms of protecting our borders. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), said that Azars immediate actions have enabled us to get ahead of this virus and protect our citizens. She said that Azar told Congress at beginning of outbreak in China that he would inform Congress when health authorities needed more money. You have done just that, she said. By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 25, 2020 | 03:49 PM | PADUCAH According to Paducah Public Schools, the threat was made to another classmate, and was reported to administrators. The student was removed from the classroom and a school resource officer's investigation led them to contact Paducah Police. An officer came to the school but no police action was taken and no charges have been filed. An investigation revealed that staff and students were safe. The school district says their policy states that, "any pupil who threatens, assaults, batters or abuses another pupil shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion." Another student at Paducah Middle School has been removed from class following a verbal threat.Two previous threats have also been investigated at the school this month - on February 10 and 14. COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is bracing his supporters for a difficult stretch, with the sobering assertion that front-runner Bernie Sanders will likely emerge from next weeks Super Tuesday contests well ahead in the race for delegates. The disclosure, made in a strategy memo sent to supporters, comes as the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor prepares for the uncertainty of Saturdays South Carolina primary. After strong finishes in Iowa and in New Hampshire, Buttigieg is working to beat expectations in South Carolina, where his pull among African American voters will be tested, while keeping up the fundraising stream that launched him into the top tier. Despite the challenging stretch leading up to Super Tuesday, there remains a path to the nomination for Buttigieg, his campaign strategists say, though one marked by assumptions about the rest of the field and the candidates own performance over the next few critical days. The question is can he keep the balloon in the air, said David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama. So, I think theres a lot at stake here. This was always going to be the toughest part of the competition for him. Punctuating his challenge, Buttigieg cancelled a round of morning television appearances in South Carolina on Wednesday and scrubbed a day of Florida fundraising events from his schedule after falling ill with what aides described as flu-like symptoms, the result of a near-nonstop campaign schedule over the past two months. Buttigieg did make time to speak, as did other candidates, at the National Action Network ministers breakfast hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday morning. After an afternoon of rest, Buttigieg has meetings scheduled Thursday on Capitol Hill with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the centrist New Democratic Coalition, as well as a series of media appearances on March 3 primary state television states. Buttigieg campaign manager Mike Schmuhl acknowledges that Sanders looks to come out well ahead in the delegate count on Tuesday. Bernie Sanders will be the delegate leader after the March 3rd contests, but whether that makes him the prohibitive nominee is highly dependent on Petes performance, Shmuhl said in the seven-page memo, which was released to the media and aimed at keeping donors on board. Chiefly, Schmuhl and other Buttigieg strategists argue that Buttigieg has been the only candidate to beat Sanders. They draw on the near-tie in the leadoff caucuses as proof that Buttigieg can hold down Sanders margins of victory in Super Tuesday states especially swing states such as Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia but also in Vermont, the senators home state. The campaign began airing ads in those states Monday. The campaign announced Thursday the launch of a multimillion-dollar television and digital advertising buy in 12 of the 14 states holding primaries on March 3. There are several states in there that kind of represent an idea of places where were seeing opportunity and also cost efficiency, senior strategist Michael Halle said in an interview. The path Schmuhl and other strategists sketch relies on unpredictable factors of other candidates quitting the race and a map they argue is more favourable to the Midwestern centrist after March 3. Contrary to the media narrative, this race will not be determined on Super Tuesday -- but only if Pete has the resources to compete, Schmuhl noted in the memo. Its an acknowledgement that Buttigieg also faces a fundraising crunch in a race with former New York Mayor Mike Bloombergs unlimited resources and Sanders unending stream of online contributions. Buttigieg raised an eye-popping $75 million last year, no small feat for the former mayor of a city of about 103,000 residents. But having spent twice as much as he raised in the ramp-up to Iowa, he is now in a race against the clock to raise $13 million by March 3. He was only about 40% of the way there Wednesday. However, the campaign said it had raised more than $800,000 online after Tuesdays debate. And while the cancellation of Wednesdays fundraisers in Florida might seem ill-timed, the events sponsors had already secured more in contributions than the goals set, aides said, though they declined to say how much Buttigieg had hoped to raise from the three stops. Buttigieg has fundraisers scheduled for Oklahoma and Texas in the run-up to March 3, when he plans to make stops in North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and California. ___ Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is still the richest person in the world, even after losing $7 billion in one year, according to the ninth annual Hurun Global Rich List. Bezos, 56, has retained the top spot for the third year with an estimated net worth of $140 billion, mainly due to the world's largest divorce settlement with former wife MacKenzie Bezos, who made the list in her own right with $44 billion. French billionaire business magnate Bernard Arnault ranked second, with an estimated worth of $107 billion, up $ 21 billion from last year, according to Hurun Global Rich List 2020. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were on third and fourth spots, respectively. Bezos, Arnault, Gates and Buffett were the only four billionaires on the list with wealth over $100 billion. Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani was the only Indian to make into the top 10 rankings this year with a net worth of $67 billion. Ambani, 62, ranked among 10 richest billionaires for the second time after a $13 billion or 24 per cent jump in his wealth to $67 billion. Since last 5 years, Mukesh Ambani added Rs 7 crore every hour, according to Hurun Global Rich List. ALSO READ: China minted 3 times more new billionaires in 2019 that US The only Asian in the top 10, Ambani's wealth increased mainly on the back of a good performance in his telecom business. RIL became the first Indian company to achieve Rs 10 lakh crore ($140 billion) market capitalisation. Ambani is restructuring RIL to facilitate planned strategic investments in group businesses - Reliance Jio, Reliance Retail, refining and petrochemicals. The conglomerate aims to be a zero-net-debt company by March 2021 and is in talks to sell 20 per cent stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco at an enterprise value of $75 billion. Hinduja group's SP Hinduja and family ($27 billion), Adani group Chairman Gautam Adani ($17 billion), HCL's Shiv Nadar and family ($ 17 billion), ArcelorMittal's Lakshmi N Mittal ($15 billion), and Kotak Mahindra Bank's Uday Kotak ($15 billion), were among other Indians who featured in the top 100 of Hurun Global Rich List. Gautham Adani saw his wealth skyrocket by $7.1 billion to $17 billion, after the demerger of his renewables generation and city gas distribution businesses. Uday Kotak, 60, of Kotak Mahindra Bank shot straight into the top 100 list with $15 billion. The bank's share price hit an all-time high after Reserve Bank of India cleared plans for dilution of promoters' shareholding, adding to Kotak's wealth. ALSO READ: Meet Rakesh Jhunjunwala's guru - India's second richest after Mukesh Ambani According to the report, India jumped to the third spot in term of number of billionaires on the Hurun Global Rich List with 138 billionaires, 34 more than last year, despite economic slowdown. With 50 individuals on the Rich List, Mumbai houses most of India's super-rich, followed by New Delhi (30) and Bengaluru (17). Jay Chaudhry of Zscaler was the richest new entrant with a wealth of Rs 25,000 crore, followed by Vivek Chaand Sehgal of Motherson Sumi Systems with a net worth of Rs 15,200 crore. Hurun Report India MD and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said, "Indian billionaires are defying gravity. The structural slowdown in the economy does not seem to hamper the growth of Indians in the Hurun Global Rich List. The missing pieces in the puzzle are automobile and the real estate sector and we expect exponential wealth creation in those sectors in the coming years." "If the economy were to grow apace to meet the $5 trillion target, the total wealth creation would at least double the current value," Junaid added. The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 ranked 2,817 billionaires from 71 countries and from 2,183 companies. ALSO READ: From Jack Ma to Bill Gates, billionaires donate funds to create coronavirus vaccine Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced its first organ transplant surgery on Tuesday during a press conference held at its headquarters in Dubai. The surgery was performed on a 27-year-old Emirati patient, Khalid Waleed Al Marzouq, who was suffering from kidney failure due to an autoimmune disease and was visiting the hospital three times a week for dialysis since 2016. Kidney failure disease occurs when kidneys lose around 90 per cent of their ability to filter and remove waste, minerals and fluid from the blood by producing urine. People with kidney failure need to have waste removed from their bloodstream via a machine (dialysis) or a kidney transplant to stay alive. The young Emirati patient received the organ transplant at DHAs Dubai Hospital after his 24-year-old sister, Aysha, donated her kidney to save his life. The surgery, which took six-hours, was performed on February 10, 2020, by a medical team comprising of 25 doctors, specialists and nurses from Dubai Hospital. The DHA announced that the procedure was a success, as the kidney started functioning normally in the first 24 hours and that both patients were discharged shortly and went back to their normal lives. DHA officials including Dr Younis Kazim CEO of the Dubai Healthcare Corporation and Dr. Maryam Mohammad Al Rayssi, CEO of Dubai Hospital attended the conference. Commenting on this achievement, Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA said that the authority is proud of this accomplishment adding that the success of the first kidney transplant at the DHA is the first step towards implementing its organ transplant strategy and towards establishing a distinguished organ transplant centre. Currently 300 patients receive dialysis from Dubai and the Northern Emirates at Dubai Hospital. The strategy will help reduce death rates between 48-82 per cent. Al Qutami thanked H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of the DHA, for continuously supporting the health sector of Dubai. He added that the authority is planning to conduct more organ transplant surgeries in the future and that the authority is currently preparing to perform a liver transplant. Dr Yasser Ahmad Al Saeedi, consultant urologist and robotic surgeon at DHAs Dubai Hospital led his team in removing the healthy kidney from the donor using laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and 3D reconstruction and printing. Dubai Hospital is the first hospital to conduct a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in the UAE. Dr Saeedi said that 3D reconstruction and printing technology available at the DHA was utilised to create a replica of the kidney to help identify the exact length of the vessels prior to the procedure and so ensure a successful transplant procedure for the recipient. After carefully studying the 3D printed replicas we conducted a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy procedure, which is the internationally preferred procedure for kidney removal in live donors, because it offers quick recovery, less pain, and a shorter hospital stay. The minimally invasive procedure requires four small incisions (each only 1 cm wide) to conduct the procedure. We then enlarged one of the incision to 10cm to remove the kidney, said Dr Al Saeedi who revealed that the donors sister was on her feet the next day and was discharged shortly after. Meanwhile, Andrea Risaliti Consultant, General Surgery and Chairman of Organ Transplant Committee at DHA and Professor of Surgery at the University of Udine and Dr Zaid Abdul Aziz, General Surgery Consultant and Head of the Bariatric Unit in Dubai Hospital and his team conducted the organ transplant. During the transplant surgery, we placed the healthy kidney donated from the sister into the lower abdomen of the patients groin. The new, donated kidney can do the work that both kidneys used to do. The surgery was a success as the kidney started working immediately after the procedure was done. Dr Andrea said that unless the damaged kidneys causes infections or high blood pressure or are cancerous, they could stay in the body. He added that this is the first transplant conducted from a living donor at DHA facilities and that organ transplant from living donors has a higher rate of survival, which is 95 per cent. Dr Amna Khalifa AlHadari, Consultant & Head of Nephrology Department at Dubai Hospital along with her team, oversaw the patients case since he was receiving dialysis in 2016 until after he was discharged from the kidney transplant surgery. Going through dialysis three times a week was taking a toll on the young Emirati patient so when we got the opportunity to conduct the surgery at the DHA we approached him. He showed interest so the medical and surgical team met with him and his sister multiple times to give them more information on the procedure. We then conducted all the pre-transplant investigations necessary and other tests required by different departments, which all were indicating that the pair were a match and that they were psychologically and physically ready for the procedure. The medical team then met to extensively discuss and plan the patients journey to make sure it goes as smooth as possible and ensure the safety and the success of the procedure. Following the procedure the patients were moved to the ICU were they were closely monitored. They were then moved to a regular room allocated by our team to ensure their comfort. We found that the patients kidney started responding and he was able to pass urine in the first 24 hours following the surgery. The patient was discharged in 10 days while the sister was discharged in five days, said Dr AlHadari. The sister of the patient, Aysha, who was present at the press conference, thanked the DHA surgeons who performed the procedure saying: I am very thankful for Dr Yasir and Dr Andrea, they gave me the positive energy and knowledge I need before the procedure and made me feel comfortable with taking this step to save my brothers life. My main concern when I woke up from surgery was that my brother feels better and I am happy now that he has a functioning kidney. The patient, Khalid, who also attended the press conference said: My health situation was really deteriorating, I used to get tired quickly and I couldnt walk much. I am really thankful for my sister because my mental and physical health is much better than before. -- Tradearabia News Service Gulnara Karimova, the imprisoned eldest daughter of the late Uzbek President Islam Karimov, has offered to return $686 million to the country's treasury in exchange for closure in the latest court case against her. Karimova made the offer in a letter to her father's successor, Shavkat Mirziyoev, posted by her London-based daughter Iman Karimova on Instagram on February 25. In the letter, she said her health is deteriorating and that she has not seen her children for years. "Also, to preserve my family and my health, under the right conditions I am ready to release all claims to financial sums, the only money left to my family and frozen in Switzerland, to allow for the simplified closure of the case [against me], namely without a public trial, while I would assign $686 million to the state," the letter, written in Russian, says. Karimova, who has been jailed in Tashkent since March 2019, also complained in her letter that an estimated $1.2 billion in property and cash confiscated from her and her children during previous court cases has never been considered by Uzbek courts as compensation for damages to the treasury caused by her activities. Uzbekistan's Supreme Court has said that a new trial against Karimova and "others" began on January 8. The Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office said in August 2019 that the new case against Karimova was linked to allegations that she illegally bought state-owned shares of two cement plants that she later sold to foreign businessmen. The 47-year-old Karimova, once seen as a possible successor to her father, has been also tied to money-laundering investigations in Sweden and Switzerland. She was placed under house arrest in Tashkent in 2014 when her father was still alive and ran the country. Karimov died in 2016 and Mirziyoev became his successor soon afterward. In December 2017, Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, but several months later the sentence was reclassified to house arrest and shortened to five years. In March 2019, she was placed in jail for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest. Also in March 2019, the U.S. Justice Department named Karimova as part of a major international bribery scheme, charging her with conspiracy to violate U.S. foreign corruption laws. by Vladimir Rozanskij People protested against the arrival in Poltava region of 73 evacuees from China, including 45 Ukrainians as well as citizens of Norway, Israel, Belarus, Spain, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and other countries. Protesters blocked roads and threw stones at buses carrying the evacuees. The Church urged the faithful to not let fear of disease cloud our mind and our conscience, our very humanity. Moscow (AsiaNews) Last week, seven buses with Ukrainians and citizens of other countries, evacuated from China following the coronavirus outbreak, were the object of a protest that included stone throwing. Reacting to the incident, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, led by Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, said that fear of disease should not cloud our mind and our conscience, our very humanity. The evacuees and medical support staff were travelling to a health spa run by the National Guard near the village of Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, where they are scheduled to spend 14 days under quarantine. As the buses made their way to the health facility, they became the target of protest by local residents, who threw stones, shattering some windows. A correspondent for Nastoyashee Vremya (Current Times) reported that last Thursday evening (20 February), the police cleared the streets and arrested four people. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk travelled to the village and issued a local state of emergency. Protesters complained that the local medical facility is not equipped to isolate completely infected people. For this reason, they tried to block the main access roads to the area, clashing repeatedly with law enforcement. Poltava Governor Oleh Syniehubov also came to the village to speak to local residents and officials. On Facebook, he made an appeal. Anyone could find themselves in the situation of these people, who are returning home. They are someone's children, parents, relatives, and they have been checked by Chinese and Ukrainian doctors. None of them has shown any symptoms of this serious respiratory infection. The arrival of the Wuhan evacuees had been reported the day before (19 February). The health facility run by Ukraines National Guard received 73 patients, 45 from the Ukraine, plus citizens of Norway, Israel, Belarus, Spain, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and other countries. Members of the Poltava Regional Council asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to move these people to another facility, claiming that the one selected could not provide the right treatment for patients with this kind of viral infection. In their statement, they said: We understand that there must be a centre dedicated to coronavirus patients, and to those who have come into contact with those infected, but such centre does not exist in our region. Previously, the Interior Ministry had announced that four buildings in the health facility had been readied for quarantined people, with a double cordon sanitaire around it for "defence, protection and disinfection. The outer ring of the area is monitored by CCTV and is patrolled by police and National Guard units on foot and vehicles. President Zelenskyj promised that the health centre in Novi Sanzhary would be the most monitored spot in the country" and that "everything possible and impossible has been done" to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Ukraine. Like in Russia, no one from China can enter the country, except on dedicated charter flights. On Facebook, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine called for a "show of compassion" for fellow citizens evacuated from China. The Church, led by Metropolitan Epiphanius (Dumenko), notes with regret the spread of aggressive attitudes in connection with the return of some of our fellow Ukrainians. . . . Fear and isolation lead to the inability of mutual acceptance. The Church cannot speak to the medical aspects of the question, which remain the responsibility of specialists and are regulated by the state. But we are required to highlight the moral significance of this challenge to our common life, to which our society must give an adequate response. The post ends appealing to compassion and charity towards one's neighbor as the foundation of divine law. We must not let fear of disease cloud our mind and our conscience, our very humanity. 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. India is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. It has four per cent of the world's water resources but 17 per cent of its population. With increasing population and bad water resource management, the availability of water per person is decreasing at an alarming rate. World Bank estimates that it has fallen by a whopping 400 per cent in the last 60 years. In 1950, India had 3,000-4,000 cubic meters of water per person. Today, it has reduced to 1,000 cubic meters. In contrast, the desert nation of Israel was facing severe drought for years. But, today it is a water surplus nation. What is interesting is it didn't depend on natural water resources for self sustenance, but did it on the back of technological advances such as wastewater reclamation and seawater desalination. Dan Alluf, Counsellor of Embassy of Israel shares the best practices of his desert nation at The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) annual event World Sustainable Development Summit 2020. In Israel, water is owned by the state for the people. The State acts as the legal guardian of water and manages it in the best interest of the public to ensure its efficient utilisation and conservation for households, agriculture and the industry. Alluf says it's key to leverage technology for efficient water utilisation in the country but it is also crucial to choose the right innovation so it delivers the desired solution that is actually needed. He shares some of the instances of simple technological solutions that can have dramatic impact on the efficient use of water in Israel. One of the biggest advances in modern agriculture is drip irrigation, one of Israel's invention. In drip or micro irrigation, instead of pouring copious amount of water on the entire field, drops of water are dripped directly on the plant's roots. One of the most efficient method of irrigation, it utilises 95 per cent of the water that is used. Flood irrigation has 30 per cent efficiency. "For drip irrigation to be a success, it is important to develop an economic design that has the right water pressure and the right system where the farmers know when and how much of water to use," says Alluf. Over the years, India has become the largest adopter of this technology. Another is making metering of water compulsory for everyone, whether it is household, agriculture or industrial units. "Israel isn't just surviving without water, it is prospering without water. And, the reason for that are water meters. Metering of water is managing of water. Once the amount of utilisation is known, it enables better planning and management of the precious resource," he adds. All the drinking water in Israel comes from desalination techniques where seawater is converted to fresh water using the process of reverse osmosis. The country has reduced the price of this expensive technology to one-third. For agriculture, street water and treated urban water is used. Water treatment systems in Israel recapture 80-90 per cent of the water that goes down the drain from streets and households, which is recycled and reused for agriculture irrigation. "This means that every drop of water in Israel is used twice," says Alluf. Israel has the largest agricultural project in India across 19 states in India under the Indo-Israel Agriculture Project where they are involved in knowledge transfer of best practices in Israel of improving agricultural productivity to Indian context. ALSO READ: Why milk prices are fluctuating in India ALSO READ: Is alkaline water better than plain water? What are the benefits? Ed Timperlake was VA assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs from 1989 to 1992, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a fighter pilot and squadron commander. One of the little-known facts of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is that the nature of combat wounds has changed dramatically. For most of human history, the most common combat wound was a piercing injury. Primitive spears, the Roman gladius, medieval lances and bullets all create piercing wounds, and battlefield medicine was largely focused on treating these types of injuries. As an assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs during the George H. W. Bush administration, I saw up close how VA health care responded to the after-effects of these combat wounds. But in the years since, veteran care reflects an entirely new and complex type of injury. A study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in 2012 noted that between 2005 and 2009 -- the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- nearly three in four combat wounds were the result of explosive mechanisms. This fact was reflected in the Iranian missile attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq last month, which resulted in 109 troops sustaining varying degrees of head injuries. Most of these troops have returned to duty, but one of the most common and least seen aspects of these injuries is hearing loss. The auditory sense is highly vulnerable to explosive mechanisms and, unlike most of the human body, many tissues associated with hearing do not regenerate themselves. When they are destroyed, they are destroyed forever. Tinnitus, otherwise known as ringing in the ears, while less serious than absolute hearing loss, is still harmful in the long term and is pervasive among troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hearing loss is personal for my family. One of my nieces was born with significant hearing loss, and another is pursuing her doctorate at Gallaudet University, developing better ways to accurately test and address hearing loss. My own hearing has been degraded due to military noise. I can never forget the roar that reverberated through my head the first time I was catapulted from the deck of an aircraft carrier. As a young Marine Corps fighter pilot, the scramble orders I and my squadron mates received in response to threats from Cuban MiGs resulted in ear-shattering experiences with every sortie, for months at a time. Today, more than 1.25 million veterans suffer from hearing loss, with nearly two million suffering from tinnitus. Combined, they represent the top two service-connected disabilities addressed by the VA. To its credit, the VA is doing a good job of addressing the problem with hearing conservation programs and high-tech hearing aids. But the Defense Department is playing catch-up on the issue. After having issued faulty hearing protection to active-duty forces over the past decade, leading to countless cases of unnecessary hearing loss, the Pentagon is now testing several different styles of hearing protection for troops in the field, and confidence is high that the next generation of combat hearing protection will represent a substantial improvement. Once these troops muster out of uniform and transition to veteran status, a large part of the challenge in helping these vets with hearing loss is technological. Low-cost hearing aids that simply amplify sound do little good, often making background noise too loud to provide any meaningful improvement in hearing conversation, music and other audible intelligence. The private sector is making good progress on developing and improving this technology with Bluetooth capabilities and even fitness trackers, offering hope to veterans with hearing loss as they re-acclimate to civilian life. The prospects for better hearing protection and improved service to veterans with hearing loss and tinnitus is encouraging. But we have to keep our eye on the ball to make sure our warfighters get the combat gear they need, and that veterans receive the care they earned through their sacrifice. -- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Editors note: Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race on March 1, just before Super Tuesday. This profile reflects who Buttigieg was as a candidate. A Pete Buttigieg presidency would come with plenty of firsts. The youngest United States president ever. The first openly gay one. The first mayor to go almost straight from a city hall to the White House. And, surely, the first president to meet his future spouse on a dating application. But first, he has to get there. Standing in his way are nearly a dozen other Democrats, many of them with more money, more name recognition, better poll numbers, and far more experience. And then there is President Donald Trump. It will be a long slog. The 38-year-old former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, certainly has enough ambition for the road ahead of him. And the smarts. Early years Born the only child of two college professors (his father emigrated to the US from Malta) and raised in South Bend, Buttigieg was the valedictorian of his high school class and went straight to Harvard upon graduating. After finishing up at Harvard in 2004, he attended the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship and walked out with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. Following a short period as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and just a few months before he launched his political career, Buttigieg walked into a recruiting office and signed up for a six-year stint in the US Navy Reserve. It was during the middle of that stint, in 2011, that he was first elected mayor of South Bend. Four years later, following a seven-month tour as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan, he came out as gay. After losing a statewide bid for Indiana state treasurer, Buttigieg was re-elected mayor in 2015 and began to attract the attention of national players when he ran for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee but dropped out midstream. Two years later, in April 2019, the man with the tongue-twister surname (it is pronounced boot-edge-edge) announced that he was running for US president. They call me Mayor Pete, Buttigieg told a crowd inside the shell of a decaying auto plant in his hometown when he officially announced. I recognise the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold at age 37 to seek the highest office in the land But we live in a moment that compels us each to act. Instead of running from his youth and inexperience, Buttigieg has embraced it, casting himself as a modest Midwesterner that brings a necessary generational change to the US political scene. In a field with four 70-something-year-olds five if you include Trump it is a message that has resonated with younger voters. Buttigieg, a devout Christian, is unapologetically progressive, but has tacked more to the centre than some of his Democratic rivals especially on the cornerstone issue of healthcare. So far in the campaign, he has saved most of his ire for the current president, calling Trump the least qualified candidate to run for the office in 2020. Pete Buttigieg, his mom Anne Montgomery and husband Chasten, left, wave to supporters at a campaign rally [File: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo] Medicare for all who want it Buttigieg has dismissed his Democratic opponents plans for a sweeping overhaul of US healthcare into a government-run, single-payer system as excessively disruptive and expensive. Instead, he has pushed a plan that preserves private insurance but still allows people to opt in to a national, single-payer system. Medicare for all who want it is his term for it. We make sure that everybody can afford [public health insurance], but we dont require you to take it. And partly I think thats just the right policy, because I think people should be able to choose, Buttigieg said in an NPR interview in November 2019. But its also really important that thats a policy that commands the support of most Americans We have a moment where we can get something that big done and most Americans want it done. Thats not true of some of the other ideas out there, which would make it much harder to actually achieve them no matter how good they sound in campaign season. Buttigieg says his plan would cost about $1.5 trillion dollars over 10 years and be funded largely by rolling back the tax cuts that Trump signed off on in 2017. He has also said he supports opening up the existing Medicare system to people aged 50 to 64, and the creation of a fund that would guarantee all workers up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave to care for newborns or ill family members. Foreign Policy Despite his lack of direct foreign policy experience, Buttigieg has made foreign policy and the USs role on the world stage a key element of his campaign. He sees himself as part of a post-9/11 generation forged by endless wars and has railed against Trump for conducting foreign policy via what he called tweets and tantrums. Buttigieg has said he would repeal and replace the 2001 congressional authorisation that US presidents since have used to justify foreign military intervention. And while he objected to Trumps decision to remove US troops from Syria, he has said the perennial presence of soldiers in the Middle East and Central Asia must come to an end. Unlike some of his Democratic rivals, Buttigieg is generally supportive of Israel but has called for a two-state solution to the Palestinian question and has criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for turning away from peace. He has said he opposes annexation of the occupied West Bank and told Jewish leaders in the US that he would be open to conditioning US military if Israel continues down that path. The world needs America, he said in a June 2019 speech outlining his foreign policy. But not just any America. Not an America that has reduced itself to just one more player, scrapping its way through an amoral worldwide scrum for narrow advantage. It has to be America at our best. Pete Buttigieg, speaks at a Get Out the Caucus event ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in February [File: Gene J Puskar/AP Photo] Climate change In the same speech in 2019, Buttigieg predicted that the world faces decades of climate-driven international instability and called climate change the security challenge of our era. He called on the US to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and to engage again with the rest of the world and tackle the issue. Two months later, in a more comprehensive position paper on the issue, he said leading internationally on the issue should be one pillar of a multipronged approach. The plan he proposed, while less costly than those of some of his challengers, would set ambitious goals for reaching zero emissions over the next 30 years and focus resources on disaster preparedness and infrastructure to mitigate the effects of climate change. Despite what we hear from this administration and from far too many Republicans in positions of responsibility, climate disruption is here, he said in the June speech. It is no longer a distant or theoretical issue, it is a clear and present threat. 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 Former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has said that bombing of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot by Indian Air Force (IAF) marks a paradigm shift in the way India conduct operations. Exactly a year ago India carried out air-strike at a terror camp in Balakot. "One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learned a lot of lessons, lot of things have been implemented post-Balakot operations. Basically, it is a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out terror training camp which we successfully executed. It is a paradigm shift and the result is there for you to see," said Dhanoa in an interview to ANI. He pointed out that after air-strike there were no major terrorist attacks during the Lok Sabha polls because it acted as a deterrent. He said the mission has not been declassified yet. "All that I want to tell you is when the government told us and all three services were there, and because it is not only the Air Force...It is always a joint battle. It is the first time I believe that all three services said that should there be an escalation as far as Pakistan is concerned, we can easily take them on," he said. "And go-ahead was given and thereafter everybody knew that the Air Force was going to lead the strike. After the mission was carried out, I personally informed the leadership as well as the other two service chiefs that mission has been successful early in the morning," said Dhanoa. The former Air Chief said that considering the target that was there at Balakot, the Air Force was optimum for the strike. "And also at that time, the thought was that you need to tell JeM that we will kill you, no matter where you are hiding and not to cause collateral damage. The weapons were chosen accordingly," Dhanoa said. He further underlined that the Pakistan Air Force was not in the loop with its leadership and ISI about the presence of terror camp in Balakot. "I don't think they are in the loop with their leadership and ISI. They were not aware that the terror training camp is running at Balakot. If I was in his place and I have a rough idea of the kind of stand-off weapons that IAF has got, I would have definitely put in terminal weapons out there. The fact that it was devoid of terminal weapons that means I don't think (Pakistan) Air Force was aware that this is the target," he said. On this day, last year, IAF jets bombed the terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) POMFRET, N.Y. -- A 7-year-old girl has died after the car she was in was pushed into the path of a tractor-trailer on Monday, according to New York State Police. Emmaline Wilcox, the girl, was pronounced dead at Brooks Memorial Hospital, police said. On Monday at 4:10 p.m., state troopers were called to State Route 60 in Pomfret for a reported three-vehicle crash, according to police. A preliminary investigation found that a 2009 Hyundai was being driven northbound on State Route 60 and rear-ended a 2016 Kia, police said. The Kia was stopped and waiting to turn left into a parking lot when it was hit, according to police. The 2016 Volvo tractor-trailer, which was being driven southbound, hit the Kia, police said. Cox and the 35-year-old driver of the Kia were taken to Brooks Memorial Hospital, where the driver was treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to police. Police are continuing to investigate the crash. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati anytime: 585-290-0718 | Email | Twitter 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 Supreme Court has ordered a stand-down, as it prepares to deliver a judgment on an application filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC), asking it to reverse a judgement that sacked David Lyon as governor-elect of Bayelsa State. A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, announced the stand down after taking arguments from lawyers on the matter. Justice Ngwuta added that the panel would reconvene soon, for its decision on the matter. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how a five-member panel of the apex court led by Mary Odili, on February 13, nullified the election of Mr Lyon on the grounds that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in aid of his qualification for the November 16 governorship election in the state. The apex court, in the judgement delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, consequently ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Messrs Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo. The court also ordered that INEC should immediately declare the party with the highest number of lawful votes and geographical spread the winner of the election. The PDP and its governorship candidate, Mr Diri, had filed a suit against Messrs Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo, and INEC, seeking the disqualification of the APC deputy governorship candidate. They had claimed that Mr Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in his CF 0001 form submitted to INEC. Not satisfied with the apex courts judgement, the APC, through its lawyers, Wole Olanipekun and Lateef Fagbemi, on February 20, filed their application. In the application, the lawyers claimed that the judgment of the Federal High Court was misinterpreted by the apex court and thus disqualified Mr Lyon wrongly. They further argued that the trial court, in its judgement delivered on November 12, 2019, found out that Mr Degi-Eremienyo was guilty of submitting forged certificates but that the judge, Inyang Ekwo, refused to grant the PDPs request, which asked for Mr Lyons disqualification. Lawyers argument In his argument, the lawyer to Mr Lyon, Afe Babalola, said that the apex court has the power to set aside its earlier decision. This, the senior lawyer said, is because the judgment which voided the election of his client was a nullity on account of denial of fair hearing. According to Mr Babalola, the procedure adopted by the apex court on February 13, was wrong because there was no cause of action at the time the Supreme Court gave judgment against the APC governorship candidate. On his part, APCs lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, argued that the apex court erred in law when it invoked section 36 of the Electoral Act to disqualify the APCs participation in the election when the Federal High Court judgment upheld by the apex court did not disqualify the partys eligibility. Mr Olanipekun further argued that the apex court cannot give consequential order on a relief not granted by a trial court except as a result of human error. However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)s lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo, told the apex court that the APC and Mr Lyons application were a dangerous invitation to the supreme court to violating section 285 of the 1999 constitution, for the court to sit on an appeal over its earlier decision. Mr Oyetibo argued that having delivered final judgment in the matter on merit on February 13, the court has no jurisdiction to sit on appeal in the judgment, adding that it is scandalous to ask the apex court to review the judgment. In buttressing his argument, the senior lawyer further stated that the apex court was right in disqualifying Mr Lyon as the governor-elect. This, Mr Oyetibo said, is because section 187 of the 1999 constitution is clear and unambiguous to the effect that a governorship candidate who has no deputy candidate is not qualified to contest any governorship election in Nigeria. When Supreme Court gives judgment, it is deemed correct. It has never happened in the history of (the) Supreme Court (for it) to reverse itself. Its judgment is final and finality, and whatever Supreme Court says in the interpretation of the law, is the law, he said. Mr Oyetibos submissions were embraced by other respondents in the matter. Following this, Justice Ngwuta, announced that the court would rise and reconvene later. Advertisements Present to witness the proceedings of the court on Wednesday is the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. Also in the court is incumbent governor, Mr Diri and the sacked deputy governor-elect, Mr Degi-Eremienyo. Written by ACM Despite the Astonishing Fact that the European Union suddenly became the World's 1st region in the Number of Victims affected by the Deadly, New CoronaVirus-ID-19, After its main Source at China's area (incl. adjacent Korea/Japan : See Graphics and Data cited Infra), Nevertheless, almost 2 Months Later than the 12/2019 Outbreak, Today's (24/2/2022) EU Commission and National Officials' Press Statements did Not Yet reveal Any important European-level Measure Focused into immediately Protecting EU Citizens from Spreading Infections, here and now..., the Public Officials' current Strategy appearing to be quite Different, in real practice, at least for the time being. *Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- Indeed, even if European Countries' already Infected Victims approach the 300, (precisely 278), i.e. More than Any Other Region in the World, after China's (incl. adjacent Korea/Japan), and Nonobstant the Dangerous Fact that CoronaVirus-ID-19 Epicenter is located at Italy's North-Western area, obviously Threatening EU's CORE itself, via Adjacent key French and German areas, (See MAP and : ...), Contrary to China's, apparently, mainly Rural Origin from Wuhan, (Comp., however Ibid), Nevertheless, the Bulk of the Money affected against that CoronaVirus, as Announced Today in a joint Press Conference in Brussels by EU Commissioners Janez Lenarcic and Stella Kyriakides, (responsible for Emergency response and Health, respectively), goes Mainly to the World Health Organisation (WHO : 114), Repatriations from China (3), Diagnosis in Africa (15), etc., (except from a Part destinated to relevant, not specified "Research" by BioTech Companies : about 100 out of a Total of 232 Millions ), and Both repeatedly Stressed, as Priority, the "Global" level of the threat, as they said... ---------------------------- Characteristically, among the First to be Allowed to Raise Questions at that Press Conference, were ...Non-EU Medias, from the Traditional Foreign UK-USA Establishment, such as "New York Times" (USA), "Financial Times" (sic !), etc., while several European relevant Journalists appeared to be, on the Contrary, Hastily Pushed towards the End, particularly with Critical Questions, (f.ex. : - "Shall you Wait for the WHO ?", - "There is Not any EU-wide Measure ?", -Politicians ask for "those who Not Able to Protect EU Citizens" to "Resign", --What do you mean by "DesInformation", etc)... Repeated Questions about timely Borders' Controls or even Closure, were routinely Dismissed, most of the times, with just a Brief Mention of the Fact that any such eventual "Travel Restrictions" and/or "Border Controls" are "Member States' Competence"... To the point that, later Today, Strasbourg's local Newspaper "DNA" ironically Headlined at its Web Frontpage : - "Italy : 7 Dead. 1 Bus stoped at Lyon" (Franco-Italian Borders) ! While Other Medias reported a Popular InComprehension or even Anger for allegedly allowing Ships and other various Vehicles to come and go without any hindrance accross the two Neighbouring Countries (France and Italy') Center-Southern areas, despite the recent notorious Sudden "Explosion" of Infections at the other side. (Contrary to the Draconian Measures immediately taken by China, to Isolate Wuhan's Hotspot). Popular Anxiety inevitably Risked to Grow, when, almost at the Same Time, Medias reported a New French Minister for Health claiming that ...the Question is No more "If", but "When" a ("very Probable") Epidemic might Break out"..., while Strasbourg's "DNA" went as Far as to claim (in Big Headlines) that WHO's Director would have declared Today that the whole World, now, "MUST be ready for an eventual PANDemic" asap (sic !). But, in Practice, things went Nasty, when People saw, Nowadays, even a Big Super-Market Compagny (in France, Including Strasbourg's largest Suburb), plan and execute 2 successive, massive Promotion Campaigns of various Commercial Products for Food and EveryDay Popular use, brought, precisely, from ...China and ...Italy !!!???... >>> On the Contrary, however, Far Away from such a ...Fatalist Globalism, (Comp. Supra), WHO's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at his Opening Remarks in Today's Media Briefing on CoronaVirus ID-19, stressed that : - "There is No 1-size-fits-All approach. Every Country must make ITS OWN risk assessment, for ITS OWN context". Because, until Now, "What we see are Epidemics in DIFFERENT Parts of the World, affecting Countries in DIFFERENT ways, and requiring a TAILORED response". - F.ex., inter alia, Chinese reportedly "found that the Fatality rate is between 2% and 4% in (contained) Wuhan, and 0.7% outside Wuhan", he pointed out. + In Addition, the Latest WHO-China joint Mission has just Revealed, in a Report published Today, that in Fact, "the epidemic Peaked and plateaued between the 23rd of January and the 2nd of February (2020), and has been Declining steadily Since then". => So that, even if "this Virus" "has" a "Pandemic Potential", nevertheless, "from our (WHO's) Assessment, we are NOT yet there !", This "does Not Fit the Facts" "now", he underlined. >>> In consequence, "WE MUST FOCUS ON CONTAINMENT, while doing everything we can to PREPARE for a POTENTIAL Pandemic", WHO's DG Advised. *** Indeed, at least for "Eurofora" and Most objective People, when we see so Crystal-clear Facts such as the EU already Suffering from almost 300 Infections and 7 Deaths, (Comp. Supra), while, at the Same Time, among others, f.ex. RUSSIA and INDIA, have reported Only ... 2 and 3 Infections, with ZERO Deaths, despite their Long Borders to China, the Conclusion is Obvious : Containment apparently works, if there is a real Political Will ! Conerning, precisely, "Containment", Journalists asked the 2 above-mentioned EU Commissioners Today whether Brussels Planned any concerted Suspension of Shenghen's system nowadays, or not. - EU Commissioner Lenarcic replied that "We (EU) are Not going for that, at the Moment, but we are Working on Various Contingency Planning, on various Scenarios; However, these are Contingency Plans", (and Not Decisions), apparently Not Excluding a priori, totally or partially, something of that kind in the Future... + As for EU Commissioner Kyriakides, (who was the 1st to evoke a Possible Review of Contigency Plans and Risk Assessments, particularly After the current Joint Visit of EU's "Disease Prevention" Watchdog, "ECDC", together with WHO, in Italy, (Comp. Supra), withOut excluding a priori anything, she obviously tried to Downplay that issue : - In fact, concerning "Evolving situations", "It's Not Just Looking at points of Entry in one Country, because wa canNot Detect Everyone at Risk of developing a Disease", she claimed, (apparently Skiping the simple Closure to Dangerous Origins). In Addition, "this is only a small Part of the Action that needs to be taken (sic !), when we are looking at Risks for Virus to be Spreading into the EU", since we must "Also" coordinate "with Member States on the "ways they are giving Information, Early Detection, Contacts Tracing, Location of cases, Efficiency of Laboratories", etc. - And, "for the Moment, we need to be Vigilent, see how ECDC will Assess the Situation, when they return from Italy, Tomorrow", she Carefully added, (Comp. Supra + Infra). => "if we need to Re-Assess and Change any of the Actions, ...we shall Not Hesitate to do so ! ", EU Health Commissioner Kyriakides promised, at least for the foreseable Future, (but Avoiding to Explicitly specify). - Meanwhile, "we are looking at the situation, how it's Evolving, (and) it's Changing very Fast", she Aknowleged. - In particular, f.ex., "we (EU) need to make sure that Member States are able to cope with an eventual Increase of Cases, Before it happens : That's what we have being doing these last days", she Limited herself into saying in Fine, (i.e. something which obviously risks to be interpreted as a kind of Fatalism, if it was Isolated from the rest : Comp. Supra). ----------------------------------- >>> But a Crucial "Moment of Truth", appears to arrive Fast, (if it hasn't already been missed, given a series of such Strange Delays to take Drastic Measures, visible since EU Parliament's First hesitant Steps after the Deadly Virus' OutBreak in China)... => Indeed, according to the Latest ECDC's Report, the "Risk" for Contamination from Italy, and its "Impact", inside the rest of EU area is Upgraded up to "moderate or High", Because "evidence ...indicates that, once Imported, the virus causing COVID-19 can Transmit Rapidly", with a particularluy "Severe" impact on "Vulnerable" persons, as the "Elderly", in cases of Contaminanation inside "Hospitals", (as it has just happened at nearby Italy), etc. Obviously, since the Epicenter now is at Nearby North-Western Italy, the adjacent French and German parts of EU's Core are the most immediately Threatened, (See: ..., etc). => In such Circumstances, inevitably one Wonders whether EU's strange Delays to take Decisive Action, particularly on Urgent Containment at the Borders, (Comp. Supra), will prove Scandalously Fatal to several innocent EU Citizens, or not... --------------------------- The (Partial : Comp. Supra) Pretext that, in principle, individual Borders' Control would be a "Member States"' Competence, (Comp. Supra), is InSufficient. >>> Indeed, mutatis-mutandis, f.ex., Already as early as Since October 2008, i.e. at the Beginning of the latest big Global Economic and Financial Crisis, European Leaders held the 1st in History uroZone's Summit for Heads of State/Government, at France's Presidential "Elysee" Palace in Paris, which Negotiated and took the Political Decisions to Synchronously Launch a Series of Big Financial Moves by the Countries involved, All Together, aiming at Boosting Economic Growth in Europe : It worked quite Well, Despite the Absence of Any Legal Status and/or Competence, then, Neither for holding such a Summit, Nor for Taking such Collective Measures... Indeed, a Legal Possibility and Framework for such uroZone's Summits was Created Only much Later-on, after 2011-2012, When a relevant "EuroZone" Treaty was Drafted, Signed and Ratified... But, Meanwhile, Europeans had Already Succeeded, acting by pure Political Will, to Collectively take certain Decisive Measures to Boost their Economy against the International Crisis, (Later-on Followed Also by the Creation of "G-20" Summits, at a Global Level, seeking a Similar Aim). => In other Words, to put it in a nutshell : If there is a real Political Will, almost Everything may become Possible in Europe ! F.ex., mutatis-mutandis, in the Present Case, EU Governments might Agree, Collectively between them, (even withOut the existence, yet, of an adequate EU Legal Competence for that purpose), to Take this or that Measure concerning Borders' Control, etc., in order to Timely Succeed that Vital "Containment" of Deadly CoronaVirus ID-19, if they act Before it Starts to slyly Kill even more Innocent European People ! Unless, those Strange Delays, (Comp. Supra), have Already provoked Irreversible Damage and/or Threats, (which, in that case, would have to be Faced Otherwise, including by bringing everybody in front of his Responsibilities)... (../..) ("Draft-News") By Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's coronavirus crisis spread south on Tuesday beyond its original epicentre in the north, as the death toll from the worst outbreak in Europe rose to 11 and the number of new cases jumped above 320, officials said. A tourist from Lombardy, the worst-affected area, was diagnosed with the disease while on holiday in Sicily, and the regions of Tuscany and Liguria both reported their first cases. Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country tested positive in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and Romania on Tuesday, showing how far and fast the illness could spread. By Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's coronavirus crisis spread south on Tuesday beyond its original epicentre in the north, as the death toll from the worst outbreak in Europe rose to 11 and the number of new cases jumped above 320, officials said. A tourist from Lombardy, the worst-affected area, was diagnosed with the disease while on holiday in Sicily, and the regions of Tuscany and Liguria both reported their first cases. Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country tested positive in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and Romania on Tuesday, showing how far and fast the illness could spread. The total number of cases in Italy rose to 322 from 229 on Monday, with the vast majority from Lombardy and Veneto, the economic powerhouse of the country that include the financial capital Milan and the tourist hotspot Venice. Four new deaths were announced in the two regions - two men and two women, the youngest of whom was 76. All the others who have died since the flare-up came to light on Friday were also elderly and suffering from underlying health problems. As a swathe of European Union countries advised their citizens not to visit northern Italy, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said he would meet foreign ambassadors in Rome to explain the progress of the outbreak and measures taken to counter it. Health ministers from neighbouring countries met in the Italian capital to discuss the crisis and dismissed some calls to close the border. "We agreed to keep borders open, closing borders would be a disproportionate and ineffective measure at this time," Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. POLITICAL ATTACKS A fragile truce between Italy's political parties collapsed on Monday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte suggested malpractice at a hospital in Lombardy may have fuelled the outbreak. Conte said the hospital had not followed the correct protocol "and this contributed to the spread", and he may consider withdrawing some regional powers over health policy. The right-wing, opposition League party, which runs both Lombardy and Veneto, reacted furiously. Its lower-house leader Riccardo Molinari said Conte's words were "almost fascist" while the League's economics spokesman Claudio Borghi called the premier "a disgrace to the country". Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana accused Conte of a "desperation strategy". However, the World Health Organization, which sent a mission to Rome, praised Italy's efforts at suppressing the outbreak. "The measures taken by the Italian government or the regional governments have been pretty strong and most likely should help in containing this virus as good as possible," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said in Geneva. As economists warned that the outbreak in Italy would probably tip its economy into recession, a senior official said the government may need to ask the European Union to offer leeway on its budget targets. "There are resources the EU can give us in relation to economic events that could lower GDP considerably," Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli told RAI radio. Italy has proportionally the highest public debt in the euro zone after Greece and struggles to meet the bloc's strict borrowing rules. Conte warned that the economic fallout could be "very strong" but also said he was confident the contagion would come under control soon. He praised Italy's health service as "among the most efficient and rigorous in the world" and urged foreign tourists to keep visiting. "Italy is a safe country for travel and for tourism, probably safer than many others," he told reporters. (Additional reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan, Wladimiro Pantaleone in Palermo and Giuseppe Fonte, Giulia Segreti, Angelo Amante and Francesca Piscioneri in Rome, editing by Ed Osmond, Crispian Balmer and Giles Elgood) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. LEBANON, Ore. Firefighters rescued three dogs from a house fire in Lebanon Tuesday afternoon. At about 3 p.m., firefighters arrived on scene and the person living in the home told them three dogs were inside. The home filled with smoke quickly, the Lebanon Fire District said. A crew went in and rescued the dogs, which were unharmed. There were no other occupants. Officials said there was fire in the walls that moved upward and started to burn the roof. Crews used ground ladders to get to the roof to cut a ventilation hole, allowing toxic smoke to vent out of the home. The fire was under control after about an hour. Fifteen firefighters responded. None were injured. UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link Delhi violence: Body of IB Officer Ankit Sharma found in Chand Bagh India oi-Mousumi Dash New Delhi, Feb 26: A body of an Intelligence Bureau (IB) Officer, Ankit Sharma found in North East district's Chand Bagh area on Wednesday. Reportedly, Sharma died during the ongoing violence in Northeast Delhi which started on Sunday evening. His body was recovered from a drain today. He was the Security Assistant in IB. On Tuesday when Sharma was returning home in the evening he was allegedly attacked by a mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death and his body was later dumped into a drain, according to officials. After the body was recovered today, Sharma's father, Ravinder Sharma, who is also an IB official has claimed that the supporters of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader have attacked his son and killed him. According to the victim's father, Sharma was also shot after being beaten. Meanwhile, his body has been sent for autopsy. Earlier, Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal lost his life during the clashes in Gokalpuri area in the northeast part of the national capital. The autopsy report confirmed that he died of bullet injuries. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 The clashes in northeast Delhi turned violent as mobs set fire to houses, shops, petrol pumps, and public property. Delhi violence: Centre deploys 45 companies of paramilitary forces to restore law and order Apart from Ratan Lal, other police personnel, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Shahdara and Amit Sharma, were injured while trying to quell the protests. Clashes broke out on Sunday evening between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad after a large number of people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) blocked a road, while similar sit-ins were launched in several other parts of the national capital. The anti-CAA groups clashed for the second consecutive day on Monday and hurled stones at each other in the northeast Delhi, protesters also vandalised houses and a fire tender in the Jaffrabad and Maujpur areas. Violence was also reported from the Chandbagh area in Jaffrabad. WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump declared Wednesday that a widespread U.S. outbreak of the new respiratory virus sweeping the globe isnt inevitable, even as top health authorities at his side warned Americans that more infections are coming. Shortly after Trump spoke, the government announced a worrisome development: another person in the U.S. is infected someone in California who doesnt appear to have the usual risk factors of having travelled abroad or being exposed to another patient. At a White House news conference, Trump sought to minimize fears as he insisted the U.S. is very, very ready for whatever the COVID-19 outbreak brings. Under fire about the governments response, he put Vice-President Mike Pence in charge of co-ordinating the efforts. This will end, Trump said of the outbreak. You dont want to see panic because theres no reason to be panicked. But standing next to him, the very health officials Trump praised for fighting the new coronavirus stressed that schools, businesses and individuals need to get ready. We do expect more cases, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. If the CDC confirms that the latest case doesnt involve travel or contact with an infected person, it would be a first in the U.S. and a sign efforts to contain the viruss spread havent been enough. Its possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, the CDC said in a statement. More than 81,000 cases of COVID-19, an illness characterized by fever and coughing and in serious cases shortness of breath or pneumonia, have occurred since the new virus emerged in China. The newest case from California brings the total number infected in the U.S. to 60, most of them evacuated from outbreak zones. Trump credited border restrictions that have blocked people coming into the U.S. from China for keeping infections low so far. But now countries around the world from South Korea and Japan to Italy and Iran are experiencing growing numbers of cases. Asked if it was time to either lift the China restrictions, or take steps for travellers from elsewhere, he said: At a right time, we may do that. Right now, its not the time. Trump spent close to an hour discussing the virus threat, after a week of sharp stock-market losses over the health crisis and concern within the administration that a growing outbreak could affect his re-election. He blamed the Democrats for the stock-market slide, saying, I think the financial markets are very upset when they look at the Democrat candidates standing on that stage making fools out of themselves. And at one point, he shifted to defend his overall record and predict a win in November. A key question is whether the Trump administration is spending enough money to get the country prepared especially as the CDC has struggled to expand the number of states that can test people for the virus. Other key concerns are stockpiling masks and other protective equipment for health workers, and developing a vaccine or treatment. Health officials have exhausted an initial $105 million (U.S.) in emergency funding and have been looking elsewhere for dollars. Earlier this week, Trump requested $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the virus. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York countered with a proposal for $8.5 billion. Trump told reporters he was open to spending whatevers appropriate. Trump compared the new virus repeatedly to the flu, which kills tens of thousands each year. The new coronavirus has killed more than 2,700 most in China and none in the U.S. so far but scientists still dont understand whos most at risk or what the actual death rate is. Without a vaccine, CDCs Schuchat advised people to follow tried and true, not very exciting but important precautions: Wash your hands, cover your coughs and stay home when youre sick. A day earlier, another CDC official, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, was even more blunt, telling Americans to get ready for some of the same steps as occurred during the 2009 flu pandemic, such as school closings. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, she said. The National Institutes of Healths top infectious-disease chief cautioned a vaccine wont be ready for widespread use for a year or more. But Dr. Anthony Fauci said even if the virus wanes soon, its quite conceivable that it might come back and recycle next year. By then, he said, we hope to have a vaccine. Democrats were quick to condemn Trumps response to the outbreak. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it opaque and chaotic. Instead of listening to public-health and medical experts, the president has been downplaying the potential impact of the virus for over a month, said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the House homeland security committee. Thompson added that putting Pence, someone with no public-health expertise, in charge of the response will not instil confidence with the American people and raises questions about the administrations ability to co-ordinate an effective response to a complex public-health threat. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Cipla share price fell over 5 percent in the early trade on February 26 after the company received a warning letter from the USFDA. The company has received a warning letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the company's Goa manufacturing facility. The inspection conducted from 16-27 September 2019. The company remains committed to maintain the highest standards of compliance and will work closely with the agency to comprehensively address all the observations. At 09:18 hrs Cipla was quoting at Rs 414.05, down Rs 11.30, or 2.66 percent on the BSE. The share touched its 52-week high Rs 585.50 and 52-week low Rs 389.55 on 27 May, 2019 and 11 October, 2019, respectively. Currently, it is trading 29.28 percent below its 52-week high and 6.29 percent above its 52-week low. Review at a glance W isdom holds that location is everything and, sat as it is opposite the technicolour chintz of Gloria, perhaps its no surprise Shoreditchs Barboun feels a touch washed out. Maybe opalescent is fairer: all-day Barboun is one of those vexing places that zig-zags between good and bad, happiness and frustration. Its handsome looks are all pale wood and rattan, managing its considerable size by wisely breaking up space good for us packed happily together in one half, less good for the chap on his own in the other, which must have either been a position taken up by request or as a consequence of offending the manager. The food, they say, is inspired by the Levantine coast and remembered from childhood baba ghanoush and hummus, but also manti (Turkish dumplings, with beef), borek (a stuffed pastry) and dolma, the familiar filled vine leaves here swapped for aubergine skins. Not everything is so traditional: right me if Im wrong, but I suspect the fried chicken and waffle brunch may not be a Middle Eastern staple. Still, Barboun know their stuff; though it is sat in a brand new Hilton one of those doing its best to hide that fact Hus Vedat has led the way, a chap best known for Sohos Hovarda and the now-shuttered Yosma. Fezile Ozalgan, who cooked at both, heads up the kitchen. In accordance with modern law, there are small plates and big ones; its suggested we stick to one of each per person. We can share if wed like too kind but may not wish to. Could these be old-fashioned starters and mains? Most joys come early on, with the 10 cocktail list impressing. A mix of gin and Riesling vermouth, the Dushesh is lip-puckering but punchy. The addition of lemon sorbet pleases my girlfriend, though I end up with a frozen nose; later, for pudding, jolly staff accommodate as I order the sorbet off-menu to exact revenge. The accompanying nibbles are the best of what we eat: blackened aubergine is beautiful, baba ghanoush by any other name, with burnt, burnished tomatoes that pop on biting. Halloumi saganaki is livened with honey and lifted by tart, pleasingly sticky apricots. A huge length of bone marrow arrives sheltered under a harissa crust, the paste having crispened like crumbs of toast. So much marrow may suit some but the snottiness of the stuff gets to me after a while. Tough customer: The rump of lamb with smoked aubergine and tomato (Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd) / Daniel Hambury Starters sound a warning. Sat on oily green chermoula, an Instagram-orientated pile-up of grilled prawns proves fine but oddly magnolia, as if theyve swapped colour with our other plate of pink smoked eel also fine, apart from the missing smoke. Though reminders of earlier brilliance cut through, pricey mains saddened. Given the coastal connection and the fuss made about cooking with fire, octopus should thrill; chewy, it doesnt, though an abacus-like skewering of slices of spicy pastirma sausage gives the dish hope. Worse is an impossibly tough, impossibly dull rump of lamb, which is pushed away in favour of its bed of aubergine mashed and mixed with tomato here is the missing smoke from the eel, and it delights. Alongside (probably) the best coffee Ive drunk in a restaurant but then I love the Turkish stuff, it's my favourite part of a haircut puddings prove the late saviour. Tahini fondant scattered with sesame seeds and plated with a scoop of hazelnut ice cream is not just a stand-out of this restaurant but of any recent supper, with that tahini nuttiness lingering, the ice cream adding sweetness, a fine balance signalling a significant talent in the kitchen. A dish to return for after a light supper of nibbles and negronis, but little more. Five things David ate this week Daal night has been in the diary so long, even a Brits invite cant sway me. We miss the magnificent Dave, but the Dishoom slow-cook recipe soothes. Undecided whether Vespers or Martinis have more merit, SquareMeals Ben McCormack and I do agree that at Wiltons, nothing is better than simply grilled lobster With only an M&S BLT to line the stomach ahead of the thrilling Wales v France clash, just the two Guinness. Convince myself such restraint is, under the circumstances, noble. The late Joel Robuchons mash remains indecently good; it matches perfectly-cooked cote de boeuf, part of their new Sunday Roast. Black olive crumbs add a little bitter verve to grilled pork belly sliced on springy artichokes at Quo Vadis. Royal Dutch Shells onshore Egyptian oil and gas assets have drawn interest from American, Egyptian, Asian and Middle East bidders, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Shell launched a process at the end of November to sell its onshore upstream assets in the Western Desert to focus on expanding its Egyptian offshore gas exploration. It appointed investment bank Citigroup to run the sale, which could fetch around $1 billion, a source close to the process told Reuters in November. The oil majors Western Desert portfolio includes stakes in 19 oil and gas leases of which Shells working interest included output of around 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year, Reuters reported at the time. U.S. oil and gas producer Apache Corp, Egyptian firms Apex International Energy and Cheiron, and London-listed Pharos Energy submitted bids, said the two sources close to the deal, declining to be named as the matter is not public. There were other Asian and Middle Eastern bidders too, they said. One of the sources said all the bids were non-binding. Shell, Citi, Apex, Apache and Pharos declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Cheiron did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The second phase will see companies short-listed for due-diligence and binding offers, one of the sources said. The transaction could take a long time, both sources said, citing weaker gas prices and a lengthy process in Egypt since such assets require government approvals. The second source said the deal was unlikely to close before May. Egypts oil and gas sector has seen a rapid expansion in recent years after the discovery of vast offshore gas reserves that has drawn major investments from international companies including Eni and BP. Search Keywords: Short link: EUGENE, Ore. More than a dozen high school students got a head start on their careers thanks to a unique program offered through the Lane Education Service District. The Youth Trades Academy is a six-week program for juniors and seniors. The students meet twice a week and get classroom and hands-on experience. In the program, there are three subjects that are taught: Sheet metal, plumbers and steamfitters, and electrical trades. The idea is to prepare students for an apprenticeship program. You see a lot of people go to college and they dont have jobs, and theyre looking and theyre trying, and theyre working fast food, and theyre driving Uber, and theyre not doing what their diploma says they can, senior Wyatt Garner said. Students who successfully pass the program also get high school credit. Japanese prime ministers statement comes just five months before the Tokyo Olympics get under way. Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is calling for some events to be delayed or cancelled. It comes just five months before the Tokyo Olympics get under way. Al Jazeeras David Stokes reports. There's nothing quite like a bit of street style to get your sartorial inspiration flowing, and Paris Fashion Week attracts the slickest and sharpest of the set. The French capital plays host to some of fashion's biggest names during its bi-annual Fashion Week including Chanel, Dior and Stella McCartney. And while it may be the final installment of the four-week-long fashion month, the street style set's looks are anything but jaded. As was the case in New York, London and Milan, Bottega Veneta has been the staple accessory brand for all showgoers who have hit the ground in Paris. IMAXtree And similarly to Copenhagen Fashion Week in January, stomper boots have also been high on the agenda in Paris so far. For cold weather sartorial inspiration, look no further than these perfectly-styled ensembles. Labour leadership frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer has called for former No10 spin doctor Alastair Campbell to be allowed back into the party. Sir Keir said Mr Campbell, who was kicked out by Jeremy Corbyn's allies after admitting he voted for the Liberal Democrats in European elections, was treated more harshly than activists facing anti-Semitism allegations. He insisted Tony Blair's key aide had made a 'huge contribution' to Labour and deserved to be brought back into the fold. The intervention is another strong signal that Sir Keir, hot favourite to win the battle for the top job in April, wants to end the iron grip of the hard-Left on the party. Labour leadership frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer has called for former No10 spin doctor Alastair Campbell (pictured) to be allowed back into the party Sir Keir said Mr Campbell was treated more harshly than activists facing anti-Semitism allegations when he was kicked out by allies of Jeremy Corbyn (right) Mr Campbell is a hate figure for many Corbynistas, having played a crucial role in taking Labour to the political centre ground and winning three general elections. He was a prominent supporter of the People's Vote campaign for a second EU referendum, and backed the Iraq War. Sir Keir said he wanted to 'get past this whole question of chucking people out'. 'Look, I want anybody who wants to be in our party to be in the party. Alastair is a constituent of mine. And he was a long-standing Labour member, (he made) a huge contribution to the party,' he told the HuffPost news website. 'I think we need to get past this whole question of chucking people out and expulsions, etc. The cases we should concentrate on are cases, for example, of anti-Semitism or other racist behaviour within the party. 'And I use Alastair's case as an example to say, if you can be chucked out of the party, almost straight away, for supporting another party at an election, surely you can be chucked out of our party in an absolutely clear case of anti-Semitism, and the mismatch was huge there.' He also suggested he would extend the same welcome to those MPs who quit the party over its approach to issues such as anti-Semitism to form the now defunct Independent Group, many of them fierce critics of Jeremy Corbyn. 'I don't want to push anyone away from the party. I want as many people to be in the party as possible,' he said. 'I'm conscious of the fact that in the Labour Party we focus understandably on votes we've lost and how we get them back. But if that's all we do we're going to lose the next general election. 'We've got to also ask ourselves, how do we get folks that we don't normally get. And so the coalition that we have to build across the country to win a general election is very, very wide.' CLEVELAND, Ohio - As the number infected with the coronavirus in South Korea has now climbed over 1,200, officials report the first U.S. soldier in the country has been diagnosed with the virus. Markets continue to be rattled with both Pacific and European markets seeing losses today. Meanwhile, concerns mount in Europe where several additional countries are reporting their first coronavirus cases, all from recent travelers to Italy. More than 81,000 infections have been reported. The number of those who have recovered has grown to over 30,000 Live coronavirus tracker Coronavirus news in the U.S. US testing begins for possible coronavirus treatment as health experts predict virus will spread (CNN) An economic pandemic: The coronavirus is becoming a bigger threat to the U.S., economists say (USA Today) Democratic candidates slam great genius Trump for botching coronavirus response (NBC News) CDC says Americans could see severe disruptions with coronavirus, now that disease spread is when not if (cleveland.com) Hawaii doctors flagged 8 for coronavirus symptoms; none tested (KHON) Wisconsin health officials prepare for coronavirus threat (WBAY) 7 Iowans being monitored for virus (KTIV) USC recalls students from Italy, South Korea (Los Angeles Times) San Francisco declares state of emergency over coronavirus (The Hill) How the coronavirus is impacting Amways operations in China (MLive) Coronavirus news around the world A worker disinfects a public bus against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in early morning of Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Iran's government said Tuesday that more than a dozen people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)AP Wuhan nurses plea for international medics to help fight coronavirus (The Guardian) Why is Irans reported mortality rate for coronavirus higher than in other countries? (NBC News) Brazil confirms first coronavirus case in Latin America (Reuters) Spanish hotel locked down after guests test positive for coronavirus (NY Times) Algeria announces first confirmed cased (Jakarta Post) New coronavirus cases in Germany, one man in critical condition (Reuters) Greece reports first case of coronavirus (Bloomberg) Coronavirus infections keep mounting after cruise ship fiasco in Japan (Science) Coronavirus fits criteria for Disease X, WHO expert says (Fox News) Local coronavirus news Seventh person in Ohio being tested for coronavirus (cleveland.com) More than 200 under public health supervision in Ohio (Fox8) Some Northeast Ohio businesses see significant drop in customers (WKYC) Read complete prior coronavirus coverage on cleveland.com The ongoing communal violence in the national capital has claimed 20 lives and injured more than 190 people. There are horrific images of communal terror on one hand and there are heartwarming stories of people coming out in support, shielding one another from brutality on the other. Gurdwaras opening doors to Muslim families The Sikh community has opened doors to the Muslim families who are fleeing violence in northeast areas of Delhi like Seelampuri, Yamuna Vihar, Maujpur, Jaffrabad, Bhajanpura and Chand Bagh. The Majnu Ka Tila gurudwara in north Delhi is offering shelter to Muslim families who have been forced to leave their homes in violence-hit areas and look for a safe place to stay. Dalit blocking roads to stop mob from entering Muslim locality In Seelampur, one of the worst hit areas, Dalits blocked routes leading to Muslim locality and stood to prevent entry of rioters. They blocked the roads against mob and sheltered Muslim families. Social media is hailing the heartwarming act as the "unity of oppressed". In one part of Delhi, a gurdwara opens its doors to Muslims and anyone who needs shelter. In Seelampur, Dalits blocked the roads against mobs, sheltered their Muslim neighbours. Police and politicians have forgotten their duty; but the people have courage and heart.#DelhiRiots Nilanjana Roy (@nilanjanaroy) February 25, 2020 Street patrolling In violence-hit areas of the national capital, people from a community are patrolling the streets to prevent mob from entering Muslim localities. Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan tweeted about a piece of "good news" and said that at various places in Delhi, people from different communities have come forward to protect each other from unruly mobs. "Residents armed with sticks and lathis are guarding the region against outsiders. We are trying hard to prevent such elements from slipping inside the colony and creating ruckus," Rahul, a resident of Yamuna Vihar, said. Human chain around school kids Residents of Yamuna Vihar formed a human chain around schoolchildren to ensure their safety amid violence in the area. A Twitter user shared the video of the incident with the caption, 'This is happening now at Yamuna Vihar in East Delhi. Locals form a human chain to escort schoolchildren to safety. Police is nowhere to be seen. Remember this is Delhi, barely 20 kms north of Hyderabad House, the site of Modi-Trump joint statement an hour or so back'. WATCH : Video from Yamuna vihar Men forming a human chain to safely escort school girls to safe place! No Police, No Force to Save them, they are on their own now.#GenocideInDelhi #DelhiBurning #DelhiPolice #DelhiRiots #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/0cKXGaTEsJ CAA / NRC Protest Info. (@NrcProtest) February 25, 2020 A user wrote, "These are the small things that just reminds me that humanity is still not strangled a political death." Even as situation in northeast Delhi remains tense, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said Delhi Police, despite all efforts, is "unable to control the situation and instill confidence" in view of violence in the capital and recommended calling in the Army. Kejriwal further stated that he is writing to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard. A 14-year-old boy, who wasn't a protester or a rioter, is the youngest to be killed in the deadly riots that have gripped the national capital. The NHS has 'little fuel in the tank' to cope with a coronavirus outbreak because of a crippling shortage of beds, health experts have warned. Research shows the country's most frail patients are routinely stranded on trolleys in corridors for more than four hours because of the problem. Almost one in four people admitted onto wards in England in December and January had to wait more than four hours before being given a bed. The problem has created a backlog outside hospitals which means one in seven patients are also left stranded in the back of ambulances for more than half an hour. There have only been 13 cases in the UK, all of whom are being treated in specialist wards across the country. But health bosses are on red alert for a surge in infections now that 12 European nations have racked up 450 cases and 14 deaths between them. Helen Buckingham, director of strategy and operations at the Nuffield Trust think thank, told the BBC the swine flu pandemic in 2009 showed the NHS was good at dealing with new illnesses. But she said it would far more difficult now because the health service has 'very little in the tank' when it comes to staff numbers and hospital beds. 199,000 patients - one in four - had four-hour delays on trolleys in corridors after being seen in A&E before a bed was made available to them. That is double the delays seen four years ago Jill Woolley, 88, (pictured with daughter Samantha Tuck, 54) was left unattended on a trolley in A&E for six hours last year Research conducted by the BBC, based on NHS England data, today found that this winter has been one of the worst winters for A&E departments on record. It showed 199,000 patients - one in four - had four-hour delays on trolleys in corridors after being seen in A&E before a bed was made available to them. That is double the delays seen four years ago. A separate 130,000 patients - one in seven - taken to hospital by ambulances were left stranded for at least half an hour before they could be let in over the two-month period. The Royal College of Nursing blasted the situation, describing it as 'unacceptable', 'undignified' and unsafe of the patients it affects. A spokesperson claims many hospitals were now deploying nurses to work specifically in corridors and provide oxygen and antibiotic drips, because they are so overcrowded. RCN emergency care association chairman David Smith told the BBC: 'It is not what we want for our patients - it is not dignified and obviously safety is a concern. More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800. The UK is on red alert for more cases France has reported four new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including two people returning from Italy bringing the total number to 17 'We do our best to make sure they are comfortable and react if they deteriorate. But it is really upsetting for nurses to have to see patients like this.' It comes as Europe remains on alert for coronavirus, with Greece today becoming the latest country to confirm a case of the deadly infection sweeping the world. France also announced a second patient had died amid growing fears the escalating crisis in Italy will continue to spread across the continent. Fifty more cases including six children of COVID-19 have now been confirmed in Italy, taking the toll past 370. Twelve patients have died. Almost a dozen towns have been quarantined in the northern part of the country in a desperate attempt to contain the worsening coronavirus crisis. Cases from Italy have now been confirmed in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Greece and Spain, as well as Algeria and Brazil. It comes after thousands of British families jetted to Italy during the half-term break from schools last week and Easter holidays are just five weeks away. More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800. For the first time in the franchises 39 year history, Steven Spielberg won't be directing an Indiana Jones film. The iconic director is handing the whip over to James Mangold, who is in talks to replace him, according to a new report from Variety. Spielberg, who helmed the four preview films, will remain on as a 'hands-on producer,' according to the outlet. Changing of the guard: Steven Spielberg won't be directing Indiana Jones 5 and is reportedly handing the reigns over to James Mangold, who is in talks to replace him, according to a new report from Variety A source close the filmmaker told Variety that 'the decision to leave the directors chair was entirely Spielbergs, in a desire to pass along Indys whip to a new generation to bring their perspective to the story.' Mangold, who recently directed the Matt Damon and Christian Bale racing flick Ford vs. Ferrari, is in talks to replace Spielberg on Indiana Jones 5. The fifth film in the franchise has been years in the making and was first announced back in 2016. After several delays in production, star Harrison Ford revealed earlier in February that filming was set to begin this summer. Historic: A source close the filmmaker told Variety that 'the decision to leave the directors chair was entirely Spielbergs, in a desire to pass along Indys whip to a new generation to bring their perspective to the story' (Harrison Ford in Raiders Of The Lost Ark - 1981) Stepping up to the plate: Mangold, who recently directed the Matt Damon and Christian Bale racing flick Ford vs. Ferrari, is in talks to replace Spielberg on Indiana Jones 5 The 77-year-old veteran actor talked new details about the sequel while sitting down with Ellen DeGeneres on her show. After Ellen asked about the movie, the Star Wars actor replied with a tricky double negative. 'I can deny that it's NOT happening,' he smiled, letting several seconds pass before audiences finally caught on and erupted into applause. Harrison also revealed that the saga will begin filming again this summer. Exciting news: After several delays in production, star Harrison Ford revealed during an appearance on Ellen earlier in February that filming was set to begin this summer Ford said he was still 'excited to play Indie, 39 years after originally playing the adventurous archaeologist. 'It's gonna be fun,' he told Ellen 'I am excited. They're great fun to make.' The motion picture was originally due for release in July 2019, before it was later pushed back to July 2020 and Disney issued an amended schedule in July 2018, which listed Indiana Jones 5 as coming out on July 9, 2021. Partners: Spielberg has directed the four previous Indiana Jones films and will remain closely involved with the project which is slated for a 2021 release (Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg in Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981) Indiana Jones first won over audiences with 1981's Raiders Of The Lost Ark - largely considered one of the best films in the action-adventure genre. It was followed up by the equally beloved prequel Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom in 1984, and then later the sequel Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade in 1989. Indie got the reboot treatment once more in 2008 with Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, which was slammed by fans and critics. Big time! Ford said he was still 'excited' to play Indie, 39 years after originally playing the adventurous archaeologist (Harrison Ford in Raiders Of The Lost Ark - 1981) [February 26, 2020] The Gaming Stadium Announces New Esports Convention, The Gaming Experience, to Be Held at the Vancouver Convention Centre VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gaming Stadium (the "Company" or "TGS"), owners and operators of Canada's first dedicated esports arena, are proud to announce The Gaming Experience ("TGX"), a new esports and gaming convention to take place on Sept. 18-20, 2020, at the West Exhibition Hall at the Vancouver Convention Centre. TGX will be a three day event spanning 100,000 square feet and will feature Pinnacle 2020, Interactive VR Exhibits, Game Studio Showcase, Artist Alley, Retro Arcade, Multiple Vendors, and a High School and Post-secondary School Zone, which will feature local clubs and the growing esports programs in the education sector. Pinnacle is Vancouver's largest annual tournament, which was last held at the River Rock Casino Resort in July 2019. The event drew over 800 competitors and is set to grow exponentially in 2020. The tournament will feature a mix of console and PC games and highlight titles such as CS:GO, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and more. The main event of Pinnacle will be Street Fighter V, as it is an official tour stop on the Capcom Pro Tour. For more info on the Capcom Pro Tour schedule, visit https://capcomprotour.com/schedule/?season=2020B&list_view&lang=en-us. "When we started running events as TGS in 2018, ur goal was always to host the largest esports and gaming convention Vancouver has seen. Our crown jewel for location has always been the Vancouver Convention Centre, and to be able to make this a reality is exciting to say the least," says Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS. "Jeff Hill and the team at the Convention Centre have been amazing to work with, and their commitment to long-term esports growth in our city is unparalleled. This is a huge opportunity for both us and the Convention Centre but, more importantly, is great for our community. This is the type of event that can put Vancouver esports in a new light, and we are grateful to be the ones to host it." "We're incredibly excited to welcome The Gaming Experience in September and the esports community through our doors," said Jeff Hill, Sales Manager Trade, Consumer & Esports, Vancouver Convention Centre. "Vancouver is rife with passionate esports fans and world-class talent, and TGX will be the perfect opportunity to showcase that." Tickets for TGX will be available soon. For more information on TGX, please contact Spiro Khouri (TGS) or Jeff Hill (Vancouver Convention Centre). About The Gaming Stadium The Gaming Stadium, located in Richmond, BC, opened its doors on June 28, 2019. The facility is open seven days a week and hosts multiple events on a weekly basis. For more information, visit www.thegamingstadium.com. Press Contact Name: Spiro Khouri, CEO, The Gaming Stadium Phone: 604-562-0606 Email: [email protected] Related Images tgs-logo.png TGS Logo Related Links Website View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-gaming-stadium-announces-new-esports-convention-the-gaming-experience-to-be-held-at-the-vancouver-convention-centre-301011797.html SOURCE The Gaming Stadium [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The RBI in September 2018 had barred Bandhan Bank from expanding its network as the lender failed to reduce the promoters' stake to 40 percent New Delhi: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday allowed Bandhan Bank to expand its branch network after considering the efforts made by the private lender to comply with the licensing conditions. The central bank in September 2018 had barred Bandhan Bank from expanding its network as the lender failed to reduce the promoters' stake to 40 percent from close to 82 percent within the stipulated three-year time frame of commencing operations. "We would like to inform that the Reserve Bank of India vide its letter dated 25 February, 2020 has informed that though the bank is still not in compliance with the licensing condition on dilution, considering the efforts made by the bank to comply with the said licensing condition," Bandhan Bank said in a regulatory filing. Currently, the promoters' holding in the bank is 62 percent. The bank said RBI has lifted the regulatory restriction on branch opening, subject to the condition that the bank ensures that at least 25 percent of the total number of banking outlets opened during a financial year are opened in unbanked rural centres, it added. Bandhan Bank had commenced operations on 23 August, 2015. According to RBI's bank licence norms, a private sector bank's promoter will need to pare holding to 40 percent within three years, 20 percent within 10 years and 15 percent within 15 years. Bandhan Bank currently has 4,288 banking outlets, including branches. Bandhan Bank shares closed at Rs 403.85 on BSE, down 1.15 percent from the previous close. A Staten Island man was arrested Tuesday on charges he tried to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but was actually an undercover detective in New Jersey, authorities said Wednesday. John Emilio, 42, began chatting with the detective in November 2019, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said. The teen and Emilio discussed meeting for sex in his vehicle or at a motel on Route 130 in Burlington County, authorities said. He sent the detective pictures of his genitals and said he was excited to take the girls virginity, authorities said. Emilio was arrested at his home on Woolley Avenue after authorities acted on a search warrant. He is in custody in New York awaiting extradition to New Jersey. The NYPD Computer Crimes Squad, Homeland Security Investigations, Cinnaminson police, and the Richmond County (Staten Island) District Attorneys office also worked on the case. Burlington County Prosecutors Office Detective Sgt. Dave Kohler led the investigation. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Trey Anastasio, founding member of Phish, is performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra in a special one-night-only concert this summer. The guitarist, vocalist, and composer will join the orchestra for a June 23 concert in Verizon Hall. Why is an ensemble renowned for Tchaikovsky, Strauss, and Sibelius dipping its toe into the artistic waters of a jam band founded in 1983 with a very different groove? Weve collaborated with artists from many different genres in recent years, said orchestra artistic planning vice president Jeremy Rothman, citing the ensembles performances with Jill Scott, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, and others. Its a way of meeting audiences in different ways. Anastasio has been performing with orchestras for years, including concerts with the New York Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony. Its important to note that this wasnt just a case of a rock star who wanted a string section to augment his slow songs or horns to punctuate his anthems, wrote a Rolling Stone critic of a 2012 appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The rearrangements actually transformed popular Phish standards like First Tube and Water in the Sky into entirely new entities, which leaned far more towards new classical territory than the jazz and rock tendencies they usually exhibit. Anastasios Philadelphia program hasnt been set, but it will feature orchestral arrangements of his songs as well as solo performances by him. Edwin Outwater conducts the program, which is expected to run about two hours. Orchestra marketing vice president Charlie Wade said he expected the audience to be mostly Phish followers, as opposed to orchestra devotees. His fans really dig this, seeing him in front of an orchestra. But whats the sound classical ears can expect to hear rolling off the stage? Its very melodic music, said Rothman of Phishs style. Its very improvisatory, progressive rock and draws inspiration from the Grateful Dead. Theyve got a jam vibe to them." Tickets are $49-$125, and go on sale to Trey Anastasio/Phish fan club members and orchestra subscribers and donors Thursday, at 10 a.m.; and to the general public March 5 at 10 a.m. (215-893-1999, philorch.org). Retired New York City firefighter Daniel Foley died from pancreatic cancer related to his efforts on 9/11. (New York City Fire Department) A New York City Firefighter Who Helped Recover His Brothers Body From Ground Zero Has Died From 9/11-Related Cancer A New York City firefighter who helped recover his brothers body after 9/11 died on Saturday from pancreatic cancer caused by his rescue efforts at Ground Zero. Daniel Foley joined the Fire Department of New York in 1998, FDNY spokesperson Jim Long told CNN. On Sept. 11, 2001, Foley watched his older brother, fellow firefighter Thomas Foley, respond to the catastrophic terrorist attack that left New York broken and wounded. But Thomas never came back home. That was when Foley decided to join the efforts of Rescue Company 3 in the Bronx, where his brother had been stationed, to assist in rescue efforts to find Thomas. On the first night, Danny promised his mother and father he wouldnt come home until he bought his brother home with him, Lieutenant Mickey Conboy of Rescue Co. 3 told CNN affiliate WCBS on Sunday. On the 11th day, Danny miraculously found his brother Tommy in the rubble at the World Trade Center. Although he was not assigned to recovery efforts with Rescue Co. 3, Foley came back every day after finding his brother. He dedicated himself to recovering the bodies of those killed in the tragedy until recovery efforts at Ground Zero officially ended in May 2002. Foley, who was working at Ladder 49 in the Bronx at the time, officially transferred to Rescue Co. 3 in the years after 9/11, Long said. Danny Foley was the epitome of a great fireman. Hes going to be missed each and everyday in this firehouse and throughout the department. Danny has left an indelible mark on all of us, Conboy said. Foley was cited by the fire department 10 times for bravery and received three department medals for rescues he made. The firefighter retired from the FDNY in 2019 after 21 years of service, according to Conboy. Foley was 46 when he died and leaves behind his wife and five children. Firefighters Are Still Dying From 9/11 Related Illnesses Rescue Co. 3 lost eight firefighters on 9/11, but Foley was the first firefighter at the company to die from the effects of his 9/11-related pancreatic cancer. New York officials say 220 firefighters including Foley have now lost their lives from illnesses stemming from their time working at the World Trade Center after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. One person dies every two weeks from a 9/11-related illness, Long told CNN. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions World Trade Center Health Program, exposure to the 9/11 terror attacks may have caused a range of health conditions, including acute traumatic injuries, as well as diseases of the respiratory and digestive systems. The CDC says those exposed to the attacks also develop cancers that include lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. In 2019, President Donald Trump signed an act into law which authorized the extension of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The fund permanently compensates individuals injured during the 2001 terrorist attacks and making rescues and removing debris under hazardous conditions in the aftermath. The fund was slated to expire in 2020. But the newly signed legislation, championed by comedian Jon Stewart, ensures compensation for victims through 2090. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. COLUMBIA Latin-America's premier adult industry event, the 2020 LalExpo (Latin America Adult Business Expo) was held in Cali, Colombia from February 17-19. Svakom attended and set up a booth in the expo to showcase the latest range of merchandise. The only one of its kind in the region, LalExpo is established to professionalize the adult industry, provide a space for industry networking, create business relationships, advertise brands, and create opportunity. It has attracted more than 4000 participants from a wide range of companies, representing all aspects of the online and adult business world. The Svakom stand were always crowded, with hourly mojito giveaways, as well as toy giveaways after participating in the banana contest. Svakom presented SIREN, VICK, EMMA, and ELLA at the expo. SIREN is an vibrator tailored for females that features an intense double-tongued design and a soft but strong rounded vibrating head. The innovative design was recognized by an iF Design Award earlier this year. VICK is a powerful prostate and perineum massager especially designed for couples. EMMA is a long lasting wand massager with heating function. It comes with attachable silicon rabbit ears. ELLA is a smart bullet. Colombian people are extremely nice and warm, what made our days there to enjoy their people, culture, and friendship, a Svakom representative said. The LalExpo, with its conferences, seminars, panels, activities, and parties, is a business-to-business trade event that creates opportunities for attendees to grow in the market. To know more, visit Svakom.net Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Leila Macor and Michael Mathes (Agence France-Presse) Charleston, United States Wed, February 26, 2020 14:02 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066b4b40 2 World #USA,#Elections,Bernie-Sanders,Joe-Biden Free Democratic White House hopefuls rounded on leftist frontrunner Bernie Sanders at a feisty debate Tuesday, attacking him as too extreme for American voters and a flawed challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina's crucial primary on Saturday to keep his campaign alive, hit Sanders as soft on gun control, while billionaire tycoon Michael Bloomberg claimed Russia was working to help Sanders win the nomination -- betting he would be defeated in November. And Sanders' rivals joined in savaging the self-described democratic socialist as too radical to appeal to a broad swathe of Americans. Fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren and centrists Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, all desperate to halt Sanders' momentum before it is too late, laid into his ability to deliver on costly programs like universal health care and tuition-free college. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old military veteran presenting himself as a unifier, warned a Sanders fight against Trump would spell "chaos" and divide the nation. "I tell you what it adds up to," Buttigieg said, "it ends up as four more years of Donald Trump." Sanders is in pole position in South Carolina, the last step before "Super Tuesday" March 3 when 14 states vote and a whopping one third of all delegates -- the representatives who pick the nominee at the Democratic Party's July convention -- are up for grabs. The 78-year-old hit back at the charge his policies were too "radical," insisting such ideas "exist in countries all over the world," including the notion that health care is a human right. "The way we beat Trump, which is what everybody up here wants, is we need a campaign of energy and excitement," Sanders said. "We need to bring working people back in to the Democratic Party." Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speak after the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Seven candidates qualified for the debate, hosted by CBS News and Congressional Black Caucus Institute, ahead of South Carolinas primary in four days. (AFP/Win McNamee/Getty Images) - 'Bumper stickers' - Talking over one another in often contentious exchanges, the seven candidates on stage aggressively vied for attention, locking horns on everything from housing to China policy and whether or not to move the US embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv. Seeking to prove he is still in the fight, the 77-year-old Biden put in a spirited performance and snapped back at moderators who tried to cut him off, telling them: "I'm not going to be quiet anymore, OK?" The former vice president aimed a sharp attack at Sanders over gun control, an issue largely absent from previous debates, and a significant weakness for the Vermont senator who voted against legislation that would have allowed lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Sanders had emerged largely unscathed from the previous debate. But he acknowledged he was now in the firing line, with rivals seeking to derail his push for the nomination following two straight victories, in New Hampshire and then Nevada. "I'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight," he said to laughter. "I wonder why." Piling on, Klobuchar hammered Sanders's plans as "broken promises that sound good on bumper stickers," while billionaire activist Tom Steyer accused him of planning "a government takeover of large parts of the economy." Like Buttigieg, Bloomberg sought to cast a Sanders nomination as a sure path to losing. "Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected so you'll lose to him," the former New York mayor told Sanders in a heated opening exchange. "I'm the one choice that makes some sense," said Bloomberg, touting his experience running America's largest city for 12 years -- a point hammered home in lavish televised ads during multiple commercial breaks. Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Seven candidates qualified for the debate, hosted by CBS News and Congressional Black Caucus Institute, ahead of South Carolinas primary in four days. (AFP/Win McNamee/Getty Images) - Bloomberg, Biden seek rebound - Bloomberg seeking to rebound from a disastrous performance last week in his first debate and prove he is a credible, moderate alternative to the leftist Sanders. But the 78-year-old found himself under assault too, including by Warren who called him "the riskiest candidate" on stage. "I don't care how much money mayor Bloomberg has. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him," Warren said. "He has not earned their trust. I will." Bloomberg jumped late into the race, and has not been on the ballot in the four early states, opting instead to make a splash on Super Tuesday. He has now spent more than $500 million on campaign advertising. Rival centrist Biden desperately needs a win after dismal showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, and a disappointing result in Nevada where he won 20.2 percent, well behind Sanders' 46.8 percent. Biden has been counting on strong support among black voters in South Carolina to recharge his flagging campaign -- earning cheers at one point when he promised to put a female black justice on the Supreme Court if elected. Pressed on whether he would throw in the towel if he falls short on Saturday, Biden stood defiant, saying: "I will win South Carolina." In this Feb. 19, 2020, photo, police officers wearing face masks patrol at a container port in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. AP Public chagrin is growing over some Chinese provincial authorities' forcible anti-coronavirus quarantine measures against South Koreans, fueling criticism of Seoul's cautious immigration controls and strengthening calls for broader entry bans on Chinese visitors. Despite Seoul's entry ban limited only to China's central Hubei Province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreaks, Weihai in the eastern Shandong Province and other regions have enforced unannounced quarantine steps against visitors from South Korea. The measures came after Seoul embraced Beijing's calls for a "scientific" decision in line with the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations against unnecessary travel restrictions and sent protective masks, goggles and other relief items to China in a show of unity in the fight against the virus outbreaks. The containment move raised questions over Seoul's hitherto cautious approach in dealing with Chinese travelers in the midst of a recent spike in the number of COVID-19 infections in South Korea, which has risen to 1,146. "China has been consistent in its claim that travel restrictions should be made based on scientific grounds and WHO recommendations, while decrying strict entry restrictions by the United States and other countries," Park Won-gon, professor of international politics at Handong Global University, said. "Thus, provincial Chinese authorities' quarantine measures against Koreans are inconsistent with Beijing's stance. Given the Chinese governance structure, we know that the provincial authorities might not be able to make such decisions without consent from the central government or at least without its acquiescence," he added. On Tuesday, the Weihai authorities put all 163 passengers, including 19 South Koreans, of a flight from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, under quarantine in the first such Chinese measure against visitors from Korea. The city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province also subjected air passengers from South Korea to coronavirus tests and reportedly placed them under a 14-day quarantine program at designated hotels or other locations. The authorities in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province quarantined about 70 of the total 169 passengers aboard a flight from Incheon after three Chinese passengers had signs of fever. Among those in quarantine are 40 South Koreans. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Sen. Elizabeth Warren continued to remake herself as a combative debater in Tuesdays Democratic face-off in Charleston, S.C., and once again her target was former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Within minutes of the start of the debate she had indicted Bloomberg for his past support of Republicans and his treatment of women at his private company repeating an allegation that he once told a pregnant employee to have an abortion. Warrens assault began when she was asked why she considers Bloomberg the riskiest candidate for the Democratic nomination. Lets think of it this way: Were here in Charleston, Warren said. And you know whos going to be in Charleston later this week is Donald Trump. Hes going to be here to raise money for his buddy, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Who funded Lindsey Grahams campaign for reelection last time? It was Mayor Bloomberg. In 2014, Bloomberg donated $250,000 to the super-PAC supporting Graham. And thats not the only right-wing senator Mayor Bloomberg has funded, Warren continued. In 2016, he dumped $12 million into the Pennsylvania Senate race to help reelect an anti-choice, right-wing Republican senator. And I just want to say, the woman challenger was terrific. She lost by a single point. That was Democrat Katie McGinty, who lost in her bid to unseat Sen. Pat Toomey. Toomey had broken with most of his party to support background checks for certain gun purchases. Gun control is one of Bloombergs signature issues. In 2012, he swooped in to try to defend another Republican senator against a woman challenger, Warren continued. That was me. It didnt work. Bloomberg backed Sen. Scott Brown, who Warren ultimately unseated. I dont care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has, she added. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him. Bloomberg, who took office Jan. 1, 2002, said, I have been training for this job since I stepped in the pile, still smoldering, on 9/11. I know what to do. Ive shown I know how to run a country. Ive run the city, which is almost the same size bigger than most countries in the world. I am the one choice that makes some sense. I have the experience. I have the resources and I have the record. And all of the sideshows the senator wants to bring up have nothing to do with that. Story continues Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg. (Win McNamee/Getty Images, Patrick Semansky/AP) Warren objected to Bloombergs use of sideshow to describe her criticisms. This is personal for me, she said. When I was 21 years old, I got my first job as a special education teacher. I loved that job. And by the end of the first year I was visibly pregnant. The principal wished me luck and gave my job to someone else. I packed up my stuff and I went home, she said. At least I didnt have a boss who said to me, Kill it. I never said that, Bloomberg snapped. Oh come on. As she did in the last Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Warren said voters should be able to hear from all of the women who signed nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, about their allegations of discrimination against Bloomberg or his company. At that debate, Bloomberg acknowledged that we have a very few nondisclosure agreements, claiming that none of them accuse me of doing anything other than maybe they didnt like a joke I told. On Tuesday, Bloomberg was asked if the women took his jokes wrong or if he was wrong to make them. Probably wrong to make the jokes, he said. I dont remember what they were, but I assume if it bothered them I was wrong. I apologize. Im sorry for that. Following the first debate, Bloomberg said the company identified and agreed to release three women from their NDAs, and said it would not use such agreements going forward. Warren said that wasnt good enough, and asked that all women with discrimination claims be released from their NDAs. The trouble with this, senator, is enough is never enough, Bloomberg said. We cannot continue to re-litigate this every time. We did what she asked. And thank you, we probably made the world better because of it. The Warren campaign wasted no time in attempting to capitalize on the exchange, offering a t-shirt emblazoned with Bloombergs Enough Is Never Enough quote in its online store. (shop.elizabethwarren.com) _____ Read more from Yahoo News: [February 26, 2020] AMAG Hosts Annual Security Engineering Symposium TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AMAG Technology, a G4S company, hosted its annual Security Engineering Symposium in San Diego, California, February 21-24, 2020 at the Pendry San Diego. Over 125 end-users, consultants and integrators were in attendance. Guests were treated to two days of interactive presentations, panels and discussions with thought leaders in business intelligence, data, insider threat, and open technologies. AMAG Technology President, Howard Johnson, Director of Business Development, Kami Dukes and G4S CEO America's, John Kenning opened the conference by welcoming attendees and introducing honored guests and AMAG staff. Dukes and AMAG Product Director, Jonathan Moore presented The Symmetry Vision, fireside-chat style, and discussed AMAG's product vision and the future path of the Symmetry platform. A Platinum panel called Empowered Intel discussed interoperability, data, compliance, workflow, biometrics & authentication and video analytics, the six core topics surrounding the event. Two TED-style talks featured Protecting the Human Element with Johnson and Vice President Enterprise Systems, Stuart Tucker and On the Hunt with Business Deveopment Manager, Dan Bissmeyer. Keynote speaker and business futurist Patrick Schwerdtfeger wowed the crowd with thoughts on how Artificial Intelligence and exponential thinking are going to change the world in the next 10 years. "Technology is changing the world and the discussions occurring around data, compliance, interoperability, biometrics and analytics are critical to end-user customers and the integrators, consultants and manufacturers who supply solutions," said AMAG Technology President, Howard Johnson. "This event provides the opportunity to have a focused conversation with our industry peers as we come together to interact, learn, have fun and identify ways to drive security forward." "The SES provides highly valuable networking opportunities in bringing end-users, consultants and integrators together," said Tenet Healthcare, Director Corporate Security, Mark Milas. "I find tremendous value in the information I've learned which has better equipped me to make future decisions and enables me to better communicate to my leadership the value of the Symmetry solutions we are providing to our hospitals." Ten technology partners delivered solution-based sessions to attendees. ASSA ABLOY and Zenitel presented on interoperability using a case study of a customer in attendance. Salient Systems and BioConnect presented on video analytics, biometrics and authentication. LifeSafety Power and Winsted taught attendees about the importance of choosing the right equipment to have an effective security operations center and why power is critical to the success of a security program. Four sponsors shared the main stage on Sunday and included AnyVision, Magos, Suprema and Wavelynx. SIA was also a sponsor for the first time. "The SES is a thought-provoking event, sparking new ideas and discussions with peers about important topics and challenges I am facing," said SES20 Platinum panelist and Boston Properties, Director of IT Services, Sue Ko. "I loved the energy and interacting with others who are as curious and passionate about the security industry as myself." Do you want to attend the SES next year? Contact AMAG Technology, Director of Business Development, Kami Dukes at [email protected] for more information. You can learn more about the complete Symmetry solution by visiting www.amag.com . About AMAG Technology AMAG manufactures open solutions under the brand of Symmetry that include access control, visitor management, identity management, command and control, video management, intrusion management, and incident and case management. AMAG is headquartered in Torrance, California with sales and support located throughout the Americas, EMEA and APAC. AMAG is part of G4S plc, the world's leading global integrated security company, which is active in around 90 countries and has over 550,000 employees. For more information on G4S, visit www.g4s.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amag-hosts-annual-security-engineering-symposium-301011988.html SOURCE AMAG Technology [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] There have been minimal major shifts in Australia's industrial property markets in the past month, according to valuation firm Herron Todd White's (HTW) latest industrial property clock. In particular markets at or near their peak such as including Melbourne and the Gold Coast held steady. There was also no movement in the approaching peak of market category as Brisbane, Geelong and Illawarra joined Sydney and the Sunshine Coast among others. Darwin and Perth remain the only capital city industrial markets that are not experiencing price growth. They remain at the bottom of the market alongside Rockhampton and Townsville. Click here to enlarge. Hobart and Echuca held steady as the only cities in the rising market position while numerous area's including Canberra, Adelaide, Mackay and Mildura remained in the start of recovery slot. They were joined this month by Cairns and Hervey Bay. The Central Coast remained in the starting to decline position on the HTW Industrial Property Clock this month, accompanied by newcomer Ipswich.. Newcastle and Orange remain as declining markets, while Gladstone, Toowoomba and South West WA held steady in their approaching bottom of market slot. In their latest report, HTW valuers said, "market commentators are suggesting that core markets on the eastern seaboard are expected to remain tightly held" President Lyndon B. Johnson hands a pen to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. after signing the historic Civil Rights Act in the East Room of the White House on July 2, 1964. (AFP/Getty Images) Retropolis The Past, Rediscovered The Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) led by its President, Dr. Mkgeorge O. Onyung paid a high-value visit to the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (HMSPR), H.E. Chief Timipre Sylva. The conversation centered on the need to synergize on building an ecosystem around shipbuilding that can align with global standards while embracing local content guidelines. The President, Dr. Onyung in his impact statement revealed that the Association is keen on floating a Ship Repair Centre in Nigeria under a PPP Arrangement while currently exploring ways to cement a proposed consortium that will scale individual company efforts in providing cargo lifting service. In furtherance, the First Vice President of the Association, Mr. Eno J. Williams noted that in covering the broad spectrum of its core objectives, SOAN is deeply focused on working towards fostering and revamping the ecosystem that it operates in. The HMSPR, Chief Sylva encouraged the visiting team to open a communication channel that will ensure seamless synergy and foster collaborations. He further stated that deep collaborations will offer the opportunity to look beyond the current operational challenges of the players in the business to deliver solutions that will work towards closing all gaps. Chief Sylva noted that the utility of the collaboration will further cement the priority agenda to work assiduously to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his poise to achieving his target of raising millions of Nigerians out of poverty via job creation. The visiting team comprised of its President Dr. Mkgeorge O. Onyung; First Vice President of the Association, Mr. Eno J. Williams; Chairman, Technical Committee, Dr. Lucky Akhiwu, Founding Member, Dr. Emi Member-Otaji and erstwhile member, Gbenga Sokefun. Garba Deen Muhammad GGM/SA Media Office of the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Abuja, Nigeria. What a fucking vile piece of shit. Reply Thread Link Damn, Hyde. Hope charges are filed Reply Thread Link the government needs to do something about Scientology and masterson can go take a ride in one of mad mikes rockets Reply Thread Link if you can win an election despite intentionally not doing your job (bc it's not politically expedient), democracy has failed fuck this DA and a big fuck you to danny masterson and his supporters Reply Thread Link ugh i really want something to come of this but we know it won't it sucks Reply Thread Link nobody should vote for this fucking DA if they won't pursue this case NOW Reply Thread Link He's truly vile. It's also infuriating that Lacey won't charge him. These brave women keep coming forward and they get no justice. Reply Thread Link SEVEN women have come forward and this da is sitting on her ass for what? to lose an election? this is insane Reply Thread Link Just had to double check my sample ballot to make sure I was eligible to vote against her. I am. Reply Thread Link Me too, sis! She's been known to refuse to prosecute members of the LAPD when they straight up murder people, too. Reply Parent Thread Link It's particularly vile to basically sit on your hands instead of making sure justice is getting served. Reply Thread Link Seven? Um. Yeah, this is nuts. I wonder what fucked up shit he's also done to his wife since he clearly doesn't respect women. Reply Thread Link Ugh, and I used to crush on him when he was in That '70s Show. I haven't been able to watch it since these allegations came out. I get grossed out. Reply Thread Link I had a crush on his brother because of Malcolm in the Middle, 12-year-old me had really shitty taste. Reply Parent Thread Link Same. Hyde was far and away my favorite character. I can't even watch the show anymore. Reply Parent Thread Link i was watching the show when all the accusations came out (or at least when i found out about them). never had the same enjoyment watching it anymore Reply Parent Thread Link Voted for one of her opponents in the primary... I hope that charges are filed ASAP. Reply Thread Link Money. The whole reason they have tax exempt status is that they harassed them until they gave in. They hired P.I.'s to dig up dirt on IRS officials and conduct surveillance ops. The formed a front group to combat the IRS and basically declared war on the IRS. They filled something like 2,000 lawsuits against them and wore them down to the point where they simply didn't have the resources to deal with them and gave up fighting them and gave them what they wanted. They have cops on payroll because off duty LAPD officers often work their events as security. Leah went with one of the victims to the police precinct and they had a signed photo of Michael Pena on the wall and he's a scientologist. Their reach in LA/Cali is deep. They are litigious as fuck and have crazy money at their disposal. Reply Parent Thread Link Scouts fail boys I am sickened by what has happened to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that I was so proud to be a part. Earning my Eagle was one of the most cherished accomplishments in my life. The Scouts taught boys and young men the importance of God, country and family. It taught us survival and lifesaving skills, how to swim, build a fire, ride a horse and even how to make a peach cobbler on an open fire. Scouting provided those without proper role models good men who filled that void. Tragically, some of these men turned out to be predators. A few years ago, the Boy Scouts of America made a decision to succumb to political correctness. Its no longer the Boy Scouts of America. Its no longer the great organization that helped produce great young men who became presidents, astronauts, great teachers and businessmen. Personally, I am angry and sad for the boys who have suffered and the boys who will never have the opportunity to experience the greatness of this once extraordinary organization. Dale R. Hart On ExpressNews.com: Boy Scouts bankruptcy filing not expected to affect local San Antonio programs Filling his Cabinet? Why, all of a sudden, is President Donald Trump granting clemency to white-collar criminals? Most were convicted on charges involving fraud, corruption and lies. Could it be to fill the Cabinet and White House positions should he be re-elected? John Kepler Clemency for Astros The president must be biting his tongue to hold back on the Astros cheating scandal. He shouldve contacted MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Jr. about the harsh treatment and ask him to reduce the penalties. The Astros have suffered enough, and theyve promised not to do it again, maybe. Lets play ball. Fred Machado Many of the murals in CPS and in other local public buildings that have created controversy in recent years were painted during the 1930s and 40s, often through President Franklin D. Roosevelts Works Progress Administration or other New Deal programs. Some preservationists have argued that such art should be retained for its historic and aesthetic value, and as useful lessons in how attitudes and depictions have changed, with explanations of why the work is now viewed differently. UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link Death toll in Delhi violence rises to 27 India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: The death toll in the northeast Delhi violence climbed to 27. Over 200 others who are injured are being treated at hospital. NSA Ajit Doval, who has been tasked with restoring law and order in the national capital, made a second visit to violence-hit areas this evening. Doval, who walked with a convoy of police officials in Jafrabad, one of the worst-hit areas, told reporters: "Inshallah, there will be peace here". An Intelligence Bureau staffer was found dead in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh area, officials said. Ankit Sharma, who lived in Chand Bagh, may have been killed in stone pelting, they said. However, his body has been taken to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for an autopsy. A Delhi Police head constable, Ratan Lal, was among the seven killed in the violence that erupted on Monday over the amended citizenship law. Till Monday, authorities had said at least four people, including Lal, were killed in the violence. They said that the death toll has increased to seven on Tuesday. Delhi violence: HC directs police to respond by 12:30 pm on plea Meanwhile prohibitory orders have been clamped in Northeast Delhi for a month, following the violence that has erupted in which seven persons have been killed. During a high level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, issues such a hate mongering, adequate force deployment were discussed. It was also decided to have better MLA-Police coordination. More importantly, it was decided that rumour mongering had to stop in order to ensure peace in the area. The meeting was attended by Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Anil Baijal, Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal and representatives from political parties. Shah has been reviewing the situation since Monday. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Shah had held a meeting late on Monday night after attending the Namaste Trump event at Ahmedabad. The meeting which began at 11 pm ended at 1.30 am, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs tell OneIndia. During the meeting, Shah reviewed the law and order situation in Delhi and directed officials to restore normalcy at the earliest. Police complaint against Mumbai journalist Rana Ayyub for posting 'Delhi violence' video clip Meanwhile the death toll in the northeast Delhi violence climbed to seven, a senior police official on Tuesday. A Delhi Police head constable, Ratan Lal, was among the seven killed in the violence that erupted on Monday over the amended citizenship law. Till Monday, authorities had said at least four people, including Lal, were killed in the violence. They said that the death toll has increased to seven on Tuesday. Thirteen people have lost their lives in the violence in North-East Delhi, while 186 people have been reported injured, the GTB Hospital said on Tuesday. The identity of the deceased has not been made public as of now by the authorities, while the Delhi Police said that 56 policemen were among the injured. Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference, Delhi Police spokesperson, ACP Mandeep Singh Randhawa said that 10 people had died while 186 people injured in the violence which erupted on Sunday. Randhawa also claimed that the situation is under control in Jafrabad, Gokulpuri, and Maujpur areas as the police and government are alert and security has been beefed up in the areas. He said that of 186 injured, 56 are policemen and condition of DCP Amit Sharma and the Gokulpuri ACP, who are under treatment, is critical. As of now 11 FIRs have been registered in this regard and several arrests have been made, the ACP said. Additional police forces and paramilitary forces have been deployed while senior Delhi Police officials are also present at the spot to tackle the situation. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have issued orders to shoot-at-sight in violence-hit parts. Like most journalists who write about national politics, I was multitasking Monday night -- my right eye on the ever-flowing stream of bile, with the occasional floating pearl, known as Twitter, and my left eye on cable news. There, a stream of mostly boomer-era commentators could only talk about one thing: Could any Democrat can find the mojo -- for the love of God! -- to stop the party from nominating Sen. Bernie Sanders in Milwaukee? But on my laptop screen was something jarring _ the kind of story that youd think might dent these news channels that have to fill up 24 hours of airtime ... and yet somehow never does. In Charlotte, N.C. -- the city where President Trump will be crowned by the GOP for a second term in August amid boasts of a booming economy -- a downtown auto dealer has begun letting homeless people sleep in his unsold cars. It's hard to say what was more striking about the Charlotte Observer piece on Kiplin Automotive Group and its compassionate general manager James Charles -- that about a dozen folks, some with children, are now sleeping in his cars every night, or the fact that most of them are off the lot by 7:30 a.m. Why? Because most have jobs. These homeless people, including a number of young people starting their careers, simply can't afford the rent in a booming Sunbelt metropolis. I don't know if any of these souls will be voting in North Carolina's upcoming Democratic primary, let alone whether they'd back the leading leftist choice in that race, Vermont's Sanders. But I do know this: The sense of fundamental unfairness in this country -- epitomized not just by the unhoused sleeping on car seats in a supposed "boomtown," but also by staggering college debt, medical bankruptcies and a lack of child care -- is fueling a political revolution that has put Sanders on a White House trajectory. In three contests so far, Sanders got the most popular votes in the weirdly arcane Iowa caucus. He won huge victories in the New Hampshire primary and Saturday's Nevada caucus, where he showed that he's expanded his reach from his 2016 run to include more black and brown voters and others beyond his initial base of young white progressives. By Super Tuesday -- just one week away as I write this -- the 78-year-old with the wild white hair could be well on the way to the nomination. (Or, given the Democrats' convoluted rules and the determination of $60-billion-man Mike Bloomberg to stop Bernie, toward mayhem in Milwaukee.) Either way, Bernie's rise -- and the everyday people fueling it, from college students to first-time Latinx voters to fed-up warehouse workers and Uber drivers -- is a hell of story. It's just not the story the elite mainstream media -- the dominant cable outlets and national newspapers that are largely led by baby boomers (full disclosure: my own generation) and which employ the now aging veterans of their favorite campaigns as anchors and pundits -- wants to tell. To many of the TV talking heads -- for whom the mere mention of any form of "socialism" makes them want to run underneath a desk and "duck and cover" from Khrushchev's incoming nukes -- the notion of Sanders as America's 46th president is a bridge too far. The worst offender, who made national headlines with his tirade, was Philly's own 74-year-old Chris Matthews, a child of the '50s who went all Joe McCarthy in his MSNBC reaction to Sanders' Nevada victory. "I think it's a little late to stop him, and I think that's the problem," Matthews opined on Saturday, the start of a fraught analogy that compared the rise of the Vermont senator to the Nazis overrunning France in 1940, rendered even more bizarre by the fact that Sanders would be America's first Jewish president. Matthews -- facing calls for his resignation from viewers suggesting, understandably, that the pol-turned-pundit is out of touch -- apologized on Monday. But the thing is, Matthews' comments really weren't that far out of step with a number of Democratic Party leaders and longtime commentators -- veterans of past campaigns like Bill Clinton's or Barack Obama's, or alleged "Never Trumper" Republicans who now say they might vote Trump over Sanders -- having a meltdown over a possible November choice between Bernie and The Donald. Nicolle Wallace, the former George W. Bush and Sarah Palin adviser who reinvented herself on MSNBC as a "Never Trumper," called Sanders' base a "squeaky, angry minority," while a range of pundits from the recently reanimated Democrat James Carville to the once (and possibly future) conservative Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post looked as if they might literally explode on live TV. Personally, as I watch the nascent "Never Bernie" movement flailing over a possible November choice between Bernie and The Donald, I have just one thought: Here we go again. There are two things I remember well about the first funereal days after Trump was elected on Nov. 8, 2016. Beyond the shock of America now spearheading a global movement toward authoritarianism, there was also the endless hand-wringing from a news media that had been so overconfident that Hillary Clinton would win that night. How, many journalists asked, did we not see the anger in so many Rust Belt communities in Wisconsin or Michigan or big chunks of Pennsylvania, with their barren factories and boarded-up Main Streets? Why, wondered people who spent so much time in TV "green rooms" that there was no time left to escape their coastal bubbles, do these aggrieved people hate us in the media even more than they love Trump? "Did Donald Trump's sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?" New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and executive editor Dean Baquet asked in a much-discussed note to readers. "What forces and strains in America drove this divisive election and outcome?" It was the memo that launched 1,000 trips _ to Formica diner tables in southern Ohio or West Virginia, as the ensuing genre of "Trump Lovers Still Love Trump" articles became the thing of parody. The weird thing about the "let's-leave-the-green-room-and-visit-Trump-diners" movement is it just meant that going into 2020, there were now two bubbles instead of one. Neither were that helpful. Not to dismiss some very insightful journalism I've read in the last four years, the let's-quote-Trump-voters genre often barely scratched the surface of the deep roots _ from deindustrialization to fear of a nonwhite majority -- of right-wing populism. At the same time, many political pundits of the center-left and center assumed the Trump movement would be crushed in 2020 by the people they talked to on the checkout line at Whole Foods -- well-off whites who hated the crudeness and corruption of the Trump era and desperately wanted a return to civility and order. Incredibly -- or perhaps predictably, some would argue -- there was no effort to talk to the forgotten Americans in "the other heartland." I'm talking about the big cities where there are lot of jobs if you can pay $2,000 a month for an apartment, the 20-somethings who may never get married because of college debt, the urban poor who get fired when their kid is sick because there's no child care, the gig workers and the baristas with bachelor's degrees living paycheck to paycheck. The kind of people who squeeze out a couple hours to attend a packed, sweaty Bernie rally because finally here is a leader who says he will fight for them, and who cares if he's a 78-year-old dude with two stents? The young and the marginalized (and their allies) who gave Bernie the most votes in Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada don't really care about his temperate praise for some social programs under Cuban communism (and should they, given that both the current president and free-spending rival Mike Bloomberg love so many dictators and authoritarians?). They're not flustered by the math on "Medicare for All." They take Bernie seriously, not literally. These voters hear Bernie Sanders talking about how he'll solve their real-world, 21st-century problems. Then they turn on their TV and hear the children of the Cold War screaming "How can this man be stopped?" It all makes you realize that the popular-for-15-minutes put-down - "OK Boomer" - was way too kind. The elites who populate the highest levels of media punditry, run the Democratic Party, or get paid ridiculous sums to design nonworking apps or buy off Instagram meme-makers to pretend that Bloomberg is cool still don't have time to talk to everyday voters about why they are so angry. They are instead busy searching for a messiah that will let them go back to their Sunday morning mimosas without worrying about a president who might start a nuclear war with a tweet. They are missing the real revolution -- again! My own belief, as regular readers know, is that there's another candidate in the Democratic field who's addressing the same problems as Bernie, and who is maybe more electable against Trump and would be better as president at getting stuff done. But the media's erasure of Elizabeth Warren is a story for another day. The odds right now are that Sanders will be the nominee. All the big-shots screaming for his movement to be squashed could have prevented Bernie's nomination decades ago -- if they'd channeled even a fraction of that energy into making sure that billionaires paid their share and dialed down America's obscene war machine, and that the United States joined the rest of the civilized world in universal health care and higher education, as well as child care, family leave and living wages. It's also quite possible -- likely, really -- that the Beltway 500 will wake up on Nov. 4 insisting that they don't recognize an America they never bothered to look for in the first place. Sulzberger and Dean Baquet will begin drafting another apology about how Bernie's "unconventionality" caused them to miss his appeal. Then we can all sit down in 2022 to read the 500th dispatch from a Fishtown coffee joint: "Bernie Voters Still Love Bernie." Will Bunch is the national opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. If the first contests of the Democratic Partys quest for a candidate to oppose President Donald Trump foreshadow whats to come, Americaand the worldshould prepare for a rough-and-tumble ideological donnybrook before they know the nominee. After caucuses in Iowa and Nevada as well as the New Hampshire primary, its clear Democrats approach defeating Mr Trump in two distinct ways. One constituency lines up squarely on the left side of the political spectrum, cheering health care for all and free education, while the other electoral group occupies space closer to the centre, espousing moderate, less government-intrusive policies. The fiery champion of revolution is Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist. Four years ago, he battled Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination, defeating her in 23 of the 57 party trials while garnering 43pc of the overall vote. Mr Sanders, who is 78 and suffered a heart attack last October, is similar to Mr Trump in having passionate supporters who feel unfairly treated by Washington, the political establishment and the Wall Street-driven economic system. The fervor fueling his campaign produced popular vote victories in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Even though Mr Sanders has served in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate since 1991, most Americans still view him as an outsider, a cranky opponent of the mainstream status quo and the leader of a storm-the-ramparts movement. A two-time candidate to be Democratic standard-bearer, he still refuses to declare membership in the party, with his official Senate biography boasting that hes the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. By contrast, the progressive yet less radical position is space currently taken up by former vice president Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, a two-term mayor of an Indiana city with a population just over 100,000. The consistent leader in national polls throughout 2019, Biden, whos 77, finished well behind Mr Sanders and Mr Buttigieg in Iowa and New Hampshire but placed second Saturday in Nevada. How well he does in this Saturdays South Carolina primary, where a large African American turnout is expected, will be critical to his future in the race. Mr Buttigieg, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, is a former Rhodes scholar at Oxford and an openly gay married man. At 38 years old, hes half the age of Sanders and Biden. At the Iowa caucus, Mr Buttigieg captured the decisive delegate count 26.2pc to Mr Sanders 26.1pc, and in New Hampshire both candidates received nine delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer. Mr Buttigieg, the third place finisher in Nevada, is the new, compelling figure on the American political scene, leading some observers to draw parallels to Barack Obamas rise in 2008. Both command attention with their oratory, and both published best-selling memoirs before embarking on White House campaigns. Yet Mr Sanders, Mr Biden and Mr Buttigieg arent alone. Eight other Democratic hopefuls remain from the robust field of 28 that originally sought the White House. Party veterans worry that moderates are scattering their votes, with Mr Sanders the prime beneficiary. Electability is the mind-focusing preoccupationand mantrafor Democrats in 2020. Defeating Mr Trump trumps policy proposals, issue positions and everything else, leading to uneasiness that a more radical nominee might scare off undecided and floating voters. Whether the upcoming South Carolina clash will clarify matters is doubtful, largely because another candidatewhos firmly planted on moderate ground will be fighting for support in the multitude of contests on March 3, dubbed Super Tuesday by pundits. That other competitor is Michael Bloomberg, the business tycoon and former New York City mayor. Worth over $60 billion, Mr Bloomberg has already spent $452 million just on advertising since he announced his unconventional, late-starting campaign last November. Hes also hired upwards of 2,100 campaign workers, opening more than 125 offices nationally. The Bloomberg strategy has been to avoid all four February contests (worth just 155 delegates) and concentrate on Super Tuesday, when 1,357 delegates (34pc of all pledged delegates) will be up for grabs. California and Texas are the biggest states at stake that day. If Mr Bloomberg does well in these 16 contests, he could start elbowing out other centrist aspirantsespecially those with more meager campaign war chests. His involvement, however, is already prompting probing and persistent questions about whether unlimited personal spending should propel a White House candidacy. At this point, Mr Bloomberg is running a series of tough, anti-Trump television commercials, and they are getting under the presidents famously thin skin. One recent Trumpian tweet referred to the rather height-challenged Mini Mike Bloomberg as a LOSER with each letter in upper case. The former mayor fired back by calling the president a carnival barking clown. So much for social media enhancing democratic discourse. Is the U.S. ready for two wealthy septuagenarians from New York (Mr Bloomberg is 78 and Mr Trump 73) to engage in several months of political mud-wrestling? Will Democrats decide the nomination isnt for sale and crown a socialist whos not even a member of the party as its candidate? Will someone else emerge? Whats apparent this election year is that Republicans are strongly united behind Mr Trump, the first impeached president ever to seek reelection. By contrast, the Democrats are divided and searching for a nominee strong enough to take on the incumbent heavyweight, who specializes in landing haymakers against adversaries. Americas political donnybrook is just beginning. Robert Schmuhl is professor emeritus of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame and adjunct professor in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. He is author of 'The Glory and the Burden: The American Presidency from FDR to Trump'. A state board in New York has ruled against a Long Island couple who claimed they were discriminated against when their condo association threatened to fine them for letting their son play outside. The state Division of Human Rights found that South Shore Villas in West Babylon did not discriminate against Robert and Angelica Parker last year by threatening to fine them $150, the New York Post reported. The couple had received two letters and a phone call warning them not to let their four-year-old son Liam ride his tricycle in the common areas. The letter read: 'We understand that the weather has gotten nice out but unfortunately, there are rules and regulations in the By-laws.that it is not safe for kids to play on common area grounds. Please take this as a precaution measure so that we would not have to enforce the fine that is association with this. It is $150 per violation.' The state Division of Human Rights found that South Shore Villas in West Babylon did not discriminate against Robert and Angelica Parker (above with son Liam) The Parkers received two letters warning them not to let young Liam play in the outdoor common areas, but the couple said that other families weren't similarly warned South Shore Villas in West Babylon are seen above. The couple say nothing in the condo association's bylaws forbids children playing outside The Parkers said they looked through 38 pages of the association's by-laws, but didn't see any prohibiting kids from playing outside. 'It makes us question why he's the only one, considering other children play outside here all the time,' Robert Parker, who works in law enforcement, told PIX11 last year. 'He also happens to be the only Latino child. So that raises questions about the possible motive for something like that.' Angelica Parker, Liam's mother, is from the Dominican Republic. However, State Human Rights Director William LaMot told the Post that the condo was just enforcing their bylaws at the complex. Robert Parker, who works in law enforcement, suggested that it was a case of discrimination because his wife Angelica is from the Dominican Republic 'After interviewing several residents of the subject property, additional witnesses corroborated (South Shore Villas') position that (they) do not discriminate, but rather seek to enforce the bylaws consistently throughout all units, regardless of anyone's protected class,' the ruling said. In his ruling, LaMot said at least two other tenants had received similar warnings from condo management and had complied. The Parkers told the Post in an email that they were confused by the decision, 'which does not seem to adequately address the issue of children being forbidden from being outdoors' at the condo complex. The Health Minister has condemned the "completely unacceptable" behaviour of parents who have refused to let doctors of Asian appearance treat their children due to fears about coronavirus. Royal Children's Hospital management has received several complaints from staff who have been discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic appearance. There have also been reports of parents refusing to sit near other parents. Asian doctors at the Royal Children's Hospital are reportedly being shunned. Credit:Pat Scala Stuart Lewena, director of emergency services at the hospital, said one female doctor had been approached by the parents of a child she was treating who requested she be replaced by a Caucasian physician. "[The parents had] concerns she might have her own virus And that was clearly a comment made purely on her racial appearance," Dr Lewena said. Trump Ready to Keep Promise to Get Out of Afghanistan Commentary The impending winding-down of the war in Afghanistan is an unheralded success of the Trump administration. There wont be much objection to the arrangement, as everyone in both parties wants to have as little as possible to do with Afghanistan. Everyone acknowledges that the chief interlocutor, the Taliban, are barbarous, treacherous, and objectively despicable. But after more than a trillion dollars, more than 23,000 American casualties including 2,440 dead, prolonged international effort, and an inability to pacify the country completely other than by the retention of unsustainably large occupation forces for no evident strategic purpose, its time to continue deescalation. There have been under-recognized successes; while the Taliban are formidable, they dont control any of the 34 regional capitals and are largely confined to under-populated areas. Afghanistans GDP has increased tenfold in 20 years, and literacy rates have risen spectacularly. Its not the same Afghanistan that has been too sluggishly primitive to progress at all in the past. The development of the country in the 19 years of Western military involvement has made it much more difficult for the Taliban to prevail, and as their only argument is the foreign presence, the proposed arrangement is to some extent a self-correcting problem. No Strategic Value The well-known truth about Afghanistan is that it is a poor and landlocked country with no resources except opium, and no strategic value, with mountainous terrain populated by fierce, primitive, and xenophobic tribesmen. It would require an occupation force of probably at least 300,000 heavily armed and well-coordinated soldiers to enforce a regime in Afghanistan, and there is nothing there to justify such a deployment. This was the conclusion reached by the British during the numerous AngloAfghan Wars between 1838 and 1919, when they considered extending their vast British Indian Empire (today India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan) to Afghanistan. They never had more than 100,000 British in that empire, and were deterred from stranding large forces in unremitting Afghanistan. (It was one of the political miracles of all history that the British managed to maintain their position in the Indian subcontinent with such small forces for more than 200 years.) The Soviet Union famously invaded Afghanistan in 1979, and remained for a decade, with about 150,000 men in the occupying force, but never pacified the country outside of the main cities and were constantly taking casualties from guerrillas who were well-supplied by the United States. They abandoned the whole project and departed in 1989, undefeated, but hardly victorious either, after 6 million Afghans were displaced in the conflict and approximately 1 million killed. (The current population is about 35 million.) The U.S.-led expedition has been an astonishing comparative success by any measurement. The U.S. involvement began a few weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, when it came to light that the al-Qaida terrorists were trained in camps in remote Afghan areas, with the toleration of the Taliban government that was engaged in an interminable civil war with tribal, regional, and sectarian opposition groups. The insertion of small numbers of special forces was sufficient to send the Taliban packing, and the Allied force, authorized by both the United Nations and NATO, set out to modernize and politically cleanse the population. The U.S. draw-down (to 8,600 military personnel from 13,000) and the agreement with the Taliban to reduce violence, coming after somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 Afghans are reckoned to have died, somewhat disguises the fact that the Allies have succeeded in their principal goal of chasing al-Qaida out of Afghanistan and overthrowing the government that welcomed and enabled it. Most members of al-Qaida have been killed, and its terrorist network has been largely destroyed. While the Taliban have been ineradicable, the central government isnt the paper tiger of earlier times, and the remaining U.S. contingent will assist it in non-ground combat roles. The Americans have made their point about not tolerating terrorist provocations; the Taliban arent suicide forces. US Interests The United States has no interest in who governs Afghanistan (or any other country), as long as they dont threaten the United States and refrain from immense humanitarian outrages. Since the end of the Cold War, when the United States had a direct rival and didnt want Soviet influence subsuming and redirecting the national policy of even relatively small and feeble countries like Nicaragua and Albania, the United States has no interest and claims no right of involvement in the internal affairs of other countries, apart from the George W. Bush unsuccessful attempt to plant democracy in infertile ground. Antagonistic leftist regimes in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Uruguay attracted little American notice; Venezuela is only an irritant because of closer commercial connections and the extreme odium of the Chavez-Maduro despotism. Even Cuba, though Trump has reversed the concessions made by Obama, is not a matter of real concern or even interest. No one not steeped in confidential worldwide counter-terrorism intelligence has any idea of how much terrorist activity has been avoided and of the extent to which the potential for terrorist activity has been eliminated. But everyone of an age to be aware 20 years ago remembers the widespread fear of a pandemic of terrorist outrages conducted by the apparently unlimited numbers of people who were happy to die in the massacre of others. The late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon adopted the technique of killing Hamas leadership whenever Hamas conducted a suicide bombing in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and this soon shut down the suicide attacks. The rooting out and execution of Osama bin Laden in 2011 and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2019), hiding like moles, illustrated how tenacious they were with their own lives, in contrast to their breezy disregard for the lives of their own followers and the innocent masses of their victims. The only peace that can work in Afghanistan will be one agreed on by the sponsors of the different factions, particularly Pakistan as the chief source of support for the Haqqani Taliban, but also including India, Iran, and Uzbekistan, who have patronized rival factions in Afghanistan. The United States will retain sufficient strength to protect its embassy and continue training operations, and has sufficient familiarity with the country to identify the culprits in any serious future provocations. There is an almost unanimous consensus in U.S. public and political opinion that terrorist enemies have to be treated with the utmost severity. No Afghan factions will have any interest in provoking the West, since retribution can be visited at unlimited length and with minimal or no American and allied casualties by the use of drones and conventional air strikes. There will be no return to the Clinton administration policy of inadequate reprisals for the Khobar Towers (1996) and USS Cole bombings, and Kenyan and Tanzanian embassy attacks (1998) that killed a total of 49 Americans and hundreds of others, and injured about 4,500 mainly local people; the U.S. responses were so limited they constituted a virtual incitement for the stupefying atrocity at the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. Frequently lost in discussion is that the United States has never had a foreign policy goal that went very far beyond the requirement that it not be threatened. Once it populated its own half-continent, it had no desire to colonize, and released the colonies it seized from others, Cuba and the Philippines, and only retained Puerto Rico and Hawaii at the request of the local populations. In these circumstances, it can ensure that it is in the interests of no country, nor any force harbored and nurtured by any country, to attack Americans. The abrupt killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani last month illustrated that and the tame Iranian response demonstrates that the message has been received. The United States and its allies could probably have done better and could probably have left Afghanistan just as well years ago, but they have succeeded in their primary goal of punishing and discouraging terrorism. They can now scale back the conflict with honor intact, as another Trump promise kept. Conrad Black has been one of Canadas most prominent financiers for 40 years, and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world. He is the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and most recently Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought to know the Maharashtra goverment's stand in the cases, where the identity of sexual assault victims is revealed on social media platforms. A division bench of Justices R V More and S P Tavade noted that revealing the names of rape victims was a cognisable offence punishable up to two years in jail under section 228 A of the IPC. "Tell us what action the state will take in such cases. What is the state government's stand," the court asked. The bench was hearing a petition filed by a rape victim seeking directions to the state government and the Centre to strictly follow the provisions of law, which prohibits disclosure of names and photographs of rape victims. The petitioner's lawyer Madhavi Tavanandi pointed out the recent Hyderabad rape and murder case where the victim's name and photograph was published across Twitter and other social media platforms. The lawyer further said that the content is still available online. On the last hearing, the bench had directed the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and search engine Google. On Wednesday, advocates appearing for the companies said the petitioner will have to implead their US-based counterparts as they have control over the content. The lawyers said the petition has tagged Twitter India, Facebook India and Google India, which only take care of marketing and advertising. The India-based companies have no role to play in the content being uploaded on the social media platform and also cannot delete any content. The bench then directed the petitioner to add Twitter Inc, Google LLC and Facebook Inc as respondents in the petition and posted it for further hearing after four weeks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mall Cir., 11100 block, 4:53 p.m. Feb. 16. An argument escalated at a shopping center when a man stabbed a male juvenile in the face with a screwdriver and fled. The injured male was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. On Feb. 17, a White Plains man, 27, was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault and related charges. A second male accomplice has not been located. TO VIEW MORE NEWS STORY, PLEASE CLICK ON NEWS TAB ON MAIN MENU BAR P rince Harry returned to the UK last night to undertake the last of his duties as a senior member of the British Royal Family. It was his first time back in the UK since he followed the Duchess of Sussex back to Canada last month to be with their son, Archie, after the pair announced they would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family. Arriving in Edinburgh's Waverley Station last night, this morning Harry spoke at Travalysts summit, the sustainable tourism initiative he launched last year. But what is Travalyst? The Duke of Sussex launched Travalyst in September 2019. It is a sustainable travel initiative which has been joined by some of the travel industrys biggest players Booking.com, SkyScanner, Trip.com, TripAdvisor and Visa. We believe in the power and importance of travel and that we also have a shared responsibility to our planet and to each other, Travalysts mission statement says. Thats why were coming together as a catalyst for change. We want to be the driving force that paves a new way to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come. With a goal to help tourists make more eco-friendly decisions when booking trips, the initiative said it would educate travellers on the environmental impact of tourism through providing tips for offsetting carbon emissions and supporting local communities. There was skepticism around the timing of the Travalyst announcement last September, as Harry and Meghan had faced criticism that summer for taking four private jets in the space of two weeks. When questioned about it at the launch Harry said: "I spend 99 percent of my life traveling the Earth commercial, but occasionally I have to make a decision not to, to ensure my family are safe. He continued: "I have learned so much from the experiences Ive had and the people Ive met in places like Botswana and the Caribbean, Nepal and New Zealand. What is clear across this vast landscape is our world faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scope and scale." When we spoke to Booking.com's chairwoman, Gillian Tan about the initiative last year, she said: "71 per cent of our customers want companies to offer more sustainable options. Eco travel is impacting the travel industry a lot, and more companies are thinking much more how to preserve the cities we built and love for generations to come. What initiatives has Travalyst put in place? Last week, Travalysts founding companies announced the development of draft sustainability frameworks that will 'serve as a cross-channel guide' for scoring sustainability practices across the travel and tourism industry. The end goal is to create a scoring system across all participating platforms that will make it clear to travellers that they are picking a sustainably-minded holiday. The summit today focuses on Scotland and, as one of the worlds fastest-growing tourist destination, what it is doing to make tourism sustainable. Travalyst is also using this summit to showcase its initial draft frameworks. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, fresh cases of H1N1 virus causing swine flu have emerged in the country. In view of this, the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO) issued an advisory on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday, five judges of the Supreme Court were infected by H1N1 virus causing swine flu, while three of them have resumed duties, two were recuperating and were being kept in isolation in their homes. H1N1 is a seasonal infection and occurs every year with two peaks (January-March and July-September). Swine flu was pandemic in 2009 worldwide. Since then it is considered as an endemic virus with focal outbreaks in winter. According to K.K. Aggarwal, President CMAAO, "When indicated, antiviral therapy should be initiated as soon as possible since antiviral therapy is most likely to provide benefit when initiated within the first 48 hours of illness." In a public healthcare advisory, doctor said that the mitigation precautions include respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette combined with hand wash contact precautions. The precautions are same as for any coronavirus. "Remember no fever, no flu. All mild cases should be treated with online consultations and all individuals with severe disease (requiring hospitalisation or with evidence of lower respiratory tract infection) or at high risk for complications should receive antiviral drugs," Aggarwal said. Treatment should not be delayed while awaiting the results of diagnostic testing, nor should it be withheld in patients with indications for therapy who present before 48 hours after the onset of symptoms, particularly among patients requiring hospitalisation, according to Aggarwal. "Patients who have a negative rapid antigen test for influenza, but in whom the clinical suspicion for influenza infection is high should be treated with antivirals since the sensitivity of these tests may be low," he said. "Give antivirals to symptomatic health care providers with uncomplicated influenza who are not at high risk for influenza complications, but who routinely care for patients at high risk for influenza complications, particularly those who are severely immunocompromised," he added. On last Thursday, business software solutions major SAP India said it has shut all its offices in the country for sanitisation after two of its employees were tested positive for swine flu (H1N1). In Kashmir, 18 positive cases of swine flu were admitted to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A TRUCK crashed through a wall into a river at a bad bend between Knocklong and Hospital in the early hours of this morning. There were no serious injuries as a result of the accident which occurred around 1am. Cllr Ger Mitchell said the lorry was coming from the Knocklong side. "It went straight at the bend. It went through the wall and into the river. Thanks to be God the wasn't a car coming against it and that the lorry driver is OK. We are very lucky," said Cllr Mitchell. While the road has since re-opened, a stop/go system has been put in place as repair works are expected to take a number of weeks. Roadworks Notice: One way operation on the R513 at Knocklong village from Thursday 27th February to Friday 13th March 2020 More info: https://t.co/jIkGVHQVRi @aaroadwatch Limerick Council (@LimerickCouncil) February 26, 2020 The cause of the accident is unknown however icy conditions were reported on roads overnight. The company said demand for narrow-body services is expected to grow in the Middle East. The company has also witnessed a rise in CFM56 and V2500 shop visits from the region. While MTU has always been present in the region, the company is proud to have made this move and be even closer to its customers. It is part of its global growth strategy and enables immediate proximity to the commercial engine maintenance and leasing scene in the region and in turn, to meet their needs better and faster. This opening follows on from the recently opened MTU Maintenance Lease Services office in Singapore and Dublin. Some of our largest customers are based in Middle East. This move is a deliberate step in our global growth strategy to strengthen our customer relationships and be on hand to most flexibly respond to their needs, says Martin Friis-Petersen, Senior Vice President MRO Programs, MTU Aero Engines. And it is a clear signal as to the importance of the Middle Eastern region for MTU. We have over 20 customers in the region. MTU tailors excellent solutions for a variety of engine types including for the GE90, the worlds largest turbofan. adds Sami Ben-Kraiem, vice president marketing and sales, Middle East & Southeast Asia. We support our customers with these high value engines from their entry into service, for example with sale and lease back, reliable MRO performance, right up to the migration or exit of such fleets, both within and beyond the region. MTU Maintenance also sees strong demand for narrowbody services in the Middle East and is experiencing an increase in CFM56 and V2500 shop visits from the region to its facilities in Hannover and Zhuhai. 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. FULLERTON, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Milton Security Group, Inc., a leading cybersecurity company specializing in 24*7 cyber threat hunting, monitoring, and incident response, announced today a new partnership with SynED to increase professional employment opportunities throughout the cybersecurity industry. This partnership leads the way for this effort in Orange County, CA. SynED is a non-profit organization working with educational institutions, training partners, placement agencies and service providers to increase a strong and highly skilled workforce throughout California. synED "This partnership codifies one of Milton Security's core values, helping others, since our founding 13 years ago. Our goal is to help even more people enter the cybersecurity industry and we have established a successful legacy by hiring individuals who do not fit a traditional mold. We seek out the passionate, the unconventional, the veteran and invest in them through hands-on experiences. The longevity of our team and collective performance has created significant organic growth and advancement opportunities for our team members," said James McMurry, CEO and Founder of Milton Security. "Through strong partnerships, like we have with Milton Security, we will build the foundation of a new approach for developing a robust cybersecurity talent supply chain and subsequently strengthening the overall security of our nation," said Scott Young, President of synED. "We are thrilled to work with such passionate and visionary partners." Milton Security and SynED have established a baseline of skills to evaluate and further develop cybersecurity candidates. Milton Security will share this knowledge to assist other organizations in placing their candidates and building a stronger cybersecurity workforce. Ethan Coulter, President of Milton Security said: "We help passionate people find their path into this industry. This not only benefits professionals seeking to enter our industry, but our customers as well, and yes, even our competitors. We are proud to take part in this program and push our industry forward." About Milton Security Group, Inc.: Milton Security Group, Inc., is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business started in 2007. Milton Security operates a 24*7*365 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service that provides Threat Hunting As A Service using customers' existing security infrastructure. Using a combination of AI, ML, and human correlation, Milton Threat Hunters scout for threats and assists with incident response activities in real time 24 hours a day. According to a recent report by Gartner, "Managed detection and response services allow organizations to add 24/7 dedicated threat monitoring, detection and response capabilities via a turnkey approach." Milton Security MDR goes above and beyond this by active threat hunting, not just monitoring. www.miltonsecurity.com | +1.888.714.9001 | [email protected] About SynED SynED is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting educational excellence by providing higher education professional services to facilitate the development of new models of curriculum, industry alliance, service, and delivery. SynED has teamed up with the California-based organizations and focused program with the goal of building new and innovative talent and retention programs for companies participating in the defense supply chain. SynED's goal is to help the entire industry leverage their collective skills and resources to increase the number of qualified and career ready professionals. https://syned.org/ | 866.420.4573 xt801 | [email protected] Media Contact: Lydia Coulter 714-515-4011 [email protected] SOURCE Milton Security IsoEnergy Intersects 8.5m of 33.9% U3O8, Including 5.0m of 57.1% U3O8 at the Hurricane Zone and Expands Drill Program Posted by Publisher Internet IsoEnergy Ltd. (?IsoEnergy? or the ?Company?) (TSXV: ISO; OTCQX: ISENF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9F_5Cm3Gl8&t=6s ) is pleased to report chemical assays from two drill holes that intersected strong radioactivity early in the winter drilling program at the Hurricane zone. The Hurricane zone is a new discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization on the Company?s 100% owned Larocque East property (the ?Property?) in the Eastern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan (Figure 1). Highlights: ? Drill hole LE20-34 intersected 8.5m of uranium mineralization that averages 33.9% U3O8 from 326.0 to 334.5m, including 5.0m that averages 57.1% U3O8 from 328.0 to 333.0m. This is the strongest intercept drilled to date on the property. ? Drill hole LE20-32A intersected 8.5m of uranium mineralization that averages 19.6% U3O8 from 329.5338.0m, including 2.5m that averages 63.6% U3O8 from 334.5-337.0m. ? The two drill holes are located on the west end of the Hurricane zone, approximately 75m apart. ? Due to the positive results to date, the drill program has been expanded by 4 drill holes to a total of 24 drill holes. ? The Company remains well-funded with over C$5 million in the treasury. Craig Parry, Chief Executive Officer commented: ?The grades and thicknesses seen in these holes speak for themselves and justify an expansion to the current program. We?re approximately two-thirds of the way through this drill program and look forward to reporting additional results.? Steve Blower, Vice President of Exploration commented: ?Drill holes LE20-34 and LE20-32A intersections give us new insight into the controls on very high-grade uranium mineralization at Hurricane. Drill hole LE20-34, for example, is located at the junction of the ?H? fault and the sub-Athabasca unconformity. That horizon has not been well drilled yet at Hurricane, suggesting that there is good potential for more mineralization like this.? Drill Hole LE20-34 (Drill 1) Drill Hole LE20-34 was drilled as a 25m step-out to the northwest of previously reported LE20-30 (5.5m @ 7.1% U3O8). It cored strongly altered sandstone before intersecting 8.5m of strong uranium mineralization averaging 33.9% U3O8 from 326.0 to 334.5m (Figures 2 and 3). The interval includes an extremely high-grade subinterval of 5.0m averaging 57.1% U3O8. Within this subinterval is a 2.0m length of semi-massive to massive black and brown pitchblende that is off-scale (>65,000CPS) on the RS-125 hand-held spectrometer (the ?RS-125?) and averages 62.8% U3O8. Mineralization straddles the sub-Athabasca unconformity and is shown in a core photo in Figure 4. Table 1 summarizes the uranium mineralization intersected to date by Drill 1 in the current program. Drill Hole LE20-32A (Drill 1) Drill hole LE20-32A was completed to infill a 50m along-strike gap between 2019 mineralized drill holes LE19-09 (4.5m @ 4.2% U3O8) and LE19-12 (8.5m @ 3.2% U3O8). It intersected strongly altered sandstone before coring 8.5m of strong uranium mineralization that averages 19.6% U3O8 from 329.5 to 338.0m (Figures 2 and 5). Similar to LE2034, the interval includes an extremely high-grade subinterval of 2.5m averaging 63.6% U3O8. Within this subinterval is a 1.5m length of semi-massive to massive black pitchblende that is off-scale on?the RS-125 (>65,000CPS) and averages 76.7% U3O8. Figure 6 is a core photo showing the mineralized interval. Drill Hole LE20-40 (Drill 1) Drill hole LE20-40 was completed on section with drill hole LE20-34 to evaluate the extent of high-grade mineralization to the south of that drill hole. It successfully intersected 4.0m of uranium mineralization >500CPS (RS-125) from 322.5 to 326.5m, including 1.5m of very strong radioactivity and 0.5m that is off-scale on the RS-125 (Figures 2 and 3). Drill Hole LE20-41 (Drill 2) Drill 2 continues to deliver encouraging initial results well to the east of the current Hurricane zone footprint. Drill hole LE20-41 was completed as another under-cutting stratigraphic drill hole designed to locate favourable basement rocks and structures approximately 1.2km east of the eastern end of the Hurricane zone footprint. The hole was successful, as it intersected a thick package of highly graphitic basement rocks disrupted by brittle cataclastic faults. The up-dip projection of the structures to the unconformity will be targeted later in this program. Table 2 summarizes the drill holes completed to date by Drill 2. Next Steps Drill 1 remains on the west end of the Hurricane zone, continuing to infill the current footprint of the zone, extending the mineralization to the property boundary, and evaluating new targets generated by the results in drill holes LE2032A and LE20-34. Drill 2 will continue to evaluate the potential to expand the zone to the east by following up on the brittle structures intersected at depth in undercutting stratigraphic drill holes LE20-37, 39 and 41. Further results of the program will be reported periodically throughout the winter drill season. The Larocque East Property and the Hurricane Zone The 100% owned Larocque East property consists of 20 mineral claims totaling 8,371 ha and is not encumbered by any royalties or other interests. Larocque East is immediately adjacent to the north end of IsoEnergy?s Geiger property and is 35 km northwest of Orano Canada?s McClean Lake uranium mine and mill. Along with other target areas, the Property covers a 15-kilometre-long northeast extension of the Larocque Lake conductor system; a trend of graphitic metasedimentary basement rocks that is associated with significant uranium mineralization at the Hurricane zone, and in several occurrences on Cameco Corp.?s neighbouring property to the southwest of Larocque East. The Hurricane zone was discovered in July, 2018 and was followed up with a 12-hole drilling campaign in the winter of 2019 and a recently completed 17-hole summer 2019 drilling campaign. Dimensions are currently 550m along-strike, 40m wide and up to 10m thick. The zone is open for expansion alongstrike and on most sections. Mineralization is polymetallic and commonly straddles the sub-Athabasca unconformity 320 m below surface. The best intersection to date is 33.9% U3O8 over 8.5m in drill hole LE20-34. Drilling at Cameco Corp.?s Larocque Lake zone on the neighbouring property to the southwest has returned historical intersections of up to 29.9% U3O8 over 7.0 m in drill hole Q22-040. Like the nearby Geiger property, Larocque East is located adjacent to the Wollaston-Mudjatik transition zone a major crustal suture related to most of the uranium deposits in the eastern Athabasca Basin. Importantly, the sandstone cover on the Property is thin, ranging between 140 m and 330 m in previous drilling. In addition to the Hurricane zone discovery, four historical drill holes have intersected weak uranium mineralization at other locations on the Property to date. Qualified Person Statement The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was prepared by Andy Carmichael, P.Geo., IsoEnergy?s Senior Geologist, who is a ?Qualified Person? (as defined in NI 43-101 ? Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. Carmichael has verified the data disclosed. All radioactivity measurements reported herein are total gamma from an RS-125 hand-held spectrometer. As mineralized drill holes at the Hurricane zone are oriented very steeply (-80 to -90 degrees) into a zone of mineralization that is interpreted to be horizontal, the true thickness of the intersections is expected to be greater than or equal to 90% of the core lengths. This news release refers to properties other than those in which the Company has an interest. Mineralization on those other properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Company?s properties. All chemical analyses are completed for the Company by SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories in Saskatoon, SK. For additional information regarding the Company?s Larocque East Project, including its quality assurance and quality control procedures, please see the Technical Report dated effective May 15, 2019 on the Company?s profile at www.sedar.com. About IsoEnergy IsoEnergy is a well-funded uranium exploration and development company with a portfolio of prospective projects in the eastern Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company recently discovered the high-grade Hurricane Zone of uranium mineralization on its 100% owned Larocque East property in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. IsoEnergy is led by a Board and Management team with a track record of success in uranium exploration, development and operations. The Company was founded and is supported by the team at its major shareholder, NexGen Energy Ltd. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referenced herein have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ?U.S. Securities Act?), and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder. Forward-Looking Information The information contained herein contains ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and ?forward-looking information? within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. ?Forward-looking information? includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as ?plans?, ?expects?, ?is expected?, ?budget?, ?scheduled?, ?estimates?, ?forecasts?, ?intends?, ?anticipates?, or ?believes? or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results ?may?, ?could?, ?would?, ?might? or ?will be taken?, ?occur? or ?be achieved? or the negative connotation thereof. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price of uranium, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company?s planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, no known mineral reserves or resources, the limited operating history of the Company, the influence of a large shareholder, alternative sources of energy and uranium prices, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel, actual results of exploration activities being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based upon results, availability of third party contractors, availability of equipment and supplies, failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws ? Pope Francis sends a message to the people of Brazil at the start of the local Churchs Lenten Solidarity Campaign, and encourages Catholics to combine conversion with service to those most in need. By Devin Watkins For more than 5 decades, the Catholic Church in Brazil has carried out its Solidarity Campaign to raise awareness of the concrete problems facing Brazilian society. The campaign culminates in a collection at Mass on Palm Sunday, whose funds go toward supporting social projects run by local dioceses. Conversion and service In a message sent on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis praised the Lenten initiative, saying it shows that conversion cannot be separated from service to our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. This year, he said, the campaigns theme deals precisely with the value of life and our responsibility to care for it in all its stages, because life is a gift and a commitment. It is a loving gift from God, which we must continually care for. Living Lent well The Pope also urged Brazilian Catholics to overcome the globalization of indifference. He said the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37) shows us the path toward living Lent well, and indicates three fundamental attitudes: seeing, feeling compassion, and caring. Like God, who hears the cry for help of those who suffer, we must open our hearts and minds to allow the cry of our brothers and sisters in need of food, clothing, lodging, and accompaniment resound in us. Compassion becomes solidarity Lent, said Pope Francis, is the perfect time for us to turn compassion into concrete acts of solidarity. Concluding his message, the Pope prayed that God might bless the Solidarity Campaign and that it might be for the whole of Brazil a time in which the value of life is strengthened as gift and commitment. Kentucky Republican Flips State House Seat Held by Democrats for 50 Years A Kentucky businessman has won a state House of Representatives seat that was held by a Democrat since at least the 1960s, earning a shout-out from the president. Richard White, owner of a lumber business and a former real estate developer from Morehead, won District 99 in the Feb. 25 special election, garnering 4,750 votes, or 56 percent. He will complete the unexpired term of Democrat Rocky Adkins, who resigned in December to advise the new Democratic governor, Andy Beshear. While Kentucky is a deeply Republican state with GOP supermajorities in both the state House and Senate, District 99 was represented by a Democrat at least since 1970. White said the district was blue possibly since the Civil War era, though The Epoch Times wasnt able to verify this. Even in 2016, when the district voted almost 68 percent in favor of the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, the state House seat still remained Democratic by nearly the same margin. Whites victory caught the attention of Republican National Committee Chairperson Ronna McDaniel, in addition to the president. Big Story, Big Win Except in the Fake News, which wont cover it! Trump commented on Twitter. White sounded happy about the support. Thats great. This is a pretty historical race, really, he told The Epoch Times in a phone call. Trump Platform White decided to run to provide better representation for the district, he said. A Democratic representative couldnt get to first base on anything in the GOP-controlled legislature, he said. It was important that somebody got in there as a Republican to represent this area and have a seat at the table. His agenda is staunchly conservative and pro-Trump. I support President Trump and his commitment to economic growth for Eastern Kentucky. And, as a businessman of over 44 years, I understand how to create jobs, and the role education plays in our global economy, he said on his campaign website. As a pro-life Christian, I will stand up for your most important constitutional rights, the second amendment, freedom of speech, and religion. He supports Trump for invigorating the economy and also because hes not manipulated by the power base in Washington, D.C., White said. A longtime official in the states Republican Party, White said there was consensus that he was probably the most electable person in the area. I ran a race before, and I had good name recognition, he said. A Modest Campaign The campaign was brief, and White only spent about $50,000, which was far less, he said, than his opponent. He was on five TV stations. I wasnt on a single TV station, White said. The state GOP helped White with several waves of mailings, and he also ran some radio ads, but he believed that what had the biggest effect was door-to-door electioneering, phone calls, and social media. They said a race cant be won with social media, but I think it was in this case, he said. His campaign manager, Valerie Campbell, singlehandedly ran the social media campaign, asking Whites supporters to spread the message. They didnt use paid social media advertising. White also believed he gained support from the gun rights crowd, having recently attended two Second Amendment rallies in the state capital of Frankfort. I was the only one that showed up as a candidate, he said. Whites opponent, Bill Redwine of Sandy Hook, is a former alumni relations official and auxiliary services head at Morehead State University. Hes a former head of the Rowan County Board of Education. His campaign didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. White wont have much time to celebrate, since the primary to run for a full two-year term is set for May 19, with the regular election scheduled for Nov. 3. Redwine is running again, according to the Courier-Journal. A leading girls prep school is at loggerheads with the neighbouring 90-year-old bowling club over claims its members can see pupils getting changed for PE, a court heard. Parents of children at Seaton House school in Sutton have complained that players at Carshalton Beeches Bowling Club can see in through the classroom windows. The 10,000-a-year school, named Independent Prep School of the Year in 2018, has now refused to renew the clubs lease for its clubhouse, which sits on school land. It has also criticised the club for running a licensed bar and serving drinks during lesson-time. But the club says claims of girls being seen changing are overblown and a distraction, and has asked Central London county court to force the school to renew the lease to avoid the tragedy of it shutting down. In November last year, the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) found the school was failing in its safeguarding duty towards pupils, aged two to 11, because of the presence of the bowling club and its members. Headteacher Ruth Darvill told the court: The continued presence of bowlers on our site would be devastating for our reputation. Lease clash: school head Ruth Darvill / Champion News If we continue to be in breach of regulations, the Department of Education will take a view about whether we continue operating as a school. The ISI report said the school must implement measures to reduce all risks associated with the school premises by a local bowling club. Robert Rumsby, the club chairman, argued from the witness box: There is only one classroom which faces the green. You can hardly see through the windows because its dark. Club chairman Robert Rumsby / Champion News Mr Rumsby added: We have been there for 90 years and many of our members have been with us for a lot of that time. Its the centre of their sporting and social life aBond it would be a tragedy if we closed it. Both Mrs Darvill and the previous head confirmed there had never been a specific allegation of voyeurism against a bowler, but said the school is facing the threat of non-compliance and security risk. The schools barrister, Charles Irvine, said there are no changing rooms and there are two classrooms facing the green which can be seen. He said the clubs bar is incompatible with school premises and suggested bowlers regularly have pre-match drinks before afternoon matches. But Mr Rumsby said the bar only usually opens in the evenings. The club claims it was promised a new pavilion on school grounds as part of a redevelopment. If it fails to evict the club, the school wants to almost double the annual rent to 17,000 and ban bowlers using it before 6pm on weekdays. [February 26, 2020] 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge Led by IBM Takes On Climate Change on 75th Anniversary of United Nations GENEVA, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Headquarters of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Today, Call for Code Founding Partner IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Creator David Clark Cause, in partnership with United Nations Human Rights and the Linux Foundation announced this year's Call for Code Global Challenge, inviting the world's software developers and innovators to help fight climate change with open source-powered technology. Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8668651-ibm-2020-call-for-code-global-challenge/ On its 75th anniversary, the United Nations is demanding a 'global reality check' and has launched the biggest-ever global conversation on how to address the world's most pressing issues such as climate change. Heeding the UN's rallying cry to help build the future we want, IBM is joining forces with key UN agencies and world leaders to help tackle the climate crisis. Following two successful years, the 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge encourages and fosters the creation of practical applications built on open source software including Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, and data from The Weather Company. The goal is to employ technology in new ways that can make an immediate and lasting humanitarian impact in communities around the world. A recent global IBM study conducted by Morning Consult surveyed more than 3,000 developers, first responders and social activists across China, Columbia, Egypt, India, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States, and found: 77% of first responders and developers surveyed agree with the statement 'Climate change is the single most pressing issue facing my generation.' 79% of respondents agree that climate change is something that can be reduced or combated with technology. 87% of respondents feel it is important that a potential employer has taken action on climate change. Three quarters of respondents agree that the open source community can help scale climate change solutions to communities in need. Eight in ten respondents agree that most people want to do something to help combat climate change, but don't know where to start. Over 180,000 participants from 165 nations took part in Call for Code in 2019; they created more than 5,000 applications focused on natural disaster preparedness and relief. This year Call for Code is challenging applicants to create innovations based on open source technologies to help halt and reverse the impact of climate change. "There is an urgent need to take action against climate change, and IBM is uniquely positioned to connect leading humanitarian expertswith the most talented and passionate developers around the world," said Bob Lord, IBM Senior Vice President of Cognitive Applications and Developer Ecosystems. "IBM is determined to identify, deploy, and scale technology solutions that can help save lives, empower people, and create a better world for future generations." Lord noted that IBM has been mobilizing throughout the company, from policy commitments on climate to IBM's weather forecasting capabilities powered by AI and supercomputers. "Over these past two years through Call for Code UNDRR has seen the potential for developers to tackle major societal challenges, and developers will have a crucial role in our response to the climate emergency," said Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction. "Climate change is the most critical issue of our time, with a multitude of localized contributing factors and cascading effects that cannot be solved by a single organization. We need a global network to fight this together." IBM and David Clark Cause are thrilled to launch the third year of Call for Code in Geneva with new sponsor Unity Technologies, returning sponsor Persistent Systems, returning supporters Johnson & Johnson and Capgemini, and new supporters Red Hat and Nearform. We also welcome continued collaboration from returning supporters Bank of China, Morgan Stanley, Cognizant, Infosys, Arrow Electronics, and the Clinton Foundation, in addition to the broad ecosystem of companies, foundations, universities, and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Jonas Brothers, Sting, and Morgan Freeman supporting the initiative. "As part of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, we are proud to work with our Founding Partner IBM to help commemorate this momentous occasion by focusing the 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge on climate change. By inspiring and empowering developers around the world to help with this global threat, Call for Code can generate real impact," said David Clark, Creator of Call for Code and CEO of David Clark Cause. "I am also excited President Bill Clinton returns for the third year as an eminent judge for the Challenge, along with leading experts in human rights, disaster response, business, and technology from all over the world." Last year's Call for Code Global Challenge winning team, Prometeo, created a wearable device that measures carbon monoxide, smoke concentration, humidity, and temperature to monitor firefighter safety in real-time as well as to help improve their health outcomes in the long-term. The solution has been developed further through IBM's Code and Response program and has just completed its first wildfire field test during a controlled burn with the Grups de Reforc d'Actuacions Forestals (GRAF) and the Grup d'Emergencies Mediques (GEM) dels Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain. Prometeo was developed by a team comprising a veteran firefighter, an emergency medical nurse, and three developers. As recently piloted, the Prometeo hardware-software solution is based on multiple IBM Cloud services. Other applications like 2018 Call for Code winner Project Owl and 2018 Puerto Rico Call for Code hackathon winner DroneAid have also been cultivated through the Code and Response program. Visit CallforCode.org to join the community and learn more about the challenge, which will open for submissions on March 22, World Water Day 2020. Additional details, a schedule of in-person and virtual events, and training and enablement for Call for Code will be available at https://developer.ibm.com/callforcode/ . Download the full IBM study conducted by Morning Consult here. About Call for Code Developers have revolutionized the way people live and interact with virtually everyone and everything. Where most people see challenges, developers see possibilities. That's why David Clark Cause created and launched Call for Code in 2018 alongside Founding Partner IBM. This five-year, $30 million global initiative is a rallying cry to developers to use their skills and mastery of the latest technologies, and to create new ones, to drive positive and long-lasting change across the world with their code. Call for Code global winning solutions, among others, are further developed and deployed via IBM's Code and Response initiative. About UN75 The United Nations launched the UN75 campaign - the largest, most inclusive conversation on the role of global cooperation in building a better future for all. The campaign will see the UN spark dialogues throughout 2020 in diverse settings across the world. In a 'global reality check', four innovative data streams will build the first ever repository of crowd-sourced solutions to major global challenges, including climate change. The UN75 dialogues together with a 'One-minute Survey' that anyone can take, available here: https://un75.online/ MEDIA CONTACTS Deirdre Leahy IBM Developer Media Relations 845-863-4552 [email protected] Chris Blake IBM Developer Media Relations 415-613-1120 [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2020-call-for-code-global-challenge-led-by-ibm-takes-on-climate-change-on-75th-anniversary-of-united-nations-301011308.html SOURCE IBM [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The ongoing clashes which erupted on February 23 has only got worse in Delhi and have claimed close to 20 lives and injured more than 150 people. Infact, the violence has claimed its youngest victim. A 14-year-old Muslim boy was allegedly shot at by rioters, as some media reports suggest that he belonged to the pro-CAA group in the Kardam Puri locality of Shahdara on February 25. BCCL The boy has been identified as Faizan and was not a part of ongoing protests or clashes but was merely visiting the area to drop off some items to an acquaintance. He was shot during the day but the ambulance took a long time to reach him. There are new reports suggesting that the police were not allowing ambulances to enter riot hit areas. However, it could not be verified whether police had indeed asked ambulances to retreat from the spot. A PCR van finally arrived at the spot and took the boy to the hospital moments ago, after Delhi Joint Commissioner intervened. Even then, he received no proper medical assistance for over six hours, said a report by India Today. AP Since Sunday, multiple instances of violence have been reported from northeast Delhi. Situation has been so tense that even additional police deployment and Section 144 have failed to curb tension. A curfew has now been imposed in four areas Maujpur, Jafrabad, Chand Bagh and Karawal Nagar close Kadampuri where the minor boy was hit by a bullet. Paedophiles' criminal history will be revealed to juries more frequently under law changes set to be introduced by the Victorian government. Prosecutors currently must convince a judge why a defendant's previous sexual abuse convictions should be part of evidence, but the change puts the onus on the defence to demonstrate why they shouldn't be. The proposed change, one of the key recommendations of the child abuse royal commission, weakens the test to introduce whats called tendency evidence in criminal trials. Tendency evidence can include prior convictions or allegations of previous deviant behaviour and prosecutors use it to show a jury that a defendant has a propensity for that behaviour. Prosecutors presently bear the burden of proving the value of the evidence substantially outweighs the prejudice to the accused. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said the Centre and the Delhi government were responsible for the deadly communal violence in the national capital and demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah should resign taking responsibility for it. Addressing a press conference after chairing a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, she said there was a conspiracy behind the violence and tragic incidents in Delhi. "The conspiracy was witnessed during Delhi polls and BJP leaders gave hate speeches creating atmosphere of fear and hatred," she said. The Centre, home minister and the Delhi government are responsible for the situation in the national capital, the Congress chief said. Union Home Minister Shah must take responsibility for the violence in Delhi and resign, she said. Gandhi said the Delhi government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have also failed to maintain peace. The Congress president also hit out at BJP leader Kapil Mishra for making a statement that allegedly incited violence in the city. The CWC has passed a resolution on the situation in the city, she said, adding that the CWC believes that the situation is grave and an urgent action is required. Adequate security forces must be deployed to bring situation under control and peace committees must be formed in mohallas, Gandhi said, while reading out the CWC resolution on the violence in Delhi. The Delhi chief minister must be visible in the affected areas and stay in constant communication with the people, she said. The CWC urges people to reject of hate and do their best to heal rifts, Gandhi said quoting the resolution. Meanwhile, the Congress also postponed its march to Rashtrapati Bhavan till Thursday in view of President Ram Nath Kovind's unavailability, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Peter Nygard, the fashion executive being investigated by the FBI for sex trafficking, claims he is the victim of a set-up by his rival Bahamas neighbor with whom he has been locked in a fight-to-the-death feud for more than 10 years. Nygard claims that Louis Bacon, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has a property next door to him in the Bahamas, is to blame for the FBI launching its probe into him and for a recently filed lawsuit in which 10 women claim he either raped them or abused underage girls. Bacon and his brother admit propping up the lawsuit by paying investigators and lawyers to look into the allegations. They say they are merely using their resources to benefit a good cause and that they could not stand back and do nothing after being told that Nygard allegedly abused young girls. Their extraordinary battle dates back to 2009, when Nygard blamed Bacon for a fire on his Bahamas property. Nygard's home in the islands is outlandish, extravagant and is the backdrop for debauched parties where, among other things, he has been known to walk around shirtless with the theme tune of Phantom of the Opera playing while young, topless women sun themselves. He is constantly surrounded by young women and girls, has a pole for dancing on his private plane and refers to his Canada home-office as a 'passion pit'. By contrast, Bacon is more conservative. He has been described in the past as 'buttoned-up', is married, has a croquet lawn and he has devoted much of his wealth to conservation. Peter Nygard says Louis Bacon, his billionaire neighbor in the Bahamas, is behind the FBI's investigation into him for allegedly sexually trafficking young girls. They have been feuding for years over their properties Bacon says he knows first hand how Nygard operates having lived in close proximity to him in the Bahamas where victims say much of the abuse has taken place When some of Nygard's property burned down in 2009, the local government did not let him rebuild it. According to the Times, he blamed the decision on Bacon, sued him and set about a ruthless smear campaign which has resulted in sparring lawsuits over a range of issues. Their fight is what Nygard is attributing the FBI sex trafficking probe to. 'As a direct result and in furtherance of the conspiracy planned by Billionaire Louis Bacon, federal agents have executed a search and seizure on Nygard offices in California and New York. 'As with the other actions taken as a result of Louis Bacons conspiracy, Nygard is not surprised by this latest action,' Ken Frydman, a spokesman for Nygard, told DailyMail.com. He went on to say that Bacon had 'paid' people to lie - both in the lawsuit and in a recent New York Times article about their feud and about Nygard's alleged abuse of girls. 'When witnesses are paid to lie and others are paid millions of dollars to set up Peter Nygard, as Louis Bacon and his co-conspirators did and as The New York Times reported this past Sunday, it is not surprising that law enforcement would look into the fabricated and manufactured claims. Nygard's property is an adult playground where he has 'pamper parties' for young girls, blasts music and, allegedly has plied young girls with drugs and alcohol Nygard with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson Nygard with Prince Andrew on his Bahamas island in 2011 'Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. 'He has not been charged, is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation. 'The federal agents should similarly execute a search and seizure on Louis Bacon, Zack Bacon, Moore Capital Management, Moore Charitable Foundation and the other people and entities that were identified in Nygards RICO lawsuit filed against Louis Bacon,' Frydman said. Frank Montoya, a retired FBI agent, said he is likely trying to minimize the fallout. 'Cooperation can be useful, but subjects in these kinds of cases typically say theyre cooperating to try to minimize fallout from the accusations. 'Yes, they are innocent until proven guilty, but, more often than not these days, those who commit these kinds of crimes are facing justice (Harvey Weinstein, for instance), even if they do cooperate.' He added that by searching his Manhattan offices, the feds may be looking for evidence of other crimes. Cooperation can be useful, but subjects in these kinds of cases typically say theyre cooperating to try to minimize fallout from the accusations Retired FBI agent Frank Montoya 'Thats a potential indicator that they are looking for more than evidence of sex trafficking or abuse.could be white collar-related evidence, too,' he said. The Times article cited several of the women in the lawsuit who described how Nygard abused them. Their harrowing allegations include that he plied girls - often as young as 14 - with alcohol and drugs then raped them after hosting 'pamper parties' at his mansion. Among the women who claim to have witnessed the abuse or been victims of it in the Bahamas is Tamika Ferguson. She is an orphan from a poor neighborhood of the Bahamas who had been invited to one of Nygard's parties by a D.J. She claims he raped her. She says that the men's fight is muddying the issue. 'Theyre messing up peoples lives in the middle of their fight,' she told the Times. Litira Fox, a former girlfriend of Mr. Nygards who said she recruited for him, has also spoken out against him. She says she's seen Nygard in bed with two teenagers at a time including one who was in her school uniform. Louis with his wife Gabrielle. He is quiet and understated, devoting much of his wealth to conservation efforts Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard, 78, is seen partying with scantily-clad young women at his mansion in the Bahamas in 2007 in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com He maintains that he has never been inappropriate towards any woman. Their claims are not new; Nygard has in the past been accused by different women of sexual assault and he was once charged in Canada in 1979 with raping an 18-year-old. That case was however dropped due to a lack of evidence and other lawsuits making similar claims have been resolved privately. Nygard's reputation for debauchery is well-known. According to the Times story, he has a taste for young, slender women with shapely backsides. He calls them 'toilets'. Film star Jessica Alba once attended a party on his property while filming Into the Blue in the Bahamas. She said afterwards: 'It's gross. these girls are like 14 years old in the jacuzzi. Taking their clothes off.' Former employees of Nygard's have sued him claiming that he forced themselves on him. The allegations involving his sexual treatment of women pre-date his spat with Bacon which kicked off in 2009, with both men trying to weaponize their wealth against one another in the Bahamas. Nygard is accused of being behind a smear campaign in the Bahamas against Bacon. Above is a 2015 protest where demonstrators held up signs alleging he was part of the KKK Nygard paid for websites where Bacon was smeared. A 2015 protest was also held in the Bahamas where demonstrators said Bacon was part of the KKK. In 2015, Bacon and his brother Zack hired TekStratex to investigate claims that he'd been having sex with underage girls. They spent $6million trying to get it to the authorities. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security launched investigations but nothing was done. Bacon released a statement last week saying: '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. The Nygard offices in Time's Square were deserted on Tuesday after the FBI raid 'That is where this matter belongs.' He told the Times for its story: 'I, of anybody, knew what it was like to have this guy come at you. So my heart went out to these women.' The FBI does not comment on ongoing investigations. Agents were seen searching the Nygard offices in Time's Square on Tuesday. It prompted Nygard to step down from the fashion empire, which makes mostly women's leggings. 'Recognizing the priority of the welfare of the thousands of Nygard employees, retail partners, loyal customers, vendors, suppliers and business partners, Peter Nygard has made the decision to step down as Chairman of the Nygard Companies and will divest his ownership interest. 'After being viciously and maliciously attacked for over a decade by Louis Bacon and his operatives, which has included millions of dollars in payoffs to women and others to make false claims against him, Peter Nygard has decided that his legal battles with Louis Bacon will no longer be a distraction to the Companies. 'The wonderful Nygard employees who rely upon the Companies for their livelihoods must now be the priority. Peter Nygard thanks his employees for their years of dedicated service,' Frydman said on his behalf in a statement on Wednesday. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Butyl Adhesive Market - Overview Though butyl adhesives are particularly new technology, the demand for the market has demonstrated a significant pace of traction over the years. Market focused reports linked to the chemicals & materials industry among others of late have been made accessible by Market Research Future which issues reports on this industry. The market is anticipated to grow with an unmatched CAGR percentage in the duration of the forecast period. Growing butyl rubber in adhesive uses is one of the key causes of the copolymers progress. Furthermore, the emergent transportation sector and investments in construction are anticipated to grow its demand over the period of the next seven years and open up new prospects. Rising demand from packaging and paper industry for products such as cartons, tapes, bags, etc. have given way to the unparalleled growth of the industry while opening up new avenues for expansion. The superior properties of butyl adhesives such as exceptional resistance to high durability, weather and sunlight, resistance to aging and heat have made it suitable for end use in a number of industries. Industry Segments The Butyl Adhesive Market Trends is segmented on the basis of end use industry and region. The end use industry has segmented the market into paper & packaging, woodworking, building & construction, automotive, and others. As butyl adhesives are resistant to air and water and highly resistant to alkali and UV rays, thus extensively used in the end use industries. By region, the market segmentation includes Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Detailed Regional Analysis The regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & Africa are a part of the Butyl Adhesive Market globally. The Asia Pacific region is projected to develop at an incremental CAGR in the forecast period owing to mounting demand from end use industries such as woodworking, building & construction and automotive. The demand for Butyl Adhesive is expected to surge in emerging countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Japan owing to increasing construction activities and development of woodworking industry. China is anticipated to be a major market in terms of consumption. Moreover, cheap labor charge, ease of accessibility to raw material, and growing development strategies to achieve the demand for butyl adhesives due to the developing applications which are the vital factors for regional market growth. The Middle East & Africa region is projected to observe considerable growth in the forthcoming years. This factor is credited to the rising development activities in the commercial and residential sector together with the growing demand for VOC free adhesives, especially in countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The North American market is likely to observe stable development in the use of butyl adhesive over the forecast period. The U.S. is foreseen to be the biggest butyl adhesive market in the region followed by Mexico and Canada. The Latin American countries like Argentina and Brazil, are also expected to observe stable growth owing to modest demand from packaging and woodworking industries. The European region is foreseen to be the second biggest market after the Asia Pacific region in the consumption of Butyl Adhesive. The European nations such as UK, France, Germany, and Italy are contributing to the regional market development owing to the occurrence of a large number of manufacturing companies in the region. Global Competitive Analysis The market has ushered in a new period of growth as the market is constantly in a state of mutability. The ripple effects of this growth have altered the competitive landscape of the market. Localization is among the more favored trends for expanding the market share of the competitors in the market. The potential strategy of each player in the market involves a certain degree of innovation in the product offerings to increase the possibilities for development, particularly in the forecast period. The chances for increasing revenue inflow in the business are expected to multiply through the forecast period. The intensifying interest in diversification within the business has indirectly allowed the businesses to utilize several situations obtainable in the market. The noteworthy competitors in the butyl adhesive market comprise of ADCO Global, Bostik SA, Vinati Organics Ltd., Royal General Sealants, Adhesives & Sealants, Anabond, and others. Access Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/butyl-adhesive-market-4164 Related: Chemicals And Materials Market Research Report Click for Reports Infographics Click for Videos A San Antonio man who had been suspected in the fatal shooting of his 19-year-old girlfriend was released from jail this week after a judge dismissed a manslaughter charge against him, sparking outrage from the womans family. Based on a witness statement, police say Jose Maria Galindo, while at his girlfriends Southeast Side apartment, was showing off a handgun when it discharged. A bullet struck Ana Martinez in the head. Martinez, the mother of two young children, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries where she later died. According to an arrest affidavit, a woman who was in the bedroom with Martinez and Galindo told police she heard a single gunshot and saw Galindo run from the room. She had not heard an argument prior to the shooting, police said. Officers searched the apartment complex and said they later found a gun underneath the bed. They also went to Galindos home and found his car, a black BMW. Police said Galindo had returned home after the shooting, left his vehicle and took another car in an attempt to elude authorities, according to the affidavit. Police arrested Galindo three days later, on Jan. 25, and charged him with manslaughter, which is defined as recklessly causing the death of another person. It is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Galindo, 22, hired a lawyer, who requested an examination trial, which is similar to a hearing. Under Texas law, any defendant who is charged with a felony has the right to such a trial to examine the accusations prior to a possible indictment. The prosecution has to show there is enough evidence to establish probable cause that the defendant committed a crime. If the prosecution fails to do so, the judge must dismiss the charge. Assistant District Attorney Melissa Saenz sought to postpone the trial, saying the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office had not yet determined Martinezs cause or manner of death. She wanted the medical examiner assigned to the case to testify. On Friday, Magistrate Judge Andrew Carruthers denied the request and found that prosecutors presented no evidence during the examination trial. He ruled that there was no probable cause and dismissed the charge against Galindo. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales declined to answer specific questions about the case. In a statement Monday, he described the case as pending, indicating that prosecutors could bring a charge against Galindo later. Officials say Galindo was released from jail Monday evening after posting bond for a separate charge of assault of a public servant causing bodily injury, a third-degree felony. In that case, from July, he is accused of striking a police officer with his head. Galindos lawyer, Raymond Martinez, declined to comment Tuesday. Friends and family expressed outrage Monday that the charge against Galindo was dismissed. They held two protests in front of the Bexar County Courthouse, where they displayed signs with the messages: We will not be silenced and Together we will fight for Ana. One friend launched a Change.org petition directed at the Bexar County District Attorneys Office, urging prosecutors to refile a charge against Galindo. In two days, it had about 1,300 signatures. She was a loving and kindhearted person who loved her children and she didnt deserve this, said one friend, Alexis Perez. Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton Promoter Eddie Hearn is desperate for Anthony Joshua to fight British heavyweight rival Tyson Fury in November or December this year. Following Fury's remarkable victory over Deontay Wilder on the weekend, talk has immediately turned to a potential all-Brit showdown against Joshua - with the pair now holding all of the heavyweight belts between them. However, Wilder will trigger a rematch clause with Fury and set up a summer bout against the British heavyweight. Tyson Fury celebrates after beating Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on Saturday night Following Fury's victory, talk immediately turned to a potential all-Brit fight vs Anthony Joshua And Hearn has now told Fury to 'hurry up' and beat Wilder once again so that he can set up a showdown with Joshua, which would be extremely popular among the British public. Hearn told the Sun: 'People don't want the third fight. They've had 19 rounds now, Wilder's probably won three of them and in the last fight he got battered. 'But I understand the contractual position. He does have a right to a rematch clause. 'I'd just say "Hurry up, please" and do it quickly. We just hope they get on with it and get it out of the way.' Promoter Eddie Hearn is eyeing Joshua vs Fury for November or December this year Meanwhile, Joshua faces a mandatory defence of his WBA, IBF and WBO titles against Kubrat Pulev and Hearn is already looking ahead to bigger and better things. Joshua's promoter, who also claimed he would love the British showdown to go ahead at Wembley, added: 'We can't get Fury, we've got to fight Pulev and we'll get that out of the way. 'Hopefully, Fury can get his out of the way and we can get this done in November or December this year.' The Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution to implement the National Population Register (NPR) in its 2010 form. PATNA: The Bihar Assembly has passed a resolution not to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. The Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution to implement the National Population Register (NPR) in its 2010 form. The issue was raised by Opposition parties which were initially opposed by the members of treasury bench. Trouble erupted when the Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav called for adjournment motion and termed the CAA, NPR and NRC divisive and kala kanoon (black law). Replying to the Oppositions demands earlier, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said that the NRC wont be implemented in Bihar and claimed that the state government had also written a letter to the Centre urging it to drop additional clauses inserted into the NPR form. The government, however, said that a proposal had been sent to include a column for transgenders into the NPR form. The NPR work has to be completed acro-ss the country between April 1 and September 30. In Bihar, the exercise to update the NPR will take place between May 15 and 28. With the Assembly poll slated to be held in No-vember this year, the po-litical temperature has been high since the CAA came into force. The state has been witnessing massive prote-sts against the CAA, NPR and NRC in several districts, including Patna. CPI leader and former JNUSU president Kanha-iya Kumar has also been leading a state-wide Jan Gan Man Yatra and addressing series of public meetings against the CAA, NPR and NRC. An organisation of Indian-American Christians has thanked US President Donald Trump for raising the issue of religious freedom and the plight of minorities during his talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying political tranquillity is fundamental to economic progress. The Federation of Indian American Christian organisations in North America (FIACONA) said it "truly hopes" that the Indian government would respond positively to the concern expressed by the president that would be in the best interest of the country. Asked specifically about allegations that Muslims are being subjected to discrimination and there have been rising cases of hate crime in India, Trump in New Delhi on Tuesday said: "We did discuss that and specifically Muslims. We also discussed Christians". "I had a very powerful answer from the prime minister. We talked about religious liberty for a long period of time in front of lot of people. I had a very very powerful answer I think," he said. Reacting to the remarks of Trump, president of FIACONA Koshy George said: "Although we lack any substance from their discussions, we are encouraged to see that the president took the opportunity to include the issue of religious freedom as a priority item at these important bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi". Despite the best efforts to showcase India in a positive light, the world is also watching the ongoing violence "as a result of the policies enunciated by the current BJP regime," said John Prabhudoss, chairman of the FIACONA. "Political tranquillity is fundamental to economic progress, and by promoting the policies that drive the country towards majoritarianism and intolerance, the Modi regime may be jeopardising the prosperity of its ordinary citizens," he said. "We call upon the prime minister to uphold India's constitution that guarantees freedom of conscience and religious freedom to every Indian," Prabhudoss said. Ahead of Trump's India visit, FIOCANA in a letter had urged him to raise the issue of religious freedom in his talks with the Indian leadership. India has witnessed massive protests over the new citizenship law and National Population Register with opposition parties and several rights groups alleging that the measures are aimed at marginalising the Muslim community. The national capital witnessed massive violence in the midst of Trump's high-profile visit. The government on Monday said the violence was triggered to tarnish India's image. In a media statement after his talks with Prime Minister Modi, Trump said both the countries have always been united by shared traditions of democracy and constitutions that protect freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slowing passenger and cargo growth, the mismatch between elevated aircraft values and cheap finance, production challenges at Airbus Group and safety issues at Boeing Co. were among the factors weighing down on the aviation sector even before the extent of the Covid-19 outbreak became clear. Scope says while it is still too early to assess the long-term impact of the outbreak of the disease, the virus is continuing to spread to new countries after its initial appearance in China. Scope analysts Azza Chammem, Frank Netscher, and Helene Spro look at the individual aviation segments more closely: Airlines: The credit outlook for European airlines was already negative as downward pressure on air fares, rising costs and slowing growth in traffic has piled pressure on carriers, particularly smaller, more indebted operators in Europe, says Chammem, corporate-credit analyst at Scope Ratings. Air Italy, a small Italian carrier, went out of business earlier this month. European long-haul carriers such as Deutsche Lufthansa (BBB/Stable) and Finnair have curtailed flights to China. Turkish Airlines has done the same with flights to Iran. As the virus spreads to more countries, voluntary or mandatory restrictions on air travel will increase among measures to contain the disease, such as the cancelling of international events from business conferences to sporting encounters, with knock-on effects for industry, business and tourism. Look at what happened to the airline industry during the SARS epidemic in 2003, says Helene Spro, aircraft-finance analyst at Scope Ratings. Annual traffic decreased by 8% for the Asia Pacific airlines, which translated to a USD 6bn revenue loss. North American airlines lost 3.7% of international traffic due to SARS. We expect that the Covid-19 outbreak will have a bigger impact than SARS, she says. IATA has already warned that global air travel demand will decline for the first time since 2009, and it is worth remembering that air travel in China and the rest of Asia has grown hugely since the time of the SARS outbreak, says Chammem. Even though lower jet fuel prices, as oil prices have dropped in recent weeks, provide some relief to airlines, ultimately it is falling load factors for passengers and cargo which will eat away at profit margins until the outbreak of the disease is contained, says Chammem. Particularly important for airlines will be whether they can resume normal operations in time for the busy northern-hemisphere spring and summer travel periods, she says. In the meantime, airlines are looking for ways to reduce costs. Lufthansa is considering a hiring freeze. Aviation finance: High aircraft values and low lease-rate factors do not properly reflect the commercial and operating risks facing airlines leaving the aviation finance industry in a vulnerable state in 2020 even before the extent of the coronavirus outbreak became clear, says Spro. Aircraft makers: It is not only airlines that are affected. Airbus decided to extend the Chinese New Years holiday at its Tianjin plant which produces around six A320 aircraft a month, equivalent 10% out of the 60 A320 aircraft Airbus plans to produce monthly. Airbus has a huge order backlog and Boeing is under pressure to find ways to make up for the multibillion-dollar cost of the grounding of its 737 MAX passenger jet even before virus-containment measures disrupted China-based supply chains on which the plane makers are dependent, says Frank Netscher at Scope Analysis. Considering that they already have had delays in the A320 deliveries, this is not a good sign for Airbus which had hoped to restore a reliable delivery schedule by 2021, says Netscher. The dislocation to supply chains has also come at a poor time for Boeing, which relies on Chinese suppliers for its civilian aircraft production, as it tries to offset the impact of the grounding of the 737 MAX passenger plane for safety reasons, he says. Boeing has warned it might miss its first-quarter aircraft delivery targets. Kuala Lumpur: The race to become the next Malaysian prime minister is shaping up as a contest between two men who have alternated as allies and enemies for more than two decades. Mahathir Mohamad called for a government of national unity on Wednesday, breaking his silence two days after the Pakatan Harapan governing coalition he led imploded. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad shakes hand with his then-designated successor Anwar Ibrahim at the weekend. Credit:AP But a "confident" Anwar Ibrahim, who was on a promise to take over from Mahathir after two years when the pair put old enmities aside to win the May 2018 election, has been backed to be the country's next prime minister by the remaining three parties in his coalition. Anwar's PKR party and its two allied parties, DAP and Amanah, had on Tuesday been supporting Mahathir to return and lead a revived Pakatan Harapan coalition. Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproar over honouring Hindu Mahasabha leader VD Savarkar with the BJP demanding a resolution in the Assembly to honour Savarkar while the ruling Shiv Sena and NCP demanding Bharat Ratna for the leader. The BJP legislators created a noise after Speaker Nana Patole rejected the party's demand to have a discussion over the resolution to honour Savarkar. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government must move a resolution in the house to honour Savarkar. "Looking at the freedom struggle, sacrifices and nationalism of Veer Savarkar, it is time to honour him in the state assembly through a resolution. The government must move a resolution in the house for the same and have a detailed discussion about it. For the last few days, it has been seen that various leaders are making objectionable comments against Veer Savarkar," he said. "A magazine, which is managed by Congress party named 'Shidori' has mentioned that Veer Savarkar was a rapist and he was 'mafi veer' (one who apologised). These comments are very shameful so this magazine should be banned immediately," the former chief minister said. Commenting over the BJP's demand, Shiv Sena leader and state cabinet minister Anil Parab said that the central government must give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar first, and then the state government will consider passing a resolution in the Assembly. "When BJP was in power and Devendra Fadnavis was Chief Minister of Maharashtra, then two letters were written to the Centre demanding Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar. But Bharat Ratna is not yet given to Savarkar. This is real disrespect to Maharashtra," he said. "The central government must give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar first then we will consider the demand for resolution in the Assembly. BJP failed to give Bharat Ratna till now in spite of having a majority in at the Centre," Parab said. Responding to this, Fadnavis said that the Bharat Ratna will be given to Savarkar at the right time. Savarkar's legacy is marred by a series of letters he wrote to the British authorities from the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, seeking apology for his actions in the freedom struggle against the colonial rule and vowing to remain a loyal subject of the queen thereafter. Savarkar was subsequently released from the Cellular Jail. He was also booked for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948, but was let off by the court, with certain restrictions on him, for want of concrete evidence. Speaking on the matter oN Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar too demanded to give India's highest civilian award to Savarkar. "Veer Savarkar was a nationalist. There is no doubt about his service to the nation. I don't understand what BJP is trying to play on this. Modi is the Prime Minister and there was a BJP CM in the previous government but they couldn't give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar. We all together should try to give Bharat Ratna first to Savarkar and end this issue," he said. Speaking to reporters, Shiv Sena leader and Minister Aditya Thackeray said: "BJP is trying to politicise this whole issue by raising it in Maharashtra Assembly. During demonetisation, they did not ask anyone about it, then why are they waiting for someone to tell them to give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar? They should have done it till now," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Midland residents and city officials alike fought for seats in the crowded Midland City Council chambers on Monday night, as the room filled with people excited to see the induction of the first woman to serve as the city's police chief. Nicole Ford was officially sworn in as Midland's chief of police during a ceremony on Monday. Ford was chosen near the end of January after a five-month search to replace former chief Clifford Block, who left his position to become the new chief of police for Saginaw Valley State University on Sept. 12, 2019. Ford has been performing her duties in Midland since Feb. 3. Mayor Maureen Donker welcomed Ford to Midland, praising her "historic" induction as the first woman to serve in her new role. "Chief Ford, you've only been with us for a few weeks, but you've hit the ground running and you're off to a great start," Donker said. "I'm confident you're going to continue to lead our police department as one of the best, most highly trained, well-engaged and deeply respected departments in the state." Judges Michael Beale of the 42nd Circuit Court and Michael Carpenter of the 75th District Court also spoke during the ceremony to welcome Ford into the role and wish her luck. Carpenter had previously been a member of the committee that interviewed Ford before she was chosen as Midland's new police chief. "It was your education, training and experience that provided you the opportunity to apply and to be interviewed, but it was your character, integrity and personality that got you hired," Carpenter said. Ford has a 22-year career in law enforcement that includes recently serving as interim police chief and deputy police chief for the City of Flat Rock. She has also served as a lieutenant with the Huron Clinton Metroparks Police Department and as a sergeant and patrol officer with the Northfield Township Police Department. "I could not ask for a more welcoming and open-minded group," Ford said of her new colleagues. "This community has been so warm and welcoming on so many levels that I never saw coming at me. I'm very excited to get to bring my family out here, so we can also become members of the community as I continue to, ideally, move your department forward in a very positive manner." Memorial Presbyterian Church Associate Pastor Wallace Mayton blessed the badges and led the room in prayer before Ford was sworn in. Ford's partner, Lt. Jeffrey Smith of the Inkster Police Department, conducted the badge pinning ceremony that made her induction into her new role official. In her free time, Ford is a triathlete and three-year participant of the Police Unity Tour, an annual 300-mile bicycle ride to raise awareness of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. A 70-year-old British sailor has been rescued off the coast of Thailand after his yacht's engine failed in a storm and he spent three days adrift in the sea. Michael Turner, 70, set sail from the west coast of Phuket on Friday and intended to sail round the coast to Chalong Pier on the south east of the island. But his engine failed and the stormy winds were too strong for him to use his sails. He was spotted three days later by a passing trawler as he drifted further away from land and was towed 40 nautical miles back to shore. Mr Turner said: 'I was on the trip sailing alone but then my engine went down and it left me stuck in the middle of the sea. Michael Turner, 70, set sail from the west coast of Phuket on Friday and intended to sail round the coast to Chalong Pier on the south east of the island Michael Turner, 70, thanks the Thai navy officers that towed him back ashore after three nights Michael Turner, 70, set sail from the west coast of Phuket on Friday and intended to sail round the coast to Chalong Pier on the south east of the island 'Luckily there was a passing supply ship that contacted the navy. 'I'm now having the boat's engine fixed and will set out again when it's ready.' Michael said that he was stranded because he could not fix the engine and the wind was too strong for him to use the sails. He said he had enough food and water to last him six days. Coast guards began towing him back to dry land at around 11pm on Monday and he arrived safely back to Phuket on Tuesday morning at 9:30am. Vice Admiral Cherngchai Chomcherngpat, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command based in Phuket, said the offshore supply vessel had noticed the stranded yacht while sailing from Singapore to Malaysia. He said: 'The navy crew started towing the yacht back to Phuket, and reached shore at 9:30am. 'The wind was so strong that he could not use the sails to come back to the shore. 'Even though he had been at sea for three days, he still had enough food and drink to stay in the boat for three more days.' Thailand's National Marine Preservation Center praised those involved in the rescue. They said in a statement: 'Anyone who encounters a vessel in difficulty should immediately contact the emergency services and the navy will provide assistance.' Michael Turner's yacht being towed back to shore after three days adrift at sea Michael Turner, 70, on his yacht after it was towed back to shore in Thailand Representatives with Black Hive Ink and Arts announced today its founder Louie Guzman will be attending All American Tattoo Convention 2020. I am excited to represent Black Hive Ink & Arts at the tattoo convention, said Luis Guzman, owner and spokesperson for Black Hive Ink & Arts. According to The All American Tattoo Conventions website, The goal of the convention is to give some of the bravest heroes in the world the opportunity to be tattooed by some of the best tattoo artists in the industry. The convention will be held at The Crown Complex Expo Center in Fayetteville, NC, from Feb 28th through March 1st. Guzman, who will be representing Black Hive Ink & Arts at the tattoo convention, began to explore the world of tattooing at the age of 25. Guzman specializes in portraits and horror-themed tattoos. Guzman travels all over the East Coast, attending tattoo conventions. Some places include Charlotte, Rockingham, Concord, Greensboro, Lenoir, New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and more The Fayetteville, NC-based firm also provides free consultations to those who are considering a tattoo. Were pleased to be able to offer consultations at no charge, which helps potential and current customers and artists to meet, speak, and discuss ideas before booking, highlighted Guzman. This is to ensure that you are paired with the right artist for your new art piece, Guzman stressed. The company recently completed two years in business. It has been an honor serving our clients for two years, said Guzman. It seems like yesterday, and for us to see it blossom the way that it has for the past two years, were very excited about what the future holds. Black Hive Ink is Fayettevilles new premier tattoo studio. Its goal here is to offer the highest quality experience for each one of our customers. With over 30 years of experience combined, Guzman noted that they recognize the value of its clients and the responsibility that comes with creating beautiful art on their bodies. All our tattoo artists have traveled nationally and internationally to gain knowledge and experience from renowned artists, Guzman revealed, before adding, This has only served to enhance their skill set. The Black Hive experience starts with our customer service and continues to each custom art piece that is created. We want the overall experience to be unforgettable. Black Hive Ink & Arts serve clients in Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Durham, Southern Pines, Pinehurst in North Carolina. Guzman highlighted that Black Hive Ink & Arts now offers free consultations for potential customers and current customers and artists to meet, speak, and discuss ideas before booking. To receive a free consultation, fill out the form located here, and a representative will be in contact with you to schedule the consolation within the next 24-48 hours. For more information, please visit https://www.blackhiveink.com/blog About Black Hive Ink & Arts Black Hive Ink is Fayettevilles new premier tattoo studio. Its goal here is to offer the highest quality experience for each one of our customers. Contact Details: Luis Guzman 7960 Raeford Road Fayetteville, NC 28304 United States Phone: 910-226-2464 Source: Black Hive Ink & Arts ### Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday said Bharti Airtel has the financial capacity to withstand a payout of $5 billion in statutory dues New Delhi: Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday said Bharti Airtel has the financial capacity to withstand a payout of $5 billion in statutory dues. The Supreme Court earlier this month directed telecom firms to comply with its 24 October, 2019 judgment upholding the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) definition of adjusted gross revenues (AGR). Bharti recorded a Rs 35,300 crore ($5 billion) liability for past-due AGR fees associated with this litigation, but is still completing its self-assessment to determine the final amount, Moody's said. It said a Rs 35,300 crore cash payment will not cause a significant deterioration in the credit quality of Bharti Airtel while in the alternate scenario of a smaller cash payment of Rs 25,200 crore reflecting the principal and interest amount only, would position the company more comfortably within its current rating. Full payment is to be made by 17 March. "Recent capital-raising activities provide additional liquidity to fund the AGR payment," it said. The AGR payment is a cash obligation of the Indian operations. As on December 31, 2019, the firm had consolidated cash and short term investments of $4.2 billion, with around $2.3 billion held at the Indian operations. "Following recent capital-raising, we estimated (Bharti's) cash is over $5.0 billion, which can be used to fund the final AGR payment," it said. Moody's further said that fundamentals in the Indian telco industry are improving, but uncertainty around the sustainability of the improvement and future cash requirements (including 4G/5G spectrum auction) remains. Moody's said India accounts for around 75 percent of Bharti Airtel's debt and 60 percent of EBITDA. "Debt levels and cash costs are high for this segment and need to be serviced from India's own organic cash flow," it said. "Cash and EBITDA generated at less than wholly-owned subsidiaries is not directly available to service debt at India. As a result, a significant expansion of India's cash flow is required to achieve meaningful debt reduction on a consolidated basis," it added. Schools in the UK are taking drastic action to protect against Covid-19 as the illness continues to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic. Some have closed while others have sent pupils home for fear they may have been exposed to coronavirus during ski trips to northern Italy. It comes as travellers returning to the UK from northern Italy were told they may need to self-isolate as part of measures to stop the spread of illness. Today @CMO_England has updated advice for travellers returning to the UK from specific areas affected by #COVID19. Find out more on our blog: https://t.co/CMxwd7mFTb UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) February 25, 2020 Authorities in Italy reported on Tuesday night that the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or 45% in 24 hours, and deaths of patients with the virus rose to 11. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. The first positive test in South America has been recorded after 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy tested positive, it has been reported. (PA Graphics) Meanwhile, Public Health England announced that flu patients will now be assessed for coronavirus to see if it is spreading. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said official advice has been changed to say people who have been to anywhere in Italy north of Pisa should self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms on their return to the UK. On Tuesday, Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, and Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough announced they would be closed for the rest of the week. Both schools said that this was to allow for a deep clean after pupils and teachers had returned from ski trips in northern Italy. Trinity Catholic College said that a small number of staff and pupils had started showing mild flu-like symptoms following a ski trip. A Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police) officer checks transit to or from the cordoned area in Codogno, Italy (Antonio Calanni/AP) Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire also said they had closed because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school and St Christophers C of E High School in Accrington told parents it would be shut on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sandbach High School in Cheshire said students and staff who visited Aprica, in Italys Lombardy region, were to stay indoors and self-isolate. A third Cheshire school, Brine Leas School in Nantwich, said its sixth form was closed due to staff shortages following Government advice regarding travel to Italy. Students from Penair School in Truro, Cornwall, Salendine Nook High School in Huddersfield, Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby and Newquay Tretherras in Newquay, have also been advised to stay home after returning from ski trips. Britons who have been in locked-down regions of Italy including Lombardy and Veneto were told they should self-isolate at home for 14 days even if they have no symptoms. The Foreign Office later updated its travel advice, with a spokesman saying: We advise against all but essential travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto, which are currently in isolation due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus. UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) testing in the UK: As of 25 February 2020, a total of 6,795 people have been tested: 6,782 negative. 13 positive. All future figures will now include the four cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. https://t.co/CZh5JdyN2Q pic.twitter.com/fNX5HdHuQi Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 25, 2020 Any British nationals already in these towns should follow the advice of the local authorities. Britons were also among the 700 guests at hotel in Tenerife who were told to stay in their rooms after an Italian doctor there was diagnosed with coronavirus. The Italian doctor and his wife tested positive and were placed in isolation in hospital, the Canary Islands government confirmed. It said the couple had travelled with eight other Italians who were showing no symptoms. The Canary Islands government added that more than 100 tourists at the hotel who are believed to have not had any contact with the couple will be allowed to leave, but it is not known if they include any Britons. A Foreign Office spokesman said its staff was offering advice and support to British people at the hotel. The 108-room Grand Hotel Europa in the Alpine tourist hub of Innsbruck in Austria was sealed off after a receptionist was one of the first two cases of the virus in the country, Reuters reported. Health ministers from seven European nations have met in Rome to discuss a coordinated response. Airport staff check the temperatures of passengers returning from Milan at Debrecen airport, Hungary (Zsolt Czegledi/MTI/AP) The European Commission, which enforces the rule book for the open-border Schengen Area, encouraged countries to adopt measures based on scientific evidence and in coordination and not in a fragmented way, a spokeswoman said. Symptoms of Covid-19 include a cough, fever and shortness of breath. Englands chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said schools could be shut and public transport reduced if coronavirus became a global pandemic. He said: Theres no secret theres a variety of things you need to look at, you look at things like school closures, you look at things like reducing transport. Prof Whitty said families could also be asked to self-isolate if one of them had symptoms of the virus. (PA Graphics) As of February 25, a total of 6,795 people have been tested in the UK with 13 positive cases. The Department of Health also added Iran, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and parts of northern Italy to the list of places where travellers need to follow clinical advice. China has reported 78,064 cases and 2,715 deaths, while South Korea has the second highest number of cases with 1,261 and 11 deaths. Early on Wednesday the US military said one of its soldiers based in South Korea has also tested positive for Covid-19. The security of the Srinagar and the Jammu airports have been handed over to the CISF and all police personnel posted there have been called back with immediate effect, officials said on Wednesday. All police personnel of executive and armed wings posted at the Jammu and the Srinagar airports are transferred to their respective wings and parent departments immediately, a order issued by ADGP S J M Geelani said. The order stated that gazetted officers who were posted at the twin airports should report to the police headquarters. However, helipads at Sanjichat and Katra, used for ferrying pilgrims to the cave shrine of Vaishnodevi, would be guarded by police personnel only. For security reasons, 10 police personnel shall remain attached with the Jammu airport and 14 with the Srinagar airport, the order said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FAIRFIELD The land that once held the Stratfield Market is occupied and operating after more than a decade of vacancy. The Goddard School, a chain of more than 500 private preschools with franchisees in Wilton, Westport, Danbury, Monroe and Brookfield, opened its doors for the first day of school last week at the 1280 Stratfield Road location. Kim Sherman, the owner and operator of the Fairfield location, said the opening went off without a hitch. There are already more than 40 students enrolled, she said, including babies yet to be born. The private pre-school is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and serves children from 6 weeks to 6 years. She said the Goddard School provides a play-based learning experience in a nurturing environment. Tuition is based on what program and curriculum a child is placed in, according to Sherman. She said sending a child to the program full time for five days a week costs $1,920 per month. The Stratfield Martket closed in 2006 and since then, has had various developers attempting to build on the property. After its closure, the property was bought by Samuel Lotstein Realty, which planned to put a Walgreens there. The pharmacy plan sparked controversy, with residents successfully pushing for zoning laws to be changes that prevented the opening of chain stores in the neighborhood. The site changed hands several more times with no plan coming to fruition. Opening the new Goddard School in the Stratfield neighborhood was paved, in large part, by a zoning change in 2013 that allowed for an educational institution to operate there. At the time, Childs World Academy wanted to fill the space. The Planning and Zoning commission altered zoning for the space to allow for the business. That plan fell through because the developers at the time were unwilling to pay for remediation of asbestos and PCBs at the site. In early 2019, a Southport-based real estate manager called Summit Development bought the building for $1.45 million and signed a 15-year lease with Goddard. The Stratfield Village Association, a non-profit organization that advocates for the neighborhood, served as a community liaison to Summit. It also tried to ensure the project worked well with the Four Corners Project, a local initiative to improve the streetscape at the intersection of Fairfield Woods Road and Stratfield Road. Sherman said she opened the school because, as a former elementary school teacher, she saw a need for a high-quality early childhood education program in the area. A lot of our older students are coming from schools in town where the parents werent happy with the situation, Sherman said, adding that most students attending are from Fairfield with some coming from the surrounding towns. She said having many of the students be from the Stratfield area helps make it feel like a neighborhood school. While the school now occupies a long-abandoned building, SVA co-president Jamie McCusker said that a survey the organization conducted found that roughly 80 percent of residents still wanted a neighborhood market. Mark Barnhart, director of the Office of Community and Economic Development, said there is no longer a market for a small grocery store in the neighborhood. He said he is excited the space is finally filled. Sherman said she has gotten a positive reaction from the community so far although, she said, some people joke that she should have a refrigerator with eggs and milk put outside the school. The Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro was spotted on Geekbench last month with a Snapdragon 865 SoC. Now a company exec has confirmed that the K30 Pro will indeed have a Snapdragon 865 chipset. The K30 Pro will be unveiled next month with a notchless display and 5G support. Xiaomi hasn't officially revealed any other details of the K30 Pro yet, but it's rumored to pack a 4,700 mAh battery which will charge at 33W. For photography, the Redmi K30 Pro will sport a quad camera on the back, with a 64MP Sony IMX686 main unit. Source (in Chinese) | Via JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser The Gujarat government would provide an assistance of Rs 900 per month to farmers who switch to "cow-based organic farming", it said on Wednesday. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nitin Patel while presenting a Rs 2,17,287 crore budget for 2020-21. The government intends to cover around 50,000 farmers under the scheme, he said. "In recent times, demand for natural farm products has increased because of the damage caused by excessive use of insecticides and fertilizers. To encourage cow-based organic farming, we are launching this scheme with a budget outlay of Rs 50 crore," Patel said. "A farmer shifting to such farming methods will be given an assistance of Rs 900 per month, that is, Rs 10,800 per year to rear cows," the finance minister said. "To avail of the scheme, farmers will be required to use cow dung-based manure and Jivamrut (a liquid fertilizer made from cow urine). It will not only help in improving the fertility of soil, but also give us organic grains and vegetables. It would also give us a chance to serve cows," said Patel. He also announced 'Mukhya Mantri Crop Storage Scheme', aimed at preventing crop loss due to unseasonal or excessive rain, cyclones, pests and other such reasons. It provides for payment of Rs 30,000 to farmers for construction of storage facilities on farms. No 'Non- Agricultural' (NA) use clearance would be needed for constructing such warehouses. The budget makes a provision of Rs 300 crore for this scheme, Patel said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syrian 'girl laughing under bombs' welcomed to Turkey Video of father making the attacks seem a game went viral (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 26 - A video shot by her father, who made her believe that Syrian and Russian bombing in Idlib was simply a game in order to keep her from getting scared, went viral online and sparked emotion in many. Now Selva, the four-year-old girl, along with her parents have been welcomed as refugees to Turkey in the border province of Hatay. In speaking to Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu, the girl's father Abdullah Mohammed thanked the Turkish government and expressed the hope that the war in Syria would soon be over and that he could return soon. He also spoke out against the terrifying humanitarian crisis in Idlib, under daily attack. The UN has said that at least 900,000 people have been displaced towards the Turkish border since the beginning of December by Syrian and Russia bombing. (ANSAmed). People queue outside E-Mart in Suseong-gu, Daegu, Monday, to purchase face masks. / Korea Times photo by Park Seo-gang By Kim Jae-heun Offline stores are seeing an increase in sales after a surge in online shopping has overwhelmed online suppliers. The initial jump in online purchases was sparked by fears of the new coronavirus, leading shoppers to avoid large supermarkets. However, local e-commerce firms did not expect such a sudden and large-scale shift in people's shopping habits, leading to a number of problems. Many e-commerce companies have failed to deliver food on time, and have been forced to close their delivery reservation service due to a backlog of online orders. Out of necessity, consumers have been pushed to return to supermarkets to purchase their daily necessities. Accordingly, sales at Lotte Marts across the country increased by nearly 4 percent between Feb. 19 and 24, compared to sales from a year ago. Instant foods such as pre-cooked rice, packets of instant ramen and bottles of water are largely leading the increase, with sales soaring by 100 percent, 80 percent, and 30 percent respectively, a Lotte Mart official said. "In the early stages of the new coronavirus, people preferred shopping online. However, many felt betrayed by lagging services as customers were told their delivery would arrive in April or that they would never get it," a Lotte Mart official said. "However, we see this as a temporary phenomenon. When things settle down, people will go back to online shopping. Now, people are returning to offline stores because they are in desperate need of daily necessities that are out of stock online," a Lotte Mart official added. A UNIQUE online resource to aid children and teenagers in helping parents who have mental health issues is now available to young people locally. The With Project, of Wellness in the Home, has been developed under the guidance of people who share the experience of living in families where mental illness is part of everyday life. International figures suggest 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health difficulties are parents. Up to 20% of children and young people will have parents who struggle with their mental health either occasionally or on a daily basis. Read also: Limerick people advised not to travel to Italian regions affected by coronavirus The With project, which has been shortlisted for the HSE 2020 Health Service Excellence Awards, was first developed by Dr Sharyn Byrne, a senior clinical psychologist in Castlebar. She collaborated with the Mayo Child and Adolescent Healyh Services, Mindspace Mayo and Comhairle na nOg. At least 10-15% of children and young people will experience parental Mental Health at some point in their young lives, says Dr Byrne. All the research points to the protective nature of information for this cohort. It helps them to understand what it is theyre experiencing, how they are not causal and therefore prevents them from internalising the distress and affecting their developing self-concepts, she added. Dr Byrne found there were very few resources nationally, hence the idea to develop an online resource for children and young people who live with the daily (or occasional) impacts of parental Mental Health distress. The result is that we now have a much-needed young persons guide to parental mental health, Dr Byrne continues. And we have established this in conjunction with a group of young people who were enthusiastic about helping. As a clinician with Cahms for almost seven years, I work with children and young people on a daily basis that experience mental health distress, Dr Byrne added. Dr Byrne adds that, typically, young children use their parents and guardians as secure bases from which they can enter the world and return to if the world gets too challenging. The With project is an easily accessible, informational forum. More information at https://www.mindspacemayo.ie/WITH/index.html Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, talks to the Financial Magazine about the ministry's decision to fight African swine fever and avian influenza. Phung Duc Tien. Photo: VNN Whats the current status of the campaign of epidemic prevention activities in Vietnam? Avian influenza has been reported in five localities in the Vietnamese territory with 16 hotspots, 14 of which are infected with H5N6 and the other two H5N1. In Vietnam it is now time for avian influenza to break out in localities where people don't vaccinate their animals. However in big farms, thanks to the high vaccination rate, the poultry there have been well protected from the two types of influenzas H5N6 and H5N1. In short, Vietnam has been proactive in controlling avian influenza. What has Vietnam been doing to prevent the outbreak of avian influenza? The Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the National Steering Committee have issued many documents on how to prevent the outbreak of avian influenza. At the same time, inspections have been carried out frequently to ensure all localities strictly implement the Governments policies on avian influenza prevention. According to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from February-May 2019, almost 127,000 pigs were destroyed. Yet by December, more than 38,000 pigs were destroyed. And in January 2020, some 12,000 pigs were destroyed. It is projected that in February some 2,000 pigs are to be culled. If things go smoothly, we will be able to start multiplying the pig herds and hopefully by June, we will have some 4 million tonnes of pork to supply to the market. What should Vietnam do to increase agricultural produce output? Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has worked closely with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and border provinces to transport our agricultural products to China. It has been reported that in the last few days, each day, more than 100 vehicles loaded with farm products crossed the border to China at the northern Lao Cai border gate. In the course of fighting avian influenza, Vietnam has adopted quite a few measures to protect Vietnamese agriculture products. In his inspection visit to many provinces, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Duong has asked provincial authorities to restructure production of farm products and find ways to store them for future consumption. He also asked all provincial authorities to establish a link between supermarkets and outlet associations to help consume the farmers products. In the meantime, in February the MARD has a plan to send a delegation to the US and Dubai to discuss how to export Vietnamese agro-products there. And in March, the MARD will send a working mission to Brazil to discuss how to expand co-operation between the two countries. Meanwhile, the MARD and the Ministry of Transport will discuss with India the possibility of opening a direct flight between the two countries to help increase exports between both sides. How would you asses the quality of our veterinary activity? Since early the 21st century up to now, some 75 per cent of animal diseases have been transferred to human beings, including the current COVID-19. Thats why in the fight against COVID-19, we should also pay special attention to the animal veterinary activity, particularly Article 6 of the Veterinary Law, Instruction No 34 of the Party Secretariat, the Resolution 42 of the Government have emphasised the importance of animal veterinary activities in the animal breeding industry. Will you please talk a little bit about the use of vaccines against African swine fever in Vietnam? The vaccine against the African swine fever has now been in the process of developing. We hope in the near future the vaccine will be available. However, for the vaccine for poultry, we have been successful in manufacturing the vaccine for H5N1. Were confident that the vaccine will help secure the production of poultry in Vietnam against avian Influenza. - VNS Agriculture ministry requests boosting avian flu fight The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on February 3 sent an urgent notice to centrally-run cities and provinces, calling for drastic and concerted measures against avian flu epidemics. Rice University is warning its students and staff to be on the alert for coyotes after several recent sightings of the wild creatures around campus. On Sunday, the Rice University Police Department (RUPD) sent an email to the Rice community advising them of the problem: RUPD has received multiple reports of coyote sightings over the last couple of weeks at various locations around campus, including near the Kraft building, North Annex Lot, North College area, and Sewall Hall. GAME WARDEN NOTES: Houston duo with severed animal heads charged, and other interesting notes from Game Wardens A coyote was also captured on camera by Rice student Alyson Resnick, and shared by the campus newspaper, The Rice Thresher. RUPD also said that in most cases coyotes pose very little threat to people, and there have been no reports of any attacks or aggression on the part of the coyote. It did offer these safety tips for those who might encounter a coyote: Do not run away or turn your back to a coyote. It could trigger the coyotes instinct to give chase. Be especially aware when walking your dog or jogging around sunrise and sunset. Thats the time of the day when coyotes are most active. Keep dogs on short leashes while walking outside; wildlife authorities recommend a leash no longer than 6 feet. This tip is especially important between February and July because that is pupping season, a time of year when coyotes are more territorial. That doesnt change how coyotes act towards humans, but at this time of year a coyote is less likely to run from a loose dog and more likely to stand its ground. Never feed coyotes. Feeding coyotes endangers residents in your community because it lures mores coyotes into the neighborhood. Yell, clap your hands, blow a whistle and try to make yourself look larger if you have a close encounter with a coyote. Do not allow a coyote to get in between you or your pet or child. Keep children close to you. Whenever it is safe to do so, alert RUPD by calling 713-348-6000, or ext. 6000 from a campus phone if you see a coyote. A spokesman for Rice University said there have been no more coyote sightings since the notice was sent on Sunday. Danny Hermosillo is the Sr. Digital News Editor for Chron.com | Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @Dannyherm1| Email him at Danny.Hermosillo@chron.com Sorry! This content is not available in your region A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal is looking for the cause and point of origin of a blaze Tuesday evening that tore through part of a Plainfield Township strip mall, Slate Belt Regional police report. Fire crews were called at about 6 p.m. Tuesday to the mall in the 500 block of Moorestown Road/Route 512, and found heavy fire and smoke coming from the end of the mall, Plainfield Township Fire Chief Alex Cortezzo said. There were no reported injuries. Four fire departments responded. The fire gutted Three Brothers Pizza & Restaurant and Ts Facials and Salon, both at the end of the row, Slate Belt regional police Chief Jonathon Hoadley said. The pizza business had been there for many years, he said. Crystal Nails was also ruined, Hoadley said. The salon, which opened about a year ago, had shut for the day just before the fire, he said. There is water damage inside Nicks Tobacco Outlet, Cortezzo said. Connected businesses, including a laundromat, QC Laboratories and a Subway, did not appear damaged, but Cortezzo said officials were waiting for the utilities in the rest of the mall to be checked. A group with the state police fire marshals arrived a little before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and could be seen surveying the damage and talking to business owners. The state police fire marshal is assisting Slate Belt Regional police and the township fire company in investigating the blaze. Business owners were gathered in the parking lot, but declined to speak to a lehighvalleylive.com reporter. The lot grew busier into the morning, with customers at the beer distributor across the lot from the strip mall, as well as curious drivers pulling into the lot to see the damage and then turning around to leave. Loretta Santo owns the shopping center and was waiting with her husband Wednesday morning for the fire marshal to arrive. The couple called the fire devastating and a tragedy. They said they bragged last week about their nice tenants and how the mall is always occupied. The couple lives on the other side of Route 512, and their house can be seen from the parking lot. They had no idea about the blaze until someone knocked on their window Tuesday night and told them about flames up the street. The degree damage from a Plainfield Township strip fire on Feb. 25, 2020, is evident the next morning.Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com Firefighters from around the Slate Belt and into Monroe County responded not long after 6 p.m. to battle the blaze. Moorestown Road/Route 512 was shut for hours as was the ramp from Route 33 so a hose could be run from a hydrant on the far side. Photos and videos on social media showed high flames and smoke that was seen from blocks away. A fire marshal with the Pennsylvania State Police surveys the damage from the Feb. 25, 2020, blaze at a Plainfield Township strip mall.Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com Freelance photographer Mike Nester contributed to this report. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. WHITEFISH TWP, MI -- A 28-year-old man from Hart, Michigan died Tuesday afternoon after he crashed into a tree while driving a snowmobile on Trail 452 (Betsy River Road) near Wide Water Road in Whitefish Township, Chippewa County. Michigan State Police identified the driver as Zackary Snider. An investigation into the accident revealed Snider lost control of the snowmobile at some point, causing him to leave the trail and strike the tree. Troopers from the Sault Ste. Marie Post were called to the scene around 12:41 p.m. and were assisted by members of the Whitefish Fire and EMS and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Snider was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (February 26) made an appeal to people to maintain peace and brotherhood for restoring normalcy in the national capital. Breaking his silence over the violence in the national capital, the Prime Minister took to social media and said, "Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy." In another tweet, he said, "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy." Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has, however, demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation for failure to control the violence in Delhi. Addressing a press conference, she said, "The Centre and the Union Home Minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The Union Home Minister should resign." She also criticised the Delhi Police for remaining "paralysed in the last 72 hours" and added that "Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, "If Amit Shah and his police force can`t stop the riots then why is he not sending the Army? The Army should be sent immediately to Delhi and action should be taken against those who incited riots." CAA protests: At midnight hearing, Delhi HC directs safe passage of injured victims to hospitals India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 26: As the death toll in northeast Delhi communal violence over the amended citizenship law rose to 17 on Wednesday, in a midnight hearing, Delhi High Court had directed police to ensure safe passage and emergency treatment for those injured in the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act. "The court at this stage is primarily concerned with ensuring the safety of the lives of the injured and provide immediate medical attention... The court accordingly directs Delhi Police to ensure such safe passage by deploying all the resources at its command and on the strength of this order and to ensure that apart from the safe passage, the injured victims receive immediate emergency treatment, if not at the GTB Hospital, then at the LNJP hospital or Maulana azad or any other government hospital," the order reads. The hearing took place before Justices S. Muralidhar and Anup Jairam Bhambhani under the orders of senior most Judge GS Sistani of Delhi High Court on a plea seeking safe passage of injured victims of violence in the capital to medical institutions with adequate facilities. Death toll in Delhi violence rises to 17 NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 A status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and treatments offered to them has to be placed before the court when the matter would be taken up at 2:15 pm on Wednesday. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 9:45 [IST] Five people have died and thousands were forced from their homes after severe floods in Indonesia while an earthquake also rattled the country today. The muddy deluge inundated the presidential palace, a major hospital and entire neighbourhoods across Jakarta yesterday. The heavy rains came only weeks after 70 residents of the low-lying megacity died in some of Indonesia's worst flooding in recent memory. Separately, a 5.9-magnitude tremor shook the east of the country today and was felt as far away as the north of Australia. A young boy holds his belongings above the water as he wades chest-deep through a flooded street in Jakarta yesterday, where severe flooding killed five people Residents clean up flood damage by the side of a polluted river in Jakarta today, a day after 3ft floods in Indonesia's capital A map showing where the flooding and earthquake have struck Indonesia Two teenagers were among the five people drowned or electrocuted in hard-hit parts of the city, Indonesia's national disaster agency said. 'The joint rescue team is still searching' for three other possible victims, agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said. Nearly 20,000 people were staying in emergency shelters, he added. Floodwaters reached more three feet in some parts of the capital, with rescuers searching drenched districts in pontoon boats to locate vulnerable residents. Parts of the city had ground to a halt as thousands of buildings were swamped, sparking power outages and disrupting commuter trains. Jakarta, a sprawling city beleaguered by massive traffic jams and poor infrastructure, is prone to flooding during the annual wet season. Indonesian president Joko Widodo last year unveiled plans to relocate the capital to an as yet unbuilt city on Borneo island. Indonesia's weather agency linked the rains to tropical cyclones, but the agency head also said such extreme weather events were happening with greater intensity and more frequently. Cars and motorcycles are hindered by the high waters yesterday in the Puri Indah neighbourhood of Jakarta Jakarta residents ferry their children through the high waters after heavy rains triggered widespread flooding and a deluge of up to three feet Floodwaters were receding today but roads such as this one were muddy after the high waters on Tuesday Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan said more than 200 neighbourhoods had been hit. 'We are concentrating on mitigation. We have prepared all resources to be deployed,' he told reporters. Nana Setiawan, a 50-year old resident of East Jakarta, said his house has been hit by floods four times this year. 'I moved here three years ago, and as far as I know, normally the floods will only happen once a year or even once in five years,' he said. 'But this year it's already been four times and today is the worst.' The floodwaters were receding today. Today's earthquake was separate but caused a 5.9-magnitude tremor in eastern Indonesia, although there was no tsunami warning. The undersea quake struck at a depth of 38 miles, about 170 kilometres southwest of the city of Tual in the archipelago's Maluku province. Witnesses told monitoring service EMSC that they had seen doors and fish tanks shaking as far away as the Northern Territory of Australia. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing. High waters in Jakarta yesterday where nearly 20,000 people were staying in emergency shelters in the latest disaster to hit the country Russell Moore warns against downplaying 'awful' nature of Hell to non-believers Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore has stressed the horrific nature of Hell and cautioned Christians against downplaying the reality and severity of Hell to appear more loving to non-Christians. In a recent video posted on his website, Moore said Hell has been trivialized in todays culture or simply avoided altogether. He offered three reasons many professing believers refrain from thinking about or discussing the doctrine of Hell. Sometimes that's because they're embarrassed about seeming to be hellfire and brimstone to the people in their communities, as though somehow we were more compassionate than God, he suggested. For a lot of other people though, there's just a gravity of it all. We can think of people we know who don't know Christ, and there's a burden there when it comes to the doctrine of Hell, he continued. And then for other people, there can be legitimate questions. They can say, Why would somebody who's rebelling against God in this short little period of time ... then endure Hell forever and ever and ever and ever with no end in sight? However, throughout His earthly life and ministry, Jesus repeatedly talked about Hell and used a variety of different forms of imagery to describe the awfulness of Hell and judgment, Moore stressed. Deep within their heart, every human understands the necessity of justice and judgment, he said, adding, We have a longing for love and we have a longing for justice. And that's present in everyone. That's why sometimes it's hard for people to forgive. The first thing to understand about Hell is that sin is more serious than we think it is, Moore stressed. A sin is not just about the consequences of the way that we relate to one another. Sin is a violation of the holiness of God, he said. And we don't understand that. Of course we don't because we're finite. But also because we're sinners. We're implicated in this cosmic rebellion against God, but also because of the nature of the punishment itself. Those condemned to Hell will be completely cut off from God and handed over to who they truly are, apart from His grace, Moore posited. We can't imagine that because we live in a universe where God's grace is hemming us all around, he said. That common grace that is all around us, that is removed. And so we're in a situation where the judgment of God comes at us full strength. Instead of shying away from the topic of Hell or substituting human wisdom for biblical truth, Moore stressed the need for Christians to persuade people to be reconciled to God, citing 2nd Corinthians 5 and 6. It ought to cause us to see our own complicity as sinners, which ought to cause us to see the goodness and the magnificence of grace, he explained. Through the death of His son, God provided a way to escape Hell and remain with Him in perfect communion forever, Moore said. The doctrine of Hell is a true doctrine, he concluded. God has warned us of this and we need to be the people who understand Hell is awful. Hell is unending, Hell is completely avoidable. Hell is one of the most controversial doctrines within Christianity. A 2016 survey from LifeWay Research found that only 4 in 10 Americans believe Hell is where God sends all people who do not accept Christ as their Savior. In contrast, 6 in 10 Americans believe all people are reunited with loved ones in Heaven. In an op-ed for The Gospel Coalition, pastor and author Joe Carter argues that one cannot believe in the Jesus of the Gospels and not believe in Hell. Jesus doesnt give us that option, he writes. You can also not love your neighbor and be apathetic about their spending eternity in Hell. Jesus doesnt give us that option either. If we believe Jesus and love our neighbor we will bring the doctrine of Hell back into our churches. Pastor and author J.D. Greear notes that while people often feel that Hell is some great blemish on Gods love, Hell actually shows us the extent of Gods love in saving us. Why did Jesus speak about Hell more than anyone else in the Bible? Because He wanted us to see what He was going to endure on the cross on our behalf, Greear said. Hell magnifies for us the love of God by showing us how far God went, and how much He went through, to save us. In an average week, Zoe Clisham estimates Elis Mile High Club, the Oakland bar she manages, sells a staggering 40 cases of Montucky Cold Snacks. Those arent actual snacks, mind you at least, not the kind you can eat but 4% light lagers, a craft competitor to macro-brewed beers like Bud Light and PBR, sold by a brewery of the same name in Bozeman, Montana. And since Elis switched from its house mass-produced domestic beer a few months ago to Montucky, theyve been regularly selling out. During warmer weeks, theyll sell up to 60 cases. Cold Snacks is the most popular beer youve never heard of. Thats not by design, necessarily, though the beer was originally exclusively sold in Montana to bars and ski resorts, and even to a few brewery taprooms. Since then, Montucky has moved into new territories including California. Six months ago, sales rep Bill Cleveland who identifies round these parts as Montucky Bill arrived in Oakland to spread the Snack Gospel. Hes hard to miss. Long brown hair flows from under his cowboy hat. He has a short beard and browline glasses decorated with a pastel floral print, and he wears a technicolor button-up and two Polynesian fish hook necklaces, neither of which obscure his chest tattoos. I have the old elevator pitch, he says. Were the rootinest, tootinest, straightforward American lager this side of the Mississippi, but we're getting on the East too. No corn or rice grain filler; it keeps the hangover quotient nice and low, great in the sun and in the snow. Like most of the Bay Area, the manager of Eli's hadnt heard of Montucky Cold Snacks before Cleveland arrived in town. But he made such an impression she decided to rotate the beer into Elis popular $5 Working Person special, which includes a house domestic beer and a shot of whiskey. We were trying to get away from really huge brands big industruous AB InBev companies that mass produce inexpensive beer and go towards smaller sources for our products, she says. The initial reception was people were a little squirrely; people are a little afraid of change. But [now] people like the beer itself. Its really light and clean, and its significantly better than other cheap beers Ive had. Elis is now Montuckys best client nationally, but its hardly the only place in town where the beer is sold. Some of Oaklands most popular bars The Good Hop, Beer Revolution, Tigers Taproom, the Avenue, Stork Club, even The Rare Barrel in Berkeley carry and sell out of the beer regularly. We are a comically small operation, Cleveland says of Montuckys employees, [But] last numbers I had, I think the only thing [outpacing] our growth is White Claw [hard seltzer], and that's on its own astronomical trajectory. There's not a beer outgrowing us. RELATED: Tiny Santa Cruz-area brewery voted 9th best in the world The plan wasnt always to only make just one beer, as Montucky co-founder Jeremy Gregory explains. Gregory had been a firefighter for close to 10 years, and decided to leave the profession to start a traditional brewery with a new friend, Chad Zeitner, who had a similar goal. But banks in 2011 in Montana werent as keen on financing the idea, believing the local craft beer scene had already reached capacity. They literally laughed in our face, Gregory recalls, adding that while he was off fighting fires, a meeting that had gone sour had a banker liken the proposal to Zeitner as Bill and Teds excellent beer adventure. Ill always remember that, Gregory says. So Gregory and Zeitner reformulated their plan, deciding to focus on making just this one beer. And doing it really well. Being a ski bum at heart and always having an idea of light lager its built in as a subset, Gregory says. College kids drink lagers and PBR on the hill, ski bums drink light lagers. It would be fun to run with. We could run with the marketing, and we could give portions of proceeds back to the state and nonprofits. That, it turned out, was the winning plan. It eventually prompted Zeitner and Gregory to pursue distribution in neighboring states. From then on its been a conversation around slowing down, he says. Expanding is so capital-intensive. Weve been on the market for seven-and-a-half years and were in 15 states, but on the same measure, its a lot to tackle on shoestring funding. The money conversation is made tougher by that promise to give back a fairly substantial portion of their profits. Montucky Cold Snacks donates 8% of each beers proceeds to carefully selected charities in whatever market its sold in. In Oakland and around Northern California, theyve worked with City Slicker Farms in Oakland, the Sacramento SPCA and the Transgender Gender-variant and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP). I'm completely new to the Bay never set foot here until almost six months ago, Cleveland says. And so learning about all these charities... It's a task, but it's enjoyable to just become part of the community. You can't fake the funk on a nasty dunk. That philanthropy pledge was a big selling point for Elis. [Cleveland] told us about the charity work that they were doing, the 8% proceeds [donated], Clisham says. When we first launched Montucky, $1 of every beer sale went to a charity of our choosing. We did TGIJP, and then Causa Justa. We were making so much money we spread it around. Ask Montucky Bill, and hell attribute the early success of the beer in the Bay Area to the design of the can a sky blue and cobalt-striped can with the shape of a white horse in front of a colorful outline of mountains and to the fact that the popularity of light lager on the whole just hasnt wavered. Domestic beers not going to go away, Cleveland says, but it's been ages since somebody really took the realm on. Its a simple product, but Cleveland and Gregory hope drinkers consider it as more of a lifestyle product than just a beer. Its fun, almost irreverent, Gregory says of the companys branding. It resonates with a lot of people. Its great to have an alternative [to macro beer] thats exciting, intriguing. Obviously its new; its an independent company coming out of left field. Its the little guy story, the David versus Goliath. Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira Bahrain Economic Development Boards Senior Advisor Investment Promotion Dr Simon Galpin, today, delivered a presentation at a business networking luncheon, which was hosted by The American Chamber of Commerce - Bahrain (AmCham Bahrain) and Al Tamimi & Company. The business networking luncheon focused on the Bahrain Economic Development Boards approach to foreign direct investment and the transition to a digital economy, AmCham Bahrain said in a statement. In his interaction with AmCham members and guests, Dr Galpin answered question on how the Bahrain EDB is focusing on specifics sectors, like education and health care, attracting SMEs and startups, and future policy initiatives, it added. The event was held at Jumeirah Royal Bahrain Saray. TradeArabia News Service NEW HAVEN Two stun gun charges pending against New Haven resident Jose Morales were transferred Wednesday to Milford Superior Court where Morales already is facing murder charges. Superior Court Judge Melanie Cradle ordered the transfer to consolidate the criminal cases against Morales, 43, who is charged with murdering Christine Holloway and tampering with evidence in connection with that crime. Assistant States Attorney Melissa Holmes asked the judge for the transfer so all of the charges could be dealt with at the same time. Cradle ordered Morales to appear March 5 before Superior Court Judge Peter Brown in the Milford courthouse. Kevin Smith, who with attorney Norm Pattis represent Morales, said he is hoping to see some of the evidence the prosecution has accumulated against his client in the murder case. Weve sent them a two terabyte hard drive so they can fill it with discovery, Smith said Wednesday. Once we get it, were going to have to ask for a lengthy continuance so we can digest it. Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Howard Stein had said the evidence against Morales is voluminous. Police claim they have found Holloways DNA in tissue-like material found in the back heel of Morales left sneaker and his DNA in loose hairs found in Holloways hands. Holloway was beaten to death in her Ansonia home, where her body was found Dec. 2, 2019. Their 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa, remains missing. Smith said he is more interested in DNA found in the interior collar of a black T-shirt recovered from a clothes donation bin after Holloways murder. DNA from an unknown third individual was found on the collar along with that from Holloway and Morales. Morales has been detained on bond since his arrest Dec. 3, 2019, on two charges of being a convicted felon in possession of stun guns. The guns were found in Morales First Avenue bedroom on Dec. 3. At the time, police were searching Morales home for evidence that might link him to Holloways murder and the missing infant. Morales has a prior criminal record dating back to 1993 which includes sale of narcotics, violation of protective orders, carrying a pistol without a permit and domestic violence. The murder charges were added on Feb. 6 and resulted in his bond being raised to $5 million. Holloways badly beaten body was found after police were forced to break into the home after Holloways employee and members of her family had repeatedly told them they were unable to get in contact with her after she missed work. Nobody apparently has seen Vanessa Morales since before her mothers body was discovered. She was last seen in the company of her parents on Nov. 29. During one of several interviews with investigators, Morales told police he was coming down from a high after using PCP, a mind-altering drug also known as Angel Dust, when he saw three men rushing toward the front door of Holloways home. He said was knocked out after calling 911. With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran. Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported 15 deaths out of nearly 100 infections -- making it one of the hardest hit countries outside the virus epicentre China. But experts fear the measures could prove ineffective with thousands of people -- refugees fleeing violence, Shiite pilgrims, smugglers and migrants looking for work -- likely crossing the long, poorly patrolled frontiers every day. The virus has spread to more than 25 countries, killing over 2,700 and infecting 80,000, mostly in China. But new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia have fanned fears of the contagion taking hold in poor nations which lack the healthcare infrastructure to cope. Afghanistan announced Monday its first virus infection involving a patient who had recently been in Iran where millions of Afghans live. Afghan television and radio broadcasts have begun advising people on how to prevent transmission of the virus, while residents have rushed to buy face masks -- straining supplies and sparking a tenfold increase in the cost of a single mask at some pharmacies in the capital Kabul. "We are worried, we don't have a proper functioning health system and the borders are open. All we can do is take some preventive measures and pray to God to help us," said Ihsanul Haq, a government employee. Afghanistan's healthcare system is in tatters after more than four decades of war, with the few available hospitals focused mainly on basic care and trauma. They lack the expertise to deal with infectious diseases. "It could be a disaster if the virus really spreads all over the country. There aren't that many health centres," said Wali, a Kabul-based physician, who specialises in viral infectious diseases. "The government is doing what they can to contain the spread of the virus. But it is very difficult." Adding to the challenge of limiting the spread of the virus is the Afghan tradition of greeting family and friends with handshakes, hugs and kisses. A largely illiterate population also makes it difficult to educate people about ways to stop the transmission. "People are illiterate, you can't get the message through to them," Across the border in Pakistan there are growing fears over how the country would deal with a potential outbreak. Islamabad has a history of failing to contain infectious diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and hepatitis. Adding to the challenge, hundreds of thousands of quack doctors are thought to be working across the country and scandals involving the use of dirty needles in healthcare settings have eroded public trust in the system. "If such a contagious illness were to enter the country, one can only imagine the toll it would take on the already overburdened and under-resourced healthcare system," read an editorial in the English daily Dawn. Indeed, some Pakistani students trapped in the Chinese city of Wuhan -- where the virus was first detected in December -- told AFP recently they were nervous about returning to their country if authorities were to evacuate them. "We are worried about how the authorities are going to treat us when we go back to Pakistan -- some students who went back told us the officials treated them very badly," Ruqia Shaikh said. While Pakistan has closed land borders with Iran, it has maintained air travel to and from China -- increasingly a source of trade and commerce for the country. "There is a limited concept of prevention unfortunately. I fear it's not well prepared at all for any health emergency," Pakistani public health expert Arshad Altaf told AFP. Pakistan this week moved quickly to quarantine at least 270 people near the Iranian border after a group of pilgrims returned and briefly mixed with other residents. That came hours after Pakistan sealed off its frontier with Iran in southwestern Balochistan province, which remains vulnerable to a public health emergency. Decades of fighting a separatist insurgency and militant violence, along with neglect from the central government, have left the impoverished area with little infrastructure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A Mid Ulster man working in Vietnam has urged local holidaymakers to be vigilant when booking trips online after being sold a room in a non-existent hotel. John Devlin, a former pupil of Rainey Endowed School in Magherafelt, lost hundreds of pounds after booking what he thought was a 12-night stay at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City through internet travel service Opodo. But when the 68 year-old turned up at the address, he was shocked to find the premises completely closed up. Speaking to the County Derry Post, the Moortown man said: I landed to the hotel and the building was shuttered. "It was the right street and number but there was no hotel. There was a business in the basement - maybe a car park or a garage - and a man came up. He assured us there was no hotel there. "A small crowd gathered and there were discussions, but no light was shed. After about 10-15 minutes, I gave up and told the taxi man to go. There was another hotel further down, so I went there and booked in for a night. The process for booking the room had initially been seamless and John, who is a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) tutor in Vietnam, described it as being extremely efficient. He said: The booking process was smooth. Companies never have a problem taking money. "I booked my flights here with Opodo and ended up booking the hotel too. Although John encountered difficulty informing the hotel he would be a day later than planned, the major issues began when he tried to recoup his money. He said: It has been a nightmare. "I emailed Opodo to whatever address I could find. Some got no reply, some were non-existent and some answered without saying anything to address the problem. I engaged with an online bot on their Facebook page, but it wasn't programmed to answer queries like mine. There were telephone calls. I talked to people who would tell me I had the wrong number and give me another number or tell me to call expedia.com, booking.com or hotels.com. I was also talking to the bank at this point and they sent me a form to fill in. I did this and its now in their hands. "It was at this time I saw that it was expedia.com who had taken the money. Opodos website states: Opodo is the first truly Pan-European travel service created to address the needs of today's traveller. It says the company, registered in England and Wales, offer access to over 660 airlines, over 1,700,000 hotels and over 200 countries and territories. A spokesperson for Opodo said: "We have looked into this particular case and our investigation has shown that one of our hotel providers mistakenly listed this hotel in their inventory. "We have since liaised with our hotel provider and this property has been removed, and we have contacted the customer to process a refund of his flights as a gesture of goodwill. We recognise the inconvenience this caused and that on this occasion we havent met our own expected high levels of customer service. John is urging anyone considering booking holidays through an online agent to think twice. He said: These guys are not to be trusted. They committed fraud. The four companies mentioned above are all interlinked. Its better to book hotels and airlines directly. "Other options seem cheap, but you can be caught and it would seem there is no way to claim off them. Panaji: The Congress on Wednesday (February 26, 2020) announced that it would contest around 40 out of the total 50 seats in the upcoming Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections and support "anti-BJP faces" in the remaining places. Goa Pradesh Congress Committee chief Girish Chodankar gave the information and said, "The Congress will contest around 40 seats, while in rest 10 seats, it would support anti-BJP faces. The party would not contest in those ZP constituencies, where it does not have strong candidates.'' When asked whether the Congress would tie up with the Goa Forward Party (GFP), with which it has an understanding in the Legislative Assembly, Chodankar replied in the negative. "The united opposition in the assembly is a different case. It is a part of floor coordination, as it is done even in Parliament. But as far as ZP election is concerned, we will not have alliance with them," he said. Chodankar, however, said that the party might align with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), after consulting the Congress block presidents from the constituencies where it (MGP) has a presence. "As far as we are concerned, the target is to defeat BJP in the ZP elections," he said. The elections would be held on March 22 and votes will be counted the next day. The BJP is yet to announce the number of seats it would fight. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to Speak at UW College of Laws Centennial Celebration United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch will visit the University of Wyoming College of Law and campus Sept. 16-17 in honor of the College of Laws 100th anniversary. (U.S. Supreme Court Photo) United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch will visit the University of Wyoming College of Law and campus Sept. 16-17 in honor of the College of Laws 100th anniversary. Gorsuch will make two public appearances where the public can attend. Gorsuch will appear in an afternoon event centered on Access to Justice and the release of his recent book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, Thursday, Sept. 17. Gorsuch will answer questions in a fireside chat format, including selected questions submitted by UW College of Law students. Organizers of the event plan to reserve about 350 seats in the 685-seat Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall for the UW law school and members of the Wyoming judiciary. Limited tickets will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in July. Tickets will be $10 for UW employees and students, and $25 for the public. Gorsuch also will speak at the UW College of Laws Centennial Celebration Gala that same evening at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. The Supreme Court justice will once again answer questions in a fireside chat format, and the evening will include appearances from former Wyoming U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson and retired Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Marilyn S. Kite. Tickets for the gala dinner celebration will be available beginning in April and will be $175 each. Signed copies of the justices new book can be purchased before Sept. 17 at the University Store and also will be available for an on-site purchase at each event. Advance purchase is encouraged. More details on events and tickets will be made available at a later date. For more information, call Christine Reed, UW College of Law communications director, at (307) 766-6562 or email christine.reed@uwyo.edu. About Neil Gorsuch Neil M. Gorsuch, associate justice, was born in Denver, Colo., Aug. 29, 1967. He and his wife, Louise, have two daughters. He received a B.A. degree from Columbia University, a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a D.Phil. from Oxford University. He served as a law clerk to Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and as a law clerk to Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States. From 1995-2005, he was in private practice and, from 2005-06, he was principal deputy associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice. He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in 2006. Gorsuch served on the Standing Committee on Rules for Practice and Procedure of the U.S. Judicial Conference, and as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Appellate Procedure. He taught at the University of Colorado Law School. President Donald J. Trump nominated him as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and he took his seat April 10, 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:28:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Los Angeles City Council has approved a permit that allows U.S. private space company SpaceX to use a site at the Port of Los Angeles to build its Mars aerospace parts, local media reported Wednesday. With the vote, SpaceX is now cleared to start work at the site. SpaceX representatives told Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino's office that the company was interested in the port site because it needed additional manufacturing capacity for its Starship spaceship and rocket booster, according to Los Angeles Times. The site will be used for engineering, manufacturing and research and development work on Starship, Buscaino was quoted as saying. In 2018, the company said it would build its Mars rocket and spaceship at the port and got approval from the Board of Harbor Commissioners and the Los Angeles City Council to lease that same swath of land on Terminal Island of the port. A year later, SpaceX changed its mind and moved the work to Texas, citing a need to "streamline operations." Currently the company is building prototypes of the Starship system at its facility near Boca Chica Beach in south Texas, and has refreshed its plans to build giant rocket parts in a California port. The initial permit covers about 12.4 acres (0.05 sq km) at the former Southwest Marine site at Terminal Island, with an option to increase to 19 acres, according to Los Angeles Times. SpaceX has said it will refurbish some of the buildings there and may also add a temporary tent-like structure. On April 10, 1996, Bottom of the Hill accidentally became a mob scene. Radio station Alt 105.3 (then known as Live 105) had spoiled the venues big surprise show that night: unknown band Quasar was actually the mega-popular Beastie Boys. What was supposed to be a small, word-of-mouth secret snowballed until more than 1,200 fans had lined up outside of the venue with a capacity of 246 people. It was really crazy and the police came, and it didn't look good for us, recalled Kathleen Owen, one of the Potrero Hill concert venues owners. But for the people that were inside who came to see the show, it was pretty amazing and exciting. Bottom of the Hill, which opened in 1991, has its fair share of crazy stories like these from the past few decades. In 1998, Green Days drummer shattered the window behind the stage during the filming of MTVs The Ten Spot. A glassblower transformed the broken window into a stained glass work of art, only for it to get shattered again by another punk band years later. In the beginning, Bottom of the Hill was a restaurant that served breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a little music on the side. But soon, the venues music reputation eclipsed its food. We started chipping away at food service and got rid of breakfast as things in the neighborhood changed, said Owen. People also didnt want to go out to dinner and listen to soundcheck for a band. Thanks to the booking expertise of co-owner Ramona Downey, the venue built a formidable reputation for itself among indie bands. Many now-famous bands played BOTH when they were still relatively unknown, including Arcade Fire, Bad Religion, Death Cab for Cutie, Marilyn Manson, The Donnas, Elliot Smith, Alanis Morissette, the White Stripes and the Strokes. Today, youll still find a lot of indie rock bands playing at BOTH, from Best Coast to Surfer Blood this week alone, an impressive lineup including up-and-coming acts Rosie Tucker and Destroy Boys are playing shows at the venue for Noise Pop Festival. But Owen claims that the internet has made a huge difference in which bands they book and how fast they grow. Now, instead of gradually spreading in popularity by word of mouth, a musician can get huge on YouTube or Soundcloud and sell out the venue their first time playing there. And everybody already knows the words to all their songs. But no matter the talent, BOTH cant deny that location-wise, its definitely off the beaten path. When we opened, everybody thought that we were so far away and that nobody was going to come all the way out here, because all the nightlife was at 11th and Folsom, in SoMa or the Mission, said Owen. But the bands loved playing here. We just got a really good reputation. It turns out that San Franciscans will make the trek all the way down to Potrero Hill if the music is good enough. Plus, people in the neighborhood felt grateful to have some life brought to their streets. People say that they like that theres activity at night, said Owen. If we werent open, itd be a dead zone. Its completely different from day to night here: During the day, it's super crazy because of Mission Bay and everything being built, but at night its dark and quiet and creepy sometimes. Of course, the neighborhood is changing. While Potrero Hill was once a working-class residential neighborhood in the 1990s, its now drawing white-collar professionals who work in nearby Mission Bays biotech hub. Tons of new market-rate housing is being built to accommodate them. Naturally, the influx of new neighbors could spell trouble for a noisy rock venue especially with the empty lot behind BOTH recently transforming into condos. Now that theyre there, I think well probably get more noise complaints, speculated Owen. Were close to 280 and the train station, and all the Mission Bay employees want to live in our neighborhood. But they dont want to listen to the music. One change Owen has already noticed in Potrero Hill is the parking situation. Weve always had parking. Thats been a plus because were so far out there, away from BART BART doesnt run after midnight to the East Bay, said Owen. But because there have been 3,000 new units built around us, they dont all have parking. These newcomers, as well as people heading to the new Chase Center, snatch up valuable parking spots from the venues customers, employees and even bands with big vans and trailers to unload. According to Owen, one band BOTH booked recently didnt apply for a bus permit from the city and took their chances on finding a parking spot. They received three parking tickets and were almost towed, which wouldve been a disaster costing thousands of dollars, as well as keeping them from making it to the next show on their tour. While some might suggest that all the new neighbors would be good for business, Owen disagrees. Were just a destination place. Nobodys walking down the street, saying, Hey, lets go here! she explained. Owen has also noticed an increase in car break-ins, inescapable in SF even in their mostly residential, upper-middle-class neighborhood. The whole city got so much bigger really fast, said Owen. Were one of the last neighborhoods. The city needs housing I understand that but I wish it wasn't on my block. With the transformation of Potrero Hill, BOTH definitely has some new challenges to contend with. But in its nearly three decades, the venue has survived worse. In 2003, a fire broke out that caused significant damage. In 2009, a crackdown on all-ages venues in SF by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control nearly shuttered the club. BOTHs loyal community helped it bounce back in 2009, neighbors sent in letters of support, stating that "the venue was an integral part of the neighborhood," with parents sharing support for its role in keeping their kids off the streets. The venue has made small changes over the years to accommodate a changing San Francisco earlier concerts, promoting shows on social media but the fact that they own the building means that even rising rents in the area cant push them out. This probably comes as a relief to the venues many longtime, diehard fans. BOTH has been around so long that theyre even starting to get second generation Bottom of the Hillers bands that played in the 90s now see their kids perform in the same room. Times gone by really fast, so I dont even really remember the last 20 years, laughed Owen. It seemed like there was the first two years, and then everything came up really fast. Bottom of the Hill (1233 17th St., San Francisco) is hosting several shows this week for Noise Pop Festival: Rosie Tucker on Wednesday, Feb. 26; Mirah and Pom Pom Squad on Thursday, Feb. 27; Califone on Friday, Feb. 28; Habibi on Saturday, Feb. 29; and Destroy Boys on Sunday, March 1. Madeline Wells is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22 English Lithuanian We hereby inform you that on the initiative and by the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta, legal entity code 110648893, registered address at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter - the Company), an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company was convened on 26 February 2020 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the registered office of the Company at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda. Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, held on 26 February 2020, adopted the following resolutions: Adopted decisions: Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to pledge current and future amounts receivable (the LNG terminal security component) by a subsequent pledge to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania for the state guarantee issued by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 1. To pledge these current and future amounts receivable (the Security Component) by a subsequent pledge to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania for the period until 31 December 2044 in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years. Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to mortgage the Subacius oil terminal by a subsequent mortgage for obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta according to the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 2. To mortgage the Subacius oil terminal at Kunciai village, Subacius local area, Kupiskis district municipality as a property complex to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania by a subsequent mortgage for the period until 31 December 2044, in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty- five) years. Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to mortgage the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit by a senior conditional mortgage for obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta according to the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 3. To mortgage the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit as a property complex whose ownership rights will be acquired by AB Klaipedos nafta to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania by a senior conditional mortgage for the period until 31 December 2044, in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years. Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to make an agreement for granting of a loan with the Nordic Investment Bank (hereinafter NIB), borrowing from the NIB up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years: 4.1. To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: To make an agreement for granting of a loan with the Nordic Investment Bank (hereinafter - NIB) on behalf of AB Klaipedos nafta, borrowing from the NIB up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years (hereinafter - the Loan for Stage II) with the purpose to acquire the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit, and to approve the following main commercial terms of the agreement: 6 MEURIBOR + 50 bp (margin) or fixed interest; administrative fee of 10 bp; commitment fee of 7 bp; loan availability period until 31-12-2024; the loan is backed by a state guarantee. 4.2. To authorise (with the power to redelegate the authority) the General Manager of AB Klaipedos nafta to sign the agreement with the NIB according to the terms indicated in paragraph 4.1 of this decision and to decide on the conditions of the borrowing, which will be provided in the payment offers of NIB, including but not limited to: 4.2.1. to decide to borrow at fixed or variable interest; 4.2.2. to decide on the amount of credit requested to be disbursed. 4.3. To determine that the Loan for Stage II provided for in paragraph 4 can be taken and used after (i) the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania issues a permission to AB Klaipedos nafta to assume new obligations, as provided for in paragraph 13(7) of Article 3 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Debt and (ii) signature and coming into force of the state guarantee as a security for the Loan for Stage II. Jonas Lenksas, Chief Financial Officer, tel.: +370 694 80594 Sen. Bernie Sanders was unequivocal during the Democratic debate Tuesday. "I have opposed authoritarianism all over the world," the senator from Vermont and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said. ". . . Authoritarianism of any stripe is bad. But that is different than saying that governments occasionally do things that are good." Amid increased criticism from the 2020 field over his past praise of elements of authoritarian regimes in Latin America and Asia, Sanders has sought to clarify his remarks. But a Washington Post review of more than 10 hours of Sanders appearances over the past three decades reveals how Sanders has been quick to downplay abuses of authoritarian regimes, instead focusing on aspects and programs he admired. During his two presidential bids, Sanders has at times appeared to contradict or try to explain away his earlier views on authoritarian regimes. In 1985, Sanders praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for his education and health-care programs. In 1986, he recalled being "very excited" by Castro's revolution. And after returning from a trip to Cuba in 1989, the Rutland Daily Herald paraphrased Sanders as calling Cuba a "model of what a society could be" for Latin America. At the time, Castro's human rights abuses had been documented in media reports and by Congress. Asked during the 2016 presidential campaign about his past praise of Castro, Sanders said he was criticizing the United States for trying to invade Cuba. Weeks after the 2016 election, Sanders said he does not "praise" Castro. And asked again about his previous comments Sunday, Sanders told "60 Minutes" that "it's unfair to simply say everything is bad." Returning from a trip to Nicaragua in 1985, Sanders downplayed reports of abuses by the Sandinista-led government, instead lauding the country's democratic rights, civil liberties and food lines. In April 1988, Sanders discussed the government's media censorship by pointing to previous U.S. crackdowns on press freedoms during the Civil War and first and second world wars. "In American history, the opposition press talking about how you could kill your own people and overthrow your own government was never allowed, never allowed to exist," Sanders said at the time. "But suddenly in Nicaragua, a country being faced with war - a war by the most powerful nation on Earth - suddenly they are terrible people because they're not allowing the media there to explain to the people how they can - their own people can be killed." After dodging a question in 2016 about his past praise of the Sandinista party, Sanders on Friday called Nicaragua an authoritarian society where things are not well. Returning from a trip to the Soviet Union in 1988, where Sanders praised its investment in culture and mass transit, among other things, he told reporters he did not see "much deprivation" among Soviet citizens, despite reports of just that at the time. Something he said as recently as February 2019 has even required a bit of a walk-back. Sanders then refused to call Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a dictator, instead emphasizing the "democratic operations taking place in that country." Sanders reversed himself less than a year later, calling Maduro a dictator and a tyrant. Much of Sanders' past praise for socialist authoritarian regimes was rooted in his criticism of U.S. foreign policy, but as The Post's Aaron Blake noted this week, Sanders often went "further than just saying the United States should stay out" of those countries and has struck a different balance than other U.S. politicians who have praised some elements of countries such as Cuba. Responding to attacks over his past comments during Tuesday's debate, Sanders said none of his proposals constituted "radical communist" ideas like what his opponents have suggested. "The American people support my agenda," Sanders said. "That is why I am beating Trump in virtually every poll that is done and why I will defeat him." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:47:14|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close The last cured COVID-19 patient (2nd R, front) in Vietnam and his family present flowers to a doctor in Vietnam's northern province of Vinh Phuc, Feb. 26, 2020. Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced that all the 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country had been cured and discharged from hospitals. (Xinhua/VNA) HANOI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced that all the 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country had been cured and discharged from hospitals. The last patient discharged from hospital on Wednesday, also the last case confirmed in the country so far, is a 50-year-old resident of the northern Vinh Phuc province, which had the biggest cluster in the country with a total of 11 cases. The case was reported on Feb. 13 after his wife and two daughters, one of whom had been to central China's Wuhan, were confirmed to be infected with the virus. Vietnam has reported no confirmed case after Feb. 13, while Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a directive to strengthen measures against the COVID-19 outbreak amid new concerning developments across the world. According to the document, Vietnam will deny entry to people from or transiting through the epidemic-hit regions of South Korea. Those on official missions will have to submit the health declaration forms and be obliged to 14-day quarantine upon their arrival in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnamese citizens are told not to visit the epidemic-hit regions in the world except in necessary cases and when returning to Vietnam, they are subject to 14-day quarantine without exception, said the directive. Earlier the country's Transport Ministry announced that four Vietnamese flight carriers including Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific which have so far operated 14 flight routes between Vietnam and South Korea would reduce about 60 percent of flights between the two countries. IRAPUATO, Mexico Mexicos drug war has long played out in dusty northern border cities or the poppy fields of its southern mountains, but now the killings have moved to the conservative industrial heartland state of Guanajuato, creating a strange duality: shiny new auto plants and booming foreign investment even as the state becomes Mexicos most violent. Gleaming four-lane highways pass sprawling automotive plants, and people carry yoga mats and sip chai at outdoor cafes in upscale suburbs. Several new luxury subdivisions spring up every year in the states colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, which is popular with foreigners. But Guanajuatos visible wealth contrasts with its grim headlines: Seven men lined up in a junkyard and shot. Gunmen open fire in a roadside eatery, leaving nine customers dead in a lake of blood. Seven people are gunned down at a street-side taco stand. That was just one week in late January when the government said Guanajuato, which has around 5% of Mexicos population, suffered 20% of its homicides. In 2019, the central state had a homicide rate of about 61 per 100,000 inhabitants, making it Mexicos most violent. It is not the auto plant executives or foreigners who are getting killed, as local officials like to point out. The violence arises from a bloody war between the home-grown Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is waging a major offensive to move into Guanajuato. The state is attractive to drug cartels for the same reason it is to auto manufacturers road and rail networks that lead straight to the U.S. border. The head of the states security commission, Sofia Huett, defines Guanajuatos odd dynamic this way: Sometimes people confuse the violence with a lack of public safety in Guanajuato, and in fact they are two different things. What Huett apparently means is that what officials define as decent, law-abiding people arent being killed. Criminals are killing criminals. That kind of statement has caused untold grief for crime victims like Alondra Mora, whose husband, Miguel Flores Lopez, disappeared Jan. 10 after he was dragged from his taxi by armed men. Mora and her husband came to Guanajuato from their native gang-plagued state of Michoacan in mid-2019, looking to build her shoe-retail business in what they viewed as a more prosperous state. They have to stop discriminating, Mora said of Guanajuato state officials. If people with money are kidnapped, how long is it before they are released? One day? But for those who dont have money, it costs them their lives, because they dont even look for them. Mark Stevenson is an Associated Press writer. The owner of Asda has started discussions with investors to sell a controlling stake in the UK supermarket. Bosses at the grocer's US parent company Walmart are understood to be in early stage talks with a handful of private equity funds. A joint statement by Walmart and Asda said: 'Together, we are in discussions with a small number of interested parties who share Walmart and Asda's commitment and passion to growing the business and who share our values, both for our customers and colleagues.' Walmart has been attempting to sell Asda for nearly two years, including its failed merger with Sainsbury's, to free up cash to send back to the US. The owner of Asda has started discussions with investors to sell a controlling stake in the UK supermarket It is understood the US giant, which is the biggest retailer in the world, would retain a significant minority stake in the business in any sale. After the attempted deal with Sainsbury's collapsed last April, Walmart said it would look at a possible stock market listing for the company. This would allow British customers the chance to buy shares in the supermarket for the first time in 21 years. But following a report by Bloomberg that approaches from private equity funds had been made, Walmart revealed such discussions have taken place. The company added: 'Walmart firmly believes that an IPO (stock market listing) is an attractive long-term objective for Asda. 'Asda is a great business with a clear strategy for the future and Walmart is committed to ensuring it has the resources and support it needs to deliver that strategy.' Bosses were keen to stress that Walmart wants to have 'different ownership arrangements depending on the needs of its different markets'. The company added: 'Following inbound interest Walmart and Asda can confirm that we are currently considering whether there is an opportunity for a third party to invest in Asda, alongside Walmart, in order to support and accelerate the delivery of Asda's strategy and position Asda for long term success.' Walmart did not name the private equity funds it was in discussion with but said no decisions had been made. The Competition and Markets Authority has blocked Sainsbury's 12 billion merger with Asda The move comes after Sainsbury's attempted 12billion merger with Asda was blocked last April by the Competition Commission. A super-merger between the duo, the UK's number two and three supermarkets, would have created a supermarket titan bigger than Tesco with revenues of 51billion and a network of 2,800 Sainsbury's, Asda and Argos stores. But the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that it would lead to increased prices in stores, online and at petrol stations across the UK. Shoppers and motorists would be 'worse off' if Sainsbury's and Asda were to merge, and a tie-up would lead to price rises, reductions in the quality and range of products or a poorer overall retail experience, the CMA said. The super-merger would have launched a price war to fight back against discounters Aldi and Lidl and the emerging threat of Amazon. The watchdog claimed that the deal would have resulted in a 'substantial lessening of competition' at a national and local level for people shopping in supermarkets. The watchdog claimed that the deal would have resulted in a 'substantial lessening of competition' at a national and local level for people shopping in supermarkets. Caroline Normand, Which? Director of Advocacy, said at the time: 'The CMA is right to block this merger, which could have reduced competition in the sector resulting in a number of problems for shoppers including increased prices, reduced quality and choice, and a poorer shopping experience. 'Sainsbury's and Asda have fallen behind the pack recently in this trusted sector - with both finishing in the bottom four of our annual supermarket survey as rivals like Aldi and Lidl have done a better job of giving shoppers what they want.' Stuart McIntosh, chairman of the CMA inquiry group, added: 'It's our responsibility to protect the millions of people who shop at Sainsbury's and Asda every week. 'Following our in-depth investigation, we have found this deal would lead to increased prices, reduced quality and choice of products, or a poorer shopping experience for all of their UK shoppers. 'We have concluded that there is no effective way of addressing our concerns, other than to block the merger.' Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe said that the decision 'effectively takes 1 billion out of customers' pockets.' Prior to the decision, Sainsbury's and Walmart-owned Asda had offered to sell up to 150 stores as part of efforts to address competition concerns, and claimed that shoppers would be deprived of lower prices should it be blocked. The duo had pledged to make a number of post-merger commitments, had the deal been approved. Dublin, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Precision Source Measure Unit Market by Current Range (1A-1mA, 1mA-1A, Above 1A), Application (Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Automotive, Energy, Wireless Communication & Infrastructure), Form Factor (Benchtop, Modular) and Region - Global Forecast to 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global precision source measure unit market size is projected to reach USD 637 million by 2024, from an estimated value of USD 394 million in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast period. The growth of the precision source measure unit industry can be attributed to the high level of integration & flexibility of the precision source measure unit, and growing demand from the automotive and medical industries. The availability of alternatives and certain technical constrains with operating precision source measure units also acts as a restraint for the growth of the market. The players operating in precision source measure unit market includes Tektronix (US), Keysight Technologies (US), National Instruments (US), Chroma ATE (Taiwan), Yokogawa Electric (Japan), VX Instruments (Germany), Rohde & Schwarz (Germany), Ossila (UK), and Marvin Test Solutions (US). The modular precision source measure unit segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2019 to 2024 The modular precision source measure unit segment is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment of the precision source measure unit market, by form factor, from 2019 to 2024. A modular source measure unit is an essential instrument for design and test engineers. With the development of modular source measure units, designing a multichannel system has become possible. The North American and Asia Pacific regions have shown the highest demand for such source measure units, and are expected to dominate this segment during the forecast period. The increasing demand for modular source measure units in the Asia Pacific region is primarily due to the growing investments in the test and measurement industry in China, Japan, South Korea, and India. Automotive: The largest application for precision source measure unit The automotive segment accounts for the largest share of the precision source measure unit market in 2018 and is expected to dominate during the forecast period. The automotive industry has adopted automation on a massive scale for manufacturing vehicles. The number of electronic components and parts in new-generation vehicles is increasing enormously. With the increasing number of electronic parts in vehicles, there is a pressing need to ensure that these parts perform their functions accurately and flawlessly. The growing demand for precise test and measurement solutions in the automotive industry is expected to drive the market for automotive precision source measure units during the forecast period. North America: The largest market for precision source measure unit The North American market is currently the largest precision source measure unit market, followed by the markets in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. The North American market is projected to grow at the second-highest CAGR during the forecast period. This growth is driven majorly by the emergence of aerospace & defense equipment manufacturing industries in the US. According to the National Academies Press, Boeing is the largest exporter within the US, and the US aerospace industry is the single largest contributor to the nation's positive surplus of trade. The increasing demand for test and measurement solutions in the aerospace & defense industry as well as the automotive industry in the North American region is expected to drive the market for precision source measure unit during the forecast period. Key Topics Covered 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Attractive Opportunities in the Precision Source Measure Unit Market 4.2 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Current Range 4.3 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Form Factor 4.4 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Application 4.5 North America Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Application & Country 4.6 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Region 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 High Level of Integration and Flexibility of Precision Source Measure Unit 5.2.1.2 Growing Demand From the Automotive and Medical Industries 5.2.1.3 Growing IoT Market Leverages Precision SMUs for Device Testing 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Technical Factors Inhibiting the Market Growth of Precision Source Measure Unit 5.2.2.2 Availability of Alternatives 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Advent of 5G Technology and Deployment of LTE Networks 5.2.3.2 Adoption of High-Density Precision Source Measure Unit for Testing 5.2.4 Challenges 5.2.4.1 Matching Pace With Constantly Evolving Technologies 6 Precision Source Measure Market, By Current Range 6.1 Introduction 6.2 1 a - 1 Ma 6.2.1 Semiconductor Component Test & ATE Systems Drive the Demand for 1 a - 1 Ma Segment 6.3 1 Ma - 1 A 6.3.1 Easy System Integration Drives the Demand for 1 Ma - 1 A Current Range 6.4 Above 1 A 6.4.1 Triaxial Connectivity and Source Adapt Technology are the Major Growth Drivers for the Above 1 A Segment 7 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Form Factor 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Benchtop 7.2.1 Design Engineering and Troubleshooting Applications Drive the Demand for Benchtop Source Measure Units 7.3 Modular 7.3.1 Multichannel System Design Application is Expected to Drive the Modular Source Measure Unit Market 8 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Aerospace, Defense & Government Services 8.2.1 ATE Systems and Calibration Services Applications Drive the Demand in Aerospace, Defense & Government Services 8.3 Automotive 8.3.1 Increasing Demand for EVs is Expected to Increase the Demand for Multipoint Test & Measurements 8.4 Energy 8.4.1 Wide Adoption of Solar Technology and Its Growing Applications Lead the Development of Solar (PV) Products 8.5 Wireless Communication & Infrastructure 8.5.1 Growing Iot Market Demands Precision Source Measure Units for Device Testing 8.6 Others 8.6.1 Increasing Demand for Consumer Electronic Products Drives the Market for Precision Test & Measurement Equipment 9 Precision Source Measure Unit Market, By Region 9.1 Introduction 9.2 North America 9.3 Asia Pacific 9.4 Europe 9.5 Middle East & Africa 9.6 South America 10 Competitive Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Ranking of Players, 2018 10.3 Competitive Scenario 10.3.1 New Product Launches 11 Company Profiles 11.1 Original Equipment Manufacturer 11.1.1 Keysight Technologies 11.1.2 National Instruments 11.1.3 Chroma ATE 11.1.4 Tektronix 11.1.5 Yokogawa Electric 11.1.6 Rohde & Schwarz 11.1.7 Artisan Technology Group 11.1.8 VX Instruments 11.1.9 Ossila 11.1.10 Marvin Test Solutions 11.2 Distributors 11.2.1 Amplicon Liveline 11.2.2 Mouser Electronics 11.2.3 Entest 11.2.4 Dan-El Technologies 11.2.5 Testequity 11.2.6 Transcat 11.2.7 Vigven 11.2.8 TTID (Thurlby Thandar Instrument Distribution) 11.2.9 Element14 11.2.10 Testpower For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pwhjsk Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. The Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has called Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus "shameful" and "anaemic". The administration's response has already been criticised by politicians from both sides of the aisle, although the president has insisted his officials are doing a "great job" and blamed the Democrats and the media for "panicking the markets". Mr Trump has requested $2.5bn to deal with the threat of the deadly virus, which would go towards developing a vaccine and stockpiling protective gear like face masks. However, the Democrats say it will cost at least $8.5bn to protect Americans from the deadly virus. The president has also faced criticism for proposing to take $535m out of a budget to fight ebola. Ms Pelosi said: "This is shameful. He puts forth a proposal now that is meagre, anaemic in terms of addressing this. Ebola, we did $5bn. And now they're trying to take the ebola money and spend it here. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty "What he's doing is late, too late, anaemic. Hopefully we came make up for the loss of time but we have to have professionals in place, resources that are adequate and not use scare tactics about people coming back to our country." Mr Trump has said he will hold a news conference on how the government is dealing with the virus at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on Wednesday afternoon. Politico reports that the White House is considering whether to appoint a coronavirus czar to take control of efforts to contain the epidemic, as the Barack Obama administration did with ebola in 2014. Alex Azar, the secretary for health and human services, is currently taking the lead on the crisis. However, the president will be aware of ugly headlines following exchanges between another senior official acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf and senators including John Kennedy, a Republican. Trump official wrongly says coronavirus rate similar to flublican. Mr Wolf was unable to answer a series of questions about government preparedness and wrongly said the mortality rate from coronavirus, at about 2 per cent, was the same as flu, which is about a hundred times lower. On the 26th of February, the Parasite actor Choi Woo Sik posted a photo on Instagram. The photo features the actor behind a food truck while shooting for his new film "The Police Lineage." The food truck happened to be sent by his Parasite co-star Park So Dam. Woo Sik then captioned the photo with "So Dam, I am really touched. This is so kind of you, such a sweet thing to do. Thank you." The actress then replied on the post, "Good luck Oppa, do your best." Oppa's meaning has evolved over time from being someone's older brother to being an endearment between lovers and close friends. The fans then speculated that there may be something going on between the two. However, let us not forget that they have spent quite a while together shooting an attending several awards show overseas. It is only normal for the two to develop a close friendship. Plus, they did play the role of siblings in Parasite so So Dam calling Woo Sik Oppa may just be a term that they got used to. Meanwhile, congratulations again for the Parasite team for winning several awards. Good job guys! Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 26, said that there is no uncertainty related to the merger of Public Sector Banks (PSBs). "There are no uncertainties about the bank merger. Discussions are going on about the convenience with which they are doing it. I must thank all the banks because through their boards they have taken that call," the Finance Minister said. Speaking at the launch of EASE 3.0 reform agenda, Sitharaman said that the government was conscious of the extra load on banks in terms of the kind of demands that the Finance Ministry has put on them. "I have asked them to reach out to 400 districts, I have asked them to reach out to MSMEs and restructure their loans. So there is a lot of core banking work which they are undertaking," Sitharaman said. The Finance Minister said that the core banking exercise of public sector lenders goes on along with the merger exercise. In August, the government unveiled a mega merger plan for PSBs, amalgamating 10 banks into four. The consolidation would bring down the total number of public sector banks in the country to 12, down from the 27 operating in 2017. Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank will be merged with Punjab National Bank. Canara Bank would be merged with Syndicate Bank, while Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will be merged with Union Bank of India. The fourth one will be the merger of Indian Bank with Allahabad Bank. However, the government is yet to issue a notification in relation with the amalgamation scheme, leading to concerns over delay in the process that was supposed to take place by April 1. Sitharaman said that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises' Minister Nitin Gadkari reviewed the status report on the restructuring of loans for the sector by lenders. "A few pending cases which are still lying with them, inclusive of those 'loan in 59 minutes' that were sanctioned in principle but not followed up further, every one of these MSME requests must be cleared by March 15," Sitharaman said. The government had launched the 'PSB Loans in 59 Minutes' web portal in November 2018 to provide loans of up to Rs 1 crore to MSMEs in less than an hour. After July Budget last year, the government had announced that those stressed assets as on January 1, 2019 of MSMEs would not be declared as non-performing assets. "That provision existed till December 31, 2019, which we had extended till March 31, 2020 was further extended till December 31, 2020. On that the banks had given us the information on how much they had restructured," Sitharaman said. Sitharaman added that more than 5.53 lakh stressed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) accounts have been identified as of January 6. "Of these (stressed MSME accounts), close to 5.28 lakh have been restructured. The rest are to be cleared by March 15," she said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the one-time restructuring deadline offered to banks towards MSME loans from March 31, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The Finance Minister informed that the government has been closely monitoring the impact of the coronavirus on Indian enterprises. She also announced that information on the 'Vivaad Se Vishwas' scheme, which was announced in the Budget speech, will be disseminated and used by the PSBs. The minister said that PSBs need to provide dedicated services at the branch level and connect with customers better. Sitharaman also said that customers of PSBs will be given better access to the officials of their respective branches. "Every customer will be given a sure date from all banks as to when they can speak to them," said Sitharaman. Donald Trump mocked Democrats' Debate night of finger-pointing, shouting and chaos as he returned to the White House Wednesday, scoffing: 'Just give me an opponent.' He took aim at a series of his potential rivals to call them 'crazy,' and say: 'Would be over for most.' The tweet reflected his public confidence that he can beat any of the Democratic field in November, and came after just over two hours of the CBS hosted debated which quickly devolved into angry personal exchanges with a total loss of control by moderators Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell. 'Crazy, chaotic Democrat Debate last night,' Trump said, not long after touching down from India at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. 'Fake News said Biden did well, even though he said half of our population was shot to death. Would be OVER for most. Mini Mike was weak and unsteady, but helped greatly by his many commercials (which are not supposed to be allowed during a debate). 'Pocahontas was mean, & undisciplined, mostly aiming at Crazy Bernie and Mini Mike. They dont know how to handle her, but I know she is a "chocker". 'Steyer was a disaster who, along with Mini, are setting records in $'s per vote. Just give me an opponent!' The only two to escape his verdict were moderates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, for whom he has notably failed to come up with lasting nicknames. His verdict on the debate echoed immediate reaction to the angry and personal exchanges at Tuesday night's debate in Charleston ahead of the South Carolina primary. 'Chocker.' Donald Trump attacked Elizabeth Warren with a spelling error as he gave a scathing verdict on the Democratic debate Back to the White House: Donald Trump and first lady Melania land at Joint Base Andrews from India after their visit to the country Bernie Sanders attacked Mike Bloomberg for being a billionaire, Bloomberg labeled Sanders as Vladimir Putin's favorite and a trio of candidates blasted Bloomberg for his 'racist' stop-and-frisk policy. Sanders won an instant pol conducted by CBS News immediately after the debate, but in a very split verdict: 26% said he had made the 'best case to beat Donald Trump,' with Biden in second place on 21% and Elizabeth Warren on 12% and Mike Bloomberg on 11%. It was the kind of full-on circular firing squad that commentators had warned might be coming in South Carolina, with Joe Biden's 'firewall' claims on the line and Sanders having the potential to pad his delegate lead in the rush to Super Tuesday. The debate featured chaotic exchanges where multiple candidates sought to talk over each other, with CBS moderators Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate, either failing to referee or being completely ignored by the over-eager candidates. Candidates flouted 75-second response times, cut each other off, and yelled out retorts out of turn. 'Not true,' interjected Sanders when Amy Klobuchar questioned how he'll pay for his programs. 'Can I say something?' pleaded hedge funder Tom Steyer later in the heated exchange. 'Let me go,' he demanded. 'Excuse me, can I respond to the attack?' Sanders inquired when Pete Buttigieg went after him. 'Listen to the moderator, guys,' Sanders schooled the group. 'Hello?' chimed in Biden. Then the former vice president complained when he finally got called on. 'Whoa. Whoa. Whoa,' he said. 'I guess the only way you do this is jump in and speak twice as long as you should.' Later, he boiled over and announced he would defy the unenforced rules. 'I'm not out of time. You spoke over time and I'm going to talk,' Biden said. Sanders proved to be the Democrat to take down, as he joined his six primary rivals - including Biden, Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Steyer - onstage at Charleston's Gaillard Center. Democratic presidential candidates got into a series of angry and personal exchanges at Tuesday night's debate in Charleston with Bernie Sanders attacking Mike Bloomberg for being a billionaire The candidates repeatedly talked over each other with CBS moderators losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate Moderators Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell quickly lost control with the candidates shouting over another. Once the candidates wrapped up, O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely, but King had to quickly correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet Bloomberg quickly labeled Sanders as Vladimir Putin's favorite and a trio of candidates blasted Bloomberg for his 'racist' stop-and-frisk policy while he was mayor of New York City At various points, the crowd loudly booed the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer The debate in South Carolina on Tuesday night kicked off at 8pm, as candidates (l-r) Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer took the stage. It was the kind of full-on circular firing squad that commentators had warned might be coming, where Sanders' rise is being put to the test in a diverse state Warren attacked Sanders early, saying his plan doesn't show 'how to get' to universal health care like hers does. 'I dug in. I did the work. And then Bernie's team trashed me for it,' she vented. With South Carolina's primary just four days away, candidates who might have needed break-out performances didn't get them. Sanders avoided enduring an all-out pile-on, despite having a path to the nomination that would only accelerate with a strong showing here and on Super Tuesday. He was put on the defensive several times for his socialist background, the cost of his programs, and his statements about left-wing leaders. Sanders got to explain that the greatest misconception about him 'is that the ideas I'm talking about are radical.' Biden, who predicted a win in South Carolina, delivered forceful defenses of his record, tied himself to Barack Obama, and avoided serious stumbles. No longer the front-runner, he was forced to plead for time from the moderators. He won laughs when he was one of the few to honor a time limit. 'Why am I stopping? No one else stops. Catholic school training,' he quipped. Bloomberg performed better than when he got pummeled in Las Vegas, but some of his remarks fell flat, as when he took a stab at a self-deprecating joke. 'I really am surprised that all of these, my fellow contestants up here I guess would be the right word for it... I'm surprised they show up because I would've thought after I did such a good job in beating him last week that they'd be a little afraid to do that,' Bloomberg said, in a remark that didn't play in the room. Klobuchar was mostly on the sidelines, though she kept up her argument that she is 'Donald Trump's worst nightmare' and that the party doesn't want a nominee who proposes $60 trillion in new spending. Buttigieg kept his cool, but wasn't a major player in many of the most dramatic exchanges. He said he would raise taxes on billionaires, needled Bloomberg by saying he released his own tax returns, and made the case against Sanders' electability. Joe Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure, and referenced the Charleston church shootings Bloomberg drew fire for stop-and-frisk, a policy he has apologized for in stark terms despite thousands of arrests during his tenure as New York City mayor Since New Hampshire primary night, which Biden left the Granite State for to instead kick off campaigning in South Carolina, Biden has argued that the states that truly matter are the ones that have a more diverse population, which reflect the makeup of the Democratic Party Proving to be the night's punching bag, Sanders was slammed and accused of being backed by Putin, unelectable and divisive. Sanders got the first question in recognition of his new status as the favorite to become the party's candidate. He was asked by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell how he could justify being a socialist at a time of booming employment. The Vermont senator quickly pivoted and attacked Bloomberg, saying that the economy was only doing well for 'billionaires,' but the former New York mayor was ready with a dig of his own. Bloomberg said: 'I think that Donald Trump thinks it would be better if he's president. I do not think so. 'Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States. And that's why Russia is helping you get elected, so you will lose to him.' Sanders shot back: 'Oh, Mr. Bloomberg. Let me tell Mr. Putin, OK, I'm not a good friend of President Xi of China. I think President Xi is an authoritarian leader. 'And let me tell Mr. Putin, who interfered in the 2016 election, try to bring Americans against Americans, hey, Mr. Putin, if I'm president of the United States, trust me, you're not going to interfere in any more American elections.' A question to Bloomberg about his past comments that China's Xi Jinping wasn't a dictator provoked a vigorous exchange about authoritarianism and Sanders' past positive comments about Fidel Castro's Cuba and other left-leaning regimes. 'We have to deal with China if we're ever going to solve the climate crisis,' said Bloomberg, who made billions through his global media and financial company. 'He does serve at the behest of the Politburo,' Bloomberg said, defending Xi's political accountability. 'They must play by the rules, period, period, period,' said Biden, who Republicans immediately accused of being soft on China. 'I have opposed authoritarianism,' said Sanders, defending comments running through his career about Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Russia, and Venezuela. 'But who the hell is the Politburo responsive to?' Sanders continued. 'What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba,' Sanders insisted, defending his comments that Cuba had a 'massive literacy program' under Castro. At various points, the crowd loudly booed the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, with estimated personal fortunes of $60 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively There were angry exchanges early-on in the debate between Bloomberg and Warren, who brought up a woman who sued his media company, Bloomberg LP, and reached a settlement after claiming Bloomberg told her to 'kill it' after she informed him she was pregnant 'Never said that!' Bloomberg exclaimed. 'Oh, come on!' From there the conversation turned back to Bloomberg's company's previous use of non-disclosure agreements, something that Warren hammered him for on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas. It was 'probably wrong to make the jokes, I don't remember what they were, but if it bothered them, I was wrong and I apologize and I'm sorry for that' At various points, the crowd loudly booed at the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer 'Really? Really?' Biden responded, saying Obama had merely been acknowledging Cuban gains while speaking overseas. 'Authoritarianism of any stripe is bad,' said Sanders. 'But that is different than saying the governments occasionally do things that are good.' Buttigieg issued a warning about running a candidate with 'nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s.' The blows went in all directions. Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure and referenced the Charleston church shootings. The city is still grieving from the 2015 killings at Mother Emanuel AME Baptist Church when gunman Dylann Roof entered the church and gunned down nine members of the congregation. 'Bernie voted five times against the Brady bill ... I'm not saying he's responsible for the nine deaths, but... [Roof] would not have been able to get that weapon with the waiting period' of the Brady bill, Biden said. Biden is trying to gain back lost ground after coming in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire. He then came in a distant second to Sanders in Saturday's Nevada caucuses. Sanders later attacked former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg for accepting contributions from billionaires. 'I can't allow this to stand because it's just untrue,' the former South Bend mayor shot back. He said he got more money out of 2,000 small contributors in Charleston than he did from bigwigs. The early hits on Sanders, who has called himself the frontrunner, followed last week's Las Vegas debate, which featured a multi-candidate pile-on on Bloomberg. Asked directly by O'Donnell if Bloomberg's use of stop-and-frisk in New York was racist, Klobuchar answered: 'Yes'. Buttigieg, who has been criticized for failing to attract black supporters, agreed the policy was racist Joe Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure, and referenced the Charleston church shootings. 'Bernie voted five times against the Brady bill ... I'm not saying he's responsible for the nine deaths, but that would not have been able to get that weapon with the waiting period' of the Brady bill, Biden said Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders became an instant punching bag for his presidential rivals on Tuesday night as they lined up to slam him at the debate before the South Carolina primary accusing him of being backed by Vladimir Putin, unelectable and divisive There were angry exchanges early-on in Tuesday's debate between Bloomberg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who brought up a woman who sued his media company, Bloomberg LP, and reached a settlement after claiming Bloomberg told her to 'kill it' after she informed him she was pregnant. 'Never said that!' Bloomberg exclaimed. 'Oh, come on!' From there the conversation turned back to Bloomberg's company's previous use of non-disclosure agreements, something that Warren hammered him for on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas. On Friday, Bloomberg announced that he would release three female former employees from NDAs that were specifically about complaints made about Bloomberg, as he's been accused of making insensitive jokes. It was 'probably wrong to make the jokes, I don't remember what they were, but if it bothered them, I was wrong and I apologize and I'm sorry for that,' Bloomberg said on Tuesday night. Nevertheless, Warren persisted, continuing to go after Bloomberg for the NDAs. 'I don't know what else she wants us to do,' Bloomberg said. 'The trouble is with this senator, enough is never enough.' He added: 'I never said it, period, end of story. Categorically never said it. When I was accused of doing it, we couldn't figure out what she was talking about. 'But right now I'm sorry if she heard what she thought she heard, whatever happened, but I didn't take pleasure in any of that.' Bloomberg continued to draw fire for stop-and-frisk, a policy he has apologized for in stark terms despite thousands of arrests during his tenure. Asked directly by O'Donnell if Bloomberg's use of stop-and-frisk in New York was racist, Klobuchar answered: 'Yes.' Warren went straight for Sanders at the start of the debate, saying she would be a better president than him because she'll be able to get more progressive policies passed. She said she's 'dug in' when it comes to fighting big banks and actually explaining how she'd enact universal health care Biden said he would also go after those trying to gentrify neighborhoods traditionally occupied by minority residents. Following up on Biden's comments, Steyer said he would work toward trying to 'correct injustice' in the loan service industry. He then launched into his common campaign trail theme of arguing his support for a conversation on reparations The early hits on Sanders, who has called himself the frontrunner, followed last week's Las Vegas debate, which featured a multi-candidate pile-on on Bloomberg Buttigieg, who has been criticized for failing to attract black supporters, agreed the policy was racist. 'I am conscious of the fact that there's seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice,' he added, in the first primary state where African-Americans make up a big share of the electorate. Since the New Hampshire primary, which Biden left to instead kick off campaigning in South Carolina, Biden has argued that the states that truly matter are the ones that have a more diverse population, which reflect the makeup of the Democratic Party. But in Nevada, the Latino population propelled Sanders to an overwhelming victory, as he bested Biden by 26.6. points, with 100 percent reporting. Now Biden is looking to black voters in South Carolina to keep him in the race. On Tuesday, he declared that he's the candidate best situated to appeal to black voters, citing his commitment to equitable wealth creation and housing opportunities. Biden said he would also go after those trying to gentrify neighborhoods traditionally occupied by minority residents. It follows his Monday roll out of a $640 billion national housing policy, which would prevent mortgage servers from foreclosing during loan modification and set up a timely notification system for such changes. Following up on Biden's comments, Steyer said he would work toward trying to 'correct injustice' in the loan service industry. He then launched into his common campaign trail theme of arguing his support for a conversation on reparations and the creation of a commission to study race relations in America. As the debate clock wound down, the candidates were asked by CBS This Morning host Gayle King to name the biggest misconception about themselves - and to state their personal motto. Biden took the opportunity to pander more to black South Carolina voters. As the debate clock wound down, the candidates were asked by CBS This Morning host Gayle King to name the biggest misconception about themselves - and to state their personal motto Bloomberg used the opportunity to turn one of Trump's favorite insults against him - that he's short - into a joke. 'The misconception is that I'm six-feet tall,' the ex-mayor said. Given the same opportunity, Klobuchar argued that she wasn't boring Once the candidates wrapped up, moderator Norah O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely. 'That concludes our debate,' O'Donnell told the audience. King then had to correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet. 'No, we have time for one more break,' King said. 'Times flies when you're having fun,' she said, as the debate truly ended after the next commercial break 'I'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the Supreme Court,' he said, which was a segue from him talking about his embrace of equality. 'And no one is better than me and I'm not better than anybody else.' He cracked a joke about his receded hairline when asked what his biggest misconception is. 'I have more hair than I think I do,' he said. Given the same opportunity, Klobuchar argued that she wasn't boring, while Warren said she actually eats - a lot. 'In fact, I eat all the time,' Warren said, adding, 'because I get teased about this,' if the comment seemed to come out of thin air. Buttigieg used the opportunity to tell the audience he is indeed passionate. 'I get kind of level, some say I'm unflappable,' the 38-year-old said. 'I don't think you want a president who's flappable,' he added. Steyer volunteered that 'everyday I write a cross on my hand to remind myself to tell the truth and do what's right, no matter what,' explaining that's his 'motto.' Sanders stayed on brand. 'Misconception and you're hearing it here tonight is that ideas I'm talking about are radical. They're not. In one form or another they exist in countries all over the world,' the democratic socialist said. He then quoted Nelson Mandela, 'Everything is impossible until it happens,' Sanders said. Bloomberg used the opportunity to turn one of Trump's favorite insults against him - that he's short - into a joke. 'The misconception is that I'm six-feet tall,' the ex-mayor said. Once the candidates wrapped up, moderator Norah O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely. 'That concludes our debate,' O'Donnell told the audience. King then had to correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet. 'No, we have time for one more break,' King said. 'Times flies when you're having fun,' she said, as the debate truly ended after the next commercial break. Joe Biden says he WILL win in South Carolina with the African-American vote making Saturday's primary a do-or-die - then talks about his 'friend' former segregationist Fritz Hollings Joe Biden went all in on winning South Carolina on Tuesday night, saying he will secure victory there - then mentioned his friendship with one of the state's most infamous segregationists. The former vice-president was just four points ahead of Bernie Sanders in the latest poll in the Palmetto state ahead of Saturday's primary. He used the CBS News debate to say that he will win in South Carolina, by winning the African-American vote - meaning by extension that he will have to drop out if he loses. But then he offered a potentially spectacular gaffe, talking about his friendship with Fritz Hollings, who was a committed segregationist Dixiecrat until he shifted his positions. Joe Biden went all in on winning South Carolina on Tuesday night, saying he will secure victory there - then mentioned his friendship with one of the state's most infamous segregationists Friends: Fritz Hollings was a segregationist in the Dixiecrat moved who 'evolved,' his friend Biden said at his 2019 funeral Asked by moderator Gayle King about his ability to secure the black vote, which is critical in South Carolina, he said: 'I've earned the vote, I've worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community, not just here but across the country. 'I've been coming here for years and years, creating jobs here, making sure that the port, for example, that employs one in 11 people, we put $500 million, in our administration, just into this county. 'We've created jobs for people. The people know me. My entire career has been wrapped up in dealing with civil rights and civil liberties. I don't expect anything. I plan to earn the vote. 'I'm here to ask. I'm here to earn it. But, folks, I intend to win in South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here in South Carolina.' King then asked: 'Mr. Biden, will you continue if you do not win South Carolina? You have said that South Carolina will determine the outcome of this presidential race. If you don't win South Carolina, will you continue in this race?' He replied: 'I will win South Carolina.' But later in the debate he raised Hollings' name - an echo of a string of gaffes in which he was hammered for speaking about his friendship with segregationist senators, Mississippi's James Eastland and Georgia's Herman Talmadge. Making an appearance ahead of the debate was Reverend's Jesse Jackson (left) and Al Sharpton (right). Remarking on the performances during Las Vegas' debate last week, Sharpton said it was overall lackluster and he couldn't see anyone beating Trump at the moment because no candidate was taking charge Biden has been counting on strong support among African-American voters in South Carolina to recharge his flagging campaign A climate change activist dressed as a polar bear demonstrates while Trump supporter in a MAGA hat is interviewed outside of the Charleston Gaillard Center 'Look, a guy who's a friend of mine down here named Fritz Hollings - he passed away - he said, you want to know what a woman will do, look what they have done. Look what they have done,' he said. Hollings' biography is more complicated than other Dixiecrats. He was South Carolina governor from 1959 to 1963 and a vocal backer of keeping segregation in place when he was a member of the state's House. He was elected to the Senate in 1966 and became a close friend of Biden when the 29-year-old ran for the upper chamber, helping him when he lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash. Biden eulogized Hollings at his funeral in April 2019, a week before his entry into the race, and said: 'People can change. 'We can learn from the past and build a better future.' New Delhi, Feb 26 : BJP President J.P. Nadda announced on Wednesday that deceased Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal has not only been given martyr status, but his family will also be awarded a financial aid of Rs 1 crore. Ratan Lal lost his life on Monday in Maujpur in North-East Delhi after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters took a violent turn. Nadda said, "The Government of India has declared him a martyr, besides announcing a financial aid of Rs 1 crore for his family along with a job for one of his family members." He added that no amount of financial aid can match the sacrifice of Lal who lost his life on the line of duty. The head constable was allegedly killed in the Dayalpur police station area by miscreants when the violence was at its peak around noon on Monday. Lal's wife Poonam fainted after she heard the news of her husband's death. He is survived by three children -- Siddhi (13), Kanak (10) and Ram (8). Lal, a resident of Fathepur Tihwali village in Rajasthan's Sikar district, had joined Delhi Police in 1998. He got married to Poonam, a resident of Jaipur, in 2004. Lal's younger brother Dinesh told IANS, "He was the reader of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Gokulpuri. He had just accompanied the ACP, but the mob surrounded him and took his life." GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 63,034 Thanked: 225,799 Times View My Garage Re: Hyundai Aura (2nd-gen Hyundai Xcent). Edit: Launched at 5.8 lakhs Quick take on the Hyundai Aura 1.0L Turbo-Petrol: Looks like an improved Xcent rather than an all-new car. Compare their side profiles and you can see that the 3 pillars & silhouette are exactly the same. I hated the rear initially, but after 2 days with the car, it is sort of growing on me. Guess Hyundai needed a differentiator to stand out. Still weird though. Quality is top class, inside out. Doors shut with a nice, premium sound. Hardly see this with budget sedans. Very satisfying. Cabin insulation is superb. You shut the door / windows and exterior sounds are significantly reduced. Nice interiors. Good looking. Very user-friendly. Perfect ergonomics. Decent space for 4 adults. I can sit behind my own laid-back driving position (not the case with many budget cars). However, cabin width is limited. Backseat better for 2 adults than 3. Seats are good looking & offer okay support. However, the side bolsters (good lateral support) might restrict comfort for heavy folk. After ~2 hours of driving, I was wishing for superior back support too. The actual backrest area is too t-h-i-n. Like most other compact sedans, you have to sit down on the seats. Dont know whats up with Hyundai & bugs. In the demo Venue we had, the Bluetooth mic wasnt working. In this demo Aura we have, the wireless charging pad isnt working. Tested with a Samsung S9 as well as the latest iPhone. In both the cases, the charging started, but stopped after 1 2 minutes (despite the phones being in the 60 80% charged range). Sweet looking instrument cluster. Simple + easy to read (has a digital speedometer). Air-con is powerful. Hyundai hasnt kept up with the advancement in ICE that were seeing in the market, overall. I found the audio sound quality to be quite mediocre. Will give it a 6 / 10 at best. This is after setting up the equalizer and all that. Sound quality is ordinary. Hyundai needs to catch up with some others on this front. Nicely kitted. Im happy to see features such as wireless charging etc. in this segment. Kanad adds that the reversing camera can be kept permanently on while driving (he liked this unique touch, I dont think too much of it). Hyundais turbo-petrol is simply fantastic!!! I loved high-revving it on the highway. Its fast, has a punchy mid-range and good refinement for a triple cylinder. Driveability is decent and does the job as long as the rev counter is 1,000+ rpm (drop lower and you need to downshift). Lag is there, but it's manageable & controlled. Clears the 2nd gear speed breaker test. 2nd gear is so tall that the Aura is a rare budget car that can do ~108 km/h in 2nd itself . This engine should be your top choice if you're looking at an Aura petrol. Smooth gearshift & light clutch. Do note that it has a 5-speed, and not 6 like the Venue. Slight shake at startup. At idle, it is decent for a triple cylinder, but enthusiasts like us will notice mild vibrations. Its not like other 4-cylinder Hyundais (e.g. i20) where you cant even tell if the damn engine is running. I feel terrible that this sweet turbo-petrol is available in just a single variant. The Aura doesnt get the Venues 1.0 & dual-clutch AT combination. Instead, it has the familiar 1.2L petrol with an AMT. Steering is typical Hyundai. Super light at parking speeds, light enough at city speeds & weighs up alright on the highway. Feels quite disconnected at high speed though (no feel). Overall though, this steering is far better than what were seeing in the newer Marutis. 175 mm tyres are too thin for the turbo-petrol . This flagship engine should have gotten 185 / 195 mm tyres. Understeers very easily. The tyres give up much earlier than the car does. Because of the tyres, well say that the overall handling is a notch below the current crop of compact sedans. Tyre squeal is easy, and its nowhere as planted or confidence inspiring as say, the Aspire or Ameo. Even the Dzire with its 185 mm tyres is a better handler. BHPians should most definitely get fatter tyres; it's not a want, but a need. Straight-line stability is acceptable. No problems. Didnt feel nervous at all on an empty expressway early in the morning. Super easy to drive in the city. Ride quality is a tad firmer than what I expect of Hyundais. It's compliant, but not plush. Bad roads will be felt & large potholes come in strong. Surprisingly, there is a bit more side-to-side swaying on bad roads (dont generally see this with low sedans). Lower variants with smaller wheels + taller tyre sidewalls might ride better. Because of the tighter suspension, the high speed ride quality is better than your typical Hyundai. Rear end doesnt bounce about excessively. Ground clearance was alright. We took it off road for our photoshoot, and it didnt scrape anywhere. Brakes work as expected. Overall, an all-rounder of a small sedan, but not without its flaws. A typical Hyundai. An improved Xcent. Theres nothing quite as therapeutic as taking a brand-new car out for an early morning drive on the expressway. So thats exactly what I did on the weekend. It's one of those things that I most look forward to. New unfamiliar model, an empty road, good music, yummy breakfast... Looks like an improved Xcent rather than an all-new car. Compare their side profiles and you can see that the 3 pillars & silhouette are exactly the same. I hated the rear initially, but after 2 days with the car, it is sort of growing on me. Guess Hyundai needed a differentiator to stand out. Still weird though. Quality is top class, inside out. Doors shut with a nice, premium sound. Hardly see this with budget sedans. Very satisfying. Cabin insulation is superb. You shut the door / windows and exterior sounds are significantly reduced. Nice interiors. Good looking. Very user-friendly. Perfect ergonomics. Decent space for 4 adults. I can sit behind my own laid-back driving position (not the case with many budget cars). However, cabin width is limited. Backseat better for 2 adults than 3. Seats are good looking & offer okay support. However, the side bolsters (good lateral support) might restrict comfort for heavy folk. After ~2 hours of driving, I was wishing for superior back support too. The actual backrest area is too t-h-i-n. Like most other compact sedans, you have to sit down on the seats. Dont know whats up with Hyundai & bugs. In the demo Venue we had, the Bluetooth mic wasnt working. In this demo Aura we have, the wireless charging pad isnt working. Tested with a Samsung S9 as well as the latest iPhone. In both the cases, the charging started, but stopped after 1 2 minutes (despite the phones being in the 60 80% charged range). Sweet looking instrument cluster. Simple + easy to read (has a digital speedometer). Air-con is powerful. Hyundai hasnt kept up with the advancement in ICE that were seeing in the market, overall. I found the audio sound quality to be quite mediocre. Will give it a 6 / 10 at best. This is after setting up the equalizer and all that. Sound quality is ordinary. Hyundai needs to catch up with some others on this front. Nicely kitted. Im happy to see features such as wireless charging etc. in this segment. Kanad adds that the reversing camera can be kept permanently on while driving (he liked this unique touch, I dont think too much of it). Hyundais turbo-petrol is simply fantastic!!! I loved high-revving it on the highway. Its fast, has a punchy mid-range and good refinement for a triple cylinder. Driveability is decent and does the job as long as the rev counter is 1,000+ rpm (). Lag is there, but it's manageable & controlled. Clears the 2nd gear speed breaker test. 2nd gear is so tall that the Aura is a rare budget car that can do ~108 km/h in 2nd itself Smooth gearshift & light clutch. Do note that it has a 5-speed, and not 6 like the Venue. Slight shake at startup. At idle, it is decent for a triple cylinder, but enthusiasts like us will notice mild vibrations. Its not like other 4-cylinder Hyundais (e.g. i20) where you cant even tell if the damn engine is running. I feel terrible that this sweet turbo-petrol is available in just a single variant. The Aura doesnt get the Venues 1.0 & dual-clutch AT combination. Instead, it has the familiar 1.2L petrol with an AMT. Steering is typical Hyundai. Super light at parking speeds, light enough at city speeds & weighs up alright on the highway. Feels quite disconnected at high speed though (no feel). Overall though, this steering is far better than what were seeing in the newer Marutis. 175 mm tyres are too thin for the turbo-petrol. This flagship engine should have gotten 185 / 195 mm tyres. Understeers very easily. The tyres give up much earlier than the car does. Because of the tyres, well say that the overall handling is a notch below the current crop of compact sedans. Tyre squeal is easy, and its nowhere as planted or confidence inspiring as say, the Aspire or Ameo. Even the Dzire with its 185 mm tyres is a better handler. BHPians should most definitely get fatter tyres; it's not a want, but a need. Straight-line stability is acceptable. No problems. Didnt feel nervous at all on an empty expressway early in the morning. Super easy to drive in the city. Ride quality is a tad firmer than what I expect of Hyundais. It's compliant, but not plush. Bad roads will be felt & large potholes come in strong. Surprisingly, there is a bit more side-to-side swaying on bad roads (dont generally see this with low sedans). Lower variants with smaller wheels + taller tyre sidewalls might ride better. Because of the tighter suspension, the high speed ride quality is better than your typical Hyundai. Rear end doesnt bounce about excessively. Ground clearance was alright. We took it off road for our photoshoot, and it didnt scrape anywhere. Brakes work as expected. Overall, an all-rounder of a small sedan, but not without its flaws. A typical Hyundai. An improved Xcent. Last edited by Aditya : 24th February 2020 at 12:16 . Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy A summit of Sahel states heard appeals Tuesday to step up the fight against jihadists whose offensive across three countries has claimed thousands of lives and inflicted crippling economic damage. "More than ever, the Sahel requires heightened and coordinated attention from states in the region and the international community to brake the spiral of violence," said Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, chairing a one-day summit of the so-called G5 Sahel group. "We urgently need concrete victories against terrorism. The real challenge of this summit is to meet this existential need," said the chair of the African Union's commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. He said civilians in the Sahel were bewildered by the failure to stop the violence. He called for a "step change" in implementing a much-touted 5,000-man joint force by the G5 Sahel countries, and for "more substantial" support from other African countries. The G5 Sahel comprises Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, whose region is in the front line of a nearly eight-year-old onslaught by armed Islamists. A localised revolt that began in northern Mali in 2012 has spread to the centre of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Around 4,000 people died in the three countries last year, a fivefold increase over 2016, according to UN figures. The bloodshed has escalated despite the presence of a 13,000-man UN peacekeeping force in Mali, and rattled coastal countries to the south of the Sahel. 'Unprecedented humanitarian crisis' Burkina President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Tuesday warned that the Sahel faced an "unprecedented humanitarian crisis". France -- which has committed more than 4,000 troops to holding back jihadism in the Sahel -- added on Tuesday to demands for action. "I am here with you to say that a surge in mobilisation, coordination or prioritisation is necessary," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the summit. He said the meeting in the Mauritanian capital was considered by France to be a key phase in implementing decisions made at a France-Sahel summit last month. UN, African and French forces in the G5 Sahel region. By (AFP) Despite "frustrations" among Sahel leaders, "we cannot deny the ground that we have covered since 2014," he said. Since the January summit in Pau, southwestern France, "major progress has been achieved in a month," Le Drian said. On February 2, France said it would bolster troop numbers in its Operation Barkhane in the Sahel from 4,500 to 5,100. France has lost 41 troops in the mission so far. The G5 Sahel group was launched in 2014, with a secretariat based in Nouakchott. In 2017, the five countries initiated a planned 5,000-man pooled force, but it remains hobbled by lack of funds, poor equipment and inadequate training. Security worries in the Sahel have also been sharpened by Pentagon plans, which have yet to be detailed, to draw down the US military presence in Africa. A report on why some fighters backing the renegade military commander are being accused of sharing an ideology with the ISIL. Since Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar began his offensive to take the capital Tripoli, he has courted the West by saying he is trying to rid the country of, in his words, terrorists. But elements within Haftars forces have been accused of sharing an ideology similar to the al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group. And the Madkhalis fighters have also been accused of war crimes. Al Jazeeras Charles Stratford reports from Tripoli. Calm returned on Tuesday after a two-day flare-up in and around Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad that raised fears of an escalation a week before an Israeli general election. The Israeli military reported no rocket fire from the territory during the morning and AFP correspondents in Gaza reported no Israeli strikes. Islamic Jihad announced a ceasefire on Monday evening but later briefly backtracked, accusing Israel of breaching it. As with other Gaza truces, there was no official Israeli confirmation. In a statement on Tuesday, the army said people in cities near the Gaza Strip could return to work and lifted restrictions on public gatherings. Road and rail routes were reopened, but 65,000 pupils remained off school. The main border crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Israel reopened for medical cases only, the Israeli defence ministry said. - 80 rounds fired - Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group in Gaza after dominant Islamist movement Hamas, fired more than 80 rockets and mortar rounds towards Israel after the army killed one of its fighters allegedly planting a bomb on the border on Sunday morning. The Israeli army removed the militant's body with a bulldozer, with video of the extraction triggering widespread anger. Most of the ensuing fire was intercepted by Israeli air defences and there were no reports of casualties. One rocket hit a playground but it was empty at the time, the army said. Israeli fighter jets and helicopters responded with strikes on Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza, as well as in neighbouring Syria. Sunday's fighting was the most intense between Israel and Islamic Jihad since November, when Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders from the group. That three-day flare-up saw 35 Palestinians killed and more than 100 wounded, according to official figures. There were no Israeli deaths despite hundreds of rockets being fired from Gaza. Islamic Jihad did not accept a wider truce Hamas agreed with Israel in late 2018 and renewed after successive flare-ups last year. Under the truce, Israel has allowed Hamas ally Qatar to provide fuel for Gaza's sole power station and million of dollars for cash payouts to the needy, among other relaxations of its more than decade-old blockade in exchange for a let-up in the violence. Hamas and Israel last fought a full-scale war in 2014, but smaller flare-ups have been relatively common. - Israeli election looms - On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is battling for re-election on March 2 in the shadow of an impending corruption trial, threatened an "extensive campaign" to end the rocket fire. The election, Israel's third is less than a year, is on track to be another close contest between Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and the centrist Blue and White Party led by former armed forces chief Benny Gantz. Gantz has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of being too soft in his responses to aggression from Gaza. On Monday, the Blue and White leader vowed that if he is elected prime minister, Israel "will strike Hamas, Jihad and any other terrorist element with might, in unconventional ways, and anytime". "We will restore deterrence with force," he said. Netanyahu, who has long accused Gantz of relying on Israel's Arab minority for support, seized on comments by the head of the Arab-led Joint List that it would not support any government that attacked Gaza. "While the Israeli Defence Forces protect Israeli security, Gantz's partner slams them," Netanyahu tweeted. Vermont Senator makes case that he is the strongest candidate to defeat President Trump but rivals question his agenda. US Senator Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, faced a torrent of attacks from his rivals on Tuesday night, during a high-stakes debate that could be their final prime-time opportunity to change the momentum of the campaign. Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg seized on reports that Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential election to help Sanders. Bloomberg claimed both US President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin shared the belief that Sanders would be the weakest Democratic rival for the Republican incumbent. Vladimir Putin thinks Donald Trump should be president of the United States and thats why Russia is helping you get [in], so you lose to him, Bloomberg said. Sanders shot back, Hey, Mr Putin, if Im president of the United States, trust me youre not going to interfere in any more American elections.' Last week, Sanders acknowledged that he had been briefed by intelligence officials who said that Russia is attempting to interfere in the elections to benefit him. Bidens last chance Former Vice President Joseph Biden also attacked Sanders for considering launching a primary challenge against former President Barack Obama in 2012. Sanders, who has risen to be the Democrats clear front-runner, responded: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why? The new wave of infighting came as Democrats met for the partys 10th and perhaps most consequential debate of the 2020 primary season. Tuesdays forum came just four days before the primary in the state of South Carolina, and one week before more than a dozen states vote during the so-called Super Tuesday primaries. Biden is also looking to make a big impression in South Carolina, where he is counting on strong support among black voters in South Carolina to recharge his flagging campaign. His campaign had earlier said that a weak showing in the state could end his candidacy. The state is the first contest featuring a substantial African-American electorate, a crucial voting bloc in the Democratic primary process. A new Reuters Ipsos poll shows support for Biden slipping among black voters nationwide by 10 points in recent weeks, to 23 percent, while Sanders saw his support rise seven points to take the lead at 26 percent. Sanderss ideological ally, Elizabeth Warren, also made the case that she would be a better president than Sanders, but she trained most of her sharpest attacks on Bloomberg. In one of the most tense moments of the debate, Warren denounced Bloomberg over a news report that he told a female employee to kill it when she became pregnant. The former New York City mayor denied the report. Meanwhile, candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar are also fighting to win over moderates while decrying Sanderss chief policy priorities. Sanderss handling of the pressure could be crucial in determining whether he stays at the top of the Democratic pack. Whoever obtains the majority of delegates from all state primaries and caucuses will earn the nomination in the Democratic Party and the chance to defeat Trump in the November presidential election. The trailer of the upcoming web series State of Siege: 26/11 is out and brings back memories of the Mumbai attacks that took place on 26 November, 2008. The trailer begins with a powerful figure delivering a hate speech at a rally. The voice is then heard addressing a bunch of terrorists ahead of their mission. It ends with the NSG war cry Sahas Ki Vijay as they go on to fight the enemy. The narrative also shows how the media was blamed for revealing the details of counter operations to the terrorists. The situation could be brought under control only after three days with several casualties, sacrifices and one terrorist caught alive - Ajmal Kasab. The series tells the untold stories of the NSG commandos who were deployed during the attacks. The show features an impressive ensemble cast comprising Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Vivek Dahiya, Mukul Dev and Sid Makkar. Also read: Delhi violence: Stop buring my country, says Bollywood as it appeals for calm Talking about the show, Vivek had earlier told News 18, I literally pounced on it. I always dreamt about playing an Army official of some sort. The moment I got a call for this show, I immediately agreed. I was offered a couple of web series earlier but State of Siege: 26/11 is based on a one-of-a-kind event, it was a great deal, unfortunate, but it is what it is. Its set in a very real space. There were no artificial lights used. Everything was shot in natural light. State of Siege: 26/11 is based on Sandeep Unnithans best-selling novel Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11. The show is an eight-episode series produced and created by Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Pictures and co-created and directed by Matthew Leutwyler. The web series was earlier scheduled to release in January but was delayed. It will now premiere on Zee5 on March 20. Earlier, films such as Hotel Mumbai and The Attacks of 26/11 were been made on the subject. Follow @htshowbiz for more The forum convened 15 experts from government, academia and the public sector, mostly from in and around the Silicon Valley, to engage in discussions moderated by Jonathan Reichental, CEO of Human Future and a former CIO of the City of Palo Alto, California. Leading universities represented included UC Berkeley, Harvard and Pepperdine. They were joined by senior public servants from the City of Palo Alto, City of Menlo Park, City and County of San Francisco, Human Services Agency San Francisco and private sector executives from companies including IBM, Oracle, IDEO, Swiftly, SAP and Amazon. Ernst & Young served as the Forum's knowledge partner. The GX portal, which is free to join, was launched at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE in 2019 as a one-of-its-kind platform to share knowledge, enable interaction and activate ideas on government services. It aims to unite government decision-makers, global practitioners and innovators to re-examine and re-define government experience for the present and future. The GX portal also offers members video-based learning opportunities, including content extracted from GXTalks events held by the Prime Minister's Office in Dubai. These talks, delivered by thought leaders from both the public and the private sectors, bring out ideas around service design, customer service, the increased impact of digital platforms and other topics relevant to public servants in this realm of new technologies. His Excellency Mohammed Bin Taliah, Assistant Director General for the Government Services Sector at the Prime Minister's Office in the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, said: "GX.ae is a platform that aligns with our mission of empowering public officials in the UAE and across the globe to provide the best Government Experience. We will continue to offer resources and encourage the international community to take part in the discussion on GX.ae as we prepare to receive our colleagues for our global gathering in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the World Government Summit in November 2020." About GX Portal: The Government Experience (GX) Portal is a global platform to share knowledge, enable interaction and activate ideas on government services, launched by the Emirates Government Service Excellence Program at the Prime Minister's Office in the UAE. GX is being developed as a new concept for government service excellence from the UAE, that optimizes government service experiences and goes upstream to serve customers with intuitive, intelligent and delightful services. http://gx.ae Contact: Reem El Shafaki, 908-309-6146, [email protected] SOURCE Emirates Government Service Excellence Program, Prime Ministers Office, UAE Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:36:31|Editor: yan Video Player Close VIENNA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal are racing against time to find specific solutions to safeguard the accord, Chinese Ambassador Wang Qun said here on Wednesday. Wang, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations based in Vienna, made the remark here to the press after a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran. The meeting, chaired by Helga-Maria Schmid, secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS), came as the parties were trying to find a way to persuade Tehran to return to compliance with the JCPOA after the Islamic Republic took a series of steps reducing its commitments in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal as well as its reimposed sanctions. According to Wang, "the problem we are facing" is very much attributable to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and Washington's maximum pressure policy towards Iran. The solution the participants were exploring is a "step-by-step specific formula on the basis of reciprocity", which on the one hand could help Iran genuinely reap economic benefits under the JCPOA, and on the other hand ensure that all parties should reembark on the process of full implementation of the JCPOA, he added. "So virtually the participants here are all racing against time to work out specific solutions so as to safeguard the JCPOA, to ensure that not only Iran but also other partners all reembark on the process of the implementation of the JCPOA," he noted. The dispute resolution mechanism was not on the agenda of the meeting, said Wang. "Legalistically speaking there are different views about it." Instead, the participants all agreed to focus on what is deliverable on the ground, what could push forward the process and could help uphold multilateralism and the JCPOA, said the ambassador. Twenty-four years of satellite data on land cover reveals links between changes in vegetation and moderations in climate If you've ever sat in the cool shade of a tree on a hot summer day, you already know that shaded areas are cooler than open fields. But is that kind of cooling enough to make a difference in the hotter world of the future? When a team of researchers looked at more than 20 years of recent land use changes for Europe and combined that with a climate model to provide information on temperatures during the same period, they found the answer to this question is a clear yes. "When we put all the land cover changes together and looked at how these affected climate, we found a widespread seasonal cooling -- up to one degree C in the summer -- in western Europe," said Francesco Cherubini, the senior author of a newly published paper on the findings in Nature Communications and head of the Industrial Ecology Programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Cherubini and his colleagues say this kind of information is vital to helping Europe plan policies that will encourage the right kind of land use for a warmer future. "We can couple the global challenge of mitigation with the local need for climate adaption if we choose the right combination of land uses," he said. The article is entitled "Predominant regional biophysical cooling from recent land cover changes in Europe." More than just CO2 Cherubini was one of the lead authors of an ICC special report on Climate Change and Land published last autumn, so he's well aware of the role that land use plays in determining local and regional climate. The 2019 IPCC land report demonstrated that land use can help stabilize temperature rises to a relatively low level, he said. For example, the IPCC study showed that decreasing the amount of land used for grazing animals can free up land for growing forests, which soak up CO2 as they grow. The new study goes beyond looking at how land can help store CO2, however, by looking at other ways in which land cover affects the climate. "Usually we look at carbon in or carbon out," Cherubini said. "But here we assess the other effects through which the land interacts with climate systems, not just carbon." These other effects include how different kinds of land cover reflect or absorb sunlight -- which clearly affects surface temperature -- along with humidity levels and evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is a term that describes both water losses due to evaporation from water bodies, and water losses when trees lose water through their leaves, which is called transpiration. All these factors are important, he says, because policy makers need to look at all the different pieces of the climate puzzle, not just carbon dioxide. "By having policies that only focus on carbon, you completely overlook these other effects, which are important from a regional climate perspective," he said. "The ambition here is to have land management planning, where you can tackle the global challenges of carbon storage through land management, combined with strategies that have local cooling benefits," he said. Climate model and satellite data The researchers relied on the European Space Agency's satellite information on land cover, which has data on changes in vegetation cover from 1992 to 2015. This incredibly detailed dataset allowed the researchers to map land use cover for the 24-year period under eight broad categories: evergreen needleleaf forest, deciduous broadleaf forest, open shrubland, cropland, urban and built-up, cropland/natural vegetation mosaic, wetland, and grassland. They then combined these maps of vegetation changes with a regional climate model that simulated the climate for the same 24-year period. "The model used actual observed atmospheric conditions," said Bo Huang, a postdoc at the Industrial Ecology Programme and first author of the paper. "This gave us realistic information about how the changes we saw in land cover also affected changes in climate over the period." They were also able to compare their results with other empirical studies from different parts of Europe, which confirmed their findings. Area of cropland loss the size of Switzerland The researchers found that approximately 25 million hectares (Mha) of agricultural land was abandoned in Europe during the 24 years for which they had data, although cropland expansion elsewhere in Europe of about 20 Mha meant that the net loss of cropland was 5 Mha. That's a loss that is a little larger than the area of Switzerland. When cropland was abandoned, it was mostly taken over by forests, and to a lesser extent, urban settlements. Cherubini said the main reason that cropland was abandoned was because of socioeconomic factors. "People might have gotten tired of living in the countryside, or they don't want to work on their farm anymore," he said. "We saw this especially in the former Soviet Union after the fall of the (Berlin) Wall, because farmers were exposed to agricultural trade and international markets." As a consequence of agriculture abandonment, forested areas in Europe increased by about 23 Mha, with about 7 Mha of net gain. Some of these gains in forest area resulted when trees colonized wetlands and peatlands that had dried out over the period due to warmer summers and less precipitation. This last change -- the drying out of wetlands in eastern Europe -- also had significance for temperatures in eastern Europe, especially in the summer. Cooler in western Europe, warmer in eastern Europe When the researchers put all their data together, they saw that cropland abandonment in western Europe was associated with a regional cooling of roughly 1 degree C. in the spring and summer, and lesser amounts of cooling in the autumn and winter. But eastern Europe, especially in the northeast, showed the opposite trend with warming of up to 1 degree C in some areas during the spring and summer. The reason for this warming is partly because wetlands in this region are drying out, said Xiangping Hu, a researcher at NTNU's Industrial Ecology Programme and one of the paper's contributing authors. "When the sun shines on a 'wet' wetland, much of the energy from the sun goes to evaporating the water in the wetland rather than heating the surface of the wetland," he said. "In a 'dry' wetland, most of the sun's energy goes to heating the surface of the wetland, so the air above it also warms." The researchers saw this clear trend in their temperature modelling of the area. One of the main outcomes of the study was the different climate response to vegetation growth in eastern versus western Europe, Cherubini said, because of different local conditions. For example, eastern Europe is drier than western Europe, so when trees revegetate cropland, they don't have access to as much soil water for transpiration as their counterparts in western Europe. That difference is enough to overcome the benefits of cropland abandonment in eastern Europe, which is another reason why the researchers' analysis showed warming in eastern Europe but cooling in western Europe with cropland abandonment. In contrast to both eastern and western Europe, however, Scandinavia showed relatively little change in temperatures linked to land use cover changes over the period. That's because there was little change in land use, the researchers found. Creating win-win situations An awareness of these local and regional effects can allow European policymakers to create incentives that will help mitigate temperature increases to come. For example, in northern Europe, policymakers could find ways to prevent wetlands from drying out as a way to limit temperature increases, Cherubini said. In western Europe, he said, policymakers could have "specific planning and incentives for revegetation of open land, considering the local cooling benefits as a synergy of global climate change mitigation," he said. By lowering food waste in general and promoting more efficient agriculture on land that is being farmed, less land will be needed for primary agricultural production. Cherubini pointed out that warming is occurring much faster over land than compared to the global average level. "We are already at a mean warming of about 1.8 degrees C on the land, and we will be about 3 degrees on the land even if we are successful at stabilizing the average global temperature at 1.5 degrees C," he said. "That means we need to take action to adapt to a warming climate, and land use planning is one action that can bring local cooling benefits." "The message is quite clear," Cherubini said. "Abandoned cropland -- or land cover change more generally -- and its role in regional climate can help to us adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change. And by improving agricultural systems, we can free up land for multiple uses." ### NEW HAVEN Coronavirus is likely to spread in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local officials across Connecticut are preparing to deal with a potential outbreak. Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday that the state government was prepared to address the disease, following the drills and procedures it has established. CDC officials reported Tuesday that Covid-19 was likely to spread in the United States in the near future, noting that it had appeared without obvious cause in several countries, which qualifies as community spread, the second of three criteria for a global pandemic. A Yale New Haven Health System official, at the same time, said most people who do become ill wouldnt require hospitalization. Yale New Haven adapting, cautious Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director for infection prevention for the Yale New Haven Health System, said its five hospitals and Northeast Medical Group staff are continuously re-examining protocols to screen patients who may have traveled to an affected area or been in the company of someone who has and who shows symptoms of the coronavirus. One of the challenges that were working on now is thinking about how we can adapt the protocols that weve set forth, he said. All patients are asked whether they have any signs and symptoms of the disease, such as cough, fever or trouble breathing, he said. Screening is focused in the triage desk of our Emergency Departments at Yale New Haven, Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly, R.I., hospitals, but it also is occurring in doctors offices. We are creating a process where we can make decisions about what countries we can add to the list that we currently have, Martinello said Wednesday. Now, patients are only being asked about China, and were in the process of re-evaluating that, he said. He said he is increasingly concerned about travelers to South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Japan and Italy. He said the CDC is still focused on China but that Yale New Haven is recognizing that individual hospitals and doctors offices need to be flexible. ... This is changing so rapidly, we need to be adaptable to it. Weve had people who were in Israel and were in a meeting with people from South Korea who appeared to be sick with a respiratory infection, Martinello said. There are a lot of nuances here. We need to be cautious. He said that while there have been patients that staff have been concerned about, we havent identified anybody suffering from the coronavirus. If any of our staff have a concern, our infection-prevention team is available 24/7, he said. More for you UNH recommends students in Italy return as coronavirus spreads Really over the course of any given day were going to see some changes, he said. The screening questions are being integrated into patients electronic health records. The important thing right now is we all need to pay careful attention to this, Martinello said. Most people who get sick will get a mild, moderate illness that wont require hospitalization. We do need to avoid unproductive anxiety over this. Concerns across the state Lamont during a press conference Thursday asked residents to have confidence in the state governments ability to handle the potential impact of coronavirus, noting they had regularly conducted pandemic drills, including this past August, and communicated with health care providers and local and federal agencies regularly. This is not a call to make you nervous. Its a call to give you confidence that were ready for whats going forward here, said Lamont. Matthew Cartter, director of infectious diseases for the state Department of Public Health, noted the CDC had shifted in recent days from attempting to keep the virus out of the United States to mitigating its effect here, as well. Such a disease, easily spread person-to-person, was always likely to come to our shores, he said. A vaccine would likely not be available for at least a year, he noted. He said the current moment provided a window of opportunity for preparation, allowing health officials to better address the virus. Its no good pretending that its not going to come. I think the old saying is better to prepare for the worst than hope for the best, and right now its time to prepare, said Cartter. Jennifer Jackson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Hospital Association, said hospitals across Connecticut are prepared to treat those battling the virus. I want the public to be assured that hospitals are prepared to care for patients with Covid-19. This is what hospitals do. We regularly prepare, we plan, we train, for outbreaks of disease, said Jackson. We have built resiliency into our system. We have experience preparing for Ebola, for H1N1, and every year, for the flu. Cartter noted that the CDC has guidelines for workplaces and schools to follow in case of a pandemic. In the future, if need be, he said the state might recommend social distancing measures, such as having people stand six feet apart or canceling large gatherings. Michael Spera, police chief in Old Saybrook and president of the Connecticut Emergency Management Association, wrote to Lamont Wednesday, sharing his concerns about the lack of protective equipment available to emergency responders. CEMA is most concerned with the extreme shortage of available personal protective equipment and has called on the Governor to take immediate measure to ensure that healthcare and public safety providers have the personal protective equipment needed to respond to a potential outbreak of the virus in Connecticut, Spera said in a statement. The CDC has recommended that those sickened by the virus wear face masks to keep from spreading it to others. Lamont said officials had been in touch with the states congressional delegation about its needs, including masks, so they can accurately lobby for funds from the federal government. Such supplies are now in high demand, he noted, as countries and states prepare to deal with coronavirus. New Havens plan for a coronavirus case New Haven officials said a report of a potential case, first shared with the citys Public Safety Access Point personnel, would then be transmitted to New Haven fire and police, American Medical Response, the city Health Department and Yale New Haven Hospital, among others. Assistant Fire Chief for Operations Mark Vendetto said firefighters and EMTs would take particular caution to isolate the sick individual, including responding with an apparatus outfitted with a biocell, calling the person in question over the phone to assess their symptoms before making face-to-face contact, and wearing protective equipment before addressing the patient. Fire Chief John Alston said firefighters would be offered counseling and information afterward, with hope of helping them digest the stressful situation. New Haven police would provide traffic and crowd control, Lt. Mark ONeill said. Yale New Haven Hospital would ensure the patient is brought to its York Street campus, isolating them in a negatively-pressurized room in the emergency department to be stabilized, according to April Alfano, YNHHs manager of disaster preparedness and response. Mayor Justin Elicker said the disease has been on the citys radar for five or six weeks, after an individual flew back to New Haven from China, leading Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana to work with officials and community partners to develop the plan. Director of Health Maritza Bond said officials now are monitoring a handful of people in New Haven who may have been at risk of contracting the illness. Fontana said the city is staying abreast of the latest guidance from the CDC and would adapt its plan as needed. He asked residents to take the same steps they would to avoid transmitting the flu at this time, including washing their hands and covering their mouths when coughing. Students and others The University of New Haven recommended Tuesday that students and faculty at its Tuscan campus return to the United States due to the evolving threat of the coronavirus in Europe. Fairfield University closed its Florence University of the Arts study abroad program Tuesday, bringing 142 students back to the United States. Sacred Heart University brought home its students studying at John Cabot University in Rome. UConns study abroad programs in Italy remain active, but the university Wednesday advised the 88 students studying there to avoid traveling to areas affected by the coronavirus. Southern Connecticut State University is making arrangement for two students in Italy to return home, while Quinnipiac University Wednesday recommended its students studying abroad return home , according to HQ Press. Local chief elected officials broke into discussion of the disease at Wednesdays meeting of the South Central Regional Council of Governments, demonstrating evidence of the heightened consciousness about coronavirus among those responsible for planning any response. Meriden City Manager Timothy Coon said officials in that community had begun formulating a plan to address the virus if necessary. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim advised residents to take preventative measures in a statement, including washing hands often, staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, as well as cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces. If action needs to be taken, our Health Department is prepared to respond in case of an emergency and the Emergency Operations Center will share information as quickly as it becomes available, said Ganim in a statement. The Bridgeport EOC continues to monitor the coronavirus situation and has been involved with other health stakeholders within the community; remaining in contact with local hospitals as they are partners in responding to an emergency plan activated by the City in case the virus poses a threat to the community. Bradley International Airport has not begun screening for the coronavirus, as the airport does not receive direct flights from any region yet affected, Public Information Officer Ryan Tenny said Wednesday. The CDC is screening passengers at 20 airports across the country, he noted. The safety of our passengers and the entire Bradley International Airport community is of utmost importance to us. We will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation, and we are staying in constant contact with the experts at the CDC and State Department of Public Health to ensure that all possible precautions are taken and contingencies are considered, Tenny said in a statement. We will continue to respond to the advice of health experts and we are prepared to adjust our operations with the appropriate measures should the need arise. Torrington Area Health Department nurse Leslie Pollito said Wednesday that she and others at the department are prepared if they need to plan for a pandemic, and had been consulting with local and state officials and watching the CDCs travel advisories, which include a recommendation to avoid nonessential travel to China and South Korea. Nows the time to plan, Pollito said. We dont want people to panic, but its never too early to plan for things like this. The Norwalk Health Department has indicated on its website that officials are monitoring the spread of the disease. We will continue to work with partners at the state and federal levels, as well as our partners here in Norwalk, to stay updated on this situation and to prepare for a response should the situation warrant it, officials said. Severity of possible outbreak remains unclear The severity of a potential coronavirus outbreak in the United States is still unclear, federal officials said Wednesday. Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in a call with reporters Wednesday. She noted that there is no vaccine for Covid-19, the specific strain of coronavirus in question, or medication approved to treat it. She said nonpharmaceutial interventions would be the most important part of the response. The CDC is striving to both contain the spread of the disease and mitigate its effects at this time, she said. According to the World Health Organization, 77,780 confirmed cases of the disease had been reported in China as of Tuesday, and 1,205 reported outside the country. A total of 2,700 deaths have been reported, according to the WHO. Fifty-four Americans had come down with the disease as of Monday, according to the CDC, including 14 within the countrys borders. Chinese health officials, studying 72,314 cases diagnosed before Feb. 11, said Monday the lethality rate for those individuals was about 2.3 percent, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. About 81 percent of cases were considered mild, officials said. The number of mild cases of the disease that may not be coming to the attention of public health officials, which would affect the lethality rate, is as of yet unclear. The lethality rate for the 1918 outbreak of Spanish flu was about 2.5 percent, although that disease killed healthy, younger people at a higher rate than Covid-19 appears to have so far. The typical lethality rate for a flu outbreak is about 0.1 percent; 16,000 people have died from the flu in the United States so far this season. The lethality rate for SARS, which infected about 8,000 people in 2002-03, was 10 percent during that period, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. According to Yale University, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, and more severe illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. Symptoms may appear between two and 14 days after someone is exposed, officials said. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com; Ed Stannard and Mark Zaretsky contributed to this story. NEW YORK, NY - February 26, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Blockchain Payment Stock News - iQSTEL Inc. (OTC: IQST) today announced the software blueprint for its blockchain-based Voice, SMS, and Data Wholesale Carrier Settlement and Payment Platform is complete. Blockchain technology is turning the payment processing world upside down. Rapid processing with fraud mitigation all in one forensic friendly system. It will drive the Telecom market out of the dark ages and into the 21st century. Mr. Iglesias, the Company's CEO, stated: "We are very pleased with the speed at which this software blueprint has been completed by itsBchain. Final assembly of the payment solutions platform has begun with the anticipation of an early Q3 delivery for beta testing. We already anticipate beta testing to begin with some of our biggest carrier clients such as Telefonica (Spain and Latin America), Millicom (Tigo brand for Latin America), Telecom Italia and Deutche Telecom." "The demand for an efficient Tier-1 payment system is felt across the telecom industry as a whole. Currently, receivables time frames are 35-40 days. Our vision in istBchain is to be the first blockchain solution for this market, dramatically reducing the receivables time frame to as little as a day. In addition, our blockchain-based solution will virtually eliminate fraud, currently an uncontrolled detriment to corporate bottom lines in the Telecom market. Today, the carrier interconnection market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year and our system will bring transparency, efficiency and increased profits to the carriers. This is one of the biggest opportunities currently in the telco industry worldwide." concluded Mr. Iglesias, the Company's CEO. About iQSTEL Inc.: iQSTEL (OTC: IQST) www.iQSTEL.com is a technology company offering a wide array of services to the Telecommunications Industry. These include services to International Long-Distance Telecommunications Operators (ILD Wholesale), Retail and Corporate markets (ILD Retail), Submarine Fiber Optic Network capacity, Satellite Communications services, Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, Internet of Things (IoT) technology solutions, Data Center facilities capacity leasing, and Blockchain solutions for the Telecommunications industry. About Etelix.com USA, LLC: Etelix.com USA LLC www.etelix.com is wholly owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. Etelix.com USA, LLC is a Miami, Florida-based international telecom carrier founded in 2008 that provides telecom and technology solutions worldwide, with commercial presence in North America, Latin America and Europe. Enabled by its 214-license granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Etelix provides International Long-Distance voice services for Telecommunications Operators (ILD Wholesale), and Submarine Fiber Optic Network capacity for internet (4G and 5G). Etelix was founded in 2008 and has been profitable since inception. About SwissLink Carrier AG: SwissLink Carrier AG www.swisslink-carrier.com is a 51% owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. SwissLink Carrier AG is a Switzerland based international Telecommunications Carrier founded in 2015 providing international VoIP connectivity worldwide, with commercial presence in Europe, CIS and Latin America. SwissLink Carrier AG is a Swiss licensed Operator, having a domestic Interconnect with Swisscom, allowing their international Carrier Customers direct terminations via SwissLink into all Switzerland Fix & Mobile Networks. Since the takeover from Swissphone in November 2018 and the rename into SwissLink, they operate on a profitable level. About QGlobal SMS LLC.: QGlobal SMS LLC www.qglobalsms.com is a 51% owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. QGlobal SMS is a USA based company founded in 2020 specialized in international and domestic SMS termination, with emphasis on the Applications to Person (A2P) and Person to Person (P2P) for Wholesale Carrier Market and Corporate Market in US. QGlobal SMS has commercial presence in Europe, USA and Latin America. QGlobal SMS has robust international interconnection with Tier1 SMS Aggregators, guarantying its customers high quality and low termination rates, over more than 100 countries worldwide. Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this news release may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and iQSTEL Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release. iQSTEL Inc. IR US Phone: 646-740-0907, IR Email: investors@iqstel.com Source: iQSTEL Inc. www.iqstel.com ; www.swisslink-carrier.com ; www.etelix.com and www.qglobalsms.com Paid news Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. Disclosure : this news release featuring iQSTEL Inc. (OTC: IQST) is a paid for news release on Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp About Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/About/ Sign up for free stock news alerts at Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp Published on 2020/02/26 | Source MBC drama "Find Me in Your Memory" co-stars Kim Dong-wook and Moon Ga-young increased anticipation for the drama with a couple pictorial. Advertisement This exceptional pictorial is in black and white to make it look more chic and captivating. They look somewhat alike in the picture of them on a chair. The way they are leaned on the chair and gazing ahead gives a dreamy look. Kim Dong-wook pairs a white shirt with a toned-down suit, giving off soft charisma and gentleness. Moon Ga-young pulls off a check patterned two-piece, looking exceptionally beautiful. In another picture of them, they are posing uniquely. Moon Ga-young has her hand over Kim Dong-wook's face, but it looks sexy and dreamy. They look like they're touching and Kim Dong-wook looks weary from between Moon Ga-young's fingers. The two actors started filming "Find Me in Your Memory" since November and their chemistry continued to make this pictorial look outstanding. They laughed all throughout the photo shoot and even when they were doing their individual shoots, they stood by each other, giving advice and exchanging opinions. "Find Me in Your Memory" is a romance between Lee Jeong-hoon (Kim Dong-wook), a next-generation anchor with hyperthymesia (highly superior autobiographical memory) who remembers things all the time, and rising star Yeo Ha-jin (Moon Ga-young), a 'scandal maker' who forgets the most important time in her life. The drama begins on the 18th of March. ___________ "Find Me in Your Memory" is directed by Oh Hyeon-jong, written by Kim Yoon-joo, and features Kim Dong-wook, Moon Ga-young, Jang Young-nam, Lee Seung-joon, Lee Jin-hyuk, Han Da-mi. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020/03/18~Upcoming, Wed, Thu 20:55 on MBC. BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC ("ArcLight") today announced that one of its affiliates has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the ownership interests in Griffith Energy LLC ("Griffith") from Star West Generation LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, LLC ("Oaktree"). Griffith, a 570 MW gas-fired combined-cycle generation facility, is located in Mohave County, Arizona, near the California and Nevada borders. Griffith is a highly efficient resource that serves the rapidly growing Desert Southwest power market and sells summer capacity and electricity to a regional load-serving entity under a long-term contract. Commenting on the transaction, ArcLight's Managing Partner and Founder Dan Revers said, "Griffith represents an attractive opportunity to own one of the premier gas-fired power assets serving the Desert Southwest, a market we know well from prior investments. We look forward to continuing Griffith's strong operational and commercial performance." "During our nine years of ownership, Griffith has demonstrated outstanding safety, reliability and operational performance," said Oaktree Managing Director John Van Benschoten. "We would like to thank the plant employees as well as the team at Recurve Energy Asset Management, which has managed Griffith on our behalf. We are proud of the operational record the plant has achieved under our ownership." The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Milbank LLP is serving as primary legal counsel to ArcLight. Barclays is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is serving as primary legal counsel to Oaktree. About ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC is one of the leading infrastructure firms focused on North American energy assets. ArcLight has invested $22 billion in over 100 transactions since inception. Based in Boston, the firm's investment team employs a hands-on value creation strategy that utilizes its in-house technical, operational, and commercial specialists as well as the firm's 1,500-person asset management affiliate. More information about ArcLight, and a complete list of ArcLight's portfolio companies, can be found at www.arclightcapital.com. Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $125 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2019. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 950 employees and offices in 18 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree's website at oaktreecapital.com. SOURCE ArcLight Capital Partners Related Links http://www.arclightcapital.com Increased reports of coronavirus cases around the world saw Australian shares tumble for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday, wiping out all the gains achieved earlier in the year. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 50.2 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 6657.9, extending the slide from the record high hit one week ago to 7.5 per cent. All sectors aside from healthcare and utilities finished in the red, led by steep declines in technology and energy shares. As was the case earlier this week, the weakness was driven by uncertainty on the human and economic toll the coronavirus may bring. It is impossible to make any meaningful estimate of the full potential impact of the coronavirus on the global economy right now, said Paul OConnor, the head of Janus Henderson Investors multi-asset team in the UK. When the virus was largely contained to China, consensus expectations were generally focused on a v-shaped recovery in global growth. Mr OConnor said the spread of the virus worldwide raises questions about the prospects for a quick recovery. If the virus continues to spread internationally, then consensus expectations will shift from a v-shaped recovery to a deeper and more protracted setback for the global economy, he said. Even with the recent correction, Mr OConnor believes markets still arent prepared for the growth downgrades and corporate earnings misses that could accompany such a scenario, recommending investors adopt capital preservation and defensive strategies until uncertainty begins to lift or valuations have repriced sufficiently to offer better risk-returns opportunities. This may take quite some time yet, he said. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Much of the weakness during the session came from significant falls in the big four banks which all slid more than 1 per cent, led by ANZ which slumped 2.1 per cent to $25.53. Macquarie also slid 1.3 per cent to $139.42. BHP Group fell 1 per cent to $35.19 while Rio Tinto tumbled 1.6 per cent to $90.41 after the release of its annual result overnight. Elsewhere, Telstra shed 1.7 per cent to $3.44, Woodside Petroleum 2 per cent to $28.92 and Wesfarmers 1.3 per cent to $41.86. Those declines were partially offset by healthcare giant CSL which rallied 2.2 per cent to $317.50. Building materials supplier Adelaide Brighton was the top performer on the benchmark, jumping 6.3 per cent to $3.06 following several analyst upgrades. Business services firm Link Administration finished at the other end of the scoreboard, tumbling 13.5 per cent to $5.00 after the release of its interim results. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defended himself against accusations that he is not "pro-Israel" enough, saying he is "very proud of being Jewish" but fully aware of the "suffering of the Palestinian people." If elected, Sanders would be the first Jewish president. During Tuesday night's debate in South Carolina, he said he once briefly lived in Israel, and "what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through [Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country. And I happen to believe that what our foreign policy in the Mideast should be about is absolutely protecting the independence and security of Israel. But you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. We have got to have a policy that reaches out to the Palestinians." Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is also Jewish, said "the only solution here is a two-state solution. The Palestinians have to be accommodated. The real problem here is you have two groups of people, both of whom think God gave them the same piece of land. And the answer is to obviously split it up." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) agreed that there has to be a two-state solution, and said President Trump favors Israel by "putting a thumb on the scale on just one side." Israelis "have a right to security," she said, just like Palestinians "have a right to be treated with dignity and have self-determination. ... But it's not up to us to determine what the terms of a two-state solution are. We want to be a good ally to everyone in the region." More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity FDA: Jimmy John's linked to multiple E. coli and salmonella outbreaks Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Departmental leaders are among the most qualified public servants in the Federal Government. They are dedicated to ensuring the guidance and management necessary to support the health and well-being of the nation. Learn more about the Department's leadership: Secretary and Deputy Secretary LONDONBP Plc will leave three U.S. oil-industry lobby groups due to differences on climate policy, after the companys new chief pledged to eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The decision, which follows similar moves by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA, seeks to address a contradiction at the heart of many oil companies climate pledges, which sometimes ran contrary to the political lobbying of industry groups of which they were members. Some in society have lost trust in BP and the industry more widely because of seeming inconsistencies between public statements and lobbying and advocacy, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The company will withdraw from the Western Energy Alliance due to differences over the regulation of methane emissions, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. It will also quit the Western States Petroleum Association and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which dont agree with BP on carbon pricing. Earlier this month, BP set out the boldest climate plan of any major oil company, pledging to eliminate almost all of the carbon emissions from its operations and the fuel it sells to customers. While BP chief executive officer Bernard Looney said he didnt quite know how to achieve this goal, he highlighted a reappraisal of lobbying as one of the first steps in the process. The decision to withdraw from the lobby groups underlines BPs net-zero commitment, said David Elmes, an energy expert at the Warwick Business School. How fast BPs capital investment shifts to low-carbon businesses is yet to be seen, Elmes said. AFPMs president and chief executive officer Chet Thompson said that the group was disappointed with BPs decision despite the groups commitment to climate change policies. Because of that, it leads us to assume that this decision was made based on factors other than our actual positions on the issues. WSPA president, Catherine Reheis-Boyd said the group would continue to work with BP and stakeholders to engage in a civil public discourse around creating a sustainable energy future. BP reviewed the policy positions of 30 trade associations and concluded that 22 are aligned with the companys goals, five were partially aligned and three werent aligned. Where our views and those of an association cannot be reconciled, then we recognize that it may be better if BP withdrew its membership, Looney said in the statement. We have to earn back peoples trust. Read more about: Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me]. 1 Corinthians 6:12 (AMP) The shocking headline from the Oct. 7, 2019 edition of USA Today reads, "Epic Games sued for not warning parents Fortnight is allegedly as addictive as cocaine." The court case came as no surprise to me. After all, Im the author of the book and video, Digital Cocaine: A Journey Toward iBalance. Ive been beating this drum for years. Audiences all over the world watch and listen to my presentations with great intensity. However, being heard, I discovered early on is quite another matter. I have two major hurdles when attempting to communicate that digital drugs are as addictive as their non-virtual counterparts heroin, cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, etc. In other words, digital addiction is not a metaphor; it is a literal addiction. First, the vast majority of parents I speak to believe they and their children are the exceptions to all the science and warnings that I present. The second obstacle I face is convincing my audiences that addiction to devices equivalently affects the brain as cocaine. In an interview on Yahoo! News Now, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, psychotherapist and addiction specialist, said: Kids are, and again, this hypnotic trance that I call it is now being backed by research that shows that these screens are affecting [the] frontal cortex of a childs brain in exactly the same way as cocaine.[1] I should probably pause at this point and define digital drugs. Developing a dependency on technology means excessive screen time, whether it be staring at a high definition-television, smartphone, tablet, electronic billboard, or computer screen. You get the idea. Where all of this becomes tricky is defining the word excessive. Rarely do I have a screen addict tell me that they use their drug excessively. Denial is a classic hallmark of any addiction. Everyone around the digital addict can clearly see their consumption is way over the top. Still, when confronted, the tech junkie can always downplay and justify their unbridled usage, most often accompanied by irritation or anger, but sometimes with a hearty laugh. I speak in schools all over the world, and given my topic, I often have conversations with members of IT Departments. After speaking to a group of students, one of the tech employees approached me to talk about his video gaming. He assured me that he did not have an addiction and that everything was under control. I hear this all the time. It goes something like this, I only play a limited time each evening and possibly a little more on the weekends. Im really careful. After he walked away, I was approached by one of his colleagues who asked me, Did he just tell you he limits his video gaming? I said, Yes. He went on to tell me that his video gaming addiction is so bad, he uses his vacation time to play video games. An addict, regardless of the drug, rarely believes their usage is immoderate. I think the video gamer I just described was sincere. Nevertheless, those who work with him day in and day and out; those who know him, observe something entirely different. Any honest parent of an infant, toddler, preschooler, kindergartner, adolescent, teenager, or University student will tell you that it doesn't take very long at all before screen time becomes excessive. The time it takes for mesmerization to occur can be the very moment when the eyes lock onto the screen. They are all instantly drawn to the glow like a moth to a flame. And over time, their personalities change, and not for the better. A childs brain is underdeveloped and, therefore, susceptible to technologys hyper-stimulating effect. The same is true for a young adult under the age of approximately 25 because even their pre-frontal cortex is still not fully developed.[2] That is the area of the brain that, among other things, regulates impulse control. In other words, they struggle with putting the brakes on their urges[3], and this includes screen time. What these young people need are non-addicted adults to come along beside them and put the brakes on for them. Houston, we have yet another major problem. Most adults are just as addicted to their technology as their children. We are now seeing multiple layers of denial in the typical nuclear home. This article is from Brad's upcoming book, Digital Rehab: Digital Detox and Beyond. More about Brad's work can be found at bradhuddleston.com. [1] Glow kids: Beware of the screen. YouTube video, 13:58. October 13, 2016. https://youtu.be/MQMlOjOPsKg, accessed Feb. 9, 2020. [2] Maturation of the teenage brain. Mariam Arain, Maliha Haque, Lina Johal, Puja Mathur, Wynand Nel, Afsha Rais, Ranbir Sandhu, and Sushil Sharma. National Center for Bioteachnology Information, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Published April 3, 2013. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/. Accessed Feb. 10, 2020. [3] Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. National Institute on Drug Abuse, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide/introduction. Access Feb. 10, 2020. The Turkish railways has posted record figures in freight and passenger transportation for 2019, the country's transport minister said. This success owes to the investments that have been made in railway sector since 1950, Cahit Turhan told Anadolu Agency. The number of passengers travelled through high-speed trains grew 2% year-on-year to 8.3 million in 2019, Turhan stressed. He said the quality of service on conventional trains has improved thanks to the renewal of the existing railway network, its modernization and rejuvenation of the vehicle fleet. "Some 17.5 million passengers travelled by conventional trains last year, rising 10% from 16 million previous year," the minister added. The Eastern Express, an overnight passenger train running between Turkeys capital Ankara and the eastern Kars province and listed among top four routes in the world, attracted a great interest of passengers, he added. The Marmaray, a 13.5-km (8.4 mi) commuter rail and train passage connecting Istanbul's Asian side to its European side beneath the Istanbul Strait, welcomed 124 million passengers in 2019, Turhan noted. Thus, the total passenger numbers through Turkey's railways reached 149.8 million. He highlighted that the amount of freight transported via railways also surged to hit 29.3 million tons last year. Image Credit: AA Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the police deployment was less than adequate on the ground as the violence raged in parts of Delhi that has left at least 22 persons dead and over 200 injured. He blamed "anti-social, political and outsider elements" behind the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that started on Sunday. Speaking in Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said: "Who is behind the incidents that are going on for last three days? People of Delhi do not want violence. All this has not been done by the aam aadmi (common man). This has been done by some anti-social, political and outside elements. They are the reason some areas of Delhi are burning. Hindus and Muslims in Delhi never want to fight. Hindus and Muslims both have died. Who got benefit out of this?" "I stayed awake whole night yesterday. We saved many families with the help of the police. We got help from the police but sometimes there was not enough police force. A constable was martyred and a DCP suffered injuries on his head. 50 policemen have been injured. I think the police tried to control the situation but the magnitude of violence was so big and their numbers were less," he said. Kejriwal demanded that the Army should be called in the capital in the view of violence which has claimed 22 lives so far. "I requested the Union Home Minister to call in the Army, if there is a need. Curfew should be clamped in all violence-affected areas so that the situation can become normal as soon as possible. I want to assure people that there won't be any dearth from our end. Shun violence and go to your homes. If any outside elements want to create unrest then inform the police." The Chief Minister announced the compensation of Rs 1 crore and a job to a member of Police Head Constable Ratan Lal, who lost his life in the line of duty during the violence in Gokulpuri. "Ratan Lal sacrificed his life to save the country, not to save any Hindu or Muslim. I want to assure the family of Ratan Lal ji that we will take care of them. We will give a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a job to a member of his family," he said. Kejriwal demanded a probe in some videos which are being circulated stating that cops were seen helping the rioters. "Some videos are being circulated in which some cops were seen helping the rioters. There should be an investigation into this," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 15:19:59|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Sentiment among South Korean businesses over economic situation dropped last month amid the soaring cases of the COVID-19 for the past week, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) stood at 65 in February, down 10 points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the biggest monthly slide since the data began to be compiled in January 2003. The reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumbering optimists. The rapid fall came amid the surging COVID-19 cases. As of Wednesday morning, the number of infected patients totaled 1,146, up 169 from the previous day. From Feb. 19-25, 946 new cases were reported in the country. The BSI for manufacturers declined 11 points over the month to 65 in February, posting the lowest in four years. The figure for non-manufacturers, including the eatery, lodging, wholesale and retail sectors, slipped 9 points to 64 in the month, marking the fastest decline in about four and a half years. Enditem (Bloomberg) -- Omans new ruler is embarking on possibly unpopular steps to improve the Gulf nations finances, in a test of his authority just weeks after succeeding a cousin who had ruled for five decades. The largest Arab crude producer outside OPEC plans to lower its debt and review state companies, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said said on Sunday in his first televised address. Oman has posted deficits since oil prices slumped in 2014, with this years shortfall projected at 8.4% of gross domestic product and the International Monetary Fund forecasting no surpluses until at least 2024. Resources will be redirected to raise revenue, the sultan said, and there will be a complete revision of activities and employment at government companies to improve their performance. These are the types of rationalizations that have been planned for some time, and are necessary, said Richard Segal, senior analyst at Manulife Investment in London. The first priority would be to slow the growth in debt, he said. Sultan Qaboos, who died in January at age 79, transformed a country with barely any paved roads into an independent nation of 4 million people with a $79 billion economy. He gave women the vote in the early 1990s and enabled them to stand for public office, unprecedented moves for the Gulf, while retaining total control over major political decisions. But in recent years he avoided making tough economic decisions. Whos Omans New Sultan Haitham bin Tariq? Q&A Last year, Oman found some success as it sought to diversify sources of revenue. The government began a quest to privatize a number of sovereign entities, including the first major deal with Chinas State Grid Corp. to acquire a 49% stake in Omans state-owned power transmission company. Although economic growth stagnated last year, according to the IMF its expected to grow this year, driven by an acceleration in the oil sector. The government said it plans to borrow 2 billion rials ($5.2 billion) this year to bridge the bulk of the deficit, and aggregate revenue is expected at 10.7 billion rials, up 6% from a 2019 estimate. Story continues The country has four dollar bonds maturing in 2021 and 2022. Oman should easily be able to refinance issuances dated June next year, Segal said, as it has plenty of market access. Omans debt is rated junk by all three major rating companies. Standard Chartered expects Oman to emerge from a recession this year on the back of rising gas output, investment in manufacturing, logistics and tourism. The lack of meaningful fiscal stimulus, however, will constrain non-oil growth, Carla Slim, the banks economist for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said last month. The country has to balance the need to ensure fiscal sustainability with allowing the economy to grow and labor markets to survive, said Segal, so it would be unwise to retrench too quickly. To contact the reporters on this story: Abeer Abu Omar in Dubai at aabuomar@bloomberg.net;Farah Elbahrawy in Dubai at felbahrawy@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Amy Teibel 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. Hundreds of Coleg Cambria staff and students benefit from free wellbeing programme This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 26th, 2020 Hundreds of students and workers in north east Wales are improving their health and wellbeing with Coleg Cambria. More and more people are signing up to the colleges free Active Mind, Body and Soul sessions in a bid to better their lifestyles. Around 800 learners and 200 staff members took part in the Active Cambria programme between September and December, and the numbers are up 20% year on year. Coordinator Donna Welsh said a culture of togetherness and support is encouraging students to participate and take the message and activities home to share with family and friends. The Mind, Body and Soul sessions in particular have proven to be popular again, the demand is growing all the time, said Donna. Students from all areas of the college are taking part from equine and IT to hair and beauty and engineering which shows the appeal. As well as physical sessions we have held talks and interactive workshops on how to make lifestyle changes and take a more holistic approach, which have been well-received. As a result, people are telling us they already feel healthier and more confident, so we are delighted to be able to help make a difference. The talks were spoken about at the Welsh Colleges Forum and will be presented at the launch of the Welsh Colleges Wellbeing Strategy. Donna said members of the Forum were very impressed with the programme and the focus upon an individual soul to help develop confidence and tackle depression. The main aim of the Mind, Body and Soul sessions across all of our sites has encouraged students to have an open mind, learn coping strategies and when placed in stressful or uncomfortable situations to be able to deal with them calmly, she added. Also, to plan exciting activities which they enjoy and are passionate about, to help balance pressure and busy lifestyles. Anything from drinking more water, an increase in exercise and spending more time with friends and family can have a positive impact, and thats certainly proving to be the case, with staff commenting on how they can see a change in students confidence and morale during lectures and in general. Developed in line with nationwide bodies including Sport Wales and Colegau Cymru, Active Cambria has helped to encourage a positive and healthy working environment while serving as best practice for some of the countrys top organisations using three distinct categories Get Active, Elite Sport and Future Sport. For more information, visit www.cambria.ac.uk/category/active-cambria or follow @colegcambria on social media. Building on success isnt so easy, but for one Redding woman, LEGO may be the way to do it. Jessica Ewud, who goes by the name Ragzy X, has been building LEGO masterpieces for almost the past decade, and has made quite a name for herself. Lately, Ewud can be seen on screen on FOXs hit show, LEGO Masters. I love being in a competitive environment, said Ewud. Its crazy, no pun intended, to think of how all the pieces connected together. The show, which was adopted over from the U.K., aired its first episode of February 5, and features LEGO Batman Movie star Will Arnett as the host. Weekly, Ewud and her building partner, Samuel Hatmaker, face off against nine other teams for the title of LEGO Master. Ewuds journey to the show has not been linear however; overcoming the gender stereotypes in her youth of the building toys. When I was a child, I was actually told I couldnt play with LEGOs because LEGO was considered to be for boys, said Ewud. Now, the 32-year-old artist is using LEGO as her primary medium in crafting what she calls pop science art. One of Ewuds most famous pieces was actually one of her first experiences as a LEGO artist - the LEGO Lincoln. When I was really doing some soul searching a few years ago, and I wanted to take my artwork to the next level; it kind of just came to me, said Ewud. One night I had this dream that I made this piece and the name of this piece was called Lego Lincoln. I thought it was so brilliant that I literally woke myself out of sleep, wrote it down, and the next day, I went out to get the materials for it. While numerous LEGO Lincolns have been made since then, perhaps one of the most iconic is the 4,000 brick version that currently stands in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Eagle-eyed viewers will also be quick to note that in the background is wording from Lincolns Gettysburg Address. That LEGO Lincoln is what foretold me as an artist in the Lego World, Ewud added. Though LEGO is not a traditional art medium, Ewud notes that LEGO have taken on a sort of symbolism for her that goes beyond the bricks. My artwork is not just LEGO just because its bold; its developed a sort of meaning behind my work, said Ewud. I like to do things that are very iconic and the LEGO, to me, symbolize the building blocks of something, For example, Abraham Lincoln is the building block of civil rights in America, Ewud added. Ewud has gone on to make LEGO versions of Andy Warhol artwork as well as LEGO tributes to Marilyn Monroe and Coco Chanel. She has also attracted attention from art collectors around the world, and has had her artwork hang alongside the likes of Salvador Dali and Ron English. Ewud encourages younger artists to develop their passion in what she calls free building, and to let their imaginations run wild with the bricks. If youre going to create or make something, make something that is important to you and that you love because youll end up dedicating the time to do it, said Ewud. There is no right or wrong way to put together LEGO bricks. Art by Jessica "Ragzy" Ewud can be found on her website. CHARLESTON, S.C. Bernie Sanders Democratic rivals were prepared to unleash a new wave of attacks against the partys presidential front-runner, in a high-stakes debate Tuesday night. It was likely the final prime-time opportunity for several candidates to change the direction of the 2020 nomination fight. Did Sanders opponents succeed? Who won when the candidates took to the stage in Charleston? Let us know by voting in the polls below and check back later to see how the results have changed. The seven candidates who qualified were former Vice President Joe Biden; former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar; Sanders; billionaire Tom Steyer; and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Almost all of the six other candidates in the South Carolina debate went after Sanders in the hours leading up to affair. Buttigieg highlighted Sanders call for a government-financed health care system as an example of his polarization. Biden accused Sanders of trying to undermine President Barack Obamas 2012 reelection. And Bloomberg assailed Sanders record on gun control. Five Bloomberg supporters, all current or former black elected officials, blasted Sanders record on gun control as well as other priorities for the black community on Tuesday. Too often, Bernie Sanders has been on the wrong side of history, missing in action or unable to make progress on virtually every issue for black voters, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks told reporters, predicting that viewers would see a 180-degree shift tonight from Bloomberg after his lackluster showing in last weeks Democratic debate. The new wave of infighting came as Democrats were set to meet for the party's 10th and perhaps most consequential debate of the 2020 primary season. Bloomberg was the focus last week for his highly anticipated debut, but after a bad performance that froze his momentum, the knives are out for the 78-year-old Vermont senator. The night marked a major moment in Sanders political career. After spending decades as an outside agitator accustomed to attacking the party establishment, hes suddenly the one on defense as the Democratic establishment fears he could build an insurmountable delegate lead as soon as next week. Sanders handling of the pressure could be crucial in determining whether he stays at the top of the Democratic pack. During a town hall Monday night televised on CNN, Sanders said he expected the attacks. But he still seemed to be adjusting to his new status. It is a little funny to find myself as the so-called front-runner, he said. Other candidates also had a lot on the line for Tuesdays forum, which comes just four days before South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. Biden was looking to make a big impression in South Carolina, where he was long viewed as the unquestioned front-runner because of his support from black voters. Campaigning in the state the day before the debate, he predicted he would win by plenty on Saturday Having finished on top in three consecutive primary contests including a tie in Iowa Sanders was eyeing a knockout blow, however. He has shifted new staff into the state from Nevada, expanded his South Carolina advertising and added events to his schedule. Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said there was an air of desperation to the fresh attacks on his candidate. Youve got candidates, youve got super PACs, all piling on to stop Bernie Sanders, Weaver said. "They know he has the momentum in the race." One candidate who hasnt yet taken Sanders on directly: Warren. Though she shares many of Sanders liberal policies and could benefit if he were to stumble, shes been reluctant to tangle with him throughout the campaign. She was Bloombergs fiercest critic during last weeks debate and signaled she may continue to target the former New York mayor. Sanders may benefit most from the sheer number of candidates still in the race. They are still fighting among themselves -- and splitting up the anti-Sanders vote -- to emerge as the strongest alternative to him. Heading into the debate, there was no sign that any of those candidates was close to getting out. Klobuchar, who finished in a distant fifth or sixth place in Nevada over the weekend, announced plans to launch a $4.2 million ad buy across several Super Tuesday states. Meanwhile, Sanders' critics in both parties unleashed a flood of new attacks focused largely on his long record in elected office and unique perspective on some controversial issues. Critics in both parties jumped on comments Sanders made in a CBS News 60 Minutes segment aired Sunday in which he praised the late Cuban ruler Fidel Castro for establishing what Sanders called a massive literacy program when he took power. Sanders stood by his comments during the CNN town hall, saying he'd criticized authoritarian regimes all over the world," including Cuba, Nicaragua and Saudi Arabia, But he added that, after Castro took power in 1959, the first thing he did was initiate a literacy program. I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing, Sanders said. That is a fact. End of discussion. Sanders was also in a dispute with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an establishment group that advocates for strong U.S.-Israel relations. Sanders said he would skip the group's conference because he was concerned about the event giving airtime to leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights." Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called that characterization offensive" and irresponsible." --The Associated Press 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. Thousands of new 'daigou' stores are cropping up throughout Australia selling sought-after baby formula, ugg boots and locally-sourced honey. In a 200m strip of Anzac Parade in Kingsford, in Sydney's east, five near-identical new shop fronts have appeared in the past few months. They're part of a booming $1billion industry selling Australian products to Chinese buyers. Each shop front has posters and signage advertising an array of products, and are now well known among locals as a one-stop-shop for all their supplies. The stores sell highly sought after products, including Australian made baby formula Jamie Yi, an employee at one of the stores called Easy Go, told news.com.au most of the sales are actually done online. But the physical stores often give Chinese nationals - particularly students who move to Australia to study at nearby UNSW - the opportunity to visit and ensure the products are legitimate. 'People in China can probably find this stuff online, but what they find is that when they pay for it, it's fake sometimes,' she said. In store buyers often sell the products back home to China through messaging and social media platforms - sometimes for a premium. The store fronts often advertise using large posters of some of their wide range of products The process is known as daigou shopping. But the stores often go unnoticed by people who are not actively looking for them. Many have fenced off entrances and blacked out windows. The idea to sell the products in store first began in the Australian market in 2008, but popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. Just three years ago there were no more than 1,500 stores throughout the nation, but that number sits closer to 12,000 in 2020. The stores are known as one-stop-shops among the local community because they sell products most often wanted to send back home to China Dr Mathew McDougall, president of the Australia China Daigou Association said the selling of goods had shifted to suit demand. 'When daigou started in 2008, it was informal and infrequent with people's relatives living in China sending this products back home. Then it got a lot bigger and bigger, and those selling the products needed somewhere to store them. They figured that these warehousing facilities began to double up as store fronts,' he said. Dr McDougall described it as a 'convenient experience' for shoppers looking to send products home to family and friends. Face masks and hand sanitiser have been the top selling products in recent months as concerns rise over the spread of coronavirus. Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. American students appear in court over fatal stabbing of Rome policeman. Two US students accused of murdering a police officer in Rome last summer are due to appear in court in Rome on 26 February. Californian students Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth could be handed life sentences if convicted of murdering Mario Cerciello Rega, a 35-year-old carabiniere who was stabbed to death in Rome in the early hours of 26 July. Cerciello Rega and his colleague Andrea Varriale, both dressed in plain-clothes, had gone to investigate a drug deal gone wrong in the upmarket Prati district of the capital. The US students, who had been on vacation in Rome and were teenagers at the time, say they acted in self-defence and that the two officers did not identify themselves. Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello with an 18-cm serrated-edge combat knife but told investigators he thought he and his friend were being attacked by drug dealers. What happened prior to attack A few hours earlier Elder and Natale-Hjorth had been trying to buy cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere. A man described as an "intermediary" and identified as Sergio Brugiatelli helped them find a dealer who allegedly sold them crushed aspirin instead of drugs. In retaliation the students stole Brugiatelli's rucksack, demanding the return of their money plus a gram of cocaine in exchange. However Brugiatelli informed the police of the situation, with undercover officers Cerciello Rega and Varriale going to the designated meeting place in Prati instead of Brugiatelli. Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega. Photo Il Mattino. Elder claims that they were jumped from behind by the officers who they believed were criminal associates of Brugiatelli. Varriale has said that he and Cerciello, both unarmed, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Cerciello Rega, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale. In the ensuing 32-second brawl Cerciello Rega was stabbed 11 times, later dying from his wounds in nearby S. Spirito hospital. Elder and Natale-Hjorth fled the scene but were tracked down the next day to a hotel, in the same area as the attack, where police found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel. Contradictory version of events Varriale initially said that he and Cerciello Rega had been attacked by men of north African descent, as well as claiming that he had been armed. However it later transpired that both officers were unarmed and that they acted without backup, in violation of police procedure. Natale-Hjorth blindfolded in police station Shortly after the teens' arrest, a photo showing Natale-Hjorth blindfolded and restrained at a police station was leaked to the Italian media, attracting further controversy to the case. Separately, defence lawyers for the US students say that transcripts of talks between Elder and his lawyer which were published in Italian media and suggested that he had confessed, were badly translated and appeared to omit parts of their conversation. Outpouring of public sympathy Cerciello Rega's murder received widespread attention in Italy where he was portrayed as a hero. He had only just returned to duty from his honeymoon, and massive crowds turned out for his funeral at the same church where he had been married just 43 days before. Photo: The Canadian Press Eyeing a South Carolina victory to rescue his presidential ambitions, Joe Biden claimed one of the state's most coveted endorsements on Wednesday as Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders marched past the blistering assault from his rivals on the debate stage the night before. And Pete Buttigieg, a leading critic of both Biden and Sanders, cancelled multiple events on the day saying he was sick. The developments came just three days before South Carolina's presidential primary election and six days before Super Tuesday with the Democratic establishment growing increasingly concerned that Sanders, a polarizing progressive, is tightening his grip on his party's presidential nomination. Biden is staking his candidacy on a win in South Carolina on Saturday that would deny Sanders a third consecutive clear victory. He got a boost Wednesday after earning the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and a South Carolina political kingmaker. "I want the public to know that Im voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden," Clyburn said, later adding I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us. Speaking afterward, Biden predicted victory and slapped at Sanders. "Today, people are talking about a revolution," Biden said. But what the countrys looking for are results. The night before, Biden and his Democratic rivals unleashed a roaring assault against Sanders during a contentious debate that tested the strength of the undisputed front-runner in the partys presidential nomination fight. Sanders faced the brunt of the attacks for much of the night, and for one of the few times, fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren was among the critics. The Massachusetts senator pressed the case that she could execute ideas that the Vermont senator could only talk about. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, she said. But I think I would make a better president than Bernie." A group of moderates, meanwhile, fought to emerge as the chief Sanders alternative. Biden argued that only he has the experience to lead in the world. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. And Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, pointed to Sanders' self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's push for education. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s," Buttigieg declared. But the moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited the Vermont senator. Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president and noting all the recent attention he's gotten: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why. Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver argued afterward that the debate didn't knock Sanders off his front-runner perch. "They threw everything they could at Bernie Sanders. None of it stuck," Weaver said, adding that some candidates showed an air of desperation. Trump, who returned to Washington early Wednesday after a two-day trip to India, responded to a reporter's shouted question about whether he'd seen the debate: I did, he said while stepping into a car. Not too good, not too good. Men's rights activist Bettina Arndt has asked her supporters to 'maintain the rage' and write to senators to express 'astonishment' after parliament called for her to be stripped of her Order of Australia. Coalition and Labor senators passed a motion on Tuesday condemning Ms Arndt's comments about the murders of Brisbane mum Hannah Clarke and her three children. She had tweeted in support of a Queensland police officer who asked if the case of Rowan Baxter - who burnt to death his three children and estranged wife before killing himself - was one of a 'husband being driven too far'. Men's rights activist Bettina Arndt has reportedly asked her supporters to maintain the rage and write to senators in 'astonishment' after the upper house backed a call for her to be stripped of her Order of Australia In an email to supporters after it became clear the government would support the motion, Ms Arndt asked her followers to express 'astonishment at this capitulation to mob rule'. 'It is a very sorry day for this country that this key branch of our government is engaging in virtue signalling at the expense of supporting free speech and proper discussion of key social issues,' she wrote. Ms Arndt was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in January for 'significant service to the community as a social commentator, and to gender equity through advocacy for men'. Ms Arndt said it was 'totally inappropriate' for politicians to interfere in decisions that are made by the Council for the Order of Australia and authorised by Governor-General David Hurley. She called on her followers to also write to Mr Hurley to argue the Senate's action 'sets a very dangerous precedent'. 'It is important the honours council issues an urgent statement saying they will not be influenced by political pressure,' she wrote. Mr Hurley's office earlier confirmed it had referred complaints about Ms Arndt's award to the council, as per standard processes. Bettina Arndt congratulated Queensland police for keeping an 'open mind' about Rowan Baxter's horrific murder of his family in Brisbane last Wednesday. Pauline Hanson refused to support a motion condemning the men's rights activist Ms Arndt came under heavy fire last week for congratulating Queensland police for keeping an open mind on the possibility that Ms Clarke's estranged husband Baxter might have been driven too far The men's rights activist wrote on her website on Monday that she was experiencing a 'vicious media pile-on' but that it had led to her being 'absolutely swamped' by new supporters. One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson defended Ms Arndt and was only one of two people to vote against stripping her of her Order of Australia award. Ms Hanson said it was not the role of the Senate to get involved in matters such as this. 'That (her comments on the murder-suicide) has got nothing to do with her receiving the honours,' she told Sky News. Rowan Baxter killed his wife Ms Clarke and their children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, last Wednesday 'It was disgusting what they did and I stood my ground. I don't regret what I did and neither does my colleague.' Inspector Mark Thompson was stood down from the case and forced to apologise for his comments after they were condemned as victim blaming by domestic violence campaigners. One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson defended Ms Arndt and was only one of two people to vote against stripping her of her Order of Australia award He said as investigators it was the role of the Queensland Police Service to keep an open mind. '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. - 29-year-old Mohammed Buzu is in police custody over his involvement with a series of residential robberies in Accra - He was arrested by personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) - He has also been linked to a robbery incident at the residences of the Ambassador of Kuwait to Ghana and a Lebanese businessman Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in 29-year-old, Mohammed Buzu is in police custody over his involvement with a series of residential robberies in Accra. The Ghana Police Service who described Mohammed as a notorious robber, arrested him at his hideout at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. H e was arrested by personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). In a statement on Monday, February 24, 2020, the police indicated that the suspect was linked to a recent attack on the residence of a country director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Accra including several other robberies. He has also been linked to a robbery incident at the residences of the Ambassador of Kuwait to Ghana and a Lebanese businessman. READ ALSO: Four more years for me - President Akufo-Addo appeals to Ghanaians in Norway Items retrieved from the suspects Dansoman home included assorted visa cards, wristwatches, mobile phones, backpacks, a diplomatic card issued by the government of Ghana. Other items found were drivers licenses issued in Virginia, USA, both bearing the name of the wife of one of the victims, passport photos of white male and female adults amongst many others. Two of Mohammeds accomplices, Kenneth Antwi and Baffour Adjei Gyimah were also arrested by the police. The suspects, according to the police, have been involved in several residential robberies in Accra, especially in Cantonments and North Ridge. READ ALSO: Cedis appreciation: NDCs Sammy Gyamfi says coronavirus is responsible In other news, former president John Dramani Mahama has lamented the abandoning of the E-blocks classroom units he built for senior secondary schools across the country by the current government. According to Mahama, most of the buildings have been left at the mercy of the weather, animals and reptiles use the facilities as their habitat. Speaking at a durbar of chiefs as part of his tour of the Western North region, Mahama said a change of government does not encourage the continuation of old projects READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo has allowed snakes and grasscutters to study in my e-blocks - Mahama "I don't believe there is a president in Ghana" - Frustrated taxi driver speaks | #Yencomgh Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh She's one of the most revered stars in Hollywood. And Cate Blanchett put on a stylish display as she took part in the Talents Table Talk: Places Like Home event at the Berlin International Film Festival on Monday. The actress, 50, looked stunning in a chic ensemble as she donned a brown blazer over a stylish black top for the occasion. Chic: Cate Blanchett looked stylish in a brown blazer and a black top as she took part in debate while promoting new series Stateless at Berlin International Film Festival on Monday Cate gave her look a glittering touch as she accessorised with a golden necklace and a chain-link bracelet. She wore her cropped golden locks in loose waves, and used a natural palette of make-up to accentuate her stunning features. The Carol star spoke with activist Nardjes Asli, director Karim Ainouz, actress Maryam Zaree, and moderator Florian Weghorn about being between nations, and Australia's migratory politics at the event. Glamorous: Cate wore her cropped golden locks in loose waves, and used a natural palette of make-up to accentuate her stunning features Attention to detail: Cate gave her look a glittering touch as she accessorised with a golden necklace and a chain-link bracelet Event: The Carol star spoke with activist Nardjes Asli, director Karim Ainouz, actress Maryam Zaree, and moderator Florian Weghorn about being between nations, and migratory politics Cate's new drama series Stateless, which she co-created with Elise McCredie and Tony Ayres, executive produced and stars in, had its world premiere at the festival earlier this week. The six-part show is directed by Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse, and focuses on a series of true refugee stories. Inspired by Cornelia Rau's experience of being unlawfully detained in 2004, the show centres around an airline hostess, an Afghan refugee, a father of three and a bureaucrat caught up in an Australian immigration detention centre. Promotion: Cate's new drama Stateless, which she co-created with Elise McCredie and Tony Ayres, executive produced and stars in, had its world premiere at the festival earlier this week Drama: The six-part show is directed by Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse, and focuses on a series of true refugee stories Picked up: On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Netflix had bought the global rights to the show, and will release it later this year after the show airs in Australia On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Netflix had bought the global rights to the show, and will release it later this year after the show airs in Australia on ABC in March. Speaking about the show in a statement, Cate, Elise and Tony said of the acquisition: 'Stateless has been a labour of love for many years, and we could not be more thrilled that it will reach an international audience on Netflix. 'The issues addressed in the series have universal resonance but have been cloaked in silence and muddied by fear and misinformation. 'Our hope is that Stateless will generate a global conversation around our systems of border protection and how our humanity has been affected by them.' Delighted: Speaking about the new in a statement, Cate, Elise and Tony said of the acquisition: 'Stateless has been a labour of love for many years, and we could not be more thrilled' As the sit-in at Mumbai Central, now dubbed Mumbai Bagh, completed 30 days on Tuesday, the protesters showed how their spirit to fight against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) was intact, getting women from Mumbra Bagh in Thane to celebrate their togetherness on the occasion. The number of protesters at the spot, however, is now fewer than what they began with. Let us say this is just the beginning. We have been protesting for more than a month and there have been a lot of ups and downs, but it is a part of our journey. A lot is yet to come, said Sabiya Bilal, a student from Mumbra, who came on the invitation of women from Mumbai Bagh. Amid the celebrations, children of the women participated in an activity to paint the Indian flag and balloons. Shouting slogans next to Bilal, another protester said all Shaheen Baghs across the country were connected and have been deciding the course of action together. Commenting on the violence in Delhi between pro- and anti-CAA protesters, Humaz Khan, a law student, said, The incident in Delhi is ridiculous and saddening. Killing people, hurting them and destroying their properties is condemnable. The women began their protest at Morland Road on January 26 night, demanding the Central government withdraw the contentious CAA, NRC and NPR and clarity on the stance of the state government. Earlier this month, 300 protesters were booked by the Nagpada police for blocking the road and disturbing peace, following a complaint by a BMC official. After the action, the volunteers and the supplies have dwindled, but the women continue to soldier on. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A man riding a snowmobile died when he hit by an avalanche outside the Aleutian Islands community of Unalaska. Trey Henning, 21, died early Tuesday evening, KTUU-television reported. The Unalaska Public Safety Dispatch Center at around 5:30 p.m. received a call for assistance. The caller said an avalanche off Overland Road in the Unalaska Valley had buried a man on a snowmobile. City firefighters, paramedics, police and volunteers responded and found Henning. They attempted CPR and rushed Henning to the Unalaska Clinic, where he was pronounced dead. Unalaska is home to Dutch Harbor, a major U.S. fishing port. Check-in counter at boarding gate. June Francis is filing a complaint over racist treatment she says she received while waiting to board an Air Canada flight. (Getty) A professor from Simon Fraser University has filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over humiliating treatment she says she experienced while flying with Air Canada, which she says is related to her race. June Francis, an associate professor of marketing at the schools Beedie School of Business, still gets emotional when recounting the incident that happened in March 2018. She was flying from Vancouver to Toronto to present at a conference, before travelling to Peru. She was travelling on a business class ticket to accommodate her doctors orders after a recent knee replacement surgery. When she arrived at the airport, there was a long line for business class passengers, which she wasnt able to stand in as a result of her condition. When she approached a woman wearing an Air Canada uniform to explain her need for help, Francis says the response was confounding. She looked at me and yelled at me to get in line, she tells Yahoo Canada. When I tried to explain my situation, she just yelled at me to get in line. When people treat you badly, you cant help but feel humiliated and embarrassed...being alone as a black woman, with no one knowing why she was yelling at me like this. Francis thought that maybe the woman wasnt an employee of the airline and went to ask her, but the employee continued to yell at Francis to get in line. At that point, Francis felt she needed to do something. I went up to her and said your behaviour to me is so outrageous, I need to know your name, Im going to report you she said. She refused to give me her name and covered up her face with a piece of paper. Since Francis didnt want to jeopardize her chance to get to Toronto, she got in the line to check in. Once she got there, she took a picture of the woman who refused to help her. The employee then grabbed Francis boarding pass, as a supervisor approached, telling her she had to delete the picture or she wouldnt board the plane. Accompanying the supervisor was a security guard. Story continues Francis says at that point, another passenger intervened to tell the supervisor that she had done nothing wrong, and gave her his card. At that point, I burst into tears because I thought, why is no one helping me? Why am I standing, being humiliated at the airport, people see Ive done nothing wrong so why is no one stepping in, she says. Then the supervisor said to me I can see why she treated you this way and youre in this position. The supervisor continued to deny Francis the chance to board unless she deleted the photo. Francis felt unsafe with the armed security guard there, especially since she was in a compromised position with her knee. So she showed the supervisor that she deleted the photo though she emailed one to herself and was then allowed to board the plane. Why was I the only one isolated, singled out with that treatment and why did it escalate? she asks. Is this how you normally treat people? Then why did you treat me this way? Francis brought her concerns to Air Canadas complaint department, stressing that she felt the incident was racially motivated. They sent her a form to fill out, which she felt was an insufficient response. I told them I wanted to discuss the remedies I thought they should take, she says. It was meant to be a conversation with the airline about what they needed to do and the experiences I had and others have had. I wanted them to recognize the seriousness of the situation. Francis doesnt have to look far for other examples of questionable treatment from the airline. Stephanie Allen, a friend who Francis met volunteering, tweeted at the airline in January about being singled out, along with another black passenger, to check their luggage. This, despite no formal announcement being made by the airline to ask for volunteers to check in carry-on luggage: Hi @AirCanada An agent (Julie) in YYC singled out me & the only other Black woman waiting to board 219 to *tell us* to check our carry on bags. No announcement asking for volunteers, no Qs if we needed the contents (Im traveling w someone in a wheelchair). The bias is stunning. (Note: Allens Twitter account is now private) The company reached out after Allen took to Twitter, with an apology letter and the offer of a $200 voucher. Allen told CTV that she wasnt looking to be compensated. Instead, she wants the airline to reassess their operations for bias and racial discrimination. Air Canada did not response to Yahoo Canadas request for an interview. Francis says her lack of a sufficient response from the airline is why shes taken steps to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, since Air Canada is a federally regulated body. Theyve declined mediation, so Francis is waiting to hear back on a hearing date. Until then, Francis says she fears travelling as a result of her experiences, which arent limited to the one she filed a human rights complaint about. She says shes also been pulled out of lines at airports and accused of dealing drugs as a result of her frequent travels. I want Air Canada to do something systematically to deal with our experiences, says Francis. It is systemic to me. Four men, right, have been jailed for smuggling Vietnamese nationals into the UK (Devon and Cornwall Police) Four men have been jailed for smuggling 29 Vietnamese people into Britain in the back of a cramped van. Women and children were among those taken into the UK from France on a 42ft yacht before being herded into the vehicle, said Devon and Cornwall Police. Jon Ransom, 63, from Kent, Glen Bennett, 55, from Burnley, and Frank Walling, 72, from Colne, were sentenced at Truro Crown Court on Monday to four and a half years in prison, police said. Keith Plummer, 63, was sentenced to three years and four months. Devon and Cornwall Police were contacted on 12 April last year after several members of the public saw a group of people getting off a boat in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall. Members of the public contacted police after seeing a large group arriving at Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall (Devon and Cornwall Police) Left to right: Frank Walling, 72, from Colne, Glen Bennett, 55, from Burnley, Keith Plummer, 63, and Jon Ransom, 63, from Kent, have been jailed for smuggling 29 Vietnamese people into Britain (PA) They were then seen getting into the back of the van which had been parked in the harbour car park. Read more: World must prepare for coronavirus pandemic, says World Health Organization CCTV footage was reviewed and the van, followed by another car, was stopped on the M5 near Cullompton, Devon. The van door was opened and officers found 29 Vietnamese nationals inside, including women and children. The 29 Vietnamese people on board the yacht had to share one toilet (PA) They were taken to a multi-agency reception centre and referred to the Home Office and social care services to be managed, Devon and Cornwall Police said. Read more: Privacy warning over WhatsApp group chats as they can be found on Google Two of the men were arrested in Newlyn Harbour, and two more were held when the van and car were brought to a stop on the M5. Judge Robert Linford, sentencing the four, said they were motivated by profit and "traded in human misery" with the victims "carted around like freight". Speaking after the case, detective inspector Glenn Willcocks said: "The vessel was in a poor state, smelling strongly of diesel and cluttered with clothing and empty food wrappings. Police stopped the van on the M5 motorway (Devon and Cornwall Police) "The boat would have been extremely cramped with all 29 people having to share a single toilet. "The four convicted today risked the lives of 29 men, women and children without any appreciation of the danger of their circumstances. Story continues "They were motivated only by monetary reward and thankfully no one paid the ultimate price." The men were convicted under section 25 of the Immigration Act - assisting unlawful immigration. The conditions on the 42ft yacht that carried 29 Vietnamese people into Britain (PA) It is believed that the 29 victims boarded the yacht, which was called the Johan Sebastian and owned by Walling, in Roscoff, France. Walling and Bennett crewed the yacht, which came into Newlyn Harbour early on the morning of 12 April. Read more: Australian bushfires were far worse than any simulation predicted Ann Hampshire, senior crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, described the trip as "carefully planned". She said it was a "well organised operation involving people and places in different parts of the UK, carefully co-ordinated to facilitate illegal entry into the UK". Last October, the bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals were found in the back of a lorry in Grays, Essex. Three people in the UK have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the case, including lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 25. Last week, seven people in Vietnam were charged in connection with the deaths. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said class 10 and 12 students, who have board examination centres in violence-hit northeast Delhi, need to be informed in one go about the schedule for the next 10 to 15 days and not on piecemeal basis. Justice Rajiv Shakdher said the situation in northeast Delhi is getting worse and there have been more deaths and therefore, the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) needs to take a call for the next 10 to 15 days. "The situation there (northeast Delhi) is only getting worse. There have been more deaths. You should give time for the situation to settle down." "You cannot decide only for tomorrow or day after. Take a call for the next 10-15 days. The children need to know. They cannot wait each day for the next day" the court said and asked the CBSE to come with instructions about a long-term plan at 2.15 pm. "Look at all alternatives, especially with regard to class XII," the court added. The direction by the court came after the CBSE on Wednesday said the exams in 86 schools in the violence-hit northeast Delhi have been postponed. It also told the court that for exams scheduled for Thursday, it will take a call in the evening. The court did not agree with this solution. It also said that police cannot be expected to monitor exam locations only as they have to do riot control activities as well. "Police is already hard pressed. How will they monitor schools only. What if there is a flash riot somewhere, then police will be in a dilemma whether to leave school or not," the court said. The court was hearing a plea by a private school, Bhai Parmanand Vidya Mandir, at Surya Niketan in east Delhi, and some of its class 10 and 12 students saying the centre allotted to them by the CBSE was 16 km away from their school and situated in Chandu Nagar-Karawal Nagar road, one of the violence-hit areas. They said it was hard for them to reach at the Centre due to violent clashes and riots in the area. They have urged the court to direct the CBSE to change the examination centre from New Sandhya Public School to a centre located in east Delhi district with proper infrastructure and security. The court on Tuesday, while hearing the matter, had said that safety of children cannot be put at risk and had asked the CBSE to decide at the earliest on rescheduling Wednesday's board exam at the centre in question. The court had also said that it was of a prima facie opinion that the exam cannot be held at the Chandu Nagar Centre in view of the inputs given by the senior police officials. The registrar general of the high court on Tuesday had informed the court that as per the inputs of police officials of the area concerned, the situation was tense. The court had said it was looking at the issue from the aspect of children's safety which cannot be put at risk. The plea, filed through advocate Kamal Gupta, said the "violent clashes and riots have posed a serious threat and danger to the life of the students and their parents, in as much as they have no option but to reach the centre come what may be the situation of the area around the centre; reaching the centre not only involves mental agony, trauma and stress for the students and their parents, but also poses grave and palpable threat to the life and limb". The plea said when the school had come to know about the Centre allotted to it, they had written to the CBSE pointing out that the examination centre is 16 km away from the school and the time taken to reach there is more than 40 minutes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: The Canadian Press Conservative MP Derek Sloan attends a Conservative caucus retreat on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. Two new candidates have been approved to enter the Conservative leadership race this week as the clock ticks down towards Thursday's deadline to register. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Two new candidates have been approved to enter the Conservative leadership race as the clock ticks down towards Thursday's deadline to register. New MP Derek Sloan and Ontario party activist Jim Karahalios were given the green light by the Conservative party to run. That means they, along with Marilyn Gladu, Leslyn Lewis, Peter MacKay and Erin O'Toole, have now handed in 1,000 signatures, a $25,000 fee and a completed application the first stage of the contest rules. At least another six people are still hustling to hit those benchmarks by the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday, but even if they submit everything on time, there's no guarantee they'll still be allowed in. The party must first verify all the signatures, and then reserves the right to interview the candidates before making a decision. Among those waiting for the interview is Richard Decarie, the controversial Quebec candidate who holds strong views opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. Mr. Cussler also connected with readers by turning his love for scuba diving into an oceanic lifestyle that paralleled and validated his superhero. He first created the National Underwater and Marine Agency as a fictional government organization that employed his hero in the Dirk Pitt books. Then, in 1979, he founded an actual National Underwater and Marine Agency as a private nonprofit group committed to preserving maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck artifacts. It underwrote his maritime ventures. With Mr. Cussler leading expeditions and joining dives, the organization eventually located some 60 wrecks. Among them were the Cunard steamship Carpathia, first to reach survivors of the lost Titanic on April 15, 1912, then itself sunk by German torpedoes off Ireland in 1918; Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilts coastal steamer Lexington, which caught fire and went down in Long Island Sound in 1840; and Manassas, the Confederacys first Civil War ironclad, sunk in battle in the Lower Mississippi in 1862. His first nonfiction book, The Sea Hunters (1996, with Craig Dirgo), was an account of his NUMA exploits, some of which were portrayed in television documentaries featuring Mr. Cussler as narrator. Valuable artifacts raised by his expeditions were given to museums or governments. Mr. Cussler, who named his franchise hero after his son Dirk, acknowledged that Dirk Pitts character was his own alter ego. His later novels, many co-written by his son or others, often included himself as a character who saves the day. His son, a daughter and friends were also used as characters in his books. Ive been doing Dirk Pitt for 30 years, Mr. Cussler told The Times in 2000. Maybe I can find another writer down the line to take him over. Its not the money; its the fans. Id like to retire, he continued. Im toying with the idea of Pitt having a son who shows up. Hes getting a little long in the tooth. When we started out, we were both 36 years old. Now hes a little over 40, and Im pushing 70. Organizers said they want the village to reallocate resources from the proposed new or renovated Oak Park police station to fund youth initiatives, want the village to adopt a strong racial equity policy, seek to have resource officers removed from schools and ask for Feb. 26 to be declared a day of recognition for victims of police violence and brutality. By PTI BEIJING: India is preparing to evacuate a large group of its citizens, who are stuck in China's coronavirus-hit Wuhan city, by a special IAF plane, which is expected to land there with relief medical supplies on Wednesday. "We are working on our plan for operating the relief flight tomorrow," said an Indian Embassy message sent to the Indians who have enrolled to go by the special flight. About 90 to 100 Indians were expected to board the flight. India has also expressed its willingness to evacuate citizens from the neighbourhood countries. India had announced plans to send Indian Air Force's largest plane C-17 Globemaster with medical supplies to China several days ago. Indian officials have blamed China for not granting the requisite clearance, a charge Beijing denies. However, officials here said on Tuesday that the special flight is expected to land in Wuhan on Wednesday as necessary permissions are being obtained. It is bringing relief supplies like medical gloves, suits and other materials to be used in efforts to combat the COVID-19 in China. ALSO READ | Coronavirus: Chartered flight being arranged to bring back Indians on board Japan cruise ship The death toll from coronavirus has reached 2,663 while the number of confirmed cases jumped to 77,658, Chinese officials said on Tuesday. India operated two special Air India flights on February 1 and 2 and airlifted 647 Indian nationals, mostly students, and seven Maldivian nationals. About 100 people were expected to join the third flight which would take them to Delhi where they would undergo quarantine in special camps. The previous batches were kept at an army camp in Manesar. In a special note for the Indians in Wuhan and Hubei province who wanted to be evacuated, the mission informed them that arrangements are being made to pick them up and take them to airport. "Embassy representatives who are already in touch with you individually will directly advise you regarding the exact time of pick up. We are making arrangements for your pick up and onward movement to Wuhan airport by vehicles hired by the Embassy," the note said. "You are requested to prepare for departure tomorrow morning bearing in mind the points mentioned in the advisory already issued on this group," the note told the Indians. "Kindly note that these arrangements are still tentative and subject to change. We appreciate your understanding and patience," it said. Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri recently said that the previous evacuations were difficult and a logistical nightmare as Hubei province and its capital Wuhan were under lockdown since January 23 with a complete ban on transportation services. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Indian business leaders credited visiting US President Donald Trump with getting them a lower corporate tax rate, even as US-India Strategic Partnership forum (USISPF) on Tuesday launched an US-India Tax Forum, which would try and get businesses and the Indian government together to solve complicated tax issues dogging investments and trade between the two nations. Sources said the Reliance Group chief Mukesh Ambani thanked Trump at a closed-door meeting between the latter and Indian CEOs for setting a tax precedent in the US, which had ripple effects. In India, we would have never imagined that income-tax rates would come down all of us in the business community are grateful, Ambani was quoted as saying. The US had slashed corporate tax rates, a move which was followed by India, which slashed rates from 33 per cent to 22 per cent last year. Trump said, They (Indian government) followed us, implying the Indian tax cut was a follow up of the US decision. The US President also reportedly told another business leader that his government would in another 7-8 months ensure that regulations for technology companies would be eased. The forum launched today by the USISPF would take up, in Indias case, residential status for taxation, GAAR, an indirect transfer of assets, rules governing tax shopping by MNCs, etc. The USISPF Tax Forum will bring over 50 tax experts from Fortune 500 companies together with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Central Board Direct Tax, GST Council and Customs Board Indirect Tax & Customs. The Forum will meet on a regular basis with the government to share feedback on transparency and efficiency in tax policy. European markets closed mixed Wednesday, after the number of coronavirus cases outside of China exceeded those inside the country for the first time . The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed slightly below the flatline, paring some earlier losses. Travel and leisure stocks were the worst performers, down more than 2%. On Tuesday, a top U.S. health official said the coronavirus will likely become a global pandemic. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that, "It's not so much a question of if this will happen any more, but rather more a question of when this will happen." China, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported 406 new confirmed cases and an additional 52 deaths as of Feb. 25. Meanwhile, South Korea, where there is the second largest outbreak, reported a jump of 169 new cases, bringing the country's total to 1,146 infected. It reported one additional death, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11. On Wall Street, equities rebounded following a deep sell-off earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 430 points while the S&P and Nasdaq indexes were both in the green. In Europe, Italy remains the key concern for the region with the virus now having spread south, beyond its initial outbreak in the northern regions of Lombardy and, to a lesser extent, Veneto. As of Wednesday, the country has 325 confirmed cases of the virus and 12 people have died, Italian media report. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has called for calm and less sensationalist reporting. There are concerns it could tip Italy's already fragile economy into recession. The virus has also affected the sporting world, with the Six Nations rugby match between Ireland and Italy being postponed due to public health concerns. The leader of a neo-Nazi group has been arrested and charged as part of a pair of federal investigations with conspiring to harass journalists, churches and a former Cabinet official, among others. John C. Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, a former leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, was taken into custody Wednesday in relation to a series of phony bomb threats made in Virginia and other forms of intimidation across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. The Department of Justice said he participated in some of 100 calls over two years, including to 'a Cabinet official living in Northern Virginia on January 27, 2019, Old Dominion University on November 29, 2018, and Alfred Street Baptist Church on November 3, 2018'. Alfred Street is a predominantly African American church in Alexandria. John C. Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, was arrested Wednesday. His Atomwaffen Division is an extremist neo-Nazi group that releases propaganda videos featuring hateful rhetoric against Jews Court records do not identify the Cabinet official, but public records show that then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was a victim of a swatting incident at her home in Alexandria (pictured) in January 2019 Court records do not identify the Cabinet official, but public records show that then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was a victim of a swatting incident at her home in Alexandria in January 2019. Swatting is a harassment tactic that involves deceiving dispatchers into believing that a person or persons are in imminent danger of death or bodily harm and causing the dispatchers to send police and emergency services to an unwitting third party's address. Denton is the second person charged in Alexandria in relation to the swatting calls in Virginia. Earlier this year, former Old Dominion University student John William Kirby Kelley was charged in the swatting scheme. The affidavit unsealed Wednesday indicates Denton became concerned that Kelley had too easily drawn law-enforcement attention when he called in a swatting call to his own school in Norfolk. According to an affidavit, Denton specifically chose two targets in the swatting scheme: the New York offices of ProPublica, an online investigative news outlet, and a ProPublica journalist. The affidavit states Denton was angry at ProPublica and the journalist for exposing his role as an Atomwaffen leader. Earlier this year, former Old Dominion University student John William Kirby Kelley (pictured) was charged in the swatting scheme Samuel Woodward was charged with fatally stabbing 19-year-old college sophomore Blaze Bernstein, who was gay and Jewish. Prosecutors have said Woodward's cellphone contained troves of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and hate group materials. ProPublica reported that Woodward, who went to high school with Bernstein, was an Atomwaffen member who participated in combat training with other group members. Denton admitted to an undercover FBI agent that he participated in the swatting calls to ProPublica and the ProPublica journalist, and used a voice changer when he made calls, according to the affidavit. In the swatting call targeting the ProPublica journalist, a conspirator pretending to be the reporter called police in Richmond, California, and told 911 that he had killed his wife and would shoot any officers who came to the home. Police who responded to the home placed the reporter and his wife in separate police cruisers while the couple's young son was in the home before the hoax was sorted out. Denton also allegedly stated to the undercover cop that it would be good if he was 'raided' for the swatting because it would be viewed as a top tier crime, and he felt that his arrest could benefit Atomwaffen Division. In Seattle, prosecutors announced charges against a group of alleged Atomwaffen members for cyber-stalking and mailing threatening communications in a campaign against journalists with Swastika-laden posters telling them 'You have been visited by your local Nazis.' Samuel Woodward was charged with fatally stabbing 19-year-old college sophomore Blaze Bernstein, who was gay and Jewish. ProPublica reported that Woodward, who went to high school with Bernstein, was an Atomwaffen member who participated in combat training with other group members. The affidavit states Denton was angry at ProPublica and the journalist for exposing his role as an Atomwaffen leader in their report after Woodward (pictured left) killed Bernstein The Seattle case charges four alleged Atomwaffen Division members, including Kaleb J. Cole, for their roles in a plot they dubbed Operation Erste Saule. Authorities say in court papers that journalists and an employee of the Anti-Defamation league received posters in the mail with warnings 'Your Actions have Consequences' and 'We are Watching.' The affidavit describes Denton as a founding member of Atomwaffen Division who used the names 'Rape' and 'Tormentor' in online conversations while holding a day job as a mortuary worker. The group has been linked to multiple killings. Authorities say the group is seeking to incite a race war. Denton faced an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Houston. Denton is charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, interstate threats to injure. If convicted, he and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The Seattle case charges four alleged Atomwaffen Division members, including Kaleb J. Cole (pictured), for their roles in a plot they dubbed Operation Erste Saule Denton is one of several alleged Atomwaffen Division members to face federal charges in recent months. On Friday, another alleged Atomwaffen member, Andrew Thomasberg, 21, of McLean, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison following his guilty plea in Alexandria for unrelated weapons crimes. An FBI agent has said Thomasberg joined a neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division, shortly after attending the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted in violence in 2017. Atomwaffen has been linked to several killings, including the 2017 shooting deaths of two men at an apartment in Tampa, Florida. Devon Arthurs, who was charged with killing two of his roommates in the apartment, told police they were Atomwaffen members and that he killed them to thwart a terrorist attack by the group. A fourth roommate, Atomwaffen co-founder Brandon Russell, was sentenced in January 2018 to five years in prison for stockpiling explosive material in the apartment. In September, FBI agents searched the home Thomasberg shares with his mother and stepfather and recovered more than 20 guns, including six in Thomasberg's room. Investigators also found a loaded pistol in the glove compartment of his car. Thomasberg has been a member of two far-right extremist groups, according to the agent. He was a member of Vanguard America when he attended the Charlottesville rally. On the eve of the rally, the white nationalist group's members also joined a torchlit march through the University of Virginia's campus, chanting 'Blood and soil!' and 'Jews will not replace us!' Thomasberg sent a text message in which he mentions shooting somebody in Fairfax, Virginia, during a 'drug transaction,' Matthews said. Other text messages mention preparations for 'RAHOWA,' an acronym for 'racial holy war.' The agent said Thomasberg also bragged in text messages about using racial epithets against a group of African Americans he saw at a shopping mall. He said he would have gone 'St. Roof' on them if they had stopped to confront him. That's a laudatory reference to Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who shot and killed nine black people in 2015 at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. In other text messages, Thomasberg also refers to the suspects in deadly shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue and at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, as saints. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:17:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close OTTAWA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Despite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's call last week for Indigenous protesters to end rail blockades against a proposed natural gas pipeline, the disruption continues in parts of Canada. On Wednesday morning, freight-train traffic was temporarily stopped in the country's most populous province of Ontario after demonstrators set fire next to the tracks and threw tires on them. Protesters were also reportedly seen throwing rocks and tree branches at an oncoming train. "That's terribly unsafe and inappropriate," Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told reporters on Parliament Hill on Wednesday. "I would again continue to urge people to take the barricades down, to obey the law, and encourage the dialogue that we know is so important to continue." Blair, who prior to his election to the Canadian Parliament in 2015 served as police chief in the country's largest city of Toronto, said that the government would allow police across Canada to enforce the law. And on Tuesday in Ontario and in the west-coast province of British Columbia, police had been dismantling barricades set up in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en First Nations on whose land the proposed pipeline would cross. But as blockades were taken down, others were set up elsewhere in Canada, compounding a near-month-long national crisis that has led to the shutdown of passenger-rail service across the country and a halt to freight-rail traffic in eastern Canada. Business and industry leaders have warned that a continued stoppage will lead to serious damage to the Canadian economy and enormous disruption to the lives of all Canadians. The oil-rich province of Alberta is taking action, and on Tuesday, the provincial government tabled a bill in the provincial legislature that would impose hefty fines of up to 19,000 U.S. dollars and a maximum six-month prison term on anyone who attempts to obstruct or interfere with critical infrastructure, including railways and pipelines. Global polling company Ipsos on Tuesday released the results of a recent survey of 1,300 Canadians, in which 60 percent of them oppose the blockades and 63 percent want the police to end them. Sydney, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Poly Australia launches into the new year by securing the purchase of 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney. The commercial tower was purchased from SC Capital Partners on behalf its RECAP Fund for $270M. SC Capital Partners retained Fortius Funds Management as its local operating partner from acquisition through divestment. Located near Sydneys Central Station in the southern end of the CBD, the 26-storey tower hosts an NLA of 19,470sqm with an average floorplate of 845sqm. The acquisition adds to the developers growing pool of assets in their Capital Markets portfolio. Poly Australias Senior Analyst, Ashwin Arumugam said the acquisition highlights a shift in strategy for the global real estate business who announced the new venture into asset management and real estate finance back in 2019. Goulburn Street is a golden example of the types of property were looking to acquire as we broaden our portfolio. Its in a premium location, easily accessible to tenants and allows us to some scope to reposition its offerings. On top of that it is in an area with significant reactivation plans with the nearby light rail and tech hub, we see the acquisition delivering well into the long term, he said. We are proactively looking for the next opportunity as part of our accelerated growth plans across Australia, with exploration of prospective acquisitions in leading locations across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide as we continue to expand our asset management portfolio. Goulburn Street was purchased with approval for redevelopment into a 38-story tower with 407 hotel suites and 90 residential units, retail and office spaces, however Poly Australia does not plan to pursue redevelopment at this time. With intent to hold the asset, Poly Australia is exploring plans to rejuvenate the offering, including the potential for the revitalisation of the retail precinct, end-of-trip facilities, tenancy upgrades, introduction of public flexible work spaces and a new BMS technology. The recent asset acquisition at 59 Goulburn Street joins premium global asset 5 Fleet Place, London, in Polys Capital Markets portfolio. The British asset located in Londons financial district consists of an NLA of 12,000sqm. Co-agents James Barber, Adam Woodward and James Mitchell from Colliers International and Simon Storry, Rob Sewell and James Aroney from JLL negotiated the transaction. For more information on Poly Global vist www.polyglobal.com Attachments Ahead of the clash against Lyon, Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri termed his opponents as a "dangerous team". "Lyon is a technical team with elements of acceleration and physicality. They are a dangerous team. Therefore, we need to play well. We have a varied midfield in terms of the level of characteristics," the club's official website quoted Sarri as saying. Sarri also talked about Juventus' star player Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that the Portugal international is admired everywhere in the world. "Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who is admired everywhere in the world. His numbers speak for themselves. He is a player who goes above and beyond and he is in a good physical and mental condition," he said. Juventus currently top the Serie A table with 60 points, just one point ahead of the second-placed club Lazio. The first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie between Juventus and Lyon will be played on February 27. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Economic Club of Las Vegas (ECLV), a nationally-renowned platform for economic discussion and debate, will host a panel discussion in Las Vegas on Monday, March 2 at the Rio Hotel and Casino. The "Economic Impact of the Coronavirus" will provide perspectives surrounding the illness known as the COVID-19 virus and implications for global economics. The luncheon event will take place from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm. The cost is $50 per person. For more information and to register, visit www.econclublv.org/events. The speakers' panel includes the Nevada Chief Medical Officer and a leading Chief Economist: Ihsan Azzam , Ph.D., M.D. , is Chief Medical Officer for the State of Nevada . Dr. Azzam will discuss the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, including best practices for medical professionals and private companies. Dr. Azzam was involved in preparing for and preventing local outbreaks of SARS, MERS and Ebola viruses. , is Chief Medical Officer for the . Dr. Azzam will discuss the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, including best practices for medical professionals and private companies. Dr. Azzam was involved in preparing for and preventing local outbreaks of SARS, MERS and Ebola viruses. Ken Heck CFP, CRPS , Chief Economist and President of Heck Wealth Management will discuss the Economic Impact of the Coronavirus outbreak, comparing this outbreak to the SARS outbreak (2003). Mr. Heck is Co-Founder and President of the Las Vegas Economic Club of Las Vegas . "We are pleased to welcome experts in healthcare and economics as they discuss the Coronavirus and its impact on the economy. We are hoping to provide some context for this complex global issue," said Glenn Goodnough, Las Vegas Managing Partner Rubin Brown. About the Economic Club of Las Vegas The Economic Club of Las Vegas, a non-profit 501(c)(6), non-partisan organization, provides an independent forum for national and international economic discussion and intellectual debate. The Club brings national speakers to Las Vegas to share their perspectives and ideas about economic and/or political conditions in the United States and the world. SOURCE The Economic Club of Las Vegas December is the last month of the year and has 31 days in it. There are many special days in December, both in India and internationally. Here is the list of the important days in December 2020. Important Days in December 2020 1 December - World AIDS Day The virus had been identified in the year 1984 after many people have lost their lives due to HIV or AIDS. The day is known as an opportunity for people worldwide to unite and fight against HIV and also to remind people that the disease has not been eradicated. The day is also the first-ever global health day. 2 December - National Pollution Control Day National Pollution Control Day is observed on 2nd December to raise awareness about pollution and its hazardous effects. December 2 commemorates the victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. 2 December - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery The day is a reminder of the unfair treatment that people face due to threats, violence, coercion, or abuse of power. On 2nd December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved the Convention for Suppression of Traffic in Persons and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others. The date is marked as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery to make people aware about modern slavery. Also Read: Important Days In August 2020 Of National & International Importance; Here's The Full List 3 December - World Day of the Handicapped World Day of the Handicapped is also known as the International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD). It was started in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly. 4 December - Indian Navy Day (First Friday of December) Indians celebrate one of its important days in December 2020, Indian Navy Day, on December 4. It is one of the special days in December 2020 that puts light on Operation Trident, which was carried out at Karachi Harbour in 1971s Indo-Pakistan war. The day is now for the annual remembrance of the achievements, difficulties, and roles that brave Navy people faced during the war. 5 December - International Volunteer Day (First Saturday of December) International Volunteer Day (IVD) is celebrated on 5 December annually. December 5 is one of those special days in December 2020 that gives a chance to appreciate the efforts that volunteers take to promote their work in society. The day was designated by the United Nation in 1985. 5 December - World Soil Day (First Saturday of December) 5th December is observed as World Soil Day. In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations collectively supported and requested the officials of the UN Assembly to mark the day. The day is observed to raise awareness about healthy ecosystems and the importance of soil in human lives. 7 December - Armed Forces Flag Day Armed Forces Flag Day is observed across the country on 7 December since 1949 to honour the martyrs. It is also a day to remember the men who fought with bravery on the borders to safeguard the country's honour. 7 December - International Civil Aviation Day International Civil Aviation Day is observed on 7 December worldwide. It came into existence in 1994 as part of ICAOs 50th-anniversary activities. It is known to raise awareness about these important days for social and economic development. Also Read: Important Days In July 2020: An Extensive Guide Through Month's Essential Dates 9 December - International Anti-Corruption Day Corruption these days has affected health, education, justice, democracy, prosperity, and also development. To solve many problems that societies across the world face, it is important to eradicate corruption. Hence, the International Anti-Corruption day is meant to remind the community about the loss that corruption causes. 10 December - Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10 December. This day is observed to protect the fundamental human rights of all people and this basic human freedom which should be available to them. The day was incepted in 1948 when the UN Assembly passed the resolution to adopt the day as Human Rights Day to all states and interested organisations. 11 December - International Mountain Day (Second Friday of December) International Mountain Day is celebrated on 11 December every year. This day is dedicated to the role that mountains play in providing fresh water, clean energy, food, and recreation. 14 December - National Energy Conservation Day The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the Ministry of Power, celebrates 14 December as National Energy Conservation Day. The purpose behind the celebration of these important days is to spread awareness about the necessity of energy and its conservation in our daily life. 15 December - International Tea Day One of the world's favourite beverages, tea is consumed largely all over the world. Trade Unions in 2005 had organised the International Tea Day campaign for the small tea growers and the civil organisations to put light on the issues that small growers were facing. Since 2005, 15th December every year is observed as International Tea Day. 16 December- Vijay Diwas On 16th December 1972, the Pakistani forces surrendered to the allied forces consisting of the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan. Hence this special day is a remembrance day for the brave soldiers and for all those people who had fought and lost their lives in successfully achieving this noble cause. A 3-day event is organised in Kolkata from 14-16 December. Also Read: Important Days In June 2020 That You Must Be Aware Of To Improve Your General Knowledge 18 December - Minorities Rights Day in India 18th December in India is known as Minorities Rights Day. The day focuses on promoting and preserving the rights of minorities in terms of linguistic, religious, and caste freedom and also ensures the safety of minorities. Several events and campaigns are conducted to educate people about this special day. The day is exceptionally one of the important days in December 2020. 18 December - International Migrants Day International Migrants Day is celebrated on 18 December to raise awareness about the protection for migrants and refugees. 19 December - Goa's Liberation Day On 19 December 1961, the Indian Army invaded Goa with Operation Vijay. After 36 hours of the operation, Portuguese Governor General Vassalo da Silva surrendered and hence Goa was organised as a centrally administered union territory of India which later became a state. 20 December - International Human Solidarity Day (Third Sunday of December) International Human Solidarity Day is observed on 20 December. The day is especially reminded to celebrate unity in diversity, to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements, and to encourage debate on ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication. 22 December - National Mathematics Day National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22 December annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The day is important for mathematics teachers and students. It is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of Mathematics across the country. Another important aim to remember this day is for the development production, and dissemination of teaching-learning materials (TLM) for Mathematics and research. 23 December - Kisan Diwas On December 23, to celebrate the birthday of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the 5th Prime Minister of India, Kisan Diwas or National Farmers Day is observed across the country. From 2001, the government decided to observe the day as Kisan Diwas. 24 December - National Consumer Rights Day To protect customers from unfair trade practices, deficiency in services, or defective goods, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted. Hence, every year on December 24, National Consumer Rights Day is observed to highlight the importance of the consumer movement. 25 December - Christmas Day Christmas Day is celebrated on 25 December worldwide to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. 25 December - Good Governance Day The National Good Governance day was first established in the year 2014. Of the many important dates in December, this one is to pay a tribute to Vajpayee who worked for the prosperity of the country. Vajpayee served India as the 10th Prime Minister. He was also known as a great leader, poet, humanist, and statesman. Also Read: Important Days In May 2020 That You Need To Know About For Your GK 31 December - New Year's Eve The day associated with the most mixed feelings in the year, the last of the year is celebrated all over the world. According to the Gregorian calendar, 31st December is said to the last day of the year. People celebrate it by dancing, eating, singing, etc. to welcome the New Year. Find the table below of important days in December 2020 which will help you to improve your general knowledge. Dates Important Days 1 December World AIDS Day 2 December National Pollution Control Day 2 December International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 3 December World Day of the Handicapped 4 December Indian Navy Day 5 December International Volunteer Day 5 December World Soil Day 7 December Armed Forces Flag Day 7 December International Civil Aviation Day 9 December International Anti-Corruption Day 10 December Human Rights Day 11 December International Mountain Day 14 December National Energy Conservation Day 15 December International Tea Day 16 December Vijay Diwas 18 December Minorities Rights Day in India 18 December Minorities Rights Day in India 19 December Goa's Liberation Day 20 December International Human Solidarity Day 22 December National Mathematics Day 23 December Kisan Diwas 24 December National Consumer Rights Day 25 December Christmas Day 25 December Good Governance Day (India) A meeting between the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, the federal government and the British Columbia government is set to take place Thursday after it was abruptly cancelled Wednesday, one of the leaders of the First Nation said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A CN train travels through Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020, after police removed the blockade in support of Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories in northern B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg A meeting between the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, the federal government and the British Columbia government is set to take place Thursday after it was abruptly cancelled Wednesday, one of the leaders of the First Nation said. Chief Na'Moks, who also goes by John Ridsdale, said the meeting is scheduled in the afternoon and will continue Friday. "It was abundantly clear to us that both levels of government had cancelled the discussions we had planned," he said. By Wednesday evening, he said he and the other hereditary chiefs were told the cancellation was due to a "miscommunication." He said talks broke down after they refused to ask other First Nations and their supporters to remove rail blockades throughout the country. "In our law, we can't do that," he said. "We can't tell another sovereign nation what to do and we would not expect them to do that to us." A spokesman for the office of the B.C. premier said Wednesday that the report of a rescheduled meeting was "promising," but the provincial government was not in a position to confirm it until Thursday morning. Nationwide rail and road blockades have been popping up for weeks as a show of support for the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, who oppose a natural gas pipeline project cutting across their traditional territory in northwestern British Columbia. Also Wednesday, protesters behind rail blockades in Quebec and Ontario ramped up their actions as government officials accused them of compromising public safety. In a video posted on the Real People's Media website, demonstrators in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ont., were shown standing on rail tracks as a CN Rail train approached, then jumping out of the way at the last second. Ontario Provincial Police said a handful of protesters also lit fires near and on railway tracks at a secondary camp that remained in place after a raid on another, larger blockade earlier this week. The latest disruptions were denounced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who called the protesters' actions unsafe. "It is extremely concerning to see people endangering their own lives and the lives of others by trying to interfere with the trains," Trudeau said. Meanwhile, Quebec Premier Francois Legault suggested provincial police had not moved in to dismantle a blockade on the Kahnawake Mohawk territory south of Montreal because those on the reserve are armed, potentially with assault rifles. His comments, which came as protesters on the Mohawk territory south of Montreal reinforced a blockade that has been in place since Feb. 8, were rejected by the First Nation, which stressed the demonstration is a peaceful one. Kenneth Deer, the secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, said the protesters are not armed and the suggestion that there are AK-47s at the site is "highly irresponsible and ludicrous." Earlier in the day, Deer spoke out against a possible intervention by outside police, saying any efforts to forcibly remove the site would be seen as an "act of provocation and aggression that will exacerbate an already volatile situation." "Ultimately, coercive state-sponsored force is the wrong way to make peace," Deer said in a statement. The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador also took issue with Legault's statements, urging him to be more careful in discussing the issue. "Premier Legault is making very dangerous and offensive comments by suggesting the presence of weapons in Kahnawake," AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard said in a statement. "He certainly did not consider the consequences of his words for community members who live with the memories of 30 years ago on a daily basis." The rail company obtained an injunction on Tuesday to end the blockade. Travel disruptions have continued in recent days after several high-profile blockades were dismantled by police in B.C. and Ontario earlier this week. 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 agency responsible for a major commuter rail service covering much of southern Ontario said Wednesday it was not anticipating any of the delays and cancellations that brought trains to a standstill during the previous day's rush hour. Metrolinx, operator of the GO Transit network, suspended service Tuesday on multiple routes as a series of protests sprang up in and around Toronto. City police said they arrested three people at the demonstrations. They said Wednesday morning that officers provided protesters with an injunction and began moving them from rail tracks. The federal governments could not immediately be reached for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 26, 2020 With files from Liam Casey in Toronto, Dirk Meissner in Victoria, Amy Smart in Vancouver and Teresa Wright in Ottawa. In this month's discussion, RFI's David Coffey and Africa Report managing editor Nick Norbrook look forward to the upcoming quarterly publication of the magazine and the feature: "Cyril and the Gang of Four" which deals with a cabal of ANC top-brass putting the South African President's leadership on the line. A little over 10 days ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa was on the defensive when gave his annual state of the nation speech by pleading "We cannot continue along this path. Nor can we afford to stand still. This, in reference to his promised reforms that have proven easier said than done and the obstacles that have thwarted his goals Nick Norbrook outlines the state of South Africa when former president Jacob Zuma finally resigned and the poison chalice that Ramaphosa inherited from his fallen predecessor. After Zuma's demise, there were calls for a new national coalition beyond partisan interests to fix the economy after more than a decade of corrosive patronage politics and to take the country forward but a 'Fightback group', a loose alliance of ANC politicians who back Zuma, oppose Ramaphosa's plans for house cleaning. So how do they market this? How do the electorate regard this? Do South African's want to return to the patronage politics and clientelism of the Zuma era? Click on the links for the full interview. [February 26, 2020] Jason Greenblatt Joins OurCrowd as Partner OurCrowd, the global crowdfunding venture investing platform and Israel's leading venture investor, announced today that Jason Greenblatt, former Assistant to the President of the United States, and Special Representative for International Negotiations, will join OurCrowd as a partner with responsibility for building ties with the Middle East region. "I am delighted to join OurCrowd and help bring its mission of democratizing venture investing to the broader Middle East, helping startups to solve urgent problems in medical, sustainable and cyber technology and linking them to the investors they need to bring their innovative ideas to reality," Greenblatt said. Greenblatt, architect of President Trump's "Deal of the Century" Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, was a keynote speaker at the 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in February, delivering a message of hope that economic cooperation can bring Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East together. "I have spent time recently addressing a problem that many people believed was impossible. There are those who look at an impossible problem and simply can't see past it. And then there are those, like OurCrowd, its investors and its portfolio companies, who look at a problem and see not an impossibility but an opportunity that can be addressed with the application of resources, talent, ingenuity and dedication," Greenblatt said. "I recall visiting Ramallah in 2015, just after Intel (News - Alert) acquired Mobileye for $15 billion. I will never forget the young Palestinian tech entrepreneur who said to me: 'Please Jason, help us Palestinians learn to build and sell our own Mobileyes.' The miracle of Israel's startup nation, the disproportionate amount of disruptive technologies and wealth creation events that come out of Israel, is a model for other countries to follow. Israel is a light for the entire regin, allowing this type of innovative thinking to spread for the benefit of all," Greenblatt said. "As a partner at OurCrowd, I will continue building relationships between Israel and its neighbors in the region, to work on what once seemed impossible, building together an economic bridge of peace. By working together on investments, innovation and technology, Israel and its neighbors can together provide a new potent energy to the region. Together with OurCrowd, I am committed to helping create a Middle East 2.0, whose might and energy can power the region, and the world, to a much brighter future," Greenblatt said. "My aim is to improve lives and help people thrive throughout the Middle East, to connect this region and unlock its incredible potential. Each country of this region can be a part of this movement. Each society - Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian, Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Omani, Bahraini, Kuwaiti and more - can be a part of this movement. Together, we can help to change this region and build a new future today, for all the peoples of the Middle East," Greenblatt said. "I am looking forward to embarking on this challenging and exciting journey with Jon Medved (News - Alert) and the rest of the talented team at OurCrowd," Greenblatt said. OurCrowd has long been working behind the scenes to forge ties between Israel's startup ecosystem and its Middle East neighbours - despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. February's OurCrowd Summit in Jerusalem included participants registered from every nation in the Arab League. In January, OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved became the first Israeli venture investor to address a public business gathering in Abu Dhabi when he spoke at the SALT conference at Emirates Palace. OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved said: "We are delighted to welcome Jason Greenblatt to the OurCrowd team. He is not only a visionary who is pointing the way to a brighter future for the entire region, but he is someone who makes things happen. Together with Jason we expect to open up a new world of opportunities for our growing portfolio of 200+ companies and 20 funds. This is going to be an incredible journey together and we look forward to making formerly impossible dreams of regional economic and technology cooperation come true." END About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is a global venture investing platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. The most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its capital, and provides its global network with unparalleled access to co-invest and contribute connections, talent and deal flow. OurCrowd builds value for its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycles, providing mentorship, recruiting industry advisors, navigating follow-on rounds and creating growth opportunities through its network of multinational partnerships. With $1.4 billion of committed funding, and investments in 200 portfolio companies and 20 venture funds, OurCrowd offers access to its membership of 41,000 individual accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and venture capital partners from over 183 countries to invest alongside, at the same terms. OurCrowd's portfolio is diversified across sectors and stages, ranging from seed and series A through late stage and pre-IPO firms. Since its founding in 2013, OurCrowd portfolio companies have been acquired by some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Uber, Canon (News - Alert), Oracle, Nike, and Intel. To register and get involved, visit www.ourcrowd.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005115/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg at the Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina: REUTERS Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg received loud applause and whoops at the latest TV debate with his rivals cheers that some said were suspiciously enthusiastic given his lacklustre performance. The former New York mayor needed a strong showing at the debate to recover from his first appearance with the other candidates in Nevada, which was generally agreed to have been a disaster for his campaign. However, while his performance was more confident and better received than his last, various commentators noticed that the audience in the room seemed to be cheering Mr Bloomberg on with a vigour and frequency that his words did not warrant. Their deduction was that the billionaire candidate might have stacked the crowd with paid-for attendees, something the campaign denies. Others said the high cost of tickets may have worked in his favour. Longtime left-wing hero and activist Michael Moore tweeted that tickets to get in cost up to $3,200. No surprise to see Bloomberg get some cheers. Is there any joy in watching this debate? Some stopped short of accusing Mr Bloomberg directly, but laid into the issue of campaign-aligned audiences and how they can distort what happens in the hall. CNNs Chris Cillizza tweeted that Candidates should not be allowed to try to pack the debate hall with a cheering section who applaud when they open their mouth. It's not only annoying but it changes the way people watching on TV perceive answers and the candidates that give them. Others, however, have dismissed the notion of a paid-for pro-Bloomberg audience as the beginnings of a baseless conspiracy theory. Democratic Party communications director Xochitl Hinojosa tweeted that Candidates get the same amount of tickets. No one is packing the debate hall. This is how conspiracy theories get started. Another user, Democratic campaign veteran Tori Taylor, wrote: There are so many topics worthy of debate. This isnt one of them because its not true. Story continues Candidates arent allowed to pack the debate hall. They all get the same amount of tickets. That room is filled w/ a diverse group of folks from across South Carolina & the country. The Washington Post asked the Bloomberg campaign to provide a list of the people to whom it had given its 15 allocated tickets, and was told they went to organisers, volunteers, and current and former elected officials. The debate was the last before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, which are expected to thin out the still-crowded field of candidates. Bernie Sanders has won two of the last three contests and essentially tied in the other, and leads by a large margin in national polls. SALEM, Ore. Recovery funding for areas of northeastern Oregon hit hard by flooding earlier this month has now become a charged political issue as it languishes in the gridlocked state legislature. Republican lawmakers shunned the capitol this week to deny a vote on the divisive cap-and-trade bill, but the act of protest has likewise ground all other legislative business to a halt. Among the bills now stalled in the legislature is an $11.65 million recovery funding proposal for the Umatilla Basin as people continue to sift through the aftermath of widespread flooding. On Wednesday, Governor Kate Brown announced that the state had secured a $1.8 million loan for the town of Pendleton in lieu of the funding package a "no-interest, no-payment, medium-term loan" borrowed from Business Oregon, the state's economic development agency. "This levee funding is a stopgap measure to make sure that residents in the Umatilla Basin don't have to worry that the coming spring will add insult to injury," said Governor Brown. RELATED: Oregon House Republicans join senators in boycotting the legislature The Governor's office said that this contribution was the only part of the more than $11 million funding package that could be eligible for a short-term loan, saying that everything else would require approval from lawmakers. Governor Brown took a swipe at Republicans over the funding, saying that they had walked away from their jobs and from the needs of the Umatilla Basin community. "When legislators deny quorum and shut down government, it puts critical state funding in jeopardy and not just for flooding relief. This is important work; Oregonians are counting on us," Brown said. Republicans were quick to fire back, accusing Brown of "backtracking" from previous statements that she could not send recovery funding to the Umatilla Basin without legislative approval. Im not sure why the Governor withheld this funding for two weeks. But no matter what the politics are in the building, its the right thing to do, said Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger, R-Grants Pass. Funds to pay off the loan to Pendleton will have to be approved by lawmakers when they return to conducting business. Technavio has been monitoring the global hydraulic elevators market since 2019 and the market is poised to grow by USD 586.46 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of more than 1% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005351/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Hydraulic Elevators Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 143-page report with TOC on "Hydraulic Elevators Market Analysis Report by Geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America), Type (Hole-less hydraulic elevators, Holed hydraulic elevators, and Roped hydraulic elevators), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024". https://www.technavio.com/report/hydraulic-elevators-market-industry-analysis The market is driven by the lower maintenance and higher safety of hydraulic elevators. In addition, advances in the field of elevator maintenance are anticipated to boost the growth of the hydraulics elevators market. Hydraulic elevators comprise of fewer components than traction elevators which significantly reduces maintenance costs. In addition, hydraulic elevators are safer than traction elevators as they are hoisted in machine rooms that are fastened to the building structure. This ensures equal sharing of the load among building pillars. Moreover, rescue operations can be easily conducted in hydraulic elevators, whereas it is difficult in the case of a traction elevator if it is stuck. Owing to many such advantages, hydraulic elevators are preferred in residential operations, which is driving the growth of the market. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Hydraulic Elevators Market Companies: Bucher Industries AG Bucher Industries AG operates its business through segments such as Kuhn Group, Bucher Municipal, Bucher Hydraulics, Bucher Emhart Glass, and Bucher Specials. The company offers various hydraulic components such as pumps, valves, motors, cylinders, and elevator drives for hydraulic elevators. CIRCOR International Inc. CIRCOR International Inc. operates its business through segments such as Energy, Aerospace Defense, and Industrial. The company offers pumps for hydraulic elevators and other applications. Delta Elevator Co. Ltd. Delta Elevator Co. Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Hydraulic passenger elevators, Traction Passenger Elevators, MRL Passenger Elevators, Freight Elevators, Material Lifts, and Elevator Controllers. The company offers hydraulic passenger elevators for malls, plazas, apartments, commercial developments, schools, hospitals, and churches. GAL Manufacturing Company LLC GAL Manufacturing Company LLC operates its business through segments such as Fixtures, Door equipment, and Controllers. The company offers electronic controllers, safety controls, fixtures, and various door equipment such as operators, clutches, interlocks, and switches for elevators. KLEEMANN HELLAS SA KLEEMANN HELLAS SA operates its business through segments such as Elevators, Cabins, Escalators and moving walks, Parking systems, Marine, and Accessibility. The company offers a wide range of hydraulic lifts for residential applications. Some of the key offerings include FlexyLIFT, Maison One, and MaisonLIFT Plus. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Technavio has segmented the hydraulic elevators market based on the type and region. Hydraulic Elevators Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020 2024) Hole-less hydraulic elevators Holed hydraulic elevators Roped hydraulic elevators Hydraulic Elevators Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020 2024) APAC Europe MEA North America South America Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Related Reports on Industrials are: Global Hydraulic Equipment Market Global hydraulic equipment market by geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America), application (mobile and industrial), and component (pump and motor, valve, cylinder, accumulator and filter, and others). Global Hydraulic Hose and Fittings Market Global hydraulic hose and fittings market by geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America) and end-users (construction machinery, agricultural machinery, material handling machinery, and others). About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005351/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com A spy who attempted to kill a Bulgarian arms dealer is a Russian diplomat linked to the poisonings of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, a new report has alleged. Bulgarian prosecutors charged three Russians last month with trying to kill arms factory owner and trader Emilian Gebrev and two other Bulgarians in Sofia between April 28 and May 4, 2015 by 'intoxication with an unidentified organophosphorus substance,' the prosecutors said in a statement. One of the three alleged men called Georgy Gorkshov, is actually Yegor Gordienko, a Russian diplomat, it has been claimed. After two failed attempts to kill Mr Gebrev he was understood to have became a third secretary at Russias mission to the World Trade Organisation in Switzerland, Bellingcat claimed yesterday. It has been reported that the 41-year-old may have supported GRU officers in Europe, such as Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Miskin, who were charged with attempted murder in September 2018 after the poisoning of Mr Skripal and his daughter in March the same year. The three suspects have been identified as Sergei Pavlov, Sergei Fedotov, and Georgy Gorshkov, and are believed to be residents of Moscow, the prosecutors office said in a statement earlier this week. Last month, prosecutors announced charges against three Russians for the same case but did not identify them. Yegor Gordienko, the Russian diplomat who has now been linked to Bulgarian arms dealer death and the Sergei Skripal poisoning A CCTV image of the suspected GRU agent allegedly involved in the Gebrev poisoning The suspected GRU agent allegedly involved in the Gebrev poisoning The investigation into the poisoning was reopened in 2018 after Gebrev told prosecutors he had reason to believe the substance used on him might have been similar to Novichok, the nerve agent used against Skripal in Salisbury in England. In February last year, Bulgaria said it was investigating a possible link between their poisoning and the attack on Skripal and his daughter, both of whom survived. At the time, prosecutors said a Russian man by the name of Sergei Fedotov visited Bulgaria three times in 2015 and was there in April when Gebrev was poisoned. The attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal (right) in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on March 4 left the Russian former double agent and his daughter Yulia (left) critically ill In October 2018, Russian news website Fontanka named Fedotov, who it said worked for the country's GRU military intelligence service, as a suspect in the Skripal case. Investigative website Bellingcat previously named Denis Sergeev, who used the alias Sergei Fedotov, as a 45-year-old member of the GRU who arrived in Britain on the same day as the two suspected attackers, 48 hours before the poisoning which happened on March 4, 2018. New information suggests he took on a 'supervising, coordinating role' in the attack, the website said following investigations alongside the BBC. Sources told the BBC's Newsnight programme that Sergeev holds the rank of major general in the Russian military intelligence service. Moscow never comments on the identity of GRU staff, but has denied involvement in the poisoning of Skripal. Denis Sergeev, the third suspect (inset), has his movements across London shown last year: March 2: Gatwick to Paddington. March 3: Embankment Station to Salisbury. March 4: Paddington to Salisbury and then the Skripal's home (Wilton Road) before flying back to Moscow The movements of the original two suspects Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov (inset): RED, first two suspects March 2: Gatwick, to Victoria, then Waterloo and on to the City Stay Hotel. March 3: Waterloo, to City Stay, to Salisbury. March 4: Skripals' home (Wilton Road), leave on a flight to Moscow. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman declined to give detailed comment on Thursday but said the Russian embassy in Bulgaria was probably following developments. In December, Sotir Tsatsarov, at the time Bulgaria's chief prosecutor, said he saw a close link between the people involved in the crimes in Bulgaria and England as a suspect in the Skripal case was in Sofia when Gebrev was poisoned. Chennai, Feb 26 : Actor Rajinikanth on Wednesday said the Central government should deal with the violent protests in Delhi with an iron hand and if this is not done, then they should resign and go. He also said the violence and death of over 20 persons in Delhi is the failure of Home Minister Amit Shah as intelligence failure of the Central government is the failure of Home Minister. Rajinikanth, who will be plunging into active politics, he said all protests should be peaceful and it should not turn violent. Condemning the Central government for the intelligence failure, he said the intelligence officers should have done their duty properly during the visit of US President Donald Trump. He hoped at least in future, the intelligence department will be careful. He said the current protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is going beyond limits and it should have been dealt with iron hand. Protests can be held peacefully but it should not lead to violence, he added. Not foreseeing the Central government revoking CAA as it was passed by the Parliament, Rajinikanth said the centre had clearly explained about National Register for Citizens (NRC) and why there should be no confusion on that. Rajinikanth said it is sad that he is being described as the "mouthpiece" of the BJP. He said some parties are instigating the protests in the name of religion and strongly condemned those resorting to such practices and the Central government should deal such things with iron hand failing which it will become a big problem in the future. The actor also urged the media to report in a responsible manner after weighing what is just. Rajinikanth reiterated that he will be the first person to come out in support of Muslims if they are affected by CAA. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan welcomed Rajinikanth's criticism of the Central government in failing to control the violence in Delhi. In a tweet minutes after Rajinikanth said it is the failure of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in controlling violence, Kamal Haasan said: "Excellent Friend Rajinikanth. Come like that. This route is good route and not a separate route. It is King's Path of one race." An imam of a mosque in West Bengal's Asansol, who had prevented an escalation of the 2018 communal riots in the industrial town in West Burdwan district despite losing his son in the clashes, once again appealed for peace and fraternity in the wake of violence in Delhi. Maulana Imdadullah Rashidi, Imam of Nurani Mosque in Asansol, made an impassionate plea to the rioters in Delhi to foster brotherhood and lay down arms in the true spirit of humanity. "Why should brothers attack each other in Delhi? This is not the long-cherished tradition of Delhi where people have been living peacefully, side by side for ages. This present atmosphere of violence should give way to an air of peace and love, an air of brotherhood and fraternity," he said. Rashidi had issued a similar appeal two years back even after losing his son to the communal violence that had engulfed Asansol during Ram Navami celebrations. His appeal had helped to prevent the violence from spiralling. Rashidi said he was concerned over casualties in the national capital and wished the mayhem ended soon to allow every ordinary citizen to carry on with his or her daily work. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of wealthy investors have failed in their legal challenge against Revenues refusal to allow them to write off losses of several million euro linked to a complex financial transaction. The Tax Appeals Commission, or TAC, ruled that a scheme in which the 32 individuals invested large sums of money involving a British Virgin Islands-registered firm was specifically designed to generate losses to be written off against tax, rather than to make a profit. The TAC said there was no commercial rationale for any financial transaction involving the scheme which was promoted by an unidentified firm of tax advisors in Ireland. TAC Commissioner Lorna Gallagher said evidence by several investors that they were completely surprised by the tax advantage they enjoyed from the scheme was entirely lacking in credibility. The appeal was taken by a group of investors who claimed that under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 losses they suffered on the scheme, were allowable trading losses that could be written off against tax. The TAC heard the investors were advised in advance of investing the scheme best suited higher-rate taxpayers with large incomes and capital gains to absorb any initial trading loss. One of the transactions was the purchase of the right to receive a dividend from a company registered in the British Virgin Islands which was preceded by a significant new investment of capital by members of the scheme. One investor -- a financial trader -- told the TAC that despite the mechanism of the scheme, the deduction of expenses and that the fact that his initial contribution would not be returned to him, he still expected to make a return on his capital contribution. The TAC heard the witness had invested 20,000 of his own money and another 180,000 which was borrowed, which ultimately generated a profit of just over 238. Under cross-examination, another investor, an accountant, claimed he was taken completely by surprise that he could claim losses of over 207,000 instead of 10,000 as a result of the performance of his investment. All of the objective facts point towards the transaction having been put in place for tax purposes to secure a tax advantage through generating a loss of the kind that was ultimately claimed in these appeals, TAC ruled. As a consequence, as Irish residents, they were liable for tax on foreign dividend income. It is understood the group is considering an appeal to the High Court. In a cacophonous two-hour debate Tuesday night in Charleston, seven 2020 Democratic presidential candidates sparred over gun control, healthcare, their voting records and which of them would be most likely to defeat President Donald Trump. The combative contest, which at many times was overrun by crosstalk as the contenders yelled over each other, underscored the high stakes in South Carolinas First in the South primary this Saturday, with several campaigns on the ropes. Though held in Charlestons Gaillard Center, it was also the final debate before voters head to the polls in 14 other states on Super Tuesday, a pivotal juncture in the race. While former vice president Joe Biden has led polls in South Carolina, the candidate who took the most incoming fire was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has emerged as the frontrunner in the overall race after strong performances in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. After facing repeated hits from Biden for voting against major gun control bills and former mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., on his electability, Sanders took note of the fact that he had suddenly become the center of attention. Im hearing my name mentioned a bit tonight, Sanders said. I wonder why that is. In a move that had been telegraphed in recent days by his campaign speeches, Biden hit Sanders on his gun control record, specifically his votes against the Brady Bill, a 1994 law that mandated federal background checks and waiting periods on gun purchases. Biden noted that Emanuel AME Church, site of the 2015 mass shooting, was walking distance from the debate site. "I'm not saying he's responsible for nine deaths, but that man would not have been able to get that weapon if he had supported this bill," Biden said. South Carolina issues grabbed a spotlight despite the debate being the last chance for 2020 hopefuls to address voters in Super Tuesday states who go to the polls in a week. Asked about the state's poor performing public schools, Sanders said he does not want a teacher to earn less than $60,000 a year while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an end to "high-stake" testing. After moderator Gayle King raised the Emanuel shooting again, she asked about gun control. Biden touted, "Ive taken on the (National Rifle Association) twice and won." Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she has backed a bill to close the "Charleston loophole," which would tightened background check regulations. Sanders responded by noting that Biden had voted for the Iraq war, arguing that they all had made some decisions that may now regret. I have cast thousands of votes including bad votes, Sanders said. That was a bad vote. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts continued to take former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to task over allegations from women who worked for him that he made inappropriate comments, extending a feud that began at the previous debate in Nevada. Warren also sought to contrast herself with Sanders, viewed as her closest competition for more progressive voters, arguing she would be more likely to achieve their shared goals. Getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard, and its going to take someone who digs into the details to make it happen, she said, citing her role in creating a consumer watchdog agency after the 2008 financial crisis as an example. Buttigieg and Klobuchar lobbed more criticism at Bloomberg over stop-and-frisk, the controversial policing method he deployed in New York City that disproportionately impacted minority residents. On a night when several candidates, particularly Biden, were counting on a decisive debate victory to propel them forward, the sheer messiness of the fighting on stage created little opportunity for any of them to emerge from the pack. The candidates often appeared exasperated as they sought to land a powerful punch only to be cut off before they could finish their points by their rivals or the moderators. As Biden seeks to ward off Sanders and a surging businessman Tom Steyer in South Carolina, the debate did not feature any moments that might have knocked either of his top foes off their recent momentum. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! At one point, Biden appeared so bemused by the way other candidates kept jumping in to talk over each other that he questioned whether anyone would enforce the rules. Can we just speak up when we want to? he asked. Other topics featured less discord. After the CBS debate moderators noted the historically low rankings of South Carolinas education system, many of the candidates agreed on the need to increase teacher salaries, improve mental health aid for students, boost funding for schools in historically impoverished areas and replace U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos with an official who has experience teaching in public schools. Despite the debates location in Charleston, no questions were raised about climate change, a topic of significant importance in the area as increasing flooding imperils the city. Several candidates questioned Sanders chances of winning back the White House and warned he could have a damaging impact down-ballot on Democratic candidates in other races. Bloomberg, who is not on the ballot in South Carolinas Saturday primary, claimed that both Trump and the Russian government want Sanders to become the nominee Bernie will lose to Donald Trump, Bloomberg said, a claim repeated by several other candidates. The House, the Senate and some of the Statehouses will all go red. Earlier in the debate, Bloomberg told Sanders, That is why Russia is helping you get elected so you lose to him." Buttigieg pointed out that moderate Democratic candidates have sought to distance themselves from Sanders. Charlestons U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, for example, has said he believes South Carolinians dont want socialism. They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can, Buttigieg said. I want to send those Democrats back to the United States House. Lets listen to them. Warren hit Bloomberg for helping to fund U.S. Sen. Lindsey Grahams 2014 campaign, using it as an example of why she argued he would be a risky nominee. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him, she said. Biden notably did not spend extensive time attacking Steyer, who has chipped into his lead in South Carolina polls, particularly among black voters. But they did have one contentious back-and-forth early on in which Biden noted that Steyers hedge fund had invested in private prisons, to which Steyer responded by arguing he thought they would do a better job before later selling the stock. Steyer said he later pushed to end the use of private prisons in his home state of California, prompting Biden to call him Tommy Come Lately. Steyer then hit back at Biden for his role in authoring the 1994 crime bill, saying it put hundreds of thousands of young black and Latino men in prison. Asked if he would continue running if he does not win the South Carolina primary, Biden rejected the premise of the question. I will win South Carolina, he said. Later in the debate, Biden said he would appoint a black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ive worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African American community, not just here but across the country, Biden said. Ive been coming here for years and years. The people know me. [February 26, 2020] BlackRock Long Term Private Capital to Invest in Luxury Fragrance Company Creed in Partnership With Industry Leading Executive Javier Ferran BlackRock Long Term Private Capital announced today that it has reached an agreement with Mr. Olivier Creed to become the new majority shareholder in Creed, his family's multi-century old luxury fragrance company. Industry leading executive Javier Ferran will become chairman of the company's board of directors and join as an investor. Mr. Ferran, who has extensive experience with niche luxury brands and in working with European family-owned businesses, assumes his responsibilities at close of the transaction. He will work closely with Mr. Creed, who will continue as the master perfumer of the fragrance house. The partnership with Mr. Ferran and the Creed family, including Mr. Creed's son Erwin, is BlackRock LTPC's first investment in Europe and reflects its unique proposition to founder-led and family-owned companies who value a longer-term investment horizon. Mr. Creed said: "To have a business leader of Javier's calibre join the Creed family is a significant boost to the business I have built over the past 50 years. His leadership and experience in the family owned luxury sector, as well as the financial support of a new majority investor with long term DNA, will ensure that Creed can continue to develop and produce the world's greatest scents. This business has been in my family for over 250 years and it was critical that, when the time was right, I was able to choose the best partners who would be able to best maintain our heritage as a luxury family business while helping us reach more people around the world. Both Javier and our new partners at BlackRock LTPC are ideal partners for Creed given their collaborative approach to working with their companies and their long-term orientation. I also look forward to continuing to work with all our staff, suppliers and distributors, and I know that they will continue to share in our success." Mr. Ferran said: "It is a privilege to build on Olivier's legacy and become custodians of this treasured business. The quality of the products that Olivier and Erwin have developed has enabled Creed to become the world's leading artisan fragrance company. I am looking forward to maintaining all the elements that make this such a great business and partnering with all of the company's employees, suppliers and distributors. BlackRock LTPC brings the right approach to building a premium brand, and together we can be a unique owner for the company. All of us recognise that the fragrance can reach new customers and enable them to experience the joy of Creed while growing carefully and thoughtfully over time." Dag Skattum, Head of European Office of Long Term Private Capital, said: "We are very pleased to be partnering with the Creed family and Javier Ferran as the new majority owner of a truly differentiated and world-class business that we can preserve and enhance for many years to come." Michel Dyens & Co acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Creed. -ends- About Creed The House of Creed has become one of the world's leading perfume houses. Established in 1760 in London by Henry Creed as a luxury goods maker, Creed is led by Mr. Olivier Creed, "Createur Parfumeur" and direct descendant of the founder. Mr. Creed travels extensively to source, research, inspect and commission the finest materials for Creed. Creed manufactures essences using a traditional infusion technique which enables Creed to maintain the superior quality and authenticity of its fragrances. About BlackRock LTPC Long Term Private Capital is BlackRock's direct private equity strategy and is focused on partnerships with best-in-class businesses, prudent capital structures, and flexible investment durations that enable compounded capital appreciation. LTPC's team of 20 professionals is based in New York and London and invests globally with a focus on North America and Western Europe. LTPC is backed by BlackRock, Inc., the world's leading investment firm, which manages more than $7.43 trillion on behalf of investors worldwide, including $215 billion across alternative asset classes. Further information is available at www.blackrock.com. About Javier Ferran Javier Ferran is a seasoned executive with over three decades of experience partnering with European family and founder-owned companies. Mr. Ferran serves as chairman of Diageo plc, having previously been a non-executive director. Before that, he spent over 20 years at Bacardi, ultiately serving as President and CEO, and previously as president of Bacardi EMEA. He serves on the board of directors of International Consolidated Airline Group (IAC) and Coca-Cola European Partners, and previously served on the boards of Associated British Foods plc, SABMiller plc, William Grant & Sons Ltd, and Agrolimen SA. Risk Warnings Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. The investor may not get back the amount originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or strategy. Changes in the rates of exchange between currencies may cause the value of investments to diminish or increase. Fluctuation may be particularly marked in the case of a higher volatility fund and the value of an investment may fall suddenly and substantially. Levels and basis of taxation may change from time to time. An investment in the Partnership is speculative and includes a high degree of risk, including the risk of a total loss of capital. Any investment decision with respect to the Partnership must be based solely on the most current version of each of the offering memorandum, the Partnership's governing documents and each limited partner's subscription agreement. There is no assurance that the Partnership, any of the strategies described herein or any investment will achieve its objectives. Valuation risk. The Partnership will be exposed to securities and other assets that will not have readily assessable market values. In such instances, the AIFM will determine the fair value of such securities and assets in its reasonable judgment based on various factors and may rely on internal pricing models. The valuation of illiquid securities and other assets is inherently subjective and subject to increased risk that the information utilised to value such assets or to create the price models may be inaccurate or subject to other error. Due to a wide variety of market factors and the nature of the securities and assets to which the Partnership will be exposed, there is no guarantee that any value determined will represent the value that will be realised on the eventual disposition of the Partnership's investments or that would, in fact, be realised upon an immediate disposition of such investment. The Partnership Does Not Have a Fixed Term and Withdrawals Generally Will Not Be Permitted. The Partnership is not intended to be a short-term investment and has no certainty of returns. The Partnership is intended only for long-term investors able to accept the risks associated with an illiquid investment. The Partnership does not have a fixed term and is generally expected to retain and reinvest proceeds from Investments. Additionally, even if an LP Termination Event or a Dissolution Event occurs (as defined in the Private Offering Memorandum), the Representative may cause the Partnership to continue to hold some or all Investments until at least the two year or five year anniversary of the relevant LP Termination Event provided that such date may be extended by the General Partner by up to two terms of one year each with the prior consent of all of the Cornerstone Investors. Investors should ensure that they have read and understand the Private Offering Memorandum and the operation of the Partnership following an LP Termination Event. Limited Partners will not be allowed to voluntarily withdraw their Interests. Accordingly, the only manner in which Limited Partners may be able to realise a return on their investments in the Partnership, or even receive a return of capital, is to transfer their Interests. Interests, however, will be subject to restrictions on transfer and there can be no assurance that a market for the purchase or sale of the Interests will develop. No Assurance of Investment Return. There can be no assurance that the Partnership will be able to generate returns for the Limited Partners. Even if the Investments prove successful, returns realised by the Partnership are expected to be reinvested in Investments and accordingly the Partnership will likely not produce a realised return to a Limited Partner unless such Limited Partner transfers its Interests in connection with a Liquidity Pool or otherwise. There can be no assurance, however, that a market for the purchase or sale of Interests will develop. Accordingly, Limited Partners may not be able to generate returns in connection with their investments in the Partnership. Additionally, even if such returns are generated, there can be no assurance that the returns will be commensurate with the risks of investing in the type of companies and transactions targeted by the Partnership. Difficulty of Locating Suitable Investment. There can be no assurance that there will be a sufficient number of suitable investment opportunities to enable the Partnership to invest all of its committed capital in opportunities that satisfy the Partnership's investment objectives or that such investment opportunities will lead to completed investments by the Partnership. The availability of investment opportunities generally will be subject to market conditions as well as, in some cases, the prevailing regulatory or political climate. Please refer to the Private Offering Memorandum XI. INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS AND CERTAIN RISK FACTORS for a complete list of fund specific risk details. This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation to invest in any jurisdiction in which such solicitation is unlawful or to any person to whom it is unlawful. Moreover, it neither constitutes an offer to enter into an investment agreement with the recipient of this document nor an invitation to respond to it by making an offer to enter into an investment agreement. No recipient is permitted to use this information in any way that would violate U.S. securities laws, rules or regulations. Any reference herein to any security and/or a particular issuer shall not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell, offer to buy, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any such securities issued by such issuer. 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All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005820/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Keep an eye out for hundreds of horses, covered wagons and cowboys and cowgirls trekking down Texas highways this week, as the longstanding tradition of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Texas Trail Ride is officially underway. As of Sunday, more than 2,00o trail riders saddled up and are making their way into Houston from areas all across the state and Louisiana. Combined, the riders will travel more than 1,300 miles across 12 different historic trails until they make their way to Memorial Park this weekend to officially kick off rodeo season. VANCOUVER - Canada must urgently create public registries that reveal the true owners of corporations in order to shed its international reputation as a destination for laundering the proceeds of crime, an inquiry has heard. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Commissioner Austin Cullen, back centre, listens to introductions before opening statements at the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, in Vancouver, on Monday, February 24, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER - Canada must urgently create public registries that reveal the true owners of corporations in order to shed its international reputation as a destination for laundering the proceeds of crime, an inquiry has heard. A coalition of tax fairness groups told British Columbia's money laundering inquiry Wednesday that hiding ill-gotten cash behind shell companies is so widespread in Canada it's known globally as "snow washing." "It is no wonder criminals set their sights on Canada, which has some of the weakest corporate transparency laws in the world," said James Cohen, representing Transparency International Canada, Canadians For Tax Fairness and Publish What You Pay Canada. "There are more rigorous checks to obtain a library card than there are to set up a shell company." B.C. launched the provincial inquiry amid growing concern that illegal cash was helping to fuel its real estate, luxury car and gambling sectors. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is participating and says it is committed to tackling the national problem. Three days of opening arguments concluded Wednesday. The inquiry will reconvene in May to quantify the extent of money laundering in B.C. before main hearings in September through December delve into specific industries. Cohen, executive director of Transparency International Canada, said it joined forces with the other two groups in 2016 after the Panama Papers shed new light on wealthy individuals' use of offshore companies to evade taxes. The leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca also revealed that Canada was being marketed as a location to bring dirty money and have it cleaned like the "pure white snow," he said. There are a number of gaps in Canada's anti-money laundering law but a key problem is its weak beneficial ownership regime, which allows company owners to remain anonymous, Cohen said. He proposed adding owner information to existing business registries already in place in provinces and territories. This addition would deter money laundering while still respecting privacy rights, he argued. Cohen noted that the United Kingdom gathers information about owners that is available to authorities but limits the details that are posted publicly on its registry. For example, an owner's month and year of birth are posted but not the date. He praised B.C. for creating a land ownership registry that identifies those buying real estate, as well as the federal government for consulting with provinces and territories on a possible national registry, but he urged swifter action. "The extent of secrecy granted to companies has come at a high cost to Canadians, particularly in British Columbia," he said. "Bad actors have exploited Canada's stable economy, leading to crime, housing unaffordability and increased corruption." The organization representing real estate agents in British Columbia told the inquiry that it has taken action since several government-commissioned reports found the housing market had become a hotbed for dirty money. A lawyer for the B.C. Real Estate Association said it supported the province's land ownership registry and it also struck a working group with others in the sector to make anti-money laundering recommendations. Chris Weafer asked commissioner Austin Cullen to accept those recommendations, including that the provincial and federal governments create a "comprehensive, efficient enforcement regime" that avoids duplication of reporting practices. He also pushed back on the idea that mortgage brokers or others in the industry regularly accept cash deposits. This practice has never been common except in extenuating circumstances and even then amounts were modest, he said. "The regulation of Realtors and the real estate industry is in a state of flux in this province, through taxes, new regulations and legislation," Weafer said. "As a participant in these proceedings, BCREA can provide a practical lens to give the inquiry a boots-on-the-ground perspective of the current and past state of the industry, and provide insight as to what the industry may look like following proposed changes." Another key issue is to what extent lawyers should be included in the national anti-money laundering regime, given that they are involved in large purchases of assets and the creation of corporations, partnerships and trusts. Kevin Westell, representing the Canadian Bar Association and Criminal Defence Advocacy Society, said the regime should not apply to the legal profession. Requiring lawyers to report suspicious activity to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, or Fintrac, would violate solicitor-client privilege, he said. It would also add to a "disturbing" trend of the B.C. government undermining the work of lawyers, he said, pointing to policies including proposed changes to its public auto insurer that would ban injured people from suing at-fault drivers. Both the bar association and defence advocacy society recognize the inquiry is important, Westell said. "At the same time, both organizations are wary that the zealous search for solutions to the money laundering problem will lead to investigative and regulatory overreach that could endanger the independence of lawyers, the privacy of private citizens and the rights of all Canadians to a free and just society." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday (February 26) visited some riot-hit areas in North East Delhi and said that the situation "is under control and people are satisfied." The NSA appealed to the people to have confidence in law enforcement agencies and remarked that police is on high alert and is doing its job. During his visit to one of the affected areas, NSA Doval promised a young girl that normalcy will soon return in the area. "I give you my word, everything will be fine," he said. The girl, who appeared very afraid, told NSA Doval that she had been finding it dangerous to step out of her home to attend her classes and that the situation was "uncomfortable". "My message is that everyone who loves their country also loves their society and their neighbour. Everyone should live with love and harmony with others. People should try to resolve each other's problems and not increase them," Doval said. At least 24 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in several areas of North East Delhi on Sunday. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. Live TV "People have a sense of unity among them, there is no enmity. A few criminals do things like this (spread violence) and people are trying to isolate them. Police is here and doing its work. We're here as per the orders of Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said. "Inshallah yahan par bilkul aman hoga (if Allah wills, there will be total peace here)." Before embarking on his visit to riot-hit areas, Doval held a meeting with Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, newly appointed special CP SN Shrivastava, Special CP (Law and Order) Satish Golcha and DCP of northeast Delhi Ved Prakash Arya to take stock of the situation. The leader of an anti-migrant party was nominated Wednesday as prime minister of Slovenia, setting him on track for a return to high office after a nearly seven-year absence. Janez Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) announced on Tuesday that it had agreed with three other parties to form a coalition government. The previous centre-left government fell in January when then premier Marjan Sarec stepped down amid infighting in his minority five-party coalition. "I would like to thank our coalition partners for having had in mind the interest of the citizens and the common good of the state," Jansa told reporters after being nominated as premier by President Borut Pahor. Parliament is yet to confirm Jansa's nomination, which is expected to happen next week. Pahor said the full government line-up is expected to be in place next month. "I hope our collaboration will be constructive and for the benefit of our state and our people," Pahor said after the nomination. A long-time leader of the anti-migrant SDS and ally of Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Jansa led two previous governments before being forced to step down in 2013 over a corruption scandal. He was given a two-year jail sentence for a bribery conviction, which was later overturned by the Constitutional Court, which ordered a retrial. But that could not take place as too much time had elapsed. - 'Orban's Slovenia' - The 61-year-old is known for his crowd-pleasing rhetoric and combative presence on Twitter, where he attacks opponents and established media alike, echoing the tactics of rightwing populists abroad. For the new government coalition, SDS will partner up with centre-right Nova Slovenija (NSi) and outgoing junior coalition parties Modern Centre Party (SMC) and pensioners party DESUS, giving them a total of 48 out of the 90 seats in parliament. SDS won the most votes in the last election in 2018, but Jansa failed to win over sufficient allies at that time, paving the way for political newcomer Sarec, a 42-year-old former comedian, to become Slovenia's youngest-ever prime minister. Sarec, who had called for fresh elections, has warned its former allies against joining a coalition with SDS, claiming it would make the country "Orban's Slovenia". Earlier this month, a Slovenian investigative website Necenzurirano published a report claiming it had documents proving Orban-linked companies had invested around 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in a Slovenia SDS-founded television and publishing house over the last two years. The new coalition's programme includes additional funding to improve the health care system and increasing free kindergarten places. The SDS, which had slammed the migrant policy of the previous centre-left governments, also included in the coalition agreement plans for more efficient border control, stricter implementation of asylum policies and the gradual reintroduction of a six-month military service, according to the Slovenian news agency. The latest poll, published Wednesday by daily Dnevnik, puts public support for SDS on the rise, now at 19.9 percent, followed by outgoing Sarec's party LMS at 15 percent. Janez Jansa: Set to return to his former post as prime minister A Kansas man who spent 23 years in prison for a double homicide in 1994 has been awarded more than $1.5million by the state for his wrongful conviction. Lamonte McIntyre was just 17-years-old when he was convicted in the 1994 murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn, according to a release from the Kansas State Attorney General's office. McIntyre was ordered released by a Wyandotte County court in 2017 at the age of 41 - having already served 8,583 days for the killings. He launched a lawsuit against Kansas using the state's mistaken-conviction statute that was enacted by the legislature in 2018. Lamonte McIntyre launched a lawsuit against Kansas using the state's mistaken-conviction statute that was enacted by the legislature in 2018, winning more than $1.5million A resolution for the lawsuit agreed upon by the attorney general was approved on Monday by Jude Teresa L. Watson in the Shawnee County District Court. 'We are committed to faithfully administering the state's mistaken-conviction law as the legislature wrote it,' Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. 'In this case, our office worked diligently to obtain and review all available evidence, including evidence identified but not provided in the earlier judicial proceedings. We were ultimately able to resolve all issues, satisfy all of the statute's requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr. McIntyre can receive the benefits to which he is entitled by law because of his mistaken conviction'. Lamonte McIntyre was just 17 when he was convicted for the 1994 murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn. McIntyre was ordered released by a Wyandotte County court in 2017 at the age of 41 - having already served 8,583 days for the killings McIntyre was granted a 'certificate of innocence' and had records pertaining to his conviction and arrest expunged The agreed order states that McIntyre did not commit the crimes for which he was convicted, 'nor was he an accessory or accomplice to that crimes or crimes, nor did he suborn perjury, fabricate evidence or cause or bring about the conviction'. McIntyre was granted a 'certificate of innocence' and had records pertaining to his conviction and arrest expunged. He was awarded a total of $1,553,379.45 and was granted both counseling and access to health care benefits in the state for 2020 and 2021. The state also awarded McIntyre a waiver and required fees to attend a post-secondary educational institution for up to 130 credit hours. 'We were ultimately able to resolve all issues, satisfy all of the statute's requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr. McIntyre can receive the benefits to which he is entitled by law because of his mistaken conviction,' Attorney General Derek Schmidt said The State Finance Council is subject to review the payment from the state. McIntyre's lawsuit is the third mistaken-conviction lawsuit concluded in the state under the 2018 statute. The law makes it possible for formerly incarcerated claimants to seek monetary damage from the state for wrongful conviction. The now 43-year-old testified in support of the bill in 2018, saying at the time: 'The state of Kansas took away 23 years of my life and has given me nothing to rebuild. The state took away my youth. It took away every birthday and Christmas with my family, and every hard time when they needed me and I couldnt be there. McIntyre's lawsuit is the third mistaken-conviction lawsuit concluded in the state under the 2018 statute 'I missed joyful occasions and I missed sad ones too. I had nieces and nephews born while I was in custody who are young men and women now. I missed their entire childhoods. I was not able to comfort my mother when she buried her father, my beloved grandfather'. He later concluded: 'The state of Kansas cant give me back the 23 years it took from me. But it can pass this compensation law so I can start my path to a successful future. This law would provide a fair amount of money for each year that I lost in prison. It would help me get the resources I need to heal from my wrongful conviction'. McIntyre launched the nonprofit, Miracle of Innocence, following his release, which aims to help those who have been wrongfully convicted. According to the nonprofit's website, McIntyre graduated with his barber license from the Headlines Barber Academy in October 2018. He currently works there now as a co-owner and a student instructor, organizing clothes drives and back to school events. The website also states that McIntyre is attending Penn Valley Metropolitan Community College to pursue a degree in business. Up to eight of the banks, which represent the worlds largest, will remain fully owned overseas, although three have undertaken to offer Australian equity. Paul Keating at the opening of the Chase Manhattan AMP Bank in Sydney, one of the winners of the banking licences. Credit:Ian Cugley Australia is to have 16 new banks from the middle of the year, a development which will mark the biggest step yet in the banking revolution. Naming the 16 winners in the banking race, the Treasurer, Mr Keating, said yesterday they represented the biggest infusion of capital and expertise ever to be injected into the financial system. It will lift competition and provide the Australian public with banking services equal to the best in the world, he said. He said the banks would give jobs to more than 8000 people, 4500 more than already employed by the successful applicants in their existing merchant banking operations. They would have a total capital of more than $1500 million, less than $100 million a bank. The first of the new banks are expected to open around mid-year after talks with the Reserve Bank and the Treasury and the formal granting of banking authorities. They include some of the biggest and best known banks in the world, such as Chase Manhattan and Citibank of the United States, Barclays and National Westminster of Britain, the Bank of Tokyo, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, executive chairman of Orascom Telecom. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images Disruptions caused by the coronavirus will cause the world's economy to shrink if the outbreak continues, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said this week. "If this is not contained within the next few months, we will see a big shrinking in the economy because, imagine a country like China, its people not able to go and travel and do commerce and do deals," he told CNBC's Hadley Gamble on Wednesday. The novel coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, and infections have been reported in more than 30 countries. China has confirmed over 78,000 cases and 2,700 deaths, while South Korea, Italy and Iran have seen spikes in cases. These countries have been the targets of travel advisories and, in some cases, bans. "Imagine a company like Huawei, who now cannot go and serve its clients," said Sawiris, who was formerly chief executive of Orascom Telecom. "It's going to be a big impact." Noting that many people cross the border between Italy and Switzerland for work, he said it would be a "worrying situation" if the former has to close its borders. He also warned that Africa would not be able to contain the situation if the virus reaches the continent. "If for any reason this virus spreads to Africa, they're totally unprepared for this," he said. "(They) don't even have hospitals to treat the normal influenza." "I'm feeling that if they don't come up with antidotes and the vaccine very, very soon, for sure, the economy of the whole world will shrink," he said. Legacy of former Egyptian president [February 26, 2020] Communications Service Providers Globally Select VMware's 5G-Ready NFV Platform as the Foundation for Their Telco Cloud Strategy VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today showcased how communications service providers (CSPs) across the world - including Millicom, Singtel, Telecom Italia, Telia Company and TIM Brasil - are adopting VMware's Telco Cloud platform to accelerate time to revenue, automate service lifecycle, and simplify operations management. The company also unveiled new capabilities across its Telco and Edge Cloud product portfolio, including innovations to its telco cloud core, edge and RAN offerings. "5G is the future and in order to take part in the new cloud economy and become digital service providers, CSPs must evolve. Telcos around the globe are choosing VMware to drive their digital transformation forward by adopting a software-defined, automated and virtualized infrastructure built on NFV," said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president and general manager, Telco and Edge Cloud, VMware. "We continue to push our pace of innovation to offer a comprehensive telco and edge cloud portfolio that addresses our customers' challenges of today and prepares them for the opportunities of tomorrow." VMware NFV Customers Share Their Stories VMware's Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) platform is relied upon by more than 100 operators to deliver their telecom services to 800 million subscribers globally. Today, several customers highlighted why they chose VMware's Telco Cloud platform as the foundation for their digital transformation. Millicom is a leading provider of cable and mobile services dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America. Xavier Rocoplan, CTIO, Millicom, said, "Bringing next-generation digital services to our geographically-dispersed customers in an agile and cost-efficient manner requires a telco cloud foundation. We selected VMware as a strategic partner in this endeavor and are working with them to design and deploy a consistent platform for service and application delivery for all of our subsidiaries. Once operational, our cloud-based, 5G-ready network will help us continue building and expanding our digital highways across Latin America." Singtel, one of Asia's leading communications technology groups, provides a diverse range of services including fixed, mobile, data, internet, TV, infocomms technology (ICT) and digital solutions. Mark Chong, Group CTO, Singtel, said, "As part of our Networks 5.0 Vision and journey to Network Virtualization, we are working with a number of Cloud and Network Function vendors. VMware's Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) platform provides us with flexibility in deploying virtual network functions (VNFs) from multiple vendors on a consistent and open platform, enabling us to design a network architecture that suits our unique needs and delivers new capabilities that support the needs of the consumer and enterprise business." Telecom Italia is the largest telecommunications company in Italy serving more than 31 million mobile customers across the country, according to the company. Michele Gamberini, CTIO Telecom Italia, said, "We are playing a critical role in Italy's digital transformation by extending our 5G, fiber optic and LTE (News - Alert) networks, and the potential they offer. VMware is key partner in this effort - we already operate a variety of virtual network functions (VNFs) leveraging VMware Telco Cloud infrastructure, and are looking to extend the partnership as we evolve our network in the future." Telia Company is the leading Nordic and Baltic operator serving millions of customers every day in one of the world's most digital and connected regions. Mauro Costa, Director of Network and IT Infrastructure, Telia Company, said, "We're constantly looking to make our networks smarter and smoother to give our customers the best possible experience using our services. This requires a reliable technology partner that can help us transform our network to deliver next-generation services - we've found that partner in VMware. We leverage VMware's NFV platform to orchestrate and deliver a range of virtual functions and services to millions of customers across six countries. Using a single platform to manage a variety of functions, including the IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) (vIMS), voice over 4G (VoLTE), the new Virtual Mobile Packet Core (vEPC) and other value-added services, has helped us streamline delivery of services to customers while reducing operational complexity." TIM Brasil, a subsidiary of Telecom Italia, is one of the fastest growing mobile service providers in Brazil serving more than 54.5 million mobile customers across the country, according to the company. Leonardo Capdeville, CTIO, TIM Brasil, said, "We are able to deploy a wide variety of network functions from multiple leading VNF vendors on top of VMware's NFV platform. The platform's interoperability with myriad VNFs ultimately provides us with the flexibility we need to seamlessly deliver new services to our customers faster than ever before. As the current leader in 4G coverage across Brazil, we feel we've built a solid telco cloud foundation, in partnership with VMware, to be able to support 5G core services in the future." VMware Expands Its Telco & Edge Cloud Portfolio VMware is continuously enhancing its telco cloud offerings across all areas f the telco network - including core, edge and RAN - to help customers achieve their long-term strategic 5G vision and immediate 4G business goals. VMware Telco Cloud Automation, previously announced at VMworld 2019 Europe as Project Maestro, is a software solution for telco cloud orchestration and automation. Today, VMware is announcing the general availability of this cloud-first orchestration solution. VMware Telco Cloud Automation helps CSPs: Accelerate time to revenue: Accelerate service time-to-revenue with a simplified, vendor-neutral and standard-compliant approach for designing and onboarding virtual network functions (VNFs), cloud native network functions (CNFs), or network services. Accelerate service time-to-revenue with a simplified, vendor-neutral and standard-compliant approach for designing and onboarding virtual network functions (VNFs), cloud native network functions (CNFs), or network services. Automate operations with multi-cloud agility: Define and apply policies using a comprehensive decision engine to automate day zero through more complex day two operations. Define and apply policies using a comprehensive decision engine to automate day zero through more complex day two operations. Enhance customer experiences: Deliver a new level of experiences with adaptable and resilient services. The solution combines real-time decision-making capabilities with holistic Telco Cloud awareness for optimal close-loop actions that help deliver improved service quality. Deliver a new level of experiences with adaptable and resilient services. The solution combines real-time decision-making capabilities with holistic Telco Cloud awareness for optimal close-loop actions that help deliver improved service quality. Transform to cloud-native networks: Evolve network architectures from OpenStack to cloud-native applications with seamless onboarding and orchestration over VMs and container-based infrastructure for a future-proof service delivery foundation. Distribute workloads at the core and edge and from private to public clouds for modern, unified network orchestration. Evolve network architectures from OpenStack to cloud-native applications with seamless onboarding and orchestration over VMs and container-based infrastructure for a future-proof service delivery foundation. Distribute workloads at the core and edge and from private to public clouds for modern, unified network orchestration. Streamline orchestration: Streamline the CSP (News - Alert) orchestration journey with native integration into VMware cloud technologies and Virtualized Infrastructure Managers (VIMs) for operational consistency and ease of deployment while maximizing infrastructure resource utilization. Streamline the CSP (News - Alert) orchestration journey with native integration into VMware cloud technologies and Virtualized Infrastructure Managers (VIMs) for operational consistency and ease of deployment while maximizing infrastructure resource utilization. Simplify interoperability: Built as a modular and model-driven solution, the Generic VNF Manager (G-VNFM) and NFV Orchestrator (NFVO) components of the solution integrates any compliant ETSI MANO architecture. Telco Cloud Automation allows standards-based integration with OSS/BSS systems and Service Orchestrators through ETSI compliant interfaces. VMware further enhances interoperability and facilitates onboarding by expanding partner VNF certifications to cover infrastructure and orchestration through the VMware Ready for NFV program. To date, Telco Cloud Automation has been tested and integrated with VNFs and CNFs from Affirmed Networks, Altiostar, Altran, Avi Networks, Mavenir, Metaswitch, and VeloCloud. Learn more about Telco Cloud Automation in this blog post. VMware and MobiledgeX announced today that the MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud R2.0 offering is now certified to run on VMware's Telco Cloud platform, enabling CSPs and their customers to more seamlessly push services and applications to the edge. By bringing cloud to the edge and integrating with the cellular infrastructure, operators and their customers alike are able to create new and improved user experiences. In addition, the companies will work with leading ISVs and channel partners to integrate leading vertical-specific applications into this solution. VMware and Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) Unveil Collaboration on an Open vRAN Platform VMware and Deutsche Telekom announced the companies are collaborating on an open and intelligent virtual RAN (vRAN) platform, based on O-RAN standards, to bring agility to radio access networks (RANs) for both existing LTE and future 5G networks. The solution, which is planned to undergo testing and validation at Deutsche Telekom's Bonn, Germany headquarters, leverages standards-based Intel processors and FlexRAN, a vRAN software reference platform, to run vRAN workloads on top of VMware's telco cloud platform, optimized for real-time and low latency workloads. Read more about this collaboration here. Cloud and Edge Networking for Today and Tomorrow VMware is at the forefront of helping service providers evolve their cloud and network service portfolios, create new revenue streams and accelerate their customers' wide area network (WAN) transformation. In fact, VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud can help service providers' customers achieve faster WAN deployments, lower costs and improve application and network performance compared to their existing WAN. Today, several customers shared how SD-WAN by VeloCloud plays a critical role in their network transformation journey. Read more about these customer deployments here. Additional Resources: Learn more about how VMware is helping service providers modernize their networks at telco.vmware.com. Bookmark the VMware Telco NFV blog Get all VMware Telco updates on Twitter and LinkedIn Follow VMware on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to customers globally, aided by an extensive ecosystem of partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. VMware, VMware Telco Cloud Automation, VMworld, VMware SD-WAN and VeloCloud are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005446/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Photo: Courtesy the vendors Until now, a plastic bag ban seemed like something that only a sunny, Uber-progressive place like California could pull off. But not so. The dream of a plastic-bag-free existence in New York will come true when a statewide ban on such bags begins on March 1. That means fewer plastic bags in trees, on subway tracks, and around our ankles on windy days. It also means always having a reusable bag handy whether youre making a quick trip after work or buying groceries for the week. Here, ten reusable bags for every possible kind of shopping trip in a post-plastic-bag New York. For big solo shopping trips The Big Organic Bag $90 Photo: Courtesy the vendor How big is this bag? Big enough to fit a medium-size dog or a week and a halfs worth of groceries, including multiple rolls of toilet paper and paper towels on top of the usual food stuff. Plus the extremely sturdy canvas means youll never have to worry about unsightly holes. $90 at Food52 Buy For spur-of-the-moment shopping trips If you werent already the type of person who keeps a reusable bag on you at all times, now is the time to become that person. These lightweight nylon bags fold up easily and can carry a considerable amount. Plus, they look really, really good. For shopping with New York pride Vintage Tote $45 Photo: Courtesy the vendor Back in the 1940s, shoppers at this Lower East Side icon would take home their lox and schmears in a paper bag hand-printed with this Queens of Lake Sturgeon design. A few years ago, a Russ & Daughters regular came across one of them and the folks at Russ & Daughters decided to reprint it, albeit on environmentally friendly canvas. $45 at Russ & Daughters Buy For shopping with the entire family For shopping with a purpose If you want to shop and support makers around the world, these two bags fit the bill. The Apolis Market Bag, which can haul upwards of 100 pounds, is handcrafted by Bangladeshi women who are paid a fair wage (one of the reasons its one of the Strategists best totes of 2020) while the Minna Oaxacan bag is woven by Mexican artisans from dried palm leaves, making it extra sustainable. For shopping at the bulk bins For when you need a shopping bag no matter where you are Foldable Reusable Grocery Bags $15 for 5 Photo: Courtesy of the vendor If you plan on keeping multiple reusable bags around one for the office, one for home, one for your own bag, one for the gym then youre going to want to buy this wallet-friendly set of five. The bags fold up into a small pocket that can conveniently hook onto a key chain. $15 for 5 at Amazon Buy $15 for 5 at Amazon Buy For shopping at the farmers market For shopping in one borough and going home to another Patagonia Stand Up Bag $139 Photo: Courtesy the vendor For anyone who shops across boroughs, it can be a pain in the butt when you cant set your grocery bag on the subway floor without it sliding away or flopping over. This bag stands up on its own, so no need to hold on to it for dear life. $139 at Urban Outfitters Buy For shopping at the height of summer Picnic at Ascot Extra Large Insulated Cooler Bag $38 Photo: Courtesy of the vendor Ever tried to transport ice cream home on a 90-degree day? Yeah, its a nightmare. An insulated bag will definitely help, plus it doubles as a great beach bag. $38 at Target Buy Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission. Eat like the experts. Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The coronavirus outbreak is starting to affect the operations and preparedness of Korean and U.S. forces here. Some units in the frontline area have suspended surveillance and reconnaissance operations in the demilitarized zone to prevent the spread of the disease. In their latest talks in Washington, the two countries' defense chiefs also mentioned the possibility of scaling back or even canceling joint drills slated for next month. Last week, some ground troops suspended part of routine operations in the DMZ to keep them in their barracks, a military spokesman said. "As a result, some units haven't engaged in field operations for the past three days," he added. The military has recently ordered frontline units to come up with protective measures for essential personnel assigned to guard posts in the DMZ and command and control posts. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams and his Korean counterpart Gen. Park Han-ki are "reviewing" the scaling back of joint drills scheduled for March amid the coronavirus scare. Originally, the two countries were to stage joint command-post exercises in March on a similar scale to last year. This is largely a computer-simulation wargame that needs no ground troops and equipment to swarm out. But it still requires hundreds of troops to gather together in an underground bunker in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where the risk of infection could be high. Meanwhile, five more Korean soldiers tested positive for the coronavirus in Daegu on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections in the military to 18. Cooperman, who supports billionaire Michael Bloomberg in the Democratic primary, said that the anti-wealth rhetoric by two other candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is destructive and unfair. In a heated billionaire-versus-billionaire debate with former hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman , Palihapitiya said that being demonized or labeled "out of touch" is a small price to pay for having so much wealth at a time when so many Americans have been left out of the financial boom. Billionaires should be grateful for their good fortune and stop being so sensitive to public criticism and name-calling by politicians, tech billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya said Wednesday. "My main hang up has been the constant attacking of wealthy people, the villainizing of the billionaire class," he said on CNBC. "I don't get it." Palihapitiya responded that billionaires need to better understand the perspective of the millions of Americans who have not seen their wealth soar from the stock market or other investments. "I'm in the same fortunate position you're in," he told Cooperman. "But at the end of the day, if the worst thing that happens is that people name-call us a little bit, and people call us billionaires and detached..that's not the worst thing in the world. Palihapitiya who made his first fortune as an early executive at Facebook and now invests in other companies-- also defended Sanders against Cooperman's claim that the Vermont senator is a communist who supported Fidel Castro. "What do you say to the 50 million-plus people who believe that if you read the policies and take the label of socialism aside," Palihapitiya said. "Sanders really looks more like a Social Democrat that's akin to a politician in the Nordic countries than he does to a Fidel Castro 2.0." Cooperman said, "That's not how Bernie Sanders sounds to me." Cooperman became the face of aggrieved billionaires last year when he told CNBC Warren was "trying to demonize wealthy people because there are more poor people than wealthy people" and that he "gave away more money in the year than she has in her whole Flifetime." Warren, who advocates a wealth tax, criticized Cooperman and other billionaires in a campaign ad, saying "You built a great fortune..good for you. But you built it at least in part using workers that all of us paid to help educate. " A member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the battle unit of the former separatist rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front, bows down to pray at a mosque in Maguindanao, Philippines, June 22, 2019. Philippine security forces arrested and disarmed 38 ex-Muslim rebels at a checkpoint in the southern Philippines as the gunmen were on their way to prevent the arrest of a comrade accused of involvement in a deadly shooting last week, officials said Wednesday. The men, who were aboard a truck, were members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Fronts (MILF) 118 Von Basher Unit based in Maguindanao province. They were stopped while trying to pass through Talakag, a town in nearby Bukidnon province on Monday, police said. Those apprehended were allegedly the reinforcement for their companion who figured in a shooting incident recently, Col. Roel Lami-ing, Bukidnons provincial police chief, told reporters. Lami-ing was referring to a Feb. 21 incident in Talakag, in which a local MILF member allegedly gunned down a civilian over a land dispute. MILF members, however, had refused to hand the suspect over to the authorities, he said. Capt. Dominador Orate, the Talakag police chief, said his men confiscated assault rifles, a grenade, magazine clips, ammunition, a two-way radio and identification cards from the former guerrillas under Commander Abdulbasser Sulaiman Tahir. They did not resist arrest when they were flagged down, he said. Seeing a truckload of armed men raised suspicion as it is a rare sight here. So, we flagged down the truck and inspected them one by one, Orate told reporters. The arrested gunmen were later turned over to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, he said. The incident came days after the MILF leadership started the second phase of the decommissioning process, in which 3,100 former insurgents were expected to turn over almost 600 firearms to the government. The phased handover of weapons by the former rebel force which counts up to 40,000 fighters by its own estimates is part of a peace deal between the rebel group and Manila that led to the establishment in February 2019 of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which MILF governs. The decommissioned firearms are to be kept by a group made up of government officials. According to the peace agreement, each combatant who hands over his weapons will receive a cash payment, including money for education. The MILFs 118 Von Basher Unit is the same group that engaged government forces in a firefight that left 44 police commandos dead in January 2015. The target of that police operation was Southeast Asias most wanted terrorist at the time, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan). He was killed during the raid, but the Special Action Force commandos subsequently became locked in a firefight with MILF forces as they tried to leave the area. In congressional hearings that occurred weeks later, it was established that the raid was top secret and known only to a handful of officers, despite an earlier agreement that the government must first coordinate with the MILF if it was to carry out operations in its territory. The incident delayed the passage of a Muslim autonomy law, which was eventually signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018. Diageo, the world's biggest spirits company, said on Wednesday the spread of coronavirus in greater China and the Asia Pacific region could knock up to $260 million off its profit in 2020. The company said that in China, bars and restaurants have largely been closed and there has been a substantial reduction in banqueting. Trading has been significantly disrupted since the end of January and the group expects this to last at least into March. After that Diageo anticipates a gradual improvement with consumption returning to normal levels towards the end of fiscal 2020. The company estimated the negative impact of the virus outbreak on the group's organic net sales and organic operating profit to be between 225-325 million pounds and 140-200 million pounds ($260 million) respectively. It cautioned that these ranges exclude any impact of coronavirus on its other markets beyond China and Asia Pacific. Shares in Diageo were down 2.3% at 0846 GMT. When the group published first-half results on Jan. 30, it had commented on the expectation of an impact from coronavirus but was not able to quantify it at the time. Rival Remy Cointreau warned last month of the potential impact on demand for its premium cognac in China, while Pernod Ricard said earlier in February that shuttered Chinese clubs and bars would have a severe impact on its current quarter. Miki House, a Japanese childrens clothing and product company, opened its first store in Vietnam on February 25. Customers at the store The store is located at Akuruhi trade centre in District 1, southern Ho Chi Minh City. Senda Hiroshi, international business manager at Miki House, said the Japanese brand is popular among Vietnams high-income class. After five years of exploring partners in Vietnam, Miki House has decided to join this potential market, he added. The company selected Vi Bien Akuhushi trading and service company limited to be its partner because this company has 20 years of experience in selling made-in-Japan products with a large number of Japanese and Vietnamese customers, he explained. Besides, through cooperation with Akuruhi as an exclusive distributor in Vietnam, Miki House hopes to become a shopping destination not only for Vietnamese customers but also foreign ones. Miki House is planning to open more two stores in Ho Chi Minh City and expand its chain in Hanoi and Da Nang./. Japanese businesses to invest in Vietnams services and retail Services and retail are forecast to attract a large amount of Japanese direct investment into Vietnam this year. (Natural News) Long-time listeners of conservative talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh know that he doesnt deal in tinfoil hat conspiracy theories, so when he offers what might seem as a non-linear or non-traditional take on an issue of the day, its head-turning. Most Americans may not have given the Wuhan coronavirus much thought before this week before the virus hit American shores. But some of those who have been tracking the outbreak since December, when it first appeared in China, have wondered whether it could have been some sort of biological weapon that the Peoples Liberation Army was developing. And earlier this week, Limbaugh echoed similar sentiments. Its a respiratory system virus. It probably is a ChiCom laboratory experiment that is in the process of being weaponized. All superpower nations weaponize bioweapons. They experiment with them. The Russians, for example, have weaponized fentanyl, he said. But in any event, his comments about it being a potential bioweapon are not the first. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), thinks so too, and for that he is being mocked by the very same mainstream media that lied about the Trump-Russia collusion hoax for nearly three years. Specifically, Cotton suggested that the virus originated in Chinas only BioLevel 4 research facility which just happens to be in Wuhan City, the epicenter of the outbreak. And furthermore, Cotton has never said there is 100 percent proof the virus is a bioweapon. Failing to ask this question is the real conspiracy We dont have evidence that this disease originated there, he said during a recent interview on Fox News, the New York Times reported, but because of Chinas duplicity and dishonesty from the beginning, we need to at least ask the question to see what the evidence says, and China right now is not giving evidence on that question at all. Mind you, Cotton is a Harvard-educated lawyer and U.S. Army infantry officer with combat experience. Hes not a kook, hes not a conspiracy theorist, and hes not some wild-eyed lunatic. The Times jeered: Mr. Cotton later walked back the idea that the coronavirus was a Chinese bioweapon run amok. But it is the sort of tale that resonates with an expanding chorus of voices in Washington who see China as a growing Soviet-level threat to the United States, echoing the anti-Communist thinking of the Cold War era. Right-wing media outlets fan the anger. This, from a newspaper that, again, fanned the BS hoax that Moscow and Donald Trump colluded to steal the election from Hillary Clinton for two-plus years. And it was the same paper that repeatedly told readers former special counsel Robert Mueller had proof of that hoax when at the end of his probe, his report said specifically that there was no evidence to support the claim. Whats really interesting here is that mainstream media outlets like the Times, CNN, The Washington Post, USA Today and others make wild claims about President Trump, and members of his administration, based on less empirical evidence. At least in the case of Cotton and Limbaugh, there is enough circumstantial evidence to warrant suspicions and ask the question: Did the novel coronavirus (as in, this is the first time its been seen) originate from the only lab in China capable of dealing with/handling this type of biohazard? The people who dismiss the question out of hand are the real conspirators. Sources include: NYTimes.com TheNationalSentinel.com NORWALK The Norwalk Conservation Commission unanimously denied an application to widen an existing gravel road at Norden place, halting a developers plans to bring a housing complex to Westports Saugatuck neighborhood. The decision came after the commission denied developer Summit Saugatucks application to amend a conservation easement in the area, and signaled an end to a monthslong debate over whether Summit had a right to amend the 2006 easement to build a secondary access road for its planned 187-unit housing complex on Hiawatha Lane, near the Westport/Norwalk border. The development was expected to consist of 130 market-rate and 57 affordable units. The finding is the application is incomplete by virtue of our denial to the request to change the conservation easement, Commission Chairman John Verel said at the Tuesday meeting. The housing plan had faced repeated denials by Westports Planning and Zoning Commission, with the most recent proposal failing due to the request for an emergency access road by Westports Fire Department, which the easement currently prohibits. Tim Hollister, Summits attorney, previously noted the access road was not required by Norwalks fire marshal but was sought to appease Westports demands. Hollister declined comment following the commissions decision, due to not having a chance to review its reasoning. Though discussion over the Hiawatha Lane plan has seemingly ended in Norwalk, early signs indicate Westport may soon be back in the center of the conversation. Carolanne Curry, a resident of 29 Hiawatha Lane Ext., claimed Summit is filing an application to appear before the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission to ask for a sewer extension. The Norwalk side has ended and Westport begins again, she said, noting she has been opposing the developer for over a decade out of concern for her neighborhood. No application for a sewer extension is currently listed on the Planning and Zoning Departments website, but if one is filed it could mark a full circle moment in a dispute spawning nearly two decades. This is where we began in 2003, Curry said, referring to a Summit-proposed sewer extention to increase housing density. Curry said she believes the developer aims to convert her originally affordable neighborhood into a high-end neighborhood that feeds people to the train station. In anticipation for the coming debate in Westport, she said she hopes to rally the community. One of the things Im asking our community to do is to come out physically. Fill that auditorium so that the physical presence is the message thats heard, Curry said. That is vital in Westport. ... This is more than just Saving Old Saugatuck. This is an awful lot of people in Westport that will get to see the unfairness of it. dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com The federal government believes it is owed nearly $4 billion from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. because the companys failure to prevent its power lines from starting some of Californias worst wildfires is akin to intentionally starting the disasters. An attorney representing the Federal Emergency Management Agency advanced that argument in court on Wednesday as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali weighed the governments claim. The lawyer, Michael Tye, was citing a federal law that FEMA is using as its basis to pursue payment from PG&E through its bankruptcy case. PG&E poorly maintained its power lines despite knowing that they were likely to cause fires as a result, Tye said. Not only did they have knowledge that these faulty lines existed, but they had knowledge that fires would result from them, Tye said of PG&E leaders. The governments request could have a huge impact on the outcome of the year-old PG&E bankruptcy. A settlement between PG&E and fire victims lawyers requires that any money for the federal or state governments must come from the same $13.5 billion trust intended to pay individuals. So if FEMA prevails, it would leave a lot less money available for tens of thousands of people who lost homes in fires blamed on PG&E power lines, attorneys for victims say. Government lawyers insist they do not want to take any money away from the people harmed by fires PG&E started. FEMA previously told The Chronicle that if it did not seek the money from PG&E, federal law may require it to bill fire victims for a small portion of the overall cost so they are not paid for the same loss twice. PG&E and lawyers for a committee of fire victims involved in the case urged Montali, the bankruptcy judge, to reject FEMAs claim and another one from the California Governors Office of Emergency Services on legal grounds. The vast majority of the states $2.7 billion request overlaps with FEMAs. Montali did not rule on the matter at the conclusion of a hearing in San Francisco. He thanked attorneys on all sides for a spirited debate and said he would make a decision as quickly as possible. Eric Goodman, an attorney for the victims committee, warned Montali that allowing FEMAs claim would severely dilute the recovery for people whose homes burned down. But Montali indicated he could not toss the government requests on those grounds alone. Goodman and Paul Zumbro, an attorney for PG&E, said the law compelled Montali to prevent the company from paying anything to FEMA for its response to the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 Wine Country wildfires and the 2018 Camp Fire. Zumbro contrasted the PG&E-caused fires against another major emergency, the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which was intentionally caused by a person. That is a far cry from anything that PG&E is alleged to have done, Zumbro said. Goodman echoed that point. I will admit that we have said some things about PG&E in this case, but we have never accused them of arson, he said. The company and victims committee, which have aligned in support of the same plan to end the bankruptcy case, also asked Montali to reject the $2.7 billion request from the state emergency services office. All but $290 million sought by the office is really for services paid by FEMA, so any PG&E funds paid for the overlapping bills would be returned to the federal government. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes If Montali grants the wishes of PG&E and the committee, it could increase pressure on California. In that case, FEMA might rely even more heavily on the state emergency office to assert its rights to everything it is legally entitled to, said California Deputy Attorney General Matthew Heyn. And paying the state office does not have to come at the expense of fire victims, Heyn said. We object to the plan structure, he told the judge. We think the survivors should get paid all of the $13.5 billion, and PG&E needs to find a way to separately pay the government agencies. Matthew Troy, another lawyer for the federal government, sought to distinguish the requests from FEMA and the state emergency office. He said the two agencies rights to seek payment from PG&E arose from different code sections, meaning they presented distinct legal issues. Still, Goodman, the victims committee lawyer, said the judge should throw out both claims. The result would free California from its duty to help FEMA recover any of its $4 billion and a huge cloud in this case is instantly lifted, Goodman said. Zumbro, PG&Es lawyer, said the money sought by the federal and state emergency response agencies was putting a great deal of pressure on the case due to the complex and intricate settlement framework. He told Montali that the time is now for the judge to resolve the problem. Setting the FEMA and state emergency services office claims aside would allow attorneys to have more productive efforts to resolve smaller claims from other state government agencies, Zumbro said. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris Taste of Iceland is coming back to Washington D.C. - after an eight year hiatus - with traditional Icelandic food, cocktails, music, literature and a critically acclaimed film from March 19-22. Taste of Iceland is coming back to Washington D.C. - after an eight year hiatus - with traditional Icelandic food, cocktails, music, literature and a critically acclaimed film from March 19-22. The four-day festival is presented by Iceland Naturally and gives residents of the DMV the opportunity to experience Icelandic culture with multiple events around the city, with most being free and open to the public. Schedule of Events Thursday Sunday, March 19-22 Specialty four course Icelandic menu at Equinox Restaurant with specialty drinks from Reyka Vodka and Brennivin. Dinner is $75 or $100 with wine pairing per person. Thursday Saturday, March 19-21 Wheel of Prizes sponsored by Icelandair will have multiple prizes including trips to Iceland available at several Taste of Iceland events Thursday, March 19 movie at The Avalon Theater, 5:30 p.m., showing Woman At War. Free. Friday, March 20 The Icelandic Provisions Food Truck will be serving free samples of their best-selling skyr in downtown D.C. throughout the day. Free. Friday, March 20 Cocktail Class 5-7 p.m. at Jack Rose Saloon. Free. Friday, March 20 The Write Stuff, literature event at Kramerbooks & Afterwords with First Lady of Iceland Eliza Reid and other female Icelandic authors. Free. Saturday, March 21 Concert at Black Cat, featuring MUM and Warmland 7:30-10 p.m. Free. Icelandic Menu at Equinox Restaurant March 19-22, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Equinox, 818 Connecticut Ave NW, will offer guests a true taste of Iceland with a sumptuous meal created by Icelandic Chef Viktor Orn Andresson, winner of the bronze medal in the prestigious Bocuse dOr 2017 and Equinox Chef Todd Gray, nominated for five James Beard Foundation Best Chef awards. The prix fixe Icelandic dinner menu will be four delicious courses: Langostino broth and grilled scallops, egg curd, soy and Icelandic wasabi Lightly smoked Arctic char, dill, sunchoke and skyr Pan fried rack of lamb, celeriac and crowberry sauce Icelandic Provisions skyr, chocolate, raspberries Icelandic handcrafted cocktails from Reyka Vodka and Brennivin will also be available for diners. Dinner is $75 or $100 with wine pairing per person. Reservations are strongly suggested. Wheel of Prizes Sponsored by Icelandair Icelandair will have a traveling five foot tall wheel. Be on the lookout for your chance to win cool Icelandic prizes such as Icelandic Glacial Water, Icelandic Provisions Skyr, dinner for two at Equinox, t-shirts, gift certificates, and tickets to fly on Icelandair. The Wheel will be popping up at various events throughout the city during Taste of Iceland. Each day one lucky winner will win a trip to Iceland. There is no cost to participate and everyone who spins has the chance to win. The Avalon Theater showing Woman at War On Thursday, March 19 The Avalon Theater, 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW, will be hosting a free showing of Woman at War at 5:30 p.m. Woman at War is a poignant story of an Icelandic woman, Halla, played by actress Halldora Geirharsdottir, who declares a one-woman-war on the local aluminum industry. She is prepared to risk everything to protect the pristine Icelandic Highlands she loves until an unexpected turn of events lands an orphan in Hallas life and changes it forever. The recent picture has Magnolias President Eamonn Bowles raving, Woman at War is a blast. And Varietys Jay Weissberg stated, Is there anything rarer than an intelligent feel-good film that knows how to tackle urgent global issues with humor as well as a satisfying sense of justice? Free. Icelandic Provisions Food Truck On Friday, March 20, Icelandic Provisions will be treating Washington D.C. residents to a bite of Iceland as they pass out free samples of their best-selling skyr flavors. Be on the lookout for their Icelandic food truck and loveable cast of characters as they traverse the downtown area. Guests who drop by will get an authentic taste of Iceland with Nordic trivia and prizes during the sampling. Free Cocktail Class at Jack Rose Dinning Saloon An Icelandic Cocktail Class will be offered Friday, March 20 from 5-7 p.m. at Jack Rose Dining Saloon, 2007 18th St. NW. Icelandic Mixologist Tota and Reyka Mixologist Trevor Schneider will teach guest how to make a variety of different cocktails using Reyka Vodka and Brennivin. Guest will enjoy samples of each cocktail created. Guest must be 21 years old with a valid ID to attend and consume alcohol. Free. The Write Stuff: Icelandic Literature with First Lady of Iceland, Sponsored by Embassy of Iceland Join the First Lady of Iceland Eliza Reid, along with two female Icelandic authors, Kristin Eiriksdottir and ora Hjorleifsdottir, as they discuss the Icelandic literature scene on Friday, March 20 Kramerbooks & Aftwerwords 1517 Connecticut Ave NW from 6-8 p.m. The event will include light refreshments, First Lady Eliza Reid discussing The Write Stuff, readings by the authors and a panel discussion about Icelandic literature. Free. Reykjavik Calling an Icelandic Concert Featuring MUM and Warmland Saturday, March 21 The Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW, will host Reykjavik Calling an Icelandic concert featuring Warmland and MUM. Warmland a new Icelandic band from Reykjavik rooted in pop but deeply exploratory will open the concert at 8 p.m. MUM, celebrating their 20th anniversary, will headline the event. An experimental pop group they have been defined by their exploration into electronic music, soft vocals, glitch beats, innovative sampling and eerie effects with a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. MUM will take the stage at 9 p.m. Free. For more information about Taste of Iceland visit https://icelandnaturally.com/event/taste-iceland-d-c-2020 Facebook Event Links: Icelandic Menu: http://bit.ly/TOIDC2020FOOD Icelandic Film: http://bit.ly/TOIDC2020FILM Icelandic Cocktails: http://bit.ly/TOIDC2020DRINKS Icelandic Literature: http://bit.ly/TOIDC2020LITERATURE Icelandic Music: http://bit.ly/TOIDC2020MUSIC On Feb. 16, I was proud to stand with the Pride Center of Staten Island as members submitted their application to march openly in the Staten Island St. Patricks Parade. As I have so often done during my tenure as chair and founder of Move Forward Staten Island, I brought my young children with me because I believe its important for them to learn early that we have an obligation to stand up against injustice and in support of our neighbors. It was a hard day. First, we encountered a hateful sign on the door left by the parade organizers in an attempt to embarrass the Pride Center in a despicable display of bigotry. Next, I watched with tears in my eyes as my friend, Carol Bullock, the executive director of the Pride Center of Staten Island, explained to the crowd that, once again, the parade organizers had denied the application, purely based on sexual orientation. In the car ride home, my 4-year-old son had a lot of questions. We talked about how it feels to be excluded from something and how families come in all shapes and sizes - something thats actually really special, something that should be celebrated, not hated. We talked about how we wont march in the parade again this year because the parade organizers said that our friends, family and even his own mother are not welcome and thats just not nice. My son talked about how it would hurt his feelings if he was told he couldnt march because he was different. He asked why the parade organizers werent nice to our friends. Its a good question. And religion is not a legitimate answer. While were not Irish, we are Catholic. My children were baptized in the Catholic Church and I found it especially upsetting that the reasoning of the parade organizers relied on a misunderstanding of our shared religion. The Catholic faith should not be used as a weapon and that is exactly what the parade organizers have done. The Staten Island Im constantly fighting for through my work with Move Forward Staten Island is kind, welcoming and inclusive. The St. Patricks Parade should be a day of celebration where all Staten Islanders can come together to celebrate the contributions of Irish Americans to our country and borough, but the parade organizers have once again led with bigotry and hate instead of love. Move Forward Staten Island proudly stands with a far majority of Staten Islanders, including faith-based leaders, in calling for inclusion. We will not participate in a parade that excludes our LGBTQ+ community and we join the Pride Center of Staten Island in asking our politicians and neighbors not to march in the parade until we are all welcome to march together as our full selves. To the parade organizers who hide their bigotry behind a misunderstanding of the Bible, we say, Love thy neighbor as yourself. And as my 4 year old would say: Just be nice. (Julienne Verdi is the chairwoman and founder of Move Forward Staten Island.) President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will pay a historic state visit to the Central European country of Switzerland from Friday, February 28 to Saturday, February 29. Mr Philipp Stalder, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Ghana, Benin and Togo, who announced this at a media engagement in Accra, on Tuesday, 25th February 2020 said the trip would make President Akufo-Addo the first sub-Saharan leader to do so in more than 60 years. The visit, which is at the invitation of Mrs Simonetta Sommaruga, the President of the Swiss Confederation, is expected to strengthen the bilateral bond and forge closer partnerships to boost trade, economic and cultural relations. It would also promote development cooperation and joint efforts at dealing with Climate Change challenges and the continued support for peace and development through the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Center, in Accra. Ghana is Switzerlands second biggest trading partner in Africa with the latter recording a trade volume of 2.5 billion USD with Ghana. Gold and cocoa exports to Switzerland account for the majority of the trade. Ghanas main imports from Switzerland are pharmaceuticals and machinery. President Akufo-Addo, with his delegation, would be received by the seven Federal Councillors, with military honours, Ambassador Stalder said. He would also address their Parliament. The official talks would be headed by President Simonetta Sommaruga, Mr Guy Parmelin, the Vice-President of the Federal Council, and Mr Ignazio Cassis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Ambassador said: A State Visit to Switzerland has a very special significance: the foreign guest is not only received by the yearly rotating President of the Confederation, but the Swiss Federal Government, as a whole. The state visit of President Akufo-Addo is thus a sign of the excellent bilateral relations that exist between Ghana and Switzerland since Ghanas independence. The Ambassador recalled the official visit of Mrs. Doris Leuthard, the Former President of the Swiss Confederation, to Ghana in 2017 and the regular engagements between the two sides at the highest level. He described the bilateral relations as excellent and rich in tradition. In fact, the Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana this year celebrates its 60th Anniversary. For Switzerland, Ghana is of growing importance in tackling global challenges and cooperating politically and economically, the Ambassador. This demonstrates the growing depth of our long-standing and friendly partnership. Under the Development Cooperation Program of Switzerland, Mr Stalder said it had invested more than 370 Million USD and was supporting Ghana to diversify its economy and use its resources sustainably. Throwing light on some Swiss-funded interventions, Mr Matthias Feldmann, the Head of Cooperation State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, said his country was working with the Ministry of Finance to improve the management of revenue from natural resources. It was cooperating with Ghana under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and had launched the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, aimed at improving social, environmental and economic sustainability of the cocoa sector. Ghana has been one of the few priority countries for the economic development cooperation of State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) since 2002. It will remain one for the next strategy period, he said. 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 Iran "seems to be concealing" information on the coronavirus, which has officially killed 19 people in the country, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking independent reporting of the outbreak. The Islamic republic "seems to be concealing information about the epidemic in line with China's example", the NGO known by its French acronym RSF said in a statement. "The authorities insist they have the situation under control but they have refused to publish exact figures for deaths and infections and have obstructed journalists trying to cover the story," it said. RSF said freelance journalist Mohammad Mosaed was interrogated by Revolutionary Guard intelligence officials on February 23 over messages he had posted on social media concerning the epidemic. He was released after questioning, but his phone and computer were seized and his Telegram messenger and Twitter accounts closed. According to Iranian cyberpolice, 24 people have been arrested and charged with spreading fake about the epidemic. "RSF condemns Iran's persecution of media outlets and journalists publishing independent information," said the NGO's statement. President Hassan Rouhani, meanwhile, accused Iran's arch foe the United States of trying to use propaganda about the virus to instil "fear" against the country. The Americans "themselves are struggling with coronavirus", Rouhani said in a weekly cabinet meeting, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of concealing the full extent of the outbreak. The country's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi has said he has contracted the virus. RSF accused Tehran of "concealing information about several crises and catastrophes" over the past year, including flooding, mass protests and now the COVID-19 epidemic, warning that: "Withholding information can kill. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police were called at around 7:25 a.m. Jan. 30 to the Sheffield Estates mobile home park, 3600 block of Sheffield Avenue, where officers found Williams shot five times inside her homes front door. Williams was taken to Franciscan Health Hammond where she was pronounced dead around 8:15 a.m., according to the Lake County Coroners Office. Assad's forces have unleashed a brutal barrage of artillery and airstrikes, targeting schools in Idleb and killing and wounding teachers and students writes Alsouria Net. On Tuesday afternoon, Assads forces struck a number of schools in Idleb city with warplanes and artillery, killing three teachers and a student, and wounding others. Witnesses in Idleb city told Alsouria Net that there was a, systematic bombardment campaign today which struck a number of schools in session. On Tuesday, the Syrian Civil Defense documented the deaths of four civilians, including two female teachers, a male teacher, and a female student. Thirteen others were wounded, including children, during Assad forces bombardment with 16 artillery and rocket strikes, including four cluster rockets and two strikes by warplanes that hit two schools, a kindergarten, and residential districts in Idleb city. An activist, Emad Idlebi, in Idleb city told Alsouria Net that: Assads forces struck Idleb city with a number of rockets containing cluster munitions, which directly struck Idleb schools, mainly: Khaled Shaer, al-Hurriyeh and the Baraem Kindergarten and Model School. He added that these attacks killed teachers Saad Telja, Hani al-Mahimed, and wounded eight others as a preliminary toll and the partial destruction of these schools. The Directorate of Education in Idleb said on its official online platforms that, in addition to the teachers killed by the bombing, the teachers Lazkine Hamo, Mahmoud Sobeih, Ramiz Raju, Muhammad Sousi, Hassan Shawa and the female teacher Imama were wounded, some seriously. It said that, dozens of students were injured by the deliberate targeting of schools by Assads forces. As in the recent days, large parts of Idleb governorate were subjected to intense air and artillery shelling by Assads forces, Russia, and Iran, especially the areas of Jabal Zawiya and the south of the province. Assads forces, Russia, and Iran are intentionally targeting civilian installations, with dozens of schools, bakeries, markets, and hospitals bombed during the current military campaign and previous campaigns in Idleb and other Syrian regions. The attacking forces have adopted a tactic of striking civilian installations as military targets, before attempting to advance on the ground. The Humanitarian Response Coordinators team have documented the losses of facilities and infrastructure hit by Assads forces, Russia, and Iran in northern Syria during January, coinciding with calls by the United Nations to avoid targeting civilian infrastructure, and facilitate humanitarian activities without obstruction. The team counted attacks against seven displaced camps, five Civil Defense centers (White Helmets), 11 medical centers and hospitals, 28 schools and 9 popular markets. The statistics also showed 19 places of worship, three water transfer stations, two power plants and four bakeries were struck. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Rob and Karina Rob: So I was previously working as a teacher. Rohit: You presumably didn't tell the class 'Sorry kids, I'm going off to work in MI5'? Rob: That's right. I'm not sure how that would have gone across whether they would have believed me. But it's one of the things that we have to manage in our life is what we say to people about what we do. Karina on the scrutiny MI5 comes under after a terrorist attack Karina: Do you know, it's funny, because I guess if my friends or, you know, just acquaintances ever found out I worked here I genuinely think they'd be really shocked because I do think there's a perception of the type of person that works for MI5 or the intelligence community in general and I don't think I necessarily fit into that box. Rohit: That afternoon when London Bridge happened, tell me what it was like inside this building and what it was like to hear that news. Karina: So of course we see it on the TV screens, you know, it's all in the news first and foremost and you walk through the corridors, in the offices everyone's just sort of almost glued to the TV screens, sort of everyone's curious, they want to know more. They want to know exactly what's happened. It's upsetting and it's sad but there is almost immediately a want to get involved and do what I can to help. Rob on recruiting and managing 'agents' who can sometimes hold extreme views Rob: So an agent can be anybody it's someone who is, as I say, a member of the public who works with us confidentially, in secret, to provide us with information We do have to speak to people who are connected to those extremist groups to understand really what's happening and help our investigators to make sure that bad things don't happen. Rohit: But is there any moral conflict for you in terms of working essentially in a team perhaps with people who have done bad things or, at the very least, think bad things. Rob: I've never felt that kind of moral tension. I've been conscious of speaking to people whose views I might not agree with. But fundamentally we're there to work together, so even if someone holds some views that I might not thoroughly agree with fundamentally they're here to help and want to help Every conversation we have is entirely voluntary. If someone doesn't want to talk to me, they don't have to talk to me. They can walk away. Rob on agents coming from all walks of life Rob: It may be that they'd been drawn down a path into extremism, where they've suddenly felt, 'no, this isn't right, I don't like where this is going and I'm not comfortable.' It could be someone who's a friend of someone who's seen a real change in them. It could even be family members, again, who are uncomfortable [with] what's happening to them. Rohit: Presumably for many of these people there are huge implications, if they were to ever be found out? Rob: Absolutely, and that's the reason that we take enormous precaution in making sure that our working relationship stays secret. Rob on the wardrobe Rob: We're quite notorious as agent-runners as having the biggest wardrobe in the office. We have to fit in in all different sorts of circumstances and surroundings... it's important that you've got a whole range of different clothes available to you so you can blend in in that way. Rob on the sense of community in MI5 Because we're a secret organisation, the only people who really understand the pressures you're under are the other people in that secret organisation. And everybody is mindful of that and there is that sense of connection and community. 'Secretly Come Dancing' Karina: We had 'Secretly Come Dancing' so a lot like Strictly, but we called it 'Secretly Come Dancing' of course, as spies do. And yeah, it was good fun. Rohit: Did you compete? Karina: No. I watched. Yeah. I wasn't ready to unleash my incredible dancing skills in front of my colleagues. House Speaker Cameron Sexton has asked State Rep. Ron Travis to serve as co-prime sponsor of House Bill 2727 as it travels through the committee process in the Tennessee House of Representatives.Part of the Speakers legislative package for the year, House Bill 2727 will require Fiscal Review to examine and study all state contracts for good or services over $250,000 that are greater than a year in contract length and that are procured through a non-competitive process.Under this initiative, agencies must provide fiscal review with descriptions of all goods and services to be acquired, an explanation of need for these goods and services, information about the proposed contractors principal owner, and any evidence of expertise by contractors in similar matters.This bill will improve transparency for the process of how this state secures contracts for goods and services rendered, said Speaker Sexton.As chairman of Fiscal Review, Ron Travis is the right person to guide this legislation through the House. I appreciate his willingness to serve as co-prime sponsor because this bill will ensure we are utilizing taxpayer dollars in an effective and responsible manner and for the benefit of all citizens.I appreciate Speaker Sexton asking me to serve as co-prime sponsor of House Bill 2727 because this legislation will allow us to better understand costs associated with state contracts, said Chairman Travis. Getting this legislation passed will ultimately increase our accountability to those who have entrusted us to serve them, and I look forward to our work ahead on this important issue.House Bill 2727 advanced out of the Department & Agencies Subcommittee this week. A high-level official delegation from Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday held a series of talks with top executives of Saudi Arabia, seeking investments into the state in energy, petrochemicals and agriculture sectors. The AP delegation, which was in Riyadh at the invitation of Indian Ambassador Ausaf Sayeed, first held a meeting with Faisal Al Sugair, CEO of Saudi Centre for International Strategic Partnership, constituted in November 2017 to further partnerships with eight 'strategic countries', including India. The AP team explored the possibility of the Kingdom's investments in the state in the energy sector, according to Industry and Commerce Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava, who was part of the visiting delegation. It was followed by a meeting with Abdul Rahman Al Hassan, Group Advisor of SALIC, where discussions were held on investments in the agriculture sector. As the state government is focusing on renewable energy, the Al Fanar Company has been invited to invest in AP in the wind energy sector. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Saudi Arabia opened new vistas for trade and investment between the two countries and India has been recognized as a strategic partner country, as per the Strategic Partnership Council Agreement signed last year. Our Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is seeking to further this relationship and we are inviting Saudi companies to invest in the state," Bhargava told PTI from Riyadh. The AP government is also showcasing the proposed Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada along the Bay of Bengal coast as one offering high prospects for Saudi Arabia. "We are meeting Saudi petrochemicals giant SABIC CEO Yousef Al Bunyan in this regard and also the Zamil Group chairman Abdurahman Al Zamil," Bhargava said. Besides Bhargava, the AP delegation comprised the state's special representative to middle-east and far-east countries Zulfi Ravdjee, Agriculture Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah and AP Economic Development Board CEO J V N Subrahmanyam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VERMILLION, S.D. -- Want to keep people away from your workspace? Fill it with bedbugs, cockroaches and mosquitoes. Jose Pietri jokes that he doesn't have many visitors to his research area in the University of South Dakota's Lee Medicine & Science Building. Not surprising, considering it's home to thousands of bedbugs and other pests most people try to avoid. But the work that takes place there is no laughing matter. The U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded Pietri a three-year grant to further his research into finding bacteria that will kill bedbugs. "There's something interesting and intriguing about creatures people are repulsed by but outmaneuver us and continue to survive," said Pietri, an assistant professor in USD's Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences. Pietri's interest lies in studying insect-transmitted diseases, a field of research that can lead to the lonely labs that no one wants to visit. That's fine with Pietri, who in his younger days wanted to be a physician, but after working briefly in a hospital decided he didn't want to deal with all the people. He's doing just fine now that he's dealing mainly with the insects he studies. After completing his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of California, Davis, Pietri worked at Apex Bait Technologies Inc., a San Francisco company that develops insect control products. After arriving at the company, he noticed a stock of bedbugs, but no research was being done with them. "I thought they were cool," Pietri said. He might be one of a handful of people with that opinion of bedbugs, a pest that bites humans to feed on their blood and seeks areas with easy access to humans. Knowing that, it's easy to understand why they infest beds and furniture in homes and hotels. It's not known if bedbugs transmit disease, Pietri said, but infestations can trigger anxiety and insomnia in humans living in infested quarters. Bedbug bites can leave welts and cause frequent scratching that can lead to other skin irritations. Pietri's initial studies in California laid the groundwork for the research he's continued since arriving at USD in October 2018. His work centers on finding a more effective way to kill bedbugs. Currently, two main methods exist. One is chemicals and insecticides, but bedbugs are developing resistance to them. The other is a heat-based treatment, a costly and not always practical alternative that involves heating the area of a bedbug infestation to 120 degrees. Pietri wondered how he could use bacteria that are naturally harmful to bedbugs, but not humans and other mammals, to make them sick and die. He's found bacteria that can do the job; now he needs to figure out how to make the bacteria more deadly by manipulating bedbugs' immune systems to make them more susceptible. Pietri applied for the Defense Department grant after seeing a call for ideas for methods to control insects that are threats to military health and effectiveness. He said bedbugs are found all over the world and can infest any location, indoors or outdoors, where U.S. military personnel are serving. The grant will help pay for researchers, a lab assistant, plus supplies. The end goal, Pietri said, is to find an effective bacterial control for bedbugs, then use it to develop and produce a product that will kill them, hopefully in a cost-effective manner. "It would be something that would help in the ongoing fight against bedbugs and would be an alternative to methods that aren't working," Pietri said. Four months into the project, Pietri said work is just beginning to ramp up. Meanwhile, he'll keep nurturing the jars full of thousands of bedbugs that he'll feed the bacteria to, then observe what happens. It's more complex than that, of course, but Pietri is eagerly facing the challenge. Aside from a nosy reporter, he and his researchers won't have many visitors interrupting their work among the bugs. 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. The Supreme Court is resolving an international child custody dispute in favor of the girl's Italian father over her American mother. The mother, Michelle Monasky, fled with her daughter from Italy to Ohio when the girl was two months old. Monasky said her husband had become abusive, so she left with her daughter and moved in with her parents in the United States. The Supreme Court agreed unanimously Tuesday that lower courts were correct in ordering that the now five-year-old girl be returned to Italy. American Michelle Monasky moved to Italy and married Italian citizen Domenico Taglieri, and together they had a child. Monasky claimed her ex-husband, Taglieri, had repeatedly assaulted her, so she fled with the eight-week-old child to Ohio The child's father, Domenico Taglieri, had petitioned courts in the United States for the girl's return and won The child, who is referred to as A.M.T. in court documents, was actually returned to Italy when she was nearly 2 years old and put in her father's care. An appeal of the case continued in the United States, however, and custody proceedings are still ongoing in Italy. An international treaty says that a child wrongfully removed from her country of 'habitual residence' should usually be returned to that country. Monasky said her husband had become abusive, so she left with her daughter and moved in with her parents in the United States. Her ex-husband, Taglierei, asked a federal court to return the child and the court complied, determining that Italy is the baby's legal home Monasky had argued to the Supreme Court that Italy was not the infant's habitual residence because she and Taglieri had not agreed to raise the girl there. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in an opinion that no agreement was necessary for Italy to be the girl's habitual residence. And the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found that the girl was born into 'a marital home in Italy' and her parents had 'no definitive plan to return to the United States.' The couple initially lived together in Milan before Taglieri moved to Lugo for a job. An attorney for Taglieri, Andrew Pincus, said Tuesday that they were gratified by the ruling. An attorney for Monasky did not immediately return an email and phone message requesting comment. The Supreme Court agreed unanimously Tuesday that lower courts were correct in ordering that the now 5-year-old girl be returned to Italy The girl has been living in Italy following lower court rulings. The girl has been living in Italy since she was two-years-old, and she is now five The Supreme Court said in resolving the dispute that determining a child's 'habitual residence' will depend on the specific circumstances of each case. 'Common sense suggests that some cases will be straightforward: Where a child has lived in one place with her family indefinitely, that place is likely to be her habitual residence,' Ginsburg wrote. ' But suppose, for instance, that an infant lived in a country only because a caregiving parent had been coerced into remaining there. Those circumstances should figure in the calculus.' The case is Monasky v. Taglieri, 18-935 Hundreds marched through the streets of Tripoli on Tuesday to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the uprising that toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Crowds were seen gathering in Tripoli's Martyr's Square, cheering and singing while the streets were decked with Libya's revolutionary flag. However, jubilant scenes in Libya's capital were contrasted by the ongoing conflict in other parts of the country. Libya has been roiled by instability and violence since the ousting of the Gadhafi regime in late 2011. The latest round of fighting in Libya started last spring, when eastern-based forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter launched an assault on the capital in a bid to wrest power from the UN-backed government. The siege has killed thousands of people, and displaced over 150,000 others, according to the UN. But demonstrators in Tripoli on Tuesday were defiant against Hifter's self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces. "We don't need any regime, military regime again whatsoever. And Hifter he will not come to Tripoli whatsoever", said Tripoli resident Abdullah Bukra. Others, such as Tripoli resident Abdul Kerim, are simply against conflict in the country. "War always means destruction, and the best solution is negotiation. To sit and agree. This is the best thing for Libyans", he said. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia, support Hifter's forces. The embattled Tripoli administration, which controls just a shrinking corner of western Libya, has increasingly relied on Turkey for military aid. In the latest twist of the nine-year conflict, Turkey, which has long trained and funded opposition fighters in Syria, has started airlifting hundreds of them over to support the Tripoli-based government. Volatile organic compounds rarely make headlines, but they do sometimes make more visible appearances as ozone, a harmful, smog-like air pollutant. And now theyre at the heart of hotly debated regulation that could be imposed on winery fermentation tanks. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are generated across a number of industries. Some are man-made, like methylsiloxanes, found in antiperspirant; a handful are less innocuous, like the now-banned DDT, a carcinogenic insecticide. Others are naturally occurring, like ethanol, emitted by fermenting wine grapes. Though not all VOCs are hazardous to human health, all VOCs are ozone precursors. If VOCs are exposed to nitrogen oxides, a common air pollutant produced by cars, under heat and warmth (read: on hot, sunny days) theyll react to form smoggy ozone. The Bay Area, whose air district Napa and Sonoma counties are a part of, has in recent years been largely spared from harmful concentrations of ozone. Because industry in the nine Bay Area counties is so varied, encompassing everything from agriculture to oil, the most potent VOC emissions can be traced back to sources like oil refineries and to significant automobile traffic, according to Alan Abbs, legislative executive for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). When you look at some of the other producers in the region, winery emissions arent going to be something that rises to the top of what were going to be looking at, Abbs said. The majority of the North Bays wineries are comparatively small producers of VOCs, he added; emissions from machinery, like back-up generators, are of more imminent concern to the district. But emissions from large wineries those producing millions of gallons of wine each year are by no means insignificant, according to Richard Stedman, an air pollution control officer for the Monterey Bay Air Resources District (MBARD). For every million gallons of wine produced, 15 to 20 tons of VOCs are released, Stedman estimated. Napa has more than a dozen wineries permitted to produce more than 1 million gallons each year, winery permit records show. In Montereys district, which has less industry than does the Bay Area, emissions from five industrial-sized wineries accounted for half of the total recorded VOC emissions, producing almost 158 tons of VOCs in a single year. One winery in the district emits enough to be classified as a Title V producer, Stedman said, a federal classification that requires facilities with significant emissions to obtain a permit and ensure operation in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. Asked whether or not wineries in the North Bay were all currently in compliance with the Clean Air Act, the BAAQMD said that it had subsequently identified one winery in Napa with the potential to emit more than over 100 tons per year of organics, which would classify it as Title V facility. Were its emissions confirmed to exceed that 100-ton threshold, its operation sans appropriate permits would be a violation of federal law. The district declined to name the facility. The Air District is currently following up with this facility to better understand its emissions, Kristine Roselius, the districts acting communications officer, wrote in an email. At the state level, VOC emission caps depend on the status of respective air districts, according to Mary Giruado, an engineering supervisor for MBARD. The state mandated cap for districts with moderate air pollution, like the Bay Area and Monterey, is 25 tons per year, per facility; its less for districts with extreme and severe air pollution. Air districts can also set their own caps the Bay Areas is a self-imposed 10 tons of emissions per facility, per day. Monterey, too, has a lower-than-state-level cap at 137 pounds per day or 10 tons per year for seasonal producers, like wineries. (Grape fermentation happens mostly in the period following harvest and crush, though wine aging in oak barrels also releases ethanol, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the angels share of wine). That 10-ton cap has proven a challenge for Monterey County, which is home to a number of industrial-sized wineries and would like to expand its existing wine industry, according to Kim Stemler, executive director of the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association. Many of its large wineries are grandfathered into the cap (meaning they produce larger quantities of VOCs but pre-date the requirement), but at least two unnamed wineries had told Stemler they would not come to Monterey unless the 10 ton per year cap was loosened, the Monterey County Weekly reported last week. Were working with our air district, and they are trying their best (to have the cap reverted back to state levels), Stemler said in an interview. Wine creates jobs for the county, which has encouraged industry growth, she said. Stedman said even an increased limit of 25 tons per year may not alleviate pressure on large wineries to reduce their emissions. The air district believes that using NoMoVo (no more volatiles), a technology placed on fermentation tanks that captures VOC emissions before theyre released into the air, could be the best solution, both he and Giruado said. The control systems would not be required for existing fermentation tanks, which are also grandfathered into emissions caps. It would be required for new wineries looking to establish themselves in Monterey, or area wineries hoping to expand fermentation capacity. In our opinion, it would make sense for them to put control technology on their own equipment, Giuardo said. MBARD has no additional offset credits, like the kind used in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, for wineries to purchase, she added. Were Montereys wineries to make use of the offset technology, they would not be the first. Santa Barbaras air district set a precedent in 2017 when it permitted a custom-crush facility that wanted to expand its fermentation capacity, Wine Business reported in 2018. Included in the permit was a provision determining the control technology had been effective at reducing VOC emissions and designating it as the best available control technology (BACT). Per the BAAQMDs current rules, fermentation tanks emitting less than 5 tons of VOCs per year are exempt from permitting. Still, BACT status is a kind of milestone in California, according to Abbs, and one that could reach the North Bay wine industry, were the Bay Area air district to look more closely at capping the ethanol released by the wine industry there. When a BACT determination is submitted to the state, the technology has the potential to become the default for similar industries across the state, he explained. Following Santa Barbaras decision, other air districts with wine regions looking to curb VOCs could choose to direct their wineries to implement the emissions control technology. That potential mandate did not sit well with the industry advocacy group Wine Institute, which appealed the BACT determination. It eventually settled with Santa Barbaras air district in order to minimize the regulatory burden on Californias impacted wine industry, and later helped propose Assembly Bill 271, legislation stating that use of NoMoVo or similar technologies could potentially conflict with food safety laws and regulations. It billed the technology as equipment that jeopardizes the public health, and was ultimately not signed into law. Wine Institute helped propose additional legislation, AB 1714, in 2019. The bill voices concern over the impact of the technology on wine quality. AB 1714 would grant the University of California, Daviss enology department $1 million to study qualitative impact of the technology over multiple vintages and varietals. No BACT mandate could be issued before the studys completion, a directive thats put Wine Institute squarely at odds with the states air districts. Abbs, decrying the studys potentially lengthy timeline, said the assertion that the technology could harm quality doesnt seem to hold up to scrutiny, especially given its use in Santa Barbara, which does not appear to have been adversely impacted by the technology. Abbs also spoke of the bills concern with the marketability of wine. This bill is actually asking air districts governmental employees to become expert on the marketability of the wine, on different styles of wine, he said. This is just an impossible study to require. Tim Schmelzer, vice president of California state relations for Wine Institute, acknowledged the groups views have clashed with the air districts. The group said the technology, which distills the ethanol emissions into a liquid to then be disposed of, could very possibly impact wine quality and open the door for microbiological contamination. He understands the air districts concern its their job to be more concerned about the air than wine, Schmelzer added. Were not trying to step on emissions reduction, he said. We just want to ensure that we do our due diligence when it comes to preserving the quality and style of wine. He said winery emissions of VOCs state-wide account for about a tenth of a percent of total emissions, a number that stands in stark contrast with regions like Monterey. Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, whose office sponsored AB 1714 and whose district includes Napa County, said she wanted to encourage an objective study of the technology before it became a mandate. It takes years to develop wine as a product, and thats what Im concerned about, she said, noting the industry is responsible for much of the economic development in Napa County. The air district has offered only one way to (curb emissions), but there might be other options that are more conducive for our farmers and producers. As the issue is drawn to the attention of wine regions and their air districts statewide, the BAAQMD has said it will work to assess the wine industrys footprint. The Air District is working with Bay Area wineries to better understand current emission levels, Roselius wrote in an email, adding that the district would likely consider NoMoVo and similar technologies. Once weve studied the various facilities and emissions, we will be working with wineries and the industry to get them permitted. You can reach Sarah Klearman at (707) 256-2213 or sklearman@napanews.com. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Teck Oilsands Project Cancellation Not a Happy Outcome for Indigenous Communities Commentary The decision by Teck Resources to withdraw its application for the Frontier oilsands mining project could mean fewer future opportunities for Indigenous communities if the decision leads to more resource companies declining to invest in Canadian resource projects. Although Teck stated officially that the decision to withdraw was prompted by controversies surrounding Canadas climate policies, Tecks decision may risk eroding the fragile confidence that Indigenous communities and resource companies have in the Indigenous consultation process. A sad consequence of this decision is the false perception that Indigenous consultation and accommodation processes arent working when in fact they are. Indigenous communities across Canada may tragically see their faith in the consultation process eroded by such a decision. A similar observation could be made about the Coastal GasLink project. For the sake of future oilsands and other energy project interests, Canada and the provinces need to clarify their climate policies and create a stable and predictable policy environment for all players. Otherwise, First Nation and Metis communities are going to lose out on future employment and benefit agreements. The Frontier project was a textbook example of proper good faith consultation and Indigenous-corporate partnership. Teck Resourceslike with many mining companies in Canadaengaged in thorough consultation with the communities involved and adopted policies that extended beyond mere tokenism towards real partnership. For example, rather than fight the concept of free, prior, and informed consent as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the company stated that all of their consultation activities with the communities were intended to obtain that kind of consent and buy-in from the Indigenous communities. The company had signed agreements with the 14 First Nation and Metis communities affected by the project. There was such a commitment to the process that earlier in the day on Feb. 23 before Teck announced it was withdrawing the project, the company said it had signed an agreement with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nationa Northern Alberta Indigenous communityover long-standing environmental and wildlife concerns relating to the project. At the same time, Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon reported that the government had also secured its own agreements with the Mikisew Cree First Nation to address their concerns. The agreements were reported to address a range of concerns, including issues surrounding bison and caribou habitats, as well as protections for the Wood Buffalo National Park. The First Nations involved in the project also stated that the Teck Frontier project was a model for other resource companies planning such projects. Indigenous communities that had signed agreements were quick to express their utter disappointment with Tecks decision. After all, beyond the monetary benefits involved in these 14 agreements, there are also commitments from the company for training and other opportunities. For the First Nations and Metis communities, the decision represents a loss in terms of years of public meetings and negotiations with the company. All of that comes to naught when the project is shelved. This also erodes goodwill between First Nations and governments and hinders future relationship-building between the two sides. For economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities, we need consistent and stable policies for the resource sector. While urban-based environmentalists and opposing First Nations cheer the decision to shelf the project, it represents a significant loss for the communities involved. The problem is that while these activists call for improving the standard of living of Indigenous communities, they simultaneously act to defeat the projects that will do so. There is a contradiction in thinking among the protesters and activists that must be called out every single time. The reality is activists and protesters can best show their support for Indigenous well-being by supporting these projects and showing confidence in our existing consultation frameworks. Mining and energy industry jobs are well paying jobs for many isolated First Nation and Metis communities. While there are some factors outside our control that affect the viability of resource projects, adopting good climate and consultation policies is entirely within our control. For the sake of the long-term prosperity of Indigenous communities, governments and activists need to get on board and promote a policy environment that supports successful resource partnerships with these communities. Joseph Quesnel is a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Failing to expand Heathrow airport would kill Boris Johnson's dreams of a 'Global Britain' after Brexit and hand air route control to the French, the Prime Minister was warned today. John Holland-Kaye, the West London hub's chief executive said that failing to build a third runway would force passengers and businesses to use Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris instead. Mr Johnson is a long-term opponent of expanding Heathrow and as Uxbridge MP once claimed he would lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent it happening, although he has yet to do so. While the expansion has been approved Mr Johnson is yet to throw his full support behind it as PM, despite his plans to boost the UK's standing in the world now that it is outside the EU. But Mr Hollande-Kaye today warned: 'There's no global Britain without Heathrow expansion. It's as simple as that. But Mr Hollande-Kaye today warned: 'There's no global Britain without Heathrow expansion. It's as simple as that Mr Johnson is a long-term opponent of expanding Heathrow and as Uxbridge MP once claimed he would lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent it happening, although he has yet to do so 'If we don't expand our only hub airport, then we're going to be flying through Paris to get to global markets. 'Our exports will have to go through Paris to get all around the world. 'We'll be signing trade deals with India and China and telling them that they can fly through Charles de Gaulle to get to the UK.' The number of passengers who used the French airport grew by 5.4 per cent last year to 76.2 million. Heathrow saw a 1 per cent year-on-year increase to 80.9 million. It is Europe's busiest airport, but will be overtaken by Charles de Gaulle in the next two years if the current trend continues. would mean that while taking back control by leaving the EU with one hand, they'll then give control to the French Earlier this month, Boris Johnson said there is 'no immediate prospect' of construction beginning on a third runway at Heathrow. The Prime Minister opposed the expansion of the airport when he was the capital's mayor and promised to 'lie down ... in front of those bulldozers' to stop the runway being built. The number of passengers who used the French airport grew by 5.4 per cent last year to 76.2 million. Heathrow (pictured) saw a 1 per cent year-on-year increase to 80.9 million. But Mr Holland-Kaye insisted that the impact of cancelling expansion 'is not a position that any prime minister would put the UK in'. He went on: 'That would mean that while taking back control by leaving the EU with one hand, they'll then give control to the French. 'That is completely unacceptable, but fortunately there is a solution that has been backed by Parliament, which will make sure Britain remains a great global trading nation.' On Thursday, the Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling on the legal challenge to the Government's support for Heathrow expansion. Heathrow published its financial results for 2019 on Wednesday. Revenues climbed 3.4 per cent to 3.1 billion and earnings increased by 4.6 per cent to 1.9 billion. Metro Bank founder and chairman Vernon Hill has stepped down with immediate effect following a difficult year for the troubled lender. (PA) Metro Bank (MTRO.L) swung to a huge loss last year as it battled a loan miscalculation fiasco that upended the business. Metro Bank said on Wednesday it made a loss of 130.8m ($170m) last year, compared with a profit of 40.6m in 2018. The bank blamed a 88m write-down of assets, including millions of costs linked to loan issues last year. However, Metro Bank fell to an 11.7m loss on an underlying basis when one-off costs are stripped out. That compared to an underlying profit of 50m in 2018. Revenue shrank by 1% to 400m in 2019 and customer deposits declined by 8% to 14.4bn. Demand for its retail savings account fell by 19% and deposits from commercial customers, not including small businesses, halved. Total assets fell by 1% to 21.4bn. Shares in Metro Bank slumped 6% on Wednesday morning. A very challenging year New chief executive Dan Frumkin said the results reflected a very challenging year for Metro Bank but said it was now on a more positive trajectory. Metro Bank admitted in January 2019 it had misclassified some loans, which were riskier than first thought. It forced the bank to set aside extra cash to cover potential losses and ask investors for 375m to bolster funds. The scandal pushed the bank to a quarterly loss, prompted some customers to withdraw their money, and led to the exit of both Metros founder and chief executive. Shares in the bank have also fallen over 90% since the loan issue was announced. Metro Bank's share price has collapsed since the bank revealed loan classification issues in January 2019. (Yahoo Finance UK) The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are both investigating Metro Bank over the loan issues. Regulators are also investigating self-reported sanctions issues at the bank. One-off costs of 27m last year were linked to these investigations. Frumkin joked on a call with journalists: Lawyers are expensive. Frumkin said he expected the investigations to run throughout 2020 and couldnt give a guidance on the size of potential fines. He pointed to a recent 44m fine for Citi Bank over regulatory failings, but suggested any fine for Metro would be smaller. Story continues Theyre 15, 20 times the size that we are, Frumkin said. The reality is we had a single misstatement over a single period and were tiny. One-off costs of 68m were linked to IT projects that have been abandoned. Frumkin said the write-offs were lots of little bitty-bits rather than one single project, but highlighted an unsecured lending platform as one example. Execution has been poor Metro Bank last week appointed turnaround specialist Frumkin as its new chief executive and the British-American on Wednesday announced a new strategy alongside annual results. Frumkin said Metro Bank would look to cut costs and slow growth as the lender tries to grow into our clothes. It will also double down on efforts to win over small business customers and pull-back from less profitable areas such as mortgages. Frumkin ruled out redundancies and store closures, and said Metro Bank was still completely committed to our customer service model, seven-day banking, [and] extended hours. Our core strategy is not the problem, Frumkin told journalists. Instead, the banks execution has been poor. A Metro Bank branch on Cheapside in London, England. (John Keeble/Getty Images) A key cost cutting measure will be to try and relocate Metro Banks headquarters away from central London. Metros office at Twenty Old Bailey costs 65-per-square-foot and is currently largely staffed by back office and support workers. The bank is also putting our foot on the ball when it comes to new store openings, Frumkin said. The lender now plans to open just 24 stores over the next three years, compared with earlier plans to open 71 new branches over the period. Some stores will also be smaller. Frumkin said there would be mama bear store, papa bear store, and baby bear stores, but said all branches would still have Metros unique safety deposit box feature. As a result of the scaled back ambition, Metro Bank said on Wednesday it would also hand back 50m to a government-backed scheme meant to foster competition and innovation in UK banking. Living within our means Frumkin, a turnaround specialist who worked on Northern Rock after it was nationalised, said the new strategy was about living within our means. The turnaround will cost 250m to 300m over the next three years, but Frumkin said it was within our gift to deliver and ruled out asking shareholders for more cash to fund the plan. Metro Bank has already booked 11m in transformation costs. As part of the turnaround, Metro Bank is targeting return of tangible equity of 8.5% by 2024. Metro Bank chief executive Dan Frumkin. (Metro Bank) Frumkin, who was brought in last September as chief transformation officer at the bank, admitted the rescue job would be difficult and predicted more turnover of top management staff at the bank. Not everyone will be up for that journey with us, he said. To be honest, some of the people I will chose not to take with me. Frumkin said he believed Metro could survive as an independent bank and confirmed the company was not currently being marketed for sale. He declined to comment on whether it had received any unsolicited takeover approaches. Frumkin thanked Metro Bank customers who have stuck by the lender during the last year and said: Theres nothing to actually be concerned about. Metro has a bright future going forward. Theyll be noise today but it doesnt matter. Were hear for the long term and we really appreciate their custom. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia February 25, 2020 A version of this article was originally published on December 10, 2015. The changes from the original article to this piece below encompass the inclusion of Trumps so-called deal of the century, which will only perpetuate the occupation. Sadly, the situation has not changed in the past four years, and given how the situation currently stands, I do not expect things to change anytime soon. This is part one of two parts; the second half will be published on Thursday. I have long maintained that Israels occupation of the West Bank defies the moral principle behind the creation of the state. Contrary to Prime Minister Netanyahus assertion, the occupation erodes rather than buttresses Israels national security and cannot be justified on either security or moral grounds. Trumps deal of the century is tantamount to perpetuating the occupation, which will be to Israels detriment. Unless Israel embraces a new moral path and ends the occupation, no one can prevent it from unravelling from within only to become a pariah state that has lost its soul, wantonly abandoning the cherished dreams of its founding fathers to have an independent democratic Jewish state. There are four ethical theoriesKantian, utilitarian, virtue-based, and religiousthat demonstrate the lack of moral foundation in Trumps peace plan. In this article I will discuss the Kantian, utilitarian moral theories and in the following article I will cover the virtue-based, and religious theories. The first moral theory is deontological ethics, whose greatest representative is Immanuel Kant. According to this theory, consequences are irrelevant to the moral rightness or wrongness of an action; what matters is whether the action is done for the sake of duty or out of respect for the moral law. Kant provided several formulations of the moral law, which he refers to as the categorical imperative; for our purposes, what is most important are his first two formulations. The first is the principle that morality requires us to act only on those maxims we can universalize. As he puts it, Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. In short, never do anything that you do couldnt will everybody else do at the same time. The question is whether the Israeli occupation is a policy that can be universalized and pass this test of moral reasoning. The answer is clearly no; the policy of occupation is rationally inconsistent, as it requires Israel to exempt itself from moral and political norms that the rest of the international community recognizes (and which serve to protect Israel itself). Israel is making an exception of itself which is the capital sin, according to Kant, as in effect Israel is saying: We dont have to live by the same rules as everyone else. This is evident from the fact that Israel denies the Palestinians right to self-determination and justifies that in the name of national security, even though the achievement of absolute security would invariably render the Palestinians absolutely vulnerable. Whereas Israel has agreed numerous times to a two-state solution, it continues to usurp Palestinian land, thereby violating international agreements which Israel is signatory to (UN Resolution 242, the Oslo Accords). In doing so, Israel is clearly defying the first formulation of the categorical imperative, which as Kant showed, requires us to honor our agreements and contracts. That is, Israel is acting on a maxim or policy of breaking its agreements to serve its self-interest, which cannot be universalized without contradiction because then the institution of reaching international agreements cannot be sustained, which obviously dont bother either Trump or Netanyahu. Although many countries break international contracts, that does not affect Kants argument as he knew full well that people lie, cheat, and steal. His concern is with the principle of morality and what it requires regardless of whether these requirements are in fact met. By maintaining the occupation, Israel is flouting the moral law while expecting the Palestinians to uphold the same norms. The second formulation is to never treat another person merely as a means, but always also as an end in themselves. In other words, what Kant is saying is that as free rational beings who can act in accordance with morality, each of us possesses intrinsic worth which implies that we must respect the inherent dignity of each individual. In the case of the Palestinians who are under occupation, Israel is treating them as objects rather than persons who can rationally consent to the way they are being treated. Israel is coercing the Palestinians physically and psychologically by denying them human rights, through, for example, administrative detention, night raids, and expulsion, thereby robbing them of their dignity and denying them their autonomy, which Trumps Deal only reinforces. The second moral theory is Utilitarianism, which in its modern form originated in England with the works of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. In contrast to Kantianism, this theory places all emphasis on the consequences of our actions. It states that an action is morally right if it produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. The moral evaluation of any policy depends on whether it maximizes utility. Utilitarianism agrees with Kant on one fundamental point, which is that morality prohibits making an exception of oneself. For obvious reasons, governments give greater priority to their own people. But does the occupation maximize the security and well-being of all Israelis? In spite of the fact that Israel takes extraordinary measures to enhance its security, the occupation is in fact undermining the security of the state, as is evident from the repeated bloody clashes, which have intensified since unveiling of the peace plan, and the costly state of readiness that Israel must maintain. Moreover, if Israel were to extend its moral considerations beyond its own people to include the Palestinians, then the policy of occupation still fails on utilitarian grounds even more acutely. To be sure, while Israel resorts to utilitarian arguments to justify its treatment of the Palestinians, in the process Israel reveals the classic pitfall of utilitarian thinking. It ultimately does not provide sufficient protection and respect for human rights, which directly erodes Israels moral standing within the community of nations. By PTI KOLKATA/BHUBANESHWAR: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Bhubaneswar on Friday for the first time after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was enacted. Banerjee, who has been a bitter critic of the CAA- NPR-NRC issues, already reached the Odisha capital where the EZC meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Shah. State government officials and TMC leadership remained tightlipped whether the two leaders will hold any one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the meeting. Banerjee did not attend meetings of the Niti Aayog and several others convened by the BJP-led Union government and now her decision to take part in the meeting chaired by Shah has raised eyebrows in the political circles here. CPI(M) legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty wondered why Banerjee is silent on ongoing violence over CAA in Delhi and hinted that it is part of a "tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC". "Delhi is burning as @RSSorg & its minions are creating havoc in the capital. But @MamataOfficial is unusually silent! Another message to @AmitShah before the Bhubaneswar meet? Another exposure of the under the table agreement between @BJP4India & @AITCofficial on the offing?" he tweeted. The TMC leadership, however, denied the claim saying it is for keeping a working relationship with the Centre. "If we don't attend meetings, opposition parties make it an issue. If we attend meetings, then also they have an issue. In a federal structure, it is expected that both the state government and central government will have a working relation," a senior TMC leader said. West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh welcomed Banerjee's decision to attend the meeting but took a swipe at her for not attending previous meetings convened by the union government. "It is good that she is going to attend the meeting. We welcome it. Maybe she has changed her mind, as anti-CAA protests are now getting weaker with every passing day," he said. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city in January, Banerjee had paid a "courtesy visit" at Raj Bhawan. Meanwhile, a Bhubaneswar report said Banerjee was welcomed by Odisha's Parliamentary Affairs Minister B K Arukha on behalf of the state government. After her arrival, the West Bengal chief minister left for Puri and scheduled to have 'darshan' of Lord Jagannath on Wednesday. At the Bhubaneswar airport, Benerjee said she will meet her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Thursday. Chief Ministers of Bihar and Jharkhand, Nitish Kumar and Hemant Soren respectively, are also scheduled to attend the EZC meeting here. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are returning to the UK before their exit from the royal family becomes official. The two are scheduled for multiple appearances at the beginning of March, with their departure from the monarchy going into effect on March 31. The royal family has already released a schedule for the couples upcoming engagements, but sources believe Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has a few secret plans of her own. Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to return home It has been a few months since Harry and Markle announced their exit from the royal family on social media. While their initial plans have changed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are stepping down as acting members of the royal family starting March 31. Once that happens, they will no longer appear in public on behalf of Queen Elizabeth. They are set to review their exit strategy in 12 months, so things could change by then. Before the pair bids the royal family adieu, they are set to return to the UK for one last round of royal engagements. This will likely be the last time we see Meghan Markle and Prince Harry mingle with other royals in public, at least for the next year. Markle is scheduled to make appearances at a grand total of four events at the beginning of March. This includes the Endeavour Fund Awards (March 5), the Mountbatten Music Festival (March 7), an event for International Womens Day (March 8), and the Commonwealth Day service (March 9). Markle has secret plans for when she returns to the UK Outside of her scheduled engagements, sources claim that Markle is planning on making a few stops of her own when she returns to the UK in March. According to Town and Country, a source says that the former actress has a series of private engagements scheduled. Markle is expected to announce these events after they are over on social media. The insider did not reveal any details about these private events, but royal watchers were hoping to see Meghan Markle appear at an upcoming British Vogue engagement. The event is scheduled to take place on March 7 and will feature the likes of Salma Hayek. Unfortunately, Markle is already booked for the Mountbatten Music Festival that day and will likely not appear alongside Hayek. Harry also has a few engagements that are not on the official schedule. This reportedly includes a stop in Scotland to promote his project, Travalyst. Harry and Meghan voice frustration over Megxit While fans wait to see Harry and Markle return to the royal spotlight, the couple recently released a statement confirming their official exit from the monarchy. On their website, the pair told fans that they wanted to release a statement earlier but were forced to remain silent until all the details were ironed out. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also expressed some displeasure in how the negotiations concluded and admitted that they wanted to continue working as part-time royals. 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, they stated. The Sussexes pointed out how other members of the royal family are allowed to work in the professional world and retain their royal status. Although they did not mention them by name, they were clearly referencing Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, both of whom have careers outside of their royal duties. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ditch their royal titles In their official statement, Harry and Markle also confirmed that they will no longer be using their royal titles in public. The two technically still have their HRH styles, but Queen Elizabeth has prohibited them from using them unless they return. The most significant consequence of this decision is that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be allowed to continue working with their charitable organization, Sussex Royal. The pair launched the company last year after splitting from Prince William and Kate Middletons organization, The Royal Foundation. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to launch a new foundation this year, which will likely be headquartered in their new home in North America. The two are currently living in Canada, though there has been a lot of talk about them moving to Los Angeles or even New York City. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Paris, France Wed, February 26, 2020 17:43 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c5587 2 World France,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,outbreak,COVID-19,Italy Free A second person suffering from the coronavirus has died in France and a Frenchman who had traveled to Italy's Lombardy region had also tested positive, the country's health authorities said on Wednesday. Jerome Salomon said the death was one of three new cases in France this week, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 17. A 60-year-old French national was hospitalized in Paris in a serious condition and tested for the virus late on Tuesday. "Unfortunately [he] died during the night", Salomon said. France is on high alert after neighboring Italy became a new front in the global fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called a rapidly escalating epidemic in multiple locations. Coronavirus cases in people who traveled recently to northern Italy have now been found in France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia and Algeria. The Frenchman who traveled to Lombardy was hospitalized in Strasbourg and was not in a serious condition, Salomon said. The third new case involved a 55-year-old now on life support in the city of Amiens, in northern France. An interview she saw on YouTube dug up an awful childhood memory for Shira Blumenthal. The 9-year-old girl on the video had been bullied, like her when she was the same age. Blumenthal, 31, had not done anything with those middle school feelings in 20 years. She was only watching the video to pick up interviewing skills for Tea with Shira, a web series in the crafting industry that she does for folks who knit and crochet. Interview techniques took a back seat that day for Blumenthal, an avid crafter and brand ambassador for the Lion Brand Yarn Company, a family-run business in Carlstadt. She was impressed with the little girl, an African-American kid in a predominately white Florida school, who took charge of her ordeal and created awareness about bullying. Three years ago, Blumenthal did the same to mirror that little girls courage. She started #HatNotHate, a campaign that has taken off after she called on crafters to pick up their needles and join her to combat an issue that has taken young lives. Her community, many whom are victims, have made 26,000 blue hats the color designated for bullying. Lion Brand has a big following on social media and has used it to convey the message that bullying is not okay. This year, Blumenthal is confident that craft-ivists will come through with 100,000 hats that shes asking to be made by August 1. Theres a PSA video to launch this effort and it features kids who have been bullied wearing blue hats. The garments, once she receives them, will be distributed in schools across the country during National Bullying Prevention Month in October. Its an emotional issue. Most likely, therell will be notes attached with the hats describing the pain. Theyve come from those who dont knit as well, with missives that have brought Blumenthal to tears. A grandson, a daughter, a friend had been bullied. Shes opened boxes, reading letters on Facebook Live. That (girl) kind of sparked something in me," Blumenthal said. Sharing her truth touched others, too. Her story is theirs. They can relate when Blumenthal talks about her menace, how the girl made fun of her weight, curly hair, and not-so-trendy clothes growing up in the Bronx, New York. Jon Giswold, 61, of New York City, was all in the first year with his knitting needles, a skill he learned from his mother growing up in rural Wisconsin. Shira Blumenthal, standing in the middle, is showing students at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School in Linden how to knit blue hats for the anti-bullying campaign - #HatNotHate. Blumenthal, who started the movement, is a brand ambassador of Lion Brand Yarn Company of Carlstadt.Linden Public Schools He made 15 hats for Blumenthal, then started a knitting group Knit in the Pit - specifically for #HatNotHate. They began with five knitters in Asbury Park where he owns property - at the Asbury Park Hotel. The group has become so popular, Giswold said there are now 110 knitters and crocheters who meet twice a month. Since January, they have already produced 500 toward Blumenthals goal. For Giswold, this is personal and therapeutic in many ways. When I knit, I forgive my bullies and the people who mistreated me, he said. He says he was beat up by bullies from age 10 through high school. Knitting was his escape. Giswold buried the hurt in yarn until he heard Blumenthal talking about the campaign and her story during a club meeting for knitters in New York. It made me dig back into the wound that was there," he said. Last year, after he began to share his pain, Giswold said one of his bullies found him on social media and apologized. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Whoever came up with that was wrong. Lindsey Mottley, an eighth-grade math teacher at Joseph Soehl Middle School in Linden, said words do hurt. She tried to pretend 30 years ago that she didnt hear the boys when they talked about her weight and clothes. All of it came back when she saw Blumenthals mission on social media. The message just screamed at me," said Mottley, who just taught herself how to knit. The project, she thought, would benefit children at her school where Blumenthal visited recently to show students how to make hats in an after-school program. They have six under their belt so far, and the school is going to be a drop-off site people for donate hats. Bullying is a complete epidemic," Mottley said. Its not a right a of passage, said Blumenthal, or something that kids should shoulder with thick skin. Its wrong. Her hats, she said, will help, despite what critics may think. Picture 100,000 people wearing blue hats. Theres unity and awareness in that frame. Everybody has either been bullied or witnessed bullying," she said. For this mega effort, though, Blumenthal said everyone can push back against bullying and be involved. Knit or crochet a hat and send it to #HatNotHate, Lion Brand Yarn Co. 140 Kero Rd. Carlstadt, NJ 07072, by August 1, 2020. If you lack skills, you can still help raise awareness. Blumenthal said post a photo wearing your favorite blue hat on social media using #HatNotHate. For more information about how to get involved or bring #HatNotHate to your school, visit HatNotHate.org. Read More Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. 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. H ollywood star Johnny Depp sent messages to actor friend Paul Bettany suggesting he would burn and drown girlfriend Amber Heard during their volatile relationship, a court has heard. Previously unseen messages alleged to have been sent by the 55-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star were read out in court this afternoon, in a pre-trial hearing in his libel battle with The Sun newspaper. Depp, who is sat in courtroom 13 of the Royal Courts of Justice behind his legal team, texted Mr Bettany on November 6, 2013 to say: Lets burn Amber, the court heard. Later the same day, the court was told he messaged to say: Lets drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead." Actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp / Getty Images for Art of Elysium Adam Wolanski QC, barrister for The Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton, said another text to Mr Bettany appeared to refer to an alleged altercation with Ms Heard on a plane in May 2014. The message read: Im gonna properly stop the booze thing, darling Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past SundayUgly, mate. "No food for dayspowdershalf a bottle of whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane and what do you get..??? "An angry, aggro Injun in a f***** blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f*** who got nearIm done. "I am admittedly too f***** in the head to spray my rage at the one I loveFor little reason, as well Im too old to be that guy But, pills are fine!!! Johnny Depp has appeared in court / AP Mr Wolanski told the court Mr Depp is accused on the flight of screaming obscenities as he slapped Ms Heard in the face, kicked her in the back and threw a boot at her, before allegedly passing out in the plane toilet. However the actor insists he was sketching during the flight and denies being drunk. Mr Depp is suing The Sun and its executive editor over an article which alleged he had been abusive to his former wife Ms Heard. Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany in 2015 / AFP via Getty Images He denies claims of domestic abuse and insists Ms Heard was the "aggressor" during their relationship, which ended in May 2016. In another alleged incident due to feature in the civil trial, Mr Wolanski said Mr Depp is accused of hitting Ms Heard so hard her blood from her lip ended up on the wall. The court heard he sent her a text the following day, in March 2013, referring to a disco bloodbath and a hideous moment. Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard in 2015 / JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images However Mr Depp says the text was to placate Ms Heard, the barrister told the court, adding that the actor also denies that he once tried to set fire to a painting after a bust-up. Mr Wolanski revealed the texts as he told the court Mr Depps previous solicitors had shared 70,000 messages with the newspapers legal team in an accidental blunder. He said the texts to Mr Bettany had been among the cache which were accidentally sent and were clearly relevant to the case, but had not been among the messages properly disclosed by Mr Depps team. We are worried there are more and he just hasnt tried to find them, said Mr Wolanski. We want to know what steps he has taken to track them down. These texts go to the very heart of the case, they are really very important and set out the claimants thinking in respect of a number of different incidents and his recollection. Mr Wolanski said the libel trial will also explore Mr Depps use of drugs and alleged alcohol abuse, and steps he took to deal with these issues including checking himself into a detox facility in the Bahamas. David Sherborne, representing Mr Depp, told the court this morning the case and the couples divorce has already attracted worldwide coverage, saying Ms Heard was responsible for airing a lot of the allegations against her former husband. "There is such a contrast between the version of events that is provided by Ms Heard and that provided by Mr Depp. "It is black and white. One person, one side, is lying, and one is not. Obviously, we say that it is Ms Heard (who is lying), Mr Depp is 100 per cent clear about that." He referred to recordings of Ms Heard, 33, which recently came to light, in which she appears to discuss having been physically violent towards Mr Depp. Mr Sherborne said that evidence "demonstrates in her own voice that she was not a victim of domestic abuse, but rather that she was the aggressor". In a written submission to the court, Mr Sherborne said it was unsatisfactory that The Suns lawyers had not deleted the whole 70,000 message cache that had been mistakenly sent to them. He said disclosure exercises on thousands of messages and emails had been undertaken at great time and cost to Mr Depp, and searches of the iCloud had not produced messages that had been requested. Responding to claims that Mr Depps case had been badly damaged by the texts, Mr Sherborne said there was no single smoking gun to support Ms Heards claims that her ex-husband was violent. Nowhere, I repeat, nowhere, is there a single smoking gun, text or email, no document unlike Ms Heards own taped confession we looked at before there is no document where Mr Depp says I hit Ms Heard let alone I hit her on numerous occasions. He pointed out the newspapers lawyers had the chance to look at 70,000 messages and had only a found messages they say are relevant and undisclosed. The idea that somehow these texts contradict the account (given by Mr Depp) and are therefore so critical to the defendants case just simply isnt made out, he said. She never fails to look anything short of fabulous when she steps out. Yet Joan Collins proved comfort is still key, as she kept a pair of Todd's loafers in the the car when she was picked up from Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood. The Dynasty actress, 86, teamed her glamorous silk monochrome dress with a pair of white stilettos complete with black detailing on the front on Tuesday evening. Hand-in-hand: Joan Collins proved comfort is still key, as she kept a pair of Todd's loafers in the back of the car when she was picked up from Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood However soon after leaving the popular eatery, Joan appeared to switch her court shoes for a comfier alternative, which were placed in the passenger's seat footwell. Joan's ensemble was complete with a white jacket adorned with a rose broach, while she chose to accessorise with a diamond necklace and floral earrings. The American Horror Story star wore her raven locks in a bouncy blown out style and sported a dramatic coat of make-up including a slick of purple lipstick. Comfort first: However soon after leaving the popular eatery, Joan appeared to switch her court shoes for a comfier alternative, which were placed in the passenger's seat footwell Wow! The Dynasty actress, 86, teamed her glamorous silk monochrome dress with a pair of white stilettos complete with black detailing on the front Joan walked hand-in-hand with her husband of 18 years, who was smartly dressed in a black two-piece suit teamed with a white shirt and pocket square. Joan and Percy tied the knot in 2002 at Claridge's Hotel in London, the fifth time walking down the aisle for the star. In May 2018, the legendary actress revealed her top tip for 'lasting marriage' to Hello! - saying that the reason it works is because they 'really support each other'. Ready to go: Joan's ensemble was complete with a white jacket adorned with a rose broach, while she chose to accessorise with a diamond necklace and floral earrings She said: 'You won't always agree about everything, but you need to enjoy each other's company. Percy is such an amazing man, he is so kind and so caring. 'People get married on the crest of lust. Once that's gone, they look and think: 'What the hell? Who is this person? 'There has to be something else to fall back on. If there isn't, they start looking.' Joan's acting career has spanned more than six decades with her most recent roles being in the hit TV series American Horror Story and Hawaii Five-0. A Chinese doctor has been captured on camera performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a fainted pensioner in a shop amid the epidemic of coronavirus. The medic, Dr Luo Xianke, promptly took off his face mask to carry out the procedures after a man in his 80s suddenly had a heart attack in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of central China. Dr Luo told the press he didn't think about the potential risk of catching coronavirus. A Chinese doctor has been captured on camera performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a fainted pensioner in a shop in central China, despite the potential risk of catching coronavirus The medic, Dr Luo Xianke, promptly took off his face mask to carry out the first aid procedures after a man in his 80s suddenly had a heart attack in a supermarket in Zhengzhou, Henan 'It was too urgent. The only thing I was thinking was to act faster and faster,' the off-duty medic told Chinese news outlet Dahe Newspaper. Dr Luo was running errands near the supermarket when he heard someone shouting: 'A man just passed out in the store!' The medical worker immediately rushed to the shop where the unconscious elderly man was lying on the floor. Dr Luo said he didn't think about the potential risk of catching coronavirus when he was interviewed later. The picture shows him performing the resuscitation to the collapsed man The doctor took off his face mask to give the stranger emergency treatment without hesitation when he noticed the man was losing life symptoms. The emergency services arrived on the scene shortly after he carried out the first aid procedures. The elderly man was rushed to hospital after his heartbeats resumed 15 minutes later. Due to the increasing demand of face masks, people in China have been scrambling to get hold of them. People are pictured waiting outside a pharmacy in China to purchase face masks The public is advised to wear face masks as a basic measure to prevent the coronavirus. The picture shows a Chinese pharmacy in Milan displaying a sign 'mask sold out' on its window The pensioner was pronounced dead by doctors in the hospital after all rescue efforts failed. Dr Luo has been hailed as a hero after the video, filmed by another customer in the shop, was shared on Chinese social media. One comment said: 'How admirable. Doctors like this are a country's treasures.' Another one read: 'He is a hero among us.' People are pictured wearing protective masks walking through a market in Hong Kong City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. Since the deadly virus spawned in Wuhan late last year, it has killed at least 2,771 people and infected more than 81,300. Dozens of countries are now battling outbreaks, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. The picture shows people travelling on the train in Shanghai MADISON Boosting turnout this November among registered voters who didnt vote in 2016 could spell trouble for President Donald Trump in key battleground states, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison poll. The UW-Madison Elections Research Center Battleground Survey found such voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin favor the Democratic candidates by a 2-to-1 margin in the November election. Trump won those states by narrow margins in 2016. For Trump, I think its holding onto that vote, and not losing anybody to stay competitive, whereas the Democrats are probably looking for additional voters to turn up, said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center. Without them, the Democrats look to be just competitive, maybe at a slight disadvantage. The Wisconsin Poll conducted in collaboration with the Wisconsin State Journal, showed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 30% support among those likely to vote in the Democratic presidential primary scheduled for April 7. Five other Democrats were well behind with 9% to 13% support. In a head-to-head general election matchup with Trump, Sanders doesnt fare much better than other Democratic candidates, who each have leads over Trump of one to two percentage points, but all within the polls margin of error. A breakdown of those results shows there are few people who voted for Trump or Clinton in 2016 that plan to switch their support only about 3% for each candidate, according to the poll. Those voters may still play an important role in Wisconsin, which frequently sees major elections decided by razor-thin margins, especially if one group of voters crosses over in greater numbers than the other. The outcome will come down to mathematically how many of those people are there and do they cross over equally, or is it imbalanced, versus how many new voters show up and help the Democrats out, Burden said. According to the poll, voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania who did not participate in the 2016 presidential election would vote for a Democratic candidate by overwhelming margins. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has the largest advantage over Trump, 56% to 24%. Sanders leads Trump among such voters 55% to 24%. Former Vice President Joe Biden has the smallest lead over Trump among 2016 nonvoters, 50% to 26%. The results among just Wisconsin registered voters were similar to those in all three states combined, but combining the responses produces a more statistically significant result. The sample of 2016 nonvoters from the three states includes 710 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points, Burden said. Burden said one explanation for the Democratic preference among those who didnt vote in 2016 is that many of them were too young to vote in 2016, and younger voters over the past couple of decades have trended more liberal than the general population. House divided? Mike and Dee Byrnes, who own a bar in the Village of Dane in rural Dane County and dont affiliate with a political party, both didnt vote in 2016, but theyre split on how they plan to vote in November. Mike, 63, wants to vote in November for Trump. He said the economy is doing well and Trump has done things he said he was going to do. I think were doing good, I really do, Mike said. Dee, 61, said she wants to vote in the upcoming election because of how frustrated she is with Trump. She called the president a chauvinistic pig and said he needs to be more careful about what he says, like saying Mexico will pay for his border wall when U.S. taxpayers are funding it. She said she would vote for any Democratic candidate over Trump, but doesnt have a strong preference yet. Im paying attention. Im listening to everybody, she said. But I wanna know what these guys are going to do for us, instead of attacking all the other ones so that they can win. Dont attack anybody, let me know what you can do for us. Some particulars The survey included from Wisconsin more Democratic respondents (35%) than Republicans (30%). But the sample was also very close to the 2016 result, with 47.6% saying they voted for Hillary Clinton and 47.1% saying they voted for Trump. The actual Wisconsin vote in 2016 was 46.5% for Clinton and 47.2% for Trump. People who voted for Trump or Clinton in 2016 are relatively unified. In a general election match-up between Sanders and Trump in Wisconsin, 86% of Clinton voters would pick Sanders, while 93% of Trump voters would pick him again. Those who tend to avoid elections entirely are more evenly split than the sample of registered voters in the Wisconsin Poll who said they didnt participate in 2016, according to a recent survey by the Knight Foundation. Among voters in Wisconsin who have not voted in at least five of the past six elections, 33% said they would back a Democratic candidate if they vote in 2020 and 31% said they would re-elect Trump. Emily Hamer contributed to this report. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: On the occasion of the anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, the leadership, teachers, students and the administration staff of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) visited Mother`s Cry Memorial, which was erected in memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy. Then, a commemorative event dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held. First, the participants of the event paid tribute to the victims of the Khojaly genocide with a minute of silence. Speakers at the event noted that the Khojaly genocide, committed on the night of 25-26 February 1992, is one of the worst human tragedies of the 20th century. It was also noted that the Government of Azerbaijan has taken a number of decisive steps to ensure that this crime against humanity receives an international political and legal assessment and that large-scale efforts have been made to inform the world community about the Khojaly genocide. Speaking at the event, Associate Professor of the English Language and Humanities Centre of Baku Higher Oil School, Dr. phil. Alamdar Shakhverdiyev informed the gathering about all the historical details of the Khojaly genocide. Then the screening of the film "Children of War" took place. As a result of the Khojaly genocide 613 civilians, as well as 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed atrociously, 8 families were completely annihilated, 25 children lost both parents, 130 children lost one parent, 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 of them remains unknown. Of the current owner, Martin said, Todd Booth was given the opportunity to join Platte Valley Auto in 1982 when he became the newest wash boy. He continued to advance from wash boy, to sales, to sales manager and later to part owner and then owner. Booth expanded the business into Kearney, with the acquiring of Crossroads Ford. Just this year they acquired Plum Creek Motors from Tom and Cathy Feltes, rebranding it Heartland Chevrolet Buick, said Martin. The opportunity to raise our family and work in such a great community the past 39 years has been an honor, Booth said after receiving the award, Thank you to Gary Schultz and John Saathoff for the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you to the entire staff of all of the dealerships for their hard work and loyalty, and to our local community for the tremendous support it takes to success in a small town. Moving on to the agricultural awards, Chamber board member Oscar De La Torre presented the 2020 Ag Employee of the Year to Chris Knudsen. Anthropologists have found out that prehistoric migration from Africa, Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean islands took place long before the era of the Mediterranean seafaring civilizations. For their analysis they used the DNA of prehistoric individuals from Sicily, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. The Mediterranean Sea has been a major route for maritime migrations as well as frequent trade and invasions during prehistory, yet the genetic history of the Mediterranean islands is not well documented despite recent developments in the study of ancient DNA. An international team led by researchers from the University of Vienna, Harvard University and University of Florence, Italy, is filling in the gaps with the largest study to date of the genetic history of ancient populations of Sicily, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from 5 to 66. The results reveal a complex pattern of immigration from Africa, Asia and Europe which varied in direction and its timing for each of these islands. For Sicily the article reports on a new ancestry during the Middle Bronze Age that chronologically overlaps with the Greek Mycenaean trade network expansion. Sardinians descend from Neolithic farmers A very different story is unraveled in the case of Sardinia. Despite contacts and trade with other Mediterranean populations, ancient Sardinians retained a mostly local Neolithic ancestry profile until the end of the Bronze Age. However, during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, one of the studied individuals from Sardinia has a large proportion of North African ancestry. Taken together with previous results of a contemporary central Iberian individual and a later 2nd mill. BC Bronze Age individual from Iberia, it clearly shows prehistoric maritime migrations across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to locations in southern Europe, affecting more than 1 percent of individuals reported in the ancient DNA literature from this region and time to date. "Our results show that maritime migrations from North Africa started long before the era of the eastern Mediterranean seafaring civilizations and moreover were occurring in multiple parts of the Mediterranean," says Ron Pinhasi, a co-senior author of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna. During the Iron Age expansion and establishment of Greek and Phoenician colonies in the West Mediterranean islands, the two Sardinian individuals analyzed from that period had little, if any, ancestry from the previous long-established populations. "Surprisingly, our results show that despite these population fluxes and mixtures, modern Sardinians retained between 56-62 percent of ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers that arrived in Europe around 8000 years ago," says David Caramelli a co-senior author, and Director of Department of Biology at the University of Florence. Migration from the Iberian Peninsula documented "One of the most striking findings is about the arrival of ancestry from the Steppe north of the Black and Caspian Seas in some of the Mediterranean islands. While the ultimate origin of this ancestry was Eastern Europe, in the Mediterranean islands it arrived at least in part from the west, namely from Iberia," says David Reich, a co-senior author at Harvard University, who is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. "This was likely the case for the Balearic Islands, in which some early residents probably derived at least part of their ancestry from Iberia," says first author Daniel Fernandes, of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna. Korea's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.92 last year, down from 0.98 a year earlier. Gettyimagesbank South Korea's total fertility rate hit an all-time low in 2019, government data showed Wednesday, a clear sign of its population decline down the road. The country's total fertility rate, which refers to the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.92 last year, down from 0.98 a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Last year marked the second consecutive year for the rate to fall below 1. South Korea was the only member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that had a total fertility rate below 1. The 2019 figure is far below the replacement level of 2.1 that would keep South Korea's population stable at 51 million. It is also a sharp drop from the 4.53 in 1970, when the government began to compile related data. The crude birthrate -- the number of births per 1,000 people per year -- also came to a new low of 5.9 in 2019, down from the previous year's 6.4 It was an anti-climax. In the days leading to Budget 2020, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of abolishing dividend distribution tax (DDT). It was, however, assumed that the DDT would be abolished and dividends would be made completely tax-free. That did not happen. While finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman abolished DDT, she made dividends taxable in the hands of investors. For investors who relied heavily on dividends, this move meant added taxes. With the new proposal in place, should you now go for the dividend plan or opt for the growth option of a mutual fund? Mis-selling of dividend plans come home to roost If you have been an investor in balanced advantage funds (BAFs) and arbitrage schemes, you are likely to be impacted the most. BAFs were sold on the premise that by juggling among equity, debt and arbitrage opportunities, their asset allocation will cushion you from volatile markets. In falling markets, fund managers would increase their debt allocation. During periods of rallies or when fund managers feel that a rise in equity markets is imminent, they would hike the allocation to equities. Meanwhile, the fund uses arbitrage opportunities in such a way that its overall equity exposure remains at least at 65 per cent of the funds corpus, thereby qualifying for equity taxation. Some BAFs went a step ahead and heavily sold their dividend plans to investors. The sales pitch: take home around one per cent dividend a month. See table. BAFs lost a bit of sheen in the beginning of 2018, because of two reasons. Budget 2018 brought back long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) in equity funds. Also, the market fall dented these schemes ability to pay dividends, as the rules clearly state that mutual funds can pay dividends only from realized profits. Budget 2020 was the last straw in the camels back. With dividends now to be taxed in the hands of investors, it makes dividend plans unattractive. To be sure, not all BAFs and the erstwhile balanced funds were mis-sold, but theres enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that the malice had spread. Renu Maheshwari, a registered investment advisor and co-founder of Finscholarz Wealth Managers LLP, says that balanced advantage funds were one of the most visible examples of mis-selling, under the garb of monthly dividends. As such, there is nothing wrong with a BAF. Its a good product under in volatile markets, as your entire portfolio is not exposed to the vagaries of the equity markets. Unfortunately, some sold it as an assured return product to retirees, she adds. As a category, arbitrage funds too would get affected by the new proposal. These funds use arbitrage opportunities between cash and derivative markets to earn their returns. Sold as an alternative to liquid schemes with the ability to earn about 6-7 percent returns, arbitrage funds come with the advantage of equity taxation. This is because arbitrage opportunities are managed in the equity market. Typically, institutions and the upper crust of high networth individuals use arbitrage funds to save on tax. Up until now (and since Budget 2018 when former finance minister Arun Jaitley had also introduced a DDT of 11.648 per cent, including surcharge and cess), dividends from equity funds were taxed at a lower rate than the short-term capital gains tax rate of 15.60 per cent (including surcharge and cess). This made dividend plans attractive for many investors, says Vinod Jain, Principal Adviser, Jain Investment Planner, a Mumbai-based distributor of financial products. Fund houses state that such investors would most likely take whatever dividends will be distributed before March 31. After that, such investors would switch to growth plans. What works better: dividend or growth? Thus far, debt funds charged a DDT of 29.12 per cent (including surcharge and cess) and equity funds charged 11.648 percent. Budget 2020 has abolished DDT and instead made it taxable in the hands of investors at their marginal rate of taxation. In other words, it will need to be added to an individuals income and taxed as per her income-tax bracket. Back of the envelope calculations show that as far debt funds are concerned, growth plans work out better than dividend plans. If you invest in debt funds for the long-term (more than three years), then the growth plan works out better for those in 20.8 percent tax brackets and above. For those in lower slabs, the dividends get taxed at lower tax rates than the LTCG tax of 20.8 percent. For equity fund investors too, the growth plan works the best. See table. Those in the highest tax brackets 30 per cent and above will be hit the most, because now dividends will be taxed at their marginal tax rate, instead of the earlier DDT, which was 11.648 percent, says Ashish Chadha, a Gurugram-based registered investment advisor. Chadha points out that typically, investors in the higher tax brackets have large investments in equities as with rising income levels, investors tend to diversify. That said, dividend plans do benefit certain type of investors. For instance, if you invest in a debt fund for more than three years, a dividend plan works out better for those in the lower tax brackets 5.20 percent, 10.40 percent and 15.60 percent. But there is a caveat. If your dividend income is high in some years, you could get pushed to a higher tax slab. What if you get a windfall income in a particular year? That could also push you up a tax bracket and you may end up paying higher tax, says Saurabh Mittal, partner, Circle Wealth Advisors. Mittal says that it is cumbersome to keep track of your tax bracket every year. In his opinion, its better to stick to growth plans. What should you do? The abolition of DDT is a good move says Ashwin Patni, fund manager and head of products at Axis Asset Management. He believes that many investors used to choose between equity and debt funds based on how much tax they had to pay on capital gains as well as dividends. But at least now, whatever dividends you get, be they from equity or debt funds, you will have to pay the same amount of tax, he adds. Patni says that the best way to pick a product is to see how suitable it is to your financial goals. Dont go for an investment based on its taxation, he adds. Stick to growth plans. If you definitely need regular income, especially from your debt fund, invest in the growth option and opt for a systematic withdrawal plan. Samsung announced it has started mass production of its 10nm-based 16GB LPDDR5 mobile DRAM. The new RAM debuted in Samsungs flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone earlier this month. The company said the added capacity will provide premium mobile smartphones with additional capacity for improved 5G and AI features such as graphically-advanced gaming and smart photography. Samsung added that in the second half of the year, it plans to mass-produce 16-gigabit LPDDR5 products based on its third-generation 10nm-class (1z) process technology. Performance increases The 16GB LPDDR5 package is made up of eight 12-gigabit chips and four 8-gigabit chips. According to Samsung, the data transfer rate of the 16GB LPDDR5 RAM is 5,500 Mb/s, which is around 1.3 times faster than LPDDR4Xs 4,266 Mb/s. Additionally, when compared to an 8GB LPDDR4X module, the new RAM provides 20% better energy efficiency, Samsung claimed. While the latter might prove useful when it comes to smartphone battery life, it remains to be seen how these new speeds translate to real-life use. Although not officially revealed, tear-downs of Apples current top-of-the-range iPhone Pro Max shows that it only employs 4GB RAM. Despite this, Apples smartphones have been able to post comparable performance against their Android competitors. This is because Apples iOS platform and Android manage memory differently. While Android uses a method known as garbage collection, iOS employs reference point counting. Exynos 990 chip Samsung recently unveiled another piece of powerful mobile hardware The Exynos 990 processor. In South Africa, the 16GB LPDDR RAM comes paired with this processor in the new Galaxy S20 range. The Exynos 990 is a 7nm chip which boasts a pair of Exynos M5 and Cortex A76 cores, as well as four Cortex-A55 cores. It can be combined with the Exynos 5123 modem for 5G capability and is capable of supporting impressive hardware such as the 108MP front and rear camera on the S20 Ultra. However, 5G support is not available in the S20 smartphones on sale in South Africa. Samsung previously told MyBroadband that its launch of 5G devices in the country will depend on the roll-out of 5G technology by network operators. Subscriber content preview A vaccine candidate is inching closer to first-step safety studies in people, but specialists believe it would take at least a year to have something ready for widespread use. By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer China's massive travel restrictions, house-to-house checks, huge isolation wards and lockdowns of entire cities bought the world valuable time to prepare for the global spread of the new virus. But with troubling outbreaks now emerging in Italy, South Korea and Iran, and U.S. health officials warning Tuesday it's inevitable it will spread more widely in America, the question is: Did the world use that time wisely and is it ready for a potential pandemic? . . . Illness was never accepted as a valid reason to miss services at the Shincheonji religious group, says former member Duhyen Kim. This is an organization that took roll call, he says, and everyone had to physically swipe in and out of services with a special card. Any absence was noted and followed up on. 'The culture was, even though you're sick you come in on Sunday. If you're so sick you can't come Sunday, you have to come on Monday or Tuesday -- you have to make up for the time,' Kim says. He describes how, when he was a member, followers would sit on the floor during hours-long services 'packed together like sardines.' The religious group -- an offshoot of Christianity -- is now at the heart of South Korea's novel coronavirus outbreak, particularly in the city of Daegu. South Korean authorities believe a large number of cases in the country attended a Shincheonji service or have been in contact with attendees. The religious group says it is cooperating with local authorities, and has shut down all church services and gatherings. 'We are sanitizing every church and annex buildings all across the nation, including Daegu branch. We will actively participate in disease prevention activity, following the government's measure,' reads a statement frpm the group. The religious group also lashed out at its critics. 'The media had been reporting that we are the main culprit in the spread of virus, referring to our 'unusual service style' -- a reality where we had to hold service on the floor to maximize the number of occupants in our small space,' the statement adds. But Kim, who still has friends within the group, and other former members have told CNN that attendees are not allowed to wear anything on their faces -- even glasses -- during prayer time. 'They were forced recently not to wear masks even though the whole corona (virus) outbreak was going on. They said, no, it's disrespectful to God to have masks on,' Kim says. Shincheonji has not returned CNN's calls for comment. A new support network Kim says he joined in 2006 as a 19-year-old student who had just arrived in South Korea to study. The South African didn't have a support network and says he was quickly 'recruited.' At first, he says his friends did not reveal they were part of Shincheonji. But after 18 months, they introduced him to a Bible study group, and slowly brought him into their religious world. 'At that time, I was an expat,' he says. 'These people became my community, my friends I could rely on, (people) I could go out for dinner, drinks (with).' Kim's native English-language skills helped him rise in the organization. By 2011, he says he was the international affairs director and personal interpreter of founder and leader Lee Man-hee. He says his mother-in-law was Lee's partner. After spending almost every day with the man revered as a god-like figure within Shincheonji, Kim became disillusioned with the group and in 2017 he left. The Promised Pastor Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony was established on March 14, 1984, by Lee and is centered around the personality of its founder. Little is known about his past. According to the group's official homepage, Lee was born on September 15, 1931, in Cheongdo, in southern South Korea, and his birthplace gets regular visits from followers. Lee was 'deeply religious' from an early age and prayed with his grandfather but had never been to a church. The website 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. The group says it has about 245,000 members more than 31,000 of them from overseas. An internal document from 2017, called the 'International Missions Department status report,' provided to CNN by former members, said the group has eight branches in the US, with the LA chapter being the largest with more than 1,000 members, as well as dozens of chapters in China. 'The church of Shincheonji believes Lee Man-hee, their leader, is the second coming of Jesus Christ,' says Kim. CNN has tried to reach Lee Man-hee for comment, but multiple calls to the group have not been returned. Across Korea, some churches have notices on their doors saying Shincheonji members are not welcome, claiming they infiltrate mainstream churches to recruit new members, according to Tark Ji-il, a professor at Busan Presbyterian University. International gatherings In the middle of January, as coronavirus took hold in central China, thousands of Shincheonji members assembled for an annual gathering in Gwacheon, where the group is headquartered, near Seoul. Then, between January 31 and February 2, an unknown number of members came together for the funeral of the founder's brother. Local media reports that before his death on January 31, he was hospitalized at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital, near Daegu, the city at the heart of South Korea's outbreak. Numerous confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths have since been recorded from the same hospital. Shincheonji wasn't connected to the coronavirus outbreak until South Korea reported its 31st case on February 18. The patient, a 61-year-old South Korean woman, had no prior overseas travel history or contact with other confirmed cases. A cluster of infections followed. By February 20, the national tally had increased from 31 to 156 and the first death was reported. While tracing the movements of the 31st patient, the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spotted a link between the new patients: case number 31 had attended a Shincheonji service with hundreds others in Daegu, a city of 2.4 million people about 280 kilometers (174 miles) south of Seoul. Once the link to the religious group was established, authorities decided to quarantine all attendees of the meeting the 31st case had attended. Spokesperson Simon Kim said in a recorded statement: 'This is a disease that originated in China and spread to South Korea. We are sincerely urging everyone recognize that the Shincheonji Church and its devotees are the biggest victims of Covid-19, and refrain from hate and groundless attack.' Stopping the spread In South Korea, officials have ordered all of the group's facilities to close. Shincheonji says it has close to 1,100 buildings and is disinfecting them to try to stem the spread of the virus. On February 24, South Korea's Gyeonggi provincial governor, Lee Jae-myung, said in a radio interview with Korean station TBS, that the Shincheonji group had not initially cooperated with officials as promised. The group has 239 locations in Gyeonggi province, but only 100 of the addresses listed proved to be correct. On February 26, Chairman Lee Man-hee posted a statement on the official Shincheonji website saying that the group has been 'actively cooperating with the South Korean government to prevent the virus from spreading further' and they decided to hand over the list of the whole congregation and check on with everyone including the trainees on the condition that the government safeguard the private information. On the same day, Gyeonggi Provincial government said 210 Shincheonji members had agreed to call 33,000 fellow members to ask about symptoms, as Shincheonji members often don't answer calls from nonmembers. Daegu police deployed 600 officers to find hundreds of members, knocking on doors, tracking phones and scouring security camera footage to find them, and asking them to self-isolate. It comes as more than half a million people this week reportedly signed an online petition filed to the president's office calling for Shincheonji to be dissolved. Any petition with over 200,000 signatures is guaranteed an official government response, putting the group under a spotlight it has tried for so many years to avoid. An immigrant healthcare worker has been indicted on two further counts of capital murder in North Texas after previously being charged with smothering almost a dozen elderly women to death. A Dallas County Grand Jury on Tuesday indicted Billy Chemirmir, 47, on murder charges in the deaths of Leah Corken, 83, and Juanita Prudy, 82. Billy Chemirmir (pictured), 47, who is suspected of being involved with more than 1,000 unexplained deaths in Texas, has been charged with 14 murders The two women lived in The Tradition-Prestonwood in Dallas and died suddenly in the summer of 2016. Court documents claim that Chemirmir smothered the women to death with a pillow. Chemirmir is suspected of being involved with more than 1,000 unexplained deaths in Texas. The Kenyan, who worked as a home healthcare aide, was initially charged in 2018 with the murder of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. In May 2019, he was charged with 11 other murders by smothering and three counts of attempted murder. As of Tuesday, Chemirmir had been indicted on 14 capital murder charges in total, all of which involved elderly people and many of whom lived in assisted living facilities. He is believed to have posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to the buildings. The death of 89-year-old Solomon Spring was the only one that did not involve smothering. He was found in a pool of his own blood inside his residence. Leah Corken, 83, and Juanita Prudy, 82, were allegedly targeted by accused serial killer Billy Chemirmir A timeline of deaths at The Tradition assisted living facility that are linked to suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir. Several of the families have now filed a lawsuit against the facility In Texas, a capital murder charge carries either the death penalty or life in prison without the chance of parole. According to NBC, Chemirmir's attorney says his client maintains he is innocent of the charges. He is being held in Dallas County Jail on $11.6 million bond. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also placed a hold on Chemirmir's file. This means that in the case that he is released from state custody, ICE can detain him and potentially begin deportation proceedings. According to Dallas News, Chemirmir has permanent resident status and moved to the US in the 90s after his sister organized a visa for him. Chemirmir was first arrested in March 2018 for allegedly smothering the first identified victim Lu Thi Harris with her pillow and stealing her jewelry box. Police had been watching him in relation to another woman who he had allegedly tried to smother to death in the same fashion and robbed before fleeing. Chemirmir who worked as a home healthcare aide, was initially charged in 2018 with the murder of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris (left). In 2019, Chemirmir was indicted on six more murder charges, including the murder of Doris Gleason (right), 92, on October 29, 2016 Chemirmir was previously charged with the murder of Phyllis Payne (left), 91, on May 14, 2016, and Norma French (right), 85, who was killed October 8, 2016 At the time, officers observed Chemirmir putting something in a dumpster at his apartment block before executing an arrest warrant they had out on him in relation to the attempted capital murder. Inside the dumpster, police found a box with jewelry inside, and a piece of paper they were able to link to a woman in Dallas. They contacted local police to do a welfare check on Harris, and officers found her dead inside. A general view showing Block 6600 of Warm Breeze Lane, where Dallas Police conducted a welfare check and found Harris murdered, allegedly smothered by Chemirmir Chemirmir's initial attempted murder charge stemmed from an incident in Frisco in October 2017. At that time, Chemirmir allegedly posed as a maintenance worker at the home of a 93-year-old woman living in assisted care in Frisco. The woman told police she was smothered with a pillow, and robbed of jewelry. Afraid for her life, the woman said she was praying out of fear she would die. In March 2018, Chemirmir allegedly stormed into a 91-year-old woman's home and told her: 'go to bed, don't fight me'. Timeline of Billy Chemirmir's victims May 14 2016: Allegedly murdered Phyllis Payne, 91, at Edgemere Senior Living June 5, 2016: Allegedly murdered Phoebe Perry, 94 July 31, 2016: Allegedly murdered Juanita Purdy, 83 at The Tradition August 19, 2016: Allegedly murdered Leah Corken, 83 at The Tradition October 2017: Attempted murder of a 93-year-old woman in Frisco October 8, 2016: Death of Norma French, 85, at The Tradition October 29, 2016: Death of Doris Gleason, 92, at The Tradition October 31, 2017: Death of Minnie Campbell, 83, at Preston Place December 31, 2017: Death of Carolyn MacPhee, 81, January 17, 2018: Death of Rosemary Curtis, 76, January 31, 2018: Death of Mary Brooks March 2018: Attempted murder of a 91-year-old woman in Plano March 4, 2018: Death of Martha Williams, 80, at Preston Place March 9, 2018: Death of Miriam Nelson, 81, at Preston Place March 18, 2018: Death of Ann Conklin, 82, at Preston Place March 20, 2018: Allegedly smothered first identified victim Lu Thi Harris, 81, on March 20, 2018, and is arrested He is charged with her murder May 2019: Charged with 11 other murders February 2020 Indicted with the murders of Leah Corken and Juanita Prudy, now facing 14 charges of capital murder in total Advertisement After her face was covered with a pillow, she lost consciousness, but was later revived by Plano Fire and Rescue, where she revealed her attacker had stolen jewelry from her. He is believed to have sold or pawned their jewelry after robbing his victims. Many of the deaths now attributed to Chemirmir were first listed as deaths by natural causes as no foul play was suspected. However, once he was identified as a suspect in Harris' death in March 2018, detectives began reviewing hundreds of natural death cases to attempt to identify other potential victims. Chemirmir has been indicted in the deaths of 83-year-old Leah Corken; 82-year-old Juanita Purdy; 88-year-old Mary Brooks; 84-year-old Minnie Campbell; 82-year-old Ann Conklin; 75-year-old Rosemary Curtis; 85-year-old Norma French; 92-year-old Doris Gleason; 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris; 81-year-old Carolyn MacPhee; 81-year-old Miriam Nelson; 91-year-old Phyllis Payne; 94-year-old Phoebe Perry; and 80-year-old Martha Williams. He is suspected of, but not yet indicted in, the deaths of 82-year-old Joyce Abramowitz, 87-year-old Glenna Day, 89-year-old Solomon Spring, 90-year-old Doris Wasserman and 86-year-old Margaret White. He is still being investigated for nearly 1,000 unsolved deaths or attacks, and the victims are mostly elderly women who were in nursing homes. In July 2019, the families of Purdy and Corken filed a lawsuit against The Tradition-Prestonwood in Dallas where it is believed three victims died within a three-month period in 2016. The suit claims the living facility failed in security and repeatedly allowed a serial killer onto the premises. Earlier this month, the families of two other potential victims, Ann Conklin and Miriam Nelson, filed a lawsuit against Preston Place Retirement Community, a separate living facility where Chemirmir is alleged to have found his victims. Family members claim the 'necessary steps' weren't taken to ensure the safety of their loved ones. Nelson's daughter Karen Harris claims that her mother reported that Chemirmir was trespassing on the property before her death and that she later learned reports had been filed by other residents. 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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 CALGARY - Friends are raising money to help a Calgary retiree who was paralyzed after being shot by an intruder in his Barbados vacation rental. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY - Friends are raising money to help a Calgary retiree who was paralyzed after being shot by an intruder in his Barbados vacation rental. A longtime friend and former colleague said Tuesday that Ken Elliott was on holiday on the Caribbean island with his wife, Linda Brooks, and brother and sister-in-law. Landon Zabloski said he heard from Brooks that the group was playing Scrabble on Saturday night when at least two men stormed in one with a machete and one with a gun. "It happened so quickly. I get the impression that (police) don't even know what the motive was, because Ken and his brother Rob popped into action instantly and started to fight off these two guys," Zabloski said. "Ken was shot, obviously. Rob disarmed the other guy with the machete and they both took off." Elliott was initially taken to a local emergency clinic, but it was crowded and run-down, Zabloski said. He was then flown to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for treatment and it's unclear when he will be stable enough to fly home. Zabloski said a bullet severed Elliott's spinal cord between the third and fourth vertebrae. He's been told his friend has some use of his arms but is paralyzed below the collar bone. Elliott also suffered a punctured lung. "He's just in really, really, really rough shape," said Zabloski. "He's got tubes coming out of him everywhere. He's on oxygen." The bullet is still lodged in Elliott's spine. Doctors want to remove it to prevent infection and Barbados authorities want it for evidence, but it's a risky surgery. Zabloski said he heard from Brooks that Elliott is to have a blood clot removed from his lung on Wednesday. He and other friends are raising money through a GoFundMe page called "Support Ken Elliott's recovery" to help with medical and other expenses. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $12,000. "It's so hard to know how to help somebody out in a situation like this. And when you feel so helpless, it feels good to be able to do something to show that there is support there for the person," said Zabloski. He said Elliott worked for the City of Calgary for 36 years as a heavy duty mechanic and foreman, and he was a mentor to many in the Fleet Services department. Zabloski said his friend is tough and always stands up for what's right. 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. "That's probably what happened in Barbados. He was standing up for what was right and unfortunately they had a gun," he said. "If they didn't have a gun, I think things would have gone much differently for those two attackers." Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall condemned the attack, which he said took place in a residential area away from the "tourist belt." "Tourism is our bread and butter and Barbados cannot afford to have any negative references about how safe or unsafe it is," he said at a constituency meeting, according to media outlet Barbados Today. "Barbados was always felt to be a safe place for visitors and this kind of callous conduct on the part of a few hooligans can threaten the livelihood of our country." This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 25, 2020 A week after their viral showdown at the Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg squared off at another debate, this one on Tuesday night in Charleston, South Carolina. Warren again pressed Bloomberg over the confidentiality agreements women had signed after raising complaints or alleging misconduct about him or at his company. Last week, after a similar attack from her in a debate performance that was widely panned, Bloomberg announced he would no longer use such confidentiality agreements and would release certain women from them. On Tuesday, however, Warren added a new element to her critique: She repeated an allegation by a former saleswoman at Bloombergs company that, while the woman was pregnant in the 90s, Bloomberg told the woman to kill it. RELATED: How Many Primaries Each 2020 Presidential Candidate Has Won and How Many Delegates They Have Bloomberg stridently denied that accusation on the debate stage, even as Warren said voters needed more information about his background to make up their minds of a piece with similar criticisms she made about him not yet releasing his tax records and supporting Republican politicians in the past. Another former Bloomberg employee told The Washington Post they overheard Bloomberg tell the saleswoman, Are you going to kill it? That employee said he found the comment outrageous. I understood why she took offense, the Post reported. Sen. Elizabeth Warren at Tuesday's Democratic debate Mike Bloomberg (left) and Pete Buttigieg A billionaire businessman and three-term N.Y.C. mayor, Bloomberg was a major target at Tuesdays debate. After a late entry to the race and an unusual campaigning strategy in which he skipped the first four states and spent hundreds of millions on advertising and building out his campaign staff, Bloomberg made his debate debut last week in Nevada. There he was shredded by his fellow candidates in a performance that was widely panned, pivoting in part on Warrens prosecutorial questioning about his history with women. Story continues Bloomberg seemed visibly more comfortable and fluent on Tuesday and pressed his case that as the executive of the countrys largest city and its cultural and financial nerve center he most of all has the can-do experience and record to take on Trump. Democratic primary voters will next head to the polls in South Carolina, on Saturday. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is the front-runner in the race after winning in New Hampshire and Nevada, but other candidates are hoping to knock him from that perch. SAN FRANCISCO - PG&E Corp. CEO Bill Johnson blamed negligence by the companys past management for a cascade of catastrophes that killed nearly 140 people as he tried to persuade California regulators Tuesday that he is steering the utility to make safety its top priority. Johnson, who was brought in to lead the company 10 months ago, delivered his remarks as the first witness in critical California Public Utilities Commission hearings that will help shape Pacific Gas & Electric as it tries to emerge from its second bankruptcy in less than 20 years. The organization is safer today than it was a year ago. Things are getting better, Johnson said in sworn testimony while being grilled by a lawyer for a consumer rights group, The Utility Reform Network. Later in his testimony, Johnson boiled down his mission to a simple goal: No more disasters, no more catastrophes, no more fatalities. But both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the head of the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&Es chief regulator, have expressed serious doubts about whether the company has turned over a new leaf. Among other things, both Newsom and CPUC President Marybel Batjer have publicly demanded that PG&E replace its entire 14-member board, including Johnson, before it emerges from bankruptcy. PG&E has promised to reshuffle its board, but hasnt made any commitment to part ways with Johnson, who previously ran another major utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority. The demands for a management shakeup are being made as PG&E scrambles to to meet a June 30 deadline to win approval of its plan to get out of bankruptcy. Facing more than in $50 billion in claimed losses from a series of deadly wildfires ignited by its outdated electrical equipment, the nations largest utility filed the case 13 months ago. PG&E provides power to 16 million people larger than the populations of all but a handful of states. PG&E has agreed to settle claims with wildfire victims, insurers and a few government agencies for $25.5 billion to put it on track to win a federal judges approval of its bankruptcy blueprint. But the CPUC also must sign off on the plan to qualify for coverage from a state-created wildfire insurance fund. Boral posts lower 1H earnings ICR Newsroom By 26 February 2020 Boral Ltd reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of AUD137m (US$90m) for the half-year ended 31 December 2019, after significant items of AUD20m. The half-year results reflects lower 1H earnings from Boral Australia and USG Boral due to cyclical declines in Australian and South Korean housing markets, partially offset by improvement initiatives. Volume pressures and higher costs also affected earnings of Boral North America. EBITDA of AUD439m and EBITDA from continuing operations of US$440m were down six per cent, reflecting softer EBITDA in all three company divisions. Commenting on the first half FY2020 result, Boral CEO and Managing Director, Mike Kane, said: Borals first half FY2020 results were broadly in line with guidance, and we were encouraged by the performance of Boral Australia and USG Boral particularly given the significant downturns in housing activity in Australia and South Korea. Improvement programs and cost reduction initiatives in both divisions helped to offset the impact of lower volumes. We were disappointed however, with performance in Boral North America, largely due to shortcomings in our operational execution. In addition to the lower than expected first half results from Boral North America, we have had a challenging start to the second half of 2020 in Australia with higher costs and significantly lower volumes due to bushfire- and weather-related impacts. Australian infrastructure activity continues to be solid although delays and disruptions remain a feature of major infrastructure work. For example, we secured supply to the West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne, which we were expecting to see come through in the second half, but as has been well-publicised, this project is currently delayed. We are resolutely focused on executing improvement initiatives over the remainder of the year to strengthen our business in North America and to improve outcomes in Australia, Mr Kane said. Boral Ltd provided a FY2020 NPAT guidance of AUD320m-340m. Published under Ad-hoc release Management change in Gurit Executive Committee Zurich, February 26, 2020 - Gurit (SIX Swiss Exchange: GUR) today announces that Frank Nielsen, General Manager Gurit Kitting, will leave Gurit by August 2020 to pursue other career opportunities. He will be succeeded by Andreas Kipker, currently Commercial Director Gurit Kitting. Frank Nielsen has successfully grown the JSB Kitting business to a global leadership position with the JSB team over the last years. Rudolf Hadorn states: "We thank Frank for all his contributions to the Gurit Group and the successful integration of the Kitting business. We wish him every success and all the best for his future." Gurit is pleased to announce an internal successor with Andreas Kipker, currently Commercial Director of the Kitting business. Starting July 1, 2020 Andreas Kipker will take over the role of General Manager Kitting and succeed Frank Nielsen as a member of the Executive Committee. Andreas joined JSB in 2013 and previously held various positions in the JSB Group, today's Kitting business unit. The search for a replacement of the Commercial Director role will be initiated in due course. About Gurit The subsidiaries of Gurit Holding AG, Wattwil/Switzerland, (SIX Swiss Exchange: GUR) specialize in the development and manufacture of advanced composite materials, composite tooling equipment and core kitting services. The product range comprises structural core materials, fibre reinforced prepregs, wind blade moulds, formulated products including coatings, resins and adhesives as well as structural composite engineering. Gurit supplies global growth markets such as the wind turbine industry, aerospace, marine, rail and many more. Gurit operates production sites and offices in Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Indonesia, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. www.gurit.com Gurit Group Communications Thomas Nauer Phone: +41 44 316 15 55 E-mail. thomas.nauer (at) gurit.com All trademarks used ormentioned in this release areprotected by law. Forward-looking statements: To the extent that this announcement contains forward-looking statements, such statements are based on assumptions, planning and forecasts at the time of publication of this announcement. Forward-looking statements always involve uncertainties. Business and economic risks and developments, the conduct of competitors, political decisions and other factors may cause the actual results to be materially different from the assumptions, planning and forecasts at the time of publication of this announcement. Therefore, Gurit Holding AG does not assume any responsibility relating to forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. HOWARD, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio-based energy service provider Plug Smart has partnered with East Knox Local School District to improve existing facilities at the elementary school so when the new high school opens, all students in the district will have an improved learning environment. The partnership between East Knox Local School District and the energy solutions company started in 2016 with a project to upgrade lighting in a handful of classrooms to LED. In 2018, it grew when Plug Smart upgraded the high school corridor and gym lighting; in 2019, the work extended to upgrade the elementary school's lighting, boilers, and building automation system. "From working with Plug Smart in the past, we were confident in the solutions that they would develop for our elementary building. Because of the upgrades they are implementing now, our district will be able to maximize our energy savings for years to come, allowing us to better serve our students and staff," said Steve Larcomb, East Knox Superintendent. To increase energy efficiency, functionality, flexibility, and cost savings, maintenance staff at East Knox Elementary School sought more efficient lighting and more refined climate control. Plug Smart developed a creative solution to the district's challenges by upgrading all lights to LED, repairing or replacing non-functional motion sensors, and installing a new building automation system. "It's great to see East Knox not only lower their bills but also improve the comfort of the building for current and future staff and students. We were excited about the opportunity to build on our relationship, bring these upgrades to fruition, and better prepare the elementary school for the future," said Nate Patrick, Plug Smart Senior Project Developer. To maximize savings, the energy management team pursued the highest energy-reduction methods first. The lighting controls and cooling innovation deliver more than $45,000 in annual operational savings for the district. They also worked effectively during school breaks, so the project had minimal impact on the school's academic schedule. As a result of the successful partnership, all East Knox campuses will better serve their students for years to come. With the facility improvements at the elementary building complete, district administrators can focus their capital improvement attention on the construction of their new junior/senior high building that is scheduled to open in the 2022-23 school year. Plug Smart has completed many major permanent improvement projects for other Ohio school districts facing similar challenges and will continue to bring intelligent building solutions to other school districts, optimizing the learning environment for students ahead of the 2020-2021 school year. School district administrators interested in Plug Smart's energy services can contact Nate Patrick, Project Development Manager, at (614) 420-5443. SOURCE Plug Smart ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Valley YMCA, Easton/Phillipsburg Branch and Coral Detection Systems have recently partnered to pilot a drowning detection system, aimed to enhance water safety at the Greater Valley YMCA facilities. The pilot encompasses placing four AI-Based Coral Manta 3000 drowning detection units at the corners of the Y's Easton Branch indoor swimming pool. In addition to the pool staff and lifeguards, the detection systems will operate 24/7 and will track all underwater activity. In using four Coral Manta 3000 units, the Y can ensure underwater visibility from every angle of the pool, providing additional pool safety coverage underwater. Through an app and an alarm on the Manta, the AI-based drowning prevention system alerts lifeguards on unauthorized water entrance, as well as on risk of drowning while the pool is in use. The Greater Valley YMCA, Easton Branch offers a variety of swimming programs for people of all ages and abilities. From infant swimming lessons to senior water aerobics to family movie nights in the pool, the Y aims to promote safety around water within every aquatic program. "The YMCA has been America's leading swim instructor for more than 100 years, and the safety of our members is a priority at the Y," shares David Fagerstrom, President & CEO of the Greater Valley YMCA. "Most drowning deaths are preventable deaths, and we are proud to pilot with Coral Detection Systems to enhance our already-existing safety around water practices. This system will not replace lifeguards, but act as an additional layer of drowning protection." Upon successful completion of the pilot over the course of the next months, the Greater Valley YMCA will consider expanding Coral Detection System implementation to all YMCA pool facilities across the Lehigh Valley. Then, the Y will bring the pilot experience to the Pennsylvania's State Alliance of YMCAs, with the possibility of expanding use of the Coral Detection System throughout Y's in Pennsylvania. "We are honored to launch a cooperation pilot with YMCA," says Eyal Golan, Co-Founder & CEO. "With the magnitude of pool drowning in the US and worldwide, being the #1 cause of accidental death among kids ages 1-4, and the #2 cause among children ages 5-18, it is admirable to see an organization like the YMCA taking such significant action to help change these awful statistics. Installing a Coral means adopting the most effective safety measures for kids in and around the pool. We are committed to support the Y in its efforts to promote safety, wellbeing and drowning prevention, and certain that other organizations will follow." For more information about the Greater Valley YMCA visit gv-ymca.org. For more information on Coral Drowning Detection, visit https://coraldrowningdetection.com/ SOURCE Coral Detection Systems Related Links https://coraldrowningdetection.com/ Thy Chea, a Cambodian man who says he was wrongly deported in 2018, will meet his 1-year-old son for the first time Wednesday afternoon when he lands in Logan International Airport. Its an incredible victory, Li said. Were so excited. Cheas story is a rare one in the age of President Donald Trump, where stories of unexpected deportations and changing immigration policies are constantly highlighted in the news. Le said he is the first deportee to be re-admitted onto the East Coast and the fourth Cambodian deportee to be re-admitted into the country. Li said she hopes Cheas successful challenge to his deportation motivates others facing immigration proceedings to fight their cases. Were not only excited that he is coming home to his family, but were also hopeful that this type of news makes people realize that theres ways to fight deportation even after youve been deported, she said. Lowell, where Cheas family lives, has the second largest Cambodian American population. The community has been targeted for immigration enforcement. In 2017 and 2018 alone, deportations of Cambodians increased from 29 removal cases to 110 removal cases, according to figures from ICE. Cheas own removal case stems from a criminal conviction from two decades ago, which Li said was not a deportable offense. Chea grew up in Cambodias Kmer Rouge regime, which killed at least 2 million people in the 1970s. When he was 10, he fled the country with his parents and five siblings, according to federal court documents. His family lived in a refugee camp in Thailand before entering the country as refugees. Chea was a green card holder until he was ordered to leave the country in 2000. He had pleaded guilty to assault and battery and threat to commit a crime. The deportation order was suspended and he was allowed to remain in the country as long as he checked in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement once a year, Li said. In the spring of 2018, Chea was asked to check in with ICE at the Burlington office a month or two early, Li said. He went with his wife and their daughter, who was 1 year old at the time, not knowing the meeting was arranged so he could be detained. Some crimes trigger deportation proceedings because they are considered crimes of moral turpitude or aggravated felonies" under immigration law. By the time Chea was detained, his convictions were long deemed non-deportable, Li said. With Li as his attorney, Chea fought his deportation but could not avoid getting put on a plane out of the country. Sixteen minutes after his plane took off, an immigration judge granted his motion to stay of removal that would allow him to remain in the country. Chea was deported in August 2018. Li said he didnt have access to mental health treatment for the PTSD and major depression he suffers from living under the Kmer Rouge regime, but he was able to keep in touch with his family and continue fighting his deportation in courts. The fact that theres internet, right, I think was a lifeline for him and he was able to talk to and see over the screen his family pretty regularly, Li said. Li took the issue to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which sided with her client and remanded the issue to the immigration judge for further fact finding in June. The BIA finding confirms that Chea remains a lawful permanent resident and that while the case is open he should be allowed to return. Despite the BIA decision, Chea was repeatedly denied travel documents to re-enter the country over the past several months. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it did not have the authority to grant him travel documents because he had been deported and had a criminal background. In January, Chea sued the federal government over his inability to secure travel documents despite the immigration judges ruling. After the lawsuit was filed, he applied again for travel documents to re-enter the United States. This time, his application was approved. Were very happy to know that hes returning and getting to see his family, and hes going to get to meet his 1-year-old son in person for the first time, Li said. Were very excited that hes coming home. Related Content: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the opposition of irresponsible behaviour over the amended citizenship law, calling it a sickening effort to tarnish the country's image. During his two-hour speech in the assembly, Adityanath also provoked the opposition when he referred to an Indonesian cultural troupe's attitude towards Ram and asked how anyone in India could distance themselves from the deity. The chief minister repeated his warning that those damaging public property while protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act will pay the government for the losses. "This is a most irresponsible behaviour on the part of the Opposition and it is not a good sign for democracy. It is a sickening effort to damage the image of the country," he said. The chief minister was taking part in a discussion on the state Budget tabled on February 18. There were interruptions by the Samajwadi Party MLAs and thumping of desks by ruling BJP members, who also shouted Jai Shri Ram. "Why is there so much commotion over the CAA? What do they want to gain by damaging the image of the country? he said, and warned against taking the law hostage. That will never happen, he said. The CM accused the opposition parties of creating a wrong impression of the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) and said they are causing an irreparable loss for which the coming generations will not pardon them. Adityanath said his government was not against peaceful demonstrations over the CAA. But if protesters resort to vandalism and arson, the loss to property will be realised from them, he added. He recalled a recent visit by an Indonesian troupe that performed the Ram Lila and said all characters were played by Muslims, who believed that Lord Ram was their ancestor. "How can it be that people live here, eat here and maintain distance from Ram, he said, triggering protests from the opposition. You should look at the history of India. The first mosque here in Kerala was constructed by a Hindu king," the chief minister said, referring to a legend. Adityanath said he held the responsibility of 23 crore people of the state and not of any particular caste, religion or creed. He termed the state's Budget for 2020-21 balanced and development-oriented. "We have made schemes for all sections of society. No one can say that we have discriminated against anyone. The government has adopted the 'ekatmata manavvad' (integral humanism) of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in the Budget," he said. He accused the opposition of focusing on caste when the BJP government talked about development and schemes like housing for the poor. He said shelters have now been set up for 4.5 lakh head of stray cattle and suggested that instead of burning stubble, the crop residue should be transported to these shelters with the help of MNREGA, the rural employment guarantee scheme. Adityanath claimed that deaths due to encephalitis in the state have come down drastically under his government, while the previous dispensations never realised the pain of the poor. "For the past 40 years, children had been dying. Almost 90 per cent of those who fell prey to the disease belonged to Dalit and minority communities," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Our basic understanding of the grain futures markets is the definition of futures. The prices quoted Feb. 25 on the Chicago Board of Trade are the markets best guess of the price at a specific time in the future. Prices are based on present knowledge and how that influences future prices. Rumor Then comes the influence of rumor. Rumor is potential fact, often exaggerated. It is deadly to knowledge because the market must react to it, but no one knows how much to react it is just a rumor. The influence of rumor on the markets was demonstrated in two different, and opposite, ways Feb. 24. First, we had the rumor of locusts in Asia. Overnight going into Feb. 24, the news hit that there were swarms of locust in China. Markets reacted to the news with a rumor that there must be damage to wheat crops in India and China. On the rumor, Chicago wheat futures bounced up 25 cents. Then the news hit. There did not seem to be any damage. Prices went back down. The process demonstrated the axiom: buy the rumor, sell the fact! Rumors are great for market longs. As one analyst I talked to Feb. 24 said, If the rumor had lasted three days, I could have gotten some sales advice on! As I look back on my years in this business, the best rumor was the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It was terrible for Ukraine and thousands of people there. It was great for American wheat farmers who watched the markets boom for three days, then mostly put in targets that were above the market and watched the market fall back as hard facts moderated the disaster. In that case, the net result was higher prices because there really were production issues. The prices just did not sustain the hysterical high of the early rumor. Coronavirus Now we have the manifestation of the coronavirus rumor. Grain prices crashed Feb. 24 with rumors of the virus getting worse. The grain markets had the company of virtually every other market. The Dow, for example, was off more than 1000 points. Here the rumor is that the virus is expanding rapidly, and worldwide trade is being affected. The rumor has basis in fact. Italy had a jump in cases. South Korea is reporting a serious outbreak. Several nations have started quarantines. An American news story reports that our President was livid because some of the Americans quarantined on that cruise ship off Japan were allowed into our county in the custody of State Department officials with active cases of the virus. Some of the results of this are hurting trade. Waiting on trade We in the ag sector have been waiting impatiently for huge exports after the Jan. 15th signing of the so-called Phase One trade agreement with China. It has happened only very slowly, and now it has stopped. Unnoticed by most observers was that the agreement had a month to get started. In that month the coronavirus became a big issue. Now, grain ships are in harbor off Japan, collecting demurrage because they cant unload since truck drivers are locked up in their own homes, so they cant haul grain. Grain markets suffered Feb. 24 from virus rumors and news, and from the simultaneous fact that this is the week we get to first notice day. All of those farmers who did the right thing and sold grain on basis contracts now have to price those contracts before they go into delivery status after first notice day. That is, a futures contract on that day becomes a cash contract to deliver to a Board of Trade delivery point (no longer to Chicago) on the Illinois River. So, the contract must be offset by pricing before that date. The result of the rumor of some potential worldwide disaster, helped by the mechanics of the futures market, was very negative. I remember looking at prices in the middle of the day Feb. 24, and corn was down seven cents, soybeans down 13. Good news There is good news. Overnight my nephew, a lawyer in Singapore, emailed me that he is no longer in quarantine. Singapore had 90 active cases, and 20,000 people with Chinese passports coming into the island nation every day. As of Feb. 24, the number of people being released from hospitals is now more than the new cases. He reports that the disease seems to spread easily, but is not that deadly with good care. So, in the case of coronavirus, we may look back and say we should have sold the rumor and bought the fact! Police are hunting for "five outstanding" people in relation to the fatal shooting of Sydney teenager Omar Elomar, a court has heard. An 18-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, briefly faced Central Local Court on Wednesday morning after his initial charge of concealing a serious indictable offence in relation to the alleged murder was upgraded to a charge of murder. The charge relates to a "joint criminal enterprise", the man's solicitor Omar Juweinat said, with "a number of offenders" still not apprehended. An 18-year-old man (main) has been arrested in relation to the shooting death of Omar Elomar (inset). Credit:NSW Police "There are five persons outstanding at this point that police are aware of. The investigation is still taking place in relation to this homicide," police prosecutor Liam Edwards said. The number of new coronavirus cases around the world is quickly multiplying, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy and Iran causing concern. You can see the spread of the pneumonia-like virus in the maps above from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The maps are regularly updated with data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. About 81,000 people in 37 countries have been sickened by the pneumonia-like virus and 3,000 have died, according to world health officials, who are simultaneously cautioning against the risks of unnecessary fears or stigma. China, the source and epicenter of the virus, has seen the most infections, with 78,604 infections and 2,715 deaths. But WHO said the number of new cases reported outside China on Tuesday exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time. Chinese officials reported 411 new cases on Tuesday while the number in the rest of the world was 427. ALSO: Local emergency declared in San Francisco amid coronavirus concerns In Europe, 10 countries have reported infections and Germany, France and Spain are among the places with a growing caseload. France announced its second death and Greece became the newest country to see a case of the virus. Italy's infection toll is increasing rapidly, going from three cases on Feb. 21 to 374 on Wednesday. The outbreak is centered in northern Italy's Lombardy region. South Korea announced 284 new cases, largely in Daegu, bringing its total to 1,261. In the Middle East, where cases increased in Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq, blame was directed toward Iran. South Korea is battling a mass outbreak centered in the 2.5 million-person city of Daegu. With Brazil confirming the arrival of Latin America's first case, the virus now has a toehold on every continent but Antarctica. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. Geneva -- Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of India, a top Indian diplomat said at the UN Human Rights Council's meeting here on Wednesday, a day after Pakistan sought the international community's intervention on the Kashmir issue. Speaking at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council which is being held here in Switzerland from February 24 to March 20, Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West), the Ministry of External Affairs, described Pakistan as the epicentre of global terrorism. He called for decisive action against states who direct, control, fund and shelter terrorists, in an obvious reference to Pakistan, which is accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terror groups. His remarks came a day after Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Tuesday alleged that India continues to violate the human rights of the Kashmiri people and demanded the immediate repeal of all actions by India on August 5 last year. India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5 and bifurcated it into two Union territories. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. After fluctuating at a low level for two weeks, the "resumption power index" which can reflect the number of enterprises that have returned to work in east China's Jiangxi Province shows an upward trend. The index grew by 16 points from Feb. 13 to Feb. 24. "Based on the model calculation, every point of increase means that about 1,000 enterprises have resumed business," said Hu Zhiqiang from the State Grid Jiangxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. As the barometer of economic growth, the index shows Jiangxi's economy is accelerating to recover from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hu added. By Tuesday, 78,064 people on the Chinese mainland had been confirmed as being infected, and 2,715 had died. Meanwhile, the daily number of newly cured and discharged coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new infections for the eighth consecutive day. As positive signs started emerging in China's battle against the epidemic, the country is meticulously expanding business operations with a precise approach that attaches different priorities to regions in light of their health risks. Differentiated measures Local authorities are ordered to take region-specific approaches when advancing resumption of work and production based on local health risks, according to decisions at a central authorities meeting. Regions with relatively low risks should focus on preventing imported cases and comprehensively restoring the order of production and life. Medium-risk regions should promote work and production resumption in an orderly manner based on local situations, while high-risk regions should continue to be fully committed to epidemic prevention and control. Jiangxi Province now places its counties and districts in three risk groups that correspond to different epidemic prevention measures to mitigate the impact on the economy. Four out of 100 counties and districts in the province were classified as high-risk areas, 18 as medium and the other 78 as low. The risk level can be dynamically adjusted based on epidemic situations. With no confirmed cases of infection or no new cases reported in 18 consecutive days, a total of 40 low-risk counties and districts, including Shanggao, have lowered their emergency response from Level I to Level II or III on Tuesday. To push for work resumption, Shanggao County has dispatched more than 170 cadres to help enterprises solve problems involving labor, raw materials, logistics and funds that hamper their business resumption. A total of 156 industrial enterprises above designated size, around 90.7 percent of the total, have returned to work in the county. Jiangxi is sending more cadres to assist its companies, striving to cover all epidemic control material producers and industrial enterprises above designated size, said Xin Qinghua, deputy head of the provincial department of industry and information technology. Meanwhile, the province gave business resumption priority to firms upstream of the supply chain, such as those produce basic raw materials. Nanchang Cemented Carbide LLC is a producer of milling cutters, which are key tools used for manufacturing medical equipment. During the epidemic, the company had difficulties to deliver goods due to transport restrictions. Nanchang economic and technological development zone, where the company is located, helped find logistics enterprises to deliver the milling cutters with lower transport costs. "With smooth logistics, we can now speed up our production," said Zhang Yuqi, deputy general manager of the company. Back on track with caution Besides Jiangxi, many Chinese local governments have taken differentiated measures to ensure the resumption of normal economic activities on the premise of virus containment. On Feb. 20, Changchun, capital of northeastern Jilin Province, issued a circular requesting the related government departments to help companies solve problems such as labor, funds and gas supply shortages and encourage small hotels to work with employers to accommodate their workers. The districts with no confirmed COVID-19 cases or no new cases for 14 consecutive days may further relax the control on the operation resumption of the companies and the personnel flow, it said. Changchun is home to one of the country's largest automobile maker, FAW Group, as well as a slew of auto parts and components producers. At one FAW factory, work resumed on Feb. 22 on two shifts with some 300 vehicles rolling off the assembly line a day. To ensure workers' health, the government of Changchun's automobile economic and technological development zone, where the factory is located, allocated disinfectant to the workshops and helped rent hotels and college dormitory buildings to quarantine more than 7,200 returned workers. So far, over 90 percent of the enterprises in the development zone have resumed operation. 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. More Chinese provinces, including Liaoning, Gansu, Anhui and Guangdong, have lowered their emergency response level after reporting no new cases for several days. To facilitate work resumption, the country has loosened traffic controls and arranged buses, trains and flights to bring migrant workers back to factories. Tax and fees for industries heavily impacted by the epidemic have been lowered to alleviate social security burdens on the employers. The Ministry of Commerce has pledged to facilitate foreign-invested enterprises to resume production, especially to industry leaders, to keep the global supply chain stable. In Dongguan, a manufacturing hub in Guangdong Province, a total of 5,791 foreign-funded enterprises had resumed work, including 60 percent of large and medium-sized ones as of Feb. 23. The Shanghai Association of Foreign Investment found, based on a survey over 697 key foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, that more than 90 percent of surveyed firms in the service sector and about 70 percent of those in the manufacturing industry have resumed operation. By Feb. 22, a total of 10,680 industrial enterprises above designated size in Jiangxi, around 83.9 percent of the total, have resumed business with more than 1 million people back to work, according to local authorities. "With a raft of supportive policies, the resumption power index in Jiangxi will maintain its upward trend. Work and production back on track will continue injecting vitality into economic growth," Hu said. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday on February 26. During the observance leading up to Easter, Catholics are encouraged to give something up for 40 days and 40 nights. The idea is to experience real sacrifice. Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The international conference of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) is due to open on Thursday at Flic-en-Flac in Mauritius on the theme, 'Financial and governance issues in private pension schemes', , opens Thursday at the Hilton Hotel, at Flic-en-Flac, government officials said here on Wednesday She has returned to London to shoot scenes for Cinderella. And Minnie Driver made the most of being back in her native city as she enjoyed a stroll around the capital on Wednesday. The British actress, 50, seemed in good spirits on the outing, but was no doubt feeling the chill after growing acclimatised to balmy Los Angeles. London's calling: Minnie Driver made the most of being back in her native city as she enjoyed a stroll around the capital on Wednesday Minnie layered up in the cold as she donned a fitted black coat that cinched in at her slender waist. Adding a pop of colour, she layered the trench over an emerald green jumper, whilst she slung a black cross body bag over her shoulder. The Good Will Hunting actress completed the look with a pair of eye-catching printed trousers that skimmed over her patent black boots. Wrapped up: The British actress, 50, seemed in good spirits on the outing, but was no doubt feeling the chill after growing acclimatised to balmy Los Angeles Casually chic: Minnie layered up in the cold as she donned a fitted black coat that cinched in at her slender waist Minnie is in London to work on an upcoming movie musical adaptation of fairytale Cinderella. She joins a star-studded line-up playing the Queen, whilst Billy Porter takes on the Fairy Godmother and Camila Cabello is the titular Cinderella. The highly anticipated movie is being produced by James Corden and is set for a February 5, 2021 release. Gorgeous in green: Adding a pop of colour, she layered the trench over an emerald green jumper, whilst she slung a black cross body bag over her shoulder Leggy lady! The Good Will Hunting actress completed the look with a pair of eye-catching printed trousers that skimmed over her patent black boots The movie will mark as the debut acting role for Camila who will act and 'be integrally involved' in the music process, THR previously reported. Mamma Mia! star Pierce Brosnan has also signed on to join as the King (who is the father to Prince Charming) with Nicholas Galitzine set to be Camila's prince in film. Deadline also reports that, the British actor 'wowed the filmmakers in many chemistry readings.' Delhi Riots: Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar accused Congress of politicising violence and playing dirty politics. Earlier today, Sonia Gandhi had blamed Amit Shah for the failure of Law and Order. Delhi Riots: Soon after Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi blamed the BJP of provoking communal violence in the Capital and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for law and order failure, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar come out all guns blazing to defend the saffron party and target the Congress. Hitting back at the grand old party, Javadekar accused Congress of playing dirty politics and trying to politicise the sensitive issue. Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, talking to the media, said Sonia Gandhis statement is condemnable and unfortunate. At a crucial time, when everyone is calling and requesting peace in Delhi, Congress tried to blam the government and play dirty politics, said Javadekar. Politicising violence is not acceptable, the minister added. Union Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad also lashed out at Congress stating the time is call and maintain peace, Sonia Gandhis statement is not warranted. ALSO READ: Delhi violence: PM Narendra Modi appeals for calm, peace; Sonia Gandhi asks where was Home Minister? Toll goes up to 22 dead Union Minister & BJP leader Prakash Javadekar: Congress president Sonia Gandhi's statement is unfortunate & condemnable. At such times all parties should ensure that peace is maintained, blaming the government instead is dirty politics. Politicising this violence is wrong https://t.co/BngL9ZLeVE pic.twitter.com/z20bsw3eKH ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 Earlier today, in her presser, Congress chief had questioned the role and responsibilities of the Narendra Modi government and Delhis Arvind Kejriwal government sighting the ongoing tense situation. She directly held Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the violence and destruction of public and private property. ALSO READ: Delhi riots: Police issue shoot-at-sight orders for Maujpur, Jafrabad, Chand Bagh, Karawal Nagar; deny news of Mosque damage Sonia Gandhi also demanded Amit Shahs resignation for the recent violence and countrywide protests. Congress leader slammed Delhi CM too as he failed to maintain peace in the Capital. Reports said 23 people lost their lives in the riots and over 100 got injured. North East Delhis Maujpur, Babarpur, Jafrabad, Seelampur, Welcome, Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar and several other parts are under lockdown. Despite of section 144, rioters continued to vandalise the public property, stone-pelting, after which Police Commissioner passed shoot-at-sight-order to control the mob. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Cautioning authorities that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should not be allowed to be repeated, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed "anguish" over the failure to register FIRs against those making alleged hate speeches including Kapil Mishra and others from the BJP here and asked the Police Commissioner to take a "conscious decision" on this by Thursday. The alleged failure of the Delhi police to check the communal riots in northeast Delhi that broke out on Sunday night and involving those for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act also came under the scanner of the Supreme Court which rebuked it for failing to act "professionally". The riots has left at least 24 dead and around 200 injured. The apex court lashed out at the law enforcing agencies for allowing the "instigators of violence" to get away and said they should act as per law without waiting for somebody's nod. "If somebody makes an inflammatory remark, police has to take action," said a bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. A high court bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh said when the police can register 11 FIRs in incidents including arson, looting, stone pelting, why it did not show alacrity when it came doing so in connection with the alleged hate speeches by the three BJP leaders -- Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Kapil Mishra. Thakur and Verma had made provocative remarks during the Delhi Assembly poll campaign. "Why are you not showing alacrity when it comes to registration of FIR in these cases?... We want peace to prevail. We do not want the city to witness another 1984 riots. This city has seen enough violence and anguish. Let it not repeat 1984," the bench said. The anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 left nearly 3,000 people dead. The court noted in its order that Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan has assured he will sit with the police commissioner today itself and view all video clips and take a conscious decision as desired on the issue of lodging of FIRs and convey it to the court on Thursday. The court, however, made it clear it was not confining the proceedings to the video clips of the three BJP leaders and that it will look into other clips as well. It was hearing a plea seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the communal violence related to the CAA. "We are not angry. We are anguished. A Constitutional Court's anguish is very serious and everyone should take it seriously," Justice Muralidhar said. The court also issued notices to the parties concerned on the plea filed by the Centre seeking to be impleaded in the case. The matter will be heard further on Thursday. During the hearing, Justice Muralidhar said he was "really amazed at the state of affairs of the Delhi Police". He made this remark while responding to the replies by Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Rajesh Deo to its query if he had seen the video clip of the three BJP leaders making alleged hate speeches. Deo said he has watched the video of Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma, but not of Mishra. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was arguing for Delhi Police, maintained he does not watch television and has not seen those clips. The judges then asked the court staff to play Mishra's video clip in the courtroom. When the gathering in the jam-packed courtroom started hooting, the bench asked them to maintain decorum or else it will hold an in-camera proceedings. The video clip of speeches of Thakur and Verma were also played. Another bench comprising Justices Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani took a swipe at the ministerial class, saying the highest constitutional functionaries who move around with Z-security should reach out to the affected people to give them confidence that law is functioning. Earlier in a midnight hearing, it directed police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence. The hearing held at the residence of Justice Muralidhar after receiving a call from an advocate explaining the dire circumstances under which the victims were unable to be removed from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital. The hearing that began at 12.30 am went on for 70 minutes. The judges directed the Delhi Police to ensure safe passage of the injured victims by deploying all resources at its command and on the strength of this order as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment if not at the Guru Teg Bahadur(GTB) Hospital then at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) or Maulana Azad or any other hospital. During the hearing, the bench spoke over phone to a doctor identified as only Anwar of the Al-hind Hospital in New Mustafabad who told the court there were two bodies and 22 injured persons there and he had been trying to seek police assistance since 4 pm on Tuesday without success. The court then directed the senior officials to reach the hospital forthwith, following which they started the process of evacuating the injured to the nearest hospitals. During the resumed hearing in the day, it applauded the police for prompt action in evacuating the injured. "While order was being dictated mid-night, police was implementing it right there and rescuing injured persons," the court said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] Xerox Names Tali Rosman as Vice President, 3D Business Xerox announced today the hiring of Tali Rosman as vice president of Xerox's 3D Business. In this role, she reports to Naresh Shanker, chief technology officer of Xerox. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226006004/en/ Tali Rosman, Vice President of 3D Business, Xerox (Photo: Business Wire) "3D is the most advanced of our five new innovation pillars in terms of bringing systems to market and generating revenue," said Shanker. "This requires a leader who thinks differently and can drive strategy as we move toward a commercial release of our liquid metal printer later this year. Given Tali's extensive knowledge of the 3D industry, I am confident she is the right person to advance our program in 2020 and beyond." Rosman joins Xerox most recently from NICE, where she was vice president and head of business operations for the Americas. Prior to NICE, she was head of product trategy and operations for Stratasys (News - Alert), a global leader in 3D printing technology. In her role, she was responsible for the annual planning process of the product group and developed dedicated sales channels for specific customer segments. "Being part of the team transforming and revitalizing this marquee brand is a unique opportunity," said Rosman. "I'm excited to see how Xerox becomes the leader in the 3D printing industry, helping 3D printing cross the chasm from prototyping to manufacturing." About Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) makes every day work better. We are a workplace technology company building and integrating software and hardware for enterprises large and small. As customers seek to manage information across digital and physical platforms, Xerox delivers a seamless, secure and sustainable experience. Whether inventing the copier, Ethernet, the laser printer or more, Xerox has long defined the modern work experience. Learn how that innovation continues at xerox.com. Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit https://www.news.xerox.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit http://twitter.com/xerox, http://www.facebook.com/XeroxCorp, https://www.instagram.com/xerox/, http://www.linkedin.com/company/xerox, http://www.youtube.com/XeroxCorp. Xerox is a trademark of Xerox Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226006004/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Kem Sokha travels by car to his trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in Phnom Penh, Jan. 15, 2020. The treason trial for Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha resumed Wednesday after being suspended since last week after the defense protested not being allowed to respond to new evidence presented by the prosecution without their prior knowledge. In Phnom Penhs Municipal Court, the debate over the new evidence resumed Wednesday and lasted for about one hour, before the court asked the two sides to stop and focus on events starting in 2012, when the Cambodian National Rescue Party was established, up until Sept. 3, 2017, the day Kem Sokha was arrested. Prosecutor Vong Bunvisoth asked the defendant to explain the reasons he established the CNRP and to discuss what went down at a meeting between Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy in the Philippines, when the pair announced the mergers of their respective parties to form the CNRP, according to his defense team. Kem Sokha told the court that the merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and his Human Rights Party was to prepare for the approaching national election, the lawyers said. The prosecutor asked him how the CNRP was funded, to which Kem Sokha replied there was no funding from non-Cambodians. He added that foreign actors did not help with or advise on the merger of the two parties. Following the proceedings on Wednesday, defense lawyer Chan Chen told reporters that he requested that the judge allow questioning of the defendant five days per week because answering them all would take considerable time, but the judge denied the request. There are some who believe that the defense is simply buying time. So to prove that we dont want to buy time, we requested that the court meet five days per week from 8 to 11 a.m. then 2 to 5 p.m., the lawyer said. We are sad that our requests were denied, Chan Chen added. Chan Chen told RFAs Khmer Service that the trial was purely political and should be resolved by politicians. This is a political conflict, said the defense lawyer. We want to see politicians talk and have their moment of national reconciliation, so that they country can focus on development for the sake of the country, he said. In a speech on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the trial of Kem Sokha would proceed despite the fact that Cambodia will lose its tariff-free status in the EUs Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme for developing countries. The EU earlier this month suspended tariff-free access for one-fifth of Cambodias exports over Phnom Penhs rollbacks on democracy and human rights, symbolized by the treatment of Kem Sokha. Today, I want to give you the truth. Cambodia will not walk backward from this traitors trial. You must receive your punishment, we cant simply forgive you, said Hun Sen. The strongman, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, had previously warned that sanctions from the EU would kill the possibility of any opposition party in Cambodia. Seoung Sen Karona, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), told RFA that the judges and government lawyers asked questions they had already asked, and wasted time. He said the court should consider the request by the defense, adding that the prosecutions repeating questions will only serve to cause the trial to last longer than it needs to. We dont want to see them asking the same questions again and again. It will delay the trial, Seoung Sen Karona said. We would like the trial procedure to be amended so it will be over with faster, he said. The trial will resume on Thursday. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. The impeachment drama is now over, but one of its key foreign policy subplots is not going away. Underlying the competing claims about how damaging President Donald Trumps actions toward Ukraine really were was a deeper debate about how much that country truly matters to the U.S. The answer is that Ukraine does matter, because it is at the center of several core issues of geopolitical competition. But the sound bites to which the foreign policy community sometimes resorts in explaining the countrys importance dont do justice to the nuance of the issues and they may actually undermine the case for supporting Ukraine. The debate over Ukraine reflects the countrys awkward geopolitical position. Today, it is on the front lines of the confrontation between Russia and the West: It is the place where Moscows military aggression has been most blatant. Yet Ukraine is not a U.S. treaty ally or a member of the European Union; it sits on the periphery of the transatlantic and European communities. Over the past 30 years, Ukraine has had some governments that aligned closely with Moscow and others that sought to break free of Russias grip, a dynamic resulting from long-standing linguistic and political divisions. The American policy debate has mirrored these ambiguities. Some prominent observers have suggested that Ukraine belongs within Russias sphere of influence, while others have argued for pulling it closer to the West. These divisions resurfaced during the impeachment saga. Trump clearly didnt care much about Ukraine; otherwise, he wouldnt have played personal politics with the military assistance Kyiv badly needed. Yet the presidents opponents in Congress, as well as several officials within his administration, argued that the U.S. indeed has a vital interest in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. National Security Council official Tim Morrison put it starkly, saying that the United States aids Ukraine and her people so they can fight Russia over there and we dont have to fight Russia here. House Democrat Jason Crow used nearly the same formulation: We help our partner fight Russia over there, so we dont have to fight Russia here. These assertions, in turn, caused eye-rolling among advocates of geopolitical restraint, who alleged that the foreign policy community had fallen into an intellectually sloppy habit of arguing that any American retrenchment would result in prompt and utter catastrophe. These critics are right in one sense: No one really believes that, if Washington didnt provide Ukraine with military assistance, the consequence would be a Russian invasion of the United States. But the real reason this argument is so problematic is that it undermines the better arguments for U.S. support to Ukraine a threefold case that is strong on the merits, if somewhat more nuanced than the fight them there so we dont have to fight them here scenario. First, Ukraine matters because the U.S. should prefer to keep its competitions with rival powers as close to their borders and as far from America and its key allies as possible. If the U.S. and Russia must compete over the future of Europe, it is better that they do so principally in Ukraine, as opposed to Poland or Germany. Helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty is a way of keeping Russia preoccupied in its own backyard. During the Cold War, one reason the Soviet Union sought a foothold in Latin America was to distract the U.S. and divert American energies from other theaters. The inverse logic applies to U.S.-Russia relations today. Second, Ukraines importance relates to a long-standing premise of American foreign policy: that Washington should confront instability and aggression early, before it metastasizes like an aggressive cancer. The logic is that the relative stability the world has enjoyed since World War II is more fragile than it looks, and it will hold only so long as bad actors believe that bad actions will be punished. If the U.S. sends, through its acquiescence, the message that Russia will not pay a heavy price for aggression and territorial aggrandizement in Ukraine, it will simply encourage similar behavior by the Russians or other international predators elsewhere. No, this will probably not lead to a Russian military attack on the U.S. But it could lead to a gradual erosion of the congenial international environment America has worked so hard to build. This calculus was a major reason the U.S. decided to confront Saddam Hussein in 1990, after he invaded Kuwait. Doing otherwise, National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft warned, would set a terrible precedent one that would only accelerate violent centrifugal tendencies in this emerging post Cold War era. At the dawn of another new geopolitical era, the same basic principle applies in Ukraine. Third, Ukraine matters because of its place in the intensifying struggle between democratic and authoritarian forms of rule. Russian President Vladimir Putins coercion of Ukraine is not simply a matter of military aggression. It has also involved ongoing efforts, dating back to the early 2000s, to prevent Ukraine from joining the ranks of the worlds truly democratic governments, by fostering corruption and supporting illiberal leaders. Since 2013, Putin has used Ukraine as a laboratory for many of the influence operations and active measures Russia has employed against the West. Given Ukraines strategic importance, the fact that illiberalism is now roiling a number of European countries, and the fact that the success of democracy in Ukraine will surely undermine the legitimacy of Putins autocracy in Russia, the U.S. has a real interest in the fate of political reform in Kyiv. That is why measures to promote good governance and combat corruption in Ukraine are just as important as the military aid America has provided and why Trumps casual perversion of Ukraines anti-corruption efforts are indeed so damaging. Parsing the debate about Ukraines significance may seem like an academic exercise. But it goes to the heart of the challenge that supporters of an assertive U.S. foreign policy now face. The paradox of the current moment is that skepticism about Americas global role has been rising, just as threats to the U.S.-led international order are also increasing. American policy makers must relearn how to justify policies promoting free trade, supporting U.S. allies, shaping the balance of power in faraway regions whose logic no longer seems as self-evident as it might once have been. Thats a real political challenge, as well as an intellectual one, and resorting to arguments that lend themselves to easy ridicule wont make that challenge any easier. There are plenty of good reasons for the U.S. to care about what happens in Ukraine. Emphasizing the implausible ones only weakens the case. Read the original text at Bloomberg. Foreign investment inflow in two months declines by 25 per cent on-year. Illustration image According to statistics published by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first two months of this year, foreign investors poured $5 billion into 500 newly-registered projects, three-quarters of which came from the Bac Lieu LNG-to-power project. In addition, $638.1 million of capital was added to 151 existing projects, down 25.4 per cent on-year. Furthermore, there were 1,583 M&A deals with a total capital of $827.3 million, up 52.4 per cent on-year. Almost all FDI capital ($3.89 billion) was poured into the power manufacturing and distribution sector, making up 60.2 per cent of the total. The runner up was manufacturing and processing with $1.76 billion, making up 27.3 per cent. Notably, foreign investors poured capital into 48 cities and provinces across the country. Bac Lieu became the locality receiving the largest FDI inflow thanks to the Bac Lieu LNG project. Among the 23 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Singapore is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with a total $4.12 billion, making up 63.7 per cent of the total capital inflows. The runners-up are mainland China and South Korea. In December 2019, the Government Office issued Letter No./TTg-CN, granting the prime ministers approval to include the Bac Lieu LNG-to-power project in the revised National Power Development Plan for the 2011-2020 period with vision to 2030. The entire 3,200MW capacity of the project was added to the planning. On January 21, 2020, Bac Lieu Peoples Committee granted the licence approving the project's investment planning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent popular sandwich chain Jimmy John's a warning letter after investigating and finding several E. coli and salmonella outbreaks started with vegetables served at their restaurants. In the letter, officials said the chain has both received and sold "adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers" for years. The company also "has not demonstrated implementation of long-term sustainable corrections to its supply chain to assure the safety of ingredients used in its products," the FDA said in the letter. "Jimmy John's restaurants have been implicated in multiple outbreaks that have spanned the past seven years and impacted consumers in no fewer than 17 states," said FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas in a news release that was issued on Tuesday. The president of Jimmy John's, James North, confirmed to TODAY the company has now removed sprouts from all of its locations. Jimmy John's has more than 2,800 locations in 43 states. "Food safety is our top priority ... This removal (of sprouts) was out of an abundance of caution and was not initiated by any known, immediate threat," North said in a statement emailed to TODAY. This is not the first time the sandwich chain has made headlines over cleanliness concerns. The company was in the news last year after a delivery driver appeared to put his mouth on a customer's drink before handing it over in Chicago. The FDA said salmonella outbreaks connected to vegetables from the chain have been reported in states including Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin; E. coli outbreaks connected to the restaurant have cropped up in California, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Utah, Washington, Colorado and other states. Both contaminants can lead to serious issues in adults and children. Bacteria E. coli can often cause diarrhea, but urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia can also result, according to the CDC. Salmonella can lead to diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, and sometimes hospitalization, the CDC said on its website. [February 26, 2020] IP Infusion to Collaborate with KDDI Corporation at New TIP Community Lab in Tokyo IP Infusion, a leading provider of intelligent network software for telecom and data communications services, announced it will be participating in KDDI (News - Alert) Corporation's Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Community Lab which will be based in Tokyo. The Tokyo lab joins other labs around the world to create a test center to test related software and hardware on white boxes, and to share knowledge with other industry members. As its charter, TIP aims to collaborate on building new technologies, examining new business approaches, and spurring investment in the telecom space. By applying the telecom trends, such as open networking and disaggregation, TIP sets a goal to bring innovations to software, hardware and operations based on white box solutions. TIP Community Labs are physical spaces that enable collaboration between member companies in a TIP project group to develop telecom infrastructure solutions. The TIP Community Labs are dedicated to promoting TIP projects by TIP project teams. The KDDI-sponsored TIP Community Lab joins oter Community Lab locations in Berlin, Germany; Menlo Park, California, USA; Northridge, California, USA; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Louisville, Colorado, USA; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sao Paolo, Brazil; Manesar, India; London, UK; Adastral Park, Ipswich, UK; Turin, Italy and Madrid, Spain. At the new TIP community lab, TIP member companies will test disaggregated NOS (network operating system) solutions on various hardware designs including DCSG (Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway (News - Alert)) technologies. "We believe that the Community Labs, such as this new one in Tokyo, will make it easier to test and trial White Box solutions, which will help to promote the use of White Box across the industry on a worldwide basis," said Atsushi Ogata, CEO and president of IP Infusion (News - Alert). "With the growing adoption of disaggregated networks, it is vital for the industry to develop a common, standardized platform that will lead to faster deployments, more telecom services and more effective support for all vendors." About IP Infusion IP Infusion, the leader in disaggregated networking solutions, delivers enterprise and carrier-grade software solutions allowing network operators to reduce network costs, increase flexibility, and to deploy new features and services quickly. IP Infusion is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of ACCESS CO., LTD. Additional information can be found at http://www.ipinfusion.com IP Infusion, ZebOS, and OcNOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of IP Infusion. ACCESS is registered trademarks or trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in the United States, Japan and/or other countries. Northforge Innovations is a registered trademark of Northforge Innovations, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005250/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A U.S. airstrike in Somalia killed the terrorist leader involved in a January attack that claimed the life of an Alabama-based soldier. U.S. Africa Command said in a statement the Feb. 22 precision airstrikes near Saakow, Somalia killed the unnamed leader and his wife Both were known members of al-Shabaab, a terrorist group. The man is suspected of planning and directing terrorist operations that included the Jan. 5 attack at Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya that claimed the life of Spc. Henry Mitch Mayfield Jr., 23, and two military contractors. A resident of Illinois, Mayfield was stationed at Fort Rucker in Alabama where he was a member of the 1st Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment, 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group. Since January 5, U.S. Africa Command and our partners have pursued those responsible for the attack on U.S. and Kenyan forces at Manda Bay, said U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command. This strike demonstrates that we will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for Manda Bay and those wishing to do harm to Americans and our African partners. Mayfield was buried in Chicago in January. They became even more convoluted this cycle, when the Democratic National Committee forced states sticking with the process to make it more accessible. At the same time, new transparency requirements aimed at restoring confidence in the nominating contest following allegations that party officials had put their thumbs on the scale for Hillary Clinton in 2016 mandated the release of two raw vote totals in addition to the final delegate allocation. Royal Jordanian (RJ) has suspended its Amman-Rome flights, starting from today (February 26) until further notice. At this stage, RJ is also consolidating several flights from Amman to its stations in the Far East, bringing the average of cancellations of weekly Asian operations to up to 50 per cent. RJ president/CEO Stefan Pichler stressed that these decisions are aimed at the safety of travellers, which RJ places at the top of its priorities, and in light of the increasing numbers of infections with Coronavirus in Italy and some Asian countries. He added that RJ is taking all possible measures to help Jordan stay virus free. Pichler said that Royal Jordanian applies in this regard all the instructions issued by the Jordanian authorities and by international organisations related to the procedures of transportation from some countries to the kingdom. He pointed out that the company is closely monitoring the developments related to the virus at the stations served by its planes, stressing the readiness of the airline to implement further measures during the coming period if necessary. RJ is currently taking precautionary procedures to protect crew members, front-line staff and travellers, to ensure their safety, the airline said in a statement. - TradeArabia News Service WASHINGTON President Donald Trump assured the public Wednesday night that the risk of novel coronavirus infection remains "very low" for most Americans at the moment, but his health officials said they do expect more cases in the U.S. and the virus to continue into the next year. Its going to be very well under control," Trump said at a White House press conference. "It may get bigger, it may get a little bigger, it may not get bigger at all. Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the administration's efforts to fight the disease, now also known as COVID-19. He said the administration will do whatever is necessary to keep Americans healthy and outlined the steps his team has already taken to contain the outbreak including restricting travel and keeping infected individuals isolated until they're well. Trump also waded into a congressional dispute over how much funding to direct toward coronavirus response. Democratic members of Congress have accused the Trump administration of acting too slowly and requesting inadequate funding to prepare for the outbreak. This is the first time I have ever been told we should take more," Trump said. Were going to spend whatever is appropriate... They can do whatever they want. Were requesting $2.5 [billion]. Some Republicans want us to get $4 [billion]. Some Democrats want us to get $8.5 [billion]. Trump administration health officials briefed federal lawmakers on the global health epidemic Tuesday and Wednesday, and faced tough questioning about their plans to address it. Globally, the total number of new COVID-19 cases has climbed above 80,000 and nearly 3,000 people, mostly in China, have died. The flu-like virus has now infected individuals in the U.S., Asia, Europe, Middle East and Latin America. The World Health Organization says more cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed outside China than inside that nation, where the virus first exploded. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said 70 individuals in the U.S. have tested positive with COVID-19, some of whom returned to the U.S. from travel in Asia. No one has tested positive in New York. On Monday, the U.S. health department requested $1.25 billion in emergency COVID-19 funding from Congress and revealed plans to shift money from other health programs to coronavirus response a total of $2.5 billion in spending. The money is intended to pay for testing and screening of the virus, masks, the development of a vaccine and other public health responses. Democrats and Republicans are starting negotiations over how much money to give the agency for the COVID-19 response, with lawmakers of both parties saying they're willing to allocate much more than Azar requested. Republicans in Congress said Wednesday they're confident the administration will seek more funding if they need it, but urged the administration not to take funds from other health programs like Ebola epidemic efforts. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed a Senate proposal on Wednesday for $8.5 billion for fighting the virus, including $2 billion to reimburse state and local spending on the virus. "Americans need to know that their government is prepared to handle the situation before coronavirus spreads to our communities," Schumer said Wednesday. Trump said Schumer was trying to "get a political advantage with his proposal. He said, "We should all be working together. House Democrats are also working on their own proposal. Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, said House Democrats did not have a suggested number, but are in fruitful negotiations. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who leads the Senate budget subcommittee for health, said Tuesday that lawmakers have time to consider what is the "right number" of money to put toward the response because the administration can immediately tap about $250 million in infectious disease money already authorized. But speaking to a House budget subcommittee Wednesday, Azar said his administration has already spent or obligated about $105 million of that money, prompting concerns among some lawmakers that it will not be enough. In the hearing, both Republicans and Democrats blasted Azar for giving lawmakers a two-page document requesting emergency funding with little detail about how it would be spent. "I dont think we should sacrifice short term here, said U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the lead Republican on the subcommittee, urging Azar to consider upping the request. "I just dont think we should be penny-wise and pound foolish on that. Cole later said he was confident that Azar will request more funding if he needs it. He warned the administration not to divert money from funds earmarked for Ebola because "Ebola if it ever got lose, believe me, we wouldn't be talking about a 2 percent lethality rate." After just returning from India, Trump suggested on Twitter Wednesday morning that the media is doing "everything possible to make the caronavirus [sic] look as bad as possible including panicking markets." Azar faced questioning on coronavirus by two House committees Wednesday and the Senate on Tuesday. He said Wednesday the current health risk to Americans is "very low." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. From a public health perspective, we are technically in a state of containment, Azar said. That could change rapidly. ... We fully expect we will seek more cases in the United States. Ann Schuchat, deputy principal director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday schools and communities need to "dust off" their pandemic preparedness plans. Our aggressive containment responsibility in the United States has been working," she said. We do expect more cases and its a good time to prepare. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday a vaccine for the new coronavirus will not be ready for a year to a year and a half. Health experts believe the virus will go beyond a season and come back next year," he said. Trump said "I dont think it is inevitable." The range of comments from Trump, Azar, the CDC and other Trump officials this week drew criticism from Democrats, who questioned their handling of the issue. Democrats also slammed Trump for proposed budget cuts to the CDC and other health programs, including past decisions to break apart a pandemic "chain of command" for handling a major health crisis. Schumer declared the administration to be in "total disarray" on Tuesday. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a U.S. soldier was announced Tuesday. The service member was stationed in South Korea. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, asked the head of the Department of Defense about the case and how the military is preparing to respond to the epidemic. He assured her they have numerous plans in place and have regular briefings on the issue. Many Democrats have also expressed concern that states and local municipalities will not be adequately reimbursed for money spent to screen individuals for COVID-19, including purchasing test kits and masks. Well take care of states," Trump assured Wednesday night. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday he will give the New York State Department of Health $40 million to hire additional staff, procure equipment and any other resources necessary to respond the coronavirus. He also called on the U.S. government to permit New York's Wadsworth Center and the New York City Public Health Lab to test for the virus to allow most testing and faster results. The state has independently worked to develop and validate a test using the CDC protocol, Cuomo said. With approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Wadsworth could immediately begin testing to support New York and other Northeast states. The CDC said Tuesday that it was working with public health labs in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle to conduct community-based tests of people with flu symptoms for the coronavirus. "This is just the starting point and we plan to expand to more sites in the coming weeks until we have national surveillance," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control. Allentown firefighters forced through a locked bedroom door and two of them carried a man in his late 70s to safety as a fire burned Tuesday night to the rear of the second floor of a row home at 219 N. St. Cloud St. in the city, authorities say. The man, who owns the home, was in critical condition as of late Tuesday night at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, city fire department Capt. John Christopher said. The call came in at 7:53 p.m. and others in the home told firefighters that the man was napping in a second floor bedroom, Christopher said. Smoke was coming from the rear of that level when the first firefighters arrived, Christopher added. The fire was quickly extinguished and was declared under control at 8:10 p.m., Christopher said. The fire did not extend into any other homes, he said. A man in his late 70s was recused Feb. 25, 2020, from a house fire at 219 N. St. Cloud St. in Allentown, authorities say.Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor Three other residents were assisted by the American Red Cross because even though fire damage was limited, utilities were disconnected as part of the firefighting effort, Christopher said. An investigation continues into the cause of the fire, the captain said. There is no early indication that the origin of the fire is suspicious, he said. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. If you see typos or other errors in this post, please email him. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A significant percentage of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) investing in the Indian market is registered in Mauritius. Following the FATF notice, some fund managers knocked on Sebis door overnight, raising concerns over validity of FPI registration done through the tax haven. Mumbai: Market regulator Sebi on Tuesday said foreign investors from Mauritius will continue to be eligible for FPI registration with increased monitoring as per international norms. The regulator issued clarification after the tax haven was put on the grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) an inter-governmental policy making body that sets anti-money laundering standards. A significant percentage of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) investing in the Indian market is registered in Mauritius. The island nation is the second largest source after the US from which foreign portfolio investments come into the country. As per January NSDL data, assets under custody of US FPIs are worth Rs 11,62,579 crore and those from Mauritius stood at Rs 4,36,745 crore. Following the FATF notice, some fund managers knocked on Sebis door overnight, raising concerns over validity of FPI registration done through the tax haven. The regulator on Tuesday said, Foreign investors from Mauritius will continue to be eligible for FPI registration with increased monitoring as per FATF norms. It is noted from FATF website that when a jurisdiction is placed under increased monitoring, it construes that the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring, Sebi said. In a detailed statement, Sebi said that FATF does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence to be applied to these jurisdictions, but encourages its members to take into account this information in their risk analysis. Referring to the above, Sebi said that intermediaries should take note of it. FATF identifies jurisdictions that have significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation. Jurisdictions under the grey list face increased monitoring. Currently, there are 18 jurisdictions identified as having strategic deficiencies, including Mauritius and Pakistan, as per the FATF. For several years, there have been apprehensions about Mauritius being a money laundering route for FPIs due to its limited regulatory oversight. But, the Indian Ocean island nation has been taking several steps in recent years to address the concerns. Equity benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 118.15 points higher at 40,481.38, and the broader NSE Nifty was up 32.70 points at 11,862.10. Fans are sending well-wishes to NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, who suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries in a fiery crash at the Daytona 500. Here's what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) 1. White House Former national security adviser John Bolton is still at odds with the White House over his forthcoming book, which nearly derailed President Trump's impeachment trial with its revelations about the Ukraine controversy. While speaking at Duke University, Bolton said he hopes the book isn't suppressed by the White House. "I say things in the manuscript about what he (Trump) said to me," Bolton added. "I hope they become public someday." The administration, however, says it's concerned about the publication of classified information that it says is protected by executive privilege. The book is due out next month. Meanwhile, President Trump heads to the West Coast this week for a series of political and official events that also provide a public distraction from the upcoming Democratic caucuses in Nevada. 2. Coronavirus Countries are still rushing to evacuate their citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japanese waters, but the challenge of getting passengers off the stricken ship without risking further contamination looms large over the operation. Meanwhile, in another attempt to keep the rapidly spreading virus at bay, the Trump administration has denied at least 140 travelers entry to the United States at airports and land ports. Those restrictions were put into place at the start of this month and include the temporary denial of entry to foreign nationals who've recently visited China. In Wuhan, where this strain of coronavirus originated, the virus has claimed the life of the director of the Wuchang hospital. China says it will designate medical workers who died while working to combat the virus as "martyrs." 3. Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy amid hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits, thousands of alleged abuse victims and dwindling membership numbers. As a result of the filing, all civil litigation against the organization is suspended, leaving those who are suing the group in limbo. Attorneys for the alleged victims expressed regret that the filing would prevent their clients from holding the BSA accountable in court. Rumors of bankruptcy have been swirling since December 2018. Since then, the BSA has taken steps to try to address the large number of accusations leveled by former scouts. However, recent extensions to some states' statutes of limitations on sex crimes meant the organization was facing a barrage of new lawsuits. 4. India India's Supreme Court made a landmark ruling for equal rights in the armed forces, ordering the government to grant permanent commission and command positions to women officers on par with men. That means all women will now be eligible for the same promotions, ranks, benefits and pensions as their male counterparts. Female officers in the Indian Army have long campaigned for this change because it will allow them to achieve higher ranks with better salaries and leadership potential. The government had told the court that female officers were not physically and physiologically suited to hold such positions. The court rejected that line of reasoning, saying it was based on gender stereotypes. 5. Cancer The world could see a 60% increase in the number of cancer cases over the next few decades, according to the World Health Organization. And the WHO predicts the increase in deaths and the burden of cancer treatments will be higher in poorer countries. One reason for the inequality is the number of people exposed to cancer risk factors. For example, low-income countries tend to have higher rates of cancers related to infection, such as cervical cancer from HPV, than high-income countries. Poorer countries also tend to have higher rates of smoking and other lifestyle choices that put people at risk. However, the WHO says millions of lives could be saved if governments make even minimal investments in cancer resources. BREAKFAST BROWSE Pier 1 has filed for bankruptcy Light a bergamot-scented candle in the retailer's honor. Eminem's 'Rap God' passed 1 billion YouTube views What's old is new (and highly viewed) again. A Dallas building is still standing (kinda) after a failed implosion Locals are calling it the "Leaning Tower of Dallas" -- really! Someone saved a 6-year-old girl from a mountain lion attack by punching the animal in the face There are normal heroes, and then there are "punch a giant cat and save a child" heroes. Justin Bieber shaved his mustache, much to the delight of his wife Unfortunately, groomed husbands of the world, you're now on notice. THIS JUST IN ... Dems debate and orate Michael Bloomberg has qualified for tomorrow's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. It will be the first time the former New York mayor will be on stage with his fellow 2020 candidates. CNN also is hosting five town halls in Nevada, starting tonight. TODAY'S QUOTE "Given recent national events, it is all the more important to learn from the mistakes of the past and to ensure that such an assault on freedom will never again happen to any community in the United States." The text of a California resolution that would formally apologize for the state's role in interning Japanese Americans during World War II. The California State Assembly is expected to pass the resolution this week. TODAY'S NUMBER $10 billion That's how much Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is pledging to support scientists, activists and organizations working to mitigate the impact of climate change. TODAY'S WEATHER AND FINALLY Stay sharp! Would you try knife therapy? This Taiwanese massage method is supposedly great for the body, but as far as relaxation goes ... we're not so sure. (Click here to view.) IPF Directorate Change International Personal Finance plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Stuart Sinclair and Richard Holmes to its Board as independent non-executive directors with effect from 16 March 2020. Stuart will join the Remuneration and Nomination committees and Richard will join the Audit and Risk Committee. The Company also announces that Dan OConnor has informed the Board that he intends to retire as Chairman of the Company at the close of its Annual General Meeting on 30 April 2020. Subject to his election as a director at the AGM, Stuart will succeed Dan as Chairman. Stuart is an experienced non-executive director, committee chair and senior independent director who brings a background in consumer financial services with RBS, GE Capital and Provident Financial. He currently sits on the boards of Lloyds Banking Group, where he chairs the Remuneration Committee, and, as Senior Independent Director, of QBE Europe, the European subsidiary of the major Australian insurance group. He was also a council member of The Royal Institute for International Affairs for six years. Richard is a qualified accountant and former senior executive with over 40 years of broad international financial services experience, including 20 years as CEO and board member in private banking, wholesale banking, capital markets, trading, operations, strategy and finance. In his final executive role, he was CEO, Europe for Standard Chartered Bank plc. Having retired from executive roles in October 2016 he currently sits on the board of Ulster Bank where he is a member of the audit, risk and sustainability committees. Commenting, Chairman Dan OConnor said: We are delighted to be welcoming both Stuart and Richard as non-executive directors. Their skills, talent and wealth of experience will be invaluable to the Company in pursuing its strategy for growth and are ideally qualified to lead the Company through the next stage of its development. Aside from Stuarts current positions as non-executive director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Lloyds Banking Group plc and Senior Independent Director of QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited, he was previously a director of Provident Financial Group plc. There is no other information to be disclosed under Listing Rule 9.6.13. Enquiries: James Ormrod (Company Secretary) + 44 (0) 113 285 6824 Legal Entity Identifier: 213800II1O44IRKUZB59 ABC News(NEW YORK) -- As a winter storm moves across the country, more than 2 feet of snow fell in western South Dakota, and more than a foot in central Kansas. Just a few inches so far have accumulated in Detroit and up to 1 inch fell in Chicago, but more is on the way as the storm moves into the Northeast. From Missouri to Maine, 13 states are on alert for heavy snow Wednesday. Wednesday morning, the center of the winter storm is moving through the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes with snow on the western and northern side from the Plains to New England. The storm system will move into the Northeast Wednesday evening with heavy rain moving up the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston by Thursday morning. On the cold side of this storm, snow will continue all day Wednesday in Michigan, including Detroit, and also in parts of Indiana and Ohio. There could even be a few snowflakes mixed in with rain as far south as Tennessee and also in North Carolina. By Thursday morning, the storm slowly moves through the Northeast, bringing very heavy rain to eastern New England with snow further inland from western New York into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Also, gusty winds are forecast behind the storm from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia and New York City Thursday. Those cities could see some delays at the major hubs due to gusty winds. Snowfall totals will be the greatest from Michigan to western New York and into northern New England, where 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible. In western New York, behind the storm, as the cold wind moves over the unfrozen Great Lakes, lake effect snow could produce additional 1 to 2 feet of snow. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. (Newser) At least 20 people in New Delhi, including one police officer, have been killed in three days of clashes between Hindus and Muslims coinciding with President Trump's visit to India. Authorities say nearly 200 people have been injured and the death toll is expected to rise as hospitals continue to take in the wounded, the AP reports. In the worst intercommunal riots in the Indian capital in decades, violence erupted between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam. Relatives of Muslim victims accused police of standing by as the Hindu mobs torched buildings and beat people. story continues below On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted a lavish reception for Trump, broke his silence on the clashes, tweeting: "I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times." New Delhi's top elected official, Chief Minister Arjind Kerjiwal, called for Modi's home minister, Amit Shah, to send the army to areas affected by the riots. Sonia Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, India's main opposition group, called for Shah to resign. She accused Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of creating an environment of hatred and its leaders of inciting violence with provocative speeches that sought to paint protesters against the citizenship law as anti-nationalist, Pakistan-funded Muslims. (Read more India stories.) Prime Minister Hun Sen asked Chinese producers on Wednesday to air freight critical raw materials, as garment manufacturers in Cambodia prepare to face raw material shortages on account of the coronavirus outbreak. Hun Sen, who was speaking in Poipet at a road inauguration, said it would be costlier to use air freight but that if it prevented work suspensions at factories, it would benefit workers. We will spend more on transportation but we can have jobs and income for workers and fulfill production for factories to maintain profits and avoid closure, he said, addressing Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian, who also attended the event. The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia has said 60 percent of raw materials were sourced from China. If the stoppage in raw material deliveries continued, factories would have to cease production starting mid-March. While it is unclear if production of raw materials has resumed in China, GMAC spokesperson Kaing Monika said some Chinese factories had resumed production and that small consignments could be transported by airplane, though larger orders would need to be shipped. Now some factories in China, though not 100 percent of them, have started their production. The government has sought special treatment from our Chinese friends to put Cambodia as top priority in term of supplies, he said. The request for air freight comes days after Hun Sen announced measures to mitigate potential impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak and from the partial suspension of the Everything But Arms trade privileges to the European Union. This included tax breaks for garment factories, assurances that garment workers will receive 60 percent of their basic wage for up to six months, if they were laid off and vocational training for workers losing their jobs. Tim Cook Getty The ongoing coronavirus outbreak was not a major talking point during Apple's annual shareholder meeting, despite the fact that it prompted the company to revise its March quarter revenue guidance earlier this month. Apple CEO Tim Cook briefly touched on the outbreak, calling it a "fairly dynamic situation" that has posed "a challenge" for the tech giant. Although the coronavirus wasn't a major talking point during the meeting, some advocates of shareholder proposals did bring it up in their talking points. The ongoing spread of the virus has made it difficult make predictions about Apple's performance and the status of its future products. For example, the company did not provide a new estimate when it revised its revenue guidance for the March quarter. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The global coronavirus outbreak has become the biggest near-term threat to Apple's business, disrupting production of its most important product, the iPhone, and causing the company to temporarily shutter half of its retail stores in China. But Apple glossed over the topic during its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, as CEO Tim Cook largely ignored the coronavirus during his talk, leaving some attendees at the event surprised and perplexed. Speaking just over a week after Apple announced it would miss its sales targets for the quarter because of the outbreak, Cook briefly touched on the outbreak, calling it "a fairly dynamic situation" and saying that it has caused "a challenge" for the firm. "First priority is the health and safety of our employees and our partners," Cook said during the meeting. "That's where our energies are." Cook said he would try to answer any questions shareholders had during the Q&A portion of the meeting. But of the nine questions that Cook answered, four of them submitted in advance and handpicked by Cook, the topic never came up again. Story continues "I figured there would be prepared statements," said Ajit Rao, an Apple shareholder from Denver who travelled to Apple's Cupertino headquarters for the meeting. "There was a little of that, but there was no detail." The coronavirus outbreak caused global stocks to plummet earlier this week, and on Tuesday US health officials warned the the disease's spread to the US was "inevitable." An Apple representative declined to comment on why none of the pre-submitted questions Cook chose to answer at the meeting pertained to the coronavirus topic. Questions about the effect on upcoming iPhone models In a rare move, Apple revised its quarterly revenue guidance earlier this month citing supply constraints and weakened demand caused by the outbreak. The revision came after the company temporarily closed its stores, corporate offices, and contact centers in China. Apple corporate offices and contact centers have since reopened, and the company has resumed business at more than half of its retail stores in China, as Bloomberg reported. But Apple said its iPhone manufacturing sites are ramping up more slowly than expected, which is part of the reason it said it does not expect to meet its estimated revenue of between $63 billion and $67 billion for the March quarter. The coronavirus wasn't a focal point during the meeting, but some advocates of shareholder proposals did mentioned it in their remarks. One advocate speaking on behalf of a proposal for Apple be more transparent with investors about its policies on freedom of expression, cited the coronavirus in her statements, for example. She said that the repression of free speech in China could restrict the ability of people to communicate about the outbreak. Not all shareholders said that they were disappointed by Apple's lack of an update on the coronavirus. Louise Freerks, a resident of Cupertino who has been an Apple shareholder since 1995, said the news is already saturated with information. "How much more can you say," she said. The coronavirus has made it difficult to make predictions about Apple's performance and its future products. The company did not issue a new estimate for its March quarter revenue, but only said that it did not expect to meet the target range it had initially set. Reports on whether or not Apple's upcoming devices will be delayed have also been mixed. Bloomberg reported that the rumored low-cost iPhone Apple is said to be working on is still on track to debut in March, while Nikkei Asian Review suggested the launch may be delayed, for example. But despite this uncertainty, some analysts have said that they do not expect the ramifications from the coronavirus to materially impact Apple's business in the long term. "If this is truly one time in nature, if it is just a supply chain disruption, if it doesn't really alter the fundamental long-term outlook, investors will give them a pass," Robert Muller, an enterprise hardware analyst for RBC Capital Markets, previously said to Business Insider. Timothy Arcuri, an analyst with UBS, said in a research note on Monday that investors are likely to pay closer attention to Apple's expected iPhone 12 launch in the fall. Read the original article on Business Insider An emotional David Campbell has compared the toothbrush scandal on Married At First Sight to recent high-profile cases of violence against women. During a panel discussion on Today Extra on Thursday, David said he was 'really angry' about what had happened on MAFS the previous night. At the dinner party, it was revealed that David Cannon had contaminated his 'wife' Hayley Vernon's toothbrush with faeces after discovering she had cheated on him. Having his say: An emotional David Campbell (left) has compared the toothbrush scandal on Married At First Sight to recent high-profile cases of violence against women While David acknowledged the incident had taken place months ago, he said it was disturbing that it should come to light at a time when violence against women is dominating the national conversation. 'It's not a joke,' he began. 'There's a lot of things we can [say] about Married At First Sight, it's a contentious show. We love watching it, we love hate-watching it. 'But when something like this [happens], it makes us all look at each other. It made me really angry. 'In this week that we've seen some horrible things with domestic violence and [violence] against women, and anger and animosity out there, this sort of stuff... 'I'm sure it was recorded months ago - we all know that, that's how television works - but to see it and see somebody defend that just feels, as a man in 2020, it just feels reprehensible.' 'It's not a joke': While David acknowledged the incident had taken place months ago, he said it was disturbing that it should come to light at a time when violence against women is dominating the national conversation Domestic violence has been a talking point in Australia this month after Rowan Baxter murdered his estranged wife, Hannah Clarke, and three children on February 19 in Camp Hill, Brisbane. They were torched in their car on the morning school run, before Baxter stabbed himself to death at the scene. It later emerged the shocking act of violence was the culmination of a years-long campaign of harassment and abuse. Pure evil: Domestic violence has been a talking point in Australia this month after Rowan Baxter murdered his estranged wife, Hannah Clarke, and three children on February 19 in Camp Hill, Brisbane (all pictured) Meanwhile, Married At First Sight viewers have slammed producers for allowing the toothbrush incident to take place during filming. Some have even vowed to boycott Channel Nine's popular reality show, saying that David's actions were 'abusive'. 'I'm actually disgusted with the production team and how this toothbrush scenario was handled. It's a new low for reality television,' one person wrote on Facebook. 'The toothbrush incident is a whole new low. Just disgusting, [David] should have been instantly booted off the show,' another added. David's vile act of revenge was exposed at Wednesday night's dinner party. He had scrubbed faeces off a toilet with Hayley's toothbrush before returning it to its holder after discovering she had kissed another groom, Michael Goonan. Hayley used the toothbrush for five days before being told that footage of David contaminating it was being circulated among cast members. Vile: At Wednesday night's dinner party, it was revealed that David Cannon had contaminated his 'wife' Hayley Vernon's toothbrush with faeces after discovering she had cheated on him Rock bottom? Hayley (pictured) used the toothbrush for five days before being told that footage of David contaminating it was being circulated among cast members The incident was so repulsive that it left the show's relationship experts dry-heaving in horror as they watched it play out in front of their eyes. 'I can't let David get away with what he's done,' Hayley said, before throwing the toothbrush across the table and yelling: 'What about the fact that David rubbed my toothbrush in a toilet!' 'You put the toothbrush in a toilet and you filmed it! Somebody at this table has sent it to me, let me get my phone,' she said, before storming off to retrieve the footage. 'That is disgusting': The incident was so repulsive that it left the show's relationship experts dry-heaving in horror. Pictured (left to right): Mel Schilling, Dr Trisha Stratford and John Aiken Hayley returned to the table with her phone and played the footage for the table, which left the relationship experts visibly repulsed. 'That is disgusting,' Mel Schilling said as she gagged. 'That could make her very sick.' 'I don't know if we've seen a dinner party unravel to this level before,' John Aiken added, looking defeated. Inexcusable: After exposing her 'husband', Hayley returned to the table with her phone and played the shocking footage for the table 'What David has done here is inexcusable,' Mel said. 'I don't think we've ever seen behaviour like this in the whole history of the experiment.' 'Psychologically, we know revenge can be strong,' John explained. 'This type of overwhelming emotion comes from a place of hurt. But you just can't express that type of anger in that way to others. Frankly, it's just not acceptable. It's personal, it's brutal.' For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14 The US is ready to consider an agreement with the Taliban after they have agreed to dramatically reduce violence across the war-torn Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told lawmakers on Wednesday. The US plans to sign an agreement with the Taliban on Saturday in Qatar. The historic deal would see the US withdraw thousands of troops, winding down America's longest war which was launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks but has grown increasingly unpopular at home. "If the Taliban demonstrate the willingness and capability to do so, the US is prepared to consider an agreement that advances the peace process," Esper told members of the House Armed Services Committee ahead of a hearing on defence posture statement. "Should, intra-Afghan peace dialogues progress, the US will reduce our force posture as appropriate, based on conditions on the ground," Esper said. In Afghanistan, he said, the US remain committed to ending the war through a political agreement that ensures Afghanistan cannot be used as a safe haven for terrorist groups to attack the United States. "As we have previously notified members of Congress, our negotiations with the Taliban have advanced, and they have agreed to dramatically reduce violence across the country," he said. On Saturday, 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, US President Donald 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba An Army judge proposed on Tuesday a February 2022 trial date for the death penalty tribunal of a Saudi man who is accused of orchestrating the Qaeda suicide bombing of the American destroyer Cole that killed 17 sailors off Yemen two decades ago. The judge, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr., included the date in a four-page order that set out a series of deadlines for pretrial litigation over the next two years. He gave prosecutors and defense lawyers until March 31 to provide comment. The Saudi man, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 55, is charged with murder in violation of the law of war, terrorism and other war crimes for the attack on the destroyer on Oct. 12, 2000. It was carried out by two suicide bombers who sailed a bomb-laden skiff alongside the Cole during a routine refueling stop in Aden, Yemen, then blew themselves up. Image Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was taken into custody by the United States in 2002. Credit... ABC, via Associated Press The United States took custody of Mr. al-Nashiri in 2002 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and his case has been plagued by delays and complications since, starting with a decision to interrogate him in the C.I.A.s secret overseas prison network rather than take him to a court in the United States. His lawyers have described him as a survivor of torture in the agencys black sites. [February 26, 2020] Ben Barber Rejoins Franklin Templeton to Head Municipal Bond Team Franklin Templeton today announces that Ben Barber, who has most recently served as co-head of municipal bonds at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will rejoin the firm to succeed Sheila Amoroso as senior vice president, director of Municipal Bonds on April 27, 2020, overseeing $68 billion in municipal bond investments. Sheila Amoroso, who is currently senior vice president, director of Franklin Templeton Fixed Income's municipal bond department, has announced her plans to retire after 34 years of service. She will work closely with Barber through a period of transition until her retirement date of July 1, 2020. Barber has over 28 years of industry experience, having started his career in municipal bond investing with Franklin Templeton in 1991, working with several current investment team members, including Amoroso, through 1999, when he joined Goldman Sachs. He will be based in San Mateo, CA (News - Alert) and will report to Sonal Desai, CIO, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income. "We are very thankful for Sheila's more than three deades of excellent service and wish her all the best in her retirement. She has been a key partner to me in my role of CIO, and I am grateful for the time we worked together," said Desai, CIO, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income. "As Sheila transitions we are very lucky to have Ben back at Franklin Templeton, where he started his career. He brings strong leadership experience to the municipal bond team and our fixed income platform, and I couldn't be more delighted to have him on board." Under Amoroso's steadfast leadership, Franklin Templeton's municipal bond group has become a premier municipal bond manager, with a very stable and experienced team consisting of long-tenured investment professionals that have maintained a consistent approach and philosophy for managing municipal bond portfolios. "I am excited to be returning to Franklin Templeton to join a team of such talented investment professionals and helping to build on the world class platform," said Barber. "Our industry continues to evolve right before us. I can see the commitment and enthusiasm that is core to Franklin Templeton's culture, and I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead." Franklin Templeton's 31-member municipal bond team manages a wide variety of single state and national municipal bond strategies for investors in the US and beyond, via a comprehensive fund lineup and separately managed accounts and institutional accounts. About Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton. Franklin Templeton's goal is to deliver better outcomes by providing global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the Company has expertise across all asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives and custom multi-asset solutions. The Company's more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With employees in over 30 countries, the California-based company has more than 70 years of investment experience and approximately $688 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2020. Copyright 2020. Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005267/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Bob Iger has spoken out about why he decided to step down as the CEO of Disney a year before his contract was scheduled to end Bob Iger has spoken out about why he decided to step down as the CEO of Disney a year before his contract was scheduled to end. 'I don't want to run the company any more,' Iger told CNBC host David Faber in a phone call on Wednesday morning, following his surprise resignation on Tuesday evening. Iger will assume the role of executive chairman and focus his energy on delivering creative input on Disney's films and series, while former theme parks boss Robert Chapek will take over day-to-day management of the company. Regarding his switch to executive chairman, a post Iger will hold at least through the end of his contract in December 2021, Iger said 'there is no rule book' for how these transitions go. Iger and Chapek sat down for an interview following the surprise announcement on Tuesday Iger told Faber that his desire to step down strengthened around Thanksgiving of 2019, and that he raised the issue with the board around that time. His departure came as a surprise to those who follow the company. 'Did not see this coming - Wowza,' tweeted LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield. 'The timing was a surprise. We knew Bob was going to leave, we didn't know it would happen this quickly,' entertainment analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffattNatthanson said in an interview on CNBC. Shares of Walt Disney were trading down nearly 1 percent on Wednesday morning after the media giant's surprise move to replace top boss Iger. While Wall Street analysts were largely positive about the change, some were skeptical about Chapek's qualifications. 'Bob Chapek has less (content experience), having spent his Disney career in distribution of content and/or the physical world of parks, retail, and consumer products (ie, minimal storytelling, despite the fact that even he says that storytelling is at the center of Disney's value proposition),' Needham analyst Laura Martin said. Two former employees Reuters talked to expressed surprise that Kevin Mayer, chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International, was not named to the top job, especially after the roll-out of the Disney+ streaming service, which attracted 10 million sign-ups in its first day. A one-day view of Disney share prices shows the stock trading down on Wednesday morning BOB IGER Born: Oceanside, New York Age: 69 Salary: $47.5 million, down from second-highest paid CEO in 2018, earning $65.6 million Education: Ithaca College Experience: Former weatherman, joined broadcaster ABC in 1974. Successes: Iger steered Disney through successful acquisitions of Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar and other brands that became big moneymakers for Disney Controversy: Criticized for cancelling well-regarded but expensive shows such as 'Twin Peaks,' 'China Beach,' and 'thirtysomething.' Family: First marriage to Kathleen Susan; former couple have two daughters. Second marriage to Willow Bay; the couple have two sons Advertisement ROBERT CHAPEK Born: Hammond, Indiana Age: 60 Salary: New base salary of $2,500,000 Education: Indiana University, Michigan State University Experience: Head of the parks, experiences and products division since it was created in 2018. Before that he was chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015. And before that, he was president of the Disney Consumer Products segment from 2011 to 2015 Prior to joining Disney, Chapek worked in brand management at H.J. Heinz Company, and in advertising at J. Walter Thompson Family: Visited Disneyland every year as a child, son of a World War II veteran and a working mother Advertisement Most analysts, however, agreed that the move ended years of speculation on who would take over Hollywood's most powerful studio, built up by Iger through acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. 'The move takes CEO succession uncertainty off the table; we expect the markets to digest this news and ultimately give Chapek the benefit of the doubt as the new CEO,' Cowen and Company analysts wrote in a note. To be sure, Iger is still keeping a significant role at the company. He will assume the post of executive chairman and direct the company's 'creative endeavors'. Robert Chapek, previously Disney's chairman of amusement parks, will take over as CEO Bob Iger, pictured left with then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney's daughter Diane Disney Miller (1933-2013), broadcast legend Art Linkletter (died May 2010), former chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company Michael D. Eisner and Minnie Mouse at the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in Anaheim, California July 17, 2005 'The fact that Bob Iger believes it's a full time job to sort out the content assets over the next 2 years implies it's a bigger mess over at the Fox content assets than we thought,' Martin said. Chapek will face some immediate challenges including building on the early success of Disney+ and charting a strategy for Hulu to be profitable, Cowen analysts added. This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba It was May 2003, a year into the C.I.A. program that had led to three detainees being waterboarded hundreds of times in search of information about possible terror plots, and the agency needed to train more interrogators. At a classified prison in Afghanistan known as the Salt Pit, trainees took turns practicing insult slaps and attention grabs on a naked prisoner named Ammar al-Baluchi. It was not supposed to work that way. The two psychologists who had set up the interrogation program that used waterboarding and violence and was authorized by the Bush administration had intended for interrogators to learn by trying out the techniques on each other. After that, they were to be paired with a certified interrogator as an apprentice. We had them practice on themselves so they would know what it felt like, James E. Mitchell, one of the contract psychologists, testified at Guantanamo last month during a pretrial hearing in the long-delayed trial over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. We didnt have them practice on detainees. C.I.A. personnel at the Salt Pit nonetheless chose to train on at least two prisoners, according to recently declassified accounts. About five trainees took turns slapping Mr. al-Baluchi, spinning him around and slamming his head into a wooden or cement wall, so a supervisor could observe and then certify class member as interrogators, said a report on the training session read aloud during testimony in the war court. As Donald Trump has continued to downplay the potential dangers posed by the coronavirus outbreak, the growing threat may include at least one prominent casualty: his own presidency. Thats at least the reading from political and health experts in light of the recent dives taken in the financial sector, which dropped dramatically on Monday and then again on Tuesday after weeks in which investors appeared somewhat at-ease with a growing global health crisis. During that time, Mr Trump has pushed aside any concerns that things would go south as well. We have very few people with it, he said in India this week. I think that whole situation will start working out. Lot of talent, lot of brain power is being put behind it. But, with election day just over nine months away and an epidemic that officials with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say could easily disrupt the day-to-day lives of Americans, the threat to Mr Trumps presidency could be much bigger than betrayed by the former businessmans sanguine attitude. After years in which he has offered up a robust economy as the basic proof of his excellence as president, a bungled public health epidemic that sees prolonged economic difficulities could prove disastrous for his reputation at a key moment in his tenure. Theres always the concern about the economic impact of the virus, and also of the virus itself, Alan Rowan, a public health official with Florida State University who helped with the states response to the SARS outbreak in 2003, told The Independent. It could certainly impact the economy, and if it impacts the economy then it could certainly impact the coming election. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty When it comes to health outbreaks, there are a lot of unknowns. And, so far, while the coronavirus outbreak has stopped short of being called a pandemic its footprint, so far, is mostly contained in China and nearby Asian countries its sheer magnitude has caused many to worry. In the US, there have been at least 53 confirmed cases, according to the CDC, which has led Mr Trump and Democrats in Congress to suggest billions in funding to deal with the epidemic. Of the 53, a majority are said to have come from the Diamond Princess cruise liner that was recently quarantined off the coast of Japan. We expect we will see community spread in this country, said Dr Nancy Messonier, director of the CDC's National Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. Already, the disease has shown signs that it will have an enormous footprint. While the SARS epidemic in 2003 reached just over 8,000 cases, the coronavirus has already impacted more than 73,000 people, as of a week ago. By 9 February of this year, the death toll of the virus had already overtaken SARS, too, and has continued to climb since then. As concern has simultaneously spread globally, people have begun to buy up face masks and cancel their trips to Asia. Meanwhile, as entire cities in China have seen restrictions to travel and business, so too have some 94 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies seen supply chain disruptions, according to a report. At the same time, stocks have dropped in global markets, with the S&P 500 marking its worst one-day slide in two years on Monday, then dropping about 3 per cent by Tuesday afternoon (the losses were enough to put the blue chip index firmly in the red for the year). And, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 both also fell, by 2 per cent each on Tuesday, which came after European markets had their worst drop since 2016. And, its that kind of disruption that could damage Mr Trumps whole argument for re-election should things get bad enough, according to Kyle Kopko, a professor of political science at Elizabethtown University in Pennsylvania. Market reaction is definitely going to be a big predictor of election outcomes. Generally speaking, if the economy is dong well, that favours incumbent presidents, he said. Thats basic political science. Already, the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus threat has been criticised, by members of both the Republican and Democratic Party. Trump official wrongly says coronavirus rate similar to flu After the administration asked for $2.5bn in funding of which just $1.25bn would be new spending even some Senate Republicans criticised the amount as a "low ball" request. "It could be an existential threat to a lot of people in this country," said Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama. "So money should not be an object. We should try to contain and eradicate this as much as we can, both in the US and helping our friends all over the world." Senator Elizabeth Warren, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination, has also attacked the administration over the response. "The Trump administration is absolutely bungling the response to coronavirus, putting our public health and our economy at risk," she wrote on Twitter. "This is why we need a real plan and an adult in charge." Darry Sragow, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California and a longtime democratic strategist, said that the heightened concern over coronavirus could be very damaging to Mr Trump if the economy takes a tumble. Already, he said, the news media is spending a considerable amount of time on the story and any impact to the economy would make it all that much worse. "He's using ... the strength of the markets to counter the argument that he's damaging the country. It's that simple," he said. "If the markets don't continue to support that argument, if the performance of the markets fail to support that argument, you'd have to think he would be in a much more vulnerable position." China has been praised by the WHO for quickly reporting an emerging threat in Wuhan, for instance. But there is evidence that some officials, particularly at the local level, worked to obscure what was going on and that doctors were muzzled. A woman is still being questioned by Gardai after a man was stabbed to death in Dublin yesterday morning. Gareth Kelly, 39, was killed in the Brownsbarn Estate, near Citywest, at around 7am on Tuesday. Officers are believed to be investigating if he was attacked over a parking space. The man's body is said to have been found between two cars on the street in front of house at Brownsbarn Wood estate, in Kingswood near Citywest. Gardai said yesterday the woman, aged in her 30s, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being detained in Clondalkin Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. In a statement, they said: "Gardai are appealing to anyone who was in the Brownsbarn Estate and Kingswood area between the hours of 6am and 7am today 25th February 2020 who may have information in relation to this incident to come forward. "Gardai are particularly appealing to road users who may have camera footage." Anyone with any information should contact Clondalkin Garda Station on 01 666 7600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station. Call it the ultimate restaurant with nine lives. Because after multiple foiled attempts over seven years that ended with its chef-owner finally giving up last fall, the landmark Alexander Valley restaurant Cyrus will be resurrected in new glory after all. This month, in a startling turn of events, chef Douglas Keane signed a 30-year lease for a modern glass and concrete building in Geyserville that will be incarnated into his new 36-seat vision for Cyrus. It could open in 18 months. Keane had been on a mission to reopen his upscale, critically acclaimed Healdsburg restaurant, which closed in 2012 following a dispute with the landlord, the owners of Les Mars Hotel, in which it was housed. But every potential site he considered posed insurmountable hurdles. Until now. Chris Hardy / San Francisco Chronicle 2005 Late last year, Steve Oliver, a contractor and former San Francisco Museum of Modern Art board president whose Oliver Ranch in Geyserville is famed for its renowned collection of outdoor sculptures, reached out to Keane. Oliver, who was a regular at Cyrus, had built a striking two-story, live-work property in 2008 in what was formerly a concrete prune packing plant on 7 acres of vineyards near downtown Healdsburg. It was designed by San Franciscos Jensen Architects, which also created the now-shuttered Healdsburg Shed, winner of a James Beard Award for design. Oliver had a long-term tenant leasing the buildings first floor. But when that agreement soured, he offered the space to Keane. John Storey / Special to The Chronicle 2016 It will cost $5 million to redo the entrance and add a state-of-the-art kitchen, according to Keane. Hes already raised half that amount from a group of investors. Sean Parker of Napster fame, Keanes original primary investor, intends to be one of them, according to a Parker spokesperson. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Its been a tumultuous ride to get here, Keane says. But if there was a building that would get me back into doing it, this is it. Bay Area freelance writer Carolyn Jung blogs at FoodGal.com and is the author of the cookbook, East Bay Cooks. E-mail: food@sfchronicle.com US President Donald Trump left India Tuesday night after a whirlwind 36-hour trip, but not before sealing a $3 billion agreement for the sale of military helicopters, and with the understanding of India soon signing the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), the last of the four foundational agreements which America requires of its nearest politico-military allies. BECA is crucial to the sharing of advanced satellite and topographical data for long-range navigation and missile-targeting. India and the US have signed the other three foundational pacts General Security of Military Information Agreement in 2002, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016, and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement in 2018 earlier, all of them by BJP-led NDA governments. Although the Congress-led UPA after difficult negotiations clinched the historic civil nuclear agreement in 2008, which enabled India to break the shackles of nuclear apartheid, the Manmohan Singh government was sceptical about the foundational agreements. Indias armed forces especially the IAF were then thought to harbour an anxiety about being locked into US communications and geospatial systems as that would render incompatible the acquiring of sophisticated weaponry from other sources. This was linked to the overall geo-strategic apprehension of being hurried into a veritable alliance system even if it wasnt called that as the US was changing its perception of China as being a strategic adversary. In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has actively courted the US even at the risk of depletion of Indias strategic autonomy. President Trump told the media that the PM had told him that if he had been President 30 years earlier, India would have sourced its military requirements from America even back then instead of going to other countries. At the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, with the US leader by his side, the PM noted the India-US vision first spoken of in 2015 with President Barack Obama was not confined to the Indo-Pacific, but encompassed the world, with India being ready to partner America on global challenges, including in the security sphere. Its another matter that Indias resources are no match for such a goal, but Mr Modis orientation seems clear. After discussions with Mr Trump in New Delhi on Tuesday, as the two leaders met the media without taking questions, Mr Modi spoke of attaining a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the US. These words themselves are shop-worn. Much depends on military, economic and political resources each side can bring to the table. The PM elaborated and said all aspects of the relationship security, energy, technology, global connectivity and trade will get a fillip. He underlined defence as a vital aspect. He underlined his keenness for India and the US to be a part of each others defence manufacturing and supply chains, as well as inter-operability and common military exercises. President Trump too underlined the military relationship, as well as energy and technology. What we are seeing here is the adumbration of an idea, rather than specific goals met on the US leaders trip, except for the sale of some military hardware. An offence has been registered against a doctor for allegedly raping a 23-year-old woman at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra''s Thane district, police said on Tuesday. Thane: An offence has been registered against a doctor for allegedly raping a 23-year-old woman at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on 15 February when Ramkunwar Singh, a Kalyan-based doctor, took the victim to show a flat in Bhiwandi and allegedly raped her there, assistant police inspector Deepak Bhoi said. The victim, who is an employee of a private firm lodged a complaint with the Bhiwandi taluka police station, where a case under section 376 (rape) was registered on Monday, he said. A manhunt has been launched for the accused who is absconding, the official added. BPCL will not buy more such crude as it will make inventory management unwieldy, said R Ramachandran, director of refineries Mumbai: Sell-off-bound Bharat Petroleum has procured 500 million barrels of distress crude (five shiploads) at a discount of $3-5 per barrel to the already low prevailing price following order cancellations by coronavirus-hit China this month. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, crude prices have plunged over $15 a barrel to around $50 now as large parts of China, the largest importer and consumer of crude, are under Beijing-ordered lockdown and millions of factories are closed. The deadly virus outbreak in China since mid-January has left more than 2,660 dead and over 77,600 infected in China alone even as it has spread to countries like Korea, Japan, Iran and far-flung nations like Italy and France. "We have bought 500 million barrels of what we call opportunity crudes from distress sale in February. Price is so attractive it is coming at $3-5 per barrel cheaper than the already low prices which is trading at under $50 a barrel," R Ramachandran, the director of refineries at BPCL told reporters. When asked whether the company will be snapping up more such crudes, he answered in the negative saying that will only make inventory management unwieldy. "Our inventory cycle is 30-40 days. Just because crude is cheaper now does not make sense for us to ramp up inventory too high as it will invariably lead to inventory losses, something we don't want to invite upon ourselves," he said. Meanwhile, BPCL has been the biggest customer of US crude since the last two years, when that country lifted the ban on exporting crude for the first in decades. "We imported 1.6 million tonne crude from the US in FY19, and the same has already touched 1.57 million tonnes this fiscal so far, making us the largest customer for the US crudes from the country," he said. He also ruled out contracting Russian crude, unlike Indian Oil did last week, saying the landed cost will not cost-effective for them. Meanwhile, a report from New Delhi quoting the visiting US energy secretary Dan Brouillette said in the past two years, Indian imports of crude from the US have jumped 10-folds to 2,50,000 barrels a day. In 2017, the country imported just 25,000 barrels per day from the US. "In the past two years, we've seen a remarkable off-take in US oil and gas by India, from 25,000 bpd in 2017 to 250,000 bpd now, a 10-fold spike and we expect it to be better from here," Brouillette said in the National Capital, adding this makes the US the sixth-largest source market for India. India began importing crude oil from the US in 2017 as it looked to diversify its import basket beyond the Opec block. It bought 1.9 million tonnes (38,000 bpd) crude from the US in FY18 and another 6.2 million tonnes (1,24,000 bpd) in FY19. In the first six months of FY20, the US supplied 5.4 million tonne crude oil to India. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan later said India is the fourth largest export destination for US crude now, while LNG import from the US is also increasing progressively ever since import started in March 2018. India is now the fifth-largest destination of US LNG exports. Pradhan said the bilateral hydrocarbon trade has increased exponentially during the past three years touching USD 7.7 billion-mark in FY19, accounting for 11 percent of total two-way trade. Iraq is India's top crude oil supplier, meeting close to one-fourth of oil needs. It sold 26 million tonne crude to India in April-September, relegating Saudi Arabia to the second spot with 20.7 million tonnes. The country meets as much as 83 percent of oil demand through imports and has shipped in 111.4 million tonnes during April-September. Pakistan had prior intelligence that India planned some form of belligerence following the Pulwama attack, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday as he lauded the military for "acting with restraint" after IAF jets bombed a major terror training camp in Balakot. The Indian Air Force jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot on February 26 last year to avenge the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. Pakistan retaliated on February 27 by attempting to target Indian military installations. Addressing a special ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of the 'Operation Swift Resort', Khan said Pakistan gracefully handled the last year's crisis with India, showing maturity of the nation. "We did not panic after they attacked Balakot. We waited to see the extent of the damage and if there was any human losses. Then we gave a measured response, he said. "We all were confident including General (Qamar Javed) Bajwa (the army chief) and the air chief. I should have been disturbed but I was also encouraged by the courage of services chiefs, he said. Khan said that armed forced were confident as they had the experience of fighting the militancy and winning against it. He said Pakistan knew that India would do something after the Pulwama attack and "we were ready" but "acted with restraint". He lauded the media of Pakistan for highlighting the crisis in proper perspective. He also thanked the Opposition parties in Parliament for supporting the government's stance on the issue. "I am speaking as a Pakistani not as the prime minister that I was proud to see that how Pakistani nation dealt with crisis during the standoff with India, he said. Khan also commented on the violence in New Delhi and said what is happening in India is not just a concern of Pakistan but it should be concern of the entire world. "What happened in Delhi last night is just the beginning The world should take notice as my fear is that it will get worse," he said. He said that the idea of a racial superiority was like a genie and once it was out of bottle, it was not possible to put it back. "India is going on a dangerous path and they are suffering and will suffer. They have adopted a racist ideology and whenever a nation adopted this ideology then the end is always bloodshed, he said. The relations between India and Pakistan strained following the Balakot strike. The ties further nose-dived after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir in August last. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations with India and expelled Indian High Commissioner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 26.02.2020 LISTEN Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is angry at the Minority in Parliaments failure to officially inform the leadership of the House about its decision to abstain from the debate on the State of the Nation Address. Mr. Mensah-Bonsu said the Minority failed to show courtesy by abstaining from the debate. The discourtesy in it [abstinence] is that whereas I approached them formally to inquire whether they will debate and they had assured that they will debate when they elected not to debate, they failed to even formally communicate to me and that is the tragedy. He was however quick to add that the Minoritys abstinence will in no way affect the relationship between leaders of the Majority and Minority in Parliament. I think one episode should not mar relationship and do not forget you are the leader and you should play the role of a mother. You should be fatherly and be accommodating of everybody so yes, I was a bit ruffled by that but I am not rattled and I am not shattered by what behaviour they put up. We continue to reach out to them. We remain one house. We remain one Parliament. The fact that one person has gone errant on one occasion does not mean we should sever relation with the person. Repeat of events The Minoritys abstinence followed the opposition caucus boycott of the State of the Nation Address last week. Even though the Minority MPs were present in the Chamber of Parliament, Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, told the House, they had waived their right to second the motion for the debate and to participate fully. Our principle is that we are not participating in this. We will not be speaking to this, Mr. Mubarak said on the floor. Addressing the press last week, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said the opposition to this protest was informed by the government's refusal to implement all the recommendations made by the Emile Short Commission on the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence, alleged interference in the activities of the Electoral Commission in the compilation of a new voters' register and the perceived attack of businesses owned by National Democratic Congress members. He also said the boycott of the address itself was to resist the fascist and authoritarian tendencies of the Akufo-Addo government. However,Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu last week said the Minority's actions had no basis. It is their party's position. It is their right to attend or not except that on this matter, there is absolutely no basis for this conduct, the Majority Leader said. ---citinewsroom Malis government has certain red lines in its negotiations with jihadists, the countrys ambassador told France's senate during a hearing on Wednesday. Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had earlier this month confirmed that contact had been established with jihadi groups with the aim of ending conflict in the Sahel country. Its clear that there are red lines, said Toumani Djime Diallo, Mali's ambassador to France, outlining issues that the Malian authorities would not budge on including sharia law, the territorial integrity of Mali and the equality of women. Its simply to make use of all the possibilities that there are, said Diallo, explaining that the negotiations with the jihadists came about following recommendations during a process of national dialogue. The president had always been opposed to that, added the ambassador during the senate hearing with ambassadors of the G5 Sahel countries All the same, if we find a solution in an agreement, those who have blood on their hands will be dealt with, that's how it finished in Algeria, said Diallo, appearing to refer to the Islamist insurgency in the north African country during the 1990s. Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita confirmed earlier this month that communication with jihadi groups had been established with the aim of bringing about an end to eight years of war. It raises the possibility of dialogue with the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) of Iyad ag Ghali, an armed militant group allied to Al-Qaeda. The Malian president was also not clear whether it could mean talks with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara group which the French government has recently designated as a priority enemy. Prince Harry has made his first appearance in the UK as he prepares a whirlwind of final events before he steps back as a senior royal. The Duke of Sussex is in Edinburgh, where he is hosting a sustainable tourism summit as he bids to get his travel project Travalyst off the ground. Opening the summit, Ayesha Hazarika said he had made it clear just to call him Harry, rather than His Royal Highness or Sir. Harrys ideas on sustainable tourism include creating an online scoring system to show the eco-friendly statuses of aviation, accommodation and holiday experiences. He looked relaxed and happy as he welcomed delegates at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre to get feedback on his ideas. The Duke of Sussex during a sustainable tourism summit in Edinburgh. (Press Association) Harry greets delegates at the summit in Edinburgh. (Press Association) Read more: Prince Harry arrives in UK for final engagements as senior royal Avoiding any mention of the last few weeks of royal turmoil, the duke, who is known as the Earl of Dumbarton in Scotland, said: We want to hear truths and perspectives from across the industry. We dont need to reinvent the wheel, a lot of great work has already been done. But our research again shows that many of these endeavours have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers. He added: We have to work together to scale up the good practices already being used around the world. Scotland is a great example of what we mean. There is a holistic ambition to Scotlands intent that can be adopted across the UK and even around the world. Scotland is one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations worldwide and its at the forefront of a more sustainable approach, which is why your insight into these issues is so incredibly valuable. Prince Harry said Scotland was at the forefront of the sustainable tourism approach. (Getty Images) There are about 100 people attending the working summit in the Scottish capital. Harry added: We believe that travel is a good thing it is the heart of human experience, of cultural connections and of new friendships. It is a global powerhouse that employs hundreds of millions of people, keeping culture alive, protecting some of the worlds most precious spaces and introduces us to people, places and wildlife that we have only ever seen on a screen. Story continues It is these experiences that we remember and cherish. But he warned: If we do not act and in a large part get ahead of the inevitable surge, this massive increase will mean risking more of the worlds most beautiful destinations closed or destroyed, more communities becoming overwhelmed, more beaches shut because of pollution, and animals and wildlife driven from their natural habitat which has a huge impact on communities and reduces tourism opportunities. Harry said travel is a good thing but that action needed to be taken. (Getty Images) A post on the Sussex Royal instagram account said: Today, The Duke of Sussex will be in Scotland one of the worlds fastest growing tourist destinations - to hear what theyre doing to put sustainability at the forefront of holidays that protect the environment and support local communities. The number of tourists globally is rapidly rising, and based on an increasing desire from travellers, The Dukes international partnership Travalyst is working to ensure the industry can better support communities that face increasing challenges of overcrowding, pollution, and the climate emergency. Supporting these communities means preserving these destinations for everyone. The summit will give him feedback on his sustainable travel ideas. (Press Association) When Hazza Met Hazza! Very honoured & BEYOND excited to be hosting a conference on travel & sustainability in Edinburgh organised by this chap. pic.twitter.com/th979PEMbR Ayesha Hazarika (@ayeshahazarika) February 26, 2020 By harnessing the power of travel, which accounts for 1 in 10 jobs globally, generating newrly [sic] $9 trillion annually, and is at the heart of connecting people and culture, tourism can lead the way in supporting communities and protecting the environment. The duke has partnered with Booking.com, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor, Trip.com and Visa. Read more: Harry and Meghan reveal transition details and confirm end of Sussex Royal branding The Duke of Sussex looked relaxed as he headed into the conference centre. (Press Association) He hugged one delegate as he arrived on Wednesday morning. (Press Association) Harry flew on a commercial airline as he returned to London on Tuesday night from Canada, and then took a train from London to Edinburgh. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have faced criticism over their use of private jets in the past, particularly as Harry launched his project in Amsterdam in the autumn, shortly after the family used them for a holiday. He responded to criticism by saying he flew commercially 99% of the time but had to protect his family. It's the first of many events while he is back in the UK. (Press Association) Read more: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge champion mental health work at theatre Harry has a busy few weeks of engagements ahead of him before he steps back from life as a working royal. He will attend Abbey Road studios on Friday, where Jon Bon Jovi and the Invictus Games choir are recording the official song for this years games. His wife Meghan will be joining him in the UK at some point, ahead of their joint engagements next week at the Endeavour Fund awards and the Mountbatten Festival of Music. The Duke of Sussex's summit brings together several players in the tourism industry. (Getty Images) Ayesha Hazarika said the duke had asked to be called "Harry". (Press Association) The couple confirmed they wont use the word royal in any of their branding as they finalised the details of their transition period over the weekend. They had been using Sussex Royal and were in the midst of a trademark application for the name but agreed not to use it once it became clear they wouldnt be able to do so in the UK. They said they were eager to share more plans when they could, and would be setting up a nonprofit organisation as opposed to a foundation. Watch more royal news on Yahoo UK SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A former Lyft driver was acquitted of assault charges after confronting intoxicated passengers he had been transporting on an early morning in 2016, according to the San Francisco Public Defender's Office. Vincent Perrault, 46, was acquitted of the charges on Tuesday connected to the ride he gave four passengers on Dec. 27, 2016. According to the public defender's office, Perrault asked the passengers to leave his vehicle after becoming disruptive and telling him to "shut up and drive" around 2 a.m. After asking the passengers to get out of the car, Perrault also got out to close an open door. That's when two of the men tried to confront Perrault, resulting in a shoving match and Perrault eventually punching both of them, his attorneys said. More for you She got into the wrong vehicle. Then thought she was abducted. "Mr. Perrault has no criminal history and was not looking for a fight when he asked the four passengers to exit his vehicle because it was unsafe for him to drive," Deputy Public Defender Matthew Sotorosen said in a statement. "The only reason he got out of the car was to close the door that they had left open, but three of them came after him in the street before he could do so." The public defender's office said Sotorosen called an expert witness who testified that Perrault had had a "fear response" when the passengers approached him as he was attempting to close his open car door. One of the men that was punched suffered a herniated disk that required surgery. Perrault was arrested and released with no charges filed, but they were filed nearly a year later in October 2017, at which point Perrault was living out of state. He was eventually taken into custody in May 2019. Per the public defender's office, Sotorosen was able to get his client released pre-trial but he was placed on electronic monitoring, making it difficult for him to get work. "We certainly take seriously the fact that someone was hurt, but the jury understood that Mr. Perrault had acted reasonably upon a survival instinct by defending himself from the perceived threat of being outnumbered and under attack," Sotorosen said. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and its clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obamas voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers, Katie Hill, Obamas communications director, said in a statement. In the interest of truth in advertising, we are calling on TV stations to take this ad down and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate. The Six Nations game between Ireland and Italy has been postponed. The decision follows a meeting between Health Minister Simon Harris and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and a strong recommendation from health authorities that the game be cancelled. The concern centres on fans who are set to travel from northern Italy-where the virus has killed a number of people and infected towns-to Ireland for the fixture and what might happen if crowds from both countries mingled at close proximity in the Aviva Stadium. In a statement, the IRFU said that they were happy to "comply" with the National Public Health Emergency teams determination that the games scheduled should not proceed. The statement read: "The IRFU had a positive meeting with Minister Harris and his advisors today, where we requested a formal instruction as to the staging of the Ireland v Italy international matches over the weekend of 6/8 March. "At the outset we made it clear that the IRFU was supportive of the Governments need to protect public health in relation to the Coronavirus. "We were then advised, formally, that The National Public Health Emergency team has determined that the series of matches should not proceed, in the interests of Public Health. "The IRFU is happy to comply with this instruction. "We will immediately begin to work with our Six Nations partners to look at the possibility of rescheduling the matches and would hope to have an update on this in the coming days." The IRFU is asking ticket holders to retain their tickets for now and it will provide ticket holders with tickets for the rescheduled games or a refund. Information on both these options will be released as soon as possible. IRFU representatives, from left, Padraig Slattery, IRFU Chief Operating Officer Kevin Potts, IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne and IRFU Director of Communications Stephen McNamara following a meeting with Minister for Health Simon Harris at the Department of Health in Dublin today. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Speaking after the meeting, Mr Harris said: It gave me an opportunity to outline, along with the Chief Medical Officer, the determination made by the National Public Emergency Team yesterday. A number of decisions were made by our health experts in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19. One of those decisions related to mass gatherings and obviously there was a particular issue in relation to a series of rugby games due to take place on the weekend of the 6th, 7th and 8th of March. It was good to have an opportunity to outline the rationale behind that to the IRFU and I very much appreciate the importance that they too attach to public health, and they were understanding in that regard. I know this is going to be a source of great disappointment to so many rugby fans right across our own country. Ticketing arrangements and the rescheduling of the Six Nations game will be decided in the days ahead. IRFU sources have not ruled out it going ahead in a few weeks time. Irelands chief medical officer said the decision to cancel the matches was not made lightly. Meanwhile, in Donegal, Three secondary schools have become caught up in the coronavirus scare. All three schools have recently returned from skiing trips to Italy where the virus is spreading. Two of the schools have sent pupils home and asked them not to return to classes for a number of days. However, a third school, Carndonagh Community School, has not sent pupils home. A total of 72 pupils and teachers from the school returned from a trip to Northern Italy. However, the school said they had liaised with the HSE and were satisfied with the precautions they had taken. Vice-principal John McGuinness said they are advising students to self-isolate if displaying symptoms of the coronavirus as a precautionary measure. All students who were on the trip were given the option of staying at home but none had taken up this offer. The first school to advise pupils to stay at home was Loreto in Milford. It yesterday informed 28 pupils who had traveled to Italy last week on a skiing holiday to stay at home. Another school, Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana, had originally allowed pupils to return to school following a similar skiing trip. However, all pupils who were on the trip were today ordered home from school as a matter of precaution after their parents were telephoned. Additional reporting Stephen Maguire and Juno McEnroe Earlier: 'We will comply with any directive given' - IRFU want Govt to take the lead as Italy game in doubt The IRFU have asked the government to give them a directive in relation to the potential postponement of the Six Nations clash between Ireland and Italy. It comes after Dr Tony Holohan, Ireland's chief medical officer, defended the decision to call for the cancellation of the game, saying it was not made lightly. Speaking to Morning Ireland he said that it was the only responsible decision that could have been made. This wont be the only mass gathering that we will look at but this is one that is coming quite soon and obviously involving an area in Europe that has been added to the list of (affected) countries. This afternoon IRFU chief executive Philip Browne responded saying it was up to the government to take the lead on the situation. "We are looking for a directive on this," he said. At the end of the day, the Government are here to lead the country and lead the country in relation to public health decisions. "I think it is somewhat unfair to be asking the IRFU to be making decisions like this. Ultimately, we will comply with any directive that is given." IRFU chief executive Philip Browne Mr Browne said he was happy to meet with the Minister and discuss the matter further. Call to cancel Ireland - Italy clash defended Earlier 11.10am: Dr Tony Holohan, Ireland's chief medical officer, says there is no advice to cancel Dublin's St Patrick's Day Parade yet, having previously defended Department of Heath advice to cancel the Six Nations tie between Ireland Italy. Dr Holohan says however that the advice on the St Patrick's Day parade is subject to change. The medical officer said: "The organisers of that [the parade] will be in a position to get in touch with the health service and to seek advice in relation to the nature of that event. "And like with every mass gathering, what we call a risk assessment in line with those international guidelines will be conducted and that will inform the decision. "It is impossible to predict for something that is more than a couple of weeks away because factors that are not known to us now might come into some of those decisions." Hundreds of thousands of tourists attend Dublin's St Patrick's Day Parade every year bringing in millions for the economy. Dr Holohan, said the decision to call for the cancellation of the Ireland vs Italy Six Nations match was not made lightly. Speaking to Morning Ireland he said that it was the only responsible decision that could have been made. This wont be the only mass gathering that we will look at but this is one that is coming quite soon and obviously involving an area in Europe that has been added to the list of (affected) countries. We could make no other responsible advice or decision His comments come as acting Minister for Health Simon Harris meets with representatives from the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to discuss next Saturdays game. The IRFU sought an urgent meeting over the calls to postpone the Ireland-Italy clash. The Department of Healths National Public Health Emergency Team recommended the match should be postponed at a meeting yesterday. A statement from Six Nations organisers read: Six Nations is aware of todays recommendation from the Irish Health Minister in relation to the upcoming Six Nations Championship match between Ireland and Italy on Saturday March 7. They said they will "remain in close contact with them [the IRFU] regarding the outcome of those discussions. Meanwhile, Dr Holohan added that he would not be recommending restricting foreign travel. He said: We dont think that would be a proportionate measure, WHO (World Health Organisation) is not recommending cancellation or restrictions on foreign travel. We make specific travel advisories available and in this country we do that through the Department of Foreign Affairs. He said: I think the IRFU is a responsible organisation and would be willing to work with us to ensure that a measure that we have advised no one wants to find themselves in a position of having to cancel or recommend (a match) not taking place. Im sure they, as a responsible organisation, will be just as we are minded to act in the interests of health and welfare, not only for their spectators but players. Asked if the game should be played behind closed doors, Dr Holohan said: That would be a matter for them. Earlier: Ireland's Chief Medical Officer defends call to cancel Ireland - Italy clash Ireland's Chief Medical Officer is defending its advice for Ireland to cancel its Six Nations match against Italy. The Health Minister and IRFU will meet later to discuss the proposed cancellation over fears of the coronavirus spreading. Ireland in action against Wales earlier in the tournament. So far 11 people have died in Italy from Covid-19. Irish people returning from four regions in the country are being advised to self-isolate if they feel unwell. Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, says cancelling the match would be the responsible decision. "That event is the 7th of March which is less than 14 days away and 14 days is the incubation period for this infection," he said. There have been a lot of cases in that region of Italy and we expect that number to increase over the coming days. "And I think it would be nothing other than irresponsible if we were to recommend otherwise. "So we think this is the only responsible public health advice we could give." Yesterday the IRFU sought an urgent meeting Read More: In a statement the IRFU said: "The IRFU is seeking an urgent meeting with Minister Harris as to the specific reasoning behind calling for the cancellation of the Ireland v Italy Six Nations fixture in the context of the Governments overall travel policy to and from Italy and other affected countries." Dr Holohan added that there is no advice to cancel Dublin's St Patrick's Day Parade as of yet but that could change. Speaking earlier today, the Irish Pharmacy Union said their members are reporting shortages of face masks and hand sanitiser in pharmacies across the country. But the President of the IPU, Daragh Connolly, says there is no evidence to suggest a face-mask will protect against coronavirus. He said: "We are starting to see shortages in some pharmacies around the country. A woman wearing a face mask checks her phone in a subway in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) "Why we want to be able to talk to the public this morning as pharmacists in Ireland, is to be able to reassure people that there is no evidence out there to say that a mask will give you any protection whatsoever from Covid-19 or that people in Ireland are exposed to Covid-19. "I would say however that hand sanitiser is really an excellent thing to have for your own personal hygiene." Preparations by the Irish public services are still taking place and the National Public Health Emergency Team is to immediately ramp up warning campaigns about the spread of coronavirus at ports, airports, schools, and public offices. Meanwhile, around Read More: So far, there have been 90 suspected cases in Ireland, but none of them have tested positive for the virus. Pupils from three schools in the North were earlier sent home as a precaution against coronavirus after returning from ski trips to Italy. The pupils from schools in counties Antrim, Derry, and Down, were all on separate trips to Italy recently. Around 50 pupils and staff from Cambridge House Grammar School in Ballymena, Co Antrim, were in the Lombardy region in the north of Italy. In Tenerife, a number of Irish people staying at the hotel at the centre of a virus outbreak on the Canary island have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs. They are among around 1,000 tourists staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel who have been placed in quarantine inside the building. This story was updated at 10.34am. ROME The lives of two American teenagers and two Italian law enforcement officers crossed paths for less than a minute in the early hours of July 26, 2019. Yet the consequences of that brief encounter began to be played out on Wednesday when the two Americans Finnegan Elder, now 20, and Gabriel Natale Hjorth, now 19 went on trial for the murder of Deputy Brig. Mario Cerciello Rega of the Carabinieri, Italys paramilitary police force. The case made front page news for days in Italy, and so many journalists packed the courtroom on Wednesday that Marina Finiti, the presiding judge, mulled moving future hearings to a much larger courthouse normally used for terrorism and mafia trials. Camera shutters clicked wildly when Mr. Elder and Mr. Natale Hjorth entered the courtroom and took their seats next to their lawyers, avoiding eye contact with the crowd. Mr. Elders parents and Mr. Natale Hjorths uncle sat in the back row. Mr. Cerciello Regas widow and his brother sat two rows ahead. San Francisco police will be required to report crime victim demographics under new legislation that supporters say will equip officials with crucial data to help identify crime trends, guide prevention strategies and better direct public safety resources. The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to unanimously pass the legislation, introduced by Supervisor Gordon Mar, to address growing fears in the Asian community stirred by attacks against senior citizens, including a case this week in the Bayview. The racially fueled attack of a Chinese man collecting recyclables in Hunters Point this weekend is just the latest in a continual series of high-profile violent incidents targeting Chinese community members, Mar said at a Tuesday press conference ahead of the vote. Police already collect this demographic data, but the ordinance would mandate that they report it quarterly to the mayor, supervisors and other officials. The citys budget and legislative analyst estimated that amending the reporting system would result in a one-time cost of at least $960,000. The report would include aggregated information on the race or ethnicity, gender identity and age of victims of serious crimes, including assault or sexual assault, burglary, elder or child abuse, theft and murder. Police would also have to report the disability, nationality, religion and sexual orientation of hate crime victims. The reported data will be used to guide budget decisions, police staffing and culturally sensitive responses to the issues identified, Mar said. The data itself on crime victim demographics is not in itself going to address the concerns that a lot of communities... are feeling right now, he said. But we feel very much that it will be an important step forward towards many specific improvements to our public safety strategies. A San Francisco police spokesman said the department does not comment on legislation. District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who supports the ordinance, said that greater transparency will illustrate where crimes occur and who is most often targeted. Its essential that our policies and resources be guided by actual data, he said. Boudin noted that victim identities would remain confidential under the new reporting requirements. Marlene Tran, spokeswoman for the Visitacion Valley Asian Alliance, said the latest attack demonstrates that the legislation is especially needed, but the violence is not new. Since Tran arrived in the city in the 1980s, she has worked with immigrant communities who have been victimized but havent reported crimes to police because of language barriers or other obstacles. In over 30 years of volunteer community work, I grieve for the many victims who suffered greatly because they did not get the services and resources they deserve, Tran said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Other groups supporting the legislation are Stop Crime SF, Grace Lutheran Church, the Jewish Community Relations Council and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. The Chinese for Affirmative Action organization expressed its support for the measure in a December letter to the supervisors. We believe that data, when made publicly available and used responsibly, can lead to informed decisions on policies and programs to serve otherwise invisible communities, the letter read. Frank Noto, president of Stop Crime SF, said city leaders must make policy decisions based on research. Its not sexy, it doesnt make good tweets but its essential to getting it right, he said. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 An Intelligence Bureau officer was killed in communal clashes that have engulfed the national capital since the evening of February 23. His body was recovered from a drain in the Chand Bagh area in North-East Delhi. The 26-year-old officer was killed by a stone-pelting mob last night and his body was dumped in a drain, claimed his uncle. According to reports, Sharma was on his way back home after duty when a mob grabbed and threw him in the drain. His body was fished out of the drain and had visible bullet injury marks. The officer had joined the Intelligence Bureau in 2017 and was training as a driver. Chand Bagh is one of the several areas that have been hit by deadly communal clashes. The clashes were initially between pro and anti Citizenship Amendment Act groups but soon took a communal colour. Reuters In the Ashok Nagar area, Hindu goons burnt down a masjid and placed a bhagwa flag on the minaret. The mob shouting Jai Shri Ram and Hinduon ka Hindustan paraded around the burning mosque. In the video footage that is making rounds on social media, a man is seen climbing up the minaret with an Indian flag in his hand. He also attempts to raze a section of the minaret but fails. At least 20 people -- including a police constable -- have been killed and more than 180 others have been injured in the violence. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday accused US President Donald Trump of hurting the country's reputation by not mentioning Mahatma Gandhi in the visitor's book at the Sabarmati Ashram. Gehlot said a person who does not have any regard for Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideology does not match with that of Gandhi was taken to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. "Mahatma Gandhi's name was not mentioned in the comments, Narendra Modi's name was written. I think that it has hurt the reputation of the country," the chief minister told reporters here. Trump visited the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday. In his message in the visitor's book, he wrote: "To my great friend Prime Minister Modi - Thank you for this wonderful visit." The next day, during his visit to the Rajghat in Delhi, the US president paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi. "The American people stand strongly with a sovereign and wonderful India -The vision of the great Mahatma -- This is a tremendous honour!" Trump wrote in the visitors book at Rajghat. Expressing concerns over the violence in Delhi, Gehlot said it was the result of polarisation which was done during the Delhi Assembly elections. "A campaign was run in Delhi elections for polarisation. They could not succeed that time because the public taught them a lesson but it is the result of the campaign which the entire world is seeing now," he said, targeting the BJP. Gehlot said that US president's programme remained intact despite the dharnas and demonstrations being held across the country and in the national capital. "Neither the prime minister nor the home minister is speaking. It is very unfortunate that such big incidents have happened, people lost lives in Delhi. Nobody knows what is happening in the country," he said. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for peace and brotherhood on Wednesday in his first reaction to the incidents of violence in northeast Delhi. Gehlot also appealed for peace in the national capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For his first residential commission in the United States, Italian architect Renzo Piano wanted to defy gravity. The sleek, oval-shaped Eighty Seven Park in Miami Beachs North Beach, seems to float above a vast, lush parklandtwo acres of which is private to residents of the 68-unit buildingand abuts the beach and sea. Photo: The Boundary The building is made of 16 decks flying one above the other, floating above the beach and park. Those suspended decks catch the sound and light of the ocean. Its a beautiful thing, Piano tells AD. I know fighting against gravity sounds a bit mad, but it is quite interesting because the tension between the sky and earth adds a poetic presence. Its not arrogant, its not possessive, its not selfish. This building is something that is more open. What we are expressing is that this building belongs to nature. Photo: The Boundary The residences range in size from 1,400 to 7,000 square feet, each with large terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and design details that echo North Beachs natural landscape (think: shell, pebble, and seagrass elements), all intended to connect inhabitants to the outdoors. In terms of facilities, Eighty Seven Park features two pools with cabanas, a spa with a hammam, a juice bar and cafe, a wine bar, and a library. Photo: Douglas Friedman The aforementioned two-acre private park, designed by Dutch landscape architecture firm West 8, is an added perk. Residents also have access to a 24-hour concierge, butler service, and even a staff botanist. Photo: Douglas Friedman While Piano is perhaps best known for his cultural centershes famously worked on the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among many other commissionsthe world of residential architecture is a growing field for the 82-year-old Pritzker Prize winner and his firm, Renzo Piano Building Workshop. He most recently completed 585 Broome SoHo in New York, in November 2019. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest The ruling also says after withdrawing Hope had not limited his contact with the area residents and had directly solicited residents in the case through a mass-mailing postcard campaign seeking additional clients to pursue individualized expedited actions. Plaintiffs argued and the court agreed on a protective order against the mailing, which it was argued was sowing confusion among residents in the class area. The ruling says the campaign increased Hopes number of clients from 55 he carried over from the suit to 203. As the suit continued and eventually made its second trip to the Iowa Supreme Court, Hope joined with a group of attorneys to pursue individual lawsuits and had negotiated a settlement with GPC independent of the suit and despite the courts certification that MBG was the counsel for the suit. The ruling says Hope had worked against the suit, soliciting nearly 800 households to leave the suit and sign with his firm. Differences in the settlement include individuals acknowledging the plant had used commercially reasonable means to control emissions and for residents to acknowledge GPC had a prescriptive easement over the residents property. The settlement was also contingent on the residents future cooperation with GPC. Delegates of the joint working group between Singapore and Malaysia observe the border health screening facilities at the JB Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex. (PHOTO: Ministry of Health/Facebook) SINGAPORE Singapore and Malaysia have agreed on the terms of reference for a joint working group to enhance the two countries cooperation in preventing and controlling the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. According to a media statement by Singapores Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (26 February), the joint working group will be co-led by the deputy health ministers of both countries. The groups first meeting was held in Johor Bahru on Tuesday. The Singapore delegation was led by Dr Benjamin Koh, MOHs deputy secretary (development), while his counterpart was Dr Chong Chee Kheong, deputy director general of health (public health). During the meeting, both countries updated each other on the COVID-19 situations in their respective countries, shared existing screening protocols at the two land borders, and began discussion on joint-border cooperation. Delegates also visited the health screening facilities at Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Bahru. The joint working group agreed to continue entry screening at both countries and align health screening protocols at the land borders; exchange information on clinical management of patients between technical experts; activate a bilateral Field Epidemiology Training Network to share surveillance data; and exchange information such as national advisories and public messaging on COVID-19. The second meeting of the joint working group is scheduled for March. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore. Related stories: COVID-19: New visitors with recent travel history to Daegu and Cheongdo not allowed to enter Singapore from late Wed COVID-19: Two church-related clusters linked through Chinese New Year family gathering COVID-19: Singapore confirms 1 new case; 5 discharged, 7 in intensive care COVID-19: How it's spreading in Singapore and the world HONOLULU - Hawaiian Airlines said Wednesday it would suspend flights to South Korea amid a spike in cases of the new coronavirus and declining demand for tickets in the country. The airline said it wont fly between Honolulu and Incheon International Airport near Seoul from March 2 through April 30. Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram said the move is prudent given a surge in COVID-19 cases in South Korea and declining demand for leisure travel from South Korea amid the outbreak. World health officials say the illness had now spread to 37 countries. A district court on Wednesday sent Samajwadi Party (SP) member of Parliament from Rampur, Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam to seven days in judicial custody after they surrendered before the court in a case related to the alleged forged birth certificate and other documents of Abdullah. On Tuesday, the court rejected the Khans anticipatory bail pleas and issued non-bailable arrest warrants against them. The court also ordered the police to attach their properties. Additional district judge Dhirendra Kumar rejected the anticipatory bail applications of Azam Khan, his wife and son in three separate cases related to Abdullahs fake birth certificates, PAN cards and passport, additional district government counsel Ram Avtar Saini said. In September 2019, the court issued summons to all the three members of the family after the police filed a charge sheet against them for suspected forgery. Khan, the MP from Rampur, has 88 cases pending against him, including land grabbing, encroachment and of theft books, livestock and electricity. Abdullah was disqualified as the SPs Suar MLA by the Allahabad high court on 16 December, 2019 because of a discrepancy in his election affidavit over his date of birth. The Khans have been charge sheeted for providing false information in Abdullahs passport application and booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Passport Act. The HC gave its verdict on the basis of a plea filed by Congresss Nawab Kazim Ali Khan alleging that Abdullah was under-age and furnished a forged birth certificate document in his bid to contest 2017 UP assembly elections. Abdullahs educational certificates show his date of birth as January 1, 1993, but Lucknow Nagar Nigam says he was born on September 30, 1990, Kazim alleged. On January 3, 2019, local BJP leader Akash Saxena had also filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Ganj Kotwali police station in Rampur alleging that Khan and his wife helped Abdullah to obtain two fake birth certificates one from Lucknow and another from Rampur . The next hearing of the case will be on March 2. Starting Sunday, several neighborhoods in north-east Delhi have witnessed extreme violence and destruction to life and property as communally charged supporters of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 clashed with anti-CAA protesters. One such hostile situation unfolded in Mustafabad, a Muslim majority neighborhood that saw persistent violence for 72 hours. As rioters took to streets in massive numbers, the situation got tense in several areas like Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Chand Bag, Badarpur and other locations around north-east Delhi which has a sizeable Muslim population. Taking a look at AAP leader Haji Mohd Yunus's Twitter handle reveals the ordeal that the leader, who won the Mustafabad seat after beating BJPs Jagdish Pradhan earlier in the month, and locals went through, even as "government officials" did not provide the assistance that was sought. Taking to social media, Yunus began tweeting appeals to all and sundry since January 24, Tuesday, for assistance. "There is an environment of terror on on all four sides of Mustafabad, rioters are firing and torching things as they roam. But no police force. I have constantly tried to speak to police officers but police cannot control the rioters. I request the Lieutenant Governor and home Minister to send police force here", he tweeted. This was the first tweet posted on Monday and the AAP leader tagged AAP's official handle as well as CM Arvind Kejriwal, LG Delhi. Delhi Police and Amit Shah. Yunus retweeted the post several times and wrote new updates regarding the ongoing violence in Mustafabad, a Muslim-majority neighborhood but to no avail. On February 25, Yunus again posted an update. "The condition in Mustafabad constiuency is extremely bad. I have been unable to go and attend Arvind Kejriwal's press conference, government officials are not answering the phone, not talking to me. Rioters are torching homes in Chand Nagarm, the situation is very tense. People are very angry". He again appealed to the LG, Home Minister and Delhi government to send a larger police force to these areas. And yet no response. Yunus also made appeals to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and Mohalla Clinic's Shaleen Mitra for medical aid. He said that several locals had been severely injured after repeated attacks by rioters and that ambulances were refusing to come due to persistent violence. He also said that the people of Mustafabad were helpless and scared and that only sending the army in could get the situation under control. He even warned that if no help came, nothing and no one would be left in Mustafabad. Late Tuesday night, a seemingly helpless Yunus stopped making appeals to Kejriwal and AAP entirely and instead focused on requesting the central government for assistance. "The condition in Mustafabad is becoming extremely scary with time especially in areas like Shiv Vihar. No police force. Entire Mustafabd is on the verge of destruction. Shots are being fired. People are dyig, houses are being burnt". Finally, AAP leader Sanjay Singh retweeted Yunus's appeal and asked Delhi Police to look into the matter. A few hours later, AAP tweeted that ambulances were on their way to Al hind hospital in Mustafabad where several injured people were awaiting medical assistance. Delhi Govt's ambulances will be reaching shortly at Al-Hind hospital in Mustafabad where many injured patients are waiting to be shifted to other hospitals. @hajimyunus and @ShaleenMitra struggled a lot so that the ambulances could reach to the injured victims. https://t.co/FP0vRSRibS AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 25, 2020 The situation, however, seems to have not improved even on Wednesday even when National Security Advisor Ajit Doval himself took to the riot-affected streets in Jaffrabad to assure locals of safety. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday morning, Yunus wrote that though army was present in some parts of Mustafabad, many areas cotinued to remain unguarded where residents ares till stuck at homes due to tense situations outside. The AAP leader once again requested Amit Shah and Prime Minister's office. By Wednesday afternoon, Yunus again posted that violence had broken out in Dayalpuur and Shakti Vihar areas of the constituency. Despite repeated appeals on Twitter, it seems the government as well as security agencies have been unable to contain the situation in Mustafabad, which saw one of the worst cases of violence. According to a report in Scroll, a mosque and school were torched in the area and a protest site was vandalised. According to Yunus, 10-11 people lost their lives in the violence. According to a report in The Wire, masked rioters armed with metal rods, pistols, molotov cocktails and stones arrived on Fberuary 25 and set fire to slums across Mustafabad. The report mentioned that children had also been attacked. News18 tried to get in touch with the MLA but has not received a response yet. Meanwhile, Doval who was on a "peace march" three days after the violence started said that the situation in the riot-hit northeast Delhi "is under control". He held a meeting with senior officials of the Delhi Police and visited some of the affected areas on Wednesday afternoon. Doval, promising to restore normalcy, told a student, "I give you my word, everything will be fine." Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, newly appointed special CP SN Shrivastava, Special CP (Law and Order) Satisha Golcha and DCP of northeast Delhi Ved Prakash Arya were among those present in the meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Wednesday demanded that Goa government announce the "retention allowance" of Rs 25,000 per month for each retrenched mining worker. AITUC Deputy General Secretary (Goa), Suhas Naik, said retention allowance is not a new demand, as such practice exists when retrenchments happen in other industrial sectors. "There are around 2500 to 3000 workers employed with mining companies who faced retrenchment due to the closure of the mining industry," Naik told PTI. The AITUC wanted the retention allowance of Rs 25,000 for each retrenched mining worker per month, he said. The mining industry in the coastal state came to a standstill from March 2018, after the supreme court quashed 88 mining leases. The state government has already filed a review petition in the apex court against the order which will come up for the hearing later this month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Feb 26 (ANI): India and the US on Tuesday extended their support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in a sovereign, democratic and inclusive Afghanistan. The support came in a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, who was on a two-day official visit to India. "India and the United States share an interest in a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. They support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in sustainable peace; cessation of violence; elimination of terrorist safe havens and preservation of the gains of the last 18 years," the joint statement said. US President Trump welcomed India's role in continuing to provide development and security assistance to help stabilize and provide connectivity in Afghanistan. The two leaders also noted the importance of women empowerment in the economy, in line with US' Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and India's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme. "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump noted the importance of advancing education, economic empowerment and entrepreneurship of women and girls through finance, training, and mentorship initiatives, as well as measures to promote their full and free participation in the economy, in line with the United States' Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and the Government of India's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme," the statement read. On Tuesday, US President concluded his 36 hours official visit to India, during which he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. (ANI) TOKYO, Feb 26, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701), a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies, and Telefonica, a leading provider of integrated communication solutions, have announced the launch of Telefonica's IP Network Fusion Project for digital network transformation in the Chilean market. NEC and infrastructure vendor partner Juniper Networks have partnered to implement the project with product solutions and system integration capabilities.Telefonica designed the IP Fusion Network Project as a platform for incorporating services into a single network infrastructure, offering advanced communications services and transforming the customer experience for mobile, residential and business services.This project requires network capacity to be expanded by implementing more than 170 nodes nationwide, guaranteeing the successful migration of customer services and assuring the maintenance of contracted service-level agreements (SLAs). Also, the project requires the implementation of an SDN solution that can control each of the devices from different providers in the network, as well as the design and operation of a seamless MPLS."NEC supports Telefonica Chile with a high level of network knowledge, work procedures and standards, helping to ensure the success of this project," said Shigeru Okuya, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. "Moreover, our global alliance with Juniper provides NEC with intimate knowledge of the Juniper platforms and technology that will be essential to the success of the Fusion project.""This new network will provide Telefonica Chile customers with significant benefits, increasing the network capacity for meeting current and future demand for high-performance connectivity and simplifying the network for offering advanced services. The new IP Network Fusion will be fully prepared for enabling the development of 5G networks," said Cayetano Carbajo, Telefonica Director of Core, Transport and Platforms, Global Technology and Information Unit.Several Juniper Networks technologies have been used to tackle project challenges: a homogeneous end-to-end platform based on Juniper MX-Series technology (MX2000, MX960), plus Juniper's Node Slicing technology to make the network more efficient, aggregating HL1 with HL2, as well as HL2 with HL3 and disaggregating functions in HL4 in different entities (Business PE and BRAS), which significantly reduces the total amount of physical equipment that is required. Additionally, Juniper's Network Implementation and Test Automation (NITA) tool enables automation of revision and programming changes during installations and migrations.About Juniper NetworksJuniper Networks challenges the inherent complexity that comes with networking in the multicloud era. We do this with products, solutions and services that transform the way people connect, work and live. We simplify the process of transitioning to a secure and automated multicloud environment to enable secure, AI-driven networks that connect the world. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (new windowwww.juniper.net), or connect with Juniper on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo and Junos are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.About TelefonicaTelefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world by market capitalization and number of customers with a comprehensive offering and quality of connectivity that is delivered over world class fixed, mobile and broadband networks. As a growing company it prides itself on providing a differential experience based both on its corporate values and a public position that defends customer interests.The company has a significant presence in 14 countries and 344 million accesses around the world. Telefonica is a 100% listed company and its shares are traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in New York and Lima.About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. The NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.Source: NEC CorporationCopyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Congress MP Husain Dalwai said that the Shanti March (Peace March) taken out by his party in the capital today was an appeal to the public to maintain peace. The march, led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the AICC Headquarters to Rithala, saw party workers carrying placards with slogans that read "Gandhiji ke raaste, aman ke vaaste (Gandhiji's path to peace)." "This is not but we are appealing to the people to maintain peace," said Dalwai while speaking to ANI. He also accused the BJP-led Central government of playing and added, "They are the ones who have started this. They must take responsibility for the incident." When asked about BJP leader Kapil Mishra's alleged hate speech, the Congress leader said that the 'police was dancing to the tunes of Mishra'. "The police dances to his tunes -- they help in causing riots, which is very wrong." Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's request to maintain peace, Dalwai said it came "a bit too late". However, he added: "It is a good thing (that PM Modi urged people to maintain peace)." Earlier today, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation blaming him for not doing enough to control the violence in the capital. The Congress will also hold a march and give a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday, informed party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. Over 20 people lost their lives and as many as 200 people sustained injuries following the violent clashes that broke out in northeast Delhi on Sunday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UK and EU businesses have been putting pressure on Fine Gael TDs to enter into government with Fianna Fail, it has emerged. Several Fine Gael TDs have said they have been lobbied by businesses asking that they do a deal with Fianna Fail to keep Sinn Fein out of government. The emails sent by businesses are nearly identical in content and have led some TDs to believe they are part of an orchestrated lobbying campaign. Correspondence seen by the Irish Independent shows each firm raising concerns with TDs about Sinn Fein or a left-wing government taking power in Ireland. In most cases, the TD is asked to encourage Fine Gael to enter into a coalition with Fianna Fail. One French business owner warned about the need for a strong economy in the face of the growing threat of the coronavirus. The businessman said he was "thankful" to see Fine Gael and Fianna Fail TDs working together to form a government. Similar correspondence has not been sent to Fianna Fail TDs, according to several party sources. A Fine Gael TD said the lobbying campaign was "quite obvious" and not "very sophisticated". "What they are doing is not going to be very effective and if they were truly concerned about their businesses they would have been in touch before the election," the TD said. Gerrard Gates, managing director of the Westgate Group in the UK, said he contacted Fine Gael TDs because he believes Sinn Fein and the left-wing would "wreck the whole economy" in Ireland. "We almost had it with Labour over here and Jeremy Corbyn, and you could how it damaged confidence in the economy," Mr Gates said. The hoarding company boss, who employs around 100 people, said his Irish representative said he should contact TDs. In his first reaction to incidents of violence in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed for peace and brotherhood, and said he has held an extensive review of the prevailing situation in various parts of the capital. He also said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored at the earliest. "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy," Modi tweeted. "Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times," he added. At least 20 people have been killed in communal violence in north east for the last few days. The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea challenging former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's detention under the Public Safety Act. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea challenging former J-K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's detention under the Public Safety Act. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra also asked Iltija Mufti, daughter of the PDP chief, to give an undertaking stating that she has not filed any other petition before another judicial forum, including the high court, challenging the detention of her mother. Iltija had filed a habeas corpus (bring the person) petition in the apex court challenging the government's order issued on 5 February for invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA) provision against Mehbooba Mufti to keep her in detention. Habeas corpus is a writ seeking production of a person, who has allegedly been in illegal detention, before a court. The bench has now posted the plea for hearing on 18 March. During the brief hearing, lawyer Nitya Ramakrishnan appearing for Iltija, said the impugned dossier, which formed the basis for invocation of the PSA, was "manifestly biased slanderous, libellous" against the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister. She also said that a person cannot be deprived of fundamental freedom and personal liberty on these grounds. The bench asked the lawyer to give an affidavit as to whether Iltija or somebody else has filed any other petition in the high court against the detention order. The lawyer replied in negative and undertook to file an affidavit in this regard in a day or two. She also said that Mehbooba Mufti has been accused of creating fear among the majority of the population and playing "cheap politics". She said that not a single incident of incitement has been referred in the dossier by the administration and the PDP chief has been wrongly put under detention under the PSA. Earlier, the same bench had issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory administration on a similar plea filed against the government notification invoking the PSA against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political leaders from the National Conference and its arch-rival PDP, were booked under the PSA by the administration on 6 February, barely hours before their six-month-long "preventive detention" was to come to an end. The grounds of detention against Abdullah claim that on the eve of the reorganisation of the state, he had allegedly made attempts to provoke general masses against the revocation of provisions of Articles 370 and Article 35A. Five hundred final year students undertaking professional courses and pursuing science streams in colleges in Jammu and Kashmir will undergo two-month internships in various IITs and Indian Institutes of Science and Research (IISERs) across the country. Higher Secretary Talat Parvez along with All India Council for Technical (AICTE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with four IITs and three IISERs for a two-month internship of 500 final year students for the 2020-21 academic session, an official spokesman said on Wednesday. The objective of the MoUs, which was signed in New Delhi, are to provide internship opportunities to students of J&K for empowering, inspiring and enhancing their employability, Parvez said. During the internship, the students will be working on cutting edge research in the field of science and technology under the guidance of faculties from the premier institutions, he added. Students from any of the science and engineering disciplines of the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are eligible to apply for the internship, he pointed out. MoUs in respect of IIT Guwahati, IIT Ropar, IIT Pune, IIT Bhubaneswar, IISER Orrisa, IISER Pune and IISER Kolkata were signed under the presence of the Union HRD Minister, the spokesman said. Under this first-of-a-kind internship initiative, the travelling expenses of students will be funded by the HRD ministry through AICTE while the hostel and tuition expenses will be borne by the host institutions. The applications will be invited online for merit-based selection from all colleges and a short-list will be prepared by April 15, 2020. The training is scheduled to begin from May 15 to July 15, 2020 and for a month in December 2020, the spokesman said. Also, IITs and IISERs are likely to extend a similar offer to help J&K Higher Education Department to provide much needed exposure to quality enhancement and research opportunities in state-of-the-art technologies, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representative Image Gold prices slipped Rs 153 to Rs 42,655 per 10 grams in Mumbai's bullion market on profit booking and rupee appreciation. News that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned American citizens on February 25 that the coronavirus could spread in the country capped the downside. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Switzerland that for the first time the new coronavirus cases reported outside China was more than the new cases reported in China. The rate of 10 grams, 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 39,072 plus 3 percent GST, while 10 grams, 24-carat was Rs 42,655 plus GST. The price of 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 31,991 plus GST in the retail market. According to Navneet Damani, Vice President, Motilal Oswal, gold prices continued to witness some profit booking falling by almost 2 percent on the domestic bourses. After hitting the all-time highs on the MCX, investors booked profits and let go of some of the steam from the prices. Coronavirus concerns in Iran, South Korea and Italy are on the rise lifting the bets for safe havens. The US has also warned its citizens over the domestic spread of the virus which has rattled global markets. The broader trend on Comex could be $1,610-1,670 and on domestic front prices could hover in the range of Rs 42,150-42,950, said Damani. The gold/silver ratio, which is the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold, currently stands at 90.43 to 1. Silver prices fell Rs 890 to Rs 47,165 per kg from its closing on February 25. Also read: Coronavirus scare could send gold prices soaring even more In the futures market, gold rates touched an intraday high of Rs 42,854 and an intraday low of Rs 42,480 on MCX. For the April series, the yellow metal touched a low of Rs 37,530 and a high of Rs 43,788. Gold futures for delivery in April slipped Rs 214, or 0.50 percent on the MCX trading at Rs 42,574 per 10 grams in the evening trade for a business turnover of 15,052 lots. Gold contracts for delivery in June eased Rs 153, or 0.36 percent, at Rs 42,850 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 8,365 lots. The value of the April contracts traded so far is Rs 4,184.96 crore and that of June contracts saw the value of Rs 160.18 crore. Similarly, Gold Mini contracts for March was down Rs 187, or 0.44 percent at Rs 42,488 in a business turnover of 4,535 lots. Axis Securities advised its clients to sell April Gold around Rs 42,800 levels with a stop loss at Rs 42,900 and a target of Rs 42,700. MCX Gold has support at Rs 42,590-42,370, whereas resistance is at Rs 42,870-42,950, according to Motilal Oswal. The broking firm said that intraday upside will be seen as long as the price holds above the support zone. The brokerage firm said spot gold has immediate support at $1,638-1,630, whereas resistance is at the $1,656-1,662 range. At 12:52 pm (GMT), spot gold gained $9.58 at $1,644.66 an ounce in London trading. Employees of an agricultural cooperative work in a farm for its contractor who fails to come back in time for spring farming due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, in Yongfeng Village, Tongxiang City of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 25, 2020. Local authorities offer a solution to farm contractors absent from spring farming due to the virus by promoting farm mandate. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) "The more risks and challenges we face, the more we need to stabilize agriculture and ensure the safety of grain and major non-staple foods," said President Xi Jinping as he highlighted organizing timely spring farming in an all-out effort to secure a bumper summer grain harvest while rigorously implementing the differentiated epidemic control measures. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has stressed the need to prioritize issues concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers and improve weak links in order to provide strong support for winning the war to prevent and control the epidemic, as well as attaining objectives and targets set for economic and social development of the whole year. "The more risks and challenges we face, the more we need to stabilize agriculture and ensure the safety of grain and major non-staple foods," Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a recent instruction on spring farming in the country. Xi highlighted organizing timely spring farming in an all-out effort to secure a bumper summer grain harvest while rigorously implementing the differentiated epidemic control measures in accordance with local conditions and risk levels. China will step up policies supporting grain production to keep sown areas and grain output stable, Xi said. In this regard, efforts will be made to optimize modern rural infrastructures including high-yield farmland and water conservancy and agricultural mechanization projects, raise agricultural technological innovation capability and speed up promotion and application, and enhance the capability of grain production and disaster prevention and mitigation. He also noted solid work on the prevention and control of major plant diseases and insect pests and animal diseases to ensure farm security. Meanwhile, the country will speed up hog production and address the difficulties to resume production targets, Xi said. Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged local departments to earnestly implement Xi Jinping's instructions to coordinate epidemic control with economic and social development while facilitating spring farming preparations. The above instructions were delivered to the national teleconference on spring farming held Tuesday in Beijing, which was attended by Vice Premier Hu Chunhua. Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, underscored coordination between rural epidemic control and spring agricultural production, urging those involved to tackle the protruding issues in spring farming to ensure a victory in summer grain production. LONDON - A lawyer for Johnny Depp told a British judge on Wednesday that the stars ex-wife Amber Heard lied when she accused him of domestic abuse. Depp denies the abuse allegations, and attended the High Court in London for a preliminary hearing in his libel suit against British tabloid newspaper The Sun. The Hollywood star is suing The Suns parent company, News Group Newspapers, and the newspapers executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article alleging he had been abusive to Heard. The Pirates of the Caribbean star sat behind his legal team in court as his lawyer David Sherborne said the case would feature diametrically opposed versions of events from Depp and Heard. One person, one side, is lying, and one is not, he said. Obviously, we say that it is Ms. Heard (who is lying), Mr. Depp is 100% clear about that. The lawyer said that Heard was not a victim but the aggressor in the couples relationship. Depp and Heard divorced in 2017. The full hearing is due to start on March 23. Depp is also suing Heard for libel in the United States. NEW HAVEN Coronavirus is likely to spread in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local officials across Connecticut are preparing to deal with a potential outbreak. Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday that the state government was prepared to address the disease, following the drills and procedures it has established. CDC officials reported Tuesday that Covid-19 was likely to spread in the United States in the near future, noting that it had appeared without obvious cause in several countries, which qualifies as community spread, the second of three criteria for a global pandemic. A Yale New Haven Health System official, at the same time, said most people who do become ill wouldnt require hospitalization. Yale New Haven adapting, cautious Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director for infection prevention for the Yale New Haven Health System, said its five hospitals and Northeast Medical Group staff are continuously re-examining protocols to screen patients who may have traveled to an affected area or been in the company of someone who has and who shows symptoms of the coronavirus. One of the challenges that were working on now is thinking about how we can adapt the protocols that weve set forth, he said. All patients are asked whether they have any signs and symptoms of the disease, such as cough, fever or trouble breathing, he said. Screening is focused in the triage desk of our Emergency Departments at Yale New Haven, Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly, R.I., hospitals, but it also is occurring in doctors offices. We are creating a process where we can make decisions about what countries we can add to the list that we currently have, Martinello said Wednesday. Now, patients are only being asked about China, and were in the process of re-evaluating that, he said. He said he is increasingly concerned about travelers to South Korea and, to a lesser extent, Japan and Italy. He said the CDC is still focused on China but that Yale New Haven is recognizing that individual hospitals and doctors offices need to be flexible. ... This is changing so rapidly, we need to be adaptable to it. Weve had people who were in Israel and were in a meeting with people from South Korea who appeared to be sick with a respiratory infection, Martinello said. There are a lot of nuances here. We need to be cautious. He said that while there have been patients that staff have been concerned about, we havent identified anybody suffering from the coronavirus. If any of our staff have a concern, our infection-prevention team is available 24/7, he said. More News UNH recommends students in Italy return as coronavirus spreads Really over the course of any given day were going to see some changes, he said. The screening questions are being integrated into patients electronic health records. The important thing right now is we all need to pay careful attention to this, Martinello said. Most people who get sick will get a mild, moderate illness that wont require hospitalization. We do need to avoid unproductive anxiety over this. Concerns across the state Lamont during a press conference Thursday asked residents to have confidence in the state governments ability to handle the potential impact of coronavirus, noting they had regularly conducted pandemic drills, including this past August, and communicated with health care providers and local and federal agencies regularly. This is not a call to make you nervous. Its a call to give you confidence that were ready for whats going forward here, said Lamont. Matthew Cartter, director of infectious diseases for the state Department of Public Health, noted the CDC had shifted in recent days from attempting to keep the virus out of the United States to mitigating its effect here, as well. Such a disease, easily spread person-to-person, was always likely to come to our shores, he said. A vaccine would likely not be available for at least a year, he noted. He said the current moment provided a window of opportunity for preparation, allowing health officials to better address the virus. Its no good pretending that its not going to come. I think the old saying is better to prepare for the worst than hope for the best, and right now its time to prepare, said Cartter. Jennifer Jackson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Hospital Association, said hospitals across Connecticut are prepared to treat those battling the virus. I want the public to be assured that hospitals are prepared to care for patients with Covid-19. This is what hospitals do. We regularly prepare, we plan, we train, for outbreaks of disease, said Jackson. We have built resiliency into our system. We have experience preparing for Ebola, for H1N1, and every year, for the flu. Cartter noted that the CDC has guidelines for workplaces and schools to follow in case of a pandemic. In the future, if need be, he said the state might recommend social distancing measures, such as having people stand six feet apart or canceling large gatherings. Michael Spera, police chief in Old Saybrook and president of the Connecticut Emergency Management Association, wrote to Lamont Wednesday, sharing his concerns about the lack of protective equipment available to emergency responders. CEMA is most concerned with the extreme shortage of available personal protective equipment and has called on the Governor to take immediate measure to ensure that healthcare and public safety providers have the personal protective equipment needed to respond to a potential outbreak of the virus in Connecticut, Spera said in a statement. The CDC has recommended that those sickened by the virus wear face masks to keep from spreading it to others. Lamont said officials had been in touch with the states congressional delegation about its needs, including masks, so they can accurately lobby for funds from the federal government. Such supplies are now in high demand, he noted, as countries and states prepare to deal with coronavirus. New Havens plan for a coronavirus case New Haven officials said a report of a potential case, first shared with the citys Public Safety Access Point personnel, would then be transmitted to New Haven fire and police, American Medical Response, the city Health Department and Yale New Haven Hospital, among others. Assistant Fire Chief for Operations Mark Vendetto said firefighters and EMTs would take particular caution to isolate the sick individual, including responding with an apparatus outfitted with a biocell, calling the person in question over the phone to assess their symptoms before making face-to-face contact, and wearing protective equipment before addressing the patient. Fire Chief John Alston said firefighters would be offered counseling and information afterward, with hope of helping them digest the stressful situation. New Haven police would provide traffic and crowd control, Lt. Mark ONeill said. Yale New Haven Hospital would ensure the patient is brought to its York Street campus, isolating them in a negatively-pressurized room in the emergency department to be stabilized, according to April Alfano, YNHHs manager of disaster preparedness and response. Mayor Justin Elicker said the disease has been on the citys radar for five or six weeks, after an individual flew back to New Haven from China, leading Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana to work with officials and community partners to develop the plan. Director of Health Maritza Bond said officials now are monitoring a handful of people in New Haven who may have been at risk of contracting the illness. Fontana said the city is staying abreast of the latest guidance from the CDC and would adapt its plan as needed. He asked residents to take the same steps they would to avoid transmitting the flu at this time, including washing their hands and covering their mouths when coughing. Students and others The University of New Haven recommended Tuesday that students and faculty at its Tuscan campus return to the United States due to the evolving threat of the coronavirus in Europe. Fairfield University closed its Florence University of the Arts study abroad program Tuesday, bringing 142 students back to the United States. Sacred Heart University brought home its students studying at John Cabot University in Rome. UConns study abroad programs in Italy remain active, but the university Wednesday advised the 88 students studying there to avoid traveling to areas affected by the coronavirus. Southern Connecticut State University is making arrangement for two students in Italy to return home, while Quinnipiac University Wednesday recommended its students studying abroad return home , according to HQ Press. Local chief elected officials broke into discussion of the disease at Wednesdays meeting of the South Central Regional Council of Governments, demonstrating evidence of the heightened consciousness about coronavirus among those responsible for planning any response. Meriden City Manager Timothy Coon said officials in that community had begun formulating a plan to address the virus if necessary. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim advised residents to take preventative measures in a statement, including washing hands often, staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, as well as cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces. If action needs to be taken, our Health Department is prepared to respond in case of an emergency and the Emergency Operations Center will share information as quickly as it becomes available, said Ganim in a statement. The Bridgeport EOC continues to monitor the coronavirus situation and has been involved with other health stakeholders within the community; remaining in contact with local hospitals as they are partners in responding to an emergency plan activated by the City in case the virus poses a threat to the community. Bradley International Airport has not begun screening for the coronavirus, as the airport does not receive direct flights from any region yet affected, Public Information Officer Ryan Tenny said Wednesday. The CDC is screening passengers at 20 airports across the country, he noted. The safety of our passengers and the entire Bradley International Airport community is of utmost importance to us. We will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation, and we are staying in constant contact with the experts at the CDC and State Department of Public Health to ensure that all possible precautions are taken and contingencies are considered, Tenny said in a statement. We will continue to respond to the advice of health experts and we are prepared to adjust our operations with the appropriate measures should the need arise. Torrington Area Health Department nurse Leslie Pollito said Wednesday that she and others at the department are prepared if they need to plan for a pandemic, and had been consulting with local and state officials and watching the CDCs travel advisories, which include a recommendation to avoid nonessential travel to China and South Korea. Nows the time to plan, Pollito said. We dont want people to panic, but its never too early to plan for things like this. The Norwalk Health Department has indicated on its website that officials are monitoring the spread of the disease. We will continue to work with partners at the state and federal levels, as well as our partners here in Norwalk, to stay updated on this situation and to prepare for a response should the situation warrant it, officials said. Severity of possible outbreak remains unclear The severity of a potential coronavirus outbreak in the United States is still unclear, federal officials said Wednesday. Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in a call with reporters Wednesday. She noted that there is no vaccine for Covid-19, the specific strain of coronavirus in question, or medication approved to treat it. She said nonpharmaceutial interventions would be the most important part of the response. The CDC is striving to both contain the spread of the disease and mitigate its effects at this time, she said. According to the World Health Organization, 77,780 confirmed cases of the disease had been reported in China as of Tuesday, and 1,205 reported outside the country. A total of 2,700 deaths have been reported, according to the WHO. Fifty-four Americans had come down with the disease as of Monday, according to the CDC, including 14 within the countrys borders. Chinese health officials, studying 72,314 cases diagnosed before Feb. 11, said Monday the lethality rate for those individuals was about 2.3 percent, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. About 81 percent of cases were considered mild, officials said. The number of mild cases of the disease that may not be coming to the attention of public health officials, which would affect the lethality rate, is as of yet unclear. The lethality rate for the 1918 outbreak of Spanish flu was about 2.5 percent, although that disease killed healthy, younger people at a higher rate than Covid-19 appears to have so far. The typical lethality rate for a flu outbreak is about 0.1 percent; 16,000 people have died from the flu in the United States so far this season. The lethality rate for SARS, which infected about 8,000 people in 2002-03, was 10 percent during that period, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. According to Yale University, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, and more severe illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. Symptoms may appear between two and 14 days after someone is exposed, officials said. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com; Ed Stannard and Mark Zaretsky contributed to this story. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:10:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including the shooter, were killed in a shooting on a company campus in Milwaukee in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on Wednesday, local media reported. When Trump launched his hostile takeover of the GOP, ammo of almost every kind could be fired at him. He was a lifelong Democrat whod been pro-abortion rights and pro-gun control. He didnt have even a rudimentary understanding of the issues a president has to deal with, domestic or foreign. The stories about his personal shortcomings affairs, bankruptcies, sexual improprieties were an opposition researchers dream. Conservatives had decades of experience arguing on this turf, and they still failed to stop him. So intense was the populist ire against the establishment, Trump could claim every attack was proof that the old guard was scared of him. Sanders is playing that same card effectively with his base, but he has other advantages as well. First, he may be quirky, but he has comparatively little personal baggage to dredge up. Also, he may be a left-wing ideologue, but hes a sophisticated and experienced one who sounds like he knows what hes talking about. With US President Donald Trump's visit to India over, the BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of putting "family interest above national interest", attacking the party for declining to attend a banquet given in his honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan because its president Sonia Gandhi was not extended an invitation. Senior BJP leader and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said his party presidents were also not invited for similar banquets to honour US president George Bush and Barrack Obama when they had visited India when the Congress-led UPA was in power. The BJP had not boycotted the events then, he said, noting that Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari were the party president in 2006 and 2010 respectively during the visits of US presidents. Prasad noted that Ghulam Nabi Azad and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively, besides former prime minister Manmohan Singh were invited for the banquet given in Trump's honour. The Congress leaders skipped the dinner to protest a similar invitation not being extended to Sonia Gandhi. "Trump's historic visit is over. The Indo-US relations are on a new high. Even here the Congress is doing its petty This has become the party's practice that the family interest comes above the national interest," Prasad said. The BJP leader said the Congress had also created a row over its then president Rahul Gandhi not being given a front row seat during the Republic Day parade. The opposition party, he said, had also sought evidence of the Balakot air strike, whose first anniversary fell on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protesters have staged a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the Reception House of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow in support of Sputnik Estonia, which has been subject to significant pressure from authorities in the Baltic country, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Protesters have staged a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the Reception House of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow in support of Sputnik Estonia, which has been subject to significant pressure from authorities in the Baltic country, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene. The demonstrators, who were dressed in yellow - the corporate color of Sputnik held the protest ahead of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is also the current chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in the Foreign Ministry building in the Russian capital. Those taking part in the demonstration were specifically waiting for the arrival of Rama, in order to draw his attention to the pressure faced by Sputnik Estonia journalists, who were forced to terminate their contracts starting from January 1, after receiving threats of jail terms of up to five years from Estonian authorities. Protesters displayed banners with the slogans "Estonia is a concentration camp for journalists" and "Hands off journalists in the Baltic states." Moscow has previously stated that it expects the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Harlem Desir, to push Estonian authorities to review their repressive policies against journalists from Sputnik's desk in the Baltic country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow will do everything in its power to ensure that Sputnik journalists can conduct their work in foreign countries. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday against seven Texas towns that have passed local laws banning abortion. The towns' ordinances claim to ban abortion, some kinds of reproductive health offerings, like birth control and emergency contraception including Plan B. Though none of the towns have clinics that provide abortions, the regulations say they prohibit those facilities from opening. In its filing, the ACLU claims the ordinances violate the constitution and mislead residents "as to whether individuals can in fact exercise their right to access abortion." The plaintiffs in the suit, Texas Equal Access Fund and Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity advocate for education about abortion access. The ACLU suit says they have been deemed "criminal organizations" by the local ordinances, as have six other organizations that promote abortion rights. Part of the ordinances would not take effect unless the Supreme Court overturned existing laws, including Roe V. Wade, but the existence of the ordinances limit education efforts and create confusion about abortion rights, the ACLU claims. The towns passed the ordinances to block clinics from moving to Texas following the passage of stricter laws in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, the ACLU suit said, citing a local news report that quoted the Mayor of Waskom, a small town in East Texas. Waskom was the first town to declare itself a "sanctuary city for the unborn."Waskom's location made it a prime target for the ordinance, said Mark Lee Dickson, executive director of Right to Life East Texas, in an interview with CBS News last year. Waskom is about 20 minutes away from the Hope Clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana, an abortion provider that could close depending on how the Supreme Court rules on an upcoming case centering on abortion restrictions."It would make complete sense for people to cross the border to Waskom," Dickson told CBS News. "That would destroy the city." Story continues Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Mark Lee Dickson's name. Buttigieg endorsed by major South Carolina newspaper ICYMI: A look back at Sunday's 60 Minutes Democratic candidates and the debate over abortion A new Netflix documentary series pulls apart the broken government system that allowed an eight-year-old in California to undergo prolonged abuse before he was killed in May 2013. Mother Pearl Fernandez was sentenced to life in prison and her sadistic boyfriend Isauro Aguirre was sentenced to death in 2018 after they murdered Gabriel Fernandez because they thought he was gay. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez offers an inside look at court as well as an eye-opening investigation about how the Los Angeles County's Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) received multiple reports and warning signs before he passed away. Gabriel was initially raised by his uncle Michael and his partner David but soon after he moved in with his mother his teacher reported injuries. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez offers an inside look at court as well as an eye-opening investigation about how the DCFS received multiple reports and warning signs before the eight-year-old passed away in 2013 Mother Pearl Fernandez (right)was sentenced to life in prison and her sadistic boyfriend Isauro Aguirre (left) was sentenced to death in 2018 Social worker Gregory Merritt says: 'The system is overtaxed, the most children I had was about 280. I did not commit a crime' He was punished for playing with dolls and forced to wear girl's clothes to school. The little boy endured violence that Los Angeles Judge George G. Lomeli described as 'horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil'. A trailer for the documentary begins with a warning from the courtroom guard: 'This is going to be very emotional, if at any point to find yourself overwhelmed, please step out, compose yourself and com back inside.' During the trial, prosecutors told how Gabriel was forced to sleep blindfolded in a cabinet or handcuffed to a door and gagged. He was beaten with a belt buckle, metal hanger, bats, and shot with BB guns, leaving pellets lodged in his lung and groin. They also force fed him cat feces and his own vomit. They tried to cover up their abuse and discussed putting him in ice baths over text messages. Gabriel had cigarette markings on his body and they thought the baths would help disguise his bruises. It took two days to do the autopsy which discovered Gabriel died from blunt force trauma compounded by neglect. As part of their case, prosecutors submitted drawings which illustrated the scale of the boy's injuries. At the time of his death Gabriel's skull was fractured, his teeth had been knocked out and the inside of his throat was burned During the trial, prosecutors told how Gabriel was forced to sleep blindfolded in a cabinet He was handcuffed to a door and gagged, beaten with bats and shot with BB guns, leaving pellets lodged in his lung and groin. The scene at the California home is pictured. This is the bedroom where he was found lifeless They tried to cover up their abuse and discussed putting him in ice baths over text messages. Pearl is pictured right and Isauro Aguirre left At the time of his death Gabriel's skull was fractured, his teeth had been knocked out and the inside of his throat was burned. He also had a laceration near his penis. Gabriel took a fatal beating because he failed to pick up his toys but the torture lasted over a period of eight months. Award-winning documentarian Brian Knappenberger explores how LA County district attorney Jackie Lacey not only prosecuted the mother and her boyfriend but the four social workers too. The DCFS employees faced 10 years behind bars but were cleared in January, the Los Angeles Times reported. Their reporter Garrett Therolf features in the series. A three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal issued an opinion 'that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel'. One of the child services workers denies being partly responsible for the death and reveals the astonishing workload social services employees have. 'The system is overtaxed, the most children I had was about 280,' Gregory Merritt says. 'I did not commit a crime.' With Garrett Therolf (left) talks about how LA County district attorney Jackie Lacey (right) not only prosecuted the mother and her boyfriend but the four social workers too. DA Lacey says: 'As prosecutors we need to up our game' In the series released on Wednesday, authorities, family members and the victim's teachers, direct some of the blame toward Merritt, 64 (pictured) Merritt (left) and Kevin Bom (right), 40, supervised social workers Stefanie Rodriguez (center), then 34, and Patricia Clement, 69. They faced prosecution but were cleared in January 'They had a job and their job was to save a little boy,' his cousin Emily Carranza says In the series released on Wednesday, authorities, family members and the victim's teachers, direct some of the blame toward Merritt, 64. Meritt alongside Kevin Bom, 40, supervised social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, then 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, who also faced prosecution. They were four that faced firing while two others involved in the case were simply reprimanded. Contributors to the six-part series explore how authorities never checked underneath the boy's clothes for signs of abuse and there was 'no medical follow up even to the injuries that were acknowledged by the department'. It details how even a security guard at the welfare department tried to get a colleague to file a report, but was told how office superiors dissuaded her because it could mean getting unwanted overtime charges. 'I believe the ultimate evil is seeing what's wrong and looking away when you have the power to make the difference,' an interviewee close to the case shares in the documentary. 'They had a job and their job was to save a little boy,' his cousin Emily Carranza says. Gabriel's friend shares: 'That was my friend and it really caught me because that was his parent who took his life'. Pearl Fernandez is pictured right However it's suggested the system is corrupt as one interviewee (right) says: 'When the details came out of how this poor child was tortured and all these people knew I think it shook the system to the core.' But another (left) adds: 'Bureaucracies tend to function to protect the institution at all costs' A little girl who was friends with Gabriel shares: 'That was my friend and it really caught me because that was his parent who took his life.' DA Lacey says: 'As prosecutors we need to up our game.' However it's suggested the system is corrupt as one interviewee says: 'When the details came out of how this poor child was tortured and all these people knew I think it shook the system to the core.' But another adds: 'Bureaucracies tend to function to protect the institution at all costs.' The DCFS visited Gabriel's Palmdale home on numerous occasions including for a complaint about a suicide note. His mother got his brother, 13, to lie to social workers and authorities dismissed the incident because Gabriel hadn't detailed a means of killing himself. Police had also been notified about school absences and suspected abuse but a deputy said she was given the wrong address and when Pearl was reached via phone she claimed Gabriel had moved to Texas to live with his grandmother. One contributor opines: 'The system has this enormous power. There are those who think that by not talking you can limit the bad publicity.' live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Here are stocks that are in the news today: IRB Infrastructure: The company received the Mumbai-Pune Expressway project under the toll-operate-toll model. Arrow Greentech: The company received closure intimation notice from Gujarat Pollution Control Board for the manufacturing unit in Ankleshwar. Dr Lal PathLabs: Company will pay Rs 6 per share interim dividend. Wockhardt: India Ratings revised the company's ratings for short-term bank facilities to A4+/Rating Watch Evolving from A4+, long-term loan facilities rating to BB+/RWE from BB+/Negative. Sunteck Realty - India Ratings and Research affirmed rating of Commercial Papers at IND A1+ Asian Paints: Company will pay Rs 7.15 per share as interim dividend. InterGlobe Aviation: IndiGo said the company did not receive SEBI letter on related party deal disclosures. JSW Steel: Fitch cuts the company's outlook rating to negative from stable. India Cements: Gopikishan S Damani, the brother of ace investor Radhakishan Damani, bought 2.75 percent stake in India Cements on February 25. Tata Chemicals: Promoter Tata Sons continued to increase its shareholding in Tata Chemicals. It acquired 16,21,075 shares of the company at Rs 749.62 per share on February 25. Bharti Airtel: The company loses 11,050 users in December versus the addition of 16 lakh users (MoM). Vodafone Idea: The company loses 36.44 lakh users in December versus a loss of 3.64 crore users (MoM). Bajaj Healthcare: Company has executed an agreement with Vetpharma to purchase its manufacturing facilities of bulk drug and API comprising of immovable properties and movable properties including plant and machinery. Godawari Power & Ispat: Company commenced commercial production at its rolling mill and iron ore beneficiation plant after approval from Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board. Bandhan Bank: RBI allowed expanding its branch network after considering the lender's efforts to comply with the licensing conditions. Yes Bank: CARE Ratings placed Yes Bank's bonds worth Rs 21,000 crore on "credit watch with negative implications" citing the continued delay in raising core equity capital. Bank of Baroda: BoB said it has moved the Supreme Court against an order passed by the Calcutta High Court in a matter related to a bank guarantee issued on behalf of Simplex Projects Ltd. BPCL: The company has procured 500 million barrels of distress crude (five shiploads) at a discount of $3-5 per barrel to the already low prevailing price following order cancellations by coronavirus-hit China this month. Vedanta: Anil Agarwal said he is open to selling a stake in Cairn India to make it valuable for investors. Agarwal said that the company is interested in buying a stake in BPCL. ITD Cementation India - ICRA assigned long term rating as ICRA A Stable and short term rating as ICRA A1 KSB launched new product under water application pump category Tourism Finance Corporation of India - IFCI has sold the stake in company and IFCI holding stands nil Bliss GVS Pharma - Mayank Mehta - chairman & independent director of the company has tendered his resignation with effect from February 24, 2020 NRB Industrial Bearings - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance sold 8.33 lakh share of the company Sanofi India - Recommendation for payment of final dividend of Rs 106 per equity share and one-time special dividend of Rs 243 per equity share Rs 10 each for the year ended December 31, 2019 Bulk deals (For more bulk deals, click here) BRISTOL, Tenn. The mother of a missing Blountville toddler falsely told investigators earlier this month that 15-month-old Evelyn Mae Boswell was in the childs fathers custody, despite the father currently being enlisted out of state in the U.S. Army and not having possession of Evelyn, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in Bristol General Sessions Court. On Feb. 18, Detective Tracy Haraz with the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office said she had received a referral from the Department of Children Services that Evelyn Boswell had not been seen since before last Christmas, the document states. Haraz and a CPS case worker contacted mother Megan Boswell, 18, who the affidavit describes as the toddlers sole legal custodian. Boswell told the officials that Evelyn was with the childs father, Ethan Perry, and that she was supposed to meet him at an Ingles parking lot in Colonial Heights to exchange custody. After further investigation, detectives determined that Ethan Perry is actively enlisted in the United States Army and is presently stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana and did not have possession of Evelyn, Haraz writes in the affidavit. Through investigation, it was determined that Megan Boswell made the false statement to law enforcement in response to a legitimate inquiry by Law Enforcement concerning a material fact about an offense or with the intent to hinder Law Enforcement from locating Evelyn Boswell, the affidavit states. Authorities have charged Megan Boswell with filing a false report. She was arrested Tuesday and taken to the Sullivan County jail on $25,000 bond. She was arraigned in Bristol court this morning and appeared via video from the jail. Her next court date is set for March 2, according to court records. The Sullivan County Sheriffs Office is set to hold a news briefing later today at 1:30 p.m. about Boswells arrest. The Bristol Herald Courier will live stream the briefing from Blountville on its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/heraldcourierdotcom. Anyone with information about Evelyns whereabouts is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND. 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. Moneypenny joins the Good Business Charter This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 26th, 2020 Moneypenny, the worlds leading outsourced communication provider, has signed up to the Good Business Charter (GBC). The company, which is based on the Western Gateway in Wrexham, manages 15 million calls and live chats annually for 13,000 businesses, from sole traders to multinationals, in the UK and US. It has now joined the likes of Deloitte, Capita and Richer Sounds to sign up to the GBC, which exists for all companies and charities with 10 employees or more across all industries and sectors and works through a simple online self-certification process. The GBC has been set up by a charity called the Good Business Foundation and accreditation will be free for all companies in the first year. It seeks to raise the bar on business practices for employees, tax, the environment, customers and suppliers. Chairman of the GBC board, Simon Fox, said: The Good Business Charter brings together 10 standards, most of which already exist, but in separate places. We have bought them together to give a coherent overall position for businesses to aspire to. We believe that the GBC has enormous potential to change business practice for good. We hope that because of its simplicity and cost effectiveness, it will quickly gain support. Joanna Swash CEO of Moneypenny, said: Were excited to be an early member of the Good Business Charter, a movement to inspire and motivate good business practice. Being inclusive and responsible, in every sense of the word, is at the very heart of our business at Moneypenny. Looking after our growing team of more than 750 brilliant people is of paramount importance and our entire business model has been built around this and we are always reviewing how we conduct ourselves as a business. Having happy, productive and engaged employees ensures we have happy clients and Moneypenny is regularly referred to as one of the happiest workplaces in the UK. We are also proud to have be recognised as one of the Sunday Times Best Companies six times. A former Prime Minister of France and his British wife accused of stealing from taxpayers were today told that they would once have been hanged if found guilty. The macabre observation was made in the Paris Correctional Court, where Francois and Penelope Fillon instead risk 10 years in prison. Both are said to have set up fake jobs for Ms Fillon, a 64-year-old mother of five who was born in Wales, so they could steal up to 1million. The macabre observation was made in the Paris Correctional Court, where Francois and Penelope Fillon instead risk 10 years in prison 'Under the Ancient Regime, the offense of of embezzlement of public funds was punished with the death penalty by hanging,' said prosecutor Aurelien Letocart. Mr Letocart raised the point to illustrate how serious the alleged offences were, as the Fillons' own lawyers tried to challenge the legitimacy of the trial. The Ancient Regime is shorthand for the old monarchical France that existed before the 1790s Revolution. Today was the first full afternoon of the trial, that opened and was then adjourned on Monday because of a lawyers' strike. Both are said to have set up fake jobs for Ms Fillon, a 64-year-old mother of five who was born in Wales, so they could steal up to 1million Ms Fillon is accused of stealing cash by pretending to be the parliamentary assistant to her 65-year-old husband, despite never having set foot in the Paris parliament building, which is called the National Assembly. Ms Fillon also had a fabricated and highly lucrative 'job' as 'literary advisor' to a magazine ran by a political ally of her husband, it is alleged. The exposure of such scams led to Mr Fillon, a right-wing conservative who made much of his Catholicism and devotion to family values, losing the 2017 presidential election. He had been the hot favourite to become head of state, with Mrs Fillon as his First Lady, but both were instead placed under investigation over a suspect fraud worth up to 1million. Ms Fillon also had a fabricated and highly lucrative 'job' as 'literary advisor' to a magazine ran by a political ally of her husband, it is alleged The couple are being tried for the embezzlement of public funds, fraud, theft and criminal complicity in the so-called Penelopegate scandal. Most of the charges come with prison sentences of up to 10 years, and fines equivalent to some 1million. Marc Jouland, the MP who did Mr Fillon's constituency work when he served as Prime Minister for five years up until 2012, is also in the dock. Mr Jouland, 52, is said to have renewed Mrs Fillon's fake contracts and increased her salary for doing nothing. A prosecutors' report reads: 'There is no evidence indicating the reality of Penelope Fillon's work.' The exposure of such scams led to Mr Fillon, a right-wing conservative who made much of his Catholicism and devotion to family values, losing the 2017 presidential election French presidential election candidate for the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party Francois Fillon (C) sits between president of the French Senate Gerard Larcher (L) and Marseille's mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin during a campaign rally in Marseille in April 2017 All three defendants deny any wrongdoing and are set to contest all the evidence against them. In her last public interview in 2017, Mrs Fillon said she was 'so surprised by all the violence and hysteria that I just withdrew inside my Welsh shell.' She is a solicitor's daughter from Llanover, Wales, who went to King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny. After studying modern Languages in London, and law at Bristol University, she married Mr Fillon, whom she had met while working as a teaching assistant in his home town of Le Mans. The trial continues, and is due to end on March 11. The picture reportedly shows the boy wearing protective gears after the incident A six-year-old boy has been guarding his grandfather's dead body alone at home after watching the elderly man die during the coronavirus lockdown. The pensioner, known by his surname Tan, was discovered dead on Monday by a group of local community volunteers in Shiyan, Hubei Province of central China. The young child remained at home after the elderly man told him 'not to go out', according to Chinese media. 'Grandpa said there is a virus outside,' the boy reportedly told the volunteers when he opened the door for them. The city has been under lockdown for over a month to curb the outbreak. The Zhangwan district, where the boy and his grandfather live, has imposed self-isolation measures. No one is allowed to enter or leave their homes. Daily essentials including food and medicine for the residents have been delivered regularly by the community staff, according to a statement released by the city's government. The community workers were checking on the residents when they found the boy with the corpse of his deceased grandfather. One of the volunteers told Chinese outlet The Paper that the boy's parents are migrant workers and his grandparents had been looking after him since he was very young. The picture shows a medic working in a hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus Cities around China have imposed quarantine measures in an effort to curb the outbreak. Villagers are pictured wearing masks and guarding at a checkpoint in rural Beijing, China 'His grandmother died six months ago. His grandfather had been ill and could barely take care of himself,' the anonymous worker said. The boy has been staying with a volunteer after the incident because his father was unable to come home. Local officials have reportedly denied online rumours that the elder man had died several days earlier while the grandson had survived on biscuits. They told the press that it would be impossible because the community workers paid daily visits to their residents. They also claimed that the pensioner was not infected with the coronavirus. The local district announced in a statement on Monday that the cause and the time of Mr Tan's death were under investigation. A vehicle is pictured spraying disinfectant in the streets of Zhangjiakou city in Hebei, China The deadly disease has killed at least 2,771 people and infected more than 81,400 globally The story has since sparked an outrage on Chinese social media. 'A real-life tragedy,' one comment read. Another one wrote, 'How can the parents not call them every day? So irresponsible!' The WHO has claimed although the number of cases continues to rise, it is spiralling at a slower rate. The picture shows a migrant worker having his temperature taken in China Cities across China have enforced quarantine measures in order to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The deadly disease which spawned in Wuhan late last year, has killed at least 2,771 people and infected more than 81,400. Dozens of countries are now battling outbreaks, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. The picture shows people travelling on the train in Shanghai Two Montgomery County men were arrested by FBI agents at their home Wednesday and appeared in Houston federal court as part of a Justice Department action against racist violent extremists accused of plotting a nationwide scare targeting journalists of color, activists, Jews, a government official, a black congregation and a Virginia university. Investigators say the pair held leadership roles in Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group linked to several violent acts including murder. Both appear to have been on the radar of federal law enforcement for years prior to their arrest. They are accused of brewing targeted plots within an insular online community of white supremacists aimed at terrorizing and intimidating people who exposed their identities. Kaleb J. Cole, 24, who appeared calm and relaxed during court proceedings in Houston on Wednesday, is charged with scouring online lists of minority journalists and targeting their homes with swastika-filled posters with the stated aim of silencing them. John Cameron Denton, 26, who was yawning and was wearing what looked like plaid pajama pants, is accused of tricking emergency dispatchers to respond to made-up a bomb threat at a New York newsroom and a fabricated shooting at the home of a California journalist among other fictional emergencies. The two long-haired men in black hoodies face allegations on opposite ends of the country, a fact that briefly confused U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson, who heard their cases back to back. After initial processing in Houston, their cases could proceed in Washington and Virginia. Denton, who was known as Rape online and worked at a mortuary according to court documents, is charged along with others in Virginia with tricking emergency dispatchers into sending police to a series of non-existent violent situations at unwitting third-party addresses a harassment tactic known as swatting. The sites included the newsroom of ProPublica in New York, the home of a ProPublica reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area, a predominantly black congregation in Alexandria, Va., Old Dominion University and the Virginia home of a Secret Service agent. Denton has a hearing Thursday at 10 a.m. to determine who his lawyer will be while his case is in Houston. Cole, whom federal investigators said was named a co-leader of Atomwaffen, is among a group of four people charged with federal violations in Seattle. They are accused of creating posters with Nazi symbols, threatening language and images of weapons to harass and intimidate journalists. Cole, who formerly lived in Arlington, Wash., and is known online as Khim, waived his right to a detention and probable cause hearing. He was assigned a federal public defender for his identity hearing Friday afternoon. The Seattle charges involve a conspiracy to aid in multiple swatting events. Officials say Denton, whom they identify as a former leader of Atomwaffen Division, repeatedly deceived dispatchers into believing someone was in imminent danger. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, Atomwaffen Division is a series of terror cells that work toward civilizational collapse. Its members believe violence, depravity and degeneracy are the only sure way to establish order in their dystopian and apocalyptic vision of the world. The group takes direction from James Mason, who penned its manifesto, called Siege, Charles Manson and others. From November 2018 through April 2019, Denton and several others, including John William Kirby Kelley, worked together to execute three swatting calls, according to court documents. One was to a Secret Service officials home in northern Virginia on Jan. 27, 2019, another to a location at Old Dominion University on Nov. 29, 2018, and the third to Alfred Street Baptist Church, an historically black congregation, on Nov. 3, 2018. Documents indicate that Denton made a fake call about a shooting at the home of AC Thompson, an investigative reporter at the investigative journalism organization ProPublica, who had tried to interview him at a concert for a Frontline documentary called Documenting Hate: New American Nazis. Thompson declined comment on Wednesdays developments. Denton is also linked to a call claiming there were pipe bombs, a body and a hostage at the New York City offices of ProPublica and that the perpetrators would start shooting at police as soon as they arrived. Prosecutors believe Denton was upset with ProPublica and Thompson for exposing his identity and role in Atomwaffen Division, also known as AWD. An undercover investigator helped uncover Dentons plot, according to documents. Denton talked about committing what he considered a top tier crime that could benefit the group, and told the undercover investigator he used a voice changer to make swatting calls. He told the official he swatted the offices of ProPublica and an investigative journalist there, according to investigators. Prosecutors say that in November and December of 2018, the group made swatting calls to 134 law enforcement agencies in 17 states, including to Houston and Harris County police agencies. The Justice Department said that the Seattle group conspired via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and others they wanted to intimidate. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color, after finding their names on websites. The other three defendants in that case are Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Wash.; Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Fla., and Johnny Roman Garza, 20 of Queen Creek, Ariz. According to the criminal complaint, Cole and Shea created the posters that were aimed at threatening and intimidating their targets. One of the posters had swastikas, a drawing of a person with press credentials around his neck with figures behind him holding weapons and the words Death to pigs. Two can play at this game, These people have names and addresses, and You have been visited by your local Nazis. According to investigators, Cole coordinated a Death Valley Hate Camp in Las Vegas in 2018, and was angry at the Seattle Times after it published an investigation into AWD. He wrote to AWD members: The matter of these nosy reporters coming into our daily lives, where we work, where we live, where we go in our spare time. We must simply approach them with nothing but pure aggression . We cannot let them think they are safe in our very presence alone. gabrielle.banks@chron.com Several measures aimed at reducing prison overcrowding through sentencing reform have gained an interesting proponent during debate in the Nebraska Legislature. Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner of Gering has spoken in support of Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks proposal (LB131) that would require a minimum sentence be no more than half the years as the maximum for certain class felonies. The change would have the practical effect of allowing offenders to become parole-eligible sooner and alleviate the overcrowding crisis. Stinner told his colleagues that it would cost the state $400 million to $500 million just to build more prison space, not counting operating costs. He said he thinks the state has a lot of other priorities than to build prisons. Pansing Brooks and Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha said the several sentencing reform measures could be as consequential as any property tax or business incentives bills because of the money involved. Under the Pansing Brooks proposal, if the maximum sentence is 20 years, the minimum could be no more than 10 years. In cases where a statutory mandatory minimum has been established, the measure would not apply. She noted that just because an inmate would be parole eligible doesnt mean the person would be granted parole. Thats still the function of the Parole Board. Lathrop reminded colleagues that a looming declaration of emergency population conditions is due July 1. That will require the Department of Corrections to release inmates to get the population adjusted. He said the system only has room for 150 more inmates and there are 900 people who have gone beyond their parole eligibility date and are still sitting in the state's overcrowded prisons. Those 900 have not been paroled for a variety of reasons, including not getting the proper programming needed for release. Another Pansing Brooks bill (LB133) requires the Board of Parole to notify Corrections about any who have been denied parole because of lack of programming and to provide recommendations on programming or treatment in which the offender should participate in order to enhance his or her likelihood of release. Lathrop said prison population projections show that by the end of 2030 the prisons could hold more than 7,300 inmates. That would mean the department would have to build 200 beds a year just to be at 140% design capacity. Senators must decide if the state wants to try to build its way out of the crisis or address it with sentencing reform. I agree with Lathrop and Stinner that we cant build our way out of this. The system cant keep enough staff in its current facilities, let alone staff new ones. That makes the sentencing reform measures consequential. As Lathrop says, if the state has to spend that kind of money on brick and mortar, and workers and operations, it can forget about property tax relief, business tax incentives and properly funding schools. Reform doesnt sit well with the law-n-order types, newly represented by Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, an appointee of Governor Pete Ricketts. She says debate centers around a serious concept that involves sentencing a person guilty of a heinous crime to 10 to 20 years -- instead of 19 to 20 years, and thus allowing parole eligibility in a shorter time. Similar bills have always been opposed by the Attorney General's office and prosecutors who say the discretion by judges to determine a sentence on a case-by-case basis is good enough. Prosecutors say it could pose a significant and unnecessary risk to public safety and have no verifiable impact on crowding of prisons. Weve seen how that has worked out so far. Given the overcrowding crisis, it hasnt. So why not try something new? Lets give sentencing reform a fair chance. It just might work. J.L. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979. He has been a registered Independent for 20 years. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I feel like this is a step in the right direction to make sure that we actually had an increase in revenue in our state, McMillen said. Is it going to fix everything? No, but something has to change for us to actually move forward. (HedgeCo.Net) A federal district court in New York has entered a final consent judgment against Sandeep Aggarwal, a former research analyst at a registered broker dealer and investment research firm. The SEC previously charged Aggarwal with insider trading for tipping Richard Lee, a portfolio manager at former hedge fund advisory firm S.A.C. Capital Advisors L.P. The SEC filed its action in July 2013, alleging that Aggarwal tipped Lee in advance of the public announcement of an internet search engine partnership between two technology companies. Lees trading enabled the S.A.C. Capital hedge fund that Lee managed to generate more than $350,000 in illegal profits. Lee also traded in his personal securities account on the nonpublic information he received from Aggarwal. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment on consent against Aggarwal. The final judgment enjoins Aggarwal from future violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and orders Aggarwal to pay a civil penalty of $32,429. The court entered a final judgment on November 21, 2019 against Lee. (Natural News) Ongoing flooding is creating a nightmare in some parts of South Mississippi as the floodwaters that wreaked havoc on Central Mississippi make their way downstream. A rainy weekend didnt help matters, prompting one river to crest higher than projected and slowing the progress of the waters recess. Near Columbia, the Pearl River crested at 25.8 feet on Sunday due to the rainfall, which is slightly higher than the 25.5 feet that had been predicted in earlier forecasts. Yesterday it sat at 25.4 feet, which is considered a moderate flooding level. Its still unknown how many homes flooded in Marion County as a result. The American Red Crosss Mississippi Chapter opened up a shelter at a church in Columbia and others are on standby in Pearl River County, where floodwaters are expected to crest later this week. The river is also being monitored in Hancock County. In Lawrence County, meanwhile, the Pearl River crested at 31.76 feet on Friday and sat at 29.6 feet on Monday; this is well above the flood stage there of 22 feet. The Mississippi River has also surpassed the flood stage, and emergency officials are keeping a close eye on Vicksburg and Natchez, the latter of which is expected to see the Mississippi crest seven feet above flood level. Central Mississippi hit by widespread flooding last week This comes as widespread flooding left almost 3 million people under a state of emergency in Mississippi last week when the Pearl River rose to historic levels. As of last week, 1,200 homes had been damaged as flooding took over the areas surrounding the states capital, Jackson. Flash flood watches became the order of the day as storms continued to drench the area. Although the river crested at a lower height than initially expected hitting 36.67 feet rather than the projected height of 38 feet the situation remains highly concerning and a 38-foot water height was reported near Highway 25 to the north of the Barnett Reservoir dam. Evacuations have been ordered throughout Jackson and other parts of Central Mississippi, with authorities going door to door in the areas that have been hit the hardest telling people to evacuate. Assisted evacuations are also being carried out by local law enforcement. Last Mondays crest was just over 6 feet shy of the record of 43.28 feet that was set in 1979. The river has only topped 36 feet on seven occasions, and the last time such a height was seen was in 1983. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves issued a state of emergency declaration to help those affected get the resources they need. He tweeted that it was a historic, unprecedented flood. President Trump called the governor to voice his concern and offer help with the relief efforts. Unfortunately, more rain has been forecast for this week along with additional storms, so authorities are asking people not to return to their homes until they are given the official go-ahead. Authorities expect hundreds and possibly thousands of damaged homes as a result of the flooding, but they report that residents have been largely cooperative when it comes to evacuation orders. More than 156,000 sandbags have already been distributed in the area, and temporary shelters are also in place for evacuees. This flooding is a good reminder that natural disasters can strike any time, often without warning, so being prepared is essential. Sources for this article include: StrangeSounds.org ClarionLedger.com Celebrity beauty guru has applied makeup onto the faces of some of the biggest stars in the world, from Gigi Hadid to Adriana Lima - but he's now opening up about the importance of taking it off at the end of the day. Speaking to DailyMail.com Patrick revealed that he urges all of his clients to focus their efforts on cleansing their face thoroughly twice a day, not just in the evenings or when you want to remove makeup. 'It is extremely important to cleanse daily, regardless if you have worn makeup that day or not!' he shared, making clear that the twice daily cleanse is not just about removing cosmetics from the skin, but rather getting rid all kinds of other nasties. A-list: Gigi Hadid's long-time makeup artist and close friend Patrick Ta has opened up about his skincare regimen, and the rules he follows to maintain a clear complexion Expert: The beauty guru, who is pictured with client Olivia Munn, noted how important it is to cleanser your skin in the morning and at night 'You want to make sure youre getting all dead skin/dirt/oils that may have built up through the day,' he added, noting that the same applies after you have been asleep, because the same kinds of oil, dead skin, and dirt can build up while you rest. In fact, Patrick insists that your skincare routine shouldn't change based on whether or not you're wearing makeup, explaining that removing cosmetics and actually cleansing the skin are two completely different steps. 'You should be cleansing the skin morning and night time as dead skin/dirt/oils will accumulate on the skin regardless if youve worn makeup or not,' he added. When it comes to his own routine, Patrick shared that he relies on a strict routine of gentle exfoliation, followed by a face oil, then a moisturizer, and finally an eye cream. The Los Angeles-based beauty pro, who is originally from Vietnam, added that he's been relying heavily on the Clarisonic Mia Smart 3-in-1 Connected Beauty Device ($169) and the Exfoliating Brush Head for the first step in his routine, noting: 'It has amazing benefits and is gentle enough for use twice daily! 'It provides a gentle yet effective cleanse and is proven to cleanse the skin six times better than hands alone.' Patrick is such a devotee of the device that he has also been using it to apply his makeup products, revealing that he has been regularly turning to the brand's Sonic Foundation Blender to ensure a smooth and flawless base. Scrub a dub: Patrick shared that he relies on the Clarisonic Mia Smart 3-in-1 Connected Beauty Device to 'gently exfoliate' his skin every day Multitask: He shared that the Clarisonic is one of his five must-have beauty products, along with two products from his own beauty range, Tweezerman Tweezers, and La Mer foundation The device has even earned itself a spot as one of the five must-have items in Patrick's beauty bag, with the makeup pro revealing that it is one of just a handful of products he cannot ever be without. As for the others, two are from his own eponymous beauty line: the Patrick Ta Beauty Major Glow Body Oil ($52) and the Patrick Ta Beauty Major Glow Highlighting Mist ($32). Safety first! Patrick recently revealed he is traveling to Paris, sharing an image of himself wearing a medical mask while urging other travelers to wash their hands And then there's one other tool in the lineup in the form of Tweezerman Tweezers ($23), with the La Mer The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF 20 ($120) rounding out the list. Patrick's beauty advice comes just as he is preparing to cap off a busy Fashion Month by spending a few days in Paris. The makeup pro revealed on Instagram that he was jetting off to the French capital, while also sharing a health warning in the wake of the increasing number of coronavirus victims in Europe. 'Anyone else traveling please be safe, wash your hands and try not to touch your face,' he urged on Instagram, while sharing a post of himself wearing a medical face mask. He also offered up a hint about what he's going to be up to while in Paris, sharing two images of his long-time client and close friend Gigi, both of which saw the model showing off a different makeup look. Patrick captioned it simply: 'PARIS 2.26 - 3.4.' The deadly coronavirus which has infected more than thirty countries worldwide is now posing an imminent threat to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both countries, which share their borders with Iran are now facing a potentially devastating health crisis after a surge in the number of infected cases in the Shiite country. Reduced transportation to Iran According to media reports, Islamabad closed its official border crossings on Sunday while Kabul suspended all travel to Iran. However, experts fear that these measures could prove ineffective as thousands of people from refugees fleeing violence to Shiite pilgrims to smugglers and unemployed people cross the poorly guarded borders every day. Afghanistan announced its first confirmed case of Coronavirus on Monday. Soon after the news of the outbreak in the country was confirmed, residents rushed to buy facemasks making the prices of the medical produce rise tenfold in the capital. Meanwhile, the Afghan television and radio broadcast has begun advising people on how to prevent the transmission of the virus. Read: Singapore To Charge Couple Infected With Coronavirus For Spreading False Information Read: Caregiver For Infected Person Is 32nd Coronavirus Case In Taiwan After witnessing almost four decades of constant war, the countrys health care system is in tatters. The few hospitals that exist lack expertise to deal with the newly discovered disease. Adding to that, a largely illiterate population of the country has made it even more difficult for the authorities to educate people about ways to curb the transmission. Read: South Korea Using App To Monitor Travellers Entering The Country Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Read: PDP's Bukhari Appeals PM To Evacuate J&K Students From Iran Amid Coronavirus Outbreak On the other hand, Pakistan, which already has a medical history of falling prey to deadly diseases like hepatitis, polio and tuberculosis is dreaded by the fear of how will they tackle the situation if the virus spreads in the country. Another challenge that the nation faces is of scandals relating to the usage of dirty needles and peoples lack of trust in the medical system. Pakistan has reportedly moved quickly to quarantine 270 people near the Iranian border after a group of pilgrims returned from Iran and briefly mixed with other citizens. Also, though Islamabad has closed land borders with Iran, air travel to and from China continues as the latter is Pakistans major trade partner. With inputs from agencies The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars from law enforcement agencies in states and cities that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration authorities, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. The decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, was the first by an appellate court to side with the administrations argument that it can impose conditions on the release of the money, which comes in the form of grants. Three other appeals courts have previously affirmed lower court rulings that it was unlawful for the White House to tie the grant money to state and local governments cooperation with the federal authorities. Administration officials hailed the ruling. Todays decision rightfully recognizes the lawful authority of the attorney general to ensure that Department of Justice grant recipients are not at the same time thwarting federal law enforcement priorities, Alexei Woltornist, a Justice Department spokesman, said. 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. 3.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Former vice president Joe Biden tore into Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night, hammering his record on guns, his criticism of Barack Obama, and the fact that hes gotten very little done in his career in government. Biden hit Sanders for repeatedly voting against legislation that would have helped prevent the type of gun massacre that left nine people dead at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, just down the street from where the debate was being held. Im not saying [Sanders is] responsible for the nine deaths, but that man would not have been able to get that weapon with a waiting period of what I suggest until you are cleared, Biden said. The former vice president also took a swipe at Sanders for considering a primary challenge against Barack Obama in 2012 and for calling himself a progressive when he hasnt actually gotten much done during his time in Congress. Lets talk about progressive, Biden said. Progressive is getting things done. Video: Joe Biden drills Sanders on guns and says progressive is getting things done. pic.twitter.com/4b6hUGTDp7 PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 26, 2020 Biden said: In walking distance of here is Mother Emanuel Church nine people shot dead by a white supremacist. Bernie voted five times against the Brady Bill and wanted a waiting period of 12 hours. Im not saying hes responsible for the nine deaths, but that man would not have been able to get that weapon with a waiting period of what I suggest until you are cleared. In addition to that, being progressive. He thought Barack Obama, he wanted a primary. He said we should primary Barack Obama, someone should. And, in fact, the president was weak and our administration was, in fact, not up to it. Lets talk about progressive. Progressive is getting things done, and thats what we got done. We got a lot done. Very little of Bernie Sanders agenda has ever been enacted Bernie Sanders likes to act as though he has corned the market on progressive policy ideas, but the truth is that very little of his agenda has actually been implemented. According to GovTrack, only seven Sanders-sponsored bills have actually been enacted since 1991. Two of those bills were to rename post offices. Yes, part of being a candidate for president is offering policy prescriptions to the problems facing the country. But its also about showing the American people that you can deliver. Bernie Sanders is good at shouting his policy ideas on the debate stage, but he has little to show for those ideas. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Students union of Maulana Azad Urdu University (MANUU) has urged for a boycott of classes and internals on Wednesday in solidarity with the recent attack in Delhi and Aligarh on "peaceful protestors" against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Population Register (NPR) and Register of Citizens (NRC). The students' union has also requested students to gather in large numbers at BAB-E-ILM in the university campus. "MANUU Students' Union requests to all the students of MANUU to boycott the classes, internals as well as TP on February 26. In solidarity with Aligarh and Delhi in the wake of recent attack on anti-CAA, NRC and NPR peaceful protesters. All are requested to gather in large numbers at BAB-E-ILM," said MANNU Students' Union. On February 23 in Aligarh, people protesting the new amended citizenship law pelted stones at the police following which security personnel fired tear gas shells, said District Magistrate (DM), Chandrabhushan Singh. Meanwhile in clashes between anti and pro-CAA protestors in the national capital at least 13 people lost their lives and close to 200 people sustained injuries, over a period of three days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Some guests chose to stay in their rooms. Others put on their face masks and decided to relax by the hotel's swimming pool. The two approaches were just one sign of the confusion and frustration facing a group of British holidaymakers being contained in a Tenerife hotel for two weeks. Frustrated guests pleaded with Boris Johnson to intervene yesterday and said they were desperate to return home amid a chaotic attempt to control corona virus from spreading within the Costa Adeje Palace Hotel. At least 160 Britons have been holed up in the four-star resort after the Spanish authorities padlocked its doors when four guests from Italy tested positive. Yesterday they told of the 'absolutely awful' situation and said they had been given conflicting information about how long the enforced stay would last. Sunbathing in masks: Tourists in bikinis and face masks lounge by the pool of H10 Costa Adeje Palace as they settle in for a two-week lockdown after Spanish authorities confirmed a quarantine The hotel laid on free champagne for tourists today after guests were told they would have to stay put at the resort until mid-March Closed: The H10 Costa Adeje Palace is being guarded by police. Guests were confined to their bedrooms at the four-star hotel in a desperate attempt to stop the virus from spreading Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of the hotel And, as the Foreign Office began contacting them last night telling them they must remain at the hotel until March 10, some complained that staying put placed them at increased risk. Mandy Davis, who is on holiday with her husband Roger, said: 'Nobody knows what the right thing to do is, because nobody's had this virus before. 'So please, let's sort something out, come and rescue us please, Boris. And let's just get the hell out of here.' Rosie Mitford, who is on holiday with her father and brother, only arrived at the hotel on Monday when the four Italians who tested positive had already left. The 18-year-old nursing student said: 'We want to come home now. We don't see the point of staying here for two weeks when none of us have symptoms and then isolating when we get back.' Guests were sunbathing in masks and enjoying free supplies of food and alcohol at the hotel poolside today after learning they would be staying well into March Two hotel guests wearing masks wave from the window of the Tenerife resort today where holidaymakers will have to stay put for 14 days Escaped: Anthony Wilkins with his girlfriend Sheila Taylor and her daughters Charlotte and Jess. Officials told Anthony Wilkins, 60, that his stay at the hotel had coincided with the Italian carriers' British couple David Hoon and Pamela Scott (pictured together) say they fear that 'we stand more chance of catching the coronavirus' during the hotel lockdown One guest posted this picture of a padlock on a door of the hotel, with a police vehicle parked outside to enforce the quarantine The family group were preparing for a reprieve last night when authorities on the Canary Islands said that a group of more than 100 recent arrivals could be allowed to go home. Spanish officials have begun tracking down guests who may have come into contact with the infected quartet before returning to their homes across Europe. Guests holed up at the 500-room property told of the shambolic arrangements inside as they faced two-weeks of quarantine. Holidaymakers with babies described how they had unsuccessfully pleaded with the hotel for suitable food, while being left without essential products such as nappies. A police officer walks outside H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after four cases of coronavirus were detected there A guest wearing a protective face mask stands at the window of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace today where tourists were told they face two weeks in quarantine In the UK, family members said they were concerned about the welfare of elderly relatives at the property. Guests were initially told to 'stay calm' and stay in their rooms yesterday morning as medical teams in protective suits handed out face masks and thermometers, then carried out medical checks. Guests have been told to take their temperature twice a day. The curfew was dropped shortly afterwards and more than 260 guests were seen sun-lounging outside, some in face masks, while others took to the swimming pools. After more than 24 hours without hot food, the hotel provided a lunch buffet yesterday afternoon and laid on bottles of free Champagne. Images showed hungry guests clamouring for food. Tourists in quarantine wave from inside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife today A face mask provided for people quarantined in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife Despite the curfew being relaxed, some guests decided to remain in their rooms and had breakfast brought to them. Lara Pennington, 45, from Manchester, who is on holiday with her two sons and elderly in-laws, said: 'It's very scary because everyone is out, in the pool, spreading the virus.' It has been reported that between 600 and 800 guests from 25 countries are at the hotel in the south-west of the island. Because the containment measures affect guests' liberty, a local judge will rule each day on whether to allow some to leave. An Foreign Office spokesman said: 'Our staff are in close contact with the hotel management and the Spanish authorities and have written to all British guests, and are in touch with anyone identified as vulnerable or in need.' Coronavirus threat to YOUR holiday: Millions of trips are at risk as BA cancels flights and fresh cases are reported across Europe from Norway to Greece and on every continent except Antarctica by Glen Keogh, Sophie Borland and Tom Payne for the Daily Mail The holiday plans of millions of Britons could be at risk after the number of coronavirus cases around the world overtook China for the first time. Brazil yesterday reported its first patient with the illness, which means the virus has now spread to every continent except Antarctica. Cases were also diagnosed for the first time in Greece, North Macedonia, Georgia and Pakistan. British Airways yesterday cancelled dozens of flights to Milan due to a drop in demand. And fresh cases in Spain, France, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland sparked industry fears that people may choose not to go on holiday. Italy has emerged as the epicentre of a European outbreak with 50 more cases, including eight children, reported yesterday taking the countrys toll past 370. Twelve patients have died. The developments came as guidance issued to airlines by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned passengers not to fly if they have a cough or cold. Experts fear Europes outbreak could have a devastating effect on the tourism industry with airlines worldwide facing up to a 23billion loss because of the virus. In Italy, the worst-affected areas are Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto, which covers Venice, and Emilia-Romagna. A health worker screens the temperature of a passenger arriving from Milan Bergamo to Krakow International Airport on February 26 AS Roma fans wearing face masks inside the stadium before the match amid concern following a coronavirus outbreak in Italy Travellers to and from Britain are in limbo about whether they should cancel their business or holiday travel for fear of being exposed to the killer virus sweeping the globe. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough is one of more than a dozen schools which have been completely closed after students and staff returned from Italian ski trips. The Health Secretary has urged them to stay open The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to 11 affected towns in the north of the country. However holidaymakers travelling to other Italian cities and nearby countries have expressed fears that if they cancel flights they will not be entitled to refunds. Refunds will only apply to those whose holidays are disrupted when the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel. Despite British Airways cutbacks, other major airlines vowed to continue flying to Italy as well as Tenerife, which has also suffered a major virus outbreak. A spokesman for BA said it was merging some flights between Heathrow and Linate airport to match reduced demand. A man is pictured wearing a face mask on the London Underground as UK officials step up their preparations for cases of coronavirus to start appearing on British soil Worldwide, more than 80,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 2,700 have died Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: People are understandably concerned about how their travel plans will be impacted, and a lack of clear and timely information has left many travellers confused about their options. NHS to extend home testing for coronavirus to stop it spreading The NHS is looking to extend home testing for coronavirus, while a new public information campaign will be launched, Matt Hancock has announced. The Health Secretary also urged schools not to close unless they had a confirmed case of the virus. The NHS has already started pilots of home testing for coronavirus in London, where nurses and paramedics visit people with symptoms in their own homes rather than them needing to travel, which risks spreading the virus. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hancock suggested that home testing will be rolled out more widely, to complement existing hospital testing and the 'isolation pods' which have been sited at hospitals in England for people who turn up at A&E with symptoms. He said: 'We now have testing sites at all A&E facilities, as far as we know, across England. 'But we're also planning to introduce home testing and some of this has started already so that people don't have to go to the pods in front of A&E which have been put there to ensure that people don't actually go into A&E where they might infect others. 'Home testing is the safest place to be tested because then you don't have to go anywhere, and that will allow us to roll out testing to a much larger number of people as well.' Advertisement While the government has now updated its advice to cover the Italian locations that have experienced an outbreak, those travelling to nearby cities like Milan or Verona still wont be able to cancel and claim on travel insurance, nor will those travelling to Tenerife. A total of 459 new cases were reported by 37 countries outside of China on Tuesday. There were also alarming spikes in South Korea and Iran. On the other hand, China reported 412 cases and the spread is finally slowing, according to the World Health Organisation. Iran recorded 139 cases and 19 deaths and authorities urged people to avoid non-essential travel. Anyone coming back from Iran to the UK is being urged to self-isolate for 14 days. On Tuesday night, Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow announced he would be self-isolating for two weeks after visiting Iran. Yesterday South Americas first case was recorded in Brazil, a 61-year-old man from Sao Paulo who had returned from Northern Italy. France recorded its second death, a 60-year-old in Paris. The Foreign Office is currently advising against all but essential travel to the Hubei Province in China and all mainland China. The advice also covers Daegu and Cheongdo in South Korea. Anyone with a holiday booked to a do not travel area should be reimbursed by a provider or insurer. MANISTEE The Manistee Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is getting involved with placemaking grants this spring through Consumers Energy and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, according to the DDAs Feb. 12 meeting minutes. The DDAs minutes said the two organizations are planning three separate grants for local and small town placemaking projects to fund that will make a large impact. Known as the Put Your Town on the Map competition, it aims to reward a variety of innovative ideas, such as those that attract visitors to downtowns, focus on issues as housing, education or employment, create community pride and more. Stacie Bytwork, president of the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, said in an email that since the award amounts increased this year, "we thought this was a perfect opportunity to apply and after attending last year we are excited to submit an application." This is the second time the competition has been held. According to Consumers, the competition is not open to individuals, organizations or corporations. According to Consumers Energy, applicants have to represent their municipality, which can include officials from a local government, a nonprofit, chamber of commerce, DDA or similar group. "The criteria matches a DDA-funded study by (Michigan State University) MSU from 2018," Bytwork explained. "The pitch competition is a perfect opportunity to implement community action and development from existing studies. We are pleased to collaborate and work closely with the DDA on this submission." Last year, first place won $7,500, second place was $5,000 and the third place winner received $2,500. However, this year those amounts have increased. The top three presentations will win awards for $25,000, $15,000 or 10,000. The DDAs minutes said The Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council would like to partner with the Manistee DDA Board to pitch a presentation of one of the MSU Extension recommendations This recommendation is listed as highlighting local involvement in the Gateway Project. According to a news release from Consumers Energy, the competition aims to reward a variety of innovative ideas, such as those that attract visitors to downtowns, focus on housing, education or employment, create community pride and more. Brian Wheeler, senior public information director with Consumers, said the competition was created as a way to "draw attention to, and of course, fund, innovative ideas in small towns." "Thats particularly important since small communities make up such a large part of the customer base we serve across the Lower Peninsula, and because so many good ideas are in motion in those communities," Wheeler said in an email. "We were pleasantly surprised to receive over 40 applications last year for pool of prizes worth $15,000. We knew we wanted to bring back the competition this year and are excited we could increase the prize money to $50,000 in total." The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m., March 2 and need to be submitted online through the competition website. Consumers said that up to 10 finalist communities will compete and that the contest will end with the annual Small Town and Rural Development Conference on April 22 at Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville. Last years winners are as follows: Port Austin First place ($7,500) A large vacant lot will be developed into an interactive and dynamic space for tourists and community members. Spring Lake Second place ($5,000) A plan to bring public art to the Lakeside Trail to make the village a destination for visitors. Sparta Third place ($2,500) The Orchard, an incubator for small businesses. Romania has made limited progress with the 2019 country-specific recommendations, taking into account that the substantial progress made in the financial and banking sectors have been counteracted by the lack of progress regarding the fiscal framework, the public pension system, the minimum inclusion income, predictability in the decision-making process and the governance of state-owned companies, shows the Country Report published on Wednesday by the European Commission. According to the document, Romania has made substantial progress regarding in safeguarding financial stability and solidarity of the banking sector, and some progress in ensuring the long-term viability of the second pension pillar, as well as in respect to the implementation of the national public procurement strategy.Moreover, the Community Executive argues that Romania has made limited progress in its efforts to strengthen tax compliance and collection, improving the quality and inclusiveness of education, social dialogue, developing a minimum wage setting mechanism based on objective criteria, improving access and cost-efficiency of healthcare, focusing investments on key policy areas and strengthening public investments projects.Romania registered no progress in what concerns the implementation of the national fiscal framework, in ensuring the stability of the public pension system, completing the reform of the minimum income for inclusion, improving predictability of the decision-making process and improving governance of state-owned companies, the EC report mentions.According to the Country Report, since the start of the European semester in 2011, 47 percent of all the country-specific recommendations for Romania have recorded at least "some progress," whereas 53 percent recorded "limited" or "no progress.""Overall, Romania has advanced in implementing its country-specific recommendations since 2013. Even though efforts have been made, in several policy areas, action is slow and the country must endeavour to achieve tangible results on implementing reforms," according to the EC Report.The European Commission published on Wednesday the 27 country reports of the analysis called "2020 European Semester: Assessment of progress on structural reforms, prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances, and results of in-depth reviews under Regulation (EU) No.1176/2011." AGERPRES New York, Feb 26 : The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has condemned the violence in Delhi that resulted in deaths and the destruction of places of worship and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible regardless of their religious affiliation. "We urge all those making inflammatory statements to take stock of the destructive impact of their words and cease," HAF Executive Director Suhag Shukla said on Wednesday. "We strongly condemn the violence, loss of life, and destruction of places of worship in India this week. There is no religious, historical, or political justification possible for what is happening in New Delhi," she said. Urging law enforcement officials to uphold the law, Shukla said: "Those people battling in the streets -- throwing stones, acid, brandishing firearms, setting fire to businesses and places of worship -- are all violating the law. The perpetrators, no matter the religious community to which they belong, should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." She added that "Hindu Americans stand for peace, pluralism, democracy, equal rights, and the rule of law here at home in the United States, in India, and anywhere in the world". The violence has renewed the "need for greater understanding and dialogue among religious community leaders, civil society, and Indian government officials," she said. Twenty-two people, including a police head constable, have died in the violence this week. Businesses, residences and at least one mosque were attacked. Cross River House of Assembly has granted Governor Ben Ayades request for the appointment of 70 more Special Advisers to assist in government functions. The governor had in December 2019 appointed 70 aides and the new appointees would increase the number of political aides to 140. The correspondence, addressed to the House, and dated, February 20, was signed by the Secretary to State Government, Tina Agbor, and read on the floor of the House by the Clerk, Bassey Ekpenyong, on Wednesday in Calabar. The House in a motion, filed by its leader, Peter Odey, and seconded by the Deputy Leader, Fred Osim, unanimously resolved and granted consequential approval to the request. Mr Odey said the approval was based on the Assemblys earlier request to Mr Ayade through writing, on the need to cover other constituencies not yet considered in the appointments. Also at plenary, the bill for the creation of Cross River State Consumer Protection Agency 2020 scaled through second reading. The sponsor of the bill and member representing Etung State Constituency, Chris Mbu-Ogar, said the bill intended to regulate, control as well as monitor the profits of the producers against the final consumer. Distinguished colleagues, this bill is necessary at this moment because it will check the excesses of fake and expired products in the state, which have dominated the markets. Cross River people die daily as a result of what is consumed; this bill seeks to protect what we consume, he said. Members who contributed on the bill said it would check the attitude of some food vendors who exposed food publicly, sold along dirty gutters as well as turned Cross River into a market for substandard products. The members further observed that the Consumer Protection law passed by the Federal Government was not doing enough in the state. They called on the state government to engage the services of people of proven integrity and technical expertise to manage the agency at the state level for optimal result. The Speaker of the House, Eteng Jonah-Williams, committed the bill to the Committee on Health, with a mandate to report back to the House in two weeks. (NAN) Deng Tiantian, 26, working in a ICU ward of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. [China Women's News] Young Nurse Devoted to Challenging Work Since the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, or January 23, Deng Tiantian, a 26-year-old nurse, has been working in the ICU wards of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, in Wuhan City, capital of Central China's Hubei Province and epicenter of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Since the outbreak of the virus, that hospital has been the place to treat the severe COVID-19 cases. In seven hours of work each day in the ICU wards, Deng is one of those who are closest to the patients with COVID-19. "I'm a Party member and I'm young with good immunity, so I should work at the frontline," Deng said. On January 23, as an ICU nurse at the Second People's Hospital of Yichang City, Hubei Province, she signed up to come to Wuhan without discussing it with her husband or other family members. "Working in the ICU ward wearing tight and heavy protective clothing makes me feel anoxic and very uncomfortable, and makes it hard to work," she said. In order to save protective clothing, Deng doesn't eat, drink, or leave the ward during her shift. In addition to medical care, Deng has to help patients turn over, feed them meals, and handle excreta in the ward, due to the shortage of staff. "I felt either happy or sad for patients' conditions," Deng said. There was both joy after a patient was cured and a feeling of helplessness when it was impossible to save them. "What makes me most happy is to see a patient in critical condition getting better after treatment and becoming ready for discharge soon," Deng said. She hopes all her patients will be discharged from the hospital. "It is the time I feel my greatest value to others." Community Official Gets Promotion for Outstanding Performance Rao Yue works in her office. [China Women's News] Staring at the computer screen, filling in a statistical form of COVID-19 patient information, while answering the phone from time to time; this is Rao Xue's routine work amid the anti-epidemic battle. All information about the sub-district is collected by her every day. Rao was originally deputy director of the Party Construction Office of Minzu Sub-district in Jianghan District, Wuhan City. Because of her outstanding performance in epidemic prevention and control work, she was promoted to director of the office, the only post-90s sub-district official among all those recently promoted. Since New Year's Eve, Rao has been working for a month without a day off. To save commuting time, she stopped breastfeeding and moved to the hotel next to her office. "It was more tiring at the early stage of COVID-19 prevention, due to shortage of staff and lack of experience of handling such an emergency," Rao recalled. No matter how difficult it was, the outbreak had to be dealt with properly, Rao said. She and her colleagues worked overtime and investigated more than 10,000 people in over 5,500 households in the district. They often made hundreds of calls a day, and replied to messages even at 4 am. "As of now, a lot of work has been straightened out," Rao said. So far, the six communities under the jurisdiction of Minzu Sub-district have been under good management and they have sent all confirmed patients to hospitals and suspected cases to quarantine sites. Rao has put great efforts in doing it, coordinating the prevention and control command, hospitals, isolation sites and patients themselves, so as to speed up the processes of admission, treatment and quarantine. "This is not my own achievement, but the result of hard work by all my colleagues," Rao said. Policewoman Returns to Work Overnight Meng Jiani (R) is on duty. [China Women's News] Meng Jiani, born in 1993, is a police officer at the Minyi Police Station of the Jianghan Branch of the Wuhan Public Security Bureau in Wuhan City. Her husband, Zhang Pengchao, is also a post-90s policeman in the city. On January 21, Meng and her husband returned to their hometown in East China's Shandong Province to celebrate the Lunar New Year. "When the COVID-19 broke out, we wanted to return to Wuhan immediately," Meng said. "As my husband had contacted with two confirmed patients at work, we had to be quarantined at home for 14 days," she continued. As soon as the quarantine ended on February 6, the couple went back to Wuhan after a 20-plus hours' drive. Arriving at home at two o'clock in the morning, they started to work at their respective posts after just a short break. Meng has been working without a day off since February 6, providing services for citizens in need and helping with COVID-19 prevention and control work in the community. "I don't feel it's hard to do so, and this is what I should do," she said, adding that as one of the post-90s generation, it is the time for her to shoulder the responsibilities. (Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United States President Donald Trump have welcomed an endeavour between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for development and launch in 2022 of a joint space mission. "They (Modi and Trump) welcomed an endeavour by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for development and launch in 2022 of a joint mission with the world's first dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, and applauded discussions that advance cooperation in Earth observation, Mars and planetary exploration, heliophysics, human spaceflight, and commercial space cooperation," read a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs of India (MEA). At the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad on the first day of his two day India visit, Trump had said that United States and India are also working closely together on the future of space exploration. "You are making impressive strides with your exciting Chandrayaan Lunar Program. It is moving along rapidly, far ahead of schedule, and America looks forward to expanding our space cooperation with India as you push even further. You are pushing the limits -- and that's a great thing -- including in realm of human spaceflight," he said in his address. Modi and Trump also expressed their desire to increase higher education collaboration and educational exchange opportunities, including through the "Young Innovators" internships, and welcomed the recent growth in the number of Indian students in the United States. Taking note of the ongoing corornavirus outbreak, Modi and Trump also committed to continuing their efforts in the areas of prevention and early detection of the deadly virus. "In support of global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks such as novel COVID-19, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump committed to continuing their successful efforts in the areas of prevention, early detection, and rapid outbreak response," the statement read. The two leaders also appreciated the effort to promote access to high quality and affordable medications for consumers of both countries. "They hailed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to promote access to high quality, safe, effective and affordable medications for Indian and US consumers. They welcomed the conclusion of an MoU which will help both countries address mental health challenges through innovative approaches," the statement further read. The US President concluded his maiden two-day official visit to India on Tuesday. During the visit, he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with PM Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Since at least 1900, members of the House and Senate have tried to pass a law making lynching a federal crime. To date, they have not succeeded. The bills were consistently blocked, shelved or ignored, and the passage of time has rendered anti-lynching legislation increasingly symbolic. Now a measure to add lynching to the U.S. criminal code appears to have bipartisan support in both chambers. The Senate has passed a version of the bill, and the House is voting on its own version Wednesday. This time, it might go all the way to the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law. The House bill, called the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. The Senate bill, which passed unanimously last year, was introduced by Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; and Tim Scott, R-S.C. The House bill makes lynching a hate crime and describes it as a pernicious and pervasive tool that was often carried out by multiple offenders and groups rather than isolated individuals. We are one step closer to finally outlawing this heinous practice and achieving justice for over 4,000 victims of lynching, Rush said in a statement when the House vote was announced last week. He cited Emmett Till, one of thousands of lynching victims during the Jim Crow era. Emmett was brutally tortured and killed in 1955, when he was 14, after a white woman accused him of grabbing her and whistling at her in a grocery store in Mississippi. Emmetts mother, Mamie Till Mobley, fought against a quick burial so her sons mutilated body could be viewed and photographed to let the world see what I have seen. The two white men who were charged with killing Emmett were acquitted by an all-white jury. At the time, it was often the case that perpetrators of racist violence were either acquitted or not prosecuted at all. The importance of this bill cannot be overstated, Rush said in his statement. From Charlottesville to El Paso, we are still being confronted with the same violent racism and hatred that took the life of Emmett and so many others, he said, referring to white supremacist rallies in Virginia in 2017 and a mass shooting in Texas last year in which authorities said Latinos were targeted. The passage of this bill will send a strong and clear message to the nation that we will not tolerate this bigotry. Murder is typically prosecuted at the state or local level, but the House and Senate bills would make lynching a federal crime. It fits a long-standing pattern: Civil rights legislation has often been passed at the federal level after individual states did not act. Racially motivated killings have continued to occur in the United States since the end of the Jim Crow era. High-profile cases include those of James Byrd, a black man who was brutally murdered by three white men in Texas in 1998, and the nine black parishioners who were killed in a church massacre in South Carolina in 2015. But a bill in 2020 cannot protect the thousands of people who were victims of racist violence decades ago. When it really mattered, and when it really would have had the impact of protecting the lives of black people in this country, there was widespread unwillingness to pass a bill like this, said Tameka Bradley Hobbs, an associate professor of history at Florida Memorial University and author of Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida. She added that when she spoke to people about her research, many said that they were not aware of the devastating scale and continuing impact of racist violence in the United States. Theres much more that could be done in terms of our curriculum to make sure that folks understood the full scope of anti-black violence in American history, Hobbs said. I think if they understood that, perhaps they would understand the Black Lives Matter movement as an extension of centuries, really, of advocacy on the part of African Americans. Researchers with the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit legal advocacy group, have documented more than 4,000 lynchings in the United States between 1877 and 1950, mostly though not exclusively in the South. The extrajudicial killings were instruments of terror, often conducted as public spectacles in full view of, or with co-operation from, law enforcement. Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights lawyer and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said that the terror drove millions of black people to flee the South, drastically altering the demographic geography of the United States. I think its important that there is an effort now to acknowledge this history and to do what we should have done a century ago, he said. A lot of folks will say, Well, its not relevant today; its not necessary today. But lynching violence was created by politics of fear and anger, and we should never assume that an era of fear and anger will never occur again. The bill that the Senate approved last year noted that 99% of lynching perpetrators escaped punishment. Black activists, writers and speakers risked their lives by calling attention to the violence. In 1892, journalist Ida Wells, who fought fiercely to end lynching, wrote that the strong arm of the law must be brought to bear upon lynchers in severe punishment, but this cannot and will not be done unless a healthy public sentiment demands and sustains such action. The omission of Wells name from the House and Senate bills was a major oversight, Hobbs said. I cant think of one American who did more to bring the cause of anti-lynching to national and international attention, she said. Rep. George Henry White, R-N.C., proposed an anti-lynching bill as early as 1900, when he was the only black member of Congress. I tremble with horror for the future of our nation when I think what must be the inevitable result if mob violence is not stamped out of existence and law once permitted to reign supreme, he said in a speech on the House floor. His words were applauded, but his bill did not pass. The cause was later taken up by the NAACP, which produced a report on lynching in 1919; and by members of Congress, including Rep. Leonidas Dyer, who sponsored an anti-lynching bill that passed the House in 1922, and Robert Wagner and Edward Costigan, who introduced another version in the Senate in 1934. Those efforts were thwarted by opponents who argued for states rights or used procedural tactics like the Senate filibuster to shelve anti-lynching legislation. (In 2005, the Senate issued a formal apology for its repeated failures.) Harris, Booker and Scott introduced a version that the Senate approved in 2018, but it was never taken up by the House. If it passes as expected, the House legislation would still need to be reconciled with the 2019 Senate bill. Once that happens, a final version will be sent to the Oval Office. A White House spokesman said Trump was expected to sign it. I think it is a tragic irony that this is coming way too late for the people who were involved, Hobbs said. I also think it is equally tragic and ironic that it took African American legislators to bring this forward. I do, however, see the symbolic value of such legislation in, at least in some small way, trying to acknowledge tragedies of the past. Read more about: She's upped her style game during Paris Fashion Week this season. And Hailey Bieber didn't disappoint when she stepped out in the French capital once again on Wednesday, wearing two racy ensembles. For one look, the model, 23, looked chic in a green jacket and matching miniskirt which featured large gold buttons. Glamorous: Hailey Bieber didn't disappoint when she stepped out in the French capital once again on Wednesday, wearing two racy ensembles Hailey gave her look a sexy twist thanks to a tiny black Naked Wardrobe crop top and matching thigh-high boots. In keeping with the gold detailing, Hailey sported a pair of hoop earrings and slung a bag with large chain detailing over one shoulder. She pulled her blonde locks back into a tight bun and completed her look with statement shades. For her second look of the day, Hailey set pulses racing in a purple leather-look skirt with a daring thigh-high split and matching thigh-high leg covers. Wowsers: For her second look of the day, Hailey set pulses racing in a purple leather-look skirt with a daring thigh-high split and matching thigh-high leg covers (left) Sexy: Hailey gave her look a sexy twist thanks to a tiny black Naked Wardrobe crop top and matching thigh-high boots Gold: In keeping with the gold detailing, Hailey sported a pair of hoop earrings and slung a bag with large chain detailing over one shoulder Working it: She pulled her blonde locks back into a tight bun and completed her look with statement shades She finished her look with a pair of matching purple suede heels and a slouched roll-neck jumper. The previous evening, Hailey looked incredible as she arrived at the glittering Saint Laurent fashion show. She displayed her cleavage and toned legs in a thigh-skimming glittering mini dress paired with vertiginous heels. The Vogue cover girl recently gave a wide-ranging interview to People magazine, admitting she's been struggling with her skin since going on birth control two years ago. Purple rain: For her second look of the day, Hailey set pulses racing in a purple leather-look skirt with a daring thigh-high split and matching thigh-high leg covers Matching: She finished her look with a pair of matching purple suede heels and a slouched roll-neck jumper Racy: The star left little to the imagination in her ensemble as she flashed her upper thigh Shopping: Hailey was joined by a pal as they went shopping together in the French capital during Fashion Week Kendall Jenner's best friend also talked about how she made husband Justin Bieber stop scoffing junk food and try eating gluten-free, which has made him feel better. 'Two years ago I went on birth control for the first time,' she explained. 'My skin was like, "Ahh, what is going on?" I ended up finding out my birth control was spiking the level in one of my hormones. 'I was like, "That's rude!" But I got it figured out. I think everyone goes through a journey with their skin.' Strike a pose: Hailey took a sultry snap in a car park, captioning it 'Green in Pari' Making a statement: The previous evening, Hailey looked incredible as she arrived at the glittering Saint Laurent fashion show Powerball was not struck last night and has rolled over to Saturday night where the jackpot will be a record-breaking $50 million and must be won. The jackpot has reached a jaw-dropping $50 million and must be won this Saturday. If a single player is lucky enough to win Powerball, theyll enter Lotto NZs history books as the largest prize winner ever! says Marie Winfield, Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility at Lotto NZ. In a Must Be Won draw, if no single ticket wins Powerball First Division, the prize pool rolls down to the next highest division with winners. With a Powerball Must Be Won this Saturday, its guaranteed that one or more lucky Kiwis are going to win big even if the prize is split. Must Be Won jackpots are very rare, and truly life changing. Whether its one lucky winner or more, were so excited that well be making more New Zealanders millionaires this week! says Marie. Meanwhile, six lucky Lotto players from all around the country will be celebrating after each winning $166,667 with Lotto First Division in tonights live Lotto draw. The winning tickets were sold at the following stores: Store Location Four Square Coopers Beach Northland Countdown Mt Eden Auckland Trafalgar Lotto Whanganui MyLotto Wellington Nelson City New World Nelson New World Centre City Dunedin Strike Four also rolled over tonight and will be $1 million on Saturday night, meaning Strike also must be won. Its a double whammy two of our jackpots must be won on Saturday, its going to be a big night! says Marie. Anyone who bought their ticket from any of the above stores should write their name on the back of the ticket and check it immediately at any Lotto NZ outlet, online at mylotto.co.nz or through the Lotto NZ App. The winning numbers for last nights draw are: 30, 8, 2, 33, 21 and 3. Bonus ball 13 and Powerball 6. Lotto players can buy a ticket for Saturdays $50 million Must Be Won draw from any Lotto NZ retailer, online at MyLotto.co.nz or through the Lotto NZ App. Like all lotteries, our games are based on a large number of people paying a small amount of money in the hope of winning a small number of large prizes. At all times Lotto NZ encourages our customers to play responsibly this is all about having fun, being informed and knowing your limits. For more information on the tools and resources we offer, visit MyLotto. Every year 100 per cent of Lotto NZs profits go to over 3,000 great causes around New Zealand. Over the past decade, Lotto NZ returned almost $2.2 billion in profits to communities all around New Zealand. Read more about how Lotto NZ players made this possible here: A decade of making a difference Largest Powerball wins of all time The Daily Beast Scott Olson/GettyDonald Trump abruptly ended an interview with NPR on Tuesday after he was repeatedly called out on his baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.A video of the interview, published Wednesday morning, shows Trump becoming increasingly irritated as NPRs Steve Inskeep asks him why hes still pushing debunked conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat.After Inskeep told the ex-president that his fraud claims have repeatedly been proven false, the reporter a NEW YORK - U.S. health officials warned Tuesday that the burgeoning coronavirus is certain to spread more widely in the country at some point, even as their counterparts in Europe and Asia scrambled to contain new outbreaks of the illness. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 24/2/2020 (687 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), addresses a press conference about the update on COVID-19 at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP) NEW YORK - U.S. health officials warned Tuesday that the burgeoning coronavirus is certain to spread more widely in the country at some point, even as their counterparts in Europe and Asia scrambled to contain new outbreaks of the illness. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a call with reporters. The CDC's call for Americans to be prepared added new urgency to response efforts that, until this week, focused on a disease largely confined to China, where it apparently originated, and neighbouring countries. In other developments Tuesday: New clusters of the illness popped up far from China, causing increased concerns for officials in some of the wealthiest nations in Europe and Asia, as well as in countries with far fewer resources. But many remained uncertain about how best to contain it. Few commuters ride in an almost empty subway train in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Regulators on promised tax cuts and other aid Monday to help companies recover from China's virus outbreak and expressed confidence the ruling Communist Party's growth targets can be achieved despite anti-disease controls that shut down much of the economy. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The new outbreaks were reported in places as far-flung as Italy and Iran, France and Algeria, and Spains Canary Islands. The tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain said it had 17 cases, including a school bus driver who had transported students as recently as Sunday. In Iran, the head of the countrys virus task force, who just a day earlier had urged the public not to overreact about the spread of the disease, tested positive himself. The official, Iraj Harirchi, posted a new video online, promising authorities would bring the virus under control within weeks. But a ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said it could take at least until the Persian New Year's holiday on March 20, or as long as late April, to contain the disease. We don't expect a miracle in the short term, he said. A Buddhist believer wearing a face mask leaves the Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. South Korea reported another large jump in new virus cases Monday a day after President Moon Jae-in called for "unprecedented, powerful" steps to combat the outbreak that is increasingly confounding attempts to stop the spread.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Officials in South Korea said they were racing to contain an outbreak that has grown to nearly 1,000 cases. Its a matter of speed and time: We must create a clear turning point within this week, President Moon Jae-in said. In the largest cluster, in the city of Daegu and nearby towns, many shops remained closed Tuesday and activity in some neighbourhoods came to a near standstill. On a U.S. military base in Daegu, the centre of infections in South Korea, officials said a 61-year-old widow of a U.S. service member had also been infected. It was the first known case among people related to the thousands of U.S. troops stationed in the country. Residents wear masks and line up to enter a supermarket which is controlling the numbers of shoppers in Beijing, China on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. The new virus took aim at a broadening swath of the globe Monday, with officials in Europe and the Middle East scrambling to limit the spread of an outbreak that showed signs of stabilizing at its Chinese epicenter but posed new threats far beyond. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) The virus' toll continued to mount, even as Chinese officials reported a slowing in the number of new cases. As of Tuesday, the spread of the illness had sickened some 80,000 people worldwide and caused about 2,700 deaths. The vast majority of those infections remain in China, where 518 new cases were reported Tuesday and another 71 deaths, 68 of them in the central city of Wuhan, where the epidemic was first detected in December. The updates bring mainland China's totals to 77,780 cases and 2,666 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. WHO said the fatality rate was between 2% and 4% in Wuhan and 0.7% elsewhere in China. People wearing face masks walk on a street in Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. China and South Korea on Tuesday reported more cases of a new viral illness that has been concentrated in North Asia but is causing global worry as clusters grow in the Middle East and Europe. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Dr. Bruce Aylward, the WHO envoy who led a team just back from China, told reporters Tuesday the reason for the large discrepancy was partly because the disease hit Wuhan early and fast, when people didnt know what we were dealing with, were learning how to treat this. At the beginning of the outbreak, people were finding severe disease, thats why the alarm bell went off, Aylward said. But now with more aggressive testing, mild cases are being diagnosed and isolated. In Italys north, where more than 200 people were sickened, a dozen towns were sealed off and police wearing face masks patrolled. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza huddled in Rome with counterparts from bordering countries France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia as well as with those from Germany and Croatia, two countries whose citizens are among frequent visitors to Italy. Among the shared points of view emerging from the meeting, Speranza told reporters, was this one: Closing borders is inappropriate as a response. Italian officials reported 322 cases of the virus, including 11 deaths. People wear face masks at a street in Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. COVID-19 viral illness has sickened tens of thousands of people in China since December. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Croatia and Austria reported their first cases of the virus. And an Italian doctor staying at a hotel in the Canary Islands tested positive for the virus, prompting the quarantine of hundreds of guests. Croatia, Hungary and Ireland advised against travelling to Italys affected area, one of a number of government moves seeking to limit further exposure. The virus' spread fueled apprehension in world financial markets. In the U.S., stock indexes piled on a second consecutive day of losses, falling more than 3 per cent. Investor fears that the outbreak will slow the world economy drove increased demand for low-risk U.S. government bonds. 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. A worker disinfects a public bus against coronavirus in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern, Iran, in early morning of Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. Iran's government said Tuesday that more than a dozen people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. (Alireza Mohammadi/ISNA via AP) Its the combination of South Korea, Japan, Italy and even Iran reporting virus cases, said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management. That really woke up the market, that these four places in different places around the globe can go from low concern to high concern in a matter of days and that we could potentially wake up a week from now and it could be five to 10 additional places. European markets also fell. The Euro Stoxx index lost 2.1%. Markets in Asia were mixed. Uncertainly remained over how best to stem the spread of the illness. Italy had taken Europes most stringent preventative measures against COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and yet became home to the biggest outbreak outside Asia. Experts in Japan, with one of the worlds most sophisticated health systems, acknowledged the countrys handling of the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship was flawed and could have allowed the problem to magnify. Japanese officials said they would urge a change to the country's deeply ingrained work culture in a bid to stem the illness. The government urged employers to allow workers to telecommute and have more flexible hours, simple moves Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed hope could help control the spread. ___ Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press writers Matt Sedensky in Bangkok, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Lauran Neergaard in Washington, Mike Stobbe and Stan Choe in New York, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report. Chances are the businessman will be appointed by the President and approved by the Parliament in the near future President Volodymyr Zelensky might appoint businessman Serhiy Tihipko as the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Certain Ukrainian media reported that with references to their own sources. According to various reports, Tihipko now negotiates with the government on this appointment. Kyiv Post refers to three sources that claim that Zelensky considers Tihipko's candidacy. However, the interlocutors of the outlet were not authorized with the press on possible appointments since the negotiations with Tihipko were underway. LB.ua assumes that the current Premier Oleksiy Honcharuk will have to leave at his own will. "The issue is settled. Honcharuk is protected with immunity, so he will leave at his own will. An extraordinary session will be summoned next, and the voting on the appointment will take place", a source said. Another interlocutor added that the IMF mission in Kyiv will be over on February 26, and then the new Premier's candidacy may be announced. According to a source in the Parliament, there are enough votes for Tihipko's appointment; the MPs will support the President's candidacy. Serhiy Tihipko served as the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine in 2002-2004; he also worked as a member of the National Security and Defense Council and chaired various governmental committees, councils, and other authorities. He also represented Ukraine in the CIS structures. In 2004, he left politics and focused on managing TAC financial group. In late 2016, he was elected Chairman of the Directors' Board of TAC group. In 2010 he conducted a successful presidential campaign and came third in the election. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Worldwide Facilities, national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter, is pleased to announce that Brad Foote has joined the company as a Senior Vice President. Brad will lead Worldwide Facilities' new Denver, CO office. He has more than 14 years of experience in the wholesale insurance industry and brings expertise in Professional, Cyber and Management Liability. The Aneval national association of vehicle hire companies says that its members contribute 256 million euros to Balearics GDP on an annual basis - one per cent of the total. Aneval comprises the five main car-rental firms - Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. As well as the 256 million (100 million indirectly), there are 4.3 million euros social security, while there are 7,700 jobs linked directly or indirectly to these firms' activities. This information comes from a report presented by consultants KPMG, who studied the Aneval contribution in light of the Balearic government's refusal to delay the introduction of obligatory percentages for electric vehicles in 2020 - 0.6% of fleets and two per cent of purchases. The Aneval companies have some 25,800 vehicles in the Balearics during the main tourism season. Problems with "saturation" in the summer are for reasons other than car hire. Congestion on roads is due to wide "residential dispersion" and inadequate public transport. This explains why six out of ten journeys are made using private cars. The Balearics have the sixth highest population density among regions of Spain, and there has been a trend in recent years for people to move to developments away from main centres for services; this has led to an increase in the number of vehicles. In the Balearics there are 913 vehicles for every 1,000 inhabitants, the highest number in Spain and well above the national average of 700. Of these 913, 70% are cars. There are 1.94 kilometres of road for every 1,000 people, but at national level there are 3.5 kilometres. Car rental helps to make up for the deficiencies in public transport, but represents just nine per cent of all journeys. Jose Luis Sanz, the Aneval corporate director, says that car rental acts as a key link for mobility in the Balearics. It is an alternative to public transport and contributes to decongestion of roads while also providing accessibility to the whole of the Balearics, "significantly improving the experience of both tourists and residents and enabling economic development for areas cut off from public transport". Brielle Biermann rang in her 23rd birthday during a luxurious Bahamian vacation. The daughter of Kim Zolciak has been posting beachside, bikini clad photos from Nassau, Bahamas this week where she is celebrating with friends. Recently, the reality star went from her classic bleached blonde tresses to a rich brunette shade in an effort to look less like her famous mom. Birthday beauty: Brielle Biermann has been posting beachside, bikini clad photos from Nassau, Bahamas this week where she is celebrating with friends after dying her hair brown to less like mom Kim Zolciak The tanned beauty, who turned another year older on Tuesday, showcased her slim frame in a tiny hot pink string bikini with a triangle top. Brielle posed propped up against a palm tree, with her new brunette locks in waves down to her waist. 'Coconuts dont fall far from the tree,' she penned in the caption with some tropical emojis. For a night out during her holiday, she rocked a busty look in the same Barbie shade, wearing a long sleeve maxi dress with a plunging neckline. 'Dress it up and go to Nassau,' she captioned the image. Vacation style! For a night out during her holiday, she rocked a busty look in the same Barbie shade, wearing a long sleeve maxi dress with a plunging neckline On her actual birthday, the young influencer shared a sunset video one the beach wearing blue and white halter dress with a tiered ruffled skirt. 'Pisces celebrating her birthday by the water,' she penned in the caption. 'thank you for all the birthday wishes! Feeling so loved & blessed.' Perhaps it is growing a year older that prompted Brielle to want to get out of her Real Housewife of Atlanta star mom's shadow. 'Im just trying to differentiate myself a little bit,' Brielle recently told People of her transformation. 'Pisces celebrating her birthday by the water,' she penned on Instagram. 'thank you for all the birthday wishes! Feeling so loved & blessed.' Big change: Recently, the reality star went from her classic bleached blonde tresses to a rich brunette shade in an effort to look less like her famous mom 'Its always been like, "Oh, little Kim." That's who I am. I look just like my mom. Always have. I mean she's gorgeous, but somebodys got to start looking a little different at some point.' 'The dark hair gives me a different identity. Im trying to detach myself from [being] Kims daughter and be my own person.' The Bravo star - who is a natural brunette - has been going gradually darker and unveiled her deep dark brown tresses on Friday to the delight of her followers. 'Its always been like, "Oh, little Kim." That's who I am. I look just like my mom. Always have. I mean she's gorgeous, but somebodys got to start looking a little different at some point.' Brielle has made some other changes as well and recently revealed she had dissolved her lip fillers after years of injections in an effort to look younger. But last week she got them plumped up again when she decided her lips were looking uneven.' 'Still NOWHERE NEAR how they were before...less is more,' insisted the reality star. 'Dissolved my lips yesterday... gonna look like 18 year old Brielle again soon,' she wrote with a facepalming emoji when she revealed she was taking the plunge with a new look last month. 'The dark hair gives me a different identity. Im trying to detach myself from [being] Kims daughter and be my own person.' (Brielle and Kim could be twins in this shot from 2019) '2020 new year new me,' she wrote. 'Black n blue for a few days.' Ironically, as Brielle tried to distance herself from her mom, Kim is trying to be more like her eldest daughter. The RHOA star admitted on Instagram that Brielle's journey with having her lips dissolved inspired her to do the same to her pout. The 41-year-old reality star gave her lips a little break before refilling them to 'make them perfect' as she detailed exactly what Dr. Thuy Doan did to create an impeccable shape. New look: Brielle shared the news with her Instagram followers that she 'dissolved' her lip fillers after years of lip injections but then plumped them back up 'So I jumped on the Brielle Biermann band wagon as well,' she said of her oldest child's plight for the perfect lips. 'I had my lips dissolved and then Dr. Doan refilled them kind of to, like, make them perfect.' The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star gave her millions of followers a peak at her newly formed lips during an Instagram story. 'I really wanted them closer to my nose per say ... I wanted like a little pout here in the center,' she said. 'And I really wanted my line to be defined.' A group of South Korean tourists are transported to Da Nang Airport before flying home on February 25, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong. Da Nang has sent back 18 South Koreans who refused to be quarantined after arriving in the central city from epidemic-hit Daegu. The flight took off at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday, departing from the Da Nang International Airport to Incheon Airport in Seoul, as Vietnam has suspended all flights to and from Daegu, the epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic in South Korea. The 18 were among 80 passengers, comprising of 20 South Koreans, two Thai nationals and 58 Vietnamese students and workers who arrived in Da Nang Monday from Daegu. Le Thanh Phuc, director of Da Nang Lung Hospital, said two South Koreans agreed to stay in Da Nang and accepted going into the quarantine area for 14 days in accordance with the Vietnamese regulations. 18 others refused and wanted to fly home. Tuesday's late night flight also carried six other tourists coming from South Korea's epidemic-stricken areas and more than 200 South Koreans who'd come to Vietnam for travel and work. Before the group of South Koreans left Da Nang, city Chairman Huynh Duc Tho expressed regret in writing that "the tourists didn't enjoy their trip as expected." The South Korean government has declared a red alert, its highest level of alarm, over the epidemic. "We are forced to take urgent measures to ensure the safety of tourists and the community," Tho wrote, adding that he looked forward to welcoming them again in an appropriate time. As of Wednesday, South Korea had recorded 1,261 Covid-19 infections, making it the second largest outbreak area in the world after China. The death toll in the country has risen to 12. Around 200,000 Vietnamese are currently studying and working in South Korea, 8,285 of them in Daegu, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Vietnam has suspended entry from all coronavirus-hit areas around the world. Citizens of countries or territories affected by the virus are required to submit health declarations on arrival and will be placed in quarantine if they carry symptoms like high fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. In Vietnam, all of 16 confirmed Covid-19 infections have recovered and been discharged. The global Covid-19 death toll has reached 2,764, mostly in China, and the number of infections has topped 80,000. Mayank Singh By Express News Service NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a major re-focus on the Quad-an informal grouping of the United States, Japan, India and Australia, saying it needed to be revitalised to maintain a free and secure Pacific region. Together, PM Narendra Modi and I are revitalising the Quad initiative, he said of the concept, which China views as a counterweight to its rising influence in the region. Talking of the progress made on the Quad front, Trump said, Since I took office, we have held the first Quad ministerial meeting... I guess you would call it a meeting, but it seems like so much more than that. He said the countries have expanded co-operation on counter-terrorism, besides cyber and maritime security, to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The president was referring to the first ministerial-level meeting held in September 2019 in New York. Analysts on defence strategy believe that the message is designed for Australia, the fourth of the Quad nations, to complete the quadrilateral as Japan is already a strong supporter of the Quad. In 2008 Australia had declined to be a part of the grouping. This is clearly an American attempt to make Australia also a responsible partner, both in security and economic domain. In the larger Indo-Pacific strategy, Quad is a very meaningful component, since it covers the entire Indian and Pacific Oceans, said Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (Retd), military analyst. Three countries of the Quad, barring Australia, are part of the maritime exercise Malabar hosted by India. Once Australia joins the Quad, the four countries will be able to exercise their joint reach over the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Australia is seen to be gravitating towards the grouping, also because it has strong individual military relations with the other three countries. During President Trumps visit India signed more a defence deal worth over $3 billion for advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters. The Romeos are worlds best air platforms, capable of operating off aircraft carriers and designed to stop enemy submarines from operating in the Indian Ocean. Don mentions Gandhi, finally! After a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump went to Rajghat and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi. They laid a wreath and paid floral tributes and also planted a sapling at his memorial. The American people stand strongly with a sovereign and wonderful India -The vision of the great Mahatma This is a tremendous honour! Trump wrote in the visitors' book at Rajghat. The First Lady also signed the message. During his visit to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday, Trump had praised PM Narendra Modi but had not even mentioned Gandhi On Presidents platter At the Rashtrapati Bhavan banquet, the Trumps were reportedly served appetisers that include aloo Tikki with spinach papdi, salmon fish tikka and lemon coriander soup. The main course is believed to have included morel mushrooms from the Himalayas, lamb biryani, Raan Aalishaan, and Dal Raisina and mint raita. The dessert menu is believed to have included hazelnut apple pie with salty caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream, and malpua with rabdi. Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for three decades before he was ousted amid the Arab Spring protests in 2011, died Tuesday at age 91. The once burly autocrat with the trademark sunglasses, who became witheringly frail after multiple surgeries towards the end of his life, spent years in custody for his role in the deaths of protesters but was freed in 2017 after the convictions were overturned. His son Alaa Mubarak wrote on Twitter: "This morning my father, president Mubarak, passed away". His death was confirmed by the presidency and on state television. Mubarak's brother-in-law, General Mounir Thabet, told AFP that the family was by Mubarak's side at the hospital. A military funeral was planned for Wednesday, to be followed by three days of mourning, said the office of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. Mubarak had long battled illness and was recently admitted to a Cairo military hospital's intensive care unit, as media speculated on whether he suffered cancer, heart troubles or respiratory ailments. Tributes poured in from leaders in the Middle East, where Mubarak's Egypt, a key ally of the United States, had at times served as a mediator, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mubarak's commitment to "peace and security" when he ruled Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel and establish full diplomatic relations. And Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he mourned the death "with great sorrow" and hailed Mubarak's support of the Palestinian cause. Dodged bullets Mubarak with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad (L) at the pyramids in Giza in 2002. By - (MENA/AFP/File) The long-time president started off as a military pilot and was commander of the air force in the 1973 war with Israel. President Sisi's office offered condolences and hailed Mubarak as one of the "heroes of the October 1973 war against Israel". Mubarak became vice president in 1975 before taking power in 1981, following the assassination of former president Anwar al-Sadat by Islamist militants. Mubarak was sitting near Sadat but survived, going on to dodge bullets during several more attempts on his life, including one by Islamist militants in 1995 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. He remained head of state for three decades but was overthrown in 2011 after three weeks of mass protests that started on January 25. His ouster came amid mounting popular anger triggered partly by rampant police brutality and by 2010 parliamentary elections which were widely slammed as rigged. Mubarak faced multiple charges after his overthrow, including over the deaths of protesters in 2011 and for corruption. While Mubarak was locked away or in the dock, he was succeeded in 2012 by the Muslim Brotherhood's president Mohamed Morsi. Morsi was ousted in 2013 by then general Sisi, who took power the following year, reimposing strict police powers. Morsi died last year but with no public fanfare and a derision of his short reign across Egyptian media. In the years since, many Egyptians' aversion to Mubarak has gradually given way to indifference mixed with nostalgia, and many now remember his rule as a bygone period of stability. 'History will decide' A 2009 photo of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. By Attila KISBENEDEK (AFP/File) Mubarak, a determined foe of Islamist radicalism, maintained a state of emergency for the entirety of his rule that gave sweeping powers to the country's feared security services. Internationally, Mubarak garnered respect as a regional power broker, including in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a staunch US ally, Egypt took billions in military aid and agreed to liberalise its economy, especially in the crucial tourism sector. Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates' minister of state for foreign affairs, hailed him as "a statesman ... who espoused nationalistic and historical positions". Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan described Mubarak as "an Arab leader who worked loyally for Arab unity and stability and stood firmly against extremism and terrorism". The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, who was a key opposition figure in the waning years of Mubarak, paid his respects. "May God have mercy on the former president ... and grant his family patience and comfort," he said on Twitter. Other opposition activists who were prominent in the revolution that unseated Mubarak, such as Wael Ghoneim, were also forgiving in their words on social media. "He was loyal and loving of Egypt ... He took on a great responsibility towards the Egyptian people," wrote Ghoneim on Twitter. "He was right a lot of the time and also wrong a lot of the time ... history will decide." Former presidential candidate Ayman Nour -- who ran against Mubarak in multi-candidate elections widely seen as fraudulent in 2005, lost and was subsequently jailed -- was also conciliatory in his tone. "I promise to God I personally forgive him," he said. Just over a year ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched an investigation into Elon Musk after he tweeted that he planned to take Tesla public. He was facing criticism, and a defamation lawsuit, for calling a Thai-cave rescuer a pedo guy and child rapist. And when Musk took a hit off a joint during an internet broadcast, it triggered a safety review from NASA that was concerned the billionaire maverick was going off the rails. But now Musk is on a roll, literally dancing his way forward past a thicket of controversies. Teslas stock price has quadrupled, and the companys market value now is greater than GMs and Fords combined. A jury acquitted him in the defamation suit. And SpaceX is on the cusp of its first human space flight, having just completed what Musk called a picture-perfect test flight. President Donald Trump even compared him recently to Thomas Edison, calling him one of our great geniuses. Most notable for some is that Musk, known for taking to Twitter to tout his successes and lash out at his critics, has demonstrated restraint. He hasnt tweeted any sensitive numbers about the publicly traded Tesla, and he kept silent after NASA pronounced the software in Boeings Starliner capsule SpaceXs competitor for sending people into space so flawed that more than a million lines of code must be meticulously reviewed, a process that could take months. People who follow Musk closely say theyve noticed the change. Rebukes by regulators and the serious responsibility of sending astronauts to space, now weeks away, have humbled him, they say. Elons not dealing like hes under the vice anymore, and he is acting more reasonable, said Gene Munster, managing partner of analyst firm Loup Ventures. That doesnt mean there arent challenges ahead. Tesla is launching its new crossover SUV in the first quarter, and new vehicles in the past have become a production stumbling block. Tesla also revealed last week that its again under investigation by the SEC. And though he may have been humbled, he remains refreshingly unfiltered. He recently danced on stage in China, performing what some dubbed a strip tease, shrugging his hoodie off and then throwing it. He told a recent SpaceX event on the rushed timeline to build a rocket he hopes will get to Mars: My new thing is management by rhyming: If the schedule is long, its wrong; it if its tight, its right. He also recently released a song that climbed the charts on Spotify after he tweeted to his 30 million followers a shot of himself jamming to the beat. The tracks title also served a four-word manifesto: Dont Doubt Ur Vibe. Musks relentless focus on Tesla, in particular, has begun to pay off. Musks goal of injecting electric cars into the mainstream is becoming reality, and Wall Street has begun to accept that. The companys stock has long been besieged by short sellers, gambling that the company wont achieve its goals. But the short sellers are reeling, prompting headlines such as this recent one in the Wall Street Journal: Detroit Falters as Tesla Excites. There are still things they need to work through, said Munster. Its still going to be bumpy. But as far as the core concept Will Tesla make it or not make it? that question has now been decided. Tesla is going to be around for decades. Musk, who was bullied as a child in South Africa and made his way to North America as a teenager, has always had a combative streak that often pitted him against the establishment. He took on the credit card industry with PayPal, where he was CEO until he was ousted in 2000. He remained the companys largest shareholder, however, and pocketed $165 million (U.S.) when PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion. He founded SpaceX in 2001 and disrupted the military-industrial complex that for years had held a strong hold over Americas space industry. His investment in Tesla didnt come until 2004, when he was named the companys chairman of the board. He became CEO in 2008. Forbes estimates his net worth at more than $43 billion. The low point for Musk came during the summer of 2018. A slate of top executives had left Tesla, which had been struggling and laying off employees in droves. The company was having difficulty delivering on its rosy production promises, and Musk said on Twitter that the company had graduated from one nightmare to another from production hell to delivery logistics hell. He lamented to the New York Times that August in an interview that, This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career. It was excruciating. The company was struggling to achieve its goal of delivering 5,000 Model 3 cars per week. Tesla never truly delivered on the core marketing component of the Model 3 that it would be a $35,000 car, making it affordable to the masses. While a model costing that price was available briefly last year, it was pulled from Teslas traditional online sales hub and moved to special order status. Musk had long been turning attention some said too much attention to the intricacies of the companys product lineup and assembly line. And he made decisions in haste, axing products on impulse without embarking on market research. Get it off the website now, he said, after one executive presented what he saw as a compelling case. When the company failed to meet its output for Model X SUVs because the falcon-wing doors were so hard to fit, Elon moved into the factory for two weeks, said a former Tesla executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal company matters. He was sleeping in a sleeping bag real time triaging cars at the end of the line trying to get to the root cause of what the issues were. It was wild. Musk also got hands-on when the company was facing a lag because of paint. Elon wasnt satisfied, the former executive said, and so he took over the paint shop. He ran the paint shop for two weeks. His agony was compounded by a self-inflicted wound when he took to Twitter to announce that if Teslas stock price reached $420, he would take the company private. Funding secured, he wrote on Aug. 7, 2018, in a pronouncement that shocked investors and sparked an SEC investigation that resulted in a lawsuit accusing him of misleading investors and seeking to bar him from running any public company. Musk ended up settling soon afterward, paying a $20 million fine and agreeing to step down as Teslas chairman for three years. Late in 2018, it was officials on the ninth floor of NASA headquarters who were fuming over his behaviour. Musk had recently puffed a joint while appearing on the Joe Rogan show and took a sip of whiskey not the sort of conduct NASA is used to seeing form the heads of one of their prime contractors. In this case, NASA was relying on Musks SpaceX to build a spacecraft capable of flying its astronauts to the International Space Station. And NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, a teetotalling conservative Republican former congressman from Oklahoma, didnt appreciate the message it sent. He ordered a safety review of the company and publicly chastised Musk, saying that culture and leadership start at the top. Anything that would result in some questioning the culture of safety, we need to fix immediately. SpaceX went to great lengths to show that it prioritizes safety over all else. And in March of last year, it successfully flew its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station and back, a feat that seemed to erase any concerns from Bridenstine, who crowed after the 2:49 a.m. launch that SpaceX had helped put NASA on the precipice of launching American astronauts in American rockets from America soil. Speaking at the pre-dawn press conference, Musk said he was emotionally exhausted and that the flight was super stressful, and the culmination of an incredible amount of hard work and sacrifice. The high didnt last long. A month later, that same spacecraft blew up during a test of its emergency abort system, sending an ominous cloud of orange smoke wafting into the Florida sky. At Tesla, everything started to stabilize once Musk had a new team he could trust to deliver in 2019. Gone were the days when Musk moved into the manufacturing plant, overseeing mundane elements of production personally, such as the Model X production, the companys paint shop and later the Model 3s lagging due to overemphasis on automation. Finally, he began to delegate, more and more, becoming more comfortable after the revolving door of executives finally left him with a team he could trust, former officials and close observers said. The Model 3 line was ramping up and meeting delivery goals. Tesla opened a factory to produce cars in China. The stock started rising. And Musk did a dance arms pumping, jacket tossed to the side at an event in Shanghai celebrating the first car deliveries in China that went viral and symbolized the sudden turnaround. Still, there are many perils ahead. Musk faces serious questions about core pieces of Teslas business model that could send the company back to its near-constant volatility over the last few years, which saw the companys stock dip to a record low of $177 as recently as June. Even earlier this month, the stock rose nearly 14 per cent to $887 before falling 17 per cent the next day. It closed above $921 a share on Wednesday before following the market down on Friday. One of Musks biggest tests will be the first deliveries of its new Model Y crossover. Tesla has faced questions about demand now that a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases has expired. Musk acknowledged the challenges on a call with analysts last month, though it was not demand that concerned him. We are worried about production, (making) sure we get that production ramp going and reach volume production as soon as possible, he said. Its also not out of the regulatory line of fire. Tesla revealed earlier this month that the SEC had subpoenaed the company seeking records concerning certain financial data and contracts including Teslas regular financing arrangements in December, just as the agency closed the investigation into Musks tweets. The company separately revealed that the Department of Justice was seeking documents on Musks communications about taking the company private and Model 3 production. It also faces probes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into safety regarding both its Autopilot assistant and alleged battery fires. And then theres the question of whether Musk can safely fly astronauts a feat SpaceX hasnt yet tried. That test is likely to come this spring, when SpaceX is expected to fly two NASA astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, to the International Space Station. In January, SpaceX nailed a test flight that showed off the capsules emergency abort system, paving the way for the first flight with crews on board. Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut who worked at Space X for years and still serves as a consultant, said Musk and the people at SpaceX know to never believe things are going to be as great as they are during the highs, and not as low during the lows. Still, he said, the abort-system test was a huge morale boost that fired up Musk and his whole team. It showed. Hours after the flight, Musk, who turns 49 in June, was loose and in a good mood, holding forth before a gaggle of reporters at the Kennedy Space Center. One of them urged him to show off his dance moves, as he had done in Shanghai when Tesla opened a factory there. But he demurred, saying maybe he would consider it once he had flown astronauts safely. Im not your dancing puppet! he said, laughing. Read more about: SAN FRANCISCO One of the more frequently discussed cyberthreats this week at RSA 2020 has been one state and local governments know all too well: ransomware.As hackers have wreaked havoc on cities and states across the country the FBI has often played an important post-incident role, coming in to conduct digital forensics and help communities understand the scope and nature of the attacks.But the FBI is also proactively on the hunt for would-be cybercriminals, an endeavor that occasionally leads to prosecutions but which faces many challenges along the way.Joel DeCapua, an FBI special agent with a background in digital forensics and network intrusion investigations, discussed the Bureau's work at the conference's Emerging Threats seminar this week, explaining some of the ways federal authorities look for and apprehend hackers.The decentralized nature of the FBI leaves it up to 26 separate field offices across the country to investigate regional cybercrimes. Most field offices have at least five to six officers working on cyberoperations at one time. Larger ones, like in San Francisco, can have as many as 50.Currently, the Bureau has 49 open investigations regarding ransomware, each of which is looking into a different brand of the malware, DeCapua said.Officers are frequently charged with the task of looking into illicit online marketplaces, which are the forum where criminals hire and coordinate hacking teams, hawk malware and engage in other illegal activities.This is someone whos built ransomware and hes looking for affiliates to install it. Hes willing to pay them a cut of any kind of proceeds [that] they get, said DeCapua, showing the audience screenshots of websites where the malware is pedaled as a service.These websites also serve as places where stolen identity credentials and hacked systems can be bought and sold. Access to already hacked servers can be purchased in bulk on these sites, with hackers spending thousands of dollars in the hopes that one will lead to a big prize a gateway into a large company or government server that can be extorted for big money.Once theyve found and breached a network, hackers move quickly, seeking to advance their privileges within it to do the most damage possible, DeCapua said.To investigate suspected criminals, the Bureau utilizes a number of legal tools to expedite investigations. These tactics include remote searches, which, under a DOJ ruling, allows federal authorities to hack into computers in any jurisdiction if they have a search warrant , as well as Electronic Communications Privacy Act search warrants, which allow them to subpoena individual consumer records from providers and other organizations."Basically we're just able to go to providers and get additional information from them," DeCapua said, describing some of the techniques.This is in going with the FBIs long term goal, which has been to foster greater collaboration and information sharing between itself and the private sector as a method of tracking down criminals. At a summit in January , the Bureau expressed the need to foster tighter relationships with providers and vendors as a means of securing additional information for cyberinvestigations."Hopefully you guys have relationships with all the people who sit in our field offices," DeCapua said to the audience. "We're supposed to go out and form relationships with security researchers and companies."These occasionally do lead to success stories, DeCapua shared, pointing to the capture and prosecution of Scan4You author Ruslans Bondars, a hacker who ran an online counter antivirus service that allowed malware users to test whether their software could be detected by antivirus protections or not. Bondars was sentenced to 14 years in prison last September Thousands of supporters of Estonia's far-right populist EKRE party, a junior partner in the governing coalition, held a torchlight march marking independence day in the capital Tallinn on Monday. Marchers carried tiki torches, blue, black and white Estonian flags and the "Flag of Odin" representing a group with links to neo-Nazis that was founded in nearby Finland in 2015 in response to the migrant crisis that hit Europe that year. Mart Helme, the controversial leader and founder of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), who is also Estonia's interior minister, led the march. Known for its populist rhetoric and anti-migrant stance, the eurosceptic EKRE joined the governing coalition after winning almost 18 percent of the vote in an election last March. Helme stirred outrage at home and abroad in December after he labelled Finland's Social Democratic prime minister Sanna Marina "shop girl" and accused her government of trying to destroy the country. EKRE supporters shun Estonia's large Russian minority, which accounts for around a quarter of the Baltic eurozone state's population of 1.3 million. Wary of neighbouring Russia, the EKRE backs Estonia's NATO membership. Estonia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II and remained under Moscow's thumb until independence in 1991. HERKIMER, N.Y. Herkimer elementary school students used spare change to raise money for veterans recently as part of their Penny War. Each classroom had a change jar, and students contributed over two weeks, raising more than $800. Every penny counted as a point, and silver coins took points away -- so children from other classrooms could put nickels, dimes or quarters in opposing classrooms jars. The funds raised went toward items for patients at the VA hospital. The in patients that participate in the conditioning activities, or strengthening...need sweats and shorts and sneakers - that stuff. And it's not provided by the VA, said Pat Murphy of the auxiliary unit 1524. The kids also helped purchase slippers, pajamas and coffee for the veterans at the hospital. PERTH, Australia, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alloy Steel International, Inc. (OTC: AYSI) advises that its 2020 Financial year First Quarter Report for the three months ended December 31, 2019 is now available on www.otcmarkets.com website by searching for AYSI then choosing "Filings and Disclosure." About Alloy Steel Alloy Steel manufactures and distributes Arcoplate, a technically superior and market leading 'alloy overlay' wear plate, servicing the global marketplace from its modern manufacturing facilities in Perth, Australia. Arcoplate is used throughout the mining and materials processing industries, from opportunistic one-off specialty applications in small companies to large relationship based repeat business applications with leading international companies. Arcoplate provides users with superior wear protection due to its premium alloy mix, its high ratio of carbide rich alloy and its unique manner of manufacture. The product's technical superiority combined with its unbeatable 'whole-of-life' cost has resulted in Arcoplate's wide acceptance in the mining and mineral processing industries to reduce wear in a host of fixed plant and mobile equipment applications. In mining and materials processing industries, where premature equipment wear is the primary cause of downtime, to undertake repairs or refurbishment, Arcoplate can provide users with significant profit improvement. Arcoplate can substantially lower equipment downtime, resulting in higher production, whilst also lowering the overall cost of wear protection. Furthermore, in applications where material 'hang-up' or 'carry-back' are also a significant cause of lost production, such as sticky materials that do not discharge freely from truck trays, buckets and chutes, Arcoplate's unique characteristic of polishing to a very low friction factor has the potential to virtually eliminate these problems, whilst simultaneously providing enhanced equipment wear life. Thushara Sam Dahanayake Company Secretary +61-8-9248 3188 SOURCE Alloy Steel International, Inc. Related Links http://alloysteel.net The devastated former partner of a father-of-two who was stabbed to death has hit out at plans to move the murder trial from Newry to Belfast. Daniel Martin James Carroll (27), from Edward Street in Portadown, has denied murdering Brian Phelan, who died at the scene after being stabbed on the Carrivekeeney Road on the outskirts of Newry on July 26, 2018. His trial was originally due to start on March 2, the date of his daughter's eighth birthday, but that was postponed. The Belfast Telegraph understands Mr Carroll's defence team has applied for the location of the trial to be changed. There is due to be a hearing at Laganside Court in Belfast on March 6 to set a new date and determine the application. Amanda O'Riordan, Mr Phelan's ex-partner and mother of their two children - Georgia (7) and Brian (4) - said she was furious after being told that the trial may now take place in Belfast rather than Newry. "This is outrageous," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "My liaison officer told me the trial had been put back, but not only that. The defence are asking for it to be held in Belfast and not Newry. I'm not happy with this. "We have been through hell since Brian was killed and it feels like the pain is never going to end. Brian deserves justice." A spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service said: "As proceedings are live, we cannot comment on this case." Ms O'Riordan, who said her 13-year relationship with Mr Phelan ended a couple of years before his brutal death, told of the heartache of losing the Bessbrook man in such terrible circumstances. "Our children are growing up without their daddy. It's just not right," she said. "They don't understand why they'll never see him again, or why he will never be coming back. Brian's daddy, Paddy, never got out of his bed after his son's death right up until he died from a heart attack last November. He was 65. "Brian's 60-year-old mother, Angela, isn't well. She certainly wouldn't be fit to travel from Newry to Belfast every day if they moved the trial there. "My wee boy suffers from separation anxiety issues, so I couldn't leave him with anyone to go to a trial in Belfast. Even if that wasn't the case, I couldn't afford childcare for him or my daughter if I had to go to Belfast. I don't have any help at all. "This isn't fair. If they move the trial to Belfast, Brian's family won't be able to attend it and that means Brian won't get any proper justice. "Our family has suffered enough without this." Ms O'Riordan said she was told that the man accused of murdering her former partner may get his case heard in Belfast rather than Newry because he is under threat. "There are no circumstances in which I could support this trial being moved to suit the accused," she added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 10:06:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Wang Huaicheng (1st, R), a member of Jiangsu medical team, discusses cases with his colleagues at the isolation ward at Wuhan No.1 Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. Medical staff of the hospital enter the isolation wards in groups and shifts to work. Each time when they enter, they must carefully prepare for nearly half an hour, wear at least 8 pieces of equipment through 5 isolation doors, and work inside for 6 hours. Wuhan No.1 Hospital is specially equipped with supervisors to help medical staff wear equipment and check omissions. Medical workers in Wuhan have raced against time and spared no effort to fight against the epidemic. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority Wednesday said it received reports of 406 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 52 deaths on Tuesday from 31 provincial-level regions on the mainland. All of the new deaths were in Hubei Province, according to the National Health Commission. Another 439 new suspected cases were reported Tuesday, said the commission. Also on Tuesday, 2,422 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 374 to 8,752. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 78,064 by the end of Tuesday, and 2,715 people had died of the disease. The commission added that 2,491 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 29,745 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery. The commission said 647,406 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 14,573 were discharged from medical observation Tuesday, with 79,108 others still under medical observation. By the end of Tuesday, 85 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 31 in Taiwan including one death. Eighteen patients in Hong Kong, seven in Macao and five in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery. Visually impaired Haroon Kareem TK, a tenth-grade student of Mankada Government Higher Secondary School in Malapuram district is all set to become the first student to take Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination on computers in Kerala. At first, the department denied his request to write the exam citing the State Council of Educational Research and Training norms (SCERT), however after the intervention of the state Minister C Raveendranath things move away from the conventional methods of using braille or a scribe. Raveendranath intervened in the matter after the boy reached out to him on Facebook and later met him in his office. "I am using computers to do all my class tasks and term and annual examinations since Class 8. For visually impaired there are technologies available for onscreen reading and using various tools like Imfty editor and Dolphin Easy Reader. I am able to make the best use of the technology," Haroon said while speaking to ANI. "I met Kerala speaker P Sreeramakrishnan and he facilitated a meeting with Minister. The Education Minister has assured me that I will be able to appear for the exam using the medium I am comfortable with, " said Haroon after meeting the minister. Ram Kamal of Chakshumathi, an NGO that works with print disabled kids in Kerala and works in the direction of promoting assistive technology to overcome their educational challenges was of the view that this decision of education minister will help many other visually impaired students in Kerala. "The India Government and NCERT are well in sync with the latest assistive technologies for the visually impaired and print disabled. They modified their rules in favor of using computers officially since 2013. Karthik Swayne, the first Indian visually impaired student at Stanford University, US was one of the first beneficiaries of the rule in 2012. But in Kerala, the SCERT examination guidelines are outdated, " he said. The SSLC board theory exams are scheduled to begin on March 10 and a government order is expected to be out before that. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday passed a slew of orders in the wake of riots which have gripped northeast area of the national capital and directed higher functionaries to personally meet the victims to build confidence. The court passed these directions and observations while hearing a plea seeking safe passage of the injured in riots. "It is extremely unfortunate what has happened. This is the time to show that Z security works for everybody. Otherwise we cannot restore peace. Every victim should be visited by higher functionaries," a bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and Talwant Singh said. The court said that confidence building measures should be taken and families must be assured that the law will work for them. "In this city, we cannot allow another 1984, not under the watch of this court. We have to be alert," it said. Justice Muralidhar ordered safe passage for collection of bodies of the deceased, setting up of adequate number of helplines and shelter to people who have been displaced. The court also appointed Advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae and directed her to approach Delhi's Principal Secretary, Home for assistance in the matter. The matter will now be heard on February 28. Belgian chemicals giant Solvay, facing difficulties linked to the coronavirus and the Boeing 737 MAX scandal, on Wednesday announced plans to cut 350 jobs around the world by the end of 2021. The company said in a statement it would axe 500 posts including some in senior management, but create 150 in the advanced materials sector, which supplies compounds to the aviation industry. Turning to its 2019 results, Solvay announced a 1.0-percent percent decline in bottom-line net profit to 1.075 billion euros ($1.2 billion) last year, while revenues stagnated at 10.244 billion euros. And the group warned of challenges in the months to come. Results for the first three months of 2020 were "expected to be down by high single digit as a combined result of the 737MAX production halt, the impact of the COVID-19 virus, and the increasingly challenging oil and gas market," Solvay said. The chemicals giant has ramped up its target for reducing costs by 2024, aiming to cut more than 350 million euros a year. Previously, it had set itself a goal of 300-350 million euros. Of the job losses, CEO Ilham Kadri said "it is never easy but it is necessary for the company's competitiveness". She said it was too early to assess the full impact of coronavirus on the company's business, but that precautions had been taken to protect employees in affected areas including China, which accounts for 10 percent of sales. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) According to USA Today, Beiber broke the long-standing record of the pop legend Elvis Presley by earning this honour at a young age of 25, thanks to his latest album "Changes". (Photo: File) Washington DC: Pop sensation Justin Beiber has now become the youngest musician of all time to score seven Number 1 albums on the Billboard Hot 200 list. According to USA Today, Beiber broke the long-standing record of the pop legend Elvis Presley by earning this honour at a young age of 25, thanks to his latest album "Changes". This is one year less than Presley who achieved this feat with his 1961 album "Blue Hawaii" at the age of 26. Beiber recently took to Twitter in order to express his gratefulness for this milestone. Beiber dropped the album "Changes" this Valentine's Day, which is his first since the year 2015, reported USA Today. Nearly 231,000 copies of the album have been sold as of now. This comes as his fifth studio album to hit the number one spot, apart from two remix albums. Sweden's publisher Gui Minhai has been sentenced to ten years in prison for illegally providing foreign information in China, one of the world's strongest countries. China-born Gui Minhai was arrested by the police in 2018 while he was with Swedish diplomats. Know why alcohol is being produced in woman's body The tension was also seen in China and Sweden regarding his arrest. Gui previously lived in Hong Kong, but later came to China and sold books that criticized the Chinese leadership. Sweden's foreign ministry demanded his release. On this, Chinese officials warned that interference in China's internal affairs will not be tolerated. Indonesia: Flood outbreak continues in capital Jakarta Gui was sentenced by a court in East China's Ningbo city on Monday. His Chinese citizenship was restored in the year 2018, but it is not yet clear whether he has renounced his Swedish citizenship. 55-year-old Gui went missing from Hong Kong from October to December 2015. He later appeared in China. During that period, many such books on the political leadership of China were published, which became very popular in Hong Kong. These books were banned in China. NRC will not apply in Bihar, Legislative Assembly passed resolution Albany Despite assurances that they wont be jobless, a number of State Park Police members fear they will be forced to accept diminished roles if a merger with the State Police goes through as planned. As a result, Park Police this week are starting to bombard legislators with emails outlining their concerns about what will happen to their ranks and to the parks in general if the merger, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered in December, moves forward. The union representing Park Police is also pushing back. While they initially pushed for a merger in order to get pay parity with State Police officers they now say the state is carrying out the merger in the wrong way. Were community police officers, we know all the nooks and crannies in the parks. We know all the park employees, said one Park Police member. Youre going to lose that community. The main concern focuses on plans for State Police to basically absorb the Park Police. Park Police officers would then apply for jobs with the State Police, such as state trooper positions. But Park Police say its unfair to make them once again go through the extensive training and background checks and meet the requirements for becoming a trooper, since they had already jumped similar hurdles to become Park Police officers. There a number of psychological exams, fitness requirements, as well as drug and health tests needed to join the troopers. A good number of the Park Police were hired years ago when they were younger, before they may have suffered job injuries or had health issues that could disqualify them. Not everybodys going to make it, Thomas Mungeer, president of the State Troopers PBA, said of the Park Police who might try out for a spot with the State Police. Hes previously said that maybe 10 percent would qualify. Troy Caupain, secretary of the PBA of NYS, which represents Park Police, touched on that earlier in February during testimony before lawmakers. It is clear that not all veteran Park Police Officers will meet the State Police hiring standards, which we argue would be difficult for veteran officers of any agency, including current members of the State Police, he said. This will leave Park Police Officers in an indeterminate state, unaware of what their future may hold. Why should veteran officers be forced, by the very state government that already employs them, to go through this again? This is unfair and disrespectful, he said. State Police officials have said they would age-adjust some of the physical fitness requirements so, say, a 45-year-old candidate wouldnt be held to the standards of a 20-year-old on a running or endurance test. But other than that, the requirements wont change. Additionally, the leader of the Parks Police union wonders if the current plan is aiming to push out senior, higher-paid officers in order to save money. The current proposal continues subjective hiring standards that are not applied to similarly situated troopers. We feel these hiring standard are purposeful to disenfranchise senior officers that carry the greatest financial liability to the State of New York, said Manuel Vilar, vice president and Park Police Sergeants Director at the PBA of NYS, the union representing Park Police. We understand the state is facing a budget shortfall, but it would be inappropriate to balance the budget at the cost of highly trained and dedicated law enforcement professionals, he added. The Park Police is much smaller than the State Police about 250 Park Police compared to 3,800 troopers. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Troopers cover the whole state while Park Police are in parks and historic sites, from Jones Beach on Long Island to Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs. Park Police also have in the past complained of understaffing since there are 180 parks and 35 historic sites across the state under their purview. Technically, the merger has already taken place with a memo put out by the Cuomo administration back in December. But both agencies are studying details before Park Police actually start going through trooper training, and that will take at least six months. Both the State Police and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation stressed that details of the merger havent been worked out yet. No decisions have been finalized. However, no Park Police officers will lose their jobs or be forced to relocate as part of this process, State Police spokesman William Duffy said in an email. The details of the transition are still being finalized. Officers have been assured nobody will lose their jobs or be forced to relocate, added Dan Keefe, a Parks spokesman. He said it wasnt yet clear if some Parks Police officers would be offered an early retirement incentive or if that was among the options. Park Police union members had for some time sought a merger, as a way to draw attention to what they view as unfair pay differentials. Park Police start at around $55,000 while troopers start at $79,000. But they didnt see the merger as absorption by the State Police. Even before talk of a merger, the pay differential has historically prompted some Park Police to apply to the troopers. They are good members, Mungeer said of the Park Police who have switched over. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU Lawyers have warned that proposed legislation to make it easier for evidence of an accused person's prior convictions or interest in children to be heard in child sexual abuse trials could put fair hearings in jeopardy. On Tuesday, the NSW government became the first in the country to introduce legislation to lower the threshold for allowing evidence of past behaviour that is relevant to the current trial, known as tendency and coincidence evidence, during court proceedings involving a child sexual offence. NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman has introduced legislation to make it easier for evidence of an accused person's prior convictions or interest in children to be heard in child sexual abuse trials. Credit:AAP "These crucial reforms will help deliver justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, one of the most despicable and damaging crimes to confront the justice system," Attorney-General Mark Speakman said. "While maintaining an accused person's right to a fair trial, these reforms will help to ensure that offenders don't evade justice through the exclusion of relevant evidence." The initial public offering (IPO) of SBI Cards and Payment Services, credit card unit of the country's largest lender SBI, will be launched on March 2 at a price band of Rs 750-755 per share. SBI Cards IPO comprises issue of fresh equity worth Rs 500 crore for strengthening the company's capital base and offer for sale by promoters of up to 13 crore shares. With the IPO, SBI Cards will become the fifth company under the SBI Group to be listed on bourses. 1. About the IPO: The issue size works out to be Rs 10,355 crore ($1.4 billion), making it the fifth-biggest domestic IPO. While the company will not receive any proceeds from the Offer for Sale (OFS), net proceeds generated from the fresh issue are proposed to be utilised for augmenting the capital base to meet its future capital requirements. As per company's DRHP, meeting working capital requirements, augmenting capital base to meet future capital requirements and expenses for any future operating activities are key objectives of the IPO. In terms of price to book method of valuation, SBI Cards is valued at 14.49 times. Post the IPO, shares of SBI Cards will be listed on BSE and NSE. SBI Cards IPO: Why SBI Cards' valuation is on higher side 2. IPO Structure: The IPO will close on March 5. Shares will be offered in a lot of 19 and in multiples of 19 equity shares thereafter. Eligible employees will be offered SBI Cards shares at a discount of Rs 75 per share. Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, SBI Capital Markets, DSP Merrill Lynch, Axis Capital, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities are the book running lead managers to the issue. SBI Cards IPO: Price band fixed at Rs 750 to Rs 755, employees to get discount of Rs 75 per share 3.Company's Financials: SBI Cards has consistently clocked profits over the last 3 fiscals, owing to higher and varied sources of income. Net profit rose from Rs 372.86 crore in fiscal 2017 to Rs 862.72 crore in fiscal 2019 at a CAGR of 52.1%. SBI Cards pays royalty fees of 2% of its net profit or 0.2% of total income, whichever is higher to SBI. Revenues from operations rose from Rs 3,346.20 crore in fiscal 2017 to Rs 6,999.11 crore in fiscal 2019 at a CAGR of 44.6%. SBI Cards has also been able to rationalise its costs as its cost-to-income (C/I) ratio slipped from 63% in FY18 to 60% in FY19. While return on average equity (ROAE) has remained stable since 2017 at 28.4% till the end of FY19, its return on average assets (ROAA) increased from 4.0% in FY2017 to 4.8% in FY2019. SBI Cards' gross NPAs stood at 2.33% and net NPAs at 0.78% as on September 2019. "SBIC commands relatively strong RoA, mainly led by superior margins/fees on better revolve rates/spends and contained credit cost, while the benefits of lower tax rate can potentially further drive up RoAs in the near term," Kotak Securities said in its report. SBI Cards has not seen its RoE fall below 25% in the past 6-7 years and has averaged 30% ROE during the period. SBI Cards IPO: This clause will open more revenue sources for SBI 4. Credit Card Industry: Top four players control 70% of the market, both in terms of number of cards in use and spend. As per industry experts, the credit card industry spends are likely to grow 2.5 times in next five years. According to Kotak Securities, the proportion of credit card originations among millennials (persons below 30 years of age) has increased from 19% in FY15 to 35% in FY19, and the share of customers aged below 25 has increased 10-fold from FY2015 to FY2019. With credit-shy Indians becoming more 'credit-friendly', credit card penetration is likely to rise in the future. "In terms of per transaction spend, volume (no. of transactions) as well as credit cards outstanding, the company is marginally higher than the sector average. Thus, when we factor 19.3% CAGR for the sector over the next five years, we expect SBI Cards to grow by 25%," Anand Rathi said in its IPO note. SBI Cards IPO: Issue to open on March 2; price band likely at Rs 745-775 5.Key Risks: Risks cannot be overlooked in a high priced valuation like SBI Cards. Coupled with this, it is a single product company dealing in unsecured credit and there are no other products to de-risk the book in bad times. In a slowing economy, rise in defaults could impact quality of its portfolio. India Equity Research in its IPO note pointed out MDR/Interchange fees, higher capital requirement and rising asset-quality risk given weakening macros/employment rates as key risks to investors." Spends per card for SBI Cards have been stagnating after a decent run over FY14-18 in line with the industry. Another key risk for the broader industry is that credit card penetration remains low in the country (4 out of 100 people as compared to over 30 per 100 people for China and other developing and developed countries). Credit card receivables in India stand at 0.5% of GDP versus 4% in the US. SBI Cards' share of customers from top 8 cities has also fallen from 67% in FY17 to 42% in 1HFY20, with additions largely from Tier-4 towns and below. SBI Cards IPO: 5 things to know about upcoming IPO 6. Key Business strategy: The credit card firm follows a multi-channel customer acquisition network as its key business strategy. The firm also has partnerships with several major players in travel, fuel, fashion, healthcare and mobility industries, such as Air India, Apollo Hospitals, BPCL, Etihad Guest, FBB, IRCTC, OLA Money and Yatra, among others. According to the draft prospectus, the company expects number of credit cards to increase at an annual rate of 25% per year. "Company's business is technology-driven and underpinned by their data analytics capabilities, which cut across all aspects of their operations. Their core technology systems are scalable, modern and sophisticated, with considerable capacity to support their future growth," Axis Capital added in its IPO note. SBI Cards IPO likely to hit market in current quarter, says Rajnish Kumar 7. Peers: Ranked second-largest credit card issuer of the total 74 players offering credit cards in India, SBI Cards dominates the credit card business. While there are 30 plus companies offering cards in India, the top 4 (HDFC Bank, SBI Cards, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank) control 70% plus of cards/spend market share. It has 18% market share in terms of the number of credit cards outstanding as of November 30, 2019, and 17.9% market share of the Indian credit card market in terms of total credit card spends in eight months ended November 30, 2019. The company comes second only to HDFC Cards which holds 25%, 28% and 50% of the number of cards, spends and loans outstanding. HDFC Bank has been the market leader in the cards space for years, although SBI Cards has been catching up. As per Macquarie Research, SBI Cards has improved the quality of its active card users and has been more than doubling spends per card in the past five years from Rs 60,000 per annum to Rs 145,000 per annum. This is now in line with the spends per card of the market leader HDFC Bank. The company also has reported 50% fewer fraud cases compared to its peers. "During FY14-19, SBI cards grew faster than the system in terms of transaction volume (34% versus 28%) and also credits card outstanding (24% versus 20%). We expect this to continue with growth in credit card spend at 25% versus 19% for the system during FY20-25. SBI Cards is likely to mine the huge debit card base for SBI (35% market share) more effectively," Anand Rathi Research said in the research report. SBI share price rises 2% as credit card unit's IPO set for early March launch 8.Company Promoters: SBI Cards is a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital Mauritius Overseas Investment. As a subsidiary of SBI, the company has access to SBI's extensive network of 22,007 branches across India. SBI Cards is the only PSU bank-backed company active in the credit card industry, that is usually dominated by private and foreign banks. Given its strong sourcing system and parentage, most brokerages have estimated resilient growth for SBI Cards. The bulk of the IPO will be a secondary share sale (Offer for sale) by its promoters, namely Carlyle Group, and State Bank of India (SBI) in a move to make partial exits from the credit card firm. SBI and Carlyle are reportedly paring their stakes through Offer for Sale (OFS) process, by 4% and 10% respectively. SBI holds 74% of the issued, subscribed and paid-up share capital of the company. Carlyle Group, which holds 26% through its subsidiary CA Rover Holdings, will jointly sell 130.5 million shares. New accounts sourced from SBI's existing customer base have risen from 35% of all new accounts in FY17 t 45% in FY18 and 55% in FY19. SBI Cards IPO likely to be launched in early March 9. Credit Card Business: SBI Cards has been transitioning from being externally focused to more internal sourcing. SBI Cards has a broad credit card portfolio that includes SBI Card-branded credit cards as well as co-branded credit cards that bear both the SBI Card brand and their co-brand partners' brands. The company drives a sales force of 33,086 outsourced personnel operating out of 133 Indian cities and engages prospective customers through multiple channels, including physical points of sale, telesales and online. Besides this, the company has 11 non-bank co-brand partners and seven co-brand bank partners using its distribution network, communication channels and customer interactions to market its credit card products. SBI Cards offers four primary SBI Card branded credit cards: Simply save credit cards, simply click credit cards, prime credit cards and elite credit cards. Kotak Securities said in its report that fees nearly contribute 49% of the overall gross card revenues and 53% of the net income for the firm, mainly driven by higher spends per card leading to strong interchange fees, contributing nearly 46% of the fees and higher instance-based fees (including penalties). Besides this, more than 95% of the cards are fee-paying cards with membership fees ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000, leading to healthy subscription fees as well, contributing nearly 13% of fees, it added. SBI Cards IPO gets in-principal approval from SEBI; launch likely in February 10. About the Company: With over 9 million credit-card customers, it is the second-largest credit-card issuer in the country. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore are the top 3 contributors to its business. SBI Card's credit card portfolio caters to individual cardholders and corporate clients and includes lifestyle, rewards, travel and fuel, shopping, banking partnership cards and corporate credit cards. The company is rated AAA and A1+ by rating firms CRISIL and ICRA. On the valuation front, at the upper end of the price band, SBI Cards is valued at 19 times price to book value. As at December 2019, SBI Cards mobile application received a rating of 4.7 out of 5.0 on the Apple App Store and 4.6 out of 5.0 on the Google Play Store, it added. Market analysts said the company has shown deep industry expertise and a demonstrated track record of growth and profitability. Top 11 IPOs to watch out for in 2020: LIC, Burger King, UTI AMC, NSE & more The father who is accused of murdering his wife and three children inside their Disney town home and lived with their bodies for at least two weeks has been indicted by a grand jury and may face the death penalty for the slayings, prosecutors said. Anthony Todt, 44, was arrested on January 13 and charged with four counts of murder for the killings at his home in Celebration, Florida, a gated community designed and developed by Disney. Officers had entered the home and found the rotting bodies of his wife and three children wrapped up in blankets after concerned relatives told police they hadn't heard from the family for some time. Authorities believe they were killed shortly after New Year's Day. Anthony Todt, 44, was arrested on January 13 and charged with four counts of murder for the killings at his home in Celebration, Florida, a gated community designed and developed by Disney. Officers had entered the home and found the rotting bodies of his wife, three children and dog (above) Anthony Todt murdered his wife Megan and three children Alek, Tyler, and Zoe (pictured) inside their Disney town home and lived with their bodies for at least two weeks Todt, 44, (right with wife Megan) has been indicted by a grand jury and could face the death penalty for slaying his family, prosecutors said Tuesday Prosecutors now plan to seek the death penalty for the murders after a grand jury indicted Todt on four counts of first-degree murder, Florida state attorney Aramis D. Ayala said in a press conference Tuesday. Ayala said a grand jury on Tuesday had returned the indictment charging him with four counts of capital murder of his wife Megan, 42 and their children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and four-year-old Zoe. An independent panel voted that prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Todt, Ayala said. The panel was set up after the state Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty must be considered despite Ayala opposing it. Prosecutors now plan to seek the death penalty for the murders after a grand jury indicted Todt on four counts of first-degree murder, Florida state attorney Aramis D. Ayala said in a press conference Tuesday (above) Ayala said a grand jury on Tuesday had returned the indictment charging him with four counts of capital murder of his wife Megan, 42 and their children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and four-year-old Zoe. An independent panel voted that prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Todt, Ayala said Attorneys said they will seek justice for the family of the victims. 'I can't imagine the pain and agony they are going through, but we're going to absolutely do all that we can to ensure justice is served,' Ayala said at the news conference. Todt allegedly confessed to sheriffs over the killing of his wife, three children and their dog inside their home, as it emerged he had been grappling with spiraling debts. According to medical examiner records, Megan, Alek and Tyler had all been drugged and stabbed. His youngest child, four-year-old Zoe, had been drugged. Authorities had been called to the property numerous times in the two weeks leading up to the discovery of their bodies but failed to enter the property where the bodies lay. DailyMail.com revealed in January that the local sheriff's department were called to the Orlando-area home at least five times after family members grew concerned when they had not heard from or seen them since before Christmas. Todt previously confessed to sheriffs to the killing of his wife, three children and their dog inside their home (above), as it emerged he had been grappling with spiraling debts According to medical examiner records, Megan, Alek and Tyler had all been drugged and stabbed. His youngest child, four-year-old Zoe, had been drugged Authorities had been called to the property (above) numerous times in the two weeks leading up to the discovery of their bodies but failed to enter the property where the bodies lay Documents show that Todt's sisters were calling the Osceola County Sheriff's Office from Connecticut, where the Todts lived part-time, sometimes daily to ask deputies to check on the family because they suspected something wrong. Questions are now being asked as authorities failed to enter the home until January 13 when the victims' bodies were found in the early stages of decomposition. The physical therapist had first suffocated his wife and two children but stabbed his teenage son with a kitchen knife when he fought back, before then slicing his wife and other son to make sure they were dead, DailyMail.com revealed back in January. A source close to the investigation revealed the gruesome details of Todt's killing rampage, saying the family man had first suffocated his family members one by one. But when Todt got to Alek last, the teenager fought back by scratching and biting him, leading Todt to stab him with a kitchen knife. Todt then went back and stabbed his wife and second son to make sure they were dead. Deputies drove to the Celebration house at least five times between December 31 and January 13 but didn't notice the smell of decomposition. According to the reports, a neighbor even offered a deputy a spare key to the Todts' home on January 11 but the deputy declined to use it. Reports show a sheriff's deputy first knocked on the door on December 31 to serve an eviction notice. He reported no answer and left his card in the door. DailyMail.com revealed in January that the local sheriff's department were called to the Orlando-area home at least five times after family members grew concerned when they had not heard from or seen the victims (pictured) since before Christmas A source previously told DailyMail.com that Todt first suffocated his family members one by one. But when Todt got to Alek (right) last, the 13-year-old fought back by scratching and biting him, leading Todt to stab him with a kitchen knife. Todt then went back and stabbed his wife and second son to make sure they were dead. Zoe wasn't stabbed On January 9 and January 10, another deputy alerted by Tony's sister in Connecticut knocked on the front and back doors, then headed to an apartment the couple owned less than a mile away and knocked there too. He canvassed the neighborhood, noting the family's only car was parked in the backyard and found the neighbor with the key. Another deputy returned the next day, arriving at the house at 12:39pm and leaving at 12:52pm after the Todts' landlord asked for a 'wellness check,' according to the reports. And again, yet another deputy returned January 12, but he took no action. Finally, on the morning of January 13, federal agents on surveillance spotted Todt entering the house shortly after 9am. The agents and several deputies knocked on the door. No one inside responded. One deputy grabbed the door handle and saw the door was not locked. Agents and deputies entered and called for Tony to come to the door. At the time of the murders, Todt had racked up $100,000 in debt and was facing eviction from the family home. Eviction proceedings were also pending against his physical therapy office in Colchester There was 'a foul odor emitting from inside the residence,' one deputy noted on his report. Tony was first spotted walking down the staircase from the second floor with difficulties, holding on the railing. He needed to be assisted after telling authorities he tried to kill himself with a high dose of Benadryl. His body, the report notes, was shaking uncontrollably. At first, he told deputies asking about his wife that she was asleep upstairs. 'I went upstairs and observed a bedroom door to the right that was open,' one deputy wrote. 'I could see inside the bedroom that one person was laying on the bed covered with blankets. I pushed the door open further and observed two persons laying on mattresses on the floor covered up.' On the bed, the deputy uncovered the body and found Megan, 'deceased for a fair amount of time.' Tyler and Alek were on the mattress on the floor. It took a while longer for the deputy to find little Zoe but found her wrapped in a blanket at the foot of her mother's bed. At the time of the murders, Todt had racked up $100,000 in debt and was facing eviction from the family home. Eviction proceedings were also pending against his physical therapy office in Colchester. Israel has been celebrated for having one of the most vibrant technology sectors outside of the US. But the success has a downside. As billions in venture investment poured into the technology ecosystem and multinational tech companies opened research and development centres over the last decade, Israeli IT executives have struggled with a growing shortage, and surging cost, of labour. As a result, Israels small but robust tech economy has become a job seekers market when it comes to hiring tech talent. According to a report on human capital released Wednesday by Startup Nation Central, a non-profit that collects data on Israels technology sector, the number of open positions in the field rose 8 percent to 18,500 in mid-2019 compared to the previous year. Thats forcing technology startups and the IT departments of traditional companies to get creative to compete with generous salary packages at larger companies. Each year we see the numbers go higher and higher and higher. This causes a lot of pressure on the entrepreneurs and the CEOs, and CIOs who are part of the managerial team, said Dana Bash, the founder and chief executive of iTalent, a headhunter firm that provides recruitment services to Israeli startups, multinationals, and mature companies. CIOs cant compete for talent on salary alone If you are a company like Google or Facebook, you have a lot of money for salary packages, said Bash. If you are a small company, you cant compete with that. You need to find a different way. At Meitav Dash, Israels second largest institutional investor, CIO Gil Tsabar recognised the difficulty in competing with the salaries offered by the local offices of Google or Amazon, companies with much deeper pockets than Meitav Dash. However, he also recognised another factor: the office amenities that are standard at both tech multinationals and startups. They have benefits that young people really appreciate. They have restaurants in their offices, they have a gym, they all kinds of other things that make them feel cool. Thats really a challenge. So we built a new floor, specially for IT, and we designed in a way that looks different from other places at Meitav Dash, so it looks more like a startup, Tsabar said. The old school company doesnt understand why I as a CIO want to change the design. Whats wrong with the old design? Why do we have to spend so much on design? I can show them that young people look at the environment, not only at the salary. In order to retain talent, Tsabar said he tries to offer IT employees flexibility in their work schedule to devote a portion to projects that involve newer systems. That gives them a break from handling older legacy IT systems, and gives them an opportunity to hone new skills. The IT departments in the public sector also struggle to attract top talent. The really good people that you see in the market can get [competing] offers that are too good to turn down. And its a problem for us, said Liora Shechter, the CIO at the Tel Aviv municipality. Cultivating youth, providing stability for pros Shechter said shes responsible for a department of 450 professionals who develop systems that oversee the municipalitys operations and interactions with residents. To solve the problem, the municipality focuses on two pools of talent it cultivates IT employees who arrive with relatively little experience, and it recruits high-tech veterans looking for employment stability after hoping from company to company. In the last decade, Israels tech ecosystem has seen a flood of investments and an international embrace. Investment in Israeli technology ventures quadrupled from 2010 to 2019 while the number of multinational companies with a presence in Israel more than doubled, according to the IVC Research Centre, which tracks industry investment data. Multinationals in Israel pay employees 40 percent higher than local companies. That has pushed up tech salaries at a rate faster relative to growth in the rest of the economy. Some companies have elected to establish research and development centres in countries where wages are not as high. The island-like nature of Israels economy it has few links to its Middle Eastern neighbours makes the problem worse. The chronic shortage is a problem, said Maty Zweig, head of human capital at StartUp Nation Central. The Israeli talent pool is limited. Israel is a small ecosystem, which is very isolated. That makes for a daunting challenge for the thousands of local startups some of which need to rapidly scale up their operations as they win the backing of investors. In addition to competing with the salaries offered by multinationals, the ventures need to establish a reputation and name recognition with prospective employees. Promoting your brand to potential recruits Recruitment specialists say that has prompted technology startups to invest energy in employer branding, crafting a companys reputation to cater to a desired pool of talent. Those efforts take the form of specialised public relations, social media campaigns or even on billboards near Tel Avivs major buildings and highways. Companies dont just wait to get candidates through an agency. They are doing it proactively by advertising, said Shani Kotzer, vice president for people at Lightico, a startup that develops customer engagement software. The candidate is swamped with offers, and everybody wants to be unique. Because the competition for qualified candidates is so intense, Lightico also relies on software tools that help source and screen candidates. We need to be fast, she said. To offset the high salaries, amenities, and the prestige of working for a known multinational, startups seek to lure candidates by offering opportunities to join development projects touted as game-changing products. The opportunity to work in a small company alongside a successful serial entrepreneur counts as another potential draw. There needs to be something unique about the team, the product, and the vision, said Yael Ran, a team-building consultant who advises Israeli startups. The key motivator is being able to work on cutting-edge technology. If you get a chance to develop something that hasnt been developed before, thats a key selling point. But it has to be backed by a strong team. Reuniting former colleagues from military service (Israel has mandatory conscription for 18-year-olds and graduates from elite computing units are highly sought after) is another technique for recruitment. The chance to reunite with a former commander on a startup project can be compelling for some candidates. These are strong ties. People will go for the long ride, Ran said. Friendship and camaraderie; this is unique to the Israeli market. More tech graduates needed One of the reasons for the talent shortage is the failure of Israels higher education system to produce more graduates with degrees in computer science and technology. Also, Israeli IT departments and technology companies havent fully tapped the talent pool of the countrys Arab minority. Though Arabs account for one-fifth of the countrys population and represent 22 percent of graduates from Israels prestigious Technion engineering university they are just 2 percent of the tech workforce. To overcome the shortage, companies need to be creative and seek out prospective employees on many fronts. They need to work with recruiters, rely on employee networks and prospect candidates and widen their scope beyond military veterans and tech degree holders. Some companies consider crash training courses for winners of hackathons or engineering graduates, said Ronen Engler, a vice president for sales at the Israeli technology services company Matrix and the CEO of its tech placement subsidiary, SeeV. Companies need to offer employees the option of working from home or combining studies with work, he added. Companies need to be flexible, he said. Whoever rests on one technique collapses. In the last year, Israeli digital content startup Lightricks has doubled its tech workforce. Nimrod Gruber, an in-house headhunter at the company said the prospect of gaining equity options in a fast-growing company is a draw. Lightricks relies mostly on the networks of its employees to bring in new candidates. However, thats not sufficient, he said. Maintaining an active company social network and enhancing the companys profile by winning awards enhances the stature of an employer. Its so you know you are coming into a high-performance company, he said. That way you can attract go-getters and achievers. Longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak has died at the age of 91. His death was reported Tuesday by state television. Mubarak ruled Egypt for almost 30 years before being swept from power in 2011 after 18 days of popular protests. He rose through the ranks of the Egyptian air force, eventually becoming commander and deputy defense minister. Mubarak was named President Anwar Sadat's deputy in 1975 and was at his side when Sadat was assassinated in October 1981 by Islamist militants. The autocratic leader then assumed the presidency and retained power by positioning himself as a trusted Western ally who honored the 1979 peace treaty with Israel despite fierce opposition throughout most of the Middle East. At home, Mubarak ruled with an iron fist, imposing Egypt's infamous emergency law, which gave security forces sweeping powers to crack down on dissent and curb basic freedoms. Mubarak cracked down when Islamist extremists launched a violent campaign in the 1990s that killed hundreds of Egyptian policemen, soldiers and civilians, as well as dozens of foreign tourists. The authoritarian president had long fought to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood, the Arab world's largest transnational Islamist movement, which originated in Egypt. In doing so, he also marginalized moderate Islamists, alienating their supporters. Many accused him of corruption. Police in southern Vietnams Dong Nai province have launched an investigation of a woman living in Lam Dong province in Vietnams Central Highlands, accusing her of membership in a U.S.-based opposition organization called a terrorist group by authorities in Hanoi. Tran Thi Hoa, born in 1963 and a resident of Lam Dong provinces Da Lat city, is accused of activities aimed at overthrowing Vietnams one-party communist state under Article109 of the countrys penal code, the Dong Nai police website reported on Feb. 23, adding that police in Lam Dong have joined them in their investigation. According to authorities, Tran joined U.S.-based opposition group the Provisional Government of Vietnam in October 2018 and worked to add the names of over 600 residents of Dong Nais Long Khanh city to a referendum calling for U.S. citizen Dao Minh Quan to be named president of an interim government replacing the countrys communist leadership. The Dong Nai police report did not say whether Tran has already been taken into custody or is still being sought for arrest. At least 27 people have now been jailed in Vietnam for involvement in the Provisional Government group, which was designated a terrorist organization by Vietnam authorities in January 2018 after group members were charged with a plot to attack Tan Son Nhat International Airport with petrol bombs ahead of a major holiday the year before. The groups leader, Dang Hoang Thien, was sentenced in December 2017 to 16 years in prison and five years of house arrest, while 14 other members of the group were sentenced to terms ranging from five to 14 years. The group had earlier attempted to explode a bomb in a parking lot for impounded vehicles at the Bien Hoa police station in Dong Nai province, according to state media reports published at the time of the 2017 trial. Call for UN action on Dong Tam Meanwhile, a group of 15 human rights organizations and journalist and student groups, including some based in Vietnam, sent a letter this week to the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, calling for the assignment of a special rapporteur to investigate a deadly crackdown in January by Vietnamese police during a land dispute at the Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi. The crackdown claimed the life of community leader Le Dinh Kinh, 84, who was shot on Jan. 9 by police who attacked his home in the communes Hoanh village in a 4:00 a.m. assault that involved about 3,000 security officers from the police and armed forces. Independent media organizations should also be allowed free access to interview residents of the commune, and the 27 commune residents still held by authorities after being arbitrarily detained during the raid should be immediately freed, the letters signers urged. [The] appalling police brutality in Dong Tam and the repression following reveals the escalation of human rights abuse in Vietnam, the groups letter said. The Vietnamese government continues to show complete disregard for international conventions including the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Though official reports said that villagers at Dong Tam had assaulted police with grenades and petrol bombs, a report drawn from witness accounts and released seven days later by journalists and activists said that police had attacked first during the deadly clash in which three police officers also died. Police blocked off pathways and alleys during the attack and beat villagers indiscriminately, including women and old people, the report says, calling the assault possibly the bloodiest land dispute in Vietnam in the last ten years. The Dong Tam tragedy was the latest flare-up of a long-running dispute over a military airport construction site about 25 miles south of Vietnams capital Hanoi. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huynh Le. Written in English by Richard Finney. As the Central government lends a helping hand to carve out new political formations in Jammu and Kashmir, older parties are withering away due to the inattention and perhaps aware of their dire situation, are also in a mood to renegotiate their party agendas As the Central government lends a helping hand to carve out new political formations in Jammu and Kashmir, older parties are withering away due to the inattention and perhaps aware of their dire situation, are also in a mood to renegotiate their party agendas. The rise of a 'third front' a separate bloc of political forces led by PDP deserter Altaf Bukhari, who served as minister in coalition with BJP, has put pressure on the prominent mainstream parties. Both the Peoples Democratic Party and National Conference have turned comatose after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. Prominent leaders from both parties including three former chief ministers were detained under the Public Safety Act that empowers the State to hold them in detention without trial for up to two years. Left without their party-heads, the rank and file of these political groups are finding themselves disoriented and clueless especially when such a major political churn is underway. The Centre aims to engineer a new political setup in Jammu and Kashmir, and Bukhari who makes back-and-forth visits between Delhi and Srinagar is at the heart of this change. He has also recently earned an endorsement from the BJP's local unit. Earlier this month, Bukhari floated a new party whose manifesto goes beyond the discourse of maximising autonomy. Instead, its main themes are suffused with demands about the restoration of statehood and application of domicile rights the rules of engagement with which the Centre should have no grievance. "We don't know how leaders of the PDP and NC are going to react to everything that has happened while they were locked up," said Siddiq Wahid, a senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, "They will have to take into account the shutdown, incarcerations, crackdown on dissent and everything that happened all these months and act accordingly." Two remarkable developments are underway that can exert an overriding influence on political trajectories of mainstream parties in the region. First, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, founding member of the PDP, who has been more responsive to the Central government and less critical of it after 5 August, appears to have considerable latitude over party affairs in the absence of its top leadership. Baig was first to opine that special status held no real value for people in Jammu and Kashmir. He excoriated Mehbooba Mufti for threatening Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in vain. "We won't get anything from it," he said last month, "Modi and Shah are not anti-Muslim." He made clear his desire to become a new power broker in the PDP when he expressed the need for a fresh party resolution that excludes any reference to Article 370 and instead sticks to restoration of statehood. He also unfurled the Indian flag at the PDP's Jammu headquarters on Republic Day calling for every person in the former state to commit themselves to "the welfare of this country". This posturing has not gone down well with the party rank and file in Kashmir. "Each of his statements contravenes the avowed party stand," said a senior PDP member who did not want to be named, "We are not in touch with him. In fact, whatever we decide at the Srinagar headquarters of PDP is hardly discussed with him. His thoughts and actions are independent of party consensus." But their opinion barely seems to matter as Baig appears to have both the will and wherewithal to negotiate with the Centre on behalf of his party. While he has not faced much curtailment from the local administration for his political activities, other key party members continue to be under detention. "We have not really been able to meet our senior members, who hold decision-making authority," said Hameed Kosheen, general secretary, PDP, "The police stops us whenever we try to meet any of our political leaders from party president Mehbooba Mufti to national spokesperson Waheed Para." Furthermore, mainstream parties will certainly feel threatened by the delimitation exercise set to take place in Jammu and Kashmir. The administration is presently nominating members for the commission to expand the existing share of 107 seats to 114. The last delimitation exercise took place under President's Rule in 1995 when Kashmir had 87 Assembly constituencies. "Certainly, delimitation is going to assuage the people in Jammu region who have always felt that they had no share in government-formation, even thought it's a misplaced notion. It's set to directly benefit the BJP electorally," explained Noor Ahmad Baba, a retired political scientist, "An increase in seat tally from the BJP stronghold will indeed force parties in Kashmir to review their stand and reflect on it. They simply can't let themselves get run over like this." Next, as most leaders find themselves locked up under the PSA, it is Altaf Bukhari who gets to occupy the headlines where he often figures taking up one issue after another of utmost consequence to locals. He was the first to call on the government to evacuate Kashmiri students from China in the wake of the coronavirus scare. His denunciation of the abolition of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre in civil services and the five-year age relaxation for aspirants from the UT are slapped prominently across local newspapers. When the government announced relief for apple farmers, he was among the first politicians to emphasise that the compensation (Rs 900 per 0.125 acres) was meagre. He also led a campaign demanding that medical assistants from Kashmir must be brought under Central Pharmacy Act for their benefit. Recently he wrote to the lieutenant-governor urging the release of piling liabilities of contractors who had carried out reconstruction work after the 2014 flood in Kashmir. "He appears to have tremendous leeway to elevate his profile ahead of the supposed restart of the political process. Kashmiris are very well-schooled enough to recognise that a formation non-averse to the BJP and increasing seats via delimitation have a connection and are part of a political stratagem to serve BJP's electoral ends in Jammu and Kashmir," Wahid said. All this is adding new pressure on regional political parties to mobilise and try to neutralise the threat. But the political freedom that Altaf Bukhari and Baig enjoy is being denied to others. For instance, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir wasn't allowed to enter the state last week. "We are not boycotting the panchayat polls. We just want a level playing field which is not being given to us," said Ravinder Sharma, chief spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress. The other mainstream leaders who were released from custody have been put under house arrest and they have not been able connect with their party rank and file. "Authorities have been preventing us from meeting our leaders who are under house arrest," said Imran Nabi Dar, spokesperson, NC. There is also a new dynamic to the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir, which finds itself on the cusp of a radical departure from the older setup. Of the two big mainstream parties in the Valley, the PDP's political fortunes have been fading. Since 2018, it has grappled with a wave of desertions of high-profile former legislators including Altaf Bukhari, Haseeb Drabu, influential Shia leader Abid Ansari and Basharat Bukhari, brother of slain editor Shujaat Bukhari. The PDP is fundamentally an ad hoc party that was brought into existence to serve ad hoc measures in 1999. When Farooq Abdullah spurned an offer of an electoral alliance from Indira Gandhi in 1977, the adversarial relationship between him and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was at that time a key poll campaigner for Congress, became a forgone conclusion. Thus, drawing on this mutual antagonism, the Central government fashioned the PDP out of a regional Congress unit to counter the NC whose emphasis on autonomy had upset it. "It's a party without a history," Wahid said, "It was plucked out of thin air and parachuted onto people in Kashmir. That's why sidelining the party has been much easier." Its headquarters in Srinagar lie desolate and empty a spacious white cottage with a manicured lawn. Inside, voices bounce off the wall. The staircase is ridden with the dust and corridors are littered with trash. Rooms are unoccupied except one big hall above where a dozen men are conversing in subdued tones. The edifice appears to be in the same state as the party that it serves: Tattered and deserted. The members are busy trying to hold as many meetings as possible in different districts to reconnect with people. "It's been very difficult for us in the absence of the party leadership, but we're still doing it," Kosheen said. Consider the fact that of its 10 district presidents across Kashmir, only three are free, three have switched loyalty to different parties and the other four are under house arrest. By contrast, the NC is the political godfather of modern Kashmiri identity. Its political mobilisation as the Reading Room Party during the 1920s and later as the Muslim Conference, before it eventually changed appellation in 1937, introduced Kashmiris to modern political thought. That makes it a deeply entrenched political force. When Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state, Sheikh Abdullah capitalised on the British-led Glancy Commission whose mandate was to investigate the Kashmiri Muslim grievances against the Dogra state as a stepping stone for his political career. Those efforts culminated in the creation of a legislative Assembly called Praja Sabha and the authorisation of free press and liberty to form political parties. Later, Sheikh Abdullah also enacted sweeping land reforms that created around a million land proprietors in Jammu and Kashmir. The abundance of landed wealth and economic prosperity across rural Kashmir is a product of those land reforms considered the most radical in any non-communist state. A cadre-based organization, the NC has remained in power for much of Jammu and Kashmir's post-Partition history. Its influence, however, bean depleting after the 1975 accord with Indira Gandhi in exchange for which Sheikh Abdullah agreed to forgo the demand for referendum and took oath as chief minister. "The creation of PDP also served purpose of having a mainstream party with whom separatists could have a tacit understanding. That's why the PDP's symbol was that same as that of the Muslim United Front who, upon facing defeat in rigged elections in 1989, turned to militancy," explained Altaf Hussain, a historian who has authored The Making of Modern Kashmir. "Thats also why Jamaat-i-Islami mobilised their ground cadre to ensure votes were given to PDP and we saw polling percentages swell enormously in 2002 elections. These are all pressure tactics to force the other parties to come to terms with the Centre." Para believes that parties like National Conference will most likely return to electoral process. "The only radical move expected from the party was the revival of the Plebiscite Front that sought the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute through referendum but was dissolved by Sheikh Abdullah after the 1975 accord. They did not do it. That means they are awaiting the new terms of engagement being made clear to them so that they come to public with new agenda. Just like Omar's grandfather did after 1975. For a party so grounded in the political and social fabric, it is impossible to efface the NC in the manner of the PDP." No wonder then that NC hasn't formally announced a boycott of the panchayat elections an idea with which the PDP appears to be toying. It's the NC leaders Farooq Abdullah, Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone who occupy all three Lok Sabha seats from the Kashmir Valley and none of them have tendered their resignations either after the abrogation of Article 370 or appalling treatment meted out to party president Farooq Abdullah, who is currently serving internment under the PSA. Recently, the NC members hinted that they will contest the panchayat polls if the Centre removes "roadblocks". The statement has since courted controversy. "We neither confirmed nor denied our participation in the polls," said Dar, "Our working committee is under detention. We cannot take any decision on such issues until they are released." Last week, Jitendra Singh Rana, a Union minister confirmed reports that safeguards regarding a domicile law were around the corner. The concessions seem to be in line with the political agenda around which the new Bukhari-led formation is coalescing. "It's likely that they have a tacit understanding with Bukhari," said Baba, "The BJP is in power at the Centre, so they have full authority to call the shots over the state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, and meddle as they please." Charterhill SMSF accountant George Nowak has pleaded guilty in the District Court of South Australia to 17 counts of aggravated deception and 1 count of dishonest dealings with documents. Nowaks bail was revoked on 24 February 2020. The matter has been adjourned to 19 March for further submissions on sentencing. Mr Nowak entered the plea during the third week of his criminal trial on these charges. ASIC investigated Mr Nowak's conduct in dealing with members of self-managed superannuation funds, who were undertaking property purchases offered by companies of which he was a director, including EJ Property Developments Pty Ltd. Charges laid against Nowak concern the misappropriation of $1.2 million in SMSF monies by not holding those funds in a designated account and by not applying those funds towards the intended property purchase. The matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Sentencing submissions are listed for 24 February 2020. The charges of aggravated deception contrary to section 139(a) of the SA Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 each carry a maximum penalty of fifteen years imprisonment. The charge of dishonest dealings with documents contrary to section 140 of the SA Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 carries a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment. Mr Nowak was the founder of the Charterhill group of companies. The following companies in the Charterhill Group have been placed under external control: Sitting at a picnic table with 15 bottles in front of her, Martha Stoumen is spitting wine into a bucket while nursing her 3-month-old son, August. Its late January, and the winemaker is just starting to ease back into full-time work after a few months of semi-maternity leave. I had this impression Id just strap the baby on me and be back to work in no time, says Stoumen, rolling her eyes at her own naivete. Augusts birth, which took place during Octobers power shutoffs and the Kincade Fire, was fraught with unforeseeable surprises including being evacuated from the hospital and from her home. She and husband Jon Patch spent her sons first week camped out at a friends house. Then again, Stoumen, 35, is used to unpredictability. She practices low-intervention winemaking natural winemaking, as its often called which brings nothing but surprises. Thats kind of the whole point. Using organically farmed grapes, allowing juice to ferment with indigenous yeast, adding as few preservatives or stabilizers as possible: A winemaker who works like this relinquishes a lot of control over the outcome of the finished wine, inviting constant variability. For Stoumen, thats what makes it fun. The lows are lower, but the highs are higher, she says. Since she began Martha Stoumen Wines six years ago, Stoumen has become something of a poster child for California natural wine. Shes won loyal fans with playful bottlings like the Post-Flirtation (a pun on the wine term post-filtration) series, low-alcohol sparkling verjus and Varietally Incorrect Zinfandel and with her low-input winemaking philosophy. So it might startle some to learn that Stoumen is not a diehard zero-zero winemaker, a term used to describe those who add nothing to and subtract nothing from their wines, the ultimate in hands-off. Rather than dogmatic, Stoumen is pragmatic and flexible. She does add a little bit of sulfur to every wine. She has filtered some wines when shes felt that the wines sediment is muddying the expression. In fact, while the natural-wine movement has tended to focus mostly on post-fermentation practices essentially, on what a winemaker adds or doesnt add to wine in the winery thats not Stoumens primary concern. She believes that what happens pre-fermentation, in the farming of a vineyard, is far more important. Her focus, she says, more than on any individual input or ingredient, is on a bigger picture: allowing her wines to convey a sense of place. Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle Stoumens interest in wine began with rocks and dirt. She studied geology and environmental science in college, and after graduating in 2006 interned at an organic farm in Tuscany, Italy. Her assignment was the olive orchard and vineyard. Although shed grown up in Sebastopol, the wine industry hadnt proliferated to the extent it has today, and her family didnt drink much. In Tuscany, for the first time, she realized winemaking could be a job, and a desirable one at that. A long string of harvest jobs followed at Chalk Hill Winery in Sonoma County and in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, France. In 2010 she enrolled in the masters program at UC Davis for enology and viticulture. There, in a course called Wine Stability, Professor Roger Boulton said something that really stuck. Hopefully someday we wont have to teach this class, because well know enough to be able to get the wines right on the front end, so you wont have to correct them post-fermentation, Stoumen remembers him saying. She could feel herself being drawn to a specific type of wine nonindustrial, idiosyncratic but didnt yet have a term for it. I just thought, Oh, this is craft wine, she says. For fun, she and some Davis classmates put grapes in a clay pot and buried it in a backyard a poor mans version of the quevri used in the Republic of Georgia, now a darling of the natural-wine set. The first time Stoumen remembers hearing natural wine discussed was in 2012, when she had a harvest job at Cos winery in Italys Sicily. Cos is best known for its thrilling Cerasuolo di Vittoria wine, a blend of the red grapes Nero dAvola and Frappato. She saw how winemaker Giusto Occhipinti left his wines virtually unmanipulated, which he was able to do largely because the fruit came in so clean: Sicilys dry, warm climate meant that grapes could be farmed organically with little mildew pressure. Occhipintis approach to winemaking was to harness the ingredients the fruit already possesses, Stoumen says. Instead of adding more sulfur to a white wine, for example, hed just let the juice soak with its skins a little longer, to help protect it from oxidation. Stoumen was struck by the intimate, encyclopedic knowledge of Sicilian wine that Occhipinti and his niece, winemaker Arianna Occhipinti, possessed. They asked Stoumen what excited her about California wine. She realized she didnt really know. Their advice: Go home and find out. In 2014, while working at Broc Cellars in Berkeley, Stoumen and Davis classmates Diego Roig, Sam Baron and Shaunt Oungoulian formed the Living Wines Collective a bootstrapping winery working out of Oungoulians parents basement in the East Bay. They had some radical ideas, taking on the farming for abandoned vineyards in unproven areas. We had a lot of energy, Stoumen says. But mixing friendship with business was tough. A year later, we realized we all wanted different things. They parted ways, launching their own wineries. By then, Stoumen was ready. She knew what kind of winemaker she was. Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle Among Martha Stoumen Wines first releases was Nero dAvola, a rare find in California vineyards. That choice may have led some people to assume that Stoumen was interested only in obscure grape varieties, or that she was trying to simply imitate the wines shed handled at Cos. But Stoumen insists she came at the choice from a different direction. I just wanted to find sites where organic farming made sense, she says. Shed worked with California vineyards in climates that made it excessively costly and labor-intensive to farm without synthetic chemicals. But in the warm, dry, inland stretches of Mendocino County, she found a climate that reminded her of Sicily. The vineyards she works with there need only a few applications of elemental sulfur dust, to combat mildew, throughout the growing season a very hands-off regimen compared with the frequent fungicide applications required in some other California sites. The fact that she encountered plantings of Nero dAvola in these Mendocino vineyards was a bonus. Nero dAvola is a grape variety with loose clusters, which makes it less susceptible to mildew. It thrives in places like Ukiah where it can get quite warm and moves from winter to summer relatively quickly, Stoumen says. The grape has great natural acidity, and enough tannin to protect the wine from oxidation without bowling over every other flavor on the table. Six years in, Stoumen is producing about 7,000 cases a year, a serious output, considering her cellar team consists of just her and assistant winemaker Timothy Lyons. Her lineup includes sparkling Zinfandel, multiple roses, Petite Sirah and unconventional white blends. As of 2019, it also includes more traditional grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Her Post-Flirtation series a white, red and rose constitutes about half her production. These are her most affordable wines, and the Martha Stoumen bottles youre most likely to see at a wine shop or a restaurant. (Most of her other wines stay with her wine club.) While you might expect the entry-level wines to be the most accessible, in fact the Post-Flirtation wines tend to be Stoumens funkiest. The 2017 Post-Flirtation White (10%) has a bit of a sour-beer thing going on, she admits. (Despite that, the wines bright pineapple flavor shines through.) Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Most of Stoumens wines are insistently fruity, but shes trying to emphasize savory qualities. Thats why she doesnt do much carbonic maceration, a fermentation technique in vogue among natural winemakers that can imbue wine with a bubblegum-like aroma. Too much carbonic can mask vineyard character, she says. Plus, she wants to counter the notion that natural wine is necessarily light, chuggable and short-lived. Its not all crunchy glou-glou, she says. Her Petite Sirah, especially, is formidably structured, dense with blackberry and coffee flavors. Its an olive branch, she says, to drinkers who dont think natural wine can play in that rich, fruit-forward, quintessentially Californian arena. Shes still figuring it all out. Although Stoumen welcomes some funk in her wines, she can recognize a lost cause when she sees one. After a 2019 flood left her Sebastopol winery (she leases space in Pax Mahle Wines) without electricity for a few weeks, an unattended lot of wine developed mouse an off-flavor in some natural wines that is sometimes described as the sensation of a dead mouse in your mouth. In natural-wine circles, mouse has really become the boogeyman, Stoumen says. She didnt want to release a flawed wine, so she brought it to a distillery and had it made into brandy. Still, none of that could top the series of surprises that attended the 2019 vintage, from the power outages to the wildfires, all of which made the circumstances of Augusts birth highly unconventional. It was chaos for Stoumen and her family, to be sure, but she also sees her saga as an example of the stress that afflicts all of California, as shutoffs and fires become the norm. That sort of scary unpredictability is now a fact of life for California winemakers. But most of the time, to Stoumen, winemakings unpredictable side is what makes it beautiful. Even if it comes with the occasionally mousy tank. Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob Tasting notes Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle Out to the Meadow White Blend Suisun Valley 2018 (11.5%, $38): This unique field blend, from King Vineyard in Solano County, includes Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, Trousseau Gris, Green Hungarian and Chasselas. The Chenin shows through: Its chalky on the nose, mineral-driven and focused. Bitter almond skin and lanolin are wrapped up in a bracing, waxy texture. Honeymoon White Blend Mendocino County 2018 (12.5%, $34): This blend of Colombard (85%) and Chardonnay (15%) smells like honeysuckle and golden apple, thanks in part to a little bit of botrytis, a.k.a. noble rot. Its richly textured, but the 2 grams per liter residual sugar is not perceptible. Zinfandel Mendocino County Venturi Vineyard 2018 (12.7%, $38): Stoumen used to call her Zinfandel varietally incorrect, but no longer uses that term. Rightly so: This tastes like Zinfandel through and through, with brambly, spicy fruit flavors and dusty tannins. A wine with oomph. Nero dAvola Mendocino County 2017 (13%, $40): From two Mendocino County vineyards, this wine tastes reminiscent of Italian versions, with a wild side. Cigar box and bright red cherry flavors lead into a foresty palate, with rustic tannins. Petite Sirah Mendocino County Benson Ranch 2018 (12.5%, $45): Stoumen farms this vineyard herself and calls the resulting wine an olive branch to people who dont identify as natural wine drinkers. Its deep, dark purple in color and smells like blackberry candy. A dense, tannic wine, it has coffee, black fruit and spice characters that keep it interesting. Its becoming more and more apparent that, short of drastic measures, its impossible to fight supply issues with demand tools, Tal stated in his note, as quoted by the Financial Post. Increased supply (rental or otherwise) is the only reasonable solution to the housing affordability crisis that many Canadians are facing. Scotiabank president and CEO Brian Porter mirrored these sentiments. I dont think a lot of tinkering is necessary on the stress test, Porter said in a separate Financial Post interview. But we have to make sure that these housing markets are in balance. You cant have single-family homes in densely populated cities running right up to [Southern Ontarios] Greenbelt, he added. You have to have multi-use facilities, you have to have rental units, you have to have condominiums of some sort. Each of these cities has to rethink their zoning, or application for zoning, policies. An essential starting point would be to cut down as much red tape as possible, Centurion Asset Management CEO Greg Romundt told BNN Bloomberg earlier this month. When it comes to noise cancellation headphones and earphones, Sony is second to none for providing the best performance you can expect. It beats its competitors by a huge margin and the WH-1000XM3 is still considered to be the best noise cancellation headphone out there. Now, Sony has managed to bring that same technology to one of its neckband Bluetooth earphones. The Japanese company has managed to include the same processor in the neckband design which nobody thought would have been possible until now. Its called the WI-1000XM2 Wireless neckband and weve been using these earphones for the past two weeks for this review. Design When looking to buy a noise cancellation headphone, you would normally look at the bulky over-the-head headphone like the WH-1000XM3. However, not everyone loves a bulky design, and cant use these cans for an extended period of time. For users who want something lightweight, the Sony WI-1000XM2 is perfect. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla One side of the neckband has all of your playback controls for music and a dedicated button for using your phones digital voice assistant. The earbuds themselves have a classic design as most earphones where it is angled for a tighter seal. Sony gives a range of tips so that you can choose the right one that fits your ear canal perfectly. This ensures the best noise cancellation performance so that there is no sound leakage when using a smaller or bigger ear tip. You can also check if the tip is the right size for you from the Sony Headphones app on your phone. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla The neckband itself is very lightweight and can be used for long periods of time. It does not add any noticeable weight to the shoulders and is not too distracting due to its minimal design. Overall, the neckband may look like any generic neckband out there but theres more happening under the hood. Performance MensXP/Akshay Bhalla The WI-1000XM3 is capable of lasting for up to 10 hours, depending on your usage patterns. If you tend to listen to music at a higher volume and plan to use noise cancellation all the time, you can expect the battery life drop down to 8 hours. Thankfully, the neckband can be fast charged via the USB-C port as a 10-minute charge would give you 70 minutes of music playback. These earphones also use WH-1000XM3s QN1 noise-cancelling processor which means it is capable of delivering the best noise cancellation possible. In our experience, we could easily block out all of the ambient noise in a room, however we could still faintly hear somebody if they were close enough to us. This is probably because of the design and expectedly would not work as well as the WH-1000XM3. Having said that, it is by far the most impressive form of noise cancellation weve heard on earbuds. If you are wondering if these earphones can block out cabin noise of an aircraft, you can be assured it will get the job done. Sonys headphone app also puts the control of the noise cancellation effect into a users hand. Within the headphones app, you can control the strength of the noise cancellation according to your environment. You can adjust the level of noise cancellation from a slider in the noise cancellation section. The app can also figure out whether you are moving or staying put and adjust the level of ANC automatically. Sound Performance MensXP/Akshay Bhalla In terms of sound quality, the Sony WI-1000XM2 is capable of delivering warm sounds with very accurate lows and mids. It offers crystal clear sound and enough bass to make the music come alive in your ear. You can even adjust the different frequencies according to your own liking through the headphones app. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla I found the bass to be a bit overbearing, something that is true for most Sony headphones but you can easily adjust the level of bass according to the type of songs you are listening to. Having said that, the ability to adjust the sound is not a common feature for Bluetooth earphones. For a neckband with noise cancellation, the Sony WI-1000XM2 is probably the best in its class. We compared it with the only other neckband noise cancellation available in India i.e. the 1MORE Bluetooth Dual Drive Neckband and it manages to blow the competition out of the water. The Final Say MensXP/Akshay Bhalla After using the Sony WI-1000XM2 for two weeks we can say with confidence it is the best ANC neckband available in the market today. You can find these earphones online for Rs 20,990 which is a bit on the expensive side but you get the best ANC performance in return. While the battery life could be better, it will serve your everyday needs and perform industry-standard noise cancellation in aeroplanes. SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Apixio Inc., the AI healthcare analytics company, today announced that it was among three companies selected by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to participate in the organization's Natural Language Processing (NLP) Working Group. The group convenes this spring to help NCQA explore use of NLP in quality measurement and reporting. NLP, a field of artificial intelligence, has been used with some success in healthcare to derive insights about patient care from physician and hospital clinical notes. The purpose of the working group is to help NCQA determine how to best evaluate NLP technologies with respect to its ability to facilitate better quality measurement while maintaining high standards of fairness, thoroughness, and rigor. Apixio was selected last fall to participate in this exclusive group, which includes UPMC Enterprises and Wave Health Technologies, given its expertise using NLP to determine patient care facts from encounter notes for use in quality measure reporting. "Natural Language Processing has the potential to reduce the burden of quality reporting while opening the door to more meaningful measures," said NCQA CIO Rick Moore. "The companies chosen for our working group have considerable experience in the practical application of NLP. We look forward to learning from our participants in the coming months." NCQA publishes widely used performance improvement data such as Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) reporting. The organization will use findings from working group members to develop a validation standard for NLP derived data in conjunction with an independent advisory panel of NLP experts. NCQA will then validate the integrity of NLP solutions that will help healthcare organizations determine which technologies are most effective for use within their measurement frameworks. "NCQA's ability to fulfill its mission depends on access to reliable measurement data. Apixio is proud to be working with the industry leader in quality reporting to explore the massive potential of artificial intelligence techniques like NLP," said Apixio CEO Darren Schulte, M.D. "We've already seen how NLP and machine learning can be used to identify relevant clinical evidence in patient charts. We are excited about the use of NLP to transform quality measurement to focus on achieving outcomes rather than following specific processes." For more information about Apixio, visit www.apixio.com. About Apixio Improving healthcare outcomes requires access to the right data at the right time. Apixio is advancing value-based care with data-driven intelligence and analytics. Our AI-powered insights unlock actionable information from administrative and unstructured clinical data. The results drive better decision-making and a smarter approach to healthcare. Learn more at www.apixio.com. About NCQA NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's Web site (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at www.ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa. HEDIS is a registered trademark of NCQA. Media Contact: Amy Dardinger SSPR [email protected] SOURCE Apixio Inc. Related Links http://www.apixio.com (TNS) The St. Johns County School District has added more than 5,000 shelter spaces to local schools with $1.2 million in state funding.The additional shelter spaces were added to Pacetti Bay Middle and Switzerland Point Middle schools as part of a two-year shelter retrofit project funded by the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program and the Hurricane Shelter Deficit Reduction Program.The programs are part of the Florida Department of Emergency Management and provide millions of dollars in grant funding for retrofits, inspections, and construction or modification of building components designed to increase a structure's ability to withstand hurricane-force winds and flooding."What this agreement does is it gives us an avenue to create additional shelter seats, and it lets our schools become more robust and resilient," said Paul Rose, executive director of facilities and operations at the school district. "It provides additional protections for our facilities whether we use them for a shelter or not."In all, 5,141 additional hurricane shelter spaces and 133 additional special needs hurricane shelter spaces were added to the schools, which required upgrades to the schools' windows and doors in order to make them more resistant to hurricane-force winds and flying objects."We identified two projects and we found that these were the two best candidate school projects to add shelter retrofits," Rose said, explaining that primary shelter facilities have to meet certain requirements, such as being inland from the Intracoastal Waterway."One of the important benefits is that this is a 100% reimbursement with the state," Rose said. "We took advantage of this program and its mutual benefits, so not only do we have more shelter space, but our schools are more protected."Linda Stoughton, director of the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center, said that before the project was completed the county was facing a deficit in shelter spaces."We've had evacuations for Matthew, Irma and Dorian, and we've used St. Johns County schools as our shelter spaces each time," Stoughton said. "Our community is growing at a rapid pace, and being able to add shelter space is definitely a plus."The increase in special needs shelters was especially needed. These shelters require more square footage per person to accommodate larger cots, medical equipment or wheelchairs.Stoughton said that the finished project brings the total number of hurricane shelter spaces in St. Johns County to 14,000. Although the county needed more spaces, Stoughton said they aren't required to have a shelter capacity for every resident in St. Johns County."Even in Matthew, Irma and Dorian, we did not fill up our shelters, and we have never opened every shelter at once," she said. "But now there is capacity for that if we need it."2020 The St. Augustine Record, Fla.Visit The St. Augustine Record, Fla. at www.staugustine.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Police officers Tasered a knifeman wearing roller skates after he went on a rampage through Bristol and left three people in need of hospital treatment. Avon and Somerset Police said officers were sent to the Wells Road area of South Bristol at 3:10pm on Tuesday after the force received multiple calls about a man on roller skates attacking people. Two men, one aged in his 20s and the other in his 50s, were stabbed in the incident, and were rushed to Southmead Hospital. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening last night. A third man, also aged in his 20s, suffered a head wound and was taken to the same hospital but has since been discharged. Officers were sent to the Wells Road area of South Bristol at 3:10pm on Tuesday (pictured) after the force received multiple calls about a man on roller skates attacking people 'On arrival at the scene, two officers were threatened by a man with a knife. One of the officers deployed their Taser in the process of detaining him,' a police spokesman said. 'The man, aged in his 30s, was taken to custody were he remains. A knife was recovered from the scene.' Chief Inspector Nigel Colston, neighbourhood commander for South Bristol, said the force 'do not believe' the incident to be 'terrorism'. One eyewitness, known only as Rebecca, said she was with her partner and two-year-old son on the west side of Wells Road near the Broadwalk Shopping Centre when she saw the attack take place. 'It was about 2.30pm and we were crossing the road and we saw a man running away from a man who was on roller skates behind him,' she said. 'At first we thought they were joking around - it was a guy on roller skates chasing a guy running away. Two men, one aged in his 20s and the other in his 50s, were stabbed in the incident, and were taken to Southmead Hospital (Pictured: Police at the scene on Tuesday) 'But then the man running ran into the off licence next to the dentists and the man on skates caught up with him...' It was then that Rebecca said she witnessed the attack take place. 'It was literally right behind us as we were waiting at the traffic lights,' she said. 'It was just horrible, and scary because I was worried about my little one. 'To see this in front of me was horrible.' Shop worker Bhara Ni added he saw a man covered in blood run into a Subway fast food restaurant in Broadwalk Shopping Centre pleading for help. 'We stopped serving and ran to help him. The ambulances came and we heard other people had been stabbed. It was awful to see,' he said. Another witness claimed on Twitter that the man 'tried to get into a cafe' during the rampage but 'the customers managed to lock the door'. Chief Inspector Colston said: 'This kind of incident is extremely rare in Bristol and while we're keeping an open mind about it, I'd like to reassure people we do not believe it to be terrorism. A third man, also aged in his 20s, suffered a head wound and was taken to the same hospital but has since been discharged (Pictured: Police at the scene on Tuesday) 'A full investigation is already under way and a team of detectives are working hard to establish exactly what happened. They have a significant number of witnesses to speak to and will be carrying out other enquiries, including house to house and CCTV enquiries in the coming days. 'Several members of the public bravely intervened in the incident and I'd like to praise their bravery and thank them for their assistance. South Bristol is a safe area and they demonstrated great courage and community spirit when faced with a very unusual incident. 'I'd also like to thank the two officers who detained a man who threatened to cause them harm. No one should be threatened while at work and the way they dealt with the situation was a credit to themselves and to Avon and Somerset Police.' He added: 'We expect the specialist crime scene investigators to soon finish examining the area and we'll then be able to lift the road closures. I appreciate the closures have caused disruption and I'd like to thank the public for their patience while we carried out the necessary enquiries. 'Neighbourhood officers will be carrying out reassurance patrols during the next few days and anyone with any concerns is encouraged to speak to them.' The fallacy of much of the concern over climate change assumes someone else is going to bear the burden. The students having rallies on climate change they should hold them in the school parking lots. Automobiles are a major contributor to fossil fuel burning. If students are really committed to climate change: "Ride the school bus!" The lineup of cars with parents driving their children to school contributes to climate change. As long as nearly 60% of our electricity nationally is produced by burning fossil fuel, electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars are not going to solve the problem. Even Washington state relies on coal and natural gas for some of its electricity. Hydrogen gas is produced by heating methane gas (CH4) to a high temperature to break the chemical bond. The process takes a lot of heat (fossil fuel) and produces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The other method of producing hydrogen gas is by electrolysis, which consumes a lot of electricity that, for now, is produced by burning fossil fuels. Every windmill takes about 230 tons of steel for the towers, produced by burning coal and a whole lot of methane-based resins for the blades. The cap and trade proposals and dam removal by Gov. Jay Inslee is too much like getting rich from cash back on our credit cards. The longer term solution is to reduce the number of automobiles. Yours, but not mine. Kelly C. Niemi Kelso On Sunday, he appeared at a rally against a group of protesters (most of them women) who were objecting to a new citizenship law widely seen as discriminatory toward Muslims. There he vented his anger in a fiery speech in which he issued an ultimatum to the police: either clear out the demonstrators, who were blocking a main road, or he and his followers would do it themselves. Image Kapil Mishra addressed a rally in New Delhi last year. Credit... Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times Within hours, the worst Hindu-Muslim violence in India in years was exploding. Gangs of Hindus and Muslims fought each other with swords and bats, shops burst into flames, chunks of bricks sailed through the air, and mobs rained blows on cornered men. [Update: Violence continues in New Delhi, and the police are criticized.] Many Indians, including Hindus, believe that Mr. Mishra and his Hindu nationalist supporters have weaponized a very dangerous mood. In a Hindu majority nation, with a Hindu nationalist government that has allowed the killers of Muslims to go unpunished, fear has been growing that violent Hindu extremism could spin out of control. Kapil Mishra should be in jail, said Rupesh Bathla, a businessman who says he has known Mr. Mishra since they were teenagers. He started communal riots. He planted hatred in other peoples hearts. By Wednesday, at least 25 people had died, hospital officials said, most from gunshot wounds. Several witnesses said that the live fire came from the direction of the police officers, and the dead included Hindus as well as Muslims. Mumbai, Feb 26 : The Maharashtra Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on Wednesday after Speaker Nana Patole rejected Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for moving a resolution honouring Vinayak Damodar alias Veer Savarkar on his 54th death anniversary in the House. Several BJP members arrived in the assembly donning caps with 'Mi Pan Savarkar' (Me Too Savarkar) written and later, attempting to embarrass the Shiv Sena, demanded a resolution to honour the Hindutva ideologue. BJP leaders said they wanted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to move the resolution, attempting to corner the three ruling parties in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress -- though the CM was not present in the House at that time. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis urged the government should move a resolution honouring Veer Savarkar, his sacrifices and contribution to Indian independence movement. However, NCP's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar turned the tables to target the BJP, wanting to know why the BJP-led government at the Centre has not yet conferred the Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar. "When the BJP was in power in Maharashtra and at the Centrea the former CM Fadnavis had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice, on Aug. 20, 2018 and Jan. 17, 2019, urging the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar. Then, what's the hitch," said Ajit Pawar, countering the BJP onslaught. Speaker Patole (Congress) rejected the BJP's demand and continued with the day's business. The agitated BJP members trooped into the well of the house, raised slogans condemning the government, carried photos of Veer Savarkar and attempted to hold mock proceedings to honour the Hindutva ideologue. BJP senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had tabled the motion before Speaker Nana Patole saying: "In the past few days, there have been several disgusting and unpalatable statements made against Veer Savarkar. There has been an attempt to create confusion and misguide people about his role in the freedom struggle in his birth state. February 26 is his death anniversary and the State Assembly must pass a motion in his honour." When the matter came up before the business advisory committee recently, Thackeray diplomatically ruled that it would be the Speaker's decision, who rejected the BJP's resolution today in the House. Targeting the MVA, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the Shiv Sena has become so helpless that it is siding with those who are insulting Veer Savarkar, "but the people will not forgive this". Today's development, which left the BJP stunned, seems to indicate a gradual warming up and close bonding among the three MVA allies on the question of the Opposition's resolution to honour Veer Savarkar. Before its three-decade-old alliance with BJP broke last year and the Sena joined hands with the NCP-Congress, the state saffron party had demanded Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar several times, including through edits in the party's influential newspaper, 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar ka Saamana'. However, in view of the recent controversies, including utterances by the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others, the Congress' views on the issue are well known though the NCP treads with caution on the sensitive matter while the Sena which finds itself in a cleft stick, has been at the receiving end of the BJP's ire. By Akbar Mammadov The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish has called for the necessary assessment of the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenian forces in 1992. The Khojaly tragedy is a black spot in the history of mankind. Turkey condemns the massacre of Azerbaijanis by Armenia and demands the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Turkey has always supported and will always support Azerbaijan, the committee has said. In addition, Turkeys National Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to recognize the February 26, 1992 Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh region as genocide, Turkish media reported. In the town of Khojaly, international crimes like genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and crimes against peace were committed, Bahceli said on Tuesday while addressing the parliamentary group. He also condemned lack of international condemnation of the crime. "The Khojaly genocide should be registered in the International Criminal Court, War Crimes Tribunal, Human Rights Court. Whatever necessary should be done to punish the criminals." Devlet Bahceli said. In the meantime, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) commemorated the martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly massacre. Secretary General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev emphasized that Turkic Council conveys its condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan. Over the night from 25 to 26 February 1992, an unprecedented massacre was committed against the Azerbaijani civilians of Khojaly town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Amreyev wrote. He added that the Turkic Council mourns with Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this violent attack and massacre, which they suffered exactly 28 years ago today in Khojaly, and wholeheartedly share their pain. We also stand hand in hand with the government of Azerbaijan in their world-wide Justice for Khojaly International Awareness Campaign and show the necessary sensitivity to this fact. With these feelings, we commemorate the martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly with deep respect and convey our condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan, Amreyev wrote. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Close Corbyn accuses Johnson of being a 'part-time PM' Boris Johnson has been attacked by Jeremy Corbyn over his week-long absence from public view, as the Labour leader accused the part-time PM of schmoozing Tory party donors instead of visiting flood-hit communities in the north and Midlands. The row comes as Labour demanded an investigation into the true scale of homelessness across the UK after figures showed more than 28,000 people are sleeping rough in a year five times higher than the government admits. Elsewhere, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies said chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to hike taxes or entrench austerity to pay for a giveaway budget, while Sajid Javid warned his successor not to go on a spending splurge. To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below Travelers will see intermittent lane closures on Southwest Boones Ferry Road near Arnold Street through March. A full closure begins in April. Crews from the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services will be preparing for the building of a new bridge on Boones Ferry where it crosses Tryon Creek. The first phase of construction is expected to continue through March, with lanes closed intermittently 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturdays as needed. The construction of the new bridge will begin in April. The road will close at that time for up to seven months. The new bridge will replace a culvert that blocks stream flow and hinders fish movement. Crews will also build a pedestrian and wildlife trail under the bridge that connects to the areas existing trail network. Work zone map for bridge construction on SW Boones Ferry Rd.Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Travelers should expect delays in the area and use extreme caution in the work zone. Drivers should also observe the directions of reader boards and flaggers, and use alternate routes when possible. *** NORTHEAST PORTLAND 8:52 a.m.: Crash on Northeast 15th Avenue at Emerson Street. *** EAST VANCOUVER 8:37 a.m.: Crash on Northeast Gher Road just north of SR 500. *** SOUTHEAST PORTLAND 8:22 a.m.: Crash reported on Southeast 68th Avenue and Foster Road. *** BANFIELD 7:21 a.m.: A possible crash on I-84 westbound near the Hollywood District is causing slowing back to 53rd. *** SUNSET HIGHWAY 6:35 a.m.: Crash has closed the ramp from Cornell Road to eastbound U.S. 26 near Bethany. Choose an alternate route. Update 7:20 a.m.: Crash has cleared. #pdxtraffic UPDATE/Access points to U.S. 26 from the Bethany ramps are jammed due to a crash. AVOID. Use Murray or 185th. pic.twitter.com/MrLPlvfp0H PDX Traffic Alerts (@TrafficPortland) February 26, 2020 *** Heads up for later this week: The Canby Ferry closes Thursday: Road crews have begun the construction phase of work to add safety features to the Germantown, Cornelius Pass and Old Cornelius Pass roads intersections. Drivers should expect lane closures 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. workdays through May. Traffic may be stopped as long as 10 minutes at a time, or occasionally routed to a different road. The construction is part of a larger project that will include a traffic signal at the intersection. Proposed changes to the intersections of Cornelius Pass, Old Cornelius Pass and Germantown roads. Cornelius Pass and Germantown roads meet at an unsignalized "T" intersection in northern Washington County. The county believes traffic volumes, speed and unusual intersection geometry contribute to crashes in this area. Construction is scheduled through late May. Read more about the project here: bit.ly/CPGintersection Big changes are coming to TriMet MAX stops downtown. Read more about that here: Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportland In the wee hours of February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan and avenged the Pulwama terrorist attack. India on February 14, 2019, was shaken by what can be defined as one of the deadliest terror attacks on its soil in recent times. A total of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred after a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. A JeM terrorist rammed his vehicle carrying explosives into the convoy in the afternoon. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after the convoy of 78 buses, in which around 2,500 CRPF personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar, came under attack. Nationwide protests erupted against the dastardly terror attack even as the country bid a teary farewell to its bravehearts. Around 12 days after the Pulwama attack, the IAF used its Mirage 2000 fighter jets for the precision strike, and official sources said the aircraft spent 21 minutes in Pakistani air space - a remarkable feat as one minute is equal to 17 km at attack speed. The fighter jets were backed by Emb 145 early warning plane which was deployed to pick up any emerging threat at a large distance and alert the attacking pilots. India also used a mid-air refueller, the sources said. The Mirage 2000 fires a range of Western weapons. After the upgrade, the Mirages have Mica air-to-air multi-mission missiles and a range of precision-guided bombs including Israeli Spice. As celebrations erupted across India, Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale said, "India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of (JeM leader) Masood Azhar." Gokhale had said the Indian government was "firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence, this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties." He had said that such "massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistani authorities.'' "Credible intelligence was received that the JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of (India), and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of this imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary," he had added. Pakistan`s efforts to launch an offensive next day and target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir was thwarted by an alert IAF. In the aerial skirmish, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane, shot down a much-advanced F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). However, chasing Pakistani jets, Wing Commander Varthaman crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was hit. He was taken into custody by Pakistan. Wing Commander Varthaman was released by Pakistan on March 1 after intense diplomatic pressure and his return to India was watched on television sets across the country. He was later awarded the third-highest wartime gallantry award Vir Chakra. After the Pulwama attack, leaders across the party lines and civil society condemned the attack and called for an appropriate response. "I feel the same fire in my heart that`s raging inside you," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on February 17, 2019, days after the attack took place. On February 16, he had said that "all tears will be avenged" and the armed forces have been given "full freedom to decide the place, time, intensity and nature of the retaliation against the enemy". United Nations and several countries from across the globe condemned the Pulwama terror attack and extended their support to India in the fight against terrorism. A model/actress/real estate agent who once posed topless with two New York Police Department uniform cops pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all charges after an arrest at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Cheyenne Lutek, 25, posted $500 bond Monday. Cheyenne Lutek Luteks encounter with Miami Beach police Sunday night apparently lacked the jocularity of her July 2013 photo with two NYPD officers. They wore uniform blue. The then-19 Lutek didnt wear a top. The photo gained wide circulation. Sunday night around 10:40, the arrest report said, Lutek didnt have a ticket when she ran into the Food & Wine Carnival event around the 1600 block of the beach sands. Eventually, staff and two officers found her. After walking her out, the report says, they tried to explain to Lutek that she needed a ticket for entry and things were about to wrap up anyway. Lutek became irate and attempted to strike Officer Ruder by whaling her arm towards Officer Ruders left shoulder, the report said. [Lutek] was redirected to the ground where she was handcuffed without incident. Police described her as incoherent and having bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, the strong smell of an alcoholic beverage on her breath and would oscillate between being aggressive and non-complaint to calm and indifferent. CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Third Eye Health, the nation's largest post-acute telehealth provider, announced today that its solution has been integrated with PointClickCare Technologies' core electronic health record (EHR) platform in more than 100 post-acute care facilities. "Third Eye Health's integration with PointClickCare enables nurses and physicians to quickly share patient data and update patient charts when using our telehealth platform," says Ray George, VP of Growth and Strategy, Third Eye Health. "We're pleased to surpass this milestone 100th integration with PointClickCare and continue bringing health and personal information together in new and more efficient ways." With over 400 Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) utilizing their services across 30 states, Third Eye Health is the nation's largest post-acute telehealth network. Its telehealth platform allows nurses to contact a specially trained physician through secure video and text messaging when a patient or resident requires immediate medical care, helping to reduce potential hospital readmissions as a result of transcription error. The integration with PointClickCare's EHR enables staff at SNFs to seamlessly share a patient's chart with physicians. Once physicians are granted access to the patient's chart, they can make real time updates, which are automatically shared with the SNF, along with any necessary and supporting documentation. "Third Eye Health's integration with PointClickCare saves our nurses valuable time," says Mark Morley, vice-president of Operations, Continuing Healthcare Solutions. "The patient chart is instantly shared with Third Eye Health physicians and all their notes are sent directly into PointClickCare progress notes. Implementing the Third Eye Health and PointClickCare integration could not be easier in one click, we were able to turn on the integration for 25 of our facilities." Additional features as a result of the integration include: Shared Documentation All physician notes are automatically shared with the PointClickCare instance. All physician notes are automatically shared with the PointClickCare instance. Patient Demographics Retrieve real-time patient demographic and contacts information from PointClickCare. Retrieve real-time patient demographic and contacts information from PointClickCare. Medications Retrieve all medications for a given patient within a certain facility. Retrieve all medications for a given patient within a certain facility. Observations and Vitals Retrieve the historical observations and observations baselines. Retrieve the historical observations and observations baselines. Basic User Information Retrieve name, role, and settings about the PointClickCare user that is logged in. Retrieve name, role, and settings about the PointClickCare user that is logged in. Facility Information Retrieves basic information about the organization's facilities such as address, Facility ID, and basic PointClickCare configurations. "PointClickCare's network of providers and partners is continually growing and is unsurpassedin value and in size," said Chris Beekman, Director of Corporate Development, PointClickCare. "With PointClickCare as your technology partner, you have a wealth of possibilities available to seamlessly extend your PointClickCare technical capabilities." To learn more about how Third Eye Health is saving nurses time and reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions at scale, visit https://www.thirdeyehealth.net/. For more information about Third Eye Health's integration with PointClickCare, visit the PointClickCare Marketplace. About Third Eye Health More than 400 SNFs use Third Eye Health's technology enabled physician telehealth services for 24/7 and night and weekend medical care. When a patient is in need of immediate care, with the touch of a button, a nurse connects to a physician through secure video and text messaging. This service allows for immediate care and attention to be given to the patient any time, day or night. In 2019 alone, Third Eye Health performed over 70,000 patient consults with a treat in place rate of 94% and an average Return to Hospital (RTH) reduction of 25% to 80% across its customer base. Contact: Miraj Chokshi VP of Product [email protected] (800) 411-6768 SOURCE Third Eye Health, Inc. Related Links https://www.thirdeyehealth.net Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Beirut, February 26, 2020 Russian and Syrian military forces must ensure the safety of journalists and other civilians and hold those responsible for journalists deaths to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 20, a Russian airstrike on the northern Syrian city of Maarat al-Naasan killed Abdul Nasser Haj Hamdan, a photographer working for the Media Office in Binnish, a pro-civil rights opposition outlet, according to news reports and a Facebook post by his employer. Indiscriminate missile strikes inevitably cause civilian casualties, including those of journalists documenting the conflict, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. The Russian and Syrian militaries must take serious steps to ensure that those who kill journalists and other civilians, in violation of international law, are held accountable. A Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet fired a missile into Maarat al-Naasan, a city 4.6 miles northeast of Idlib, which exploded near Hamdan and severely injured him in the blast, an employee of the Media Office in Binnish, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told CPJ. He was immediately transferred to the hospital in the city of Idlib, where he underwent surgery to stop the internal bleeding and was placed in intensive care for four hours after which he died as a result of severe bleeding, Hamdans coworker said. Hamdan had worked as a journalist since 2015, and covered events around Idlib, including the recent bombing campaign and anti-government demonstrations, the coworker said. He also worked on a documentary film about the city of Binnish between 2017 and 2019, they said. In a separate incident on the same day, two Syrian photographers, Ahmad Mohammad Rahal and Ibrahim Muhammad al-Darwish, were injured in an airstrike in the village of Qmenas, 3.7 miles southeast of Idlib, according to news reports and a report by the Syrian Journalists Association, a France-based independent journalist syndicate. Rahal, a freelance photographer and camera operator who contributes to the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency and the British broadcaster Sky News, told the Syrian Journalists Association that he sustained bruises to his chest and lost his equipment in the airstrike while he was covering clashes between opposition factions and government-aligned forces in Qmenas. In a video interview with Sky News, Rahal said that he heard on his walkie talkie that Russian aircraft were flying over Qmenas and Al-Nayrab, and moments later there was an explosion close to him. He wrote on Twitter that the explosion took place 4 meters away from him and was followed by intense cluster bombing. Al-Darwish, a freelance photographer who contributes to Anadolu Agency, told the association that he was hit by shrapnel in his hands and legs from the same airstrike, and suffered minor burns to his face. According to CPJ research, 134 journalists have been killed in Syria since the uprisings began in 2011. DETROIT, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new report on Oil & Marine Hoses Market by Media Type (Oil, LPG, Water, and Chemical), by Carcass Type (Single Carcass and Double Carcass), by Hose Type (Floating and Submarine), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2020-2025. This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's oil & marine hoses market realities and future possibilities for the forecast period 2020 to 2025. After a continuous interest from the industry stakeholders in our reports on aerospace hose and tube assemblies market, specialty hoses market and composite hoses market, we have tried to further accentuate our research scope to oil & marine hoses in order to provide the most crystal-clear picture of the market. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most comprehensive manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for market participants as well as investors in the identification of low-hanging fruits available as well as formulate growth strategies. Oil & Marine Hoses Market: Research Highlights Oil & marine hoses are used to load crude oils and other petroleum products from offshore facilities to storage vessels and to unload them back to onshore or offshore facilities. It acts as a substitute for sub-sea oil transfer pipelines. Oil & marine hoses are majorly used in the context of oil conveyance from remote places of production, which are not linked to major oil-consuming countries by pipelines. These hoses generally have a length up to 12 meters and have an internal diameter ranging from 4 to 24 inches. Oil & marine hoses are of two types: floating and submarine hoses. Floating hoses are the ones that rest on the surface of the water, whereas submarine hoses are used to connect seabed pipeline and floating facilities. The demand for oil & marine hoses started to gain momentum in the late 1960s and increased tremendously in the early 1970s particularly in the oil-producing regions of Persian Gulf, North Sea, and North Africa; and later its demand spread to other parts of the world. The significant increase in the demand for oil & marine hoses has gained interest from many tire and rubber manufacturing companies and as a result, many companies started producing these hoses according to the specific needs of customers. As the demand started widening to other regions, industry players started enhancing their distribution network covering wider geographical reach. Click Below and Run Through the Detailed TOC of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/815/oil-&-gas-hoses-market.html As per Stratview Research, the oil & marine hoses market is projected to grow at a healthy rate over the next five years to reach an estimated value of US$ 224.8 million in 2025. The market is expected to expand in-line with the increasing oil demand across the world along with growing investment towards oil & gas exploration and production by oil producers. The market is mainly dependent on offshore oil & gas production and ongoing buoys projects. Increasing demand for oil & gas from emerging economies to meet energy requirements has led to the surge in oil & gas production including offshore oil & gas production from key countries/subregions such as Brazil, Africa, Western Europe, the Middle East, and China. Talking about the media type, the dominance of oil can be seen as it is the most consumed energy type among all the primary energy sources, accounting for around 34% share of global energy consumption. China and the USA are the largest consumers of oil in the world. Based on the carcass type, the market is segmented as single carcass and double carcass. Double carcass is likely to remain the most dominant and the faster-growing segment during the forecast period, owing to its anti-pollutant property and stringent regulation against spillage of oil in the sea, which affects the native flora and fauna. It has an additional carcass, which holds the fluid in case the primary carcass fails. Register Here and Ask for a Free Sample of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/815/oil-&-gas-hoses-market.html In terms of region, Latin America is projected to remain the largest market for oil & marine hoses during the forecast period. Brazil holds the largest share in the Latin American market as the country holds the largest fleet of FPSOs. Latin America has around 20% share of the global oil reserves. Petrobras, YPF S.A., Termap S.A., Oiltanking, Repsol S.A., Savia Peru, and EP Petroecuador are some of the major customers of oil & marine hoses in this region. Petrobras is the biggest oil producer in Brazil. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. China and South-East Asian countries are the growth engines of the Asia-Pacific's oil & marine hoses market. These economies are continuously generating huge demand for these hoses since they are the largest consumers of oil in the world. China accounts for almost half of the total oil & gas production in Asia-Pacific. The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, oil & marine hoses manufacturers, installers, distributors, and end-users. Some of the key players in the oil & marine hoses market are Continental AG, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Trelleborg AB, Manuli Rubber Industries S.p.A., and Flexomarine S.A. Key end-users of these markets include petroleum companies, buoy manufacturers, and oil & gas producers and government entities. Report Features This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report: Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis. Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis. Market trend and forecast analysis. Market segment trend and forecast. Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc. Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities. Emerging trends. Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players. Key success factors This report studies the oil & marine hoses market and has segmented the market in four ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the four ways in which the market is segmented: Oil & Marine Hoses Market, by Media Type Oil (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) LPG (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Water (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Chemical (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and Latin America , RoW) Oil & Marine Hoses Market, by Carcass Type Single Carcass (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Double Carcass (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Oil & Marine Hoses Market, by Hose Type Floating (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Submarine (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and RoW) Oil & Marine Hoses Market, By Region North America (Country Analysis: The USA , Canada , and Mexico ) Europe (Country Analysis: Western Europe , Eastern Europe , and Central Europe ) Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China , Australia , Malaysia , and Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Latin America (Country Analysis: Brazil , Venezuela , and Rest of Latin America ) Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: Africa , the Middle East , and Others) Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the oil & gas industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Oil-Gas.html Our related premium market reports are: Composite Hoses Market by Media Type (Oil & Liquid Fuel, Gas, and Chemical), by Inner Liner Type (Polypropylene, Fluoropolymers, Polyamide, and Others,), by Application Type (In-Plant Transfer, Tank Trucks and Railcar Transfer, Marine Transfer, and Others), by Pressure Type (<200 PSI, 200-250 PSI, and >250 PSI), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of The World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2019-2024. Spoolable Pipe Market by Reinforcement Type (Fiber Reinforcement and Steel Reinforcement), by Product Type (Spoolable Composite Pipe and Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipe), by Application Type (Onshore, Offshore, Downhole, Water, and Others), by Diameter Type (Small Diameter and Large Diameter), by User Type (Operator, EPC Contractor, Drilling Contractor, and Others), by Sales Channel Type (Direct Sales and Distributors), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2019-2024. Oil & Gas Seals Market by Shore Type (Onshore and Offshore), by Material Type (Elastomers {NBR/HNBR, FKM, and FFKM}, Thermoplastics {PEEK, PTFE, and Others}, and Others), by Application Type (Drilling, Completion, Production, and Distribution & Refinery), by Motion Type (Static Seals, Linear Seals, and Rotary Seals), by Product Type (O-Rings, U-Cup Seals, Back-Up Rings, Spring Energized Seals, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2020-2025. About Stratview Research Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas. We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies. Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making. For inquiries, Contact: Stratview Research E-mail: sales@stratviewresearch.com Direct: +1-313-307-4176 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660595/Stratview_Research_Logo.jpg CROW, Ore. -- A dryer fire at Crow-Applegate Elementary was put out by quick-thinking staff Tuesday evening. The Lane Fire Authority was called to the school around 5 p.m. but when they arrived, they found the fire had already been put out by a teacher and a maintenance worker. Officials said the two used a nearby fire-extinguisher to extinguish the blaze. Superintendent Malcom McRae said he is grateful the two were in the building at the time. "It's pretty remarkable actually," McRae said. "We got kudos from the Lane Fire Authority for their quick thinking and decisive action to minimize the damage." Firefighters helped clear smoke out of the school. McRae said the school will resume as normal Wednesday but the smell may linger. "Parents who might have concerns about kids with asthma conditions or sensitive to irritants like smoke," McRae said. "We would leave that to their discretion on whether their kids come to school tomorrow." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 22:32:14|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Officials shake hands after signing agreements in connection to a China-funded mega road infrastructure project at a ceremony in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Feb. 25, 2020. Two agreements on financial close for a China-funded mega road infrastructure project in Bangladesh capital was signed here on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) DHAKA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two agreements on financial close for a China-funded mega road infrastructure project in Bangladesh capital was signed here on Tuesday. A project company named as First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company, Ltd. (FDEE ) owned by China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Ltd (CSI), Sinohydro Cooperation and Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD) is implementing the Dhaka Elevated Expressway Project under Public Private Partnership initiative. Last April, FDEE signed a facility agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for financing the project. China EXIM Bank will finance 461 million U.S. dollars while ICBC will provide 400 million U.S. dollars to implement the project for which the Bangladeshi government has also disbursed its committed funds, called viability gap funding (VGF). A document in connection to VGF was aso signed on Tuesday at the signing ceremony. The elevated expressway project, scheduled to be implemented by 2022, will be the first big infrastructure project under PPP initiative based on BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) module. The total length of the expressway is 46.73km, including 19.73km mainline. Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor's son Taimur is quite a munchkin and even our Bollywood celebrities cannot get enough of the cute kid. Recently, Kartik Aaryan recounted his first meeting with Taimur while speaking with a leading tabloid. The Love Aaj Kal actor said that the first time he met Taimur, the "conversation went well". He further revealed that Taimur only said 'ka ka ka ka,' amid laughter. Spilling details about the meeting, Kartik revealed that he met little Tim in Chandigarh where he was shooting for Dostana 2 and Kareena was filming for Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha. The actor futrther quipped that Taimur was with his mother and while he forgot to take a photo, he will do so the next time. Not just us, Taimur has a big fan-following when it comes to our B-town brigade as well. Earlier, Kareena Kapoor Khan's Good Newwz co-star Kiara Advani had post a clip where she was seen racing with Taimur which is captioned as, "The real star on set. Keeping up with Tim Tim." Talking about the fan-frenzy everytime Taimur steps out from the airport with his parents, Saif Ali Khan recently said in an interview, "One of the worst places to be is a couple of feet behind a Bollywood celebrity because people will trample you, your parent and child, to get a picture. They are not bothered if it's offensive or intrusive. Maybe I will get some extra security for us at the airport next time because I don't want anyone stepping on my son. But again, it goes with the territory, that's what landing back in Mumbai is all about. And given the many advantages to a celebrity's life, we take it in our stride. Of course, it would have been nicer if it wasn't there." Coming back to Kartik Aaryan, the actor was last seen in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal opposite Sara Ali Khan. He is currently busy shooting for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. His other upcoming movies include Dostana 2 and an action flick with Om Raut. Kartik Aaryan Announces Love Aaj Kal 2030 With Ranveer Singh! Sara Ali Khan Asks Kartik Aaryan 'You Are Ready For A Relationship But Not Marriage? Security personnel stand guard during clashes between those supporting and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in north east Delhi. PTI photo In a midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court directed police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law. The court held a special hearing, which started at 12:30 am, at the residence of Justice S Muralidhar after receiving a call from an advocate explaining the dire circumstances under which the victims were unable to be removed from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani directed the Delhi Police to ensure safe passage of the injured victims by deploying all resources at its command and on the strength of this order as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment if not at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital then at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) or Maulana Azad or any other hospital. The bench also called for a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them, and the matter will be heard during the day at 2:15 pm. It said the order be communicated to the medical superintendents of the GTB and the LNJP Hospitals. The urgent hearing was conducted after advocate Suroor Mander called the judge and sought urgent orders for safe passage of ambulances for the injured. The Delhi Police and the government were represented through additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose. During the hearing, the bench spoke over phone to doctor Anwar of the Al-hind Hospital in New Mustafabad who told the court that there were two bodies and 22 injured persons there and he had been trying to seek police assistance since 4 pm on Tuesday without success. The court then directed the senior officials to reach to the hospital forthwith, following which they started the process of evacuating the injured to the nearest hospitals. It also said this order be brought to the knowledge of the Delhi Police Commissioner. Communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi claimed at least 18 lives till Wednesday. On Tuesday, the violence escalated in northeast Delhi as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people. The Coronavirus outbreak in China could have an impact on the iPhone 12 launch later this year. Apple engineers usually tend to fly to China during this time of the year to work on upcoming new iPhones and its assembly process with the companys supply chain partners. However, due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the shutdown in China, Apple has restricted the travel of its employees to the country to business-critical situations. Apple engineers usually work closely with engineers from Hon Hai, the companys biggest manufacturing partner, for upcoming iPhones. While Apple has other manufacturing partners like Wistron, Hon Hai has the most advanced manufacturing facilities which is why it tends to handle the production of new iPhones. Apple works with Foxconn on a number of prototypes for its new iPhones during this time of the year. It is in the late stages of engineering validation around this time in which Foxconn will assemble a small number of units that will then be tested by engineers from both companies. Any delay in this phase will leave Apple with little time to decide on the component orders required for the mass production of the new iPhones. Following the engineering validation, engineers of both companies work on setting up new assembly runs and do trial runs in March and April. This is followed by final adjustments in April and May so that the final production line is up and ready by June. Foxconn has had to delay the opening of its Shenzhen and Zhengzhou factories after the Lunar New Year holiday due to coronavirus. The company expects to resume at least half the production across its factories by the end of February. As of now, most of Hon Hai/Foxconns senior officials are working remotely from Taipei and are yet to return to China. While Apple and Foxconn can fly their engineers to other parts of the world for engineering validation, the process will end up taking a lot longer. You can fly those engineers somewhere else but theres knowledge about how you make a product in that environment. Its not that it cant be taught but its a hard thing to move, said Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, a former Apple engineer. Our Take The Coronavirus outbreak has affected not only Apple but other smartphone companies as well. Almost all of them operate out of China and the virus outbreak has affected their development cycle as well. If things start returning to normal in China from early next month, Apple might just be able to launch the iPhone 12 in September but the device could possibly be in short supply for the initial few weeks. [Via Reuters A woman walks a dog in snowy conditions in Bedale, North Yorkshire (PA via Getty) London could be doused in snow later this week thanks to the Atlantic jet stream, the Met Office has said. Snow has already hit parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England in the past few days, but there are warnings that the south of England and the capital could be next. Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said further snow is on its way to Scotland and Northern Ireland on Wednesday and Thursday. The cold weather will spread further south, potentially resulting in snow in London on Thursday, he said. Cars in Bedale, North Yorkshire, after snow hit the UK at the weekend (PA via Getty) McGivern said there was "a mild bump in the air across the Atlantic" which will lead to an area of low pressure. Read more: UK hit by snow and floods as 'danger to life' warnings remain He said: How this interacts with the jet stream come Thursday is currently very uncertain. "The European computer model sends that low into France. But the Met Office computer model and the American model have it further north and more developed across southern parts of the country. "At the moment we think it is most likely to run across southern counties of the UK, and bump into the cold air further north. "And that means that as we start off Thursday, we think it's most likely that southern counties of England and South Wales will see a spell of rain. "But north of the M4, there is the possibility of some temporary snowfall not a great deal it doesn't at the moment look to be widespread, significant disruption. But there is the possibility of some snow, in north London, for example. Read more: Remarkable Storm Dennis drone pictures show flooding devastation "It does clear away after lunchtime, and then brighter skies follow, but we will continue to see further wintry showers across northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and further snowfall especially over the hills." A man walks his dog on Sunday in wintry conditions around the Angel of the North, near Gateshead, Tyne and Wear (PA via Getty) Temperatures plummeted overnight across Britain between Monday and Tuesday as the Met Office warned of more ice and snow. The mercury dropped to -4.5C at the Cairnwell in the Scottish Highlands, the Met Office said. Story continues A man walks his dog in the snow in Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales after snow hit parts of the UK (PA via Getty) Significant snow falls were also recorded overnight, with Aviemore in Scotland recording 7cm and Northern Ireland's Lough Fea getting 3cm. Read more: Dramatic Storm Ciara video shows lifeboat almost capsizing Higher areas in both countries and in northern England were expected to continue to receive snow throughout the day. Yellow weather warnings were in place for Northern Ireland, Scotland and the central part of northern England, warning of ice and potentially hazardous travel on Tuesday morning. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- LOS ANGELES With the Los Angeles County Museum of Art just weeks away from demolishing four buildings on its campus to make way for a $650 million structure by Peter Zumthor, the Ahmanson Foundation said Tuesday that it is suspending its decades-long program of buying art for the museum over concerns about the effects of the radical redesign. In a telephone interview William Ahmanson, president of the foundation, said he fears that under the Zumthor plan a sweeping, one-level structure designed to flatten the traditional museum hierarchies that privilege particular centuries and cultures many European artworks his familys foundation donated will end up in storage. Its my understanding that LACMA is changing from an encyclopedic museum with a robust permanent collection to a museum with some permanent collection works on view and more temporary exhibitions, Mr. Ahmanson, who remains a board member there, said. The concern is that the carefully curated collection weve amassed over decades may never see the light of day again. The foundations decision was previously reported by The Los Angeles Times. Starting in 1972, the Ahmanson Foundation has spent about $130 million to finance the museums acquisitions of 99 artworks, including masterpieces like The Magdalen With the Smoking Flame by Georges de La Tour, others by Rembrandt, Watteau and Bernini, and a suite of 42 French oil sketches. The donations were not made with any contractual stipulations that the works remain on view. But historically, Mr. Ahmanson said, nearly all of the works except for the light-sensitive French sketches have been on display at any given time. Two Alabama universities have suspended or limited international travel due to concerns over the coronavirus. The University of Alabama has suspended all non-essential university-sponsored travel to China for students, faculty and staff. The limitations were put in place due to the outbreak of the coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China. The university followed recommendations from the U.S. State Department for citizens to limit any travel to China or other areas experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. The UA System has extensive expertise and systems in place to monitor and address possible infectious diseases. However, you should take general precautions like frequent hand washing to prevent the spread of any virus, including seasonal flu, which is still active across Alabama and the U.S. If you have not received a flu shot, it is not too late, the university told students on an informational website. Jacksonville State University cancels all international travel Jacksonville State University has canceled all university-funded international travel until further notice. This policy does not apply to personal travel outside of the US, but rather trips organized or sanctioned by the university, the university said in a statement. Consulting with a leading expert on biosecurity from our own Emergency Management department, Dr. Jeff Ryan, and in conjunction with the latest data available from state and federal public health agencies, the university believes this is the best decision for our campus at this time. Several school-sponsored international trips were planned for the coming months. Cancelling those trips will hopefully not only prevent the continued spread of infectious disease but also prevent our students, faculty and staff from being quarantined abroad, the university said. 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. MPA launches UK Concrete to promote concrete 26 February 2020 The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has launched UK Concrete to proactively engage with political stakeholders and public bodies, and promote the advantages of building in concrete and the vital role the material plays in people's everyday lives. Chris Leese, former vice president at Cemex UK, has been appointed as director of UK Concrete and will be responsible for rolling out the organisations programme to convey concretes benefits to a wider audience. Mr Leese said: "It is time for the features and benefits of concrete to be recognised and valued together with the commitments the industry is making to support the transition to a net zero carbon society by 2050. Part of our new role will be to highlight the progress the industry is already making to lower concrete's carbon footprint, through the development of materials that allow us to build faster and more cost effectively, and showcasing the benefits of using concrete for a sustainable built environment throughout the UK. "It is therefore critical that we engage constructively with policy makers and influential stakeholders to promote the advantages of choosing concrete, including strengthening the resilience of our housing and infrastructure against fire, flooding and other threats." Over 95 per cent of UK concrete, both ready mixed and precast, is produced domestically from around 1000 sites nationwide, with over 90Mta consumed. The concrete sector is a key part of a combined mineral products industry, which contributes around GBP18bn to the UK's GDP and directly employs 74,000 people, supporting a further 3.5m jobs. Published under Delhi HC asks Centre, Google to respond to mans plea to remove articles on his conviction in criminal case Who is Saurabh Kirpal? Indias likely to get its first openly gay judge of Delhi high court Delhi HC dismisses plea to stop publication, sale of Salman Khurshid's book : 'Ask people not to buy it' We cannot let another 1984 scenario happen in this city Delhi High Court India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Feb 26: Delhi High Court Justice S Muralidhar said that another 1984 scenario cannot happen in the national capital. Justice Muralidhar reportedly made this comment while hearing a case with respect to the ongoing Delhi violence. Earlier, he was left surprised after he was learnt that a senior police official had not watched footage of BJP leader Kapil Mishra's hate speech. On Wednesday, during a hearing, he had the court play the video for the benefit of a Deputy Commissioner of Police and several lawyers who also claimed that they had not watched such videos. It is reportedly said that a policeman informed the court that he did not watch Kapil Mishra's hate speech footage but had seen videos of the violence. Reacting to this, the judge said, "This is really concerning. There are so many TVs in your office, how can police officer say that he hasn't watched the videos. I'm really appalled by the state of affairs of Delhi Police." Delhi HC tells CBSE to provide long-term plan to students for board exams in violence-hit areas NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Also, the court further said that leaders of both state and central government to personally meet the victims and their families. "This is time to reach out and do confidence by building," the court said. "This is the time to show that Z Security is for everyone," Justice Muralidhar said in the Delhi High Court. "We can't let another 1984 scenario happen in this city; not under the watch of this court," Justice Muralidhar said. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to call in the Indian Army to restore law and order. Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said that the police, despite all its efforts, were unable to bring the situation under control. But as Shapiro and the plays commercial producers mulled New York, many of the bankable male actors they considered didnt necessarily understand the joys of ensemble theater, Letts said, noting that Superba shares the stage with an assortment of council members, adorned with similarly Dickensian names like Oldfield, Assalone, and Carp. (He says he stole the Superba name from a refrigerator.) You go through a few of those people and then you go, the hell with it, Ill do it, Letts said. So it is that Letts who won a Tony Award in 2013 for his take as George in Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has been stumbling his way through rehearsals as an actor and then stumbling home to do rewrites as a playwright, trying to tweak the script while also cursing the writer. If Id known that I was going to wind up doing it I wouldnt have given him so many goddamn lines, Letts said of Superba. Lettss fatigue, of course, has more to do than with just his performance: his son, Haskell, will turn 2 just days before Letts opens on Broadway, and just as his wife and Haskells mother, the actress Carrie Coon, finishes a revival of Bug, his 1996 creepy-crawly conspiracy comedy, at Steppenwolf. The opening of The Minutes and the closing of Bug are scheduled for the same day, and Letts, a first-time father at 52, describes his familys current chaos toddler, rehearsal, performance, repeat like planning the battle of Midway everyday. Indeed, Coon, who fell in love with Letts as she played Honey in Virginia Woolf, says the current grind is so intense that Letts is threatening to retire, something she teases him about. Iran said on Wednesday it was open "to any initiative" as Western powers stepped up efforts to save a 2015 deal to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions -- on life support since a 2018 decision by the US to withdraw its backing and reimpose sanctions. After talks with the remaining parties to the deal in Vienna, Iranian negotiator Abbas Araghchi said he was "fully prepared" to reverse measures that apparently violated Tehran's commitments -- but only if the other side reciprocated. Britain, France and Germany launched the deal's formal dispute process in January after Iran said it would no longer observe limits on the number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium -- one of the deal's key stipulations. The dispute process spells out several steps, the last one of which is notifying the UN Security Council. UN sanctions would then automatically "snap back" after 30 days unless the Security Council voted to stop it. Iran argued on Wednesday that it needed some benefits under the deal, which promises it sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear programme. Renewed US measures have crippled the Iranian economy and were cited as the reason for Iran restarting various nuclear processes since May last year. The European Union -- which oversaw the Vienna talks between Iran, the three western European nations, Russia and China -- said "serious concerns" had been expressed over compliance. But the EU statement added: "Participants also acknowledged that the re-imposition of US sanctions did not allow Iran to reap the full benefits arising from sanctions-lifting." A diplomat who asked not to be named told AFP on Tuesday that no timetable had been fixed for solving the dispute, adding "we are still far from a result". The diplomat said everyone wanted to save the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), so that UN inspectors could continue working in Iran. The Internation Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been tasked with monitoring the deal's implementation and its latest report is expected within days. "We are still open to any initiative which can ensure Iran's dividends of the JCPOA," said Araghchi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, after the Vienna talks. "We are fully prepared to reverse steps we have taken so far in return for the fulfilment of the other side's commitments under the JCPOA." Western diplomats believe Iran is unlikely to heed calls to come back into full compliance without substantial concessions -- such as an end to US sanctions or Europe taking measures to offset their economic impact. But they hope the use of the dispute process will convince Iran not to make any more moves away from the deal, giving space for back-channel diplomacy aimed at bringing Washington and Tehran back into alignment. The diplomat told AFP that Iran could also "at least freeze its uranium stocks" as a possible positive outcome of the current discussions. At a major international security conference in Munich earlier this month, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would be prepared to move back towards the deal if Europe provides "meaningful" economic benefits. Europe has set up a special trading mechanism called Instex to try to enable legitimate humanitarian trade with Iran, but it has yet to complete any transactions and Tehran regards it as inadequate. The renewed US sanctions have almost entirely isolated Iran from the international financial system, driven away oil buyers and plunged the country into a severe recession. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ghana, on Tuesday, opened a consultative meeting to establish an African Youth Academy on Climate Change to educate and build the capacity of stakeholders especially the youth on climate change issues and carbon pricing. The Academy, when completed would equip the youth from different regions in Africa particularly, least developed nations with the knowledge to help in the reduction of the effects of climate change. Mrs Patricia Appiagyei, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, explained that the Academy among other functions would facilitate and prepare the youth for active contribution to the negotiation process to make more informed decisions for national implementation. She said it would also inform lawyers and social innovators on issues relating to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in 2016 to deal with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Deputy Minister explained that the establishment of the Academy was in line with a decision made by Government during the Regional Climate Change week hosted in March 2019 in Ghana. Ghana after engaging in deliberations with the UN Climate Change and Regional Collaboration Centre agreed to establish the Academy. Mrs Appiagyei noted that the consultative meeting was therefore to enable stakeholders to deliberate on the different kinds of carbon pricing instruments that existed and the steps government had to take in that regard to reduce climate change and foster national growth. The meeting brought together representatives from the public and private sector, civil society organisations, training institutions, and technical and financial partners. In April this year, she disclosed that Ghana anticipated to receive endorsement for the establishment of the Academy at the observation of the African Climate Week in Kampala, Uganda. On her part, Ghana and Africa as a whole were facing an unprecedented climate crisis, with obvious signs. She believed it was necessary to explore relevant initiatives to specific national circumstances for the nation to achieve her goals set in line with the Paris Agreement. I also expect this Academy to be innovative in a way that aims at engaging different youth groups and at the same time tries in a manner that, courses delivered ensure training followed by practical activities, mentoring and on-line training, she said. Ghana would offer her 13 research institutions and agencies as practical grounds for training and mentoring of experts from African countries, she said. Mr John A. Pwamang, the Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said Ghana was the best place to host the Academy due to its location as the gateway to Africa coupled with her tradition of long-standing peace, security, stability and hospitality. As part of measures to build resilience and ensure low carbon economy, he said, Ghana in response to the Doha Work Programme on Article 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement developed a National Climate Change and Green Economy Learning Strategy and started implementing its learning actions. Government also integrated climate change into primary school curricula in collaboration with the National Council for Curricula Assessment and the Ghana Education Service, he said. Mr Pwamang noted that the step was an early-life intervention and a foundation to shape the behaviour of children and enhance the value of the environment. He said, 600 primary school teachers, and administrators from public, private schools were trained by the EPA on climate change for effective teaching and learning of the indicators of the new primary school curricula. Mr Moubarak Moukaila, the Coordinator of the Regional collaboration Centre, Lome, Togo; said at the end of 2020, about 20 per cent of Africans would be under 20 years old, therefore it was necessary to inculcate the habit of protecting the environment in them. Mr David Abbass, the Team Lead of the Global Climate Action, Bonn, Germany, said climate change was a tremendous challenge to growth in Africa and threatened all progress made to promote development. He called for a collaborative effort to successfully implement the initiatives. 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 The Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded Delhi Police for the clashes in Delhi and termed unfortunate the incidents of violence in the national capital but refused entertain pleas on them. A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said it will not expand the scope of petitions filed in connection with the protests at Shaheen Bagh by looking into the pleas on violence. "These things would not have happened had police not allowed instigators to get away," the bench said, while referring to the incidents of violence. Police doesn't have to wait for orders if someone makes inflammatory statements but act in accordance with law, the court said. Justice Joseph also said there was lack of professionalism on part of the police. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the apex court that the Delhi High Court has heard pleas connected with the violence. After this, the bench disposed the applications saying it is for the high court to take note of the matter. The death toll in northeast Delhi communal violence rose to 20 on Wednesday from 13 the day earlier. Mehta asked the bench not to make any adverse observations relating to the violence as it will demoralise the police force. He was told by the court not to misunderstand its views as the remarks were made keeping in mind long-term implications. The bench said it has nothing against Delhi Police but the remarks are being made keeping in mind the larger perspective. Justice Joseph also gave the example of police in US and UK and said the force has to act professionally as per law if something goes wrong. He added that the remarks are made not in adversarial context but to ensure that law and order is maintained. The bench posted the matter for hearing on March 23, saying there is need for magnanimity and for situation to cool down before the Shaheen Bagh issue is taken up. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Santa Ana, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- CITrials, the advanced medical research company is participating in the 2020 European Site Solutions Summit to be held on 09-10th March 2020 in Lisbon Portugal. The summit will be organized by The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), an active partner in industry-wide dialogues and initiatives focused on enhancing the clinical research enterprise. The 2020 European Site Solutions Summit concentrates on clinical research site performance. It focuses on the growth and contributions that clinical sites make in the research enterprise. The conference offers great networking opportunities and the most sought-after custom regional content. It gives innovative ideas to help the medical research organizations to proactively address increasingly complex challenges within the medical research industry. Highlights of European Site Solutions Summit 2020: The program is focused on community-and country-centric ideas. Medical research organizations will get to explore a site-facing agenda that emphasizes the effect that they make on the clinical research enterprise The program offers clinical research executives a gathering space for networking, education, and other innovative opportunities The sessions in the program will address issues including patient recruitment, project management, site payments, business development, industry collaboration, technology advancements, clinical trial trends in CEE and more. CITrials conducts a wide range of clinical researches to identify new ways to detect, diagnose, prevent, control, and treat illnesses. The company has been into existence for many years now and has proven itself as one of the most reputable clinical facilities in the world. CITrials has highly qualified teams with the expertise and experience to offer the best result for every clinical trial conducted. About CITrials Founded in 2000, CITrials conducts Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials to further the development of medications to benefit patients, communities, and physicians. CITrials specializes in mental health trials including those for Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Alzheimer's disease, Tourette's, Stuttering, and ADHD for adults and adolescents. CI Trials has a great reputation for rapidly producing accurate trial results in accordance to global guideline requirements. For more information, please visit: https://citrials.com Social Profiles: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CITrialsResearch/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CITrials01 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citrials/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/citrials Contact Details: 801 North Tustin Santa Ana, CA 92705 17800 Woodruff Ave Bellflower, CA 90706 5700 Division Street Riverside, CA 92506 Ph: 1-866- 4 STUDY 1 (1-866-478-8391) WHEN THE ARTIST Haegue Yang shows old artworks in new places, she likes to create a fresh piece that links the exhibition to the local context. For her current presentation at the Bass, a museum in Miami Beach, Yang asked the curators what the regions famously multicultural residents have in common. A particular holiday? A certain food? Not really, they told her. But isnt there any commonality you can think of? she asked. The curators looked at one another. Hurricanes, they said, half joking. The notion of violent storms as a binding force fascinated the 48-year-old South Korean artist, whose sculptures, room-size environments and videos often address themes of individual and national identity, displacement, isolation and community. After months of meteorological research, Yang produced a new work for the Bass show: Coordinates of Speculative Solidarity, a chaotic floor-to-ceiling digital collage swirling with storm-tracking symbols, satellite photos of Floridian McMansions, distorted palm trees and sinister gyres that covers vast swathes of the museum like dystopian wallpaper. The show is called In the Cone of Uncertainty, which in forecasting terms refers to hurricane projection but might as well be a description of Yangs overall philosophy. Over the past decade, Yangs work has appeared at some of the most esteemed contemporary art forums in the world including Documenta in Kassel, Germany, and the Venice Biennale and she recently filled the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art in New York with an ambitious installation blending sculpture and performance. With sensual, melancholy works made from venetian blinds and other domestic objects, Yang has managed to escape the conspicuous identity politics that define much of the contemporary art world. Every institution now wants to be global and to have a more international and cosmopolitan point of view, but what does that really mean? asked Stuart Comer, MoMAs chief curator of media and performance, who organized Yangs exhibition. At its worst, it can mean that non-Western artists are tacitly required to represent (or perform) the cultures they came from. Just as the institutions of the 1980s and 90s seized on artists creating work around their socially marginalized identities (female, gay, nonwhite), it sometimes feels as though the current art world showcases people born outside the United States or Europe only on the grounds that their art refers to their heritage. Yang, however an artist who is not known to spend more than a few days or weeks at a time in any given place takes a stubbornly elliptical approach, refusing to embody any single nationality or perspective in her work. By embracing ambiguity, Yang has found a way to make art about identity without tying herself to one based on gender, race or geography. You cannot reduce it to a political one-liner, said Comer. The fair is a great opportunity to meet new people with the same interests and get exposure to new cultures. I have made so many great friends from the fair that I still continue to communicate with them, she said. Competing on the same level as people that attend prestigious STEM schools is extremely intimidating, but has ultimately given me more confidence to pursue difficult tasks and be proud of my own work. A journalist has been hit in the face and has several teeth missing. A woman journalist has also sustained injuries. New Delhi: The Press Club of India (PCI) and Indian Womens Press Corps (IWPC) on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the attack on journalists who were covering the communal violence rocking northeast Delhi since Sunday. Several journalists have been hospitalised. They have been punched and attacked by communal mobs, and police were either absent or have not come to help. Shockingly, mobs were checking religious credentials of journalists. We have little doubt the attackers actively sought to prevent videography or photography that may lead to them being identified. A lethargic police and politicians instigating communal violence cannot escape blame for attacks on the media, statements issued by PCI and IWPC said. A television journalist has sustained gunshot injuries. Another has been hit in the face and has several teeth missing. A woman journalist has also sustained injuries. Television media seem to have been specially targeted. A few weeks ago, journalists were physically assaulted by the police themselves when reporting the violence that attended the Jamia protests. Earlier, police stood mute spectators while supporters of right-wing mobs that had attacked JNU heckled and hit journalists. We expect the authorities, particularly the police and the Union home ministry, to be alive to democratic sensibilities and ensure that media are not brought under physical assault, the statements said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:56:16|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pony.ai, an autonomous driving startup based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, announced Wednesday that it has raised 400 million U.S. dollars from Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corporation. The two will work to speed up autonomous driving technology development and commercialization and further expand the collaboration in mobility services, said the startup. The series B funding totals 462 million U.S. dollars, valuing the self-driving company at just over 3 billion U.S. dollars and bringing its total financing to date to nearly 800 million U.S. dollars. The investment comes as an extension of a business partnership formed between Pony.ai and Toyota in 2019. Strengthened ties will enable deeper integration of Pony.ai's autonomous driving system with Toyota's vehicle platforms and technologies, which is in line with the main business strategies of both companies, Pony.ai said. In August 2019, Pony.ai and Toyota announced to jointly conduct autonomous driving tests on open roads in China. An Iranian parliament spokesman on Wednesday announced that anyone found to be spreading rumors about the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak will be sentenced to one-to-three years in prison and flogging, Iran state news agency IRNA reported. Spreading fake news over coronavirus outbreak will people panic. It also will pave the ground for the countrys shutdown, said Hassan Norouzi, spokesman for the parliaments legal and judicial committee, in comments translated by the Tehran Times. Norouzi said the prison sentence and flogging is based on on the Islamic penal code, and 24 people have been arrested already on suspicion of spreading rumors about the illness. Iran has reported 139 cases of coronavirus infections throughout the country, with an epicenter in the city of Qom, a destination for Shiite Muslim religious pilgrims. Nineteen Iranians have died from the illness so far, and the country has the highest number of cases in the Middle East. While officials have recommended that citizens not visit Qom, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Wednesday that the government does not plan to quarantine entire cities, only infected individuals. Coronavirus must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country, Rouhani said. On Tuesday Iranian deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi announced that he had contracted coronavirus. In a video taken at his home, Harirchi attempted to reassure viewers, saying I will certainly defeat corona. Harirchi was filmed a day earlier on state television to announce that the countrys outbreak was under control, visibly sweating and wiping his face with a handkerchief. More from National Review The Congress on Wednesday blamed both the Centre and the Delhi government for the violence in the national capital, and demanded immediate resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah for colossal failure to restore normalcy. The partys highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), met on Wednesday also held Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his government responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. It is the collective failure of the two governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day, the CWC said in a resolution adopted at its meeting held at the party headquarters in Delhi. After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the central government and particularly the home minister and we call upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately, it said. The meeting, chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was also attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia among others. However, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was not present as he is currently abroad. The CWC blamed some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for giving provocative speeches during Delhi elections and in the past few days. The tragic events since last Sunday have a history, design and a pattern. It was evident even during the Delhi elections. Several leaders of the BJP made inflammatory statements clearly intended to create an atmosphere of fear and hate. The last of these statements was made on Sunday, when a BJP leader gave an ultimatum of three days to the Delhi police and warned that after three days dont tell us anything. The resolution further said, The Delhi Police has remained paralysed in the last 72 hours- 18 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. The CWC also posed five questions to the government. What were the reports given by the intelligence agencies in the days immediately after the conclusion of the Delhi elections and leading up to today? What was the strength of the police force deployed on the night of Sunday when there were clear indications that violence will break out? it asked. Why were additional security forces not called immediately when it was clear that the situation was beyond the control of the Delhi police? Where was the Home Minister and what was he doing since last Sunday? Where was the Chief Minister of Delhi and what was he doing since last Sunday? The resolution termed the situation grave and sought urgent action, including asking the Delhi chief minister to remain visible in the affected areas and in constant communication with the people. Adequate security forces must be deployed immediately to bring the situation under control. Peace committees must be formed in every mohalla consisting of members of all communities to ensure that there are no untoward incidents. Senior civil servants must be deployed in each district to take charge of the administration to ensure that the administrative machinery responds to the evolving situation, it said. The opposition party appealed to the people of Delhi to reject the politics of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events, to help rebuild all that has been lost and to ensure that such events do not take place ever again. The CWC called upon all Congress workers and leaders to visit the affected areas, to extend all possible support to the families of those who have suffered as a consequence of the violence and to help build bridges between communities. This would be the most fitting tribute to Mother India, it added. The death toll in the violence in Northeast Delhi violence that began on Monday has risen to 20. Among the dead was a policeman. More than 250 people have been injured in the clashes. The worst clashes in the capital in over two decades started at the weekend but turned deadly on Monday after two groups supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA clashed with those opposing the law. The warring torched houses and vehicles in Maujpur, Jafrabad and other areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenyans protested on social media Wednesday against the health ministry's decision to allow the China Southern Airlines passenger jet, with 239 passengers on board, to land while refusing over 100 Kenyans in the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan permission to return home By Josh Smith and Sangmi Cha SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea reported 284 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including a U.S. soldier, as health authorities prepared to test more than 200,000 members of a church hit hardest by the outbreak. The new cases pushed the total tally to 1,261, with the numbers expected to rise as the government widens its testing. Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has been linked to outbreaks, is located, the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) said. The U.S. military reported its first case of the coronavirus on Wednesday, in a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 km (12 miles) from Daegu. The camp is also near a disability center that has had its own outbreak of the virus. The soldier was in self-quarantine at his home outside the base, according to a statement by United States Forces Korea (USFK). "KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed," the statement said, noting the soldier had also recently visited Camp Walker, a base in Daegu. On Monday, the widow of a former U.S. soldier tested positive for the virus after visiting several bases near Daegu, including Camp Walker. American military bases across South Korea restricted entry and imposed health screening measures at their gates this week, leading to hours-long waits for some people trying to go to work at the bases. The U.S. and South Korean militaries have said they are considering scaling back joint training because of mounting concerns about the coronavirus, in one of the first signs of the epidemic's fallout on global U.S. military activities. U.S. forces are a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War and continue to defend against threats from North Korea. A twelfth death from the virus was reported on Wednesday, a 74-year-old man linked to the Daegu church. Story continues Around 80% of the country's cases - including at the disability center - are linked to the Daegu church, and to a hospital in nearby Cheongdo County, which some church members are believed to have visited. The church said it had agreed to provide the government with contact details for all its members and people in trainee programs, on the understanding the information would not be made public. "We have obtained a list of 212,000 number of the Shincheonji believers from the church last night," vice health minister Kim Gang-lip told a media briefing. "Local governments will check whether the believers have respiratory or fever related symptoms and visit their homes to test them." The disease is believed to have originated in a market selling wildlife in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700 people, the vast majority in China. South Korean President Moon Jae-in's administration has faced criticism from some citizens for his decision to only restrict arrivals from the epicenter of the outbreak in China, and not all arrivals from China, A petition calling for Moon's impeachment over his handling of the crisis had gathered more than 687,000 signatures as of Wednesday. Defending the government's policies at a parliamentary hearing, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said not only would it be impossible to quarantine the roughly 2,000 Chinese who enter the country each day, it would have been useless as the spread of the virus was caused by South Korean citizens who had traveled to China. (Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Editing by Richard Pullin, Lincoln Feast and Nick Macfie) As part of the governments initiatives of retooling the Public Institutions and Agencies to ensure an effective performance of the workers, the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication has donated 20 pieces of desktop computers with accessories, a projector, printer and scanning machine to Akim Oda Library in the Eastern Region. Presenting the items, Mr. Kwame Amoako-Atta, the Eastern Regional Manager in charge of GIFEC said the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication is partnering the Ghana Library Authority to digitize all State libraries across the country to enhance learning among the students and as well as the general public. He indicated that the computers and their accessories would facilitate the work of the library and urged students in the Municipality to take advantage of them to do their research activities in order to acquire the needed skills and knowledge to improve upon their academic work. Touching on the importance of the Library, Mr. Amoako said it gives people the opportunity to find jobs, providing a sense of place for gathering and amongst others and informed management of the library to take care of the computers and other equipment to make them serve their intended purposes. In an exclusive interview with ISD, Mr. George Sarfo, the Library manager disclosed that the facility was established in 1950s and had helped a number of people to acquire numerous benefits, adding that the library has received over 700 books from government in 2020. Mr. Sarfo stressed that the pragmatic measures being put in place by the management of the library have made the library acquire sponsorship from the Newmont Ghana and also adjudged the best performing Library in Ghana 2019. On criteria for adjudging the library as the best, he mentioned the frequent visit to the library by people per day, activities embarked on by the facility, the number of books at the facility, staff relationship with those who visit the facility and amongst others. Mr. Amoako however said the sponsorship package from the Newmont Ghana has assisted the library to be connected to Water supply system to ensure availability of water and also embarked on massive renovation work and promised to put the items into good use. Mrs. Victoria Adu, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Birim Central in address described library as a place set apart to contain books, collection of manuscripts, publications and other materials for reading, viewing, listening, studying, referencing and others. She said education is dear to the heart of government and emphasized that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo Addo is working assiduously by providing internet facilities at the rural areas to help improve quality education and also to encourage the students and as well as the general public to cultivate the habit of reading and learning. Mrs, Victoria urged the residents to use the library in a judicious manner to make it live for a longer period to serve those who are yet to be born. State transportation officials will seek bids from transit companies this spring to run buses between Lincoln and Omaha, a service aimed at the 23,000 drivers commuting between the cities daily. Discussions about connecting Nebraska's two largest cities with bus service have churned for the last 15 years, but a feasibility study conducted by the state has put the idea close to getting the green light, project officials said. "We are as close as theyve ever been to implementing it, said transportation planner Corinne Donahue of Olsson, which is conducting the feasibility study. Similar services connecting cities in bordering states have given project officials confidence it could work here. "It's successful in Iowa and Colorado and Kansas, so we believe it can be successful in Nebraska as well," said Kari Ruse of the Nebraska Department of Transportation. Cost estimates have come in at $5 million annually the first two years, but transportation officials believe federal funds earmarked for intercity bus service can offset half of its operating costs and most of the capital investment. Dakota Gregorich has a lot of energy. He is a freshman at Lebanon High School and is part of the Lifeskills program. On Thursday, Gregorich had the opportunity to attend one of his favorite events, a dance. Approximately 250 young people attended A Day in the Clouds a dance held specifically for lifeskills participants from Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. Lebanon High School hosted the event and the LHS Leadership class helped with the organization. Gregorich danced for almost all of the two-hour celebration, stopping briefly to enjoy some of the food. He particularly enjoyed dancing to Lady Gagas Poker Face, repeatedly bounding high in the air for the entire duration of the song. He likes to talk about music almost as much as he enjoys dancing to it. I like hip hop and rock, Gregorich said. Do you like auto-tune? I like all their sounds. Sandy Shrum, the Lifeskills teacher at LHS, said the dance is part of a series of events held for Lifeskills students. All the schools host an activity once a month. Lebanons activity is this dance. This is our 11th year, Shrum said. A lot of our kids dont participate in the dances that are in the evenings. So the opportunity to dance and socialize with kids from around the area is very meaningful. Sue Garner, a specialist in the severe disabilities program with the Linn, Benton, Lincoln Educational Services District, said a dance can be a useful learning experience. For many of our kids who do participate in the activities at their high school, this is a place for them to kind of pre-practice those skills. Theyre working on their social skills, theyre working on their communication skills, theyre learning whatever dances are cool right now, Garner said. Yes, there are some students who, for whatever reason, their families choose to not have them participate in their school events and this is their dance. This is their prom. The new gymnasium at Lebanon High School was decorated with balloons and backgrounds designed around the theme. Members of the LHS Leadership class helped with that work and served as dance leaders during the event. I think it really helps the community come together and realize they are just like everybody else and deserve to have fun just like everybody else does, said junior Maya Gallegos. I am actually honored to help host this, help build the decorations and set things up and meet all the kids that come here from all over. Its really heartwarming. Dane Sipos, a junior senator at LHS and member of the Leadership team, said students enjoy helping out with the event. Its very fun. We all were doing balloons, cutting out hearts, Sipos said. I think students need to realize that everybody is equal. Everybody needs to be treated the same. Thats exactly what this is for. We need to treat everybody the same and have fun. Jamie Morgan attended the event with her son, Joe Savage, a sophomore at Lebanon High School. She appreciated the opportunity the dance provides. All of the kids, no matter what, can have a good time. No matter their age, what disability they have. They need to be able to enjoy themselves, too, Morgan said. Shrum thanked the Laura Gillott Home Team at Keller Williams Realty for sponsoring the event. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The Scream is fading. Paint samples from the 1910 version of Edvard Munchs famous image of angst have been under the X-ray, the laser beam and even a high-powered electron microscope, as scientists have used cutting-edge technology to try to figure out why portions of the canvas that were a brilliant orangish-yellow are now an ivory white. Since 2012, scientists based in New York and experts at the Munch Museum in Norways capital, Oslo, have been working on this canvas which was stolen in 2004 and recovered two years later to tell a story of colour. But the research also provides insight into Munch and how he worked, laying out a map for conservators to prevent further change, and helping viewers and art historians understand how one of the worlds most widely recognised paintings might have originally looked. The art world is increasingly turning to labs to understand how paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are behaving. Vincent van Goghs chrome yellows, some of which have started to brown, and his purples, some of which have turned blue, have been widely studied. But less is known about Munchs palette, and scientists, using updated technologies and tools like transmission electron microscopes, are breaking new ground. Jennifer Mass, president of the Scientific Analysis of Fine Art lab in Harlem, whose team is on The Scream research, explained the science recently in her lab. She pointed to a photograph of what looked like a set of stalagmites: it was the surface of The Scream seen under a microscope. This is really, really not what you want to be seeing, she said. Jennifer Mass examines some old paint; the work of her Scientific Analysis of Fine Art lab is in increasing demand from the art world. Credit:Thomas Prior/The New York Times Nanocrystals are growing on the painting, held by the Munch Museum; stark evidence of the degradation near the central figures mouth, in the sky and in the water. Conservators and researchers at the Munch Museum contacted Mass, who has been working as a fine art scientist since she was a postdoctoral fellow at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1995. She is also a professor at the Bard Graduate Centre and has partnered with many major institutions in research. Advertisement Eva Storevik Tveit, paintings conservator at the Munch Museum, said the museum had sought out Mass because of her expertise in cadmium yellow, which she had studied in Matisses work, and because of the high-quality scientific tools the lab has at its disposal. (One of Masss colleagues, Adam Finnefrock, once took tiny samples of Cezannes emerald-green pigments to a particle accelerator at Stanford University.) Masss team was able to narrow down Munchs paint choices using his paint tubes, some 1400 of which are held by the Munch Museum. And the museum, which will move to a new building this year, needs to figure out how to best display the painting, balancing conservation concerns with viewing experience. Munchs materials have now been more fully analysed, and the research, due out in coming months, fleshes out a more complete story about the painting. Masss team was able to narrow down Munchs paint choices using his paint tubes, some 1400 of which are held by the Munch Museum. Over time, with exposure, the yellow cadmium sulphide has oxidised into two white chemical compounds: cadmium sulphate and cadmium carbonate. The analysis, Mass said, has implications for Impressionist through expressionist paintings made between the 1880s and the 1920s painted with cadmium yellow, 20 per cent of which she estimates are experiencing similar phenomena. Clockwise from left: the rectangles show colour degradation; as the colours are today; and how the original may have looked. Credit: Munch Museum via The New York Times Mass and her team work with museums, private clients, auction houses, art fairs and artists on everything from large-scale contemporary outdoor sculpture in the Hamptons on Long Island to ancient Roman sculpture. They are a part of a niche in the art world boutique labs that operate outside of large institutions, though often in tandem with them something that has become more common as the demand for scientific research has increased. Advertisement Perhaps best known was James Martins Orion Analytical, which was purchased by Sothebys and became the first in-house lab of its kind at a major auction house. Other such companies include Geneva Fine Art Analysis, based in Genevas Free Port, and the London-based Art Analysis & Research. Often they are called in by collectors or potential buyers who are interested in questions of authenticity. Theres been a real explosion in the field, Nicholas Eastaugh, founder and chief scientist at Art Analysis & Research, said. There are a lot more people coming in with new approaches, new ideas and new insights. The colours of the late 19th century and early 20th century are fading especially rapidly because of changes that took place in paint making. Whether for conservation or authentication, the work often reveals something about an art object that the naked eye cant see: how old a painting really is, whether it contains drawings underneath its surface, or what factors in the environment might be causing it to deteriorate. This last question is particularly important when it comes to artists working in the same period as Munch, as research is just starting to illuminate the era. There tends to be an interest in the bigger-name artists, for obvious reasons, Eastaugh said. But actually these are problems that will affect all artists of that period if they are using these materials. He said that more research would be helpful in showing more general patterns in the pigment degradation mechanism. The colours of the late 19th century and early 20th century are fading especially rapidly because of changes that took place in paint making. Paints had been made by hand-grinding minerals extracted from the ground or using dyes made from plants and insects. The Industrial Revolution brought about the production of synthetic pigments like cadmium or chrome yellows, which artists would mix with oil and fillers. Artists began experimenting with these synthetic pigments, which were sometimes haphazardly prepared and untested for longevity but were exceptionally bright enabling the brilliant palettes of fauvism, post-Impressionism and modernism. Advertisement At that moment, many artists were abandoning traditional painting techniques, said Lena Stringari, deputy director and chief conservator of New Yorks Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, who has studied colour change and pigments in van Goghs work. Many artists were working in plein-air, and they were experimenting with various paints and colour theories, she said. There was this explosion of colour with the rejection of the academy. That made the new pigments popular, Mass said, but they were unpredictable. We cant say, Oh, its a tree, so we know that the foliage would be green, she explained, because in the case of Matisse or Munch, thats not necessarily true, so we need to turn to science. Recapturing these hues is impossible, but science can get us closer. Koen Janssens, a professor in the chemistry department at Belgiums University of Antwerp who has studied the pigments of van Gogh, Matisse and others, said, The idea is to try, in a sort of virtual way, to reverse time. Conservators wouldnt apply new pigments to a canvas but digital reconstructions can gesture at the past. Mass predicts a shift toward augmented reality in reconstructions, so that you might hold up your phone to a painting and see its former colour layered on the canvas. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Research has altered the way art historians see some of the artist's works. Credit:Shutterstock It hasnt always been a totally easy marriage between physics, organic chemistry and the art world, said Kilian Anheuser, head scientist at Geneva Fine Art Analysis. Until very recently, the art historian expert reigned supreme, and it was really the art historians who insisted on having the last word, he said. Then in recent years weve had quite a number of forgery scandals where things have come to light through scientific investigation, and this has turned the tables a bit. Advertisement PHOENIX The Arizona Senate on Tuesday rejected Republican Gov. Doug Duceys proposal to exempt military pensions from the states income tax. The GOP-controlled Senate shot down the stand-alone proposal that would cut state revenue by an estimated $45 million. Four Republicans joined all 13 Democrats in opposing the measure, although they offered differing reasons. One Republican was absent, and GOP Sen. David Gowan supported the measure but changed his vote to no to preserve his right to ask the full Senate for another vote. That made the vote 11-18. The defeat doesnt mean the tax cut wont make it into a final budget deal now being negotiated with majority Republicans in the House and Senate and the governor. Republicans voting no included Michelle Ugenti-Rita, David Farnsworth, Eddie Farnsworth and J.D. Mesnard. Eddie Farnsworth and Mesnard said they opposed the measure because they support broad-based tax cuts, not carve-outs for special groups. I dont think the members of the military fought so that they could get free stuff, Farnsworth said. Democratic Sen. Andrea Dalessandro said she had taken a vow to oppose any tax cuts as long as the state was underfunding schools and other programs that support children. Democrats have embraced that mantra for several years, even as majority Republicans regularly enact tax cut measures. Ducey proposed eliminating state income taxes on pensions for military veterans in his January State of the State address, giving veterans an average savings of $840 per year. Some who spoke Tuesday said the biggest beneficiaries would be high-ranking retirees who dont need the tax break because their pensions are large. But GOP Sen. Sonny Borrelli, a retired Marine, said that most retirees arent officers but instead are average grunts like him. They earned this pension overseas. They earned this pension on foreign soil, Borrelli said. Its not too much to ask. If the federal governments not going to be taxing them, why should we? We dont tax social security. Why would we tax a military pension? The country is to prioritise both wind and solar energy, and encourage deep investment in the sector, among others. Photo: Shutterstock Under the Politburos recently-enacted Resolution No.55 NQ/TW on the countrys development strategy for energy over the next 10 years and with a vision towards 2045, targets have been set for sufficient and stable supply energy with reasonable prices, as well as accelerated development of a comprehensive, competitive, and transparent energy market, and diversified ownership and business models. Doan Van Binh, director of the Institute of Energy and Science at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, said that since implementing 2007s Resolution No.18 NQ/TW, which had a vision towards 2050, specific goals have been reached. However, the international and domestic context requires an energy strategy with breakthrough solutions that meet the countrys new development and integration requirements. The new resolution played an important role as it pointed out weakness during the past and the reason for these. But new situations force us to restructure, said Binh. Vietnams electricity sector requires new investments of about $10 billion annually frontloaded through 2030, higher than the average of $8 billion for the 20112015 period. Meanwhile, the envisaged expansion of the gas sector calls for an accumulated investment of around $20 billion between 2015 and 2035. Moving in line with governments strategy to developing energy in order to meet socio-economic growths demand is inevitable. However, energy development must be consistent with energy security and environmental protection, the resolution stressed. It encourages and creates conditions for all sectors, especially the private sector, to take part in energy development and remove monopolies and unfair competition in the energy sector. In addition, the resolution points to actions including studying and finalising financial mechanisms and raising special capital for investment in the development of the electricity industry. The document further notes accelerating the roadmap for implementation of the competitive electricity market; the mechanism of direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) and sale contracts between producers and consumers; the bidding mechanism; auction of appropriate power supply (especially in the projects of investment in renewable energy and new energies); and transparent power purchase price. There is a mechanism to encourage attraction of non-state capital in construction investment into the national electricity transmission system, the resolution read. Industry insiders said that when the new strategy is in force, Vietnam is likely to see an increased investment inflow, especially from major players including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the European Union, and the United States. In a fresh development, more international groups are waiting for Vietnams DPP mechanism including ABB. Especially, the private sector could see more chances to invest into the national electricity transmission system. These new points came as Vietnam is faced with challenges to ensure energy while also complying with the governments objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by promoting renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies. Elsewhere, some critical projects involving the Power Development Master Plan VII for the 2011-2020 period with a vision towards 2030 (PDP7) have been delayed and could lead to shortfall of energy. The recent hot development of renewable energy thanks to the feed-in tariff (FiT) is putting pressure on transmission lines and the grid that has been slower to develop. Regarding construction of a regulatory and permitting environment that attracts private sector investment in clean energy generation and energy efficiency, John Rockhold, head of the Vietnam Business Forums Power and Energy Working Group said, Ultimately, these efforts should lead to a decline in investor risk and the ability to decrease FiTs as renewable energy projects become simpler and more profitable. Additionally, definitive regulatory frameworks for floating solar, battery energy storage systems, offshore wind, and access to clean energy by DPPAs will unlock a much greater potential for renewable energy projects. Franz Gerner, the World Banks lead energy economist, previously said that there has been large interest from private investors to participate in the vastly-growing energy market in Vietnam, especially in renewables. They are willing to invest as long as the projects are well-structured and bankable. What investors need is a transparent and stable regulatory environment which incorporates a proper risk-sharing mechanism among all parties, Gerner said. Currently, the Global Infrastructure Facilitys Governing Council, along with the World Bank, is working with the Vietnamese government on a solar pilot auction programme that will help to address Vietnams increased demand for energy and promote inclusive growth by strengthening the enabling environment for the private sector. The programme, implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, is part of the governments broader efforts to accelerate investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy to increase the countrys diversification of electricity generation and reduce CO2 emissions. Vietnam has been extremely successful in exploring its domestic gas, coal, and hydropower reserves, and currently has a high share of renewables in its overall energy mix, according to Gerner from the World Bank. However, domestic energy resources are limited, and Vietnam will increasingly rely on imported energy sources to meet its fast-growing domestic energy needs. The Politburos Resolution 55 places high priority on fast and sustainable energy development, aiming to increase share of renewable energy sources in total primary energy production to 15-20 per cent by 2030, and 25-30 per cent by 2045. More mechanisms and policies will be developed to encourage investment in renewable energy and establish a suitable fossil fuel reduction plan. Vietnam will now prioritise wind and solar power, and encourage investment in power plants using urban waste, biomass, and solid waste in parallel with environmental protection and the circular economy, while reducing the proportion of coal-fired power properly. Alongside that, the resolution also stressed on developing fast gas-fired electricity using liquefied natural gas (LNG), making electricity and gas gradually become an important power supply, supporting the regulation of the system. Furthermore, it calls for oil refineries to meet at least 70 per cent of domestic demand for refined petro products. It also touches on developing infrastructure to be able import eight billion cubic metres of LNG annually by 2030. Digital transformation will also be accelerated in the energy sector to gradually master modern technologies for production of energy equipment. When artist Laine Wiesemann was chosen to design a large-scale heart sculpture for this years Hearts in San Francisco fundraiser on Feb. 13 benefiting Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, she was astonished. Two years ago, hospital staff had discovered a grapefruit-size tumor in Wiesemanns chest and rushed her into an operating room. Amid her months-long recovery, Wiesemann renewed her passion for creating art. So when she received the nod (among hundreds of entries) from the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation to paint a 5-foot-tall, 400-pound heart that would be auctioned for the hospitals patient care programs, her theme reflected the expert care she had received. Titled Tea Time for the City, one side of Wiesemanns heart sculpture depicts a steaming cup of tea inspired by the benefits of green tea spouted by her oncologist, Dr. Donald Abrams. The flip side features angels trumpet flowers floating over the bay representing the angelic care she received from family, friends and hospital staff. This heart auction originally dreamed up by civic leaders Ellen Magnin Newman and Nancy Bechtle debuted in 2004 at the San Francisco Giants ballpark as an evening soiree benefiting San Francisco General, our renowned public hospital and Level 1 trauma center. Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle Its also an artful project that continues to delight tourists who happen upon some of the large-scale hearts adorning public spaces, such as Union Square where crooner Tony Bennett left his colorful ticker. Then, under the baton of foundation chairman Judy Guggenhime and director Pam Baer, Hearts morphed into a luncheon-auction at the ballpark honoring medical heroes. This 16th Hearts edition beat beneath a clear tent set atop the Giants Oracle Park green, led by co-chairs (and foundation trustees) Schuyler Hudak, Andrew McCollum and Lionel Johnson (with honorary event chairwoman Lisa Stone Pritzker), who dreamed up a dinner for 330 deep-pocketed donors. It was followed by a dessert-dance party for 500 more revelers all of which was hosted by Giants Enterprises President Stephen Revetria and Bon Appetit CEO Fedele Bauccio. We wanted to balance an intimate dinner for longtime supporters with a larger celebration for hospital staff and new supporters, explained McCollum, an early Facebook co-founder, now CEO of Philo. Everyone deserves access to high-quality health care, as well as a roof over their head and food on their plate. The General annually serves 1-in-8 San Franciscans, whether they have insurance or are in difficult circumstances. If you care about health care equality, the General deserves our support. And hearts, and wallets, burst open, pumping up the foundation with more than $4.5 million. Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle The fetes focus this year was mental health, which was recognized by a new award, Leaders With Heart. Dr. Mark Leary was honored for his work as deputy director of psychiatry at S.F. General. The hospitals entire social medicine team, led by RN Jenna Bilinski, Dr. Hemal Kanzaria and Dr. Jack Chase, was recognized for its groundbreaking work tackling the medical, social and psychological stresses of their patients. And Denise Bradley-Tyson accepted the award for her late husband, Bernard Tyson, the Kaiser Permanente CEO who died an untimely death last year. But he was recognized for Kaisers million-dollar pledge last year to S.F. Generals Transform Mental & Behavioral Health Fund, a new effort spearheaded in 2019 by the hospital foundation and Pam Baer. 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. Bernard was passionate about addressing the pressing issues of mental-health care, food insecurity and homelessness. He was a tremendous adviser to the foundation as we developed our mental health fund, toasted Baer. Bernard was also a remarkable man: a visionary, a leader and an advocate with great heart for his community. Speaking to the crowd populated by numerous civic poobahs (including Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, SFFD Chief Jeanine Nicholson, San Francisco General CEO Dr. Susan Ehrlich, Safe & Sound CEO Katie Albright and Chronicle Editor Audrey Cooper), honorary event chairwoman Pritzker ticked off sobering death-by-suicide stats that these leaders well know: San Francisco is engulfed by a public mental health crisis. Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle Outside these doors, we see a lack of hope and human despair. But as a parent, and a new grandparent, I believe we can reverse the stigma associated with mental illness and dramatically increase access to services, Pritzker said. San Francisco General is a blessing: All people, regardless of ability to pay, immigration status or life circumstances, benefit from this institutions world-class care. Zuckerberg General is comprised of heroes, who tirelessly foster a welcoming and healing environment. And their dedication gives me hope. Hope and vision also appeared in the form of Janet Liang, Kaiser Permanente COO and Northern California regional president, who honored S.F. Generals substance-abuse prevention program led by Dr. Marlene Martin (an assistant professor and the hospitals director of addiction care) and Dr. Hannah Snyder (a UCSF Family Medicine Assistant Clinical Professor who also works at S.F. Generals Ward 93 methadone clinic) with a new grant of $3 million. A few months ago, Pam and Judy called me for lunch. And theres no such thing as a free lunch, said Liang, with a laugh. But I had two asks: Whatever Kaiser supported next must help end the cycles of homelessness and substance abuse. Im so proud of Dr. Martin and Dr. Snyder. They not only transition patients from the hospital into residential treatment theyre saving lives; theyre saving families. Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow Attorney General William Barr told Senate Republicans on Tuesday that the Trump administration could support a clean extension of contentious surveillance laws set to expire next month. And Barr said he could make changes on his own to satisfy President Donald Trump and his allies who have railed against the use of the law to monitor his 2016 campaign, according to senators at a party briefing. But Barr also clashed with GOP critics of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which has three key provisions set to lapse on March 15. And with House Democrats eyeing their own changes to the law, some Senate Republicans fear a deal to extend the law might be nearly impossible. Republicans emerged from the lunch meeting mostly supportive of a clean extension of the law to avoid a gap; doing so is a top priority of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The attorney general just wanted to underscore again the importance of these provisions that were enacted in the wake of the 9/11 attack. Theyre still relevant to our effort to go after terrorists today like they were after 9/11, McConnell told reporters. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined by the GOP leadership, speaks to reporters just after meeting with Attorney General William Barr to discuss expiring provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other government intelligence laws, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) But Barr also sparred with skeptics, primarily libertarian-leaning Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, according to two people familiar with the meeting. Barr told Lee his criticisms of surveillance law are dangerous, while Paul said Americans shouldnt be subject to secret FISA courts, one of the people said. Lee followed up the lunch by tweeting a lengthy rebuttal to Barrs arguments in the caucus meeting. At the Senate GOP lunch today I made a long case against a simple reauthorization of the FISA program. Some are arguing the program needs no reform and that DOJ can put in place internal quality control mechanisms. Thats not good enough, Lee said. Lee also called for ending the call-records program and requiring more evidence for the government to conduct surveillance. Not everyone is in agreement that we should just leave it alone, said an attendee at the lunch. Story continues That comment extends across the Capitol, where House Democrats are pushing their own version of FISA reforms. On Wednesday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) will begin advancing a reauthorization that would end the seizure of call records and extend roving wiretap and lone wolf surveillance authorities with some reforms. Senate Republicans and Barr are unlikely to accept those changes anytime soon. And those dynamics have some fretting the programs will briefly expire, just as they did in 2015 when Paul and McConnell clashed over reforming the much-criticized bulk data collection program. I dont even know if were going to do an extension. I think this is the beginning of the conversation. Im not sure. Letting it lapse and then revisit it? I dont know, said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). A brief expiration of the law is possible. I think thats probably whats going to happen. Senate Republicans prefer kicking a broad FISA debate to as late as 2022, when other pieces of the law expire. In the interim, Barr would make administrative changes to address complaints from conservatives that surveillance authorities were abused during Trumps campaign something the president continues to seethe over. Youve got three provisions to deal with. I think itd be smart to keep them in place. It would give us some time to work on FISA writ large, weve got three years, said Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is preparing hearings on FISA. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, speaks during the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative one-year anniversary event event co-hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senior Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. A Republican and a Democratic senator are leading a legislative effort to have a global women's economic initiative spearheaded by President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka written into law. The senior White House adviser made the announcement Wednesday during a State Department anniversary event for her Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) Barr indicated his desire to do whatever he can to prevent the corruption and the abuses that we saw in the Crossfire Hurricane, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), referring to the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign. Were not going to shoehorn a bunch of other unrelated things into an extension before the March 15 deadline. But a clean extension would be no layup in the House, where progressives are eager to finally snuff out the collection of call records and metadata after more modest reforms ultimately passed in 2015 over McConnells objections. The possibility of swallowing a clean extension is something senior Democrats have only just started to seriously discuss in recent days, according to Democratic aides. And with the House not back from recess until Wednesday, Democratic leaders have been unable to take the temperature of the caucus. Theres internal politics on both sides to contend with: a clean extension would likely be opposed by liberal Democrats and potentially even some Republicans, all of whom have been advocating for overhauling the current law in various ways. And now Republicans have whiplash over the mixed messages about what the president wants from a Wall Street Journal report over the weekend detailing White House hopes to completely overhaul the program to Barr saying Tuesday those reforms could be achieved administratively. The House legislation also contains provisions generally supported by members of both parties, including repealing the controversial cellphone metadata program and reforming the FISA court. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wrote to colleagues this month to say that he hopes to bring a reauthorization to the floor during this work period after the bill clears committee. But privately, Republicans are reluctant to support a measure Trump could publicly reject at any moment. And GOP lawmakers like House Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins of Georgia have panned the proposal, saying it does nothing to address the FISA abuses related to Trump campaign aide Carter Page that were outlined in a December report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Given those dynamics, fears are rising that nothing will happen at all before Congress goes on another recess on March 13. As Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) observed dryly: Things arent happening very fast up here. A lot will happen between now and March 15. We may do a placeholder and take it past March 15. Weve got to get this right, said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). Anybody who reads the Horowitz report on misfire hurricane will understand what Im talking about. Marianne LeVine contributed to this report. Seven Democratic presidential candidates take the state in tonight's debate in Charleston, South Carolina, hosted by CBS News, ahead of Saturday's critical South Carolina primary. This will be the last debate before voters in California and 15 other states and territories go to the polls on Super Tuesday, March 3. Check out our Voter Guide for more information on the candidates, as well as the ballot measures and races that voters will decide in the March 3 election. Take our Candidate Matchmaker quiz to see which of the leading Democratic candidates best line up with your views. Authorities in Tennessee have arrested the teenage mother of a missing 15-month-old girl on a false reporting charge. The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said its deputies took 18-year-old Megan "Maggie" Boswell into custody on Tuesday night and charged her with one count of false reports, after she allegedly gave investigators inaccurate information amid the desperate search for her young daughter, Evelyn Mae Boswell, who was declared missing last week but was reportedly last seen by family members in December. The mother, who has full custody of Evelyn, was cooperating with authorities but had provided detectives with "a number of conflicting statements" during the course of the investigation, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. A further inquiry revealed that some of the information she gave was "false," the sheriff's office said. "Every time we talk to her, her story changes," Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy told reporters in a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "And I'm serious when I say that. Every single time." The false statements have delayed and impeded the investigation, Cassidy added. The young woman is being held in the Sullivan County Jail on a $25,000 bond, according to the sheriff's office. It's unclear whether she has obtained a lawyer. Evelyn's father, Ethan Perry, who is on active duty in the U.S. military, stationed in another state, has been cooperating with police. PHOTO: Megan 'Maggie' Boswell is seen in this booking photo taken on Feb. 25, 2020. (Sullivan County Sheriff's Office) The sheriff's office continues to work alongside the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI to find Evelyn, who became the subject of a statewide Amber Alert issued on Feb. 19. Investigators have received more than 500 tips, but none have produced any credible sightings regarding the toddler's whereabouts so far. MORE: Why the first 72 hours in a missing persons investigation are the most critical The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Dec. 26 is listed as the date Evelyn was last seen; however, her mother, along with others connected to the little girl, have allegedly given conflicting dates. Cassidy said he is considering the date Evelyn was last seen to be based on when a babysitter last saw her, which was Dec. 10 or 11. Story continues It's unknown why it took so long to report the child missing. Authorities have followed up on more than 500 tips and are currently treating the investigation as if Evelyn is still alive, Cassidy said. PHOTO: Evelyn Mae Boswell is seen in this undated handout photo. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) Last Friday, authorities located a vehicle in North Carolina's Wilkes County that they were searching for and two individuals inside whom they wanted to speak with about the case. Angela Boswell, 42, and her 33-year-old boyfriend, William McCloud, who are both Tennessee residents, were questioned as part of the ongoing investigation and are currently being held on charges unrelated to Evelyn's disappearance, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Angela Boswell is Evelyn's grandmother, according to Johnson City, Tennessee, ABC affiliate WJHL. MORE: 2 arrested in case of missing 15-month-old The couple were arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, as the vehicle they were traveling in had been reported stolen, according to the Wilkes County Sheriffs Office. It's unclear whether either have obtained legal representation. PHOTO: William McCloud and Angela Boswell were arrested in North Carolina on a charge of being in possession of stolen property, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. (WSOC) Evelyn, who is white and has blonde hair and blue eyes, was last seen wearing a pink tracksuit with pink shoes and a pink bow in her hair. She is about two feet tall and weighs 28 pounds, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Anyone with information regarding Evelyn's whereabouts is urged to contact the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office at 423-279-7330 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND. ABC News' Julia Jacobo contributed to this report. Tennessee mother arrested on false reporting charge as 15-month-old daughter remains missing originally appeared on abcnews.go.com 'The government is unwilling or unable to provide the kind of relief that Vodafone India is asking for.' IMAGE: Vodafone IdeaC hairman Kumar Mangalam Birla with Vodafone group CEO Vittorio Colao. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters "Currently, about 30-odd per cent of the revenues of telecom companies go to the government. This is unhealthy. The situation will improve if more money can go into the network (upgradation). The telecom companies can take care of the rest (of the other challenges facing telecom markets)," says Mahesh Uppal, director, Com First India, a consulting firm. India's operational telecom companies confront an uphill task, no doubt. As Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel scramble their resources to comply with the Supreme Court order on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, leaders from these companies have had meetings with Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in an attempt to find a way out of the tangle that operational and non-operational telecom companies find themselves in on account of payment of license fees, interest and penalty on the same and payment of spectrum usage charges (SUC) that adds up to roughly 1.47 lakh crore. This includes Rs 22,589 crore in unpaid license fees, which along with interest and penalty has touched Rs 92,641 crore as of June 2019. Add to this, the burden of payment of Rs 55,054 crore as SUC, and one can understand the task before companies like Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel. As per reports while Bharti Airtel has already paid up Rs 10,000 crore on account of license fees and SUC, Vodafone Idea too has made a payment of Rs 3,500 to the government. The meeting of Bharti Airtel's Sunil Bharti Mittal with Minister Prasad on February 20 and that of Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla with Telecom Secretary Prakash two days earlier are looked upon as efforts to find a solution to the vexing issues faced by these telecom operators. Uppal believes that Vodafone Idea might fold up, based on the comments made by the company itself, but says the government tweaking its telecom policy could offer a ray of hope to the beleaguered companies. In an interview with Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com, Uppal discusses the impact of telecom duopoly in Indian markets and how it could affect the government's ambitious 5G rollout programme. What are the challenges before the weak players in the telecom sector like Vodafone Idea and the government-owned BSNL and MTNL? In the case of Vodafone Idea the challenge is essentially financial. In the case of BSNL and MTNL, the issues is also of quality of service besides financial weakness. The companies have consistently lost market share. In case of Vodafone, there is no serious issue as there is no huge difference between its service offerings and that of its competitors (Jio and Airtel). It is as well placed as Jio and Airtel. But BSNL has been struggling for quite some time as it has not been able to drive subscriber numbers partly because people had a major issue with the quality of its services and reliability. Is the Vodafone Idea management capable enough to overcome financial issues, including the AGR payment to the government? They themselves have said several times that they are not. They have said that unless the government steps in they would be unable to continue their telecom business. We don't know what will happen eventually, but that is their (Vodafone Idea's) own assessment. Given you experience as a telecom analyst, could you comment on what are the chances that Vodafone Idea would fold up? Based on what the company has been saying, I think the chances are high. Given the limited options that the government has (in offering a rescue package; The Economic Times has reported that the government is mulling the option of deferring Vodafone Idea's non-AGR dues), the chances (that Vodafone Idea could fold up) are quite high. Of course, the government has an option to renegotiate (the terms of repayment of Adjusted Gross Revenue, Spectrum Usage Charges and license fees) if the Supreme Court does not object; (the government) has an option to change policy. Now, whether it will do it or not doesn't matter but by most accounts, the government is unwilling or unable to provide the kind of relief that the company is asking for. Will Mr Kumarmangalam Birla's meeting with Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash help in any way in at least postponing the eventual fall? Well, that meeting is already done. Mr Kumarmangalam Birla is the best person to answer this question. But the government has very limited options given the fact that fiscal challenges (facing the government) are quite serious. (Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal met Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on February 20 and said the government is focusing on dealing with the AGR tangle. Mr Birla's meeting with the telecom secretary happened on February 18.) If at all Vodafone Idea folds up, what could be the consequences on the telecom industry, the government as well as consumers? It will be bad news all around. It will be bad for all the stakeholders. The government certainly will lose all the dues (from Vodafone Idea) that are still pending. The industry will lose its competitiveness and we lose an important player in the market. Consumers, who certainly rely on competition for better prices and better quality of services, will also suffer as the competition reduces in the market. If Vodafone Idea indeed folds up, who among the incumbents Jio and Airtel will have an upper hand in taking advantage of the situation? Both of them will benefit from this as the stock market tends to indicate (Bharti Airtel shares have been witnessing a strong interest in recent times). Reduced competition is obviously not unwelcome if you are a secure player in the market. What role could the Government of India or the telecoms regulator, TRAI, play to prevent India's telecom industry from becoming a duopoly? The current approach of charging levies based on revenue sharing needs to go. It offers the wrong incentives. An inefficient company will pay less (levies as part of their annual revenues). This is not very smart. If we want to avoid having a telecom duopoly we need to reduce the costs (of doing the telecom business). We have to reduce the payments that the telecom companies need to pay to the government. The government has to see that more money goes into building networks, not to itself. Currently, about 30-odd per cent of the revenues of telecom companies go to the government. This is unhealthy. The situation will improve if more money can go into network (upgradation). The telecom companies can take care of the rest (of the other challenges facing telecom markets). Markets are what they are. Some players will succeed, others will fail. We don't want regulators adding to the costs and the financial burden of telecom companies. How well will the current telecom industry situation augur for the government's ambitious 5G rollout programme? It is very worrying. This situation does not augur well for the 5G rollout or for the government's revenues. If the auction of 5G spectrum does not succeed or receives a weak response, then government revenues will again suffer. If only two strong incumbents exist in the industry, could they game the system? Probably. Also to be fair (to the government) the auction is not closed to outsiders (foreign companies). The auction (of 5G) spectrum is open to more players. What could be the policy measures that the government could undertake or tweak existing policy measures so that we could once again have a thriving telecom industry in India? This whole approach of basing telecom levies on operator revenues is a very bad idea. That should go. Second, levies themselves take away very precious investments away from infrastructure. Levies should be lowered to near zero. If the government's fear is that companies will start making huge sums of money at the cost of the exchequer, it can adjust taxes in the annual budget (to address this concern). The AGR is akin to a telecom tax. Any changes in the spectrum usage charges, or license fees the telecom companies pay to the government that could help revive the industry? Levies include spectrum usage charges. There is no justification for continuing with a separate SUC if the spectrum is sold in an open auction. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Shanghai, China Wed, February 26, 2020 11:35 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066ae6a2 2 World China,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,outbreak,pandemic,health Free A top leader of China's justice ministry blamed law enforcement on Monday for the hundreds of coronavirus cases discovered in prisons, calling them instances of poor disease control efforts. Authorities have revealed 555 infections in Chinese prisons, but no deaths among them, in an epidemic that has killed more than 2,700 and infected more than 78,000 on the mainland. "The transmission of the disease truly reflects some gaps in our management of prisons and in our prevention and epidemic control work," said Xiong Xuanguo, deputy minister of the justice ministry. The women's jail in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is 100 meters from a hospital and both facilities are serviced by the same bus stop, Xiong told a news conference held by the information office of China's State Council or cabinet. For cases found at jails in the eastern provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang, he added, local security forces did not report they had been in contact with individuals from Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan. "Our police officers at every level did not make truthful reports," he said. Fifty-two Armenians were evacuated from Iran on Wednesday as the Islamic Republic continued to grapple with the spread of coronavirus. The Armenian nationals arrived at Yerevans Zvartnots airport on a special flight from Tehran arranged by the Armenian government. They wore medical masks and received guidance from medics deployed by the Ministry of Health at the airports arrivals section. Another medic was on the plane that brought them back to Armenia. None of the passengers was said to have a fever or other potential coronavirus symptoms. The evacuees were not placed under quarantine. Health authorities instead collected their contact details and pledged to regularly monitor their condition. There is more panic here [than in Iran,] one of the evacuees told reporter at Zvartnots. Armenia plans to evacuate more of its citizens from Iran with another special flight scheduled for Friday. The Armenian government decided on Monday to suspend regular flights between the two countries and close the Armenian-Iranian border for individual travel for at least two weeks. The border will remain for open cargo shipments. According to the Armenian Health and Labor Inspectorate, 155 Iranian truck drivers and 11 other persons crossed into Armenia on Tuesday and Wednesday. Armenian health officials briefly examined their condition at the border checkpoint and detected no suspected cases of the virus, said the government agency. Iranian authorities reported on Wednesday that 139 people have been infected by coronavirus in Iran and 19 of them have died so far. This is the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside China, where the virus emerged in late 2019. Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan have all reported cases of coronavirus involving people who traveled to Iran. No cases have been reported in Armenia. The authorities in Yerevan say they are continuing to take precautionary measures against the possible spread of the virus. In a related development, the Armenian Defense Ministry on Wednesday temporarily banned visits by relatives and friends of military personnel to all army bases. It also cancelled the soldiers leaves. The child, who had been walking home from school, told police she attempted to exit the vehicle multiple times, but that Protho hit her in the face and covered her mouth when she tried to scream, according to an FBI agents sworn affidavit. Christopher Angus, pictured, took friend Aaron Wall's 2.3 million investment pot and blew the lot A businessman who gambled with a friend's 2.3 million investment pot and used doctored screenshots to make it look like he had quadrupled his fortune had in fact lost the lot, a court heard today. Christopher Angus was jailed for more than five years at Oxford Crown Court, with a judge telling him 'I don't know what got into you', as he heard how the defendant kept ploughing his pal's money into one disastrous betting failure after another. The 39-year-old, said to be an expert in reputation management, admitted frittering away the staggering sum belonging to Philippines-based Aaron Wall, with whom he had previously worked. Judge Nigel Daly heard that in his effort to cover up his whopping losses, Angus edited a screenshot of his trading portfolio to make it look like his investments had earned more than 9 million. In reality the balance was a shockingly paltry 1.18 - everything else had been lost. Disgraced Angus appeared before the court today for sentencing after admitting a single charge of fraud by false representation. Julian Lynch, prosecuting, said: 'The victim is Aaron Wall, an American national who resides in the Philippines and was, prior to this offending, a friend of Mr Angus. The two of them met around 2006, at that point both working as internet marketing specialists. 'In 2015, Mr Angus pitched to the victim an investment opportunity he was going to run through an online investment trading platform. Over time, Mr Wall began transferring significant sums of money to Mr Angus for him to invest.' The first payment of 100,000 was made in January 2016, the court heard, thereafter further payments were made up until September 2016, the total amount by that time being 2,340,000. Mr Lynch said: 'Throughout this period where money was being sent, Mr Angus and Mr Wall were in regular contact and during that period Mr Angus was sending messages to Mr Wall purporting to update him on the state of his investments. 'He would go so far as to send screenshots from the trading platforms that were being used to Mr Wall to show him that his investments were growing in value. 'In fact, the investments were not growing in value. The difference in the amounts in the screenshots being sent to Mr Wall and the amounts actually in the accounts grew very great indeed.' Angus had doctored the screenshots of the two active accounts, the court heard, editing the figures of one to make it seem as though it contained over 800,000, when in fact it contained zero. He edited the second account to make it seem as though it had over 9 million, when in reality it contained 1.18. Mr Lynch added: 'The investments were doing extremely badly. The money was being lost. Mr Angus, throughout this period, continually lied about the state of those investments, using more to invest larger and larger sums of money, not withstanding it was all being lost.' The disgraced businessman, 39, was jailed for more than five years today at Oxford Crown Court (pictured) after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation The fraud came to light in 2017 and Mr Wall called the police, the court heard. Angus, who paid back 10,000 to his former friend, sent him an email where he admitted what he had done and said he believed he could go to jail for 10 years, a judge heard. In a victim impact statement, Mr Wall had told the court how his wife had partly blamed him for being taken in by Angus's deception and told of the harm it had caused to his young child's upbringing. Mr Lynch said: 'Although plainly Mr Wall is a man of some means and it does not appear that he has been put into penury by this, there has been a substantial effect on his family relationships and the health of his wife.' Defending Angus, James Riley told how he had been well educated while growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he had become a qualified Microsoft system engineer. Angus had run his own marketing company, making in excess of 200,000 a year on average, Mr Riley told the court. 'He ran a very successful online marketing company for over 10 years. That was wound up so that he could concentrate on these investments with Mr Wall. 'What the defendant thought was that he had a winning strategy. Using the algorithm he had, he did not think he could lose.' Angus, a father-of-one, was betting on a system called the Volatility Index, the judge was told, which usually ranged between 18 and 30. During the time he was betting on it, the volatility index fell below 13, something he had never seen before, so he kept betting expecting the number to go back up, which it did not. Mr Riley said: 'The defendant, foolishly of course, kept gambling to make back the losses. He seemed to have buried his head in the sand instead of coming clean. He did not have the strength of character to do that.' Judge Nigel Daly, sentencing, told Angus he would give him full credit for admitting fraud by false representation at a plea and trial preparation hearing earlier this year. The judge said: 'I do not know what got into you Mr Angus. It may well be that once you started you simply could not stop but it has had a devastating effect no doubt upon you but also upon Mr Wall. 'It is not so much the financial impact, it is the almost complete destruction of Mr Wall's life. 'You are a very well educated man, you are extremely experienced in matters of finance and it seems you worked in this area legitimately earning a lot of money. 'You decided to go into spread betting. It is gambling. You used not only your own money but also that of a good friend. When it started to go wrong, you did not stop, you continued and you continued to take more and more money from him to try to cover it up, until eventually you finished up at around the 2 million mark. 'Effectively, by the end, there was nothing at all and all that money had gone.' Judge Daly jailed Angus, of Kingston Road in Oxford, for five years and four months. More than 200 Cherokees and other Native Americans sent a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) urging her to issue a public apology after vague and inadequate past steps to apologize for her claims of Cherokee ancestry. Your history of false claims to American Indian identity and the defense of these claims with a highly publicized DNA test continue to dog your political career, the letter reads. For Native Americans, this moment is more than an annoyance; it represents the most public debate about our identity in a generation. The letter cites reporting detailing how white people have scammed more than $800 million in no-bid federal contracts intended to support minority business owners by falsely claiming Native American and other minority heritages. The scammers routinely cite family legacy and the results of commerical DNA tests to substantiate their claims, as Warren did throughout her career. In light of those similarities, the letter asks for Warren to publicly denounce her family story of Native ancestry. When you still defend yourself by stating you believed what you heard growing up, you set a harmful example for these white people stealing Native identity and resources with stories very similar to your own, the letter states. Warren claimed to have Cherokee heritage for many years, which critics have charged allowed her to rise in academia before she entered politics. After withering criticism from President Trump, Warren released an infamous DNA test which she quietly deleted evidence of a year later showing that she was between 1/64th and 1/1024th Native American. The Massachusetts Democrat took widespread criticism from Native Americans in the aftermath of her DNA test, and last February she apologized to the Cherokee Nation for publicizing her results. I am sorry for harm I have caused. I have listened and I have learned a lot, and I am grateful for the many conversations that we have had together, Warren told the Native American Issues Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, in August. Story continues Warren responded to the letter on Tuesday night by reiterating her apologies for promoting herself as Native American, but distanced herself from the letters main criticism by saying my situation differs from these cases because I never benefited financially or professionally from her claims. In response, three of the authors of the original letter told the Los Angeles Times that they were disappointed Warren did not directly address her family story. We hope that after further dialogue with the campaign, Warren will bravely and publicly tell the truth about her family, they said in an email. More from National Review Novelist Clive Cussler, whose book Sahara was turned into a blockbuster movie starring Matthew McConaughey, has died. He was 88. Cussler's wife, Janet Horvath, shared the news of her husband's death on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon. 'It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news that my husband Clive passed away Mon,' Horvath wrote. Novelist Clive Cussler (pictured in 2004), who wrote more than two dozen novels, died Monday, aged 88 Cussler's wife, Janet Horvath (left), shared the news of her husband's death on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon 'It has been a privilege to share in his life. I want to thank you his fans & friends for all the support. He was the kindest most gentle man I ever met. I know, his adventures will continue.' Cussler is pictured with his wife and their adorable dogs on Christmas Day in 2019 Horvath's emotional tweet was accompanied by a photo of them driving in one of their cars 'It has been a privilege to share in his life. I want to thank you his fans & friends for all the support. He was the kindest most gentle man I ever met. I know, his adventures will continue.' Her emotional tweet was accompanied by a photo of them driving in one of their cars. Horvath didn't disclose the cause of death. Fans immediately expressed their love for the 'gifted storyteller' who wrote more than two dozen novels, including his 1992 adventure story, Sahara. Sahara was turned into a feature film in 2005, starring McConaughey, Steve Zahn and Penelope Cruz. The book is one of Cussler's famed Dirk Pitt novels that follows Pitt through the African desert in search of a ship with treasure rumored to have vanished long ago. Fans immediately expressed their love for the 'gifted storyteller' who wrote more than two dozen novels, including his 1992 adventure story, Sahara (right). Sahara was turned into a feature film in 2005, starring McConaughey (left), Steve Zahn and Penelope Cruz Cussler's (pictured in June 1977) 1976 adventure novel, Raise the Titanic, also one of his Dirk Pitt books, became a movie in 1980. It grossed $7million Cussler has sold more than 100 million books (two book covers pictured) throughout his career Sahara grossed $122million at the time and it became the highest-grossing movie adapted from Cussler's novels. His 1976 adventure novel, Raise the Titanic, also one of his Dirk Pitt books, became a movie in 1980. It grossed $7million. Dirk is also the name of Cussler's son, who helped the author write several of his books, including Celtic Empire (2019), Odessa Sea (2016) and Havana Storm (2014). Cussler, who was born in Aurora, Illinois, was dubbed the 'Grand Master of Adventure' early on in his career. He enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War where he served as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer in the Military Air Transport Service. Cussler (right) was married for nearly 50 years to his first wife, Barbara Knight. She died in 2003. Together Cussler and Knight had three children, Dirk (second from right), Dayna (center, front) and Teri (third from left, wearing a tank top) Cussler (pictured in September 2011) is survived by his second wife, Janet, and his three children Cussler began writing in 1965 and published his first novel, The Mediterranean Caper, featuring the character Dirk Pitt in 1973. In 1996, he released his first piece of non-fiction, The Sea Hunters. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York later considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May of 1997. It was the first time since the college was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed. Cussler also founded the National Underwater & Marine Agency, (NUMA) a nonprofit organization that dedicates itself to American maritime and naval history. After the organization was established, Cussler and his crew of marine experts and volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites. Among their discoveries was the C.S.S. Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship in battle and the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania. Cussler was also a classic automobile collector. He established the Cussler Museum in Colorado that's dedicated to the preservation of rare and vintage automobiles from all over the world. Cussler, who has sold more than 100 million books throughout his career, was married for nearly 50 years to his first wife, Barbara Knight. She died in 2003. Together Cussler and Knight had three children, Dirk, Dayna and Teri. Cussler is survived by his second wife, Janet, and his three children. WASHINGTON Teslas Autopilot system and a driver who relied too heavily on it are likely to blame for a 2018 crash in California in which the driver died, a federal safety agency said on Tuesday. The agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, criticized several institutions for failing to prevent the crash, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for what some board members described as a hands-off approach to regulating automated-vehicle technology. We urge Tesla to continue to work on improving Autopilot technology and for (the traffic safety agency) to fulfill its oversight responsibility to ensure that corrective action is taken when necessary, Robert Sumwalt, the boards chairman, said. Its time to stop enabling drivers in any partially automated vehicle to pretend that they have driverless cars. The board adopted a number of staff findings and recommendations from an investigation into the crash that began more than six months ago. The findings included the determination that Autopilot failed to keep the drivers vehicle in the lane, that its collision-avoidance software failed to detect a highway barrier and that the driver was probably distracted by a game on his phone. The board also determined that the driver, Wei Huang, would have survived had Caltrans fixed the barrier he hit, which was designed to absorb some of the impact of a collision but was damaged from a previous crash. The boards staff and members said the traffic safety administration had taken a misguided and hands-off approach to regulating such technology. The National Highway Traffic Safety Agency said that all crashes caused by distracted driving, including those in which driver-assistance systems were in use, were a major concern and that it planned to review the boards report. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. The boards conclusion is the latest development in a string of federal investigations into crashes involving Autopilot, which can, among other things, keep a moving car in its lane and match the speed of surrounding vehicles. Tesla has said that the system should be used only under certain conditions, but some safety experts say the company doesnt do enough to educate drivers about those limitations or take steps to make sure drivers do not become overly reliant on the system. Huang had been playing a game on his phone during the drive, but it was not clear whether he was doing so in the moments before the crash, according to the investigation. In the 2018 accident, Autopilot had been engaged for nearly 19 minutes, according to the safety boards investigation. Huang put his hands on and off the wheel several times during that period and, in the final minute before the crash, the vehicle detected his hands on the wheel three times for a total of 34 seconds. It did not detect his hands on the wheel in the 6 seconds before impact. Teslas event data recorders routinely collect a wide variety of information, such as location, speed, seatbelt status, the position of the drivers seat, the rotation angle of the steering wheel and pressure on the accelerator pedal. Huang had been traveling in his 2017 Tesla Model X sport utility vehicle on Highway 101 in Mountain View when the car struck a median barrier at about 71 mph. The speed limit was 65 mph. The collision spun the car, which then hit two other vehicles and caught fire. Critics also say Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have exaggerated Autopilots capabilities. In 2018, Musk was widely criticized for taking his hands off a Tesla Model 3 steering wheel while demonstrating Autopilot for 60 Minutes, something the owners manual instructs drivers never to do. In January, Musk said that Teslas full self-driving capability might be just a few months from having some chance of going from your home to work, lets say, with no interventions. Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said that by calling it Autopilot, by using terms like full self-driving, Tesla is intentionally misleading consumers as to the capabilities of the technology. Niraj Chokshi is a New York Times writer. Prosecutors have identified 69 additional people possibly convicted on false evidence from former Houston Police narcotics officer Gerald Goines, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday. As a result of an ongoing probe of Goines work, prosecutors filed motions Wednesday requesting judges appoint lawyers for the 69 so they can begin the process of seeking to have their cases overturned. The defendants identified all pleaded guilty and never went to trial, and the charges against them were solely based on Goines casework, prosecutors said. Most of the cases involve delivery of a controlled substance and nearly all resulted in the loss of liberty, ranging from a few months in the Harris County Jail to four years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, according to a release from the district attorney. Lawyers for each defendant would review whether the evidence presented by Goines was material in convicting their client - and if so, decide whether to request a new trial. Prosecutors have already signaled they would seek to have such cases dismissed. Narcotics investigation: Botched Houston drug raid not the first Goines, the officer at the center of the scandal, now stands charged with murder in the Jan. 28, 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. He is accused of lying about the drug buy and other casework at the center of the fatal raid on the couples house in south Houston. The Harris County District Attorneys Office, the Houston Police Department, and the FBI all launched probes into the incident, and in addition to the state court murder charges Goines is charged with civil rights violations in federal court. His former partner, Steven Bryant, is charged in state and federal court with tampering with a government record. Earlier this month, two brothers Otis and Steven Mallet charged in 2008 saw their convictions overturned. After the brothers convictions were overturned, Ogg said defendants convicted between 2008 to 2019 in which Goines played a substantial role would be entitled to a presumption that the former narcotics officer provided false evidence to secure their convictions. We need to clear people convicted solely on the word of a police officer whom we can no longer trust, Ogg said. Related: Key Houston police narcotics officers at center of fatal Harding Street drug raid tallied few arrests, low-level busts In the aftermath of the scandal, prosecutors dismissed dozens of active cases that Goines and Bryant had worked on and announced a review of 14,000 past cases the two men and their former squadmates had worked on. Prosecutors ultimately identified 441 cases Goines worked between 2008 and 2019, which led to 263 convictions against 234 defendants. The 69 identified Wednesday rested solely on Goines casework. The news does not mean each defendant will automatically see the conviction overturned or otherwise receive relief, courthouse veterans said. Rather, they or their attorneys will have to see post-conviction relief. For subscribers: More former defendants challenge cases handled by ex-Houston officer Gerald Goines Veteran defense attorneys said the number of cases the DA was calling into question was unprecedented in recent memory. Its very big. I cannot remember a DA moving for relief - or at least questioning the quality of a conviction in that many cases over one pattern of activity by an officer, said Alex Bunin, Harris Countys Chief Public Defender. Usually theres some cases a DA will say, yeah there might have resulted in some wrongful convictions, but this is on a much bigger scale. Bunin and other courthouse veterans said the cases also raise broader questions about supervision within HPDs narcotics division. I would suspect he could not have done this without anyone knowing and with at least their acquiescence if not assistance, Bunin said. Another local defense attorney, Pat McCann, said he believed the 69 latest cases represent a fraction of defendants whose cases ought to be overturned. Theres probably more, he said. He said Goines tenure in the narcotics division and his years training people who are now mid-level supervisors, left open the possibility that other officers could have emulated Goines misconduct. We in the defense bar have been watching narcotics officers follow an anything goes mentality in the drug wars for the last couple decades. In the aftermath of the raid, Chief Art Acevedo promised a review of the Narcotics Division. More than a year later, he has not released the findings of that review. On HoustonChronicle.com: Documents show oversight lapses in Houston PDs handling of confidential informants Goines defense attorney lambasted Ogg, and said Wednesdays announcement was a clear effort to get name recognition in advance of the upcoming primary election. She could care less about these defendants, said Nicole DeBorde. Theyre absolutely treating this differently [from other post-conviction writ cases], and theres only one reason - they are hard on their push to get people to the polls because she has some worthy opponents. Other courthouse veterans questioned Oggs decision only to review cases dating back to 2008. Its much too restrictive, said Elsa Alcala, a former judge on the states highest criminal court, and an outspoken Ogg critic. The district attorney ought to be asking for a judge to appoint counsel on every delivery case where Goines is the primary figure. st.john.smith@chron.com twitter.com/stjbs The autopsy report of Rajkumar Shaw, who died after falling ill allegedly during questioning at a city police station, mentioned injuries to his skull and elbow and that he died of a cardiac arrest. In a report placed before the Calcutta High Court, the state government mentioned the injuries on the body of Shaw. It said that there was a bruise on the left elbow and a scalp bruise on the vault area of the skull. The report said that Shaw died of a cardiac arrest. The man died after falling ill allegedly during interrogation in connection with a theft case at Sinthee police station on February 10. A resident of the area later moved the high court seeking its intervention and a CBI probe into the incident. Investigation in the case has been handed over to the detective department of Kolkata Police. A copy of the post-mortem examination report has been given to the petitioner's lawyer Dhiraj Trivedi. The matter is likely to be heard again by the court later this week. A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee had on February 11 directed the West Bengal government to present before it the post-mortem examination report of Shaw. Trivedi claimed that there are specific allegations against the local police and prayed for a CBI investigation into the death of Shaw in the petition moved by him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police released the man without charges on Monday but said that they would investigate the details surrounding the stabbing death of Kenneth Paterimos (pictured) Chicago police are investigating the stabbing death of a gay man whose killer claimed that he was acting in self-defense - contradicting witness reports that he was shouting homophobic slurs at the man. Police released the man without charges on Monday but said that they would investigate the details surrounding the stabbing of 23-year-old Kenneth Paterimos at Richard's Bar on Friday night. Nothing in the police report suggests that Paterimos was armed when he was killed, the Chicago Tribune reports. 'The individual taken into custody presented a self-defense claim,' Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. 'So he's been released and we're now working to corroborate the timeline and the chronology of events that he gave us.' Paterimos, a barista, was stabbed at approximately 11.20pm outside of the bar on the 400 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. A police source familiar with the incident said that a 30-year-old suspect appeared intoxicated and shouted a gay slur at Paterimos. The comment led to an argument between the two, which then led to a scuffle inside the bar. Paterimos, a barista, was stabbed at approximately 11.20pm outside of the bar on the 400 block of North Milwaukee Avenue The 30-year-old man was kicked out of the bar and waited for Paterimos to eventually come outside. He confronted the barista and pulled out a box cutter, stabbing Paterimos eight times: once in the left ear, three times in the back of the head, twice in his right arm, once to the chest and once to the collarbone. Paterimos' brother rushed outside and he and others held the man until police arrived at the scene. The box cutter was found nearby, under a parked car. 'The detective said my brother is a hero because they would've never found this guy otherwise,' said Dina Paterimos, the victim's sister. 'I think he showed some restraint, really, you know he tackled him and held him for police. It's heroic what he did, I mean the guy had a knife.' Paterimos' brother rushed outside and he and others held the man until police arrived at the scene But the woman struggled with believing her brother could have done anything that would require the man to act in 'self-defense'. 'I couldn't imagine someone being so threatened by him that they had to pull a knife out on him,' she said. 'This is the guy who called me when he went over 100 pounds because his whole life he didn't even weigh 100 pounds. 'He never got into fights or started stuff with people. My brother would joke with you before he would start a fight with you. It's such a shock that someone could hurt my brother like that'. Guglielmi asserted that it is still possible to charge the man for the stabbing. 'We just normally have 48 hours under the law to question individuals and then, depending on how those interrogations go, information is obtained and shared and now we have to corroborate what he told us,' he said. 'And if everything is factual the way he describes it, then he could have a self-defense claim. And if not, he could face charges'. Paterimos was stabbed eight times: once in the left ear, three times in the back of the head, twice in his right arm, once to the chest and once to the collarbone The spokesman added that the investigation needed additional witnesses and any surveillance videos to move forward. Guglielmi added that he could not elaborate as to why the man felt he needed to defend himself with the box cutter. When asked if the case could be classified as a hate crime, the spokesman added: 'Anything is possible and I can't really speculate on where this could go'. Dina Paterimos said that her brother had been working nonstop since high school and helped his family financially. Step Down Cafe, where the barista worked, released a statement sharing news of Paterimos' death. 'We are all sad to announce the tragic death of our most beloved worker, Kenneth Paterimos,' they said in the statement. 'We all have had the privilege and honor of working with Ken and in such a short period of time, he became family. Although no words can help ease the pain of losing such a wonderful son, friend, worker, brother, uncle and much more, we send our deepest condolences and love to his family.' The cafe linked to a GoFundMe established by the barista's mother - Diona Bueno - which has raised more than $11,000 of its $12,000 goal. 'My son was brutally attacked and murdered,' she said in the fundraiser. 'What should have been a night out on the town with friends turned into tragedy. Words cannot express the tragic nightmare I have been living the last two days.' A Richmond resident and former Wuhan resident is leading a group of volunteers to help travellers returning from China who might have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. After hearing the news from her home city and province at the epicentre of the outbreak in China, Fatima Wang searched for something she could do in Canada. Through social media, Wang, who works as a financial adviser, discovered the Self-Quarantine Support Groups for Greater Vancouver. It's like Skip The Dishes or Uber Eats but for people who have self-quarantined after visiting China. Currently, Canada's Public Health Agency says travellers returning from Hubei, China are asked to contact the public health authority in their province within 24 hours of arrival. Travellers with a fever, cough or difficulty breathing are asked to immediately call the public health authority and limit contact with others through self-isolation for 14 days. But self isolation can make it difficult to get supplies and that's where volunteers like Wang are making a difference. Using WeChat, a Chinese messaging and social media app, residents in self-isolation tell volunteers about what they need, whether it's groceries, medical supplies or even a ride for a relative stuck at the airport. After a request has been made, area leaders assign volunteers to help out. Laurence Watt/CBC Volunteers have also created DIY videos on how to secure living spaces and retrofit vehicles to prevent the spread of disease. Wang, who has since become the area leader for the Richmond group, says volunteers have provided services to more than 100 people in Metro Vancouver. "The whole group in Richmond makes deliveries everyday," said Wang. "Usually, we put things in front of their garage door and they don't need to see us and we don't need to see them." A personal loss Wang has lived in B.C. for over 10 years, but still has family in Wuhan. The Chinese city, in the province of Hubei, has nearly 11 million residents and has been under lockdown since Jan. 23. Story continues Wang says she experienced personal tragedy as a result of the lockdown when two days before the Chinese New Year, her uncle-in-law died from heart disease after he was denied treatment at five overcrowded hospitals in Wuhan. Chinatopix via AP Wang says given what's happened in Wuhan, she doesn't take concerns about coronavirus lightly but recognizes the task of self-isolation can be difficult. She said she hopes she and fellow volunteers can make it a little bit easier. Listen to the interview on CBC's On The Coast: A first-time mum has lost the ability to walk, talk and eat after becoming ill during her pregnancy. Family and friends have rallied around Jazmin Hunter, 25, who is seriously unwell in an Auckland, New Zealand hospital after she was struck down with a mystery illness during the final trimester of her pregnancy. Ms Hunter is fully aware of her surroundings but can only communicate through thumb movements, is being fed though a tube and requires around the clock care as doctors desperately try to find a diagnosis. She was six months pregnant when she was admitted to hospital in early January with pregnancy complications, where her health rapidly deteriorated. Jazmin has an energetic bubbly personality and was excited about the upcoming birth of her first child before her health deteriorated earlier this year New Zealand young mum Jazmin Hunter (pictured having skin contact with her newborn son Theo) is unable to talk, walk or cuddle her baby due to a mystery illness Ms Hunter has met her baby son Theo, born seven weeks premature via caesarian on February 14 but doesn't have the strength to hold him. Close friend and work colleague Kelly Larsen describes the situation as heartbreaking to watch. Theo also remains in hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit. 'Baby is doing well and is brought to his mother for short intervals of skin on skin contact. While Jazmin is aware of what's happening, she cannot communicate or cuddle her own baby,' she wrote on the Givealittle page set up to help Ms Hunter. Ms Hunter was 13 when she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus a condition where fluid builds up in the brain. She has been in and out of hospital since for countless operations. Ms Hunter found out she was pregnant while in hospital for shunt failure last August. Despite her condition, the legal secretary was loving and living life to the fullest before her health dramatically deteriorated earlier this year. 'She had an energetic bubbly personality and everyone who met her liked her, wherever she went she made a lot of friends,' Ms Larsen wrote. 'For those who are lucky enough to know Jaz, this is a dramatic change from her normal bubbly, funny, vibrant personality. The Givealittle page has raised almost $11,500 within five days towards travel costs, rent, utility bills, nappies and food for Theo and to help care for Jazmin as she recovers. 'Neurologists and neurosurgeons have ordered blood tests, lumbar punctures, EEGs and MRI's to find the cause of Jaz's downward decline with tests showing nothing, they are stumped as to the prognosis,' the page states. 'Her mind is still active & she understands what people are saying but she cannot communicate other than through a minor thumbs up or down. 'Another surgery is likely while we wait for test results.' Her mother Barbara Hunter quit her job to focus on caring for her daughter and newborn grandson in hospital. 'We're just waiting to see if she's going to come out of this,' she told Stuff. 'I want to walk out of here with her and baby.' TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Award-winning cannabis marketing and PR firm, Marigold PR, announces it is organizing Canadas first Womxn, Wellness and Cannabis Conference (WWC Conference) on May 27, 2020, in Toronto during Canadian Cannabis Week. The WWC Conference offers a unique opportunity for attendees to network, connect, and engage with industry professionals as well as participate in educational interactive sessions and a variety of cannabis, wellness and health-related panel discussions led by Canadas innovative leaders and cannabis industry experts. Our goal is to inspire, connect, and celebrate the work of women in the cannabis industry, says Katie Pringle, co-founder of Marigold PR. This is an inclusive focus on the research, brands, products and issues that make up the feminine cannabis experience. The WWC Conference is a must-attend event for cannabis professionals and businesses to gain exclusive insights on feminine cannabis industry trends and science. Attendees will network, collaborate, and engage with over 250 industry innovators during the all-day event taking place at the St. James Cathedral Centre Event Venue in downtown Toronto. WWC Conference topics include; womxn in leadership, diversity and inclusion, reproductive health, the beauty market, compliant marketing and personal branding, corporate social responsibility, and more. The WWC Conference is spearheaded by a committee of cannabis industry experts and thought leaders including Sarah Clowater (Events Coordinator with Sundial Cannabis), Andrea Dobbs (Co-Founder of The Village Bloomery), Loretta Eldridge (Director of Marketing, Ample Organics), Trina Fraser (CannaLaw group leader at Brazeau Seller Law), Mimi Lam (CEO and Co-Founder of Superette), Kayla Mann (CFO at Habitat), Nora Nathoo (Marketing Specialist at Emerald Heath), Gill Polard (creator of The Her(B) Life), Barinder Rasode (Co-Founder & CEO of Grow Tech Labs), Dr. Shelley Turner (Founder & Chief Medical Officer, Ekosi Health), and Dr. Jenna Valleriani (Director, Global Patient Advocacy at Canopy Growth Corporation). These experts are ensuring the WWC Conference is a relevant and impactful event and will lead informative panel discussions and engagements at the conference. As an advisory board member, I am impressed by the level of authentic engagement supported by the wonderful team members at Marigold PR, says Barinder Rasode, Co-Founder & CEO of Grow Tech Labs. The committee members experiences and thoughts are truly being heard, which I feel will translate into an event unlike any other. It is one thing to create space, it is another thing when voices in that space all have influence. The exclusive event will provide partners and speakers with the opportunity to build brand awareness and engage with an influential B2B audience. Together, Marigold PR, Detonate Cannabis Agency, Grow Opportunity, Ayurcann Inc. operating as XTRX Solutions, and additional partners will provide a valuable conference experience for attendees and partners. Speaker, volunteer and partnership applications are now open for those interested in participating in the WWC Conference. Tickets for the conference are now available and can be purchased at the WWC Conference website here. For more information contact Danielle Mckay, Marketing & Media Coordinator at danielle@marigoldpr.com or visit https://wwcconference.com/ for more information. About Marigold Marketing & PR Marigold Marketing & PR is an award-winning marketing and PR firm for licensed producers and national brands. Marigold offers full-service packages to clients that include branding, social media, PR and publicity and integrated marketing. Marigold creates results-driven marketing campaigns of all sizes, leveraging paid, owned and earned media. Marigold makes an impact for clients through awareness-building campaigns, industry focus and excellent service. Learn more about Marigolds all-encompassing services here. Attachments NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval late on Tuesday night reviewed the security arrangements and visited the areas most affected by violence in the northeast district of the national capital, which has so far claimed 13 lives and left close to 150 people injured over a period of three days. Doval met with top police personnel at the office of Delhi Commissioner of Police Northeast and discussed the situation. After the meeting at the DCP`s office in Seelampur, which ended around midnight, Doval accompanied by senior police officials visited Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Gokulpuri Chowk in northeast Delhi to review the situation. Along with DCP NorthEast, senior police officers, including newly-appointed Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (Law and Order) SN Shrivastava, also accopanied him.The NSA reviewed security arrangements, deployment of police personnel in Northeast Delhi and discussed ways to restore normalcy in the region, Zee Media sources said. Later, along with police officials, he visited all the regions affected by the violence and took stock of the current situation. After this, Doval returned to the office of DCP North-East in Seelampur. This development comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting, the third in less than 24 hours, with Delhi Police and officials of his ministry. The Home Minister appreciated the participation of all parties and urged them to exercise restraint, rise above party lines to tackle the situation.Shah also urged leaders to avoid giving provocative speeches and statements which could result in a flare-up of the situation. Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Crime) Satish Golcha late on Tuesday night said that protesters have cleared out at the Jaffrabad Metro station and Maujpur Chowk is clear as well and that the situation is under control. Delhi Police have put barricades and sealed all the roads that lead to Ghaziabad from northeast Delhi. All the schools in violence-affected north-east Delhi will remain closed on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday. Demanding swift action by Delhi government to help the victims of North-East Delhi violence and to bring normalcy back in the region, the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) reached Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence here at Civil Lines on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. In a charter of demands, the students urged direct intervention of the Chief Minister into the violence affected areas and also to organise peace marches along with regional MLA`s to de-escalate tensions prevailing in North-East Delhi. "Activate all Delhi government services and infrastructure to rescue, facilitate medical facilities and provide shelter to citizens," the students demanded in their charter. The students-led by JNUSU Vice-President Saket Moon also urged for action against the culprits involved in the communal violence. "Identify perpetrators of communal violence, including police officials who have participated in it and take action against them," the students said. At least 13 deaths were reported since Monday in violence that erupted in parts of north-east Delhi between protesters in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those who opposed it. Around 190 have suffered injuries in the violence so far. (With Agency inputs) Algeria: emir of Qatar ends diplomatic tour in Algiers 'Total agreement on regional, international issues' (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, FEBRUARY 26 - The emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has carried out an official visit to Algeria which lasted a few hours. During the visit he met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for talks which the latter said were marked by "total agreement between the two countries on economic, political, regional and international issues", Algerian news agency Aps reports. Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani undertook the last leg of a mini tour that took him last Sunday to Jordan and then Tunisia. He said he was determined to promote relations between the two countries "in all areas", in particular concerning the economy and investments. "The Arab world is unfortunately experiencing several crises" and "needs Algeria" which has "a honorable history in terms of solving conflicts in the region and in the Arab world", he said. Algiers and Doha in 2015 launched the construction of a steel complex with a capacity of 4.2 million tons a year in eastern Algeria, carried out as part of a partnership between Algerian group Sider (51% owned by the Algerian state and 49% by Arcelor Mittal), State-owned company Qatar Steel and public funds. (ANSAmed). What is your future with the company when you and the boss dont communicate? For most in the corporate world, your tenure is limited before getting a brief note to clean out your desk. It may be the same in the Trump administration, since there has been a revolving door full of cabinet secretaries. So far, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has remained as long as any, thanks to the White House appreciation for voter support from farmers in rural states. But one must wonder how long Perdue can stay in the job, with the lack of communication between 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters at 14th and Independence. It is not that far, but the phone lines have been cut, and the Washington Monument is blocking the view of any smoke signals that may used as an alternative. The USDAs biggest event of the year, the annual Outlook Forum was held Thursday and Friday and provided two of the latest examples of the lack of communication between President Trump and Secretary Perdue. Speaking to the media after a dismal economic forecast for agriculture, Perdue repeated his recent mantra that farmers would be on their own financially in 2020, since trade agreements had been signed with China, Japan and our two North American neighbors in the USMCA. He said there would not be any new round of Market Facilitation Program payments, that had been used to bolster farm income from the loss of exports due to trade actions taken by the administration. Not gonna happen, Perdue said. But at the same time, President Trump was creating a tweet that completely reversed that. He tweeted, IF OUR FORMALLY TARGETED FARMERS NEED ADDITIONAL AID UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE TRADE DEALS WITH CHINA, MEXICO, CANADA AND OTHERS FULLY KICK IN, THAT AID WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, PAID FOR OUT OF THE MASSIVE TARIFF MONEY COMING INTO THE USA! USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney responded at the Outlook Forum about the announcement, and he said, "The president's tweet was a surprise to us. He will make the decision and we will go with that decision. Stepping away from the White House script on climate change, Agriculture Secretary Perdue used last weeks Outlook Forum to roll out the USDAs new initiative to make agriculture more sustainable and resilient to weather challenges in coming years. Perdue argued that farmers are uniquely well prepared to help mitigate the effects of climate change because of their carbon-sequestering efforts already underway, such as minimum- or no-till farming practices and cover crop use, both on the rise among producers. Such a program, designed to help farmers survive any changes in the climate in future years flies in the face of the White House policy that climate change is not occurring. Whether Perdue took the chance to address climate issues, risking a woodshed session with the president, can only be conjecture. But the issue about a third year of market facilitation payments is nothing more than a lack of communication. Stu Ellis is an observer of the Central Illinois agriculture scene. In addition to his weekly column, you can view his From The Farm and Harvest Heritage reports on WCIA 3 News. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness issued its terrorism threat assessment for 2020 last week, it noted a marked shift. The threat level from violent, homegrown extremists, and specifically white supremacists, was marked in red as the top category: High. The threat from the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and their ilk was demoted to third, in green: Low. Terrorism experts believe that holds true for the entire United States. In the U.S., more people are killed by far-right extremists than by those who are adherents to Islamist extremism, said Mary McCord, a Georgetown University law professor and a former senior Justice Department official for national security. Her comments came at a discussion last week at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which commemorates victims of the most notorious attack by international terrorists on U.S. soil. Even as the menace from homegrown extremists grows more explicit, however, law enforcement is wrestling with how to combat it. That challenge has spawned a fervent debate over whether the United States needs a new law to specifically criminalize domestic terrorism, or whether such a statute would threaten basic First Amendment rights. Proponents argue that a domestic terrorism law would streamline and clarify the patchwork of charges now used against homegrown extremists, charges that often avoid even mentioning terrorism. Opponents counter that a new law amounts to a worrisome expansion of government powers and might face constitutional challenges on the grounds of impinging on free speech. Yet the New Jersey report laid out what is at stake in stark terms. 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, it said. After Latino shoppers were targeted in a shooting in El Paso, Texas, in August, leaving 22 people dead, Congress proposed a new wave of laws. However, most of those have stalled. But the recent arrests of eight members of a white supremacist group called the Base, some of whose members were accused of planning a mass attack in Richmond, Virginia, have renewed focus on the issue. Three members arrested in Maryland pleaded not guilty last week to various charges, including transporting a firearm and ammunition with the intent to commit a felony. Senior law enforcement officials express frustration that cases like those cannot be called terrorism in court. The statutes that are typically deployed in connection with domestic terrorism cases are really kind of pedestrian in nature, said Thomas E. Brzozowski, the Justice Departments counsel for domestic terrorism. This confuses people. It leads to this pervasive but false narrative that somehow the government is paying more attention to the Islamic extremist threat than to the domestic threat. With both Democrats and Republicans proposing legislation, the issue is one of the few that does not divide strictly along partisan lines. There is no legal mechanism for designating domestic extremist groups as terrorists. Federal laws define terrorism as a criminal attack intended to intimidate and coerce civilians in order to influence government policy or to otherwise affect government conduct. They also define 57 specific acts as federal crimes of terrorism. Among the conditions required for formally labelling a crime terrorism in court are targeting an international airport, using a weapon of mass destruction or attacking federal officials. Such charges come into play periodically. Using a weapon of mass destruction was among the accusations faced by Glendon Scott Crawford, a member of the Ku Klux Klan from upstate New York who failed in his attempt to build a radiation death ray that would inflict cancer on Muslims hit from afar. In 2016, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, current terrorism statutes do not incorporate most attacks on civilians that involve guns or vehicles, or the stockpiling of assault weapons, which McCord, the Georgetown law professor, said was a gaping hole considering their frequency. A new law would also underscore that society considers white supremacist violence on par with jihadism, she said. Several draft bills seek to define domestic terrorism as a crime and to prescribe court sentences, including the death penalty. A less sweeping bill would force the federal government to make public statistics about all violence attributed to white supremacy. FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee this month that the agency had more than 1,000 violent extremist investigations in progress, covering all 50 states, but he resisted providing a more detailed breakdown. He described racially motivated violent extremism as a national threat priority equal to the threat from the Islamic State. The FBI has also created the Domestic Terrorism-Hate Crimes Fusion Cell to buttress its efforts, he said, stressing that the focus is not about the ideology, its about the violence. Misgivings about a new law are also bipartisan. African American and Muslim organizations harbour deep concerns that a new law could actually be used against minority groups organizations protesting police violence, for example even though their communities are among the most frequently targeted. Current hate crimes laws are powerful enough to prosecute these acts, said Nadia Aziz, the policy counsel for the Stop Hate Project at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. We need to know how domestic terrorism investigations are being carried out right now instead of a new statute, said Aziz, echoing a common criticism. A sweeping new law also makes some conservatives uneasy. The lack of such a law has not hindered the prosecution of anyone who carried out terrorist attacks domestically, said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who specializes in technology, privacy and civil liberties. He pointed out that one domestic terrorism law proposed by a Republican congressman specified various prison sentences, including up to 25 years for destroying or damaging any structure, conveyance or other real property. That means a protester who engaged in vandalism to make a political point could face 25 years in jail. Beyond being unnecessary, it seems quite thorny and dangerous, Sanchez said. After President Donald Trumps inauguration, more than 200 demonstrators were arrested, some in connection with smashing storefronts and damaging vehicles. All charges were eventually dropped, but under such a law the defendants could be charged with terrorism, Sanchez noted. Critics of federal counterterrorism measures, and even some senior law enforcement officials, believe that the intense focus on the jihadi threat since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks slowed efforts to counter white supremacists. There is a blind spot within law enforcement about the threat white supremacy poses, said Michael German, a former undercover agent with the FBI who researches national security law at New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice. The FBI and other intel agencies were not putting their resources toward the most serious threats. Under the Trump administration, the FBI began dividing domestic extremism among four categories, down from 11: racially motivated violent extremism; anti-government/anti-authority violent extremism; animal rights/environmental extremism and abortion extremism. Members of Congress have expressed skepticism about lumping white supremacists with other groups given the recent history of violent attacks directed against Latinos in El Paso, Jews in Pittsburgh and African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, among others. There is no official source on the number of attacks carried out by white supremacists in the United States. Statistics kept by academic centres or non-governmental organizations rarely match because of different methods, including various definitions of right-wing extremism. In addition, the tendency to include them with other hate crimes leaves the extent of the problem unclear. The FBI is being evasive, said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee. It raises the question as to whether or not they are seriously looking at white supremacy. In the short term, a far more likely scenario than a new law is the State Department designating a foreign white supremacist group as a terrorist organization, allowing for law enforcement agencies to pursue any U.S. adherents for providing material support for terrorism. The debate over a domestic terrorism law underscores just how complex the terrorist threat has become in the nearly two decades since Sept. 11, said Seamus Hughes, the deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. You look at the landscape now it is scattered, he said, with white supremacists and anti-government organizations rivalling jihadis in their aspiration to foment mayhem. It is a diversification of the homegrown threat in a way that we have not seen before. The Indian armys top commander in Kashmir Wednesday said that security forces have eliminated most terrorists in the valley. Overall security situation in the valley is very good, most of the terrorists leadership has been targeted and eliminated. Today there is hardly any leadership of terrorists which is able to operate in the valley, Chinar Corps Commander, Lt General KJS Dhillon said, according to ANI. Last week, Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh had said that over 20 terrorist have been killed in the union territory since the new year. Referring to ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), General Dhillon said those were attempts by Pakistan to facilitate infiltration of terrorists. As there is peace and normalcy in the valley, Pakistan is trying to disrupt it and trying to infiltrate more terrorists into Indian territory. To support this infiltration, Pakistan Army is doing ceasefire violations on LoC, he said. Pakistan has violated ceasefire several times in the last two months in Uri, Gurez and Keran sectors along the LoC. Amid improving security in the valley, schools in reopened on Monday after remaining mostly closed following the abrogation of the Constitutions Article 370 that stripped Jammu Kashmir of its special status in August. Kashmir is also preparing to host the national winter games in Gulmarg next month that is expected to draw more than 800 participants. It will be the first big sporting event in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday lashed out at the central government over the violence in Delhi that left 24 people dead, saying the riots should have been dealt with an iron fist. IMAGE: Charred remains of a vandalised property set ablaze by rioters in Gokulpuri area. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo In a rare sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre, Rajinikanth also asked those in power to 'resign and go' if the violence could not be crushed with an iron fist. However, he did not name anyone. His contemporary and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan hailed Rajinikanth's remarks, saying this was the 'right path.' "Definitely it is Central government's intelligence failure. I strongly condemn the Central government," he told reporters in Chennai when asked about the violence in northeast Delhi that killed 24 people including a policeman and an Intelligence Bureau official. "They should have been so careful when the US President (Donald) Trump had visited (the country). The intelligence didn't do its job properly. It (violence) should have been completely crushed with an iron fist. We expect them to be careful at least from now on," he added. To a question, he said intelligence failure meant failure of the Union home ministry. "With iron fist this should be crushed, else (they) should resign and go..what is this..it is becoming too much," he said. The violence should have been nipped in the bud and it was the job of both the Centre and the state government, he said, apparently referring to the Aam Aadmi Party government. Asked if he wanted the protests to be crushed, Rajinikanth said he didn't refer to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act agitations but asserted that such protests should not give way to violence. The actor, who recalled his earlier statement that he will stand by Muslims if they were affected by the amended citizenship law, said he did not see CAA being withdrawn since it was adopted by both houses of Parliament, before being given the Presidential assent. Therefore, the protests may not yield any results, he said responding to the ongoing anti-CAA agitation in Chennai, besides the occasional ones across the state. "Immediately I am being branded as the Bharatiya Janata Party's mouthpiece, that the BJP is behind me, especially some senior journalists and political observers," he regretted. However, he reiterated he will 'definitely stand' by those who are affected by the CAA. The actor, who has announced he will face next year's assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, also wanted the media to play a constructive role during such times. He further lashed out at politicians and individuals instigating people by making provocative statements using religion, saying this also should be dealt with firmly, else 'it will be difficult in the future'. Kamal Haasan in a tweet in Tamil, said the path chosen by Rajinikanth is the right one and welcomed him. 'Sabash friend @rajinikanth. This path is the right path (it is) not a separate path...,' he said in an apparent reference to the actor's famous dialogue in a film that 'my path is separate path'. Inspectors observed four cockroaches in the kitchen and an employee preparing agua fresca in the mop sink at a Houston restaurant last week, according to health inspection records. At a second Houston restaurant, inspectors observed an employee pulling cooked tortillas from the grill with bare his/her hands, the records show. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday expressed its concern on the law and order situation prevailing in Delhi due to the violence in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "The Supreme Court Bar Association expresses concern about the law and order situation prevailing in Delhi and also about the well-being of citizens, their lives and their properties," it said. It also passed a resolution to take appropriate measures before the court to bring immediate normalcy in Delhi and hold the authorities concerned accountable for their failure. Widespread violence has spread across Gokulpuri, Jafrabad, Maujpur, Seelampur, and Chand Bagh among other areas in the northeast Delhi. The violence has left 22 people dead and nearly 200 have been injured. "SCBA has taken note of reports of large scale violence resulting in avoidable death of innocent citizens and serious destruction/damage of properties," said the lawyers' body. Saying as it is a body designed to protect and uphold the rule of law in every form, it "also takes note of the reports in the media about the failure of the law and order machinery in this regard" and "resolves and authorises the President and the Secretary to take appropriate action on this matter". Senior advocate Dushyant Dave is the President and advocate Ashok Arora the Secretary of the SCBA. By PTI KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote a poem condemning the violence in Delhi as she sought answers for the incidents of vandalism and arson. "Search for an address getting lost/ A storm raging the country at gunpoint/ a peaceful country turned violent / Is it the end of democracy?" she penned. She further wrote, "Who will give the answer?/ Will there be a solution/ You and me are deaf and dumb/ The sacred land turns into a hell." Twenty-seven people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. The Trinamool Congress leadership has refrained from making strong statements about the violence. Senior TMC leaders, who spoke to PTI on condition of anonymity, said they have been asked not to make "any out of turn statement on the issue without prior permission of the party". Banerjee on Tuesday expressed concerns over the incidents of arson and violence and appealed to people to maintain calm and peace. The opposition CPI(M) and Congress took a dig at Mamata Banerjee's party and said it was part of a "tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC". "When all the political parties are demanding Amit Shah's resignation, the TMC is maintaining a stoic silence," CPI(M) legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty said. The TMC leadership denied the charge as baseless. Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney pauses after declaring in the state Senate on Tuesday, 25 February 2020, that amid a boycott by Republican senators, not enough lawmakers were present to reach a quorum. The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlights how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. In an interview with The Associated Press, Courtney, the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history, said he has not found a way out of the impasse and is broken hearted. Photo: Andrew Selsky / AP Photo By Andrew Selsky 25 February 2020 SALEM, Oregon (AP) A rebellion by GOP politicians in liberal Oregon intensified Tuesday when Republican members of the House joined their Senate counterparts in a walkout, freezing legislation on climate change, wildfire mitigation, homeless assistance and a landmark compromise between the timber industry and environmentalists. [cf. last years embarrassing display: The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlighted how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. For their part, Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. A bill on climate change triggered a walkout by Republicans in 2019, causing Senate President Peter Courtney to ask Gov. Kate Brown to order state police to find them and return them to the Capitol. A modified version of the 2019 bill was reached after Democrats negotiated with some Republicans, but wasnt enough to avoid the current walkout. Here it goes again, Courtney said in an interview. But this time, he isnt asking for state police intervention and believes Republican lawmakers may have already fled the state, out of reach of the state troopers. Our state police, and there are very few, cover crime, they cover forensic labs, they cover traffic, they cover drugs, he said. I dont want them running around the state of Oregon, trying to find a bunch of elected officials who wont come to work. The reality is, in todays Republican party run by Donald Trump, nothing will ever be enough for them. Republicans need to come back to work and do the job Oregonians elected them do. Oregon House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner Protesters of the bill most of them from rural areas and working in trucking and logging industries recently held a demonstration at the Capitol with trucks blowing horns. Those in favor of the bill rallied on a different day, saying there is a climate emergency and that Oregon must do its share by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting a transition to green energy. Those on both sides have jammed into the Capitol for public hearings. Opponents say the plan to charge polluters for carbon credits would raise fuel costs for consumers. On Tuesday, the Capitol was much quieter. The absence of the GOP senators and representatives prevented a quorum in either chamber. The climate bill is stalled in the Senate and other legislation has piled up during the 35-day legislative session. A lone truck driver drove by on the street outside, leaning on his horn, as Courtney tried to think of a way out of the impasse. I dont have one right now, said the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history. Im brokenhearted because I think the legislative branch of government is greatest of all branches and I respect it so much that when things dont go right, Im thinking you dont have enough magic dust, you dont have enough rabbits in hats, youve got to figure this out. If they dont like a bill, then they need to show up and change it or show up and vote no. They should make their voices heard rather than shut down state government. Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon Oregon House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner said Democrats have worked in good faith with Republicans to find compromise on carbon legislation. The reality is, in todays Republican party run by Donald Trump, nothing will ever be enough for them, Smith Warner said. Republicans need to come back to work and do the job Oregonians elected them do. [] We frankly have a bill now thats probably a minimum viable product in terms of the environmental community because of the compromises, Nik Blosser, the governors chief of staff, said in an interview. Other concessions were made. To have engaged Republicans in that process and to have them basically just walk out again and shut down the government is just really disappointing, Blosser said. [more] Oregon climate battle: GOP walkout reveals sharp divisions Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon denounces a walkout by Republicans in the state Senate that prevented a quorum on Monday, 24 February 2020 in Salem, Oregon. Republican lawmakers are trying to doom a contentious climate change bill. Brown said the Republicans are not against the climate policy but are against the Democratic process. Photo: Andrew Selsky / AP Photo GOP lawmakers walk out after Oregon climate bill advances By Andrew Selsky 24 February 2020 SALEM, Oregon (AP) Republican senators slipped out of the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, preventing the state Senate from convening in an attempt to doom a bill aimed at stemming global warming. The walkout was a repeat of action the GOP took last year to kill similar climate change legislation, a maneuver that prompted threats of having state police forcibly return lawmakers to the Statehouse. The walkout threatens to derail the main legislation that Democrats had hoped to pass during a 35-day session: A bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions that threaten the planet. Democratic Gov. Kate Brown accused the Republican lawmakers of being against the Democratic process. The minority Republicans staged two walkouts last year, leading Senate President Peter Courtney to request Brown to order the state police to bring the missing lawmakers back. This time, though, Courtney said he wont involve the state police. A few large trucks supporting the Republicans drove around the Oregon State Capitol, blowing their horns. After Courtney announced on the Senate floor that not enough senators were present to convene Mondays session, several people in an upper gallery clapped. Courtney said he would order police to expel them if they persisted. A visibly angry Brown denounced the boycott as undemocratic. If they dont like a bill, then they need to show up and change it or show up and vote no. They should make their voices heard rather than shut down state government, she said at a news conference. Several Republican lawmakers were present earlier Monday as a legislative panel rejected a proposed GOP amendment to put the climate issue on the ballot in November. Instead, the Joint Ways and Means Committee approved the bill, sending it to the Senate floor fora vote. The latest so-called cap-and-trade bill calls for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 45% below 1990 emissions levels by 2035 and to at least 80% below by 2050. The bill would force big greenhouse gas emitters to obtain credits for each metric ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Opponents say fossil fuel companies will wind up offloading increased costs to customers. [more] GOP lawmakers walk out after Oregon climate bill advances (Natural News) The wife of a former Bloomberg News journalist says she was threatened by company lawyers who pushed her to sign a non-disclosure agreement after editors killed an investigative story her husband was working on about Chinese corruption. Leta Hong Fincher, writing in The Intercept, said the incident more than six years ago shows the lengths that the Bloomberg machine will go to in order to avoid offending Beijing an important point, given that company founder Michael Bloomberg is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and, if he beats President Trump, will have to confront an expansive, aggressive China. She writes that the news company, Bloomberg LP, is so dependent on the vast China market for business that lawyers threatened to financially devastate her family if she didnt agree to sign an NDA silencing me about how Bloomberg News killed a story critical of Chinese Communist Party leaders. In 2012, Fincher writes, she was a Ph.D. candidate in sociology attending Tsinghua University in Beijing, while husband Michael Forsythe was the primary author of a Bloomberg News piece regarding the vast accumulation of wealth by relatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Revolution to Riches series her husband worked on was an award-winning effort that, initially anyway, did not seem to rankle the editorial staff at the news organization. But that would soon change. Shortly after the first article was published in June 2012, Fincher claims that her husband began receiving death threats allegedly from a woman who said she represented a relative of the Chinese leader. She said that the wife of another reporter, Evan Osnos of The New Yorker, was similarly threatened by the same woman over his award-winning book, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China. Her family spent their childrens summer vacation from school outside of China, but the entire time Bloomberg officials were always on the phone with Forsythe discussing ways to maintain the familys security. As president, Bloomberg would let China get away with anything In October, Fincher tweeted about the death threats as a way of publicizing them so she and her family would be safe. But within hours, a Bloomberg manager called her husband and implored him to get her to delete the tweets, which she did not do though she never tweeted about the death threats or spoke about them publicly again. (Related: Michael Bloomberg vows to shut down all U.S. coal plants, plunging Americas power grid into darkness, unleashing third world riots across America.) Nevertheless, Fincher said she constantly worried about the safety of the couples children, then ages 6 and 8. But by August 2013, Bloomberg moved them out of Beijing to an apartment in Hong Kong, and she thought she could finally breath easier. Not so. She noted: My husband had been working for many months on another investigative report for Bloomberg about financial ties between one of Chinas richest men, Wang Jianlin, and the families of senior Communist Party officials, including relatives of Xi. Bloomberg editors had thus far backed the story. A Bloomberg managing editor, Jonathan Kaufman, said in an email in late September 2013, I am in awe of the way you tracked down and deciphered the financial holdings and the players. Its a real revelation. Looking forward to pushing it up the line. But then, suddenly, Bloomberg editors killed the story and her husband was fired after after comments by Bloomberg News editor-in-chief Matt Winkler were leaked: If we run the story, well be kicked out of China. After that, it didnt take long for Bloomberg lawyers to begin threatening Fincher and her husband with financial ruin over a story they commissioned him to write. In the end, she refused to sign an NDA and had to hire the same legal team that represented NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden before Bloombergs legal team finally backed off. But the bottom line is this: If Michael Bloombergs company is so indebted to Chinese money, how is he going to treat Beijing as president? We think we know the answer. Sources include: TheIntercept.com NaturalNews.com According to a February 13 report from the World Health Organization, the Wuhan coronavirus has stricken more than 46,000 people and has caused over 1,300 deaths since the first cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry have designed compounds that block the replication of similar coronaviruses, as well as other disease-causing viruses, in the lab. The compounds have not yet been tested in people. The Wuhan coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV, is a close relative to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus that caused an outbreak in 2003 (SARS-CoV-1), as well as the Middle-East respiratory disease virus (MERS-CoV) that emerged in 2012. All of these viruses cause flu-like symptoms and, frequently, pneumonia. However, no effective treatments have been developed, in part because the relatively small number of cases have not warranted large expenditures by pharmaceutical companies. Hong Liu, Rolf Hilgenfeld and colleagues envisioned a possible solution in the form of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that target all coronaviruses, as well as enteroviruses -- some of which cause conditions like the common cold; hand, foot and mouth disease; and the "summer flu." All of these viruses share a similar protein-cutting enzyme, called the "main protease" in coronaviruses and the "3C protease" in enteroviruses, that is essential for viral replication. The researchers examined X-ray crystal structures of the proteases and then made a series of -ketoamide compounds that were predicted to fit snugly in the enzymes' active sites, interfering with their function. By testing the molecules in the test tube and in human cells in petri dishes, they identified one versatile inhibitor that blocked multiple coronaviruses and enteroviruses, including SARS-CoV-1. Another molecule showed very strong activity against MERS-CoV, with moderate activity against the other viruses. Because the main proteases of SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-1 are very similar, the inhibitors will most likely show good antiviral activity against the Wuhan coronavirus, the researchers say. Their next step will be to test the inhibitors in small-animal models of disease. ### The authors acknowledge funding from the European Commission SILVER project, the German Center for Infection Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The abstract that accompanies this study is available here. For more research news, journalists and public information officers are encouraged to apply for complimentary press registration for the ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder and STN), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook Residents of Jakarta are calling on the government to better prepare the city for flooding after being forced from their homes yet again. Residents of Indonesias capital are calling on the government to better prepare the city for flooding after being forced from their homes yet again. It has been a record-breaking monsoon season across the country with more heavy rain still to come. Al Jazeeras Jessica Washington reports from Jakarta. New York, Feb 26 : Amid the ongoing board exams, spending as little as 10 minutes in a natural setting like the neighbourhood park can help students feel happier and lessen the effects of both physical and mental stress, say researchers. The team from Cornell University in the US found that 10-50 minutes in natural spaces was the most effective to improve mood, focus and physiological markers like blood pressure and heart rate. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, aims to provide an easily-achievable dosage that physicians can prescribe as a preventive measure against high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues college students face. "It doesn't take much time for the positive benefits to kick in -- we're talking 10 minutes outside in a space with nature," said study lead author Gen Meredith from the Cornell University. "We firmly believe that every student, no matter what subject or how high their workload, has that much discretionary time each day, or at least a few times per week," Meredith added. For the findings, the research team reviewed studies that examined the effects of nature on people of college age (no younger than 15, no older than 30) to discover how much time students should be spending outside and what they should be doing while they're there. They found that 10-50 minutes in natural spaces was the most effective to improve mood, focus and physiological markers like blood pressure and heart rate. "It's not that there's a decline after 50 minutes, but rather that the physiological and self-reported psychological benefits tend to plateau after that," said study co-author Donald Rakow. To enjoy the positive effects of being outside, students need only to be sitting or walking, the two primary activities the researchers examined in an effort to provide accessible recommendations. "This is an opportunity to challenge our thinking around what nature can be. It is really all around us: trees, a planter with flowers, a grassy quad or a wooded area," Meredith said. The impetus for this work is a movement toward prescribing time in nature as a way to prevent or improve stress and anxiety, while also supporting physical and mental health outcomes. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text MEDFORD, Ore. Wednesday saw the final public hearing on a $100 million proposal to partially fund the building of a new Jackson County Jail, with County Commissioners poised to vote on whether to send the jail district to May ballots. Commissioners Rick Dyer and Bob Strosser voted in favor of sending the proposal to the ballot, while Colleen Roberts voted against. The order passed, meaning that it will now be decided by the will of the voters on the May primary ballot. Under the current proposal, Jackson County homeowners would be deciding on a 20-year, $100 million bond costing an estimated $0.87 per $1000 of assessed property value. Based on the current averaged assessed value for homes in Jackson County, officials estimate that the average homeowner would pay an additional $169.32 per year. The County itself would have to contribute $66 million from reserve funds to help fund the project, and has already purchased property where the new jail would be located using about $6.6 million in reserve funds. In addition to those opposed to new property taxes, the jail district proposal has lately received pushback from mental health advocates who say that it fails to address the mounting mental health needs in the area, substituting lengthier jail stays for real treatment. As long as community members continue to contact NAMI, desperate for their loved-ones to find access to mental health treatment, we cannot condone using such a large amount of taxpayer funds for just one portion of the problem, said Meesha Blair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Southern Oregon (NAMI SO) in a statement last month. NAMI SO has since said that it wants the County to support a 24/7 psychiatric crisis center whether the jail district goes to voters or not. CLICK HERE for more background information on the new jail proposal from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Nathan Sickler, the main proponent of the jail, has said that the new proposal would provide greater access to substance abuse and mental health services for inmates. "This funding will allow the construction and operation of a modern 800-bed jail, while significantly increasing our resources for addiction and mental health services," Sickler said in a statement during May of last year. Officials at Jackson County Mental Health have voiced agreement in the past with the idea that a larger jail would improve mental health access. Regardless, the biggest issue for supporters of the jail has been the simple matter of scale. The current building was erected in 1981 and designed to hold less than 200 inmates, when the population of Jackson County was just over 134,000. It became overcrowded in the space of just a few years, with inmates suing Jackson County in 1985 for that purpose. The County's population has grown by almost 83,000 since the jail was built. At current levels of incarceration, inmates of the jail are routinely released by necessity to make room for incoming inmates, often before they can be brought to trial. Thousands of inmates were "force released" over the last few years, a mind-boggling number compared to even urban Oregon counties like Multnomah. Weve committed to doing our best and I think weve done that with this facility," said Sheriff Sickler at the first public hearing on the proposal. "But this is an opportunity for the voters to speak and for members of the public to speak and to offer their opinions whether its today in a hearing or at a future hearing or by the ballot box." A Utah woman has accepted a plea deal after being charged for being topless in front of her stepchildren in her own home. Tilli Buchanan opted for the plea to avoid having the criminal case go to trial and having to register as a sex offender if convicted, her attorney told local media. 'She would have loved to take it up on appeal,' the attorney, Randy Richards, told the Salt Lake Tribune, describing the case as 'ludicrous.' 'But it was pretty much at my advice that she not - not because I don't think she would win, but there's a possibility that if we go all the way to trial, she'd be convicted by a jury and then she had to be on the sex offender registry.' Buchanan had been charged with three misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child after her three stepkids aged nine to 13 saw her topless while she and her husband had been installing insulation in their garage. The husband was also topless but he was not charged. Tilli Buchanan, pictured left in court and right with her husband and stepchildren, took a plea deal Tuesday to avoid the risk of having to register as a sex offender if convicted Tilli Buchanan's decision brought an end to the case that drew attention to a debate over whether it's fair to treat men and women differently for baring their chests. Her husband was not charged even though he also had his shirt off at the time The couple had said they had stripped down to their underwear to avoid getting dirty. Buchanan was charged in early 2019 after the children's mother reported the incident to authorities. But Buchanan argued in court documents that if her husband could bare his chest, there was no reason she couldn't. Prosecutors disagreed and said that lewdness includes a woman's breasts in contemporary American society. In her plea on Tuesday, Buchanan admitted to exposing her breasts in front of an adult which 'caused affront or alarm.' The charge will be dropped after a year as long as she does not commit another crime. 'This whole thing is ridiculous,' her attorney said. 'She (or other women) have to worry about their kids seeing them topless? It's ridiculous.' The charges were filed after the childrens mother reported the incident to child welfare officials working on a separate investigation involving the children Tilli Buchanan, her husband Jared and their three stepchildren in costume Buchanan pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of lewdness as part of the agreement that dropped two other charges of lewdness involving a child. The remaining charge will be dropped after a year as long as Buchanan doesn't commit any new crimes He said his client had essentially pleaded guilty to being topless in front of her husband. The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which was involved in the case, had said the charges against Buchanan amounted to prosecutorial overreach and should have never gone this far. 'When I talk to people about the case I don't think any of them realized they could be charged for a crime for walking around with their shirt off inside their own home,' ACLU attorney Leah Farrell previously told The New York Times. West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) will release the admit card for Miscellaneous Services Exam 2019 today. Candidates who have registered for the exam will be able to download their admit card from the official website of WBPSC at wbpsc.gov.in. The WBPSC prelims exam will be conducted on March 8, 2020.The exam will be conducted from 12 noon to 1:30 pm. The online application process for WBPSC was started on June 10 and ended on July 1, 2019. The exam was earlier supposed to be held in the month of September which was delayed. WBPSC Misc Service admit card: How to download Visit the WBPSC official website at wbpsc.gov.in Click on Download Admit Card given on the right panel. Click on the relevant link for admit card download Login using your login credentials Download and take its print out. Direct link for WBPSC Misc.Services Admit Card 2019 SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The deadly violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump Washington: The deadly violence over the amended citizenship act in the Indian capital drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump. Reacting to the violence in New Delhi that has claimed at least 27 lives, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said its Chairman Eliot Engel was "deeply troubled by the deaths from the communal violence in India". It said the right to protest is a key aspect in democracy, but they must remain peaceful and police must ensure the safety of all. "I condemn attacks against Muslims in India, and reject violence, bigotry, and religious intolerance. The US State Department should too," Republican lawmaker Don Beyer tweeted. US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying". "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she tweeted, adding that the "world is watching". The Indian Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. Congressman Alan Lowenthal too termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership". "We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said. Democrat presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren said, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable." Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India." The violence in Delhi prominently featured in the mainstream media. "The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Washington Post reported. "As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighborhood," The New York Times said. In a tweet, US Commission for International Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi". It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities. The government of Nova Scotia tabled its 2020-21 budget today, and it includes several items of direct interest to Dalhousie. First, the operating grant to universities will increase by 1%, as per the MOU between the Province and all 10 universities. There is also new funding for health research, inclusive education, and renewal of some of the universitys aging facilities. We welcome the Government of Nova Scotias continued support of our provinces post-secondary institutions, says Dalhousie President Dr. Deep Saini. These funding commitments reflect the vital role Dalhousie plays in advancing the social, economic and cultural development of our province. Were proud to be working in partnership with government to ensure a stronger future for Nova Scotia. The budget includes $4.7 million in funding to address health priorities, including increasing the number of residency placements for specialists and family medicine, 12 new seats in the medical school, with a focus on the needs of rural, Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities, and eight new seats in Dalhousies Nursing program in Yarmouth. In legal education, the province is infusing Dalhousies Indigenous Black & Mikmaq Initiative (IB&M) with new funding. Located in the Schulich School of Law and having just marked its 30th anniversary this year, IB&M will see its provincial funding increase by $350,000 annually. In research, the province is committing $1 million to Ovarian Cancer Canada to collaborate with Dalhousie researchers. Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer for women, and the most serious; its estimated that 2,800 Canadians each year will be diagnosed with the disease. The funding makes Nova Scotia the first province to support a national campaign to find a cure. The budget also makes an important one-time contribution towards the deferred maintenance needs facing universities. Approximately half of the $20.2 million announced will go to Dalhousie to help address the more than $500 million in overdue maintenance requirements for facilities and buildings. For more on the budget, visit the Government of Nova Scotias website. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:30:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- German car manufacturer Opel announced on Wednesday that its employees in Europe would each receive a one-time payment of 600 euros, "the first bonus in Germany since 1997." French automobile manufacturer PSA, which bought Opel in 2017, published the results for the 2019 financial year on Wednesday. In 2019, Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall together achieved an operating profit of 1.1 billion euros. "This is the first time in our 158-year history that we have exceeded the billion mark," said Michael Lohscheller, chief executive officer (CEO) of Opel and member of PSA's Managing Board. After the takeover, several jobs, for example in purchasing, development or in the German sales company as well as in the plants, were shared across the PSA brand, an Opel spokesperson told Xinhua. Across all PSA group brands, more than 17,000 employees currently work in Germany, the spokesperson said. Together with the parent company PSA sand Saft, a wholly-owned subsidiary of French oil company Total, Opel has recently announced the establishment of a joint venture to produce battery cells for electric cars in the German city of Kaiserslautern. Lohscheller added that his company's profits would allow it "to invest in our future." Saft, PSA and Opel would invest two billion euros in the planned battery cell production plant, where 2,000 jobs would be created. Supported by the German government and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the "largest battery cell production plant for electric vehicles in Germany" is scheduled to start operations at the Opel site in Kaiserslautern in 2024, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs abd Energy announced at the beginning of February. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) : Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday called for celebration of India's cultural diversity through enhanced exchanges between people in the country. Participating in a function here, he said mutual understanding and trust have always been the foundation of India's strength. "For this to happen, we must open our doors and our hearts to people of all faiths, cultures and regions", Naidu said after presenting the Hamsadhwani Thyagaraja Award to violin maestro M Chandrasekharan. Citizens should feel culturally integrated in all corners of India, he added. "We need this sense of understanding especially now, when a large number of rifts threaten to divide us and fragment the bonds of socio-cultural cohesion," he said. "Our cultural diversity is a delight and must always be celebrated through enhanced exchanges and reciprocity between people of different States and Union territories," he added. Noting that India is famous for its 'splendid' culture in which different religions, races, communities, sail in one ship, he said, "our culture and values are our identity and it is what makes unique." Naidu said India's cultural diversity must always remain the vehicle of unity, peace, prosperity and joy. The Vice-President said even though people in the country speak different languages, eat different food and wear different clothes, one must acknowledge that fundamentally it is 'one nation, one people'. Schools must sensitise children to different cultures through frequent exchanges of cultural programmes, he said. Naidu also called for use of technology in facilitation of cultural exchanges and in preserving unique aspects of India's culture. He invoked Tamil poet Pungundranar famous line "Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir" which means "we belong to all places and to everyone", and said this sense of belonging would permeate India's consciousness and move forward in its quest for prosperity, peace, harmony and welfare of the world. It may be recalled the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to these lines while addressing the 74th session of United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Officials in China's Wuhan Deny Reports of Elderly Care Home Fever Deaths 2020-02-25 -- The coronavirus has claimed the lives of elderly care home residents in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, with outbreaks likely in other similar facilities, local media reported, amid strenuous denials from local government officials. Cutting-edge news website Caixin said in a recent report that 11 elderly people had died at the Wuhan Social Welfare Institute from "fevers and respiratory failure." A statement on the official website of the Wuhan municipal cyberspace administration denied the report. Caixin then doubled down and published the names and dates of all of the deaths after a local official threatened to pursue the organization for rumor-mongering, a crime carrying a maximum jail sentence of seven years in China. A source close to a care home run by the government's Ximajie Community Health Center who gave only her surname Chen said more than 120 residents were taken away in ambulances on Monday. "They were saying that 120 were infected [with coronavirus] and taken to hospital," Chen said. Repeated calls to the Ximajie Health Center in Wuhan's Jiang'an district rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday. Ren Aiping, the manager of another care home nearby, said there had been several outbreaks in local facilities for the elderly, but was unsure of the exact number. Nucleic acid tests Xia Houmin, an employee at the Dannan Community Care Home, said all staff and residents in that facility were undergoing nucleic acid testing for coronavirus. "We are doing nucleic acid tests right now on all of the elderly in our nursing home, as well as the employees," Xia said, before hanging up. Employees who answered the phone at several more care homes in Wuhan cut off the phone immediately when contacted by RFA. According to Caixin, the deaths of the 11 elderly patients were recorded as being caused by sepsis, heart attack and stroke, but many had also had a fever, suggesting that the coronavirus may have triggered the other problems. An earlier Caixin report had said there were suspected coronavirus cases in care homes run by the Wuhan municipal government's civil affairs bureau. Wuhan volunteer Gao Mingyu said Caixin's reports were entirely credible. "It just goes to show that some people dare to tell the truth, and some people are controlled by the system and dare not tell the truth," Gao said. "In this case, a conscientious reporter wanted to tell the truth, and Caixin was courageous enough to [publish] it." Repeated calls to the Wuhan civil affairs bureau rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday. The reports come as 2,563 deaths were reported in Hubei, compared with 2,705 deaths worldwide from coronavirus, or COVID-19. Nearly 19,000 people have recovered in the province since the start of the epidemic, according to a tracking website run by Johns Hopkins University. High pay for crematorium work Wang Yan, whose hometown is in Hubei's Xiangfan city, told RFA that crematoriums in Wuhan, the provincial capital, are continuing to advertise for new staff at a high salary. "Someone living in Nanzhang county told me yesterday that someone had given him a phone number to call and told him to get in contact with the guy and go and work in Wuhan moving dead bodies," Wang said. "They pay 4,000 yuan (US$ 670) for the night shift, which is a job that usually pays 5,000 yuan a month if you work in the daytime," he said. "He said they are recruiting large numbers of people right now." Repeated calls to the recruitment number were cut off by the recipient on Tuesday, likely because they showed up as being from overseas. However, an advertisement seen by RFA showed that recruiters were looking for 50 people who would be billeted in a guesthouse while they worked. Transportation to Wuhan would be provided, as well as an evening meal, it said. New recruits would receive 4,000 yuan to fetch and take away two dead bodies per night, which would rise to 5,000 yuan if they kept at the job, the notice said. Social media users have previously told RFA that there are 84 incinerators located at seven funeral homes across Wuhan, with a capacity to perform 2,016 cremations in any 24-hour period. All of those funeral homes have been working around the clock in recent weeks, with dead bodies lying in rows waiting for cremation, social media reports said. Wuhan voluntary worker Zhong Qiang, who recently carried out an unofficial survey of funeral homes and crematoria in Wuhan, said what he saw backed up the claims of 24-7 cremation in the city. He said a small crematorium typically has around 11 furnaces that can cremate 120 bodies a day, while the larger facilities have double that number. Reported by Wong Siu-san and Sing Man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals doled out lavish perks for top U.S. employees who hit or beat sales goals for prescription opioids and other drugs: six-figure bonuses and a chance to snag a coveted Presidents Club award, which could mean vacations to Hawaii, the Caribbean or Mexico. The company placed that same staff in charge of reporting any sales of its painkillers that appeared to be suspicious, including to distributors or pharmacies requesting extreme volumes of its most potent formulas. Asked during a federal court deposition last year whether she believed it was appropriate to put incentive-motivated sales staff in charge of calling out questionable sales, Karen Harper, who oversaw Mallinckrodts suspicious order monitoring system, said yes. In fact, as the nations opioid overdose crisis began to explode, not a single order with the company between August 2008 and October 2010 rose from the level of peculiar to suspicious, the category that would have triggered a report to authorities, according to Harpers deposition. The court documents reveal a company culture that allowed Mallinckrodt to become one of the giants of the prescription opioid market at a time when overdoses were claiming tens of thousands of American lives. The company, based in England, announced a tentative $1.6 billion settlement Tuesday with state and local governments in the U.S. If finalized, the deal would end lawsuits nationwide over the companys role in the epidemic. Purdue Pharma has been the poster child for the U.S. opioid crisis, mostly because of aggressive marketing of its signature painkiller, OxyContin. Lesser known is the role of generic opioid manufacturers like Mallinckrodt that produced the vast majority of painkillers during the height of the overdose epidemic. While they may not have been sending sales representatives to encourage prescribing like Purdue, they were filling more and more orders for the drugs so many that Mallinckrodt couldnt always produce enough to fill them all. Nationwide distribution data released in a sprawling federal court case and analyzed by The Associated Press shows that Mallinckrodts U.S. subsidiary, SpecGX, and another generic drugmaker, Actavis Pharma, produced the vast amount of prescription opioids distributed throughout the country. From 2006 to 2014, Mallinckrodts subsidiary shipped more than 2.2 billion high-potency oxycodone pills, nearly one-third of its total in that time period, according to the data analysis. Actavis was even more prolific, shipping more than 2.4 billion pills. The court records made public last year by the U.S. District Court in Cleveland showed some Mallinckrodt employees were more focused on sales than public safety. At least one joked about the rising use of the drugs with a customer. In January 2009, Victor Borelli, a Mallinckrodt salesman, exchanged emails with Steve Cochrane, who worked at drug distributor KeySource. Keep them coming, Cochrane wrote. Flying out of here. Its like people are addicted to these things or something. Oh, wait, people are. Borelli responded: Just like Doritos. Keep eating, well make more. After the comment become public, the company disavowed it, calling it callous. Borelli said that as a reward for sales, he got bonuses ranging from $101,000 to $119,000 from 2008 through 2010, and that he twice received the companys President Club award. That scored him vacations to St. Thomas and other tropical getaways. Borelli and other Mallinckrodt employees answered lawyers questions under oath ahead of what was expected to be the first federal trial over the toll of opioids. The company ended up settling with the plaintiffs the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit. Other major defendants also reached deals. Another opioid trial is scheduled to begin next month in Central Islip, New York, which has created a renewed push among drugmakers and distributors to settle thousands of opioid-related lawsuits. Mallinckrodt agreed with lawyers suing on behalf of local governments nationwide to pay its settlement amount over eight years. Most of the money is to go into a fund intended for drug treatment and other programs to aid recovery from an epidemic that has been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. The deal is still subject to some negotiations and must be approved by a bankruptcy court. Its the first proposed opioid settlement that has overwhelming support from the key lawyers for the governments suing to try to hold the drug industry accountable for the crisis. Teva, which now owns Actavis, is negotiating a separate settlement. In a deposition last year, Douglas Boothe, who was CEO of Actavis in the U.S. and the Americas from 2008 through 2012, was asked about the companys responsibilities for flagging large and suspicious orders of prescription painkillers. I dont think we had responsibility for, accountability for preventing diversion, he said. We had responsibility and accountability for making certain that the orders that we received were valid from licensed pharmacies and were within our suspicious order monitoring thresholds. Once it goes outside of our chain of custody, we have no capability or responsibility or accountability. One of the main destinations for both companies opioids was Florida, where so-called pill mills drew people from Appalachia and beyond. One deposition from a Mallinckrodt sales representative says that 47 percent of the companys high-potency opioids made in 2010 ended up in Florida. Steve Becker, a former Mallinckrodt salesman who worked for the company from 2000 to 2014, said he wasnt aware of a system for monitoring suspicious orders. When asked if employees had incentives to report such orders, he said no. But there were incentives to sell more, Becker said in a 2018 deposition. Employees said they frequently had back orders for pain pills. Were doing our due diligence in selling our product to the various accounts, and were doing what were supposed to be doing, according to the DEA, Becker said. When (distributors) then sell their product, its their due diligence to know where that product is going. ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Fenn, a data journalist, reported from New York. ___ Associated Press writers Mark Gillispie in Cleveland and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this article. ___ Follow Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Wed, February 26, 2020 07:03 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20669daaf 2 World Donald-Trump,Mike-Pompeo,ASEAN,summit Free US President Donald Trump has invited Southeast Asian leaders to meet next month in Las Vegas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday, after a summit last year was scrapped. Pompeo confirmed the date when asked at a news conference whether fears over the coronavirus outbreak would delay the summit with members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "The ASEAN summit is still, we're working our way through it for ... the second weekend in March in Las Vegas," Pompeo said. Diplomats said that the summit would involve Trump and is scheduled to take place on March 12 in the desert gambling haven. The United States began sounding out Southeast Asian leaders about visiting after Chile canceled a Pacific Rim summit scheduled for November in the wake of major demonstrations. Trump had likewise skipped an ASEAN summit and parallel East Asia Summit last year in Bangkok. He instead sent his national security advisor, Robert O'Brien, in the lowest-level participation ever by the United States in the East Asia Summit. Most ASEAN leaders snubbed a meeting with O'Brien, sending junior officials who were of more parallel rank. The low-level presence in Bangkok came after years of US efforts to show that the United States is committed to Asia in the face of a rising China. In Bangkok, O'Brien renewed the US call for freedom of navigation and accused China of using "intimidation" to stop ASEAN nations from exploiting resources in the South China Sea. A man has been charged in connection with a number of burglary offences in Cork and Waterford. He is being detained at Mayfield Garda Station and is due to appear before a special sitting of Cork City District Court this evening. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday said the violence in Delhi is a "chilling reminder" of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the only way to restore peace and normalcy in the capital is by calling in the Army. In a joint press conference with CPI general secretary D Raja, Yechury claimed that it is clear that the violence in Delhi has the sanction of police and that of the "powers that govern them". "Violence in Delhi is a chilling reminder of the communal genocide in Gujarat in 2002 when the current prime minister was the state chief minister," said Yechury. Both Raja and Yechury questioned the role of Home Minister Amit Shah in dealing with the violence and blamed him for not being able to contain the situation. "If NSA is supposed to be in charge of Delhi Police, then what is the role of Home Minister? Has the government conceded that Home Minister Amit Shah is incapable of handling Delhi violence," they asked. They said there is nothing spontaneous about the violence that claimed at least 20 lives and left hundreds injured and accused BJP leader Kapil Mishra of instigating it. "Home Minister Amit Shah has sought to evade the nature of the planned violence by calling it spontaneous. The only way confidence can be restored among the people and strict action taken against miscreants is to call in the army to aid the civilian authority," said Yechury. The Left leaders also said that they will visit the violence-hit areas along with other political parties soon. "It is important that people see that there are political parties and civil society groups with them. We will go there soon," said Raja as he accused the police of remaining "silent spectators" while the "RSS-BJP goons" went on killing, arson and threat spree. "We hold none other than the Union Home Minister Amit Shah solely responsible for unprecedented violence in the national capital and the complacency on the part of Delhi Police. The situation demands that the Supreme Court must act suo motu, order a thorough probe and consider deployment of Army. "Adequate compensation should be provided to the kin of the dead and those injured by the Centre and the state government," Raja said. Bihars economy registers higher growth than Indian economy in last three years by Amarnath Tewary February 26,2020 | Source: The Hindu The Bihar government presented its 14th Economic Survey 2019-20 in the Assembly on Monday. With an average of over 10% growth, Bihar has registered higher growth than the growth rate of India in the last three years, Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Sushil Kumar Modi later told journalists. The per capita GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) of Bihar was Rs.47,541 at current prices and Rs.33,629 at constant prices. The main growth drivers of the economy in Bihar, which registered a double-digit growth and contributed towards real growth of the overall economy of Bihar during 2018-19, are air transport (36%), other services (20%), trade and repair services (17.6%), road transport (14.0%), and financial services (13.8%), he added. The Survey said that the fiscal deficit of the State was 2.68% of GSDP, revenue surplus 1.34% of GSDP, and the outstanding public debt liability of the State government was 32.34% of GSDP during the year 2018-19. The total revenue receipt of Bihar in 2018-19 was Rs.1,31,793 crore and capital receipt was Rs.20,494 crore. The revenue expenditure and the total expenditure in the state were Rs.1,24,897 crore and Rs.1,54,655 crore respectivelythe revenue receipt increased by 12.2% whereas the revenue expenditure increased by 21.7% in 2018-19 over the previous year, added the report. While listing highlights of the Economic Survey report, Mr. Modi further said that egg production has increased in the state from 111.17 crore in 2016-17 to 176.34 crore in 2018-19 and the total fish production gone up from 4.79 lakh tones in 2013-14 to 6.02 lakh tones in 2018-19. Similarly, the annual growth rate of operational agro-based factories in Bihar was 16.4 % over the last 10 years, compared to only 3.3 % at the all India level, he said. The major employment generating industries, said the report, for working males in the state during 2017-18 were agriculture, forestry and fishing (44.6%), construction (17.1%), wholesale and retail trade, repair of vehicles (12.3%) and manufacturing (9.3 %) and for female workers agriculture, forestry, fishing and education have been the major employment generating industries. The per capita consumption of the electricity in the state has risen from 145 kwh in 2012-13 to 311 kwh in 2018-19, implying growth of 114 % in six years and the availability of power has increased from an average of 6-8 hours to 20-22 hours in rural areas and from 10-12 hours to 22-24 hours in urban areas, Mr Modi said, while adding, the power capacity availability in the state was 3889 MW in 2018 which increased to 4767 MW in 2019 and in order to meet the increased demand of power, the state government has also planned for additional capacity of 5335 MW from different sources in a phased manner by 2021-22. The Economic Survey has also put focus on state governments flagship programme of Jal-Jivan-Hariyali to tackle issues related to climate change and environmental degradation. Besides, the state government has improved its budgetary allocation and operational efficiency too through CFMS (Comprehensive Financial Management System) since 2019 , added Mr Modi. Agartala, Feb 26 : In a major breakthrough, BSF, forest and police officials in a joint raid have seized around 9,000 kgs of sandalwood worth nearly Rs 25 crore in Tripura, officials said here on Wednesday. "Acting on a tip-off, BSF, forest and police officials have seized around 9,000 kgs of sandalwood from a godown at Arundhutinagar (on the outskirts of capital Agartala) on Tuesday night," Border Security Force Inspector General Ashok Kumar Yadav said. According to the BSF official the market value of the seized sandalwood would be around Rs 25 crore. None was arrested so far in connection with the seizure of the sandalwood. This is the first major seizure of sandalwood in the northeastern state. The godown, from where the sandalwood was recovered was earlier owned by a private tobacco company, which had shutdown their business few years back. West Tripura District Forest Officer (DFO) Shakti Kant Singh said that if the quality of the sandalwood is finer, then the value of these forest produce would be Rs 25 to 30 crore. "To ascertain the quality, value and other aspects of the seized sandalwood, we are sending the sample to Institute of Wood Science and Technology in Bengaluru and Forest Research Institute in Dehradun," Singh told IANS. "We are also investigating how this huge amount of sandalwood was stored in the godown. We are also looking for the people who are involved in the illegal trade of sandalwood," he DFO said. DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) Bangladeshs leading cellphone operator paid $117 million to the countrys 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 worlds 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 $117 million as per the directive of the countrys Supreme Court. The commission accused Grameenphone of evading spectrum fees and value-added taxes, but the operator has insisted that the governments audit is flawed. The first payment Sunday was against the regulatory commissions audit claim of about $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. Sundays action by the operator came after the Supreme Court recently asked Grameenphone to pay at least $237 million by Feb. 23 amid obstacles put by the commission that were hampering the operators 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 Sundays move that the next proceedings in the case would be Monday in the Supreme Court. We have paid $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." The operator remained cautious and said it reiterates that it disputes the validity of the BTRC audit claim, and this deposit should not be seen an admission of liability. It is our ambition to resolve the audit dispute, either through an amicable and transparent solution or before the courts. Grameenphone is a joint venture between Telenor, the largest telecommunications service provider in Norway with mobile phone operations in 12 other countries, and Grameen Telecom, a nonprofit organization in Bangladesh. The remaining shares belong to general retail and institutional investors. The company has 76.6 million subscribers, holding about 46.18% market share in the South Asian country's burgeoning telecommunications sector. The study underscores what Boston College admission and financial aid administrators have been saying for years: Students from low-income families should not shy away from attending private, selective four-year institutions like BC because of the cost. As a need-blind university that meets the full-demonstrated need of all undergraduates, administrators say, BC is committed to providing access to students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, and ensuring they have the resources and support services that enable them to finish their degrees. Prestigious colleges and universities like Boston College are often perceived as out of reach, but most have the resources to make education a reality for qualified students of all backgrounds, says Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John Mahoney. Higher education institutions have often been regarded as engines of social mobility, providing students of limited means with the tools that enable them to achieve success. This is the philosophy that guides our enrollment and financial aid practices: We want to ensure that a BC education is accessible to the very best students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds. The strongest message that we send is, If you can do the work, youll be able to attend, says Director of Student Financial Strategies and Enrollment Bernard Pekala. We say, Take a chance and apply. Well do our part. Do our part, Mahoney and Pekala explain, means not only attracting students from low-income families to BC, but keeping them herean aspect of generosity not easily quantified in statistical studies. Resources like the Montserrat Office and the Learning to Learn program play a valuable role in helping students with the highest levels of financial need to get the most out of their life at BC, inside and outside of the classroom. Pekala endorses the importance of Admitted Eagle and Eagle for a Day programs, particularly the Keith A. Francis AHANA Weekend, which allows students to meet with financial aid professionals who will continue to work with them once they have enrolled. Our financial aid staff look to build relationships with students as soon as theyre accepted. We know theyll have questions not just about financial aid for the academic year, but things like Junior Year Abroad or summer courses. We want them to feel they can fully participate in the BC experience. Mahoney says that fostering an economically diverse student body is not an act of noblesse oblige: Diversity in any form enriches the Boston College community. We believe it is vital to have people of many different perspectives and backgrounds as part of the University, creating an atmosphere in which we can learn from one another and broaden our perception of the world. BC has been successful in retaining as well as enrolling low-income students, note Mahoney and Pekala, citing the Universitys 91 percent graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients, who are typically the most financially needy students. The overall graduation rate for BC is 92 percent. We continue to explore ways to improve our outreach to and support of students from the lowest income groups, says Mahoney. But the Chronicle of Higher Education study helps reinforce the message that families should not ignore BC because of sticker shock. The study is on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. Sean Smith | University Communications | February 2020 Justice Okon Abang, the Federal High Court Judge who handed over a 7 year jail sentence to Olisa Metuh in the N400m fraud case against him, was his course mate at the Nigerian Law School. Though the former PDP National Secretary accused his former course mate at the Nigerian Law School of being antagonistic to him and also lost a bid to get the case reassigned to another judge, Justice Okon Abang insisted that he did what was best for Metuh and also needed to act with fear or favour. Before ruling on the case, the Federal High Court Judge recounted how Metuhs lawyers humiliated the court and even took the matter to international press. Abang also disclosed that God did not answer his prayer for the case to be reassigned to another judge. He said on Tuesday February 25; I cannot in this forum state all the negative things I passed through in this matter. God has been so faithful to me in this matter. May His name be praised. The convict and his counsel, especially Emeka Etiaba (SAN) and Ikpeazu (SAN), used every opportunity open to them to humiliate the court, writing hopeless, reckless and frivolous petitions against the court. They even took the matter to the international press. The day the first convict fell down, it was aired on CNN just to have unmerited sympathy, portraying the court in bad light. It was only God that used my immediate family to sustain me throughout the four years of hostility coming from the team of lawyers. It was only a few weeks to the end of the proceedings that the convict and his team of lawyers began to defend him in court. Before then, they had thoroughly humiliated me just because I discharged my function without fear or favour. I had nobody to speak for me except God that sustained me throughout this period of hostility meted to me by the first convict. Even during this period, I prayed that my employer should withdraw the file from me but God did not answer my prayers. I did not assign this case to this court, I did not in any way, direct the first convict to dissipate public funds. When the EFCC applied to court to revoke the bail of the convict because he wasnt in court, I had sympathy for him and did not revoke his bail. I gave him an opportunity to be in court and adjourned the matter to a later date. The next appearance, the convict was in a stretcher motionless, just to portray the court as being heartless and inhuman because I did not release his international passport for him to travel out of the country a decision that has been affirmed on appeal. He came in a stretcher without any medical personnel except the people that accompanied him to court. He asked for four weeks adjournment and I gave him six weeks. Thereafter, he appealed. The court of appeal dismissed the appeal and held that the judge that gave him six weeks adjournment when he asked for four weeks, cannot be biased against him. On February 23, 2017, one of the senior counsels that appeared for the convict, openly accused the court of bias and applied that the court should recuse itself from the matter. And if one may ask the reason for the application, it was because I delivered a ruling against the first convict. The law is settled that a party or counsel cannot in the open court accuse the court of bias. That is contempt in the face of the court. I would have summarily dealt with the learned senior counsel, Ikpeazu, but having been trained to have the patience of the biblical Job, I developed thick skin over the contemptuous conduct of Dr. Ikpeazu and allowed him to go home, not out of fear or cowardice. The court had to show maturity and restraint at that trying period. I have forgiven the first convict and if there is anything within my powers to do, I will do. I have also forgiven Emeka Etiaba (SAN) that took this matter so personal against my person for doing nothing. I have forgiven Ikpeazu (SAN) too that maltreated me during this period of hostility. Two men were sentenced Tuesday in connection with a 2017 shooting that wounded a sleeping 9-year-old boy and his mother in their Gresham home. The Multnomah County District Attorneys Office said Rashad Banks and Nakiem Brown, both 26, will see prison time for the May 2017 shootout. Banks was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Brown was sentenced to five. Banks was convicted of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and other criminal charges in December. Brown was found not guilty of the shooting but was convicted on one charge of felon in possession of a firearm. A third person, Christopher Jordan, was also found not guilty of the shooting. The shooting left Lamar Horsley, then 9, with major injuries to his head and torso. He spent six months in the hospital, lost an eye, is partially paralyzed on the left side of his body and cant hear out of one ear. According to court testimony, the men shot at Lamar nine times and at his mother three times. According to prosecutors, Lamar and his mother, Cherie Thompson, were victims of gang violence, and the shooting was related to one from the previous day which injured a member of the Hoovers gang. Banks, Brown and Jordan were all members of the Hoovers gang, sought retaliation against Ervan Herring, who prosecutors said was a member of a rival gang, the Woodlawn Park Bloods. Herring, who was the former love interest of Thompson, was sleeping over at the apartment. The two share a daughter, then age 2. Herring and his daughter, who were both sleeping in the same room as Thompson and Lamar, were not injured. Lamar testified that he didnt remember the attack, but said he remembered waking up in the hospital and feeling scared. He now has a glass eye, and has some difficulty using his left arm. Prosecutors said despite the major trauma Lamar faced, hes doing well at school and extracurricular activities. We saw an unprecedented degree of intentional, cowardly, heinous and violent actions in this case, said Deputy District Attorney David Hannon. This remarkably strong boy will be forced to have a permanent reminder of the sheer terror of this callous and cold-blooded shooting, said Eric Zimmerman, who prosecuted the case with Hannon. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Former manager of Norilsk Nickel declared bankrupt flickr.com/StockMonkeys.com 10:53 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has declared businessman and ex-manager of Norilsk Nickel, one of the largest producers of nickel platinum and copper, Maxim Finsky bankrupt, according to court records. The court has granted a bankruptcy petition filed by the BVI company Leansa Ltd. The businessman has a 271-million-ruble (over $4 million) debt to the petitioner. In January, the court dismissed the foreign companys move to seize the assets of Finsky, including a cottage, two land plots near Moscow and cars Land Cruiser 100, Lexus LS460 and Maybach 62. According to a debtors representative, Finsky repudiates the debt. As part of a fraud case, in May 2015, Moscows Tagansky District Court ordered Finsky, a member of board of directors and the owner of 1% of stock of Intergeo, a part of Onexim Group, which manages the assets of Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, to be placed under house arrest. However, he breached the order and escaped. Intergeo is an independent company represented on four continents offering engineering and consulting services for Environment, Geotechnics, Health & Safety and Waste Management, according to its official website. This article by Kelly Kennedy originally appeared on TheWarHorse.org, a nonprofit investigative news organization focused on covering the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Genevieve Chase accomplishes everything she attempts. She made first sergeant in 13 years in the Army reserves and started American Women Veterans, an advocacy organization. She served twice in Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star, a Combat Action Badge, and a Purple Heart. She also testified before the U.S. Senate about her experiences in Afghanistan and the care needed for women veterans, and she was inducted into the Army Women's Hall of Fame. In the military, she learned Pashto and was an intelligence soldier in Afghanistan. But, like a lot of military women, one dream eludes her: She hasn't been able to get pregnant. "I think if there's one thing I could tell young women in the military today who might someday want children, it's freeze your eggs," said Chase. "Nobody tells you how much of a problem infertility is." While the fee for storing eggs is costly -- about $600 a year after $6,000 to $10,000 to retrieve one cycle of eggs -- Chase, who is 41, and other military women worry that serving in the armed forces often means putting off having a family until the women are deemed by doctors to be "geriatric" in terms of pregnancy. A recent survey suggests that infertility issues may be higher for women who have been in the military. The research shows that military women face three known causes for infertility: exposure to toxins, prescriptions for psychiatric medications -- which are first-line treatment for veterans with PTSD -- and a higher-than-average rate of reported sexual trauma. Chase and others say that, if the military wants to attract and keep female recruits, officials must pay more attention to the needs of military women. Numbers Game Sarah Meadows, a senior sociologist for Rand Corporation who has researched the health issues of service members, said a low ratio of women in the military may play a role in the limited attention paid to infertility issues. "I think in part, historically it's because women have made up 20% or less of the military," she said. But Meadows added that the Defense Department "is now clearly interested in women's health and well-being" because women make up a larger percentage of the force than they have in the past, as well as being able to serve in any role. "If women are unhappy with the services they're provided or how they're being treated, they're not going to stay," she said. Women Not Fighting for It As has happened in the past, women have a tendency to do just as they've been trained: They suck it up and drive on. "To get women to sit down and talk about their struggles is hard," said Chase. "We let things go and we move on." But, as fertility issues caught up with her, Chase decided it was time to speak up. "Now I'm very open," she said. "I told my commander, 'Sir, I'm getting knocked up. I don't have a family and you guys all do.'" Though her commander wasn't thrilled about the idea of losing his first sergeant just before a deployment, Chase said she believes the truth of her words hit home: It would simply not occur to the majority of the men in her unit to delay having families. And, she said, because it doesn't often occur to the military to think about how the female anatomy is different from the male -- for example, women are born with all the eggs they will ever have -- she wondered if anyone was looking at what women's bodies have been exposed to as they faced the toxins and stressors involved in going to war. What the Research Shows Researchers have documented the infertility issues of men at higher rates: A survey of male and female combat veterans of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan found about 14% of 16,056 men surveyed and 16% of 4,314 women surveyed have dealt with infertility. A Veterans Affairs study found that male veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are more likely to experience sexual dysfunction, while a study released in April found that men with post-traumatic stress disorder have overall rates of erectile dysfunction of 85% compared to rates of 22% in veterans without PTSD. For women, there's less available research, and it tends to focus on both men and women. For example, a study sponsored by Veterans Affairs in 2015 found that both men and women with PTS are more likely to have problems with intimacy because the brain connects arousal with aggression, which can leave them feeling fearful or threatened rather than open to pleasure. While women deal with the same factors as men -- combat injuries and exposures -- they also face another threat that may play into infertility rates: sexual assault. As many as one in four women veterans have reported military sexual trauma, according to Disabled American Veterans. But there is some research specific to women: One study found that 47% of women seeking treatment for vaginal pain had experienced physical or sexual trauma, and 31% had symptoms of PTS. A 2016 study of female veterans interviewed by phone found that more female veterans have had hysterectomies at much younger ages -- 35 versus 43 years old -- than civilians and that those who experienced rape in their lifetimes were more likely to have the procedure. And in 2018, one in three of the 799 veterans and current service women who responded to a 2018 Service Women's Action Network survey said they experienced problems with infertility. Ellen Haring, former chief executive officer of Service Women's Action Network, SWAN, said women surveyed believed the problems were connected to exposure to toxins on deployment and on their jobs -- as did the men who also called in to talk about infertility issues. Haring spoke at a California Veterans Affairs webinar last August and said speakers from VA agreed there is a shortage of research on women's infertility and that military sexual trauma came up as one of the possible causes. One presentation slide, from Jodie Katon, research assistant professor at VA's Puget Sound Health Care System, showed as many as half of women treated at VA facilities have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. (About 22% report military sexual trauma.) But Haring said she hopes to hear more soon. "These are women who work at the VA who care about this issue," she said. Meadows said Rand recently conducted a Defense Department-sponsored survey of military women's reproductive health. "We realized there hasn't been a DoD-wide survey of women's health since 1989," Meadows said. The latest survey includes sections on infertility and pregnancy. But even with funding, Meadows said it's hard to properly study women's infertility in the military. "You don't know if you're infertile unless you're trying to have a child," she said. "There are a lot of young women in the military who are not trying to have a child, so there's nothing to compare it to." This is especially true as women say they plan to wait until their military careers are over before they try to conceive, she said. Meadows expects the survey to be completed early this year, and then it will probably take about nine months to be released. Waiting Out Their Careers Chase joined the military in 2003, when she was 25, and figured she would never have kids. "You're constantly thinking, 'If I get pregnant, they're going to think I'm trying to get out of deployment," she said. "And I'm the first sergeant. It's an important job." But in 2006, a suicide bomber drove his car head-on into the vehicle in which she was riding in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. After much consideration, shaken and amazed at the series of events that kept her team alive, she changed her mind about children. "I just thought, 'I'm so lucky,'" she said. "I thought, 'You know, Eve, it's time to have kids. I want to experience that kind of love.'" She's going through her first cycle of in vitro fertilization after several failed attempts to get pregnant. "I'm trying not to get my hopes up," she said. With her current boyfriend, she has legally set up terms that she has full custody, that he won't be financially responsible unless he wants to be, and that the child will take her name. Back in 2008, "I had what they call a 'chemical' pregnancy where your body thinks it's pregnant," she said. "I was so excited, because I thought I was pregnant, but I wasn't." Since then, nothing. "Trying to adopt in this country is ridiculous, and it's about the same amount of money as IVF," she said. "Trying to adopt as a single military person? It's impossible. If I get pregnant, I have to go around and ask all of my friends if they can take care of my child if I deploy." She's also on the fast track to make sergeant major. "But I know I can't do both," she said. "I feel like it would be a disservice to my soldiers. As angry as it makes me to admit that, I have to be honest with myself." Of course, there's an irony in the admission: In the world of military men, there's a belief that having a family can help one's career. It shows stability. It shows you're a provider. It shows you're probably serious about sticking around and making rank. Her commander was supportive, she said. "He said, 'Yeah, top, you should do it," she recalled. "But I know it was hard. He had to be thinking, 'If she has a baby, she's not going to be here.'" Since then, she has moved to a full-time staff position at the Pentagon on active orders. She said that, if she gets pregnant, those orders will likely be canceled. Military Programs Chase enrolled in the military's IVF program, but she said her military doctors told her they do not recommend freezing eggs after age 30. "There are programs for us, but they max out at age 42," she said. "I'm 41. I didn't know." The military's IVF program is half-cost and constantly overbooked, she said. In September, she learned her IVF procedure had failed. "But this is it," she said. "After this, it's $15,000 to $20,000. Tricare doesn't cover anything but the diagnosis. If you do have issues, they'll treat the issue, but not the artificial insemination and IVF." Angela Peacock, in Baghdad, circa 2003-2004. Photo courtesy of Angela Peacock. (Courtesy Wiesbaden Photo Studio) The military does not cover freezing and storing eggs, though a new bill, sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), would allow troops to freeze their eggs at no cost before deploying and store them for up to one year after leaving service. The VA will cover IVF if a woman can prove her infertility is service-connected, an impossible feat for most women. Heidi Agostini, 38, a former Marine who managed military journalists in Helmand Province in 2010, went in for intrauterine insemination last August. "I found out that round wasn't successful on my anniversary," she said. "It's all been very depressing." She began her sixth -- and final -- round last November. Initially, when she could not get pregnant, she was told her naval hospital did not offer infertility treatment, so she paid for two unsuccessful intrauterine insemination cycles herself, costing her $5,000. During a checkup at the naval hospital, her doctor said the hospital did offer the treatment. "I started going to Naval Medical Center San Diego, about an hour away from the base," she said. "It was too hard to take time off work, especially since you don't know until the last minute if your ovaries or follicles are ready for triggering." She quit after one month. VA sent her to an infertility specialist, where her issues were deemed service-connected. But after her appointments were canceled without VA letting her know, she decided to go through her husband's health insurance. Brain Injury Chase suspects getting blown up may have affected her body's ability to procreate. She was diagnosed with a brain injury, along with suffering from other health issues and fertility issues that no one else in her family has dealt with. "I don't know if the TBI or the blast would contribute, but the blast was significant enough to affect my brain," she said. She may be onto something. According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, about a quarter of girls and women studied with sports-related head injuries had abnormal periods following the injury because of a disruption of the reproductive system, leading to concerns about the long-term effects of those injuries. And several recent studies point toward environmental factors, such as the dioxin found in burning trash or PCBs, causing endometriosis, according to the Endometriosis Association. The burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan are known to have released dioxins, and endometriosis also causes infertility. TBI is also known to cause changes in sexual desire, decreased sperm production, and sexual dysfunction. Toxins But Chase also wonders about what she was exposed to while deployed. Plastic bottles sat on pallets in the hot sun, leading to concerns about the chemical bisphenol A leaching into the water she drank. A recent study found BPA may cause infertility, as well as eggs with either too many or too few chromosomes. She also ran laps around the burn pit at Bagram Airfield, in Afghanistan, which released dioxin, as well as other toxins, into the air she breathed. "When you're pregnant, you can't go to the field because of exhaust fumes and radio waves," she said. "We have pretty strict regulations, like you can't work more than eight hours a day, which I am grateful for. But when you're deployed, you're exposed to that stuff 24/7: pollution, dust, working 12-hour days, stress." Heidi and her husband, Luis Agostini, a fellow combat correspondent, at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in 2011. (courtesy of Heidi Agostini) Agostini also believed stress had an effect and said she felt as if her body had aged 10 years in the seven months she was deployed. "I was fighting a suicidal depression; I struggled to make Marine Corps weight standards; and I couldn't get pregnant," she said. "I tried to see a doctor several times with Naval Health, but you can't just make a doctor's appointment: You have to go through the Battalion Aid Station, often manned by immature male corpsmen while you're surrounded by male Marines. So it was intimidating to go in there and say, 'Hey. I can't get pregnant, and I keep gaining weight. And oh, by the way, I want to off myself.'" When she finally did seek mental health help, she said the battalion aid station gave her the 1-800 number for Military OneSource. Two years later, she went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, PCOS, which explained the weight gain and infertility. "When I said I felt something was wrong with my body, people didn't believe me," said Agostini. She said she's not the only one. "I still talk to several female Marines I deployed with who struggle with infertility and who have been pushed aside from the military health care system." Psych Meds As more women veterans take psychiatric medications, they find themselves faced with another issue: lack of interest. "I feel like I lost my 30s," said Angela Peacock, 40, who served in Baghdad while in the Army and who has been diagnosed with PTS. "I've been on 43 meds in 13 years. At one point, I was taking 18 medications." She suspects the medications affected her sex drive and mourns the loss of the "butterflies" she remembers feeling in her 20s. Since 2006, she said she hasn't been in any relationships. "The longer I was on meds, the less I felt anything sexual," she said. Angela Peacock graduated with a masters in social work from Washington University in St. Louis in May 2019. (Courtesy of Sarah Townsend) According to Harvard Health Publishing, the issue is double-edged because antidepressants can cause a loss of libido -- and so can depression. Between 35% and 50% of people with depression experience sexual dysfunction, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs, used to treat depression may decrease libido in approximately 20% of patients. Research so far has been mixed about how SSRIs affect a woman's fertility, with six of seven studies finding no issues and one finding increased pregnancy rates, according to a paper in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. Chase believes her depression -- she thought about killing herself after both deployments -- added to the stress her body went through. "Generally speaking, men tend to externalize stress often as anger," she said. "Women internalize it. I wonder if there are autoimmune issues because of that. Weight gain. Disabilities. The drugs they give us. These are issues nobody cares about because they expect us to take care of ourselves, but that's hard when you're holding it all in." Advocating for Ourselves Haring and SWAN took the information they gathered from the survey to members of Congress, including more than 30 visits since February 2019. "I think we've accomplished what we intended with this report, which is to get some more research done," said Haring. "We'd like for people to look at medical records, to look at the data and see how many people have been diagnosed or compensated. Publish the results. If it is exposure, let's give them the benefits they deserve." Chase, who says her greatest concern has always been her soldiers -- both men and women -- said her organization is working on some potential legislative changes, though the board is still figuring out what those recommendations would look like. "I may not have a baby," she said. "It may not work out for me. But I'm going to work on this and do what I can to raise awareness. If I can help someone else not make the same mistakes I have in waiting and putting it off, then something good will have come from this." Kelly Kennedy is an award-winning journalist and author of They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq. Kelly served in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991; and then in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1992 and 1993. She is the only American woman to have both served in combat in the U.S. military and covered U.S. combat as a civilian. Her website is KellyKennedy.net. This article originally appeared on The War Horse. Follow them on Facebook. Bajaj low-cost electric scooters for Yulu mobility start-up are meant to be alternatives to the current Chinese two-wheelers. Bajaj Auto has invested Rs 8 million in Bangalore-based Yulu mobility start-up to reduce the use of Chinese electric two-wheelers. At present, Yulu employs single-seater low-power EVs imported as parts from China and assembled in India. Bajaj promises to provide a good alternative to the e-scooter at a price tag of around Rs 30,000-35,000. This is also the first time that the Pune-based two-wheeler manufacturer has invested in a start-up. Amit Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO of Yulu shared that the company is spending almost $600 (around Rs 43,000) on a single e-bike. With Bajaj Auto coming on board, the prices are expected to come down to around $500 or almost Rs 36,000. In the long run, this will make a significant positive impact on Yulus profit margin. Mr Gupta also added the upcoming Bajaj EVs would maintain the same theme of the current Yulu e-bikes; which is simple, clean and easy to maintain. The Bajaj e-bikes are still at an early stage of development and Yulu officials promise that they would be much more aesthetically pleasing than the current Chinese models. Yulu is targeting an inventory of a lakh electric and lightweight two-wheelers by the end of this year. At present, the figure stands at 4,000 units. Bajajs Yulu-branded e-bikes will hit the market only next year and around Rs 400 crore will be invested to bring it to Yulus portfolio. Yulus current range of electric scooters is powered by a 48V motor that propels the vehicle to a top speed of a humble 25km/h. Though the figure may not seem impressive at all, Yulu e-bikes are super fun to ride through narrow streets and they make perfect sense in cities struck with traffic jams every now and then. It is already a hit in its origin city, Bangalore and is seeing almost the same level of success in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bhubaneshwar as well. The company is seriously considering expanding its business to more cities. As per regulations, a drivers licence is not required to ride the low-power scooter. It offers a range of 60km on a full charge (which the user need not worry about) and an hour of usage costs just Rs 10. Alongside the e-bikes, Yulu has bicycles too. Taking Bangalore itself as an example, the convenience offered by Yulu is quite overwhelming. Users can download the app, locate a Yulu Zone, use Bluetooth to unlock the e-bike and can simply carry on. Each Yulu bike has a charge indicator and features regenerative braking as well. Young professionals and students contribute the highest portion of Yulus userbase. The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) has announced an Advanced Programme in AI-Powered Marketing (APAIPM) to be offered in partnership with TalentSprint. The programme will help marketing professionals transition into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The programme will commence in May 2020. Disruptions in technology have given marketing professionals an unprecedented ability to scale and personalize their campaigns through AI. A Salesforce report shows that the adoption of AI by marketing professionals has grown by 44 per cent since 2017. The growth of AI use cases is projected to rise by 257 per cent in the next two years. According to a recent PwC study, 72 per cent respondents viewed AI as a " advantage"; however, research shows that 85 per cent of AI projects fail due to risk, confusion and lack of upskilling among marketing teams. Therefore, there is a massive rise in demand for marketing professionals who can use AI and Machine Learning to amplify marketing yield and transform the customer experience. The programme will be delivered in a hybrid executive format with onsite visits to the IIM Calcutta campus and live online sessions via the TalentSprint digital platform. The curriculum will include data-driven marketing decisions, AI and ML using R, digital and social media marketing, AI and ML applications in marketing, and futuristic marketing. "Today, marketing professionals are exploring a long list of use-cases using AI including personalised customer journeys, dynamic landing pages, programmatic media buying, automated social interactions and improved customer segmentation. IIM Calcutta with its acknowledged expertise in analytics, marketing and information technology is pleased to partner with TalentSprint to offer this cutting-edge programme for the marketing professionals of tomorrow", said Prof Saravana Jaikumar, Co-Programme Director. "AI is transforming every sector and marketing is no exception. AI-powered marketing has been gaining more attention because of its potential to offer unprecedented data-driven insights. We are delighted to partner with IIM Calcutta to bring this world-class programme to the market. With its innovative curriculum and networking opportunities, it will serve as a major launch-pad for future marketing professionals", said Dr Santanu Paul, Co-Founder and CEO of TalentSprint. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Westfield Business Associations recently completed Share the Love Food Drive provided a boost for the North Platte Salvation Army food pantry. The drive Feb. 7-21 resulted in monetary donations of $300 used to purchase food. In addition, four grocery carts were filled with food donations. Garys Super Foods prepared 270 bags, each holding about $10 worth of groceries, for people to purchase. The donations came from the carts and food baskets placed in eight Westfield businesses during the drive: NebraskaLand National Banks Westfield branch, Orrs Dry Cleaning, Westfield Hallmark and Floral, Jordan Boston State Farm, Chiropractic Wellness Center, Bible Supplies and Westfield Garys Super Foods. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} We know the community is usually very generous, said Alyssa Fabik, the media specialist with the Westfield Business Association. Sometimes it is just knowing where and how to donate. We were pretty sure that we would see a good turnout. Human Rights Watch has accused Cameroons armed forces of taking part in the killing of at least 21 civilians this month in a region where troops are battling anglophone separatists. In a statement on Tuesday, the US-based rights group said 13 children and one pregnant woman were killed by government forces and armed Fulani herders in Ngarbuh village on February 14. They also burned five homes, pillaged a large number of other properties and beat residents, HRW reported. The killings were so outrageous, the abuses so blatant and evidence so damming. The killings were deliberate and were aimed at punishing the population suspected of harbouring and collaborating with the separatists, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, HRWs senior Africa researcher. The gruesome killings of civilians, including children, are egregious crimes that should be effectively and independently investigated, and those responsible should be brought to justice. The incident occurred in a remote part of the Northwest region one of two English-speaking regions gripped by conflict sparked by demands for independence from majority-Francophone Cameroon. The army says there were only five civilian deaths, which it said happened when fuel containers exploded in a firefight. The government has denied what it called outrageous and misleading allegations. Maximum pressure On Monday, hundreds of pro-government demonstrators, holding placards and chanting slogans, gathered outside the French embassy in Cameroon to protest against what they described as Pariss intervention in the countrys affairs. This came after remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday that he would put maximum pressure on Cameroonian President Paul Biya over separatist conflicts in Cameroons English-speaking regions. I am putting maximum pressure on [Cameroons President] Paul Biya so that he deals with the crisis in the anglophone regions and that he treats the political opposition with respect and he eventually freed opposition leader Maurice Kamto, Macron said in a widely shared video on social media We are seeing that the situation is deteriorating and I will call him so that the intolerable situation ceases. Angered by Macrons remarks, one protester in the capital Yaounde said: Who is this young 40-year-old who is trying to teach a lesson to our old president? Look what they have done to Libya, Ivory Coast and Mali They are not going to mess with us. English speakers account for nearly one-fifth of Cameroons population of 24 million, who are majority French-speaking. Years of grievances at perceived discrimination against English-speakers snowballed into a declaration of independence in the anglophone regions in October 2017, which was followed by a government crackdown. The declaration has not been recognised internationally and Biya, in power for 37 of his 87 years, has refused demands to return to a federal system. However, the government has lately decentralised some of its powers after a national dialogue on the anglophone crisis which was boycotted by the separatists. More than 3,000 people have died and at least 700,000 have fled their homes in the nearly 29-month-old unrest. Rights monitors say abuses have been committed by both sides. TORRINGTON John and Teresa Sullivan, owners of the Connecticut Academy for the Arts on Prospect Street, brought a bit of Italian art and culture to their space this week, marking Fat Tuesday with a performance of commedia dellarte by Mace Perlman of Greenwich. The actor and educator used his collection of leather theater masks, created by Italian artist Renzo Antonello, to present a program combining education and comedy using Italian characters such as Harlequin and Pantalone. Perlman began his theatrical training with world-famous mime Marcel Marceau at the International School of Mimodrama in Paris. After completing his fine art studies at Stanford University, he trained and worked for six years at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan with master director Giogio Strehler. Since returning to the U.S., Perlman has taught acting at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College SUNY, and the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York, teaching and performing at numerous colleges and universities around the country. Using his collection of Italian costumes and masks representing various characters of Italys commedia dellarte such as Arlecchino/Harlequin, Pulcinella and Pantalone, Perlman entertained about a dozen guests at CAFA with a program combining comedy, music and education. I met the Sullivans at the Italian consulate in New York City, Perlman said. I knew they were very interested in multiple disciplines in the study of theater and art, and comedia is very theatrical, compared to visual art. We got to know each other very quickly, and we understand each other because of our love for the arts. The event was pot luck; everyone brought a dish to share, while the Sullivans provided wine, beer and cider. A multicolored strobe light flickered on the walls and ceiling during Perlmans performance, while a video of carnivale participants in Venice was shown on the wall behind the art center stage. The event, dubbed Festa di Carnivale, was presented by the Sullivans as a fundraiser for Save Venice, an ongoing international movement to preserve and restore works of art and architecture damaged by floods in Venice in 2019. It was also part of the Sullivans efforts to link students to Italian culture. What were trying to do is form a bridge between us and Italy, to get kids interested in arts, John Sullivan said. We want them to understand where the arts came from comedy, music, painting, all of it. Whether its a comedy show on television, the ballet or the opera ... the roots of these arts are connected to Italy in so many ways. This was a way to support that idea. Perlman wasnt the only one in costume. The Sullivans appeared during his performance wearing their own carnivale masks, and acted as mimes when they joined Perlman on stage. Guests Glen Zeh and his wife, Gay Schempp, a pottery artist with a studio at Whiting Mills in Winsted, arrived in full carnivale regalia Zeh in a gold pantalone mask, long black coat and hat, and Schempp in a long, curly wig, hat and Renaissance-era coat and knickers. I got the mask in Italy, about 20 years ago, Zeh said, indicating the piece that features a long nose and an almost evil smile. Zeh, a world traveler who rates his visits to foreign countries based on the people, scenery and the food and wine, said Italy is the best place to visit. The Sullivans agree. In 2019, CAFTA took a group of students to Italy to participate in a literary competition, held annually in Agrigento, Sicily, in honor of 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Luigi Pirandello. The competition requires middle and high school Italian language students from schools around the world to write an original play in Italian, inspired by a short story or play by Pirandello. CAFA received one of the top three prizes in the competition for their play, The Trial of Luigi Pirandello. As finalists, the students from Torrington were chosen from among 877 students from 176 competing schools from Romania, Spain, Uruguay, France, Italy, Greece, Israel and China. CAFTA was one of two American schools that made it to the finals. CAFTA is all about helping children find their own creative voice, Teresa Graham-Sullivan said, as she explained that the school offers art classes to children of all ages. We specialize in personalized learning, based on the students own unique talents and interests. ... We encourage students to emphasize high level creative content by presenting unique opportunities such as the Luigi Pirandell Competition, to expand their interests and express their creativity. To learn more about CAFTA, visit www.cafta.info. Six people have been confirmed to drown after a wherry capsized in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam on Tuesday. The boat was carrying ten people, who were relatives, along a section of the Vu Gia River in Dai Cuong Commune, Dai Loc District at around 3:00 pm when the accident happened. Local residents and authorities were able to rescue four people and brought them to the hospital for emergency treatment. Three of them are now in stable conditions. The other six victims went missing following the incident. Their bodies were all found and recovered as of Tuesday night. According to preliminary information, Nguyen Dinh Ba, 61, who was among the deceased, was steering the wherry. The other dead victims include Bas son and daughter-in-law, his younger sister-in-law Nguyen Thi Ai, and Ais two young children, aged four and five. Rescuers carry ashore the body of the last victim in a wherry accident along the Vu Gia River in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam on the night of February 25, 2020. Photo: Le Trung / Tuoi Tre According to local residents accounts, Ba would cross the same section of the river every day in order to travel from his home to a farm where the family grow their crops. On the day of the incident, Ba had carried his family members, including his in-laws, across the river to visit a relative. The tragedy occurred on their returning trip. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Muthi Achadiat Kautsar (The Jakarta Post) San Francisco, United States Thu, February 27 2020 Compact but versatile: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip seen at the Unpacked 2020 event in San Francisco. Actress Dian Sastrowardoyo had the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in her hands for a few days when she shared a dinner table with invited media representatives, including from The Jakarta Post. The first device in Samsung Galaxys Z series, the Z Flip marks the entrance into the new decade, following the Galaxy Fold that began the new foldable era in 2019. 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 D uring an expedition to Antarctica, Greg Lecoeur discovered that crabeater seals had taken up residence on icebergs that drift in polar currents. Exploring further, along with filmmaker Florian Fisher and freediver Guillaume Nery, Lecoeur documented these small habitats and it resulted in the winning image for this years Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. Of the image, which sees the seals dancing beneath an iceberg, Lecoeur said: Icebergs are dynamic kingdoms that support marine life. As they swing and rotate slowly through polar currents, icebergs fertilize the oceans by carrying nutrients from land that spark blooms of phytoplankton, fundamental to the carbon cycle. Alex Mustard, judge and administrator of the awards, said: The balletic rhythm of these crabeater seals and the ethereal landscape of the pitted iceberg creates a composition that draws you into a corner of the world that few people have witnessed. The multiple subjects take my eyes on a journey through the frame and into the icy ocean of Antarctica. Lecours image was just one of nearly 40 winning images at this years awards (which you can see in the gallery above), all of which are available with descriptions in this free-to-download handbook. The Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) awards date back to 1965 when Bernard Eaton organised the Brighton Underwater Film Festival but it wasnt until 2014 that the first UPY happened, which now attracts over 5,000 entries annually. LONDON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avast (LSE:AVST), Avast plc, together with its subsidiaries ('Avast', 'the Group' or 'the Company'), a leading global cybersecurity provider, announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2019. Ondrej Vlcek, Chief Executive of Avast, said: "I'm pleased to report another year of good performance for Avast in 2019, with results in line with the Board's expectations. Group Adjusted Revenue was $873.1m, with organic growth of 9.1%1, driven by double-digit growth in our Consumer Direct Desktop business. We also sustained a high level of profitability with Adjusted EBITDA margin2 at 55.3%. "The core of the Avast business and our fundamental strengths remain unchanged. Our focus on cross-sell and upsell, our localisation strategy, and new product releases continue to drive good growth. There is an exciting pipeline of product launches for the year ahead. We continue to expect healthy growth in 2020 and remain confident in the long-term prospects for the business. "For the full year 2020 we expect Group mid-single digit organic revenue growth, and a stable EBITDA margin percentage." FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Strong overall performance in line with expectations Adjusted Billings at $911.0m up 5.7% at actual rates, with organic growth of 10.2% up 5.7% at actual rates, with organic growth of 10.2% Adjusted Revenue at $873.1m up 5.6% at actual rates, with organic growth of 9.1% up 5.6% at actual rates, with organic growth of 9.1% Consumer Direct Desktop Adjusted Revenue at $632.9m , up 9.1% at actual rates, with organic growth of 10.7% , up 9.1% at actual rates, with organic growth of 10.7% Adjusted EBITDA up 7.9% to $483.0m ; Adjusted EBITDA margin at 55.3%, up 119bps ; Adjusted EBITDA margin at 55.3%, up 119bps Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share ('EPS') up 14.1% to $0.32 (versus $0.28 at YE 2018) (versus at YE 2018) Proposed final dividend payable in June 2020 of 10.3 cents per share; total dividend for the year of 14.7 cents per share, up 8.1% 3 of per share; total dividend for the year of per share, up 8.1% Continued strong cash generation with Unlevered Free Cash Flow up 7.9% to $424.6m and Levered Free Cash Flow up 14.0% to $370.4m and Levered Free Cash Flow up 14.0% to Net debt / LTM ('last twelve months') Adjusted EBITDA at 1.8x at year end On a statutory basis, Revenue up from $808.3m to $871.1m , Operating profit up from $248.3m to $344.6m , fully diluted EPS at $0.24 . OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS Customer retention rates on Consumer Direct Desktop have increased to 67%, driven by lower churn in paid anti-virus and CCleaner products, and APPC growth. Desktop operating KPIs tracked positively, with customers 4 up 3.5% to 12.62m , APPC 5 up 4.2% to 1.45 and ARPC 6 up 3.6% to $51.02 up 3.5% to , APPC up 4.2% to 1.45 and ARPC up 3.6% to Strong growth in the Desktop business was driven from the cross-selling of Privacy products such as VPN and AntiTrack, and Performance products such as Cleanup and Driver Updater There has been continued expansion of multi-device subscriptions, with Consumer Desktop an important channel for transactions of mobile-enabled products Customer numbers and penetration has risen in both established markets such as the US, and new target countries, including an increase in customer numbers by 19% in South East Asia and 13% in Central and Eastern Europe and 13% in Central and Avast announced the termination of the provision of data to Jumpshot from January 2020 , aligning our customer offering to the company's core values of privacy and protection. ($'m) FY 2019 FY 2018 Change % Change % (excluding FX) 7 Adjusted Billings 911.0 862.1 5.7 8.1 Acquisitions 1.4 0.0 n/a n/a Disposal Managed Workplace (SMB) 8 0.0 10.5 n/a n/a Discontinued Business9 8.9 15.5 (42.6) (41.7) Adjusted Billings excl. Acquisitions, Disposals and Discontinued business 900.7 836.2 7.7 10.2 ($'m) FY 2019 FY 2018 Change % Change % (excluding FX) Adjusted Revenue 873.1 827.0 5.6 7.0 Acquisitions 1.4 0.0 n/a n/a Disposal Managed Workplace (SMB) 0.0 10.5 n/a n/a Discontinued Business 8.9 15.5 (42.6) (41.7) Adjusted Revenue excl. Acquisitions, Disposals and Discontinued business 862.8 801.0 7.7 9.1 ($'m) FY 2019 FY 2018 Change % Adjusted EBITDA 483.0 447.7 7.9 Adjusted EBITDA Margin % 55.3 54.1 1.2 ppts Adjusted Net Income 322.3 270.8 19.0 Net Debt 10 884.5 1,138.2 (22.3) Statutory Results: ($'m) FY 2019 FY 2018 Change %11 Revenue 871.1 808.3 7.8 Operating profit 344.6 248.3 38.8 Net Income 248.9 241.2 3.2 Net Cash Flows from operating activities 399.1 376.0 6.1 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS A presentation for analysts and investors will be held at 9:00 AM GMT today (26 February) at UBS, 5 Broadgate, London, EC2M 2QS. To register your attendance please contact [email protected]. The presentation will also be accessible via a conference call and live webcast. Please register for the call or webcast on the Company website at https://investors.avast.com. A Q&A facility will be available for conference call participants. PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT The Company today published its Annual Report and Accounts 2019. The document will be available to view on the Company website at https://investors.avast.com and is also being submitted to the National Storage Mechanism for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm. ESG BRIEFING Avast's Chairman and Senior Independent Director will today hold a briefing and Q&A session on Environmental, Social and Governance issues relevant to the Company. The event, intended for investors and ESG rating agencies, will be held at 1:00 PM GMT in London. For further information please contact [email protected]. ENQUIRIES Investors and analysts: Peter Russell, Director of IR [email protected] Media: Stephanie Kane, VP PR and Corporate Communications [email protected] Tavistock +44 20 7920 3150 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to the usual risk factors and uncertainties associated with the Company's business. Whilst the Company believes the expectations reflected herein to be reasonable in the light of the information available to them at this time, the actual outcome may be materially different owing to factors beyond the Company's control or within the Company's control where, for example, the Company decides on a change of plan or strategy. Accordingly, no reliance may be placed on the figures contained in such forward-looking statements. Notes: Throughout the Full Year Report a number of alternative performance measures are used to provide users with a clearer picture of the performance of the business. This is in line with how management monitor and manage the business day-to-day. Definitions and details are provided below. Further definitions (see 'PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AND DEFINITIONS') and reconciliations (see 'FINANCIAL REVIEW') of non-GAAP measures are included in the notes to the financial statements. All dollar figures throughout the report are at actual currency rates unless otherwise indicated. 1 Organic growth rate excludes the impact of FX, acquisitions, business disposals and discontinued business. It excludes current period billings and revenue of acquisitions until the first anniversary of their consolidation. 2 Adjusted EBITDA margin percentage is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Adjusted Revenue. 3 Growth rate calculated on an annualized basis. In June 2019 the Group paid dividend of 8.6 cents per share in respect of the period 15 May 2018 to 31 December 2018 (13.6 cents per share on an annualized basis). 4 Users who have at least one valid paid Consumer Direct Desktop subscription (or licence) at the end of the period. 5 APPC defined as the Consumer Direct Desktop simple average valid licences or subscriptions for the financial period presented divided by the simple average number of Customers during the same period. 6 ARPC defined as the Consumer Direct Desktop revenue for the financial period divided by the simple average number of Customers during the same period. 7 Growth rate excluding currency impact calculated by restating 2019 actual to 2018 FX rates (see "Principal exchange rates applied "). Deferred revenue is translated to USD at date of invoice and is therefore excluded when calculating the impact of FX on revenue. 8 On 1 February 2019 Avast plc sold the non-core asset of Managed Workplace, its remote monitoring and management product, to Barracuda Networks, Inc. ('Barracuda'). Managed Workplace was Avast's solution in the Remote Monitoring and Management ('RMM') space, which is sold to Managed Service Providers ('MSPs'). This business was not core to our SMB strategy, which focuses on securing the workplace. Barracuda, which has a large existing MSP base but did not offer an RMM solution, provides a better long-term solution for this business. In addition, Barracuda has signed a reseller agreement with Avast under which it now resells Avast's business security solutions to MSPs. In the year ended 31 December 2018 the asset generated low teen revenue (USD million) with a materially lower margin profile than the Group. 9 As the company is exiting its toolbar-related search distribution business, which had previously been an important contributor to AVG's revenues (referred to above and throughout the report, with the Group's browser clean-up business, as 'Discontinued Business'), the growth figures exclude Discontinued Business, which the Group expects to be negligible by the end of 2020. The Discontinued Business does not represent a discontinued operation as defined by IFRS 5 since it has not been disposed of but rather it is being continuously scaled down and is considered to be neither a separate major line of business, nor geographical area of operations. 10 The Group applied the IFRS 16 standard as of 1 January 2019 using the modified retrospective approach and did not restate comparative amounts for the year prior to first adoption. Net Debt as of 31 December 2019 includes the balance of IFRS 16 lease liabilities. No lease liabilities are included in the Net Debt as of 31 December 2018. Net Debt as of 31 December 2018 adjusted for opening balance of IFRS 16 lease liabilities would be $1,209.9m. SOURCE Avast Related Links www.avast.com WASHINGTON In its latest attempt to win over African-American voters, President Trumps 2020 campaign said Wednesday it would lease 15 retail properties in predominantly black neighborhoods across swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania, where it will build welcoming community centers that sell merchandise, register voters and spread the word about Trump policies that have helped black communities. On Wednesday afternoon, senior Trump campaign officials offered reporters a tour through a mock-up storefront it built inside its campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va. Hoodies bearing the slogan WOKE were on display for sale in the mock community center. A large television screen played a stream of testimonials from black voters talking about why they supported Mr. Trump. Posters featuring smiling African-American supporters highlighted the administrations work overhauling the criminal justice system, its funding of historically black colleges and universities, and the countrys unemployment rate, the lowest in 50 years. Colorful pamphlets advertised Mr. Trump as a builder of communities and the American Dream, and a rendering showed a possible exterior design for a center inside of what looked like a mall. An Indian-origin man who was found dead in a UK prison earlier this month died of head injuries, Scotland Yard said as it formally identified the victim on Wednesday. Sundeep Ghuman was discovered with serious injuries after reports of an assault within the cells of Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Belmarsh, a high-security prison complex in south-east London, on February 18. Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended the location and Mr Ghuman was taken to hospital in a critical condition where he later died on the evening of Wednesday, 19 February. His next of kin are aware, the Metropolitan Police said. A post-mortem examination took place on the 36-year-old at Greenwich Mortuary in London last Friday and concluded the cause of death was a head injury. The Met Police said that two men, both aged 28, who were Ghuman's inmates at the prison, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and have since been bailed pending further enquiries. We are working to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident with the support of the prison and local officers, said Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard from the Met's Specialist Crime Command, which is investigating the death. At this stage I am open minded concerning motive, but expect this to become clear as the investigation progresses, he said. Recent inspection reports have indicated growing levels of violence at Belmarsh, a high-security unit which houses some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners. Ghuman is believed to have been serving a sentence related to arson. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Difference cropped up on Wednesday within the top lawyers' associations over the statement made by Supreme Court Judge Justice Arun Mishra praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a global judicial conference here last week. After the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) sent a communication, singed by its President Dushyant Dave, about a 'resolution' allegedly signed by its several members expressing anguish and concern over the statements of Justice Mishra, the general secretary Ashok Arora of the association claimed that "no resolution has been passed" as he has not signed the statement released to the media. Hour later, Manan Kumar Mishra, chairman of Bar Council of India (BCI) -- the apex body regulating the lawyers -- termed as "myopic mindset" the criticism of Justice Mishra by the SCBA president for his praising Modi at the 'International Judicial Conference' on Saturday. On February 22, Justice Mishra was all praise for Modi and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally". Another body, The Bar Association of India, also expressed concern and dismay over the use of "effusive terms of praise and adulation" by Justice Mishra for Modi, saying such a statement impinges upon the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. BAI was the first to make the critical statement on the issue and later the SCBA issued the communication on the matter which was shortly opposed by Arora. BAI President Lalit Bhasin, who had also issued a statement on Tuesday that such act diminishes the confidence of the public as the judges of the apex court, spoke to PTI on Wednesday and said the Supreme Court deals with the matters concerning government policies and actions and its judge making laudable references about the Prime Minister sends a wrong message to the public. The criticism of Justice Mishra by the SCBA did not go down well with the apex bar body, BCI. "Dushyant Dave (SCBA President) by publishing an article about Justice Mishra, tried to drag Justice Mishra in an undesirable and unsavoury controversy over his speech at the international judicial conference 2020, held recently at the Supreme Court," the BCI chairperson said in a statement. Terming the criticism of Justice Mishra as an act of "myopic mindset", he said that "Mishra's speech was in the capacity of a host and he used best of words for all the guests who graced the occasion. He was not holding a court at that time". In a communication sent to the media, the SCBA had said, it has taken note "with deep sense of anguish and concern", the statement made by Justice Mishra. "The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the aforesaid statement and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit," the SCBA statement had said. However, Arora said that what Dave is saying cannot be considered as a resolution as he, in the capacity as general secretary, has not sighed the communication sent to the media. "There was no executive council or general body meeting of the Association. The President has taken an arbitrary dictatorial and irresponsible stand. He cannot speak on behalf of SCBA without calling general body meeting or meeting of the executive council on such a serious issue," he said. Arora told PTI that all the communication to the media is to be sent through the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is general secretary of the SCBA. "It is not a resolution in the eyes of law because it was not signed by me," he said, adding that Dave has made available to media a circular which contained suggestions of only six to seven members. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday again offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Addressing a press conference on Day 2 of his two-day state visit to India, Trump said, "Anything I can do to mediate or help, I would do." Bringing in Pakistan's reference, he said, "They (Pakistan) are working on Kashmir. Kashmir has been a thorn in lots of people's sides for a long time. There are two sides to every story. We discussed terrorism at length today." Earlier, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, "Discussion was centred on positive developments in Jammu & Kashmir. Things are moving in the right direction." Soon after the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year, Trump had offered to mediate the "explosive" situation in Kashmir amid mounting international concern over a flare-up in violence between India and Pakistan. Trump had told reporters at the White House on August 21 last year: "Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have the Hindus, and you have the Muslims, and I wouldn't say they get along so great. And that's what you have right now. "Kashmir is a very tough situation, and this has been going on for decades, and decades; shooting, and I don't mean shooting like shooting a rifle, but major shooting of howitzers, of heavy arms, and this has been going on for a long, long period of time. "And I think we're helping the situation, but there's tremendous problems between the two countries. And I will do the best I can to mediate or do something." Again in January this year on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump had repeated his mediation offer at an interaction with the press ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. "We will discuss the situation in Kashmir. We can meditate on the issue. If we can help, we certainly will be helping. We have been watching that and following it very very closely," he had said. On both the occasions, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had rejected the US President's offer, saying, "Kashmir is a bilateral issue and will have to be solved bilaterally." The Metro Council will seek voter approval of a personal income and business profit tax expected to generate around $250 million a year for services meant to help reduce homelessness in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Councilors for the Portland area regional government voted 7-0 Tuesday to place a homelessness and housing services measure on the May 19 ballot. If approved by voters, it would be Oregons largest ongoing fund to aid the areas homeless population. Metro Council President Lynn Peterson said the issue required urgency because of the homeless and housing crisis facing the Portland metro area. Failure on this is not an option, said Peterson, a former chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. Weve waited too long and it is now time to pay for the services that are proven to be effective in addressing the cause of chronic homelessness and helping people find permanent housing. Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Clackamas County Commissioner Sonya Fischer, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Forest Grove Mayor Pete Truax were among officials elected to office within Metros boundaries who spoke in favor of the proposal. Portland Business Alliance President Andrew Hoan and Katrina Holland, board member of homeless advocacy coalition HereTogether and executive director of homelessness services nonprofit JOIN, also spoke in support of the measure. HereTogether has been one of the main proponents of the proposal, which members said has been in the works for two years. The latest version of the proposed ballot measure has been in the public eye for four days. The revenue is expected to fund affordable housing aid as well as short- and long-term rental assistance, mental and physical health services, eviction prevention, financial literacy, employment support and other services designed to help people who are homeless or on the verge of it. The deadline for a county or special district to file notice of a ballot title for the May primary election is Friday. As of last week, the proposals only funding source was a 1% tax on the incomes above $125,000 a year for individuals or $250,000 a year for joint filers in the Portland metro area. That was expected to generate about $135 million a year. Backers announced Friday that a 1% tax on businesses with Portland-area revenues in excess of $5 million would also be included after that option drew support from the Portland Business Alliance. The tax landscape for businesses in the Portland area is changing rapidly. Portland began levying a 1% tax on sales at large businesses in 2019, and a new statewide gross-receipts tax for schools kicked in at the beginning of 2020. Businesses appear to still be evaluating the prospect of an additional 1% tax on profits for the Metros measure starting in 2021. While the Portland Business Alliance negotiated changes to the taxs structure last week, it hasnt formally endorsed the ballot measure. The Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland is meeting Thursday to consider the measure. The Technology Association of Oregon said Tuesday it will not take a position. The ballot measure now calls for the 1% tax on incomes above $125,000 a year for individuals or $200,000 a year for joint filers in the Portland metro area and the 1% tax on businesses that bring in more than $5 million from business conducted within Metros three-county boundary. If approved, the taxes would go into effect in 2021 and continue through 2030, unless voters approve extending them. Metro plans to reach an agreement with a state taxing agency to collect the revenue or collect the funds itself if no agreement can be reached. A 20-person regional oversight committee would be created to oversee the program, which would include representatives from the Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington County board of commissioners, Metro Council and Portland City Council. There would also be financial and performance audits of the program. The income tax would apply to 80,000 taxpayers who live in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and another 10,000 who earn income in the area but reside outside it, according to HereTogether. Metro said its expected to bring in $169 million a year about 62% of the total tax revenue. The business tax would apply to about 6% of Portland metro area companies, believed to be around 12,000 to 13,000, HereTogether said. That is expected to bring in $79 million. The majority of the funds raised by the measure are slated to go to Multnomah County 45.3%. Washington County is allocated to receive 33.3% and Clackamas County 21.3%, Metro said. The percentages would be set for the first two years the taxes go into effect and could be adjusted afterward. No less than 95% of the total revenue would be allocated to the three counties. The rest can be kept by the regional government for administration and oversight costs, according to Metro. According to a report released earlier February by ECONorthwest, an economic consulting firm that conducted an analysis for Metro related to the proposed measure, the $250 million annual revenue shouldnt be expected to be the solution to end homelessness. Housing affordability, the report said, has become too large of a problem. The resources would be insufficient to reach tens of thousands of low-income, non-disabled people who are severely rent burdened, the report said. Absent assistance, they will continue to cycle in and out of homelessness until their housing costs are brought better into line with their incomes. The report said building more housing for people at all price points, more affordable housing and more rent subsidies would be some of the additional resources needed to help fully address homelessness. -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. NEW DELHI: Irked with Indian Air Forces airstrikes in Balakot and US President Donald Trumps highly successful India visit, Pakistans notorious spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is conspiring to trigger communal riots and create unrest across the country. According to the sources in the intelligence agencies, the recent violence in the northeast districts of Delhi is being seen as the handiwork of the ISI. Intelligence sources claimed that the sleeper cells of underworld and ISI agents in India are funding few Indian social media handles and websites to promote fake news to bring instability in the country. To execute its nefarious anti-India design, the ISI is also mobilising high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes to India via Nepal and Dubai. The inputs gathered by the intelligence agencies have revealed that these fake currency has striking resemblance to the genuine Indian currency as it matches 7 out of 9 security features, making it highly difficult for an ordinary man to identify them. These fake currency notes are being produced in Karachi. The ISI is also using underworlds network to bring these fake notes to India so that it can be used for anti-national activities. The ISI is also using pro-pakistan sympathisers and illegal Muslim immigrants to incite nationwide riots and violence across India. According to sources, ISI is inciting Muslims for stone-pelting in sensitive cities across the country to disrupt the peace and normalcy in the country. It is also providing them adequate funds to continue anti-India protests over issues like CAA, NRC and NPR. The ISI angle is also being looked into the violence that erupted during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Delhis Jamia Nagar, Seelampur, Jaffrabad and other districts of Northeast Delhi. The sources suggest that anti-terror cells across the country are investigating several suspicious phone calls and, at least 1000 WhatsApp groups, for suspicious activities. The sources added that same on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir, ISI is inciting irate Muslims to attack security forces, police with stones in the national capital, which was evident in the recent violence here. Massive and violent protests have erupted against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and slowly gripped the nation after the situation escalated in several places including Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Northeastern states. The Act aims to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014. Source : Zee News UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultimaker, the global leader in desktop 3D printing, today launched a web-based Ultimaker Marketplace and additional features with the release of Ultimaker Cura 4.5. Introduced in 2012, the open-source slicing software that prepares 3D models for printing currently has more than 600.000 active users per month, preparing 2.000.000 print jobs per week at the end of 2019 twice as much compared to 2018. The Ultimaker Marketplace offers users access to plugins for industry-standard software platforms, adding functionality such as a direct integration of several CAD software solutions into Ultimaker Cura, and more than 110 optimized printing profiles for third-party materials. The release of Ultimaker Cura 4.5 now offers an improved user experience and seamlessly connects the Ultimaker Marketplace with Cura. New cloud functionality associates the selected plugins and optimized printing profiles directly with the user account after logging in online. This means that now all settings remain available and synchronized regardless which workstation is used, without needing to open Ultimaker Cura beforehand. Other new features contributed by smartavionics, in Ultimaker Cura 4.5 include: Fuzzy skin outside only . When enabled, this option prevents fuzzy skin from being printed inside holes, allowing printed parts to fit easily over objects useful for printing grips or similar applications. . When enabled, this option prevents fuzzy skin from being printed inside holes, allowing printed parts to fit easily over objects useful for printing grips or similar applications. Brim distance. This setting allows users to define a gap between the brim and the model, resulting in easier brim removal and reducing chances of leaving blemishes or damage to finished prints. This setting allows users to define a gap between the brim and the model, resulting in easier brim removal and reducing chances of leaving blemishes or damage to finished prints. Skin edge support. Two settings that make it possible to add an extra line inside the infill that better supports the edge of a print's skin. Dick Moerkens, CTO at Ultimaker: "Ultimaker Cura is continuously powered by its open source community and dedicated in-house software team. We see our user database is rapidly expanding every day with new students, makers and professional users. Where one user is more eager to manually tweak and test every setting available, others want to fully integrate 3D printing into existing workflows. I am proud of our open approach and agile development strategy, which allows us to fully streamline and simplify the 3D printing workflow now and in the future." Read more in our blog post on Ultimaker.com. About Ultimaker Since 2011, Ultimaker has built an open and easy-to-use solution of 3D printers, software and materials that enable professional designers and engineers to innovate every day. Today, Ultimaker is the market leader in desktop 3D printing. From offices in the Netherlands, New York, Boston, and Singapore plus production facilities in Europa and the US its global team of over 400 employees work together to accelerate the world's transition to digital distribution and local manufacturing. Ultimaker.com Media Contact Global Moniek Jansink +31 (0)6 153 862 37 [email protected] SOURCE Ultimaker Related Links http://www.ultimaker.com Wefights Vik is a virtual companion supporting patients through their healthcare pathway. Vik brings patients appropriate support at the right time and engages patients over the long run. The app provides consented patients with a platform to gather information about their disease. Through partnership with Clinerion, Vik will now also leverage both retrospective data at the hospital level and direct-to-patient prospective data to identify, engage and recruit patients to participate in the most appropriate clinical trials, according to the trials protocol criteria. Clinerions Patient Network Explorer helps sponsors match their trial protocols to live patient populations in Clinerions international network of partner hospitals. Through partnership with Wefight, the platform now also powers patient-centered recruitment. Many patients from our community are asking Vik, our virtual companion, to suggest the most appropriate trial they could participate in, says Julien Moussalli, Head of Business Development of Wefight. Patients are willing to participate in research; our role is to make the process easier. Clinical trials should no longer fail because of unmet patient recruitment timelines. Clinerion is dedicated to improving patient health and outcomes by leveraging real-world data from its network of hospital partners, says Ian Rentsch, CEO of Clinerion. Partnership with Wefight gives additional options to patients and their treating physicians for the very best in patient care. About Clinerion Clinerion accelerates clinical research and medical access to treatments for patients. We use proprietary technologies for analysis of patient data from our global network of partner hospitals. Clinerion's Patient Network Explorer radically improves the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical trial recruitment by offering data-driven protocol optimization, site feasibility evaluation and real-time patient search and identification to match patients to treatments. Our technology solution provides real-world evidence analytics for medical access. Clinerion facilitates the participation of partner hospitals in leading-edge, industry-sponsored trials and time savings in patient recruitment. We create innovative and disruptive fit-for-purpose solutions which enable pharmaceutical companies to shorten patient recruitment and save costs by streamlining operations and leveraging strategic intelligence. Clinerions proprietary Big Data analytics technologies leverage real-time data from electronic health records which comply with international patient privacy and data security regulations. Clinerion is a global data technology service company headquartered in Switzerland. Clinerion website: http://www.clinerion.com Clinerions Patient Network Explorer: http://www.clinerion.com/index/OverviewOurSolutions/ClinerionPatientNetworkExplorer For more information, please contact: Le Vin Chin Director, Head of Marketing & Communications Clinerion Ltd Elisabethenanlage 11, 4051 Basel, Switzerland Tel.: +41 61 865 60 54 media@clinerion.com About Wefight Wefight is a digital health company that improves personalized patient care for better management of patients with cancer and chronic diseases. Wefight and its team of developers, engineers and data scientists develop Vik, an always improving AI-powered virtual companion supporting patients through their healthcare pathway. Vik is the fastest growing virtual patient network aiming at supporting millions of patients. Vik collects real-world data and generates real-world evidence to enhance patient care. Vik is already supporting tens of thousands of patients in five different indications. Wefight website: http://www.wefight.co For more information, please contact: Julien Moussalli Head of Business Development Wefight Cap Omega, Business Innovation Center, Rond-Point Benjamin Franklin, 34000 Montpellier, France Tel.: +33633665977 julien.moussalli@wefight.co An employee works on the Brilliance BMW assembly line in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, on Feb 17. [Photo/Xinhua] FDI from nonfinancial sectors rises 4% to $12.68b in January, show official data Foreign-funded companies and joint ventures across the nation are demonstrating their confidence in the Chinese market as they gradually restart production amid the novel coronavirus epidemic. Their confidence has been cemented by the Chinese authority's efforts in helping them address problems in investment, production and business operations. Global machinery giant Caterpillar Inc restarted most of its Chinese operations on Feb 10, as per the direction of the Chinese government. "Since beginning operations in China, Caterpillar has been impressed by the resilience of the people in this country and we are confident that China will persevere during this difficult time," said Chen Qihua, vice-president of China operations at Caterpillar. "Be assured, the safety and wellbeing of our employees remain our top priority. We continue to follow government direction on remaining openings and assess daily to ensure the safety of our employees. We will continue to work with our customers and industry partners to build a better world," Chen said. Zheng Qi, vice-general manager of Airbus Tianjin Assembly Co Ltd, said the company has seen up to 1,300 people re-join the production team after health checks. The company will continue with stringent health examinations and protective measures to secure the staff's health. So far, up to 95 percent of foreign-funded companies in Tianjin resumed their production and businesses, said Zhou Lu, the deputy head of the local commerce bureau. Delivering an important speech at a meeting in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said major foreign investment projects should be well implemented, while the opening-up of finance and other services should be expanded. The business environment should continue to be optimized to strengthen the confidence of foreign businesses in long-term investment and operations in China, Xi said. The Chinese government has rolled out measures to facilitate foreign companies in smoothly resuming production and to restore their earnings strength. A recent circular released by the Ministry of Commerce called on local governments to provide timely services to large foreign-invested projects under construction, optimize online government services, and coordinate relevant government branches and public utilities to ensure their supplies to foreign companies. Zong Changqing, director-general of the commerce ministry's department of foreign investment administration, said although the epidemic will continue to affect the operation of both foreign and domestic companies in February and March, its impact on foreign investment will gradually ease once the virus is contained in the country. "China's competitive advantage in attracting foreign investment has not changed," Zong said at a news briefing. In January, foreign direct investment from nonfinancial sectors into the Chinese mainland rose 4 percent year-on-year to 87.57 billion yuan ($12.68 billion), data from the ministry showed. Foreign automobile companies too have been busy with resumption of production. In Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin province, German auto major Volkswagen has started rolling out its Audi A6 models from production line on Feb 17. Gaby-Luise Wust, president of Audi China, said that all their dealers, partners and employees have joined hands to overcome current difficulties. Echoing the sentiment, Jiang Xutong, the vice-director of Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone Administrative Committee, said: "We have set up five service teams for auto producers here in the zone, helping to solve their difficulties 24 hours a day." "I appreciate the government for providing protection and disinfectant supplies despite the shortage of supplies at this difficult time," Brian Cargille, the global head of Printing Operations and Media in HP Inc, said in a letter to Liu Wei, director of the Administrative Committee of the Weihai Hi-tech Zone, in East China's Shandong province. To help companies resume production, Weihai has allocated personnel to help companies tackle each problem related to the resumption of production such as logistics and personnels. Min Dongzhi, external relationship team director of LG Display High-Tech (China) Co Ltd, said he has confidence that his company will make up for the economic losses caused by the epidemic in the following months and meet the company's annual production target. In general, the epidemic's impact is temporary since the Chinese government has sufficient policy space and maneuverability to boost the economy. The long-term positive trend of China's economy will also not change, Geng Shuang, spokesperson of Foreign Ministry said. "We are confident in meeting economic and social development goals," he said. Zhao Ruixuein Jinan, Liu Mingtaiin Changchun and Zheng Caixiongin Guangzhou contributed to the story. London: Julian Assange complained he was struggling to follow his extradition hearing on Wednesday as his legal team argued Britain should not send him to the United States because the charges against him were politically motivated. Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the US including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law for publishing thousands of classified diplomatic cables. He faces decades in prison if convicted. Two supporters wear masks and hold signs during a protest against the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange outside Belmarsh Magistrates Court in London, Credit:AP But the Wikileaks founder complained he was struggling to hear proceedings from his position in the dock at Woolwich Crown Court and asked to be able to sit with his lawyers. "I am as much a participant in these proceedings as I am at Wimbledon [tennis]," he told the judge. "I cannot communicate with my lawyers or ask them for clarifications." AFSCME Union Representative Audie Schmidt challenged board members on language in the purchase agreement. "This appears to be in conflict with the county's obligation to bargain with the union," Schmidt said. "It says you can't improve wages, you can't change any benefits until the time it is signed, which could take until August. That's a problem. You have a duty to bargain. Failure to do so will result in more legal challenges." O'Brien asked if anyone was present from Aperion to speak, noting the board had not heard from any of the company's representatives. There was no one available at the meeting. "About four years ago, we received unsolicited bids of $17 million," Mielke said. "At that time we were in the driver's seat. That would have been the right decision. Now we are in a different place. We are losing (up to $2 million) a year; it's a fire sale. I'm afraid if we don't make a decision, is this home going to be shuttered? That's a sad reality. I don't think anyone wants to sell this home. This is a very hard decision, it's an emotional decision, but it's the right decision." Swanson reminded fellow board members Hope Creek loses $100,000 to $200,000 per month. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Emgold Mining Corporation (TSXV:EMR)(OTC:EGMCF)(FRA:EMLM) ("Emgold" or the "Company") announces it has signed a Property Acquisition Agreement and will sell its Stewart and Rozan Properties, located in British Columbia, to Ximen Mining Corporation (TSXV: XIM, OTCQB: XXMMF, FRA: 1XMA) ("Ximen"). Ximen owns the former producing Kenville Gold Mine located in the Nelson Mining District as well as other properties in southern B.C. One of Ximen's goals is to bring the Kenville Gold Mine back into production. Key points of the transaction include: C$100,000 paid to Emgold in cash at closing; 1.275 million Ximen shares paid to Emgold at closing; 1.275 million share purchase warrants provided to Emgold at closing allowing Emgold to purchase common shares of Ximen at a price of C$0.45 per unit exercisable for a period of 3 years, increasing to C$0.55 per unit and exercisable in years 4 and 5; Emgold will transfer any B.C. Portable Assessment Credits related to exploration on Stewart and Rozan to Ximen as part of the transaction. Rozan is a 1,950 ha property located just to the southeast of the Kenville Property. Stewart is a 5,789 ha property located approximately 10 km south of the Kenville Property. Exploration by Emgold and others on Rozan had identified a number of gold targets and the geologic structures found at the Kenville Mine appear to trend southeast onto the Rozan Property. There Stewart Property is a polymetallic property with known occurrences of gold, silver, molybdenum, and tungsten defined by Emgold and others. The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. David Watkinson, President and CEO of Emgold stated, "The sale of Rozan and Stewart is part of Emgold's strategy to focus its exploration efforts on properties located in Quebec and Nevada. Emgold is pleased to have monetized these assets through this transaction with Ximen. Ximen is focused on exploration in the Nelson mining district, and a share and warrant position in Ximen provides potential upside to our shareholders if Ximen is successful in bringing the Kenville Mine back into production, as well as through other endeavors they are working on." About Emgold Emgold is a junior gold and base metal exploration company focused on Nevada and Quebec, the #1 and #4 jurisdictions for mining investment according to the Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2018. The Company's strategy is to look for quality acquisitions, add value to these assets through exploration, and monetize them through sale, joint ventures, option, royalty, and other transactions to create value for our shareholders. Emgold's assets include the New York Canyon Property, NV which is under an option to joint venture agreement with Kennecott Exploration Company, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto PLC's (LSE: RIO.L, ASE: RIO.AX, NYSE: RIO.N). Kennecott Exploration can earn up to a 75% interest in the property by expending US$22.5 million after which a joint venture will form. The Casa South Property, QC is adjacent and south of Hecla Mining Corporation's (NYSE: HL) operating Casa Berardi Mine. The Buckskin Rawhide East Property, NV is an inlying property to Rawhide Mining LLC's operating Rawhide Mine. The East-West Property, QC, 50% owned by Emgold, is adjacent to and on strike with Wesdome Gold Mine Ltd.'s (TSX: WDO) Kiena Complex (past producing Kiena Mine) and Osikso Mining Corporation's (TSX: OSK) Marban Block (past producing Marban, Norlartic, and Kierrans Mines). Note that the location of Emgold's properties adjacent to producing or past producing mines does not guarantee exploration success at Emgold's properties or that mineral resources or reserves will be defined. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's website at www.emgold.com or view the Company's filings available at www.sedar.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors David G. Watkinson, P.Eng. President & CEO For further information, please contact: David G. Watkinson, P.Eng. Tel: 530-271-0679 Ext 101 Email: info@emgold.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including any technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. SOURCE: Emgold Mining Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577921/Emgold-Sells-Its-BC-Assets-to-Ximen-Mining TEL AVIV Tanzania continued to cement its status as among the worlds best tourism destinations after scooping the Best International Wildlife Destination award at the Outlook Travellers Awards (OLTA) held in India at the weekend. The country achieved the feat ahead of its wildlife tourism rivals South Africa and Kenya, in OLTAs 2020 edition announced in New Delhi on Sunday. In his acceptance speech, Tanzania High Commissioner to India, Mr Baraka Luvanda said the award will further cement the countrys status as one of the best global travel destinations. We believe that through this award and the Outlook Traveller Magazines, more people will be able to know about destination Tanzania and what it has to offer to a wide spectrum of clientele as one of Africas leading travel destination, said the envoy in a speech posted on Tanzanias High Commission website. He told the delegates gathered at the high profile event that Tanzania will not be carried away with the feat; instead take a lead role in marketing its tourism destinations as well strategizing on tapping from emerging markets from the traditional ones. Related Continue Reading KYODO NEWS - Feb 26, 2020 - 12:11 | All, World, Coronavirus (South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks to a president of Daegu Medical Center, You Wan-sik, right, at the Daegu Medical Center on Feb. 25, 2020 in Daegu, South Korea.)[South Korean Presidential Blue House handout/Getty/Kyodo] TOKYO - Japan plans to ban entry by foreign nationals who have visited the South Korean city of Daegu and neighboring county of Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang Province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, government sources said Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will approve the ban during a meeting on the pneumonia-causing virus in the afternoon, the sources said. The entry ban, expected to take effect midnight Wednesday, is likely to target foreign nationals who have been in the city or county within two weeks of their arrival in Japan, they said. The plan came a day after the Japanese Foreign Ministry raised its travel alert for the city and the county in southeastern South Korea, asking Japanese people not to make nonessential trips to the area. So far, Japan has barred entry to foreign nationals who have been in China's Hubei Province -- whose provincial capital is Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak -- and Zhejiang Province. Separately, a Japanese civil group said it has cancelled a plan to send about 15 high school students to South Korea in late March for an exchange program to call for abolishing nuclear weapons. It has been organizing such trips annually since 2003. The students had been scheduled to meet with South Korea-based survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and engage in other activities during the trip to Busan and elsewhere from March 27 to 30. South Korea reported 169 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections in the country above 1,000, a surge from only 51 a week ago. About 80 percent of confirmed cases came from two clusters of infections -- at a branch of a religious sect in Daegu and a hospital in Cheongdo, according to South Korean media. Related coverage: South Korea to look into all sect members at center of outbreak 7 countries restrict entry from Japan to thwart new virus spread Japan adopts basic policy to fight coronavirus outbreak Security personnel conduct flag march during clashes between those against and those supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast Delhi. The violence that started on Monday spread to many parts of northeast Delhi, leading to the death of 21 people and injuries to many including police personnel. (Image: PTI) The family of a Peace Corps volunteer from Missoula is concerned for her safety amid the coronavirus outbreak. Betsy Pickhardt graduated from the University of Montana in 2018 and has since served with the Peace Corps in Mongolia. Her mother Nancy told the Missoulian that shes currently stationed in a town on the edge of the Gobi Desert, teaching English to seventh- through 12th-graders. About a week and a half ago, Betsy Pickhard had been in Montana for her brothers wedding. At the time, her mother was concerned about her returning to Mongolia amid the virus. She said, Well, we havent been issued any guidelines, so I have to go back. Nancy Pickhard, a retired nurse, sent her off with a box of surgical masks. On Monday afternoon Grover Ainsworth, director of programming and training for Peace Corps Mongolia, sent an email to personnel in the country, which Nancy forwarded to the Missoulian. In light of the cancellation of flights to and from South Korea, he wrote, we may require adjustment of guidance we have previously provided. We expect that in circumstances such as this, the unexpected is to be expected. Please understand that circumstances will continue to change, sometimes abruptly, and sometimes contradicting previous guidance. Please be patient. We very much appreciate your patience as we synthesis (sic) this information, update our stakeholders of our current position, receive direction/guidance, and inform the Volunteer community. Nancy Pickhardt called that email wishy-washy. According to the Peace Corps website, there are 94 volunteers in Mongolia. Amid large-scale flight cancellations, Pickhardt said, I just think they need to get out of there, before they cant. In an email, the Peace Corps Office told the Missoulian that the health, safety and security of volunteers are the Peace Corps highest priorities. We are closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak (and) Peace Corps Mongolia has an Emergency Action Plan developed in coordination with headquarters in Washington and the U.S. Embassy. Volunteers are thoroughly trained in their roles and responsibilities and posts are prepared to respond to emergency situations. Peace Corps headquarters is in regular contact with staff in Mongolia who are in touch with volunteers multiple times a week regarding the latest developments. While Pickhardt remains dissatisfied with the Peace Corps response, she did commend the staff of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester for their responsiveness to her concerns. Tester spokesperson Roy Lowenstein said his office had not received any other inquiries from Montana Peace Corps families. Staff for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said that "the senator and his staff are involved and working with Montanans as they reach out about concerns." In the meantime, Pickhardt awaits further updates. They always say Our No. 1 priority is protecting our volunteers.' Ill believe that when I see you guys getting those folks out of there. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The woman turned for medical assistance upon the arrival from Bergamo to Chernivtsi, western Ukraine; the doctors decided to isolate her, as she could have contacted the infected people in Italy Chinese coronavirus Reuters A woman was taken to a hospital in Chernivtsi (western Ukraine) upon returning from Italy; doctors suspect coronavirus. Mariya Polishchuk, the deputy director of the regional healthcare department said so during the briefing at Chernivtsi regional state administration, Ukrinform news agency reported. According to her, the lady herself turned for medical assistance upon the arrival from Bergamo to Chernivtsi. The doctors decided to isolate her, as she could have contacted the infected people in Italy. Currently, she is being examined. "The woman came from Bergamo to Suceava, Romania by airplane. Then, she took a taxi and came to Chernivtsi. She turned to the doctors herself, complaining about increased body temperature", the official said. It is known that the medics took all probes from the patient. They ask the locals to remain calm, because there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ukraine. As we reported, on February 25, medics confirmed the first case of an infection with Chinese coronavirus in mainland Spain. La Vanguardia reported that, citing the Spanish healthcare officials. The incident was observed in Catalunya. A 36-year-old Italian was hospitalized; she traveled to Milan and Bergamo for ten days, and then she felt sick. Currently, she just suffers from typical symptoms of influenza. Medics consider it is a light case of coronavirus infection. A media agency in London has temporarily shut its doors for business after a staff member returned from international travel via Singapore and is now being tested for coronavirus. OMD UK has closed its office in Fitzrovia and has sent staff members home and is set to reopen on Monday. Security is on patrol around the building and there is currently a sign on the door stating it is closed. OMD UK is part of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) and a spokesperson for the firm said the employee in question had been on business in Australia. The worker had stopped off in Singapore which so far has recorded 91 cases of the virus. As of today there had been 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which is where the worker had initially travelled from. OMD UK has closed its office in Fitzrovia (above) and has sent staff members home and is set to reopen on Monday Just two streets away from the OMD offices, two men were seen coming out of an ambulance dressed in hazmat suits and masks, they were knocking on the door of a property. It is not known if this incident is related to the employee at OMD More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800 As a precaution the company has asked all staff to work from home. Speaking to the MailOnline a spokesperson said: Earlier today, we became aware of an employee showing flu like symptoms, who had returned a few days ago from a trip to Australia with a flight connection through Singapore. 'As a precautionary measure, and until definitive results of the employees coronavirus test is confirmed, we are asking OMG employees at our Fitzrovia offices to immediately work from home. An ambulance was seen parked outside Cleveland Street this afternoon, which is just two streets away from the OMD office WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CORONAVIRUS? The signs of COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus, are often mild and are very similar to a cold, flu or chest infection. Typical symptoms of infection include a fever, a cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. These are common complaints at this time of year, so where someone has travelled or who they have come into contact with are important in determining whether they might have coronavirus. The NHS considers people to be at risk if they have the symptoms above and have recently travelled to mainland China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, or the north of Italy (north of Pisa and Florence). People who have, in the past two weeks, been to the Hubei province of China, Iran, the South Korean cities of Daegu or Cheongdo in South Korea, or one of 11 quarantined towns in northern Italy are considered to be at risk even if they feel well. The 11 towns in Italy are Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo, San Fiorano and Vo' Euganeo. Those who have come into contact with others who have visited those places and then feel ill may also be at risk. People who fit any of the categories above should stay at home and self-isolate, away from other people, and phone NHS 111 for more advice. If you think you have the coronavirus do not go to a doctor's surgery or hospital. The virus can spread through coughing, sneezing, or by being close to someone for prolonged periods of time. To protect themselves, people should cough and sneeze into a tissue and throw it away, wash their hands and avoid contact with sick people. Source: NHS Advertisement 'OMG UK employees have been informed that, whilst the risk of the test being positive is minimal, every precaution is being taken to protect their health and wellbeing. 'We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidance provided from the Government and expect to reopen these offices on Monday pending the results'. People wearing hazmat suits were seen just a few streets away from the OMD building on Cleveland Street. An ambulance was parked on the street and two officers dressed in protective clothing and masks were seen knocking at the door of a property. It is not yet known whether or not this incident is related to the employee being tested at OMD. Singapore, where the employee had travelled through, was one of the first Asian countries to be affected by the virus. Singapore has managed to contain the virus, with many people still going about their daily business. Early on the government placed a strict ban on those who had recently visited China from entering the country. This limited the possibility of potential carriers further spreading the disease. The UK also moved quickly and limited the movement of travellers from infected areas with airlines putting bans on flights to key Chinese cities. Public Health England today refused to rule out the possibility of shutting down entire towns, communities and public transport if a coronavirus outbreak takes hold in the UK. This is while US oil company Chevron also sent home around 300 British staff from his London HQ in Canary Wharf after a worker came down with flu-like symptoms after a foreign trip. Some schools in the UK also closed their doors and Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough shut after staff and students returned from a ski trip in Italy. But a school in Swansea is ignoring pleas from parents to shut down after a class returned from a ski trip to Italy with pupils told that they still have to come in unless they have the flu. A worker cleans the doors of a building in Westferry Circus, next to the office of US oil company Chevron at Canary Wharf, after 300 staff were sent home when a worker who had been abroad began feeling unwell Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough is one of more than a dozen schools which have been completely closed after students and staff returned from Italian ski trips. The Health Secretary has urged them to stay open Cransley School, a private school in Northwich, Cheshire (pictured) announced it will be closed for the rest of the week because of coronavirus fears. It will also undergo a deep clean, in a precautionary move to prevent any cases Secondary school Cleeve Park, in Sidcup, south-east London also remained open today despite some of its pupils and staff reporting 'feeling unwell' after returning from a school ski trip to Bormio, in northern Italy on Saturday. WHERE ARE THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN GRIPPED BY CORONAVIRUS FEARS AFTER SKI TRIPS TO NORTHERN ITALY? Closed Lutton St Nicholas primary school in Lincolnshire Gedney Church End primary school St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire The Brine Leas Academy sixth form in Cheshire William Martin Junior and Infant School in Essex Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst, Birmingham The ContinU Plus Academy in Kidderminster Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough Shepeau Stow Primary School, in Spalding St Peter's Church of England Middle School, Old Windsor Archbishop Temple School, Preston Pupils sent home Salendine Nook High School, Huddersfield Newquay Tretherras The Holt School, Wokingham Cambridge House Grammar School, County Antrim Penair School, Truro Torquay Boys' Grammar School Haverfordwest High School, Pembrokeshire Hall Cross Academy, Doncaster Sandbach High School, Cheshire The Crispin School, Somerset Cleeve Park School, London (Sidcup) Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby Woodrush High School in Wythall, Birmingham Guernsey Grammar School Sydney Russel School in Dagenham Ysgol Friars School in Bangor, Wales Banbridge Academy in Northern Ireland Limavady Grammar School in Northern Ireland Ely College in Cambridgeshire Advertisement The school has announced today that it has advised an unspecified number of pupils and staff to isolate themselves at home, but allowed others from the trip attend. It said it decided not to close after following advice from Public Health England that the school should remain open and all students should attend if they are well. However, some parents are against the headmaster's decision. One father has chosen to keep his son at home until results come back negative. Headteachers have the final say on when schools close for health and safety reasons such as illnesses or bad weather. The latest to shut their doors are Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough and Shepeau Stow Primary in Spalding. Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire also closed 'because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school'. St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington told parents it had to shut. A member of staff at William Martin Junior and Infant School came back from a half-term holiday in Italy so is shut as a precaution today. Elsewhere Nottinghamshire Police officer has been taken off-duty today and advised to stay at home as a precaution amid coronavirus fears after he reported feeling unwell while on duty following a recent trip to northern Italy. It comes as Easter holiday plans of millions of Brits have been thrown into chaos as the killer coronavirus grips Europe. Cases have been recorded in Austria, Spain, Greece and France, as well as a host of European countries - while Italy has been particularly ravaged, with nearly 447 infected and 12 dead. Holidaymakers have been left in a panic over the spread of the virus, with many reluctant to go ahead with their bookings. British Airways is now offering a change of date to passengers heading to northern Italy in the next week. They will be able to rebook their flights to any date up till March 31. The rebooking applies to passengers heading to Milan, Turin, Bologna, Venice, Bergamo and Verona. DES MOINES Since the proposed legislation got a shot in the arm from President Donald Trump, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is more optimistic about passage this year of his bipartisan plan to lower prescription drug prices. To get it to the floor of the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, however, hell have to persuade Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Its my job to make the leader of the Senate comfortable in bringing it up, Grassley said Tuesday about his Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. I dont think he really wants it brought up. Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, made clear hes not blaming McConnell. The GOP caucus is split more against my bill than in favor. So Grassley needs to win over some colleagues. Grassley tweeted earlier this week that the bill got a boost from Trumps recognition of my work in his State of the Union address. We are gaining many new co-sponsors/supporters + will reintroduce our updated bipartisan bill soon. A beauty gadget that claims to be like a 'workout for the face' is set to launch in Australia, promising higher cheekbones and a lifted jawline with minimal effort. Swedish skincare brand Foreo developed the BEAR tool as a way of 'exercising' the face in the bathroom at night, with microcurrent and T-sonic pulsations - pulses that reach across the skin - working to tone the outer layer of the epidermis. The electric pulses are designed to trigger facial muscles - without ever shocking them - to encourage firmness and counteract sag. Swedish skincare brand Foreo has developed the BEAR tool as a way of 'exercising' in your bathroom at night (the BEAR is pictured) BEAR is integrated with the Foreo app and guides the user through a 'facial fitness routine' with instructions on how to move the device to get the most benefit. It recommends applying a serum to the face before using BEAR because dry skin won't conduct the microcurrent as well. 'Micro currents mirror your own electrical currents on a cellular level helping to refine and contour your complexion,' the website reads. 'Cells are broken down and grow back stronger just as your body muscles when you workout in the gym. The brand recommends applying a serum to your face before using BEAR because dry skin won't conduct the microcurrent as well At $395 it's not the cheapest beauty product on the market but nonetheless promises to live up to the hype 'Signs of ageing are improved on a cosmetic level but your dermis layer is also stimulated into action for longer-term benefits.' The $395 product will become available in Australia on April 3 at Sephora, Adore Beauty and David Jones. Foreo is well-known for its beauty tech, selling one of their LUNA devices - a facial massager and cleaner - every three seconds around the world. The Luna devices last for up to one year on a single charge and give off 8,000 sonic pulses per minute to create a clean-skin feeling. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:37:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Medical worker Kang Liyuan (3rd R) and her colleagues cheer themselves up at Wuhan No. 7 Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo by Xiong Fang/Xinhua) "Since Mr. Pompeo talks about freedom of speech so much, would he care to explain why he cursed at an NPR journalist? Why was the journalist denied press credentials to travel with him? Is that Mr. Pompeo's definition of 'freedom of speech'? I think it's typical discourse monopoly and double standards," said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson. BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's groundless accusation against the country's novel coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention and control work, and urged the U.S. side to give up ideological bias, and stop undermining China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a question concerning Pompeo's accusation that expelling Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalists exposes the issue in China's COVID-19 response, alleging that if China permitted its own and foreign journalists to speak freely, China and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge. "When the Chinese people are going all-out to fight the epidemic, Mr. Pompeo once again launched groundless accusation against China. This is so abhorrent and we are firmly opposed to it," Zhao said. Stitched aerial photo taken on Feb. 8, 2020 shows a view of the nursing unit B of "Wuhan Livingroom" in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. The cultural building complex dubbed "Wuhan Livingroom" is converted into a hospital to receive patients infected with the novel coronavirus. (Xinhua/Li He) Noting Pompeo's remarks did not even get the facts straight, Zhao said the Chinese government has been open, transparent and highly responsible in its epidemic prevention and control efforts. As for the WSJ article with its insulting headline, it is never a question of freedom of speech and press. All people, as long as they have conscience and bottom line, should reject and resist such racist and wrongful words and actions, said the spokesperson. "Even WSJ has admitted its mistake and been learning some lessons, how come Mr. Pompeo, in total disregard of the public opinion of the international community, made yet another attempt to back up WSJ by badmouthing China? One has to wonder if WSJ is an agent of the U.S. State Department," he added. "Since Mr. Pompeo talks about freedom of speech so much, would he care to explain why he cursed at an NPR journalist? Why was the journalist denied press credentials to travel with him? Is that Mr. Pompeo's definition of 'freedom of speech'? I think it's typical discourse monopoly and double standards," said Zhao. "We urge Mr. Pompeo to give up his ideological bias against China, discard the Cold-War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, act in ways that suit his status, stop undermining China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation, and make no more attempts at sowing discord among the Party, the Chinese government and the Chinese people," the spokesperson added. Shutdown: Military officers stand outside Milans Duomo Cathedral, which is closed due to the coronavirus The worrying prospect that the coronavirus outbreak could become the first truly disruptive pandemic of the globalisation era is renewing doubts over the stability of the world economy. With the death toll approaching 3,000, over 80,000 cases officially recorded and an outbreak in Italy now shutting down the richest chunk of its economy, some economists are beginning to war-game what an untethered outbreak could mean for global growth. Oxford Economics reckons an international health crisis could be enough to wipe more than $1trn from global gross domestic product. That would be the economic price tag for a spike in workplace absenteeism, lower productivity, sliding travel, disrupted supply chains, and reduced trade and investment. Investors are already nervous, with leading US stock indices slumping more than 3pc on Monday and the S&P 500 dropping the most since February 2018. For now, central bankers and governments continue to bet that the coronavirus will not damage the world economy by much, and perhaps allow it to enjoy a rapid rebound once the illness fades. But that confidence is being tested. While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) currently reckons the virus will only force it to knock 0.1 percentage points off its 3.3pc global growth forecast for 2020, chief economist Gita Gopinath said in a Yahoo Finance interview that a pandemic declaration would risk "really downside, dire scenarios". The head of the World Health Organisation called the new cases "deeply concerning" but said the outbreak is not yet a pandemic. Still, the protracted shutdown of Chinese factories and the spread of the virus to South Korea, Iran and Italy's northern industrial heartland raise the spectre of much greater disruption. The virus risks tipping Italy into a recession that could hurt the rest of Europe too. South Korea's economy is being buffered, with consumer confidence plunging the most in five years. Expand Close Concerned: UBS chairman Axel Weber predicts a big drop in growth / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Concerned: UBS chairman Axel Weber predicts a big drop in growth UBS chairman Axel Weber is already far more pessimistic than the IMF and warned global growth will experience a massive drop from 3.5pc to 0.5pc, while China will shrink in the first quarter. "The much larger downside risk is that this continues to be a problem," he told Bloomberg Television. How to assess the risk is complicated by doubt over how far the coronavirus will travel. In an analysis that pre-dates the current outbreak, the World Bank reckons a destructive pandemic could result in millions of deaths, and points to how even conservative estimates suggest such an experience might destroy as much as 1pc of global GDP. A disastrous health crisis akin to the 1918 Spanish flu, which may have killed as many as 50 million people, could cost 5pc of global GDP, the Washington-based lender said in a 2015 report. Bloomberg Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) watched Tuesday night's Democratic debate, and one thing stood out to her. "Not a single climate change question," she tweeted. "Horrifying." One of the participants, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), agreed, responding, "A disgrace." The Democratic candidates don't shy away from talking about climate change on the campaign trail; billionaire investor and environmentalist Tom Steyer told voters in South Carolina on Tuesday that climate change is his "No. 1 priority," and if elected, he will declare a climate emergency on his first day in office. Poll after poll has shown that climate change is a key issue for voters; last week, the Pew Research Center released a survey showing that for the first time in two decades, a majority of Americans believe that tackling climate change should be a main priority for the president and Congress. Another poll released last week by the nonpartisan nonprofit Climate Nexus found that for Democrats, climate change is one of the two most important issues facing the country right now. "This is the first time in American political history where climate change is not just a top-tier issue, it is the top-tier issue," Anthony Leiserowitz, a senior research scientist at Yale who helped conduct the poll, told The Atlantic. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Naming Mike Pence coronavirus czar with 'zero experience in the medical area' is 'a total joke,' says 2014 Trump Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 If you notice that the sky is less than blue and feel an urge to don a mask, it's probably because the air quality in the Indonesian capital has significantly worsened over the past two years, according to AirVisual, which monitors air quality in cities the world over. The 2019 World Air Quality Report published on Tuesday shows that the air over Jakarta has become increasingly polluted since 2018 and hit a new low in 2019. The report is based on AirVisual's real-time aggregated data on air quality, which is gathered from ground-based air monitoring stations that measure fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers, or PM2.5. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The 10th Democratic debate, in Charleston, South Carolina, failed to repeat the drama of last week's confrontation in Las Vegas, with the seven rival candidates often shouting over each other, but gave voters another chance to run the rule over the candidates before what looks like a crucial vote on Saturday. It is also the last debate ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when 14 states decide who they want to take on Donald Trump in November: California, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, as well as Democrats Abroad. Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer went head-to-head in the debate.. Here's how the seven hopefuls fared. Bernie Sanders As the man who looks like he might run away with the nomination following three out of three triumphs, the Vermont senator was always going to be the main target. And sure enough, his rivals took turns to lay into him. Sanders was taken to task over gun control, the cost of his healthcare plans and accusations that he was being unwittingly helped by Russia so that Moscow could ensure another four years of Donald Trump in power. An enduring theme played into the dilemma facing Democratic voters: is the lifelong democratic socialist electable? Pete Buttigieg in particular so far his main challenger pushed the idea that Sanders would be unable to attract moderates and would not only let Trump back in for a second term but could affect the chances of congressional candidates further down the ticket. None of it put the veteran senator off his stride and he finished with an appeal to the young, who have bolstered his success so far. If he can make a good showing in South Carolina on Saturday and particularly on Super Tuesday a week from now then he will probably feel untouchable. According to analysis by CNN, he had the most speaking time, with 15 minutes and 43 seconds. Joe Biden Under pressure after disappointing results despite having long been the frontrunner in national polls the former vice-president was in feisty mood. Biden relied hard on his experience, in increasing funding for the Center for Disease Control when asked about coronavirus, and playing on his foreign policy record. 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 He hit Sanders on gun control and over reports that he wanted to challenge Barack Obama in 2012. In a comparatively chaotic debate, Biden got a roar of applause from the audience when he insisted he would keep speaking. In front of a sympathetic crowd, Biden gave the performance he needed to ahead of a vote which is meant to revive his fading fortunes but whether it's too late to make much of a difference remains to be seen. Pete Buttigieg The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had a clear strategy attack Bernie Sanders. The two have emerged as the frontrunners so far and Buttigieg will be keen to consolidate his place as the lead moderate at the expense of Biden, Bloomberg and Klobuchar. Addressing the democratic socialist Sanders, the 38-year-old said vulnerable Democrats were "running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can". Under fire from Sanders for accepting contributions from billionaires, Buttigieg cheekily used his answer as a call for donations from everyone else and warned billionaires that he would tax them more. An upbeat and confident performance, although his lack of popularity with African-American voters may result in a dent in his prospects come Saturday night and even more so on Super Tuesday when more significant black electorates come into play. Elizabeth Warren She was the undisputed star of last week's Las Vegas debate but it didn't appear to do her much good in the Nevada caucuses, where she finished fourth with less than 10 per cent and no delegates. The Massachusetts senator picked up where she left off, tearing into Mike Bloomberg for his treatment of women in the workplace, his historic support for Republicans (including South Carolina's Lindsey Graham) and his failure so far to release his tax returns (he has said he will after Super Tuesday). She also accused him of being the "riskiest" choice available. Warren also laid into Sanders, her rival on the left of the party. "Bernie and I both want to see universal health care, but Bernie's plan doesn't explain how to get there. Doesn't show how we're going to get enough allies into it and doesn't show enough about how we're gonna pay for it." She said bluntly that she felt she would make a better president. Mike Bloomberg After his mauling in his debate debut in Las Vegas last week at the hands of Elizabeth Warren, the former New York mayor came out fighting. Referring to reports that intelligence officials have told Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to interfere in his campaign, Bloomberg told him: "Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected so you lose to him." As soon as she got the chance, however, Warren was back to putting Bloomberg on the back foot again, this time with a claim dating from 1995 that he had once told a pregnant employee to "kill it". Amy Klobuchar The Minnesota senator also targeted Bernie Sanders, saying: "I like Bernie. We came in together to the Senate. But I do not think that this is the best person to lead the ticket." Stressing her moderate credentials she warned her rivals: "If we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, we're going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart." Tom Steyer The billionaire has been trying to foster African-American support in North Carolina -- the first state in the primary process where a majority of Democratic voters are black. He stressed his work providing banking facilities to minorities -- and to women -- and spoke in favour of providing reparations for slavery. Steyer was forced to defend his previous business interest in private prisons under attack from Joe Biden, who is relying on a strong African-American showing in Saturday's primary. Moderators Not a great night for those asking the questions and trying to keep things under control. CBS journalists Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett and Bill Whitaker struggled to maintain discipline and, at one point, seemed not to know whether the debate was over or not. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 10:22 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066ab42e 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus-Indonesia-zero-case,Semarang,Indonesia Free A male patient suspected of COVID-19 died on Feb. 23 at Kariadi Central General Hospital in Semarang, Central Java, after being treated in an isolation room for nearly a week. The patient had reportedly returned to Indonesia on Feb. 12 from Spain via Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and presented symptoms of the disease after his arrival, including fever, cough and shortness of breath. He was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 17 and transferred to an isolation room two days later. Kariadi hospitals medical and nursing director, Agoes Oerip Poerwoko, confirmed that the patient died on Sunday, but asserted that SARS-CoV-2 the virus that causes COVID-19 was not the cause of the patient's death. The patient died not from the coronavirus, but due to severe breathing difficulties. The result of a laboratory test from the Health Ministrys research and development center came out a day after the patient was buried, and it showed he tested negative for the coronavirus, Agoes said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday. Most recently on Wednesday, Agoes said that the patient had died of bronchopneumonia and reiterated that he had tested negative for COVID-19. The patient tested negative for the coronavirus according to the observation of the Health Research and Development Agency [Balitbangkes] in Jakarta. Balitbangkes did the test, he said. Agoes said that the patients body was wrapped in plastic and then cremated, which was normal procedure in infectious disease management. Fathur Nurcholis, a doctor who had treated the patient, said the patient had difficulty breathing and eventually succumbed to multiple organ failure. Besides the recently deceased patient, Agoes said that the hospital had also treated two other patients suspected of COVID-19 infection, an Indonesian and a Japanese who had traveled to other countries. The two patients had been discharged after testing negative for SARS-CoV-2. Kariadi hospital has treated at least 23 patients for suspected coronavirus infection since January. Four of the patients were nationals of China, Japan, and South Korea, all of which have localized outbreaks. The city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak that emerged in December 2019, which has affected 41 countries to date. Read also: It is not COVID-19: Indonesian health official mixes up disease and virus Of the 23 patients, 10 of them are patients under surveillance because [they] show clinical symptoms [of COVID-19], while the 13 others are under observation and have been allowed to go home, said Agoes. Separately, Kariadi hospital medical services head Nurdopo Baskoro said the hospital had just admitted a female patient on Monday who was being treated in an isolation room. "[The patient] is a 25-year-old woman who came to the hospital in the afternoon complaining about having a fever, coughing and chills. She has been in close contact with foreigners from [South] Korea and China, but has no history of traveling abroad, Nurdopo said. As of Feb. 25, more than 80,400 people around the world have contracted the virus and more than 2,700 deaths have been linked to COVID-19. Indonesia has reported zero confirmed cases to date, although at least nine Indonesian crewmen aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for COVID-19. In addition, a Chinese national and a Japanese national were diagnosed with the disease upon their return from vacationing in Bali over the past two months, according to reports issued by the infectious disease centers in those countries. (syk) Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include the hospital's explanation for the patient's cause of death. Getting into one of the Democratic debates is like getting a ticket to the Super Bowl or the World Series. Ordinary Americans dont just walk up to the window and buy a seat for $28.50. Often, they got one free from someone important like one of the candidates (who are each allotted an equal number of seats), a Democratic Party official or someone who works for the news network hosting the debate. And then there are the seats available for sale. The state and local parties that help organize the debates offer the option for people interested in attending to sponsor the debate. This was the case tonight in Charleston, South Carolina, as it has been in other debates over the last seven months. The Charleston County Democratic Party offered sponsorship options ranging from $1,750 to $3,200, which included admission to the debate as well as access to other gatherings surrounding the event, according to a local news station, WCSC. This is something that the average person doesnt usually get to go to, the station quoted the county party chair as saying. For the first Democratic debate in Miami in June, the Florida Democratic Party offered sponsorships for thousands of dollars, according to The Miami Herald. For $4,500, a sponsor gets two tickets to a pre-debate reception on June 26 and two tickets to both debate nights, the paper reported, as well as a $1,750 ticket that covered admission to one reception and the debate for one person. After social media buzzed with unfounded speculation that the booing of Sen. Bernie Sanders was related to the high cost of some tickets presumably purchased by wealthy donors or wealthy candidates the Democratic National Committee pushed back. Let me give you the facts: The tickets were divided up between the DNC, campaigns (with equal allocation), SC Dem Party, CBCI, CBS and Twitter. We invited local and community leaders, and DNC supporters. This is the most diverse audience, the partys communications director, Xochitl Hinojosa, said on Twitter. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Megan Boswell, 18, the mother of missing toddler Evelyn Boswell has been arrested and charged with making false reports in relation to the disappearance of her daughter The mother of missing toddler Evelyn Boswell has been arrested and charged with making false reports in relation to the disappearance of her daughter in Tennessee. Megan Boswell, 18, is said by police to have changed her story 'multiple times' during the investigation. Evelyn, aged 15 months, was last seen in December but wasn't reported missing until February 18. It follows the arrests in North Carolina last week of the child's grandmother Angela Boswell, 42, and her boyfriend William McCloud, 33, in a reportedly stolen BMW they said had been given to them by Megan, who allegedly hadn't paid for it. They have been charged with theft of property over $2,500 and remain in custody. Evelyn vanished from Blountville, Tennessee, in a confusing case that has been bogged down by misinformation and conflicting accounts. It was initially reported that Evelyn hadn't been seen since December 26, but it's now thought she was last seen by a babysitter on December 10 or 11. The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Evelyn's mother was being held on a $25,000 bond. Scroll down for video Boswell was visibly emotional as she described her daughter and her disappearance Evelyn Boswell (pictured) is the 15-month-old toddler whose been missing since early December 2019, but only became the focus of an Amber Alert on February 18 The child's grandmother Angela Boswell, 42,(left) and her boyfriend William McCloud, 33, (right) were arrested Friday in a reportedly stolen BMW The statement said: 'Charges have now been placed against the mother of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, who is the subject of a statewide AMBER Alert. 'During the course of the investigation, Megan Maggie Boswell provided detectives and agents with a number of conflicting statements. 'Further investigation revealed that some of the information provided by Megan Boswell was false.' On Friday, Boswell spoke out for the first time about her daughter's disappearance claiming she knew who has the toddler. Speaking to WCYB, Boswell said she last saw Evelyn in December but didn't report her missing until Tuesday because she was afraid the people who had her would disappear. Evelyn Boswell is still missing and there is a $56,000 reward for her safe return Megan Boswell, left, has been charged with making false reports over the disappearance of her daughter Evelyn, (right) Evelyn's parents are Maggie Boswell (left) and Ethan Perry (right), who is an active-duty US Army soldier stationed in Louisiana. Boswell has not spoken to Perry about their missing child 'Well the reason I didn't report it or anything was I knew the person who had her, and I didn't want them to run away with her,' Boswell said. 'And as soon as they thought anything was going on they just kinda vanished. So I'm just kinda worried, you know, about where they are at. What they're doing with her at this point in time.' Boswell added that she left her daughter with a person she thought she could trust while she was at work but that she would do things differently if she had a second chance. 'In a way I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear and they have. And they have tried to find them... They won't answer phone calls. They just kinda disappeared,' she continued. 'Yeah I probably would have called the first day. I should have. But I just didn't want them to run with her, like they have now.' Boswell was speaking as she emerged from court in Bristol but was is not clear why she was there. Authorities say Evelyn (pictured) was officially reported missing on February 18, but that she was last seen two months earlier around December 10 or 11 Where is Evelyn? An AMBER Alert was issued on Wednesday in Tennessee for 15-month-old Evelyn Mae Boswell, who has not been seen since last December but was just reported missing She refused to name who she believes to have her daughter but says that she is cooperating with the police and can not share further information on the case. In an interview on Monday with WJHL, Boswell claimed that her mother took Evelyn to Mendota, Virginia. 'I told TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) where to find her in Mendota. My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper and if they dont go tonight, Im going to go find her myself, because Ive told them and theyre not really like taking it seriously,' Boswell said. She added that TBI isn't taking her seriously because 'I've not fully told them I've been like "hey, like my mom camped out in Mendota, you know, to go check them out," but I've never been like, "hey, she's like in a silver camper" because my mom did threaten me like you know if I told anybody Im not gonna get into that but she did.' Evelyn's father, 20-year-old Ethan Perry, is on active duty in the military stationed in Louisiana and was said by Boswell to be seeking leave to return home. Perry posted a brief Facebook update addressing his daughter's disappearance last week saying: 'I'm currently working with authorities trying to find Evelyn. I can't say much more than that at the moment.' Meanwhile, Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said he believes Evelyn is alive and everything possible is being done to bring her home. Officials in Tennessee found the gray 2007 BMW (stock image), which may be linked to the baby's disappearance, in North Carolina on Friday and two people were arrested Angela Boswell (left) and boyfriend William McCloud (right) waived extradition on Monday and will be transferred from North Carolina to Tennessee During a press conference Friday afternoon, the sheriff said while Boswell has been cooperating with the investigation, the information she has been providing has proven to be inaccurate. Cassidy elaborated that some of Boswell's 'stories' that emerged during police interviews have not been corroborated by surveillance video and witness accounts. Boswell claimed she went to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday for a lie-detector test but was turned away because she is pregnant. Authorities said they have received more than 500 tips from the public, but 'there have been no credible sightings'. People and businesses in the community are offering reward money for Evelyn's safe return. The total has now reached nearly $59,000. Sullivan County detectives traveled to Wilkes County over the weekend to interview Angela Boswell and her boyfriend McCloud while they were in custody. Details regarding those conversations have not been disclosed. The pair will remain in custody without bond in North Carolina until they can be extradited to Tennessee. Authorities are urging anyone with information that could lead to Evelyn's whereabouts to call 1-800-TBI-FIND. (Photo : ANTARA FOTO on Reuters) Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Symptoms May Only Appear After 2 Weeks Quarantine Says Studies (Photo : PRESS SEC. OF EL SALVADOR GOVT on Reuters) Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Symptoms May Only Appear After 2 Weeks Quarantine Says Studies (Photo : DR. PETER LO on Reuters) Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Symptoms May Only Appear After 2 Weeks Quarantine Says Studies Coronavirus quarantine should last until straight 30 days and not only 14 days or two weeks, says current studies. This was revealed when a man from Hubei province, China-- where the outbreak was first detected -- shown his Coronavirus symptoms after the day he was quarantined or for the last 14 days. What does it mean for people that have been quarantined and should we panic? Study: Coronavirus symptoms may appear after 30 days not two weeks The Novel Coronavirus or officially called as COVID-19 has already killed more than 2,000 confirmed victims of the disease. Over 70,000 people have already been diagnosed around the world that contained the viral respiratory illness. One of the stringent health measures that the government has been doing to prevent its widespread is to quarantine all people that came from the infected countries. As advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, there must be a two to 14-day quarantine period for all people that might have the disease. After this, once the person did not experience any symptoms, the alleged Coronavirus victim should be able to get home and enter the country. "It's widely accepted that there's a 14-day rule of thumb," Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, told Business Insider. "That's how long you have to wait to go back to your daily life." However, two health studies explained that there might be huge misinformation regarding the quarantine process. There are cases that Coronavirus symptoms may only appear right after the standard 14 quarantine days. WTF! Officials say Coronavirus quarantine should be 30 days, not two weeks only A 70-year-old man that came from Hubei Province, China, visited her sister that was confirmed to have the viral disease. After this, the man did the quarantine process, and after 14 days of no diagnosis, the man had a fever and experienced the symptoms. On Feb. 20, he was diagnosed and was tested positive with Coronavirus. It was estimated that the man only experienced the Novel symptoms after 26 days since he was quarantined. Another study published on Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said that one of their patient's incubation period lasted for straight 19 days and not only two weeks. Zhong Nanshan, who discovered the SARS virus, also published research on Feb. 6Feb. 6, saying that governments around the world should apply at least 24-day quarantine to all suspected Coronavirus victims as some people only experienced the said symptoms longer than expected. Business Insider interviewed Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin; she said that "every day there are new estimates coming out for the incubation period." CDC clarified that they are confident with a 14-day quarantine period Though there are already confirmed cases of Coronavirus victims that were only identified right after the quarantine period, CDC said that people should not panic with this news and that incubation is the top priority in preventing it is widespread. Hence, they are careful about each of their steps. The agency clarified that 14 days is enough for all suspected victims. "The incubation period is obviously really important for us as we look to make sure that we're releasing these people safely from quarantine," Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on Feb. 12Feb. 12. "We still think that for today, for now, 14 days is the right interval to use," she added. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A labourer who drove a digger into the front of a Travelodge after a row for not being paid over Christmas has been jailed for five years and four months. John Manley, 36, caused 443,000 of damage following a rampage near the hotel in Liverpool after becoming incensed at not being paid for 12 days by his company, MF Groundworks, for his work as groundsman at the site. The ground worker and digger driver, from Netherton, Merseyside, was incensed as he was owed 600 in labour, that he had been waiting for for 10 days. John Manley (mugshot above), 35, was sentenced to five years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court today after driving his digger into the front of a Travelodge hotel Shocking mobile phone video footage of the incident went viral. Sentencing, at Liverpool Crown Court today, David Aubrey QC said Manley erupted 'like a volcano' after being forced to wait for the wages in January 2019. He said: 'This was a revenge attack and many people's lives were endangered and put at risk and the damage on this occasion was considerable. 'It was totally and utterly disproportionate concerning your wages. 'The result of your acts was destruction in the extreme.' The father-of-two, who had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts, damaging property reckless as to whether life was endangered and dangerous driving, was also banned from driving for four years. Manley, who heard the verdict via video link from prison, covered his face with his hands and put his head on the table as the judge read the sentence. His rampage caused staff at the multimillion pound, 77 room hotel at Liverpool Innovation Park to have to delay starting their new jobs by six weeks. Footage showing the vehicle repeatedly smashing into the reception of the Travelodge (above) in Edge Lane, Liverpool, went viral online after the incident The incident, which was filmed by several witnesses on mobile phones, saw the digger mount the hotel steps and enter the lobby through its glass entrance. Clips also showed the digger operator shouting about being owed money. The court heard he had seven previous convictions for criminal damage and a history of violent and impulsive behaviour. Mr Sharman, defending Manley, had earlier told the court the dad had suffered a difficult upbringing being threatened by his violent dad, who he described as 'a drug dealer' and had tried to commit suicide on several occasions, the first aged 10. He underwent a mental health assessment at Broadoak Hospital following his rampage on January 21 last year, where he was diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder. Merseyside Police were called to the hotel shortly after 3pm on January 21 but said the driver left the vehicle and made off on foot in the direction of Edge Lane. A force spokesman said one man experienced eye irritation due to exposure to diesel and was treated at the scene by North West Ambulance Service. US: Senior Al-Shabab Leader, Wife Behind Kenya's Manda Bay Attack Killed By Harun Maruf February 25, 2020 The U.S. military says a senior al-Shabab leader behind the deadly Jan. 5 attack on the Manda Bay base in Kenya, was killed Feb. 22 in precision airstrikes, along with his wife. In a statement, the military says the targeted individuals were identified as members of al-Shabab. The statement did not name the senior al-Shabab leader killed in the strike, but it says he was in charge of planning and directing terrorist operations along the Kenya border region, including the Manda Bay attack. The statement says the senior leader's wife also was a "witting and active member of al-Shabab responsible for facilitating a wide range of terrorist activities." The only strike reported by the U.S. military Feb. 22 occurred in the vicinity of Saakow, an al-Shabab stronghold in the Middle Juba region. The United States reported that two al-Shabab individuals were killed in that strike. Three Americans, including a soldier and two contractors, were killed in the Jan. 5 attack when the Manda Bay base was breached by the militants, who also destroyed six aircraft. "Since Jan. 5, U.S. Africa Command and our partners have pursued those responsible for the attack on U.S. and Kenyan forces at Manda Bay," said U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command. "This strike demonstrates that we will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for Manda Bay and those wishing to do harm to Americans and our African partners." During a hearing last month in the U.S. Congress, General Townsend acknowledged the U.S. military was not well prepared for the attack. "We were not as prepared there at Manda Bay as we needed to be," he said. "Al-Shabab managed to penetrate on to that airfield ... killed three Americans and destroyed six aircraft, so we weren't as prepared, and we are digging into that to find out why that is the case." Meanwhile, Somalia's largest telecommunications company, Hormuud, says one of its employees was killed in Monday's airstrike near the al-Shabab-held town of Jilib, Middle Juba region. A spokesperson for Hormuud said the head of the company's office in Jilib, Mohamud Haji Salad, was killed at his home there. Hormuud says Salad was a civilian who has been working for the company since 2002. "We confirm that this man was our employee," says the spokesperson. "He had nothing to do with any group or organization." The U.S. reported Monday that in coordination with the Somali government, it has conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Jilib, killing one al-Shabab member. "We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike," the statement read. The company said it contacted the Somali government Monday night and requested an investigation into the matter. A spokesperson for AFRICOM said, "We will look into the matter." "The command will review any information it has about the incident, including any relevant information provided by third parties," said the spokesperson. "We comply with the laws of armed conflict and take feasible precautions during the targeting process to strike only legitimate targets tied to al-Shabab." VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin and VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a decree on celebrating the Day of Resistance against the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on February 26. He stated this during a speech at the Crimea Time forum, which was broadcasted by 112 Ukraine TV Channel. Resistance Day will be celebrated annually on February 26. Zelensky added that it should be celebrated on February 26, because the largest gathering in support of the integrity and unity of Ukraine had taken place in Sevastopol on that day six years before. "In honor of the courage and heroism of all participants of the rally, today I sign a decree on the Day of Resistance against the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. This day will be celebrated annually on February 26," the head of state announced. President of Ukraine believes that the end of the war will take place in Donbas, and the full onset of peace - in Crimea. As we reported earlier, on February 20, Ukrainians commemorated the deceased Euromaidan activists and law enforcers, who lost their lives during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. 48 protesters were gunned down by the government-hired snipers in the very heart of Kyiv on February 20, 2014. About 80 more were wounded. Four servicemen of Berkut riot police were killed as well. As the investigation unfurled, five ex-fighters of Berkut were taken into custody. Handing Sinclair a 14-month sentence, the Judge said he was taking into account his positive work record, lack of criminal convictions and the delay in bringing the case to court (stock photo) A "talented boxer" who attacked and threatened to kill his pregnant girlfriend was starting a seven-month prison sentence yesterday. Aaron Sinclair will spend an additional seven months on licence after he is released from jail for the August 2017 incident. Belfast Crown Court heard Sinclair, from Leopold Street, assaulted his 35-week pregnant girlfriend after losing his temper over a number on her phone. During the "sustained" incident, she was punched several times and a false tooth was knocked out. A defence barrister for 31-year-old Sinclair said his client "bitterly regrets" what occurred and "cannot go back in time and undo what he did". Judge David McFarland was told by Crown prosecutor Kate McKay that at the time of the violent incident, Sinclair and the woman were separated after being in an on/off relationship for around a year. At around 8pm on August 8, 2017, she was contacted by Sinclair, who had been at a friend's funeral and who had locked himself out of his flat. She had a spare set of keys, so went to the flat to assist her ex-partner. Saying Sinclair was "intoxicated", Ms McKay said he initially appeared calm but then became agitated. He took the woman's phone and refused to believe a number she had stored was for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. She became concerned for her safety and tried to leave, but Sinclair pushed into her with his shoulder. He punched her to the side of her face and after she pleaded with him, he told her he wouldn't hurt her or the baby. Sinclair then accused the woman of lying about the phone number, threatened he would kill her if she was lying, and at one point during the attack he put his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. After she made another attempt to leave the flat, Sinclair pulled her back by her hair, punched her several times to the face and kicked her leg. Ms McKay said the woman was then able to escape from the flat, and ran to a relative of Sinclair's who lived nearby and who was able to intervene. The pregnant woman went to hospital the following day, where a check was done on the baby. The baby was unharmed, while the woman sustained bruising and swelling to her face and bruising to her left thigh. When arrested, Sinclair accepted he was suspicious about a number on her phone, but told police his ex attacked him first. He initially denied attacking the woman in the way she described, but later admitted assaulting her occasioning actual bodily harm, and threatening to kill her. Ms McKay said the woman sustained "psychological trauma" in the incident and has flashbacks and nightmares about it. Defence barrister Sean Mullan highlighted his client's good education, solid work record in the security industry and said he was a "talented boxer ... who has the opportunity of turning professional". Handing Sinclair a 14-month sentence, the Judge said he was taking into account his positive work record, lack of criminal convictions and the delay in bringing the case to court. Pope Francis showed his solidarity with those suffering from the global outbreak of the coronavirus as he praised those working to battle the virus. Italy has suffered the worst outbreak of the crisis in Europe, with 374 cases of the disease and 12 deaths. During his weekly audience at the Vatican, the Pope expressed his 'closeness' to coronavirus-infected patients as he hugged and kissed people in the crowds. Pope Francis showed his solidarity with those suffering from the global outbreak of the coronavirus as he praised those working to battle the virus 'I would like to express my closeness to the coronavirus patients and to the health workers who are treating them, as well as to the civil authorities,' Pope Francis said. Only a few of the 12,000 or so faithful who turned out to see him on Saint Peter's Square were wearing face masks. But the 83-year-old Francis did not shy away from shaking hands with members of the congregation - and even kissed some of the children present. Pope Francis is known hugging the faithful or accepting kisses on his cheek or forehead. Only a few of the 12,000 or so faithful who turned out to see him on Saint Peter's Square were wearing face masks During his weekly audience at the Vatican, the Pope expressed his 'closeness' to coronavirus-infected patients as he kissed people in the crowds However, a year ago he explained his reticence for allowing people to kiss his ring, explaining the practice could spread germs. In his Ash Wednesday homily marking the beginning of Lent, the pope exhorted the world's 1.3 billion Catholics to 'switch off the television and open the Bible'. He urged followers to give up trolling people on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook for Lent. He said there was too much 'verbal violence' in the world which was 'amplified by the internet'. The 83-year-old Francis did not shy away from shaking hands with members of the congregation - and even kissed some of the children present 'I would like to express my closeness to the coronavirus patients and to the health workers who are treating them, as well as to the civil authorities,' Pope Francis said Francis added that Lent was 'a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis.' It comes as 50 more cases including eight children of COVID-19 have now been confirmed in Italy, taking the toll past 370. Twelve patients have died. Almost a dozen towns have been quarantined in the northern part of the country in a desperate attempt to contain the worsening coronavirus crisis. Cases from Italy have now been confirmed in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Greece and Spain, as well as Algeria and Brazil. It comes after thousands of British families jetted to Italy during the half-term break from schools last week and Easter holidays are just five weeks away. More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Childrens Health Ireland has been criticised for failing to communicate with the parents of children with severe scoliosis who were fitted with a particular type of titanium spinal support rod, which may now need to be removed. Claire Cahill off the Scoliosis Advocacy Network said it has been 13 days since the US manufacturer NuVasive issued a product recall notice when it was discovered some of the rods had experienced the separation of an end-cap in the mechanism, potentially exposing some of its internal components, including alloy debris. The shocking revelation by Tamil actress Rekha about the unplanned kiss by Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan in K. Balachander's 1986 film Punnagai Mannan, has become a topic of debate on social media. Netizens are demanding Kamal Haasan to apologise for kissing the actress in a scene without her consent when she was just 16. Speaking about the kiss, Rekha told The News Minute, "I've said this a hundred times. They shot the scene without me knowing about it. People ask me the same question and I'm fed up of answering it." She said that the kiss added some extra emotions to the film. Talking about the entire incident of the unplanned kissing scene, Rekha said, "The kiss didn't look ugly or aggressive on-screen. There was a need for it, but I was a very young girl and I didn't know about it. He (director K Balachander) said, 'Kamal, close your eyes! You remember what I told you, right?' and Kamal said that he did. Then we had to jump when he said 1, 2, 3... we kissed and then jumped. It was only when I watched it in theatres that I realised it had such a huge impact." Also Read : Indian 2 Accident: Kamal Haasan To Offer Rs 1 Crore Each To Families Of The Deceased Crew Members "They continued after that shot also, we had a location shift. Suresh Krissna and Vasanth were the associate directors, and I told them I wasn't informed about the kiss and that I wouldn't have agreed to it. But they told me to think of it as a big king kissing a small child. They told me it wouldn't be passed by the Censor. I asked them what the Censor was!," she added. What was even more shocking was that Kamal Haasan was aware of this unplanned kiss. "Only he and the unit that was there can confirm what I've said. Balachander sir is no more. Only those who were there at the shoot know that the kiss happened without my consent," said Rekha. Also Read : Indian 2: Major Accident On The Sets Of Kamal Haasan-Shankar Project; 3 Dead According to TNM, Kamal Haasan and Balachander didn't apologise to her after the kissing scene. "Why would they apologise? The film was a superhit! I got many films after that, too, with Ramarajan and Ilaiyaraaja, like 'Namma Ooru Pattukaran'. We were all so busy in those days, going from one schedule to another," Rekha said. Well, social media users are demanding Kamal Haasan to apologise to Rekha for kissing her without consent. Kamal Haasan is yet to comment on Rekha's revelations. The only health care commitment made by the Ford campaign during the 2018 provincial election was that they would fix hospital overcrowding if elected. Since that time, reports have suggested that the problem of hospital congestion is worsening rather than improving. Recently, the problem was brought into sharp focus by an article showing that 40 hospitals averaged greater than 100 per cent capacity for the first six months of 2019. The governments response to hospital overcrowding has been to promise that 15,000 long-term care (nursing home beds) will be built and to open reactivation centres offering transitional beds in closed hospital sites. However, none of the 5,000 new long-term care licences awarded by the last government in 2017 have yet been approved to proceed for construction. Reactivation centres offer transitional care mainly in old hospitals (like the old Branson site named in the recent announcement, the Church and Finch sites of the old Humber Hospital and the University Health Networks Hillcrest site). These facilities admit mainly alternate level of care (ALC) patients from acute hospitals. These ALC patients by definition no longer require acute care and are waiting (in transition) for community facilities to become available, mainly in long-term care. Frail seniors admitted to hospital with a worsening of a chronic health problem (like pneumonia on top of chronic emphysema) frequently experience marked generalized weakening as a result of their illness and lack of activity while in hospital. When assessed in hospital after the acute illness, they may appear incapable of returning home and are put on the long-term care waiting list. However, given a chance for a period of rehabilitation, evidence suggests that 30 or 40 per cent these ALC patients could likely return home with home-care assistance. Is it time that we take a lesson from U.S. Medicare in trying to improve hospital overcrowding and the high proportion of ALC patients in our hospitals? There is no hallway medicine in America in part because of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), which are designed to rehabilitate frail seniors after an acute hospital stay and reduce the need for ALC designation. SNFs employ nurses, support workers, physios and physio assistants to provide care that emphasizes reconditioning weakened seniors after their acute hospital stays. Because these patients are medically stable and mainly in need of ambulatory strengthening, the clinical human resource requirement is less expensive in SNFs than in hospitals. And because patients admitted to SNFs are not expected to stay forever, there is less facility regulatory burden than in long-term care, which will be the citizens home forever. Our old hospital reactivation centres are the closest thing Ontario has to SNFs at present with the exception of an interesting collaboration between Sunnybrook Hospital and a community health agency providing care for discharged ALC patients in an older retirement home in Toronto. This Sunnybrook collaboration is particularly interesting because there is a limit to the number of old hospitals that can be repurposed as SNFs. However, engaging the retirement home industry in re-purposing older retirement homes or indeed, including SNF space in new retirement homes could encourage the private sector to help in addressing hospital overcrowding. Their response could alleviate the current hallway medicine crisis much more quickly than building new long-term care, which requires greater attention to regulation. Interesting community agencies and private retirement home operators in helping to solve hospital overcrowding would require the ministry of health to set a reasonable rate for operation of an Ontario SNF. Using the U.S. Medicare example, patients would not pay a copay (like they pay in long-term care) for the first three months they were in an SNF. Thereafter, if they are unable to get home, an SNF copay could be charged to offset their room and board charges while they wait for a long-term care (or retirement home) bed. Earlier discussions with the Retirement Home Regulatory Authority and with the retirement home industry suggest a willingness to develop SNFs in Ontario. This solution would be more cost effective than maintaining deconditioned patients in acute hospitals or waiting to build long-term care beds. It would also offer deconditioned seniors the opportunity of a safe space for short-term rehabilitation that could get them to where they really want to go- to their own home. WGALs news team will soon have a new leader. News director Michelle Chism will have her last day with the news organization on Friday, Feb. 28. Chism is leaving the mid-Atlantic behind for the warm weather of Texas, which is where her fiance lives. Chism has been with WGAL since September 2017 and is a native of Arkansas. Shes worked in a variety of states including Maryland and Texas. It was while working in Texas as an Assistant News Director that Chism earned a Peabody Award for a project on mental health that led to the state legislature changing laws to help those struggling with mental illness. Chisms replacement has not yet been named, by WGAL President and General Manager Kyle Grimes said that an announcement would be forthcoming. WGAL isnt the only Pennsylvania station to lose a news director to another state. WHTM ABC 27s CJ Hoyt announced his departure from that station on social media on Feb. 24. Hoyt will be working as the news director for WXIN/WTTV in Indianapolis. 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. - Define the Government's ambition for the UK's role in the world and long-term strategic objectives for national security and foreign policy; - Consider how Britain can work more effectively with allies as a "problem-solving and burden-sharing" nation; - Determine the capabilities needed over the next decade to meet the country's objectives and address the risk it faces; - Identify the reforms needed to government systems and structures to achieve these ends. Ali Fazal Proposed To Richa Chadha In Maldives; Will Tie The Knot In A Quirky, Unconventional Wedding The White House denied reports that Donald Trump is considering appointing a new individual to head the Coronavirus task force as confusion continues to swarm over the outbreak. Reports emerged that Trump was weighing appointing a czar to oversee the Coronavirus Task Force czar, which has so far been headed by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. 'This is not true!' White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere posted to Twitter Wednesday. 'The President took decisive action by creating the Coronavirus Virus Task Force a month ago and is pleased with the leadership of @SecAzar to protect the public health,' he continued. A person familiar with the task force told The New York Times that Trump is looking for someone new to manage the administration's efforts. But the White House denies this report. Trump said earlier Wednesday morning that he will hold a news conference at the White House that evening with officials from the Centers for Disease Control to discuss the Coronavirus outbreak. He also complained that his enemies are trying to cause a panic. The White House strongly denied Wednesday that Donald Trump is considering appointing a new czar to lead the Coronavirus task force Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar has, up until this point, been leading the Coronavirus Task Force White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere decried the report as 'not true!' and said Trump is 'pleased' with Azar's leadership The president slammed media coverage of the disease and Democratic charges his administration has not done enough to combat it as an attempt to make his administration 'look as bad as possible. 'Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @ CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!,' he wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning, misspelling the name of the virus. 'I will be having a News Conference at the White House, on this subject, today at 6:00 P.M. CDC representatives, and others, will be there. Thank you!,' he added. Trump claimed his administration is doing a 'great' job combatting the Coronavirus after the CDC warned it was a question of when and not if there will be a major outbreak in the United States. The president touted his administration's success via Twitter as he touched down at Joint Base Andrews where he and First Lady Melania Trump were retuning from a state visit to India. 'Just landed. India was great, trip very successful. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon,' he wrote. President Trump claimed his administration doing a 'great' job combatting Coronavirus Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases who will brief the president, said the virus is contained in the United States but people should be ready for a possible outbreak. 'Things are stable here ... and at the same time we need to be ready to do things to contain an outbreak if it were to occur, Fauci told CNN. Trump and his team are trying to balance containing public alarm with not dismissing a potential health calamity. The president has focused on showcasing his administration has the situation under control while government health officials have warned people to be prepared for the worst. Trump spent part of his flight back from India sending retweets about how there is no community outbreak of the Coronavirus in the United States and on his administration's response to it. 'There is currently no reported community spread of #COVID19 in the US. People should follow everyday measures to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, such as staying home when sick' was one retweet from the CDC the president sent. Meanwhile Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will be testifying on Capital Hill Wednesday about his department's budget request but is bound to get questions about the disease particularly after Democrats criticized Trump's request for $2.5 billions in federal funds to combat it as too little, too late. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer will release a $8.5 billion request for emergency funds to fight the coronavirus later Wednesday, which is $6 billion more than the president requested. President Trump argued during a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday that the situation 'is very well under control in our country.' 'We have very few people with it,' he said. 'But the people are getting better. They're all getting better.' He also complained about Schumer. 'I see that Chuck Schumer criticized that he thought it should be more. And if I gave more, he would say it should be less,' Trump said. 'These characters, they are just not good for our country. I gave more he would say it should be less. That's what they do. In the meantime, that's all they can do. They are not getting anything done.' Schumer, on Tuesday, took to the Senate floor to slam the administration's response to the virus. 'Here in the United States, the Trump administration has been caught flat-footed. The administration has no plan to deal with the coronavirus, no plan and seemingly no urgency to develop one,' the Democratic senator from New York said. The president's defense comes as the markets plunged two days in a row over fears of a possible outbreak and Democratic presidential candidates slammed Trump's response to the Coronavirus in their debate Tuesday night. 'This president has not invested like he should have in his budget. He tried to cut back on the CDC. He tried to cut back on the international organizations that would coordinate with the rest of the world. He hasn't yet really addressed the nation on this topic,' said Amy Klobuchar. And former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg said: 'The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago. There's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing.' The CDC on Tuesday told parents to prepare their children for the possibility of school closures should the disease spread. So far, 57 cases have been confirmed - 14 in the nation, 40 from citizens repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and three evacuated from China. Dr Nancy Messonier (pictured) of the CDC says the public needs to prepare if the coronavirus spreads in the US and suggested parents asks schools if they plans for doing classes over the Internet Doctors look at a scan of a patient with coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, February 16 Doctors in China look at test results as more than 80,000 people have been infected world wide with coronavirus Dr. Nancy Messonier, CDC's director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the public needs to be ready if the virus becomes a pandemic. 'It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen,' she told reporters in a media call on Tuesday. 'We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.' Worldwide, more than 80,000 people have been infected with coronavirus and more than 2,700 people have died - mostly older patients with pre-existing conditions. The New York bartender Phil Ward helped usher in the tequila and mezcal renaissance when he opened Mayahuel in 2009. That East Village bar was one of the first in the United States to focus on agave spirits and cocktails made with them. By the time it closed eight years later, there were mezcalerias across the country, and drinkers everywhere were calling for mezcal margaritas and mezcal Negronis. Since Mayahuels passing, Mr. Ward has been biding his time mixing drinks at other peoples bars, notably Long Island Bar in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. But in mid-March, he will open a new bar in the boroughs Crown Heights section. It will be called Altar, and hell be serving martinis? Obviously, I love agave spirits, Mr. Ward, 45, said. But I have to be honest, Im so sick of making drinks with them. I dont even like to drink agave that way. I like to drink it by itself. So Im really excited to be able to make drinks with whatever I feel like. And so, in the name of variety, Altar will have a special martini menu. Im just obsessed with gin martinis, he said. Its just a really fun box to play in, if youre going to keep the integrity of it, with gin and vermouth and a little something extra. Among the variations will be the Beefsteak Martini, a mixture of gin and both bianco and dry vermouths that is subtly infused with shiso. The following arrests were all made by Edwardsville Police Department, in Edwardsville from Feb. 12 through Feb. 17 Kurt Hylla, 53, of Edwardsville was charged with driving under the influence on Feb. 14. $100 bond was posted along with the drivers license. Krishayla Taylor, 20, of Edwardsville was charged with retail theft of under $300 on Feb. 15. The arrest took place at Target. Nicholas Kattelman, 24, of Edwardsville was charged with driving under the influence on Feb. 15. Kattelman was charged by the EPD for driving under the influence of alcohol, but was charged a probable cause bond by the State of Illinois for aggravated DUI for the amount of $2,500. He was also charged with driving 15-20 over the speed limit, driving on a suspended license and driving an uninsured motor vehicle for both of these charges, he was given a notice to appear. The State of Illinois charged the aggravated DUI bond amount due to no insurance and driving with a suspended license, aggravated DUI is a class 4 felony in Illinois and includes a sentencing of one to three years in prison. Tanner Hurrelbrink, 37, of Edwardsville was charged with driving under the influence on Feb. 16. $100 bond was posted along with the drivers license. David Bradley, 53, of Edwardsville was charged with driving under the influence on Feb. 17. $100 bond was posted along with the drivers license. During the time frame, the Edwardsville Police Department arrested one individual who had a warrant out for their arrest. During the time frame, the Edwardsville Police Department arrested one individual who was driving on a revoked license. Reporter Tyler Pletsch compiled the information. On tap at the Montana Historical Society is a new exhibit tracing the states long history of brewing beer. Good Beer Here: Montanas Brewing History opens the evening of Feb. 27 with a special kickoff event. The exhibit follows early brewing from pre-statehood to the dozens of breweries scattered across the state today with a special focus on the industrys influence in Montana. It starts during territorial times, said Anneliese Warhank, archivist with MHS. At many of those early mining camps there was someone there that would begin brewing beer it was primitive in some ways but they were brewing beer. The idea for the exhibit came from Warhanks 2015 oral history project on brewing in Montana, which focused on legislation in the 1990s that led to much of the expansion of the industry and tap rooms today. Along with artifacts, the exhibit will feature a number of the oral histories. I realized that Montana has its own interesting story to tell, its own complex story to tell, so in 2015 I thought of the idea, she said. I turned it into an oral history project and from that project the idea of an exhibit came. Gilbert Brewing, which was located in Bannack and later moved to Virginia City, is the first recognized in the state. And as communities formed, a local brewery often followed. Tied houses, similar to todays tap rooms, often opened as well to served beer to willing patrons. The exhibit features a variety of early items including several kegs from the old Kessler Brewery in Helena. Historic signage, bottles and implements provide visitors a look into the evolution of the industry. Much of the collection came from Steve Lozar, who runs the Montana Beer Museum in Polson. Roberta Jones-Wallace, the exhibit specialist, noted in a news release that brewers often claimed the health benefits of beer for everyone from children to adults. They said it was better than water, because after being processed it was considered safer than water, she said. It was like a pork chop in a bottle, nutritious and encouraged for the whole family in the early 20th century. Prohibition hit some breweries harder than others. Some of the larger operations shifted operations while others were forced to fold. You had a few options when Prohibition went into effect, Warhank said. They would turn to either producing soda or dairy, because a lot of the brewing equipment even today, often times start up breweries will start with dairy equipment and go from there. Some breweries reopened brewing after the end of Prohibition but struggled against major companies that managed to find alternate sources of income. Large domestic breweries were able to grow and thrive while a lot of the smaller breweries during the '40s, '50s, '60s suffered, Warhank said. By the late 1960s there were no breweries in the state. It was not until the late 1980s that breweries such as Kessler reopened under new ownership in Helena and Bayern Brewing in Missoula opened its doors. Montanas relationship with beer goes far beyond the craft brewing industry as a major producer of barley for major brands such as Budweiser and Coors. I think one thing that Id love (visitors) to learn is just how prominent the beer industry in Montana has been since Montana was even established as a state, Warhank said. Also I would love for them to understand how big of a relationship the agricultural industry has with the beer industry, not just with Montana beer, but the beer industry as a whole. The exhibit is scheduled to run until 2022. Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin Love 9 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 11:34:36|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The sea-rail transport service has resumed daily operation between Ningbo-Zhoushan port in east China's Zhejiang Province and Yiwu, the world's leading small commodities market, in the same province. A total of 45 containers loaded with solar accessories arrived at the port via the Yiwu-Zhoushan railway on Tuesday and will later be shipped to overseas markets. With the resumption of the service, more commodities gathered in Yiwu are expected to reach global markets including Europe, America and Southeast Asia. Due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, the sea-rail transport management team has also adopted "cloud working," introducing online procedure-handling measures to ensure smooth operation. Dubbed "the world's supermarket," Yiwu receives more than 550,000 overseas buyers and sells commodities to more than 210 countries and regions every year. The cargo throughput at Ningbo-Zhoushan port exceeded 1.1 billion tonnes last year, the only port in the world with an annual throughput of over 1.1 billion tonnes. The container throughput exceeded 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units in 2019, making the port the second largest in the country's sea-rail transport industry after east China's Qingdao port. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said that only those who will say "Bharat Mata ki Jai" will stay in India. He further said that all those who are working with the mindset that "things are not going well in India" should be strictly dealt with. "In Bharat those who will say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' will stay, while there is a need to think seriously about those who will not say it, those who will oppose Bharat, those who will not respect the constitutional framework and arrangements," said Thakur Speaking over violence in Delhi he said that Home Minister Amit Shah will address the issue. "Our Union Home Minister is there for all the issues concerning Delhi. I believe that there is no other person to handle the situation effectively," Thakur told media here. Asked whether is being done in the wake of US President Donald Trump's India visit, Thakur said, "Those who are working with the mindset that things are not well in India purely for political reasons should also be strictly dealt with." As many as 18 people have died and around 190 are injured in the recent spate of violence in parts of North-East Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden listens to Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) speak at the National Action Network South Carolina Ministers' Breakfast in North Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 26, 2020. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) Rep. James Clyburn Endorses Joe Biden Days Before South Carolinas Primary Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), one of the top Democrats in the House of Representatives, said hes endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. I want the public to know that Im voting for Joe Biden. South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden, he told a crowd in North Charleston on Wednesday. I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us. I cant think of anyone better suited, better prepared, I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is than my great friend, my late wifes great friend, Joe Biden, he added. Biden spoke after Clyburn, telling the crowd that hes been doing all he can to earn support from South Carolina residents. I promise you thisif you send me out of South Carolina with a victory, there will be no stopping us. Well win the nomination. Well win the presidency, Biden said. And most importantly well eliminate the fear so many have in this country of a second term of Donald Trump. Clyburn, 79, is a longtime ally of Biden, 77, but has said over the weekend he was still mulling who to endorse. The endorsement came just days before South Carolinas Feb. 29 primary. Biden is still looking for his first win after coming in second in Nevada, fifth in New Hampshire, and fourth in Iowa. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) greets Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at the National Action Network South Carolina Ministers Breakfast in North Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 26, 2020. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo) Biden told the audience at the Democratic debate on Tuesday night in Charleston that he has worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African American community and project confidence in the results of the upcoming primary. I intend to win South Carolina, and I will win the African American vote here, Biden said. Asked if he would end his bid if he didnt win in South Carolina, Biden repeated that he would win the state. Clyburn, the House Democratic whip, said over the weekend that he disagreed with Sen. Bernie Sanderss (I-Vt.) policy proposals. Sanders currently leads the Democratic field. I do believe that it would be problematic with Bernie Sanders and his so-called democratic socialist label, Clyburn told The Post and Courier. A lot of people, not just in South Carolina, but in this part of the country, would have a problem with that label. Clyburn said then that he was deciding between Biden and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 70. He called Klobuchar a very productive person and said hed worked closely with Warren on reducing student debt. British drinks group Diageo, the maker of Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka, on Wednesday said the coronavirus would slash annual sales by up to 325 million ($422 million, 388 million euros). Diageo, which produces also Baileys liqueur and Johnnie Walker whisky, said sales for the group's financial year ending June 30 would be impacted by between 225 million and 325 million owing to the spreading virus. Operating profit would be hit by between 140 million and 200 million, it added in a statement. Diageo said "significant disruption since the end of January" to its business in China was expected "to last at least into" next month. "Thereafter, we expect a gradual improvement with consumption returning to normal levels towards the end of fiscal 2020." Diageo added that in other Asian countries affected by the outbreak, notably Japan, South Korea and Thailand, it expects a gradual improvement in trade throughout the group's final quarter of 2019/20. "The COVID-19 situation is dynamic and continues to evolve and these ranges exclude any impact of the COVID-19 situation on other markets beyond those mentioned," Diageo said. "We remain confident in the growth opportunities in our Greater China and Asia Pacific business. "We will continue to invest behind our brands, ensuring we are strongly positioned for the expected recovery in consumer demand," it added. The new coronavirus epidemic swelled on Wednesday with cases in South Korea surging past 1,000 after deaths soared in Iran and infections appeared in previously untouched countries, prompting dire warnings that the world was not ready to contain it. The virus has rapidly spread in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, even as the number of fresh cases and deaths decline at the disease epicentre in China. A 2017 wildfire survivor grilled PG&E Corp.s top executive for about two hours at a public hearing on Tuesday, asking tough questions about the companys commitment to safety, its plan to exit bankruptcy protection and its role in past disasters. The encounter between CEO Bill Johnson and Will Abrams, who lost his Santa Rosa home in the Tubbs Fire, took place on the first day of state regulators San Francisco hearings about PG&Es emergence from bankruptcy. It was a remarkable and likely unprecedented formal exchange between the highest-ranking official at the parent company of Californias largest power provider and a person who lost a home in one of the most destructive wildfires in state history. At the conclusion of the sometimes tense questioning, Johnson revealed a little more about his secretive trip to Butte County last summer. Under the orders of a federal judge, Johnson and other PG&E leaders in July toured the destruction caused by the Camp Fire, which was ignited by one of the companys power lines in November 2018. Johnson said he heard tapes of 911 calls from the day the fire ignited. He also saw videos and looked at remains, he said. He has been to the area several other times. So if you think I am unaffected by this ... you are wrong. This has affected me deeply, Johnson told Abrams. Im going to do everything I can to make this right. Abrams responded skeptically. I hope that compassion that you just showed translates into the actions of PG&E, he said. PG&E is trying to get its bankruptcy exit plan approved in court and by regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission by June 30. The company must meet that deadline to qualify for funding that will help pay costs from future major fires. The commissions hearings are a crucial step in that process, allowing various parties to get answers directly from PG&E on the record before regulators act. Commission officials have allowed Abrams to formally participate in the proceedings. And though the state said PG&E was not responsible for the Tubbs Fire, the company nonetheless agreed to pay victims of the fire in order to avoid a trial about the disaster. During the hearing, Abrams asked Johnson a pointed question about the companys plan to finance payments to fire victims partially with equity. A $13.5 billion settlement between PG&E and fire victims lawyers would establish a trust that would be set up through a mix of cash and stock, which the trusts administrator would cash out over time. Abrams said it wasnt a fair arrangement. But Johnson said fairness is often in the eye of the beholder and he cannot make the rules in the bankruptcy courts of the United States. Johnson also said he was not directly involved in the settlement crafted by lawyers and financial professionals. I understand exactly what youre saying, Johnson said. Im going to do everything I can to make that stock valuable, but I cant fix this issue. I just cant I dont have the power to do it. Elsewhere during the questioning, the CEO said PG&E cant blame all its wildfire problems exclusively on climate change. He conceded that PG&Es own actions have a role, too. Its not just external. We have a piece of this, Johnson said at the hearing. But its definitely both of those that are causing this. Yet Johnson later said PG&E cant prevent all risks in its electrical system, which stretches across 70,000 square miles from Eureka to Bakersfield. The issue arose in the context of PG&Es possible role in last years Kincade Fire, which charred about 77,800 acres and destroyed 374 buildings northeast of Geyserville. California officials are still investigating the cause of that fire, but PG&E has said one of its high-voltage power lines broke at about the time and place the blaze began. Johnson stressed that the cause has not been determined, but also said PG&E cant necessarily prevent all problems with its equipment. Sometimes things just break, he said. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The transmission tower in question was inspected a number of times over the last two years by highly qualified electrical workers, who found it to be fit for purpose, Johnson said. A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the agency is still investigating the cause of the Kincade Fire and did not have a timeline for when that work would conclude. Earlier in the hearing, Johnson was questioned by Tom Long, an attorney for The Utility Reform Network consumer group. Johnson told Long that he thought PG&Es frontline supervisors have historically not always felt that safety is their first job a shortcoming he wants the company to change. The CEO also talked more about PG&Es plan to make its operations more regionally focused when it emerges from bankruptcy. PG&E will likely set up four or five regional operating units, but the company is still deciding exactly how to divvy them up, Johnson said. Yet the exchange with Abrams loomed largest on Tuesday. After the hearing, Johnson told reporters that he was totally sympathetic and empathetic to (Abrams) point. But I think hes asking us and me to do things that we cannot do, Johnson said. I cant admit to things that we didnt do. I cant change the rules of the Bankruptcy Court. Johnson said he wants to run the company better so that its stock price rises enough after bankruptcy to pay Abrams and other victims like him. Abrams told The Chronicle he was disappointed in how the hearing played out. Legal definitions for what is fair and what is a good citizen is a very low bar, he said in an interview. People and corporations and governments need to hold themselves to a higher standard, and I did not hear that presented in what Bill Johnson said today. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Twin Bridge Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in the small and lower middle-market, today announced that Brad Wrege has joined the firm as a Senior Associate in the firm's Winston-Salem office. In this role, Mr. Wrege will be responsible for assessing and executing new investment opportunities across the Twin Bridge platform. "We are excited to welcome Brad to the firm. Brad deepens our bench strength in small market buyout research and analysis, and we are confident he will be a valuable contributor to our growing investment team," said Matt Petronzio, partner at Twin Bridge Capital Partners. Mr. Wrege most recently served as a Senior Associate with Five Points Capital, where he co-led the Small Buyout Strategies platform. Prior to Five Points, Mr. Wrege was an Analyst at TrueBridge Capital Partners where he was responsible for diligencing venture capital funds and companies. He began his career at Atlas Diligence, a proprietary private equity manager research platform. Mr. Wrege received a BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. About Twin Bridge Capital Partners Twin Bridge Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm that invests in the North American small and lower middle-market buyout industry. The firm seeks to invest in leveraged buyout funds and non-control equity co-investments across multiple industries. Twin Bridge has raised more than $2.5 billion in capital since its founding in 2005. More information is available at www.twinbridgecapital.com. Contact: KWM Communications LLC Kellie Walsh 914-315-6072 [email protected] SOURCE Twin Bridge Capital Partners Related Links http://www.twinbridgecapital.com (Bloomberg) -- UiPath, a software maker valued last year at $7 billion, is getting closer to an initial public offering after helping some of the biggest companies in the U.S. automate routine processes. Armed with last years $568 million funding round that gave the New York-based company its multi-billion dollar valuation, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Dines sees more growth on the cards. The bourse entry may take place as soon as early next year, depending on market conditions and strategic decisions. We just started our growth journey in 2016 and if you look at the average age of a company to do an IPO its probably 7 years, so theres no reason to hurry, Dines said in an interview from New York. You have to become a public company at some point to allow your employees to get more liquidity, give them stock options. Were almost there. Founded in Romania in 2005 as DeskOver and renamed in 2015, UiPaths client base includes the CIA, the U.S. Navy, McDonalds Corp, Duracell and Swiss Re. The company had $360 million in annual recurring revenue last year and it attracted funding from investors such as Sequoia, CapitalG, Wellington Management, Sands Capital and others. Even though UiPath technically can do an IPO, I think they dont have to do that. They already got a huge amount -- $1 billion -- in venture funding and dont have to get their hands tied up in the capital market. --Kathy Gao, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on the digital industry UiPaths software performs low-skilled and repetitive tasks once outsourced to humans in cheaper-wage countries, via robotic process automation, or RPA. Examples include the processing of applications for jobs, pensions or handling student data at universities. UiPath, which became Romanias first unicorn in 2018, competes with other software vendors such as Blue Prism Group Plc, Kofax, and Automation Anywhere Inc. Dines, who ruled out acquisitions in the near future, didnt give financial details on UiPaths potential IPO. Story continues Blue Prism has already had an IPO, in which it raised about 21 million pounds ($27 million) in 2016. Blue Prisms shares skyrocketed after its IPO while still unprofitable, and in 2019 it raised an additional 100 million pounds to fund its expansion. The U.K.-based company said last month that its investments widened its 2019 loss but would be showing returns this year, while its customer base was growing. Virus Backlog Weve seen increased competition, even Microsoft said they will come with an RPA solution, UiPaths Dines said. This is a great validation for the industry. One key area to watch is the use of UiPath to help hospitals fighting the coronavirus to avoid backlogs and speed up diagnosis, according to Dines. RPA has become a really big and established sector and many companies have plans to implement it, he said. (Adds background on Blue Prism IPO in 8th paragraph. An earlier version of this story was corrected to remove an analysts characterization of its share sale process) To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andras Gergely, Balazs Penz 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. Nothing but hot air from BP. New chief Bernard Looney made global headlines Feb. 12, announcing an ambitious goal to eradicate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. The environmental community applauded the move. Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the net-zero goal is a welcome benchmark against which its future investment decisions will be judged. He praised Looney for starting BP on the journey towards carbon neutrality and policy leadership. That journey quickly got detoured. As part of BPs review of climate policies, the energy giant said Feb. 26 that it is withdrawing from three US trade groups (American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, Western States Petroleum Assn. and Western Energy Alliance) because they arent aligned with the new climate action focus of the company. BP will pursue opportunities to work with organizations who share our ambitious and progress approach to the energy transition, said Looney in a statement. That apparently includes the powerful American Petroleum Institute, the most effective mouthpiece of Big Oil with annual revenues of $200M. BP said it will remain partially aligned with stodgy old API. That's a cop-out. Mike Sommers, API chief, has made it plain that his 600-member organization has no plans to walk in the same green fields as BP. He famously said the P in API is petroleum, which is pretty ironic from the standpoint of BP, which officially changed its name from British Petroleum in 2000 to reposition as a global environmentally aware corporation. The API supports the Trump administrations plan to roll back Obamas limits on methane gas leaks from oil and gas producers. BP wants the limits to remain in place. Looney should have ditched the 100-year-old API, which would have signaled that BP means business on the zero-emissions pledge while silencing critics who dismiss its climate action vow as just more greenwashing. He took a half-hearted measure instead, promising an ongoing process of monitoring trade association memberships. Looney blew it. Speaking of a quitting a trade group, MSL is dumping its membership in the PR Council. In this case, its not about policy but about dollars and cents. MSL said it cannot fit the PRCs $50K fee into its 2020 budget. As part of Frances Publicis Groupe, which generated $12B in fiscal 2019 revenues, one would think that $50K for MSL is the equivalent of coins found in the cushions of an old couch. PR, though, hardly registers on the radar of analytics obsessed Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun. In October, he fired MSL Group chief Guillaume Herbette and eliminated the CEO position. That's hardly a ringing endorsement of PR. Meanwhile, MSL isnt exactly hitting it out of the PR ballpark these days. The PR Council will survive its departure. Blast off. Bostons Version 2.0 Communications has changed its name to V2 Communications or V2 for short to illustrate the dynamic PR agency that it has become, according to co-founders Maura Fitzgerald and Jean Serra. V2 is an unfortunate choice of a name. The V-2 rocket, which was the worlds first guided missile, was developed by Nazi Germany during WWII as a vengeance weapon to attack Allied cities in retaliation for their bombing of German cities. More than 3,000 V-2s hit London, Antwerp and Liege, killing thousands of civilians and military personnel. Following the collapse of Germany, more than 100 members of the V-2 team, included Wernher von Braun surrendered to the US and then developed Americas ballistic missile program and later rockets for NASA. Good luck with the new name, V2 Communications. I prefer the old moniker. By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to their lowest in more than a year on Wednesday after hundreds of new coronavirus cases reported in Europe and the Middle East stoked fears that energy demand would decline, and on concerns that the virus could spread across the United States. Brent crude settled at $53.43 a barrel, shedding $1.52, or 2.77%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $48.73 a barrel, down $1.17, or 2.34%. Earlier in the session, both benchmarks hit their lowest since January 2019, with Brent sinking to $53.03 a barrel and WTI dipping to $48.30. Oil followed equities lower after reports that 83 people were being monitored in New York for possible coronavirus exposure. "Every time a headline comes out, especially one regarding new cases in the U.S. such as New York, that comes in and forces additional selling and pushes normal fundamental input to the sidelines," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates. First cases of the virus were confirmed in countries including Greece, Georgia and Brazil, while authorities enacted more travel restrictions and quarantines across multiple continents. The U.S. heating oil crack reached its lowest since 2017, reflecting reduced diesel demand due to the virus spread. Prices briefly turned positive after the U.S. government reported a drop in gasoline inventories last week. Crude stocks grew by 452,000 barrels to 443.3 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, which was less than the 2-million-barrel rise analysts had expected. "It's still all about the virus here," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. "It's going to be hard for risk assets to gather momentum." Goldman Sachs cut its 2020 oil demand growth forecast to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.2 million bpd, and lowered its Brent forecast to $60 a barrel from $63. Story continues Authorities around the world battled to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has now been found in at least 30 countries. The World Health Organization's (WHO) chief said while the sudden rise in novel coronavirus cases was "deeply concerning," the virus could still be contained and did not amount to a pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump said he will hold a news conference on the coronavirus at 6 p.m. Germany's economy is nearing stagnation due to the outbreak, the DIW economic institute said on Wednesday. The market was also watching for possible deeper output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+. OPEC+ are due to meet in Vienna over March 5-6. "Yet there is no guarantee that buyers will emerge out of the woodwork even if OPEC+ further tightens the oil spigots," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) outlook on global oil demand growth has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Laura Sanicola in New York. Editing by Tom Brown, David Gregorio and Diane Craft) Passengers arriving at the Mumbai International Airport from Iran and Italy will also be screened for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) infection, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday. Passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia are already undergoing screening at the airport. Iran and Italy were added to the list on Wednesday on the instructions of the Union government, Tope said. "Travelers from two more countries, Iran and Italy, will be screened at the airport apart from those from ten other countries," the minister said. A total of 53,981 travelers who arrived here by 441 flights have been screened at the Mumbai airport so far since the outbreak of the coronavirus was reported in China's Wuhan city. As many as 91 travelers were admitted to isolation facilities in the state for suspected Covid-19 infection, but none of them tested positive, Tope said. Eighty-eight of these travelers were discharged while three are under observation at hospitals in Pune and Mumbai. According to the state health department, until now 304 people have arrived in the state from the Covid-19- affected areas (apart from those who were quarantined). The authorities allowed them to leave the airport as they did not show any symptoms of the infection, but followed up their health status for a fourteen-day period. As many as 225 persons have already completed this follow-up period and did not show any symptoms of the disease. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to the Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy after these countries reported a spike in coronavirus cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DEFENDER-Europe 20 begins with 1st Combat Power arrival By Sgt. Benjamin Northcutt February 25, 2020 BREMERHAVEN, Germany -- The first combat power into the European theater for DEFENDER-Europe 20 has rolled down the ramp of the American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier The Endurance at the port of Bremerhaven in Germany, February 20. The equipment belongs to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, deploying to Germany from Fort Stewart, Georgia. The arrival of the ARC Endurance signifies the next major step of DEFENDER-Europe 20, the largest deployment of Soldiers from the U.S. to Europe for an exercise in more than 25 years. Approximately 20,000 Soldiers from all across the U.S. including Soldiers from Army Reserves, Active Duty, and National Guard units in 15 states are participating in this deployment designed to demonstrate the Army's ability to rapidly deploy a large force, moving them to various areas of operation, and sustain them, before redeploying them back to the United States. This defensive deployment of combat credible forces brings with it over 20,000 pieces of equipment to participate in linked exercises across the theater. Some, like 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, are bringing their own equipment, other units will draw 13,000 pieces of equipment from the Army Prepositioned Stock in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. What is unique about this deployment for 2nd BCT, 3rd ID is the number of personnel and equipment they brought with them. "There has been a pattern in Europe that has been generated where a unit would draw equipment or take only a portion of what a brigade combat team might have," said Col. Scott O'Neal, commander 2nd BCT, 3rd ID. "However, we are bringing our entire brigade combat team, all of our personnel and equipment." Planning, preparing, and coordinating for such a large-scale movement of equipment and personnel is no small feat and takes a 'Team of Teams' to make it happen. Making sure this movement and support are executed with precision is the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and the 598th Transportation Brigade, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. The 21st TSC is responsible for the onward movement and support throughout Europe for units coming to the European theater including coordinating line-haul, housing, food, safety and security, medical support, or convoy support. Units within the 21st TSC, from the 16th Sustainment Brigade, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Special Troops Battalion, and 30th Medical Brigade bring a wide variety of support as the premiere Theater Support Command in Europe. "Organizations such as U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Europe, 21st Theater Sustainment Command and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command along with many others have worked diligently for months, hand-in-hand with our military and civilian partners to ensure this mission's success," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Mohan, commander 21st TSC. The 21st TSC coordination for convoy operations, border crossings, life support, and equipment and troop security are key elements to the success of Defender 20 and could not be accomplished without the hard work and dedication of the U.S. and its allies and partners. The 598th Transportation Brigade SDDC plays a crucial role in making DEFENDER-Europe 20 possible. 598th Transportation Brigade is a unique Army command that brings the Global Distribution Enterprise to the European theater. Whenever and wherever Soldiers deploy, the 598th is involved in planning and executing mission command of the surface delivery of their equipment and supplies at the ports. "Our 'Team of Teams' has done a tremendous job at the port. Soldiers, Army civilians, host-nation professionals, and industry partners," said Col. Jin Pak, commander of 598th Transportation Brigade, SDDC. "They've all come together in support of the largest deployment of U.S. forces to Europe in 25-years." As DEFENDER-Europe 20 continues, U.S. service members will spread out across the European region and participate in various annual exercises to build readiness and interoperability with our allies and partners. The exercise will conclude with the redeployment of U.S.-based forces and equipment. U.S. service members will clear the training areas, return prepositioned stocks, move to ports and return to home stations - fulfilling the U.S. military's commitment to the NATO agreements. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sinn Fein emerged as clear winners in this months general election in the Republic of Ireland. The party won 24.5 percent of first preference votes, against 22.2 percent for Fianna Fail and 20.9 for Fine Gael. The result expressed deep frustration in the working class at extreme levels of social inequality in Ireland, with Sinn Fein benefitting from rhetorical pledges to implement reforms that won support among swathes of the working class, particularly young, people. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald [Credit: Sinn Fein] The outcome took Sinn Fein by surprise as much as anyone. The party only stood 42 candidates and therefore only won 37 seats in the 160-seat Dail, 14 more than last time. No party is anywhere near a majority and months of coalition negotiation and uncertainty lie ahead, or possibly fresh elections. In the days after the election Sinn Fein leader, Mary Lou McDonald, made clear she was willing to enter coalition talks with Fianna Fail. But McDonalds overtures were rebuffed. This leaves the possibility of a coalition of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. Although Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, with smaller partners, have between them formed every government in Ireland since independence from Britain, the two parties have never ruled together. Fianna Fail suffered a catastrophic collapse following the financial crisis of 2008 and its imposition of austerity policies. Fine Gael took power in 2011, temporarily in alliance with Labour, but continued austerity. In 2016, Fine Gael lost one third of its seats. Since then a Fine Gael government has been held in place through a confidence and supply deal with Fianna Fail. Today the combined weight of both parties is not enough for a majority and agreement with a third party would be required via a coalition or confidence and supply arrangement. In this volatile situation, overhung by economic uncertainty and the impact of Britains departure from the European Union (EU), the pseudo-left parties are playing the central role in agitating for a Sinn Fein-led coalition. They unanimously present this as a government of real change, to cover efforts to corral Irish workers behind openly bourgeois parties with long and proven anti-working-class records. Days after the vote, People Before Profit demanded on their website: The parties who gained from this upsurge, Sinn Fein, Greens, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, have a duty to carry through on this mandate by forming a minority left government. Sinn Fein have been in power in Northern Ireland since 2007 where they, along with the hard-right Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), imposed austerity and slashed social spending. Sinn Fein and the DUP recently agreed with the British and Irish government that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly should be revived. The Greens entered government in the South in 2007 along with Fianna Fail. Two years later, amid the financial crisis, the Greens signed off on the Fianna Fail governments 65 billion bailout on behalf of the EU-led troika, which led to devastating levels of unemployment and welfare cuts. The pseudo-left played a direct role during the financial crisis. In 2012, under the auspices of the United Left Alliance (ULA), Richard Boyd Barrett, then of the Socialist Workers Party, along with Clair Daly, then of the Socialist Party, met with the troika as part of efforts by the Irish bourgeoisie to legitimise the planned assault on living standards. Only the Social Democrats do not have a record in government. But the party was formed in 2015 out of disgruntled former Labour Party members. The partys election manifesto states we are committed to maintaining the 12.5 percent corporate tax rate which is an important factor in our competitiveness as an FDI [foreign direct investment] location. Pseudo-left TDs (Teachta Dalamembers of parliament) voted last week for McDonald for Taoiseach (prime minister). The TDs offered a selection of dishonest and evasive formulations for their lack of principle. Mick Barry of Solidarity and the Socialist Party claimed he was voting for McDonald to increase pressure on her and her party to deliver the change that people demand. Barry was obliged to acknowledge that the policies needed in Dublin are the complete opposite of the neo-liberal policies Sinn Fein has implemented in Belfast alongside the DUP. Paul Murphy, formerly of the Socialist Party, now with his own outfit, Rise, formed on the basis of seeking a closer accommodation with Sinn Fein, claimed that his vote for McDonald came with strings and should not be taken as support for a coalition between Sinn Fein and the establishment parties. By inference, McDonald, in Murphys view, can form a government that prioritises the needs of people and our environment, not the profits of big business, if only it maintains some distance from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Richard Boyd Barrett was most explicit. In his view a left Government is now possible led by McDonald. Boyd Barrett reeled off a list of demandsreduction in pension age, cessation of public land sales, affordable housing, rent controls, climate change measures and increased minimum wagethat he suggested a McDonald-led minority government could introduce. No one should believe a word of this. Notwithstanding its historic opposition to the British government, Sinn Fein is a capitalist party, as committed to attracting investment and extracting profit from the working class as the establishment parties it is seeking to supplant. Why a prospective McDonald government should go back on the record of all its component parts, none of the pseudo-lefts can explain. Instead, they call for an extra parliamentary protest movement to prop up a Sinn Fein government and divert attention from its pro-business and anti-working-class character. According to the Socialist Party, Sinn Fein should use their enhanced position and resources to help initiate a new mass movement of ordinary working people and the young to fight on the issues and to push the establishment and their parties back. Any mass movement with Sinn Fein in a leading role would, by definition, be a nationalist trap for the working class, subordinated to the interests of capitalism in Ireland. The pseudo-left in Ireland, as with their peers internationally, represent a rightward moving layer of the upper middle class, heavily represented in the trade union bureaucracy, academia, the media and the state. Enriched through rising property and share prices, they view the class struggles developing in Ireland and internationally as a threat to their own material interests. How they serve capitalism is underscored by the calculated support given to the prospect of a Sinn Fein government by disparate sections of big business. The Financial Times (FT), mouthpiece of the City of London, hailed the result as an historic achievement. An editorial stated, Irelands left-wing nationalists are no opportunistic upstarts, but as much part of the fabric of Irish history as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the two traditional centre-right ruling parties. The problem was that Irelands political system ... has had a muted left-right, a problem which must now be resolved. Following recent referenda on abortion and same-sex marriage, the FT concluded this election could pull the party-political system, too, into the 21st century. The FT view Sinn Feins entry into government as a party capable of peddling a certain amount of leftist populism as vital for maintaining the stability of capitalism in Ireland. Brian Hayes, a lobbyist for the Irish banking system and former Fine Gael finance minister and chief executive of Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, encouraged his financier peers to be relaxed. Hayes wrote of Sinn Fein, If people were talking about radical change to investment policy and free movement of capital, that would be a worry. But I dont think they are. Im confident of a stable government. IBEC, the employers group, concurred. Business could absolutely work with Sinn Fein, said the groups director Danny McCoy. We have seen them in action in the North. Their instincts are not mad when it comes to business, he said. Johnny Ronan, a major player in building office space for transnational corporations, described Sinn Feins investment policies as sensible stuff. Facebook recently took out a 25-year lease on Ronans Fibonacci Square office development, described in the Irish Times as the largest single office letting in the history of the State. In addition to Facebook, Google and Amazon, LinkedIn and Salesforce are all establishing new campuses in Dublin on top of their existing operations. Google employs 8,000 in Dublin and is intending to recruit many more. These ringing endorsements of Sinn Fein and McDonald come from those responsible for maintaining Ireland, and its capital Dublin, as a primary investment hub for the worlds largest tech and financial services companies at the direct expense of the working class. By Ofeliya Afandiyeva The volume of Azerbaijans export of sweet cherries and chokecherries increased by 13.7 percent year-on-year in 2019 to 26,515 tons. The revenue from the sale of these products was $42 million 199,67 thousand (an increase of 11 percent) last year. Almost all exports fell to Russia. In particular, last year 26,413 tons of sweet cherries and chokecherries were exported to Russia (an increase of 13.3 percent) in the amount of $42 million 69.55 thousand (an increase of 10.9 percent). Overall, in 2019, 99.6 percent of sweet cherry and chokecherry exports from Azerbaijan fell to Russia. In 2018, Azerbaijan exported 23.32 thousand tons of sweet cherries and chokecherries worth $37 million 987.72 thousand. The main export of these products fell to Russia. Some 23,274 tons of sweet cherries and chokecherries worth $37 million 919.24 thousand were exported to the Russian Federation in the reported period. It should be mentioned that Azerbaijan accounts for 50 percent of Russia's trade in the South Caucasus region. According to the State Customs Committees report, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia increased by 18.5 percent to reach $3 billion 22 million in 2019. The share of trade operations with Russia accounted for 9.07 percent of Azerbaijans total foreign trade turnover in 2019. During the reporting period, the volume of export of Azerbaijani products to Russia amounted to $731 million 826,200 (an increase of 9.9 percent). In 2019, 3.73 percent of Azerbaijani exports accounted for those to Russia. In 2019, Russia imported products worth $2 billion 290 million 219,800 to Azerbaijan. This indicates a 21.5 increase compared to 2018. The share of supplies from Russia accounted for 16.76 percent in the total volume of imports to Azerbaijan. The negative balance of Azerbaijan in trade relation with the Russia amounted to $1 billion 558 million 393,600 in 2019. Russia is the leader in the import of Azerbaijans non-oil products. In recent years, economic ties between the two countries have been increasing. About 950 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan. So far, the value of investments by Russian companies in Azerbaijan has mounted to $4.9 billion, and the Azerbaijani investments in Russia have stood at $1.2 billion. The two countries also cooperate in energy, transport, humanitarian sphere, tourism, agriculture, military-technical and other spheres. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The US government is developing a nuclear thermal rocket to send satellites into the vast area between the Earth and the Moon, in a renewed space race with China. The rocket, which is being developed for the government by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will have a nuclear thermal propulsion engine. The engine uses a small nuclear reactor to generate heat from uranium that is then transferred to a liquid propellant which expands into a gas and generates thrust after being shot through a nozzle at the back of the craft. DARPA says the nuclear thermal rocket will be used to move and position satellites between low-Earth orbit and the Moon, after being carried into orbit by a traditional chemical rocket. According to a report by the Daily Beast, the goal is to have an operating spaceship in 'cislunar' space before China gets there with its own craft. Scroll down for video The nuclear thermal rocket will transfer satellites from low Earth orbit to the area between the Earth and the Moon. In the nuclear engines a small nuclear reactor heats liquid hydrogen that expands and shoots out of the thruster - pushing the craft in the opposite direction WHAT IS NUCLEAR THERMAL PROPULSION AND HOW DOES IT WORK? Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems have been around since the 1950s but are only now starting to come into their own. They allow for more efficient, lower weight and faster manoeuvring of satellites or spaceships. The system involves placing a small nuclear reactor on the spacecraft to generate heat from uranium fuel. The thermal energy produced is then transferred to a liquid propellant such as liquid hydrogen. That then expands into a gas and is shot out through a nozzle at the back of the craft to produce thrust. That thrust gets the exhaust moving very fast and moves the spacecraft forward. It would replace a similar thrust process in existing satellites and ships derived from chemical engines - but is able to go further, faster and with less fuel on board. An atmospheric or orbital rocket failure could potentially release radioactive material over our planet. But this would only happen while it was leaving Earth's orbit and the risk is low due to the fact it isn't potentially radioactive until after the generator is turned on. This doesn't happen until it is in orbit. Advertisement DARPA has allocated $158 million (122 million) for space technology research in 2021. This is the second year the agency has allocated funds to the nuclear thermal engine program - in the 2020 budget they allocated $10 million for an early study. Around $21 million (16million) of the new funding will go towards building the first components of the nuclear rocket, known as the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). DRACO won't be used to launch craft from the Earth's surface - this will still be carried out by conventional chemical rockets. Instead, DARPA said the nuclear thermal engine will allow satellites to move further, faster and with less fuel than conventional chemical engines currently on board other spacecraft. DRACO will be developed and a test version built by DARPA before it is handed over to the US Air Force, which will operate it in space. A spokesperson for DARPA said the rocket will 'enhance domestic operations to a new high-ground, which is in danger of being defined by the adversary.' A number of space agencies including in the US, China and Europe - as well as private companies - have been working on operations aimed at mining the Moon. This will allow them to extract minerals that could be used to support longer missions including those to Mars and beyond. DRACO is almost identical to a NASA program that has been in development for the past few years aimed at making trips to Mars quicker and cheaper. Copernicus, the theoretical NASA spacecraft, would speed up travel time between Earth and Mars and be lighter due to having to carry less fuel. 'We're looking at nuclear thermal as a key technology because it can enable faster transit times,' rocket engine specialist Joe Cassidy told the BBC. 'If we can cut transit time [to Mars] down by 30-60 days, it will improve the exposure to radiation facing the crew.' The type of rocket being developed by NASA and DARPA is described as a 'high-assay low-enriched uranium nuclear-thermal propulsion system.' This type of engine uses a small nuclear reactor to heat liquid hydrogen that expands and shoots out of the thruster - pushing the craft in the opposite direction. While nuclear thermal rockets have been proposed as a spacecraft propulsion technology since the 1950s, the previously high cost and low demand for the technology means that none have yet flown. However, the combination of reduced production costs and a mandate from US president Donald Trump to reestablish 'American superiority in space' has resulted in this new investment. NASA is working on a similar type of Nuclear Propulsion Engine that could be used to get humans to Mars in about 100 days The safety of nuclear thermal engines in space is untested so it is not clear what impact a collision in space or a meltdown of the nuclear core would have on Earth. An atmospheric or orbital rocket failure could potentially release radioactive material over our planet, but the amount of contamination would depend on the size of the nuclear thermal rocket engine, as well as the weather and orbital of the spacecraft. The renewed space race between the US and China has been heating up recently and the Moon appears to be a target. In 2019 China landed the first-ever probe on the far side of the Moon and isworking on possibly sending humans to the Moon within the next few years. NASA is also working on having boots on the Moon's surface within the next few years as part of the Artemis mission - that will see the first woman land on the Moon. If things go to plan Artemis will see an American land on the Moon in 2024 - more than 50 years after the last visit in 1972. NASA is also working to build a $30 billion manned space station in cislunar space that would act as a staging post for return trips to the Moon - it is being built in collaboration with other space agencies including the European Space Agency ESA. DARPA says parts of DRACO could be launched into Earth orbit on top of traditional chemical rockets and then assembled in space. 'Compared to chemical propulsion systems, the performance advantages of NTP [nuclear thermal propulsion] can enable shorter total mission times and enhanced flexibility for crewed Mars missions,' Clare Skelly, a NASA spokesperson, told The Daily Beast. For the US Military a nuclear propulsion engine provides more manoeuvrability in spy and military satellites - meaning they can be repositioned without eating through huge amounts of on board fuel, according to expert Dale Thomas. U.S. President Donald Trump holds a copy of The Washington Post at the White House. AP-Yonhap By Oh Young-jin What was U.S. President Donald Trump thinking when he heaped criticism on Korean director Bong Joon-ho's movie "The Parasite" that won big at the recent Academy Awards? It has little to do with Bong or the movie's plot a satire on class struggle with modern twists or even Bong's native nation, South Korea, which Trump openly took a jab at during his anti-"Parasite" tirade. Rather, what triggered his paroxysm of anger was the presenters of the four awards. One giveaway is that Trump's unexpected attack on the Korean film is part of what else his re-election campaign. Jane Fonda, who gave Bong the Best Picture Oscar, is a legend in actor activism, being huge in the anti-Vietnam War campaign and very influential in social issues. She is not exactly Trump's cup of tea. The populist and egocentric leader would not stand the sight of her and, more importantly, what she represents. Then, she is an intellectual type, the opposite of Trump's misogynistic views and his carnal inclination. In all likelihood, it is not necessary to ask the two whether they have the slightest hint of fondness for each other because the answer is a foregone conclusion. South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho accepts the award for Best Director for "Parasite" from U.S. director Spike Lee during the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Feb.9. AP-Yonhap From his record, there is little doubt that Trump doesn't care for Penelope Cruz, the Spanish actress who presented Bong with the best International Feature Film Oscar. It is public knowledge that the U.S. president has no love for foreigners dubbing Mexicans wetbacks who are rapists and poking fun at those from immigrant families. Remember that Trump told four progressive congresswomen to go back to their "broken and crime-infested countries" when he didn't like what they said. The four are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and later became a U.S. citizen. The others were born and raised in the U.S. Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves present the award for Best Original Screenplay to Bong Joon-ho for "Parasite" at the Oscars on Feb. 9. AP-Yonhap Director Spike Lee, of "Do the Right Thing" fame, presented the Best Director award to Bong. He is an African-American who has grown up poking fun at the fallacies of White America, which is represented by Trump. There is no need to talk about Trump's main support group being a disgruntled segment of Caucasians, which is losing its grip on power with its portion of the American demographic diminishing while other racial segments are increasing. Finally, Keanu Reeves is a Canadian born in Beirut, Lebanon, who starred in "The Matrix" franchise. In "Parabellum," Reeves plays John Wick, a Dirty Harry-style, make-my-day, macho role. But it is hard to imagine him backing Trump. Reeves presented Bong with the Best Original Screenplay award. Jane Fonda embraces director Bong after presenting him with the Oscar for Best Picture. EPA/Yonhap Combine these presenters with what Hollywood represents by and large at least actors and actresses as well as directors. They are liberal-minded, open-hearted and sophisticated, the concepts that are an anathema to the Trump world that is inward-looking, narrow-minded and uncouth. Of course, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscar giver, has been under fire for being racially bigoted and recently tried to improve its image by getting more inclusive. The "Parasite" triumph may be part of it but still the academy is listening to what people have to say. And Trump has gone after its willingness to listen. "How bad were the Academy Awards this year?" Trump said during a reelection campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "We got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year." Still, this is vintage Trump, who appealed to his support group who chanted "Make America great again" after the president. Citing a foreign country in his theatric jab, as in his talk about imbalanced trade, is an effective psychological tactic to make a common enemy out of a third party and appeal to supporters. Call it populist or nationalist, it will work more often than not. For any doubters about Trump's stance on Hollywood and actors, his remark about Brad Pitt, winner of Best Supporting Actor, says it all. Trump mocked him as "a little wise guy" for showing disappointment over John Bolton the national security adviser Trump fired not being summoned to testify at Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Director Bong Joon-ho accepts the Best International Feature Film award for "Parasite" from Spanish actress Penelope Cruz. AFP-Yonhap Annaatthe, the upcoming family entertainer that marks the first collaboration of Rajinikanth and director Siva, is one of the most anticipated projects of Tamil cinema in 2020. The movie, which was tentatively titled as Thalaivar 168, is said to be an out-and-out family drama. Recently, the sources close to the project revealed some interesting details about Annaatthe. As per the updates, Rajinikanth, the lead actor is currently shooting for the project in Hyderabad. The makers are reportedly planning to wrap up the Hyderabad schedule by the end of February, and the superstar is expected to be back in Chennai on March 1, Sunday. The next schedule of Annaatthe is expected to start rolling in Pune or Kolkata after mid-March. The sources close to the Rajinikanth starrer have also confirmed that the Siva directorial will hit the theatres in October 2020, as a Pooja special release. The makers are expected to officially announce the release date of the movie very soon. The title of the movie, Annaatthe was revealed through a special title teaser recently. From the title of the project, it is evident that the movie revolves around the character played by Rajinikanth, who is fondly addressed as Annaatthe by the people around him. If the reports are to be believed, the Siva directorial depicts the story of the bond between an elder brother and his sisters. The Rajnikanth starrer features lady superstar Nayanthara, National award-winner Keerthy Suresh, senior actresses Khushboo, and Meena, as the female leads. Prakash Raj, Soori, Sathish, Vela Ramamoorthy, George Maryan, and so on essay the other pivotal roles in the movie, which is scripted by director Siva himself. Vetri handles the cinematography of the project. D Imman composes the songs and background score. The editing is handled by Ruben and produced by Kalanithi Maran, under his home banner, Sun Pictures. Also Read: Kiss Without Consent! Netizens Ask Kamal Haasan To Apologise After Rekha's SHOCKING Revelation She's made a habit of sharing cryptic posts on social media following her split from husband Jimmy Bartel last year. And Nadia Bartel was up to her usual tricks on Tuesday, when she shared a wise quote about 'getting better, not bitter', which has since been deleted. The 34-year-old fashion designer uploaded the post to Instagram around the time Jimmy, 36, shared photos from his trip to Japan with new girlfriend Lauren Mand. Something on your mind? On Tuesday, Nadia Bartel shared a cryptic quote to Instagram about 'getting better, not bitter' 'You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple,' read the post. 'You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.' Nadia's post could be a reference to her emotional recovery in the wake of her split from the retired AFL star and his subsequent relationship with Lauren. Dealing with it: Nadia uploaded the post (pictured) around the time her estranged husband, Jimmy Bartel, shared photos from his trip to Japan with his new girlfriend, Lauren Mand New romance: Earlier on Tuesday, Lauren had shared this throwback photo of herself and Jimmy posing in matching tracksuits before flying overseas Sightseeing: She later uploaded another picture taken on the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo Earlier on Tuesday, Lauren had shared a throwback photo of herself and Jimmy posing in matching tracksuits before flying overseas. She later uploaded another picture taken on the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Jimmy was first romantically linked to Lauren just days after his split from Nadia was made public on August 15. Moving on: Jimmy was first romantically linked to Lauren just days after his split from Nadia was made public on August 15. Pictured in Melbourne on October 12 The Bartels are believed to have split in June but didn't announce their break-up until two months later, after fans noticed they weren't following each other on Instagram. The former couple married in February 2014 in a lavish ceremony on the Bellarine Peninsula. They share custody of two sons, four-year-old Aston and one-year-old Henley. A case has been registered against poetImran Pratapgarhi and two others here for allegedly delivering a provocative speech during a poetry event against the Citizenship Amendment Act, NRC and NPR and for conducting it beyond the permitted time, police said on Wednesday. They said permission was given to the organisers to hold the event on February 24 from 6 pm to 9 pm, but the programme continued up to 9.48 pm. According to police, Imran said at the meeting "Mujhe Hairath Hai us Hyderabad mein koi Shaheen Bagh kyu nahi hai" (I am surprised why there is no Shaheen Bagh in Hyderabad) which they said was "provocative." A case was registered against Imran and two organisers under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said. On February 22, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar had said no Shaheen Bagh kind of protests would be allowed in Hyderabad city. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader in Telangana Mohammad Ali Shabbir criticised the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Hyderabad Police for targeting a poet. "Hyderabad Police booked a case against poet Imran Pratapgarhi for expressing surprise on 'why there is no Shaheen Bagh in Hyderabad'. For police this sentence is "provocative." Is Shaheenbagh not a part of India? Shame on TRS Govt and Hyd Police for targeting a poet for no fault," he tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Feb 26 : Three days before retirement, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has issued transfer order to five officers. The transfers were made when parts of northeast Delhi were burning. Patnaik has transferred S.D. Mishra, who was serving as Additional Commissioner of Police of Rohini, to Traffic department. The Delhi Police Spokesman M.S. Randhawa has been made additional Commissioner of Police (Crime). The Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Mishra, who was looking after Economics Offence Wing, has been posted as DCP of Rohini district. Sanjay Bhatia, who was looking after IGI Airport, has been transferred to Central District as DCP. Patnaik has made his Staff Officer Rajeev Ranjan as Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI Airport. These transfers were made on Tuesday, just three days ahead of his retirement. When Patnaik could not control the deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi, the Ministry of Home Affairs brought in IPS officer S.N. Srivastava as Special Commissioner of Police (Law and order) and asked him to take control of the situation. The city of Montgomery remains in communication with the Texas Department of Transportation to provide a permanent plan to fix the Atkins Creek erosion at FM 1097. Project Engineer Chris Roznovsky with Jones and Carter said on Tuesday that TxDOT received a study at the end of January. What we dont know is: what is the scope of the study, what is the scope of the proposed solution and what is the timing of funding, Roznovsky said. We have no information at all. It is all dependent on that study, which we have requested but have not received yet. Since 2016, the creek has eroded about 1,700 feet. Located between Terra Vista Circle and Buffalo Springs Drive, the erosion started to threaten FM 1097 in December 2018, where about 4,500 cars travel per day, according to TxDOT data. In January 2019, the city of Montgomery began working with TxDOT. At the time, Roznovsky said the erosion could have undermined the road and caused it to fail. However, he said city officials had been tracking the erosion and were able to work with TxDOT to protect and prevent the damage from progressing to that point. The erosion has not significantly changed, Roznovsky said on Tuesday. Downstream, Solid Bridge Construction, LLC has completed the repair work on Atkins Creeks storm, water, and sewer lines that city officials said were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Roznovsky mentioned there was more erosion following the hurricane, which hit Montgomery County as a tropical storm. The construction company completed the repair work on Feb. 11 after signing the contact in August 2019, when the city council awarded the contractor $290,840 for the capital project. Following a change order for additional work, Roznovsky said the total cost of the project came out to $321,600. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover 90 percent, or $289,440 of the total cost with the city responsible for 10 percent ($32,160) since the project is related to Hurricane Harvey, he said. mellsworth@hcnonline.com Asia Bibi planning to seek asylum in France: 'I am in exile forever' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pakistani Christian mother Asia Bibi, who spent nearly a decade on death row over trumped-up blasphemy charges before she was released and granted asylum in Canada last year, says she plans to apply for political asylum in France. On Tuesday, Bibi, whose real name is Aasiya Noreen, spoke with various media outlets in Paris where she talked about her experiences in Canada and her desire to move to France. Bibi is in Paris to promote her newly released book, Enfin Libre! (Finally Free). The book was co-written by French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet. Tollet was among many who campaigned for Bibis release from prison. My great desire is to live in France, said Bibi, who doesnt speak English or French, but was quoted in Urdu during an interview with the French radio network RTL. France is the country from where I received my new life. ... Anne-Isabelle is an angel for me. Bibi, a farm laborer and mother of five, was accused by other Muslim laborers of insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad during an argument that ensued after they berated her a Christian for daring to drink from the same water source as them back in 2009. They accused her of making the water "impure" because she is a Christian. Muslims are forbidden from drinking from the same container as Christians. As blasphemy is a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment in Muslim-majority Pakistan, Bibi maintained her innocence but was found guilty. In 2010, Bibi was sentenced to death. But after years of building international pressure, Bibi was acquitted by Pakistans Supreme Court in October 2018. After her release, she was prevented from leaving the country as Muslims protested her acquittal and demanded a review. After her acquittal was upheld in January 2019, Bibi was allowed to leave the country last May. While it's been nearly 10 months since she fled to Canada from Pakistan, she admitted in an interview with Agence France Press that she hasnt been able to get out of the house much because of the cold and snow. In Canada, Bibi is living with her husband and two of her daughters in an apartment. Although threats to her life came in bulk from radicals in Pakistan, Bibi explained that she has not recently received any threats that she knows about. Although she is safe in Canada, she said that she misses her sister, brothers, and in-laws back in Pakistan. Although Bibi faces the risk of being killed if she were to return to Pakistan, she one day hopes her home country will be safe enough for her to return. Although she loves her country, she told RTL that she fears she is in exile forever. According to AFP, Bibi was given a one-year stay in Canada after her release from Pakistan. "I know the European Union is working very hard on my case and they are the ones who will decide where I am going to be living," Bibi said. But she explained that she will very likely discuss the idea of seeking asylum in France when she meets with President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. Responding to reports of Bibis desire, The Associated Press reports that Macrons office has said that French authorities are ready to welcome Asia Bibi and her family in France if this is what they wish to do. On Tuesday, Bibi was given an honorary citizenship award by Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Bibi assured that she is enormously grateful to Canada for giving her family a place to take asylum for the last several months. But she told RTL that she wants to work hand-in-hand with Tollet to pressure Pakistani authorities to release others imprisoned for blasphemy. Pakistani human rights activists Shaan Taseer told the U.S. State Departments Ministerial on Religious Freedom last July that there are as many as 200 people imprisoned in Pakistan for blasphemy with at around 40 or so on death row. Lisa Curtis, senior director for South and Central Asia at the U.S. National Security Council, told the ministerial there are more people imprisoned for blasphemy in Pakistan than all the other countries in the world combined. Bibis case helped raise global awareness of Pakistans blasphemy laws as the country ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. Additionally, Pakistan was labeled by the State Department in December 2018 as a country of particular concern for engaging in egregious violations of religious freedom. In her memoir, Bibi allegedly wrote that she an illiterate peasant never thought she would become a global symbol of the fight against religious extremism. "From my small windowless cell, I often wondered why Pakistan was targeting me, Bibi was quoted as writing. She recalled times when her neck would be encased in an iron collar that prison guards tightened with a nut. New chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to hike taxes or entrench austerity to pay for a spending splurge in the upcoming Budget, according to a respected thinktank. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Mr Sunak will have to abandon fiscal commitments in the Tory manifesto or increase taxes next month if he wants to avoid cuts to day-to-day spending. The new chancellor will present his first Budget on 11 March, only weeks after a rapid promotion in the wake of the shock resignation of his predecessor Sajid Javid. Mr Javid's sensationally quit the Treasury during the cabinet reshuffle over demands by No 10 that he sack his aides, an ultimatum he said "no self-respecting minister" could accept. His departure also came after tensions over No 10's desire to boost spending, which was at odds with Mr Javid's fiscal rules announced during the election campaign. Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak are now said to be considering loosening day-to-day spending constraints to allow the prime minister to deliver on his promise to "level up" the north. In its pre-Budget analysis, the IFS said the chancellor was "hemmed in by a rising deficit and fiscal targets" and he must recognise that "more spending must require more tax". The thinktank suggested hiking council tax for bills for the most expensive homes and abolishing entrepreneurs relief, which only benefitted 5,000 people in 2017/18. Continuing with the freeze on fuel duty will cost 4 billion a year by the end of this parliament, the IFS noted. However any attempt to scrap the freeze, which has been in place since 2010, will enrage Tory MPs. Some 54bn would be needed to reverse cuts to public spending outside of health since 2010, the thinktank said, which is still 26 per cent lower than a decade ago. The IFS also warned that cuts to some benefits that would leave poorer families worse off were working their way through the system. Removing additional tax credits for the first child will see 3.2 million households 550 poorer. The two-child limit in means-tested benefits will eventually lead to around 750,000 households losing an average of 3,600 per year. Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Show all 17 1 /17 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Sajid Javid Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javids departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Rishi Sunak Promoted from Chief Secretary to the Treasury to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the dramatic resignation of Sajid Javid Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Esther McVey Sacked as housing minister AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Andrea Leadsom Sacked as business secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Alok Sharma Appointed business secretary (previously international development secretary). He has also been put in charge of the UKs COP26 climate change summit PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Resigned as the government's most senior law officer AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Suella Braverman Appointed Attorney General and she will attend cabinet EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Theresa Villiers Sacked as environment secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: George Eustice Appointed environment, food and rural affairs secretary. He was a farming and fisheries minister Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed international development secretary (previously parliamentary under-secretary for defence) Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Julian Smith Sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Appointed Secretary of Northern Ireland Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Appointed chief secretary to the Treasury PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Oliver Dowden Appointed culture secretary, succeeding Nicky Morgan Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Skidmore Sacked as eucation minister Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Nus Ghani Sacked as transport minister Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/CC BY 3.0 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: George Freeman Sacked as transport minister Getty In a challenge to the PM's plans for the north, the IFS pointed to stark regional inequalities, with annual per-person investment spending over 60 per cent higher in London (1,456) than across the rest of the UK (891). Paul Johnson, director at the IFS, said the budget could be the "most important fiscal event in years" and suggested that any radical changes to taxes were most likely early in the parliament. "The chancellor is hemmed in by a rising deficit and fiscal targets set out in the Conservative manifesto," he said. "They will allow him to increase investment spending, which will be welcome if well targeted. But they will not allow substantial increases in current spending, or tax cuts, to be funded by more borrowing." Mr Johnson said fiscal targets "should not just be for Christmas", urging the chancellor to "resist the temptation to announce another and instead recognise that more spending must require more tax." It comes as 18 MPs from the Blue Collar Conservatives group wrote to Mr Sunak to say that "clobbering" voters over fuel duty - including many who backed the Tories for the first time in December's general election - would "send the wrong message". They said: "Any decision to scrap the fuel duty freeze must be seen for what it is: a tax rise which would hit our blue collar communities hardest "Increasing fuel duty would show these communities that this people's government does not actually have, at its heart, the priorities of the people." Al-Shababs continued attacks in Kenya and Somalia demonstrate there can be no military solution to the Somali conflict. In the first two weeks of 2020, the Somali armed group al-Shabab carried out five attacks in Kenya, killing more than a dozen people. On January 2, the group attacked a bus in Lamu county near the Somali border, killing three people. Three days later, again in Lamu county, an al-Shabab attack on a military base killed three Americans. On January 7, the group attacked a primary school in Garissa county near the Somali border, killing four students and a teacher. Three days later, it raided a police station in Olla area, Mandera county. On January 13, al-Shabab gunmen attacked another school in Garissa county and killed three more teachers. While the frequency and effectiveness of the attacks were undoubtedly alarming, they did not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Nairobis decade-long struggle with the armed group. Kenya has been a regular target for al-Shabab since it sent troops into Somalia to fight it in 2011. The incursion, code-named Operation Linda Nchi (defend the nation), succeeded in recapturing many towns and villages from the group. But this success came at the cost of endangering the safety of its citizens. Shortly after the incursion, al-Shabab started terrorising Kenyans inside Kenya. In September 2013, al-Shabab gunmen killed 67 people in Nairobis Westgate Shopping Mall. Less than two years later, they massacred 147 more people at Garissa University College. Despite scoring some initial gains, Operation Linda Nchi did not succeed in ending al-Shababs reign of terror in Somalia, either. Thanks to the efforts of the Kenyan military, as well as the African Union (AU) peacekeepers stationed in Somalia under AMISOM, the group was forced out of Mogadishu in 2011 and has since lost most of its other strongholds in the country. Nevertheless, its fighters continue to attack sites in Somalia regularly and with impunity. Al-Shabab was responsible for a horrific truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed more than 500 people the deadliest single attack in the countrys history. Just a few months ago, another attack by the group near a checkpoint in Mogadishu killed at least 78 people. Al-Shababs continued ability to carry out elaborate terror attacks both in Kenya and Somalia proves that counterterrorism policies of regional powers which rely solely on military power are not working. To bring an end to the groups deadly attacks, in Kenya, in Somalia, and elsewhere in the region, regional authorities urgently need to change strategy. Recent developments in the Afghan war, including the talks between the US and the Taliban and the negotiated a reduction in violence agreement, can provide a blueprint for the resolution of Somalias conflict. After spending over a trillion dollars and sacrificing hundreds of lives in its fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the US government, under President Donald Trump, has decided to change tack and try to resolve the conflict by negotiating with the Taliban leadership. While a peace deal has not been signed yet, there is increasing hope that a few diplomats will soon succeed in doing what thousands of soldiers failed to do for decades and bring an end to this devastating conflict. While the conflicts in Somalia and Afghanistan undoubtedly have significant differences, they also have some important similarities. First, the conflicts in both countries have a high human toll both inside and outside of their borders. Second, the internationally recognised governments in both countries are incapable of resolving the crises they are facing on their own. Third, the primary foreign powers involved in these conflicts the US in Afghanistan and Kenya in Somalia are under increasing domestic pressure to end their military involvement in these countries. Both Kenya and the African Union did everything in their power to defeat al-Shabab militarily. They failed. Insisting on a failed strategy will achieve nothing but more conflict, death and devastation. Now, it is their duty to negotiate with the enemy they failed to defeat. Only through negotiations can they achieve sustainable peace, which would allow Somalia to gain back its sovereignty and Kenyan citizens to feel safe in their schools, shopping centres and homes. Some may say al-Shabab, a terrorist organisation, does not deserve a place at the negotiating table, but this is not the case. We make peace not with our friends but our enemies and this includes terror groups. A quick look at African struggles for independence could show us how it is sometimes necessary to negotiate even with the cruelest and most undeserving of enemies. After all, only a few African countries succeeded in pushing out their colonisers soley through an armed struggle. The vast majority achieved freedom by negotiating with their oppressors. Thus, it is time that the AU and the Somali government reach out to al-Shabab and sit down at the negotiating table with them. Tribal elders can be engaged to bridge the trust deficit between the three sides. Just like the US, the AU and the Somali government could use the withdrawal of foreign troops from Somalia as levarage to push al-Shabab to commit to a ceasefire. A political solution could be put forward in which al-Shabab leaders are offered to join the government and plans are made to integrate their fighters into the Somali armed forces. We dont negotiate with terrorists should not be a hard and fast rule, especially as innocent people continue to die at the hands of these terrorists. If African leaders do not soon acknowledge the failure of the military approach and invite al-Shabab to the negotiating table, Kenya, Somalia and other countries in the region will welcome many more new years with bombs, and lose thousands more civilians to this senseless conflict. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. SHANGHAI, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jupai Holdings Limited ("Jupai" or the "Company") (NYSE: JP), a leading third-party wealth management service provider focusing on distributing wealth management products and providing quality product advisory services to high-net-worth individuals in China, today announced that the Company's board of directors approved a share repurchase program under which the Company is authorized to repurchase its American depositary shares ("ADSs") with an aggregate value of up to US$10 million over the next 24-month period. Mr. Jianda Ni, Jupai's chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said, "This share repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in the long-term growth prospects of Jupai and the overall wealth management industry in China. We remain committed to strengthening our business operations and enhancing value for our shareholders." The share repurchases may be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means. The timing and extent of any purchases will depend on market conditions, the trading price of the Company's ADSs and other factors, subject to all applicable rules and regulations. The Company's board of directors will review the share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustments of its terms and size accordingly. The Company plans to use its available cash balance to fund repurchases made under this program. About Jupai Holdings Limited Jupai Holdings Limited ("Jupai") (NYSE: JP) is a leading third-party wealth management service provider focusing on distributing wealth management products and providing quality product advisory services to high-net-worth individuals in China. Jupai's comprehensive and personalized client service and broad range of carefully selected third-party and self-developed products have made it a trusted brand among its clients. Jupai maintains extensive and targeted coverage of China's high-net-worth population. For more information, please visit http://jupai.investorroom.com. SOURCE Jupai Holdings Limited M anchester City produced a terrific late turnaround to seize control of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid with a memorable win in the Bernabeu. Iscos strike had given the Spaniards the lead midway through the second half, but a header from Gabriel Jesus levelled the scores before Kevin De Bruyne put pay to Citys penalty hoodoo with a composed finish as Madrid imploded, with captain Sergio Ramos sent off five minutes from time. Zinedine Zidane raised a few eyebrows by leaving the likes of Toni Kroos and Gareth Bale on the bench as Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr. was handed the chance to impress. That was nothing, however, compared to the surprise that greeted Pep Guardiolas team selection, as stalwarts Sergio Aguero and David Silva were left on the bench, where they were joined by Raheem Sterling on his return from injury. The intrigue extend to Citys shape, with Gabriel Jesus deployed on the left of midfield and Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva operating as a pair of false nines. AFP via Getty Images Both sides seemed to be holding each other at arms length for much of the first half, but Jesus tested Thibaut Courtois after being slipped in by De Bruynes incisive pass, before City suffered a major blow as Aymeric Laporte limped off injured. Ederson produced an excellent save to keep out Karim Benzemas header, but the rebound should have been turned home by Vinicius, only for the Madrid man to lose his footing. Instead, the closest either side came to an opener before the break was in stoppage time, when Jesus shot was diverted towards his own goal by Sergio Ramos and Fede Valverde had to boot clear off the line. AP The visitors found space on the break a little easier to come by at the start of the second period, with Riyad Mahrez looking increasingly threatening, and the Algerian was denies by a smart low stop from Courtois. Just as City were starting to knock on the door, however, Madrid pounced at the other end, Vincius showing great pace to nick it away from Kyle Walker and squaring calmly for Isco to tuck home. Twice, City had substitute Fernandinho to thank for close-quarter blocks that denied Madrid a second, as Sterling was sent into the fray in place of Bernardo Silva. REUTERS The change immediately paid dividends, because it restored Jesus to a more natural forward position and from there he stole in behind Ramos at the back post to nod De Bruynes cross beyond Courtois. Sterling then played a more direct role in the goal that truly puts City in command, winning a penalty off the rash Dani Carvajal, which De Bruyne converted in a fashion that makes you wonder why he hasnt been taking them all season. They might have had a third in the closing minutes when Jesus pounced on a mistake and raced through on goal but Ramos tripped him just outside the box and was rightly given his marching orders. Relive all the goals and action with our LIVE blog... Cant see the Real Madrid vs Man City LIVE blog? Click here to access our desktop page. Dan Ashurst: Dad who killed toddler daughter jailed A father convicted of killing his 14-month-old daughter, who suffered a catalogue of injuries, has been jiled for 12 years. Daniel Ashurst, 33, was last week cleared by a jury at Manchester Crown Court of murdering Hollie Ashurst but found guilty of her manslaughter. Hollie sustained bruises and abrasions to the head and neck area, bleeding on the brain and in the eyes, a broken ankle and two possible bite marks to her hand and thigh. Ashurst was said to have shaken her in a violent temper while alone with the youngster at the family home in Shevington, Wigan. Hollie died in hospital the following day. Hollie Ashurst sustained bruises and abrasions to the head and neck area, bleeding on the brain and in the eyes, a broken ankle and two possible bite marks to her hand and thigh. (PA) The 14-month-old suffered a catalogue of injuries. (SWNS) Shouts of "monster" and "baby killer" came from the public gallery as Ashurst was led out of the dock at Manchester Crown Court. Sentencing Ashurst, Mr Justice Dove said: "We shall never know, and in particular her mother and family will never know, the detail of what happened to cause her all the many injuries her fragile body sustained from your actions. "You have chosen not to be frank about what occurred when Hollie was in your care. "You persisted in peddling a story immediately after Hollie's collapse, when she was critically ill, which could not possibly begin to explain the terrible injuries which you had inflicted." Read more: Coronavirus is now in every continent bar Antarctica A victim impact statement from Hollie's mother Leanne Thompson was read to the court before Ashurst was sentenced, just days before the first anniversary of his daughter's death. She said: "Hollie was my best ever Christmas present and a very precious little girl. From birth Hollie brightened up my day with her laughter and cheekiness. She was so happy. "There isn't a single day goes by that I don't think of Hollie, how she would be growing up and the things we would be doing together. "I will never be the same again." Hollie's mother Leanne Thompson said she will 'never be the same again' following her daughter's death. (SWNS) Ashurst had told medics his daughter had tumbled down two steps on the stairs at the family home in Fleming Court on February 28 but in a defence statement seven months later he claimed a series of unfortunate accidents had befallen his daughter. Story continues In a rush to get her to hospital he said she fell further down the staircase when he slipped and lost grip of her as his shorts pocket snagged something on the way down. Ashurst then claimed Hollie flew out of her car seat as he braked heavily at a set of traffic lights. Read more: Secret House of Commons doorway from 17th century discovered The Crown said his explanation for the injuries was "nonsense" and was fabricated in a bid to fit the medical evidence. Jurors were told they could only convict Ashurst of murder if they found he had assaulted her and intended to cause her death or serious injury. Instead they unanimously agreed he intended to cause her some harm short of serious injury or he realised some harm was likely to be caused. Unemployed Ashurst was on medication for anxiety and depression and admitted he drank three of four cans of lager nightly - and took cocaine two or three times a week to help him relax. Daniel Ashurst was cleared by a jury at Manchester Crown Court of murdering Hollie but found guilty of her manslaughter. (Wikipedia) He used cocaine on the evening before the fatal injuries were said to have happened, the court was told, but he said it had no effect on him the next day after "a good night's sleep. Ashurst denied ever harming her. Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe, of Greater Manchester Police, said: The death of a child is always heart breaking but this is a particularly heart wrenching case. "Hollie was an innocent baby girl who was killed by her father who should have been providing care and protection. Read more: Four men jailed for smuggling 29 Vietnamese nationals into UK in back of van Hollie was found to have multiple internal and external injuries, which Ashurst was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for. Throughout our investigation and the trial, our thoughts have remained with Hollies mother and extended family. "This has been an extremely difficult time for them so I hope todays result brings them a sense of closure. Hollie will never be forgotten. Ashurst must serve half of the 12-year sentence in prison, which includes the 358 days he has already spent on remand. Families in flood-hit Clonlara have called on the Government to buy them out of their swamped homes. Springfield, which lies between Limerick city and the ESB-operated Parteen Weir, has been devastated by flooding six times in the past 25 years. A plan to construct a flood defence and pumping station to divert water away from the area has been left marooned. Peter Sweetman, a son of former Dublin Minister for Finance Hugh Gerard Sweetman, objected to the development, claiming the proposed Flood Mitigation Scheme did not comply with the habitats directive. The council withdrew the plans, redrew their application, and are due to re-submit the planning file in three weeks. Limerick couple Mike and Liz Hogan and their four children were evacuated to a hotel last Friday after the River Shannon engulfed access roads to their Springfield home. Wed go in the morning if we got a buy-out. The floods are getting worse every time. We have to get out of here, said Mike. The family are staying in the Castleoaks Hotel in Castleconnell for the foreseeable future as their home is cut off by floodwater. I went as far as I could yesterday to try and get to the house but the water level was up to my waist and I couldn't get down, said Mike. "The current was actually pushing against me, it was too dangerous, so I turned back." In 2015/2016 their home was destroyed when contaminated floodwater overwhelmed their septic tank and Lizs car was flooded. The s**t worked its way back up into the house. It came back up through the toilets and out onto the floors. "We were out of the house for eight weeks. When we went back in to clean it up it was destroyed. We still have to pay our mortgage. Springfield mother-of-three Bridget Kinsella, who was widowed in recent years, said: I want the Council to buy us out. I want out of here. I love the nature and beauty of the area but I cant stay here when this misery comes to my door every few years. Limerick couple Dave and Shirley Mulcahy agreed they would also move out, if a proper flood defence was implemented. If they could fix it great but I dont think they can, said Shirley. Families continued to pump water from around their homes as the ESB announced it was increasing water discharge rates from the Parteen Weir to maintain safety levels in the dam. Other families who were born and bred in the community said they wish to stay. Members of the Defence Forces, Limerick Fire Service, and local Civil Defence crews are now embedded in Clonlara, Castleconnell, Mountpeilier, and Annacotty, where local residents are fighting a rising tide. Limerick Green Party TD, Brian Leddin, who is also an engineering expert in hydro-generation, has called for a review of the operation of the ESB-operated Ardnacrusha power station and Parteen Weir in order to determine its role in flood management in the Limerick area. There is a question as to whether the ESB could have been releasing greater volumes of water via Parteen Weir in the preceding weeks and months in order to mitigate the flood risk in the event of heavy rainfall. An ESB spokesman responded: ESB cannot hold back water at Parteen Weir in a flood situation as there is no capacity to hold this water. If water is not allowed to pass there is a risk to dam and embankment safety and even greater risk of flooding. Mike Hogan of Springfield, Clonlara, who has once again along with his family had to leave the family home as the Shannon once again bursts its banks. Pic Liam Burke/Press 22 Before the discharge is changed at Parteen Weir into the River Shannon, the relevant local authorities are informed and relevant stakeholders, including local residents, are texted. Local river tributaries can augment discharge rates increasing the flow in less than 12 hours without any prior notice to landowners/householders. ESB can only manage the flow of water as it arrives at Parteen Weir. If there was no generating station at Ardnacrusha the full flood would be flowing down the old course of the Shannon river and downstream flooding would be more severe. The management of flood risk on the River Shannon is led by the OPW, through the Shannon State Agencies Coordination Group. ESB is a member of this group and works with the other members to improve coordination and to develop and deliver an agreed work programme. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is under fire for doing little to curb violence that erupted in the national capital on Sunday night and has so far killed seven people, including a Delhi Police head constable. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Kejriwal, Delhi LG Anil Baijal and other leaders from across parties held a high-level meeting in the national capital this morning. Home Ministry said there is no need to call the Army in Delhi since there are enough forces on the ground to control the situation. While the chief minister, who won Delhi elections with a clear majority in February, went along with the same old excuse of Delhi Police not being under the state government control after which he drew massive criticism on social media. AFP However, Kejriwal has appealed to the local MLAs of the areas and temples and mosques there to hold peace meetings. Temples, mosques and gurudwaras will now be used to pacify protesters in the violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi. An appeal for peace will be made from the loudspeakers of the temples and mosques in the area. Am v worried abt prevailing situation in certain parts of Del. All of us together shud make all efforts to restore peace in our city. I again urge everyone to shun violence Am meeting all MLAs (of all parties) of affected areas along wid senior officials in a while Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 25, 2020 Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: Everyone wants that the violence be stopped. The Home Minister had called a meeting today, it was a positive one. It was decided that all the political parties will ensure that peace returns to our city. #NortheastDelhi pic.twitter.com/OXQtZES6by ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 Whether Kejriwal has control over the police is irreverent. Can aap cadre get on the ground to help prevent the attacks on minorities? Well let me tell you a secret. When "riots" happen political affiliations take a back seat. It's purely communal. Seen it way too many times Brumby (@brumbyoz) February 24, 2020 During a meeting that Kejriwal called at his residence before meeting Shah, Kejriwal said, "In the present situation, temples and mosques will appeal for peace in the areas. On the local level peace committees will be formed in which people from all religions and the local MLA will be the members." "I appeal to all Delhites to maintain peace. We are worried about the violence in Northeast Delhi. Several policemen and civilians were injured and some even lost their lives. Several houses were set ablaze and shops were damaged. It is very unfortunate," said Kejriwal. Twitter He added, "In the meeting, the MLAs of the border areas have said that people are coming from outside. There is a need to seal the borders and make preventive arrests." "We have also asked the district magistrates of these areas and other officials to organise peace marches in the violent-hit zones. We ask all faiths to come together and appeal to the temples and mosques in the area to hold peace meetings. Our MLAs should also take part in these meetings to bring back peace at once," he added. Kejriwal also said, "MLAs of the affected areas informed me that there is a severe shortage of police force and police can't take action till they receive orders from the top." By PTI DHAKA: Bangladesh will invite former president Pranab Mukherjee to address a special Parliament session on March 22 and 23 to mark the Mujib Year, coinciding with its founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary. Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will also be invited along with Mukherjee. "The President (Abdul Hamid) is set to send the invitation letters to the two dignitaries to address the special parliament session on March 22 and 23 to mark the Mujib Year," a presidential palace spokesman told newsmen. The announcement came after parliamentary speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury called on the president this evening. A parliament secretariat spokesman said this would be the third such instance when foreign dignitaries would address Bangladesh's parliament. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman served as the first President of Bangladesh and later as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from April 17, 1971 until his assassination on August 15, 1975. He is considered to be the driving force behind the independence of Bangladesh. He is popularly dubbed with the title of "Bangabandhu" (Friend of Bengal) by the people of Bangladesh. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren is returning to Houston on Saturday evening for a rally at Discovery Green. Warren will start Saturday in South Carolina for that states critical primary vote, but then travel to Arkansas before ending her day at a Houston town hall meeting that starts at 7 p.m. It will be Warrens first campaign stop in Houston since the city hosted a Democratic presidential candidates debate in September. Know the candidates: Houston Chronicle 2020 primary election voter guide; San Antonio Express-News 2020 primary election voter guide The Oklahoma native has deep Texas ties. She moved to Houston in the late 1960s and attended the University of Houston, where she earned a teaching degree in 1970. Warren later taught at the University of Houstons law school before going on to teach at the University of Texas-Austin. It will be Warrens second trip to Texas this week as she tries to build support in advance of the March 3 presidential primary election. Early voting is underway. On Thursday shes scheduled to campaign in San Antonio with former presidential candidate Julian Castro. Texas has 228 pledged delegates up for grabs on Tuesday more than the four early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina combined. That has Texas poised on Tuesday to play a huge role in deciding who will be the Democratic nominee against President Donald Trump. More Information Houston Town Hall with Elizabeth Warren WHEN: Saturday TIME: 7 p.m., gates open at 5 p.m. WHERE: At Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77010 TO ATTEND: The public is asked to RSVP at elizabethwarren.com See More Collapse For subscribers: Fracking bans, Medicare For All: Could Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren really win in Texas? Her visit comes after U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders held four rallies in Texas last weekend, including on Sunday at the University of Houston. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been a frequent Houston visitor and is returning on Thursday morning for a get-out-the-vote rally. At this stage, RJ is also consolidating several flights from Amman to its stations in the Far East, bringing the average of cancellations of weekly Asian operations to up to 50%. RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler stressed that these decisions are aimed at the safety of travellers, which Royal Jordanian places at the top of its priorities, and in light of the increasing numbers of infections with Coronavirus in Italy and some Asian countries. He added that RJ takes all possible measures to help Jordan stay virus free. Pichler said that Royal Jordanian applies in this regard all the instructions issued by the Jordanian authorities and by international organizations related to the procedures of transportation from some countries to the Kingdom. He pointed out that the company is closely monitoring the developments related to the virus at the stations served by its planes, stressing the readiness of the airline to implement further measures during the coming period if necessary. RJ is currently taking precautionary procedures to protect crew members, front-line staff and travellers, to ensure their safety. The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. To wit, the Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (HKG:2318) share price has flown 114% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. It's down 2.2% in the last seven days. Check out our latest analysis for Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China was able to grow its EPS at 34% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. We don't think it is entirely coincidental that the EPS growth is reasonably close to the 29% average annual increase in the share price. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). SEHK:2318 Past and Future Earnings, February 25th 2020 We know that Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time. What About Dividends? It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China's TSR for the last 3 years was 131%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. Story continues A Different Perspective It's good to see that Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 9.1% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. Having said that, the five-year TSR of 18% a year, is even better. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China that you should be aware of. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend whos competed alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders for the top spot in first two voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, says Democrats wont oust President Donald Trump unless they nominate a candidate focused on the future" as opposed to the debates of half a century ago. Buttigieg struggled for speaking time in the first portions of Tuesday nights Democratic debate in South Carolina, but he zeroed in on Sanders coming under fire for recent comments about Fidel Castro, including that the revolutionary Cuban leader implemented a successful literacy program. Buttigieg, an Afghan war veteran, said hes not looking forward to the scenario that sees Trump campaigning on the nostalgia of the 1950s and Sanders fighting the revolutions of the 1960s. This is about the future, he said. This is about 2020. We are not going to survive or succeed by reliving the Cold War. Buttigieg added that it would be challenging to win critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro administration. Sanders argued that what he said mirrored comments by former President Barack Obama, who worked to normalize diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba and said they made great progress on education and health care. During a back-and-forth with Buttigieg, Sanders added that universal health care and immigration reform were not radical ideas and thats why hes beating Trump in every poll. Former Vice President Joe Biden said Obama did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government. He in fact does not, did not, and has never embraced an authoritarian regime and does not now." Biden pointed to Sanders and said This man did not condemn what they did." Sanders responded that that was categorically untrue, and said hes spoken out against authoritarianism in Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Nicaragua and elsewhere. Authoritarianism of any stripe is bad, Sanders said. That is different than saying governments sometimes do things that are good. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota tried to assert herself as an electable moderate, saying Donald Trumps worst nightmare is someone in the middle whos tired of the insults and extremes in politics. Comment on this story on MassLives Facebook page The Supreme Court has restored the original prison sentence handed to a man for raping his wife. In May 2014 he forced his wife upstairs in their home using a knife and attacked her. Mr Justice Peter Charleton said: The husband produced a knife and threatened his wife that he would cut open her face. The original trial judge imposed a 10-year sentence before an appeal court judge incorrectly reduced it to eight and a half years, for a very serious rape, Judge Charleton said. The alteration of that sentence by the Court of Appeal did not accord with lawMr Justice Peter Charleton He added: The accused has not demonstrated any error in the approach to sentencing on the crime of rape by the Central Criminal Court. The alteration of that sentence by the Court of Appeal did not accord with law. The order of the Court of Appeal will be quashed and replaced with the sentence originally imposed by Kennedy J. During the night following the rape the victim pretended reconciliation, he said. She was anxious to protect their child from the nasty scene. In the morning she went to the family law courts. The judge said: He rang her and threatened to kill her the next day. Supreme Court judge Peter Charleton (Caroline Quinn/PA) For the events of the day of May 25, three charges were laid: one of rape, one of threat to cause serious harm, and one of threat to kill. There were also counts of threats on other occasions. The accused pleaded not guilty but was convicted at trial of all of these. On June 9, the husband accosted the wife at a shopping centre and told her the next time she saw him she would not see him coming and he would be armed with a hammer, the judge said. This was subject to a separate charge and conviction. The judge added: Over that time there was constant checking by the husband of the wifes movements through smartphone technology. On August 6 the husband turned up carrying a bag at the wifes parents home and demanded entry but was refused. The next day there were two visits to the parents home where he first spoke to the wifes mother. On the second occasion he came back with the bag. The judge said: Claiming this was a present for their child, he gained entry. He produced a hammer and struck the wife several times on the head and also hit her mother on the head. While the injuries from an attack of that kind could have resulted in death or serious injury, the result was multiple injuries to the wife including three deep lacerations, and both she and her mother were brought to hospital. That attack was the subject of two charges to which the accused pleaded guilty. [February 26, 2020] Oerth Bio Strengthens Leadership Team with Strategic Hires Oerth Bio (pronounced "Earth"), an agricultural biotech company, today announced several key leadership hires. Oerth Bio is working to advance a proprietary technology platform to engineer proteolysis targeting chimeras, or PROTAC targeted protein degraders, as an entirely new approach to protecting and improving plant health and the global food system. "We are pioneering a revolutionary technology platform born out of medicinal science to help enhance our global food system's resilience and farmers' yield - solving major challenges faced by the modern global food system," said John Dombrosky, Chief Executive Officer, of Oerth Bio. "Great companies have great people and cultures. I'm thrilled to welcome this talented group of executives to our expanding team. Together we are on a mission to bring this technology to farmers and consumers around the globe." Megan Lyman, J.D., Intellectual Property and General Counsel: Megan Lyman, J.D. will lead Oerth Bio's legal, IP and operations teams. Ms. Lyman brings extensive legal and management experience to the team, generating informed IP strategies and supporting operations through leadership, team building, and corporate strategy. Prior to joining Oerth Bio, Ms. Lyman developed intellectual property strategies and portfolios for early stage venture funded AgTech Accelerator portfolio companies. Ms. Lyman launched her legal career as an associate at Jones Day, where she practiced commercial and patent litigation as well as patent prosecution. Ms. Lyman then ran her own practice for over a decade developing IP portfolios and corporate strategies for corporations practicing in a multitude of technology indications including Bluetooth, biofilm resistant polymers, and artificial intelligence. She actively engages with organizations such as AUTM, Bio, the Farm Foundation, and the Microbiome Movement, as well as various universities. Ms. Lyman received her M.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at University of Colorado Boulder and her J.D from Pepperdine University School of Law. Dr. Jason Speake, Director of Chemistry: Jason Speake, Ph.D. will lead Oerth Bio's Chemistry team. Dr. Speake brings an impressive track record of experience in the biotechnology sector advancing innovative products through preclinical and clinical deveopment. Prior to joining the team at Oerth, Dr. Speake was Senior Manager of Discovery Services at Cambrex where he was responsible for internal innovation investment, drug discovery, development leadership, and client interactions. Before Cambrex, he held senior roles at the likes of Avista Pharma, Scynexis, Targacept, and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Speake received his B.S. in Chemistry at Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma and his Ph.D. in Chemistry at Indiana University (News - Alert), Bloomington, Indiana, and is an author on over 50 patents and publications. Dr. Daniel Joo, Vice-President of Biology: Daniel Joo, Ph.D. will lead Oerth Bio's Biology team. He brings to Oerth 20+ years of expertise in both wet lab and dry lab sciences that are critical to innovation in emerging technology. Utilizing both approaches as the Director of Informatics (News - Alert), he led genomics and bioinformatics efforts at AgraQuest, a biopesticide company, which was acquired by Bayer in 2012. Within Bayer, Dr. Joo held various strategic positions in Traits and Biologics, focused on the identification and improvement of novel traits or microbes for controlling weeds, pests and diseases. Prior to joining Oerth, Dr. Joo was the Head of Microbiome Discovery at BASF. He also has 10 years of experience working for start-up biotech companies in human therapeutics. Dr. Joo received both his B.A in Biology and B.A.S. in Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkeley and conducted his postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF. About PROTAC Technology in Agriculture The world's population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, pushing our food system beyond its limits. Simultaneously, society faces environmental challenges which could lead to unpredictable disease patterns in crops, water scarcity, reduced soil quality, and more. The challenge is clear - new products to help farmers improve crop yields and feed the world's growing population are needed now. Oerth Bio is taking a unique therapeutic approach to these challenges by addressing the health of our crops from the inside out without modifying any genetic information. Within every living organism - human, plant, animal, insect, or microbe - a natural protein management system is continuously at work to recycle proteins into their basic components. Oerth Bio is harnessing this system via a proprietary technology platform known as proteolysis targeting chimeras, or PROTAC targeted protein degraders. Our two joint-venture partners, Arvinas and Bayer recognized that PROTAC protein degraders have the potential to protect and improve the health of our global food system. Arvinas, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has pioneered research into PROTAC targeted protein degraders, turning targeted protein degradation into one of the most promising areas of medical research and challenging the perceived limits of drug discovery. Our mission at Oerth Bio is to translate this PROTAC technology platform into a cleaner, healthier, and more abundant food system. About Oerth Bio Oerth Bio is reimagining crop protection through a comprehensive, therapeutic approach to crop health. The innovation at the heart of this vision is PROTAC technology, a targeted biotech solution known for its potential in addressing human disease. At a global scale, PROTAC technology could have transformative implications for crop protection, and promises a cleaner, healthier, and more abundant food system. Oerth Bio is a joint venture between Arvinas and Bayer, supported by over $55 million in committed funding and operational support from Bayer, and technology and intellectual property from Arvinas. We are located in Durham, North Carolina. Please visit www.oerthbio.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005767/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Three Alabama chefs, two restaurants and a cocktail bar have made the list of semifinalists for the 2020 James Beard Awards. The James Beard Foundation announced its restaurant and chef semifinalists this morning. Automatic Seafood and Oysters, which chef Adam Evans opened in Birmingham last April, is one of 20 semifinalists for Best New Restaurant. Three Alabama chefs are among the semifinalists for Best Chef: South. They are: Bill Briand of Fisher's Upstairs at Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, who is a five-time semifinalist. Timothy Hontzas of Johnny's Restaurant in Homewood, a semifinalist for the fourth consecutive year. Duane Nutter of Southern National in Mobile, who is a first-time semifinalist for the chef award. In 2018, Southern National was a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. Also, Chez Fonfon in Birmingham is a first-time semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality. Meanwhile, The Atomic Lounge in Birmingham is a semifinalist for the third year in a row for outstanding bar program. In addition, former Birmingham resident Hannah Black and her culinary partner Carla Perez-Gallardo of Lil Debs Oasis in Hudson, N.Y., are semifinalists for Best Chef: New York State. Black, who is a semifinalist for the second year in a row, previously worked at Satterfields Restaurant in Vestavia Hills. Each category includes 20 semifinalists, and the field will be narrowed to five finalists on March 25. The James Beard Awards are often called the Oscars of the food world, and this years winners will be announced at the 30th annual awards ceremony on May 4 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Previous James Beard Award winners from Alabama include: Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, most outstanding restaurant, 2018. Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, most outstanding pastry chef, 2018. Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, Best Chef: South, 2012. The Bright Star, Bessemer, America's Classic winner, 2010. Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar and Grill, Best Chef: Southeast, 2001. For the full list of 2020 James Beard Award semifinalists, go here. READ MORE: The hottest new restaurants in Birmingham in 2019 Meet the chef behind Alabamas most exciting new restaurant Esquire list Automatic Seafood and Oysters as one of the best new restaurants in America The story of Southern National, the restaurant that put Mobile on the culinary map Alabama chef finds a home in New York, and James Beard voters take notice For Frank Stitt and the Highlands Bar and Grill team, it was worth the wait Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 13:33:47|Editor: ZD Video Player Close CANBERRA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia's peak infrastructure body has identified environmental concerns as its top priority for the first time. In its latest list of priorities released on Wednesday, Infrastructure Australia elevated environmental concerns, listing water security, waste management and protection against coastal flooding as high priority projects. It cited a renewed focus on "resilience" from natural disasters induced by climate change. "We're acknowledging that these weather events are having an impact on our infrastructure and it's really important that everyone take that into account," Romilly Madew, the chief executive of Infrastructure Australia, told the Guardian. According to Infrastructure Australia, a coastal flood of up to 1 meter can cause damage worth up to 80,000 Australian dollars to every affected household. Madew said that half of Australia's densely populated coastline was vulnerable to rising sea lines, having possible implications for telecommunications, rail, roads, housing and social infrastructure. The report, which drew on 249 submissions, said solutions to the flooding threat could include seawalls and called for a policy response including "actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and planning controls for vulnerable areas." A national water strategy was also identified as a high priority project in the wake of the devastating drought that affected most of the east coast in 2018-19. The government of New South Wales (NSW) in August 2018 declared that 100 percent of the state was in drought as was almost two-thirds of Queensland. Madew said that a national plan would improve resilience for future droughts and reduce the risk of "severe urban water shortages or restrictions." (1 U.S. dollar equals 1.52 Australian dollar) This article is reprinted with permission from Geopolitical Futures. As is often the case with the European Union, negotiations over the EUs next long-term budget have so far produced more meetings and debates than concrete solutions. Talks over the 2021-27 budget, referred to within the bloc as the multiannual financial framework, have revealed not only the state of the EUs internal divisions but also the depth of the problems it currently faces. Negotiations have been further complicated by Brexit, of course, but the drama also revolves around disagreements between some of the EUs core members. Germany and France continue to debate what the EUs priorities should be going forward. And based on their conduct during the negotiations, its clear that their focus is increasingly shifting away from the EUs traditional areas of concern, including supporting its poorer member states, in favor of more modern priorities and, of course, their own economic well-being. This reveals the fragility of the EUs core. Competing Visions Through the seven-year budget, the EU will define its long-term development strategy, so in a sense, the current negotiations arent about money but about the basic principles the union wants to promote. The EUs budget has always been geared toward supporting big political projects: the single market in the 1980s, the adoption of the euro in the 1990s, the enlargement process in the first decade of the 2000s. Over the past decade, it was focused on helping the blocs economies recover from the 2008 financial crisis to bolster EU cohesion at a time when the bloc could have easily ruptured under the strain of economic meltdown. Now that the EU is facing the departure of one of its members, not to mention an increasingly challenging global environment, it needs another big political project to help unite its remaining parts. To that end, the European Commission, which initiates discussions on the long-term budget, has submitted two major ideas for consideration by the EU Council, which is responsible for approving the new framework. One is the Green Deal, a plan to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050. The other project attempts to boost the EUs global profile and is focused on defense and security. Though the two plans arent incompatible, they promote competing visions for the EUs future. In times of economic growth, the bloc could pursue both, but these are uncertain times, and given that some member states are loathe to spend more money on EU projects than they already do, the bloc will likely have to choose between the two projects. The Green Deals biggest backer is Germany, but its also supported by countries such as Austria and Luxembourg that produce relatively high amounts of green energy and thus want to support funding for modern infrastructure that can help distribute this energy throughout Europe. At its core, the Green Deal seeks to promote environmentally friendly initiatives and clean energy. One of the first steps toward this vision was meant to be a sustainable finance strategy, which the European Commission hoped to secure in December. Energy producers, however, rejected the first draft of the proposal because it excluded nuclear energy and natural gas as well as other fossil fuels from the list of green activities that would be eligible for EU funding. France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia countries that depend on these sources of energy also rejected the initial proposal, though the EU later agreed to include nuclear as a clean source. (click to enlarge) Talks on the Green Deal have also triggered discussions over how the EU defines projects of common interest that are financed through EU funds especially as they pertain to energy infrastructure. So, if European-produced natural gas is not considered eco-friendly under the Green Deal, infrastructure that supports the production and distribution of this energy source will no longer be eligible for European funding. Eastern European countries like Romania and Poland that want to avoid relying on Russian energy are naturally opposed to such a narrowly defined criteria of green energy. Germany, on the other hand, is the Continents largest producer of renewable energy and therefore has no problem with limiting funding to renewable energy. While its also a supporter of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will deliver Russian natural gas to European markets, the new regulations will not affect the pipelines construction. Considering the Green Deals zero tolerance for coal, Poland and Romania may have to face the prospect of moving away from coal mining, which will come with its own consequences for the local population, without any support from the EU. Similarly, France, the largest European producer of nuclear energy, has been reluctant to exclude nuclear projects from EU funding, hence why French President Emmanuel Macron has been raising the nuclear issue every chance he gets lately. France is the biggest supporter of the other major project competing for EU funds, dubbed Geopolitical Europe, or LEurope Geopolitique as it was originally called. As part of this vision, Macron has been pushing for more spending on defense and security, focused on border control and research and development. Not coincidentally, France has a large defense industry and wants to increase production and export of its own military goods. It even sees Russia as a potential partner in this regard. France has also supported measures to increase member states joint contributions to the EU budget to over 1 percent of the EUs gross national income, which, according to Macron, would allow the EU to expand its global presence and eventually increase its export potential. Net contributors Denmark, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands the so-called frugal four want to cap contributions at 1 percent, while Germany has agreed to a slight increase above 1 percent. (click to enlarge) The EUs non-frugal members, especially France, have also suggested eliminating rebates a partial refund given to net contributors. The frugal four plus Germany want to keep their rebates. This will be one of the most contentious budget issues particularly for Germany, where the electorate is increasingly frustrated that their country is expected to carry a larger burden for funding the EU than other members. Cohesion The main divide over the long-term budget is between the blocs two leading members: Germany, which is Europes economic powerhouse and wants the EU to continue to work to its advantage, and France, which sees an opportunity with Britains exit to shape the EU to its own benefit. But there are splits among other members of the bloc too, due in part to proposed cuts to cohesion funds and agriculture funds, both of which could be cut by over 10 percent in the upcoming budget. Eastern European members have benefited most from cohesion funding, which has helped build new infrastructure and reform public sectors. (Eighty-five percent of public funds in Eastern European member states are financed by EU money.) In addition, since the 2008 economic crisis, the economies of Southern Europe have been kept alive by cohesion and agriculture funds from the EU. Therefore, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain the so-called friends of cohesion are campaigning to reduce these cuts. The recent focus on the budget, however, has overshadowed another major problem for the EU: competitiveness. While Europe has some of the best education systems in the world, it has become increasingly hard to translate it into skills that generate profitable economic activities and innovation. This is in part due to advantages given to people with seniority over younger, less experienced job seekers. It is also due to generous and overly burdened pension systems that governments are compelled to support or, if they dont, face widespread public backlash. European economies are also generally geared toward old industries and state involvement, rather than innovation and new industry. Even the European Commissions plans to support digitization and innovation through funds that would be administers by the states highlight the government-centric nature of Europe. The Bigger Picture Europe, moreover, faces some major problems outside its borders that have not been addressed in discussions over the budget. While the Geopolitical Europe project focuses on building Europes military capabilities, it doesnt indicate what threats theyre meant to address. Not that there arent plenty to choose from. Russia is still a threat on Europes eastern frontier, and Turkey is slowly becoming a regional power having recently partnered with Russia both in the Middle East and in North Africa in operations that could threaten European energy supplies and send more migrants to the Continents shores. The consequences of these threats will be felt most by Eastern European countries, which are increasingly turning to each other and the United States in the belief that Western Europe is reluctant to respond to their concerns. Regional alliances are therefore emerging: Central Europe has the Visegrad Group, while Eastern Europe has the Intermarium and the Three Seas initiative. These new groupings see the U.S. as an alternative source of support and funding. On Feb. 15, during the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would pledge up to $1 billion for energy projects in Eastern Europe to help reduce the regions reliance on Russian natural gas. Pompeos announcement highlights the divisions between Eastern and Western Europe, and reveals how the United States priorities on the Continent differ from those of Western European states. It also shows that the EUs eastern member states continue to hedge their bets and increasingly seem to trust the U.S. more than they trust Brussels when it comes to their security needs. The talks over the EUs budget will continue to highlight these divisions, as member states face tough choices over how best to protect their interests, both within and outside of the EU. The endeavour to stay calm in a highly stressful corporate environment is definitely a tough ask. Add to it the strain of being a second generation entrepreneur to corporate culture. Bhargavi Swami, the CEO of Excel Corporation, a HR and Brand consulting company, can vouch for that. Amid walking a tight rope of wearing several hats, Bhargavi is an entrepreneur as well as a Podcaster, it becomes all the more imperative to maintain ones equanimity. And it is here that her love for music comes in handy as being a musician herself, it helps her beat all the stress that her work entails. Coming from a family of musicians, its no surprise that Bhargavi started young. She remarks how most South Indian families pick out certain encouraging routines for their children to be good in academics, classical dance, music lessons and training their inexperienced palate to savour the vast flavour profile of south Indian cuisine. Bhargavis mother, who herself is a Veena player, exposed her and her sister to the world of music at tender ages of 2 and 4, respectively. As a child, she was listening to Abba, Eagles, Michael Jackson alongside the great legends of Indian Classical Music like Smt. M.S. Subbalakshmi, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia and many more. Music has always been and still is a big part of my life. I trained under exceptional Carnatic Classical teachers with my longest association being the Belur Sisters - Smt. Radha Thandaweshwar. It was during this training I got introduced to the theory behind classical music which fascinated me. The association of rhythm and beat with Math, Physics and Biology with sound resonance both within our body and in the instruments we play captivated me beyond measure, says Bhargavi. Enlightened with the fresh knowledge of science behind music, propelled her interest in it beyond just a medium of expression. Soon it transformed into livable, provable, tried-and-tested therapy that is now ever so popular in aiding treatments for conditions ranging from mental illnesses to chronic diseases. Bhargavi has been singing, listening to music and composing tunes for as long as she can remember. She believes she has improved and is much better at it after having performed across country and a few international venues with her Guru, Smt. Radha Thandaweshwar. With the blessings of her guru, Bhargavi has also essayed into teaching students the basics of Carnatic classical music to adults in a modern manner, being a big believer of no such thing as age to learn music. Performing and playing for assorted, distinguished crowds has imparted valuable lessons that she has been successfully implementing while being at the helm in a corporate boardroom. A sure-shot boost to her confidence, personality development, self-belief, open-mindedness, and critical thinking are just a few of the positive takeaways from her experience as a performer. Being deeply associated with Classical Music didnt deter Bhargavi from getting influenced by mainstream Bollywood tunes. Being a linguist, she enjoys and admires music in various languages, with the Maestro A.R. Rahman being her all time favourite Indian composer. Call me biased, but being a native Tamilian from Bangalore, the chances of not having been influenced by his music is super rare, Bhargavi says. Apart from A.R. Rahmans compositions in all languages, she loves the music produced by Salim-Suleiman, and Amit Trivedi , especially for his brand of quirky soulful music that todays millennial generation connects with. Bhargavi adds: I sometimes believe I am an old soul trapped in a younger body. I would have loved to live and belong in the 60s and 70s era of Classical Music across the world - from Jazz and Blues to Ghazals and Kalaams. Apart from her musical endeavours, Bhargavis business podcast show, aptly named, People Who Matter has seen some crazy creative methods of promotion like releasing a teaser promo video for its second season - a first of its kind done anywhere in the world! Drifting along with her creative stream, she is presently exploring the exciting world of OTT Platforms. Soon enough, Bhargavi will be donning yet another hat which is of script and screenplay writing for web series. This is truly an interesting phase and I believe I am only getting started, she says. Starting out young has given her the benefit of age and time on her hand, and keeping that in mind she is absolutely determined to take full advantage of it. Bhargavi is currently working on multiple ventures she has invested in. Her HR firm, Excel Corporation has been awarded as the top HR consulting company by Insight Business Magazine and one of the top 5 by Silicon India. Her Podcast has recently been noted as one of Indias Top Podcasters via OpenTalk and boasts a Subscriber base of over 2 Million across the world. At the moment, her company is working on new training programmes on leadership, spear-heading and moderating various Panel Discussions on AI in Talent management, Revolution of HR in Fintech and Startup Hiring, and many more business endeavours. Bhargavi says., this is definitely the next phase of my career, where I will spend more time on innovation and reinvention of existing ideas and formats of work. Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT journalist was involved in the creation of this content. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Cattle Market Red at Midday Barchart - 1 hour ago Front month cattle futures are trading 12 to 82 cents weaker so far with the nearbys down the most. The weekly FCE auction sold 379 of the 3,050 head listed for $137. One smaller pen of steers went for... LEG22 : 136.475 (-0.87%) LEM22 : 136.200 (-0.47%) GFF22 : 161.350 (-0.45%) GFH22 : 164.825 (-0.92%) Triple Digit Gains for Cotton Barchart - 1 hour ago The front month cotton futures market is 81 to 193 points stronger. New crop prices are also gaining 68 to 73 points at midday. USDA left the average cash price for cotton at 90 cents/lb in the Monthly... CTK21 : 89.48s (+3.77%) CTK22 : 115.71 (+1.60%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%) Corn Futures Trading Red After Reports Barchart - 1 hour ago Corn futures are weaker as the USDA data dump gets digested. Old crop is 3 to 3 1/2 cents in the red so far. New crop futures are fractionally weaker. USDA maintained $5.45 as the cash average price. The... ZCH22 : 601-0 (unch) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.8779 (-0.03%) ZCK22 : 602-2 (unch) ZCZ21 : 588-6s (+0.77%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.7930 (-0.49%) Weekly U.S. Ethanol Production Scales Back, Stocks Jump to 47-Week High Renewable Fuels Association - 1 hour ago Report on U.S. ethanol production, usage, and stocks for the week ending January 7, 2022. 3 Top Dividend Growth Stocks With DRIPs Sure Dividend - Wed Jan 12, 10:48AM CST Dividend Reinvestment Plans, or DRIPs, allow investors to experience the power of compounding. This article discusses 3 top DRIP stocks. A practical skills crisis is forcing average Australians to fork out hundreds of dollars more for basic household call-outs, thanks to plummeting tradie numbers. Apprenticeships across the country are falling at an alarming rate, with the skills shortage hitting homeowners and businesses. In some areas, it is nearly impossible to find a builder - leading to a surge in prices - among fears being a tradesman is now considered a 'second class' career. While universities are churning out degrees in social sciences, there has been a drop of more than 50 per cent in the number of traineeships in some states. There has been a rapid decline in the number of traineeships and apprenticeships available across Australia between 2013 and 2019 (pictured) It has led to a substantial shortage of builders - particularly bricklayers and carpenters, which is driving up costs for families. There is also a huge shortage of plumbers, electricians, handymen and air-conditioning repairmen. It had lead to an 8 per cent annual increase in the price of skilled labour. 'From a homeowners perspective, that shortage results in an increase in cost of skilled labour that flows through to cost of final product,' the Housing Industry Associations Chief Economist Tim Reardon said. In figures seen by the Daily Telegraph, the number of traineeships and apprenticeships dropped by around 50 per cent in Sydney and Adelaide. The number of tradespeople is plummeting across Australia, as students opt for university education as opposed to vocational training (stock image) HOW CAN I GET A FREE TRAINEESHIP? Aspiring tradies in NSW can get a head start on their career in 2020 as their training will be free under a new $54.3 million program. The funding covers 70,000 places a year to young people undertaking courses at TAFE or private training schools, including school-based programs. Qualifications must be on the NSW Government's skills list of vocations that the state needs more people working in. Each student will save thousands of dollars in fees and it is hoped the offer will spur more school leavers to take up trades. A related program will spend millions more on 30,000 places in these courses for mature-aged students. Advertisement In NSW as a whole, there was a 30 per cent drop, and a 35 per cent drop in Victoria. Queensland didn't fair much better, suffering a 32 per cent decline, while South Australia was hardest hit with numbers plummeting by 50 per cent. Western Australia has also experienced a 30 per cent drop over the last seven years/ Tasmania and the Northern Territory also experienced a decline, but at much lower rates of 7 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Some businesses have reported having to turn away thousands of dollars worth of work due to a lack of tradesman to complete, with some claiming they could have grown their business by 40 per cent. Advanced manufacturer PFIs General Manager of Defence and Aerospace Nick Green said that while tradies were a struggle to find, he was inundated with university graduates. 'We are letting our kids down - in our company we have 20 engineers and over 110 tradesmen and what that means is there is a massive skew in society,' he said. 'Trades are seen as second class and they should be first they are an amazing first step for a successful career.' The Labor party blamed the government's slashing of the number of technical and further education institutes (TAFEs). The number of tradesman is dwindling, as young Australians are increasingly viewing it as a 'second class' career (stock image) In 2004, there were 57, but in 2018 there were 35. The TAFE training system is currently being reviewed by the NSW government after being hit with a barage of critcism. Young people are shunning traditional trades jobs (stock image) Campaigners claimed the technology many students are working with in TAFE is out of date and doesn't give them the proper skills needed to be hired. 'We want students to think of TAFE the same way they think of university, as a leading institution for furthering their education and gaining the skills of the future,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement. Opposition spokesman Jihad Dib said he fears 'the government walking away from TAFE'. 'It worries me that this could lead to a running down of TAFE as well as the privatisation of TAFE which the premier has not ruled out,' he said. 'TAFE should be an institution, not a pop-up shop.' Microsoft on Wednesday lowered its revenue estimates for the current quarter, saying it will feel the impact of the coronavirus epidemic with lower sales of Windows software and Surface devices. The US tech giant became the latest global firm to warn of a financial hit from the global outbreak of the disease which has killed thousands worldwide. "Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated," Microsoft said in a statement. As a result, Microsoft said that in the current fiscal quarter its revenues will fall short of earlier forecasts, with Windows and Surface "more negatively impacted than previously anticipated." Licensing Windows software to computer makers is a major source of revenue for Microsoft, meaning temporary closures or interruptions of production at factories run by partners can cobble its revenue. Surface tablet manufacturing can be directly impeded by such precautions. "As the conditions evolve, Microsoft will act to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers, and partners during this difficult period," Microsoft said. "Microsoft also continues to make donations to relief and containment efforts, including directly providing technology to help hospitals and medical workers." Microsoft shares slipped about a percent in after-market trades that followed its announcement. Apple last week said its revenue for the current quarter would be below its forecasts, and that worldwide iPhone supply "will be temporarily constrained" because of the global virus outbreak, notably in China, where Apple manufactures most of its devices. Apple, which depends on components from Chinese suppliers and has a big market in China, has been hammered on both fronts. The virus has sparked global economic jitters, with travel bans and mass quarantines inside China forcing factories to suspend operations and shops to close. Coronavirus cases spread in Europe and beyond on Wednesday, with Latin America confirming its first patient as the world scrambled to contain the epidemic that has killed thousands worldwide. New cases have emerged across Europe, many linked to the continent's coronavirus hotspot in northern Italy, amid warnings from health experts to rein in hysteria as the virus continues its march beyond China's borders. Microsoft became the latest tech firm to warn of a financial hit from the global coronavirus epidemic in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceara amid military police strike. Violent crime has seen a continuous rise Authorities in Brazil said the state had recorded 147 homicides in the state of Ceara in the first five days of a military police strike. Despite the deployment of the army to patrol the street, the murders have seen a fivefold increase from the same five-day period last year. The increasing violence has led to the cancellation of carnival festivities in several cities. "There are signs that some violent crimes have been increasing, but it's not a situation of total disorder in the streets," federal Justice Minister Sergio Moro said. The police began their strike on February 18, which comes during Brazil's annual Carnival. Nine cities in Ceara canceled celebrations due to security concerns. Two federal Cabinet members and Justice Minister Sergio Moro met with Ceara's governor Monday to oversee security operations. Over 2,500 soldier was deployed by the federal government to maintain order. The police strike comes with demands on a pay increase for law enforcement workers. Protesters slashed at police vehicle tires and forced stores to close. A senator was shot and hospitalized while trying to drive a backhoe through a protest. The 56-year-old Brazilian Senator Cid Gomes was hit by two rubber bullets during the stand-off in Ceara's town of Sobral. A video of the incident showed Gomes driving a digger at the mental fence and lifting it up with the digger's arm while the protesting policemen gathered behind it shouted. Several shots ran out. The windscreen and one of the windows of the digger shattered. Photos that were taken after the incident showed the senator's shirt with a large bloodstain while he was being helped away. Members of the military police have been demanding better pay since late last year. They said they are being paid less than other military officers working elsewhere. Officers barred the entrance to a military police station in town as part of their protest. This has made it impossible for members of the force who did not join the strike to work. Senator Gomes' brother, Ciro Gomes, has since expressed his "hope that the responsible authorities catch those who attempted this barbarous homicide." He also said that he and his brother would not let the state be governed "by militias." Law enforcement officers are banned from going on strike under Brazilian law. Civic workers who "provide essential services to society" are also prohibited from joining protests or strikes. Last week, a court in Ceara said that those defying the ban could face time in prison. An estimated 200 protesting police officers have been suspended in recent days. President Jair Bolsanaro has remained tight-lipped about the police strike despite being elected on a law-and-order campaign. Local governments are worried about the strikes spreading to other states. Many of these states are struggling financially and paying civil servants late or incomplete salaries. Lawmaker Guilherme da Cunha of the state of Minas Gerais said, "Of course, police strikes could spread. From the moment people who have a monopoly on firearms discover the strength it has, there is a risk." Shark Tank judge Barbara Corcoran has been cheated out of nearly $400,000 after a phishing scam instructed her bookkeeper to forward funds to fraudsters. The 70-year-old businesswoman fell victim to the scam last week when her accountant Christine received an email chain that appeared to includeher assistant Emily's details. In the bogus email, impostors instructed Christine to pay $388,700.11 to a company named FFH Concept GmbH in Germany. Corcoran told DailyMail TV on Wednesday that the scam cost her business dearly because it was 'so simple and so well-executed'. Barbara Corcoran has been cheated of nearly $400,000 in a phishing scam. Last week fraudsters instructed her bookkeeper to forward funds to a company they claimed was designing a building in which she'd invested Corcoran's accountant thought the email address belonged to her assistant as it was so similar The scheme was pulled off using an email address that was identical except for one character. In the communication, Christine is seen replying asking who the money is for. The scammers tell her that FFH a real company is designing apartments in which the TV star has invested. On Tuesday, Christine wired the funds to the account listed on the email. Corcoran's team only realized what had happened after Christine emailed Emily at her real address and the assistant suspected something was wrong. Emily then noticed her email address was incorrect in the previous chain. Corcoran described the attack as a 'hit and run', with the entire scam involving 'only five emails'. Corcoran told Daily Mail TV that the scam was 'so simple and so well-executed' which is why it cost her company dearly She spoke of her embarrassment at being conned out of the cash, saying she felt 'sick to my stomach' when the scam emerged The self-labelled 'NYC Real Estate Queen' spoke of her embarrassment over being conned out of the cash. 'Is it more painful losing the money or is it more painful being embarrassed? I was going to say more painful being embarrassed but that's not true. It's painful losing money for no reason whatsoever,' Corcoran said in an interview with DailyMail TV. She said she felt 'sick to my stomach, almost like how could that happen? 'Is this really true? It is like finding out a guy is having an affair.' Corcoran said her company had been targeted by a similar scam around six months ago and she believes they 'came back for a second shot' Her team had traced the IP address back to a 'Chinese outfit', which she also believes was the perpetrator of the previous attack. 'It was a beautifully executed scam by a Chinese outfit I suspect it was the same one that tried the first time,' she said She added that her team was familiar with how scams work but the fraudsters had managed to trick them because they 'played on the card of trust' between them. It was critical that she reassured staff members caught up in it as soon as the scam came to light, Corcoran said. 'First thing I told the staff member was not to worry and it's water under the bridge. She is very responsible and I knew she was going to be sickened and feel responsible,' Corcoran said. 'I suppose there's a sucker born in every crowd and today I'm that sucker,' she said. Corcoran revealed to DailyMail TV that her company had also been targeted by a separate scam around six months before to the attack. 'I was almost scammed about six months ago for a little bit more money than that and we caught it as we were about to wire the transfer so I should know better,' she said. Her team had traced the IP address back to a 'Chinese outfit', which she also believes was the perpetrator of the previous attack. 'It was a beautifully executed scam by a Chinese outfit I suspect it was the same one that tried the first time,' she said. 'They came back for a second shot.' Corcoran's attorneys are considering their next steps. However, she said there is little chance she will get the money back. Corcoran appeared in good spirits outside the Good Morning America studios in New York City earlier on Tuesday. She may not have heard about the scam by then Corcoran appeared in good spirits as she spoke to DailyMail TV about her podcast 'Business Unusual' on Tuesday. She spoke about what makes a good entrepreneur in business. 'Every entrepreneur is different,' she said. 'The best entrepreneurs are self driven.' Corcoran said that the best entrepreneurs 'ignore' her advice 'as they listen to their own counsel'. The 'worst' are those that 'take out their notepad' because they are 'looking for a secret formula of how to succeed'. Corcoran also appeared on the Tamron Hall Show to give advice about being a 'lady boss' that morning, and was pictured waving to crowds outside the Good Morning America studios in New York City. Before Corcoran appeared on Shark Tank, she sold her Corcoran real estate company for $66million. She started the group in the 1970s with just $1,000 and let it go in 2001. Gardai at the scene of the fatal stabbing in Kingswood A mum-of-three was being questioned last night following the death of a 39-year-old man who was stabbed a number of times as he tried to start his car in south Dublin. Gardai are not looking for anyone else in relation to the death of Gareth Kelly, who is originally from Donomore Park in the Killinarden area of Tallaght. Detectives are investigating whether he was stabbed in a row over a parking space. A 38-year-old woman, who was being detained in Clondalkin Garda Station last night, was arrested shortly after the 7am knife attack in the Brownsbarn Estate in Kingswood. Distressed Sources said she was psychologically and medically assessed and was in a distressed condition when detained. Expand Close Gardai remove evidence pictured this morning at the scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai remove evidence pictured this morning at the scene Mr Kelly is understood to have been stabbed at least three times after being attacked when he tried to start the car in a parking space that may not have been his. It is understood he had left his partner's home to go to work but the car would not start. He was trying to jump-start it when he was attacked. The woman who was arrested lives in a nearby house, which was the subject of a major garda search operation yesterday. Expand Close An ambulance removes Mr Kellys body from the scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An ambulance removes Mr Kellys body from the scene Mr Kelly and the woman were not known to each other, nor were they known to gardai for involvement in criminality. Mr Kelly's Skoda, which had the bonnet open and jump-leads attached to the battery, was examined at the scene before being removed for further investigation. People living in the estate expressed their shock at what had happened. One woman, who did not want to be named, said her daughter was "very shaken up". Expand Close Gardai remove a vehicle from the scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai remove a vehicle from the scene "She's doing her best to help the guards in any way she can, but we can't get inside her house to see her," she said. "She lives close to where the incident happened, so maybe she has information that can help them." Another woman told the Herald she used to live in the house that was being inspected by gardai and forensic officers. "I moved out of there about four years ago. I nearly fainted when I heard what had happened," she said. "I'm just so shocked that something so violent happened right outside my old house. "It's an awful tragedy, and hopefully the person responsible is brought to justice." Another resident described Brownsbarn Wood as "a very respectable and quiet place to live". "I woke up to the sounds of guards knocking on my door to question me whether I had seen or heard anything," he said. "I'm not sure what happened, but it was an awful thing to hear first thing in the morning. "The residents who live here usually leave for work or college quite early, so I'm sure someone is in a position to help the guards." Gardai continued to assess the scene and conduct door-to-door enquiries throughout the afternoon. The victim's body was examined at the scene by the pathologist before being removed by ambulance. Gardai have launched a murder investigation and appealed for information. "An Garda Siochana are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing as there is no known motive at this time," a spokeswoman said. She added that gardai are appealing to anyone who was in the Brownsbarn Estate and Kingswood area between 6am and 7am yesterday to contact them. (Newser) Two American teens were arrested in Italy over the summer for allegedly killing a Rome police officer in the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. On Wednesday, their trial in the Italian capital began, ABC News reports. Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 19, and Finnegan Elder, now 20, face charges of aggravated murder and attempted extortion in the July 26 death of Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, a member of the country's Carabinieri paramilitary police force. Authorities say the American teens were sold crushed aspirin when they tried to buy cocaine and that they then took a backpack from the "mediator" who had arranged their meeting with the drug dealer. They allegedly demanded their money back before they would return the pack, not knowing the mediator had called the police. Cerciello Rega and a partner responded and a fight ensued; Cerciello Rega died at a nearby hospital after receiving 11 stab wounds that pierced major organs. More on the case: Evidence: Natale-Hjorth and Elder were allegedly caught on surveillance video fleeing the scene and were ultimately arrested in a hotel room nearby. Police say the 7-inch combat knife used in the slaying was found behind a false panel in the room's ceiling, and that the teens confessed to the murder after being "faced with overwhelming evidence" during several hours of interrogation. Natale-Hjorth and Elder were allegedly caught on surveillance video fleeing the scene and were ultimately arrested in a hotel room nearby. Police say the 7-inch combat knife used in the slaying was found behind a false panel in the room's ceiling, and that the teens confessed to the murder after being "faced with overwhelming evidence" during several hours of interrogation. Controversial photo: However, a photo of Natale-Hjorth handcuffed and blindfolded caused some to wonder whether their confessions had come under duress. Italian authorities said the photo was taken before the interrogation, which took place lawfully and in the presence of defense lawyers and interpreters. story continues below More controversy: The Local reports there has also been controversy surrounding possible mistranslations of a conversation Elder had with his father, and inconsistencies regarding the statements of Cerciello Rega's partner. Per AFP, the officers also allegedly violated police rules by not carrying weapons and having no backup. An ambulance delay also likely contributed to Cerciello Rega's death; the officers were not located for more than 15 minutes after calling for it. The Local reports there has also been controversy surrounding possible mistranslations of a conversation Elder had with his father, and inconsistencies regarding the statements of Cerciello Rega's partner. Per AFP, the officers also allegedly violated police rules by not carrying weapons and having no backup. An ambulance delay also likely contributed to Cerciello Rega's death; the officers were not located for more than 15 minutes after calling for it. Their story: Natale-Hjorth and Elder say they were acting in self-defense, believing the officers were criminals because they did not identify themselves, according to the BBC. They were undercover officers, working in plainclothes and in an unmarked car. Natale-Hjorth and Elder say they were acting in self-defense, believing the officers were criminals because they did not identify themselves, according to the BBC. They were undercover officers, working in plainclothes and in an unmarked car. Elder's background: Both men are college students from California's Bay Area, and their families spoke to San Francisco's KGO-TV for an in-depth report last week. "We have been and are still very close," said Elder's mom of her family. But his parents acknowledge his life went on a different trajectory after a fight with a high school football teammate led to his expulsion from school in 2016; a year after that, he lost half his finger in an accident at work and ended up getting his GED rather than graduating at the new high school he had been attending. Both men are college students from California's Bay Area, and their families spoke to San Francisco's KGO-TV for an in-depth report last week. "We have been and are still very close," said Elder's mom of her family. But his parents acknowledge his life went on a different trajectory after a fight with a high school football teammate led to his expulsion from school in 2016; a year after that, he lost half his finger in an accident at work and ended up getting his GED rather than graduating at the new high school he had been attending. How they met: Elder met Natale-Hjorth, whose father was born in Italy, at that new high school. "He has a teenager's quick temper and can be loud when he's mad. I blame that on the Italian side," says Natale-Hjorth's mother. The TV station looked at the teens' social media and the contents of their cellphones, plus spoke to their peers, and says that it seems both were fascinated by drugs, weapons, and violence. Elder met Natale-Hjorth, whose father was born in Italy, at that new high school. "He has a teenager's quick temper and can be loud when he's mad. I blame that on the Italian side," says Natale-Hjorth's mother. The TV station looked at the teens' social media and the contents of their cellphones, plus spoke to their peers, and says that it seems both were fascinated by drugs, weapons, and violence. The trip: Both decided, separately, to visit Europe for the summer, Natale-Hjorth after his first year at Santa Barbara City College and Elder after a rough year at San Diego Mesa College. They got in touch while there and decided to meet up in Italy. Both decided, separately, to visit Europe for the summer, Natale-Hjorth after his first year at Santa Barbara City College and Elder after a rough year at San Diego Mesa College. They got in touch while there and decided to meet up in Italy. The fateful night: KGO has a much more detailed rundown of all that transpired the night of the killing, including allegations that Natale-Hjorth and Elder tried to leave when they saw the officers, believing them to be associates of the drug dealer, but that the officers attacked them. "The boys were suspicious and thought that this was a setup," says an Elder family attorney. "They thought they were dealing with gangster, mobster, and mafia types." KGO has a much more detailed rundown of all that transpired the night of the killing, including allegations that Natale-Hjorth and Elder tried to leave when they saw the officers, believing them to be associates of the drug dealer, but that the officers attacked them. "The boys were suspicious and thought that this was a setup," says an Elder family attorney. "They thought they were dealing with gangster, mobster, and mafia types." The victim: Cerciello Rega had gotten married a little more than a month before the attack and had his funeral in the same church as his wedding. "I'm so heartbroken that her husband was here and now he's no longer on this earth. And I feel just an immense amount of pain when I think of her," says Elder's mom of Cerciello Rega's widow. Cerciello Rega had gotten married a little more than a month before the attack and had his funeral in the same church as his wedding. "I'm so heartbroken that her husband was here and now he's no longer on this earth. And I feel just an immense amount of pain when I think of her," says Elder's mom of Cerciello Rega's widow. What's at stake: If convicted, Natale-Hjorth and Elder could face life in prison. (Read more Italy stories.) Delhi Police has arrested 106 people named in 18 FIRs in relation to violence in North East Delhi, said Police PRO MS Randhawa. NSA Ajit Doval, who has also taken charge of Delhi's law and order, said the situation is now under control. Soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave charge of Delhis Law and Order to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, the Delhi Police arrested 106 accused named in 18 FIRs for spreading violence in the North East Delhis Jafrabad, Bhajanpura, Changbagh, Yamuna Vihar, Babarpur and other parts. The Police held all these accused after viewing the CCTV footages and strong pieces of evidence of riots and loss to public property. Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa told the media that 106 people have been arrested today evening and Police is trying to identify the miscreants and anti-social elements. No incident of riots took place today, added the Police PRO. He further informed that the Delhi Police has shared helpline numbers, and requested again not to believe or spread any fake or provocative news. The situation is now under control, asserted the Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa. NSA Ajit Doval today again visited the riot-hit area to review the situation. He also talked to the locals and assured them that the situation is now under control. Inshallah, there will be peace here, NSA Ajit Doval told the media. He also had a meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to brief him about the current situation. Doval told reporters that the situation is now under control, expressing the confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police is doing its best, said Doval. The authorities have confirmed 23 deaths and over 200 injured in riots since Sunday, said reports. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App They asked Katherine Johnson for the moon, and she gave it to them. Wielding little more than a pencil, a slide rule and one of the finest mathematical minds, Johnson who died at 101 on Monday at a retirement home in Newport News, Va. calculated the trajectories that would let Apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969 and, after Neil Armstrongs history-making moonwalk, let it return to Earth. A single error, she well knew, could have dire consequences for craft and crew. Her impeccable calculations had already helped plot the successful flight of Alan Shepard, who became the first American in space when his Mercury spacecraft went aloft in 1961. The next year, she likewise helped make it possible for John Glenn, in the Mercury vessel Friendship 7, to become the first American to orbit the Earth. Yet throughout Johnsons 33 years in NASAs Flight Research Division the office from which the U.S. space program sprang and for decades afterward, almost no one knew her name. Johnson was one of several hundred rigorously educated, supremely capable yet largely unheralded women who, well before the modern feminist movement, worked as NASA mathematicians. But it was not only her sex that kept her long marginalized and unsung: Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a West Virginia native who began her scientific career in the age of Jim Crow, was also African American. In old age, Johnson became the most celebrated of the small cadre of black women perhaps three dozen who at midcentury served as mathematicians for the space agency and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Their story was told in the 2016 Hollywood film Hidden Figures, based on Margot Lee Shetterlys nonfiction book of the same title, published that year. The movie starred Taraji P. Henson as Johnson, the films central figure. In 2017 Hidden Figures received the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. The film was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture. Though it won none, the 98-year-old Johnson received a standing ovation when she appeared onstage with the cast at the Academy Awards ceremony that February. Of the black women at the center of the film, Johnson was the only one still living at the time of its release. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, proclaiming, Katherine G. Johnson refused to be limited by societys expectations of her gender and race while expanding the boundaries of humanitys reach. In 2017, NASA dedicated a building, the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, at its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. That year, the Washington Post described her as the most high-profile of the computers computers being the term originally used to designate Johnson and her colleagues. She helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space, NASAs administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said in a statement Monday, even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color in the universal human quest to explore space. As Johnson herself was fond of saying, her tenure at Langley from 1953 until her retirement in 1986 was a time when computers wore skirts. For some years at midcentury, the black women who worked as computers were subjected to a double segregation: Consigned to separate office, dining and bathroom facilities, they were kept separate from the larger group of white women who also worked as NASA mathematicians. The white women in turn were segregated from the agencys male mathematicians and engineers. But over time, the work of Johnson and colleagues myriad calculations done mainly by hand, using slide rules, graph paper and clattering desktop calculating machines won them a level of acceptance. NASA was a very professional organization, Johnson told the Observer of Fayetteville, N.C., in 2010. They didnt have time to be concerned about what color I was. Nor, she said, did she. I dont have a feeling of inferiority, Johnson said on one occasion. Never had. Im as good as anybody, but no better. Creola Katherine Coleman was born Aug. 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., the youngest of four children of Joshua and Joylette (Lowe) Coleman. Her mother was a schoolteacher, her father a farmer. From her earliest childhood, Katherine counted things: the number of dishes in the cupboard, the number of steps on the way to church and, as insurmountable a task as it might pose, the number of stars in the sky. I couldnt wait to get to high school to take algebra and geometry, Johnson told the Associated Press in 1999. Katherine entered high school at 10 and graduated at 14. The next year she entered West Virginia State. By her junior year, she had taken all the math courses the college had to offer. Her mentor there, William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor, only the third black person to earn a doctorate in mathematics from a U.S. university, conceived special classes just for her. After graduating summa cum laude in 1937 with a double major in mathematics and French, she found, unsurprisingly, that research opportunities for black female teenage mathematicians were negligible. She took a job as a schoolteacher in Marion, Va. In 1940, she was chosen by the president of West Virginia State to be one of three black graduate students to integrate West Virginia University, the all-white institution in Morgantown. Two years earlier, ruling in the civil-rights case Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, the U.S. Supreme Court held that where comparable graduate programs did not exist at black universities in Missouri, the state was obliged to admit black graduate students to its white state universities. In the wake of that decision, West Virginia Gov. Homer Holt chose to desegregate public graduate schools. Now married to James Francis Goble, a chemistry teacher, she entered West Virginia University in the summer of 1940, studying advanced mathematics. The greatest challenge she faced, Shetterly wrote, was finding a course that didnt duplicate Dr. Claytors meticulous tutelage. But after that summer session, on discovering she was pregnant with her first child, she withdrew from the university. She returned with her husband to Marion and was occupied with marriage, motherhood and teaching for more than a decade. Then, in 1952, Katherine Goble heard that Langley was hiring black women as mathematicians. The oldest of NASAs field centers, Langley had been established by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1917. In 1935, it began hiring white women with mathematics degrees to relieve its male engineers of the tedious work of crunching numbers by hand. Within a decade, several hundred white women had been employed as computers there. Most, unlike the male scientists at the agency, were classified as subprofessionals, paid less than their male counterparts. In June 1941, as the nation prepared for war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, barring racial discrimination in the defense industry. In 1943, with the wartime need for human computers greater than ever, the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, as the research facility was then known, began advertising for black women trained in mathematics. Among the first hired was Dorothy Vaughan, who began work that year. In 1951, Vaughan became the first black section head at NACA, as the advisory committee was known, when she was officially placed in charge of Langleys West Area Computing Unit, the segregated office to which the black women were relegated. It was in this unit that Katherine Goble began work in June 1953, tabulating sheets of data for the agencys engineers. Two weeks into her new job, she was borrowed by the Flight Research Division, which occupied an immense hangar on the Langley grounds. There, the only black member of the staff, she helped calculate the aerodynamic forces on airplanes. For that task, as she quickly demonstrated, she came armed with an invaluable asset. The guys all had graduate degrees in mathematics; they had forgotten all the geometry they ever knew, Johnson said in the Fayetteville Observer interview. I still remembered mine. She remained in the division for the rest of her career. By the early 1960s, with the United States provoked by Soviet prowess in space, NASA was under great pressure to launch an astronaut. It fell to the Flight Research Division to do many of the associated calculations. Our assignment was the trajectory, Johnson explained to the AP. As NASA got ready to put someone in space, they needed to know what the launch conditions were. It was our assignment to develop the launch window and determine where it was going to land. Their work was secret at times even from the mathematicians themselves. We were the pioneers of the space era, Johnson told the Daily Press, a Virginia newspaper, in 1990. You had to read Aviation Week to find out what youd done. It helped sustain her through the death of her first husband from brain cancer in 1956, leaving her, at 38, a widow with three adolescent daughters. She married James A. Johnson, a U.S. Army captain, in 1959. Over the years, Katherine Johnson published more than two dozen technical papers. She was among the first women at NASA to be a named author or co-author on an agency report. Ceaselessly curious about the aerospace technology that underpinned her work, she made it possible for women to attend the agencys scientific briefings, formerly closed-door affairs reserved for male staff members. (Is there a law against it? Johnson asked, and when her male colleagues, after some head-scratching, concluded that, no, there was no law, they let her in.) After retiring from NASA, Johnson became a public advocate for mathematics education. Her death was announced by NASA. She is survived by two daughters, Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore; six grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Connie Garcia, died in 2010; her second husband, James Johnson, died in 2019. Margalit Fox is a New York Times writer. Kidnapped and murdered: A woman's body found last week outside Flagstaff, Arizona, has been positively identified as missing 27-year-old Mennonite Sasha Krause, who investigators say was kidnapped and murdered Authorities in Arizona have positively identified a body found last week as a Mennonite woman from New Mexico, who they now say was kidnapped and murdered. Sasha Krause, 27, was last seen alive on January 18 picking up items from the Farmington Mennonite Church in northwestern New Mexico. Her car was parked outside. A body that matched her description was discovered on Friday near Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki national monuments in Arizona, more than 270 miles away from where Krause last was seen. Fingerprints taken at the scene matched Krauses drivers license record in Texas, and an autopsy performed on the body on Monday confirmed her identity, authorities. San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari released a videotaped statement on Tuesday, saying the investigation into Krause's disappearance 'now transitions to a criminal investigation... to identify and apprehend the individual that's responsible for Sasha's kidnap and murder.' 'We are fully committed to capturing this individual and bringing peace to the Krause family,' the sheriff added. Results of the autopsy carried out by the Coconino County medical examiners office in Arizona will take a few weeks. 'I think its all just kind of a mystery right now,' Coconino County sheriffs spokesman Jon Paxton said. 'Once we get a cause from the ME, thats really going to lead us forward.' Paxton said its unclear when Krause died or how long her body had been there. On February 21, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office in Arizona reported finding a body of a woman that matched her description The San Juan County Sheriff's Office announced a $50,000 reward on February 12 to locate Krause. She was last seen leaving her Farmington home around 8pm on January 18 and did not return Krause was last seen in Farmington, New Mexico and the body believed to be hers was found 250 miles away in Coconino County, Arizona Over the weekend, Krause's family members posted on social media saying her body has been found. 'My precious, beautiful niece has been found. Our hearts are breaking and I hardly know what to say but we so appreciate everyones prayers for our family during this time,' one woman who said she was Krause's aunt posted on Saturday. According to posts from relatives, a traditional Mennonite funeral service for Krause will take place on Friday in Grandview, Texas. Krause was last seen leaving her home around 8pm and January 18. She never returned. Cops found her car parked at a nearby church in the area of her residence, but she left behind items she would usually take with her. On January 19, deputies were dispatched around 3am to Lamp & Lighters Publishers on County Road 5577 in the Crouch Mesa area on reports connected to her disappearance. Krause worked at the publishing business. Since her disappearance, Mennonite community members have been sharing her image on social media, saying she possibly interrupted a burglary in process and was abducted. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office announced a $50,000 reward on February 12 to locate her. 'We're definitely investigating all avenues as possible. As for the burglary in progress, we have no information to indicate it's actually true,' Harcrow said at the time. Over the weekend Krause's family members posted on social media saying her body has been found. 'My precious, beautiful niece has been found. Our hearts are breaking and I hardly know what to say but we so appreciate everyones prayers for our family during this time,' one woman who said she was Krause's aunt posted on Saturday The body believed to be Krause was found in the Wupatki National Monument area but no additional details were released. A woman named Jennifer Krause shared this post on Saturday saying Sasha's body had been found Investigators reviewed surveillance video footage in their search for Krause and conducted helicopter searches. 'We would like to reassure the public that we have thoroughly searched the area where she was last seen with multiple tracking teams, a tracking canine and volunteers from the community. We continue to search the surrounding area of Lamp & Light Publishing and the community where she lives,' the sheriff's office said Thursday. If you have any information please contact San Juan County Sheriff's Office at 505-333-7878 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Songphol Sukchan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 27 2020 Celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year will be more meaningful if Thailand and Indonesia can establish their new normal of relations at this time of turbulence. Friendship between Thailand and Indonesia has existed since 1871 when King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) of Thailand made his first visit to Java followed by another two visits to the island. The bronze elephant statue in front of the National Museum in Jakarta, a gift from King Chulaongkorn, and his inscription at Curug Dago waterfall in Bandung, West Java, represent this historical tie of friendship. It was on March 7, 1950, when the two countries established formal diplomatic relations. Similarities of hearts and minds of Thais and Indonesians have bonded us together since then. 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 Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the public sector banks (PSBs) were losing connect with consumers at the branch level, which was adversely affecting the retail credit flow and impeding effective delivery of government schemes at the ground level. She told top bankers representing state-run banks to hold periodic meetings with their field staff in order to motivate them and resolve practical challenges in maintaining consumer connect at the branch level. The finance minister asked for finding ways for giving a personal touch to retail banking. How we can be friendlier at the branch level, She asked while speaking at the launch of EASE 3.0, the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda 2020-21 for smart, tech-enabled banking. She said that every branch, particularly in the hinterland, needs at least one person who knows the local language. AI [artificial intelligence] is fine, but customers also want a little touch of you, she said. Sitharaman expressed concern over bankers over reliance on credit scores of potential loan seekers. Banks [PSBs] are doing core banking rather than development financing... credit rating agencies are not advisory but only indicators... so dont blindly follow the rating agency, she said. She said even if a bank declines a loan, it should not be a mechanical response and the reasons should be explained to the customer. Letter and spirit of branch level banking is direct-connect with the customer, she said, directing bankers to ensure it was established. The finance minister said that public sector banks are different from private banks as they are responsible for delivering several developmental schemes of the government. Many branch level officials dont have information about these schemes, she said and asked senior management to come up with suggestions to improve banking at branch levels. Sitharaman also unveiled the PSB EASE Reforms Annual Report 2019-20. EASE 3.0 seeks to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences, using technology and analytics including lending. Preview of Banking of the Future At the launch function organised by Indian Banks Association at Delhi, individual PSBs gave a preview of the array of tech-enabled services that are in the pipeline or have been piloted and will be scaled up over the coming year across PSBs. UCO Bank unveiled plans for doorstep banking services to be launched collectively by PSBs for services such as pick-up of cheques and delivery of income-tax exemption certificate, income-tax challan, bank draft and account statement in major cities across India. State Bank of India showcased app-based instant lending of up to Rs. 50,000 to existing small business customers and announced plans to scale it up to Rs. 1 lakh in branch-assist mode. Union Bank of India unveiled plans to lend up to Rs. 50 crore to MSMEs through an app. Bank of Baroda showcased digital tools for doorstep account opening, including in villages and for migrant labourers with the capacity for opening about 10,000 accounts per day. Flash Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin has highly appreciated China's effective measures in the battle against COVID-19 outbreak, admiring China's role as a responsible major country. Mamin, who made these remarks while meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao here on Monday, also wished the Chinese government and people a complete victory over the epidemic at an early date. For his part, Zhang expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan for its support and assistance to China in the anti-epidemic battle. He said a positive trend is expanding in curbing the epidemic in China. As an orderly resumption of work and production is underway, China is confident of achieving the economic and social development goals and tasks for this year, he said. Zhang said promoting the high-quality development of Belt and Road construction is the major task for both countries, adding that China is willing to cooperate with the Kazakh side closely in this regard. Mamin said Kazakhstan is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China to mitigate the influence posed by the epidemic and continue to push forward the Kazakhstan-China cooperation projects on production capacity under the Belt and Road Initiative. Kazakhstan will also ensure a safe and stable environment for Chinese projects and personnel in the Central Asian country, he added. SAN JOSE, Costa RicaIndigenous groups and Costa Ricas president on Tuesday mourned the killing of yet another indigenous activist amid continuing land disputes in the Central American country. The National Front of Indigenous Peoples said Jhery Rivera of the Broran Indian community was slain Monday in the hamlet of Terraba. Some Costa Rican indigenous communities have begun squatting on land that they have ancestral claims to, sparking conflicts with the current occupants of what are now cattle ranches and farms. The squatter communities, known as recuperaciones or recovered lands, have been attacked before. Starting Sunday, February 23, a group of landowners went to Terraba to intimidate and attack indigenous people at four new recovered areas, the National Front said in a statement. It accused landowners of racist violence against 13 indigenous families that have taken over the land, and said the Costa Rican government failed to protect them. The National Front claimed one landowner had burned a farm near Terraba, seeking to blame the indigenous group for it and spark reprisals against them. Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada condemned the killing and wrote in his Twitter account that one suspect had been detained. The president gave the dead mans name as Yeri, and other media have spelled it Yheri. In 2019, a BriBri indigenous land activist, Sergio Rojas, was killed in a nearby area. Costa Rica has about 104,000 indigenous people in eight language or ethnic groups, or about 2.4 per cent of the population. Most live in ancestral territories near the border with Panama, but their land claims have not been fully enforced and settlers moved into many of their areas. MENANDS The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society will be holding a dog vaccination clinic this weekend, in response to an Albany Police Department warning that canine distemper has been detected in local wildlife. Distemper is a serious, incurable and often fatal disease affecting multiple organ systems in animals. A 'wealthy' mother who shoplifted a $795 designer jumper from David Jones with her husband by her side has blamed her behaviour on post natal depression. Yan Liu, 37, walked into the department store at Westfield in Bondi Junction, Sydney, last March with the intention to steal a lavender sweater made by Zimmermann. Liu fronted Waverley Local Court on Wednesday where it was revealed she was seen on CCTV cameras entering the store in a brown top, before leaving with the lavender-coloured sweater on just moments later. Yan Liu (left), 37, walked into David Jones at Westfield in Bondi Junction, Sydney, last year with the intention to steal a lavender sweater made by Zimmermann, a court has heard The 'wealthy' mother shoplifted this $795 designer jumper from Zimmermann. CCTV captured her walking into the store wearing one outfit, before leaving minutes later with the sweater on Court papers state that Liu and her husband drove their Audi sedan into the carpark at the Westfield shopping centre just before 10am on Sunday, March 3, 2019. The couple then entered the centre and went up to the fourth level, walking into the department store. CCTV footage showed Liu selecting a number of items from the Zimmermann section of the store and taking them to the change rooms. At 10.50am the couple left the department store without buying anything, however Liu was wearing a different top to the one she arrived in. The pair immediately began to head downstairs and entered the carpark, before just two minutes later returning to the shopping centre's lifts. In this time Liu had taken off the Zimmermann jumper and put it in her car, the court heard. Staff inside the Zimmermann section of David Jones soon noticed the missing item and raised the alarm with Westfield security, who called NSW Police. In sentencing Liu, Magistrate Greg Grogin took into account a psychologists report that identified a history of mental health issues. Liu was sentenced to a two-year conditional release order (CRO) with no conviction recorded. She was also ordered to return the sweater and pay Zimmermann $795 (Pictured is the outside of the David Jones department store in Westfield Bondi Junction) Liu's lawyer Joshua Blom told the court his client's husband earned a 'considerable' income and that she came from a family of 'wealth backing'. He claimed the theft wasn't one committed out of necessity and it could reasonably be assumed her mental health had been a contributing factor. While urging Liu to continue to get treated for her mental health, Magistrate Grogin took aim at her husband and suggested he must have been aware of her crime. 'He saw you go in wearing one outfit and come back out wearing the jumper. He was with you the whole time,' he told the court. Liu was sentenced to a two-year conditional release order (CRO) with no conviction recorded. She was also ordered to return the sweater and pay Zimmermann $795. Could The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for Toronto-Dominion Bank. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. During the year, the company also conducted a buyback equivalent to around 1.5% of its market capitalisation. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Toronto-Dominion Bank for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis TSX:TD Historical Dividend Yield, February 26th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. Toronto-Dominion Bank paid out 46% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a medium payout level that leaves enough capital in the business to fund opportunities that might arise, while also rewarding shareholders. Plus, there is room to increase the payout ratio over time. Consider getting our latest analysis on Toronto-Dominion Bank's financial position here. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Toronto-Dominion Bank's dividend payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was CA$1.22 in 2010, compared to CA$2.96 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 9.3% per year over this time. Story continues Businesses that can grow their dividends at a decent rate and maintain a stable payout can generate substantial wealth for shareholders over the long term. Dividend Growth Potential Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Toronto-Dominion Bank has grown its earnings per share at 8.6% per annum over the past five years. It's good to see decent earnings growth and a low payout ratio. Companies with these characteristics often display the fastest dividend growth over the long term - assuming earnings can be maintained, of course. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. We're glad to see Toronto-Dominion Bank has a low payout ratio, as this suggests earnings are being reinvested in the business. We like that it has been delivering solid improvement in its earnings per share, and relatively consistent dividend payments. Overall, we think there are a lot of positives to Toronto-Dominion Bank from a dividend perspective. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 10 Toronto-Dominion Bank analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield above 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Tesco has opened its first cashless store. The Tesco Express, on High Holborn, central London, which opened yesterday allows customers to pay using contactless cards and Apple Pay at self-service tills. But Natalie Ceeney, who led an independent review of consumer access to cash last year, said major retailers rushing to end cash payments could seriously impact the lives of many people, particularly the more vulnerable. UK Finance, the industry body, predicts that notes and coins will be used for only 9 per cent of payments by 2028, down from 28 per cent in 2018 and 60 per cent in 2008. The Tesco Express, on High Holborn, central London, which opened yesterday allows customers to pay using contactless cards and Apple Pay at self-service tills Tesco said: Were pleased to be opening this cashless store to help customers to check out and pay quickly. The 101-year old Tesco, which trades from 3,787 stores in Britain and Ireland, chose the High Holborn store for the trial because it serves a high concentration of office workers. It said it wanted feedback before considering rolling out the idea elsewhere. Tesco has previously said some of its convenience stores in Britain were already only receiving 20% of payments by cash, making a cashless roll-out likely in future. The Bank of England said debit cards overtook cash as the most frequently used payment method in Britain in 2017 and it forecasts that alternatives to cash will become ever more widely accepted and used. Tesco has previously said some of its convenience stores in Britain were already only receiving 20% of payments by cash, making a cashless roll-out likely in future But there are notes worth more than 70 billion pounds in circulation in Britain and the central bank remains committed to cash. Although cash use is falling, it says many poorer and more vulnerable people still prefer notes and coins. US online giant Amazon has been experimenting with checkout-free grocery stores since 2018. Amazon Go relies on cameras and sensors to track what shoppers remove and put back from shelves. Customers are billed on leaving the store using credit cards held on file. Tesco's main UK rival Sainsbury's trailed a till-free grocery store in April, with shoppers using its SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go app. The shop still had a helpdesk for customers who wished to pay with cash or cards. BEIRUT Shelling and airstrikes by Syrian government forces killed at least three people on Wednesday in northwestern Syria, where dozens of villages, including major rebel strongholds in the last opposition-held area, have been captured over the past few days. The new push by Russian-backed Syrian troops could worsen the humanitarian crisis that has displaced nearly a million people and left more than 300 civilians dead since the beginning of December. The Syrian Response Coordination Group, a relief group operating in the countrys northwest, said that government forces had struck numerous civilian targets in the past 24 hours, including eight schools, three medical centers, and several settlements where people displaced by the fighting had taken shelter. The groups statement condemned the silence by the international community calling it an open invitation for Russian-backed government forces to continue their assault. The violence came as a Russian delegation was scheduled to arrive in Turkey later Wednesday to resume talks aimed at easing tensions in the northwestern Idlib region. The area is the countrys last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian governments military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with more than 900,000 people displaced from their homes in nearly three months. Turkey and Russia back rival groups in the Syrian conflict and over the past weeks Ankara sent thousands of Turkish troops to Idlib. Clashes between Turkish and Syrian troops so far this month have left 16 Turkish soldiers dead. Syrian opposition activists said government forces shelled a Turkish military convoy on a road near the northwestern village of Bara on Wednesday. There was no immediate word on casualties. On Tuesday, Syrian troops shot down a Turkish drone over Idlib, saying it was carrying out a reconnaissance mission over a town recently captured by government forces. A Syrian army statement said government forces captured, in addition to dozens of villages, some strategic hills deep inside the heavily fortified areas once held by insurgents. It said the villages captured include former strongholds such as Kafranbel, Has, Kfar Sajneh and al-Dar al-Kabira. The announcement came a day after shelling and airstrikes in Idlib province left at least 16 civilians dead, including students and teachers in a school in the provincial capital, also called Idlib. An airstrike on the rebel-held village of Arnabeh on Wednesday morning killed three people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, and Idlib-based activist Hadi Abdullah. A doctor in Idlib said in a video released late Tuesday that the medical conditions are deteriorating in Idlib. The medical situation is getting worse and worse, said the doctor who identified himself as Ihsan Eidi. The video was released by a charity organization known as Islamic Relief Worldwide. The doctor said more than 50 hospitals and health centers have gone out of service over the past nine months as conditions worsened. We had little equipment and most of it was damaged by the bombs, unfortunately, the doctor said. He added that with the flow of displaced people in the cold weather, tent settlements have become overcrowded, which makes disease spread more easily. Also Wednesday, a car bombing wounded a Palestinian official near the capital Damascus, according to the Observatory and the pro-government Sham FM radio station. The name of the wounded official in the Damascus suburb of Qatana has not been made public. ____ Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan has been going on for 30 years and one of the bloodiest pages of this conflict is the Khojaly genocide, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said at an art exhibition organized by the Azerbaijani Foreign Affairs Ministry on the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports. "As many as 613 civilians were killed with particular cruelty as a result of the genocide committed in Khojaly. The crimes in Khojaly has been fully proven thanks to measures taken by Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies. These crimes put responsibility both on the state level and at personal level," Khlafov said. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. Captain Mike Carter and partner Tracey Robinson won the Alabama Bass Trail competition last weekend at Guntersville, with an impressive catch of five bass weighing a total of 30.33 pounds to earn the $10,000 first prize. nglers Wesley Sams and Jordon Wiggins had 24.67 pounds, usually enough to take top prize in most Alabama tournaments, but had to settle for the $5,000 second place prize. Carter, a long-time guide at the lake, has regularly teamed with Robinson, a former client who became a friend. Their impressive score rested primarily on two jumbo fish caught almost immediately on Saturday morning up-river from the Goose Pond launching site. We were fishing a grassy, pre-spawn area, shallows close to some spawning flats, Carter said. I knew there were some good fish there but hadnt caught anything near the size of those first two bass there this spring. The first fish to the boat, caught by Robinson, went 7 1/2 pounds. And the second, caught by Carter, went 8.69 pounds. It was all downhill from there. Carter said they were throwing Choo-Choo Lures swimjigs, dressed with a 4-inch soft plastic Rage Menace tail from Strike King. We just cranked the lures steadilythey have a good swimming action and they get erratic as they bump through the grass so that triggers strikes, Carter said. Though the anglers had 16 pounds of fish in the boat almost immediately, they went almost three more hours without catching another keeper. We realized that was it for that spot, finally, so we moved on down the lake and started cranking with Echo Squarebills and Rat-L-Traps and that let us fill out our limit with some fish in the 5-pound class, Carter said. The anglers used red as well as chrome-and-blue crankbaits. Carter said most fish caught cranking were on grassy points and bars where there was current, but without excessive mud to cloud the water. Carter said water levels and water color in the lake are returning to normal after an extended period when it was too high and muddy to fish most of the well-known spring pre-spawn areas. He said he fished the swimbaits on 20-pound-test Vicious fluorocarbon, the crankbaits on 12. Carter said the win was perhaps his most satisfying tournament, though hes won a boat before in ABA events. When youre fishing against 225 of the best anglers in North Alabama and you come out on top, thats really a great day, said Carter. Carter and Robinsons big catch, along with a number of other 7-pounders caught by the field, bodes well for the upcoming Bassmaster Classic, slated for March 6-8 on Lake Guntersville. With a couple more weeks to warm up, hopefully the lake will be in prime shape when the Elite pros come to town. See full results of the Alabama Bass Trail event at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Tournaments in North Alabama upcoming Crappie USA will hold a crappie tournament at Weiss Lake out of Cedar Bluff March 7. The tournament weigh-in will be held at Graves Three Rivers Landing, Jct Al Hwy 9 & County Rd 63 in Cedar Bluff. Registration and a pre-tournament seminar will be held March 6 at Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, 801 Cedar Bluff Rd Building A in Centre. A free Crappie Kids Fishing Rodeo will be held in conjunction with the tournament at the Graves Three Rivers Landing. The event also includes the Crappie USA Kids Fishing Rodeo, free to kids 12 and under, from 9 to 11 a.m. March 7. Participants are eligible for a chance to win one of six Crappie USA $1,000.00 scholarships; www.crappieusa.com. ***** Catfish anglers from several states are expected in Sheffield for the King Kat Tournament April 18 on lakes Pickwick and Wilson, both known for producing huge blue and flathead catfish. Teams may consist of one to three anglers but limits are based on a two-person team. To register, visit https://www.kingkatusa.com/Tournament_Registration.cfm. Washington, D.C., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A U.S. map dotted with factory icons, unveiled online today, invites the public to see if the air they breathe contains toxic emissions from any of 100 super polluters in 28 states facilities with thousands of children living near them. The publisher of the map, the United Church of Christ, is encouraging people to click on it, see lists of chemicals being emitted near them and call on their elected representatives to stop the pollution and to fight federal rollbacks in environmental protections. Armed with data from a respected research firm, the UCC posted the map at a new website, ucc.org/breathtothepeople, along with a detailed study listing these super polluters in heavily populated areas. Its title: Breath to the People: Sacred Air and Toxic Pollution. Church leaders unveiled the evidence at an Ash Wednesday news conference in Washington, D.C. The map shows clusters of these Toxic 100 polluters in such areas as Houston, Louisianas Cancer Alley and the southeast shore of Lake Erie. Some 113,000 children under age 5 the most vulnerable population because of their developing bodies live within three miles of the listed facilities, according to the report. Parents have no idea what their children are breathing, let alone the kids that play near them, said Yvette Arellano of Houston, which has the largest cluster of polluters on the map. Sometimes moms will take their children inside because it smells a very specific way. They dont know exactly whats affecting their kids, but they do know its dangerous. Children are particularly vulnerable to toxic air pollution because their brains, their bodies, their lungs, all of their organs are still growing and developing, said Dr. Kristie Ross, a Cleveland pediatric pulmonologist, who did not work on the report but was asked to comment on pollution and kids in a prerecorded video. And when you expose somebody to a poison, like air pollution is, it can impact all of those things. The report was produced by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonpartisan watchdog that the UCC enlisted for the study. EIP based its research on self-reported data from the 15,500 facilities nationwide that are included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Toxic Release Inventory. Our analysis shows that over a third of all toxic emissions nationwide came from just 100 facilities that have at least 250 people living within a mile, the researchers said in the report. In ranking the Toxic 100, researchers evaluated both the density of nearby populations and the toxicity of emissions. We took the title of this study, Breath to the People, from the Book of Isaiah because we believe clean air is a gift from God, said the Rev. Traci Blackmon, UCC associate general minister. So are our precious children. They, like all people, deserve clean air to breathe. Local, state and federal authorities and the polluters themselves must act now to rid the air of toxic chemicals. A UCC action alert at the reports website urged citizens to call on Congress to speak out against rollbacks of critical environmental protections by the administration, conduct meaningful oversight over violations of existing toxic air standards, and support robust funding for the EPA. Among the UCC ministers speaking at the news conference was one representing UCCs heritage of environmental justice: the Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. He led the UCCs Commission for Racial Justice at the time of its groundbreaking 1987 report, Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States. More than 30 years later, it is still cited by journalists and academics. 25.02.2020 LISTEN Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 24 February 2020 (ECA) United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mahommed, on Monday hailed the productive relationship between the UN and the African Union as the two institutions continue to work together to tackle challenges affecting the continent, among the poverty, hunger, unemployment, and conflict. In opening remarks to a special session of the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa (RCM-Africa), which is part of the sixth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2020), Ms. Mahommed said the significance of the African Union as a strategic partner of the United Nations cannot be overstated. I deeply value the tremendous work that has been done and the productive relationship between the UN and the AU, she said, adding advancing the integrated implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development was at the core of the work of RCM-Africa. Ms. Mahommed said she was concerned that the pace of poverty reduction was slow on the continent with inequalities persisting, meaning leaving no one behind the call of the sustainable development goals remained elusive. The region also has the highest prevalence of hunger, with the rate increasing from 18.3 per cent in 2015 to 19.9 per cent in 2018. This means that almost 40 million Africans, especially women and children, went hungry under this period, she said. This was exacerbated by the impact of climate change on the continent with nearly 22.8 million people now severely food insecure in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, the UN Deputy Chief added. She said the AU and the UN should continue to strengthen their partnership and work hard to create decent jobs for the youth and ensure there is gender equality as these were some of the challenges putting at risk the continents efforts to leverage the democratic dividend. Ms. Mahommed said although Africa had made notable progress in education, health and other social outcomes, the continent was not on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and the key goals of Agenda 2063. We must support governments to ensure their broader national development plans and financing frameworks correspond to the magnitude of the change needed to deliver by 2030, she said. Ms. Mahommed said the Decade of Action was an opportunity to unleash a new wave of implementation efforts that will deliver for the people and planet. For his part, the African Union Commissions Deputy Chairperson, Ambassador Thomas Quartey Kwesi, said the special RCM-Africa session was intended to feed into the institutional principles of harmonized working methods and consultation between the AU and the UN development frameworks for Africa. We cannot emphasize this strongly enough. The AU and the UN are so to speak, joined at the hip, he said. Mr. Kwesi said the energies of Africas youth need to be usefully channelled through education, science and technology, health and employment, away from conflict if there is to be sustainable development on the continent. That is the central problematic that connects the AU agenda 2063 and the UN SGD 2030; that is where our two agendas resonate and are mutually reinforcing, he said, adding, We have no time to waste. Time and tide wait for no man, more so for our youth and our women. Turning to the host nation, Mr. Kwesi said; For us to build the conducive conditions to achieve these lofty ambitions, the AU has called for all the sanctions on this country to be lifted immediately. This is what will allow for more effective engagement of our women and our youth in the multifaceted process of accelerated development. He added the AUs Agenda 2063 and the 2020 AU theme; "Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development" were central to todays special session, as the AU and the UN examined ways of accelerating the realization of the sustainable development goals. The main ARFSD opens Tuesday in the resort town of Victoria Falls. Indian-origin Suella Braverman was appointed as United Kingdom's new Attorney General in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's reshuffled Cabinet. The cabinet was re-shuffled earlier this month and Braverman was sworn in for her new post at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on February 24. 'Historic' appointment Suella Braverman is a 39-year-old minister, a barrister and a Cambridge University law graduate. She has specialised in public law and judicial review. According to reports, Braverman has claimed that her priority is the restoration of the people's confidence in the British justice system. As per reports, Braverman after the ceremony said that it was a great privilege to be sworn in as the attorney general and that the fact that she is only the second woman to be appointed to this position makes this an all the more historic. She also added that her top priority would be to restore the confidence of the people in the British criminal justice system. Read: Post-Brexit UK Reverting To Blue Passports - Made In The EU Read: UK To Issue Blue Passports From March To 'restore National Identity' Post-Brexit Honoured to have been sworn in as Queens Counsel and Attorney General yesterday at the Royal Courts of Justice. Thank you to the Lord Chief Justice for the warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/Mbw2ODJnXX Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) February 25, 2020 Reports indicated that she also thanked her predecessor, Geoffrey Cox, for his distinguished service. Robert Buckland, the Lord Chancellor and UK Secretary of State for Justice claimed that he welcomed the appointment. He added that the relationship between law officers and Lord Chancellor is an important one and that he looks forward to working closely with Braverman. Braverman's new role means that she will have to oversee the functioning of various law officers departments. The departments will include independent prosecuting authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office. Braverman was born in England to immigrant parents from Kenya and Mauritius, it has been reported that her parents have roots in Goa and South India. She has studied law at Queen's College, University of Cambridge. She also has a Masters in law from the University of Paris. Read: Ex-UK PM David Cameron Bans 'Brexit' Questions In Talk On Effective Campaigning Read: Macron Not Hopeful Of EU Reaching Agreement With Britain By End Of Year Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks bucket list. The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is spectacular. It is hard to believe over a billion years ago it was flat ground and covered by ocean waters. In ancient times, there was too much water. Today, it is a deep gorge with a ribbon of water running through it. The... Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:25:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's financial secretary delivered the annual budget Wednesday, unveiling a string of counter-cyclical measures amounting to more than 120 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 15.4 billion U.S. dollars) to help the community tackle the current economic difficulties. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his speech on the 2020-2021 budget that 2019 was "an unsettling year fraught with obstacles" for Hong Kong, while the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 "has dealt a severe blow to economic activities and sentiment in Hong Kong." Chan said Hong Kong's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in 2019, and he forecast full-year growth of between minus 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent in 2020. "Therefore, I have decided to implement counter-cyclical measures of a massive scale involving above 120 billion (Hong Kong dollars) so as to meet the public's expectations as far as possible," he said. Focusing on "supporting enterprises, safeguarding jobs, stimulating the economy and relieving people's burden", the measures proposed in the budget range from various tax reduction to cash handout. The measures to relieve the public's financial burden include reducing salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2019-2020, waiving rates for residential properties, and providing an extra allowance to eligible social security recipients. Chan also announced a payment of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars to each Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption on the one hand, and relieving people's financial burden on the other. This measure is expected to benefit about 7 million people. To safeguard jobs and support enterprises, the budget set aside a total of 18.3 billion Hong Kong dollars to implement a raft of measures, including introducing a concessionary, low-interest loan to small and medium enterprises, reducing profits tax for 2019-2020, waiving rates for non-domestic properties and business registration fees, and so on. In the new budget, Chan forecast a fiscal deficit of 37.8 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2019-2020, the first time for Hong Kong over the past 15 years, resulted from the HKSAR government's recent four rounds of relief measures costing over 30 billion Hong Kong dollars, together with the 30-billion-Hong Kong dollar Anti-epidemic Fund established in response to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Taking into account a decrease in tax and land revenues in the coming fiscal year due to the impact of the external economic environment and the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the launch of counter-cyclical fiscal measures on a much larger scale and the continued increase in recurrent expenditure, Chan said he expects the fiscal deficit will rise to 139.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2020-2021. "Although a record high deficit is envisaged in next year's budget, I believe that only with such a budget can we help our community and local enterprises ride out their difficulties," he said. Hong Kong's fiscal reserves are expected to be 1,133.1 billion Hong Kong dollars by March 31, 2020, according to the budget. The financial secretary said the current fiscal reserves enable the HKSAR government to roll out special measures amid the prevailing economic downturn, but he stressed that in the coming years the HKSAR government will focus on the optimal use of resources to implement the committed initiatives in an orderly and effective manner so that the public will see progressive improvements in public services and social infrastructure." Expressing her support for the 2020-2021 budget, the third of the current-term HKSAR government, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she is confident that the "bold and substantive proposals" in the budget will help boost Hong Kong's efforts to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, take care of people in need and bolster the economy. The counter-cyclical measures proposed in the budget "represent an unequivocal commitment by the government to rise to the challenge of overcoming adversity and helping people in need," Lam said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. (1 Hong Kong dollar equals about 0.13 U.S. dollars) Former J-K finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Wednesday appealed to the Centre to evacuate people belonging to the Union Territory from Iran, which reported a spike in coronavirus cases. Bukhari said he is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and have submitted details of over 240 Jammu and Kashmir students who are stuck in Shiraz, Tehran and other cities of Iran. He appealed to the central government to act on the details and take measures for safe evacuation of these students. "I have information from the stranded students who study in Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Science (SUMS), Iran that over 300 students from J&K are studying in various provinces of the country," he said in a statement. "All of them are currently safe but they apprehend contamination if they are not evacuated from Iran very soon," Bukhari added. He appealed to the government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the external affairs minister, to arrange a chartered flight for these students and a separate quarantine facility for them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senators Consider Solutions to Address Growing Trend of Nationwide Injunctions Senators from both sides of the aisle grappled with the question on how to address the practice of a single federal judge ruling beyond the scope of a particular case, in some orders known as nationwide injunctions, during a committee hearing on Tuesday. Nationwide injunctions are a fairly new concept that initially emerged in the 1960s. Scholars have not found an example of judges issuing nationwide injunctions in the first 175 years of the Republic, according to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The use of nationwide injunctions to block federal policies have become increasingly frequent after President Donald Trump took office in 2017. In the three years of his office, the administration has seen 55 nationwide injunctions issued against them. In contrast, an average of 1.5 such injunctions was issued per year against the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Meanwhile, the administration of President Barack Obama faced about 20 nationwide injunctionsor an average of 2.5 per yearduring its eight years, according to Attorney General William Barr. Many of the nationwide injunctions issued against the current administration have targeted crucial immigration policies in dispute, preventing their application across the nation while the cases proceed through the courts. The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed concern about the unprecedented use of court orders by unelected federal judges to impose their own policy preferences across the nation. Similarly, the White House has repeatedly criticized this unprecedented use of court orders. Trump decried the impact of judicial activism on the nations security, society, and economy in a speech last year. During Tuesdays hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the senators tackled the central question of whether congress needed to take steps to address the issue via legislation or wait for the courts to resolve it. They directed their concerns to a panel of experts, who shared varied opinions. I dont know how to fix it, whether we need legislation or the courts can find a way to correct this problem, but somebody needs to fix it because I dont think you can run the country this way, committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said, adding that the orders are creating chaos in our courts, chaos in policy. While Republican senators indicated that they were inclined to halt the practice, their Democratic colleagues defended the orders, saying that they could be used as a safeguard against executive actions or federal policies that could cause harm. The top Democrat in the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), said nationwide injunctions had, for example, protected more than 700,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA. She added that the act of balancing the competing interests would be difficult to achieve. I can see good in the injunction because it protects something done by Congress and signed by the president and that becomes law in our country, whether its DACA or any other bill, but if you try to balance it, I think its very difficult, Feinstein said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) noted that the appeals courts have been divided on the issue. He said that he sees the benefits of nationwide injunctions to provide redress to executive actions that appear overreaching. He suggested that the Supreme Court would be the appropriate forum to consider the criteria for assessing when a nationwide injunction should be issued, before asking the panel for their opinions. Maybe the Supreme Court, if its concerned and were concerned, ought to set rules rather than the legislative branch. Lets be real here. Were never going to have a really wise and definitive result from the United States Congress to this complex an issue, Blumenthal said. The experts provided a variety of views in response to the senators question. Jesse Panuccio, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, said he believes Congress should exercise its legislative power to address the issue. On this issue there may be room for a bipartisan solution because the nationwide injunctions have affected presidents and policies of both parties. Its sort of an equal opportunity offender in terms of stopping national policy making, Panuccio said. Meanwhile, Solicitor General for the District of Columbia Loren AliKhan agreed with Blumenthal, saying that it was an issue that the Supreme Court should decide on because it arises in many procedural contexts. I think it would be legislatively very difficult to come up with a standard that incorporates all of those permutations, she said, while adding that the Supreme Court has indicated that they are interested in reviewing this question. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas have previously expressed their opinion on nationwide injunctions in several recent cases dealing with such orders. On Feb. 21, Sotomayor wrote a dissent in one of the public charge immigration cases after the court voted to lift a nationwide injunction blocking a Trump administration rule. In her opinion, she criticized the administration and her colleagues for the breakdown in the appellate process. That is because the courtin this case, the New York cases, and many othershas been all too quick to grant the governments reflexiv[e] requests, she wrote, adding that the courts decision to grant the stays on injunctions comes at a cost. Meanwhile, Gorsuch, joined by Thomas, raised concerns about nationwide injunctions in a concurring opinion, while granting the governments request to lift on the same rule. He said nationwide injunctions raise serious questions about the scope of courts equitable powers under Article III of the Constitution and have caused judges to make rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions because this practice forces parties to rush from one preliminary injunction hearing instead of spending their time methodically developing arguments and evidence in cases limited to the parties at hand. Thomas issued his own concurring opinion (pdf) in the landmark case, Trump v. Hawaii, which upheld Trumps Presidential Proclamation 9645. The decision allowed the administration to enforce the refusal of entry into the United States of travelers from multiple high-risk Islamic countries. Thomas said these injunctions are beginning to take a toll on the federal court system because they prevent legal questions from percolating through the federal courts, encourage forum shopping, and make every case a national emergency for the courts and for the Executive Branch. He expressed doubt that the district courts have the authority to issue such injunctions as they appear to be inconsistent with longstanding limits on equitable relief and the power of Article III courts. Short-term health insurance plans sold as cheaper alternatives to plans that meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act may cost patients more in the long run. A new study from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a blood cancer research organization based in Rye Brook, N.Y., finds that the plans offer less benefit coverage and insurance protection than ACA-compliant policies, meaning patients have to pay more out of pocket to get care. Those with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure could be especially vulnerable to higher costs because they require more care that may not be covered by short-term plans. We suspected based on the lower premiums that the benefits would not be as robust and saw that out in the data, said Lucy Culp, executive director of state and government affairs at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Researchers found that the monthly premium on a popular short-term policy was $77, while a comparable ACA-compliant plan was $293. However, the deductible on the short-term plan was $12,500, compared to $4,600 for an ACA-compliant plan. On HoustonChronicle.com: Where Texas candidates for U.S. Senate stand on health care issues Patients diagnosed with medical conditions could also run into financial trouble because of the limitations of those policies, according to the study. For instance, a lymphoma patient who bought a short-term policy could pay up to $6,800 more in out-of-pocket expenses (including insurance premiums) than a patient on an ACA plan. Short-term limited-duration plans can be used as a stopgap between comprehensive coverage plans and they may look attractive to healthy patients looking to pay lower premiums. Thats especially true in Texas, which has not expanded Medicaid to cover more lower-income individuals and families. A segment of the population that is lower income may not have great access to affordable options, Culp said. They wouldve qualified for the Medicaid expansion, but in a state like Texas that doesnt offer that, it may be more affordable in the short-term if youre looking just at the premium. Up to 6 percent of ACA planholders could switch to non-compliant plans by 2021, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society analysis. Not enough But local insurance agents said consumers arent considering short-term plans anymore than they were before because of the limitations of short-term policies, said Crystal Hoffman, a vice president of the Houston Association of Health Underwriters, which represents health insurance agents and brokers. ACA-compliant plans do not have a maximum benefit, while many short-term plans cap their benefits at $1 million of coverage. Its often not enough for people diagnosed with serious illnesses. Doctors will often have to break to patients that their insurance plans are inadequate, said Debra Patt, chair of the Texas Medical Association's Council on Legislation and a breast cancer specialist at Texas Oncology in Austin. Plans compliant with the Affordable Care Act also bar medical underwriting that determines how much patients are charged for insurance and whether theyre eligible for coverage based on past and present health conditions, known as pre-existing conditions. The short-term health plans are not compliant with the ACA. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox In 2018, however, the Trump administration expanded the support for the limited plans. Now, that coverage can last up to a year, and be renewed up to three years. Federal officials also got rid of penalties for not having comprehensive health care coverage. Some states are passing legislation to limit the duration of short-term health plan coverage; Texas has not. Fine print The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1852 in 2019, mandating short-term plans to disclose the limitations of their insurance coverage. It requires patients to sign a form acknowledging which services and drugs are not covered by their insurance. While applauded as a move toward transparency, Patt and Hoffman said most patients wont read the fine print and will learn about the costs and coverage gaps in the short-term policies only after they receive large bills for their treatment. When they have to pay high out-of-pocket costs or premiums, it doesnt cover conditions they have or it wont pay for preventive services, Patt said, then what are they paying for? gwendolyn.wu@chron.com Twitter: @gwendolynawu Cobra Gold, one of the largest multinational military exercises in Asia-Pacific, kicked off in Thailand on February 25, with this year's event taking place under the heavy cloud of a fast-spreading novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The opening parade of the Cobra Gold 2020 military (Photo: bangkokpost.com) The exercise, co-hosted by Thailand, the US, Japan, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Malaysia, will last until March 6, with around 9,600 personnel from 29 countries taking part. It is aimed at enhancing interoperability, strengthening relationships among participating nations and handling security threats and national disasters. Speaking at the opening ceremony at Camp Akatotsarot in the northern province of Phitsanulok, Charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Bangkok Michael Heath said only through cooperation and collaboration can countries address the challenges of keeping people safe. Apart from the tabletop exercises, field training, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, cyber warfare training will also be highlighted this year. It will aim to address the ability to handle the ever-increasing threats from the cyber world. For this year's exercise, the 39th of its kind, the US is sending around 5,500 troops, 64 aircraft and two war ships. The exercise will also see its very first appearance of F-35 fighter jet. But this year's event takes place with added pressure of keeping participants safe from infection by the new coronavirus. In response to the deepening health crisis, the RoK has reduced the number of personnel joining the exercise due to an explosion of domestic cases of infection, while the number of observing countries might also slightly decrease. Strategies have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. All personnel were required to go through medical screening before leaving their respective countries, and they will be checked twice a day for the duration of the exercise./.VNA The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been declared an "absconder" by the government for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report from his doctors in London, according to a media report on Wednesday. Sharif, 70, left for London in November last for treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to go abroad on medical grounds for four weeks. According to Sharif's physician, the three-time prime minister is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery. The government on Tuesday decided not to extend the bail of Sharif and declared him an absconder for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report before a board formed on the order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Dawn Newspaper reported. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the federal Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Imran Khan. "After Nawaz Sharif failed to submit his medical report of any hospital in London, the medical board rejected a medical certificate sent by him and (the government) declared him an absconder," Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said at a post-Cabinet meeting press conference. "From today Nawaz Sharif is an absconder according to the law of land and if he does not return to the country he will be declared a proclaimed offender, Awan said. She said the Punjab government, which was authorised by the IHC to decide Sharif's case on medical grounds, had written several letters asking the self-exiled former premier to submit his medical report from any hospital in London, but he failed to do so and only sent a certificate which was not accepted by the medical board. If he (Nawaz Sharif) is seriously ill then why a comprehensive medical report is not being submitted to the medical board, she added. The medical board wants to know exactly about ailment of Nawaz Sharif and its treatment and due to his lack of response the Punjab government has decided not to accept Sharif's application regarding extension in his eight-week bail (that expired on December 24, 2019)," Awan added. She did not elaborate how Sharif could be declared an "absconder" legally, the paper reported. Sharif was granted bail on humanitarian grounds on November 4 last year by the Lahore High Court in the case. The former prime minister left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance. On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goods procured from units in special economic zones (SEZs) by single brand retailers, owned by foreign companies, would qualify for meeting the mandatory 30 percent local sourcing conditions, according to a government clarification New Delhi: Goods procured from units in special economic zones (SEZs) by single brand retailers, owned by foreign companies, would qualify for meeting the mandatory 30 percent local sourcing conditions, according to a government clarification. According to the current foreign direct investment (FDI) policy on single brand retail trading, 100 percent overseas investments are allowed in the sector. But sourcing of 30 percent of the value of goods procured is mandatory from India for such companies having FDI beyond 51 percent. The government has received representations from various business entities seeking clarification whether sourcing of goods from units located in SEZs would qualify as sourcing from India, as per FDI policy. "As regards, sourcing of goods from units located in SEZs in India, it may be clarified that sourcing of goods from such units would qualify as sourcing from India for the purpose of 30 percent mandatory sourcing from India for proposals involving FDI beyond 51 percent, subject to SEZ Act, 2005," according to the clarification. However, it said that goods which are proposed to be sourced by a single brand retailer from SEZ units will have to be manufactured in India. It added that compliance with all the conditions enumerated in the FDI policy and as notified under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) would continue to be the responsibility of manufacturing entity. SEZs, developed as export hubs, are treated as foreign territory in terms of customs laws. Procurement of goods and services from units in these zones are treated as imports. In February 2006, the government for the first time opened the sector for foreign players by allowing 51 percent FDI. In January 2012, the cap was raised to 100 percent -- up to 49 percent through automatic route and beyond that with the government approval. In January 2018, the government allowed 100 percent FDI in the sector, permitting foreign players in single brand retail trade to set up own shops in India without government approval. FDI into India grew by 15 percent to $26 billion (about Rs 1,85,000 crore) during April-September 2019-20. FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The second annual Growing Together Black Farmers with Urban Farmers Conference will be held on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Fresno, California. Hosted by the West Fresno Family Resource Center and the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), the conference is open to all farmers and ranchers, yet is uniquely tailored towards black farmers and urban Farmers. "The "Growing Together" Black Farmer Conference with Urban Farmers is an open forum for farmers and ranchers to share, learn and grow together," says State Conservationist Carlos Suarez, of NRCS California. "NRCS continues to increase its outreach efforts to minority producers. African American farmers, especially in the Central Valley, constitute an important group of farmers who can benefit from USDA conservation program assistance." The free conference will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Maxie Parks Community Center, located at 1802 E. California Ave., Fresno, CA. The conference will include breakfast and lunch for participating farmers. Please contact Christine Chavez at (530) 792-5695 with any questions pertaining to the conference. This one-day statewide conference will be a great opportunity for farmers and ranchers to network and learn about resources available to them. Workshops will cover four topics: 1) access to capital and business resources; 2) youth in agriculture; 3) resources from agencies; and 4) an urban leadership roundtable. The conference will also allow time for networking with other farmers and ranchers and with more than a dozen resource booths. The registration website can be found at http://www.wfresnofrc.org/BlackFarmersConference. The West Fresno Family Resource Center was established in 2001, West Fresno Health Care Coalition (DBA: West Fresno Family Resource Center), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, serves residents of one of the poorest metropolitan communities in California's Central Valley, southwest Fresno and beyond. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is the lead USDA partner in this conference. NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935. For more information on NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov. SOURCE USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service Related Links http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov Warning Pakistan of a serious response in case of Pulwama like fidayeen (suicide) attack is repeated on Indian soil, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Marshal RKS Bhadauria, on Wednesday said that the IAF is capable to take on every target- deep or surface. There will be no status quo and response will be very robust (in case of Pulwama type attack is orchestrated from across the Line of Control (LoC) again, he told reporters at Technical Airport in Srinagar on the eve of first anniversary of Operation. Bhadauria landed in Srinagar after flying MiG- 21 of 51 Squadron Commanding Officer Group Captain Nazeer with two Mirage2000 and Sukho-30MKI to mark the first anniversary of Balakot Air strike by the IAF on February 26 last year. Replying to a query on what was the strategy adopted by the IAF after 14 February 2019 Pulwama fidayeen attack that saw 40 CRPF men dead, the Chief of Air Staff said, The message (to Pakistan) was clear at the government level that any attacks orchestrated across LoC will not be acceptable at all. We had a review post Pulwama attack followed by more reviews where we discussed threat analysis that requires different handling. Today, we have better weapons, communication and other things on the board. Various agencies are monitoring the activities of terrorist camps across (LoC) and if there is a repeat of Pulwama type attack, Air Force is ready to take on any target be that close, deep or surface. The spirit of air force is very high, he warned. He said that various intelligence agencies formulated a strategy and the Air Force was given the choice of targets located across the LoC that included training camps at Balakot. The operation was conducted professionally, he said. He said that 51 Squardons wing commander Abhinandan demonstrated the spirit of the IAF. They had no hesitation to engage the vastly superior aircraft(F-16) in terms of technology and weapons. The IAF is proud of them, the Chief of Air Staff said. India has joined the United States to oppose Chinas move to tweak the proposed Code of Conduct on the South China Sea in order to keep its rivals and other nations outside the region away from the disputed waters. The United States has endorsed India as the net provider of security in the Indian Ocean region, where China has been trying to spread its tentacles over the past few years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Donald Trump also sent out a message to China, underscoring in a joint statement that a close partnership between their two nations was central to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Cooperation between India and the US at the global level is founded on our common democratic values and objectives, especially in the Indo-Pacific region and other global commons, Prime Minister said, as he and US President addressed mediapersons after a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday. Trump left New Delhi for Washington D.C. late on Tuesday at the end of a two-day state visit to India. He and Modi discussed ways to step up cooperation between India and the US as well as with Japan and Australia to counter Chinas expansionist aspiration in Indo-Pacific region. The leaders of India and the United States took note of the efforts being made to work out a meaningful Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, which has been at the centre of an escalating conflict between China and its maritime neighbours in South East Asia. They solemnly urged that the Code of Conduct should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of all nations according to international law, said a joint statement issued after the meeting. New Delhi and Washington D.C. are concerned over China's recent move to tweak the proposed South China Sea Code of Conduct, which it has been negotiating with the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations). Beijing has of late been stepping up pressure on the ASEAN to agree on a Code of Conduct, which could restrict US, Japan, India and the other nations outside the region from engaging in maritime security cooperation with the South East Asian nations and exploring resources in the South China Sea. If China manages to get all the clauses proposed by it included in the Code of Conduct, the ASEAN nations may have to get prior clearance from Beijing for joint military drills in the South China Sea with the US, Japan, India or any other nations outside the region. It may also make it difficult for ONGC Videsh Limited of India and similar entities of other nations to continue the exploration of hydrocarbon and other resources in and around the disputed waters. The Code of Conduct was necessitated after Beijing started building artificial islands in the South China Sea in 2014. China also started building military facilities, including airstrips and radar towers, on the artificial islands, ostensibly to get a strategic edge in the disputed waters. China had initially been reluctant to enter into any negotiation with the ASEAN for Code of Conduct on the South China Sea. It, however, finally agreed to start the negotiation in May 2017. The communist country is now trying to turn the Code of Conduct its favour, so that it can keep dominating the disputed South China Sea. The situation Vaccine acceptance is a crucial public health issue, which has been exacerbated by the use of social media to spread content expressing vaccine hesitancy. Studies have shown that social media can provide new information regarding the dynamics of vaccine communication online, potentially affecting real-world vaccine behaviors. A team of United States-based researchers observed an example of this in 2018 related to the Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology vaccine incident in China. The researchers found: Expressions of distrust in government pertaining to vaccines increased significantly during and immediately after the incident. Self-reports of vaccination changed from positive endorsements of vaccination to concerns about vaccine harms. Expressed support for vaccine acceptance in China may be decreasing. From the researcher: "The World Health Organization identified vaccine hesitancy as one of their top 10 challenges of 2019. When combined with virulent illnesses, such as COVID-19 or influenza, small changes in vaccination rates could spell the difference between smaller, contained outbreaks and a worldwide pandemic. Governments and public health agencies around the world need to prioritize health communication efforts. Even the safest and most effective vaccine is useless if people refuse to take it." -- David Broniatowski, associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at the George Washington University. Conclusions The new study, "Chinese Social Media Suggest Decreased Vaccine Acceptance in China: An Observational Study on Weibo Following the 2018 Changchun Changsheng Vaccine Incident," highlights the dangers of public perception of even a single vaccine safety incident, according to the researchers. The team also believes the possible emergence of vaccine opposition in China is a potential cause for concern, especially considering the density of several large Chinese population centers. 2018 vaccine incident in China In July 2018, Chinese government inspectors determined that Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology, a prominent manufacturer of vaccines in China, had violated national regulations and standards when producing 250,000 rabies vaccine doses. The violation might have undermined the effectiveness of the involved vaccines. News began slowly escalating on Chinese social media platforms not long after the incident. The minister says the meeting may take place when "we see some progress for which we will gather." Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko has said the Normandy Four foreign ministers (Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France) will meet in a month. When asked by journalists whether preparations were being made for the meeting of the Normandy Four political advisers, he said the work was underway at all levels, including at the level of the advisers to the four countries' leaders, an UNIAN correspondent reports. "We are planning the foreign ministers of all four countries will meet, we are also planning a meeting to prepare a summit for Normandy leaders," he said. The minister says the meeting may take place when "we see some progress for which we will gather." Read alsoPrystaiko comments on issues set to be discussed at next Normandy Four summit Prystaiko added the foreign ministers' meeting could be held tentatively at the end of March. "We have planned with my German counterpart that the meeting will take place in a month. For this, we will bring together the ministers of Russia and France, we will meet all together. And we will be able to understand how we are moving forward and what we are preparing for the leaders to meet," Prystaiko said. According to him, today Russia does not put forward requirements for holding the meeting of the Normandy Four leaders. At the same time, there is the lack of progress in all areas that were discussed by the leaders at the summit in Paris on December 9, 2019. "But we are also talking about this, and we would like Russia to start doing this so that we can meet. The situation looks like this, especially in the Russian Federation, when decisions are made by only one person. That's why a meeting with this specific person is necessary. This is Russian President [Vladimir] Putin," Prystaiko said. Read alsoNo prospects for Donbas settlement until Russia stops arms supplies Prystaiko The minister reiterated the Normandy Four leaders had initially planned to meet in April. "We are doing our best for this meeting to take place. Today we can say that out of seven issues that the leaders agreed on, in principle, one has been completed. It's really not much, but it allows us to look at the upcoming meeting with optimism," Prystaiko said. The main thing for Ukraine was to ensure the return of prisoners and some were returned, he said. "Now we hope before the meeting, probably in Berlin, we will be able to return even more Ukrainians from behind the bars. This will pave the way for progress in other areas," the minister added. MEXICO CITY, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terrafina (TERRA) (TERRA13.MX), a leading Mexican industrial real estate investment trust (FIBRA), externally advised by PGIM Real Estate and dedicated to the acquisition, development, leasing, and management of industrial real estate properties in Mexico, announced today the signing of a binding agreement for the construction of a 122,000 square feet expansion in Coahuila. The expansion project will be developed for a tenant focused in electrical equipment assembly for industrial operations as well as industrial automation. We estimate a total investment of US$6.2 million (excluding taxes), which will generate a development yield over stabilized net operating income (NOI) of approximately 10.4%. We expect construction will last 6 months and we will start collecting rents on the new space two months later. Finally, the new lease was signed for a 10 year-term. Alberto Chretin, Terrafinas CEO, commented, We are very pleased to announce a new expansion project in line with our development strategy, which allows us to strengthen our tenants operations and promote more growth in the manufacturing for export activity in Mexico. Improving our clients operations like this provides more stability and long-term visibility to Terrafinas portfolio. Contacts: Francisco Martinez Investor Relations Officer Tel: +52 (55) 5279-8107 E-mail: francisco.martinez@terrafina.mx Ana Maria Ybarra Miranda IR Tel: +52 (55) 3660-4037 E-mail: ana.ybarra@miranda-ir.com About Terrafina Terrafina (TERRA13.MX) is a Mexican real estate investment trust formed primarily to acquire, develop, lease and manage industrial real estate properties in Mexico. Terrafinas portfolio consists of attractive, strategically located warehouses and other light manufacturing properties throughout the Central, Bajio and Northern regions of Mexico. It is internally managed by highly-qualified industry specialists and externally advised by PGIM Real Estate. Story continues Terrafina owns 300 real estate properties, including 289 developed industrial facilities with a collective GLA of approximately 41.8 million square feet and 11 land reserve parcels, designed to preserve the organic growth capability of the portfolio. Terrafinas objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns for the holders of its certificates through stable distributions and capital appreciations. Terrafina aims to achieve this objective through a successful performance of its industrial real estate and complementary properties, strategic acquisitions, access to a high level of institutional support, and to its management and corporate governance structure. For more information, please visit www.terrafina.mx. About PGIM Real Estate PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE), is one of largest real estate investment managers in the world, with more than $175.9 billion1 in gross real estate assets under management and administration, as of September 30, 2019. Through its PGIM Real Estate and PGIM Real Estate Finance businesses, PGIM leverages a 140-year history of real estate lending on behalf of institutional and middle-market borrowers2, a 49-year legacy of investing in commercial real estate on behalf of institutional investors, and the deep local knowledge and expertise of professionals in 31 cities around the world. PGIM Real Estate, the real estate investment management business of PGIM, has been redefining the real estate investing landscape since 1970. Combining insights into macroeconomic trends and global real estate markets with excellence of execution and risk management, PGIM Real Estates tenured team offers to its global clients a broad range of real estate equity, debt, and securities investment strategies that span the risk-return spectrum and geographies. For more information, visit www.pgimrealestate.com. 1 AUA equals $US36.0 billion. 2 Includes legacy lending through PGIMs parent company, Prudential Financial, Inc. About Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Financial, Inc., a financial services leader with more than US$1.6 trillion of assets under management as of December 31, 2019, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudentials diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudentials iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com. Forward Looking Statements This document may include forward-looking statements that may imply risks and uncertainties. Terms such as "estimate", "project", "plan", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", and other similar expressions could be construed as previsions or estimates. Terrafina warns readers that declarations and estimates mentioned in this document, or realized by Terrafinas management imply risks and uncertainties that could change in function of various factors that are out of Terrafinas control. Future expectations reflect Terrafinas judgment at the date of this document. Terrafina reserves the right or obligation to update the information contained in this document or derived from this document. Past or present performance is not an indicator to anticipate future performance. OAKLAND, Calif. and SEATTLE, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California and Accolade will be offering national, self-funded employers headquartered in California a proven personalized member engagement experience. This collaboration provides employees and their family members with a seamlessly integrated service that combines technology and human expertise to live healthier, happier and more productive lives. California employers with a national workforce will continue to benefit from Blue Shield's California network and nationwide network of physicians and hospitals through BlueCard, its leadership in value-based care, and its unparalleled service. By adding Accolade's personalized engagement solution, employers can benefit from proven boosts in program utilization, employee satisfaction, and cost savings. An integral component of this technology-enabled solution is the support members will receive from Health Assistants and Clinicians. They work directly with members to assess their health needs, answer benefits questions, and assist members before, during and after they receive medical care. "Blue Shield is a nonprofit health plan focused on transforming the current healthcare system into one that is worthy of our family and friends, and sustainably affordable," said Don Antonucci, senior vice president of Commercial Markets at Blue Shield of California. "Accolade accelerates our work to bring healthcare into the digital age with a high-tech and high-touch personalized approach." "Partnerships are essential in healthcare, where families, providers and employers need more personalized support, and Accolade and Blue Shield are committed to making real change in healthcare quality, costs and overall experience," said Rajeev Singh, Accolade CEO. "Together we're integrating best-in-class services in one place to give people a personalized path toward better health." Accolade consistently delivers cost savings to its customers while receiving member satisfaction rates over 90 percent. In a 2018 study by Aon, Accolade's premier offering was shown to reduce claims costs for one employer by 6.5%, and for another employer by 4.7% versus similar employer groups not using Accolade. These reductions were generated exclusive of plan design changes, were measured across the entire member population, started in year one, and were sustained over the respective study periods. The Blue Shield and Accolade offering is available for a January 2021 plan effective date. For more information on Blue Shield of California with Accolade, please contact [email protected]. About Blue Shield of California Blue Shield of California strives to create a health care system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. We are a tax paying, not for profit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with more than 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare health care service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $100 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation over the past three years to have an impact on California communities. For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. About Accolade Accolade provides personalized health and benefits solutions designed to empower every person to live their healthiest life. Using a blend of cloud-based technologies, specialized support from Accolade Health Assistants and Clinicians, and integrated data and programs across mobile, online and phone, Accolade navigates people through the healthcare system with trust, empathy and ease. Employers offer Accolade to employees and their families as the single place to turn for all health, healthcare, and benefits questions or concerns, increasing their engagement in benefits and connecting them to high-quality providers and care. By empowering members to make better decisions about their health, Accolade can support members in lowering the cost and complexity of healthcare while achieving consumer satisfaction ratings over 90 percent and an NPS of 60. For more information, visit Accolade on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and at www.accolade.com. 2020 Blue Shield of California is an independent member of the Blue Shield Association CONTACTS: Carol Thornton Megan Torres Blue Shield of California Accolade 415-229-5359 206-679-9630 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Blue Shield of California Related Links https://www.blueshieldca.com/ Mumbai, Feb 26 : The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Wednesday opened on a negative note during the morning session of the trade. The Sensex of the BSE opened at 40,194.89 points which was also the high point. The Sensex touched a low of 39,888.17 points. On Tuesday the Sensex closed at 40,281.20 points. The Sensex is trading at 40,044.11 down by 214.35 points or 0.53 per cent. On the other hand, the broader 50-scrip Nifty at National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 11,738.55 points after closing at 11,797.90 points. The Nifty is trading at 11,711.30 points in the morning. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Fraser Institute will release a new book of essays on Jean Chretiens 1995 federal budget. The Budget that Changed Canada: Essays on the 25th Anniversary of the 1995 Budget spotlights different successes of the budget, including how it led to balanced budgets, reduced debt and eventually much-needed tax relief. The essays, written by economists such as Jack Mintz and Don Drummond, among others, also highlight how the 1995 budget set Canada on a course of more than 10 years of economic prosperity. A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on Feb. 27 at 5:00 a.m. (Eastern). MEDIA CONTACTS: Jason Clemens, Executive Vice President Fraser Institute To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Bryn Weese, Fraser Institute (604) 688-0221 ext. 589 bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook New Delhi: In the wake of violent incidents Delhi's northeast district, orders for high alert have been issued in Gautam Buddha Nagar district besides clamping Section 144 to avoid any untoward incident. According to the Noida police, it was on high alert and Section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of four or more people, was also clamped in the district, while the Police Armed Constabulary (PAC) has also been deployed in huge numbers to avoid any untoward incident. District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar, BN Singh, has issued a directive to close all liquor shops adjacent to Delhi in the district due to arson and tension in the northeastern areas of Delhi. All the liquor shops in the adjoining areas of Delhi will remain closed. The national capital continues to remain on the edge due to clashes that broke out between pro-CAA and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters in the northeast district. The violence has so far claimed 18 lives and has left close to 150 people injured. Meanwhile, internet services will remain suspended in Aligarh till midnight on Wednesday, following the recent clashes between police and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protestors. "The internet service in Aligarh will remain suspended till midnight of February 26," Manoj Rajput, District Manager, told ANI on Tuesday. On Sunday, people protesting against the CAA pelted stones at the police following which security personnel fired tear gas shells, said District Magistrate (DM), Chandrabhushan Singh. PV Ramasastry, ADG Law and Order, however, said that the stone pelting started after a rumour that the police were arresting protesters. Following the clash between police and protestors, internet services were suspended in Aligarh city. No confirmed cases in country, Turkish minister says Turkish citizens returning from Iran amid coronavirus fears tested negative for the disease on Tuesday. A total of 132 Turkish citizens arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara earlier Tuesday, after they were evacuated from Iran where 15 deaths from coronavirus have been confirmed. "WE WILL USE EVERY MEANS AVAILABLE TO BRING TURKISH CITIZENS" The evacuees are in 14-day quarantine in a hospital. Koca said there is no confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey thanks to the effective measures against the disease. We decided to land the plane to Ankara after noticing signs of cough without fever with some passengers, and also learning that some of the passengers had visited Qom and Mashhad cities of Iran, he told reporters, referring to the two cities where the virus was found in Iran. "There is an experienced team in Ankara and this is the main reason behind the decision to alter plans to land in Istanbul," he added. He stressed that Iranian citizens are allowed to go home but Turkish citizens are banned from Iran. If Turkish citizens want to come home from Iran, we will use every means available to bring them, he added. Turkey will send cargo planes loaded with aid to China in the coming days, and diagnostic kits to Iran on Wednesday to meet the country's demand. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:18:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that "enemies" are attempting to raise fear over the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday. Rouhani did not mention anyone by name. Iran's so-called enemies are spreading false claims about the virus with the aim of encouraging businesses to shutter, Rouhani was quoted as saying. This could, in turn, greatly affect the country's economy. There have been 139 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran so far, the country announced on Wednesday, with Iran's health ministry spokesperson Kianush Jahanpur saying that 19 of the infected have died. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Exactly a year ago, on this very day, now BJP leader and then AAP rebel Kapil Mishra showed the world that he is no ordinary fringe but a man with considerable clout. As Mishra's conduct has come under the scanner of the Delhi High Court, here's rewinding time: Mishra tweeted an announcement to his naysayers that the officer who was after him was suspended, a not-so-subtle expression of power that he exercises. Addressing the tweet to lawyer Prashant Bhushan, former JNUSU leader Shehla Rashid, social activist Kavita Krishnan and journalist Ashutosh, he tweeted, "The man has lost his job who along with you all tried to get me arrested by showing a fake letter. This man @acjoshi is suspended from his job. Now do a new drama. Your shops will also be closed like this." Laced with threat, Kapil Mishra bragged the power he exerted. This too has its roots in one of the videos like the one that has currently brought Mishra under the lens. He posted a video by reciting a poem, heaping praise on PM Narendra Modi where he urged him to deal with the external enemies. However, in the same poem that was recited in the video, Mishra requested the PM to leave it to fellow Indians to deal with those inside the country. In the video, he is heard saying, the time had come to enter the houses of the "traitors" and attack them. While that video too created a row, then Department of Telecom (DoT) officer Ashish Joshi took exception and shot off a complaint letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner against Mishra. In a complaint dated February 25, 2019, Mishra shot off the letter where he complained, "The content of the video is self-explanatory and violates the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and IT Act." Within a day, Joshi was suspended for allegedly misusing his position. The complaint letter which was shared on the social media on a massive scale was written on Joshi's official letterhead. It was found to be in violation of conduct rules. As a high drama ensued in the Delhi high Court when Justice Muralidhar asked Kapil Mishra's allegedly inflammatory video to be played, incidentally it turned out to be the anniversary of Mishra's public muscle flexing. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too has come out strongly against the BJP and its leader Mishra for the violence in some areas of northeast Delhi. While speaking to the media on Wednesday after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, she said that "no action on Kapil Mishra is as shameful as his statement." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Bhuvan Bagga (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi, India Wed, February 26, 2020 06:05 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20669afb5 2 World India,riot,sectarianism,unrest Free The death toll rose to 13 on Tuesday, with at least 150 injured, from some of the Indian capital's worst sectarian violence in years as rampaging rioters in northeast Delhi set fire to buildings and vehicles, and attacked journalists. Protests against a contentious citizenship law began on a smaller scale Sunday but descended Monday into running battles between Hindus and Muslims, with rioters armed with stones, swords and even guns out in force. Police on Tuesday imposed a restriction on large gatherings in the area as the violence continued, with reports of stone pelting and more structures set ablaze. Media reports said police fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the rioters. "I can now confirm 13 deaths. At least 150 people have come to our hospital with injuries," Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital official Rajesh Kalra told AFP late Tuesday. A dozen people were in critical condition, he added. "We are still receiving some people with injuries, most of them firearm injuries today." The Press Trust of India (PTI) later cited hospital officials as saying more than 200 people had been hurt, around one-quarters of them police. The riots coincided with the visit of US President Donald Trump, who held bilateral meetings with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi elsewhere in the vast metropolis on Tuesday. Officers set up roadblocks in riot-hit areas and cleared two northeast neighborhoods of protesters, Delhi Police special commissioner Satish Golcha told AFP. The capital's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, earlier pleaded for the "madness to stop", according to PTI. Delhi Police spokesman Mandeep Randhawa called on locals "not to take the law in their own hands". National Home Minister Amit Shah, whose ministry controls law and order in the capital region, met with senior Delhi government officials and promised to deploy more police if they were needed, Kejriwal said. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was in Delhi's Seelampur district to inspect the area after the outbreak of violence, India Today television channel reported. 'People are killing each other' An AFP reporter saw at least 10 injured people admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital over a half-hour period, some claiming to have bullet wounds. "Since yesterday, we've been calling the police to enforce a curfew, to send reinforcements," Saurabh Sharma, a student from a riot-hit area who took his injured friend to the hospital, told AFP. "But no one has come. There are only three policemen." "The protesters are attacking police wherever they are present and clashing among each other where the police aren't there," Senior policeman Alok Kumar told AFP earlier Tuesday. One firefighter was injured by a stone and five fire trucks were damaged, PTI reported. Broadcaster NDTV said three of its reporters and a cameraman were attacked by a mob on the northeastern fringe of the city of 20 million people. "There is hardly any police presence in the area. Rioters are running around threatening people, vandalizing shops," a resident of the poor, migrant neighborhood of Maujpur told PTI. At Jaffrabad, one of the poorest neighborhoods on the fringes of Delhi and home to shanty colonies, an AFP reporter saw locals turn off their lights and lock their doors amid a massive police presence. Police manning barricades said mobs in the area were threatening journalists and that their officers had come under attack. "People are killing (each other). Bullets are being fired here," a tailor in Jaffrabad told AFP, adding that he was returning home to his village in northern Uttar Pradesh state. "There is no work... It is better to leave than to stick around here. Why would we want to die here?" The new citizenship law has raised worries abroad -- including in Washington -- that Modi wants to remold secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalizing the country's 200 million Muslims, a claim he denies. After meetings with Modi, Trump said on Tuesday that the riots were an internal matter for India. Global rights group Amnesty International tweeted that "political leaders in India who are fuelling hatred and creating a violent environment by making hate speeches must be immediately held accountable". Topics : India riot sectarianism unrest Scott Morrison dismissed Anthony Albaneses commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 as "Bill Shorten 2.0". Surely better than the Prime Minister's effort Tony Abbott 4.0. Then there's the equation proposed by the Nationals' senator Matt Canavan: net-zero emissions equals net-zero jobs. So, that would amount to no job losses, eh? Oh, the tyranny of all-too-simplistic slogans. EnergyAustralia's Yallourn generator. Credit:Bloomberg The world, meanwhile, is leaving Australia behind. While our politicians dither, a net-zero target is now embraced by almost half of the worlds gross domestic product some 121 nations. It was just 16 per cent of GDP nine months ago, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit in Britain. Major global financial institutions, too, are declaring their exit from coal. In Australia, where Labor has declared its commitment to net-zero by 2050, the party should be under scrutiny to provide its thinking on transition pathways and how they will be managed. But so should the Morrison government be pressured to substantiate its claim that Labor's path would cost jobs, raise electricity prices and hurt regional Australia. Both the Coalition and Labor should admit the tremendous opportunities for new industries and jobs from an effective energy transition. However, neither side can be definitive. Imagine if the debate in 1990 had been to detail the transition and costs to todays cyber world the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Governments are still catching up. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 07:05:11|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close ROME, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Ministry of Economy said Tuesday it was looking into cases of possible price gouging on items being used to protect citizens against the spread of the novel coronavirus. In recent days there has been a spike in the number of Italians suffering from the virus, which is formally known as COVID-19. As of late Tuesday local time, the number of people confirmed as infected with the virus in Italy was 322, and mostly in the northern part of the country, and 10 people died of the virus. Since the dramatic rise in infections that started on Feb. 21, prices for disinfectants and masks that are thought to be essential to prevent infections have increased, sometimes ten-fold or far more. The increases sparked dozens of complaints to consumer advocacy groups and to government agencies, according to local news reports. According to news report from Tuesday's "Italia Today" , paper surgical masks that were originally sold at the rate of two for 1 euro (1.10 U.S. dollars) were offered for sale in Milan for a price of 70 euros (76 U.S. dollars) for three. Local media Il Messaggero said that stores have run out of these objects and that the few that still have them in stock "have increased prices ... indiscriminately." Lombardy, the region that includes Milan, has reported more than 200 cases of coronavirus, around 80 percent of the total cases in Italy as a whole. On Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Economy Laura Castelli said the government was looking into whether to use emergency powers granted Jan. 31 to fix prices for such products for the duration of the health crisis. "We are examining prices ... to avoid unjustified increases," Castelli said in a radio interview. Castelli said the country's financial police were already investigating what she called "anomalous price increases." Castelli herself reported seeing some items for sale for hundreds of euros, though she did not specify which items. "This is not the case of a free market, this is a case of shameful speculation that must be halted immediately," she said. The Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted raids in Karimabad in Pulwama in connection with a terror funding case. Earlier on Tuesday, the Pulwama police arrested two terrorist associates on specific information. Incriminating materials including explosive substances and ammunition were recovered from their possession. They were identified as Aquib Maqbool Lone and Naseer Ahmad Hurra both of whom hailed from Pulwama. As per police records, they were involved in assisting the active terrorists operating in the region. According to the investigation, they were conspiring to facilitate terror attacks in the areas of Pulwama, thereby disrupting peace and normal activities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 26, 2020 | PADUCAH By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 26, 2020 | 10:23 AM | PADUCAH West Kentucky Community and Technical College has been chosen to participate in a study to help eliminate food insecurity. The college was recently picked as one of two community colleges in the nation to participate in the League for Innovation in the Community College's Innovative Solutions for Hunger Relief and Student Success project. Northeast Texas Community College was also selected to participate. For the hunger relief project, teams from the school will be trained in the Innovation Engineering (IE) process with its developer and internationally recognized Eureka! Ranch. IE teaches problem-solving through strategic thinking, which is sometimes done independent of the specific issue. The principles and techniques on how to think smarter and more innovatively can apply to other problem-solving situations, too. Earlier this month, League representatives and Eureka! Ranch chairman/founder, Doug Hall, met with a team of WKCTC faculty, staff, students and community members to begin the 18-month IE training process. They visited several community partners, including food pantries and other non-profit support agencies to learn the needs of those they support. The site visits included Need Line in Mayfield and Paducah's Family Service Society, Paducah Cooperative Ministries (PCM) and PCM's Fresh Start Village, and Project Ponoma. During the 3-day training, Hall led in-depth exercises to teach the WKCTC team how to think more innovatively and creatively through the IE process. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, and a lack of available financial resources for food at the household level. The League's President and CEO, Dr. Rufus Glasper, praised the community support and organization dedicated to meeting the needs of its citizens. WKCTC President Dr. Anton Reece, said the innovative, collaborative project addresses a timely and critical need to alleviate food insecurity. New Delhi [India], Feb 26 (ANI): Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday hit out at Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi for criticising the Centre over violence in North-East Delhi and asked her to desist from playing "politics" on the issue. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi's statement is unfortunate and condemnable. At such times all parties should ensure that peace is maintained. They should not blame the government and do dirty politics. Politicising this violence is wrong," he said while speaking to ANI in New Delhi. Earlier in the day, Gandhi, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, had blamed the Centre and the Delhi Government for not taking requisite measure to curb violence in the national capital and added: " It is rather shocking, it was expected of the top leadership of Central and State Government to speak up (about violence in Delhi)." Javadekar also slammed Gandhi for demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying, "They are asking where was Amit Shah. He took an all-party meeting yesterday where a Congress leader was also present. Home Minister gave directions to the police and also boost the morale of the police. The statements by Congress can have an adverse effect on the morale of the police." The violent clashes that left 20 people dead in two days. "CWC (Congress Working Committee) believes Home Minister and Centre is responsible. The Home Minister should tender his resignation with immediate effect," the Congress party's interim chief told reporters here. Violent clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups in parts of North-East Delhi on Monday, leading to widespread vandalism and arson for over two days. (ANI) Toronto, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Congratulations to the students from the University of Waterloo for their compelling research which earned them the winning title for the local level of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. The student team members, Logan Fraser, John Guttmann, Mitchell Ho, Isaac Wong, and Pamela Zeng each will receive a thousand dollar prize and will be advancing to the Americas regional competition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge in New York City on 20-21st April 2020. Winners of each regional level will advance to the global finals. "The University of Waterloo is extremely proud of our team for winning the 2020 CFA Institute Research Challenge Local Competition. Winning this competition was a result of the teams hard work, dedication and rigorous analysis. The team showed a high level of confidence and in-depth understanding during the presentation. It was clear that the team put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into researching the company, especially through their performance in the question and answer period. The team would not have been able to accomplish this without the invaluable guidance and support from their industry mentor, Jeannine LiChong." said Steve Balaban, CFA, Faculty Advisor. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Students work in teams to research and analyze a publicly-traded company, and each team writes a research report on its assigned company with a buy, sell, or hold recommendation. Teams that progress to local, regional and global finals must present and defend their analysis to a panel of industry professionals. Students learn from experienced industry experts and peers from the worlds top business schools. "Participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge has challenged our team to leverage what we learned in school beyond the walls of the classroom. Through our coverage of Descartes Systems Group, we not only gained a deeper understanding of the logistics software sector through extensive research including interviews with industry experts but also learned the importance of analyzing companies objectively from a three-dimensional perspective. Overall, we enjoyed working as a team and are proud to say that all our hard work, time, and efforts paid off. On behalf of our team, I would like to thank our faculty advisor, Steve Balaban, CFA and our industry mentor Jeannine LiChong, CFA for their continued support and mentorship. Thank you, CFA Society Toronto and CFA Society Ottawa, for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will make you proud at the Regionals!" said Mitchell Ho, University of Waterloo Team Captain. For more information visit CFA Institute Research Challenge About CFA Society Toronto CFA Society Toronto is Canadas largest Society of CFA Charterholders, dedicated to supporting the professional and business development of over 10,000 members. We provide our membership with a local perspective on a global designation through our member services, which include: educational programs, sponsored events, employment postings, quarterly newsletters and networking opportunities. A not-for-profit organization, CFA Society Toronto is affiliated with CFA Institute, the global body that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst curriculum and sets voluntary, ethics-based performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Society Torontos members are leaders in ethics in the financial community. For more information, please refer to www.cfatoronto.ca. -30- A thrifty single mother has shared how she gave herself a '$5,000 payrise' just by saving $100 on her grocery bill and investing it. Serina Bird, the Canberra-based author of The Joyful Frugalista, has explained her money-making tactic after becoming a millionaire solely by scrimping, which included setting a clothing budget, re-using cling wrap and switching coffee for tea. 'Instead of a payrise imagine you saved $100 a week on groceries,' the 47-year-old told Best Recipes Australia. 'This would mean you would save a full $100 tax free. If you then invested that $100, it would grow over time. $100 a week saved would yield $5,200 in a year. $5,200 invested in a high performing index fund, shares or superannuation, could set you up for retirement.' Serina Bird (pictured), the Canberra-based author of The Joyful Frugalista, has explained her money-making tactic after becoming a millionaire solely by scrimping How to give yourself a $5k pay rise: * Plan your meals for the week * Take a list to the supermarket so you don't forget anything crucial * Do a 'batch cook' every few months to stock your freezer with emergency foods * Indulge in a 'Fridge Friday' by using up leftovers and making a meal. This will prevent you from ordering a takeaway dish * Once you save $100 this way, invest it Advertisement Saving $100 on groceries is simple so long as you start by planning exactly what meals you're going to cook during the week. That way, you only shop for the items you need and won't be inclined to choose costly extra snacks. Serina compiles a list before she drives to the supermarket, so she doesn't forget any of the vital things she needs. 'Do a batch cook once every few months to prepare emergency meals. My niece-in-law has done this for years and it means she has a stash of instant meals for unexpected late nights at work,' she told the publication. Serina (pictured) said she has always been frugal, but she decided as a teenager that she wanted to be 'wildly wealthy' and so found ways to do odd jobs around the house to make cash Serina plans all of her meals for the week so she always knows which ingredients to buy on her weekly shopping trip (stock image) Finally, rather than indulging in takeaway foods on the weekend, try to use up everything left in your fridge at the end of the week. Serina's family make homemade pizzas, getting 'creative' with the toppings she adds in order to get through all her leftover food. What are Serina's money-saving secrets? * Pack your own lunch for work * Reuse cling wrap * Make your own laundry powder and wool mix * Freeze black bananas for smoothies * List your savings on a spreadsheet each month, and document outgoings * Invest in your superannuation * Give yourself a clothing budget * Cut habits that don't bring you joy - like buying coffee out, and replace with tea or homemade coffee Advertisement The very cash-conscious woman has always been careful with her money. 'When I was 15, I got a part-time job at the discount supermarket, Franklins,' she told FEMAIL previously. 'Through working at the checkouts, I observed a lot about people's spending habits, and realised that it is possible to eat well on a budget - provided you stick to basics and eat what's in season. 'Frugal living quickly became a way of life for me from there, and these days I do all sorts of things that might seem extremely cheapskate now but were a way of life several generations ago. 'I reuse my cling wrap (when I use it at all, I prefer Tupperware and glass containers), I make my own laundry powder and wool mix, freeze black bananas whole and blend them to make smoothies and cycle or walk wherever possible.' 'On the outside, I don't look like a millionaire,' she said - but she also said that real millionaires don't always look like millionaires (stock image) It's not only this that has helped the now single mum and public servant make millions. After reading Noel Whittaker's book Making Money Made Simple when she was a teenager, Serina decided she would throw herself into being 'wildly wealthy'. 'Before I was old enough to get a part-time job of my own, I would do odd jobs at my mother's clothing factory to earn extra money. Even in my early teenage years, I committed to saving at least 10 per cent of my income,' she said. And over the years, she has slowly chipped away at making herself and her family rich. 'On the outside, I don't look like a millionaire,' she said. 'When one of my good friends saw the title of my book, she was curious as she didn't think my net worth was that high. 'But when I listed my assets, she said she realised you can't ascertain true wealth based on outward appearances. Someone might drive an expensive car, live in a big house and tote an expensive handbag - but can they afford it or was it bought on credit? 'Real wealth is different to this.' Serina famously sets herself a $50 clothing budget a month, and she famously went through the entire of 2014 without buying any new clothes (stock image) How did Serina cut her grocery bill to just $50 a week? * She did an inventory: Start by using up what you have before you start buying new items. Serina found when she added up all of the items in her pantry she had $100 worth of food. Make meals from this and quit overbuying. * She wrote a meal plan: Many budget-savvy people swear by meal plans for their success. Serina wrote out what she planned to eat each evening, factoring in whenever she might have to eat out. * Always use a shopping list: In the same way, the 47-year-old said she always used a list so she knew what she was buying and wasn't sidetracked. * Have a cash kitty: Serina said she finds she spends less when she spends in cash instead of with a credit or debit card. If she underspent, she would add the leftover cash to the following week's $50. If she overspent, that would get compensated. * Buy less meat (and cheaper cuts): Buy less meat for both your wallet and your health, and use cuts of meat that are cheaper, like tough cuts of red meat, which work well if slow cooked or marinated. Chicken drumsticks and wings are a good choice. * Choose your supermarket carefully: Choose which supermarket will give you the best value. Serina loves ALDI and Asian supermarkets for value. * Ditch the shopping trolley: The shopping trolley is dangerous because you can lose track of how much you're spending and how much you have. Using a basket is far better. Advertisement Speaking about how you too can become a 'frugalista', Serina said the key lies in becoming fascinated with money. 'At the end of each month, I compile a spreadsheet of my income, expenses, assets and liabilities,' she said. 'I have done this for eight years and this is how I derive my overall net worth. I enjoy seeing how I am tracking against my financial goals and enjoy identifying further ways I can make savings. 'I also put just under half of my wealth in superannuation. One of the things I have learned in recent years is that it really paid to find out more about how my super works and to leverage that. I wish I had invested time in doing this sooner.' On a more everyday level, Serina (pictured) said you need to remember 'every dollar counts', and she recommended cutting back on your everyday expenses you don't need like coffee On a more everyday level, Serina said you need to remember that 'every dollar counts'. Serina's new book, The Joyful Frugalista, is out on February 4 (pictured) 'A daily cup of coffee will cost you nearly $1,500 a year. For me, that's enough for a holiday! I'm a tea drinker and each cuppa costs six cents,' she said. 'You don't have to cut your daily coffee if it is an important ritual for you, but you can save money and drink your coffee too - frugalista coffee drinkers have invested in quality coffee or coffee pods, which saves them hundreds of dollars a year.' Serina also recommends packing a lunchbox to save $10 a day or $2,600 a year - and doing clothes swaps with your friends before you buy anything new. 'I have spent less than $50 a month on clothes for over a decade,' she said. 'In 2014, I decided to embark on a challenge to buy no new clothes at all. 'I did it because when I returned to Australia from living overseas, I realised I had a lot of clothes. $50 doesn't sound a lot, but it adds up to an extra $600 a year. Op shopping is the key to success here.' The Joyful Frugalista by Serina Bird is published by Murdoch Books and costs $29.99. Available 4 February. Its now beyond messy on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line. Toronto announced Wednesday that newly-extended shutdown defenseman Jake Muzzin will miss the next four weeks after breaking his hand while blocking a shot in Tuesdays win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Recalled to fill the vacant spot in the lineup, largely overlooked trade deadline acquisition Calle Rosen could soon be thrust into a meaningful role. TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 22: Jake Muzzin #8 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up before the facing the Carolina Hurricanes at the Scotiabank Arena on February 22, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) Muzzins setback adds to the already-significant injury woes targeting the Leafs defensive corps. Morgan Rielly remains out with a broken bone in his foot, while Cody Ceci has missed the last several weeks with an ankle injury. Both have recently resumed skating, but are likely weeks away from being fit to return to Sheldon Keefes lineup. While either Rosen or Martin Marincin will slide into the top six, the Muzzin injury just compounds the immense stress being put on the remaining key members on the blue line. Tyson Barrie, Travis Dermott and Justin Holl ate up major minutes in the win over Tampa Bay, while rookies Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren have been asked to accelerate through the developmental curve. Of course, the Leafs cannot make a move to supplement the starving unit now that the trade deadline has passed. But they can take some solace in the fact that they resisted the urge to sell Barrie for future picks or prospects at the deadline. The four-week timetable has Muzzin on track to return with about a week-and-a-half to go in the regular season. Toronto is two points up on the Florida Panthers for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with less than six weeks remaining in the regular season. More Maple Leafs coverage on Yahoo Sports [February 26, 2020] Acoustic Camera Market to Reach $274.6 Mn, Globally, by 2026 at 11.3% CAGR: Allied Market Research PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Acoustic Camera Market by Array (2D and 3D), Type (Far Field and Near Field), Application (Noise Source Identification and Leakage Detection), and Industry Vertical (Aerospace, Automotive, Industrial, Energy & Power, Electronics, and Education): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026." According to the report, the global acoustic camera industry garnered $122.6 million in 2019, and is estimated to garner $274.6 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 11.3% from 2020 to 2026. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities Maintenance optimization in different industries to enable safety and efficient performance of machines, surge in usage of acoustic camera in the oil & gas and power generation projects, and stringent safety & government regulations drive the growth of the global acoustic camera market. However, high cost of manufacturing and maintenance of acoustic camera hinder the market growth. On the other hand, rise in usage of advanced NDT equipment expected to offer new opportunities in the market. Download Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5862 The 2D segment to continue its leadership status during the forecast period Based on array type, the 2D segment held nearly three-fifths of the total share of the global acoustic camera market in 2019, and is expected to continue its leadership status during the forecast period. This is due to surge in usage in planer surface applications and deployment in automotive workshops and factories for variant analysis and other measurement processes. However, the 3D segment would portray the highest CAGR of 13.1% from 2020 to 2026, owing to increase in usage in various industry verticals such as automotive, energy, environment, transportation, and aerospace. The noise source detection segment to maintain its lead position in terms of revenue by 2026 Based on application, the noise source detection segment accounted for the largest market share of the global acoustic camera market in 2019, holding more than one-third of the total share, and will maintain its lead position in terms of revenue during the forecast period. This is attributed to the adoption in aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing units for detection of any sort of noise source. However, the leak detection segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 13.0% from 220 to 2026. This is due to demand for detection of leakages in doors and windows along with containers used in manufacturing units & plants. Asia-Pacific to lucrative opportunities, North America to trail Based on region, Asia-Pacific contributed to the highest market share in terms of revenue, contributing to nearly two-fifths of the global acoustic camera market in 2019, and is estimated to continue its dominant share during the forecast period. Moreover, this region is estimated to witness the highest CAGR of 12.6% from 2020 to 2026. This is due to availability high-end technologies, increase in demand for smart electronics, and rise of manufacturing industries. North America is estimated to contribute the second-highest market share by 2026. Enquire For Discount: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5862 Market players holding largest pie Bruel & Kjr Norsonic AS CAE Software, Systems GmbH GFAI Tech GmbH Signal Interface Group Sorama Ziegler-Instruments GmbH Microflown Technologies Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Access Avenue (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/Avenue-Membership-details Avenue, a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Similar Reports: 3D Camera Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Smartphone 3D Camera Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Professional 3D Camera Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 High-Speed Camera Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Compact Camera Module Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount: Camera Modules Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Intelligent Traffic Camera Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn and Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Coronavirus Rapidly Spreading In Iran, With 139 Officially Infected, 19 Killed 02/26/20 Source: RFE/RL Iranians wearing face masks Iran's Health Ministry says the number of reported deaths linked to a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak in the country has increased by four to 19. Ministry spokesman Kianush Dschahanpurat said on February 26 that a total of 139 people -- an increase of 44 from the previous day -- have tested positive for the virus in various parts of the country. Jahanpour urged Iranians to avoid "nonessential travel," particularly to hard-hit areas of Iran. He said 15 of the new COVID-19 cases surfaced in Qom Province; nine in Gilan; four in Tehran; three in Khuzestan; two each in Sistan and Baluchistan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, and Fars; and one each in Markazi, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Mazandaran, Lorestan, Semnan, and Hormozgan. Meanwhile, President Hassan Rohani acknowledged that it may take "one, two, or three weeks" to get control of the virus in Iran, which has posted the highest death toll from the virus outside of China. There was no plan to quarantine any district or city, Rohani said, according to a transcript posted on the Iranian presidency's website. He also said that the issue "must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country," a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iranian officials "tell the truth" about the outbreak, amid speculation that Tehran is underreporting its extent. In a statement on February 26, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accused Iran's authorities of obstructing journalists trying to cover the epidemic in the country. Journalists have been protesting on social media against the censorship, lies, and incompetence of the officials in charge, the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said. In response, authorities announced that around 30 people have been arrested and charged with "spreading false news online about the spread of the virus." The coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing over 2,700 deaths, mainly in mainland China, where the virus emerged late last year. In the rest of the world, there have been more than 40 deaths and over 2,700 cases. Iran has been linked to most of the over 200 confirmed cases of the virus now spread across the Middle East. Kuwait's Health Ministry said on February 26 that seven new cases have been diagnosed in the Persian Gulf nation among people who recently visited Iran. Many countries in and outside the region have imposed restrictions on travel to and from Iran in an effort to curtail the disease's spread. Kazakhstan, which has registered no cases of the coronavirus, on February 26 said it planned to suspend flights to and from Iran from March 1. And Russia's consumer-protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, advised citizens not to travel to Iran and two other hot spots - Italy and South Korea -- "until the epidemiological situation stabilized." With reporting by AFP, AP, and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service Married At First Sight star David Cannon has made a blistering attack on the 'toxic' conditions that are forced on contestants during filming of the series. Speaking to the podcast Not Here To Make Friends this week, the 31-year-old spoke of lockdowns, patrolled hallways, and a strict curfew at 7pm. 'It was prison,' the truck driver said. Lockdowns, patrolled hallways and a strict curfew at 7pm: Married At First Sight star David Cannon, 31, (pictured) has revealed the 'toxic' conditions while filming the show David explained that while contestants initially had a 10pm curfew during the week, and midnight curfew on weekends, it soon got scaled back. 'In the end, I think it was 7pm, so we were locked in our rooms with this person that none of us really like,' David said. Contestants were not allowed to visit their co-stars of the show, with producers putting themselves on patrol in the hallway. Patrol: 'We weren't allowed to talk to each other in the hallways, there was a producer (outside our doors), there would be someone who would police it,' David said 'We weren't allowed to talk to each other in the hallways, there was a producer (outside our doors), there would be someone who would police it.' David went on to allege that contestants were also given 'storyline directions', with production stopped multiple times. David added in other bombshell revelations that the experts are told what to say during their 'counselling' sessions via an earpiece. Struggling: David went on to call the conditions 'toxic' saying he was on the verge of a mental breakdown while filming the series He went on to call the conditions 'toxic' saying he was on the verge of a mental breakdown while filming the series. Filming took place in the Skye Suites apartment complex in Sydney's CBD, during final months of last year. Each season new revelations have come out about the filming conditions for the hit Channel Nine show, most of them are complaints. Bombshell: David said in other bombshell revelations that the experts are told what to say during their 'counselling' sessions. Pictured: John Aiken An insider spoke to Daily Mail Australia last year, saying producers went to extreme measures to keep the stars of the series apart. 'When the talent weren't required on set they were basically on lockdown and had a long list of restrictions they must abide by,' revealed an insider. If a contestant wished to go to a nearby supermarket, they would first have to ask permission from their 'minder' who was on duty in the building at the time. Rules: If a contestant wished to go to a nearby supermarket, they would first have to ask permission from their 'minder.' Here: Hayley Vernon Mobile phone use was also heavily monitored. Channel Nine and production company Endemol Shine Australia have already indicated a next season for the controversial series. The show reached out for new applicants on Tuesday. Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine 2.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Donald Trump is livid over the stock market plunge due to the Coronavirus, and he wants more lies to keep the stock market growing. The Washington Post reported: And the White Houses efforts to contain and control government messaging on the disease have come under attack. Trump is highly concerned about the market and has encouraged aides not to give predictions that might cause further tremors. He is expected to talk to officials on Wednesday, said aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. At least publicly, Trump has devoted the majority of his public statements to slamming Democrats or complaining about the criminal justice system. But he has not publicly engaged much about the Coronavirus, other than to downplay what he believes the impact will be on the United States. Privately, Trump has become furious about the stock markets slide, according to two people familiar with the presidents thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal details. Trumps entire reelection campaign is based on the economy and touting the stock market. If the market goes into a prolonged plunge, it hurts Trumps reelection message. Trump thinks that he can lie away a potential pandemic and keep the stock bubble high for the duration of his reelection. The president is also suffering from the delusion that he can control the markets with happy talk. It isnt working, as the Coronavirus cant be tweeted away. A bungled response from Trump could cost him the presidency. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Netanyahu goes ahead with settlement project, contravening intl. law Iran Press TV Tuesday, 25 February 2020 5:18 PM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the construction of some 3,500 new settlements in a contentious area in the occupied West Bank, defying international law. The construction plan, announced by Netanyahu on Tuesday, was related to the so-called E1 area between the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement that would bisect the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. The project had since 2012 been frozen due to objections from governments around the world supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli prime minister also announced another controversial move last week, saying he was reviving a project to build 3,000 new settler homes at Givat Hamatos on the outskirts of East Jerusalem al-Quds. Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group that monitors settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, said at the time that Netanyahu, who is currently leading a caretaker cabinet after two elections failed to produce a clear winner, lacked the required mandate to approve the controversial projects. Through using the settlement projects as a pre-election tactic, Peace Now said, Netanyahu is trying to secure his re-election at a third vote scheduled to take place on March 2. 'Crossing all red lines' In reaction to the Tuesday announcement, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said Netanyahu's decision was the result of the "biased and dangerous American policy in favor of the Israeli occupation," and violated international law as well as the United Nations (UN) resolutions on settlements, specifically Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), which confirmed the illegality of the Israeli settlements. Abu Rudeineh said Netanyahu's announcement had "crossed all red lines," and he also called on the international community to act. The spokesman also said that the decision challenged the statement passed unanimously on Monday by the UN Security Council to refrain from undermining the viability of a two-state solution. Under a plan for the Middle East unveiled last month by US President Donald Trump, US would recognize Israeli "sovereignty" over all of al-Quds as well as settlements in the occupied territories. Palestinians have also rejected Trump's plan as a conspiracy. Emboldened by that support, however, Israel has stepped up its settlement construction activities in defiance of Resolution 2334, which pronounced settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds "a flagrant violation under international law." Much of the international community regards the Israeli settler units in the occupied lands as illegal. More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds. Meanwhile, Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers during a protest near a military roadblock in the northern area of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. The protest had erupted in denunciation of Trump's plan, with medical sources in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) saying at least 40 demonstrators were injured and five of them were hospitalized after being shot by gunfire. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ximen Acquires EM Gold\-\-s BC Properties Posted by Publisher Internet Ximen Mining Corp. (TSX.v: XIM) (FRA: 1XMA) (OTCQB: XXMMF) (the ?Company? or ?Ximen? https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/ximen-mining-corp/) announces that that it has entered into a Property Acquisition Agreement with Emgold Mining Corporation. (?Emgold?) for the purchase of 100% of the Stewart and Rozan properties, located near Nelson in southern British Columbia.? The two properties are located close to Ximen?s Kenville gold mine and consist of 60 mineral claims covering a total of 7,739 hectares. ? Rozan is a 1,950 hectare property comprised of 32 claims, located 8 kilometers southeast of the Kenville Property.? Exploration by Emgold and others on Rozan had identified several gold targets and the mineralized structures found at the Kenville mine appear to trend southeast onto the Rozan Property.? Emgold completed 18 diamond drill holes totaling 1,906.8 metres that resulted in a number of significant gold intercepts. ?Gold is associated with quartz sulphide veins and sheeted stockwork quartz veining. ?Potential exists for both high grade vein and bulk disseminated gold mineralization. Stewart is a 5,789 hectare property comprised of 28 claims and located 20 km south of the Kenville Property.? The Stewart Property has been explored for gold, molybdenum, base metals and tungsten and has known occurrences of gold, silver, molybdenum, and tungsten.? A total of 103 diamond drill holes totaling 13,737 metres have been drilled on the property, most of which targeted molybdenum and tungsten. ?Significant intercepts were obtained for molybdenum and gold.? Potential exists for high grade vein and disseminated gold deposits, and for base metal deposits associated with porphyry intrusions and related breccia pipes. Key points of the transaction include: C$100,000 paid to Emgold in cash at closing; 1.275 million Ximen shares paid to Emgold at closing; 1.275 million share purchase warrants provided to Emgold at closing allowing Emgold to purchase common shares of Ximen at a price of C$0.45 per unit exercisable for a period of 3 years, increasing to C$0.55 per unit and exercisable in years 4 and 5; Emgold will transfer over $943,282.7 B.C. Portable Assessment Credits related to exploration on Stewart and Rozan to Ximen as part of the transaction. The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.? Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, approved the technical information contained in this News Release.? This press release contains certain \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words \expects,\ \plans,\ \anticipates,\ \believes,\ \intends,\ \estimates,\ \projects,\ \aims,\ \potential,\ \goal,\ \objective,\ \prospective,\ and similar expressions, or that events or conditions \will,\ \would,\ \may,\ \can,\ \could\ or \should\ occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company\-\-s management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management\-\-s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company\-\-s reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators\-\- System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ximen Mining Corp 888 Dunsmuir Street Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4??? Tel:? 604-488-3900 ? Theres much more that could be done in terms of our curriculum to make sure that folks understood the full scope of anti-black violence in American history, Dr. Hobbs said. I think if they understood that, perhaps they would understand the Black Lives Matter movement as an extension of centuries, really, of advocacy on the part of African-Americans. Researchers with the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, have documented more than 4,000 lynchings in the United States between 1877 and 1950, mostly though not exclusively in the South. The extrajudicial killings were instruments of terror, often conducted as public spectacles in full view of, or with cooperation from, law enforcement. Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights lawyer and the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said that the terror drove millions of black people to flee the South, drastically altering the demographic geography of the United States. I think its important that there is an effort now to acknowledge this history and to do what we should have done a century ago, he said. A lot of folks will say, Well, its not relevant today; its not necessary today. But lynching violence was created by politics of fear and anger, and we should never assume that an era of fear and anger will never occur again. The bill that the Senate approved last year noted that 99 percent of lynching perpetrators escaped punishment. Black activists, writers and speakers risked their lives by calling attention to the violence. In 1892, the journalist Ida B. Wells, who fought fiercely to end lynching, wrote that the strong arm of the law must be brought to bear upon lynchers in severe punishment, but this cannot and will not be done unless a healthy public sentiment demands and sustains such action. Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and thats why Russia is helping you get elected, so youll lose to him. I think I would make a better president than Bernie. Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability. I do not think that this is the best person to lead the ticket. It comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s, and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s. Do we think health care for all, Pete, is some kind of radical communist idea? Mayor Bloomberg has a solid and strong and enthusiastic base of support. Problem is, theyre all billionaires. Was the way that the mayor implemented stop-and-frisk racist? Yes. Senator Warren, that is a very serious charge that you leveled at the mayor Yes. that he told a woman to get an abortion. What evidence do you have of that? Her own words. And Mayor Bloomberg, could you respond to this? I never said it. Period. End of story. My fellow contestants up here ... Im surprised they show up, because I would have thought after I did such a good job in beating them last week that theyd be a little bit afraid to do that. You talk about concerns about race. Well, my good friend on the end of this platform, he in fact bought a system that was a private prison system. You wrote the crime bill Where we come from, thats called Tommy come lately. the crime bill that put hundreds of thousands of young black and Latino Not true. men in prison. If I were black, my success would have been a lot harder to achieve. We can no longer pretend that everything is race neutral. We have got to address race consciously Theres seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice. Tom, I think she was talking about my plan, not yours. I think we were talking about math, and it doesnt take two hours to do the math. Because lets talk about what it adds up to. Lets talk about math. What every study out there, conservative or progressive, says, Medicare for All will save money. The math does not add up. Ill tell you exactly what it adds up to. It adds up to four more years of Donald Trump. This is a global problem. Weve got to work with countries all over the world to solve it. if Im elected, N.R.A., Im coming for you, and gun manufacturers, Im going to take you on and Im going to beat you. My secretary of education will be someone who has taught in public school. If you want to make the criminal justice system work, you dont want to have repeat customers and you want to help people to get off of drugs. The biggest misconception about me is that Im not passionate that Im boring is that the ideas Im talking about are radical. That Im six feet tall. That I dont eat very much. I have more hair than I think I do. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in New Delhi, United States President Donald Trump offered to mediate between India and Pakistan for solving the Kashmir issue. However, later in the press conference when asked about the mediation offer, he denied it. Trump has in the past offered his mediation a couple of times, which New Delhi has unequivocally rejected, maintaining that Kashmir is an internal matter. While speaking about Kashmir, Trump highlighted that there are two sides of the story and also praised both Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Pakistan PM Imran Khan. He said: "I have a very good relationship with PM Khan. They have a problem with terror but they are working on it. Anything I can do to mediate or help, I would do. They (Pakistan) are working on Kashmir. Kashmir has been a thorn in lots of people's sides for a long time. There are two sides to every story. We discussed terrorism at length today. We talked about terrorism with PM Modi. He is a very religious person, but he is very tough. He'll take care of it. I have a great relationship with both India and Pakistan. There are two sides to the story." 'Make it happen': Netizens unite to help young Ganesh meet his 'hero' Donald Trump Later when asked about mediation, he said: "I didn't say anything about mediation. Kashmir obviously is a big problem between Pakistan and India and they have been doing it for a long time." Trump along with first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump was in a 2-day state visit to India. Trump addressed the Namastey Trump event in Ahmedabad and visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on the first day of his visit. He held a series of meetings with PM Modi on Tuesday and will attend state dinner at President's place in the evening. Donald Trump says coronavirus to end soon, pledges $2.5 bn to fight the epidemic Trump on CAA US President Donald Trump refused to categorically state his position on the Citizenship Amendment Act. He opined that the Indian government would hopefully make the right decision for the people. He remarked, So, we did talk about religious freedom and I will say that the PM was incredible on what he told me. He wants people to have religious freedom and very strongly. And he said that in India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom. And if you look back at whats going on, relative to other places, they have worked really hard on religious freedom. I asked that question in front of a very large group of people today. And we talked about it for a long time. As far as the individual attack, I heard about it but I didnt discuss it with him. Thats up to India. He also added, I dont want to discuss that. I want to leave it to India and hopefully, they are going to make the right decision for the people. Thats up to India. Protesters raise slogans 'Please Trump, Save Amaravati' in Andhra Pradesh In India, Trump's election pitch: 'Markets will rise by 1000s & 1000s of points if I win' Crude prices edged up on February 26 as investors covered short positions after three sessions of losses, even as fears deepened that the rapid spread of the coronavirus will lead to a global pandemic. Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $55.37 a barrel by 0154 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 43 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $50.33 a barrel. Still, both benchmarks are down nearly 7 percent since last Thursday's close. Fears of a pandemic escalated after the coronavirus spread to more countries, while Iran's virus death toll rose to 16, the highest outside China, and infections worsened in South Korea and Italy. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should prepare for possible community spread of the virus. "Investors unwound short positions after WTI dipped below a key support level of $50, as they have done a few times earlier this month," said Hideshi Matsunaga, analyst at Sunward Trading. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show "The reduction in Libya's output and expectations for additional production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ are also lending support," he said. Oil output in Libya has fallen sharply since Jan. 18 because of a blockade of ports and oil fields by groups loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar. OPEC and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are due to meet in Vienna over March 5-6. Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on February 25 he was confident that OPEC and its partners would respond responsibly to the spread of the coronavirus. Still, lingering worries that the rapidly spreading coronavirus will dent the global economy and oil demand are weighing on investor sentiment. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) outlook on global oil demand growth has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on February 25, adding it could be reduced further due to the coronavirus outbreak. US crude inventories are expected to rise for a fifth week running. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said late February 25 that crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels last week. Government data due at 10.30 am. EST (1530 GMT) on February 26 was expected to show a 2 million-barrel rise, according to a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, the United States is preparing to impose more sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, President Donald Trump said on February 25, in an attempt to choke financing to President Nicolas Maduro's government. Download Image: Web THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Medieval historian William Chester Jordan, Ph.D., of Princeton University will speak at this years annual Ewing Lecture Series. His talk, entitled The Harvest Indeed is Great, but the Labourers are Few: Strangers in the Medieval Countryside, will be delivered on Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 p.m., in the Trogner Presentation Room of the Krapf Gateway Center. This event is free and open to the public. The lecture will center on how medieval Europe dealt with the influx of migrant laborers throughout the continent. According to Jordan, migrant laborers were often recruited by work gang bosses and travelled through the medieval countryside, typically under the authority of these bosses, who acted in the name of rural monasteries, village councils, estate managers, and lords. Jordan says the authority of the work gang bosses implied responsibilities of a considerable weight, which evoked the very nature of the migrants precarious status. It was incumbent on them to help police the strangers who constituted their work forces and to accompany them from place to place until they finished their employment. Even if some of the same laborers appeared year after year and became somewhat familiar to the inhabitants of any number of local villages, they remained largely outsiders to the communities they served, said Jordan. An attempt to recover the social consequences of the presence of these strangers in medieval rural society is at the heart of the lecture. Jordan is the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University. He was previously the director of the medieval studies program at Princeton and, from 1994 to 1999, served as the director of the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies. Jordan served as chair of the history department from 2008 to 2017. The focus of Jordans studies ranges from the 6th to 14th centuries in medieval Europe. He has authored multiple books, including The Apple of His Eye: Converts from Islam in the Reign of Louis IX, From England to France: Felony and Exile in the High Middle Ages, and Men at the Center: Redemptive Governance under Louis IX. Jordan is a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was recently awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University. Jordans current research focuses on migrant labor in the thirteenth and early fourteenth century. The Ewing Lecture Series was established in 1973 to honor Robert H. Ewing for his 27 years of teaching and service at Lycoming College. A revered teacher and friend of the College, his life was characterized by a deep religious faith, a passion for history, and a strong devotion to liberal arts education. These qualities touched the lives of all who encountered him and led his many friends to establish this annual Lecture Series to bring distinguished historians to campus to share their work with the Lycoming community. Past lecturers include Jane Dailey, Ph.D., Peter John Brobst, Ph.D., and Diane Sommerville, Ph.D., amongst others. US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has thanked the people of India who came out in support of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania during their maiden visit to the country, underlining that they have friends in America and the White House. The president was accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising senior Trump administration officials including NSA O'Brien during his maiden official visit to India from February 24 to 25. They visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi before leaving for Washington on Tuesday. O'Brien, on his way back to the US, thanked the people of India for their support to President Trump, his wife and the American delegation. "Thanks to all the people of India that came out to support President Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, and the US delegation, affirming their friendship and partnership far into the future," O'Brien said in a tweet. "You have friends in the USA and in the White House," the NSA said. Separately, the White House in a tweet thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India for their incredible hospitality. The White House tweet said President Trump and Prime Minister Modi talked at length about the IndiaPakistan relationship. In a stern message to Pakistan, India and the US on Tuesday asked Islamabad to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terror attacks and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. A joint statement said the two leaders called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. The two leaders also called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, D-Company, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. At a press conference, the US president also said that ways to deal with terrorism figured prominently in his talks with Prime Minister Modi who, Trump stressed, is determined to check the menace. Meanwhile, The Foreign Policy magazine said that Trump left New Delhi without delivering on an "incredible" trade deal despite years of high-level negotiations. "As Washington is discovering, it is not easy dealing with a country led by a populist leader with a strong mandate and a proclivity towards protectionism. Despite those hurdles, the broader trendlines in the US-India relationship continue to seem robust, as shown by the visit itself," the magazine said. Major American newspapers prominently reported about the visit. "As he completed his two-day stay, Mr Trump focused only on the positive, offering validation of Mr Modi as a champion of religious liberty even as the Indian government has adopted Hindu-first policies targeting Muslims," The New York Times said. "The president publicly accepted Mr Modi's word that he treats the 1.3 billion people in his diverse country fairly without regard to faith and made no mention of the months of protests by those who think otherwise. "The president stressed the strength of his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in meetings long on symbolism and short on concrete agreements," the NYT reported. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's diplomatic drop-in was as intense as it was brief, with his hosts providing expansive red-carpet treatment that the president used to celebrate the most politically favourable stretch of his presidency. The daily said Trump's momentum was greeted in India on Monday by a splashy, two-day display that combined Prime Minister Modi's political power with the vibrant sights, sounds and spices of his nation's culture. In an op-ed on Fox News, James Jay Carafano said that there is a bipartisan character to US-India relations in both countries. This is more than just two charismatic leaders and the offer of free hats pulling in a crowd. "The US and India have forged something new and unprecedented. We are not old-fashioned treaty allies, but we are way more than just friends. This is a vital strategic partnership. We know that from the most distant Pacific Island to the Middle East we have each other's back. This is a new geostrategic reality in the world," he wrote. In a report, USA Today said that Trump defended Modi's government, saying it "worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom," though critics say the law discriminates against Muslims. Trump used the visit to highlight accomplishments on defence cooperation and strengthening ties between the two countries, The Hill newspaper said. "He celebrated US-India relations and his bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as the Indian leader's Hindu nationalist party came under further scrutiny for its controversial citizenship law during Trump's visit," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Convention Peoples Party [CPP] Communications Director, Benjamin Nsiah, has warned authorities of the Electoral Commission (EC) to be very fair in their dealings by having the ordinary Ghanaian voter as their focal point and not any political party. Making reference to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos statement on ECs new voter register decision, the CPP Communicator pointed out that the President was wrong to make such a call. President Akufo-Addo has backed calls by a section of Ghanaians to allow the countrys Electoral Commission [EC] compile a new voter register. We are getting ourselves ready for December 7. The Electoral Commission is going to compile a new register. It appears there is now an eight-year cycle for the EC to compile a register. They did so in 2012 and 2004. So with these last three including this one are all in the eight-year cycle. I think it makes a lot of sense. The national census itself is done on a ten-year basis. So it makes sense that we keep up the EC to admit new people, take out all those who have died, etc. Their intention is to begin in April. We want everybody in Ghana who can vote to register. Its important that we all exercise our civic duty to go and vote in December and choose the government that we want, the President has said. Explaining further on the matter for discussion on UTVs Adekye Nsroma newspaper discussion, Benjamin Nsiah mentioned that after reading IMANIs report on the new voter register controversy, he realized that the EC has erred in some of its procedures for its decision. . . EC should know that it does not have all the wisdom in the world . . .The most important thing for the EC to do in solving the controversy surrounding the new voter register is to break even by listening to all parties involved as it finds appropriate measures to make peace . . . he lamented. He added that the decision of the Electoral Commission not to listen to any diverse view can bring chaos to the 2020 general elections. Listen to the video below Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/ 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 Women look out of a window as paramilitary forces patrol a street in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Delhi police for not taking action against those who made inflammatory speec-hes and said that if it had acted as required by law and in time the violence could have been averted. Justice K.M. Joseph, who was a part of the two-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, said that if you had acted the way law required you to act and stopped people from making inflammatory remarks the spiral of violence could have been averted and lives saved. Lack of professionalism of the police is the main problem here. If you had not allowed people to get away after inflammatory remarks, all this would not have happened. If you act the way law requires to act, you will see the difference, Justice Joseph obs-erved hitting out at Delhi police for its inaction. The court was obviously pointing to police not taking cognisance of BJP leader Kapil Mishra making inflammatory remarks against those opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. I will say, Justice Joseph retorted when Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said that the observation from the judge may demoralise the police during these tense times. One of my constables has died. My DCP is injured. He is on ventilator. Let us not demoralise the police by saying anything now. We do not know what the situation on the ground is, Mr. Mehta kept imploring the court. This will happen if you allow people to get away. Unless you get the police to act, there will be no difference. Look at how police acts in the UK. Do they require somebodys nod? If somebody makes an infl-ammatory remark, police swings into action immediately, Justice Joseph said emphasising that the violence and the consequent loss of life was on account of police inaction. The bench also referred to the guidelines issued by it in 2006 in Prakash Singh case relating to police reforms. The courts disapproval of Delhi police came in the course of the hearing of two petitions seeking dire-ction for the eviction of sit-in protestors from Shah-een Bagh where it was blocking public roads. The Solicitor-General was once again on the receiving end when Justice Kaul described as unfortunate the things that have happened in past few days. As the S-G told Justice Kaul not to use term unfortunate, Justice Kaul joining Justice Joseph said, Who can deny that whatever has happened is not unfortunate? Yes, many unfortunate things have happened. It should not have happened. Underbelly star Steve Bastoni (pictured) lost 35,000 Qantas points Loyal Qantas customers are having their carefully collected frequent flyer points wiped from their account if they don't use it for 18 months. Two Australian actors have hit out at the firm for the policy, which they said removes the points without warning - despite collecting them for 15 years. Underbelly star Steve Bastoni lost 35,000 points, after previously having 50,000 points erased, according to the Australian. Neighbours star Ben Lawson was also stung by the policy, calling Qantas 'Australia's most consistently disappointing airline'. 'That is corporate theft,' Mr Bastoni said. 'There is a monetary value attached to these points and for Qantas to just wipe them is akin to being robbed. 'I am gobsmacked they can get away with this. It's a terrible way for a company to conduct itself.' The first time Mr Bastoni complained, he had first points reinstated - but this time Qantas only promised to reinstate 50 per cent of them on the conditions that he acquire 2,500 more in the next six months. The actor complained to Qantas on Twitter (pictured), comparing its loyalty scheme to a 'loan shark programme' Qantas' frequent flyer program is the most popular loyalty scheme in Australia, with more than 13 million members (stock image) He claimed to have received no warning that the points were expiring, despite Qanats insisting an email would have been sent. In a tweet, Mr Lawson said he had been collecting the points for 15 years. 'Been collecting Qantas FF points since 2005,' he wrote. 'Fifteen years. Just went to use some to discover they're completely gone because I haven't flown Qantas for 18-months. Actor Ben Lawson tweeted (pictured) that Qantas was 'Australia's most consistently disappointing airline' Lawson (pictured) had been collecting Qantas frequent flyer points for 15 years when he claims they were wiped without warning 'No email, no word of warning, just gone.' Qantas replied explaining that points expired after 18 months of inactivity, but insisted it was 'standard practice is to notify customers in advance'. 'Unlike many loyalty programs, Qantas Points do not expire provided the member remains 'active' meaning they earn or redeem at least one point every 18 months,' a spokesman said. 'There are hundreds of different ways members can earn and redeem Qantas Points through their every day spend. 'This could be as simple as making a purchase using a Qantas Points earning credit card, buying groceries from Woolworths, or even tracking your daily steps through the Qantas Wellbeing App. 'If a member does become inactive, Qantas will provide notice that their points will expire within 60 days of the expiration date. Members are notified in three different ways via email, in the Qantas app and through a banner on their Frequent Flyer account.' Qantas frequent flyers is Australia's largest loyalty program, boasting more than 13 million members. It is also one of the airline's biggest income generators, earning $196 million in the later half of 2019. Jakarta: US diplomats have expressed concerns to top Indonesian government officials about their country's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, warning of the "critical" need to be seeking out and more frequently testing for the virus. A diplomatic source with knowledge of the meetings also revealed that ambassadors from several western nations - including the United States' recently-departed Joseph Donovan - have raised their concerns with Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto and senior officials. A man wears a mask during Friday prayers in Indonesia, despite claims the coronavirus is not present in the country. Credit:AP The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has seen talking points about the coronavirus outbreak that are being circulated throughout the diplomatic community in Jakarta. These talking points, circulated by US officials, are designed to ensure foreign diplomats in closed door meetings with Indonesian health officials are delivering a consistent message about the need for Indonesia to do more to prepare for and protect itself from coronavirus. Mary Jane Avila said her daughter has been pushed, hit and spat on in school. Classmates forcibly remove her glasses, and some of them pick up the Mint Valley kindergartner against her will. She was at her desk doing her work and a boy in class came up and smacked her across the face, Avila told The Daily News on Monday. The office called me and said, Look for signs of concussion, and said that the kid had a bad day. Avilas frustration boiled over Monday night, when she spoke to the Longview School Board. School officials, she said, keep telling her theyre unable to stop the abuse because a state law adopted last year prohibits schools from suspending or expelling elementary school children. She said she understood the districts position, but what of the districts policy to maintain a wholesome and orderly school environment, she asked. I have seen the steps the teachers take, but more needs to be done with support from the district, she told the board, which, in a touch of irony, reviewed its anti-bullying policy Monday night. Avila said in an interview that shes had numerous meetings with Mint Valley principal and her daughters teacher, and also called Superintendent Dan Zorn last week. But shes been told the schools hands are tied by laws. What does that mean for my kid? Avila said to TDN. My daughter isnt doing anything wrong. Shes following the rules and doing what she needs to do to learn. Avilas struggles highlight a concern shared by the Longview teachers union, which fears that the districts interpretation of new rules is making it much harder to maintain discipline in their classrooms. Were being told we cant send out students that are misbehaving, said Ray Clift, president of the Longview Education Association, which represents the districts teachers. Zorn said Tuesday the main focus of the new laws is keeping students in classrooms, but the district is still committed to maintaining safe classrooms. Its so important for us ... (when) we have to remove a student from a classroom that we address it in a manner that tries to keep that behavior from happening later, Zorn said. In many respects its disciplinary, because youre removing them, but then it turns to educational: How do we correct these behaviors? And frankly thats hard work. The Legislature passed laws in 2019 that, with the exception of firearms violations, prohibit school districts from using expulsion for students in grades K4. Additionally, K-4 students cannot be suspended for more than 10 cumulative school days during an academic term and cannot receive a long-term suspension of more than 10 days. However, according to the laws, young students can still be sent out of the classroom for the day or shorter, but school officials and parents must be notified. And it must be used as a last resort. Clift said the district and the LEA assembled a task force last year to reach a mutual interpretation of the laws, but theyre still working on it. Were anxious to get on the same page, Clift said. We cant continue to have some of the violence thats happening. We need to figure out how to address it. Board member CJ Nickerson said Tuesday he had a lot of respect for Avila and that the situation was a heartbreaker. When I spoke to her after, I had the feeling shes a mother who has not only her childs interest at heart, but a lot of compassion for the other children as well, Nickerson said. Avila said her family moved to Washington from California in March of last year, and her daughter originally was excited to attend school. She was up and ready for school before the alarms went off, Avila said. Two months in, her attitude changed. The eagerness left. Now, her 6-year-old dreads going to school, Avila said. Shes started to pretend shes sick to avoid going because shes so scared of what will happen each day, Avila said. Every day when I pick her up I ask, Hey baby, how was school? What was your favorite thing you learned? And when nothing happened her highlight is Mommy it was great! Nobody hit me today. Avila told TDN. It shouldnt be that. It should be that I learned this thing. She said she also contacted the police department last week as a last resort to protect her child, but was told the children were too young for police to be involved. Avila said she doesnt want to remove her daughter from the classroom because she knows this happens in all classrooms. And she said shes not sure why her daughter is targeted. She loves her teacher. Shes doing well academically. Why would I remove her when shes not the problem? Avila said. Shes the victim. Avila has sat in on her daughters class, she said, and while she went in with a mindset of who is the kid picking on my daughter, she came out with a different understanding. While Avila said several students pick on her daughter, there is one child in particular who is prone to disruptive and aggressive behavior. This little boy is isolated, Avila said. Hes by himself. He cant sit next to other children because the teacher is afraid something will happen ... Its no fault of his own. Something more is going on with him and the teacher is doing her best. But its still not fair to these other kids that are trying to learn. She said she wanted to see the child get the help he needed or be removed from the general education classroom. Im just trying to bring awareness for the community, because its not just my daughter going through it, Avila said. Im sure this is not the experience a kindergartner was expecting walking into school. Its not something that is preparing them for the next grade up. Zorn said he appreciated Avila bringing her concerns to the board in a productive way. He said he plans to speak to the school principal about next steps and then follow up with Avila. There is no magic wand ... its going to take time (to fix), Zorn said. And thats the challenge of the work that we do when were charged with serving all kids no matter what. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 19 Angry 36 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. CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today named Susan Doniz as the company's chief information officer and senior vice president of Information Technology & Data Analytics, effective in May. She will succeed Vishwa Uddanwadiker, who has served in an interim capacity since October 2019. In this role, Doniz, 50, will oversee all aspects of information technology, information security, data and analytics for the world's largest aerospace company. She also will support the growth of Boeing's business through IT- and analytics-related revenue generating programs. She will report to Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun, serve on the company's Executive Council and be based in Chicago. "Susan is a proven, customer-focused technology leader with extensive global experience across multiple industries, including commercial aviation," said Calhoun. "She brings deep insight and skills to digital transformation, data analytics and artificial intelligence all essential to our long-term growth strategy as well as our continuous drive for operational and safety excellence. She brings as well a passion for STEM education and diversity and inclusion. "I'd also like to thank Vishwa for stepping in to take on this assignment during an important time for Boeing and for his support during this transition," added Calhoun. "Vishwa demonstrated tremendous leadership, and we look forward to his continued significant contributions to the company." Doniz joins Boeing from Qantas Group, where she has served as Group chief information officer since January 2017. In that role, she oversaw technology innovation, development and integration, digital capabilities and cybersecurity across the Group's companies, including Qantas Airlines, QantasLink, Qantas Loyalty and Jetstar. Doniz has more than 25 years of global technology leadership experience, including strategic roles at SAP, Aimia and Procter & Gamble. She holds a bachelor's degree in applied science and engineering from the University of Toronto, and serves as vice chair of the Digital Transformation Advisory Council of the International Air Transport Association. Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing employs more than 160,000 people worldwide and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth. Contact Boeing Communications [email protected] SOURCE Boeing Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Cameroon's armed forces of taking part in the killing of at least 21 civilians this month in a region where troops are battling anglophone separatists. "Government forces and armed ethnic Fulani" carried out the slaughter in Ngarbuh, whose victims included 13 children and a pregnant woman, HRW said. The Fulani are an ethnic group also called Peuls. "The gruesome killings of civilians, including children, are egregious crimes that should be effectively and independently investigated, and those responsible should be brought to justice," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, HRW's senior Africa researcher. "Denying that these crimes have occurred adds another layer of trauma to survivors and will only embolden government troops to commit more atrocities." The army says there were only five civilian deaths, which it said happened when fuel containers exploded in a firefight. The incident occurred on February 14 in a remote part of the Northwest Region -- one of two English-speaking regions gripped by conflict sparked by demands for independence from majority French-speaking Cameroon. More than 3,000 people have died and at least 700,000 have fled their homes in the nearly 29-month-old unrest. Rights monitors say abuses have been committed by both sides. 'Looting, beating, killing' HRW on Tuesday said it drew its conclusions after interviewing 25 people, including three witnesses to killings and seven relatives of victims. It also reviewed satellite imagery taken before and after the attack. Between 10 and 15 soldiers, including members of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion, along with at least 30 armed Fulani, entered Ngarbuh, a district of the Ntumbo village, at around 11:00 pm (2200 GMT) on February 13, it said in a statement. Cameroon. By (AFP) After hours of looting homes and beating civilians, some of these men attacked the so-called Ngarbuh 3 district, "killing 21 civilians in four homes, then burning the houses", it said. The military told the residents "the attack was to punish civilians suspected of harbouring separatist fighters", HRW said, quoting 12 witnesses. Opposition figures in Cameroon swiftly accused the armed forces of having played a role. The Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC), one of the two main opposition parties, blamed "these crimes" mainly on the regime and the head of the security forces. A key figure in the separatist movement, lawyer Felix Agbor Mballa, in a Facebook post also accused "state defence forces" of carrying out the killings. On February 17, army spokesman Colonel Cyrille Atonfack Guemo said the deaths had resulted from an "unfortunate accident" when fuel was set ablaze during a gunfight between troops and separatists. He said the exchange of fire came after four soldiers and two gendarmes, on nighttime reconnaissance, had come under heavy fire. Five civilians -- a woman and four children -- died, and "seven terrorists" were "neutralised," Atonfack told AFP. The following day, the UN rights office in Geneva said 23 had died in the "shocking episode" and urged Cameroon to carry out an "independent, impartial and thorough" inquiry. Colonial-era legacy English-speakers account for nearly a fifth of Cameroon's population of 24 million, who are majority French-speaking. The presence of this minority dates back to European colonisation of Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Once a German protectorate, Cameroon was split between Britain and France after World War I. As tensions in the anglophone regions rose, President Paul Biya, 87, vetoed appeals by moderates for a return to Cameroon's federal system. By Ludovic MARIN (AFP) The French-administered territory became independent on January 1, 1960. The British section followed in 1961, part of it merging that year with French Cameroon in a federation. In 1972 the federal arrangement was dropped in favour of a single United Republic of Cameroon. Years of grievances at perceived discrimination against English-speakers snowballed into a declaration of independence in the anglophone regions in October 2017, which was followed by a government crackdown. The declaration has not been recognised internationally and President Paul Biya, in power for 37 of his 87 years, has refused demands to return to the federal system. However, the government has lately decentralised some of its powers after a "national dialogue" on the anglophone crisis which was boycotted by the separatists. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Winterbottom and Sean Gray Greed, directed by the prolific Michael Winterbottom (Jude, In This World, The Road to Guantanamo, The Trip), is a satire based on the figure and career of British billionaire fashion retailer Sir Philip Green, and a powerful social commentary on the criminality and human misery that underpin the latters fortune. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019 and was screened at the London Film Festival a month later. Greed Green came to prominence in 2016 after funneling 1.5 billion [$US1.9 billion] out of British Home Stores, much of it to his wife in Monaco, avoiding UK tax. In doing so, he ran the companys pension scheme from a surplus into a 571 million deficit and put the company into administration. This ended with 11,000 workers losing their jobs and 22,000 suffering massive hits to their pensions. In Greed, we join the main character, self-styled Richard Greedy McCreadie (Steve Coogan), in the middle of preparations for his own grand birthday party at his private villa on the Greek island of Mykonos. Attempting to repair his shattered reputationhaving just been brought before a parliamentary committee after lucratively dismantling one of his companies, with the loss of thousands of jobsMcCreadie is trying to get as many famous faces as possible to his Ancient Rome-themed gala. A replica Coliseum is being built, complete with live lion Clarence, and costumes are being preparedroyal purple for the guests, slave togas for the staff. The satire is dialed-up and in-your-face in style, but how could it be otherwise when confronted with such a grotesque subject as Green and his ilk and their asset-stripping, sweatshop-supplied, tax-dodging empires? Contemporary levels of social inequality demand and outstrip comparisons with the Roman Empire. Coogan uses his talent to bring the bullying, grasping McCreadie to life and helps the script articulate the characters utter disregard for any other human being. Questioned by the parliamentary committee about the collapse of one of his businesses, after he and his family looted millions from the company accounts and thousands of jobs have been lost, McCreadie interrupts his interrogator. He suggests it was actually not such a big loss since most of those jobs were part-time. Steve Coogan in Greed At his Greek villa, McCreadie is incensed at the presence of a group of refugees camped on a nearby public beach: Cant they find refuge somewhere out of view? He tries to have them removed by police. This interrupts a scene in which his thoroughly vapid daughterbeing filmed for a reality television show on the rich and beautifulhands out food to the refugees for the camera before snatching it back and insisting they look more pleased to receive it. The decision to set the film in Greece and counterpose McCreadies wealth to the desperate plight of those trying to cross the Mediterranean is to be commended. The same rotten system is the cause of multibillion-dollar wealth and the desperate plight of millions. During the end credits, a series of statistics includes the facts that over 70,000 refugees are now living in Greece, and that at least 17,000 have died attempting the crossing. The origins and obscenity of personal wealth are well explored in Greed, which opens with McCreadies wife Samantha (Isla Fisher) being given a 1.2 billion dividend at a company party. Wow, she says, I dont know what to do with all those zeros. A financial correspondent explains to Nick (David Mitchell), the out-of-his-depth author commissioned to write McCreadies official biography, the history of swindles and tax-dodges out of which this money was gained. As a former employee puts it more succinctly, McCreadies not a businessman, hes a parasite. We learn through Nicks conversation with Amanda (Dinita Gohil)a personal assistant to McCreadieof the terrible conditions that prevail in the sweatshops producing products for McCreadies brands. McCreadies empire, like every major corporation, is shown to rest on a global network of degrading and deadly exploitation. The statistics at the end of the film conclude with the fact that just a few individuals own as much wealth as the poorest half of the worlds population. Isla Fisher, Steve Coogan and Asa Butterfield in Greed (2019) Had director Winterbottom had his way, these figures would also have included the fact that H&Ms owner, Stefan Persson, is worth around $18 billion and Zaras owner, Amancio Ortega, $67 billionwhile workers in Myanmar and Bangladesh earn $3.60 and $2.84 a day. Proving everything Greed sets out to say about the power and influence of the super-rich, however, this information was censored by the films co-financer and distributor, Sony Pictures. Winterbottom explained in an interview with the Guardian that they were worried about the potential damage to Sonys corporate relations with these brands. The film was delayed for six months while Winterbottom argued with Sony over the final cut. Meanwhile, Sony took half the benefits available to Greed through a 2007 tax credit agreement between Film4 (the films other financer), BBC Films and the BFI that was supposed to support independent British filmmakers. A scene set in a parliamentary committee sees McCreadie asked why he has pulled his companies out of the Ethical Trading Initiative. Waste of time, McCreadie answers. Asked about the levels of exploitation in his operations, McCreadie replies, Thats the market! Green/McCreadie is not some individual anomaly, but the true face of modern capitalism. Zara and H&M also buy from sweatshops, and Google and Apple pay next to no tax either. There is only one allusion to opposition from the working-class, when Nick halfheartedly reminds Amanda, Slaves can revolt. Nonetheless, Greed offers a sharp and often funny critique of the impact on society of rule by a criminal financial oligarchy and should find a wide audience. Contributed photo OLD SAYBROOK The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, has added a second performance added for Peter Asher and Jeremy Clyde at 7 p.m. March 1. The duos Feb. 29 concert is sold out. Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon joins forces with Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy to star together in an unforgettable evening of music and memories. The show features songs and stories from their sixties heyday as recording artists to Jeremys success on stage, television (Downton Abbey), and film (The Iron Lady) and Peters Grammy-winning career as producer and manager of the likes of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and more. BJP set to pull out all stops in UP, SP main contender UP Election 2022: BJP panel meet today to decide candidates for first phase UP polls 2022: Maurya who quit BJP to join SP on Jan 14 BJP demands Thackeray to bring resolution to honour Savarkar in Maha legislature India oi-PTI Mumbai, Feb 26: The opposition BJP on Wednesday demanded that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray bring a resolution to honour Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the state legislature. On the occasion of the death anniversary of Savarkar, members of the BJP donned "Mi pan Savarkar" (Me too Savarkar) caps when they came to the House in the morning. When Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole called for Question Hour, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar said remembering Swatantryaveer Savarkar on his death anniversary is equally important as are the proceedings of the House. "This is the wish of (Shiv Sena founder late) Balasaheb Thackeray and there isno politics in this demand. The government should not force us to bring such resolution," he said. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 No one needs to fear about CAA, NPR: Uddhav Thackeray after meeting PM Modi However, Speaker Nana Patole continued with Question Hour. The BJP's demand for a resolution to honour Savarkar is viewed as a move to corner the Sena, which shares power in the state with ideologically incompatible NCP and Congress. The Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena, a former ally of the BJP, has been demanding Bharat Ratna honour for Savarkar. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 12:52 [IST] Speculation continues about a man who was seen walking naked down Commonwealth Boulevard into the Walmart area on Monday evening. It was the craziest thing, out of nowhere, said Debbie Curry Lampkin, who saw the man as she was driving along Commonwealth, next to Ollies, toward the Virginia Avenue intersection. She had noticed a police car before she saw the man, she said. She was in the right lane, and the police car was in the left lane but moved into the right lane, behind her car. She checked her speed to make sure she was driving properly, she said. Then she looked up. There this guy was, just walking down the street with not a stitch of clothes on, she said. He was walking on the side of Commonwealth near the Ollies parking lot. The officer braked, and the man looked back at the officers car, she said. The officer called, Hey, buddy, He seen the officer and took off running, trying to cross the street, she said. A Virginia State Police trooper also happened to be driving by, so he pulled up to the man, who by then was in the Shoe Dept. and ABC parking lot. Click here to read the full article. Stunned to discover that her son has vanished while studying abroad in Athens, an Iranian woman sets off on a desperate search across the Greek capital to find him. Navigating a foreign and forbidding landscape, shes forced to also travel deep within herself, uncovering buried truths and offering a chance for her own reinvention. Pari is the feature debut of writer-director Siamak Etemadi, who was born and raised in Iran and lives in Athens. Produced by Heretic (Greece), Le Bureau (France), Topkapi (Netherlands), and The Chouchkov Brothers (Bulgaria), it had its world premiere Feb. 25 in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival. Heretic Outreach is handling world sales. More from Variety Conceived in part as what Etemadi calls a love letter to his mother, the film is a portrait of a woman (Melika Foroutan) unbowed by her own fears and inhibitions, driven by an almost blind determination to find her son. Her search is rooted in the desire described in classical Persian poetry as the longing for the beloved, a deep yearning for something or someone that can never be fulfilled. In that desire, the director found the animating principle of Paris journey. This empty place in your soul makes you move. You have to grow as a person, you have to do more with your life, he said. Every time you are in loveor lose a very dear person to you, it can have that effect. You cant continue the way you used to. Something has to change. While Pari charts an Iranian womans harrowing journey through the dark underbelly of Athens, and unspools against the backdrop of the ongoing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, Etemadi admits that his own transition to life in Greece was fairly smooth. He arrived in Athens in 1995 as a university student, leaving behind a stable middle-class home in Tehran to study film. From the beginningI felt that this is the place for me. It felt right, he said. I felt that I had this connection with the Greeks. I felt comfortable. Story continues Adapting to the Greek language still took time, and Etemadis evolution in his adopted homeland would eventually inform the making of Pari. The film hinges on the idea of rebirth, which the director connects to the long tradition of Persian Sufi verse, including the poem by the 13th-century classical poet Rumi that is central to the movie. Etemadi recalled discovering an English translation of the text in Athens years ago, at a time when he was still grappling with what he calls his transnational identity, and struggling to find his creative voice. Rumis verse seemed to illuminate a possible path for him to follow, in the same way that it provides the key to Paris reinvention. When I came across that poem, for me it felt that [American poet] Coleman Barks, through her interpretation, had managed to convey the essence of that poem, he said. It gave me hope in the sense [of telling myself], You could also find your way. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Peskov said he would clarify and answer lately. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet been invited to visit Moscow on May 9. Read alsoEstonian defense chief urges president to reject Russia's potential Victory Day invitation media "As far as I know, the invitation has not yet been sent to President Zelensky. Sending invitations is underway, but so far I can't say with regard to the president of Ukraine. I will have to clarify," he told journalists, according to an UNIAN correspondent in Russia. To a clarifying question from UNIAN when the decision will be made on this invitation, Peskov said: "I will clarify and answer you later." As UNIAN reported earlier, in late January, Peskov said he would clarify whether the intention to send an invitation to Zelensky to visit the May 9 parade in Moscow remained after the Ukrainian president's statement that the collusion of totalitarian regimes had led to the outbreak of World War II. The ABC series 20/20 will again focus on a high-profile Oregon murder case with this weeks episode, which investigates circumstances surrounding the death of Leah Freeman, and her boyfriend, Nicholas McGuffin, who was convicted of manslaughter years after Freemans body was found. In a dramatic development, McGuffins conviction was overturned in late 2019, after an Oregon judge ruled that the Oregon State Police crime lab had failed to disclose DNA evidence that could have led the jury to acquit McGuffin. As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported, Freeman was 15 when she was reported missing after leaving a friends house, on June 28, 2000. One of her shoes was found that night, and the other shoe was found about a week later. The Coquille teens body was found five weeks later, but because of decomposition, the medical examiner couldnt determine how Freeman had died. McGuffin, who was then 18, was Freemans boyfriend when she disappeared, and though he was investigated, he wasnt arrested until 2010. In 2011, a jury voted 10-2 to convict McGuffin of manslaughter, though, as the World, the newspaper that covers Coos Bay and other South Coast communities, reports, there were no witnesses or evidence that tied McGuffin to the crime. (How to watch 20/20: 20/20 airs at 9 p.m. Fridays on ABC. No cable or antenna? You can live stream 20/20 on Hulu + Live TV, and catch up on past episodes on Hulu.) As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in late 2019, an Oregon judge concluded that the Oregon State Police crime lab didnt disclose that it had found another mans DNA on Freemans shoe, and that, had that information been presented during trial, it could have led to McGuffin being exonerated. NEW: For the first time since his conviction for the murder of Leah Freeman, his girlfriend, was overturned, & after serving over 9 years in prison witness the EXCLUSIVE spellbinding interview. The true-crime 20/20 event premieres FRIDAY at 9|8c on @ABC. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/VTblTkYem2 20/20 (@ABC2020) February 24, 2020 Though he served nearly 10 years in prison, McGuffin continued to say he was innocent of the crime. As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported, the judge overturning McGuffins conviction represented a major victory for the nascent Forensic Justice Project, a small nonprofit supported by state money and grants. The organizations mission is preventing and identifying wrongful convictions based on flawed forensic science. Oregon is one of a handful of states to fund such efforts. The World reports that McGuffin returned to Coos County late last year. He is among those interviewed in the 20/20 episode, which will air this Friday. The two-hour 20/20 episode airs at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 on ABC. -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. After the number of Turkish military personnel killed in Idlib climbed to 13 earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unequivocally declared that Turkey would attack Syrian forces anywhere in Syria if another soldier were hurt. Erdogan had already issued an ultimatum to Syria to withdraw to the lines set in the Sochi memorandum, which he signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2018. If not, Turkey would unleash a war against the Syrian army to oblige it to pull back. The International Crisis Group (ICG), a transnational organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflicts, was alarmed. In a report titled The eleventh hour for Idlib, it suggested that Damascus and its Russian backers should immediately conclude a cease-fire with rebel forces enjoying robust Turkish military support. For ICG, Erdogans words were no idle chatter. But Damascus and its Russian backers seemed to have a different assessment. For them, Erdogans words did sound like an idle chatter. On Feb. 22, Turkey lost its 16th soldier in Idlib, following the killing of two Turkish soldiers Feb. 20 in a Russian airstrike that left many others wounded. The latest loss coincided with the killing of high-ranked Turkish officers in Libya by Khalifa Hifters forces, which are collaborating the Russian Wagner group against the Erdogan-backed Tripoli regime led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Despite all of Erdogans signals that he would play tough in domestic politics and allow no dissent against his Syria and Libya policies, the Turkish president displays an apparent weakness vis-a-vis Russia, whose air support has enabled Damascus to regain large swaths of territory in Idlib province and around Aleppo. The relentless bombardment of Russian warplanes has shown also that, if need be, they would not spare the Turkish forces on the ground. Yet, neither Erdogan nor his defense minister, Hulusi Akar, is keen to confront Russia. Asked whether Turkish and Russian soldiers might face each other in Idlib during a TV interview Feb. 20, Akar said, We have no intention or aim to confront Russia. We have made every effort to avoid [such a confrontation] and we will continue to do so. What we are after is [to ensure] that the regime adheres to the cease-fire, halts its aggression, ends its massacres and thus prevents radicalization and migration. The Turkish press has reported that Turkey asked the United States for aerial support over Idlib and is seeking Patriot missiles for air defense. This is another in a string of unprecedented inconsistencies in Turkish foreign and security policy displayed recently and becoming almost routine. It was the Turkish leaderships resolve to acquire Russian S-400 air defense missiles that soured the relationship with the United States last year. Now, after paying $2.5 billion to Russia for the weapons, Ankara is seeking American Patriots against Russias air support for Syrian regime forces advancing on Syrian territory in Idlib. Despite Akars statements and Erdogans direct contact with Putin, is there such a risk that would betray any wisdom and sobriety of mind? It cannot be ruled out as long as Turkey continues to send enormous amounts of armor into a relatively narrow strip of land in Idlib. It is an area that the Syrian regime is determined to regain to end once and for all the last bastion of the Syrian Salafist-jihadist opposition of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate. From Feb. 2 to Feb. 22, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the entry of more than 2,700 trucks and military vehicles to Syrian territory, including tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles, mobile bulletproof guard booths and military radars. The number of Turkish soldiers deployed to Idlib in the same period exceeded 7,400. At this very juncture, the Turkish deployment in Idlib amid the ongoing operations of Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air support, and the expanding presence of Iranian fighters on the ground, is enough to spark a conventional war of unmeasurable magnitudes. The seminal work of University of Cambridge historian Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, offers a brilliant narrative of how Europes great powers stumbled into a war that they had no intention to be involved in. There are also scores of well-documented accounts on how the 1967 Six-Day War, which has shaped the map and the politics of the Middle East ever since, flared up against the actual intentions of its protagonists Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Israel. Therefore, despite Akars statements and the open channels between Erdogan and Putin and their respective agencies, a devastating war involving Turkey, Russia and their Syrian proxies might not be averted in Idlib. This brings to mind a natural question: How come Turkish decision-makers could be so reckless in what they are doing while the Syrian air space is closed to Turkish aircraft and the Syrian armys ground operations in Idlib are backed by massive and continuous Russian bombing of Damascus adversaries? How can Erdogan hope for a military success to undo all those gains of the regime, given the apparent asymmetry between the Turkish buildup in Idlib and Russias firepower firmly behind the Syrian forces? In the most plausible answer to date, a Haaretz op-ed states, One might be forgiven for thinking that Turkeys recent attempts to go it alone in international military adventures, from Syria to Libya, have been an unmitigated disaster. In those conflicts, Turkey is either supporting a losing side, or contributing to a stalemate. However, Ankaras priority in Syria and elsewhere is not necessarily to back a winner. Its aim is to carve a stake in its near abroad, and to ensure that other powers sufficiently recognize Turkish interests. However, the developments over the past week indicate that, even in this respect, Turkey appears to be a loser. Erdogan pins his hopes on the four-way summit he announced he would hold March 5 with Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. That means the deadline he gave for the withdrawal of Syrian forces by the end of February will not be respected. Furthermore, the fate of the summit still remains an open question as the Kremlin announced Feb. 25 that they are not interested in the four-way summit. Judging by the developments on the battlefield, it is highly possible that Turkey will lose more ground in Idlib despite its massive military deployment and Syrian allies. The Russian-backed Syrian forces will try to establish control over the M4 highway that links Aleppo to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. The developments regarding Idlib have proved the fallacy of Turkeys calculations that holding on to Idlib will lead international powers to recognize its interests. Turkeys Western allies, to Ankaras dismay, have manifested they will not go as far as to give Turkey efficient military assistance to turn the tide in Idlib. For Turkey, being undermined militarily in Idlib means being deprived of the prospect of using Idlib as a bargaining chip to secure its interests in the predominantly Kurdish territory along its border in northeastern Syria. Turkeys predicament in Idlib has exposed its weakness and the longstanding inconsistencies of its foreign and security policy as never before. In the eyes of its partner Russia and Western allies, Turkey appears dragged into an unwinnable situation, becoming more subservient to them to realize its expectations and objectives. Also, the Idlib escalation has put an end to dreams of a strategic partnership with Russia, entertained by Erdogans Eurasianist allies in Turkey. It underscores once again that relations with Russia cannot be other than transactional as they used to be in the past. Most importantly, Turkeys Idlib predicament illustrates the unsustainability of the Erdoganist foreign and security policy. No doubt, it will bear on Turkeys internal balance of power. It will take some time to see exactly when and how. President Donald Trump's address to a packed Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad was electrifying and it was a rare occasion where one saw the American leader really speaking out from his heart, Professor of Economics at Columbia University Arvind Panagariya has said. Panagariya said when the 'Howdy Modi' event happened in Houston last September, it seemed that one will never be able to better that mega community event. "I think the (Namaste Trump event) at the Sardar Patel Stadium did that, it bettered (the Howdy Modi! event). The whole atmospherics was incredible. "In my memory, I can't think of another dignitary's visit that comes even close, Panagariya said when asked by PTI about President Trump's just concluded first State Visit to India. And it's a rare occasion where you see President Trump really speaking out from his heart, Panagariya said adding that while Trump read his speech from the teleprompter, but the delivery was electrifying. Panagariya, who has served as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, added that Modi himself is a fantastic speaker but I would say that President Trump actually gave a better speech, he said amid smiles from the audience. During his visit, Trump spoke about the importance of the United States-India relationship before a crowd of more than 110,000 people at the Ahmedabad's Motera stadium. Panagariya gave a keynote address at a discussion on India's Union Budget 2020 organised by the Consulate General of India in New York. Later during an interactive session when asked about the trade deal between India and the US, Panagariya said Trump had already made a statement before he arrived for the visit that Washington will do a big deal with New Delhi in future. 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," Trump said ahead of his visit. Later, Modi also said that New Delhi is going to do a trade deal the US. That is a statement coming from the Prime Minister and that carries a lot of value and weight, Panagariya said adding that Modi does not talk loosely and when he says that there will be a trade deal going forward, I feel there is some substance to that. Addressing a joint press meet with Trump after their comprehensive talks on key issues, including trade, counter-terror and energy cooperation, Modi had said that as far as bilateral trade is concerned, there have been positive talks between the two commerce ministers. Panagariya added that he has talked to officials both in New Delhi and Washington on the issue of a trade deal. While the US side complains that India never closes the last mile problems, Indian officials say the moment they come to closing the last mile distance, more demands are made by the US. Panagariya that any eventual trade deal between the two sides will be huge. Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty said that there was a lot of noise about trade but Trump himself has said that exports between India and the US have grown exponentially. I think the trade story is not all that grim as has been pointed out. I believe they are looking at a more ambitious trade deal, Chakravorty said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's Deputy Health Minister, Tehran Lawmaker Hit By Coronavirus By RFE/RL February 25, 2020 Iran's deputy health minister and a reformist politician have reported they have tested positive for the new coronavirus as the crisis over the outbreak continued to mount in the country. Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and Mahmud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, separately confirmed on February 25 that they have been stricken by the COVID-19 virus, which has already killed at least 16 people in Iran and infected dozens of others. Harirchi, who has been vocal in attempting to reassure citizens amid the crisis, was seen coughing and wiping sweat from his face during a video news conference in Tehran. "I, too, have been infected with coronavirus," Harirchi said in the video that appeared shot by himself. "I had a fever as of last night, and my preliminary test was positive around midnight," he said. "I've isolated myself in a place since. A few minutes ago, I was told that my test was final, and now I am starting medication." Meanwhile, Sadeghi, who represents Tehran in parliament, wrote on Twitter that "my corona test is positive...I don't have a lot of hope of continuing life in this world." He also urged Iranian authorities to release the country's political prisoners to allow them to stay with family during the outbreak to prevent them from becoming infected. Sadeghi, who in the past has accused the government of not taking the crisis seriously, urged authorities to "gain public confidence by telling the truth." Iran has said 16 people have died from the coronavirus and that 95 others have been infected, although many people have expressed concerns that Tehran is underreporting the figures. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on February 25 that "the United States was deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country." Harirchi, who has previously disputed allegations of underreporting, said in his video that "I wanted to tell you that...we will definitely be victorious against this virus in the next few weeks.". Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew this week after sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy, and South Korea. The virus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Reuters, AFP, and Al-Arabiya Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-s-deputy-health- minister-tehran-lawmaker-hit-by- coronavirus/30454502.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address She added: "People need to step up. What I have said is we are committed to making sure that we solve poverty in our city in a generation. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach. Nobody needs a golden ticket to talk about the fact that one in five of our people are suffering. People are living on $8.50 a day. My goodness. That is a disgrace. If you want to be in on this, step up and lead. That is what people have elected you to do. Abdulhadi Lahweej also says his side will not participate in political talks set to begin in Geneva on Wednesday. Eastern Libyas foreign minister said on Wednesday his government, parallel to the internationally recognised administration in Tripoli, could not force eastern tribesmen to lift an oil blockade that he said was a popular decision. Abdulhadi Lahweej also reiterated his side, led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, would not participate in political talks set to begin in Geneva on Wednesday, saying there was no agreement with the United Nations mission on the composition of their delegation. We cannot use our power to lift the [oil] blockade, Lahweej told journalists in Geneva, alleging the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli was using revenues from oil to pay for thousands of mercenaries he said came from Syria to help them. The participation [in the Geneva talks] for the moment is suspended, he added. The UN had planned to bring together legislators from both sides of Libyas conflict on Wednesday to end the fighting over Tripoli as part of a dialogue encompassing military, political and economic strands. One who accepts mercenaries In a sign of the acrimony between the two sides, Lahweej took aim several times at Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, heading the GNA, who earlier this week called Haftar a war criminal at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The war criminal is the one who accepts mercenaries to kill people and accepts pilots who kills civilians, Lahweej said of the internationally recognised Libyan prime minister. Turkey provides military support to the GNA. Since April, Tripoli has been under an assault by forces loyal to Haftar, who is aligned with a rival administration based in the countrys east and backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Russia. Russia on Wednesday accused Turkey of helping foreign fighters cross into Libya, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Russia did not see evidence that Libyas warring factions were prepared to implement military and political decisions reached at a conference in Berlin in January, Bogdanov added. He said a truce agreed on January 12 was generally being observed, but added there was no sign either side supported what he called the basic principles for resolving the crisis. DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Home Infusion Therapy Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (Infusion Pumps, Intravenous Sets), by Application (Anti-Infective, Endocrinology), by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2020-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global home infusion therapy market size is expected to reach USD 41.6 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period. Increasing incidences of hospital-acquired infections are some of the major factors contributing to the market growth. Home infusion therapy is considered an alternative to an extended stay in hospitals or nursing homes for patients suffering from chronic diseases. With the administration of medications in home settings, patients recover faster when compared to the hospital and are more comfortable at home. Several government and non-government programs are carried out in order to spread awareness among people regarding home infusion therapy. In October 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a rule stating that all home infusion therapy payments will get covered under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. In addition, favorable government policies and regulations are expected to propel the market growth. In February 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was signed into a law which states that all temporary payments of home infusion therapy in U.S. will be covered by the government in accordance with this regulation. In addition, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening conditions, is expected to have a high impact on market growth. According to a WHO report, the above-mentioned diseases accounted for 60.0% of the total deaths and 43.0% of the disease burden in U.S. in 2019. This creates the need to infuse nutritional products that contain glutamine, phospholipids, glucose, and amino acids while administering medication to patients, which, in turn, is expected to boost the market growth in this region. Technological developments in home infusion therapy devices are also anticipated to make therapy more convenient and user-friendly for patients. For instance, in April 2017, B. Braun launched Easypump home infusion therapy app for both patients and the physician. This app will help patients to safely administer the medicine as per the requirements. Further key findings from the report suggest: Infusion pumps emerged as the largest product segment in 2019 owing to increasing use of delivery fluids such as nutrients and medications The needleless connectors segment is projected to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period as they offer advantages such as improved safety The anti-infective segment dominated the home infusion therapy market in 2019, as a large number of procedures are performed during the administration of medication such as antibiotics and antifungals North America dominated the global market in 2019. With the increasing demand for new technologies, along with advanced healthcare infrastructure, North America is expected to continue to dominate the market through the forecast period dominated the global market in 2019. With the increasing demand for new technologies, along with advanced healthcare infrastructure, is expected to continue to dominate the market through the forecast period The Asia Pacific market is projected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period owing to the increasing number of diabetic patients in the region market is projected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period owing to the increasing number of diabetic patients in the region Key market players include B. Braun Melsungen AG, Baxter, Caesarea Medical Electronics, CareFusion Corporation, Fresenius Kabi, ICU Medical, Inc., JMS Co. Ltd., Smiths Medical, Inc., and Terumo Corporation. Key Topics Covered Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope Chapter 2. Executive Summary 2.1. Market Outlook 2.2. Segment Outlook 2.3. Competitive Insights Chapter 3. Home Infusion Therapy Market Variables, Trends & Scope 3.1. Market Lineage Outlook 3.2. Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping 3.3. Product Pipeline Analysis, by Application 3.4. Market Dynamics 3.5. Home Infusion Therapy: Market Analysis Tools Chapter 4. Home Infusion Therapy Market: Segment Analysis, by Product, 2016 - 2027 (USD Million) 4.1. Definitions & Scope 4.2. Product market share analysis, 2019 & 2027 4.3. Segment Dashboard 4.4. Global Home Infusion Therapy Market , by Product, 2016 to 2027 4.5. Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2016 to 2027 for the following 4.5.1. Infusion pumps 4.5.1.1. Ambulatory infusion pumps 4.5.2.1 Insulin pumps 4.5.2.2 Syringe pumps 4.5.2.3 Elastomeric pumps 4.5.2.4 Patient Controlled Analgesics (PCA) 4.5.2.5 Volumetric Pumps Market 4.5.2. Intravenous Sets 4.5.3. IV cannulas 4.5.4. Needleless connectors Chapter 5. Home Infusion Therapy Market: Segment Analysis, By Application, 2016 - 2027 (USD Million) 5.1. Definitions & Scope 5.2. Application market share analysis, 2019 & 2027 5.3. Segment Dashboard 5.4. Global Home Infusion Therapy Market, By Application, 2016 to 2027 5.5. Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2016 to 2027 for the following 5.5.1. Anti-Infective 5.5.2. Endocrinology 5.5.2.1 Diabetes 5.5.2.2 Others 5.5.3. Hydration Therapy 5.5.3.1. Athletes 5.5.3.2. Others 5.5.4. Chemotherapy 5.5.5. Enteral Nutrition 5.5.6. Parenteral Nutrition 5.5.7. Specialty Pharmaceuticals 5.5.8. Others Chapter 6. Home Infusion Therapy Market: Regional Market Analysis, by Product, 2016 - 2027 (USD Million) 6.1. Definitions & Scope 6.2. Regional Market Share Analysis, 2019 & 2027 6.3. Regional Market Dashboard 6.4. Regional Market Snapshot 6.5. Regional Market Share, 2018 6.6. Market Size, & Forecasts, and Trend Analysis, 2016 to 2027: 6.7. North America 6.8. Europe 6.9. Asia Pacific 6.10 Latin America 6.11 Middle East and Africa Chapter 7 Home Infusion Therapy Market - Competitive Analysis 7.1 Key companies profiled 7.1.1 Caesarea Medical Electronics 7.1.1.1 Company Overview 7.1.1.2 Financial Performance 7.1.1.3 Product Benchmarking 7.1.1.4 Strategic Initiatives 7.1.2 CareFusion Corporation 7.1.3 Baxter 7.1.4 B. Braun Melsungen AG 7.1.5 Fresenius Kabi 7.1.6 ICU Medical, Inc. 7.1.7 JMS Co. Ltd. 7.1.8 Smiths Medical 7.1.9 Terumo Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/86afku Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Geneva: A Chinese ambassador on Wednesday ripped into the US for an "attack" on China's candidate to head a United Nations agency that monitors and tracks intellectual property like patents, trademarks and industrial designs - a lucrative and crucial part of the growing Digital Age. China's ambassador in Geneva, Chen Xu, criticises the US. Credit:AP The showdown over the leadership of the World Intellectual Property Organisation amounts to the latest face-off between the United States and China. Veteran WIPO official Weng Binyang is one of six remaining candidates out of 10 who originally announced plans to replace the Australian director-general Francis Gurry. Candidates from Colombia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Peru and Singapore are also in the race. The comments by Chen Xu, China's ambassador in Geneva, laid bare rising tensions over an alleged US campaign to Weng from becoming head of the money-making agency that counts 192 member states. About 30 people attended a protest rally in Wellington on Sunday organised by the Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand) (SEG) to demand the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who have been persecuted for the past decade for revealing US war crimes and other corrupt and illegal actions. Socialist Equality Group rally in Wellington The Socialist Equality Parties in Australia and Britain have also held rallies and public meetings as part of the growing international movement to stop the illegal extradition of Assange from the UK, where he is currently in prison, to the US, where he would be subjected to a show trial and jailed for life in conditions that amount to torture. On Monday, further rallies were organised by Free Assange NZ outside parliament in Wellington and the UK consulate in Auckland. In an extraordinary anti-democratic action, security guards told SEG and Free Assange NZ members they were not allowed to distribute leaflets on parliaments grounds, by order of the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard, a prominent Labour Party MP. Opening the SEG rally on Sunday, WSWS writer John Braddock explained that Manning was initially imprisoned under the Obama administration for supplying WikiLeaks with the infamous Collateral Murder video showing the indiscriminate murder of civilians in Iraq, and thousands of documents showing evidence of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan [and] numerous diplomatic intrigues by American embassies to prop up or install pro-US regimes. Manning was re-imprisoned last year in an attempt to force her to give false testimony against Assange. She has courageously refused to do so. Braddock warned that the persecution of Assange and Manning is setting the benchmark internationally for the suppression of opposition to war and state secrecy. He pointed to the recent totally anti-democratic court ruling, dismissing a legal challenge by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over a police raid on its Sydney headquarters last June. Police sought to incriminate two reporters for publishing leaks that exposed war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan. The SEGs Tom Peters denounced the Labour Party-Greens-NZ First coalition government for its complicit silence in the persecution of Assange and Manning. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is glorified in the worlds media for her supposed kindness, has boasted about her good relationship with the fascistic US President Donald Trump and strengthened New Zealands military alliance with Washington. Peters explained that the relentless attacks on WikiLeaks and global moves toward censorship are connected with US acts of war, including against Iran and Syria, and the growing danger of war against nuclear-armed Russia and China. Governments are intimidating, censoring and imprisoning those who reveal their crimes, because they are planning even greater crimes, he said. The speaker noted the growing support for Assange in the UK, Australia and internationally. He warned that no confidence should be placed in the corrupt legal system or in politicians like UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is promoting illusions that Boris Johnsons right-wing government will stop Assanges extradition. Corbyn wants everyone to calm down and have a little faith in the government, when the entire government and most of the opposition deserve to be locked up for war crimes, Peters declared, prompting shouts of agreement from the audience. The SEG leader called for a turn toward the working class, especially young people who increasingly support socialism and who are striking and protesting for better living standards, against the destruction of the environment, against dictatorship and war. Peters said: The fight to defend WikiLeaks is vital because working people must be armed with the truth about what governments and capitalists are doing, including the wars blacked out by the media. Alex Hills from Free Assange NZ also addressed the rally. She reported that the global movement Candles4Assange, which she helped to start, would hold 34 protests on February 24 and about 120 events over the week in opposition to Assanges extradition. Hills denounced the media for failing to report on the movement to defend Assange and ignoring the content of WikiLeaks revelations. She noted that leaks from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) last year demonstrated that a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, was staged and Trump bombed Syria the next week. The OPCW revelationscomparable to the exposure of lies about weapons of mass destruction used to justify the invasion of Iraqwere reported by independent journalists but were not hearing anything, not even the slightest mutter from the corporate media, she said The speeches met with a warm response. Several people thanked the organisers and spoke to WSWS reporters after the protest. Mohamed, who recently moved to NZ from Lebanon, said people should be more aware about Assanges plight. There isnt enough coverage, especially in the mainstream news, which is to be expected. The media, he said, is owned by rich people who have ties to the government or ties to weapons manufacturing companies, which are also exposed by WikiLeaks. Wendy Mohamed pointed out that WikiLeaks had not only exposed countries like the US and United Kingdom, its also other countries in the Middle East that were exposed, that will benefit from having [Assange] dead or silenced. He described Assange as a symbol for journalists being persecuted, including in countries with dictatorships supported by Western governments. Wendy, originally from Western Australia, said it was striking how little you hear over there about Assange. The way the government has, many times, let him down and thrown him to the wolves is an absolute sin. Because if youre the citizen of a country and you havent committed war crimes or something atrocious then youre going to expect to be supported, and thats just not happened with him. Ali Scott, an artist and potter, said: We have to maintain our freedom to find out the truth at any cost. Weve already lost so much. Our newspapers wont publish anything, thats why most people in New Zealand dont know whats going on in these wars. Ali Its good to see [the campaign for Assange]. It needs to be much, much more. Theyre torturing him psychologically, theyve kept him in solitary confinement for months and months, and the outlook if he goes to America is horrifying. Speaking about the New Zealand governments stance, Scott said: I feel that Jacinda Ardern is going along with Trump, because they know the repercussions if they dont. She added that US governments bully everyone. Theyre like a global mafia. If people dont hand over what they want, they just bomb them. The European Union said on Tuesday talks on post-Brexit ties with Britain would kick off next Monday, but warned that the process would be "very hard" and could fail if London fails to secure the Irish border as previously agreed. Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 after more than three years of tortuous divorce talks, greatly complicated by sensitivities around the Irish border, the only land frontier between the bloc and the United Kingdom now and with a past history of violence. With both sides talking tough ahead of the negotiations, Ireland warned that even a basic trade deal would be impossible by the end of this year if London does not honor border obligations under its exit deal. "If there isn't progress on the infrastructure needed... in the next few months, that's going to be a very worrying signal for whether or not it's going to be possible to conclude something sensible before the end of the year," Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday. "If that doesn't happen, it will damage significantly the prospects of being able to get even a bare-bones trade agreement... by the end of the year." That message was reinforced by the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who also said the first round of talks would take place in Brussels from next Monday to Thursday, followed by a second round in London later in March. The British government said separately it would publish its own negotiating lines for the EU talks on Thursday. "The UK's primary objective in the negotiations is to ensure we restore our economic and political independence on Jan. 1, 2021," Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said in a reference to Britain's status-quo transition period that is due to run till the end of 2020. Under the complex divorce settlement between the world's fifth-largest economy and the biggest trading bloc, Northern Ireland remains in the UK's customs area but tariffs would apply on goods crossing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland if they were headed further to Ireland or elsewhere in the EU. "We will comply with our obligations," a Johnson spokesman said on Monday. "Beyond the limited changes... there will be no changes to Great Britain-Northern Ireland trade and we have not asked any ports to prepare for new checks or controls between Great Britain-Northern Ireland." Britain has also said it will not introduce any new checks or controls at the land border with Ireland. Coveney and Barnier stressed the EU would see that as undermining trust between the sides, which they said was crucial for the new talks to succeed. "The UK cannot have quality access to the (EU) single market if it is not prepared to accept guarantees that competition remains open, free and fair," Barnier said. Coveney and Barnier spoke as the EU's 27 countries approved on Tuesday the bloc's joint negotiating mandate. Britain's current trade with the EU, in the customs union and single market of which it will remain a member until Dec. 31, is now made up of 45% exports and 53% of imports. On offer from the EU is trade without tariffs or quotas in exchange for the UK committing not to undercut European companies with lower - and therefore cheaper - environmental, labor, tax and state aid standards. But Johnson rules out being bound by EU rules. London says it is ready to accept tariffs and quotas similar to a deal the EU has with Canada, or trade on basic, less-beneficial World Trade Organization rules - which assume tariffs, quotas and cumbersome paperwork - from 2021, should a comprehensive trade deal prove elusive. "The EU has respected the autonomy of other major economies around the world such as Canada and Japan when signing trade deals with them. We just want the same," Johnson's Downing Street office said on Twitter. Barnier said this was not possible as Britain neighbors the EU and its potential impact on the single market is much bigger. Barnier also said fisheries must be part of any deal. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said: "The time pressure is immense, the interests are huge, it's a very complicated treaty, so it will be very hard work." (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Qualcomm was expected to unveil the new 5G modem at MWC. As we already know MWC was scrapped due to coronavirus. Qualcomm has finally shared the news that it is testing X60 5G modem which is capable of handling download speeds of up to 7.5Gbps. Qualcomm announced that it is testing the X60 at an event called Whats Next in 5G held at San Diego. The company revealed that the latest 5G chip comes with a 5nm process and it supports download speeds of over 7.5Gbps and upload speed of 3GBps. The X50 is Qualcomms 3rd gen modem and was first unveiled last week. 2020 iPhones are expected to come with 5G. It is very likely that Apple will end up using Qualcomm X60 5G chip on the iPhone 12. It is also worth noting that X60 is the first 5G chip that supports mmWave and sub-6GHz spectrum aggregation. Typically, Apple goes for the best available hardware and X60 5G seems to fit the bill. Considering the volumes, Apple might even sign a deal that allows them to procure 5G tech on a priority basis. Speaking about 5G, Apple is likely to design its own mmWave antenna modules. However, its engineers are also working on another design that uses Qualcomm modem and antenna modules. This second option could be used as a backup by the company in case its own antenna modules are not ready in time. Furthermore, the iPhone 12 is expected to feature a phased array antenna which includes two beamforming parts. In the meantime, telecom carriers are introducing 5G services in different parts of the U.S. Recently, OpenSignals conducted a real-world 5G test and the results prove that the technology is still in its early stage. Are you excited to switch to 5G? Share your thoughts in the comments below. There has been a slight change in the cast of Iron Resurrection season 4 and fans have been wondering what the reason for the change is. There have been reports about Phil Cato not being a part of the show due to family concerns. Shorty will also be leaving the show giving out a similar reason. What happened to Cato on Iron Resurrection? Iron Resurrection released the cast of season 4 and people have been wondering why a few names are missing from the list. Manny, Pompa, Shorty and Cato will skip the show this season. According to a report by a leading daily, a fan received insights into why they will not be a part of the show. Shorty and Cato will not be a part of the show reportedly due to family concerns. The report also suggests that there are no reasons otherwise, which ridicules the chances of disagreements with the makers. The report also specified that Cato wanted a break from television reality shows as his wife has gotten a new job opportunity. He has also relocated to Atlanta in Georgia and his Cato Custom Upholstery has also moved with him. Hence the audience will not see Cato on Iron Resurrection this time. Joe Martin and his wife Amanda Martin will continue to be a part of the show along with brother Jason Martin. Jason Arrington will also have a huge role to play. It will be interesting to see how the show turns out with the cut-down version of the cast. Read Maharashtra: Man Tries To Break Open ATM With Iron Rod, Fails And Flees Also read Iron Rod From Metro Bridge Impales Car In Mumbai's Jogeshwari, Fashion Designer & Driver Have Narrow Escape What is Iron Resurrection? Iron Resurrection is a television reality show which has a bunch of people hunting for vehicles in the worst condition and transforming it completely. The show has three seasons so far which have been received well by the audience. The show has been created by James Conant who has received a lot of appreciation for this show, over the years. Image Courtesy: Cato's Custom Upholstery Instagram Read 'Back To The Future' Deepfake Video Of Iron Man And Spider-Man Scares Netizens Also read Impeachment Takeaways: Trumps Iron Grip, McConnell Delivers Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. * Unipec buys 6.4 mln bbls gasoil during Platts MoC * Provisionally charters two tankers to ship oil to Europe By Koustav Samanta SINGAPORE, Feb 26 (Reuters) - China's Unipec, an arm of Asia's top refiner Sinopec snapped up the lion's share of gasoil cargoes traded in Singapore this month, despite weaker domestic demand amid a coronavirus epidemic, according to trade data and industry sources. Unipec has bought about 6.4 million barrels of gasoil with a sulphur content of 10 parts per million (ppm) during the Platts Market on Close (MoC) process in Singapore this month, or 77.5% of the total volume of 8.3 million barrels traded in February, the data showed. The purchases were made even though China has ramped up fuel exports in recent weeks to compensate for losses to domestic demand as it grapples with the virus outbreak, having not been able to prevent a surplus even after refining output cutbacks. Unipec bought the majority of these cargoes from PetroChina and Trafigura, starting at cash premiums of as high as $1 a barrel to Singapore quotes near the beginning of this month, down to the most recent purchase at a 20-cent premium on Tuesday. The trader was likely trying to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities and it could ship the bulk of its recent purchases to Europe, three trade sources said. Unipec was not immediately available for a comment. The exchange of futures for swaps (EFS), or the gasoil price spread between Singapore and northwest Europe, is trading at around minus $18 per tonne, making it viable for traders to send the fuel to Europe from Asia. The arbitrage is usually profitable when the EFS trades at about minus $15 a tonne or wider, traders said. Unipec has provisionally chartered at least two long-range (LR) Aframax-sized vessels, SKS Driva and SKS Delta, to carry 10 ppm gasoil from Asia to discharge in Europe in March, according to a Singapore-based ship-broker and Refinitiv data. Both vessels can each carry up to 90,000 tonnes of oil, or about 675,000 barrels. Story continues The market structure for 10 ppm gasoil has been in backwardation this year, with the front-month contract being more expensive than subsequent months, making it uneconomical to store the product. The front-month spread for 10 ppm gasoil in Singapore traded at a premium of 19 cents a barrel on Tuesday. Also a major gasoil supplier, Unipec, won this month part of a tender to supply Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC) with oil products in the first half of 2020 after placing the lowest offer for up to 450,000 tonnes of gasoil. (Reporting by Koustav Samanta Editing by Florence Tan) India has been listed as one of the top 5 most polluted countries in the world in the 2019 World Air Quality Report by IQ air. Almost half of the top 50 most polluted cities are from India. Ghaziabad near Delhi is the most polluted city in the world with an average concentration of 110.2 ug/m3 PM2.5 particles. Ghaziabad, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Greater Noida are among the top 10 of the list. The report also said that no Indian city reached the WHO target for annual pollution exposure (10ug/m3) during 2019. It also said that India's population indicates the requirement for a larger air quality monitoring network as several communities and highly populated cities do not have access to such information. In November last year, a public health emergency was declared in Delhi NCR as certain parts crossed the 800 mark on the air quality index, which was thrice the hazardous level. The Indian government started the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and joined the UN's Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2019 to make a better effort towards cleaning the air. The NCAP works with the local governments and aims to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 particles by 20-30% by 2024 compared to 2017 in 102 cities. Automobile manufacturers are also shifting to the cleaner Bharat VI fuel. Indian cities in 2019 had reported a decrease in 2.5PM particles than in 2018, but the report says that it is an indicative of economic slowdown and not a result of these initiatives. The report takes into consideration the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) report published by different countries. These particles that have a diameter of 2.5 micrometer are considered very harmful as they are small enough to get inside our lungs and vascular system. President Klaus Iohannis called for calm with respect to the coronavirus, underscoring that "there is no reason to panic." "I reiterate call for calm that I have made two days ago, for there is no reason to panic. It is essential that we approach this situation with calm, and get our information from official and credible sources," Iohannis said on Wednesday, after the meeting of the Supreme Council of national Defence (CSAT).Previously, he had announced there is no confirmed case of infection with coronavirus in Romania so far and he presented the measures decided by the CSAT."Unfortunately, I have noticed that the mass media sometimes had an useless alarmist approach, which generated an unwanted state of anxiety among the population. I resume my call on mass-media too: please inform people correctly and constantly, in a balanced and not excessive manner, without trying to turn these information into something sensational!," said Iohannis.The head of state underscored that the most important instrument in stoping the coronavirus from further spreading is prevention."All the citizens must understand that it's also their own responsibility, as individuals, and not just of institutions', to cooperate, to respect all the indications and advices coming from the authorities to have a successful strategy in preventing and combating infections with coronavirus. (...) I encourage the people to follow the main recommendation of all specialists, including those from the World Health Organisation, which is to take care of their personal hygiene first," said President Iohannis. AGERPRES On a day Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan and his family surrendered before a Rampur court in a fake birth certificate case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said his government was cleaning all the "dirt", whichever form it might be. Speaking in the state assembly, the chief minister noted, "Virus grows in dirt. There is a campaign to clean this kind of dirt." He was apparently referring to the arrest of Azam Khan and the BJP-led state government's resolve to punish corrupt leaders. Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan, his legislator-wife Tazeen Fatma and MLA-son Abdullah Azam surrendered before a Rampur court on Wednesday and were sent to judicial custody over Abdullah's alleged fake birth certificate. Rampur Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Mishra told PTI that the three Khan family members have been remanded in custody till March 2. The case relates to two birth certificates for Abdullah Azam, who allegedly also gave a wrong date of birth while filing his nomination papers for the assembly elections in 2017. Abdullah's election was set aside by the Allahabad High Court last December. He then approached the Supreme Court, which is still hearing the case. Rejecting the opposition Samajwadi Party's claims of vendetta politics, the chief minister asserted that his government has never discriminated against anyone. "We have never discriminated. Our minister came and asked whether power has to be supplied to Rampur and I said it should be as it was in the past," Adityanath said. Without taking names, the chief minister said, "Bijli to ab bahut chamak rahi hai wahan par. Bahut tezi se chamak rahi hai. Jab chamakti hai to faltu virus nahi panapte." (It can be loosely translated as there is enough electricity in Rampur now. When there is electricity, there is no unnecessary virus)The BJP leader's remarks on Rampur, the hometown of Azam Khan, evoked laughter from the treasury benches. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] Everstream to Acquire Rocket Fiber, Enter Detroit Market Everstream, the business-only fiber network, today has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Rocket Fiber LLC, a fiber-based network service provider in Detroit. The acquisition completes Everstream's coverage in all major Michigan markets and gives Everstream the largest fiber footprint in greater downtown Detroit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Detroit has undergone extraordinary growth in the last five years, making the acquisition of Rocket Fiber and its strong presence in Detroit the perfect complement to our existing Michigan network," said Everstream President and CEO Brett Lindsey. "We've had a longstanding relationship with Dan Gilbert and the Rock Family of Companies, including Rocket Fiber, Rock Ventures and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This opportunity allows us to continue to provide Detroit-area businesses with the high-capacity, low-latency connectivity services they've come to expect from their fiber network provider and expands their direct access across Midwest through the growing Everstream network." The expansion into Detroit with the Rocket Fiber acquisition includes: 41 route miles of network in greater downtown Detroit. Direct connection to Everstream's existing fiber network infrastructure in Michigan and its other Midwest markets. Two offices in downtown Detroit, including more than 75 team members. "This acquisition marks the final stage of Rocket Fiber's evolution," said Marc Hudson, CEO and Co-Founder, Rocket Fiber. "What began six years ago as a moonshot idea to leapfrog Detroit's technology infrastructure has come full circle as we've matured into a rapidly growing and profitable business. By joining Everstream, our customers have access to the same incredible client service along with the added benefit of Everstream's much larger Midwest footprint." The acquisition of Rocket Fiberis in addition to the company's recently announced $250 million commitment to buildout new fiber infrastructure across the Midwest in 2020. This year, Everstream plans to expand into five new markets, hire 100 new employees and reach its goal of 15,000 route miles of fiber deployed across the Midwest. "Everstream looks forward to maintaining Rocket Fiber's strong presence in the Detroit market," Lindsey said. "We're excited to build on that success and partner with all new and existing customers to help them scale." Rocket Fiber was founded in 2014 by Hudson, Chief Technology Officer Randy Foster and Chief Operating Officer Edi Demaj after the trio recognized the need for a faster, more reliable internet solution in Detroit. Dan Gilbert, who shared their goal of providing the community with dependable connectivity, provided funding for the venture. Everstream's enterprise-grade network delivers robust business fiber services, including dedicated internet access, dark fiber, Ethernet and data center solutions. The company's advanced fiber network offers direct peering with all major carriers and cloud hyperscalers. With high-speed, low-latency connections, it provides converged internet, voice and data services at speeds of up to 100 Gbps. To learn more and view Everstream's network and expansion efforts, visit everstream.net/network-expansion. Bank Street Group served as exclusive financial advisor and Bodman PLC served as legal counsel to Rocket Fiber in connection with this transaction. MVP Capital Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor and Thompson Hine LLP served as legal counsel to Everstream. About Everstream Everstream has raised the bar for business connectivity, delivering a business-only fiber network with the speed, reliability, scale and performance that today's enterprises demand. With more than 13,000 route miles of fiber and speeds up to 100 Gbps, Everstream's enterprise-grade network delivers robust business fiber services, including dedicated internet access, dark fiber, Ethernet and data center solutions. Through its "Do What You Say You Will Do" approach, Everstream is a valued partner dedicated to the success of business customers. For more information, visit everstream.net. About Rocket Fiber Rocket Fiber is a Michigan-based company that delivers multi-gigabit internet and connectivity solutions for businesses and residences. The company's core mission is to transform the way clients create, collaborate and communicate. Rocket Fiber's portfolio of services includes managed network services, data and cloud, voice and dedicated internet, all of which are backed by award winning, white-glove client service and a state-of-the-art 24/7/365 Network Operations Center. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005042/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A Monroe County man on the lam after allegedly stabbing his wife multiple times and fleeing the couples home in a BMW was arrested Tuesday night in Brooklyn, authorities said. Edward Eddie Sartoris, 58, was taken into custody by New York police officers at about 11:47 p.m. Tuesday. Pocono Mountain Regional police, who had been looking for Sartoris since Friday, were in Brooklyn to arrange extradition to Pennsylvania, according to a news release. Police previously said Sartoris has family in the New York City area and worked there. Sartoris is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, prohibited offense weapon, terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and reckless endangerment in the case. Police said he was involved in a dispute with his wife Friday night in the couples Tunkhannock Township home. Eddie has a history of domestic violence, that day it appears to have escalated quickly, Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Chris Wagner told the Pocono Record. Sartoris stabbed his wife multiple times, and the couples three adult children were in the room, according to police. The woman was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono in East Stroudsburg for treatment of unspecified injuries. Wagner said Wednesday she was released from the hospital. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. About 200 Oakland police officers gathered at their police union headquarters late Tuesday morning to say an emotional goodbye to police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who was fired without cause Thursday night after three years on the job. Kirkpatrick seemed touched by the outpouring of support on short notice, fighting back tears as officers hugged her and gave her flowers. Kirkpatrick, who began her job on March 1, 2017, said her firing by the Oakland Police Commission and Mayor Libby Schaaf "will destabilize the Police Department and the community." Interim Assistant Police Chief Darren Allison is acting chief of police until a permanent chief is selected. The suspect in a hit-and-run collision that killed a 12-year-old girl in Castro Valley on Monday afternoon surrendered to authorities on Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said. Joshua Byrne, 24, of Hayward, who formerly lived in Castro Valley, was accompanied by an attorney when he turned himself in at the CHP's Castro Valley office at about 8 a.m., according to CHP Officer Gabe Walters. Byrne will be booked at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter, Walters said. Authorities identified the victim in the collision at Manter and Crow Canyon roads at 3:27 p.m. Monday as 12-year-old Lana Carlos of Castro Valley. The CHP said Carlos was in the crosswalk with another girl when a lifted, black Ford F-150 truck traveling west on Manter Road turned south onto Crow Canyon Road and struck her. Walters said the suspect, later identified as Byrne, stopped, looked and drove away from the collision. An elderly pedestrian injured in a collision in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood Friday morning has died from his injuries, the city's medical examiner confirmed Tuesday. According to police, officers responded at 8:27 a.m. to a collision near O'Farrell and Polk streets, where they located a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle. The pedestrian was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver of the vehicle that struck the victim stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. Impairment does not appear to be a factor, according to police. The pedestrian ultimately succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He's been identified as 80-year-old David Chow of San Francisco, the medical examiner's office said. Chow's death marks the city's first fatality involving a pedestrian in 2020, the advocacy organization Walk San Francisco said. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to tentatively approve an ordinance that would ban the sale of vaping products in the county's unincorporated areas. The ordinance represents an effort to quell the rising use of tobacco vaping products and e-cigarettes, particularly among young people. Nearly 70 percent of high school students in Alameda County who have bought vaping products reported doing so at a store or through another person; only 6.5 percent bought their vaping products and devices online. The ordinance would build on the county's tobacco retailer licensing ordinance, which the board adopted last month. Under the licensing ordinance, tobacco retailers must meet requirements for pricing, packaging and retailing density and are prohibited from selling flavored tobacco products. Roughly 115 tobacco retailers have obtained a license in the county's unincorporated areas alone. The ban does not apply to tobacco-related products that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as nicotine patches or chewing gum, or to vaping devices that use cannabis rather than tobacco. Members of immigration rights organizations rallied outside Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa Tuesday morning to protest the arrest of two immigrants at the courthouse last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office and County Counsel's offices last week condemned the arrests, and Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said his office did not collaborate with Department of Homeland Security agents in the arrests. Speakers at the protest called for an end of ICE's presence in the county, the separation of families and what they said was the terrorizing of community members. ICE officials weren't immediately available to comment on the arrests or Tuesday's rally. Law enforcement investigators and the families of missing people stand to benefit from a new DNA testing breakthrough announced this week by the California Department of Justice. The new testing technology allows crime lab technicians to fully sequence mitochondrial DNA, which makes it easier to test samples from human remains that have decayed beyond the point at which current DNA testing is generally effective. Department officials said theirs is the first state crime lab in North America to be accredited to use the new test, which allows technicians to fully sequence mitochondrial DNA. By sequencing the entire genome, technicians will be more likely to identify the remains of previously unknown people by comparing mitochondrial DNA provided by families to evidence from human remains collected by investigators, according to state officials. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, introduced a bill Tuesday to direct the U.S. State Department to add a third gender option to U.S. passports for applicants who do not identify as male or female. The third option, "unspecified," would be available for U.S. passports, passport cards and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad and would not require applicants to present proof of their gender identity via signed affidavit from their doctor. The bill would also allow applicants to forego identifying their gender as not male or female on their passport if they feel it would be a detriment to their safety when traveling. Nearly a dozen countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, India and New Zealand, already offer the option of more than two gender options on their passport applications. The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that governs international travel document standards, also recognizes the "unspecified" gender option. Contra Costa Health Services officials confirmed Tuesday that two novel coronavirus patients among a group of quarantined international travelers at Travis Air Force Base have been transferred to Contra Costa County for treatment. Both will be quarantined indefinitely while they battle the virus as county health officials aim to minimize the potential for exposure to the public. The two patients were brought to Contra Costa County hospitals due to a lack of space at hospitals closer to the Air Force base in Solano County, according to local health officials. While the two patients have tested positive for the virus, neither has begun exhibiting symptoms like fever or breathing difficulties. According to Contra Costa Health Services, the two cases were part of a group of quarantined travelers who were evacuated from the Princess Diamond cruise ship in Japan. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is reminding voters that they are allowed two hours off of work without loss of pay to cast their ballots in next week's election. California law specifies that workers can get those hours off if they do not have enough time to vote during their non-work hours and if they notify their employers two working days in advance of the election, according to the secretary of state's office. Polling places statewide will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on this upcoming Election Day of March 3. People can also find early voting locations at CAEarlyVoting.sos.ca.gov. An inmate at California Medical Facility in Vacaville who pleaded guilty to murdering five teenage girls in Los Angeles County in 1979 died of natural causes Monday night, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. Roy Lewis Norris, 72, pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him to avoid the death penalty, and was sentenced on April 28, 1981, to 45 years to life for four counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and two counts of forcible rape and robbery. Norris and co-defendant Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker kidnapped, raped and tortured the girls between June 14 and Oct. 31, 1979. Norris was on parole at the time for a conviction of assault with a deadly weapon and rape in San Diego County. The bodies of two of the teen girls were never found, according to the CDCR. As part of the plea agreement, Norris testified against Bittaker, and Bittaker was found guilty of all 26 counts against him. The counts included murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, oral copulation and conspiracy. Bittaker was sentenced to death on March 22, 1981, and he died on death row at San Quentin State Prison on Dec. 13, 2019. 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. Coronavirus fears have been raised on board a new cruise ship after it was blocked from docking in Jamaica because a member of its crew was sick. The MSC Meraviglia, which is carrying more than 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew from Miami, was barred from making port in Ocho Rios on Tuesday when officials discovered that a member of the crew was in isolation with flu-like symptoms. Health minister Chris Tufton said the decision was taken because the person had a fever, cough, muscle pains and had been to a 'country of interest' linked with coronavirus. The ship is now headed for Georgetown, the capital of the Cayman Islands, where health authorities have already said it will not be able to dock. It comes after cruise ship MS Westerdam was rejected from five ports earlier this month amid fears over coronavirus, and after an outbreak of the disease on the Diamond Princess ship which sickened more than 600 and killed four. The MSC Meraviglia cruise ship was turned away from port in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Tuesday and has already been told it cannot dock in the Cayman Islands over coronavirus fears (file) It comes after a member of the crew from the Philippines was quarantined after suffering flu-like symptoms, though MSC insists that there is no coronavirus on board It is unclear what will become of the Meraviglia, which departed from Miami on Sunday and was due to cruise around the Caribbean for a week. MSC said that the crew member in question had boarded the ship in Miami on Sunday after travelling from Manila, in the Philippines, via the Turkish city of Istanbul. All passengers and crew passed health checks before being allowed to depart. The crew member reported to the on-board medical station at some point between Sunday and the ship's arrival in Ocho Rios on Tuesday. The cruise line said the person has tested positive for Type A influenza, rather than coronavirus, and has been placed in quarantine. 'Out of precaution he was isolated from other crew members and guests from the moment that he showed symptoms and will remain so until he is fully recovered,' a spokesman said. 'No other cases of type A influenza have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia. 'Moreover, no cases of COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia or any other ship in MSC Cruises fleet.' Still, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were taking no chances. Online records show that the ship arrived in Ocho Rios around 8.20am local time on Tuesday. It then remained held in port until 1.20pm, when it departed. While still on its way to the Cayman Islands, where it was due to arrive on Wednesday morning, health authorities confirmed it will also not be granted access to the port. Passengers had been due to spend the day in Ocho Rios before being barred from coming ashore. The ship is due to call in Mexico before going back to Miami It is unclear what will happen to the ship, which is due to head to Cozumel before arriving back in the US on March 1 Dwayne Seymour, health minister for the Cayman Islands, said: 'In an abundance of caution... the government has denied permission for the cruise ship to call on Grand Cayman as previously scheduled.' The ship's next port of call after the Cayman Islands was due to be Cozumel, in Mexico, before a stop at on a private island in the Bahamas. It was then due to return to Miami on March 1. One passenger said that bottles of hand sanitizer had been placed around the ship for people to use, and that people were being encouraged to clean their hands before and after eating. Photos posted by other passengers on board showed that people had been allowed to roam freely around the deck. News about the Meraviglia broke as Indonesia announced it was evacuating 1,800 cruise ship staff from on board the World Dream cruise ship, where they have been stranded since February 9. The ship had been denied entry in Thailand after it was revealed that three Chinese nationals who had taken part in an earlier cruise had tested positive for coronavirus. The vessel was eventually allowed to dock in Hong Kong and passengers allowed off, but the crew were told to remain behind. Medical boats have now been sent to evacuate the staff members, who may be quarantined for a further 28 days. Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700, with new outbreaks reported this week in South Korea, Iran and Italy Muhadjir Effendy, Indonesia's chief human development minister, said the navy ship, equipped with medical facilities, would pick up Indonesian crew members. They would be taken to an uninhabited island with 'good facilities' in the Java Sea north of Jakarta for observation, he said. 'We will observe them according to procedures set by the WHO (World Health Organization),' he said. Indonesia announced plans last week to bring back 74 of its nationals from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been affected by a coronavirus outbreak. Indonesia's health minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, told reporters on Monday that the government was still negotiating with the Japanese government on the best way to evacuate the Indonesians. Separately, Indonesian authorities were investigating a report that a Japanese citizen had tested positive for the coronavirus after traveling to the Southeast Asian country earlier this month. Meanwhile tourists at a hotel in Tenerife have also been qaurantined after four people from Italy, the centre of a new European outbreak, tested positive. Hundreds of guests including Britons remain in limbo today with the hotel in quarantine and holidaymakers confined to their bedrooms. Canary Islands president Angel Victor Torres announced last night that the tourists would have to remain in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace until further notice. Italy now has 322 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11 people have died, with towns in the north placed on lockdown to try and contain the spread. Idonesia has began evacuating some 1,800 crew from the World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong, where they have been stuck since February 9 amid fears of a coronavirus infection The staff will now be taken to an abandoned island with a hospital on it where they could be quarantined for another 28 days The disease has also skipped across the border to Croatia, Switzerland and Austria - all of which confirmed their first cases in patients linked to Italy. Mainland Spain also reported two cases in Barcelona and Madrid in patients who had recently travelled to northern Italy. Globally, coronavirus has infected more than 81,000 people and killed 2,700 amid warnings that it could soon become a global pandemic. Bruce Aylward, who leads the joint WHO-China mission of experts, has warned that world leaders are 'simply not ready' to deal with outbreaks and have been given a false sense of security thanks to Beijing's handling of the infection. He said: 'You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale... and it has to be done fast,' insisting countries have to 'be ready as if this hits us tomorrow'. Dozens of countries are now battling outbreaks, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. Rural Independent TDs have met with Fianna Fail this morning to discuss priorities for potentially entering government. Speaking for the group, independent TD Mattie McGrath said they made their priorities clear when meeting Fianna Fail. "We are looking for fair play, for rural Ireland," he said. By rural Ireland, everything outside of the pale. All the regional cities and towns. "We're not anti-Dublin either, they can do what they want. "It's not all, this situation with Dublin, choking up the rest of the country, is just ridiculous. "The idea we have to change our emphasis to insist that factories go to rural cities now, never mind say towns and have a fair and equal Ireland." Yesterday, the nine-member group of independents met with both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and urged them to "get on with" forming a Read More: The Green Party is also meeting Fianna Fail this afternoon and will start substantial policy talks today as efforts continue to form a government. Meanwhile, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said that coalition talks could last for weeks and that a coalition would not be formed next week when the Dail meets again. He also expects the outgoing government to attend St Patrick's Day festivities in the US in mid March. "There won't be a government formed when the Dail reconvenes next week and I expect the interim government to conduct the St Patrick's Day functions and so on," Mr Martin said after his hour-long meeting with Mr Varadkar yesterday. Sinn Fein will later meet with the Social Democrats today after last night's rally in Dublin at the Liberty Hall. Standing room only on both levels at 7:13pm in Dublins Liberty Hall auditorium for a 7:30pm start for Sinn Feins public meeting. pic.twitter.com/w9KMGWzg5V aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) February 25, 2020 Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein leader, said that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail "are trying everything to keep Sinn Fein and everyone who voted for them out of power. That is a very deliberate tactic. Team leader of the joint mission between World Health Organization (WHO) and China on COVID-19, Bruce Aylward shows graphics during a press conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on February 25, 2020. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP "It's confirmed," a spokeswoman for Switzerland's federal health office told AFP, adding that more details about the case would be released later on Tuesday. The case was found in the Italian-speaking Ticino canton on the border with Italy, the canton said on its website announcing a press conference for 1600 GMT. Switzerland on Monday had said the country was in a state of "heightened vigilance" because of a surge in Italy. Prior to this case, the country had tested some 300 suspect cases that were all found to be negative. The government said on Monday that it had stepped up testing on patients with flu-like symptoms and was working to raise awareness at all border points. Laboratory technicians making their way during an epidemiological investigation in Linyi in China's eastern Shandong province on Feb. 10, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Leaked Documents Reveal Coronavirus Infections Up to 52 Times Higher Than Reported Figures in Chinas Shandong Province The novel coronavirus outbreak in eastern Chinas Shandong Province is much worse than what has been officially reported, according to a series of internal government documents obtained by The Epoch Times. Each day from Feb. 9 to Feb. 23, Shandong authorities underreported the number of infections, according to internal data compiled by the Shandong Center for Disease Prevention and Control (SCDC). The SCDC kept a tally of the number of people who tested positive for the virus during nucleic acid testingusing a diagnostic kit to test patient samples and detect whether they contain the viruss genetic sequence. The SCDCs daily new infection numbers ranged from 1.36 times to 52 times greater than the officially published data by the Shandong health commission and Chinas National Health Commission. As of Feb. 25, the Shandong government stated that there were a total of 755 infections in the province. But the internal document showed that 1,992 people had tested positive for the virus via nucleic acid testing as of Feb. 23. The government publicly stated that there were four newly diagnosed patients on Feb. 22, but the internal document said that there were 61 positive tests that day. In recent days, official data has shown new infections leveling off. For example, on Feb. 25, the National Health Commission reported only a total of nine new diagnosed cases outside of Hubei Province, where the outbreak is most severe. In fact, Shandong alone had new infections in the double-digits daily. On Feb. 20, new infections spiked, with 274 people testing positive. To date, its the most definitive evidence that Chinese authorities routinely underreport cases. Previously, The Epoch Times interviewed workers at funeral homes in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, who said they had to work around the clock to keep up with the dramatic increase in workload. Health experts have also hypothesized that Chinese official figures are inaccurate, based on their statistical modeling. Recently, a group of U.S. researchers published a study, not yet peer-reviewed, in which they suggested cumulative infections and deaths in China could be substantially higher than officially statedby a factor of 5 to 10. U.S.-based China commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times that authorities reporting fewer infections is likely a tactic to convince Chinese citizens that the spread of the virus was contained and thus, it would be safe to return to work. Chinese businesses were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, which was extended in order to prevent cross-infection in the workplace. The central government, fearing the economic inactivity could have long-term ramifications, asked firms to resume operations on Feb. 10. [Beijing] is trying to create an image that most of the country is safe enough to resume production, Tang said. Shandong Data The internal data shared with The Epoch Times includes a breakdown of diagnostic results from all 16 prefectural-level municipalities in Shandong Province, which had been sent in an email to the disease control department of the Shandong health commission. The SCDC compiles daily statistical reports about coronavirus diagnoses, tallying positive test results at all hospitals in the province that were qualified to conduct such testing. For example, on Feb. 22, Qishan Hospital in Yantai citya dedicated infectious disease facilitytested 229 patients; 12 were diagnosed with the coronavirus. At times, the Shandong government reported just one or two new positive tests to the public, when the internal data showed many more. On Feb. 22, for example, the government reported two new cases from a day prior, while the actual number was 59, while on Feb. 20, the government also reported two new cases for Feb. 19, but the real data was 49. And on Feb. 19, one new case was reported, compared with 52 actual positive tests. For the period from Feb. 8 to Feb. 22, While the government said there were 347 newly diagnosed cases, the internal data shows 1,072 new patientsmore than three times the published figure. Insufficient Diagnostic Kits One Chinese researcher suggested that diagnostic kits alone wouldnt be able to detect all the virus-infected patients. This disease has a character, which is not all patients can be detected positive when using nucleic acid testing, Wang Chen, director of Chinas Academy of Medical Sciences and a critical care medicine expert, told state-run broadcaster CCTV on Feb. 5. Wang explained that although nucleic acid testing is currently the only official method that Chinese medical staff use to diagnose coronavirus, the result isnt accurate. Only 30 to 50 percent of the patients present positive, according to Wang. He explained that all patients who test positive are infected with the coronavirus, but another 50 to 70 percent of patients are actually infected but cant be confirmed by nucleic acid testing. Click here to download a selection of the documents. Police will be able to use "reasonable force" to photograph the tattoos of a heavily-inked man who is facing a murder charge over the killing of a former associate of drug kingpin Tony Mokbel. Laiseni Kakato, 27, from Dandenong was arrested in Springvale in Melbournes south-east and charged on Tuesday afternoon over the shooting of Mitat Rasimi. Mitat Rasimi. Credit:Nine News Richard Ene, 25, from Hampton Park, has also been charged with murder over the shooting and is on remand awaiting trial. During a brief filing hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, police applied to the court for permission to photograph the mans tattoos after he refused to co-operate with officers. on Wednesday said "India was great" and his whirlwind trip to the country was "very successful". Trump was on his maiden official visit to India from February 24 to 25. He was accompanied by First Lady Melania and a high-powered delegation comprising senior US administration officials, including Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. They visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi before leaving for Washington on Tuesday. "Just landed. India was great, trip very successful," Trump tweeted soon after he landed in the US after his 36-hour-long India visit. As Trump left for the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night thanked the American President for coming to India and said the visit has been a "path-breaking one". "India-USA friendship benefits the people of our nations and the world," Modi said in a series of tweets. During the visit, India and the US on Tuesday finalised defence deals worth USD 3 billion under which 30 military helicopters will be procured from two American defence majors for Indian armed forces. Trump landed in New Delhi on the evening of February 24 after attending the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad and visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. CNN Philippines (February 26) A man was killed in a fire that hit an ancestral home in the historic city of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on Wednesday morning, the city's fire station confirmed. Authorities said the victim was a resident of the ancestral home located at the corner of Plaridel and General Luna streets, just a block away from Calle Crisologo, a well-known heritage strip due to rows of restored 16th century houses. The old house was not totally gutted, while two nearby houses made of concrete were slightly damaged, they added. "Another house got caught up but its not totally burned down," Benedict Ramirez told CNN Philippines on Wednesday, Vigan City Fire Station investigators are still identifying the cause of the incident and assessing the damage from the hour-long fire, In 1999, Vigan was listed as UNESCOs World Heritage Site for being the best preserved example of Spanish colonial towns in Asia. Thai students held rare flashmob protests on Wednesday as anger at the dissolution of a stridently anti-military opposition party bubbles in a kingdom with a long history of raucous street politics. Universities across the country have seen rallies since the Future Forward Party was dissolved last Friday over an alleged illegal loan by its billionaire founder. The party won 6.3 million votes in elections last March, earning the loyalty of millennials with its radical agenda to expunge the powerful Thai army from politics. The flickering of protests comes after several years of quiet enforced by military rule, with groups of high school students joining the march into the streets and calls for more rallies bouncing around social media. "There is a lot of abuse of power and inequality in this country," third-year student Fon told AFP at a downtown Bangkok campus, where hundreds gathered as evening fell. "This is my first time taking part in a protest -- but it is necessary," she added. Analysts say the dissolution of Future Forward -- and the ban of key members from politics including charismatic founder Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit -- could nudge the kingdom back towards mass protests that have scored much of the last 15 years of Thai history. Thai universities have been hotbeds of protest in the past. Bloody crackdowns in the 1970s at Thammasat, a key radical university in Bangkok, are etched into the memory of the pro-democracy movement, which has been routinely smothered in the wake of coups by the arch-royalist military. Discontent is simmering across the country. Thailand's economy is being squeezed by drought, high household debt and the impact of the coronavirus which has hammered the vital tourist industry at peak season. The protests also come as the government of Prayut Chan-O-Cha faces a no confidence vote in parliament later this week. Without Future Forward, the increasingly unpopular former army chief should comfortably stave off the motion. But the debate is raising awkward questions of his government. On Wednesday Prayut denied allegations the army -- which he helmed during a 2014 coup -- used taxpayer money to fund an online campaign targeting his political rivals. Presenting evidence from an army whistleblower, opposition lawmaker Wirote Lukana-adisorn said the military had launched "information operations" to hammer anti-establishment critics with large social media followings. Prayut said "there was no policy" of trolling opponents of the military and his aligned government. burs-apj/gle It's a conundrum that authors, sexologists and hack podcast hosts have been trying to solve for decades: What is a suitable punishment for cheating? Well, bad news to the aforementioned (yes, that includes you Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne) because Married At First Sight solved the dilemma once and for all on Tuesday night. Shout out to Hayley Vernon and David Cannon for teaching us that you can sleep around all you like, as long as you're willing to literally eat s**t for it later. But before all that, let's get the second half of Meet the (Neglectful) Parents Week out of the way. Solved! On Tuesday night, Married At First Sight solved an age-old dilemma: What is a suitable punishment for cheating? Before that though, let's meet the other parents... Chris and Vanessa Steaming: We opened with Vanessa, complaining to producers about how Chris had left her to cook lunch for the whole family We opened with Vanessa, complaining to producers about how Chris had left her to cook lunch for the whole family. 'Are ya absolutely, 100 per cent sure ya DON'T WANT ME TO HELP?' Chris asked. 'No babe, I'm fine. I was going to burst into tears at some point today anyway - thought it was better that it was an onion's fault for a change,' Vanessa replied. Here to help: 'Are ya absolutely, 100 per cent sure ya DON'T WANT ME TO HELP?' Chris asked. She said no, so he went to the gym. Will Chris ever learn that 'no' means 'yes'? 'Okay then, well if ya SURE,' he said, grabbing his bag of protein powder and ducking off to the nearest F45 gym. Speaking to producers later, he explained: 'Yeah nah, kitchen is like a release point for Vanessa an' that. She gets a kick out of it.' Cut back to Vanessa, using a machete to smash an avo. Sister act: Chris' sister was talking up a big game about how she would get to the bottom of the tension. All she did was yell 'AWKWARD SILENCES' about two hours into a quiet lunch Chris invited his sister along for lunch. She talked herself up like a real Michael Goonan, saying how she was going to blow the lid off the couple's tension. But all she did was yell 'AWKWARD SILENCES' about two hours into a lunch that had about as much energy as a state funeral. In fairness, it did work. Seconds later, Vanessa finally addressed the elephant in the room. 'Chris, if you don't find me attractive, then let's just leave,' she said. Is she gone? Chris just closed his eyes and hoped the problem would go away. And it did! Chris thought to himself: 'Well, I don't, but I'll just close my eyes and hope the problem's gone when I open them again.' And the problem was gone - not just from lunch, but from the entire show. They quit before the commitment ceremony, which apparently you can just do now. There goes the Protein World sponsorship, Chris. It worked!? They quit before the commitment ceremony, which apparently you can just do now Cathy and Josh The story of lunch: Cathy got shamed by Josh's mother for having feelings. Thanks, mum Poll What's worse? Being cheated on (just kissing) Having your toothbrush used as a toilet brush What's worse? Being cheated on (just kissing) 25 votes Having your toothbrush used as a toilet brush 51 votes Now share your opinion Cathy was still angry at Josh for daring to have a conversation with Hayley at the dinner party. Lunch with the family went like this: Cathy: 'Oh boo-hoo I ignored Josh for three days because he threatened to leave.' Josh: 'Aw sook-sook, I already dobbed on you to mum so she knows all about it.' Josh's scary mum: 'Listen here, Kate. If you ever ignore my son for three days again, they'll be your last three days. Got it?' The Mummy Mafia: 'Listen here, Kate. If you ever ignore my son for three days again, they'll be your last three days. Got it?' snapped Josh's mum. Cathy got the message Cathy: 'I get it. You're the Godmother of the Mummy Mafia and I need to hire security.' The second the parents were out the door, Cathy and Josh jumped on the table for some wild makeup sex. 'Someone's happy to see me!' Josh grinned. 'That's a potato salad, babe, I'm over here,' Cathy replied. Who wants dessert? The second the parents were out the door, Cathy and Josh jumped on the table for some wild makeup sex Natasha and Mikey Swipe left: The biggest story here was Natasha turning all of Australia against her by sending a message to Mikey using that insane 'swipe typing' method. Disgusting The biggest story here was Natasha turning all of Australia against her by sending a message to Mikey using that insane 'swipe typing' method. Disgusting. Elsewhere, we learned from Natasha's mother that 'Tash is like an onion, except the first three layers are two-faced liars who make jokes at other people's expense. 'You just have to peel back the layers to find the half-decent human being inside.' I think it's safe to say 10 seconds is all Natasha and Mikey have left in this experiment. They'll be gone by the weekend. Mum knows best! We learned from Natasha's mother that 'Tash is like an onion, except the first three layers are two-faced liars who make jokes at other people's expense' Aleks and Ivan Perfect match! John Aiken, take a bow. The one couple they threw together purely for the drama - Ivan and Aleks - have turned out to be a perfect match John Aiken, take a bow. The one couple they threw together purely for the drama have turned out to be a perfect match. Lunch was getting too boring for national TV, so Ivan's infamous mum went full Kyle Sandilands and started asking them specific questions about their sex life. 'Do you find it assists in one's relationship with each other? I think it's the key to a healthy relationship,' she said. 'Intimacy isn't as important as communication, dear,' interrupted Ivan's dad. Jesus, way to expose your own shortcomings. 'So who's banged?' Lunch was getting too boring for national TV, so Ivan's infamous mum went full Kyle Sandilands and started asking them specific questions about their sex life Hmm: 'Intimacy isn't as important as communication, dear,' interrupted Ivan's dad, exposing his own shortcomings The cheating scandal Oh, no! The highlight of the episode came via a DIY selfie video from David. 'I've just found out that Hayley is making out with Michael,' he said, not looking particularly upset about it The highlight of the episode came via a DIY selfie video from David. 'I've just found out that Hayley is in Darling Harbour, making out with Michael,' he said, not looking particularly upset about it. Then there was a preview hinting at the SHOCKING twist in the case - but Hayley has been whinging about it in Facebook groups for months, so let's just talk about it. After David finds out about his wife's affair, he enacts revenge by using Hayley's toothbrush to clean the toilet. In a burst of pride, he films it all on his iPhone. She ends up using the toothbrush for five days before somebody tells her. Yuck. A stinky situation: Then there was a preview hinting at the SHOCKING twist in the case - but Hayley has been whinging about it in Facebook groups for months, so let's just talk about it Call it disgusting, but this payback is genius. Imagine the real-life marriages that could be saved if this was an actual punishment for cheating. 'Gazza, I love you, but so help me God if you ever cheat on me...' 'You'll leave? But what about the children?' 'No! I'll just make you eat your own s**t for three days -' 'Never mind!' 'Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine Foul taste in Hayley's mouth: After David finds out about his wife's affair, he enacts revenge by using Hayley's toothbrush to clean the toilet. In a burst of pride, he films it all on his iPhone Lovya Gyarkye in The New Republic: The opening lines of Gwendolyn Brookss epic The Anniad are, like the rest of the poem, deceptively uncomplicated. Think of sweet and chocolate, she writes: Left to folly or to fate, / Whom the higher gods forgot, / Whom the lower gods berate; / Physical and underfed / Fancying on the featherbed / What was never and is not The poem, published in 1950, sweeps through the life of Annie Allen, an ordinary black girl who dreams of finding happiness and attaining self-consciousness in 43 stanzas. At the same time, Brooks details the social conditions that ensure Annies dreams remain unrealized, that force her to mature early, and ultimately leave her disillusioned. The Anniad takes place against the backdrop of World War II. While almost all Americans benefitted from the post-war boomboth economically and sociallyAfrican-Americans failed to reap the full benefits of a country still fraught with racial tensions. Annie Allen suffers the effects of the war: Her husband returns with post-traumatic stress disorder and a depressing awareness of the white and greater chess of America. He eventually abandons Annie, who is left derelict and dim and done. On a trip with fellow American writers to Kiev and Leningrad in 1982, Brooks was interviewed for an article called: What It Means to Be Black. During that interview Susan Sontag interrupted Brooks and began to give an answer. Brooks was taken aback. Why do you turn from me to her with this question, she said to the interviewer. Obviously, being Black, I know more about what it means to be black than does she. An enraged Sontag then told Brooks: I turn my back upon you. In this situation Jackson sees both Brookss great sense of humor and Sontags sense of superiority and rage at her loss of white privilege to speak on behalf black people. More here. (Note: Throughout February, at least one post will honor The Black History Month. This years theme is African Americans and the Vote. Readers are encouraged to send in their suggestions) Flash Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday that seven countries have imposed entry restrictions on Japanese nationals and people traveling from Japan in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. The countries imposing travel restrictions include Israel, Samoa, Micronesia, Kiribati, Comoros, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands, Motegi told a press briefing on the matter. Japan, however, has asked Israel to lift the restrictions and has informed each country imposing travel restrictions about the efforts Japan is making to combat the spread of the epidemic. On Tuesday, the Japanese government decided to adopt a basic policy to help curb the spread of the disease. "It is extremely important to slow down the pace of increase in the number of infected people if we are to contain an epidemic in the country," the basic policy stated. Japan's Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said that the government is concerned that the clusters of infections, as they stand at the moment, will form into bigger clusters and lead to an expansion of COVID-19. As such, Kato said the link must be blocked. "We and experts are deeply concerned about the possibility that one cluster will lead to the formation of another cluster and infections will expand," Kato told a press briefing on the matter. "What we need to do is to block the link," said Kato, calling on Japanese citizens to cooperate in the effort to curb the spread of the disease. A government panel comprising medical experts said that the coming few weeks would be "critical" in assessing the extent the epidemic has and could spread in Japan. They added that if a further spread of infections could be curbed or slowed down, then medical experts would have more time to better prepare to treat infected patients. Medical institutions not specializing in treating infectious diseases will be asked to treat patients of the pneumonia-carrying virus, after instituting new protocols including strict examination hours and the control of patients' movements. In addition, under the new measures, resources used to monitor those known to have come into contact with infected patients, will be rolled back, with at-risk patients being asked to self-quarantine and stay at home as much as possible. They will be asked to first recuperate at home, rather than flooding emergency health facilities in the event their symptoms are mild. Japan has confirmed more than 850 infections, with most of them stemming from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama Port near Tokyo. The Diamond Princess cruise ship was initially carrying around 3,700 passengers and crew from more than 50 countries and regions. The vessel was put under quarantine at Yokohama Port on Feb. 5 after a passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong was found to be infected with the virus. In light of the travel restrictions being imposed by the seven countries on those traveling from Japan, Motegi has asked people intending to travel overseas from Japan to check the Foreign Ministry's website before confirming their travel plans. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - International Personal Finance plc (IPF.L) on Wednesday reported profit before tax for fiscal 2019 of 114.0 million pounds, up from 109.3 million pounds in the prior year. However, earnings per share declined to 30.3 pence from 32.2 pence a year ago on higher number of weighted average shares. The company noted that the increase in pre-tax profit was driven by strong operational execution in European home credit and the company's established digital businesses. Revenue for the year rose 3 percent to 889.1 million pounds from 866.4 million pounds last year. The company said that subject to shareholder approval, a final dividend of 7.8 pence per share will be payable, which will bring the full-year dividend to 12.4 pence per share. The final dividend will be paid on 11 May 2020 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 14 April 2020. International Personal Finance also said that Dan O'Connor has informed the Board that he intends to retire as Chairman of the company at the close of the Annual General Meeting on 30 April 2020. The company has appointed Stuart Sinclair to the Board with effect from 16 March 2020. Subject to Stuart's election as a director at the AGM, he will succeed Dan as Chairman. Stuart brings a background in consumer financial services with RBS, GE Capital and Provident Financial. He currently sits on the boards of Lloyds Banking Group, where he chairs the Remuneration Committee, and, as Senior Independent Director, of QBE Europe, the European subsidiary of the major Australian insurance group. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Five Italian hikers were rescued from a remote area in Alaska after visiting a popular adventure destination site, an abandoned bus featured in the book and subsequent movie, Into the Wild, according to multiple reports. One of the Italian men was suffering from frostbite by the time of the rescue on Saturday, Feb. 22. According to the Associated Press, Alaskan troopers found the five individuals had set up camp 13 miles from the trailhead. They had set up the makeshift camp after their visit to the bus on the Stampede Trail near the town of Healy. The Italian hiker who suffered frostbite to his feet was taken to Fairbanks for treatment, according to Tim DeSpain, the Alaska State Trooper spokesman. DeSpain said other injuries that the frostbitten hiker had sustained were not life-threatening. The other Italian tourists were uninjured and were picked up by friends who lived in Healy, according to the news outlet. The hikers made a call for help through a satellite-based emergency device, according to the news outlet. The device then notified the International Emergency Response Coordination Center that there is a medical emergency. Once the Coordination Center received the emergency notification, the rescue team was alerted, who then set out to rescue the hikers via snowmobile. As mentioned previously, the bus has become a popular adventures destination because of a book published by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, and a subsequent movie made in 2007 of the same name. Both fueled a lingering mystique about a young idealist, Christopher McCandless, who met his death from starvation in the bus, which is about 10 miles north of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve. This rescue was the most recent incident involving the abandoned bus, according to the news outlet. There have been several other instances of people trekking or attempting to reach the dilapidated bus. For example, in July 2019, a 24-year-old woman from Belarus died after trying to reach the abandoned bus with her husband. Veramika Maikamava, the 24-year-old newlywed woman, was swept away while trying to cross the Teklanika River, according to CNN. Her husband, Piotr Markielau, called the state troopers for help, but by the time the authorities arrived to rescue them, Maikamava had died. Back in 2013, three German hikers also trying to reach the bus but got stuck after determining that the river they had to cross was impassable. Authorities subsequently rescued them, the Associated Press reported. Families of the injured and deceased who tried to reach the bus have called for a bridge to be constructed over the Taklanika River. The torrential river had claimed several lives, according to the Associated Press. Mayor Clay Walker said that the construction of a bridge would result in more people trying to reach the bus. He believes that the idea of a bridge would give adventurers a false sense of security. He thinks a better solution is to remove the bus altogether. [February 26, 2020] Cyberwrite Research for Mastercard Shows: Cyber-Attacks on Israeli Local Municipalities May Lead to an Aggregated 4.5B ILS in Damages Cyberwrite, in collaboration with Mastercard, shared insights from a recent cyber-risk financial impact research which reveals that cyber-attacks on local municipalities and regional councils in Israel may lead to aggregated damages estimated in 4.5 billion New Israeli Shekels. Cyberwrite, a leading cyber risk modeling firm which is specialized in the quantification of financial damages caused by cyber-attacks, has utilized its technology to collect open-source intelligence and model the cyber risk municipalities are exposed to using its proprietary AI algorithms. Cyberwrite has recently been selected to participate in the Start Path, Mastercard's award-winning startup engagement program and is providing its technology to businesses worldwide. The company's solutions and technology are simple to use and involve zero-integration. As part of this collaboration, Cyberwrite generated cyber-risk reports for 251 local municipalities and regional councils in Israel which include risk benchmarking and financial damage estimation for different risk types. The study found that 5 of Israel's largest cities are exposed to potential aggregated damages valued at 650M ILS. The financial damages stem mainly from risks such as theft of residents' information, loss of information records, digital theft, disabling public services and more. The study also found that user login credentials of Israeli local municipalities' employees and contractors were commonly found on the dark web. Municipalities are the first on the list with an average of 17 stolen user credentials, while regional councils had an average of 11 credentials found online. Nir Perry, Cyberwrite's CEO, mentioned that: "Municipalities in the United States and Europe are subject to constant cyber threats. In the first nine months of 2019, over 600 successful cyber-attacks on municipalities and urban authorities in the United States were identified. This is a global trend that is likely to affect municipalities world-wide and the privacy of their citizens alike. Many municipalities are also purchasing cyber isurance policies to cover some of the damages in case of a cyber incident." Omer Unger, Mastercard's Israel manager, said: "Mastercard is expanding its cyber services to provide its global customers with the best and most innovative services. This is achieved by collaborating with Israeli Cyber companies, by the global acquisition of cyber companies, and through the establishment of cyber centers around the world, such as The Cyber Centre in Vancouver, Canada, which was announced by Mastercard in collaboration with the Canadian Government during last week's World Economic Forum." About Cyberwrite Founded in 2017 by cyber risk and insurance industry veterans, Cyberwrite is a leading technology provider enabling businesses world-wide to quantify their financial exposure to cyber risk using proprietary AI algorithms. Using the Cyberwrite solution, companies can predict their potential financial exposure to cyber-attacks and benchmark it to industry peers. Cyberwrite is backed by Austrian VC firm Speedinvest as well as by Silicon Valley based 500 Startups and Plug & Play Ventures. The company has offices in the US and Israel. Visit Cyberwrite at www.cyberwrite.com. About Mastercard Mastercard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. Its global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow Mastercard on Twitter (News - Alert) @MastercardAP, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005339/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] "Every child deserves a permanent home and loving family, said Burnside. Im humbled for the opportunity to serve such an outstanding organization and a mission that is near to my heart." The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national non-profit public charity, today welcomed Leigh Burnside, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at The Wendys Company, as a member of its board of trustees. She will serve a three-year term. Every child deserves a permanent home and loving family, said Burnside. Im humbled for the opportunity to serve such an outstanding organization and a mission that is near to my heart. In her 15 years at Wendys, Burnside has held numerous leadership roles, including Chief Accounting Officer; Vice President, Finance and Planning; and Vice President, Strategic Financial Analysis. Her collaborative leadership approach has helped strengthen finance across the Wendys system, including uniting franchisee and company finance leaders to review business initiative economics and benchmark financial results. Leigh is a caring, talented and innovative leader with a great passion for the Wendys brand and our signature cause, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, said Mary Schell, Chief Public Affairs Officer for The Wendys Company and chair of the Foundations board of trustees. She will bring tremendous energy and expertise to the board. Through its signature program, Wendys Wonderful Kids, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption provides funding to adoption agencies to hire recruiters who implement an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model. A rigorous, five-year evaluation revealed that the model is up to three times more effective at serving children who have been in foster care the longest, including teenagers, children with special needs and siblings. To date, more than 475 Wendys Wonderful Kids recruiters have found adoptive homes for more than 9,500 children in foster care across North America. Leigh is an outstanding addition to the board, said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. She has a proven track record of success as a leader, a deep knowledge of finance and accounting and a collaborative spirit that will be extremely valuable in growing the Foundations impact across the country. Burnside is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a certified public accountant (inactive). She lives in Dublin, Ohio. ### About the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 155,000 children waiting in North Americas foster care systems. Created by Wendys founder Dave Thomas who was adopted, the Foundation implements evidence-based, results-driven national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns and innovative grantmaking. To learn more, visit davethomasfoundation.org. A 75-year-old man drove from Cork to Bandon to bring a young woman to the city but a man got into the car with her and assaulted the pensioner from behind in the course of the journey. Stephen Barry, who is aged around 30 and from Ballincollig in Cork city but now living with the Simon Community, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to the man on July 19, 2015, in the Bandon area. Judge Sean O Donnabhain imposed a four-year jail term on him at Cork Circuit Criminal Court with the last year suspended. Sergeant Kevin Heffernan said the 75-year-old man got a phone call to collect a female friend in Bandon. He drove down to collect her. The defendant was with her and he got into the car. There was an argument in the car and he drove towards the garda station. He was assaulted from behind by Stephen Barry. He was punched five or six times. No weapon was used. He was knocked unconscious by the severity of the blow to the back of his head and face. The defendant and his friend left the scene. The injured party was taken to Cork University Hospital. It was found that he sustained a brain haemorrhage. Sgt Heffernan said the injured party made a good recovery, but that he did not want to attend court to give victim evidence. The sergeant said on his behalf that one of the things that upset him was that his keys were taken and he feared that someone would be able to get into his house. Dermot Sheehan, defence barrister, said: Stephen Barry was friendly with the young lady. The injured party had known that lady for about two months. She is in her late 20s. This gentleman drove from Bandon to collect her and bring her back to Cork. Mr Sheehan said the defendant was now doing well on a methadone treatment programme and had a Simon key worker who was helping him. Judge O Donnabhain said: It was an unprovoked assault of particular viciousness on a man who was offering to drive people home. He was unprotected and received numerous blows to the back of his head. It was a bad experience, of which he was entirely innocent. McKinley is perfectly cast as Lou, bringing to the character an otherworldly blend of mystery, mischief and menace not unlike that of the master of ceremonies in Cabaret. You wouldnt mind having a cup of coffee with this guy but you might pause before taking a sip. And Sharp is mesmerizingly charismatic as Natalie, whose rant about what it would be like to be a white woman is at once outrageously hilarious and hauntingly bittersweet. Unruly scenes were witnessed in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday after the opposition SAD sought dismissal of health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu over the alleged issue of diversion of buprenorphine tablets from de-addiction centres across the state. SAD legislator Bikram Singh Majithia, speaking During the Zero Hour in the ongoing budget session here, alleged that a scam of Rs 200 crore had taken place under which five crore buprenorphine tablets, a scheduled drug, had gone missing from drug de-addiction centres. He said a case should be registered against Sidhu and demanded his dismissal from the cabinet. "We demand inquiry into the matter and also dismissal of the minister," Majithia said. Replying to the allegations, Sidhu said he had already ordered a probe into the matter. Amid sharp exchanges between the two, Sidhu used some objectionable words against Majithia, following which the Shiromani Akali Dal legislators stormed the Well of the House. As their demand of ordering a probe into the matter was not accepted, the Akali legislators staged a walk out of the House. Talking to the media outside the House, Majithia held Sidhu responsible for an alleged Rs 200 crore scam, claiming that the health minister had indulged in a "cover up" after the issue was flagged by the health secretary, who even ordered an inquiry into the matter. Earlier, during the Zero Hour, Aam Aadmi Party legislator Aman Arora tried to corner the state government over the alleged issue of liquor mafia in the state. He alleged that because of liquor mafia, the state had been suffering revenue loss of Rs 5,000 crore per annum. He urged the government to form a state-owned liquor corporation to check illegal smuggling of liquor. Members of the AAP staged a walk out of the House when a private member's bill on setting up liquor corporation was rejected by the Speaker. Later while participating in the debate on the Governor's address, AAP legislator and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema said the government should make the sealed report on drug peddlers public through a special writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Cheema, during Zero Hour, said DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya had submitted a sealed cover report in the high court. As the chief minister concluded his address on the motion of thanks to Governor's address, SAD members Majithia and N K Sharma sought certain amendments in the address including mentioning of arrears, pending dearness allowance of government employees and unfulfilled poll promises. However, the Speaker rejected their demand, prompting them to storm the well of the House. Members of the AAP also rushed to the well when Speaker did not allow them to speak after the chief minister's address. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Picture of a sign with the logo of Tim Hortons on their main cafe for North Ottawa, Canada. (Getty) On February 26, Tim Hortons will be rolling out its revamped rewards program, in response to disappointing quarterly results announced earlier this month. The move, coupled with the revamped Roll Up the Rim contest, are both the latest changes by the cafe chain to reconnect with some of its customers and improve its bottom line. Yahoo Canada asked readers if they were happy with Tim Hortons, and at the time of writing, 90 per cent of readers who voted selected No. We also asked our Facebook followers to share their thoughts as well, and while it was a smaller majority, users still said they were not happy with Tim Hortons. When asked what they would like to see changed at the restaurants, the top three changes selected were Bake products in store (26 per cent), Become a privately-owned Canadian company (21 per cent) and Cut back on the number of menu items offered (19 per cent). In the comments on Yahoo Canada and on Facebook, users shared in detail how theyd like to see the restaurant change transformed. Bake products in store Unless they go back to making real donuts and the way it was when it first started nothing will make me go back as a regular customer. elly Timmies needs to truly get back to basics, which means the same coffee that made them famous with the same in-house baked goods. That and keep the Roll-Up-The-Rim-To-Win just as it was. They've veered off course and the results speak for themselves. bigrob need to make donuts fresh in store. You can get better quality doughnuts from a convenience store David go back to how it was in the 1970's ..great coffee and plenty of Donut selection....that's what made Tim Hortons GREAT. Sharon Tyhaar How about improving the quality of your coffee and food Ashlee Return to making deep fried donuts, they had taste. I do not buy a doughnut to worry about my caloric intake. All of the ones I tried from the changeover wa back were tasteless so now when I visit Timmy's it is coffee only. ROBERT Story continues they lost me when they started with frozen donuts instead of fresh baked, coffee seem better when the donuts were good. companies only care about one thing these days and that's how to squeeze that last 1/10 of a cent from millions of people, instead of focusing on what made them successful in the first place. Steve Become a privately-owned Canadian company timmies has gone down hill on roller skate as the US investment fund that owns them runs it into the ground to extract profits over service and quality! step 1= return to Canadian ownership 2= return to in-store baking 3= return to a good Canadian coffee blend, not the American cp that they serve now I was a daily customer until the changed, haven't been there more that once a month since. Steve Editors note: Tim Hortons coffee processing facility is located in Ancaster, Ont. and uses a blend of coffee beans from several countries in South and Central America. This one's easy, , it's a simple 2 step plan. 1- get a list of everything RBI did since taking over and roll it back. 2- and this is key, either get your staff to act like your commercials or edit them to represent the actual service you give. Good luck :D Andre What once was a good coffee shop was totally spoiled by modernization and foreign ownership that wanted to change things, just because they could. AnotherDay Tim's, Shoppers, #$%$ Tire, The Bay, Loblaws, they all lost their way when investors took over and the primary concern became shareholder return and growth. That's what led to the decline in quality and silly things like #$%$ Tire selling milk, Shoppers selling TVs, Tim's selling meatless burgers. People don't care about growth, people care that you do what you do and do it well. Mike This is what happens when you have an American bean counter company at the helm. They care more about the bottom line than the quality they offer their customers. looking at the specialty donuts they offered last year leads me to think they do not understand the Canadian market. Its very sad to see such an iconic Canadian brand being run so poorly. Roseline Caron Cut back on the number of menu items offered Dear Tims, Focus on trying to make good coffee and fresh baked goods only Ditch the other 100 menu items introduced weekly Keep Roll up the Rim on the actual cups and introduce more prizes and make the cups 100% recyclable There you have a winning and profitable business model. You're welcome bob Go back to being a coffee shop/bakery. Quit trying to serve every product every other fast food chain sells. I'm surprised timmies hasn't started selling burgers yet ;D Shane Maybe the company should go back to what made Tim's successful in the first place. Freshly fried doughnuts, and baked muffins made from scratch in the stores, decent coffee. Food items such as burgers are best left to those franchises like Harvey's. If Tim's wants to include sandwiches on its menu then forget about the "exotic" ones and go back to the basic ones that were initially offered on the menu. As for the coffee it's time Tim's changed their supplier. Elaine A woman arrested on suspicion of murder after her boyfriend's body was found inside a suitcase has reportedly told police he died after a game of hide-and-seek. Sarah Boone is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder following the death of 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr in Orlando, Florida. It is alleged that Boone, 42, zipped her boyfriend inside a suitcase and did not return for hours, Orange County Sheriff's Office said. Officers said Boone claimed the couple had been playing a game of hide-and-seek and they thought it would be funny if he got into the suitcase, Florida TV news station WKMG reported. She told officers she zipped her boyfriend into the case and then passed out in her bed after drinking alcohol during the night, WKMG said. She claimed she woke up later and realised Mr Torres Jr was still in the case and called 911, it added. His body was found by officers in a blue suitcase near the front door of the couple's property and he had a small cut on his lip and bruising around his eye, WKMG reported. The TV station said court records showed officers searched Boone's phone and allegedly found a video of her laughing as Mr Torres Jr yelled at her from inside the suitcase, saying he could not breathe. It was claimed she could be heard saying in the video: "Yeah that's what you do when you choke me". After Mr Torres Jr continued to say he could not breathe, she allegedly added: "That's on you. Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me." A video posted on the official Twitter page of the sheriff's office on Wednesday showed a handcuffed Boone, dressed in a grey t-shirt and jeans, being led by an officer to a police vehicle. Police have identified the woman who was found dead in a tent near 1st and Mountain NW on Saturday as 38-year-old Angelique Manriquez. Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman with the Albuquerque Police Department, said Manriquez had been shot in the abdomen. The case is being actively investigated, he wrote in an email. Officers were called to the area, across from Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless, around 7:45 a.m. Saturday for reports of a woman with signs of trauma to her torso in a tent, Gallegos said. He said detectives are still investigating if Manriquez was the target of the shooting or if it was random. He said they are still investigating whether the shooting was a drive by or if it was done from inside the tent. More than 40,000 secondary and higher secondary school teachers joined the contractual teachers indefinite strike from Tuesday, affecting teaching in all government and government aided schools across the state. The teachers began their strike under the banner of Bihar Secondary School Teachers Association (BSSTA) to press their demands including equal pay for equal work, removal of discrepancies in reimbursement of salary under the Seventh pay commission and sparing the teachers from non-academic. District secretary of BSSTA Sudhir Kumar said, On the first day of strike, more than 200 government and government aided schools remain affected due to the strike. The teachers locked the gate of government schools and sat outside the campuses. Besides, the nominated teachers for evaluation duty denied collecting their appointment letters from schools giving a signal that they will boycott intermediate answer sheet evaluation duty starting from February 26. Already over 4.5 lakh contractual teachers have been on strike from February 17 under Bihar Rajya Shikshak Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti (BRSSS) banner in support of their eight-point demands. Prem Chandra Kumar, Patna region convener of BRSSS, said, On February 27, teachers will stage a protest demonstration at block headquarters with their family members. On March 1, we will gherao the government bungalows of legislators. President of BSSTA Kedar Nath Pandey, also an MLC, raised the issues of striking contractual teachers in the council and demanded immediate framing of service conditions for all teachers engaged by the government on contract basis. Pandey also met chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday and demanded inclusion of framing the service conditions of teachers in the governors address to the joint session. Meanwhile, the Patna high court last week had pulled up the state government for its dilly-dallying approach in dealing with teachers issues and directed it to frame the service condition of contractual teachers within four months. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi [India], Feb 26 (ANI): State BJP President and Member of Parliament from North-East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, Manoj Tiwari, on Wednesday slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and stated that he should have come forth with his concerns yesterday when Union home minister Amit Shah had called an all-party meeting and not create confusion on the already tense situation in the area. Tiwari also demanded that the Delhi Government should announce a compensation of Rs one crore to the fallen Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal immediately. Speaking to ANI, on the tweet of the Chief Minister, Tiwari said, "Home minister called an all-party meeting. Arvind Kejriwal did not say anything and rather exuded faith in the meeting. He should have spoken at the meet. He seems to be confused, " stated Tiwari. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a tweet, had claimed that police has been unable to contain the situation and failed to instill confidence. The chief minister also advocated calling in the army and stated that he is writing to Home Minister Amit Shah about it. "I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately Am writing to Hon'ble HM to this effect," Kejriwal tweeted. Tiwari asked the Delhi Chief Minister to come clean on the CAA and to go before the public and explain how it is not against Indian citizens. "I want to tell Kejriwal that he must have understood CAA now and he needs to explain this to Delhi's residents. If you want to take them towards peace. Delhi should not fall to misinformation," he said. He also demanded that the Delhi Government should immediately announce a compensation of Rs one crore to the fallen Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal. "Yesterday, I went to Rattan Lal's residence. I want to plead with the Chief Minister to announce compensation of Rs 1 crore," Tiwari said. The Delhi BJP President said he has been coordinating with locals to restore normalcy in the area. "There are lanes where one community is in minority and are sending distress calls. The incident is very unfortunate. We are keeping tabs to ensure police reach places on time from where we get distress calls, " Stated Tiwari while re-emphasising that shoot at sight order against rioters have been issued. The death toll in the violence between pro and anti CAA protestors has risen to 20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Jamie Mellor | Blues Correspondent | Wed, Feb 26th 2:47am EST Jordan Binnington allowed five goals on 30 shots versus the Blackhawks Tuesday. St Louis would still go on to win 6-5. Fantasy Impact: Binnington was a great fantasy asset once he took over last season and should be an exciting option. However, while it appears to be Binnington's job so far this season, the Blues still have Jake Allen under contract for the same two seasons. But Sanders replied: 'When dictatorships - whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans - do something good, you acknowledge that' Joe Biden's campaign said Sanders 'seems to have found more inspiration in the Soviets, Sandinistas, Chavistas, and Castro than in America' At a CNN town hall in Charleston he came under attack from his rival Democrats Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders refused to back down in his support of Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, and was booed during a Democratic debate when he defended his remarks. The Vermont senator previously praised the 'massive literacy program' of Cuba's late leader in a CBS News '60 Minutes' segment aired on Sunday. In the interview with Anderson Cooper, Sanders said the communist dictator's regime was 'not all bad' and praised his health care system during the 1980s. Sanders stood by his comments during the CNN town hall in Charleston, South Carolina, last night, saying he had criticized 'authoritarian regimes all over the world', including Cuba, Nicaragua and Saudi Arabia. But he added that, after Castro took power in 1959, 'the first thing he did' was initiate a literacy program. Democratic 2020 presidential candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden have an exchange of words in the debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday Late Cuban President Fidel Castro arriving in Santa Elena de Uairen, Venezuela, in 2001 In response to critics in both Democrat and Republican parties who jumped on his Cuba comments during the Democratic debate last night, Sanders sought to clarify his position. He said: 'I have been extremely consistent and critical of all authoritarian regimes all over the world, including Cuba, including Nicaragua, including Saudi Arabia, including China, including Russia. 'What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba - that Cuba made progress on education', Sanders said to loud boos from the audience. He continued: 'When dictatorships - whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans - do something good, you acknowledge that. But you don't have to trade love letters with them. 'I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing. That is a fact. End of discussion.' Sanders also came under attack from the Biden and Buttigieg campaigns. Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign released one of its strongest attacks yet on the Democratic frontrunner. It said Sanders 'seems to have found more inspiration in the Soviets, Sandinistas, Chavistas, and Castro than in America'. Sanders speaking to the media in the spin room after the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center yesterday Fidel Castro and his brother Raul attend a parade in Havana, Cuba, on December 2, 1996 Fellow candidate, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg added: 'Someone who wants to be the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime. We've got to be a lot smarter about this.' But Sanders responded: 'I know if you look at the media, they say, ''Bernie's ideas are radical and they're extreme, they're out of the mainstream''. I don't think that that's true. 'Is guaranteeing health care to all people as a human right a radical idea? Is addressing the existential threat of climate change a radical idea?' Sanders' questions were met with chants of 'No' from the crowd, leading him to say, 'I rest my case'. Seven candidates took part in the debate beginning at 8pm in Charleston - the tenth debate of the campaign cycle. Sanders is in pole position heading into South Carolina's primary on Saturday and the debate could offer the final opportunity for other Democratic hopefuls, Joe Biden in particular, to halt his momentum. Sanders, 78, emerged largely unscathed from the last debate and went on to win the Nevada caucuses, but he is expected to come under fire from all directions in the lead up to the primary vote. Candidates Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer speaking after the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center Cuban President Fidel Castro waving to participants of the traditional May Day parade attended by thousands of people in Havana's Plaza of the Revolution in May 1998 Besides claiming that Sanders is too left-wing to defeat President Donald Trump, his rivals are expected to attack him over his praise of some aspects of communist rule in countries like Cuba. Sanders finished in a virtual tie with Buttigieg in the first nominating contest, in Iowa, and then won in New Hampshire and Nevada. Besides Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, media magnate Michael Bloomberg and fellow billionaire Tom Steyer were also on stage. Sanders, who is Jewish, also drew the anger of the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby group and its supporters over the weekend when he said he would skip its meeting, labeling it a platform for 'bigotry'. During the debate, he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was 'a reactionary racist'. Sanders said he would skip the AIPAC conference because he was concerned about the event giving airtime to 'leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights'. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called that characterization 'offensive' and 'irresponsible'. President Donald Trump appears to believe that he should be the chief enforcer of law in the United States. He has even suggested that Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor should recuse themselves from cases involving his administration because he believes their dissents criticizing it display bias against him. His recent round of pardons for financial criminals or corrupt politicians is also very worrisome. Taken all together, Trump's approach to the judicial system and its verdicts builds on an intellectual tradition rooted in extreme authoritarianism. Indeed, historically fascist leaders depended on destroying legal traditions - while retaining the appearance of a functioning legal system - to create a new form of dictatorship that eliminated the distinction between the state and civil society. The result? The leader decided right and wrong in the name of the people, ultimately eliminating the role of a free press that could investigate the leader or an independent judiciary that checked and balanced his power. Trump's numerous efforts to disparage the media, signal support for people convicted of certain kinds of political crimes who show him loyalty and force personal loyalty from the courts bring him closer to the dangerous intellectual territory of fascism. In fascism, the dictator's discretionary power overrode the rule of law. In Nazi Germany, Hitler famously represented himself as "the supreme judge of the Nation." The most important Nazi legal theorist, Carl Schmitt, claimed in 1934 that the Fuhrer was the embodiment of the "most authentic jurisdiction." Schmitt had careerist intentions, and not only ideological ones. He wanted to become the "crown jurist" of the Third Reich, and he was willing to go beyond his previous conservative positions and his collaborations with earlier German administrations. Schmitt ultimately violated his own ideas to accede to Hitler's vision. Schmitt ended up becoming a full-fledged Nazi, accepting Hitler's cultlike type of leadership, legitimizing the Fuhrer with his legal persona and ultimately giving legal cover to the fascist idea that the leader is always right. As Hitler's legal expert, Schmitt fully understood that the destruction of legality as it had previously existed was at the center of Nazism's political project: the elimination of democracy and the creation and perpetuation of dictatorship. Like Schmitt, most jurists, prosecutors, judges and civil servants acquiesced to Hitler's transformation of the legal system such that his became the final word. In 1933, after all Jewish, Social Democratic and other "politically unreliable" judges, prosecutors and district attorneys were permanently removed, the chairman of the German Federation of Judges, Karl Linz, said after meeting Hitler: "we have placed everything in his hands with complete confidence." Rather rapidly, judges accommodated themselves to unmitigated political interference and the increasingly Nazified criminal and civil laws. For example a series of penal law reforms in 1935 extended the criminalization of "homosexual acts" and other behaviors considered deviant by Hitler. Jurists also turned a blind eye to extralegal acts. As the famous anti-fascist legal jurist Ernst Fraenkel once observed, the Nazis eventually created a dual state which operated inside and outside of the law. These two systems worked in tandem. An ad hoc people's court was created where due process was totally absent and the German Supreme Court legitimated Nazism's bending of all rules. For example, the courts did not contest the so-called enabling act of March 1933, which allowed the Nazi government to enact its own laws, including ones contrary to the constitution, rendered parliament useless and paved the way for subsequent rules that allowed them to denationalize German Jewish citizens and outlaw political parties among other cases. Either because of ideology, ambition, careerism or cowardice, judges and prosecutors essentially contributed to Nazi rule. This ultimately allowed Nazis to see Hitler as an incarnation of the highest form of justice because he owned the truth. Their dubious logic was that Hitler was the ultimate interpreter of justice and the source of law, precisely because he exclusively represented the interests of the German people and nation. In Nazi Germany, Hitler was the leader, the supreme judge, and, as Nazi Minister of Justice Hans Frank affirmed, the only legislator. His word, or whatever he said, was more important than the written law, and the latter was reinterpreted according to his will - he was the recipient and also the creator of the legal order. According to the anti-fascist thinker Antonio Gramsci, the Nazis radically questioned the notion of an abstract universal justice. And so, the will of Hitler was formulated as German public law. The racist Nuremberg Laws of 1935 that denationalized German Jewish citizens are the most famous example of this. Nazis felt that as long as laws were inspired by Hitler's orders and will, they were legitimate. The law provided cover for violations of justice. As Frank put it, "the categorical imperative of the Third Reich[:] . . . Act in such a way that the Fuhrer, if he knew your action, would approve it." This is why, as philosopher Hannah Arendt pointed out, another famous Nazi perpetrator, Adolf Eichmann, could make the argument that Nazi crimes such as the Holocaust had a legal basis. These acts emanated from Hitler's unrestricted power. In short, Nazi genocidal actions were "legalized by the state." Thus, for the Nazis, the leader became the law because he represented ideological truth; his "words had the force of law." During Nazism, democratic judges and prosecutors were purged and those that remained or were later appointed understood their job as translating the leader's will into law. Avoiding that, or even the appearance of it, is critical to protecting the rule of law. Recently, Sotomayor warned that the Supreme Court appears to be bending the rules for Trump. The president's response - demanding that she and Ginsburg recuse themselves from cases pertaining to him and his administration - recalls these dangerous legal ideas from Nazi Germany. And it's not the first time the Trump administration has done this. Just a few weeks ago Alan Dershowitz suggested during the impeachment trial that the national common good as expressed by the leader of the people is ultimately more important than illegality and the abuse of power. Trump's acquittal seems to have emboldened him to see himself as not just above the law, but as the ultimate interpreter of the rule of law. But there is hope. While there are many disturbing analogies to the fascist past, the Trump administration has not yet destroyed the rule of law. This gives citizens time to express their rejection of these attacks by defending the independence of the judiciary in the November presidential elections. The future of democracy, and the rule of law on which it is based, is at stake. - - - Federico Finchelstein is professor of history at the New School and author of the new book, "From Fascism to Populism in History." In the February 26 episode of In The News podcast, host Anvita Bansal talks to Atharva Pandit, Shraddha Sharma and Siddhesh Raut from the Moneycontrol newsroom to find out the top stories of the day. First up, Pandit talks about communal clashes in northeast Delhi as the death toll rises to 23. Next, Sharma talks about Hong Kong planning to hand out $1,200 to permanent residents to increase spending in the city state. Following this, she gives latest updates on the spread of coronavirus. Lastly, Raut talks about reports suggesting that Rs 2,000 notes may be taken out of circulation as ATMs are apparently being recalibrated. Mindy Kaling says with her upcoming Netflix show "Never Have I Ever" she aims to break notions that all Indians are like "Princess Jasmine" and nerds are just "stuttering kids on the spectrum". Kaling, who is helming the series, said she felt she was the right person to direct a show about a teenage Indian nerd growing up in America as she could relate to the story. "Nerds are not only the wallflowers and the quiet ones. We're ambitious, we have obnoxious personalities sometimes, we want to have sex and dreams like all the other kids," she said during a Netflix TV brunch discussion of young adult programming. The series revolves around Devi, an overachieving high school student whose short temper gets her into tough situations, and follows her life as a modern-day first generation Indian-American teenage girl. Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is playing the lead role in the series and Kaling said it was important to get the casting right. She said Netflix vice president of local language originals Bela Bajaria played a pivotal role in getting the series made. "We see a certain kind of Indian actor all the time in auditions Our show is about a Tamil Indian girl, and typically they're South Indians and they're dark-skinned. I felt lucky to be able to do a show about an Indian nerd who's also badly behaved, to show that because I'm deeply familiar with it. Bela was also interested in seeing Indian characters who are not all like Princess Jasmine," Kaling said. The series, which Kaling has created the show with Lang Fisher, also features "Heroes" actor Sendhil Ramamurthy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Washington The Supreme Court dismissed a case involving Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the shooters who terrorized the Washington, D.C., region more than 15 years ago, after the state of Virginia changed its law regarding life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders. The move came after Malvo's lawyers and the state of Virginia notified the court that they agreed to dismiss the case in light of legislation signed by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam on Monday. Malvo will not seek resentencing on his Virginia convictions but should be eligible for parole in 2022. While the new Virginia law ends Malvo's Supreme Court case, it's unlikely he'll be released from prison anytime soon. In addition to his four life sentences in Virginia, Malvo also received six life sentences without the possibility of parole for killings in Maryland. Supreme Court Sniper Shootings Malvo This photo provided by the Virginia Department of Corrections shows Lee Boyd Malvo. Virginia Department of Corrections / AP Under the measure enacted in Virginia, people who were sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed as a juvenile and who have served at least 20 years of their sentence are eligible for parole. Malvo received four sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2004 for his role in the 2002 killing spree, during which he and John Allen Muhammad shot and killed 10 people in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. Muhammad was convicted of capital murder and executed in 2009. Nearly a decade after Malvo received his life sentence, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders were unconstitutional. Malvo was 17 when he and Muhammad went on their fatal shooting rampage. A federal appeals court ruled in 2018 that while Malvo's life-without-parole sentences were legal when they were handed down, he should receive a new sentencing hearing in light of the Supreme Court's 2012 decision. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring appealed to the Supreme Court, and the high court agreed to hear the case last year. The justices heard oral arguments in October. Danielle Spinelli, Malvo's lawyer, said that even if he were eligible for parole, it would not mean he would automatically be released. Story continues "It would mean that he would have the opportunity some time in the future to make the case to the parole board that he has changed," she said. "So we are nowhere near any prospect of being released." Senator Tim Scott on the trailblazer who inspires him Voters react to fiery Democratic debate in South Carolina Trump to hold news conference on coronavirus as concerns grow (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania is trying to get more college students registered to vote in the general election in November. While students have historically turned out in lower numbers than other groups, studies show more and more have been casting ballots. The Department of State is calling its latest effort the Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge. Itll pit the commonwealths two and four-year colleges and universities against each other to get the highest voter turnout, most improved turnout, and highest registration rate for the November election. Schools will have to enroll in the challenge, and will then form planning committees. The effort is a collaboration with the nonpartisan ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, and will make schools eligible for national awards. The Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University will help decide who wins. Tufts researchers recently found voting at American colleges and universities jumped from 19 percent in 2014 to 40 percent in 2018even higher than nearly 14 percent jump in voting rates among all Americans. Pennsylvania voters have to register to vote 15 days before an election. More from PennLive Pa. state universities: Faculty cuts are possible if early retirement offer doesnt hit target With voting by mail in Pa. this year, election results may not be known for days, officials say In Pa., non-voters lean to Trump, new study shows Immigrant voters gain clout in Pa.; could they have an impact on the election? The move to establish the South West Development Commission scaled second reading on Wednesday at the House of Representatives. Bills seeking the establishment of similar commissions for the South-south and South-east are also still receiving attention in the House. The same move is ongoing in the Senate where bills to establish commissions for other regions of the country are at various legislative stages. Already, Nigeria has development commissions for the Niger Delta and the North-East. The south-west commission, if established, will be charged with the responsibility, among others, of receiving and managing funds from the federal government. It would also address infrastructural and ecological challenges in the region. A host of the lawmakers who contributed to the debate on the bill argued that Lagos, the home state of the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, being an economic hub of the country, deserves a sustainability fund. Hence, they said the establishment of this commission would guarantee funds for the development of the state and the South-west region as a whole. The South-west zone consists of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states. The Latin American Adult Business Expo (LALexpo), now in its seventh edition, saw a massive increase in attendance this year, with organizers Juan Carlos and Anthony (AJ) Riviera stepping up their game to gather just over 3,800 people for the event that wrapped up about ten days ago in Cali, Colombia. "LALexpo is an ambitious project but its also something very close to our hearts, said AJ in an open-heart speech to the journalists after the local government of Cali welcomed and declared the LALexpo 2020 opened. "We have a deep love and respect for each member of our industry. It can be a very complicated business but if we stick together and support each other, as Latinos but also as adult business owners, well be able to move forward and exchange with other established international brands. The main idea behind LALexpo has always been to bring people together and join our efforts to improve business developments and models' global work conditions. We are very thankful for all the support that everyone has shown since the beginning." LALexpo 2020 has gathered companies, models and allies in a professional and safe atmosphere to the huge Convention Center of the Valle Pacifico. With an abiding interest to meet and explore new opportunities, the attendees showed a thirst for knowledge, new business development and/or expansion. "LALexpo was a great opportunity to meet key partners and talented models for FemBosses Studio and A Mestre, my two main projects open to all the empowered women who want to take control of their careers within the industry. It was a real honor to co-host the Award ceremony with the notorious Fernando Solorzano. I really loved the whole event and experience; it was perfect!" said Luna Corazon, CEO of FemBosses Webcam Studio, with a genuine smile. LALexpo was born of an idea from two of the biggest cam studios in Colombia, so it is no surprise that the major focus of the expo has always been the adult camming marketbut this year, participants also showed a strong and powerful presence of sex toys, clipstores, legal, marketing and logistics representation. "The show remains the best opportunity for global adult companies to meet and collaborate with new and recurring Latin American allies. CAM4 likes to work hand-in-hand with our closest partners, and LALExpo is a great occasion to hang out, make friends, and close profitable deals, explained Camilo Ramirez, CAM4 LATAM Regional Manager. Ninety-three sponsors, 62 booths and stands were set up during this three-day conference. The event was already famous for its intense parties in some of the best clubs in the city, all of which showed major attendance by expo attendees. This year again, the participants could also enjoy a wide variety of seminars; from traffic to payments, plastic surgery, mental health, PR, legal and logistics, the event has gathered some of the industry's best experts to share their experiences and valuable tips. "LALexpo was truly incredible; everything was well-thought-out and well-executed. In all areas, the LAL team made all of us feel like VIPs. I cant wait until next year! said Allie Awesome, an independent content creator. "This is my fifth LALexpo and I continue to be impressed by Anthony and his team for the event quality. LALexpo is absolutely the place to showcase your business to the Latin American market and to make waves in the cam business, affirmed Brad Mitchell, President at MojoHost. Some famous names and faces were among this year's panelists, including international porn stars Esperanza Gomez and Nacho Vidal, the great boudoir photographer Hernan Botero, the digital influencer El "Mindo" Ortiz, the iconic Juan Bustos, ManyVids' CEO Bella French, the kinky master Baron Samedi, the fashion designer Alejandra Cossio, the porn director Cristian Cipriani and the talented plastic surgeon Fernando Buritica. "LALexpo 2020 was a great success for all the attendees, including Bongacams team. I was happy to be back to one of the best industry shows and looking forward to the next year, noted Katy, BongaCash Senior Affiliate Manager. "It was my first year at the LALexpo and I had the most amazing time," said Bella French, co-founder and CEO of ManyVids. "I finally got the chance to meet our beautiful Colombian MV Stars. I was so happy to see many Colombian members of the LGBTQ2+ community. Connecting with adult content creators is so important for us at ManyVids; love was definitely in the air! The event itself was very well organized and well-thought. AJ and his team took such a good care of us. Thank you for everything!" Between the Chaturbate models VIP section, a pool, a food court and an entertaining lounge, LALexpo took pains to ensure the best environment for their guests to mix business and fun. "LALexpo 2020 was very well organized by AJ and his amazing team. The whole event was very professional. We were glad to meet with a lot of partners and we have also connected with many new ones. I can't wait for next year! said Mereane, ImLive Host Representative in an enthusiastic statement. "This year, the event was packed, and for us, it was an amazing opportunity to showcase to the Latin American webcam models what PornHub is really about. It gave us the chance to meet those who already make part of our community as well to meet future PornHub models, added Catalina Zuluaga, PornHub's Colombian representative. The fifth edition of the LALexpo Awards 2020 was co-hosted by a playful and entertaining duo: International porn star and business owner Luna Corazon and famous Colombian actor Fernando Solorzano. "LALexpo is more than just an event, said Esperanza Gomez, international porn star and webcam business owner. "It is an opportunity to learn, educate, inform and legalize. Its like a university or a workshop camp. This year, with more than 3,800 attendees, LALexpo has proved to be the major gathering for online businesses. It came up seven years ago and kept growing. The LALexpo is going to last for a long time. It has clearly become a trendsetter in our industry, predicted the glamorous Colombian celebrity. Among the awards winners were Chaturbate for Best Overall Cam Site, StripChat for Best European Cam Site, Cam4 for Best North American Cam Site, BongaCams for Best International Cam Site, CM Studios for Best LatAm Studio, ManyVids for Best Clip Site; Best Studios won the Best Cam Studio award, Amaranta Group Agency won Best LGBT Cam Studio, Night Prowl won Best European Studio, XloveCash won Best Affiliate Program; BlueEyesLexi won the Best Female Cam Model award and Dorian Lux won the Best Male Cam Model LALexpo Award 2020. (A full list of the winners will be available on Lalexpo.com.) In its seven years of existence, LALexpo has retained its status as the main industry hub for any relevant adult business related to Latin America. The event offers a trustful and ethical connection for whoever wants to do business with Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. Those interested can find the official LALexpo 2020 video here. But LALexpo is now preparing for an even greater challenge: Bringing the Latin heat to other latitudesmeaning that LALexpo Las Vegas is fast approaching; the first edition of this conference in the United States that already promises to be one of the best. More information about LALexpo in Las Vegas, which will take place April 9-11, 2020, may be found here. Information provided by Alex Lecomte President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva attended the commemorative ceremony in Baku, dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly events. Thousands of Baku residents arrived at the Khojaly memorial in Khatai district today to pay tribute to victims of the genocide. The nationalist illegal armed groups, which fought against the Republic of Azerbaijan, committed an act of genocide against the population of Khojaly: 613 people were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elders; 487 people were severely wounded; 1,275 people were captured; the fate of 197 people still remains unknown. Eight families were totally annihilated. WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EG Group and the American Cancer Society have announced a nationwide partnership that will help drive funding for life-saving programs and services provided by the American Cancer Society. This partnership will take place from February 26th through March 31st 2020. During this time, all EG Group convenience stores across the United States will offer their customers an opportunity to make a donation to the American Cancer Society. Brands operated by EG Group include Certified Oil, Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf 'n Jug, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Tom Thumb, and Turkey Hill. Proceeds will help the American Cancer Society fund breakthrough cancer research and life-saving services like free rides to chemotherapy, free places to stay near treatment, and a live 24/7 cancer information helpline. The American Cancer Society is pleased to partner with the EG Group to drive funding for these critical programs and services. "This nationwide initiative allows us to unlock funds that will fuel our mission. We are thrilled to partner with the esteemed EG Group on this initiative and look forward to ongoing collaborations where we can continue to fight cancer together," said Wayne White, EVP at the American Cancer Society. "We're proud to help support the doctors, scientists, and service providers at the American Cancer Society who provide life-changing research and help patients manage through this terrible disease," said EG America President George Fournier. "We encourage our guests to donate to this worthwhile cause. No donation is too small." For more information about the American Cancer Society, please visit www.cancer.org. About EG Group Founded in 2001 by the Issa family, United Kingdom based EG Group is a leading petrol forecourt retail convenience operator who has established partnerships with global brands such as ESSO, BP, Shell, Carrefour, Louis Delhaize, SPAR, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Greggs and Subway. The business has an established pedigree of delivering a world class fuel, convenience and food-to-go offer. EG Group entered the US market through the initial acquisition of 763 Kroger C-Stores in April of 2018 and now operates 1700 stores in 31 states. EG Group has made a significant commitment to delivering a modern consumer retail offer creating a destination to satisfy multiple consumer missions. EG Group now operates nearly 5,400 stores, in 9 countries with over 35,000 associates. About the American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline, free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact, the Society is attacking cancer from every angle. The Society does not endorse any product or service. For more information go to www.cancer.org SOURCE EG Group Justice Sujata Manohar, the second woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court of India, had an amusing anecdote to recount at the 5th edition of the Difficult Dialogues conference in Goa, the subject of which was The State of the Law. When she started practising as a lawyer, she was asked by her male colleagues whether she was looking for a husband in the courts. Attitudes may have changed, but across the world and in India, women are poorly represented in the legal profession. India has only three women judges in a Supreme Court of 34 judges and just 73 women judges in high courts. There are more women coming into the legal profession, but when it comes to moving ahead as judges, they tend to fall off the radar. Professor Linda Mulcahy, director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford feels that the legal profession, like many others, tends to be a closed club. In the United Kingdom (UK), her experience has been that almost all the senior judges went to schools such as Eton and Harrow, and attended top league universities like Oxford and Cambridge. She describes the judiciary as male, pale and stale. If in the UK, the barriers are colour, class and gender for women. In India, there is the additional factor of caste, and strong patriarchal prejudices both at home and in the workplace. The inflexible hours and often hostile work environment lead to women finding it more difficult to manage the work-life balance than in the UK. The legal profession requires long hours, and women face stereotyping in the sort of briefs they get. Women are also not able to keep up with their male counterparts in networking skills, which, according to several women lawyers, is invaluable in getting ahead. Many law firms too are biased against women for the usual reasons she may take time off to start a family, she cannot be trusted with substantial briefs, and she is thought less capable and committed if she takes time off to start a family. Re-entering the profession usually puts the woman at a disadvantage. In a feminist judgement project undertaken in the UK in 2010, it was found that more women judges do not necessarily lead to better outcomes for womens cases. But if the judge were a feminist, the narrative is different and the endpoint changed for the better in many cases. Which is why India needs not just more women judges, but also more gender-sensitive ones. There is also pressure for women to be better than their male colleagues, and women lawyers or judges who fight to make their voices heard are often described as aggressive. This trait is seen as a virtue in male legal professionals, though. Then there is the largely hidden problem of harassment at the workplace. Such is the opaque nature of our higher judiciary that this sort of harassment is largely swept under the carpet. There have been many instances of women lawyers being subject to verbal harassment by their counterparts while arguing cases. There are states which do not have a single woman judge in the high courts these are Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh among others. Of a whopping 1.7 million advocates enrolled with the bar councils, just about 15% are women. Mulcahy feels that we ought to see legal professionals more as practitioners of human rights, and that gender should feature more in legal courses in India. But, according to her, behind every successful woman lawyer or legal academic is another woman who did not make it. Her mother and aunts were fully behind her though they themselves were not recognised in their fields. Role models need not necessarily be other female legal luminaries but these women, the unsung heroes who are often family members, without whose support many women lawyers could not have made it. India could emulate a project started in the UK to identify such women and honour them. Legal firms which are active in far-reaching life decisions for people should begin by providing infrastructural support for women to advance. The courts too should become more gender-friendly. This should include flexible work schedules and creches, and a narrowing, if not eliminating, the pay gap. But women in the legal profession also must be more proactive. They should come together to tackle issues of gender inequality in the workplace. There are many women lawyers who can lead such associations, and while it may not change things overnight, there is strength in numbers. In recent years, the courts have made several gender-friendly amendments to the law. But now, it should look inwards, and accept the inequality in the profession, and how because of this, it is clearly losing the services of many talented women. lalita.panicker@hindustantimes.com The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON 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 below are in Eastern time. Total confirmed cases: More than 81,000 Total deaths: At least 2,764 7:20 pm: Trump says schools should prepare pandemic plans 'just in case' President Donald Trump said schools should start preparing their pandemic plans as a precaution in case the COVID-19 outbreak that's rapidly spreading through Asia, Europe and the Middle East takes hold in the U.S. "Every aspect of our society should be prepared. I don't think it's going to come to that," Trump said. "I think schools should be preparing, get ready just in case. The words are just in case. We don't think we're going to be there. We don't think we're going to be anywhere close." Watch the press conference here. Kopecki 7:08 pm Saudi Arabia suspends entry for Umrah, visits to Al Masjid Al Nabawy Saudi Arabia temporarily suspended entry to the kingdom for the Umrah Islamic pilgrimage and visits to al Masjid Al Nabawy in Medina, the ministry of foreign affairs announced on Twitter amid fears over the spread of the new coronavirus. The kingdom has also suspended entry to Saudi Arabia for anyone with tourism visas from countries where coronavirus is a threat. The Foreign Ministry called on citizens not to travel to countries where the new coronavirus is spreading. Reuters 7 pm: Iraq bans public gatherings on coronavirus fear; travel ban totals nine countries Iraq banned public gatherings and barred entry by travelers from Kuwait and Bahrain because of the spread of the new coronavirus, prohibiting travel to or from a total of nine countries. Health Minister Jaafar Allawi said in a decree that Iraqi citizens were now not allowed to travel to China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Iraqis traveling from the nine countries and diplomats were exempt from the entry ban but would be subject to tests, Allawi said. Reuters A medical team wearing protective outfit awaits to check Iraqi passengers returning from Iran upon their arrival at the Najaf International Airport on February 21, 2020, after Iran announced cases of coronavirus infections in the Islamic republic. Haidar Hamdani | AFP | Getty Images 6:50 pm: Trump says coronavirus risk to the American people 'remains very low' President Donald Trump addressed the nation on the coronavirus outbreak, saying the risk to the American public "remains very low." Trump said Vice President Mike Pence will be heading up the U.S. response to any outbreak here. Trump announced the news conference in a tweet Wednesday morning, shortly after returning from a state visit to India where he downplayed the threat of the virus to the U.S. "We're really down to probably 10" cases, Trump told reporters there. The CDC has confirmed 60 cases in the U.S., 45 of which are patients who were repatriated from Wuhan, China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan and are excluded from its official count. Watch the press conference here. Breuninger 6:41 pm: Microsoft warns it will miss guidance for segment that includes Windows Microsoft fell 2% in after-hours trading after saying it doesn't expect to meet the quarterly revenue guidance it previously provided for the segment that includes Windows. The move comes during a week that has seen a market selloff amid fears about the virus. Last week Apple disclosed that it did not expect to reach its own quarterly revenue guidance as a result of impact from COVID-19. Earlier this week HP, one of the biggest sellers of Windows PCs, said that corporate updates to Windows 10 could slip into future quarters. Microsoft said its supply chain was "returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated" and its fiscal third-quarter earnings would miss its guidance for its More Personal Computing segment. Novet 5:51 pm: JetBlue suspends change fees for all flights booked through March 11 JetBlue is waiving cancellation and change fees for all flights booked from Thursday through March 11 for travel completed by June 1. "While authorities have not issued any travel restrictions to the locations we fly, we want to give our customers some peace of mind that we are ready to support them should the situation change," said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer, JetBlue. The company said the policy change was made "given evolving coronavirus concerns." Kopecki 5:47 pm: Germany says it can't trace cases and is heading for an epidemic Germany is at the beginning of a coronavirus epidemic after new cases sprung up that can no longer be traced to the virus's original source in China, Health Minister Jens Spahn said. A total of five new cases of coronavirus in the west and south of Germany taking the country's total to around 20 meant the disease appeared to be moving to a new phase, Spahn told a news conference, urging health authorities and employers to review their pandemic planning. "The infection chains are partially no longer trackable, and that is a new thing," Spahn said. "Large numbers of people have had contact with the patients, and that is a big change to the 16 patients we had until now where the chain could be traced back to the origin in China." Reuters An Austrian train was halted in Munich, Germany, after carrying two women with suspected coronavirus from Venice, Italy. picture alliance 4:40 pm: Booking Holdings warns coronavirus will hit Q1 revenue Online travel giant Booking Holdings said the outbreak of coronavirus will damp travel demand and drive down sales in the first quarter. The company, which operates Booking.com, airfare-search site Kayak.com and others said its revenue could fall by as much as 9% on the year in the first quarter. It expects travel bookings to drop by 10% to 15%. "The coronavirus has had a significant and negative impact across our business during the 1st quarter. It is not possible to predict where, and to what degree, outbreaks of the coronavirus will disrupt travel patterns," the company said in an earnings filing. The company said its forecast included wider ranges than usual because of the "high level of uncertainty in forecasting the coronavirus and its associated impact on the company and the travel industry generally." Josephs 4:24 pm: 10-year Treasury yield drops to new record low of 1.3% The 10-year Treasury yield turned lower after an initial bump higher, falling to a new record low amid heightened fears about the fast-spreading coronavirus and its effect on the global economy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, fell four basis points to a 1.302%, just below its last record low reached on Tuesday of 1.307%. The benchmark yield was about 3 basis points higher earlier in the session. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at 1.807%, near its record low. Investors sought the safety of U.S. government debt and fled riskier assets on fears that the deadly coronavirus will disrupt the global economy growth. The S&P 500 posted back-to-back losses of more than 3% this week, suffering its biggest two-day plunge since 2015. Li An ambulance drives through the main gate of US Army Camp Carroll in Chilgok, about 30 kilometres north of Daegu, on February 26, 2020. Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images 4:12 pm: FDA official says vaccine's human trials too aggressive Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which determines the safety of effectiveness of vaccines, said that the three-month estimate for a coronavirus vaccine to enter human trials may be too aggressive. "We're hoping in next quarter or 2 there will be a vaccine that will be ready to move" into human trials, Marks said at a conference in New York. Reuters 3:34 pm: 83 New York residents placed in self-quarantine after returning from China Nassau County health officials said that they have placed 83 Americans in self-quarantine after returning to New York from China amid concerns they were exposed to the new coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified local officials that a plane was carrying Nassau County residents with "potential exposure" to the virus, Health Commissioner for Nassau County Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein told reporters. Potential exposure, in this case, means that they had traveled to China in the past 14 days. Feuer 3:30 pm: Workday cancels internal sales conference attended by thousands Workday has canceled its annual internal sales meeting over fears of the coronavirus outbreak and will be moving the program online. The Workday Sales Kickoff, or SKO, was scheduled for March 2 through March 4 in Orlando, Florida, and was supposed to draw around 3,000 people, a spokeswoman told CNBC. "The well-being of our employees and communities is our top priority, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to make our global sales kickoff a virtual experience to ensure we rally our team in the safest way possible," Workday spokesperson Jeff Shadid confirmed in a statement to CNBC. Farr 3:15 pm: Norway detects its first case of coronavirus Norway's Public Health Agency said that one person had tested positive for coronavirus and was being kept isolated at home, in what was the country's first confirmed case.The person had returned from China late last week, but did not appear ill and was unlikely to infect others, the agency said. Reuters 2:51 pm: Video conferencing company Zoom adds more users Video conferencing software company Zoom has brought in more active users so far this year than it did in 2019 amid corporate concerns about the spread of coronavirus, Bernstein Research analysts wrote in a note distributed to clients on Wednesday. The usage spike illustrates one company thriving while some others are seeing cracks because of the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Novet 2:17 pm: Nation of Georgia reports first case Georgia has reported the first case of coronavirus in the country, the health minister said. Ekaterine Tikaradze said that a Georgian citizen, who was traveling from Iran, crossed the border from neighboring Azerbaijan. "He was immediately taken to hospital from the border check-point," Tikaradze said. Reuters Medical staff from the IHU (Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire) Mediterranee Infection Institute are at work in the laboratory to analyse samples on the possible presence of the COVID-19 on February 26, 2020 in Marseille, France. Gerard Julien | AFP | Getty Images 1:46 pm: US confirms new case U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar confirmed a new case of the coronavirus in the U.S. "Coming into this hearing, I was informed that we have a 15th confirmed case, the epidemiology of which we are still discerning," he testified before a House panel. The new case brings the total number of cases in the U.S. to 60. The CDC has separated out 45 confirmed infections in people evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan or from Wuhan, China from its official case count. Feuer 1:37 pm: Coronavirus causes Moody's to slash global vehicle sales forecast for 2020 Investor Service is slashing its global vehicle sales forecast as the coronavirus outbreak reduces demand and disrupts automotive supply chains. The firm now expects global auto sales to slump 2.5% in 2020 instead of a 0.9% drop previously expected. Moody's cited the COVID-19 epidemic as well as stricter emissions regulations for the overall decline in vehicle sales from 90.3 million to 88 million. Wayland 1:17 pm: Pakistan confirms first two cases Pakistan has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus but both patients are in a "stable" condition, the health minister said. "Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control," Health Minister Zafar Mirza tweeted. One of the cases was detected in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, a provincial official said. It was not immediately clear where the second infected person was based. Reuters 1:10 pm: Presidential contenders take aim at Trump's coronavirus response Democratic presidential candidates at Tuesday night's debate took aim at the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak. Some candidates called for more funding to be allocated to the CDC's effort to prepare for an outbreak in the U.S. Others criticized President Donald Trump's apparently lax attitude regarding the outbreak, which has now infected at least 81,000 in more than 30 countries and killed at least 2,764 people. The criticism came after the CDC stepped up its call Tuesday for the public to start preparing for a possible pandemic outbreak in the U.S. Feuer 12:15 pm: CDC confirms 59 US cases The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 59 cases in the U.S., a majority of which came from passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan. The CDC updated its case count on its website late Tuesday. The data shows that 42 of the cases are attributed to the cruise ship, three patients were infected in Wuhan and later evacuated to the U.S. and the rest were largely infected while traveling overseas. Just two cases were contracted through person-to-person contact in the U.S., the CDC said. Kopecki 12:09 pm: Delta slashes South Korea service because of outbreak Delta Air Lines slashes its service to South Korea from the U.S. to 15 flights a week from 28 as the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly outside of China. More than 1,100 people have been infected with COVID-19 in South Korea, the largest outbreak outside of China. Delta said it is temporarily cutting its service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Seoul from Feb. 29 through April 30 and cut service to five times a week from Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle until May 1. "The health and safety of customers and employees is Delta's top priority and the airline has put in place a number of processes and mitigation strategies to respond to the growing concern," Delta said. Other airlines may follow suit due to a decline in demand. Josephs South Korean tourists leaving Israel are pictured at a pavillon separated from the main terminal of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on February 24, 2020. AHMAD GHARABLI 12:06 pm: More video game companies pull out of PAX East Projekt RED and PUGB Corp. joined a growing list of major video game companies to cancel their appearance at the PAX East conference in Boston that's scheduled to start Thursday. Already Sony PlayStation, Oculus, Electronic Arts, Kojima Productions, Capcom, and Square Enix have either pulled out of PAX East or the Game Developers Conference, or GDC 2020, a video game conference set to be held in San Francisco next month. Whitten 11:53: Travel restrictions 'irrelevant' if coronavirus becomes a pandemic Stringent travel restrictions imposed on inbound flights from China to contain the coronavirus outbreak become "irrelevant" in a potential pandemic because "you can't keep out the entire world," a top U.S. health official said a day after the Trump administration braced the public for its eventual spread here. "When it was focused only on China, we had a period of time, temporary, that we could do a travel restriction that prevented cases from coming into the U.S.," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "When you have multiple countries involved, it's very difficult to do, in fact, it's almost impossible." Higgins-Dunn 11:47 am: Coronavirus cuts Trump's Dow gains since election to 48% from 61% President Donald Trump may be livid about this week's market sell-off, but the rally in U.S. equities since his election is still well intact. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 47.7% since Trump's election through Tuesday's close, which brought the index's week-to-date point loss to more than 1,900 points, more than 6.5%. Adding in Wednesday's partial rebound, the Dow is up 49.9% since the market's close on Nov. 8, 2016. At a recent record high, the Dow's performance since Trump's election exceeded 60% before falling more than 10 percentage points amid the sell-off. These calculations measure the percent price change of the Dow over a given period and exclude fixed returns like dividends. Franck 11:24 am: Billionaire Cooperman says the stock market sell-off has created bargains Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said he's using the market scare to buy more stocks because he thinks the coronavirus will have disappeared by June. Cooperman told CNBC he's been a net buyer in the last few days and is seeing "a lot of value in the market" as fears about the coronavirus picked up. Franck 11:02 am: New coronavirus cases outside China exceeded those in China for the first time The number of new COVID-19 cases outside China exceeded those inside the country for the first time, the World Health Organization announced. Outside of China, there are now 2,790 cases of the coronavirus across 37 countries, including 44 deaths as of Wednesday morning, according to a transcript of remarks from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO. "The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning," Tedros said. "Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time." Lovelace 9:54 am: Brazil Health Ministry confirms first coronavirus case in Latin America The Brazilian government confirmed the first case of a fast-spreading new coronavirus in Latin America, officials from the Brazil Health Ministry said, after a Sao Paulo hospital flagged the possible infection of a 61-year-old who had visited Italy. The diagnosis comes during Brazil's carnival holiday, a peak time for domestic travel when millions of revelers throng to major cities for raucous street celebrations. Brazil is tracking 20 suspected cases of the virus in the country, health officials told reporters at a news briefing. Reuters Brazilian citizens from China's coronavirus-struck Wuhan, arrive at the Air Force base of Anapolis, State of Goias, Brazil, February 9, 2020. Adriano Machado | Reuters 8:31 am: Italy cases triple in two days as outbreak surges The number of cases in Italy has tripled over the last two days, rising to 374 confirmed diagnoses from 124 on Monday, according to data from Italy's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organizations. The virus has killed 12 people so far, up from two reported deaths two days ago. A bulk of the cases are still concentrated in the wealthy Lombardy region in Northern Italy. The country's first two cases were confirmed on Jan. 30, a couple of Chinese tourists, the Ministry said. The first confirmed case of secondary transmission occurred at a hospital on Feb. 18, it said. Kopecki Medical staff check incoming passengers coming from Italy to detect any possible symptoms of Covid-19 also known as Coronavirus at Albanias main port city of Durres on February 26, 2020. Gent Shkullaku | AFP | Getty Images 8:46 am: Trump announces news conference with CDC officials President Donald Trump revealed in a tweet Wednesday that he will hold a news conference at the White House with CDC officials on the coronavirus at 6 p.m. ET. The president made the announcement after attacking the media for "panicking markets" through their coverage of the virus. Breuninger. 7:40 am: Toyota says Japan plants might get hit by virus-related supply issues Toyota Motor said operations at its plants in Japan might be affected by supply-chain issues due to the coronavirus outbreak in the coming weeks, as the global outbreak picks up. The automaker, which operates 16 vehicle and components sites in Japan, said it would decide on how to continue operations at its domestic plants from the week of March 9, after keeping output normal through next week. Plants could be affected by potential supply disruptions in China as some plants in the epicenter of the outbreak are unable to produce and transport goods, while some plants remain closed under orders by regional authorities. Reuters 7:30 am: Rio Tinto's best earnings since 2011 clouded by virus risks Global mining group Rio Tinto warned that the outbreak might create challenging conditions over the next six months, with more disruptions to global supply chains and potential delays to projects in Australia. The miner's warning comes on the heels of its best underlying earnings since 2011, buttressed by a sizable jump in iron ore prices last year. However, 2020 looks uncertain with economic activity stalling in many parts of China as it grapples to contain the virus. "Today, our iron ore books are full. But we are likely to see some short-term impact such as on supply chains and possibly in provisional services from Chinese suppliers," Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques told reporters in a teleconference. Reuters People wearing protective face masks sit outside the AHEPA hospital, where the first confirmed coronavirus case is being treated, in Thessaloniki, Greece, February 26, 2020. Alexandros Avramidis | Reuters 7:23 am: World's biggest spirits company Diageo warns of coronavirus hit Diageo said Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus in Asia could knock up to $260 million off its profit in 2020. Trade has been significantly disrupted since the end of January and the group expects this to last at least into March. After that, Diageo anticipates a gradual improvement with consumption returning to normal levels toward the end of fiscal 2020. The company estimated the negative impact of the virus outbreak on the group's organic net sales and organic operating profit to be 225 million to 325 million pounds and 140 million to 200 million pounds ($260 million) respectively. It cautioned that these ranges exclude any impact of coronavirus on its other markets beyond China and Asia Pacific. Reuters 6:08 am: France reports second death from coronavirus, Greece confirms first case Europe reported new coronavirus cases with France seeing its second death and Italy reporting its 12th death. Greece confirmed its first coronavirus case, a 38-year-old Greek woman who had traveled from an area of northern Italy, according to Sotiris Tsiodras, a representative of the Ministry of Health, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Italy has now reported that four children in the country have also contracted the flu-like illness. 5:24 am: Another Chinese city to test all travelers for coronavirus As South Korea and Japan report more cases of coronavirus, another Chinese city near the eastern Asian countries is stepping up restrictions on travelers. A major city in Shandong province, Yantai, announced all travelers from abroad who arrive in the city will receive free nucleic acid tests for the virus. This move follows an earlier announcement from Weihai, another city in the province, that travelers from Japan and South Korea will be put in hotels for a 14-day free quarantine. South Korea and Japan are the two countries closest to China's northeastern provinces and Jiaodong Peninsula. Shandong's Qingdao, Weihai and Yantai are home to hundreds of Korean companies and the majority of these Korean investors are from Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Incheon and Bushan, according to public data. Wu 4:29 am: As China ramps up for Winter Olympics, virus keeps skiers away OTTAWA - The federal privacy watchdog has accused the RCMP of ignoring his efforts to investigate complaints about the national police force's apparent foot-dragging on information requests from the public. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. The federal privacy watchdog has accused the RCMP of ignoring his office's efforts to investigate complaints about the national police force's failure to respond to information requests from the public. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck OTTAWA - The federal privacy watchdog has accused the RCMP of ignoring his efforts to investigate complaints about the national police force's apparent foot-dragging on information requests from the public. The concerns also prompted a Federal Court judge to say he was troubled by the Mounties' "seeming indifference." Under the Privacy Act, individuals can ask federal departments and agencies, including the RCMP, for records the agency might hold about them. Agencies are supposed to respond within 30 days, though they can take an extension of another 30 days. In March 2018, Dale Cumming filed a Privacy Act request to the RCMP and, after four months passed without a response, he lodged a complaint with privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien, an ombudsman for requesters. Therrien's office upheld the complaint in May of last year and advised Cumming he could pursue the matter further in Federal Court, since he still had not received a response from the Mounties. A newly released court ruling in Cumming's case reveals the privacy watchdog also wrote RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki last May, citing 16 other complaints that alleged the RCMP had failed to respond within the time limit. Like Cumming, those complainants had not yet received a response from the RCMP, and the privacy commissioner concluded the grievances were well-founded. In the letter, the privacy commissioner also pointed out his office "has several other outstanding investigations against the RCMP including several with respect to time limits." "While we have concluded our investigations of the 17 complaints at hand, we are considering next steps with respect to these other complaints," said the privacy commissioner's letter. "Of particular concern is that despite repeated attempts to obtain information regarding these files from your (Access to Information and Privacy) officials, our office has not received appropriate responses, and in certain cases has been completely ignored." Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson noted there was insufficient evidence to establish why the delay occurred in Cumming's case. "However, it is clear that Mr. Cumming's experience was not unique." The RCMP's "seeming indifference towards its obligations under the Privacy Act is troubling," the judge wrote. "The circumstances deserve Commissioner Lucki's attention if she has not previously acted upon the May 2019 letter." Neither the RCMP nor Therrien's office had immediate comment on the court ruling. Gleeson ultimately decided against Cumming, who represented himself in court, since the RCMP did eventually respond to his request last July. The Mounties released some information to him and withheld other material, noting provisions of the law that allow agencies to keep certain records about a person under wraps. Despite receiving some information, Cumming pursued the court application, arguing the RCMP's disclosure was incomplete and that its failure to act more swiftly was a deliberate delay tactic. Gleeson found Cumming's case was moot, since the RCMP did eventually respond. He also pointed out Cumming must first complain to the privacy commissioner about the withheld material before filing a new application in court concerning the redactions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter PLANO, Texas, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Frito-Lay has unveiled the 10 finalists in its inaugural WomanMade Expo West Challenge, in which female entrepreneurs will pitch their business plans in a live, rapid-fire format to industry experts for a chance to win from $100,000 in business grants. The WomanMade Expo West Challenge, a PepsiCo initiative dedicated to advancing female-founded businesses in the food and beverage industry, will take place at Natural Products Expo West on Friday, March 6 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. PT in the Marriott Convention Center, Marquis Northwest. The Challenge is open to any credentialed attendees of Expo West who would like to learn more about the 10 finalists, all female founders whose businesses have $500,000 in annual revenue and rose to the top with their commitment to innovation and social impact. The 10 finalists of the inaugural WomanMade Expo West Challenge are: Sashee Chandran : founder of Tea Drops, organic shaped teas that dissolve instantly in hot water and generate 20% less waste than traditional tea packaging. : founder of Tea Drops, organic shaped teas that dissolve instantly in hot water and generate 20% less waste than traditional tea packaging. Nydia Shipman : co-founder of The Worthy Company, the first plant-based, all-in-one snack bowl made for on-the-go. : co-founder of The Worthy Company, the first plant-based, all-in-one snack bowl made for on-the-go. Kate Flynn : co-founder of Sun & Swell Foods with a mission of making healthy, on-the-go snacking more accessible. : co-founder of Sun & Swell Foods with a mission of making healthy, on-the-go snacking more accessible. Jessica Levison : founder of Peekaboo Ice Cream, a certified B Corporation designed to deliver indulgent ice cream with hidden veggies that can't be seen or tasted. : founder of Peekaboo Ice Cream, a certified B Corporation designed to deliver indulgent ice cream with hidden veggies that can't be seen or tasted. Cecilia Panichelli : co-founder of Cocina 54, heritage-inspired empanadas made from scratch with fresh vegetables and antibiotic-free meats. : co-founder of Cocina 54, heritage-inspired empanadas made from scratch with fresh vegetables and antibiotic-free meats. Brooke Rewa : founder of Goodmylk, the first company to scale homemade-quality plant-based milks without the use of binders, gums, fillers or preservatives. : founder of Goodmylk, the first company to scale homemade-quality plant-based milks without the use of binders, gums, fillers or preservatives. Rana Lustyan : founder of Edoughble, small-batch, 100% safe to eat cookie dough with premium ingredients. : founder of Edoughble, small-batch, 100% safe to eat cookie dough with premium ingredients. Allison DeVane : founder of Teaspressa, an all-natural organic tea designed to replace espresso with the health benefits of tea and the same caffeine content as coffee. : founder of Teaspressa, an all-natural organic tea designed to replace espresso with the health benefits of tea and the same caffeine content as coffee. Katie Jesionowski : co-founder of My SuperFoods, nutrient-dense snacks using superfoods that are traditionally not found in kids snacks, while being mindful of growing allergy concerns. : co-founder of My SuperFoods, nutrient-dense snacks using superfoods that are traditionally not found in kids snacks, while being mindful of growing allergy concerns. Jill Robbins : founder of Homefree, a certified B Corporation that makes allergy-friendly treats with a strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility. "We were blown away by the 100+ submissions we received for our inaugural WomanMade challenge, and while it was difficult to narrow down the outstanding work being done by women in the food and beverage industry, the 10 women we've selected as finalists are so deserving of the recognition," said Ciara Dilley, vice president of transform brands & portfolio innovation at Frito-Lay. "Dedicated to championing diversity and inclusion, our entire WomanMade team is proud to do our part in providing much-needed support to female founders as they scale their businesses. We're honored to highlight these women as they continue to be a driving force in our industry." Each of the finalists will have five minutes to present their business plans, immediately followed by up to five minutes for a Q&A session with the judging panel comprised of PepsiCo executives and fellow entrepreneurs, including: Jen Saenz , president, PepsiCo Global Foods , president, PepsiCo Global Foods Ciara Dilley , vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay Transform Brands & Portfolio Innovation , vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay Transform Brands & Portfolio Innovation Lisa Lillien , best-selling author and founder of Hungry-Girl.com , best-selling author and founder of Hungry-Girl.com Shane Emmett , Health Warrior co-founder , Health Warrior co-founder Hannah Hong , Hakuna Brands co-founder and winner of the 2019 Stacy's Rise Project The top three winners of the WomanMade Expo West Challenge will be announced live on-site and will receive $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 grants, respectively. Additionally, in partnership with Alice, a free multi-channel platform that helps New Majority Entrepreneurs, all applicants will receive support for their business through the WomanMade Community on Alice, as well as tickets to Alice's Business for All conferences in 2020. The number of women-owned businesses grew 58% between 2007 and 2018, and by 46% in terms of revenue, according to research from American Express. A study conducted by Mass Challenge and BCG also found that businesses founded by women deliver higher revenue more than two times as much per dollar invested than those founded by men. However according to PitchBook Data Inc., of all venture capitalist funding invested in 2018, only 2.2% was given to female-founded companies and only 0.2% went to diverse female entrepreneurs. Additionally, research shows that female entrepreneurs often have less access than male counterparts to the tools and resources they need to launch and sustain successful businesses. For more information about WomanMade, please visit www.helloalice.com/communities/womanmade-by-pepsico. To learn more about Frito-Lay, please visit www.fritolay.com. About PepsiCo PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com SOURCE Frito-Lay North America Related Links http://www.fritolay.com With an uptick in coronavirus cases in the U.S. expected to rise, lawmakers on Tuesday hammered President Donald Trumps top advisers on whether the administration was doing enough almost two months into the global crisis, expressing deep skepticism of the presidents claims that the situation was under control." Democrats and some Republicans sharply questioned whether the administration's $2.5 billion spending plan was enough to combat the virus, and asked repeatedly about a shortage of millions of face masks for health care workers that would be needed in the virus spread. MORE: Trump says coronavirus 'under control' in US, problem going to 'go away' PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in New Delhi, India, Feb. 25, 2020. (Al Drago/Reuters) One top Republican senator issuing a stern warning. This is not the time to try to shortchange the American people This is the time to step up, said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., of the latest spending plan. Sen. Richard Shelby tells HHS Sec. Alex Azar that the Trump administration's coronavirus $2.5 billion emergency funding request "is lowballing it, possibly, and you can't afford to do that." "If you lowball something like this, you'll pay for it later." https://t.co/k3bhFnc5m7 pic.twitter.com/0uLM2ht3XD ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 25, 2020 The Trump administration responded with mixed messages on the health scare -- insisting the threat was "contained" while simultaneously acknowledging that more people inside the U.S. would likely turn up infected. "It looks like they're getting it under control, more and more, they're getting more and more under control," Trump said Tuesday morning at a news conference in India. "So, I think that's a problem that's going to go away." Story continues MORE: Coronavirus live updates: CDC warns Americans of 'significant disruption' They noted that US-based cases have remained steady and that the number hasn't been rising -- a data point political appointees hailed as a success, even as other officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that the virus would inevitably spread rapidly through the U.S. "That is a remarkable level of containment here in the United States," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters at a press conference Tuesday, later adding that "we are realistic" there would be more cases. Several Republicans said they were confident the Trump administration was handling the situation. But others said they were frustrated, insisting they received a different message at a closed-door briefing earlier that day with the nation's premier health experts. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said they were told that there is a very strong chance of an extremely serious outbreak of coronavirus in the United States. PHOTO: Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Chad Wolf testifies on Capitol Hill, Feb. 25, 2020, during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Sen. Patty Murray: "If a pandemic is coming, and we are disregarding scientific evidence and relying on tweets and an emergency supplemental without details...I'm deeply concerned that we are way behind the eight ball on this." https://t.co/nbSH7bJzK6 https://t.co/66GDcPKqUU Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) February 25, 2020 In a hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana grew visibly agitated that the Cabinet secretary couldn't say what U.S. models were predicting or whether health care workers had the right equipment. Youre head of Homeland Security. Do we have enough respirators or not? Kennedy told Wolf, who deferred questions on the scope of the crisis and preparedness plans to the Health and Human Services Department. "The American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus and I'm not getting them from you," Kennedy said at one point. In a separate hearing, Azar testified that the nation's health care workers would need 300 million masks -- and that there's only some 30 million in stock. He said that's why the administration devised its $2.5 billion spending plan, which includes a request for $1.25 billion in new emergency cash. PHOTO: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testifies before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 25, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Azar also said that while containment was still the goal, at some point, if there is some sustained human-to-human transport, we hope to mitigate." Democrats accused Trump of taking the threat seriously only after a fall in the stock market over the last two days -- the worst two-day stretch in two years. MORE: As coronavirus cases surge worldwide, Dow plummets 1000 points I'm just wondering why it took a dive in the stock market before the Trump administration decided this was an important issue, important enough to ask for this money, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told reporters. We should have emergency preparedness, not that we have an emergency in America, but we have to prepare to make sure we dont, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said. And that's what we're not doing. "The Trump administration has shown towering and dangerous incompetence." Dem. Sen. Chuck Schumer criticizes the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus, saying it is "scrambling" and "has no plan to deal with the coronavirus." https://t.co/DdloThdtj9 pic.twitter.com/fUSxziwZRG ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 25, 2020 In a floor speech, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the administration for what he called towering and dangerous incompetence. Meanwhile, a top health official warned the spread of the virus was inevitable. Its not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, a top health official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I told my children at breakfast today that although risk is low we need to be preparing for significant disruption to our lives," Messonnier later added. During his news conference, Trump said that while the coronavirus is "pretty bad" and a "very serious thing," he said that "it's going to work out fine" and that the virus will "go away." ABC News' Allison Pecorin, Eric Strauss, Trish Turner, Sophie Tatum and Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report. Trump advisers grilled on coronavirus as lawmakers receive mixed messages on what happens next originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Falk, a customer service representative, said that when she arrived at River Point Behavioral Health, around 11:30 a.m., she was told that her daughter was being held for 48 hours. She said she wasnt permitted to see Nadia until 6:30 that night. When she did see her, Falk said the girl was sedated in a secluded room. Opposition parties on Wednesday launched a no-holds-barred attack on the government over violence in Northeast Delhi which has claimed at least 22 lives, with Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury describing Delhi violence a "chilling reminder" of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Congress held a meeting of its working committee, party's highest decision-making body, on the situation in the national capital and passed a resolution, asserting that what has happened in Delhi "is a colossal failure of duty". Later, the Congress leaders, including general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took out a peace march' from party office to the Gandhi Smriti on the Tees January Marg. At least 22 people have been killed in communal violence in Northeast Delhi since Sunday, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protestors over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Meanwhile, police conducted flag marches and security personnel spread out across the violence-battered localities in the national capital to quell the unrest. Speaking to the media after chairing the Congress Working Committee meeting, Gandhi alleged there was a "well-planned" conspiracy behind the violence, that has also led to injuries to more than 200 people over the past three days. She also urged the people of Delhi to "reject the of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events". Attacking the government, Yechury in a joint press conference with CPI general secretary D Raja, alleged that it was clear that the violence in Delhi has the sanction of police and that of the "powers that govern them". "Violence in Delhi is a chilling reminder of the communal genocide in Gujarat in 2002 when the current prime minister was the state chief minister," alleged Yechury. Both Raja and Yechury questioned the role of Shah in dealing with the violence and blamed him for not being able to contain the situation. "If the National Security Advisor is supposed to be in charge of Delhi Police, then what is the role of Home Minister? Has the government conceded that Home Minister Shah is incapable of handling Delhi violence," they asked. They said there is nothing spontaneous about the violence that claimed so many lives and left hundreds injured, and accused BJP leader Kapil Mishra of instigating it. Mishra had earlier publicly called for forcible removal of protesters from various protest sites. "Home Minister Shah has sought to evade the nature of the planned violence by calling it spontaneous. The only way confidence can be restored among the people and strict action taken against miscreants is to call in the army to aid the civilian authority," said Yechury. The Left leaders also said that they will visit the violence-hit areas along with other political parties soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venice: The number of new coronavirus cases reported outside China has exceeded the number of new ones in China for the first time, as a top official warns that prematurely declaring a pandemic could "paralyse" global efforts to contain the outbreak. World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed there were 412 new cases in China as of Thursday morning (AEDT) compared to 459 confirmed infections in other countries, a milestone fuelled by major clusters in Italy, Iran and South Korea. In an update to affected nations, Dr Ghebreyesus repeated his view that the spike in cases in Europe, Asia and the Middle East was "deeply concerning" but pushed back against the option of declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. "We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts," he said. The COVID-19 coronavirus has definitely brought our world to a halt. And in case you thought its only China where the disease is rapidly spreading, you couldnt be more wrong. Various cases of the novel coronavirus have been seen not just in Asian countries like South Korea and Thailand, but now it has also started to rapidly spread across Europe. Reuters Coronavirus in Italy Italy is struggling hard to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 as it has seen a considerable spike in the number of new cases. As of today, around 11 people have died of the coronavirus with over 300 confirmed cases. The country has announced a lockdown on 12 towns. Most infections have come from regions Lombardy and Veneto from Northern Italy which include popular tourist destinations Milan and Venice. The Prime Minister is asking people to stay indoors as a part of quarantine with armed guards outside thatll enforce the lockdown. This outbreak has also cancelled the annual Venice carnival, along with the shutdown of various tourist destinations to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Reuters Coronavirus in France France too has been hit by the novel coronavirus. It reported its first death from the infection today. The patient was a 60-year old French citizen who was tested in Paris yesterday and passed away overnight. This was the 17th case of infection in France. Officials in France, as well as Austria, are monitoring their borders for visitors with IR temperature scanners to prevent infected people from entering the country. Coronavirus in other parts of Europe Other European countries that have seen cases for the novel coronavirus include Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Finland. But the number of infected people here are only a handful. Austria and Switzerland also got their first cases of the novel coronavirus yesterday. Reuters Coronavirus in South Korea Another place that has seen a major spike in coronavirus cases is South Korea, with over 1200 confirmed cases as the situation only gets worsened with every passing day. 12 people in South Korea have died due to infections. Of the 1,261 confirmed cases, 710 were linked to Daegu and 317 to North Gyeongsang Province, which includes Cheongdo, as per South Korean authorities. A US soldier belonging to US Forces in South Korea has also been tested for COVID-19 -- a first for US military. Coronavirus in Japan Japanese authorities have confirmed 853 cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday. In order to contain and treat the novel coronavirus, Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised to implement measures in co-operation with local governments and medical institutions. He has asked organisers to cancel all the events for a two-week period to help contain COVID-19. Japanese authorities have also stated that they wont be allowing visitors from South Korean cities of Daegu and Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province, specifically nationals who have stayed in the regions over the last 14 days. Video PlayerClose China's unprecedented public health responses have yielded notable results in blocking human-to-human transmissions of the virus, preventing or at least delaying hundreds of thousands of cases: China-WHO joint expert team BEIJING, February 25 (Xinhua) China is engaged in a war against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, a major public health emergency considered to have spread fastest, caused the most extensive infection and have been the hardest to contain since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Though the virus has infected more than 77,000 people, daily new cases are on an overall declining trend, with the number of recovered patients rapidly increasing. After arduous work, the positive trend is now expanding, said President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. So, how China has done it? Here is a review. Strong Leadership After the outbreak of the epidemic, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the issue and made swift deployments. Xi personally commands the people's war against the epidemic. He has been paying constant attention to the epidemic prevention and control work and made oral or written instructions every day. President Xi Jinping inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work in Beijing, capital of China, on February 10, 2020. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] On January 7, he issued requirements on the epidemic prevention and control work when he chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. On January 20, he demanded that Party committees and governments at all levels put people's lives and health as the top priority and make resolute efforts to curb the spread of the virus. On January 25, the first day of the lunar Chinese New Year, Xi chaired another meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, focusing on the COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting decided to form a central leading group on the epidemic, dispatch a central guiding team, and demand a State Council inter-agency task force play its full role in coordination. "I was very encouraged and impressed by the President's detailed knowledge of the outbreak, and his personal involvement in the response," Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said after meeting Xi in Beijing on January 28. "This was for me very rare leadership." Afterward, Xi again held three meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and one meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to study epidemic control and resumption of work and production. On February 10, Xi inspected COVID-19 prevention and control work in Beijing and heard reports from the frontline in the hardest-hit province of Hubei and its capital city Wuhan through video links. President Xi Jinping inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work in Beijing, capital of China, on February 10, 2020. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei] Xi also made requirements on epidemic prevention and control from various aspects when he chaired meetings of a number of central commissions on overall law-based governance, cyberspace affairs, overall deepening reform and foreign affairs. The latest was a meeting on February 23 to coordinate epidemic control and economic and social development. Xi made specific requirements for both fronts. Timely Strategy, Political Courage Under Xi's command, China launched a people's war against the epidemic, with Wuhan and Hubei as the main battlefield. Lines of defense were set up. Personnel and resources were mobilized across the country. Military medical staff airlifted by eight large transport planes of the air force of the People's Liberation Army arrive at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, February 2, 2020. [Xinhua/Cheng Min] On curbing the spread, early detection, reports, quarantine and treatment are stressed. On treating patients, pooling together patients, experts, resources, as well as centralized treatment are underscored. On January 22, the CPC Central Committee made a decisive move that required huge political courage: it ordered Hubei to impose full and strict control over the outbound population flow. A day later, all urban public transportation, including city buses, ferries and metro lines were suspended and outbound channels at the airport and rail stations closed in Wuhan, home to more than 10 million people. It is an unprecedented move in modern Chinese history, but an effective one. Tedros said China took "serious measures at the epicenter, at the source," which not only protected Chinese people, but also prevented the spread of the virus to other countries. "Because of this strategy, if it weren't for China's efforts, the number of cases outside China would have been very much higher," he said earlier this month at a WHO Executive Board meeting in Geneva. Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (2nd, L) attends a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, February 10, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Junxia] Effective Measures Along with that move, a series of other measures were also introduced to mobilize the whole country to contain the epidemic. More than 330 medical teams consisting of some 41,600 medical personnel, both civilian and military, have been dispatched to Hubei from across the country. The Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals were swiftly built and started operation in Wuhan, in addition to various temporary hospitals converted from gyms, conference and exhibition centers to treat COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. Ensuring the provision of medical supplies in Wuhan and Hubei was prioritized and 19 provinces paired with other cities in Hubei to provide one-on-one support. Workers make face masks in the workshop of a textile company in Jimo District of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, February 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Liang Xiaopeng] In light of the serious problems that occurred in the early-stage prevention and control work in Hubei and Wuhan, the CPC Central Committee promptly put forward rectification requirements and adjusted the leadership of the CPC Hubei provincial committee and Wuhan municipal committee. The Spring Festival holiday was extended to delay possible travel peaks. Arrangements were made to postpone the start of the new school semester, promote the flexible resumption of businesses and reduce the pressure on transportation. Measures were taken to support manufacturers of medical protective suits, masks and other epidemic prevention and control materials that are in urgent need, help them quickly resume production and expand capacity. Unified national distribution was put in place for essential materials, and the production and supply of daily necessities, coal, electricity, oil and gas were secured. Order in medical institutions and the market was maintained, in addition to crackdowns on epidemic-related crimes, and strengthened psychological counseling and intervention for the public. A woman buys vegetables at a market in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, February 2, 2020. [Xinhua/Li Bo] Public communication was procedure-based and strengthened. China also carried out cooperation and information exchange with the WHO and the international community, such as the timely sharing of the whole genome sequence of the virus. After a nine-day field study trip, a China-WHO joint expert team concluded Monday that China's unprecedented public health responses to the COVID-19 outbreak have yielded notable results in blocking human-to-human transmissions of the virus, preventing or at least delaying hundreds of thousands of cases. Bruce Aylward, an epidemiologist who led experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a press conference held by the China-WHO joint expert team in Beijing, capital of China, February 24, 2020. [Xinhua/Xing Guangli] Xi said 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. China has drawn accolades from the international community for its efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Leaders of more than 170 countries and over 40 international or regional organizations expressed their support to China. In a phone conversation with Xi, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is confident that under Xi's leadership, the Chinese people will undoubtedly win the battle against the outbreak. While talking to Xi over the phone, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said no other country could do better than China. In his message to Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his belief that under Xi's leadership, China's resolute measures will contain the epidemic and minimize losses. (Source: Xinhua) The 16th and the last COVID-19 patient in Vietnam was declared cured and discharged from hospital on February 26. browser not support iframe. This means all 16 infection cases in Vietnam, including 11 in northern Vinh Phuc province, have been successfully treated and discharged from hospital. The 50-year old man was quarantined after his wife and two daughters contracted SARS-CoV2. At first, he showed no symptoms of fever, coughing or respiratory difficulty. However on February 11, he felt tired and tests showed he had acquired the virus. Afterwards, he was treated at a policlinic in Vinh Phucs Binh Xuyen district. Earlier, his wife and daughter had also been cured and discharged from hospital on February 20. Since February 13, Vinh Phuc and Vietnam in general have recorded no new COVID-19 cases. However, the prevention and fight against this epidemic are still going on./. Vietnam well controls coronavirus epidemic, all 16 confirmed cases recovered Vietnam has successfully brought the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) under control, with all 16 confirmed positive cases in the country fully recovered from the disease, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam announced yesterday. A Dublin man is awaiting sentence after he admitted fraudulently claiming the dole while working as a civilian employee at garda headquarters. Denis Curran (56), of Dunard Avenue, Dublin 7, faced 11 counts of theft and two charges under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act for making false declarations. He appeared yesterday at Dublin District Court where he pleaded guilty. Judge Bryan Smyth adjourned sentencing until September. Sgt Bryan Hunt said the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed summary disposal of the case at District Court level. After hearing an outline of the allegations, Judge Smyth accepted jurisdiction. It was reported that on 11 occasions last year the accused was granted social welfare benefits, and twice on a date last August he made false declarations to the department. He did not disclose that he had been working as a civilian member of staff at the garda HQ in Phoenix Park and at Mountjoy Garda Station, Gda Sgt Hunt said. Leniency The court heard Curran obtained 2,466. Defence solicitor Michael Kelleher had been furnished with disclosure of prosecution evidence. Pleading for leniency, he told Judge Smyth that his client, who had no previous convictions, was repaying the money. He added that construction worker Curran lost his job in 2008. He sent out CVs and got some work at garda HQ. Curran is currently employed, and 30 a week is being deducted from his social welfare payments. Sgt Hunt said Curran had co-operated with the investigation. Sentencing was adjourned for him to pay back all the money. Democrat frontrunner Bernie Sanders was under attack from all candidates on stage at the CBS News debate in South Carolina on Tuesday (February 25). Candidates called him a risky choice and criticized his ambitious universal healthcare proposal, which they say is costly. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg kicked off the fiery assault: (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, PETE BUTTIGIEG, SAYING: "I can tell you exactly how it all adds up. It adds up to four more years of Donald Trump. Not only is this a way to get Donald Trump re-elected, we got a House to worry about, we got a Senate to worry about." Billionaire Michael Bloomberg tried to make his mark in his second debate after a disappointing first show in Nevada. He launched allegations of Russia trying to help Sanders which Sanders himself immediately slapped down: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: "Hey Mr Putin, if I'm president of the United States, trust me you're not going to interfere in any more elections." Sanders has been streaming ahead in the first three nominating contests, building his campaign on raising the minimum wage, and making public colleges and universities tuition-free. Warren sought to cling onto Sanders' coat tails saying progressive ideas were popular, but she was the safer choice to win moderate voters. (SOUNDBITES) (English) U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ELIZABETH WARREN, SAYING: "I think I would make a better president than Bernie. And the reason for that is that getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard." Other hot topics were whether candidates would move the embassy in Israel, North Korea relations aswell as how they would handle the coronavirus if they were president. The debate was the final head to head encounter before Saturday's (February 29) primary and next week's vital Super Tuesday (March 3) contest. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that rioters from outside and some political and anti-social elements were involved in the northeast Delhi violence in which 24 people, including a police head constable, were killed. Speaking in the Delhi Assembly, the chief minister appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that if required, the Army should be called in to control the situation in the riot-affected areas. Kejriwal said the common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence and asserted that a modern Delhi cannot be built on a pile of dead bodies. He said everyone has suffered losses and that politics of hatred and violence will not be tolerated. On Wednesday evening, Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited some riot-hit areas to take stock of the situation and interacted with locals. "There are two options before Delhiites. One is that we should stand together and make prosperous future of Delhi, and second is to get involved in violence. Modern Delhi cannot be built on a pile of dead bodies. We have to make Delhi developed city through good schools, hospitals," Kejriwal said in the House. He sought to know why such incidents took place and who were behind the violence in parts of northeast Delhi. "The common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence. Some outsiders, some political elements and some anti-social elements indulged in violence. Hindus and Muslims do not fight and they want to live peacefully," he said. In his earlier tweet, the chief minister said the situation has become "alarming", adding that he is writing to the Union home minister. "I have been in touch with large no. of people whole nite (night). Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. "Army shud (should) be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. Am writing to Hon'ble HM to this effect," he added. While speaking in the House, the chief minister said that the police tried to control the situation, adding that around 50 police personnel were also injured. But in some videos being circulated on social media, some police personnel were seen supporting rioters and it should be investigated, he said. The Delhi government will give a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of head constable Ratan Lal who was killed in the violence. "As per the Delhi government's policy, we will give Rs 1 crore to head constable Ratan Lal's family," he said in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. On Wednesday, the chief minister also condoled the death of an Intelligence Bureau staffer, whose body was found in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh area. Ankit Sharma may have been killed in stone pelting, officials said. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian President backs idea to capture special attitude toward children in Constitution flickr.com/ BobvdK 17:26 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed an idea to capture special attitude toward children in the Constitution. Earlier, State Duma lawmaker Olga Batalova proposed to submit an amendment stipulating definition of children as the countrys wealth and fix in the Constitution a provision reading that the state must create conditions for their cultural, intellectual, moral and physical development. On Wednesday, Putin met with the working group on drafting proposals for amendments to the Constitution. According to the President, the number of submitted proposals about amendments to the Russian Constitution has nearly reached 900. President Vladimir Putin brought the bill to amend the Constitution before the parliament on January 20. He clarified the essence of the amendments proposed to the Constitution at a meeting with members of a working group established to elaborate the respective suggestions on January 16. According to the President, the amendments are aimed to further the development of Russia as a social welfare state governed by the rule of law, as well as to achieve higher efficiency of its national institutions, strengthen the role played by its civil society, political parties, and Russias regions in working out most important decisions concerning the development of the state. Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was to remain a Presidential republic, but a more open one, where the significance of its Parliament was to grow, whereas interrelations of lawmakers with the government were to be strengthened. The President was to retain serious powers to dismiss from their posts those violating the law and those failing to be scrupulous about their duties on the basis of loss of trust, Putin said. The Head of the State believes that these powers were imperative due to the complex state structure of Russia, its multi-confessional and multi-ethnic nature, and vast territory. The working group on preparation of proposals concerning amendments to the Constitution was approved by the President on January 15. Among its members are representatives of the Federation Council, State Duma and other public figures. Here is the latest news on protests across Canada over a natural gas pipeline project in British Columbia (All times Eastern): Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Police speak with protesters camped on GO Transit railroad tracks in Hamilton, Ont., on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, as they protest in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Here is the latest news on protests across Canada over a natural gas pipeline project in British Columbia (All times Eastern): 8:35 p.m. ET The B.C. premier's office says it is unfortunate an agreement couldn't be reached to meet with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. In a statement, the premier's office says it had hoped the chiefs would agree "to a period of peace and respect during the talks, which would include encouraging their supporters to remove blockades." It says they still want to meet with the chiefs and will continue to "engage" with them and the federal government. ___ 8:22 p.m. ET A protest that was blocking a major highway on Vancouver Island has ended. Drive BC said there was still heavy congestion on the highway after a "significant traffic disruption" earlier in the day. Central Saanich police warned of the planned protest between 2 and 5 p.m. local time in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs who oppose a pipeline on their territory in northern British Columbia. The blockade is along the highway that runs from Victoria to the region's international airport and a B.C. Ferries terminal. ___ 8:20 p.m. ET A hereditary house chief with the Wet'suwet'en Nation says the federal and provincial governments have cancelled planned talks over a pipeline impasse that has inspired solidarity protests and rail blockades across the country. Na'moks, who also goes by John Ridsdale, say government officials asked the hereditary chiefs to request that its supporters and other First Nations "step down on their actions," but the chiefs responded that they can't tell others what to do. He says he is "heartbroken" over the development and the chiefs are still willing to hold discussions. "Our integrity, our honesty, our trust was there, but their unwillingness to continue with the meeting is rather disappointing." The federal and B.C. governments could not immediately be reached for comment. ___ 6:30 p.m. ET Via Rail Canada will resume regular service between Winnipeg and The Pas in Manitoba on Sunday. The passenger railway says it is working with CN Rail, the owner of the rail line, to make sure that normal service can resume on all other routes that have been affected by protests. ___ 6:15 p.m. ET Protesters are blocking a major highway on Vancouver Island, causing what Drive BC calls a "significant traffic disruption." Central Saanich police warned of the planned protest between 2 and 5 p.m. local time in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs who oppose a pipeline on their territory in northern British Columbia. The blockade is along the highway that runs from Victoria to the region's international airport and a B.C. Ferries terminal. The B.C. government has obtained a court injunction and a detour is in effect. ___ 4:45 p.m. ET The secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake has rejected Quebec Premier Francois Legault's suggestion that there are assault weapons at a rail blockade on the territory south of Montreal. Kenneth Deer says the protesters are not armed and described the premier's suggestion that there are AK-47s at the site as "highly irresponsible and ludicrous." Legault said earlier today that provincial police officers are holding back from enforcing a court injunction to dismantle the Kahnawake blockade because they've received information that there are dangerous weapons, including AK-47s, in the community. Deer said he cannot know whether there are weapons anywhere else on the territory but reiterated that the protest at the blockade is a peaceful one. ___ 2:50 p.m. ET Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the latest actions by protesters on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory are "extremely concerning." Video shared online shows a group of protesters standing on the tracks near Belleville, Ont., as a CN Rail train approaches, then jumping out of the way at the last moment. A few appear to be throwing items at the train. Provincial police say fires were also set near and on the tracks this morning. The prime minister told reporters people should not be endangering their lives and those of others by interfering with the trains. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair made similar comments earlier today, but said police in the area are managing the situation. ___ 2:25 p.m. ET Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the presence of dangerous assault rifles in Kahnawake is a reason for caution in enforcing an injunction to end a rail blockade in the Mohawk community. Legault told reporters in Quebec City the government has information from what he called "good sources" that there are AK-47s in Kahnawake. He says Warriors on the reserve are armed, and the situation is very delicate. The premier says he will leave it to the provincial police to develop a strategy to officially serve the injunction issued Tuesday to people at the blockade. Legault says he is disclosing the information because he wants the public to understand why provincial police have not yet moved in. He says he does not want to have it on his conscience that police officers were injured in an intervention. ___ 2:17 p.m. ET Indigenous youth who have been camping on the steps of the British Columbia legislature have issued several demands in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs opposed to a natural gas pipeline across their traditional lands in northwestern B.C. Spokeswoman Ta'Kaiya Blaney says demonstrators will occupy ministry offices, rail lines and other locations in order to hold all levels of the Canadian government accountable. Speaking in front of the B.C. legislature, Blaney says reconciliation is dead and it is unacceptable for politicians to try to push the pipeline development through "at gunpoint." She says First Nations face undue pressure to sign mutual benefit agreements similar to those accepted by 20 elected band councils along the proposed Coastal GasLink route, calling the agreements a corrupt process that is not equivalent to true consent. ___ 1 p.m. ET A rail blockade on the Kahnawake Mohawk territory south of Montreal is being reinforced with concrete barriers and loads of rock. The actions come after CP Rail was granted an injunction on Tuesday to end the blockade that began Feb. 8. The secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, Kenneth Deer, says the protesters do not intend to end the barricade and they need to be prepared for a possible intervention by outside police. Grand Chief Joseph Norton has said the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake is considering its options, including challenging the injunction. Norton has said the injunction will not be executed in Kahnawake, and that the Mohawk Peacekeepers are the only policing agency with jurisdiction in the territory. ___ 12:50 p.m. ET A Wet'suwet'en hereditary house chief says progress is being made on three conditions set by the chiefs for meeting with federal and provincial leaders over a pipeline impasse. Na'moks, who also goes by John Ridsdale, says the meeting could happen as early as tomorrow. The chiefs have said they will only meet with government leaders once RCMP remove a mobile detachment from their territory and stop foot patrols, and Coastal GasLink pulls its natural gas pipeline workers from the area. Na'moks says the chiefs have heard through a mediator that RCMP would dismantle the mobile unit, but it would take too much time to meet the chiefs' deadline of tomorrow. He says the chiefs have agreed that as long as the foot patrols stop and the unit is shuttered, they have accepted that as meeting the terms for now. ___ 11:30 a.m. ET Freight train service appears to have resumed through Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in central Ontario after being disrupted by fires at a second protest site. Ontario Provincial Police say demonstrators lit tires on fire after a train moved through this morning, forcing a second train to come to a stop. The second train eventually travelled through the area though it slowed down briefly after protesters tossed a lit pallet nearby. Police say they have no plans to move in on the protesters at this point. ___ 10:45 a.m. ET Ontario Provincial Police say fires at a second protest encampment in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory have brought freight train traffic to a halt. Police spokesman Bill Dickson says demonstrators lit a fire next to the railway tracks immediately after a train moved through the area near Belleville, Ont., this morning. He says demonstrators then threw a few tires on the tracks and lit them. Dickson says Canadian National Railway Co. is now inspecting the tracks after police and firefighters extinguished the blaze. ___ 9:30 a.m. ET Fifty-one health professionals in British Columbia have signed an open letter to the prime minister, B.C. Premier John Horgan, police and Indigenous leaders, calling for an end to the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline project across northern B.C. They point to studies about the health and climate change risks from pipelines, plus a further warning from the American Journal of Public Health that Indigenous groups are especially vulnerable to such risks. The letter calls for a halt to further work on the pipeline, at least until the consent of the Wet'suwet'en people has been obtained. It also calls for a moratorium on further construction permits for the project and a return to talks with Indigenous groups whose land is affected by the pipeline. Those who have signed the letter range from licensed practical nurses to massage therapists, RNs, doctors and even David Bowering, the retired chief medical health officer of B.C.'s Northern Health Authority. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. In a rare and raw public speech, a longtime guns-and-gangs police officer took the mic at Tuesdays Toronto police board meeting to tell Chief Mark Saunders and the services civilian board that rising violence in the city is impacting police, and more communication and mental health support is badly needed. I stand before you today as a member of Toronto police Service, began Detective Const. Peter Boncardo, father to a young son and an officer of 15 years who identified himself as an expert in guns and gangs. Im currently off right now. I went off in October on stress leave. In a three-minute speech to the board, Boncardo said that with rising gang violence, officers who deal with guns, drugs, violence and death are not immune to the impacts of the job. And yet, hes experienced insufficient mental health support compounded by a gap in communication between officers and higher-ups about how to fix increasing violence. Theres a gap there between guns-and-gang violence: what we know about it, and what we do about it. And because of that, you have people that are going off sick, that are trying to express what that issue is, and its not being heard, he said. Feeling some relief that today its been heard, he nonetheless shared his concerns about the cost of speaking out. And what do we say? Sometimes career suicides better than the other one, Boncardo said, ending his deputation. The speech came at a Toronto police board meeting that began with a moment of silence for Toronto police Const. Mike Austin. The 21-year veteran of the service died by suicide inside Toronto police headquarters earlier this month. He leaves an important legacy of great professionalism, sincere dedication and invaluable mentorship and is dearly missed both by his family and by the members of this organization, said Toronto police board chair Jim Hart. Boncardo suggested that, as gang violence has increased there has been a lack of communication between frontline experts like himself and the decision-makers, a disconnect causing stress among officers, he said. Ever heard of me? he asked the seven-member board, Saunders and upper command officers. Im an expert on this, and we have numerous ones on that unit. We travel all around the province talking on guns-and-gang issues. Weve got them in the city. Theres probably nobody here at this table or at this office thats ever heard of me. Boncardo also noted that mental health supports have, in his experience, been insufficient. I wont go so far as its failed me, but theres certainly a long stretch that it needs to go, he said. One of the biggest things that he needs, Boncardo said, is someone to listen. Id love nothing more than to talk, he said. Ive asked for help and listening for quite a while. I need that to be done. He offered himself an asset to the board and the service to help determine how to fix the problems. As a police officer off on stress leave, I think Id be a valuable asset to discuss this with. Responding to his own officers deputation, Saunders told Boncardo he does know who he is. First off Peter, I have heard of you and I want to say, thank you for the work that you have done, Saunders said, assuring him what he was doing was not career suicide. Saunders said he would take Boncardos offer of help, conceding that while Toronto police is taking officer wellness seriously, more needs to be done. Officers are exposed to some incredibly horrible environments, Saunders said. One of the hardest pieces, one of the biggest disconnects that we have right now, is we dont recognize it until its too late, Saunders said. He thanked Boncardo for coming forward, noting: Im sorry that it took this forum for you to have to come to. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mayor John Tory said the deputation showed progress has been made in fighting the stigma that comes with discussions around mental health. That we had a police officer who had the courage to come forward and indicated that he had some issues, which years ago you wouldnt have seen, Tory said. I admire his courage in doing so. If you are considering suicide, there is help. Find a list of local crisis centres at the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. Or call 911 or in Ontario call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000 Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis Read more about: Vegemite will make its way into Indian shoppers' online baskets after the launch of an Amazon Australia store in the country, as the federal government jostles to grow Australian business activity in the region. The new arm of the online retail giant launches in India on Wednesday with a host of major Australian brands including Capilano, Swisse, Sukin, Gaia Skin Naturals, Australis, Sanitarium, Sun Rice, Orgran, Australia's Own and the Byron Bay Chilli Co available immediately. Vegemite is now available in India on the Amazon Australia store. India is Australia's fifth-largest export market and is tipped to be the third biggest economy in the world by 2035, behind China and the US. Opportunities to boost Australia's business presence in the region has become a focus for the Australian government and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, who is launching the store in Mumbai. "Thousands of Australian food, health and lifestyle brands will now be available at the click of a button in the world's fastest-growing consumer market, thanks to this partnership," Mr Birmingham said. At 12:17 p.m. Feb. 26, 1993, a 1,200-pound bomb in a rented truck exploded in the parking garage of the North Tower of New Yorks World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. The explosion knocked out the World Trade Centers power - which disabled the sprinklers, generators, elevators, public address system and the emergency command center. Ruptured steam pipes blown from their ceiling mounts lie across smashed cars on a lower level of New York's World Trade Center after an explosion rocked the financial complex, Feb. 27, 1993. (AP Photo/Craig Santy)AP In an editorial titled Fear Factor, The Patriot-News wrote, FOR MUCH OF HISTORY, few bugaboos have terrified men and women as much as the mad bomber. Seen variously as the bearded Bolshevik, the terrorist fanatic or the disgruntled psycho, the bomber is feared as unpredictable, deadly, indiscriminate the Great Unknown Factor, against which our best efforts at prevention are not nearly enough. But for a few dim incidents, however, the people of the United States have been spared the bombers deadly whims. There is a reason for this. The United States has the advantage of a multi-layer law-enforcement network that has proven itself quite effective in dealing with high-profile terrorism. Only a few incidents have gone unsolved. (The Wall Street Bombing of Sept. 16, 1920, was a notable exception. Thirty people were killed when a horse-draw wagon loaded with explosives went off in front of the offices of J.P. Morgan and Co. The case was never solved.) Last Friday, another explosion rocked lower Manhattan, not far from the 1920 incident. Five [six] people were killed and perhaps 1,000 injured when a car bomb detonated in a parking garage beneath the World Trade Center. Once again, our fear of the bomber has been whetted. The situation is intensified by the fact that three days after the explosion, we know nothing of the bomber or his mission. We do not know if he is the Bolshevik, the terrorist or the psycho. We do know that he was enormously successful: The Trade Center has been shut down temporarily and business and communications throughout the world have been affected. On the other hand, federal, state and local law enforces claim they have excellent leads and should have some solid evidence once they gain access to the blast zone. That they are not able to speculate on the bomber or his motive must not be interpreted to mean that they are not making progress. Until this case is solved, America must keep its head. It does no good to speculate or to lash out blindly against perceived foes. Second-guessing the best efforts of our best forensics experts is not only pointless, but destructive. Even now, there is much discussion about national and corporate security. Do we permit people to move too freely within out borders? Do we permit constitutional guarantees to interfere with our well-being? Is it time to tighten some of our laws and remove some of the protections that make it possible for terrorists and ordinary Americans to go about their business? No! We cannot permit this incident to dictate our lives. If we do, the way is made clear for other bombers, other terrorists. For the first time, they will have achieved an objective. The police have great resources of manpower and technology; the rest of us have great resources of resolve. Eventually, we will know what happened. Those responsible shall be brought to justice and punished. In the meantime, it is important that the nations confidence not be deterred. We must not wait to get back to normal. We must do it now. A destroyed car lies underneath a section of rubble in the sub-basement of New York's World Trade Center, seen Feb. 28, 1993, after yesterday's explosion. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)AP In March 1994, terrorists Mohammad Salameh, Ahmad Ajaj, Nidal Ayyad and Mahmoud Abouhalima were convicted of the bombing and sentenced to 240 years in prison. Their sentences are later reduced to 100 years. The man allegedly behind the plot to blow up the World Trade Center, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef was later captured, convicted and sentenced to 240 years in prison. The driver of the van, Eyad Ismoil also was captured, convicted and sentenced to 240 years in prison. The FBI also uncovered plots to blow up the George Washington Bridge, the United Nations and other New York landmarks. The attack also had a local connection. In 1993, the FBI raided the home of Kelvin E. Smith near New Bloomfield, Perry County, saying he allowed Muslim fundamentalists to receive military-type training at a public shooting range on his property. In this file photo of Feb. 27, 1993, police and firefighters inspect the bomb creater inside an underground parking garage of New York's World Trade Center the day after an explosion tore through it. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)AP While the three did fire weapons at Smiths range, Smith said he had no idea who they were. Smith had said he thought the men were mercenaries who planned to help the Muslims in Bosnia. Smith pleaded guilty in September of 1999 to three counts of making false statements to the FBI and one count of destroying evidence - he dumped four semiautomatic assault rifles in the Delaware River. In 1999 he was sentenced to 366 days in prison. At the time, the World Trade Center bombing was one of the worst terror attacks in United States. Eight years later on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States faced the worst when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center, bringing down both towers and killing thousands of people. FILE. In this file photo of Feb. 27, 1993, a crater is exposed in an underground parking garage of New York's World Trade Center the day after an explosion tore through it. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)AP Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The sanctions will be in effect for at least one more year. U.S. President Donald Trump has prolonged U.S. sanctions against the Russian Federation for its aggression in Ukraine. Read alsoMFA Ukraine hopes Russia sanctions to be maintained till Crimea deoccupation "The national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 of March 6, 2014, with respect to Ukraine is to continue in effect beyond March 6, 2020," Trump said in a message to the Congress on February 25, 2020. "The actions and policies of persons that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets, and the actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation, including its purported annexation of Crimea and its use of force in Ukraine, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 with respect to Ukraine," the message says. As UNIAN reported earlier, Senate Democratic leaders will send a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin demanding they sanction Russia and potentially Russian President Vladimir Putin himself for attempting to influence the 2020 presidential election. Calling the recent violence in Delhi as 'planned conspiracy', Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation over the clashes that left 20 people dead in two days. "CWC (Congress Working Committee) believes Home Minister and Centre is responsible. The Home Minister should tender his resignation with immediate effect," the Congress party's interim chief told reporters here. Violent clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups in parts of northeast Delhi on Monday, leading to widespread vandalism and arson for over two days. While many blamed police for inaction to control the mobs, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the top brass of Delhi Police, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG Anil Baijal and directed the officials to control the situation. Gandhi blamed both the Central and the Delhi governments, saying the administration did not take adequate steps on time to curb violence in the capital. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Center is equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony," Sonia added. The death toll in the violence rose to 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB hospital authorities. Government sources told ANI that the Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing normalcy in the capital. Sources also said that Doval will brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Cabinet about the prevailing situation. The NSA last night visited Jaffrabad, Seelampur and other parts of northeast Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. Without naming any leader, the Congress interim president also targeted the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party for making inflammatory statements saying that "there is a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony in the country's capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A pedestrian crosses the street at the intersection outside of the Constitution Health Plaza at 1930 S. Broad St. in South Philadelphia on Wednesday. The building will be the site of the first supervised injection site in the country. Read more There is little that would otherwise mark the hulking blue and gray medical center near the corner of Broad and McKean Streets in South Philadelphia as conspicuous. But as news spread Wednesday that this former hospital building would soon house the nations first supervised injection site, it quickly became ground zero in an all-out battle among angry neighbors, optimistic public health advocates, city officials, and the federal government. Officials for Safehouse, the nonprofit behind the injection site plan, intend to open their facility next week at the Constitution Health Plaza at 1930 S. Broad Street, just steps from the bustling Passyunk Avenue restaurant corridor. They say they hope the site where people can use illicit drugs under medical supervision, access treatment, and be revived if they overdose will save lives in a city facing one of the worst drug-overdose crises in the United States. But the concept has long been controversial. And the decision, on short notice, to open the first site in South Philadelphia instead of Kensington, the epicenter of the citys opioid epidemic, provoked a wave of outrage from community residents Wednesday. You know the old saying Not in my backyard? said Don Davidson, 72, who manages a small business across Broad Street. Thats exactly how I feel. READ MORE: Philadelphia to get nations first supervised injection site: How we got here Some residents said they worry the site will attract drug dealers and people in addiction to their neighborhood though backers cite international studies showing that hasnt happened at similar facilities in Canada and Europe. Others worried about the proximity to day-care centers and South Philadelphia High School, which is about a block away. Many were just stunned. How can this be a done deal? said Jack Palermo, a 51-year-old former schoolteacher who owns a home at Broad and Mifflin. No councilmember addressed the area. Still others vowed to keep an open mind, thankful for a plan to address a crisis theyve seen spreading in their community. That section of Broad Street is already an injection site its just not a safe injection site, said Janette Spirk, vice president of the Newbold Community Development Corporation and zoning chair for the Newbold Civic Association. It would have been nice [for Safehouse] to ask for opinions, but I understand thats not how these things always work. ... Some opinions are based on just not having the information. A tense announcement At a chaotic news conference Safehouse officials called Wednesday to discuss their plans, emotions boiled over. Ronda Goldfein, the nonprofits vice president, sought to assure those gathered in a cramped conference room at the Bellevue Hotel, about two miles from the facility, that Safehouse hoped to be good neighbors. The site is expected to serve just two or three people a day, she said. It will be on a floor that serves no other patients. She was shouted down. We were bamboozled! yelled James Powler, a South Philly resident who said he was in recovery from drug use but opposes the site. Heroin is illegal. I have three kids. Yes, I am a recovering addict, but this is affecting my life. Later, as another woman questioned whether crime would spike in nearby zip codes, Kelli Murray-Garant, a South Philadelphian in recovery who supports the facility, answered back. "I lived in three of those zip codes," she said. "And all of the drug dealers are there anyway. If people don't have somewhere to go to get help, they may never get help." The fast opening in South Philadelphia was vital, said Goldfein, amid an overdose crisis that has killed nearly 3,500 Philadelphians in the last three years. We welcome your concerns. We want to have a conversation with you, she told the news conference crowd, inviting them to a community meeting March 10, about a week after the site is due to open. We know this is a highly charged issue. But we also know that there are plenty of people in South Philadelphia who say they cant tolerate whats happening anymore. They cant stand to lose any more neighbors. A hidden crisis Until Wednesday, much of the conversation around a supervised injection site had been focused on Kensington, where people openly sell and use drugs, people in addiction camp on the streets, and more people fatally overdose than anywhere else in the city. The crisis is less visible in South Philadelphia, but the areas overdose rate is staggering: About one person a week dies in the zip codes that the site will serve. Organizers hope to open a second site in the city soon after the first one opens. Sources familiar with the decision said that second location would be in Kensington. In retrospect, I probably would have had the town meeting in advance of the announcement, said former Gov. Ed Rendell, a Safehouse board member. But he added that the sites organizers have been clear that they planned to open sites all over the city. If the problems outweigh the benefits, he said, then they will move to another location. I feel sad that people are upset, he said. Its an emotional issue. But we could have packed the house with people from South Philly who have lost kids" to overdoses. Still, those assurances didnt stop a tide of concern on Wednesday. A frosty reception at City Hall Arthur Olshan, medical director of the Kidney Center, which is in the same building as Safehouse, said his mostly elderly patients have already asked about safety issues. Peter Zutter, president of the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association, said hes never had so many emails in my life. Meanwhile, the phones in the office of Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, whose district includes the facility, rang constantly Wednesday. Johnson and Mark Squilla, who represents the neighboring district, complained that they had been given little advance notice of the sites location or its opening date. It seems like their whole motto was to open it first and explain later," said Squilla. None of this makes any sense to me, whether you support or oppose safe injection. READ MORE: Mayor Jim Kenney supports Phillys first supervised injection site. Other officials are angry. State Sen. Larry Farnese, whose district includes the site, added: If Safehouse intends to operate the facilities the same way they conducted their [opening] process, we cannot allow it in South Philly and we should not allow it anywhere in Pennsylvania." U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain also refused to back down. His office sued the nonprofit last year seeking a court opinion that would declare the concept of a supervised injection site illegal. After warning that he will consider all measures available to him including criminal forfeitures, drug seizures, and arrests to stop the site from opening, he filed notice Wednesday of the Justice Departments intent to appeal a favorable ruling U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh gave Safehouse this week. The filing said the U.S. Attorneys Office would ask the court to stay its order until the appeal process played out. But as she walked her dog outside her Broad Street home about a block from the facility Wednesday , Annie Stanfield-Hagert, 70, expressed another view. My neighbors will disagree, but Im not particularly unhappy about it, she said. It may attract people who are struggling, but were all trying to find ways to make things better. And hours later, police were called to an apartment nearby, where a 31-year-old man was later pronounced dead. The cause? A suspected drug overdose. Staff writers Ellie Silverman, Laura McCrystal, and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article. Ronda Goldfein of Safehouse is the wife of David Lee Preston, an editor at The Inquirer. He is not involved in coverage of this story. 5 things Democratic Party must do to win back pro-life voters in 2020 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pro-life Democratic voters are warning the party and leading candidates that they must moderate their positions on abortion if they hope to have any chance of regaining ground lost to Republicans in recent years. Activists affiliated with Democrats for Life of America held a press conference in Charleston ahead of the state's primary to voice their disgust with the Democratic candidates stances on abortion as nearly all of them oppose bans on late-term abortion and safety regulations on the abortion industry. Democrats for Life Executive Director Kristen Day said that in her 18-year career, right now is the most extreme she has ever seen the Democratic Party on abortion. Since 2010, she warned, Democrats have lost their political advantages in southern states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana that have all flipped from blue to red. In 2010, she said, Democrats had control of both houses of state legislatures and the governorships of 27 states. Today, that number is 15. During that time period, the Democratic Party moved away from safe, legal and rare to today, [supporting] abortion up to nine months for any reason, Day explained, adding that all of the Democratic presidential candidates who were on the debate stage Tuesday night support taxpayer funding of abortion, late-term abortions and any type of reasonable regulations for health and safety during an abortion. This is a truly extreme policy embraced by only 13 percent of South Carolina voters, she noted. The fact that the Democratic Party thinks they can win back South Carolina from Donald Trump by embracing a policy supported by only 13 percent of the voters is crazy. Its even crazier that the Democratic Party leans on black voters and the black church for support but refuses to respect their deeply held values on life. Day pointed out that the only state in the South that is not under a Republican trifecta of control is Louisiana, where Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards is avidly pro-life. Day considered him to be her personal hero. The South is especially important because it includes swing states where the right to life issue is critical, she stressed. The Democratic Party says it is serious about defeating Donald Trump but is ignoring millions of pro-life Democratic voters in these swing states. Polls have shown that majorities of Americans support regulations requiring doctors to show ultrasound images to women seeking an abortion and to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Additionally, polls have also shown that majorities of Americans support bans on abortion past certain points of pregnancy and oppose the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions. A Marist poll from 2019 showed that about 6 in 10 self-identified pro-choice individuals believe that abortion should be restricted in the last 20 weeks of a pregnancy. We recognize that the Democratic Party exists to protect the weak, not the strong, Day said. We want our party to be strong. That is why we are calling on the candidates who are running for president right now to do five things. These requests, if met, will attract voters back to the Democratic Party. Too many Democrats have left over this issue and we can bring them back if we moderate our position on abortion. If candidates continue to take for granted the pro-life vote, they might be surprised come November when voters stay home again like they did in 2016. Make room for pro-life voters Day said that Democrats for Life is asking Democratic candidates to commit to a place for pro-life voters in their coalitions. This request comes weeks after Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders declared that being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat. Concerns were raised in 2017 after Democrat National Committee Chair Tom Perez asserted that the DNC would not support any candidates opposed to abortion. Perezs comment was admonished by prominent Democrats such as then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the time. His position was also refuted by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Ben Ray Lujan, who said the party needs to support candidates that fit their district. We need every single vote to defeat Donald Trump in November, Day said. We cant afford for voters to stay home like they did in 2016 because the leading candidates refused to embrace them and seek out our support. I appreciate that [Minnesota Sen.] Amy Klobuchar and [Hawaii Congresswoman] Tulsi Gabbard have moved in the direction of talking about embracing pro-life voters and opening the tent to people like me. Commit to a more moderate party platform Democrats for Life asks that 2020 candidates and the party commit to a platform that reflects the diversity of opinion on the issue of abortion. We need in Democrats a diversity of opinion and support for candidates who represent their states and districts to stop the states from falling more into Republican hands, Day asserted. She said she would like to see neutrality on the abortion issue because party members have a widespread position on this issue. A majority of people are in the middle, she stressed. None of those people are represented in the platform. Pro-life Democrats were OK with safe, legal and rare. We could live within those confines of saying, Lets have a goal to at least make it rare and unthinkable. Now, the tendency is to celebrate abortion as a great solution for women. That is not true. It is not empowering to women, not helpful to women. We want to see the platform to be more focused on helping people. Support a new DNC chairman As mentioned, DNC Chair Perez riled pro-life Democrats when he stated in 2017 that "every Democrat should support a woman's right to make her own choices about her body and her health. Perez added that it should not be negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state." We ask the candidates to support a new DNC chairman who will carry out big-tent policies of inclusion for Democrats, instead of a chairman who says, Pro-life people are welcome in the party as long as they keep their mouths shut and they dont vote that way, Day said. This includes strongly opposing any litmus test proposed by Democratic groups and allies against pro-life candidates. Support a 20-week abortion ban Several states passed or introduced legislation last year designed to ban abortion once a pre-born baby is viable and a heartbeat can be detected. While some state-level bills [which courts have blocked] ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, there has been an unsuccessful effort at the federal level for years to pass bans on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy through the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. We ask that the candidates commit to protecting pre-born children after 20 weeks, Day said. Like a majority of Democratic voters, I believe there is nothing progressive nor feminist about violence against a fully-formed, viable, pre-born child. Thank you to Congresswoman Tusli Gabbard [who was not on the debate stage Tuesday] for recognizing this fact. Advocate for fewer abortions According to Day, the party must at least get back to its advocacy for keeping abortion safe, legal and rare. To keep abortion rare, Day stressed that Democrats need to advocate for such things as affordable childcare, better maternal health care (especially for black women) as well as more funding for adoption and paid parental leave. Additionally, Day said the party must advocate for pregnancy resource centers that provide alternatives to abortion. Although the abortion lobby has put up a fight against pro-life pregnancy centers, Day highlighted how important those centers are for women who are not looking to seek an abortion. These wonderful centers provide diapers, job training, anything that pregnant women and a new mother need to support their child, she explained. [February 25, 2020] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Continues Its Investigation of Tupperware Brands Corporation (TUP) on Behalf of Investors Law Offices of Howard G. Smith continues its investigation on behalf Tupperware Brands Corporation ("Tupperware" or the "Company") (NYSE: TUP) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws. On February 24, 2020, after the market closed, Tupperware issued a press release announcing preliminary financial results for fiscal 2019. Therein, the Company disclosed an "investigation primarily into the accounting for accounts payable and accrued liabilities at its Fuller Mexico beauty business" and estimated that the pre-tax impact of these issues would be approximately $50 million to $52 million. Moreover, due to th investigation, Tupperware stated that it could not timely file its annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2019. The Company said it expects 2019 net earnings per share "in the range of breakeven to $0.34 versus $3.11 in the prior year," and adjusted EPS of $1.35 to $1.70, which is below consensus estimates of $2.79. On this news, Tupperware's stock price fell $2.61, or nearly 46%, to close at $3.11 per share on February 25, 2020, on unusually heavy trading volume. If you purchased Tupperware securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006117/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Many years ago, a philosopher warned: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. I do not know a serious historian who believes that because almost all scholars in this discipline also reject the conventional wisdom that history repeats itself. Nevertheless, studying unique events in the past certainly can help all of us to understand the present, especially when the lessons of history are clear. Sometimes they are, but other times they are not. I have been in the faculty at Norwalk Community College for nearly 20 years, and one of the best students I have ever had wrote to me yesterday: I believe this election will be more akin to the presidential election of 1932, when a progressive Democrat defeated a Republican incumbent. [Senator Bernard] Sanders calls himself an FDR Democrat. In contrast, over the weekend, Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina, the House Majority Whip, is reported to have observed: I dont see a whole lot of 2016 in this election. I see a whole lot of 1972. "The Leftover" star Amanda Warren has joined actor Patrick Dempsey in CBS political drama pilot "Ways and Means". Mike Murphy and Ed Redlich have written and will executive produce the series, which hails from CBS Television Studios, reported Variety. Dempsey will portray a powerful congressional leader who has lost faith in politics and finds himself working secretly with an idealistic young congresswoman from the opposing party to subvert the hopelessly grid-locked system he helped create. Together, they will attempt to save American politics, if they don't get caught, the official plotline read. Warren will star as Jerlene Brooks, a former community organiser and progressive activist. The actor is best known for starring in shows such as "Madam Secretary", "NCIS: New Orleans" and "The Leftovers". Her feature film credits include movies like "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", "Seven Psychopaths" and "Roman J. Israel, Esq". "Ways and Means" will be executive produced by Denise Di Novi, Tom Lassally and former CBS president Nina Tassler. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Also available in and Demonstrations are continuing across India following the introduction of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019, as reported by The Guardian. Violence has escalated with at least four people killed yesterday, and at least 10 people killed and over 150 injured today, according to news reports. In parts of New Delhi, a Section 144 order has been introduced prohibiting the assembly of four or more people. Since the protests began in December, security forces have beaten protesters and used lathi sticks, smoke grenades, water cannons, rubber bullets, tear gas, and on occasions live ammunition, according to news reports. In turn, protesters have burnt tires, thrown projectiles such as petrol bombs and rocks, and set fire to numerous vehicles and buildings, according to reports. Reporting from protest locations poses various risks to journalists, as documented by CPJ. Over the past two weeks, the protests have become increasingly communal in nature, with some media workers reporting they have been asked about their religious identity, according to reports. Journalists themselves have demonstrated against the harassment and violence targeted toward them, including detention and arrest, according to reports. According to reports, police have failed to protect both protesters and journalists on occasions, with some encouraging pro-CAA activists to attack opposing demonstrators. Some journalists have been forced to delete pictures and videos from their phones, and at times have been specifically targeted for their previous reporting, as seen in the case of Mohammed Mubashiruddin Khurram, a reporter with the local Urdu-language newspaper The Siasat Daily, who was arrested while covering a protest earlier in February, CPJ documented. Current flashpoints in New Delhi include Maujpur, Chandbagh, Ashok Nagar, Yamuna Vihar, Kardampuri, Gautampuri, Jaffrabad, Dayalpur, Bhajanpura, Mustafabad, and Seelampur, according to reports. Other cities that have witnessed protests against the CAA include, but are not limited to: Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Hyderabad (Telangana), Guwahati (Assam), Allahabad and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Kolkata and Murshidabad (West Bengal), Bangalore and Mangalore (Karnataka), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Patna (Bihar), and Chandigarh (Punjab), according to news reports and security advisories reviewed by CPJ. Journalists covering the anti-CAA protests should consider and be aware of the following: It is important to note that the protests are potentially becoming more sectarian in nature, a factor to consider when selecting staff for any assignment. Individuals of a different religion to the protesters may encounter hostility and even be attacked. If reporting Consider using a backwatcher to help keep you aware of what is going on around you while reporting, taking into account that police have at times failed to protect media workers. Always have a check-in procedure with your base, particularly if reporting from protest locations. Large crowds create potential risks of sexual assault. Vulnerable journalists should always work with colleagues and have the means to raise the alarm. Working after dark is considerably more risky and should be avoided. For more information please see the CPJs solo reporting advice Plan all journeys in and around cities in advance, and have a contingency plan in place. Movement can be affected at very short notice due to protesters blocking roads, as well as the closure Satellite phones are illegal in India. Be aware that numerous foreign nationals have been arrested If using a drone for filming, which is now permitted in India, they must come with a unique identification number unless listed in the nano category. See here Be alert to the risk of arson, especially if reporting from or close to protest tented camps Ensure all necessary paperwork is applied for in good time. Note that journalists sometimes require additional permits Protected Area Permit If reporting from areas at high altitude in India, plan your ascent and acclimatization accordingly and do not over-exert yourself. See here Consider the necessity of personal protective equipment Never take photographs or footage of any state sensitive infrastructure, such as airports, bridges, or military bases. Journalists should be aware of a risk to their digital security. Ensure all sensitive data and messages are regularly backed up and wiped from your devices, and ensure your digital devices are secure in advance of travel. Upon leaving the country ensure all devices are cleaned of potential malware or viruses. CPJs digital safety kit CPJs online Safety Kit provides journalists and newsrooms with basic safety information on physical, digital, and psychological safety resources and tools, including covering civil unrest. If you need assistance, journalists should contact CPJ via emergencies@cpj.org. Workers wearing a protective suit spray disinfectant as a precaution against the COVID-19 at a market in Seoul, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. AP South Korea on Wednesday called for Japan not to take "excessive measures" against South Korean tourists after Tokyo announced a plan to ban the entry of foreigners who have visited the South's city of Daegu and the nearby county over coronavirus concerns. Reports have said Tokyo was set to impose the ban on those who have been in Daegu and the neighboring county of Cheongdo in the past two weeks. The Japanese government plans to approve the ban at a Cabinet meeting later in the day. The plan comes a day after Tokyo raised its travel alert for the two areas, recommending its people against making non-essential trips there. "We have stressed to the Japanese side that no excessive or unreasonable measures should be taken against our nationals and travelers, while explaining our efforts to contain COVID-19," the foreign ministry said. "We have asked the Japanese side for a cautious response." SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea confirmed 284 more cases of the COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 1,261, and the death toll rose to 12. As of 4:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), the number of infected patients totaled 1,261, up 284 from the previous day. The number of deaths from the virus increased to 12 with two more deaths reported. 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. The virus infections rose sharply for the past week, with 946 new cases reported on Feb. 19-25. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday. The National Assembly passed three bills to revise laws on infectious disease, quarantine and the medical service. Under the revised infectious disease act, people with symptoms who refuse to be tested for virus could face up to a fine of 3 million won (2,470 U.S. dollars). People with symptoms who refuse to be placed under self-quarantine and hospitalized could face up to a one-year imprisonment or a fine of 10 million won (8,220 U.S. dollars). Under the revision, the health minister is allowed to ban the exports of face masks and hand sanitizers at a time of supply shortage or price spike, while the health ministry must have at least 100 epidemiological investigators from the previous 30. Face masks would be provided for children and the elderly at state welfare facilities when the virus alert is lifted to the third-highest level. Under the amended quarantine act, the health minister can ask the justice minister to ban entry to foreigners from regions affected by or at a risk of an epidemic. The revised medical service act involved the strengthened monitoring of patients, families and medical workers at hospitals. What is the coronavirus? A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body's normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word 'corona', which means crown, because they are encased by a spiked shell which resembles a royal crown. The coronavirus from Wuhan is one which has never been seen before this outbreak. It has been named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The name stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2. Experts say the bug, which has killed around one in 50 patients since the outbreak began in December, is a 'sister' of the SARS illness which hit China in 2002, so has been named after it. The disease that the virus causes has been named COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019. Dr Helena Maier, from the Pirbright Institute, said: 'Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that infect a wide range of different species including humans, cattle, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and wild animals. 'Until this new coronavirus was identified, there were only six different coronaviruses known to infect humans. Four of these cause a mild common cold-type illness, but since 2002 there has been the emergence of two new coronaviruses that can infect humans and result in more severe disease (Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses). 'Coronaviruses are known to be able to occasionally jump from one species to another and that is what happened in the case of SARS, MERS and the new coronavirus. The animal origin of the new coronavirus is not yet known.' The first human cases were publicly reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where approximately 11million people live, after medics first started publicly reporting infections on December 31. By January 8, 59 suspected cases had been reported and seven people were in critical condition. Tests were developed for the new virus and recorded cases started to surge. The first person died that week and, by January 16, two were dead and 41 cases were confirmed. The next day, scientists predicted that 1,700 people had become infected, possibly up to 7,000. Where does the virus come from? According to scientists, the virus almost certainly came from bats. Coronaviruses in general tend to originate in animals the similar SARS and MERS viruses are believed to have originated in civet cats and camels, respectively. The first cases of COVID-19 came from people visiting or working in a live animal market in Wuhan, which has since been closed down for investigation. Although the market is officially a seafood market, other dead and living animals were being sold there, including wolf cubs, salamanders, snakes, peacocks, porcupines and camel meat. A study by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, published in February 2020 in the scientific journal Nature, found that the genetic make-up virus samples found in patients in China is 96 per cent identical to a coronavirus they found in bats. However, there were not many bats at the market so scientists say it was likely there was an animal which acted as a middle-man, contracting it from a bat before then transmitting it to a human. It has not yet been confirmed what type of animal this was. Dr Michael Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London, was not involved with the research but said: 'The discovery definitely places the origin of nCoV in bats in China. 'We still do not know whether another species served as an intermediate host to amplify the virus, and possibly even to bring it to the market, nor what species that host might have been.' So far the fatalities are quite low. Why are health experts so worried about it? Experts say the international community is concerned about the virus because so little is known about it and it appears to be spreading quickly. It is similar to SARS, which infected 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 in an outbreak in Asia in 2003, in that it is a type of coronavirus which infects humans' lungs. It is less deadly than SARS, however, which killed around one in 10 people, compared to approximately one in 50 for COVID-19. Another reason for concern is that nobody has any immunity to the virus because they've never encountered it before. This means it may be able to cause more damage than viruses we come across often, like the flu or common cold. Speaking at a briefing in January, Oxford University professor, Dr Peter Horby, said: 'Novel viruses can spread much faster through the population than viruses which circulate all the time because we have no immunity to them. 'Most seasonal flu viruses have a case fatality rate of less than one in 1,000 people. Here we're talking about a virus where we don't understand fully the severity spectrum but it's possible the case fatality rate could be as high as two per cent.' If the death rate is truly two per cent, that means two out of every 100 patients who get it will die. 'My feeling is it's lower,' Dr Horby added. 'We're probably missing this iceberg of milder cases. But that's the current circumstance we're in. 'Two per cent case fatality rate is comparable to the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 so it is a significant concern globally.' How does the virus spread? The illness can spread between people just through coughs and sneezes, making it an extremely contagious infection. And it may also spread even before someone has symptoms. It is believed to travel in the saliva and even through water in the eyes, therefore close contact, kissing, and sharing cutlery or utensils are all risky. It can also live on surfaces, such as plastic and steel, for up to 72 hours, meaning people can catch it by touching contaminated surfaces. Originally, people were thought to be catching it from a live animal market in Wuhan city. But cases soon began to emerge in people who had never been there, which forced medics to realise it was spreading from person to person. What does the virus do to you? What are the symptoms? Once someone has caught the COVID-19 virus it may take between two and 14 days, or even longer, for them to show any symptoms but they may still be contagious during this time. If and when they do become ill, typical signs include a runny nose, a cough, sore throat and a fever (high temperature). The vast majority of patients will recover from these without any issues, and many will need no medical help at all. In a small group of patients, who seem mainly to be the elderly or those with long-term illnesses, it can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection in which the insides of the lungs swell up and fill with fluid. It makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and, if left untreated, can be fatal and suffocate people. Figures are showing that young children do not seem to be particularly badly affected by the virus, which they say is peculiar considering their susceptibility to flu, but it is not clear why. What have genetic tests revealed about the virus? Scientists in China have recorded the genetic sequences of around 19 strains of the virus and released them to experts working around the world. This allows others to study them, develop tests and potentially look into treating the illness they cause. Examinations have revealed the coronavirus did not change much changing is known as mutating much during the early stages of its spread. However, the director-general of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said the virus was mutating and adapting as it spread through people. This means efforts to study the virus and to potentially control it may be made extra difficult because the virus might look different every time scientists analyse it. More study may be able to reveal whether the virus first infected a small number of people then change and spread from them, or whether there were various versions of the virus coming from animals which have developed separately. How dangerous is the virus? The virus has a death rate of around two per cent. This is a similar death rate to the Spanish Flu outbreak which, in 1918, went on to kill around 50million people. Experts have been conflicted since the beginning of the outbreak about whether the true number of people who are infected is significantly higher than the official numbers of recorded cases. Some people are expected to have such mild symptoms that they never even realise they are ill unless they're tested, so only the more serious cases get discovered, making the death toll seem higher than it really is. However, an investigation into government surveillance in China said it had found no reason to believe this was true. Dr Bruce Aylward, a World Health Organization official who went on a mission to China, said there was no evidence that figures were only showing the tip of the iceberg, and said recording appeared to be accurate, Stat News reported. Can the virus be cured? The COVID-19 virus cannot be cured and it is proving difficult to contain. Antibiotics do not work against viruses, so they are out of the question. Antiviral drugs can work, but the process of understanding a virus then developing and producing drugs to treat it would take years and huge amounts of money. No vaccine exists for the coronavirus yet and it's not likely one will be developed in time to be of any use in this outbreak, for similar reasons to the above. The National Institutes of Health in the US, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, say they are working on a vaccine based on what they know about coronaviruses in general, using information from the SARS outbreak. But this may take a year or more to develop, according to Pharmaceutical Technology. Currently, governments and health authorities are working to contain the virus and to care for patients who are sick and stop them infecting other people. People who catch the illness are being quarantined in hospitals, where their symptoms can be treated and they will be away from the uninfected public. And airports around the world are putting in place screening measures such as having doctors on-site, taking people's temperatures to check for fevers and using thermal screening to spot those who might be ill (infection causes a raised temperature). However, it can take weeks for symptoms to appear, so there is only a small likelihood that patients will be spotted up in an airport. Is this outbreak an epidemic or a pandemic? The outbreak was declared a pandemic on March 11. A pandemic is defined by the World Health Organization as the 'worldwide spread of a new disease'. Previously, the UN agency said most cases outside of Hubei had been 'spillover' from the epicentre, so the disease wasn't actually spreading actively around the world. Representative image The family members of Head Constable Ratan Lal, who was the first victim claimed by the recent spate of violence in Delhi over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), have blocked the road that leads to his village in Rajasthan. According to an India Today report, the family members are engaging in sit-in protests near Sadinsar village in Rajasthans Sikar district, and have refused to vacate the path, or have his body be cremated until the authorities give in to their demand for a martyr status for the slain policeman. The report noted that senior police officers and district administration officials have been trying to pacify them and get the road vacated. Ratan Lal, 42, is a native of Rajasthan, and was attached to the office of the ACP Gokalpuri, when he was deployed in Chand Bagh area to control violent mobs. According to the autopsy report, he died of bullet injuries that he sustained on February 24 while on duty. The deceased constable had joined Delhi Police back in 1998 and is survived by his mother, wife, and three children. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik have already paid their tributes to him at the wreath-laying ceremony held in Shaheed Smarak Sthal, New Police Lines, on February 26. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was faced with protests near the policemans Delhi residence, where he had arrived on February 25 to give his condolences to the grieving family. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) filed a petition seeking compensation for Ratan Lals family. Towards the socioeconomic transformation of Africa through job creation the role of the social partners The 6th African Social Partners Summit took place on 25-26 February 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a joint undertaking of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), and brought together representatives of employers, workers, governments, international organisations, and youth to share and review work to date to advance job creation policies in Africa. This Summit, the first to be held in English-speaking Africa, continued the work of the African Social Partners to accelerate job creation. Mr Mokom Marcel Young, tralac Alumnus and Procurement Officer in the Ministry of Public Contracts, Cameroon, delivered a presentation on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA): What is it and what are the benefits? His presentation is available to download. Background Over recent years, economic outlook reports by international organisations and respected think-tanks have underlined that economic growth in Africa has not yet delivered inclusive socio-economic transformation and found that job creation is the most important issue for the future of the African continent. Understanding that such transformation requires the combined commitment and effort of all social partners and stakeholders, IOE member organisations in Africa invited trade unions, governments, international organisations, financial institutions and think-tanks, inter alia, to work together with employers to advance this transformation through job creation. This extensive outreach resulted in a series of African Social Partners (ASP) Summits which began in Casablanca in 2013. Editions have since taken place again in Casablanca (2015), and also in Tunis (2016), Algeria (2017) and Abidjan (2018) with the support of IOE members locally and our regional partner BUSINESS AFRICA. The ASP Summit series has benefitted from the financial assistance and support of IOE, ILO and the European Union. These Summits have produced a range of multi-stakeholder guidance documents and materials to orient and facilitate the work of employers and workers organisations as they engage with governments and others to build skills and create employment. There has always been a special focus on delivering for young people as they prepare for a world of work that is in constant evolution. Each Summit has built on the work of the previous editions and the Blueprint for Jobs in Africa, adopted in Casablanca in 2015, provides an ongoing reference for policy recommendations, actions and implementation. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:03:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's groundless accusation against the country's novel coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention and control work, and urged the U.S. side to give up ideological bias, and stop undermining China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a question concerning Pompeo's accusation that expelling Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalists exposes the issue in China's COVID-19 response, alleging that if China permitted its own and foreign journalists to speak freely, China and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge. "When the Chinese people are going all-out to fight the epidemic, Mr. Pompeo once again launched groundless accusation against China. This is so abhorrent and we are firmly opposed to it," Zhao said. Noting Pompeo's remarks did not even get the facts straight, Zhao said the Chinese government has been open, transparent and highly responsible in its epidemic prevention and control efforts. As for the WSJ article with its insulting headline, it is never a question of freedom of speech and press. All people, as long as they have conscience and bottom line, should reject and resist such racist and wrongful words and actions, said the spokesperson. "Even WSJ has admitted its mistake and been learning some lessons, how come Mr. Pompeo, in total disregard of the public opinion of the international community, made yet another attempt to back up WSJ by badmouthing China? One has to wonder if WSJ is an agent of the U.S. State Department," he added. "Since Mr. Pompeo talks about freedom of speech so much, would he care to explain why he cursed at a NPR journalist? Why was the journalist denied press credentials to travel with him? Is that Mr. Pompeo's definition of 'freedom of speech'? I think it's typical discourse monopoly and double standards," said Zhao. "We urge Mr. Pompeo to give up his ideological bias against China, discard the Cold-War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, act in ways that suit his status, stop undermining China-U.S. mutual trust and cooperation, and make no more attempts at sowing discord among the Party, the Chinese government and the Chinese people," the spokesperson added. It's a high-wire act, a movie that could easily have crashed and burned. That it does not has something to do with the shared intensity of character and performance. All three main actors share the stage as equals and the level of commitment is remarkable. Loading Hedges is like a wounded animal here, always close to violence. This older Otis has become like his father, a loaded gun of emotions, without ever going to war. The 12-year-old Otis, "Honey Boy" to his father, is the embodiment of innocence between these two men, the site of a battle between experience and hope. Noah Jupe is heartbreaking as this kid who's growing up too fast, both loving and hating his damaged, ravaged father, whom he supports with his acting. Honey Boy explains a lot about LaBeouf, both the talent and the notorious behaviour. It's a brave and beautiful film in that sense, an expiation and an explanation, but without rancour. It seems weird to call it a love story, but that is surely what it is. This is not to be missed. Read Paul Byrnes full review here. The Invisible Man It so happens that H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man was published in 1897, at almost the same moment as the invention of cinema. Over the years, a number of notable filmmakers have made movies clearly, if not always officially indebted to Wells novel, writes reviewer Jake Wilson. To a list that includes James Whale, John Carpenter and Paul Verhoeven we can now add Australias Leigh Whannell best-known as the creator of the gruesome Saw series, which centred on the Mabuse-style villain Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), a specialist in deadly booby traps. For Whannell, theres something irresistible about this sort of enigmatic mastermind, who stays out of view while turning his victims into puppets to be manipulated. Whannell's 2018 science-fiction thriller Upgrade was a variation on the theme and so, too, is his updated Invisible Man, where the title character the entrepreneurial scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is barely glimpsed for much of the running time. Instead, we follow Adrians wife Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), after she escapes their abusive marriage in the opening sequence escape being the operative word, since their modernist beachside home resembles an upmarket version of a high-security prison. Even when shes theoretically safe from her persecutor she cant get him out of her head, nor does the news of his apparent death bring any lasting relief. Elisabeth Moss comes up against the patriarchy in The Invisible Man. Where other thriller heroines gradually fall apart, Cecilia starts out petrified and descends into a state hard to distinguish from madness. Moss performance puts the emphasis on mental and physical abjection, making us feel Cecilias disgust with her own weakness to the point where we might fear identifying with her too closely. Moss intensity is almost too much for the film, which otherwise has a self-conscious B-movie mode, with sparsely dressed sets, expressionistic sound design and few concessions to realism. Still, Whannells long apprenticeship as a screenwriter has paid off: while this is only his third feature as director, he is adept at using the stock moves of the thriller and horror genres, giving the sense that the mechanisms of popular cinema are being laid bare. Sometimes we seem to be watching events from a distanced, third-person perspective, as if they were playing out on a stage. Other shots could be through Adrians eyes, yet its not always clear where he might be lurking, or if hes present at all. Thus were forced to share Cecilias paranoia: Adrian is everywhere and nowhere at once. Along with his invisibility, he seems to have acquired almost superhuman strength and agility, as well as the capacity to move without making a sound. Loading All this allows us to read him as a metaphor for patriarchal ideology not just a single aberrant individual, but an omnipresent, intangible force that keeps women in their place. Whannell plays on the theme very knowingly, making us guess how far various male characters will prove to be versions of the one guy. But is this Invisible Man a feminist statement, in any serious sense? Or are we more aligned with the villain, gloating over the heroines pain and terror? As in so many films about women in trouble, the question is impossible to answer, but the ambiguity fascinates in its own right. Read Jake Wilson's full review here. Motherless Brooklyn Edward Norton wrote, directed, produced and starred in this smart, good-looking crime movie. These talents should put him on the way to becoming a Hollywood powerhouse but as a producer-director, Norton likes to dwell in the land of the moderately-priced feature with an emphasis on character rather than spectacle, and this makes him a member of an endangered species, writes reviewer Sandra Hall. Edward Norton plays a man with Tourette Syndrome in Motherless Brooklyn. Credit:Warner Bros. Pictures Hes had Motherless Brooklyn in the works for 20 years. Its a controversially comprehensive re-working of a well-regarded 1999 novel by Jonathan Lethem, who raised no objections, were told, when Norton decided to roll back the books contemporary setting to Brooklyn in the 1950s. Some of the books fans have felt otherwise, becoming the films most vocal critics. Nostalgia was not Nortons only motive for the change. Nor was the fact that he thought Lethems hard-boiled dialogue was going to sound cheesy on screen in a modern context. A student of New Yorks social history, he wanted to re-jig the story to explore the political double-dealing that shaped the citys architecture and planning during a pivotal decade. His bad guys are developers and politicians with no time for kindly notions such as affordable housing and community spirit. Nortons hero, Lionel Essrog, a private eye with a small-time agency, is pitched into a labyrinthine political conspiracy when his boss, Frank Minna, is shot dead by mobsters in the course of a case in which hes been involved. Played with admirable restraint by Bruce Willis, Frank has been Lionel's father-figure, the only person whos shown any interest in understanding the effects of the Tourettes Syndrome that has plagued him since childhood. For readers of the novel this was one of its most potent and unexpected attractions. It describes Lionels co-existence with his Tourettes, which he nicknames Bailey, with mordant humour and a lot of insight into the sensations it produces. Nortons translation contents itself with the broad outlines, although the films hard-edged jazz score, with its Wynton Marsalis trumpet solos, does make a direct connection with the tumult going on in Lionels head. As unlikely screen heroes go, hes one of the most engaging to come along in a while. And the film has a great villain in Alex Baldwins corrupt politician. Like Donald Trump, Baldwins Moses Randolph suffers from an acute case of monumentalism. He wants to build and re-build and never mind the people whose lives are left in the rubble. Read Sandra Hall's full review here. Miss Fisher And The Crypt Of Tears Even in her big-screen debut, television sleuth Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) has never gone in for disguise. Detective work is merely her hobby. Being Phryne is her vocation, being the centre of attention is her modus operandi and her numberless costume changes are all part of her armoury, writes Sandra Hall. Phyrne Fisher (Essie Davis) doesn't quite go undercover in Morrocco in Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. This means that her star power has always thrown the rest of the series cast into shadow. This includes Nathan Page as her love interest, the country policeman Detective Jack Robinson. Yet he, too, has made the leap to the big screen in Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, which takes them into the desert in 1929 on an Indiana Jones-type quest involving camels, scarabs, an emerald the size of an emus egg and corrupt British officials manipulating the politics of the region for their own nefarious purposes. Its an especially ambitious agenda, given the fact the film was partly financed by crowdfunding. Much of it was shot in Morocco, a favoured location for movie companies telling any story set in the Middle East, and its producers were lucky enough to be able to take advantage of a Jerusalem set that Ridley Scott left behind after shooting there in 2005. The result is a tribute to the Australian film industrys flair for making do but, sadly, thats not enough to overcome a fundamental failure in tone. Just when youve decided that the director, Tony Tilse, and screenwriter Deb Cox are going to embrace the films essential ridiculousness and turn on a bit of sharp-witted self-parody, they straighten their faces and revert to creaky melodrama. Its an odd effect. You feel as if youre being treated to a series of jokes by someone whos forgotten all the punchlines. The gags are there but they never realise their potential. And the can-do spirit does wax and wane. This time, Cox didnt adapt the script from one of the novels by Phrynes creator Kerry Greenwood. Its an original and if there is to be a sequel, as the producers clearly hope there will be, could somebody please polish up the pratfalls and punch up the dialogue. Read Sandra Hall's full review here. Undertow Victorian filmmaker Miranda Nations Undertow puts you right inside the head of Claire (Laura Gordon) and its an excessively gloomy place to be, writes Sandra Hall. Claires grief over the loss of her stillborn baby has pitched her into a depression worsened by her belief that her husband, Dan (Rob Collins), is having an affair with a teenager. Is she right or is this particular obsession another result of the delusions produced by her despair? Claire (Laura Gordon) and Angie (Olivia Dejonge) are drawn to each other in the Australian thriller Undertow. Its the kind of question that might have delighted Hitchcock but Nation isnt much interested in turning her film into a psychological thriller in the Vertigo mode. Shes more preoccupied with the contrast between Claires state of extreme introspection and the hyper-masculine world where Dan finds his consolation for the death of their child. Hes an official with the local AFL club and theres a lot to keep him busy. He is not involved with a teenager but Brett (Josh Helman), the clubs star player, is. Shes 16 and shes pregnant, which means Dan is fully occupied trying to see if he can contain the damage from the impending scandal. But its Claires story. She seeks out Angie, the teenager, and becomes fixated on her and her pregnancy, as if conflating it with her own. Its hard to see exactly whats going on because Claire doesnt really know either. Shes a news photographer and she uses the camera to try to understand whats happening to her, compulsively photographing everything and everybody, including Angie, whos played brilliantly by Olivia Dejonge. She gives us a girl whose sexual precocity is undercut by the fact shes way in over her depth. Flattered at first by Claires attention, shes full of a foxy bravado but its melting away fast. Financial advisory firm EY has strongly dismissed explosive claims from a Labor senator that accused the company of gross worker exploitation, humiliation and inappropriate behaviour towards employees. Senator Deborah O'Neill excoriated the culture and governance at EY on Tuesday night, using parliamentary privilege to air allegations of illicit drug-taking and alcohol abuse at the workplace as well as sexual harassment, assault and fraud over a number of years. Senator Deborah O'Neill has used parliamentary privilege to excoriate EY's culture and governance. Credit:Eamon Gallagher "I have been informed of claims of partners being under the influence of alcohol, behaving inappropriately and sometimes undermining, humiliating and ostracising officers in the presence of other employees while off premises, as well as officers coming to work under the influence of illicit drugs in a desperate attempt to fiercely compete for that sales credit," Senator O'Neill said. In an emailed statement to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, an EY spokeswoman rejected the senator's claims. "There are so many factual inaccuracies in the commentary," she said. A woman on her way to office was allegedly molested inside a bus in south Kolkata's Lake police station area on Wednesday morning, officials said. The woman, who is in her mid-20s, dialled 100 soon after the incident, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. Officials from the police station rushed to the spot and arrested the accused, he said. The woman was travelling from Gariahat to Jadavpur in the bus, plying on route number 234. "We have spoken to other passengers on the bus and trying to find out what happened. Investigations are on," the officer said. The accused will be later produced before a city court, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHARLESTON, S.C. - Democrats held their final debate before the South Carolina presidential primary and the critical Super Tuesday contests that follow three days later. Here are some key takeaways. BERNIE BASH Bernie Sanders is rarely a quiet voice, but he has managed to get through nine debates with few bruises. That ended Tuesday night when he was attacked on multiple fronts by every opponent. The overarching themes: Sanders can rile up a crowd but cant get things done. He is unelectable as a democratic socialist. He will drag down the Democratic House majority. Can anyone imagine moderate Republicans voting for him? former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg asked. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted that Sanders proposals cost $60 trillion triple the U.S. economy. The math does not add up, she warned. Sanders parried some of the blows but also got into shouting matches. Asked by a moderate how hed pay for his plans, he responded coolly, How many hours do you have? Centrist Democrats who hoped the Vermont senator would come off as not electable may be heartened, but so could Sanders supporters who see their candidate as passionate and authentically unpolished. BLOOMBERG TRIES TO BOUNCE BACK The good news for Bloomberg is this debate didnt go as badly as the last one. The bad news is no one is grading on the curve. He ceded prime target status to Sanders, but took his share of criticism. He still got scratched and occasionally came off as brittle. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren continued to be his nemesis, slamming him for funding Republican senators and for accusations that women at his company were mistreated. She brought up an allegation that Bloomberg had told a pregnant woman in his employ to kill it which Bloomberg heatedly denied. Later, he tried to make a joke about how everyone else onstage should have been scared to show up after I did such a good job of beating them last week. The joke was one of many he offered up that didnt land. A comedians timing he does not possess. A billionaires wallet, though, he does. And he bought advertising for the commercial breaks during the debate. BIDEN BALANCED Former Vice-President Joe Biden has called South Carolina his firewall, even before his dismal finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. If he gets the breakthrough he needs, it probably wont be because of a sterling debate performance. Biden seemed as comfortable as he has on any Democratic debate stage since the first encounters last June. But he little to offer a new rationale for his candidacy. He emphasized his affinity for issues dear to black voters and reminded them of his decades-long advocacy. Overall, it was a steady performance when Biden most needed it. And he expressed some confidence. Pressed on whether hed drop out if he doesnt win Saturday, Biden declared, Im going to win South Carolina. WARRENS CASE AGAINST SANDERS (AND BLOOMBERG) Warren had to make a difficult straddle at the debate she wanted to spotlight her liberal positions to pry voters from front-runner Sanders, but she also had to make a pitch for why they should back her rather than him. She has been hesitant to fully voice her criticism of Sanders but leaned into it Tuesday night. Bernies winning right now because the Democratic Party is a progressive party and progressive ideas are popular ideas, she said. Warren also reprised her attacks on Bloomberg, which might not help her win votes, but clearly helps her raise money. BUTTIGIEG: ANOTHER GOOD NIGHT, BUT WILL IT MEAN VOTES? If the race were about skill on the debate stage, it might be hard to deny Pete Buttigieg the nomination. He continued to answer questions with calm and clarity, and showed he could throw an elbow too. But his path forward is still unclear, given that his support is overwhelmingly white and the Democratic electorates in most upcoming primaries are not. Buttigieg helped lead the moderates charge against Bernie Sanders, almost mocking the idea of a general election between Sanders and President Donald Trump. Imagine spending the better part of 2020 listening to such a match-up, he pondered. It added up to another consistent performance for Buttigieg. The question is whether that will mean anything at the ballot box. KLOBUCHAR FIGHTS TO BE HEARD The star of the New Hampshire debate had to fight to be heard in Charleston. Klobuchar pulled out some of her go-to lines like the one about checking with the duck hunters in her family as she formulates gun control policies but she was often cut off by moderators for going over her time. She consistently made the case for a Midwestern moderate as the best candidate to take on Trump. She hammered Sanders on the cost of his plans. And she had one striking moment, when she was asked about coronavirus and said the issue was too serious for politics. Im not going to give my campaign website, Klobuchar said. Instead, she pointed viewers to CDC.gov, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But she had a hard time breaking through at a time she may have needed it most. THE OTHER BILLIONAIRE Tom Steyer has pinned his hopes on snatching South Carolina from Biden. But on Tuesday he looked like someone whose momentum has been yanked away. Steyer spluttered after Biden accused him of investing in private prisons as a hedge fund manager. He condemned both Sanders and Bloomberg as unelectable but never was able to make a clear case for himself. Without a clear win in South Carolina, its hard to see how Steyer wins anywhere else. MODERATE MUDDLE CONTINUES The moderate, anti-Bernie lane remains crowded. So crowded that several candidates couldnt agree on a strategy to clear some of the space. Buttigieg acted as if Biden wasnt on the stage at all, trying to make himself the clear alternative to Sanders. Biden and Bloomberg barely acknowledged one another. Klobuchar and Buttigieg did not renew their blood feud. The jumble underscores the uncertainty of the race beyond the reality that Sanders is still the front-runner. Hes not a commanding one yet. But he may not have to be if the moderate muddle continues. WHITE STAGE, BLACK VOTE The seven white Democratic presidential candidates took turns offering various reasons black voters should support them. Some attacked their rivals or struggled to defend their own records. Biden immediately took aim at Sanders for contemplating a primary challenge to President Barack Obama, the nations first black president, in 2012. Steyer said hed spent his career and his political activists fighting for, among other things, racial justice. But Biden went after him, too, for his investments in private prisons. The scenes highlight the oddity of an all-white slate of presidential candidates in party where about four out of 10 voters are non-white. Its even more stark in South Carolina, where black voters are likely to make up more than 60% of the primary electorate. When they werent attacking each other on race, several candidates found ways to name drop Rep. Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip and the most influential Democrat in the state. Clyburn is expected to endorse a candidate Wednesday. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. The District Court in Asokwa has remanded two suspects who were arrested in connection with the alleged murder of a community health nurse, Ruth Eshun at Sewua in the Ashanti Region. The two; Dominic Fosu alias Creative and Kofi Gariba alias Amanya were picked up by Police as part of their investigations into the incident. The Prosecutor, Chief Superintendent Kofi Blagoge told the court that investigations are still ongoing and other suspects are being pursued in connection with the incident. A bail application by the lawyer for the first accused person, Dominic Fosu was not granted by the court, presided over by His Worship Korkor Achaw Owusu. The case has consequently been adjourned to March 11, 2020. Lawyer for the first accused person, Bismark Nsiah-Aboagye who spoke to journalists after proceedings expressed worry about the development. I made it clear to the court that the accused person Dominic, is an individual voluntarily made himself to the police to inquire about his missing phone. Ordinarily, someone who has committed an offense will not make himself available to the police but he did for investigations and nothing was found. So I argued that he will make himself available for the trial to commence. In fact, I out up a cogent argument in Court but the prosecutor disagreed with me to the effect that the court has no jurisdiction to grant bail to murder suspects. The first suspect, Dominic Fosu, 35, was arrested on 5th February, 2020, two days after the nurse's murder. Kofi Gariba, 37, was however arrested on Thursday, February 13, 2020. His mobile phone was found at the crime scene. Police secured a court order to check his mobile phone records. The lifeless body of Ruth Eshun was found at Ayuom near Sewua in the Bosomtwe District, a few meters to her home. This was after she was last seen by her colleagues, on Monday, February 3rd, 2020, after leaving the Sewua Health Centre, where she worked as a registered community health nurse. citinewsroom BLUE BELL, Pa. and LONDON and VIGO, Spain, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) is partnering with Unisys for a range of secure IT services. EFCA is a European Union (EU) agency headquartered in Vigo, Spain and established to assist EU member states in complying with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) a set of rules that ensure the sustainability of fishing resources in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, signed in the third quarter of 2019, Unisys will provide services in support of EFCA's operational information systems and secure access to the tools needed for coordination and cooperation among national control and inspection activities. EFCA's work is critical in maintaining a pan-European level playing field for the fishing industry, and toward sustainable fisheries by enhancing compliance with existing conservation and management measures through coordination of fisheries control activities and the provision of assistance to Member States and the European Commission. It also provides support to national authorities carrying out coast guard functions in the framework of the European cooperation for Coast Guard together with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency. Eduardo Rodriguez, EFCA client executive for Unisys, said: "Unisys is honored to be working with EFCA and supporting the organization with its aims to promote sustainability and equality in the fishing industry. We have a proud heritage of supporting EU institutions in achieving their objectives and we look forward to working with EFCA to enable its employees, who currently come from 19 different member states, to ensure the effectiveness of its operations to help preserve fish stocks and promote a responsible fishing industry." Unisys will provide its services to EFCA as part of a consortium, having partnered with local technology service provider, Altia Consultores SA. Unisys is a major partner to European Union institutions for critical IT projects and support services and it has continuously grown this footprint for more 20 years. Having signed its first contract with the European Commission in 1997, the company now supports numerous EU agencies and major European institutions. These engagements serve more than 30,000 civil servants working for European institutions across the 28 EU member states. About Unisys Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. For more information on how Unisys builds better outcomes securely for its clients across the Government, Financial Services and Commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com. Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn. RELEASE NO.: 0226/9754 Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder. UIS-C SOURCE Unisys Corporation Related Links http://www.unisys.com A one-year-old dog in Texas ran away from home in the middle of the night, spent his sweet time at a police station before running back to his owner. Chico, a husky and German shepherd mix, has gone viral for reporting himself as missing at Odessa Police Department precinct at around 3.30 am on February 11. The official handle of the department shared pictures of the canine expectantly resting his front paws on a desk at the station. The post described how the happy guy just randomly strolled into the front desk of the police department. They joked that they thought Chico was there to apply for a K-9 position after eliminating a Lassie type situation. After getting his share of love and attention, the dog decided it was time for him to leave. He did not have any ID tag to match him to any house. While the police could not find the dog even after an exhausting search, he had returned back to his house. The dogs owner Edward Alvarado was fast asleep during the entire run-from-home fiasco. Alvarados nephew saw Chicos pictures doing the rounds online and informed him. Speaking to NewsWest9, Alvarado said when he came out to check on Chico, he was there already. He described the situation as kind of cool as Chico knew where to go. The police department is one mile away from Alvarados house. The police in their Facebook post said they were relieved to learn Chico had safely returned to his owner and said that he was welcome to go back anytime. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A teenager armed with a knife on the North Shore, a man targeting gas stations along Hylan Boulevard and several suspects tied to a spate of bank robberies: Borough-wide, police have responded to 43 reports of robberies in 2020, compared to 17 at this time last year, according to the citys CompStat figures. The data was last updated Feb. 16. Its important to note, however, that the borough saw a 30% drop in robberies from 2018 to 2019, so while incidents so far this year show a stark jump from this time in 2019, thats not the case when compared to 2018, according to a law enforcement source. KNIFEPOINT ROBBERIES A 14-year-old boy recently was arrested on Jersey Street in New Brighton, after allegedly carrying out multiple knife-point robberies in one day, the source said. According to NYPD data, those incidents occurred in the area of Tompkinsville and St. George. GAS STATION HOLDUPS A 27-year-old man committed an armed robbery and an attempted heist at two gas stations in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, along Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills, authorities allege. Fadie Said, of Winfield Street in South Beach, faces a slew of charges, including first-degree robbery and attempted burglary. A Richmond County Criminal Court judge set bail at $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash. The defendant is due back in court April 23. BANK JOBS Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 10, the NYPD responded to seven bank robberies and attempted bank heists on Staten Island. While police have arrested and charged two individuals in connection with three incidents, four of them still remain unsolved, with the same man sought in three. One unidentified male who police have tied to three incidents has made off with a total of about $16,500, police said. 4 NYPD seeks same man for questioning in four separate bank robberies CITY-WIDE Across New York City, robberies are up 17% so far this year, compared to this time last year. The number of robberies also increased from 2018 to 2019, NYPD data shows. South Brooklyn has seen a 50% increase so far this year, while lower Manhattan and Midtown have seen a combined 56% increase, according to CompStat figures. But while those incidents have been attributed mostly to youths, said the source, ours is really driven right now by a couple of people responsible for several incidents. All nine U.S. Supreme Court justices sided with Intel workers against the company Wednesday in a lawsuit over the chipmakers retirement plans. The court allowed the suit to proceed but did not rule at the merits of the case itself. Instead, the justices ruled that the arcane financial disclosures companies send to workers about their retirement plans arent enough to prove employees have actual knowledge about whats in the plans. A former Intel employee in New Mexico, Christopher Sulyma, sued Intel in 2015 alleging that the company put workers retirement savings in inordinately risky hedge funds. He sought class-action status, meaning the suit could potentially cover 100,000 current and former Intel workers. Financial advisors say Intel has improved its retirement savings plans in the years since the suit was filed, but the suit proceeded as Sulyma who worked at Intel from 2010 to 2012 sought damages from the plans prior investments. Intel sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that the law allows plaintiffs with actual knowledge of mismanagement only three years to file a suit. Sulyma and his attorneys, with support from the Trump administration, responded that a longer, six-year deadline should apply because he didnt actually know the details of the financial plans. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the courts opinion, finding that Dictionaries confirm that, to have actual knowledge of a piece of information, one must in fact be aware of it. Simply sending out a long financial disclosure, Alito wrote, doesnt ensure a company has imparted that knowledge to workers. Intel declined comment on the case, which now returns to a lower court for consideration. The chipmaker is Oregons largest corporate employer, with 20,000 workers at its campuses in Washington County. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The Balakot strike: India now sets the deadline for Pakistan India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: The hit at Balakot shook Pakistan and what India managed to do was send out a loud and clear message. The decision to carry out a precision strike at Balakot, which houses the training facility of the Jaish-e-Mohammad was taken post the Pulwama attack. At Pulwama, a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber crashed his vehicle into a CRPF convoy as a result of which 40 jawans were martyred. Pakistan had not learnt its lesson post the surgical strikes, which were carried out to avenge the Uri attack. On the Balakot strike, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, C D Sahay said that it was a message to Pakistan. It was established, who sets the deadline. It is India which sets the deadline, Sahay said. Terror business as usual at Balakot a year after it was hit Sources say that the targets that were hit included the training complex, a seminary and two halls that accommodated the terrorists. While the Research and Analysis Wing had mapped the entire Balakot facility several years back, the IAF went in for a precision strike. The intent was to hit the selected four targets, the source added. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 By March 2, 2019, India had gathered sufficient evidence that suggested the targets identified at the Balakot facility had been hit as intended. Evidence in the form of satellite imagery had been collected, which clearly suggested that the buildings that were identified had been hit. Further, it was said that the buildings were hit by 5 S-2000 precision-guided munition that were fired from the Mirage 2000. Explained: This day that year, when India hit Pakistan at Balakot The evidence that was collected is under the classified category and it was entirely up to the government whether or not to release the information. India collected evidence in the form of Synthetic Aperture Radar, which suggested that the four buildings that were selected as targets were hit. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 11:45 [IST] Thirty-five years ago, Phil Frank decided to move his popular nationally syndicated comic strip, Travels with Farley, to San Francisco. Frank switched to running the comic in The Chronicle exclusively, with local topics providing stories for his eclectic mix of characters. It was a smashing success. A recent search through The Chronicles archive turned up a few old Farley cartoons, as well as photos of Frank in the city he drew for so many years. Travels with Farley began in 1975, with the main character, Farley, traveling the United States, eventually becoming a ranger at the fictional Asphalt State Park. He was a younger version of Phil Frank, with more hair and a wilder mustache. At its height, the cartoon appeared in 50 newspapers across the U.S. But in February 1985, Phil Frank ended his national syndication deal and decided the cartoon would only appear in The Chronicle and Farley would move to San Francisco. Frank has acquired a taste in cartooning for the specific rather than the general, Chronicle reporter Jerry Carroll wrote. A hankering for immediate as opposed to delayed gratification. The national cartoon allowed only generalized comment about people and events anybody could pick up on no matter where the residence, Carroll wrote. Plus there was a four-week lead time between drawing and publishing. Under Franks new arrangement, that was reduced to a week. Upon arriving in San Francisco, Farley moved into an apartment above a North Beach bakery (Hell probably get evicted, Frank quipped) and was hired by the Daily Requirement, a newspaper at the corner of Myth and Fission, an obvious takeoff of the Fifth and Mission address of The Chronicle. His other main characters, Farleys raven roommate Bruce and the Asphalt State Park bears, also relocated to San Francisco. The bears eventually started a restaurant, the Fog City Dumpster, and became avid Giants fans. Frank included all sorts of local events in his strip and often poked fun at Bay Area politicians, especially San Francisco mayors. One of his favorite targets was former Mayor Willie Brown, who was often drawn in regal robes and a crown. By 1990, Farley was at an impasse with Irene, a meter maid whom he had had an on-again, off-again relationship with for several years. Farley went to spiritual adviser Baba Rebok for advice, but Baba was stumped so he solicited readers opinions. The first comic strip character to get his own fax number now wonders if that was such a good idea, an article on the overwhelming response ran in The Chronicle on April 22, 1990. More than 300 faxes arrived. People jumped at the chance to, in Babas words, mess with someones life. Frank announced his retirement for health reasons on Sept. 7, 2007, and well-wishing cards, letters and emails poured in. Sadly, he died a week later. Phil Frank was an amazing cartoonist who managed to endear himself even to the targets of his wit, said then-Mayor Gavin Newsom. He will be really missed, Brown said. He was to cartoons what Herb Caen was to words. I consider Phil Frank a great friend and, believe it or not, a great promoter of Willie Brown. A memorial followed. Led by a brass jazz band, creatures from the life and times of the late cartoonist Phil Frank paraded around Washington Square at noon, The Chronicles Carl Nolte wrote. Forty uniformed park rangers, seven horses, Giants mascot Lou Seal and hundreds of people dressed as creatures from Franks imagination. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. The crowd of about 2,000 celebrated Franks life by dressing as his characters, telling stories about him and listening to eulogies that were as warm as the autumn sun. More from Chronicle Vault Lombard Street: A twisted traffic history of the San Francisco street thats a mecca for tourists and a nightmare for residents. Not Your Century: 1965: Malcolm X suspect arrested. Have you heard the one about ... ? When two mimes had a resounding wedding in Union Square. In the nick of time: How one couple saved Muir Woods from becoming a dammed reservoir. From the Archive is a weekly column by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director of The Chronicle, exploring the depths of the newspapers archive. Its part of Chronicle Vault, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting more than 150 years of San Francisco stories. It is edited by Taylor Kate Brown, The Chronicles newsletter editor. Sign up for the newsletter here, and follow Chronicle Vault on Instagram. Contact Bill at bvanniekerken@sfchronicle.com and Taylor at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com. A brown bear sitting on a rock Natural gas is caught in a protracted slump and is trading at under US$2 per million British thermal units (MMBTU). Despite growing consumption of what is known as the clean fossil fuel, there are few positive catalysts that will drive the price higher for the foreseeable future, particularly amid growing fears of a global economic slump weighing heavily on fossil fuel prices. While this has hit natural gas stocks hard to see many such as Painted Pony and Peyto Exploration & Development lose over 30% since the start of 2020 Canacol Energy has only lost 4%. There are a range of reasons for this, the key being Canacols ability to profit from the unique dynamics associated with Colombias energy market where an emerging energy crisis allows it to lock-in prices significantly higher than the North American benchmark. Canacol is poised to rally higher once the pessimism surrounding the global economic outlook and demand for energy subsides. Growing natural gas reserves Canacol recently announced that its proven and probable natural gas reserves, located in Colombias lower Magdalena Valley, had grown by 12% year over year to 624 billion cubic feet, giving Canacol an impressive reserve replacement ratio of 224%. Those reserves will continue to grow at a steady clip because Canacol has an impressive exploration success rate of 83%. That notable increase in Canacols proven and probable natural gas reserves has given its after-tax net-asset-value (NAV) a solid lift, seeing it worth $8.87 per share after deducting long-term debt, tax liabilities, leases and decommissioning as well as other long-term costs. Canacols NAV is around double its current market value, thereby highlighting the tremendous upside that exists for investors, even if the North American Henry Hub benchmark natural gas price doesnt recover. Colombia is experiencing a natural gas shortage. When thats considered in combination with Bogotas budgetary headaches, weak fiscal position and worsening balance of trade, theres a considerable incentive to pay higher than spot prices to secure suitable domestic supplies. Story continues This is because the Colombian government is under considerable pressure to attract foreign investment in the domestic energy patch and boost hydrocarbon reserves as well as production. Its this combination of rapidly declining production, notably in Colombias aging offshore gas fields, along with a dearth of recent major natural gas discoveries and growing demand that forced the country to start importing natural gas in 2017. These factors have allowed Canacol to secure take and pay contracted prices for the natural gas that it produces of US$4.84 per MMBTU net of transportation expenses, which is 2.6 times greater than the current Henry Hub price. That gives Canacol a handy advantage over its North American peers and predicting 2020 EBITDA of US$265 million and free cash flow of US$80 million. If Canacol can meet its projected 2020 earnings, which is likely given that natural gas sales are expected to expand by 37%, then its stock will soar. During 2019 the driller elected reward patient investors by paying a quarterly dividend with a juicy yield of 4.7%. Given the rapid growth of Canacols sales and earnings, the dividend appears sustainable. Foolish takeaway Canacols ability to rapidly expand its natural gas sales and earnings combined with the unique opportunity that exists in Colombias energy market makes the company an attractive investment. This is particularly the case given that Canacol is trading at a deep 101% discount to is after-tax NAV, illustrating the considerable gains ahead, making now the time to buy. More reading Fool contributor Matt Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 Apple does not let villains use its iPhone on screen, according to director Rian Johnson. The director suggested that in addition to being an enlightening fact about how Apple lets its product be used in films it could also serve as a helpful way to try and work out the true motivations of on-screen characters. Johnson made the admission as he was promoting his latest film, Knives Out, and was discussing the props that could be seen in one of the shots. He noted that Jamie Lee Curtis was holding an iPhone and that viewers might be able to read into her character as a result. He lightheartedly suggested that the admission could have the potential to ruin mystery films, since the presence or absence of an iPhone in a character's hand could be an indication of whether a character is a hero or villain. "Also another funny thing, I don't know if I should say this or not. Not cause it's like lascivious or something, but because it's going to screw me on the next mystery movie that I write, but forget it, I'll say it. It's very interesting," he said in a video made for Vanity Fair. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty "Apple... they let you use iPhones in movies but and this is very pivotal if you're ever watching a mystery movie bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera. "So oh no! Every single filmmaker that has a bad guy in their movie that's supposed to be a secret wants to murder me right now." Recommended New iPhone update could let people change default apps Apple is known to be restrictive about the ways that its trademarks, logos and products are used anywhere in culture, from marketing to product placement in films. Its website includes a set of guidelines for third-parties looking to use its intellectual property. Those include a requirement that developers only use Apple products when they are "shown only in the best light, in a manner or context that reflects favorably on the Apple products and on Apple Inc" and that they should not be used in any way that suggests Apple endorses or sponsors the material in which it is being shown. More than 4,900 medical staff from some 600 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals across the country rushed to central China's Hubei Province to help combat the novel coronavirus epidemic. Five national medical teams of 757 TCM specialists from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and other elite medical institutions had been dispatched to the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei and epicenter of the outbreak. TCM has been widely applied in treating infected patients as it has proved effective in improving the cure rate. Since the epidemic outbreak, the time-honored treatment has been applied in treating over 60,000 confirmed cases of the infection in China. According to the National Administration of TCM, medical expert teams in 31 provincial-level regions all include TCM specialists, with most of the regions having made localized TCM treatment schemes for the novel coronavirus. In north China's Shanxi Province, 84 TCM professionals from the provincial TCM hospital developed prescriptions for the disease in just eight days that would normally have taken three to six months. TCM practitioners raced against time to produce tens of thousands of doses of TCM decoctions which were sent to patients at designated hospitals free of charge. According to local health authorities, 98.5 percent of infected patients in Shanxi have received TCM treatment, and 91.5 percent of those who have used TCM are getting results. Inside Hook Picture yourself in your car on a straightaway with no other vehicles in sight. Chances are, at one point or another, youve pushed the pedal to the metal to see what your daily driver is made of. But if your insurance agent was sitting in the passenger seat, youd probably think twice about that spontaneous drag race, right? Thats what Ford plans to do, at least in a digital sense. This week, Ford Motor Company announced two new car insurance programs Ford Insure and Lincoln Motor Company Insure in partnership with Nationwide that promise savings if youre willing to hand over your driving data. CHICO, Calif. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has announced its upcoming release of Strainge Beast, an unpasteurized hard kombucha, in celebration of World Kombucha Day. The first-ever flavor release will include Ginger, Lemon & Hibiscus; a tart, bubbling, and vivacious pink kombucha with 7.0% ABV and live cultures. Two additional flavors include Blueberry, Acai & Sweet Basil and Passion Fruit, Hops & Blood Orange, which will come shortly, the company announced. Strainge Beast will debut on draft in select markets starting in March and will be released nationwide in cans in all three flavors later this year, the company announced. Robin Gregory with Sierra Nevada Brewing said that the Lemon, Ginger & Hibiscus flavor is on tap at the Chico taproom now. Ive been drinking kombucha for some time, and the team has done a fantastic job of coming up with really nice flavor and balance, said Sierra Nevada Founder and President Ken Grossman. His thoughts on creating the companys first non-beer beverage? As long as the product has providence and soul, Im good with it. Like beer, kombucha allows you to become an alchemist, morphing natural, raw ingredients into something amazing to drink. Ginger, Lemon & Hibiscus combines a blend of black and green tea with lemon, ginger and hibiscus. Director of Technical Brewing and Innovation for the Sierra Nevada and Chico Fermentation Project, Sean Lavery said him and his team worked with Oregon State University to develop a totally unique SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria & Yeast), from the ground up, sourcing yeasts and ingredients from all around the globe. Initial Strainge Beast launch markets will include San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Cruz. Portland, Oregon. Phoenix, Arizona. Asheville and Raleigh in North Carolina. Knoxville, Tennesse, and Tampa, Florida. More cities will follow in May, followed by a nationwide can release in August. Zurich Insurance Group has created a new offering together with cyber-security company CYE to shield businesses against the growing risks of cyber crime. With the partnership, Zurichs specialist cyber insurance and risk engineering capabilities are combining with CYEs artificial intelligence-based technology, services and cyber expertise. Zurich said that its new offering, called Zurich Cyber Security Services, helps businesses deploy cyber risk management programs, which include closing security blind spots, reducing the risk and impact of security incidents, ensuring proactive protection of critical business assets, and allocation of appropriate budget and resources. Zurich Cyber Security Services is available to companies globally. Companies that purchase a standalone cyber policy from Zurich will also benefit from the collaboration with Israel-based CYE. The policy now includes a comprehensive, technology-driven report to help customers assess their risk with regards to cyber threats. The cyber space is a dangerous source of crime and disruption and one of the top risks for businesses, said Zurich, quoting the Global Risks Report published by the World Economic Forum. (The WEF report was created in partnership with Zurich.) As cyber attacks increase in severity and frequency, companies can make themselves more resilient by strengthening risk strategies for cyber security and insurance, added Zurich. Source: Zurich Insurance Topics Mergers Cyber Experts are struggling to respond to an invasive species of herpes-infected monkeys roaming around Florida after a spate of sightings raised fears the primate population in the state is spiralling out of control. Just six monkeys arrived in Florida as tourist attractions in the 1930s but the animals have since spread and multiplied to an estimated population of between 550 and 600 around Silver Springs State Park. Although researchers are worried about the herpes B virus they carry and the potential for them to harm other species, park officials have avoided controlling numbers of the rhesus macaque species, which has become a beloved tourist highlight in the state. People feel really emotionally connected to these animals, Jane Anderson, an assistant professor of research at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, told The Washington Post. And that makes it much harder to convey that we need to implement population management than [for] an animal that's less cute and cuddly. Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Show all 15 1 /15 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Grand title winner and Joint Winner, Behaviour: Mammals The moment by Yongqing Bao, China Yongqing Bao/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners 11-14 years old Winner Night glow by Cruz Erdmann, New Zealand Cruz Erdmann/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Plants and Fungi Winner Tapestry of life by Zorica Kovacevic, Serbia/USA Zorica Kovacevic/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Behaviour: Birds Winner Land of the eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Black and White Winner Snow exposure by Max Waugh, USA Max Waugh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Joint Winner, Behaviour: Mammals The equal match by Ingo Arndt, Germany Ingo Arndt/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Earths Environments Winner Creation by Luis Vilarino Lopez, Spain Luis Vilarino Lopez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio Award Winner The huddle by Stefan Christmann, Germany Stefan Christmann/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners 10 years and under Winner Humming surprise by Thomas Easterbrook, UK Thomas Easterbrook/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Wildlife Photojournalism: Single Image Winner Another barred migrant by Alejandro Prieto, Mexico Alejandro Prieto/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Rising Star Portfolio Award Winner Frozen moment by Jeremie Villet, France Jeremie Villet/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners 15-17 years old Winner Early riser by Riccardo Marchgiani, Italy Riccardo Marchegiani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles Winner Pondworld by Manuel Plaickner, Italy Manuel Plaickner/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Animal Portraits Winner Face of deception by Ripan Biswas, India Ripan Biswas/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019: The Winners Animals in Their Environment Winner Snow-plateau nomads by Shangzhen Fan, China Shangzhen Fan/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ms Anderson, who has studied the growth of the monkeys and estimated their population size, has expressed concerns that further growth could harm birds in the area, such as qualls. In past incidents, rhesus macaques have wreaked havoc on new habitats, such as in Puerto Rico, where studies showed their introduction in the 1960s destroyed seabird populations. However, it may soon become impossible to ignore the growing problem as researchers estimate that by 2022, the monkey population will have doubled. Recommended Wild monkeys carrying disease threaten Floridians I understand why they don't want to address the issue. It's a lose-lose situation, Steve Johnson, a University of Florida professor of wildlife ecology and conservation who co-authored the research, told USA Today. But if they do nothing, they are potentially opening up a barrel of monkeys, so to speak. Mr Johnson noted that officials have struggled to control the population due to public support for the animals, who have captured the hearts of visitors to the state. It's not an issue if it's catching pythons. No one cares about snakes. When it's a furry, charismatic animal, it makes it different. In the past, monkeys in the area have been trapped and sold for biomedical research over concerns about them plundering birds nest and potentially passing herpes on to humans. But that solution also received backlash from animal rights groups concerned about the monkeys welfare. It is a tragedy that wild monkeys are torn from their families and forest homes and sold to research and testing laboratories, one group said in 2013, as reported by the local Ocala Star-Banner newspaper. Although the chances of humans being infected by the monkeys are slim, a study published in a journal of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described herpes B as a public health concern and concluded up to 30 per cent of the parks macaques shed the virus in their saliva, urine and faeces. Hundreds of bites and scratches occur every year in monkey facilities in the United States, but people rarely get infected with B virus, the CDC said on its website. Park officials have resorted to warning tourists to keep their distance from the monkeys, instead of actively controlling the population, amid concerns about aggression from the animals towards visitors. We tell people not to approach them, not to feed them, because we want people to stay safe, Craig Littauer, a park services specialist, told The Post. However, despite concerns about the population growth, the monkeys remain a popular tourist attraction. First thing everyone asks about is the monkeys, Nick Bozman, who runs tours transporting visitors along the parks Silver River, told the Ocala Star-Banner. Nevertheless, he admitted the animals were not supposed to be here. It's a double-edged sword, he told the newspaper. A former chief sanitary inspector is certain that the first cases of coronavirus in Hungary are only a matter of time. On hvg online, former chief medical inspector Ferenc Falus approves the precaution measures taken by both the authorities and individuals, but warns that with masses of people travelling though Hungarys airports and borders daily, it is unrealistic to hope that Hungary can remain coronavirus free for long. In their report on how Hungary is preparing for the potential pandemic, Judit Windisch and Emese Dobos write that measuring the temperatures of passengers at the airports is useful but can only screen those who already show symptoms. However, even such controls are not performed at the land border crossings, they remark. A group of high school students has been quarantined, but only because one of the parents warned the authorities that they had spent a night near one of the focal points of the epidemic in Italy. The authorities have not advised people not to travel to Italy, although the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who has been placed in charge of Hungarians in areas hit by the disease, is advising citizens to consider postponing any planned trips to Italy. This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online. Click here to Share Your Story MTI Photo: Kovacs Attila Mayor London Breed recently announced that she had accepted assistance with car repairs from former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who resigned this month after his arrest in a federal corruption investigation. Breeds car is old enough to vote and apparently still not working properly and she has been close friends with Nuru for decades. Nonetheless, it was a mistake for the mayor to accept the gift and let a long-standing personal relationship distract from her professional responsibilities as San Franciscos chief executive. The mayor has clearly acknowledged the error; as she said, she is a human being, and human beings make mistakes. Most voters seem to understand that and appreciate her openness and contrition. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for Supervisor Hillary Ronen and the small group of political figures who have been trying to tear down Breed since before she became mayor. Sensing an opportunity to attack her, they suddenly proclaimed themselves guardians against civic corruption. And Ronen almost immediately declared that Breed should resign. This was laughable on its face and drenched with hypocrisy when subjected to even passing scrutiny. Former mayor and supervisor and current venture capitalist Mark Farrell faced a $191,000 Ethics Commission fine after his 2010 supervisorial campaign was charged with coordinating with an independent expenditure campaign that was not independent at all. (The fine was reduced after Farrell sued.) Did Ronen call on Farrell to resign? Did she bemoan corruption in city government on that occasion? No, she helped appoint Farrell mayor. Former Supervisor John Avalos was fined $12,000 by the Ethics Commission on charges that his mayoral campaign misreported over $26,000 and failed to maintain accurate records for over $391,000. He also had an extramarital affair with an aide (speaking of an inappropriate overlap of personal and professional relationships). When the affair came to light in 2014, Avalos said, I felt it was most appropriate for her to find employment outside this office, suggesting the aide lost her job for dating her boss, i.e. him. Did Ronen call for Avalos resignation? Did she question his fitness for office? No in fact, she is running on a slate with him as I write this. But surely Ronen has shown purity in her own affairs? Again, no. The supervisor continued fundraising for a ballot measure after she had decided to withdraw it, misleading supporters into thinking the campaign was still happening. And in 2018, she led an effort to appropriate extra city funds to the Public Defenders Office unit that her husband manages. These are a few of many examples of the double standard some politicians apply to the mayor on one hand and to their friends and allies on the other. Sadly, African American leaders often face such a double standard. When state Treasurer Fiona Ma and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo endorsed Michael Bloomberg for president, for example, plenty of people may have disagreed with their choice, but no one questioned their character. Yet when Breed and the African American mayor of Stockton, Michael Tubbs, endorsed Bloomberg, the distressingly common response on social media and elsewhere was, in essence, How much did Bloomberg pay them? What did they get for this? There is a casual, almost accepted racism in constantly suggesting black leaders are corrupt. It is wrong, and it is far too prevalent. Now is not the time for racial stereotypes or politically motivated hyperventilating in San Francisco. We have far too much of both in our national discourse. Now is the time for introspection, collaboration and a focus on the substantive issues we face. Malia Cohen is a member of the state Board of Equalization and a former San Francisco supervisor. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Adoption of Central Acts in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and a new Surrogacy Bill to ensure effective regulation of the service allowing widows and divorcees to be surrogates were among seven key decisions the Union Cabinet took on Wednesday. The Cabinet approved issuance of an order for adoption of Central Acts in Jammu & Kashmir under Section 96 of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 by the Central government. With the order, a total of 37 Central laws will be applicable to J&K which are applicable to the whole of India. These laws will be application in the erstwhile state with effect from October 31, 2019 when the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 came into force bifurcating J&K into two Union Territories -- Jammu & Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one. As per Section 96 of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Central government has powers to modify the existing laws through repeal or amendment within one year of the constitution of the UTs. The Cabinet also gave its approval for the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 to ensure effective regulation of the service and also allowing widows and divorcees to be surrogates, if it was "altruistic". The Bill, cleared by the Cabinet, has incorporated recommendations of a 23-member Rajya Sabha Select Committee and is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the second phase of the Budget Session beginning on March 2. In place of "close relative", the bill has now proposed that the surrogate mother should be a "willing" woman. The select committee had recommended that not only close relatives but any woman, whether she is a widow or divorcee, who is "willing" should be allowed to act as a surrogate mother, Union Minister Smriti Irani told media. The Cabinet has also decided that the insurance cover of the surrogate mother which was proposed for 16 months would be increased to 36 months. Irani said that the surrogacy facility will be provided only to those who have medically necessitated conditions. "These rights would be of Indian married couples and Indian-origin couples in which women and men would be of Indian origin." In single women category, the surrogacy rights would be of widows and divorcee women, the minister said. Government sources said that the select committee suggested 15 major changes to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, including deleting the definition of "infertility" as the inability to conceive after five years of unprotected intercourse on the grounds that it was too long a period for a couple to wait for a child. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has also approved setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore for four year implementation period in line with the announcement made in Budget 2020 presented earlier this month. Making announcement following the CCEA meeting, she said the idea behind the mission is to integrate technology and manufacturing. The minister said that the step would position the country as a global leader in technical textiles and that the goal was to be self-dependent in this field to nullify the trade deficit in the area which was already declining. Technical textiles have various applications ranging from agriculture, roads, railway tracks, sportswear, health on one end to bullet proof jackets, fire proof jackets, high altitude combat gear and space applications on the other end of the spectrum. The Cabinet also approved the exemption of the India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Guidelines, except reservation and vigilance policies. IPGL was incorporated under the Companies Act 2013, as a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Deendayal Port Trust (DPT), - earlier Kandla Port Trust (KPT) - under administrative control of Ministry of Shipping, for development and management of Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar in Iran. Subsequent to the withdrawal of the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Ministry of External Affairs advised Ministry of Shipping on October 29, 2018 to exclude JNPT and DPT from possible impact of US sanctions. In another decision, the Cabinet approved the amendments to the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Bill, 2011. The objective of the Bill is to confer status to Institutions of National Importance to National Institutes of Food Technology located in Kundli in Haryana and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. It also gave a nod to amendment of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965. This will confer occupancy rights to the scheduled tribe population in the UT of Lakshadweep. At the end, the Cabinet also gave a green signal to three MoUs for cooperation between India and Myanmar on combating timber trafficking, conservation of tigers and other wildlife and in the field of petroleum products and communications. Calling Balakote airstrike a "successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless Indian Air Force air warriors", Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that now we do not hesitate to cross the border to protect India against terrorism. "India today celebrates the first anniversary of Balakote airstrikes. It was a successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless Indian Air Force air warriors. With the success of Balakote air strikes India has clearly demonstrated its strong will against terrorism," Rajnath tweeted. The Defence Minister later went on to salute the Indian Air Force for its "unmatched bravery and courage". "I salute the Indian Air Force for its unmatched bravery and courage exhibited during Balakote air strikes. Our government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted a different approach from earlier governments. Now we do not hesitate to cross the border to protect India against terrorism," he tweeted. Rajnath Singh also thanked Prime Minister Modi for bringing change in India's approach against terrorism. "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing change in India's approach against terrorism and our ways to counter terror. The Surgical Strikes of 2016 and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. This is certainly a New and Confident India in making," he said in another post. On this day, last year, IAF jets bombed the terror camp in Pakistan's Balakots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Supplier News 26 February 2020 Egham, UK - Triometric, the leading provider of API intelligence for online travel distributors, today announced that Abbey Ireland & UK, an award winning Destination Management Company (DMC), has selected Trio Express to deliver real-time contextual insights into the performance of its API. This intelligence helps the company to optimise its accommodation distribution as the company expands its online services. Trio Express is the Software as a Service (SaaS) version of Triometric's API analytics platform which monitors the health of an API environment, while providing deep analysis and reporting of all search and booking traffic to the company's booking platform from Tourplan, a specialist technology provider to tour operators and DMCs. The Trio SaaS model delivers out-of-the-box reports that help hotel distributors to get up and running quickly without the need for hardware investment, or skilled analysts to use the system. As part of its online growth strategy, Abbey Ireland & UK was looking for a solution that could deliver immediate visibility into its online platform performance. Online travel interactions depend on a robust infrastructure. From tracking platform functionality to third-party integrations, monitoring these connections is critical as any distribution issue can quickly escalate and result in lost bookings and unhappy customers. Using Trio Express the company can now monitor its real-time API connections, response times, and other operational metrics. Through interactive dashboards, custom reports, and alerts, the IT department can immediately be alerted to API transaction failures and exceptions. Any operational problems, message errors or availability issues impacting daily business and potential revenue streams can now be quickly detected and resolved. "We are delighted to be working with Triometric to help us maintain a robust online distribution environment" said Claire Matanda, Ecommerce Online Manager at Abbey Ireland & UK. "We now have an end-to-end view of our operations and insights to ensure we deliver an optimum online service to our B2B clients." "We welcome Abbey Ireland & UK's selection of Trio Express to help them optimise their operations" said Matthew Goulden, CEO at Triometric. "Leveraging the insights Trio brings helps Abbey Ireland & UK make data-driven decisions to deliver a quality service to its customers. "We look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure they get the most out of their XML data." Abbey Ireland & UK Abbey Ireland & UK is an award winning Destination Management Company and part of the Abbey Group, established in 1978. This Group is a collection of travel companies servicing the needs of its travel trade partners. Its core business is selling the destinations of Ireland and the UK to the global leisure travel trade on a B2B basis. Its focus is on 3 primary areas: Group Travel, Individual Travel and Online Services. For more information visit: About Triometric Triometric is the leader in API analytics with 20 years' experience working with the world's leading travel distributor and enterprises, helping them meet the challenges and opportunities of today's fragmented distribution landscape using XML analytics. Trio analytics helps customers monitor and manage their complex distribution environment. Actionable insights enables travel companies to optimise their business performance by improving their offers, uncovering opportunities and increasing revenue. Triometric is a privately held company based in the UK. Customers include some of the leaders in the travel industry including Bonotel and Marriott. www.triometric.net. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:28:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Top Democrats in both chambers of the U.S. Congress have said they are fine with Bernie Sanders becoming the party's nominee to face incumbent President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said "yes" when asked by media at Capitol Hill on Wednesday about her thought on Sanders, U.S. senator from the state of Vermont, being nominated the Democratic presidential nominee. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, expressed similar attitude Tuesday, saying that the party has "a lot of strong nominees," adding that he's "not supporting one over the other," but "every one of them will beat President Trump." Having won the nominating contests in New Hampshire and Nevada following a narrow defeat that saw him rank second in the Iowa race, Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is currently the front-runner in national polls. Other candidates in the Democratic field, both Sanders' fellow progressives and moderates, zeroed in on him during the debate Wednesday night in South Carolina, trying to contain the 78-year-old's momentum. The debate is the last of its kind ahead of the decisive "Super Tuesday" next week, when 14 U.S. states and the U.S. territory of American Samoa will hold primaries or caucuses simultaneously. The Democrats Abroad primary, in which Democratic voters living abroad will cast their ballots, is also slated for the day. Its hard to remember that there was a time not all that long ago when threats against schools often were considered little more than pranks. Then came Columbine, which shattered a nations innocence. And Sandy Hook, which shattered our hearts. And Virginia Tech, which left us dumbfounded. Its even harder to believe that anyone would still dabble in the thought that schools and law enforcement take any kind of threat issued against a school, students or staff lightly. Apparently, and sadly, thats not the case. Witness what happened last week in the William Penn School District. There was a heavy police presence at the schools Friday, after threats of a mass shooting were posted on social media. School was held as normal, albeit with extra security. No incidents were reported. But that was not the end of the story. On Monday, law enforcement gathered to announce that two 13-year-old girls were being charged with making the threats against the schools. The threats were lodged on Instagram. After an intense 20 hours of police work, officials announced charges against the two juvenile females, one from Yeadon and the other from Darby Borough. Yeadon Police Chief Anthony Paparo headed the investigation, and credited the work of both his officers as well as those from Lansdowne. Both departments worked with the FBI and social media officials. Police started received word of the threatening posts at 8:25 Thursday night, targeting Penn Wood 9th Grade Academy at 600 Cypress St. in Yeadon, and the main campus of Penn Wood High School t 100 Green Ave. in Lansdowne. At about 10:30 p.m., Paparo started texting the suspected Instagram account to see if he could illicit a response, or, as the chief put it, if I could get some kind of stir. He didnt have to wait long. Paparo started getting responses from one of the accounts. Over the next 30 minutes he received enough information to suspect several people were involved, and there may be a connection to a fight or some other kind of incident between those making the posts and others at the schools. The chief made clear his intentions to the poster, as well as identifying himself as a police officer. Im going to find you. Im going to lock you up, he informed the social media poster. The response was chilling. Paparo said the poster responded that if police came to the house, they would be shot. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer made a point to shatter any mistaken belief that such behavior would not be taken seriously. Were now 20 years past Columbine, he said. We now know we cannot take any threat to a school community anything but seriously. Paparo wanted to deliver a stern message and not just to kids. He urged parents to monitor what their kids are doing online and on social media. Its a familiar lament, a sign of the new world we all live in. Kids are no longer pulling fire alarms or stopping up toilets. Today they dont even have to leave the comfort of their bedroom to put an entire community on edge. All they have to do is pick up their phone. Parents, monitor what your kids are doing online and on social media, the chief counseled. I was talking to a 13-year-old girl who thought I was an adult, or at least high school-aged kid, at 11:30 at night where she was threatening to shoot me on her posts. Know what your kids are doing. Be involved. Both Paparo and Yeadon Mayor Rohan Hepkins did offer a sliver of good news with this sobering development. Both credited both young people and others in the community with not only quickly alerting authorities to the threat, but also aiding in the investigation. Hepkins hoped to use Mondays press conference as a learning experience, a teachable moment if you will in the new online world we all dwell in. He suggested all of us could educate the public and glean lessons learned from our experience that perhaps other municipalities can learn from, and we can all collectively learn in these trying times. Still even the mayor was taken aback by the age of those involved. The sad part about it was they were only 13 years old, he said. The two juveniles were not named. They will be charged with making terroristic threats and unlawful use of a computer. State Sen. Anthony Williams, D-8 of Philadelphia, who also represents that portion of eastern Delaware County, also touched on the theme of being more involved with kids. We need to be better connected with these young people, the senator said. No doubt. Lets hope its a lesson learned, one we thought had already been driven home multiple times. School threats are no longer kid stuff. Just ask two kids 13-year-olds in the William Penn School District. Algeria Wednesday confirmed the first case of coronavirus, becoming the second country in North Africa after Egypt to be affected by the outbreak which has killed over 2,700 people globally. Health minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid told state-run TV that an Italian citizen who arrived in the country on Feb. 17 has tested positive for the disease officially known as COVID-19. Benbouzid also indicated that the patient has been quarantined and measures have been taken to avoid contamination. Italy is currently the EU country most affected by the outbreak, with already 300 people infected and 11 deaths. Algeria this month airlifted its citizens, a dozen, from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Egypt early this month confirmed its first case. Over 81,174 have been infected by the virus which affected 25 countries outside China. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak international health emergency. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westhaven Ventures Inc. (TSX-V:WHN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ryan Fetterley as Vice-President of Operations effective immediately. Mr. Fetterley has over 15 years of experience in the mineral exploration and development industry. He recently acted as the Field Operations Manager for Goldcorp running an 80-person fly-in fly-out camp in the Yukon Territory. Prior to Goldcorp he was the Operations Manager for Kaminak Gold Corporations Coffee Gold Project. Ryans experience includes all aspects of operations, logistics and supply chain management. He has been a team leader in environmental sustainability, Indigenous engagement, as well as implementation of policies, procedures and regulatory legislation for several successful projects. Gareth Thomas, Westhaven's President & CEO, stated, Ryan joined Westhaven in September 2019 and has been instrumental in expanding Westhavens exploration platform. Ryans focus on process, safety and management has assisted in positioning Westhaven to undertake significant drill and exploration campaigns across our portfolio of properties spread along the Spence Bridge Gold Belt in 2020. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On behalf of the Board of Directors WESTHAVEN VENTURES INC. "Gareth Thomas" Gareth Thomas, President, CEO & Director About Westhaven: BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- African countries and people's various support for China's battle against the COVID-19 outbreak has vividly illustrated the brotherly friendship of sharing weal and woe and helping each other between China and Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in a phone talk with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. In the conversation, Xi noted that at a crucial moment in the Chinese people's fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic, the prime minister has twice sent messages to express sympathies and also made the telephone call, which has reflected the profound friendship and mutual support between China and Ethiopia, two comprehensive strategic cooperative partners. Xi expressed appreciation for Ethiopia's confidence in China as the African country keeps normal contacts and exchanges with China in line with the World Health Organization's advice. Fighting the COVID-19 epidemic is currently the top priority for the Chinese government, he said, adding that with a highly responsible attitude towards the lives and health of both the Chinese people and people around the world, China has made good use of its institutional strengths and put in place the most comprehensive, thorough and rigorous prevention and control measures, which have achieved positive results and caused the situation to change for the better. The epidemic will not shake the solid foundation for China's long-term and stable development, Xi said, stressing that China has full confidence, capability and certainty not only to win the COVID-19 battle but to minimize its impact and achieve the set goals for economic and social development. Xi recalled that in 2014, the Chinese government and people made positive contributions to African countries' victory over an Ebola outbreak by braving difficulties and dangers to take the lead in offering help. This time round, he added, African countries and people have provided China with various forms of support in the COVID-19 battle, which has vividly illustrated the brotherly friendship of sharing weal and woe and helping each other between China and Africa. Noting that African countries are also facing many challenges in epidemic prevention and control, Xi said China is willing to provide them with more medical supplies that are urgently needed, including test kits. China, he added, also stands ready to accelerate the implementation of the health care initiative of the eight major initiatives unveiled during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), promote the construction of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and strengthen China-Africa cooperation in public health and disease prevention and control. Meanwhile, China will do its best to provide support for all foreign students studying in China, including those from Ethiopia, as it protects its own children, said the president. Noting that the China-Ethiopia and China-Africa friendly and cooperative relations are enjoying good momentum of development, Xi said he is willing to work with Ahmed and other African leaders to push for new progress in the China-Ethiopia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and better implementation of the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, so as to bring more practical benefits to both Chinese and African people. Ahmed, on behalf of the Ethiopian government and people, expressed sincere sympathies to the Chinese people over the COVID-19 epidemic, and high appreciation of China's effective response measures. China adheres to a people-oriented principle, always puts people's lives and health in the first place, and has mobilized the whole nation against the disease, which has not only effectively curbed its spread in China, but made important contributions to preventing its spread across the world, Ahmed said. Xi's strong leadership and China's power of action in dealing with the epidemic are obvious to all and the international community has in general expressed admiration and appreciation, Ahmed said, adding that his country is proud of China's performance. Ethiopia firmly believes that under the wise and strong leadership of Xi, China will surely overcome the epidemic at an early date and minimize its impact on economic and social development, the prime minister said. China is Ethiopia's close friend and brother, and has never been absent when Ethiopia needs it, Ahmed noted, adding that as China is facing difficulties, the Ethiopian people will stand with the Chinese people and go through the rough patch together. The Ethiopian side attaches great importance to its comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, and is willing to work with China to deepen cooperation in various fields and push for greater development of bilateral relations and Africa-China relations. New Delhi, Feb 26 (UNI) The CBSE, late on Tuesday evening, announced the postponement of Class X and XII Board exam paper for February 26, Wednesday, in schools of violence-hit northeast Delhi. The Central Board of Secondary Education on the request of Directorate of Education, Government of Delhi and to avoid inconvenience to students, staffs and parents, has decided to postpone Class 10 and 12 exams scheduled for February 26 in north east part of Delhi, stated the CBSE circular. CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi later issued a press note on the same. The names of schools where board examinations have been cancelled is available on the CBSE website, it said. "The Board will notify the new dates to the affected students later," it stated. In rest Delhi, the examination will be conducted as scheduled. On February 26, according to the time table, Class X was marked for English paper while Class XII Web Application and Media papers. The development comes against the backdrop of violent clashes in northeast Delhi between pro and anti-CAA protestors which has claimed at least 10 lives including a Head Constable while injuries to more than 150 people. Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that schools in violence-hit northeast Delhi will remain close on Wednesday as a precautionary measure. The Delhi Education minister said that he had also urged CBSE to postpone February 26 board exam. All internal school examinations in the region have been postpone, the Minister said. UNI DJK PS 2302 Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Celebrate the sweetness of the maple sugaring season at the First County Bank Maple Sugar Festival Weekend at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8. The annual weekend features a host of family activities, including such traditional favorites as maple syrup tastings and tree tapping demonstrations, as well as new offerings like indoor sock skating, an indoor game zone and breakfast all day at its All Day Pancake Cafe. The Skynest looks similar to bunk beds and consists of pods containing two sets of full-length single beds stacked three high. The prototype is described as "groundbreaking" and is the result of three years of research and development by Air NZ, which filed patent and trademark applications for Skynest on Wednesday. PLANO, Texas, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Breezie, a multitiered tablet-based platform that drives senior engagement and compliance, announced this week that it has been acquired by VitalTech, a rapidly growing market leader in connected care, digital health and remote patient monitoring. "We are excited about this next stage of evolution for Breezie," says Jeh Kazimi, founder of Breezie. "Breezie has been pioneering resident and patient engagement across UK, US and Australia. Senior care organizations across the care continuum have leveraged Breezie's open platform to integrate many aspects of care delivery for their senior users. These care providers have been demanding a seamless integration into health monitoring and patient care. With VitalTech's VitalCare platform, we are now able to serve this critical customer and market need in a comprehensive manner." Breezie's current tablet capabilities will be augmented by the addition of VitalTech's proprietary VitalCare platform . Together, senior patients will have a more robust and comprehensive solution for real-time care, including modules for monitoring vital signs, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), medication reminders, nutrition intake and communication tools for interacting with care teams remotely. Collection of vitals is done through Bluetooth-enabled low energy medical devices. VitalCare also enables telemedicine video calls for remote health visits and virtual check-ins, reducing unnecessary visits to the emergency room or physician's office. "The strategic acquisition of Breezie will further our ability to meet the needs of long-term, post-acute, home health and senior patients, all from the ease of a user-friendly tablet specifically built to serve their needs, irrespective of their technical capabilities," said James Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer at VitalTech. "Engagement is critical for quality of care. We know that the more they use our system for activities of daily living, such as checking the weather or sending messages to loved ones, the more they will also use it to talk with their physician or record their medications or nutrition." Please direct media inquiries to Zoe Wood at [email protected] or 972-544-7077. About VitalTech VitalTech is a rapidly growing provider of fully integrated digital health solutions and smart biomedical wearables that provide real-time remote patient monitoring. Our proprietary Connected Care platform enables health systems, skilled nursing facilities, home health providers, physicians and senior living facilities to streamline workflows while improving health outcomes, increasing patient safety and lowering the cost of care. Our innovative medical grade biosensors integrate seamlessly into our suite of easy-to-use mobile devices and software, which increase patient engagement and compliance. For more information or a free consultation, please email [email protected] or visit our website at www.vitaltech.com. About Breezie Breezie Inc. is headquartered in London, United Kingdom with offices in Pittsburgh USA, Vancouver Canada and Sydney Australia. It offers a personalized, flexible and secure tablet platform that is proven to engage users with limited technical capabilities. Its unique open platform enables healthcare companies to integrate their own proprietary content and third party services with ease. Breezie works with distribution partners such as CDW and large Telcos such as Telstra to sell an integrated solution to that takes care of everything from hardware, set-up and configuration to ongoing support and warranty. To discover more, please visit www.breezie.com. SOURCE VitalTech Related Links https://www.vitaltech.com The FBI in recent months has seemed to take an aggressive posture toward white-supremacist organizations. Last month, agents arrested several members of a group called the Base, including some it feared could unleash violence at a Virginia gun rights rally. Jill Sanborn, FBI assistant director for counterterrorism, said the Atomwaffen case serves as a warning to anyone who intends to use violence as intimidation or coercion to further their ideology that the FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to protect Americans from domestic terrorism. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:14:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Future trade deals will not jeopardise the food safety and animal welfare standards that Britain's special market for food is based on, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice said Wednesday. Addressing the two-day annual conference of the National Farmers Union (NFU) in Birmingham, Eustice called on British farmers to "have no more jangling nerves about our ability to compete on the international stage," as farmers are increasingly worried about government's stance on a U.S. trade deal. A day before Eustice's speech, NFU President Minette Batters urged the government to show global leadership and defend British farm standards as the benchmark for any food imports in future trade deals. "This year the government must...insist that UK farm standards are the benchmark for climate-friendly farming around the world and that whoever wants to trade with us, trades on our terms," said Batters in her keynote speech. In August last year, she warned that U.S. farms could "outcompete" British producers if standards were compromised. "We must not allow those standards to be undermined by imports of goods which would be illegal for our farmers to produce here," said Batters, calling for an import ban on chlorine-washed chicken, which was banned in the European Union (EU) in 1997 over food safety concerns but is considered "safe" in the United States. "This isn't just about chlorinated chicken. This is about a wider principle. We must not tie the hands of British farmers to the highest rung of the standards ladder while waving through food imports which may not even reach the bottom rung," she further noted. For Eustice, Britain should not get spooked by some "Haka performance" on the global trading environment. "We have in this country some of the most efficient and innovative farmers in the world and we need to get on the pitch and compete," he noted. After leaving the EU on Jan. 31, Britain is free to negotiate and sign new trade deals with countries like the United States and China. Greek riot police on Tuesday fired tear gas to disperse angry locals on the islands of Lesbos and Chios protesting against the planned construction of controversial new migrant camps. Residents have long complained that the presence of thousands of asylum-seekers threatens safety and public health and oppose government plans to build new camps for them on the islands. Tensions came to a head overnight at the harbours of both islands, where hundreds of locals had gathered to prevent the arrival of construction machinery and riot police reinforcements. As two ferries each carrying around 500 riot police docked at Lesbos and Chios, protesters threw stones and firebombs. The police responded with tear gas to clear the way. Residents also parked cars and garbage trucks on rural roads leading to the camp sites, which are to house up to 7,000 people each, in an attempt to block construction. Later in the day protesters threw objects at police in the hills near to the camp sites, local TV footage shows. "We are the victims of an unprovoked attack in the forest with tear gas and flash bombs," Yiannis Bournous, a Chios lawmaker with the leftist opposition Syriza party, said in a video posted online. "Hundreds of unarmed locals are fleeing," he said. A few protesters had to be treated for breathing trouble, an AFP photographer at the scene said. - Battleground islands - There are more than 38,000 migrants crowded into camps on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos despite an official capacity of just 6,200. The conservative government which came to power in July has announced that the camps on Lesbos, Samos and Chios will be shut down this year, to be replaced with new, smaller facilities that are to be operational by mid-2020. The administration of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has tried to alleviate the problem by relocating thousands of migrants to other parts of Greece, but many communities on the mainland have also stonewalled the move. After weeks of fruitless talks with local authorities, the government has insisted the plan would go ahead despite opposition. "Work on the closed camps will begin immediately... talks cannot continue indefinitely or be an excuse for inaction," government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters Tuesday. Main opposition leftist party Syriza has accused the government of undemocratic behaviour. "We will not allow Mr Mitsotakis and his government to turn the islands into a battleground," said Syriza spokesman Alexis Charitsis. Island officials and residents have told the Greek government that after five years on the frontlines of the European migration crisis, they are no longer prepared to accept thousands of asylum-seekers. The International Rescue Committee called on the EU to step in to help Greece manage the crisis. "Greece cannot continue to deal with the situation on its own," said Dimitra Kalogeropoulou, the IRC director in Greece. "EU member states need to step up in solidarity and share responsibility for protecting people in need," said Dimitra Kalogeropoulou, Greece director of the International Rescue Committee. The UN's refugee chief on Friday called for urgent action to address the "shocking and shameful" conditions migrants are forced to live in at reception centres on the Greek islands. Swift measures were needed to reduce overcrowding and improve living conditions on the islands prioritising water, sanitation and healthcare, UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said. United States President Donald Trump has described his India visit as "great" and "very successful." "Just landed. India was great, trip very successful. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon," Trump tweeted. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, who was part of a 12-member delegation accompanying the US President to India, also took to Twitter to write: "We just landed in DC after a very productive 36 hours in India! President @realDonaldTrump reaffirmed the strong strategic partnership, vibrant economic ties & expanding security relationship between our two countries. Wonderful trip, but glad to be home! Thank you India!" Over the course of his nearly-36-hour-long trip, the US President participated in a host of engagements including a roadshow, visit to the Taj Mahal, addressing a mammoth crowd at the 'Namaste Trump' event at Ahmedabad, among others. During the visit, India and the United States further strengthened their defence cooperation, with the two countries giving a nod to an agreement under which India will get USD 3 billion of advanced military equipment including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AFP A video of a futuristic fireworks display has been viewed thousands of times in social media posts that claim it was taken from a firework show in Beijing on New Year's Eve 2021. However, the claim is false; the video was a digital animation based on scenery from the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. The video creator told AFP that the "fireworks" seen in the footage were computer generated."Yesterday the New Year firework show in Beijing," states the traditional-Chinese caption to the video shar Consumers who cancel or rebook flights because of the Covid-19 outbreak could find themselves out of pocket unless there is a change in advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Currently, the only country it is advising people to avoid non-essential travel to is mainland China. It has also advised Irish citizens not to travel to the ten Italian towns identified as travel risks by the Italian government: Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano. It is expected that the number of areas on these lists will be expanded shortly. However, until such time as these changes have been made, customers are unlikely to be covered if they choose not to use their flights. This could be an issue for people who decided to cancel holidays in areas where cases are increasing, such as Tenerife, where a number of Irish nationals have already made contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs. While guests in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, which was put into lockdown earlier this week to contain the spread of the virus, are now able to use hotel facilities such as the restaurants and swimming pool, they are not yet allowed to leave the grounds. One guest, speaking on RTE's Liveline, said guests had been seen by doctors and the atmosphere remains calm, though guests are not receiving a large amount of information. Other tourists in Tenerife have reported no disruption to their holidays. But, despite fears about the potential spread of the virus, both Aer Lingus and Ryanair are operating all flights as normal. The airlines said they will follow any public health instructions as they are issued. A psychologist talks to a group of workers outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta, yesterday, where hundreds of people were confined after an Italian tourist was hospitalised with a case of coronavirus. Tourists staying in the four-star hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife, in the Canary archipelago, were confined to their rooms. Pictures: Desiree Martin / AFP/Gregorio Borgia Ryanair said that flights are non-refundable. In a statement, the airline said: "There is currently no change to advice for airlines or customers from the Italian authorities and our flights are operating as normal." Health authorities have not recommended the suspension of flights to Italy or Tenerife and the airlines have not decided to cancel flights, as many did to mainland China following the original outbreak there. As there is no difficulty in travelling to affected areas, airlines are not obliged to offer any special assistance in terms of accommodating passengers who want to change or cancel flights. Normal processes will apply if customers want to change their flights, including potential fees. If flights are cancelled by airlines closer to the time, standard EU consumer protections kick in and customers should be offered a chance of re-routing or refunding, depending on the individual circumstance. The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) is not advising against travel. In a statement, the ITAA said Irish holidaymakers should follow the advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs when travelling overseas. It said prospective travellers should "be pragmatic" about their holiday bookings. Petoskey High School closed for in-person classes until at least Jan. 17 There was no school for high school students on Wednesday, while virtual classes will take place on Thursday, Jan. 13, and Friday, Jan. 14. Prison bosses are reportedly worried about how to handle Harvey Weinstein while he is in jail, fearing he may commit suicide - just like Jeffrey Epstein. Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault on Monday and officials at New York prisons are said to be concerned another high-profile inmate could take his own life. Billionaire Epstein hanged himself last August in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Now it is feared Weinstein may have to be kept in a private section of Rikers Island's North Infirmary Command, which is for high-risk inmates, for his own safety. Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein arriving at New York State Supreme Court on Monday as the jury delivered a verdict in his sexual assault trial Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself last August at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges According to TMZ Weinstein would then have round-the-clock surveillance cameras watching him. One of the reported failings in Epstein's case was that the high-profile prisoner was left without surveillance at a federal facility, despite already making an earlier suicide attempt. It later emerged the convicted pedophile had been taken off suicide watch a week later and put back in a high-security housing unit where he was less closely monitored. Video footage from outside the financier's jail cell was 'too flawed' to be used by investigators examining the lead up to his death. Jail guards on duty the night of he died are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates every half-hour as required. One of Weinstein's accusers, Ivana Lowell, also speculated about whether he would end up like Epstein. Lowell - a Guinness heiress who worked for Weinstein's Miramax Books in the 90s - wrote in a Facebook post seen by Fox News: 'I wonder if Harvey will try to attempt a Jeffrey Epstein. 'Those prison guards better stay awake on their watch this time. This whole sordid affair has left me feeling quite physically sick.' The Rikers Island jail complex, whose main building went up in 1932, has long been plagued by violence and neglect. Jail officials could place Weinstein in a private or semi-private cell to help ensure his safety An ambulance carrying Harvey Weinstein being escorted from a Manhattan courthouse on Monday after he suffered chest pains Movie mogul Weinstein was convicted on Monday by a New York jury of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in his apartment in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a hotel room in 2013. He was acquitted of the two most serious counts of predatory sexual assault, which each carried a potential life sentence. He was also found not guilty of first degree rape in relation to Mann. The disgraced Hollywood producer was due to be sent immediately to Rikers Island prison following the jury's verdict but was rushed to hospital with chest pains and heart palpitations. He is today said to be in high spirits, but remains in hospital under police guard at Bellevue Hospital. The 67-year-old is facing a minimum sentence of at least five years and a maximum of 29 years in prison. Weinstein was due to be sent immediately to Rikers Island prison (pictured in a file image) following the jury's verdict but was rushed to hospital with chest pains on Monday New York prison chiefs are reportedly looking to move Weinstein to another facility elsewhere in the country because he is so high-risk. The Rikers Island jail complex, whose main building went up in 1932, has long been plagued by violence and neglect. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed in 2017 to close it within a decade. Jail officials could place Weinstein in a private or semi-private cell to help ensure his safety. More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. He has denied the accusations and said any sexual encounters were consensual. Weinstein also faces several felony charges in Los Angeles in connection with his alleged sexual assaults against two women in 2013. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari appealed to all the party leaders on Tuesday to work towards establishing peace in the national capital and not to do anything that causes "confusion" and sends a "wrong message" to people. Tiwari, who attended an all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier in the day, also said everyone should refrain from making "inflammatory" statements. BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who led a pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rally at the Maujpur Chowk on Sunday, has been accused of delivering a "provocative" speech at the event. "Shri Tiwari appealed to all the BJP leaders to do everything possible to establish peace in Delhi. No leader should do such a thing that causes confusion and portrays a wrong message among the people. Everyone should refrain from making inflammatory statements. Intentionally some people are trying to mislead the common people of Delhi," a statement issued by the Delhi BJP said. Strongly condemning the violence that has claimed 11 lives in the national capital since Monday, the statement said all political parties should rise above party politics to restore peace in Delhi as soon as possible. "The violent incidents taking place during the protests are disturbing. All the people in the country have the right to speak and hold peaceful protests but not to disturb the public in the name of demonstration," it added. Accompanied by Union minister Harsh Vardhan, Tiwari also met the family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal, who was killed in the violence on Monday. He expressed grief over Lal's death, saying attacks on policemen and common people were extremely unfortunate. Former Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra, who also attended the all-party meeting called by Shah, said he recommended formation of peace committees and strict action against those making "provocative" statements. Chopra hit out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who offered prayers at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat along with other AAP MLAs on Tuesday, saying he should make "solid" efforts to restore peace in the city. AP Former Vice President Joe Biden has an 18 point lead over his Democratic rivals heading into Saturday's South Carolina primary according to a Clemson University poll released on Wednesday. The poll reported that 35 per cent of respondents supported Mr Biden in the upcoming primary. Entrepreneur Tom Steyer, who has focused campaign advertising on the state, is in second place at 17 per cent. The current party frontrunner, Senator Bernie Sanders, comes third, polling at 13 per cent. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg are tied at eight per cent, while Senator Amy Klobuchar is on four per cent. Congresswoman Tusli Gabbard is on two per cent. Twelve per cent of voters responded they were still unsure of who theyd vote for. Our polling shows that Biden has wide name recognition and stood in favour with older Democratic primary voters. Nearly half of those polled (40%) said they made up their minds 'before the primaries began' in 2020, a statement released with the poll said. The pollsters noted the surprise performance by Mr Steyer. The surprise showing is by Tom Steyer who has played a small role in other primary elections, but appears as a prominent force in the Palmetto State electorate. Such a finding comes as no surprise to those familiar with South Carolina, the statement said. Candidate Steyer waged an aggressive media campaign weeks before the election and made personal appearances across the state in anticipation of the February 29 vote. Mr Steyers efforts in South Carolina are one reason why he and Mr Biden frequently clashed during Tuesday nights South Carolina Democratic debate. The Clemson poll statement noted that Mr Sanders performed decently, but could not overtake Mr Bidens name recognition or long history with the state. Despite his victories in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Bernie Sanders could not overcome Bidens strength in this southern state, but the Vermont senator still is popular with a projected third place finish, the statement said. Story continues The Clemson poll has a 3.8 per cent margin of error and is based on 650 respondents questioned using telephone responses, online and online panel voters, and was conducted between 17 February and 25 February. Despite Mr Steyers second place finish, FiveThirtyEight polling averages still suggest Mr Sanders will take second place in the primary, placing him within 10 points of Mr Biden, who is expected to receive 31.2 per cent of the states support and the primary victory according to the site. During Tuesday nights debate, Mr Biden was asked by CBS news personality Gayle King if hed drop out of the race if he lost the South Carolina primary. I will win in South Carolina, Mr Biden replied. UAE issues fresh guidelines with spike in Covid-19 infections beyond China The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), UAE issued fresh guidelines towards screening of suspected patients as a reaction to the spike in Covid-19 infections beyond China. Based on the latest guidelines six countries have been added to the travel history watch list. Earlier, only patients with a travel history to China who presented flu symptoms were tested for Covid-19. Photo Courtesy: Twitter Now patients with respiratory infection symptoms who have returned from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Singapore, and Italy in the last 28 days will also need to be placed in isolation. As per the ministry those who should be placed in isolation are individuals who: Exhibit with upper or lower respiratory symptoms 'with or without fever'. Have returned from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Singapore, and Italy in the last 28 days. Have come in contact with an individual or animal known or strongly suspected to have COVID-19. Have severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) - with no other lab result that explain the illness. Among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, so far UAE has recorded 13, Kuwait 11, Bahrain 23 and Oman 4 registered COVID-19 cases. Most of the new infections occurring are among people returning from Iran - which has reported 95 coronavirus cases and 16 deaths - causing many countries to impose travel ban and suspension of flights to the country. MOHAP and medical experts in UAE are reminding people to use hand sanitisers as the first measure of prevention. A Brazilian government test has confirmed the first case of a fast-spreading new coronavirus in Latin America, officials from the Brazil Health Ministry said Wednesday, after a Sao Paulo hospital flagged the possible infection of a 61-year-old who had visited Italy. The diagnosis comes during Brazil's carnival holiday, a peak time for domestic travel when millions of revelers throng to major cities for raucous street celebrations. Brazil is tracking 20 suspected cases of the virus in the country, health officials told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday. The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday evening it was looking into the case of a Sao Paulo resident who had traveled to Lombardy, in northern Italy, from Feb. 9 to Feb. 21 and had symptoms compatible with the disease. Italy has been hardest hit by the outbreak in Europe, with more than 350 cases reported and 11 deaths. The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said that the man tested positive to a PCR real time test on Monday and it notified Sao Paulo state's epidemiological agency on Tuesday. -- CNBC's Will Feuer contributed to this report. [February 26, 2020] MIT Technology Review Presents 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2020 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, MIT Technology Review announced its 10 Breakthrough Technologies list for 2020 , featuring 10 recent advances predicted to have a big impact on our lives. For 19 years, this closely watched list has been an early identifier of key technological developments ranging from CRISPR to deep learning to the now internationally popular cow-free burger. This year, alongside the release of the list, MIT Technology Review debuted a new podcast titled Deep Tech . The first episode , out today, is one of four that will conduct a deep-dive into some of the technologies featured on the 2020 list. Gideon Lichfield, Editor-in-Chief of MIT Technology Review, said: "The 10 Breakthrough Technologies list is one of the most popular things we do, and I'm delighted that people will now be able to listen instead of just read about these forces shaping our future." This year's 10 Breakthrough Technologies range in subject matter from AI to quantum computing to medicine and health care. They are: Satellite mega-constellations: We can now affordably build, launch, and operate tens of thousands of satellites in orbit at once. AI-designed molecules: Scientists have used AI to discover drug-like compounds with desirable properties. Tiny AI: We can now run powerful AI algorithms on our phones. The quantum internet: Later this year, Dutch researchers will complete a super-secure quantum internet connection between Delft and the Hague . Climate-change attribution: For the first time, researchers can confidently determine whether climate change is driving a specific extreme weather event such as a hurricane, as opposed to just making such events more frequent in general. Hyper-personalized medicine: Novel treatments are now being designed to treat even genetic mutations unique to a single person. Anti-aging drugs: The first drug that treat ailments by targeting a natural aging process in the body have shown success in human tests. Quantum supremacy: Google has provided the first clear proof of a quantum computer outperforming a classical one. Digital money: The rise of digital moneynot cryptocurrencies, but digital versions of national currencies like the Chinese renminbiwill threaten people's ability to transact in private; it could challenge America's dominance over the global financial system. Differential privacy: This cutting-edge mathematical technique precisely measures how the privacy of a dataset changes when noise is injected. Already used by consumer tech companies, it will be used in the 2020 Census to protect the identities of 330 million Americans. Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau , CEO and Publisher of MIT Technology Review, added: "People who care about technology love MIT Technology Review's annual 10 Breakthrough Technologies list. Our journalists and editors spend the better part of a year considering which technologies will truly qualify as the year's Breakthroughs. For 2020, in addition to a package of stories on our website and in our March/April print issue, we are excited to be reporting on these Breakthroughs in the debut episode of our new podcast, Deep Tech." For more information on this year's 10 Breakthrough Technologies, visit the MIT Technology Review website and click here to listen to the first episode of Deep Tech. The March/April issue of MIT Technology Review, which includes the list, hits newsstands on March 3. The contents of the issue are online as of today. About MIT Technology Review Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned, independent media company whose insight, analysis, reviews, interviews and live events explain the newest technologies and their commercial, social and political impacts. MIT Technology Review derives its authority from its relationship to the world's foremost technology institution and from its editors' deep technical knowledge, capacity to see technologies in their broadest context, and unequaled access to leading innovators and researchers. MIT Technology Review's mission is to bring about better-informed and more conscious decisions about technology through authoritative, influential and trustworthy journalism. Subscribe . Follow: Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn , Instagram . Media Contact: Adriana Howell BIGfish Communications for MIT Technology Review [email protected] 617-713-3800 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mit-technology-review-presents-10-breakthrough-technologies-of-2020-301011270.html SOURCE MIT Technology Review [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 06:20:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- NASA has published a set of six papers this week describing its InSight lander's findings above and below the surface of Mars. These findings reveal a planet alive with quakes, dust devils and strange magnetic pulses, according to a release of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Five of the papers were published in Nature. An additional paper in Nature Geoscience details the InSight spacecraft's landing site, a shallow crater nicknamed "Homestead hollow" in a region called Elysium Planitia. InSight is the first mission dedicated to looking deep beneath the Martian surface. Among its science tools are a seismometer for detecting quakes, sensors for gauging wind and air pressure, a magnetometer, and a heat flow probe designed to take the planet's temperature. The first results reported from the InSight mission on Mars include evidence for locally strong crustal magnetization, unexpected atmospheric processes, and marsquakes from distant, enigmatic sources. Some of the marsquakes detected by InSight's seismometer can be traced to Cerberus Fossae, a region that may be tectonically active, according to JPL. Together, InSight's geophysical measurements provide information about Mars' interior structure and evolution, said the release. InSight has two radios -- one for regularly sending and receiving data, and a more powerful radio designed to measure the "wobble" of Mars as it spins. This X-band radio, also known as the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment, can eventually reveal whether the planet's core is solid or liquid. A solid core would cause Mars to wobble less than a liquid one would, said JPL. This first year of data is just a start. Watching over a full Martian year (two Earth years) will give scientists a much better idea of the size and speed of the planet's wobble, said JPL. A mother of five, who self-medicated on heroin as a painkiller, became addicted to the drug and had to undergo rehab treatment for almost a year before beating the habit, a judge was told today. Judge Gerard Griffin, in assessing personal injury damages for 33-year-old Megan Creighton, who was injured in a traffic accident, said her heroin addiction could not be laid at the door of the defendant in the case. Clearly it was not medically advised and there cannot be any damages allowed in that regard, Judge Griffin said. Creighton, a single mother, of Pinewood Green Lawn, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, told the court she had been devastated as a result of the neck and back injuries she suffered in a collision with a 40-ton truck at Malahide Roundabout near the Pavilion Shopping Centre, Swords, in December 2016. She sued Roskell Transport Limited, of Newcastle, Co Dublin, for damages of up to 60,000 for personal injuries arising from the collision and told barrister Philip Fennell, counsel for the defendant, that gel and anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by her doctor had not been helping her. I had got morphine-based tablets from a friend and later started using heroin, she told Mr Fennell, who appeared with Hayley Tarmey of Ennis Solicitors for Roskell Transport and its driver Jacej Gorchel. Ms Creighton said that from the opiates she obtained from a friend she had progressed to heroin and became addicted to the drug and had to go into treatment for 11 months. Her life had been devastated because of the pain she suffered as a result of the accident. She told the court she suffered pain to her neck and back and at times was unable to lift her children. Her one-year-old child had been in the back of her car which had been dragged onto the roundabout after the truck had broken an amber light. She remembered screaming and beeping her horn and alleged a company representative had accepted liability at the scene and had told her to get her car repaired and they would look after the bill. Afterwards they would not answer her calls. Gorchel said in evidence that he had a green light at the controlled roundabout and in his rear mirror had seen Ms Creightons car drive towards his truck. He denied his lorry had dragged the car. Judge Griffin said he had some personal experience of the roundabout concerned and had to decide the disputed case on the balance of what most likely had happened. The court had no doubt the trailer of the truck was in Ms Creightons lane at the time of the collision and he found the transport company 100% liable. He said Ms Creightons developing a heroin addiction could not be laid at the door of the defendant. From medical reports he believed she had suffered minor injuries to her neck, shoulder and had low back difficulties and awarded her 8,000 damages with District Court costs. On November 2 last year, Orla McGregor and her husband, James, stood beaming for family photos at the baptism of their baby daughter, Dearbhla. It was a double celebration for the family of six, marking not only their youngest's Christening, but also the seventh birthday of the couple's eldest daughter, Erin. Their photos of the day are beautiful. Baby Dearbhla is gorgeous in her gown, all gummy smiles and chubby cheeks, while Erin, her younger sister, Aoibhinn (4), and brother, Fionnbar (2), smile for the camera, decked out in their best coats and shoes. Proud mammy Orla stands behind them looking happy and healthy. But of course, photos only tell the story of one snapshot in time and for this family, the moment represents the best possible outcome after a year of trauma. Exactly one year earlier on the same date, Orla (35) went to a hospital appointment that revealed she had a tumour in her left breast and that it was cancerous. "I've had cysts ever since I was 18 years old," she explains. "So I've always been used to lumps and bumps and get checked regularly, especially after pregnancy, when I'd tend to feel changes in the breast." It had been nearly two years since her son was born and Orla hadn't detected any changes in her breast, but incredibly it was her pet dog that alerted her to the possibility that something might be wrong. Expand Close Clever dog: Orla with Dearbhla and Saoirse, her pet German Shepherd @Press Eye/Darren Kidd / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Clever dog: Orla with Dearbhla and Saoirse, her pet German Shepherd "She started acting really strange and funny around me," recalls Orla. "She wouldn't let anyone come near me and if I went anywhere, she wanted to come, too, she wouldn't leave me alone. "I would be on the sofa, feeding the wee man, and she could come over beside me, sniffing and nudging me on the left breast. I had a grope in the shower and couldn't feel anything, but I thought, 'There's maybe something not right there'." A later breast-examination revealed that Orla's German Shepherd, Saoirse, had pin-pointed exactly where the tumour was. "It was entwined up in the middle of the cyst, that's why I didn't feel it," says Orla. "If it hadn't been for the dog, I would have been none the wiser." It's something that might sound fanciful, but there's growing evidence to suggest that canines can detect cancer through smell. This year, results presented at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual meeting in Florida revealed that laboratory dogs, that had been trained to smell for cancer, were able to correctly identify the blood samples of cancer patients with 97 per cent accuracy. I had children at home who needed me Orla McGregor The first weeks of November disappeared in trips to Antrim Area Hospital, near Orla's home in Moneyglass, Co Antrim. First mammograms, then biopsies. Despite living in limbo, normal life had to continue, including celebrating Erin's sixth birthday. "I thought I was holding it together pretty well, but on her birthday, I broke down," admits Orla. "I remember thinking, 'Am I even going to be here next year to see her seventh birthday'?" Orla needed an MRI - which uses radioactive dye - and so had to abruptly stop breastfeeding her little boy, something that both mum and child found incredibly difficult. Expand Close Orla at home with daughter Dearbhla @Press Eye/Darren Kidd / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Orla at home with daughter Dearbhla Having breastfed all her children, the nursing relationship with Fionnbar was particularly emotional. "He took pneumonia at five-and-a-half weeks and was very close to death," reveals Orla. "I sat for five days in a chair in hospital and nursed him, letting him feed whenever he wanted to feed. It was a comfort for him and when he came out of it, I knew I would let him feed for as long as he wanted to. "But when they told me I'd have to stop for the MRI, I knew I had to do it because, at the end of the day, I had to find out what was there. Weaning cold turkey was an awful experience, I think both of us cried until 5am the first night, but there was no other option." On November 12, the biopsy results confirmed that the tumour was cancer and that a partial or a full mastectomy would be needed. Orla's reaction to potentially losing her breast was pragmatic. "To be brutally honest, I thought, 'Right, take the both of them off if it means I'm still here'," she says. "If it means losing them to see the wee ones growing up - then take them off." The surgery for breast removal and reconstruction was scheduled - but then Orla got another bit of shock news: she was pregnant. "The doctors told me I was at a high risk of miscarriage by the time I went in for the single mastectomy, so I didn't allow myself to get my hopes up," she says. "The cancer was spreading and I couldn't let it go to the end of pregnancy before doing something. "I had children at home who needed me and I had to think about them as well. So I took my chance." On December 18, Orla had the mastectomy. The tumour was nearly 13cm long. Christmas Day and News Year's went by in a no man's land. "On the 7th of January, I went up to talk to the consultant and I knew as soon as I walked in that he was happy, I could see it in his eyes. He said, 'We've got it'. The lymph nodes were clear and there had been a millimetre of tissue around the tumour that was clear when it came out. That was it. My husband and I went to the cafe and sat in pure silence for about five minutes. I couldn't speak. "All that time, I'd been going along thinking, 'I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this', but I didn't know what would come next. "If radiotherapy had been the next step then I didn't know what to do, because you can't go through that pregnant. "I was at the stage of thinking the wee one had got a chance and I don't want to be interfering in that. "She was about eight or 10 weeks at that point and she was developing and the heart rate was strong. Abortion was mentioned, but my reaction was no way, that's my baby and I want to do as much as I can to keep her safe." The next months were far from easy. In March, Orla contracted pneumonia and needed a CT scan because doctors were concerned she might have a clot on her lungs - posing another difficult choice between potentially harming the developing foetus or jeopardising her own health. Expand Close Precious moments: Orla at home with her children @Press Eye/Darren Kidd / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Precious moments: Orla at home with her children On top of morning sickness, she had to contend with managing drains for the reconstructive surgery. "Two days after the operation, I had tubes coming out of me filled with blood and had to hold on to this handbag they give you with the drains going into them. I'd be holding on to that handbag throwing up in the toilet," she says. "You don't realise how many chest muscles you use to vomit - it was agony." But on August 12, Orla and James's 'little miracle' Dearbhla McGregor was born, 8lbs 12oz and perfectly healthy. Orla had breastfed her other children and was hopeful from the outset that she could do the same for her youngest. "I'm on a breastfeeding support group on Facebook and I'd read about a mum breastfeeding twins," she reveals. "My thinking was, 'Well if she can feed two with two, then why can't I feed one with one'?" Midwives were supportive, but "I wasn't putting myself under pressure," adds Orla. "I said I'd give myself two weeks... then we got to two weeks and I thought 'Well, we'll do another two weeks and now we're 16 weeks on and still going." Orla decided to share her story after reading a post on the same breastfeeding support Facebook group, from a mum who had been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. "I thought, that lady is sitting there, maybe by herself, not knowing what the hell is going on and I thought, if I can maybe reach out to her and say, 'Look, positive outcome here! Hopefully you'll get the better news, the same as I did. You can do it'," says Orla. "Because there's nothing as scary and, even with family around you, you can feel very alone. "But it can turn out OK. I just want to give that wee bit of hope to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation." (Natural News) Like a scene straight out of The X-Files, the Pentagon admits that it has long been on the trail of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs. According to a story published by The New York Post, the US Department of Defense admitted it ran a government initiative called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) with the mandate to pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena, before folding in 2012. Department of Defense spokesman Christopher Sherwood revealed the programs existence to the NY Post, noting that despite its closure, the Pentagon still investigates sightings of alien spacecraft. The Department of Defense is always concerned about maintaining positive identification of all aircraft in our operating environment, as well as identifying any foreign capability that may be a threat to the homeland, Sherwood said. (Related: Navy pilots recall encounters with fleet of UFOs from 2014 to 2015.) Sherwood added that the department will continue to investigate reports of unidentified aircraft encountered by US military aviators. According to Sherwood, this is in order to ensure the defense of the homeland and protection against strategic surprise by our nations adversaries. Sherwood clarified that the investigation will go through normal procedures. Nick Pope, a media commentator and former British defense official who investigated UFOs during the 1990s, told the NY Post that the comments made by the Pentagon through Sherwood are a bombshell revelation. This new admission makes it clear that they really did study what the public would call UFOs, Pope said, adding that the term the Pentagon used ? UAP ?was a term used by the British Ministry of Defence to remove the baggage associated with the more familiar term, UFO. Sherwoods revelation regarding the Pentagons program comes a few months after political news website Politico ran a story detailing the US Navys new guidelines on the collection of information regarding purported UFO sightings. According to a statement the department made on Politico, the US Navys new guidelines were designed to make it easier for sailors to report UFO sightings, noting the recently reported upswings in the number of what it deemed to be highly advanced aircraft on its air space. Writer and producer John Greenewald Jr. echoed Popes statements, noting that the Pentagons use of the term unidentified aerial phenomena is unprecedented in its frankness. Im shocked they said it that way, and the reason is, is theyve seemingly worked very hard not to say that, Greenewalde Jr., who runs a website archiving declassified government documents on UFO reports, Bigfoot sightings and other subjects, said, adding that he finds the Pentagons statement powerful. Greenewald hopes that the Pentagon will release more information about the program, either voluntarily, or through requests made under the federal Freedom of Information Act. The existence of the AATIP was first made public by former Pentagon official Luis Elizondo, who released an explosive tell-all about the $22 million program in 2017, which coincided with the leak of a 33-second-long clip showing an airborne object being chased by two Navy jets just off the coast of San Diego in 2004. Interested in learning more about the Universe and what lies beyond? Head over to Space.news for more stories. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk MysteriousUniverse.org Politico.com NYPost.com Story Highlights Nearly four in five Americans now see trade as mainly an opportunity Fewer than one in five consider trade an economic threat, an all-time low New U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade is favored by both parties WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More Americans than Gallup has seen in a quarter century view foreign trade positively, with 79% calling it "an opportunity for economic growth through increased U.S. exports." Fewer than one in five (18%) -- down by about half from 34% in 2016, and the lowest Gallup has recorded -- now perceive trade as mainly a "threat to the economy from foreign imports." A high of 52% of Americans held this skeptical view of trade during the last recession. While the percentage of Americans viewing trade as a threat has slipped three percentage points in the past year, the share viewing it positively has risen five points to 79%. The latest results are from Gallup's 2020 World Affairs survey, conducted Feb. 3-16. Gallup has asked this question periodically since 1992, including annually since 2011. Americans' perceptions of whether trade is more of a benefit or a hindrance have closely tracked the U.S. economy, particularly since the 2007-2009 recession. As that recession got underway, Americans were highly likely to view trade as a threat because of imports. But as the economy improved and unemployment declined to historical lows, so too have perceptions of trade as an economic threat. Party Groups Largely Agree on Trade Trade enjoys strong bipartisan support in the U.S. today, with roughly eight in 10 Democrats (82%) and Republicans (78%), in addition to 76% of independents, seeing it as more of an opportunity for growth than a threat from imports. Today's views by party reflect marked increases in both Democrats' and Republicans' positive outlook on trade since their low points in 2008 and 2012, respectively. NAFTA's Replacement Enjoys Broad Support The new poll was conducted shortly after President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) -- his long-promised replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- after bipartisan approval of the bill in both houses of Congress over the prior month. Trump and his North American counterparts signed the initial agreement over a year ago, but its implementation has been held up as congressional Democrats negotiated with the Trump administration over environmental and labor provisions. Americans' views of the USMCA closely mirror their opinions of trade overall. Eight in 10 say the agreement will be good for the U.S., while 13% predict it will be bad. Americans' Views of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement Overall, do you think the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be good for the U.S. or bad for the U.S.? Good for the U.S. Bad for the U.S. No opinion % % % U.S. adults 80 13 7 Republicans 88 6 6 Independents 78 14 8 Democrats 73 20 7 Gallup, Feb. 3-16, 2020 Reflective of the bipartisan nature of the USMCA's passage, the newly minted trade agreement receives high support from all party groups, including 88% of Republicans, 78% of independents and 73% of Democrats. This reaction is similar to Americans' initial response to NAFTA after that agreement was proposed during Republican George Bush's presidency in 1991. At that time, 72% of U.S. adults thought it would be good for the U.S., including 71% of both Republicans and independents, and 73% of Democrats. It was only in later years that NAFTA became more controversial, as well as more closely associated with the Democrats, possibly in part due to Trump's declaring the agreement a "disaster" during his 2016 campaign. Public Not Following USMCA News Story Closely Americans' attention to news about the USMCA has been on the low side for news stories Gallup has measured since 1991. Twelve percent say they have followed it very closely and another 34% somewhat closely, while 28% say not too closely and 26% have not followed it at all. Republicans (56%) are more likely than Democrats (45%) and independents (39%) to have followed it at least somewhat closely. The 46% of all Americans following news about the USMCA very or somewhat closely falls short of the 60% average attention score for nearly 230 news items in Gallup's trend. Support for the agreement is a bit higher among those following it closely (88%) than among those following it not too closely (79%) or not at all (67%). Bottom Line The large majority of Americans now see trade as mainly an opportunity for economic growth through increased exports rather than a threat from imports. Apart from continued low U.S. unemployment, which raises everyone's comfort level with trade, Republicans and Democrats likely have differing reasons to feel positively about what trade means for the country. Republicans may feel confident that trade is in better hands under Trump, while Democrats may feel that supporting trade is supporting the effectiveness of the trade deals put in place or championed by Trump's Democratic predecessors. View complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. San Francisco police are investigating an attack on an elderly Asian man that was captured on video and posted to Instagram on Sunday. The video has since gone viral on social media and garnered more than 3 million views. The incident, which occurred over the weekend, shows a man wearing a dark jacket, black pants and black sneakers, threatening and brandishing an object at an Asian man. Bystanders are seen in the video watching the attack and hurling racially-charged taunts at the man as well. I hate Asians, n, one person can be heard yelling in the video. The victim can be seen crying as onlookers imitate and laugh at him, holding phones up to his visibly distressed face. Image: Asian man attacked in San Francisco Police said the Asian man was collecting recyclables in the citys Bayview district when the robbery and attack occurred. San Francisco Police officers are actively investigating this incident and are attempting to locate and identify the victim, witnesses and suspect, public information officer Adam Lobsinger told NBC News. In a statement to NBC News, San Francisco District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton denounced the attack, calling it heartbreaking. We absolutely do not tolerate any type of senseless violence and racism towards any of our community members especially towards our most vulnerable, the statement read. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was very disturbed by the incident captured on video, a spokesperson said. Hip Hop for Change, which uses hip hop culture as a form of activism, is hosting an event Sunday in the Bayview neighborhood to rally support for the victim. Members of the Bayview community expressed their concern and anger over the incident. The community is outraged, Bayview community activist Gloria Berry told NBC News affiliate KNTV. Everyone Ive talked to, very upset, very bothered, disgusted that this happened. This is not a reflection of what the black community feels about Asian people. Romania's centrist President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday he has appointed interim Finance Minister Florin Citu as prime minister-designate to form a transitional government until a parliamentary election in November. Citu must put together a cabinet within 10 days, and consequently will need to gain parliament's vote of confidence. "I want to quickly unlock this deadlock, my nominee for prime minister is the finance minister. I do hope he'll soon put together a cabinet lineup, governing programme and present it to legislators," Iohannis told reporters. Search Keywords: Short link: EUGENE, Ore. Superintendent Gustavo Balderas of the Eugene 4J School District has been named a finalist for superintendent of Edmonds School District in Washington state. "While I am not eager to leave 4J or Eugene, I am open to exploring new professional challenges and opportunities," Balderas said. The Edmonds School District named Balderas as one of two finalists for the job on Tuesday. RELATED: 4J'S BALDERAS NAMED SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR Balderas is Eugene 4Js 23rd superintendent and took the reigns of the district in 2015. Balderas also serves on the Oregon State Board of Education. We are very excited to move forward with our top candidates and are confident one of them will be the right fit for our districts needs, said Deborah Kilgore, president of the Edmonds School District. Eugene parents and teachers gave mixed reactions to the news. Eugene Education Association president Sabrina Gordon said that if Balderas gets the job, the search for a new superintendent could steal the focus from other important priorities, including the allocation of Student Success Act funds, bargaining with teachers and multiple projects related to 2018's $319 million bond measure. "We have to stop and think about all of the things that are already going on and taking energy and time," she said. "So thinking about all of that happening right now and to potentially add on the search for a new superintendent, seems like a lot." Parent Isiah Wagoner said that Balderas's efforts to increase equity and inclusion in the district would be missed, though he believes Balderas has created a firm foundation for future leaders. "He's really rolled up his sleeves when it comes to diversifying the portfolio across the board for 4J, adding more qualified members of color to our society, getting kids involved and saying, 'Hey, these people on our administrative team look like me and are someone I can trust," he said. Anne Marie Levis, 4J board president, said the district was aware of Balderas' job search. "Gus has been open with the board about this position and we wholeheartedly support him in his work, whether it is in Eugene or elsewhere," she said. Earlier this month, Balderas was named superintendent of year at a national conference on education held in San Diego. Gordon said some 4J staff were unsurprised about the interest in Balderas after he won the title. According to the Edmonds School District, Balderas will attend a candidate meet and greet in Lynnwood, Wash., on March 2. The board is expected to choose the new superintendent after a final round of interviews the following day. The board anticipates announcing who they select by late March or early April. Below is the full statement from 4J Chief of Staff Kerry Delf: After nearly five successful years as superintendent of Eugene School District 4J, Dr. Gustavo Balderas is being considered to take the helm of a larger district in Washington. Dr. Balderas has been announced as a superintendent finalist candidate for Edmonds School District, a larger, more urban, more diverse school district of 21,700 students in the Seattle metro area. Dr. Balderas has been superintendent of the Eugene School District in July 2015. Under Dr. Balderas's leadership, the district has significantly raised high school graduation rates; seen 4J students outperform the state in assessments of learning in every grade, every subject and nearly every student group; gained overwhelming voter approval of a bond measure to rebuild schools and invest in other capital improvements, as well as a renewed operating levy to maintain class sizes and school days; brought the school meal program in-house; implemented a consistent school schedule and calendar so all students receive enough and equitable education time; and made substantial gains in workforce diversity, including administrator diversity unparalleled among Oregon districts. Last fall Dr. Balderas was the first Latino school leader ever named Oregon Superintendent of the Year. Earlier this month he was announced as the National Superintendent of the Year. "It is my honor and pleasure to lead the Eugene School District, a remarkable school system in a remarkable community," said Dr. Balderas. "While I am not eager to leave 4J or Eugene, I am open to exploring new professional challenges and opportunities. In the meantime I remain invested in our 4J students, staff and community. Im proud of the work weve accomplished in the past 5 years, strengthening the foundations of our educational system and implementing essential systemic improvements. I am confident that the great momentum we've developed in the district will continue and lead to ever-growing successes for our students and schools." "Dr. Balderas is an exceptional education leader and our district is lucky to have his skills and vision to guide us. The board has worked in partnership with him towards lofty but attainable education goals and we have made significant and lasting improvements for our students," said school board chair Anne Marie Levis. "Gus has been open with the board about this position and we wholeheartedly support him in his work, whether it is in Eugene or elsewhere." Dr. Balderas is one of two finalists for the Edmonds superintendent position. He will take part in a community forum and final interviews next week. Vietnam has successfully brought the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) under control, with all 16 confirmed positive cases in the country fully recovered from the disease, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam announced yesterday. Workers have their body temperature checked and are handed pamphlets on COVID-19 prevention measures before arriving at work at the South Korea-invested UTI Vina in Diem Thuy industrial zone in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. VNA/VNS Photo Quan Trang Speaking at the online conference on the prevention and fighting against the epidemic with 63 cities and provinces yesterday, Dam, who chaired the conference, said Vietnam was among the countries facing high risks of infection as it had a border with China with regular trade and travelling between the two countries. Until now, Vietnam has done a good job. The last patient in Binh Xuyen District in northern Vinh Phuc Province tested negative for the virus twice. No new cases have been reported nationwide for ten days, including in Son Loi Commune, which remains the hotspot for the outbreak with six infection cases. Vietnam has won the first battle of the war against the coronavirus, he said, adding that the country needed to stay focused on the prevention of the epidemic as this war would be unpredictable, he said. Dam said the Government, the Ministry of Health and relevant authorities had been actively taking preventive measures since mid-December. Vietnam was the first country in the world requiring mandatory health declaration from people from epidemic areas since January 25. Travel warnings were issued at a higher level than those from the World Health Organisation. He said the country had prepared the worst and would be in a position to respond to 3,000 infected cases. With previous experiences fighting SARS, MERS-CoV and H1N1 flu, Vietnam was determined to prevent it thoroughly, had early detection procedures and had quarantined, he said. He stressed that the country had learned lessons on the virus treatment at local hospitals and health clinics with technology support and local authorities should not be over-anxious or careless in dealing with the disease. Deputy director of the Hanoi-based National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Tran Nhu Duong gives a briefing at the online conference on the prevention and fight against coronavirus yesterday in Hanoi. VNA/VNS Photo Duong Ngoc Dam also said that the transparency of information was vital in order to keep people informed and give timely warnings. Preventive measures needed to be implemented in the future, he said, including tight control on those arriving from virus-hit areas and wearing face masks in public places. At the conference, representatives from Cao Bang, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City shared experiences in deterring and quarantining suspected patients and spraying disinfectants at schools. VNS Vietnamese medical staff win fight with COVID-19 Amid global concerns over coronavirus, the full recovery of the first two patients who tested positive for the virus in Vietnam affirmed the professional competence of Vietnamese physicians and the Governments efforts to address the epidemic. Coronavirus patients responding to treatment: health ministry No new cases of the coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam had been reported in recent days and infected patients were responding well to treatment. By Park Ji-won Seoul Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020, the largest fashion event in Korea, has been canceled due to the fast spread of coronavirus infections here, its organizer said. Seoul Fashion Week was scheduled to be held between March 17 and 21. The organizer also said its trade fair "Generation Next Seoul" will be canceled for the same reason. An official of the Seoul Metropolitan Government said one third of the 36 participants scheduled to take part in Seoul Fashion Week said they intended not to participate due to the coronavirus. After consulting with the remaining participants, the organizer decided to cancel the event. All deposits for the show will be returned. Seoul's biannual fashion event has been one of the key events for the fashion industry in Korea. It is seen by many as a breath of fresh air for overseas buyers in the Asian - and global fashion world, attracting tens of thousands of people each time it is held. 34 fashion brands presented new collections at the 2020 Spring/Summer event last year, while some 120 brands participated in the concurrent fashion trade fair. As of Wednesday afternoon, 12 people in Korea had died from the coronavirus infection, while 1,261 people were confirmed as infected patients. German lawmakers have overturned an earlier ban on assisted suicide in a landmark ruling at the country's top court. Church leaders are alarmed at the decision as they fear it will pressure elderly or sick people into accessing assisted suicide services. The new judgement by the country's highest court decided a 2015 law banning professional assisted suicide was unconstitutional earlier today. The milestone decision raised eyebrows by explicitly stating that people have 'the right to a self-determined death', and that the right to assisted suicide services should not be limited to the seriously or incurably ill. It is also 'guaranteed in all stages of a person's existence'. The verdict is a major victory for terminally ill patients, doctors and assisted suicide organisations who brought the case, complaining that the existing law went too far. Church leaders in Germany are concerned a new ruling by the country's highest court could pressure vulnerable groups to make use of assisted suicide services Judge Andreas Vosskuhle at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said the right to a self-determined death included 'the freedom to take one's life and seek help doing so'. Today's verdict was closely watched in a fast-ageing country where Catholic and Protestant Churches still exert strong influence. In a joint statement, the German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church of Germany said they feared elderly or sick people would feel 'internal or external pressure' to make use of assisted suicide services. It is a sensitive subject in Germany as the Nazis used what they euphemistically called 'euthanasia' to exterminate around 200,000 disabled people. The existing law, known as Paragraph 17, was passed in 2015 and aimed at barring associations dedicated to helping patients wanting to die. It also meant medical personnel faced prosecution for prescribing life-terminating drugs. German lawmakers debated an earlier ruling that criminalised the 'commercial aiding and abetting of suicide' In 2017, a lower court ruled that officials could not refuse lethal medication in extreme cases, creating confusion among doctors. The plaintiffs' argued that Germany's constitution guarantees personal freedom and dignity, which they said includes the right to choose when and how to die. The court agreed, and found the restrictions imposed by Paragraph 217 made it 'impossible' for people to receive help from third party professionals in Germany, who faced a fine or up to three years in prison under then old law. This left German patients turning to family members or loved ones for help, some getting life-terminating medicine from abroad. Judge Vosskuhle said those who wanted to offer suicide assistance must be legally allowed to, without however being forced to do so. Presiding judge, Andreas Vosskuhle, is flanked by members of the senate as he announces the court's controversial verdict The court stressed however that legislators still had 'a broad spectrum' of options to regulate assisted suicide, for instance through mandatory waiting periods or consumer protection standards for assisted suicide associations. The German government plans to study the court's verdict 'very closely' before deciding the next course of action. Judge Vosskuhle said the decision of those wishing to end their lives had to be respected but admitted that the ruling would not please everyone. 'We may regret their decision and try everything we can do change their minds but ultimately we must accept their freedom to choose,' he said. The German Medical Association had also opposed any relaxing of Paragraph 217, warning it could open the door to euthanasia, where doctors take an active role in helping a patient die, for instance through lethal injection. A suspected drug peddler was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday after a year-long hunt, police said. Ghulam Mohammad was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act last year, but was evading arrest, Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Angral said. Acting on a tip-off, he was arrested by a special team from Surankote and will be produced before a court, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Guineas President Alpha Conde has suggested publicly for the first time that he could run for a third term if the constitution is changed, a move likely to fuel further unrest. Guineans vote on Sunday in parliamentary elections and a referendum on constitutional reforms that could allow the 81-year-old to stand again, and the prospect of him staying longer in office has already led to months of sometimes violent protests. Opponents see the process as a plot to enable Conde, who approaches the end of the two terms allotted under the present constitution, to stay in power for up to another decade. For Conde, who became Guineas first democratically elected leader in 2010, the changes will create a modern constitution. In an interview with Le Figaro newspaper that was published on Wednesday, Conde said the 2010 constitution was bad and needed modernising. The Guinean people will ask this question: Is it the first time that a president changes the constitution to do a third or fourth term? Why would it be impossible in Guinea to do three mandates? he asked. In some other African countries, leaders have used a constitution change as an excuse to reset their term limits. Its only Guinea that is criticised. Some countries can change constitution four or five times without being criticised, Conde said, using Chadian President Idriss Deby as an example. Western and Chinese businesses are also keeping an eye on how events unfold. The West African nation is rich with natural resources including the worlds largest bauxite reserves, as well as in iron, gold, diamonds and oil. But investments have stalled due to political instability and a lack of infrastructure and most of its 13 million people live in poverty. According to the World Bank, per capita income in 2018 was just $830. Growth stood at around 10 percent in 2016-2017, falling to 5.8 percent in 2018. Condes first election victory in 2010 raised hopes for democratic progress in the former French colony after two years of military rule and nearly a quarter of a century under authoritarian President Lansana Conte, who died in 2008. But Condes critics have accused him of cracking down on dissent and violently repressing protests charges he has denied. He asked his government last year to draft a new constitution that would permit him to run for office again. Conde has been so disappointing, said opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, a former prime minister. He has created a banana republic a dictatorship in all but name, Diallo said. An alliance of parties, unions and grassroots groups opposed to the referendum delivered a similarly brutal judgement. He took himself for Mandela but decided to become Bokassa, it said, referring to Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the former president of the Central African Republic who declared himself emperor. The Paris-based group of French-speaking countries, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophone, which had been due to monitor Sundays vote, has suspended its support of the ballot. It questioned the credibility of the vote due to 2.49 million problematic entries on the electoral register. It also called on Guinean authorities to act quickly to avoid any further loss of human life and to stop any risk of escalation towards violence. Conde said he was surprised by the organisations reaction and accused the opposition of calling for violence and hiring young people to throw stones. We will do everything to keep the calm and ensure the population can vote, Conde said. Administering stem cell or enzyme therapy in utero may be a path to alleviating some congenital diseases that often result in losing a pregnancy, according to a new study in mice by UC San Francisco researchers, who showed that stem cells can enter the fetal brain during prenatal development and make up for cells that fail to make an essential protein. Each year, about 24,000 women in the US lose a pregnancy. One of the major contributors to this problem is a group of congenital diseases that can cause a condition called hydrops, in which fluid accumulates in the fetus, often to a fatal extent. "This group of vulnerable patients has been relatively ignored in the fetal surgery world," said UCSF's Tippi MacKenzie, MD, senior author of the new study who has worked for a decade developing novel therapies for heritable diseases that can be treated before birth. "We know these patients could potentially benefit from a number of medical therapies. So this is our first foray into treating one of those diseases." The new study was aimed at exploring treatments for MPS7, also known as Sly syndrome, a disorder caused by a mutation in a single gene. In this disease the body's cells lack an enzyme to properly process large chains of sugar molecules that are necessary for proper cell function. Sly syndrome is part of a family of related metabolic disorders that can potentially be treated before birth using similar approaches. The incidence of MPS7 is difficult to determine, because it is believed that many fetuses with the disorder die before birth. Those that survive are treated with regular injections of the enzyme that their cells do not produce on their own. While these injections can provide some benefit, the enzyme cannot enter the brain through the bloodstream after birth. In some related metabolic diseases, clinicians need to infuse the enzyme directly into the brain to treat neurological aspects. But because the so-called blood-brain barrier -- which protects the brain from potentially damaging substances in the blood -- is not fully developed before birth, MacKenzie believed the enzyme would successfully enter the brain at this stage. Another problem with repeated enzyme infusions for metabolic disorders is that patients can develop an immune response to the enzyme, which their bodies view as "foreign." Infusing the protein before birth could prevent this immune response, since the fetal immune system tends to view new proteins as "friendly," without rejecting them. MacKenzie, who co-directs UCSF's Center for Maternal-Fetal Precision Medicine, is among the first to attempt enzyme replacement of any sort at the fetal stage. Led by co-first author Russell Witt, MD, these experiments proved to be successful, and the researchers discovered that in utero treatment with the enzyme dramatically improved the survival of the mice to birth. The researchers continued to give the enzyme after birth, which ultimately resulted in immune tolerance of the enzyme and improvements in multiple organs, including the brain and liver. Moreover, in comprehensive testing of the mice conducted in collaboration with the UCSF lab of Saul Villeda, PhD, the researchers noted significantly improved strength in the grip of MPS7 mice -- which is generally weak -- and in some cases their grip strength approached that of normal mice. All told, the research team found that in utero enzyme replacement conferred three major improvements, MacKenzie said. "It will enter the brain, the mice develop immune tolerance for it, and the treatment helps sustain the fetus through birth." These combined advantages, she said, overcome the main limitations of the current approach of delivering enzyme treatment after birth -- but not all of them. Even if the treatment were successfully delivered in the womb, challenges would still arise. Because the enzyme only lasts about two weeks in the body, patients would still require regular injections after birth. And at that point, the blood-brain barrier is fully developed, so the enzyme can't cross into the brain. Ultimately, MacKenzie said, the answer may lie in giving fetuses stem cells, which could differentiate into new cells -- in both the brain and the rest of the body -- that could produce the enzyme that the faulty ones don't. To explore this possibility, MacKenzie worked with research fellow and surgery resident Quoc-Hung Nguyen, MD, to transplant blood-forming stem cells from normally developing mice into fetal mice carrying a genetic mutation that causes MPS7. The researchers were most interested to see whether these cells could reach the brain, and whether they would change into cells called microglia, immune cells that originate from blood-forming stem cells. In a normally developing fetus, once matured, microglia produce and store the necessary enzyme, as well as regulate the immune environment of the brain. Others have tried transplanting these stem cells, but usually after birth, said Nguyen, and it has been challenging to obtain fully functioning microglia. "We wanted to test this transplant before birth, using the environment of the fetal brain where, in a normal fetus, the stem cells are migrating into the brain to become microglia," he said. "One of our big findings is that these cells truly do become microglia, so there's a huge advantage to transplanting them before birth." Nguyen tagged the transplanted cells with a fluorescent marker so he could easily identify them and verify that they had successfully crossed the blood-brain barrier and migrated into the brain. To confirm that the transplanted cells were acting as functional microglia, Nyugen sequenced the RNA that the cells were producing and saw that it matched the proper signature of protein production by microglia. He also confirmed that the stem cells had also made their way to the liver, kidney, and other organs, and that they became the appropriate cell type needed to produce the needed enzyme in those organs. The researchers saw that once the stem cells had engrafted in the brain and body and differentiated, they were able to deliver the enzyme to nearby cells and restore their function, a process called cross-correction. The transplanted cells thus fended off the liver disease and other complications associated with MPS7 for the lifespan of the animals. "We found that even if you have only one or two percent healthy cells circulating, you can drastically improve, for example, liver disease," said MacKenzie. "One good cell can, in effect, correct multiple other cells." Another advantage of the proposed treatments is that, in humans, they would be performed using the same techniques now used for fetal blood transfusions, which have been performed for decades in hospitals all around the country. "That means that if we do get to a stage of performing fetal therapy for these diseases in humans, the treatments could someday be offered at multiple centers around the world, and the family doesn't necessarily have to travel a long distance to get the care they need," said MacKenzie. There are a large number of other heritable metabolic disorders that arise from similar faulty single genes, and Nyugen and MacKenzie agree that their approach may be a useful one for these conditions as well. "These exciting findings are just the tip of the iceberg," said Nyugen. "They open up a whole new approach to treating a range of diseases. At the same time, there's also a lot of work to do to optimize the treatment for humans." To that end, MacKenzie is applying to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to launch a clinical trial of enzyme replacement therapy that will ultimately enroll 10 patients with MPS7 and related metabolic disorders. She already has a similar trial underway, transplanting mothers' stem cells into developing fetuses to treat a blood disorder called alpha thalassemia. With the proposed trial of enzyme replacement therapy, she hopes to expand the scope of fetal molecular therapies to treat metabolic disorders as well as blood disorders in humans. MacKenzie points out that while fetal molecular therapies are not yet common, the environment and resources at UCSF allow her team to broaden the field, even as it is developing. "With this work, we're pushing the frontiers of fetal surgery into newer, less invasive therapies. At the same time, colleagues at UCSF are performing genetic sequencing of fetuses with hydrops, so that one day we can identify and treat these genetic conditions before birth," she said. "It's exactly this sort of clinical and research environment that can accelerate moving a therapy like this one into humans." ### Authors: In addition to Tippi MacKenzie, Nguyen, Witt, and Villeda, UCSF authors incuded Bowen Wang, Carlo Eikani, Jeremy Shea, PhD, Lucas Smith, PhD, Renan Sper, PhD, and John D. MacKenzie, MD. They were joined by Gabrielle Boyle and Jaclyn Cadaoas of Ultragenyx, in Novato, Calif. Funding: This study was supported by a grant from Ultragenyx to Tippi MacKenzie, funds from the UCSF Center for Maternal-Fetal Precision Medicine, a CIRM New Faculty grant to Tippi MacKenzie (RN3-06532), and NIH grant support (5T32HD007263-35) to Nguyen. Disclosures: Co-authors Boyle and Cadaoas are employees of Ultragenyx. About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. Learn more at https://www.ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet. New Delhi, Feb 26 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to Jammu and Kashmir administration after hearing Iltija Mufti's, daughter of former Chief Minister - Mehbooba Mufti, petition, challenging detention of her mother under PSA (Public Safety Act). "We issue notice to the Jammu and Kashmir administration on the petition filed by Mehbooba Mufti. We seek also a detailed response from it," a bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra said, today, after hearing the petition filed by Iltija Mufti. Apex Court today asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to file it's detailed response to Iltija's petition by March 18, the next date of hearing in the case. Iltija had moved the Apex Court, seeking appropriate directions and or orders to the authorities concerned to release immediately her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, who is kept under PSA detention. Meanwhile, the Apex Court is also scheduled to hear Sara Abdullah Pilot's petition challenging her brother and former Chief Minister, Omar's detention under the PSA on 2nd March. UNI XC RP1600 Students and teachers gathered in the Franklin County High School auditorium to and honor the late Ann Drew Gibbons, a former drama teacher who taught in Franklin County Public Schools for more than 40 years. A plaque honoring Gibbons, who died in April 2019, was unveiled. The plaque purchase was made possible through donations. A committee of high school teachers launched a GoFundMe page, which collected the funds for the plaque, as well as a scholarship in Gibbons memory. Gibbons retired from Franklin County High School in 2014 after teaching English and drama for 42 years at the middle and high schools. She was named Franklin County Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 1994 and Virginia Teacher of the Year in 2011. She was also voted the Roanoker Magazine Platinum Teacher of the Year in 2014. Friends and colleagues shared memories of Gibbons before the unveiling of the memorial plaque. Members of the FCHS drama department also gave a short performance in Gibbons memory. Gibbons was the sponsor of the FCHS drama department for eight years during her tenure in the county. A police officer talks to a young man at a road block in Casalpusterlengo. (Getty Images) Interview by Claudio Semenza Casalpusterlengo is a town of around 15,000 inhabitants located about 50km from Milan - and its one of the 11 Italian municipalities included in the so-called Red Zone of the coronavirus emergency. In recent days, Italy has been placed at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe as fears intensify over its spread across the continent. Authorities in Italy have said the number of people infected in the country stands at more than 400, up around 50% in the past 24 hours. Twelve people have died. Its in Casalpusterlengo where a 38-year-old man from Codogno - who is thought to have been the first person in Italy to have contracted the virus and from whom many of the regions infections originated - worked. Italian state police check cars and passengers moving in and out of the city as restrictive measures are taken to contain the outbreak of Coronavirus COVID-19. (AP) On February 22, another woman considered to be the second Italian who died from the COVID-19 virus was also identified in the town, which is located in the north of the country. Since then, no one has entered or exited Casalpusterlengo. All access routes are manned by law enforcement personnel. The inhabitants are in quarantine. Elia Delmiglio, aged just 25, has been the mayor of the town since May 2019, and is now in the front line of the emergency. In an interview with Yahoo, he told us about the towns experience with isolation so far. Mayor, how are you doing? Fine, aside from the fact that I sleep three hours a night, at most. Since the emergency has been declared, Ive been staying at the City Hall, glued to the phone, trying to answer all the citizens requests. The mayor of Casalpusterlengo, Elia Delmiglio. What is the most common question they have? Mayor, when will it end? But thats also the most difficult question. Right now, people are talking about 15 days of quarantine. But the correct answer is that it will last until further instructions. How are your fellow citizens doing? Im talking from the point of view of community management. Id rather not say anything regarding the medical-scientific situation, everyone must do their own job. Story continues I can say that everyone is facing this emergency with a great amount of responsibility. It is an unexpected situation, but the population is getting used to this unreal situation, to living within the Red Zone with everything shut down. People are going out, taking walks around town, but all the bars, all the offices, all the schools, all the companies engaged in economic production are closed. The sign on the window reads 'Face masks are over'. (Getty Images) No one goes out and no one comes in is that right? Right, except for a few special cases that the Prefecture is analysing on a case-by-case basis. Have you been out of the area? No, Ive been taking part in meetings remotely, via audio/video link. As I said, peoples lives are focused on the essentials: they are mainly going out to do their shopping or to the pharmacy. We have seen that in some cities, Milan included, there have been cases of full-on assaults in the supermarkets to buy food. Is that happening where you are, in the Red Zone? Id say no. In the first few days, there was a frenzy in the supermarket, which was misguided, in my opinion. Then, people realised that the supermarkets are not closing and that supplies are coming in regularly, and the situation stabilised. We have asked the citizens to shop responsibly. I repeat: we are not experiencing any food or medicine shortages at the moment. But we are also monitoring the situation. Police have let few people in or out of the town since February 23 (Getty Images) What about medical checks among the population? Are you subjected to special treatment in the Red Zone? The swab to check for the infection is only performed if there are symptoms that the telephone-based medical triage identifies as possible symptoms of the Coronavirus. Those who know that they have been in contact with an infected person know the quarantine procedure they must follow very well, and are respecting it, but the swab is only performed if the symptoms occur. Did the fact that the second Italian victim of the Coronavirus was discovered in Casalpusterlengo make it more difficult to manage the emergency, from an emotional point of view? First of all, our fellow citizen who died was found to have been infected only after her death, and its not certain that the virus was the real cause. This woman, like all the other victims recorded in Italy, was already suffering from another illness. That said, this has been a great pain for our community, and our hearts go out to her bereaved family. Casalpusterlengo is one of the 11 small towns placed under lockdown. (Getty Images) Do you know how many positive cases of infection there are in Casalpusterlengo? No, thats not something were being told. Did they take a swab from you as well? No, fortunately Im feeling fine at the moment. You are a very young mayor, at 25 years old. Do you feel confidence from the citizens around you? Id have to say yes, even in ways I wasnt expecting. Im very excited about it, because I am receiving a lot of gratitude, thanks, encouragement. Its exciting to receive such a response for a mayor in such a delicate situation, beyond all political divisions and political colours. It helps me a lot. Even sleeping just three hours a night? Thats right we never quit. A "controlling" husband who was tired of his wife, but unwilling to accept the possibility of her divorcing him, put her off the end of a Lough Erne cruiser hired to celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary, a murder trial heard today. In his opening at the start of the Dungannon Crown Court trial of Stephen McKinney, prosecuting QC Richard Weir accused the 43-year-old father-of-two of murdering his 35-year-old wife Lu Na nearly three years ago. Mr Weir told the jury of seven men and five women that when they had heard all of the evidence they would find this was no tragic accident and you will be sure Stephen McKinney killed his wife. Trial judge Madam Justice McBride also heard that Mrs McKinney had also been incapacitated after taking the sleeping drug Zopiclone, obtained online by her husband Stephen, who caused her to enter the water. Her body was recovered for Fermanaghs Lower Lough Erne near Devenish Island, within 40 minutes of her husband raising the alarm in the early hours of April 13, 2017. Expand Close Stephen McKinney's wife Lu Na / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stephen McKinney's wife Lu Na The weather that night was described as good, with very little wind, and with a full moon providing good visibility. Mr Weir said while McKinney denied having anything to do with the death of his wife, when police arrived on the scene, during the four minutes it took them to dock, McKinney did nothing to recover his wife, a non-swimmer, from the lough. The prosecutor further claimed in the wake of his wifes tragic death McKinney gave conflicting accounts to police, authorities, family and friends as to how she came to be in the lough, after she had allegedly went to secure the mooring ropes on their cruiser. Mr Weir further revealed months before her tragic death Mrs McKinney had talked of divorcing her husband, and of taking their children back to China, something he would not have wanted. McKinney, originally from Strabane, but who lived with his wife and children in Flaxfields, Convoy, Co Donegal, now has an address in Castlerown Square, Fintona, Co Tyrone. However, in his opening address Mr Weir admitted that the case against McKinney was a circumstantial one, but one where the strands of evidence were sufficient, when taken together, to support their case. The lawyer said the Manor House Marine cruiser was the second the family had hired from the Killadeas marina in Fermanagh that April, for which they were given comprehensive instructions and safety demonstrations on its operation. Although advised to go to the east jetty at Devenish Island, he went to the west. The court later heard of details of the two emergency 999 calls made by McKinney shortly after 1am the following morning, claiming his wife had just ended up in the water. Initially, in the first call which was cut short, he is recorded saying his wife had fallen into the water after shed complained the boat was moving, that they both got out to adjust the mooring ropes, and she slipped and he jumped into the water to try and help her. When asked how she fell into the water, Mr McKinney was recorded repeating that they both got off the 29ft cruiser, but then: I just dont know, she just ended up in the water. Later he told a second operator: I was in the water looking for her, trying to, I was trying to keep her, I was trying to keep her up. I got hold of her, but she went down and I tried to pull her back up. I tried to pull her back up and she went down, then added: And she pulled me down. Mr Weir said McKinney was told to remain on the cruiser, get something warm to wear, and to put on the boat lights and await the arrival of the police. The lawyer said when he spotted the lights of the approaching police launch, McKinney was heard saying: Oh Lu Na, oh Lu Na. I do see her... look at her... I see my wife... I think I see her. The court heard it had taken police approximately 40 minutes from their Enniskillen base to reach the McKinney cruiser tied up on the west jetty at Devenish Island. However, Mr Weir claimed that while McKinney said he could see his wife in the water, on his own account he does nothing to pull her out of the water. The lawyer said the lough had no current at this side of the island, and that, given the calm conditions, Mrs McKinneys body would not have floated away and back again, and in the time which had elapsed, her body could not have sunk and resurfaced. Mrs McKinneys body, the jury heard, was pulled from the lough by a police officer using a boat hook. Counsel further claimed during the journey to the hospital and afterwards, McKinney told a police officer that his wife had complained the mooring ropes were loose, and she wanted to check them. Outside the hospital treatment room, McKinney had talked of trying his best to save her... she cant swim, that he heard a splash and I heard help and I jumped in... I had hold of her, trying to pull her up. I had a hold of her... at the boat... and she kept pulling me down... I tried my best but Im not a good swimmer. Later when told his wife was dead, McKinney allegedly revealed they had argued over the mooring ropes, and when they went out onto the jetty to check them, I heard her shout, I went to help. Mr Weir claimed McKinney told some of his wifes friends that she had slipped and fell into the water, that he heard a splash and went outside, while another friend allegedly heard him say he saw Lu Na trip and fall into the water. And despite the reportedly good weather conditions that night, McKinney claimed it was rocky on the boat... and that Lu Na was scared. The court heard that McKinney told one friend how his wife went outside and as he went to get his trousers to follow her, he heard splashes, but he told another friend he didnt see how she ended up in the lough. The jury also heard of the effect that the drug Zopiclone, used to treat insomnia, would have had on Mrs McKinney. Her husband said hed obtained it for her online and shed taken some that evening. The amount of the drug found in her system was more than the normal therapeutic dose and the effect on her was likely to have been substantial. Although it was not possible to say if she would have been fully awake at the time, her ability to respond adequately to the dangers she found herself in, would have been impaired. In conclusion, Mr Weir told the members of the jury Lu Na McKinney was incapacitated having consumed the Zopiclone. We say that Stephen McKinney caused her to enter the water at Devenish Island. We say he is a controlling man, tired of his wife, not prepared to accept her divorcing him and all the consequences that would entail for him and their children. And we say when you have heard all of the evidence, this was no tragic accident, and you will be sure Stephen McKinney killed his wife, declared Mr Weir. The trial, expected to hear evidence from up to 100 witnesses during the eight weeks it is likely to last, continues tomorrow. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The biennial elections for 55 Rajya Sabha seats may not change the scale much in favour of the BJP, with the party set for gains only later this year when 11 berths will become vacant from Uttar Pradesh. The BJP may make some gains in Maharashtra, while Trinamool Congress will retain the strength from West Bengal. The BJP-led NDA may get a boost with the AIADMK set for gains from Tamil Nadu, while the YSR Congress would wrest vacancies from Andhra Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP will be able to win one seat from the existing strength, while the saffron outfit would strongly contest for another seat from the state. In Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the BJP will pocket one seat each. The BJP may suffer minor losses from Jharkhand, Bihar and Rajasthan. ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha elections 2020: Hectic lobbying underway for berths in Congress The BJP vice president Prabhat Jha and senior party leader Satyanarayan Jatia are retiring from Madhya Pradesh. Both are completing two terms, with the BJP rarely giving third terms to party leaders. However, there had been a few exceptions to the unwritten rules in which the BJP gave additional terms in the Rajya Sabha to senior leaders, which included the likes of Arun Jaitely and Ravi Shankar Prasad. Meanwhile, Himachal Congress president Kuldeep Rathore said the name of the candidate for the poll will be finalised soon. Similarly, state BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma said, The process of finalising the name of the BJP candidate is on. Voting will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on March 26. Power play While NDA is likely to retain its strength in Gujarat, Bihar and states in the northeast Meghalaya and Manipur, the Congress, which won elections in three states in December 2018, is likely to improve its tally from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The elections assume importance as they could give an edge to the ruling BJP-led NDA, which continues to be in minority in the Rajya Sabha. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:23:31|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for the city to heighten preparedness for the possible spread of the novel coronavirus as more cases of infections were reported worldwide. "Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step-up preparedness," Breed said. "We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm," she added. The San Francisco emergency declaration is effective immediately for seven days, which will be voted on by the city's Board of Supervisors on March 3. The local emergency measure came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned earlier in the day of a wider circulation of the virus in the country. "Now is the time for U.S. businesses, hospitals, and communities to begin preparing for the possible spread of #COVID19 (coronavirus disease 2019)," the CDC tweeted Tuesday. The agency also said that the number of cases in the United States has risen to 57, with four more patients who were on a cruise ship. San Francisco officials have also urged schools and businesses to make plans for any contingencies, including possible closures. San Francisco has no home-grown cases of coronavirus infections, but it has treated three infected patients from other places in its hospitals. It is the most recent Bay Area city to declare a local emergency due to coronavirus concerns. The previous city was Santa Clara County, where two confirmed cases were reported. Warranty is the first and only of its kind among cloud proxy security companies Menlo Security, a leader in cloud security, today announced the launch of its 100 percent malware protection warranty. The company stands behind its ability to eliminate malware, including ransomware, and is offering a warranty of up to $1 million to cover its customers' expenses if a malware attack is able to pass through the company's Isolation Core and cause an infection. The security industry has trained companies for decades to accept that "almost secure" is the best it can get when it comes to security. Despite security-related spend increasing almost 40 times to more than $135 billion over the last 13 years, security breaches still dominate headlines nearly every week. Unlike in other industries, security industry customers generally have little recourse when security products fail, and this has become the norm. Menlo Security's new warranty changes the security paradigm because we believe we are able to block 100 percent of all malware-including exploits, ransomware, and zero days-for users who are protected by our Isolation Core. "There is a pervasive belief that security is never 100 percent, and unfortunately companies have accepted this as being the norm," said Amir Ben-Efraim, chief executive officer at Menlo Security. "Unsatisfied with the status quo, we took a fundamentally different approach and built a complete cloud security platform that protects against malware infections and delivers security without compromise." Enterprises are going through a transformation as they embrace the cloud to reduce costs, improve productivity, and gain operational agility. Menlo Security helps enterprises fully realize the benefits of the cloud and secure cloud transformations without sacrificing data visibility and control or user experience. The company offers the most secure way for enterprises to replace expensive, on-premises security appliances and move those functions to the cloud. The Menlo Security Global Cloud Proxy Platform is built on an Isolation Core, which separates the enterprise network from the public web while providing users with secure, low-latency connections to the Internet and SaaS applications. The platform is built in the cloud for the cloud, and is architected to help companies embrace a cloud-first architecture. Unlike security products that deliver "almost safe" security, we believe the Menlo Security Isolation Core stops malware 100 percent of the time, a feat that was previously thought to be unachievable. Menlo Security's customers include some of the world's largest enterprises and government agencies and its global elastic cloud isolates more than 500 million websites per day. Among the company's customers are seven of the 10 largest banks, four of the five largest credit-card issuers, and some of the largest energy and transportation companies in the world. The 100 percent malware protection warranty is available at no additional charge to all new Menlo Security customers who purchase products that include the Isolation Core and is subject to additional terms and conditions. Menlo Security will be exhibiting at RSA in the North Hall N6370. Schedule a demonstration of the only cloud proxy platform with a $1 million malware protection warranty today. For more details, visit https://www.menlosecurity.com/ or send an email to ask@menlosecurity.com. About Menlo Security Menlo Security, Inc., provides a complete, global cloud security platform that secures cloud transformations with zero compromise on risk, user experience, and visibility and control. Its solutions-built on the world's first and only Isolation Core-solve for email security, web security, data protection, and threat prevention. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Menlo Security is trusted by hundreds of companies, including many Global 2000 enterprises and financial services institutions worldwide as they seek to achieve the fullest benefits of SaaS. It is backed by General Catalyst, Sutter Hill Ventures, Engineering Capital, Osage University Partners, American Express Ventures, Ericsson Ventures, HSBC, and JP Morgan Chase. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005254/en/ Contacts: Lexie Janney Merritt Group for Menlo Security 703.390.1531 janney@merrittgrp.com Michel de Montaigne 1533-1592 Montaigne: A Life by philippe desan translated by steven rendall and lisa neal princeton, 832 pages, $39.95 When faced with a biography that could as well stop a door as fill a shelf, one's first question is always, "Does the subject merit this exhaustive treatment?" There are a few historical characters about whom one wishes to know everything, but not very many. One would like to know, for example, what Hitler or Stalin had for breakfast, even though such information would add nothing to one's historical understanding and in effect be perfectly useless. Of most authors, however, a biographical essay suffices, and indeed requires more real intellect to write well than a lengthy recitation of every known fact about its subject. Stefan Zweig (who wrote a book about Montaigne) used to say that the art of writing was more in knowing what to leave out than what to put in, and his first drafts were often six times longer than his final version. At first sight, Michel de Montaigne, who after all wrote a book of a thousand pages both about and to please himself, might be thought unworthy of minute biographical examination. But though his book was about himself, it was only so in a special sense, that is to say in a sense of his own creation, and his life was so extraordinary (to say nothing of the times in which he lived), and he was of such enduring cultural significance, that a long biography seems both just and appropriate. Philippe Desan is not a stylist or perhaps I should say that his translators are not stylists. At best the prose is serviceable rather than elegant, and at times, especially when dealing in abstractions, it is somewhat clotted: Determining Montaigne's modernity is supposed to consist in locating in the Essais what we have become today. As if the questions that the author of the Essais asked were also our questions. There is no need to say that such a procedure can be gratifying, because it offers proof of a development or an implacable evolution toward progress and wisdom. Montaigne has finally been appropriated by philosophy. One knows more or less, though perhaps not exactly, what this means, but one hardly reads it with pleasure. Moreover, what it says is clearly mistaken and wrongheaded. We do not think that Shakespeare is universal because we subscribe to a Whig interpretation of history according to which Shakespeare's characters are a step on the ascent to our enlightened selves, but because, after four centuries of sweeping transformations, our existential position in the world, and our reactions to it, have not changed very much. Jealousy, ambition, despair, and pride are still as they are portrayed by Shakespeare in Othello, Macbeth, Lear, or Coriolanus; it is rather the implacable lack of progress and superior wisdom that strikes us when we read Shakespeare. No doubt this is deeply disconcerting to some, who therefore wish to ignore or deny it, or to devise schemes for creating the New Man who will not suffer from these defects, but for others (among whom I am one) it is consoling. Thanks to this apprehension of an unchanging reality, I come no longer, in the words of Dr. Johnson, "to pursue the phantoms of hope" or "expect that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow." I am content to be discontent, if by discontent we mean aware of the inescapable imperfections of our own condition. It is part of Desan's purpose to "liberate" us from this universalizing way of reading Montaigne, to make Montaigne more a man of his own time than a man for all time, by demonstrating how important was his involvement in the political life of his turbulent times to the creation of his literary work. If Montaigne wrote in his tower, it was certainly not an ivory one, at any rate not until late in life. He was a parliamentarian, an administrator, a soldier, a bureaucrat, and a courtier, all before he was a philosopher. According to Desan, Montaigne's writings took on different, often political, purposes as his career changed or developed, and he would never have thought of himself as the kind of man that most of us believe he was that is to say, someone who shut himself away from the world in a disinterested search for truth. When the author says, however, that "we have to demystify the conventional image of the essayist isolated in his tower, far from the agitations of his time, playing with his cat and inquiring into the human condition," I think he sets up a false dichotomy between the particular and the universal. No human being lives in a world of complete abstraction (or abstractions), as if free from all circumstance whatever. To say that a man is affected by his surroundings and the times in which he lives is to say nothing more than that he is a man for a man without any particular circumstances could not exist and is literally unimaginable (this is one of the reasons why heaven is so difficult to imagine and hell so easy, because the latter at least has events). But not every man who takes part in public events and writes about them is read more than four hundred years after his death, even by people who have no special interest in the times in which he lived or in events that he witnessed. For every thousand readers of Montaigne, there is only one person who makes the French wars of religion his special subject. Montaigne is not principally of antiquarian interest, though he may be that as well. In the Apology for Raymond Sebond, Montaigne says: See the horrible impudence with which we bandy divine reasons about, and how irreligiously we have both rejected them and taken them again, according as fortune has changed our place in these public storms. This proposition, so solemn, whether it is lawful for a subject to rebel and take arms against his prince in defence of religion remember in whose mouths, this year just past, the affirmative of this was the buttress of one party, the negative was the buttress of what other party; and hear now from what quarter comes the voice and the instruction of both sides, and whether the weapons make less din for this cause than for that. When we learn how easily self-interest may make black white and white black, we feel obliged to examine more closely our own most passionately held opinions of the moment to ensure that they are not the product of self-deception and self-interest. Here Montaigne is clearly referring to particular historical circumstances: namely, the succession by the Protestant Henry of Navarre (albeit that he thought Paris was worth a Mass) to the French throne after the murder of the Catholic Henry III. Under the Catholic Henry, it was lawful for Protestants to rebel; under the Protestant Henry, it was lawful for the Catholics to rebel. When I read this, however, it takes me straight, and no doubt strangely, back to my visit to Mogadishu in Somalia. I visited shortly after Somalia had become a client state of the United States, having been shortly before a client state of the Soviet Union; whereas Ethiopia had moved in precisely the opposite direction. The voice and instruction still came from both sides, but with the plus and minus signs, as it were, reversed. What remained unchanged, however, was the enmity between the two states that resulted in costly, bloody, and absurd armed conflict. No doubt many other examples could come to a well-furnished mind: the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, for example. Also what comes to mind or rather to my mind is Whitehead's famous dictum that metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe on instinct: but he adds (in true Montaignesque fashion) that the search for metaphysical justifications is no less instinctive than our beliefs. What Montaigne describes, then, is certainly particular to a time and place, but it is far more than merely particular, and it stretches credulity to believe that Montaigne did not know this or intend his example to cast light on a universal human condition. And if it be objected that what might be called ideological manipulation and hypocrisy are not human universals, because there may be tribes of isolated people somewhere on earth who do not indulge in them, they are nevertheless sufficiently common phenomena among humans who have reached a sufficiently sophisticated level of material civilization that they may be taken as universal. Would any reasonably intelligent and realistic observer of human life expect them to disappear soon from the human repertoire? This is not to say that Montaigne is some kind of unscrupulous immoralist or lazy relativist with no idea of right and wrong, as he has sometimes been taken to be in the past (the Essays were on the Index of Prohibited Books for 180 years). No one today could read the Essays and believe that. His reflections are a call to honest and sometimes painful self-examination. When we learn how easily self-interest may make black white and white black, we feel obliged to examine more closely our own most passionately held opinions of the moment to ensure that they are not the product of self-deception and self-interest. Moreover, a passage such as the one cited above is an implicit invitation to examine the whole nature of politics. Can it ever be a straightforward struggle for the implementation of an ideal? No, implies Montaigne, for not even our pleasures can be unalloyed. He is at one with Keats when the latter says "Ay, in the very temple of Delight / Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine," for "the weakness of our condition makes it impossible for things to come into our experience in their natural simplicity and purity." There is something painful in excessive joy, says Montaigne, which always carries its own decay within it. With Montaigne, nothing is an unalloyed good. Montaigne is above all and pre-eminently the philosopher of the permanent necessity of judgment. He is not one to hold, however, that there is no difference between good and evil. Good exists for Montaigne, but not the good. A man who cites classical sources 1300 times in the Essays, and whose mother tongue was not French but Latin (his father allowed him to be addressed in no other tongue until he was six years old), can hardly be described as a contemptor of learning. But at the same time Montaigne is a stern critic and fierce opponent of what he calls pedantisme, in which a dry accumulation of learning is pursued for its own sake. For him, there must always be a dialogue or dialectic between books and life. He would have approved of Sir William Osler's dictum three centuries later about the education of doctors: "He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all." He is wisest, then, not who experiences or reads most, but who reflects best on what he has experienced and read. Reflection can never be at an end, which is why Montaigne was revising and adding to his great book until the very end of his life, and would have continued to do so had he lived twenty years more. Its lack of system, its lack of clear doctrine, is precisely its point: "Grey is theory," said Goethe, "but green is the tree of life." Montaigne's famous skepticism, and his apprehension that reality itself had many contradictory aspects, was no doubt deepened by his experience of France's religious wars of the sixteenth century, which lasted the major portion of his adult life. He remained a Catholic, though whether from deep belief, calculation, sentimental attachment to the religion of his youth, or sheer inertia is unclear (he was sometimes regarded as a heretic). No one could have lived through these times, however, without pondering deeply their meaning and the lessons to be drawn from them. But from any experience, diametrically opposed lessons can be drawn, for lessons from human affairs are not like the conclusion of a syllogism. Montaigne, who sometimes acted as a go-between in the wars, wrote against the procrusteans of all beliefs who want to reduce the conduct of life to simple rules: "Those people must be jesting who think they can diminish and stop our disputes by recalling us to the express words of the Bible. For our mind finds the field no less spacious in registering the meaning of others than in presenting its own. As if there were less animosity and bitterness in commenting than in inventing!" He might just as well have come to the conclusion that the only way to end the wars was to kill all the Protestants. Who can read the above passage without thinking of the current disputes within Islam as to the real and indubitable meanings of the Qur'an and the hadith, and what conduct they command? The desire to base our conduct on indubitable authority, and thereby avoid the necessity of judgment (freedom and moral responsibility are anxiety-provoking), so that in effect we are only obeying orders, does give rise despite Desan's sneer to one of our questions, just as it did for Montaigne. Moreover, it is unlikely that the question will be settled in the near future. Montaigne is above all and pre-eminently the philosopher of the permanent necessity of judgment. Montaigne would certainly not have agreed with his biographer that "universality demands the erasure of temporality." When, for example, he quotes Tacitus to the effect that "as formerly we suffered from crimes, so we now suffer from laws," he could not have been unaware that his France and Tacitus's Rome were not identical. Indeed, it is the main prop of Desan's historicizing thesis that Montaigne was so deeply implicated in and concerned with the public affairs of his time that his thought was a reaction to them. But unless he saw underlying parallels between his France and Tacitus's Rome, connected in some way to human nature, why would he have quoted Tacitus in the first place? Montaigne quotes him having just written: "We have in France more laws than all the rest of the world together . . ." And afterward he says: "And yet we have left so much room for opinion and decision to our judges, that there never was such a powerful and licentious freedom." The analogy is clear. Again, when Montaigne says (in Of Anger), "Plutarch is admirable throughout, but especially when he judges human actions," he is appealing to universality: for how could he himself judge that Plutarch judges human actions well unless there were a subsisting vein of constancy that most of us know by the name of human nature? Desan's biography is the product of immense and admirable erudition, and no one who is not a specialist and probably even someone who is will fail to learn much from it. But I am afraid that it also illustrates one of Montaigne's points, one of his chevaux de bataille, in fact: that learning is not wisdom. By Niyati Shetty Feb 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell more than 2% on Wednesday, extending losses into a fourth session, after U.S. health officials warned of a domestic coronavirus outbreak amid its rapid spread to more countries beyond China. The S&P/ASX 200 index declined 2.2%, or 148.9 points, to 6,717.70 by 0157 GMT, shedding more than 6% in the past four sessions. Selling was broad-based, with nearly 93% of stocks trading in the red. A top official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to begin preparing for coronavirus to spread within the country, while another official said it was no longer a question of if, but when, the virus would become a global pandemic. The World Health Organization said countries need to prepare immediately for an outbreak of the virus so they can respond rapidly when it arrives. The flu-like virus has now spread to several countries in Europe and the Middle East, with Switzerland, Austria and Romania reporting their first infections on Tuesday. "There is concern that the containment of the virus might not be as simple, or as quick, as what markets were expecting early in the year when it was considered just a flash in the pan," said James Tao, market analyst at CommSec. Heavyweight financials dragged down the Australian bourse, with the so-called "Big Four" banks declining between 1.1% and 1.8%. Both Westpac Banking Corp and National Australia Bank lost 1.7%. Miners slumped to their lowest in nearly three months, with BHP Group Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd dropping 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively. "China being Australia's largest trading partner there is certainly a potential impact not only on demand for commodities but also on the supply chain coming out of China," CommSec's Tao said. Energy stocks fell to a more than six-month trough as oil prices extended losses overnight. Woodside Petroleum Ltd slid 3.7%, while Oil Search Ltd lost 2.5%. The technology sub-index declined 3.1%, extending losses into a seventh session, tracking the sell-off in U.S. peers. Meanwhile, Healius Ltd surged 16.3% after the medical centre operator late on Tuesday said private equity firm Partners Group offered to buy it for $1.40 billion. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 1%, or 115.13 points, at 11,604.10 after declining 2.2% in early trade. Port of Tauranga and SKY Network Television were the worst performers on the index, falling 4.6% and 3.3%, respectively. (Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) More than 30 countries have reported cases of a new coronavirus and there are five main clusters, raising concerns that efforts to contain the outbreak have failed and the threshold of a pandemic is approaching. Most cases are in China, where the virus originated in December, as well as Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Iran. Brazil's Health Ministry said on February 26 that a Sao Paulo resident who recently travelled to Italy was undergoing testing for the virus, in what could become the first case in South America. Several European countries -- Austria, Croatia, Spain, and Switzerland -- announced their first coronavirus cases involving people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in North Africa. Italy has reported more than 330 cases and 11 deaths. In recent days, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman also reported their first cases -- all involving people who had come from Iran. The country has nearly 100 confirmed cases and officially 15 deaths, but there has been speculation that Tehran is underreporting the extent of the outbreak in the country. Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iranian officials "tell the truth" about the outbreak. "The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country," Pompeo said. The coronavirus has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 78,000 others on mainland China. In the rest of the world, there have been more than 40 deaths and over 2,700 cases. The epidemic's disruption has caused stock markets to slump around the world, restrictions imposed on travelers, and sporting events cancelled. But Bruce Aylward, who led a World Health Organization-led investigative mission to China, said one of his conclusions for the rest of the world is that it "simply not ready" to contain the outbreak. "You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale...and it has to be done fast," Aylward said at a Geneva news conference. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, the BBC, and dpa House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently announced the selection of two Members of Congress to be seated on the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees as public (Congressional) members: Donna E. Shalala of Florida and Larry D. Bucshon, M.D. of Indiana. During the Clinton administration, Ms. Shalala served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees and administers the work of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). At the time of the creation of the NIDCD in 1988, Deaf people requested that the word "Other" not be used in the title of the new institute (https://bit.ly/2SRlnVH), but their request was disregarded. The NIDCD was, to a large extent, simply a continuation of the work that had been going on for many years under the "communicative disorders" program of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), but it served as a showcase vehicle for Sen. Tom Harkin, who had an ambitious political agenda. Over the years since the creation of the NIDCD, tens of millions of federal dollars have been spent on research relating to cochlear implants (https://bit.ly/2SVFP85). As a US Senator, Hillary Clinton had been a member of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus (https://bit.ly/39LxKt5), which strongly promoted the development and use of cochlear implants (https://bit.ly/2P09ZWz). It was expected that Ms. Clinton would have also strongly promoted their use, had she become US President. From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Shalala served as President and CEO of the Clinton Foundation. Sen. Harkin also spearheaded the funding and establishment of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the early 1990s and has been accused of promoting pseudoscience (https://bit.ly/2V5yJAB). Prior to the eruption of the Deaf President Now protest in March 1988, then-Senator Harkin had been looking for a way to get a disability rights bill passed in Congress. The Deaf President Now (DPN) movement was demonstrably *not* part of the disability rights movement (https://bit.ly/2vCSC7p), and did not grow out of such, yet after the DPN protest victory, and after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the newly appointed deaf president, I. King Jordan, developed a friendly relationship with Senator Harkin (https://bit.ly/2SPzkUd). Jordans rhetoric then shifted gradually over the ensuing years to a disability frame. This led to the creation of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) in 1995, with him (the new deaf president of Gallaudet University) being a co-founder (https://bit.ly/2PkDmTt). In 1988, the new (Eighth) Jordan Administration had begun with the assistance of an advisor to the president who previously worked together with the president as assistant dean when he was dean (https://bit.ly/2SQ5TRN). That assistant dean possessed a doctoral degree from Union Institute & University a doctoral degree for which no dissertation was required arguably indicating unfitness to serve as advisor in a doctoral-degree-granting university. In April 2000, the Eighth president unilaterally appointed a (later, very controversial) provost who then misrepresented the Deaf education research literature in an article in the New York Times, in reference to signing vs. oral methods, claiming: No studies exist showing that one method works better than another (https://bit.ly/2HtGrMD). Another professor was appointed by Jordan to a high profile position within the Administration, purportedly working on improvements in equity, and that professor also possessed a degree from Union Institute & University with no dissertation being required (https://bit.ly/37y9WaO) all this demonstrating a clear trend toward overall administrative incompetence leading inexorably to political debacle when the Eighth president supported that provost in becoming his successor, and that provost making pseudoscientific claims, misunderstanding the nature of American Sign Language and not understanding why it is a bona fide, autonomous language (https://bit.ly/2Pl1iGe). While current Gallaudet president Bobbi Cordano chose to complete a JD degree (with no dissertation required), instead of an SJD, which requires a dissertation and is research-oriented, and while there were governance irregularities (http://bit.ly/2SSRLZn) at the beginning of a seven-year chain of events that eventually led to her appointment, suggesting the hidden hand of Senator Harkin being in play (http://bit.ly/3bVCZbE), it is often the case in life that the exception proves the rule. With the exception of the president of the board of the alumni association (http://bit.ly/395DWMA), which is an elected office and falls outside of her purview, Cordano, in the opinion of Student Unity Movement, has been engaged in an extensive process of cleaning house and surrounding herself with thoroughly qualified people (http://bit.ly/2w2F3Os). Student Unity Movement applauds the forward progress being demonstrated by the Cordano Administration, and looks forward to a long and productive tenure for the current Gallaudet president. Further, Student Unity Movement calls on Speaker Pelosi to keep close tabs on the new trustee appointees, while keeping in mind that Gallaudet is an institution of higher learning, not a medical rehabilitation agency, and therefore trustee appointments done with a pro-cochlear-implant (i.e., pro-Auditory Industrial Complex-backed Congressional campaign funding) mentality are not only wholly inappropriate, but are reckless, risking the well being of the students involved. Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday met Home Minister Amit Shah after taking stock of the situation in northeast areas of Delhi. Assuring people that the situation is completely under control, Doval went to ground zero and interacted with the locals in the violence-hit areas. He told the people that peace will "Insha Allah" prevail in the area. The NSA went inside the narrow alleys in Seelampur and Maujpur area and appealed to people to maintain communal harmony and let bygone be bygone. Doval also spoke to the reporters here on the situation and said, "Situation is totally under control. People are calm. I have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police are doing their work. No harm should come to any peace-loving citizen of this country. All the people I spoke with want peace to prevail and Insha Allah peace will prevail." He said that a few anti-social elements wanted to disturb the peace but the residents have isolated them. He also said that he had come "as per the orders of the Home Minister and the Prime Minister". Last night too, the NSA visited some of the violence-hit areas. According to government sources, NSA Doval, who has been tasked with containing the violence, will apprise the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the situation in Delhi. Violence had erupted in Delhi on Sunday evening after groups protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those supporting it indulged in stone-pelting at each other. The confrontation soon turned communal and the violence spread to other areas of northeast Delhi including Chand Bagh, Mustafabad, Brijpuri, Shiv Vihar and Noor Ilahi on Monday and Tuesday in which at least 20 persons, including a police head constable, have died and over 200 have been injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NEW DELHI: Irked with Indian Air Forces airstrikes in Balakot and US President Donald Trumps highly successful India visit, Pakistans notorious spy agency - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - is conspiring to trigger communal riots and create unrest across the country. According to the sources in the intelligence agencies, the recent violence in the northeast districts of Delhi is being seen as the handiwork of the ISI. Intelligence sources claimed that the sleeper cells of underworld and ISI agents in India are funding few Indian social media handles and websites to promote fake news to bring instability in the country. To execute its nefarious anti-India design, the ISI is also mobilising high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes to India via Nepal and Dubai. The inputs gathered by the intelligence agencies have revealed that these fake currency has striking resemblance to the genuine Indian currency as it matches 7 out of 9 security features, making it highly difficult for an ordinary man to identify them. These face currency notes are being produced in Karachi. The ISI is also using underworld's network to bring these fake notes to India so that it can be used for anti-national activities. The ISI is also using pro-pakistan sympathisers and illegal Muslim immigrants to incite nationwide riots and violence across India. According to sources, ISI is inciting Muslims for stone-pelting in sensitive cities across the country to disrupt the peace and normalcy in the country. It is also providing them adequate funds to continue anti-India protests over issues like CAA, NRC and NPR. The ISI angle is also being looked into the violence that erupted during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Delhi's Jamia Nagar, Seelampur, Jaffrabad and other districts of Northeast Delhi. The sources suggest that anti-terror cells across the country are investigating several suspicious phone calls and, at least 1000 WhatsApp groups, for suspicious activities. The sources added that same on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir, ISI is inciting irate Muslims to attack security forces, police with stones in the national capital, which was evident in the recent violence here. Massive and violent protests have erupted against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and slowly gripped the nation after the situation escalated in several places including Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Northeastern states. The Act aims to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014. The Anti-CAA protests escalated in the national capital on December 15 and since then the protests have caused major inconvenience to the people with massive traffic snarls and authorities shutting down of as many as 19 metro stations in the national capital. The protest in Delhi turned bitter after students of Jamia Millia Islamia clashed with the police and people from both sides were injured. Residents in areas like Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur and Jafrabad also took to the streets to protest against CAA. The violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the northeast districts of Delhi has so far claimed 17 lives and left over 150 people injured. Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday said has the financial capacity to withstand a payout of $5 billion in statutory dues. The earlier this month directed telecom firms to comply with its October 24, 2019 judgment upholding the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) definition of adjusted gross revenues (AGR). Bharti recorded a Rs 35,300 crore ($5 billion) liability for past-due AGR fees associated with this litigation, but is still completing its self-assessment to determine the final amount, Moody's said. It said a Rs 35,300 crore cash payment will not cause a significant deterioration in the credit quality of while in the alternate scenario of a smaller cash payment of Rs 25,200 crore reflecting the principal and interest amount only, would position the company more comfortably within its current rating. Full payment is to be made by March 17. "Recent capital-raising activities provide additional liquidity to fund the AGR payment," it said. The AGR payment is a cash obligation of the Indian operations. As on December 31, 2019, the firm had consolidated cash and short term investments of $4.2 billion, with around $2.3 billion held at the Indian operations. "Following recent capital-raising, we estimated (Bharti's) cash is over $5.0 billion, which can be used to fund the final AGR payment," it said. Moody's further said that fundamentals in the Indian telco industry are improving, but uncertainty around the sustainability of the improvement and future cash requirements (including 4G/5G spectrum auction) remains. Moody's said India accounts for around 75 per cent of Bharti Airtel's debt and 60 per cent of EBITDA. "Debt levels and cash costs are high for this segment and need to be serviced from India's own organic cash flow," it said. "Cash and EBITDA generated at less than wholly-owned subsidiaries is not directly available to service debt at India. As a result, a significant expansion of India's cash flow is required to achieve meaningful debt reduction on a consolidated basis," it added. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- With Bernie Sanders emerging as the front-runner to win his partys presidential nomination, pro-Israel Americans must grapple with an uncomfortable question: Does the Democratic Party still support the worlds only Jewish state? What raises the question is next weeks annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Sanders announced this week that he would not be attending, saying on Twitter: I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. At Tuesday nights debate, Sanders clarified that he was speaking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Im very proud of being Jewish, he said. I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country. In other words, Sanders might deign to speak at the countrys largest organization devoted to the U.S.-Israel relationship but only if it shuns the man Israelis have elected to lead their country for the last 10 years. This is not to say that Netanyahu is beyond reproach. Last year, he cynically accepted the help of an extremist party that favors ethnic cleansing, providing political legitimacy to what used to be a third rail in Israeli politics. AIPAC, along with most other major Jewish American organizations, denounced his ploy. If Sanders wished to highlight this ugly episode in a speech to AIPAC, it would be uncomfortable for the audience. If he wanted to make the case against President Donald Trumps peace plan or defend Barack Obamas nuclear deal with Iran, it would be tense. Instead, by boycotting the conference altogether, Sanders is lending legitimacy to a movement that seeks to make the pro-Israel lobby itself toxic within the Democratic Party. There is a double standard at work here. In 2016 Sanders said he would work to normalize U.S. relations with Iran, a regime that sponsors terrorists who kill Jews and Americans. In January, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren hosted a conference call with the National Iranian American Council, a group that supports the U.S.-Iran relationship in the same way AIPAC advocates for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Story continues Then there is the Sanders campaigns embrace of surrogates who support the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel itself, something Sanders has said he opposes. The most prominent is Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who in December said Israel is built on the idea of Jewish supremacy. (Unsurprisingly, she applauded his decision to skip AIPAC.) Another Sanders surrogate is Representative Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat who attacked her fellow Democrats last year, saying she should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support for a foreign country, meaning Israel. The list goes on. The Sanders campaign is a magnet for Americans who are hostile to both the Jewish state and those who support it. All of this puts AIPAC, and the American Jewish community, in a bind. There is no doubt that its better for Israel if both major parties support the U.S.-Israel relationship. At the same time, its dangerous to pretend ones adversaries are allies. Sanders has made it clear that he is no friend of Israel. There will be a temptation for AIPAC to gloss over this episode, especially if Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee. After all, Sanders supports a two-state solution. He lived on an Israeli Kibbutz. He has voted to sanction Iran. At a 2014 town hall, he admirably took on hecklers defending Palestinian terrorists, giving an even-handed response to a question about Israels war with Hamas. That was six years ago. In 2020, on the verge of securing the Democratic presidential nomination, his views seem closer to the protesters in that crowd. In this sense, his decision to skip the AIPAC meeting is clarifying. Its now time to return the favor. If Sanders wishes to boycott AIPAC, its members should boycott Sanders. To contact the author of this story: Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 19:12 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066cbba0 1 City flood,climate-change,extreme-weather,rain Free Climate change-driven global warming is a factor behind repeated instances of severe flooding across Greater Jakarta since early January, including a flood that inundated parts of the capital on Tuesday, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati said the string of floods that hit Jakarta and its satellite cities over the past two months was a result of several changes. In addition to the increase of rainfall intensity and the continuation of extreme conditions, it turns out that the temperature of Indonesia has also significantly increased, Dwikorita said. Dwikorita said the BMKG recorded higher average temperatures in most Indonesian provinces last year compared to the average temperatures recorded in the same regions between 1981 and 2010. The highest was recorded in Banten and Riau Islands between January and October 2019, with each province seeing an average temperature increase that was more than 1 degree Celsius higher than the temperatures recorded in the provinces between 1981 and 2010, according to BMKG data. In Jakarta, the average temperature last year was 0.82 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature between 1981 and 2010. BMKG head of climate and air quality information Siswanto said that, between 1866 and 2010, the annual temperature rise in Jakarta was 1.4 times higher compared to the global trend. He said the global annual temperature had increased at an average rate of 0.86 degrees Celsius from 1866 to 2010, while in the same period, Jakartas land temperature increased at an average rate of 1.6 degree Celsius. Read also: Rising sea levels threaten 23 million in Indonesia's coastal cities by 2050: Study Dwikorita said Indonesia needed be cautious and keep watch of the rising temperature because this is an indicator of global climate change that has a local impact. From the results of the BMKG analysis, there is a significant correlation between [the temperature rise] and the concentration of greenhouse gases in Indonesias regions, she said. The BMKG head said the rising greenhouse gas emissions were caused by high concentrations of carbon dioxide, with transportation, industry and deforestation among the main drivers of the change. Extreme weather and climate phenomena are happening more frequently with greater intensity. Such occurrences are predicted to also happen in the future, from 2020 to 2040, if we fail to carry out mitigation measures, she said. Greater Jakarta was hit by floods on Tuesday morning following overnight torrential rainfall in the fourth major flood to hit Jakarta and its satellite cities since the beginning of the year. The BMKG found that, from 7:00 a.m. on Monday until 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, rainfall intensity reached 278 millimeters per day, enough to be categorized as extreme rain given it exceeded 150 mm per day, Dwikorita said. At least 19,901 residents across 214 subdistricts in Greater Jakarta were displaced following the floods, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Jakarta's highest daily rainfall since 2007 came on Dec. 31, 2019 at 377 mm per day. The heavy New Years Eve downpour caused major floods across Greater Jakarta, Banten and parts of West Java and claimed 60 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people for days. Analysis banner Business Insider The Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina on Tuesday night. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Seven Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday night for the 10th debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and the final debate before Super Tuesday. The contentious debate was characterized by lots of raised voices, cross talk, and pointed attacks. Notably, the CBS News debate moderators were widely panned for failing to keep the candidates in line, for disjointed questioning, and for failing to ask about the novel coronavirus until more than an hour into the debate. Here are the winners and losers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tensions and pressure ran high Tuesday night in Charleston, South Carolina, during the last Democratic presidential debate before the state's Saturday primary and Super Tuesday next week. The candidates followed through on their promises to go after one another on everything from policies to sexual-harassment allegations. Tuesday night's debate was widely perceived to be Sen. Bernie Sanders' to lose. The Vermont lawmaker has cemented his status as the frontrunner after appearing to win the popular vote in the first three states and the most delegates in two of those states: New Hampshire and Nevada. Sanders faced a multitude of attacks on topics as varied as his electability and his record on guns and managed to fend the majority off without dominating the night. Sanders was also spared much scrutiny at last week's debate in Nevada, as his opponents focused heavily on attacking former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City, the newcomer to the stage. The losers Bloomberg spent much of the night on defense, particularly regarding his record as mayor and his behavior toward women. Bloomberg was skewered during Wednesday night's Democratic debate in Nevada, where his opponents attacked his unprecedented spending on the race, treatment of women, and past support for stop-and-frisk policing in New York. His national approval rating took a hit afterward. Story continues Tuesday night's debate didn't go much better for Bloomberg. Warren again took him to task over comments he was accused of making about female employees decades ago, including a claim he told a pregnant employee to have an abortion a statement Bloomberg vehemently denied making. And Sanders repeatedly attacked Bloomberg's billionaire status and unprecedented campaign spending. Bloomberg was forced to once again apologize for implementing the racially discriminatory stop-and-frisk policy, which was deemed unconstitutional in 2013, and was asked about his efforts to limit the consumption of sugary drinks in New York City. The CBS News debate moderators, however, were also widely panned by reporters and other observers online. Many condemned the moderators for failing to keep the candidates from talking over one another and for allowing them to speak longer than the one minute, 15 seconds they were allotted per answer. Some critics were frustrated the candidates weren't asked about the increasingly threatening novel coronavirus until more than an hour into the debate. The CBS reporters and anchors were also criticized for asking Bloomberg about his record on sugary drinks before asking the candidates about much more pertinent issues. Key issues like climate change and immigration weren't discussed during the two-hour event. Republicans watching the debate also criticized the moderators' management of the candidates. The winner Warren had a strong performance Tuesday night and was left virtually unscathed while she went on the attack against Bloomberg and former Vice President Biden and promoted herself as the most effective progressive in the race. Warren started the debate by pressing Bloomberg to release his former female employees from nondisclosure agreements and calling Bloomberg the "riskiest" candidate in the race because of his record. She also surfaced the allegation that the former mayor asked a pregnant female employee to have an abortion and laid into Bloomberg for donating large sums to Republican candidates for office over the years. "I don't care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has the core of the Democratic Party will never trust him," Warren said. Warren also presented herself as the most effective progressive in the race. She argued that she would make a "better president" than Sanders because she's detail-oriented, willing to "do the hard work," and could get things done in Washington. Read the original article on Business Insider Andhra Pradesh Minister Adimulapu Suresh on Wednesday said that class 10 (SSC) exams will be held from March 23 to April 8 while intermediate exams will take place from March 4 to 23. "Over 10 lakh students will appear for Intermediate board exam at 1,411 centres while 6,39,022 students will appear for SSC board exam at 2,923 centres across the state," Suresh told the reporters here. The Minister said the district officials have been directed to make all the necessary arrangements for the exams. "Coordination teams with officials from Departments of Revenue, Health, Police, Labour, and Medical are formed for the smooth conduct of exams. Section 144 will be imposed at all examination centres," said Suresh. Suresh said two task force teams are also constituted for each district to monitor Intermediate exams. "A Control Room will be operational from March 4 at Vijayawada for continuous monitoring of Intermediate exams," said Adimulapu Suresh. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) postponed class 10 and 12 examinations scheduled for February 27 in the North-East district of Delhi, after violence between pro and anti CAA protesters that led to 22 deaths in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US recorded 1,485,764 new COVID cases on Monday - the highest single day infection total of the pandemic - though deaths climbed by a relatively low 12 percent to 1,906. Those figures come as the more contagious Omicron variant rages across the country. The numbers were a slight increase from the 1.171 million new cases last Monday, January 3. Deaths this week increased by 12 percent from the 1,688, recorded last week according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. On Monday, the United States has reached a new record for number of Americans hospitalized with Covid, with 132,646 currently admitted with the virus. It is yet another marker set during the US's record, Omicron-fueled, virus surge. Despite rising hospitalizations, though, not as many Americans are dying from the virus as were in previous surges. But not all of these hospitalizations are directly caused by the virus. Many people who go to the hospital for reason outside of Covid, such as injury or other ailments, are being tested while there. Deaths growing at a slower rate with 1,648 Americans dying from the virus every day - an 11 percent increase from two weeks ago. This signals either the effectiveness of the vaccines, or the more mild nature of the new strain. Omicron cases are continuing to rise in the U.S but deaths caused by the virus are not following at the same rate, signaling the variant that has ground much of America to a standstill is not making people as sick as the Delta variant. Cases have more than tripled over the past two weeks alone, up from 198,326 per day to 709,850 per day. Birth rates in South Korea have hit a record low as the government announced scarcely 300,000 babies were born last year in the nation of 51 million people. Asia's fourth largest economy has one of the world's longest life expectancies and one of its lowest birthrates, presenting the country with a ticking timebomb. Statistics Korea said a total of 303,100 babies were born in 2019, down 7.3 percent from the previous year. The country's fertility rate - the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime - dropped to 0.92, the second consecutive year it was under one, and far below the 2.1 needed to keep a population stable. Low birth rates combined with people living much longer put South Korea on the verge of a demographic disaster if authorities cannot address the balance over the coming decade Women in South Korea often put their career goals ahead of raising a family due to childcare pressures and related career setbacks in a country where traditional social values and a thick glass ceiling still endure. Authorities have spent more than 180 trillion won ($148 billion) since 2006 to boost birth rates but the population is projected to fall to 39 million in 2067, when the median age will be 62. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korea's fertility rate is the lowest in the developed world. Women is Asia's fourth largest economy often reject motherhood and its associated career setbacks in favour of pursuing career goals However, the Asian country is not the only nation facing a demographic problem. The birth rate in England and Wales last year also hit a historic low with 657,076 children born in a combined population of 58 million - down 3.2 percent on the previous year. The lowest level since birth rates were first recorded 80 years ago. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed birth rates hit a 30-year low in 2018. The CDC said there were 3.79 million babies born in the nation of 321 million. In addition, data released the Australian Bureau of Statistics found fertility rates in the Commonwealth country again hit an all-time low despite a record number of babies being born. In 2018 there were 315,417 births registered in the country with more than 24 million people. KELOWNA, B.C.A murder suspect startled his own lawyer when he pleaded guilty in a Kelowna, B.C., courtroom on Tuesday. The surprise plea brought an abrupt end to what was expected to be a three-week trial for Tejwant Danjou on a charge of second-degree murder. Danjou simply said Im guilty when asked for his plea by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames. When she asked if Danjou had discussed his plea with his lawyer, the 70-year-old Vancouver real estate agent said he didnt need to speak to anyone, and then repeated, Im guilty. Danjou has been in custody since July 2018 when he was arrested in West Kelowna after the body of Rama Gauravarapu, a woman who was known to him, was found in a hotel room in that city. The case was expected to return to court Wednesday for a joint submission from the Crown and defence. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 13. Danjou told court a Crown lawyer had offered him the mandatory minimum sentence for second-degree murder of 10 years before parole eligibility in exchange for his confession, but Beames had more questions. I need to be sure that you know what youre doing, she told Danjou. Do you understand that only I can make a determination as to what the appropriate sentence is? Following a brief recess, Danjous lawyer told Beames her client was very clear about his intentions. Matters to be heard in court were expected to include an agreed statement of facts describing events related to the slaying of Gauravarapu, who was a longtime financial planner in Surrey, B.C.(The Daily Courier) Read more about: A full-honours military funeral has been held in Egypt for the countrys former autocratic president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for decades before he was ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that swept much of the region. The funeral, replete with cannon fire and a horse-drawn carriage carrying his coffin, highlighted the wartime achievements of Mr Mubarak as the government bids to make his military career his legacy, rather than his time in office. The 91-year-old died on Tuesday at a Cairo military hospital from heart and kidney complications, according to medical documents. He was admitted to hospital on January 21 with intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery, after which he was treated in intensive care. Supporters of Hosni Mubarak gathered at the cemetery where he was buried (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Egypts current President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, attended the funeral at Tantawi Mosque in eastern Cairo briefly, offering condolences and shaking hands with Mr Mubaraks two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and his wife Suzanne. Mr Mubaraks body was later placed in a tomb a few miles away at his familys cemetery in Heliopolis, an upscale Cairo district that was his home for most of his rule and where he lived quietly until his death. A crowd of his supporters gathered at the cemetery, holding photos of the deposed president. We thank President el-Sissi for holding a military funeral for President Mubarak. He deserves it, said Ahmed Salah, a 43-year-old businessman. Mr Mubarak was buried with full military honours (Hamada Elrasam/AP) The countrys state television channel offered live coverage of the funeral, and played footage of Mr Mubarak in his younger, pre-office days. He was lauded for his role as a fighter pilot in the countrys 1973 war with Israel. As president, Mr Mubarak later solidified peace between the two nations. Mr Mubarak, who held on to the presidency for more than 30 years, carried out a brutal campaign against Islamist militants, but also allowed for minimal political dissent from his opponents. Under his rule, Egypts security branches grew into formidable forces with little civilian oversight, known for their human rights violations. And although he oversaw an opening of the countrys economy, much of the countrys population slid further into poverty during his time in office. Story continues Supporters hold photos of Hosni Mubarak before his funeral at Tantawi Mosque, in eastern Cairo (Maya Alleruzzo/AP) Nonetheless, the former president still enjoys a degree of popularity among many Egyptians, who have painted him as a paternal figure. At the height of the 2011 uprising, his supporters would sometimes violently clash with pro-democracy protesters In a statement on Tuesday, Mr el-Sissi praised Mr Mubaraks service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of his rule as president. Why reclaim 75 hectares when 20 is required for Mumbai coastal road project: Supreme Court February 26,2020 | Source: The Times of India The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the project proponent executing the Rs 14,000 crore Mumbai coastal road why it needed to reclaim 75 hectares of sea when only 20 were required for the road. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for a PIL petitioner, told a bench of CJI S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant that for a nine-km stretch of the 32-km coastal road, requirement was 20 hectares but project proponent L&T was acquiring 75. The bench asked L&T to file an affidavit explaining need for so much reclamation. The SC had cleared the project on December 17, staying a Bombay High Court order stalling work for want of environment and wildlife clearances. But the bench said reclamation started much before the project began and asked Divan if his client had filed objections during public hearings held by authorities. Before Divan could answer, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for L&T, said over 3,000 objections were filed but none by Divan's client. The bench then asked whether the project would disturb livelihood of fishermen and wanted to know steps taken to protect their interest. Appearing for BMC, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said steps were being taken to protect fishing and assured that affected fishermen would be compensated. On Dec 17, though the SC permitted work to resume, it had asked L&T not to carry out ancillary development of water parks and gardens along the road till further orders. The SC had posted the matter for final hearing in April. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan have made press statements. The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first. Statement of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev - Dear Mr. President, dear brother, Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen. Dear representatives of the media! Mr. President, let me once again warmly welcome you to Azerbaijan! Welcome to Azerbaijan! Your visit is very important. We visit each other on a regular basis, and each meeting is of great importance. After each meeting, a new impetus is given to Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, and these relations are at the highest level today. The eighth meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held today once again showed that our views on all issues coincide, we have the same intentions and goals. They are aimed at ensuring that Turkish-Azerbaijani friendly and fraternal ties continue to develop successfully and cover all spheres. Many issues were thoroughly discussed today. Very important decisions were made and important documents were signed. We held a broad exchange of views on our political ties and were further convinced that they reflect the will of the two peoples. In all international organizations we advocate a single position. We support each other. Actively interacting in the UN, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Europe and other organizations, we increase each other's strength. Last year, Azerbaijan assumed chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement. It is the second largest organization after the United Nations on a global scale. Today, a wide exchange of views took place on further ties between this organization and Turkey. Ways to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were also discussed, of course. I want to thank my dear brother once again for Turkeys continued support of the just cause of Azerbaijan. In all international arenas, Turkey always stands by Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people. However, the unconstructive position of Armenia is the main obstacle to the settlement of the conflict. The extremely contradictory and conflicting statements of the Armenian leadership cause great damage to the negotiation process. They either say that Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia or that Nagorno-Karabakh is an independent state. It turns out that they dont know themselves what Nagorno-Karabakh is. If they dont, we can tell them: Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan! The whole world and we are talking about this. All countries of the world recognize and support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and not a single state recognizes an illegal entity called Nagorno-Karabakh. Of course, the conflict should be resolved within the framework of territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country and the inviolability of our borders. Turkey is a country that provides Azerbaijan with the biggest support on a global scale. Thank you very much again for this. For our part, I must note that in all matters and in all international arenas, Azerbaijan always supports the just cause of Turkey. There is no and I am not sure will ever be any issue in which Azerbaijan would not support Turkey. In all the processes currently taking place in the region, the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani people unequivocally stand by the Turkish state and people. Our unity is eternal, and we are certainly building our future on this solid foundation. Therefore, today's eighth meeting of the Council for Strategic Cooperation is a matter of special importance because the countries closest to each other in the world have made very serious decisions on further interaction and cooperation. With regard to the economic sphere, my dear brother and esteemed President has recently set the goal of bringing our trade to $15 billion. I believe that this is possible because last year our turnover increased by 33 percent to reach $4.5 billion. I am sure that the documents signed today, including the agreement on preferential trade, will give a great impetus to the increase in our trade. Currently, about 4,000 Turkish companies work in Azerbaijan. they have done work worth $16 billion in more than 300 projects. According to these parameters, Turkey ranks first. I believe that mutual investment is also at a very high level. To date, Azerbaijan has invested 18 billion in the Turkish economy and Turkey $12.5 billion in the Azerbaijani economy. Such a scale of investments once again confirms our brotherhood because such amounts may be invested only in a brotherly country. Of course, we had a broad exchange of views on further cooperation today. Last November, we celebrated the completion of TANAP in Turkey. This is the main component of the Southern Gas Corridor. I am sure that the Southern Gas Corridor will be fully commissioned by the end of this year because the implementation of its latest project, TAP, has reached 92 percent. Other issues related to energy have also been discussed. An exchange of views took place on further cooperation in the field of defense. Last year alone, 13 joint military exercises were conducted. There will be even more this year. Azerbaijan will continue acquiring modern weaponry from Turkey, and we also talked about organizing joint production today. There are great achievements in the transport sector. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway we built together operates successfully. Today we talked about the further functioning of this road, and an important document was signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of the Kars-Nakhchivan railway. This issue is of particular importance because Nakhchivan has been living in the condition of the blockade for many years because of Armenias occupying policy. The delivery of products manufactured in Nakhchivan to foreign markets is a major problem. The construction of the Kars-Igdir-Nakhchivan railway would eliminate this problem, and this will contribute to the development and well-being of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic where the only land border between Azerbaijan and Turkey passes. Thank you for this agreement. An exchange of views was also held on further activities and the successful development of Nakhchivan. Three years ago, we prepared a list of goods that can be exported from Nakhchivan to Turkey. We are grateful for that too and I am sure that the number of export operations from Nakhchivan to Turkey will increase in the future. We also discussed many issues related to agriculture and education today. There is a great potential there as well. In other words, the agenda was quite broad and there were no disagreements on any issue. On the contrary, we have a common opinion, common intentions and common goals to further strengthen Turkey and Azerbaijan. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the merits of the distinguished President and my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Turkish people. Thanks to his tireless activity, Turkey is a global power center today. Not a single issue in the region where Turkey is located and all over the world can be resolved without its participation, and the latest history showed this. We are very happy about this because the strength of Turkey multiplies our own strength. And the union of our forces makes us even stronger. I am sure that we will always be next to each other and rejoice at each other's successes. In difficult days, God forbid, we will always be next to each other. I sincerely welcome you again, dear brother! I wish you and the fraternal Turkish people continued prosperity and happiness. Thank you! The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic on Wednesday climbed to 2,715 with 52 new fatalities while the confirmed cases rose to 78,064, amidst strong signs of COVID-19 slowing down even at its epicentre Hubei province. The country's National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily update said it received reports of 52 deaths, all from Hubei, and 406 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection from all over the country. The death toll has gone up to 2,715 and overall confirmed cases reached 78,064, it said. Another 439 new suspected cases were reported on Tuesday while the number of severe cases decreased by 374 to 8,752, it said. Overall 2,491 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 29,745 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery. The commission said 6.47 lakh close contacts had been traced, and over 79,000 are still under medical observation. By the end of Tuesday, 85 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported from Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 31 in Taiwan including one death. Wuhan, the capital city of the hardest-hit province of Hubei, remains the main battlefield for prevention and control of the coronavirus epidemic in the country, the NHC said. READ | Donald Trump Says Coronavirus To End Soon, Pledges $2.5 Bn To Fight The Epidemic Resolute efforts should be made to curb the rise in confirmed cases in the periphery of Hubei and other key provincial-level regions, He Qinghua, an official of the NHC told the media. A joint prevention and control mechanism should be initiated between Hubei and its neighbouring provinces to help prevent the spread of the epidemic to neighbouring areas and provide materials, personnel and transportation support needed in Hubei, He said. Hubei and Wuhan together with over 50 million population continue to be under lockdown since January 23 with all public and private transportation remained suspended. Other key areas including Beijing, Zhejiang and Guangdong should enhance coordination with Hubei in prevention work, such as information sharing, to contain further spread of the epidemic, He said. For lower-risk regions across the country, preventive measures should be adopted at the county level to avoid relapse of the epidemic situation while advancing resumption of work and production as soon as possible, He said, stressing efforts to step up disinfection and ventilation as well as passengers' temperature and health monitoring to reduce the risk of virus transmission amidst people's return trips. READ | South Korea Confirms 84 New Coronavirus Cases, Death Toll Reaches 10 READ | Coronavirus A 'game Changer' For Globalisation: French Minister People with face masks sit outside of the hospital of Ahepa in Thessaloniki on Feb. 26, 2020, the same day the country reported its first case of the new coronavirus. (Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP via Getty Images) Boston Red Sox Places Prospect Player Under Coronavirus Quarantine A Boston Red Sox prospect from Taiwan was placed under quarantine in his Florida hotel room over fears that he might have contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to the team. Chih-Jung Liu, 20, arrived at Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers last week, and he was quarantined in the room out of an overabundance of caution, a team spokesman told the Boston Globe. Liu flew from Taiwan to San Francisco to Fort Meyers, Florida, last week, according to the team. Liu, in social media posts, said that he feels fine and hopes to play on Saturday. He also wrote that he is being delivered three meals a day, doing weight training, and going for a run. But he is otherwise watching information about the team and reading, he said, according to the Boston Globe. The Red Sox briefly quarantined infielder Tzu-Wei Lin, who also is from Taiwan, earlier in February. I had been here for a week and they said I needed to go back to my apartment, Lin told the paper. I was fine. I stayed away for one day and that was it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that there are 57 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the bulk of cases having been diagnosed among evacuated passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was held off the coast of Japan for two weeks. There are 14 U.S. cases of the virus, while several states are monitoring more than 1,000 people for symptoms of the disease, which emerged in China late last year. Taiwanese health officials have confirmed 31 cases of COVID-19 in the country as of Tuesday, according to the Taiwan News. The latest patient was an 11-year-old relative of a previous patient. The United States currently has no travel restrictions in place for Taiwan. All travelers arriving in Taiwan will be required to complete a health declaration form and accurately provide their travel and contact history over the past 14 days before entry, according to the American Institute in Taiwan. The country also has implemented temporary visa and travel restrictions over the virus. China is believed to have the most cases and deaths from the virus, although the accuracy of the figures provided by the Chinese regime have been questioned. The virus has prompted mass lockdowns and strict controls in Wuhan and Hubei Province, where the virus is believed to have originated. Meanwhile, U.S. health officials warned Tuesday that its only a matter of time until the virus begins to spread inside the United States. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happenand how many people in this country will have severe illness, Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. An apparently heartbroken woman has taken out a large newspaper ad to dump her lover after she found out they were using her credit card to buy her gifts. Charlotte, from Brisbane, bought the half-page ad space in Wednesday's Courier-Mail to print a break-up letter to her former sweetheart known only as 'T'. On page 15 of the newspaper, the distressed woman bared her soul for the metropolitan region to see. 'My Dearest T,' she wrote. 'Why'd you hurt me?' Charlotte went on to list a short inventory of aspects she brought to the relationship that, she said, were not reciprocated. Charlotte, from Brisbane, bought the half-page ad space in Wednesday's Courier-Mail to print a break-up letter to her former sweetheart known only as 'T' 'I've spent late nights waiting for your to respond, to no avail. I've always picked you up, whenever you asked me to. 'I've given you the space you needed, despite your control issues.' Stricken with grief and anger, Charlotte went on to claim gifts bought for her by former partner were purchased with her credit card. 'I've realised the gifts you "buy" for me, are actually bought with my credit card,' she wrote, before abruptly ending the affair. 'I'm done. I'm done with constantly giving and never receiving. 'My friends think I deserve better. I think so too. So yes, honey, I'm breaking up with you. Over. This. Ad.' Below a large purple lipstick kiss mark, she wrote: 'Thank you, next. Charlotte.' Flash The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday stressed that the desert locust outbreak situation has remained "extremely alarming" in the Horn of Africa (HoA), posing serious food security threat across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. "The desert locust situation remains extremely alarming in the Horn of Africa, specifically Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are expected to form in the coming weeks," the FAO said in its desert locust outbreak update issued Tuesday. According to the FAO, the desert locust situation in Ethiopia "is similar to Kenya with widespread swarms, breeding and hatching in Somali, Oromiya and Southern regions, including the Rift Valley." "Movements further north can be expected as well as from adjacent areas of Somalia and Kenya," the FAO warned. In Kenya, desert locust swarms have continued to be reported in northern and central areas, where they are mostly mature and have laid eggs. "Hatching is causing an increasing number of hopper bands to form with new swarm formation expected in the coming weeks in Kenya," the FAO said, adding that mature desert locust swarms are also present along the shores of Lake Turkana amid the continued aerial and ground control operations. The FAO also stressed that desert locust breeding has continued in Somalia's northeastern part, where new immature swarms are expected to form in about one week or so. It also noted that mature desert locust swarm has arrived in the northeastern Uganda from adjacent areas of western Kenya on Feb. 24. In South Sudan, only remnants of an earlier mature swarm have been seen in the southeastern county of Magwi, while a second mature swarm was seen near the border on Feb. 23, it was noted. The FAO, however, said that no new desert locust swarms were reported in Tanzania. It also indicated that a small group of mature desert locust has arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)'s western shore of Lake Albert near Bunia late last week after crossing northern Uganda on strong northeasterly winds. The country last received Desert Locust in 1944. The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), which is considered as the most dangerous of the nearly one dozen species of locusts, is a major food security peril in desert areas across 20 countries, stretching from west Africa all the way to India, covering nearly 16 million square kilometers, according to the UN. Last week, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) had also stressed that the desert locust upsurge that has affected countries in East Africa and beyond is mainly associated to extreme weather events that are attributed to the climate crisis, which have become the new normal in the region. Noting that climate crisis-inflicted extreme weather events "are becoming the new normal in the Horn of Africa region," the UNOCHA on Thursday said that back-to-back droughts and floods in 2019 have led to rising needs and compounded the humanitarian consequences of conflict and violence across countries in the region. According to the UNOCHA, in addition to the loss of lives, livestock and crops as well as population displacement, the above-normal rains and cyclonic activity in late 2019 and early 2020 have contributed to a desert locust upsurge that has affected countries including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia. Figures from the UNOCHA also show that of the 24.1 million severely food insecure people across the Horn of Africa, an estimated 9.75 million people are presently living in areas affected by desert locusts across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In this Feb. 24, 2020 photo, released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, the head of Iran's counter-coronavirus task force, Iraj Harirchi, left, speaks at a press briefing with government spokesmam Ali Rabiei, in Tehran, Iran. AP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates _ The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread has tested positive for the illness himself, authorities said Tuesday, as new cases emanating from the country rapidly emerged across the Middle East. Only a day earlier, a coughing and heavily sweating Iraj Harirchi said at a televised news conference in Tehran that ''the situation is almost stable in the country.'' The acknowledgement of Harirchi's illness underscores a growing crisis of confidence felt by many in Iran after nationwide economic protests, a U.S. drone striking killing a top Iranian general and Iran accidentally shooting down a commercial jetliner and insisting for days that it hadn't. Iran on Tuesday also saw a crucial air link cut to the United Arab Emirates, home to the world's busiest airport for international travel in Dubai, as Bahrain announced more confirmed cases of the virus from passengers who transited through the UAE. The number of cases also increased sharply elsewhere in the region. Qatar Airways, one of the Mideast's biggest carriers, also said it was essentially halting operations to Iran and South Korea until further notice. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed Harirchi had the virus. Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he had it and that he had quarantined himself at home. He promised that authorities would bring the virus under control. ''I wanted to tell you that, rest assured that with efforts of your servants at the Health Ministry ... and backed by you people, the government and all elements of the establishment, we will be victorious in our combat against this virus within the next few weeks,'' Harirchi said. On Monday, however, he had offered a far different assessment while repeatedly wiping his brow while standing beside government spokesman Ali Rabiei. ''Currently the situation is almost stable in the country and we could manage to minimize the problem,'' Harirchi said. He also said that ''quarantines belong to the Stone Age.'' That optimism, while no longer held by Harirchi, also appeared to be undercut by Jahanpour himself on Tuesday. The Health Ministry spokesman suggested it may take at least until Nowruz, the Persian New Year on March 20, for Iran to reach a point where the virus was contained. He added that a more ''pessimistic'' assessment suggested Iran would contain it by late April. ''We don't expect a miracle in the short term,'' Jahanpour said. A prominent pro-reform lawmaker, Mamoud Sadeghi of Tehran, also said in a tweet that he tested positive for the virus. The coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing about 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19. Jahanpour on Tuesday said 15 people had died in Iran so far amid 95 confirmed cases. However, experts remain concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. A hard-line lawmaker in Iran alleged Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. ''What do you have to say about those buried in Qom cemetery?'' tweeted lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani. ''Practitioners in hospitals write 'respiratory problems' as the cause of death. But you know that they are from those quarantined for corona.'' While Farahani's politics make him eager to undercut moderate President Hassan Rouhani, his earlier warning that Qom's top doctor fighting the coronavirus also had been infected has proven to be true. Rouhani said he opposed closing public and government offices. ''This is one of the plots by the enemy to shut down the country through spreading fear,'' he said in a speech, although he also urged people to avoid crowds, including at major Shiite shrines. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is ''deeply concerned'' that Iran ''may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak.'' ''All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations,'' he said. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority said it would halt all flights to and from Iran. The announcement came hours after busy Dubai International Airport said there would be restrictions on flights there. The UAE, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, remains a key international transit route for Iran's 80 million people. ''All passenger and cargo aircraft traveling to and from Iran will be suspended for a period of one week, and could be up for extension,'' the authority said. Passengers on a Mahan Air flight from Tehran to Dubai on Tuesday said their flight was delayed some two hours, only to repeatedly circle the UAE city-state, then land and sit for another two hours before authorities agreed to let them off. The passengers, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, said authorities let them walk off one at a time while being monitored with a thermal scanner. Emirates, the government-owned carrier based in Dubai, flies daily to Tehran. Its low-cost partner airline, FlyDubai, serves several Iranian cities, as does the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The announcement came after Bahrain said it would suspend all flights from Dubai and Sharjah, a neighboring UAE emirate home to Air Arabia, for 48 hours. The small island nation off Saudi Arabia announced its first cases of the virus on Monday. By Tuesday, Bahrain said it had 23 confirmed cases. Dubai had been screening passengers on flights from China, where the outbreak began in December. Emirates and Etihad still fly to Beijing as the UAE works to maintain close ties with China. Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus Monday and connected them to travel with Iran. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has reported 13 cases of the virus. Most of those were connected to Chinese travel. Also Tuesday, Kuwait raised the number of its infected cases from five to eight, according to the state-run KUNA news agency. It said the three latest cases involved Kuwaiti citizens just back from Iran. The five previously reported cases were passengers on a flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Iran's government has not yet announced a single case of the virus. Iraq's Health Ministry said four new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in the northern province of Kirkuk. It said the afflicted were members of an Iraqi family who had returned recently from Iran. Iraq announced its first case Monday in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf: an Iranian student who has since returned to Iran. The northern region, which shares a border with Iran, is a hub of economic activity and the primary gateway for the Kurdistan Regional Government to import Iranian goods and fuel, and Kurds in Erbil lined up for gas, fearing shortages. The KRG also suspended working hours across educational institutions for a month. Harirchi, the ailing Iranian official, had the following advice for worried Iranians: ''Take care of yourselves. This virus is a democrat virus! It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor or official and nonofficial and anyone could get it.'' (AP) The eastbound and westbound off-ramps of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Millbury are closed after trailer truck rolled over Wednesday morning, police said. Around 9:30 a.m., a trailer truck carrying scrap metal rolled over on the Exit 10A ramp toward Route 20 in Millbury, Massachusetts State Police said. As crews work to right the trailer, both the east and westbound off ramps from the Mass. Pike are closed, police said. Photos of the crash show the cab of the truck upright, but the trailer on its side. Police didnt say how long the ramps would be closed. No one was injured in the crash, police said. Stonly, a Paris, France and Krakow, Poland-based platform for interactive help content, raised a seed funding round of $3.5m. The round was led by Accel and including investments from Eventbrite CTO Renaud Visage and PeopleDoc founders Jonathan Benhamou and Clement Buyse. Luciana Lixandru, who led the investment for Accel and will be joining the board. The company intends to use the funds to expand into the US with the launch of a New York office. Launched in July 2019 by Alexis Fogel and Krzysztof Dabrowski, Stonly enables content creators to make interactive, step-by-step guides that can be embedded anywhere help is needed. Their Help Content solution allows customers to present support articles for their users in simple steps theyll understand; and their Agent Guide solution guides customer support agents to the right resources and responses for each ticket, reducing the time spent per query. The Agent Guide now integrates with popular shared inbox company Front, complementing existing integrations with Intercom, Zendesk and Freshdesk. The company has also added the Knowledge Base to its product offering and hired David Rostan as Head of Revenue, including all of marketing and sales. FinSMEs 26/02/2020 (Newser) Just Harry, please: On his first trip back to the UK since he and wife Meghan agreed to the terms of their exit as senior royals, that's how Prince Harry asked to be introducedHarry, minus the "prince." As Good Morning America reports, he also flew commercial for the trip to Scotland, where he attended a working summit Wednesday for a sustainable travel initiative he launched in September called Travalyst. Says an ABC News "royal contributor" of the prince, who was also seen carrying his own bags: "This was an informal event with a lot of people from the tourism and leisure industry meeting for the first time, and I think Harry was keen to break the ice and to make it clear he was there in a personal capacity." story continues below Technically, Harry and Meghan remain working members of Britain's royal family until March 31. As the royal contributor notes, Travalyst, which focuses on eco-conscious travel choices, "is very much part of Harry's next chapter." Responding to criticism of his private jet usage back when he launched the organization in September, Harry said, "I spend 99% of my life traveling the world by commercial [aircraft]. Occasionally, there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe, and it's genuinely as simple as that." USA Today notes that during this UK trip, Harry will also appear at a recording of a song for the Invictus Games, which he founded. He and Meghan will return together in early March for a series of engagements. (Read more Prince Harry stories.) Harris Teeter was recognized by United Way of Central Carolinas with a Spirit of North Carolina award for the Companys support of United Ways work across the Charlotte region. The Spirit of North Carolina Award recognizes the exemplary collaborative partnerships that United Way of Central Carolinas builds with its supporters, said Clint Hill, chief development officer at United Way of Central Carolinas. Harris Teeter has gone above and beyond to help us address the growing challenges around economic mobility in our community. During Fall 2019, Harris Teeter hosted a Live United Round Up campaign, during which shoppers were invited to donate at checkout to support United Way. The campaign generated an astounding $1.3 million in donations - $190,430 of which was directed to United Way of Central Carolinas. Harris Teeters commitment to the communities it serves is steadfast and driven by our desire to create vibrant neighborhoods, said Danna Robinson, communication manager for Harris Teeter. It is our philanthropic commitment that any funds generated through Round Up at our stores remains local to the community where it was donated, so our Charlotte neighbors can be sure that 100% of their generous donations stay right here in Harris Teeters hometown. A panel of 25 judges representing United Way organizations across North Carolina reviewed more than 40 nominations to select this years winners, who were recognized at the annual Spirit of North Carolina Awards Luncheon held in Pinehurst on Feb. 19. Harris Teeter is incredibly proud of our collaboration with United Way of Central Carolinas, said Robinson. And grateful to our generous shoppers and valued associates for their support of our Round Up campaign. About Harris Teeter Harris Teeter, with headquarters in Matthews, N.C., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR). The regional grocery chain employs approximately 30,000 associates and operates stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to advice the police commissioner on lodging of FIRs relating to alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders. A bench of justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh was hearing plea seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the ongoing communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The hearing will continue at 2.30 pm. The high court said the situation outside was very unpleasant. It asked Mehta and deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) if they have seen the video clip of BJP leader Kapil Mishra making alleged hate speech. Later, the video was played in the courtroom. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Zach Slagle and Terri Cox Represented the Seller in the Disposition of a 56-Unit Complex in Wheeling, Ill. There are sizeable risks with any major redevelopment. Terri and I pushed the value-add message and with that, we were able to find a buyer. Matanky Realty Group today announces the sale of a 56-unit, value-add apartment complex in Wheeling, Ill. Senior Vice President, Terri Cox, and Senior Broker, Zach Slagle, represented the seller in the disposition of 515-519 South Milwaukee Avenue. Located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, River Trail Apartments is a value-add investment opportunity at the south end of Wheelings famous Restaurant Row, and north of the Chicago Executive Airport. Slagle and Cox sold the property to NS Properties, LLC, a private, local investor who owns hundreds of units across Chicagoland. Though substantial capital is required, the pair was able to convey achievable market rents by showcasing the strength of this submarket. The buyer is eager to reposition the asset to better meet the needs of the community and maximize value. Matanky Realty Group generated numerous offers, but it required tremendous effort to finalize the transaction. The narrow buyer pool, competing interests and a recent substantial increase in north suburban Cook County tax assessments, provided a challenge to this seasoned team. There are sizeable risks with any major redevelopment, said Slagle. Terri and I pushed the value-add message and with that, we were able to find a buyer. Upon securing the buyer, Slagle and Cox worked tirelessly through the closing. They leveraged key marketing materials, implemented a holistic selling strategy and even worked directly with the lender to close the deal. Cox and Slagle are a proven team, representing buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants together since 2015. Coxs efforts have won her the title of CoStar PowerBroker of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Similarly, Slagle was recognized in 2017. The distinction honors the top 15 real estate professionals, based upon volume, market and industry. About Matanky Realty Group Matanky Realty Group (MRG) is a full service commercial real estate firm specializing in brokerage, development, redevelopment, management and construction. Since 1955, MRG has offered clients national perspective while providing the individualized attention that only comes with a boutique firm. Join us in shaping our communities at matanky.com and @MatankyRealty. A new longitudinal study of fifth and sixth graders in Germany examined the relation between classmates' gender stereotypes and individual students' reading outcomes to shed light on how these stereotypes contribute to the gender gap in reading. The study concluded that girls experienced positive effects and boys experienced negative effects on their reading-related outcomes, specifically, their competence beliefs, motivation, and achievement in reading. Furthermore, classmates' gender stereotypes also negatively related to boys' competence beliefs, motivation, and achievement in reading. These findings come from researchers at the University of Hamburg. They appear in Child Development, a journal of the Society for Research in Child Development. "It's a cycle of sorts," explains Francesca Muntoni, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Hamburg, who led the study. "Reading is first stereotyped as a female domain. This and other gender stereotypes that emphasize that girls are more competent in reading than boys significantly affect boys by causing them to devalue their actual reading ability while also having less motivation to read, which in turn impairs their reading performance." In this longitudinal study, researchers collected two waves of information, once in fifth grade and once in sixth grade, on 1,508 students from 60 classes in Germany. Findings were based on data from 1) a student questionnaire assessing gender stereotypes and evaluating reading skills, degree of confidence in their ability to master aspects of good reading, and motivation to read, 2) a reading achievement test, and 3) information about students' socioeconomic status and ethnicity. The study found that boys who held a strong stereotype favoring girls in reading were less motivated to read and held weaker reading-related beliefs about their own competence, and performed less optimally on the reading test. These effects were also found for boys in classes with students who held a strong stereotype favoring girls in reading. The effect of classmates' stereotypes was seen over and above the effect of individual stereotypes. The study found fewer individual positive effects and no effects of classmates' stereotyping on reading-related outcomes for girls. The study's authors caution that their findings are not causal. However, given the many experimental findings on the subject, they suggest that their study provides evidence of lasting negative effects of stereotypical beliefs in a classroom context. They also note that students' gender stereotypes were measured by self-reports, which may limit their accuracy. Finally, they point out that their study did not address how gender stereotypes are transmitted. "To reduce socially determined gender disparities in reading, it may help to create classroom contexts that discourage students from acting on their stereotypical beliefs," says Jan Retelsdorf, professor of the psychology of learning and instruction at the University of Hamburg, who coauthored the study. "Teachers and parents might consider socializing boys and girls in ways that reduce stereotypical behaviors, and students could become aware of their gender stereotypes to counteract their effects on other students' outcomes and to create a gender-fair learning environment." ### The study was funded by the German Research Foundation. Summarized from Child Development, Beware of Stereotypes: Are Classmates' Stereotypes Associated With Students' Reading Outcomes? by Muntoni, F, Wagner, J, and Retelsdorf, J (University of Hamburg). Copyright 2020 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. Government Ramps up Coronavirus Preparedness Planning The Governments Coronavirus Co-ordinating Group continues to take active measures to prepare for and protect Gibraltar from the spread of the virus. In weekly meetings, representatives from Government departments and emergency services have taken the advice of public health professionals in working to prevent the spread of the virus to Gibraltar. To date, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Gibraltar. All tests have returned negative. These active measures include the publication of regulations imposing a legal duty for travellers arriving in Gibraltar within two weeks of travel to an at-risk country to report to authorities on arrival. Gibraltars entry points are being closely monitored. Travellers currently in at-risk regions are asked to contact Gibraltar authorities as soon as possible by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line: self-isolation. They will be contacted by a Public Health professional who will advise you on the best way to protect yourself and others. The Civil Contingency Council is monitoring Gibraltars preparedness IF the scenario arises that a case is confirmed. A table-top exercise last week confirmed that Gibraltar is currently taking measures over and above those being taken in the UK, whilst also providing some useful learning opportunities. The exercise included a practice patient transfer to St Bernards Hospital, and this will be practiced again this week. Repeat practices ensure that all staff are thoroughly prepared and the procedure is streamlined, and ready in case it is ever needed. The Department for Public Health has co-ordinated a public hand hygiene campaign. This continues to be the best possible way to keep yourself and others safe from the spread of viruses and infections, including the coronavirus. This has been matched with an internal campaign within the public services, and bespoke training on infection control for frontline staff, provided by the Director for Public Health. The global spread of COVID-19 is being constantly monitored and is under continuous review. The risk to Gibraltar currently remains low. For all up to date information, please visit www.wuhan.gi Minister for Public Health, the Hon Professor John Cortes, said: The public should rest assured that all that can be done to prepare for any potential coronavirus cases in Gibraltar, is being done. In the meantime, it is always good practice to keep good hand hygiene and use tissues to catch coughs and sneezes, and throw them away as soon as possible. Anyone travelling outside of Gibraltar is asked to pay close attention to the changing situation worldwide, and contact Gibraltar authorities as soon as possible if you are in an at-risk area. All travellers returning from an at-risk country within two weeks of arriving back in Gibraltar have a legal duty to report. Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Paul Balban, said: I am extremely proud of the GHA for their work in preparedness and planning, and I am happy with the progress to date. I am confident that Gibraltar is in a good position and we are ready for any potential cases if they occur. I strongly encourage the public to follow the advice of public health professionals. It is up to all of us to do everything that we can to protect ourselves and others by keeping our hands clean and fulfilling our duty to report any travel to at-risk areas. When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proclaimed at the Munich Security Conference: The West is winning!, he was referring to the battle for world hegemony. One was reminded of a Francis Fukayamas declaration, in the early 1990s, of the The End of History. Yet, the reverse is unfolding in the world around us today. The US is withdrawing from many parts of the world and Western countries, as a whole, are shutting their doors to other peoples in the world, and in many ways the West is becoming unravelled due to political and ethnic divisions. The EU is a salient example. This major landmark of Western political and economic capacities faced a debilitating blow with the UKs decision to leave it and follow another path to development, whether in the framework of the Commonwealth, the transatlantic bond or a renewed quest for empire. The Egyptian diplomat Gamal Abul-Hassan wrote in Al-Masry Al-Youm: In 1970, Asia (including Japan) contributed 19 per cent of the global GDP, or global world product (GWP), and the West 56 per cent. Today, after only three generations, Asia contributes 43 per cent and compared to the Wests 37 per cent. This is the most important transformation in the world today. It is a transformation that occurred after around three centuries of Western global hegemony, militarily, economically and culturally. The world in which we live today is more diverse and pluralistic. It is therefore more competitive, which makes for a greater likelihood that the competition will escalate into an open conflict between global poles. The abovementioned numbers could be somewhat misleading. The West benefited greatly from the economic booms in countries that were defeated in World War II (such as Japan) and the Korean War (South Korea). Then once they attained prosperity, the new ratios of shares in the GWP did not necessary impact on the Wests cultural hegemony or its unqualified lead in aerospace and technology in general. Nevertheless, the numbers do speak of new power balances in the world. Pompeos remark was actually more of a response to the USs predicament than a defence of the West and its global status. The predicament arises from the USs strategic reorientation. Washington is in a state of withdrawal, not just militarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but from the world. It is reformulating its existence in Japan, Europe and South Korea. It is no longer interested in defending common interests with its allies. It is interested in defending US resources from alliances and mutual defence pacts. The US is closing itself off to the outside. It is building all sorts of walls, and not just the wall with Mexico and South America. It is changing immigration laws to make the visa process more heavily selective in favour of whites and Christians. It withdrew from the Paris climate accord even though the US is primarily responsible for global warming and now ranks second to China in generating greenhouse emissions. Washingtons insularism has been challenged by the globalised outlook of the Democratic Party, which is growing vociferous these days due to the primaries and the nominees eagerness to best each other in attacking Trumps policies. But the US is not just caught between the president and the opposition. It is also caught between rival outlooks among strategic thinkers. In its latest issue, March/April 2020, Foreign Affairs featured three recent strategic assessments of US foreign policy and republished one dating from April 1973 when the Vietnam War was still in progress and the Cold War was at its height. The latter article is called, The Case for Strategic Disengagement. Written by Earl Ravenal, it epitomises the debate that prevailed in the US nearly half a century ago and helps give perspective. The other three articles epitomise the USs confusion today. One writer, Stephen Wertheim, argues in favour of the USs withdrawal from world leadership. Beneath the title, The Price of Primacy: Why America Shouldnt Dominate the World, he voices not only the prevalent cost-conscious conservative outlook but also the more progressivist view that world domination jeopardises US values. Thomas Wright, beneath the title, The Folly of Retrenchment: Why America Cant Withdraw from the World, argues precisely the opposite: that withdrawal will expose these values to risk. Graham Allison takes a different tack. His article, The New Spheres of Influence: Sharing the Globe with Other Great Powers, takes us back to distant eras when the greatness of powers was measured by their hegemony over other countries and regions, or their spheres of influence. He reminisces on the Monroe Doctrine that proclaimed the entire Western Hemisphere the whole of North and South America as the USs sphere of influence historically, geographically, and of course militarily. He also reminds us of other geopolitical concepts, such as political realism, when he acknowledges that, indeed, something about geopolitics had changed, but insists that what mattered now was to identify what exactly the change was so that the US could adjust to it. Throughout history, the world was divided into spheres of influence. In antiquity, you had the Hellenic world versus the Persian Empire and the Eastern Roman versus the Western Roman Empires. Moving through the medieval to the modern eras, you have Portugal versus Spain in the Old and New Worlds, the European powers versus each other in the Napoleonic era, France versus Britain in the colonialist era, and the US versus the USSR in the Cold War era. What about today? Do we not have Washington versus Beijing and Moscow? The US, despite its decline from the fourth largest contributor to GWP after World War II to seventh today, still dominates the world of technology and it holds a near monopoly on the realms of space and the internet. Yet, China is the worlds largest exporter and second largest importer, and its Belt and Road Initiative places it at the hub of a major international bloc. Russia is not about to revive the USSR because with the collapse of the Soviet bloc Russia shrank back into its earlier borders and its population shrank to half that of the USSR. However, Moscow remains a major military and nuclear power, and it is continuing to build these strengths. It also understands how to operate in a tripolar world. Graham Allison advocates neither a US-centred globalisation for a US retrenchment, but rather a division of spheres of influence. Is this so different from Trumps outlook? *The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. **A version of this article appears in print in the 27 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: See Full Image Gallery >> What does "Jurassic Park" have in common with the latest innovation at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur? This line: "Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." The technology itself promises a new realm of detailed customization: Designers in Porsche's commissioning department created a direct printing method on painted parts with precision control down to the droplet. It's like photographic quality inkjet printing, except on sheetmetal instead of photo paper. The first application of the technology is a head scratcher: Printing a stylized image of a fingerprint on the hood of a 911. Eventually, the possibilities will expand beyond the 911 and fancy dactylograms. For now, though, should a 911 buyer choose, he can work with a consultant at a Porsche Center to have his fingerprint scanned and sent to Exclusive Manufaktur in Zuffenhausen. The scanning software revises biometric data so the fingerprint can't be used for nefarious deeds, and the design on the car is based on the fingerprint, not a bit-for-bit representation. To apply the artwork, technicians remove the hood from the specific 911 after production, and take it to a technology cell in the Zuffenhausen plant paint shop where the design is printed on the hood. The paint shop then applies another layer of clear coat, the hood is polished to a high gloss, and it is replaced on the car. Alexander Fabig, VP of Individualization and Classic, said, Individuality is very important for Porsche customers. And no design can be more personal than your own fingerprint." The service will be available on request as of next month, for a price of 7,500 ($8,145 U.S.) in Germany, including VAT. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> MARCY, N.Y. -- The Marcy Town Planning Board has voted in favor of a preliminary plan for Cree. The silicon-carbide fabrication facility is moving into the Marcy Nano site, on Edic Road. Cree announced plans in September 2019 to build this one billion dollar facility, touting that it will be the largest facility of it's kind in the world. The company is expected to create at least 614 jobs over an eight-year period. Site work has already started. Construction is expected to start in March 2020. The facility is set to be complete by 2021. BRIDGEPORT TWP, MI An early morning fire in a Bridgeport Township trailer park has claimed the lives of a woman and her baby. Firefighters received a call of a fire within Bridgeport Mobile Home Park, 5948 Dixie Highway, at 6:42 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, according to Bridgeport Fire Chief David Smigiel. Upon arriving at the scene of the fire at lot 15, firefighters saw the trailer engulfed in flames, the chief said. When we rolled up, there were flames coming out of every opening of that trailer, Smigiel said. Entering the residence to search for people inside was not an option, he added. A few civilians had attempted to enter the trailer before firefighters but were pushed back by the flames, he said. One good Samaritan suffered a severe laceration to his hand that required treatment at an area hospital, he added. The blaze spread to a second trailer, leaving it a total loss, and caused heat damage to a third trailer, Smigiel continued. Had we not intervened when we did, yet another trailer would have been on fire, he said. Firefighters had the blaze knocked down in about an hour. Thereafter, they found the remains of a 23-year-old woman and her 10-month-old daughter inside the wreckage of the first trailer, Smigiel said. Michigan State Police Special 1st Lt. David Kaiser said the mother has been identified as Emilee Woodruff and her daughter as Autumn Wlock. Woodruffs fiance had left for work about 5 a.m., Smigiel said. Occupants of the second trailer were able to escape without injury, the chief said. Michigan State Police fire investigators are looking for what caused the blaze. Nothing is coming up that this was foul play, Smigiel said. Its looking like a tragic accident. Mutual aid was provided by Buena Vista Township and Spaulding Township firefighters. No firefighters suffered injuries. Authorities have backtracked on initial reports that a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower committed suicide after his body was found with a gunshot wound by a California highway. Philip Haney, who spoke out against his own agency during the Obama administration, was found dead in Plymouth, about 40 miles east of Sacramento, last Friday. His body was found in a park and ride area near Highway 16 and Highway 124. The Amador County Sheriff's Office initially said the 66-year-old was found with what appeared to be a 'self-inflicted gunshot wound'. They also said a firearm had been found next to Haney and his vehicle. The sheriff's office have since described those initial reports as 'misinformation' and said they have asked the FBI for assistance in investigating Haney's death. Philip Haney, who spoke out against his own agency during the Obama administration, was found dead in Plymouth, about 40 miles east of Sacramento, last Friday 'Unfortunately, there was misinformation immediately being put out that we have determined Mr Haney's death to be a suicide. This is not the case,' the sheriff's office said this week. 'We are currently in the beginning phase of our investigation and any final determination as to the cause and manner of Mr Haney's death would be extremely premature and inappropriate. 'No determination will be made until all evidence is examined and analyzed.' The sheriff's office has scheduled a forensic autopsy to be carried out on Haney's body. They have also enlisted the help of the FBI to analyze documents, phone records and a laptop that were recovered from the scene and Haney's RV. 'We are currently in possession of his vehicle, the firearm located at the scene and his RV and we will be requesting evidence processing assistance from the FBI on those items as well,' the sheriff's office said. Authorities said they are also checking for surveillance video from the area. The area where Haney's body was found is less than three miles away from the RV park where he was living at the time. Several months before his death, Haney - who formally retired from the DHS in 2015 - told the Washington Examiner that he was considering a sequel to his 2016 book that detailed his experiences within the agency. He had intended to publish it in mid-spring ahead of this year's election. Source have also said that Haney had been in contact with officials about possibly making a return to the the DHS. The sheriff's office has enlisted the help of the FBI to analyze documents, phone records and a laptop that were recovered from the scene and Haney's RV, which was three miles from where he was found His body was found in a park and ride area near Highway 16 and Highway 124 in Plymouth, about 40 miles east of Sacramento, last Friday Haney gained national attention in 2016 when he criticized the agency during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committeefor its handling of radical Jihadists and Islamic extremists Haney gained national attention in 2016 when he criticized the agency - which at the time was under the Obama administration - for its handling of radical Jihadists and Islamic extremists. He testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the DHS ordered him in 2009 to delete hundreds of files that showed links between people and Islamic terror groups. Several months before his death, Haney - who formally retired from the DHS in 2015 - told the Washington Examiner that he was considering a sequel to his 2016 book (above) that detailed his experiences within the agency The whistleblower testified that several terror attacks in the U.S. could have been thwarted if some of those files had not been deleted. In an opinion piece for the Hill prior to his testimony, Haney wrote: '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. 'It is demoralizing - and infuriating - that today, those elusive dots are even harder to find, and harder to connect, than they were during the winter of 2009.' At the time of Haney's testimony, Republicans questioned former Obama-era DHS Secretary Jet Johnson about the allegations. Senator 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 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. Captain Sara Lance is still off in Star City on a mysterious mission, but thats okay because Caity Lotzs presence is felt in this weeks episode of DCs Legends of Tomorrow since she directed it. And Lotz received the perfect episode for her directorial debut: The hilariously titled Mortal Khanbat, which is a fun homage to John Woos action films. Given Lotzs martial arts and dance background, it shouldnt come as a surprise to learn that the episode has some amazingly staged action sequences that are some of the shows best to date. Not only that, the Grainne Godfree and Mark Bruner-penned script also features some amazing jokes. We pick up with Charlie and Gary rushing a terminal lung cancer-ridden Constantine back to the Waverider. There isnt much Gideon can do apart from sedate Constantine because this is a magical issue. So, its not long before Constantine is (barely) back on his feet and making his way to the mansion, with Gary and Ray following closely behind to help him. Even though she just got back to the ship, Charlie begins looking for a way out because her sisters the other two fates from Greek mythology have started calling out to her telepathically. Unfortunately, she gets roped into staying on the ship for a team meeting during which Ava shows off her new Encore-tracking device, the Prognosticator, to very little fanfare. You know what the Legends are excited about, though? Nates new scooter! (This sets up an even funnier sight gag later in the episode.) Anyway, Charlie sticks around to help with the latest Encore: Genghis Khan, who pops up in Hong Kong circa 1997 because it took him 700 years to dig out of his tomb. Time may have passed, but Genghis is still intent on conquering the world and plans on using the modern tools at his disposal to do so. His first move? Taking control of the triads. Genghis shows up at a triad-controlled teahouse the Legends are staking out. Avas plan is for them to simply sedate him and bring him back to the ship, but things go sideways when Behrad spooks one of the triad guards. Cue the aforementioned amazing action sequence! First, the triad guards start shooting at Behrad. Then three female detectives flip over a table, pull out two guns each, and start shooting, at which point the scene devolves into stylish slow-motion chaos as bullets whiz through the air. My two favorite moments were Avas badass team-up with one of detectives in a 360-degree shot, and Charlie and Behrads Mexican standoff with Genghis. Honestly, this entire set-piece is just a true flex on Lotzs part. Story continues The action scene also sets up one of the episodes most interesting (and somewhat random) elements: Behrad and Charlies relationship. Before the bullets started flying, Behrad seemed very thrown by Charlies return, and once all hell broke loose, he was determined to make sure she was alright. Well, it turns out that these two hooked up after Heyworld, but Charlie peaced out shortly thereafter without saying a word and Behrad is still in his feelings about it. All of this feels like it comes out of nowhere because at no point in the first four episodes did Behrad seem to notice or care that Charlie had left. Furthermore, I wonder if there was a way to give Charlie a connection on the Waverider without it involving her hooking up with someone. Behrad and Nate have a heart-to-heart in which Nate tells Behrad he just needs to ask Charlie whats up since it might not even be about him. Behrad takes that advice, but Charlie pushes him away even more. We had sex mate, and it was mediocre! Get over it! she yells at him, right in front of an imprisoned Marie Antoinette, who hilariously adds, Mediocre is not bad. Anyway, Charlie makes off with a time courier because her sister wont leave her alone. Through some undercover work, the Legends discover that Genghis plans on attacking and killing Prince Charles who is in town to hand Hong Kong back over to China with a new fleet he had the triad build for him: Scooters! Yes, theres a brilliant shot of Genghis and his men riding down the streets of Vancouver Hong Kong on Bird-like vehicles. Its hilarious and I love it so much especially because its very specific to this historical figure since horses were a major part of his military tactics back in the day. (A motorbike is a modern-day horse, says Genghis when he first arrives on the scene. Clearly, he realized that scooters are the next frontier.) This is the sort specificity I wish we had gotten in episode 2. Anyway, short story shorter: Charlie actually ends up taking Prince Charles place in the motorcade and gets captured by Genghis. Behrad shows up and saves them both by stopping bullets with the air totem; its awesome. Through all of this, though, Behrad convinces Charlie to open up about her past to the rest of the team. So back on the ship, she reveals that shes Clothos, one of the fates from Greek mythology, and her sisters are chasing her because she destroyed the Loom of Fate and scattered the pieces across the multiverse thousands of years ago. Those pieces, though, are now on Earth-Prime because of Crisis, which is the gift that keeps on giving. The Legends assure Charlie she can stop running because theyve got her back, which is sweet. Meanwhile in England, Constantine tries and fails to find a cure for his lung cancer. When nothing works, he lashes out at Gary and Ray and decides to just die alone. Well, that is until the dog handle of his cane scolds him for giving up when his friends are just in the other room (the switch comes way too suddenly). So, he eventually joins Ray and Gary at the table for one last meal right before he dies from the poison he took in order to have some control over his fate. However, instead of going to hell, he goes to Purgatory and finds Astra there waiting for him. There, he manages to convince Astra that he can fix everything thats gone wrong for her family, and she turns the gears on his soul chit, sending him back to the world of the living cured of cancer. Newly resurrected, Constantine announces its time to talk to Charlie about the Loom of Fate. Wall of Weird: What is with all these damn scooters? Theyre a menace! says Sara when she returns to the ship at the end of the episode. If you lose your hair, Im shaving mine in solidarity, Gary, to Constantine. Ray reveals that he wants to ask Nora to marry him; Gary wants to the flower boy at his wedding. Constantines lung cancer storyline is an adaptation of Garth Ennis classic Hellblazer story arc Dangerous Habits. Of course, the show made many changes to it. Constantine plants a big one on Gary when he comes back to life. Early on in the episode, Zari smiles when Ava confirms that shes indeed part of the team. Its a small moment, but I loved it. Related content: New Delhi, Feb 26 : On the first anniversary of Balakot airstrikes on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saluted Indian Air Force for its bravery and courage exhibited during the air strikes. Taking to his Twitter handle Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote, "India today celebrates the first anniversary of Balakot airstrikes. It was a successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless @IAF_MCC air warriors. With the success of Balakote air strikes India has clearly demonstrated its strong will against terrorism." Union Minister Piyush Goyal wrote, "India celebrates the 1st anniversary of @IAF_MCC's daring #BalakotAirstrike. Saluting PM @NarendraModi ji's decisive leadership and the courage of our air warriors. In New India, we clearly demonstrate our strong will to protect the motherland from terrorism." "Salute the fearless air warriors of @IAF_MCC on the 1st anniversary of the #BalakotAirStrikes. A bold decision of #ModiGovt that hit the enemies of India in their own 'safehouse' and witnessed the emergence of a #NewIndia that does not cower to terror and terrorists" wrote Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Social media is flooded with reactions from common users as well who said they are filled with pride and love for Indian armed forces. A user wrote, "On the 1st anniversary of #Balakot, big salute to @IAF_MCC air warriors who had carried out an air strike with precision. Jai Hind. Bharat Mata Ki Jai." A post read, "Nation Salutes to Fit & Fierce Fighters of our Indian Air Force who conducted #BalakotAirStrikes last year on this day." Following Pulwama terror bombing, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14, the Balakot airstrike was conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the early morning hours of February 26 when the Indian warplanes launched an airstrike targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:49:14|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The French-run Institut Pasteur in Cambodia (IPC) said it is fully committed to working together with Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) to combat COVID-19 in the country, according to a statement on Wednesday. The Phnom Penh-based institute is designated as the first-line laboratory for the diagnosis of COVID-19 by the Cambodian MoH, the institute said in a statement. Utilizing its BLS-3-level biosafety and biosecurity capacity in conjunction with multiple diagnostic tests, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) interim guidance, IPC has implemented, validated, and ensured diagnostic capacity to identify and respond to COVID-19 in Cambodia, the statement said. It added that working closely with the Cambodian Center for Disease Control (CDC), the coordinating entity designated for notification of suspected cases, (nasal and throat) swab samples from suspected cases are sent and processed to IPC in a timely manner. "All samples are subjected to testing according to validated protocols and suspected cases, and are tested with multiple diagnostic tests to ensure validity," IPC's director Dr. Laurence Baril said in the statement. She said on Jan. 27, the IPC confirmed the first and only COVID-19 case in Cambodia in a traveler visiting Cambodia from the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The country has received 55 notifications (61 samples) of suspected cases and 8 close contacts (11 samples) through this notification alert system, according to the statement. On Feb. 12, the IPC was asked to support the MoH for activities outside the notification alert system to allow for the docking and disembarkation of passengers from the virus-hit Westerdam cruise ship. Initially, 20 swab samples from symptomatic individuals from the Westerdam were tested negative, the statement said, adding that 1,580 samples from asymptomatic Westerdam passengers were also tested negative for COVID-19. Besides, IPC has also contributed to testing samples from 36 symptomatic crew from the World Dream cruise ship and from 41 symptomatic Cambodian students who study in China, with all samples tested negative. "The IPC continues to offer support and to work closely with Cambodian CDC/MoH and continues to receive and test suspected cases of COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Cambodia as well as to continue to increase diagnostic capacity and validate new testing kits," Dr. Baril said. She said the institute is happy to help and support the fight of COVID-19 throughout Cambodia, the Southeast Asia region, and the globe. Six years ago, Crimean Tatars gathered for a mass rally in the then Ukrainian-controlled city of Simferopol in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. On February 26, Ukraine marks the Day of Crimean Resistance to the Russian Occupation. Six years ago, on February 26, 2014, a mass rally of Crimean Tatars took place in the city of Simferopol in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and against holding an extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of Crimea. About 12,000 people participated in the event. Read alsoRally against Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimea held in Istanbul (Photo) The rally was opposed by supporters of the peninsula's accession to the Russian Federation, guided by the Russian occupiers' henchman, Sergey Aksenov. Two people died and several were injured as a result of clashes that day. After the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Russian security forces began to prosecute Crimean Tatars for participating in that event, the so-called "February 26 case." The very next day, on February 27, the building of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of Crimea was seized by Russian GRU special forces. At the request of invaders, the Crimean parliament announced the holding of a local referendum on the peninsula's accession to Russia. UNIAN memo. Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began. The West did not recognize the annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced. 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. Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in Australia Call for Genocide Recognition The peak advocacy bodies of the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the "Joint Justice Initiative" at a Cultural Cocktail event at the Australian Parliament House's Mural Hall on Tuesday 25th February 2020, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reports. Around 100 Federal Australian parliamentarians, diplomats, departmental officials, political staffers, academics, media and community leaders were treated to cultural performances, food, wine and brandy, as well as the historic signing which affirmed that the public affairs representatives of the three communities were jointly committed to seeing Australia recognize the Turkish-committed Genocide against the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian citizens of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Joint Justice Initiative's Memorandum of Understanding stipulates that the Armenian National Committee of Australia, the Assyrian Universal Alliance -- Australia Chapter and the Australian Hellenic Council "shall continue and expand their co-operation and joint advocacy for the international affirmation and justice for the Genocides of the indigenous Armenian, Assyrian and Greek, and Assyrian populations of the Ottoman Empire perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government". Further, the document confirms the communities participating in the Joint Justice Initiative "shall jointly advocate against any attempt by the Turkish Government to use the sacred ANZAC graves in Gallipoli (and access by Australians to those graves and memorials) as 'hostages' or bargaining chips in coercing or persuading the Australian Government in being complicit in the Turkish State's denial campaign with respect to the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides." Mr. Haig Kayserian of the Armenian National Committee of Australia spoke on behalf of the Joint Justice Initiative, stating that the three communities -- who are made up of descendants of survivors of the Ottoman Turkish Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks during WWI -- consider this a significant step towards the realisation of their collective goals. "The launch of the Joint Justice Initiative and our signing of this Memorandum of Understanding signals our commitment to redouble our joint efforts to ensure Australia is a party of truth and justice when it comes to the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocide," he said. "In recent years, Australia's Parliament has seen dozens of speakers declare support for Federal recognition of the Genocide committed against our ancestors, and we believe it is past time that Canberra gives up the word games it plays on this issue in the name of a false diplomacy against a bullying foreign dictatorship." The Assyrian Universal Alliance -- Australia Chapter's Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Hermiz Shahen declared: "Denial is the continuation of genocide, and Australia's inaction in recognising and condemning means we are failing the very values our country was built on." "It was Australians who came to the aid of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek victims of the genocide over 100 years ago, while our ANZACs witnessed the barbarity suffered by the Christian minorities deliberately targeted by the Ottoman government, and it should be in the spirit of those Australians that our political leaders stand up for what is right," Mr. Shahen added. The Australian Hellenic Council's Mr. George Vellis declared: "It is time Australia stands up for human rights, truth and justice, and the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities have today declared that this is an absolute priority for the country's lawmakers and government." The Joint Justice Initiative invited Members of Parliament and Senators to sign a pledge that declares their support for Australia's recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, and event hosts Mr. Trent Zimmerman MP and The Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP addressed the audience as co-convenors of the Armenia-Australia Interparliamentary Union stressing their backing. Professor Peter Stanley, who is the former Director of the Australian War Memorial and co-author of Australia, Armenia & the Great War, spoke to press the importance of Australia's recognition of the Genocide committed against the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks of the Ottoman Empire. The deadly coronavirus will likely spread to U.S. communities, and federal health officials are warning that people should take precautions and prepare for major disruptions in their daily lives in the event of an outbreak. Quarantines have been how health official around the world have been responding to this outbreak and a similar approach might be used if infections spike in the U.S. The experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say isolation, which separates sick people with a contagious disease, and quarantine, which separates and restricts peoples movement, help protect the public by preventing exposure to people who have or may have a contagious disease. Family members should stay home during a quarantine and not allow any visitors, and follow CDC recommendations for heightened hygiene and personal protection equipment to reduce risk of airborne virus spread, say experts. People who are sick should not share a bedroom, bathroom, towels or eating utensils with other members of the household, and they should wear a face mask to reduce the spread of illness. A disinfectant should be used to clean tables and other surfaces touched by the sick person. During a medical quarantine, earthquake, major power outage or other disasters, people should have plenty of food, water, medicines and other necessities already at home since supply chains will be interrupted and limited supplies will be in demand. Weve been inundated with questions and requests for respirator masks and hygiene items, and have limited the number of respirators any one person can buy to discourage hoarding, said Skyler Hallgren, co-founder of Redfora, the San Francisco-based company that sells emergency kits. Its important for each person to have a plan in place for themselves and their families without taking more than is necessary. Oregon experts recommend that a basic disaster kit have nonperishable food, water and supplies for 14 days for each member of the family who is hunkering down in the home. Emilio DeBess and Paul Cieslak, both infectious disease experts with Oregon Health Authority, said its never too early to put together a two-week emergency supply. That applies even without the specter of a coronavirus outbreak, they said, because there are other possible emergencies. An earthquake could happen before coronavirus gets here, DeBess said. If you havent already made plans to be ready to act fast in a life-threatening emergency, its time. With climate change, possible pandemics like the coronavirus and looming disasters such as earthquakes, we all need to put a little time and money into preparation at home," said Jen Brown of Portland Earthquake Kits. "Store extra water, have an N95 face mask and keep an emergency radio/cell phone charger in case of a blackout. Disasters are inevitable; youll be glad to have a few extra supplies at your disposal. Steps to Prepare for an Emergency Sign up for notifications: Enroll in Public Alerts, Citizen Alert or a service in your county to be notified via text, call or email by emergency response agencies when you need to take action such as shelter-in-place or evacuate. Practice smart hygiene: Whether it is the coronavirus or simply practicing smart hygiene during flu season, its in everyones interest to wash and sanitize hands often, keep hands out of your mouth, nose and eyes, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, put used tissues in no-touch disposal receptacles and stay home if youre sick. The CDC has made it clear that its time for every American to take precautions," said Hallgren. Expert advice is to focus on social distancing to limit exposure, including the use of N95 masks, the respirators best suited to guard against viruses, and hygiene tools when in close contact and especially when traveling, he added. Have a family emergency plan: Its important to account for the risks where you live and put some common sense thought into an emergency plan, said Hallgren. Have a conversation as a family or household about how to mitigate risks, and what role each can play to help each other in case of an emergency. Make sure everyone in your home knows the plan, including where you will all reunite if separated and how you will contact each other if phones arent working. Assemble essentials: Refresh and update items in an emergency supply kit, especially water and food, says Ali Ryan, who works as the earth-science information officer for the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (Watch the video below of her putting together an emergency preparedness kit.) You can buy ready-made emergency preparedness kits or you can build your own. Many of the must-have supplies are already in your home, from a manual can opener to hygiene items, but you may need more to last two weeks or longer. Also make sure to have enough of any prescription and nonprescription medication you need to last a couple of weeks. Basic Disaster Supplies Kit Heres a list of what should be inside your emergency preparedness kit, as recommended by the American Red Cross and Ready.gov, which educates people in the U.S. on what to do to prepare for natural and manmade disasters, from earthquakes to wildfires. Reliance Jumbo-Tainer (7 gallons) from Portland Earthquake Kits has two handles for easier, shared lifting and its narrow form factor makes it easiest to carry, despite its 60-pound weight. Water: Youll need a gallon of water a day per person and pet to drink, cook with and clean. Half-cup pouches of water, available by the case, have a five-year shelf life while bacteria- and parasite-removing water purification tablets and personal water filters work if you have access to untreated water. Were very much concerned about Portland residents having the water they will need after a disaster and thats why we offer free delivery on 55-gallon drums, Aquatainers and Jumbotainers in Portland, said Brown of of Portland Earthquake Kits. She added that people should read instructions on how to safely store water. Containers should be certified free of BPA-containing plastics and specifically made to hold drinking water. Food: Experts recommend that nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food, like canned, ready-to-eat soup, not be super salty or something you dont like to eat. You can buy a compact bucket of dehydrated meals, from beef stew to granola, or shop for long-lasting food you wont mind eating before it spoils. Lights, radio, chargers: If theres no electricity, youll appreciate the American Red Cross Clipray crank-powered, flashlight and phone charger. Cranking for one minute produces power for 10 minutes of light. Portable emergency radios with real-time NOAA weather reports and Public Emergency Alert System information can be powered by a hand-crank generator, solar panel, rechargeable batteries or wall power adapter. First aid kit: The American Red Cross Deluxe Family First Aid Kit weighs only two pounds, including the zippered case with handles, yet its packed with 115 essential supplies to treat injuries: From aspirin and triple antibiotic ointment to a CPR face shield and the American Red Cross Emergency First Aid Guide tucked into a ringed binder. In case of a medical quarantine, check that your first aid kit includes a thermometer and acetaminophen like Tylenol to relieve pain and reduce fever. Multipurpose tool: In a little over 5 inches tall, a multitool can provide, at your fingertips, knives, pliers, screwdrivers, wire cutters, bottle and can openers, an electrical crimper, wire stripper, file, saw, awl and ruler. Other helpful items: Protective: Goggles, dust masks, gloves Personal: Toilet paper, towels, medicine Practical: Duct tape, matches, scissors, disinfecting household liquid bleach, whistle -- Janet Eastman with additional reporting by Fedor Zarkhin jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories Unlike most issues in Albany that divide state lawmakers along traditional ideological and partisan lines, paid gestational surrogacy pits liberals, LGBTQ legislators and feminist lawmakers of different generations against each other. But that could change in upcoming budget negotiations. A bill to legalize gestational surrogacy which allows a woman to bear a child using another womans egg did pass the state Senate last year, but it did not get a vote by the full Assembly because of concerns among some older, female lawmakers who say the practice can commodify female bodies. Other Democratic lawmakers, especially those from the millennial generation, see surrogacy as a way to allow gay and straight couples alike to start families through a practice that is already legal in 47 other states. One key ingredient to success this year is timing, according to Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, who has been the go-to person for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the issue. Gestational surrogacy was a big priority of ours last year and continues to be this year, DeRosa said. By jump-starting the campaign earlier, taking the time to properly educate legislators, and humanizing the issue, the likelihood of success is much higher. The state budget process this year offers supporters their best chance yet to legalize gestational surrogacy. This approach would allow Cuomo, who reiterated his support for the proposal at a Monday press conference, to circumvent the Assembly committee process by making the issue part of a broader agreement that includes legislators other political priorities. A new bill to legalize paid gestational surrogacy was introduced this month by state Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger the only Democrat in the Senate to vote against the bill last year suggests that critics are coming around. But Krueger and other influential lawmakers in the Assembly are pushing for a resolution on the issue to be delayed until after the April 1 budget deadline. With Cuomo and the state Senate having already demonstrated their support for the effort, the big x-factor remains Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who has said before that he generally opposes including policy proposals in the budget. Whether the Assembly backs the idea one way or another also remains an open question, he told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. If there is support for it in the conference, Id say its a priority to have a discussion on it, Heastie told reporters Tuesday. Whether there is enough support within the conference overall to do it, thats another matter, and I dont have that answer yet. Heastie did say that he would discuss the issue this week with a group of lawmakers from his conference. Though he declined to specify the specific lawmakers he planned to discuss the issue with, the most undecided group among his members appear to be the same lawmakers who opposed the effort last year. I'm very conflicted, said Assemblywoman Deborah Glick of Manhattan, the state Legislatures first openly gay or lesbian member and who opposed the effort last year. On the one hand, I think this is happening and it's going to keep happening so we should do what we can to make it as safe as possible. On the other hand, I'm very uncomfortable with some aspects of it. Other past opponents include the chairs of the two legislative committees that oversee state spending Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Chair Helene Weinstein. The new bill proposed by Krueger would give surrogates additional rights that include a grace period of at least eight days after birth to decide whether or not to contest the custody of the child. There is also a provision that would not allow a woman to be a surrogate more than two times, and a requirement that a woman have delivered one healthy baby before she would be eligible for paid surrogacy. One of the reasons I think it's so important for this issue to not go in the budget is because it requires those kinds of conversations, Krueger said in an interview. There are lots of different health issues, biomedical ethical issues. The Manhattan lawmaker said that further discussion could sway some Democratic lawmakers to withdraw support for the original bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin of Westchester County, which served as the basis for the governors proposal. It's not a simple story, Krueger said of the nearly unanimous support the Hoylman bill had among Democratic colleagues last year. The bill has had very little attention from most legislators. State lawmakers did hold a May 2019 hearing on the matter. Hoylman said that he is amenable to revising his bill to address critics concerns, but he called the eight-day grace period a nonstarter that would undermine the whole purpose. I speak from personal experience, said Hoylman, who has had two children with his husband through gestational surrogacy. I would never go into an arrangement where the woman acting as a surrogate, even though she's not genetically connected to my children, might be able to claim parental rights. His proposal includes requirements that contracting parents pay for independent legal counsel and medical insurance for their surrogate, who would get to choose her doctor. I think the bill we have now is first in class among potential laws legalizing surrogacy across the country, he said. Paulin did not respond to a request for comment. New Yorkers that wish to have children through paid surrogates can travel to almost any state in the nation to do so. By incentivizing residents to seek such services elsewhere, the state is undermining its own ability to protect the health of surrogates, according to Hoylman. We're asking New Yorkers to go to other states where there may be very bad laws that might jeopardize our citizens. He said the surrogacy push aims to not only legalize it in New York but to also do so in a way that could be a model elsewhere. Im not sure that is the goal of Sen. Krueger, said Hoylman. Delaying action on surrogacy, as Krueger is urging, until after the budget would give opponents more opportunities to mobilize and make their case. Hoylman, Cuomo and other proponents have highlighted the issue as a matter of equal rights for same-sex couples who want to have families through surrogacy. Considering that some couples pay tens of thousands of dollars to surrogates, opponents argue that efforts by relatively wealthy people to have children should not come at the cost of protecting women. Under this bill, women in economic need become commercialized vessels for rent, and the fetuses they carry become the property of others, feminist icon Gloria Steinem said last year of the Hoylman-Paulin bill. Such concerns were among the reasons that Weinstein proposed the states existing ban three decades ago, along with GOP state Sen. John Marchi of Staten Island. Avowed feminist lawmakers like Krueger, Weinstein, Glick and Assemblywoman Didi Barrett of Poughkeepsie are skeptical about last years Hoylman proposal to legalize paid gestational surrogacy. But their younger counterparts in state government have a different take on the issue. Most members of both houses under the age of 50 have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. While some of them say they share concerns about the danger of allowing women to be exploited, they do not oppose the idea as a matter of principle. I am in support of legalizing surrogacy, said Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou of Manhattan. I have offered surrogacy to two of my friends before. I understand how hard it is to find a good surrogate. She ultimately did not serve as a surrogate. One reason for this generational divide is the emphasis that younger feminists have placed on allowing women, even those who might be more vulnerable to exploitation, to ultimately make their own reproductive health decisions. It is also an issue that allows women greater freedom to strike a balance between their careers and families, according to DeRosa. Surrogacy is something that affects women of a certain age, said DeRosa, who is 37. It's incredibly important to women across the state, who are not elected to the Senate or the Assembly. Until very recently, decisions were being made for them by old white men or older white women who are completely out of touch with this generation. Such an emphasis on the need to allow women to make their own decisions mirrors similar arguments from proponents of decriminalizing sex work, who also face opposition from some prominent feminists. Besides Kruegers proposal, the governors 30-day amendments included numerous tweaks to address how legalization would affect insurance law, which suggests that the governor is looking to make a deal that would address outstanding concerns. Gestational surrogacy was also among the issues, along with climate change and an Equal Rights Amendment, that Cuomo advised reporters to focus on. That's where the conversation in this budget is really going to be found, he said. That's what no one is talking about. According to Cuomo, reporters spend too much time discussing hot-button issues like recently-amended criminal justice reforms and his efforts to trim $2.5 billion in Medicaid spending through a panel of experts he appointed. For now, the political momentum appears to be behind Cuomo's budget proposal, but proponents may need at least the tacit support of powerful critics like Krueger and Weinstein to get a budget that includes the legalization of paid gestational surrogacy. The reluctance of Heastie to include non-fiscal items in the budget could help them keep the issue out of the budget this year. Considering that most powerful opponents of his bill are also some of his strongest allies on other issues, Hoylman said that taking the time to address concerns is a step he is willing to take even if it means waiting until after April 1 to get the effort across the legislative finish line. Im in favor of passing it however it gets done, he said. New Zealand strongly encourages India to become a full participant in RCEP as its absence is neither in the economic nor the strategic interest of the region, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters said on Wednesday. Peters was talking on Indo-Pacific: From principles to partnership organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs. He said like India, New Zealand also wants to see an Indo-Pacific that is open and inclusive, committed to transparency, respects sovereignty and adheres to international law open to the freedom of navigation. He said if India wished to be a key player in the region then it would be essential to have membership of something like Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, if not RCEP. Peters, who is on a four-day visit to India, said New Zealand wants India to take a greater role in international political structure that support security and regional economic governance. "New Zealand has also supported India's bid for a permanent seat in UNSC," he said. On RCEP, he said the country "strongly" encourages India to become a full participant in RCEP. "New Zealand respects India's wish to seriously consider terms of its engagement but the blunt reality is that India's absence is neither in economic nor strategic interest of region," Peters said. "We want India to be a foundation member of a rules- based grouping trade and development and if India wishes to be a key player in the region security we think it would be essential membership of something like RCEP if not RCEP," he added. As many as 16 countries -- 10 nation bloc ASEAN and its six trading partners including India -- were negotiating the mega free-trade pact RCEP. After years of negotiations, India in November last year pulled out of the proposed RCEP over unresolved "core concerns" at a summit meeting of the participating countries in Bangkok. Peters said India's commitment to stay proactive and stabilising this region is both "appropriate and welcome". "We also know safeguarding these principles and responding to security concerns of our region will require collective action," he said. "Just as Indian Ocean matters hugely to you (India) the Pacific (ocean) matters hugely to New Zealand. It is where we wield the most influence and where we can have the most positive impact," he said. Peters said there are some "serious challenges and some of them might be great danger to all of us". "We need to encourage best practice in transparency in development cooperation and ensure that the geographic environment does not get affected from Pacific priority to regional security," he added. Peters said India seeks to take a similar approach as New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific region. "This is where Indo-Pacific concept joins us together. In that context New Zealand welcomes India's commitment to the Pacific islands region and we recognise India's long standing cultural, historical and human ties across the region and its contribution to Pacific security and priorities," he said. "This includes India signing the Paris agreement, its determination to increase investment in renewable energy and solar power. That contribution shows the role India can play across the region," he added. "Time is of the essence and if we waste time the vaccum will be filled by others that is neither in the interest of India nor Indo pacific region so let us start working together," Peters said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) iStock/NARONGRIT(EDINBURGH, U.K.) -- Scotland is on the verge of a historic first as it is poised to become the first country in the world to give period products to all women for free. The Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill received 112 votes in favor Tuesday in the Scottish Parliament. Members of Parliament can now propose amendments to the legislation, according to Reuters. The bill would provide free period products to "anyone who needs them," according to the Scottish Parliament's website. "Women and girls are too often left behind in the political process," the bill's sponsor, Monica Lennon, said Tuesday in Parliament. "This is a chance to put them first and to do something that is truly groundbreaking on gender equality." "The bill will ensure free universal access to period products for anyone who needs them, and it will place a duty on schools, colleges and universities to make free period products available in toilets," she said. "Menstruation is normal, free universal access to tampons, pads and reusable options should be normal, too." "Period dignity for all is not radical or extreme, but is simply the right thing to do," Lennon said. Three years ago, in 2017, Scotland began offering sanitary products in schools, colleges and universities, becoming the first country in the world to do so, according to The Associated Press. In the United Kingdom, 10% of girls are unable to afford menstrual supplies, according to a 2017 report by Plan International, a girls' rights organization. In the U.S., where women make up more than half of the population, women are more likely than men to live in poverty, and they spend an average of 2,535 days in their lifetime, or almost seven years, on their periods, according to UNICEF. A survey released last year of low-income women in St. Louis, Missouri, found nearly two-thirds couldnt afford menstrual hygiene products in the past year, and more than one in five said they had the same problem every month. The women said they instead had to use cloth, rags, tissues, toilet paper and sometimes diapers or paper towels, according to the report published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Poor menstrual hygiene does pose health risks for women, including reproductive issues and urinary tract infections. The taboo around menstruation and the lack of access to menstrual products also hurts women economically because it costs them money for products and may keep them from jobs and school, advocates say. It also sets women back mentally and in a society where something that happens to them naturally is demeaned or even not discussed. "Most of us have been conditioned for all of our lives to not talk about menstruation," said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a lawyer and author of "Periods Gone Public," told "Good Morning America" last year. "And the things that keep us potentially from succeeding are often the things that happen to be what we dont talk about in polite society." New York Rep. Grace Meng, has two bills on menstrual equity currently pending in Congress. Meng's "Menstrual Equity for All" bill also proposes changes like requiring corporations of 100 employees or more to provide free menstrual products to employees. Her "Menstrual Products Right to Know" bill would make tampons and pads just like most other products where manufacturers are required to list out their ingredients. Both of those bills are still pending in the House, while legislation she worked on in the last Congress that would allow people to use health savings accounts to buy menstrual products passed the House but was never taken up in the Senate. "I dont want to, as I [did when I] grew up, feel like I have to hide my product up my sleeve as Im walking through the halls of school or the office toward the bathroom," Meng told "GMA" last year. "This is a natural part of being a human being and I dont want people to be ashamed of it." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "eClinical Solutions Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (ECOA, EDC & CDMS), by Delivery Mode (Web-hosted, Cloud-based), by End Use, by Development Phase, and Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global eClinical solutions market size is expected to reach USD 15.7 billion by 2027, progressing at a CAGR of 13.8% during the forecast period. Increasing R&D activities by biopharma and pharma companies, application of software solutions in clinical trials, and expanding customer base are anticipated to fuel the demand for eClinical solutions. Technological advancements such as electronic data capture and Wi-Fi connectivity are projected to drive the market in the forthcoming years. As the demand for tracking and analyzing clinical data increases, the need for effective clinical solutions rises. Unmet needs to manage efficient clinical development process are poised to boost the market over the forecast period. Moreover, digital transformation in the field of clinical trials and preference for data centric approach are providing a tremendous push to the market. Demand for integrated clinical IT solutions is increasing due to massive volume of data generated during clinical development processes. eClinical solutions offer a single source of information that helps optimize the cost by eliminating redundant data entry and reducing on-site verification and source data verification. Rising awareness regarding these advantages is projected to propel the market. Adoption of eClinical workflows in trials offers enormous potential in clinical development processes. These solutions can facilitate decision making in every stage of the development process. They also help reduce cost and time between development phases by utilizing seamless designs and by identifying failing compounds. In addition, it offers rapid access to data and patient safety information, which is helpful in making quick decisions. Market players engage in new product development and strategic alliances, including partnership agreements, promotional activities, and acquisitions, to keep market rivalry high. For instance, in October 2017, Oracle entered into a collaboration with Healthx Inc. to provide SaaS solutions to healthcare payers for core administration and digital engagement. Further key findings from the study suggest: CTMS led the eClinical solutions market by product in 2019 owing to benefits such as centralized end-to-end management of clinical trial activities, elimination of reliance on manual processes, real-time status tracking, and maintenance of multiple databases, which cumulatively improve the overall efficiency of clinical trials.. by delivery mode, cloud-based systems are anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to integrated features such as flexibility, high accessibility, negligible handling costs, and easy data backup. Real-time data is available through these systems, which enables users to take quick decisions and provide high-quality information for risk-based monitoring. CROs held the largest share in the market in 2019 on the basis of end use. The segment is projected to expand at a remarkable pace during the forecast period owing to growing inclination of pharmaceutical companies to reduce overall expenditure. Key players operating in the market include DATATRAK International, Inc., IBM Watson Health, Medidata Solutions Inc., Oracle Corporation, BioClinica, PAREXEL International Corporation, CRF Health, OmniComm Systems Inc., and ERT. Most companies engage in various business strategies such as mergers and acquisitions and new product development to gain greater market share. Key Topics Covered Chapter 1 Research Methodology Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Market Summary Chapter 3 Industry Outlook 3.1 Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping By Delivery Mode, 2019 3.2 Business Segment Trend Analysis 3.3 Pricing Analysis 3.3.1 By Product 3.3.1.1 eCOA 3.3.1.2 EDC & CDMS 3.3.1.3 Clinical Analytics Platforms 3.3.1.4 Clinical data integration platforms 3.3.1.5 Safety solutions 3.3.1.6 CTMS 3.3.1.7 RTSM 3.3.1.8 eTMF 3.3.2 By Delivery mode 3.3.3 By Development phase 3.4 Market Dynamics 3.4.1 Market Driver Analysis 3.4.1.1 Increasing externalization of clinical trial studies by large pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies 3.4.1.2 Advantages of eClinical solutions 3.4.1.3 Presence of strong range of products in pipeline 3.4.2 Market Restraints Analysis 3.4.2.1 Scarcity of skilled research professionals 3.4.2.2 Lack of recognition 3.5 Business Opportunity Analysis 3.6 Industry Analysis - Porter's 3.6.1 Supplier power (more specifics) 3.6.2 Buyer power 3.6.3 Substitution threat 3.6.4 New Entrants threat 3.7 eClinical Solutions - SWOT Analysis, by Factor (Political & Legal, Economic, Social and Technological) 3.7.1 Regulatory Landscape 3.7.1.1 List of regulations, by country 3.7.2 Political Landscape, Current & Future Scenario 3.7.3 Economic Landscape 3.7.4 Social Landscape 3.7.5 Technology Landscape 3.8 Company Market Share Analysis 3.8.1 eClinical solutions company market share analysis, 2019 3.9 Competitive & Vendor Landscape 3.9.1 Strategic Framework Analysis 3.9.1.1 List of key strategies, by company 3.9.2 Market Participation Categorization 3.9.2.1 Market leader 3.9.2.2 Innovators 3.10 Vendor Landscape 3.10.1 List of eClinical service providers Chapter 4 eClinical Solutions Market: Product Analysis 4.1 Product Business Analysis 4.1.1 Electronic clinical outcome assessment (ECOA) 4.1.2 Electronic data capture (EDC) & clinical data management systems (CDMS) 4.1.3 Clinical analytics platform 4.1.4 Clinical data integration platform 4.1.5 Safety solutions 4.1.6 Clinical trial management systems (CTMS) 4.1.7 Randomization and trial supply management (RTSM) 4.1.8 Electronic trial master file (eTMF) Chapter 5 eClinical Solutions Market: Delivery Mode Analysis 5.1 Delivery Mode Business Analysis 5.1.1 Web-hosted 5.1.2 Licensed Enterprise 5.1.3 Cloud-based Chapter 6 eClinical Solutions Market: Development Phase Analysis 6.1 Development Phase Business Analysis 6.1.1 Phase I 6.1.2 Phase II 6.1.3 Phase III 6.1.4 Phase IV Chapter 7 eClinical Solutions Market: End-use Analysis 7.1 End-use Business Analysis 7.1.1 Hospitals 7.1.2 Contract Research Organizations (CROs) 7.1.3 Academic institutes 7.1.4 Pharma & biotech organizations 7.1.5 Medical device manufacturers Chapter 8 eClinical Solutions Market: Regional Analysis 8.1 North America 8.2 Europe 8.3 Asia Pacific 8.4 Central & South America 8.5 MEA Chapter 9 Company Profiles 9.1 Key Company Profiled 9.1.1 Oracle 9.1.2 PAREXEL International Corporation 9.1.3 Medidata Solution, Inc. 9.1.4 Bioclinica 9.1.5 DATATRAK International, Inc. 9.1.6 CRF Health 9.1.7 ERT Clinical 9.1.8 eClinicalWorks 9.1.9 IBM Watson Health 9.1.10 OmniComm Systems, Inc. 9.1.11 eClinical Solutions Chapter 10 Recommendations/Conclusion For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4zlnsg Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc , said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $73 million from a year-ago loss of $46 million as it reported its first results as a publicly traded company. The quarterly results, which include one-time transaction and other related costs, come as the company is aiming for a first commercial flight later this year with Branson on board. "It will be a transformative moment for the company," Chief Executive George Whitesides told analysts on a conference call, adding that revenue and cash flow will ramp up in 2021. Shares of Virgin Galactic were volatile in after-hours trading and were last down 6.4%. Shares had rallied in recent days, driven by investor interest in the first space tourism company to hit public markets. Virgin Galactic competes with billionaire-backed ventures such as Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos, to be the first to offer suborbital flights to fare-paying thrill seekers, presaging a new era of civilian space travel that could kick off as soon as this year. Other players including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing Co have their sights set on higher altitudes like the International Space Station, the moon and eventually Mars. Some 600 people from 60 countries have paid or put down deposits to fly on one of Virgin's suborbital flights, worth about $80 million in total collected deposits and $120 million of potential revenue, the company said. A 90-minute flight, which allows passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, costs about $250,000. Now, Virgin plans to seize on a wave of more than 7,900 "registrations of interest" it has received since then from would-be astronauts by collecting $1,000 deposits to secure a place in line as seats become available, it said on Tuesday. Virgin Galactic has invested $1 billion in its reusable mid-air launch technology and said on Tuesday it was in talks with Italy and United Arab Emirates for potential spaceports. Story continues Closer to Earth, Virgin also plans to develop hypersonic passenger air travel that could dramatically cut travel times across the world, the company said. For example, flying from New York to London would take about an hour, it said. The company, which went public last year, reported fourth-quarter revenue of $529,000, and $3.8 million for 2019, the first full year of results. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Tracy Rucinski and Matthew Lewis) Indian opener Rohit Sharma hoped for the end of violence in Delhi. The right-hand batsman Rohit on Wednesday took to Twitter and wrote: "Not such a great sight in Delhi. Hope everything neutralises soon." Earlier in the day, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, visited the violence-affected areas of northeast Delhi and assured that the situation is completely under control. 25 people lost their lives and over 190 injured have been so far in the violence. Violent clashes erupted between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in parts of northeast Delhi on Sunday, leading to widespread vandalism and arson for over two days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Azerbaijan is extremely important from a strategic point of view, Head of the Turkish Media Association Ekrem Kiziltas told Trend. Reminding the well-known statement that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation, two states, Kiziltas emphasized that both countries are guided by this principle. At the same time, Turkey also became the first country that recognized Azerbaijans state independence, the association head said. After the restoration of independence, relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey were increasingly developing from year to year. In particular, in recent years, the relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have become rather more brotherly than friendly. The head of the media association added that Erdogans visit to Azerbaijan on Feb. 25 also plays an exceptional role in expanding cooperation between the two countries in the field of economy, politics, culture and others. The level of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan is a model for other countries, Kiziltas noted. The association head added that Turkey and Azerbaijan have always supported, and will continue to support each other in matters important for both countries. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu OPEC producer Kuwait has excluded oil tankers from a ban on ships departing or arriving from several countries in a bid to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting a notice from the authorities it has seen. Kuwait, a major oil exporter from the Middle East, is sparing oil tankers from a ban that covers foreign ships traveling to or arriving from China, South Korea, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Iraq. As of Wednesday, Kuwait had reported 25 cases of coronavirus infections, after confirming 13 new infections today, and all new cases were of people infected after visiting Iran, Gulf News reported. Despite the ban on ships to and from the countries with most infections, oil tankers are still allowed to dock and depart in Kuwait, so oil trade with Kuwait is safe for now. The coronavirus outbreak, however, is destroying oil demand in China and in the wider Asian region, and Middle Eastern oil exporters are suffering, as the demand loss increases the oversupply in an already oversupplied oil market. Due to the lower crude oil demand in China, Middle Eastern oil exporters are asking other Asian customers if they could accommodate more crude oil cargoes under the term contracts, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month. The crude marketing companies of OPEC producers Iraq and Kuwait have asked Asian buyers if they would be willing and able to buy more oil for loading in March, the sources told Reuters, in a sign that the Middle Eastern oil producers are grappling with growing oversupply amid the slump in Chinese crude oil demand. Fears of a global economic slowdown due to the spreading of the virus outside Asia are also battering oil prices, which hit budget revenues of the oil suppliers in the Middle East. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Supreme Court has reinstated an effective 10-year jail sentence imposed on a man for raping his wife. Previously the Court of Appeal had cut the sentence to eight and a half years but this was appealed by the DPP to the Supreme Court. The rape happened after the man forced his wife upstairs at knifepoint. He made threats to kill her after she left their home the following day with their young child and, some weeks later, attacked her, and her mother, with a hammer while she was in her parents' home. Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the circumstances of this rape included the domination of the woman who was entitled instead to repose trust in her husband, the "chilling threat of violence", the betrayal of the sanctity of the home and the "incipient menace" that effectively kept her captive overnight and worried about her responsibilities as a mother, he said. This was a case correctly characterised by the trial judge, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, as being in the "upper bracket of the more serious category of rape cases", he said. The DPP had appealed to the Supreme Court after an effective 10-year sentence previously imposed by the Central Criminal Court for the rape was reduced to eight and a half years by the Court of Appeal. The DPP argued the appeal court had erred in apparently regarding the rape as an offence "in isolation" rather than part of a pattern of violent and abusive behaviour. The appeal concerned the rape sentence only and did not concern concurrent sentences imposed for threats by the man to kill the woman and a hammer attack by him on her some days after the rape. The Supreme Court gave an earlier significant judgment in the case which addressed sentencing in rape cases, particularly of marital rape involving a pattern of violent and abusive behaviour. It later heard submissions as to the appropriate sentence in light of those principles. Today, the five-judge court, sitting for the first time ever in Kilkenny courthouse, gave its judgment on sentence. Mr Justice Charleton, giving the judgment, said no error in the trial judge's sentencing had been identified and it followed the original sentence should be restored, he said. There was no basis for affording any reduction in that sentence by reason of the appeal even though time has passed, he added. 'Huge relief' Speaking after the judgment, the woman said the Supreme Court decision was a "huge relief" for herself and her family and would have very important implications for future cases of domestic and sexual violence. "The Supreme Court has said very clearly these offences are very serious and has set out how they should be addressed," she said. She and her family have been down a long road but she was "very glad" the DPP had pursued this matter because it was "the right thing to do and that is proven by the judgment". The woman was married to the man, from an African country, for some years ago and they had a child before their relationship deteriorated. On May 2, 2014, after a major row involving an altercation, they agreed to separate. On May 25, 2014, during a row in the kitchen, the man produced a knife, threatened his wife he would "cut open" her face, ordered her upstairs and raped her. He told her, if she rang gardai, they would not arrive in time to save her. She pretended reconciliation, left the next morning and got protection orders. He rang and threatened to kill her the next day and, over ensuing days, confronted her at work, the creche and at a shopping centre. On August 6, 2014, her mother let him into her parents home where he produced a hammer from a bag, struck the woman several times on the head and also hit her mother on the head. He fled after neighbours intervened and was later arrested. The woman suffered three deep lacerations and she and her mother were taken to hospital. The man was convicted of charges related to the hammer attack, rape and three threats to kill and concurrent sentences were imposed. A 14-year headline sentence was imposed for the rape, reduced by two years suspension and two years for mitigation, resulting in total prison time of 10 years. The Court of Appeal reduced the headline rape sentence to 12 years, less two for mitigation and 18 months for suspension, making the overall sentence eight years and six months. In the Supreme Court's earlier December judgment, Mr Justice Charleton set out principles for sentencing in rape cases and the sentencing bands for such cases. He said rape ordinarily merits a substantial "headline" sentence of about seven years before mitigation is considered and a custodial sentence "is all but inescapable". A category of cases merit a headline sentence of 10-15 years, before considering mitigation and suspension issues and violence in the home, breach of trust, domination and a background of abuse are "aggravating circumstances". Some cases would require up to life imprisonment and particular emphasis would be placed on the harm rape does to the victim, he added. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday advised citizens to refrain from traveling to South Korea, Iran, and Italy, which have been severely hit by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Trend reports citing Sputnik. "In connection with the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection in the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran and several regions of the Italian Republic and in order to prevent its spread to the Russian Federation's territory, the Russian Foreign Ministry recommends that Russian citizens temporarily refrain from traveling to the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Italian Republic, unless it is extremely urgent", the ministry said in a statement. Moreover, the ministry called on all Russian nationals who are currently in those three countries to communicate their contact details via email or hotlines listed on the embassies' websites. Meanwhile, according to the association of tour operators of Russia, less than 1,000 Russian tourists are currently staying in South Korea. Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, COVID-19 has since infected over 81,200 people worldwide, resulting in the deaths of over 2,750 people. More than a third of individuals who contracted the disease have recovered. However, the outbreak is gaining pace in Europe, as several European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, and Croatia, have reported their first confirmed cases in recent days. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The Philippine National Police is coordinating with Chinese counterparts in monitoring Chinese fugitives who have entered the country, a top official said Wednesday. Metro Manila police chief PMGen Debold Sinas said authorities have asked the help of Chinese anti-crime counterparts. Ngayon we have established a good contact with the police attache of China. Nag-usap na kami doon, Sinas said in an interview with CNN Philippines The Source. [Translation: Right now we have established good contact with the police attache of China. We already talked about it.] Sabi ko sa kanila, sana kung meron na kayong alam na mga wanted, bigay niyo na sa amin. Ituro niyo sa amin, para hulihin na natin, he added. [Translation: I told them, if you have information on wanted individuals, just give it to us. Point them out, so we can apprehend them.] A total of 1.74 million Chinese nationals visited the country in 2019, making the East Asian giant the second biggest source of tourists. READ: Philippines breaches target 8.2-M foreign tourists in 2019 Meanwhile, a recent Senate investigation also revealed there have been over 700 Chinese fugitives who entered the country in 2019. Foreign crime rates up with POGO industry boom Sinas said criminal cases involving foreign nationals spiked in the past year amid the proliferation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO). Maraming unruly, sabihin na natin, wag lang silang magalit, Chinese talaga Pag dumadami ang foreigners, dumadami rin ang crimes, Sinas said. [Translation: There are a lot of unruly foreigners, lets sayI hope they dont get madtheyre Chinese. When foreigners in the country increase, so do crimes.] In a series of hearings, the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality revealed the alleged string of violations committed by some Chinese nationals and POGO workers. These include the supposed payment of a 10,000 service fee for easy access through the Bureau of Immigration also known as the pastillas scheme and an online sex trafficking scheme, where both Filipino and foreign escorts can be ordered for sex. READ: China starts crackdown on POGO workers Police have also conducted raids in various parts of Manila where establishments, including well-known luxury hotels and condominiums, were probed for suspected prostitution activities. Sinas said a Chinese tourist help desk is in the works to help combat rising criminality. He added the police legal team is also studying the possible filing of charges against owners of establishments with illegal activities. Responsibility nila 'yun kasi kababayan natin yung na-exploit doon eh. Pinag-aaralan pa... kung may kaso ba talaga or how do we file the case, Sinas said. [Translation: Its their responsibility since some Filipinos are being exploited. Were still studying if there is a case against them.] A banner bearing the slogan -- 'Pakistan allow media and political freedom' -- was displayed outside the United Nations office here with an aim to highlight Islamabad's crackdown on the press in the past two years. The slogan was written in bold red and white letters against a black and white background. The banner had been placed at the iconic Broken Chair at a time when the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is underway. The freedom of media in Pakistan started to be questioned, especially after the controversial elections of 2018 where the polls were claimed to be manipulated by the Pakistani Army in order to bring the current Prime Minister Imran Khan in power. Journalists in Pakistan have been facing the increasing risk of extremist threats and attacks on social media. A climate of fear has dominated the media which affects their operations. According to a report from a non-government organisation, more than 50 journalists were killed in the last two decades. The government has extensive control over the broadcast streaming, advertisements for news channels, and social media. Journalists, activists, authors, and politicians describe this period as extreme fear and self-censorship period. With the new regulations in the anti-terrorism agenda, terrorism, extremism, hate speech, fake news, incitement to violence and national security will be monitored, however, this might pave the way for mass censorship. (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 News Desk (Reuters) Cairo, Egypt Wed, February 26, 2020 18:20 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c7693 2 World Hosni-Mubarak,Funeral,Egypt,former-president Free Egypt held a military funeral in Cairo on Wednesday to bury its former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years until he was ousted in a 2011 popular uprising against corruption. Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal, joined by soldiers, walked next to their father's coffin at a huge mosque built by the army in a Cairo suburb where the funeral took place. Mubarak died on Tuesday in intensive care weeks after undergoing surgery, leaving Egyptians divided over his legacy presiding over an era of stagnation and repression, which some nevertheless recall as more stable than the chaos that followed. He was swept out of power as an early victim of the "Arab Spring" revolutions that swept the region in 2011. He spent many of the subsequent years in jail and military hospitals before being freed in 2017. Egypt's presidency and armed forces mourned the former air force officer as a hero for his role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The presidency declared three days of national mourning. Egypt's top military officials were expected to attend the funeral. Mubarak's coffin was to be airlifted from the Field Marshall Tantawi mosque to the family burial grounds, state television reported. Dozens of Mubarak supporters, some from his home village Kafr al-Meselha in the Nile Delta, gathered outside the mosque, where the military funeral will take place. "I am happy that his pride was restored" after his removal, "and for the state's appreciation for him after his death," said Zeenat Touhami, a 35-year old woman from Cairo. "This is the history of 30 years, the farewell of 30 years". Mohamed Zaree, a human rights activist, said the present era of autocracy and economic hardship was worse than Mubarak's. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who came to power after leading the overthrow of Mubarak's Islamist successor, Mohamed Mursi, has overseen a broad crackdown on dissent, which rights groups say is the most severe in recent memory. "Mubaraks era was painful [but] this era is much more difficult and painful in terms of freedoms and economic conditions," Zaree said. Many of the activists who helped organize mass protests which ousted Mubarak are now behind bars or live in exile abroad. Sisi's supporters say a crackdown was needed to stabilize the country after the turmoil that followed 2011. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during the 18-day revolt in 2011, but was freed in 2017 after being cleared of those charges. He was also convicted in 2015 along with his two sons of diverting public funds to upgrade family properties. They were sentenced to three years in jail. Egyptian state and private newspapers ran front page pictures of Mubarak, while state TV showed excerpts of previous speeches. This was a stark contrast to the treatment of his successor, Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, who lasted only a year in office before the army toppled him. Mursi died last year after collapsing in court while on trial on espionage charges. Egyptian media, which are tightly controlled, paid little attention to his death. Animal welfare groups and an expert in laboratory animal welfare have called for more transparency over the use of animals in medical research after a trio of baboons escaped from their vehicle at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney's inner west on Tuesday afternoon. The older male baboon and his two younger female companions escaped after a lock failed, and the three wandered through a car park before they were recaptured about 7.30pm. The baboons were at the hospital so the male could have a vasectomy, but they come from a breeding colony at a facility in Wallacia, in Sydney's west. Animals from the colony are used in medical research around the country. According to not-for-profit group Humane Research Australia, 272 primates were used for medical research in Australia in 2017. Karnataka BJP president, Nalinkumar Kateel alleged that Congress party is behind the conspiracy that unleashed violence in north east New Delhi when United States of America President Donald Trump had visited the national capital. While attention of the world was towards New Delhi during the visit of Trump, Congress wanted to portray negative image that the Indian capital was not safe, he alleged. Speaking at the handing over of charge to BJP Rural District president and city president here on Wednesday, Kateel said, "For the past three months peaceful protests were being staged against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in New Delhi. Sudden eruption of violence and miscreants getting access to pistols shows nature and mastermind of Congress of creating trouble when not in power." "Congress by campaigning against CAA has been betraying the country and wants to create anarchy. Mahatma Gandhi after partition of the country wanted CAA to be implemented to protect persecuted minorities from Pakistan coming to India and same line was toed by Indira Gandhi after creation of Bangladesh in the year 1971. Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh too had raised the issue in the year 2003. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has realised their demands and Congress has been opposing CAA," Kateel stated. He further alleged that Congress has become 'bankrupt intellectually' and has been compromising on nationalistic issues. "It being more concerned in dynastic politics has been losing its base in the rural areas too. Congress party has been weakened to such an extent that its candidates cannot even win Gram Panchayat election nor can it become opposition party in the Lok Sabha". Kateel said, Congress has resorted to vote bank politics and anti-national slogans are heard on its stage and its leaders too are supporting such acts. He said, KPCC president, working president and leader of opposition in the legislative assembly have tendered resignations six months ago, but Congress is yet to appoint new faces to replace them which shows how weak the party has become now. Regarding statement by Congress leader Siddaramaiah that Kateel does not have political knowledge, he said, I do not have political knowledge, but if the Congress leader has, he should name D K Shivakumar as KPCC president. If Shivakumar becomes KPCC president, the former chief minister will quit the party and if Dr G Parameshwar is made KPCC president, Shivakumar will walk out of the party. Congress state unit will shatter after announcement of KPCC president. Flash India and the United States on Tuesday signed defense deals worth over 3 billion U.S. dollars, ensuring the sale of 24 "MH-60 Romeo" and six "AH-64E Apache" helicopters to India. However, the highly anticipated trade deal remained elusive. Addressing reporters after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that he and Trump decided to give a "legal route" to the negotiations that have already taken place between the two countries' trade ministers recently. "We have an understanding for a big trade deal. I am sure that the talks between our trade ministers will yield good results. We have decided to give a legal route to their talks," said Modi. Modi noted that he and Trump both favored "open, fair and balanced trade" between the two sides. "In the past three years our bilateral trade growth has been in the double digits. Areas like energy, civil aircraft, defense and higher education have made an immense contribution of 70 billion U.S. dollars in the past four to five years," he told media alongside Trump. "Trump's policies and decisions have allowed all this to happen. I hope this would increase further," said Modi. The U.S. president was also confident about a possible trade deal with India at the joint press conference with Modi. "Our teams have made tremendous progress for a comprehensive trade agreement, and I am optimistic we can reach a deal of great importance to both countries," Trump said. "Since I took office, the U.S. exports to India have gone up by nearly 60 percent and exports of high-quality American energy have grown by 500 percent," said the U.S. president. While Trump has been repeatedly blamed globally for adopting "protectionist" policies, he has often called India a "Tariff King" for imposing high tariffs on American goods. He had been asking Modi to reduce tariffs on Harley Davidson motorcycles to zero as a reciprocal gesture. According to India's media group India Today, the U.S. negotiators pulled back at the last minute, telling India to "wait for a bigger deal." Quoting sources, the group's magazine said in an article that the two sides had got "pretty much of a handle" over the contentious issues that had stalled such a deal in the past. "They had worked on resolving a set of issues that dealt with lowering tariffs and providing market access on both sides in a range of sectors and then to create a package acceptable to both sides," it said. "This included the U.S.' demand for relaxing price restrictions on certain medical devices and India's demand that the U.S. restore the Generalised Systems of Preferences (GSP) that it had withdrawn last June. The GSP had allowed Indian manufacturers duty free exports of over 3,000 select products to the U.S." Russian attacks continue hitting civilians in Syria's Idl Local sources reported that Russian warplanes and regime forces target Syrian villages in the de-escalation zone, killed four civilians. Four civilians were killed in Russian airstrikes in the de-escalation zone in northern Syria, local sources said on Wednesday. VILLAGES WERE SHELLED IN THE REGION According to a Syrian opposition aircraft observatory, Russian warplanes carried out airstrikes on Arnaba village in Idlib province's southeastern countryside. Four civilians were killed in Arnaba, said the sources with the Syrian Civil Defense agency (White Helmets). Meanwhile, regime forces shelled the villages of Kafar Aweed, Kansafra, Sarmin, Qmenas and Al-Nerab. When the court was about to adjourn for the next session, there was noise and booing from the gallery, prompting an infuriated Takundwa to declare that all who had come for Chibaya and Masara would not be allowed to attend the next session of the trial. Susan L. Heller of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was recently honored with awards from Client Choice, American Lawyer Media, Finance Monthly, and World Trademark Review. Client Choice honored Heller with the 2020 Client Choice Award for Intellectual Property: Trademarks (California). The award is based on nominations exclusively from corporate counsel, who rate attorneys on criteria such as legal advice, industry knowledge, strategic thinking, sharing of expertise, use of technology, and ethics. American Lawyer Media named Heller 2020 Woman Leader in the Law, an annual distinction featuring female attorneys who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities, strong legal ability, and high ethical standards. Finance Monthly Legal Awards 2020 recognized Heller as a winner in the U.S. Intellectual Property category. The award celebrates the achievements of legal leaders and innovators. World Trademark Review 1000 named Heller as one of 15 private practice attorneys in California in its WTR Global Leaders 2019, which honors the worlds foremost legal and corporate authorities in trademark practice, drawing on market research and interviews with leading practitioners. We are extremely proud to congratulate Susan on these well-earned awards. Her innovation in the field of intellectual property law, and her leadership within Greenberg Traurig and beyond make her an invaluable member of our team and trusted counsel to clients, Greenberg Traurig Senior Chairman Matthew B. Gorson said. Heller is Co-Managing Shareholder of the Orange County office, Chair of the firm's Global Trademark & Brand Management Group, and Co-Chair of the firm's Global Womens Initiative. She is consistently recognized by numerous publications and organizations as having one of the preeminent and most innovative international trademark practices in the country, and for being a game-changer. When the stakes are high and critical brands are at risk, Fortune 500 companies, world champion athletes, high-net-worth individuals, A-list celebrities and highly visible pre-IPO companies turn to Heller for her strategic thought leadership and counsel, honed by her three decades of experience. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,200 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law Turkey, Bangladesh, Israel enter Top 10 Ukrainian grain importers ranking in 2019 11:51, 26.02.20 1916 Egypt has traditionally topped the ranking since 2011. MUMBAI: Targeting Shiv Sena`s silence over the recent controversial remark by AIMIM leader Waris Pathan, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party might be "wearing bangles" but the BJP was not and knew how to retaliate in the same manner. "Shiv Sena might be wearing bangles but we are not. If someone says something then he will be given an answer in the same way. BJP has this much power," Fadnavis said while launching a scathing attack on ruling-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra for not taking strict action against Pathan. Fadnavis was addressing protestors at Azad Maidan where BJP launched a protest against the Maharashtra government over issues related to farmers and women. On February 20, while addressing an anti-CAA rally, at Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Pathan had said, "time has now come for us to unite and achieve freedom. Remember we are 15 crore but can dominate over 100 crores." "They tell us that we have kept our women in the front - only the lionesses have come out and you are already sweating. You can understand what would happen if all of us come together," he had said. Facing flak over his remarks Pathan later took back his words and had said he had not targeted any community but had spoken against members of some organisations. "If any of my words have hurt someone, I take them back as I am a true Indian," Pathan said at a press conference here. The AIMIM leader said that he was being portrayed as being anti-Indian and anti-Hindu for the past couple of days. "I want to say that my earlier statement was basically against people who are members of organisations like RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal, etc. These 100 are those people who want to divide this beautiful nation," he added. CLEVELAND, Ohio A man kicked out of a Cleveland church operating as a temporary homeless shelter returned to the church, forced his way inside and threatened an employee with a gun, according to police. Arthur Scott, 32, is charged with aggravated burglary. He is behind held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on $50,000 bond. The incident happened about 4 a.m. Friday at the Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, which became the center of controversy after Cleveland fire officials ordered it to stop operating as a shelter on Christmas Eve. The church and the non-profit that runs the shelter, the Metanoia Project, fought the order and the city allowed the organizations to continue helping the shelter until an April 15 hearing in front of the Building and Housing Division. Metanoia Executive Director Heidi Goblirsch commended her staff for handling Saturdays incident properly. Our staff is well-trained in de-escalation and used their training in keeping everyone safe from the man who came in with a gun, Goblirsch said. They did everything they were supposed to do. A Metanoia employee told police that staff kicked Scott out of the shelter on Thursday after he stole someones burrito out of the refrigerator. Scott returned and knocked on the door. The employee answered and tried to tell Scott he was no longer allowed to stay there. Scott pulled out a handgun and forced his way inside the shelter, according to police reports. A witness told police Scott was flipping out inside the shelter. Someone called 911 and Scott ran from the building after hearing sirens approaching, police reports say. Officers quickly spotted him at a bus stop on Dennison and Lorain avenues and arrested him, according to police reports. No gun was found. Read recent stories Cleveland pastor charged with compelling prostitution of child Feds charge Strongsville priest, say he sexually exploited 15-year-old boy he met online Woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in Cleveland Heights church stabbing over faux-fur boots Parma school district settles with woman blocked by employee on Twitter Ohio troopers 100 mph chase through Strongsville, Brunswick ends in crash, arrests and is now under review Cork University Hospital has set a record for the number of admitted patients on trolleys with 74 waiting, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. There were 62 admitted patients waiting in the hospital's emergency department and a further 12 on wards. The INMO's industrial relations officer in Cork, Liam Conway, said patients in CUH were being treated in corridors, waiting areas and other inappropriate places. All of those patients are being put at risk, and our members are once again being asked to simply fill in the gaps left by short staffing and inadequate planning, said Mr Conway. There is a desperate need for greater capacity in acute facilities and in the community to make the health service safe for patients and staff. There should be no bureaucratic obstacles to safe staffing," he said. CUH said the hospital was experiencing significant overcrowding" and urged people to only attend the hospital if there is a genuine emergency. Where possible people should consult their GP, Southdoc out-of-hours service or local injury unit. We are asking people to think about all their care and treatment options and keep our ED services for patients who need them most, the hospital stated. The hospital's ED has been coming under continuing pressure with high numbers presenting with a variety of complex needs. CUH said the ED would assess and prioritise anyone who was seriously injured or ill or concerned that their life might be at risk. Staff and management are working to prioritise the discharge of patients as soon as possible where appropriate, it added. The HSE's TrolleyGAR that only counts patients waiting on trolleys in EDs also had CUH with the highest number of patients waiting, at 55, with 35 waiting more than nine hours and 16 waiting more than 24 hours. There were 578 admitted patients waiting for beds across the country on today, according to the INMO's Trolley Watch. Of those waiting, 378 were in EDs and 174 were in wards. Among the worst-hit hospitals were university Hospital Limerick with 57 patients waiting and South Tipperary General Hospital that had 42. According to the HSE, there were 419 patients waiting in EDs, with 236 waiting over nine hours and 92 waiting more than 24 hours. The number of trolley waiters has increased by 12% compared to the same day last year when there were 373, with 177 waiting over nine hours. U.S. airlines and hotels are extending options for customers to rebook travel to a growing list of countries, including Italy, as coronavirus cases spiked outside of China and sparked fears of a global pandemic. CDC officials told Americans on Tuesday to begin preparing for the coronavirus to spread within the country as outbreaks in Iran, South Korea and Italy escalated, triggering concerns of a hit to global travel demand. Delta Air Lines said that reservations through March 2 on flights to Bologna, Milan and Venice in northern Italy, where cases have climbed, are eligible for rescheduling. Air Canada has also added parts of Italy to its list of places eligible for rebookings. United Airlines Holdings and American Airlines said on Tuesday they were still monitoring developments in Italy. A Delta pilot is seen in a file photo. Delta Air Lines said that reservations through March 2 on flights to northern Italy, where virus cases have climbed, are eligible for rescheduling. Health personnel work in the triage area at the Molinette hospital as they try to prevent further coronavirus cases on February 26, 2020 in Turin, Italy On Wednesday, Delta it will reduce flights to South Korea as concern rises about the spread of the new virus beyond China. Delta said it will suspend flights between Seoul and Minneapolis after Saturday and running through April 30. Delta also said it will reduce flights from Seoul to Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle to five times a week. The airline said last fall that it was operating about 28 flights per week on those routes. The Atlanta-based airline, the worlds largest by revenue, will also delay the start of new flights between Seouls Incheon Airport and Manila. Instead of beginning March 29, the launch has been pushed back to May 1. Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines have already suspended all flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong. United said this week that demand for service to China had disappeared, and that March bookings for flights elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region had plummeted 75% since the outbreak. Hyatt Hotels also said it would allow travelers from South Korea, Japan and Italy to cancel or change their hotel bookings for free, expanding the policy from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The Piazza Duomo in Milan is nearly deserted on Wednesday. The viral outbreak that began in China and has infected more than 80,000 people globally, so far caused 374 cases and 12 deaths in Italy, according to the last figures released by civil protection The Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in the city center is seen empty on Wednesday in Milan, Italy. Many communities across the Lombardy and Veneto regions have seen the suspension of public events and church services, and the closure of grade schools and universities Civil protection and health workers who wear protective suits and health masks deliver the evening meal at the Bel Sit hotel in Alassio where 34 people from Asti are in quarantine The cancellations or booking changes at Hyatt are valid for reservations made through March 31, the U.S. hotel operator said on its official Chinese social media account on WeChat. Major airlines have also issued travel waivers, eliminating change fees, for flights to South Korea. So far U.S. airlines have only canceled flights to China, a move that followed the U.S. State Department's decision to elevate a travel advisory to the country to the same level as Afghanistan and Iraq. American Airlines shares dropped 9.3% to $23.12 on Tuesday, below their price after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013. Cowen analyst Helane Becker said the impacts extended to car rental companies as well as concessions and restaurants in airports and on cruise lines. 'It's not just the airlines that are being impacted by people making different travel plans,' she said. Two passengers wear protective masks as they travel on a train from Rome to Milan on Tuesday Two passengers of the subway are wearing a protective mask on Wednesday in Milan Via Festa del Perdono, usually full of hundreds of university students, is seen empty in front of the main university building of the University degli Studi on Wednesday in Milan, Italy Royal Caribbean Cruises said it has canceled 30 sailings in Southeast Asia and changed several itineraries in the region due to the coronavirus outbreak, hitting its 2020 earnings per share by about $0.90. Hyatt's larger rivals Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc have also issued cancellation waivers for guests affected by the outbreak in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan until March 31. The hotel chains did not immediately respond to requests for comment if they were extending the waiver to South Korea, Japan and Italy as well. Even travel companies without exposure to Europe and Asia were keeping an eye on developments. JetBlue, which only flies in the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, said on Tuesday it had activated its pandemic response team to monitor the situation in real time. The team was last called on for the Zika virus outbreak in 2016, a spokesman said. * "Hard" talks to begin next week after EU, UK adopt stance * Irish border, level playing field are key battlelines * Britain wants "independence", no future alignment with EU rules (Adds UK comments on EU, US trade talks) By Gabriela Baczynska and Marine Strauss BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The European Union is ready for talks on future ties with Brexit Britain ranging from trade to security but the process will be "very hard" and could fail if London does not secure the Irish border as earlier agreed, ministers said on Tuesday. Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 after over three years of tortuous divorce talks, greatly complicated by sensitivities around the Irish border, the only land frontier between the bloc and the United Kingdom now and with a past history of violence. With both sides talking tough ahead of negotiations due to start next week, Ireland warned that even a basic trade deal would be impossible by the end of this year if London does not honour border obligations under the withdrawal deal. "If there isn't progress on the infrastructure needed...in the next few months, that's going to be a very worrying signal for whether or not it's going to be possible to conclude something sensible before the end of the year," Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told reporters in Brussels. "If that doesn't happen, it will damage significantly the prospects of being able to get even a bare-bones trade agreement...by the end of the year," he said on arrival for a meeting with peers at EU headquarters. In London, the British government said it would publish its own negotiating lines for EU talks on Thursday. "The UK's primary objective in the negotiations is to ensure we restore our economic and political independence on Jan. 1, 2021," Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said in a reference to Britain's status-quo transition period after Brexit that runs its course at the end of 2020. Under the complex divorce settlement between the world's fifth-largest economy and the biggest trading bloc, Northern Ireland remains in the UK's customs area but tariffs would apply on goods crossing from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland if they were headed further to Ireland or elsewhere in the EU. "We will comply with our obligations," a Johnson spokesman said on Monday. "The prime minister... has been clear that beyond the limited changes... there will be no changes to Great Britain-Northern Ireland trade and we have not asked any ports to prepare for new checks or controls between Great Britain-Northern Ireland." Johnson's hardline eurosceptic government has also said it will not introduce any new checks or controls at the land border with Ireland. Coveney stressed the EU would not accept that. "The implementation of agreements that have already been struck are the test of good faith and trust," he said, alluding to the legally binding divorce deal. "And without good faith and trust, building a future relationship is not going to be easy." "VERY HARD WORK" Coveney also said EU's 27 countries were ready for the new round of talks with Britain as ministers approved on Tuesday the bloc's joint negotiating mandate. Britain's current trade with the EU, in the customs union and single market of which it will remain until Dec. 31, is now made up of 45% exports and 53% of imports. On offer from the EU is trade without tariffs or quotas in exchange for the UK committing not to undercut European companies with lower - and therefore cheaper - environmental, labour, tax and state aid standards. But Johnson rules out being bound by EU rules guaranteeing a "level playing field", stressing its "primary objective in the negotiations is ... economic and political independence". London says it is ready to accept tariffs and quotas similar to a deal the EU has with Canada, or trade on basic, less-beneficial World Trade Organization rules - which assume tariffs, quotas and cumbersome paperwork - from 2021, should a comprehensive trade deal prove elusive. "If we cannot maintain this regulatory proximity, then we must ... apply tariffs or quotas," France's Europe Minister, Amelie de Montchalin, told reporters. "It's not a position of revenge, it's an economically rational position." The EU mandate says any new trade treaty between the EU and Britain, given the UK's geographical proximity to Europe, should "prevent distortions of trade and unfair competitive advantages so as to ensure a sustainable and long-lasting relationship". Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said the talks would be challenging. "The time pressure is immense, the interests are huge, it's a very complicated treaty, so it will be very hard work." (Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Elizabeth Piper and William James, Editing by Mark Heinrich) How Bad Will It Get for Airlines When Coronavirus Hits the U.S.? The coronavirus scare has brought out some of the worst of the American mentality, promoting the idea that if we close our borders to travelers from foreign lands, like China, we can insulate ourselves from a fast-moving global virus. Even as outbreaks spread to friendly democracies, such as South Korea and Italy, we assume we can save Americans by reducing air links, or instituting quarantines. But what happens when the virus reaches the United States in big numbers? On Tuesday, federal health experts predicted it soon will spread here, asking hospitals, employers and schools to prepare. As people panic, it could cripple U.S. commerce. Airlines will take the brunt of it. So far, U.S. carriers have made only tactical cuts, reducing Asia flights and deploying wide-body jets to the most popular short-haul markets, including Las Vegas, Cancun, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Orlando. In recent years, U.S. airline executives have bragged about near limitless North American demand, so short term, this may boost profits, not reduce them. But this strategy only works as long travelers perceive limited risk for short-haul flights. >> Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skifts Liveblog Unless something changes drastically with how the illness spreads, its hard to see this lasting. At some point, Americans will freak out, and U.S airlines will struggle to fill seats, at any price. They all can probably survive thanks to consolidation, U.S. airlines are stronger than in any period in recent history but profits and stock prices should take a dive, even if the airlines will be buoyed slightly by decreasing fuel costs. The situation among Asia airlines shows how bad it could get. IATA, the global trade group, predicts Asian-Pacific airlines will lose out on almost $28 billion in revenue this year because of fallout from the virus. Thus far, the group predicts minor issues in North Americarevenue down about $700 million, compared to earlier projections but that guess is only germane if the virus continues to stay out of the continent, something that seems unlikely. Story continues Actual Risk Doesnt Matter You can argue the coronavirus is not as dangerous as many people fear perhaps not so much worse than the flu or that travelers are overreacting. But it doesnt matter. This could reach panic stage quickly, and when that happens, rational thought disappears. Airlines are more susceptible to panics than many businesses. No matter what, people need groceries, household staples, and clothing, but travel is often discretionary. Whether for leisure or business, most people do not need to fly. You can guess how this will play out. Just like consumers in countries with current outbreaks, Americans will delay or cancel trips, believing the risk of getting sick is not worth it. I bet some Americans are already waffling on buying summer trips, hoping to see how this plays out. Theyre probably wondering, is the trip to see grandma in Denver worth the risk? I'm supposed to go to LA next week for work and the people I'm going with said they are not going because they are scared to go to LAX because of coronavirus. Is this a thing? Megan Murphy (@meganmurp) February 26, 2020 Weve seen versions of this before, and its not pretty. After 9/11, the U.S. air travel system was safe given the increased vigilance on airplanes and at airports, another attack was unlikely but many people avoided flying, because they were scared of something they could not control. After crashes, too, travelers often stay home, though generally not for long. U.S. airlines have said little about worst-case scenarios, but with pockets of coronavirus sprouting in Europe, European airlines are already sounding the alarm. Their concerns are not so much Asia any well-run carrier can handle one underperforming region but more about a global pandemic. This week, Scandinavian Airlines CEO Rickard Gustafson told investment analysts forward bookings have not yet been affected, but added, if its not contained before we enter into the summer season, it might be more problematic, not just for SAS but also for the industry as a whole. Meanwhile, Lufthansa Group said it would impose a hiring freeze, offer unpaid leave, and cut costs because of concerns over the virus expanding in Europe. KLM has also said it making some budget cuts, by cutting IT projects and reducing travel expenses. The impact on KLMs revenues will be very significant and will only partly be mitigated by lower costs and a lower fuel price, the companys chief financial offer told employees, as reported by Reuters. U.S. airlines arent there yet. But there are indications this will materially affect business. Earlier this week, United Airlines said it was suspending guidance, reporting it may not make its earnings-per-share goal because of pressure on transpacific routes. This filing focused only on international routes, but its easy to see how this could spread to the domestic system. How Airlines Will React If this gets worse, you can expect U.S. carriers to act on several fronts. To assuage passenger concerns, they may clean domestic airplanes more thoroughly, perhaps implementing similar standards as for long-haul jets, which generally receive a full disinfecting after each flight. They may also alter service, as some Asian airlines have done, reducing interactions between flight attendants and customers. To fill seats, they may aggressively discount, seeking to boost demand by lowering prices. And to align supply with demand, they may park jets to reduce capacity. Most larger U.S. airlines have at least one older airplane type that they own, unencumbered, that they have promised investors they will retire if necessary. Daniel McKenzie, an analyst at Buckingham Research, said American Airlines could cut capacity by double digits and ground more than 100 airplanes without sparking financial ruin. Even Spirit Airlines, he said, could park 18 percent of its jets without affecting longer-term prospects. We may also see reduced urgency with the 737 Max. For more than a year, many airlines have complained they couldnt use the airplane, arguing they missed out on profits from their domestic systems during boom times. But if people dont want to travel, airlines wont need the Max. They will happily delay its return. Subscribe to Skift newsletters for essential news about the business of travel. In the presence of Mr. Edgar Doerig, ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Mohamed Al Jaber, CEO of Al Jaber Watches and Niels Eggerding, Managing Director of Frederique Constant, about 100 guests have discovered the 80 sqm new brands space and the specific limited editions of Manufacture models created for the occasion in a festive atmosphere. Opening boutique in Qatar Frederique Constant The Frederique Constant boutique, located in the Festival City Mall of Doha 1st floor, gate #3, centre court #3 - brings an oasis of luxury and showcases the latest collections from the innovative Geneva watch brand in a completely new boutique concept. With a full range of design styles from ultra-classic to contemporary the boutique services the needs of the customers expectations. The Frederique Constant brand universe and timepieces are displayed in exclusive showcases, highlighting the brands values and expertise within a luxury atmosphere. Opening boutique in Qatar Frederique Constant We are thrilled to open our first mono-brand boutique in Qatar which is also the brands first boutique worldwide displaying our new concept, said Niels Eggerding, Frederique Constants managing director. With an extended and specific collection, a VIP area for a unique experience, qualified and personalised advice on the brand and its timepieces, the Frederique Constant boutique is a great destination for our customers in Qatar. Limited editions for the boutique Not less than three exclusive Manufacture models have been created for the occasion. If you visit the boutique, you will be able to admire a Classic Worldtimer Manufacture and a Classic Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Manufacture offering a unique dial design with the maroon colour of Qatars flag. The third limited edition is a Classic Moonphase Manufacture offering a FC-712 in-house calibre, featuring hours, minutes, date counter and moon phase display with a specific salmon colour dial and black printed Arabian numeral indexes. Three special limited editions Frederique Constant All three models are produced in a very limited series and exclusively available in the Frederique Constant boutique in Doha. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. After the Archdiocese of New York announced that St. Adalberts School in Elm Park will merge with Holy Rosary School in South Beach -- with all students attending school at Holy Rosary beginning in the 2020-2021 school year -- parents are now debating if they should pull their children out of the school. On Monday, the Archdiocese announced that the two schools will merge to become the Father Vincent Capodanno Catholic Academy. It also announced that St. Rita School in Meiers Corners will merge with St. Teresa School in Castleton Corners to form the St. Teresa-St. Rita STREAM Academy, with students going to classes at the St. Teresa School building. Some St. Adalbert School parents told SILive.com on Wednesday they were upset the school was moving to the new Holy Rosary campus, which is nearly seven miles away from the Elm Park schools current location. According to a source with knowledge of the situation said while proximity was a concern, the programs of the two schools align well and leadership of each school is strong. This will help serve the needs of both school communities. The source said it understands parents may need to make decisions based on geography, but hopes existing relationships will encourage everyone to stay and grow with the new academy. Its really sad. I understand theyre trying to save the school, but its an adjustment and people dont like change, said Rosalinda Lipka, the parent of an eighth-grader and third-grader, with a third child who graduated from the school. Its sad because its going to be a hardship for me and my son. According to a letter sent to parents from the Archdiocese, the larger Holy Rosary campus will allow both school communities to grow, enhance existing programs, and increase community partnerships. It said it will explore the possibility of creating educational opportunities beyond elementary school, which will welcome traditional learners and those with varying learning styles. The larger Holy Rosary campus will allow both school communities to continue to grow and allow us to enhance existing programs and increase community partnerships. Beginning in the 2020 - 2021 school year, we will be exploring the possibility of creating educational opportunities beyond elementary school which will welcome traditional learners as well as those with varying learning styles. A letter from St. Adalberts School said the new academy is exploring the possibility of creating a high school program to enable the academy to provide a seamless educational experience and present the opportunity to further solidify its partnership in the religious, academic and social emotional growth of students. St. Adalberts School is holding an information meeting on Monday evening for parents. Lipka said shes planning to hear more information at the meeting before making a decision if she will pull her son out of the school. Another parent of a second-grader and an incoming pre-K student, who asked to be anonymous, said shes looking at different school options, including her childrens zoned school. Its a whole headache right now, she said. Im very disappointed. I wish we knew about it so I had time to look for a new school. Ixno Clermermeus Pauline said he is already planning to apply to another Catholic school -- Blessed Sacrament in West Brighton. Despite the Archdiocese working with the New York Citys Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) to arrange bus routes, Pauline said the campus is just not conveniently located for his family. Even though they said theyre going to keep the principal, its still too far, he explained. If I have to do something or drop them off earlier in the morning, its going to cause problems. The commute is tough with the traffic. While some parents are thinking about whether to switch schools, Vinnie Macri said -- while he wishes the new campus were closer -- he plans on keeping his fifth-grade daughter in the new academy. She transferred to St. Adalbert School in September to receive more support in school and is thriving, he said. I was surprised. I wish it was closer, thats my only concern, Macri said. She went from failing to an 84 average. Mrs. H [Principal Diane Hesterhagen] runs a really good school. ABOUT THE NEW ACADEMY The Father Vincent Capodanno Catholic Academy, named after the Staten Island priest who died while administering last rites to a dying soldier during the Vietnam War, will allow both the St. Adalbert and the Holy Rosary school communities to enhance existing programs and increase community partnerships ... [and explore] the possibility of creating educational opportunities beyond elementary school, which will welcome traditional learners as well as those with varying learning styles, according to the Archdiocese. The new academy will feature: a National Junior Honor Society; an Italian Immersion Program with language and culture components; a Kiwanis Builders Club, featuring community service activities; a Young Ambassador Club; Trout in the Classroom, which helps students understand ecosystems and stewardship of all Gods creatures, according to the Archdiocese. More information about the new academy can be found here. ST. TERESA- ST. RITA MERGER The new St. Teresa-St. Rita STREAM Academy will focus on a rigorous instructional program that challenges them in a Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Math (STREAM)-supported atmosphere that focuses heavily on community partnerships and project-based learning, according to a letter sent to parents of both schools. In addition to the new STREAM initiative, the academy will offer a National Junior Honor Society, a seamless online learning environment in partnership with St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, and robotics, according to the Archdiocese. Additional information about the school can be found here. Some parents at St. Rita School were relieved to hear about the mergers -- instead of having to face a permanent closure of their school. Id rather they merge than the school close completely, said Stephanie Badalamenti, mother to St. Rita fifth-grader Sofia Tornabene. Sofia will still be with the same kids. My mindset is, its just a change in location and maybe a few new friends. Im just hoping we dont lose too many teachers and the transition is smooth for all. For more information on what parents should know about the upcoming mergers, you can go here. According to TJ McCormack, a spokesman for the Office of Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, said the shifts made on Staten Island, which many families have praised, primarily reflect a culture of forward-thinking and a commitment to serving the needs of the larger community. The schools involved have the capacity to accommodate anticipated growth as we deliver an innovative, faith-based curriculum producing test scores that outpace most others and graduation rates consistently above 99%, providing Staten Island and the world with tomorrows leaders, McCormack added. PAST CLOSURES, MERGERS Of 25 parish-affiliated Catholic elementary schools on Staten Island in 2004, only 12 will remain in their exact same incarnation by fall 2020, not closing, merging with, or absorbing another school, according to an analysis by SILive.com. Seven have closed outright, and six others have merged or will be merging to form schools with a new identity. These numbers do not include the 2018 closure of St. John Villa Academy elementary and high school, which was one of four Catholic academies not affiliated with a church, or the 2011 closing of St. Peters Girls High School. A string of Staten Island Catholic schools closed in 2011, including: St. Marys School in Rosebank; St. Rochs School in Port Richmond; St. Sylvesters School in Concord; St. Margaret Marys School in Midland Beach, and St. Peters Girls High School in New Brighton. St. Peter-St. Paul Elementary School in New Brighton was created in 2011 by merging St. Peters Elementary with the former St. Paul School, which closed several years prior. In 2013, St. Josephs School in Rosebank and Immaculate Conception School in Stapleton closed its doors for good. Last year, Our Lady Help of Christians in Tottenville was one of seven Catholic schools across the Archdiocese that closed at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. The Archdiocese cited the buildings were underutilized or in need of significant repairs. Before that closure, the Archdiocese said it hadnt closed any Catholic elementary schools in the prior five years. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, on Tuesday, taunted Eyitayo Jegede, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PD... Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, on Tuesday, taunted Eyitayo Jegede, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after constructing the road leading to his house. Jegede, who challenged Akeredolu during the 2016 governorship election in the state, is said to have shown interest in contesting for the November election. In a post on his Twitter handle, the governor said the road in the PDP candidates neighbourhood was abandoned for 20 years before his administration decided to construct it. Akeredolu said the former PDP candidate would have less issues with his vehicle while plying the road for his campaign. Morning @TayoJegedeSAN. I hope you like the new road I built in your neighborhood totalling about 6km, the governor tweeted. #IbiGiga pic.twitter.com/jV1xvwLsJO Morning @TayoJegedeSAN . I hope you like the new road I built in your neighborhood totalling about 6km. It was neglected for over 20 years. Now You'll have less vehicle issues when you start your campaign fully. #DevelopOndo February 25, 2020 It was neglected for over 20 years. Now Youll have less vehicle issues when you start your campaign fully. A drop in the bucket in the quantum of road development work completed (120km) and ongoing (129km) in 3yrs with meager funds. We are proud of our achievements to date. A lot to be proud about as we celebrate our 3 years. You should read about our Cassava to Ethanol plant in our soon to be commissioned Industrial Hub. Its the largest in the country. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:20:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, speaks at a video conference in central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 26, 2020. Sun has called for efforts to strengthen patient treatment in areas other than Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei. Sun, who is leading a central government team guiding the epidemic control work in Hubei, learned about patient treatment in cities including Xiaogan, Huanggang and Jingzhou at the video conference Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) WUHAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has called for efforts to strengthen patient treatment in areas other than Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in central China's Hubei Province. Sun, who is leading a central government team guiding the epidemic control work in Hubei, learned about patient treatment in cities including Xiaogan, Huanggang and Jingzhou at a video conference Wednesday. The treatment of patients has become a pressing task at present despite the positive trend in the epidemic control in Hubei, said Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Sun stressed that community-level epidemic prevention and control in urban and rural areas and patient treatment remain the two key aspects, calling for efforts to increase support for areas with inadequate medical resources. The latest version of coronavirus patient diagnosis and treatment scheme should be implemented to standardize treatment methods in order to increase the recovery rate and reduce the mortality rate. Sun also stressed the coordination between epidemic control and spring agricultural production. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania will explore that potential for working dogs to detect chronic wasting disease in deer feces in one of three new research projects receiving $1 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The project led by Cynthia Otto, professor and director of Penns School of Veterinary Working Dog Center, will receive $242,246. CWD, which is an always fatal brain disease in deer and related cervid species that some in the media refer to as zombie deer disease, first was detected in Pennsylvania in 2012, in a captive deer herd in Adams County. The department oversees Pennsylvanias deer farming industry and conducts diagnostic tests to determine whether deer that have died were CWD-infected. The department also offers genetic screening to help deer farmers determine how likely their deer are to contract the disease. The two other projects will work toward the development of live-animal tests for chronic wasting disease. The only tests available now must be done on dead animals. A grant of $561,000 will go to a project led by University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine biochemistry professor Anna Kashina, while $196,754 will go to a project by Davin Henderson, a protein chemist and founder of CWD Evolution LLC. Scientists have made significant progress toward better understanding Chronic Wasting Disease in isolating genes associated with the disease, explained Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. These projects show potential to build on that progress by speeding diagnosis, helping scientists better understand how CWD progresses and ultimately, learn how to keep it from spreading. In addition to its oversight of the captive-deer industry in Pennsylvania, the department also genetic screening to help deer farmers determine how likely their deer are to contract the disease. Learn more about the departments CWD program at. The 2012 discovery of CWD in the state led to the creation of Pennsylvanias first disease management area, DMA 1, which has since been eliminated, but CWD has continued to be discovered elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Subsequent discoveries of CWD led to the creation of three more DMAs: DMA 2, following the detection of the disease in multiple free-ranging deer in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Fulton counties in 2012, and captive farm deer in Bedford, Franklin and Fulton counties in 2017; DMA 3, following detection in 2 captive deer farms in Jefferson County in 2014 and a free-ranging deer in Clearfield County in 2017; and DMA 4, following detection in a captive deer at a farm in Lancaster County in 2018. DMAs now cover more than 8,000 square miles of Pennsylvania. Through 2018, 250 free-ranging CWD-positive deer have been detected within the state 246 of them within DMA 2. Hunter reaction to the presence of CWD in Pennsylvania has been mixed to date. A year ago landowner resistance forced the agency to pull back from a pilot effort to control the spread of CWD in Bedford and Blair by reducing deer numbers through targeted removal. That situation led to the creation of an anti-targeted removal organization, Sportsmen for the Future. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has proposed a new plan for slowing the spread of CWD that includes targeted removal when needed. A public comment period on the draft Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan that has already drawn more than 300 comments is open through Feb. 29. After that, commission staff will review the comments, and the results of surveys done in the states three active DMAs. Then a second public comment period on the altered draft plan will run through April. The plan will be presented to the board in May, aiming for board approval in June, in time for the 2020-21 hunting seasons. 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. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. Haiti - Cap-Haitian : The Carnival resumed in violence, several victims After the suspension Sunday Carnival of Cap-Haitien due to individuals hostile to the participation of the musical float of Sweet Micky, insecurity and also the rain https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30110-haiti-news-zapping.html , Carnival resumed on Monday. Michel Martelly and his Sweet Micky Group and 6 other musical floats : Tropicana and Septentrional, Anbyans, Bel Look, Gamax and Kanpech were to parade for this second fat day, but due to the shots heard and the tensions, only that of Martelly maintained his decision to parade under a large police escort. While Sweet Micky's Char along the Boulevard du Cap-Haitien shots were reported, which did not prevent Michel Martelly from continuing his performance accompanied by a few hundred festival goers fans of Sweet Micky. At street 24, bursts of automatic weapons and shots near the truck of Martelly by unidentified individuals, interrupted the parade and caused panic among festival-goers and dancers who fled. Assessment of this attack, at least 6 people injured by gunshot including 2 police officers and 4 festival-goers and a participant on the Char of Martelly. Several other people sustained minor injuries during the panic movement. After "order was restored," Martelly and his group continued to parade and play for the pleasure of their fans. Several bullet holes were visible on the Martelly tank. Tuesday, 3rd and last fat day, and despite the violent incidents of the previous day, the Organizing Committee kept the carnival festivities under high police protection. The disguised bands paraded without incident, as did the musical floats including Tropicana d'Haiti, Septentrional, Bel Look, Frefre Band and Anbyans but without the participation of Sweet Micky throughout the initial route (rue 18, Rond-Point Samarie, rue 24, before ending on Boulevard du Cap), livening up the evening with fervor for the happiness of thousands of fanatic and unconditional Carnival festival-goers. In a message posted on Social Networks, Michel Martelly thanked his fans for their support and their welcome in the city christophienne. TB/ HaitiLibre A Special Task Force (STF) jawan was on Wednesday injured in an encounter with Naxals in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. The gun-battle took place around 9 am when a team of STF was out on an area domination operation in the forest of Chhotedongar police station area, located around 350 kms from the state capital Raipur, a police official told PTI. Acting on a tip-off, the patrolling team had launched the operation from its Kademeta camp towards Becha village, he said. When the security forces were advancing through the forest, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides. However, the ultras fled from the spot after a brief gun-battle, he added. "Constable Sanjay Bada sustained bullet injuries in his leg in the gunfight," he added. The injured was being airlifted to Raipur for treatment, the official said, adding that a search was underway in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:21:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The third China International Import Expo (CIIE) introduced "cloud signing" for the first time on Wednesday afternoon due to the coronavirus epidemic. The impact of the epidemic on the CIIE is "limited" at present, as the organizers are trying their best to offset the negative impact with the help of the internet, said Zhou Lingyan, with the CIIE. Non-contact means, such as phone calls, video calls and emails, are now in place to prevent the possible delay of preparation work. While the epidemic has brought some challenges to the preparation, it has also brought opportunities to some extent," Zhou said. "Medical enterprises are now seizing the opportunity to further explore the Chinese market. Enterprises in technical equipment, automobile and consumer goods also need to take the opportunity to make up for the impact of the epidemic as many expos are canceled or delayed." "The CIIE is the first national-level expo worldwide focusing on import and a breakthrough in international trade," said Kamran Vossoughi, president and chairman of Michelin China. The company is confident that the expo will be held on schedule and turn out to be a success, Kamran said. "Real gold is not afraid of fire, Kamran Vossoughi said, adding that the company has confidence in the future of the Chinese economy despite the current novel coronavirus outbreak. "We participated in the first CIIE but missed the second," said Sean Shan, president of Takeda China, adding that the company will demonstrate its strong innovation ability in oncology, rare diseases, gastroenterology and neuroscience in the third CIIE this November. "In the coming years, we plan to launch more than 15 innovative drugs in China." Statistics showed that by the end of January, more than 1,000 exhibitors worldwide had signed up for the third CIIE, with more than half of the exhibition space designated. The third CIIE will take place in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10. But we should pray seriously that under no circumstances until the end of the next three years that we should not come here to pay tribute again because it is not right that our people have sent us to come and speak on their behalf and every time we are here paying tributes that somebody has left. BJP Telangana unit president K Laxman on Wednesday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help in bringing the bodies of three Indians from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who reportedly died in a road accident in the US. In a letter to Jaishankar, he said a couple from Hyderabad and their friend, who hails from Guntur in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, were reportedly killed in the accident in Texas. Laxman said the relatives of the deceased couple approached him for help in bringing the bodies to India. "I request you to kindly advise the officials concerned to coordinate with Indian Embassy in USA to help in bringing the bodies of the deceased to India at the earliest," he said. Laxman has also written to Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy seeking his help also. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 23:22:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The Kremlin Palace in central Moscow is pictured on June 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Shi Hao) "Russia does not interfere in others' internal affairs and is also categorically against anyone interfering in Russian affairs," Peskov said. MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin on Tuesday denied the U.S. intelligence community's allegations that Moscow is taking steps with the aim of interfering in the U.S. 2020 election. "Unfounded and proofless accusations against Russia of some kind of interference keep appearing with a manic stubbornness," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Russia does not interfere in others' internal affairs and is also categorically against anyone interfering in Russian affairs," Peskov said. Last week, at a briefing to lawmakers, U.S. intelligence community's election threats executive Shelby Pierson said the community believes Russia is taking steps to interfere in the election with the goal of helping President Donald Trump win. The briefers, quoted by Western media, said the intelligence community assessed that Russia views Trump as a leader it can work with. On Monday, the Russian Embassy in Washington issued a statement, urging U.S. politicians to end the allegations. "The anti-Russian component in the inter-party struggle in the United States has already led to an unprecedented degradation of bilateral relations," the statement said. The embassy recalled that Russia and the United States, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, bear special responsibility for international peace and security, so a constructive and pragmatic dialogue between them is crucial for the entire world. "We reaffirm our readiness for a substantive discussion with the U.S. side on information security and other issues," the statement added. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has come to establish presence in Africa as the Algerian authorities on Tuesday announced the countrys first case. The patient is identified as an Italian citizen who arrived in the country on February 17. One case was confirmed positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), out of two suspected cases (both) of Italian nationality, the North African countrys health ministry is quoted by media reports. The infected person is said to have been quarantined. The health ministry assured that it had reinforced its monitoring and surveillance systems at all points of entry into the country. Egypt also, on February 14, announced its first case of the deadly disease which broke out in the Wuhan city of China in December 2019, but later announced the patient tested negative. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Chinas government is facing widespread criticism from its own citizens over its handling of the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus. Beijing has launched a massive propaganda campaign with stories of Chinese heroism in the struggle to contain the coronavirus, meant to unify the countrys citizens behind the government. However, the governments efforts have faced scorn on Chinese social media, where citizens are openly complaining about the governments response to the crisis, New York Times reported Wednesday. The Times cited a blog post by a lawyer, Deng Xueping, excoriating the government over the coronavirus. Deng mentioned a story circulated on state media about a woman who was treated at a Wuhan hospital, but liked staying in the hospital so much that she didnt want to leave. When many patients in Wuhan were struggling to get treatment, our TV camera chose to turn to one happy outpatient, Deng wrote in the post. By magnifying one individuals happiness while hiding the sufferings of most people there, its hard to say such coverage was truthful about the epidemic. Some stories put out by state media are completely unbelievable. A newspaper in the city of Xian in central China was forced to retract a story detailing how a nurses newborn twins asked their father where their mother had gone. The Times cited another Chinese newspaper which reported that another nurses husband, who has been in a vegetative state since 2014, would smile whenever he heard his wifes name, as if he knew that his wife was engaged in a great endeavor. There is also widespread anger over the governments initial condemnation of eight doctors who tried to warn others about the outbreak of the SARS-like illness in Wuhan in late December-early January, before the outbreak took hold in earnest. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, tried to warn medical school friends of the illness. After Li was reprimanded by the local Wuhan government for spreading rumors, he contracted the virus from a patient he did not know was infected. Li has since died. Story continues China has also changed its diagnostic criteria for the coronavirus multiple times, leading to confusion over the number of confirmed cases in the country. A health official from Hubei Provice, the epicenter of the outbreak, has accused the government of a lack of transparency and accuracy regarding its reporting of cases. More from National Review By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Calling the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as shocking, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday said that Home Minister Amit Shah should tender resignation taking responsibility of Delhi riots. Briefing the media after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet, Gandhi said the violence is being spread by the BJP workers and the police has failed to take any action. She attacked Modi, Shah and Delhi CM saying their silence on the clashes where 20 people have been killed is "shocking". "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central Government and particularly the Home Minister and calls upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," said the party resolution. "The tragic events since last Sunday have a history, design and pattern. It was evident even during the Delhi elections. Several leaders of the BJP made inflammatory statements clearly intended to create an atmosphere of fear and hate. The last of these statements were made on Sunday when a BJP leader gave an ultimatum of three days to the Delhi police and warned that after three days dont tell us anything," said the CWC resolution. The party resolution also said that the deliberate inaction of the central and state governments in the last 72 hours has resulted in the loss of 20 lives so far, including a head constable, while hundreds including a journalist are in hospital with gunshot injuries. The violence has continued unabated on the streets of North-East Delhi. The party said that the Chief Minister and the Delhi Government are equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. "It is the collective failure of the two governments that has resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day," it added. The party refrained from demanding deployment of Army but said that paramilitary forces be deployed in sufficient numbers to check violence. "What were the reports given by the intelligence agencies in the days immediately after the conclusion of the Delhi elections and leading upto today? What was the strength of the police force deployed on the night of Sunday when there were clear indications that violence will break out?" said the resolution. The CWC believes that the situation is grave and requires urgent action. "Adequate security forces must be deployed immediately to bring the situation under control. Peace committees must be formed in every mohalla consisting of members of all communities to ensure that there are no untoward incidents. Senior civil servants must be deployed in each district to take charge of the administration to ensure that the administrative machinery responds to the evolving situation. The Chief Minister of Delhi must be visible in the affected areas and in constant communication with the people. The CWC appeals to the people of Delhi to reject the politics of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events, to help rebuild all that has been lost and to ensure that such events do not take place ever again," it added. The Iranian health minister infected with coronavirus has vowed that the regime will bring the spiralling outbreak under control. Iraj Harirchi said Iran would be 'victorious in our combat against this virus' in a video message he recorded after he was taken into quarantine yesterday. Harirchi's diagnosis was an embarrassment for the regime after he had insisted a day earlier - while sweating heavily at a press conference - that the outbreak was not as bad as feared. Iran today announced four more deaths from the virus, with 44 new cases diagnosed in an outbreak which is spreading the virus across the Middle East. The latest deaths bring the official tally to 19 fatalities out of 139 cases, although the very high death rate has fuelled suspicion that the regime's figures are too low. Of the 44 new cases, 15 were in the holy city of Qom where the outbreak first surfaced, with four in the capital Tehran. Despite the growing crisis, Iran has refused to quarantine Qom, with the health ministry today merely urging Iranians not to travel there. Several of Iran's neighbours including Iraq, Bahrain and the UAE have shut down transport links after the virus spread across porous borders and infected people across the Middle East. The Iranian deputy health minister who was diagnosed with coronavirus yesterday has vowed in a video (pictured) that the regime will be 'victorious in our combat against this virus' Iraj Harirchi was diagnosed with coronavirus just a day after he appeared at a press conference sweating profusely while insisting the country had its outbreak under control A map showing how the coronavirus outbreak has spread from Iran across the Middle East to countries including Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said today that Tehran had no plans to quarantine cities to contain the outbreak. Rouhani admitted that it may take 'one, two or three weeks' to get control of the virus in Iran, which has been linked to almost all of the cases across the Middle East. However, Rouhani also attempted to turn Iranian anger against the United States, saying that the virus 'must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country'. 'The Americans and our enemies during this time, around two years of which have passed, have wanted, with their sanctions and propaganda, to shut down production and economic activities in this country and for the people to suffer,' he said. Iran's economy has been battered by U.S. sanctions since Donald Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2015, contributing to shortages of masks and medical testing kits. The shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom, which has remained open and is disinfected daily, attracts Shi'ites from across Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Bahrain and other countries. Several of Iran's neighbours have closed their borders and banned flights from Iran due to fears over the virus, which could further hurt Iran's already fragile economy. Bahrain now has 26 cases, while Kuwait has 18, the UAE has 13, Iraq five, Oman two and Afghanistan one. Flights between Iran and the UAE have been suspended while Bahrain has also blocked flights from Dubai. About 100 Pakistanis, mostly Shi'ite pilgrims, are quarantined at a government building in Pakistan after returning from Iran, where they had visited holy sites. However, Iran's national broadcaster showed the streets of Qom teeming with crowds yesterday in an effort to downplay the virus while a woman was interviewed saying she had recovered from the virus. Also linked to the virus outbreak is the city of Mashhad, where the Imam Reza shrine draws around 20million people per year. Kuwait has reported that five travelers returning from Mashhad tested positive for the virus, but Iran has yet to confirm a single case in the city. Tehran health workers clean a metro train this morning in an effort to stop the coronavirus outbreak which has spread from Iran across the Middle East A Tehran Municipality worker cleans a bus today with the Iranian regime on the back foot over the growing coronavirus crisis People walk in front of the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom, the Shi'ite holy city at the centre of Iran's coronavirus outbreak Women wearing protective masks get off a bus in Tehran yesterday, amid claims that the Iranian regime is covering up the true scale of the crisis Iranian cleric suggests putting violet leaf oil up bottom to fend off coronavirus An Iranian cleric and advocate of 'Islamic medicine' has suggested that his followers put an essential oil up their bottoms to shield themselves against coronavirus. Ayatollah Tabrizian suggested the use of violet leaf oil in a Telegram message to his followers, according to Iranian media. Combing one's hair and eating a healthy supply of onions, apples and brown sugar could also be effective, he claimed. Tabrizian's followers are also advised to inhale snuff and burn wild rue to keep the virus at bay, it is claimed. Persian-language media based in the West has previously described Tabrizian as a champion of Islamic medicine. The son of a prominent religious leader who was once tipped as Iran's next supreme leader last year blamed the alternative medicine movement for his father's death, according to US-based Radio Farda. Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi's son Ala said Islamic doctors had 'convinced my father to ignore what modern physicians said about his illness and how to treat it'. Advertisement Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour today called on Iranians to refrain from travel as he announced the new tallies on state television. Iran has closed schools, universities, cultural centres, sporting events and deployed teams of sanitary workers to disinfect buses, trains and public spaces. But despite the rapid spread of coronavirus, the authorities have so far dismissed quarantine as an option to control the outbreak. According to Jahanpour, the situation in Qom was 'improving'. However, he admitted that 'things are slightly concerning' in the province of Gilan, which had the second-highest number of new cases. The northern province on the Caspian Sea coast is a favourite holiday spot for Iranians, especially for people from Tehran. Jahanpour said it could take at least until the Persian New Year's holiday on March 20, or as long as late April, to contain the disease. 'We don't expect a miracle in the short term,' he said. Health minister Namaki Saeed yesterday defended the decision not to lock down Qom, saying that quarantine is an 'old method'. 'We still do not agree with quarantining cities since we believe the people are cultured enough to refrain from travelling from infected cities to other places,' semi-official news agency ISNA quoted him as saying. Bahram Sarmast, the governor of Qom, has said that quarantining the city would not be an 'appropriate solution' despite the outbreak. Iran's claims to have the virus under control lost further credibility yesterday when the deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, was taken into quarantine. Just a day earlier, the minister had looked unwell and sweated heavily at a press conference where he insisted that the outbreak was not as bad as feared. In his subsequent video, Haririchi confirmed he had been infected with the virus and had quarantined himself at home. 'I wanted to tell you that, rest assured that with efforts of your servants at the Health Ministry... and backed by you people, the government and all elements of the establishment, we will be victorious in our combat against this virus within the next few weeks,' Harirchi said. But he warned Iranians to be careful as the 'virus does not discriminate' and infects anyone, regardless of their standing. A prominent Iranian reformist politician, Mahmoud Sadeghi, also announced he had tested positive for the virus. Iranians wait to get prescription drugs at a state-run pharmacy in Tehran last week, amid shortages of medical supplies which were ongoing even before the coronavirus outbreak An Iranian customer wearing a face mask talks to a pharmacist at a store in Tehran yesterday amid shortages of medical supplies including testing kits An Iranian man wears a protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus, as he sits in the bus in Tehran Professor Paul Hunter, a medical professor at the University of East Anglia, said the situation in Iran was more worrying than any of the other countries 'experiencing significant clusters'. 'During the past week there has been a swift increase in the number of new cases reported each day,' he said. 'However, at this stage it is impossible to say how many more cases are out there but have not yet been identified, Iran is unlikely to have the facilities to identify, diagnose and manage large numbers of cases and contacts with the same efficiency as other affected countries. 'Furthermore, the country is in a region with several areas experiencing armed conflict. 'During conflict many people will be moving around the region, borders are relatively porous and urban and health facilities are often damaged or destroyed. 'We have already seen spread from Iran to neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Afghanistan and this is likely to continue. 'Should COVID-19 start to spread within conflict areas such as Syria or in areas like Gaza it will be very difficult to control, and this may amplify the epidemic. 'The Middle East is connected to countries all around the world and should the epidemic in Iran continue to grow and spread this will be a threat globally and not just within the region.' Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (pictured) said today that Tehran had no plans to quarantine cities to contain the outbreak A masked health worker cleans a bus in Iran, which has today announced four more deaths from coronavirus with 44 new cases diagnosede East A health worker disinfects seats on a bus in Tehran where four new cases were confirmed today, after an outbreak which began in the holy city of Qom Even according to official figures, Iran has the worst outbreak in the Middle East and the highest death toll outside China with 19 confirmed fatalities. However, there are fears the true picture could be higher. Globally, two per cent of coronavirus cases result in death - but Iran's figures show a suspiciously high fatality rate of 14 per cent. Further fears were raised on Monday when a lawmaker claimed that 50 people had died from the illness in the city of Qom alone. Harirchi, the health minister who has since been diagnosed with the virus, denied this. Farahani said the 50 deaths in Qom date back to February 13, whereas Iran first officially reported cases of the virus on February 19. He also claimed that 250 people had been quarantined in the city, which is around 75 miles south of Tehran. 'None of the nurses have access to proper protective gears,' Farahani said, adding that some health care specialists had left the city. 'So far, I have not seen any particular action to confront corona by the administration.' Iran faced anger from its own citizens over an attempted cover-up just last month, after claiming falsely that a passenger jet with dozens of Iranians on board had crashed by accident. The plane was actually shot down by Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the height of Tehran's stand-off with Washington after the death of Qassem Soleimani. The coronavirus outbreak has sparked renewed criticism of the regime by Iranian social media users in recent days. 'Widespread public mistrust regarding the official figures is more dangerous than the coronavirus,' journalist Siavash Fallahpour said. Joe Biden's campaign came clean Tuesday on a much-scrutinized claim he has made that he was arrested while trying to see Nelson Mandela, and admitted it was not the case. Biden, 77, first told the story at a campaign event in Columbia, South Carolina on February 11, as he tried to shake off defeat in New Hampshire, and has repeated it twice more during outreach to black voters. 'This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid,' Biden said in Columbia of the former South African president, who was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid government. '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,' Biden went on. No contemporaneous or other supporting evidence has emerged to support Biden's extraordinary claim, leading some to compare it to the so-called 'Mandela Effect', a phenomenon in which a person's vivid memory of a historical event or cultural touchstone turns out to be false. On Tuesday night, after a debate performance which appeared to put him on course to win in South Carolina, if narrowly, his campaign said he had not been arrested, the Washington Post reported. In fact he had been separate from a congressional delegation on their way to see the anti-apartheid hero. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (left) came clean in claims that he was arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela (right) in prison - saying he was in fact separated from a Congressional delegation Joe Biden claimed he was arrested in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, which is nearly 870 miles away from Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela was jailed A prison cell is seen on Robben Island, one of the places were Mandela spent 27 behind bars. Some falsely remember that he died in prison, the so-called 'Mandela Effect' The Mandela Effect is named for a common false memory that people report, saying they recall Mandela dying in prison in the 1990s. In fact he was freed and went on to become president of South Africa. He died in 2013. In two retellings of his tale over the past week while campaigning in Nevada, Biden's story changed slightly, dating the purported arrest to before he became engaged in 1977. On Sunday at a black history awards brunch in Las Vegas, Biden described the happy ending to his story. 'After he got free and became president, he came to Washington and came to my office,' Biden said of Mandela. 'He threw his arms around me and said, 'I want to say thank you.' I said, 'What are you thanking me for, Mr. President?' He said, 'You tried to see me. You got arrested trying to see me.' Soweto, where Biden says he was arrested, is 900 miles away from Robben Island. A historically and predominately black suburb of Johannesburg, Soweto is famed for the 1976 uprising there in protest of apartheid policy. Soweto, where Biden says he was arrested, is 900 miles away from Robben Island On Sunday at a black history awards brunch (above) in Las Vegas, Biden repeated the tale Biden did repeatedly visit South Africa while he was a U.S. Senator, but no news reports or contemporary accounts have been found mentioning an arrest. Biden did not mention such an arrest in his 400-page memoir in 2007. Andrew Young was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1977 to 1979, and told the New York Times that he had accompanied Biden on several trips to South Africa during that time. But Young was skeptical that it would even be possible for a sitting member of Congress to be arrested in South Africa back then. 'No, I was never arrested and I don't think he was, either,' said Young, now 87. 'I would not forget going to jail, but I know I did not ever go to jail in South Africa.' A worker wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a railway station in Daegu, South Korea on February 26, 2020. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc Tuesday ordered a temporary refusal of entry to all travelers originating from areas affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including parts of South Korea, the country with the most confirmed cases outside of China. As of Tuesday afternoon EST, there were 977 confirmed cases of the deadly virus in South Korea, mostly in the southeastern city of Daegu. On the prime ministers orders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced to the South Korean government, and the governments of other affected countries, that it would be taking preventative measures including the denial of entry to those originating from or traveling through epicenters of local outbreaks. In addition, those who must enter Vietnam for reasons other than tourism must voluntarily report their health condition and be quarantined for 14 days. The Ministry of Transport will reroute flights from South Korea to Van Don International, Phu Cat International, and Can Tho Airports. The Police Ministry will also send information regarding passengers originating or traveling through South Korea that have entered Vietnam since Feb. 11, in order to re-assess their health. In addition, Vietnamese returning from China will only be allowed to enter the country via international border gates. South Koreans to be sent back to Daegu Also on Tuesday, authorities in the city of Danang were working on a plan to send 20 passengers from South Korea back to their homes. The 20 South Koreans entered Danang via a direct flight from Daegu Monday. They are currently in isolation in a hotel, after refusing to quarantine at Danangs Lung Disease Hospital. The Vietnamese Health Ministry has mandated that all passengers coming from coronavirus affected areas be quarantined for 14 days. The 55 Vietnamese that were on the same flight from Daegu all agreed to be quarantined, but the South Koreans refused to follow the ministrys regulations. Danang authorities said Tuesday that if the 20 South Koreans want to remain in Danang, they must accept the quarantine or agree to be sent back home. Also on Tuesday, a hospital in Ho Chi Minh Citys Cu Chi district admitted 20 South Koreans. Representatives of the South Korean consulate in Ho Chi Minh visited them in the hospital. Vietnamese workers in Asian countries Vietnams Ministry of labor said Monday it was working on a plan to bring home about 20,000 Vietnamese overseas laborers in affected areas like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Once they return, the relevant agencies are directed to plan for 14-day quarantines for all of the laborers. State media said Monday that there were currently about 20,000 Vietnamese living, studying or working in South Korea, with 8,000 living in the Daegu epicenter alone. Vietnams embassy in Seoul has launched a citizen protection hotline and is ready to take measures to protect its citizens in the country. The embassy also confirmed that as of Monday there were no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 among the Vietnamese citizens in South Korea. As of Tuesday afternoon Vietnam had no current confirmed cases of the virus. There were 16 confirmed cases previously, with 16 full recoveries reported. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Eugene Whong. EnergyAustralia boss Catherine Tanna has been called an "international corporate tax dodger" over her company's history of paying little to no tax and faces a call to resign from the Reserve Bank board. Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday afternoon to attack one of Australia's most prominent businesswomen over the electricity company's tax record. Catherine Tanna is an RBA board member and the managing director of EnergyAustralia. Credit: Peter Braig Ms Tanna is a director of the Business Council of Australia, a member of Chief Executive Women and a former chairwoman of British multinational BG Australia and has been managing director of EnergyAustralia since 2014. She was appointed to the RBA board in 2011 by former treasurer Wayne Swan and the term was extended by five years by Joe Hockey. She has one year left in the role under her current term. A new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Qlik, titled The Human Impact of Data Literacy and conducted on behalf of The Data Literacy Project, has revealed some interesting trends about the Indian workforce. On one hand, the report maps India as the worlds most data literate country while, on the other, it also highlights a stark contrast: the rising workplace stress amongst Indian professionals stemming from information, data and technology issues. Data is a gold mine that can fuel a culture of innovation and growth. However, when employees struggle to make sense of data, productivity and business value can be affected. Accenture and Qliks survey of 9,000 employees around the world, including 1,000 in India, found that local companies lose an average of more than eight working days (69.5 hours) per employee, annually. This is the highest time globally (Singapore comes in second at 56.5 hours) and significantly higher than the global average of five working days (43 hours). These lost days due to procrastination and sick leave stem from stress around information, data and technology issues, and equate to an estimated ?33,216 crores (US$4.6bn) in lost productivity. The research identified two ways in which the data literacy gap is causing a disconnect and impacting Indian organisations ability to thrive in the data-driven economy. First, despite nearly all employees (83 percent) recognising data as an asset, few are using it to inform decision-making. India has the highest data literacy level globally, with close to half (46 percent) reporting being confident in their data literacy skills i.e., their ability to read, understand, question and work with data. Interestingly, while more than half (53 percent) of employees trust their decisions more when based on data, four in five (80 percent) still frequently defer to a gut feeling rather than data-driven insights when making decisions. Second, a lack of data skills is shrinking productivity. An eye-opening 85 percent of employees report feeling overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data, the highest percentage globally. A surprising 47 percent of surveyed employees even state that they will find an alternative method to complete the task without using data at all. Seven in 10 respondents (74 percent) report that data-overload has contributed to workplace stress, culminating in six in 10 employees (64 percent) of the local workforce taking at least one day of sick leave due to stress related to information, data and technology issues. No one questions the value of data but many companies need to re-invent their approach to data governance, analysis and decision-making. This means ensuring that their workforce has the tools and training necessary to deliver on the new opportunities that data presents, said Sanjeev Vohra, group technology officer and global lead for Accentures Data Business Group. Data-driven companies that focus on continuous learning will be more productive and gain a competitive edge. Empowering the workforce to thrive in a data-driven economy To succeed in the data revolution, business leaders must help employees become more confident and comfortable in using data insights to make decisions. Employees in India who identify as data-literate are at least 25 percent more likely to say they feel empowered to make better decisions and are trusted to make better decisions. Furthermore, more than half (53 percent) of employees believe that data literacy training would make them more productive. This is the highest percentage globally. Jordan Morrow, Global Head of Data Literacy at Qlik and Chair of the Data Literacy Project Advisory Board added, Despite recognizing the integral value of data to the success of their business, most firms are still struggling to build teams that can actually bring that value to life. There has been a focus on giving employees self-service access to data, rather than building individuals self-sufficiency to work with it. Yet, expecting employees to work with data without providing the right training or appropriate tools is a bit like going fishing without the rods, bait or nets you may have led them to water but you arent helping them to catch a fish. Francis Rodrigues, Senior Vice President - Business Insights, Data Labs & Innovation from HDFC Life, said: Encouraging and enabling data literacy ensures that our organisation is prepared for the future. At HDFC life, we created a CARE Framework which guides how data is used - C stands for communication to understand the business objective for using data; A is deciding access levels to the information; R stands for record keeping of who is using the data and finally E is for education to promote and enable the business to use data. For us, strategically managing and using our data has been fundamentally linked to customer experiences and outcomes, with value seen across the business. We know that with continued training, our teams will be empowered to make better business decisions. In The Human Impact of Data Literacy report, Qlik and Accenture share five steps organizations should consider when planning their data literacy strategy to build a data-driven workforce, including setting clear data expectations and creating a culture of co-evolution. To support data literacy skills, Qlik and Accenture are founding members of the Data Literacy Project, the global community dedicated to igniting richer discussion and developing the tools needed to shape a confident and successful data-literate society. TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. (PCRFY.PK, PCRFF.PK) are ending their partnership to produce solar cells, Japan's Nikkei reported. However, the companies plan to continue their joint work on automotive batteries for Tesla's electric vehicles. It was in 2016 that the companies announced their joint venture to produce solar cells at Tesla's Gigafactory 2 in upstate New York. The factory in Buffalo began producing core components for solar panels in 2017. Under the deal, solar sells made by Panasonic were also supposed to be used for Tesla's solar panels. Tesla product, called the Solar Roof, was designed to look like regular black roof tiles. Meanwhile, Panasonic reportedly failed to achieve this look for its solar cells. The company also failed to maintain the efficiency and cost sought by Tesla. As per the report, Tesla's latest version of the Solar Roof uses Chinese cells, while Panasonic sells solar cells it produced at the Gigafactory to Japanese homebuilders and other clients. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. While Wells Fargo has settled major civil and criminal investigations into its sales practices, the banking giant and its former executives havent yet seen the last of their legal troubles. Last week, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion to settle criminal and civil probes into its fake-accounts scandal. However, that deal didnt address subsequent scandals involving the banks mortgage and auto-lending businesses, according to a Reuters report. In those scandals, Wells Fargo charged customers improper fees and signed them up for auto insurance they did not need. The deal also didnt rule out potential charges against individual executives, Reuters reported. [February 26, 2020] Leading Cannabis Retail Platform Green Bits Enters Illinois in the Wake of the Opening of the Adult-Use Market SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Bits, a leading cannabis retail platform, announced today that it has taken root in Illinois, the latest state to establish an adult-use market, one that is projected to grow to be the second-largest in the nation. Over the last several years, Green Bits has amassed a track record of helping dispensaries and cannabis retailers grow and thrive all while navigating complex regulations that vary by state. Green Bits software does everything from helping stores increase traffic and offer desirable products to leverage data to understand their customers and spot trends. "Cannabis retailers face a myriad of challenges, whether they concern managing inventory and transactions or compliance with state rules," Green Bits CEO Barry Saik said. "The Green Bits platform is reliable, robust and built to help small- and larger-scale cannabis retailers solve these problems and gather insights to help them run and grow their businesses and outperform their competitors. We are thrilled to make our platform available to retailers across Illinois." The Green Bits platform helps retailers efficiently gather and track a wide range of data that shops need to know to manage and understand their business and comply with state and local laws. For example, Green Bits helps retailers track transactions and other back-office information to satisfy track-and-trace rules. The software also verifies ages, enforces purchase limits and manages prescriptions, among many other bits of information. For those fields of daa that are required to be provided to the state for compliance purposes, Green Bits works with state-side platforms to convey the data that retailers collect at the point of sale. Illinois became the eleventh U.S. state and the second in the Midwest to legalize the sale of adult-use cannabis on January 1, 2020. In the first month alone, Illinois sold $39.2 million worth of adult-use cannabis products. Illinois is known as one of the most tightly regulated markets in the country, with seed-to-sale traceability requirements from the outset and limited licensing. Green Bits has substantial experience seamlessly integrating with BioTrackTHC, Illinois's traceability vendor, making it uniquely qualified to serve the state's budding market. Washington state, where Green Bits services 65 percent of the market, launched its adult-use market using BioTrackTHC in 2014. Green Bits's automated compliance offering is credited with helping Washington state's market develop into the third largest in the country. About Green Bits Green Bits empowers more than 1,100 cannabis retail locations across 13 states Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington state with a safer, smarter, easier way to manage day-to-day operations and maximize store performance. Their robust platform with automated state-by-state compliance, point of sale, inventory control, and personalized insights enables owners, managers, and budtenders to run, protect, and grow their businesses with ease. In 2019, Green Bits processed more than $3.3 billion in transactions through its point-of-sale platform. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has an office in Portland, Oregon. Lean more at www.greenbits.com. Media Contact: Emily Seeley, 415-517-7507, [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-cannabis-retail-platform-green-bits-enters-illinois-in-the-wake-of-the-opening-of-the-adult-use-market-301011381.html SOURCE Green Bits [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] An oil spill that originated in Gratiot Countys Bethany Township Tuesday afternoon quickly spread into several bodies of water including the Pine and Tittabawassee rivers in Midland County. At about 4:46 p.m., Midland County Central Dispatch notified Gratiot County authorities of an oil slick on the Pine River, Gratiot County Central Dispatch Director Dan Morden said in a press release. Officials from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy were immediately notified. The source of the spill was found to originate on private property on East Jackson Road. The spill appears to be oil from a large industrial electrical transformer the property owner had acquired from West Branch, Morden said. The property owner drained some of the oil into drums on-site but the transformer was still leaking upon EGLE arriving at the scene. The oil entered a county drain that flows into Bush Creek. Bush Creek, which is a tributary that flows north to the Pine River in Midland County, he noted. The St. Louis Area Fire Department assisted Gratiot County Emergency Management and the landowner who were able to mitigate the situation by plugging the drain and its outlet to the ditch, then placing four chemical absorbent booms into the waterway, Morden explained. Midland County officials reported the petroleum sheen on the Pine River had spread about four or five miles upstream from the city of Midland. At the request of EAGLE and Gratiot County Emergency Management the property owner contacted a licensed environmental cleanup firm, Bierlein Companies Inc., to conduct further mitigation and remediation, Morden said. The company will also test the spilled materials for PCB and PBB, he added. At this time in Gratiot County there is no reason to believe there is concern of contamination to municipal or private well drinking water, Morden said. Authorities from EGLE, Midland and Gratiot counties will continue to work together to ensure public safety and property cleanup measures are in place. Authorities from Gratiot County, EGLE, and DNR met with the responsible party Wednesday morning, Feb. 26th, to check on progress of mitigation and remediation. Upon EGLE and Gratiot County Emergency Management arrival, representatives from Bierlein Companies Inc, and AKT Peerless were on scene meeting with the owner. According to a press release from Gratiot County Emergency Managment, a plan was initiated to have AKT Peerless collect a sample of the oil and urgently deliver it to a testing lab in Lansing for analysis. Bierlein has a plan to remove the impacted soils, oil barrels, used mitigation materials, and the transformer in the next few days. Detective Dan Kennedy (DNR) Environmental Investigation Section conducted a site investigation and interviews at the scene. The property owner/responsible party is fully cooperating with all authorities. At about noon on Feb. 26th, Bierlein received word from AKT Peerless that the collected sample was analyzed in Lansing, and tested negative for PCB. In the interim Bierlein suggested obtaining a PCB field test kit from Consumers Energy. Through contacts a kit was located at the Alma Service Center and brought to the site. Bierlein used the kit on scene, and it too resulted in negative for PCBs. Gratiot Emergency Management notified MidMichigan District Health Department the test results, as well as Midland County Emergency Management. Gratiot County Emergency Management has left the scene and is turning coordinated site remediation/oversight over to EGLE Incident Manager Eric VanRiper and Bierlein representatives. There continues to be no reason to believe there is concern of contamination to municipal or private drinking water supplies. EGLE partners want to emphasize the source of the release has been located, no further release is occurring, mitigation/remediation efforts are in place, and it has been determined there are no PCBs involved. Some additional mitigation measures such as booms will be placed in Bush Creek further downstream from the source site. The DO NOT CONTACT advisory with waters of Bush Creek, Pine River, and other impacted waterways continues at the request of EGLE. Gratiot County Agencies and/or partners recognized for aiding in the response efforts during this incident include the EGLE, the DNR, Gratiot County Emergency Management, St Louis Area Fire Department, Bierlein Companies Inc., AKT Peerless, Consumers Energy, Gratiot County Central Dispatch/911, Midland County Emergency Management, and Midland County Central Dispatch/911. An oil spill that originated in Gratiot Countys Bethany Township Tuesday afternoon quickly spread into several bodies of water including the Pine and Tittabawassee rivers in Midland County. At about 4:46 p.m., Midland County Central Dispatch notified Gratiot County authorities of an oil slick on the Pine River, Gratiot County Central Dispatch Director Dan Morden said in a press release. Officials from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy were immediately notified. The source of the spill was found to originate on private property on East Jackson Road. The spill appears to be oil from a large industrial electrical transformer the property owner had acquired from West Branch, Morden said. The property owner drained some of the oil into drums on-site but the transformer was still leaking upon EGLE arriving at the scene. The oil entered a county drain that flows into Bush Creek. Bush Creek, which is a tributary that flows north to the Pine River in Midland County, he noted. The St. Louis Area Fire Department assisted Gratiot County Emergency Management and the landowner who were able to mitigate the situation by plugging the drain and its outlet to the ditch, then placing four chemical absorbent booms into the waterway, Morden explained. Midland County officials reported the petroleum sheen on the Pine River had spread about four or five miles upstream from the city of Midland. At the request of EAGLE and Gratiot County Emergency Management the property owner contacted a licensed environmental cleanup firm, Bierlein Companies Inc., to conduct further mitigation and remediation, Morden said. The company will also test the spilled materials for PCB and PBB, he added. At this time in Gratiot County there is no reason to believe there is concern of contamination to municipal or private well drinking water, Morden said. Authorities from EGLE, Midland and Gratiot counties will continue to work together to ensure public safety and property cleanup measures are in place. Authorities from Gratiot County, EGLE, and DNR met with the responsible party Wednesday morning, Feb. 26th, to check on progress of mitigation and remediation. Upon EGLE and Gratiot County Emergency Management arrival, representatives from Bierlein Companies Inc, and AKT Peerless were on scene meeting with the owner. According to a press release from Gratiot County Emergency Management, a plan was initiated to have AKT Peerless collect a sample of the oil and urgently deliver it to a testing lab in Lansing for analysis. Bierlein has a plan to remove the impacted soils, oil barrels, used mitigation materials, and the transformer in the next few days. Detective Dan Kennedy (DNR) Environmental Investigation Section conducted a site investigation and interviews at the scene. The property owner/responsible party is fully cooperating with all authorities. At about noon on Feb. 26th, Bierlein received word from AKT Peerless that the collected sample was analyzed in Lansing, and tested negative for PCB. In the interim Bierlein suggested obtaining a PCBfield test kit from Consumers Energy. Through contacts a kit was located at the Alma Service Center and brought to the site. Bierlein used the kit on scene, and it too resulted in negative for PCBs. Gratiot Emergency Management notified MidMichigan District Health Department the test results, as well as Midland County Emergency Management. Gratiot County Emergency Management has left the scene and is turning coordinated site remediation/oversight over to EGLE Incident Manager Eric VanRiper and Bierlein representatives. Gratiot County Agencies and/or partners recognized for aiding in the response efforts during this incident include the EGLE, the DNR, Gratiot County Emergency Management, St Louis Area Fire Department, Bierlein Companies Inc., AKT Peerless, Consumers Energy, Gratiot County Central Dispatch/911, Midland County Emergency Management, and Midland County Central Dispatch/911. There continues to be no reason to believe there is concern of contamination to municipal or private drinking water supplies. EGLE partners want to emphasize the source of the release has been located, no further release is occurring, mitigation/remediation efforts are in place, and it has been determined there are no PCBs involved. Some additional mitigation measures such as booms will be placed in Bush Creek further downstream from the source site. The DO NOT CONTACT advisory with waters of Bush Creek, Pine River, and other impacted waterways continues at the request of EGLE. If further updates are needed they will be posted on the Gratiot County 911/Central Dispatch Facebook page. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:55:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WUHAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Several officials have received punishment for reporting "minus infections" of the novel coronavirus in the city of Jingmen in central China's Hubei Province. The Hubei provincial commission for discipline inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the provincial supervisory commission decided to admonish Zhang Aiguo, secretary of the CPC Jingmen city committee, and city mayor Sun Bing. The authorities also gave warnings and demerits to Liang Zaoyang, the city's deputy mayor, and two other officials of Jingmen's health commission. Jingmen's related departments and officials failed to grasp policies precisely, did not fully fulfill responsibilities and failed to check data strictly, which had caused negative influence, authorities said. Jingmen reported "minus 107" infections of the novel strain of coronavirus on Feb. 19. Mr. Biden is right that only after the Obama administration left office did the extent of Russias effort to influence social media become clear. But the hacking into the Democratic National Committee a crime was clearly understood, and the Obama administration reaction expelling 35 diplomats who were actually spies, and closing some Russian facilities inside the United States is today considered too little, too late. What the Facts are: Mr. Sanders was asked how he could convince voters, at a time of low unemployment, that the economy would do better under a democratic socialist than under President Trump. What Mr. Sanders said: The economy is doing really great for people like Mr. Bloomberg and other billionaires. In the last three years, last three years, billionaires in this country saw an $850 billion increase in their wealth. But you know what? For the ordinary American, things are not so good. Last year, real wage increases for the average worker were less than 1 percent. Half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. The second claim is true. After adjusting for inflation, wages for production and nonsupervisory workers increased by 0.7 percent from January 2019 to January 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The third claim is also true, according to several surveys of American families. In one such survey, the First National Bank of Omaha found 49 percent of Americans say they expect to live paycheck to paycheck this year. The first claim is more difficult to assess. Calculations by the economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman of the University of California, Berkeley, who have estimated wealth shares across the income distribution in the United States and scored Mr. Sanderss proposed wealth tax, suggest that the top 400 wealthiest Americans have collectively gained about $500 billion in wealth over the last three years. There are more than 400 billionaires in America, though and there is a debate among economists over how to properly measure the wealth they hold. What the facts are: Mr. Bloomberg highlighted rising life expectancy in New York City, where he pursued an aggressive public health agenda. What Mr. Bloomberg said: Before I left, life expectancy in New York City had grown by three years during our 12 years in office such that, when I left, it was three years greater than the national average. Mostly true. Mr. Bloomberg is correct that life expectancy in New York City is higher than it is in the United States overall and that it rose disproportionately during his tenure as mayor. New York is in many ways a model city in improving the health and longevity of its low-income residents. By the end of his tenure, life expectancy in the city had improved by three years, according to a city health department analysis, though the gap between the citys and the nations life expectancy at the end of his time in office was a bit lower than he claimed, more like 2.3 years. Hunters, the new Amazon series about a covert group of anti-Nazi vigilantes, starts off with a bang, or at least the thwack of a silenced pistol. Its a beautiful summer day in Maryland, 1977, and Jimmy Carters Undersecretary of State is having a cookout. As Bob Seger plays on the soundtrack, the camera takes in his neatly trimmed backyard, the water gleaming blue in his swimming pool as his three children splash about, the smiling face of his blonde wife, and the undersecretary himself, tending his grill in a Kiss the Cook apron. It couldnt be more perfectly, almost comically American, at least until a new colleague arrives and his wife, a concentration camp survivor, identifies the man whos been known for the last 30 years as Biff Simpson as the Butcher of Arlav, a Nazi war criminal who massacred her entire family. With a disappointed frown, Biff pulls a gun out from under his prep table and slaughters them all: his wife, their kids, his friends, leaving the Jewish survivor for last. You thought the war was over, he taunts her before putting a bullet in her head. Were here now. Everywhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hunters late-1970s setting allows it to occupy the period when Nazi hunting was still an active profession. 1977 was the year an executioner from the Treblinka camp was identified after living in Waterbury, Connecticut for two decades. But despite its ostensible grounding in history and the periodic inclusion of faux-newsreel segments with titles like Yup, That Shit Really Happened, the series relationship to the past is casual at best, and arguably far worse. Over the weekend, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum came out against the show, proclaiming a scene in the first episode dangerous foolishness that welcomes future deniers. Hunters creator, David Weil, defended the scene in question, a macabre game of human chess between a Nazi concentration camp guard and a Jewish grandmaster, as a necessary invention, designed for showcasing the most extremeand representationally truthfulsadism and violence that the Nazis perpetrated against Jews and other victims. But with the phrase Weil shoehorns in between those dashes, he gives himself a lot of leeway. The second episode features a singing competition called The Star of Buchanwald, in which concentration-camp prisoners are shot dead for going out of tune or forgetting the words to a German song, until one remains. Amazons in-episode commentary for the scene calls it a fiction that illuminates a larger truth, and thats the rationale for Hunters as a whole. The story, in which Al Pacinos Meyer Offerman convenes an elite squad of off-the-books Nazi killers, is deliberately over the top, complete with grindhouse-style introductions for each member of the team. (The explosives experts played by Saul Rubinek and Carol Kane are dubbed A couple of Chabad-asses.) And it gets more outlandish as it goes, positing not just a string of fugitive war criminals trying to stay off the radar but a vast conspiracy at every level of society. Who killed Bobby Kennedy? What caused the New York City blackout? Yup, that shit really happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weil is clearly taking his cues from, and at times slavishly imitating, Quentin Tarantino, who capped Inglourious Basterds with the invented but cathartic killing of Adolf Hitler. (I havent seen a Tarantino ripoff this labored since The Boondock Saints.) Meyers group is filled out with a collection of second- and third-hand caricatures, not types taken from movies but types taken from movies about movies. Theres Roxy Jones (Tiffany Boone), a black activist with a splendiferous Afro; Joe Mizushima (Louis Ozawa), a battle-scarred Vietnam veteran; and Sister Harriet (Kate Mulvany), a British nun who wears a wimple and curses like a sailor. Theyre not all Jewish, but the ones who are stress it so emphatically it verges on a kind of ethnic minstrelsy. When Lonny Flash (Josh Radnor), an out-of-work actor born Leonard Flazenstein, has to use the bathroom, he says hes going to go drop some chocolate dreidels into the Dead Sea. But while the dialogue is peppered with Yiddishisms, the show has substantially less interest in engaging with Jewish moral tradition or faith. When Meyer attempts to quote the Talmud, reciting the proverb that living well is the best revenge, its not just that he misattributes the saying. Hes only bringing it up to gainsay it: The best revenge, he argues, is revenge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The final episode of Hunters first season offers an explanation for Meyers uncomplicated bloodlust. (Stop reading if you dont want the shows extremely dumb twist revealed.) Meyer Offerman, who has built his organization around the hunt for a notorious Nazi known as the Wolf is actually the Wolf. He killed Meyer on the day his camp was liberated and has lived under his name ever since. Thirty years of living as a Jew has changed the Wolfs heart to the extent that he has no compunction about hunting down his former comrades. But it hasnt changed his ruthlessness. Meyer believed that even the worst of men deserved to have the kaddish said as they died. The Wolf just wants to see them dead. But the show seems to embrace his philosophy as well. Meyers protege and Hunters protagonist, Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman), takes his side in the end, even after becoming aware of his betrayal. Heroes, were told, arent people who do what is right. Theyre people who do what is necessary. (End spoilers.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the approach Hunters takes as well. Underlying the cartoonish tone and historical fabrications is a desperate attempt to get the audiences attention. Although its set in the past and frequently flashes back to the death camps, the shows concern is clearly with the present: like todays meme-driven white supremacists, the shows Nazis drink milk, and one starts up a chant popularized by the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally. The eighth episode stops dead for a Family Feud-style game show called Why Does Everyone Hate the Jews? whose contestants rack up points by spouting anti-Semitic stereotypes. At the end of the bit, the hosts demeanor turns serious as he turns straight to the camera and asks, Do you know someone who would win big money here? Would you? Advertisement Advertisement Breaking the fourth wall is meant to be a moment of confrontation, but by that point, the show has made it all but impossible for anyone to see themselves in its overwrought depictions. Weils dedication to showing the most extreme examples of Nazi sadism, even if he has to invent them, is undoubtedly meant to shock a desensitized audiences senses, but instead it just dulls their senses even more, and risks making real atrocities look tame by comparison. At one point, Meyer tells Jonah that theyre hunting a Nazi doctor so sadistic he could make even Mengele squirm. Is Mengele not bad enough? At one point, Meyer tells Jonah that theyre hunting a Nazi doctor so sadistic he could make even Mengele squirm. Is Mengele not bad enough? The most effective moments in Hunters are when the show invents a justified comeuppance for the ones who got away: not the infamous figures who spent decades in hiding, but the ones who mustered a deniability just plausible enough to make themselves acceptable again. In one episode, the hunters pay a visit to a filmmaker modeled on Leni Riefenstahl and force her to literally eat shit, and in another, they pay a visit to Wernher von Braun, who went from building Nazi weapons of war to being a key architect of the U.S. space program. Theres no shock of recognition when youre watching a menacing psychopath who sings showtunes as he tries to further the rise of a Fourth Reich. But the morally flexible government agents who helped relocate hundreds of Hitlers scientists so we could beat the Russians to the moon? Thats much harder to dismiss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Hunters, fugitive Nazis keep photos of themselves with Hitler in their living rooms and tins filled with Jewish childrens teeth in a half-open desk drawer. Theyre easy to identify, and easy to snuff out. But the real Biff Simpsons dont get swastika tattoos, and when they do get caught, they simply change the narrative. As a revenge fantasy, the show has a certain kick, but as a cautionary tale, its woefully misguided. In his response to the Auschwitz Museum, Weil invoked the memory of his grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, and his responsibility as the grandson of Holocaust survivors to keep their memory alive. But it isnt memory that Hunters keeps alive. Its a mirage. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri on Wednesday and appealed for peace amid the ongoing violence in Delhi. Banerjee visited the 12th-century shrine amid tight security and offered prayers before the trinity -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. "I worship Lord Jagannath at my home every day. This visit is very special. I prayed to the lord for world peace. It is good for everyone when there is no violence and conflict," Banerjee told reporters after coming out of the temple. The Trinamool Congress supremo, who arrived here on Tuesday night, stayed at a private hotel in Baliapanda area. She is scheduled to leave the holy town for Bhubaneswar in the night. "India is known for peace and harmony. We want peace, not bloodshed," she said when reporters asked her whether the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented in West Bengal. During her 40-minute visit to the temple, Banerjee performed puja and tied a 'dhwaja' (flag) atop the shrine, while 101 priests chanted hymns. An equal number of priests were also fed by the chief minister as part of her puja, in which she prayed for world peace, said her family priest Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra (Rajesh Daitapati). "The chief minister prayed for world peace and also for the victory of her party in the upcoming urban polls in West Bengal," senior priest Jagannath Swainmohapatra said. Puri district magistrate-cum-collector Balwant Singh welcomed Banerjee at the temple's Lion's Gate and accompanied her during the visit. Banerjee is scheduled to meet Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday and will attend the Eastern Zonal Council meeting to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 60-year-old teacher has become the first French casualty of the coronavirus, the health ministry announced on Wednesday. The man died overnight in a Paris hospital, bringing the coronavirus death toll in the country to two, said the ministry's deputy head Jerome Salomon. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who died in hospital in mid-February. The latest victim, who worked at a junior-high school in the town of Crepy-en-Valois, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Paris, is not believed to have travelled to an area affected by the global coronavirus outbreak, the education ministry said. Le Parisien newspaper quoted the mayor of the teacher's hometown of Vaumoise as saying he had "begun to feel ill at the start of the (mid-term) holidays and had been quickly hospitalised." Classes are due to resume in northern France on Monday. France has reported four other new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours -- two in people returning from hard-hit Italy -- bringing the total number of infections to 17. Eleven other people have recovered in France from the disease which has killed more than 2,600 people worldwide and infected almost 80,000 others, mainly in China. One of the four people still being treated in hospital, a 55-year-old man, is in a critical condition in the northern city of Amiens. Two of the four had recently returned from the Lombardy region of Italy, which is at the centre of Europe's biggest outbreak of the disease, the health ministry said. The French government has asked citizens returning from Lombardy and the neighbouring Veneto region to avoid "all non-essential outings" and keep their children home from school. The same recommendations have been issued for people returning from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and South Korea. Meanwhile, 30 tourists have been confined to their hotel in the Burgundy town of Beaune after the as-yet unexplained death of a tourist from Hong Kong, the regional health department said. The department said a tour group, which had been due to travel to Paris Wednesday, was being kept at the Ibis hotel while tests are carried out "to banish all suspicion of a case of coronavirus". The agency did not say where the other members of the group were from. The Beaune town hall said the dead man had a heart condition. Other guests who had not been in contact with the group were allowed to leave. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A view of the St. Thomas of Villanova Church from the pedestrian bridge on the Villanova University campus. Read more Villanova University has curtailed its study-abroad program in Italy, calling back students studying in the European country as the coronavirus continues to spread there. Given the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in Northern Italy, we have made the decision to bring home our students who are abroad in Italy," the school said in a statement Wednesday. The University is in close contact with other study abroad programs in which Villanova students are participating and will determine appropriate responses to additional disruptions caused by the coronavirus. The move affects 52 Villanova students studying in four areas of Italy, including nine students in a partnership program in Milan, which is in a region hit particularly hard by the virus, said spokesperson Jonathan Gust. Classes for students in those programs were already canceled for the week. The partnership program had advised the students to stay in their apartments for the week and made arrangements for online programming, he said. Villanova also has 23 students in a program in Urbino, east of Florence, as well 18 in partnership programs in Rome and two in Florence. Though details are still being ironed out, Villanova intends to fulfill all necessary academic accommodations for students returning from Italy, Gust said. Since Villanovas spring break begins next week, the study-abroad students will return to their homes rather than the universitys campus, he added. There are no confirmed cases of the virus at Villanovas Main Line campus, the university said. The announcement comes a day after New York University canceled its classes in Florence, instead offering schooling online and urging students to leave the city. Outside of Asia, Italy has reported the worst outbreak of coronavirus, with at least 325 cases and 10 deaths as of Wednesday. READ MORE: How much will the coronavirus spread? Its a question of biology and math Gust said Villanova has an emergency preparedness team that evaluates how coronavirus may affect students in Philadelphia and abroad. On Tuesday, Arcadia University decided to cancel an upcoming two-week trip for 21 students to South Korea, citing the spread of coronavirus. Spokesperson Daniel DiPrinzio said the school is continuing to monitor its study-abroad situations daily in Italy and Japan. As of Wednesday evening, no changes had been made for students studying at Temple Universitys campuses in Rome or Japan, said spokesperson Ray Betzner, though a trip to the Japan campus for a handful of university administrators was postponed. READ MORE: Inside a Philadelphia lab, scientists race to design a coronavirus vaccine 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. President of Mansura University Ashraf Abdel-Baset received on Tuesday the French ambassador in Cairo Stephane Romatet, who visited the university's units and research centres and discussed cooperation between the university and the French side. The French ambassador was accompanied by a delegation including director of the French Institute in Sheikh Zayed and culture and cooperation advisor Jamel Oubechou. The visit included tours to a number of research facilities and centres inside the university, including the Stem Cell Centre at the Faculty of Medicine, the Stem Cell Bank of the Children's Hospital, and the Marrow Transplant Unit at the Children's Hospital. During the visit, Abdel-Baset said that he was pleased to receive the French ambassador in his first visit to the university, pointing out that the university has advanced in all international rankings and occupied advanced levels globally. He added that the university is distinguished by its unique educational programmes in partnership with major universities in the world, as there are programmes in the French language both in the first university stage in the Faculties of Arts and Education and Law and the stage of graduate studies in the Medicine, Pharmacy, Arts, and Law colleges. The French ambassador affirmed his happiness in being present at one of the scientific edifices in Egypt which has a good reputation globally, excels in research and medicine, and possesses human capabilities and distinct minds. Romatet also pointed out that there is cooperation between the university and the French embassy in training doctors and offering French language programmes that support researchers and students from the Francophone countries in the African continent. Search Keywords: Short link: Aged care operators are on high alert as health authorities prepare for a feared pandemic, with elderly residents considered the most at risk of becoming seriously ill if they catch the deadly coronavirus. Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Program at UNSW's Kirby Institute, said the coronavirus could infect between 25 and 70 per cent of the Australian population and warned the impact in Australia could be worse than in China because of the ageing population. Aged care centres are on high alert over the coronavirus. Credit:Shutterstock In China, about 9 per cent of the population are over the age of 65, compared with 16 per cent in Australia. "It is going to manifest with a greater impact," Professor MacIntyre said. "We know already that the infection is much more severe in older age, that's the age group that's going to mostly end up hospitalised and in intensive care." A helicopter dumps water on raging forest fires in the Khao Yai National Park in Prachinburi, central Thailand, on Wednesday (February 26). Fire crews are battling to contain the blaze, using aerial support to collect water from nearby dams and dropping it on the flames. Officials from the country's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the fires spread quickly because the province has seen no rain for over four months, and dry leaves are potential fuel for forest fires. Winds are also helping to fan the flames, which began in the neighbouring Nakhon Nayok province but have spread eastwards. If the fires continue spreading, they could reach Khao Samo Pun. The location has a treking route and is known for many varieties of flowers. Deeper into Khao Samo Pun is a rainforest that is home to many plant species and wild animals. If the flames continue to spread, they could have an adverse impact on natural resources and wildlife. The ruler of Dubai is appealing against a decision to make two judgments public relating to his legal battle with his estranged wife, the Court of Appeal has announced. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, who is also vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, has applied to the High Court for the summary return of his two children to Dubai. Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, 45, the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, has applied for the children to be made wards of court, and has also applied for a forced marriage protection order in relation to one of the children and a non-molestation order. She attended a hearing at the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday to hear Lord Justice Underhill read a public statement confirming that Sheikh Mohammed is appealing against a decision to publish two judgments made by Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (centre) founded the successful Godolphin horse racing stable (Tim Goode/PA) The judge said the two judgments relate to certain disputed factual issues and issues arising out of the special position of (Sheikh Mohammed) as the sovereign and head of government of a foreign state. He added that Sheikh Mohammeds legal team which is headed by Lord Pannick QC, who acted for Gina Miller in the landmark Supreme Court case over the prorogation of Parliament will argue that the decision was wrong in law and that the judgments should not be published, if at all, in advance of the welfare hearing next month. Lord Justice Underhill said Sheikh Mohammeds appeal which raises questions both about what is in the best interests of the children and about how to balance that, if necessary, against the right of the press to report matters of public interest was opposed by Princess Haya, the independent guardian appointed by the court to represent the childrens interests and by a number of media organisations. Story continues After Lord Justice Underhill read out the statement, the court sat in private, with members of the public excluded and journalists allowed to remain but not report details of the evidence and arguments. Sheikh Mohammed, the founder of the successful Godolphin horse racing stable, was not present in court to hear the statement on Wednesday. Princess Haya, who became Sheikh Mohammeds sixth wife in 2004, reportedly fled Dubai last year. Her legal team includes Baroness Fiona Shackleton, who represented the Prince of Wales during his divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills. 02/26/1995 - Tejano singer Selena performs at the Astrodome during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Selena Quintanilla Perez. Photo: John Everett, HC staff / Houston Chronicle Photo: John Everett, HC staff / Houston Chronicle Selena's final RodeoHouston performance still feels like a bit of magic. It was the perfect encapsulation of her talent and power. And it was also a telling indicator of what was to come. She opened with the now-classic "Disco Medley," nearly eight minutes of classic dance tunes featuring two songs by Donna Summer, one of Selena's biggest influences. A remixed version, released in 1997, became a club hit. SELENA 25: Tribute concert to honor the Tejano legend set for San Antonio Selena debuted the iconic purple jumpsuit at that show that was recreated for Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 "Selena" film. The outfit is permanently displayed at the Selena Museum in Corpus Christi. This was Selena's third consecutive Rodeo performance at the Astrodome and set the all-time attendance record with 66,994 people. It was also the third time in a row Selena broke the record. It's a master class in performance: precise and spontaneous, polished and charming, passionate and free-spirited. Selena was at the peak of her powers. Several Rodeo performers have since paid tribute to Selena, including Kacey Musgraves, Camila Cabello and Prince Royce last year. Expect something from Becky G this year. That final concert was released in 2001 on CD and DVD. It was later released on limited-edition, double-disc, purple vinyl. A doll was also created wearing a replica of the purple outfit It's impossible to know how far Selena's reach would have extended. But we see her influence today in such stars as Cardi B, Demi Lovato, even Solange and Beyonce. Selena por siempre! Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter. Get experts picks for concerts, kids stuff, fine arts, movies and more by subscribing to the Preview entertainment newsletter. Tokyo: Japan`s Chitetsu Watanabe, recognized at 112 years as the oldest man in the world, has passed away 11 days after he received the Guinness World Record certificate, his family said on Tuesday. Watanabe died on Sunday night, Efe news reported. He received the official certificate on February 12 at a nursing home in Joetsu in Niigata prefecture, where he resided. Soon after being certified as the oldest man, he began to experience a lack of appetite and respiratory problems, the wife of his eldest son told public broadcaster NHK. Born on March 5, 1907 in a family of farmers, Watanabe moved at the age of 20 to Taiwan, where he worked at a sugar refinery for 18 years before returning to Japan after the end of World War II. A fan of calligraphy, custard and ice cream, Watanabe told the Guinness team that the key to his long life was laughter. He was recognized as the oldest male in the world following the deaths in 2019 of German Gustav Gerneth (in October), aged 114 years, and Japan`s Masazo Nonaka (in January), at the age of 113, three months older than the German. It remains to be seen who will be recognized after the death of Watanabe, the only male on the list drawn up by the Gerontology Research Group of the 30 oldest people in the world. Japan has among the highest life expectancy in the world and the number of centenarians in the country has crossed 71,000, according to the latest government figures. Since 2000, the number of centenarians censored has quintupled, raising concern for the economic outlook and future workforce of the country - where the birthrate is on a downward trend. Out of these, 88 per cent are women. University News National and local cybersecurity experts joined the University community to launch the Samuel S. Bergami Jr. Cybersecurity Center, which is the home of the only NSA-designated Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations in Connecticut. The ribbon-cutting ceremony brought together members of the University community and national and local cybersecurity experts. Diane M. Janosek, an award-winning cybersecurity leader, innovator, and the National Security Agency's commandant and training director for the National Cryptologic School (NCS), has seen the impact that cyberattacks can have on people and organizations including banks, schools, and governments. She visited campus recently for the dedication of the University's Samuel S. Bergami Jr. Cybersecurity Center, calling it a "wonderful day for the state of Connecticut and the University." "It's not a question of if, it's a question of when a cyberattack is going to occur," said Janosek, president of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Affiliate of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), in her keynote address. "Are we going to say attacks are okay? No, we're going to defend ourselves, and that's what the University is doing." Diane M. Janosek. Last year, the University was designated by the NSA as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, making it one of only two in New England and 21 nationally to earn this prestigious distinction. The University, which established the first WiCyS chapter in Connecticut, also has received a $4 million National Science Foundation grant to establish the state's first CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program to prepare students to work with federal, state, or local government organizations to prevent cyberattacks. Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili, Ph.D., Elder Family Endowed Chair, assistant dean of the University's Tagliatela College of Engineering, and an internationally recognized expert in cybersecurity and digital forensics, says the new Cybersecurity Center advances the important work the University is doing in the field of cybersecurity, and, more broadly, in technology. "The University's future is to become a technology hub for Connecticut," said Baggili, founder and executive director of the University of New Haven's Cyber Forensics Research and Education Group and executive director of the Bergami Cybersecurity Center. "This center is a launching pad for this vision." "We look forward to the many important discoveries students will make through their work in the Cybersecurity Center and to seeing the impact their work has in the future." Samuel S. Bergami Jr. 85 EMBA, 02 Hon. The ribbon-cutting ceremony brought together members of the University community, as well as national and local cybersecurity experts from a wide range of companies and organizations, including Netflix, Lockheed Martin, the MITRE Corporation, and the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation. The Cybersecurity Center was named in honor of Samuel S. Bergami Jr. '85 EMBA, '02 Hon., president and CEO of Alinabal, a Milford-based diversified manufacturer, who is a member of the University's Board of Governors, and a former Board chair. He and his wife, Lois, are among the University's most devoted benefactors. Samuel S. Bergami Jr. 85 EMBA, 02 Hon. speaks at the Cybersecurity Center dedication. "Since I met Abe, I have been impressed by his passion and his plans for the University's cybersecurity program," said Bergami. "He has done incredible work creating a program that has gained national recognition and earned the respect of some of the most influential organizations in the country dedicated to cybersecurity. We look forward to the many important discoveries students will make through their work in the Cybersecurity Center and to seeing the impact their work has in the future." Students at the University have conducted research that, among other discoveries, has uncovered security vulnerabilities in social media applications affecting 1.5 billion people worldwide. The Cybersecurity Center is also home to the only cyber forensics research laboratory in Connecticut. "We are celebrating the spirit of people at the University of New Haven," said Janosek, "I envision great things happening and continuing to happen here." ST. PAUL St. Paul police officers wont respond to some types of lower-level crimes anymore people are now being directed to file a report online. The St. Paul Police Department began giving people the option of reporting certain types of crimes online in 2015. As of Monday, Feb. 24, in nine categories, reports have to be filed online with some exceptions, including if the crime is in progress. "This is about us using innovation to be more efficient and make sure our officers are available to help the people who need them most, where they need them," said Steve Linders, a St. Paul Police spokesman. A staffing study released by the police department in January showed 911 calls in St. Paul increased nearly 32 percent from 2013 to 2018, while the departments authorized strength increased by less than 3 percent during that time. St. Paul Police Cmdr. Jack Serier, who was previously Ramsey County sheriff and who conducted the study, concluded the department needs 103 more employees, mostly officers. Serier is scheduled to give a presentation to the City Council about the study on Wednesday morning. ADVERTISEMENT While Paul Kuntz, who heads the St. Paul police union, said he thinks additional online reporting "will allow cops on the street to focus on areas that need to be focused on and provide a service to people," he also said its a sign of understaffing in the department. "We have to provide the resources we have to the problems that we have," Kuntz said Tuesday. "If we dont have the numbers of officers to answer those types of calls in person, then we have to come up with a different way to do that." Online reporting already on the rise People who call 911 or the police departments non-emergency number about the following kinds of cases will be directed to fill out an online report: Criminal damage to property Illegal dumping Harassing phone calls Lost property Theft from auto (exception of stolen license plates) Fraud and forgery Detached garage burglary Informational reports Theft (except guns, motor vehicle thefts, license plates) If a suspect is on the scene, and in some other circumstances, an officer would be dispatched, Deputy Chief Matt Toupal wrote in an email to members of the police department. People who dont want to fill out an online report can still file a report over the phone to an officer. What happens after someone files an online report? "These reports dont just go into the Internet and disappear," Linders said. "Officers review them and follow up on them." The cases, though, often lack facts to solve them and people may only need a report for their insurance company, according to Linders. Even before the policy change, the police department has been encouraging people in recent months to make greater use of online reporting and more people are, Linders said. In January 2019, 153 people filed online reports. Last month, there were 425 reports filed. Online reporting also means that people dont have to wait for an officer, according to the police department. Because calls to police are prioritized based on their seriousness, someone reporting illegal dumping, for example, may have had to wait two hours or more for an officer, if police were busy on other calls, Linders said. ADVERTISEMENT The reports can be filed from a computer, cell phone or tablet. Those without access to electronics or the Internet can use computers that are available in the lobbies of the Eastern or Western District police stations, along with the headquarters building. The police department also provided all St. Paul libraries with informational signs about online reporting, which will be displayed at some computer stations in the libraries, according a St. Paul Public Library spokesman. Crowds gather on Monday to buy masks at a big market in Daegu where most confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported. Yonhap By Oh Young-jin Dr. Hakim Djaballah, former head of the Institute Pasteur Korea, raised three questions about how Korea is handling the current coronavirus epidemic, especially in Daegu that he compares to Wuhan in China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak. First, he pointed to photos of large crowds waiting for hours at big markets to buy masks in Daegu. "President Moon Jae-in's government tells people not to gather because of fear of contagion, yet long queues were formed meandering round big markets to buy masks, the very basic necessity for protection," the American virologist told The Korea Times Thursday morning from New York where he is based. Long queues of people wait to buy masks. Yonhap He cited that as sign of incompetence that, if combined with a panicky situation, could get out of hand. "I would rather military there to calm people and distribute masks," he said. Djaballah was among the first to point out the possibility of mutation of the virus that caused the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the outbreak that devastated Korea in 2015. Then, Korean authorities denied his claim but later admitted mutation took place. He then strongly called for the independence of Korean epidemic control authorities but it is strongly indicated that they are still at the beck and call of the government, contributing to their ineffectiveness. Djaballah is also impatient about the government's reluctance to use Gilead's remdesivir, which is seen as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus. The drug was developed to treat Ebola but proved ineffective. However, a coronavirus patient in the U.S. was administered it and he recovered. Now, the compound of the drug has been manufactured by a Chinese company and clinical tests are expected to be finished by April. Djaballah said it could be too late by then. Instead, he proposed that the Korean government should use it because it has undergone clinical tests that proved it caused little harm to people. "Use it and slow it down," he said about the experimental drug. "So the authorities may buy time to put new plans in place." President Moon Jae-in tours Daegu in a mask Tuesday. Yonhap Joe Biden has earned the endorsement of South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn, bolstering the fomer vice president's prospects just days before the state's Democratic primary voters head to the polls. Mr Clyburn is the majority whip in the House of Representatives, the state's most influential Democrat and the highest-ranking black member of Congress. His support could prove invaluable for Mr Biden, who has faced middling support in the Democratic primary race so-far and is hoping for a strong performance in South Carolina, where he has counted on support from black voters. Mr Clyburn, according to South Carolina's Post and Courier has been known among some poltiical observers as South Carolina Deomcrats's "kingmaker". "I know Joe, we know Joe, but most importantly Joe knows us," Mr Clyburn told reporters in North Charleston on Wednesday, with Mr Biden and other top supporters nearby. Mr Clyburn also noted in an emotional moment that his late wife, Emily, who died just months ago, loved Mr Biden more than any other political leader and spoke highly of him and often. Trump South Carolina rally Show all 5 1 /5 Trump South Carolina rally Trump South Carolina rally AP Trump South Carolina rally AP Trump South Carolina rally AP Trump South Carolina rally Getty Images Trump South Carolina rally Getty Images When it comes to Donald Trump, Mr Clyburn said he has never been more fearful for the US, and said Mr Biden is the Democrat who can "restore the countrys dignity and respect". South Carolina is largely viewed a make or break moment for Mr Biden, and what is likely his final run for the presidency. After relatively meek showings in the first three states to vote Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa he is relying on black voters in the state to throw their support behind him. A strong first-place showing in the state could solidfy him as the moderate Democrats' alternative to Bernie Sanders, who is leading the race nationally. Over the past year, in part due to his strong ties to the state, Mr Biden has led in polls there, even as Mr Sanders and Tom Steyer have closed that gap in recent months. Mr Steyer, in particular, has been seen to be pulling African American voter support from Mr Biden in the state. A win in South Carolina would likely give Mr Biden some important momentum as Democrats head into next week's Super Tuesday contests, when 14 states will hold primaries across teh country. 26.02.2020 LISTEN In the midst of Galamsey brouhaha, an outspoken NDC boy has called on the government to clean one of Ghana's damaged water bodies, river Pra. In an interview with ModernGhana Oscar Komla Bedzra was of the view that "despite the waves of Galamsey activities, we need to clean river Pra to be able to make water supply available to the good people of the Eastern region, specifically Wassa East, Shama, and Secondi-Takoradi. Even though quite a lot of money is involved in cleaning this damaged water body, it is a collective responsibility and this specific concern should remain non-political". He supported his statement saying "... River Pra is undoubtedly, and remains one of the main sources of raw water for treatment by the Ghana Water Company Limited and distributes to such areas of Wassa East, Shama, as well as Secondi Takoradi". Mr. Bedzra urged the government to support the Ghana Water Company Limited to clean the damaged river to restore water safety and save lives, adding that this river serves a larger population. In a related development, Mr. Oscar Bedzra urged the media to put in their possible best, eschew political sentiments and remain relentless in finding the missing excavators. This he said would restore public confidence in government's commitment to the fight against illegal mining in Ghana. New research has proven that the farming practised in the Ceide Fields on the north Mayo coast was more intensive than any farming from that era elsewhere in Ireland or Britain. Dating back almost 5,800 years to the Neolithic age, Ceide Fields is one of the best-preserved ancient farming landscapes in Europe, thanks to the extensive growth of blanket bog that covered its landscape. Professor Michael O'Connell from NUI Galway said the new research not only confirms the early Neolithic age of the field systems but also sheds light on intensity of the initial phase of Neolithic farming in north Mayo. "This started at 3800 BC and lasted for 400 years. Not only was it of long duration, but the fossil pollen data, provided by pollen analyst Dr Karen Molloy suggests that it was more intensive than any farming of Neolithic age so far recorded in Ireland or Britain." The research indicates that the Ceide Fields was mainly pastoral and more than likely a cattle-based farming economy. Cereal cultivation also took place. The intensive early Neolithic farming phase was followed by a period of three centuries with reduced though still substantial farming. After that, there was a lull in farming that lasted several centuries. It was during this lull that major expansion of blanket bog occurred. Blanket bog, today a dominant landscape feature in north-west Mayo, is sometimes referred to as 'climatic peat' because of its requirement for high and frequent rainfall. However, the researchers show that a shift towards wetter and cooler climate, in itself, does not provide a satisfactory explanation for the way in which Neolithic farming waxed and waned at Ceide Fields. Other factors that were possibly involved include deforestation and soil impoverishment through prolonged use with little or no replenishment of essential nutrients. Renovation 26 February 2020 EOS Investors LLC (EOS), a privately held real estate investment firm, has unveiled plans for a multi-phase $50 million dollar renovation of the Kingston Resorts properties, beginning with a comprehensive $20 million dollar investment in the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. The transformative renovation of Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort is set for completion by June 2020 and will bring EOS's vision to life for the future of these legacy properties, which includes a repositioning and reintroduction of the Hilton property as one of the premier oceanfront resort destinations in the market. Phase one for Kingston Resorts' renovation, which began in January 2020, includes a complete redesign and upgrade of all 385 guest rooms at Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. Room configurations will also be diversified in an effort to accommodate families, multi-generational travel and group needs. Bathrooms will undergo complete modernizations, including the addition of walk-in showers. The renovation will feature a complete reimagination of Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort's current outdoor dining concept with a transformation into an upscale, social setting outfitted with inviting seating, fire pits and games, offering light fare and beverages throughout the day. Unique design elements will include floor-to-ceiling wood dividers that will offer guests a more private experience while still enjoying the Atlantic breezes and views of the ocean. Other public spaces and common areas undergoing renovation include the Dunes Ballroom, the property's 16th floor meeting and event space offering panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the hotel's oceanfront pool, which will be upgraded with new lounge chairs and umbrellas. Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort's signature oceanfront bar will also be refreshed and expanded to maximize guests' access to unparalleled ocean views and fresh beverages. A mosque and a dargah were vandalised before being set afire during the communal violence in northeast Delhi, locals claimed on Wednesday. The mosque is situated at Ashok Nagar area in northeast Delhi, while the dargah is located in Chand Bagh. The locals in Ashok Nagar area said the mosque was set on fire by unidentified miscreants on Tuesday afternoon. "We got to know about it through social media... We came to know from police that the mosque was vandalised around 12 pm. This is unfortunate and I can say that it was not done by any local, outsiders were involved," one of the locals, who did not wish to be named, said. He said the mosque was very old and construction work was going on there. There were a few Muslim families who lived there but now they have left the area, he added. Sajjad Ibrahim from Chand Bagh expressed anguish over the vandalism of the dargah. "Chand Peer Baba is worshipped more among Hindus who flock here on Thursday night. Seeing the shrine in such a condition is very hurtful. Did any Hindu shrine get vandalised this way? Those who vandalised the dargah forgot the legacy of the saint who blesses and fulfills wishes of both communities," he said. Opposite Chand Bagh is Bhajanpura. According to residents, Chand Bagh has 70 per cent Muslim population, while Bhajanpura has 80 per cent Hindus. Families in Bhajanpura said they saw masked rioters come in vans and disperse into two groups that vandalised both areas. Locals said both sides are suffering in the absence of electricity, shuttered medical shops and absence of basic necessities like vegetables and milk. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Geneva [Switzerland], Feb 26 (ANI): Billboards have been put up across Geneva informing about an exposition on "Stop Human Rights Abuse of Pashtuns by Pakistan Army". The development comes after human rights activist Manzoor Pashteen, who is the leader of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), was arrested overnight on January 27 and tried for sedition, criminal conspiracy, attacking Pakistan's sovereignty, and promoting ethnic hatred by the Pakistani government. The exposition will be held to urge the UN to take action to stop the human rights abuse of Pashtuns. It will showcase the plight of the ones who are being detained and tortured to death in the custody or subjected to enforced disappearances, as well as young women and girls, who are facing rape and sexual harassment at the hands of the Pakistan Army. Since the September 11 attacks, the Pakistan government is carrying out brutal policies against the Pashtuns under the name of the global fight against terrorism. These practices include torture, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention as well as hostage-taking. Moreover, the Pakistan Army has used disproportionate force, killed and bombed the villages where the majority are Pashtuns. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also known to have close ties with the military. Since, the country's general elections, several journalists and activists have been targetted, silenced and detained for criticising the armed forces. (ANI) A member of a 'swingers' group who sexually abused a drugged six-year-old girl has had his lengthy prison sentence slashed after an appeal. The victim was abused by her mother, stepfather and other men, including 57-year-old Tracey Coulter, who pleaded guilty to 18 offences committed between November 2012 and December 2014. Coulter was sentenced in the West Australian District Court to 21 years in prison - one of the highest jail terms given to a pedophile in the state - but on Wednesday, the WA Court of Appeal cut his term to 17 years. He remains eligible to be considered for release on parole in January 2033 and will be deported back to New Zealand. Police seize items from a home as part of the investigation by detectives from Taskforce Mirzam The Court of Appeal disagreed with the sentencing judge, who described the offending as within the 'worst category'. 'While the offence does not fall within the 'worst category', it is nevertheless a very serious example of its type, bearing in mind the aggravating circumstances,' the appeal judges said. During some of the abuse, the girl was made to watch pornographic films involving children and was given a pipe to smoke containing a stupefying substance. Detectives attached to Taskforce Mirzam leave a Perth property with a brown paper bag full of evidence from the investigation The girl said in her victim impact statement that she sometimes felt guilty. The girl's mother and stepfather, who cannot be named, have also pleaded guilty and will face a sentencing hearing next week. Police launched Taskforce Mirzam after a member of the public discovered a device containing videos of the girl, then aged eight, being sexually abused. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] More and more Japanese companies are responding to the virus by having their staff work from home. Cosmetics giant Shiseido says it has told about 8,000 or one third of employees at its group companies to work remotely from February 26 to March 6. The measure excludes front-line sales staff and factory workers. Shiseido is also asking workers who need to attend the office to avoid public transport at peak times. Major advertising agency Dentsu has told about 5,000 staff in Tokyo to work from home after it confirmed an employee had contracted the coronavirus. The company has told four other staff who came into close contact with the employee to work remotely from Tuesday and undergo medical observation. Dentsu also ordered all headquarters staff to work remotely for the time being, starting Wednesday. The Japanese government has asked the leaders of labor unions and business groups to encourage working from home or commuting outside of rush hours, as ways to contain the virus. Religious freedom discussed, but not CAA; both leaders urge Pak to act against terror. New Delhi: Hours after detailed talks on all aspects of bilateral ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House here, when the two countries elevated their ties to the level of a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday declined to discuss the controversy over Indias Citizenship (Amen-dment) Act and the violence rocking parts of Delhi, but told reporters he had discussed the issue of religious freedom with Mr Modi, including specifically (the subject of) Muslims and Christians. He added that India has worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom and that this (religious freedom) is what he (Mr Modi) wants. Addressing the Indian and American media at the US embassy in the evening, the US President said: I dont want to discuss that (CAA). I want to leave that to India, and hopefully theyre going to make the right decision for the people. In a joint statement issued on Tuesday evening, that vindicated New Delhis concerns about cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, the two leaders also called on Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot. In his remarks earlier at Hyderabad House, President Trump said the two countries have expanded our defence cooperation with agreements for India to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters the finest in the world. Both sides also decided to begin negotiations for a big trade agreement. Praising India and Mr Modi from whom he received a powerful answer about religious freedom and the presence of 200 million Indian Muslims in the country, President Trump when asked about issues ranging from hate crimes in India to the violence now rocking northeast Delhi said he had heard about individual attacks but that he did not discuss the matter with Mr Modi as it was upto India to take action. Indias foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, meanwhile, told reporters at a separate briefing that Mr Trump had not raised the CAA issue in bilateral talks between him and Mr Modi, although the two leaders had discussed the issue of religious freedom in a positive way and had appreciated the pluralism and diversity that is a binding factor of both countries. The Indo-US joint statement too said: As the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies recognising the importance of freedom, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights and a commitment to the rule of law, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump vowed to strengthen a India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens. At his press conference in the evening where he reiterated his offer of mediation on the Kashmir issue, the US President also said both leaders had discussed the issue of Pakistan and terrorism, adding: Mr Modi is a very religious man, as you know. Hes a calm man but hes actually a very very strong person. Ive seen him in action. Hes got that foremost in his mind, terrorism. Hell take care of it. Complimenting Indias fight against terror, the US President termed India as a brave nation, adding: theres no pullback from India. Earlier in the day, President Trump also said that in their discussions, PM Modi and I affirmed our two countries commitment to protecting our citizens from radical Islamic terrorism and that the United States is also working productively with Pakistan to confront terrorists who operate on its soil. Offering to do anything I can do to mediate, the US President said: Were working on Kashmir. Kashmir is a thorn in a lot of peoples side for a long time. And there are two sides to every story. He added: And I think theyre (India and Pakistan) going to work out their problems. The two nations in their joint statement also called for concerted action against all terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D-Company, and all their affiliates. Im gonna be not at all controversial... I dont want to blow the two days plus two days of travel on one answer, one little answer... So I will be very conservative in my answers if you dont mind, the US President was quoted as saying at the start of his interaction with the Indian and American media. Erdogan Confirms First Turkish Soldier Deaths in Libya By Dorian Jones February 25, 2020 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Tuesday the deaths of two Turkish soldiers in Libya, where Ankara has military forces in support of the internationally-backed government in Tripoli. Word of the losses comes as the Turkish opposition steps up pressure against Erdogan's Libya policy. "We have two martyrs there in Libya," Erdogan told reporters ahead of an official visit to Azerbaijan. The Turkish president gave no details of where, how, or when the deaths occurred. In January, Ankara started deploying military personnel to Libya in support of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The GNA has been under sustained attack from forces led by Libyan General Khalif Haftar, who has a power base in eastern Libya. Haftar's Libyan National Army, or LNA, has the backing of countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. On Saturday, Erdogan was quoted as saying, "In return for a few martyrs," Turkish forces had killed 100 fighters from Haftar's forces. In a possible sign of sensitivity over Libya, Erdogan angrily chastised a reporter and his organization for asking for clarification on the number of soldiers killed in Libya. "Quit producing fake news," said Erdogan, adding, "I am not interested in what the opposition says." Growing pushback The leader of Turkey's main opposition CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, strongly opposes the Turkish deployment, saying Ankara is falling into a "quagmire." Kilicdaroglu has been pressing Erdogan on the precise number of Turkish deaths in Libya. "I've said this many times, the hair of our soldiers is more valuable than not only Syria but also Libya," Kilicdaroglu told his parliamentary deputies Tuesday. Turkey also has a military presence in Syria. Erdogan vigorously defends the Libya military deployment as one of strategic importance to Turkey. Ankara has not only signed a memorandum of understanding with the GNA to ensure the GNA's defense, but Ankara has also inked an agreement that grants it control of a critical swath of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. "The key is to make sure the Tripoli government survives and that the whole country does not come under Haftar's control," said Haldun Solmazturk, head of the 21st Century Turkey Institute, an Ankara-based research group. With growing political pushback over his Libya policy, Erdogan has been citing Libya's historical and religious links to Turkey. He increasingly stresses that Libya was a part of the Ottoman Empire and that a sizable Turkish minority still lives in the country. Syrian rebels Ankara is relying heavily on Syrian rebels to support a limited Turkish military presence in Tripoli. "For some reason, regular army forces are kept on the side, and he [Erdogan] deploys mainly these Syrian rebels instead, maybe to avoid martyrs given the public sensitivities over the operation," said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. Erdogan confirmed Tuesday the use of militias in Libya operating under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army, or SNA. The Turkish-backed rebel group is active in parts of northern Syria. The SNA is the main group participating in a Turkish-led offensive in northeast Syria. "Those going from Syria, from the Syrian National Army, they have a common goal. They are there within the framework of these common goals," Erdogan said, adding, "Our brothers who are with us in Syria see being there with us as an honor." Turkey has deployed more than 3,000 Syrian rebels to Libya since January, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring organization. According to local media reports, Turkey is paying Syrian rebels around $2,000 a month in comparison to around $100 for fighting in Syria. Turkey relied heavily on Syrian rebels in a December operation in Syria against Kurdish militia forces of the YPG, which Ankara designates as a terrorist organization linked to an insurgency in southeastern Turkey. The militia's capabilities, however, remain in question for an operation as complex as Libya. "They [Syrian rebels] lack training, they lack discipline, they lack proper military motivation and proper command and control," said Solmazturk, who is a retired general. "They have seldom felt a real military threat," he added. "They've always had strong Turkish military support behind them, air, tanks artillery. They have not been put to a real military test. Libya would be the first military operation where its military capabilities would be put to the test." International pressure With Libya 2,000 kilometers from Turkey, Turkish forces in Tripoli have limited logistical support or heavy weapons. On Sunday, Khalid Al-Mahjoub, spokesman for Haftar's Libyan National Army, said 16 Turkish soldiers were killed in the port city of Misrata in the past few weeks. Haftar's forces also claimed to have sunk a ship carrying Turkish munitions. Ankara refuses to comment on the claims. "In Libya, Wagner forces sent by Russia are making life quite difficult for groups supported by Turkey," said Mehmet Ogutcu of the London Energy Club policy group. The Wagner Group is a private security force run by Yevgeny Prigozhin; a businessman reported to have close ties with Moscow. The Kremlin denies the troops are financed by Moscow. Ankara also is facing growing international pressure over Libya. Last week, Josep Borrell, the new European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said member states had agreed to an operation to monitor the Mediterranean to enforce a United Nations Libyan arms embargo. The EU initiative is interpreted by Ankara as being aimed at its military support of the GNA, given most of Turkey's supplies are shipped by sea. Haftar's forces are primarily supplied by land. Ankara insists it is within its rights to support the U.N.-recognized GNA. A source close to the Turkish military says that given the number of sophisticated weapons already deployed in Tripoli, it will be sufficient to resist any attempt by Haftar to seize the Libyan capital. Ankara is seeking a diplomatic settlement to the Libyan civil war, which ensures the survival of the GNA and the agreements made with Turkey, experts say. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Seven Democrats seeking a chance to face President Donald Trump in November took the debate stage in Charleston, South Carolina on Tuesday night, marking the 10th debate of the 2020 election season. Heres four key takeaways from the debate, the last time the candidates will take the stage before March 3, Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states including Massachusetts head to the polls. Frontrunner Bernie Sanders under fire As the leader in several polls and winner of the last two states, New Hampshire and Nevada, Sen. Bernie Sanders came under fire from almost every candidate. Sanders sought to fend off attacks of being too liberal to secure support from Democrats and eventually the White House, arguing that immigration reform, universal health care and tuition-free college were not radical ideas" and were instead why he leads several polls against Trump. With former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden hammering Sanders over positive comments he recently made about a literacy program implemented in Cuba under Fidel Castro, Sanders said that hed referred to Cuba as a dictatorship millions of times and added that hes spoken out against authoritarianism in Cuba, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Buttigieg argued that Democrats in the House and Senate were going to be hard pressed to win their own races if the Democrats presidential nominee is telling people to look on the bright side of the Castro administration. Meanwhile Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the candidate who agrees with Sanders the most on economic policy, argued her track record shows shes the better bet to get things done in the White House. Elizabeth Warren keeps pressure on Mike Bloomberg The heated exchanges between Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg highlighted last weeks debate in Nevada and helped spark a fundraising boost for Warren. Bloomberg, looking to bounce back after his first debate, said Tuesday that hed responded to pressure from Warren by doing what shed asked, by releasing women who had sued him from confidentiality agreements for comments that hed made. He apologized for jokes that others found offensive, but said nothing was enough to please Warren, who pressed the business mogul to release any employee who had sued his company for discrimination from any nondisclosure agreement. Warren also cited an employee who accused Bloomberg of telling a pregnant employee to kill it, which Bloomberg repeatedly denied. The Washington Post corroborated the womans allegation with a witness. Pressed on what evidence she had, Warren said, Her own words. The Massachusetts progressive also hammered Bloombergs previous fundraising for Republicans, including staunch Trump ally Lindsey Graham. I dont care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has," she said. The core of Democratic Party will never trust him. He has not earned their trust. I will." Battle for for African American support key for Biden Biden twice didnt answer whether hed keep his candidacy afloat if he lost South Carolina, a state hes banked on based in part on strong African American support. I will win, he said. Biden argued that his "whole career has been wrapped up in civil rights and civil liberties. Im here to earn it. I intend to win South Carolina and I will win the African American vote here in South Carolina. Later, he said he looked forward to nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court, to generous applause. Biden also focused on his track record on gun safety, including support for the Brady Bill that guaranteed background checks, which Sanders voted against, and his work getting the assault weapons ban passed. But Biden, who this week claimed that Tom Steyer had undercut his African American support with heavy advertising across South Carolina, took heat from Steyer for his support of a crime bill that saw blacks imprisoned disproportionally. Steyer also repeated his support for reparations to help heal the damage caused by the legacy of slavery. He also noted his efforts to offer loans to black, Latino and women business owners, and to expand affordable housing opportunities. Sanders dominates speaking time as Biden calls out moderators Why am I stopping? Biden asked at one point. No one else stops. Biden: "Why am I stopping? No one else stops." Moderator: "You're a gentleman." Tonight's #DemDebate has devolved into a shouting match. We've got the key moments https://t.co/9yFVwyblkv pic.twitter.com/lbYtxCfiGK POLITICO (@politico) February 26, 2020 "Why am I stopping? No one else stops." -- me at stoplights in D.C.#DemDebate Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) February 26, 2020 Biden quipped that it was perhaps because of his Catholic school upbringing, leading to a laugh and some Twitter jokes. But the moment was just one of several times the former Delaware senator expressed frustration with moderators for not holding candidates to time limits and letting them barge in whenever they pleased. Can we just jump in whenever? he asked before Warren spoke at length about an hour into the debate. While they often raised their hands, several candidates often spoke over one another and struggled to maintain speaking time. Buttigieg, hoping to build back momentum after edging out Sanders in Iowa and a strong showing in New Hampshire, appeared to be cut off by moderators the most. He finished second from the bottom in terms of speaking time at 11 minutes, 30 seconds, the New York Times reported. Steyer had the shortest time, at just over seven minutes. Biden beat Buttigieg only by about a minute, while Sanders dominated the airwaves with more than 15 minutes of speaking time. Bloomberg came in second at 13 minutes, 33 seconds, followed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Warren at 13 minutes, 26 seconds and and just under 13 minutes, respectively. Comment on this story on MassLives Facebook page Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be on a day-long visit to Qatar on Thursday during which he and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will discuss matters related to bilateral ties and regional development, according to an official statement. "During the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Qatar the focus will be on strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional developments," the Foreign Office said in a statement. This would be the second visit of Prime Minister Khan to Qatar after taking office in 2018. The Emir of Qatar visited Pakistan in June 2019 and the visit resulted in strengthening bilateral economic collaboration in diverse areas, FO said. The visit comes ahead of signing of the historic peace agreement between the US and the Afghan Taliban on February 29. Qatar has invited foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to attend the signing ceremony in Doha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ancient Indians survived one of mankinds worst catastrophes the Mount Toba super eruption that literally rocked the world 74,000 years ago. Archaeologists have dug out stone tools from a site in the Son river valley in Madhya Pradesh bearing telltale signs of continuous human occupation at the site since the last 80,000 years the strongest evidence so far that the super eruption didnt wipe off those Stone Age men and women. The Toba supervolcanic eruption in the Indonesian island of Sumatra is the earths largest known volcanic discharge. Many scientists have argued that it caused an extended volcanic winter, disrupting human dispersal out of Africa and the colonisation of Australasia. While its impact on human populations has been debated, the evidence from key regions such as India has been limited. Now, an international team comprising researchers from Australia, Germany, the UK, India and Canada has unearthed a collection of stone tools in support of the survival theory. Researchers from the University of Allahabad, Banaras Hindu University and the University of Madras are part of the team that found tools from around 80,000 years ago. The stone tools consist of a Levallois core assemblage (created by flint knapping) until approximately 48,000 years ago when there was a shift to microlithic technology (the production of smaller stone tools, typically a few centimetres in length). While substantial deposits of chemically identified remnants of the Toba eruption are found about 700 metres east of Dhaba, at Ghogara, on the northern bank of the Son river and in cliff sections on the east bank of the Rehi river, the ancient Indians continued their lives without much of a problem even after the super eruption. The Dhaba localities provide evidence of long-term human occupation spanning nearly the last 80 thousand years. The occupation spans the Toba eruption and the stone tool industry shows no significant change in technology until the introduction of microlithic technology about 48 thousand years ago, the team reported in Nature Communications on Wednesday. Way back in 2007, archaeologists had found stone tools in southern India, dated before and after the super eruption. The critics, however, argued that it was not clear whether those tools were made by modern humans or their ape-like forefathers such as Neanderthals. The continuity in the archaeological record suggests survival of the local population beyond the catastrophic eruption. The findings also provide insights into the eastward dispersal of our species out of Africa. The similarities between the Levallois tool technology at Dhaba with those found in Arabia between 1,00,000 and 47,000 years ago and in northern Australia 65,000 years ago suggest linkage of these regions by an early modern human dispersal out of Africa. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles Middle Stone Age stone tool assemblages from Africa, Arabia and Australia. This is interpreted as the result of dispersal of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa. tmp_6VQhLp_24a62546eeac0ede_park-troopers-ACv87kYooQQ-unsplash.jpg I went to school in Orlando, FL, largely so I could work at Walt Disney World. It was my part-time job on the weekends when I was 20 years old before becoming my seasonal work until graduation. Like any bratty twenty-something, I complained about having to spend my weekends working, even if it was at the Most Magical Place on Earth. When I left Florida in 2008, I bid a careless farewell to my job and the mouse, and planned to never return any time soon. But I did return to Walt Disney World in late 2019, and it was not at all what I expected. In Summer 2006, I went to Disney's casting office and applied for my very first job. The company hired me as a retail hostess (aka a cashier) at what was then still called Disney-MGM Studios. I worked in the Backlot area, and on my very first day in the park, I worked at Tattooine Traders, the shop at the end of the Star Tours ride. My other spots included the Indiana Jones shops, the Muppets shop, the Toy Story cart, and a few other scattered carts and shops at the back of the park. Day in and day out, I wore my (admittedly pretty ugly) Disney costume and met people from all over the world. But even though I felt off-kilter at finding Disney's Hollywood Studios so vastly different from when I left it in 2008, it still gave me that sense of home, from being my very first job. The job absolutely had its ups and downs. Ups: I always got a discount on merchandise, and had more free park tickets than I could keep track of. Downs: I was on my feet all day outside and was never allowed to break character, not to mention the constantly playing music never left my head. For my first month of work, I had dreams that included the Star Wars theme music (talk about haunting). But I kinda loved it. Despite all the standing and the heat and working weekends, I genuinely did love it. I feel proud when I tell people I worked at Disney World, and have missed it. Since then, I moved all around the country, which didn't give me any time to make the trip back to Orlando. When I left Florida, I wanted to put my college years way behind me (I didn't have an easy time in school), and truly planned to not come back any time soon, despite how much I loved Disney. I visited Disneyland a couple times, but the original Disney park never compared to the magic in Florida for me. But after making peace with my old memories of school, I finally booked the trip back to Orlando and couldn't wait to revisit my old stomping grounds. What I found when I got there, though, was nothing like the park I'd left a decade ago. Story continues Related: The Best Foods at Disney World Every Disney Fan Should Complete This Incredible, Edible Bucket List Obviously I know things change. A place like Walt Disney World is constantly evolving and updating, and bringing in current Disney favorites. I get it. But for some reason, even though I knew Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge had been added to Disney's Hollywood Studios (forever MGM Studios to me), I never put it together that Disney ripped out all my old haunts to add those. Instead of walking around the little wall by Tattoine Traders to find Streets of America, there was no wall and no more cut through to Youse Guys Moychandise and eventually the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. They were all gone, along with the Studio Backlot Tour and the Toy Story toy barn, where day in and day out I'd watch Woody and Buzz Lightyear and the toy soldiers meet park guests while I worked at a nearby souvenir cart. Even Sorcerer Mickey's hat in the middle of the park had been ripped out. Walking around, I felt like I was in a completely different park. Not even the costumes were the same as the one I used to wear. Obviously they weren't - they used to be tailored to fit the theme of being on a studio set. I suddenly missed the bright yellow floppy bow tie I loathed for two years. (I actually think I might have kept one when I left - Disney, please don't come looking for me to get it back. You can see how emotional I am over a bow tie here.) I expected to come back to Disney and fall into old times and feel like an old pro at the park I spent countless hours at, but instead I felt lost and nostalgic for years gone by. Even the shops I worked in that were still standing, like Tattoine Traders and the Muppets shop, were completely transformed into places I didn't recognize. But even though I felt off-kilter at finding Disney's Hollywood Studios so vastly different from when I left it in 2008, it still gave me that sense of home, from being my very first job. I still felt embraced by the whimsy and so unbelievably excited to be back. And even though the park physically changed, the magic never did. That Disney magic is a constant that I will carry with me forever. President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the Nigerian military to re-examine strategies towards defeating the Islamic States for West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the North East. Mr Buhari gave the directives at the opening of the 10th National Security Seminar organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC), on Wednesday in Abuja. The seminar with the theme; Combating Insecurity in Nigeria was organised in collaboration with the Office National Security Adviser (ONSA) and NDC. Mr Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, said new threats in the areas of insurgency and terrorism had emerged due mainly to the defeat of ISIS. He, however, stated that the security agencies had been given renewed mandate to deal mercilessly with all forms of criminality such as terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. This is a major concern and threat to us, as their presence in the West African Sahel region poses great danger not only to Nigeria but the entire region. Thus we are exploring higher level of collaboration among all nations and international organisations to effectively curtail the spread of terrorism and defeat insurgency and terrorism. No doubt, our forces have over the years worked hard to defeat Boko Haram and they will as well re-examine their strategies to deal with ISWAP that has invaded parts of the country. The criminal elements using kidnapping and other criminal activities as a way to get rich quick should either stop such acts forthwith or face the full weight of the law as security agencies have a renewed mandate to deal with such acts of criminality, he said. Mr Buhari said the government would continue to prioritise security, adding that the seminar was necessary especially at a time when the government was making efforts to ensure attainment of sustainable peace in the country. He said that AANDECs close collaboration with ONSA, NDC and other security agencies presented the type of desired collaborative efforts towards addressing major security issues and challenges facing the country. He said it is therefore expected that at the end of the seminar, we will have some implementable recommendations that can move the nation forward. As we all know, security should be the concern of everyone hence we must all corporate and work collaboratively to address security issues from all perspectives, be it physical or human. The nexus between physical and human security makes it necessary for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to be highly productive. States and Local Governments should also view workers welfare with utmost priority while all security agencies in particular must deal appropriately with extremist tendencies that are capable of affecting peace and development of the nation, according to the law. The National Security Strategy 2019 is very clear on these and we shall implement every aspect of it. On the border closure, Mr Buhari said government had to consider temporary closure of land borders with a view to taking a closer look at how to address the challenges of smuggling and illegal movement of weapons. He added that the border issue would be properly examined in collaboration with its neighbours to put in place acceptable measures to prevent illegal economic activities and other related crimes. The president commended AANDEC for its contribution over the years towards enhancing security, peace and development in Nigeria. On his part, the Minister of Defence, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Nuratu Batagarawa, acknowledge the effort of President Buhari for creating an enabling environment to resolve the prevailing security challenges. Mr Magashi said it was imperative to forge a common front among the security challenges to finding permanent solutions to the security challenges, adding that seminar was apt. He said the ministry would put in measures to implement the recommendations from the communique at the end of the seminar. READ ALSO: He said it is believed that the seminar will go a long way in providing far reaching recommendations that would help in tackling the national security challenges. Advertisements Earlier, the president of AANDEC, Garba Audu, a retired major general, disclosed that the seminar was organised with a view to proffering solutions to national security challenges. Mr Audu said that the seminar would focus on some key security challenges bedeviling the country such as negotiations with bandits in some parts of the country. He said solution to national security challenges goes beyond the military intervention, adding that economic solutions were also required. He said the AANDED regularly review the national security challenges facing Nigeria with a view to articulating informed measures to address them. It is noteworthy that AANDEC is highly blessed with some best trained military and security sector officers both serving and retired around the world who are professionals in various fields of human endeavour. They are highly experienced in the conduct of security operations in and outside the country. Members of AADEC therefore, constitute the appropriate team of think tank that can be relied upon to proffer solution to Nigerian security and development challenges, he said. (NAN) Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU: Following a TNIE report on the improper collection of garbage by BBMP contractors assigned to Bellandur ward, Joint Commissioner (Mahadevpura Zone) Venkatachalapathi called a meeting with the residents and contractors. The joint commissioner (JC) asked the contractors to fix the issue within ten days and warned that if they fail to, notices would be served and their licences cancelled. The meeting gave a ray of hope to residents, who said that after five long years, the issues has been taken up by the authorities. Unlike the previous times when we were given empty promises, this time the joint commissioner seemed concerned. On Tuesday, we saw the Assistant Executive Engineer doing the spot check. We now want this issue to be fixed or the contractors changed, said Seema Sharma, a member of Kasa Muktha Bellandur. The JC ordered that drivers should have printed and laminated route maps in their vehicles and should follow the allotted route. The operation will be completely streamlined in the next ten days. Wet and and reject waste should be picked up every day by two BBMP contractors in auto tippers. Dry waste should be cleared by Dry Waste Collection Centre operator, once in two days. Each driver will collect phone numbers of 20-50 residents to form a WhatsApp group for their block, while a Junior Health Inspector (JHI) and volunteers will monitor daily pickup of wet and reject waste, he said. Any complaint on any route will be taken as no-show for the entire route. Payments are made to contractors on actual days of pickups only. The officials will conduct a training for all drivers to ensure they understand difference between reject and dry waste. The officials will also carry out surprise checks. Small shops have been warned against dumping waste on roads or in bins on road. After pourakarmikas sweep and clean the road sides, contractor must ensure that the street waste is collected. If in case driver asks for money, residents should inform AEE quoting the drivers name and vehicle number, the JC said. Special Commissioner (SWM) Randeep D said, The JC went on a surprise check and he has found that all the tippers were not being used. Bellandur ward has 54 tippers which is highest and non-use of vehicles is not justified. In case we find out that it is continuing we will discontinue the contractors services and blacklist him. The JC said, We will keep a continuous check on the collection process. I have told them to fix it in 10 days or we will issue notices and take further action. We have kept a register where they have to take signatures from residents and the AEEs will check whether they are collecting waste properly. EgyptAir was due to resume some flights to China on Thursday Egypt's falgship carrier EgyptAir said Wednesday it would postpone the resumption of flights to and from mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak. EgyptAir announced 30 January it was suspending all flights to and from China, with the last Chinese tourist group in Egypt leaving 4 February. It said last week it would resume some flights to and from China starting Thursday, 27 February, with only one trip a week from Cairo to Beijing and Guangzhou, and back from Guangzhou and Beijing to Cairo, "due to demand on travel in both directions. That decision is now on hold, with no further information provided on when flights will resume. Search Keywords: Short link: PARIS - France has announced three new cases of coronavirus, including a fatal one, the director general of health, Jerome Salomon, said Wednesday, adding that a total of 17 cases have been confirmed in the country. The first French national to die from the virus is a 60-year-old man. He died last night in Paris. After three new cases were announced by French authorities, Premier Edouard Philippe scheduled a meeting with party leaders and parliamentary groups to focus on the risks connected to the epidemic. The meeting, to be held in the government's headquarters in Matignon, will be attended by the presidents of the National Assembly and Senate. The 60-year-old man who was in serious condition at the Hospital Pitie-Salpetriere in Paris died last night after being admitted to the hospital. The man was a teacher at the school of Crepy-en-Valois, in the department of Oise, the French education ministry said. According to a report published by Le Parisien, which was confirmed by the ministry, the man did not travel to an area affected by the outbreak such as China or Italy. A Chinese citizen, a tourist, had previously died in France. The other two cases confirmed on Wednesday morning are a 55-year-old man, who is in intensive care in Amiens, in the north, and a 36-year-old man who had travelled back from Lombardy. He is in hospital in Strasbourg and only has mild symptoms. First coronavirus case in Greece - woman visited Italy A Greek health ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that the country has registered its first case of the coronavirus after a woman who recently travelled to northern Italy tested positive. The spokesperson said the woman, 38, was in good condition in hospital in Thessaloniki. Spain detects 11 coronavirus cases, 2nd in Madrid and 2nd in Catalogna Over a 36-hour period, Spain has found 9 news cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, in addition to two previous ones that had already been released from hospital days before. El Pais reported that of the 9 new infections, 4 had been found in Tenerife, 2 in Madrid, 2 in Barcelona, and one in Castellon, the first found in the peninsula. Those in Tenerife were an Italian doctor who had tested positive on Monday afternoon as well as his wife and two other Italians staying in his hotel. All the news cases, the newspaper noted, are linked to trips to Italy. There are 11 people that have been found to have the coronavirus thus far in Spain, 5 of whom Italian nationals. In Catalonia - after a 36-year-old Italian woman tested positive on Tuesday in Barcelona - a 22-year-old was also found to have been infected. The news was reported by El Pais, which quoted the Catalan health department as saying the man had recently been to Italy. Turkey advises against travelling to Italy Turkey has advised against travelling to Italian regions affected by an outbreak of coronavirus "unless necessary", the Turkish foreign ministry said. The ministry issued the same warning regarding Iraq. Washington: Hours after President Donald Trump concluded his whirlwind 36-hour tour of India, the White House late on Tuesday issued a statement saying the visit aimed at deepening the strategic partnership between both nations. "The United States and India benefit from strong economic ties that advance prosperity, investment and job creation in both countries," the White House said in a statement titled "President Donald J Trump is strengthening our strategic partnership with India". Underlining that it was the first official visit of the US President to India, the White House said both countries enjoyed a long-standing trade relationship, exceeding USD 142 billion in 2018 alone. India is a growing destination for American energy exports, it said, adding that during President Trump's tenure, energy exports to India have grown substantially, generating billions of dollars in revenue. In India, ExxonMobil signed a deal to further improve India's natural gas distribution network so that the country can accept even more American LNG exports, it said. The White House said the US president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are working towards a trade pact that reflects the full potential of the economic partnership between both nation. "The United States and India are committed to investing in sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure in the region," it said. According to the White House, the two nations are deepening their security relationship and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "The United States is working closely with India to combat terrorism, confront global drug trafficking and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," it said. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are calling on other countries in the region to take steps to counter terrorism. The United States India defence cooperation contributes to the prosperity and security of the entire Indo-Pacific region," it said. During his visit, Trump spoke about the importance of the United States-India relationship before a crowd of more than 110,000 people at the Ahmedabad's Motera stadium, the White House said, adding that he had the privilege of visiting some of India's cherished cultural sites, including the Taj Mahal in Agra. During the US president's visit, India announced it will procure military equipment, including Apache and MH-60R helicopters, worth over USD3 billion. Trump and Modi also discussed the importance of building secure 5G systems to promote a trusted networking future, the White House said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:34:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIRANA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Albanian State Police launched a massive nationwide operation to prevent the cultivation of narcotics in the country, a press release of the police authorities said here on Wednesday. The press release said the operation follows the assignments given by Director General of the State Police Ardi Veliu on Tuesday during a meeting with police directors. Police officers are conducting searches in greenhouses, tunnels, former military bases, forested areas, abandoned dwellings and warehouses suspected of being used for narcotic plant cultivation. A total of 2,225 police officers from Local Police Directorates and Border Police are engaged in the operation that started in the early hours of Wednesday morning, During the operation, Criminal Police across the country will gather information on persons with criminal tendency in the field of narcotics cultivation and trafficking. TROY The discovery of a 1,000-gallon fuel tank stalled the transformation of the old Vanilla Bean bakery into a $2 million center of Italian dining, forcing Rocco and Matt DeFazio the father-and son team who hope to transform the building into a destination for Italian cuisine to again ask the city to approve plans for a project the city signed off on five years ago. In a family thats been selling Italian food on Fourth Street since 1951, the removal of the tank was taken in stride. The DeFazios will push ahead with construction later this spring. They hope to open their new kitchen by December. A full restaurant should be done by next February. We would like to get to be able to get in there for a private party and tours, said Rocco DeFazio, of the second generation in the family business. The DeFazios' plan for the converted bakery would bear similarities to Eataly, the Italian-based business that features a massive store in Manhattan that offers a sprawling Italian marketplace with restaurants, shops and a cooking school. The work on the Troy project began moving again in January after the state Department of Environmental Conservation approved the cleanup, said Matt DeFazio, a member of the third generation in the family that runs the popular DeFazios Pizzeria at 266 Fourth St. as well as DeFazios Imports next door. DeFazios Pizzeria is renowned for its wood-fired pizzas, while the import business draws shoppers from around the Capital Region for Italian specialty foods. Both businesses are landmarks in Troys Little Italy neighborhood. The city's approval of the project had a five-year time limit, prompting the DeFazios to ask for another endorsement. Matt DeFazio said they would go before the city Planning Commission in March to secure a new approval for their site plan. The new DeFazios eatery at 214-226 Fourth St. will host the current operations under one roof that encompasses nearly 25,000 square feet. DeFazios plans called for a pizzeria/restaurant with a bar, a banquet hall for 75 to 100 patrons, a store and a culinary school. The expanded operation will employ the equivalent of 30 full-time employees. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The Vanilla Bean closed in 2007 and the city seized the property for unpaid property taxes the same year. The DeFazios bought the property from the city for $5,000. The petroleum tank was not the only problem with the building. When the family took possession of the property they discovered the roof needed to be replaced and a tree had to be dug out. The expanded operation should benefit from the apartment construction boom that is occurring in the surrounding neighborhoods. The conversion of the Old Brick Furniture and Troy Record buildings into apartments and the new apartments at Fourth and Congress streets will add to the potential customer base, Matt DeFazio said. Bernie Sanders has called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a reactionary racist, while saying he supports Israel during the latest Democratic debate. Mr Sanders, who is one of the frontrunners in the contest, said he was very proud to be Jewish when he was asked about his position on Israel during the debate in Charleston, South Carolina. I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel through Bibi Netanyahu you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country, he added. Mr Sanders said Israels independence and security should be protected, but that you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. He also suggested he would consider reversing president Trumps May 2018 decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The embassy move was met with international criticism for recognising the contested city as Israels undivided capital when Palestinians have long demanded East Jerusalem as their capital of a future independent state. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognised by most countries but endorsed by president Donald Trumps Middle East plan. Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Show all 18 1 /18 Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in the West Bank against the expected peace plan proposal AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce Trump's Middle East peace plan in the White House AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AP Israel Katz, Israels foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Mr Sanderss comment on the embassy was horrifying. Speaking to Israels Army Radio, Mr Katz said Mr Sanders had a history of attacking the identity and national security of Israel. He added: Naturally, people who support Israel will not support someone who goes against these things. His comments come a few days after he raised his concerns about AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobby group, tweeting on Sunday that it provides a platform for leaders who express bigotry. He added that he would not be attending this years AIPAC conference as a result. Mr Sanders is not alone in claiming that Mr Netanyahu is racist. Beto ORourke, who was then a Democratic presidential candidate, described Mr Netanyahu as a racist in April last year, saying he was an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Shortly before the Israeli election in September 2019, Mr Netanyahus Facebook page was sanctioned for hate speech after one of its post warned against a government composed of Arabs who want to destroy us all women, children and men. As a result, the pages automatic chat function was disabled for 24 hours. Although he denied writing the post, Mr Netanyahu went on to call the Joint List, an alliance of Arab political parties, a terrorist-supporting fifth column in November. The Joint List became the third-largest faction in the Knesset, Israels parliament, after the 2015 elections. His government also introduced the nation-state law in 2018, which controversially states that the right to exercise national self-determination in Israel is unique to the Jewish people, and demoted Arabic as an official language. Critics denounced the law as racist. On the day of the election in 2015, Netanyahu also warned that the Arabs are voting in droves, for which he later apologised. Lalitpur [Nepal], Feb 27 (ANI): Without raising slogans or holding up a single placard, students here are protesting in a unique way the government order of levying additional taxes on imported books. Students gather at the Patan Durbar Square here every evening to hold discussions over various topics related to books whose supplies have been halted following the government order. Last year, the Nepal government passed the order of levying an additional 10 per cent additional tax on books imported from outside the country. Following the order, the supply of books has halted and students say they face hardships in their studies. Disgruntled students have resorted to protest by discussing topics related to books. "We thought to design a creative protest against the government and we did not want to shout and curse the government. We thought of a creative way and a result we came to the concept like book discussions, reciting poems and so on," said Nabin Tiwari, who came up with the idea of new kind of protest. Kshitij Chaurel is a student who arrives at the Square on daily basis to take part in the protest against the government's decision which has compelled booksellers to halt the import of books from India and other countries. "I am a student at Tribhuwan University, currently doing my master's thesis. When I needed a book to carry out the research and went to a bookshop to buy it I was told that it is unavailable due to a hike of tax and its supply has been stopped," said Chaurel. Nepal has been importing over 80 per cent of its books from India. The new order by the government is affecting about 400,000 students who are pursuing higher education in the country under various streams. The government brought the rule on May 29. "The Government of Nepal has imposed 10 per cent customs duty on all books imported from India and other foreign countries. This has rapidly raised the price of the books and we are just fighting against this. We will not step down till the time government doesn't take back its decision," Nabin added. (ANI) There is currently crisis in the camp of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of the Boko Haram sect. Baa... There is currently crisis in the camp of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of the Boko Haram sect. Baa Idirisa, son of late Muhammed Yusuf, who is leader of the group in Nigeria, has been killed, according to sources. Yusuf is the founder of the sect. His son was reportedly killed alongside three other commanders. A source revealed that the ISWAP leaders were killed on February 9 for driving an idea which was considered too soft for the insurgents. Idirisa had told his fighters to stop killing captured soldiers and should be kind to villagers, the source said. But elements within the ISWAP leadership were not happy about this. They accused Idirisa and two others of being too soft and that they had been compromised. They were eventually killed. Another source said a communication between Idirisa and a humanitarian organisation was intercepted and the late insurgent leader was overheard suing for peace. The source said Idirisas death has deepened the crisis in the Boko Haram camp as his loyalists have vowed to rebel. Some of the fighters have reportedly accused their leaders of misleading them. The development is coming at a time when the sect lost about 25 of its commanders. The military has carried out a series of raids on Boko Haram targets in the last two months. Many others, sources said, fled into the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon as a result of heavy bombardment from security forces. One Abba Gana, has now been named as the new leader of ISWAP in Nigeria. The number of deaths in Northeast Delhi violence has risen to 20, according to news agency PTI. An official from Delhis Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital said on Wednesday morning that five more people were brought dead to the hospital, reported PTI. More than 250 people are injured. The clashes, worst in the capital in over two decades, started at the weekend but turned deadly on Monday after two groups protesting for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA clashed with each other. Both the groups were carrying swords, stones and other weapons; they also torched houses and vehicles in Maujpur, Jafrabad and other areas. Violence erupted again on Tuesday and spread to other nearby localities, just kilometres away from where US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for talks. Also Watch | Delhi violence: Students protest outside CM Kejriwals residence, detained Huge clouds of smoke was seen billowing from a tyre market that had been set ablaze. The fire tenders took time to reach the spot as mobs wielding sticks and stones walked down streets. The Centre and Delhi administration sprung into action and a series of meetings were held to find a solution to end the violence. Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired three review meetings in 24 hours and directed the Delhi Police to take quick action. He also asked for more police force to be deployed. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik visited the office of North-east DCP Ved Prakash Surya in Seelampur for a meeting late on Tuesday night. Doval, accompanied by Patnaik and other senior officials visited Maujpur, Jafarabad, Gokulpuri and Bhajanpura to conduct a first-hand review of the situation. ANI reported that Doval will be closely overseeing the police efforts to restore peace in Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also held emergency meeting with officials and MLAs of the affected areas, and directed the officials to coordinate with central agencies and end the cycle of violence. He also appealed the protesters to calm down and talk about their issues instead of indulging in violence. Delhi has been a focus of unrest against the CAA, which makes it easier for non-Muslims from three neighbouring countries to gain Indian citizenship. It has sparked accusations that PM Modi and his BJP are undermining Indias secular traditions. The government has, however, denied all the accusations and maintained that it wont roll back the CAA. Durable, versatile and easy to match these are a few words that can be used to describe one of the most oft pieces of clothing worn nowadays jeans. A type of trouser, typically made from denim or dungaree, jeans originally referred to a particular style of trousers called blue jeans which were invented by Jacob W Davis in partnership with Levi Strauss & Co in 1871. In fact, blue jeans were patented by Davis and Strauss in 1873. Born on February 26, 1829, Levi Strauss was a German-American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans, in 1853, effectively bringing about a huge metamorphosis in trousers for men. Originally designed for miners, the humble jeans was popularised among teenagers as fashionable wear by Marlon Brando and James Dean in films such as The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause. However, none of that would have been possible without Levi Strauss popularising blue jeans as a wearable through his company. On his birth anniversary heres looking at a few interesting facts about him. - Levi Strauss was born to an Ashkenazi Jewish family in the Franconia region of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Bavaria was a part of the German Confederation at that point in time. - He travelled with his mother and two sisters to the US when he was 18 to join his brothers Jonas and Louis, who had begun a wholesale dry goods business in New York City called J. Strauss Brother & Co. - On January 1853, Levi Strauss became an American citizen. -He opened his wholesale business as Levi Strauss & Co. and imported fine dry goods from his brothers in New York. Jacob W Davis was one of his customers and one of the inventors of the denim pants in 1871. The two patented the new style of work pants in 1873. - In 1899, Levi Strauss hired local architect Albert Pissis to design an addition to the companys headquarters in San Francisco and even made him design numerous homes and buildings following the 1906 earthquake. - In 1897, he donated money to the University of California, Berkeley. The money was meant to match the 28 scholarships established by Californias legislature and covered more than 1/3 of a students expense. The first Levi Strauss scholarship was given in 1898. - He was a member of the Reform branch of Judaism and helped establish the first Jewish synagogue in the city of San Francisco. At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter In a letter of resignation submitted to the colleges Board of Trustees chair and president, Finger said personal matters requiring my time and attention have necessitated my relocation to Wisconsin to be closer to family, and as such I am not able to fulfill my Board duties at this time. Social Democratic Party of India members on Tuesday held a protest in Madurai's Nelpettai area against the ongoing violence in Delhi and the CAA. "The Social Democratic Party of India (SDBI) party condemns the violence happening Delhi. The army and the police have failed to prevent this," Mujipur Rahman, one of the protesters, told the reporters. He also alleged that the RSS is behind the violence in the capital. "Action should be taken against the RSS to prevent any such incidents," he added. Though the SDBI party members said that they will stop protesting only if the CAA is withdrawn. The protestors have been dispersed from the area on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in Delhi, the death toll has reached to 18 on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Middle Valley Church of God, at 1703 Thrasher Pike in Hixson, announced that Pastor Mitch McClure will lead a 'Looking Forward and Planning For The Future' Sunday, at 10:30 a.m. Pastor McClure will continue a sermon series on the absolute promises of God and how they relate to the Bible and the Holy Spirit in the 10:30 a.m. service. Chili for Cusuna, a fund raising event for Honduras Missions Project will be held on Sunday, March 1, at 6 p.m. in the Family Life Center of the church. This event will include an auction, a chili contest, and videos/testimonies concerning past and recent trips to Cusuna Honduras. All are welcome to participate. in the Family Life Center of the church. This event will include an auction, a chili contest, and videos/testimonies concerning past and recent trips to Cusuna Honduras. All are welcome to participate. On Wednesday at 7 p.m. an interactive Bible study will be led by Senior Adult Pastor Craig Paul in the Administrative Office classroom. Middle Valley Church of God has been involved in community from the same location since 1946 and continues to partner with many local organizations including Middle Valley Elementary, Soddy Daisy HealthCare, Hamilton County Election Commission, Hamilton County Sheriff, Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department, Red Cross. The church also is involved in multiple ministries in Cusuna, Honduras with orphans and widows. South Africa will curtail financial support for cash-strapped state-owned companies as the country battles to reduce dependence on government guarantees and rein in debt to stave off a credit-rating downgrade to junk. Approved guarantees for debt issued by state-owned companies will decrease by 3.3 billion rand ($502 million) to 484.4 billion by the end of March, the National Treasury said in its annual budget review on Wednesday, potentially leaving the government on the hook for 979.9 billion rand of contingent liabilities, rising to 1.04 trillion rand in the 2020-21 fiscal year. Achieving fiscal sustainability requires a combination of continued spending restraint, faster economic growth and measures to contain extra-budgetary pressures including reform of state-owned companies, the Treasury said. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni allocated additional funding to just two of the countrys major state-owned entities in this years budget. Arms manufacturer Denel SOC Ltd. will receive 576 million rand and South Africa Airways, which was placed in a local form of bankruptcy protection in December, will receive 16,4 billion rand to pay its creditors. South Africas state companies have drained government finances, with the countrys power producer Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. accounting for 82% of the 162 billion rand in bailouts allocated to distressed state entities in the past 12 years, according to the Treasury. Moodys Investors Services, the only major ratings company that still assesses the countrys debt at investment grade, cited rising debt and contingent liabilities as a risk to its creditworthiness. Now read: How the government will use spectrum auction earnings "Hell hath no fury like a 'lover' scorned." If you've ever crossed a lover, you will know the true meaning of this statement. Relationships have a strong potential to go sour and sometimes (most times), people don't process heartbreak in a healthy manner. This leads to them engaging themselves in bitter acts that are meant to harm the other person. Uttar Pradesh knows best when it comes to incidents like these. In another edition of #OnlyInUP, today's latest development is of a man who wanted to take revenge on his ex-girlfriend. So, in order to do that, the 28-year-old man named Saroj Kumar came up with the genius plan of putting up posters featuring his and his ex-girlfriend's pictures all around town, with the message 'Happy Holi!' IANS The 'colourful' incident took place in Salon in Uttar Pradesh, which is the woman's hometown. The youth's main agenda was to make the woman and her family feel embarrassed, which he was successful in doing since she was all set to marry a lawyer next week. This led to the woman's father filing an FIR against the man which led to his arrest by the 'anti-romeo' squad. According to Vineet Singh, Circle Officer of Salon, Kumar found out about the woman's wedding and executed his plan to put up the posters as an act of revenge. Reportedly, he also morphed the woman's pictures. Pinterest Officer Vineet Singh said, "The posters were taken down and Saroj Kumar was arrested from a village near Pratapgarh. He is being interrogated." Uttar Pradesh is no alien to scorned lovers becoming extremely vengeful. The state has witnessed previous incidents where ex-lovers have taken a not-so-pleasant approach to their former relationships. A man from Ghaziabad had reportedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend after he was forced by his family to marry another woman and his ex-lover had refused to continue their relationship. In fact, he didn't stop at that and attempted to commit suicide after stabbing his ex-girlfriend. Pexels Also, it is not just the men who turn bitter after a heartbreak; UP's women also have a violent approach to their broken relationships. A woman from Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur district had allegedly kidnapped her ex-boyfriend just a moments before he was scheduled to marry another woman. She had claimed that the man and her were in love and his family was forcing him to marry another woman. It's a bizarre world. Source: IANS Dance mums legal battle: Jennifer Lea Fisher (left) 44, has accused her former business partner Lauren Phoebe Costar (right) 29, of dipping into their joint business account to secretly fund her lifestyle A Gold Coast mum accused of swindling more than $120,000 from a children's dance competition business has claimed she 'borrowed' money when her personal bank accounts were 'hacked'. Jennifer Lea Fisher, 44, has accused her former business partner Lauren Phoebe Costar, 29, of dipping into their company's finances to secretly fund her lifestyle. The pair met in 2017, when their daughters were taking dance lessons together, and decided to set up their own joint business, SSB Productions on the Gold Coast. In a lawsuit filed in Brisbane Supreme Court, Ms Fisher claimed Ms Costar had taken $127,114 from their business account and used the money on shopping, KFC orders, Uber rides, streaming services, and other personal expenses. She also accused her of breaching their business agreement after Ms Costar launched a rival business called 'Future Stars Dance Competition' last year. She is seeking $50,000 in damages. Ms Costar responded to the claims in a defence filed last month, in which she admitted to borrowing some money in December 2018, The Courier-Mail reported. She claimed she dipped into the fund after her personal accounts became frozen when they were 'hacked' but later repaid the money. She also denied breaching their contract saying she launched 'Future Stars Dance Competition' in May last year after the two agreed SSB Productions would shut down the following month. Ms Fisher included a 12-page list in her lawsuit which showed Ms Costar allegedly spent $1,600 on items at JB Hifi, dance outfits, Airbnb, Pet Barn, Nicks Wine Merchants, among other purchases. Of the $127,114, $117,694 was used on personal expenses and cash withdrawals, with the remaining $9,417 spent on other items though it is unknown if they were used for business. Ms Fisher launched legal action in August last year after realising money had been missing from the account months earlier. She then found there were multiple payments made for Ms Costar's personal life, including the payment for Instagram followers. Ms Fisher assumed Ms Costar paid for the Instagram followers for her daughter Laila, who boasts 14,000 followers on the platform. When Ms Fisher confronted the other dance mum on May 26 via Facebook Messenger, Ms Costar ignored the claim during the discussion. According to court documents, the 44-year-old then blasted Ms Costar and claimed she was being 'taken for a ride'. She also asked about a $417 payment for a dance costume, a $217 payment for Nicks wine merchants, further dance outfits and a fishing competition entry fee. However, Ms Costar allegedly told the other mother that she had mentioned using the account for her personal use and promised to pay the money back. 'The money I owe future stars we have discussed and I have always said I'll pay back. I've never hidden what I have used (it) for,' she said via Messenger. Ms Costar insisted that she was not taking Ms Fisher 'for a ride' and the pair agreed to end their partnership after the disagreement. The account is now being run by Ms Costar's mother who has taken over the reigns of the competition. Last month, Ms Fisher applied to court to get her counterpart to hand over the accounts for the dance business, but it wasn't until August 20 when Justice David Boddice allowed her to file a statement of claim against Ms Costar. Ms Fisher told the court in her affidavit: 'I am very concerned that (Ms Costar) has used the proceeds and profits of the business for her own purposes and has set up a competing business to the detriment of the shared business'. The Freedom of the Seas cruise ship docked in Bayonne, N.J., in 2006. An Indiana man is charged with negligent homicide in his granddaughter's fatal plunge on the ship while it was docked in Puerto Rico. (Mike Derer / AP) INDIANAPOLIS -- Incorporating social determinants of health into a patient's health records is an area of significant interest for health systems, but many are finding the integration to be challenging. Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI researcher Brian Dixon, PhD, MPA, is presenting strategies to achieve this goal at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) Global Health Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, FL. "Clinical data should be linked with social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status and access to food, to better address individual and public health needs, yet there is an overwhelming amount of information available. Combining it all in a useful manner is a complex process," said Dr. Dixon, who is the director of public health informatics for both Regenstrief and Fairbanks School of Public Health. "Health systems should consider partnerships with health information exchanges and research institutions like Regenstrief to help incorporate these data into existing workflows and information systems." In his presentation, Dr. Dixon will explain the Indiana Addiction Data Commons (IADC) as it relates to the broader creation of the Indiana Network for Population Health and how it serves as a model for future partnerships. The IADC was created through funding from the Indiana University Addictions Grand Challenge with the goal of addressing the opioid crisis by making relevant data accessible to researchers, community health professionals, policymakers and others. Regenstrief, Indiana Health Information Exchange, the Polis Center, the Indiana State Management Performance Hub and other organizations contribute data to the IADC, where they can then be used to better understand factors contributing to the use, abuse, and overdose of opioids and other substances. Current projects within the IADC include matching emergency department visit data to EMS runs, as well as analyzing neighborhood level indicators, including census data, education level and poverty level, and their relationship to emergency department visits. This type of work can inform policy, guiding public health officials in identifying populations at greatest risk and creating programs to address risk factors. "The IADC and the broader Indiana Network for Population Health demonstrate how a multitude of partners can contribute information to build a more complete picture of health and wellbeing," said Dr. Dixon. "Through this infrastructure, data can be synthesized to allow clinicians to make care decisions without being overwhelmed with information. I believe partnerships like this will be important to help health systems move forward with integration of social determinants of health." Dr. Dixon's presentation, titled Integrating Social Determinants into an HIE Network, is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11 at 1 p.m. The HIMSS20 conference takes place from March 9-13 in Orlando, FL. It is the largest health IT conference, bringing together nearly 45,000 HIT professionals, clinicians, executives and market suppliers from around the world. ### About Regenstrief Institute Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its researchers are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe. Regenstrief Institute is celebrating 50 years of healthcare innovation. Sam Regenstrief, a successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute's research mission. Brian E. Dixon, MPA, PhD In addition to his role as Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI director of public health informatics, Brian E. Dixon, MPA, PhD, is a research scientist at Regenstrief and an associate professor of epidemiology at the Fairbanks School of Public Health. He is also an affiliate scientist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Center for Health Information and Communication, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center. The recent worldwide outbreak of Coronavirus has to lead to a production halt for Tom Cruise's upcoming Mission Impossible VII. The making studio has changed the shooting schedule for the seventh film, which was set to take place in Venice, Italy over the next few weeks. Italy has recorded more than 200 cases of Coronavirus so far, with a death toll of seven. It has also been called the worst outbreak of corona in Europe. Italy is the third country with a huge number of cases after China and South Korea. Paramount has halted the production and sent the crew back home according to Hollywood Reporter, Tom was yet to land in Italy before the decision was made. An official statement by the production company said, "Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice," "During this hiatus, we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves." the statement added. Earlier, the China premiere and city tours of Daniel Craig's No Time To Die's cast was also cancelled due to health scares. Lucasfilm Announces Star Wars: The High Republic, A New Series Set 200 Years Before Skywalker Saga 'No Time to Die' China Premiere And Tour Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Outbreak Iraj Harirchi, who has strongly denied any cover-up of a growing outbreak, has self-quarantined. Iraj Harirchi was sweating profusely at a news conference before testing positive for coronavirus disease Iran's deputy health minister and an MP have both tested positive for the new coronavirus, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 15. The country is one of three hot-spots outside China causing concern that the virus could be becoming a pandemic. The deputy minister, Iraj Harirchi, on Monday denied covering up the scale of the outbreak. He appeared in physical discomfort as he spoke to reporters. Iran has reported 95 cases, but the actual number is thought to be higher. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the sudden increase in cases in countries outside China is "deeply concerning". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that Washington was concerned that Iran may have concealed "vital details" about its outbreak and urged all nations to "tell the truth about the coronavirus". More people have died in Iran from the virus than anywhere else outside China. The two countries have strong trading links. The other countries currently in the spotlight are South Korea and Italy, where cases have surged in recent days. More than 80,000 cases of the Covid-19 respiratory disease have been reported worldwide since it emerged late last year. About 2,700 patients have died - the vast majority in China. But the situation in Iran - home to holy sites that attract millions every year and in a region where several countries have weak health systems - has caused great concern about a potential mass outbreak in the Middle East. Of the current hot-spots outside China, Iran is the most concerning because of the lack of an accurate picture of how widespread the outbreak really is, said Dr Nathalie MacDermott, an expert in infectious diseases at King's College London. Most of the reported cases have been people who are elderly and dying, she said. "It seems like we're hearing about the tip of the iceberg and missing that chunk underneath who may be younger and may not be particularly unwell." What's happening with the virus globally? A hotel in Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, is in lockdown after a doctor from Italy visiting the hotel tested positive for the virus Italy - Europe's worst-affected country - confirmed the deaths of four more elderly people, bringing the total number of fatalities there to 11 The virus has spread to the regions of Tuscany, Sicily and Liguria but Italy's PM said his country remained safe for tourism Several countries - Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, Algeria - reported their first cases, all involving people who had been to Italy While Italy's European neighbours have agreed to keep borders open, some are screening arriving travellers US health authorities warned Americans to brace for the coronavirus to spread and potentially cause severe disruption Media caption Mark Lowen was on the ground at the edge of Italy's coronavirus lockdown area In Iran, a conflict between religion and science By Rana Rahimpour, BBC Persian The reports that we are receiving from cities around Iran suggest that the number of cases is actually much higher than the Iranian authorities are giving. Unlike in Italy, Iranian officials are refusing to impose quarantines in areas affected by the outbreak. They say quarantines are old-fashioned and that they do not believe in them. The Shia shrines in the cities of Qom and Mashhad are still open, despite Qom being a hotbed of the virus. There are grand ayatollahs in Qom who believe that its shrine, which attracts millions of pilgrims from around the world, and its important seminary, which hosts many foreign religious students, are the pride of the Shia world. Shutting them down would be a huge step for the clerics and not one that they would be likely to take unless they come under international pressure. We can see the clear conflict between religious conservatism and science. Iran also lacks the medical equipment it needs to help contain the outbreak. It has run out of masks and does not have enough testing kits. A number of medical workers have also been infected, so there is a worry that they will soon run out of doctors and nurses to attend to those with the disease. The majority of Iranians are extremely worried. What happened to the Iranian official? "I had a fever as of last night and my preliminary test was positive around midnight," Mr Harirchi said in a video released on Tuesday. "I've isolated myself in a place since... and now I am starting medication. "We will definitely be victorious against this virus in the next few weeks," the minister added. Mr Harirchi's positive test for Covid-19 was announced a day after he took part in a news conference, where he coughed occasionally and appeared to sweat heavily. During the briefing, the minister denied a claim by a member of parliament for Qom - the centre of the outbreak - that the authorities were engaged in a cover-up. Ahmad Amirabadi-Farahani alleged that Covid-19 had arrived in Qom three weeks ago and that 50 people had died in the city alone. The death toll was rejected by Mr Harirchi, who vowed to resign if it could be proven that even half that number had died. Mr Amirabadi-Farahani subsequently refused to retract his claim, saying he had sent a list of 40 people who had died to the minister and awaited his resignation. The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani, said on Tuesday that he had asked the prosecutor-general to "check the validity" of the MP's allegation. Meanwhile, an MP from the Iranian capital Tehran, Mahmoud Sadeghi, said he had also tested positive for the virus Could cases spread through the Middle East? Iran is believed to have been the source of the first cases reported by neighbouring Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, which have now imposed restrictions on travel to and from the Islamic Republic. However there are fears that the many Muslim Shia pilgrims and migrant workers who will have travelled between Iran and other parts of the region in recent weeks could have already spread the virus. In countries like war-ravaged Afghanistan - which has so far reported just one case - health authorities will struggle to trace and test contacts of infected people, experts say. The WHO is sending medical supplies and additional testing kits to Iran and is also planning to send a technical team to the country. Dubai Airport - a major international transit hub, and home to the airline Emirates - has suspended all passenger and cargo flights to Iran for a week "as a precautionary measure". The United Arab Emirates has reported 13 cases, including an Iranian couple. Bahrain's health ministry meanwhile raised its number of confirmed cases to 17. It said all of those infected had travelled from Iran via the UAE. BBc A Stanford University student found dead at the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house in January died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office announced Tuesday. Eitan Michael Weiner, a 19-year-old sophomore, was the son of two university employees, Amir Weiner, an associate professor of history, and Julia Weiner, an associate vice president for medical center development. His older sister also attended Stanford. According to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Weiner was found unresponsive on Jan. 17 at his fraternity house on Lomita Drive. He was pronounced dead by first responders at 10:21 a.m. As noted by Palo Alto Online, later that day Stanford's Department of Public Safety issued a warning about counterfeit prescription pills that contain fentanyl. "The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been investigating reports of illegally manufactured pills containing fentanyl that have been smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. Specifically, blue pills, round in shape, stamped with the letter 'M' and the number '30' have been located in the U.S. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine only it is 50-100 times more potent and can be highly toxic even in small doses," the alert warns. In late January, Stanford Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole issued an additional campus-wide warning. "We are concerned in particular about counterfeit prescription painkillers that look like Percocet and OxyContin, but contain fentanyl," it reads. In 2017, the most recent year for which the CDC has data, over 28,000 deaths in the United States were attributed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The coroner's office said Weiner's official cause of death was "fentanyl toxicity." "While I did not have the pleasure of knowing Eitan, I have been learning about him through his friends and family, who say he was full of love, joy, wit, curiosity and loyalty as a son, brother and friend," Brubaker-Cole wrote in a statement shortly after Weiner's death. "Inspiring yet humble, he was incredibly well read and deeply interested in history, politics and current events." Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. Contact: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd Each Israeli election is a day off for those who want it, at great cost to the Israeli economy as a whole, though the parks are expected to be full of happy picnickers. But Ms. Ben Saadon said there was a limit to how many days of her own income she could sacrifice to a political system that was not holding up its end of the bargain. I see how well end up in a fourth election, she said, and this makes me feel like I live in a country that has no father or mother. Ive never felt this way before. Its like were in a game, she continued, and the citizens are being used. Were little pieces being moved around in a game. Were being played by the powerful forces, and they dont even see us. So many voters are battling these feelings of alienation that Izhar Carmon, an activist who leads the nonpartisan Social Justice Center, has made it a special pre-election focus. Weve even given it a name, he said. Its acquired political helplessness. Borrowing from the psychology of trauma, Mr. Carmon said that Israelis, who have treasured their democracy, were grappling with the realization that no matter how they voted, the country would still be deadlocked. We go to work, pay our taxes, go to the army, and then, like a zombie, you head toward elections, Mr. Carmon said. You feel like youre doing the right thing, but you have zero ability to really make a change with your vote. And that leads to a crisis. The West Chatham Roadway Project has been delayed due to improperly installed gas lines. The lines are slated to be dug up and replaced at the proper depth. FILE PHOTO CHATHAM National Grid will reinstall 1,700 feet of gas lines along Route 28 at the proper depth to accommodate the reconstruction of the roadway along the West Chatham business corridor. It looks like it could be happening starting in two weeks, Public Works Director Tom Temple told selectmen Monday. He met earlier in the day with representatives from National Grid, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which is spearheading the $4 million West Chatham Roadway Project, and the project contractor. Permits for the work have been filed with the state, according to an email from National Grid spokesman Robert Kievra. "We met Monday at the site to review the scope of work with various stakeholders, including representatives from the town of Chatham, he wrote. We are awaiting approval of the required permits from the state Department of Transportation. We hope to be able to provide additional details about the project upon receipt of the permit." National Grid buried the gas lines along the stretch of roadway at the required three-foot depth, but that did not account for the lowering of the roadway by more than six inches near the roundabouts to be built at Barn Hill and George Ryder roads. It was initially proposed that the roadway be raised, but there was concern that could cause drainage problems. Selectmen took the position that the gas lines should be dug up and reburied at the proper depth. The glitch has caused a delay in the construction, but Temple said Monday the contractor may be able to get some work done this spring, before the Memorial Day seasonal cutoff. Work that could probably be accomplished includes completing catch basin installation and hydrant relocation near Barn Hill Road, Temple said. Although a revised schedule has not been completed, he told selectmen the roadway project could be completed by spring 2022, or as late as December of that year. We won't know until we get the schedule, he said. Plans for the project include eliminating the center turning lane between Barn Hill and George Ryder roads, adding multi-purpose lanes and sidewalks and the two roundabouts. The project has a rocky history; it was opposed by many West Chatham residents and business owners but supported by selectmen as a safety improvement. The board recently rejected a proposal to create a detour around the work area to expedite the schedule out of concern for the businesses, which took an economic hit several years ago when detours diverted traffic during sewer construction. Business owners have expressed concern about the rough condition of the road surface and asked officials to make improvements prior to this summer. Temple said he's asked MassDOT to allow a skim coat to be smooth out the roadway after the gas work is completed. Reinstallation of the gas lines should take about two weeks with additional time needed to make lateral connections. The whole thing should be wrapped up within one month from when they put the shovel in the ground, Temple said. Relocation of cable TV wires is expected to be completed this week, he said, and Verizon has 167 days to transfer its wires to new utility poles. Temple also said that he's asked the contractor to install sewer and water connections at 1610 Main St., the possible location of a new senior center (see story, page 1). If the site is chosen for a new council on aging facility, construction will likely not be completed until the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022, Owners Project Manager Rick Pomroy said Monday. Temple said state regulations prohibit disturbing the road surface for five years after a project like the one being done in West Chatham, so he wanted to make sure the utility connections are in place before any final paving is done. If the site isn't chosen for a new senior center, those connections will still be necessary for whatever development takes place on the property, he added. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Journeying from Brooklyn to West Brighton to break into a home has earned a thief a trip upstate. Christopher Boyce was sentenced Tuesday to 42 months in prison stemming from the May 22, 2018 heist. A criminal complaint said Boyce, then 20, broke into a residence on the 600 block of Pelton Avenue at around 1 a.m. Cops found the homes alarm box had been removed from a wall, said the complaint. They also discovered a key to the house in the defendants possession, along with sunglasses, cash and registration and insurance information for a 2017 Infiniti, the complaint said. Im from Bushwick, the complaint quotes Boyce as telling cops. I just got out. Whatever you find in my past, I dont do anymore. Boyce was indicted on charges of burglary, stolen-property possession, petit larceny, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. In August 2018, Boyce was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial based on a court-ordered psychiatric exam. The determination meant the defendant didnt understand the charges against him and couldnt aid in his defense. He was placed in a secure psychiatric facility where he received treatment and periodic evaluation. Sources said it is not uncommon for such individuals to be deemed mentally capable of standing trial after receiving appropriate medication. In fact, Justice Stephen J. Rooney said the psychiatric evaluation presented to the court opined there was a good chance Boyce would ultimately be found mentally fit. He later was, and the case proceeded toward a disposition. Last month, Boyce pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree burglary to resolve all charges against him. Besides prison time, he was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months post-release supervision. The defendant shook his head and said, No, Your Honor, when Justice Alexander Jeong asked if he wished to say anything before receiving his sentence. Defense lawyer Matthew Zuntag has declined to comment on the case. Assistant District Attorney Frank Prospero prosecuted it. Firefighting in the Carlisle area is mostly volunteer, but dont be surprised if you see members of a paid fire department helping out if your home is on fire. They would be coming from the Carlisle Barracks, which houses a paid, two-engine fire department that provides 24/7 staffing. Every post with an active military presence is required to have a fire department, according to Capt. Eric Bender. Their primary responsibility is to protect the Barracks, and every day they are conducting some sort of training in everything from wildfires to human trafficking. But perhaps most importantly to the Carlisle area, they provide mutual aid for many emergencies in Carlisle, North Middleton Township, Middlesex Township and specialized county services, Bender said. They also participate in community events like National Night Out, local parades and public events at the Army Heritage Education Center. Bender grew up in Schuylkill County and had a dream since kindergarten to be a career fireman with the New York City Fire Department. I like a little bit of that adrenaline rush of going on calls, but the ultimate thing is the satisfaction of helping people in the time of need, he said. Instead, life led him to a career as a professional U.S. Air Force firefighter and later as a Department of Defense firefighter, coming to Carlisle Barracks in 2016. Every day, hes thankful to have made a career out of his childhood dream. Its like a family. We fight like brothers and sisters, we horse around like brothers and sisters, he said. Were a big family, and to me thats an aspect you cant find in other professions. Q&A with Eric Bender Age: 40 How many years as a first responder: 26. Part of the volunteer fire service since Aug. 21, 1993; 1997 to 2001, U.S. Air Force fire protection (active duty); 2001 to present, Department of Defense firefighter. How many years at current station: Three (since Aug. 16, 2016) Hometown (where you currently live): Millersburg What do you like best about what you do? What I like best about my job is knowing that I was a part of a team that helped someone in their time of need. I also like the rush of going to the unknown and figuring out a plan on the go. What is the toughest challenge you face in your career? Keeping up with the changes in the industry: new courses, new techniques, personality differences and how to adapt to it all. This job has taught me that you are always learning from day one to the end of a career. You face something new every shift. The ability to go home and turn off being a fireman and focus on my family and the time I have with them before I come back to work. This profession puts a huge strain on home life in all aspects. Something you would like the public to know about what you do? Not only do we help provide fire protection for the community outside the post through mutual aid agreements, we provide fire protection for some of the best strategic leaders not only in the United States Army but also other United States military branches, foreign military students, the families of the students and Department of the Army Civilian workforce. We are constantly training to stay proficient by training every shift in some capacity be it fire, EMS, haz-mat or technical rescue. Whats your proudest accomplishment? My proudest accomplishment is knowing someone is still alive from a team effort after a cardiac arrest event. Statistically survival from a cardiac arrest is very low at about 12% for an unwitnessed event. Knowing someone has a second chance at life because of something myself and my team have done makes for a very proud moment. Who are your role models or mentors? My role models have been previous chiefs and officers that have been in the public safety industry that took the time to guide me in the direction I have gone. They helped mold who I am but also let me build my own way of doing things. They provided both positive and negative criticism to help make me a stronger person and a better officer for my family, the fire service and the community that I serve. What goals do you have in your field of service? My goal is to continually improve to be better for the community I serve. To advance as high as I can go till I choose to end my career. To continually better myself as a leader for the crews that I work with both on-post and off. Quote Its like a family. We fight like brothers and sisters, we horse around like brothers and sisters. Were a big family, and to me thats an aspect you cant find in other professions." Eric Bender Daniel Walmer covers public safety for The Sentinel. You can reach him by email at dwalmer@cumberlink.com or by phone at 717-218-0021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pompeo Says Afghanistan Has 'Historic Opportunity' For Peace, Must Be 'Seized' By RFE/RL February 25, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Afghanistan has a "historic opportunity for peace" and that an agreement with the Taliban will be signed "on or about February 29" if a temporary reduction in violence is successful. "We have arrived at a historic opportunity for peace," Pompeo told reporters in a briefing on February 25. "It won't be easy to obtain. We should seize the moment." Pompeo, noting a previously agreed upon seven-day reduction in violence that started on February 22, said that "in 19 years of war, this is the first weeklong break in violence by all sides if we are successful in achieving it." "If, and only if, it is successful, we will sign the U.S.-Taliban agreement coordinated with the government of national unity on or about February 29 that includes a timeline for a conditions-based and phased troop withdrawal and for the commencement of inter-Afghan negotiations," he said. In the past, the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the government in Kabul, calling it a puppet of foreign powers. "These negotiations, if they take place, will be the first time that Afghans representing all sides of the conflict will sit down together and begin the hard work of reconciliation," Pompeo added. The U.S. military has some 13,000 troops in Afghanistan leading a coalition of nations that train and assist Afghan forces. President Donald Trump has long sought to reduce the foreign deployment of U.S. troops, and on February 25 he said the plan was to bring the force level down to 8,600 in Afghanistan should a deal be signed with the Taliban. The top U.S. diplomat also said Washington would respond if Russia moves to undermine the November presidential election, as intelligence agencies concluded it did in 2016. Multiple press reports have said that intelligence officials recently warned lawmakers in Congress that Moscow has taken steps to interfere in the 2020 vote as well. "Meddling in our elections is unacceptable. Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response," he said, without being specific. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pompeo-sees-historic- peace-opportunity-for-afghanistan-as-temporary -truce-enters-4th-day/30453610.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Surveys such as this one were sent to residents in Delaware County. Despite their visual similarities, they are not affiliated with the U.S. Census. Read more Some Delaware County residents this week received what looked like official forms for this years U.S. census almost a month early. But the surveys are cleverly designed fakes, officials in the suburban county warned, and the latest in a series of documents the Republican National Committee is spreading across Southeastern Pennsylvania to glean information ahead of a contentious election. Michael Ranck, who heads a committee working to ensure the countys population is fully counted in the census, said the mailers were first spotted Tuesday. Weve been working hard in Delaware County to put out good information so we get a good response rate, Ranck said Wednesday. Having a mailer go out that might confuse people is troubling were afraid that people will say: I filled this out already. Why should I do it again? Similar forms turned up in residents mailboxes earlier this month in the states 4th Congressional District, which covers the majority of Montgomery County and parts of Berks County, as well as the 1st Congressional District in Bucks County. Officials from the Republican National Committee didnt comment Wednesday. Elizabeth Preate Havey, the chair of the Montgomery County Republican Party, criticized warnings by local Democrats about the mailers as a political hatchet job. Democrats have mailed similar documents in the past, though not so close to the actual U.S. Census. Havey said her organization had nothing to do with recent mailings. Having received lots of these census documents all the time myself, I can say that people get them all the time, whether on the Democrat or Republican side, she said Thursday, a day after this story was first published. Democrats may not have received something like this recently, but they have if theyre registered with their party now, or have been at all in the past. Forms for the decennial population count are scheduled to be distributed in mid-March. The RNCs 2020 Congressional District Census forms are formatted in a similar manner, and contain questions about the readers political affiliation and opinions on President Donald Trumps time in office. The surveys also solicit donations to reelect Trump and other Republican politicians. Unlike the actual census forms from the federal government, these approximations do not ask for demographic data, including race, income, or religion. Ranck said that his Delaware County Complete Count Committee has been working hard to reach parts of the county that have historically low response rates for the census, and that distractions like this can hurt the accuracy of the census, which helps determine funding levels. For each missed head that we dont count, its about $2,000 that doesnt come back to the county in government funding, he said. Weve been trying to reach every constituency we can, to get the word out. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who represents the 4th Congressional District, issued warnings to voters two weeks ago about the fake forms. She said part of the confusion stemmed from the RNC mailers using the word census, which they are legally allowed to do, even if the surveys are not affiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau. It is disturbing to see an organization taking advantage of this important work, and causing confusion, and my office has partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to help ensure they get the most accurate count possible, Dean said at the time. "Its an enormous impact on services, representation, and dollars coming to our district and to our state. The NSW government has announced it will not support reforms that could have paved the way for a retrial of the man accused of murdering three Bowraville children, in what the family member of a victim has described as a "kick in the guts". Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the reforms to change the test for new evidence and allow the state to make multiple retrial applications would have been unprecedented and "may bring the criminal justice system into disrepute". Evelyn Greenup, Colleen Walker and Clinton Speedy-Duroux. Police Commissioner Mick Fuller also announced a $1 million reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction in relation to the investigation. One family member, Michelle Jarrett, said a similar reward announced in 2016 in relation to the William Tyrrell disappearance had not helped that case. As I watched our Leo Varadkar looking oh so dapper in his OPW uniform for his latest photoshoot on the evening television news, an old joke came to mind. If the Irish lived in the Netherlands and the Dutch lived in Ireland then Ireland would be a thriving efficient nation while the Netherlands would be swallowed up by the North Sea. From left, Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., talks with Sen. Bernie Sanders, during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center. AP photo Democratic White House hopefuls rounded on leftist frontrunner Bernie Sanders at a feisty debate Tuesday, attacking him as too extreme for American voters and a flawed challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina's crucial primary on Saturday to keep his campaign alive, hit Sanders as soft on gun control, while billionaire tycoon Michael Bloomberg claimed Russia was working to help Sanders win the nomination betting he would be defeated in November. And Sanders' rivals joined in savaging the self-described democratic socialist as too radical to appeal to a broad swathe of Americans. Fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren and centrists Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, all desperate to halt Sanders' momentum before it is too late, laid into his ability to deliver on costly programs like universal health care and tuition-free college. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old military veteran presenting himself as a unifier, warned a Sanders fight against Trump would spell chaos and divide the nation. I tell you what it adds up to, Buttigieg said, it ends up as four more years of Donald Trump.Sanders is in pole position in South Carolina, the last step before Super Tuesday March 3 when 14 states vote and a whopping one third of all delegates the representatives who pick the nominee at the Democratic Party's July convention are up for grabs. The 78-year-old hit back at the charge his policies were too radical, insisting such ideas exist in countries all over the world, including the notion that health care is a human right. The way we beat Trump, which is what everybody up here wants, is we need a campaign of energy and excitement, Sanders said. We need to bring working people back in to the Democratic Party. 'Bumper stickers' Talking over one another in often contentious exchanges, the seven candidates on stage aggressively vied for attention, locking horns on everything from housing to China policy and whether or not to move the US embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv. Seeking to prove he is still in the fight, the 77-year-old Biden put in a spirited performance and snapped back at moderators who tried to cut him off, telling them: I'm not going to be quiet anymore, OK?The former vice president aimed a sharp attack at Sanders over gun control, an issue largely absent from previous debates, and a significant weakness for the Vermont senator who voted against legislation that would have allowed lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Sanders had emerged largely unscathed from the previous debate. But he acknowledged he was now in the firing line, with rivals seeking to derail his push for the nomination following two straight victories, in New Hampshire and then Nevada. I'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight, he said to laughter. I wonder why.Piling on, Klobuchar hammered Sanders's plans as broken promises that sound good on bumper stickers, while billionaire activist Tom Steyer accused him of planning a government takeover of large parts of the economy.Like Buttigieg, Bloomberg sought to cast a Sanders nomination as a sure path to losing. Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected so you'll lose to him, the former New York mayor told Sanders in a heated opening exchange. I'm the one choice that makes some sense, said Bloomberg, touting his experience running America's largest city for 12 years a point hammered home in lavish televised ads during multiple commercial breaks. Bloomberg, Biden seek rebound Bloomberg seeking to rebound from a disastrous performance last week in his first debate and prove he is a credible, moderate alternative to the leftist Sanders. But the 78-year-old found himself under assault too, including by Warren who called him the riskiest candidate on stage. I don't care how much money mayor Bloomberg has. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him, Warren said. He has not earned their trust. I will.Bloomberg jumped late into the race, and has not been on the ballot in the four early states, opting instead to make a splash on Super Tuesday. He has now spent more than $500 million on campaign advertising. Rival centrist Biden desperately needs a win after dismal showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, and a disappointing result in Nevada where he won 20.2 percent, well behind Sanders' 46.8 percent. Biden has been counting on strong support among black voters in South Carolina to recharge his flagging campaign earning cheers at one point when he promised to put a female black justice on the Supreme Court if elected. PointeNorth Insurance Group in Atlanta "PointeNorth Insurance Group provides everything an insurance business owner needs to take their business to the next level, said Jonathan Scarborough. PointeNorth Insurance Group, LLC (PNIG), one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the Southeast with local ownership, has expanded its reach in the Southeastern United States with the acquisition of Iron Mountain Insurance, located in Birmingham, Alabama. Iron Mountain Insurance, which specializes in property and casualty insurance, was acquired by PointeNorth Insurance and has joined the PointeNorth Alliance, which provides additional markets, services, and tools to help agencies develop new talent, grow organically and increase profitability. The insurance industry is extremely competitive, and PointeNorth Insurance Group provides everything an insurance business owner needs to take their business to the next level, said Jonathan Scarborough, Senior Vice President of Iron Mountain Insurance. Now we have access to extensive resources that we didnt have before to help with everything from back office support, all the way up to the most strategic needs, including marketing strategy and risk management programs. As a PointeNorth Alliance member, Iron Mountain Insurance is able to offer customers additional services and specialty programs in the areas of transportation, franchise, non-emergency and emergency ambulance and construction. Matt Kilgore, President of Iron Mountain Insurance, will also serve as Senior Vice President of PointeNorth Insurance Group. Jonathan Scarborough, Senior Vice President of Iron Mountain Insurance, will also serve as Senior Vice President of PointeNorth Insurance Group. PointeNorth Insurance Group is unique in the industry in that they want to come alongside insurance agency owners and help them grow their business, said Kilgore. In addition to having the operational tools and resources we need to grow our business, we also now have access to an exceptional range of custom insurance solutions to provide to our clients, which makes our company stronger than ever. With the acquisition of Iron Mountain Insurance, PointeNorth Insurance Group expands to more than 200 employees. Strategic organic growth and acquisitions have resulted in the company more than doubling revenue in the past three years. PointeNorth Insurance Group has Georgia offices located in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Cumming, Gainesville, Warner Robins, and Byron, as well as offices in other states including Greenville, South Carolina, and Birmingham, Alabama. The energy level and entrepreneurial spirit of the team at Iron Mountain Insurance is contagious and has greatly contributed to their rapid growth, stated William Skeeles, PointeNorth President and CEO. We are excited to invest in Iron Mountain Insurance and increase our position in Alabama. About PointeNorth Insurance Group PointeNorth, one of the top 60 agencies in the United States, offers insurance and financial products to more than 50,000 households and businesses nationwide and was formed with the partnering of outstanding agencies throughout the Southeast. PointeNorth Insurance Group LLC is headquartered at 1100 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.PointeNorthIns.com. TULSA, Okla., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) will hold its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) on May 20, 2020. The meeting also will be audio webcast on ONEOK's website, www.oneok.com. The record date for determining shareholders entitled to receive notice of the meeting and to vote is March 23, 2020. What: ONEOK, Inc. 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders When: 9 a.m. CDT, May 20, 2020 Where: ONEOK Plaza, 100 West 5th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma How: Log on to the webcast at www.oneok.com ONEOK, Inc. (pronounced ONE-OAK) (NYSE: OKE) is a leading midstream service provider and owner of one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent and Permian regions with key market centers and an extensive network of natural gas gathering, processing, storage and transportation assets. ONEOK is a Fortune 500 company and is included in the S&P 500. For the latest news about ONEOK, find us at www.oneok.com or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Analyst Contact: Andrew Ziola 918-588-7683 Media Contact: Brad Borror 918-588-7582 SOURCE ONEOK, Inc. Related Links http://www.oneok.com Hungama Play, a leading video on demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, today launched Kashmakash, a new Hungama Original. An anthology with 5 individual stories, the show highlights a unique modern-day crime in every episode and the dilemma that the victims go through when choosing between right and wrong. The show features an ensemble cast comprising some of the biggest actors from the television industry. This includes Sharad Malhotra, Anjum Fakih, Eijaz Khan, Abhishek Kapur, Abigail Pande, Lavina Tandon and Vahbiz Dorabjee, among others. Produced by Anil V Kumar Productions in association with Hungama Digital Media, different episodes have been directed by Anil V Kumar, Shiva Verma, Saptaraj Chakraborty and Saket N Yadav. Narrated from the victims perspectives, Kashmakash brings to fore crimes that are becoming increasingly common in the modern world a housewife who finds stardom on a social app and in the process, unwelcome attention; a celebrity couple that falls prey to their desire of giving the online world unrestricted access to their lives; a social media influencer who refuses to come to terms with her mental disorder and finds herself at the mercy of a blackmailer; a drug addict who is unable to quit and goes on a downward spiral when she makes a shocking discovery; the admin of a village WhatsApp group who peddles in fake news without realising its far-reaching impact. Each episode of the show features an alternate ending, highlighting two ways to deal with a crime, one right and another wrong. Speaking about the show, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, With Hungama Originals, we have created some of the most distinctive shows offering clutter-breaking narratives that are rooted in local culture, yet have a universal appeal. Kashmakash is our first anthology series and combines an engaging storytelling technique with powerful performances to highlight crimes that have become extremely common in contemporary India. We are certain that our distribution strategy will help us deliver the show to a wide audience while the relatability of the content will make it appealing for viewers across geographies. Speaking about the series, Anil V Kumar, Founder, Anil V Kumar Productions said, The concept of the series sets it apart from others. While it essays what the victims go through, it also showcases how an alternate approach could have resolved the problem. Ensuring that each story is equally intriguing was a challenging task but the process of making this show was enriching and creatively fulfilling. I hope that the audiences enjoy watching the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Starting today, the show will be available to stream on Hungama Play, Hungamas video on demand platform. Hungama will leverage its robust distribution network to deliver the show to an audience over 150 million worldwide. Kashmakash will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel Xstream App, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, MX Player and Android TVs. Additionally, Hungamas association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the show via Hungama Play on Mi TV. Speaking about the show, Sharad Malhotra said, This show is unique because it not only tells the story of the victim but also highlights how each story could have ended differently had the person made the right choice. Kashmakash teaches a lesson without being preachy and that is a huge win for this show. I am glad to have been a part of such an exciting story with a unique narrative. I am also happy to have worked with Anil V Kumar Productions and Hungama Play. Anjum Faikh said, The digital medium has offered performers and storytellers a platform to experiment with different styles of storytelling and acting. I am a part of two stories in the show and each story highlights a different kind of crime. While one is about the impact of fake news, the other warns the audiences about the consequences of oversharing on social media. I am certain that the audiences will enjoy the shows unique perspective on modern-day crimes. Elaborating on the show, Eijaz Khan said, Kashmakash is a unique series that captures crimes in a compelling manner, making it a binge-worthy show. The shows dual-ending approach is a fresh and modern way to express how one decision or action can have such a deep impact on our lives and those of others. I hope the show receives love and appreciation from the audience. Abhishek Kapur said, Kashmakash is very special to me because the show highlights the experiences of the victim and showcases life-changing realities. Each story in the show captures the crimes in a relatable manner helping the audience understand that what they are seeing on-screen could actually happen to anyone. Each episode ends with an insightful takeaway for the audience. Abigail Pande said, It is wonderful to have worked on such an enthralling show. The stories are quite relatable and real. I hope that the audience understands the message each episode is trying to convey. Every story is a new learning and will help the audience comprehend the impact of every action that they take in life. Lavina Tandon said, Kashmakash is a unique show that not only tells a story but also showcases its outcome. Every episode asks the audience to decide what the right path would be. It was wonderful to collaborate with the cast and crew of the show, while also creating an interesting concept that hasnt been explored so far. Vahbiz Dorabjee said, The crime stories highlighted in the show open ones eyes to whats happening around us. The alternate endings are a unique approach that is sure to keep the audiences engrossed. I am glad to have been a part of the show and look forward to the audiences reactions. Kashmakash also stars veteran actors like Supriya Shukla, Rajendra Chawla, Vicky Ahuja, Abbas Khan and more. The show is now available to stream on Hungama Play and partner networks. Watch the trailer of Kashmakash here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpxiiZAMMPs Watch the show here https://bit.ly/2v3V3A0 High school students in government schools will be required to learn a mandatory and more thorough history of the Holocaust in an attempt to increase awareness of Jewish persecution and reverse the rising trend of anti-Semitism. All year 9 and 10 students in state schools will be taught about the period in history when millions of Jews were killed in Nazi-occupied Europe. Victorian Education Minister James Merlino. Credit:Jason South The push to minimise prejudice among Victorian students will include a new hotline for schools, students and parents to report cases of religious or ethnic vilification. State Education Minister James Merlino said it was troubling that, if asked, "most kids today wouldn't be able to explain what the Holocaust was". A 28-year-old doctor of a cancer hospital allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city, police said on Wednesday. Shahdab Shirin Mohammed Akef hanged herself from the window of her home in Times Colony area on Tuesday night, inspector Sainath Gite said. The victim's family rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on arrival, he said. Akef, who was supposed to get married next month, did not leave behind a suicide note, he said, adding that further probe is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Feb 26 : China on Wednesday permitted India to send its special flight with around 15 tonnes of medical relief to Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. A Ministry of External Affairs statement said the Indian Air Force special flight will also evacuate some Indian and foreign nationals from China. The government said the flight carrying 15 tonnes of medical assistance, including masks, gloves and other equipment, was sent as a gesture of "friendship" and "solidarity" with the people of China on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, expressing solidarity and also offering assistance in this hour of crisis. The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of the epidemic. The IAF flight will also bring back some Indian and foreign nationals of neighbouring countries who had sought assistance from India. R ivals for the Democratic presidential nomination have rounded on front-runner Bernie Sanders in a chaotic debate ahead of a Super Tuesday of primaries and caucuses. The Vermont senator was the focus of much discussion during the heated clash in Charleston, South Carolina on Tuesday night. Hopefuls sought to make themselves the alternative to Mr Sanders in the debate which comes a week before 14 states go to the polls. Pete Buttigieg pointed to Mr Sanders's self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's push for education. He said: "I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s." Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders during Tuesday night's debate / AP In one of the earliest exchanges, Mike Bloomberg referenced reports suggesting that Mr Sanders campaign was benefitting from Russian interference in the 2020 primary. Loading.... Russia is helping you get elected, so you will lose to him [Mr Trump] Bloomberg told Sanders, in an early attempt to recover from his disastrous first debate performance last week, as members of the audience jeered. Mr Bloomberg is not on the ballot in South Carolina but is seeking to make gains in the 16 states and territories voting next Tuesday. Loading.... Mr Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president. He added: "I'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why?" Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking a strong win in South Carolina to keep his campaign afloat, argued only he has the experience to lead in the world, while Amy Klobuchar repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. Mr Biden has called South Carolina his "firewall," even before his dismal finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. If he gets the breakthrough he needs, it probably won't be because of a sterling debate performance. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and the kingmaker of South Carolinas Democratic political orbit, on Wednesday endorsed Joe Bidens presidential campaign. The backing could provide a much-needed boost for the former vice president heading into South Carolinas primary. I can think of no one better suited, better prepared, I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is than my good friend, said Clyburn, appearing with Biden at an event in North Charleston. He called on the people of South Carolina to stand with Biden. It had long been expected that Clyburn, the House majority whip, would support Biden. The men were in Congress together for more than a decade, with Clyburn also working closely with the Obama administration in his House leadership roles. Biden was among the presidential hopefuls and other political notables who attended two days of funeral and homegoing services last year for Clyburns wife, Emily. The support could help Biden avoid limping across the finish line in Saturdays balloting in South Carolina, where he has long led in polling, particularly among black voters, who comprise most of the Democratic electorate. But that lead has tightened in recent months, in part because of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders momentum after success in other early state contests. Another factor is the focus of candidates including California billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent millions of dollars on ads in the state and worked to build relationships with black voters. Biden, taking the podium from Clyburn on Wednesday, thanked his longtime friend but then quickly slipped into an opaque reference to Sanders. Today, people are talking about a revolution, Biden said. But what the countrys looking for are results. What theyre looking for is security. What theyre looking for is being able to sustain and maintain their dignity. Biden went on to note Clyburns role in securing the Democratic votes for the 2010 health insurance overhaul that ranks as President Barack Obamas signature domestic achievement. Biden said his proposal for a public option insurance plan to expand coverage under Obamacare would build on Clyburns work rather than start from scratch with single-payer government insurance that Sanders proposes. What people are looking for is some hope, some reassurance, some notion that I can take care of my family, Biden said. Biden also used the Clyburn endorsement to repeat an idea he mentioned, almost casually, at the end of Tuesdays presidential primary debate, to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. As president, Id be honored to appoint the first African American woman. Because it should look like the country. Its long past time, Biden said. Meg Kinnard and Bill Barrow are Associated press writers. Women across Latin America are organizing a wave of protests to force gender politics into the public arena amid staggering rates of femicide and highly restrictive abortion laws. Thousands of Argentines who demonstrated last week in Buenos Aires for the decriminalization of abortion are part of pan-continental movement that has seen action from Chile and Peru to Mexico. "This time, it will be historic," said Mabel Gabarra, a lawyer and founder of a campaign to provide free, safe and legalized terminations in Argentina. Despite some progress, and the enormous profile the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct has given women's rights in the West, many of the goals of Latin American advocates remain unrealized. In Argentina, a bill to decriminalize abortion passed the lower house in 2018 but was rejected by the senate, which boasts 30 women among its 72 members. Since center left President Alberto Fernandez assumed power in December, there has been renewed hope that the balance of a decade-long fight will tip in favor of abortion rights. Several times, Fernandez has expressed his support for a change to Argentina's laws that allow the procedure only in cases of rape and risk to the mother's life. "The history of feminist movements shows that the demonstrators need to impose their will, they need to maintain the pressure," said Argentine historian Lissell Quiroz-Perez, of the University of Rouen in France. - Systemic problem - In a demonstration of the solidarity underpinning Latin America's feminist movements, the protest in Buenos Aires was attended by Chilean feminist collective LasTesis. In November, the group performed a song back home in Santiago called "The Rapist is You," which portrays violence against women as a systemic problem with a political context. The anthem -- also known as "A Rapist on Your Way" -- quickly spread across the globe with its denunciation of a lack of action from the government, courts and police on violence against women. Seen as emblematic of a wider feminist pushback, it shone a global spotlight on inequality in a country engulfed for months by protests that have been marred by police violence, some of it sexual. In 2017, Chile adopted a law legalizing abortion in the cases of rape or risk to either the mother's or baby's life. "We still don't have a law for violence against women," Claudia Dides, director of the Miles feminist charity, said. "We still don't have a parliament that realizes the importance of eradicating this type of violence." - Spike in femicide - Depending on where you are in the region, there are wildly differing laws when it comes to abortion. In Uruguay, Cuba and Mexico the procedure is entirely legal but in much of Central America it is totally banned, including El Salvador, where a woman can be jailed for a miscarriage. In Colombia, the supreme court was due to rule Wednesday on whether or not to legalize abortion. The arrival of a left wing government in Mexico at the end of 2018 gave feminists hope that the issue of violence against women would be tackled. But with more than 1,000 femicides in 2019, two recent brutal murders -- one of a seven-year-old girl -- once again highlighted a lack of action by authorities. Mexican feminists have demanded more effective policies from President Andres Manuel Lopez to combat the wave of violence. It's a similar case in Peru where 2019 femicides were the highest in a decade. "Feminist movements in Latin America are very dynamic. They inform and mobilize much better than in other countries," said Quiroz-Perez. Many countries in the region have passed "pioneer laws" to promote equality and tackle violence against women. In practice, says Quiroz-Perez, their application is blocked by "male chauvinism ingrained in (public) institutions." Women in Santiago, Chile in December 2019 sing "The Rapist is You," a feminist anthem that went viral Activists in favor of abortion rights comfort each other outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires after senators rejected the bill to legalize the abortion in 2018 Women protest against violence on February 21, 2020, on the US border in Mexico, which saw 1,000 femicides in 2019 A woman throws a bottle at riot police outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires in 2018 after senators rejected the bill to legalize abortion Thousands of women gather at Argentina's National Congress in Buenos Aires demanding the decriminalization of abortion in February 2019 New Delhi, Feb 26 : National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval again came to the rescue of the government by restoring normalcy in the violence-hit northeast Delhi. It was the second time when Doval was seen in action in the public. Earlier, he was seen in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370. While interacting with people in the violence-hit areas, Doval was heard saying, "Whatever has happened can't be changed. But peace will be restored. I am here on the orders of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. By god's grace, peace will prevail. The police is on alert and we are committed to everybody's safety." Doval visited the northeast DCP office twice, between 11.30 p.m. of Tuesday and 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. According to sources, the government was tense also due to presence of US President Donald Trump here on his maiden visit. The Prime Minister, the Home Minister and all top officials were worried as the country's image came under cloud. When Trump was at the official dinner, hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind, the Home Minister was holding meetings over the northeast Delhi violence. Asked by Prime Minister Modi, Doval visited the northeast DCP office and toured the streets of violence-hit areas. After taking stock of the situation, Doval ordered imposition of curfew in Seelampur, Jafrabad, Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. He ordered deployment of the security forces at every 200 metres in these areas to restore peace. According to sources, he got the newsmedia talk about shoot-at-sight orders. As soon as the talk started and went viral on social media platforms, violence begun to subside. Doval met people from all communities as he did during his J&K visit after abrogation of Article 370. He used the medium of religious places to appeal for peace and harmony, and the people responded. After three days of violence, that claimed 22 lives and left over 200 injured, including the police personnel, the northeast Delhi started limping back to normalcy. (Navneet Mishra can be reached at navneet.m@ians.in) Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Australia is the most attractive jurisdiction in the world for mining investment followed by Finland (2nd) and the U.S. state of Nevada (3rd), according to the Annual Survey of Mining Companies released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian policy think-tank. The mining survey is the most comprehensive report on government policies that either attract or discourage mining investors, said Ashley Stedman, senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report. This years survey of mining executives ranks 76 jurisdictions around the world based on their geologic attractiveness (minerals and metals) and government policies that encourage or deter exploration and investment. Rounding out the top 10 jurisdictions are Alaska (4), Portugal (5), South Australia (6), the Republic of Ireland (7) Idaho (8), Arizona (9) and Sweden (10). For the first time in 10 years, no Canadian jurisdiction made the top 10. This years least-attractive jurisdictions include Tanzania, Argentina (Chubut and La Rioja) and Guatemala (see bottom of page for top 10 least-attractive jurisdictions). A sound regulatory regime coupled with competitive taxes are key to making a jurisdiction attractive to investors, Stedman said. Most attractive jurisdictions for mining investment Least attractive jurisdictions for mining investment 1) Western Australia 67) Nicaragua 2) Finland 68) Mali 3) Nevada 69) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 4) Alaska 70) Venezuela 5) Portugal 71) Zambia 6) South Australia 72) Dominican Republic 7) Republic of Ireland 73) Guatemala 8) Idaho 74) La Rioja, Argentina 9) Arizona 75) Chubut, Argentina 10) Sweden 76) Tanzania MEDIA CONTACT: Ashley Stedman, Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institutes independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org New video animation shows how the coronavirus outbreak has outpaced the SARS, MERS, Ebola and swine flu epidemics. Made by production company Abacaba, and uploaded to YouTube on February 12, the clip compares how quickly each disease spread once cases were reported. At first, the coronavirus outbreak spread slower than Ebola, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and swine flu. But, by Day 41 of their respective outbreaks, 243 were ill from Ebola, 182 were sickened by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), 520 had come down with swine flu, and 3,600 were infected with SARS. In comparison, on Day 41 of the coronavirus outbreak - February 12 - more than 41,700 people were infected worldwide. A former chief medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells DailyMail.com that travel throughout China and being able to spread through the air are some ways of how the coronavirus outbreak was able to spread so quickly. New video animations shows that, at first, the coronavirus outbreak did not spread as quickly as the outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, swine flu But on Day 41, coronavirus had infected more than 41,700 people worldwide compared to Day 41 of the other outbreaks, which did not see as many people infected The new virus falls under the family of coronaviruses, which can cause symptoms ranging from severe breathing problems to mild respiratory infections such as the common cold. This means the strain, known as COVID-19, is the cousin of both SARS and MERS. However, by the time SARS was contained in May 2004, 8,098 people had been sickened and 774 people had died - that's a mortality rate of about 10 percent. And, as of November 2019, there were 2,494 confirmed cases of MERS and 858 deaths, with a mortality rate of 34 percent. So far, the new coronavirus virus appears to be less deadly but to spread just as fast, if not faster. Dr Robert Amler, former chief medical officer for the CDC and dean of New York Medical College, says that the fast-rising number of cases is likely due to China. Of the more than 81,000 confirmed cases, more than 78,000 have been in the Asian country. 'The biggest explosion has occurred in China and that's likely a consequence of the enormous amount of travel in China,' he said. In fact, the virus broke out as China was experiencing the world's largest human migration on the planet for the Lunar New Year. Three billion trips within China were expected to be made between January 21 and March 1. Several cities went into lockdown during this period, but not before millions of Chinese citizens traveled to cities far from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. A former CDC official said it spread faster than its cousins SARS and MERS likely because its boom in China due to the county's enormous amount of travel. Pictured: Doctors look at a scan of a patient with coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital, February 16 It also broadened faster than Ebola because coronavirus can spread via air while Ebola spreads via bodily fluids. Pictured: Medical personnel work in the ICU of a hospital designated for coronavirus patients in Wuhan, February 24 Worldwide, more than 81,000 people have been infected with coronavirus and more than 2,700 people have died The video also compared the current coronavirus outbreak to the Ebola outbreak that hit West Africa in 2014. Despite Ebola infecting far fewer people than either SARS or coronavirus, its fatality rate was as high as 90 percent. 'Ebola was a very different kind of infection,' Dr Amler said. 'It was similar in its ability to arouse worldwide concern. But in terms of transmissibility, it was blood-borne as opposed to airborne. It was not a respiratory virus in the way SARS, MERS and coronavirus are.' Dr Amler recommends people was their hands often and well, stay away from those who are sick and bring their own pillows and blanekets on planes when traveling. Pictured: A couple wears maska in Rome He adds that he believe the coronavius outbreak too will run its course but, in the meantime, he recommends staying vigilant. Pictured: Customers buy masks at a medical supply store in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 26 This may be a reason why Ebola didn't spread so quickly. In addition, deaths from Ebola occurred between six and sixteen days the first symptoms appearing. As patients die and their bodies are disposed of in sanitary ways, the potential for the virus to spread is diminished. Despite Ebola being different,'it is characteristic of all outbreaks that eventually they run their course,' Dr Amler said. He believe the coronavirus outbreak too will run its course but, in the meantime, he recommends staying vigilant. 'The outbreak is cause for concern and stay alert. The best offense is a good defense so take all personal protective measures,' he said. Dr Amler recommends precautionary measures such as washing hands often as well, staying away from those who are sick and bringing your own pillows and blankets on planes when traveling. 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. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 22 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on Feb. 26. The Armenian armed forces were using sniper rifles. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. New Delhi: Actress Kalki Koechlin, who welcomed a baby girl with boyfriend Guy Hershberg earlier in February, recently shared a heartwarming picture with their daughter and revealed her state of mind. "The past few weeks have really been a state of sleep deprived bliss," Kalki wrote while sharing the monochrome picture, in which she smiles holding the baby. First, take a look at the picture here: Kalki and Guy have named their baby daughter Sappho. She announced the birth of Sappho by posting a picture of the baby's footprints on a paper. "Please welcome Sappho. Born 07/02/20. She just spent 9 months wrapped up like a momo in my uterus. Let's give her some space. Thank you for all the good wishes and positive energy pouring in. And respect to all the women who go through the intense and gruesome experience of birth," read an excerpt from her special post. On Valentine's Day, Kalki elated the internet with a picture of the father-daughter duo sharing perfect smiles for a perfect frame. "My Guy and my girl. Not much of a Hallmark consumer, but this Valentine's I'm feeling particularly gushy, for obvious reasons. Guy Hershberg, I couldn't ask for more, you are always more... #valentineseveryday #marvelous #bestpartnerever," she captioned her post. Kalki, 35, is dating Guy Hershberg, an Israeli classical pianist, for a few years now. She was previously married to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. People take part in the annual Gay Pride parade in San Juan, Puerto Rico: AFP via Getty Images A transgender woman has been fatally shot in Puerto Rico hours after someone called the police to inform them she had been using the womens toilet at McDonalds. Neulisa Luciano Ruiz was killed early on Monday morning in Toa Baja on the northern coast of Puerto Rico. Police are investigating if footage uploaded on social media, where at least two men can be heard ridiculing and threatening a person thought to be the victim ahead of gunfire, is the actual killing. One individual can be heard appearing to misgender her, saying: You bet I am going to go and shoot him. People lamented the death of Ms Ruiz, who was known by the name of Alexa, and the hashtags #SeLlamabaAlexa and Her name was Alexa have gained traction on Twitter. Pedro Julio Serrano, an LGBT+ activist based in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, called for authorities to investigate the killing as a hate crime and hit out at the press for misgendering Ms Ruiz. Mr Serrano, in a statement on his website, said Alexa was stalked and hunted ahead of her killing, adding that the video demonstrates the crime was a hate crime motivated by intolerance. He criticised conservative groups and argued they have fostered hysteria centred around transgender people using bathrooms. We must denounce the hate speech of the fundamentalist groups that have promoted a climate where they prosecute and persecute a trans person for the mere fact of using a bathroom, Mr Serrano continued. Carmen Yulin Cruz, San Juans mayor who had a public spat with Donald Trump after the deadly Hurricane Maria in 2017, drew attention to the death of Ms Ruiz. Ms Yulin Cruz, a candidate for governor of Puerto Rico, tweeted: You can feel the pain of Pedro Julio and of all those who understand that the lives of our trans people are worth the same as any other compatriot. Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the transgender justice initiative for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT+ advocacy group in the US, condemned her death. Story continues A trans woman was murdered in Puerto Rico. Its appalling that local outlets are still referring to her as a man dressed as a woman. Her name was Alexa, and she deserved better. Me dueles Puerto Rico! #SeLlamabaAlexa Alicia Ramirez (@aramirezgar31) February 24, 2020 She said: This is a horrifying crime that must be investigated with the utmost thoroughness and care. This victim, who has now been identified as Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, was a human being, a member of a community, a friend and family member. She had dreams, hopes, hobbies and did not deserve to have her life taken from her. Human Rights Campaign has heard that Ruiz was experiencing homelessness, further highlighting the ways a toxic mix of transphobia and misogyny conspire to put the transgender community at risk of extreme violence. Read more Trans activist who spoke out about violence against community killed Eleonore Laloux, who has Down Syndrome, is to stand in the municipal elections in the northern French town of Arras "I would like Arras to change, for there to be improvements... mainly with regard to cleanliness and respect, but also accessibility" for disabled people, the 34-year-old administrative agent and activist told French news agency AFP. "I am ready to make this change happen," Laloux said at her apartment in the city centre, its walls dotted with photos of her posing with TV personalities. If her campaign succeeds, she will become the country's first serving municipal councillor with Down Syndrome. Laloux, who lives alone, is fond of fashion and movies, and loves strumming her electric guitar. She speaks with some difficulty but moves around with seeming ease. Big rings adorn her well-manicured hands, and trendy, multicoloured glasses frame her face. For years, Laloux has fought for people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities to be able to live happier and more productive lives as fully integrated members of society. "If I were to see Emmanuel Macron, I would tell him: 'I have something to say to you -- I would like us to talk a bit more about people with disabilities and above all about their inclusion'," she said of the French president. This month, Sophie Cluzel, deputy minister in charge of disabilities, urged political parties "to make place for handicapped people" on their candidates' lists for local elections starting 15 March. Laloux is standing for the centrist "Arras pour Vous" (Arras for You) party of Mayor Frederic Leturque, who said "her courage and her perspective" would make a big difference to how the town is run. "She will be a councillor like no other, but she will be a councillor in her own right," he wrote on Facebook recently. 'I know what I want' "I am neither on the right nor the left, I am in the centre," Laloux told AFP of her political leanings. Her priorities are not ideological as much as personal: Laloux says she wants to "make perspectives change" about disabled people, and "improve accessibility" for them. "This is a project close to my heart," the candidate told AFP of her foray into the cutthroat world of electoral politics. "The mayor trusts me because he knows I am a determined young woman who loves life. I know what I want, I have a crazy temperament but I am happy that Frederic accepts me as I am," she said. Laloux already has an impressive resume, having worked for 14 years as an administrative agent at a private hospital. On top of her day job, she is involved with the Down Up association in her home town, as well as the "Amis d'Eleonore" (The Friends of Eleonore) collective created by her parents, dedicated to helping people with mental disabilities. In 2014, she published a book entitled Triso et alors! (Down Syndrome and So What!) about the obstacles she has had to overcome. Laloux has fought long and hard to live a "normal" life, refusing to be defined by her handicap. She went to a regular school, and left her parents' home eight years ago to live on her own. "I do a bit of cooking, I check my mails... I like to feel resourceful," she said. In her free time she likes putting on a DVD or listening to Bob Dylan, Blur and Radiohead. 'Born different' "We have always wanted for Eleonore, who was born different, to be able to live like anyone else," her father Emmanuel Laloux, 66, said "When you view a person through the prism of their inabilities... they will behave like a disabled person. But if you view them for their abilities, they can grow," he said. Emmanuel Laloux said he backed his daughter's political ambitions on the proviso that her colleagues "truly take into account her needs in terms of intellectual accessibility". Leturque said special provisions would be made for Laloux, who he said would be "accompanied" in her duties by Sylvie Noclercq, Arras' councillor for health and disability issues. Macron hosted a national conference on disabilities this month, announcing that 15,000 assistants would be hired in the next two years to help handicapped children go to school. According to government statistics, some 2.7 million people -- out of a French population of almost 67 million -- suffer a disability that results in some form of physical limitation. - with AFP Four Komodo dragons wrestled for dominance in a ferocious 10-minute battle before one huge lizard standing over 8ft tall finally prevailed. Unsuspecting ranger Konstantinus Muga was patrolling Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, Indonesia, when he stumbled upon the brawl. Video he filmed shows two dragons facing off before they spring into action, using their powerful tails to jump up onto their hind legs. With sharp teeth bared, they use their terrifying claws to tug and beat at each other before one manages to pin the other down. Meanwhile, two other lizards stomp over before the motionless group-of-four suddenly splits into a chaotic free-for-all. They fight in pairs, before the three begin sparring at each other. Finally, the biggest Komodo dragon - estimated by Konstantinus to be over 8ft long - prevails, as he lies on top of one of his vanquished victims. Konstantinus called the battle an 'incredible sight', adding: 'I have seen many pairs fighting, but never a group battle like this. 'They carried on for 10 minutes in total and it was amazing. 'None of them were injured from the fight.' Unsuspecting ranger Konstantinus Muga was patrolling Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, Indonesia, when he stumbled upon the brawl Video he filmed shows two dragons facing off before they spring into action, using their powerful tails to jump up onto their hind legs Here be dragons: How Europeans first came to fear the Komodo Komodo dragons have gripped the popular imagination since they were discovered by Europeans in 1910. The existence of a 20ft 'land crocodile' was first brought to the attention of Lieutenant Jacques Karel Henri van Steyn van Hensbroek, a member of the occupying Dutch colonials. He went on to hunt and kill a 6ft dragon. Peter Ouwens became the first Western scientist to write a formal description of the animal, in 1912. In 1926, William Douglas Burden went on an expedition to research the animals, naming them 'dragons'. The first dragons were captured and exhibited in Europe in London in 1927. Advertisement Komodo dragons fight either for territory or female mating partners in this exemplary way, pinning the other down with their body weight. The species is the largest extant - or living - of lizards in the world, in rare cases reaching 10ft in length and weighing up to 150lb. More than 4,000 lizards are native to Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, part of the Lesser Sunda chain of Indonesian islands. It has been claimed their bites are venomous, as biologists note two glands in the jaw that secrete toxic proteins. Komodo dragons hunt Timor deer, though have also attacked humans. Young members of the species dwell in trees, where they are safe from other predators and even Komodo cannibals. Maturing can take up to nine years, and Komodo dragons have lived to 30. The lizards were first discovered by Western scientists in 1910. The first two live Komodo dragons to arrive in Europe were exhibited at London Zoo in 1927. In the wild, the number of Komodo dragons has declined due to human activity, causing the IUCN to list the species as vulnerable. They are protected under Indonesian law. Two other lizards stomp over before the motionless group-of-four suddenly splits into a chaotic free-for-all. They fight in pairs, before the three begin sparring at each other Man vs monster: Human victims of Komodo dragon attacks Though attacks on humans are rare, Komodo dragons have been responsible for several human fatalities - in the wild as well as in captivity. According to Komodo National Park data from 1974 to 2012, there were 24 reported attacks on humans, five of those fatal. Most victims were locals. Reports of attacks include: 1974: Baron Rudolf Reding von Bibiregg , a visiting Swiss tourist, disappeared. It is thought he was killed and eaten by Komodo dragons; , a visiting Swiss tourist, disappeared. It is thought he was killed and eaten by Komodo dragons; 2001: Phil Bronstein , a journalist and former husband of actress Sharon Stone, was attacked by a Komodo dragon in LA zoo; , a journalist and former husband of actress Sharon Stone, was attacked by a Komodo dragon in LA zoo; 2007: A boy , eight, was killed by a Komodo dragon on Komodo Island; , eight, was killed by a Komodo dragon on Komodo Island; 2008: Five scuba divers were stranded on Rinca Island, and were attack by Komdo dragons. They were rescued two days later; were stranded on Rinca Island, and were attack by Komdo dragons. They were rescued two days later; 2009: Muhamad Anwar , a Komodo Island local, was killed by two Komodo dragons after he fell from a tree as he was picking sugar apples; , a Komodo Island local, was killed by two Komodo dragons after he fell from a tree as he was picking sugar apples; 2017: Lon Lee Alle , a tourist from Singapore, was attacked by a Komodo dragon on Komodo Island. He survived, but suffered severe leg injuries Advertisement By Bob Prunetti When I led the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce and served as Mercer County executive, I got a firsthand look at the importance of smart planning. I also came to recognize the critical role of energy, especially to the consumers who use and pay for it and for its importance to economic development. Thats why New Jerseys energy plan, recently announced by Gov. Phil Murphy, is so troubling. While it admirably aims to establish New Jersey as a leader on climate change, its real effect will be to saddle the states consumers with higher energy costs and burden taxpayers with more state-funded subsidies. This will have a chilling effect on future economic development in our state. The plan is ambitious to say the least. Under it, New Jersey would become the first state to require new buildings and their builders to account for climate change, implementing new climate-based measures for government approval. The plan also includes initiatives to achieve an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 levels by 2050. This administration plans to achieve all of this in part by requiring 100% so-called clean energy by 2050, meaning zero use of fossil fuels, including natural gas, within 30 years. The problem? New Jersey cant simply walk away from natural gas. Today, this fuel heats three-quarters of all homes in the state and accounts for half the states electricity generation. Natural gas is a critical part of providing reliable power to the nations most densely populated customer base while also producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions than an alternative such as coal. In other words, natural gas is critical to transitioning to a clean energy future. Completely cutting out the use of natural gas, as Gov. Murphy proposes, will undoubtedly lead to higher costs and less reliable power for consumers. The other glaring problem? Getting to 100% renewables will require massive subsidies for the states handpicked energy winners, a move that means even more money from the pockets of New Jerseys taxpayers. Even without this ambitious new plan, New Jersey is already doling out massive taxpayer-funded energy subsidies. The New Jersey Public Utilities Authority last April handed out $300 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies for the states nuclear power plants, only to find out the government agencys own staff had evidence the three nuclear facilities being subsidized were profitable already. On top of that, a Rutgers University study estimates that New Jerseys 2021 energy storage goals of 600 megawatts would require between $140 million and $650 million in additional subsidies. Who pays? As Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), has explained, The folks who always pay the price are taxpayers and customers who need reliable, affordable electricity to power their homes, run their small businesses, and access emergency services. Thankfully, more reasonable proposals are on the table as well. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December offered a measure that would level the playing field in electricity markets so that all fuel sources can compete equally. This was in response to states like New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and Ohio, which have all implemented patchwork plans to subsidize aging nuclear plants and to force renewable energy sources into the market. But these expensive subsidy plans have the effect of distorting the energy marketplace and propping up power sources that either dont need help or dont deserve it. By establishing a set price floor to which all fuels have to bid, the FERC rule creates a playing field where the market - not subsidies - dictates which power sources generate the electricity we all need. Why does this matter? Because competition among power providers is what keeps our prices low. When the market is allowed to work, customers benefit. State leaders should also remember that New Jerseys rainy day fund has been empty since 2009, meaning the state cant afford to push an overly ambitious energy plan that requires costly subsidies. Governor Murphys heart might be in the right place when it comes to his fight against climate change, but his energy plan misses the mark. Instead of running away from natural gas and toward more taxpayer-funded subsidies, New Jersey should focus instead on making sure low-cost electricity available to our residents without taking more money out of their pockets. Our states energy policy should follow FERCs lead in advocating for a competitive energy marketplace that doesnt pick winners and losers. By being realistic and keeping customers front and center, New Jersey can provide common sense leadership on climate change in a way that helps, instead of hurts, the people who call it home. Bob Prunetti is a former Mercer County executive and former president of the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Fourteen EU ministers called Wednesday for a ceasefire in the Syrian province of Idlib, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced by a Russian-backed Syrian offensive against rebels supported by Turkey. The violence in Syria's last rebel-held enclave has caused a humanitarian crisis and sparked tensions between Ankara and Moscow. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, his German counterpart Heiko Maas and the foreign ministers of 12 other EU countries warned that what Moscow has presented as a fight against terrorism did not justify "massive violations of international humanitarian law". In an open letter published in French daily Le Monde, the ministers urged the Syrian regime and Moscow to "immediately end hostilities" and negotiate with Turkey "to achieve a de-escalation." Russia and Turkey in 2018 agreed to create a demilitarised zone in Idlib but the accord has fallen apart as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces move to recapture the last big region beyond his control. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed he would not take the "smallest step back" in the stand-off with Damascus and Russia. A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected calls for a halt to the Russian-backed incentive, saying it would be tantamount to "capitulating before terrorists." The 14 ministers said they were "perfectly lucid about the presence of radical groups in Idlib" but said this did not justify "incessant airstrikes and the dropping of barrel bombs". French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for summit with Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek an end to the crisis. Erdogan on Saturday announced a four-way summit on March 5 but later said there was "no full agreement" on the meeting. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the foreign ministers of 13 other EU countries warned that what Moscow has presented as a fight against terrorism did not justify "massive violations of international humanitarian law" The media company allegedly breached the privacy of students who use free Chromebooks that are delivered to schools through its G Suite for Education program, as claimed by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas' prosecution. Including data on the physical location of the students, visited websites, watched YouTube videos and voice recordings, Google collected a massive database of information from the students, which were all mentioned by Balderas in the federal lawsuit. Google has been charged with deliberately misleading schools and parents in terms of their data policies. According to the law, the company is required to issue a privacy policy to which parents must consent to, thus giving parents the option of verifying and sharing their children's information with third parties. The lawsuit also claims that Google used this information for publicity purposes, and the company has stored the data on its G Suite for Education services in customized databases for each student. In addition to this, the suit also accuses Google of not adequately divulging the information and failing to give parents the opportunity to view and restrict this data collection. The lawsuit states that Google has failed to obtain "verifiable parental approval" before collecting the data, a breach of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Google then responded by calling the statement "factually wrong" without referring to a request to further elaborate. Overshadowing competitors, such as Apple or Microsoft with a suite of affordable, easy- to use devices, Google has become the leading technology brand in US homes and public schools within the last eight years. Even though the company offers schools an online portal for monitoring students' access to YouTube and hundreds of other Google applications, representatives from public schools have said that the various data processing activities of the software giant can be difficult to analyze. The senior litigator in the state attorney general's Consumer and Environmental Protection Division, Brian McMath, mentioned that his office records the use of a certain kind of Google Education program by two-thirds of New Mexico school districts. Google committed last September to pay a fine of $170 million to sort out federal and state penalties for improperly storing children's personal data on YouTube. Over a period of time, families and privacy advocates have long complained that, without explaining their data collection activities or seeking parental consent for surveillance, Google uses its education products to track millions of school kids. One of the major arguments is that the company applies various privacy policies to various products. It's not New Mexico's first encounter in the courts with Google. In 2018, Mr. Balderas filed a separate lawsuit alleging that the federal law on privacy had been infringed by the popular children's app maker, together with advertising outlets such as Google and Twitter. Google vowed not to acquire, retain, use or share personal data of students beyond the educational requirements in order to alleviate fears about the mining of knowledge in Google education. The most recent case claims that Google has broken those promises. Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) ("Minera" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, at the meeting held on February 20, 2020, its disinterested shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale to Osisko Gold Royalties ("Osisko") of the Royalty and Optional Royalty, all on the terms and subject to the conditions more fully disclosed in Minera's press release of December 6, 2019. The Company and Osisko are working to complete final documentation in preparation for execution of the Royalty and Optional Royalty by no later than the end of Q1 2020. Upon completion of the relevant documentation, closing of the second half of the transaction with Osisko Gold Royalties will result in the receipt by Minera of C$5 million in cash. In addition, the Company will acquire access to an additional C$3 million finance facility that can be accessed if required. Following the completion of this second phase of financing the Company is now in receipt of all the funds currently budgeted for the construction at the Santana gold project. "We would like to thank our shareholders for supporting the finance and royalty agreements with Osisko that provide the Company with all the capital necessary to advance the Santana gold project through to its first anticipated production. As Minera graduates from gold developer to gold producer in 2020 we are grateful for the ongoing support of Osisko and all our shareholders." Stated Doug Ramshaw, President, Minera Alamos Inc. PDAC and Red Cloud Conference Participation Minera Alamos cordially invites you to visit with Company representatives on Sunday, March 1st and Monday, March 2nd at Booth #2423A within the Investors Exchange at the 2020 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Red Cloud 2020 Pre-PDAC Mining Showcase will be held on Friday, February 28th at the Omni King Edward Hotel. Minera will presenting at 11.40am and will be meeting with the investment community throughout the day. Minera looks forward to updating shareholders and conference attendees on its development plans for 2020, following the commencement of construction activities at its Santana gold project, Sonora, Mexico. For more information and/or to register for the PDAC conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention For Further Information Please Contact: Minera Alamos Inc. Doug Ramshaw, President Tel: 604-600-4423 Email: dramshaw@mineraalamos.com Victoria Vargas de Szarzynski, VP Investor Relations Tel: 289-242-3599 Email: vvargas@mineraalamos.com Website: www.mineraalamos.com About Minera Alamos Inc.: Minera Alamos is a gold development company poised to join the ranks of gold producers in 2020. The Company has a portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the 100%-owned Santana open-pit, heap-leach development project in Sonora currently under construction, which is expected to have its first gold production in late 2020. The La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango (100%-owned) has an extremely robust and positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed and is nearing the end of the permitting process. A construction decision on La Fortuna could be made in late 2020 or early 2021 and highlights the organic growth the existing projects can provide to the overall production profile. Minera Alamos is built around its operating team that together brought 3 mines into production over the last 12 years. The Company's strategy is to develop low capex assets while expanding the project resources and pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52804 They care for us, comfort us and advocate for us. Nurses are indeed the heart and the backbone, often the weary backbone, of health care in western Montana. There are more than 18,000 nurses in Montana and almost 4 million nurses nationwide. It is a profession of long hours with little sleep interrupted by frantic moments of life and death. It is hugging a patient and comforting their family. It is changing dressings and explaining scary procedures. Nursing requires a special person who will selflessly care for total strangers, often without recognition. Now is your chance to recognize a nurse who has made a difference in your life. In honor of National Nurses Week, the Missoulian and Ravalli Republic, along with presenting sponsor Blue Cross Blue Shield Montana, title sponsor Providence Health and Services Montana and event sponsor Village Health & Rehabilitation, are holding the second annual Nurses: The Heart of Health Care contest. We ask western Montana residents, health care facilities and health care organizations to nominate outstanding nurses. The 10 winning nurses will be featured in a special section devoted to western Montana nurses and will be honored at a community reception during National Nurses Week the first week of May. The special section will appear in the Missoulian and in the Ravalli Republic. If you know of an outstanding nurse who has made a difference in your life or the life of a loved one in a hospital, clinic, school, nursing home, hospice or veterans facility, please tell us about what makes them extraordinary. Nurses: The Heart of Health Care will accept nominations for western Montana nurses through March 31. Click on missoulian.com/nurses2020 to make your nomination, including examples of why your nurse was outstanding. Once the nominations are in, a panel of independent judges will narrow them down to nine winners. A 10th winner will be chosen by readers in an online vote. It's time nurses receive the recognition they deserve. Help the Missoulian, Ravalli Republic and our sponsors do just that by nominating a nurse today at missoulian.com/nurses2020. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As policymakers continue to grapple with high costs of air ambulance trips, the nations largest provider announced last week that it had reached a deal to become in-network with Wyomings largest insurer. This agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming compliments the safe, high-quality care we deliver to patients in a medical emergency, Chris Myers, an executive vice president of Air Methods, said in a statement. These agreements are crucial for giving patients peace of mind to focus on their recovery instead of bills. Both Air Methods and Blue Cross say that the deal will protect Wyomingites with Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage from balanced billing, which is when a patients insurer pays a certain amount for a medical service and then the patient is hit with the rest of the cost. Blue Cross is by far the largest insurer in Wyoming and is the provider for the Affordable Care Act insurance exchange here. Wendy Curran, a spokeswoman for the insurer, said that the company was pleased that Air Methods has finally reached an agreement to become a participating provider with BCBSWY. The high cost of air ambulance services, coupled with the additional charges from balance billing, has been a significant concern for us and those we insure, Curran said in an email to the Star-Tribune last week. With the agreement in place, we can offer our members and business clients a lower cost and the security that they will be protected from any future balance billings. For air ambulance transports, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, balanced billing has been particularly controversial. Setting aside the cost, theres little a patient is able to do should he or she need a flight. The free market, in other words, doesnt apply when you need emergency transport to Denver. Policymakers in Wyoming have grappled with this issue for a few years now. Last year, at the direction of the Legislature, the state Health Department filed an expansive waiver with the federal government that wouldve expanded Medicaid to the entire state for purposes of covering air ambulances. It wouldve more tightly regulated the market here and empowered the state to pick a preferred provider with an eye on controlling costs and eliminating balanced billing. The waiver was supported by Blue Cross and opposed by Air Methods. Wyomings two largest hospitals, Cheyenne Regional and Wyoming Medical Center, also wrote a joint letter to the federal government asking the waiver be rejected. Last month, the government did just that, writing in a short letter that the waiver failed a two-pronged test applied to all such requests. The Legislature has not abandoned the topic. Sen. Charlie Scott, a Natrona County Republican and the co-chair of the health committee, pushed a bill to allow individual counties to pick a preferred provider. That proposal died Tuesday in the Senate. It likely faced a tough road anyway: One of the reasons its so hard to regulate air ambulances is because of a decades-old federal law that prevents anyone but the federal government from regulating the industry. In an email to the Star-Tribune, the company said it was working with insurers nationwide to address balanced billing and it wasnt a direct response to any action in the Wyoming Legislature. An article in an airline trade website noted in December that Air Methods was trying to negotiate more in-network deals in response to public pressure. Air Methods moves come as the air ambulance industry continues to face scrutiny for charging privately insured and uninsured patients substantially more than it charges Medicare and Medicaid patients and more than private insurance often covers, according to the article in Aviation International News. The industry is not just under scrutiny in Wyoming. The U.S. Congress is considering taking action against balanced billing, with AIN reporting that the federal bills could financially cripple the air ambulance industry and lead to the closure of up to 80 percent of the air ambulance bases in the U.S., according to a group representing the companies. According to a 2017 government report, Air Methods is the largest ambulance provider in the nation. That same report stated that representatives for the company said they had increased the average price for their transports from $13,000 in 2007 to $49,800 in 2016. Air Methods was purchased for $2.5 billion in March 2017 by a private equity firm. Another major competitor in the industry was similarly acquired by private equity in 2015, for $2 billion. The presence of private equity in the air ambulance industry indicates that investors see profit opportunities in the industry, the governments researchers said dryly. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. GENEVA - A Chinese ambassador on Wednesday ripped into the U.S. for an attack on Chinas candidate to head a United Nations agency that monitors and tracks intellectual property like patents, trademarks and industrial designs a lucrative and crucial part of the growing digital age. The showdown over the leadership of the World Intellectual Property Organization amounts to the latest face-off between the United States and China. The comments by Chen Xu, Chinas ambassador in Geneva, laid bare rising tensions over an alleged U.S. campaign to prevent veteran WIPO official Weng Binyang from becoming director-general of the money-making agency that counts 192 member states. The United States is turning this election into a political game. The United States has no candidate of its own, yet it tries every means to block Ms. Weng Binyang and even takes this venture at its top diplomatic agenda, Chen told reporters at a news conference on the issue at the U.N.s Geneva compound. It is sad that the United States has gone so far as to warn some of the medium and small countries not to vote for China, or they will face consequences such as weakened relations with the United States or losing the World Bank and IMF loans, Chen added. The United States attack on Chinas candidature, Chinas contribution, in the areas of IPR is not only unfair, its irrational, he said, referring to intellectual property rights. A WIPO co-ordination committee is set to select its nominee for director-general at a closed-door vote March 4-5, before the agencys general assembly makes the final decision in May. The assembly has never rejected a co-ordination committee nominee since WIPO was created in 1967. Weng is one of six remaining candidates out of 10 who originally announced plans to replace Director-General Francis Gurry of Australia. Candidates from Colombia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Peru and Singapore are also in the race. The United States and other Western allies have long expressed concerns about Chinas approach to intellectual property, with Trump administration officials accusing Beijing of outright theft of Western know-how. The spat comes as China has been flexing its intellectual muscle in recent years. By WIPOs own count late last year, China alone accounted for nearly half of all patent filings worldwide. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said two weeks ago that the United States was tracking the WIPO election very, very closely. We are going to make sure that whoever runs that organization understands the importance of enforcing intellectual property rights across nations and across boundaries, he said on Feb. 13. You should know that were engaged in lots of conversations to make sure that whoever is ultimately selected has respect for property rights and the rule of law in the context of intellectual property rights, he said. Trumps assistant for trade and manufacturing policy at the White House, Peter Navarro, on Sunday went even further in a column in the Financial Times newspaper, insisting that international intellectual property rules underpin the innovation economy. The U.S. believes that giving control of WIPO to a representative of China would be a terrible mistake, Navarro wrote. China is responsible for 85% of counterfeits seized by US border officials; and Chinese IP theft costs the American economy between $225-$600 billion annually. He alleged a Chinese gambit to gain control over the 15 specialized agencies of the U.N. He noted that China already has leadership of four of those, while no other country leads more than one. The Chinese ambassador dismissed that charge: Its not our strategy to intentionally to seek the dominance in terms of numbers. Its a natural process. He also blasted the U.S. for having turned their back on multilateral co-operation, citing Trump administration withdrawals from international organizations like the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, and the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council. - Key Companies Profiled are Inoxcva, Cryofab, Inc., Linde, Chart Industries, Inc., Cryo Pur, Cryoquip, The Weir Group PLC, SHI Cryogenics Group, Herose GMBH Armaturen und Metalle, Nikkiso, Co. Ltd., PHPK Technologies, Wessington Cryogenics, Fives, Flowserve Corporation, Schlumberger, Sulzer, and Other Key Players PUNE, India, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cryogenic equipment market is set to gain momentum from the expansion of the transportation and storage industry. Besides, the increasing investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based power plants, and higher spending capability of consumers would affect the market positively during the forecast period. Fortune Business Insights published this information in a recent report, titled, "Cryogenic Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (Tank, Valve, Vaporizer, Pump, and Others), By Cryogen Type (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Metallurgy, Power Generation, Chemical & Petrochemical, Marine, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026." The report further states that the cryogenic equipment market size is projected to reach USD 31.68 billion by 2026, thereby exhibiting a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period. However, it stood at USD 18.42 billion in 2018. Highlights of the Report: In-depth details about the cryogenic equipment market trends, opportunities, challenges, growth drivers, and obstacles. List of all the segments present in the market. Region-wise analysis of LNG exports and imports. Competitive landscape, including new product launches, investments, collaborations, contracts, agreements, and mergers and acquisitions. To gain more insights into the market with detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Drivers- Increasing Demand for LNG Fuel to Accelerate Growth The demand for LNG is increasing at a rapid rate on account of the growing trend of utilizing these fuels for marine transport and locomotives. Besides, there is a rise in the number of gas-based power plants worldwide. Coupled with this, the higher usage of refrigerators, pumps, vaporizers, valves, oil tankers, and similar other equipment in the oil and gas industry would contribute to the cryogenic equipment market growth in the coming years. Segment- Oil & Gas Segment to Show High Growth Fueled by Usage in Various Applications In terms of end-user, the market is segregated into marine, chemical & petrochemical, power generation, metallurgy, oil & gas, and others. Out of these, at present, the oil & gas segment holds the largest cryogenic equipment market share owing to its usage in a wide range of applications, such as regasification, LNG transportation, refueling, and refining. The chemical & petrochemical segment is set to grow considerably backed by higher adoption of cooling reactors, regenerating catalysts, Sulphur recovery units, coal gasification, and oxidation processes. The metallurgy segment would also exhibit stable growth stoked by the increasing usage of nitrogen and argon in this industry. Request a Sample Copy: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Regional Analysis- Asia Pacific to Remain at the Forefront Spurred by Increasing Building Infrastructure Geographically, the market is fragmented into the Middle East and Africa, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe. Amongst these, Asia Pacific generated a cryogenic equipment market revenue of USD 6.07 billion in 2018. It is considered to be one of the leading regions owing to the booming industrial sector as a result of rising building infrastructure and investments. The Middle East & Africa and North America, on the other hand, are likely to experience significant growth because of the increasing usage of cryogenic equipment and demand for LNG. In Europe, Spain, Italy, and France are set to contribute to the growth of the market on account of their possession of well-established oil & gas, petrochemicals, and metallurgy sector. Lastly, Brazil in Latin America would also exhibit steady growth on account of the rising investment in the chemical & petrochemical, as well as the oil & gas industry. Competitive Landscape- SHIVER Examines Cryogenic Storage Technologies; Nikkiso Acquires Cryogenic Industries, Inc. Cryogenic equipment manufacturers present in the market are persistently striving to gain a competitive edge by developing new products or acquiring other reputed organizations. These strategies are also aiding them in procuring more shares. Below are two of the key industry developments: February 2020 : NASA announced that its Structural Heat Intercept Insulation Vibration Evaluation Rig, also known as SHIVER, is currently being tested at Plum Brook Station. SHIVER is examining cryogenic storage technologies that would be used to extend the time propellants that remain liquid and can be adopted as fuels during long-duration missions. : NASA announced that its Structural Heat Intercept Insulation Vibration Evaluation Rig, also known as SHIVER, is currently being tested at Plum Brook Station. SHIVER is examining cryogenic storage technologies that would be used to extend the time propellants that remain liquid and can be adopted as fuels during long-duration missions. August 2017 : Nikkiso Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and seller of precision equipment headquartered in Japan , completed its acquisition of Cryogenic Industries, Inc., a provider of quality products and services. The company acquired its branches located in Temecula and Basel . Nikkiso's main aim is to deliver products and services to its focused market segments by introducing the latest technologies. List of the most prominent companies operating in the cryogenic equipment market. They are as follows: Inoxcva Cryofab, Inc. Linde Chart Industries, Inc. Cryo Pur Cryoquip The Weir Group PLC SHI Cryogenics Group Herose GMBH Armaturen und Metalle Nikkiso, Co. Ltd. PHPK Technologies Wessington Cryogenics Fives Flowserve Corporation Schlumberger Sulzer Other key market players Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Emerging Trends - For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis Global Cryogenic Equipment Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Product Tank Valve Vaporizer Pump Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Cryogen Type Nitrogen Oxygen Argon Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By End-User Oil & Gas Metallurgy Power Generation Chemical & Petrochemical Marine Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & Latin America Continued..!!! Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 (Have a Look at Reports Trending in Energy & Power Industry) Browse Related Reports: Cryogenic Pump Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Positive Displacement Pump and Centrifugal Pump), By Cryogen Type (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Metallurgy, Power Generation, Chemical & Petrochemical, Marine, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Cryogenic Valve Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Type (Gate, Globe, Ball, Butterfly, Others), By Application (Transfer Lines, Manifolds & Gas Trains, Tanks & Cold Boxes, Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Chemical, Food and Beverage, Others) and Geography Forecast till 2026 Cryogenic Insulation Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Form (Foam, Multilayer, Bulk Fill), By Type (Fiberglass, Cellular Glass, Perlite Insulation, Polyurethane, Polyisocyanurate, Others), By End-Use Industry (Oil and Gas, Chemical and Fertilizer, Food and Beverage, Transportation, Electronics, Others) and Geography Forecast till 2026 Electric Submersible Pumps Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By End-User (Residential & Commercial, Water & Wastewater, Mining, Agriculture, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Construction, Others), By Operation (Single-Stage, Multi-Stage), By Capacity (Low, Medium, High), By Type (Open well, Borewell), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Direct Current (DC) Drives Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Voltage Rating (Up to 240 V, 240 - 600 V, and 600 V & Above), By Power Rating (Up to 250 kW, 251 - 500 kW, and 500 kW & Above), By End User (Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Food & Beverage, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Metal & Mining, Water & Wastewater, Building Automation, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Electric Motor Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Motor Type (AC Motors, DC Motors, Hermetic Motors), By Power Output (Fractional Horsepower (Up to 1HP), Integral Horsepower (Above 1HP)), By Voltage (Up to 1 kV, 1 kV-6.6 kV, Above 6.6 kV), By Application (Industrial Machinery, Motor Vehicles, Electrical Appliances, Others), By End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Residential, Agriculture) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 AC Drives Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Power Rating (Low Power Drives, Medium Power Drives, and High Power Drives), By Voltage (Low Voltage and Medium Voltage), By Application (Pumps, Conveyors, Compressors, Electric Fan), By End-User (Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Building Automation, Metal & Mining, Water & Wastewater, Chemical & Petrochemicals) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Variable Frequency Drive Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (AC Drive, DC Drive, Servo Drive), By Power Range (Micro, Low, Medium, High), By Application (Pumps, Conveyors, HVAC, Electric Fan, Extruders, Others), By End-User (Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Mining, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 District Heating Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Heat Source (Coal, Natural Gas, Renewables, Oil & Petroleum Products, and Others), By Plant Type (Boiler, CHP, Others), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019 - 2026 District Cooling Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By End User (Residential, Industrial, and Commercial), By Technology (Electric Chillers, Absorption Chillers, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019 - 2026 Well Intervention Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Type (Light Intervention, Medium Intervention, Heavy Intervention), Service (Logging & Bottom Hole Survey, Tubing/Packer Failure & Repair, Stimulation, Remedial Cementing, Zonal Isolation, Sand Control, Artificial Lift, Fishing, RE-Perforation), Application (Onshore, Offshore) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 About us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1-424-253-0390 UK: +44-2071-939123 APAC: +91-744-740-1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Fortune Business Insights LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs Press Release: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/cryogenic-equipment-market-9617 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881202/Fortune_Business_Insights_Logo.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1095728/Cryogenic_Equipment_Market.jpg Be stern, book perpetrators, restore peace: NSA Dovals directive post mid-night intervention India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: In a mid-night intervention, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval has directed the Delhi police to take stern action against those indulging in violence. At least 13 persons have died in the violence that broke out on Sunday. Doval visited Maujpur, Jafrabad, Gokulpuri, Bhajanpur and took stock of the situation. Shoot at sight orders have been issued in areas where the violence broke out. The NSA took stock of the situation following a third high level security meeting by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The meeting lasted for three hours and it was decided that stern action must be taken against those indulging in violence. NSA Ajit Doval reaches north-east Delhi, to take stock of situation NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Top Home Ministry sources tell OneIndia that the police has asked to conduct an in-depth probe into the violence and first identify the perpetrators. An Intelligence Bureau report which spoke about the involvement of the Bhim Army and PFI was also studied. The source added that it is clear that the violence was orchestrated by the anti citizenship law protesters and timed with the visit of US President Donald Trump. We have observed a clear pattern, the source also said while adding that very soon, those behind the violence will be booked and brought to justice. One of the largest MLM enterprises in Vietnam, Stella Ivy Cosmetic will continue operations under a new name Stella Ivy Cosmetic Co., Ltd., a distributor of Oriflame-branded products, which used to be one of the four multi-level marketing (MLM) companies with the largest revenue in Vietnam, officially stopped operation after its license expired. Subsequently, it established a new legal entity named Oriflame Vietnam Co., Ltd., operating under the same direct sale model. However, there was suspicion whether the company met the criteria to extend its MLM license. This was the reason the company had to change to its name, essentially donning a new mask while operations were maintained as usual. Phuong Thuy, a counsellor of Oriflame, said that she was notified about the change in November 2019, however, she and other distribution agents did not care much as there were no alterations to the companys performance or structure, including personnel, sales incentives, and discount policy. The suspicions about Stella Ivy Cosmetics license were rooted in past violations. In August 2018, the company was fined for VND170 million ($7,400) since it failed to follow its obligations on revoking multi-level sales member cards. In addition, the company conducted multi-level sales in centrally-run cities and provinces without approval from respective departments and did not issue labour contracts to its sale staff. The company was also fined in August 2018 because of the lack of proper training for its sales staff in its MLM network. According to regulations, sales agents are not allowed to act like trained health professionals, because medical examinations and prescriptions, as well as the sale of food supplements, are the domain of certified individuals and organisations. As shown by statistics published by the Ministry of Industry and Trades Vietnam Competition Agency (VCA), as of June 2019, 817,034 people signed contracts to join Oriflames MLM network. The total revenue from MLM activities in the first half of 2019 amounted to VND5.8 trillion ($252.17 million), equalling 53 per cent of the companys revenue for the whole year of 2018. The total commission the company paid sales staff and agents was VND1.92 trillion ($83.48 million), accounting for 36.2 per cent of its revenue. According to Trinh Anh Tuan, deputy director general of the VCA, after Decree No.40/2018/ND-CP came into effect in 2018, MLM activities have been tightened even further. If MLM companies did not submit dossiers to the VTA fulfilling the new conditions introduced by the decree before January 2019, they would have to halt operations. As a result, many companies ceased operations in 2019, including many big names such as G10 International Co., Ltd. and Med Media Co. The VCA also revoked the business licenses of five other companies that did not comply with Vietnams laws on MLM, including CNI Vietnam, Sen Viet Group, and Rain International Vietnam. However, dishonest MLM companies use subtle tricks and target human greed by promising huge commissions, which means there is no shortage of eager investors. This requires authorities to extend communications campaigns to educate people and warn them against becoming a victim of fraudulent MLM companies. Most recently, Hanois Department of Industry and Trade has warned citizens of signs of fraud at electronic payment wallet Payasian. Since Payasians e-wallet has not been licensed by the authorities, the money put on these accounts cannot be used legally in the country. Additionally, Payasian JSC has been under suspicion of illegally raising capital and acting as an MLM. The VCA has yet to issue an MLM registration certificate to Payasian JSC. As numerous dishonest companies are partaking in MLM, Lai Ngoc Thanh, lawyer of Basico law firm said clarifying the quality of products is one way to determine whether an MLM company is trustworthy or not. If the company acquires profit from distributing high-quality products, they are more likely legitimate. In case a company distributes low-quality products (or no products at all), while simultaneously enticing people to pay and join the network to acquire massive profit, they may be involved in illegal activities. A Florida woman has been accused of zipping her boyfriend inside a suitcase and leaving there for hours until he died in what she described as a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong - but investigators say videos found on her cellphone tell a different story. Sarah Boone, 42, from Winter Park, was arrested on Monday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr, 41. Boone summoned deputies to her home at 1pm, saying Torres died while the two of them were playing hide-and-seek after a night of drinking. Sarah Boone, 42 (left), has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of her live-in boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr, 41, after she zipped him inside a suitcase According to an arrest affidavit cited by WFTV9, the woman claimed she and her boyfriend thought it would be funny if he climbed inside a suitcase and she zipped him up. Boone said she later passed out in her bed as a result of her alcohol consumption, and woke hours later to find Torres dead inside the luggage. Deputies who responded to the residence in the 4700 block of Frantz Lane found Torres' lifeless body laying on the floor next to a blue suitcase. The victim had a small cut on hi slip and bruising around his eye, according to the document. Boone claimed she and Torres had been drinking and decided it would be funny if her boyfriend climbed inside a suitcase during a game of hide-and-seek Two videos deputies have found on Boone's cellphone showed Torres yelling he can't breathe and his girlfriend laughing at him During an interview, Boone gave verbal and written permission to the deputies to search her phone. A review of the contents of the device led to the discovery of two videos from the night of Torres' death that contradicted Boone's version of events. On the first recording, the victim is heard yelling at Boone from inside the suitcase and telling her he cannot breathe, prompting the woman to laugh at him in response. 'Yeah, thats what you do when you choke me,' Boone tells her boyfriend in the video, according to the affidavit. Torres continued pleading and pushing against the fabric of the suitcase in a desperate bid to get out, telling his girlfriend he could not breathe. 'Thats on you. Oh, thats what I feel like when you cheat on me,' Boone told him, according to the document, adding he 'should probably shut the f*** up.' Last year, Torres was arrested twice in a span of two months on charges of battery - dating violence involving Boone (pictured in mugshots) A second video found on Boone's phone shows the luggage in a different position. On that recording, Torres is heard yelling Boone's name and saying, 'I cant f***ing breathe.' Records indicate that the couple had a history of domestic violence. In June 2018, Boone was arrested on a charge of battery by strangulation targeting her boyfriend, and Jorge was charged with battery stemming from an alcohol-fueled altercation inside their home. According to an affidavit, Torres told a deputy Boone wrapped her hands around his neck and attempted to strangle him as he was walking upstairs to get away from her after an argument, prompting him to kick her. A year later, Torres was arrested twice in a span of two months on charges of battery - dating violence. Major stakeholders and statutory regulators have heaped praises on Peace Mass Transit (PMT) Ltd for its continuous commitment to drivers welfare and provision of modern infrastructure for maintenance of its large fleet of buses. Sector bigwigs who were gathered at the Emene, Enugu Corporate Headquarters of the PMT on Monday had nothing but commendations for the company at the commencement of its 2020 drivers retraining program. The training, which is an annual event and overseen by senior officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), will last one month. During the period, over 3,000 drivers of the company would be retrained in batches, to ensure that they remained acquainted with basic rudiments of safe driving, consideration for other road users and recognition of passengers as the king in mini bus transport. Enugu State Commissioner for Transport, who was unavoidably absent, was represented by the State Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO), Engineer Charles Ugwuagbo. Enugu Sector Commander of FRSC, Ogbonnaya Kalu, who was present to flag off the training, led a cream of senior officers of the Corps, including Deputy Corps Commander Joyce Alexander, who represented the Zonal headquarters of the FRSC in Enugu. Chief Superintendent of Narcotics (CSN) and Principal Staff Officer, Drug Demand Reduction Unit, NDLEA, Enugu, Mr. Eyeuche Ome, a regular face at the annual event, gave an incisive lecture on Alcohol/Drug use in Road Safety: A Growing Concern. Transport Commissioner, Hon. Mathias Ekweremadu, who spoke through his representative, commended PMT for being proactive and inventive and a good corporate citizen of the state. He urged the management to continue to explore ways and means to improve safety on Nigerian Highways. State Chief VIO, Engineer Ugwuagbo, was effusive in his praise of PMT as an ethical company which was never found cutting corners. They make sure their vehicles have current licenses; current emblems and road worthiness papers at all times, he stated. You hardly find Peace Vehicles break down on the highway. The level of internal coordination and attention that ensures all these, impress me, he added. Peace has provided facilities and conditions for drivers to excel and drive safely, and I urge you (addressing the drivers) to make use of all these, the VIO said. The Chief VIO warned drivers against tampering with Speed Limiters, and installing additional special hazard lightings, noting that inventors and manufacturers of vehicles had configured them with the necessary mechanism so it can be driven in the day or at night. Sector Commander, Kalu expressed satisfaction with the maintenance infrastructure present at the PMT workshop, while urging the drivers to reciprocate the investment with good conscience and dedication to duty. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PMT, Dr. Sam Maduka Onyishi, assured that the company was being repositioned to deliver maximally on safety and passenger comfort while urging the drivers to drive to stay alive to bring joy to their families and benefit from the innovations meant to reward them. God has blessed me, and I want to be a blessing to others, he said, referring to the newly introduced Driver-to-Owner (DTO) policy, a scheme, which turned drivers into the owners of the vehicles in their possession over a period of time. The training programme is still ongoing. Air Intelligence Unit at Chennai International Airport on Wednesday seized 1.4kg gold worth Rs 63.74 lakhs and arrested one person in connection with the case. "The accused has been identified as Arockiyamary (45) who had arrived from Colombo and was intercepted at the exit," read an official statement of Commissioner of Customs Chennai International Airport. On extraction 340 grams of gold valued Rs.15 lakhs were recovered and seized. "Earlier on Tuesday night three passengers Shagul Hamid (63), Mohamed Abubacker (47), and Sundarapandian (48), had arrived from Colombo by and were intercepted at the exit. On persistent questioning they admitted to having concealed bundles containing gold paste," it added. Arockiyamary, the passenger was arrested and the investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Panaji, Feb 26 : The anti-CAA protests in the national capital were intended to "blackmail the government" by the Opposition around US President Donald Trump's visit to India, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Wednesday, adding that the situation was "normal" in Delhi. Speaking during a civil society interaction in Panaji, Patra said that efforts were on to create a chaotic atmosphere in the country, just like the controversy surrounding the attacks on churches ahead of former US President Barack Obama's visit in 2015. "They want to blackmail the government. They want the government should bend down. I am not saying anything provocative. The government has said repeatedly, that it (CAA) is an act to give rights, not take rights. All the controversial issues which no one wanted to touch with tongs earlier, we have in one year, taken such big decisions in controversial matters," Patra said. "You think the Opposition will sit silent? They will use everything in their power to destabilise this government, this country," he added. Patra drew comparisons between the anti-CAA stir and the spate of attacks on churches ahead of Obama's visit in 2015 and added that some media persons were actually waiting for Trump to censure Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the CAA. "When Obama came, such an atmosphere was created that a church was attacked by the BJP. Opposition had created this atmosphere. Obama had replied that tolerance should be respected. When Trump came, some people wanted to create the same atmosphere through the CAA protests. You should never show the country in a bad light," Patra said. "They (some media persons) felt Trump will speak against Modi. Look at the maturity (with which) Trump handled... Many faces fell and frowned and murjhagaye (drooped)," Patra said, paraphrasing Trump's comment that the CAA protests were India's internal matter. In a state where elections and litigation are intertwined, add this to Florida's ballot box saga: A pair of Floridians are asking a court to remove Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Democratic front-runner for president, from the state's March 17 primary ballot. Although Sanders is registered as a Democrat with the Federal Election Commission, a lawsuit filed in Leon County asserts he is a political interloper and not a bona fide Democrat. Sanders, who has spent three decades in the U.S. Capitol, first as a congressman and now as a senator representing Vermont, has steadfastly refused to formally identify as a Democrat, even if he caucuses with the party. As he has solidified himself as the party front-runner, the Democratic establishment and some of the party faithful, including the two octogenarians behind the Florida lawsuit filed this week, have expressed doubt about whether Sanders will be loyal to the party, even if he does not end up being its standard bearer. I'm one of them: Bernie Sanders is facing a lawsuit in Florida from two voters who say he is not a real Democrat and should be thrown off the primary ballot in the state 'Defendant Sanders is clearly an Independent, and is clearly not a Democrat, by his own definitions. 'His current 'day job' is as a United States Senator and he has consistently, proudly asserted his service in that role as Independent,' contends the suit filed on behalf of the two registered Democrats who want Sanders off the ballot. They say Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, should run as an Independent. 'We're aware of the spurious complaint and it will not affect us. Bernie will be on the ballot in Florida,'' said Sanders spokesperson Kolby Lee. Florida's ballot box has been the source of continuing legal strife, with cases currently being litigated over the right of felons to vote, early voting on college campuses and even the order in which names appear on ballots. With Sanders now the clear front-runner to become the Democratic nominee for the White House, his rivals are looking to slow his momentum. Fellow presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg took aim at Sanders' party bona fides. 'We have to wake up as a party,' Buttigieg said at last week's debate in Nevada. 'Lets put forward somebody who is actually a Democrat.' Sanders has said he is functionally a Democrat in Congress, even if he hasn't officially joined the party. 'I am a member of the Democratic leadership in the United States Senate,' he said at a CNN town early last year. Last spring, Sanders and other Democratic hopefuls at the time signed a pledge that they would 'run and serve as a member of the Democratic Party.' That hardly satisfies George Brown, an 80-year-old former member of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, who was one of those who is suing to get Sanders off the Florida ballot. 'In our political climate today, Democrats need to have a voice,' Brown said. 'He's eliminating my vote as a Democrat,' added the other plaintiff, Frank Bach, 82, a Korean War veteran who retired from the U.S. Air Force as an airman first class. 'I'm very upset with the president we have right now.' Last year, the state Democratic Party voted unanimously to place Sanders on the March 17 ballot. Because Florida has a closed primary, the lawsuit contends, Sanders has no place on the Democratic ballot. 'The lawsuit is ridiculous,' said Juan Penalosa, the executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, which was named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with Sanders, the national Democratic Party and Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee. 'Votes cast for the Senator are valid and must be counted,' he said. MIAMI, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Turnberry Ocean Club Residences, one of Miami's most sophisticated condominium projects rising in Sunny Isles Beach, is the contemporary masterpiece of Fontainebleau Development led by CEO, Jeffrey Soffer. The residence boasts six floors composed of 70,000 square-feet of luxury amenities with unrivaled, world-class service tailored to each resident's needs. Turnberry is recognized around the world for its unmatched level of service. Each Turnberry staff member is hand-selected and rigorously trained to personalize service to each homeowner. The team is updated daily on each resident and their preferences down to their food restrictions and room temperature liking. "Our staff knows each resident by name; no detail or request is too small," said Senior Vice President of Fontainebleau Development, Michael Gilbert, whose been instrumental in shaping the Turnberry service for more than 20 years. "Our mission is to ensure residents have the best of everything and where every experience heightens their sense of well-being," said Mr. Gilbert. Ocean Level: With the use of concealed intercoms, a team of entrance and valet staff receive resident ETA notifications, so that they are greeted upon arrival with customized "welcome home" amenities. Daily vehicle maintenance with warm-up, cool-off, detailing and washing services is also offered. The expansive three-story lobby doubles as a lounge with a casual cafe, all with access to concierge that's available 24/7 for any requests. The ocean level has the first and largest of the tower's three pristine swimming pools, where towels are handed to residents as they exit the pool. Fresh serviettes and cool-off delights are provided every two hours at every pool. In the nearby residents-only restaurant, homeowners can delight in gourmet options and customized recipes that are prepared to their individual tastes. Second and Third Floors: Fully furnished guest suites can be reserved on the second floor for extended friends and family of Turnberry residents. The suites operate like five-star, resort-style rooms with access to all amenities, as well as turndown, room and cleaning services. Most special to the third floor is the piano dining room with full-service dinner options and a horseshoe-shaped bar serving craft libations. While a kid's club and teen lounge is staffed with social coordinators that develop rotating programs and activities. SKY CLUB: Floors 30 to 32 collectively form Turnberry Ocean Club's crown jewel amenity: The Sky Club, three stories dedicated to a private club setting without ever having to leave home. The sun and swim level features gravity-defying sunrise and sunset cantilevered swimming pools, two hydrotherapy spas, a lounge bar and day beds serviced with daily newspapers, fresh seasonal fruits, and refreshments. Turnberry Ocean Club's wellness level features a concierge team that manages beauty treatments, massages, personal fitness sessions and programming for the salon, spa and indoor/outdoor state-of-the-art fitness center, respectively. The third floor of the Sky Club boasts a private dining suite and spacious terrace flanked by a catering kitchen capable of entertaining up to 150 guests. In-residence catering services are also available. Dinner parties are personalized with custom embroidered napkins, special tableware and menus, acting as an extension of the home. OFF SITE AMENITIES: Residents receive an exclusive social membership at the nearby Turnberry Isle Country Club, as well as private access to Tidal Cove Waterpark, Turnberry Marina and priority access/VIP services at Fontainebleau Aviation. "What's so special here is that the lifestyle goes beyond the four walls of the tower, living at Turnberry Ocean Club means being a part of the Turnberry legacy with exclusive off-site access to South Florida's most elite country club and facilities," said Jeffrey Soffer, CEO of Fontainebleau Development. Media Contact: Kaley Surman [email protected] SOURCE Turnberry Ocean Club People inspect the remains of a burnt-out school following clashes in New Delhi A US government commission on Wednesday faulted India's response to deadly communal riots in New Delhi and urged the government to take swift action to protect the Muslim minority. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises the US government but does not set policy, voiced "grave concern" about the violence which broke out as President Donald Trump was visiting. "One of the essential duties of any responsible government is to provide protection and physical security for its citizens, regardless of faith," said chairman Tony Perkins, a conservative Christian close to the Trump administration. "We urge the Indian government to take serious efforts to protect Muslims and others targeted by mob violence," he said in a statement. Anurima Bhargava, a commissioner appointed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voiced alarm at reports that Delhi police "have not intervened in violent attacks against Muslims." "The brutal and unchecked violence growing across Delhi cannot continue," she said. "The Indian government must take swift action to ensure the safety of all of its citizens," she added. The criticism stands in contrast to the reticence of the Trump administration. Trump, asked at a news conference in New Delhi about the violence, said the issue was "up to India" and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "incredible" statements on religious freedom. The two leaders of the US Senate's pro-India caucus, Republican John Cornyn and Democrat Mark Warner, in a joint statement voiced support for the close US ties represented by Trump's visit but added: "At the same time, we are alarmed by the recent violence in New Delhi." Representative Pramila Jayapal, an Indian-born left-leaning Democrat who has been outspoken in her criticism of Modi, called the developments "horrifying." Muslim people who visited New Delhi for a wedding walk past security personnel patrolling near burnt-out and damaged homes following clashes "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination, or promote laws that undermine religious freedom. The world is watching," she wrote on Twitter. The clashes in Delhi, which have left at least 27 people dead, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. Modi has called for calm, although witnesses said police did little to stop Hindu mobs. His government has previously vowed to weed out "infiltrators" from India, with Home Minister Amit Shah likening undocumented immigrants to "termites." The government says the citizenship law does not target minorities but instead ensures protection for non-Muslims persecuted in neighboring countries. The Indian foreign ministry previously reprimanded the US Commission for International Religious Freedom for denouncing the citizenship law. The commission also plans a public hearing next week on how citizenship laws, including in India and Myanmar, are used to target religious minorities. The ruling BJP in Himachal Pradesh is likely to wrest the Rajya Sabha seat from the opposition Congress, the voting for which will be held on March 26. One of the three Rajya Sabha seats from Himachal Pradesh will fall vacant as Vipolve Thakur of the Congress will retire from the Upper House of Parliament on April 9. The other two Rajya Sabha seats from the hill state are being currently represented by BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma. Nadda will retire from the Rajya Sabha in 2024, whereas Sharma's term will end in 2022. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to conduct the election for this seat along with 54 Rajya Sabha seats of 17 states on March 26. Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly as members of the Upper House of Parliament representing the state are elected by MLAs of that state. The BJP is likely to bag the Rajya Sabha seat as it has a total of 44 MLAs in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Two independent MLAs are supporting the BJP. The opposition Congress has only 21 members, whereas the CPI(M) has one MLA. The BJP is likely to nominate its former state president Satpal Satti, party sources said. When contacted, Satti told PTI, "Whatever responsibility the party will assign me, I will carry out that with full dedication." During Satti's tenure as the state president for about eight years till January 16 this year, the BJP won all the four seats in 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections and secured 44 seats in the 68-member House in the 2017 assembly elections. In reply to a question, he said, "The credit for excellent performance by the party during my tenure as state president goes to the entire leadership and workers." However, some other BJP leaders are also eyeing the party ticket for the Upper House of Parliament. State BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma had told PTI on Tuesday that the process of finalising the name of the BJP candidate was on. Himachal Congress president Kuldeep Rathore said the name of the candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat will be finalised soon. As per the election schedule issued by the ECI on Tuesday, the nomination for the Rajya Sabha would be filed till March 13 after notification on March 6. The scrutiny will be held on March 16, whereas last date for withdrawal will be March 18. Voting will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on March 26. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Airstrikes Kill 4 Islamic State Terrorists in Afghanistan By Ayaz Gul February 25, 2020 U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say airstrikes have killed at least four Islamic State terrorists in eastern Afghanistan as a weeklong reduced fighting truce between U.S.-backed Afghan security forces and the Taliban insurgency entered its fourth day without any significant breaches. The two counterterrorism airstrikes Tuesday focused on areas in the Afghan province of Kunar, which houses Islamic State bases and borders Pakistan, the U.S. military spokesman tweeted. "We continue to eliminate ISIS terrorists wherever they hide to protect Afghanistan while honoring U.S.-Afghan-Taliban agreement to reduce the violence," stressed Col. Sonny Leggett in reference to the Middle Eastern terrorist group. The 7-day nationwide "reduction in violence" is to culminate on Saturday with the signing of a U.S.-Taliban agreement to end to the 18-year-old Afghan war, America's longest." If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put my name on it, yes. Time to come home," Trump said Sunday before his departure to India when asked whether he intended to sign the agreement with the Taliban. The signing ceremony will be held on Saturday in the gulf state of Qatar, which played host to contentious off-and-on U.S.-Taliban negotiations spread over18 months. The draft agreement the dialogue has produced provides a timetable for the withdrawal of American and coalition forces from Afghanistan, Taliban counterterrorism guarantees, and a dialogue process for political reconciliation between Afghan parties to the conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan has long been the subject of myriad accusations, but the charges seem especially widespread this year. Several countries have been accusing Dahlan, a Palestinian who lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of interfering in their internal affairs. At a Feb. 17 press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, deputy secretary-general of the Sudanese People's Congress Party Bashir Adam Rahma accused Dahlan of coordinating with Israel to achieve the secession of Darfur and seize the Red Sea, supposedly in support of UAE interests. After Sudan's then-President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the Sudanese military in April 2019, Dahlan had visited Sudan, supposedly contacting Sudanese forces to persuade them to bring about a rapprochement with the UAE and promising them financial support. Also, Turkey's Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu announced Feb. 16 to Al-Jazeera that Ankara has added Dahlan to its list of most-wanted terrorists. He reminded the audience of a spy cell Dahlan allegedly had established that was dismantled in April 2019 and said Turkey has many such examples that condemn Fatahs former leader. He did not rule out allegations from 2018 that Dahlan was connected to the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October of that year. In another recent move against Dahlan, the London-based law firm Stoke & White called in a Feb. 15 press conference to grant the United States, Britain and Turkey jurisdiction to arrest him and UAE officials for alleged war crimes in Yemen. And in Tunisia, Noureddine Bhiri, head of the Ennahda bloc in that country's parliament, charged in a Jan. 28 interview with the Anadolu Agency in Turkey that Dahlan and others have supported remnants of the former regime in a bid to thwart the country's fledgling democracy. This all followed Israeli journalist and security expert Yossi Melman's Jan. 7 blog in Haaretz outlining how Dahlan facilitated the work of Israeli companies in the field of security and information in the UAE. Imad Mohsen, spokesman for the Fatah Reformist current led by Dahlan, dismissed the charges. The accusations leveled against Dahlan are part of Turkish and Qatari political propaganda," he told Al-Monitor. "Dahlan is calling for putting an end to Turkish colonial aggression against Syria and Libya, and he supports Libya's army in its quest to restore their territorial integrity. This is even though [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan sent terrorists to Libya. Dahlan encourages Sudans democratization and praises Tunisias peaceful transfer of power," Mohsin added. He added, "The accusations he is facing are part of an organized campaign aimed at thwarting his efforts to confront those who want to weaken the [overall] Arab nation and control its capabilities, especially after Erdogan failed to fulfill his dream to control Egypt by reviving the Ottoman Empire. Dahlan has been residing in the UAE since 2011 and works as an adviser to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He was dismissed from Fatah in June 2011 on corruption charges and accused of being behind the assassinations of Palestinian leaders and of preparing for a coup against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Dahlan denies the charges and accuses Abbas of manipulating PLO and Palestinian Authority (PA) funds. Abdullah Abdullah, a member of Fatahs Revolutionary Council and chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Councils Political Affairs Committee, told Al-Monitor no one should be surprised by the allegations against Dahlan. The Arab and regional accusations leveled against Dahlan are a natural result of his interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region, his desire to remain outside the framework of Fatah, and his allegiance to non-Palestinian parties that have their own agendas, interests and plans that go against the Palestinian interest. The accusations Dahlan is facing [damage] his remaining chances in the Palestinian [political] arena, and there is no longer any room for reconciliation with President Mahmoud Abbas. His chances are doomed within Fatah. However, the results of a Feb. 11 opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Political and Survey Research in Ramallah challenge that assertion. The poll showed that if Abbas doesn't run in the next presidential election, Dahlan would rank third, as he got 6% of the votes in Palestinian territories, after Marwan Barghouti, the Fatah leader detained in an Israeli prison, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. While only 1% of poll participants supported Dahlan in the West Bank, 12% of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip supported him. Bilal al-Shobaki, a political science professor at the University of Hebron, told Al-Monitor, The Arab and regional accusations leveled against Dahlan will not deal a blow to his chances in the Palestinian arena, as he is backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Also, he has great financial capabilities and wide popularity. Whats more, Dahlan has his eyes set on a leadership position in the PLO, not in the [Abbas-led] PA. And his foreign relations are no different from other Palestinian leaders, who also have regional roles that can raise questions. And despite these accusations, Palestinians are ready to welcome Dahlan as a leader. Of note, Turkey accuses Dahlan of communicating with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish dissident cleric residing in the United States, to finance the failed coup against Erdogan in 2016 and of working against Turkish interests in Libya and Syria. This prompted Ankara to issue an international arrest warrant via Interpol in November 2019 and offer a bounty of $700,000 in return for information leading to his arrest. The next month, Turkey increased the bounty to $1.7 million. In a Dec. 22 interview with Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan, Dahlan accused Erdogan of plotting to assassinate him, so the issuance of the Turkish arrest warrant against Dahlan in November was remarkable, as it came a few weeks ahead of Haniyehs visit to Turkey and his meeting with Erdogan. The visit seemed to be a clear message that Turkey welcomes Hamas and its leader, while it is legally pursuing Dahlan and seeking his arrest. This could hinder the rapprochement between Dahlan and Hamas in Gaza that began to emerge in mid-2017. This Dahlan-Hamas reconciliation has stirred Turkeys anger since day one. Said el-Haj, a Palestinian researcher in Turkish affairs, told Al-Monitor, Turkeys accusations against Dahlan go back to 2013, as Ankara does not consider him a Palestinian Fatah leader but an adviser to the UAE rulers and a tool used to carry out regional agendas against it. Turkey's openness to Abbas has increased in recent years, if only to confront the US Mideast peace plan and the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Erdogan supports Abbas as a representative of the Palestinians, as Erdogan seeks to reject UAE attempts to impose an illegal leadership exemplified by Dahlan. Also, Turkeys relations were lukewarm with Hamas in the wake of the movements rapprochement with Dahlan in Gaza, but Ankara subsequently realized that there was no alliance between the two but rather temporary interests. The recent regional accusations against Dahlan are the result of the UAE leading counterrevolutions aimed at undoing the Arab Spring and restoring Arab dictatorships. They are also the result of the UAEs organized political and media campaign to undermine Turkey's regional stature. Dahlan is playing a huge role in this campaign. Dahlan's Arab and regional influence is sometimes even bigger than his local Palestinian role. Most Palestinian leaders avoid playing such a big regional role for fear of any negative impact this might have on the Palestinian cause. The Amnesty India urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unequivocally condemn the recent hate speeches made by leaders and demanded that they must be held accountable. New Delhi: The Amnesty India on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unequivocally condemn the recent hate speeches made by leaders and demanded that they must be held accountable, as 20 people were killed in violence in northeast Delhi over the citizenship law. Follow LIVE updates on Delhi Violence over CAA protests here Amnesty International India executive director Avinash Kumar demanded a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into such speeches that allegedly led to ongoing and past violence, adding that the "prolonged impunity" must end. The comments by the human rights organisation come as tension smouldered in northeast Delhi on Tuesday, with mobs roaming unchecked through the streets, pelting stones, vandalising shops and threatening locals. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra had led a gathering in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Jafarabad on Sunday, following which violence erupted between protesters and supporters of the contentious law. "Political leaders in India who are fuelling hatred and creating a violent environment by making hate speeches must be immediately held accountable," the Amnesty said in a statement. "There has been a deafening silence from the Prime Minister on the hate speeches made by the political leaders since December 2019. The Prime Minister must lead the way and unequivocally condemn them," it said. The Amnesty also pointed out to controversial speeches made by BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur. "It is shocking that since December 2019, not even a single elected representative has been prosecuted for advocating hatred and violence," it said. "It is the ongoing impunity that the political leaders enjoy which encourages them and other non-state actors to stoke more violence." Streets in parts of northeast Delhi were littered with stones, bricks and burnt tyres, mute testimony to the spiralling violence and bloodshed that took on a communal taint on Monday and injured about 150 people, including 48 police personnel. Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD) has celebrated the Open Day 2020 immense success, welcoming a record number of prospective students, parents, teachers, and counsellors. The event posed as the ideal opportunity for visitors to explore the undergraduate, postgraduate, and the Executive Education programmes that the university offers in the fields of Humanities, Sciences, Languages, Social Sciences, Law, Economics and Management. A dedicated team of experts helped attendees to feel comfortable and get all their questions answered thoroughly. Professor Silvia Serrano, Executive Director of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi stated: We were delighted to host the distinguished group of parents and students who familiarised themselves with our vast array of courses and programmes. The rapidly changing academic landscape in its entirety is a powerful attraction for all potential students of all nationalities. She added: At Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, we excel at keeping pace with the vision of the UAE leadership by investing in education. We strive to create unique and innovative programmes that provide students with the opportunity to acquire holistic skill sets and will help them transform into assets that benefit the economy, its sustainability and can aid in its growth and prosperity. -- Tradearabia News Service Sanders is working hard to convince voters that he can lead a party hes spent decades criticising from the outside. The narrowing Democratic primary field in the US presidential election features two candidates who have not always served in public office with a D next to their names. One of them, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, is now the frontrunner and he is working hard to convince voters that he can lead a party hes spent decades criticising from the outside. During Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina, Sanders faced a barrage of attacks from every other candidate on stage, but maintained that he can defeat President Donald Trump by forming a broad coalition of voters, including those historically left out of the political process. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg chimed in for the moderates on the stage in Charleston when he took aim at Sanders brand of populist, progressive politics. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, Buttigieg declared. Medicare for All Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who has long been farther left than the party hes running to lead, has surged in the polls since his victories in the early voting states of New Hampshire and Nevada. National polling averages by FiveThirtyEight show Sanders with a healthy 12-point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden, an establishment Democrat who has been among the most vocal in his criticisms of Sanders proposals. Those proposals include nationalising the US health insurance system via a Medicare for All plan, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, cancelling student loan debt and making college tuition-free at public universities. Sanders opponents have criticised most of his platform as politically and financially unfeasible. Sanders, 78, met most of the criticism with his signature defiance on Tuesday night. There is a misconception that the ideas Im talking about are radical, he said. Theyre not. In one form or another, they exist in countries all over the world. Panic among Democrats Sanders frontrunner status has set off alarm bells among traditional party stalwarts. Panic is the word used by former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, who previously served as the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Im personally friendly with Senator Sanders, he said in an interview on CNN. [But] Im not a fan of the politics. I think it will lead to an electoral defeat when most of the country is looking for an alternative to Donald Trump. Emmanuel and others say a Sanders spot at the top of the ticket could be devastating for so-called down-ballot Democrats running for congressional seats this November in districts where Sanders socialist credentials are met with scepticism, especially in key states such as Florida and Texas. Bernie has no coattails, Democratic Texas congressman Marc Veasey, who has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, told the Texas Tribune. Its going to be Bernie and his cause taking the party down with him. To allay such fears and win in November, Sanders will need to court more moderate members of the party, says Simon Rosenberg, a veteran of two presidential campaigns and the president of the New Democratic Network and the New Policy Institute. Bernie has always been kind of a lone wolf and an outsider and an insurgent, Rosenberg told Al Jazeera. The challenge for him now is: How does he go from a socialist insurgent to the leader of the Democratic Party? Because for us to win, we need all of the Democrats to support him. Attendees listen as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign event at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada. [Patrick Semansky/AP Photo] But Yvette Simpson, the CEO of Democracy for America and a former member of Cincinnatis City Council, said Sanders has made progress winning over Latino voters since 2016, which helped drive him to victory in Nevada last weekend. If he can achieve similar growth with black voters in South Carolina and beyond, he might not need so much establishment support. While the freak-out were seeing from establishment Democratic circles about Sanders emergence as the frontrunner over the last few weeks might seem like a challenge, its also a strength, because it reinforces an outsider status that was a critical asset to both President Obamas victory in 2008 and Donald Trumps con job in 2016, Simpson told Al Jazeera. That Sanders is running a campaign focused on not just defeating Trump but reforming his own party is nothing new, said John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation and the host of the Next Left podcast. The Democratic Party has been grappling with how progressive its candidate can be while still being able to win a general election since the Roosevelt era. There has always been this push and pull about whether you try to sort of maximize the coalition with a lot of disenfranchised people, a lot of new voters, or whether you try to play within the traditional boundaries of politics, Nichols said. Back-biting If Sanders becomes the nominee, he will also face the challenge that any opponent of Trump would, Nichols said. Donald Trump has mastered the art of getting his opponent in a corner, of defining them before they define themselves, of creating a narrative that ultimately benefits Trump and disadvantages the opponent, Nichols said. This is why Trump gets so excited about having an individual opponent. But Simpson said that if Trump is going to brand any opponent a socialist anyway, shying away from progressive policies that are popular with voters will not help the Democrats win. Any Democrat running against Donald Trump is going to be called a socialist, so the idea that wed somehow avoid that brand by nominating someone other than Bernie Sanders is ridiculous, Simpson said. The biggest challenge for Bernie Sanders wont be Republicans or Donald Trump, itll be tamping down the back-biting from corporate Democrats who could stand in the way of building Democratic unity. The clean-up effort of bushfire-ravaged Kangaroo Island has been called 'disgraceful' by residents as they resort to burying debris in their back yards. The South Australian and federal government is paying for clean-up costs on the island as part of a $14million operation to safely remove potentially hazardous rubble and asbestos from homes on the island. Two people were killed, 89 homes destroyed and half of Kangaroo Island scorched by flames when an out-of-control blaze ripped through the region for more than three weeks in December and January. Australian Defence soldiers in masks clear the remains of a shearing shed on February 13. The clear-up operation has been called 'disgraceful' by one resident because of the time it is taking to complete But more than a month later, residents are complaining about the slow pace of the cleanup - which has cleared just five of 170 affected properties on the island. The co-owner of Islander Estate Yale Norris saw several of the buildings on the vineyard - including his home - burn to the ground. Green Industries South Australia has said it is working 'flat-out' to clear properties, but Mr Norris asbestos-filled wreckage of the house has yet to be touched. 'The government dug their heels for a long time - it took nearly five weeks for them to decide to help,' he told ABC News. 'A fair few people are digging pits in the back of their property and just pushing things into a hole because they're fed up with waiting. 'This should have happened straight away and it's disgraceful that it hasn't.' The operation has cleared just five of 170 affected properties on the island more than a month after the blaze was contained on Kangaroo Island (pictured is the wreckage of the Western Districts Sporting Club on the island's western end) Another Kangaroo Island resident to have lost buildings said the wait for the clear-up is frustrating because they cannot replace the burnt sheds until they have the space to do so. Green Industries SA, which said it aims to clear 28 properties in the next fortnight, has predicted the process may take three months to complete. 'People will unfortunately have to be a little bit patient as this isn't the only fire ground we're cleaning up,' the agency's chief executive Vaughan Levitzke said. The government agency is prioritising asbestos-ridden properties and those with ash from burnt copper chrome arsenic (CCA)-treated timber. An Australian Army sapper cuts debris with a chainsaw in the Kelly Hill Caves Conservation Park so it can be re-opened for tourism Official advice warns swallowing even a few grams of the ash can be hazardous and lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Australian Defence personnel have joined the clean-up effort, wearing face masks as they remove the potentially harmful waste. Soldiers have also removed debris from the Kelly Hill Caves Conservation Park so it can re-open for tourists. Half of Kangaroo Island was scorched in the bushfires which swept through the popular tourist destination for more than three weeks It comes as the tourist industry struggles to recover in the wake of the blaze which swept through the region. Qantas will more than double the number of flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island after a decision by Regional Express to withdraw from the route. The airline will now run 12 return flights each week, an increase on the existing five. The island is also reached by a monopoly ferry service. Egyptian President Sisi was flanked by top government officials as well as Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, at the funeral ceremony Egypt on Wednesday held a military funeral service for former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended the ceremony. He was flanked by Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal, top government officials and military leaders and as they led the funeral procession at a mosque complex in the eastern New Cairo suburb. Mubarak's flag-draped coffin was borne through the site on a horse-drawn carriage as honour guards fired off a 21-gun salute. Soldiers marched behind carrying Mubarak's military medals. The body of the former president was carried via a helicopter earlier in the day to the Mosheer Tantawy Mosque where the military funeral was held. Mubarak died at a Cairo military hospital on Tuesday at the age of 91, weeks after undergoing a surgery. Dozens of Mubarak's supporters, wearing black and carrying posters of the former leader, gathered outside the mosque in the early morning before funeral service started. Mubarak's body will be airlifted from the mosque later in the day to be interred at burial grounds in Cairo's Heliopolis district. Earlier, Egyptian honour guards carried Mubarak's coffin wrapped in the Egyptian flag on their shoulders into the mosque along with his sons. Top military officials and Gulf Arab leaders also attended the funeral service of the former air force commander. The Egyptian presidency mourned Mubarak's death with "great sorrow" and praised him as a "hero" of the 1973 war, and the military hailed him as "one of its sons" and offered condolences to his family. The country will observe three days of nationwide public mourning, starting Wednesday, to mark the death of the former president. Mubarak was ousted following massive protests during the popular uprising that started in January 2011. Mubarak was arrested two months following his overthrow and stood trial in a number of criminal cases on various charges. He spent most of his detention years in a military hospital in Cairo until his acquittal in 2017 after he was cleared of all charges. Mubarak and his sons were found guilty in only one of several cases against them in 2015, in which they were sentenced to three years for using public funds to renovate family residences. He was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to kill protesters during the 18-day popular uprising, but was freed after being cleared of the charges. Search Keywords: Short link: AFL and NRL matches could be cancelled to stop the spread of coronavirus, officials said today. Health Minister Greg Hunt was asked at a press conference this afternoon if cancelling events that attract large crowds is being considered. He replied: 'The possibility is always there, but that is a last resort.' Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Wednesday The NRL season starts on 12 March when the Eels take on the Bulldogs at the Bankwest Stadium. The AFL season starts on 19 March with up to 100,000 piling into the MCG for Richmond's clash with Carlton. Chief Medical Officer of Australia Professor Brendan Murphy also revealed that coronavirus may last 'several months' and could return every year like flu. 'The models can give you predictions that can go from a few months to several months,' he said. 'There's always a possibility with a new virus that it could persist and come back on a seasonal basis. We don't know these things.' Health Minister Greg Hunt sought to reassure Australians they are safe from the virus. 'In a global situation we are not immune. But we are as well-prepared as any country. 'And, in the end, we will get through this,' he said. It comes amid fears the Tokyo Olympics may be called off of the virus spreads. Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978, making him its longest-serving member, estimated there is a two-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May. He said: 'In and around that time, I'd say folks are going to have to ask: "Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?".' As the games draw near, he said, 'a lot of things have to start happening. Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978 said coronavirus fears could scupper the Olympics in Tokyo 'You've got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.' If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, 'you're probably looking at a cancellation,' he said. The viral outbreak that began in China two months ago has infected more than 80,000 people globally and killed over 2,700, the vast majority of them in China. There have been 22 cases in Australia, with no deaths from the flu-like illness. The virus has gained a foothold in South Korea, the Middle East and Europe, raising fears of a pandemic. Japan has reported four deaths. Pound encouraged athletes to keep training. About 11,000 are expected for the Olympics, which open July 24, and 4,400 are bound for the Paralympics, which open August 25. 'As far as we all know, you're going to be in Tokyo,' Pound said. 'All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.' The modern Olympics, which date to 1896, have been canceled only during wartime. The Olympics in 1940 were supposed to be in Tokyo but were called off because of Japan's war with China and World War II. The Rio Games in Brazil went on as scheduled in 2016 despite the outbreak of the Zika virus. Pound repeated the IOC's stance - that it is relying on consultations with the World Health Organization, a United Nations body, to make any move. As for the possibility of postponement, he said: 'You just don't postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. 'There's so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can't just say, "We'll do it in October.'' NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INVNT, the global live brand storytelling agency today announces the acquisition of Folk Hero, a brand strategy firm that works with leading global companies, from fashion and lifestyle groups such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), to Calzedonia Group, and direct-to-consumer clients like Purple Mattress, as well as organizations in the banking and financial services sector. Folk Hero specializes in bringing story strategies to the executive level, creating master brand narratives that act as brands operating and organizing principles. The firm helps its clients develop unusually compelling brand narratives, architecture, identity and tone-of-voice, all underpinned by a robust research methodology and deep understanding of contemporary consumer behaviors. The move sees INVNT provide these brand strategy services to both new and existing clients, as complementary to or independent from the agencys existing live brand storytelling offering, and that of its fast-growing branded content studio, HEVE. Folk Hero was established by award-winning brand strategist Rob Klingensmith, who has spent more than 20 years crafting brand stories for fashion, lifestyle and tech brands. He has held roles at Omnicom-owned advertising agencies Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and TBWA in San Francisco, as well as Marcel Worldwide in Paris, where he led a global brand strategy team. As CEO, Klingensmith will lead and grow Folk Heros offering as a part of the INVNT and HEVE family. Klingensmith said: "A folk hero is a story so good it has to be toldits a memorable, elemental narrative that far from fleeting, lingers in a persons memory long after their first encounter, and demands to be shared. Developing these stories is what drives me, and I am thrilled to be joining an agency that shares this passion for brand storytelling in all forms." Klingensmith will work out of INVNTs New York headquarters, reporting to Chief Creative Officer, Paul Blurton, who explained: "Folk Hero is the ideal complement to the live and digital brand storytelling capabilities provided by INVNT and HEVE. "Working as we do across numerous industries and clients, its always so refreshing to meet companies that have devoted time and effort to creating their own master brand narrative. It becomes the wellspring for every other creative expression of that brand. This is what Folk Hero does so effectively, and its why this acquisition makes so much sense." Kristina McCoobery, COO at INVNT added: "INVNTs acquisition of Folk Hero ladders up to our overarching vision to be the best brand storytellers in the world. We recognize that to achieve our vision, we must evolve our offering to meet our clients at whatever stage of the storytelling cycle they need us. At a time when many of the old rules of marketing are changing, we believe that the brands with the best stories, told well, will win. And when our clients win, we win." ### To access supporting imagery visit: http://bit.ly/2PqgDoW About INVNT Founded in 2008 by Scott Cullather and Kristina McCoobery, INVNT is the global live brand storytelling agency. The company's challenge everything positioning statement helps clients including General Motors, Grant Thornton, Merck, PepsiCo, Samsung and Subway share their stories live with every audience that matters. The tribe is INVNT's diverse, talented and creative team behind the stories and brand experiences that people just can't stop talking about. INVNT's offices are strategically located in New York, where INVNTs story studio, HEVE is also based, London, Sydney, Detroit, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Stockholm and Singapore. For more information visit www.invnt.com About Folk Hero Folk Hero is a modern brand studio founded on the premise that in a hyper competitive marketplace, the best narrative wins. Located at the intersection of art, fashion and culture, the award-winning agency specializes in all aspects of brand strategy, including narrative development, architecture, identity and tone-of-voice. Head to www.folkhero.com Attachment Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has banned street begging by children popularly known as almajiri in the state. Ganduje disclosed this on Tuesday during the launch of Basic Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) and distribution of offer of Appointment to 7,500 volunteer teachers at Sani Abacha Stadium. The governor ordered the arrest of street beggers who refused to go to school, noting that the almajiri system would be fully integrated under the new policy of education in the state. He stated that while almajiris will continue acquiring their study of the Holy Quran, they would at the same time learn English and Arithmetic. Those children who are begging will be arrested and their parents will be taken to court for allowing their children to be begging instead of attending school. The Kano State government has a policy of compulsory free basic and secondary education for residents, including the integration of the Islamiyya schools into the secular education system. This policy of free and compulsory basic and secondary education goes along with it integration of our Almajiri system into the mainstream policy implementation. Which suggests that, English and Arithmetic must be included in the Almajiri schools curricullum. This would go a long way in giving the kids other type of education and continue acquiring their study of the Holy Quran, they would at the same time learn English and Mathematics. That will give them an opportunity to continue with their studies to secondary schools and beyond, he explained. He said that the 7,500 newly recruited volunteer teachers under the BESDA programme would be posted to Islamiyyah and Almajiri schools, so that schools would be fully integrated under new policy of education. Ganduje warned that henceforth any Almajiri teacher with such pupils under Almajiri school arrangement must accept the new approach put in place by the state government. He also added that the government education policy had increase school enrolment from 2.5 million to 3.8 million. ALSO READ: Majority Of Almajiri Roaming The Streets Of Kano Are Foreigners Governor Ganduje US President Donald Trump has invited all the leaders of the South-East Asian nations for a summit in Las Vegas next month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly said on February 26. The summit which is scheduled to take place on March 12 will also involve Trump, international media reported citing US diplomats. Read: Pompeo Blasts China, Iran For Response To Virus Outbreak Pompeo while speaking at a media conference revealed the date of the meeting after he was asked if the summit with ASEAN leaders would be denied over coronavirus fears. ASEAN which stands for Association of South-East Asian Nations consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Pompeo reportedly said that the ASEAN summit is still being worked upon before saying that it will be held in the second weekend of March in Las Vegas. Read: Mike Pompeo Announces Weeklong 'Reduction In Violence' Before Deal With Taliban Read: Pompeo Meets Saudi King In Talks Focused On Iranian Threats Trump skipped the ASEAN summit in 2019 The US began sounding out South-East Asian leaders after Chile cancelled the Pacific Rim Summit in November due to major demonstrations in the country. The US President had skipped the 2019 ASEAN Summit and parallel East Asia Summit in Bangkok. He had instead sent his National Security Advisor, Robert OBrien in the meetings. Follwing which, most ASEAN leaders sent junior officials in the meeting, snubbing the summit themselves. 2019 ASEAN summit saw the lowest level of US participation till date. Read: Mike Pompeo Says US Preparing To Sign Deal With Taliban On February 29 Pompeo on February 25 said "We should seize the moment," when it comes to setting the groundwork for Afghanistan peace talks, international media reported. Back in Washington after visiting Africa, Pompeo told reporters that the truce in fighting was holding. He added that it was the first weeklong break and violence by all sides. A temporary truce between the United States and the Taliban took effect on February 21, setting the stage for the two sides to sign a peace deal next week aimed at ending 18 years of war in Afghanistan and bringing US troops back home. The new educational policy proposed by the Centre will transform the sector and help the country become the 'Vishwa Guru' of the world, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said on Tuesday. The proposed educational policy is based on the country's ethos and value system and is designed to strengthen the nation, mould new citizens and make their lives more meaningful, he said inaugurating the new central research facility (CRF) at the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) at Suratkal here. The minister said so far, India has not been able to impart value education despite the fact that the country has over 1,000 universities, 45,000-degree colleges, 16 lakh schools, one crore teachers and 33 crore students. The proposed educational policy is expected to bring in a positive change in the lives of the new generation and its fruitful implementation will help India acquire the title of 'Vishwa Guru,' he said. The minister said Rs 40 crore will be sanctioned from the CRF fund for infrastructure development at NIT-K and assured to look into all other demands put forth by the institution. NIT-K director Umamaheshwar Rao requested the minister to direct authorities concerned to shift the toll plaza functioning near the institution to some other place as it is causing inconvenience to students. He also sought an assurance from the minister on the proposal to set up a Kendriya Vidyalaya on the NIT-K campus. The newly inaugurated CRF at NIT-K has high-end research equipment costing around Rs 80 crore, imported from foreign countries including USA, Germany and Japan. The facility will help research students of NIT-K as well as those from other institutions to get best results out of their work, CRF president Uday Bhat said. Pokhriyal also laid the foundation for the new hostel blocks to be constructed for boys and girls at NIT-K. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:45:58|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LONDON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The new stage musical "The Prince of Egypt" premiered at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End Tuesday night, with its producer sending well-wishes to China. Chris Herzberger, one of the producers of the musical, said the show contains 10 original songs and includes world-renowned composer Stephen Schwartz's award-winning hit "When You Believe." Herzberger told Xinhua that the widely-loved song is about faith and hope, wishing to use this song to express his support for China in the current difficult time to fight against the COVID-19. "It is about faith, about hope, and about knowing that if you cling to one another in your family, (and) to those who you love, you will persevere. Be strong, China," he said. "Please know that our hearts and our thoughts are with you." The new show, based on the DreamWorks animated motion picture of the same name, tells the story of Exodus, in which Moses leads thousands of the Hebrew people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea to freedom. It took a team of over 275 people to develop, design and stage this new musical. Featuring a huge company of almost 60 performers, the production is one of the biggest musicals ever staged in London. Another of the show's producers, Michael McCabe, told Xinhua in an interview last year that the new musical has international aspirations, adding he hoped to take it to China someday. "We would very much like to take the new show to China. It is on our wish list," said McCabe, a four-time Olivier Award-winning theatre producer. "The Prince of Egypt" will run for 32 weeks, closing in October this year. A father has today been jailed for 12 years for the manslaughter of his baby daughter who suffered horrific injuries including bite marks while in his care. Daniel Ashurst, 33, inflicted injuries, such as a bleed on the brain, a broken ankle and potential bite marks that killed his 14-month-old daughter Hollie, prosecutors said. He was found not guilty of murder by a jury at Manchester Crown Court, but was convicted of manslaughter last week after a three-week trial. Daniel Ashurst, 33, from Wigan, Greater Manchester was told that he will serve 50 per cent of his 12-year jail term for the manslaughter of his daughter Hollie Tiny Hollie was fatally injured while he cared for her on February 28, 2019. Ashurst claimed she was hurt in a series of incidents that day at the family's home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, and in his car as he rushed her to hospital. But the prosecution said he had actually inflicted the injuries that killed his daughter. Ashurst carried injured Hollie into a medical centre and staff tried to revive her before she was rushed to hospital. Medics attempted to save her, but she died at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital the following day. A post-mortem examination found she had several injuries, including bleeding to her brain and eyes, bruising, a broken ankle and possible bite marks on her hand and leg. Shouts of 'monster' and 'baby killer' came from the public gallery as Ashurst was led out of the dock at Manchester Crown Court today. A victim impact statement from Hollie's mother Leanne Thompson was read to the court before Ashurst was sentenced, just days before the first anniversary of his daughter's death. She said: 'Hollie was my best ever Christmas present and a very precious little girl. From birth Hollie brightened up my day with her laughter and cheekiness. She was so happy. 'There isn't a single day goes by that I don't think of Hollie, how she would be growing up and the things we would be doing together. Leanne Thompson, Hollie's mother said her life would never be the same again. She said: 'Hollie was my best ever Christmas present and a very precious little girl. From birth Hollie brightened up my day with her laughter and cheekiness. She was so happy. 'There isn't a single day goes by that I don't think of Hollie, how she would be growing up and the things we would be doing together.' 'I will never be the same again.' Nina Grahame QC, defending Ashurst, told Mr Justice Dove in mitigation that 'whatever happened in that house on that day', Ashurst went to get help for baby Hollie. She highlighted his lack of previous relevant convictions, the 'lack of pre-meditation' and his 'long-standing history' of anxiety and depression. Mr Justice Dove said: 'We shall never know, and in particular her mother and family will never know, the detail of what happened to cause her all the many injuries her fragile body sustained from your actions. Ashurst, pictured, told medics that Hollie had been hurt in a series of accidents and he rushed her straight to the hospital 'You have chosen not to be frank about what occurred when Hollie was in your care. 'You persisted in peddling a story immediately after Hollie's collapse, when she was critically ill, which could not possibly begin to explain the terrible injuries which you had inflicted.' Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe, of Greater Manchester Police, said: 'The death of a child is always heart breaking but this is a particularly heart wrenching case. 'Hollie was an innocent baby girl who was killed by her father who should have been providing care and protection. 'Hollie was found to have multiple internal and external injuries, which Ashurst was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for. 'Throughout our investigation and the trial, our thoughts have remained with Hollie's mother and extended family. 'This has been an extremely difficult time for them so I hope today's result brings them a sense of closure. 'Hollie will never be forgotten.' Ashurst must serve half of the 12-year sentence in prison, which includes the 358 days he has already spent on remand. The Indian subsidiary of automotive supplier Brose Group on Wednesday said it has opened its new campus here, which houses its headquarters, development and IT centre besides the manufacturing unit. It has invested EUR 3.2 million in setting up the new facility, which spreads over 10 acre area and is three times larger than the previous one, Brose India said. The company plans to invest EUR 17 million in the next five years in the expansion of its India business, Brose India Automotive Systems President Vasanth Kamath told PTI. Brose is the world's fourth-largest family-owned automotive supplier. In India, Brose develops and produce window regulators, side door latches, door modules and seat height adjusters in Hinjewadi, Pune, for domestic and global car manufacturers. Besides, its IT service centre here also supports the group's global business. "This new investment is not only a commitment to the Indian market, it is also a strategic move for the Brose Group," Brose Group Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Schrikel said. He said the company is further expanding the global engineering and IT services centre here to improve competitiveness and efficiency, adding that this will shorten the path between the development and manufacturing. The company said it plans to develop twice as fast as the domestic market with an average growth rate of 20 per cent per year until 2025. "Today we can proudly call ourselves the only supplier of door modules in India. However, our long-term goal is to deliver the entire Brose product portfolio of door systems, seat structures and electric drives to the Indian market," Kamath said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement The typically-bustling streets of Milan have been left empty as Italy struggles with the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The country went from six cases to more than 400 with 12 dead since last Friday, becoming Europe's worst-affected region. Now Milan's once-packed roads have been left empty as the country battles with being the continent's hardest-hit city. One of the main road of the Brera neighborhood in the city centre are seen empty, while roads and squares in the Bicocca University neighborhood, usually full of hundreds of university students, were eerily quiet. The Duomo Square is seen empty on February 26, 2020 in Milan, Italy, as the country struggles with the coronavirus outbreak Roads and squares in the Bicocca University neighborhood, usually packed full of hundreds of university students, are seen empty on February 26 as Italy becomes the European country worst-hit by the coronavirus One of the main road of the Brera neighborhood in the city center are seen empty on February 26 in Milan, Italy Two tourists wearing protective masks are seen on a terrace in the city centre on February 26 in Milan. The country is struggling to understand how it went from six coronavirus cases to more than 400 cases and 12 dead since last Friday The Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in the city centre is seen empty on February 26 in Milan, Italy. Many communities across the Lombardy and Veneto regions have seen the suspension of public events and church services, and the closure of schools, universities and museums Via degli Omenoni in Milan's city centre is seen empty on February 26. Twelve towns have been locked down entirely, with road blocks preventing the exit and entrance of people The Duomo Square, the main city square of Milan and a popular tourist hotspot in the city, was devoid of the crowds this afternoon. Meanwhile subways in the city were largely empty. Two commuters wearing protective face masks were pictured climbing the otherwise deserted escalator stairs. Many communities across the Lombardy and Veneto regions have seen the suspension of public events and church services, and the closure of grade schools, universities and museums. Twelve towns have been locked down entirely, with road blocks preventing the exit and entrance of people. The government has also imposed quarantines for those who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the illness. One of the main road of the Brera neighborhood. Twelve towns have been locked down entirely, with road blocks preventing the exit and entrance of people Largo Augusto in the city centre is seen empty on February 26. The government has imposed quarantines for those who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the illness A main road in the city center is seen empty on Wednesday. The European Union's health chief Stella Kyriakides, on a visit to Rome, called for calm as Italy's government prepared measures to try to bolster the economy, which looks certain to tip into recession because of the contagion Corso Vittorio Emanuele in the city centre. The outbreak is centred on Italy's industrial heartlands of Lombardy and Veneto, and the government has closed schools and universities, shuttered cinemas and banned public events in an effort to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease Local authorities announced on Wednesday that bars and clubs in Milan can re-open in the evenings, in the first rollback of tough restrictions imposed at the weekend to try to contain a coronavirus outbreak in Italy. The outbreak is centred on Italy's industrial heartlands of Lombardy and Veneto, and the government has closed schools and universities, shuttered cinemas and banned public events in an effort to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease. Hotels say they have been hit by cancellations while bar, club and disco owners wrote to the mayor of Lombardy's capital, Milan, to urge him to lift a 6.00 p.m. curfew on their operations. 'Our sector, which has helped Milan sparkle in the world, has been brought to its knees by the ban,' said a petition on Facebook which was launched by Santeria Toscana 31 club and was rapidly signed by more than 100 other businesses. But even though early closing was lifted in time for Wednesday evening trade, there seemed to be few people around to take advantage in the eerily empty city. 'We have reverted to usual hours,' said Antonio Musotto, manager of the Archimede Caffe. 'The problem is the people have vanished.' Biffi, a very famous restaurant usually fully booked at lunch time, is seen empty in the city center on February 26. Local authorities announced on Wednesday that bars and clubs in Milan can re-open in the evenings, in the first rollback of tough restrictions imposed at the weekend to try to contain a coronavirus outbreak in Italy One of the main road of the Brera neighborhood in the city center are seen empty on February 26. Hotels say they have been hit by cancellations while bar, club and disco owners wrote to the mayor of Lombardy's capital, Milan, to urge him to lift a 6.00 p.m. curfew on their operations Two passengers of the subway are wearing a protective mask on an almost empty subway on February 26, 2020 The European Union's health chief Stella Kyriakides, on a visit to Rome, called for calm as Italy's government prepared measures to try to bolster the economy, which looks certain to tip into recession because of the contagion. 'This is a situation of concern, but we must not give in to panic,' Kyriakides said after meeting Italy's health minister and the regional head of the World Health Organization (WHO). 'There are still many unknowns about this virus and in particular its origin and how it spreads.' The head of the national Civil Protection agency, Angelo Borrelli, told reporters the death toll from the flare-up had risen to 12 from 11 the day before, with a 69-year old man dying in the northern region of Emilia Romagna. Meanwhile in the popular holiday resort of Lake Como tourists are staying away and bars, restaurants and hotels are suffering Like all those who have died so far, the man had underlying health problems that made him vulnerable to the disease. In all, almost 420 cases have been registered, including at least six children. Meanwhile in the popular tourist resort of Lake Como fear they face ruin as visitors stay away in the panic gripping the country. Bookings for the spring season are down by a 90 per cent, according to tourist chiefs for the area. And they fear unless the people are reassured that Italy is a safe place to visit the summer season will be wiped out. Close to Hollywood star George Clooney's lakeside villa bar owner Debra Paravicini fears they face a tough few months. Even though Lake Como is more than 40 miles from Milan and there have been no reported cases of the virus they still have to close at 6pm An order from the Regional Government has impose the early closing time on all bars but exempted restaurants. 'Yes, we are worried about our business, ' said Debra who owns the Le Vecchini bar. 'We feel it is an over reaction that we have to close at 6pm. 'There is no virus here on Lake Como, but are being forced to close at what would be our busiest time of the day. Clooney's stunning 25m lakeside villa is a short walk away and Debra said he has been known to call into the bar for a coffee. Some bars in the area are revotling against the 6pm curfew as they feel they are being unfairly hit with restaurants allowed to stay open. Bookings in the area are down 90 per cent as the country is gripped by fear in the country where the virus has struck Andrea Camesca, vice president of Lake Como Hotel Association, said her members were facing a financial disaster. She said: 'All this adverse publicity is going to hit 10 years of hard work in building up the image of Lake Como.' Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country have tested positive in Greece, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and France since the weekend. Concern over infections meant Inter Milan's Europa League match at home against Bulgaria's Ludogorets Razgrad must be played behind closed doors on Thursday. Irish rugby authorities postponed the country's Six Nations fixture against Italy in Dublin on March 7 to prevent any Italian supporters from unwittingly bringing the coronavirus to Ireland. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the U.S. side to discard its outdated Cold War mentality and zero-sum game concept, correctly view and safeguard China-U.S. exchanges and cooperation in science, technology and culture, and do more to enhance mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to claims by U.S. defense and health officials that China used the expertise of American universities to enhance its military and technological competitiveness. "China's scientific and technological achievements have been achieved through the hard work and wisdom of the Chinese people, including the vast number of intellectuals, rather than through theft or robbery," Zhao said, adding that statistics show from 2009 to 2019, Chinese scientists published 2.6 million international papers, ranking second in the world. "It is in the common interest of both sides to strengthen scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation," Zhao said, noting a few U.S. officials, in the name of national security, have fabricated the so-called China's "theft" of U.S. scientific research achievements with ulterior motives. Some U.S. university directors also believe that U.S. officials' concerns about national security are exaggerated and discriminatory, and say that cooperation with China is in fact crucial to promoting the development of science and technology, Zhao noted. Transnational talent flow has promoted the world's scientific and technological progress. All countries including the United States are actively carrying out international talent exchanges and cooperation, the spokesperson said. The relevant measures taken by China, similar to the common practices of other countries in the world, are aimed at promoting the flow of talent between China and other countries, and encouraging and promoting international scientific and technological cooperation, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:53:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Finland reported the first case of Finnish national diagnosed with coronavirus infection Thursday. The patient is a working-age Finnish woman who had caught the disease while visiting Milan, Northern Italy, days ago, said officials from Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) at a press conference. The patient, described as feverish but in good condition, is getting ward care in Helsinki, according to HUS. The patient, taking a connecting flight from Italy, arrived in Finland on Sunday. No other information about her has been disclosed. This is the second confirmed case in Finland and the first case of Finnish national diagnosed with coronavirus infection. In late January, a female Chinese tourist tested positive for novel coronavirus in northern Finland's Lapland. She had been discharged from hospital later. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The latest edition of the Human Rights Campaigns Corporate Equality Index was released last month, rating more than a thousand of the largest corporations in the U.S. for their commitment to LGBTQ equality and inclusion. In their press release, the HRC, which is the largest LGBTQ lobbying firm in the country and the self-appointed authority over corporate compliance to standards they created, excitedly announced that a record 686 of Americas leading companies and law firms now rigorously protect LGBTQ people. Nearly half the worlds Fortune 500 companies earned a 100 ratingthe highest possiblewhile more than half of the top 200 law firms in the United States received the same score. Its ironic how often orthodox Christians are accused of being obsessed with sex these days. After all, whats more obsessive than investigating thousands of businesses to determine whether theyre kind and inclusive only to those who engage in certain types of sexual behavior, and not to anyone else? It would be one thing if HRC kept this obsession to themselves, but theyve successfully weaponized the Equality Index as a formidable force of their obsession. Corporations clamor to get a good score. They wear this new good housekeeping seal of approval proudly and loudly, joining marches and decorating their offices and social media feeds. And, becoming HRC approved is no small task. The Index not only measures whether or not businesses support an inclusive culture, but also whether or not a business has sufficiently demonstrated a public commitment to LGBTQ equality. In other words, companies must publicly advocate for LGBTQ equality to a degree acceptable to HRC ideologues. Companies know that failing to meet the ever-higher standards of inclusion and advocacy are put on another list: the acceptable targets of scorn and bullying list. Such tactics work, as is evidenced by an entire sector of American culture bowing to self-appointed experts. The larger social pressure to conform that we all feel as individuals now applies to businesses small and large, such as Chick-fil-As corporate decision to not only drop support for certain Christian charities who were noticeably on the wrong side of the HRC, but also to publicly announce that decision. The same pressure has also effectively leveraged state political bodies to take legal action against small businesses like Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, or Arlenes Flowers in Washington, both of which served LGBTQ customers but failed to pass muster because they refused to participate in same-sex weddings. Give HRC and like-minded LGBTQ allies credit: Their work has been incredibly effective, largely bending not only corporate America to their will, but also city halls, state houses, and Congress. Its essential we understand the ramifications if what theyve achieved through social and economic pressure is then further enshrined into law. Specifically, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (or SOGI) laws would place sexual orientation and gender identity on par with race and religion as protected classes under the Civil Rights Act. The cultural transformation would then be complete. As our friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom warn us, these laws, like the so-called Equality Act now in Congress, would finally enshrine LGBTQ ideology in schools and libraries; in public and private restrooms, homeless shelters, and havens for victims of abuse. Creative professionals would lose the ability to live out their faith in their work. Christian organizations that provide public services, like foster care facilities and adoption agencies, would be forced to choose between their convictions and their existence. While some have sought to mitigate these sorts of consequences by proposing various compromises and exemptions, the substance and the influence of HRCs corporate scorecard makes something perfectly clear: Compromise is not on the table for them. Which leaves two important points all Christians must begin to consider. First, elections matter. Second, its more than likely the pressure, whether social or corporate or cultural or familial, will test our convictions. We should decide now where we must stand. Originally posted at breakpoint.org Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Motorolas new foldable Razr phone has been garnering mediocre notices from early reviewers. If this phone didnt fold in half, it would be a solid mid-tier Android phone, Patrick Holland wrote for Cnet. Even harsher was Adam Ismails verdict in Toms Guide: Between the Razrs questionable build quality, underwhelming performance, middling camera and awful battery life, the folding gimmick neat though it may be isnt enough to save this device. Most reviewers found the Razrs performance underwhelming for a phone priced at US$1,500. To get it so thin, and for it to be able to work without overheating, the company made too many compromises on performance, Sascha Segan wrote for PCMag. Everything here is subordinate to the design, he added, resulting in a phone that looks and feels like a $1,500 statement piece, but sure doesnt perform like one. Although the Razr wasnt as peppy as he would have liked it to be, Motorola found a good power-to-performance ratio with the Razr, Cnets Holland maintained. A Phone With Personality Despite its deficiencies, Holland said, the Razr has something most phones these days lack: personality. And as Jules says in Pulp Fiction, Personality goes a long way,' he wrote. The Razr feels more personal than any phone Ive used. Personality can go a long way in the smartphone market, agreed Bob ODonnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research, a technology market research and consulting firm in Foster City, California. Weve reached an era where phones are incredibly personal. Thats why I think youre going to find a bunch of people who like the Razr. Its radically different from all the other phones that are out there, he told TechNewsWorld. A D V E R T I S E M E N T In an era when people like to reflect their personality in their phones, this phone does that, ODonnell added. Nagging Durability Issue Although Motorola has assured the public that it thoroughly tested the Razrs durability, doubts remain. Are these things going to last three years like people expect them to? asked Frank E. Gillett, principal analyst at Forrester Research, a market research company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The target audience seems small to me people who value a tiny phone in their pocket above all else, he told TechNewsWorld. The only way to know is to use it for months on end, Holland acknowledged. The best evaluation of the phones durability will come once it has been in the hands of consumers for a significant time, said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research, a high-tech research and advisory firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. The mechanical repetitious testing of the phone does indicate some care should be taken with it, he told TechNewsWorld. I expect it is more fragile than most phones, but there are people excited by the new form factor that are willing to take a chance on it. Undersized Battery The Razrs battery life disappointed reviewers. For a phone its size, the battery is on the small side. Ultimately, the Motorola Razr battery size means it has a lower potential maximum battery life compared to other phones, regardless of how you use it, Nirave Gondhia wrote for Android Central. Although he could get through most of day on a single charge, Holland noted, he had to plug in around dinner time. PCMags Segan got six hours, 54 minutes, of video playback time on his review unit. More scarily, though, other applications consumed more energy than the video player, he added. Thirty minutes of playing Asphalt 8 hit the battery by 10 percent, working out to just five hours of gaming on a charge. Quacking Noise Reviewers also were annoyed by the noise made by opening and closing the phone. How bad is this sound? Holland asked in his review. Its not record skip loud, but its not great either. If I bought this phone, Id think something was wrong and want to swap it. Segan performed his own durability tests on the Razr, opening and closing it 1,000 times without damage. But after a mere 200 flips and to this moment the phone now makes a loud creaking noise when its opened or closed, he wrote. It didnt do that at the start; it opened and closed quietly and smoothly. Now it practically quacks, to the point that I want to get out some WD-40. Screen Divot While reviewers raved over the engineering behind Razrs flexible display, the screen itself received mixed assessments. The Razrs display quality is good, Holland wrote. Colors pop nicely and the contrast is crisp without looking overly sharp. According to Android Centrals Gondhia, the Razrs display lacks the punchiness or peak brightness of a Samsung phone, and opts for a more neutral profile vs. vividly displaying colors like other displays. Toms Guides Ismail knocked the screens brightness. At a peak brightness of just 386 nits, the Razrs screen is far too dim compared to leading flagships from Apple and Samsung, which routinely achieve nearly twice that these days, he wrote. Motorola says bumps and lumps are normal, and youll certainly feel them when scrolling, Ismail added. Our unit has a circular depression right in the center of the top half, and whenever I ran my index finger over that divot, it was never a great feeling. Camera Criticized The 16 megapixel, f/1.7 camera in the Razr was another sore point for reviewers. Photos taken in good light are sharp with impressive contrast. But as soon as youre in medium-to-low light things start to fall apart, Holland wrote. Without optical image stabilization, the Razr compensates with a longer shutter speed, which leads to motion blur, he continued. Video is there. Its fine. No one will be making a film for Netflix with the Razr. Segan described photos he shot with the Razr as soft and indistinct enlarged versions of lower-resolution pix taken with a Pixel 4 or iPhone 11. As the light goes down, he wrote, the Razrs performance declines further, with photos getting dim and noisy. Ultimately, I felt like I was taking pictures with a $250 phone, not a $1,500 one. Foldable Wave Coming Shortcomings aside, the Razr is breaking new ground for the smartphone market. I believe that the Razr is helping to open the way for foldable devices that previous efforts largely failed to do, said Charles King, principal analyst atPund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California. However, the Razrs use of older components could hurt it in the very near future, as Samsung readies to launch its own flip phone, the Z Flip. Unless a substantially upgraded Razr is in the works, the Z Flips introduction is likely to present significant challenges to Motorola, King told TechNewsWorld. Meanwhile, consumers can expect more foldables in their future. Foldables will eventually become mainstream, Technalysis ODonnell predicted. They will be what most people will have, because people are looking for larger screens in smaller physical spaces, and the only way to do that is with a foldable display, he said. Folding form factors and dual screens are hot design innovations, noted Tirias Krewell, for not just phones, but for PCs this year, too. There's a sense of urgency and crisis at Ford Motor that is reminiscent of the automaker's near-bankruptcy during the Great Recession, according to its incoming chief operating officer. "Everyone at Ford Motor Co. knows the situation we're in," Jim Farley, a 13-year veteran of the company, told investors Wednesday at a Wolfe Research conference in New York. "I can see it on the face of my colleagues and it takes me back to about 10 years ago." Putting a positive spin on it, Farley said such situations are when the company operates at its best with decisive actions and plans, which he will lead along with President and CEO Jim Hackett. Farley's comments follow Ford stock closing Tuesday at $7.23 per share the lowest closing price since 2009. The shares in morning trading Wednesday were up more than 2% to about $7.40. Ford, according to Farley, who becomes COO effective March 1, plans to accelerate a "double transformation" aimed at restructuring the company's traditional automotive operations while entering emerging segments such as electric and autonomous vehicles. "We have to fix a number of things," he said, citing delayed launches and the company's recent $5 billion in expenses to cover warranties. "Our warranty spending is a big opportunity for us." He said the company has a plan to address the costs without citing specific examples. The Maharashtra government will on Thursday introduce the bill making the Marathi language mandatory in all schools in the state, the Legislative Assembly was told on Wednesday. School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad told the Lower House that the decision was taken through a mutual understanding after holding deliberations with all the educational boards including IB, ICSE and CBSE. The proposed bill seeks to make the Marathi language compulsory from class 1 to class 10. "The government has also studied the pattern being followed in Southern states in teaching local languages in their schools," the minister said. Objecting to her statement, Shiv Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav questioned the need to study such pattern. "The minister should talk about the stand of the state government," he said. In her reply, the minister said she had already stated that the state government was firm to make the Marathi language compulsory in schools. Interjecting, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar demanded that rules of the legislature be changed for conducting the proceedings exclusively in Marathi. "Present rules say that the proceedings can be held either in Marathi, English or Hindi," he said. To which, Speaker Nana Patole said he would respond to Mungantiwar's question on the legislature rules. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The crop loan waiver scheme announced by the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra is likely to cost the state exchequer Rs 20,000 crore, said an official on Wednesday. The Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana has received a list of 34 lakh potential beneficiaries wherein outstanding crop loan up to Rs 2 lakh is gong to be waived. The official, speaking to PTI on condition of anonymity, said, Though the first list of potential beneficiaries has swelled up to 34 lakh farmers, there are several filters which will bring down the actual number of beneficiaries. The state has already sought Rs 15,000 crore (for implementation of the scheme) under supplementary demands and another Rs 10,000 crore from the contingency fund." "The state seems to have sought additional funds, but actual amount would not cross Rs 20,000 crore, he said. Asked about reasons behind potential reduction in actual number of beneficiaries, he said, There are some guidelines such as persons (farmers) having monthly income of more than 25,000 will be excluded from the list. "The families of government and semi-government employees, public representatives will also be excluded from the list. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Patients with suspected coronavirus will be tested in their own homes in a bid to contain the outbreak. They will be ordered to stay indoors and wait for a paramedic or nurse rather than risk infecting dozens of people at hospital or on their way there. In a further sign that the NHS is preparing for a pandemic, more staff are being recruited to the 111 helpline, which is the first port of call for suspected victims. Officials fear a sudden surge in cases in the UK because the virus is now spreading faster outside China, the country it started in. A public awareness campaign will be launched next week urging Britons to regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds. Messages will go out on social media and radio stations encouraging handwashing on arrival at work, after using public transport and before food. Worker in a medical mask cleaning inside Ritchie Street Health Centre in Islington which had previously closed due to the Coronavirus Coronavirus assessment pods at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire Mystery surrounds a coronavirus isolation pod hidden behind bins at Lincoln County Hospital Health Secretary Matt Hancock chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee to discuss the crisis As fear of the virus spread, dozens of schools sent pupils home because of possible exposure and 300 oil firm staff were evacuated from their London HQ. A string of countries confirmed their first cases of the disease and the number of cases in badly-affected Italy surged to 447. A school attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte was among dozens to close or send pupils home over fears they had been exposed the virus on trips abroad. A new public awareness campaign will be launched next week urging Britons to wash their hands more Since cases of the COVID-19 illness soared in Italy over the weekend they have spread around Europe, with mainland Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia today all declaring their first infected patients In other developments: British Airways cancelled dozens of flights to Milan due to a drop in demand from worried British tourists; Parents revealed they were stockpiling nappies, soup and tinned fruit in case shops were forced to close; The Government told workers they were entitled to take two weeks of paid sick leave if they needed to self-isolate; Irelands mens and womens Six Nations games against Italy in Dublin were postponed; British holidaymakers pleaded with Boris Johnson to come rescue us after being trapped in a Tenerife hotel; Health Secretary Matt Hancock chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee to discuss the crisis. Number of new coronavirus cases reported outside of China EXCEEDS those in the country for the first time, the WHO says More coronavirus cases are now being reported each day outside China than inside the hardest-hit nation, the World Health Organization has said. Just 411 patients were struck down yesterday in China, where 96 per cent of COVID-19 cases have been recorded since the crisis began in December. But data obtained by the UN-agency show 427 cases were recorded outside China, amid a worrying spike in Italy, South Korea and Iran. The WHO's director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom admitted the sudden jump in cases was 'deeply concerning' as fears of a pandemic continue to grow. The number of new daily cases in China has dropped dramatically since the beginning of February, and there are now more new infections elsewhere in the world Advertisement The NHS has been trialling a home-testing coronavirus service in parts of London but it is expected to be rolled out across England very shortly. Patients with suspicious symptoms a cough, shortness or breath or a temperature will be able to call NHS 111 which will arrange for a district nurse or paramedic to visit and take a swab. This will avoid them coming into contact with dozens of other healthcare workers or vulnerable patients in waiting rooms, lifts, buses or taxis. The NHS is hiring extra staff for its 111 helpline which is already dealing with a much higher volume of calls. An NHS England spokesman said the service was understandably busy and acknowledged that some may have to wait longer than usual as a result. The underlying message of next weeks public awareness campaign will be protect yourself and protect others. Tests for coronavirus are being extended to include patients displaying flu-like symptoms at 100 GP surgeries and eight hospitals to provide an early warning of spread. Mr Hancock told the Commons yesterday that the Government was taking all necessary measures to minimise the risk to the public. He said: We have a clear four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate. We are also planning to introduce home testing, some of which has started already. More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800 Home testing is the safest place to be tested because people do not have to go anywhere, and that will allow us to roll out testing to a larger number of people. The Health Secretary said the Government would be strengthening the public health messages about the virus, adding: In particular, we want to persuade people to wash their hands more and to look out for themselves, especially if they have a sneeze, in order to slow the spread; we want to explain what they should to do if they think they are infected. It is incredibly important that we get this information out across the whole population. Mr Hancock however cautioned the nation not to overreact over the possible scale of the outbreak. Yesterdays official figures showed that 427 cases were reported by countries outside of China compared to just 411 within China, where the outbreak began two months ago. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, said the spike in infections in Italy, South Korea and Iran was deeply concerning. He said: We are not just fighting to contain a virus and save lives. We are also in a fight to contain the social and economic damage a global pandemic could do. The UN's Libya mission and world powers on Tuesday urged the country's warring parties to engage in peace efforts, as doubts hung over talks set to start the next day in Geneva. The negotiations are supposed to gather delegates from a Tripoli-based unity government and representatives of an eastern-based parliament backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is leading a months-long offensive to seize the capital. Both sides had said Monday they would not take part in the negotiations in Switzerland, citing different reasons. The eastern-based parliament said the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) had not approved all of its representatives. Meanwhile the High State Council, the equivalent of a senate which backs the unity government, said it would not participate in the talks until progress was made in military negotiations. But UNSMIL spokesman Jean Alam insisted Tuesday that the "Libyan Political Dialogue will start tomorrow as planned." The UN's Geneva spokesman Rheal Leblanc also confirmed the talks would take place Wednesday. Political sources in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi told AFP that UN officials were working to salvage the talks and persuade both sides to take part. Five western powers and the European Union also voiced support for the talks. "The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States (as well as the EU mission) welcome the considerable progress in the UN-facilitated talks in Geneva toward a lasting ceasefire in Libya," they said in a joint statement. "We call on all parties to reject obstructionism and engage in good faith as Libya moves forward with its democratic transition." - Turkish troops killed - Haftar's forces launched an offensive against Tripoli, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), last April. His fighters have since stalled on the edges of the capital, but fighting has left more than 1,000 people dead according to the UN. A joint military commission with five members from each side wound up talks Sunday in the Swiss city with a "draft ceasefire agreement" to be finalised in March, according to the UN mission. But the pro-GNA High State Council said it would not be bound by the outcome of political talks if they went ahead "before knowing the military dialogue's conclusions". Libya has been rocked by violence since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Since 2015, the GNA -- headed by Fayez al-Sarraj -- has been vying with Haftar's forces for control. A ceasefire backed by Haftar ally Russia and pro-GNA Turkey was announced in January but has been regularly violated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that two of his country's troops had been killed in Libya, where Ankara has sent dozens of military trainers since signing a deal with the GNA last year. Last week, Erdogan confirmed pro-Turkish Syrian fighters were in Libya alongside the training teams. Russia is also widely reported to have sent mercenaries to back Haftar's forces, which are also supported by the United Arab Emirates. Western powers are keen to stabilise Libya -- home to Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves -- because of concerns Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already active, will take advantage of the chaos. As the coronavirus spreads to various countries, some Vietnamese are turning lax when it comes to personal safety. Late Monday night, foreigners and locals flooded Saigon's Bui Vien backpacker street with many restaurants and bars serving customers. At a local pub, youngsters were talking enthusiastically while drinking beer and sitting on the sidewalk; none wearing masks. "I think it is safer to go out than it used to be. We cannot halt hanging out for too long," said Nguyen Quang Thinh, a student at a District 10 university. He explained his friends were too bored while the university remains closed, forcing them go out for a drink on a Monday night. Thinh is not the only one opting for outdoor respite. Saigon's Bui Vien Street on February 22, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Tam Linh. After the Vietnamese government declared Covid-19 an epidemic on February 1, some are venturing out and ignoring preventative measures, so strictly followed a few weeks ago. For many millennials in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, not going to coffee shops and eateries is not an easy thing to do, making public gatherings inevitable, despite the risks of getting infected by the deadly virus. In HCMC, some coffee shops have witnessed an increasing number of customers recently. At a Starbucks in Saigon's District 3, dozens of young people, many not wearing face masks, gathered around cups of frappuccino and lattes last weekend. The only people wearing masks were staff members. Nguyen Thuy Ngan, a barista, the number of customers has increased significantly since last week. "We are returning to normalcy." Covid-19 emptied many streets. However, people of all ages, including families, have started flooding places like Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street, famous for its milk tea stores. "School is closed, and my daughter is bored, so I brought her here to enjoy the vibe and some fast food," said 34-year-old Le Kim Anh. Commenting on the coronavirus, the mother said Saigon is too hot and "making the virus too weak to be harmful." For many, especially white-collar workers, going out is a Hobson's choice, with preventative measures like wearing masks at the office or sanitizing hands increasingly neglected. Truong Thi Thuy, an accountant in Hanoi's Long Bien District, has stopped bringing her lunch to the office every day. "The epidemic is under control, and eating out is way more convenient," she explained, adding masks made it difficult for her to breathe. In HCMC, many have given up on wearing masks at the office, with little notice from employers. "My colleagues stopped wearing masks last week, there being no coughing or sneezing in the office. We are at ease," said Pham Nguyen Thu An, a headhunter in District 1. Some other people cannot wait to resume normal life after living with preventative measures for almost one month. "I know it (the epidemic) is still present, but it is impossible to go back and forth with a mask between my office and apartment for one month, I need to hang out," Hai said while drinking with his friends on Bui Vien Street. Saigonese hang out at a street-side tea shop on Dong Khoi Street on February 26, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Huy. As of Tuesday, the last of the 16 infection novel coronavirus infections detected so far in Vietnam had fully recovered. Over the past 13 days, no new infection case has been reported in the country. However, Chairman of Hanoi People Committee Nguyen Duc last week said: "Everything must be ready at the highest level, we cannot stay off-guard." The Covid-19 is affecting 39 countries and territories. Death toll has crossed 2,700, mostly in China. Chung recommended people avoid crowded areas, including the 1,600 karaoke bars across the capital, to stem the spread of the virus. Some still opt for crowds, leave their masks at home and resume normal life. "I hope they will keep a close watch on arrivals from South Korea, and that there are no more infections, so things can return to normal," Thinh said while making toast. Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has asked all the party members to not only meet the people injured in the Delhi violence but also donate blood for them. Congress leader Alka Lamba, during her visit to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, told mediapersons: "Our chairperson Sonia Gandhi has asked all the party workers to not only meet injured but to donate blood also. I could not donate due to haemoglobin deficiency but one of the workers who came with me, has donated blood here." Criticising the government, Lamba said the government is unable to control the situation. "Leaders are making irresponsible remarks." She also appealed to the people to maintain peace. Representative image Make no mistake: the violence that is underway in parts of the national capital Delhi is a sordid reflection of a collective failure of different sections of society. The Delhi Police has failed, the political class has failed, and we the citizens have failed. There are many who suspect the timing of the violence as it coincided with the visit of United States President Donald Trump to Delhi, and theories about the perpetrators are aplenty. The fact is that at the moment its anybodys guess. It will take an inquiry into the violence and rioting to ascertain the real culprits and, sadly, when it comes to identifying and punishing rioters, there is much to be desired. A recent spate of incidents, all occurring since opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) began, exposes the collective failure mentioned above. The ongoing violence in North East Delhi, and other parts of the capital, appears to be an extension of this. The Delhi Police, perhaps Indias premium police force, has cut a sorry figure. In the past few months it has been criticised for its use of excessive action (as was seen in Jamia Millia Islamia in December), and for its inaction (as was seen in Jawaharlal Nehru University in January). Various accounts of police failure have emerged over the past few days. If at some places, such as Mustafabad, the police were mute spectators to arson and violence, in others, they refused to help journalists who were being threatened by mobs. In a video the police are seen beating and hurling abuses at injured men at Shahdara. The Delhi Police has rubbished news reports that a lack of manpower is what has led to the violence escalating. This is nice to know, but obviously, here it is the lack of intent that appears to be the problem. No sooner did news about the riots come than political parties began to pass the buck. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were quick to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the violence. Throughout the Delhi election campaign Kejriwal remained vague about his stand of the CAA. This would have been a political move aimed at not upsetting a section of voters but his continued silence on it shows that the astute politician in Kejriwal has taken over the activist-leader in him. His act of offering prayers at Rajghat was high on symbolism, but more is expected from the CM. The AAP has also not refrained by fishing in muddy waters, as is evident in this misinforming tweet by AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan who alludes that the gun-wielding protester in Jaffrabad has ties with the BJP. The BJP has stuck to its practise of condoning hate-mongers with a near radio silence from the party leadership. This was seen a few weeks back when the national party refused to take action against Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for their disturbing statements during the Delhi election campaign. One was mistaken if one thought that the drubbing it received at the hustings forced the BJP to rethink its strategy. BJP leader Kapil Mishras speech on February 23 at Maujpur, where he gave an ultimatum to the police to clear anti-CAA protesters, is attributed as the lighted matchstick thrown on powder keg. On February 25, videos surfaced on social media of BJP leader and Laxmi Nagar MLA Abhey Verma shouting provocative slogans, ones similar to what Thakur had said a few weeks back. The ongoing violence shows that we refuse to learn from history. Some observers are comparing it to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in Delhi, while others are to the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat. Does it remind anyone of the 1983 Nellie massacre or the 1989 Bhagalpur violence or the many smaller riots across India? The point is, despite our history being scattered with riots at a nauseating frequency, we seem to repeat the same mistakes, again and again. In all this darkness there are glimmers of hope. A report said how Muslims in a few localities in Laxmi Nagar, who feared for their lives, were reassured by their Hindu and Sikh neighbours. Hopefully, in the days to come more such reports will emerge. The second is from a section of the media fraternity the young and courageous reporters, women and men alike, who braved threatening mobs and an indolent police force to report the news. Their commitment, braving great personal harm and risks, deserves kudos. In 2011, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a stern message to Pakistan about nurturing terrorists, said: You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to only bite your neighbour. If the BJP condones communal incidents of any nature, it is most likely to derail the Narendra Modi governments focus of ushering in a New India. Since AAP leaders take inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, they should remember his thoughts: Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly. Finally, we as citizens must not forget what Martin Luther King Jr said: We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 06:21:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid on Tuesday announced that the first COVID-19 case was detected in the country. In a statement to the state-run ENTV channel, Benbouzid noted that the patient is an Italian national who arrived in Algeria on Feb. 17 with another person. They were both sent to the Pasteur Hospital in Algiers. One of them was confirmed as infected with coronavirus after medical analysis. The patient has been immediately put under quarantine, receiving special medical treatment, the official specified. The health minister did not provide further details on the age and gender of the Italian national. Benbouzid reassured that precautionary measures had been adopted in airports, ports and land border posts, including the installation of temperature cameras. Kathmandu, February 26 Nepal Army Major General Ishwar Hamal has been appointed the Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Golan Heights. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made the appointment on Monday, the Nepal Army informs. Hamal is the seventh NA official to achieve this position in the UN peacekeeping missions. Incumbent Chief of Army Staff Purna Chandra Thapa was also a force commander in a peacekeeping mission. Officers from 40 countries have competed for the position in Golan Heights, it has been learned. Another Nepali official, Lieutenant General Shiva Ram Kharel, was the force commander in the mission in June 2019. Guterres secretariat says the top UN official has thanked Kharel for successfully completing the assignment. The mayor and council in the tiny Alabama town of Geraldine are expected to decide soon whether to discipline the assistant police chief because of a threatening Facebook post. Jeff Buckles, the towns assistant chief, remains on paid leave. Hes been under investigation since early February when town officials learned about a Facebook post in which Buckles suggested U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other dumbocrats could be targeted with a roadside bomb. Jeff Buckles, the assistant chief at the Geraldine, Ala. police department, came under fire for a comment about Nancy Pelosi and a roadside bomb. The town council called a special meeting tonight for Buckles to have a due process hearing. Efforts to reach Buckles for comment after the meeting were unsuccessful. The hearing was an opportunity for Buckles to tell his side of the story in a private meeting with the town attorney and a third-party, a lawyer from a nearby town. Geraldine Mayor Chuck Ables said the impartial third-party lawyer will write a report for town officials. The mayor and town council will decide whether to take any disciplinary action against Buckles. They could reach that decision as soon as the next council meeting on March 3. Geraldine is located about 50 miles southeast of Huntsville in southern DeKalb County. Buckles apologized for his comments about Pelosi and dumbocrats in a later post on Facebook. Both posts have since been deleted or removed from public view. I want to apologize for venting on FB (Facebook), Buckles wrote. I have definitely offended some people with my remarks. It just rips my heart out that our great country is do divided. His initial post came on the night of President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech. Pelosi just ripped up his speach (sic), Buckles wrote that night. Road Side bomb on her way home and any other Dumbocrats. A US oil company has sent 300 of its workers home from their London office amid coronavirus fears. Chevron was on high-alert on Tuesday after an employee, who had travelled to a Covid-19 infected country, reported flu-like symptoms. On Wednesday, the staff at the Canary Wharf base were told to work from home while the officers were put on lockdown so tests could be carried out. The potentially-infected worker has been sent for an assessment and the result will come in over the next few days, a source told the FT. Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures 1 /61 Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures A man wearing a protective mask travels on the underground tube Reuters A woman wearing a protective face mask Jeremy Selwyn A man and woman wearing protective face masks on a bus PA A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A woman shopper wears a protective mask as she walks down an aisle in a supermarket in London AFP via Getty Images A man wearing a face mask waits to board an underground train on the Central Line at Bank station in London AP A woman with a plastic box over her head on the London Underground. PA A woman wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street in London PA A woman wearing a mask walks by the Emirates Stadium Action Images via Reuters A man is seen wearing a protective face mask at Waterloo station Reuters A woman wears a surgical mask as she walks through Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport Reuters A fan in the stands wears a mask during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridg PA A man wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A person wears a mask in a display of street style outside the BFC Show Space show in London PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A commuter on the tube wearing a face mask Jeremy Selwyn A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridge Getty Images People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A man wearing a face mask walks past an entrance sign for Bank underground train station AP The coronavirus outbreak will unlikely lead to a Tube ban PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground. PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A man wears a mask as he takes a photograph in China Town AP A man in a hazmat suit and face mask cleans the Ritchie Street Health Centre, Islington PA A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man arrives at Euston Underground wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn St Pancras Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Staff in suits at St Thomas's Hospital today Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man wears a face mask as he stands near an electronic arrivals board at Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport AFP via Getty Images A man wears a face mask as he walks along the Thames embankment AFP via Getty Images A woman wearing a protective face mask is seen on London Bridg Reuters A spokesperson for the company said: "Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilizing the guidance of international and local health authorities. "Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure. "Consequently we have requested that our colleagues, based at our Westferry Circus office in London, work from home for the time being. It is our policy to not provide details of our employees." The Government is now preparing for an outbreak of coronavirus in the UK / AFP via Getty Images The Westferry Circus office is home to several hundred Chevron (CVX) employees, including commodity traders, shipping experts and lawyers. Canary Wharf is in east London and is one of the biggest financial districts in the world, home to HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan and many more. This latest scare is another example of how the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting world trade and business. Coronavirus outbreak An official government document seen on Wednesday revealed the Government is preparing for the possible worst-case scenario that 80 per cent of Brits could be infected by coronavirus. It means 50 million could catch the virus and with a mortality rate of one per cent 500,000 people could die. Pictures emerged today or Londoners wearing protective masks to commute while authorities confirmed they were ramping up its plans to combat the encroaching disease. The London office of oil giant Chevron based in Canary Wharf has been put on lockdown this week after an employee presented with flu-like symptoms. Public Health England is planning on testing thousands of patients presenting with flu-like symptoms. It comes as France reported its second death since the outbreak to be a 60-year-old Frenchman. The country was the location of the first Covid-19 death in Europe which was a Chinese tourist who died on February 15. Italy has become another epicentre of the outbreak and authorities said the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or up 45 per cent in 24 hours, and 11 people have now died. South Korean authorities have reported a rise of 169 more cases of the coronavirus known as Covid-19, bringing the countrys total number of infections to 1,146. Eleven South Korean fatalities have also been reported, mostly at a hospital in the county of Cheongdo, near Daegu. English French MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Computers for Success Canada (CFSC-OPEC) is celebrating its 15th year anniversary this February. Since 2005, CFSC-OPEC has helped deliver Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) investments in digital inclusion and economic participation through the Computers for Schools Plus (CFS+) program, and initiatives including Welcome Refugees and Connecting Families. CFSC helps schools, not-for-profit organizations and individuals at risk of digital exclusion access the technology, connectivity and skills they need to thrive in our society. Its with great pride that we mark this milestone anniversary, said Toby Harper-Merrett, Executive Director of CFSC-OPEC. ISEDs multi-sector programs play an important role in sustaining the innovation culture so crucial to success in Canadas digital economy. Every Canadian deserves a fair and equal chance to participate in, and benefit from, the digital economy. Thats why our government continues to invest in programs like CFS+ so Canadians have the right tools to succeed, said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. CFS+ is a true example of circular economy innovation: saving digital devices from landfills and giving them a second life. Congratulations to Computers for Success Canada on 15 years of advancing digital inclusion. Created in 1993, the Computers for Schools Plus (CFS+) program has provided millions of Canadians with resources and opportunities to build essential digital skills. Through the Welcome Refugees project, CFSC-OPEC and the CFS+ program affiliates delivered a computer for each family of the over 30,000 Syrian refugees arriving in Canada in 2016. More recently, the Connecting Families initiative, announced in Budget 2017, addresses affordability for over 1million low-income Canadian families by providing access to $10 monthly Internet, in partnership with leading Canadian Internet service providers. As a small Montreal-based organization, CFSC has demonstrated exceptional agility in supporting Government of Canada programs through close collaboration with private, public and not-for-profit partners in every province and territory, said Darrell Liebrecht, Chair of CFSC-OPEC. This four-member team has continuously demonstrated a focus on inclusive innovation while fulfilling its important mandate. The intent behind the creation of CFSC in 2005 was to provide strategies to promote and grow the CFS+ program with support services at the national level, said John May, one of the founders of CFSC-OPEC. The CFS+ program, which has delivered over 1.7 million refurbished computers since 1993, has significantly benefited from CFSCs support, not only in delivering the core program, but to the benefit of a broader population across Canada, including refugees and low-income families. About the CFS+ program The Government of Canada administers the Computers for Schools Plus (CFS+) program in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, as well as the private and volunteer sectors. CFS+ is helping to extend the useful life of devices, reduce the environmental impact of electronic waste, and provide valuable internship opportunities to help young Canadians develop advanced digital skills for the job market. The new Plus in Computers for Schools Plus builds on over 25 years of success in serving communities across Canada to provide a wide range of computer equipment to an expanded audience of recipients. Originally, computers were only provided to schools. Today, the CFS+ program also provides computers and other digital devices to assist libraries, not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous communities and eligible low-income Canadians. About CFSC Computers for Success Canada (CFSC-OPEC) is a not-for-profit organization established in 2005 in support of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada digital inclusion and economic participation programs. CFSC-OPECs services stand in four pillars - marketing and communications, partnership development, project management, and strategic planning. Study enrolling hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nebraska. A randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational antiviral remdesivir in hospitalized adults diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. Read alsoSix more Ukrainians seek evacuation from China The trial regulatory sponsor is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. This is the first clinical trial in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19, the respiratory disease first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The first trial participant is an American who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Yokohama, Japan and volunteered to participate in the study. The study can be adapted to evaluate additional investigative treatments and to enroll participants at other sites in the U.S. and worldwide. Federal Labor's regional jobs taskforce won't focus on a major unions' calls for a "just transition" plan for the 8000 workers in coal-fired power plants, many of whom are expected to lose their jobs in the next 15 years. Labor's Regional Jobs Taskforce was announced by Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese last week, when he committed the party to a net zero emissions policy by 2050. Labor MP Meryl Swanson, from the Paterson electorate north of Newcastle in NSW, is leading the Regional Jobs Taskforce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen. "We want to prioritise regional jobs, to benefit those communities and take pressure off the capital cities," Mr Albanese said. The initiative is led by regional MP Meryl Swanson, who is visiting rural and regional electorates to meet communities, industries, lobby groups, unions, and local councils to identify opportunities and challenges for jobs in the bush. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval are monitoring the situation in the city after the violence-hit its north-east areas. "Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Security Advisor have taken the cognizance and are monitoring the situation," Javadekar said while responding to a question about the violence during a media briefing. As many as 22 people have died and around 190 injured so far in the violence after clashes between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups erupted on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister appealed to the people of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times and added that calm and normalcy should be restored at the earliest. "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The owners of two recently built medical office buildings in Sugar Land and the Museum District have refinanced the properties. American Commercial Contractors obtained a $16.1 million loan to refinance Sugar Land Physicians Center, a 56,063-square-foot medical office building at 7616 Branford Place in Sugar Land. Dana Summers, Bruce Francis, Bob Ybarra, Shaun Moothart, Doug Birrell and Jim Korinek of CBRE arranged the three-year loan from Money360. The three-story building was built in 2014 near several hospitals, including CHI/St. Lukes, Methodist and Memorial Hermann. The borrower needed to refinance a bridge loan that was coming due, but the property was not in a position for a permanent loan, Dana Summers of CBRE said in an announcement. Although occupancy history and stabilization of the property were in flux, our team was able to secure an interim capital solution that would bridge the borrower for a short-term period until permanent financing is placed. RELATED: Real estate transactions: Jackson-Shaw starts industrial project in northwest Houston In the Museum District near Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center, Balcor Commercial secured a 30-year loan to refinance the 50,000-square-foot Parc Binz building at 1800 Binz St. Balcor is a Houston-based commercial real estate services provider. Cutt Ableson of Berkadia secured the 30-year, fixed rate loan through Principal Real Estate Investors. Terms were not disclosed. With Houstons medical office market continuously expanding beyond the boundaries of the Texas Medical Center, well-located assets similar to Parc Binz are primed for additional occupancy while maximizing returns, Ableson said in an announcement. Consistent demand, coupled with a long-term life insurance company debt package from Principal provide a compelling hold period for this asset. Parc Binz was built in 2014. Tenants include Plaza OB-GYN Associates, Binz Surgery Center, Barnabys Cafe and the American Sinus Institute. By Gwynne Dyer The cost of being a whistle-blower is going up. When Daniel Ellberg stole and published the "Pentagon Papers" in 1971, revealing the monstrous lies that the U.S. government was telling the American public about the Vietnam War, he was arrested and tried, but the court set him free. When Edward Snowden released a vast trove of documents in 2013 about the global electronic surveillance activities of U.S. intelligence agencies, he was already abroad, knowing that civil liberties had taken a turn for the worse in the U.S. since 1971. Snowden is still abroad seven years later, living in Moscow, because hardly anywhere else would be safe. And Julian Assange, whose court hearing on a U.S. extradition request began recently at Woolwich crown court in east London, is facing 175 years in jail if Britain delivers him into American hands. The American authorities are angry about his WikiLeaks dump of confidential material in 2010, detailing US misbehavior in Iraq and Afghanistan. Everybody knew or at least suspected that terrible things were happening there, but without firm documentation, there was really nothing that could be done. What Assange did was deliver the evidence. Perhaps the most striking piece of proof was a video and audio clip from an Apache helicopter gunship, showing the gunship attacking civilians in Baghdad in 2007. In the clip, the crew spray their targets with machine-gun fire, commenting, "It's their fault for bringing their kids into battle," and "Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards." The gunship is even shown targeting people in a vehicle that has stopped to help the wounded. As for the claims of the US authorities that Assange has "blood on his hands" that his 2010 data dump endangered the lives of some of those who were mentioned in the documents there is arguably not a shred of evidence that this is so. If harm had come to a member of the military over the past nine years as a result of Assange's actions, would we not have heard the U.S. government trumpeting it to the skies? Whistle-blowers are among our last remaining checks on the contemptuous ease with which those who control information seek to manipulate everybody else. While we don't always respond to the whistle-blowers' revelations as quickly and as strongly as they perhaps hope, they are nevertheless indispensable in keeping lies and misinformation in check. Whistle-blowers should be praised, not punished. So, what are the chances that Julian Assange will escape both extradition to the United States and a lifetime in prison? His lawyers will doubtless argue that no-one was harmed as a result of his revelations (except, perhaps, in their reputations for telling the truth) and that nobody profited from them. A British court might look unfavorably on an extradition request that is brought out of sheer vindictiveness. The reports that Donald Trump contacted Assange through an intermediary, former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, might also help. Trump was allegedly offering to pardon Assange if the Australian would confirm that it was not the Russians who gave him the Hilary Clinton campaign emails he released during the 2016 election campaign. This has all been denied by both Rohrabacher and the Trump White House, but in carefully phrased ways that leave room for suspicion. Trump's recent claim that he does not know Rohrabacher and has never spoken to him directly is especially suspect, since it was Trump who invited the WikiLeaks founder to the White House for a one-on-one meeting in April 2017. British courts will not extradite if the request is politically motivated. But Assange's best chance probably lies elsewhere. During the seven years he lived in Ecuador's embassy in London as a political asylum-seeker, the Spanish security company UC Global installed cameras in every corner of Assange's space in the embassy and live-streamed every contact and conversation he had, including with his lawyers, directly to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. I don't know how a British court will respond to receiving such information, but I think I know how an American court would respond. This is how Ellsberg got off in 1971; the government tapped his phone conversations (and sent burglars to break into his psychiatrist's office to steal his files), and the judge dismissed the case, citing the government's behavior as outrageous and an obstruction to a fair trial. There are bound to be many appeals both in the U.K. and, maybe later, in the U.S., and Assange will not draw a free breath for a long time or if ever. But in the meantime, here's one happy ending: Whistle-blower Edward Snowden was not able to tell his girlfriend his plans before he left the U.S. and released his documents, knowing that it would have made her his accomplice. She was angry at first, but she forgave him, married him in 2017, and still lives with him in Russia. Gwynne Dyer (gwynne763121476@aol.com) has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. He is the author of "Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work)." NEW YORK, Feb 26. 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2018, Kiwi Energy, an energy retailer dedicated to providing innovative energy solutions for electricity and natural gas, established a new partnership with the Ohio River Foundation (ORF). The company is excited to announce that it will be contributing to this important organization again this year. Ohio River Foundation (ORF) is dedicated to protecting and improving the water quality and ecology of the Ohio River and all waters in its 11-state watershed. ORF works towards these goals through environmental education, conservation, and encouraging eco-friendly solutions to polluting business and business practices that serve to inspire environmental stewardship for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future citizens. Kiwi Energy is able to support nonprofit groups running environmentally focused projects, such as the Ohio River Foundation, through the Ecogold Environmental Fund. For every new customer acquired by Kiwi Energy, a portion of the proceeds is donated to the fund. Kiwi Energy's contribution will support Ohio River Foundation's Mussel in the Classroom Education Program. Introduced in 2017, ORF's Mussel in the Classroom (MIC) Program is a first of its kind program in the nation. The MIC program comprises of an in-classroom visit from ORF education staff with freshwater mussel collateral and shells that involves a classroom hands-on learning experience. Students learn about the importance of mussels to an ecosystem, their life cycle, and their current status in the environment. The class is then provided an aquarium and the necessary equipment to maintain and monitor live mussels. Kiwi Energy's ongoing support of institutions that share its values of sustainability and environmental conservation is well represented in its recent contribution to ORF. "Organizations like Ohio River Foundation play an important role in creating more knowledgeable and engaged citizens. Through their Mussels in the Classroom Education program, ORF isn't only fostering creativity and scientific exploration to students, but to entire communities. We're proud to work with such a unique and progressive group." Says Richard Booth, President of Retail Operations, Kiwi Energy. About Kiwi Energy Kiwi Energy is an energy retailer dedicated to providing innovative energy solutions for electricity and natural gas supply. We focus on environmentally conscious products backed by friendly and efficient customer service. As a company, we pride ourselves on transparency and our team is always happy to help with any questions about the energy industry or our services. Please visit https://kiwienergy.us to learn more. About Ohio River Foundation Ohio River Foundation (ORF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 by a group of citizens concerned about the Ohio River, and the need for increased citizen response to the degradation of this valuable natural resource. ORF's mission is to protect and restore the water quality and ecology of the Ohio River and its tributaries for the health and enjoyment of present and future generations. In 2020, ORF celebrates its 20th anniversary of Ohio River watershed work. During its history, the nonprofit has reached 50,000 students with its freshwater education programs; restored and reconnected more than 200 miles of rivers; removed four dams; planted 6,000 trees; and removed more than 100,000 invasive plants. Learn more at http://www.ohioriverfdn.org. Media Contact: Nichola Clark [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg Related Links Kiwi Energy SOURCE Kiwi Energy [The stream is slated to start at 8:45 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference Thursday to update the public on the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 81,400 and killed at least 2,770 so far. Named COVID-19, the virus has shuttered commerce across much of China and is hitting company earnings, global stock markets and manufacturing across the world. WHO officials declared the virus a global health emergency last month, while urging the public against over-reacting to the virus. In the past week, the virus has spread substantially beyond China and is now circulating in at least 37 countries across the world. In Italy, it's infected more than 300 people as of Thursday morning. The majority of the cases are in the northern region of Lombardy and neighboring Veneto, where authorities have shut schools and banned public gatherings in an attempt to contain the virus. South Korea has now confirmed over 1,200 cases of the virus. The recent surge in cases prompted the South Korean government raise the COVID-19 alert to its highest level. Meanwhile, Iran health officials have confirmed over 100 total cases, with about 20 deaths nationwide. Most of the confirmed cases were found in the city of Qom. The number of daily new COVID-19 cases outside China exceeded those inside the country for the first time, the WHO announced Wednesday. "The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time." Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first possible community transmission of the coronavirus in America, a troubling sign that the virus could be spreading in local cities and towns. The localized outbreaks outside of China are fueling concerns among infectious disease experts and scientists that the virus is spreading too quickly and may be past the point of containment. Health officials are warning the public to prepare for a potential global pandemic. As the virus spreads, the WHO's Tedros is calling the international community to action before it's too late. "The window of opportunity is still there, but our window of opportunity is narrowing," he said last week. "We need to act quickly before it closes completely." Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the COVID-19 outbreak. John Williams, the new British Liaison Magistrate to Romania, took up his position in Bucharest at the beginning of February and will work closely with the Romanian Ministry of Justice, according to a statement from the British Embassy in Bucharest. According to the statement, John Williams was a specialist prosecutor with the International Justice and Organised Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service where he dealt with a wide range of offenses for 30 years.The embassy says Williams will provide legal assistance in key areas of international co-operation between the United Kingdom and Romania, calling the appointment of the liaison magistrate yet another example of the strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Romania. AGERPRES Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is introducing the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, which will be marked annually on February 26. He said this in Kyiv on Wednesday at the Age of Crimea Forum 2020 dedicated to the Day of Crimean Resistance to Russian Occupation, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "On this day, exactly six years ago, Simferopol saw the largest gathering in support of the integrity and unity of our state. Honoring the courage and heroism of all participants in the rally, today I am signing a decree on the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. This day will be marked annually on February 26," Zelensky said. He added that returning Crimea to Ukraine's control is not only his goal as president or position as a citizen of Ukraine, not only a common dream of Ukrainians, but also a pledge of security on the planet and restoration of faith in international law. On February 26, Ukraine marks the Day of Crimean Resistance to Russian Occupation. On this day in 2014, a rally in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity was held in front of the building of the Crimean Supreme Council. At the time, pro-Ukrainian protesters were opposed by pro-Russian activists, including those from the Russian Unity Party. Clashes erupted between the parties, in which two people were killed and several dozen were injured. After the occupation of the peninsula, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case (the so-called "February 26 case") and staged a political trial over a number of Crimean Tatar activists. International organizations declared the occupation and annexation of Crimea illegal and condemned Russia's actions. Western countries imposed a number of economic sanctions. Russia denies the occupation of the peninsula. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared February 20, 2014 the start of Russia's temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol. op Rep. Abraham of Louisiana Wont Seek Re-Election Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) joined the host of Republican members of Congress who wont seek re-election this year, announcing his impending retirement. Abraham, 65, said in a statement on Wednesday that his third term in the House of Representatives would be his last. Abraham said he announced his candidacy to represent the states 5th Congressional District six years ago because our national defense had been weakened, our constitutional rights were being challenged, and our economy was in the tank. He and his wife, he said, both feared the direction our country was headed. Now Abraham feels that the national economy is strong and noted that unemployment is the lowest it has been in decades. Our military is stronger now than its been in decades, and consumer confidence is on the rise. As I look back over these three terms in Congress, despite significant partisan opposition, Ive been proud to work for you in helping to turn-the-ship-around,' he told supporters. Abraham said that President Donald Trump asked him in January to consider staying in Congress for another term but he said he decided when first elected that hed only serve three terms. Louisianas 5th Congressional District has only three candidates who have announced bids: Democrats Candy Christophe and Brody Pierrottie, and Republican Randall Scott Robinson. The district went for Trump in 2016 and typically elects Republicans. The three primary websites that track congressional races rate it as solid Republican. Abraham won in 2014 over incumbent Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.). In 2018, Abraham won by over 80,000 votes over a Democratic candidate, Jessee Carlton Fleenor. Abraham joins an exodus of Republicans from Congress, especially from the House. Hes the 23rd Republican representative to announce their retirements at the end of the current Congress, versus six Democrats. Other members of the House are seeking other offices. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), for instance, is running the a U.S. Senate seat while Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Apart from the impending retirements, six Republican members of Congress left office early, including Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who resigned in January after pleading guilty to a corruption charge. Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) left office late last year after an investigation was opened to an affair she allegedly had with a staff member. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday lashed out at Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi over her statement following the Delhi violence. Shankar said: "Tension in Delhi should end. Many people are spreading violence here. At a time when Delhi is returning to peace, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's remark is untimely. When peace is required then there should be no politics". "I condemn this statement of Sonia Gandhi," the Minister said. Earlier, Sonia Gandhi in a statement blamed the Central government for the Delhi violence. After holding a meeting with Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi said: "What has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central government, particularly the Home Minister." She also demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. Prasad said that whether it was Balakot or Uri, the attitude of the Congress has come to the fore. Now when there is a need for peace in Delhi, then such a statement is condemnable. Talking to the media in Delhi, the Union Minister termed the absence of the Congress from the banquet for US President Donald Trump as "cheap politics". He warned the Congress not to indulge in "cheap and light politics". Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabias former Energy Minister has been appointed Investment Minister and will be tasked with securing funds for the Vision 2030 economic program devised and spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. I extend my highest thanks to the shrine of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his loyal Crown Prince for royal confidence by appointing me as Minister of Investment, praying to God to help me to carry the trust, and to help me and my colleagues to achieve the aspirations of leadership and attract qualitative investments that contribute to achieving the vision of the Kingdom 2030, Al-Falih wrote in a tweet earlier today. Last September, Saudi Arabias King Salman replaced Khalid al-Falih with his son Abdulaziz, a long-term member of the Saudi delegation to OPEC. At the time, some saw the move as a sort of punishment for Al-Falih who, according to sources familiar with the workings of Riyadh, has been opposed to the initial public offering of Aramco. Yet the removal of Khalid Al-Falih from the top energy job was only part of a wider reshuffle that saw the energy ministry split into two: energy, and industry and mining. Initially, Al-Falih remained head of the new energy ministry but was later removed. The official was one of the drivers of the first OPEC+ production cut agreement that for the first time involved not just OPEC but a producer as large as Russia. Al-Falih also produced the Whatever it takes approach to oil price control, which, however, seems to have stopped working. His replacement, Abdulaziz bin Salman, is quite a lot more straightforward in his approach to the media, signalling a determined approach to oil policies, too. We did not run out of ideas, we havent lost our phones and there are always good ways of communicating through conference calls and technology is very helpful, the new minister said earlier this week in response to questions about OPECs next moves in the price control offensive. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) West Lafayette street signs are going to look bigger and bolder starting in a few weeks. The Street Department is replacing all 943 signs in the city with ones with larger lettering and more reflective material. The project is expected to span over the next five-years. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control, basically the governing body of our street signs, all regulatory signs changed the minimum letter size on street blades, said West Lafayette Street Commissioner Ben Anderson. The law requires sign letters to be at least six inches in height, the size of the city's current sign letters are around four-inches. In addition to adding a much brighter reflective material, the signs are also graffiti-proof. For Anderson, the best part of all of this is that they're able to make the signs in-house. We've had the machine for a little over a year now and it's been extremely beneficial, said Anderson. The city has invested in nearly $40,000 worth of sign-printing equipment. Theft and knockdowns, traffic accidents, those kinds of things that occur and the ability to be able to print a sign on-demand versus having to place an order and wait six weeks to get it has improved our response time, said Anderson. Anderson said it's also more cost-effective. When you place an order for street blade signs, its all custom, it's about $70 to buy a custom street blade, dual-sided, said Anderson. We can make it for about $35. The new size of the signs has allowed city leaders to launch their new initiative in encouraging community pride. Next to the lettering on the sign is a logo representing the neighborhood the sign is in. It's a great opportunity now that every city has to update their street signage that we can actually put those emblems on to the street signs, said Bryce Patz, with the West Lafayette neighborhood vitality. The goal is for residents to partner with the city to create a design for their neighborhood. We're made of students, we're made of different backgrounds, nationalities so bringing all that background, all that diversity and coming up together an image that represents where you live, that takes pride that takes an initiative, said Patz. Seven of more than twenty neighborhoods have already created emblems for the new signs. If youre interested in creating a logo for your neighborhood you can call the city of West Lafayette at 765-775-5160. Replacing all the street signs in the city is expected to take five years. Its not easy to get yourself noticed in the race for Precinct 3 County Commissioner. When Kevin Wolff announced last year that he was stepping down after three terms in office, there was a stampede of prominent Republicans eager to compete for the lone GOP seat on Commissioners Court. In a crowded primary field with eight candidates, Judy Stuller, a self-funded underdog with no experience in elective office, has figured out a way to get people talking about her candidacy. Stuller might very well be the only candidate in the history of Bexar County politics who has dared to make Nucking Futs a campaign catchphrase. Last weekend, Stuller, 58, placed 20 campaign signs across the precinct (including one at the heavily trafficked intersection of U.S. 281 North and Bitters Road) with the following message: This traffic is nucking futs! Who will fix it? Judy! Judy! Judy! She distributed a companion sign that asks, WTF With Water Rates & Property Taxes??? This is outside-the-box messaging to be sure, but it seems to be having the desired effect. People love em, said Stuller, a self-made entrepreneur who moved to San Antonio from Indiana in 1981 with her then-husband. In fact, people were honking on the highways when I was putting them up. I was on Blanco Road and told people, Im on the Republican ticket. And they said, Were voting for you! Stuller said she was eating with her grandkids at Bakudan Ramen (at The Rim) when the restaurant manager recognized her. This guy was like, Are you the lady on that nucking futs sign? He said, Im voting for you. Nucking futs is a phrase identified with Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, a 2003 David Spade comedy film about a former young TV sitcom star (famous for the line, This is Nucking Futs!) who struggles with adulthood. Stuller hasnt seen the movie. She got the idea from an old article of clothing she had nearly forgotten about. I had a T-shirt once that said something was driving me nucking futs, she recalled. And I was like, Thats a funny word. Stuller said the signs were meant to be tongue in cheek, while conveying her serious sense of frustration with traffic congestion, rising property values and high water rates. She said she didnt worry that someone might drive by, catch a glimpse of her willful spoonerism and get offended. Im a Catholic. Ive never had a drink and then driven a car, Stuller said. I dont use, I mean, Ill admit it, I do use cuss words here and there. But when I hear little kids in the store using the f-word, I just cringe. But when youre sitting in that traffic, thats what youre thinking. Thats what you think about when you open your water bill and when you open your property-tax bill. A self-described fiscal conservative, Stuller argues that the Bexar County Commissioners Court has driven up property tax rates with what she regards as wasteful spending. She has also questioned the direction of the San Antonio Water System, at a time when a coalition of local conservatives (the SAWS Accountability Act PAC) is calling for stricter oversight of the water utility. Stuller has had a remarkably varied career. As a young mother, she paid the bills by cleaning toilets. She and her ex-husband ran a carpet cleaning company. She worked in the construction industry. She had a fire, flood and mold restoration business. She served for years on the Bexar County Child Welfare Board and became a mediator in family disputes. I understand what poverty is and I also understand what it is to work hard and build a company, Stuller said. Her involvement in family probate cases fueled her decision to run for county commissioner. When she saw former Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff enter the Precinct 3 race, she decided that if he could run for the seat, she could too. The Republican race seems headed for a runoff, but its anyones guess wholl make it to the second round. Considerable attention has focused on Trish DeBerry, the public-relations consultant who finished second in the 2009 San Antonio mayors race and has the backing of the local business community. DeBerry has raised nearly $240,000, according to campaign finance reports. The primary race also includes former County Court-at-Law Judge Celeste Brown, perennial conservative warhorse Weston Martinez, banking executive Kenny Vallespin and marketing coordinator Ellen Pfeiffer. In that field of contenders, Stuller has been easy to overlook. A few strategically placed campaign signs, for better or worse, have taken care of that problem. As far as Stuller is concerned, if you dont give her campaign serious consideration, you must be nucking futs. Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 RAMALLAH, West Bank The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently intensified its meetings with Israeli journalists, former lawmakers, political party members and academics in an attempt to gain their cooperation and to explain Palestinians' broad rejection of the US Mideast peace plan. But these gatherings aren't sitting well with the public. Coordinated by the PLOs Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, a series of meetings began Feb. 2, bringing together an Israeli academic delegation and a member of Fatahs Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Ramallah. Since then, several more meetings have been held. On Feb. 14, former Knesset members, Israeli political figures, Palestinian representatives and members of the interaction committee met in Tel Aviv. On Feb. 16, an Israeli delegation of 100 people, including journalists, visited Ramallah to meet with a number of top-level Palestinian political and religious officials. The next day, another delegation visited; this one involved columnists, analysts and political correspondents in the Israeli media. The meetings sparked great anger in the Palestinian public. Palestinian factions condemned the gatherings and demanded they be halted, while dozens of Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah on Feb. 17 demanding the suspension of normalization meetings. Students at Birzeit University in the central West Bank organized a sit-in at the school Feb. 17 to protest the participation of a member of the universitys board of trustees in the Tel Aviv meeting. Also on Feb. 17, unknown youths threw a Molotov cocktail at the restaurant that hosted the meeting between Palestinian and Israeli figures. Even the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement attacked the meetings and the PLO interaction committees work. What the committee is doing is free normalization that harms our struggle in the boycott of Israel," Mahmoud Nawajaa, the Palestinian BDS National Committee general coordinator, told Al-Monitor. All assertions that these meetings are part of confronting the peace plan are false." Rather, the meetings "reflect the state of defeat and surrender [of participants] and harms the efforts of the boycott movements to isolate the occupation and its colonial regimes. Nawajaa added, Rejecting the peace plan can't happen by befriending or begging the Israelis, but rather by taking practical measures to achieve national unity. Palestinians believe the peace plan which US President Donald Trump unveiled at a Jan. 28 ceremony in Washington attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heavily favors Israel. The PAs intense surge toward Israeli society reflects President Mahmoud Abbas' vision of establishing his influence in Israel, to recruit Israeli voices and positions in favor of a political settlement, a return to negotiations and a rejection of the US plan. PLO interaction committee member Ashraf al-Ajrami told Al-Monitor, The Palestinian cause faces challenges, represented by the peace plan and Israels threats to annex the West Bank, so the Israeli and Jewish voice rejecting these plans is important in recruiting public opinion in Israel, Europe and the US to support our rights." The committee also wants to influence Israeli society because Israeli elections are to be held March 2. Any political movement in Israel against the government will indirectly affect the elections, Ajrami said. Addressing whether the meetings have included discussions on the necessity of toppling Netanyahu in the elections, Ajrami said, We discussed the need to reject the peace plan and return to negotiations ... and that the US cannot be a single mediator in the peace process. The Israelis said that this can't happen under the Netanyahu government and a change must be made in Israel. Although the committee has been active for eight years now, critics say its impact has been negligible. But Ajrami challenged that perception. There is a great weakness in the camp of supporters of the political settlement and the left camp in Israel, and we are trying to strengthen this voice," he said. He added, "We have reached a large number of Israelis and were able to influence them, even though they are a minority, but the percentage of Israelis supporting the Palestinian position increased over the years thanks to the committees work. We were able to reach the Israeli media, universities and high schools, he said. Meanwhile, the PA insists on holding meetings with the Israelis and considers these gatherings part of the political struggle. But opponents say that the PA, by ignoring the public's and factions' rejection of the collaboration, is creating a new Palestinian division that will harm attempts to confront the peace plan. A panel of experts advising Waterfront Toronto on Sidewalk Labs proposal for a high-tech neighbourhood on the waterfront continues to express concern about the latters intentions to collect data as part of its plan. The Digital Strategy Advisory Panel (DSAP), a group of people with expertise in areas such as data and data collection, technology and privacy released a report Wednesday saying they questioned whether sufficient benefits had been identified to justify the proposed collection or use of data for certain proposed innovations by Sidewalk Labs. The Google sister firm intends to use sensors and other data-collecting devices to monitor things including pedestrian traffic, noise, weather conditions, and energy and garbage use in the residential and commercial district it proposes for a 12-acre plot of land on the waterfront called Quayside. With regards to Sidewalk Labs digital innovations and digitally enabled services, the advisory panel expressed hesitance about giving specific advice to Waterfront Toronto, saying it was premature to do so before a subject-matter expert on the proposal had the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of the digital innovations. The arms-length, 13-member advisory panel also said the most significant outstanding issues for them was generally the lack of a fully realized digital governance framework and the need for expedited public sector leadership. The City of Toronto has launched public consultations aimed at developing a governance framework new rules and regulations that would govern privacy, data collection and digital infrastructure in smart-technology projects such as Sidewalk Labs. But that governance framework would take until late 2021 to finalize, a recent city report said. Privacy commissioners at both the provincial and federal levels have called for changes to their laws, and both levels of governments are also conducting reviews and/or consultations on their digital strategies, the panel report noted. Waterfront Torontos board is set to vote May 20 on whether to accept or reject the proposal from its innovation partner Sidewalk Labs. The digital panel report suggests pushing back the approval date or deferring approval of the digital elements until after a framework is in place. The digital panels new report is a followup to their preliminary commentary released last summer in which the panel criticized Sidewalk Labs massive master plan of more than 1,500 pages, calling the blueprint frustratingly abstract, repetitive and over-focused on the what rather than the how of the data innovations. Last summers report also took aim at the section of Sidewalk Labs proposal calling for the creation of an urban data trust that would govern data collected in the new Quayside district. Since that time Sidewalk Labs proposal has changed significantly to include the Sidewalk and Waterfront Torontos agreement to let Waterfront Toronto, rather than a trust, oversee data collection, and a new digital innovation appendix that lays out in more detail the types of innovations the company wants to deploy at Quayside and the kind of data the devices would collect and for what purpose. In Wednesdays report the panel called Sidewalk Labs appendix a significant improvement over its master plan however the panel said it remains problematic in important areas and there are still gaps. Have your say: One proposed innovation the panel takes aim at is monitors that would be part of a metered pay-as-you-throw garbage-disposal system. The panel members said in theory the main benefits would be a) building owners would be able to allocate waste removal costs to individual residential units and b) there would be an incentive for tenants to reduce their waste. But some panel members said the metering system has privacy implications. Pay-as-you-throw introduces a new form of surveillance. It is more intrusive than pay-as-you-throw for individual homeowners in Toronto, since (homeowners) pay an annual fee for a particular size receptacle and are not metered based on weight, volume or the kind of waste, the panel says. Where waste disposal fees are on a per-building basis and built into the cost of the rent, these extra burdens (for families that produce more waste like seniors or those with babies) are shared across the entire building, as opposed to being allocated to specific units in ways that may add increased financial pressures, the panel report says. In a statement Wednesday after the panels report was released, Sidewalk Labs spokesperson Keerthana Rang said the urban innovation firm appreciates the panels feedback concerning digital rules and regulations. As we have stated from the beginning, we are committed to complying with all existing and future privacy legislation, regulations and policy frameworks, she said. And while there will be digital technologies embedded in Quaysides buildings to achieve our sustainability goals, the personal information that would be collected is for energy and waste management and billing purposes the same as for residents across Toronto today, Rang went on to say. Waterfront Torontos reply Wednesday to the panel report noted its technical evaluation of Sidewalk Labs proposal found 90 per cent of the proposed innovations are worth advancing and aligned with Waterfront Torontos public policy objectives. Waterfront Toronto says it doesnt believe theres a policy void when it comes to a digital framework, but rather an evolving policy frontier. Waterfront Toronto says construction at Quayside will likely not start earlier than 2023, with occupancy not likely before 2025, and in the interim there will be extensive opportunities for ongoing government and public input on Sidewalk Labs proposal if it proceeds, including the digital components. The City of Toronto will also be voting on the project, on a yet-to-be specified date. If Waterfront Toronto approves the Sidewalk Labs project May 20, a date of Dec. 31 has been set for Waterfront Toronto to decide whether it reaches an implementation agreement with the company. Meanwhile, a second round of public consultations on Sidewalk Labs proposal will kick off Feb. 29 at a downtown hotel. Britain's oldest man today said he could not believe it when he was told he was now the oldest in the world - but added he wouldn't bother celebrating. Bob Weighton, who is 111, admitted he was taken aback when his grandson last night broke the news to him that he had inherited the title following the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, from Japan, at the age of 112. But rather than cracking open a bottle of bubbly, Mr Weighton, who turns 112 next month, concluded it would not be appropriate to celebrate someone else's demise and simply vowed to carry on carrying on. Britain's oldest man today said he could not believe it when he was told he is now the oldest in the world - but added he wouldn't bother celebrating He said: 'My grandson Magnus told me in the car whilst we were travelling in Alton. 'I remember saying: "Oh goodness me, fancy this, little Robert Weighton. It's unbelievable." 'I was taken aback.' Mr Weighton, who still lives on his own in a flat in Alton, Hampshire, was born on March 29 in 1908 and has lived through both World Wars, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the invention of the internet. He added: 'I'm lucky to be this old. 'I never imagined being this old. To be honest I never even thought about getting old.' Explaining his very British reluctance to celebrate his achievement, modest Mr Weighton added: 'It doesn't make a difference. It's just another day in a long life. Bob Weighton, who is 111, admitted he was taken aback when his grandson last night broke the news to him that he had inherited the title following the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, from Japan, at the age of 112 'I'm sorry that someone has had to die for me to get this title. I'm not celebrating anything, my family and I are just taking things as they come.' Grandson Magnus Weighton, 48, said: 'I'm much more proud of Bob and what he has achieved in his life rather than his age.' Mr Weighton was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, and was the middle child of his three brothers and three sisters. He had three children of his own and has 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. He remembers the outbreak of the First World War and as a teenager he trained in marine engineering. Rather than cracking open a bottle of bubbly, Mr Weighton concluded it would not be appropriate to celebrate someone else's demise and simply vowed to carry on carrying on. Pictured: The world's previous oldest man, Chitetsu Watanabe, died on Tuesday But by the time he qualified in 1925 the shipping industry was in decline and so he headed to Taiwan, where he worked as an English teacher and also met his future wife Agnes. On the eve of World War II in 1939, Bob and his family attempted to return to the UK by boat, but after arriving in Canada they were informed the war had begun and they were stuck there. After the attack on Pearl Harbour while Mr Weighton was living in Denver, in the US, his knowledge of the Japanese language meant he was recruited by the British Political Warfare Mission. Mr Weighton said he was shocked to be told that he is now the oldest man in the world Mr Weighton, pictured last year, has lived through the reign of five monarchs and seen 26 Prime Ministers come and go from 10 Downing Street He deciphered enemy messages and also worked to disrupt the morale of the Japanese to try and help the Americans win their fight. After the war, he was finally able to return to England with his wife and three children and spent the rest of his working life as a lecturer in marine engineering at City University in London, until his retirement, aged 65, in 1973. He and his wife, who passed away in 1997, spent much of their retirement volunteering as marriage councillors and helping at youth groups in Alton. Mr Weighton with his children Peter (top left), who is now dead, David (right) and Dorothy, in 2008 celebrating his 100th birthday Mr Weighton was the middle child of his three brothers and three sisters. Pictured left to right: Mr Weighton in 1918 with his sister Margaret, brother David and sisters Bessie and Jean Mr Weighton has lived through the reign of five monarchs and seen 26 Prime Ministers come and go from 10 Downing Street. Remarkably, he had shared the title of Britain's oldest man with Alf Smith, of Perthshire, as the pair were born on the same day, but Mr Smith died last year. Mr Watanabe, from Joetsu City in Japan, had been certified as a Guinness World Record holder for being the world's oldest man and it is thought Mr Weighton will now receive similar honours. The oldest known living woman is Kane Tanaka of Japan, aged 117 years. Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole on Wednesday rejected the BJP's demand for a state government resolution honouring Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for his contribution to the Independence struggle, triggering protest from the Opposition party. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis also demanded that the government ban "Shidori", the in-house magazine of the Maharashtra Congress for publishing "objectionable" references to Savarkar. He tore a copy of the magazine. Speaking in the Assembly, Fadnavis demanded that the government move a resolution on the death anniversary of Savarkar for his sacrifices and contribution to the freedom struggle. To this, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that Fadnavis, a former chief minister, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20, 2018 and January 17, 2019 urging the Centre to honour Savarkar with Bharat Ratna. "I wonder why there had been a delay when the BJP was in power in Maharashtra and also at the Centre," he said. "Modi had been the PM formore thanfive years now while Fadnavis had ruled the state for the last five years. Like today, Savarkar's death anniversary falls every year," he said. NCP ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil objected to the references made to Savarkar by Fadnavis while quoting from the magazine. Meanwhile, Pawar said that everyone has respect for Savarkar and his contribution to the freedom struggle, but not everyone agreed with some of his views. At this point, Patole rejected the demand of the BJP for the government resolution on honouring Savarkar and continued with the rest of the agenda, which angered the MLAs of the BJP. Some MLAs of the BJP entered the Well of the House holding placards and photographs of Savarkar and shouted slogans against Shiv Sena, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Sensing the mood, the Speaker rushed through the business, including passage of some bills and a calling attention notice on crime against women, and adjourned the House for the day. Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was not present in the House. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs who squatted in the Well of the House held parallel proceedings in which Fadnavis accused the Sena of being "desperate" for power and turning a blind eye to insult to Savarkar by Congress leader and former Union minister Manishankar Aiyar. "I recall how Balasaheb Thackeray had protested by hitting Manishankar Aiyar'sphotograph with chappals when the then Union minister had made critical remarks against Savarkar and removed the plaque from the Andaman Cellular Jail," he said. BJP members among themselves "passed" a resolution honouring Savarkar before leaving the House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam were sent to seven-day judicial custody in a forgery case after they surrendered in a Rampur court on Wednesday. The court slated the matter for hearing on March 2. "Today, during the hearing, Azam khan submitted a letter of surrender. 17 cases against him were heard in the court today. While he was granted bail in four cases, he was sent to judicial custody in some others," special counsel Ajay Tiwari told reporters here. Tiwari said that the family members were sent to jail in cases of forgery and criminal intimidation. A local UP court had last month issued a non-bailable warrant against Khan. Over 80 cases have been registered against Azam Khan, many of which are about land encroachment by Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. Azam Khan, an MP from Rampur, is the varsity's chancellor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Trend Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement on the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports with reference to the ministry's website. "As a result of the attack of the armed forces of the Armenian Army on the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly in Nagorno Karabakh on the night of Feb. 25-26, 1992, 613 people were killed with particular cruelty, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people, 487 civilians were seriously injured," the Turkish ministry said in the statement. "Due to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories with inhumane acts against the civilian population, more than one million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes, becoming internally displaced. Currently, 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories are under occupation. Turkish Foreign Ministry sharply condemns the long-term occupation of Azerbaijani lands and the genocide committed in Khojaly," the ministry added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Veeva expands legal action to cover additional Veeva software applications as IQVIA attempts to extend monopoly control Favorable ruling would finally give life sciences companies the freedom to use the software and data products of their choice Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) today announced it is gaining widespread customer support for its antitrust lawsuit against IQVIA (NYSE: IQV). Six of the largest global pharmaceutical companies were among more than 70 depositions gathered as part of the fact discovery phase of the case. As its initial lawsuit successfully advances, Veeva filed a motion this week to expand its legal action to include additional Veeva software applications that IQVIA is excluding customers from using with IQVIA data. "Competition and an open market are key to a healthy economy and are essential in technology, software, and data markets," said Doug Bernheim, chair of the department of economics at Stanford University and partner at Bates White, LLC. "Antitrust law defends customers from any one company asserting their power and control over customers' choices, and the law should be enforced when the economy is deprived of the benefits of competition." IQVIA has a long history of abusing its monopoly position to limit customers and competition. Since 2014, IQVIA has prevented companies from using OneKey reference data with Veeva's master data management software, Veeva Network Customer Master. Over the past two years, IQVIA also began restricting the use of all IQVIA data with Veeva Nitro, a next-generation commercial data warehouse, Veeva Andi, an artificial intelligence (AI) application, and other Veeva software applications. After three years of trying to work with IQVIA in good faith toward a resolution regarding Veeva's master data management software to no avail, Veeva filed its first antitrust lawsuit in 2017 to end IQVIA's long history of anti-competitive behavior. IQVIA's motion to dismiss that case failed and fact discovery is now substantially complete. Trial is expected to take place in late 2021. Veeva filed a second antitrust lawsuit in 2019 to address IQVIA's continued abusive restrictions on customers, this time with Veeva's commercial data warehouse product. Now Veeva is expanding the scope of this lawsuit to cover the ever-increasing list of Veeva software applications that IQVIA is preventing customers from using, including Veeva's AI product. "Antitrust law has long protected consumers from platform providers like IQVIA who attempt to extend their market dominance from one product to another by denying their customers access to alternative, better solutions from competing vendors," said Keith Sharfman, professor of law, St. John's University School of Law. "If successful, Veeva's case against IQVIA will free customers who are currently prevented from using the data and software of their choice." Veeva aims to remove the restrictions IQVIA places on companies. Successful judgments would forever prevent IQVIA from blocking customer choice. Veeva is committed to achieving a successful resolution for the industry that ends IQVIA's long track record of monopoly abuse, despite IQVIA's baseless claims and motions attempting to prevent the case from reaching trial. "IQVIA is harming the life sciences industry by blocking third-party data agreements that ultimately slow getting treatments to the patients that need them," said Peter Gassner, founder and CEO of Veeva. "We have built a very strong case against IQVIA and the evidence continues to mount. We will keep doing what's best for our customers despite attempts by IQVIA to keep this case from being heard. Thanks to the many biopharmaceutical companies from across the industry who testified to IQVIA's abusive monopolistic practices." Customers dealing with IQVIA data restrictions should voice their concerns directly to IQVIA and consider alternative suppliers for both data and CRO services. To stay up-to-date on the status of Veeva's antitrust lawsuit against IQVIA, visit veeva.com/NoDataRestrictions. About Veeva Systems Veeva Systems Inc. is the leader in cloud-based software for the global life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva serves more than 800 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. Veeva is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For more information, visit veeva.com/eu. Forward-looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements, including the timing, impact and outcome of Veeva's antitrust lawsuit with IQVIA, the effect of IQVIA's practices on the life sciences industry, Veeva, and Veeva's customers, the ability of Veeva customers to use Veeva products, and general business conditions, particularly in the life sciences industry. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon Veeva's current plans and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Veeva's expectations as of the date of this press announcement. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Veeva disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Veeva's financial results are included under the captions, "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in the company's filing on Form 10-Q for the period ended October 31, 2019. This is available on the company's website at veeva.com under the Investors section and on the SEC's website at sec.gov. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings Veeva makes with the SEC from time to time. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005475/en/ Contacts: Roger Villareal Veeva Systems 925-264-8885 roger.villareal@veeva.com Kiran May Veeva Systems +44-796-643-2912 kiran.may@veeva.com While there is still a risk of a further current account deficit deterioration in Romania, an economic slowdown among some of the country's main trade partners might also find Romania's current account unprepared to cope with a drop in exports, the European Commission showed in the Country Report regarding Romania, published on Wednesday. According to the Community Executive, the measures adopted by the Romanian authorities contributed to a deepening of the current account deficit and the risks to competitiveness costs. "Past decisions on public and minimum wage increases have played a major role in increasing risks to cost competitiveness. While public wages are not expected to increase significantly in 2020 and 2021, a new minimum wage increase of 7.2% was adopted for 2020. The persistence of a large discrepancy between a strong domestic demand, fuelled by an expansionary fiscal policy, and a weakening external demand resulting in a widening current account deficit, further increases the government's and the economy's externalfinancing needs," the EC report underscores.On the other hand, the European Commission argues that the risks to the financial sector have decreased after the end of 2018, but regulatory uncertainty still persists. "In January 2020, the government amended the most damaging provisions of government emergency ordinance 114/2018. However, legislative uncertainty affecting the business environment, and in particular the financial sector, appears to persist and requires monitoring," the quoted document mentions.The European Commission published on Wednesday the 27 country reports of the analysis called "2020 European Semester: Assessment of progress on structural reforms, prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances, and results of in-depth reviews under Regulation (EU) No.1176/2011." AGERPRES One of the largest clothing retailers in the United States is cutting ties with Peter Nygard following multiple allegations of sexual assault against the Canadian fashion mogul. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Nygard headquarters is shown in Winnipeg Wednesday, February 26, 2020. Ten women filed a lawsuit accusing Peter Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas. Several allege they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard raped them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods One of the largest clothing retailers in the United States is cutting ties with Peter Nygard following multiple allegations of sexual assault against the Canadian fashion mogul. A Dillard's spokesperson says in a statement that the company is refusing current deliveries of Nygard-brand fashions. The department store chain, which has almost 300 stores, has cancelled existing orders and suspended all future purchases from Nygard. A Walmart spokesperson says it is monitoring the allegations against Nygard closely, but did not indicate whether the discount retailer will continue carrying his brand. 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. Two weeks ago, 10 women filed a lawsuit accusing Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas. Nygard, who has not been charged, has denied the allegations through a spokesman, who blames everything on a "conspiracy" caused by a feud with Nygard's billionaire neighbour in the Bahamas. On Tuesday, Nygard stepped down as chairman of his company following an FBI raid on his New York headquarters and a search of offices in California. He is also to divest his ownership interest in the business. In Canada, Fields department store, Hudson's Bay Co. and the North West Company say they have not stocked Nygard products in years, despite being listed on Nygard's website. A handful of smaller stores in both countries have also said they will no longer be carrying the brand. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020 'It is not just the police, but all agencies of governance that are progressively being 'captured' by the forces of Hindutva, led by the central government and by the governments of the states where the BJP has power.' IMAGE: Rioters mercilessly beat up a man during a clash with those opposing the new citizenship law in New Delhi on Monday, February 24, 2020. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters "Even where the party (BJP) lacks such power, a process of ideological transformation of institutions and, crucially, of society, is tearing apart the fabric of society, polarising communities, even families," warns Dr Ajai Sahni, executive director, Institute of Conflict Management, in the concluding segment of a two-part interview with Rashme Sehgal. Prem Mahadevan speaks about the role of mercenaries in Eastern Europe and South Asia, but what has the role of mercenaries been in Kashmir and Afghanistan and how effective have they been on the ground? Motivation for involvement in terrorist movements is always mixed, and the 'ideologically motivated' elements tend to form a small proportion of the overall forces. While India and Afghanistan have not seen the active involvement of formal mercenary companies like the Wagnar Group that Mahadevan mentions, the reality is that a significant proportion of all fighters have mercenary motivation. Certainly, the leaderships of groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad profit hugely from their involvement in terrorism, and have received documented largesse from the Pakistani State, as well as enormous resources from State facilitated donation campaigns. Moreover, generous payment and 'martyrdom' benefits also provide the motivation for many who are drawn from very poor families, and who lack any prospects of advancement. Even where there is little ideological motivation, such elements are willing to take a gamble of a brief 'deployment' -- and the risk of capture or death -- for the possibilities of returning to relative wealth and a hero's welcome. By and large, mercenary elements would tend to be less effective than those who are ideologically motivated, but this also depends on the specifics of the ground situation. Where mercenaries can engineer situations of advantage and relatively low risk, they are capable of inflicting great damage, though, in the face of determined opposition, they are likely to look to saving their own hides. Vikram Sood in his essay 'The Roots of Radicalism' talks about how Pakistan can be described as a unique country with a sense of bitterness and grievance for territories that have never formed part of its country. Its sense of injustice over the annexation of J&K by India has become such an obsession for them. Are we in India witnessing a similar phenomenon with the saffronisation of our institutions? The saffronisation process in India today mirrors the early stages of Islamist radicalisation in Pakistan. It is not just the police, but all instrumentalities and agencies of governance that are progressively being 'captured' by the forces of Hindutva, led by the central government and by the governments of the States where the BJP has power. Even where the party lacks such power, a process of ideological transformation of institutions and, crucially, of society, is tearing apart the fabric of society, polarising communities, even families, and is destroying the trust in institutions and in communities that is the bedrock of stability in any political system. We will be paying the cost of this perversity for decades to come. Each chapter in the book has started with a quote by K P S Gill. Two of the most incisive quotes are 'Truth does not triumph unless it has champions to propound it, unless it has armies to defend it.' The other is 'The harsh truth is that the weak are never at peace. That is as true of nations as it is of men: it is not a choice or a moral predicament but an inexorable law of nature'. Although Gill was indeed a counter insurgency expert, is this not stretching a point a bit too far? I think these are profound observations, based on a lifetime of engaging with real conflicts on the ground. In his book, Knights of Falsehood, Mr Gill documented the slow and corrosive process of fringe Sikh radicalisation that abruptly transformed itself into the movement of Khalistani terrorism because it met with little resistance from within the Sikh community, from the Akali leadership, or from any state or societal institution. While the enemies of democracy are vigorous in propagation of their vicious ideologies, democrats tend to believe that the superiority of their system is 'self-evident' and needs no defence. As for 'the weak are never at peace', I believe that this is evident everywhere, both in the lives of individuals and of nations. Weakness will inevitably force entities into a relationship of subordination, of oppression or of ineffectual resistance. Eventually, power prevails, even if we don't recognise certain patterns of power as easily as we do others. Peter Kiss's essay 'The counter-insurgency doctrines of Russia, the United States and India' emphasises how the Indian security forces may have suffered losses and reverses on the ground with several conflicts have dragged on for decades but India has not lost a single counter-insurgency campaign so far. But the point is that if an insurgency carries on for too long inflicting heavy losses, does that not in itself create an unsustainable situation? Why is the situation 'unsustainable'? India has engaged with insurgencies since the moment of its birth, and has gradually neutralised several of these, while the power and intensity of others have slowly been eroded. We may argue that more efficient means could have been devised or adopted. Equally, it is possible to emphasise that more catastrophic consequences could have followed other and ill-conceived policy interventions. These exercises cannot be undertaken from the comfort of our armchairs. The Indian establishment could have learned much more from its past successes and failures, and translated this learning into effective counter-insurgency doctrines, strategies and tactics. Despite a failure to do this, State agencies and forces eventually gravitate to what has worked in the past, and theatre after theatre sees eventual resolution. This seems a far better outcome than the counter-insurgency experience of many of the 'great powers' of recent history. Hiranmay Karlekar lists out the crucial role that Mr Gill played in eliminating militancy from Punjab. His leadership in a sense proved the turning point as also the fact that he came up with a comprehensive strategy to tackle them which did not exclude holding a dialogue with them literally on a daily basis. Can you elaborate on this and why this seems to be missing in the India of today? First, the Punjab experience has not been sufficiently studied, understood and absorbed by the country's security establishment. Everyone has his own theory about what actually happened in Punjab. Some claim that terrorism there ended because 'the people turned against the terrorists'; others claim that it ended because Pakistan withdrew support from the Khalistanis; still others insist that indiscriminate brutalities brought terrorism to an end. All these are contra-factual, illogical and ignorant explanations of what happened, but as long as they dominate the security and media discourse, no constructive lessons can be drawn from the Punjab experience. Also, the present national leadership is resistant to reason and history, is overwhelmingly motivated by hate, and has little capacity to learn from past experience or even to accommodate current experience and evidence in its policies and practices. Crucially, this leadership is captive to its own campaigns of falsification and deception, and lacks the capacity to make informed choices in the national interest. Rashme Sehgal has had a long career in journalism and worked for The Times of India, The Indian Post among other newspapers. She can be contacted at news@rediff.co.in The conviction of former film producer Harvey Weinstein in a New York criminal courtroom Monday on one charge of third-degree rape and one charge of first degree criminal sex acts was the foreordained outcome of a trial that violated the most elemental principles of due process for the accused. Weinstein, now 67-years-old, faces a possible sentence of over 25 years in prison. It is more than likely that he will die in prison. Harvey Weinstein at court [Credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig] Anyone who has not been swept up in the frenzy of the anti-Weinstein media hysteria and who takes questions of democratic rights seriously can only be disgusted by the media-orchestrated travesty, instigated by the New York Times, that produced this result. The viciously anti-democratic and reactionary agenda that underlay the conduct of the trial is summed up in the lead editorial published in yesterdays Times. The very first line of the editorial, titled The Lessons of #MeToos Monster, hails the hard-won, long-overdue conviction of Harvey Weinstein. To assert that the conviction was overdue implies that the trial was unnecessary, that it was an obtrusive formality that unnecessarily delayed the destruction of the sub-human thing, the Monster. The great achievement of the prosecution, the Times continues, was the prosecutors ability to break through a barrier common to many assault cases, a lack of physical or other corroborating evidence. In other words, the prosecution succeeded in securing a conviction without having to present verifiable and reliable evidence of Weinsteins guilt, let alone proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But how was this blatant violation of the rights guaranteed to all defendants by the Constitution to be achieved? First, it required the escalation of the hysterical media campaign that would strip Weinstein of any semblance of humanity and make him an object of universal hatred. However, that was not sufficient. The success of the prosecution required the collaboration of an unprincipled and cowardly judge who was willing to violate his responsibility to conduct the trial in a manner that protected Weinsteins constitutional rights. In the violently hostile climate in which the case came to trial, Judge James M. Burkes principal responsibility was to insulate the jury from the extraordinarily prejudicial impact of the medias campaign for Weinsteins destruction. But Burke did precisely the opposite. He did everything he could to facilitate the transmission of anti-Weinstein news and sentiment to the jury. Casually dismissing the scale of the media campaign and its potential impact on the jurors, the judge ignored an important legal precedent. In 1966, the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Sheppard v. Maxwell overturning the conviction of a doctor, Sam Sheppard, who was found guilty of killing his wife in Cleveland, Ohio. The court denounced the Cleveland media for creating a carnival atmosphere that inflamed and prejudiced the public in a case that later inspired the long-running 1960s television series and 1993 film The Fugitive. The court sharply criticized the judge for failing to take appropriate measures to counteract the manipulation of the jury by the medias campaign for Sheppards conviction. Due process, the court wrote, requires that the accused receive a trial by an impartial jury free from outside influences. Ignoring this legal precedent, Judge Burke flouted its principles from start to finish. He orchestrated the case in a manner intended to prejudice the jury and guarantee Weinsteins conviction. Burkes conduct of the trial reflects the impact of the aftermath of the 2017 trial of 19-year-old Stanford University student Brock Turner. The humane sentence handed down by the presiding judge, Aaron Persky, was followed by a savage retaliatory campaign led by the Democratic Party, which organized a successful recall campaign to remove the judge. Burkes procedural rulingsconsistently hostile to the defenseleave little doubt that the judge was most concerned about what would happen to his career if he was perceived as being soft on Weinstein. The most basic measure that had to be taken to limit the influence of the press campaign was to order the sequestration of the jury during the trial. This was not done, and so the medias message was able to reach the jurors every day. Burke refused the defenses request for a change of venue to escape the hostile media climate of New York City. He allowed jury selection to continue even when Los Angeles Countys Democratic district attorney, Jackie Lacey, announced new charges the day before potential jurors reported to court in New York in order to generate prejudice and present Weinsteins ultimate conviction as inevitable. Press reports from the first days of jury selection show that a large portion of potential jurors excused themselves because they felt they could not be fair to Weinstein. Burke publicly scolded Weinstein for using a cell phone in court as the latter awaited the commencement of a hearing, spurring a wave of media denunciations of Weinstein, which the jurors would have been able to learn about through television, the print media or by surfing the internet once they returned home. Weinsteins attorney, who recognized Burkes hostile attitude, asked the judge to recuse himself from the case. He denied the motion. Burke cynically refused to acknowledge the very real danger that media coverage of the trial would prejudice the jury, baldly stating that jurors will be deciding based on what they hear inside the courtroom regardless of what the press or anybody else has said about the case outside the courtroom. The judge refused to unseat a female juror when information surfaced that the individual had lied to the court during jury selection about the content of a book she had authored. The juror said the book was merely about the relationship between parents and young adult characters. In fact, it depicts three girls who are victims of predatory older men. Burke allowed the prosecution to show photographs of Weinsteins naked body to humiliate the defendant and reinforce the notion that no Hollywood starlet could possibly consent to have sex with a physically unattractive man. Shortly before the start of jury deliberations, Burke scolded Weinsteins defense attorney for writing an article in Newsweek calling for an acquittal. Reported and amplified in the media, the judges angry remarks sent a hostile signal to the jurors just as they were about to decide Weinsteins fate. But the decision most harmful to the defense was Burkes decision to allow several witnesses whose allegations against Weinstein were not a part of any criminal case to testify that Weinstein committed prior wrong acts. This enabled the prosecution to open its case with testimony from actress Annabella Sciorra. Although her allegations had never been the subject of a criminal case and were well past the statute of limitations, Sciorras harrowing testimony set the tone for the trial of the Monster. Ultimately, the acquittal of Weinstein of predatory rapethe charge Sciorras testimony was intended to proveindicates that some jurors did not believe her. But it strains credulity to believe that her ghastly account of her relationship with Weinstein did not have some impact on the jurors as they rendered judgment on the other charges. This bad character or criminal propensity argumentthat Weinstein must be guilty now because of his past general treatment of womenis incompatible with the protection of the rights of the accused. In 1967, the Supreme Court wrote in Spencer v. Texas: Evidence of prior crimes introduced for no purpose other than to show criminal disposition would violate the Due Process Clause [it] has been forbidden because it jeopardizes the presumption of innocence of the crime currently charged. A jury might punish an accused for being guilty of a previous offense, or feel that incarceration is justified because the accused is a bad man without regard to his guilt of the crime currently charged. Burkes handling of the case and the press hysteria surrounding the trial violate nearly every principle enumerated by the Supreme Court in its Sheppard ruling, which ostensibly remains good law. There, the court ruled that despite the extent and nature of the publicity to which the jury was exposed during trial, the judge refused defense counsel's other requests that the jurors be asked whether they had read or heard specific prejudicial comment about the case, including the incidents we have previously summarized. The court reproached the judge for allowing the influence of the press to render meaningless the judges pro forma declarations respecting due process: The prosecution repeatedly made evidence available to the news media which was never offered in the trial. Much of the evidence disseminated in this fashion was clearly inadmissible. The exclusion of such evidence in court is rendered meaningless when news media make it available to the public. As a result, the court said: Murder and mystery, society, sex and suspense were combined in this case in such a manner as to intrigue and captivate the public fancy to a degree perhaps unparalleled in recent annals. Throughout the pre-indictment investigation, the subsequent legal skirmishes and the nine-week trial, circulation-conscious editors catered to the insatiable interest of the American public in the bizarre... In this atmosphere of a Roman holiday for the news media, Sam Sheppard stood trial for his life. The decision concluded: Collaboration between counsel and the press as to information affecting the fairness of a criminal trial is not only subject to regulation, but is highly censurable, and worthy of disciplinary measures. The final verdict in the Weinstein case, apparently reached through a compromise among the jurors, is inherently contradictory and indicates that the prosecution and the press succeeded in confusing the specific legal issues involved. How otherwise could the jury believe accuser Jessica Manns testimony as it related to the lesser charge but disbelieve it on the heavier charge? The conviction establishes a rule where guilt can be established on nothing more than the statements of accusers, who, the Times and prosecutors claim, must always be believed, even where, as here, there existed substantial evidence showing the accusers maintained longstanding consensual relationships with Weinstein. On the basis of these new rules, an untold number of peoplealmost all of them poor, most of them blackwill be locked up for crimes they did not commit. Many people remember the Times' calls for vengeance in the case of the Central Park Five, when working class black youth were convicted and jailed for a murder they did not commit. On April 26, 1989, the Times wrote an editorial titled The Jogger and the Wolf Pack, dehumanizing the innocent children. A pack of teenagers rampages through Central Park raping an innocent young woman, the Times wrote. New Yorkers respond with unanimous fury: Those guilty of the atrocity deserve swift, stern punishment. The great trials in American history are those that defended or, in the best instances, expanded democratic rights. People remember with gratitude the cases that ended, in the face of a witch-hunting environment, with acquittals. There is nothing uplifting, let alone enlightening, about a trial in which a conviction is secured through the gross manipulation of public opinion. Those who justify their adaptation to the witch-hunting because they do not like Harvey Weinstein should think about the consequences of their indifference to the defense of democratic rights. Int'l travellers who test COVID positive at the airport will not be allowed to go to their destinations Who is Firhad Hakim? Know Kolkata's New Mayor Age, Education, Family and Other Details Explained: Why Kolkata Port Trust is leasing out land parcels as big as London Docklands India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 26: Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) now renamed Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port is looking to lease out more of this 20 land parcels on a long-term basis to boost profit. In an interview at his office in Kolkata, Vinit Kumar, Chairman said that Kolkata Port which owns about 4,500 acres in West Bengal (18 square kilometers) which is roughly the size of the derelict London Docklands, but uses only about 2,000 acres for its own operations. "We plan to gainfully utilize this land bank. The focus is on improving operations, augmenting capacity and also diversification'' Kumar said. Some of these land parcels are unused while some were in use till recently but vacant now, he added. The 150-year-old Kolkata Port will be offering two models of payment for the lease in order to focus on improving profitability after years of high costs. For the first time in 15 years, India's oldest operating port had reported a profit of 600 million rupees in the last financial year due to rising cargo volumes, more efficient handling, and lower staff costs. KoPT reduced headcount to about 3,600 from 6,000 ten years ago, and over the past five years it has created a 35 billion rupee fund that will be managed by Life Insurance Corporation of India for its 23,000 pensioners. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 "We expect better profit next financial year. The economic slowdown has not impacted us much -- we are still growing,'' Kumar said to the Bloomberg. KoPT with its two Dock Systems Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) & Kolkata Dock System (KDS) is the gateway to Eastern India for the rest of the world. The firm already rents out some land to 22 companies including Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Tata Chemicals Ltd. The firm rent income of about 3 billion rupees ($42 million) accounted for 12% of Kolkata Port's revenue for the year ended March 2019 and Kumar aims to double lease earnings in the coming years. On 26 February, an all-inclusive meeting of Yemeni political forces was held in the Jordanian capital Amman under the auspices of the UN mission to Yemen which is based in Jordan, to discuss the possibility of relaunching the Geneva settlement track. The Geneva process was proposed to settle the Yemen crisis which erupted after the Houthi rebellion against the internationally-recognised government (in September 2014), but was suspended due to war and conflict conditions. The Stockholm process was launched at the end of 2018 as a tributary track between Houthis and the legitimate government, but it too failed in resolving the Yemeni crisis. Participants in the gathering told Al-Ahram Weekly before the meeting that the Geneva process is a comprehensive settlement track that discusses all aspects of the crisis. So-called active political forces in Yemen were expected to participate in the meeting; namely, political forces that are politically and militarily involved in Yemen, including the General Peoples Congress Party, the Reform Party, the Houthis, the Transitional Council and the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Movement of the South. Fouad Rashed, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Movement of the South, expected the agenda in Amman to discuss three main issues. First, agreeing to relaunch the comprehensive Geneva track. Second, forming the platforms that will participate in it, since there is still debate about the South participating with a delegation independent of the legitimate government. Also, whether the issue of the South will be included on the agenda of talks or if it will be under the umbrella of the recognised government. The Houthi platform will be led by Mohamed Abdel-Salam, the leader of the movement at Stockholm. Third, setting a deadline to launch the initiative, either within one month after the Amman meeting, at the end of March, or in April. If agreement is reached on the process and timeline, the agenda will be discussed. Other sources at the meeting said there has been Saudi-Houthi rapprochement recently and they have almost reached agreement amongst themselves. The source said the recognised government in Yemen is aware of these steps which began in parallel with the Riyadh agreement between the government and the Transitional Council in the South. Recently, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan hinted at the Munich Security Conference and during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas this week that there are communication channels open with the Houthis. Although he did not give positive signs, if these contacts come to fruition, they will positively impact the overall settlement process. The source said the Stockholm track will be assessed since its status is debatable. Some believe it has failed completely and therefore there is a need to return to the Geneva track. Others feel the two tracks can move in parallel since the Amman meeting is taking place alongside the prisoner exchange deal between Houthis and the government. This means Stockholm is alive and well, and its fate will be decided in Amman since it is uncertain if all parties will agree on relaunching Geneva, and this is an attempt to revive the overall settlement process. Mohamed Abdel-Hadi, member of the Southern Movement, said there are consultations underway on forming the Southern platform for Geneva. It is likely that three platforms will be formed: the legitimate government; the Houthis and southerners. All other political forces will send representatives under the umbrella of the government. There was a suggestion of forming two delegations, [the Houthis and] the government which would also include the South, he said. But I dont think that will be approved because there is another problem: southerners are not united amongst themselves. Many meetings were held in several capitals to form a united front in the South under UN auspices. In fact, the Transitional Council believes it officially represents the South based on the Riyadh agreement and the approval of the coalition. However, there are other forces that formed the southern peaceful movement in 2017. Other than the procedural problems facing the Geneva track, there are other complications about the topics to be discussed at the negotiating table. Abdel-Hadi said: Due to the long conflict, balances of power, alliances and retribution are taking shape, and there will be many disputed issues, including the type of state and political system. Both depend on each other; will it be a state with two regions or more? Perhaps six regions, as proposed in the national dialogue? This would lead to more fragmentation, and the same for the political system. It is most likely this will be the central pivot in discussions. *A version of this article appears in print in the 27 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the title: Back to Geneva Search Keywords: Short link: A grieving Mohammed Sahil waited anxiously at the GTB Hospital on Wednesday to collect the body of his father who suffered a fatal gun shot injury during the violence in northeast Delhi. Sahil, 26, a resident of north Gonda area, says his father, Parvez Alam (50), ran a garage and was trying to pacify people from both communities to not engage in violence. "As he stood near the door of our home last night, a bulled hit him in the back, and he collapsed. We ran after we saw him on the ground," the weeping son recalled. But, that was only the beginning of horror, says Sahil, who assisted his father in running the garage. "We called 100 number for police but got no response, we tried emergency ambulance number, but again in vain. We then tried to reach out to police, but they did not help us," Sahil alleged. The northeast Delhi resident said, he then requested a friend to "lend me his scooty" to travel to the GTB Hospital, about 5-6 km from his residence. "But, mobs were running amok in the streets, and my friend who accompanied me daubed a 'tilak' on my forehead so we could escape the fury of the crowd. We were fearing for our lives, and my father was bleeding profusely," the son recalled. Sahil and his friend, who did not wish to be named, stood at the GTB Hospital, with blood stain on their clothes. He died at the hospital after suffering profuse bleeding, Sahil said. "We carried him (Parvez) on the scooty to hospital. And, this is the national capital, not a backward village. What is happening to our country? Hindus and Muslims have lived in peace in my neighbourhood, but politicians provoked people with inflammatory speeches, and it happened just before the violence too, not to mention during election campaigning," he rued. At least 24 fatalities have been reported in the violence over the last few days, 22 at GTB Hospital and two at LNJP Hospital. Over 200 people have been injured in the violence in various parts of northeast Delhi in the last few days. GTB Hospital authorities said, post-mortem is being conducted and family members would be handed over the bodies after due formalities. Of the 22 deaths recorded at GTB Hospital, at least nine have died of gun shot injuries, Medical Superintendent Sunil Kumar said. "People are fighting over religion and discriminating between a Hindu and a Muslim, and some of them label us as 'Pakistanis'. I was born on this soil and die here. It is my motherland too," an overwhelmed Sahil said. Asked where would he bury his father, he said, "We are just waiting to get 'walid sahab's' (father's) body, then we will take it to Muzaffarnagar," he said. "My father was born in Muzaffarnagar and migrated to Delhi. We had our garage initially in Civil Lines and then moved to Wazirabad. People knew my father, Hindus and Muslims, he always stood for social harmony," he said. "But, all he got in return from society was a bullet in his back," Sahil said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French startup Cityscoot is raising a $25.6 million (23.6 million) funding round from Allianz France, Demeter as well as existing investors Groupe RATP and Banque des Territoires. The startup is also raising at least $6.5 million (6 million) in debt in order to finance its service. Cityscoot is a free-floating electric scooter service (moped scooters). Users can locate and unlock scooters using a mobile app. You can then park it and lock it again. The service is currently live in Paris, Nice, Milan and Rome. With todays funding round, the startup plans to expand to two new European cities, starting with Barcelona in May 2020. Cityscoot will operate a fleet of 8,000 scooters. In Paris alone, Cityscoot handles 15,000 to 25,000 trips per day. Each trip lasts 15 minutes on average. Given that you pay 0.24 to 0.34 per minute, it means that Cityscoot is generating tens of thousands of euros of revenue per day in Paris. Over the past few months, Cityscoot has partnered with Uber so that you can locate and unlock scooters straight from the Uber app. It looks like the integration isnt live yet. Cityscoots main competitor Coup shut down a couple of months ago. Even though Coup is a well-known brand in this market with a loyal customer base that regularly uses our services, operating Coup in the long term has become economically unsustainable, the company said at the time. Unit economics could be the reason why Cityscoot recently raised its prices. If you dont top up your account, you now pay 0.34 per minute instead of 0.29 per minute. You pay less if you buy prepaid packages. This could be a great way to foster recurring use. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed two expert bodies to assess any adverse effect of expansion of a dumping ground in suburban Kanjurmarg on a flamingo sanctuary located in the vicinity. A division bench asked the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to carry out an evaluation whether the dumping ground expansion will adversely impact the sanctuary and submit a report after two weeks. The bench comprised Acting Chief Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice N R Borkar. The court was hearing a petition filed by NGO Vanshakti against the expansion plan of the dumping ground to 121 hectares from the present 65 hectares proposed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). As per the plea, the expansion was in violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms and would cause irreparable damage to the eco-sensitive zone of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary. On December 5, 2019, another HC bench had lifted a September 19, 2019, stay on waste dumping at the site. The order had pointed that there was a lack of space for dumping and treating solid waste in Mumbai as the dump yard at suburban Mulund was closed in 2018, and the overburdened dumping ground in Deonar was also proposed to be shut. Vanshakti then approached the Supreme Court against the December 2019 ruling. Last week, the apex court referred the matter back to the HC and directed it to reconsider the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) STORY LINK Pound Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) Exchange Rate Steady as Sterling Performs Well Amid Global Covid-19 Fears GBP/NOK Exchange Rate Rangebound, Could Sterling Sink on Brexit Jitters? NOK/GBP Exchange Rate Steady In Spite of Strong Norwegian Labour Data GBP/NOK Outlook: Could the Norwegian Krone Rise on Strong Retail Sales? Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound to Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) exchange rate held at around 12.160kr this morning, with Sterling continuing to benefit from rising fears over the global spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) as the UK remains relatively unscathed by the epidemic.Paul Meggysei, an analyst at JP Morgan, said that Sterling had continued to perform idiosyncratically rather than as a traditional reserve currency due to the UK having avoided the coronavirus panic.Sterling has also benefited from a weakening US Dollar following yesterdays rising odds of a rate cut from the US Federal Reserve as a slowing global economy threatens to weaken Americas presently robust economic performance.The Pounds (GBP) gains are likely to be short-lived, however, as Brexit jitters are set to return after Downing Street rejected the EUs onerous negotiation mandate.Prime Minister Boris Johnsons official spokesperson commented:[The UK has] been very clear on our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations, but we will not accept any demands for the UK to follow EU rules, just as we would not expect the EU to accept UK laws.The Norwegian Krone (NOK) failed to capitalise on todays strong Norwegian Labour Force Survey for December, which rose by 3.9%. Due to sinking oil prices over fears of a global spread of the coronavirus, the oil-correlated NOK has continued to suffer.Ned David Research said in its statement:The oil market is looking down the barrel at no demand growth for the calendar year, and outright demand contraction is now on the table.With the Norwegian Krone being so closely tied to the Eurozones economic strength, NOK investors have reasons for concern following Germanys flagging economic performance and dimming outlook for 2020.Also, with Norways economy being particularly reliant on a healthy global supply chain, concerns of a slowing global economy are leaving many investors feeling wary of the Norwegian Krone today.Norwegian Krone (NOK) investors will be looking ahead to tomorrows publication of Januarys Norwegian Retail Sales report. With the figure expected to rise from -2% to 1.1%, however, we could see the NOK/GBP exchange rate being to edge higher.Sterling traders, meanwhile, will be paying close attention to Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Deputy Governor for Financial Stability for the Bank of England, tomorrow. If he is notably downbeat in his assessment of the British economy going forward this would prove Pound-negative.The GBP/NOK exchange rate will continue to be driven by Brexit developments, however, with any signs of the UK and the EU becoming more heated in trade discussions ahead of next month weakening the Pound. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Norwegian Krone Forecasts Pound Norwegian Krone Forecasts The Zacks Schools industry comprises for-profit education companies that offer undergraduate, graduate and specialized programs in the areas of finance, accounting, analytics, marketing, healthcare, business and technology. The industry players also offer child care services and career-oriented, post-secondary courses. Some companies within the industry also provide yoga classes and yoga-related retail merchandise-integrated fitness classes, and conduct workshops and teacher training programs. Lets take a look at the industrys three major themes: A drop in unemployment level and higher disposable income are working in favor of for-profit education companies. Also, an improving business climate under the Trump administration seems to be the biggest catalyst for the industry. Apart from this, in order to boost profitability, school companies are resorting to aggressive cost cutting through significant layoffs, campus closings and consolidations. Developments like switching to online education programs, increasing use of technology in education, more investments in education, regular introduction of programs and specializations should boost student outcomes along with tie-ups with different organizations to reduce exposure to Title IV funding, improve academic quality and retain students. Many for-profit education companies are investing in non-degree programs and designing programs that are specifically aimed at meeting the educational needs of working adults in targeted professions. On the flip side, growth in the industry may be impeded by legal and regulatory issues faced by postsecondary schools in the United States, increased competition, higher expenses for various programs, and shortage of skilled labor. Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bullish Prospects The Zacks Schools industry is an 17-stock group within the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #114, which places it at the top 45% of more than 250 Zacks industries. The groups Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates impressive near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. The industrys position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually gaining confidence in this groups earnings growth potential. Since January 2020, the industrys earnings estimate for 2020 has gone up approximately 11.6%. Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider, lets take a look at the industrys recent stock-market performance and valuation picture. Industry Outperforms Sector & S&P 500 The Zacks Schools industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite over the past year. The stocks in this industry have collectively gained 25.6% versus the broader sectors growth of 6.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has gained 14.7%. One-Year Price Performance Story continues Industrys Current Valuation On the basis of forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing for-profit education stocks, the industry is currently trading at 30.9X versus the S&P 500s 18.4X and the sectors 19.6X. Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 38X, as low as 15.5X and at the median of 28.1X, as the chart below shows. Industrys P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) Versus S&P 500 Bottom Line The current economic scenario, business climate and new regulations bode well for the industrys growth in the near term. Moreover, for-profits education companies are forging corporate and community college partnerships to educate their workforce. Prudent cost management and continued focus on driving profitability along with strategic initiatives are expected to boost the industrys growth. Here we present four stocks from the for-profit education industry, which carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and are well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (UTI): This Scottsdale, AZ-based technical education service provider currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 125% for the current year. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2020 EPS has risen 44.4%. Price and Consensus: UTI Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE): This Chicago, IL-based educational service provider offers a wide array of programs across medical and healthcare, financial services, and business and law. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 companys fiscal 2020 EPS has moved up 0.4%. Price and Consensus: ATGE GP Strategies Corporation (GPX): Headquartered in Columbia, MD, this company provides performance improvement and learning solutions worldwide. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an expected earnings growth rate of 71.1% for 2020. Price and Consensus: GPX Investors might also prefer holding on to the following Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks with impressive prospects. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC): Headquartered in West Orange, NJ, this company provides career-oriented, post-secondary education services to high school graduates and working adults in the United States. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 150% for 2020. Price and Consensus: LINC Strategic Education Inc. (STRA): Headquartered in Herndon, VA, this post-secondary education provider has an expected earnings growth rate of 11.5% for 2020. Price and Consensus: STRA Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020? Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Dont miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys. Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 today >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Universal Technical Institute Inc (UTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Strategic Education Inc. (STRA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) : Free Stock Analysis Report GP Strategies Corporation (GPX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Enfusion , the leading provider of cloud-based investment management software, managed middle & back-office services and data analytics, today shares the extension of its executive leadership team with its hire of Julie Nagle as Chief Human Resources Officer. Over the last 25+ years, Nagle has delivered vision, strategy and results to global human resources teams across the information technology, professional services and financial services industries. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President - Human Resources at Trustwave, Head of Human Resources at Harris Associates and Senior Vice President - Human Resources at Forsythe Technology, Inc. During her tenure as a forward-thinking and effective human resources leader, Julie has successfully enhanced the designs of talent acquisition and management, leadership development, succession planning and change management programs. "We look forward to learning from Julie's expertise as she implements her strategy for building out our global HR team and improving our talent management process," says Jason Morris, Enfusion President. "In 2019 alone, we increased our global staff by 121% and are planning for a 188% increase in 2020. Our team's exponential growth made Julie's hire more crucial than ever as we continue to onboard and develop our talent. We are thrilled to have Julie as our HR leader to ensure we remain a best place to work and further evolve into a world class organization!" "Enfusion's leadership and HR teams have done an outstanding job attracting talent and fostering a welcoming and collaborative environment," shares Julie Nagle, Enfusion's Chief Human Resources Officer. "It is such an exciting time to be at Enfusion as we continue to rapidly grow and evolve. I am eager to begin working with the executive team to create and streamline a global HR strategy that will compliment the talented employees at this firm and position Enfusion for continued success." Enfusion's software solution, was recently recognized as the "best in class" full front-to-back office investment management platform in the industry by Aite. Featuring cloud-based and fully integrated multi-asset class solutions for front, middle, and back office, Enfusion provides investment managers with real-time transparency and seamless process optimization. About ENFUSION Enfusion helps over 4,000 funds transform their business by combining software, services and analytics on one platform with one golden dataset. We unite trading, compliance, positions, accounting and strategic analytics to deliver consistent control for global financial management. We allow every single team member to leverage the same insight, in real-time across the entire portfolio. With 8 global offices spanning 4 continents, our expert team enables investment firms to communicate, analyze, scale and prosper with one solution. Visit www.enfusionsystems.com for more information. Follow us on Twitter @EnfusionSystems and LinkedIn SOURCE Enfusion Related Links http://www.enfusionsystems.com NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 14th, at 07.00 am Tanzanian time Anastasiia Zaitseva has reached the highest summit of the African continent and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341') in Tanzania. "This expedition was supposed to be just a warm-up before my other mountains from the 7 Summits program, but I wouldn't say it was easy. I started the summit push at midnight, without getting any sleep and being awake since 5 am the day before. A few hours after we left the camp, the severe wind began and made the climb more difficult. But every step felt easier as I knew that my climb has a purpose and kids in developing countries are already receiving cardiac care. To date, I was able to raise more than $5,000 for Save a Child's Heart (SACH) - a global humanitarian organization. And it's only the beginning" comments Anastasiia. Summit of Kilimanjaro Anastasiia Zaitseva About Summits2Hearts: Summits2Hearts is a charity project started by NYC based Ukrainian TV host Anastasiia Zaitseva, who suffered from a congenital heart malformation herself. Anastasiia is planning to summit the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents, raising money for life-saving heart treatments for children from developing countries. The goal of the project is to improve as many kids' lives as possible by removing limitations caused by congenital heart disease and to bring pediatric cardiac surgeries and education for regular care to the countries where they are needed the most to children of all backgrounds. You can learn more or participate at https://www.summits2hearts.org. Media Contact: Anastasiia Zaitseva 646-683-7379 [email protected] SOURCE Summits2Hearts Related Links https://www.summits2hearts.org U.S. equity-index futures edged higher while stocks in Europe and Asia dropped on Wednesday as investors digested fresh evidence of the widening coronavirus outbreak. Gold advanced and crude oil slid. Contracts on the three main American equity gauges turned higher after fluctuating for most of the session, a day after the S&P 500 Index fell three per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined as Diageo Plc and Danone SA warned the outbreak will hit sales in China. The first cases in Greece and in South America emerged, while Spain locked down a seaside resort hotel with about 1,000 guests and workers inside. Stocks in Sydney and Seoul led declines in Asia, with the won falling back toward its weakest since 2016 as South Korea emerged as a hot spot for the contagion. Ten-year Treasury yields edged up from a record-low close set Tuesday. The euro erased gains after reports that the German government plans to temporarily suspend constitutional limits on public borrowing, while a dollar gauge rose. Risk assets are struggling to rebound as coronavirus cases steadily climb outside the epicentre in China. South Korea said its national total rose to more than 1,000, while American health officials Tuesday warned that they expect the epidemic to spread in the U.S. President Donald Trump said he will hold a press conference on the virus at 6 p.m. Traders may be looking out for further signs of policy accommodation after American central bankers said they are closely monitoring the spreading virus, though its still too soon to say whether it will change the outlook. The ultimate impact remains entirely unknown at this stage, said Eleanor Creagh, a Sydney-based strategist at Saxo Capital Markets. And uncertainty is the enemy of conviction. Elsewhere, a gauge of high-yield credit risk for European issuers rose for a fifth day. Industrial metals and minerals mostly dropped, including copper and iron ore. Stocks Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.3 per cent as of 8:22 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.6 per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.3 per cent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.9 per cent. Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 per cent. The euro decreased 0.1 per cent to $1.0874 (U.S.). The British pound declined 0.6 per cent to $1.2933. The onshore yuan weakened 0.1 per cent to 7.02 per dollar. The Japanese yen weakened 0.2 per cent to 110.44 per dollar. Bonds The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 1.36 per cent. The yield on two-year Treasuries sank three basis points to 1.19 per cent. Germanys 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.49 per cent. Britains 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 0.517 per cent. Japans 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.086 per cent. Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.4 per cent to $49.19 a barrel. Brent crude declined 1.9 per cent to $53.88 a barrel. Gold strengthened 0.4 per cent to $1,642.26 an ounce. With assistance from Andreea Papuc and Adam Haigh. Read more about: Japan Data Updates on Japans COVID-19 cases, fatalities, and recoveries. (Data provided through the FastAlert real-time COVID-19 data service from JX Press.) Click here for information on infections by country. April 14 There are 4,312 new cases in Japan, topping 4,000 for the first time since January 28. There are record totals of 1,130 in Osaka and 507 in Hyogo, while Tokyo reports 591 new cases, which is its highest total since the lifting of the second state of emergency. Omi Shigeru, who heads the government COVID-19 subcommittee, says that Japan has entered a fourth wave of infections. April 13 Japan confirms 3,455 new cases, including 1,099 in Osaka, which is the first time it has reported more than 1,000, and a new record of 391 in Hyogo. There are 510 new cases in Tokyo. April 12 There are 2,019 new cases reported in Japan; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. The number of severe cases rises by 43 to 563. Osaka and Hyogo post their highest totals for a Monday to date of 603 and 159, respectively. Tokyo reports 306 new cases. April 11 Of the 2,777 new cases in Japan, there are 760 in Osaka and 421 in Tokyo. April 10 There are 3,697 new cases in Japan, including new records of 918 in Osaka and 315 in Hyogo. Tokyo reports 570 new cases. April 9 Japan reports 3,454 new cases nationwide, including 883 in Osaka, 537 in Tokyo and 314 in Hyogo. There have now been 500,000 cases in total across the country to date. The government decides to add Tokyo, Okinawa, and Kyoto to those covered by pre-emergency measures from April 12. April 8 There are 3,447 new cases in Japan, including 905 in Osaka, which sets a record for the third consecutive day. Elsewhere in Nara, Hyogo reports 311 and Nara a record 88 new cases. Tokyo reports 545 new cases, for a second consecutive day over 500, and requests the national government to apply pre-emergency measures. April 7 There are 3,451 new cases nationwide, as the daily total tops 3,000 for the first time since January 30. New records are set in Osaka (878), Hyogo (328), Nara, and Wakayama, as the spread of cases increases more rapidly in Kansai. Tokyo confirms 555 new cases, which is the first time it has reported more than 500 in a day since February 6. April 6 Japan confirms 2,656 new cases, with Osaka setting a new record of 719, ahead of Tokyo with 399 and Hyogo with 276, its highest total since the end of the second state of emergency. April 5 There are 1,572 new cases reported in Japan, including 241 in Osaka and a record high of 71 in Nara; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. The prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, and Miyagi are placed under a state of pre-emergency until May 5 with stricter measures to prevent the spread of infections, including requesting food and drink establishments to close at eight in the evening. April 4 There are 2,471 new cases across Japan, with 593 in Osaka setting a record for a Sunday. Tokyo confirms 355 new cases. April 3 Japan reports 2,775 new cases, including a record high of 666 in Osaka and 446 in Tokyo. April 2 There are 2,759 new cases nationwide, of which 613 are in Osaka and 440 are in Tokyo. April 1 There are 2,606 new cases across the country, including 616 in Osaka, its highest since January 16, and 475 in Tokyo. March 31 Japan reports 2,843 new cases, including 599 in Osaka, 414 in Tokyo, and record highs of 200 in Miyagi and 81 in Aomori. The Osaka prefectural government requests the national government to implement pre-emergency measures to prevent further spread. March 30 Japan confirms 2,087 new cases, including 432 in Osaka and 364 in Tokyo. March 29 There are 1,345 new cases nationwide on March 29, including 234 in Tokyo and 213 in Osaka, where Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi calls for the national government to designate the prefecture as requiring stronger measures. March 28 Japan reports 1,785 new cases; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. Osaka confirms 323 new cases, for the third consecutive day with a total above 300. Tokyos total of 313 is 57 higher than the previous Sunday. March 27 Japan confirms 2,071 new cases, including 430 in Tokyo, which is 88 higher than the previous Saturday, and 286 in Osaka. March 26 There are 2,026 new cases across Japan, as the daily total tops 2,000 for the first time since February 6. Osaka reports 300 new cases, while there are 153 in Miyagi. March 25 Japan reports 1,917 new cases, including 161 in Miyagi, the prefectures second-highest total to date, and records of 59 in Ehime and 49 in Yamagata. Tokyo confirms 394 new cases. March 24 There are 1,917 new cases, including 420 in Tokyo, which is its highest total so far in March. Miyagi, which has declared its own state of emergency reports 171 new cases, its highest total to date, of which 131 are in Sendai. March 23 There are 1,503 new cases nationwide. Miyagi reports its second highest total to date of 121, of which 91 are in Sendai. Tokyo confirms 337 new cases, and Osaka 183, which is its highest total since the state of emergency was lifted in the prefecture on February 28. March 22 Japan reports 822 new cases, including 187 in Tokyo; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. March 21 Japan reports 1,119 new cases, including 256 in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period rises above 300 for the first time since February 23 to 301.1. March 20 Japan confirms 1,517 new cases, of which 342 in Tokyo. Miyagi reports a new record of 125 daily cases. After talks including the national and Tokyo authorities and the International Olympic Committee, it is announced formally that overseas fans will be banned from attending the Olympics and Paralympics this year, due to the pandemic. March 19 There are 1,464 new cases across the country, including 303 in Tokyo. March 18 Japan confirms 1,499 new cases, including 323 in Tokyo, 160 in Kanagawa, 122 in Chiba, and 115 in Saitama. The average daily total over the past 7-day period in Tokyo drops by 1.7 to 297.1. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide decides to lift the state of emergency in the capital-region prefectures on March 21, as planned. March 17 There are 1,535 new cases across the country, including 409 in Tokyo, which marks the first time it has exceeded 400 since February 18. Its average daily total over the past 7-day period rises to 298.8. There are also 132 new cases in Saitama, 93 in Kanagawa, and 91 in Chiba. Miyagi confirms a record 107 new cases. March 16 Japan confirms 1,134 new cases, including 300 in Tokyo, 96 in Saitama, 91 in Kanagawa, and 76 in Chiba. March 15 There are 695 new cases nationwide; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. Tokyo reports 175 new cases, and its average daily total over the past 7-day period continues to rise slightly to 287.6. March 14 There are 989 new cases across the country, including 239 in Tokyo, 109 in Kanagawa, 106 in Chiba, and 77 in Saitama. The number of severe cases decreases by 9 to 328. March 13 Japan confirms 1,320 new cases, and the number of severe cases falls by 17 to 337. There are 330 new cases in Tokyo. March 12 Japan reports 1,271 new cases, including 304 in Tokyo. March 11 There are 1,319 new cases nationwide, including 335 in Tokyo, 126 in Saitama, 125 in Kanagawa, and 122 in Chiba. March 10 There are 1,316 new cases across Japan, which is the first time the national total has risen above 1,300 for 19 days. This includes 340 in Tokyo, 135 in Saitama, 124 in Kanagawa, and 106 in Chiba. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare announces that as of March 9, there have been 271 cases in 21 prefectures of coronavirus variants that initially spread in Britain and Brazil. In addition to 74 found at airport screening, this is a total of 345. March 9 Japan confirms 1,128 new cases, including 290 in Tokyo, 106 in Saitama, 100 in Kanagawa, and 82 in Chiba, as the rate of decrease slows in the captal region. Osaka also has 103 new cases. March 8 There are 600 new cases across Japan; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. The number of severe cases increases by 7 to 380. With 116 cases in Tokyo, 73 in Chiba, 65 in Saitama, and 59 in Kanagawa, 313 cases or more than half the national total comes in the capital-region prefectures. March 7 Japan reports 1,065 new cases, and the number of severe cases falls by 2 to 373. There are 237 new cases in Tokyo, 123 in Saitama, 119 in Kanagawa, and 113 in Chiba. The combined total for these four prefectures is 592 or more than half the overall national total. March 6 Japan confirms 1,055 new cases, including 293 in Tokyo. March 5 There are 1,148 new cases, of which 301 are in Tokyo. March 4 Japan confirms 1,170 new cases, including 279 in Tokyo. March 3 There are 1,244 new cases nationwide, and the number of severe cases falls by 6 to 407 Tokyo reports 316 new cases. March 2 Japan reports 888 new cases, including 232 in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period falls to 263.1. Based on prefectural reporting, the total fatalities to date rise above 8,000. March 1 There are 698 new cases across Japan; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. The number of severe cases increases by 2 to 436. There are 127 new cases in Chiba and 121 in Tokyo. February 28 Japan confirms 999 new cases, and the number of severe cases drops by 6 to 434. Tokyo reports 329 new cases. February 27 Of the 1,214 new cases across the country, 337 are in Tokyo. The number of severe cases nationwide drops by 17 to 440. February 26 There are 1,055 new cases nationwide, including 270 in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period falls to 267.9. The government decides to lift the state of emergency in Aichi, Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka Prefectures on February 28. It will remain in place in the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, with a decision to be made on March 5 as to whether to lift it on March 7. February 25 There are 1,075 new cases nationwide, and 74 fatalities. The number of severe cases drops by 15 to 472. Tokyo confirms 340 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 279.7. February 24 Japan reports 921 new cases, and the number of severe cases drops by 4 to 487. There are 213 new cases in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period falls to 294.7, dropping below 300 for the first time since November 14. Prime Minister Suga says vaccination of seniors aged over 65 will begin from April 12. February 23 There are 741 new cases, including 275 in Tokyo. The number of severe cases drops by 19 to 491. The governors of Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto meet with Minister for Economic Revitalization Nishimura Yasutoshi and request for the state of emergency to be lifted early in their prefectures, on February 28. February 22 Of the 780 new cases across the country, 178 are in Tokyo. February 21 There are 1,032 new cases nationwide, and the number of severe cases drops by 15 to 511. Tokyo reports 272 new cases. February 20 Japan confirms 1,234 new cases, of which 327 are in Tokyo. February 19 There are 1,303 new cases across Japan, including 353 in Tokyo. February 18 Japan reports 1,529 new cases, and the number of severe cases drops by 43 to 564. There are 76 fatalities. Tokyo confirms 445 new cases and 27 fatalities. February 17 Japan confirms 1,445 new cases, of which 378 are in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period falls to 353.6. The number of severe cases nationwide decreases by 37 to 607. February 16 There are 1,305 new cases across Japan, including 350 in Tokyo, so its 7-day daily average falls to 369.7. The number of severe cases nationwide drops by 14 to 644. However, there are 101 fatalities, including 27 in Tokyo and 14 in Kanagawa. February 15 Japan confirms 965 new cases, which is the first time the nationwide daily total has dropped below 1,000 since November 16; figures for Mondays are typically lower than for other days, due to reduced weekend testing. The number of severe cases drops by 10 to 658. Based on prefectural reporting, the total fatalities to date rise above 7,000. Tokyo reports 200 new cases, and its average daily total over the past 7-day period falls slightly to 378.6 Tokyo reports that it failed to record 838 cases from November 18, 2020, until January 31, due to workers not pressing the button for final confirmation. Its record high daily total on January 7 is increased by 73 to 2,520. February 14 There are 1,364 new cases nationwide, of which 371 are in Tokyo, so its 7-day daily average drops to 380. The number of severe cases across Japan drops by 25 to 668. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare approves US drugmaker Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine. It is the first vaccine to be approved in Japan, and has an efficacy rate of 95% in clinical trials. Vaccination of medical workers is set to begin on February 17. Japans population aged over 65, which is 36 million, will begin being vaccinated from April 1, with a target completion period of around three months. February 13 Of the 1,261 new cases across the country, 369 are in Tokyo, and its average daily total over the past 7-day period falls below 400 for the first time since November 20 to 388.3. The number of severe cases nationwide drops by 8 to 693. February 12 Japan reports 1,301 new cases, and the number of severe cases drops by 12 to 701. There are 307 new cases in Tokyo, where the 7-day daily average drops to 426.9. February 11 There are 1,695 new cases nationwide, including 434 in Tokyo, where the average daily total over the past 7-day period falls below 500 for the first time since December 12. The number of severe cases decreases by 23 to 713. February 10 Japan reports 1,885 new cases, for a fourth consecutive day under 2,000. However, there is a new record of 121 fatalities, including 25 in Tokyo, 16 in Saitama, and 13 in Chiba. The number of severe cases falls by 23 to 736. Tokyo reports 491 new cases, and its 7-day daily average drops to 508.3. February 9 There are 1,570 new cases across Japan, and the number of severe cases drops by 14 to 759. Tokyo reports 412 new cases, so its average daily total over the past 7-day period drops to 534.7. February 8 Japan reports 1,216 new cases, and the number of severe cases drops by 22 to 773. Although Monday figures are usually lower, due to reduced weekend testing, there is a clear trend toward a decline in infections. The government has begun to consider lifting the extended state of emergency early in some of the 10 prefectures where it is ongoing. The 276 new cases in Tokyo bring its average daily total over the past 7-day period down to 555.3. February 7 Japan confirms 1,631 new cases, and the number of severe cases falls by 20 to 795. There are 429 new cases in Tokyo. February 6 There are 2,729 new cases nationwide and 94 fatalities. Tokyo reports 639 new cases and 21 fatalities, bringing its total fatalities over 1,000. February 5 Japan reports 2,372 new cases, including 577 in Tokyo, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period down to 619.7. There are 108 fatalities nationwide, and the number of severe cases falls by 15 to 877. February 4 There are 2,576 new cases across the country. With the addition of cruise ship passengers, Japans overall total is now over 400,000, just over three weeks after it rose above 300,000 on January 13, although the pace of new infections is now slowing. The number of severe cases falls by 5 to 892. There are 104 fatalities. Tokyo reports 734 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period down to 661.3. February 3 Japan confirms 120 fatalities, marking a new daily high for the second consecutive day. Of these, 32 come in Tokyo and 19 in Kanagawa, while Saitama, Aichi, and Osaka all record double figures. Total fatalities nationwide to date rise above 6,000, just 11 days after topping 5,000 on January 23. There are 2,631 new cases across the country, and the number of severe cases falls by 40 to 897. February 2 The government decides to extend the state of emergency in 10 of the 11 prefectures where it is ongoing (excluding Tochigi). On the same day, there are 2,323 new cases in Japan, down to around a third of the total of 7,882 when the state of emergency was announced on January 8. However, serious cases remain high at 937, and there are 119 fatalities. Tokyo confirms 556 new cases. February 1 Japan confirms 1,791 new cases, which is the first time the total has fallen below 2,000 since six weeks earlier, on December 21. Figures on Monday are usually lower, due to reduced weekend testing. While the rate of infection is clearly slowing, hospitals are still under strain, and the government plans to extend the state of emergency for one month in 10 of the 11 prefectures where it is ongoing (excluding Tochigi). Tokyo reports 393 new cases, bringing its total past the six-digit mark, to 100,234. Some 40,000 of these cases have come in 2021. Three Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers resign from the party after it is reported they made a late-night visit to a nightclub in Ginza, Tokyo, despite the state of emergency. The three are Matsumoto Jun, former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Tanose Taido, state minister of education, and Otsuka Takashi, deputy head of the LDPs parliamentary affairs committee. Toyama Kiyohiko, of junior coalition partner Komeito, resigns as a lawmaker after a separate visit to a Ginza club. January 31 A total of 2,673 new cases are reported across Japan, including 633 in Tokyo. The number of severe cases nationwide drops by 1 to 973. January 30 There are 3,345 new cases across Japan, of which 769 are in Tokyo. January 29 Japan reports 3,535 new cases, including 868 in Tokyo, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 943.6. January 28 Of the 4,132 new cases in Japan, 1,064 are in Tokyo, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period below 1,000 for the first time since January 5, down to 987.4. There are 113 fatalities nationwide. January 27 Japan confirms 3,970 new cases, of which 973 are in Tokyo, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period down to 1,045.7. Despite the overall decrease in infections, there are 90 fatalities, with record highs of 23 in Osaka and 18 in Tokyo. The number of severe cases rises by 47 to 1,043. January 26 There are 3,850 new cases across the country. While this almost 1,500 lower than the 5,319 new cases one week earlier on January 19, the third wave is still not over. Tokyo reports 1,026 new cases. There are 104 fatalities nationwide, including 14 in Osaka and 13 each in Tokyo and Kanagawa. January 25 Japan confirms 2,762 new cases. While this figure is usually lower on Mondays due to reduced weekend testing, it is the first time for it to drop below 3,000 since December 28. The number of cases has dropped from its peak, when there were over 7,000 cases for three consecutive days from January 7 to 9, but the number of severe cases is at its highest point to date of 1,017, and daily fatalities remain high at 74. Tokyo reports 618 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period down to 1,119. January 24 Japan reports 3,991 new cases, including 986 in Tokyo. This is the first time, the metropolis has confirmed fewer than 1,000 cases since January 12. January 23 There are 4,714 new cases nationwide, including 1,070 in Tokyo. The total number of fatalities in Japan rises above 5,000, just two weeks after it topped 4,000 on January 9. January 22 Of the 5,043 new cases across the country, 1,175 are in Tokyo. There are 108 fatalities, the highest daily total to date. The number of severe cases falls by 3 to 1,011. A girl under 10 years old in Tokyo is found to be infected with the COVID-19 variant spreading in Britain, which is thought to have been transmitted through community infection. January 21 Japan reports 5,651 new cases, of which 1,471 are in Tokyo; total cases in the metropolis top 90,000. The number of severe cases nationwide remains unchanged at 1,014. January 20 There are 5,531 new cases in Japan, including 1,274 in Tokyo. The number of severe cases rises by 13 to 1,014. January 19 Japan confirms 5,320 new cases, which is the highest total to date for a Tuesday. The number of severe cases increases by 28 to 1,001. The number of daily fatalities rises above 100 for the first time; the 104 deaths include 16 in Tokyo, 13 in Osaka, and 10 in Saitama. Okinawa announces it will begin its own state of emergency to last until February 7, and asks residents to refrain from unnecessary trips. It also requests to be included in the national state of emergency. January 18 There are 4,925 new cases across Japan; the number of cases reported on Mondays is lower than other days due to reduced weekend testing. Tokyo confirms 1,204 new cases, and Kanagawa 957. Yamaguchi reports a record high of 88 new cases. Prime Minister Suga announces that Minister for Administrative Reform Kono Taro will take responsibility for Japans vaccination program. Vaccination is due to start in late February with priority given to health workers and the elderly. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare announces that three people in Shizuoka Prefecture tested positive for the same COVID-19 variant that is spreading in Britain. This is the first time the variant has been found in Japan without a traceable infection route. Currently, 45 people in Japan have been confirmed to be infected with the variant. January 17 Japan reports 5,759 new cases, including 1,592 in Tokyo, which is its highest total to date on a Sunday. The number of severe cases across the country rises by 7 to 972. January 16 Of the 7,012 new cases across the country, 1,809 are in Tokyo. The number of severe cases nationwide rises by 31 to 965. January 15 There are 7,132 new cases across the country, including 2,001 in Tokyo, and the number of severe cases rises by 14 to 934. January 14 Japan confirms 6,605 new cases, and the number of severe cases rises by 20 to 920. There are still high totals for prefectures in a state of emergency, including 1,502 in Tokyo, 985 in Kanagawa, 592 in Osaka, 488 in Chiba, and 455 in Saitama. January 13 The government adds the prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Fukuoka, and Tochigi to the COVID-19 state of emergency from January 14 until February 7. There are now 11 prefectures in a state of emergency. The daily nationwide total of 5,869 new cases brings Japans overall total above 300,000. The number of severe cases rises by 19 to 900. Tokyo confirms 1,433 new cases, so its average daily total over the past 7-day period drops slightly to 1,746.1. A total of 25 rail companies in greater Tokyo, including JR East and Tokyo Metro, announce that they will move the time of the last train forward by up to 30 minutes from January 20. January 12 Japan confirms 4,539 new cases; the lower figure reflects reduced testing on a national holiday. The number of severe cases rises by 17 to 881. There are 970 new cases in Tokyo, as the daily total falls below 1,000 for the first time since January 4. The government announces plans to add Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi, and Fukuoka to the state of emergency. January 11 There are 4,873 new cases across the country, which is the highest total to date for a Monday, when the figure is usually lower due to reduced weekend testing. The number of severe cases rises by 12 to 864. Tokyo confirms 1,219 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 1,812.7. The government announces its intention to expand the state of emergency this week to include Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo. January 10 Japan confirms 6,094 new cases, and the number of severe cases rises by 25 to 852. There are 1,494 new cases in Tokyo. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare announces the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant from four passengers on a flight from Brazil. Prime Minister Suga says of the inclusion of Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo in the state of emergency that the government will act quickly, if necessary. January 9 The 7,789 new cases in Japan include 2,268 in Tokyo and a record high of 999 in Kanagawa. Nationwide fatalities top 4,000. The governors of Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo have an online meeting with Minister for Economic Revitalization Nishimura, in which they call for their prefectures to be included in the state of emergency. January 8 There are 7,882 new cases nationwide, the highest total to date for the fourth successive day, including 2,392 in Tokyo. Oriental Land announces that its Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea theme parks will close one hour earlier, at seven in the evening, from January 12 until February 7. January 7 Japan reports 7,569 new cases, topping the previous record again by a considerable number. This includes 2,447 in Tokyo, the first time the daily total for the metropolis has risen above 2,000, and record highs in Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba Prefectures. The government announces a state of emergency for these four prefectures, lasting from January 8 until February 7. Bars and restaurants are asked to close by eight in the evening, while residents are requested to work from home if possible, and refrain from leaving the home unnecessarily after eight in the evening. January 6 There are 6,006 new cases in Japan, surpassing the previous record daily total by more than 1,000. The number of severe cases rises by 13 to 784. Tokyo confirms a record high of 1,591 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period over 1,000 to 1,071. The government is set to announce a state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba on January 7. January 5 Japan reports a record high 4,912 new cases, including Tokyos second highest total to date of 1,278, which brings its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 979.4. There are a record 75 fatalities nationwide, while the nationwide number of severe cases rises by 40 to 771. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Hagiuda Koichi says that the announcement of a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area would not mean his ministry would request all schools to close. He says that a very small proportion of children develop symptoms or become seriously ill. January 4 Japan confirms 3,319 new cases. The number of severe cases rises by 17 to 731. Tokyo has 884 new cases, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 919.1. Following the continued spread of infections over the New Year period, Prime Minister Suga says that he is considering announcing a second state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba Prefectures. January 3 There are 3,158 new cases in Japan, including 816 in Tokyo. The number of severe hospitalized cases in the metropolis rises by 7 to a new high of 101. January 2 Japan confirms 3,058 new cases. There are 814 in Tokyo, which has seen increasing strain on medical services. Governor Koike Yuriko and the governors of neighboring Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba Prefectures call for a new state of emergency in a meeting with Minister for Economic Revitalization Nishimura. January 1 There are 3,247 new cases across the country on New Years Day, including 783 in Tokyo. Due to decreases in testing around the New Year, it is a considerable drop from the previous day, but remains high. The number of severe cases rises by 35 to 716. December 31 Japan reports a record high 4,520 new cases, considerably greater than the previous record of 3,873 on December 26. Tokyos daily total of 1,337 is the first time it has reported more than 1,000. Its total of 19,245 for December is close to twice as many as the 9,850 in November. Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba also confirm new daily records. The number of severe cases nationwide rises by 13 to 681. December 30 Of the 3,852 new cases nationwide, Tokyo reports its second highest total of 944, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 815.7. The number of severe cases decreases by 7 to 668. Tokyo Governor Koike warns that an explosive rise in cases could happen at any time and calls on residents to stay at home and avoid parties over the New Year period. December 29 Japan confirms 3,608 new cases, including 856 in Tokyo. December 28 There are 2,400 new cases; the number of cases reported on Mondays is lower than other days due to reduced weekend testing. Tokyo had 481, its highest total to date for a Monday. The COVID-19 variant identified as spreading initially in South Africa is found in Japan for the first time. December 27 Japan reports 2,948 new cases, the highest ever total for a Sunday. The number of severe cases rises by 5 to 659. The 708 new cases in Tokyo bring its total for December alone to 15,627, while there are also 343 in Kanagawa, 233 in Osaka, and 211 in Saitama. December 26 There are 3,880 new cases across Japan, setting a record for a fourth consecutive day. This includes 949 in Tokyo, 480 in Kanagawa, and 265 in Saitama. The number of severe cases rises by 10 to 654. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare reports that a Japanese citizen who recently returned from Britain and a member of his family tested positive for a new coronavirus variant. As a pilot, he was exempt from airport screening. The government announces a ban on all foreign citizens entering the country from December 28 until the end of January 2021. December 25 Japan confirms a record number of new cases for a third consecutive day. The total of 3,832 includes 884 in Tokyo, bringing its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 681. December 24 A new record high of 3,742 new cases across the country includes highest ever totals in Kanto of 888 in Tokyo, 495 in Kanagawa, 251 in Saitama, and 234 in Chiba. The number of severe cases rises 25 to a new record of 644. December 23 Japan reports a record high of 3,265 new cases, ahead of the 3,211 confirmed on December 11. The number of severe cases decreases by 1 to 619. There are 748 new cases in Tokyo, its second highest total to date. December 22 Japan confirms 2,688 new cases, and severe cases rise by 17 to a new high of 620. There are 563 new cases in Tokyo, which brings its average daily total over the past 7-day period to more than 630. December 21 There are 1,808 new cases nationwide; the number of cases reported on Mondays is lower than other days due to reduced weekend testing. With the addition of cruise ship passengers, Japans overall total is now over 200,000. The number of severe cases rises by 10 to 603. Tokyo reports 392 new cases, bringing its overall total to 51,838. December 20 Japan confirms 2,496 new cases. Tokyo reports 556, its highest total for a Sunday, which brings its total for December alone to 10,507. This is the first time it has reported more than 10,000 new cases in a month. Okayama confirms a record high of 111. December 19 Japans 2,982 new cases include 736 in Tokyo, bringing its overall total to 50,890. There are also new highs in Saitama and Okayama, as well as a record-tying total in Kanagawa. December 18 There are 2,836 new cases across Japan, including 664 in Tokyo, a record high of 201 in Saitama, and 150 in Chiba, which equals its highest total to date. December 17 Japan sets a new record with 3,214 new cases. Tokyo confirms 822, its highest total to date and more than 100 more than the previous record of 678 on December 16. The capital prefectures cumulative total rises to 49,490. There are also new highs in Kanagawa, Hiroshima, and Miyagi Prefectures. December 16 Japan records 2,993 new cases, its second highest daily total to date, and the number of severe cases rises by 26 to 618. At the end of a three-week period the government said was crucial for containing COVID-19, cases continue to rise. Tokyo reports a record 678 new cases, bringing its overall total to 48,668, and there are also new records in Fukushima, Gunma, Kanagawa, Aichi, and Kyoto. December 15 There are 53 fatalities in Japan, a new daily record, including 11 in Hokkaido, 10 in Osaka, 9 in Tokyo, and 5 in Hyogo. The number of severe cases rises 4 to a record high of 592. Osaka Prefecture opens a facility for seriously ill patients. There are 2,436 new cases across the country. Tokyo reports 460, and its average daily total over the past 7-day period rises to 519. December 14 Japan reports 1,678 new cases; due to reduced weekend testing, there are relatively lower numbers on Mondays. There are now a record 588 severe cases, up 5 from the previous day. Tokyo confirms 305 new cases, raising its average daily total over the past 7-day period to 503.9. Prime Minister Suga suspends the Go To Travel program across the whole country from December 28 to January 11. December 13 There are 2,389 new cases across the country, including 480 in Tokyo, its highest total to date for a Sunday. The number of severe cases rises by 5 to 583. December 12 Japan reports 3,041 new cases, exceeding 3,000 for the first time in one day. The number of severe cases also reaches a new high of 578 with a daily increase of 24. There are new records in six prefectures: Tokyo (621), Saitama (199), Gifu (55), Iwate (43), Nagano (32), Kochi (27), and Yamagata (22). December 11 There are 2,798 new cases reported in Japan. Six prefectures confirm record high totals: Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Kanagawa, Hiroshima, and Oita. The number of severe cases rises by 11 to 554. Tokyos 595 new casesits second highest total to datebring its overall total to 46,124, and its severe cases rise by 8 to 67. The Kanagawa prefectural government announces the death of a man in his fifties at a facility for people with mild or no symptoms. It was discovered when he did not make regular contact by smartphone to report on his health. December 10 There are 2,974 new cases in Japan, setting a new record for the second consecutive day, including 602 in Tokyo, its highest total to date, and 415 in Osaka. There are also 26 fatalities across the country, including 9 in Osaka and 5 in Hokkaido. December 9 Japan confirms a record high of 2,809 new cases, ahead of the previous record of 2,684 set on November 28. Tokyo has its second-highest total of 572, while Osaka has 427 and Aichi and Kanagawa 245 each. There are also high totals in prefectures that have been relatively less seriously affected to date, including 75 in both Hiroshima and Kyoto and 40 in Kagoshima. The number of severe cases rises by 19 to 555, increasing the strain on medical services. Omi Shigeru, who heads the government COVID-19 subcommittee, calls for the Go To Travel campaign to be suspended in areas at stage 3, or the second-highest of the four tiers representing the degree of spread of the coronavirus. However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu says that there are no prefectures currently judged to be at that level. December 8 Japan records 2,170 new cases and the number of severe cases rises by 6 to 536. There are 47 fatalities, the highest daily total to date, including 9 in Hokkaido, 6 in Tokyo, and 4 in Aichi. December 7 There are 1,517 new cases in Japan; reduced weekend testing means the total is lower on Mondays. However, the number of severe cases rises by 11 to 530. Responding to requests from local authorities with nurse shortages, the government will send Self-Defense Forces nurses to Hokkaido and Osaka. Tokyo reports 299 new cases, bringing its overall total to 44,003. December 6 Japan confirms 2,024 new cases, while the number of severe cases falls by 1 to 519. Tokyos 327 new cases bring its overall total to 43,704. December 5 There are 2,508 new cases across the nation, with a new record high of 584 in Tokyo. The number of severe cases rises by 15 to its highest total to date of 520. December 4 Japan reports 2,438 new cases, and the number of severe cases goes up by 9 to 505. There are 449 new cases in Tokyo, 394 in Osaka, and 215 in Aichi. There are 44 fatalities, the highest total to date, with 13 in Hokkaido, 8 in Tokyo, 5 in Osaka, and 4 each in Kanagawa and Aichi. December 3 There are 2,518 new cases across the country, and the number of severe cases rises by 9 to 497. Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi announces that the prefecture has reached a red light emergency and calls on residents to avoid going out unnecessarily until December 15. December 2 Japan confirms 2,434 new cases, including 500 in Tokyo, 427 in Osaka, 219 in Aichi, and 214 in Kanagawa. December 1 There are 2,030 new cases across Japan, and the number of severe cases rises by 21 to 493. The 41 fatalities on this day is the highest total ever, and 14 deaths take place in Hokkaido. After Tokyo reports 372 new cases, Governor Koike meets with Prime Minister Suga and asks for seniors aged 65 and over and those with underlying conditions not to participate in trips to or from Tokyo under the Go To Travel campaign. Suga expresses his agreement. Click here for updates from October and November. (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo Pakutaso.) Flood mitigation efforts and infrastructure improvements were top priorities at the District E Town Hall on Tuesday night. Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martins District E Town Hall was held at the Kingwood Community Center on Feb. 25 with a panel of speakers including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Steven Costello, Houstons Chief Recovery Officer and Marissa Aho, Chief Resilience Officer. TIRZ 10 Chair Stan Sarman also gave an update on the expansion of Northpark Drive. Each spoke about their efforts with future plans in the Kingwood area. Martin announced that he, along with Costello, will be traveling to Washington D.C. tomorrow morning to meet with U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw and FEMA officials to try and get federal funding for more dredging projects in the Lake Houston area Thats our mission, to go the FEMA, have a conversation with them with data reports that weve prepared to show them that the siltation and the sand sitting in our lake is a direct result of Harvey so we can apply funds that we can get through the Stafford Act. Related: Kingwood exhales after SJRA approves seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe Costello said they are working on consolidating and improving systems within the Kingwood area that were flooded where FEMA will pay for a share of the work. Most notably, he mentioned the four wastewater treatment plants that they want to integrate into one. It will also clear up a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency, which the city has been negotiating for 12 years in regards to a violation of the Clean Water Act due to sanitary sewer overflows according to Costello. Whats so unique about it is, at the end of the day it will save all of the ratepayers money after we build it, Costello said. Sarman called for public comment on the TIRZ 10 Northpark Drive Overpass Project. The $88.2 million project will expand the roadway from four to six lanes between Hwy. 59 and Woodland Hills Drive. Public comments will be accepted through March 3 by email to NorthparkDrive@elmorepr.com. Preparing for the future The City of Houston began working on a resiliency plan after Hurricane Harvey to find ways to prepare the city for chronic flooding, according to the letter from Turner in the Resilient Houston plan. Turner pointed to Houstons heat, which he said is increasing due to climate change and the urban island heat effect, an effect that makes a city warmer than surrounding areas according to the EPA. Turner, who wrote that he is vice chair of the Climate Mayors and a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, said these groups are working to limiting man-made global warming and adapting to these extreme weather events that are increasing in frequency and intensity. Houston, as the energy capital of the world, must lead the global energy transition, Turner wrote in his letter. If we do not, we will jeopardize our regional economy and prosperity for generations of Houstonians. Aho said the Resilient Strategy has five chapters to identify what people can do on an individual, neighborhood, bayou, city and regional scale so partners throughout the city, including the Kingwood area, can address challenges. There are actions residents can take, including preparedness and Vision Zero. On the neighborhood scale Aho said there are strategies for greening, access to parks, and healthy neighborhoods. Each of those scales needs to function resiliently or none of them do, Aho said. ... Clearly flood resilience is a huge priority [in Kingwood] but the opportunities of breaking resilience down to the neighborhood scale or to the homeowner scale is that there are actions in there that residents can take. savannah.mehrtens@chron.com P Krishna By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Police came under fire in social media on Wednesday after a video went viral showing a constable kicking an elderly person mercilessly when he tried to prevent them from taking the body of his daughter, who committed suicide on Tuesday, into the Patancheru Government hospital. A little earlier, her father, S Chandrasekhar, with the help of ABVP activists, took the body out of the mortuary of the hospital and was trying to take it out of the hospital to stage a protest against the Narayana College, whose student she was, when the police began taking the body back into the hospital. The girl, S Sandhay Rani, a first-year Intermediate student of Narayana Junior College in Velimala in RC Puram mandal was found hanging from the roof of her hostel room on Tuesday. She was immediately taken to a private hospital in Velimala but she was declared brought dead. Later the body was shifted to Patancheru Government hospital for a post-mortem examination. On Wednesday, her parents and ABVP activists descended on the hospital, broke open the mortuary and took the girls body, which was in a freezer box, and began taking it out of the hospital when the police stopped them. In the scuffle that ensued, the father of the girl fell in front of the freezer box and went underneath, momentarily stopping the police from moving the freezer box back towards the hospital. It was then that the constable Sridhar kicked her father several times until came out of the way of the freezer box. #WATCH Telangana: Police personnel kicks father of a 16-yr-old girl who allegedly committed suicide on Feb 24 in her hostel in Sangareddy reportedly because college mgmt did not allow her to go home, although she was ill. A probe has been ordered against the personnel. (26.02) pic.twitter.com/OtxKYDMQ8Z ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 Sangareddy in-charge SP Chandana Deepthi said on Twitter that action was being taken against the constable but pointed out that the agitators tried to take the body to Naryana College to stage a protest. Sandhyas parents blamed the college management for the girls death. They alleged that their daughter had been suffering from fever but the college management had not allowed her to go home. Fed up, the girl might have committed suicide, the parents alleged. Later in the evening, the family of the victim has consented to payment of Rs 15 lakh to them as compensation by Narayana College. The parents and the management sat in talks for a long time before agreeing on the compensation amount. TRS IT Minister KT Rama Rao tweeted that he was asking the Home Minister and DGP to review the insensitive handling of the girls father. Take stern action Telangana-Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA) State president Y Shekar Rao demanded the closure of corporate schools and colleges in Telangana. He requested the State government to take stringent action against corporate schools and colleges, who, he alleged were cheating students and parents. In corporate schools and colleges, students are under stress, he said. He requested the State government to conduct a proper enquiry into corporate educational institutions. As a flood of new coronavirus cases outside of China have made headlines and stirred fears of a looming pandemic, global health authorities on Tuesday pointed to that countrys response as an example for the rest of the world. China changed the course of this outbreak, said WHO epidemiologist Bruce Aylward, the Canadian expert who led recent fact-finding trip to China, which has taken a series of aggressive at times draconian steps to halt the spread of COVID-19 in Hubei, its worst-hit province with nearly 65,000 confirmed cases and 2,563 deaths. The authoritarian governments actions from putting millions of people on virtual lockdown, to closing public transit to building new hospitals at breakneck speed have played a key role in slowing the outbreak, Aylward told reporters at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Hundreds of thousands of people in China did not get COVID-19 because of this aggressive response, he said. But as the outbreak begins to rapidly spread outside China, how much of an example can a one-party state with little concern for trampling human rights be for a democracy like Canada? Health authorities in this country say the risk to the public is still low so far there have been only 11 reported cases, seven in B.C., four in Ontario, and no deaths but what can they do if that changes? Can officials here go full Hubei, shutting down schools and transit, even sealing off whole neighbourhoods or cities? Heres what we know: How far can health authorities legally go? The Health Protection and Promotion Act gives Ontarios medical officers broad powers to restrict the mobility and actions of people, or groups, to quell public health threats. In short, the powers in that act are extraordinary University of Toronto epidemiologist Dr. David Fisman said. There is very little that you could not do in the name of public health, he added. The if and its a big if is that restrictive steps need political support, he said. As an authoritarian state, China can move much more quickly, and with fewer checks and balances than Canada. In Hubei, which has a population of nearly 60 million, entire cities were locked down with public transit and schools cancelled there were even reports the government was using drones to spy on people seen outside without masks. Penny Washington, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada and head of the law firms Health Care Group, said medical officers of health in Ontarios 35 regional public health units could get an order to shut down a school or a hospital or even get court orders to compel people into treatment, but large regional actions would involve working with the feds. If it got to that level where we were considering broader quarantine such as an area of Toronto, or the whole city, or a transit system, we would be working with the federal government under their broader emergency powers, she added. Federal law, under the Quarantine Act, has already been invoked with Canadians returning from affected areas but there is no Canadian precedent for a Hubei-style lockdown. That would be new territory, because the law has primarily been used to keep disease out, not to deal with outbreaks within, Washington said. How far should we be prepared to go? Just because health authorities have sweeping powers, doesnt mean its a good idea to use them. Dr. Ross Upshur, the Dalla Lana Chair in Clinical Public Health at the University of Toronto, has done extensive research on the ethics of quarantines, travel bans, school closures and other extreme steps. He and his team have developed a framework around four ethical criteria that need to be met to justify such restrictive measures: the scale of risk to the community; that the measures are proportionate to that threat and that theyre the least-restrictive necessary to achieve their goal; that affected people are supported and dont lose their jobs or medical care; and that theres transparency and accountability from authorities. Share your thoughts: So far, the coronavirus outbreak is unfolding in ways that as a student of quarantine I never thought Id see play out, to be honest, Upshur said, adding he hopes Chinese authorities are researching how their actions are affecting citizens, to better calibrate responses in the future. Upshur notes that there have been seven major outbreaks since the 2003 SARS epidemic, including the related Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, Zika, two different Ebola outbreaks and the H1N1 flu pandemic. These are happening every couple of years, and we cant keep freaking out, we need to normalize our response and use science to calibrate our responses, he said. Yes, there are justifications for overriding civil liberties but those need to be balanced by the obligations of those asking for the restriction, its not a one-way street. Other countries are having the same conversations about balancing safety and rights: In northern Italy, where deaths and cases are mounting, towns have been sealed off and people face fines for entering or leaving outbreak areas. At a hotel in Spains Canary Islands, hundreds of guests have been put on lockdown after a visiting doctor tested positive. As for what can go wrong, history shows extreme restrictive measures can have very racist and xenophobic undertones, Fisman added. One example of an attempt to control disease gone horribly wrong is when much of Honolulu burned down in 1900 when the wind shifted after officials set deliberate fires in the citys Chinatown, in an effort to control an outbreak of bubonic plague. Tess Sheldon, an assistant professor at the University of Windsor, said its important to think about how vulnerable people, like people with disabilities, and the very young and old, might be impacted under a strict outbreak response. Marginalized communities of any kind theyre the first to be forgotten, she said. For example, the Health Protection and Promotion Act permits class orders directed at groups of people say, everyone who attends a certain church where a case of the virus is reported. But enforcing these restrictions can get thorny, Sheldon said, as these kinds of classes can overlap with protected groups under the Ontario Human Rights Code. And already during this years outbreak there have been reports of racism against Chinese Canadians and others of Asian descent. Whats being done so far In Toronto, Mayor John Tory told reporters on Tuesday that the citys public health unit has access to a very broad range of emergency powers, but authorities have so far very successfully contained the virus. The risk is still very, very low, he said. Toronto Public Health has a pandemic plan in place that outlines planning, preparedness, response and recovery said spokesperson Lenore Bromley. Canadas chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Monday that the global risk situation is evolving and officials are monitoring the situation closely while preparing for the possibility of more cases in Canada. As more countries around the world are affected, Canadas health care workers need to be prepared to test travellers from all affected areas, she said. If you come from a coronavirus-affected country, we are asking everyone essentially now to observe your symptoms but avoid crowded conditions, she said. As the number of countries grows, this advice is applicable to practically all travellers and you should of course absolutely stay home if youre sick. A spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott did not respond to a request on provincial powers by deadline. With files from Wendy Gillis Read more about: GENEVA (AP) The U.N. mission in Libya said Monday that the countrys warring sides had agreed to turn a shaky cease-fire into a formal deal, stirring modest hopes after weeks of sporadic violence that derailed negotiations. As the latest round of U.N.-mediated talks between rival military leaders wrapped up in Geneva, both sides reached a draft deal to facilitate the safe return of civilians to their areas, according to a U.N. statement. The return of thousands of displaced civilians will be monitored by military representatives in Geneva with support from the U.N. mission in Libya. The delegates negotiating on behalf of Libyas rival administrations must now send the draft for approval to their respective leaders who have the power to halt the fighting, a prospect that faces further obstacles. The representatives promised to reconvene in Geneva next month to hammer out details of the deals implementation. Monday's apparent breakthrough came days after eastern-based forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter escalated their attacks on the capital, Tripoli, which is held by a rival U.N.-backed government. The attacks hit Tripoli's civilian seaport, narrowly missing a highly explosive liquefied petroleum gas tanker and prompting the Tripoli administration to pull out of talks. The negotiations resumed days later, with expectations for an agreement low. A key sticking point throughout the talks has been the disarmament of fierce militias defending the capital against Hifter's assault. Officials from Libya's Tripoli government expressed willingness to demobilize militias at the latest Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday. But it remains unclear whether the administration has the power to rein in the scores of disparate militias. Tripoli is not opposed to disbanding militias, said Mohamed Taher Siala, the U.N.-backed government's foreign minister, while addressing reporters in Geneva. There are unlawful militias who abduct people and jeopardize their lives. Story continues The current cease-fire was brokered in January by Russia and Turkey, which back opposite sides in the conflict. But Libyan leaders never signed a pledge, let alone met face to face. A high-profile international summit followed in Berlin, where world powers with interests in the oil-rich North African country promised to push for the cease-fire and uphold a widely flouted arms embargo. Developments on the ground have repeatedly defied diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. Foreign backers keep pouring weapons into the country, the U.N. alleges. Clashes continue around the capital, as each side accuses the other of violating the cease-fire. The latest round of fighting in Libya started last spring, when Hifter launched his assault on the capital in a bid to wrest power from the U.N.-backed government. The siege has killed thousands of people, and displaced over 150,000, according to the U.N. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia, support Hifter's self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces. The embattled Tripoli administration, which controls just a shrinking corner of western Libya, has increasingly relied on Turkey for military aid. In the latest twist of the nine-year conflict, Turkey, which has long trained and funded opposition fighters in Syria, has started airlifting hundreds of them over to support the Tripoli-based government. Siala, the Tripoli foreign minister, acknowledged for the first time on Monday the deployment of Syrian fighters to the front lines in western Libya, a contentious subject that for months had been shrouded in rumor and secrecy. Dozens of the fighters have links to extremist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. There are some Syrians repelling Hifter's offensive, he said. They have Turkish nationalities and are carrying Turkish passports. Turkey's offers of citizenship to Syrian recruits has helped entice them to fight in Libya. This way, experts say, Turkey conveniently avoids risks to its own forces while establishing a sphere of influence in the eastern Mediterranean and securing rights to offshore oil and gas exploration. In a speech last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also broke his silence on the presence of Syrian opposition fighters in Libya. He added that Turkey had suffered a few fatalities in Libya, but did not specify whether they were among Turkish or Syrian fighters. - Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report. NEW YORK U.S. health officials warned Tuesday that the burgeoning coronavirus is certain to spread more widely in the country at some point, even as their counterparts in Europe and Asia scrambled to contain new outbreaks. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a call with reporters. The CDCs call for Americans to be prepared added new urgency to response efforts that, until this week, focused on a disease largely confined to China and neighboring countries. The first U.S. military soldier tested positive. A U.S. military statement said the 23-year-old who tested positive was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. He had been based in Camp Caroll in a town near Daegu, South Korea, and visited Camp Walker in Daegu earlier this week. On Tuesday, new clusters of the illness popped up far from China, causing increased concerns for officials in some of the wealthiest nations in Europe and Asia, as well as in countries with far fewer resources. The new outbreaks were reported in places as far-flung as Italy, Iran, France, Algeria and Spains Canary Islands. The tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain said it had 17 cases, including a school bus driver who had transported students as recently as Sunday. In Iran, the head of the countrys virus task force, who just a day earlier had urged the public not to overreact about the spread of the disease, tested positive himself. The official, Iraj Harirchi, posted a video online promising that authorities will bring the virus under control within weeks. But a ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said it could take at least until the Persian New Years holiday on March 20, or as long as late April, to contain the disease. Officials in South Korea said they were racing to contain an outbreak that has grown to nearly 1,000 cases. In the largest cluster, in the city of Daegu and nearby towns, many shops remained closed Tuesday and activity in some neighborhoods came to a near standstill. The virus toll continued to mount, even as Chinese officials reported a slowing in the number of new cases. As of Tuesday, the spread of the illness had sickened about 80,000 people worldwide and caused about 2,700 deaths. The vast majority of those infections remain in China, where 518 new cases were reported Tuesday and another 71 deaths, 68 of them in the central city of Wuhan, where the epidemic was first detected in December. The updates bring mainland Chinas totals to 77,780 cases and 2,666 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. WHO said the fatality rate was between 2% and 4% in Wuhan, and 0.7% elsewhere in China. Dr. Bruce Aylward, the WHO envoy who led a team just back from China, told reporters Tuesday that the reason for the large discrepancy was partly because the disease hit Wuhan early and fast, when people didnt know what we were dealing with, were learning how to treat this. Croatia and Austria reported their first cases of the virus Tuesday. And an Italian doctor staying at a hotel in the Canary Islands tested positive for the virus, prompting the quarantine of hundreds of guests. Uncertainly remained over how best to stem the spread of the illness. Italy has taken Europes most stringent preventive measures against the virus but has suffered the biggest outbreak outside Asia . Experts in Japan acknowledged the countrys handling of the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship was flawed and may have allowed the problem to magnify. BC-Virus-Outbreak Eds: UPDATES: Updates headline. With AP Photos. As world scrambles, experts warn virus spread in US certain Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 27 2020 Concerns about how the Indonesian government is handling the novel coronavirus outbreak have grown as none of the 132 Indonesian lab tests for the virus have come back positive as of Wednesday. This week, a hospital in Semarang, Central Java, and another in Batam, Riau Islands, each reported the death of a patient who had symptoms similar to the new coronavirus. Both patients tests came back negative, officials said. The patient in Semarang, an Indonesian national aged 37, died not of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) but of bronchopneumonia, said Kariadi General Hospital medical and nursing director Agoes Oerip Poerwoko on Wednesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Flash Family members of clash victims react at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 25, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] As the death toll in the communal violence in the Indian capital city on Wednesday rose to 20, the country's main opposition party demanded that the federal home minister should resign. The demand came from Congress party President Sonia Gandhi while briefing media in the wake of deadly violence. "The centre (federal government) and the union (federal) home minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The union home minister should resign," Gandhi told media. Gandhi blamed both the federal government and the local Delhi government for the violence. Top Congress party leaders including Manmohan Singh, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad were present alongside Gandhi during the briefing. "Where was the home minister and what was he doing since last Sunday?" Gandhi said. "What were the reports given by the intelligence agencies in the days immediately after the conclusion of the Delhi elections and leading up to today?" Gandhi asked why were additional security forces not called immediately when it was clear that the situation was beyond the control of the Delhi police. "Where was the chief minister of Delhi and what was he doing since last Sunday?" she questioned. According to health officials, nearly 200 people were injured in the violence. Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for the communal violence. "On one side the home minister holds a security meeting and on the other hand his own MLAs (lawmakers) are taking out a procession to provoke riots. Why this double character of Bharatiya Janata Party?, " Sanjay Singh, AAP spokesman told media. "Ever since the riots started, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah did not even make an appeal to keep the peace. Does Amit Shah have no responsibility?" The police department of Delhi comes directly under India's home minister and not under the chief minister. Earlier in the day Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain the violence. According to Kejriwal, police was unable to control the situation. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter and urged people to maintain calm. "Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest," Modi wrote on twitter, adding he has reviewed the situation. Local media reports pouring in said an Intelligence Bureau officer was found dead in Chand Bagh in northeast Delhi that was hit by violence. Police said they were trying to ascertain the reason behind his death. Unrelenting communal violence broke out in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism. Reports said many people especially Muslims are leaving their homes in the affected areas and taking shelter in other safer locations. The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the northeastern part of the city on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Protests against the controversial new citizenship law was triggered on Dec. 11 last year, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship. After the death toll in the violence over CAA in North-East Delhi increased to 20, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday appealed to people to not indulge in violence. "I appeal to the people of Delhi to not indulge in violence, exercise caution and maintain peace," Priyanka Gandhi told the reporters. Priyanka Gandhi, who is also the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, said, "The party workers in Uttar Pradesh have been asked to maintain peace if violence spreads to their area." Earlier, the Delhi High Court, in a midnight hearing, had directed the Delhi Police to ensure safe passage to the injured victims of violence in North-East district by deploying all resources, as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment. In the violence, Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal died during clashes in North-East Delhi. The police have put barricades and sealed all the roads that lead to Ghaziabad from northeast Delhi since yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paul Psenka, an architect who is a consultant for the company, explained at the Feb. 18 meeting that for large growing facilities, the state has regulations on construction of vaults, where the marijuana product is stored, and said he anticipates similar measures for smaller facilities like the one Northbrook CGF is proposing. Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tom Steyer participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) South Carolina Debate Highlights: Sanders Attacked by Rivals Seven Democratic presidential candidates met in South Carolina Tuesday night to try to convince voters there to support them, just days before the fourth primary or caucus in the nation. Billionaire Tom Steyer qualified for the debate after he missed last weeks event in Nevada. The 62-year-old businessman had supported early efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. He joined six candidates on stage: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 78; former Vice President Joe Biden, 77; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 70; and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59. Here were some highlights: Sanders Would Study Moving US Embassy Back to Tel Aviv Sanders says he would study the issue of relocating the American Embassy in Israel to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem but wouldnt commit to commanding the change. The Vermont senator said during Tuesday nights debate in Charleston, South Carolina, that he is very proud of being Jewish but also pressed that you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. In 2018, the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital and moved the American Embassy there. The move had been required under U.S. law since 1995 but was postponed repeatedly by presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The other Jewish candidate onstage, Bloomberg, said, You cant move the embassy back. Capping off the issue, Warren said moving the embassy is not a decision for the United States to make, adding, We should let the parties determine the capitals themselves. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo) Sanders Defends Praise for Dictators Asked about his recent praise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Sanders continued saying he opposes authoritarians but again noted that Castro did some good things while in power. You got a real dictatorship there [in China]. Of course, you have a dictatorship in Cuba, Sanders said. But he again praised the literacy programs under dictator Fidel Castro, claiming he was repeating praise that emanated from former President Barack Obama. Sanders argued that he was just honest about U.S. foreign policy, adding that being honest includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world. And when dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good, you acknowledge that, he said. Biden challenged Sanders, telling him that Obama did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government. Buttigieg said Democrats are not going to win by reliving the Cold War. And Democrats will struggle in House and Senate races if they have to explain away praise for dictatorships, he added. Several current Democratic lawmakers, as well as the Florida Democratic Party, condemned Sanders remarks after he made them over the weekend. Bloomberg Wouldnt Remove Troops From Middle East Bloomberg said he would not remove all troops from the Middle East. You cut it back as much as you can, he said. But the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks showed that people plan things overseas and execute them here, he said. The United States has to have some troops where terrorists congregate, Bloomberg said. Not doing so, he alleged, is irresponsible. This is a dangerous world, he said, highlighting 9/11 again. Buttigieg said he disagreed. I dont think we need to have troops anywhere terrorists can gather because terrorists can gather anywhere in the world, he said. Instead, the U.S. needs intelligence capabilities, he added. The topic has arisen in previous debates. Warren and Buttigieg said at a debate last year that they support removing all troops from the Middle East. Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Buttigieg, Biden Join Attacks Against Sanders Nearly every rival on stage attacked Sanders in the opening hour of the debate in Charleston, with Buttigieg and Biden targeting the current front-runner on different fronts. Biden repeated criticism of Sanders views on gun manufacturers, claiming that the senators position on gun makers has caused carnage on our streets. In response, Sanders said he has cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote. The issue came up after an introductory question that included mention of the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Churchjust steps from the debate venuein which nine black Bible study participants were slain in a racist shooting. Sanders, in 2005, supported a proposal backed by the National Rifle Association granting gun manufacturers broad legal protections. He has repeatedly been put on the defensive during the 2020 campaign on his perceived support for the gun manufacturing industry. In a twist on the issue, Buttigieg also took on Sanders, saying his position on guns wasnt an old one but is a current bad position that Bernie Sanders holds. Buttigieg also alleged that the cost of Medicare for All, a plan endorsed by Sanders and Warren, adds up to four more years of Donald Trump. He called out Sanders for declining to support the elimination of the Senate rule known as the filibuster, which requires 60 out of 100 senators to approve most major bills. Despite that fact, the Democratic presidential front-runner is pitching an array of sweeping policy changes that are highly likely to fall short in Congress with the filibuster still in place. How are we going to lead a revolution if you cant support a rules change? Buttigieg challenged Sanders. Bloomberg Nearly Says He Bought Members of Congress Bloomberg nearly misspoke to say he bought new Democratic members of the U.S. House. Bloomberg was speaking at Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina about how he spent $100 million to help Democratic candidates flip U.S. House seats held by Republicans. He began to say I bought, before catching himself and saying I got them, noting their elections helped Nancy Pelosi become speaker of the House. Bloomberg is one of the worlds richest men and has funded numerous candidates and political causes. President Donald Trumps campaign spokesman and eldest son were among those on Twitter highlighting the flub. Wow!!! Hes admitting he BOUGHT those seats! Donald Trump Jr. tweeted. Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden debate at the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina on Feb. 25, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Bloomberg, Klobuchar Argue Against Selecting Socialist as Nominee Rivals tried to convince voters not to elect a socialist as the Democratic nominee. Sanders, a self-described socialist, currently leads the field in delegates after winning Nevada. Klobuchar noted that she was the only candidate to raise her hand during last weeks debate when candidates were asked if they were concerned with having a socialist as the nominee. I do not think that this is the best person to lead this ticket, she said of Sanders. She referred to Vanderbilt University research published last year that named Klobuchar as the most effective member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders and Warren, she noted, were near the bottom of the list. It matters if you can actually get things done, Klobuchar said. Alsotaking aim at Sanders, Bloomberg said: We just cannot afford some of the stuff that people talk about. We will elect Bernie. Bernie will lose to Donald Trump. The House, the Senate, and some of the state houses will all go red, he said. Bloombergs base of support is all billionaires, Sanders argued, telling the audience that he beat Trump in polls showing him going head-to-head with the president. The polls arent the election, Bloomberg said. Can anyone imagine moderate Republicans voting for him? Democratic presidential candidate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo) Rivals Allege Bloomberg Was Racist Prompted by moderators, rivals said that Bloombergs stop-and-frisk policies while mayor of New York City was racist. Both Klobuchar and Buttigieg answered that they believe Bloombergs policies were racist. Buttigieg said he was mindful that there were seven white people on the stage. Bloomberg jumped in, saying he believed it would have been harder to amass his fortune if he was black, and that he knew black people who would have had an easier path to success if they were white. Klobuchar said that elements of the justice system should be reformed. I think what we need to do, instead of just reviewing everything from the past, is talk about where were gonna go forward, she said. Bloomberg has apologized for stop-and-frisk, arguing that the policy got out of control. Warren brought up how Bloomberg donated to Republican candidates and lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (D-S.C.), and said that Democrats would never trust him. Bloomberg pushed back, pointing to his record at the helm of New York. I have the experience, I have the resources, and I have the record, he said. Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), left, and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina on Feb. 25, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Biden on Declining Poll Numbers After a host said that Bidens lead was slipping in polls, he said the last poll he saw had him with a 15 percent lead. Ive worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community, he said. South Carolina has a sizeable black population, and Biden has led polls there since he announced his bid for the presidency last year. I intend to win South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here, Biden said. Asked if he would end his bid if he didnt win the state, Biden repeated that he would win the state. The last poll, from NBC News and Marist, saw Biden with a four percent lead over Sanders, but the poll before that, from Public Policy Polling, had him with a 15 percent lead over Sanders. The third most recent poll had Biden with a five percent lead over Sanders. The average of the polls had Biden with 30.3 percent, Sanders with 22.3 percent, and Steyer with 13.3 percent. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Warren Makes Electability Argument Warren argued that she and Sanders are both progressive but that shed make a better president than her fellow senator. Getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard, and its going to take someone who can dig into the details, Warren said. Warren listed some of her accomplishments while contrasting her plans with Sanders, noting that the senator has not released information on how hed pay for his Medicare for All plan. Progressives have one shot, she alleged, and should use it on a candidate who can get something done. Sanders and Warren have similar policy proposals but Warren has earned a reputation as a policy wonk, releasing plan after plan laying out what shed do and how shed do it if shes elected. But she began faltering after releasing a plan to fund Medicare for All, or government-run healthcare, and later said it would take years to introduce the program. Sanders has also argued for broad change but has at times dismissed questions of how his administration, if hes elected, would manage to pay for divisive proposals, including the government-run healthcare. He released a fact sheet on Monday that his campaign said showed how hed fund his major plans. The Associated Press contributed to this report. WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, a North Louisiana Republican who came in third during last fall's gubernatorial race, has announced plans to retire from Congress when his current term ends. "The decision to serve only three terms as a member of the House is one that I made six years ago, but I very much look forward to supporting the president's agenda for the remainder of my tenure in Congress and in other capacities moving forward," Abraham said. He said President Donald J. Trump asked him last month to reconsider and to seek another term. Abraham, 65, is the 28th Republican to announce plans to leave Congress, instead of seeking re-election this year. Nine Democrats also have said they will retire. A political newcomer before he won the 5th District race in 2014, Abraham helped oust embattled incumbent Vance McAllister, a Republican who had been caught on video kissing an aide who was not his wife. At $73 million, Louisiana governor's race was most expensive in state history; see breakdown John Bel Edwards may have been considered the "accidental governor" when he was elected in 2015, but about $73 million was spent on his reelec He's won re-election twice with more than 66% of the vote and remained popular in his mostly rural district. Abraham, a doctor, veterinarian and Air Force veteran, said he decided to run for Congress because he and his wife, Dianne, "feared the direction our country was headed." "Our national defense had been weakened, our constitutional rights were being challenged, and our economy was in the tank," he said. "Here at home, the people who live in Louisianas 5th Congressional District are some of the finest citizens of this country, and we both felt that changes in Washington needed to happen." A member of the Agriculture and Armed Services committees, the normally soft-spoken Abraham has been a key ally of Trump and frequently traveled with the president to Louisiana. In December 2018 he announced he would run for governor and began a statewide campaign, but he struggled to raise enough money to fully compete against wealthy Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone for the chance to take on Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards, who went on to win a second term. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up During the gubernatorial race, Abrahams opponents hammered him for missing votes in Congress while he was campaigning. He also faced scrutiny over a pledge he made when he ran in 2014 that he wouldn't collect his congressional salary. He learned after he was elected that Congress' rules restricted how much he could earn from his medical practice while serving so he only honored the pledge his first term without announcing that he would begin taking a salary during his second and third. A Richland Parish native, Abraham didn't indicate what he might pursue next or if he has any intention of staying in the political arena. "As I look back over these three terms in Congress, despite significant partisan opposition, Ive been proud to work for you in helping to 'turn the ship around,'" he said. Responding to the news that Abraham plans to retire, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, praised Abraham as "a great asset to our country." "He is a wonderful doctor who went on to serve the people of (his district) well as a member of Congress," Cassidy tweeted. "He will be missed in our delegation." U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, listed Abraham as being among the VERY few people that are unconditionally trustworthy in Congress." "Unfortunately, this place often seems to attract the opposite," he said. "Doc is driven by doing what is right for the people he represents - as our founders intended and his community members expect and deserve. His decision is a major loss to the Congress, the country and Louisianans." Abraham's district included Alexandria and Monroe, but also extended southward to near Lafayette and into the northern fringe of the Florida Parishes between St. Francisville and Bogalusa. Abraham is the only member of the Louisiana delegation who has said he won't seek reelection this year. Cassidy recently announced his own 2020 campaign plans, and other members have been fundraising in the run up to the Nov. 3 primary. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise Any hope that TPC Group operations in Port Neches could quickly return to pre-blast conditions disappeared this week, increasing the human toll from this devastating explosion. The company announced that as many as 100 jobs could be eliminated as chemical production is suspended for a rebuilding operation that could last three to five years. The plant had 183 employees, 133 of which are represented by five different unions. Eleven salaried jobs are being eliminated and the number of hourly employees would decrease to around 45. Thats the last thing that anyone in Port Neches wanted to hear, but at this point it couldnt have been much of a surprise. As Southeast Texans learn more about this disaster, it seems like something that could have been prevented. The plant was old, with operations at the site starting during World War II. As its record on illegal emissions indicates, it just wasnt being run with the tightest standards. NFP has named Michael Ongkiko managing director of its Utah Office. Ongkiko will lead the Utah office and be responsible for developing new business opportunities, expanding relationships and growing the NFP service capabilities in the greater Utah market. Ongkiko will also continue to practice HR consulting for NFP clients. He will report to John Hohman, regional president of NFPs West region. Ongkiko moves into this new role as Dave Jackson, the previous Managing Director of NFP Utahs Office transitions to new role with the company as a senior vice president of strategic accounts. Ongkiko has more than 20 years of human resource experience in the public and private sector. He was previously vice president for HR Services for NFP. Prior to NFP, was director of human resources for Salt Lake County. NFP is an insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, property/casualty, retirement and individual private client solutions. Topics Talent Utah man Michael Tyson Nance, 30, has been charged with aggravated murder after he allegedly shot his girlfriend dead and shot a cop in the leg on February 10 Dramatic police body camera footage shows the moment Utah police officers confront a man who allegedly killed his live-in girlfriend, opened fire at officers, then shot himself in the face but survived. The Salt Lake City police department released several body camera videos on Tuesday from the incident where a cop was shot in the leg on February 10. Officers responded to a domestic incident where they found Michael Tyson Nance, 30, threatening his girlfriend Natalie Thurber, 34, who had called 911 and left the line open. What ensued was a shooting where Salt Lake police officer Chad Miller was shot and shouted, 'I'm hit, I'm hit, I'm hit in my leg!' leading his fellow officers to drag him to safety. Dramatic police body camera footage shows the moment Utah police officers confront Nance after they found him arguing and choking his girlfriend Natalie Thurber, 34, on February 10 Thurber called cops to the apartment around 3.30am and left the line open. Officers arrived with their guns drawn after hearing the couple arguing in the home Nance and the cops exchanged gunfire after he allegedly shot his girlfriend. One shot hit officer Chad Miller in the leg (pictured on the ground) Fellow Salt Lake officers dragged Miller to safety as two other cops fired into the home Miller pictured on the right lying on the ground after being hit by a bullet Cops were called to the scene around 3.30am. Dispatchers said they heard Nance threatening Thurber. 'Natalie can be heard stating that (Nance) would not leave her, and that he strangled her and tried to kill her,' charging documents said as per the Deseret News. When officers arrived to the area of 125 S. 300 East following a cellphone tower ping, they heard screaming coming from an apartment. A cop kicked in a window and the officers found Nance choking Thurber. 'Police! Drop it or I will shoot you right now. Let me see your hands!' a cop is heard shouting on Miller's body camera footage. Nance said, 'Hold on, hold on', according to charging documents. One video that was not shared with the public recorded Nance's hand coming into camera view 'holding a handgun around the bathroom door frame. The handgun is turned toward Natalie's head and [Nance] fires the gun'. After Thurber was shot, Nance fired at officers, leading Miller to get hit in his right leg. Natalie Thurber, 34, was killed on February 10 Thurber pictured above on social media After Miller announces he's hit, several officers run to him and drag him to safety. As he's being taken away at least two officers then unleash about a dozen shots. However, Nance avoided the spray of gunfire by running out the back door of his apartment. He was found later bleeding heavily after he tried to shoot himself in the face, but the bullet entered through his chin and exited through the bridge of his nose. He was hospitalized then booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, according to KSL, but he still faces a 'long road' to recovery following his grave wound. Salt Lake City released body camera footage of the confrontation on Tuesday. The officer-involved shooting and homicide are both being investigated by police The incident took place at an apartment complex at 125 S. 300 East in Salt Lake City Nance has been charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping, as well as aggravated assault. The officer-involved shooting and homicide are both being investigated by police. 'Sadly, in this case, a woman lost her life,' Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said following the attack. 'Domestic violence is not something that anybody should bat an eye at. It is actually something we should raise more awareness for,' he added. Nance's next court hearing is schedule for March 9. Those who experience domestic violence can call police dispatch at 801-799-3000; the 24-hour victim advocate hotline at 801-580-7969; the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-7233; or the Utah LINKLine at 800-897-5465. During Tuesdays Democratic presidential debate, Pete Buttigieg took issue with Bernie Sanderss qualified praise for Fidel Castros literacy and health care programs in communist Cuba. Following a prolonged back-and-forth on the topic of Sanderss past comments regarding some communist governments, former Vice President Joe Biden said Sanders did not condemn their leaders. I have condemned authoritarianism, whether it is the people in Saudi Arabia, that the United States government has loved for years, Cuba, Nicaragua, authoritarianism of any stripe is bad, Sanders responded. But that is different than saying the governments occasionally do things that are good. That gave Buttigieg an opening to cast both Sanders and Trump as out of touch. The only way we get to do this is to actually win the presidency, and I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, Buttigieg said. This is not about what coups were happening in the 1970s or 80s, this is about the future. This is about 2020. We are not going to survive or succeed, and were certainly not going to win by reliving the Cold War and were not going to win these critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime. Weve got to be a lot smarter than this. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. (Patrick Semansky/AP (2)) During Sanderss appearance on 60 Minutes this past Sunday, Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, was asked about his past statements about Cubas communist dictatorship. Were very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba but you know, its unfair to simply say everything is bad. You know? Sanders said. When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it? Story continues Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled the island nation in the years following Castros seizure of power in 1959. Sanders has admitted that he was initially supportive of Castros revolution, which took place when he was a teenager. He also visited both the Soviet Union and socialist Nicaragua when he was the mayor of Burlington, Vt., in the 1980s, and praised aspects of both systems. Many Democrats have worried that Sanderss remarks would make winning the key battleground state of Florida, with its large population of Cuban exiles and their descendants, all but impossible should he become the Democratic nominee for president. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: People wear masks to help guard against the new coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran on Feb. 23, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Iran Official Running Anti-Coronavirus Task Force Has Virus DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesThe head of Irans counter-coronavirus task force has tested positive for the virus himself, authorities announced Tuesday, showing the challenges facing the Islamic Republic amid concerns the outbreak may be far wider than officially acknowledged. The announcement regarding Iraj Harirchi came after he gave a news conference with journalists in Tehran about the virus just one day prior, seeking to minimize the danger posed by the outbreak. The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday meanwhile banned all flights to and from Iran over the outbreak of the new coronavirus, just a day after its spread from the Islamic Republic was announced across multiple Mideast nations. Iran earlier raised the official death toll from the virus to 15 killed amid 95 confirmed infections. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed Harirchi had the virus. Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he had the virus and that he had quarantined himself at his home. He promised that authorities would bring the virus under control. Iranians, some wearing protective masks, wait to cross a street in the capital Tehran on Feb. 22, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) However, having the top official in charge of stopping the virus become sick with it is just the latest woe to befall Iran as the UAE cut off Iranian flights from the country. The UAE, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, remains a key international transit route for Irans 80 million people. The flight ban, which will last at least a week, shows the growing concern over the spread of the virus in Iran amid worries the outbreak may be larger than what authorities there now acknowledge. The Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement via the countrys state-run WAM news agency, just hours after Dubai International Airport, the worlds busiest for international travel, said there would be restrictions on flights there. All passenger and cargo aircraft traveling to and from Iran will be suspended for a period of one week, and could be up for extension, the authority said. The decision is a precautionary measure undertaken by the UAE to ensure strict monitoring and prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus. Emirates, the government-owned carrier based in Dubai, flies daily to Tehran. Its low-cost sister airline, FlyDubai, flies to multiple Iranian cities, as does the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The announcement came after Bahrain said it would suspend all flights from Dubai and Sharjah, a neighboring UAE emirate that is home to Air Arabia, for 48 hours. Bahrains Health Ministry on Tuesday raised the number of infected cases from the new virus to eight, saying that all had traveled from Iran via Dubai. Four of them have been identified as Saudi nationals. The cases were confirmed upon arrival to Bahrain during screenings at the airport, and prior to the suspension on flights to Dubai and Sharjah, according to Bahrains official news agency. Dubai has been screening passengers on incoming flights from China, where the outbreak began in December. Long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad are among the few international airlines still flying to Beijing. However, the outbreak in Iran only became public in recent days. Pedestrians wear masks to help guard against the Coronavirus, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. Irans government said Tuesday that 15 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian governments transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. The new death toll came from Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour during an interview with Iranian state television. He said there were 95 confirmed cases of the virus in Iran, with many linked to Qom, a major Shiite religious center where other cases have emerged. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sought to reassure the nation in a speech on Tuesday, calling the new coronavirus an uninvited and inauspicious passenger. We will get through corona, Rouhani said. We will get through the virus. Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus on Monday and connected them to travel with Iran. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has reported 13 cases of the new virus. Most of those were connected to Chinese travel. Also Tuesday, Kuwait raised the number of its infected cases to eight, according to the state-run KUNA news agency, after earlier raising the number to five. It said the three latest cases involved Kuwaiti citizens just back from Iran, without giving more details. The five previously reported cases were passengers returning on a flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Irans government has not yet announced a single case of the virus. Kuwait had halted transport links with Iran over the weekend and said it was evacuating its citizens from Iran. Meanwhile, Iraqs Health Ministry said four new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in the northern province of Kirkuk. It said the afflicted were members of an Iraqi family who had returned from a recent trip to Iran. Iraq announced the discovery of the first coronavirus case in the country on Monday in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf. Iraq had earlier closed its border with Iran to Iranian nationals but apparently Iraqis can still cross the boundary. Also Tuesday, a Turkish Airlines flight from Tehran to Istanbul landed in Ankara with 17 passengers suspected of having coronavirus, including some who had been to the Iranian city of Qom, Turkeys CNN-Turk broadcaster reported. The passengers were to be quarantined at an Ankara hospital that had previously quarantined Turks returning from Chinas Hubei province. Turkish Airlines has temporarily suspended most flights with Iran, apart from those with Tehran. Turkeys Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the Turks on board were being repatriated due to the outbreak in Iran. All 132 passengers and crew on board would be quarantined for 14 days at the same hospital where Turkish citizens returning from China had been quarantined. We are engaged in the maximum effort possible to protect our country from this ilness, Koca said. In Pakistan, about 100 pilgrims, mostly minority Pakistani Shiites, have been quarantined at a government building after returning from Iran, officials said Tuesday. The pilgrims had returned before Pakistan on Saturday closed its border with Iran at the crossing in the town of Taftan in southwestern Baluchistan province. More than 7,000 Pakistani pilgrims remain still in Iran where health authorities will have to declare them free of the coronavirus before they can go home. Pakistan last week suspended flight operations with China, where thousands of Pakistanis have been stranded since the infectious spread there. Islamabad has no immediate plans to evacuate Pakistani citizens from China. By Jon Gambrell BlueNalu, a San Diego, CA-based innovative food company producing seafood directly from fish cells, closed its $20m Series A round of funding. The round was co-led by Stray Dog Capital, CPT Capital, New Crop Capital, and Clear Current Capital, with participation from Nutreco, Griffith Foods, Pulmuone, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Rich Products Ventures, and KBW Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to develop a good manufacturing practices (GMP) pilot production facility in San Diego, expand its team, implement strategic alliances for global operations and distribution, and prepare for its market launch. Led by Lou Cooperhouse, president & CEO, BlueNalu provides cellular aquaculture seafood products supporting the sustainability and diversity of the ocean. The company first established its operations in 2018. FinSMEs 26/02/2020 The Rajasthan government on Wednesday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from the Chief Minister's relief fund for the families of those who were killed in the bus accident in Bundi. District Magistrate Bundi, Antar Singh Nehra said, "This is an unfortunate incident. 24 people have lost their lives. Compensation of Rs 2 lakhs will be given to families of victims from the Chief Minister's relief fund." As many as 24 people were killed after a private bus plunged into the Mej river in the Lakheri area here on Wednesday. Five injured were referred to Kota Hospital for treatment. "I am deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident in Bundi in which about 24 people have lost lives after the bus fell into river Mej. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. I wish a speedy recovery to all injured," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 08:00:26 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 993 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM:ECO)(TSXV:EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licenses in Guyana and Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2019, alongside a corporate and operational update.Results Highlights:FinancialsAs at 31 December 2019, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of CAD $25.4 million with no debt and remains fully funded for its share of further appraisal and exploration drilling at Orinduik Block offshore Guyana of up to US$120m (gross).As at 31 December 2019, Eco had total assets of CAD $27 million, total liabilities of CAD $0.3 million and total equity of CAD $26.7 million.Operations - GuyanaOn 12 August 2019, the Company announced a major oil discovery on its Orinduik offshore petroleum license in Guyana (the "Guyana License"). Evaluation of logging data confirms that Jethro-1 is the first discovery on the Guyana License and comprises high quality oil-bearing sandstone 55m reservoir of Lower Tertiary age. The well was cased and is awaiting further evaluation to determine the appropriate appraisal activity.On 16 September 2019, the Company announced a second oil discovery on the Guyana License. Evaluation of MWD, wireline logging and sampling of the oil confirms that Joe-1 is the second discovery on the Orinduik License and comprises a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone 16m reservoir with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age.Both wells were drilled within budget, with MWD logging tool and conventional wireline, and the reservoirs were considered to be high-quality sands with good permeability.Fluid samples were taken in both of the wells and were sent for analysis by the Operator. Results of that testing confirm that the samples recovered to date from Jethro-1 and Joe-are mobile heavy crudes with high sulphur content.Oil tested to date appears not dissimilar to the commercial heavy crudes currently in production in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, the Campos Basin in Brazil, Venezuela and Angola.The Company has engaged a third-party consultant with heavy oil development and economics expertise to help conduct preliminary evaluations related to production schemes and commercialisation. Technical and commercial evaluation work is ongoing and the Company is considering alternatives for further drilling and testing and a number of development scenarios and production alternatives. The Company remains optimistic in considering the development scenarios and, as the project progresses, will provide further information on plans and timing.On 3 February 2020, the Company announced the filing of a National Instrument 51-101 compliant resource report on the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, which included:Significant increase in Gross Prospective Resources to 5,141 MMBOE (771 MMBOE net to Eco) from previous estimate of Gross Prospective Resources of 3,981 MMBOE in March 2019.22 prospects identified on Orinduik Block including 11 leads in the Upper Cretaceous horizon.Majority of the project leads have over a 30% or better chance of success (COS), enhanced by the recent discovery of light oil in the Carapa 1 well on the Kanuku block to the south of Orinduik.Leads in the Tertiary aged section estimated to contain 1,204 MMBOE.Leads in the Cretaceous section are estimated to contain approximately 3,936 MMBOE.OutlookGuyanaThe Block operator has proposed a further fine tuning analysis of the upper cretaceous reservoirs, and the Operator has announced a plan to incorporate the Carapa well data into Orinduik's existing geological models and technical analysis over the coming period. Further, the partners plan to integrate the discoveries at Jethro and Joe with the Carapa discovery with the rest of the regional data now available and to incorporate this data into a reprocessing of the 3D seismic already shot on Orinduik. The intent is to provide further definition to the Cretaceous interpretation and target selection for drilling.Geological modeling, prospects maturation and target selection on the Block are ongoing, and the JV Partners are working closely to agree the best work program to further explore the prospectivity of the license.Multiple prospects are currently being reviewed with high-graded candidates under consideration for the next drilling programme.Eco is fully funded and is pushing to drill a minimum of at least one upper Cretaceous target as soon as practically possible for its partners. Consideration is being given to prioritise a stacked multi-target well.The Orinduik JV partners are Eco Atlantic (15% working interest ("WI")), Tullow Guyana B.V. ("Tullow") (Operator, 60% WI) and Total E&P Guyana B.V. ("Total") (25% WI).NamibiaEco continues to progress its various work programmes offshore Namibia.Eco sees an increasing interest in Namibia by major companies and large IOCs. The Company plans to monitor near-term drilling activity in the region and will update the market on developments as appropriate.Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:"After completing a successful drilling campaign in 2019, we continue to benefit from a very strong balance sheet and remain fully funded to conduct further exploration and appraisal drilling activity on the Orinduik Block. Our recently updated CPR reaffirms the high prospectivity of the license and the considerable upside potential contained within the Tertiary and Cretaceous horizons. As such, the JV Partners are working on incorporating the learnings gained from other regional discoveries, such as the Carapa well result, into our existing geological models, as this will enable us to identify the most high value targets on the Block."While it is Eco's intention, and there remains the potential, to conduct a drilling program later this year, the need to integrate the new data learned from recent discoveries in the region into our understanding of the Block's geology may result in further drilling and appraisal activity taking place in H1 2021. However, a final decision on further drilling activity and the overall budget will be made in the coming months. It is important to note that we remain convinced of the significant upside of Orinduik, are well funded, have strong shareholders and partners, and are confident that further drilling activity will be conducted as soon as practically possible and will prove the Block's potenti Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 14:47:54|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close David Bernstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), speaks in an interview with Xinhua in New York, the United States, Feb. 25, 2020. The Jewish community in the United States will support the Chinese community amid misguided fears surrounding the disease caused by the novel coronavirus called COVID-19, helping them fight against scapegoating and xenophobia, the leader of a renowned Jewish organization said here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Guo Peiran) NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Jewish community in the United States will support the Chinese community amid misguided fears surrounding the disease caused by the novel coronavirus called COVID-19, helping them fight against scapegoating and xenophobia, a leader of a renowned Jewish organization said here on Tuesday. "When our friends are facing tough times, we want to be there for them," David Bernstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), told Xinhua in an interview. Bernstein said that supportive activities from the Jewish community are spreading across the nation. "In Boston, there are many Jews right now who are shopping in Chinatown and visiting Chinatown," he said. Chinese and Jewish people have a variety of shared values and "there's a very close tie naturally between the two communities," he said. "So it's natural when one of us feels targeted, the other is there to support." Concerned about rising xenophobia in the United States and abroad over the spread of COVID-19, the JCPA has issued an open letter to voice support for the Chinese American and Chinese communities. "We are writing to express our heartfelt solidarity with you during these tense and troubling times," the JCPA letter read. "We know that in such times, concern can quickly turn into hysteria, which can lead to scapegoating." "We pledge to help ensure that Chinese people feel safe and supported, and to combat attacks and stereotyping on social media," read the letter, which has been co-signed by 75 Jewish groups in the United States so far. By issuing this letter, the JCPA wants to "help let people know that it is unfair to scapegoat Chinese people for this disease" and make sure that people "don't get engaged in bigotry and ugliness toward Chinese and Chinese Americans," said Bernstein. Bernstein is deeply concerned about the misinformation about COVID-19 and hostility toward Chinese people circulating on social media as "somebody or few people can start a meme on Twitter and that becomes a major problem." The JCPA will closely monitor social media platforms and "send out tweets ourselves," he said. "We're going to have a Twitter campaign. We are going to get other people to show their support." Bernstein also hopes the letter provides an opportunity to build an even stronger relationship between the Chinese and Jewish communities. "We use this as an opportunity not only to show our solidarity but to show our long-lasting friendship and ... to explore how we can work together as Jews and Chinese to make America a better place and to make the world a better place," he added. Founded in 1944, the JCPA is an umbrella organization representing 125 local Jewish community relations councils and 17 national Jewish agencies. HUNTINGTON, Ind., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Our Sunday Visitor, the largest English-language publisher of Catholic books and materials in the world, is holding a conference to help laypeople better respond to the continuing sexual abuse scandals and related coverups in the Catholic Church. From March 12-14, 2020, OSV will host "The Church in Crisis: A Way Forward for Catholic Laity" in Arlington, Virginia. The conference will explore the roots of the abuse crisis, look closely at specific causes, offer practical tools to promote healing and restore trust, and empower and inspire the laity with a greater understanding of their rights, duties and vocation as baptized members of Christ's Church. As our bishops chart a path forward on the national and international levels, Catholic laity have the opportunity and responsibility to assist them by working to renew and bring hope to a broken Church. This conference will help facilitate that process. "The Church in Crisis: A Way Forward for Catholic Laity" will be both educational and inspirational, serving as a soothing balm for those who may be frustrated with, yet who remain committed to, the Church. Among the event's speakers are Edward Sri, Christopher Ruddy, Father John Beal, Hosffman Ospino, Robert Royal, Teresa Pitt Green, John Carr, Father Agustino Torres and Kathryn Jean Lopez. It will be hosted by OSV's publishing division, including Scott P. Richert, publisher, and Gretchen R. Crowe, editorial director for periodicals. "This is an event geared directly toward Catholic laity, who in many ways have been caught in the crosshairs of the clergy abuse crisis," said Crowe. "We hope laity will leave this conference with a better understanding of how they can and should play a positive role within the Church during this challenging time." "Since the crisis came to light, Catholic laypeople have been asking, 'What can I do to help the Church?'" Richert said. "This event will give laity a better sense of their own role within the Church and how they can work together with clergy to bring about healing and help restore trust." The cost for the three-day event has purposefully been kept to an affordable $59 to encourage participation. Details can be found at churchincrisis.eventcreate.com. Seating is limited register today. Media Contact: Gretchen R Crowe, Editorial Director, [email protected], (919) 475-1012 SOURCE Our Sunday Visitor Related Links http://www.osv.com President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pose with India's President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind during a state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan - The Presidential Palace in New Delhi on Feb. 25. (Alex Brandon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) An employee at a Big Lots store in Maine is accused of setting a couch inside the store on fire, according to the Maine Fire Marshal's Office. Ryan Graffam, 22, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with arson, officials said. On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there... Mgeni Hassan Juma, Deputy Speaker of the Zanzibar House of Representatives of Tanzania, has praised the local and international role of the Federal National Council, FNC ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 25th Feb, 2020) Mgeni Hassan Juma, Deputy Speaker of the Zanzibar House of Representatives of Tanzania, has praised the local and international role of the Federal National Council, FNC. She also lauded the representation of women in the FNC and the overall achievements of women in the UAE, stressing the importance of exchanging visits among parliamentary delegations. Juma's statement came during her official visit to the headquarters of the FNC yesterday, as part of a Tanzanian parliamentary delegation. During the visit, the Tanzanian delegation were briefed about parliamentary developments in the UAE and the parliamentary achievements of Emirati women, in light of the support of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. FNC members Aisha Al Bairaq and Afra Bakhit Al Alili briefed the delegation about the FNCs legislative, regulatory and parliamentary diplomacy powers and the accomplishments achieved by women in parliament, highlighting the decision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa to increase the participation of women in the FNC to 50 percent, as well as their participation in the FNC elections in 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2019. During the meeting, the role of the FNC in addressing national topics was explained, as well as its keenness to promote diplomacy during regional and international parliamentary events, and the role of the youth in parliamentary work. The Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) on Wednesday said its member companies are ready to brace up for any shortages in medical devices and equipment arising out of scarcity of raw materials from China due to coronavirus outbreak. The wide spectrum of medical devices and equipment that MTaI members have remained unaffected as these companies do not depend on imports from China. "MTaI members will try and offset any supply gaps arising out of the import shortages from China," MTaI Chairman and Managing Director Vygon India Pavan Choudary said in a statement. MTaI member companies' products conform to the highest quality standards and are imported primarily from the USA, Europe and Japan or manufactured under strict quality control in India, he added. With shortage of raw materials from China, there is a fear of scarcity of commonly used medical devices like digital thermometers, infrared thermometers, nebulisers, blood pressure monitors and glucometers manufactured in the country. MTaI represents research-based medical technology companies like Bausch & Lomb, Baxter, Alcon, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - La Casa del Habano, the Habanos, S.A. international network of franchised specialist stores present in more than 60 countries, celebrates its 30th Anniversary - Juan Lopez Seleccion Especial, is the vitola selected by Habanos, S.A. in 2020 in commemoration of the 150th years of the brand and the 30th anniversary of creation of La Casa del Habano - The Habanos Festival reaches its halfway point and presents Montecristo Herederos on the brand's 85th anniversary HAVANA, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The XXII Edition of the Habanos Festival commemorates a very special date: the 30th anniversary of the birth of La Casa del Habano, the highly specialized international chain of stores in the sale, preservation and promotion of Habanos and their culture. For this reason the Festival's second outstanding evening, marking the halfway point of the event, is dedicated to this celebration. The Laguito Protocol Hall will host this gala dinner with the finest Cuban gastronomy and performances from renowned international artists. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8696851-la-casa-del-habano-30th-anniversary/ To celebrate this anniversary, Habanos, S.A. present Juan Lopez Seleccion Especial (ring gauge 52 x 170 mm length) has been specially released with 25 Habanos of unique dimensions and a pleasant smoke. All made "Totalmente a Mano con Tripa Larga" - Totally Handmade with Long Filler, after a careful selection of the wrapper, filler and binder leaves from the famed vegas of the most prestigious area of Vuelta Abajo*, in the region of Pinar del Rio*, Cuba* and produced by expert Cuban torcedores - cigar rollers. Juan Lopez Seleccion Especial will only be distributed in the La Casa del Habano Franchise network. In addition, during this evening event, we will also pay tribute to the Montecristo brand, one of the most recognized brands within the Habanos portfolio, in commemoration of its 85th Anniversary, with the presentation of the new Herederos vitola (ring gauge 47 x 162 mm length), which is presented in a special box of 20 Habanos exclusively for this chain of specialized La Casa del Habano and Habanos Specialists stores. La Casa del Habano is the international network of specialized stores under franchise, dedicated to the enjoyment and culture of Habanos. The network, present in more than 60 countries, has 155 stores that constitute a platform for launching new products and that play a key role in the development of emerging markets. *(P.A.O.) Protected Appellations of Origin Graphic material: Link Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1094292/La_Casa_del_Habano_30th_Anniversary.jpg Contact: BCW: press.habanos@yr.com Izaskun Martinez, Tel: +34-670-09-40-74 Carla Llado, Tel: +34-669-54-69-09 BASEL, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nouscom, an immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalized cancer neoantigen vaccines, announced today that it has appointed Marina Udier, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Patricia Delaite, MD, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) with immediate effect. Dr. Guido Magni, Chairman of the Board of Nouscom, said, "The board has been impressed with the operational and strategic achievements made since Marina was appointed CEO on an interim basis in May 2019. During this time, Nouscom received IND clearance for its lead program NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine based on shared frame shift neoantigens, and advanced this exciting candidate into its First-in-Human clinical studies in the US. She has also been instrumental in building a strong team with the recruitment of Patricia as CMO. The Board has therefore decided to make Marina's appointment as CEO permanent and has confidence in her ability to lead the business into its next chapter." Marina Udier said, "Nouscom is establishing a clearly differentiated position in the development of next generation neoantigen cancer vaccines based on its technology platform. I am excited and fully committed, alongside our team, to advancing our corporate and development strategy." Commenting on Patricia Delaite's appointment, Marina Udier added: "I am pleased to welcome Patricia to the team. Attracting a CMO of her caliber underlines the continued transition that Nouscom is making from a research-led to a clinical-stage company. Given her prior experience as CMO and a strong track record in drug development, Patricia brings new skills to our team, which will be vital as we advance our Phase I study evaluating NOUS-209 and progress our personalized program, NOUS-PEV, into clinical studies, which are expected to start later this year." Marina Udier, PhD, joined Nouscom as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2016 from Versant Ventures and was appointed interim CEO in May 2019 upon the retirement of former CEO and founder Dr. Alfredo Nicosia. Prior to Versant, she held senior development and commercial roles at Novartis in Basel. Previously, Dr. Udier worked for McKinsey & Company in the US. She has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University. Patricia Delaite, MD, joins from AMAL Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim) where she was CMO and a key member of the Senior Executive Team. At AMAL, Dr. Delaite designed and implemented a First-in-Human therapeutic cancer vaccine trial enabling innovative proof-of-concept endorsed by clinical experts and regulators at agencies in the US and Europe. Prior to AMAL, Dr. Delaite held senior clinical roles at Incyte International Biosciences, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Novartis and Eli Lilly. She has also 10 years' experience in patient clinical management at the University Hospital in Geneva. About Nouscom Nouscom is a privately held oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies. Nouscom's proprietary technology platform harnesses the full power of the immune response by combining viral vectored genetic vaccines based on neoantigens with other immunomodulators. Nouscom is currently advancing clinical development of its lead program, NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine based on shared frame shift neoantigens. The Company continues to develop its product candidate, NOUS-PEV, a personalized cancer neoantigen- vaccine, which is expected to enter clinical studies in 2020. Nouscom is led by an experienced management team with deep roots in the pharma and biotech industry (Merck, Novartis, Lilly, Incyte and Okairos (acquired by GSK)), and are veterans in the field of viral vectored genetic vaccines. Nouscom, which was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with operations in Rome, Italy, is backed by international life sciences investors: 5AM, Abingworth, LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Versant Ventures. For more information on Nouscom, please visit the company's website at www.nouscom.com Contacts : Nouscom Marina Udier, CEO E : [email protected] Tel: +41 61 201 1835 Citigate Dewe Rogerson Sylvie Berrebi, Mark Swallow [email protected] T: +44 (0)20 7638 9571 SOURCE Nouscom Related Links http://www.nouscom.com/ (CNN) China has spent decades nurturing its tech sector. Now, faced with a massive public health crisis, Beijing is pushing its tech companies to join the fight against the novel coronavirus. The country's tech giants have responded to the outbreak by deploying autonomous vehicles to bring supplies to medical workers, fitting drones with thermal cameras to improve detection of the virus and lending their computing power to help develop a vaccine. It's not clear how much tech can help control the virus, which has now infected at least 79,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,600, mostly in mainland China. And some of the efforts put forth so far are limited in size and scope. But Beijing has made clear that fighting the virus is a national priority that requires collective action. The government has long stressed technological innovation as an important pillar of growth, and Beijing has spent billions of dollars on subsidies, loans and bonds designed to spur advancements in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and other areas as it works to develop a tech sector that can compete with Silicon Valley. "The fight against the epidemic cannot be achieved without the support of science and technology," Chinese President Xi Jinping said earlier this month, according to state news agency Xinhua. He added that China should ramp up clinical research for vaccines and antiviral drugs, as well as expand online shopping options for the tens of millions of people who are staying indoors to prevent the disease's spread. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology on Thursday called on the tech sector for help, suggesting that robots, temperature screening machines and devices that can help reduce human contact should be deployed. China's technological rise China's efforts to create its own Silicon Valley date to the 1980s, when authorities began designating parts of the country as "high-tech development zones" focused on consumer electronics and biotech, among other fields. Those 168 zones reported more than 33 trillion yuan ($4.7 trillion) in revenue in 2018, according to official statistics. Tech is also the linchpin of Beijing's "Made in China 2025" initiative, a plan to shift the economy from manufacturing to high-tech sectors. The mandate entailed investing billions of dollars of government funding into areas such as wireless communications, microchips and robotics. The focus on tech has worked. China was home to nine of the world's 20 most valuable tech companies in 2018 a big leap over the two it claimed five years earlier, according to a report by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. As China now fights the coronavirus, technology won't be the "dominating factor" that stops the outbreak, according to Danny Mu, a Beijing-based analyst of emerging technologies at Forrester. But he said the sector has its uses, including offering digital services like food delivery and mobile payments that help people "better face the epidemic." Researching cures and eliminating human contact This month, Tencent opened up its super-computing facilities which include machines that can run calculations much faster than an ordinary PC to help researchers racing to find a cure. The Beijing Life Sciences Institute and Tsinghua University are among the participants. And Didi, China's biggest ride-hailing provider, has teamed up with medical and aid organizations to allow workers who need to perform tasks related to data analysis, online simulation or logistical support to use Didi's servers for free. Others are deploying robots to eliminate human-to-human contact. "Yes, you can call them gimmicks," said Eliam Huang, an analyst at Coresight Research. "But Chinese tech companies can be very responsive and versatile." The food delivery giant Meituan Dianping, for example, introduced robots last week in some of its partners' restaurants in Beijing that help bring food from kitchens to delivery workers, and to customers waiting for takeout orders. Meituan wants to expand the program to other cities if it's successful. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, meanwhile, recently enlisted self-driving robots to bring goods to medical workers in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated. The bots, which look and run much like pint-sized vehicles, have been delivering packages to a hospital that primarily treats coronavirus patients. The route is relatively short about 600 meters to the hospital but cutting humans out of the equation has helped protect customers and employees, said Qi Kong, head of autonomous driving at JD Logistics. "As we learned of the situation in Wuhan, we started to pivot our resources there," Qi told CNN Business. "Time has been really tight. It only took us four days to make sure our algorithm was ready to go, from simulation to practice." And a startup, Shanghai TMIRob, is sending dozens of robots inside hospitals throughout Wuhan, according to Chinese state media. There, they are spraying disinfectant in isolation wards, intensive care units and operating rooms. Surveillance concerns Drones have also been put to use during the outbreak. The technology allows authorities to scan through large crowds and spot if someone's in need of medical attention, according to MicroMultiCopter, a drone startup based in Shenzhen that has dispatched about 100 of the devices across the country. They've also sent nearly 200 employees to command centers where they can monitor what the drones are seeing in real time. "The company has been working overtime," a spokesperson told CNN Business. "This is the best test of our drone system. It is also the best showcase to the world." The use of drones and other technology has opened up the country to criticisms about its vast surveillance state, which human rights groups have warned can be used to violate freedoms. China has long used facial recognition, artificial intelligence and other technologies to crack down on crime and monitor its citizens. And tech companies like Tencent have for years been accused of censoring politically sensitive topics online in China. (The company has said before that it "respects and complies to local laws and regulations" of countries where it operates.) China's tech sector has long benefited from "top-down" support from Beijing, said Huang, the Coresight Research analyst. The central government allocated 3.9% of the national budget to science and technology last year, a 14% increase over the year before. "This shows the government highly values the development of technology, and its dedication to push technology innovation forward," she said. "Authorities' support helps everything happen faster," she added. "However, there is little ethical resistance, less ethical review in China." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Drones. Disinfecting robots. Supercomputers. The coronavirus outbreak is a test for China's tech industry." EXPERT OBSERVER An Infrastructure Accord is needed to drive the next wave of investment needed to keep pace with a growing list of national priority projects, according to the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA). UDIA National the nations peak organisation for the urban development industry - has welcomed release of Infrastructure Australias latest Infrastructure Priority List. The expanded list of projects shows there is clear demand for investment in road, water, energy, educational and social infrastructure. Whats clear is that Australia is already investing heavily in infrastructure but will need to accelerate that as our cities and population continue to grow. There is a compelling case for bringing more discipline to the way we plan, fund and deliver the next generation of infrastructure projects across our cities and regions. We need to go further and lift infrastructure above the political fray and ensure the durability of decisions to give comfort to investors both in infrastructure, but also the land use and housing supply that follows. A bi-partisan Infrastructure Accord would help insulate the identification, funding and delivery of major projects from politics and see the Priority List as the baseline for decisions on prioritisation. It could be extended to ensure all projects include analysis of the associated land use and housing opportunities to maximise the dividend from investments made by government and the private sector. If governments want to step outside the Priority List, they can do so but they first need to submit the projects to Infrastructure Australia for full business case assessment. UDIA National also urges governments to properly scrutinise the trunk infrastructure needs of housing development opportunities that emerge from the list, particularly transport projects. This would ensure we can create a more robust pipeline of new and diversified housing stock to keep pace with population growth and demographic demands. CONNIE KIRK is the UDIA National Executive Director BOISE Under legislation approved by a House committee Tuesday, school districts would no longer use March and August elections to ask voters to approve bonds and levies. Republican Rep. Wendy Horman said March and August elections draw fewer voters than May and November elections. She said that allows a small number of people to make important decisions. By limiting school bond and levy votes to the November general election and May primary dates, she said, voters would be more engaged. By focusing on those May and November dates, I believe more voters will participate and be more informed, she told lawmakers. The House State Affairs Committee approved the bill 11-3, with all Democrats opposed. Karen Echeverria, executive director of the Idaho School Boards Association, said the opposite was likely with many more issues for voters to deal with in November and May elections. We are worried about voter fatigue, she said. Our electorate is not as well informed because they are more concerned about other issues on the ballot. Several school officials also spoke against the measure, while several people speaking for themselves as taxpayers voiced opposition. School districts ask voters to approve bonds to build schools and levies for ongoing expenses, typically resulting in property tax increases. Levies require a simple majority to pass, while bonds require two-thirds of voters to approve. Lawmakers in 2006 eliminated using property taxes to fund public school operations while raising the sales tax from 5% to 6% to make up for the lost money. However, school districts in general say theyve never seen that bump in sales tax make up for the lost money. As a result, a majority of school districts have turned to voters to ask them to approve levies and bonds. Meanwhile, many residents have been complaining about increased property taxes due to soaring property values. Rising property taxes have turned into one of the primary topics of this year's legislative session, with both Republicans and Democrats calling it a crisis. Democratic Rep. John Gannon said the fundamental problem is that the state government doesn't adequately fund education, leading to the need for school bonds and levies. Gannon also noted that the bill also removes the March and August dates that voters can use to recall elected officials. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Air Canada is extending its suspension of flights between Canada and mainland China until April as the number of coronavirus cases and the number of countries affected continues to grow. The country's largest domestic and international airline announced Tuesday that service to Beijing and Shanghai will be cancelled until April 10. The company initially grounded flights for the month of February after the federal government issued an advisory warning against non-essential travel to China. "Air Canada will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely in consultation with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada and Global Affairs and will adjust its schedule as appropriate," says a statement from the company. Air Canada normally operates direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The carrier also is extending the suspension of its daily Toronto-Hong Kong flights until April 30 due to reduced demand, and says it will accommodate customers already booked on those flights on its non-stop Vancouver-Hong Kong flights. Asked in the House of Commons Tuesday if the government has done enough to screen potentially infected individuals entering the country, Health Minister Patty Hajdu insisted Canada has imposed "strict" measures. But she noted the coronavirus has now spread to at least 35 countries including some that may not have the capacity to properly diagnose it. "Those measures are less effective and it's time to turn our attention and our resources to making sure we're prepared on the domestic stage," she said. Hajdu said there are not many cases in Canada now, but that could change at any time. Hajdu said the messaging at airports will broaden to advise all international travellers on what they should do if they experience symptoms. But she said passenger screening and containment efforts are now less relevant than domestic efforts to delay and mitigate an outbreak. Story continues Hajdu said Canadians in Iran and other affected countries will receive consular support, but suggested that evacuating people is now unlikely. "We should be clear that repatriation efforts are limited at this point. It's difficult at this point to commit to an ongoing repatriation process. You have to remember that it takes a lot of resources and the resources have to be focused in terms of our domestic response," she said. "It's important for Canadians to realize this may cause disruptions in their lives." Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said Monday Canadian officials are preparing to respond to a possible pandemic in the event there is a community outbreak domestically. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the epidemic a global health emergency, but has not yet called it a pandemic. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne urged Canadians planning international trips to keep a close eye on government travel advisories as the coronavirus outbreak spreads. Nations around the world have been imposing strict travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the virus's spread. On his way into a cabinet meeting this morning in Ottawa, Champagne called the outbreak a "dynamic" situation and said Canadians with travel plans should take precautions. "Make sure you check before you go. That's the best advice I can give," he said. "We've seen new places where the coronavirus has expanded in South Korea, we saw in Italy today not only the north of Italy but Sicily and Tuscany. We've seen what's happening in Iran." Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has heightened its travel advisory for South Korea, where nearly 1,000 cases have been reported. The department is now warning travellers to exercise a "high degree of caution" in travelling to the country due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. More than 320 cases have been reported in Italy. More than 80,000 cases have been reported globally. GAC's advisory for travel to Italy was updated Tuesday, warning travellers to "practise special precautions." "COVID-19 can spread from person to person, and in Italy cases have been confirmed in multiple regions in the north of the country. Sustained community spread of the virus is being reported. This means it is unknown how or where some people became infected, and the spread is ongoing," the advisory reads. Yara Nardi/Reuters The advisory says good medical care is widely available in Italy, but services could be limited in rural areas and doctors and nurses may not be able to communicate in English or French. Medical treatment for life-threatening emergencies and emergency room treatment is free of charge in Italy, but hospitals charge up-front for any convalescence or follow-up care, the advisory reads. Risk remains low in Canada Tam issued a statement today saying that the risk posed by the coronavirus in Canada remains low. She also confirmed that the 195 people who were under quarantine at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton after an evacuation flight from China have been released. The group arrived two weeks ago on the second government-chartered flight from Wuhan, China, and have shown no symptoms throughout the quarantine period. "As a result, they pose no risk to others and can return to their usual activities," Tam said in the statement. "I would like to thank the repatriated Canadians and their families for their patience, cooperation and contribution to public health. They have been through a stressful experience and I urge everyone to treat them with respect and compassion." By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Two national parties, the Congress and the BJP, and regional party TDP, are out of the picture in the forthcoming biennial elections to Rajya Sabha. They do not have the required number of MLAs to propose even a single candidate for the RS polls. Given this, the TRS is all set to win the two seats unanimously, which would be vacated in April. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Though the polling would be held on March 26, voting would not take place in Telangana. The ruling TRS candidates would be declared elected on the last date of withdrawal of nomination i.e., on March 18. These Opposition parties would not have the required number of electors for Rajya Sabha even in the 2022 elections as signatures of ten MLAs are required for proposing a candidate in the RS polls. The Opposition parties may get some voters for Rajya Sabha, only if they get a good number of MLAs in the next Assembly elections in 2023. The elections to Rajya Sabha this year would end the non-local MP issue, which had cropped up after the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh. Post-bifurcation, the then 18 Rajya Sabha members were allocated to AP and Telangana -- 11 members to AP and 7 to Telangana. However, during the allotment of RS members, TRS MP K Keshava Rao was allotted to AP, while two members of AP Garikapati Mohan Rao and KVP Ramachandra Rao were allotted to TS. The term of the three members would come to an end on April 9. After the elections, all the seven RS members would belong to Telangana. Schedule Accelerate Innovation with Integrated Software-Defined Data Center Cloud Infrastructure IT teams have taken over businesses as the key providers of innovation. But before cutting-edge technology can be delivered to the organization, transformation must occur in underlying data center infrastructure. Inside, learn how a rack-scale solution from Hitachi powered by VMware can provide a hybrid cloud platform designed to speed time to production, reduce TCO, and improve security through a natively integrated software-defined stack. By IANS NEW DELHI: A total of 37 Central laws will now be applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union Cabinet on Wednesday giving its approval for issuance of the order for this purpose. The decision is an effort to ensure administrative effectiveness and smooth transition in Jammu and Kashmir and removing any ambiguity, in line with the Constitution, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The adaptation of these Central laws will be under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one -- and got President Ram Nath Kovind's assent on August 9, 2019, just four days after the Parliament passed it. After the act came into force, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into the two Union Territories on October 31, 2019. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the issuance of the order, Javadekar said at a media briefing. "All the Central laws which are applicable to whole of India except the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir before the appointed date of October 31, 2019 are now applicable to Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," he announced. The Minister said that it is necessary to adapt the Central laws made under the concurrent list, with required modifications and amendments. As per Section 96, the Central government has powers to make adaptations and modifications of the laws, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of facilitating the application of any law made before the appointed date till the expiration of one year from the appointed date in relation to the successor Union Territories. Regulatory News: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) today released its regular weekly Net Asset Value ("NAV") and performance returns on its website, https://www.pershingsquareholdings.com/company-reports/weekly-navs/. The NAV and returns were computed as of the close of business on Tuesday, 25 February 2020. PSH NAV per share as of close of business on 25 February 2020 was 26.00 USD 19.99 GBP and year-to-date performance was -3.5%. Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft). Performance is presented on a net-of-fees basis and reflects the deduction of, among other expenses: management fees, brokerage commissions, administrative fees and accrued performance fees, if any. The performance figure includes the reinvestment of all dividends, interest and capital gains. Depending on the timing of a specific investment, net performance for an individual investor may vary from the net performance as stated herein. Net performance is a geometrically linked time weighted calculation. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All investments involve risk including the loss of principal. About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226006028/en/ Contacts: Media Camarco Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk - President Farmaajo is facing criticism after passing a contentious electoral law that has been opposed by a section of politicians and clan leaders - Five former Somali leaders have also accused the president of oppressing dissenting voices and giving government jobs to his cronies - Farmaajo has also faced backlash for his hard stance and standoff with regions like Jubaland and Puntland Three former Presidents and two ex-prime ministers have stepped up their opposition for the re-election of Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi alias Farmaajo. The five who are from the Abagaal sub-clan of the Hawiye clan have claimed that the president has been appointing his cronies while oppressing dissenting voices, citing his standoff with Jubaland and Puntland regions. They also took issue with the recently passed election law, Article 53 of the electoral law, which says elections will be postponed in the event of a national disaster such as floods, famine or armed conflict. READ ALSO: University of Nairobi apologises for memo blaming students following robbery incident Three former Presidents and two ex-prime ministers have stepped up their opposition for the re-election of Somalia President Mohamed Adulahi alias Farmaajo. Photo: State House Kenya. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Explainer: What it means when national government takes over functions of county government The article is seen as a mechanism that the government could use to extend its term. Among those who attended the 400 member delegates conference which concluded in Mogadishu on Monday, February 24, were former prime ministers Ali Ghedi and Nur Adde and ex-presidents Hassan Sheikh and Sheikh Sharif and Ali Mahdi. Consequently, they said that the current president must seek dialogue with their clan on the formation of the next government or they will go all out to campaign against him. In an interview with Mogadishu based Radio Dalsan after the delegates meeting, Ali Mahdi, the former Transitional National Government (TNG) President from 1991 to 1997 said, we are the pillars of Somali state without Mudulood and Abgaal support, no government can govern Somalia.'' READ ALSO: Unplanned projects launched by DP Ruto causing trouble for MPs CS Munya But despite a new law that outlaws the clan system as the basis of governance, the leaders insist that they still hold sway to the direction politics will take. In a desperate attempt to stop the bloodshed and restore law and order, Somali leaders with backing from the UN agreed on a clan-based form of governance known as the 4.5 system. Under this system, parliamentary seats and most government positions are divided equally among the four major clans, with the remainder allocated to a cluster of minority clans. This model, which was meant to be a temporary measure to mitigate clan conflict, has become a never-ending problem. A long-awaited one person, one vote election could be held by the end of the year. The law is expected to replace the existing clan-based, power-sharing model, which gives the countrys main clans equal representation in government. The passing of the law is seen as a milestone by the government and its international partners but many critics, including major opposition leaders and federal member states, say they have not been fully consulted on the chances. 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 Twenty passengers from the Republic of Korea were flown back to their home country on February 25 night, one day after their arrival in the central city of Da Nang. The bus carrying the Korean passengers to Da Nang International Airport They are among 80 passengers who arrived on a flight from Daegu city the centre of COVID-19 outbreak in the Republic of Korea (RoK)- on February 24. They had been kept under quarantine at Da Nangs Lung Disease Hospital since February 24. Before their departure, the passengers received health screenings and certificates provided by the local medical sector. Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Huynh Duc Tho sent a letter of apology to the Koreans, explaining that Da Nang is imposing urgent measures to ensure safety for visitors and the community in the face of the complex development of COVID-19. The official expressed his hope to welcome the visitors at a more convenient time. The remaining 60 passengers of the flight include 58 Vietnamese and two Thais. Some airlines have suspended flights between Vietnam and the RoK over concern of the COVID-19 threat. Vietnams Bamboo Airways suspends flights from the central cities of Da Nang and Nha Trang to the RoKs Incheon city as from February 26. The airline is currently operating seven round trips per week on each route, using A321NEO capable of carrying nearly 200 passengers. Tway Air of the RoK has also ceased flights from Daegu to Hanoi and Da Nang from February 18 to March 28, and flights from Daegu to Nha Trang from February 23 to March 28. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, four Vietnamese carriers, namely Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific, are running 182 flights per week from Nha Trang, Da Lat, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Busan, Incheon, South Jeolla, Gangwon, Cheongwon-gu and Daegu of the RoK. Meanwhile, four Korean airlines are operating 10 routes from Busan, Incheon, Daegu and South Jeolla to Vietnams Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with 381 flights each week./. Foreign Ministry issues travel warnings amidst COVID-19 epidemic The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Vietnamese citizens against travelling to areas with COVID-19 outbreaks or vulnerable to the epidemic as warned by foreign countries. As for overseas Vietnamese, the department asked them to follow recommendations and guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control set by local competent agencies, and avoid unnecessary trips. Those who return from epidemic-affected areas or have had contact with infected people will be subject to medical screenings and a 14-day quarantine period. The department also asked Vietnamese citizens to swiftly inform Vietnams competent and representative agencies in foreign countries and territories, and their relatives in case of emergency. In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact citizen protection hotlines posted on websites of Vietnamese representative offices abroad or the departments citizen protection hotline: 84 981 84 84 84./. PM orders stricter countermeasures against COVID-19 outbreak Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries, agencies and localities to stay vigilant and seriously implement solutions to fight the acute respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In Directive No. 10/CT-TTg, PM Phuc said Vietnam had managed the outbreak well thanks to joint efforts, noting that all 16 confirmed positive cases in the country have been successfully cured. However, there is still a need for more action to prevent and fight the acute pneumonia epidemic, he stressed. Fighting the epidemic is like fighting enemies, the leader reiterated, urging close monitoring over passengers travelling through border rails and strict observance of countermeasures in aviation, tourism and transportation sectors. Under the directive, the PM asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the Chinese side that Vietnamese citizens from Chinas coronavirus-hit areas are allowed to enter Vietnam via international border gates only. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also tasked with informing the Republic of Korea (RoK) fast becoming a major cluster of the new coronavirus outside China and other countries and territories affected by COVID-19 about Vietnams responses, including denying entry to people from or transiting through the virus-hit regions. Even those on official missions will have to fill out health declaration forms and be subject to 14-day quarantine once they enter Vietnam. The ministry must also tell Vietnamese citizens living and working in the RoK especially in the virus-hit regions of Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk to closely observe guidelines and recommendations on disease prevention. At the same time, Vietnamese citizens are advised to avoid travelling to virus-affected regions except in necessary cases, and when they return home, they will face 14-day quarantine with no exception. The Ministry of National Defence was ordered to prepare all infrastructure necessary to receive quarantined people that are not COVID-19 suspect cases but need to put under close observation. The Ministry of Transport was requested to re-direct flights starting or transiting from virus-hit areas of the RoK to land in Van Don airport in Quang Ninh province, Phu Cat airport of Binh Dinh province, and Can Tho airport in Can Tho city. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security must provide the information about all passengers from the RoK entering Vietnam as from February 11 for localities in order to carry out monitoring and quarantine if necessary. Hanoi to quarantine people arriving from epidemic-hit areas in RoK Hanoi will impose quarantine measures on people arriving from or going through Daegu and North Gyeongsang, areas with COVID-19 outbreaks in the Republic of Korea. On February 25, the municipal Peoples Committee required the Health Department to coordinate with the capital citys Military Command and police to carry out the quarantine work. Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens will be kept in quarantine for 14 days since arrival at the military school under the municipal Military Command in Son Tay, while foreign nationals will be staying at the Municipal Police Hospital in Ha Dong district. District administrations are told to look for people who arrived in Vietnam from the RoK within the past 14 days for monitoring and taking quarantine measures on those who came from or transited Daegu and North Gyeongsang. The municipal Health Department instructed tightening international medical quarantine at the Noi Bai international airport, including requiring all passengers coming from or transiting the RoK to fill in medical declaration forms. All those who are found to have symptoms such as fever, coughing and shortness of breath must be put under quarantine at medical facilities and tested for coronavirus./.VNA/VNN Coronavirus: Why did infections shoot up South Korea? How the practices of a secretive religious sect may have played into the rapid spread of the virus. Despite everything the party insiders and their lackeys in the media are doing to try to stop him, Bernie Sanders keeps polling well and getting votes. That has the Democrat powers-that-be in a panic. Their fear is that Sanders will win the nomination and that the presence of an avowed socialist at the top of the ticket will cause a Democrat wipe-out in November. Trevor Thomas has an excellent piece at American Thinker on the Democrats' Bernie problem. Party insiders, he argues, "should not be surprised that the electorate they've so 'educated' prefers a legitimate socialist as their presidential nominee." This is an idea worth exploring. The Democrat Party's decades-long march to the political left has indoctrinated its voters into being socialists in all but the name. Consequently, it is no surprise that those voters are now ready to vote for a politician who proudly proclaims he is a socialist. The Democrats have spent decades indoctrinating their voters into a blind faith in socialized medicine. Although the Left has been careful not to come right out and use the word "socialism" (the current code name is "Medicare for all," wink, wink), it is perfectly obvious that the takeover of medicine by the government is socialized medicine. But isn't it also obvious that selling your voters on socialized medicine amounts to selling them on socialism in general? Once voters buy the idea that government ought to take over medical care, why stop there? Government should take over banks, corporations, energy production, newspapers, and ultimately every part of the economy, shouldn't it? But the party insiders fear that Bernie is blowing their cover and that their voters are aiding and abetting him! The Democrats believe they can sell American voters on socialized medicine as long as they don't call it socialized medicine; they believe that for the time being, the Democrats need to steer clear of the word "socialism" if they are to continue as the dominant political party in America. Thomas sums up his article with this passage: Their [the Democrats'] decades-long march to the political left almost always in opposition to the truth along with preaching a mountain of so-called "rights" in order to bribe Americans into voting for democrats, has also forced us to debate what is marriage, infanticide, how many genders exist, and who is a male and who is a female. Thus, such leftists should not be surprised that the electorate they've so "educated" prefers a legitimate socialist as their presidential nominee. Well and truly written. Read the passage again, and you may notice something interesting. Although he closes with "socialist," his list that precedes his conclusion does not contain any mention of socialist economic nostrums. He mentions "truth," "rights," "marriage," "infanticide," "how many genders exist," and "who is male and who is female." Government taking control of businesses and the economy is missing from the closing statement. There is no question that Thomas is correct: while the Democrats have been steadily moving America toward socialism, they have been up to much more than simply overthrowing America's economic system. They have been again and again in opposition to the truth. They have waged a successful war on the American idea of rights; that campaign has left many Americans deeply confused about this most important of the Founders' ideas. They have moved powerfully against our commonsense understanding of marriage, of how many sexes there are, of who is a male and who is a female. They have tried to normalize infanticide. In a general sense, they have been making war on truth, justice, and the American way. Overthrowing America's fabulously successful economic system is not enough for them. Everything was going so well for the Progressive project, and now along comes Bernie Sanders, who threatens to upset the applecart and set back their efforts by who knows how long. Robert Curry serves on the Board of Directors of the Claremont Institute. He is the author of Reclaiming Common Sense: Finding Truth in a Post-Truth World and Common Sense Nation: Unlocking the Forgotten Power of the American Idea. Both are from Encounter Books. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania relished 'naan' and 'sikandari raan', a non-vegetarian dish, from the Bukhara restaurant of ITC Maurya Hotel, where the couple stayed during their visit to the national capital, sources said. Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were at the Bukhara, they added. Sources said the US president and the first lady liked 'naan' and 'Sikandari Raan', which were key features of the over four-decades-old restaurant's menu. The hotel, however, remain tight-lipped. The entire hotel was booked for the US delegation accompanying Trump. The US president stayed in the Grand Presidential Suite of the five-star property, which has hosted his predecessor Barack Obama and other US presidents like George W Bush and Bill Clinton. Trump, who was on his maiden visit to India, landed in the national capital on the evening of February 24 after attending the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad and visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. The hotel was under a three-tier security cover and the Indian security agencies were working in close coordination with the US Secret Service. On the anniversary of the Balakot airstrike, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadoria has lauded Wing Commander Abhinandan stating that he "demonstrated the spirit of Indian Air Force", despite flying a technologically inferior aircraft as compared to the enemy's. Wing Commander Abhinandan flew a MIG 21 against the technologically advanced F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of Pakistan Air Force. Speaking on Wing Commander Abhinandan and the pilots who were a part of the airstrike, the Air Chief said, "They had no hesitation to engage vastly superior aircrafts in terms of technology and weapons." Wing Commander's unit is the only MIG 21 unit to become a Falcon slayer. READ | Indian Air Force Sets Up Court Inquiry After Microlight Aircraft Crashes In Patiala Speaking on the Balakot strike and the message it gave to perpetrators of the terror attack, Air Chief said, "The message was clear, there is no status quo, any attack orchestrated from across the border will not be accepted at all. There will be a robust response." Speaking on the terror launchpads which have been reorganised across the border in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Air Chief said that the intelligence agencies are closely monitoring all the terror camps and their activities adding that IAF is ready for another airstrike at any depth if need be. He also praised the job done by the intelligence in identifying the targets of the terror launch pads after which the Air Force conducted the strike with precision. READ | 'We Look Back With Satisfaction': Ex-IAF Chief On First Anniversary Of Balakot Airstrike Air Chief Marshal Bhadoria said that Indian Air Force will be a different force altogether after the induction of Rafale fighter jets, calling it a "game-changer" when used along with the aircraft IAF has in its inventory. The Balakot airstrike was conducted by India in the early morning hours of 26 February 2019 when Indian warplanes flew across the border to PoK and destroyed the terror launchpads of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The airstrike was a striking retaliation to the cowardly Pulwama terror attack. READ | IAF Plane Flies Using Bio-fuel Mixture; PM Says Such Efforts Help Reduce Crude Oil Imports READ | IAF Saves Woman's Life By Airlifting Her From Kishtwar To Hospital In Jammu Several miles away in another part of Kabul, a bomb exploded Wednesday, wounding several people while Miller and Asadullah visited with civilians. The Taliban quickly issued a statement saying they were not involved, but it was not clear who was responsible. The Islamic State, which is not a party to the reduction-of-violence agreement and is also in conflict with the Taliban, is one possibility. Iranian cyberpolice have arrested 24 people accused of online rumour-mongering about the spread of the coronavirus in the country, semi-official news agency ISNA reported on Wednesday. The Islamic republic has been battling to control an outbreak of the novel coronavirus that has claimed 19 lives among 139 infections in the past week. "Twenty-four people were arrested and handed over to the judiciary and 118 (internet) users were talked to and let go" after receiving warnings, said Vahid Majid, head of the Iranian police force's cyber unit. The arrests were carried out after the establishment of a special unit to "combat rumour-mongers regarding the 'spread of coronavirus in the country'," he was quoted as saying. "The police are monitoring all the news published in the country's cyberspace." Majid said the unit would take action over news, pictures or videos that "contain rumours or fake news meant to disturb the public and increase concern in society". A city council worker in protective clothing disinfects a bus in Tehran as part of government efforts to control a novel coronavirus outbreak that has now killed 19 people Lalitpur : , Feb 26 (IANS) The family of Aam Aadmi Party's Uttar Pradesh co-in charge Murari Jain, 61, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Monday, has now demanded a high-level inquiry into the death. Deepak Jain, the nephew of Murari Jain, said the AAP leader was returning home in the Pushpak Express after attending a party programme in Lucknow. He said his younger brother Vivek received a phone call from his uncle saying that he could not deboard at Lalitpur as he was feeling sleepy and would disembark either at Bina or Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Deepak Jain said his uncle also told Vivek that the train was passing over the Narayani river -- the same spot where his body was found the next day. When Vivek called up again his uncle after half an hour the latter's mobile phone was switched off. Jain's body was found on the riverbed under the railway bridge in a forest area. A small bag with clothes in it, his mobile phone and some documents were lying nearby. There were fractures in both the legs as if he had suffered injuries after falling from the bridge. There were injuries in the head and other parts of the body also. Meanwhile, the body was handed over to his family. The post-mortem report is still awaited. Jain's nephew Deepak said, "We want a high-level inquiry as the body has been found in mysterious circumstances. It could be a case of murder." FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New Zealand company Jade Valley will be bringing their premium grade Manuka honey to the Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, to meet with prospective U.S. retailers looking to put their Manuka honey on American shelves. The March 22nd through 25th program of ECRM is focused on products in the realm of Healthy Living, Vitamin and Nutrition, which means Jade Valley will have a chance to discuss the health benefits of their Manuka honey in a setting tailored to their expertise. Jade Valley prides themselves on the quality of their Manuka range of products. Their business is 100% New Zealand owned and operated, so they have the highest degree of control over every aspect of their Manuka honey production, from hive to jar. Quality Manuka honey has seen a significant jump in sales over the past decade as more Americans begin to recognize the power of Manuka honey for its health and wellbeing properties. Jade Valley honey is sourced from the Manuka bush from some of the most remote and beautiful areas in New Zealand. Jade Valley Manuka honey is pure, with no other added ingredients. The honey produced from the pollen of the Manuka flower, a key component of Jade Valley's honey is often called the standard against which all other honey is compared. This highly sought-after flower helps create the Manuka honey with its distinct taste and aroma, found nowhere else in nature. It is so highly valued that there is a rating system based solely around the Manuka flower, called the Unique Manuka Factor, for which Jade Valley meets the stringent set of guidelines to earn themselves the UMF accreditation. Jade Valley's impressive Manuka product range including; Manuka honey, Manuka lozenges and Manuka oils, doesn't just end there. Jade Valley uses their Manuka honey as an ingredient in their Gelven baby skincare range. Baby brand, Gelven has its roots in business going back to 1951, and now they are on the cutting edge of baby products like Diaper Cream, Body Cream, Bath and Body Wash and Baby Oil. Manuka honey has been shown to have antibacterial and anti-microbial properties and is one of the ingredients used in the Gelven baby skincare range. In addition to their first-rate honey, Gelven's products also contain some key ingredients like Vitamin E, Kiwifruit extract and Colostrum. Gelven's goal was to create gentle and effective skincare using the best ingredients to keep babies clean and healthy. Jade Valley is a New Zealand brand that is not to be missed, and they will be meeting with U.S. retail brands at the Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing Conference at the Hyatt Regency at The Arch, in St. Louis, Missouri, March 22nd and 25th. Please direct inquiries to: Vincent Isom (954) 399-2207 [email protected] SOURCE Jade Valley Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 8:20PM Bob Iger and Bob Chapek at the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Photo: Business Wire) It was back in 2018 when Disney CEO Bob Iger announced his intentions to retire from his role. Now, it looks like the transition has begun. Iger just stepped down from his role, and he has now been replaced by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Bob Chapek. Iger will continue to serve as the company's executive chairman until the end of 2021. Iger said in a press release, "With the successful launch of Disney's direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO. I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working closely with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney's multifaceted global businesses and operations, while I continue to focus on the company's creative endeavours." Chapek will be Disney's seventh CEO, and after 27 years with the company, Iger said his successor has proven that he has visionary leadership to head Disney. "Under Bob's leadership as CEO, our portfolio of great businesses and our amazing and talented people will continue to serve the company and its shareholders well for years to come," Iger said in a press release. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:19:54|Editor: zh Video Player Close A family walk past a burnt motorcycle after violence ravaged New Delhi, India, Feb. 26, 2020. The death toll in the communal violence in the Indian capital city rose to 22, while over 200 people were injured, officials said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) by Peerzada Arshad Hamid NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the communal violence in the Indian capital city rose to 22, while over 200 people were injured, officials said Wednesday. "The death toll at this hospital so far is 22 and we have seen over 200 patients who were injured," Dr Sunil Kumar, medical director of Guru Teg Bahadur hospital told media. "The condition of some of the injured is serious but majority of them are stable." The dead include a policeman and a junior-level official of Intelligence Bureau. Authorities have deployed police and paramilitary in the affected areas. Curfew was imposed at some places and police jeeps were making announcements on loudspeakers urging people to stay indoors. Eyewitnesses said that burnt merchandise and property were strewn on roads and alleys in the neighbourhoods affected by the violence. India's main opposition Congress party has demanded the resignation of country's Home Minister Amit Shah and blamed him for the violence. "The centre (federal government) and the union (federal) home minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The union home minister should resign," Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party president said in a press conference. After three days of unprecedented violence, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for "peace and brotherhood", and said he has held an extensive review of the situation in various parts of the national capital. "I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times," Modi tweeted, in his first reaction to the violence in capital city. Meanwhile, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited areas affected by the violence and met top police officials and people. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday morning said curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain the violence. According to Kejriwal police were unable to control the situation Kejriwal's party alleged the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for the violence. Unrelenting communal violence broke out in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism. Reports said many people are leaving their homes in the affected areas and taking shelter in other safer locations. The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the northeastern part of the city on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, Delhi high court Wednesday pulled up police and directed them to register cases over alleged hate speeches. Protests against the controversial new citizenship law were triggered on Dec. 11 last year, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. So far, the violence against the law has killed over 50 people across India. Santa Ana, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- CITrials, the Pharmaceutical Medical Research clinical trials facility, participated in the 16th Annual Scientific Meeting that was held from 19-21 February 2020 in Grand Hyatt - Washington, DC. The event was organized by ISCTM (International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology). ISCTM, an independent organization devoted to promoting improvement and development addressing methodological clinical challenges arising in the use of CNS (central nervous system) clinical trials and therapeutic agents. It deals with re-evaluating the present scenario and perception of CNS drug development. It further emphasizes on using new therapies for evaluating therapeutic approaches and clinical methodology of using drugs. CITrials has a reputation of conducting and producing clinical trial results with accuracy. It has a team of qualified physicians and clinic managers who have years of experience in Medical Research Studies. They are renowned Psychiatrists, Academicians, Medical Consultants, and Pharma specialists. CITrials uses a confidential process to identify people for clinical trials. They conduct extensive scientific Medical Research Studies to discover ways of preventing, detecting, diagnosing, controlling, and treating a range of illnesses. ISCTM holds medical events every year where specialists talk about drugs and issues facing their use as psychiatric disorder treatment, enhancing drug development by using artificial intelligence, clinical trials, clinical studies and more. Debra Hoffmeyer, Founder & CEO of CITrials after attending the ISCTM event remarks, "I was just honored by society ISCTM in Washington D.C as the new Chair of the Membership Committee." She still holds a position on the Finance Committee and assist the society with FDA Guidance feedback in diversity. About CITrials Founded in 2000, CITrials conducts Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials to further the development of medications to benefit patients, communities, and physicians. CITrials specializes in mental health trials including those for Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Alzheimer's disease, Tourette's, Stuttering, and ADHD for adults and adolescents. CITrials has a great reputation for rapidly producing accurate trial results in accordance to global guideline requirements. For more information, please visit: https://citrials.com Social Profiles: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CITrialsResearch/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CITrials01 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citrials/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/citrials Contact Details: 801 North Tustin Santa Ana, CA 92705 17800 Woodruff Ave Bellflower, CA 90706 5700 Division Street Riverside, CA 92506 Ph: 1-866- 4 STUDY 1 (1-866-478-8391) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:25:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad broke the silence on Wednesday since his resignation, saying that he was willing to return to power if there was sufficient support for him to establish a non-partisan government prioritizing the interest of the country. Meanwhile, the previous ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition announced that they are backing Mahathir's former deputy Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister. In his first public address since resigning on Monday, Mahathir said there were "many reasons" behind his resignation, but specifically brushing off accusations that he was not willing to give up his position and that he was crazy on power. "To me, that power and position is 'a means to an end' or a tool to achieve the objective. And our objective is of course for the good of the country," the 94-year-old said in a televised speech. He had promised to resign to give an opportunity to the lower house of parliament to pick the one to replace him. "If it's true that I am still supported, I will return. Otherwise, I will accept whoever is chosen," he said. Mahathir called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to support him as individuals across party lines to serve the country. "Politics, politicians and political parties are attaching too much importance to politics to forget that the country is facing economic and health problems that are threatening the country," he said. Mahathir said the politics and political parties need to be set aside for now. "If it is allowed, I will try to have a government that is not in favor of any party. Only the interests of the nation will be prioritized," he said. Mahathir led the Pakatan Harapan coalition to power after winning the general elections in May 2018. He abruptly resigned on Monday following rumors of the forming of a new ruling collation involves multiple parties. Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah accepted Mahathir's resignation but appointed him as the interim prime minister. Sultan Abdullah interviewed members of the 222-seat lower house of the parliament to decide the new prime minister. Following Mahathir's speech, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council said in a statement that all of its three remaining component parties had supported the candidacy of Anwar as the prime minister. The statement said the coalition had invited Mahathir to reestablish the PH government, but the latter didn't agree to participate in the council meeting. "Thus, the decision of the presidential council determined that the Prime Minister candidate of Pakatan Harapan will be Anwar Ibrahim," it said. The PH coalition swept to power during national polls in May 2018 but ceased to command a majority of MPs after Mahathir's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) party withdrew from the coalition on Monday. 26.02.2020 LISTEN The fight between Social media commentator, Kevin Taylor and private legal practitioner Ace Ankomah is not ending anytime soon as the former vow to drop more revelations against the lawyer. This was after Mr Ankomah sued Mr Taylor and his Loud Silence Media for GHS10 million for alleging that he (Ace Ankomah) had a hand in the ordeals of embattled Menzgold CEO Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1). The case resulted in damages of GHS2.95 million being awarded against the defendant, Kevin Taylor. But speaking on his programme 'With All Due Respect' following the judgement, Mr Taylor said: I have a silver bullet for Ace Ankomah and Im going to release it, adding: Im not done with Ace Ankomah. If anybody is listening, tell Ace Ankomah I said: Im not done with you, Mr Taylor said. The media in Ghana are zombies He also blasted some Ghanaian media houses in Ghana for splashing his pictures on their front pages. He said, All these newspapers, when you put their capital together, it will not even reach GHS100,000. You are zombies, youre licking a dirty old ass, so, you dont want to speak truth to power. Only one media house called me when they heard that Ace Ankomah sued some Kevin Taylor, adding: The basis of Ace Ankomahs case is weak like some old mans balls. Kevin Taylor further described the various media houses that reported on the matter as idiots. Ace Ankomah sued the wrong name I want people to understand that Ace Ankomah isnt suing me Kevin. The name on that thing is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, I can confidently tell you guys that that is not my official name and I can confidently tell you guys that the address on that thing for Loud Silence Media isnt that address [at which] Loud Silence Media was registered, so, Ace Ankomah is actually suing a different person and Ghanaians are so excited; when I say Ghanaians, the newspapers, the media houses, the ignorant media house guys, the ignorant media, the hungry, butt-licking media guys, you guys are hungry. All the papers that put my face as front [page], I just have a simple message for you: with all due respect, you guys are very very ignorant Im bigger than the President today, yea, my fellow journalists who are hungry, they cant even sell 100 papers in a day but they take the time to put Kevin Taylors picture on their front page; put something better [there] that is going to sell your paper. Youre an idiot; my US$1 is your GHS6.70 and you are following me around. Are you stupid? Mr Taylor also said no one served him any writ of summons over any matter for a court to pronounce judgement against him. I saw it on peoples Facebook pages and this morning I realised that I was on every newspaper in Ghana: Kevin Taylor has been sued by Ace Ankomah, hes gotten judgement and that he has won GHS2.95 million. A judge said: Ace Ankomah, go after Kevin Taylor and take GHS2.95 million. I think the equivalent of that in dollars is about $500,000; nice, I think we can use that money to build toilets in our courts I didnt receive anything from Ace Ankomah; honestly, I never knew about this, I just got to know it, because, nobody has approached me with any summons, no bailiffs came to my house, to my office to present anything to me and say: Kevin, somebody has sued you in Ghana and you have to be in court or bring a rep in court, nobody. After I saw the judgement on other peoples platforms, Im choosing my words well because nobody has sent anything, even to me on Facebook that this is a judgement, no. I saw it on social media, people flying it on social media that Ace Ankomah has won a case against me. If you watch the document very well, you realise that the name on it is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, so, my question to Ace Ankomah is simple: he should just try and call the USCIS and ask them that do they have anybody by name Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor in their system? That is the first question. The passport office, the US Embassy in Ghana, they can go check if theres anybody by name Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor in the US; that is the first one. I also saw there was an address on Loud Silence Media on the suit, it was a New York address. Ill like Ace Ankomah, again, to try and call the State Revenue Agency and ask them that Loud Silence Media, which address or where was it registered. Was it registered in New York or in any other country? There are two things on the judgment that you have to understand that Ace Ankomah is actually not after me because if you go into the USCIS, you can go find my full name there; the name Ace Ankomah sued is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, so, Im just giving him clues, Im not going to tell him what to do. And, also, Ace Ankomah should ask himself that: Did Kevin ever receive any summons from the court to represent, to be represented or to come to court? Also, what date was Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor served and where, in which state was he served? If Ace Ankomah answers all these questions, then he has a case but for now, all I can tell you is that I dont know anything about the guy Ghanaians are reporting in their newspapers or whatever. I dont have any idea. My name is not Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor. ---with files from classfmonline Flash South Korea confirmed 284 more cases of the COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 1,261, and the death toll rose to 12. As of 4:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), the number of infected patients totaled 1,261, up 284 from the previous day. The number of deaths from the virus increased to 12 with two more deaths reported. 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. The virus infections rose sharply for the past week, with 946 new cases reported on Feb. 19-25. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday. The National Assembly passed three bills to revise laws on infectious disease, quarantine and the medical service. Under the revised infectious disease act, people with symptoms who refuse to be tested for virus could face up to a fine of 3 million won (2,470 U.S. dollars). People with symptoms who refuse to be placed under self-quarantine and hospitalized could face up to a one-year imprisonment or a fine of 10 million won (8,220 U.S. dollars). Under the revision, the health minister is allowed to ban the exports of face masks and hand sanitizers at a time of supply shortage or price spike, while the health ministry must have at least 100 epidemiological investigators from the previous 30. Face masks would be provided for children and the elderly at state welfare facilities when the virus alert is lifted to the third-highest level. Under the amended quarantine act, the health minister can ask the justice minister to ban entry to foreigners from regions affected by or at a risk of an epidemic. The revised medical service act involved the strengthened monitoring of patients, families and medical workers at hospitals. Mustafa first attracted attention on the United Airlines flight when she set off the smoke detector in the lavatory, according to court records. Flight attendants told her she could not smoke on the plane and took her back to her seat. Lego Movie 2 wins big at 2020 Movieguide Awards; Kathie Lee Gifford receives Visionary Award Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The 2020 Movieguide Awards aired on Hallmark Drama Monday and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part took home the top prize at the faith and family Hollywood event. The mainstream film won the honor of Best Movie for Families, and the hit film about Fred Rogers, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, won Best Movie for Mature Audiences. There's nothing cooler than looking at a dad laughing at one of our jokes and he looks down at his 8-year-old daughter and she's laughing at the same joke. Its just so inspirational, The Lego Movie 2 Director Mike Mitchell told The Christian Post on the red carpet and then repeated when accepting the award. I'm so thankful for you guys and [Movieguide founder and publisher Dr. Ted] Baehr to honor a film that's for the whole family. That's so great that everyone can laugh at, he added while on stage. Co-director Trisha Gum celebrated and told the audience her mother was praying that their film would win. Other award winners included: Dolly Partons Heartstrings: These Old Bones Faith & Freedom Award for TV The Least Of These: The Graham Staines Story Faith & Freedom Award for Movies A Puppy Christmas Genesis Animal Award Aryn Wright-Thompson (Overcomer) Grace Prize for Movies Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen) Grace Prize for TV Overcomer and Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses Epiphany Prizes for Movie and TV, respectively Emmy Award-winning TV host Kathie Lee Gifford was also in attendance at the Movieguide Awards and was presented with the Visionary Award by former Regis and Kathie Lee co-host Regis Philbin. When I sat in that darkened little movie theater in Annapolis, Maryland, when I was 12 years old, and watched a Billy Graham movie called The Restless Ones, it spoke to my heart. I felt like I heard Jesus himself say to me, Kathie, I love you. If you'll trust me, I'll make something beautiful out of your life, Gifford said in her acceptance speech. Now, all these years later, I'm writing movies, I'm producing movies, and, by the grace of God, now actually even directing movies in Israel to the oratorios that God has been blessing me to write with some of the greatest writers in this world. I simply cannot believe God's grace and bounty in my life. I will forever praise Him and thank Him and, hopefully, make many, many, many movies to come. The Movieguide Awards is now available for streaming on the Hallmark Everywhere app. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At The 7th Women Who Lead Summit, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Angela Roth, entrepreneur, and CEO of ASL Services Holdings is presented with the Puerto Rican Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This year's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding female entrepreneurship and business leadership in the Puerto Rican Latino community. Award receipt Award receipt Women Who Lead, LLC is a professional organization that promotes the economic development of women, organizations and countries through the professional inclusion of women in business and leadership. This year the organization held their 7th successful Women Who Lead Summit, the largest executive summit organized by and for women, in Latin-America. The Women Who Lead Summit, out of Puerto Rico, provides a unique platform to recognize and showcase the professional success of women, from all over the world. Angela Roth, recipient of this year's Puerto Rican Woman Entrepreneur of the Year has led the growth and development of ASL Services Enterprises and subsidiaries. Since its inception, in 1992 ASL Services Enterprises has grown from a single-employee organization to an international, subsidiary-holding organization serving the diverse needs of the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind communities around the world. "There's no "solo" act. I've been blessed to have a team that has purpose and dedication to quality and caring," states Ms. Roth. ASL Services Enterprises is an international holdings corporation dedicated to providing equal access in communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. Subsidiaries held by ASL Services Holdings Enterprises include ASL Services Inc. (Kissimmee, FL), a community provider of professional sign language interpreting services; alongside its multi-lingual Latino directed sister-company, ASL Services Latino (Puerto Rico), as well as; Global VRS, the telecommunications company providing video relay services for sign-language accessible telephone communication. If you would like more information about this topic, please call Gabrielle Joseph, VP of Operations, at 407-518-7900, or email [email protected]. SOURCE ASL Services Inc. Related Links http://www.aslservices.com To the Editor: Re Sanders Under Fire at Raucous Debate (front page, Feb. 26): As a lifelong Democrat, I have never been more disappointed and embarrassed for my party than I was on Tuesday night watching the fiasco that was the most recent Democratic presidential debate. I believe that any one of the seven candidates would make a far better president than Donald Trump, but all I saw were seven little Trump copies acting like undisciplined and entitled children just like Mr. Trump. To borrow a phrase from the civil rights movement, these candidates need to keep their eyes on the prize. They all, along with all Democrats and patriotic Americans, need to commit to the prize, which is ridding our country of the most destructive and disastrous president we have ever known, Donald Trump. Failure in this is not an option. Who won the Democratic debate? None of us. Tom Garey Santa Barbara, Calif. To the Editor: Re The Democratic Party Devours Itself (column, nytimes.com, Feb. 26): To Frank Brunis fear of divisiveness and rancor among the Democratic presidential candidates, I say, Have at it! The official state 9/11 memorial could see improvements in 2020. Among the items included in Gov. Phil Murphys proposed budget is $2 million for Empty Sky, an installation honoring the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The memorial, in Liberty State Park directly across the Hudson River from where the Twin Towers stood, lists the names of all the New Jersey residents who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks. A year after its dedication in 2011, Hurricane Sandy struck New York, damaging the sculptures bulkhead and its electrical and drainage systems. Murphys proposed funding would go toward making those long-overdue repairs. The nonprofit New Jersey 9/11 Memorial Foundation, which maintains the site, wants to cover its outer walls with steel panels. There are also plans to add the names of four more people, who were identified after the sites dedication, to the 746 that are already engraved there. We are very, very happy that we made it to the proposed budget, said Faith Miller, chairwoman of the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial Association. It means our voices were heard. Organizers hope the improvements will be finished by 2021 for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Miller, who lost her husband in the attacks, said she spent years speaking with lawmakers of both parties in the hopes of appropriating the funds. This transcends all politics, she said. This is human beings remembering the 9/11 victims and giving honor to them. 1 wounded in shooting Tuesday at KC business What started as a fight inside a Kansas City business Tuesday morning ended with shots fired. At least one person was hit.Police said officers were called about 10:30 a.m. to Jackson Plating and Polishing at 26th Street and Jackson Avenue on a reported shooting.Authorities said the property owners claimed to have found three people inside of the business. We often talk about homicides on this blog but there are always plenty of instances of gunfire and violence that escape the media spotlight. Here's one example out of many: Shiv Sena lashes out at Centre, Home Ministry for Delhi violence during Prez Trump's visit to India India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Mumbai, Feb 26: The Centre and the Union Home Ministry once again came under the Shiv Sena's radar after the violence that rocked Delhi for 3 days resulting in 18 people's death. In the party's mouthpiece, Saamana, the Sena said that riots continued unabated in Delhi while US President Donald Trump was visiting the capital. "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump were holding talks, Delhi was burning. Whatever may be the reason but central government failed to maintain law and order in the capital," the Shiv Sena said, in its mouthpiece. CAA protests: At midnight hearing, Delhi HC directs safe passage of injured victims to hospitals "For the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, BJP still blames Congress. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Sikh community was targeted in Delhi and hundreds of Sikh brothers were killed," the editorial further said. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 "There is a similar outbreak of violence in Delhi right now and people have taken to the streets with swords and revolvers. The scenes from the national capital that we are witnessing are scary. Who is responsible for this? And this was the situation in Delhi when President Donald Trump was in the capital and it does not look good on us," it further said. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he did not discuss about the new citizenship law with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the capital witnessed fresh violence during his visit. Death toll in Delhi violence rises to 18 When asked at a press conference about the violence in Delhi over the new law, which critics claim discriminates against the Muslim community, President Trump said it was "up to India" to deal with it. "As far as individual attacks are concerned, I have heard about them. I didn't discuss that with him. It is up to India," the US president said hours after he held restricted and delegation level talks with PM Modi. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 10:59 [IST] - A power plant regarded as the largest in West Africa has been built in Senegal to provide alternative energy solutions - The plant was reportedly built in 24 months by Lekela, a British renewable power company which also operates wind farms in Egypt and South Africa - The plan would become an important component of the country's energy sector as Senegal plans to become an economic powerhouse by 2025 Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Senegal has launched what has been described as the largest wind power plant in West Africa. This, YEN.com.gh has learned, is in line with efforts to commit to renewable energy solutions. The zero-emissions power plant is designed to provide up to 15% of energy production provided by Senelec, the countrys national electricity company. READ ALSO: Facebook plans to ban posts that say coronavirus is curable The plant, which has a capacity of 158 megawatts is located at Taiba Ndiaye, which is about 86km from Dakar, the nations capital. Per a report by cnn.com, the power plant was reportedly built in 24 months and has been described as a new step in the energy market towards an emerging Senegal, by the president, Macky Sall. The power plant was reportedly built by Lekela, a British renewable power company, which also operates wind farms in Egypt and South Africa. Per a plan designed by the government, the power sector would be a key component of a plan to make the country an emerging economy by 2025. In other news, leading economies in Africa are turning towards wind energy in a bid to provide power to homes, YEN.com.gh has learned. Information available shows that this forms part of a trend to take advantage of clean energy all over the continent. The continents most advanced economy, South Africa, had paved the way in a bid to take advantage of policies and projects geared towards energy. It is therefore poised to lead the drive for wind power installations as it takes advantage of an additional 3.3 gigawatts added to its energy capacity by 2024. Per a report by qz.com, this is an attempt to achieve two objectives; coping with the problems at its national power company, Eskom, and trying to slowly reduce its addiction to coal. Another major leader in the energy industry, Kenya, opened the continents largest wind farm in 2019 and will soon be in the position to claim total renewable energy from various sources including geothermal and solar. YEN.com.gh understands that investment in clean energy in sub-Saharan Africa increased to $7.4 billion in 2018 up from $2.3 billion in 2017. In the year 2018, South Africa accounted for $4 billion of investment driven by a major onshore wind project. READ ALSO: Bob Iger steps down for Bob Chapek to take over as Disney's CEO Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana "I don't believe there is a president in Ghana" - Frustrated taxi driver speaks | #Yencomgh Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now! Source: YEN.com.gh 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. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Even as farmers of Amaravati have been on a warpath against the governments move to relocate the executive offices to Visakhapatnam, the State government on Tuesday issued an order to use 1,251.51 acres of land, procured under the land pooling system by the earlier government in Amaravati, for its flagship programme of allotting houses to the poor. The Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi Joint Action Committee, demanding that the order be scrapped, opposed the governments decision and said it would take legal recourse as the farmers gave their land for development of the capital and not for the government to use it for its welfare initiatives. As per the order (MS 107) issued by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Secretary J Syamala Rao, about 54,307 beneficiaries from Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, Tadepalli and Mangalagiri municipalities and selected gram panchayats of Tadepalli, Duggirala, Mangalagiri, Pedakakani mandals of Guntur district will be given houses in villages of Nowluru, Krishnayapalem, Nidamarru, Inavolu, Kuragallu and Mandadam under Pedalakandariki Illu (housing for poor). The AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) has been directed to provide land for the same. According to the order, the APCRDA commissioner said on January 4 that the collectors of Krishna and Guntur districts requested for allotment of the said land to implement the flagship housing scheme. Amaravati lands to be used for housing for poor initiative, protesters cry foul The commissioner further noted that as per Section 53(d) of the APCRDA Act, 2014, at least five per cent of the total area pooled under the LPS may be allotted for providing affordable housing to the poor. In this regard, the commissioner noted that 87.02 acres of land pooled under LPS has already been utilised to house the poor. Following this, the government has decided to use the land under APCRDAs ambit for its Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu programme, the order stated. The APCRDA will undertake development of the layouts, for which funds will be given by the revenue department. ALSO READ: JAC irked by Andhra government decision to use land in Amaravati for housing the poor An implementation committee has also been formed with APCRDA commissioner and collectors of Krishna and Guntur districts to oversee the implementation of the programme. Responding to the GO, Amaravati Parirakhshana Samithi JAC members took out a rally in Vijayawada in the evening and demanded that the GO be revoked. While we have been fighting against the decentralisation of governance for the last 70 days, the government, which has not heeded our angst, decided to use the land we gave for capital development for its housing initiative. We demand that it be scrapped immediately. Else, we will intensify our protests and even take legal recourse, the members said. Later in the day, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took stock of the status of the housing project in the Spandana initiative. He told officials to ensure landholders dont feel dejected when procuring land. The collectors need to be humanitarian when taking land. If necessary, give them more compensation. Nobody should feel that their land was taken undemocratically, he said. Further directing the officials to take possession of the land identified for the project by March 1, Jagan entrusted officials of the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) with the responsibility of resolving issues, if any, in the implementation of the housing scheme district-wise. As there is less than a month to launch the programme, Jagan instructed them to expedite the process. Development of layouts should be done at the earliest. Otherwise, we will not be able to have them ready in the stipulated time. Wherever layouts are ready, plot marking has to be done; and wherever plot marking is done, lots should be drawn for allotting the unit, the CM directed. The government plans to give one cent land in the name of the woman beneficiary of the house to 25 lakh beneficiaries on Ugadi (March 25). HOUSE SITES BY UGADI CMO officials to resolve problems related to housing programme Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and Principal Secretary (GAD) Praveen Prakash: East and West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts Principal Advisor to CM Ajeya Kallam: Prakasam and Nellore districts Secretary (CM) Solomon Arokiaraj: Rayalaseema districts Additional Secretary (CM) Dhanunjaya Reddy: North Coastal districts Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. The fatal crash of a Tesla Model X in California two years ago shows that drivers put too much trust in driver-assist technology and that federal regulators arent doing enough to make sure automakers are deploying their systems safely, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The March 2018 crash killed its driver, an engineer who was commuting to his job at Apple while using Autopilot, the automated technology that enables vehicles to steer and brake themselves. Crash data showed that the driver failed to react in the moments before the crash, and his phone was playing a video game at the time of impact. The NTSB concluded that the car steered itself toward a barrier where a left-hand exit led off the highway. It was the over-reliance on Autopilot in this and three other crashes that drew the attention of the NTSB. Decades of research have shown that people put too much trust in the technology, using it in ways that are both unintended and dangerous. Tesla hasnt responded to these known threats, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hasnt set standards that could prevent fatalities from happening, the safety board said. Tesla didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Industry keeps implementing technology in such a way that people can get injured or killed, Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the NTSB, said at a hearing in Washington Tuesday. It is foreseeable that some drivers will attempt to inappropriately use driving automation systems. Tesla is the only one of six automakers that hasnt responded to the NTSBs call three years ago for better monitoring of drivers while they use systems like Autopilot that can steer or brake the vehicle, Sumwalt said. The Mountain View crash was caused by Autopilot steering the vehicle into the barrier, as well as driver distraction and his overreliance on the driver-assistance technology, the NTSB said. Teslas ineffective driver monitoring technology, which relied on sensors detecting a hand on the steering wheel, was a contributing factor, it said. Story continues Manufacturers and NHTSA must make sure that these driver-assist systems come with critical safety features that actually verify drivers are monitoring the road and ready to take action at all times, said Ethan Douglas, senior policy analyst for cars and product safety at Consumer Reports. Otherwise, the safety risks of these systems could end up outweighing their benefits. Recommendations for NHTSA The NTSB called on NHTSA to evaluate the risk of using Autopilot in ways it wasnt designed for and to use its authority to recall vehicles if needed. It said a previous investigation the agency launched after a 2017 Florida crash wasnt adequate. It also called the agencys overall approach to autonomous vehicle oversight misguided, because it waits for problems to happen rather than proactively implementing policies to prevent crashes. The driver himself was aware of Autopilots limitations before the crash, the NTSB said. He reported to family members and colleagues that the Model X under Autopilot drove toward the same highway barrier it later hit. A missing safety device called a crash attenuator would have mitigated damage to the vehicle and possibly saved the drivers life, the NTSB said. The attenuator at that highway barrier had been crushed in a previous crash and hadnt been replaced. The NTSB investigation showed that a video game called Three Kingdoms was playing on the drivers phone during the fatal trip. The world-building, strategy game usually requires both hands on the phone to play, the NTSB said. But the board stopped short of saying conclusively that the driver was holding the phone at the time of the crash. The safety board called on Apple and other employers to implement policies to discourage employees from using distracting devices, and it is asking mobile-phone developers to lock out distracting features while vehicles are in motion. For its part, NHTSA said in a statement that all commercially available motor vehicles require the human driver to be in control at all times, and all states hold the human driver responsible for vehicle operations. Crashes related to distraction remain a major concern, it said. The agency said it would review the NTSBs new recommendations. The Center for Auto Safety, a watchdog group, has called for Federal Trade Commission action to address Teslas technology names like Autopilot and Full Self Driving. These systems cant replace human drivers like their names imply, said Jason Levine, executive director of the Washington-based center. The group also wants NHTSA to investigate, force a recall if necessary and look at new regulations. NHTSA has itself desisted from pursuing obvious safety concerns that arise from allowing this feature to be unregulated and used on public streets, highways, and anywhere else Tesla owners choose to engage it, Levine said. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright 2020, Consumer Reports, Inc. Developers of a $22 million hotel project for the southern end of downtown said Tuesday they could build a second hotel if market conditions warrant an addition. The Midland City Council, by a 4-3 vote, approved tax abatements which are not to exceed $794,908 --with RIMT Property, LP. The vote also allows for vacating an 80-foot-by-300-foot portion of Indiana Avenue right-of-way. The developer is seeking to bring a Residence Inn to the southern piece of property between Big Spring and Marienfeld streets. Developers told the council that the Residence Inn could be the first of two projects if the Midland market shows a need for a second hotel. If there is a need, developers told city leaders of the potential for a full-service hotel with possible upscale restaurant on the north side of Indiana. For now, RIMT Property officials said there is a need to allow the market to sort itself out. As it stands now, vacating Indiana Avenue will allow for a private drive into the hotel property. At some point, developers expect to have a roundabout that will help with traffic control should a second hotel be built. Handing over that portion of Indiana and the abatement costs were discussion items. Developers said it seemed like an appropriate request considering water and sewer lines will have to be moved and that could cost as much as $1.5 million. City officials said a 110-room Residence Inn could raise around $2.6 million in hotel-motel tax revenue over a 10-year period. Those voting against the abatement and vacation of city property were Spencer Robnett, Jack Ladd Jr. and John Norman. Council notes The Midland City Council held off on votes for members to the Midland Development Corp. and Parks Department boards for the second-straight meeting. City leaders decided they want to increase the MDC board from five to seven members. The wait also will allow time for council members to speak with city staff about city boards. It also provides more time to study the number of resumes the city received in the past month. Clarification on airport drilling story The Midland City Council approved the city manager to negotiate a land swap with Midland College that will allow a local oilman to drill underneath Midland Airpark. In a preview story, it was written that some mineral revenue could go into the general fund. It should be noted that mineral revenue from drilling directly under airpark goes into an Airport fund, and money cant be moved from that fund to the General Fund. Drilling under other city property would create mineral revenue for the General Fund. An eighth Australian has been diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus after sailing on the doomed Diamond Princess cruise ship. The patients have been transferred to hospitals for treatment. On Wednesday, a third person from Victoria tested positive for the virus, which has killed nearly 3,000 people worldwide. Three people from Queensland who were aboard the embattled cruise ship have also contracted the virus, as has one from South Australia and one from Western Australia. The man, who officials said was already in isolation and is not sick, is the partner of a woman who was already diagnosed with the virus. A potential ninth case is currently undergoing tests. Eight Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship (pictured) last week are now confirmed to have coronavirus The doomed ship was deemed an 'infection factory' after some health officials slammed the quarantine conditions on board. Thousands of passengers were quarantined on board for two weeks after Japanese officials refused to let them disembark int he port of Yokohama. A passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong, was found to have had the disease. Despite a supposed quarantine imposed on the Diamond Princess, more than 600 people on board tested positive for the virus, with several dozen in serious condition. Australian evacuees (pictured) from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan arrive in Howard Springs, 30km southeast of Darwin, last week Four passengers have since died. Under Australia's evacuation plan, all evacuees from the ship who come down with the virus will be treated in their home states. A total of 164 Australian citizens and permanent residents were evacuated from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess and flown to Darwin on February 20. They are being held in quarantine, seperately from the 266 people already at the facility in Howard Springs. That larger group were evacuated earlier this month from the city of Wuhan, the disease's epicentre. Medical staff dressed in protective clothing prepare to board the Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Japan (pictured) 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. 'I can confirm that we have an eighth case from the Diamond Princess group that have been in quarantine. It is a Victorian man,' Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said. Health staff gather beside buses (pictured on February 20) to care for Australian evacuees after they arrived on a Qantas flight from Japan at Darwin International Airport 'His partner had previously been diagnosed, so he had already been in quarantine as part of the Diamond Princess and already in isolation, having travelled to Victoria with his partner. 'The director of the National Trauma Centre advised me that a further case is being investigated, but they are carrying out many tests on a routine basis and if that's either positive or negative will provide the answer was testing has been.' It comes as the virus threatens to become uncontrollable, following a huge outbreak in South Korea and in Italy. Japan has had 159 confirmed cases of the virus, many from those on the Diamond Princess which is still docked at Yokohama. Hong Kong has suffered 81 confirmed cases and has shut its border with mainland China. The Australian government says Aussies should take care when travelling to these areas by closely monitoring their health. Despite recent outbreaks, Italy is still safe to travel to, according to DFAT. Italy has 229 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including seven deaths. Authorities have introduced measures to restrict the use of public spaces and limit travel in some parts of northern Italy where cases have occurred. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the world must prepare for a potential coronavirus pandemic. Tedros Ghebreyesus said the spread of the virus around the world is not yet at pandemic stage but acknowledged it has the potential to become one. The insurgents came in through Ajigum Talala, a part of the forest where ISWAP has a strong unit. They headed straight to Abba and took him. They have been warning him before but Abba refused to cooperate with them. By Azernews By Ofeliya Afandiyeva French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that Azerbaijan and France must increase the trade turnover as the current volume of exports and imports do not reflect the full potential of the two countries. "I consider that the potential of trade between our two countries is not fully realized and we need to increase our exports and imports. In 2019, bilateral trade amounted to 750 million euros ($811,366,190.97), which 600 million of it ($649,366,615.83) accounted for oil imports, Jean-Yves Le Drian told local media. He stressed that it is necessary to improve trade balance between the countries by further developing cooperation in a number of sectors such as energy, including alternative energy sector, in which French companies offer real value for Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy has ambitious plans for new wind and solar power stations. I am disappointed that although French companies are world leaders in this sphere, they were not chosen for the pilot projects. However, I am confident that more will be done in the near future. Agriculture and environment are also other sectors in which our practice can help to strengthen our economic relations. As I just mentioned, energy is an important area for collaboration. The French company Total operates in the Azerbaijani market and will soon be able to participate in the export of gas from the country. We hope to sign new agreements, " the minister said. Speaking about the cooperation between Azerbaijan and France last year, Le Drian noted that 2019 was a fruitful year for the bilateral economic relations. "Our embassy organized the visit of an important business delegation of Medef (the major national business organization in France) led by its President Monsieur Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux. A delegation consisted of 43 French companies, both large and medium-sized. They were received met at the highest level of government and participated in a vast France-Azerbaijan Business Forum with Azpromo. Equally important is the fact that our Minister of Finance and Economy, Monsieur Bruno Le Maire, met with President Ilham Aliyev and with ministers in Baku last summer and discussed a number of issues relating to our economic partnership covering 5 priority sectors, i.e. environment, transport, energy, security and finance. Indeed a very active year which I hope will be followed by the implementation of many bilateral projects," he underlined. The conclusion of a trade agreement will be an important element in the development of trade and investment between our countries. I am sure of this and hope for a quick solution, the minister noted. As for the new partnership agreement, which is being negotiated between the European Union and Azerbaijan, Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed out that France and Azerbaijan will both benefit from the partnership agreement. Azerbaijan is Frances main economic and trade partner in the South Caucasus. In 2018, 2.4 percent of Frances total trade turnover with the three countries of the South Caucasus accounted for Azerbaijan. In 2019, France accounted for 3 percent of Azerbaijani exports and 2.1 percent of imports, the Executive Director of the Azerbaijani Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication Vusal Gasimly told local media recently. He offered expanding the export of the non-oil sector to France to include hazelnuts, fruits, vegetables, dates, wine and other agricultural products. Executive Director also mentioned that being the third largest economy in Western Europe (after Germany and the UK) France, has a number of large corporations that could participate in the Azerbaijani economy and help bring new technologies to the country, create new jobs and increase competitiveness and export opportunities. Azerbaijan-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry was established in 2016 and aims to develop mutually beneficial economic and friendly relations between the two countries. The Chamber's mission is to provide its members with unique networking opportunities. The Chamber organizes official events on pressing issues on a monthly basis, at which assistance is offered to the member-companies in developing the business through their platform. Presently, the Chamber has over 60 local and international member companies. Note that railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures have the biggest share in Frances exports to Azerbaijan. France, in turn, imports from Azerbaijan petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled are the trade main products. By PTI NEW DELHI: A compensation of Rs 2 lakh will be paid to the next of kin of the people who have died in the communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi, senior officials said on Wednesday. At least 24 fatalities have been reported in the violence over the last few days, 22 at GTB Hospital and two at LNJP Hospital. ALSO READ: Situation in riot-hit northeast Delhi 'under control', says NSA Ajit Doval "A compensation of Rs 2 lakh will be paid to the next of kin of the people who have died in the communal violence. Persons who have been seriously injured will be given a relief amount of Rs 50,000," a senior official told PTI. The official said the compensation is part of the government's existing scheme to offer relief fund to victims killed in any disaster or other such incidents. "The beneficiaries would be identified through the MLCs (medico-legal cases). We have already discussed it with hospital authorities. The relief fund would be transferred to the beneficiaries through bank transactions," the official said. ALSO READ: Never saw such violence, not even in 1984 or 1992, says Northeast Delhi resident Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the violence-hit northeast Delhi on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said his government would give a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of Head Constable Ratan Lal who was killed in the violence. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Loss of productivity due to procrastination and sick leave stemming from stress around information, data and technology issues cost Indian companies Rs 33,216 crore every year, said a new report on Wednesday. Over 85 per cent of employees in India reported feeling overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data, the highest percentage globally, according to the research from Accenture and data analytics and business intelligence platform Qlik. Companies lose an average of more than eight working days per employee, annually, said the report. While on one hand, the report maps India as the world's most data literate country, the report also highlighted the rising workplace stress amongst Indian professionals stemming from information, data and technology issues. Data is a gold mine that can fuel a culture of innovation and growth. However, when employees struggle to make sense of data, productivity and business value can be affected. "No one questions the value of data -- but many companies need to re-invent their approach to data governance, analysis and decision-making. This means ensuring that their workforce has the tools and training necessary to deliver on the new opportunities that data presents," said Sanjeev Vohra, Group Technology Officer and Global Lead for Accenture's Data Business Group. "Data-driven companies that focus on continuous learning will be more productive and gain a competitive edge," Vohra said. The survey involved 9,000 employees around the world, including 1,000 in India. The report titled "The Human Impact of Data Literacy" identified two ways in which the data literacy gap is causing a disconnect and impacting Indian organisations' ability to thrive in the data-driven economy. First, despite nearly all employees (83 percent) recognising data as an asset, few are using it to inform decision-making. India has the highest data literacy level globally, with close to half reporting being confident in their data literacy skills -- their ability to read, understand, question and work with data. Interestingly, while more than half of employees trust their decisions more when based on data, four in five still frequently defer to a "gut feeling" rather than data-driven insights when making decisions. Second, a lack of data skills is shrinking productivity as 85 per cent of employees reported feeling overwhelmed or unhappy when working with data. A surprising 47 percent of surveyed employees even stated that they would find an alternative method to complete the task without using data at all. Seven in 10 respondents reported that data-overload has contributed to workplace stress, culminating in six in 10 employees (64 percent) of the local workforce taking at least one day of sick leave due to stress related to information, data and technology issues. Researchers from Cybaze Yoroi ZLab have spotted a new campaign exploiting the interest in coronavirus (COVID-19) evolution to spread malware. Introduction Nowadays, it is common to say that the physical world and the cyber world are strictly connected. The proof is the leverage of the current physical threat, the CoronaVirus (COVID-19), as a social engineering trick to infect the cyber world. It is not new for cyber-crooks to exploit social phenomena to spread malware in order to maximize the impact and dissemination of a malicious campaign. This is the case of the Greta Thunberg phenomenon exploited in recent Emotet campaigns or the holiday themed campaign spread a few months ago. Indeed, during the last month, a new virus, dubbed Corona Virus codename COVID-19 has been arising, infecting thousands of people in China, and also all around the world. The statistics are worrying, and, of course, they represent an opportunity for cyber-crooks. This kind of threat is opportunistic by design, aimed to hit everyone without any specific target. In an opportunistic attack scenario the malware is spread across a huge number of victims taking advantages of an early disclosed vulnerability and the time frame for patching it or taking advantages of a widespread phenomena such as in this case. Threat actors are using fear and panic caused by the spread of the virus to deliver their malicious artifacts and increase the number of infected victims, making it look like a Coronavirus countermeasures document. Kaspersky and IBM X-Force have recently discovered an Emotet campaign delivered on Corona Virus trend. In this case, based on the analysis of the shared IoC, all the identified samples are not new and were reused with some small changes. then delivered in China regions spread via a malicious decoy document, emphasizing the opportunistic nature of these attacks. During our Threat Intelligence activities we noticed a suspicions artifact named CoronaVirusSafetyMeasures_pdf, so, intrigued by its name and by its recent submission on Yomi Hunter (LINK), we decided to deep dive into it. Technical Analysis Probably, the infection vector was a phishing mail containing a specific attachment. However, detailed information about the vector used to spread the malware are unknown. Our analysis, therefore, begins with the executable recovered from the Yomi Sandbox. Hash c9c0180eba2a712f1aba1303b90cbf12c1117451ce13b68715931abc437b10cd Threat Obfuscated Remcos RAT Dropper Ssdeep 768:dBbjxSuO05cYJAsq4XqkDSUWvcDD5Ebcoq:dSuT5cYJAsq4XqkxWID6m Table 1. Sample information The sample showed an interesting behavior, it established a TLS protected connection to a file sharing platform named share.]dmca.]gripe, possibly to avoid reputation warnings raised by next-gen firewalls. Figure 2: URL in the dropper configuration Figure 3: Dashboard of the file hosting service used The file downloaded from this censorship free file hosting is actually a chunk of 125KB random looking bytes, suggesting it would likely be some binary payload protected with strong encryption. Figure 4: Piece of the encrypted file downloaded from share.]dmca.]gripe In the meantime, the malware writes two artifacts in the C:\Users\\Subfolder system directory. Inside it, two files named filename1.vbs and filename1.exe appeared. Figure 5: Installed files The content of the VBScript is straightforward: it simply is the launching point to run executable file. Figure 6: Body of the VBS script The reboot survival of the infection is granted through the setup of the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce. A classical trick we keep noticing in a very huge number of malware implant, led us to think it actually still able to serve its malicious purpose even after decades, even after all the research community is fully aware of it. Figure 7: Evidence of the set of the registry key Then, the malicious code stores sensitive information gathered from the monitoring of user keypress in a file named logs.dat, placed in the %AppData%\Local\Temp\onedriv directory. Different from the default Remcos working directory. Figure 8: Path and file containing the sensitive information about the victim Finally, all the loot is sent to the remote command and control hosted at 66.154.98.108, operated by Total server solutions LLC, an US hosting provider operating since 2012. Figure 9: C2 connection Intercepting the malware process communications we noticed the usage |cmd| delimiter, a typical pattern confirming the final payload is a customized built of Remcos, also revealing the identifier of the attack campaign configured by the crooks: j8gb-GBATN3. Figure 10: Piece of network communication intercepted A summary of the infection chain can be represented by the following schema. Figure 11: Malware attack chain Conclusion The COVID-19 phenomenon is scaring entire populations all around the world, many times raising panic and irrational or dangerous individual behaviors of a lot of people often pushed by some kind mass media narratives designed to leverage their uncertainty and emotional reactions, rather than inform them. Cyber criminals are greedily looking at this kind of narrative and are launching wide-spread, opportunistic cyber attacks to exploit the irrational behaviors of the individuals overwhelmed by the COVID-19 infodemic. The ZLab -Yoroi Cybaze researchers advise to maintain a high attention level when receiving or treating communications claiming to be related to the CoronaVirus phenomenon, to avoid panic clicking on the link coming from unattended source and to contact trusted experts in case of the doubts. Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and Yare Rules are available in the repor published by Cybaze Yoroi-Zlab Pierluigi Paganini WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration's Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs will hold public meetings on March 4 and 5 respectively at SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The meetings will also be accessible via teleconference and webinar. Fran Perez-Wilhite is the newly appointed ACVBA chairwoman. She was chosen by committee members to lead the ACVBA in its mission to support veteran business affairs and provide advice and policy recommendations to the SBA Administrator. A former U.S. Army officer, Perez-Wilhite is a business developer with the North Carolina Military Business Center in Charlotte. "We're looking forward to working with Fran to bring a new perspective and leadership to our discussion," said Larry Stubblefield, Associate Administrator for the Office of Veterans Business Development. "The efforts of both committees continue to positively influence SBA's veteran programs and related policy decisions. I look forward to working with Fran, the ACVBA, and IATF members during these quarterly meetings." The meetings will be held at SBA Headquarters, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington D.C., 20416. The main entrance is under construction, so use the D Street entrance and proceed to the security desk. The IATF will meet on March 4 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (EST) Dial-in 202-765-1264 Conference ID: 331933369# The ACVBA will meet on March 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EST) Dial-in 202-765-1264 Conference ID: 137290192# Transcripts will be available after both meetings at www.sba.gov/ovbd, under the "Federal Advisory Committees" section. Both committee meetings will address the current state of veteran-owned small businesses and update the public on progress made toward advancing veteran entrepreneurship and employment. The IATF meeting will include updates from SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development and Office of General Counsel as well as committee member updates from the Departments of Defense, Labor, Treasury and Veterans Affairs, General Services Administration, Office of Management and Budget, North Carolina Military Business Center, and Student Veterans of America. The ACVBA meeting will include remarks from the newly appointed chairwoman and updates from SBA's Office of General Counsel, the SBA 8(a) Business Development program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Advance notice of attendance, written comments, questions, and special accommodation requests for both meetings are requested by emailing [email protected] or calling (202) 205-6773 by February 28. About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov . Contact: [email protected] Release Number: 20-21 Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Blogs & Instagram SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration Related Links http://www.sba.gov The Kerala High Court on Wednesday banned all forms of agitations by student groups in school and college campuses in the state that disrupt functioning of educational institutions. Banning various forms agitations like gherao and sit-in in the campuses, the High Court also said no one can be persuaded to participate in such protests. Noting that educational institutions are meant for academic related activities and not for protests, Justice P B Suresh Kumar also said no one has the right to violate the fundamental rights of other students. The court said educational institutions can be made a venue for peaceful discussions. The judgment was delivered on a batch of petitions filed by various college and school managements against agitations in campuses disrupting the peaceful atmosphere prevailing there. The court had earlier voiced its disapproval to political activities like dharna and strikes in educational institutions. In 2017, the court had said if any student is found to be indulging in such activities, he would make himself liable to be "expelled and/or rusticated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aligarh Police has issued prohibitory notices to over 300 people restricting their movement and warning them of action if there is any trouble in the city, which has seen violent clashes over changes in the citizenship act. Officials said the "red notices" were issued on Tuesday to 302 people in connection with the violence on Sunday, informing them about restriction on their movement. Such notices are issued under section 107/116 of the CrPC to specific persons in areas where prohibitory orders are already in place under section 144 of the CrPC, which bans assembly of more than four people. The notices have been issued in connection with the violence in Upper Court locality Sunday evening when women protesters were asked to vacate a sit-in site. The tension spilled over to Monday morning when clashes broke out between the anti-CAA protesters and the police in Jamalpur locality. The police also took some initiatives on Wednesday to maintain peace in the city and called upon all sections of society to join hands and play a proactive role in keeping harmony, Additional Director General of Police (Agra Range) Ajay Anand said. He said that police are on high alerts and patrolling on highways have been intensified in view of the communal disturbances in the national capital. Anand said all stakeholders should engage with each other in small groups to help preserve peace. "All sections of society will have to join hands in helping maintain peace in the city," he told PTI. Meanwhile, DIG Pratender Singh said one Mohammad Tariq, who suffered gunshot injuries on Sunday, is "stable and recovering" at the Jawaharlal Nehru hospital. "The rumour of his death is absolutely baseless," he said. On Tuesday, a meeting of a number of Hindu right wing groups including Vishwa Hindu Parishad was held at Achaltal Gumti. They issued a statement demanding that stringent National Security Act be imposed on those who are persisting with anti-CAA protests. They have demanded that an attempt to murder case registered against local BJP leader Vinay Varshney be dropped. Varshney has been named in an attempt to murder case filed by the family of Mohammad Tariq. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) The coronavirus epidemic is now truly global, with infections or suspected infections on every continent except Antarctica. Authorities in Brazil say a man in Sao Paolo who recently returned from Italy is believed to have the virus and they are awaiting the results of a second test to confirm the first known case in Latin America, reports the New York Times. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that with the surge in cases in Iran, Italy, and South Korea, the outbreak has now reached the point where more cases are being reported outside China than inside China. "There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman," he said. "There are now cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland." story continues below Greece reported its first case Wednesday and other countries are preparing for outbreaks, the AP reports. "Were going to be trying to slow down the spread so that our hospitals are not overwhelmed in one big gulp, one big hit," says Ian Mackay, a virus expert at the University of Queensland in Australia. American officials warned Tuesday that the outbreak could cause "severe disruptions." President Trump, meanwhile, congratulated himself on his handling of the situation. "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world," he tweeted, predicting that Democrats would still complain. "Not fair, but it is what it is," he said. "So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Lets keep it that way!" (Read more coronavirus stories.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 15:36:01|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KABUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cases of militancy and attacks by armed insurgents on the security forces have been registered in the militancy-plagued Afghanistan while the Taliban group was observing the seven-day reduction in violence over the past couple of days, local media reported Wednesday. "On the fourth day of reduction in violence, three cases of militants' attacks which killed five security personnel and wounded 14 others were registered," the Daily Afghanistan-e-Ma quoted Interior Ministry Spokesman Nasrat Rahimi as saying. Quoting the official, the paper added that the Taliban attacked a logistic convoy of security forces in Ghazni province and also organized roadside bombs against the security forces in the western Farah and southern Zabul provinces on Tuesday. According to the paper, the interior ministry also registered militants' attacks on the checkpoints of pro-government militiamen in Charkent district of the northern Balkh province on Monday. Similarly, the militants abducted the governor of Dara-e-Suf Bala district in the northern Samangan province on Monday and released his photo with tied hands held next to a cave guarded by armed militants on Tuesday. However, the Taliban outfit has yet to claim responsibility for the attacks on security forces and abduction of any government employee since observing violence reduction started on Saturday. Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban began in October 2018 but interrupted at least twice after Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel in September and December last year. The seven-day reduction in violence which started on Feb. 22 is supposed to be followed by a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement on Feb. 29 to end the war in Afghanistan and paves the way for withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country. News that talented and well-regarded MP Ben Wyatt will retire from politics next year went off like cannon fire inside WA Labor. Not only will the party lose its most likely successor to the leadership, contests have been set up for who would be the next treasurer and who will fill the coveted gaps in cabinet, and Premier Mark McGowan faces a show-down with his left faction over the candidate he wants in Victoria Park. But less immediately, Labor faces the prospect of a second term in office without one of its best parliamentary performers and skilled political salesmen. Although Mr Wyatt will hold the state's most senior economic portfolio until the March 2021 state election, the Liberal Party not to mention the public will want to know who will be in charge of the purse strings when he leaves. President of the world, US President Donald Trump has expressed confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will deal with terrorism. Talking to reporters, he said that Modi is a very religious and quiet person. But, in reality, they are very strict. I have seen them in action. Terrorism is at the top of their mind and they will solve this problem. Russia: Last marshal of the soviet union Dmitriy M. Niyazov dies According to the media report, referring to his record of crushing terrorism, Trump said that I have eliminated more terrorists than any other person. I killed al-Baghdadi a few months ago and completely ended his Khilafat. Qasim Sulemani and Hamza bin Laden (Osama's son) have been killed. No one has done as much work against terrorism as I have done. He said that Russia, Syria, and Iran should also deal with radical Islamic terrorism. China: Sweden publisher sentenced 10 years imprisonment The US President Trump assured India of further cooperation on the issue of terrorism and said that he is continuously putting pressure on Pakistan. Without naming Pakistan, he said that the pressure to put pressure on the countries supporting terrorism will be further accelerated. He said that the cooperation of India and America against Islamic terrorism will be further strengthened. Significantly, on the second day of Trump's two-day visit, the two leaders spoke for about 45 minutes in person and after that, the official-level talks led by the two leaders lasted for an hour. The talks of both the leaders were focused on bilateral issues related to defense, security, energy, trade, technology transfer, but local and global issues were also given a lot of time. Under this, the issue of creating a joint strategy against Kashmir, Pakistan-backed terrorism and China's growing domination in the Indo-Pacific region were also prominent. Know why alcohol is being produced in woman's body Only 20% of Ukrainians support the restoration of peace in Donbas through the use of force (restoration of Ukraine's military control over the territories of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic). This is evidenced by the results of the survey "Public Opinion on the Situation in Donbas and Ways to Restore Ukraine's Sovereignty over Occupied Territories (February 2020)" conducted by the Razumkov Center Sociological Service. "Only 20% of citizens support the restoration of peace in Donbas through use of force (restoration of Ukraine's military control over the territories of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Luhansk Peoples Republic). However, only 13% support the separation of the occupied territories from Ukraine (65.5% do not support), only 10% support the recognition of Crimea as Russias territory in exchange for the liberation of Donbas (70% do not support)," the statement reads. At the same time, the majority of respondents (62%) oppose granting and consolidation in the Constitution of "special status" of certain territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (only 21% support). Even less popular is the idea of introducing a federal system in Ukraine (68% do not support, 11% support). In addition, respondents mostly reject the following compromises for restoration of peace in Donbas: pardoning those who participated in the fighting in Donbas (63% do not support, 14.5% support), giving up European integration, withdrawing from the Association Agreement with the EU (60% do not support, 20% support), granting the Russian language the status of the second state language (54% do not support, 31% support), rejecting the prospect of NATO membership, enshrining the neutral status of Ukraine in the Constitution (54% do not support, 26% support). The survey was conducted by the Razumkov Center Sociological Service from February 13 to February 17, 2020. A total of 2,018 respondents, aged 18 and older, were interviewed in all regions of Ukraine, except for Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. ol Police stormed 11 properties across northern England and Scotland in dawn raids targeting county lines drug gangs today. Five police forces worked together to arrest 46 people on suspicion of drug offences and confiscate a 'significant' amount of Class A drugs and cash. Inside one address in Liverpool they found 20,000 as a well as an imitation gun and a hoard of mobile phones. Of those arrested, 36 people were from Merseyside areas, five were from Lancashire, one was from Cumbria and one other was picked up in Scotland. Another three people were arrested by British Transport Police at train stations and on board trains. Police also said five 'vulnerable young people' were being safeguarded following the raids. Police stormed 11 properties across northern England and Scotland in dawn raids today targeting county lines drug gangs (one pictured) Inside one address in Liverpool they found 20,000 (cash pictured) as a well as an imitation gun and a hoard of mobile phones A police dog is pictured exposing a large amount of cash in a drawer inside one of the properties Five police forces worked together to arrest 46 people on suspicion of drug offences and confiscate a 'significant' amount of Class A drugs and cash The operation was codenamed 'Project Medusa', with Merseyside assistant chief constable Ian Critchley saying: 'Those responsible for these county lines bring misery to our local communities through their drug dealing and they also target and coerce young and vulnerable people into doing their dirty work. Home Secretary Priti Patel added: 'I've seen first hand the vital work the police are doing to disrupt county lines gangs and it's great to see them continuing to deliver these impressive results. 'I will not tolerate these abhorrent gangs that exploit children and vulnerable people and we will do everything in our power to tackle this issue head on.' Mr Critchley said at least 112 people had been arrested and 32 county lines shut down in Merseyside since November. He added that the raids would hit 'the criminals hard, but when it comes to the young and vulnerable people, who have been criminally exploited, we ensure that they are treated sensitively and with understanding.' Armed police are pictured preparing to storm one of the 11 properties raided this morning Officers were forced to break down the door of this property during the dawn raids Two armed police officers are seen entering one of 11 properties raided as part of a county lines crackdown this morning I still remember sitting inside my great-grandmothers house in Jackson, Miss. I still remember watching my cousin brush my great-grandmothers long silver hair. I couldnt have been more than 3 or 4 years old, but the memory stands out. I remember sitting on the bed, looking up at her, looking at the lines in her face and admiring her smooth brown skin. I can hear the television in the background, the sounds of a show I cant remember. This moments stands out, probably because I only have a few memories with my great-grandmother. She died in 1998, when I was only 5 years old, but theres something about the memory I cant shake. Ive been thinking a lot about my her recently, thinking about what she endured and saw in her 98 years of life the civil rights movement, two world wars and integration. She saw black-and-white television turn to color and the first seeds of the internet. Born in 1900, she helped raise my mom, her siblings and cousins, instilling values in them that would last a lifetime. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren would go onto to graduate from college, get advanced degrees and gain employment in jobs across the country. When I think about what my great-grandmother endured, I think about my own endurance. I think about the times when Ive gone through trials: whether it be unemployment, heartbreak, disappointment or just making it through a frustrating week. I think about the times when I wanted to give in and back down, but instead I kept pushing, took one more step and kept believing. I think about my dream to write words that would hopefully one day make an impact on society, and how in moments I thought it would never happen until one day it did. As I was listening to a recent sermon by Bishop T.D. Jakes, I thought about my great-grandmother again. We survived police brutalities, and murders and killings and injustices, some self-inflicted and some inflicted by others, but we still survived, said Jakes. And you mean you cant survive a little trouble in your house? Your mama was stronger than that. Your grandmama was stronger than that. We come from a people who have endured. African Americans have endured unimaginable conditions on slave ships as they were forced across the Atlantic Ocean, exploited for their labor. Theyve endured picking cotton as the sweltering sun hit their backs. Theyve endured being whipped, lynched and beaten. Theyve endured racial slurs, having to drink out of separate water fountains and sitting on the back of the bus. And they continue to endure in 2020. When I think about the endurance of African Americans, I also think about some of the stories Ive been able to cover at the Houston Chronicle. I think about an African American family I met in Missouri City that lived on a street named after the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The family said they used the street as a source of strength. You use situations such as this and take it to a different place, said Andie Scott. Use it to fuel your own motivation and perseverance that there are people out there who dont want me to succeed simply because of the color of my skin, but despite them, and because of them, I will. I think about the victims of the convict-leasing system, who were sometimes fed inedible food and endured brutal working conditions. In Penology for Profit, author Donald R. Walker describes how one inmate at Imperial Farm in Sugar Land testified in the early 1900s to prison investigators about the food at the prison camp. He said, for breakfast, inmates were given two raw, moldy biscuits. For lunch, they had cold and hard corn bread and black-eyed peas. They received the same meal for dinner. I wouldnt feed a dog like it, said John Lenz, the prisoner. I think about meeting Joseph Dowell inside a jail cell in Harris County back in 2016. He wanted his life to mean something after two decades spent in and out of jail. I watched him turn his life around and get a job with the city of Houston. But then his wife died unexpectedly. He talked to me about losing his wife, and also about how he was going to push through the pain. You cant question God and his motives, Dowell said. You cant wonder why this happened or that happened. I also sat at his funeral, after he drowned driving to work during Hurricane Harvey. I thought about his life, the peaks and the valleys, the moments that led to its end. I thought about endurance. And I thought about my own family and their achievements, their mountaintop moments, and the valleys, the times when endurance saw them through. I think about my granddaddy, who worked as a janitor at a hospital in Mississippi. He went on to become the janitorial manager and recalls how a white person quit when they found out that an African American would be managing him. Now, my granddaddy and my grandma live quiet lives, but they pushed my family forward. They raised my father, who would meet my mom, graduate from college and move to Texas, where I was born. Their grandchildren continue their legacy. Its their strength that carries me. Black history is a history of endurance. Black history cant just be confined to a month. The history encapsulates our present moments. Its urgent. It seeps into our politics, religion, government, education and criminal justice system. Black history is always a part of us. It cant be shaken. In his sermon, Jakes talked about watching his father pull up to the back of the restaurants so he could feed his kids in the car, because they werent allowed in the front door. Its been almost two months, and his words have stayed with me. How dare you give up? Jakes asked, when we think about the strength of our ancestors. How dare you tell me what you cant take? I endure through the lows and the highs, because my great-grandmother did, my granddaddy did, and so do African Americans in 2020. I take my strength from them, in the moments that I feel like quitting, when its too hard, when a storm comes, and it doesnt feel like itll let up. I think its their strength and Gods thats gotten me this far, thats carried me to the place where I am now. Lewis is a native Houstonian who covers a wide range of stories in Fort Bend County for the city desk. She started out in 2016 as a summer intern at the Chronicle and then went on to work as the night breaking news reporter. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University and an English Writing & Rhetoric degree from St. Edward's University in Austin. The Christian woman is in Paris where she asked to meet President Macron. Since release in 2019, she has been hosted in Canada. She claims to love Pakistan, but will be "in exile forever". The mayor of Paris gives her honorary citizenship. Paris (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy for which she had been sentenced to death after nine years in prison, is seeking political asylum in France. She revealed it in an interview on RTL radio on February 24. The woman is in Paris, on her first trip outside Canada, who welcomed her after the liberation and escape from Pakistan last year. Yesterday she received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, which she had been awarded in 2014 when she was in prison. According to the French press, Asia is expected to meet with President Emmanuel Macron on Friday 28 February. During the interview, the exile said that an official meeting with the head of the Elysee has not yet been scheduled. Then she added: "Obviously I would like the president to listen to my request." And finally she revealed: "My greatest desire is to live in France". The woman, who became a symbol of religious persecution against Christians, remained involved in the most delicate trial for insulting the prophet Muhammad ever conducted in Pakistan. After a lengthy trial, she was found not guilty in January 2019. During this time Asia led a private life away from the cameras. She gave only one interview to the Sunday Telegraph, in which she launched an appeal to justice for Pakistani convicts who spend years in prison awaiting a sentence, due to the trials blocked for pressure by Islamic radicals. Speaking in Paris, she said she was "enormously grateful to Canada", the nation that offered her and her family protection in a secret location, waiting for a third country to declare its willingness to grant her refugee status. Last month Asia reappeared in a photo with the French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who fought for her release by conducting a tenacious campaign, and who wrote the autobiography "Enfin Libre!" with her. ("Finally free!"). German gunman calling for genocide kills nine people, Feb. 21 Tragedy has struck again in Germany. This time, Muslim immigrants, and recently Jews, as the familiar targets of right-wing xenophobia. As the spectre of racist hatred rises again in Germany, we in the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims look to people of goodwill everywhere to share our grief and determination to stand together against this senseless loss of life. Interspersed with a heartwarming outpouring of support for victims of the Iraqi plane crash are the many tragedies that slip under our radar. Our hearts go out to victims of racial and faith-based hatred and injustice everywhere: the Yazidis in Iraq, Uyghurs in China, Rohingya in Myanmar, Mexicans in the U.S., and those on whom our unresolved Indigenous issues turn in Canada. Our concern is that the world is increasingly supporting right-wing leaders who use nationalism as a false cry for patriotism. The result is hatred and distrust of minorities whose difference in faith, colour, sexual orientation or culture is used as a justification for injustice. Today, we mourn, and, at the same time, we raise our voices in support of the diversity that enriches us. Let us stretch out our arms in welcome to all who make Canada their home! Shalom! Salam! Peace! (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Get Jonathan Bernsteins newsletter every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. With the Nevada caucuses coming up on Saturday, this is probably going to be the week that will finally bring some clarity to the Democratic presidential contest. Probably. Weve already had chaos-maximizing results in Iowa, and then a New Hampshire primary which may have on balance added more chaos. For the most part, this seems to be some combination of luck and circumstance (although the botched count in Iowa didnt help, and that was just plain incompetence from the party). Just one example: Amy Klobuchar surged up to third place in New Hampshire, keeping her struggling campaign alive, thanks to a well-regarded performance in a debate that week. Had she instead done that well in the pre-Iowa debate, its likely that she would have done better there and perhaps ended Pete Buttigiegs campaign (and perhaps even Elizabeth Warrens). Or she might have had her usual debate results in New Hampshire (shes typically done well, but not well enough to attract much notice) and she likely would have finished fifth in that state and dropped out of the race. Instead, five candidates with a plausible shot at the nomination contested Iowa, and the same five are all contesting Nevada. Lots of people are saying that this is a sign of party weakness: Many party actors dont want Bernie Sanders to win, but theyre failed to coordinate on a stop-Sanders candidate and therefore he may be the most likely candidate to win the nomination at this point. Well sort of. The key is to think about this from the point of view of the party, and not the candidates. For the media and the campaigns, and for most voters, the nomination process is all about which candidate wins. But for the party, whats more important is making sure that whichever nominee is chosen would govern as a partisan president that he or she would be bound to the partys policy positions and priorities and otherwise support the party from the White House. From that point of view, it just doesnt matter that much which candidate wins, as long as that candidate wouldnt undermine the partys overall goals. Story continues To be sure: Sanders remains a factional candidate, and yes, his nomination would be at least something of a sign of party weakness. That said, while some party actors clearly do oppose Sanders, others seem more ambivalent. Perhaps thats because hes been a fairly pragmatic senator. Or maybe they just dont see him as all that far from the party on many key policy questions. But what weve seen during Donald Trumps presidency suggests that the parties have unrecognized strengths. Trumps nomination was by far the clearest example of an outsider winning a presidential nomination over the objections of the bulk of party actors that has ever happened in U.S. history. And yet for the most part, Trump has wound up following the Republican party line in office. On tax cuts and judges, Trumps record has been indistinguishable from what any of the Republican contenders in 2016 would have done. The same is basically true on health care and many other issues. Only on trade and some foreign policy questions has Trump really strayed from party orthodoxy in important ways, and for the latter its not entirely clear what the party is thinking after Iraq anyway. Now, perhaps some of this is just that Trump isnt particularly interested in governing, something that would not be the case in a Bernie Sanders presidency. On the other hand, given that most of the more aggressive aspects of the Sanders legislative agenda are likely to fail in Congress, its not really clear how different an actual Sanders administration would be from a Biden or Warren or Klobuchar presidency. And perhaps that and not party weakness or incompetence is why many Democratic party actors seem content to let things play out as they will in the primaries and caucuses. None of this means that the nomination isnt important. Some candidates will be better or worse at presidenting, which can have enormous consequences. They might be better or worse general election candidates. And the party itself shifts as a consequence of what happens in the nomination fight. But, at least to the extent that the parties are reasonably functional, its less of the life-or-death struggle that the candidates and their campaigns feel that it is and more incremental change a bit more if one candidate wins, a bit less if another does. (Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.) 1. Matthew Dickinson on Richard Neustadt and Donald Trumps presidency. 2. Dave Hopkins still doesnt see lanes in the Democratic presidential nomination contest. 3. Ruy Teixeira on turnout and a Bernie Sanders general election campaign. 4. Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage on Congress, Trump and war powers. 5. And my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Francis Wilkinson on Trumps false stories about voter fraud. Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. Also subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. Youll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close. To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The City Council will consider a tax financing agreement with 41 North Tap Room, which has eyed North Street to develop a brewery, tap room and kitchen. The council on Tuesday referred an allocation of funds from the Economic Development Fund and a tax increment financing agreement to benefit the development of a brewery and tap room at 41 North St. "Prior restaurants that have occupied the space proposed for the brewery and tap room have struggled, in part due to the size and layout of the space," Director of Community Development Deanna Ruffer wrote in a letter to City Council. "The proposed development of a brewery in this space is able to take advantage of ... the layout and size of the space, thus, increasing the likelihood of long-term success for a business in this critical location in the center of downtown." Proposed developers Montra II, whose main principal is Robert Trask, also owns 51 Park Restaurant and Tavern in Lee and, according to Ruffer, Trask plans to purchase 37-45 North St., site of the former J. Allen's Clubhouse, and invest $1.7 million in the property including its purchase. "His business plan sets a vision for creating a place where people will come, relax and feel a sense of community," she wrote. "Mr. Trask is using his experience as owner of an existing successful business and many years as a home brewer, as well as consultations with other successful brewers to develop his plans for the Pittsfield location." She continued that the brewery will also be a full-service restaurant with a seating capacity around 150. The brewing operation will be visible from the bar. "He believes the combination of offering the experience of a brewery with an innovative menu will be attractive to beer connoisseurs and will distinguish them from the other breweries," she wrote. The city is proposing allocating $150,000 from the city's Economic Development (GE) Fund to help purchase brewing equipment secured by a 10-year security interest in the brewing equipment. Some $100,000 of this will be dispersed once the company purchases the property and a purchase order is executed for the equipment no later than the end of 2020. Another $25,000 will be released six months after the company documents that there are 20 full-time employees with an average salary of at least $36,500 no later than the end of 2021. Another $25,000 will be released six months later once the company documents that there are 20 full-time employees with an average salary of at least $36,500 no later than the end of 2023. Both Hot Harry's and the Evangelistic Ministry Church are currently in the building and Trask intends to continue lease agreements with them. As for the five-year TIF agreement, it will work similarly to past agreements with 100 percent of the incremental increase in real estate property taxes forgiven in the first year, decreasing by 20 percent a year over the five-year term. 41 North Tap Room would be on the hook for investing the $1,700,000 in the property as well as creating 30 full-time jobs within five years. The jobs include operational management for brewery and restaurant, head brewer, marketing staff, cooks, servers, bartenders and support staff. Ruffer estimated $38,500 in property taxes would be forgiven over the agreement while $146,000 in property taxes would be paid. The City Council referred the Economic Development Fund allocation to the Committee on Community and Economic Development and the TIF to the Committee on Finance. Councilors Patrick Kavey and Yuki Cohen abstained from both votes. In other business, the City Council accepted an order from Mayor Linda Tyer declaring 19 city-owned properties surplus and available for disposition. The parcels are valued above the state Department of Revenue's land-of-low-value threshold and a value will need to be determined. The council also authorized the sale of all city-owned parcels that are land of low value by public auction. The list spans 40 parcels that have been assessed at less than $22,500. These properties were taken for the non-payment of taxes "Ultimately these will be put together for the purpose of an auction but the process of approving them for disposition is different," Director of Finance Matthew Kerwood said. He said the city does not intend to sell the properties, many of which are homes, at assessed value because the city wants these homes to be purchased and renovated. "These are homes we want people to purchase and rehab," he said. "We don't want to set that price too high to set a barrier for someone who wants to put the money in necessary to live in it or sell it." He said the city has had some of the parcels for some time now and they are all buildable. He said some already have structures on them while others are vacant. The City Council accepted a donation of materials and labor in the amount of $34,649 from J.H. Maxymillian Corp. to repair some of the Doyle Softball Complex dugouts at Springside Park. "As soon as the weather becomes more favorable, Maxymillian will get up there and complete the donated work," Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath said. He said two sets of dugouts will be addressed and the project would likely take less than a week. The council accepted a Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security State 911 Department grant of $11,733.94. The council accepted a FY20 Training Grant of $10,412.48 from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security State 911 Department. The council accepted a $64,210 grant from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. These funds will be directed toward design and permitting for the removal of the Wild Acres No. 2 Dam, a project anticipated to begin in the late summer of 2021. Egypts longest-serving president died almost nine years to the day after he stepped down. Hosni Mubarak, Egypts former president, passed away on Tuesday 25 February, weeks before his 92nd birthday on 4 May. Mubarak left office on 11 February 2011 after 18 days of protests. Demonstrations began on 25 January with protesters first demanding the removal of Interior Minister Habib Al-Adli and then for Mubarak himself to step down. Mubarak came to office in October 1981, two weeks after his predecessor Anwar Al-Sadat was assassinated during a military parade to mark the 6 October War. My name is Hosni Mubarak was how Mubarak answered a foreign journalist who asked whether he would stick to Sadats Western alignment or follow Gamal Abdel-Nasser and take Egypt back into the Soviet orbit of influence. For 30 years Mubarak lived up to his word. He kept the close relations that Egypt had established with the US in the wake of the peace treaty with Israel but also reached out to the Eastern Block until the fall of the Iron Curtain.Mubarak observed the peace treaty to the last letter of its text first in the political and security context and later in the cultural and economic context though he refused the repeated appeals of Israeli prime ministers to visit Israel. The line he took in public and in private meetings was that when the Palestinian cause is resolved he would visit but not one day before.The only exception he made was in November 1995 when for a few hours he joined other world leaders at the funeral of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin who had been assassinated by an extremist Israeli settler. At the time Mubarak told reporters that he lamented the death of Rabin who was someone who could have reached a viable peace with the Palestinians.Mubarak worked hard to promote a comprehensive peace deal, first with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then with his successor Mahmoud Abbas. His role as a mediator is variously viewed: some argue it showed an understanding of the post-Cold War reality in which the US was the single super power; others say he could have pushed much more had he not wanted to play it safe for the sake of good relations with the US.US diplomats regularly said Washington appreciated Mubaraks role in facilitating peace talks between the Arabs and Israel. Mubarak had successfully restored Egypts position at the heart of the Arab world after Arab states severed relations with Cairo following Egypts peace treaty with Israel.Privately, and then publicly, Mubarak would say that he had heard, first as Sadats vice president and then as president, several Arab leaders arguing that sooner or later there would have to be political negotiations for peace. Mubarak, who had served in the 1967 War, was always open about his assessment of the costs of a new military confrontation between Egypt and Israel, or between other Arab countries and Israel. It was too high to contemplate. He was convinced that when it came to managing the Arab-Israeli struggle Sadat had made more realistic choices than Nasser. He nonetheless ended the anti-Nasser media campaign that prevailed during the last years of Sadats rule. Instead, he established a tradition of remembering Nasser and Sadat with equal gratitude in his public speeches.In off-the-record chats with presidential reporters Mubarak would often refer to the War of Attrition, in which he took part under Nasser, as a momentous step towards the October crossing. And he recalled the October War with great pride, including his own role in it.What Mubarak carried over from Nassers legacy was an acute sensitivity, at least in the first decade of his 30-year rule, to the economic challenges facing poorer sections of the population. For years Mubarak was reluctant to adopt the kind of economic programmes promoted by the International Monetary Fund and when he finally bowed to the advice of his aides in the early 1990s he insisted on a very slow process, especially when it came to the elimination of subsidies.In the third and last decade of his rule Mubarak signed up to more fundamental economic reforms but still took a firm stance against some of the advice proffered by his aides who by then included his younger son Gamal, a former banker who had been appointed to a senior position in the National Democratic Party (NDP). He refused to allow the Egyptian currency to float freely and backed away from draconian cuts in subsidies. Instead he opted to open the economy to more foreign investment and adopted policies intended to encourage investors. Essential services, including health and education, were mostly overlooked. Mubarak often blamed their decline during his time in office on population growth. His critics, however, accused the state, in its embrace of neo-liberal economic policy, of deliberately neglecting public services.One thing Mubarak did share with both Nasser and Sadat was an unspoken conviction that his time in office should be open-ended.When he was first sworn in Mubarak announced he would serve two terms and no more. In the end, faced with the January uprising, he had to be eased from office. The pressure mounted as a growing number of capitals concluded that time had run out for Mubarak: his previously strong grip had loosened, and the promotion of his son Gamal through the ranks of the NDP was causing consternation in many sectors of Egyptian society.Mubarak also shared Nasser and Sadats penchant for authoritarian rule though this was not clear when he first took office. In early press interviews Sadats successor had promised greater political openness though little changed in the first two decades of his presidency.As the influence of his son Gamal grew, and with him that of a high-profile group of neo-liberal ministers including Youssef Boutros Ghali, Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Mahmoud Mohieddin, some space did open up though it was strenuously opposed by Mubaraks influential interior minister Al-Adli. The IT revolution was in full swing and social media arrived in Egypt. The more reactionary members of the regime viewed such untrammelled exchange of information as a huge mistake.In 2005 Mubarak decided to allow multi-candidate presidential elections. He stood against a handful of political non-entities except, perhaps, for Ayman Nour, a young and ambitious member of the Wafd Party who had had a career in journalism before joining parliament and becoming one of the most followed MPs.Mubarak won the election. In the wake of his victory he allowed the opposition greater space in the state-run media and the creation of independent media outlets and TV channels. These developments, though, went hand-in-hand with draconian security policies.Violations of human rights were being covered more and more in social media. Two cases, that of Emad Al-Kebir, a taxi driver from Alexandria, and Khaled Said, a young activist from the same city, both tortured to death by the police, fed growing public anger.With the economy continuing to lag, increased attention paid to human rights violations and a growing perception that Gamal was being groomed to take over from his father, Mubarak was losing popular support. His wife Suzanne was also being roundly criticised in many quarters for adopting an ever-more prominent public role.During the 18 days of demonstrations that began in Tahrir Square and then spread across Egypts governorates, chants were taken up against Mubarak and his closest aides, including Al-Adli and the then head of the Shura Council Safwat Al-Sherif, but also against his son Gamal and wife Suzanne. Ahmed Ezz, a business tycoon and leading figure in the NDP, was also a focus of the fury of protesters. As the engineer of the 2010 parliamentary elections, marred by rigging that was not even disguised, Ezz is often blamed for provoking the public outrage that ended in Mubaraks fall. Many former members of the Mubarak regime argue, however, that despite Ezzs blatant disregard of the publics sensibilities during the 2010 elections the regime would not have imploded had the revolution in Tunisia not succeeded in forcing Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia, or without the role of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former Egyptian diplomat who, after retiring from his post in 2009 as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Egypt and began to openly oppose the Mubarak regime.ElBaradeis presence reinforced already active opposition movements like 6 April which had called for a public strike in 2007, Kefaya, a coalition of political opposition groups that staged large public protests, and We Are All Khaled Said, a Facebook page that highlighted human rights violations. According to several ministers who served during Mubaraks last year in office, the president believed Washington had a role in his downfall: since 2008, they say, he had had a sense the Americans wanted him out of the way.Starting in 2009 Mubaraks performance was subject to careful scrutiny in many world capitals. It was thought he might be getting too old for the job, too demoralised by the sudden death of a favourite grandchild, and that his health had been badly compromised by gallbladder cancer which had required surgical intervention in Germany.The January Revolution though, cannot be reduced to a response to the last few years of Mubaraks three decades in office: in the end it demonstrated the publics aspiration for a fairer and freer society.Mubaraks decision to step down was made public by the then chief of General Intelligence Omar Suleiman in a brief announcement on Egyptian TV. Millions rejoiced in the streets while Mubarak moved to Sharm El-Sheikh where he planned to retire. He was accorded little breathing space before being prosecuted, along with his sons, on corruption charges. Ultimately, the prosecutions would fail except in one instance. Mubarak was found guilty of embezzling funds earmarked for the restoration of presidential palaces. Mubarak and his sons may have been judged innocent of the majority of charges against them but the overwhelming impression many retain of his years in office is of overwhelming corruption and graft.During his 30 years as president of Egypt and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Mubarak made almost no appearance in uniform. Yet it is perhaps in his role as an army officer hardworking, efficient and dedicated to serving the flag that he will be most fondly remembered. Yes, he was the president removed by nation-wide protests but he was also one of the most prominent faces of the October War, a seminal moment in Egypts modern history and one of which Mubarak was the last surviving leading figure. *A version of this article appears in print in the 27 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: When I get back from school I basically barricade myself in the apartment and never go out at night, says the narrator of Michel Houellebecqs Les Particules elementaires. Sometimes I go on the Minitel and check out the sex sites, thats about it. Here those reading the English translation of the novel (in this case Frank Wynnes, called Atomised) will tilt their heads: the Minitel? Though he writes more or less realistic novels, Houellebecq does come out with the occasional science-fictional flourish. But in France, the Minitel was a very real technological and cultural phenomenon. What the TGV was to train travel, the Pompidou Centre to art, and the Ariane project to rocketry, writes BBC News Hugh Schofield, in the early 1980s the Minitel was to the world of telecommunications. Combining a monitor, keyboard, and modem all in one beige plastic package, the Minitel terminal known as the Little French Box was once a common sight in French households. With it, writes Julien Mailland in the Atlantic, one could read the news, engage in multi-player interactive gaming, grocery shop for same-day delivery, submit natural language requests like reserve theater tickets in Paris, purchase said tickets using a credit card, remotely control thermostats and other home appliances, manage a bank account, chat, and date. All this at a time when, as Schofield puts it, the rest of us were being put on hold by the bank manager or queueing for tickets at the station. And whats more, the French got their Minitel terminals for free. Conceived in the white heat of President Valery Giscard dEstaings technological great leap forward of the late 1970s, Minitel appeared as one of the signal efforts of a nationwide developmental project. France was lagging behind on telecommunications, writes the Guardians Angelique Chrisafis, with the nations homes underserved by telephones particularly in rural areas. But soon after the rollout of the Minitel, usage exploded such that, at the height of its glory in the mid-1990s, the French owned about 9m Minitel devices, with 25m users connecting to more than 23,000 services. Initially pitched to the public as a replacement for the paper telephone directory, the Minitel evolved to provide many of the services for which most of the world now relies on the modern internet. Though developed and implemented by the French government, Minitel incorporated services by independent providers. The most lucrative service turned out to be something no-one had envisaged the so-called Minitel Rose, writes Schofield. With names like 3615-Cum (actually its from the Latin for with), these were sexy chat-lines in which men Houellebecq-protagonist types and other paid to type out their fantasies to anonymous dates.' Not long before Minitels discontinuation in 2012, when more than 800,000 terminals were still active, billboards featuring lip-pouting lovelies advertising the delights of 3615-something were ubiquitous across the country. 3615, as every onetime Minitel user knows, were the most common initial digits for Minitel services, each of which had to be hand-dialed on a telephone before the terminal could connect to it. You can see this process in the Retro Man Cave video at the top of the post, which tells the story of the Minitel and shows how its terminals actually worked. (Retro-minded Francophones may also enjoy the 1985 TV documentary just above.) The host draws a comparison between Minitel and the much less successful Prestel, a similar service launched in the United Kingdom in 1979. It might also remind Canadians of a certain age of Telidon, which weve previously featured here on Open Culture. But no other other pre-internet videotex system made anywhere the impact of Minitel, which lives on in France as a cultural touchstone, if no longer as a fixture of everyday life. As Valerie Schafer, co-author of the book Minitel: Frances Digital Childhood puts it to Chriasafis, Theres a nostalgia for an era when the French developed new ideas, took risks on ideas that didnt just look to the US or outside models; a time when we wanted to invent our own voice. Related Content: From the Annals of Optimism: The Newspaper Industry in 1981 Imagines its Digital Future Discover the Lost Early Computer Art of Telidon, Canadas TV Proto-Internet from the 1970s How to Send an E-mail: A 1984 British Television Broadcast Explains This Simple Process The Story of Habitat, the Very First Large-Scale Online Role-Playing Game (1986) John Turturro Introduces America to the World Wide Web in 1999: Watch A Beginners Guide To The Internet Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles and the video series The City in Cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook. ATHENS- A Greek health ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that the country has registered its first case of the coronavirus after a woman who recently travelled to northern Italy tested positive. The spokesperson said the woman, 38, was in good condition in hospital in Thessaloniki. Though Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced their intent to step away from the British Royal Family in January 2020, the royal couple is just now releasing details about the lives after Megxit. As of April 1, 2020, the Sussexes will no longer be working royals. However, since the pair are so high-profile, they wont exactly become regular everyday citizens. As they begin to pave an independent life for themselves and their son, Archie Harrison, they will still very much be in the public eye. As they move between the U.K. and North America tackling various business ventures, the duke and duchess will need extensive security. Unfortunately, as it stands right now, their current security plan just doesnt work. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have outlined their Megxit security details Though the Sussexes will be spending a good chunk of March in the U.K. finishing out their final royal duties, the duo will return to live on Vancouver Island in Canada and possibly Malibu, California for the summer. Therefore, though they are seeking financial independence, the Sussexes will still require extensive security. It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son, they said in a statement on their website. 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. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been having security drama When they are in Canada the Sussexes have been pretty reclusive, living in a $14 million mansion which is set behind security cameras, tarp, and fences. Theyve had just two quick trips to the United States one to Miami and the other to Stanford University following their Megxit announcement. Unfortunately, their new lives have already caused drama. They have 15 highly-trained armed close protection experts guarding them 24-hours a day. While the guys are happy to be out there doing the jobs, there is a feeling they are carrying out menial tasks, like picking up takeaways and groceries, an insider told The Sun. They are close protection officersand should be sticking solely to close protection rather than running errands. It is dangerous for one thing, because if something were to happen it would not be good if one of them was away running an errand or picking up coffee. And they are the ones who would get it in the neck from their bosses if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys post-Megxit security plan isnt feasible It looks like there is more drama to come regarding the Sussexes security. According to Mirror, the Met Police who staff the Sussexess security officers are woefully understaffed and wont be able to keep up. In their current state the plans are unworkable, Ex-Met protection officer Dai Davies told Mirror. Harry and Meghans situation has called for a complete ripping up of the rulebook and they are acting like none of the rules apply to them. There is already a severe lack of trained officers and this is only adding to the Mets woes. The average salary of a protection officer is in excess of 106,000 and, on current standing, Harry and Meghan need at least 12 if not more split over several teams. Travel, accommodation bills and overtime payments are set to explode, with residences in multiple countries. Training for extra officers plus potential relocation payments to some who may be permanently based abroad has led to a complete reworking of the situation. Someone is going to have to pay for this in the end. I support the freedom of Harry and Meghan to choose a more private life, but serious questions must now be asked about who is going to foot this ballooning security bill particularly when they plan to travel for personal or commercial reasons, Labour MP Stephen Doughty said last week. PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 06:02:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 821 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2020 / Slovakia-based healthcare startup Hilbi will be receiving substantial investments from a prominent healthcare visionary. A top executive from a leading international pharmaceutical giant is joining the Hilbi team. Daren Wilson will be taking part in the company's latest investment round, valued at 5 million (approx. $5.5 million).Hilbi is an artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced, decentralized communication platform that can facilitate instant payments. The Hilbi platform has been designed to protect patients during their healing process.Daren Wilson, a senior executive of a global pharmaceutical company, will be holding 12% ( 600,000 ), of the total sum of 5 million into Hilbi's business operations.One powerful, convenient app to support the entire healthcare systemResponding to a question about Hilbi's unique value proposition, Wilson remarked: "There are thousands of digital health apps across multiple diseases. Now, imagine if there was just one app to support the entire ecosystem around the patient. Hilbi has this potential. Their business model is different as they add more value and trust towards physician-patient relationships so that the patient can benefit from the highest quality of care from their health professionals." When asked what appealed to him, at first, about the Hilbi project, Wilson said: "When you are looking at interesting investment opportunities, the passion and commitment of the founders are important. I saw this in Patrik Kmec, who has a noble vision for the future of personalised patient care." Hilbi offers a unique ecosystem, in which a patient truly owns his or her healthcare data. The platform securely gathers all data using decentralized technology and then shares it with the relevant professionals. The patient's health profile, called LifeID, is a useful tool for making an accurate diagnosis, offering treatment, and providing appropriate prevention advice. Artificial intelligence algorithms will be used to help protect patients not only during their healing process but also during prevention and in case of an accident.Roman Kucera, CEO at 01People and co-founder of Hilbi's core technology, explained how the platform shares important patient health information: "There's an exchange of structural information with added value to it. We are trying to save doctors a lot of time to identify the problem with an automatic substitution for now, and later with artificial intelligence. We are aiming globally, and therefore people can use it anywhere in the world with an internet connection." Daren Wilson, a senior executive at a major pharmaceutical company, has extensive experience in the medical field. He's helped many different startups from all over the world and now he's joining the Hilbi team as a private investor.When asked why he invested in Hilbi, Wilson noted: "Hilbi is a Slovak digital healthcare company with a high potential to scale, globally. I decided to invest in Hilbi because they align to my personal values and their bold vision is to support the personal healthcare needs of every person in society." A platform as large and accessible as Facebook, WhatsApp or UberHe believes that Hilbi has great potential to provide personal healthcare services to patients across the globe in the area of instant payments.Patrik Kmec, co-founder of Hilbi, stated: "Daren is a well-experienced person in the area of global solutions for digitizing healthcare. As a smart investor, his experience will help the Hilbi team in further refining their industry leading products. In Slovakia, we are developing a platform that can serve a large number of users like WhatsApp, Facebook, or Uber. Our platform will be purpose-built for doctor's and patient's specific healthcare needs. You need an internationally experienced team for this kind of project." Kmec added: "I'm extremely happy that our first investor is such a knowledgeable professional. It brings great opportunities for other investors, as Hilbi's software is deployed and monetized on the world's largest markets including the US and third-world countries." Most of Hilbi's returns will be distributed to doctors and healthcare providersOne of Hilbi's main value propositions is its unique compensation system, which automatically and transparently divides platform earnings based on the work performed by each healthcare provider. Hilbi platform users can easily make payments using debit cards or their bank accounts. Currently, when a patient pays for services, the healthcare provider is able to receive the payment straight into their account.Dr. Ladislav Pasztor and Roman Neczli, executives of the Hilbi company closed the first round of investments for the company and introduced Hilbi on the market as a state-of-the-art healthcare product.Dr. Pasztor solves points out that Hilbi is an excellent product for diabetic patients. The software can also help patients during an oncological treatment, and those who may be receiving orthopedic care.The Hilbi team is planning to release its first AI-enhanced algorithm this year, which will be used to detect the initial symptoms of cardiovascular disease.Contact for media: TIME.is COMMUNICATION, dasa.matejcikova@time-is.eu , +421-907-821016.SOURCE: Hilbi Dozens of passengers who were allowed off a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship have developed symptoms including fever and will be asked to take tests for the virus, Japan's health minister said Wednesday. The government has contacted 813 former passengers of the Diamond Princess. Around 970 were allowed off the boat last week after testing negative for the virus, but several have subsequently been found to be carrying the disease. The ministry found "45 people had certain symptoms," health minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament. "We asked all of them (who have symptoms) to see a doctor and to take tests," Kato said. Japan has come under increasing pressure over its handling of the crisis on the vessel, particularly after it emerged that some passengers allowed to disembark after testing negative were subsequently diagnosed with the virus. Those allowed off the ship after a 14-day quarantine were asked to stay inside, but no formal measures restricting their movement were imposed. As of Wednesday, at least two former passengers in Japan were confirmed infected despite previously testing positive. Foreign passengers who said they had initially tested negative have also been diagnosed with the virus after being repatriated to Australia and Hong Kong. Opposition lawmakers have blamed the government for failing to implement a fresh 14-day quarantine after the passengers left the cruise ship. Countries that repatriated their citizens have required them to undergo another isolation period, suggesting they believe the on-ship quarantine was flawed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The world record price for a working sheep dog at an official sale has been smashed - reaching a new high of 18,000gns (18,900). The sale took place at Skipton Auction Mart in North Yorkshire on Friday 21 February. Northumberland shepherdess Emma Gray, 34, sold her two-and-a-half-year-old black and white bitch, Megan, to American telephone buyer, Brian D. Stamps. She described the dog as a "stylish, positive worker who can get any work job done but can also be geared right down for trials." Auctioneers CCM Auctions confirmed that the sale amounted to a 'world record price'. Mr Stamps, a 44-year-old cattle farmer from Oklahoma, raises 100 percent full-blood Wagyu cattle on 2,000 acres in his home state. He said of the sale: I have followed the Skipton sale for several years as I used to run Border Collies here stateside. I figured it would be the best place available to secure a dog which would meet our needs. "I did not know about Emma, but read posts she made about a FB group and this caught my attention when I had seen a video of the dog working and how she handled cattle. (Photo: CCM Auctions Skipton Auction Mart Livestock Auctioneers) I used to trial 20 years ago, but do not have time to with our operations, though Megan is going to run some trials here and then retire on our ranch. Emma Gray said after the sale: This is so much better than I have ever done. Its good that people value sheep dogs these days. They are getting the recognition they deserve. The shepherdess has previous broken a world record. Last February, she sold her working sheepdog bitch for 14,700. Her two-year-old tri-coloured dog Brenna at Skipton Auction Mart was sold to an American telephone bidder. The Trump administration has decided to pare the number of waivers from biofuel mandates that it issues oil refineries, according to two people familiar with the matter. The decision in response to a January court ruling represents a win for biofuel producers who have battled the exemptions and accused the Trump administration of siding with the oil industry on the issue. The terrain is politically fraught for President Donald Trump, dividing two of his key political constituencies: agriculture and the oil industry. Trump promised to support corn-based ethanol while campaigning in Iowa four years ago but also has cultivated support among Rust Belt voters and the oil industry that oppose the biofuel mandate. A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in January that the Environmental Protection Agency wrongly waived three refineries from requirements to use plant-based fuels. In its ruling, a judges said that refineries must have consistently received those waivers since the program began in 2008 to qualify for them. In response, the EPA will apply the ruling nationwide, according to the people who asked for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. That approach means that only a handful of oil refineries likely will qualify for the waivers going forward, down from dozens in recent years. Oil industry advocates have been lobbying the White House to appeal the 10th Circuit ruling, arguing that if it is applied nationwide, a dramatic reduction in exemptions would put small refineries at risk of closing -- including ones in swing states key to Trumps re-election. Several drafted letters pressing Trump on the issue also are circulating among oil industry allies on Capitol Hill, raising the possibility that last-minute pressure could spur the White House to alter course. White House officials were meeting to discuss the biofuel policy matter on Wednesday, according to one person familiar with the deliberations. An EPA spokeswoman declined to comment. Tradable credits that refineries use to show compliance with biofuel mandates had already climbed in anticipation that fewer facilities will be waived from annual blending quotas in the future. On Wednesday, renewable identification numbers tracking 2020 ethanol consumption climbed 5.9% and were trading at 36 cents apiece. Although federal law authorizes the waivers for small refineries facing an economic hardship, the number of those exemptions has surged during the Trump administration, and biofuel producers say they have been handed out too freely. After the EPA exempted 31 refineries from 2018 quotas, farmers and renewable fuel producers in Iowa and other Corn Belt states blasted the administration and accused Trump of turning his back on the sector. 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. Saima Afreen By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Marlborough Art Society in Blenheim, New Zealand is all set to showcase the artworks by some Hyderabad-based artists. Participating in the show are Fawad Tamkanat, Afza Tamkanat, Sreekanth Kurva Bolla, Kandi Narsimlu, Pramod Reddy Gade among other artists from Sweden and New Zealand. Titled Hononga, which means connections in Maori language, the exhibition is curated by artist Sudhir Duppati, whos now based in New Zealand. His artworks, too, will be on display. He completed his BFA in Painting from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in 1994 and received an MFA in Art Criticism from MS University, Baroda. He says, "Most of my works denote the mystical perceptions of life, which sometimes I paint using materialist or the consumerist images. The effort of an artist is also to make a contribution to the inquiries weaving the tapestry of life." The contributing work of the senior artist Fawad Tamkanat is in his signature style of photorealism showcasing face of a soldier, perhaps standing on the border. The glint in his blurred eyes seems to get dimmer as men with guns on jeep and horses approach. The smudge effect makes the disturbing imprint more indelible. He says, "I have submitted an earlier work which forms the mosaic of the show being done thousands of miles away from Hyderabad with other artists." Afza Tamkanat, who has now shifted base to Australia has contributed two of her paintings. One deals with the sparrows trapped in urbanscape and fluttering between human psyche and their own unsettled nests which is quite apt to the disappearance of the birds in the city and its songs. The other one, though, mundane in its spirit with the portraiture of a dog standing between a blue door and a parked bicycle focuses on the simplicity which is constant amid all the hustle and bustle. An old red letterbox is a reminder in the frame of the old times fragmenting amidst emails and texts. The exhibition begins on February 29 and is on till March 22 (The writer can be contacted at saima@newindianexpress.com) Twitter: @Sfreen Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Feb. 26, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Iran Raises Its Death Toll to 19 Amid 139 Coronavirus Cases Irans president said Tehran has no immediate plans to quarantine cities over the new coronavirus rapidly spreading across the country, even as the Islamic Republic suffers the highest death toll outside of China with 19 killed amid 139 cases confirmed on Feb. 26. President Hassan Rouhani went on to acknowledge that it may take one, two, or three weeks to get control of the virus in Iran, linked to most of the over 210 confirmed cases of the virus now spread across the Mideast. That comes after the top official in charge of Irans response to the coronavirus tested positive for the illness after a day earlier trying to downplay the disease. Still, Rouhani sought to portray the virus crisis in terms of Irans tense relations with the U.S. Coronavirus must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country, Rouhani said, according to a transcript posted to the Iranian presidencys website. A worker disinfects a public bus against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in early morning of Feb. 26, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Iranian state television reported Wednesday that 19 people have been killed by the new coronavirus amid 139 confirmed cases in the country so far. The announcement by a state TV anchor came as Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour urged Iranians to avoid nonessential travel, particularly to the hard-hit provinces of the country such as Gilan and Qom. The World Health Organization has named the new illness COVID-19. Experts remain concerned that Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a hard-line lawmaker in Iran alleged Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. Meanwhile, Wednesdays figures still showed no cases confirmed in the Iranian city of Mashhad, though a number of cases now reported in Kuwait are linked to Mashhad. In Tehran overnight, workers disinfected mass-transit buses and the capitals underground metro system, removing overhead handles in an effort to limit areas the virus could be picked up from. Traffic again appeared lighter on Tehrans normally gridlocked roads amid a winter rain, as signs warned Iranians not to touch surfaces in crowded areas. We must be optimistic, because pessimism causes us to attract this disease, said Afsaneh Azarloo, a Tehran resident. We should be optimistic and hope that nothing bad will happen to us. That optimism was not shared by another passerby, who merely gave his name as Saeed. Im worried. Its the first time I have left home after a week, he said. My home is now my workplace too. People wear masks to help guard against the new coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Rouhanis estimate of as much as three weeks to control the virus comes after officials repeatedly downplaying the virus previously. Thats sparked more concern among Iranians already angry over nationwide economic protests, the U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, and Iran accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner and then denying it for days. A recent parliamentary election also saw the countrys lowest-ever recorded turnout. Jahanpour on Tuesday suggested it could take as long as late April to control the virus. And with the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, coming March 20, experts worry about the virus spreading even further across the country if not stopped by then. Containment of the COVID-19 virus within Iran will be a challenge because of Irans poor health infrastructure and traditional unwillingness to communicate freely and openly across all branches of government and between health institutions, the Austin, Texas private intelligence firm Stratfor said. That worry was echoed by analysts at the Eurasia Group. Tehran is likely significantly underestimating the risk posed by an outbreak of coronavirus to its citizens, economy, and neighbors, the analysts wrote. Iran has a relatively robust public health system, although it has been weakened by U.S. sanctions. But a breakdown in national-level decision-making has severely hampered its ability contain the spread of the virus. Meanwhile Wednesday, Egyptian airport officials said the countrys national carrier, EgyptAir, has indefinitely extended the suspension of its flights to and from China, for the safety of its passengers. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they werent authorized to brief journalists. By Jon Gambrell Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Beleave Inc. (CSE: BE) (OTCQX: BLEVF) ("Beleave" or the "Company"), a licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products, continues the roll out of its portfolio of adult use cannabis products with Flyte Classic vape pens, recently relaunched into the Canadian market in conjunction with Volero Brands Inc. ("Volero"). The product is now available in the brand's home province, British Columbia, with Manitoba and Saskatchewan product deliveries this week. A legacy brand acquired by Volero and produced by Beleave, Flyte Classic wickless, low-profile, ceramic core cartridges are sold in 0.5 gram net weight units (kits include slim-form 100mAh batteries). Each cartridge contains 300 mg of THC and is available through provincial cannabis brick-and-mortar and online stores, as well as Licenced Retail Outlets ("LRO") in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. "We have focused our efforts to be prepared for a successful launch of Cannabis 2.0 products as Canada moves forward with newly allowed product categories," said Kevin Keagan, Beleave CEO. "With this expansion of our Flyte product into Western Canada and British Columbia, we are excited for Canadians to have access to high-quality, safe alternative cannabis products for which the market has been anxiously awaiting." Launching in BC was a priority for the Flyte brand, recognizing the supporters who had made it a legacy favourite in its home province. Beleave has been developing new product lines, including cannabis-infused products, oils, vape pens, and other novel cannabis delivery methods for release throughout 2020 as Canadians are increasingly looking for new and safe ways to consume cannabis. Operational Update The Company also announced today that it has closed on a Subscription Agreement (the "Agreement") with a private purchaser (the "Purchaser"), totalling CAD $270,000. The transaction was coordinated by Shaxon Enterprises, with whom Beleave entered into an agreement last month to provide consulting and capital raising services for the Company. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Purchaser has agreed to subscribe to a total of 1,500,000 common shares, at a price per unit based on a 20-day VWAP. Each unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant of the Company. This entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.05 following a four-month hold and expiring 24 months following the closing date. Beleave anticipates using the proceeds from the transaction to fund its day-to-day operations and expansion activities. About Beleave Inc. Beleave is an ISO certified, Canadian cannabis company headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area that cultivates high-quality cannabis flower, oil and extracts for medical and recreational markets. Beleave is fully licenced to cultivate and sell medical and recreational cannabis and is leading the way through research partnerships with universities to develop pharma-grade extracts and derivatives. Beleave is developing new product lines, including cannabis-infused products, oils, vape pens, and other novel cannabis delivery methods for 2020. Beleave has developed a network of medical cannabis clinics in Ontario and Quebec under the Medi-Green banner. About Volero Brands Inc. Volero Brands is a privately held, British Columbia-based company engaged in the development of a family of cannabis brands and delivery systems for Canadian and international markets. The Company's flagship brand is Flyte, a suite of popular cannabis distillate products. The Flyte brand and expertise has been licensed in the state of Nevada for concentrates prepared from distillates of phytocannabinoids and packaged in vaporizer pen cartridges. The Company brings deep technical and brand expertise to extraction, formulation, development and marketing of cannabis distillate-based products. Investor Relations Contact: Kevin Keagan Chief Executive Officer Phone: 1 (647) 449 - 7352 Email: kkeagan@beleave.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). The use of any of the words "plan", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur are intended to identify forward-looking information. These statements are only predictions. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking information addresses future events and conditions, by its very nature it involves inherent risks and uncertainties. This information speaks only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52826 Tennessee authorities said officers in North Carolina had searched a pond in connection to the disappearance of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell just hours after her mother was locked up for allegedly giving conflicting accounts about the toddler's whereabouts. Evelyn's mother, Megan Boswell, 18, is in the Sullivan County Jail on a charge of filing a false police report. Megan's mother, Angela Boswell, is being held there as well, on charges of theft and violating probation in a separate case. Authorities frustrated by their multiple versions of what happened to Evelyn held a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 'There's not really much that we can answer due to the irrelevant information from Megan,' Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said. 'Every time we talk to her, her story changes.' Scroll down for video Tennessee authorities said officers in North Carolina are searching a pond in connection to the disappearance of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell (pictured) just hours after her mother was locked up for allegedly giving conflicting accounts about the toddler's whereabouts Evelyn's mother, Megan Boswell (left), 18, is in the Sullivan County Jail on a charge of filing a false police report. Megan's mom, Angela Boswell (right), is being held there as well, on charges of theft and violating probation in a separate case 'We hope and pray that she's alive and we are going to continue to work like she is alive,' the sheriff said about Evelyn. Police did confirm that authorities are searching near a pond in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in connection to the case. No other details were released, but Evelyn's grandmother was arrested alongside her boyfriend William McCloud in North Carolina last week. Aerial footage from WJHL showed investigators at the pond preparing to search area. In the video, a small boat was seen siting on the grass next to a few SUVs. An investigator was also seen lowering a long yellow rope into the water. Investigators later said their search of the pond was 'inconclusive'. Megan was arraigned in court on Wednesday morning. Her next court appearance is set for March 2. The sheriff also addressed Megan's claim that she was turned away from taking a polygraph test. Aerial footage showed investigators at the pond (pictured) preparing to search area One investigator is seen lowering a long yellow rope into the water In the video, a small boat was seen siting on the grass next to a few SUVs On Tuesday, Megan said she went to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office for a lie-detector test but was turned away because she is pregnant. 'She was never asked to meet us for a polygraph. We never set up any type of interview for her,' Cassidy said. In an interview on Monday with WJHL, Megan claimed that her mother took Evelyn to a campground in Mendota, Virginia. Authorities have also searched multiple campgrounds in that area and found no sign of the girl. 'I told TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) where to find her in Mendota. My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper and if they dont go tonight, Im going to go find her myself, because Ive told them and theyre not really like taking it seriously,' Megan said. She added that TBI isn't taking her seriously because 'I've not fully told them I've been like "hey, like my mom camped out in Mendota, you know, to go check them out," but I've never been like, "hey, she's like in a silver camper" because my mom did threaten me like you know if I told anybody Im not gonna get into that but she did.' On Friday, Megan spoke out for the first time about her daughter's disappearance, claiming she knew who has the toddler. Sheriff Cassidy (pictured) confirmed that authorities are searching near a pond in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in connection to the case Speaking to WCYB, Megan said she last saw Evelyn in December but didn't report her missing until Tuesday because she was afraid the people who had her would disappear. 'Well the reason I didn't report it or anything was I knew the person who had her, and I didn't want them to run away with her,' Megan said. 'And as soon as they thought anything was going on they just kinda vanished. So I'm just kinda worried, you know, about where they are at. What they're doing with her at this point in time.' Megan added that she left her daughter with a person she thought she could trust while she was at work but that she would do things differently if she had a second chance. 'In a way I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear and they have. And they have tried to find them... They won't answer phone calls. They just kinda disappeared,' she continued. 'Yeah I probably would have called the first day. I should have. But I just didn't want them to run with her, like they have now.' In an interview on Monday, Megan claimed that her mother took Evelyn (pictured) to a campground in Mendota, Virginia Authorities have searched multiple campgrounds in that area and found no sign of the girl Megan refused to name who she believes to have her daughter but says that she is cooperating with the police and can not share further information on the case. Angela and her boyfriend, William McCloud, were arrested last week in North Carolina on fugitive warrants unrelated to the toddler's disappearance. Before she was returned to Tennessee, Angela told the judge she wanted to go home and resolve the situation with her granddaughter. Angela was returned to the Sullivan County Jail on Monday evening and arraigned on Tuesday on a theft charge. Sullivan County detectives have interviewed Angela and McCloud. Details regarding those conversations have not been disclosed and Sheriff Cassidy did not comment on those interviews during Wednesday's press conference. Angela's boyfriend, William McCloud (left) is also in jail. They were arrested last week in North Carolina on fugitive warrants unrelated to the toddler's disappearance The disappearance of Evelyn Boswell: A confusing case that has been bogged down by misinformation and conflicting accounts It's unclear when exactly Evelyn Boswell (pictured) went missing, but her disappearance was reported February 18 It's unclear when exactly Evelyn Boswell went missing. Her mother, Megan Boswell claims that she last seen her daughter on December 26. The child's babysitter told police that she last saw the toddler on December 10 or 11. And David Jones, the baby's great-grandfather, said he hadn't seen Evelyn since about a week before Thanksgiving. Even if the child hadn't been seen since last year, her disappearance wasn't reported until February 18. Due to the conflicting stories from Megan and Evelyn's grandmother, Angela Boswell, police have been left frustrated and confused by the case. Below is a timeline of what has occurred so far: February 18, 2020: Evelyn Boswell was reported missing by her mother, Megan Boswell. Court documents show that when police asked her about Evelyn, Megan told them that the child was with her father, Ethan Perry. Megan reportedly told police that she was supposed to meet Perry on February 19 at 4pm at the Ingles in Colonial Heights to exchange custody. But Perry, is on active duty in the military and stationed in Louisiana. February 19, 2020: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Amber Alert for Evelyn. February 20, 2020: TBI releases another photograph of Evelyn as investigators urged the public to send them any information that could lead to the toddler being found. February 21, 2020: Angela Boswell and her boyfriend William McCloud were arrested in North Carolina after authorities found a 2007 BMW that they allegedly stole. Angela and McCloud, both of Tennessee, were charged with possession of stolen property. Megan spoke out for the first time about her daughter's disappearance claiming she knows who has the toddler. Court documents show that when police asked Megan Boswell (left) about Evelyn, Megan told them that the child was with her father, Ethan Perry (right) She said she last saw Evelyn in December but didn't report her missing until Tuesday because she was afraid the people who had her would disappear. Megan claimed that Evelyn was with a person she trusted to watch her daughter while she was at work. Sheriff Cassidy also said that his office received conflicting reports about when Evelyn disappeared. One report indicated that Evelyn was last seen on December 26. However, Cassidy said a babysitter claimed to have seen her on December 10 or 11. February 22, 2020: Sullivan County Sheriff's Office detectives traveled to Wilkesboro to interview Angela and McCloud about Evelyn. No details from those conversations were released. February 23, 2020: Agents from TBI released a new photo of Evelyn and said that investigators are still working to find Evelyn. February 24, 2020: Angela Boswell was extradited to Tennessee. Megan claimed that her mother, Angela Boswell, had taken her daughter to Mendota, Virginia. Megan said Angela was traveling to a campground in Mendota and had a silver camper. 'I told TBI where to find her in Mendota. My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper and if they dont go tonight, Im going to go find her myself, because Ive told them and theyre not really like taking it seriously and if they dont go tonight, I will go myself and go get her,' Megan said. Police revealed that they searched several campgrounds in the area and found no trace of Evelyn. Megan also addressed rumors about her family being gypsies. 'Gypsies are not a cult. They have been asking people if there is like a Gypsy ringleader and likeI mean like were not like ringleaders, were not like out here kidnapping babies, or anything like that,' Megan said. February 25, 2020: Earlier in the day Megan claimed that she was pregnant and was unable to take a polygraph test due to the pregnancy. It was also revealed that the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office does not conduct polygraph testing. By Tuesday afternoon, the TBI said they had received more than 500 tips related to Evelyn's disappearance. Authorities arrested Megan Tuesday night and charged with false reporting. February 26, 2020: Megan is arraigned in court Wednesday morning. Sullivan County Sheriff's Office hold a press conference after Megan's arrest. Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy confirmed that police in North Carolina were searching a pond in Wilkes County in connection to the case. Advertisement The judge set her bond at $5,000 in the case, but Sullivan County Sheriff's Capt Andy Seabolt said Angela will remain incarcerated because a bondsman revoked her bond in another, unrelated case. Megan joined her mother at the jail Tuesday night, and her bond was set at $25,000, the sheriff's office said. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said McCloud and Angela are 'believed to have information' regarding the girl's whereabouts. The agency also said that while the Amber Alert said Evelyn was last seen on December 26, they can't be sure of the date because of the mother and grandmother's conflicting accounts. The Amber Alert was issued after the sheriff's office received a Tennessee Department of Children's Services referral saying family members hadn't seen the baby in about two months. David Jones, the baby's great-grandfather, said he hadn't seen the baby since about a week before Thanksgiving. A candlelight vigil was held by a local mother's group for Evelyn on Saturday night in Cumberland Square Park in Bristol, Virginia Attendees are seen at the candlelight vigil that was held by a local mother's group for Evelyn on Saturday in Cumberland Square Park in Bristol, Virginia Evelyn's father, 20-year-old Ethan Perry, is on active duty in the military and stationed in Louisiana. Megan said he is currently seeking leave to return home. Perry posted a brief Facebook update addressing his daughter's disappearance last week saying: 'I'm currently working with authorities trying to find Evelyn. I can't say much more than that at the moment.' Authorities said they have received more than 570 tips from the public, but 'there have been no credible sightings'. Police said Wednesday that they have followed up on each tip. People and businesses in the community are offering reward money for Evelyn's safe return. As of Wednesday afternoon, the total reached more than $59,000. Authorities are urging anyone with information that could lead to Evelyn's whereabouts to call 1-800-TBI-FIND. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 21:04:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- What started as a small event in Chingola district in Zambia's Copperbelt Province where unknown people started spraying unknown chemical in people's homes has now spread to all parts of the country. The issue of spraying of people's homes and public institutions with chemicals has instilled fear and security uncertainty, forcing the government to deploy soldiers to start conducting patrols at night. However, mystery still surrounds who the people behind what has come to be known as gassing are or what their motives are although unconfirmed reports indicate that it is for ritual purposes. The chemicals make people to faint and have difficulties in breathing while the "gasers" do not steal anything from their victims. What has annoyed both members of the public and authorities is the emergency of instant justice mobs who are killing people suspected of being behind the gassing. According to police figures, so far 43 people have been killed, some burnt by the instant justice mobs while 23 were injured after being suspected of spraying chemicals. The police have further said a number people have so far been arrested in connection with the spraying of chemicals. Police figures have also revealed that 511 reports of spraying of chemicals on households have so far been recorded with 1,687 victims while 11 police stations have been damaged countrywide due to public disorder, the police said in an update. Repeated pleas from government officials and other stakeholders for the instant mob justice to end have not yielded any positive results as the country is still experiencing the brutal killing of people suspected of spraying chemicals. On the other hand, politicians from both the ruling party and opposition have started accusing each other of sponsoring the spraying of chemicals. The ruling party is accusing the opposition of trying to use the incidents to force regime change, a claim the opposition have dismissed. Sunday Chanda, Director of Media for the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) said acts of mob injustice and gassing that the country has witnessed were being orchestrated by enemies of the state whose agenda is to instill fear and trigger anger in a democratically elected government. Speaking at a weekly forum organized by the ruling party, he said enemies have been pushing for regime change for sometime and are using different tactics. The police, on the other hand, have appealed to members of the public to stop taking the law into their own hands by killing suspects. "We continue appealing to members of the public to desist from taking the law into their own hands but should rather apprehend the suspects and hand them over to police," police spokesperson Ether Mwaata-Katongo said. However, the Inspector-General of the Zambia Police Kakoma Kanganja said the security situation in some parts of the country where there was public disorder has improved as the number of reports involving members of the public taking the law into their own hands have reduced. The police chief revealed that an investigation team comprising various stakeholders has been constituted to conduct investigations into the gassing incidences and that a conclusive outcome of the investigations will be availed to the public. Two nurses working at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic -- the central Chinese city of Wuhan -- have made a global appeal for assistance on the website of the medical journal, The Lancet. Zeng Yingchun and Zhen Yan, who hail from the southern province of Guangdong, were among a wave of medical personnel dispatched to the front line of the epidemic at the beginning of the year. They arrived in the city on Jan. 24 to bolster the ranks of existing medical staff, who were stretched beyond endurance faced with overwhelming numbers of patients and rapidly dwindling supplies. "The conditions and environment here in Wuhan are more difficult and extreme than we could ever have imagined," the nurses write, citing a severe shortage of protective equipment like N95 respirators, face shields, goggles, gowns, and gloves. They said the nurses are suffering physical symptoms such as rashes and blisters from the layers of protective clothing they are expected to wear, and often go for hours without eating or drinking because it is so tiring and time-consuming to take the garments off, sterilize equipment and then don it all over again. "Wearing four layers of gloves is abnormally clumsy and does not workwe can't even open the packaging bags for medical devices, so giving patients injections is a huge challenge," the letter says. "In order to save energy and the time it takes to put on and take off protective clothing, we avoid eating and drinking for 2 hours before entering the isolation ward," it says. "Some nurses have fainted due to hypoglycemia and hypoxia." "In addition to the physical exhaustion, we are also suffering psychologically," they wrote. "While we are professional nurses, we are also human. Like everyone else, we feel helplessness, anxiety, and fear." 'We need much more help' The letter said that frontline medical staff are at the highest risk of infection with the COVID-19 virus, citing nine deaths and 1,716 infections among colleagues. "Due to an extreme shortage of health-care professionals in Wuhan, 14,000 nurses from across China have voluntarily come to Wuhan to support local medical health-care professionals," Zeng and Zhen write. "But we need much more help. We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle." The nursing staff in Wuhan are largely focused on providing oxygen, ECG monitoring, tube care and airway management, ventilator debugging, haemodialysis, central venous intubation and disposal and disinfection tasks, the letter said. The letter came as the number of total deaths from COVID-19 reached 2,770 on , with 2,615 in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital. Total confirmed cases reached 81,245 globally, with 78,064 in mainland China and 1,261 in South Korea, according to an online tracking website compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The new figures came as police minister Zhao Kezhi said the government's top priority is "maintaining political stability" amid the epidemic. He called on departments at all levels of government to "resolutely crack down on hostile forces at home and overseas." Police must "resolutely obey the orders of President Xi Jinping" at all times to create a "secure and stable political and social environment for epidemic control and prevention," Zhao told a news conference. Tension over cost of care Zhang Chunyu, an employee of a state-own enterprise in Wuhan, said Zhao's warning comes amid growing tension between medical staff and patients over access to -- and funding for -- medical care. "If you have coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, you are referred to as a suspected patients prior to diagnosis, and suspected patients have to meet all of their medical bills out of their own pockets," Zhang said. "This can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars." "Treatment is only free in the case of confirmed diagnosis: if you are a suspected patient, it's about how much treatment you can afford," he said. Reports emerged this week that 71-year-old Tan Minhua -- an employee of the Dongfeng Automobile Factory in Hubei, had died at home, likely of coronavirus, while his six-year-old grandson was left alone with his body in the same apartment, trying to stave off hunger by eating cookies for an estimated three days. Tan's son is currently in the southwestern province of Guangxi, and has been unable to return to Hubei because of travel restrictions there. A Dongfeng employee surnamed Liu said the area around the factory is currently under military control, meaning that nobody is allowed to leave their home. "Nobody's allowed to go out, now that we're under military control," Liu said. "My parents haven't been outside in more than a month, at any rate." An official who answered the phone at the nearby Zhui New District Health Center, where Tan was a registered patient, declined to comment. "We don't know about this," the official said. Calls to the local ruling Chinese Communist Party propaganda office rang unanswered on. A local resident surnamed Ye said the epidemic is hitting the most vulnerable in Chinese society hardest. "The people at the bottom of the heap are in a terrible way, and the government doesn't care at all," he said. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Siu-san and Sing Man for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Shares of drug firm Cipla tumbled nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday after the US health regulator issued a warning letter for its Goa manufacturing facility. The shares plunged as much as 5.72 per cent to a low of Rs 401 per unit on the BSE. Later, it was trading 1.49 per lower at Rs 419 per unit. The shares of the company have been falling for the last three sessions. It has declined nearly 9 per cent since Thursday taking into account the today's low. On the NSE, it slumped 4.69 per cent to trade at Rs 405.80. It was quoting at Rs 419.50 apiece, down 1.48 per cent at 1120 hours. In terms of volume, the NSE saw an exchange of more than 40 lakh shares and the BSE witnessed a trade of 80,000 units till the mid-session. The company, earlier in the day, said it had received a warning letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the Goa manufacturing facility. For the Goa manufacturing facility inspection, conducted from 16-27 September 2019, the company has received a warning letter from USFDA, it said in a regulatory filing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 21, 2020 | 03:46 PM | PADUCAH A woman contacted officers on Thursday saying that 22-year-old Montel Wiggins had been arguing with her 18-year-old son outside of her home. According to the woman, Wiggins then got into a car, circled the block, and fired numerous shots at the home and drove off. Officers say they were able to locate six shell casings in the street outside of the home. The woman and her three children were inside of the home at the time, but no one was injured. Paducah Police say Wiggins turned himself in to detectives on Tuesday. He was arrested on warrants charging him with four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and booked into the McCracken County Jail. A man wanted in connection with shots fired at a Paducah home last Thursday has been arrested. In a discovery that may further the understanding of diabetes and human longevity, scientists at Scripps Research have found a new biological mechanism of insulin signaling. Their study, involving the roundworm C. elegans, reveals that a "decoy" receptor is at work in binding to insulin molecules and keeping them from sending signals for increased insulin production. The study appears in the journal eLife. It describes a new player in the insulin signaling system, one that may offer insights into insulin resistance, a feature of type 2 diabetes. The scientists are now assessing whether a similar decoy exists in humans. If so, it could present a new target for diabetes treatment and prevention research. This truncated, 'decoy' receptor that we've found adds yet another layer of complexity to our understanding of insulin signaling." Matthew Gill, PhD, lead author, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research in Florida In an associated commentary, Princeton University geneticist Coleen Murphy, PhD, writes that the discovery shocks, given how well-studied insulin signaling is. "It would be hard to overstate the importance of a receptor called DAF-2 to our understanding of aging and longevity," Murphy writes. "The discovery...raises new questions and will change how we think about DAF-2's role in insulin signaling regulation of aging and longevity." Insulin is a hormone of ancient and fundamental importance to animals, and insulin-like proteins are found even in simpler organisms such as bacteria, fungi and worms. In humans, it acts as a signal to key cell types, directing them to pull in glucose from the blood. This helps maintain cellular energy stores and keeps blood sugar within a safe range. Type 2 diabetes, which is estimated to affect more than 30 million people in the United States, features a failure of insulin signaling to reduce blood glucose levels. Since the 1990s researchers have recognized that insulin signaling is also an important regulator of longevity. For example, mutations in the gene that encodes the C. elegans insulin receptor DAF-2 can more than double the worm's lifespan. Gill and his colleagues focused on a variant form of the C. elegans receptor known as DAF-2B. It's a truncated version that contains the usual binding site for insulin, but doesn't respond as the normal version would by sending a cellular signal to initiate insulin production. The team confirmed that the gene for DAF-2B is active throughout the worm lifespan, and they used CRISPR gene-editing technology to tag the receptor with a fluorescent molecule and thus track its location in the worm body. From these experiments it became apparent that DAF-2B is secreted from the cells that produce it into the space surrounding the tissues of the worm, acting as a decoy to capture insulin molecules and thereby reduce insulin signaling. "Normally insulin molecules float around and interact with insulin receptors to create insulin signals, but when they bind to these decoy receptors, they generate no signal, so producing these decoys appears to be a way to modulate insulin signaling," Gill says. The scientists found that overproducing DAF-2B could tip worms into a semi-dormant state that normally occurs when food is scarce and insulin signaling is low. Overproduction of DAF-2B increased worm lifespan as well. Although the discovery of this mechanism for regulating insulin signaling is a significant basic-science advance, it also suggests a new way of thinking about diabetes and even aging. The precise causes of the insulin resistance that underlies diabetes and is also seen to some extent with normal aging have never been fully illuminated. "One possibility is that insulin resistance is caused by the abnormal overproduction of a truncated, 'decoy' insulin receptor like the one we've found," Gill says. DAF-2B is produced from the same gene as the DAF-2 receptor, and results when the RNA transcript that is copied out from the gene is sliced and re-spliced in an alternative form. This alternative splicing process is known to occur for many genes, but Gill notes that it is often dysregulated with aging or certain kinds of disease. "You can imagine that in the prime of life, splicing and expression of this truncated isoform, DAF-2B, is tightly regulated, but then with a broader change in the splicing system due to disease or aging it becomes dysregulated and leads to insulin resistance," Gill says. If so, and if humans also have a decoy insulin receptor like DAF-2B, then reversing its dysregulation in people who have insulin resistance might be a new strategy for better metabolic health. By PTI NEW DELHI: In a midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court directed police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law. The court held a special hearing, which started at 12:30 am, at the residence of Justice S Muralidhar after receiving a call from an advocate explaining the dire circumstances under which the victims were unable to be removed from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani directed the Delhi Police to ensure safe passage of the injured victims by deploying all resources at its command and on the strength of this order as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment if not at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital then at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) or Maulana Azad or any other hospital. The bench also called for a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them, and the matter will be heard during the day at 2:15 pm. It said the order be communicated to the medical superintendents of the GTB and the LNJP Hospitals. The urgent hearing was conducted after advocate Suroor Mander called the judge and sought urgent orders for safe passage of ambulances for the injured. ALSO READ | Protestors have cleared out from Jaffarabad, Maujpur: Delhi Police The Delhi Police and the government were represented through additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose. During the hearing, the bench spoke over the phone to doctor Anwar of the Al-hind Hospital in New Mustafabad who told the court that there were two bodies and 22 injured persons there and he had been trying to seek police assistance since 4 pm on Tuesday without success. The court then directed the senior officials to reach to the hospital forthwith, following which they started the process of evacuating the injured to the nearest hospitals. ALSO READ | NSA Ajit Doval holds meeting with DCP North-East to review security situation in Delhi It also said this order be brought to the knowledge of the Delhi Police Commissioner. Communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi claimed at least 17 lives till Wednesday. On Tuesday, the violence escalated in northeast Delhi as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people. Is China Resources Medical Holdings Company Limited (HKG:1515) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. With a 2.8% yield and a six-year payment history, investors probably think China Resources Medical Holdings looks like a reliable dividend stock. While the yield may not look too great, the relatively long payment history is interesting. The company also bought back stock equivalent to around 2.7% of market capitalisation this year. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying China Resources Medical Holdings for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis SEHK:1515 Historical Dividend Yield, February 25th 2020 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, China Resources Medical Holdings paid out 32% of its profit as dividends. This is a medium payout level that leaves enough capital in the business to fund opportunities that might arise, while also rewarding shareholders. Plus, there is room to increase the payout ratio over time. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. China Resources Medical Holdings paid out 61% of its cash flow as dividends last year, which is within a reasonable range for the average corporation. It's positive to see that China Resources Medical Holdings's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Story continues With a strong net cash balance, China Resources Medical Holdings investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of China Resources Medical Holdings's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. Dividend Volatility One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. China Resources Medical Holdings has been paying a dividend for the past six years. It's good to see that China Resources Medical Holdings has been paying a dividend for a number of years. However, the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, and we're concerned that what has been cut once, could be cut again. During the past six-year period, the first annual payment was CN0.053 in 2014, compared to CN0.11 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 12% per year over this time. The dividends haven't grown at precisely 12% every year, but this is a useful way to average out the historical rate of growth. China Resources Medical Holdings has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner. Dividend Growth Potential Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. It's good to see China Resources Medical Holdings has been growing its earnings per share at 16% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing at a good rate, and the company is paying less than half its earnings as dividends. We generally think this is an attractive combination, as it permits further reinvestment in the business. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that China Resources Medical Holdings's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, we like that China Resources Medical Holdings pays out a low fraction of earnings. It pays out a higher percentage of its cashflow, although this is within acceptable bounds. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, but it was concerning to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Overall we think China Resources Medical Holdings is an interesting dividend stock, although it could be better. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 4 analysts we track are forecasting for China Resources Medical Holdings for free with public analyst estimates for the company. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. People being responsible citizens is the most important part of the States strategy in containing the coronavirus, the Department of Health has stressed. Ireland remains in a containment phase. We have not yet identified a single confirmed case, said the departments chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan. He referred to the willingness of people to report if they had symptoms of coronavirus after travelling to an at-risk area. If individuals feel that they are not in a position to report symptoms, that reduces the chance that we can detect those cases and put in place the containment measures around them. The public being with us and understanding and acting on the basis of our advice is probably the most important part of our strategy in the containment phase. Anything that might impact on peoples willingness to report is something that we wouldnt regard as helpful in terms of our management of this. Dr Holohan, who was speaking at a media briefing, said people would not have to wait for a test result in a hospital if they were well enough to go home. There are self-isolation guidelines that we will be making available to people, and all the practical measures they can take to limit their contact and the likelihood of passing on an infection, he said. This is really in the eventuality that the test proved positive. In the 90 cases tested in this country, none have proved positive. Dr Holohan confirmed that a statutory instrument under the Infectious Diseases Regulations, signed last week, could be used if an individual refused to self-isolate. He thought it would be extremely unlikely that anyone would refuse to comply with the advice and guidance given by a public health professional, however. He was also concerned that emphasising this power to detain people would make people reluctant to report symptoms. We are really dependent on people understanding what we do and acting in the way that we would want them to do. Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr Cillian De Gascun, said they were in a position to scale up if necessary. Learn about hand hygiene and preventing the spread of Covid-19 (#Coronavirus) pic.twitter.com/egojfAmBTh HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 26, 2020 HSE director of acute operations, Liam Woods, said the national isolation unit in the Mater Hospital that had a 12-bed capacity would be most likely a place to be used for coronavirus cases. Mr Woods said the cases would have an impact on intensive care units and it was an issue being considered by the crisis management team. Health Minister Simon Harris said containment was not about being able to prevent all cases, it was about trying to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. I can assure the Irish people that everything that can be done from a public health point of view is being done, that we have our best minds working on this and they are working extremely hard, he said. If a situation was reached where there were several cases, the HSE has planned to have an isolation facility in every hospital, but that would be kept under review as the situation evolved, he added. He had told the HSE that whatever resources were required to deal with an outbreak of coronavirus would be provided. Jenkintown, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- Rosen Moss Snyder LLP is a well-respected law practice providing top legal advice and representation to short-term and long-term disability claimants in the Philadelphia area. The benefits for short-term disability, also known as temporary disability, differ from those of long-term disability in that they replace a specific amount of income while the recipient is temporarily unable to work. Conditions including pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, surgery, and physical injury could qualify an applicant for Social Security Disability Benefits if there is already proof of an inability to work. So what qualifies for short term disability? If employees are looking to be eligible for short-term disability through the Social Security Administration (SSA), they must meet the requirements for temporary coverage under their employers' insurance policies. The disabilities must not have been caused by injuries sustained at work, as the injuries would fall under workers' compensation and be the responsibility of the employer. The applicants must meet the minimum state work and earnings requirements, and prove their disabilities through credible medical documentation (exam results, medical records, etc.). The final requirement for successful short-term disability claims is that the injuries or conditions make it impossible for workers to work during recovery. As both short-term and long-term disability lawyers in Philadelphia, the professionals at Rosen Moss Snyder LLP are prepared to help their clients get the coverage they deserve for their medical disability. For those wondering whether or not a disability lawyer will take their case, the answer varies depending on the claim, the client, and the amount of medical and occupational evidence that exists. The Philadelphia ERISA disability lawyers at Rosen Moss Snyder LLP give every case that comes across their desks their fullest attention. As long as there is a viable claim, there will be a lawyer ready to fight in its corner. For more information regarding short-term disability requirements and benefits, or to speak with an attorney about a potential claim, visit https://rms.law/ and set up a free consultation today. About Rosen Moss Snyder LLP Rosen Moss Snyder LLP is a regional law firm with offices in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. For over twenty years, Rosen Moss Snyder LLP have proudly represented individuals for group short-term disability insurance, group long-term disability insurance, individual disability insurance, life insurance, and SSDI claims. They represent clients at all stages of the disability claims process. To learn more, please visit http://rms.law. Sinn Fein has met with the Rural Independents Group and Social Democrats to further discussions on forming a government. Negotiations centre around "burning issues" such as building houses, the current trolley crisis in Irish hospitals, and pension age. The Social Democrats meeting, briefer than the one held with independents, is expected to centre around health due to Roisin Shorthall's prominent involvement with Slaintecare, with another meeting scheduled for later in the week. Pearse Doherty said the idea of a minority government is one the party is "teasing out". "We're moving into the stage where we're talking real policy now, so we've put forward to each of the parties engaging with us, six key areas of policy that we want to now drill down into, because this is the point where we need to be looking to see what common ground we have on these key issues, and that is where we're at. "A minority government is one possibility, but there are other possibilities and we've said we're open to discussions with other parties. Whether they continue to hold the position that they won't discuss with us, that may hold and that may not. We need to try and explore any and every option to bring forward a government for change -so that's where it's at. We need to inject urgency into that. The Dail is expected to reconvene on March 5, with no second vote for Taoiseach scheduled after a decision by The Business Committee of the House, a matter Mr Doherty called "disappointing". "Not that I expect there would be an outcome then to that process, but failure to have that (vote) withdraws momentum and we can't sit back. There's real issues needing to be dealt with," he added. "My view is that the Dail should be meeting. It's important that the Dail plays a role in injecting momentum into the talks, to be a staging post for progress or lack of progress." The party had a seven and a half hour meeting with the Green Party on Tuesday, which it says was "productive", and plans to meet with Eamon Ryan's negotiating team again next week. Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have not spoken since last week after Micheal Martin and Mary Lou McDonald spoke on the phone, when the Fianna Fail leader ruled out forming a government with Sinn Fein. However Pearse Doherty did not rule out approaching Fianna Fail again. Despite its historic electoral success earlier this month, the party says it doesn't want another election, which many predict would see Sinn Fein run more candidates in each constituency, and continue to grow its Dail showing. "We don't want to see a second election, that would be a major failure of politics and it won't be of our doing," Mr Doherty said. As I said, we're willing to talk to all parties, we have a mandate as do other parties, we respect that mandate. A government can be formed if there is a willingness there, if there is a bit of grown-up politics. "There will come a point when we're finished these intense discussions whether we can see if that is possible or not." When pressed on whether he had a date for such a decision, Mr Doherty replied: "No." By Laman Ismayilova Sometimes even a small act of kindness can change someone's life forever. Any act of kindness - no matter how big or small - can make a difference, especially when done intentionally. For Farid Kazakov, nothing can be compared to smiles on kids' faces. Famous dancer has delighted young viewers with unique charity project, aimed at creative education of orphans and children with disabilities. "Many children have never been to the theater and did not see dance art. I decided to give them a chance and show them the whole dance world, creating my new charity project "For Kids of Azerbaijan". The project features art program which includes open master class, where I show the daily exercise of a ballet dancer," he told Azernews. During creative meetings, Farid Kazakov also performed multi-genre concert program, consisting of classic, modern, gymnastic performances. A series of events were followed by the press conference. All participants perceived autographs with heart touching wishes. Famous dancer has already presented charity project in several organizations such as Ders Evi Education Center and Yaradan Creative Union. On weekends, Yaradan Creative Union holds psychological trainings, creative meetings and other events in Crystal Hall. Each meeting left unforgettable feelings in the heart of the ancer, who had never spared time and effort on his young spectators. In 2019, Farid successfully presented his charity project "Create Yourself " at YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku Youth Center, Russian Information and Cultural Center as well as in Moscow. "I decided to take everything into my own hands. I attracted my students to this project and started bringing my plan to life. Sometimes it is not easy, but I have always been driven by an incredible desire to share dance art with kids!," he admits. For the dancer these are the most loyal spectators. In May, all kids will be among honorable guests of his new one-man show. Moreover, the dancer is now working on Gymnastics and Dance Festival to be held in Moscow this March. "As long as God gives me strength and health, I will always delight them with my art, by inviting them to my projects! Their openness and love is a true manifestation of real, human feelings and emotions!," he concluded. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz CAIRO When the crowds massed against him at the start of the Arab Spring in January 2011, Hosni Mubarak vowed never to flee his country for an exile in disgrace. Egypt and I shall not be parted until I am buried in her soil, he declared. That came to pass on Wednesday when Mr. Mubarak, 91, Egypts ruler of three decades, was buried with full military honors at a funeral in Cairo attended by family, former allies and the countrys latest military-backed strongman, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Mubarak passes into Gods custody, read the headline on the front page of the state-run Al Ahram newspaper. At a short, tightly choreographed ceremony outside a military-run mosque, Mr. el-Sisi led a procession of mourners behind the coffin of Mr. Mubarak, who died in a hospital on Tuesday from kidney and heart complications. It shines a light on what we do as a quartet and who we are. It includes three Haydn quartets. We did our own arrangements of some folk tunes that reflect the similarities with the Haydn quartets that theyre paired with. We find it to be a lot of fun. Its quite a lively disc, Perks said. New Delhi: The cabinet on Wednesday (February 26, 2020) gave approval for adaptation of Central Acts in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under Section 96. The government also gave approval to Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 informed Union Ministers Prakash Javedkar and Smriti Irani in a press briefing in Delhi. Minister Prakash Javadekar said, ''Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the issuance of an order for adaptation of Central Acts in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir under Section 96 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 by the Central Government.'' #Cabinet approves Issuance of an order for adaptation of Central Acts in the UT of #JammuandKashmir under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 by the Central Government: Union Minister @PrakashJavdekar #CabinetDecisions pic.twitter.com/wgGko5iVrG PIB India (@PIB_India) February 26, 2020 In order to boost the country's position as a global leader in technical textiles, the Central government has approved the plan of setting up a National Technical Textiles Mission with a total outlay of Rs 1480 Crore, said Javadekar. Minister of women and Child development Smriti Irani briefed media on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 and said, ''Cabinet approved "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020". The proposed legislation ensures effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow altruistic surrogacy.'' #Cabinet approves "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020". The proposed legislation ensures effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow altruistic surrogacy: Union Minister @smritiirani @MinistryWCD #CabinetDecisions pic.twitter.com/GO5YQWC1er PIB India (@PIB_India) February 26, 2020 Speaking on the governments stand on the ongoing Delhi violence, Javadekar said, ''Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval are monitoring the situation.'' The Cabinet also approved three MoUs for cooperation between India and Myanmar on combating timber trafficking, conservation of tigers and other wildlife and in the fields of petroleum products and communications. The amendment of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965 also got approval by the cabinet on Wednesday which will confer occupancy rights to the Scheduled Tribe population in the Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep. DUBLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ireland said its citizens should not travel to parts of Italy affected by an outbreak of the new coronavirus. Italy's government has moved to close off the worst-hit areas in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, and the death toll in the country from the disease rose to five on Monday. "There has been an increase in the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Italy... Citizens are advised not to travel to affected areas," the foreign ministry said on its website on travel advice updated on Monday. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; writing by Alistair Smout, editing by Guy Faulconbridge) LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Happy Day Brands this week announced it will provide one million servings of its oatmeal to regional food banks across California. This commitment is part of the company's "Good For You, Good For All" campaign to alleviate food insecurity nationwide. A public benefit corporation, Happy Day Brands produces a line of non-GMO and organic food and beverage products and uses a buy-one, give-one business model to help support regional food banks. "We believe that access to food is a human right," said Mark Priddy, CEO and Co-Founder of Happy Day Brands. "That's why we're working with regional food banks across California to identify and serve communities disproportionately experiencing food insecurity." To increase their impact in the state, Happy Day Brands will team up with the following Sysco locations: Los Angeles San Francisco Sacramento Riverside Central California Ventura Sysco sells, markets, and distributes food and food-related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, and lodging establishments, among others. This set of "do-good" partnerships will not only allow for the distribution of Happy Day Brands products, but will also be integral to facilitating the statewide donation. "We are proud to welcome Happy Day Brands into the Sysco California ecosystem, especially as we see the monumental lift we can bring together to our communities," said Sysco Los Angeles President, Brett Berglund. "Their line of innovative products and mission to use business as a force for good is inspiring and aligns with our overall corporate goal to donate 200 million meals across the U.S. to fight hunger. It really is a perfect partnership." Happy Day Brands will now be available to Sysco customers throughout California and will also have a number of products on California retail shelves including WinCo Foods. For each product purchased, Happy Day Brands will provide a serving of oatmeal to help feed vulnerable Californians. "The collaborative approach taken by Happy Days Brands and Sysco to help end hunger is vital to our community," said Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. "We truly appreciate their efforts to give hope to those in need." Happy Day Brands will also work with regional food banks in: Sysco will provide both a distribution channel for their specialty products and volunteer support for Happy Day Brands' California efforts. "Sysco has gone above and beyond, committing to host the first volunteer 'packing party' with over 150 volunteers in support of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank," said Priddy. Happy Day Brands and Sysco volunteers will team up on February 28th, from 1 3 p.m. at Sysco Los Angeles to host the first volunteer "packing party." For more information, visit HappyDayBrands.com. # # # Happy Day Brands is a social impact business based in Boise, Idaho, co-founded in 2017 by serial entrepreneurs Mark and Jeanette Priddy. It is an Idaho Benefit Corporation that operates on a buy-one, give-one (BOGO) business modeleach purchase activates a donation to someone in need. Products include superfood oatmeal, superfood granola, protein pancakes, gourmet chocolate, and organic coffee and are available in select retailers including WinCo Foods, Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, and Albertsons, among others. SOURCE Happy Day Brands Related Links happydaybrands.com Cases have emerged in several countries involving travellers from Italy, but borders remain open. Several European countries have announced their first coronavirus cases, with all appearing to be linked to the growing outbreak in Italy. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland said the cases involved people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in Africa. The first positive virus test has been recorded in Latin America - a Brazilian resident just returned from Italy. Italy has in recent days become Europe's worst-affected country, with more than 300 cases and 11 deaths. But its neighbours have decided closing borders would be "disproportionate". Health ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the EU Commission committed to keeping frontiers open at a meeting on Tuesday as new cases of the virus emerged throughout Europe and in central and southern Italy. "We're talking about a virus that doesn't respect borders," said Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza. His German counterpart Jens Spahn said the neighbours were taking the situation "very, very seriously" but acknowledged "it could get worse before it gets better". In the UK, schoolchildren returning from holidays in northern Italy have been sent home, with the government issuing new guidance to travellers. But Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there were no plans to stop flights from Italy, which attracts about three million British visitors each year. "If you look at Italy, they stopped all flights from China and they're now the worst-affected country in Europe," he said. What's the latest around Europe? In Austria , a young Italian couple who live in Innsbruck in the Tyrol were confirmed to have the virus. One of the pair worked at a hotel, which has been closed Switzerland said a man in his seventies living in Ticino, bordering Italy, had been infected in the city of Milan on 15 February and was now in isolation A man in Croatia who recently returned from Italy became the first confirmed patient in the Balkans In Spain's Tenerife, up to 1,000 guests were locked down in a hotel after an Italian doctor and his wife tested positive for the virus Spain reported its first case on the mainland, involving a woman in Barcelona who had been to northern Italy France and Germany also reported new cases involving people who had recently been to northern Italy What's the global picture? Italy is one of three global hot-spots outside China. In Iran, fewer than 100 people have officially been infected but it's assumed the numbers are far higher. The infection of the country's deputy health minister has deepened fears that the virus has already spread widely. More than 1,000 people have been infected in South Korea, where 10 people have died. The country has the most infections outside China. Many of the cases are linked to a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Daegu. All the church's more than 215,000 members are now being tested by health authorities, according to reports. Iran's deputy health minister appeared unwell at a news conference before testing positive for the coronavirus In Brazil, local media reported on Tuesday that an initial test on a 61-year-old man who had recently been to northern Italy had come out positive. They said the man from Sao Paulo would be tested again for final confirmation. The individual, whose name was not given, arrived back in Brazil at the height of the carnival festivities, when millions of people travel around the country. Officials fear the timing of his return makes it more likely the coronavirus could have spread. Most of the cases of the new coronavirus remain in China, where the virus originated last year. According to the latest figures published on Wednesday, 78,064 people have been infected since the outbreak began. Health officials also reported 52 more deaths on Tuesday, the lowest daily total in more than three weeks. The overall death toll in mainland China is now 2,715. Numbers of new infections there have been declining in China, and attention has now turned to clusters of cases abroad and transmission between countries. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the sudden increase in cases in countries outside China is "deeply concerning". On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the virus could bring "severe" disruption to the US, with one official saying it was not a question of if but when the virus would become a global pandemic. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged all nations to "tell the truth about the coronavirus", saying that Washington was concerned that Iran may have concealed "vital details" about its outbreak. Of the current hot-spots outside China, Iran is the most concerning because of the lack of an accurate picture of how widespread the outbreak really is, said Dr Nathalie MacDermott, an expert in infectious diseases at King's College London. Most of the reported cases have been people who are elderly and dying, she said. "It seems like we're hearing about the tip of the iceberg and missing that chunk underneath who may be younger and may not be particularly unwell." There are fears that the many Muslim Shia pilgrims and migrant workers who will have travelled between Iran and other parts of the region in recent weeks could have already spread the virus. Iran is believed to have been the source of the first cases reported by neighbouring Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, which have now imposed restrictions on travel to and from the Islamic Republic. BBC Coronavirus: Rapid spread raises fears of global pandemic More infections are reported around the world as governments struggle to contain outbreaks. Description GIS - 26 February, 2020: The government will be intransigent on any form of abuse that could be inflicted on our seniors and to that end, the Protection of Elderly Persons Act has been amended to better protect elderly persons. The government will be intransigent on any form of abuse that could be inflicted on our seniors and to that end, the Protection of Elderly Persons Act has been amended to better protect elderly persons. This was the gist of the message of the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, yesterday, at the opening of a conference on "Pain Management for the Elderly" organised by the International Federation of Associations of the Elderly at the Institut de Francais de Maurice. Speaking about the welfare of the elderly, the Minister stressed that the Mauritian society must be able to adapt to the needs of old people while adding that the government has put in place several measures related to the autonomy of seniors. These include: access to financial resources and medical care, availability of daily living aids, access to leisure activities, the right to protection and security, and strengthening the family unit to prevent isolation of the elderly. Mrs Daureeawoo also referred to the consolidation of the welfare state to ensure that the elderly age in a dignified manner. Government, she stated, has increased the basic retirement pension to Rs 9,000 in 2019 and expanded and improved medical services. She further recalled that additional support for the elderly who are bedridden is also provided. They receive a carer's allowance, so that they can have individual attention in the comfort of their own homes, she said. Other measures include: home visits by doctors which have been extended to 6,700 bedridden persons aged 60 and above; daily living aids whose eligibility threshold has been revised to Rs 30,000 per month in 2016; and the establishment of recreational centres in Pointe Aux Sables, Belle Mare and Pointe aux Piments, among others. The Minister also stressed that the well-being of seniors requires a collective effort. Government, she added, is committed to doing its part, not only by ensuring the continued strengthening of the welfare state, but also by creating the climate for a thriving economy, which is essential to finance that welfare state. She emphasised the importance of working with all existing partners, NGOs, associations, medical professionals, civil society while acknowledging the effort of each individual who lives with the seniors. By Trend During the Karabakh war, Armenian military committed an act of genocide against the population of Azerbaijans Khojaly town consisting of 7,000 people on Feb. 26, 1992. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. All these acts were committed by Armenian military with extreme mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism. The second battalion of 366th regiment under the command of Major Seyran Ohanian, the third battalion under the command of Yevgeniy Nabokhin, staff chief of the first battalion Valeriy Chitchyan and more than 50 officers and ensigns took part in the attack, according to "The Investigation Materials Concerning Khojaly Occupation". The town residents who attempted to flee, were killed by Armenians in pre-organized ambushes. According to the Russian Remedial Center Memorial, 200 corpses were brought from Khojaly to Aghdam within four days of the massacre. Facts of humiliation on dozens of bodies were registered. Forensic examination in Aghdam was performed on 181 corpses, including 13 children. The examination revealed that 151 people died from bullet wounds, 20 people died from shrapnel wounds, 10 were killed with blunt instruments. Facts of scalping people alive were also revealed. The Khojaly genocide has become one of the most terrible and tragic pages of Azerbaijani history. Azerbaijani people have faced ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenian nationalists and chauvinists for 200 years. Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical lands and became refugees and internally displaced persons, and all this was accompanied by massacres committed by Armenians. The Nagorno-Karabakh events, which began in 1988 along with continuous efforts to implement the Armenian desire of building an Armenia from sea to sea, led to destruction of towns and villages, murder of thousands of innocent people, as well as the exile of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands. Armenia's government is trying to annex Nagorno-Karabakh despite international legal norms, demonstrating its readiness to resort to any kind of crime and atrocity. The Khojaly genocide a tragedy of the 20th century was a result of this aggressive and criminal policy. This tragedy of the late 20th century was one of the most serious crimes not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but humanity as a whole. Armenians scalped people alive, beheaded them and cut other parts of their bodies, gouged childrens eyes and disemboweled pregnant women. It should also be noted that chemical weapons were used in Khojaly during the attack. All these prove that Armenia committed genocide against civilians, violating Geneva Convention's protocols. The Khojaly genocide, committed with a particular atrocity, terrified journalists and publicists from Russia, Georgia, the UK, France, Germany, the US and other countries. International conventions and laws in all countries condemn genocides like the Khojaly tragedy, and call them inadmissible. The world must know that this crime was directed not only against the Azerbaijani people, but also against the whole civilized world. This crime shouldnt go unpunished. Armenia's military-political aggression must be condemned by the world community. International organizations and parliaments of world countries must give political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenia in Azerbaijans territories. The parliaments of several countries have made decisions recognizing the Khojaly genocide. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Children may not be safe at a large-scale protest to be addressed by climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg tomorrow, the authorities have warned. In a joint statement Bristol City Council and Avon and Somerset Police cautioned the public: 'Do not underestimate the scale of this protest.' It said officials are expecting the event to be 'significantly larger' than any other protests in the past year. Because of this, measures usually put into place to ensure safety 'may not be adequate, especially for primary school children', the statement added. Children may not be safe at a large-scale protest to be addressed by climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg tomorrow, the authorities have warned As a result, parents have been urged to 'consider their arrangements carefully' and 'make their own informed decisions'. Miss Thunberg is expected to give a speech on College Green in the centre of Bristol at 11am before joining a Youth Strike 4 Climate protest march around the city. The teenage climate activist is among those tipped for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize - along with pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong and the NATO military alliance - following nominations by politicians. Also on the list, according to the eight members of the United States Congress who nominated her, is imprisoned Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul. Thunberg, 17, famous for launching her School Strike for the Climate campaign that has spread around much of the world, is the bookmakers' favourite to win, according to betting firm Paddypower. Miss Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai were pictured together this week at the University of Oxford, where Malala, as she is best known, is a student Although nominated last year, the 2019 prize went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his peacemaking efforts which ended two decades of hostility with longtime enemy Eritrea. The Swede would be the second youngest person to win a Nobel, beaten only by Malala Yousafzai, who was a few months younger at the time of her 2014 award for promoting children's right to education. The two activists were pictured together this week at the University of Oxford, where Malala, as she is best known, is a student. One of the negative stereotypes of evangelical colleges is that they keep students in a religious bubble. But new survey data shows that these schools are particularly effective at teaching students about other faiths, and that this exposure to outside traditions is actually correlated with a deeper commitment to their own beliefs. The Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS)a panel study that surveys the same students before, during, and at the end of their college careermeasures basic knowledge about world religions. The sample included over 1,300 students from 15 evangelical universities, the majority of which were members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Compared to students who planned to attend Catholic or private secular universities, evangelical students had a lower baseline level of knowledge. The average student attending an evangelical university could answer just 4.9 questions correctly. However, this score was higher than those attending public universities (4.8) and those who attended Protestant schools not classified as evangelical (4.6 questions correct). All institutions of higher education impart some knowledge of world religions, but there are clear differences between the types of schools. For instance, the average student attending a Catholic college answered 0.64 more questions correctly after four years at college, which is close to the average for the entire sample (0.67). Those attending evangelical schoolsmany of which require some sort of religious formation classes in their curriculasaw a larger improvement, answering 0.83 more questions correctly on average by the end of their college career. That gain in religious knowledge is tied for the largest increase among any type of college or university and resulted in the highest average score at the end of the survey period. Evangelical schools are emphasizing world religions, and students are seeing measurable gains in knowledge. Students at evangelical schools are not just learning Protestant church history and theology. They showed the greatest gains in knowledge of faiths outside of their own. While 57.3 percent of respondents from evangelical schools knew that Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church when they began college, that jumped to 73.4 percent four years later. The share of evangelical students who understood the concept of nirvana increased 14.1 percentage points; the number who knew about the Catholic social activist Dorothy Day increased more than 12 points, as did their knowledge of Muslims fasting during Ramadan. (Students at Catholic schools are still more than twice as likely to know Day than those at other collegesone of the biggest gaps in the survey.) Questions surrounding Judaism and Christianity saw increases as well, but they were much more modest, often in the single digits. Some administrators and parents of evangelical college students may be concerned that teaching so much about religions outside the evangelical faith tradition may lead some of their students to drift away. This data should allay those fears. When the sample was divided up to compare those with high religious knowledge (answering at least seven of the eight questions correctly) to those with low religious knowledge, it was the former group that remained more devout. Among those attending evangelical colleges who had a high level of religious knowledge, 82.1 percent still identified as evangelicals as seniors. Among students at evangelical schools who answered six or fewer questions correctly, just 60.5 percent said that they were evangelical. Just a few weeks ago, a research study from Cardus, a Christian think tank, found that Christian college students were more likely to care about helping other people than about making money than those who attended public universities. The indication is that Christian schools should focus on what makes them distinct: their mission and purpose. The data from IDEALS seems to provide even more support for the argument that Christian colleges should emphasize what they do best: providing broad knowledge to their students about the world that exists outside the campus community. They are able to expand the religious worldviews of their students while also grounding them in the evangelical faith tradition. As the world becomes increasingly diverse and interconnected, this could be a major selling feature of evangelical higher education. Ryan P. Burge is an instructor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. His research appears on the site Religion in Public, and he tweets at @ryanburge. The Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS) is a national study that is led by Alyssa Rockenbach (North Carolina State University) and Matthew Mayhew (The Ohio State University) in partnership with Interfaith Youth Core, with funding by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, and the Julian Grace Foundation. Burge partnered with IDEALS to share his independent analysis of the data its researchers provided. PHOENIX A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling likely slams the door on the ability of the family of a teen killed by a Border Patrol agent in Nogales to sue him and, by extension, the federal government. In a 5-4 decision Tuesday, the justices threw out claims filed by the family of 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez against Jesus Mesa Jr., a Border Patrol agent who, while standing on the United States side of the border in El Paso, shot and killed Hernandez on the other side of a culvert in Mexico. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said courts in this country cannot adjudicate what effectively is an international dispute. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her dissent, said there is no reason U.S. courts cannot rule on the conduct of U.S. Border Patrol agents who deploy their weapons while standing on the U.S. side of the border. She said where the shots land is irrelevant. Ginsburg said the effect of Tuesdays ruling will be to leave those who are killed by Border Patrol agents in cross-border shootings without a legal remedy, effectively giving agents immunity. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The application of aluminium panels market in various kinds of structures around the world is spurring the expansion of the market in a major way. Market reports linked to the construction industry have been offered by Market Research Future which makes reports on other industry verticals that aims to study the current market scenarios better. The market is projected to grow with a 6% CAGR in the duration of the forecast period. The growing construction levels globally are contributing to a rise in aluminum composite panels which is expected to benefit the market in the coming years. The increasing number of corporate houses and commercial buildings is anticipated to motivate the aluminum composite panels market. Moreover, the rising construction activities are expected to create positive opportunities for the development of the aluminum composite panel market. Segmental Analysis The segmentation of the aluminum composite panel market is carried out on the basis of type, coating base, application, and region. On the basis of type, the aluminum composite panel market is segmented into anti-bacterial, fire resistant and anti-static. On the basis of coating base, the aluminum composite panel market is segmented into polyethylene (PE) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF). Based on application, the aluminum composite panel market is segmented into advertising boards, building & construction, and transportation. The regions considered in the aluminum composite panel market are Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world. Request for Free Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2631 Detailed Regional Analysis The region-based analysis of the aluminum composite panel market comprises of regions such as Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the rest of world. The Asia Pacific is the principal region in the market and is anticipated to develop with a positive CAGR through the forecast period. It is owing to nations such as Japan, China, Australia, and India, where the investment in the building & construction industry is elevated owing to rapid industrialization. Additionally, enhancing financial conditions in the region is also backing the expansion of the market. The North American region is anticipated to witness reasonable growth through the forecast period, owing to the growing usage of aluminum composite panels for cladding and decorative applications to promote better insulation. Competitive Analysis The chances for growth in the market are demonstrating ample area for progress in the forecast period. The competitive viewpoint for the market is expected to expand considerably in the approaching period. The advances in the market are expected to be encouraged by the escalation in investments and product developments. The market contestants find themselves in a favorable place with the ability to deal with the speed of change. The competitors are avidly tackling the challenges to development and are making strategies that can lead to an advantageous overall effect on the market's growth. The market pros are making efforts to establish strong value chains that can bring in amplified profits. The perceived tendency for the markets advance has enhanced following the improved approachability to encouraging aspects of the market. Alcoa Inc. (U.S.), Alumax Industrial Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Shanghai Huayuan New Composite Materials Co., Ltd. (China), American Building Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Jyi Shyang Industrial Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Changshu Kaidi Decoration Material Co., Ltd. (China), Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. (Japan), Yaret Industrial Group (China), Guangzhou Xinghe ACP Co., Ltd. (China), and Msenco Metal Co., Ltd. (China) are a few of the significant companies functioning in the aluminum composite panel market. Industry Updates: Dec 2018 Oman has launched its first-ever aluminum composite panel (ACP) that will be located in Northeast Oman. The plant, situated in the Misfah Industrial Area, symbolizes Omans foremost building material firm Mohammed Riaz and Partners groups latest foray into the sustainable building materials market. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) recently announced six early career researchers awards through the Parker Scholars, Parker Bridge Fellows and Parker Senior Fellows programs. They are receiving a total of up to $2.75 million in funding to take bold risks and progress their research in profound ways, alongside 14 current awardees and PICI's constellation of immunotherapy experts. PICI selected the early career researchers from leading research institutions in its network, including City of Hope, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, University of California, Los Angeles and University of California, San Francisco. Along with financial support, these scientists will have the opportunity to collaborate with pioneers in the field through retreats, workshops and events. They will also receive access to cutting-edge tools and technologies, as well as early data from clinical trials and pre-published papers, all to guide and propel their research. "The immuno-oncology field has incredible potential to make cancer curable, and these early career researchers will help PICI transform the way cancer research is done," said Lisa Butterfield, Vice President, Research and Development at PICI. "They bring open minds and fresh approaches to the toughest challenges in the field, which are grounded in their early training in some of the best labs in the country. PICI's model gives them a collaborative environment where they can work across institutions to move big, bold ideas forward more quickly." Meet this year's awardees and learn about their research focuses: Cansu Cimen Bozkus , Ph.D., Parker Bridge Fellow at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, is bridging basic and translational science working with scientists and clinicians. She is focused on using immune responses against tumor specific antigens to develop new therapies. at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, is bridging basic and translational science working with scientists and clinicians. She is focused on using immune responses against tumor specific antigens to develop new therapies. Sharareh (Sherri) Gholamin, M.D., Ph.D., Parker Scholar at City of Hope, is developing new treatment approaches for tumors that are resistant to current immunotherapies, particularly with the gut microbiome. She will explore new immunotherapy combinations with CAR T-cell therapies to overcome resistance in current treatments for patients with brain cancer. at City of Hope, is developing new treatment approaches for tumors that are resistant to current immunotherapies, particularly with the gut microbiome. She will explore new immunotherapy combinations with CAR T-cell therapies to overcome resistance in current treatments for patients with brain cancer. Kelly Kersten , Ph.D., Parker Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco , focuses on how anti-tumor T-cells behave and become dysfunctional in cancer. In particular, she wants to understand how myeloid cells, and more specifically tumor-associated macrophages, are involved in the onset of T-cell exhaustion. Her ultimate goal is to identify novel therapeutic approaches to target macrophages to reinvigorate T-cells to fight cancer. at the , focuses on how anti-tumor T-cells behave and become dysfunctional in cancer. In particular, she wants to understand how myeloid cells, and more specifically tumor-associated macrophages, are involved in the onset of T-cell exhaustion. Her ultimate goal is to identify novel therapeutic approaches to target macrophages to reinvigorate T-cells to fight cancer. Sydney Lu , M.D., Ph.D., Parker Bridge Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, uses checkpoint inhibitor therapies to tackle hard-to-treat cancers like lung, bladder and kidney. He plans to continue his work to make cancer cells more recognizable to the immune system. at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, uses checkpoint inhibitor therapies to tackle hard-to-treat cancers like lung, bladder and kidney. He plans to continue his work to make cancer cells more recognizable to the immune system. Cristina Puig Saus , Ph.D., Parker Senior Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles , is focusing on how T-cells respond to mutations in tumors after checkpoint inhibitor treatment. She aims to unpack the similarities and differences of T-cell responses in patients who are or are not responsive to treatment, and then use these findings to design new, more effective treatments. at the , is focusing on how T-cells respond to mutations in tumors after checkpoint inhibitor treatment. She aims to unpack the similarities and differences of T-cell responses in patients who are or are not responsive to treatment, and then use these findings to design new, more effective treatments. Jennifer Wu , Ph.D. candidate, Parker Scholar at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania , is developing in vitro (cells in a dish) models to understand why T-cells become exhausted and why current therapies can only partially reverse exhaustion. Since immunotherapy does not yet work for all patients, understanding exhaustion, why it develops and how to reverse it, could help more patients. With PICI, she will build on this model and use it to discover novel therapies. While the awardees will receive a substantial amount in funds, one of the new Parker Bridge Fellows at Mount Sinai, Cansu Cimen Bozkus, described the breadth of the programs best, "It's more than just a grant. Financial support is a great help in many ways but being involved with the community is the real privilege about PICI's program. It's the network of peers and the pioneers collaborating together at the forefront of the immunology field that I'm most excited about." Sydney Lu, new Parker Bridge Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering, also shared similar sentiments, "PICI has assembled an exceptional team of directors, mentors and scientists. By being part of the PICI network, I'm eager to get a bird's eye view of the most cutting-edge work happening in immunotherapy, while also exchanging ideas and getting input on my research to accelerate it forward." About the Programs This was one of the first initiatives PICI launched in 2016 to invest in the future leaders in the field. It is core to PICI's vision to support promising work being done by the most ambitious early career researchers. The Parker Scholars program supports graduate students and researchers entering their first postdoctoral appointment focused on high-impact, high-risk projects. The Parker Bridge Fellows program supports senior postdoctoral investigators as they transition to faculty positions. The Parker Senior Fellows program supports investigators who have recently completed their M.D. or Ph.D. and are ready to establish a laboratory or independent program in cancer immunotherapy. Awardees are selected from a pool of impressive candidates across PICI's partner research institutions. They were chosen on the basis of academic achievement, scientific approach, innovation, the significance of the proposed work to advance the field and the promise of their research to advance the mission and goals of PICI. About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is radically changing the way cancer research is done. Founded in 2016 through a $250 million gift from Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean Parker, the San Francisco-based nonprofit is an unprecedented collaboration between the country's leading immunotherapy researchers and cancer centers, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Pennsylvania and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The institute also support stop researchers at other institutions, including City of Hope, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Institute for Systems Biology and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. By forging alliances with academic, industry and nonprofit partners, PICI makes big bets on bold research to fulfill its mission: to accelerate the development of breakthrough immune therapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases. Find out more at www.parkerici.org. SOURCE Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Related Links http://www.parkerici.org Concord Bingo at American Legion Post 51. Doors open every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Early games at 4:15 p.m. We welcome all our local followers back to Legion Bingo. Help your local veterans continue to support our community. Concord American Legion Post 51 is located at 165 Wilshire Ave. SW, Concord. For more information, call 864-505-1407. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 TOPS Chapter 445, (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), meets at 10 a.m. at Center United Methodist Church, 1119 Union St. S, Concord. For more information, call Jewel Payne at 704-782-4852. Veterans are invited to a Veterans Breakfast at Morningside of Concord, 500 Penny Lane NE, Concord, from 8-9 a.m. Stop by for an exceptional start to your day with a free meal for all that you have done. Catch up with friends, stay for a tour, and learn how we salute our veterans every day. THURSDAY, MARCH 26 Exercise classes are held from 5-6 p.m. in the Allen T. Small Family Life Center, at 192 Spring St. SW, Concord. Classes feature walking and aerobics and are tailored to every age group. For more information, call 704-786-6818. 26.02.2020 LISTEN Migration is a perennial phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa but the causes and impact of the large exodus of Africans from their domicile to other countries are varied across the region. In a recent OECD report that examined the motivation for migration in six West African countries, it was revealed that economic factors, low levels of trust in Governments and local security institutions are the leading causes of migration. In the case of Nigeria, the most populous country on the African continent, about 50% of the countrys population are motivated to migrate - a desire that is partly influenced by the limited opportunities in the country and the ability to imagine a better life in another country. Conversely, in Eastern Africa, political instability, mainly as a result of conflicts is the push factor for migration. In 2016, the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) for Refugees reported that the refugee crisis in South Sudan was the fastest growing in the world with Uganda, another East African country registering the highest number of refugees about 68% of this population was from South Sudan and the remaining percentage was shared between Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, and Rwanda. The population of refugees in Uganda increased from 477,200 at the end of 2015 to 940,800 at the end of 2016 in the Global Trends report (UNHCR) of 2018, Uganda was ranked third, on a list of five countries that hosted the largest number of refugees in the world, receiving 1.2 million refugees. Out of the top five countries that constitute two-thirds (67%) of the worlds refugee population, two countries in East Africa: South Sudan and Somalia placed third and fifth, representing a refugee population of 2.3 million and almost 1 million, respectively. In the analysis of the Pew Research Center, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa account for 8 of the 10 fastest growing international migrant population since 2010 between 2010 and 2017, the population of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, worldwide, grew by 31%, almost twice the size of the Worlds 17% average increase within the same period. Poor economic conditions and insecurity are the main push factors that elucidate the general willingness to migrate for most people in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Poverty and Shared Prosperity report of the World Bank in 2018, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa grew from about 278 million in 1990 to 413 million in 2015, with a poverty rate of 41%. This value is comparatively higher than the average poverty rate for other regions, which was reported to be less than 13% in 2015. Out of the Worlds twenty- eight (28) poorest countries, twenty-seven (27) of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa all of these countries have at least, 30% poverty rates. Extreme poverty is increasingly becoming Sub-Saharan Africas predicament as there seems to be no end in sight for the deplorable economic conditions that have plagued the region for many decades - a condition that is partly attributed to countries in the regions over-reliance on the extractive industry, which has comparatively less impact in increasing the income and consumption levels of the poor. To mitigate the severity of poverty levels in Sub-Saharan Africa, Governments and relevant stakeholders should focus more on other alternatives such as migrant remittances, specifically maximizing the positive impact of remittances and making it less costly. The frequent financial support received from family members in the Diaspora has a positive impact on income levels and also serves as a lifeline for the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa. Apart from the monetary gains, several studies including recent research published by Cogent Economics & Finance (Taylor & Francis) conclude that migrant remittances have a positive effect on human development outcomes across diverse areas such as education and health in Sub-Saharan Africa. With positive spillover effects from the expenditures and investments made by remittance-receiving households, which impacts income and consumption levels in large communities, migrant remittances have proven to be countercyclical as compared to other monetary flows in Sub-Saharan Africa, cross-border macroeconomic evidence depicted in contemporary research shows that remittances aid in reducing poverty levels as the flows augment the consumption and income levels of poor remittance-receiving households in the region. In a related study, published in volume 50 (2013) of the World Development (Elsevier), the findings show that the receipt of remittances greatly reduces the likelihood of household poverty and also increases investment in Ghana. World Bank data indicates that remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018 and 2017 were $46 billion and $41 billion, respectively. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa declined by 9% in 2016, the largest ever regional drop in the World. Expressing remittances as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018 - Comoros, Gambia, Lesotho, Cabo Verde, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria are the countries with the largest percentage of remittances to GDP in the region. Source: IMF; World Development Indicators; World Bank staff estimates. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa continue to soar, a phenomenon attributed to the strong economic condition in high-income economies where many Sub-Saharan African migrants earn their income. The drop in remittances in 2016 was as a result of a fall in the prices of commodities, specifically oil this had a negative impact on the flow of remittances to the region. Source: World Bank Data Analysis by the Pew Research Center indicates that one-in-four migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa live in Europe and the United States the recent economic growth in these places have helped Africans send more remittances to the area. Nigeria has received more than 50% of all remittances sent to the region since 2009 despite an emigrant population of 1.3 million, a population smaller than that of Somalia and South Sudan which have an immigrant population of 2 million and 1.8 million, respectively. Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, Mali, and Togo received the largest share of remittances in 2018. Source: IMF; World Development Indicators; World Bank staff estimates. Migrant remittances to the African continent has been a relatively stable source of external finance, compared with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Official Development Assistance (ODA) and net private inflows, according to a study published in volume 22, issue 1 of the African Development Review (Wiley) similarly, Official aid to Sub-Saharan African has fluctuated from year to year with Foreign Direct Investment showing similar features but remittances to the sub-Saharan has been comparatively less volatile. Revelations in a report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates that close to 30% of remittances received in Ghana are used for investment and construction of houses. Similarly, in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, remittances serve as a reliable source of funding for entrepreneurs and promote entrepreneurship as business ideas developed overseas are implemented in the region. Household surveys by the African Migration Project in Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda shows that a significant percentage of remittances are spent on productive investments in land, farming and investment in small and medium-sized enterprises households that receive international remittances from OECD countries make productive investments in land, farm improvements, agricultural equipment, businesses, etc. Out of the total international remittances sent from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: 57% in Nigeria, 55% in Kenya, 36% in Burkina Faso, 20% in Uganda and 15% in Senegal were invested in land, farm improvement, agricultural equipment, and businesses. Comparatively, households that received transfers from other African countries invested fewer amounts in land, farm improvement, agricultural equipment business and other investments: 47% in Kenya, 40% in Nigeria, 19.3% in Uganda and 19.0% in Burkina Faso. As reported by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), about 75% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is involved directly or indirectly in agriculture and related employment, with smallholder farmers accounting for 80% of farmland in the area growth in agriculture is more effective in reducing poverty than any other sector because majority of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa directly depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Source: World Bank Unfortunately, access to credit for agriculture is extremely difficult especially for the poor - migrant remittances have been a reliable source of funding for agriculture in the region, giving smallholder farmers the financial capacity to invest in their agribusinesses. Although small and medium-sized enterprises account for a large percentage of businesses, constituting a greater share of the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, limited sources of funding have been a major drawback, particularly for poor households who are considered to be highly risky by credit lending institutions partly because of lack of adequate collateral. References COLLINSVILLE A 78-year-old Uber and Lyft driver from Collinsville reported being carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday morning after finishing his shift, officials say. At 4:58 a.m. on Sunday, the male senior citizen said he was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint at his home on Pheasant Glen in the Woodland Trails Community in Collinsville. He had just come home from his shift as an Uber and Lyft driver in St. Louis. KPMG, one of the world's four largest accounting firms and professional services network, will make 40 jobs redundant at its advisory business in Hong Kong as it remodels its consultancy operation, according to two people familiar with the plans. The staff affected, representing 2 per cent of the firm's headcount in Hong Kong and 4 per cent of the positions in the advisory business, will be let go in the coming days, according to the sources, who declined to be named for speaking of a confidential matter. Some employees will be reassigned to different departments, while 40 will be let go. Some staff members in specific posts will be given additional time to ensure a smooth transition, the sources said. KPMG's spokeswoman did not immediately provide a comment. KPMG, with its global headquarters in the Netherlands, wants to focus its advisory business on technology, transformation, value creation, innovation and financial services, which would necessitate letting go of the team that handled general analysis and traditional advisory, the sources said. The move is to remodel KPMG to enable its advisory business to have a better focus to meet customers' needs, particularly in the areas of innovation and technology upgrades, they said. The taxation and auditing practises, which form the backbone and bulk of KPMG's business, will be unaffected by the move, they said. Hong Kong was the world's largest destination for initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2019 for the seventh time in 11 years. That level of fundraising activity has created an ecosystem of financial and professional services comprising bankers, brokers, accounts, auditors and management consultants. "There is strong demand for accounting services," said Johnson Kong Chi-how, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), in an interview with South China Morning Post last week. "Besides the normal audit and due diligence services, many accounting firms are also in demand for debt restructuring and other advisory services for improving operational efficiencies amid an economy downturn." Story continues Still, the redundancies comes at a time of heightened anxiety for Hong Kong's professional services, as large chunks of the financial industry including mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and investment banking have gone into hiatus, amid a work-at-home practise to contain the coronavirus outbreak. KPMG's remodelling has nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak or cost-cutting, the sources said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. After a delay of almost a week, an Indian military aircraft departed for China on Wednesday to deliver 15 tonnes of medical assistance and to evacuate some 100 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak. Last week, India and China had exchanged in a terse exchange over clearance for the Indian Air Forces C-17 Globemaster aircraft to fly to Wuhan, with New Delhi saying permission was being deliberately held up. The Chinese side had dismissed the charge. The special flight carrying the medical assistance, including masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment, took off for Wuhan on Wednesday, the external affairs ministry said. This assistance has been provided in the wake the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment, the ministry said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to President Xi Jinping on February 8 to express the solidarity of the people and government of India with their Chinese counterparts and offered assistance in the hour of need as a gift. The medical supplies will help augment Chinas efforts to control the outbreak of this infection, which has been declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation, the ministry said. The aid is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from Indian people towards the people of China as the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. The Indian flight, the third so far this year, will bring back Indians and nationals from some neighbouring countries that sought assistance in travelling to India in keeping with the countrys neighbourhood first policy. A Chinese source familiar with developments said the two sides had been in communication on Indias request to send an aircraft to bring back Indian nationals from Hubei province. The communication channels between respective competent departments are open and smooth. There is no deliberate delay for flight permission by China. The Chinese side provides necessary support and assistance for flying duty by the Indian aircraft, the source said. The situation in Hubei remains complex and there is a sign of the Coronavirus spreading outside China. In this context, it is imperative for China to carefully assess the ground situation and coordinate departures of foreign nationals in Hubei by airplanes in a responsible manner, in a bid to avoid adding a new complicating factor to the epidemic situation in Hubei province and global epidemic control, the source added. This process takes some time and is aimed at ensuring the relevant arrangements are made safely and smoothly, reflecting the constructive attitude and humanitarian spirit from the Chinese side. The Chinese side takes the health and safety of foreign nationals, including Indian students, as seriously as the health of its own citizens and Chinese authorities at different levels and in universities with Indian students have taken measures to ensure their safety, medical care and daily necessities. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:37:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Customs police in southern China's Guangdong Province recently seized 300 tonnes of smuggled frozen food, local customs authorities said Wednesday. Guangzhou Customs said the smuggled frozen food worth around 10 million yuan (about 1.4 million U.S. dollars) was found on 12 fishing boats in an anti-smuggling action on Feb. 18. The food included frozen chicken feet from the United States and pettitoes from Ukraine. A total of 20 crew members on the boats were arrested on site, the customs said. Customs police said the smuggled food had not been quarantined, while some involved people were in poor health condition, therefore, the food would pose a threat to the public if it entered the market. Further investigation is underway. The Delhi High Court Wednesday applauded the police for prompt action in evacuating the injured in north-east Delhi where communal violence has erupted over the amended citizenship law. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani termed as extremely unfortunate the killing of IB officer in the ongoing violence in which 20 people have died and over 180 injured. While order was being dictated mid-night, police was implementing it right there and rescuing injured persons, the bench said during the days hearing. It added that the highest constitutional functionaries who move with Z-security should reach out to the affected people to give them confidence that law is functioning. The court appointed advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae to coordinate between the victims and various agencies. It further asked the director of Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to provide sufficient number of qualified professionals to cater to the victims suffering from post trauma stress. The court has put up the matter for further hearing on February 28. The court held a special hearing, which started at 12:30 am at the residence of Justice Muralidhar, after receiving a call from an advocate explaining the dire circumstances wherein it was not possible to move the victims from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital. It then directed the police to ensure safe passage for the injured to government hospitals and providing emergency treatment for them. It had directed the police to deploy all resources at command and on the strength of the order as well as to make sure the injured receive immediate emergency treatment, if not at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital then at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) or Maulana Azad or any other hospital. The bench had also called for a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them. It said the order be communicated to the medical superintendents of the GTB and the LNJP Hospitals. The urgent hearing was conducted after advocate Suroor Mander called the judge and sought urgent orders for safe passage of ambulances for the injured. The Delhi Police and the government were represented through additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose. During the hearing, the bench spoke over phone to doctor Anwar of the Al-hind Hospital in New Mustafabad who told the court that there were two bodies and 22 injured persons there and he had been trying to seek police assistance since 4 pm on Tuesday without success. The court then directed the senior officials to reach to the hospital forthwith, following which they started the process of evacuating the injured to the nearest hospitals. It also said this order be brought to the knowledge of the Delhi Police Commissioner. A man accused of killing a 64-year-old woman with a hammer in a seemingly random attack Friday has also been charged with a terrorism-related offence, Toronto police say. Saad Akhtar, 30, of Toronto, was arrested last week and was already facing a first-degree murder charge. Akhtar turned himself in to the 42 Division shortly after the attack, which occurred around 7 p.m. in the area of Sheppard Avenue East near Markham Road. Hang-Kam Annie Chiu, 64, of Scarborough, was walking east on Sheppard when she was struck by her killer. She was pronounced dead at the scene. On Tuesday, police announced they were upgrading the charge to murder terrorist activity and had contacted the RCMPs Integrated National Security Enforcement Team to help with the investigation. During the investigation, evidence was discovered which led investigators to believe the homicide may have been a terrorist-related offence, stated a joint news release from RCMP and Toronto police. T he guitars have been tuned, the speakers turned up. But the performers behind the instruments are not professional musicians but spies. Theyre in a wood-panelled dining room. Its not a swanky jazz club but one of Londons most secretive staff canteens. The 20 or so musicians have formed the MI5 big band, and we are filming them as they perform for a few colleagues after work, in the spy agencys Westminster headquarters. Todays song is Happy by Pharrell Williams. Its an instrumental version, but its hard for some audience members and the ITV crew not to mouth along to the missing words: Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. This is not what we had expected to see when we began filming for ITVs Tonight programme with the spy agency last November. But this toe-tapping performance shows us things you would never get in the boxset of Spooks. For one, we see how intelligence officers who cannot talk to outsiders about their work are drawn together at the sort of office socials many of us choose to avoid. The only people who really understand the pressures were under are the other people within the secret organisation, says Rob, an agent-runner who liaises with informers in the North of England. He has never spoken to an outsider in this way before. Theres a calendar of events for staff. We had Secretly Come Dancing a lot like Strictly, says Karina, an intelligence officer who specialises in Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups. The Security Service allowed a small ITV team to observe and film MI5s work. Director-General Sir Andrew Parker, who will step down in April, has sanctioned our filming. He believes that in order to recruit a workforce that better reflects Britains population, MI5 needs to be seen by a broader audience. We also filmed in December after the attack outside Fishmongers Hall near London Bridge, in which two people were killed. Karina described the uncertainty that spread through MI5s open-plan offices as news of the attack broke. Its on the news first and foremost. You walk through the corridors, and everyone is almost glued to the TV screens. They want to know what has happened. Her colleague Emma, a senior investigator who led an MI5 operation which foiled a plot to assassinate Theresa May, says: I have a normal life outside work. I get home and my world is taken up with bathing children, feeding children, putting them to bed. Many of her friends only know that she works for the Government. She sometimes has to dodge difficult questions about what she does. But she normally finds that people are generally not too curious. If only they knew. Our very presence here might be a sign that MI5 is opening up, just a little. It has to. It needs to protect its secrecy, but it cannot avoid scrutiny. 3.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Activists for Trump are urging Republican voters to cross over and vote for Bernie Sanders in a show of support for the president. The activists said, Weve waited since 2016 to vote again for Donald Trump. With no Republican primary, voters will have to wait until November to vote for our president, but theres still a way that South Carolina Republicans can support President Trump.Were asking South Carolina Republicans to show their support for President Trump by crossing over the Democratic primary and voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders. Video of the two activists: A Trump-Sanders smoking gun. South Carolina Trump activists in a much-promoted Facebook video: "We're asking South Carolina Republicans to show their support for President Trump by crossing over and voting in the Democratic primary for Senator Bernie Sanders." pic.twitter.com/FNqEUNXDWq Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 26, 2020 It couldnt be any more explicit. A Republican vote for Bernie Sanders is a vote for Donald Trump. The Russians, Trump, and the Republican Party are all trying to get Bernie Sanders the Democratic nomination. Trump and the Republican Party arent afraid of Bernie Sanders. They are trying to get him the nomination because they cant wait to destroy him. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook New Delhi, Feb 26 : A total of 37 Central laws will now be applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union Cabinet on Wednesday giving its approval for issuance of the order for this purpose. The decision is an effort to ensure administrative effectiveness and smooth transition in Jammu and Kashmir and removing any ambiguity, in line with the Constitution, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The adaptation of these Central laws will be under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one -- and got President Ram Nath Kovind's assent on August 9, 2019, just four days after the Parliament passed it. After the act came into force, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into the two Union Territories on October 31, 2019. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the issuance of the order, Javadekar said at a media briefing. "All the Central laws which are applicable to whole of India except the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir before the appointed date of October 31, 2019 are now applicable to Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," he announced. The Minister said that it is necessary to adapt the Central laws made under the concurrent list, with required modifications and amendments. As per Section 96, the Central government has powers to make adaptations and modifications of the laws, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of facilitating the application of any law made before the appointed date till the expiration of one year from the appointed date in relation to the successor Union Territories. Charlotte Crosby's turbulent five-year on-off relationship with ex-boyfriend Gary 'Gaz' Beadle came to an end in 2016. And on Tuesday, the Geordie Shore star revealed what Gaz was REALLY like in the bedroom. Speaking to New Zealand radio station The Edge, Charlotte laughed off suggestions Gaz was 'the best sex' she's ever had. Scroll down for video Brutally honest: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Charlotte Crosby has revealed what her ex-boyfriend Gaz Beadle was REALLY like in the bedroom Charlotte and Gaz, who met on the first season of Geordie Shore, endured a bitter split in 2016, after she lost their unborn baby through an ectopic pregnancy. During a game of 'Fact or Fake News', the 29-year-old was asked if previous reports that Gaz was the best sex she's ever had were true or false. As soon as the suggestion was made, she let out a long-winded 'No!' Laughing as she continued, Charlotte insisted: 'I've never said that. It was so bad.' 'I've never said that. It was so bad': During a game of 'Fact or Fake News', the 29-year-old denied reports that Gaz was the best sex she's ever had (Pictured: July 2011) 'I really enjoy sex with Gary': Charlotte had indeed previously stated Gaz was the 'best shag of her life' in a 2016 YouTube clip (Pictured: March 2016) Interestingly, Charlotte had indeed previously stated Gaz was the 'best shag of her life' in a 2016 YouTube clip. During a quick-fire question game, she awkwardly listed partners who she had experienced great sex with, before landing on Gary as her final answer. 'I still do have great sex with Gary and I really enjoy it, but then there was Mitch, and I was with Mitch and I was in love with Mitch and I don't want Mitch to feel bad if he watches this because Mitch was amazing and we had in-love-sex, but there was this one time with Max, well there was a couple of times with Max' she trailed off. 'I'll have it removed when I get back to England': Charlotte also said she planned to have the cursive ink dedicated to her ex-boyfriend Joshua Ritchie lasered off in the coming months After worrying that she would hurt someone's feelings, she finally exclaimed: 'It's Gary! Oh my god, I sound like such a slag.' Meanwhile, during her appearing on the New Zealand radio show, she also spoke about her neck tattoo dedicated to ex-boyfriend Joshua Ritchie. Charlotte said she planned to have the cursive text on the nape of her neck removed in 2020, two years after it was inked. 'I'll have it removed when I get back to England,' she said. On February 13, the division bench of the Karnataka High Court, consisting of Chief Justice Abhay Sreeniwas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar gave much needed relief to the petitioners fighting against the arbitrary prohibitory order passed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). That order had halted protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which were happening in Bengaluru in December. The court held that the order issued by the Magistrate was illegal and did not stand the test of judicial scrutiny laid down by the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India and the In Re: Ramlila Maidan. The Advocate-General defended the Commissioner of Polices decision to impose such a restriction. He argued that there was credible information regarding several student and political organizations posting provocative statements which resulted in sudden protests without prior permission. The governments apprehension was that some people may take law into their own hands. This raises the question: Are precautionary orders under Section 144 intended to prevent assembly or to prevent speech in assembly? On February 18, the Islamabad High Court held that Islamabad police had violated the constitutional rights of protesters who were arrested for protesting the arrest of human rights activist Manzoor Pashteen. While the advocate on behalf of the government defended the charge of sedition against the protesters on account of it being speech against the State, Justice Athar Minallah gave a progressive judgement stating, An elected democratic government cannot place curbs on freedom of expression. There is a clear trend that is noticed here: The executives tendency to use its powers to curb the fundamental rights of citizens. Be it Pakistan or India, the right to fully and freely criticize the government is looked down upon. This is Pakistan, not India Justice Minallah couldnt resist taking a jibe at India for not protecting the constitutional rights of protesters Everyones constitutional rights will be protected. This is Pakistan, not India. And that makes one wonder when Pakistan obtained such bragging rights over adhering to constitutional values, and as to how bad the state of affairs are in our country. Where protests are concerned, the rights of the protesters are essentially nullified whenever there is an arbitrary imposition of an order via Section 144 of the CrPC, or if there are charges of sedition levelled against protesters for statements that are allegedly made during the protests. An excellent example of the latter instance would be when the Mumbai Police filed an FIR against a protester holding a placard with a Free Kashmir slogan. The protest had been organized to protest against the violence against the students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University in early January. The protester issued an apology and had also clarified her stance via a video message on Facebook. The problem here is not just the fact that the basic freedom of individuals to express their concerns is severely affected. The problem here is that the very same executive branch that is responsible for imposing a Section 144 order also takes the extra initiative of filing sedition charges against protesters. While the executive order of Section 144 is a preventive action to ensure that the state of affairs are in control, the police (themselves) filing a sedition charge further makes it apparent that the State is not comfortable with allowing citizens to exercise their basic fundamental right to free speech and expression, which seems to be more problematic than their assembling together. Reports state that about 600 anti-CAA protesters have been accused of sedition in Uttar Pradesh. Even if the charges are later dropped, it is to be noted that The process of a long-drawn trial then becomes the punishment. The social and economic costs thus imposed on the protesters once they are charged during a protest has a potentially chilling effect on free expression by them and by others. Bombay HCs comeback In the same week, the Bombay High Court, on yet another progressive note, delivered a judgment that quashed a previous executive order prohibiting protests against the CAA. The protest, which was supposed to be peaceful, was denied permission through this order by the District Magistrate, who even banned activities such as sloganeering, singing and beating drums. The court, in its order, discouraged the culture of terming protesters as anti nationals and traitors and also upheld the importance of their right to peaceful protests. The issue of suppressing protests was addressed in the judgement of the Bombay High Court discussed above as it also provides a solution for the arbitrary decisions taken by the executive. The court suggested that officers from the bureaucracy who are vested with powers of suppressing protests need to be sensitized by giving them proper training on human rights, which are incorporated as fundamental rights in the Constitution. The need to train and sensitize the bureaucracy is an important solution to be considered in order to ensure that the fundamental rights of protesters are not overridden, especially when there is no imminent threat to public interest in the first place. History is filled with examples and cases where the State has used the law as an instrument of oppression. However, whenever such State-sponsored suppression has occurred, citizens have always risen to the occasion. Our judiciary has upheld this long tradition by rightly choosing to allow for non-violent means of dissent to persist, despite the executive will to the contrary. The week from Feb 13 to Feb 18 was an empowering and memorable one, unlike the entire winter session of Parliament. (The writer is Policy Officer, Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru) [February 26, 2020] Building Industry Partners Completes Sale of Homewood Holdings to American Construction Source Building Industry Partners LLC ("BIP"), the leading building industry-focused private equity investment firm, has sold its LBM dealer platform company, Homewood Holdings ("Homewood"), to American Construction Source ("ACS (News - Alert)"), a leading national building materials distribution platform backed by private equity firms Angeles Equity Partners, LLC ("Angeles") and Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates "Clearlake"). Homewood Holdings was founded in early 2016 by BIP and building industry veteran Jim Stockman with a vision to build a best-in-class Western U.S. lumber and building material pro dealer organization. Homewood's inaugural investment was Homewood Building Supply, a pro dealer in greater Sacramento, CA (News - Alert). After approximately four years, a nearly five times increase in sales, over three-fold growth in employee count, and seven strategic add-on acquisitions, the Homewood Holdings family today consists of five operating companies with eight total facilities in California, Washington, and Arizona. Homewood's operating companies include: (i) Homewood Building Supply in greater Sacramento, CA, (ii) Evergreen Lumber, Eagle Creek Siding and Custom Choice Door in greater Seattle-Tacoma, WA and (iii) The Door Mill in greater Phoenix, AZ. Consistent with BIP's entrepreneurial and de-centralized investment approach to the LBM sector, Homewood's operating companies have operated with highly autonomous leadership and varying business models optimized to best serve the custom, regional, and national production homebuilders, residential and commercial contractors, and DIY customers in each operating company's respective local market. Matt Ogden, Founder & Managing Partner of BIP, said, "BIP has long focused on supporting the building industry's most talented business leaders in becoming owner-operators and realizing their entrepreneurial visions. We knew Jim for over a decade before we partnered at Homewood, so it's particularly rewarding for BIP to realize this success together in Jim's entrepreneurial debut. Over the past four years, Jim assembled an outstanding management team across three major Western markets. His team created and executed their organic game plan exceptionally well by creating outstanding, enduring value propositions for Homewood's employees, customers and vendors. In turn, BIP provided the strategic, capital structure, and M&A expertise and resources to facilitate Homewood's overarching buy & build growth strategy. In the process, together we built a premier and highly strategic regional LBM organization. Homewood's success reinforces for BIP the power of combining our firm's industry-focused expertise and resources with proven business leaders' entrepreneuria drive and capabilities." Jim Stockman, CEO of Homewood Holdings, said, "We're very proud of the business we've built at Homewood and the seven acquisitions we've brought into the Homewood family since 2016. I think we've realized our vision of building a pro dealer organization across multiple markets that cares deeply about serving its customers, while also being a place where employees love to work. As our highly successful partnership with BIP concludes, we're excited about Homewood's future and continued growth as part of the ACS platform. There is substantial opportunity ahead for Homewood, our employees and our business partners." Zach Coopersmith, Managing Partner of BIP, said, "Despite less than stellar housing and commodity price conditions along the way, Homewood was a "textbook" investment for BIP in terms of investment thesis, operator partnership, strategy, and execution. We are thankful to the Homewood employees for their dedication and contribution to Homewood's success. We view this investment's success as renewed confirmation of BIP's people-first investment philosophy. Great people build great companies. BIP's role is to support those people in building niche-leading businesses that can grow and thrive into the future, long after our ownership tenure is complete. We feel the mission was accomplished here. We are excited for ACS and the Homewood team and look forward to watching their continued success. Homewood has a wonderful foundation and people in place to realize the substantial growth opportunity ahead for the business." Holland & Knight, LLP and KeyBanc Capital Markets served as legal and financial advisors, respectively, to Homewood in the transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Background of Building Industry Partners Building Industry Partners ("BIP") is the leading private equity investment firm focused on the U.S. middle-market building products industry. Founded in 2008 by Matt Ogden, BIP has offices in New York, Boston, and Dallas and is managed by Mr. Ogden and Zach Coopersmith. BIP invests its principals' own capital, as well as that of like-minded family office and individual limited partners, including leading active and retired building industry executives. BIP maintains the private equity sector's largest proprietary network of building industry operators, thought leaders and service providers that support its industry-focused talent and opportunity sourcing, due diligence and portfolio company value creation efforts. BIP executes a "People First" investment philosophy, its central role being to support proven building industry leaders with the strategic and financial expertise and resources to build niche-leading businesses. Towards this end, BIP provides equity capital to: (1) owner-operators of niche-focused building products manufacturers, distributors and specialty service companies seeking capital for growth, liquidity and/or partial ownership transition and (2) proven building industry operators and entrepreneurs seeking to build a business within their niche of expertise, primarily via acquisition of a platform company and execution of organic and/or "buy & build" growth strategies. The Firm focuses primarily on majority or minority ownership investments involving platform companies with $20 to $250 million in revenues as well as smaller companies with unique growth opportunities or as part of larger "buy & build" acquisition strategies. BIP principals have co-founded and/or served as the equity capital sponsor for a number of the building products industry's leading middle-market companies and operators of the past decade, including: U.S. LBM Holdings, now the 3rd largest LBM pro dealer organization in the U.S., in partnership with L.T. Gibson, BlackEagle Partners and team; over $2.0 Billion in annual sales when sold to Kelso & Company in 2015. Kodiak Building Partners, in partnership with Paul Hylbert, Steve Swinney and team; over $500 million in annual sales when sold to Court Square Capital Partners in 2017. Rugby Architectural Building Products, in partnership with David Hughes (News - Alert), Drew Dickinson and team; over $300 million in annual sales when sold to Hardwoods Distribution Inc (TSX: HWD) in 2016. United Cabinet Holdings, in partnership with Butch Reimer and team Homewood Holdings, in partnership with Jim Stockman, Erich Kepner, Scott Blackburn, Keith Elledge, Ron McFarland, Wade Hickson, Jesse Sherwood, and team; sold to American Construction Source (News - Alert) in 2020. U.S. Fence Solutions Company, in partnership with Jeff Cook, Jim Bockelmann, Hans Vonderhofen and team BIP continues to seek opportunities to sponsor and support the building industry's greatest operating talents in realizing their entrepreneurial visions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005269/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] UK Mortgages Ltd: RMBS Market and New Issuance Update THE INFORMATION IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR JAPAN. 26 February 2020 UK MORTGAGES LIMITED (a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 60440) LEI 549300388LT7VTHCIT59 RMBS Market and New Issuance Update The UK RMBS market in 2020 has got off to a very strong start with four new deals in January - two prime deals from Clydesdale and Nationwide, a Buy-to-Let deal from Precise and a non-conforming deal from Kensington. All these deals showed very heavy levels of oversubscription, further supporting the growing trend seen during 2019 following the introduction of the new regulatory framework for securitisation. This demand has also led to a general tightening in UK RMBS spreads - a positive for the Company, given the intention to undertake a number of securitisations this year. The first half of February has brought further new deals, and of particular relevance to the Company was the refinancing of the CHL securitisation Auburn 11 into a new deal Auburn 14. Auburn 11 was essentially the "sister" deal to our own Oat Hill transaction, and was originally securitised simultaneously to UKML's purchase of the Oat Hill loan pool in February 2017, which we then securitised into Oat Hill No.1 three months later. Whilst not exactly identical, the two pools are very similar, as our pool was cut as a vertical slice of the original CHL pool. The Oat Hill transaction reaches its first refinancing date at the end of May. CHL, owned by the European arm of US private equity firm Cerberus, employed a more aggressive capital structure than we are likely to use, but the pricing outcome gives us a good guide as to what levels we may be able to achieve assuming similar market spreads. Whilst our deal would likely be more conservatively structured, we can also look to the credit enhancement levels they achieved for the more senior tranches as guidance for our own deal, when the time comes. Encouragingly, the deal was announced with the senior notes already fully preplaced and only the mezzanine notes to be sold. In the end they also chose to retain both the BBB rated and BB rated tranches, most probably because they were able to achieve attractive financing terms, albeit there is every likelihood that these could be offered in the secondary market at some point in the future. The senior notes were priced at a spread of Sonia+90bps to a weighted average life of 2.7yrs, with a 3yr call option. This currently equates to approximately 3 month Libor+78bps, slightly cheaper than L+85bps where the senior notes of Oat Hill 1 were originally priced. In addition, the senior notes made up 85% of the transaction, compared to the 83% in Oat Hill 1, meaning the potential for a better cost of leverage at the senior level when Oat Hill is refinanced were we able to achieve similar terms. The mezzanine pieces also saw great demand, with the B & C classes oversubscribed respectively by 2.6x and 1.4x and priced at S+120bps and S+145bps to the 3yr call. Were a new securitisation refinancing Oat Hill No.1 to follow a similar structure, and should the top three classes be similar in ratio and price to those of Auburn 14, this would give a weighted average funding cost in the Sonia + low-to-mid 90s bps range, equivalent to just over 3m L+80bps and with nominal leverage in the 10x - 15x range depending on structure. Were that to be the case, then given our previous estimated range of capital being released by the transaction and potentially available for share buybacks of 30m to 50m, we would expect the available amount to be in the upper half of that range. It should of course be borne in mind that despite the diminishment of many of the macro and geopolitical issues, such as Brexit and the US-China trade deal, that have dogged markets over the last year or so, the emergence of the coronavirus outbreak has the potential to impact the wider supply chain and global growth, and may ultimately affect all markets. The ongoing development of this situation warrants close monitoring, as it may introduce volatility and potentially cause credit spreads to widen. UKML Portfolio Update UKML's deals continue to perform very well. The latest factsheet details underlying asset performance, but as mentioned above market spreads have been tightening and all UKML's deals have performed well in the secondary market too. Oat Hill is getting closer to its call date and is trading at a small premium to par, but even given the short dated nature, its spread has tightened by over 20bps in the last few months. Malt Hill 2, our second Coventry securitisation, is now trading inside 3m L+70bps, and Barley Hill 1, our first securitisation from TML, is bid at around 3m L+75bps. Both these levels are tighter than where the deals originally priced, and are about 25bps tighter than where they were about 3 months ago, boding well for future securitisation plans later this year, when we expect the new TML pool to be ready for a second deal. Both our warehouses continue to grow well, with the TML portfolio over 180m and the Keystone pool over 170m of completions. Both have been consistently adding >20m and >15m of loans per month respectively since Q4 of last year and their pipelines continue to grow. Every month, these volumes are currently increasing our net income by an equivalent of around 600k per annum, helping to reduce the gap to outgoings and ultimately helping us to move closer to a covered dividend position. Details of further growth will be available in future monthly factsheets and we will update investors on any securitisation timing and details as soon as we are able to. Further information: TwentyFour Asset Management LLP Rob Ford Douglas Charleston 020 7015 8900 Numis Securities Limited, Corporate Broker Nathan Brown Hugh Jonathan 020 7260 1000 Important notice This announcement has been prepared for information purposes only, it is not a prospectus. The distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required by the UKML, TwentyFour and Numis to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions. Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements which are based on UKML's expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. TwentyFour's estimate of the potential gross IRR for this investment is calculated based on certain scenarios and subject to certain assumptions. This and any other references herein to potential future returns or distributions are targets and not forecasts and there can be no guarantee or assurance that they will be achieved. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, UKML undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change without notice and neither the UKML, TwentyFour nor Numis assume any responsibility or obligation to update publicly or review any of the forward-looking statements contained herein. Recipients of this announcement who are considering acquiring New Shares in UKML are reminded that any such acquisition must be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Prospectus and any supplementary prospectus(es) thereto which may be different from the information contained in this announcement. This announcement does not constitute or form part of and may not be construed as an offer to sell, or an invitation to purchase, investments of any description, nor as a recommendation regarding the possible offering or the provision of investment advice by any party. No information in this announcement should be construed as providing financial, investment or other professional advice and each prospective investor should consult its own legal, business, tax and other advisers in evaluating any investment opportunity. In particular, an investment in UKML involves a high degree of risk and prospective investors should read the section in the Prospectus entitled "Risk Factors" for further information. Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - OTC PR WIRE (www.otcprwire.com), a full spectrum media, marketing and disclosure firm serving public companies worldwide, is pleased to announce premium coverage on Charlestowne Premium Beverages, Inc. (OTC Pink: FPWM), a company that develops, produces, markets, and distributes alcoholic beverages worldwide. The Company's portfolio showcases spirit brands such as Papa Vodka, Crocodile Tears Vodka, Proprietor's Reserve Whiskey, and Lord Proprietor's Special Reserve Whiskey. 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(GRLB) Never miss an update again- Like and Subscribe Today: About OTC PR Wire: https://tinyurl.com/v9pe4n4 OTC PR Wire services clients through one of the world's largest press release distribution networks, specializing in the delivery, draft and/or production of corporate press releases, financial disclosures and multimedia content to the media, investment community, individual investors and the general public. Founded and staffed by industry veterans, we offer a full complement of services including specialized delivery to financial sites and posting of photos and multimedia content. In addition, we offer international and specialized premium press release services such as IR websites and industry specific distribution. Visit us at www.otcprwire.com Contact: Thomas Wolff, Editor Email: tw@otcprwire.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52798 astead herndon Hello. bishop theodore myers Hello. How are you? astead herndon Im doing well. How are you? bishop theodore myers Very good. Thank you. astead herndon Its a beautiful church. And Im not even inside yet, and I already know. My names Astead. Im a reporter. bishop theodore myers Hi. astead herndon And Im glad to meet you. bishop theodore myers Good to see you. You know what makes a beautiful church, though? astead herndon What makes it? bishop theodore myers Beautiful people. [laughter] astead herndon From The New York Times, this is The Field. Im Astead Herndon in South Carolina. clare toeniskoetter How many people fit in here? bishop theodore myers In here, we can fit about 1,400. clare toeniskoetter Wow. bishop theodore myers Now, when I built this, I didnt have a congregation like that. But this area doesnt have anything. And because it doesnt, you had to build something, not for the present but for the future. Build for where you want it to go, as opposed to where it is. astead herndon Do politicians come? bishop theodore myers Yeah, they come around. astead herndon Mm-hm. clare toeniskoetter Why do you think so many politicians come to churches in South Carolina? bishop theodore myers It is the place where you can impact the most people at any given point in time. annie brown With black people? bishop theodore myers Yeah, black people. Black people generally go to church. [singing] archived recording Let us stand for the call to worship. (SINGING) Praise Him. Praise Him. astead herndon In South Carolina, more than 65 percent of the Democratic electorate is made up of black voters. And its the first primary that really represents a test of how these candidates can do among black voters nationally. archived recording We have someone here today that we know. Weve seen him. We know his record. He served with someone we really cared about. astead herndon And no candidate has staked more of their campaign on the black vote archived recording (david mack) Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. astead herndon than Joe Biden. archived recording (joe biden) Reverend Dr. Holt, thank you for inviting me into Gods house today. I really appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. astead herndon And as Joe Biden has experienced these early defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada, hes been saying to voters, just wait till the black vote shows up. Wait till I get to South Carolina. archived recording (joe biden) Look, this is an incredible opportunity. I want you to know, although Ive had overwhelming support from the community my whole career, I dont expect anything. Im here to earn. Im here to earn your vote. Im here to earn your support. astead herndon As hes experienced these results in the early states, its added a real sense of pressure on South Carolina. And if Biden doesnt win, and win decisively, it could completely erode his chances at the Democratic nomination. archived recording (joe biden) I dont expect anything, but I know one thing. And this is real. The African-American community in South Carolina can make a judgment about who the next president on this stage is going to be. No, no. Thats not exaggeration. Literally, literally, youre able to do this. Because when the African-American community decides, were going to move into Super Tuesday as they call it, where theres significant African-American vote. You have astead herndon The question is, is Biden right about his overwhelming support from black voters? And if hes not, and that vote splits across candidates, what does that mean for the Democratic primary? archived recording (joe biden) But folks, the vote is in your hands. Not a joke. You can control this outcome. Im going to do everything in my power to earn your respect, earn your vote. astead herndon I was telling them earlier that my fathers a COGIC pastor. bishop theodore myers Oh yeah, COGIC? astead herndon Yeah, yeah. clare toeniskoetter And for us lay people, what does that mean? bishop theodore myers Church of God in Christ. astead herndon Just a different Pentecostal denomination. bishop theodore myers Both apostolic, so hes my surrogate brother. [laughter] annie brown Youre both going to heaven. astead herndon Yeah, yeah. annie brown Is that right? bishop theodore myers No, no, no, no were both already there. astead herndon Yeah, right, right. [laughter] astead herndon A few days ago, about two hours away from the church where Biden spoke, I went with producers Clare Toeniskoetter and Annie Brown to Temple of Faith Bible Way Church clare toeniskoetter If you want to just sit astead herndon Can I sit over here? OK, no problem. astead herndon to meet Bishop Ted Myers. astead herndon Um, I wanted to hear just about you and how you view the primary and whats going on here, but also just about your life. So how long have you been in South Carolina? bishop theodore myers Life. Ive lived here all my life. This is home. So theres a lot of history that goes into that. astead herndon What year when were you born? What were year were you born? [music] bishop theodore myers 44, 1944. astead herndon OK. bishop theodore myers Mm-hm. astead herndon What was it like growing up in Lower Richland in the, what, 50s, 60s? bishop theodore myers Well, it was basically a black community. When I went to school, I had to walk about five miles to go to school as a kid. And we had to walk on dirt roads. So when it rained, it would be like muddy and dirty. But you had to walk those roads if you wanted to go to school. astead herndon What was your family structure like, brothers and sisters? How many how big was your family? bishop theodore myers We had a nice little baseball team. [LAUGHTER] We had a family of 12. astead herndon OK. bishop theodore myers Yeah. annie brown 12 kids. bishop theodore myers 12 kids. Im the third child. I had a brother, who was between me and my sister. And when he was about two years old, he became ill. And my father, because we didnt have doctors close by, my father had to take him in his arms and walk him to a doctor, because it was about 10 miles away. And while he was going, my brother died in his arms. And so he had to bring that baby back home in his arms to my mother. Im not sure he ever got over that. astead herndon So 10 miles so the closest doctor, five-mile walk on the dirt road to school, is that because Lower Richland is black? bishop theodore myers Listen, we didnt have those services because, you know, we didnt count. We had a lack of transportation, public transportation. Parents didnt have access to jobs. We werent real people. We were just part of the environment. astead herndon Whens the first time you voted? bishop theodore myers Oh, I voted when I was 18. As soon as I was able to register, I registered, OK? I knew that if the voting rights was ever there, I didnt have any other choice. There was nothing, because it sent us a message to the entire population, that we, too, have a right to be a part of this. And I was voting, OK? 64, I voted for Johnson. astead herndon Have you voted in every presidential ever since? bishop theodore myers Yeah. clare toeniskoetter In 68? bishop theodore myers Yeah, I voted for Humphrey in 68. clare toeniskoetter 72? bishop theodore myers I voted for McGovern. I thought that he would have been could have served as a tremendous president. clare toeniskoetter Jimmy Carter? bishop theodore myers Yeah. astead herndon Did you back Bill Clinton? bishop theodore myers Yeah. astead herndon Bishop Myers has always voted. And year after year, cycle after cycle, the candidate that he chooses has gone on to become the Democratic nominee. clare toeniskoetter Gore? bishop theodore myers Yeah. clare toeniskoetter Kerry? bishop theodore myers Yeah. astead herndon Thats not because hes some political psychic. Year after year, black voters, the most loyal constituency of the Democratic Party, have largely coalesced around a singular Democratic candidate and helped propel that individual to the partys nomination. astead herndon Obama versus Hillary, who did you support? bishop theodore myers Now, you know. astead herndon I dont know. bishop theodore myers With me, I was excited. I was excited for him. astead herndon Bernie or Hillary? bishop theodore myers Hillary. Hillary. astead herndon So it started to become conventional wisdom. Whoever black people vote for, that candidate will be the Democratic nominee. astead herndon This time around, how did you bishop theodore myers Uh [laughter] clare toeniskoetter When did you start to notice Joe Biden? bishop theodore myers I hadnt heard about Joe Biden before, but when Obama chose him to be his V.P. I figured, if Obama chose him, he didnt have to. astead herndon Bishop Myers says he just had a good feeling about Biden. bishop theodore myers He has depth about what hes saying, and he speaks to that from his heart. Thats the kind of person he is. He feels people. Hes touchable. You can reach Joe. I think he understands where you are. None of us want to see our children leave here before we do. Biden had to see his son die and realize that thats going to alter him, you know? astead herndon This is something Biden talks about all the time. In 2015, he lost his son Beau to brain cancer at just 46 years old. And this wasnt the first time that Biden had lost family members. In the early 1970s, right after he had won his Senate seat, his wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in a car crash. bishop theodore myers I have had it happen to me, so I know the pain. annie brown Had what happen to you? bishop theodore myers I have lost two sons. It takes, it takes something special to deal with it. A father losing a son. And Im sure he had close ties with his son what you gonna think? Joe Biden has had a lot of hits. That man is good to be able to stand. But I think that Biden has been able to pull some strength from that. I really believe in a connection. I can feel him. [music] astead herndon It was just a month after Joe Biden lost his son that a terrible tragedy happened in South Carolina. A white supremacist walked into a predominantly African-American church and opened fire and killed nine people. As vice president, Joe Biden flies down to South Carolina, goes to the church archived recording (joe biden) I wish I could say something that would ease the pain of the families and of the church. astead herndon and speaks with the congregation about grief. archived recording (joe biden) But I know from experience, and I was reminded of it again 29 days ago, that no words can mend a broken heart, no music can fill the gaping void. At least in my experience, only faith, only faith. And sometimes, as all the preachers in here know, sometimes even faith leaves you just for a second. Sometimes, you doubt. astead herndon Its a powerful moment, where he relates his personal story to their tragedy. And its an example of what many black South Carolinians say about Joe Biden. That hes been there, that they know him and that they trust him. bishop theodore myers We had a meeting, and he was there, pastors and certain church leaders. And we had a breakfast meeting with him. astead herndon And when Bishop Myers got the chance to meet the vice president in person, it sealed his affection for him. Biden lived up to the hype. bishop theodore myers And it was quite impressive, because he was talking then about some of the problems that we have and how we could overcome. Plain talk, no foolishness. He just laid it all out. astead herndon And you liked him when you met him? bishop theodore myers Oh, yeah. And I thought then that if ever he became a candidate again, that would be the time to vote him in. That would be. clare toeniskoetter You thought that at that moment? bishop theodore myers Yeah. I thought that he was the man for the job. astead herndon And that seemed to be true for many South Carolinians. From the moment Biden got into the race, it seemed as if the black vote was his, and his to lose. astead herndon Is that the front? clare toeniskoetter I think this is the front. astead herndon Hi, how are you? bernice scott I told yall, Ive been screaming. Yall came to the front door. astead herndon Im sorry. I couldnt hear you. bernice scott Thats all right. Im over here. clare toeniskoetter Come to the wrong door? bernice scott Yall here now, so I might as well let yall in on this side. astead herndon Are you Bernice? bernice scott Yes, I am. astead herndon It is nice to meet you. Astead. Were from The New York Times. bernice scott Bernice. Yeah, yeah, come on in. annie brown Thank you. astead herndon Thank you so much. bernice scott Thats why I know yall are strangers. Yall came to the door. clare toeniskoetter Should we take our shoes off? Or? bernice scott Oh, please. No. clare toeniskoetter OK. Theyre wet, its raining! [laughter] astead herndon Last Monday morning, Claire, Annie and I went to meet a woman named Bernice Scott. Shes a longtime local political figure, the former head of the Richland City Council, and the head of a volunteer group thats supporting Joe Biden. clare toeniskoetter Can I ask you what your shirt says? astead herndon They call themselves bernice scott Yeah, its the Reckoning Crew. The Reckoning Crew. astead herndon the Reckoning Crew. annie brown Hi. Are yall excited about Saturday? reckoning crew member 1 Yes, reckoning crew member 2 Oh, yes, we are. reckoning crew member 3 [INAUDIBLE] Victory for the V, yeah. Vice President Biden will win. astead herndon The group had gotten together to go door knocking for Biden. clare toeniskoetter How do you when you door-knock, what do you say? bernice scott Im Bernice Scott. Im your neighbor. Ive worked in this community all my life. Im out campaigning for Joe Biden. Would you please look at him and what do you think about him? Oh, yeah, Im for Joe Biden! OK, lets do it. Meet you at the poll. You can go early. astead herndon It was also clear that they felt as if their work was done. clare toeniskoetter How many doors? Like, how often are people for Joe versus not for Joe when youre knocking on doors? bernice scott I havent ran into anybody yet not for Joe. clare toeniskoetter Zero? Zero people? bernice scott Zero. reckoning crew member I havent. I havent run into anyone astead herndon Whether or not this has been true for the Reckoning Crew, the evidence tells us there has been some drift away from Biden across the state. Some has come from billionaire Tom Steyer, the businessman whos invested a lot of time and money in the state, and some has come from Bernie Sanders, who has experienced some success in the early states and is benefiting from name recognition from his last presidential run. Biden still has a healthy lead, but these two candidates have put some pressure on Biden in South Carolina. The latest polling tells us while Biden is at around 35 percent, Sanders is at 20 and Steyer is at 14. But these women are confident that the vote is still there. astead herndon What would be success for Joe Biden in South Carolina? On Saturday, when we get the votes. If he was supposed to win by 30, by 40 reckoning crew member But who said that? The news media. astead herndon Joe Bidens team said that he would have a big firewall in the state, that he would show his strength. If he only wins by a little, is that success? reckoning crew member A win is a win. Its like getting to heaven or going to hell. Theres no choice there. You either go to heaven or go to hell. astead herndon It doesnt matter the margins, it doesnt matter if he squeaks it out? reckoning crew member He can squeak, peak, whatever he want to do, as long as he win. astead herndon But margins do matter, particularly in South Carolina. In 2008, Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary by around 30 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the South Carolina primary by around 50 points. And for both those candidates, it kicked off a firewall of delegates that they would amass through black voters in the South and lead them to the nomination. Joe Biden has bet on a similar firewall, but if he doesnt get those same margins cant replicate what Clinton and Obama did then even a slight win in South Carolina might be the beginning of the end for his candidacy. helen spearman Yesterday, I went to church and I prayed about it, and I think, you know, that he really is going to win. And hes going to win by more percentage than what theyre predicting. You know, I spoke to some people after church yesterday and um annie brown So you think that the polls are wrong? helen spearman In my spirit, yes, I feel they are. You know, so because they had me all hyped up by Hillary, I had bought me a dress to wear to the inaugural ball, and I aint wore it yet. [laughter] annie brown You havent worn it yet? helen spearman So I think theyre wrong. I really do. annie brown Do you think youll wear it on Saturday? helen spearman I might put it on and go out, because Ill be working at the poll. I might put it on and go out there. astead herndon But we are aware of at least one woman that Bernice Scott knows whos left the Biden camp and gone elsewhere. annie brown Were going to speak later today with a woman, Dalhi Myers. bernice scott [GASPING] annie brown Whats that? clare toeniskoetter Whyd you react that way? annie brown Yeah. bernice scott Let me tell you, I cut that off for a second. annie brown Oh, OK. dalhi myers You look familiar. astead herndon Astead. Its nice to meet you. Hows it going? dalhi myers Lovely to meet you. Im Dalhi Myers. astead herndon So across town, we meet up with Dalhi Myers. dalhi myers I am a council person on the Richland County Council, District 10. astead herndon Who actually took Bernice Scotts seat on the Richland County Council. dalhi myers I was very clear on what it took to win. astead herndon Dalhi says she ran an outside the box, anti-establishment, upstart political campaign. dalhi myers Because Id had to do it against a machine. astead herndon And the machine she describes is Bernice. Which partially explains why we got that reaction when we said we were talking to Dalhi. But only partially. dalhi myers Im as capitalist as they come. I mean, I drive an overpriced car. I live in an overpriced house. I buy overpriced clothes. And I spend too much on where I eat, OK? astead herndon Dalhi considers herself conservative within the Democratic Party. dalhi myers Im a pro-life Democrat, but I do believe the partys position on abortion is right. astead herndon And so like Bernice, her choice was Joe Biden early on. dalhi myers And I think everybody in my family thought that. I mean, we just thought he could fundamentally win. And I thought he could pull together enough of a coalition of Democrats, moderates and disaffected Republicans to win. It was a who can win? I think its Joe Biden. astead herndon I mean, in some ways, thats what the campaign is, the message that its giving to its supporters is, right? Like its dalhi myers Yes. astead herndon I mean dalhi myers And I now disagree with that message. I used to agree with it. I used to think that that was the way to win. But I guess I kind of woke up and realized, who wins an election saying, Ill take you backwards? archived recording (joe biden) [APPLAUSE] There are three basic reasons why Im running for president of the United States. The first is to restore the soul of the nation. And the second is to rebuild the backbone of this nation. And the third is to unify this nation. We always do better when we act as one America. dalhi myers I knew in my gut that was not a campaign that was targeted to win. There was just nothing inspirational about it. There was no here is the case for my candidacy. It was lets drive this car looking in the rearview mirror. Who drives that way? astead herndon She goes from being a Biden volunteer to giving up on him. dalhi myers If you cant motivate me to go vote for you, and I want to vote for you, how are you going to get people who are not inclined to go vote to go vote for you? I mean, if Im sitting here going, Well, I can sit that one out, and Im going to vote, how do you get people that you need to motivate to go and vote? And thats what I saw. astead herndon So Dalhi went looking for a new option. dalhi myers About a year ago, the Sanders campaign, and most other campaigns, reached out to me and asked me to come and sit with the candidate, do a small meet-and-greet. Thats what they were doing in South Carolina. All of them were. It wasnt unusual. And I said, yeah, Ill come. But I teased them and said Bernie Sanders is never going to be my candidate. Just, he does not fit anything that is of interest to me. And on top of it all, just the aesthetics dont work. He doesnt brush his hair. Yall dont make him use gel. But I went and literally sat through the first introduction with a good friend of mine, Courtney [INAUDIBLE] and I just sat there laughing. I was like, Courtney, really? Seriously? annie brown What were you laughing at? dalhi myers Everybody was so gung-ho. I mean, it was just this room packed full of people, and they were rabidly cheering for Bernie. And I just thought it was entertaining. I really did. I didnt take it seriously. I did not give it much credence. And afterwards, I watched, I guess archived recording (bernie sanders) Thank you, Michigan! [CHEERING] Thank you, Pittsburgh! [CHEERING] Thank you, Denver! [CHEERING] dalhi myers 10, 15 Sanders rallies. archived recording (bernie sanders) Thank you, Santa Ana! [CHEERING] Greenville, thank you very much. [CHEERING] We were told that it was going to rain, and thered be a small turnout. Looks like thats not the case. [CHEERING] dalhi myers And I just thought, nobodys got this kind of fire and passion. Nobody. archived recording (bernie sanders) Let me thank all the people outside in a second overflow room. Its a great turnout. Thank you very much. [CHEERING] Not only is this a large crowd, you are a loud crowd! [CHEERING] This is a hell of a turnout. Thats what this is. [CHEERING] dalhi myers 10,000 people. Who does that? archived recording (bernie sanders) Were 20,000 people, and we had to close the doors. dalhi myers Who does that? astead herndon Of course, Sanders has always had this type of energy. Its been one of his hallmarks. But what Dalhi started to think was that maybe this race isnt about persuading moderate Republicans to vote for a Democrat over President Trump. dalhi myers His approval rating is at 90 percent with the Republican Party. And so Im not convinced that those same people are going to overnight on election day, all of a sudden, not approve of Trump enough to vote for a Democrat theyre not voting for a Democrat. And so we have to inspire enough Democrats to go to the polls and vote. And thats part of why I switched. clare toeniskoetter Have you ever voted for a candidate who felt more off with your policy goals? dalhi myers Mm-mm. clare toeniskoetter End of the day, whats more important to you, electability or policies? dalhi myers Electability is policies. The Democratic Party is not the party of black people. It is a coalition party. So you have to be able to get groups of all people to vote for you across the Democratic Party. Black people, white people, Hispanics, Asians. So if you cant get whole swaths of this party to vote for you, how ever will we win? astead herndon Dalhi represents a transition from the Biden view of electability to a Sanders vision, an anti-establishment vision. She went from thinking that the candidate she chooses has to appeal to moderate Republicans, to embracing the Sanders framework of how you beat Trump by motivating a cross-section of voters across races and generations. In doing that, it takes Bernie Sanders from being the least electable candidate to the only one who can build that type of coalition. dalhi myers Ultraconservative people like me who are voting for Bernie Sanders. I mean, thats shock of all shocks. All of my friends are like, Dalhi, really? Seriously? When did you decide that this made sense? And so they are surprised, and theyve known me all my life. But I think theres enough diversity in the black community to still surprise people. I think people have, for far too long, thought that all black people were this monolithic think block, sort of like the Borg from Star Trek, you know? We are all the same, and theres, you know, these connected wires, making us all think the same way. But that is not true. astead herndon I mean, just to keep on this point, it feels like a unique thing of this primary, is that unlike Obama or Clinton, it seems likely that there will not be a runaway winner with black voters. dalhi myers Right. astead herndon But it also makes the groups voting power, or determinative power, less in the primary. Right? Like if the person wins by a small plurality, that doesnt mean the same as when Biden when Clinton won by 60 or when Obama won by 70. Isnt there some irony there? Like, isnt it like it seems as if youre advocating for a new form of politics, but at the same time, the community, the state you represent, might matter less because of that. dalhi myers So if we turn that around, we could say that it matters more, because it reveals that you are looking at this group in the wrong way. And this group has decided that there are pieces here, there, there and there that it likes. Were very much a diverse group within the party. So the group could send a message, just not one unified message, right? It could send the message that the old way of doing things, where you can run in South Carolina and pass out a bunch of dollar bills and think that thats the end of it, or feed people a chicken sandwich or a fish fry astead herndon Or go to church. dalhi myers Or go to church. Thats absolutely true. My church, you cant do that. But I do think the old way of speaking to people, reaching people, and sort of lemming-like, sending them off to do a thing, it doesnt work. astead herndon Hows your convincing efforts with your family going? dalhi myers I think Im winning. bishop theodore myers Oh! Uh, Dalhi Myers is, of course, my daughter. And Im her proud father. And she owes me for that. [laughter] astead herndon This, again, is Bishop Myers bishop theodore myers I think that Joe Biden is an honest person, open person. But I dont think that he is as I dont think that he is as forceful on issues as he has been in the past. astead herndon who has undergone his own sort of transformation in the last couple of weeks. bishop theodore myers That luster is just not there. It has not been exciting. It may just be that he wants to kind of be that moderate voice, that voice of moderation. And we dont need a voice of moderation right now. We need someone who can scream loud. Do something, in light of what is happening to the country and to us brown people, you know? Theyre saying, lets go back to normal. Lets get back to What is normal? Normal got us to where we are. Shoot, if Im normal, that means that youve got your foot on my neck, and Im stuck here screaming, help, help! And youre saying, its all right. Ill be here next week. astead herndon Now, Dalhi hasnt convinced her father to vote for Bernie Sanders. Hes of his own generation and is looking at this political moment with his own lens. bishop theodore myers I just, I just knew that if it was not Joe, who would it be? And I just waited for the chips to fall. I guess I was kind of wavering, looking at the field, and then I met Tom. archived recording (commercial voice-over) South Carolina has a chance to make history, but we have to get this right. The status quo just wont do. astead herndon Tom Steyer. Billionaire businessman who has pumped advertising dollars and organizing staff throughout the state of South Carolina. archived recording (commercial voice-over) Thats why South Carolinians are choosing Tom Steyer. Hes fought for astead herndon He specifically has been trying to woo older black voters, who might be feeling a little nervous about Joe Bidens candidacy. clare toeniskoetter Do you remember when you first heard Tom Steyers name? Did you see commercials? bishop theodore myers Uh-huh. clare toeniskoetter Thats one thing people talk about with Tom Steyer that its his money, that hes kind of bought these votes. bishop theodore myers Well, no way. I never want anyone to ever say that money could buy my vote. My vote is too expensive. He really I mean, he had a plan. Joe doesnt have a plan, or he doesnt bring forth this plan. I think he thought that he did not have to do that. And thats what hurt. astead herndon Whats significant about people like Bishop Myers turning away from Bidens candidacy is that it shows that its not just younger voters who are looking for something a little different. The black vote seems to be splintering across demographics. bishop theodore myers Guys, its been a pleasure meeting you. annie brown Such a pleasure. Thank you. bishop theodore myers My joy. astead herndon Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. bishop theodore myers Thank you. astead herndon [INAUDIBLE] bishop theodore myers All right. [music] [phone dialing] annie brown Hes probably not going to answer. bishop theodore myers Hello! astead herndon Hi, how are you, Bishop? bishop theodore myers Im fine. astead herndon A few days after we talked to Bishop Myers, we got word that he was planning to vote early. astead herndon We know we keep bothering you. We gotta get an answer. astead herndon But he was second-guessing his vote for Tom Steyer. bishop theodore myers You gotta get an answer? astead herndon Yeah, did you vote? bishop theodore myers Yeah, I voted. astead herndon All right, so drum roll. How did it end up? bishop theodore myers [LAUGHING] Well, Ill tell you like this. I really had a searching of the soul in there, and a few things really got me where Im at [INAUDIBLE]. astead herndon Two things have happened since we had last spoke. In the Democratic debate, candidates universally went after Bernie Sanders, putting him on the defensive. And the most important political figure in South Carolina, Congressman Jim Clyburn, he endorsed Joe Biden. bishop theodore myers The piling on of Sanders, the possibility of Steyer not doing much, and I looked at Jim Clyburn having come out for Joe Biden, and I did not want to give Bernie a bad send-off in South Carolina. So I voted for Joe. astead herndon So you voted for what? bishop theodore myers I voted for Joe. astead herndon You voted for Joe? bishop theodore myers No, Im just joking. [laughter] astead herndon I was like, wait, what? What a plot twist! [laughter] bishop theodore myers I voted for Bernie. astead herndon Oh, wow! astead herndon Even though Tom Steyer was still his favorite candidate, he felt as if voting for him would be a throwaway. Rory Lovelock likes to be the last to board the plane. If you see a row of spare seats, the Melbourne concreter says, "sometimes you can nab it for yourself". But when he employed his usual strategy on a recent flight from Cebu to Boracay - Philippine beach hotspots usually busy with Western tourists - he found he could have just about any row he desired. Bar a handful of passengers and crew, the plane was empty. Coronavirus empty. Rory Lovelock had almost the whole plane and beach to himself on a trip to the Philippines. Credit:Rory Lovelock "I had the whole plane, virtually. I thought 'cool'," Mr Lovelock said on Wednesday from a similarly deserted ferry at Boracay. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday sharply criticized Tesla Inc 's lack of system safeguards in a fatal Autopilot crash in California in 2018 and U.S. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday sharply criticized Tesla Inc 's lack of system safeguards in a fatal Autopilot crash in California in 2018 and U.S. regulators' approach in overseeing the driver assistance systems. NTSB board members at a hearing to determine the crash's probable cause questioned Tesla for the design of its semi-automated driving assistance system, and condemned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a "hands-off approach" to regulating these increasingly popular systems. The board expressed growing frustration with the failure of U.S. regulators to take a more aggressive approach to overseeing driver assistance systems, suggesting greater oversight of self-driving car systems going forward. The California crash points out that "semiautonomous vehicles can lead drivers to be complacent, highly complacent, about their systems, and it also points out that smartphones manipulating them, can be so addictive, that people aren't going to put them down," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. NHTSA said in a statement it is aware of NTSB's report and will carefully review it. The agency added that all commercial motor vehicles "require the human driver to be in control at all times, and all states hold the human driver responsible for vehicle operations." Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. NTSB can only make recommendations, while NHTSA regulates the safety of U.S. vehicles. NHTSA has sent special crash investigation teams to review 14 Tesla crashes in which Autopilot is suspected of being in use. There are mounting safety concerns about systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches with little or no human intervention, but cannot completely replace human drivers. Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid holding the steering wheel for extended periods while using the driver assistance system Autopilot, but the company advises drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention. NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg called Autopilot "completely inadequate" and noted that vehicles had repeatedly crashed into large obstacles while using the system. "What part of jersey wall, fire truck, and tractor trailer does not form an obstacle for their vehicles to be able to detect?" Landsberg ask. NTSB board member Thomas Chapman said NHTSA had shown a "lack of leadership" in addressing driving automation systems. "Highway vehicles weighing thousands of pounds (kg) and equipped with powerful yet still-evolving automation are operating on highways based, at best, on mere guidelines," he said. Sumwalt said Tesla - unlike five other auto manufacturers - has ignored safety recommendations issued in 2017. "It's been 881 days since these recommendations were sent to Tesla. We're still waiting," Sumwalt said. Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot is tied to at least three deadly crashes since 2016 and suspected in others. Police in California are investigating a crash in December in which two people were killed in a 2006 Honda Civic after being struck by a Tesla that may have been in Autopilot mode. "Industry keeps implementing technology in such a way that people can get injured to killed, including this board's recommendations intended to help them prevent such tragedies," Sumwalt said. Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple software engineer, was driving his Tesla Model X in 2018 in Mountain View, California, in Autopilot mode at about 70 miles per hour (113 kph) when it crashed into a safety barrier known as a "crash attenuator." The NTSB said Huang had been using an iPhone and logs recovered show a word-building game was active during Huang's fatal trip. The NTSB also called on cellphone manufacturers to add more safeguard to prevent the misuse of devices by drivers. Sumwalt also noted that Apple does not have a distracted driving policy and the board will vote on whether to recommend that Apple adopt a policy barring employees from using phones behind the wheel unless it is an emergency. Apple said it expects its employees to follow the law. The NTSB has called on NHTSA to verify automakers using systems like Autopilot incorporate safeguards to limit their use "to those conditions for which they were designed." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast/Getty It was late into Tuesday nights debate when former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg challenged Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) about his praise for the domestic gains made by the Castro regime in Cuba. Sanders shot back to defend himself and his policy agenda. And then, they just started yelling. For the next half minute, the two screamed at each other, Sanders pointing his finger aimlessly over the dais, the candidates made annoyed hand gestures as a voice of a moderator, desperate to gain control of the fracas, called out from off-camera: One at a time! Such was the evening in Charleston, the last of these gatherings before voters head to the polls in the Palmetto State this Saturday and, more importantly for candidates not named Joe Biden, the last before Super Tuesday as well. If you wanted a debate to help you make up your mind, you came away disappointed. Instead, what you got was shouting and sighs, canned lines and badly landed jokes, curt ways for the candidates showing they had more to say, not-so-subtle pleas for campaign donations, and virtually everyone begging for more time. Which in many ways is true. They need more time. Most of them need more money. And it is precisely those needs that led to a debate defined by political desperation. Sanders, hot off a massive win in the Nevada caucuses and a closer victory in the New Hampshire primary, received his first proper frontrunner treatment as his rivals scrambled for a place in the more moderate lane. Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight, he said after facing a barrage of early attacks. I wonder why? But the desperation prompted some new and unlikely sparring matches not remotely directed in the frontrunners direction. Former Vice President Joe Biden and businessman Tom Steyer fought over the latters investment in a private prison company; Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sparred over which had done more to prevent domestic abusers from purchasing guns; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) went for the K.O. with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, blasting him with allegations that he once demanded that an employee abort her unborn child and criticizing him for funding right-wing lawmakers in past cycles. Story continues I dont care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has, Warren said. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him. He has not earned their trust. I will. And the fact that he cannot earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party means he is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage. The result was a messy tangle of shouting and crosstalk, perhaps best encapsulated by the Sanders-Buttigieg exchange over health care, education, 60s radicalism, and deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, Buttigieg said. Tuesday was likely the last chance for some of the contenders lagging behind in the race to make their last-ditch appeals that have either failed to give them momentum or been able to sustain their limited past success. Bernie in fact hasnt passed much of anything, Biden said as he tried to chip away at Sanders growing momentum. And less than a half hour in, the billionaire Steyer was already bemoaning the conversation on stage and the risk it posed for Democrats. We are looking at a party that has decided that were either going to support someone whos a democratic socialist or somebody who has a long history of being a Republican, Steyer said. The arguing on stage also cut into some of the candidates patience. If we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, were going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart, said Klobuchar. As the evening progressed, it became clearer that the candidates themselves were growing frustrated with the proceedings. Several complained openly about being cut off by the hosts. Others wondered aloud why they werent getting a chance to respond to attacks. Commercial breaks came at weird, inopportune moments and conversations seemed disjointed as the moderators from CBS veered chaotically from topic to topic. For some of the seven on stage, the reality likely set in that this could be their last night in a 2020 debateor their best chance at remaining relevant. That much was clear from the debates outset, when Biden made the stakes of this Saturdays primary in the Palmetto State crystal clear, answering a question about his slipping poll numbers in South Carolina with an adamant pledge to win the statea pledge that, should his numbers continue to drift downward, risks being played on loop. I intend to win South Carolina and I will win the African-American vote here in South Carolina, Biden said. But by the evenings end, everyone just seemed a bit exhausted with how disorganized the whole thing was. And even a desperate Biden was left wondering why he was obeying the rules of a debate that had gone so far off the rails. Why am I stopping? he asked at one point, when he respected the moderators wishes that he would. No one else stops. Joe Bidens Last Stand Ended Up Awfully Shaky 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 Spanish carnival parade 'commemorating' the Holocaust with lingerie-clad Nazi officers and dancing concentration camp victims has been condemned as 'vile and disgusting' by Jewish groups. The bizarre parade in Campo de Criptana featured dancing Nazis, scantily-clad women dressed as SS officers with dominatrix whips and concentration camp prisoners in sequined tights and Israeli flags. There was also a gas chamber float with a giant Hebrew menorah lamp between two chimneys. The carnival featured scantily-clad women dressed as SS officers with dominatrix whips The 'vile' parade included dancing Holocaust victims in sequined tights and Israeli flags A float at the parade featured a Hebrew menorah lamp between two crematorium chimneys The El Chaparral Cultural Association which staged Monday's event insisted the parade was intended to be a 'commemoration' of those who perished in the Holocaust. But the Israeli embassy in Madrid tweeted: 'We condemn the vile and disgusting representation banalizing the Holocaust at the Carnival of Campo de Criptana, making fun of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis. European countries must actively combat antisemitism.' The Auschwitz memorial museum tweeted: 'Hard to describe: memory upside-down, far beyond vulgar kitsch, without any relevance, without reflection & respect.' Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya also condemned the parade saying on twitter: 'Horrified at the carnival parade in Campo de Criptana. 'I totally reject any banalisation of the Holocaust. 'Following contact with the organisers, they have apologised to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain. It is essential to keep teaching about the memory of the Holocaust.' The parade was condemned by the Israeli government on Twitter Jewish groups condemned the offensive carnival in Campo de Criptana The Auschwitz Museum was among those who condemned the sick Nazi-themed carnival According to a sign on one of the floats, the organisers, the parade was a commemoration of the 'six million Jewish men, women and children who perished in the Holocaust and all those who suffered persecution and extermination because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin or political ideas'. The town council of Campo de Criptana, in the central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha, said permission had been granted on the understanding that it would honour the dead of the Holocaust. The council said in a statement: 'We share the criticisms that have been expressed. 'If the aim was to commemorate the victims, it's obvious the attempt fell short.' According to the local Cadena Ser radio station, the town's mayor said: 'I agree that it doesn't feel like a very carnival-type theme. I don't think it will happen again.' Earlier this month, the pro-independence Catalan MEP Clara Ponsati was accused of trivialising the Holocaust by comparing Spain's expulsion of the Jews in 1492 with its treatment of the 'Catalan minority' and suggested the mass banishment had inspired Hitler. Last weekend carnival organisers in the Belgian town of Aalst were condemned after people dressed up in antisemitic costumes depicting Jews with huge noses and as ants. The 'vile and disgusting' carnival parade featured dancing Nazi officers The parade featured dancing Holocaust victims in sequined tights and Israeli flags You are here: China Four new satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) have recently passed tests in orbit and joined the system to provide positioning, navigation and timing services. The four satellites include the 47th, 48th, 52nd and 53rd satellites of the BDS family, according to China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office. All of them, operating in medium Earth orbit, were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The 47th and 48th BDS satellites were launched on Sept. 23, 2019, and the 52nd and 53rd BDS satellites were launched on Dec. 16, 2019. China began to construct its navigation system, named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, in the 1990s and started serving the Asia-Pacific Region in 2012. Over the past two years, China has successfully sent 28 BDS-3 satellites and two BDS-2 satellites into orbit. China plans to launch more BDS satellites in March and May to complete the global network. Hearing pleas on the northeast Delhi violence which has claimed 24 lives, including a policeman and an IB officer, the Delhi High Court asked the police on Wednesday to ensure that the city does not witness another 1984 anti-Sikh riots like situation. "We want peace to prevail. We do not want the city to witness another 1984 riots. This city has seen enough violence and anguish. Let it not repeat 1984," a bench headed by Justice S Muralidhar. An estimated 3,000 people had died in those riots in the national capital alone. The court was hearing two pleas -- one seeking safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence which erupted in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law and the other for lodging of FIRs and arresting those involved in the violence in which around 200 person have also been injured. The court asked the Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, who was present in the hearing, to forthwith convey its "anguish" to the commissioner and observed that the city has seen enough violence. The bench also asked the police why it has not lodged an FIR in connection with the alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders -- Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Kapil Mishra -- when it has registered 11 FIRs regarding incidents of arson, loot, and stone pelting. "Why are you not showing alacrity when it comes to registration of FIR in these cases," the bench asked. The court said it would not allow another 1984 riots like situation under its watch and neither should the police and added "We have to be very alert." The 1984 riots had broken out after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her two Sikh bodyguards. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DARIEN A dispute over paying a restaurant bill resulted in several charges and two police responses in one night for a Greenwich man. On Feb. 21, Darien Police responded to The Goose at 972 Post Road at approximately 9 p.m. for a complaint of a patron refusing to pay his bill. Darien Police said Andrew Herz, 57, of Greenwich, had eaten dinner with another person and refused to pay the bill. Police said the manager had attempted to make arrangements with Herz to insure eventual payment, but claimed the patron made threatening remarks in response. Police said the manager told officers Herz became more abusive when he learned police were being called. When they arrived, police said they attempted to make arrangements with Herz to pay his bill, but he refused. When officers informed Herz that he was going to be placed under arrest, police said he resisted handcuffing, causing a commotion in the restaurant. During the struggle, police said an officer was struck by Herz, but did not sustain an injury. Herz was eventually taken into custody and transported to the Darien Police Department. He was charged with breach of peace, threatening, sixth-degree larceny, interfering with an officer and simple assault, and was released on a written promise to appear. Herz is due in court on March 3. Later that evening, Darien Police were called back to the Goose. At 11:40 p.m., police said they received a report of a disorderly person and found Herz arguing with Goose employees on the sidewalk. According to police, Herz informed officers that after being released from custody, he went to the Goose to retrieve his keys and other personal belongings. When officers spoke with Goose employees, they stated that Herz had not left anything inside the restaurant. When they attempted to explain this to Herz, police said he became verbally abusive and spit on two of them. Police said Herz also threw rocks at the windows of the restaurant. A witness confirmed this version of events, police said. Herz denied the accusations, according to police, stating he just came to retrieve his belongings. Officers informed Herz that none of his belongings were in the building and Herz was issued a misdemeanor summons. He was released on the scene on a written promise to appear, and is due in court on March 3. The government is looking at revamping the 20-year old IT Act to keep pace with advancement in technology ecosystem, and bring in a stronger framework around issues like cybercrime, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday. "A thinking is going on in the department to revisit the IT Act. It has been 20 years of the IT Act and the IT ecosystem has developed beyond recognition. New technology has become very pronounced, the whole ecosystem of consumers has changed vastly. And so have the challenges," Prasad told reporters here. He added that the new Act will also factor in issues like Supreme Court's judgement on privacy and protection. The minister said a team will be put in place that will take inputs from experts and the industry. Prasad said the number of people accessing technology has burgeoned over the years, and services and finances are being delivered digitally now. "The biggest challenge is the number of consumers we have to handle, the use of technology, tech is at the centre of digital payments, digital delivery of services, GST, UPI. Now this also raises the question of misuse. The vastness of these platforms was not even contemplated when the IT Act came into being," he said. He added that cyber issues have not been adequately responded to in the present IT Act, and he would like to include a complete chapter on cyber issues in the new proposal. The minister also held a meeting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is on a three-day visit to India. "We had a very good meeting, it was a courtesy meeting. I wish to thank his observations for Digital India, in particular digital inclusion...We also discussed whole range of issues around IT," he said after the meeting that lasted for about 20 minutes. Prasad said he suggested that Microsoft should consider adopting some digital villages (of the 1 lakh that the government has proposed to set up) and mentor them to make them beacons. "I am happy that he has readily responded," he noted. The minister also pointed out that the issue of data sovereignty was discussed at the meeting. In the past too, Prasad has maintained that India will never compromise its data sovereignty, and will not allow for digital platforms to be misused. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have suggested that students in different grades return to school on different dates in March to minimize the risk of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. According to a proposal by the municipal Department of Education and Training, five-year-old kindergarteners and fifth-grade students will be back to school from March 16. The back-to-school dates for younger kindergarteners and elementary school students remain undecided and will depend on how the epidemic develops, according to the proposal. Ninth-grade and twelfth-grade students will resume their study on March 2, while other middle school and high school students will go to school from March 16. Learners of local language centers will continue their courses on March 16. Half-day education will be implemented across all elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools after the reopening. Colleges and universities managed by the Ministry of Education and Training will be free to decide on their back-to-school dates after March 2. According Le Hong Son, director of the citys education and training department, the metropolis currently has about two million students. If all of them return to school on the same day, it will be a problem for anti-epidemic efforts, Son elaborated. Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at a meeting on February 25, 2020. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday evening, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan considered the proposed back-to-school schedule a necessary approach to reduce the risk of an outbreak. The treatment and care of COVID-19 patients require the participation of many doctors and nurses. If the number of infections reaches 1,000 in Ho Chi Minh City, the situation will be difficult to handle due to a shortage of medical staff, Secretary Nhan stated. The COVID-19 has killed 2,765 people and infected over 81,000 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. All of them have fully recovered and have been discharged from the hospital, with the last patient released on Wednesday morning. Most provinces and cities in Vietnam previously decided to let students stay home until the end of February as a precaution. The education ministry recently suggested that local authorities allow students to resume their study at the beginning of March. If the administration in any locality decides to further extend the school closure, they will have to make sure local students take enough classes to complete their curriculum and wrap up the school year prior to June 30. The central government has yet to approve any proposal on back-to-school dates, given the COVID-19's complicated developments in China, South Korea, and Japan. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Harbour Apartments have been transferred to new owners who plan on extensive upgrades in the coming months. BH Management, an Iowa-based property management company, sent a letter informing residents it would no longer be managing the property on Crow Road in Beaumont. Dallas-based TriPro Management is now the new managing company, it announced in a letter that outlined interior and exterior renovations to the entire complex. Along with traditional apartment-style homes, The Harbour also has townhomes. The complex was built in 1978, according to building code records. The Harbour Apartments were registered under Harbour Apartments LLC and listed Will Harper as a principal agent. Harper is a principal with the Allen Harrison Co., a Houston-based real estate investment firm. The complex was appraised at more than $11 million in 2019, according to the Jefferson County Appraisal District. Gordmans, the off-price retail brand from Stage Stores, is staffing up before its spring rollout of new stores in Texas, including two in Southeast Texas. The company announced it will host job fairs for four of its newly rebranded stores, two of which are in Beaumont and Vidor. Both fairs are planned for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 3 at Gordmans locations at Parkdale Mall in Beaumont and Crossroads Shopping Center in Vidor. Applicants are encouraged to apply online before attending at gordmans.com/careers . Fairs will also be hosted in Sweetwater and Laredo during that same time frame. The company said the stores should open on April 28. Stage is continuing to convert more than 500 of its other department store brands to Gordmans in 2020 after growing performance strength from the concept. It started conversion of stores in 2018 with 17 smaller markets in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Struggle Street Brewing Co. on Calder Avenue has updated its patio area. The brewery, which opened last fall, has featured outdoor seating and food trucks since it opened but didnt have a covered patio until now. Wednesday on its social media accounts, the brewery revealed a new patio extending past where its previous roped-in area was. Amid the threat of another California drought, federal regulators have ordered that a large reservoir south of San Jose be drained because of concerns that its dam may collapse in an earthquake, leading to a massive release of water that could flood much of Silicon Valley. Local authorities agree with the need to mitigate that risk, but not on the approach to doing so. Because the 240-foot-high earthen Anderson Dam could fail if a major earthquake strikes on the Calaveras Fault that sits next to it, the process of emptying the reservoir should begin no later than Oct. 1, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said. It is unacceptable to maintain the reservoir at an elevation higher than necessary when it can be reduced, thereby decreasing the risk to public safety and the large population downstream of Anderson Dam, David Capka, director of the FERCs Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, wrote in a letter Thursday to the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which owns the reservoir. Worlds of worries: Wildfires, power outages, now flooding? California has a dam problem and desert communities might be in danger Anderson Reservoir, also known as Anderson Lake, was built in 1950 between San Jose and the community of Morgan Hill to the south. The lake can hold close to 90,000 acre-feet of water, accounting for more than half the districts capacity of 170,000 acre-feet in all 10 of its reservoirs. Since 2009, the dams water level has been kept at a maximum of 74% of capacity because of an assessment that it could be damaged in a magnitude 6.6 earthquake centered at the fault or a 7.2 quake with an epicenter as far as a mile away. On Monday, as the possibility of another drought loomed in California, Anderson Reservoir was just 29% full. More than 60% of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions during whats usually the rainy season, and theres no precipitation in the forecast until March. A buoy on the ground next to the dam at Anderson Reservoir on Monday reflects the low water level at a facility that's at 29% of capacity. Nevertheless, federal regulators have mandated the reservoir be drained because of high risk to the public in the event of a major earthquake. In a statement posted Monday, water district CEO Norma Camacho said the reservoir is already operating at levels below the requirements set by the FERC and the states Division of Safety of Dams. Story continues She also noted the adverse impact draining the reservoir could have on residents, wildlife and the dams infrastructure. The demand to empty Anderson Reservoir could result in unsafe consequences, Camacho wrote. A top concern is the potential to damage the intake structure, which would give us no way to control water flows out of the reservoir, potentially impacting downstream communities. Valley Water is also concerned about the environmental impacts of these new requirements. With the draining of the reservoir, experts would expect fish die-offs. Camacho said the preferred solution would be completing the reservoirs seismic retrofit project, which has been in the works for years but complicated by additional safety and design requirements. Construction is expected to begin in 2022. If the dam collapsed, runoff could damage cities and rural areas from the San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the south, the water district said. In 2017, more than 14,000 residents had to be evacuated as water from swollen Coyote Creek, downstream of Anderson Reservoir, flooded homes and temporarily shut down a portion of a freeway. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds order draining of California reservoir despite ongoing drought Seawater is more than just saltwater. The ocean is a veritable soup of chemicals. Part of that broth comes from dissolved carbon compounds, which account for a significant store of global carbon, on par with the amount held in the atmosphere. Researchers are actively working to classify what forms carbon takes in the world's oceans, as well as the biological processes that recycle it in the ocean's water. Some molecules, like proteins and sugars, readily break down, while others are more resistant to degradation. A new study, led by UC Santa Barbara postdoctoral researcher Shuting Liu, investigated some of these more recalcitrant compounds and the microbes that can digest them. The results, which appear in the journal Limnology and Oceanography, illuminate basic aspects of the ocean carbon cycle and may help scientists predict the role microbes play in its regulation. Liu and Professor Craig Carlson, in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, are part of a group conducting research at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site. The site is a long-term research project in the Sargasso Sea, itself a region of the Atlantic in the vicinity of Bermuda. Over the course of many years, the scientists noticed dissolved organic matter building up in surface water during the calmer summer months. Rougher conditions in the winter mixed these compounds into deeper water, a layer scientists call the mesopelagic zone -- or, the twilight zone, because spans the lowest depths that light can reach. Once that happened, some of the organic matter would break down, and the cycle would begin again. The team was eager to understand why. To do so, Liu and her colleagues focused on carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules, or CRAMs, a particularly tough and diverse array of organic compounds with similar chemical properties, some of which comprise the more tenacious organic molecules in the ocean. One class of compounds that fits the CRAM description are lignins, the group of molecules that give wood its rigidity. In fact, Liu used lignin as one of four model CRAM-like compounds in her experiment. advertisement The team's goal was simple. "We're trying to see what types of microbes are responding to these CRAM-like compounds in the mesopelagic," said Liu. The scientists introduced their four model CRAM compounds into samples of seawater from the mesopelagic and observed the results. At various time intervals, they analyzed the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and counted the total number of bacterial cells using a microscope. The group also used molecular probes that targeted six specific microbe lineages to determine how much each lineage was growing relative to total cell growth in the sample. This told them which of these groups were most active. The researchers used these compounds in concentrations orders of magnitude larger than the microbes would ever see in nature. "We were taking an experimental enrichment approach," Carlson said. "If we give it to them at elevated concentrations, will they use it? And if they do use it, who's using it?" They found that, despite the compounds' shared characteristics, their availability to the microbes differed between the various lineages. "Some of the compounds were very easily utilized," said Carlson, "while others were more resistant to degradation, like the lignin and humic acid." The experiment also confirmed the team's hypothesis that microbes that are relatively more common in the mesopelagic, rather than the ocean's surface, were capable of breaking down and using these tough compounds. This finding had previously been implied from genomic studies by their co-authors and collaborators Stephen Giovannoni and Jimmy Saw at Oregon State University. advertisement Liu and Carlson, among other researchers, hypothesize that the mesopelagic zone hosts a distinct community of microbes with the ability to take advantage of material untouched by the microbes living above. Surface bacteria must spend more energy sequestering nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which are scarce in the upper ocean. By contrast, the photosynthetic plankton living in the sunlit surface provide easily digestible carbon. As a result, surface microbes likely use the most accessible forms of carbon instead of sinking energy into more resistant organic compounds. Meanwhile, nitrogen and phosphorus are abundant deeper in the mesopelagic zone, according to the researchers. As a result, microbes living there may have the resources and energy to invest in breaking down and absorbing more recalcitrant forms of carbon, like CRAMs. Right now, the relationship between the degradation of CRAMs and the presence of certain microbes in the mesopelagic zone is just a correlation, Liu explained. She hopes to establish a causal link by tracking the carbon from CRAM compounds as they degrade and seeing if it's taken up by the microbes she studies. Liu and Carlson plan to use compounds and concentrations more similar to actual seawater in upcoming experiments. One of their colleagues is employing mass spectrometry to characterize dissolved organic compounds in seawater, including some CRAMs. Once more characteristics of these compounds are identified, Liu can use similar methods to extract organic components from the environment and conduct a similar experiment. "Microbes are the organisms that are driving these big biogeochemical cycles," said Carlson. "There's so many of them, they grow so fast, and they turn over so quickly. They can transform the chemical distributions of entire ecosystems. Studying what controls the growth of the ocean's smallest organisms has big implications to how chemical cycles are governed in the ocean." Colombia was granted a total production quota of 56.2 tons of medical cannabis for 2020 by the International Narcotics Control Board ("INCB"), the entity responsible for the implementation of the United Nations drug conventions. This represents 21.9% of the worlds legal global supply of high THC medical cannabis. was granted a total production quota of 56.2 tons of medical cannabis for 2020 by the International Narcotics Control Board ("INCB"), the entity responsible for the implementation of the United Nations drug conventions. This represents 21.9% of the worlds legal global supply of high THC medical cannabis. The Company will begin cultivation activities immediately in its existing state-of-the-art facility near Ibague, Colombia , with its already-registered strains. , with its already-registered strains. The Company will be notified of the accompanying extraction quota by the Ministry of Health of Colombia , which will define allocation between domestic production and international exports for 2020. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN), (OTCQB: KHRNF), (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America, today announced that it has received 2020 commercial cultivation quotas from the Colombian Technical Quotas Group ("TQG"), to cultivate psychoactive cannabis plants for national and export commercial purposes in 2020 utilizing the previously announced 22 strains already registered with the ICA's National Cultivar Registry. "We are very satisfied to have been awarded 17% of Colombia`s total production quota for 2020. This continues to demonstrate our regulatory expertise and the trust that the Government of Colombia, and the Ministry of Justice has on our business plan. For the last 3 years, Khiron has been a leader in Colombia by driving regulatory milestones which place the Company on a path to imminent sales of medical cannabis in Colombia and improving the lives of million of patients in the country, Latin America, and Europe." Comments Alvaro Torres, CEO Khiron Life Sciences Corp. "With a Q3 cash balance of $47.9 million and all facilities complete, we are ready to begin cultivation activities immediately." About Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Khiron Life Sciences Corp. is positioned to be the dominant integrated cannabis company in Latin America. Khiron has core operations in Latin America and is fully licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) medical cannabis. The company delivers best in class regulatory compliance, has the first approved set of CBD cosmetic products on shelf in Colombia, and is currently facilitating testing to meet and surpass all license requirements for commercial cannabis derived products. With a focused regional strategy and patient oriented approach, the Company combines global scientific expertise, agricultural advantages, branded product market entrance experience and education to drive prescription and brand loyalty to address priority medical conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, depression and anxiety in the Latin American market of over 620 million people. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced executive team, and a knowledgeable Board of Directors that includes former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Visit Khiron online at www.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife Cautionary Notes Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. United States Disclaimer This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Related Links https://www.khiron.ca/en/home Pete Davidson is known for his out-there antics and tabloid-beloved dating life. But the SNL comic revealed an unexpectedly zen side in a new promo with next week's guest host John Mulaney. When Mulaney stops by Davidson's dressing room he's surprised to find the controversial comedian turning a new leaf. Pleasant surprise: This weekend's SNL host John Mulaney was surprised to find a new and improved Pete Davidson in a teaser for the upcoming episode John is clearly confused as he walks into the crystal and candle-filled room, wondering: 'What's going on here, Pete?' as the funnyman's guru Gary heads off. Trading his usual streetwear for a linen tunic and hippie beads, Davidson looked like a changed man. And he certainly sounded like it also, telling John he's been busy working on his 'inner chakras.' 'What the hell is going on?' an increasingly angry Mulaney wonders. Huh? John is clearly confused as he walks into the crystal and candle-filled room Spiritual guide: Mulaney wonders 'What's going on here, Pete?' as the funnyman's guru Gary heads off New look: Trading his usual streetwear for a linen tunic and hippie beads, Davidson looked like a changed man 'I'm meditating, I'm getting sleep,' Pete explains after showing the Kid Gorgeous stand up a pair of non-bloodshot eyes. 'I had a dream for the first time last week, I'm feeling great.' Pete even admonishes John for trying to bum a drag from his 'menthol vape,' telling Mulaney: 'You can't do that! You can't vape!' Still, Davidson was ready to keep up appearances, slipping on a bright orange jacket before heading out. 'Why you putting on that hoodrat gear?' John asks, to which Pete explains: 'You gotta give the people what they want.' Good energy: And he certainly sounded like it also, telling John he's been busy working on his 'inner chakras' Straight-laced: 'I'm meditating, I'm getting sleep,' Pete explains after showing the Kid Gorgeous stand up a pair of non-bloodshot eyes. 'I had a dream for the first time last week, I'm feeling great' Mulaney bids Davidson farewell with some parting advice, telling him: 'Hey Pete, there are some paparazzi outside, so be sure to act real stupid.' 'Oh you know I will,' the ex of Ariana Grande says with a wink. The promo could be a cutting commentary about Davidson's place on the sketch show. During a sit down with Charlemagne Tha God Pete called out his fellow SNL-ers for making him the butt of the joke, claiming they think he's 'f***ing dumb' What the people want: Davidson was still ready to keep up appearances, slipping on a bright orange jacket before heading out Putting on a show: Mulaney bids Davidson farewell with some parting advice, telling him: 'Hey Pete, there are some paparazzi outside, so be sure to act real stupid' You got it: 'Oh you know I will,' the ex of Ariana Grande says with a wink 'I literally was just like, "Picture what its like to be made fun of and then cut to immediately." They think Im f***ing dumb. Im literally painted out to be this big dumb idiot,' Davidson said. 'I have a weird feeling in that building where I dont know whose team theyre playing for really, if Im the joke or Im in on the joke,' he also explained. John Mulaney will host Saturday Night Live with musical guest David Byrne on Saturday February 29. In addition to SNL, Pete can be seen in his new Netflix stand-up special Alive From New York, which is streaming now. President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House on October 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump will make a rare appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday for a news conference on the deadly coronavirus outbreak at 6:30 p.m. ET, alongside members of his coronavirus task force. Trump had announced the event on Twitter on Wednesday morning, saying officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others would appear for the press event. The event was originally scheduled for 6 p.m., according to the president's tweet. The White House revealed the updated schedule Wednesday afternoon. As the administration works to respond to the fast-spreading disease the first case of which was just confirmed in Latin America Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testified before House lawmakers that Trump asked him to make the evening briefing public in order to be transparent. Trump has rarely appeared in the James S. Brady Briefing Room, where White House press secretaries have traditionally fielded questions from the press. The last official press briefing, however, was nearly a year ago during the tenure of former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The current press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, has never held an official press briefing. Hours before the presser was scheduled to begin, Politico reported that the White House was considering appointing a coronavirus czar. Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb was among a handful of officials being discussed for the role, according to Politico's report, which cited two people familiar with the matter. But Azar pushed back on the report. "I don't anticipate" a czar being appointed, Azar said during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. "This is working extremely well." The White House also denied Politico's report. Judd Deere TWEET Trump revealed the Wednesday evening news conference on Twitter after attacking media for "panicking markets" through their coverage of the virus. Trump TWEETS The rapid spread of the virus, which has killed more than 2,700 people and infected tens of thousands more, has rattled governments and markets around the world. Stocks plunged Monday and Tuesday plunged in one of the worst two-day trading sessions in years. The president's tweet also included a mocking reference to MSNBC, which on Wednesday morning played a clip of CNBC's interview with White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow from a day earlier. Kudlow said in that clip that the U.S. has "contained" the coronavirus. "I won't say [it's] airtight, but it's pretty close to airtight," he said. Those comments, which came just hours after the CDC warned Americans to start preparing for the possibility of a pandemic, quickly garnered criticism and failed to contain the hemorrhaging markets. Trump in his tweets also lashed out at Democrats, who have criticized the administration's response to the coronavirus so far, for being "all talk, no action" on the outbreak. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed the Trump administration's $2.5 billion coronavirus budget request as "too little too late." Schumer took the Senate floor Tuesday to lambast Trump. "The harsh fact of the matter is, the Trump administration has shown towering and dangerous incompetence when it comes to the coronavirus," Schumer said. New Delhi: The Delhi Police has arrested 106 people for their alleged involvement in the northeast Delhi violence and registered 18 FIRs, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. No untoward incident was reported on Wednesday and PCR calls from northeast Delhi have reduced, additional commissioner of police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa told repor-ters. Police also released two helpline numbers 011-22829334, 22829335 for people to reach out during distress. Meanwhile, National security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday visited the violence-hit areas of Northeast Delhi. This is his second visit to the riot-hit areas in less than 24 hours. The NSA also briefed Union home minister Amit Shah about the prevailing situation in Delhi where clashes over the contentious citizenship law have so far claimed 24 lives. Immediately after visiting US President Donald Trump embarked on his return flight, 75-year-old Doval undertook a late night tour of the riot-hit areas on Tuesday accompanied by Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik, newly-appointed special commissioner S.N. Shrivastava and other senior officers, they said. The situation is under control and people are satisfied. We have confidence in law enforcement agencies. The police is doing their job and is alert. Only some criminals were involved in this. One should try resolving issues and not increasing them. There were incidents earlier but today (Wednesday) it is calm. Locals want peace. We have full faith there will be peace, the NSA told reporters there. Doval visited Maujpur, Jaffrabad and some other affected areas after holding a meeting with senior officials of the Delhi police at the office of DCP Northeast. The NSA said he was there as per the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah. If God wills, there will be peace and harmony here (Inshallah yahan par bilkul aman hoga), said Doval. In his first reaction to incidents of violence in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed for peace and brotherhood, and said he has held an extensive review of the prevailing situation in various parts of the national capital. He said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored at the earliest. Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy, Modi tweeted. A baboon scheduled to undergo a vasectomy in Australia made a dash for freedom Tuesday along with his two wives, leaving the trio running amok on the streets of the countrys biggest city. Animal wranglers and police were called after the trio escaped from a truck en route to a Sydney hospital in the evening rush hour as bemused locals looked on in a western suburb. The states health minister Brad Hazzard told local media one of the primates had been about to get the snip and the other two were there to keep him calm. The two girls came as, effectively, his wives to keep him company while he had his vasectomy, Hazzard told The Daily Telegraph. Videos on social media showed the three wandering past parked cars as passers-by watched in disbelief. Im six floors up and I was just having a gaze out at the car park and there were three baboons, one caller to local radio station 2GB said. Im dead set serious. They even had shiny red bottoms. A spokeswoman for New South Wales Police advised people to avoid the area but said there had been no immediate danger to the public. The runaways were eventually recaptured. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rival Libyan politicians met on Wednesday for U.N.-sponsored political talks in Geneva aimed at ending the latest round of fighting over the country's capital, Tripoli. The resumption of political negotiations, one of three ongoing U.N.-mediated diplomatic tracks, followed an agreement this week between military officials to formalize a shaky cease-fire around Tripoli. The declared cease-fire deal, now under review by Libya's competing leaders, addresses the return of thousands of displaced civilians to Tripoli. But it makes no mention of key points of contention, such as the withdrawal of eastern-based forces or the demobilization of formidable militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported Tripoli government. Peace negotiations have made halting progress over past weeks, as low-intensity clashes continue around Tripoli and weapons flow into the war-torn country despite world powers' pledges to the contrary at a peace summit in Berlin last month. The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by commander Khalifa Hifter, who controls the country's east and south, launched an offensive to capture Tripoli last April. The fighting has displaced more than 150,000 people and killed hundreds of civilians. Hifter receives extensive support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Russia and France. The embattled Tripoli government has increasingly relied on Turkey to supply military aid, including air defenses and fighters deployed from nearby Syria, to repel Hifter's advances. Search Keywords: Short link: In the Hindu-dominated pockets of Chand Bagh and Karawal Nagar many Muslim families left their homes for safer places under police protection. New Delhi: As the death toll steadily rose to 27 and over 200 are reportedly injured, an eerie calm prevailed in the entire riot-hit northeast Delhi on Wednesday morning, after nearly 48 hours of unchecked communal conflagration that has left in its wake not just charred remains of homes, business establishments, and even entire localities in Jafradabad, Maujpur, Chand Bagh, Karawal Nagar, but also a delicately maintained harmony. Heavy deployment of police, paramilitary forces was visible in these areas on Wednesday, the day National Security Advisor Ajit Doval reached the riot-torn spots assuring protection and safety after facing public ire. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also made his first appearance in the riot torn areas late Wednesday evening. After US President, Donal Trumps departure last night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the third day of riots, reacted for the first time and appealed for peace and brotherhood. While the administration appealed for peace, the body of an IB employee was recovered from a culvert at Chand Bagh area Wednesday morning. While who killed whom will remain a matter of endless police inquiries and judicial probes, the Delhi Police said that it has arrested 106 people for their alleged involvement in the violence and registered 18 FIRs. Chand Bagh, which was one of the busiest areas, teeming with people from all communities and known for its frenetic pace, has turned into a ghost town. Frightened residents peeped from behind half-closed doors and windows. Shops, schools, and business establishments that had been spared remain shut. Streets were littered with mangled remains of burnt vehicles, bricks and burnt tires, mute testimony to the violence and bloodshed that continued for nearly three days while the Central and Delhi administration failed to act. After over 72 hours of rioting that began on Sunday night hours, lathi-wielding and gun-totting CRPF and Saharsha Seema Bal (SSB) jawans marched through the entire stretches of Jaffrabad Road. They rained blows on anyone stepping out of their homes. Curfew hai, bhag andar, they screamed while swinging their long lathis at those who ventured out. In the Hindu-dominated pockets of Chand Bagh and Karawal Nagar many Muslim families left their homes for safer places under police protection. In Karawal Nagar, at least 60 Muslim houses lay abandoned. Carrying a child in her arms, Rukhsana of Karawal Nagar, looked completely lost. She has been staying in a Hindu-dominated pocket for decades, but today police personnel were urging Muslims in the area to move to a safer place till the situation improves. I have not seen anything like this in the last 40 years, said 65-year-old Rajendra Kumar Mishra. We lived in perfect harmony till the BJP leader Kapil Mishra began provoking people, he said. Another of Corcorans unusual fiscal habits, Davis said, was his annual average purchase of roughly $4,000 worth of gift cards, mostly for restaurants like Subway, Ruby Tuesday, Walmart and other popular retailers. Ostensibly, the cards were rewards for jobs well done by city employees, though there was no record of how or to whom cards were disbursed, Davis said. And while some city staffers reported receiving cards from time to time, how much was actually given to city employees? There were no controls over the cards, Davis said. Davis cautioned that further investigation or pursuit of a civil lawsuit against Corcoran would not likely yield any helpful evidence and could be prohibitively expensive. Thanking Davis for his report, Hall said, It was a lot less expensive than what we thought it would have been ... or what the FBI told us it would cost to do. The bottom line is I hope were able to put closure on it and move on and just move forward with the city. The government will conduct an exhaustive search for more than 200,000 followers of the dubious Shincheonji sect who may have been infected with coronavirus. The government on Tuesday said the sect has agreed to provide it with a full list of members and their contact numbers and the search "starts immediately." But it remains to be seen whether the sect will provide a full list because members tend to be secretive about their religious affiliation even vis-a-vis their own families. In fact, some health and quarantine workers who tested positive for the virus later admitted they were Shincheonji followers. I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Everyone is wondering when China will return to work. While it may be tempting to consider past epidemics or labor strikes to gauge how quickly that could happen, the industrial shutdown from the coronavirus is looking more like a natural disaster than anything else. It may even get worse. Chinese industrial activity remains severely depressed. One tracker shows an even sharper, albeit shorter, drop than the global financial crisis in 2008. Coal consumption at six major power plants is well below normal operating levels this time of year. Already, global suppliers delivery times are getting longer, particularly in Germany and Japan, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Companies that have come back online are struggling to return to full capacity. While some government controls have loosened in recent days, strict quarantines in key manufacturing hubs continue to take a toll. Most employees remain at home, and things, in theory, could return to normal when Chinas 300 million migrant workers get back to their jobs. But thats now looking distant. Just 20% to 30% will resume before March, according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc. By the second quarter, that proportion will only reach 60% to 80%. Interruptions from labor strikes, for example, will hit the bottom line and delay shipments for a few weeks, while the economic hit from severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 was relatively short-lived. By contrast, events like hurricanes, fires and floods, have a longer-term effect. Factories get destroyed, roads become difficult to traverse and logistics routes are upended by the destruction. Firms eventually run out of inventories. Until reconstruction work is well on its way, its hard to get the industrial cogs turning. Hundreds of natural disasters occur globally each year that threaten lives and livelihoods. In the U.S., around 40% to 60% of small businesses never reopen their doors as a result, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The ripple effects can be severe and cascade globally. A study of 41 major U.S. disasters showed that $1 of lost sales for suppliers led to a $2.4 loss for their downstream customers. Consider Japans earthquake in March 2011, the fourth-largest ever recorded. Manufacturing output fell 15 percentage points that month and didnt recover until August. Industrial production of transport equipment tanked, flowing through to exports. Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. saw their domestic production slump 63% in March. American companies with a big dependence on Japanese parts suffered, too. It took the better part of a year to get production levels back to where they were before the earthquake; U.S. manufacturing output fell by 1% in April and stayed low for almost six months. The coronaviruss spread will be even more disruptive. From its large network of ports and industrial parks to the billions of yuan in subsidies, China is the nerve center of global manufacturing. In 2015, the country made up nearly a quarter of the value-added share in global imports. There simply arent enough alternative suppliers for the crucial, if basic, parts manufactured by Chinas thousands of small and medium companies. Even if Beijing provides the cash, businesses are hamstrung with the regulatory burden of reopenings and labor shortages. The network effect will be amplified and prolonged, studies have shown. The trouble is, China Inc. wont get back to work until these small and medium enterprises do. While the rate of return varies across sectors, manufacturers of so-called intermediate inputs, which are shipped globally, are having the hardest time. A survey of 2,240 such companies showed that more than 90% of respondents had delayed business resumption. A large portion havent decided when they will reopen. Even companies like Toyota and Honda are struggling to get fully back online in China, given their dependence on local parts makers. The companies partially restarted operations at some plants as of last week. The longer businesses are closed the higher the likelihood that supply chains start breaking down, as firms run out of inventories and stockpiles. And even when they do return, factories wont be picking up where they left off. Volkswagen AGs joint venture with China FAW Group Co., for instance, resumed at four plants last week, but wont be at full steam until May. It will try to recoup losses by November, according to a production manager cited in state-run China Daily. That looks optimistic. Meanwhile, manufacturers have few choices. Beaten by costs and pricing, companies now depend on lean supply chains. All the advances in manufacturing such as Toyotas famed just-in-time manufacturing are premised on minimal inventory and short lead times. That looks like it could backfire. As Toyotas president Akio Toyoda said last week, Automobiles have a broad base, and there are various things like the status of parts supplies that you dont know until you put everything in motion again. Its only natural to look for comparisons that put a bookend on this crisis. Knowing that SARS cases dwindled after a few months and the economy eventually rebounded can be comforting, to a certain degree. Yet were starting to see that the coronavirus outbreak has few precedents. It may only be a matter of time before this episode becomes the benchmark for future disruptions. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Natural Disasters COVID-19 China Manufacturing (Natural News) MADRID Numerous scientists and experts have argued that the alarmists peddling hysteria about the man-made global-warming hypothesis are behaving as members of a religious cult while claiming to be acting on the basis of science. Instead of rejecting or revising their earlier dire warnings of climate catastrophe based on the growing body of scientific evidence arguing against their alarmism, they cling to their discredited dogma that environmental doomsday is fast approaching. (Article by Alex Newman republished from TheNewAmerican.com) For example, according to the alarmist theory, increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by a certain percentage will not simply cause a corresponding increase in temperature it will cause runaway global warming. That is what the alarmists models have forecast, but that is not what has happened. Scientists may debate how much global temperature has increased in recent years (satellite readings show almost no warming since 2000), but it is uncontested that runaway global warming has not occurred as the alarmists predicted. Same for United Nations claims of more hurricanes, more fires, less snow, and so on. Not surprisingly for a cult, this reality has not caused the climate cultists to reconsider their claims. The supposed environmental tipping point, when it will no longer be possible to prevent the impending catastrophe, is always just a few years away. Back in 1989, the Associated Press reported: Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environmental Program, or UNEP said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in 1989. Last year, she warned, The world is going to end in 12 years if we dont address climate change. Oh well, at least she gave humankind two more years than the UNEPs Brown did 30 years earlier. And perhaps she does not know that before she was born, in the 1970s and even into the early 80s, experts were warning that a man-made global-cooling trend could trigger another ice age. But the alarmists of recent decades continue to not only claim that they are right about catastrophic global warming, they also claim that the science purporting to establish a climate emergency is settled. In reality, as this magazine has repeatedly documented, the scientific evidence is overwhelming that there is no climate emergency.* But cults do not need evidence, science, reason, logic, or any of the tools traditionally associated with the honest pursuit of truth. Instead, they depend on deception, irrational faith, peer pressure, and a total concealing of the truth to advance and keep their members in line. COP25 The cult-like nature of climatism was on full display at last Decembers United Nations COP25 climate conference in Madrid attended by this author, whose cover-story report on the craziness appeared in the February 3 issue of TNA under the title Climate Alarmists Unmasked. Absent from the UN circus were scientific realists, who held a Climate Reality Conference elsewhere in Madrid hosted by a coalition of environmental groups that reject global alarmism, including the Heartland Institute, the CO2 Coalition, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE). Not surprisingly, their alternative conference, where evidence debunking the alarmism was presented, was ignored by the mainstream media. One of the speakers was Dr. William Happer, an internationally renowned Princeton physicist who served President Trump on the National Security Council until resigning recently. Happer, who did not mince words, used the occasion to identify the alarmists as a cult. I hope sooner or later enough people recognize the phoniness of this bizarre environmental cult and bring it to an end, he declared. Happer also suggested that the climate cults crusade against CO2 would end badly for everyone. We have a climate crusade. This is not science, its a religion, he declared. Crusades have a bad way of ending. Typically, many, many people are hurt, no good is done, but a few cynical opportunists profit and most people pay the price. The same thing will happen with the climate crusade if we permit it to go forward. I pray that we can stop it before it does too much damage. The entire premise around which the cult has rallied is phony, Happer explained. We are here under false pretenses, wasting our time talking about a non-existent climate emergency, said the world-renowned scientist, who previously told The New American that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be good for the planet and the people who inhabit it. Its hard to understand how much further the shrillness can go, as this started out as global warming, then it was climate change or global weirding, now it is climate crisis and climate emergency. What next? But stick around, it will happen. Of course, Happer is hardly the first world-renowned scientist to call the climate-alarmist movement a cult. MIT meteorologist Richard Lindzen has frequently referred to the warmists as a cult because they refuse to change their beliefs in response to evidence and proof. As with any cult, once the mythology of the cult begins falling apart, instead of saying, oh, we were wrong, they get more and more fanatical, Lindzen explained in a January 2015 radio interview. I think thats whats happening here. Think about it: Youve led an unpleasant life, you havent led a very virtuous life, but now youre told, you get absolution if you watch your carbon footprint. Its salvation! And in December of that year, outside the UN COP21 climate summit in Paris, the late Dr. Ivstan Marko, a chemistry professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and the head of the European Chemical Society, told The New American that the climate cult had perverted Christianity to develop its dangerous theology. Instead of repenting of sins, climate cultists want you to believe that you must repent of your carbon footprint by giving them money and surrendering your freedom. Its a new religion going on, he explained. We call it climatism around here. That new religion is there to make sure that people will pay you will pay for carbon dioxide, you will pay for heating your home, you will pay for everything that touches far or close to climate. It is also a religion that does not brook dissent. If you want to have research grants, you have to abide by the current dogma. If you dont do that, you will never be funded. Read more at: TheNewAmerican.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: No arguments and references to wartime can justify the mass killings of civilians during the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reads an article in Russias Novye Izvestia online newspaper, published under the Atrocities of the Century: February 26 marks the next anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre title, Trend reports Feb. 26. The author of the article notes that the history of mankind has many sad pages of the fierce cruelty that representatives of one nation showed in relation to another. This is, without a doubt, the darkest episode of the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, during which hundreds of residents of the Azerbaijani Khojaly town, including women and children, were killed, wounded and went missing, says the article. The Armenian servicemen explained their interest in this city by its convenient location, just 10 kilometers from Khankendi, the center of the Nagorno Karabakh region, the article noted. In addition, the only airport in Nagorno Karabakh capable of receiving heavy aircraft was located in Khojaly. The argument is strange because, according to numerous witnesses, there were no heavy weapons in town, and it was impossible to launch mortar fire at Khankendi from such a distance. Nevertheless, the Armenian command completely blocked the town (even telephone communications were cut off, electricity as well), reads the article. Armenian sources report that the city residents were allegedly warned of an imminent assault. However, according to the common opinion of human rights activists, no warning about evacuation can be an excuse for the massacre and killings of civilians who didnt want to flee their homes and apartments. The Russian Memorial Human Rights Center says that by the beginning of the operation, 2,000-4,000 civilians remained in Khojaly town. Eyewitnesses say that military support was provided to the Armenian military by the 366-th Motor Rifle Regiment of the Armed Forces of the former USSR, without the direct order of their leadership, reads the article. As Dmitry Polyakov, general of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the former USSR, later said in an interview with the Financial Times, 103 Armenians who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh served in this regiment. The shelling began at 23:00 (GMT + 4), at 1:00 the infantry entered Khojaly, and by 7:00 the resistance of the defenders of the town was completely suppressed. Surviving residents of Khojaly said that during the assault they tried to hide in the basements of residential buildings, and then tried to leave the town, the article said. Some managed to escape, but not everyone. The Memorial Human Rights Center found that about 200 bodies were delivered to neighboring Agdam district four days after the capture of Khojaly, 13 of these bodies belonged to children and 51 to women. The cause of death of the vast majority of them was bullet wounds, and some were killed with blunt objects. There were also recorded facts of abuse of the bodies and even scalping. This is just a small part of the evidence published by the Russian and European media immediately after the tragedy, the article said. Moreover, Human Rights Watch organization testifies that a crowd of residents, accompanied by a couple of dozens of retreating defenders, fled the city after it was occupied by the Armenian armed forces, the article said. Afterwards, they were shot dead by the Armenian armed forces. The Armenian side claims that such a death toll is allegedly connected with the fact that Khojaly residents were leaving along the "free corridor" that was provided for them, the article said. The armed people fired at the Armenian outposts, thereby forcing return fire. However, these facts were not confirmed and it is strange to justify the death of innocent people this way. There is no excuse for such atrocities, the article said. According to the Azerbaijani authorities, the result of the terrible massacre is as follows: 613 dead, including those frozen that winter night (63 of them children, 106 women, 70 old people), 8 families were completely destroyed; 487 wounded (including 76 children); 150 missing, the article said. Moreover, 1,275 people were held hostage and 5,379 people were expelled from their place of permanent residence. So far, nothing is known about the fate of 150 people (of which 68 are women and 26 are children). In any case, the Khojaly massacre is a tragedy of not only the Azerbaijani people. Such atrocities do not have any justification. SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, March 21st at 11AM, Dr. Korie Edwards, Associate Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University, will be facilitating a lecture entitled: "Disentangling Culture, Ethnicity, and Race" at Impact Church located at 1253 New Market Avenue in South Plainfield, NJ. Dr. Edwards will lend her expertise to explain the difference between words that are triggering yet misunderstood in today's society. This lecture is the first in Impact Church's new Culture & Community Lecture Series. Culture & Community Lecture Series In an effort to help the Church become a safe space for conversations pertaining to race, Impact Church's Culture and Community Lecture Series is where a host of notable scholars from across the country will facilitate open dialogues for the community-at-large to address various perspectives of the issue throughout the calendar year. The purpose of these lectures is to increase positive self-esteem in members of the African-American community while providing a space for other races to gain genuine understanding regarding how to acknowledge and accommodate our cultural differences. "Those who embrace diversity often do so through a tainted lens of race. Congregations on Sunday mornings are a prime example. While churches should be one of the most diverse places on Earth, Sunday mornings remain one of the most segregated days of the week," said Bishop De'Andre Salter, Senior Pastor at Impact Church. "The misgivings of race, result in white people being uncomfortable attending African-American churches and African-Americans sacrificing their culture in order to be accepted into white churches." Society's heightened sensitivity toward racial identity has created a need for there to be a space free of judgment, hostility, and bias where information can be shared in an informative and constructive way. It's at this public lecture that all who desire to better themselves and their communities by growing in knowledge and understanding, will gain a perspective that will bring us one step closer to racial healing. Impact Church is a non-denominational Christian church located at 1253 New Market Avenue in South Plainfield, NJ where people are trained to be intentional with their time, talent, and money. Bishop De'Andre Salter serves as the Senior Pastor. For more information, visit http://www.church4impact.com or call (908) 222-9990. Contact: Sherri Jones 908-222-9990 ext. 16 [email protected] SOURCE Impact Church The touching moment a transgender man broke down in tears on seeing his chest for the first time after surgery to remove breast tissue has been captured on camera. The clip, which was shared to Twitter, showed Sol Hall, 22, from Melbourne as his bandages were removed in hospital following surgery he described as the 'biggest hurdle' of his transition. The procedure is called either top surgery 'masculinizing' chest surgery, it involves removing breast tissues in order to produce an even chest. In the sweet video, Sol could be seen resting his head back on his pillow as emotion washed over him after he saw his results. The moment Sol Hall, 22, from Melbourne saw the results of his gender affirming surgery on February 17 was captured in a touching video which was later shared online (pictured) The moment Sol Hall, 22, from Melbourne saw the results of his gender affirming surgery on February 17 was captured in a touching video which was later shared online (pictured) The nurse could then be heard asking: 'Have you been waiting for this for a while?' and Sol nodded his head in confirmation with tears streaming down his face. Speaking of the video, Sol said: 'Im lying in my hospital bed as a nurse unzips my post-op binder and pulls away the padding underneath, revealing my post-op chest for the first time. 'This was the biggest (and, for now, the final) hurdle in my transition. 'Immediately I felt a massive burden lift from my shoulders, metaphorically and literally. Sol explained that undergoing a top surgery - or chest masculinization surgery) was the biggest hurdle in his transition so far In the video, Sol was left speechless and could only nod to his nurses' question when she asked whether he had been waiting for this day for a while Sol, pictured recovering from his surgery, shared his video on Twitter in order to encourage other transgender people to 'manifest' their transition The 22-year-old pictured beaming on the second day following his operation, wearing his post-op binder Xan, Sol's girlfriend, waiting by his bedside while the transgender man recovered from his gender affirming surgery 'Relief washed over me and it felt like I could breath and relax for the first time in a long time. 'I realized that, although it felt completely surreal, it also felt so natural.' The clip was shared by Sol on Twitter and quickly gathered attention, earning more than 75,500 retweets and 717,600 likes. 'Id like to share my very personal chest reveal moment with the world, to hopefully show that despite the endless negative experiences we trans people have, we also get to experience some of the best feelings in the world,' he wrote. 'Use this video to manifest your own future if you need to,' he added. Sol pictured in hospital a day after his gender affirming surgery, with his drains still in, visible on his chest Sol's dedicated girlfriend Xian nursed him back to health in hospital (pictured) after his demanding surgery Gender Affirming Surgery (GAS), also known as Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) refers to the surgical procedure transgender people undertake to modify their appearance in order to suit the gender they identify with. GAS is a form of treatment to Gender Dysphoria, a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. Adults aged 17 and over can consent to going through these surgeries after undergoing therapy and living in their preferred gender for a year prior to the procedures. Xian and Sol pictured together. Transgender people are recommended to live in their preferred gendered for up to two years before going through GAS Sol pictured in hospital with girlfriend Xian and his friend Keeley three hours before his surgery BSP president Mayawati on Wednesday condemned the violent clashes in Delhi and demanded a high-level inquiry into it. "The loss of life and property in some areas of Delhi in incidents of violence, disturbance and arson in the past few days is very sad and very condemnable. The Central and Delhi governments should take it seriously and get a high-level inquiry conducted into it and take strict action against all the culprits and those who were negligent. This is the demand of the BSP," she said in a tweet in Hindi. The comments come in the backdrop of the communal violence over the amended citizenship law over the past few days in the national capital where the death toll on Wednesday went up to 20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Her statement was so inappropriate, Trump said. When youre a justice of the Supreme Court and its almost what shes trying to do is take the people that do feel a different way and get them to vote the way that she would like them to vote. I just thought it was so inappropriate, such a terrible statement for a Supreme Court justice to . . . Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glenwood Springs uses 100 percent renewable electricity, so travelers can enjoy the town without affecting the carbon footprint by staying in a hotel, eating at a restaurant and visiting an attraction. As a stop on Amtraks California Zephyr route, even the trip to Glenwood Springs is environmental-friendly. On June 1, 2019, Glenwood Springs, a town best known for its geothermal amenities, became the second city in Colorado and the seventh in the U.S. to flip the switch and transition to using 100 percent renewable electricity. The hot springs community in the Colorado Rockies is one of few towns in the country that has achieved the goal of sourcing its electricity 100 percent from wind, solar or hydroelectric power. Glenwood Springs purchases all its electricity from clean energy sources, primarily wind-generated electricity provided by Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN), the citys wholesale power supplier. There is no increased cost to end users, a perk that sealed the deal and benefits the towns residents, business owners and visitors. Sustainable ideals favorably impact tourism. This is good news for Glenwood Springs, Director of Colorado Tourism Office, Cathy Ritter, said. Travelers can come here and feel good about not affecting the carbon footprint. For approximately 42 percent of travelers, sustainability practices are a factor in selecting a vacation destination. By choosing to go to 100 percent renewables, Glenwood Springs and by association, Colorado has gained a significant competitive advantage in the tourism marketplace. Indeed, the citys switch to all renewable energy gives its attractions the green light to tout its increased eco-friendly status. Glenwood Springs has always led the way in environmental activism, as the three hot springs attractions use the geothermal heat and recycle BTUs to reduce their energy consumption. A significant number of the communitys hotels and restaurants are also on-board with using energy-efficient appliances and LED lighting. The new Hanging Lake shuttle and permit system ensures that Glenwood Springs National Natural Landmark & public lands are protected for future generations, while improving the visitor experience. Summer 2019, was the first year that a reservations system for Hanging Lake was was implemented. With nearly 1,300 visitors a day, the trail had become so popular that it was in danger of being ruined by overcrowding, trail erosion and threats to the delicate eco-system of the lake. To remedy the situation the U.S. Forest Service teamed up with the City of Glenwood Springs to whittle down the number of visitors to a more reasonable 615 per day. The result has been a huge success. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is built around the preservation and education of the cave system. A few years ago, the Adventure Park replaced all of the lights inside the cave with LED lights to reduce its electricity consumption and the heat generated by the incandescent lights, which helps protect the humidity levels and thus the caves formations and tiny creatures. Few people know that Glenwood Springs was one of the first places in the U.S., even before New York City, to have electric lights powered by the hydroelectric dam in Glenwood Canyon, along the Colorado River. Acknowledging the importance of keeping sustainable ideals at the forefront of Colorado travel and tourism. Providing clean energy to help protect the areas natural resources is a major accomplishment. Glenwood Springs has long been known as a wellness destination, with travelers from around the world visiting to soak in the healing benefits of its mineral hot springs since the 1880s. Prior to that, Nomadic Ute Indian tribes inhabited the area and frequently bathed and soaked in the hot mineral waters. Today, in addition to enjoying the hot springs, visitors come to fish, raft and kayak on the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers; hike, bike and ride the trails; camp and hunt in the White River National Forest; and ski, ride, snowshoe and snowmobile at Sunlight Mountain Resort. ### About Glenwood Springs The Land of Water, where world-famous hot springs meet year-round outdoor adventures. For more information and to plan a trip: visitglenwood.com. Glenwood Springs is located 160 miles (257 kilometers) west of Denver on I-70. An online media room is available at visitglenwood.com/media. Photos and B-roll video footage available upon request linked in the media room. Media Contacts: Patsy Popejoy PR Rep/Visit Glenwood Springs, ppopejoy@comcast.net 317-509-7384 Lisa Langer Director of Tourism Promotion Visit Glenwood Springs, lisa@visitglenwood.com Attachments Iran now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside China, with 95 infections, 16 deaths, and even the countrys deputy health minister has tested positive for the deadly infection. Over the past days, Iran has reported a sudden spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, which were traced back to the holy city of Qom. On Feb.19, the country reported two more deaths, but it was not until Feb. 22 that schools and universities were closed. Qom, Iran. Image Credit: SevenMaps / Shutterstock The Iranian government has denied trying to cover up the full extent of the outbreak in the country, with the deputy health minister denying the claim of a parliamentarian that there were 50 deaths. Health officials and authorities have promised to be transparent about reporting the death toll tied to the novel coronavirus. Amid this crisis, the deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, then tested positive for the virus. On Feb. 24, Harirchi has appeared to be coughing and sweating during a news conference in Tehran, along with Ali Rabiei, the countrys spokesman. During the news conference, he downplayed the spread of the virus and said mass quarantines were not needed. A day after, he posted a video on social media, saying he had contracted the virus. Bustling tourist attraction Qom is a bustling city with over a million people, receiving approximately 22.5 million visitors every year. If the government wants to contain the spread of the virus, shutting down this region in the country is crucial. However, Qom remains open, and people continue to pass through it in massive numbers. This poses a significant threat to the broader region. Iran is connected to the rest of the Middle East through travel by workers and religious pilgrims. Further, due to its economic state and dilapidated health system, it is ill-prepared to face and handle an escalating outbreak. Iran is perhaps the first example of a high incidence of COVID-19 in a country with relatively weak public health infrastructure, Hasnain Malik, Dubai-based managing director for frontier markets equity strategy at Tellimer, told CNBC. Also, Iran has an estimated 1.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people, which is half the level of Saudi Arabia and the United States. We will inevitably see more examples across Asia and, perhaps, Africa, Malik added. Meanwhile, four new member states, including Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, and Afghanistan, have reported COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Kuwait has also confirmed that a woman has tested positive for coronavirus after returning from Iran, bringing the number of confirmed cases to nine. The World Health Organization (WHO), over the past few weeks, has feared that if the virus has spread to a country with a weak health system, it can cause a catastrophe, making it more difficult to contain the spread of the virus. Globally the number of confirmed cases sits at 80,994, while the death toll reaches 2,760. South Korea has the highest number of infections outside of China, and Iran has the most number of deaths next to China. What we know about the disease it causes and how it spreads The new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, in December has infected tens of thousands of people in China and beyond and triggered alarm around the world. Here is what we know about the disease it causes and how it spreads: * Like other coronaviruses, the new virus - which causes a disease now called COVID-19 - is transmitted from person to person via droplets when an infected person breathes out, coughs or sneezes. It can also spread via contaminated surfaces such as door handles or railings. * Scientists in China who studied swabs from infected patients say the new coronavirus behaves quite like flu viruses, suggesting it may spread more easily than previously thought. * COVID-19 infection has an incubation period of between one and 14 days, and a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found new evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically. * A World Health Organization-led team of investigating scientists in China has said that the epidemic there peaked between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has been declining steadily since then. * They also found that the case-fatality rate is between 2% and 4% in Wuhan and 0.7% outside Wuhan. * Infectious disease and virus specialists estimate that each infected person in the epidemic is infecting, on average, two to three other people. * The WHO said on Monday that the COVID-19 outbreak was not out of control globally and does not have a large-scale death toll, so it was too early to speak of a pandemic. * Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, coughing, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Mild cases can cause cold-like symptoms, while severe cases can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory illness, kidney failure and death. * Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that get their name from what they look like under a microscope - they are spherical and their surfaces are covered with crown-like spikes. * Animal viruses can mutate or combine with other viruses to create new strains capable of being passed to people. Scientists say the new coronavirus originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via an intermediary animal species. * Genetic data suggests the new coronavirus is the result of viral recombination - a process where more than one virus infects the same cell at the same time and creates a recombinant virus strain. Search Keywords: Short link: The British public is fed up with warnings from French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier about delays to a Brexit deal beyond the end of this year, according to the chairman of pub chain Wetherspoons. Tim Martin warned UK and EU negotiators that people will not be fooled by a deal that fails to achieve what he said would be a real restoration of democracy. He warned that if any deal ties the UK to EU laws, or fails to protect fishing rights, the public will shun EU goods. If Macron and Barnier dont want a deal, or make threats, consumers will simply reject EU goods and will buy from the rest of the worldTim Martin Mr Martin said: If the public is tricked or cajoled it will have the power to drive imports from France and Germany down to zero, irrespective of any agreement. In my opinion the public is fed up with repeated warnings from French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, in areas such as fishing rights and prospective delays to a deal beyond the end of this year. Its truly pathetic of the EU to imply that a deal cant be done by December 2020. Brussels is a laughing stock in most of the world for its bureaucracy and sclerosis. If Macron and Barnier dont want a deal, or make threats, consumers will simply reject EU goods and will buy from the rest of the world, as Wetherspoon has shown by swapping French brandy and champagne, and German spirits and beers, for UK and new world alternatives. Mr Martin maintained that anything bought from Europe could be bought from elsewhere. Scare stories about planes not flying, blocked ports or loss of jobs in the City of London have proved to be cobblers, and consumers wont fall for Macron and Barniers baloney. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:14:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close TASHKENT, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Uzbek police have detained 21 people with suspected links to international terrorist organizations operating in Syria, according to a statement released Wednesday by Tashkent's department of internal affairs. The suspects were detained following a raid in 24 locations in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent and the greater Tashkent region on Wednesday, the department said. "The men held illegal meetings to agitate (for) the ideology of the international terrorist organizations in Syria, the ways to finance these groups and consequently join them," it said. Police said they have seized material evidence and an investigation is underway. Last week, Uzbek police arrested 21 other people over suspected ties to international terrorist organizations. If youre wondering what the electoral path forward is in 2020, just look at what the Republicans are doing. Over the past decade, the GOP has moved in lockstep to take over state legislatures and other local offices, pressing its agenda at every level. The party has had the backing of well-financed groups that in turn expect their limited-government, free market legislation to be prioritized. Its not a popular mandate, but Republicans keep getting reelected anyway, thanks to their outside support and organization. And heading into this pivotal election, Democrats dont seem to have the same kind of unity and electoral infrastructure. Advertisement To learn more about how Republicans have held onto power, I spoke with Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, a political scientist who teaches at Columbia University, on Mondays episode of What Next. We talked about the political ecosystem conservatives built from the ground up, and whether Democrats can assemble anything like it. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary Harris: If you picture a map of the U.S., with the states colored red or blue depending on which party controls the legislatures, there are more red states. Thats because Republicans have prioritized gaining control of statehouses and using that power aggressively. When Democrats have gained majorities in state legislatures, they havent wielded that power as purposefully as Republicans have. Advertisement Alexander Hertel-Fernandez: A great example is whats happening right now in Virginia, which flipped to having full Democratic control for the first time in about two decades. The state government had an opportunity to pass laws that would greatly expand union rights, making it easier for private sector workers to unionize and for those unions to have more resources. Those efforts got scuttledin fact, the governor said it would be a mistake for Democrats to prioritize these laws. The fact that Democrats have this internal division over what they should do first is just such a striking comparison with what happens on the right. A key question when your side gains control of state government is: What are you going to do with that power? What are the things youre going to do first, and what are you going to do later? Those are questions conservatives are really good at answering. When Republicans take over state governments, they first try to weaken unions and other progressive activist groups, and then change election rules in ways that will make it easier for them to win again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Republicans have gotten good at this mainly because they have a major organizing force on their side: the American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly called ALEC. It was founded with money from wealthy conservative donors and corporations. Members, including state lawmakers and huge companies, get access to a whole library of potential legislation prepared by ALEC. Some of these bills include laws like stand your ground, voter ID requirements, anti-union measures, and legislation to block Medicaid expansion. It all comes from this one group. Advertisement Advertisement Many state legislatures dont give lawmakers the proper resources to make policy. ALEC provides all of those resources: the ideas behind the bills, the polling that they would need to pass, a hotline that lawmakers can call if they want help drafting a piece of legislation or coming up with a good argument. ALEC essentially serves as a private research assistant for state legislators. Advertisement Advertisement ALEC and organizations like it are pushing policies that most voters dont want, which means that the only way they can pursue that agenda is by making it harder for people to participate in elections and doubling down on appeals to the sort of white identity politics that were seeing in the Republican Party today. Advertisement Advertisement Back when ALEC started, in the 70s, it was actually Democrats who controlled most state governments. They leaned on the organizational power of teachers unions to achieve their goals. At this time, when teachers unions were forming, they were becoming very politically active. They werent just lobbying on education-related policies. They were supporting liberal Democrats and pushing for higher taxes and more regulation on private sector businesses. Conservatives saw this, and in particular they saw that the unions were connected across the states, so they could share ideas and resources across borders. Republicans realized that if they were going to be competitive, they had to come up with similar cross-state networks of their own. Advertisement Many state legislatures dont give lawmakers the proper resources to make policy. ALEC provides all of those resources. Alexander Hertel-Fernandez So ALEC modeled its organization off these unions? It both modeled its organization off unions and was founded out of the threat that unions presented to them at time. The rise of public sector labor unions in the 60s and 70s was an important reason why conservatives felt like they had to get their act together and create organizations at the state level. Advertisement When union power declined, Democratic power also declined. It seems to me that ALEC takes advantage of the fact that while Democrats did benefit from powerful unions, those unions were also holding Democrats accountable. Nowadays, Democrats arent fully incentivized to make unions more powerful because they are also accountable to corporate interests. Advertisement Thats exactly right. The situation has only got worse as Democrats have come to increasingly rely on support from white-collar professionals, financial executives, and Silicon Valley CEOs. These are people who tend to be much more skeptical of labor unions. And that makes it harder for Democrats to think about supporting labor policy that would bolster unions. Advertisement What can progressives learn from what ALECs doing? Or have progressives forgotten what the unions were already doing back in the 70s? I think progressives have now realized that the states matter, particularly after what happened in the 2010 election and the shifts in state politics that weve seen since then. The question is whether the organizations theyre investing in can have the same effect as the organizations on the right. Is there a progressive analogue to ALEC? There have been a number of progressive efforts over time to construct counterweights to ALEC, but theyve often fizzled out because they havent received sufficient attention from donors or were too focused on organizing power in states that were already progressive, like New York or California. The State Innovation Exchange supports local legislators in a number of key states. Future Now is trying to replicate ALECs success by building a national network and thinking about the ways policy can be used to either advantage ones allies or defang ones opponents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wonder if you ever get frustrated with how much attention Trump gets, because it seems that Trump is separate from what these state-level organizations are doing. And I wonder if you look at some of the national coverage that focuses on whats happening at the presidential level, when the real electoral problem is somewhere else every day. Every day. It didnt matter, in a way, whether Trump or another Republican candidate ended up winning, because these organizations would have worked with the Republican administration in any case to pursue the sort of policies that complement the party at the local, state, and national level. Listen to the full episode using the player below, or subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tears flowed freely as the heartbroken sisters of the teenager killed in a car crash on the northside of Cork city last week promised that her memory will never die. Hundreds of mourners sat hushed in the packed church of St Mary's on the Hill in Knocknaheeny this morning as Kimberly O'Connor's sisters, Shannon and Britney, spoke of the family's devastation following her death last week. Kimberly, 16, from Harbour View Road in Knocknaheeny, was killed when the car in which she was a front seat passenger collided with a wall outside a house just yards from her home at around 11.45pm last Wednesday. At her funeral Mass this morning, in the church were she was baptised, christened, received her communion and confirmation, her sisters, who lost their dad, Mark, 11 years ago, fought back tears as they paid tribute from the altar to the girl they called "baby doll" and "little sis". Shannon said from the time Kimberly could walk and talk, she was their "drama queen - singing and dancing all day every day around the house". "Everywhere you went the room lit up with your beautiful smile and infectious laugh," she said. She said they will forever cherish videos of Kimberly recorded by their mother which will allow them to forever hear her voice whenever they need to. Kimberly O'Connor "I promise Kimberly your memory will never die - there wont be a day go by when we wont say your name. Sleep tight my baby doll - I love you forever," she said. Britney fought back tears as she recalled how she and Kimberly would argue about clothes and how Kimberly would often wear her new runners and clothes going out. "You always made everyone smile - morning, noon and night - your beautiful singing would never stop," she said. We will live with your memory in our hearts forever. You finally got your name in lights, beautiful doll. Now youre with our dad. Id say hes standing with his wings open to wrap you in. Shannon then spoke on behalf of her mother, Jennifer saying she would remember Kimberly's beautiful personality and caring heart, and how she did her makeup and curled her hair every day while blasting her favourite songs. "She loved everything about you - you were and still will be her superstar, Shannon said. "My mam finds a bit of comfort knowing you are with your daddy Mark as you were only four when your dad died but now you are together and he gets to have a beautiful angel to mind you till I get there." She said their new baby brother, Cody, and niece, Tori, will always know her, and added on behalf of her mother: "Your name and memories will be spoken in my house every day. "I will never understand why you were taken from me. You always had a positive vibe to you and never saw the wrong in anyone. I am so proud of how mature and positive you were in your life. "Your quote was positive vibes. You were a leader in everything but in a beautiful understanding and caring way everyone knew how good you were." Gifts brought to the altar included a painting Kimberly did at school recently, fake eye lashes, a bottle of duo glue tan, a HOPE Foundation t-shirt, a SuperStar stage school t-shirt, a cooperation jumper from the school, and a microphone and music book. Some of her cousins and her close friends read prayers of the faithful. Chief celebrant, Fr Gregory Howard, the parish priest of Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill, said a cloud came over the community when word spread about the crash. "Nothing prepares us for that. There is an incompleteness, an unreadiness and even a certain brutality: She was too young, so fragile still so unprepared to give up life," he said. "Since then the community here in Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill have prayed. We have prayed for Kimberly, her family, her friends, and the others hurt in the crash. "Even for people of faith, including myself, this is a time when finding perspective and consolation is difficult. What words can help bathe and sooth the wounds of grief, hurt and utter devastation? "Perhaps the consolation and courage we seek at a time like this are found not in words at all, but in a simple presence to each other, in the simple gesture of hugging each other and silently sharing pain and helplessness. "This has been the reality here in Knocknaheeny/Hollyhill in the last week. Shared pain and helplessness perhaps say all that needs to be said: 'I am here. I care. There is nothing I can say to make things better. I know you do not expect me to say anything!' And, maybe thats enough." He said Kimberly's family have drawn comfort from the beautiful works spoken about her, and tributes posted online. "Kimberly was given many talents and she used them generously and unselfishly," he said. "She was charming, a total extrovert. She spread joy and happiness wherever she went. She empathized with people and was always a voice for her fellow classmates. She had lots of sass. Kimberly had a great interest in drama and singing and was very talented. "She played a leading role in two musicals at the Cork Opera house prepared in the Terence McSwiney college over the last two years with her friends and teachers. "She received an award from UCC plus programme in March 2018 for excellence in maths, gaeilge and foreign languages. Kimberly was one of five students who travelled to Kolkata, India, in January with the Hope Foundation. "She spent months fundraising with her friends to help the poor of Kolkata. She helped to improve the classrooms and orphanages in the Hope U Can Paint Project there, making them colourful and engaging places to be for Kolkatas street children. "Kimberly was also involved in an exchange programme with cooperation Ireland, with students in the North of Ireland. This is a life fully lived talents used for the benefit of others. "God must be pleased with her and her reward must be truly great. More importantly though is that Kimberly loved her family and friends and always encouraged others to take centre stage. She was loved by all. "In the face of this untimely and tragic death, there is deep regret. But this regret is not a regret which focuses us back on the sins and shortcomings of our lives. No. The regret is that so much more of the love which Kimberly has in her hasnt flourished fully. In the face of death our deepest yearning is for more time: more time to express love more fully. "Kimberlys short life, which she lived to the full, challenges us to enter life more deeply in love, appreciation and especially in reconciliation." Amid heartbreaking scenes of grief, Kimberlys remains were taken to St Catherines Cemetery in Kilcully afterwards for burial. More than 700 people have pledged just over 18,000 to a GoFundMe account which was set up days after the crash by local man, James Twomey, to help Kimberlys family. An 18-year-old boy who was a rear-seat passenger in the car suffered severe head injuries and remains in Cork University Hospital. Gardai are still investigating all the circumstances surrounding the accident and have appealed for the driver of a white Toyota taxi who was travelling on Harbour View Road between 11.30pm and midnight last Thursday to contact them on 021-4946200. 26.02.2020 LISTEN At a time when the world is battling with Corona Virus, Ghana Kuchoko Legend, Blakk Rasta is carrying loads of his contagious Kuchoko Virus to Benin where he is billed to perform, with his Herbalist Band in the town of Azove, two hours away by bus from the capital, Coutonou. On Friday, 28th February at 8pm sharp, the Lieu Cite de l'independence a Azove will catch fire as Blakk Rasta joins a visually-impaired, twelve year old Petit Farno and other crack artistes to rock the populace. Petit Farno will use the opportunity to launch his debut album into the world of music as this promises to be a great event. Blakk Rasta has recently been on serious road tripss to several African countries spreading his innovative Kuchoko brand of music which is a fusion of Reggae music and African rhythms. In November 2019, he released his 32 song album, *Timbuktu By Road* with terrific visuals presently making stormic waves across the continent. Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Covid-19 Headlines & Experts for Interview from ExpertClick. From ExpertClick.com and The Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons. Search experts and a hundred thousand news releases at www.ExpertClick.com Download the 2020 Yearbook of Experts at: www.ExpertBookPDF.com Get included www.ExpertClick.com/join Questions? Or to set up an interview, contact: Mitchell Davis, Editor at (202) 333-5000. Covid-19 Headlines & Experts for Interview from ExpertClick. 1) Panic about the Coronavirus: Steps Companies Need to Take to Address Investor Fallout. Edward Segal, Crisis Management Expert Panic about the COVID-19 coronavirus among investors is spreading faster that the disease itself. Businesses and organizations that have been affected by the virus or soon will be should heed the words of former British prime minister Winston Churchill: "When you are going through hell, keep going." https://www.commpro.biz/panic-about-coronavirus/ ) How Covid-19 Has Profoundly Infected The Global Supply Chain Indo-Brazilian Associates LLC CEO presents a deep-dive into the delicate and highly vulnerable complexities of global logistics in his article - " Indo-Brazilian Associates LLC CEO presents a deep-dive into the delicate and highly vulnerable complexities of global logistics in his article - " https://seekingalpha.com/article/4326914-how-covidminus-19-profoundly-infected-global-supply-chain 917-710-7209 Albert Goldson agoldson@ceruleancouncil.com From the Archive: With the Question of "Will the Olympics be Cancelled" AroundTheRings.com -- Olympic Games Experts 3) https://www.expertclick.com/19-1245 AroundTheRings.com (ATR) For 20 years Around the Rings has been "the most influential internet presence on the Olympics" (The Guardian, Feb. 4, 2010). On-the-scene coverage of every bid and Games since 1992 means unparalleled access to decision-makers. Sheila S. Hula sheila@aroundtherings.com + 1 404 874 1603, ext. 102 4) How is that Plan "B" for China? - 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? Arthur Koch -- Management Consultant 336-260-9441 arthur.koch2012@gmail.com More headlines: lick to www.NewsReleaseWire.com to open and read all releases or click on release of interest. *Keep Your New Year's Resolution With These Weight Loss Tips http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/218494 *?? What Americans Need to Know About the Coronavirus http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/218493 *AMI Lays Off Editorial Staff of Men's Journal, Sells Fitness Brands http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/218492 *251 ? 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Interview with Bill Treasurer http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/218469 *MicroTech Selected for $159M Air Force Task Order http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/218468 *Ad Council & Guild Wars 2 Partner on In-Game Integration for Mental Health Awareness Veteran ABC Reporter Suspended After Making Political Comments on Hidden Camera Longtime ABC News correspondent David Wright was suspended on Feb. 26 after he was caught on hidden camera declaring his political preferences and chastising his employer for doing a disservice to voters, particularly with respect to the networks coverage of President Donald Trump. Wright declared himself a socialist. The company stated Wright wont cover political news anymore. Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved, said the companys emailed statement to The Epoch Times. David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns. The hidden camera recording was released on Feb. 26 by undercover journalism outfit Project Veritas. I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed, Wright was recorded as saying, commenting on the way the network covers Trump. With Trump, were interested in three things: the outrage of the day, the investigation, and of the palace intrigue of whos backstabbing whom. Beyond that, we dont really cover the guy, he said. He acknowledged that this leads to the networks failure to give him [Trump] credit for what things he does do. But the approach also fails to hold him [Trump] to account, he said. Wright made clear his view of the president and seemed to complain the network is not opposing Trump effectively. Were in this awkward moment whereand created by this awkward moment, we have this [expletive] president, and we cant figure out how to challenge him, he said. He made his personal politics clear too. Would you consider yourself a Democrat Socialist? the undercover reporter asked. Oh yeah. Like, more than that Id consider myself a socialist. Like, I think there should be national health insurance; Im totally fine with reining in corporations; I think theyre too many billionaires; and I think theres a wealth gapthats a problem. Yet, he criticized the only openly Democratic Socialist presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Bernie is very old and I think he doesnt want to admit that, Wright said. Instead, he expressed support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Setting aside my professional dispassion, I worry that if hes [Sanders] elected, hes not going to get anything done. Because he hasnt gotten anything done. Where I do think Warren taking those same issues could get something done, he said. Wright, whos been with ABC News since 2000, also criticized the company for neglecting stories that he believes would help people make better informed decisions at the ballot box. Real people talk about practical issues when theyre thinking about a candidate. I want to get back to the workforce or I cant afford childcare or I need medical care for whatever. Well, those things arent TV friendly things. You know, we want to focus on impeachment, we want to focus on the big [stuff] going on. But the things that help people make up their minds are little [stuff], he said. Management, however, doesnt see an upside in doing the job were supposed to do, which is to speak truth to power and hold people to account, he said. The company is too focused on promoting its own products, as opposed to the kind of dedication to the story and a commitment to telling stories that we need to tell that are maybe hard to tell, Wright opined in a video recorded at a bar at the Doubletree Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he was to cover the states primary. The commercial imperative is incompatible with news, he said. At one point, the Harvard and Oxford grad pulled ABC News veteran producer Andy Fies into the conversation. Both men agreed that that ABC has approached the Democratic primaries coverage like horse racing. Its all about the [expletive] horse race, Fies said. We cant stop ourselves. He also argued the network doesnt understand voters. I mean, people in New York are constantly, I think, fascinated by, How can people like Donald Trump? He suggested such New Yorkers need to broaden their horizons. Cross the Hudson now and then and come out and spend some time and youll hear why, he said. Theres no indication ABC has taken any disciplinary steps against Fies. Attempts to reach Wright for comment were unsuccessful. Most of the retail robots have just enough human qualities to make them appear benign, but not too many to suggest they are replacing humans entirely. The Great Read Here are more fascinating tales you cant help but read all the way to the end. As the population of the Isle of Rum in the Scottish Hebrides soars to 40, residents ponder the future of their remote and rainy home. Ron Perelman, the billionaire businessman who controls Revlon, seemed to have everything. Until the bill arrived. With the death of Ruth Willig at 98, a Times series on a set of the oldest New Yorkers chronicled over seven years in 21 articles offers their lessons on living with loss. Its like Mary Poppins, said Peter Hancock, a professor at the University of Central Florida, who has studied the history of automation. A spoonful of sugar makes the robots go down. Perhaps no other retailer is dealing as intensely with the sensitivities around automation as Walmart, the nations largest private employer, with about 1.5 million workers. The company spent many months working with the firm Bossa Nova and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to design a shelf-scanning robot that they hope both employees and customers will feel comfortable with. This robot was designed without a face, because its developers did not want customers to think they could interact with the device. But many of the robots have names, given to them by store staff. Some also wear name badges. We want the associates to have an attachment to it and want to protect it, said Sarjoun Skaff, a co-founder and the chief technology officer at Bossa Nova. Walmart said it planned to deploy the robots in 1,000 stores by the end of the year, up from about 350. At the Walmart Supercenter in Phillipsburg, N.J., on the Pennsylvania border, employees named the robot Wall-E a choice partly inspired by the Pixar film that depicts a trash-collecting robot on a deserted planet. The robot can work 365 days a year, scanning shelves with high-resolution cameras tabulating out-of-stock items. It takes a short break between shifts to recharge its batteries in a docking station. Speaking at the 43rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva, senior Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup said that Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India and that the situation in the region is "quite normal despite Pakistan's best efforts over decades to destabilise it through externally-instigated terror"."Speaking of terrorism, it is only logical to respond to the remarks made by the delegation of Pakistan, which is the epicentre of global terrorism. It is more than a little ironical that the nation that has become the world's leading exporter of terror and violence seeks to lecture others about human rights. Nonetheless, let me set the record straight on the issues raised," said Swarup, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs."Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India. The transformative changes brought by our Parliament in last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the (erstwhile) state, including to give full play to representative government from the grassroots level upward," he said.Swarup's remarks came a day after the Pakistani delegation at the UNHRC raised the Kashmir issue -- the subject of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan since the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that scrapped the region of its special status.He said: "It was intended to ensure the extension of all progressive legislation passed for the entire country to cover this region, and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.""Indeed, these measures are already showing positive results, despite Pakistan's best efforts over decades to destabilise the state through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal," he added.Swarup noted that most temporary restrictions imposed "to ensure solely the safety of people from Pakistani-trained terrorist attacks" following the revocation of Article 370 have been removed."Political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have largely been restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace, and there is access for all to education, and healthcare," he said."These have been achieved despite Pakistan's attempts to promote, both, violence within our territory, with an 81 per cent increase in infiltration attempts since last August and disinformation outside," he added.Swarup called on the world community to take decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, or shelter terrorists."As a nation that has suffered for decades from cross-border terrorism, India calls for decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, or shelter terrorists," Swarup said."We are happy to note that the HRC advisory committee is working on a report on this issue. We remain ready to work with all partners to fully stop all support from reaching terrorists, denying terrorists access to safe havens, and extraditing and bringing to justice perpetrators of terrorism and their supporters," he added. (ANI) MRMS student Samantha Clarke made the bracelets pictured here to raise funds to benefit a wildlife rescue organization in Australia that's providing aid to animals impacted by the wildfires that have been burning there since November. CHATHAM Samantha Clarke has a passion for making bracelets. She also adores animals. After seeing news footage of the Australian wildfires, she was struck with a desire to help, particularly the animals in greatest need, so Clarke put her creativity to good use and is now raising funds through her bracelet sales to benefit wildlife rescue efforts. Samantha Clarke puts the finishing touches on one of her handmade bracelets, which she's selling to raise funds to benefit WIRES, a wildlife rescue organization lending aid to animals impacted by Australia's wildfires. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Clarke was watching TV at home when a story came on about the catastrophic wildfires that have plagued Australia since November. Seeing kangaroos and koalas in peril made Clarke's young heart ache, and she knew she needed to help. With her mother Leigh Clarke's assistance, Clarke researched charitable organizations aimed at helping Australia's wildlife, finding a group known as WIRES, the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service, Inc. According to the WIRES site (wires.org.au), more than 4.9 million hectares of land have burned in New South Wales (NSW) alone, impacting more than 800 million animals in NSW and more than 1 billion in all of Australia. Many of the fires are still burning. Having settled on a charitable organization, Clarke needed to get busy making bracelets, and find places to sell them beyond school and through her Etsy and Instagram accounts (slothandme on both). A longtime fan of the Harwich Port shop Sativa, Clarke decided to inquire as to whether they'd be willing to include her bracelets in the store. I've loved that store, Clarke said. I asked Ron (Remondino, the owner) and he said of course I'd be able to sell them there. So far, Clarke has raised more than $800 of her $1,000 goal, which will be donated directly to WIRES. All the money goes to the animals there, Clarke said, adding that if she raised more than her goal she'd be thrilled. Clarke, a student at Monomoy Regional Middle School, makes the bracelets in her free time using beads of wood, stone, or plastic, often adorned with letter beads. Most of those benefiting Australia's wildlife have AU letter beads added in. That she's already raised so much and looks to raise even more makes her smile. I feel really great that I'm making a difference there, she said. To purchase a bracelet, visit Sativa in Harwich Port or follow slothandme on Instagram for bracelet and fundraiser efforts. The voters in Missouri said: Its cool that you guys are going to confirm that our voters are citizens, she said. And you can do that by a form of identification that may include photo ID. Thats very different than saying were going to exclude all of these other forms. The vote on the House floor Wednesday came after Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, announced his bid for reelection days before by vowing to undo the courts decision. I dont care what the Supreme Court says, he said at the state GOPs annual convention, according to the Springfield News-Leader. You all should make the decision, the people of the state. During the debate, House Democrats tried several times to amend the legislation so that eligible voters would be automatically registered when they receive a photo ID. BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK) (Delek US) and Delek Logistics Partners, LP (DKL) (Delek Logistics) today announced that Mr. Assi Ginzburg, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has informed them that he will not renew his employment contract to pursue other opportunities. Assi will remain in his current role until May to ensure a smooth transition. Delek US and Delek Logistics Partners are in the process of identifying Mr. Ginzburgs replacement. Regarding the CFO transition, Uzi Yemin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delek US and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Delek Logistics GP, the general partner of Delek Logistics, stated, Delek would not be what it is today without Assis invaluable contributions since joining the company in 2004. I wish Assi the best of luck as he has decided to pursue opportunities that will allow him to be closer to his family and I would like to thank his family for their support over the years. About Delek Logistics Partners, LP Delek Logistics Partners, LP, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, was formed by Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK) to own, operate, acquire and construct crude oil and refined products logistics and marketing assets. About Delek US Holdings, Inc. Delek US Holdings, Inc. is a diversified downstream energy company with assets in petroleum refining, logistics, asphalt, renewable fuels and convenience store retailing. The refining assets consist of refineries operated in Tyler and Big Spring, Texas, El Dorado, Arkansas and Krotz Springs, Louisiana with a combined nameplate crude throughput capacity of 302,000 barrels per day. The logistics operations consist of Delek Logistics. Delek US and its affiliates also own approximately 63 percent (including the 2 percent general partner interest) of Delek Logistics. Delek Logistics is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets. Story continues The convenience store retail business operates approximately 258 convenience stores in central and west Texas and New Mexico. Investor Relations Contacts: Blake Fernandez, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence, 615-224-1312 Jeb Bachmann, Manager of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence, 615-224-1118 Lenny Raymond, Manager of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence, 615-224-0828 Keith Johnson, Vice President of Investor Relations, 615-435-1366 Media/Public Affairs Contact: Michael P. Ralsky, Vice President - Government Affairs, Public Affairs & Communications, 615-435-1407 If I live only to earn money, to have a good time, to gain a bit of prestige or a promotion in my work, I am living for dust, said Pope Francis. Even in the Church, the house of God, we have let so much dust collect, the dust of worldliness. Let us look inside, into our hearts: how many times do we extinguish the fire of God with the ashes of hypocrisy! Vatican City (AsiaNews) Following tradition, Pope Francis led a prayer assembly along the Roman Stations in the ancient Basilica of Santa Sabina, on Romes Aventine Hill. This followed a penitential procession that started from the nearby Church of Sant'Anselmo. During the celebration, Card Jozef Tomko, titular of the basilica, rubbed ashes on the pontiffs head (pictured). Lent is not a time for useless sermons, Pope Francis said in his homily, but for recognizing that our lowly ashes are loved by God; it is time of grace, a time for letting God gaze upon us with love and in this way change our lives. The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are weak, frail and mortal. Centuries and millennia pass and we come and go; before the immensity of galaxies and space, we are nothing. We are dust in the universe. Yet we are dust loved by God. It pleased the Lord to gather that dust in his hands and to breathe into it the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We are thus a dust that is precious, destined for eternal life. We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out his heaven, the dust that contains his dreams. We are Gods hope, his treasure and his glory. Ashes are thus a reminder of the direction of our existence: a passage from dust to life. We were put in this world to go from ashes to life. So let us not turn our hopes and Gods dream for us into powder and ashes. Let us not grow resigned. You may ask: How can I trust? The world is falling to pieces, fear is growing, there is so much malice all around us, society is becoming less and less Christian Dont you believe that God can transform our dust into glory? The ashes we receive on our foreheads should affect the thoughts passing through our minds. They remind us that, as Gods children, we cannot spend our lives chasing after dust. From there a question can pass into our hearts: What am I living for? If it is for the fleeting realities of this world, I am going back to ashes and dust, rejecting what God has done in my life. If I live only to earn money, to have a good time, to gain a bit of prestige or a promotion in my work, I am living for dust. If I am unhappy with life because I think I do not get enough respect or receive what I think is my due, then I am simply staring at dust. That is not why we have been put in this world. We are worth so much more. We live for so much more, for we are meant to make Gods dream a reality and to love. Ashes are sprinkled on our heads so that the fire of love can be kindled in our hearts. We are citizens of heaven, and our love for God and neighbour is our passport to heaven. Our earthly possessions will prove useless, dust that scatters, but the love we share in our families, at work, in the Church and in the world will save us, for it will endure forever. The ashes we receive remind us of a second and opposite passage: from life to dust. All around us, we see the dust of death. Lives reduced to ashes. Rubble, destruction, war. The lives of unwelcomed innocents, the lives of the excluded poor, the lives of the abandoned elderly. We continue to destroy ourselves, to return to ashes and dust. And how much dust there is in our relationships! Look at our homes and families: our quarrels, our inability to resolve conflicts, our unwillingness to apologize, to forgive, to start over, while at the same time insisting on our own freedom and our rights! All this dust that besmirches our love and mars our life. Even in the Church, the house of God, we have let so much dust collect, the dust of worldliness. Let us look inside, into our hearts: how many times do we extinguish the fire of God with the ashes of hypocrisy! Hypocrisy is the filth that Jesus tells us in todays Gospel that we have to remove. Indeed, the Lord tells us not only to carry out works of charity, to pray and to fast, but also to do these without pretense, duplicity and hypocrisy (cf. Mt 6:2.5.16). Yet how often do we do things only to be recognized, to look good, to satisfy our ego! How often do we profess to be Christians, yet in our hearts readily yield to passions that enslave us! How often do we preach one thing and practice another! How many times do we make ourselves look good on the outside while nursing grudges within! How much duplicity do we have in our hearts ... What, then, are we to do? In journeying towards Easter, we can make two passages: first, from dust to life, from our fragile humanity to the humanity of Jesus, who heals us. We can halt in contemplation before the crucified Lord and repeat: Jesus, you love me, transform me... Jesus, you love me, transform me ... And once we have received his love, once we have wept at the thought of that love, we can make the second passage, by determining never to fall again from life into dust. We can receive Gods forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance, because there the fire of Gods love consumes the ashes of our sin. The embrace of the Father in confession renews us from inside and purifies our heart. May we allow ourselves to be reconciled, in order to live as beloved children, as forgiven and healed sinners, as wayfarers with him at our side. Let us allow ourselves to be loved, so that we can give love in return. Let us allow ourselves to stand up and walk towards Easter. Then we will experience the joy of discovering how God raises us up from our ashes. North Korea is taking 'unprecedented' measures against coronavirus with month-long quarantines, foreign diplomats locked in their compounds and loudspeakers blaring out health warnings. State media is demanding 'absolute obedience' to health authorities as the secretive nation tries to shield itself from the virus that emerged in neighbouring China. New arrivals are subject to 30 days' isolation and authorities are conducting door-to-door health check-ups in an intensifying 'anti-virus campaign'. North Korea claims it is the only neighbour of China not to have had a single case. North Korea claims it is the only neighbour of China not to have had a single case of coronavirus (pictured, North Koreans wearing masks last week) Foreigners are facing tough restrictions: all of those resident in the country have been subjected to quarantine at their premises since the beginning of February. Diplomats in Pyongyang have unable even to walk around the city in what the Russian ambassador described as a 'morally crushing' situation. The embassy had been 'left without diplomatic mail... we did not manage to get medicines and supplies for our first-aid post', Alexander Matsegora told Russia's TASS news agency. Staff could only leave the premises - which have a prime location in Pyongyang close to the Workers' Party leadership compound - to take rubbish to a landfill, when 'Korean specialists immediately disinfect our truck at the gates of the embassy'. The city's Orthodox church, taekwondo gym, skating rink and swimming pool were all off-limits, as were Korean and painting classes. 'They may seem trifles, but everyday life is made of them.' Diplomatic work had been virtually suspended, he added, with no meetings, conversations or negotiations with North Korean officials or other embassies, while contact with the authorities was limited to phone calls or official notes dropped into a special mailbox. Only a country as 'unique' as the North could take such a decision to address 'a problem of national importance' and implement it, he said, describing the situation as 'extraordinary'. 'In material terms, self-isolation is of course very expensive for the Korean state,' he added. But it would always be willing to pay that price, he went on: 'It is very important to understand that the issues of state security, the ideology and dignity of the country - in its North Korean understanding, of course - always and definitely prevail over economic considerations.' Those who expect sanctions to force the North to make concessions over its nuclear arsenal - negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington are currently deadlocked - should recognise that reality, he added. Workers in protective suits spray disinfectant in North Korea where authorities have taken 'unprecedented' measures to shield the country from coronavirus The novel coronavirus now known as COVID-19 originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has since spread around the world, killing more than 2,700 people. South Korea has seen a rapid surge of cases in recent days, to well over 1,100, giving it the largest national tally outside China. But Pyongyang insists that it remains the only one of China's neighbours not to have had a single case. Observers doubt that, but the official mouthpiece of the Workers' Party urged citizens to show 'absolute obedience' to instructions from health authorities and the state. 'We should bear in mind that any moment of complacency could result in irreversible catastrophic consequences and should maintain a high state of alert,' it said. Loudspeaker vans have also been driving around the country instructing North Korean citizens on hygiene practices. Diplomats say North Korea's quarantine measures are 'unprecedented'. Earlier this week North Koreans were warned of 'devastating consequences' if the country suffers even one case of coronavirus, recommending people avoid gathering in public places - even restaurants. 'Sitting down and dining together and talking with each other can itself become the main spreading ground of the infectious disease,' the party mouthpiece said. But state duties do not appear to be subject to such restrictions: on Wednesday it carried pictures of scores of Supreme People's Assembly officials lining up to visit the supposed birthplace of Kim Jong Il, the father and predecessor of the current leader Kim Jong Un, at Mount Paektu. All of them wore masks. Permanent TSB has reported profit before tax of 42m for 2019, an increase of 39m year-on-year. In prior years the bank had made provisions for a Central Bank fine in respect of the tracker mortgage scandal. In May last year the regulator reprimanded and fined Permanent TSB 21m in respect of the scandal. However, underlying profit was 74m, down from 94m in 2018. Meanwhile, new lending volumes increased by 14pc year-on-year in 2019 to 1.7bn, according to annual results from the group. Looking at mortgages specifically, lending grew by 13pc year-on-year to 1.5bn, outperforming market growth of 10pc. As a result, full year 2019 market share of drawdowns was 15.5pc. The bank said that whilst the mortgage market in Ireland continues to grow steadily, it remains competitive. It added that it continues to manage its offering carefully by maintaining price discipline and credit underwriting standards. During the period non-performing loans (NPLs) reduced by 38pc to 1.05bn at the end of December following the sale of 500m in NPLs announced last September. Permanent TSBs NPL ratio is now 6.4pc. At the end of December it held around 400 properties in possession, with 80 actively for sale. The bank said it expects to sell the majority of properties through various arrangements over the next 12 months. Elsewhere, Permanent TSBs Net Interest Margin (NIM) a key barometer of a banks profitability of 1.80pc, increased by two basis points from 1.78pc at year-end 2018. Jeremy Masding, outgoing CEO of Permanent TSB, said: "Our strong performance in 2019 reflects the attractiveness of our customer offering and the progress we are making in growing our business while managing costs rigorously. Cathay Pacific on 17 February said first-half financial results will be significantly down from a year earlier. (PHOTO: Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images) By Will Davies and Kyunghee Park (Bloomberg) -- More than 25,000 Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. staff are taking unpaid leave, underscoring the depth of the airlines troubles as it contends with the coronavirus. Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang said in an internal memo that Cathays challenges remain acute, and he thanked employees for their support. The airline this month asked its 33,000 workers to take three weeks off between March 1 and June 30. Most office staff have taken up the offer, but the acceptance rate is lower for pilots and cabin crew, according to a person familiar with the plans. Pilots are the most expensive employees for Cathay, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Cathay has already slashed capacity as the spread of the virus weighs on travel demand. The outbreak is a further challenge after protests in Hong Kong weighed on the companys performance in the second half of 2019. Cathay warned last week that results in the first six months of this year will be significantly down from a year earlier. Cathays shares were down 0.4% at the midday break on Wednesday, declining for a fourth day. The stock has fallen 11% this year, though is little changed since concern about the virus exploded in late January and the airline started halting flights. Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Express are units of Cathay. Asian carriers may lose US$27.8 billion in revenue this year because of the outbreak, which includes a US$12.8 billion loss for Chinese airlines, according to the International Air Transport Association. Tens of thousands of flights which could have carried millions of passengers in and out of China have been canceled. Cathay is particularly exposed because almost half its revenue comes from its base in Hong Kong and mainland China. The airline plans to slash 90% of its capacity to China in the next two months. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Complementing its existing beverage product offerings, Koios has developed a line of specialty ground coffee products with functional benefits. One variety is enhanced with lion's mane and chaga mushrooms, and another is enhanced with collagen. With consumption of specialty coffee increasing rapidly, the Company believes it has identified an untapped area with these coffee products. With Koios' existing distribution channels and retail market footprint, these coffee products can benefit from expedited placement on store shelves across the United States. VANCOUVER, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Koios Beverage Corp. (CSE: KBEV; OTC: KBEVF) (the "Company" or "Koios") is pleased to announce it has expanded its beverage product offerings by developing a product line of specialty ground coffee, enhanced with unique ingredients shown to provide certain benefits in areas to include brain function, adrenal function, and skin appearance. This development follows the release of the Company's Fit Soda functional beverage products earlier in the Company's 2020 fiscal year, (which began in June, 2019) as an expansion of Koios' product offerings to its expanding customer base. With Koios's strong distribution footprint between storefronts in the Company's existing retail partnerships and relationships with leading distribution agencies, the recently-developed specialty coffee products will benefit from near-immediate exposure to a retail audience in the United States. Following growth of the specialty coffee segment in recent years, specialty coffee now represents approximately 60% of all coffee consumed in the United States based on a study conducted in 20181. This demand is reinforced by another 2018 study, which concluded that small coffee shops were able to realize an advantage over larger competitors by offering specialty coffees that cannot be obtained elsewhere2. While coffee is a functional beverage in and of itself, it is increasingly being used as a medium for delivering functional benefits both because caffeine can enhance the effects of certain ingredients, and coffee consumption patterns are often frequent and habitual3. The Company has sought to leverage these advantages in the development of its new line of specialty coffees. As of this writing, Koios has developed two varieties of specialty coffee: Creativity Blend: This coffee is enhanced with two different types of mushrooms; hericium erinaceus ("lion's mane") and inonotus obliquus ("chaga"). The lion's mane mushroom variety has been reported to enhance brain function (particularly when combined with caffeine) and cause adaptogenic stress reduction, and chaga mushrooms are an adaptogen that have been reported to improve users' adrenal function. Lion's mane mushroom is used in the Company's KOIOS branded beverages, and both lion's mane and chaga mushroom are used in KOIOS branded stick packs and supplement powders. [NTD: can a source be added for the effects of lion's mane and Chaga mushroom? It would strengthen this section. Also most people aren't going to know what adaptogenic or adaptogen means, can a simpler word be used or can it be explained what it means?] Beauty Blend: This coffee is enhanced with collagen, a protein that is reported to have benefits that include improving the appearance of a user's skin. The practice of combining collagen with coffee has seen great popularity in recent years as a beauty-enhancing measure. An October 2017 segment of the talk show Dr. Oz discussed this practice, including the possible difficulty of obtaining collagen through traditional food sources4. The Company believes that these coffee products serve what is colloquially known as a "white space" (i.e. an opportunity from a void of unmet and unarticulated needs) in the functional beverages segment. By offering these products alongside the Company's existing product line, Koios anticipates it will deliver even greater value to its growing client base. The Koios ground coffee products will initially be made available to the Company's base of online store customers and subscribers, which currently consists of more than 60,000 individuals. With this large audience of existing customers, there is significant potential for immediate revenues from initial trial purchases, which will have favourable profit margins as direct-to-consumer sales. Shortly thereafter, it is planned for the coffee products to also be made available through Amazon, as well as Koios' brick-and-mortar retail partners. Koios CEO Chris Miller commented, "Savvy consumers are beginning to realize that their morning coffee is a perfect medium for gaining things other than energy and alertness through specialty coffee products. Our existing product lineup enhances brain function through the soft beverage medium, but we realized there was significant value to be had by applying our philosophies and expertise to coffee as well. We are very excited to get initial reactions to our new coffee products from some of our more than 60,000 existing customers and subscribers from our online store. We anticipate this initial launch will have great success leading up to the availability of our ground coffee products to the general public." The Company is also pleased to announce that it has retained the services of IDR Marketing, Inc. ("IDR") to provide public relations strategies, brand awareness, financial and digital marketing services to the Company. The marketing awareness services provided by IDR will be aimed at maintaining and building the profile of Koios through traditional press initiatives, advertising directives, and social media strategies. Regarding the Company's engagement of IDR, Koios CEO Chris Miller stated, "With the recent milestones we have achieved, we believe it is time to deliver our message to existing and prospective shareholders to maximize our value. IDR has a proven track record of creating media, content, and wide-scale distribution in the microcap space. We are confident that IDR will assist us in our efforts to grow our profile in North America." IDR is a leading marketing firm and ad agency located in Long Beach, California specializing in the marketing of small and microcap companies. Under the terms of the agreement with IDR as a service provider to the Company, IDR will be paid approximately US $309,000 in cash for its services for a six-month term. IDR, including its principals, does not own any of the Company's securities. References: On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, KOIOS BEVERAGE CORP. "Chris Miller" Chris Miller, CEO, and Director About Koios Beverage Corp. The Company is an emerging functional beverage company which has an available distribution network of more than 4,400 retail locations across the United States in which to sell its products. Koios has relationships with some of the largest and most reputable distributors in the United States, including Europa Sports, Muscle Foods USA, KeHE, and Wishing-U-Well. Koios uses a proprietary blend of nootropics and natural organic compounds to enhance human productivity without using harmful chemicals or stimulants. Koios products have been shown to enhance focus, concentration, mental capacity, memory retention, cognitive function, alertness, brain capacity and create all day mental clarity. Its ingredients are specifically designed to target brain function by increasing blood flow, oxygen levels and neural connections in the brain. Koios produces one of the only drinks in the world infused with MCT oil. MCT oil is derived from coconuts and has been shown to help the body burn fat more effectively, create lasting energy from a natural food source, produce ketones in the brain, allowing for greater brain function and clarity, support healthy hormone production and improve immunity. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.koiosbeveragecorp.com. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding: Potential outcomes from the release and availability of Koios' ground coffee products for sale at retail, and potential outcomes from the Company's retention of IDR as a service provider. The forward-looking information reflects management's current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the functional beverage markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company's management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The statements in this news release have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Company's products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Company's products on an individual's health and well-being. The Company's products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. __________________ SOURCE Koios Beverage Corp. Related Links https://koiosbeveragecorp.com/ A hotly contested law that went into effect in California this year will significantly change the rules governing how companies classify their workers. The result is that companies doing business in that state will likely have to treat more independent contractors as employees, which means theyll have to pay them benefits and employment taxes. The law is being challenged in the courts by such companies as Uber and Lyft that like many other smaller firms rely heavily on independent contractors to perform work. New Jersey legislators are keeping a close eye. In January, a similar proposal failed to become law. But the battle there is far from over. Following that bills failure, the states Legislature did pass new legislation that will also have a significant impact on its employers both big and small and how they do business with their independent contractors. The legislation comes in the form of six new bills that are specifically aimed at employers using independent contractors, with each of them going into effect at various times during the coming year. Those laws now require New Jersey employers regardless of their size to conspicuously post classification rules in their workplaces. It also imposes higher penalties for misclassification of employees as independent contractors, allows certain state agencies to issue stop work orders for companies that are in violation of these rules, and now holds companies jointly liable for any underpayment of taxes by a contractor in the event of a misclassification. The state is also now allowed to make public any companies or people who violate the rules. The rules dont go as far as what was passed in California. But theyre significantly moving legislation in that direction. The bills that passed make it more difficult, in an already difficult environment, for businesses that utilize independent contractors to survive, said Todd Unger, a lawyer in Cherry Hill who specializes in resolving federal and legal tax disputes. Unger recommends that businesses in New Jersey using independent contractors review their policies with tax and legal professionals and sooner rather than later. For many small businesses operating in New Jersey, the more onerous oversight could have a significant impact. For example, Dorothy Dolan, who runs Greater New Jersey Creative Counseling in Marlton said she employs more than 100 independent contractors who provide counseling, therapy and other services to her clients, which are families and youths suffering from issues such as trauma. Unfortunately, her organization is undergoing a state audit on how she classifies her workers. Although Dolan said she carefully abides by the state rules for her independent contractors, she fears that if the state forces her to reclassify them as employees, the added costs will force her to raise prices, reduce administrative staff, and make her organization significantly less competitive. She also said her contractors prefer the arrangement. They need the flexibility of working for more than one agency so that they can get referrals in the areas they desire, with the hours they desire and with the specific type of clientele that they desire, she said. This field and particularly this service attracts those who are interested in flexibility and independence. Charles K. Montecino, a certified public accountant based in Sewell, Gloucester County, believes that the laws will put more pressure on small employers to ensure theyre classifying workers correctly and paying in the taxes they owe. I do think that there are many individuals paid as subcontractors that are in fact employees and are not classified correctly, he said. Many individuals that are treated as subcontractors are unable to collect unemployment when let go because they were treated as a subcontractor and no unemployment taxes were paid on their behalf. Changes like [the New Jersey legislation] will help put a stop to that. But even some freelancers disagree with the recent state legislation. All the talk in Trenton these days is about exploited and misclassified workers," said Kim Kavin, a co-founder of advocacy group Fight For Freelancers N.J. "Our members are not exploited. Were happy. Kavins organization said that the median earnings of many freelancers such as writers, media artists, animators and art directors range between $62,000 and $92,000 depending on the field and that top earners routinely bring home incomes of more than $120,000. "Legislation [like this] doesnt solve exploitation. It kills thriving, independent careers like ours. Wherever you stand on the issue, if youre running a small business in New Jersey you should be aware that more change is inevitably coming. A number of states are already considering independent contracting rules similar to Californias and its only a matter of time before New Jersey re-visits the issue. I believe that the new rules and the continuation of New Jerseys rigid application and enforcement of the classification tests will cause many small businesses to fail, Unger said. Businesses should seek professional guidance to review each of their workers. The more due diligence you can do, the better. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 14:49:55|Editor: zyl Video Player Close JAKARTA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and three others went missing during floods in and around Indonesia's capital of Jakarta, a disaster agency official said on Wednesday. Nearly 20,000 people were forced to flee home during the floods a day earlier, but some parts of the city and its nearby provinces of West Java and Banten remained submerged by waters on Wednesday, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency Agus Wibowo said. The search for the missing people has been underway, he said. Waters with the height of up to one meter are still inundating several parts of the capital and its surrounding areas, Wibowo told Xinhua in a text message. Three school buildings, one mosque and over 800 hectares of rice fields were submerged during the floods, making the farmers suffer financial losses, according to him. Australia's premier agency funding research and development of clean energy will start to decline this financial year as its funds run out and the Morrison government weighs up whether to extend its life. The energy and emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, said funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) was guaranteed until 2022 but has declined to confirm it will receive further funding. It comes as the government touts the potential for technology to drive greenhouse gas emissions lower without a national goal beyond 2030. The outlook for the future funding of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency remains unclear. Credit:Joe Armao Earlier on Wednesday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told ABC Radio ARENA had done a good job but also avoided committing fresh funds to the $2.5 billion agency set up in 2012 by the Gillard Labor government. 'In 2017, when we began our investigation of Harvey Weinstein for the New York Times, women held more power than ever before. But all too often, women were sexually harassed with impunity,' write Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey in 'She Said', an account of their Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times reportage into the allegations against the Hollywood producer. Read an excerpt here. Editor's note: On 24 February 2020, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted by a US court of rape and sexual assault against two women, facing a decades-long prison sentence. The verdict "sealed his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement," The Associated Press reported. Weinstein was arrested in May 2018, seven months after the New York Times' Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and the New Yorker's Ronan Farrow, published reports detailing scores of allegations against the movie mogul. (Kantor, Twohey and Farrow won the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting.) Kantor and Twohey's years-long investigation into the allegations against Weinstein was also published in the form of a book She Said. In the book, the two journalists presented a taut telling of how they built up their reportage against the Hollywood producer and uncovered the many levels of complicity, often from unlikely quarters, that had protected Weinstein and allowed his predatory behaviour to continue unchecked. In this excerpt from She Said (published in September 2019), Kantor and Twohey discuss the consequences of their Weinstein investigation the spark that reignited the Tarana Burke-led #MeToo movement. *** In 2017, when we began our investigation of Harvey Weinstein for the New York Times, women held more power than ever before. The number of jobs once held almost exclusively by men police officer, soldier, airline pilot had narrowed almost to a vanishing point. Women led nations including Germany and the United Kingdom, and companies such as General Motors and PepsiCo. In one year of work, it was possible for a thirty something-year-old woman to make more money than all of her female ancestors had made in their combined lifetimes. But all too often, women were sexually harassed with impunity. Female scientists and waitresses, cheerleaders, executives, and factory workers had to smile past gropes, leers, or unwelcome advances to get the next tip, paycheck, or raise. Sexual harassment was against the law but it was also routine in some jobs. Women who spoke up were frequently dismissed or denigrated. Victims were often hidden and isolated from one another. Their best option, many people agreed, was to accept money as some form of reparation, in exchange for silence. The perpetrators, meanwhile, frequently sailed to ever-higher levels of success and praise. Harassers were often accepted, or even cheered, as mischievous bad boys. Serious consequences were rare. Megan wrote some of the original articles in which women alleged that Donald J Trump preyed on them and then she covered his triumph in the 2016 election. After we broke the story of Weinsteins alleged sexual harassment and abuse on 5 October 2017, we watched with astonishment as a dam wall broke. Millions of women around the world told their own stories of mistreatment. Large numbers of men suddenly had to answer for their predatory behaviour, a moment of accountability without precedent. Journalism had helped inspire a paradigm shift. Our work was only one driver of that change, which had been building for years, thanks to the efforts of pioneering feminists and legal scholars; Anita Hill; Tarana Burke, the activist who founded the #MeToo movement; and many others, including our fellow journalists. But seeing our own hard-won investigative discoveries help realign attitudes left us asking, Why this story? As one of our editors pointed out, Harvey Weinstein wasnt even that famous. In a world in which so much feels stuck, how does this sort of seismic social change occur? We embarked on [our] book to answer those questions. Nothing about the change was inevitable or foretold. In these pages, we describe the motivations and wrenching, risky decisions of the first brave sources to break the silence surrounding Weinstein. Laura Madden, a former assistant to Weinstein and a stay-at-home mother in Wales, spoke out just as she was reeling from divorce and about to undergo post-cancer breast surgery. Ashley Judd put her career on the line, spurred by a little-known period in her life when she stepped away from Hollywood to immerse herself in big-picture thinking about gender equality. Zelda Perkins, a London producer whose complaints against Weinstein had been suppressed by an agreement she had signed two decades before, spoke to us despite potential legal and financial retribution. A longtime Weinstein employee, increasingly troubled by what he knew, played a key, and previously undisclosed, role in helping us to finally unmask his boss. We intend the title, She Said, as a complicated one: We write about those who did speak out, along with other women who chose not to, and the nuances of how and when and why. This is also a story about investigative journalism, beginning with the first uncertain days of our reporting, when we knew very little and almost no one would speak to us. We describe how we coaxed out secrets, pinned down information, and pursued the truth about a powerful man even as he used underhanded tactics to try to sabotage our work. We have also, for the first time, reconstructed our final showdown with the producer his last stand in the offices of the New York Times right before publication, as he realised he was cornered. Our Weinstein reporting took place at a time of accusations of fake news, as the very notion of a national consensus on truth seemed to be fracturing. But the impact of the Weinstein revelations was so great in part because we and other journalists were able to establish a clear and overwhelming body of evidence of wrongdoing. In these pages, we explain how we have documented a pattern of behavior based on first-person accounts, financial and legal records, company memos, and other revealing materials. In the wake of our work, there was little public debate about what Weinstein had done to women; it was about what should be done in response. But Weinstein has continued to deny all allegations of nonconsensual sex, and has repeatedly asserted that our reporting is incorrect. What you have here are allegations and accusations, but you do not have absolute facts, a spokesman said when we asked for a response to the revelations presented here. [Our] book toggles between what we learned during the course of our original work on Weinstein in 2017 and the substantial amount of information weve gathered since. Much of the new reporting we present about Weinstein helps illustrate how the legal system and corporate culture has served to silence victims and still inhibits change. Businesses are co-opted into protecting predators. Some advocates for women profit from a settlement system that covers up misdeeds. Many people who glimpse the problem like Bob Weinstein, Harveys brother and business partner, who granted extensive interviews for this book do little to try and stop it. As we write this, in May 2019, Weinstein awaits a criminal trial for alleged rape and other sexual abuse and faces a volley of civil suits, in which actresses, former employees, and others are seeking to hold him financially accountable. No matter the outcome of those cases, we hope this book will serve as a lasting record of Weinsteins legacy: his exploitation of the workplace to manipulate, pressure, and terrorise women. Copyright Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, 2019. This is an extract from She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, published by Bloomsbury | Pages: 320 | Price: Rs 550. What if Leo Varadkar really wants to take Fine Gael into Opposition? Following a fall in seat numbers from 76 to 35 between 2011 and 2020, there is a sound argument that is what the people also want. Or to put it another way: in 2011, Fine Gael got 36.1pc of the popular vote. But by 2020, the party had fallen to 20.9pc - by any yardstick, a dramatic decline. When Varadkar and Micheal Martin met this week, the Fine Gael leader is said to have "encouraged Fianna Fail to continue engaging with other parties with a view to forming a Government". This is being interpreted as a strategy, and indeed it may well turn out to be that, when push comes to shove. Ultimately, Fine Gael may yet agree to form a grand coalition with Fianna Fail and others, in the national interest, and Leo may get to swan around the world as Foreign Affairs Minister. But why should push come to shove? Here is another government formation option I first mooted in the week after the election: Fianna Fail, the Greens, the Social Democrats with Independents, but with Sinn Fein supporting as the lead on the Opposition benches in a form of a repurposed confidence and supply deal. I say repurposed because the original confidence and supply arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail has a bad reputation - and rightly so. The problem is not the confidence and supply model itself, however, but the manner in which it was operated for the first time in this country. The Brexit process contributed of course, but the deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail went on too long, was ill-defined at the outset, had no true markers of success or failure, and, well, came to be seen as a form of coalition it was never intended to be. So what is meant by repurposed? Well, the government I am proposing would serve a strictly time-limited purpose, between two to three years, to solve the housing crisis and make a proper fist of introducing Slaintecare, the national health policy, by consensus. But here is the political point to the process I am proposing to break the impasse: it would get everybody off one hook and on to another. In that momentum, a new government can be formed to meet the public's demand for change that might actually achieve some good. Now to those hooks: Micheal Martin simply will not, and at this stage can not, go into government with Sinn Fein. In the dim and distant past, he may also have once ruled out accepting confidence and supply from that party; but, well, at this point needs must - and he does want to be Taoiseach, after all, while holding fast to his word on coalition. At the moment, Fianna Fail is, as Varadkar has suggested, continuing to engage with other parties to form a government, primarily the Greens, Social Democrats and Independent TDs. The Social Democrats seem to have ruled out participating in government in a grand coalition, but would be inclined to participate in an arrangement as proposed here. The Greens would also be willing to participate in a Fianna Fail-led minority government, as long as others are included, such as the Soc Dems and Independents. Labour could be added to the mix too, if needs be. The bottom line is that a combination of Fianna Fail, the Greens and others could easily command 60-plus seats, around 20 shy of a majority. Now we turn to Sinn Fein. Mary Lou McDonald's party has been loudly protesting its right to be in government. No political party has a right to any such thing when it is unable to command support to form or be part of such a government. And that is exactly where Sinn Fein finds itself at the moment. However, since 2011 Sinn Fein has gone from 14 to 37 seats, or 9.9pc to 24.5pc of the popular vote. By any yardstick, the people have decided that Sinn Fein has a significant role to play, as many also have both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. It is for Sinn Fein to decide how to use its mandate, as it is for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to decide on theirs. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have decided, and indeed said so before the election, that they will not go into government with Sinn Fein. Their argument is similar to that made by Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, where it refuses to take its Westminster seats because that is the mandate it sought from supporters north of the Border. After the election here, Fianna Fail's 484,320 and Fine Gael's 455,584 voters have as much right to expect both parties to honour their commitment, as Sinn Fein supporters do in Northern Ireland. Yet clearly something has to give, or before we know it, the current government formation process could get out of hand and all parties and TDs will be back before the electorate again in a matter of months, if not weeks, with who knows what outcome next time. The intervention of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris last week was significant. He has said he "does not differ" from the assessment of the PSNI in 2015 that the so-called Provisional Army Council strategically oversees Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein has denied this, as you would expect. But still, this and other questions linger and remain unanswered to the satisfaction of all. As I said immediately after the election, it could be in Sinn Fein's interests to offer a confidence and supply deal to a Fianna Fail-led minority government. The Sinn Fein project, after all, is to grow in opposition towards being the largest political party. In the process, some or all of those lingering questions could or should be answered, and more shadowy figures could depart the scene. In realpolitik terms, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael's preference is to give Sinn Fein a lick of power to take the gloss off that party in the public eye. What better way for all concerned than a Fianna Fail-led minority government supported by Sinn Fein in opposition? Eoin O Broin would have an open door to the Department of Housing; ditto Louise O'Reilly to the Department of Health. An added benefit for Sinn Fein could be the experience gained by Pearse Doherty in budget formation. Micheal Martin gets to reverse out of the cul-de-sac he is in and Leo Varadkar gets to go to opposition where, apparently, he is so anxious to be, and where he may well face a leadership challenge in due course. What's more, there are many in several different strands of Irish society - the dreaded 'establishment' - which would prefer not to see Sinn Fein lead the opposition, with both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in office together. The bottom line is we would have a government for another two years, maybe a little longer, with serious social problems tackled. The payback reality, though, is that neither Fianna Fail nor Fine Gael could plausibly rule out Sinn Fein from coalition formation talks next time around - not after it had proved itself, and done its bit in the national interest, of course. A Kolkata-based woman documentary filmmaker has alleged that a group of BJP activists had threatened to 'skin her alive' after she removed a pro-CAA flex bearing a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Kolkata: A city-based woman documentary filmmaker has alleged that a group of BJP activists had threatened to "skin her alive" after she removed a pro-CAA flex bearing a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The saffron party, on the other hand, alleged that she had torn the flex and threatened to attack BJP activists, besides bad-mouthing the prime minister. Both sides have filed complaints with the police against each other. Documentary filmmaker Kasturi Basu told PTI on Wednesday that five-six men, most of them outsiders, entered her housing complex in Patuli area of south Kolkata on Sunday night and sought to know the location of her flat. "As I went downstairs on hearing shouts, they threatened to skin me alive for daring to remove a pro-CAA flex and carrying out a house-to-house campaign in the area against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the past one month," Basu said. Basu, associated with independent filmmakers' organisation People's Film Collective, said she had removed a flex supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act as it was put up on the wall of her Muslim neighbour without the landowner's permission. "I did not remove any other pro-CAA flexes elsewhere but I will fight till death against CAA and the NRC. I will always protest if anyone puts up a flex supporting a divisive law like CAA on the property of a Muslim person," she said. Basu said that the alleged threats to her were aimed at creating a fear psychosis. Countering Basu's charges, a senior BJP Mahila Morcha leader alleged that the documentary filmmaker had torn the flex and threatened to attack BJP workers when they demanded an explanation for her action. Another BJP activist, who was present during the incident, claimed they did not go inside Basu's housing complex but were re-installing the "torn flex". "Basu came to the spot with some outsiders and snatched the flex from us. She talked to us in a very aggressive manner even though we showed utmost courtesy to her," the BJP activist said requesting anonymity. An officer of Patuli police station confirmed that they have received the complaints and said they are looking into the matter. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday dismissed the accusations of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Prakash Singh Badal that the state government has failed to end the drug menace in the state despite having sworn in the name of Gutka Sahib. "I had sworn in the name of Gutka Sahib in Damdama that he would break the backbone of drugs, which he had successfully done. Badal has been spreading lies," Chief Minister in the Vidhan Sabha, referring to the SAD leader's recent utterances. The Chief Minister said the state government was able to break the backbone of drug mafia in the state. "My government's comprehensive campaign against drugs had squarely broken the backbone of the drug mafia in the state," said Captain Amarinder, adding that the campaign continues unabated, in line with his poll promise. Citing figures, Captain Amarinder said 34,373 NDPS cases had been registered during the last three years, with the arrest of 42,571 persons and seizure of 974.15 kgs of heroin by Punjab Police. "We all know that no such measure was taken by the previous government," he said, adding that, "in fact, they denied the existence of drugs in the State." The Chief Minister assured the House that these efforts will be redoubled and continued" till we succeed to control, if not fully obliterate, drugs from the State. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola termed Real Madrid the kings of the Champions League as the teams prepare to face each other in the competition. "I know this is a big opportunity in the last 16. We are playing the king of this competition, so we know the challenge in front of us. Consecutive (league) titles shows how good this team is," the club's official website quoted Guardiola as saying. Despite admitting it is a 'huge challenge', Guardiola said they want to win. "They (Real) are the best and it's a huge challenge for us to meet them. We are convinced that we want to play against them, win and be the level of this competition," he said. Manchester City hold the second spot in the Premier League with 57 points from 27 games. Real Madrid too are in second place in La Liga with 53 points from 25 games. The first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid will be played on February 27. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Miami, February 26, 2020 Haitian authorities should conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into an arson attack on the offices of Radio Television Caraibes and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the afternoon of February 23, a group of masked individuals armed with guns claiming to be members of the Haitian National Police attacked the premises of Radio Television Caraibes, a privately owned radio and television outlet, in Port-au-Prince, the capital, setting several vehicles on fire, smashing windows, and breaking broadcasting equipment in the station, according to local media reports and a statement by the broadcaster. The attack came amid a protest staged by the Haitian National Police for better pay and working conditions, which saw demonstrating officers fire their weapons into the air and vandalize government property, according to news reports. The broadcasters statement said that the arsonists were claiming to be part of the police protest. Marc Anderson Bregard, director of programming at the broadcaster, told CPJ in a phone interview that no one was hurt in the incident. Haitian authorities must thoroughly investigate whether agents from the Haitian National Police were involved in the attack against Radio Television Caraibes and ensure that the perpetrators face justice, said CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick in New York. Journalists are already subject to high levels of violence in Haiti. The possibility that police agents might be behind this criminal attack should sound the alarm that the press face grave threats that the government has failed to address. Bregard said that the outlet was covering the protests live when the group entered the premises and set fires inside, which forced them to stop broadcasting. He told CPJ that the director of the national police, Normil Rameau, told the station that an investigation would be conducted into the attack. Bregard said the outlet is now back on the air. CPJ called the Haiti National Police for comment, and was referred to the number of the Port-au-Prince police station. The agent who took the call said that an investigation had been started into this incident. In November 2019, CPJ and Reporters Without Borders wrote a letter to Haitian authorities encouraging them to investigate attacks against journalists. USS Texas Returns Home From Deployment Navy News Service Story Number: NNS200225-03 Release Date: 2/25/2020 8:41:00 AM From Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) returned home to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Feb. 24. During its seven-month deployment, Texas completed a full spectrum of operations, including theater anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, in support of the high-priority tasking in the Indo-Pacific and U.S. Central Command areas of operation. "The crew worked and trained tirelessly, preparing to execute any mission in defense of our nation, and performed remarkably throughout our seven month Middle East deployment," said Cmdr. Mike Dolbec, commanding officer of Texas. "In my opinion, every Texas Sailor is a hero, whose patriotism is evident daily. "These Sailors are the heart and soul of this mighty warship; they are responsible for Texas' many successes. I can say with a great deal of pride that these are the finest men and women that I have ever served with, and it is a great honor and privilege to be their commanding officer." On deployment, Texas visited Perth, Australia, where the crew engaged with dignitaries including the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, as well as other government officials and members of academia. Additionally, members of the crew volunteered at a community food bank and participated in receptions with Australian submarine counterparts to enhance understanding through shared maritime experience and interest. "We visited HMAS Stirling, Australia, and while there, Texas Sailors conducted community outreach at the Rockingham food bank, assisting with sorting, inventorying and storing food supplies for those in need," said Master Chief Machinist's Mate (Auxiliary) Charles Cardell, from Pensacola, Florida. During the deployment, 40 crewmembers earned their submarine warfare qualifications and 24 Sailors advanced to the next rank. "My most memorable moment was seeing six of six eligible member in my division being advanced to the next higher pay grade," said Fire Control Technician 1st Class Quincy Miller, from Savannah, Georgia. "We have embodied a culture that expects us all to push ourselves, and one another, to perform at a higher level of work and responsibility. Like any finely tuned machine, our individual success is directly attributed to our teamwork and efficiency, and the results are evident." Commissioned Sept. 9, 2006, Texas is the forth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear that name. Texas is a flexible, multi-mission platform designed to carry out the seven core competencies of the submarine force; anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; delivery of special operations forces; strike warfare; irregular warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and mine warfare. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Domingo was among the nurses who cared for Morgan after the comedian was seriously injured and in a coma following a 2014 accident on the New Jersey Turnpike. Since Morgan's inspiring recovery, he has returned to comedy as well as to producing and acting. He has generously shared his story of recovery on the national stage, highlighting the work of the professionals dedicated to patients with brain injuries. "Every day our team members are on the frontlines saving lives and getting patients through the most difficult of circumstances. I am so proud of our health care professionals and am humbled by the work they do," said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. "Congratulations to Gina who is so deserving of the Tracy Morgan Award. On behalf of Hackensack Meridian Health, I extend a heartfelt thanks to Tracy Morgan for taking the time to recognize the extraordinary care provided by JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute." "I'm so honored to receive this award," Domingo said. "When you work with people with brain injuries, often they cannot communicate verbally. Sometimes they can't move. The work is challenging. But when you can contribute to someone's recovery, it's just so rewarding." Morgan presented the award to Domingo after his performance at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank on Friday. She is the third rehabilitation nurse to receive the Tracy Morgan Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation Nursing. After Morgan's recovery, the comedian publicly thanked JFK Johnson nurses, physical therapists and other members of his team as well as his physician, Brian Greenwald, M.D., who is medical director of the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Center for Brain Injuries. "Even today, Tracy's amazing recovery continues to give hope to many of our patients and also to their families," Dr. Greenwald said. "And to see him returning to accomplish all he wants in life ... that's what we want for all of our patients." Morgan starred for seven seasons on NBC's Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning "30 Rock." Morgan appeared opposite Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin as "Tracy Jordan," the unpredictable star of a hit variety show. He also was a cast member for seven seasons on Saturday Night Live. He produced and stars in The Last O.G., a television series, and has starred in several movies, including What Men Want. His stand-up comedy shows are seen around the nation. Morgan's recovery has been a subject of much of his comedy. Sara Cuccurullo, M.D., vice president and Medical Director of JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, said that by sharing his story, Morgan has put a focus on the role of rehabilitation nursing. "We created this award to thank Tracy for the inspiration he continues to provide to our patients and for the light he shines on the skill, compassion and specialized training of rehabilitation nurses," Dr. Cuccurullo said. Rehabilitation nurses possess the specialized skills to help patients with disabilities, chronic illness or injuries reach their maximum level of function. They design and implement strategies that are based on scientific nursing theory to promote physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health. Domingo, who lives in Woodbridge, graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, The Philippines. She said she appreciated seeing Morgan make full use of his talents as a comedian on the stage at the Count Basie. "Often, a patient will return to visit and it's always exciting and memorable to see them living the life they want and doing all they can," she said. "So to see Tracy on stage ... making everyone laugh. To see that kind of recovery in any of our patients is what motivates us every day." Link to video footage: https://meridianhealth.wetransfer.com/downloads/56a00a99bbea14a2058d7290e1f5aa1520200222061955/bd5a7ca5338bf98938a86f9388cc6ad020200222061955/4bed3b About Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Medical Center Serving residents of central New Jersey for more than 50 years, JFK Medical Center offers a complete array of advanced services in its 498-bed facility located in Edison, N.J. With more than 1,000 affiliated physicians, this academic medical center offers a complete spectrum of advanced services including general and specialized surgery, cardiac care, maternity and pediatrics, oncology, imaging, breast center, sleep center, wound care, robotic surgery, emergency medicine, weight loss surgery, radiology, long-term care and assisted living. It is home to the world-renowned Neuroscience Institute that diagnoses and treats brain, spine and nervous system disorders. To learn more, visit JFKMC.org. About Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute Offering New Jersey's most comprehensive rehabilitation services, the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute is a 94-bed facility located in Edison, N.J. serving residents of the tristate area for more than 40 years. Its mission is simple: provide quality rehabilitation for adults and children living with disabilities to obtain optimal function and independence within an accepting community. JFK Johnson Rehabilitation has developed programs in specialties that include brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, orthopedics/musculoskeletal and sports injuries, fitness, cardiac rehabilitation, women's health, pediatrics and a prosthetics and orthotics lab. It is the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department of the Hackensack Meridian Medical School at Seton Hall University and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To learn more, visit JFKJohnson.org. SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health New Delhi/IBNS: Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Wednesday targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government over the ongoing violence in New Delhi and said the world community must 'act now'. "Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed," Khan tweeted. "As I had predicted in my address to UN GA last yr, once the genie is out of the bottle the bloodshed will get worse. IOJK was the beginning. Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now," he said. Interestingly, Khan warned that anyone targeting minorities in the country would be dealt with strictly. "I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country," he said. However, several incidents of forced abduction, conversion and marriage of girls belonging to the minority communities have been reported from Pakistan in recent times. India's New Delhi is witnessing violent protests and clashes over the new citizenship law which was passed by PM Narendra Modi-led government last year. The recent clashes claimed 21 lives so far. The clashes and attacks left 189 people injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to the ongoing clashes in Northeast Delhi, saying peace and harmony have been integral to Indian ethos and it is important to restore normalcy at the earliest. PM Modi tweeted, "I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times." Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 Earlier, he assured Dellihites the cop were working to ensure peace and normalcy. The PM also chaired a cabinet meeting over the exacerbating law and order situation in the national capital. Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 The Delhi High Court (HC) has criticised the police for being inefficient. HC asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to advise the Commissioner of Police to file an FIR against BJP leaders who gave hate speeches. BJP leader Kapil Mishra had delivered an incendiary speech a day before clashes between anti and pro-CAA protesters started on Monday. At least 20 people have died over the communal violence between rival groups in northeast Delhi. The violence started on Sunday and continued till yesterday night. Some incidents of arson and clashes smouldered the national capital even today. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, in a press conference today, held Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the violence in the national capital and asked for his resignation. "The Centre and the Union Home Minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The Union Home Minister should resign," said Gandhi. She further added, "There is a conspiracy behind the violence. The country saw this during the Delhi elections as well. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Several localities like Chand Bagh, Gokulpuri, Bhajanpura, Maujpur, Jaffrabad and Kardampuri saw battles between the members of two groups on Tuesday. More than 200, including 48 cops, have been injured. Also Read: Greta Thunberg meets 'role model' Malala Yousufzai; pictures go viral Also Read: Trump's fresh 'high tariffs on Harley' jibe at India; he's right and wrong! Also Read: 'We'll offer them a deal they can't refuse': Piyush Goyal on India-US trade pact CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) is honored to announce that Chief Executive Officer Chuck Harrington received the Patriot Award from the North Carolina Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The organization recognized Parsons for support of Lieutenant Colonel Chuck McGregor, US Marine Corps Reserve, and vice president, Cybersecurity Operations for Parsons, during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2018-2019. The company provided accommodations including flexible scheduling; benefit and compensation bridging; time off before and after deployment; and checking in on and caring for McGregor's family. Approximately 10% of Parsons' US workforce are military, reservist or guard veterans, and the company offers numerous support programs to help ensure a successful personal and professional transition from military to civilian life. "Chuck McGregor is the epitome of an American hero. From his four deployments two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan to the leadership he displays every single day at our company," said Harrington. "It is an honor to work with Chuck at Parsons, and this award is testimony to the company's longstanding support of military veterans, reservists, guard members and their families." ESGR is a Department of Defense program that develops and promotes supportive work environments for reserve service members. "Nearly half of our military force resides in the National Guard and Reserve, and our organization is honored to support these brave men and women, and their civilian employers," said Ed Hamilton, vice chair, North Carolina Committee for ESGR. "Chuck Harrington and the Parsons family were extremely supportive of Lieutenant Colonel McGregor's deployment, and I am honored to recognize and award those efforts today." The North Carolina Committee of ESGR presented the Patriot Award to Harrington on February 26, 2020 at Parsons' Charlotte, North Carolina office. Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the global defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Please visit parsons.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we're making an impact. Media Contact: Bernadette Miller +1 980.253.9781 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Dave Spille + 1 571.655.8264 [email protected] SOURCE Parsons Corporation Related Links www.parsons.com A group of 20 South Korean tourists who refused to be quarantined as a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) precaution after arriving in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on Monday were sent back to their country on late Tuesday night. The 20 South Koreans, together with two Thai tourists and 58 Vietnamese, arrived in Da Nang on a flight from Daegu, South Korea. Daegu, South Korea fourth-largest city, is a COVID-19 epicenter that accounts for the majority of 1,146 confirmed infections in the East Asian country. Authorities in Da Nang requested that the South Korean tourists along with all other passengers on the flight be isolated for monitoring, pursuant to quarantine guidelines issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health for all people arriving from disease-hit areas, including Daegu. Particularly, the Vietnamese passengers were taken to a quarantine site under military management in Da Nangs Hoa Vang District, while the two Thai tourists stayed in quarantine at the Da Nang Lung Disease Hospital. Meanwhile, the 20 South Korean visitors refused to follow the local authorities quarantine request. As the South Koreans were uncooperative, Da Nang offered a charter flight to send all 20 South Koreans home, which they acceded to. During their brief stay in the central Vietnamese city, the South Koreans were kept at the Da Nang Lung Disease Hospital, according to Da Nangs Department of Health deputy director Nguyen Tien Hong. At 10:00 pm on Tuesday, the 20 South Koreans were transported on a passenger bus to Da Nang International Airport and boarded an aircraft through a private gate. A bus carries 20 South Korean visitors to Da Nang International Airport, located in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, to have them sent home as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, February 25, 2020. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre Their flight, operated by Vietnamese carrier Vietjet, departed for Incheon International Airport near Seoul at 11:55: pm on the same night. Da Nang chairman Huynh Duc Tho also penned a letter to the foreign guests on the same day, expressing his regret and apology that the city was unable to welcome them in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. Both Vietnamese and foreign airlines have suspended flights to and from South Korea until March, starting from Tuesday, as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19. Vietnam has also required all travelers from South Korea to submit health declaration forms at immigration upon arrival, starting from Sunday afternoon. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered government agencies to quarantine all people arriving from areas hit by COVID-19 in South Korea. The COVID-19 has killed 2,711 people and infected over 80,500 globally since it first hit the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, according to the South China Morning Post. The number of confirmed cases in South Korea has reached 1,146, with 11 deaths. Vietnam has so far reported 16 cases of the viral infection, including 13 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese. All of them have fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital as of Wednesday morning. The country has recorded no new infection since February 13. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Houston's most glamorous TV news anchor, Dominique Sachse, has been a fixture at KPRC Channel 2 for more than 25 years. You likely already know that Sachse co-anchors the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts at Channel 2, where she started as a morning traffic reporter. A woman opens the door of the Shincheonji office at Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 25. Yonhap South Korea said Wednesday it has received a list of 212,000 followers from minor religious sect Shincheonji and will begin conducting tests for the new coronavirus on those who have respiratory symptoms. The government is struggling to contain the fast spread of COVID-19 as the bulk of infections are linked to a Shincheonji church in the southeastern city of Daegu. "(The government) secured a list of 212,000 Shincheonji followers from the sect Tuesday night and will deliver it to local governments," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a daily press briefing in the administrative city of Sejong. South Korea has reported 1,146 confirmed cases, with 12 deaths. A 73-year-old patient, a Shincheonji follower, died of COVID-19 infection in Daegu earlier in the day. The government said Tuesday it would swiftly conduct tests for the new coronavirus on Shincheonji followers as the church had promised to provide the complete list of its worshipers. Kim also called for local governments to ban the use and leaking of the list other than for the purpose of handling the outbreak, citing concerns about discrimination against the followers. The government plans to complete the tests on about 1,300 members of the religious sect, out of some 9,000 believers belonging to the Daegu church, on Wednesday. The official also warned that the government will take "stern" actions if the Shincheonji church has submitted a list that leaves out some members. Critics raised doubts about the authenticity of the list as the church has boasted of its membership of some 240,000 followers. They said there are many "would-be" Shincheonji followers who study the Bible in secret places. Kim said the gap in the number apparently stems from the calculation of followers in foreign countries. "The government has received a list of the members in the country. But if the list is found to have missing members inadvertently or intentionally the government will take all available quarantine measures (against Shincheonji)," he added. (Yonhap) A former nanny with a dream decides to move to one of the country's most remote parts in order to look after a petting farm, in Channel 5's Ben Fogle: Make a New Life in the Country, tonight. Cara, 43, bought the petting farm for 210,000 and made the move from London to John O' Groats, remote Scotland, in 2016, as Ben followed the early days of her relocation, before visiting her three years later to see her progress. At first, Cara, who moved by herself, is seen struggling to manage the petting farm, which counts 50 animals including donkeys, pigs, chicken, goats and rabbits. In spite of working around the clock to keep all the animal fed and happy, she makes no profit at all, sometimes earning 10, and sometime as little as 1 a day. Cara had to take a loan in order to buy the farm, and was left with only 10,000 after buying it, which covered the move and settling in. This means that she was left with no savings to keep her head of the water, the farm being her only source of income. In the episode, we see her struggle to make ends meet and cover her monthly costs of 3,390, looking after the farm, its animals, herself and paying back her loan. Londoner Cara, 43, left her job as a nanny in London to buy a petting farm for 210,000 in John O' Groats, Scotland (pictured) She features in tonight's Ben Fogle: Make a New Life in the Country on Channel 5 at 9pm 'It's such a strange experience to know that no matter how hard you work does not correlate with how much you earn,' she says while preparing some hay for the farm's donkeys. 'I'm very independent, very strong minded, but I'm not superwoman, that's the reality,' she says. At first, her sole income is a self-service shop she has set-up for locals to come and pick vegetables and pay through the 'honesty box' she sets up for them. But on slow days, money is hard to come by. 'This is all I earned today, after all I did,' an exhausted Casra says, '10, that's probably like a pound an hour.' Cara says living her dream is not easy and demands hard work, yet says she does not regret her decision to manage a farm in the country's most remote location 'We had one day where it was super stormy, the weather was crazy windy. One person came, bough a cauliflower and I earned a pound that day,' she recounts, sitting on her couch. After a few months of hard work, Cara eventually manages to break even and even turnover a small profit of 155. However, by the time Ben Fogle visits three years on, Cara has turned the farm into a profitable affair, by turning her house into a small bed and breakfast, and having used her skills to make candles and soaps on top of the petting farm and self-service shop. Cara tells Ben the animals did not chose for her to take on the farm, she did, and says she feels a high sense of responsibility towards them 'After I did it for a few years, I realised the petting farm would not earn enough money to grow the farm and pay up the debt,' she tells the presenter and adventurer. She tells Ben she felt that with no savings, a farm to run and a debt to pay, she had no choice but to carry on and make the farm profitable. She adds she was deeply motivated by her responsibility to her animals. 'I am aware, I've chosen to look after them,' she says. 'There have definitely been moments in the beginning where I lost an animal or two and sat at my kitchen table thinking "Why did I ever think I could ever do it, I have no experience, no knowledge", I had a little crisis of faith in my own self,' she says. The former nanny (pictured) managed to turn the petting farm into a profitable venture by adding a B&B and selling items such as candles and soaps 'I'm very resilient. I thought: "It's true, I don't know anything but I'm surrounded by farmers, by people who know more than me, and I'm not proud,' so I went and asked,' she explains. 'I'm just somebody who's living my dream, which I discovered hasn't been easy,' she says, 'I've never worked more in my life, but I've never been satisfied in my life,' she goes on. She admits that the beginning was a steep learning curve, and that she had cried sat in her barn, but adds she eventually finds these hurdles were 'nothing a cup of tea won't fix' and concludes that she has no regrets at her lifestyle overhaul. Ben Fogle: Making a New Life in the Country airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 5. By Sam Richards Bay City News Foundation Asserting a property owner's general right to build on his or her land, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors this week denied appeals by two homeowners in the unincorporated community of Saranap of tree removal permits earlier granted to owners of a neighboring parcel. Twenty-two trees, most notably two large oaks neighbors wanted preserved for stabilizing a hillside and for their beauty, can come down, with the supervisors' unanimous rejection on Tuesday of the appeal of the county Planning Commission's recent approval of the tree removal permits. The residents and their arborists and attorneys had argued that removal of the two largest trees, in particular, would damage the sloped property they're on, cause drainage problems, hamper neighborhood views and lower property values. In fact, neighbors said the 2,527-square-foot house planned by Tambri Heyden and David Montalbo was too tall for this neighborhood between the cities of Walnut Creek and Lafayette. "I have a hard time understanding how my view is going to be improved," said West Newell Avenue resident Bronwyn Shone, who filed one of two appeals of the county Planning Commission's earlier approval of the tree removal permit. "How is my property value going to be improved by having an oversized house added to the area?" Several Saranap neighbors told the supervisors they believe the proposed new house was too big, and that losing the trees -- especially the two big oaks -- would hamper views and affect trees on their own nearby properties. Saranap neighbor William Schultz, who with Patricia Mcgregor co-authored the other appeal, said the new house is opposed by the Saranap Homeowners Association and the California Wildlife Foundation. Oakland resident Mary Thiessen told the supervisors on Tuesday that Heyden and Montalbo were not good neighbors when, several years ago, they built a house above Skyline Boulevard in Oakland. "I'm here to attest to the harassment, stress and deliberately removing protected plant species, working beyond the scope of their permits, expired permits ... yet they stated many times this would be their 'forever home,'" Thiessen said. "But they never wanted to have friends, or be friendly, with any of us. In fact, it was more like harassment and torture throughout two and a half years." In the new house's defense, Heyden asserted to the supervisors that she and Montalbo installed a hydrant on their property, increasing fire safety in the entire area, and established "bioswales," groupings of plants that slow and capture rainwater runoff. But the supervisors ultimately said Heyden and Montalvo have the right to build on their property, and that specific requirements like how or if trees should be removed have already been vetted. "The reality is that ... even if every single issue that was stated is true, that still is not grounds for us to deny someone's building permit," said Supervisor Candace Andersen of Danville. She represents the Saranap area on the board, and said Tuesday she has spent more time doing field work on this one house than on many larger housing projects. Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond echoed the sentiment that property owners generally have the right to build, and can take reasonable measures to do so. Gioia said that even in Kensington, the only area of Contra Costa County with a "view ordinance" that gives residents' visual view area a degree of protection, even that ordinance preserves a landowner's right to build -- but with consideration of their neighbors' views. "It's not that the neighbors next to it have a permanent right to look out and enjoy their view, versus a right to build a home," Gioia said. "A different example, but the same kind of situation." 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. For sure, no attempt by some members of the Ghanaian media and some Ghanaian celebrities to pressure the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to lift the ban preventing celebrities from alcohol advertisement in Ghana should be entertained, especially because the motive for the ban is in the best interest of public health and the protection of our children. Speaking for a large number of concerned Ghanaians, we are devastated by the insistence of some of the celebrities to be permitted to endorse alcohol beverages despite all the clarifications and reasons that have been given in support of the public health directive. We are of the view that the selfish interest of a few of these celebrities should not be entertained, but resisted by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the international community and all well-meaning Ghanaians. The role and influence of celebrities on our children can never be over emphasized. Children listen when celebrities talk, and this is what the alcohol industry has been trying to take advantage off by using celebrities to make profit, and to also introduce our children to the unwholesome practice of alcohol consumption. A song released by a celebrity musician would take only few minutes for almost every kid to start singing along. Which is why I am of the view that a celebrity advertising an alcoholic beverage would be seen as a good example by children and young people, and the (tautology) result is obvious. Ghanaian Celebrities should use their popularity to promote health and wellbeing and positivity, but not things that would lead to their own destruction and that of our children. Why would anyone want to expose our children to a product that affects almost every aspect of human life - alcohol consumption leads to cancer, heart failures, cardiovascular diseases, hypertensions, diabetes, stroke, among others, including domestic violence, road crashes and abject poverty. I am more disturbed by the fact that most of these celebrities themselves do not even drink alcohol or are trying to get out of alcohol addiction, yet they want to drag our children and poor people into alcoholism. Children and the poor because the cost of the product is very cheap and accessible. It is an industry strategy to attract new consumers always and that is why the focus has been more on our children and the youth. I do share the concerns of those who say parents must be responsible for the upbringing of their children, however, it is important to remind ourselves how many hours we parents spend with our children these days, (especially the wealthy few)? Is it not a fact that most children of today are left at the mercy of caretakers and teachers some of whom might be morally derailed? Let us sanitize the system to protect our children, otherwise the future looks very gloomy. This singular action by the FDA has raised the profile of Ghana among the international community as the country has been widely applauded for implementing one of the Best Buys of the World Health Organization (WHO). Ghana cannot compare itself to other developed countries in terms of how alcohol is controlled. In some of those countries, despite the fact that celebrities do advertise alcoholic beverages, the restrictions on the implementation are such that when it is implemented in Ghana, most alcohol industries would fold up. For instance in Ghana, alcohol is sold everywhere and accessible to everybody old and young, no centers for alcohol dependence rehabilitation etc. When celebrities get to endorse alcoholic beverages, they get a lot of money to develop themselves, but this is to the detriment of the poor. The Parliament of Ghana would once in a while talk about the need to regulate the alcohol industry. When the issue came up on the floor of the House in 2017, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ashaiman constituency, Ernest Norgbey called out the use of celebrities to appeal to the youth through commercials to lure them into drinking. He said when children watch and listen to these commercials, and this predisposes the nation to a time bomb. It is only a matter of time before it explodes. This is a clear indication that our MPs are in support of the call to action to protect our children. If the global community is commending Ghana for this singular efforts, there is no turning back. .. Labram M. Musah Programmes Director; Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) National Coordinator; Ghana NCD Alliance Mobile: 0243-211854 E-mail: [email protected] Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg received loud applause and whoops at the latest TV debate with his rivals cheers that some said were suspiciously enthusiastic given his lacklustre performance. The former New York mayor needed a strong showing at the debate to recover from his first appearance with the other candidates in Nevada, which was generally agreed to have been a disaster for his campaign. However, while his performance was more confident and better received than his last, various commentators noticed that the audience in the room seemed to be cheering Mr Bloomberg on with a vigour and frequency that his words did not warrant. Their deduction was that the billionaire candidate might have stacked the crowd with paid-for attendees, something the campaign denies. Others said the high cost of tickets may have worked in his favour. Longtime left-wing hero and activist Michael Moore tweeted that tickets to get in cost up to $3,200. No surprise to see Bloomberg get some cheers. Is there any joy in watching this debate? 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 Some stopped short of accusing Mr Bloomberg directly, but laid into the issue of campaign-aligned audiences and how they can distort what happens in the hall. CNNs Chris Cillizza tweeted that Candidates should not be allowed to try to pack the debate hall with a cheering section who applaud when they open their mouth. It's not only annoying but it changes the way people watching on TV perceive answers and the candidates that give them. Others, however, have dismissed the notion of a paid-for pro-Bloomberg audience as the beginnings of a baseless conspiracy theory. Democratic Party communications director Xochitl Hinojosa tweeted that Candidates get the same amount of tickets. No one is packing the debate hall. This is how conspiracy theories get started. Another user, Democratic campaign veteran Tori Taylor, wrote: There are so many topics worthy of debate. This isnt one of them because its not true. Candidates arent allowed to pack the debate hall. They all get the same amount of tickets. That room is filled w/ a diverse group of folks from across South Carolina & the country. The Washington Post asked the Bloomberg campaign to provide a list of the people to whom it had given its 15 allocated tickets, and was told they went to organisers, volunteers, and current and former elected officials. The debate was the last before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, which are expected to thin out the still-crowded field of candidates. Bernie Sanders has won two of the last three contests and essentially tied in the other, and leads by a large margin in national polls. North Logan, Utah, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H. Scott Hinton, president of the Space Dynamics Laboratory, announced that government leader Liz Young has been appointed to SDLs Board of Directors. Young has served as a member of SDLs guidance council since 2014 and will continue to serve in that capacity. Young is a prominent consultant within the space and intelligence industry and advises a variety of organizations on system engineering and program management, including NASAs Artemis program. In 2011, Young retired at the rank of Rear Admiral from the US Navy, where she served with distinction for twenty years at the National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO is one of the seventeen US Intelligence agencies and the organization responsible for designing, building, launching, and maintaining Americas intelligence-gathering satellites. She led the NROs Systems Engineering Directorate and was credited with helping the NRO through a historic six satellite launches in less than a year. Young also served as the Program Executive Officer for Navy Space Systems. In her new role, Liz brings to bear over twenty years experience with satellite systems, coupled with leadership capabilities exemplified by her distinguished career in the military and other parts of the US government. She has enabled our women and men in uniform to perform their duties with enhanced capabilities, and has provided policymakers accurate, technology-driven information with which to make informed decisions, said Hinton. Liz is a consummate professional in our industry, has vast technical knowledge, and with whom Ive had the privilege of working with as a member SDLs guidance council. Her dedication and leadership will continue to benefit SDL in her position as a member of the Board of Directors. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Young was commissioned in 1984, earning an undergraduate degree in chemistry. Her initial tour was at the Naval Space Surveillance Systems Command. Subsequent assignments included the Naval Postgraduate School, where she earned a graduate degree in physics; the Naval Research Laboratory; the Naval Space Command Detachment at the Defense Support System Ground Station; the Aerospace Data Facility; and the Naval Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle Program at the Naval Air Systems Command. In 1999 she reported to the NRO, where she served as the Deputy Chief Systems Engineer of the Future Imagery Architecture Program in the Imagery Intelligence Directorate. In 2001 she was reassigned as the Deputy Program Manager and Chief Systems Engineer of the Advanced Concepts Staff in the Imagery Intelligence Directorate. In 2005 she was appointed Program Manager, Low Earth Orbit System Program Office in the Signal Intelligence Directorate. Young is the recipient of numerous awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, two Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal. She is also the recipient of two NRO Gold Medals for Distinguished Service, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Medallion, and the Defense Intelligence Agency Directors Award. The Space Dynamics Laboratory has been solving the technical challenges faced by the military, science community, and industry for six decades and supports NASAs vision to reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind. As one of fourteen University Affiliated Research Centers, SDL serves as a subject matter expert in its core research areas to the US Government and ensures that essential engineering and technology capabilities of the Department of Defense are maintained. SDL is a DoD research laboratory headquartered in North Logan, UT, and has offices in Albuquerque, NM; Bedford, MA; Dayton, OH; Huntsville, AL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Stafford, VA; and Washington, DC. For more information, visit http://www.sdl.usu.edu. Attachment Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifies before the House Appropriations Committee in Washington on Feb. 26, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) 3 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in US, Total Rises to 60 Three more cases of the COVID-19 virus were confirmed by one of the top American health officials on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the United States to 60. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, testifying before a congressional committee in the morning, said that two more passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the virus. Testifying in the afternoon in front of a different committee, he said he was informed of another confirmed case, the epidemiology of which we are still discerning. The most recent case is located in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency thats part of HHS, said in a statement later in the day. The patient reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with COVID-19, the agency stated. A bus believed to carry the U.S. passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess leave the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 17, 2020. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters) At this time, the patients exposure is unknown. Its possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States. Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. Its also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected. The patient was detected by astute clinicians, the agency said. Of the 60 cases now confirmed in the United States, 42 were passengers on the cruise ship who have tested positive for the new virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. The passengers were evacuated from Yokohama, Japan, earlier this month and are isolated at military bases. Three cases were previously confirmed among the Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus. Another 14 either traveled to China or came into close contact with someone who did. Three new cases came a day after a top U.S. health official warned Americans that they should prepare for the possible community spread of the virus. We expect we will see community spread in this country, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters in a phone call. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. Passengers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the Coronavirus as they arrive on a flight from Asia, at the Los Angeles International Airport, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2020. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images) Peoples lives could be disrupted by community spread, including potential school closures, she said. Azar said at a briefing later in the day that Messonnier was giving the American public a preview of what might happen. We hope those steps arent necessary. We hope that we dont face those kinds of eventualities, he said. But transparency is being candid with people about what the continuum of potential steps are so they can start processing in their own heads, thinking about in their own lives, thinking about what that might involvemight involve, not will, we cannot make predictions with any degree of certainty. Azar told lawmakers on Wednesday that health experts dont recommend that people wear masks, saying that the protective items are primarily for healthcare workers. Wearing a mask can be more harmful than not wearing one, he said, as people can wear them improperly and end up fumbling with them, touching their face. Instead, experts recommend basic public health hygiene such as frequently washing hands with soap and water, coughing into their elbow, and not touching their face, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. The hygiene recommendations are good for combating the flu, the common cold, and the new virus, he said. A Chinese security guard wears a protective mask as he checks the temperature of people entering a residential building in Beijing, China, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Most cases of the new virus, if it does begin spreading in the community, will involve patients self-isolating at home and treating it the way they treat cases of the flu, Azar said. Health officials will publish clear guidelines on when patients should go to a hospital, he said. The key will be actively managing the flow of patients, he said, so an outbreak doesnt collapse our rural hospitals necessarily, he told Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who expressed concern about how such a situation would affect rural areas. Azar was testifying about his departments Fiscal Year 2021 budget request as well as a supplemental request the White House submitted to Congress this week asking for $2.5 billion to combat the new virus. After another tie vote Tuesday night, the Boyertown Area School Board abandoned its plan to narrow its seven applicants for a board vacancy down to two finalists, and instead picked from the entire list, thereby choosing Marianne Scott as the newest member. The prosecutor who helped convict the notorious Green River Killer of murdering at least 49 women in the 1980s says she is still haunted by the serial killer's lack of emotion over their deaths - as authorities reveal they are still working to identify some victims. Gary Ridgway, now 70, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2003 of killing the 49 women in Washington state. Ridgway, who is considered one of the nation's most prolific serial killers, has confessed to killing as many as 80 women but there was only enough evidence at the time to secure a conviction for 49 of them. He would target mostly young female prostitutes or runaways and then dump their bodies around the Seattle area. Ridgway was dubbed the Green River Killer because the bodies of several of his victims in the early 1980s were found in or near that river. Scroll down for video Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, now 70, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2003 of killing the 49 women in Washington state. He is pictured above in 2003 His horror case has since been profiled in Investigation Discovery's new documentary - Green River Killer: Mind of a Monster. Patty Eakes, one of the prosecuting attorneys assigned to the case, said the lack of emotion Ridgway showed when he eventually admitted to killing the women was still troubling to her. She recalls him confessing to the brutal crimes as if 'he was taking a walk'. 'A couple of things jumped out at me,' she told Fox News of the killings. 'He would take his son and leave him in the car while he went back and had sex with the bodies It didn't seem to register in his mind just how messed up that was. 'So depraved and really, no recognition on his part that, you know, he took a child and left the child in the car while he was off killing a woman, or going back another time to have sex with a different dead body. 'It creeped me out at such a level that was shocking, even for somebody like me who's had a lot of exposure, unfortunately, to murders.' Patty Eakes, one of the prosecuting attorneys assigned to the case, said the lack of emotion Ridgway showed when he eventually admitted to killing the women was still troubling to her. Photo courtesy of KCPQ Some of his victims: Amina Agisheff, Wendy Lee Coffield, Gisele Ann Lovvorn, Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Faye Chapman, Cynthia Jean Hinds, Opal Charmaine Mills, Kassee Ann Lee, Terry Rene Milligan, and Mary Bridget Meehan Some of his victims: Carrie A. Rois, Kimberly L. Nelson, Lisa Yates, Mary Exzetta West and Cindy Anne Smith Eakes said Ridgway came across as just an average 'goofy, middle-aged guy'. 'You had to remind yourself of who he was and what he was capable of doing,' she said, adding that some victims may have been comfortable getting into his truck due to his seemingly harmless personality. 'I think he looked for vulnerable women. He had this strange, underlying need to feel like he had a beautiful woman by his side. Often the women that he picked up were attractive. He wanted to be one of those guys who's like, 'I have a beautiful woman with me.' He didn't necessarily feel like he had that in his personal life Physical attractiveness was definitely part of it,' she said. The first of his victims turned up in 1982 in the Green River, which gave the then-unknown attacker the name Green River Killer. By the end of 1984, the bodies of 42 women had been found. Ridgway, a longtime painter at a truck company and father of one child, had been a suspect since 1984. The boyfriend of one of his victim's Marie Malvar had reported seeing her get into a pickup truck identified as Ridgway's. Ridgway told police then that he didn't know Malvar and a police investigator who knew him cleared him as a suspect. He offered to help authorities find the remains of his other victims if prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty Ridgway was eventually arrested in 2001 after detectives linked his DNA to sperm found in three of the earliest victims Ridgway was eventually arrested in 2001 after detectives linked his DNA to sperm found in three of the earliest victims. By 2002, prosecutors had charged him with seven murders but they had all but given up hope of linking him to the dozens of other women. He offered to help authorities find the remains of his other victims if prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. Eakes was among those who worked with Ridgway over a six-month span to identify the remaining murders. 'There remain missing women. There remain women who probably will never be found. He claims other murders, and you just don't know whether or not they occurred,' Eakes said. The King County Sheriff's Office said they have continued to investigate Ridgway even after he was jailed. They say they still have three open cases where remains have been found and they are actively trying to identify them. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will discuss the deadly coronavirus outbreak during a news conference at 6 p.m. ET with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the administration works to respond to the fast-spreading disease the first case of which was just confirmed in Latin America Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testified before House lawmakers that Trump asked him to make the evening briefing public in order to be transparent. Hours before the presser was scheduled to begin, Politico reported that the White House was considering appointing a coronavirus czar. Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb was among a handful of officials being discussed for the role, according to Politicos report, which cited two people familiar with the matter. But Azar pushed back on the report. I dont anticipate a czar being appointed, Azar said during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. This is working extremely well. The White House also denied Politicos report. Trump said that others would also be attending the conference, but did not specify who they would be. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBCs request for additional information on the presidents announcement. Trump revealed the news conference on Twitter after attacking media for panicking markets through their coverage of the virus. UW Board of Trustees Plans Thursday Meetings The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at 7 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. The meeting will be an executive session to discuss litigation and personnel. The issues are not related to the boards current presidential search. Following that special meeting, the board will meet in executive session starting at 8 a.m. to interview the three finalists for the universitys presidency. Those interviews also will take place at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. The candidates are Gregory W. Bowman, dean of the West Virginia University College of Law; Edward Seidel, vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System; and Daniel M. White, chancellor of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Bowman and Seidel both visited the UW campus and Casper College earlier in the week. Whites public schedule today (Wednesday) and Thursday is: Wednesday, Feb. 26 1:30-2:30 p.m. -- Forum with faculty, Wildcatter Club and Suites -- will air via WyoCast at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/fc9a859fc65d4316a4049e20c25b1f931d. 2:45-3:45 p.m. -- Forum with staff, Wildcatter Club and Suites -- will air via WyoCast at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/fc9a859fc65d4316a4049e20c25b1f931d. 5:30-7 p.m. -- Community reception, Wildcatter Club and Suites. Thursday, Feb. 27 9-10 a.m. -- Public forum, Casper College Student Union/UW Building, Casper -- will air via WyoCast at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/8ca7842708e248fe99562aad78afb8dc1d. The Board of Trustees seeks public input on the presidential candidates before it fulfills its responsibility to select the new president. People are invited to share their thoughts and perspectives with the board by answering online questionnaires for each finalist at the following sites: Bowman -- www.surveymonkey.com/r/PLZ2CJM. Seidel -- www.surveymonkey.com/r/PVDYZBD. White -- www.surveymonkey.com/r/PVS23HR. The deadline for input on Bowman and Seidel is 10 p.m. today (Wednesday). Because people in Casper wont interact with White until Thursday morning, the deadline for input on him is noon Thursday -- although people are encouraged to submit their comments on White by 10 p.m. today as well. During the week of March 2, the board may extend an offer to the candidate it selects. The new president is expected to be in office by July 1. More information on the presidential search and the finalists may be found at www.uwyo.edu/presidentsearch/. T homas Markle has launched another tirade against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, accusing the pair of insulting the Queen and the British people. The 75-year-old was filmed leaving a shopping centre near his house in Rosarito, Mexico, on Monday when a reporter asked whether his daughter Meghan has the right to use the word royal. He briefly hesitated before responding: I'm very upset with Meghan and Harry right now. I don't think they have the right to use the word royal." His comments follow news that the couple will drop their use of the Sussex Royal brand for their charity and commercial activities once they step down as senior members of the Royal Family on March 31. Harry and Meghan to stop using Sussex Royal branding He added: I don't think they have a right to speak to the Queen in the way they have spoken to her, I think it's an insult to the Queen and to the British people. The couple, who have relocated to Canada, have abandoned plans to trademark the label, stating on their website: It has been agreed that their non-profit organisation will not utilise the name Sussex Royal or any other iteration of Royal. However, they added that they had made the decision despite there not being any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word Royal overseas. Mr Markle continued his criticism of the duchess, saying: My daughter dumped me one day before she got married, she has dumped my family, she has dumped Doria's family, she has dumped every family and now she is dumping the British family. It follows a number of TV appearances in which the 75-year-old criticised Meghan for her alleged treatment of him. In an interview on ITVs Good Morning Britain in January, Mr Markle called the couple's decision to stand down as senior royals and move away from the UK "embarrassing." "They married into royalty, they knew what they were getting themselves into," he told the programme, speaking live on air for the first time since their relocation. "I think they've hurt the Queen, they've hurt the royalty. I'm a little embarrassed for them and feeling very sorry for the Queen." Harry Arrives at Waverley Station in Edinburgh as he prepares to begin his final round of royal duties / SplashNews.com His remarks yesterday came as the duke prepares for his final round of official engagements before stepping down. Harry was pictured arriving in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening in advance of a summit focusing on his sustainable tourism project, Travalyst. The duke founded the Travalyst coalition along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa. Just after 8 a.m., the administrator spotted the student speeding in the school parking lot and tapped on the windshield of the teen's car to slow him down. The student got out of his car and attacked the assistant principal, Wagner said, before other students and faculty pulled him off. The schools resource officer also responded and took the student into custody. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: The apparent lack of genuine interest by the leadership of Armenia impedes the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process, Ramiz Hasanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said. Hasanov made the remark at the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Trend reports. Azerbaijan advocates for an efficient UN partner and is committed to increased co-operation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the deputy minister said. In recent years we have strengthened our partnership with the Office, Hasanov added. My country is also actively engaging with the Human Rights Council. Azerbaijan has assumed the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement at its recent Summit held in Baku, the deputy minister said. During its Chairmanship Azerbaijan will build its priorities around the Bandung principles and in particular will continue advocating for the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights. We also emphasize the importance of adopting a constructive approach to the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in this regard encourage all states to focus on genuine dialogue and cooperation with each other, Hasanov added. Ambitious and long-ranging reforms are presently carried out in Azerbaijan aimed at further strengthening of democracy, rule of law, and promotion and protection of human rights, the deputy minister said. The parliamentary elections of February 9, 2020 constitute another important step towards further democratic development of Azerbaijan. As it has been also done in previous parliamentary elections, 523 polling stations were set up to ensure the voting rights of 700,000 IDPs forcibly expelled from their territories as a result of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and thus deprived of a possibility to vote in their home towns, Hasanov said. The Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin living in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan were invited by Azerbaijani election authorities to vote, and a number of them have participated in the parliamentary elections of February 9 by e-voting. Yesterday this Council was again abused by the Armenian foreign minister with many falsifications concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and aimed at justifying Armenias annexationist policy towards Azerbaijan in blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, the deputy minister added. It is this policy that constitutes the real root cause of the conflict. Armenia disregards the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and documents of other international organizations, which reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and condemn the use of force by Armenia against Azerbaijan, the occupation of its territories, the attacks on civilians, and demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all occupying forces from the areas of Azerbaijan, Hasanov said. Today Azerbaijan commemorates the 28th anniversary of one of the darkest pages of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the Khojaly Genocide recognized by an increasing number of countries, the deputy minister said. It was on this day in 1992, that 613 residents of this small town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan were brutally killed by Armenian military simply because they were Azerbaijanis the fact that has been later admitted by the then president of Armenia himself. In this regard, Azerbaijan urges the Council, its mandate holders and the High Commissioner to take a principled stand and efficient actions for restoration of human rights of Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees which remain violated for almost 30 years. Armenia deliberately misrepresents the principle of self-determination calling for its application only for Armenian ethnic group living in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and deliberately concealing the fact that all Azerbaijanis have already been expelled by Armenia from this region through the use of force, Hasanov said. Therefore, there is no such notion as a people of Nagorno-Karabakh, but there is an Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, alongside with the Azerbaijani community of the same region. Under these circumstances holding the so-called elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan violates the international law. Despite Armenias declarations of its commitment to peaceful resolution of the conflict, the apparent lack of genuine interest by the leadership of Armenia impedes the conflict resolution process, the deputy minister said. In response to the false allegations of Armenia on this conflict made at the recent Munich Security Conference, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan unequivocally stated there that any solution to this conflict which will be achieved as a result of peaceful negotiation must provide preservation of internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and this is based on the norms of the international law, Hasanov added. The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is acknowledged by the whole world, and the sooner the government of Armenia recognizes the lack of any prospect for its self-destructive political agenda towards its neighbors, the sooner the people of Armenia will be able to benefit from peace and economic development. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. Good luck finding a gold dress in this town anytime soon. After Saturday night's golden 50th anniversary Houston Ballet Ball, they've all been snapped up, worn and documented with great ceremony on social media - as one does in celebration of a record $1.8 million raised. For the third year in a row, the Houston Ballet's annual ball has benefited from a surprising trajectory. And it just keeps getting better. Hurricane Harvey flooded the Wortham Center, the Ballet's performance home, back in 2017. The following year, Ballet Ball chairman Hallie Vanderhider injected delicious drama -- in the form of a black and white "Swan Lake" themed soiree -- into a temporary, tented ballroom next to the Ballet Academy's building. She made headlines for raising $1.4 million and changing into couture outfits not once, but twice. Then in 2019, co-chairmen Kelley Lubanko and Leigh Smith, with their husbands Stephen Lubanko and Reggie Smith, opted for a celestial affair -- again, inside the tent. They raised $1.6 million, and afterward, for the second year in a row, late-night revelers flocked to Barbarella, a dance club in Midtown, to keep the party going. So by the time Beth and Nick Zdeblick were tapped to host 2020's all-important, 50th anniversary gala, they'd discovered the secret ingredient to Ballet Ball success: Fun. And a strong theme. Which is how most of their 400 black-tie guests wound up wrapped in gold. Beth Zdeblick spent nearly a year tweaking and customizing her tulle Oscar de la Renta gown with Tootsies's creative director Fady Armanious, who wore an Alexander McQueen tuxedo. She worked with Richard Flowers of the Events Company for months to select the perfect tinsel-like chandeliers. Ultimately, the duo decided that the heavy metal looked too modern, and added traditional crystal in the French style underneath to soften the effect. That minor edit changed everything. The decor scheme shifted in a new direction, toward timeless elements infused with youth. Think classic white hydrangea centerpieces cut with spray-painted palm leaves. A delicate feather photo wall to contrast it's platinum foil counterpart. A red carpet illuminated by two rows of Hollywood spotlights. Because remember, this was also the event's big return to the Wortham. And no one was more excited for a celebratory homecoming than the dancers themselves. They dressed festively for the occasion and even gave some of the patrons a sartorial run for their money. Demi-soloist Natalie Varnum wore crimson Giambattista Valli for H&M with a high-low train. Soloist Harper Watters wore a bespoke Ricky King western suit, complete with white cowboy boots and a matching hat. His rodeo-ready look came in handy once Sound House and the Tribute performed Lil Nas X's smash country hit, "Old Town Road featuring Billy Ray Cyrus." That's when Watters giddied-up onstage to show off his moves which have since gone viral thanks to the power of Instagram. Though Watters' impressive two-stepping was an impromptu treat, first soloist Oliver Halkowich's choreographed piece proved a timely undertaking. After dinner -- more on that later -- dozens of past and present Houston Ballet dancers, including Lauren Anderson, Artistic Director Stanton Welch AM and Executive Director Jim Nelson leaped from their seats to waltz between the tables. For the grand finale, a nine-foot cake adorned with 50 extra-large "birthday" candles appeared just moments before a confetti shower rained down on gala-goers. This, mind you, followed Jackson and Company's golden caviar macaron and potato panna cotta with black truffle, lobster bisque, beef tenderloin with polenta and a gorgonzola tart, and "Chocolat a la Margaret!" in tribute to honoree Margaret Alkek Williams. Later, as Veuve Clicquot champagne was poured, a quartet from Elan Artists performed a string of popular boy band songs by NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, and more. At one point, Caroline Tudor, daughter of honorary chairmen Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, followed Watters's lead and hopped onstage, too. The festivities raged until midnight. Attendees went home with birthday cake-shaped cookies and plenty of confetti in their hair. They say not all that glitters is gold - except when it is. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned against complacency on womens rights at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, a landmark agenda for the empowerment of women Emily Ratajkowski looked happy to be back at home in New York City on Wednesday afternoon. The Inamorata bikini designer was covered up in a beige coat with deep pockets over a Lucien NYC sweatshirt and matching sweatpants as she walked her dog Colombo. This comes after the Instagram pinup attended the Versace show and hung out with fellow supermodel Bella Hadid in Milan, Italy. Back to the concrete jungle: Emily Ratajkowski looked happy to be back at home in New York City on Wednesday afternoon The siren looked at ease as she wore her long brown hair down over her shoulders while in a pair of Versace sunglasses that fit her perfectly. For shoes, she chose white leather Nike sneakers. The cover girl was carrying a small cup of coffee and walking her pooch with a red leash. She seemed to not be far from the apartment the designer shared with her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. Casual Wednesday: The Inamorata bikini designer was covered up in a beige coat over a Lucien NYC sweatshirt and and matching sweatpants as she walked her dog Colombo Glam free: The siren looked at ease as she wore her long brown hair down over her shoulders while in a pair of Versace sunglasses that fit her perfectly She was hopping between shows at this season's Milan Fashion Week. Ratajkowski looked sensational as she arrived at the Versace Fall/Winter 2020 show in the Italian fashion capital on Friday afternoon. The model, 28, put on a busty display in a tiny red blazer dress, as she showcased her more than ample assets in the plunging number. Now with a new look: Later the siren had on a white turtleneck with black slacks and a Walgreens bag with a black purse over her shoulder The thigh-skimming outfit also showcased Emily's tanned and toned legs, while she teamed the dress with a pair of strappy gold heels. Emily carried her essentials in a red leather clutch bag but otherwise kept her accessories to a minimum, simply adding pair of gold hoop earrings. She wore her brunette locks in a loose straight style and highlighted her model features with a bronze pallet of make-up including a slick of lip gloss. Emily was recently in Jamaica on Valentine's Day with her husband, the Uncut Gems producer Bear-McClard. Best friends: She was hopping between shows at this season's Milan Fashion Week. Ratajkowski looked sensational as she arrived at the Versace Fall/Winter 2020 show in the Italian fashion capital on Friday afternoon Posed up: And the UCLA graduate also found time to hang out with her pal Bella Hadid 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 Zara trouser suit. On the beach: Emily was recently in Jamaica on Valentine's Day with her husband, the Uncut Gems producer Bear-McClard. They were joined by their pal Josh Ostrovsky and his new influencer second wife Caitlin King Though the efforts are underway to recalibrate about 240,000 ATMs to replace Rs 2,000 notes with Rs 500 notes, the high-value notes may not be withdrawn immediately . After introducing Rs 2,000 currency notes post-demonetisation in 2016, the high-value note seems to have lost its sheen in three years. As part of stopping the use of Rs 2,000 notes, several banks reportedly initiated the process to recalibrate their ATMs in a bid to completely replace the notes with low denomination notes, said a news report. As part of the move, state-run Indian Bank reportedly stopped filling the high-value denomination notes from 1 March at its automated teller machines (ATMs), said another news report. Though efforts are underway to recalibrate about 240,000 ATMs to replace Rs 2,000 notes with Rs 500 notes, the high-value notes may not be withdrawn immediately and will remain legal tender, for now, said a report in the Business Standard. Accordingly, three of the four currency cassettes in the vending machines will be filled with Rs 500 notes, and the fourth one will either be used to stash notes of Rs 100 or Rs 200 denominations, the report said. Gradually, Rs 2,000 notes are expected to be withdrawn completely from circulation in a span of one year even as the banks have reportedly replaced the cassettes holding Rs 2,000 notes in many ATMs and may well be on their way out within a year. Indian Bank reportedly said that it would not use Rs 2,000 notes in its ATMs from 1 March due to inconvenience to people. Indian Bank has been facing a problem with on-site ATMs (those located within a bank's branch) due to the loading of the high-value denomination notes and now on, the public sector bank's ATMs will have only Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500 notes, the report said. "Customers would step into the branch as soon as they withdrew cash from the ATM, asking for Rs 2,000 notes to be exchanged for notes of smaller denomination. They were just crowding our branches with long queues. So, we have decided to do away with Rs 2,000 notes," a bank official was quoted as saying in the report. Early this month, it was reported that a top public sector bank (PSB) had reportedly issued instructions to its senior officials to restrict the circulation of Rs 2,000 currency notes. The officials were also asked not to create panic among customers. They were asked to accept the notes from bank customers. The branch officials were asked to fill only the denominations of Rs 500, Rs 200 and Rs 100 in ATMs and to meet the possible inconvenience arising out of the situation. The supply of Rs 100 notes will be increased through currency chests, said the report citing an email of the PSB. The report, however, did not mention the name of the PSB. In October last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had informed that it had not printed a single banknote of Rs 2,000 denomination in FY20 as it had stopped the printing of the high-value denomination notes temporarily on security grounds. Experts said that the purpose behind the move to scale down and finally stop the printing of the high-value notes was reportedly an attempt to prevent easy hoarding, which defied the governments initiatives to curb black money flow. Keeping Rs 2,000 currency notes away from circulation is seen as a measure of a crackdown on black money as the lack of presence of this note will make illegal transactions deals difficult, said the report citing views of the experts. Earlier, there were unconfirmed reports claimed that the RBI was not printing Rs 2,000 denomination notes due to security reasons. About 3,542.991 million notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were printed during fiscal 2017 and in the next financial year, the number saw a dip as the central bank printed only 111.507 million notes of the same denomination. The figure further fell by more than half, to 46.690 million Rs 2,000 notes in FY19, the report said. The Rs 2,000 denomination notes were introduced after demonetisation in 2016. The government had then announced to withdraw Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes from the market in a bid to check black money and fake currency. Accordingly, the government first introduced a new Rs 500 denomination currency note and subsequently came out with Rs 2,000 notes. About 3,285 million notes of Rs 2,000 denominations were in circulation in 2017, according to data available on RBI website. This figure had gone up to 3,363 million in 2018 and it declined to 3,291 million notes in FY19. [February 26, 2020] Ameriprise Financial Expands Geographic Footprint with New Employee Advisor Offices in Key Markets Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) is expanding the geographic footprint of its employee advisor channel by opening new branches in markets where the firm sees opportunities to grow its advisor base and add new clients. Since 2017, Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC has opened 15 new employee branches nationwide in key cities in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin to accommodate experienced advisors joining the firm from wirehouses, regional firms, independents, banks and insurance companies. The 15 new branches collectively manage more than $4 billion in client assets.i Ameriprise branches provide advisors with local leadership, staff support, training, technology, client acquisition techniques and the ability to leverage the firm's advice value proposition, which is a catalyst for industry-leading organic growth.ii Ameriprise plans to build on its recent momentum by opening 12 new employee branches in cities where market conditions are right for attracting new advisors and clients. "We're energized by the success we've had with lunching new branches in cities where we haven't previously operated employee advisor offices," said Patrick O'Connell, CFP, executive vice president of the firm's employee advisor and financial institutions groups. "We look forward to replicating this strategy in other markets and opening the door for more advisors to gain access to the talent, technology and expertise that sets Ameriprise apart in the industry." Ameriprise has a strong track record of recruiting experienced advisors, having brought more than 4,000 to the firm since 2008.iii The Ameriprise employee advisor channel has an extensive network of more than 180 offices nationwide.iv About Ameriprise Financial At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive advisory, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC. 2020 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. i - Company data as of November 2019. ii - Company filings and S&P Cap IQ. iii - Company data as of August 2019. iv - Company data as of October 2019. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005571/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Emily Weindorf officially had the best layover of all time. Weindorf, 24, was on a layover in Chicago on Feb. 12 on her way back home from a five-week international physician's assistant rotational program in Peru. Waiting for her flight to take off, the medical student was shocked when her boyfriend, 28-year-old Nick Boucher, appeared in the aisle and got down on one knee to propose. The couple, who shared mutual friends and started dating in June 2019, celebrated by posing for pictures in the cockpit before takeoff. PHOTO: Nick Boucher and Emily Weindorf celebrated their proposal in the cockpit. (Southwest Airlines) PHOTO: Nick Boucher planned an elaborate proposal to pop the question to girlfriend Emily Weindorf on her flight home. (Southwest Airlines) MORE: Sweet grandpa mistakenly records himself instead of marriage proposal Boucher arranged the in-flight surprise with Southwest in January. Before Weindorf even left for Peru, he set his "pretty elaborate" plan into motion to surprise her. "I called it 'The Gift,'" he told ABC News. "I had known pretty early on that this was the girl I was going to marry." Concerned about the distance, Boucher sent Weindorf off to Peru with many little gifts, including a custom crossword puzzle. MORE: 'American Idol' contestant has surprise marriage proposal Each morning Boucher would email her a clue and the answer was either a word or a phase relating to parts of their relationship. Whether it was reminiscing on a date or a favorite movie, Boucher said he wanted to remind Weindorf of the memories they shared together. PHOTO: Nick Boucher (Courtesy Nick Boucher) "I had no idea it would lead to a proposal," she said. "The notes, crossword puzzle, and videos were all leading up to the word and phrase 'regalo' which means gift in Spanish. I thought I had opened the end of the gift in Peru, but unbeknownst to me, the gift was culminating in the proposal." Boucher surprised Weindorf on the plane and handed her the final gift -- a box with a clue of "regalo" to open the codex and find the ring. PHOTO: Woman shocked when boyfriend surprises her on flight and proposes (Southwest Airlines) The moment Weindorf opened the ring box, Boucher dropped down on one knee to propose. MORE: Man accidentally photobombs marriage proposal Story continues PHOTO: Nick Boucher planned an elaborate proposal to pop the question to girlfriend Emily Weindorf on her flight home. (Nick Boucher) The couple said they want to tie the knot this July. Best layover ever: Woman shocked when boyfriend surprises her on flight and proposes originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com 7.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg tore into Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders during Tuesday nights debate, telling him that the real cost of his plans is four more years of Donald Trump and a Congress completely controlled by Republicans. The former mayor said that while the Vermont senator still hasnt told taxpayers how much his plans will cost in a monetary sense, the political cost of the Sanders agenda is clear. Ill tell you exactly what it adds up to, Buttigieg said. It adds up to four more years of Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House and the inability to get the Senate into Democratic hands. Video: Mayor Pete has the moment of the debate when he says Sanders math equals 4 more years of Trump and a Republican House and Senate. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/Gnnmgtfi9P PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 26, 2020 Buttigieg said: Lets do some math. Sen. Sanders at one point said it was going to be $40 trillion, then it was $30 trillion, then it was $17 trillion. Its an incredible shrinking price tag. At some point, he said it was unknowable to even see what the price tag would be. Now there are new numbers. Ill tell you exactly what it adds up to. It adds up to four more years of Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House and the inability to get the Senate into Democratic hands. The time has come for us to stop acting like the presidency is the only office that matters. Not only is this a way to get Donald Trump reelected, we got a House to worry about. We got a Senate to worry about. This is really important. If you want to keep the House in Democratic hands, you might want to check with the people who actually turned the House blue. Forty Democrats who are not running on your platform. They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can. I want to send those Democrats back to the United States House. Lets listen to them when they say that they dont want to be out there defending Sen. Sanders. Moderate Democrats are concerned that Sanders will be a drag on the ticket Bernie Sanders continues to struggle to articulate just how much his plans will cost if they happen to be enacted. Just over the weekend, in fact, he said he doesnt know what the cost of his agenda will be. While its unclear if he will ever be able to put a specific price tag on his proposals, what is clear is that moderate Democrats are as Pete Buttigieg said on Tuesday night scared that Sanders will be a drag on the Democratic ticket. As ABC News noted, middle-of-the-road Democrats that were central to the 2018 blue wave are terrified that if the self-described democratic socialist wins the partys presidential nomination, it could jeopardize efforts to protect their House majority and take control of the Senate. If Sanders is the Democratic nominee, he will have to broaden his message or hell struggle to win over swing voters in key states. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Duckhorn consolidates UK distribution of its wine brands Californian winemaker Duckhorn has signed an exclusive UK distribution deal with Top Selection, saying the "time was right" to consolidate. The distributor - which has been working with Duckhorn's Calera wines brand for several years - will now be soley responsible for distributing its wine portfolio in the UK, including brands such as Decoy, Goldeneye and Migration which were previously imported by The Wine Treasury. The Duckhorn portfolio includes wines from Napa, Sonoma and the central Californian coast as well as Washington State. Brian Bostwick, Duckhorn export director, said: "We feel the time is right to consolidate our distribution in the UK. Duckhorn has ambitious plans for the UK market, particularly growth across the range within the premium on-trade and off-trade. Top Selection has a proven presence in these channels and the team has impressed us with the work they have been doing with Calera." Top Selection chairman, Akos Forczek, added: "Interest and appreciation of premium Californian wines in the UK market is on the up. We look forward to working with Brian and the team at Duckhorn to build sales of the brands in the UK." The range will be available to order from Top Selection from 1 March and will be on display at the Essential California London tasting on 12 March. 26 February 2020 - Bethany Whymark House Speaker Laszlo Kover and Human Resources Minister Miklos Kasler laid wreaths of commemoration at the monument of the martyrs of the nation in Budapest, marking the day of victims of communism. The event was organised jointly by the Parliament Office and the Rakoczi Association. Speaking at another commemoration, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Ministers Office, said communist dictatorships had some 100 million victims worldwide. An estimated 700,000 Hungarians were deported to Soviet forced labour camps, where nearly half of them died. There have been no statistics about the disabled, those with permanent physical or mental wounds, he said. Gulyas said the communist rule ended in Hungary in 1989, but insisted that the communists and their crimes are still with us. Gulyas criticised Budapests management over their support to an exhibition on the liberation of Budapest in 1945, which Gulyas said evoked memories of Hungarys Soviet occupation and the death of thousands of Hungarians. Those that seek to find excuses for the murderers cannot be believed even if they talk of democracy, he said. Victims of communism are remembered each year on February 25, the anniversary of the arrest and deportation to the Soviet Union of independent smallholder politician Bela Kovacs in 1947. MTI Photo: Kovacs Tamas Amid coronavirus outbreak, an expelled Wall Street Journal reporter, Chao Deng, will be staying in the locked-down Chinese city of Wuhan, authorities reportedly said on February 25. According to international media reports, three journalists had their press credentials revoked and were ordered an expulsion over 'racially discriminatory' headline. On Monday, two journalists flew out from Beijing, however, Chao, who has been reporting from Wuhan, will not be expelled for the time being, but she will also be not permitted to work while she remains in China. China's foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, at a press briefing said that out of humanitarian reasons, authorities have decided to continue to allow Chao to stay in Wuhan. Lijian further, however, added that she will not be allowed to conduct any interviews. He also said that once the epidemic is over, she will be allowed to leave as quickly as possible. READ: Coronavirus Outbreak: San Francisco Declares Emergency Over Deadly Epidemic The Journal's piece was headlined as China is the Real Sick Man of Asia and was written by an American professor who criticised the initial measures taken by the Chinese government where the deadly coronavirus outbreak started. Since the newspaper did not apologise for what Beijing has called discriminatory, the press cards of all three China-based reporters had been revoked. The US-based Josh Chin and Chao Deng, along with Australia-based Philip Wen were given less than a week to leave the nation. READ: Study Begins In US To Test Possible Coronavirus Treatment 'Deeply disappointed' According to reports, three reporters of the publication were ordered to leave the country last week and were given five days even though they were not involved in writing the headline of the article. This is considered to be one of the harshest moves against the foreign media in several years. However, analysts have acknowledged the decision to revoke their credentials came a day after the United States had tightened the rules on Chinese state media operating in the US. Therefore, it has raised suspicion of Beijing's retaliation. The Wall Street Journal had also issued an official statement saying that it was deeply disappointed with the decision of the Chinese government. A note from @murraymatt on expulsion of WSJ reporters from China https://t.co/uvnHABAPLM pic.twitter.com/CjHG7ACPv3 WSJ Communications (@WSJPR) February 19, 2020 READ: Iran Minister Coughs, Wipes Sweat Amid Coronavirus Briefing, Hours Prior To His Diagnosis READ: Coronavirus Outbreak Affects Indian Firms In China, Could Lose 15-20% Revenue: CII When Mr. Matthews pushed her to say outright that she thought Mr. Bloomberg was lying, she responded, I believe the woman, which means hes not telling the truth. Why would he lie? Mr. Matthews asked. Why would she lie? Ms. Warren responded. During the debate, Ms. Warren also challenged Mr. Bloomberg over his announcement last week that he was willing to release three women from nondisclosure agreements with his company so they could discuss their complaints about him publicly. As she said on Friday, it was a limited announcement by Mr. Bloomberg, and not good enough. Let us have the women have an opportunity to speak, Ms. Warren said. The Bloomberg corporations and Mayor Bloomberg himself have been accused of discrimination. They are bound by nondisclosures so that they cannot speak. If he says there is nothing to hide here, then sign a blanket release and let those women speak out so that they can tell their stories the way I can tell my story: without having the fear that theyre going to be sued by a billionaire. The back-and-forth was a continuation of a confrontation that began during the last debate, when Ms. Warren quoted comments the mayor had reportedly made, describing him as a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. Long before he even became a politician, Mr. Bloomberg had a reputation for crude and sexist comments. In 2012, while mayor, Mr. Bloomberg urged two guests at a party to look at the ass on her. In November, when asked about the comments by The New York Times, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg offered a note of contrition, but did not go so far as to apologize. Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong, said the spokesman, Stu Loeser. He believes his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life. We are at the crossroad with social media screening which has been stigmatized for many years and now is emerging as a legitimate screening practice that increasingly employers are using during the employment selection process. The Background Buzz, the industry leading e-magazine for HR and background screening professionals added Social Media and Drug Screening Thought Leadership content columns to address hot issues in background screening in the January edition. The Social Intelligence, column will focus on the emerging practice of employers conducting social media checks during the hiring process. The continues to be a controversial practice, however, according to a CareerBuilder survey, 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. Bianca Lager, President, Social Intelligence, the author of the new column said this about social media screening, Despite the many challenges that have been identified about social media screening for employment selection we have designed The Social Intelligence Report like other background checks to automate the process and make it fair. Through our trusted partners, our clients receive greater insight on prospective hires that is not available from traditional background checks or interviews, without a messy, complicated workflow. W. Barry Nixon, publisher of The Background Buzz and co-author of Background Screening Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from a HR and Security Perspective said, We are at the crossroad with social media screening which has been stigmatized for many years and now is emerging as a legitimate screening practice that increasingly employers are using during the employment selection process. To read the initial Social Intelligence column visit http://bit.ly/2UnL7LJ. To learn about best practices in social media screening access The Social Intelligence Report at http://www.socialintel.com. The second column, Inside Drug Screening, is focused on emerging issues in drug screening. With 33 states having passed laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana and 11 for recreational use along with the opioid crisis this area of employment selection is a hotbed of issues. According to a poll released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) commissioned by the Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry more than half of employers (57 percent) conduct drug tests on all job candidates, while only 29 percent do not conduct drug tests on any job candidates. Tom Fulmer, VP, Business Development, National Drug Screening, said, "Drug testing is changing rapidly. From changing marijuana laws to new ways of testing for impairment, it is more important than ever to understand industry trends, regulations, and new technology. The Inside Drug Testing column will help you have the most up to date information and strategies to effectively manage your drug testing program." Nixon added, We have been working with the background screening industry since 2002 and have never seen a time when drug screening was more important than now. With marijuana being legalized in many states and the opioid crisis, employers have to have a thorough understanding of what is required. To read the initial Inside Drug Screening column visit http://bit.ly/2UnL7LJ. To learn about best practices for selecting a drug screening firm access the How to Select a Drug & Alcohol Screening Provider guide at http://bit.ly/2ZY3R5s or PreemploymentDirectory.com under our Background Screening Publications (drop down). Please direct any questions to W. Barry Nixon at 1-949-770-5264 or you can email him at wbnixon(at)PreemploymentDirectory(dot)com or contact him on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/w-barry-nixon-426580/ When will the iPhone 12 launch? If everything is on schedule the launch of the iPhone 12, along with the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, is expected to be in late August or early September. These are the months when the new iPhone usually arrives. But this year there could be delays, either in the launch of the iPhone 12 series, or in the availability of the iPhone 12 phones. This is because of Coronavirus that has not only affected the work at iPhone factories run by Foxconn but also the travel plans of Apple engineers and executives. The early months of the year are scheduled for assembly processes of the iPhone with partners like Foxconn, sources told Reuters. Actual manufacturing of the phone then starts in summer. But apparently due to Coronovirus endemic in China, and travel restrictions placed due to it, the plans are running late. A former Apple employee told Reuters that Apple probably has one assembly line on which they are trying things out. Are Apple's engineers with Foxconn engineers? If they are, they're probably making progress. But if they're not, if they're quarantined, that could be bad, the employee said. The delay is going to be because of two primary reasons. One, the iPhone factories opened late in China this year after the annual holidays due to Coronavirus and now when they are open, not many employees have joined work. Two, ahead of the full production, Apple employees often make hundreds of to and fro flights between their US office and Chinese factories to fine-tune everything related to the next iPhone, and these travel plans have been mostly cancelled. Reuters reports that there was a delay in reopening key iPhone factories in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou post the Lunar new year holidays. Now, only by the end of this month will the production at these factories start. Meanwhile, United Airlines tells Reuters, that Apple has indeed cancelled a number of bookings it had made for its employees supposed to travel to China in these months. All bookings before late April have been cancelled. It is important to note that flights from the US to China, or from China to the US, are on hold for now. Ideally, the timeline for a new iPhone like the iPhone 12 looks like this: Post the lunar holidays in China -- in late January and early February -- the transition starts from prototypes to assembly of millions of units. When the market ready iPhones roll-out of assembly lines, Foxconn employees work on them while Apple engineers troubleshoot. This is called engineering validation. In March and April, Apple engineers work with their Foxconn counterparts to set up new assembly lines and to do trial runs. The final adjustments are made in April and May. The main aim is to have production lines up and running in June. This is needed so that others can be added progressively for output. All of this has been seemingly delayed. And while it is possible that once the situation is normal -- the number of Coronavirus cases is coming down sharply in China -- Foxconn and Apple will pick up the pace and minimise the delay. But for now it does seem that the delay so far may affect the launch date or availability of the iPhone 12. Single persons are among those who find it hardest to rent in the city, as owners presume them to be party-animals. Hyderabad: A rented accommodation is only for sleep after a long day at work. And home owners throw in a no parties clause. Single persons are among those who find it hardest to rent in the city, as owners presume them to be party-animals. House-hunting was an arduous task for me and my friend, looking to shift into a new house near Punjagutta, said Lily Parmes, who is still on the lookout for a place (her friend is a woman). There were times when owners demanded steep rents or openly told us we would not be given the place. Even Vyjayanthi, an EMCEE was given exorbitant quotes during her search for a house in Srinagar Colony, as her job entailed coming home late night after events sometimes accompanied by guests. For the house owners, it was the easy way to shoo people, she said. For a simple 2BHK, I was asked to shell out rent of Rs 47,000. Considering my earnings, it was not possible, and I had to let the place go. To my surprise, I later saw it rented out to a married couple. Nithin N., an owner in Srinagar Colony, claimed that those partying at home defile the house by drinking in it. They usually get into fights and quarrels after they drink, he says. So it is best to avoid them. Even single women who are looking to live alone are forced to persuade the owners that they would not have late night parties or bring home friends. I tried looking for a house on rent, said Ismat, an IT professional. I told the owner in Somajiguda that I am a single working woman. As soon as he heard that, he asked me to tell the neighbours that I would be living with my parents, who are out of town. Why do I have to lie to get a house? Being wary when letting out makes security sense, with the police advising people to keep them inform-ed of such deals, most people skip this advice. There is a rule but many owners do not provide details, said an officer at the Banjara Hills police station. If they do, we can run background checks on the tenants. Iran has accused the US of spreading propaganda about the coronavirus. President Hassan Rouhani said the disease, which has killed 19 and infected scores more according to official figures, should not become an enemy weapon that disrupts businesses. Corona should not become the weapon of our enemies. Americans and enemies have, for two years, with their boycott and propaganda, sought to economic despair in this country and make people suffer, Mr Rouhani said. His official website quoted him as responding to Mike Pompeos claim that Tehran was concealing details of the Covid-19 outbreak in Iran during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The site quoted him as having said: Lately a high-ranking American official spoke about Irans coronavirus situation. They are caught up with corona themselves, they have lost 16,000 lives to influenza in America, but they do not speak of themselves. Government figures put the coronavirus death toll at 19 and more than 130 total infections. Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harichi, who was heading the nations coronavirus response, is among the sick. However, some lawmakers in the country have suggested that coronavirus may have killed as many at 50 people, prompting concerns about the government's transparency over the outbreak. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty In the US meanwhile, more than 50 people have been diagnosed with the illness. San Francisco has declared a state of emergency in order to prepare for what officials fear may become a pandemic. Americas Centres for Disease Control and Prevention now believe unchecked community transmission of the virus is a question of when, not if. Donald Trump has asked congress for $2.5bn (1.9bn) in order to combat the diseases spread. On Wednesday Brazil confirmed that it had discovered its first coronavirus case, meaning the outbreak has now hit all of Earths inhabited continents. JACKSON, MI A 22-year-old man arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound Tuesday night. The man was dropped off at Jacksons Henry Ford Allegiance Health just after 10 p.m., Feb. 25, Jackson Police and Fire Services Director Elmer Hitt said. He was treated and released, Hitt said. The man refused to cooperate with a police investigation, Hitt said. A woman, who police believe is pregnant, was also dropped off at the hospital with the man, HItt said, adding she also refused to cooperate with police. Police located the vehicle that dropped the man and woman off at the hospital and learned they were picked up in the area of Morrell and Adrian streets, Hitt said. Police searched the area but found no evidence of a shooting, he said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Holly Rose at 517-768-8724. READ MORE JACKSON NEWS: 14 year old steals money from womans purse at Jackson liquor store, police say 14 year old was fatally shot inside Jackson house, police believe 'He touched so many peoples hearts, sister says of fatally shot 14-year-old brother Jackson picks interim city manager, forgoes search process for now More snow coming, could make evening commute slippery in Jackson County Opposition Congress in Karnataka on Wednesday staged a protest here condemning ruling BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for calling centenarian Gandhian H S Doreswamy a fake freedom fighter and accusing him of behaving like a Pakistan agent. A day after his remarks triggered a controversy, Yatnal, a former union minister, said he stood by the statement and there was no question of withdrawing it, saying Doreswamy was only a "mouthpiece" of Congress and JDS. Led by former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Siddaramaiah, they Congress workers held the demonstration in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat. They demanded that the assembly membership of Yatnal be revoked. Senior Congress leaders including state unit Working President Eshwar Khandre, G Parameshwara, Ramesh Kumar, K B Koliwad and legislators participated in the protest holding placards against Yatnal. Slogans Down Down BJP, Yatnal, Arrest Yatnal reverberated and the protestors even called the BJP MLA a traitor. Addressing the protestors, Siddaramaiah claimed Yatnal was unfit to be a legislator. He has no quality to remain as an MLA. They (Yatnal and BJP) belongs to Sangh Parivar, and they never fought any freedom struggle, none of them ever fought for freedom.," he said. Not only Yatnal, there were several leaders in BJP, including a few Ministers, who speak against the Constitution and freedom fighters, he alleged. Speaking to reporters in Vijayapura, Yatnal said there was no question of taking back his comments on Doreswamy and he would not bow down to such 'threats' from Congress. His (Doreswamy) conduct shows what he is. He is just the mouth piece in favour of JD(S) and Congress. Let Congress do agitation against those involved in anti-national activities and those shouting pro-Pakistan slogans," he said. Let Congress learn to protest against incidents in Hubbali and Bengaluru where slogans were raised by"a few people who are like Pakistani agents, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) John King allegedly admitted to setting a plastic bag on fire on Saturday to spite the AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach staff A man at a Florida hospital decided the best way to get his nurse's attention was to set his bed on fire, according to local authorities. John King allegedly admitted to setting a plastic bag on fire on Saturday to spite the AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach staff. He claims they were ignoring his request to bring him clothes and believed the fire would get their attention, the New Smyrna Beach Police Department explained to WKMG. King's roommate told police that he saw the man light a small object on fire but adds that he was able to convince King to put out the fire. But upon returning to his bed, the roommate noticed that King was relighting the fire. It was then that the roommate used his emergency button to notify staff. 'The (expletive) in here lit his bed on fire. I can't breathe. The smoke is in the room,' the roommate is said to have told nurses, according to police records. He claims they were ignoring his request to bring him clothes and believed the fire would get their attention at the facility A nurse ran into the room and saw the fire, alerting others to contact the authorities. Another nurse used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire but noticed that King was making his way to an elevator in an attempt to escape. King was stopped by staff until police arrived. He gave authorities the red and silver Bic lighter that he used to start the fire. King was charged with a felony count of arson. A hospital administrator shared that the bed was damaged beyond repair and a new one would need to be ordered to replace it. The bed costs roughly $4000, the administrator added. King had been admitted to the hospital for respiratory failure and said that he had no plans of harming anyone at the facility. While clashes wracked parts of the capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a lavish reception for Trump, including a rally in his home state of Gujarat attended by more than 100,000 people and the signing of an agreement to purchase more than $US3 billion of American military hardware. Border Security Force soldiers marching on the route that US President Donald Trump would later take. Credit:AP On Wednesday, Modi broke his silence on the violence, tweeting that "peace and harmony are central to (India's) ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times." Delhi's top elected official, Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal, called for Modi's home minister, Amit Shah, to send the army to ensure peace. Police characterised the situation as tense but under control. Schools remained closed. Sonia Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, India's main opposition group, called for Shah to resign. She accused Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of creating an environment of hatred and its leaders of inciting violence with provocative speeches that sought to paint Muslim protesters against the citizenship law as anti-nationalists funded by Pakistan. A monkey sits on a sign welcoming US President Donald Trump ahead of his visit to Ahmedabad, India. Credit:AP Delhi's High Court ordered the police to review videos of hate speeches allegedly made by three leaders of Modi's party and decide whether to prosecute them, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The clashes escalated Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, a resident of Mustafabad, an area in the capital's northeast. Khan said mobs with iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks attacked the homes of Muslims while chanting "Jai Shri Ram," or "Victory to Lord Ram," the popular Hindu god of the religious epic "Ramayana." As Air Force One flew Trump and his delegation out of Delhi late Tuesday, Muslim families huddled in a mosque in the city's northeast, praying that Hindu mobs wouldn't burn it down. "After forcing their way inside the homes, they went on a rampage and started beating people and breaking household items," Khan said of the mobs, adding that he and his family had to run and take shelter inside a mosque that he said was guarded by thousands of Muslim men. "I don't know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down," Khan said. Some of the dead had bullet wounds, according to Dr Sunil Kumar, medical director of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Others came to the hospital with gunshot and stab wounds and head injuries. Among them was Mohammad Sameer, 17, who was being treated for a gunshot wound to his chest Wednesday at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. The violence erupted a few kilometres from where US President Donald Trump was meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit:Bloomberg Speaking to The Associated Press after having an operation, Sameer said he was standing on his family's apartment terrace watching Hindu mobs enter Mustafabad when he was shot in the chest. "When Sameer was shot, I took him on my shoulders and ran downstairs," said the boy's father, Mohammad Akram. "But when the mob saw us, they beat me and my injured son. He was bleeding very badly. While they were beating with sticks, they kept on chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans and threatened to barge inside our homes." Akram said he managed to get his son into a vehicle, but they were stopped several times by Hindus demanding they pull their pants down to show whether they were circumcised before they managed to escape from the area and reach the emergency room. Muslims are generally circumcised, while Hindus are not. In Kardampura, a Muslim-majority area where a youth was shot and killed on Monday, hundreds of police personnel in riot gear patrolled the area and asked people to stay indoors, while residents said they were living in fear. "We are scared and don't know where to go," said one resident, Dr Jeevan Ali Khan. "If the government wanted, they could have stopped these riots." Close by, black smoke still rose on Wednesday afternoon from a market that sold tires and second-hand car parts in Gokalpuri as fireman tried to douse the smouldering fire. The violence drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers, with Rep. Rashida Talib, a Democrat from Michigan, tweeting, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killing of Muslims, saying: "Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now." Trump told reporters Tuesday that he had heard about the violence but had not discussed it with Modi. Instead, Trump gloated about his reception in India. India has been rocked by violence since Parliament approved the citizenship law in December. Opponents have said the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test, but Trump declined to comment on it. "I don't want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India and hopefully they're going to make the right decision for the people," he said. It was the worst religiously motivated violence in Delhi since 1984, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, triggering a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than 3000 Sikhs in the capital and more than 8,00 nationwide. In 1992, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists razed a 16th-century mosque in northern India, claiming that it stood on the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama. Nearly 2000 people were killed across the country in the riots that followed. The religious polarisation that followed saw the right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party emerge as the single largest party in India's Parliament. The Congress party and regional parties courted Muslim votes by portraying themselves as defenders of minority rights. In 2002, the western Indian state of Gujarat erupted in violence when a train filled with Hindu pilgrims was attacked by a Muslim mob in a small town. A fire erupted - it remains unclear whether it was arson - and 60 Hindus burned to death. In retaliation, more than 1000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the state. Modi was Gujarat's chief minister at the time. He was accused of tacit support for the rampage against Muslims, but a court ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing. Still, for several years the U.S. included him on a travel ban. Hosting Trump in Gujarat was important symbolically for Modi. Violent large-scale clashes between Hindus and Muslims last took place in Delhi in 2014, months after Modi's party came to power, in a largely poor neighbourhood close to where this week's rioting occurred. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Europe is concerning but no reason for alarm, the European Union said on Wednesday. "This is a situation of concern but we must not give in to panic," EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters in Rome after meeting Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza. "We must also be vigilant when it comes to misinformation and disinformation as well as xenophobic statements which are misleading citizens and putting in question the work of public authorities," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If this election turns out to be just between a self-proclaimed socialist and an undiagnosed sociopath, we will be in a terrible, terrible place as a country. How do we prevent that? Thats all I am thinking about right now. My short answer is that the Democrats have to do something extraordinary forge a national unity ticket the likes of which they have never forged before. And thats true even if Democrats nominate someone other than Bernie Sanders. What would this super ticket look like? Well, I suggest Sanders and Michael Bloomberg, who seems to be his most viable long-term challenger lay it out this way: I want people to know that if I am the Democratic nominee these will be my Cabinet choices my team of rivals. I want Amy Klobuchar as my vice president. Her decency, experience and moderation will be greatly appreciated across America and particularly in the Midwest. I want Mike Bloomberg (or Bernie Sanders) as my secretary of the Treasury. Our plans for addressing income inequality are actually not that far apart, and if we can blend them together it will be great for the country and reassure markets. I want Joe Biden as my secretary of state. No one in our party knows the world better or has more credibility with our allies than Joe. I will ask Elizabeth Warren to serve as health and human services secretary. No one could bring more energy and intellect to the task of expanding health care for more Americans than Sen. Warren. I want Kamala Harris for attorney general. She has the toughness and integrity needed to clean up the corrupt mess Donald Trump has created in our Justice Department. I would like Mayor Pete as homeland security secretary; his intelligence and military background would make him a quick study in that job. I would like Tom Steyer to head a new Cabinet position: secretary of national infrastructure. Were going to rebuild America, not just build a wall on the border with Mexico. And I am asking Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, to become secretary of housing and urban development. Who would bring more passion to the task of revitalizing our inner cities than Cory? I am asking Mitt Romney to be my commerce secretary. He is the best person to promote American business and technology abroad and it is vital that the public understands that my government will be representing all Americans, including Republicans. I would like Andrew Yang to be energy secretary, overseeing our nuclear stockpile and renewable energy innovation. Hed be awesome. Finally, I am asking William H. McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who commanded the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, to be my defense secretary. Admiral McRaven, more than any other retired military officer, has had the courage and integrity to speak out against the way President Trump has politicized our intelligence agencies. Only last week, McRaven wrote an essay in the Washington Post decrying Trumps firing of Joe Maguire as acting director of national intelligence the nations top intelligence officer for doing his job when he had an aide brief a bipartisan committee of Congress on Russias renewed efforts to tilt our election toward Trump. If Bernie or Bloomberg or whoever emerges to head the Democratic ticket brings together such a team of rivals, I am confident it will defeat Trump in a landslide. But if progressives think they can win without the moderates or the moderates without the progressives they are crazy. And theyd be taking a huge risk with the future of the country by trying. And I mean a huge risk. Back in May 2018, the former House speaker John Boehner declared: There is no Republican Party. Theres a Trump party. The Republican Party is kind of taking a nap somewhere. Its actually not napping anymore. Its dead. And I will tell you the day it died. It was just last week, when Trump sacked Maguire for advancing the truth and replaced him with a loyalist, an incompetent political hack, Richard Grenell. Grenell is the widely disliked U.S. ambassador to Germany, a post for which he is also unfit. Grenell is now purging the intelligence service of Trump critics. How are we going to get unvarnished, nonpolitical intelligence analysis when the message goes out that if your expert conclusions disagree with Trumps wishes, youre gone? I dont accept, but can vaguely understand, Republicans rallying around Trump on impeachment. But when Republicans, the self-proclaimed national security party folk like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton dont lift a finger to stop Trumps politicization of our first line of defense the national intelligence directorate set up after 9/11 then the Republican Party is not asleep. Its dead and buried. Veteran political analyst E.J. Dionne, in his valuable new book, Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country, got this exactly right: We have no responsible Republican Party anymore. It is a deformed Trump personality cult. If the country is going to be governed responsibly, that leadership can come only from Democrats and disaffected Republicans courageous enough to stand up to Trump. It is crucial, therefore, argues Dionne, that moderate and progressive Democrats find a way to build a governing coalition together. Neither can defeat the other. Neither can win without the other. Neither can govern without the other. @tomfriedman Hong Kong financial secretary Paul Chan announces a budget increase for the city's police force, drawing criticism from opposition lawmakers, Feb. 26, 2020. Hong Kong's government on Wednesday announced a huge financial boost to the city's police force, which has faced widespread criticism for violence against protesters and abuse of power in recent months. The police will benefit from HK$5.1 billion in additional spending, an increase of 25 percent compared with last year, to include funding for six new armored vehicles. The police force will also receive a huge cash handout of HK$25.8 billion equivalent to HK$85,000 per officer, according to the annual budget released by financial secretary Paul Chan. The city's police force had already received an additional HK$950 million in overtime pay and HK$135 million in allowances in the second half of 2019. In addition, every permanent resident of Hong Kong over the age of 18 will receive a cash payout of HK$10,000 each. The additional police funding will be used for more than 2,500 newly recruited officers, who will swell the ranks of 35,000 existing officers, among other things. Civic Party lawmaker Alvin Yeung said the police were the biggest winners from budget, personal cash payouts notwithstanding. "Does the Hong Kong government believe that the violence meted out to the people of Hong Kong was insufficient?" Yeung said. "They are getting more weapons?" "The biggest winners in this budget are the police," he said. "Everyone is focusing on the HK$10,000 payout, but they have seen a significant boost in their resources." 'We are disgusted' Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said the payout was intended as a reward to officers for doing the government's bidding during recent months of pro-democracy and anti-extradition protests. "We are disgusted," Mo told government broadcaster RTHK. "RTHK ... has hardly got any increase in its expenditure, and it tells you what sort of favouritism they are playing when it comes to giving out money," she said. Democratic Party leader Wu Chi-wai told the station: "The financial secretary has not responded to people's concerns, in particular about the brutality of the police force," Wu said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan told the Legislative Council (LegCo) that Hong Kong will see a budget deficit of HK$139.1 billion next year, accounting for 4.8 percent of GDP. The city's deficit reached HK$63.3 billion in 2004, the year after the SARS epidemic. Hong Kong is in the middle of an economic downturn brought on by a China-U.S. trade war, the protest movement, and the coronavirus outbreak, Chan said. 'Bloodied, but not broken' Amnesty International said in its 2019 annual report that Hong Kong protesters are 'bloodied but not broken' in the wake of abusive policing tactics for which the authorities have yet to be held accountable. It said the Hong Kong protest movement, which began in June 2019 with mass popular opposition to extradition to mainland China, had demanded accountability in spite of increasingly harsh treatment by the authorities Last month, eight victims of the attack sued the city's chief of police over the force's inaction over the Yuen Long mob attacks on train passengers on June 21, 2019. Hong Kong police failed to respond to more than 24,000 emergency calls from the area as the white-shirted mob ran amok, bludgeoning passengers for 39 minutes before police arrived on the scene, leaving 45 people in hospital. Video footage at the time showed police officers chatting to men who closely resembled the attackers. Frontline protesters, eyewitnesses, journalists, and human rights groups have repeatedly said that the majority of violence during the protests has originated with the Hong Kong police, who have been widely criticized for the excessive use of tear gas, water cannon, pepper spray, as well as both non-lethal and live ammunition weapons on unarmed protesters. Around one third of adults in Hong Kong have reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the protest movement escalated last June, according to a mental health survey published in The Lancet, which said the incidence of psychiatric problems was similar to those usually associated with war zones or terrorist attacks. Reported by Lu Xi for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Man Hoi-tsan for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:59:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RAMALLAH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Wednesday sent a letter to e-commerce giant Amazon company in protest against its discriminatory shipping policy favoring residents in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The letter, signed by both Palestinian Minister of Finance Shukry Bishara and Minister of Economy Khaled al-Oseily, called on Amazon to retract its shipping policy towards the West Bank. "We were astonished to learn of Amazon's policy of offering free shipping to costumers in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and in Israel, while charging Palestinians shipment fees of as much as 24 U.S. dollars," said the letter. The letter noted that Amazon's spokesperson confirmed the policy and said that the company would provide free shipping if the customers would list Israel as their country. "It is unacceptable for Amazon to flaunt international law and policy in this way," the letter added. In November, Amazon began providing free shipping service to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank for orders of 49 U.S. dollars or more. However, Palestinians in the West Bank, who put their addresses in the list of Palestinian territories, need to pay for shipment. Israeli settlement activity is considered illegal under international law and has been one of the major hurdles to the stalled peace talks between Palestine and Israel since 2014. The progressive presidential hopeful holds herself up as an economic reformer working to boost the US middle class. Elizabeth Warren has held herself up as an economic reformer working to boost the United States middle class and run an unapologetically progressive campaign, while reportedly working to stay in the good graces of the Democratic Partys establishment. The senator from Massachusetts rose to national prominence following the 2008 financial crisis as a Harvard Law School bankruptcy expert chairing a congressional oversight panel charged with monitoring the governments attempts to rescue financial institutions. She set up an independent financial consumer watchdog under President Barack Obama, but ran for Senate, and was elected in 2012, after she was not nominated to head the agency. She now faces a narrowing field in what began as one of the USs most crowded and diverse races for the Democratic nomination. National polls have Warren regularly placing among the top three candidates, along with fellow progressive Senator Bernie Sanders and centrist frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden. Her showing, along with that of Sanders, implies that candidates once considered too far left are resonating with a growing number of liberals. In February, standing at the site of a notorious 20th-century workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Warren officially announced her candidacy and promised a systemic overhaul if elected. It wont be enough to just undo the terrible acts of this administration, Warren, 70, said. We cant afford to just tinker around the edges a tax credit here, a regulation there. Our fight is for big, structural change. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren visits a picket line of striking teachers in Chicago [File: Joshua Lott/Reuters] Opponents say Warrens left-wing policies will be ripe for attack in the general election, but she could also become the unique candidate able to bridge the divide between the Democratic Partys activists and its more traditional centrists, said Basil Smikle, former executive director of New York State Democratic Party and a Columbia University lecturer. I think she has in many ways a lot of policies that Sanders raised in 2016, without inheriting any of his socialist labels, said Smikle. She went out of her way, according to news reports, to reach out to leaders of the Democratic Party across the country to essentially assuage their concerns about her and whether she would engage them and embrace them throughout the process. Warrens poll numbers slumped as 2019 came to a close, a problem which some analysts blamed on the November rollout of her Medicare for All plan which alienated the partys progressives and moderates alike. Rebuilding the Middle Class Warren was raised in Oklahoma. Her father worked as a janitor, salesman, and mechanic. Before getting into politics, she taught children with special needs at a public elementary school in Texas. She eventually got her law degree and taught at a number of law schools across the US. In her telling, the economic uncertainty of those formative years lead to a fascination with the forces that shape the lives of working-class Americans. The Warren campaign has largely focused on her history of combating what she describes as the predatory practices of big banks, Wall Street, lobbyists and student loan lending. Her platform to rebuild the middle class is defined by proposals that redistribute wealth, offer universal child care, student loan forgiveness, and give workers more power in the leadership of the corporations that employ them. She has said her plan for Medicare for All will not raise middle-class taxes one penny a claim challenged by critics, including some economists. Warren speaks at a news conference marking the fifth anniversary of the passing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law in 2015 [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] Like Sanders, Warren has eschewed soliciting money from wealthy donors and has pledged to continue that policy into the general election, with some caveats. Warren took in nearly $25m in one three-month period, she announced in October, just slightly less than Sanders during that time. With the average donation at just $26, the gains served as proof positive of Warrens formidable base. In September, the Working Families Party, a national organisation with an extensive grassroots network of unions and community organisations, endorsed Warren. The group, which had resoundingly backed Sanders in 2016, faced backlash for the pivot. Warren speaks at a federal contract workers rally to celebrate Andrew Puzders decision to withdraw from consideration to be secretary of labour [File: Yuri Gripas/Reuters] Progressives are really lucky to have two candidates in this race that speak to the values of our movement, said Joe Dinkin, the national campaign director for the party. We were one of the first national organisations that supported Bernie in 2015, and his 2016 primary, hes had a tremendous effect on changing the public discourse in the country. But in Warren, he said, you have the big ideas and the agenda and also the level of detailed governance and planning that gives us trust that she can enact and implement those things. Others have questioned Warrens progressive credentials. In November, Nathan Robinson, editor of the progressive Current Affairs magazine, penned a piece for the UKs Guardian newspaper headlined Progressives trust your gut: Elizabeth Warren is not one of us. Robinson argued that Warren, a Republican until 1996, had previously done legal work for big corporations, was not actually committed to Medicare for All and had never been particularly progressive on foreign policy. Ultra-millionaire tax One of Warrens most brazen proposals, a signature of her campaign, is a wealth tax on the countrys richest citizens. The tax would apply to households with a net worth of $50m or more, applying to roughly 75,000 of the wealthiest households in the country, according to University of California Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, whose research Warrens plan cites. These households would pay a 2 percent tax on every dollar of net worth above that amount and a 6 percent tax on every dollar above a net worth of one billion dollars. The campaign says this small tax would bring in roughly $3.75 trillion in revenue over 10 years. Warren says the proposal will help address runaway wealth concentration and at the same time accelerate badly needed investments in rebuilding our middle class. But critics have questioned the math. Shes got some good, reputable, highly capable economists who have advised her on the Wealth Tax, said Jeffrey Frankel, an economist and professor at Harvard, There are many others who disagree with their numbers. Medicare for All One stumbling block for Warren, according to Brookings Institution senior fellow Elaine Kamarck, has been her healthcare plan. In the first Democratic debate, Warren came out in favour of Sanders signature Medicare for All platform, which would migrate US healthcare to a sole government-funded programme providing for all citizens. Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren greets Ella Clare Campbell after speaking in Memphis, Tennessee [File: Karen Pulfer Focht/Reuters] In November, when Warren finally released her plan, she called for intermediate steps in that direction. The plan would initially create a government healthcare agency to compete with private insurers, which would later be replaced by the single-payer system. The progression, initially signalling that she wanted to do away with private insurers completely, likely alienated centrists, Kamarck said. But when Warren later presented a more moderate plan, it came across as a cop-out to many progressives in the party. She really needed to have clarified her position on private insurance before she went out there, said Kamarck. She backtracked, and now nobodys happy with her. Foreign policy Warrens foreign policy platform has been largely framed in the context of paying for domestic policy by ending the endless and costly US wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. She has criticised Trump for his hostility with Iran, calling the assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani reckless and previously saying the US should rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal if Tehran returns to compliance. In an October video to J Street, a liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, Warren said: We must find ways to make tangible progress on the ground toward a two-state solution with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. She added that this means findings ways to apply pressure and create consequences for problematic behaviour which would include the US making it clear that none of our aid should be used to support annexation of the West Bank. US Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks to reporters, after announcing she has formed an exploratory committee to run for president in 2020, outside her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts [File: Brian Snyder/Reuters] Warrens platform focuses on strengthening diplomacy, and includes doubling the size of the foreign services and opening posts in underserved areas to broaden US presence. She also has promised to cut the bloated defence budget. Her proposed cut of 11 percent of the budget has attracted criticism from, among others, Brookings Institution senior fellow Thomas Wright, who wrote in the Atlantic that the cut would come with acceptance of greater risk in key theatres, including in the counterterrorism fight in the Middle East. Climate Change In her approach to the environment, Warrens economic policies are again characteristically brazen, with a $3 trillion plan that envisions 100 percent clean energy in 10 years and industrial prosperity entwined within a hard pivot to green. In suggesting the urgency of the moment, Warrens plan invokes the 20th-century space race and the US-funded rebuilding of Europe following World War II, calling for a Green Apollo Program that would put $400bn into renewable energy research and development and a Green Marshall Plan that aims to export those US green innovations abroad. Her plans aim to reduce emissions for US military operations, limit fossil-fuel extraction on public lands, and revitalise a greener manufacturing sector, while cracking down on gas and oil lobbying and subsidising the consumer transition to renewable energy. Electability against Trump Questions remain about how Warren, if chosen as the Democratic nominee, would fare against Trump in a general election, and if she would need to move her policies more to the centre to appeal to undecided voters in pivotal swing states. Trump has already seized on largely disproven accusations that Warren had benefitted professionally from embellishing her Native American ancestry, in particular, during her time at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. The president often refers to the senator derisively as Pocahontas, while portraying the allegations as evidence of her dishonesty. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a campaign event in Seattle, Washington [File: Elaine Thompson/AP Photo] In the past, Trump has proven adept at making such negative branding stick. Meanwhile, Warrens attempt to silence critics by releasing a DNA test fell flat, with some charging it waded uncomfortably close to the controversial field of racial science. Controversy aside, if Warren stays the course on her more ideologically extreme policies in the general election, she, like Trump in 2016, will be a candidate whose race, gender, policy or age make them a disruptive candidate, according to Smikle. Technavio has been monitoring the conversational systems market, and it is poised to grow by USD 12.06 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 29% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005796/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Growing advances in NLP, ML, and AI technologies has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Request a free sample report Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Conversational Systems Market is segmented as below: Type Text Voice Geographic segmentation APAC Europe MEA North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40129 Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our conversational systems market report covers the following areas: Conversational Systems Market size Conversational Systems Market trends Conversational Systems Market industry analysis This study identifies the demand for vernacular chatbots as one of the prime reasons driving the conversational systems market growth during the next few years. Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the conversational systems market, including some of the vendors such as Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Baidu Inc., Conversica Inc., Haptik Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nuance Communications Inc., Oracle Corp., and SAP SE. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the conversational systems market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist conversational systems market growth during the next five years Estimation of the conversational systems market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the conversational systems market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of conversational systems market vendors About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005796/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in the province of Idlib that would result in a nationwide suspension of fighting in the Arab republic UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2020) UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in the province of Idlib that would result in a nationwide suspension of fighting in the Arab republic. "I appeal once again for full respect for international humanitarian law and for an immediate ceasefire in Idlib, ultimately towards a nationwide ceasefire," Pedersen said before the UN Security Council. The special envoy also asked international stakeholders to intensify their contacts to restore calm in the province and urged the Security Council to continue seeking the political solution for the Syrian conflict. In December, Syrian government forces launched an offensive to recapture areas of Idlib province, the last remaining rebel stronghold in the country. Tensions in the region escalated further after Syrian government forces shelled a Turkish observation point on February 3, killing seven military personnel and one civilian contractor. Turkey has conducted a number of retaliatory strikes, and on Friday, the country's state-run Anadolu news agency cited the Defense Ministry, which claimed that 63 Syrian government troops had been killed or captured during Turkish strikes. According to the United Nations, almost 900,000 civilians have been forced to leave their homes due to the ongoing military escalation in Syria's northwest since December 1. In 1462, the prince of a small area called Wallachia went to war with arguably the most powerful military force on the planet at the time, led by one of the greatest military minds of the time. The one thing that the prince knew for certain was he would need an extraordinary plan to stay alive and keep his principality from being conquered. That prince was Vlad III, the Impaler and he was going up against Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire, fresh from his resounding victory over the Byzantines, relegating the once-great Roman Empire to the history books, once and for all. Can't blame him for feeling cocky, I guess. (Public Domain) In just 53 days, Mehmed II earned the title "Fatih" or Conqueror by doing what no Ottoman Sultan before him could: bringing down the vaunted walls of Constantinople and an end to the Byzantine Empire. Now all of Europe was open to the Ottoman Turks, and one of the closest principalities to the new Ottoman Empire was Romania and its small provincial fiefdoms. The Turks would exert their influence by first charging the un-Islamic a jizya, the tax for not being a follower of Mohammed. When Prince Vlad III of Wallachia refused to pay, Mehmed set out to teach him a lesson. Read next: The AK-47: Everything You Want to Know But Vlad Tepes wasn't about to sit around and wait for the Ottoman Sultan's tens of thousands of men to come lay waste to his small lands. You can probably guess what's coming. (Public Domain) After a long cat and mouse game, the sultan decided to send an envoy as bait for an ambush. But Vlad got wind of the plot and ambushed the ambush in one of the first European uses of handguns. He took the Turkish uniforms, disguised himself, and moved to the nearest Turkish fortress and simply ordered them to open the gates in Turkish. When they did, Vlad slaughtered the defenders and destroyed the fortress. Then he went on a rampage. Vlad invaded neighboring Bulgaria and began to split his army up to cover more ground. They systematically rounded up Turkish sympathizers and captured troops in a 500-mile area and slaughtered them. Vlad reckoned killing more than 23,000, not counting those he burned in their own homes. He then routed an Ottoman invasion force 18,000 strong under Mehmed's Grand Vizier. Only 8,000 walked away from the battle. Mehmed was pissed and decided to go take care of Vlad personally. Vlad Tepes, seen here, calling his shot. (Public Domain) The sultan assembled an army so large, historians repeatedly lost count trying to keep it all together. Mehmed requested an army of at least 150,000 men but what he got was anywhere between 300,000 to 400,000 and a naval force to sail up the Danube with them. With this force arrayed against him, Vlad freaked out. He asked the King of Hungary for help, and when none came, he conscripted women and children to fight for him. In the end, he amassed an army about one-tenth the size of the Ottoman invaders. Vlad needed some way to level the playing field and scare the sultan back to Constantinople. When the Ottoman Army closed in on him, he got his chance. The Impaler poisoned wells and destroyed anything of use that Mehmed might capture. He also sent men infected with the plague and other diseases into the Ottoman ranks to infect as many as possible. But still, the enemy made their way to Targoviste, where their first night in camp turned out to be an unforgettable one. Vlad and his men infiltrated the camp and wreaked havoc on its sleeping men. As the Wallachians slaughtered the now-confused Turks, Vlad attempted to assassinate the sultan in his tent, missing and hitting the tents of his viziers instead. But that's not what drove the sultan out of Wallachia. You can probably guess what's coming. (Public Domain) Sultan Mehmed's elite Janissaries pursued the Wallachians and managed to inflict casualties numbering in the thousands. The rest of the army pressed on the Wallachia's capital, prepared to lay siege to the city and destroy it. But instead of a fortified citadel, the Turks found the gates of the city wide open. Inside, as they rode around, they were treated to a "forest of the impaled" along the roadside. Vlad impaled some 20,000 more enemy soldiers and sympathizers. Historical accounts aren't clear on the sultan's reaction, if he was horrified or impressed, but they do agree Mehmed decided to leave Wallachia the very next day. More articles from We Are the Mighty: 'Everything Was Blasting': Ukrainians Recount the day their world erupted in an ammunition fire The 25 most ruthless leaders of all time 14 Top Gun call signs ranked, worst to best We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox. ALTON A judge on Wednesday sentenced a Madison County sexual predator to 25 years in prison, the maximum under a plea agreement, after a prosecutor said there were no words that could make things right for the victim, a toddler. Any remorse is too little, Assistant Madison County States Attorney Ali Foley told Associate Judge Neil Schroeder at a sentencing hearing Wednesday. He had a duty to protect her, and this is what happened. New York: Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes conviction was a "great victory" for women, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday -- without acknowledging the numerous accusations of sexual misconduct he has faced. The disgraced Hollywood movie producer was found guilty on Monday of rape and sexual assault in a verdict hailed as a historic landmark by the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. "From the standpoint of women, I think it was a great thing," Trump said at a news conference in India. "It was a great victory. And sends a very strong message, very, very strong message," he added. Weinstein, 67, was acquitted of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault by the New York court, charges that could have seen him jailed for life. But he faces up to 29 years in prison for criminal sexual acts in the first degree and third-degree rape. "He was a person I didn't like," Trump told reporters in New Delhi. "I just was not a fan of his. I knew him a little bit, not very well." Trump, 73, failed to mention that at least 16 women have accused him of sexual misconduct. Among them is prominent writer E. Jean Carroll who alleges that Trump raped her in the changing room of a luxury New York department store in the mid-1990s. She is suing him for defamation, claiming that his denials of the alleged attack, in which he said, "She's not my type," had damaged her reputation and career. Summer Zervos, a one-time contestant on Trump's reality television show "The Apprentice," has also sued him for defamation after he said she lied in claiming that he groped and forcibly kissed her. Trump denies all the allegations and has never been prosecuted over them. A month before his election victory in November 2016, a ten-year-old tape came to light in which the former reality TV star and real estate tycoon bragged about assaulting women. Clintons Trump, who will lead the Republican party into elections in November as he seeks a second term as president, tried to score political points on Weinstein's guilty verdicts. "The people that liked him were the Democrats," he said. "Michelle Obama loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him. And he gave tremendous money to the Democrats." Weinstein, who produced multiple Oscar-winning films, was a generous donor to the Democratic Party in several US presidential elections. He was often photographed with the Clintons at parties and fundraising events over the years. He has also been snapped with Trump. A former business associate of Weinstein's testified that the fallen movie mogul used his connections to politicians, including the Clintons, to intimidate people. Hillary Clinton defended her political ties to Weinstein on Tuesday. "It's true he contributed to every Democrat campaign," she told journalists at the Berlin Film Festival. "He contributed to Barack Obama's campaign and John Kerry's campaign and Al Gore's campaign and everybody's campaign. "I don't know whether that should shield anyone else from contributing to political campaigns, but it certainly should end the kind of behavior he was convicted for," Clinton added. She said Weinstein's conviction showed it was "time for an accounting," adding that "the jury's verdict really speaks for itself." Lawyers and activists hailed the guilty verdicts as a turning point in the American criminal justice system for victims of sexual violence. Weinstein was due to be imprisoned in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail but spent Monday night in a Manhattan hospital after complaining of chest pains. He will be sentenced on March 11. Interise2020 SolveIt Inclusive Economy We all have a role to play. Together, we can solve wealth inequality and create a balanced and inclusive economy that works for everyone. City of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Karyn Polito will be among the featured speakers at Interise2020, March 9-11, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston, MA. Interise is convening visionaries, practitioners, and small business owners to address the systemic issues that contribute to widening inequality in America. Attendees will work together to identify actionable solutions to pursue an inclusive economy that works for everyone. Register at: http://www.interise2020.org. Other speakers include Cheryl McKissack Daniel, civil engineer and CEO of McKissack & McKisack, the oldest minority-owned and woman-owned design and construction firm in the nation; Gary Cunningham, CEO and President of Prosperity Now; and Wendy Guillies, CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. Attendees from 36 states include stakeholders from across the economy who all play a role in actively changing the model of economic development in a time when the United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed nation. Interise believes that the number one problem facing America today is economic inequality and the ever widening wealth gap, particularly the racial wealth gap, said Darrell Byers, CEO of Interise. We all have a role to play. Together, we can solve wealth inequality and create a balanced and inclusive economy that works for everyone. Over three days, Interise2020 combines invigorating Ted-style "SolveIt Talks," interactive plenary sessions, and business strategy roundtables. The schedule includes a mix of insightful, challenging, and necessary conversations on the role of each individual and organization to close the nations wealth gap. On March 9, attendees will identify and commit to three actionable solutions to pursue. On March 10-11, attendees will convene for hands-on, tactical breakout sessions. Other speakers include Malia Lazu, Regional President and EVP Chief Experience and Culture Officer, Berkshire Bank; Ralph Moore, President, RGMA; Howard Wial, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City; Dr. Jeffrey Sterling, President & CEO, Sterling Initiatives; Elizabeth Reynoso, Associate Director of Public Sector Innovation, Living Cities; Giselle Mota, Principal, Future of Work; Kevin S. Dick, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carolina Small Business Development Fund; Andrew Wolk, Founder & CEO, Root Cause; and Jen Faigel, Executive Director, CommonWealth Kitchen. Byers added, Join us to tackle the nation's most pressing problemfind out how to get involved and become part of the community dedicated to working on a solution. About Interise Interise builds an inclusive economy through small business development, supporting the growth of minority-owned small businesses and small businesses located in low- and moderate-income communities. Interises award-winning StreetWise MBA uses a peer-learning method to provide business owners with the knowledge, know-how, and networks necessary to grow and scale. As Interise companies grow, they contribute to local job creation and build community wealth. Interise companies historically create new jobs at 5x the rate of the private sector, and are responsible for the creation of over 30,000 new jobs. Interise partners with government agencies, anchor institutions, and business associations to make locally branded StreetWise MBA programs available in 75+ cities, nationwide. Strategic Growth Partners include the Kauffman Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and the Prudential Foundation. More information can be found at http://www.interise.org/ @StreetWise_MBA and at http://www.facebook.com/Interise General view of the financial districts skyline of the Canary Wharf, London on November 18, 2019. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images) US oil giant Chevron (CVX) on Tuesday told around 300 staff based at its London office to work from home amid fears that one of its employees has contracted coronavirus. The move will raise fears about the spread of coronavirus in the UK, where only 13 people have been affected by the virus thus far. Chevrons office in the UK capital is located at Canary Wharf, the bustling and densely populated financial district. The employee, who is experiencing flu-like symptoms, recently returned from abroad, and has been sent for testing, according to the Financial Times. Read more: European stocks sink again as coronavirus panic deepens Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities, Chevron said in a statement, noting that it would not provide personal details about the employee. Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure. It is our policy to not provide details of our employees. Canary Wharf, Londons second-largest financial district, has a daily working population of 120,000 people. Five additional European countries on Tuesday reported new coronavirus cases linked to the outbreak in Italy. Spain, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, and France all reported new infections, while there have been over 320 cases and 10 deaths in Italy, which has become an epicentre of the virus in Europe. CORONAVIRUS: PUBLIC INFORMATION Today Professor Chris Whitty @CMO_England has issued updated advice for travellers returning to the UK from specific areas affected by #coronavirus For the latest information, visit: https://t.co/rmGB2edxaN Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 25, 2020 The UK Foreign Office has now warned against all but essential travel to the quarantined towns in the country, and said that anyone returning from those towns must self-isolate. Story continues Englands chief medical officer said that the UK may have to curb travel and consider school closures if the spread of the virus accelerates across Europe. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans on Tuesday that they should be ready for a substantial coronavirus outbreak as the respiratory ailment has continued to spread throughout the world. Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said an outbreak event wasnt a question of if, but when. We expect we will see community spread in this country, she said. Its not so much a question if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. Public health officials confirmed on Tuesday that there are currently 57 people in the United States with the virus. Many of the US cases are individuals returning to the country after vacationing onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner, which was quarantined in Japan after passengers were found to be carrying the virus. Thus far, there are more than 80,300 cases of coronavirus confirmed across the globe, and more than 2,700 deaths. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty So far in the United States, only two individuals have contracted coronavirus through person-to-person transference. Thus far, there are 14 cases of coronavirus in the US that are not associated with the Diamond Princess. There is one case in Arizona, eight in California, two in Illinois, one in Massachusetts, one in Washington and one in Wisconsin. Three other cases were reported among US citizens returning from Hubei, China. CDC teams are working with the Department of Homeland Security to screen travellers returning to the US from China. Since 23 February, 46,016 travelers have been screened at 11 US airports. All flights from China are being directed to these 11 airports to funnel travelers through screening stations. Since 23 February, public health officials have evaluated 23,483 people from 43 states and territories for signs of the coronavirus. in total 86 per cent of the respondents tests came back negative, and another 11 per cent are still pending final ruling. Ukraine still has not obtained the equipment from the ships, which was dismantled in Russia, but the negotiation process continues, as the Army INFORM news agency reports. "Now the equipment from the (Ukrainian, - ed.) ships dismantled by the Russian Federation has not yet been returned. The return process is ongoing, everything is being discussed through a lawyer. I think this will take a long time ... On the restoration of the ships - a month ago the crew already started repair work," commander of the division of ships of the guard raid of the maritime command Denys Hrytsenko stated this. He said this today, February 26, at the National University of Defense of Ukraine named after I. Chernyakhovsky during the round table "Combating the hybrid war at sea: lessons and conclusions," where they also discussed the problems of ships returned from Russia. The participants discussed the problematic issues of countering the Russian Federation in a hybrid war in the Black and Azov Seas. In addition, we worked out proposals for the management of forces using interdepartmental force groups, in particular, the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the formations of the combined armed forces of NATO in conditions of hybrid operations at sea. As we reported before, Russia's Northern Fleet went for an extended drill in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea on Thursday. Two vessels, large landing ship Kondopoga and destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov were engaged. The ships fired both heavy artillery and cruise missile system Kinzhal. Hyderabad: AIMIM President, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi said Delhi violence is a deliberate programmed communal carnage which reminds the nations what happened in 2002 in Gujarat. He said that the government has allowed unsocial and communal elements to have filled the Delhi. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Mr Owaisi alleged that the BJP government at the Centre is deliberately not controlling the riots. It is not failure, but intentional inaction. I will not call it a communal riot as this is a programme and genocide. The Government failed to react instantly. Most unfortunate part of it is poor people have been killed and properties have been burned. He further asked how did the Police allow the miscreants to go up to the Minaret and damage the Masjid. The worst thing was that people standing on the ground were clapping when the Masjid was being damaged. The entire tire market has been burnt. It clearly shows that the government allowed these unsocial and communal elements. He added, We have no trust in Delhi Police. It is very unfortunate that neither the Prime Minster nor the home minister reacted so far. They are holding meetings. He asked why cant home minister visit the disturbed areas and outright condemn it, when he can campaign nearly four days and conduct nearly 30 election meetings in Delhi. He has to visit these places and build confidence. He said it is high time for Mr Amit Shah to take responsibility as a Home Minister for whole loss of lives and properties. He asked the Prime Minister whether this is Sab ka saath-Sab ka vikas, is this your belief in the constitution. Mr Owaisi said the toll will reach the number of 30. BJP has the majority of 308 members in the Parliament. What is the benefit of this majority when you cant safe the national capital? This is not 2002, we are in 2020. He said, BJP is responsible for the killings. The Delhi Police is equally accused and responsible. It involves in rioting. In the presence of the Police media persons were attacked. They are breaking the laws instead providing security. A British charity boss and her daughter are facing up to two years jail after they started a drunken mid-air 'riot' on board a passenger jet as they were flying out on holiday to Morocco. Karin Parkes, 56, and former civil servant Carrie Parkes, 34, triggered a 'full on fight' on the January 19 easyJet flight from Manchester last year after they were told off by cabin crew for swearing after downing wine and duty free pink gin. The brawl, involving up to 20 men at 30,000 feet, took place in front of terrified staff who desperately tried to calm the two women down in front of 186 passengers. Despite the attempts of staff however, mother-of-two Carrie stuck her fingers in her ears and said: 'I'm not listening to that vile c***.' A cabin manager also urged the group to refrain from using bad language but was told: 'You can f*** off you c***. Do what the f*** you want I'm not a****. We will see what happens.' The captain of the aircraft which was flying from Manchester to the Moroccan city of Agadir eventually had to divert to Casablanca after staff told him the rear of the cabin where the group were sitting was 'out of control.' At Manchester magistrates court Karin Parkes, 56, (left, outside court) and former civil servant Carrie Parkes, 34, (right, outside court) were convicted of being drunk on an aircraft after a district judge condemned them over the 'horrific and chaotic' atmosphere on the plane The pair (Carrie Parkes is pictured) were granted unconditional bail but will be sentenced next month by a crown court judge who will have powers to impose tougher sentences During the mayhem Karin Parkes who is a manager for charitable organisation One Fylde, which provides home care for the disabled, swung a punch at a steward. And Carrie had to be forcibly held down by other passengers after she demanded to use the toilet when the plane was coming into land. A virtually empty one litre bottle of Gordon's Pink Gin and empty bottles of vodka were found near their seats. The pair, both from Blackpool, Lancashire, were later detained by police after being booed off of the plane by other passengers. At Manchester magistrates court both women were convicted of being drunk on an aircraft after a district judge condemned them over the 'horrific and chaotic' atmosphere on the plane. Karin was also convicted of assault and a third passenger Jonathan Thomas, 36, also from Blackpool was convicted of being drunk on an aircraft. All were granted unconditional bail but will be sentenced next month by a crown court judge who will have powers to impose tougher sentences. The trio who denied wrongdoing have since been banned from easyJet flights for ten years. The incident took place after flight EZ1905 took off at 3.30pm from Terminal One, Manchester. Originally Karin was supposed to be going with her partner, Thomas and another a work colleague but Carrie joined them last minute after the colleague dropped out due to illness. The incident took place after easyJet flight EZ1905 took off on January 19 last year from Terminal One, Manchester (pictured, Carrie Parkes, left, with mother Karin) While waiting to board the daughter bought the pink gin in a duty free store before she and her mother later began consuming it at the rear of the aircraft and talking animatedly to a party of 14 men who were thought to be heading out on a 'boys-only' holiday. Cabin manager Liam Dickson said: 'There were people at the back being loud and using bad language. 'I addressed this an hour into the flight but as I turned away I heard abuse being thrown at me - I knew it was daughter's voice because I had just been talking to her. 'I said there is no need to speak to me like that but she wasn't interested - I could tell she had had a few drinks. 'Her mother was trying to control her trying to knock her on the arm saying "don't speak to him like that" and initially it did reassure me. 'But later there was more commotion and there was a couple of bags of alcohol being removed which they had been consuming on board the plane. 'It was very rowdy at this point there was a lot of swearing going on.' 'I was trying to calm everyone down but there was now people stood up, there was bad language they were still being really abusive towards the crew. 'The mother did listen but the daughter didn't and when I came back down said "Here's that vile c..t again"'. A virtually empty one litre bottle of Gordon's Pink Gin and empty bottles of vodka were found near the seats of mother and daughter Carrie and Karin Parkes on the flight (pictured, Carrie Parkes with mother Karin, left) Mr Dickson also revealed how the group had brought a speaker on board the flight and were playing music that was 'quite loud'. He told them they needed to switch it off and refused to serve them any more alcohol. But by this point the group were getting 'louder and louder' and Mr Dickson could 'smell alcohol' on the mother. He said: 'The daughter was with two men beside her and she was punching the seats. Her eyes were glazed she was very red in the face. she was trying to kneel on the seat but kept falling back. 'Then the mother started coming towards me she was staggering towards me and again I could smell alcohol. 'Her words were "You've got no duty of care for my daughter" and she did actually put her fists up towards me I managed to step back her knuckles did catch the right side of my jaw. She was very close. She was just out of control. 'There were lads at this point who had jumped out of their seats and I didn't know if they were coming to protect or attack us. I stepped back and there was quite a big passenger who had grabbed Karin by her arms and dragged her to the back galley. 'There was a lot of fists flying around with other passengers. It was as if there was a riot happening at the back of the cabin and there were at least 15 to 20 men stood up at this point and I was very concerned. 'I actually went into the flight deck to tell them that the cabin was out of control and a full on fight was happening. I requested a divert straight away, the captain just asked me to keep it under control. 'The whole plane knew what was happening and Carrie was screaming and shouting - she was out of control and the crew members were trying to advise her to get back in her seat she was up in the aisle as we were landing. 'Carrie took a while to get off - she was in the galley crying to the crew members. There was a lot of kicking off, screaming, shouting. 'She had her fingers up towards the passengers telling them to "f*** off". She made quite a big scene while she was getting off the aircraft. 'It was a very hard situation to deal with. They were out of control, threatening and abusive and they were all intoxicated. With the females you could physically smell the alcohol - it was quite a strong smell.' Carrie (pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) claimed she had been drinking wine to calm herself when she realised she did not have her medication for bipolar disorder with her on the flight Air stewardess Beth Halliwell also recalled the scene inside the aircraft as the mother and daughter unleashed chaos. She said: 'There was a lady passenger who asked if she could she move seats saying: "they are doing my head in." 'It then got out of control and I started to see people jumped up and arms flailing. My colleagues were very shaken up like we had lost all control of the cabin. When I got towards the back there was a lot of shouting and swearing going on towards Liam. 'Carrie was calling him a "c***" and a "t***"'. We tried to tell Carrie to sit back down until we were on the ground and it was safe but she would get back up again. 'I remember Karin shouting "this is all your fault" and it seemed like Carrie was shouting across. I was quite scared. 'Karin seemed regretful for it getting out of hand but her speech was quite slurred. I have never been so scared in my life at work it was very intimidating it was just not a nice experience at all.' Carrie claimed she had been drinking wine to calm herself when she realised she did not have her medication for bipolar disorder. She told the hearing: 'I was being extremely chatty and loud and my language isn't the best. When I get excited I'm not aware of my surroundings my mum pulls me up on it be aware of other people. 'I remember arguing but I have blackouts because of my medication. I have got a whole plane of passengers, 186 people, booing me and one of my triggers is rejection. I must have just lost it on that plane. 'I can't remember anything until coming round in a third world hospital with my mum crying. I apologise for my behaviour but there is triggers and things I am now getting help for. I felt ashamed and humiliated.' Karin was also convicted of assault and a third passenger Jonathan Thomas, 36, (pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) also from Blackpool, was convicted of being drunk on an aircraft Karin accused cabin crew of 'exaggerating' the incident and told the hearing: 'When we got on the plane there was no welcome on board or anything. A lady in front of me turned round and said sarcastically "they are a happy bunch aren't they?" - meaning the flight crew. 'Carrie then started to get a bit anxious and went "mum I haven't got my medication." 'She was going a million miles an hour like when she's moving from the baseline to crisis point. I was hushing Carrie telling her to calm down then something coming over the tannoy saying they are landing the plane because of all this and I was gobsmacked. 'I stood up in her defence because she's a vulnerable adult and I'm her mother. She didn't say the C-word - I would be absolutely disgusted and Carrie knows that she wouldn't use that word in front of me.' But finding them guilty District Judge John Temperley said: 'This was a particularly challenging flight for the crew to manage with one of the passengers describing the atmosphere as horrific and chaotic from the start. 'One passenger asked to move seats due to intimidating behaviour and Mr Dickson referred to losing control of the cabin. 'Some passengers were drunk and using threatening language to members of the crew who were frightened and anxious about the way the situation developed. 'Despite what was going on they were described as professional and composed on what was not a normal flight. The captain wouldn't have diverted the flight if it wasn't absolutely necessary - it is not a decision he would have taken lightly.' WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilmington Investment Management is pleased to announce that the Wilmington Global Alpha Equities Fund has been added to Charles Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource Select List in the first quarter of 2020. In addition, January 2020 marked three years since Wellington Management Company LLP began sub advising the Wilmington Global Alpha Equities Fund, an alternative investment mutual fund with an emphasis on downside mitigation. "We are excited that the Wilmington Global Alpha Equities Fund has been chosen by Charles Schwab Investment Advisory for its highly respected Mutual Fund OneSource Select List, and this is an important milestone for Wilmington Investment Management," says Matt Glaser, Portfolio Manager and Head of Equities, Nontraditional Investments, and Manager Research. The Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource Select List consists of noload and notransaction fee mutual funds that have been rigorously evaluated by Charles Schwab Investment Advisory, Inc. The OneSource Select List is intended to help investors identify funds that offer the best combination of factors such as performance, risk, and expense. From January 2017 through January 2020, the fund has outperformed its benchmark, the HFRX Equity Hedge Index, by 283 basis points on a net basis and captured approximately half the return of global equities with only about a third of the volatility (as measured by the MSCI ACWI Index). Over the same period, the fund's maximum drawdown was 6.27%, compared to 19.30% for the MSCI ACWI Index. The fund's assets under management now exceed $200 million, with total net assets of $221 million as of January 31, 2020. About Wilmington Investment Management Wilmington Investment Management is the investment management division of Wilmington Trust, part of the M&T Bank Corp. family. Founded in 1903, * Wilmington Trust has been serving institutions and individuals for more than a century with $113 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2019.** Wilmington Funds manages over $12.6 billion in assets as of January 31, 2020 across 12 mutual funds, including alternative, equity, fixed income, asset allocation, and money market funds. About Wellington Management Company LLP Tracing its history to 1928, Wellington Management Company LLP ("Wellington" or "Wellington Management") is one of the world's largest independent investment management firms, serving as a trusted adviser to over 2,200 institutional and private clients located in more than 60 countries and managing over USD 1 trillion of assets.*** Wellington offers comprehensive investment management capabilities that span nearly all segments of the global capital markets. The firm's only business is investment management and its mission is to exceed the investment objectives and service expectations of its clients worldwide. Wellington's solutions draw on a robust body of proprietary research and a collaborative culture that encourages independent thought and healthy debate. ***For Wellington Management group of companies as at 31 December 2019. Disclosures Average annual total returns & fund expenses (%) Class I Shares as of December 31, 2019 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Since Inception Net Expense Ratio(1) Institutional Share Class (WRAIX Class I) 12.34 6.27 3.31 3.5 1.25 HFRX Equity Hedge Index 10.71 3.32 1.52 2.94 Inception: February 12, 2012 Current performance may be lower or higher than that shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate. Shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Total returns assume the reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value and the deduction of all expenses. Performance would have been lower if fees had not been waived in various periods. Performance is available at www.wilmingtonfunds.com . (1)The fund's advisor, distributor and shareholder services provider have agreed to waive their fees and/or reimburse expenses so that total annual fund operating expenses paid by the fund's Class I Shares will not exceed 1.24%, not including the effects of dividends or interest on short positions, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, or other extraordinary expenses. This waiver may be withdrawn after August 31, 2020, or with the agreement of the fund's Board of Trustees. Please see the prospectus for more information on fees, expenses, and expense limitation arrangements, if any. Performance shown represents past performance and cannot guarantee future results. Indexes are not available for direct investment. Investment in a security or strategy designed to replicate the performance of an index will incur expenses such as management fees and transaction costs which would reduce returns. Schwab, Mutual Fund OneSource and Mutual Fund OneSource Select List are trademarks of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and used with permission. Wilmington Investment Management and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. are not affiliated. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) receives remuneration from fund companies in the Mutual Fund OneSource service for recordkeeping and shareholder services, and other administrative services. Schwab also may receive remuneration from transaction fee fund companies for certain administrative services. The amount of fees Schwab or its affiliates receive from funds participating in the Mutual Fund OneSource service is not considered in the Select List selection, nor does any fund pay Schwab to be included in the Select List. Wilmington Trust is a registered service mark used by certain subsidiaries/affiliates of Wilmington Trust Corporation (together "Wilmington Trust"). Wilmington Investment Management (WIM) is a brand name used for investment management related services offered by the following Wilmington Trust entities: Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company (M&T Bank), Wilmington Trust Company (WTC) operating only in Delaware, Wilmington Trust, N.A. (WTNA), Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, Inc. (WTIA), Wilmington Funds Management Corporation (WFMC), and Wilmington Trust Investment Management, LLC (WTIM). WIM is not a separate legal entity but is a brand name used by each of such entities for investment managementrelated services. Services/products referenced herein are only offered by certain Wilmington Trust entities. Wilmington Trust Corporation is a whollyowned subsidiary of M&T Bank Corporation. *Wilmington Trust traces its roots to the founding of WTC in 1903. **Assets under management data are calculated in the aggregate, and include assets managed by various Wilmington Trust affiliated entities, including M&T Bank, WTC, WTNA, WTIA, WFMC, and WTIM. WTIA, WFMC, and WTIM are investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration with the SEC does not imply any level of skill or training. Additional Information about WTIA, WFMC, and WTIM is also available on the SEC's website at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/. Information herein regarding any Wilmington Fund is qualified in its entirety by the fund's prospectus, does not constitute investment advice and is not an offering of or a solicitation to buy or sell any security, product, service or fund, including any fund referenced herein. An offer for any Wilmington Fund can only be made by the fund's prospectus. Wilmington Funds may be offered only to U.S. residents. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a mutual fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about a mutual fund and is available on www.wilmingtonfunds.com or call 18008362211 for copies. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Wilmington Funds Management Corporation and Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, Inc., subsidiaries of M&T Bank Corporation, are the investment advisor and primary subadvisor, respectively, of the Wilmington Funds. ALPS Distributors, Inc., which is not affiliated with M&T Bank Corporation, is the distributor of the Wilmington Funds. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Investments such as mutual funds which focus on alternative strategies are subject to increased risk and loss of principal and are not suitable for all investors. The Fund, the SubAdvisers and any underlying strategies may use aggressive investment strategies, which are riskier than those used by typical mutual funds. If the Fund and SubAdvisers are unsuccessful in applying these investment strategies, the Fund and you may lose more money than if you had invested in another fund that did not invest aggressively. The Fund is subject to risks associated with the SubAdvisers making trading decisions independently, investing in other investment companies, using a particular style or set of styles, basing investment decisions on historical relationships and correlations, trading frequently, using leverage, making short sales, being nondiversified and investing in securities with low correlation to the market. The use of leverage may magnify losses. The Fund is also subject to risks associated with investments in foreign markets, emerging market securities, small cap companies, debt securities, derivatives, commodity linked instruments, illiquid securities, asset backed securities and CMOs. Please see the prospectus and summary prospectus for information on these as well as other risk considerations. Drawdown: A drawdown is a peaktotrough decline during a specific period for an investment, trading account, or fund. Basis Point: A unit of measure used to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent) or 0.0001 in decimal form. The HFRX Equity Hedge Index is the Fund's primary benchmark and measures the performance of hedge fund strategies that primarily maintain long and short positions in equity and equity derivative securities. Equity Hedge managers typically maintain at least 50%, and in some cases may be entirely invested in equityrelated securities, both long and short. Managers may employ a broad range of processes and strategies, including both quantitative and fundamental techniques, as well as net exposures, level of concentration, use of leverage, holding periods, and market capitalizations. The Index is weighted by asset size among reporting funds, which must have at least $50 million in assets or have been active for at least 12 months. This is the Fund's primary benchmark. The MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) is provided as a reference for global equity markets generally and measures large and midcap equity performance across 23 developed and 23 emerging market countries. It represents approximately 85% of the float adjusted market capitalization in each country. Investment Products Are NOT Deposits Are NOT FDIC Insured Are NOT Insured By Any Federal Government Agency Have NO Bank Guarantee May Go Down In Value 2020 M&T Bank Corporation and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. MTB003401 MEDIA CONTACT: Maya Dillon, Head of Communications, Wilmington Trust (212) 415-0557 SOURCE Wilmington Trust Bernie Sanders waves to supporters in Austin: Getty Bernie Sanders has claimed he can win the Democratic primary in Texas and then go on to defeat Donald Trump in the historically Republican stronghold in November. On the back of wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, the Vermont senator has held rallies in the cities of El Paso, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. We have won the popular vote in Iowa, we won the New Hampshire primary, we won the Nevada caucus, and dont tell anybody because these folks get very, very agitated and nervous, he said in Houston. Were gonna win here in Texas, and in November were gonna defeat Trump here in Texas. The confidence of the Sanders campaign comes as his rivals have stepped up their attacks on him, arguing he is too left wing to beat Mr Trump in a general election. At the partys 10th primary debate on Tuesday in South Carolina, the Vermont senator came under fire for everything from his healthcare plan, to a trip to Moscow shortly after he got married, and comments made many years ago praising the results secured by Fidel Castros education system. I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing, Mr Sanders later told CNN. That is a fact. End of discussion. Supporters of the Vermont senator, a self-described Democratic socialist for more than 40 years, point to polls putting him ahead in next Tuesdays Texas primary, one of more than a dozen states that will be voting on what has come to be known as Super Tuesday. An average of polls collated by RealClearPolitics puts him on 22 points, ahed of Joe Biden, 20, and Elizabeth Warren on 15 points. Meanwhile, another poll, conducted for the Texas Lyceum, a non-profit group, suggested Mr Sanders was the strongest Democratic in hypothetical match-ups with Mr Trump, falling just three points short of him on 50 47. This compared to 51- 46 for Mr Biden, 52 44 for Ms Warren and 51 43 for Pete Buttigieg. A victory in Texas next Tuesday would mark a major milestone and potential tipping point for the Sanders campaign, as it seeks to collect delegates and tie up the nomination ahead of the partys summer convention. Story continues Yet a win in November would be little short of staggering. Texas is a major prize, with highest number of electoral college votes, 38, other than California, where Mr Sanders also looks strong. For more than a century, Texas was a Democratic stronghold but since the 1970s it has become solidly Republican. The last Democrat to hold a statewide office was in the 1990s, and the partys last presidential candidate to win here was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Demographic changes in places such as Houston have given Democrats cause to hope. The 2018 midterms saw the party pick up a handful of seats in the House of Representatives, and Beto ORourkes long-shot challenge to Ted Cruz in the Senate race shocked both parties, even though Mr Cruz held on 51-48. Last year saw at least six Republicans from the House announce they were standing down, amid a so-called Texodus. Among them was Will Hurd, the only African American Republican congressman. The Independent previously reported on efforts to turn red Texas blue, driven in large part by large numbers of women candidates challenging for House seats, Senate races, and control of the state assembly, something considered a priority. Yet longtime Texan political strategists from both parties believe while Mr Sanders could win the primary, it would very difficult to beat Mr Trump there. Matt Mackowiak, president of the Potomac Strategy Group, told The Independent: I think Bernie could win the primary. But if hes the candidate in November, I think Trump will increase the nine point advantage he had in 2016. He added: I think Bernie Sanders will be radioactive in the suburbs, and that he will also impact down ticket races. Matt Angle, Matt Angle, a Democratic strategist and founder of the Lone Star Project, a political action committee that funds Texas candidates, said last year he believe the party could win the state if it had the correct candidate and was willing to spend up tp $100m on political advertising. He said the best candidates would be Mr Biden or Texan Beto ORourke, who has since dropped out. Mr Angle said this week his assessment had not changed, and that he believed it would be hard for the likes of Mr Sanders or Ms Warren to win in Texas. I think Bernie Sanders has a ceiling in Texas, he said. Ive been doing Texas politics a long time and Ive seen how you win here, and how you lose. You dont win by thinking youre suddenly going to have this mass of new voters. He added: We have been plagued by from outside of Texas, coming here and telling us how to win, even though they have never ran a campaign here. Yet Mr Sanders appeared unconcerned. This is the most consequential election in the modern history or our country. We are not only going to win in Texas on Super Tuesday, we are going to beat em in November. We are not going to have Trump for another term, he told supporters at the Vic Mathias Shores park in Austin. According to the Statesman, he added: The pundits tell us Texas is conservative state. I dont believe that for a minute. And I believe that if the working people of Texas, black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American stand up and come out to vote, youre gonna make this one of the most progressive states in America. He said: The limitations of our imagination are the crisis we face today. Read more Meet the Democratic women looking to turn Texas blue in 2020 Democrats in China to hold primary online due to coronavirus outbreak What is Super Tuesday? Super Tuesday: When is it, and why does it matter? NEW DELHI - President Donald Trump, a self-acknowledged germaphobe, shook a lot of hands and breathed a lot of communal air during his brief trip to India this week, and can be presumed to have followed standard guidance to visiting Americans: Don't drink the water. But the president who ritually applies hand sanitizer after campaign stops and banishes aides with the sniffles had much more than his own health at stake as he dealt from afar with the spiraling global health and economic consequences from the coronavirus outbreak. Alarmed over the U.S. stock market slide and furious at criticism that his government's response has been slow and inept, Trump spent some of the 36 short hours he was in India getting virus updates by phone and in person. He brought up the issue unbidden during a closing news conference Tuesday, and tweeted in defense of the U.S. response as he flew home Tuesday night. From Air Force One, Trump quoted a foreign affairs commentator, Gordon G. Chang, as saying on Fox News that "U.S. acted on the Coronavirus very, very quickly." Trump was also watching the Democratic debate as he flew home. Moderators for the CBS News debate Tuesday night in South Carolina noted a new warning from the Centers for Disease Control that Americans should expect outbreaks of the virus in their communities. Candidate Mike Bloomberg, a Trump nemesis, blamed the president directly. "The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago," the former New York mayor said. "There's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. And he's defunded the CDC." The CDC warning was clearly on Trump's mind as he headed home. "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. It was opposed by the Dems, "too soon," but turned out to be the correct decision," he tweeted. "No matter how well we do, however, the Democrats talking point is that we are doing badly. If the virus disappeared tomorrow, they would say we did a really poor, and even incompetent, job. Not fair, but it is what it is. So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Let's keep it that way!" India has also not yet recorded a death from the rapidly spreading respiratory infection. The country reports three cases of the virus, a fraction of the number in the United States, despite proximity and economic links to China, the source of the infection. Trump spoke before more than 100,000 people at an open-air rally Monday that was the main attraction of his two days in India. The crowd was double or more the size of most of his biggest U.S. gatherings, and was the kind of mass gathering in tight quarters that makes infectious disease experts squirm. The president, who called the practice of shaking hands "barbaric," engaged in that very practice at about a dozen other events here. "I'm not a big fan of the handshake. I think it's barbaric. I mean, they have medical reports all the time. Shaking hands, you catch cold, you catch the flu. You catch this, you catch all sorts of things. Who knows what you don't catch?" Trump said on "Later Today" in 1999. Trump is known to thrust out his hands for a pump of sanitizer after any hand-to-hand contact. An aide carries a bottle at all times, according to former administration employees. Trump has said he washes his hands as often as possible, and is known to do so before every meal, doctors' advice that not everyone follows. "One of the curses of American society is the simple act of shaking hands, and the more successful and famous one becomes the worse this terrible custom seems to get," Trump wrote in a 1997 memoir, ""Trump: The Art of the Comeback," written with Kate Bohner. "I happen to be a clean hands freak. I feel much better after I thoroughly wash my hands, which I do as much as possible." Trump called himself a "germaphobe" in 2017, when, as president-elect, he refuted unsubstantiated rumors of a sexual encounter in Moscow years before. Trump directed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to leave the room when Mulvaney coughed during an interview the president did last year with ABC News. "If you're going to cough, please leave the room," Trump said during the lengthy interview. He shook his head as he warned Mulvaney, "You just can't, you just can't cough." Mulvaney did not accompany Trump on his India trip and was replaced on short notice by a deputy. Mulvaney was apparently not feeling well. Trump seemed awed by the vastness of India, and energized by the warm reception he received. He praised the country's economic growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and predicted a bright future of closer trade ties with the United States. He said nothing about the country's lack of success in combating infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and leishmaniasis. "This is a tremendous country. It's 1.4 billion, probably, at least. The most people," Trump said at his news conference here Tuesday. China is actually the world's most populous country. "And it's a tremendous market and they really like us, and I think they like us more now than they've ever liked us, frankly. We have a terrific - a really great relationship between the Prime Minister and myself. So we're going to be doing a lot of things." Trump then pivoted to the coronavirus outbreak, defending the U.S. response as "very well under control in our country" even before he was asked about it. "We have very few people with it," and those who are ill are all recovering, Trump claimed. He said he had discussed the global outbreak with his Indian hosts. "And at this moment, India doesn't have much of a problem, they feel," Trump said. "We certainly, it wasn't expressed that they did, which is great And I think that whole situation will start working out. A lot of talent, a lot of brainpower is being put behind it," he said. Trump added that Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had criticized Trump's $2.5 billion request to help combat the infection. Answering a question about the U.S. response, Trump was confronted with his own past views on how to deal with the spread of infection. He had repeatedly criticized Barack Obama's handling of the Ebola crisis in 2014, including a decision to bring an infected American home for treatment. "Ebola patient will be brought to the U.S. in a few days - now I know for sure that our leaders are incompetent," Trup had tweeted then, adding, "KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE!" The United States opted to bring home nearly two dozen Americans who tested positive for the infection, most of them passengers on a cruise ship that became an incubator for the virus. "By your own measure, does that mean that your government has been incompetent?," a reporter asked Trump. "There's a big difference, in case you don't know, between Ebola and coronavirus," Trump responded tartly. "A big, big difference. It's like day and night. And I felt that we should bring them back. They're Americans. We should bring them back." After a back and forth that revealed a detailed and colorful presidential understanding of Ebola, ("the people would disintegrate," he said) Trump again talked up his government's response. "As far as what we're doing with the new virus, I think that - I think that we're doing a great job," he said. It became clear as Trump spoke that he is tracking the spread of the virus country by country. He noted that he had recently spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose own handling of the crisis has been widely panned. "He is very capable. The country is very capable. And it snuck up on him, but I think he's going to do well," Trump said. "Now you see it's going to South Korea, it's going to Italy, and it's going to other places. But I spoke to all of them. They're all working very, very hard on it." After he left India, the government recommended against travel to Korea, Iran and Italy because of the spread of the virus. With his India trip behind him, Trump faces the likelihood of an increase in U.S. infections in addition to the economic uncertainties. He also faces a return to campaign politics, with a scheduled rally Friday evening in South Carolina. The North Charleston Coliseum seats about 14,000, some of whom will want to shake the president's hand. The infection is disrupting global supply chains, one of the reasons for market pessimism that sent the Dow more than 8 percent below its most recent high. Moody's Analytics predicted Wednesday that a global recession is likely if the infection becomes a pandemic, an outcome the financial analysis firm called uncomfortably high. "The coronavirus has been a body blow to the Chinese economy, which now threatens to take out the entire global economy," Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics Mark Zandi said. Privately, Trump has become furious about the stock market's slide, according to two people familiar with the president's thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A booming economy is perhaps Trump's most powerful argument for reelection this year. He regularly invokes the stock market soar on his watch, joking that he has made financial geniuses out of regular Joes with a 401(k). As Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews early Wednesday, after a nearly 18-hour journey home, European stock markets were trading lower and the outlook for the U.S. markets was similar. His first tweet once on the ground was about the virus. "Just landed. India was great, trip very successful. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon," he wrote. In a mark of the administration's concern, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham followed up moment later. "There is currently no reported community spread," of the virus, she wrote. The novel method may open new avenues of research beyond biosensors For the first time, a team of scientists at the University of Central Florida has created functional nanomaterials with hollow interiors that can be used to create highly sensitive biosensors for early cancer detection. Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor of chemistry with a joint appointment in the NanoScience Technology Center, and his team developed the new method and recently published their work in the journal ACS Nano. "These advanced hollow nanomaterials hold great potential to enable high-performance technologies in various areas," says Xia. "Potentially we could be talking about a better and less expensive diagnostic tool, sensitive enough to detect biomarkers at low concentrations, which could make it invaluable for early detection of cancers and infectious diseases." Because hollow nanomaterials made of gold and silver alloys display superior optical properties, they could be particularly good for developing better test strip technology, similar to over-the-counter pregnancy tests. Currently the technology used to indicate positive or negative symbols on the test stick is not sensitive enough to pick up markers that indicate certain types of cancer. But Xia's new method of creating hollow nanomaterials could change that. More advance warning could help doctors save more lives. In conventional test strips, solid gold nanoparticles are often used as labels, where they are connected with antibodies and specifically generate color signal due to an optical phenomenon called localized surface plasmon resonance. Under Xia's technique, metallic nanomaterials can be crafted with hollow interiors. Compared to the solid counterparts, these hollow nanostructures possess much stronger LSPR activities and thus offer more intense color signal. Therefore, when the hollow nanomaterials are used as labels in test strips they can induce sensitive color change, enabling the strips to detect biomarkers at lower concentrations. "Test-strip technology gets upgraded by simply replacing solid gold nanoparticles with the unique hollow nanoparticles, while all other components of a test strip are kept unchanged," says Xia. "Just like the pregnancy test, the new test strip can be performed by non-skilled persons, and the results can be determined with the naked eye without the need of any equipment. These features make the strip extremely suitable for use in challenging locations such as remote villages." The UCF study focused on prostate-specific antigen, a biomarker for prostate cancer. The new test strip based on hollow nanomaterials was able to detect PSA as low as 0.1 nanogram per milliliter (ng/mL), which is sufficiently sensitive for clinical diagnostics of prostate cancer. The published study includes electron microscope images of the metallic hollow nanomaterials. "I hope that by providing a general and versatile platform to engineer functional hollow nanomaterials with desired properties, new research with the potential for other applications beyond biosensing can be launched," Xia says. Collaborators on the study include Zhuangqiang Gao, Zheng Xi, Haihang Ye, Zhiyuan Wei and Shikuan Shao from UCF's chemistry department; Qingxiao Wang and Moon J. Kim from the University of Texas at Dallas, and Dianyong Tang from Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences in China. Gao and Xi are postdoctoral scholars in Xia's lab, partially funded through UCF's Preeminent Postdoctoral Program. The study was partially funded through a National Science Foundation CAREER grant (CHE-1834874). Xia, who has a joint appointment at the NanoScience Technoloyg Center, has multiple degrees in biomedical engineering and worked at Georgia Tech as a postdoctoral fellow and at Michigan Tech as an assistant professor before joining UCF in 2018. He has published more than 50 journal articles and has more than 5,800 citations. He has received multiple grants and presented around the world. ### Former Vice President Joe Biden has an 18 point lead over his Democratic rivals heading into Saturday's South Carolina primary according to a Clemson University poll released on Wednesday. The poll reported that 35 per cent of respondents supported Mr Biden in the upcoming primary. Entrepreneur Tom Steyer, who has focused campaign advertising on the state, is in second place at 17 per cent. The current party frontrunner, Senator Bernie Sanders, comes third, polling at 13 per cent. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg are tied at eight per cent, while Senator Amy Klobuchar is on four per cent. Congresswoman Tusli Gabbard is on two per cent. Twelve per cent of voters responded they were still unsure of who theyd vote for. 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 Our polling shows that Biden has wide name recognition and stood in favour with older Democratic primary voters. Nearly half of those polled (40%) said they made up their minds 'before the primaries began' in 2020, a statement released with the poll said. The pollsters noted the surprise performance by Mr Steyer. The surprise showing is by Tom Steyer who has played a small role in other primary elections, but appears as a prominent force in the Palmetto State electorate. Such a finding comes as no surprise to those familiar with South Carolina, the statement said. Candidate Steyer waged an aggressive media campaign weeks before the election and made personal appearances across the state in anticipation of the February 29 vote. Mr Steyers efforts in South Carolina are one reason why he and Mr Biden frequently clashed during Tuesday nights South Carolina Democratic debate. The Clemson poll statement noted that Mr Sanders performed decently, but could not overtake Mr Bidens name recognition or long history with the state. Recommended Joe Biden earns one of most coveted endorsements ahead of SC primary Despite his victories in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Bernie Sanders could not overcome Bidens strength in this southern state, but the Vermont senator still is popular with a projected third place finish, the statement said. The Clemson poll has a 3.8 per cent margin of error and is based on 650 respondents questioned using telephone responses, online and online panel voters, and was conducted between 17 February and 25 February. Despite Mr Steyers second place finish, FiveThirtyEight polling averages still suggest Mr Sanders will take second place in the primary, placing him within 10 points of Mr Biden, who is expected to receive 31.2 per cent of the states support and the primary victory according to the site. During Tuesday nights debate, Mr Biden was asked by CBS news personality Gayle King if hed drop out of the race if he lost the South Carolina primary. I will win in South Carolina, Mr Biden replied. Nitin Singh, tourist guide, spent 75 minutes with Donald and Melania Trump at the Taj Mahal. 'They were very down to earth and listening to me intently as I told them the story of the Taj and the Mughals.' IMAGE: Nitin Singh, tourist guide at the Taj Mahal, with President Donald J Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during their visit to the famous mausoleum, February 24, 2020. All photographs: Kind courtesy Nitin Singh The other Indian -- besides Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi -- with whom Donald and Melania Trump spent maximum time in India was Nitin Singh. The tourist guide from Agra spent one hour and fifteen minutes of 'alone time' with POTUS and FLOTUS at the Taj Mahal on Monday. "They are extremely nice people, so humble and down to earth. I didn't feel I was with the President of America. I felt as if they were like normal tourists," says Singh who was selected from among nearly 30 guides interviewed by the US embassy in New Delhi. Singh conducted guided tours for two separate teams of White House staffers around the Taj Mahal before receiving the final approval. IMAGE: Nitin Singh with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family after he gave them a tour of the Taj Mahal. "President Trump was amazed at the size of the monument and its white marble. He wanted to know where it was acquired from," Singh tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com over the telephone from Agra. "They both marveled at the intricate inlay work on the graves of the king and queen." "Mrs Trump was extremely kind and generous," says Singh, a tourist guide since 2008 who has been besieged with calls after his post-Trump stardom. Tourist guide Kamal Gupta was entrusted the responsibility of showing the Taj to Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and other guests accompanying the American president. IMAGE: Nitin Singh with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at the Taj Mahal. Had it not been for the death of a Saudi king, Nitin Singh would have been the guide for then US President Barack Obama in January 2015. He had been selected by the US embassy, but King Abdullah's death resulted in Barack and Michelle Obama curtailing the Taj visit and flying to Saudi Arabia en route to Washington, DC. This time, the American president's 36-hour whirlwind tour across three cities went off with military precision. And President Trump hasn't stopped showering effusive tributes to India at every opportunity! "I was not expecting the president to be so keen about the story of the Taj and the Mughals. I could explain the details calmly without rushing. They were listening to me intently," adds Singh. "I gave them a brief history of the Mughals including who they were, where they came from, how long they ruled India, how they generated revenue, how powerful and wealthy they were." IMAGE: Nitin Singh with French President Emmanuel Macron. Singh had been briefed by the White House advance team to go with the flow and answer queries as and when President Trump asked. He says he was nervous, but the guests made him feel at ease. "The team from the White House and secret service gave me liberty to make them feel special." As someone who goes the to Taj Mahal almost every day, Singh is mesmerized by its magnificence. "As you walk towards the Taj and see the clouds moving behind the dome, you cannot take your eyes off it. And on a day like yesterday when there is no one -- it is like gazing at a celestial building. It is amazing," says Singh. IMAGE: Nitin Singh with actor Sir Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's epic Gandhi. Explaining the magnificence of the Taj Mahal to foreign dignitaries is not out of the ordinary for Nitin Singh. He has served as a guide to French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Though Americans outnumber all other foreign tourists who visit the Taj Mahal, Singh is enthused that President Trump told him that his visit will encourage more Americans to come and see the Taj. IMAGE: Nitin Singh, right, with former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, centre. At the end of the tour, the Trumps thanked him and told him that he had made their visit memorable. "I asked if they would take a picture with me and they said they would love to. The president told the White House official photographer to send me some pictures too," says Singh, adding that he will frame and hang the photographs on the wall. "If I get a chance, I will probably visit the White House," says Singh whose US visa expires in 2023. A 2019 Nissan Altima sedan is suspended on a conveyer belt at the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Canton, Miss. The new NAFTA deal could see production in Canada decline and car prices go up, according to a government report. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The new North American free trade deal may lead to jump in the price of vehicles, as well as a decline of automotive production in Canada, a new report from Ottawa says. According to an economic impact assessment of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement released by Global Affairs Canada on Wednesday, new automotive rules in the revamped trade deal could lead to higher production costs and higher prices for consumers. Under the new deal known as CUSMA, USMCA or more simply new NAFTA vehicles must contain at least 75 per cent North American content in order to qualify for duty-free access to the Canadian, American and Mexican markets. Thats up from the current 62.5 per cent threshold prescribed under NAFTA. The new agreement also adds wage requirements and a more complicated process for qualifying automotive, steel and aluminium products for duty-free status. The Global Affairs report found that about 19.1 per cent of Canadian automotive exports to the U.S. and about 9.6 per cent of automotive exports to Mexico would fail to meet the new rules of origin. That means vehicle and parts producers will have to adjust their sourcing plans to meet the new rules of origin, or alternatively pay most-favoured nation (MFN) tariffs on U.S.-bound products. However, if the cost of sourcing more parts from North America is more expensive than paying the tariffs, manufacturers may opt to pay the tax. The application of MFN tariffs or adjustments to meet the new rules of origin could result in higher prices for consumers and overall higher costs of production due to increased sourcing of more expensive parts from within the region, the report said. This would likely affect competitiveness and, as a result, other automotive producing countries outside North Americasuch as Japan, South Korea, Germany and Chinacould benefit from this change. While the new rules may increase auto part production in North America, it may also likely increase production costs, the report said, which could give non-North American producers an advantage. Story continues As a result, the economic model projects that Canadas exports of motor vehicles to the United States would decline by US$1.5 billion relative to the current trade regime under NAFTA, and imports from the United States would decrease by US$1.2 billion, the report said. At the same time, automotive imports from non-North American countries could increase, resulting in a decline of the Canadian automobile production of 1.7 per cent. The report compared the economic impact of the new trade deal to a no-NAFTA situation one that was considered unlikely by many that would have seen the United States withdraw from the trade agreement, something President Donald Trump had threatened throughout the contentious negotiation process. The Standing Committee on International Trade is currently meeting to discuss Bill C-4, the governments legislation to enact CUSMA. Randy Hoback, a Conservative member of parliament on the committee, criticized the authors of the report on Wednesday for comparing the new trade deal to a no-NAFTA situation instead of to the existing trade deal. Other reports have previously asserted that the new trade deal will likely increase production costs as well as the price of North American-made vehicles. A Scotiabank Economics report from 2018 found that the new administrative requirements and wage costs in the agreement will likely increase the price of North American costs and reduce international competitiveness of the industry, leaving the possibility that production shifts overseas. The U.S. International Trade Commission said the new trade deal would increase jobs in the U.S. automotive sector but lead to a decrease in consumption due to higher vehicle costs. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android and sign up for the Yahoo Finance Canada Weekly Brief. [February 26, 2020] INVESTOR ALERT: Kaskela Law LLC Announces Important Deadline in Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit Against Tupperware Brands Corporation and Encourages Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 to Contact the Firm (TUP) Kaskela Law LLC announces that a shareholder class action lawsuit has been filed against Tupperware Brands Corporation ("Tupperware" or the "Company") (NYSE: TUP) on behalf of investors who purchased shares of Tupperware's common stock between January 30, 2019 and February 24, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Tupperware investors who suffered an investment loss in excess of $100,000 are encouraged to contact Kaskela Law LLC (D. Seamus Kaskela, Esq.) at (888) 715 - 1740, or by email at [email protected], to discuss this action and their legal rights and options. Additional information may also be found at http://kaskelalaw.om/case/tupperware-brands-corporation/. On February 24, 2020, Tupperware issued a press release reporting preliminary fiscal 2019 financial and operational results. Therein, the Company disclosed, among other things, that it was "conducting an investigation primarily into the accounting for accounts payable and accrued liabilities at its Fuller Mexico beauty business to determine the extent to which these matters may further impact results and to assess and enhance the effectiveness of internal controls at this business." The Company further disclosed that "total impairments for Fuller Mexico are expected to be approximately $31 million. The total pre-tax impact for 2019 is approximately $50-52 million." Following this news, shares of Tupperware's common stock declined $2.61 per share, or over 46% in value, to close on February 25, 2020 at $3.11 per share, on heavy trading volume. IMPORTANT DEADLINE: Investors who purchased Tupperware's common stock during the Class Period may, no later than April 27, 2020, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative in the action. Tupperware investors are encouraged to contact Kaskela Law LLC to discuss their legal rights and options with respect to this action. Kaskela Law LLC exclusively represents investors in securities fraud, corporate governance, and merger & acquisition litigation. For additional information about Kaskela Law LLC please visit www.kaskelalaw.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005566/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] About 14% of patients who recovered from the novel coronavirus and were discharged from hospitals in southern Chinas Guangdong province were tested positive again in later check-ups, according to the local health authority. A positive test suggests the recovered patients may still carry the virus, adding complexity to efforts to control the outbreak. There is no clear conclusion on why it happens and whether such patients could still be infectious, said Song Tie, deputy director of the Guangdong Center of Disease Control And Prevention (Guangdong CDC), at a Tuesday briefing. According to the preliminary assessment, experts believed the patients are still recovering from lung infections and have yet to be fully healthy, according to Song. According to the latest treatment guidelines for the Covid-19 issued by the National Health Commission, patients can be considered recovered and released from hospital when their throat or nose swabs show up negative in two consecutive tests, with a CT scan indicating no lung lesions, and when they have no obvious symptoms such as fever. The guidelines suggest recovered patients should monitor their health and limit outdoor activities for two weeks after leaving the hospital, and check in for retesting in following weeks. Some patients test results returned to positive in the follow-up checks, said Li Yueping, director of the intensive care unit at Guangzhou No.8 People's Hospital at the briefing. Read more Caixins coverage of the new coronavirus The No.8 People's Hospital has found 13 discharged patients that tested positive again, although none showed renewed symptoms, according to Li. Nucleic acid tests for 104 close contacts of the patients all found negative results, said Li. Cai Weiping, director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the No.8 People's Hospital, told Caixin that the positive results in the recovered patients were all found from anal swabs, a method rarely used in other parts of the country. Their results were in the weak positive range, said Cai. The national treatment guideline only requires tests from throat or nose swabs for suspected patients as the virus is believed to spread mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. But research by Guangzhou Medical University found the virus in fecal samples, suggesting a new path of transmission. Some hospitals in Guangdong have since adopted the anal swab in virus tests. Cai said it is still unclear whether the virus detected in the recovered patients is still active. There is also the possibility of a discrepancy in samples, he said. Song at Guangdong CDC said the province is preparing to put those recovered patients who re-tested positive under concentrated observation. Health authorities will also step up monitoring of discharged patients and their condition as they recover, said Song. By the end of Monday, Guangdong reported 1,347 infections and 805 recoveries. The death toll reached seven, official data showed. Similar cases of recovered patients testing positive have been reported elsewhere in China. Last week, a patient initially discharged after recovering in southwestern Sichuan provinces Chengdu city was readmitted after testing positive again in later check-ups. Health authorities in the southern island province of Hainan also confirmed that some recovered patients had tested positive again. The authorities required discharged patients to stay home under quarantine for 14 days, and allowed them to be released after both throat and anal swab tests showed negative. Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) That was supposed to be Biden. Instead, he faces a crossroads here Saturday. He long has marked the primary in South Carolina as the most critical test of his candidacy, and it has become all the more so as a result of his performances in the first three contests. Asked about slipping poll numbers and the future of his candidacy, Biden said defiantly, I will win South Carolina. He has now put down the marker that will define the rest of his candidacy. A LIMERICK man who has dedicated his medical research to treating an incurable form of cancer was among the winners at the Irish Cancer Society Research Awards last week. John Daly, a native of Raheen who now resides in the Co Clare village, took the honours for the coveted title of PhD Researcher of the Year at the annual awards showcase. He achieved this for his studies into combating Multiple Myeloma; a type of blood cancer for which there is currently no cure. He is currently doing his PhD in NUIG. A past winner of a biomedical research scholarship from the Irish Cancer Society, Dalys team has focused on a type of immune cell called Natural Killer cells that normally destroy cancer cells, but are unable to detect those of Multiple Myeloma. Read also: Limerick people advised not to travel to Italian regions affected by coronavirus Daly and his colleagues are attempting to find ways of boosting these Natural Killer cells so that they can successfully detect and destroy Multiple Myeloma cells, in a development that would revolutionise treatment for the disease. Commenting on his award, Daly said: Im absolutely delighted, a lot of hard work has gone into this so far, not just from me but everyone in my group, and particularly my supervisor and co-supervisor, Prof Michael ODwyer and Dr Mattias Carlsten. Things like this are really encouraging and motivating for the next couple of years as we try to move our research on. Irish Cancer Society Head of Research Dr Robert OConnor congratulated Daly on his award: Were delighted that such a dedicated and talented cancer researcher has won the award this year against stiff competition from so many other worthy candidates. UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths will convene a meeting this week during which Yemeni pubic and political stakeholders will address ways to resume official peace negotiations, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Tuesday. "The Office of Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy for Yemen, is hosting a consultative meeting with a group of Yemeni public and political figures in Jordan, that will be on the 26th and the 27th February," Dujarric said. "Discussions will focus on approaches to resume the official peace talks under the auspices of the UN. " According to Dujarric, participants will include members of some political parties and independent public figures will engage in dialogue to ensure that the peace process is inclusive and can deliver peace in Yemen. Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. Though both parties signed a UN-sponsored accord to ease tensions in Stockholm in 2018, the situation has escalated in recent months. Following Kaduna Gov. Nasir el-Rufais latest position on power rotating to the south in 2023, the ruling APC, Lagos chapter, has responded by projecting a former governor of the state and party leader Bola Tinubu. The party said Tinubus commitment, resourcefulness and pedigree make him a most qualified contender for Nigerias topmost job. Tinubu has all it takes to lead this country and he has all the fundamental rights as a Nigerian to aspire, said partys secretary Lanre Ogunyemi during a press briefing in Lagos to unveil new executives. Its now left for Nigerians to accept or not. Its now left for the party to decide who they want as the presidential candidate come 2023. Exploring the rumoured ambition of Tinubus , the party said it is immaterial whether he has briefed the members on his aspiration, whether people are against it or not. e are sure that he has everything to lead this nation. El-Rufai, who had a fanatical stand against power rotation suddenly made a volte-face on Monday, saying it is immoral for the north to clutch at power beyond 2023. PV: 0 Donald Trump has defended his administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying his government is doing a "great" job, lashing out at Democrats and saying: "So far, by the way, we have not had one death." Returning from a two-day trip to India, the president responded to a growing chorus of criticism, with even usually loyal Republican politicians questioning whether he is doing enough to protect Americans against the deadly virus. Mr Trump tweeted: "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. "It was opposed by the Dems, 'too soon', but turned out to be the correct decision. No matter how well we do, however, the Democrats talking point is that we are doing badly. "If the virus disappeared tomorrow, they would say we did a really poor, and even incompetent, job. Not fair, but it is what it is. So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Let's keep it that way!" Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty Earlier, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had outlined what schools and businesses would need to do if the coronavirus reaches pandemic levels, which officials say is likely. "It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen," Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters. "We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad." There are currently 57 people in the United States with the virus. Many of the US cases are individuals returning to the country after vacationing onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner, which was quarantined in Japan after passengers were found to be carrying the virus. Worldwide there are more than 80,200 confirmed cases, the majority of them in China. There have been more than 2,700 deaths resulting from the new virus. The city of San Francisco has declared a state of emergency, even though no cases have been reported there yet. London Breed, mayor of the Californian city, announced the decision in a statement, saying "the global picture" surrounding the Wuhan coronavirus was "changing rapidly" and city officials "need to step-up preparedness". Recommended Why Trump is secretly terrified of coronavirus "We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day," she continued, "and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm." Both Republican and Democratic senators have questioned the amount of funding the White House is requesting to protect Americans. Richard Shelby, a Republican senator from Alabama, told Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that the outbreak "could be an existential threat to a lot of people in this country", adding: "If you low ball something like this, you'll pay for it later." Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington said the administration's handling of the coronavirus was "unacceptable". "We cannot afford to plan on the cheap or at the last minute," she said. Chad Wolf, the acting Homeland Security Secretary, was given a rough ride by senators including John Kennedy of Louisiana, a Republican usually loyal to Mr Trump, who asked "are you sure of that" when Mr Wolf wrongly claimed the mortality rate for coronavirus about 2 per cent is roughly the same as for flu. In fact it is about 100 times more deadly. Tucker Carlson blames 'wokeness' for the spread of coronavirus Mr Worlf was also unable to answer a series of questions including how quickly the administration expected the virus to spread. Mr Kennedy told him: "You're secretary. I think you ought to know that answer." He added: "The American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus and I'm not getting them from you." Global economy will suffer significantly if the coronavirus outbreak continues unabated, shows a study. According to an analysis by Oxford Economics, global economy would lose $1.1 trillion, or its 1.3 per cent, if the deadly virus outbreak blows up into a global pandemic. Even if coronavirus remains contained within Asia, it will wipe out $400 billion from the global GDP. In its latest Global Outlook for February-March 2020, Oxford Economics said that the rapid spread of coronavirus will weaken China's GDP growth sharply in the short-term, causing disruption for the rest of the world. "We now expect global GDP growth to slow to just 1.9 per cent year-on-year in Q1 this year and have lowered our forecast for 2020 as a whole from 2.5 per cent to 2.3 per cent, down from 2.6 per cent in 2019," the report said. ALSO READ: Coronavirus update: India doesn't want its people to travel to Korea, Iran, Italy The outbreak could reverse the recovery for world trade and the manufacturing sector, it further added. Before the crisis, it seemed as if the worst was over, but recent developments have dashed tentative optimism, the Oxford Economics outlook said. The outlook said that while the near-term impact of coronavirus is uncertain, the disruption to China will be apparent in Q1, with Chinese GDP growth rate nose-diving to just 3.8 percent. Although there are chances of recovery in the following two quarters Q2 and Q3, the loss in activity will need time to recover completely. For 2020, the report predicts China's GDP growth to remain at 5.4 per cent. ALSO READ: RBI's MPC likely to consider coronavirus impact on India "Weaker Chinese imports and tourism as well as significant disruption to global supply chains will take a toll on the rest of the world, particularly in the AsiaPacific region. And the shock will exacerbate the ongoing slowdown in the United States and may result in the eurozone barely expanding for a second quarter running in Q1," the report stated. Officially dubbed COVID-19, the coronavirus has been declared a "public health emergency of international concern" by the WHO. However, it has not been termed a pandemic yet. So far, it has claimed 2,666 lives in mainland China alone, with almost 78,000 confirmed cases of infection. ALSO READ: Bengaluru to Meerut to Delhi, H1N1 virus spreading fast; time to hit the panic button? Justin Theroux has asked the Major of Denver for a "special apology" after he allowed the US city's ban on pit bulls to remain in place. The 'Leftovers' star - who has a rescue dog named Kuma and also shares a pit bull mix called Sophie with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston - took to Instagram in a bid to get as many people as possible down to the Colorado city's Town Hall to help stop the ban, and even promised he and 'Queer Eye' star Antoni Porowski would cook a meal for those who did so. The animal lover announced on his Instagram Stories: "Hey Denver! If you are a Pit Bull lover the vote to end the Pit Bull Ban is in one hour. "If you go to city hall to end the ban @antoni and I will make you dinner. 'Then brunch the next morning. "@Antoni has no idea I'm posting this but I'm sure he's down and would do it. Right Antoni? (sic)" Mayor Michael Hancock vetoed plans to overturn the ban on February 14. And on Monday (24.02.20), Denver City Council's vote to appeal the ban failed to secure enough signatures. In response, Justin shared a moving GIF of Kuma sat in front of a burning fire and called for an "end" to the "continued and unnecessary deaths of thousands of dogs". He captioned the Instagram post: "The Denver Pit Bull Ban stands. "This will result in the continued and unnecessary deaths of thousands of dogs. "This is a tragedy for a breed that is already murdered in greater numbers than any other breed in our country. Bans don't work. (sic)" The 48-year-old screenwriter also called for Hancock to "pass real legislation against" pet shops and breeders that "sell dogs for profit" and to make Denver a "no kill" city. He concluded that he and Kuma will "defy" the "dumb" law" and will be "coming for Denver". He continued: "@mayorhancock, if you want to help the citizens of Denver and these dogs, pass real legislation against pet shops that sell dogs, dogfighting, and breeders of ALL dogs. "INCLUDING breeders of pit bulls. People that profit, neglect or abuse dogs in ANY way is the problem... "Not the dog, nor the breed. And while we're at it, how bout we make Denver no kill. That'd be great. "A special apology is in order from you @mayorhancock to all the Denver animal control workers who have the truly nightmarish job of putting these beautiful dogs down on repeat in service of your ignorant policy. (sic)" Edward P. Ted Ames has been a commercial fisherman, scientific researcher, educator, and advocate for marine conservation and for sustainable fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. His contributions to an understanding of the historical, ecological, and economic factors that are connected to the decline of ground fisheries in the North Atlantic earned him a 2005 MacArthur Foundation grant. Ames grew up on Vinalhaven Island on the central Maine coast and has fished for sixty years (lobstering; ground fishing by tub trawling, gillnetting, and dragging; shrimping; scalloping; and shark fishing). After high school, he served in the US Navy. He earned an MS in biochemistry at the University of Maine at Orono (UMO) in 1971 and taught chemistry, biochemistry, and environmental science at UMO and at Mt. Desert Island High School. He returned to fishing until stocks collapsed in the mid-1990s. Ames turned his efforts to bringing back cod, haddock, and flounder in the eastern Gulf of Maine and to documenting the historical distribution of spawning grounds and fisheries by mapping more than a centurys worth of recorded catches and interviews with fishermen. His historical approach to fisheries ecology demonstrated that cod and other species existed in localized stocks which, once depleted, were not replaced by recruitment from adjacent areas. He also identified the importance of river- spawning species such as alewives for ground fish populations. Ames has been a leader and activist for sustainable fisheries as the executive director of the Maine Gillnetters Association, a member of the national Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, marine resources director for the Island Institute, president and laboratory director of Alden/Ames Laboratory, and director of the Stonington Fisheries Alliance and the Zone C. Lobster Council. He was one of the founders of the Penobscot East Resource Center (now the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries). He retired from the Centers board of directors in January of 2019. Ames was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Maine at Machias. In the 20102011 academic year, he was the coastal studies scholar at Bowdoin and a member of the Maine Rivers, Estuaries and Coastal Fisheries Project, a collaboration among Bowdoin, Bates, University of Southern Maine, University of Maine, and Penobscot East Resource Center. Ames lives in Stonington with his wife, Robin Alden, who is also a prominent member of the marine conservation community. Deborah Jensen Barker, of the Class of 1980, has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the College for twenty years (from 1999 until 2019). In 2013, she became the first woman to serve as chair of the Bowdoin College Board of Trustees, and during her tenure (20132016) she oversaw the transition to a new president of the College. Her role as board chair, and as chair of the former Financial Planning Committee, a member of the former Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, the former Information and Technology Committee, and the former Audit Committee, the Governance Committee, the Committee on Inclusion, the Resources Committee, and most recently as chair of the Governance Review Task Force, underscore the transformations that have strengthened the College over the past two decades. Barker has a long record of service to Bowdoin and in a broad range of areas. As an undergraduate, she was class secretary and treasurer, was a senior class admissions interviewer, and a member of the Student Judiciary Board. In 1980, she graduated cum laude, with a double major in mathematics and Romance languages. Since her graduation, she has served on the Alumni Council, as class agent, a gift planning agent, and a member of the reunion committees for her class, and as a member of BRAVO (Bowdoin Regional Admissions Volunteer Organization). In 2005, she received the Presidents Award for Leadership in BASIC. As a trustee, she cochaired the Bowdoin Campaign (20042009), which raised $294 million. In 2008, she and her husband established the Barker Family Scholarship Fund to encourage diversity in the student body. In 2012, she was a speaker at the annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon. Over the years, Barker has given generously of her time, talents, and resources to her alma mater. Barker earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1985 and for ten years was a managing director for Prudential Securities. For ten years she was a volunteer college counselor at the Chad Science Academy. She has been a trustee of NJ SEEDS, the Pingry School, and the Student/Partner Alliance. She is currently a trustee of The Hyde and Watson Foundation, a member of the Hestia Fund, and vice chair of the Grand Teton National Park Foundation. She and her husband, Randy, have two sons: Lee, who is a member of the Class of 2016, and James. Ann M. Fudge is the former chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, a global network of marketing communications companies. A native of Washington, DC, she graduated from Simmons College in 1973 with a BA in management. Fudge earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977 and later joined General Mills in Minnesota and was promoted to marketing director in 1983. In 1986, she accepted a position with Kraft Foods, and in 1994 Kraft Foods appointed her as president of the Maxwell House coffee brand, making her the first African American woman to head a major corporate division. In 2001, one year after becoming president of Krafts beverages, desserts, and Post division, Fudge retired from the company. After a two-year sabbatical, during which she deepened her involvement with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Fudge returned to the corporate world as the chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, remaining in that role until 2007. A committed philanthropist focused on education and youth, Fudge has been a trustee at Morehouse College and on the boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Harvard Overseers, and Simmons College. She was named chair of the board of trustees for WGBH Public Media in March 2019, and also currently serves on the boards of Novartis, Northrup Grumman, and Senior Trustee at Brookings. Fudge has also served as chair of the US Programs Advisory Board of the Gates Foundation and as a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Council on Foreign Relations, and as a member of the State Departments Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Fudge has also served on the boards of the New York Philharmonic, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, General Electric, Unilever, and Infosys, in addition to serving on the Harvard Corporation Finance Committee and on the board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2008, Fudge joined President Barack Obamas presidential campaign finance committee and, in 2010, became a member of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In 2011, she was inducted into the National Association of Corporate Directors Hall of Fame. Fudge has received achievement awards from Ebony, the Executive Leadership Council, and the Harvard Alumni Association. She was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019. A former president of the Executive Leadership Council, Fudge was honored in 2005 with the establishment of the Ann Fudge Scholars program, which, to date, has supported the education of eigthty-five young women at historically black colleges and universities. She helped establish the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Chair at Harvard Business School, and she and her husband, Richard Fudge (Bowdoin Class of 1972), have also set up scholarships at Bowdoin College and Simmons College. William F. Lee, a leading trial and appellate lawyer and intellectual property litigator, is a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1972, he went on to earn a JD, magna cum laude, from Cornell University, and an MBA, with distinction, in 1976. He began his legal career at the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr in 1976, became a senior partner in 1984, and was named managing partner in 2000. Lee played an instrumental role in the merger with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in 2004. He was an associate counsel in the independent counsels office Iran-Contra investigation from 19871989 and led an investigation of alleged incidents of racial bias at the request of the Massachusetts attorney general. Lee has established a brilliant legal career, handling high-profile cases on patent infringement (smartphones), remote data storage, pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and genetically engineered food. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has been appointed to many committees that evaluate the administration of the judiciary on the federal and state levels. As the Eli Goldston Lecturer on Law, he has been a member of the Harvard Law School faculty for fifteen years. He was elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers in 2002, a fellow of the Harvard Corporation in 2010, and a senior fellow of the corporation in 2014. His many contributions to Harvard include membership of the visiting committees for the Law School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a committee convened to examine the relations of the universitys police department with the community. Recently he led Harvards defense of its admissions policies against charges that it discriminates against Asian American applicants. As the first Asian American to lead one of the nations largest law firms, and the first Asian American to be a member of the Harvard Corporation, Lee navigated the turbulent waters of legal and public opinion to a favorable outcome for Harvardand for other colleges and universities that face scrutiny of their admissions policies. Lee and his wife, Leslie, have three children and five grandchildren. Their son William Christopher Lee is a member of the Class of 2000, and their daughter-in-law Sophia Mendoza is a member of the class of 2002. As clusters of novel coronavirus continue to pop up around the globe, the United States is grappling with how to prepare for an outbreak on American soil. Here's the latest on the developing situation. 8:00 p.m. CDC confirms 60th case in the country CDC officials confirmed Wednesday night that a patient in California contracted the coronavirus. The patient reportedly didn't have any travel history or exposure to another infected patient, which is the first known instance of such a case in the U.S., according to the CDC. "Its also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected," an agency official said in a statement. MORE: Trump announces VP Pence will lead US government response to coronavirus The CDC said it will continue to investigate the source of the infection. The California diagnosis brings the number of infected Americans to 60. The majority of the cases, 42, are Americans who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined in Japan. PHOTO: Vice President Mike Pence speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a news conference about the coronavirus in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Feb. 26, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) 6:45 p.m. Trump appoints VP to oversee country's coronavirus response During a news conference at the White House, President Donald Trump announced that the vice president will be in charge of the U.S.'s response to the coronavirus. Pence, who has no medical training, said, "The threat to the American public remains low." 6:15 p.m. JetBlue waives cancellation fees Airline JetBlue announced it will suspend any cancellation fees for flights. The policy will be in effect for bookings made between Feb. 27 and March 11, and is designed to give customers confidence as the coronavirus affects travel plans, according to JetBlue president and COO Joanna Geraghty. "While authorities have not issued any travel restrictions to the locations we fly, we want to give our customers some peace of mind that we are ready to support them should the situation change, she said in a statement. 6 p.m. Saudi Arabia bans religious visits Story continues The official Saudi Press Agency announced Wednesday that it is temporarily banning religious visits, including to Mecca, due to coronavirus concerns. The government also urged its citizens not to travel to countries where the virus is prevalent. 4:30 p.m. Norway records 1st case The Norwegian Institute of Public Health revealed that a person living in northern Norway has contracted the virus. The unidentified patient was tested after returning from one of the areas in China affected by the outbreak and is currently under quarantine. Line Vold, director of the Department of Infection Control and Preparedness at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said tests so far on the patient have shown "a weak positive result" and that the individual isn't displaying any symptoms of the disease. "The NIPH considers it very unlikely that the person poses an infection risk to others," she said in a statement. North Macedonia and Georgia also reported their first cases on Wednesday. 3:35 p.m. New cases in America The CDC on Wednesday updated its list of the number of Americans who have contracted the virus to 59. The majority of the cases, 42, are Americans from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan. Only two of the confirmed cases were spread person-to-person, while a dozen were travel-related, the agency said. At least three of those patients have been discharged from the hospital and are no longer in isolation. 3:30 p.m. New York seeks more money and resources to combat the virus New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave separate news conferences at which they updated the public. Although there were no new cases in New York, both leaders called on the federal government to allow local labs to help test for the virus and for more funding to prepare first responders. MORE: New Yorks Chinatown deserted amid coronavirus fears "The CDC should play a more aggressive role," de Blasio said. Cuomo warned that New York likely would see a coronavirus case in the near future, given the state's highly used international hubs. "I think it is highly probable, and no one should be surprised when we have positive cases in New York," he said. 12:45 p.m. New coronavirus cases outside China exceed cases in China for 1st time New cases of COVID-19 reported in countries outside of China exceeded the number of new cases reported within China for the first time, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said at a mission briefing in Geneva Wednesday. Only 10 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported in China outside of Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, on Tuesday. MORE: One man's account of what it's like to have novel coronavirus Tedros called the surge of cases in Italy, Iran and South Korea "deeply concerning," but said the world is not yet witnessing "sustained or intensive community transmission of the virus," nor are we "witnessing large-scale severe disease or death." PHOTO: Students get their temperature tested for signs of the COVID-19 coronavirus at a pro-democracy rally against the military government at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Feb. 26, 2020. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images) In recent days, Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland have reported COVID-19 cases linked to Italy, while Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Pakistan have reported COVID-19 cases linked to Iran. "We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts," Tedros added, noting that if the situation evolves to accurately describe a pandemic, he would not hesitate to use the word. 12:18 p.m. State Department issues new travel advisories, Delta suspends flights to South Korea The State Department updated its travel advisory for Italy Wednesday to include warnings about COVID-19 cases diagnosed in the country. "Italian government authorities are working to identify how and where these people were infected," the advisory reads. "The CDC has issued a Level 2 Travel Health Notice for Italy. At this time, CDC does not recommend canceling or postponing travel to Italy." MORE: What scientists think about China changing how it counts coronavirus cases The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends older adults and people with chronic medical conditions consider postponing non-essential travel to Italy. The State Department similarly changed its travel advisory for Iran to include warnings about novel coronavirus. The travel warning for Iran remains at Level 4, meaning Americans should not travel there. PHOTO: Brazilian citizens from China's coronavirus-struck Wuhan, arrive at the Air Force base of Anapolis, State of Goias, Brazil, Feb. 9, 2020. (Adriano Machado/Reuters, FILE) Although there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in Mongolia, the U.S. embassy authorized non-emergency personnel and their families to depart the country, which is under strict restrictions because Mongolia borders China, where the outbreak began. The State Department raised its travel advisory for to Mongolia to Level 3, advising them to "reconsider travel" to Mongolia. Should a U.S. citizen choose to travel to Mongolia, they should have a plan to depart that does not rely on U.S. government help. MORE: Coronavirus outbreak puts chill on US businesses, from Apple to Starbucks Meanwhile, Delta Airlines suspended certain flights to South Korea "due to global health concerns related to coronavirus," the airline said in a statement Wednesday. Suspended flights include routes between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seoul, between Feb. 29 through April 30, as well as a reduction in service between Seoul and Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle through April 30. 11:07 a.m. Jamaican and Grand Cayman authorities refuse cruise ship Authorities in Jamaica and Grand Cayman would not allow the MSC Merviglia cruise ship to disembark on their shores, a decision that was made without reviewing the ship's medical records, the cruise line claimed in a statement Wednesday. PHOTO: Commuters wearing masks walk across a pedestrian crosswalk, Feb. 26, 2020, in Tokyo. (Jae C. Hong/AP) The ship had not passed through any territories affected by COVID-19 and no passengers aboard had tested positive for the virus. One crew member was diagnosed with common seasonal flu and is in stable condition and receiving anti-viral treatment and medication. "In both instances, the ship was effectively turned away simply based on fears" MSC said in a statement. The ship's next scheduled port of call is in Cozumel, Mexico. 10:11 a.m. Brazil reports 1st COVID-19 case in Latin America Brazil reported its first case of novel coronavirus on Wednesday, in a 61-year-old man who traveled to Italy, marking the first COVID-19 case that's been confirmed in Latin America. "We will now see how this virus behaves in a tropical country in the middle of summer, how its behavior pattern will be," Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Brazil's Health Minister said in a press conference, according to The Associated Press. MORE: PHOTOS: Coronavirus outbreak sparks global health emergency Earlier President Donald Trump continued to express confidence Wednesday that the novel coronavirus outbreak infecting more than 80,000 people globally will "go away," even as an American soldier based in South Korea became the first U.S. Service member to be diagnosed. "It looks like they're getting it under control, more and more," Trump told reporters outside the White House in Washington, D.C. "So I think that's a problem that's going to go away." MORE: Inside the epicenter of the South Korean coronavirus outbreak: Reporter's Notebook The president said that the recent drop in the financial markets amid fears over a potential pandemic was "pretty bad" and a "very serious thing," but he said "we think we are in very good shape in the United States." "Let's see how it all works out," he added, "but I think it's going to work out fine." U.S. military officials confirmed Wednesday that a 23-year-old U.S. Forces Korea soldier stationed at the Camp Carroll Army base near Daegu is currently in self-quarantine at his off-base residence after testing positive for the newly identified virus, known officially as COVID-19, which originated in China. The soldier's diagnosis prompted U.S. Forces Korea to raise its risk level to "high" on Wednesday, "out of a strong abundance of caution and utilizing the USFK Commander's authorities to protect the USFK population from COVID-19," according to a press release. PHOTO: A woman walks past the main gate of U.S. Army Camp Carroll in Chilgok, about 18 miles north of Daegu, South Korea, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images) The Trump administration is seeking $1.25 billion in emergency funding to combat the new coronavirus -- a request which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." MORE: Health experts warn life-saving coronavirus vaccine still years away South Korea has the second-highest national total of coronavirus cases behind China. As of Wednesday, South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's recorded 1,146 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 11 fatalities. The recent spike in cases has also led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday to raise its travel warning to the highest level for Americans contemplating travel to South Korea. PHOTO: South Korean soldiers wearing masks to prevent contracting the novel coronavirus stand guard at a checkpoint of a military base in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 26, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters) Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said Americans should be preparing for the virus' arrival and a "significant disruption of our lives." "Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country. It's not so much a question of if this will happen any more, but rather more exactly when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illness," Messonnier said at a press conference Tuesday. "I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming, and that disruption to everyday life may be severe. But these are things that people need to start thinking about now." MORE: CDC warns Americans of 'significant disruption' from coronavirus So far, there has been no community spread in the United States. Forty-three people repatriated on charter flights from Wuhan, China, and from a cruise ship quarantined in Japan have tested positive for COVID-19, and 15 cases have been detected in the United States via the country's health system. Among those 57 cases, only two involved human transmissions in the country, and those transmissions were among members of the same household. "As more and more countries experience community spread," Messonnier added, "successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder." PHOTO: Closed bars and pubs are seen in the Naviglio area of Milan, Italy, as the country is hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak, Feb. 25, 2020. (Yara Nardi/Reuters) Meanwhile, Italy reported another spike in new infections overnight. As of Wednesday, the Italian Ministry of Health said it's recorded 322 confirmed cases and 10 fatalities. About 75% of those cases were in the northern Lombardy region, prompting some towns to suspend public gatherings, demonstrations and sporting events and to close schools, businesses and restaurants. The first cases in Italy were linked to Chinese tourists, according to the health ministry. PHOTO: This photo taken on Feb. 25, 2020, shows a customer having her temperature taken at the entrance to a bank in Nantong, in China's eastern Jiangsu province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. (Str/AFP via Getty Images) The new coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan back in December. As of Wednesday, China's National Health Commission said it's received 78,064 reports of confirmed cases and 2,715 deaths on the Chinese mainland. More than 83% of the cases and all but one death were in Hubei province, which includes Wuhan. Chinese authorities have since placed the city under lockdown. An additional 126 confirmed infections have been reported in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as well as Taiwan, with two deaths in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan, according to China's National Health Commission. MORE: White House prepares emergency spending request for coronavirus Outside of China, there are at least 2,459 cases confirmed in 33 nations, resulting in at least 34 fatalities, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization, which has declared the epidemic a global health emergency. Although the virus "absolutely" has the potential to become a pandemic, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it's still too soon to classify it that way. PHOTO: This photo taken on Feb. 22, 2020, shows a nurse adjusting his goggles in an intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (Str/AFP via Getty Images) Bruce Aylward, an epidemiologist who led a team of international experts in China, said that the epidemic is slowing there. It's impossible to know if this trend of decreasing infections will continue, but for now, Aylward thinks China's response to the outbreak, which included rapidly building hospitals and imposing strict lockdown measures in cities hardest hit by the virus, is working. MORE: Does wearing a mask while traveling ward off illness? Here's what experts say "The implications are that you can actually affect the course of this disease, but it takes a very aggressive and tough program," Aylward said at a WHO press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. COVID-19 causes symptoms similar to pneumonia, ranging from the mild, such as a slight cough, to the more severe, including fever and difficulty breathing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no vaccine yet for the virus. FILE PHOTO: Workers walk past the coronavirus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess as they leave the Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 21, 2020. (Kim Kyung Hoon/Reuters) Japan has the third-highest national total, when including the nearly 700 cases diagnosed aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The cruise ship has been quarantined at Yokohama port since Feb. 5 and 691 people on board have tested positive for COVID-19. Three passengers have died, all of whom were Japanese nationals and in their 80s, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. All those who have been infected were brought ashore for treatment, while the rest were confined to their rooms until the quarantine period ends. Passengers who have tested negative for the virus disembarked the ship last week. MORE: One man's account of what it's like to have novel coronavirus Beyond the cruise ship, an additional 157 cases have been confirmed in Japan, according to the WHO. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters Wednesday that the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going as planned with the 2020 Summer Olympics, set to open in Tokyo on July 24. PHOTO: A Tehran Municipality worker cleans a bus to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) Iran now has the highest death toll from the outbreak outside of China as cases rapidly spread across the country. At least 139 cases have been confirmed in Iran, along with 19 deaths, according to the country's state-run news agency. Among those infected is Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, who is head of the national headquarters tasked with containing the coronavirus outbreak. MORE: Coronavirus outbreak puts chill on US businesses, from Apple to Starbucks Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday there are no immediate plans to quarantine virus-hit cities. PHOTO: Police officers wearing masks stand in front of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in La Caleta, in the Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Str/AP) Meanwhile, a cluster of cases has popped up at a tourist hotel on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. The Costa Adeje Palace hotel has been placed under quarantine with some 800 guests confined to their rooms while health workers test everyone for COVID-19. At least four people have tested positive so far, public health officials for the Canary Islands told ABC News on Wednesday. A doctor from Italy's virus-hit Lombardy region was the first guest from the hotel to be diagnosed. He and his wife, who tested negative, were transported to a local hospital where they were both placed in isolation, officials said. ABC News' Aicha El-Hammar, Somayeh Malekian, Luis Martinez, Jordyn Phelps, Christine Theodorou and Connor Finnegan contributed to this report. Latest American infected with coronavirus has no relevant travel history: CDC originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Qatar National Cement Co to diversify product range to meet infrastructure demands 26 February 2020 Qatar National Cement Co (QNCC) has reaffirmed its support to the country's infrastructure development, adding that it will diversify its product range by adding new products to meet the growing local demand. QNCC Chairman, Salem bin Butti al-Naimi, said the company must increase efforts to "diversify the production by adding new types of cement to meet the demand of local market and utilise the opportunity of exporting to external markets." The company had last year said it was looking to annually export as much as 3Mt clinker, especially to Africa, Asia (including India) and Kuwait. The export markets, which also include Yemen and Iraq, come in view of the company recently operationalising its fifth plant that will enhance clinker production by 5000tpd to 11,000tpd. The companys production of ordinary Portland and sulphur resistant cement reached 2.2Mt in 2019. However, the company also produced 4.8Mt of washed sand in 2019 against 7.8Mt in 2018, while its calcium carbonate production increased to 49,000t in 2019 compared to 47,000t in 2018. Published under Vijayawada: Amaravathi Capital region villages remained tense on Wednesday as the protests against the governments proposal to shift the Secretariat and the High Court to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool, respectively, continued for the 71st day. Farmers of the city took part in relay hunger strikes and raised slogans against the state government whereas the women Jac also staged a protest by taking part in the 24-hour hunger strike and demanded that the Chief Minister should take back the orders of shifting Secretariat and the High Court. The protestors also expressed their anguish on the Union government for not intervening in the issue and failing to take action on the alleged police brutality on Amaravati farmers that occurred a couple of days ago. The protesting villagers said We wonder why the BJP government is silent over the issue when thousands of farmers have been carrying out protests in the villages against the state government for the past 71 days.'' The protest began during the Assembly session in the state as there was the absence of clear communication regarding the status of capital development from the YSRCP government. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2020) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") announces that it has closed the previously announced debt settlement agreement (see Press Release dated February 13, 2020) (the "Debt Settlement") for an aggregate amount of $70,000 for interest earned on a Convertible Debenture. The Debt Settlement was settled by the issuance of 1,000,000 common shares at a deemed price of $0.07 per share. The securities issued pursuant to the Debt Settlement will be subject to a four-month hold period commencing on the date of issuance. About Galleon Gold Galleon Gold is a North American exploration and development company focused on advancing two projects. The Neal Gold Project in Idaho is owned in partnership Eric Sprott and the West Cache Gold Project is located 13 km west of Timmins Ontario. Both projects are located in known mining camps with excellent infrastructure. Galleon Gold will be exhibiting at PDAC 2020, the Company invites investors and shareholders to visit booth #3302 at the Investor Exchange in the south building of the Metro Toronto Convention Center from March 1 to March 4, 2020. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Galleon Gold R. David Russell Chairman and CEO T. (416) 644-0066 info@galleongold.com www.galleongold.com Forward Looking Statements Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, expectations, plans, and objectives of Galleon Gold are forward-looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause Galleon Gold 's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future exploration activities and cash flows, and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Galleon Gold undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Story continues Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52732 A second European hotel was in lockdown on Wednesday as authorities around the world battled to prevent the spread of coronavirus, although a senior US health official said a pandemic was inevitable and urged Americans to prepare. Rome: A second European hotel was in lockdown on Wednesday as authorities around the world battled to prevent the spread of coronavirus, although a senior US health official said a pandemic was inevitable and urged Americans to prepare. Austria sealed off the 108-room Grand Hotel Europa in the Alpine tourist hub of Innsbruck after an Italian receptionist tested positive for the flu-like virus that originated in China and has spread to about 30 countries. Italy has become a frontline in the global outbreak of the virus, with 280 cases and 11 deaths, most in Lombardy and nearby Veneto. The receptionist and her partner, who also tested positive, visited their home in Lombardy last week. A similar story was unfolding at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife on the Canary Islands, which was locked down on Tuesday after an Italian doctor and his wife were found to be infected. Spain also reported its first three cases of the disease on the mainland. The United States told Americans on Tuesday to begin preparing for coronavirus to spread within the country as outbreaks in Iran, South Korea and Italy escalated and fears that the epidemic would hurt global growth rattled markets. Dr Anne Schuchat, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) principal deputy director, said that while the immediate risk in the United States was low, the current global situation suggested a pandemic was likely. Its not a question of if. Its a question of when and how many people will be infected, Schuchat said. Irans coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the most outside China. Irans deputy health minister and a member of parliament were among those infected. There have been about three dozen deaths outside China, including 11 in Italy, according to a Reuters tally. The virus is believed to have originated from a wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700 people, the vast majority in China. The death toll in mainland China rose by 52 on Wednesday, with another 406 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak peaked in China around 2 February, after Beijing isolated central Hubei province and imposed other extreme containment measures that have paralyzed the worlds second-biggest economy. Beijing has urged low-risk regions to get back to work as quickly as possible. Several provinces and regions have lowered their emergency levels this week, including Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Sichuan on Wednesday. Worsening outbreaks in Iran, Italy and South Korea - where the number of confirmed infections rose by 169 to 1,146 on Wednesday are raising the risk of a pandemic and unsettling global markets. China quarantined 94 passengers on a flight from the South Korean capital Seoul to Nanjing on Tuesday after three showed signs of fever, the state broadcaster CCTV reported. The Dow and S&P 500 tumbled three percent on Tuesday in their fourth straight day of losses as investors struggled to gauge the virus economic impact. Forecasts from economists collected by Reuters on 19 to 25 February showed that Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand are all expected to put in their worst performance in years in the first quarter. A similar Reuters poll published a little over a week ago, found the Chinese economy will grow at its slowest pace in the current quarter since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Jumping Borders Italians or people who had recently visited the country tested positive in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Spain and Switzerland on Tuesday. Several European Union countries advised their citizens not to visit northern Italy, although the outbreak was already spreading to other regions in the south. Health ministers from neighbouring countries met in the Italian capital to discuss the crisis and dismissed some calls to close the border. We agreed to keep borders open, closing borders would be a disproportionate and ineffective measure at this time, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. Several countries suspended flights to Iran and some of its neighbours closed their borders, while Omans Khasab port halted imports and exports with the Islamic republic. It is an uninvited and inauspicious visitor. God willing we will get through ... this virus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech. Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait Bahrain and Oman this week reported their first cases, all in people who had been to Iran. Bahrain said it now has 24 confirmed cases. In South Korea, which has the most coronavirus cases outside China with 977 infections and 10 deaths, authorities were testing all the estimated 215,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The countrys outbreak is believed to have begun in the city of Daegu with a 61-year-old woman who is a member of its congregation. There was misery too for 34 South Korean newlyweds whose honeymoons on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius became a holiday from hell after they were put in isolation. Airlines began restricting flights to Italy, a planned shoot in the country for Tom Cruises seventh Mission: Impossible movie was postponed, Milan cathedral was closed and the Venice carnival cancelled. Pope Francis on Wednesday called for Catholics around the world to give up trolling on social media for Lent, saying believers should observe a fast not just of food but of online insults in order for them to get nearer to God in the run-up to Easter. Pope Francis puts ashes on the forehead of Cardinal Jozef Tomko in the Santa Sabina Basilica during the Ash Wednesday Mass opening Lent, the forty-day period of abstinence and deprivation for Christians before Holy Week and Easter. Credit:AP The Pope issued his appeal for more online decorum in an address to 12,000 people in St Peter's Square for his general audience on Ash Wednesday, the start of the 40-day period that leads up to Easter. Lent, he said in remarks that were apparently off-the-cuff, "is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to the Lord on first name terms". "We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet," he said. Editors note: Miller Lite has cancelled the giveaway following a fatal shooting at its Milwaukee plant. For more information, click on the link above. With an extra 24 hours to enjoy on Leap Day later this week, national beer company Miller Lite is giving away free 24 packs of beer for those who complete a couple small tasks. The Milwaukee-based beer maker says it will post a QR code on its Instagram and Twitter pages this Saturday, Feb. 29. that will send customers to a website where they can get their beer for free. Once youve scanned the code youll have a chance to submit your receipt showing you purchased a 24-pack of Miller Lite on Feb. 29. Once youve done that, Miller Lite will send a payment to your PayPal account for the amount you purchased the case for. Youll have to act quick because the fine print for the giveaway states the contest is limited to the first 5,000 submissions. The contest is open to residents in participating states -- dont worry, Michigan residents are eligible -- who are 21 years or older. Its worth noting Miller Lite will only pay out a maximum of $20 per case and you may only redeem one case during the promotion. It is unclear if Miller will cover the cost of tax and bottle deposit on the free cases. Another large American bank says it will no longer fund new drilling projects in the Arctic. In a news release dated Tuesday, JPMorganChase & Co. said it updated its energy policy which will see a ban on financing new oil and gas development projects in the Arctic. It will also restrict new thermal coal mines and coal-fired power projects in the Arctic. The bank states the changes are part of its advancement of its sustainable development goals, according to the news release. That includes a target of $200 billion in lending and other financial services for green and sustainable companies and projects, up from an earlier target of $175 billion set in 2017, according to a presentation ahead of its annual investor day. Chase is ranked the largest bank in the United States and the sixth largest bank in the world by S&P Global Inc. In December, another American bank, Goldman Sachs, made a similar move to end financing for Arctic drilling projects. We have a lot more work to do. - Bernadette Demientieff, Gwich'in Steering Committee executive director Banks have been pulling out even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans attempted to clear the political path to drilling in the region. Internationally, that includes Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, which have said they won't fund exploration projects in the region. 'We're not going to stop,' says Gwich'in leader It's another win for Indigenous leaders who have been lobbying banks to refuse to fund development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "It gives us a lot of hope and we are very grateful to the banks that are listening to the Indigenous voices," said Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee which represents Gwich'in communities in Alaska and Canada. "Although they put a lot of money into the Arctic, it just gave us hope that other banks will follow suit." Story continues Demientieff said they want other banks and oil companies to know that they will be holding them accountable. "As Indigenous people of this land, we are caretakers of it and we're just not going to allow anyone to come in and destroy our homeland and especially we're not going to sit idly by while it happens," she said. "I do know that we have a lot more work to do. We're not going to stop now." Demientieff said leaders will continue to ask at least a dozen more banks to consider the same, including to Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other international banks. She added that drilling affects the local porcupine caribou population which has critical calving grounds in the Arctic. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Associated Press CBC contacted JPMorgan Chase for an interview. The bank did not confirm whether cultural ties to the land or financial motivations factored into the decision to end funding for Arctic drilling projects. Some advocates, like the American environmental group, The Sierra Club, said in a news release Monday that the bank has not gone far enough by not implementing restrictions on other oil and gas development, like fracking or oilsands projects elsewhere. Other climate-change activists also flocked outside JPMorgan's New York headquarters on Tuesday, partially blocking some entrances and demanding that the bank get rid of fossil-fuel clients. Last week, the global body that regulates shipping, the International Maritime Organization, passed a draft regulation to ban the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic by 2024. Almost 18 months after a series of explosions in northeastern Massachusetts in 2018, a gas company has agreed to plead guilty to violating federal pipeline safety laws, pay a $53 million fine and sell its business in the state, the authorities said Wednesday. The company, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts which supplied gas to the Merrimack Valley towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover failed to stop the over-pressurization of a gas distribution system, leading to a number of fires and explosions on Sept. 13, 2018, prosecutors said. One person was killed and 22 were injured. Thousands were forced to evacuate their homes. As part of the plea agreement, NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas, will undertake their best reasonable best efforts to sell Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and end all gas pipeline operations in the state, prosecutors said. The penalty was the largest criminal fine imposed under the federal Pipeline Safety Act, they said. When we were done with the investigation, what was very clear was that the company as a whole had simply failed to do what it was supposed to do to maintain the public safety, and had in fact acted with what we call flagrant disregard for the public safety, Andrew E. Lelling, the United States attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said at a news conference on Wednesday. There are indications that the resolve by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to demand the review of the Supreme Court judgement on the 2019 presidential election has been generating fresh tension in the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP had on Monday issued a strong warning that the APC has been abusing the Nigerian judiciary and intimidating the courts and judges on election cases; the PDP, therefore, in provocation, demanded the review of the Supreme Court judgement on the 2019 presidential election, in addition to several other governorship election judgements. A party source disclosed that the legal team of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, held a meeting after the PDP declaration and demand for review on Monday. The legal team was said to be considering issues of issues of review in the judgement beyond the certificate scandal. The PDP had at a press conference in Abuja on Monday raised alarm over what the party considered desperation of the APC to subjugate, intimidate for the purpose of annexing the Supreme Court over Imo, Bayelsa and Zamfara governorship election judgements. The Party acknowledging the seeming abuse of the judiciary by the APC, decided to challenge the presidential election judgment in response to perceived unnecessary return to the Supreme Court by the APC for review of judgment on the Bayelsa and Zamfara states governorship elections, after PDP had challenged the judgement on Imo State. The PDP felt that APC had not coordinated itself properly in recent court processes and judgements, leading to the ridicule of the judiciary and Nigerian judges, in as much as PDP had respected previous judgements in favour of APC in Osun, Kano, and others. ALSO READ: Atiku may return to Supreme Court for review of 2019 presidential election judgement Thus, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary, at a press conference in Abuja on Monday declared: Consequently, the National Working Committee of the PDP, after comprehensive consultations, states that our party has no choice left, given the manner with which the APC has conducted itself, than to ask for a review of the judgement of the Presidential election petition tribunal, where the issue of certificate forgery and or presentation of false information in aid of qualifications was clearly established against the APC and her presidential candidate. The same applies to the judgment on the Katsina governorship election petition, where lawyers also established similar issue of certificate forgery. The PDP equally has no choice than to ask the Supreme Court to review the Kano, Kaduna and Katsina election judgments, because of manifest violence and substantial non-compliance to our electoral law. The PDP also asks the Supreme Court to review its judgement on the Osun Governorship election in view of manifest, complete and total disregard to our electoral rules in the conduct of the elections. Our party will not fold its hands and watch enemies of our hard-earned democracy, who contributed nothing to its birth, to continue to appropriate our collective sovereignty for their selfish political gains while destroying our institutions and holding our people to ransom. The PDP had earlier expressed it wish to bring to the attention of the world that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is all out to destabilize the nation and destroy the hard-earned democracy. The National Publicity Secretary was of the view that the time has come for all Nigerians to stand in unity to defend the nation and salvage it from political marauders and oppressive elements. The declaration of the PDP has since Monday placed Atiku under pressure to consider returning to the Supreme Court, which sources said has been giving the presidency and the ruling APC sleepless nights. The Supreme Court had in its judgement upheld the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. She's a world-renowned thespian whose prosperous acting career spans over two decades. And Cate Blanchett proved there's no rest for the wicked as she attended the world premiere for her new TV series Stateless alongside co-star Yvonne Strahovski during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival, held at Germany's Zoo Palast on Wednesday evening. The screen star, 50, commanded attention as she slipped into a strapless floral print dress, teamed with a cropped blazer featuring structured shoulder pads. Turning heads: Cate Blanchett attended the world premiere for new TV series Stateless during the Berlinale Film Festival at Germany's Zoo Palast on Wednesday T Adding a splash of colour to the event, the I'm Not There actress stunned in her yellow floor-length dress, which came complete with draped detailing along the front of the garment. The Victoria native nailed casual chic with her quirky jacket, while boosting her height in classic black stilettos. With her bobbed 'do worn in a straight fashion, the director accentuated her stunning features with matte foundation, faint pink lipstick and heavily-applied eyeliner. Beaming: The screen star, 50, commanded attention as she slipped into a strapless floral print dress alongside her co-star Yvonne Strahovski Vibrant displays: The I'm Not There actress stunned in her yellow floor-length dress, while Dexter star Yvonne, 37, looked every inch the siren in her red number Style savvy: The Victoria native nailed casual chic with her quirky jacket, while boosting her height in classic black stilettos Cheery: The leading ladies appeared in great spirits as they grinned from ear-to-ear on the red carpet Dexter star Yvonne, 37, looked every inch the siren as she went braless underneath a red backless number, tied in with matching heels. The Australian actress injected even more pazzazz to her red carpet-ready appearance as she accessorised with diamond dangle earrings. Yvonne proved less is more as she opted for minimal make-up, while her shoulder-length locks were dressed into loose waves. Elegant as ever: The beauty looked sophisticated as ever in her dramatic floral dress Chic: Cate topped off her look with a satin blazer boasting glittering shoulder embellishment Radiant: The director accentuated her stunning features with matte foundation, faint pink lipstick and heavily-applied eyeliner (pictured with co-creator Tony Ayres) Stateless will air on the ABC network in Australia and Netflix worldwide from March 1, and focuses on four strangers, whose lives begin to intertwine at an immigration detention centre. The four characters are an airline hostess fleeing a cult, an Afghan refugee fleeing persecution, a young Australian father escaping his job and a bureaucrat caught-up in a national scandal. When their lives collide, they are pushed to the absolute brink of their sanity, and surprising connections begin to form. This year's festival, which showcases the best films of international cinema, kicked off on February 20 and is due to conclude on March 1. Sleek: She wore her bobbed 'do worn in a straight fashion In good company: Cate rested her hand on Yvonne and Jai Courtney's back as they continued to take images Co-stars: The Carol actress worked her magic as she prepared to watch the series with an audience, while Frankenstein star Jai, 33, cut a dapper figure in a black suit Ensemble: The show will star (L-R) Asher Keddie, Jai, Cate, Yvonne Strahovski, Soraya and Dominic West Stylish group: They all put their best fashion feet forward at the premiere (also joined by Burhan Zangana, far right) In character: Stateless focuses on four strangers, whose lives begin to intertwine at an immigration detention centre (Cate pictured in the series) Cate and Yvonne front the series alongside screen stars Dominic West and Jai Courtney. Meanwhile, the Carol star is set to star in the upcoming thriller Nightmare Alley, which will be directed by Guillermo del Toro. In the film, blonde beauty Cate will play a a female psychiatrist who teams up with a corrupt con-man, to trick others into giving them money. The con-man will be played by Bradley Cooper, with Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette rounding out the cast. A fortnight after having been handed over the case, the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday raided seven places in South Kashmir's Pulwama district in connection with a probe into an encounter along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway last month that left three JeM terrorists killed, officials said here. The officials said the raids were conducted at the residence of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Zahid Ahmad Wani at Karimabad and Sameer Ahmad Dar, a driver by profession and was arrested during Nagrota encounter on January 31. Dar, cousin of suicide bomber Adil Dar who killed 40 CRPF personnel in a deadly attack last year in Pulwama, was among the five arrested after the incident. The houses of three overground workers (OGWs) who were arrested from Pulwama in connection with the January 31 encounter -- Suhail Javed Lone, Zahoor Ahmad Khan and Shoiab Manzoor -- were also searched. Lone, a Jammu student, was the second point of contact for the JeM terrorists in case they failed to meet Sameer Ahmad Dar, who was driving them to the Kashmir Valley in a truck. The militants were killed in a fierce gunbattle with police at the Ban Toll Plaza on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on January 31. A police constable was also injured in the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wegmans is in a three-way tie for the top spot in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index report on retail and consumer shipping. Wegmans shares the lead in this year's index with Trader Joe's and Texas-based grocer H-E-B. All three chains scored 84 out of 100 on the 2019-2020 index, which was released Tuesday. The chains not only shared the top spot among grocery stores, but scored the highest for satisfaction across the entire retail sector. The current report was marked largely by stability. Half of retail sectors measured in the index showed no change in their satisfaction scores. Online retail was the only overall sector to improve. Its score rose 1.3 percent to 81, according to the index. Customers continue to chase the best, most convenient shopping experience available, and right now online is king, David VanAmburg, managing director at the index, said in a news release. Customers can find what they need more easily and arent pestered by salespeople. When you look at online versus brick and mortar head-to-head, online wins every time. Even though Wegmans topped this year's index, its new score actually declined 1 percent from the previous year. Trader Joe's score dropped 2 percent and H-E-B's rose 2 percent. Wegmans recently landed near the top of Fortune magazines list of the best companies to work for once again. Wegmans was third on this years list, released earlier in February. The company has been on the list every year of its existence. The retail satisfaction index was based on interviews with over 85,000 customers. You can get the full report online. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 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. >>> Vietnams last Covid-19 patient discharged from hospital >>> Travel companies asked to halt tours to countries hit by Covid-19 >>> Vietnam halts sending workers to coronavirus-hit regions The statement was made during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, held in Hanoi on Wednesday (February 26) morning. At the meeting, members of the National Steering Committee said that up until now, Vietnam has carried out good disease preventive and control measures. All 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in the country have recovered, with the last case released from the hospital this morning. Over the last 14 days, Vietnam has not recorded any new infections yet. The Ministry of Health (MoH) officially announced that two provinces of Thanh Hoa and Khanh Hoa are now eligible to announce the end of the epidemic. However, the evolution of the disease in the world is still complicated and unpredictable. Despite the fact that Vietnam could record new infected cases in the near future, the country has launched the entire health surveillance system to be ready to detect, screen, provide treatment and localise to wipe out outbreaks. Amidst the rapid development of Covid-19 in the Republic of Korea (RoK) a country with deep socio-economic relations with Vietnam, the Steering Committee asked the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education and Training, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate closely to make a list of overseas students, workers and other Vietnamese people in the RoK. to provide to the security, immigration and aviation units. All cases of Vietnamese people returning from the RoK should receive medical isolation in accordance with the MoH regulations, it suggested. The Steering Committee also asked the concerned authorities to continue implementing measures to strictly control the border and border gates, both roads and airways, especially for foreign citizens coming to Vietnam from the epidemic areas or going through the epidemic areas, to have appropriate responsive solutions. Good communication was also urged to be carried out well in areas where there are accommodation establishments for people from epidemic regions, with documents in foreign languages that are suitable for them to understand correctly on Covid-19 to take preventive measures as recommended by the local authorities. * As of 12:30 pm on February 26, no cases of Covid-19 infection have been recorded in Hanoi. The city now has three suspected cases being isolated, monitored and waiting for test results. The total number of people coming from the epidemic areas needing medical supervision is 2,151, of which 1,836 have completed medical supervision, while 315 other continue to be under medical surveillance. The number of isolated people at the Hanoi City Police Hospital is 116, of which 24 have ended their isolation period, while 92 other are under medical supervision. The number of isolated people concentrated in Son Tay Town Military School is 144 cases. * On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for International Medical Quarantine said that the city is isolating 49 Koreans from the epidemic areas at a field hospital in Cu Chi district. Data from the citys Department of Health showed that, by Wednesday morning, 123 cases are in isolation at the citys field hospitals, 12 are at district-level concentrated isolation areas and 23 other are isolating at their homes. Currently, the city health sector continues to apply medical declarations to people who enter Vietnam from the RoK or passing through the country, with those from or passing through RoKs Daegu city and North Gyeongsang province being subjected to isolation and quarantine within 14 days. Guests from the RoK but outside the two regions mentioned above must make a medical declaration and receive home-based health monitoring. * Also on Wednesday morning, the People's Committee of Hai Phong city announced a list of 46 people from Covid-19 affected areas in the RoK and China who must receive medical isolation. This is the fifth medical isolation campaign to be implemented by Hai Phong. They will undergo 14-day isolation at Base 2 of the Vietnam - Czech Friendship Hospital in An Dong commune, An Duong district. Receiving those who are subjected to medical isolation at Base 2 of the Vietnam - Czech Friendship Hospital in Hai Phong City, February 26, 2020. (Photo: NDO/Ngo Quang Dung) Up to this point, the local authorities have conducted four concentrated medical isolation campaigns for over 470 people at risk of Covid-19 infection. All of them have completed medical isolation and have been granted certificates to go back to their homes. * On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Vietnam Doctor's Day (February 27), in honour of the medical staff who are sparing no efforts in the fight against Covid-19, the Lao Dong (Labour) Newspaper and the Trade Union of Vietnam Health Sector organised an online seminar on February 26. * Consul General of the RoK in Da Nang city, Ahn Min-sik, has expressed his sincere thanks to the Government of Vietnam, Da Nang authorities, budget carrier VietJet Air and other related agencies for supporting 20 Korean citizens in returning to their homeland. Twenty passengers from Daegu were flown back to their home country on February 25 night, one day after their arrival in Vietnamese central city of Da Nang. They are among 80 passengers who arrived on a flight from Daegu city the epicentre of Covid-19 outbreak in the RoK on February 24. As the wishes of the Koreans and based on the proposals from the Korean Consulate General in Da Nang and the local authorities, on Tuesday evening, VietJet sent the Koreans home safely after they underwent medical checks to ensure adequate health and medical conditions for the flight. With the hospitality from Da Nang and the Vietnamese people, the flight crew was arranged to include both Vietnamese and Korean pilots and flight attendants. Representatives of Da Nang and the Korean Consulate General in the city were also at the Da Nang Airport to see off the delegation. Chairman of Da Nang People's Committee Huynh Duc Tho also personally sent a thank-you letter and sympathised with the difficulties of the Korean passengers. He also expressed his desire to welcome them back safely, hospitable and welcoming city of Vietnam in the near future. * On Wednesday morning, the Lao Cai Provincial Department of Health said that 323 people had completed the 14-day quarantine period at Lao Cai Military School and are back home. Citizens who completed the 14-day quarantine at Lao Cai Province Military School return home. (Photo: NDO/Quoc Hong) Earlier, in the morning of February 25, at military school, 56 people were released after their isolation period. Up until now, Lao Cai has 323 people who completed their 14-day isolation and returned to their families. At present, the facility has received and isolated 866 people. * On the same day, Thai Binh province officially put into operation an isolated venue for citizens returning home from countries with Covid-19 at the Thai Binh Province Military School campus in Dong Phong commune, Dong Hung district. As of 3 pm this afternoon, the local health authorities sent 18 people from Thai Binh General Hospital and six other from Thai Thuy District Hospital to the concentrated isolation area. All of the 24 citizens returned Thai Binh from the RoK before the outbreak of Covid-19 in the host country. A health worker sprays disinfectants in a room at a quarantined facility in Thai Binh province. (Photo: NDO/Mai Tu) * On February 26, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) advised local airlines to reduce and limit flights from the RoK to Vietnam and vice versa to better control the Covid-19 epidemic. In an urgent dispatch sent to its attached agencies and units, the ministry required airlines to notify all passengers from the RoK to Vietnam to have to truthfully fill in their medical declarations. Airlines need to inform people in many ways, such as on the ticket website, check-in counters, or sending messages on cell phones to passengers who are Vietnamese nationals in the RoK to inform them that starting from 9 pm on February 26, all entries into Vietnam will be put into concentrated isolation areas for 14 days. It is recommended that Vietnamese citizens should stay in the RoK except for force majeure cases and to comply with the epidemic prevention measures in the host country. The MoT also requested the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to direct airlines with flights from the epidemic areas in the RoK land at Van Don (Quang Ninh), Phu Cat (Binh Dinh) and Can Tho (Can Tho city) Airports, while ensuring the compliance with procedures and regulations on the prevention of disease spread by air. The ministry also requested its units to coordinate with other relevant agencies to strictly control the entry in the border gates (road, rail, waterway and air) and remove difficulties for import and export activities and transport of goods across borders. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated his demand for calling the army out in Delhi to tackle the communal violence seen in the last three days that has resulted in at least 22 deaths and left hundreds injured. Kejriwal, who was speaking in Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, alleged that Delhi police personnel on the grounded were unable to take preventive measures in absence of orders from the higher-ups. When we spoke to several policemen, they said there were no orders from higher ups, Kejriwal said during his address. Watch | There are 2 options now..: Arvind Kejriwal on violence in north-east Delhi Kejriwal had sought armys deployment in a meeting with home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, but his request was rejected and the Central government instead deployed the paramilitary forces in the riot-torn northeast Delhi in addition to the Delhi police. I again appeal to the home minister to call out the army to control the situation in Delhi, Kejriwal said in the assembly. He said the violence was instigated by a few people with nefarious objectives. People of Delhi do not want violence. All this has not been done by the aam aadmi. This has been done by some anti-social, political and external elements. Hindus & Muslims in Delhi never want to fight, ANI quoted Kejriwal as saying. Kejriwal said members of his party were on the ground and attempting to dissuade people from violence. He said politics of hate will not work in Delhi. Everybody is getting killed in this riot. Rahul Solanki died, he was a Hindu, Zakir died, he was a Muslim. Some anti-social elements are inciting the public for their narrow interests, Kejriwal said. He appealed to people of all faith to unite against the politics of hate as a modern Delhi couldnt be built over a foundation of corpses.He said there were two alternatives in front of Delhi today - one is to stand together and the other is to kill each other and count the bodies. The politics of hate will not be tolerated anymore, politics of riots wont be tolerated, now entire Delhi has to stand together and reject this politics that pits brother against brother, he said. PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 15:05:03 SAN FRANCISCO and TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AllCloud, a global professional services company, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Migration Competency status. This designation recognizes that AllCloud provides proven technology and deep expertise to help customers move successfully to AWS, through all phases of complex migration projects, discovery, planning, migration and operations. Achieving the AWS Migration Competency differentiates AllCloud as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized demonstrated technical proficiency and proven customer success with specific focus on Migration Delivery. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. AllCloud has heavily invested in building a migration and modernization framework to enable customers in establishing a solid foundation to future-proof their business, said Lahav Savir, co-founder, EVP and Chief Architect of Cloud Platforms at AllCloud. The Migration Competency recognition affirms our all in AWS focus and our dedication to ensuring organizations modernize their IT towards becoming truly cloud native, accelerating their agility and advancing product innovation. AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify Consulting and Technology APN Partners with deep industry experience and expertise. AllClouds Cloud Migration Practice works with client IT teams to ensure a smooth, efficient transition to the cloud. The AllCloud Enterprise Landing Zone provides an automated framework to quickly migrate an organization's workloads to the cloud while remaining secure and compliant. Our application migration modernizes an organizations platform and applications to take full advantage of cloud-native technologies and realize benefits such as scalability, performance and cost benefits. Harel Insurance prides itself on being a digital-first company, said Eyal Efrat, Deputy CEO and CIO at Harel Insurance and Finance. To support this transformation, we decided to adopt a cloud-first approach. We selected AllCloud as our AWS trusted advisor based on their level of expertise, vast experience in the market, and proven framework to drive our AWS migration strategy and rollout. About AllCloud AllCloud is a global professional services company providing organizations with the tools for cloud enablement and transformation. Through a unique combination of expertise and agility, AllCloud accelerates cloud innovation and helps organizations fully unlock the value received from cloud technology. As an AWS Premier Consulting Partner and a Salesforce Platinum Partner, AllCloud helps clients connect their front office and back office by building a new operating model that allows them to harness the benefits of both Salesforce and AWS. AllCloud is supported by a robust ecosystem of technology partners, proven methodologies, and well-documented best practices. Thereby, elevating customers by achieving operational excellence on the cloud, within a secure environment, at every milestone of the journey to becoming cloud first. With over 12 years of experience and a portfolio with thousands of successful cloud deployments, AllCloud serves clients across the globe. AllCloud has offices in Israel, Europe, and North America. Media contact: Kevin Wolf TGPR (650) 483-1552 kevin@tgprllc.com 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. Intelligence officials worry that a February 13 briefing on election interference is being distorted due to a misunderstanding by Democratic lawmakers, NBC reported on Wednesday. According to one current and one former senior intelligence official, the information presented at the meeting by top election security official Shelby Pierson was misinterpreted by Democratic lawmakers. A New York Times report on the meeting cited five people familiar with the matter as saying Pierson told a bipartisan group of lawmakers that Russia is actively meddling in the U.S. elections in favor of President Trump. But the two officials who spoke with NBC said Pierson did not indicate that Russia was intervening in the elections on behalf of Trump. On Monday, CNN also reported that intelligence officials said the briefing had been mischaracterized in the media. After the Times story was published, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) wrote on Twitter that Trump could be jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling. Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates, Trump tweeted in response to the story. On Friday, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted that Trump was taking Russian help. Putins Puppet is at it again, taking Russian help for himself. He knows he cant win without it, Clinton wrote. Adding to the confusion, the Washington Post reported on Friday that Russia was boosting Senator Bernie Sanderss (I., Vt.) presidential campaign. Sanders responded that he had been briefed by U.S. intelligence officials on the matter, and did not deny that Russia was attempting to help his campaign. However, the Vermont senator suggested the report, which was published one day before the Nevada Caucuses, was released due to political motivations. During Tuesdays Democratic presidential debate, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg brought up the report, claiming that Russia is aiding Sanders in the primary to help Trump in the general election. Story continues Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and thats why Russia is helping you [Sanders] get elected, so youll lose to him, Bloomberg said. More from National Review A conclave on hydrological aspects of climate change began at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee on Wednesday. Roorkee Water Conclave 2020, a three-day event being attended by experts from several countries like the USA, Spain, Germany, Japan, Netherlands and the UK, is being organised by IIT-R in collaboration with the National Institute of Hydrology. Addressing the gathering as the chief guest, Central Water Commission Chairman RK Jain, laid emphasis on formulating new mechanisms to address the impact of global warming on water resources. "The planning and projections of the past have failed miserably. We need to formulate new mechanisms to address the challenges that lie ahead in the wake of the impact of global warming on our water resources," he said. India has about four per cent of the world's freshwater resources despite having only 2.4% land area making it a better a placed country on the global average. However, due to high population, temporal and excessive variability we are facing very high stress, Jain said. Visiting professor, IIT-R, V P Singh, who was the guest of honour, congratulated the organisers of the event saying "it will go a long way in contributing to and sustaining the rich culture of excellence for which Roorkee has come to be known worldwide." The conclave will go on till Feb 28. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) People crowded into the Millennium Library lobby Tuesday to rally against the downtown centres airport-like security screening exactly one year after mandatory bag searches and metal detectors were implemented. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. People crowded into the Millennium Library lobby Tuesday to rally against the downtown centres airport-like security screening exactly one year after mandatory bag searches and metal detectors were implemented. "Things people need to survive are being taken from them," said youth worker Davey Cole, adding the security checks are discriminatory against marginalized people. "A lot of my youth come here or used to a year ago," Cole said. "This is where they can access the internet, connect with their families, use the washroom or grab water." Cole said its now common for items such as nail files and unused needles to be taken away. "We shouldnt be policing people for what they need." The rally was organized by Millennium For All, a grassroots group advocating against the security screenings, saying they create barriers to the library, a public space. "We have talked to people in our community about why they dont want to go in for reason of homophobic or racist experiences with guards there, or past traumas that make going through that checkpoint really uncomfortable," said Marika Prokosh, a library assistant and member of Millennium For All. Prokosh said the goal of the rally was to show the library and the City of Winnipeg residents want alternatives to the screening funded, such as de-escalation training for staff members. Ed Cuddy, Winnipeg manager of library services, said since implementing the screening, the number of reported dangerous incidents at the downtown location have gone down about 43 per cent. Library attendance also dropped by about 31 per cent the year after the changes, according to City of Winnipeg data. Some in attendance Tuesday, such as Georgina Bighitty, were on-board with the security checks. "It takes time, but thats fine," she said. "I feel safe." No other libraries in Canada have implemented such security screenings, according to a 2019 report by Millennium For All, recommending a more holistic and harm-reduction-geared approach. 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. "Looking back on the past year of having screening, the way it was rolled out was not optimal," said Cuddy. "We didnt consult the community, and it came as a shock to a lot of people." A new working group is being created to review the security screening and look at alternatives, according to Cuddy. The group will include staff and community members. "I want to get this... together as soon as possible to start having those discussions," he said. Millennium For All has been hosting events all week. On Saturday, members manned an "alternative reference desk," where people could ask questions about things such as library budget cuts and crossing the security barriers. On Thursday, the group will be delivering petitions to city hall. The Winnipeg Public Library has made specific recommendations for alternatives to the screening to be tabled at the citys budget meeting March 6, according to Cuddy. melanie.ritchot@freepress.mb.ca Richard J. Neuhaus Duped by the Legion of Christ revised and augmentedPeter Kingsland, J. Paul Lennon"A scathing review on Amazon.com hit the author's R.J. Neuhaus Duped by the Legion of Christ below the waterline. Hence this second "revised and augmented" vessel. Leaving dry dock the old Neuhaus Duped is launched with a new name, the repaired hull sporting streamlined chronology: inserted late reflections were tidied up and consigned to the stern. A discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's comments on the Legion of Christ Founder provides greater ballast. Maciel's psychology is put under review showing that he was much more than a sexual deviant. And, finally, an excellent essay by Peter Kingsland on Maciel as an abusive leader pulled the chapters together making for a more seaworthy ship. The author's brief correspondence with Richard John Neuhaus took place in 2002 as a reaction to his then famous "Feathers of Scandal" defense of Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, accused of pedophilia. Fr. Neuhaus demonstrated his willingness to engage in correspondence with an unknown minnow of the Catholic world who dared "question him". He was always civil, respectful, and fair in the fray. His pointed questions made me reflect and he, in turn, reflected on my answers. Those 2002 corazonadas - heartfelt intuitions - regarding the immoral life of the Rev. Marcial Maciel - were borne out by subsequent revelations made by the Legion leadership itself, a Vatican Investigation followed by a Reform Intervention, and finally by the words of His Holiness Benedict XVI. Ever since their 1941 foundation Maciel and the Legion had been "a sign of contradiction" in Mexico, the Vatican, Ireland, the USA and many other countries. From the 1960's through the early 21st century the Legion sailed silently and swiftly to forty countries buoyed by the adulation of conservative Catholics. Even after a Vatican investigation into allegation of pedophilia against Fr. Maciel in 2005 and a subsequent slap on the wrist in 2006, many refused to doubt or question, attributing criticism to ill will, hatred, and even a desire to "destroy the Catholic priesthood and the Church". Not long after Maciel's death Legion leadership out of the blue revealed he had lovers and engendered children. Evidence of a cynically double life destroyed Maciel's image in the eyes of the public much more successfully than his detractors had ever hoped. A second Vatican "visitation" of the institution in 2009 put a further dent in the Legion's armor. Pope Benedict XVI in Light of the World tried to explain the mystery of Maciel to the faithful while saving the Legion he spawned. Did the pope succeed?" FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Ford's Farley speaks at the New York Auto Show in New York By Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's incoming chief operating officer outlined his priorities for the company's turnaround on Wednesday, including cost cuts and more efficient new-vehicle launches in a year in which it will introduce a redesigned F-150 full-sized pickup truck. Other key plans include speeding up Ford's push in vehicle connectivity and its commercial vehicle business, strategy chief Jim Farley, who begins his role as Ford COO on March 1 after being appointed earlier this month, said at a Wolfe Research conference in New York. "We have to fix a number of things," he told investors, citing a need to cut $5 billion in warranty costs, successfully launch 10 key global vehicles in the next two years, and slash material and logistics costs. Ford has acknowledged that mistakes proved costly in its introduction of the redesigned Explorer SUV. Electric carmaker Tesla Inc has shown how connected vehicles and over-the-air updates can build customer loyalty, Farley said, and Ford could better profit from the data generated in vehicles and improve its customer service. Ford also will focus more heavily on advantages in commercial vehicle sales. "This is the signature execution opportunity for Ford and growth opportunity for Ford," Farley said. He also cited a focus on growing the electric vehicle business of the No. 2 U.S. automaker. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company named Farley its COO on Feb. 7, and promised investors it would kick a slow-moving turnaround into higher gear. On Tuesday, shares hit their lowest in more than a decade as a rapidly escalating coronavirus epidemic that began in China threatened sales outside the United States. Ford is restructuring globally and faces slumping demand in China, its second-largest market. Chief Executive Jim Hackett has said the No. 2 U.S. automaker needs to move with greater speed. It has booked $3.7 billion of a projected $11 billion in charges it previously said it would take, and expects to book another $900 million to $1.4 billion this year. As part of its restructuring, Ford formed a wide-ranging alliance on commercial, electric and autonomous vehicles with Volkswagen AG and sold its money-losing operations in India to a venture controlled by India's Mahindra & Mahindra. In China, Ford lost $771 million last year, about half the 2018 loss, and its market share there has shrunk. Ford has been struggling to revive sales since its business began slumping in late 2017, and prospects look more cloudy now that the world's largest market has been hit by a fast-spreading coronavirus. (Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Chennai, Feb 26 : Actor Rajinikanth on Wednesday said the violence and the death of over 20 persons in Delhi is the failure of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Speaking to reporters here, he said the violence is an intelligence failure of the Central government and condemned it. Asked whether it is a failure of the Home Minister, Rajinikanth said: "Intelligence failure is the Home Minister's failure." He said the violence in Delhi when US President Donald Trump was visiting is "condemnable". Rajinikanth, who is set to enter politics, said there is nothing wrong in peaceful protest but it should not turn violent. He also said the current protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is going beyond limits and should have been dealt with an iron hand. Not foreseeing the Central government revoking CAA, Rajinkanth said the Centre had clearly explained about the National Population Register (NPR) and there should be no confusion on that. Rajinikanth said it is sad that he is being described as a mouthpiece of the BJP. He said some parties are instigating the protests in the name of religion and strongly condemned those resorting to such practices. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Tuesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, blaming BJP leader Kapil Mishra for the violence in northeast Delhi and demanded his arrest as he had made an "open call to forcibly remove protesters" from various sites. In a letter to Shah, Karat condemned those responsible for the death of the police constable and for the violence in Delhi. She also sought an appointment to meet the Home Minister. "The tragic death of a police constable and the death of six citizens in the shocking incidents of violence in the capital are of deep concern. We strongly condemn those responsible for the death of the police constable and for the violence in Delhi. The Delhi police and related agencies are under the control of your ministry and therefore, we are addressing this letter to you," Karat wrote to Shah. She said the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), led mainly by women, have been peaceful for the last two months and there were no instances of violence in Delhi "except those incidents of firing at the protesters by men who were incited to violence by a minister in the central government." Karat said police and intelligence should have taken to efforts to prevent such situation as certain elements were trying to disrupt the peaceful protests and give a communal colour. "This should have alerted the police and intelligence agencies to efforts being made by certain elements to disrupt the peaceful protests and give a communal colour to them. However, either the intelligence agencies failed or their reports were ignored," she said, adding that that the need of the hour was an "impartial and just intervention" to ensure peace in the capital. Seeking action against BJP leader Mishra, she said: "Your intervention for peace will allay apprehensions among the public that the incidents of the last two days are 'Badla' [revenge] against the people of Delhi for the election results. In this context, action against Kapil Mishra will bring confidence to the people that you are indeed taking impartial steps for peace and against troublemakers. All those involved in spreading hatred and violence, regardless of their political connections and colour, should be arrested." On Tuesday, BJP MP Gautam Gambhir also called for stringent action against Mishra, for making inflammatory statements. On Sunday, Mishra had issued an ultimatum to the Delhi Police to clear the streets of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters. Mishra tweeted (roughly translated from Hindi) stating, "Giving a three-day ultimatum to Delhi Police to clear the roads in Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh of protesters. Don't try to reason with us after this, because we won't pay heed." He also attached a video with his tweet and wrote, "We will maintain peace until Donald Trump is in India. After that, we refuse to listen to even the police if the roads are not cleared.... we will be forced to hit the streets." At least 13 persons have so far died and around 190 injured in the violence that erupted in North-East Delhi on Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Help India! TCN Staff Reporter NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Delhi Police over their handling of the ongoing clashes in the capital while deferring to March 23 hearing on a plea to shift the Shaheen Bagh protesters. Support TwoCircles Justice KM Joseph while hearing the petition lamented the lack of professionalism in the police force saying it was a malaise across the country that police waited for orders before acting. Twenty four people have been killed so far and scores injured in clashes that rocked the capital over the last three days between groups opposing and supporting the newly amended citizenship act. The apex court, however, refused to hear any petitions on the ongoing violence saying the Delhi High Court was already hearing them. While hearing the Shaheen Bagh case, Justice Joseph and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who headed the bench, dubbed the clashes in Delhi unfortunate and expressed. The clashes between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters enter day four. Twenty-four people have been killed and over 181, including a child, have sustained grievous injuries in the communal riots. Armed mobs have continued to rampage through parts of Northeast Delhis Jaffrabad-Maujpur region. About 1,000 armed policemen were deployed Tuesday to maintain law and order. Follow live updates here: 14:30pm: Delhi High Court resumes hearing Harsh Manders plea. It applauds Delhi Polices efforts in evacuating injured in violence-hit areas Tuesday night. Delhi high court being informed that after its midnight order, safe passages were created. Death toll numbers anywhere between 20 and 35, the court being informed. 14:20pm: The Intelligence Bureau staffer, Ankit Sharma, found dead near his home in Chand Bagh, may have been killed in stone-pelting, say officials. His body taken to GTB Hospital for autopsy reports PTI. 14:15pm: Details of those killed, so far, in the communal violence in northeast Delhi: Mubarak Hussain, 28, MLC no. D66, PS Bhajanpura Ishak Khan, 24, Mlc no. B3369/10/2020, PS Welcome-Seelampur Ram Ser, 48, PS Jyotinagar, MalC B2-751/03/20 Beerban, 40, PS Karawalnagar, MLC D46 Rahul Solanki, 26, PS Karawal Nagar, Mlc BD542/02/2020 Shan Md., 35, PS GTB enclave, Mlc D43 Rahul Thakur, 23, Mlc DL14, PS Dayalpur Md Furqan, 30, PS Jyoti Nagar, MLC BD538/02/2020 Shahid, 25, PS Dayalpur, Mlc BD540/02/2020 Unknown, 25, Male. PS Dayalpur, Mlc BD539/02/2020 Unknown, 22, Male, Mlc D52. PS Dayalpur Unknown, 70, Female, MLC D69, PS Bhajanpura Ashfaq Hussain, 22, PS Dayalpur, MLC D01 or D 07 Zakir, 24, PS Dayalpur, MLC not mentioned Mehtab, 22, PS Dayalpur, Mlc D03 Unknown, 40, Mlc D04, PS Dayalpur Pravesh, 48, PS Jaffrabad, Mlc no. D59 Mudassir, 30, Mlc BD549/02/2020, PS Welcome-Seelampur Unknown, 30, Male. PS Welcome-Seelampur, Mlc BD 546/02/2020 Deepak, 34, PS Jyoti Nagar, Mlc no. BD 548/02/2020 Mohammad Tahir, 28 Atul Gupta, 45 Mahrum Ali, 25 Aman, 19 13:52pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally issues a statement, saying he has had an extensive review of the situation. He appeals for peace and harmony and says normalcy must be restored at the earliest. Had an extensive review of the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. 13:50pm: The body of Intelligence Bureau Officer Ankit Sharma has been found in northeast Delhis Chand Bagh area, which was hit by violence Tuesday, according to the news agency. 13:32pm: Delhi High Court asks the Solicitor General to advise Delhi Police Commissioner on lodging of FIRs against alleged hate speeches by 3 BJP leaders. The hearing will continue at 2.30 pm. 13:25pm: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi holds a press briefing over the situation in Delhi, calling for home minister Amit Shah to resign. The Centre, Home Minister, and Delhi government responsible for the situation in Delhi. Home Minister Amit Shah must take responsibility for the violence and resign, she said, adding that there is a need for urgent action and security forces to be called in. There is a well-planned conspiracy behind the continuous traumatic accidents that have been happening since last Sunday. The country saw this conspiracy during the Delhi elections as well. 13:17pm: Death toll rises to 24 as four more two in Lok Nayak Hospital and two in Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital succumb to injuries. 13:06pm: The Delhi High Court hears the plea filed seeking an independent probe into the riots, filed by Harsh Mander. The bench, comprising of Justice Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh, asks a police officer present whether he has seen the videos of BJP leaders making inflammatory speeches. The officer responds in the negative, Justice Muralidhar orders that a clip of BJP leader Kapil Mishra leading a group of pro-CAA protesters, which led to the riots to break out, to be played in court. Justice Muralidhar orders Kapil Mishras clip to be played in court. 12:57pm: The Supreme Court posts the matter of Shaheen Bagh for hearing on 23 March, saying there is need for magnanimity and for situation in Delhi to cool down before it is taken up, according to PTI. 12:27pm: Police doesnt have to wait for orders if someone makes inflammatory statements but act in accordance with law, says Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, reports PTI. 12:06pm: Solicitor general Tushar Mehta asks the Supreme Court not to make any adverse observations relating to Delhi violence as it will demoralise police force, reports PTI. The top court responded, saying remarks are made not in adversarial context but to ensure law and order is maintained. It added that it has nothing against Delhi Police but is making remarks keeping in mind a larger perspective. SC says it has nothing against Delhi Police but is making remarks keeping in mind larger perspective 11:53am: The Supreme Court has termed the communal clashes unfortunate but has refused to entertain pleas on them, reports PTI. The top court disposed of applications relating to the communal clashes, saying it is for the High Court to take note of the matter. 11:13am: Situation alarming; Army should be called in, says Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, reports. A rise in the death toll to 20. 10:56am: Delhi High Court issues notice to Police Commissioner over Harsh Manders plea seeking judicial inquiry, deployment of Army, and compensation for the victims injured in the violence. The matter will be taken up at 12:30pm by a Division Bench of Justices Muralidhar and Talwant Singh. 10:32am: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Delhis northeast district, including Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur, and Gokulpuri Chowk to take stock of the law and order situation. Delhi: Latest visuals from the Seelampur area. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had visited the areas affected by violence in North East Delhi last night and had reviewed security arrangements in the area. 10:10am: The Delhi HC held an urgent midnight hearing and asked the police to ensure safe passage for some riot victims stuck in an injured condition. Read ThePrint report here: 10:00am: Four bodies were brought to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, taking the death toll to 17. Delhi Police have been issued shoot-at-sight orders in the northeast district. Section 144 has also been imposed. The CBSE board canceled exams for centers in the area while schools are being kept shut. For more on what happened over the past two days, T he UK's "most overlooked dog" is looking for a home after spending more than a decade at a rescue centre in Kent. Staff at Last Chance Animal Rescue have made a public appeal to find Bess, a black and white collie cross, a forever home. The canine has spent her entire life in care and staff at the centre said she is probably the most overlooked dog ever. She has sadly been with us for 10 years now so its no surprise that she now has trust issues with new people, a spokesman from the Edenbridge Rescue Centre said. It takes her quite a while to build up a bond with someone but its always handy to have some treats to win her over." Bess has been alone for a decade and is looking for some Love / Last Chance Animal Rescue The centre added: When Bess trusts you she is affectionate and loves to be petted but very much on her own terms, she doesnt like to be over fussed or crowded. Bess would need a very understanding and devoted home with someone who is happy to leave her be to adjust to her new home life after so many years in kennels. Last Chance Animal Rescue said the dog would love a nice soft comfy bed and short walks throughout the day. Bess is housetrained and not destructive, staff said. She would make an interesting pet and if you have the time and patience she could become a loving addition to your home, the spokesman added. Bess is best suited to being the only pet in the household as she is not used to living in close contact with other dogs/cats. We would love to find Bess a loving home in her twilight years, if you think you could be the 'one' for Bess please call. Sinn Feins Michelle ONeill and Gerry Kelly with Arlene Foster, PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne and Anne Connolly, chair of the NI Policing Board, at the launch of the PSNI recruitment drive earlier this year Almost 7,000 people have applied to join the PSNI this month, the force has revealed. Sinn Feins Gerry Kelly, however, expressed concern only 31% of applicants were from a Catholic background. The PSNI launched a recruitment campaign for student officers at the start of February with 6,961 applying in three weeks. That is almost the same number of officers currently serving with the organisation and an increase of 700 that applied in 2018. Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said he was encouraged by the interest shown from all sections of the community. A break down of the figures shows that 4,575 Protestants (65.7%), 2,158 (31%) Catholics and 228 (3.3%) of people from other backgrounds applied to join. The figures also show that 4,153 (59.7%) men and 2,808 (40.3%) women applied. During the previous recruitment campaign in 2018, 65.88% of applicants were Protestant, while 31% were Catholic. Expand Close Gerry Kelly (David Young/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gerry Kelly (David Young/PA) Gerry Kelly, who sits on the Policing Board, said the figures show the decision to abandon the controversial 50-50 recruitment policy was wrong. He tweeted: 31% of applicants are from a Catholic background and 41% are women. An accountable police service needs to be representative of the whole community it serves and representative in all grades and ranks also. The decision to abandon 50/50 recruitment was both political and wrong. PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne welcomed the figures. I am strongly committed to enhancing the diversity of the PSNI, these figures are a good start, however as a community we have more work to do. When the PSNI replaced the RUC in November 2001, a policy of 50-50 recruitment of both Catholics and Protestants was introduced in an attempt to boost the number of Catholic officers. The policy was discontinued in 2011. Around 32% of PSNI officers are currently from the Catholic community, while Catholics make up around 50% of the population of Northern Ireland. Each of the applicants will now begin a multi-stage process, including an online initial selection test and assessment. DCC Hamilton added: Successful applicants will be invited to complete 23 weeks of training at the Police College where they will develop practical and operational policing skills, to ensure they are mentally and physically equipped to perform the important role of a police officer. It is anticipated the successful applicants will begin training from Autumn 2020. ROME (dpa-AFX) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCAU) announced that CEO Mike Manley had total compensation of 13.3 million euros in 2019. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company noted that Manley, in his first full year as CEO of Fiat Chrysler, received base salary of 1.4 million euros, a bonus of 1.2 million euros and long-term incentive of 8.8 million euros. The compensation includes non-monetary benefits such as tax preparation and retirement-related charges. His total direct compensation in 2019 was 11.5 million euros. Manley was appointed as CEO in 2018 succeeding Sergio Marchionne, who died unexpectedly. In 2018, Manley had total compensation of 2.98 million euros. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Theres no doubt that corporations have a major hold on our daily lives. They spend millions of dollars on lobbying efforts to continuously drive up their profits, often to the detriment of ordinary mortals like us. These companies have huge swaying power in our political sphere, which renders the interest of the voters almost meaningless in the eyes of politicians. One new trend, however, is the rise in corporations adopting socially responsible policies. The idea is that companies with large profits should be responsible for giving back to their communities. While that seems like a straightforward and almost good thing, we have to remind ourselves about how and why these policies are eventually implemented and the ultimate impact that they will have (if at all) on society. The truth is that the goal of corporations is to accumulate profit. Mind you, that profit is not distributed among all workers of that corporation; that wealth lands in the hands of the top executives who become immensely wealthy. Perhaps there are some people within the higher echelons of the corporate world who genuinely wish to give back, but most corporate decisions are driven by profits for their shareholders. Take, for instance, the case of climate change. Do companies actually care about climate change? Or are they more worried about losing environmentally-conscious customers if they dont shift toward using renewable resources and fewer carbon emissions? The answer lies in the words of Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock. The company is a large asset manager and Fink owns major shares in multiple companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Delta Airlines. He has significant sway in how the market flows and even has the power to disband corporate boards and overthrow CEOs. Each year, Fink writes a letter to CEOs of these corporations which has the influence to change the conversations inside boardrooms around the globe. This years letter urged CEOs to take a serious look at climate change and at making commitments to reduce carbon emissions. Fink made the point in his letter that climate risk is investment risk: Climate change has become a defining factor in companies 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 we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of financea company cannot achieve long-term profits without embracing purpose and considering the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Fink is blunt to say that, in order for companies to remain profitable, they are going to have to invest in dealing with climate change. Nowhere does Fink talk about the actual effects of climate change to human health and the fact that it will disintegrate our planet. This is a marketing strategy, a ploy to lure in more customers. Its to gain more power and influence while claiming that they have done everything in their power to give back to communities and do nothing to harm them. All false, of course. And you better believe that when Fink puts out a letter, everyone falls in line. Companies like the aforementioned all put out plans to tackle climate change as soon as that letter was on their desk. Again, these corporations care more about ensuring that Fink keeps his investments in their company than in pushing for aggressive climate change policies. Lets go into detail about one company in particular: Amazon. Last week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos declared via Instagram that he is going to pour $10 Billion of his personal money into the Bezos Earth Fund, intended to fight climate change. He said: Today, Im thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund. Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. Its going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals Im committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common lets protect it, together. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon Under this new Climate Pledge, Amazon is committing to use 100% renewable energy by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. But here are the problems, because when it comes to Bezos, there is no shortage of problems: Fink and Bezos understand that climate activism has become stronger and stronger. While Fink mandated the birth of this Earth Fund, it was tangentially in response to months of protests by Amazon workers who have been criticizing Amazons role in climate change. Amazon is one of the worlds biggest polluters, emitting 44.4 million metric tons of carbon more than most countries in the world. The company is even spinning its refusal to end contracts with oil and gas companies as an effort to save the planet, arguing that providing Amazon Web Services software to these companies is accelerating their transition to clean energy. He is not fully embracing the activism and dedication of workers who planned walkouts and protests. And lets be clear: Bezos is worth $130 Billion. His $10 Billion pledge represents only 8% of his total net worth. Ive heard the argument that it doesnt matter whether its $10 Billion or $50 Billion at least hes doing something to stop climate change. But thats not how this works. His company is responsible for some of the worst effects on climate change, so he should be putting all his time and money into pushing company policies towards renewable energy resources rather than putting a band-aid on the problem. He has enough money to switch to renewable energy right now and achieve carbon neutrality right now. The planet cant wait and, while Bezos probably understands this, his profits are more dear to him than the future of our Earth. Amazon also pays nothing in taxes, a fact that many Democratic presidential candidates have pointed out over the last few months. Those same taxes could be used to pay for progressive environmental agendas that both grow the economy and fight climate change (one example is the Green New Deal). Not to mention the fact that the power of this $10 Billion to halt the effects of climate change lies within the hands of one man. He could have donated to existing organizations, but instead chose to stamp his name on an effort that he was pushed into by a major stakeholder. He will be able to determine which environmental measures should be implemented and which should not, who gets funded and who doesnt. We dont have time for these politics. And we cant expect that a man like Jeff Bezos is genuine in his concern for our natural resources. Im not suggesting that companies shouldnt invest in solutions to our climate change problem. Im merely suggesting that its time for companies to see this not as a question of profit, but as a question of whether or not the human race can survive. Im also suggesting that the power to influence climate change, like our politics, should not remain in the hands of a few. The reversal of climate change also requires a genuine effort to bring in labor and social justice activists to ensure that even the most marginalized communities are protected. These policies need to have actual impact rather than half-hearted attempts to quell consumer anger. [CC Climate Emergency sign photo by takver | Flickr, CC Bezos photo: James Duncan Davidson | Flickr] DULLES, Va., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. have announced plans to develop cyber solutions for the defense of operational and information technology (OT/IT) systems. These solutions would integrate managed security services with advanced analysis and threat sharing tools including IronNet's collective defense platform, and its network traffic analysis software, to potentially bring new solutions for enterprise protection. The combined solutions are designed to be part of a collective defense offering for critical infrastructure and national security networks and systems. These solutions offer hardening of OT/IT platforms to increase resiliency for systems that orchestrate sensing, control, networking and analytics to interact with the physical world, and enable safe, secure and adaptable performance. John DeSimone, vice president of Cybersecurity and Special Missions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said: "Protecting critical infrastructure is no longer a private sector concern, but a national security imperative. We know malicious actors seek to disrupt global economies through attacks on technology systems that keep our lights on, food supplies safe and militaries prepared. This partnership offers the integration of advanced cyber products and operations experience to the global market." GEN (Ret.) Keith Alexander, co-CEO and founder of IronNet Cybersecurity, said, "Considering the role Raytheon plays in securing government agencies, global businesses, and even nations, we are excited to work together as we shift the cybersecurity defense paradigm from one that sees organizations defending alone to one that operates as a part of a collective. We can all benefit from working together to increase the visibility we have into incoming threats, sharing that information, and defending more quickly." About IronNet IronNet Cybersecurity is revolutionizing how enterprises, industries, and governments secure their networks. As sophisticated cyber anomalies are detected through IronNet's network traffic analysis platform, alerts are generated and shared quickly, safely and anonymously across collective defense members. These events are then correlated across industry peers in real time, giving members faster visibility into potential threat campaigns. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Raytheon Rachael Duffy 571-888-6539 [email protected] SOURCE Raytheon Company Related Links http://www.raytheon.com Summary: WHO warns the rest of the world "is not ready for the virus to spread..." CDC warns Americans "should prepare for possible community spread" of virus. San Francisco Mayor declares state of emergency Later, CDC says pandemic not a question of it, but when Germany confirms 2nd case on Tuesday, brings total to 17 Italy cases spike to 322; deaths hit 10 Japan's Shiseido tesll 8k employees to work from home Kudlow tries to jawbone markets higher HHS Sec. Azar warns US lacks stockpiles of masks Italy Hotel in Lockdown After First Coronavirus Case in Liguria Algeria confirms 1st case First case in Switzerland Kuwait halts all flights to Singapore and Japan Iran confirms 95 cases, 15 deaths First case in Austria First case in Spain NEW YORK A police officer from a Long Island department shot and killed a man in New York City after chasing him across the border into the city, police said. The Nassau County Police Department released few details of the shooting that occurred at about 5 p.m. Tuesday in southeastern Queens. The department said in a statement late Tuesday that its officers were involved in a shooting incident with a subject who was fatally wounded. New York City police referred questions to the Nassau police. Witnesses told Newsday that the shooting happened on a busy street during rush hour. Laron Josephs, 32, said he was leaving a nearby McDonalds with his 4-year-old daughter when he heard shots and saw a crowd move toward the loud bangs. I seen a bullet in the door," Josephs said. I didnt see anybody inside the car. But by the time I really got to really look, I seen them pulling a person out the car. The person was dead. Yvette Agosto, 50, said the shooting concerned her because it occurred on a busy block. There was a lot of people, the commute, going up and down," she said. "Everybody was shopping here. Ive never seen anything like this. Voters want to clean up Slovakian politics, but a pro-democracy opposition will have to work together to unseat Smer. Bratislava, Slovakia Corruption is not only the central issue in the upcoming Slovak elections, it is the only issue. Slovaks go to the polls on February 29 with demands for the deep cleansing of a state in which many fear democracy is at risk from deep-rooted corruption and organised crime. People here may complain about the underfunded health service, underpaid teachers, and the lack of transport infrastructure connecting the underprivileged east of the country, but corruption is the only game in town ahead of this vote. The murder of journalist Jan Kuciak two years ago is the primary reason. Marian Kocner, the oligarch suspected of ordering the hit, has become the poster boy for the corruption of Slovakias state, as his deep reach into politics, the judiciary and the police has been revealed in a daily court saga. The smorgasbord of centrist opposition parties fighting the election were in a confident mood a week ahead of the polls opening, with as many as eight parties expected to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest the opposition finally has a chance to unseat Smer; the nominally centre-left populist party that has ruled for 12 of the past 14 years looks set to be punished by voters for having allowed corruption to flourish. 180417183104016 The Carpathian Tiger has raced to catch up with its regional peers economically over the past 15 years. However, an abundance of big corruption scandals has helped to limit the benefits felt by the wider population and deepen concerns that links between officials, oligarchs and organised crime threaten democracy. It is as if we have forgotten that democracy is mainly about the spirit of freedom, of justice, tolerance, and solidarity, President Zuzana Caputova, a former liberal political activist who swept to the post last year, told the Munich Security Conference in February. These are bound together by the rule of law. Black hole This bid to clean up Slovakia is nothing new. Like its peers in the region, the countrys corrupt networks survived the chaos of the communist collapse in 1989, and quickly thrived in a new system hastily cobbled together by former dissidents and activists. Corruption is almost a basic requirement in Slovakia, Arpad Soltesz, editor-in-chief of the Jan Kuciak Investigative Centre, told Al Jazeera. It has remained the way things are done here since the 1990s. After Czechoslovakia split in 1993, Slovakia became the black hole of Europe under authoritarian populist Vladimir Meciar. The erstwhile premier was accused of rampant criminality, including ordering the kidnapping of the then-presidents son, and the murder of a detective investigating the crime. This complicated Slovakias European Union membership and NATO accession. The country is yet to truly confront these issues, commentators agree. Meciar has never been convicted of any major crime, and with nationalist populism on the rise, he has even flirted with a return to politics. 191203194345906 Robert Fico, the Smer strongman that took Meciars mantle to dominate Slovak politics simply updated Meciarism, political scientist Tomas Koziak tells Al Jazeera. Analysts discuss how 40 years of communism trained Slovaks to accept and even admire corruption, of how EU-mandated anti-corruption legislation is made impotent by the capture of the institutions that spend state money or are meant to investigate and prosecute criminal activity. The Council of Europes anti-corruption watchdog GRECO said in a report released last year that Slovakia faces many crucial issues in politics and other state institutions. The Gorilla case, which exploded in 2011, was Slovakias highest-profile corruption case before the Kuciak murder. Transcripts leaked online detailed alleged security service recordings of secret meetings in 2005 and 2006 between senior politicians and Jaroslav Hascak, head of the powerful Penta financial group. Privatisations and other backdoor deals were discussed. Fico, on the cusp of the first of three prime ministerial terms, was reported to have been a frequent visitor who would sip soda water on the financiers sofa. The premiers populist tirades against immigration, the Roma and the EU have over the years often appeared designed to distract from corruption scandals. From questionable contracts on giant infrastructure and IT projects to Ficos residence in a building at the centre of an alleged tax scam, the suspicion of corruption rarely subsided under his watch. The inflow of billions in EU funds since Slovakia joined the bloc in 2004 has only turbo-boosted corruption, say observers. The country ranks among the highest in terms of misuse of subsidies, according to EU statistics. The problem, suggests Gabriel Sipos at Transparency International Slovakia, is that there have been very few high-profile convictions. That has created a sense of impunity. However, a court in Pezinok near Bratislava is expected to deliver a verdict on charges against former Economy Minister Pavel Rusko and Kocner just two days ahead of the election. Prosecutors are seeking 20 years for each for their alleged attempt to defraud the Markiza TV station of 69 million euros ($75m). Both men also face even more serious charges. Rusko is accused of plotting the murder of his former business partner. Meanwhile, prosecutors say Kocner had Kuciak killed because the journalist was investigating his alleged network of bribery, theft and blackmail. 180315150403829 All roads The trial has helped burn the urgent need for an anti-corruption fight into the psyche of the wider electorate. Dozens of officials in politics, the judiciary and the police have already fallen due to their links to the oligarch. Many more may yet be devoured, especially should Smer fall short at the ballot box. Unsurprisingly, the party stresses that it is not solely to blame for the corruption in Slovakia, and that it is ready to change. Kocner is a product of life in Slovakia in the 1990s and hes linked to many political parties, insists Peter Kmec, a policy adviser to Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, Ficos successor. Every official that has been connected to him has now stepped down and is being investigated, he told Al Jazeera. However, support for Smer has dropped dramatically. Polls suggest the party is set to win just 17 percent of votes compared with close to 30 percent at the last election in 2016. That would likely push it into opposition. The murder was grossly abused for political purposes, claimed Fico, who remains Smer chairman, on the February 21 anniversary of the deaths of Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova. If there was no murder, Id stand in front of you as the PM with 30 percent support. He reportedly declined to offer condolences to the two families. Two years ago I would never have dreamed of joining a political party. But corruption is now so rampant it's sucking money out of our health and transport systems. Jan, a teacher in Bratislava By way of contrast, the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (Olano) party is reaping dividends from the focus on corruption. Polls suggest the partys populist anti-corruption platform may put it in pole position to lead the next government. The murder delivered proof that Slovakia is a mafia state, and Olanos DNA is anti-corruption, Jaroslav Nad, a senior party official, told Al Jazeera. Predictably, the other parties jostling to lead the hoped-for democratic opposition coalition rue the fact that corruption has become the only issue in the election. Rivals and analysts are wary of the unpredictability of Olano leader Igor Matovic, a billionaire with a taste for political gimmicks and showmanship, as well as his partys shallow organisation and single-minded emphasis on corruption. It takes the focus off the other vital issues Slovakia is facing, such as the struggling health and education systems, says Pavel Sibyla of Progresivne Slovensko (PS). But so pervasive has corruption become that all roads lead to it, for now at least. Two years ago I would never have dreamed of joining a political party, says Jan, a 42-year-old teacher busy handing out PS leaflets in central Bratislava. But corruption is now so rampant its sucking money out of our health and transport systems. Things have to change, he concludes. Or I will have to leave Slovakia. A former paratrooper befriended three Scottish soldiers before luring them to their deaths in the early years of Northern Irelands Troubles, it has been reported. John McCaig, 17, his brother, Joseph 18, and Dougald McCaughey, 23, were found shot dead in Ligoniel, north Belfast, on March 10 1971. The young men, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, were last seen drinking in a pub in Belfast city centre. A new BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight programme has reported that Paddy OKane, a former member of the Parachute Regiment from north Belfast, had been involved in the killings. The bodies of the soldiers were found by a teenage girl on a remote roadside close to Ligoniel in the north of the city. In a previous interview, Brenda Kielty described how she heard shots being fired before finding the bodies. The wee boy had loads of freckles on his face, I remember that, there was blood still running through the wee boys eyes, I actually put my hand on the wee boys face and he was warm, she said. They were just shot and dumped on top of each other. No one has ever been convicted of the killings. The incident sparked outrage in both Northern Ireland and Scotland and led to a new rule against soldiers younger than 18 being deployed to the region. Spotlight, broadcast on Tuesday night, associated four republicans with the killings. Patrick McAdorey and Harry Canavan are now deceased. Anthony Dutch Doherty has vehemently denied being involved in the killings. The programme reported he was arrested in 1971, questioned by detectives from the Metropolitan Police and made a confession. But a judge later found the process of interrogation at the time meant admissions could not be regarded as voluntary. A statement issued to the BBC by his solicitor said: Our client Anthony Dutch Doherty vehemently denies any involvement in the murders mentioned in your correspondence and takes grave exception to your communication. Story continues BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight reporter Darragh MacIntyre (BBC/PA) Spotlight reporter Darragh MacIntyre spoke to Dave Hoare who reviewed the original police investigation for the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) in 2010. Mr Hoare dismissed previous reports that the soldiers had been lured to their death by women in a honeytrap. There was no evidence whatsoever that they were in the company of women, to my mind its an urban myth until someone can bring up some fresh evidence, he told the programme. Instead the young soldiers are reported to have been befriended by OKane in a pub before agreeing to leave with him and others. OKane from north Belfast was reported as having served seven years in the Parachute Regiment from 1957 to 1964. BBC reporter Darragh MacIntyre (left) speaks with former HET investigator Dave Hoare (right) (BBC/PA) The programme traced his last address to Shannon, Co Clare and established he had died in 2009. His sons are reported as confirming to Spotlight that their father had been involved in the killings. OKanes sons also told the programme that their father received a so-called comfort letter in 2007 which told him that he was, at that point, not wanted by the authorities. Former IRA man Des Long said he knew of OKane within the grouping. I know him by reputation for I know for certain he was a British commander and he fought in Cyprus and he was involved in the training of people in RPGs (rocket propelled grenades), he told Spotlight. He was a first class trainer but I dont think he was particularly liked by some of his comrades, dont ask me why I think that, I believe he was an out and out soldier, maybe that didnt suit the politicians. The Justice 371 campaign is calling for fresh inquests into the killings of the three soldiers. A man said he would smuggle narcotics for a drug dealer in Laredo in exchange of paid drinks and something else at a strip club, according to an arrest affidavit filed Monday. READ MORE: Laredo PD raids net six suspected street-level drug dealers Jacob Alvarado was arrested and charged with import, attempt to import and conspire to import fentanyl, a dangerous painkiller that its inadvertent exposure can result in overdose, respiratory failure and death. Alvarado arrived in a bicycle at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. He provided negative declaration to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. Alvarado stated he was traveling from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to his home in Laredo. He added that her was helping a friend move and went to visit his girlfriend. CBP officers checked the duffle bag Alvarado had and found women clothing and multiple pairs of shoes of women shoes. Alvarado was referred to secondary inspection, where he stated that the bag was his. An X-ray of the bag yielded anomalies inside, according to court documents. A K-9 unit then alerted to the presence of narcotics within the bag. CBP officers then discovered 10 bundles from within the soles of the shoes found in the duffle bag. The bundles tested positive for about 9 pounds of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $252,000. Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to take over the case. Alvarado allegedly agreed to talk to special agents regarding the seizure without an attorney present. Alvarado first stated he went to Nuevo Laredo to pick up clothing for a woman he met a week ago. He then changed his story saying he had gone across to pick up a bag for a man, states the affidavit. He added that the man is a drug dealer. Alvarado stated that he picked up another bag in Nuevo Laredo and brought it across the border for the man, according to court documents. READ MORE: Murder trial begins in Laredo for man who allegedly stabbed United South coach Alvarado stated the understanding was that the (man) would take him out to a strip club and pay for all his drinks and everything that night, states the affidavit. NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - A Florida man set fire to his hospital bed in an attempt to get the attention of nurses because he felt that they were ignoring him, police said. John David King, 75, admitted to using a lighter to set a plastic bag on fire at a hospital in New Smyrna Beach on Saturday, news outlets reported. He didnt intend to hurt anyone but was upset, police said, because he felt nurses were ignoring him when he asked that they bring him his clothes. King had been admitted to the hospital for respiratory failure. Kings roommate, Samuel Moreno, told him to put out the fire, but said King relit it instead, and flames erupted. Moreno pressed his emergency button and a nurse came to douse the bed with a fire extinguisher. Meanwhile, King left the room and made his way to the elevators before he was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Jail on a $15,000 bond, The Miami Herald reported. The bed was damaged beyond repair and will cost $4,000 to replace, a hospital administrator told WKMG-TV. By Mata Press Service Marijuana legalization is making strides across Asia, as several nations move to dismantle draconian anti-drug laws to capitalize on the fast-growing medical cannabis market. As the investment opportunities in the cannabis industry in the region grows, several players aiming to be in front of the line for permits to cultivate, extract and export are seeking out partnerships with Canadian seed-to-sale medical marijuana companies. Canadas tech in this sector is much sought after by players in Asia who want to enter the market, said a spokesman for a Vancouver-based consultancy, which has helped Canadian cannabis companies reach out to Asia. Several of the Asian nations, that once were strict-on-drugs have softened their stance and are looking at medical applications for cannabis to treat epilepsy, chronic pain and other conditions, said the company official, who spoke to Mata Press Service. But each of these countries also have pockets of political resistance, a complicated pathway to full legalization and fears that unchecked commercial grows will lead to more drug-related problems. Companies that are looking at Asia must have a strong educational component in their plans to help educate the public, politicians and health officials on the benefits of medical marijuana, he said. The consultancy is currently working on enquiries for technology and R&D partnerships in Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Philippines and India. We also have one from Greece, he said. In Malaysia, two groups are looking for technology partnerships for university-led R&D programs that will lead to commercial permits. These are groups that have strong relationships with local universities after the Malaysian government said last July there should be decriminalization of marijuana. They are looking primarily for science advisory services and tech know-how. A representative of one of the companies in Malaysia said they are working on a R&D plantation project in East Malaysia to study the therapeutic applications of cannabis for its curative treatments of a wide range of human medical conditions. Sri Lanka which has begun cultivating cannabis for medical purposes across 100 acres of designated cannabis plantation land in the north-central region of the island state, is also looking for new opportunities. A family-owned conglomerate there is now looking to establish a partnership with a fully-integrated seed-to-sale Canadian entity for a licence that will primarily serve the nations domestic Ayurveda traditional medicine market. In The Philippines, which this month allowed the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for alleviating severe forms of epilepsy, a tribal agriculture cooperative is looking to set up a medical cannabis cultivation, extract and export facility in Baguio City. We are looking to set up a joint-venture operation that will boost the economy of our local community, a co-operative official said via email to Mata Press Service India this week announced its first international collaboration on a cannabis medicinal project to produce and export drugs for pain relief in cancer, diabetic and neuropathy. The project is a collaboration between the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu and IndusCann, a Canadian company. Another India-Canada enterprise, is now in the final stages of permitting for a 1,000 acre grow operation to manufacture cannabis concentrates that are used to make edibles, topical ointments, capsules and other packaged products. Thailand which has fully legalized medicinal cannabis has seen several Canadian companies trying to establish partnerships with local companies. The pathway to full licence in Thailand revolves around R&D projects with established universities, said the Vancouver consultant, who recently facilitated a technology meeting in Bangkok between a Vancouver-based cannabis investment group, a Thai medical marijuana company and researchers from a local university. Canadian cannabis tech is in demand not only in Asia as we have seen requests from European players as well, he said. One company in Greece, which is fully permitted by the State, is looking for a technology partner for its 85 acre grow and EU-certified extraction facility in the Thessaly region. Medical marijuana investment analysts agree that Asia is a significant market as it is on track to have the oldest population in the world very soon and with old age comes many chronic diseases. Prohibition Partners, a consultancy group, estimates that Asias medicinal cannabis market could by 2024 be worth $5.8 billion. But it cautions that while recreational cannabis is expected to outperform medicinal cannabis in western markets, in Asia, the opposite is likely to be true. As for investment opportunities, many are still reluctant to actively bet on the commodity due to the social stigma around the plant, according to Prohibition Partners. While Asian nations are unlikely to be as accepting of recreational cannabis, they may be more likely to accept medicinal cannabis if it is supported with evidence-based research that it could help the continents aging population as well as an unprecedented rise in healthcare costs. Thailand, Singapore, and China are all beginning to invest in research into medical cannabis applications, reports the London-based Prohibition Partners. Asia, while socially conservative, can look to recent Canadian policy reform to guide its entrance into the market, reported Asia Times. Canada is pioneering the global cannabis industry and is regarded as the most cannabis-friendly nation in the world, having legalized and regulated medical and recreational usage. Thoughtful policy shifts in Ottawa have allowed the country to create an incredibly valuable economic sector that helps boost the national budget. Indeed, Asian nations are looking to Canada for best practices amidst an ever-expanding global market, the news agency reported. Kitty Spencer put on a glamorous display as she filmed a campaign in Marbella today. Princess Diana's niece, who turned 29 last month, was pictured dressed in a flamenco inspired ensemble as she danced through the streets of Puerto Banus. Donning a cropped bandeau top with frilled sleeves and a coordinating gypsy skirt and headband, she wore a pair of oversized sunglasses and hoop earrings for the occasion. Kitty is face of the 50th anniversary campaign of Puerto Banus, and is in the city rolling a commercial spot from several corners of the city, such as the old town. Kitty Spencer put on a glamorous display as she filmed a campaign in Marbella today Showing off a smooth complexion, Kitty later changed into a vest and put her hair into a sleek high ponytail as she drove a classic Mercedes, shown on her Instagram, through town. The South African-born model was seen posing with two handsome models, as they made the most of the sunny weather. Her appearance comes after insiders told the Daily Mail that Kitty agreed to marry 61-year-old fashion tycoon Michael Lewis, after he reportedly proposed to her before Christmas. Princess Diana 's niece, who turned 29 last month, was pictured dressed in a flamenco inspired ensemble as she danced through the streets of Puerto Banus 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, she told me, but Im only in my 20s. 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, signed a prenuptial agreement but it's not yet known whether Lady Kitty will do the same. Kitty is face of the 50th anniversary campaign of Puerto Banus, and is in the city rolling a commercial spot from several corners of the city, such as the old town Lady Kitty's last boyfriend was Italian property magnate Niccolo Barattieri di San Pietro, who was also significantly older than the socialite. At the beginning of the month one of her friends told the Daily Mail: 'Michael proposed to Kitty before Christmas. Shes been in Cape Town for the holidays and told her mother and the rest of the family. Michael is loved by all of them. Despite his wealth, hes very humble and low key. It's not yet known whether Lady Kitty will convert to Judaism, Mr Lewis' faith, before the big day. Former Bachelorettes Jillian Harris and Ali Fedotowsky reunited in Hawaii for a beach playdate with their three-year-old children at Maui resort Fairmont Kea Lani on Monday. 'Bachelor(ettes) in Paradise!' the Massachusetts-born 35-year-old captioned her Instagram snap of the Canadian 40-year-old. Ali was 'forever chasing' after her 'beach babe' daughter Molly while clad in mommy-and-me matching leopard-print one-piece swimsuits. 'Bachelor(ettes) in Paradise!' Former Bachelorettes Jillian Harris (L) and Ali Fedotowsky (R) reunited in Hawaii for a beach playdate with their three-year-old children at Maui resort Fairmont Kea Lani on Monday Fedotowsky and her husband Kevin Manno arrived to the picturesque island last Saturday, and two days later their 21-month-old son Riley defecated in the hotel's swimming pool. 'They had to shut the pool down for an hour and a half,' the Clark University grad lamented via Instastory. 'It was super embarrassing. [Jillian] thought it was going to be her kids. But nope, it was mine.' Ali and Kevin were likely on holiday to celebrate their third wedding anniversary on March 3. Mommy and me: The Massachusetts-born 35-year-old was 'forever chasing' after her 'beach babe' daughter Molly while clad in matching leopard-print one-piece swimsuits Fedotowsky and her husband Kevin Manno arrived to the picturesque island last Saturday, and two days later their 21-month-old son Riley defecated in the hotel's swimming pool (pictured Monday) Ali lamented via Instastory on Monday: 'They had to shut the pool down for an hour and a half. It was super embarrassing. [Jillian] thought it was going to be her kids. But nope, it was mine' Harris arrived to Maui with her husband Justin Pasutto last Wednesday despite having vacationed at the same exact resort weeks earlier with her gal pals to ring in her birthday. Jillian and Justin are also proud parents of 16-month-old daughter Annie. Ali - now the host of Home & Family - starred in the sixth season of the ABC dating competition in 2010 where she got engaged to Florida insurance agent Roberto Martinez before splitting a year later. Jillian - now host of HGTV's Love it Or List it Vancouver - starred in the fifth season of The Bachelorette in 2009 where she got engaged to Michigan technology consultant Ed Swiderski before splitting a year later. 'Best days!' Harris arrived to Maui with her husband Justin Pasutto last Wednesday despite having vacationed at the same exact resort weeks earlier with her gal pals to ring in her birthday (pictured Sunday) MONROE, MI A man accused of beating his grandmother to death and cutting her head off will undergo a mental evaluation by state psychiatrists. Kenny Wayne McBride, 45, of Temperance, was ordered Wednesday, Feb. 26, to be sent to the states Center for Forensic Psychiatry for a competency evaluation to determine if he is fit to stand trial for the murder and mutilation of his grandmother, 79-year-old Cecelia Gibson. McBride was arrested and charged, Feb. 19 with one felony count each of open murder and mutilation of a dead body after investigators were called for a medical emergency at his Bedford Township home, Feb. 17, according to the Monroe County Sheriffs office. Gibsons headless body was found in the living room of the home she, McBride and his father lived in together. Her head was found in the backyard, police said. Michigan man accused of beating, beheading grandmother in Monroe County home An autopsy showed Gibson died of blunt force trauma to her head, officials said. McBride is being held in the Monroe County Jail without bond. Results of the evaluation are expect to be returned to the court by his next court hearing on April 15. More from The Ann Arbor News: Country views, minimalist design highlight $1.09M modern farmhouse outside Ann Arbor Body found near Monroe beach believed to be boater missing since December Counties could opt out of regional transit plan under new bill More snow expected to hit Washtenaw, Livingston counties throughout the day Coronavirus: Eni employee positive in Algeria Company says he does not have fever (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 26 - Eni said Wednesday that one of its employees working in Algeria has tested positive for the coronavirus. A company spokesperson said the worker was currently at a site in the desert and was in good general conditions, with no fever. He arrived in Algeria on February 17 from Bertonico, one of the towns in the province of Lodi that is in lockdown because of the virus.(ANSAmed). The two nations inked three pacts meanwhile in the fields of safety of medical products, mental health and oil/energy cooperation. New Delhi: Hailing the Indo-US friendship as the most important partnership of the 21st century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his remarks at Hyderabad House, said both leaders had positively considered every important aspect of this partnership be it defence and security, energy strategic partnership, technology cooperation, global connectivity, trade relations or people to people relations and that increasing defence and security cooperation between India and the US is a very important part of our strategic partnership. On the important trade issue, Mr Modi also said the two leaders had also agreed to start negotiations for a big trade deal while legalising the understanding reached between the commerce ministers of the two countries. He added that India and the United States are committed to openness and fair and balanced trade in the economic sector. On cooperation in homeland security, PM Modi said today we have decided to increase our efforts to hold terror supporters responsible. The two nations inked three pacts meanwhile in the fields of safety of medical products, mental health and oil/energy cooperation. Sharing PM Modis optimism on bilateral ties, US President Donald Trump said, We think were at a point where our relationship is so special with India. It has never been as good as it is right now and I think thats because the two leaders of each country really, we feel very strongly about each other. And we have we have done something thats very unique and weve made some wonderful deals for each of our countries. President Trump also said both leaders are revitalising the Quad Initiative with the United States, India, Australia, and Japan to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. He added, To further strengthen our economic ties, the United States is pleased to announce that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will be establishing a permanent presence right here. On strategic convergence in the Indo-Pacific, the Joint Statement declared, A close partnership between India and the United States is central to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The statement is being seen as extremely significant in the context of growing Chinese economic and military might. Addressing the media on Tuesday evening, President Trump said, We did talk about religious freedom. And the PM (Modi) was incredible on what he told me. He wants people to have religious freedom, and very strongly. And in India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom. And if you look at whats going on, relative to other places especially but they have really worked hard on religious freedom. I asked a question in front of a very large group of people today. But we talked about it for a very long time. I really believe that is what he wants. As far as the individual attacks, I heard about it. But I didnt discuss that with him. Thats upto India. He added, We discussed that (religious freedom), specifically Muslims. And we also discussed Christians. I had a very powerful answer from the prime minister. We talked about religious liberty for a long period of time, in front of a lot of people. He told me there are 200 million Muslims living in India. And a fairly short while ago, they had 40 million. Meanwhile, in his remarks made earlier at Hyderabad House, President Trump said, Earlier today, we expanded our defence cooperation with agreements for India to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters the finest in the world. These deals will enhance our joint defense capabilities as our militaries continue to train and operate side-by-side. Brutal violence has consumed north east Delhi since Sunday evening, horrific events that collided with United States President Donald J Trump's visit to India. When a reporter asked Trump at his press conference on Tuesday, 'While you've been here in the country, in the capital in the north east part of Delhi, there have been violent clashes. Police have been killed, some demonstrators, nine deaths so far, we hear, and about 100 plus injured. What did Prime Minister Modi say to you about this amended citizenship law, and how concerned are you about this kind of religious violence?' 'We did talk about religious freedom, and I will say that the prime minister was incredible on what he told me,' Trump replied. 'He wants people to have religious freedom and very strongly, and he said that in India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom. And if you look back and look at what's going on relative to other places especially, but they have really worked hard on religious freedom.' 'I asked that question in front of a very large group of people today,' Trump added, 'and he talked about it. We talked about it for a long time, and I really believe that's what he wants. As far as the individual attack, I heard about it, but I didn't discuss that with him. That's up to India.' Later in the press conference, a BBC correspondent asked Trump: 'There was some back home that were hoping you would raise concerns about some of these policies that Prime Minister Modi has introduced that discriminate against Muslims, and also about a rise in hate crimes here in India.' 'Well, we did discuss that,' Trump responded. 'We discussed that and specifically Muslims, and we also discussed Christians... I had a very powerful answer from the prime minister. We talked about religious liberty for a long period of time in front of a lot of people. I had a very, very, powerful answer.' Then, startlingly, this revelation: 'As far as Muslims are concerned, as he told me, I guess they have 200 million Muslims in India. A fairly short while ago they had 14 million. He said that they were working very closely with the Muslim community.' Did Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi tell President Trump that the Muslim population in India had risen from 14 million 'a fairly short while ago' to 200 million currently? Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the contrasting events of these couple of days: The leaders schmnoozing at parades and banquets while in another part of India, lives and livelihood destroyed perhaps forever. Open source February 24, the Razumkov Center, close to the presidential team think tank, released its data. The survey dates are February 13-17, that is, even before the big scandal with the Chinese coronavirus and Novi Sanzhary incident. "If the presidential election were to take place in the near future, Volodymyr Zelensky would have received the majority of votes (40% of those who will participate in the elections and decide who they will vote for)," the press release reads. In February 2020, 51.5% trust President Zelensky and 41% do not trust him. Social scientists note that in September 2019 the level of trust in Zelensky was the highest - then 79% of citizens trusted him, and only 13.5% did not trust him. Now the picture has changed. In February the proportion of those who believe that Zelenskys actions are primarily aimed at protecting national interests (37% versus 54.5% in September 2019) has significantly decreased, and the number of Ukrainians who consider that the presidents actions are aimed at protecting his own interests and the interests of his political environment (41% against 24.5% in September). Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) released its data on February 25 and conducted the survey from February 8 to February 18. 44.2% of the respondent are ready to support Zelensky in the next election, according to KIIS. KIIS specialists also studied the respondents' attitudes toward political parties. And they learned that the support of the presidential Servant of the People corresponds to 39.1% (among those who decided on their choice). In the 2019 early elections, we received recall, 43.16% in a multi-member constituency and 21.04% in single-member constituencies. In the next election (assuming that they will be held according to a purely proportional system), the Zelensky party will not gain the majority of the votes and will not form a sole coalition. The first thing that hit the president was his own irresponsibility. There are two reasons why the rating of power falls, says Ruslan Bortnyk, Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Policy Management. The first is the failure to fulfill promises (peace, fight against corruption, and increased prosperity, but this did not happen). And the second is the presidents weakness. He has repeatedly set deadlines for both law enforcement agencies and the government, gave a lot of instructions that nobody predominantly fulfills. Society is increasingly convinced that the president is ignored by his own people, he states. Despite numerous scandals within the faction, and the law enforcement agencies gave no response to them, also played a role. Starting from the piano voting and ending with frivolous correspondence in the parliament hall. As well as the salary scandal, the land reform... The ratings grow for those forces that have a clear position on the land issue - for the Opposition Platform -For life party and Batkivshchyna, the expert adds. The disunity of the presidential team within the walls of parliament or government is superimposed on yet another unpleasant thing for Zelensky: he does not have his own voters. And this feature is noted by all experts. It is necessary to demonstrate success in peacekeeping and the fight against corruption. If appropriate measures are taken, then around April, the presidents rating may gain a foothold of up to 45%, suggests Ruslan Bortnyk. The situation for Zelensky is far from being tragic, because the president still wins, at least as of today. But there is an alarming signal. Why? Because people dont see positive changes. And therefore that the power team demonstrates unprofessionalism and incompetence. Over time, everyone will forget what the current prime minister was calling, but they will remember that Zelensky brought him to power, Andriy Zolotariov, head of the Third Sector Center, states. What other consequences could the Zelensky rating drop have? As already mentioned, it is likely that in the near future the number of goals will increase. At least in theory. Zelensky can transfer part of the negative lure to PM Honcharuk, but it seems that this government would not resign. At least because land reform should take place. But in some time, the Cabinet of Ministers will resign, Bohdan Petrenko, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Study of Extremism, comments. He also calls the second corollary: For some reason, Zelensky believes that European Solidarity faction puts them most of the sticks in the wheels. The president has accumulated a great deal of negative attitude towards Poroshenko. Time will tell whether the former president becomes the whipping boy for the current one, on whom one can wreak anger and prove his desire for justice. But, in addition to developments with the hated Poroshenko, Zelensky can demonstrate activity in the further release of Ukrainian prisoners. Once it had already played into his hands. But the release of prisoners would give an effect for a short period of time. We need strategic decisions. We need people to see that the professionals are coming back - this would restore the credit of confidence in the government, which is now lost, Zolotariov is convinced. Petrenko agrees with him. Another exchange of prisoners will no longer have the previous effect. This preliminary release raised the presidents rating to 73%, that is, to the level that he had at the time of the election. Any new exchange will contribute to the growth of Zelenskys popularity, but its not strategically saving him from falling. And its too late to reduce tariffs, because the heating season is coming to an end, and if gas for the population falls sharply, people will not feel it, he says. Winter really passes, and spring, when someone will imprison someone (or maybe not) has not come yet. According to Zolotariov, if Zelensky destroys the positive image that has been formed among the supporters of the president, he will slide down to twenty-five percent. But if there are personnel changes and changes in general, Zelenskys rating will stay at 35-40% for a long time. Nobody remembers the previous triumphal 73%. The honeymoon of the country and the president is over. "While the benefits technology landscape continues to grow in complexity to meet the needs of today's multigenerational workforce, our focus is on delighting members and positioning HR and business leaders as true drivers of value in their organization. This comes to life through our delivery of innovative technologies and personalized services, supported by investing in the intentional culture of our Solver Nation," says President and CEO, Jon Shanahan. With an emphasis on meeting clients' business goals and addressing members' overall well-being, Businessolver's achievements in 2019 include: Delivering organizational excellence The company maintained its long-term client retention rate of approximately 95%. There was a 28% increase in users of the Benefitsolver platform. Additionally, with a 45% increase in engagement, Businessolver is achieving their goal of transforming how employees interact with benefits programs from a once-a-year event to a personalized, year-round experience. platform. Additionally, with a 45% increase in engagement, Businessolver is achieving their goal of transforming how employees interact with benefits programs from a once-a-year event to a personalized, year-round experience. With 30% more people accessing Benefitsolver on their peak day during Annual Enrollment, the platform maintained 100% uptime ensuring a consistent, reliable experience for members. Members revealed an increased preference for seeking guidance in their benefits selections, with member usage of the MyChoice Recommendation Engine more than doubling. Meanwhile, members saved more than 1.3 million minutes by receiving support from Sofia SM , Businessolver's AI personal benefits assistant. Additionally, users showed a preference for mobile frameworks with a 45% increase in the number of Annual Enrollments that took place on a mobile phone. , Businessolver's AI personal benefits assistant. Additionally, users showed a preference for mobile frameworks with a 45% increase in the number of Annual Enrollments that took place on a mobile phone. Businessolver earned Silver Level Recognition by the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Honored by Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence (IRPE) for the third consecutive year, they're the only benefits administration company, and the first technology company in the U.S., participating in the Baldrige journey with the purpose to bring an intentional, quality focus to an industry not measured in this way. As part of Businessolver's ongoing investment and dedication to growing internal expertise, the company added over 525 years of extensive benefits experience from key hires to the organization in 2019. Specifically, the onboarding team grew in breadth and depth, and there was continued expansion in our Louisville, Dallas , and Charlotte offices with an overall employee increase of 34%. , and offices with an overall employee increase of 34%. The company received certification in the internationally recognized ISO 27001 security framework. The certification process includes a multi-stage audit and review process covering 14 security domains and more than 100 controls to support the company's continued commitment to client and member security. Businessolver launched the PinnacleSM Partner Program with preferred voluntary insurance carriers and partners, providing key strategic integrations to ensure ease of setup and delivery of their supplemental benefits options via Benefitsolver. Introducing product and service innovations Sofia , Businessolver's AI-powered personal benefits assistant, made significant strides in delivering high-touch member service via increasingly knowledgeable chat and phone support. Sofia was embedded within the enrollment experience, providing step-by-step expertise. Thanks to her performance, she: , Businessolver's AI-powered personal benefits assistant, made significant strides in delivering high-touch member service via increasingly knowledgeable chat and phone support. was embedded within the enrollment experience, providing step-by-step expertise. Thanks to her performance, she: Took 78% of all chats in 2019, with 40% of chats via the MyChoice Mobile App during annual enrollment. Supported 24% of chats after-hours. Saved members 1.3 million minutes of wait time during Annual Enrollment. The company launched MyChoice Accounts, their proprietary consumer accounts solution, fully integrated and API-enabled with Benefitsolver. With the launch of this solution, they grew their participant base by 129%, allowing employees to manage their accounts from one system, one card and one app, while increasing efficiency for clients' HR personnel through simplified funding, streamlined payroll processes and automated data exchange. With a 212% increase in MyChoice Mobile App downloads, Businessolver increased resources dedicated to digital engagement for the multigenerational workforce. This included a complete renovation of the app's user interface and the ability to quickly get answers to their benefits questions by chatting with Sofia . . Businessolver's in-house employee engagement practice launched new Engagement Packages to deliver targeted benefits communications to members, featuring state-of-the-art design, communications and consultation. With their expertise, Businessolver helps clients use the data within Benefitsolver to deliver personalized communications that drive desired business outcomes based on clients' strategic goals. They unveiled an enhanced Total Rewards solution to better assist members in understanding and optimizing their entire compensation package. This highly configurable solution gives employees a personalized view of their compensation including the 'hidden paycheck'. And, they expanded their MyChoiceTM Market solution enabling clients to offer simplified benefits access to previously ineligible employees, such as part-time and gig workers. Available at no additional cost, this solution allows the alternative workforce to elect individually covered plans in the same platform as their benefits-eligible peers. Giving back to the community In 2019, the Businessolver Foundation donated $350,000 to a variety of health, education, and community initiatives in areas where Businessolver has a local presence. to a variety of health, education, and community initiatives in areas where Businessolver has a local presence. Of that total amount, employees contributed $34,000 and logged nearly 3,000 hours participating in philanthropic efforts. and logged nearly 3,000 hours participating in philanthropic efforts. The Foundation supported 57 organizations across the country. "We're proud of our entire organization for raising the bar in 2019 in terms of groundbreaking innovations and client delight," says Businessolver's Chief Strategy Officer, Rae Shanahan. "With our continued commitment to living our values and fostering 'Technology with Heart,' 2020 is the beginning of a decade of positive disruption that will challenge and elevate the industry." About Businessolver Since 1998, Businessolver has delivered market-changing benefits administration technology supported by an intrinsic responsiveness to client needs. The company creates client programs that maximize benefits program investment, minimize risk exposure, and engage employees with easy-to-use solutions and communication tools to assist them in making wise and cost-efficient benefits selections. Founded by HR professionals, Businessolver's unwavering service-oriented culture and secure SaaS platform provide measurable success in its mission to provide complete client delight. Media Contacts Kristin Korzen, Edelman (on behalf of Businessolver) [email protected] 312-233-1278 SOURCE Businessolver Related Links https://www.businessolver.com/ The boyfriend of missing Brisbane teenager Tiffany Taylor (pictured) has called the man accused of her murder a maggot as he stepped from the witness box The boyfriend of missing Brisbane teenager Tiffany Taylor has called the man accused of her murder a maggot as he stepped from the witness box, after denying he knew the girl was a sex worker. Harrowing details of the pregnant call girl's life were laid bare on the second day of a murder trial for Rodney Wayne Williams, 65. The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Williams for a paid sexual liaison arranged through the Oasis website. Her body has never been found. Williams has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to murdering Tiffany after allegedly picking her up from the Waterford Motor Inn, south of Brisbane, mid-morning. Messages between the pair show Williams agreed to pay $500 for sex, but he says it never happened. Tiffany's boyfriend, Gregory Hill, says the teenager was 'normal' when she left their motel room, saying: 'See you later on.' Tiffany's boyfriend, Gregory Hill (pictured outside court on Wednesday) told the court he didn't know she was a sex worker She never returned. The court heard Mr Hill and Tiffany got together when he was 38 and she was 12. Tiffany's mother, Leanne Dillon, told the court she was disgusted when she found her daughter giving Mr Hill a lap dance at their family home soon after. Chloe Taylor told the court her younger sister had begun chroming and smoking cannabis on a regular basis about the same time. Tiffany began drifting from the family, she said on Wednesday, as she talked about the 'physical closeness' she had observed between her sister and Mr Hill. The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Rodney Wayne Williams, (pictured) 65, for a paid sexual liaison via the Oasis website Mr Hill told the court Tiffany pursued him when asked about his relationship with the then child. By the time she went missing, Tiffany and Mr Hill had been together for four years and lived in hotels, often paid for in cash by her sex work. Mr Hill denied being intimate with Tiffany while she was a child but said they were together after she turned 16. He also said he was unlikely to be the father of her unborn child. 'I had my doubts about that.... There was no intimacy between me and Tiffany that went that far, so there was no way it could have been my child,' he said. Mr Hill also denied pimping Tiffany out or knowing she was selling sex. Police have searched dams and bushland for Tiffany's body without success However, 300 messages about meeting men and money were found on his phone. Asked is he was violent towards the teenager Mr Hill said: 'No.' But her mother and sister told the court Tiffany sometimes turned up bruised and once with a black eye. 'Sometimes he'd be violent but Tiffany always loved Greg, she forgave him all the time,' Ms Dillon said tearfully. On the day she went missing, Mr Hill said he tried to call Tiffany numerous times after becoming concerned for her. But Williams' defence lawyer Eoin Mac Giolla Ri challenged his claim, saying investigators had found no record of the calls. The harrowing details of Tiffany's life as a call girl were been laid bare at a Queensland murder trial As he stepped from the witness box, Mr Hill said: 'Make sure you lock the maggot up' before being cautioned by Justice Ann Lyons. Earlier, prosecutor Philip McCarthy QC told the jury that after Williams picked up Tiffany he drove to Larapinta industrial park where 'something happens' while he is stopped for about 20 minutes He said Williams then drove to the Esk-Ferndale region, where police have searched dams and bushland for Tiffany's body, without success. The trial continues. U.S. oil supermajor Chevron has told its 300 staff in its London office to work from home after an employee reported flu symptoms after returning from a trip, the Financial Times reports, quoting sources. The U.S. oil company sent on Tuesday all employees, including traders, analysts, and office staff, at its London office in the busy business district Canary Wharf to work from home until the test results of the employee become known. Chevron has said that it would continue to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities, according to a statement cited by FT. Chevron has sent staff to work from home as a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of potential exposure to the coronavirus, the U.S. supermajor said. In the UK, 13 people had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, including four cases of infected Britons from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The UK authorities advise all travelers returning from Asia, Iran, and northern Italy to self-isolate and stay indoors if they develop symptoms. For travelers returning from Iran, the lockdown areas in northern Italy, the Hubei province in China, and the specially designated zones in South Korea, the UK government advises people to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if they do not show flu-like symptoms. The coronavirus outbreak is spreading to international energy events, and the International Petroleum Week in London this week is being held regularly, but many participants have canceled receptions and events due to the outbreak. Major international oil traders and refiners have canceled networking events, sources told Reuters last week. The spread of the coronavirus outside China and Asia has become a major concern for the equity and oil markets in recent days, with oil prices set for a fourth consecutive day of losses early on Wednesday and WTI Crude trading below $50 a barrel at $49.50 as of 7:00 a.m. EST. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: February 26, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Imagine journalists deploring the Allies liberation of Europe because the project created refugees, and youll understand the US news medias reaction to the prospect of the Syrian military liberating Idlib from the rule of a branch of Al Qaeda. Implicit in the condemnation is support for the status quo, since any realistic attempt to end an occupation will trigger a flight of civilians from a war zone. What is in fact support for continued occupation by reactionaries, and their imposition of a terrorist mini-state on millions of Syrians, is slyly presented by the US news media as concern for the welfare of Syrian civilians. On February 20, The Wall Street Journal ran an article on what it said could be the biggest humanitarian horror story of the 21st century, namely, the advance of the Syrian military into Idlib, backed by Russian airstrikes and pro-Iranian militias which has forced the flight of some 900,000 people as Syrian president Bashar al-Assad vows to retake every inch of Syria. [1] To illustrate the so-called impending horror, Journal reporter Raja Abdulrahim follows Amro Akoush and his family as they flee their home in northwest Syria with no time to pack a bag and no vehicle to escape the machine-gun fire and falling bombs. [2] I feel like this is the end, the army will advance and kill us all and that will be the end of the story, Abdulrahim quotes Akoush as saying. We no longer have hope for anything other than a quick death, thats it. Thats all we ask for. (3) In Abdulrahims narrative, Assad is a tyrant setting in motion a humanitarian catastrophe to satisfy his urge (are we to construe it as greed?) to retake every inch of his country (not recover or liberate it.) Assads foil, his nemesis in this tale, is Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, presented as the personification of the calvary, rushing to the aid of hapless Syrian civilians, by dispatching tanks across the Turk-Syrian border. Erdogan, Abdulrahim writes, has threatened to launch a full attack on Syrian government forces if Mr. Assad doesnt halt the military offensive. Turkey has sent more than 10,000 troops and more than 2,000 pieces of artillery, tanks and armored vehicles into Idlib. (4) It all seems fairly simple: Assad is a brute who has launched a military offensive to defeat the remnants of Syrias armed opposition, sparking a humanitarian catastrophe in embryo, while Erdogan, our hero, acts to stay the tyrants hand. Its a good story, but wrong. The armed opposition is not a group of plucky liberal democrats fighting for freedom, but Al Qaeda; Turkey is not the calvary, but a foreign aggressor with designs on Syria that has long backed Al Qaeda as its proxy in Idlib; and Erdogans goal isnt to rescue Syrians from a tyrant, but to impose a Turkish tyranny by proxy on Idlib. All of this has been reported previously in the US news media, including in Abdulrahims own Wall Street Journal, but has since been lost down to the memory hole. Additionally, other realities have been minimized, including the continued Al Qaeda attacks on the Syrian military and Syrian civilians. In early March, 2015 Erdogan flew to Riyadh to meet Saudi Arabias recently crowned King Salman, to agree on a new strategy to oust Assad. Both leaders were keen to see Syrias Arab nationalist republic dissolved. Erdogan, an Islamist with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, objected to Syrias secularism and long-running war with the Muslim Brotherhood. Salman, a misogynistic, democracy-abominating monarch backed to the hilt by Washington, objected to Syrias anti-monarchism, Arab nationalism, and insistence that the Arab world achieve independence from US dominationideologies which threatened his familys rule over the Arabian peninsula and its vast oil resources. To overcome the Syrian menace, Erdogan and Salman agreed to establish a joint command center in Idlib in order to coordinate the activities of Al Qaeda (operating in Syria at the time under the alias Jabhat al-Nusra.) Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups had taken up the Muslim Brotherhoods struggle against the Assad governments secularism and Arab nationalism. The jihadists were threatening to seize control of all of Idlib, and the Turkish Islamist and Saudi despot were eager to lend a hand. [5] Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Erdogan wanted to run Idlib through his Al Qaeda proxies to gain leverage in order to shape the outcome of post-conflict talks on a new political arrangement for Syria. [6] This would allow him to further his Islamist agenda in a neighboring countryhe had taken numerous steps to Islamize his own countryand to acquire profit-making opportunities in Syria for Turkish business people. Erdogans plans were soon brought to fruition. By February, 2018, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the US campaign against ISIS, could call Idlib the largest al Qaeda safe haven since 9/11. [7] The veteran foreign affairs correspondent Robert Fisk would refer to the Syrian province as a territory teeming with the Islamist fighters of Isis, Nusrah, al-Qaeda and their fellow jihadists. [8] In September, 2019 The New York Times Eric Schmitt said that Idlib province contained a witchs brew of violent Islamic extremist groups, dominated by the larger Qaeda-linked organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly the Nusra Front. [9] Hayat Tahrir al-Sham would control 99 percent of Idlib and surrounding areas. [10], creating what Cockburn dubbed an al-Qaeda-run mini-state [11]behind which sat Erdogan, on the Sultans throne. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Al Qaeda are one and the same. After undergoing a previous rebranding as Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaedas Syrian branch morphed once again, this time into HTS. As the Syrian delegate to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, explained to the UN Security Council in May, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is the Al-Nusra Front, which itself is part of Al-Qaida in the Levant, which in turn is part of Al-Qaida in Iraq, which in turn is part of Al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Therefore, we are all talking about Al-Qaida, regardless of its different names; all are designated by the [UN Security] Council as terrorist entities. [12] The Washington Post described Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as an extremist Islamist group that began as al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria and has tried to rebrand itself several times during the war. [13] The New York Times says Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is affiliated with Al Qaeda, [14] while The Wall Street Journal lists the group as a branch of al Qaeda. [15] But of Western mainstream journalists, Cockburn perhaps describes the group best. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, he wrote in early 2019, is a powerful breakaway faction from Isis which founded the group under the name of Jabhat al-Nusra in 2011 and with whom it shares the same fanatical beliefs and military tactics. Its leaders wear suicide vests studded with metal balls just like their Isis equivalents. [16] HTSs size is a matter of dispute. Cockburn estimates that it can put at least 50,000 fighters into the field [17] while The New York Times puts the number closer to 12,000 and 15,000 fighters. [18] The Syrian government says that the group has tens of thousands of foreign terrorists, including 15,000 Europeans. [19] Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has centered its agenda on combating the government of Mr. al-Assad, with no interest in conducting attacks abroad, according to a recent United Nations assessment. [20] This makes the Al Qaeda group acceptable to the United States, and, in train, to the US news media. It also explains why an organization seen as terrorist outside of Syria, is often described by US new media in neutral language when it operates in Syria, like armed opposition and rebels. Following this convention, we could talk of the armed opposition and rebels who attacked the United States on 9/11, and Washingtons 19 year war on Al Qaeda as the war on the armed opposition to the US regime. In September 2018, Russia and Turkey brokered a cease-fire agreement for Idlib to forestall a military offensive, explained The Wall Street Journal. The deal required that Al Qaeda fighters withdraw from a demilitarized buffer zone along the front line. [21] Rather than withdrawing, Al Qaeda expanded areas under its control. [22] while continuing to carry on its fight against the Syrian military. The jihadists attacked Syrian army positions, targeted the Russian airbase at Khmeimim, and shelled towns and villages, killing civilians and forcing more than 10,000 to flee, according to the United Nations. [23] Turkey stood by while its proxies violated the cease-fire, failing to meet its commitment to disarm its fighters. [24] In response, the Syrian army, backed by its Russian and Iranian allies, launched an offensive to liberate Idlib. It has done this because Al Qaedas attacks have never stopped and because the government of Syria has an obligation to protect its citizens and control its own territory. When Jaafari addressed the Security Council in May he asked: When will it be recognized that the right we are exercising is the same right others have exercised in confronting terrorist attacks against the Bataclan theatre and the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, as well as terrorist acts in Niece, London, Boston and other cities? The terrorists that members have confronted in their own countries were not equipped with Turkish rocket launchers and tanks. [25] Apart from glossing over such inconvenient facts as the true character of the armed opposition and Erdogans connection to it, the US news media have failed to address a number of key questions. First, is it legitimate for a government to use force to recover territory occupied by an armed enemy, even if the use of force endangers civilians or sparks their flight? If the answer is no, then the Allies acted illegitimately during World War II in liberating Europe from Nazi occupation, for their project was impossible without endangering some civilians and creating refugees. Moreover, if civilian casualties and their displacement were acceptable consequences of US forces taking Raqqa from ISISthe US defense secretary at the time, James Mattis responded to concerns about the effect of the US siege on civilians by noting that Civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation [26]how is it that they are unacceptable in the case of Syrian forces liberating Idlib from Al Qaeda? A still more basic question is, Is it acceptable to respond in force to attacks from an enemy? The answer is obvious, which may be why it is never asked, for if asked, Syrian military operations against continued Al Qaeda attacks would have to be accepted as legitimate, rather than falsely portrayed as acts of aggression against Syrian civilians. Third, is Turkeys presence on Syrian soil legitimate? The answer is categorically in the negative. The invasion of Syria by Turkey and the occupation of part of Syrian territory by Turkish forces is no different in law, politics, or morality than the Nazi invasion of Poland, France, the low countries, the Soviet Union, and so on. It is clearly illegal, and an affront to the rules-based international order to which the United States, Turkey, and other NATO countries so conspicuously and hypocritically profess allegiance. The invasion and occupation have been carried out in defense of Turkeys Al Qaeda proxy, and to advance the interests of Turks and Islamists against the interests of Syrians and secularists. Erdogan is no hero, but a villain, whose hands are as maculated by the blood of Al Qaedas Syrian victims as are those of his Al Qaeda proxies. Finally, what are the costs of Al Qaedas continued rule over millions of Syrians in Idlib? Are they greater than the costs in civilian casualties and displacement of bringing that rule to an end? The US news media have been generally supportive of the immense costs in blood and treasure Washington has incurred to wage its war on Al Qaeda in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen. While noting the civilian cost of driving ISIS from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the US news media have never denounced the US war on ISIS as a humanitarian horror story, a term it uses to denounce Syrias war on Al Qaeda. Instead, ISIS itself is portrayed as a humanitarian horror story, and efforts to undermine and defeat it are welcomed. This should be true too of Syrias war on Al Qaeda. It is Al Qaeda that is the humanitarian horror story and it is the actions of the Syrian military in undermining and defeating it that ought to be welcomed and met with approbation. The Syrian military advance to recover Idlib and liberate it from Al Qaeda, a terrorist organization which has imposed a harsh regime of religious intolerance and Islamist despotism on millions of Syrians, has not been welcomed by the US news media. Although the campaign is praiseworthy on multiple levelsit recovers national territory held by proxies of a foreign aggressor, and aims to liberate millions of people who have been tyrannized by a rule imposed on them by an organization made up of thousands of foreign fightersUS media, betraying their commitment to US geopolitical agendas, portray the commendable as indefensible. We ought to applaud the actions of the Syrian military, along with those of its Russian and Iranian allies, not deplore them. These actions are blows against reaction, oppression, and foreign aggression, and in defense of democracy on an international level, as well as in the furtherance of the welfare of the Syrian people. Stephen Gowans is an independent political analyst and author of two acclaimed books, Washington's Long War on Syria (2017) and Patriots, Traitors, and Empires: The Story of Korea's Struggle for Freedom (2018), both published by Baraka Books. https://gowans.blog/ Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here 1. Raja Abdulrahim, I feel like this is the end: A million fleeing Syrians trapped by Assads final push, The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2020. 2. Abdulrahim, February 20, 2020. 3. Abdulrahim, February 20, 2020. 4. Abdulrahim, February 20, 2020. 5. Desmond Butler, Turkey officials confirm pact with Saudi Arabia to help rebels fighting Syrias Assad, AP, May 7, 2015. 6. Carlotta Gall, Syrian attacks draw Turkey deeper into Syrian war, The New York Times, February 12, 2020. 7. Sune Engel Rasmussen and James Marson, Syrian offensive creates new frictions among foreign powers, The Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2018. 8. Robert Fisk, To unlock the diplomatic mysteries behind the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, take a look at Syria, The Independent, November 22, 2018. 9. Eric Schmitt, U.S. Officials Warn of Rising Threat From Qaeda Branch in Northwest Syria. The New York Times, September 29, 2019. 10. Kareem Fahim and Sarah Dadouch, Russian-backed Syrian offensive kills dozens, displaces tens of thousands, The Washington Post, December 25, 2019; Vivian Yee and Hwaida Saad, Syrian forces move into strategic town, tightening grip on rebels, The New York Times, August 20, 2019; Patrick Cockburn, Trump says Isis has been defeated, but he is ignoring the bigger and much more worrying picture, The independent, February 8, 2019; Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, 553rd meeting of the United Nations Security Council, June 18, 2019. 11. Patrick Cockburn, Trump says Isis has been defeated, but he is ignoring the bigger and much more worrying picture, The independent, February 8, 2019. 12. Mr. Jaafari (Syrian Arab Republic) United Nations Security Council, 8535th Meeting, May 28, 2019. 13. Kareem Fahim and Sarah Dadouch, Russian-backed Syrian offensive kills dozens, displaces tens of thousands, The Washington Post, December 25, 2019. 14. Vivian Yee and Hwaida Saad, Syrian forces move into strategic town, tightening grip on rebels, The New York Times, August 20, 2019. 15. Raja Abdulrahim, Syrian government captures strategic town in last opposition stronghold, The Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2019. 16. Patrick Cockburn, February 8, 2019. 17. Patrick Cockburn, February 8, 2019. 18. Eric Schmitt, U.S. Officials Warn of Rising Threat From Qaeda Branch in Northwest Syria. The New York Times, September 29, 2019. 19. Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, 553rd meeting of the United Nations Security Council, June 18, 2019. 20. Eric Schmitt, U.S. Officials Warn of Rising Threat From Qaeda Branch in Northwest Syria. The New York Times, September 29, 2019. 21. Raja Abdulrahim, February 20, 2020. 22. Raja Abdulrahim, February 20, 2020. 23. Vivian Yee and Hwaida Saad, Syrian forces move into strategic town, tightening grip on rebels, The New York Times, August 20, 2019; Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, 553rd meeting of the United Nations Security Council, June 18, 2019. 24. David Gauthier-Villars and Nazih Osseiran, Turkish troop losses mount after clash with Assad forces, The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2020. 25. Mr. Jaafari (Syrian Arab Republic) United Nations Security Council, 8535th Meeting, May 28, 2019. 26. Raja Abdulrahim and Nour Alakraa, Civilian casualties mount as coalition moves to oust ISIS in Raqqa, The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2017. Philadelphia, PA, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Further to its new release on February 20, 2020, VSBLTY Groupe Technologies Corp. (the Company or VSBLTY) (CSE:VSBY) (Frankfurt: 5VS) (OTC:VSBGF) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of its private placement (the Offering) of $1,000 principal amount 10% convertible unsecured debentures (the Debentures) for gross proceeds $1,630,380, of which $870,000 was raised from the brokered portion of the Offering (the Brokered Offering) and $760,380 was raised from the non-brokered portion of the Offering (the Non-Brokered Offering). Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (the Agent) acted as lead agent and sole bookrunner for the Brokered Offering. The Debentures will bear interest from February 26, 2020 (the Closing Date) at a rate of 10% per annum on an accrual basis, calculated and payable semi-annually, and will mature on February 26, 2022 (the Maturity Date). The principal amount of the Debentures may be converted, in whole or in part, at any time before the Maturity Date, into units of the Company (each, a Unit) at $0.30 per Unit, if converted at any time prior to or on the date that is one year from the Closing Date, or otherwise convertible at $0.60 per Unit if converted after one year from the Closing Date but before the Maturity Date. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a Share) and one Share purchase warrant (each, a Warrant). Each Warrant will be exercisable into one Share (each a, Warrant Share) at a price of $0.60 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the Closing Date, subject to acceleration. The Company may exercise its warrant acceleration right, if on any ten consecutive trading days, beginning on the date that is four months and one day following the Closing Date, the closing price of the Shares on the CSE is greater than $1.00 per Share. If the Company exercises its warrant acceleration right, the new expiry date of the Warrants will be the 30th day following the notice of such exercise. The Company paid a cash commission to the Agent of $69,600, a finance fee of 87,000 Shares and issued 232,000 non-transferable broker warrants (the Broker Warrants). Each Broker Warrant entitles the Agent to purchase one Share at the price of $0.30 per Share for a period of 24 months from the Closing Date. The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for acquisitions and general and corporate working capital purposes. The securities issued in the Brokered Offering and Non-Brokered Offering are subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period, which expires on June 27, 2020. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release in the United States. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. On Behalf of the Board of VSBLTY Groupe Technologies Inc. "Jay Hutton CEO & Director CONTACT: Investor Relations MarketSmart Communications Inc., 877-261-4466 info@marketsmart.ca CHF Capital Markets Cathy Hume, CEO, +1-415-868-1079, x231 cathy@chfir.com Linda Rosanio, 609-472-0877 lrosanio@vsblty.net About VSBLTY (www.vsblty.net) Headquartered in Philadelphia, VSBLTY (CSE: VSBY) (Frankfurt: 5VS) (OTC:VSBGF) is the world leader in Proactive Digital Display, which transforms retail and public spaces as well as place-based media networks with SaaS- based audience measurement and security software that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Offering and the future price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, and which are described in the Companys public filings available under its profile at www.sedar.com. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not intend to update any of the included forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. The boyfriend of missing Brisbane teenager Tiffany Taylor has called the man accused of her murder a maggot as he stepped from the witness box. Police believe Tiffany Taylor, 16, was murdered after July 12, 2015. They are yet to find her body. Credit:Facebook Harrowing details of the pregnant call girl's life were laid bare on the second day of a murder trial for Rodney Wayne Williams, 65. The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Williams for a paid sexual liaison arranged through the Oasis website. Her body has never been found. She's the Instagram star who spruiks a never-ending array of brands and products. But Pia Muehlenbeck has insisted on being called a 'content creator', despite own management agency branding her a 'social influencer'. The social media mogul, 28, spoke to The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday about the details of her controversial online title. 'I'm not trying to influence people either way': Instagram star Pia Muehlenbeck, 28, insisted on being called a 'content creator' and believes she shouldn't be labelled an 'influencer' 'I tend to say I'm a creator rather than an influencer,' Pia said. She added: 'I'm not necessarily trying to influence people either way.' Over the past two months on Instagram, Pia has flogged sponsored content for Swarovski jewellery, Bondi Sands self-tanner and designer Tommy Hilfiger. Creatively driven: Pia told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday that she's a 'content creator', despite own management agency branding her a 'social influencer' As for her personal recommendations, Pia never misses the opportunity to tag her favourite brands in her posts, including Bec + Bridge, Tony Bianco and Camilla and Marc. Meanwhile, fans can follow Pia and her photographer husband Kane Vato as they show off their enviable lives on their shared YouTube channel. The loved-up couple regularly head out on shopping sprees, relax in a $5million Airbnb or jet off on another bikini-clad adventure. 'I tend to say I'm a creator rather than an influencer': The social media mogul spoke about the details of her controversial online title On top of her lucurative content creation empire, Pia also owns her own luxury swimwear brand and sells her Instagram Lightroom presets for between $10 and $70. In the past, Pia has enjoyed a bit of lighthearted fun, sharing hilarious behind the scenes footage of her falling into a wave while posing on Queensland's Airlie Beach or pulling funny faces while modelling luxury goods. The German-born creator and her husband split their time between Sydney, Los Angeles and Byron Bay, as well as frequently travelling to exotic locations. Answering a question in legislative assembly on Wednesday, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu said that total 50 police personnel, including personnel of paramilitary forces, committed suicide in the last two years in Chhattisgarh. Out of the mentioned suicide cases, total 18 were reported from seven districts of Maoist-affected Bastar division. The question was asked by senior BJP and former minster MLA Ajay Chandrakar. Total 50 police personnel, including those from state and paramilitary forces have committed suicide so far since 2018, Sahu told the house. The minister further informed that total eight security personnel, including six Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, were killed in two incidents of fratricide in last two years. As per the figures, in 2018 , total 22 police personnel committed suicide, while in 2019, the toll stood at 26. The figures also mentioned that 2 have committed suicide in 2020. It is worth mentioning, that in the year 2017, total 38 security personnel had committed suicide which was highest in a decade, while in 2016, only 12 committed suicide in 2016. According to an official posted in the state, most suicides are caused by depression, difficulty in getting leave sanctioned and homesickness. The records broadly categorise 50 per cent of the suicides as having been caused by personal and, or family reasons, 11 per cent on account of illness, 8 per cent for work-related, and 13 per cent under other reasons. The remaining 18 per cent continue to be under investigation. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritesh Mishra State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years. ...view detail A Briton has become the oldest man in the world after the former title holder died in Japan. Bob Weighton, who is 111 years old, said his new status was just one of those things. The Hampshire resident said: I dont really feel satisfied because it means someone else has died. It is not something I ever intended, wanted or worked for but it is just one of those facts of life. Chitetsu Watanabe died at the weekend, just days after collecting his Guinness World Record certificate for being the worlds oldest man. Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Show all 24 1 /24 Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AP Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record EPA Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AP Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AP Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record EPA Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record EPA Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record EPA Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record EPA Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AP Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record Reuters Sri Lanka attempts to break twin gathering world record AFP via Getty The 112-year-old had put his long life down to his ability to keep smiling. The title has now passed onto Mr Weighton, who was born in Hull on 29 March in 1908. Speaking as the oldest man in the world, he said: You might find it amazing but it is just one of those things. Mr Weighton once worked as an English teacher in Taiwan, and decoded Japanese military communications in Canada during the Second World War. He then returned to the UK with his wife Agnes, who he married in Hong Kong in 1937. Mr Weighton now lives in Alton, Hamsphire, in his own flat. Several years ago, Mr Weighton said he had asked to stop receiving birthday cards from the Queen each year because he did not want to have a huge collection in his apartment. I did accept one from her two years ago, he said in 2017, because it is the only one Id seen that she was smiling on. He is due to celebrate his 112th birthday next month. Additional reporting by Press Association The Congress on Wednesday slammed the BJP for calling Sonia Gandhi's remarks on Delhi violence "unfortunate" and asked if the "pre-planned riots" in the national capital were "fortunate". Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had accused Congress president Gandhi of playing "dirty politics" by targeting the Modi government over violence in Delhi and said her remarks were unfortunate. "Javadekar ji, if Sonia ji's statement calling for stopping the riots and punishing the guilty is unfortunate, are the pre-planned riots in Delhi fortunate?" Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi. The country does not need of religion, but the dharma of should be followed, he said. "Ask Modi ji to follow the 'rajdharma'," he added. Surjewala also hit out at the government over National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's visit to the violence-hit areas, saying that by sending the NSA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proved that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has "failed completely". "Modi ji, when you do not trust a failed home minister, then why not dismiss him!" he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its a wrap for the 12th Mostly British Film Festival that recently unspooled in Presidio Heights at the Vogue Theatre. The Celtic-flavored fest features films from Britain (natch) but also Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Australia this year dazzlingly represented by Babyteeth and its star, Bloodline Emmy-winner Ben Mendelsohn. And his countrymen were out in force (including Frameline Executive Director James Woolley) in the Fairmont Hotel Penthouse where Australian Consul General Nick Nichles hosted a reception for the actor. One of the worlds first feature films, The Kelly Gang, was made in 1906 in Australia, Nichles proudly noted. Im very excited to have Ben here, whos starred in some of my favorite Australian films: The Year My Voice Broke and Animal Kingdom. And with the Australian dollar at an attractive rate for Hollywood, American film production is on the rise Down Under. Film is an incredible tool of public diplomacy, reflected by iconic Australian films that received global recognition like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Nichles continued. The recent Oscar win by Parasite will bring enormous recognition to South Korea. Film plays an important role in highlighting cultures of different countries. Pamela Gentile Mostly British was dreamed up by San Francisco Giants General Counsel Jack Bair and former Chronicle film critic Ruthe Stein, as a benefit for the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, which owns the Vogue and funnels festival proceeds into the foundation. That nonprofit was founded in 2002 by Bair and his colleague Giants EVP and EssEff native Alfonso Felder to save what remains of the citys single-screen movie houses that once dotted every neighborhood. Alfie and I used to play softball in the Marina, recalls Bair, who grew up in San Mateo. One night we were having a post-game beer in the neighborhood and were disappointed to see Cinema 21 (now the Marina Theater) boarded up. Thats how we started. The duo also assisted in saving the Balboa Theatre (owned by Adam Bergeron, with a long-term lease for the foundation) as well as the 4 Star on Clement, the Marina and Presidio Theatre on Chestnut, as well as the New Mission. The foundation also hosts the beloved free film screenings, Sundown Cinema, held every summer in city parks. Bair and Felder recently hit another home run by saving Opera Plaza Cinema on Van Ness Avenue. While that four-screen theater is not technically historic, it specializes in indie films. And philanthropic cinephiles (including First Republic Bank CEO Jim Herbert and venture capitalist Arthur Rock, also a Giants principal owner) pledged $1.2 million to spruce up the space. Bair and Felder are already swinging cinematic bats at their next target: trying to save the Clay Theatre on Fillmore Street. Hollywood films typically hog local theaters. Ruthe identified this Mostly British niche to screen small, independent films that dont always receive wide distribution in the states, said Bair, with a laugh. Its a foregin film festival, in English, minus subtitles. Whether Irish or British, our festival films are well-written, universal stories about falling in love, or out; family dynamics, Bair continued. And this year they excelled in examining what it means to be human. Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle Cloved hearts: Most often, a cherub armed with a bow-and-arrow is the classic Valentines Day graphic. But for scene-maker and Value Culture founder Adam Swig, his symbol is personified by goats those cloven-hoofed, horned members of the biological Bovidae family. 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. And on Feb. 14 in North Beach, Swig hosted his third annual Goat My Valentine fundraiser for City Grazing, the Bayview goat-powered sustainable land management nonprofit that rents its nimble critters to chomp overgrown backyard weeds or reduce fire hazards on tricky terrain. If you cant love a human this Valentines Day, love a goat, joked Swig. And with climate change, its not PC to say Be My Valentine because bees are at risk and we need to let them be, and pollinate. The festive fete was held at Green Street and Columbus Avenue in a long-vacant building that was a neighborhood eyesore. But last November, Recreation Sound Systems entrepreneur Gregory Castellanos dreamed up Local Maker Mart, activating the space as a vibrant pop-up of hand-crafted goods by local artists. Swigs free event drew more than 1,000 revelers. But the $3K raised for City Gazing was achieved by selling $15 Snapfiesta photos of guests with the goats. However, they could jump the long line with a $30 VIG (Very Important Goat) ticket. By transforming from a novelty landscaping company into a nonprofit, weve been able do so much more for the community, said City Grazing Executive Director Genevieve Church. Weve developed a Conservation Corps and at-risk youth training program with the Sheriffs Department. And we also provide retired dairy goats with a career change. Since establishing Value Culture, Swig is on a roll engaging Millennials in culture, philanthropy and community: His goat guests spilled out over North Beach, filling neighborhood bars and restaurants. And last month, at his Take a Swig birthday celebration, curated in conjunction with Night of Ideas (co-presented by the French Consulate) at the San Francisco Main Library, every Value Culture attendee received a free one-year Friends of the San Francisco Public Library membership. Value Cultures mission is so good to the nonprofits it helps, enthused Church. I think of Adam as my favorite unicorn on the planet. Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign manager Mike Schmuhl wants to be realistic about Super Tuesday. In a memo sent Tuesday, Schmuhl said the goal for next week when voters in 14 states, including Texas and California, head to the polls is not to win, but "minimize" frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) margin of victory. But, fear not, Buttigieg supporters, that doesn't mean the campaign is giving up. Schmuhl added that the subsequent Tuesdays on March 10 and 17 are where the mayor really has a chance to shine, pointing out that while Super Tuesday accounts for 34 percent of available delegates, those two voting slates account for 28 percent. In donor memo, Buttigieg campaign manager Mike Schmuhl sets less-than-winning expectations even if they can raise $$: "Our goal is to minimize Sanders margins on Super Tuesday and rack up delegates in the March 10 and March 17 contests, which are much more favorable to us." Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) February 26, 2020 FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver thinks the memo is admirable in that it sets "realistic expectations," but he also argues it means Buttigieg might eventually have to rely on a contested convention to win the nomination, because without a healthy amount of delegates on Super Tuesday it will become incredibly difficult to win outright. This is some fairly realistic expectations-setting as these things go, but what's left unsaid is that this makes it almost impossible for Buttigieg to win with a delegate *majority*. He'd need a plurality and/or contested convention. https://t.co/pbrLtjWkzU Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 26, 2020 More stories from theweek.com Rush Limbaugh is fueling a coronavirus conspiracy theory about Rod Rosenstein's sister Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Trump's coronavirus response is worse than incompetent With the April 1 deadline for mega merger of 10 state-run banks into four fast approaching, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asserted that there is no uncertainty about the consolidation process which is going on as per the schedule. Last year in August, the government announced the consolidation of 10 public sector banks into four mega state-owned lenders effective April 1. United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce would be merged with Punjab National Bank, making the proposed entity the second largest public sector bank. It was decided to merge Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank, while Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank. Similarly, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are to be consolidated with Union Bank of India. "There are no uncertainty about bank merger ... I must thank all the banks because through their boards they have taken that call. There is absolutely no uncertainty," she said when asked if the government is reconsidering the proposed merger excercise. "We are also conscious of extra load on them in terms of the kind of demands that I put on them. I have asked them to reach out to 400 districts, I have asked them to reach out to MSME, restructure their loan. So there is a lot of core banking work which they are undertaking. I must be conscious of that also. "So the merger and the decision taken by respective banks board are all well taken. We are going as per schedule on that. There is no uncertainty on that. I am on course. There need not be speculation," she said after unveiling EASE 3.0, the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda 2020-21 for smart, tech-enabled banking, and the PSB EASE Reforms Annual Report 2019-20. Many people voiced concern about meeting the deadline for want of many regulatory approvals. However, the government may relax those approvals. Even after Cabinet approval to the proposed mega merger plan, officials said, fixation of share swap ratio, shareholders consent and other regulatory approvals are expected to take at least 30-45 days. It is believed that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has sought details from these lenders about their financial projections for the next three to five years. Details in respect of NPAs, capital requirement, credit growth and cost savings on account of the mergers have been asked for, officials said. So, chances of the merger becoming a reality beginning next fiscal year seems little unrealistic at the moment, a senior public sector bank official said. Besides, regulatory nods, the Scheme of Amalgamation has to be laid before Parliament for 30 days for the perusal of the members. The second-half of the Budget session is scheduled to start on March 2. EASE 3.0 seeks to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences, using technology, alternate data and analytics. Dial-a-loan for doorstep loan facilitation, Credit@click for end-to-end digitalised lending, on-the-spot EASE Banking Outlets at well-frequented places like malls and stations, palm banking, digitalised branch experience, analytics-based instant credit offers, cash-flow-based credit and tech-enabled agriculture lending are part of a wide array of tech-enabled ease enhancements that PSBs would effect during FY2020-21. PSB Reforms EASE Agenda is a common reform agenda for PSBs aimed at institutionalizing clean and smart banking. It was launched in January 2018, and the subsequent edition of the programme ? EASE 2.0 built on the foundation laid in EASE 1.0 and furthered the progress on reforms. Reform Action Points in EASE 2.0 aimed at making the reforms journey irreversible, strengthening processes and systems, and driving outcomes. Public Sector Banks have shown significant improvement in the Action Points of the EASE Reforms Agenda since its introduction. Following the completion of recognition of legacy stress as NPA, PSBs have returned to profitability with sound financial health and institutionalised systems to prevent the recurrence of past weaknesses. The improved financial health of PSBs reflects in many parameters including Gross NPAs reduced from Rs 8.96 lakh crore (14.6 per cent) in March-2018 to Rs 7.17 lakh crore (11.3 per cent) in December-2019 and a sharp decline in fraud occurrence from 0.65 per cent of advances during FY10-FY14 to 0.20 per cent in FY18-FY20; due to fraud prevention reforms and proactive checking of legacy NPA. Besides, there was a record recovery of Rs 2.04 lakh crore in the first nine months of 2019-20 driven by newly setup dedicated stressed account management verticals in PSBs that have recovered Rs 1.21 lakh crore in the same period and the highest provision coverage ratio of 77.5 per cent in nearly eight years. After unveiling EASE 3.0, the Finance Minister along with MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari held meeting with the heads of public sector banks on the MSME sector. The meeting reviewed loan restructuring, she said, adding that banks have been instructed to clear the pending cases by March 15. As many as 5.28 lakh accounts have been benefited out of 5.53 lakh cases eligible for restructuring and the remaining cases would be cleared by March 15, she said. Later addressing an awards function here, Gadkari said the meeting discussed four key issues including how lenders can support micro, small and medium enterprises and quick implementation of restructuring of the debt scheme for units facing difficulties. He said the issue of quick disbursement of loans by banks to MSME units under various government schemes was also taken up in the meeting. "I am confident that MSMEs will certainly be facilitated through cooperation by banks," Gadkari said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Surprise! There is an all-new Eternals comic available now from Marvel A globe-trotting story about the Eternals vs. Deviants in the 500 Year War Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 Environmental groups have urged the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry to disclose data on landholding in Papua and West Papua following a court ruling that the data be treated as public information. The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN Jakarta) ruled on Feb. 19 in favor of Greenpeace Indonesia in a dispute case against the Public Information Commission (KIP) and the ministry involving the disclosure of right to cultivate (HGU) land permits in the countrys easternmost provinces. In October, the KIP had rejected a request by the environmental group for data on land permits in the provinces, arguing that the data was not public information. Greenpeace then brought the case to the PTUN Jakarta. 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 Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer on Oct. 13, 1989 at the age of 35. A devoted wife and mother of two sons, she was a strong Texan. When the doctors at MD Anderson Cancer Center told Susan that the cancer she was facing was particularly aggressive and that she would not live beyond five years, she did not fall into despair. She endured six rounds of chemo, radiation treatments, countless surgeries, all the while retaining her humor and optimism. When a clinical trial of a new drug called Taxotere became available, Susan raised her hand to be patient No. 1. While the initial results were promising, the research for the drug was in its infancy, and ultimately Taxotere was unable to save her life. Susan Carol Crenshaw my mother died when I was 10 years old. My mom knew that this clinical trial would mean a small extension on her life at best. She knew that Taxotere would not ultimately save her life, but that her trial would provide doctors like Peter Ravdin who led the clinical trial the scientific research they needed to improve the drug and save the lives of others. Taxotere is now one of the most successful breast cancer treatments available, thanks to the invaluable research following my moms trial. Last week, I presented Dr. Ravdin an award in my moms name at my second annual Health Care Innovation Summit at Rice University. The summit celebrated something that is characteristically American: the spirit to discover, create and innovate. We heard from remarkable Texans who are tirelessly innovating the next great breakthrough to deliver hope to patients and families across the country. But the same innovation we celebrated in Houston is coming under threat because of policies in Washington. Two things can be true at once. First, health care is far too expensive in the United States. Second, American innovation in the health care space is absolutely critical for ensuring that medicine continues to advance. But the recently proposed drug pricing legislation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, H.R. 3, sacrifices the discovery of future cures. How? By instituting radical price controls on new drugs. The estimated impacts of Pelosis plan vary. The Congressional Budget Office says that the legislation will result in 30 fewer drugs over the next decade. The White House Council for Economic Advisers says 100 fewer drugs will be available. The California Life Sciences Association estimates that H.R. 3 would reduce by 88 percent the number of drugs brought to market by small health care innovators in the Speakers home state of California. The truth is, we do not know how many drugs will be lost. But we do know that one fewer cure is one too many. The next great breakthrough could be snuffed out before it saves a single life. Why will this happen? H.R. 3 would institute price controls under the misleading label of negotiation. If a drug maker does not agree with the price set by the federal government for a drug, they can be penalized with a tax of up to 95 percent of revenue (yes, revenue, not profit), which is terrifying to those who have ever operated a business. That is top-down hostage taking, not a negotiation, and new cures are the victim. As revenues for pharmaceutical companies are slashed in response to price controls, research and development expenditures will also fall, sending drug companies scrambling for low-risk, low-cost projects. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, noted recently in the Wall Street Journal, drug companies are going to sniff out safer projects with lesser payoffs, avoiding the most speculative but highest-value science, including regenerative medicine and gene editing. In other words, drug companies may choose to develop and manufacture just another cholesterol pill while avoiding costlier and riskier cancer research. Thankfully, this plan for fewer drugs isnt our only option. I believe we can lower your drug costs at the pharmacy counter and encourage the kind of innovation that cancer patients like my mom need. Thats why I helped introduce the Lower Costs, More Cures Act (H.R. 19). This bill encourages innovation, promotes affordability of cures and stops pharmaceutical companies from engaging in unfair, uncompetitive behavior. H.R. 19 would increase patient access to generic competition through a variety of measures, including a prohibition on the pay for delay agreements that pharmaceutical companies often strike with generic competitors to prevent lower-cost alternatives from entering the market. The bill also creates the first-ever annual cap of $3,100 on out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare Part D, and a monthly cap for Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs to help evenly distribute expenses across the year (reducing payment shocks). The out-of-pocket costs for insulin also would be capped at $50 per month for seniors in Medicare Part D after the deductibles are paid. Targeted reforms to pharmaceutical spending provide savings to pay for the caps. In addition to increased exposure to generic competition, our plan encourages transparency by requiring insurance companies to provide information about drug costs at the physicians office, giving you the flexibility to shop around prior to receiving a prescription. It is critical to lower your costs at the pharmacy counter Americans pay too much for prescription drugs. Its also critical that we preserve the spirit of innovation that has driven so much medical discovery and consequently, saved so many lives in this country. H.R. 19 implements commonsense reforms to achieve these two goals, which are not mutually exclusive. Americans are being offered a false choice: lower drug costs or more innovative cures. Democrats in Congress want you to choose. I want you to have both. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, represents Texas 2nd Congressional District. BUSAN, South Korea, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithium ion batteries find wide applications in everyday use objects, but the number of ions that can be stored in their graphite anodes is limited. One solution is the silicon-based anode, which allows high ion and energy storage, except for a major limitation: silicon expands significantly during charging, affecting the life cycle of these batteries. Scientists at the National Korean Maritime & Ocean University reveal a novel technique whereby silicon can be combined with carbon to counter this limitation. Novel composite combining the high energy storage capacity of silicon and the elastic property of carbon High yield Si-C for anodes in Li batteries Ever since the discovery of batteries by Volta, investigating the capability of materials to store ions, or simply electrical power, is a sought-after topic. The rising demand for portable energy saw the development of rechargeable batteries. At the forefront of this is the Nobel-prizeworthy discovery of lithium ion batteries in conjunction with carbon-based anodes. The impact of this invention can be understood by the rapid conversion of this technology from research into application in phones, tablets, and electric cars. While developments have pushed the theoretical limits on the energy yield, fundamental challenges persist, which limit the performance of these batteries. In lithium ion batteries, ions flow from the cathode (positive electrode) to the anode (negative electrode), where they are stored. During discharge, stored lithium ions are released from anode and travel through the wire. When all the ions are transferred to the cathode, the battery can be recharged by reversing the ion flow. This is how we charge our phones after a day's use. Commonly, graphite is used as the anode. But only a limited number of ions can be stored by graphite. In this regard, silicon-based anodes are a more efficient and sustainable alternative due to their high ion and energy storage capacity. However, during charging, when lithium ions are stored, the silicon-based anode tends to expand up to four times, resulting in the cracking of silicon, ultimately disrupting the core conductive pathway, causing reduced conductivity, lithium ion waste, transmission network fractures, and altered recharge life cycles. We can counter this with silicon-carbon composites combining the high energy storage capacity of silicon and elastic property of carbon, which buffers the expansion and enhances electrical conductivity. But the fabrication of these hybrids is time-consuming and cost-intensive, preventing its wide-scale application. Now, researchers from Prof. Jun Kang's lab report a simple procedure that could reduce the fabrication time and cost while providing a good yield. They used silicon and carbon precursors prepared in a solution. The principle of their studies, Prof. Kang states, was that "when a solution is subjected to a bipolar DC pulse, a spontaneous directional flow of silicon ions called the plasma discharge is observed. These ions then travel to the carbon unit in the solution and disperse deeply and stably." The thus-formed silicon-carbon composite when used as an anode exhibited stable performance over many recharge cycles. "We are optimistic that the simultaneous production of the silicon nanoparticles and their subsequent dispersion into the carbon unit will significantly reduce the time and cost," reports Prof. Kang. The easy scalability of this technique is expected to expand the global reach of rechargeable batteries. Afterall, it isn't every day that silicon and carbon join forces to help us achieve the fossil-free wireless society of tomorrow. Reference Name of invention: High yield Si-C for anodes in Li batteries DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12182871 Contact: Sun Young Yoo +82 51 410 5442 [email protected] SOURCE National Korea Maritime & Ocean University Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Wednesday said the law-and-order situation in Jammu and Kashmir was "good and satisfactory", adding that the people in the two regions were cooperating with the security agencies. Singh said Kishtwar in Jammu region would be free of militancy again as only a "couple of militants" were active in the district. "We are fully alert and are dealing with law-and-order situation on a day-to-day basis for a very long time. I am happy to announce that the people in both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir are cooperating with us to maintain peace," Singh told reporters in Kishtwar. "No incident of law-and-order situation happened anywhere in the Union territory, which is good and satisfactory," the police chief said when asked about the violence in Delhi and the measures taken by administration in maintaining peace. Referring to Kishtwar district, which was rocked by several terror-related incidents since November 2018, the DGP said: "The situation in the district used to be tense and the terrorist activities were making us upset." "It has improved a lot and the situation in the district is better now," he said, pointing out to the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen 'commander' Osama and his two associates. The officer exuded confidence that the situation would improve and the district would be made militancy-free again. "There are only a couple of active militants left in the district. We have given them the offer of both types (either surrender or get neutralised)," Singh added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T hese dramatic images reveal the extent of the devastation wreaked in Shropshire and Worcestershire after the River Severn breached its flood defences. Shot from the skies, the photos show miles of land awash with muddy water after heavy rain overnight on Monday sent river levels soaring above 22ft (6.79m) in the hardest-hit areas. Homes dot the landscape like islands as residents wade through streets transformed into streams. Police have started an "immidiate evacuation" in the town of Ironbridge, Shropshire, after water levels got so high that they breached flood defences. UK Flooding: River Severn Worcestershire 1 /58 UK Flooding: River Severn Worcestershire Drone images capturing the extent of the flooding in Bewdley @WMASHART via OFFICIALWMAS Temporary flood barriers are overwhelmed by flood water from the River Severn Getty Images A young girl looks out the window of her marooned home in Ironbridge as her cuddly toys hang out to dry, after the River Severn burst it's banks Getty Images A youth looks out of a partially submerged building as a swan paddles in the flood waters in Shrewsbury, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images A street sign is part submerged by floodwater after the River Severn burst its banks Getty Images Floodwater reaches the doorsteps of homes after the River Severn burst its banks Getty Images A street sign is part submerged by floodwater after the River Severn burst its banks Getty Images After the flooding, the river Severn remains at high levels in Ironbridge, Shropshire, with some gardens still underwater PA Drone images capturing the extent of the flooding in Bewdley @WMASHART via OFFICIALWMAS Cuddly toys hang out to dry outside a marooned home in Ironbridge after the River Severn burst it's banks in Ironbridge Getty Images After the flooding, the river Severn remains at high levels in Ironbridge, Shropshire PA A flood warning sign peeks out above flood waters in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, AFP via Getty Images Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK. PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA A part-submerged flooded home the swollen River Severn that broke its banks and breached emergency defences flowing under The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images Water pumps are surrounded by flood water in Bewdley, England. Shrewsbury Getty Images Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Rescue workers help a woman to safety in flood waters in Bewdley Getty Images Flood waters surround cars parked outside homes Getty Images The swollen River Severn that broke its banks and breached emergency defences flowing under The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images A part-submerged trees after the River Severn broke its banks and breached emergency defences in Ironbridge AFP via Getty Images Rescue workers make their way through flood water Getty Images The swollen River Severn that broke its banks and breached emergency defences flowing under The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images Rescue workers help a woman to safety in flood waters in Bewdley Getty Images A a canoe outside a flooded home in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images Flood barriers which have moved due to the weight of water in the River Severn in the Wharfage area of Ironbridge, Shropshire PA A car in flooded water Flood defences in ewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA The swollen River Severn that breached emergency defences in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images The swollen River Severn that breached emergency defences in Ironbridge, Shropshire AFP via Getty Images Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flood defences in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flood defences in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the U PA Fllooding in the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire after the River Severn burst its banks PA A man surveys the flooding in Berwick Road, Shrewsbury, near the River Severn PA Temporary flood barriers in Ironbridge, Shropshire, as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK PA Flooding in the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire after the River Severn burst its banks PA Flooding in Worcester city centre and the racecourse continues following Storm Dennis Getty Images Flooded roads in Upton-upon-Severn PA Flooded homes on the banks of the River Severn following Storm Dennis Getty Images It comes as the Met Office warns communities in Wales and north-western England are set to see another 2cm to 4cm of rain. Railway lines in Shrewsbury have been closed due to the rising water levels close to the viaduct. Network Rail said: The exceptionally high water levels in the Severn and the closure of these lives serve to highlight the extreme weather weve experienced across the network over the last few weeks. The current situation in Shrewsbury is very much a once-in-a-generation event. It said engineers would be undertaking an underwater inspection of the viaducts structure on Wednesday morning before lines can reopen. Residents in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley were forced to evacuate after the river spilled over barriers at Beales Corner. Mark Bowers, a flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, tweeted: Huge amounts of water in the system. Thoughts with the local community who have been impacted. Earlier the force of the river forced flood defences backwards in Ironbridge. They had initially managed to hold. Shortly after 1am on Wednesday, Chief Superintendent Tom Harding, of West Mercia Police, tweeted: The barrier appears intact but has indeed moved. This will be monitored throughout the night. Speaking at Ironbridge on Wednesday morning, Marc Lidderth, EA environment manager, said water levels had dropped by about 0.3in (1cm). But he added: The severe flood warning that we have issued here at Ironbridge is still in force, which means there is a significant risk to life, so we need people to remain vigilant and to listen to the advice thats coming from the emergency services. The agency is keeping a close eye on the barriers on the Severn, Mr Lidderth said. He added that drones may be used later today to assess the defences. Roads around the Ironbridge Gorge were closed to stop people driving in floodwater, Telford and Wrekin Council said. The level of the River Severn reached more than 22ft (6.79m) in the Shropshire village of Buildwas at around 8.30am on Wednesday up from a level of 16ft (4.19m) on Sunday. In the North East, flood warnings remain in place in the Snaith area, in East Yorkshire, ahead of a high tide on Wednesday morning. Flooding in the town of Snaith in East Yorkshire after the River Aire burst its banks / PA The Environment Agency said the washlands at Gowdall Ings are continuing to fill and are overtopping, as designed, into Snaith Ings, with flooding affecting properties nearby. Hull Coastguard Rescue Team joined other agencies, including police, fire and ambulance services, on Tuesday night to alert residents and help with evacuations. On Tuesday, East Riding of Yorkshire Council said that 10 properties seven commercial and three residential had flooded in Snaith and the road north of the town had been closed. The Snaith School said it will be closed on Wednesday as a precaution and Snaith Primary School also remains closed. On Wednesday morning there were two severe flood warnings meaning there is a risk to life on the River Severn. There were a further 102 flood warnings and 146 flood alerts in place stretching from the Lake District down to the south coast, with heavy concentrations in the North East and South West. Many towns the length of the River Severn were also at risk. Weather Forecast Wednesday 26 February Oli Claydon, a Met Office spokesman, said western parts of the UK would see a pattern of sunshine and showers over Wednesday and Thursday. He said the volume of rain would ordinarily be nothing to be overly concerned about, but added any further rain could have an impact on flooded communities. In some of those regions through that period of rainfall, particularly into the Severn catchment, the total wont necessarily be a huge amount but in any of those places that are seeing flooding, any further rain is not welcome, he said. Mr Claydon said that most of the UK would be dry by Thursday evening, before more heavy rain moves in from the west on Friday. In terms of impact, the main thing we are keeping an eye on now is Friday, he said. That is another area of concern there could be yellow rain warnings on Friday in terms of the accumulations that could be expected from that rainfall. The billionaire hedge fund boss who attacked the Prudential has been forced to back down over his demand to shift its listing from the London Stock Exchange. Dan Loeb, who took a 5 per cent stake in the life insurer this week through his hedge fund Third Point, conceded that the Pru could maintain its London listing under his radical shake-up plan. But he has refused to concede defeat on booting Prudential out of its HQ in the City, ending its 172-year presence in London. Billionaire hedge fund boss Dan Loeb, who took a 5 per cent stake in the life insurer this week, conceded that the Pru could maintain its London listing under his radical shake-up plan Loeb, who has been dubbed the 'merchant of venom' for calling out chief executives in scathing public letters, wrote to the Pru's board this week lambasting its performance and calling for urgent action. He wants the company, which now consists of an Asia division and a US annuities arm, to split into two separate businesses and ditch its London base. He said last night that the Asian division could retain a secondary listing in the UK, meaning investors who own funds which track UK indices would be able to maintain stakes in the Pru. But his attack blindsided its board, who had little inkling of Loeb's plans. The Pru said: 'Prudential proactively engages with shareholders with regards to group strategy and structure, and looks forward to commencing a dialogue with Third Point with regard to the views outlined.' Loeb, whose great-aunt Ruth Handler is credited with inventing the Barbie doll, has made his move at time of change for Prudential. The firm is set to welcome Shriti Vadera, chairman of Santander and former adviser to Gordon Brown, to the board in May with a view to appointing her as chairman next January. The Mail understands that Vadera will be kept in the loop regarding Prudential's response to Loeb until she takes up her role. Prudential has refused to say how much credence it is giving to Loeb's ideas. But sparks could fly between the ruthless hedge fund manager and Vadera, who has a reputation for being a fearsome negotiator. The suggestion to shift the Pru out of the UK has proved controversial. David Buik, veteran City analyst, said: 'I agree entirely with the sentiment that many shareholders are in the UK, and it would be a huge shame to see a company which provides jobs and pays tax in Britain to move abroad.' Analysts at Jefferies disagreed that the company should be split up. Jefferies' Philip Kett said: 'We suspect that US cash flows are more critical than may at first appear, providing cash flow to reinvest in Asia.' JP Morgan analysts said that though most investors they had spoken to were in favour of the divide, it was unclear how Prudential might offload its 10billion US arm. Prudential already has a much-reduced presence in the UK, after hiving off its European arm into M&G last year. File image Political strategist and politician Prashant Kishor, on February 26, called for the sacking of Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik over the clashes taking place in the National Capital. Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modis tweet where he stated that the concerned authorities are working to restore peace and normalcy in Delhi, Kishor demanded that Patnaik be removed from the post over negligence" in containing the clashes that have been taking place northeast Delhi. Sir, at the very least please #SackCPDelhi for his incompetence and criminal negligence. #delhivoilence https://t.co/zPi0jjEpso Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) February 26, 2020 Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 He tweeted:Earlier on February 26, the Prime Minister had taken to Twitter to urge Delhiites to shun violence and restore normalcy in the National Capital.More than 20 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the violence seen in the National Capital that started with clashes over the Citizenship Amendment Act on February 23. Egypt held a military funeral in Cairo on Wednesday to bury its former President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years until he was ousted in a 2011 popular uprising against corruption. Mr Mubaraks sons Alaa and Gamal, joined by soldiers, walked next to their fathers coffin at a huge mosque built by the army in a Cairo suburb where the funeral took place. Mr Mubarak died on Tuesday in intensive care weeks after undergoing surgery. This will leave Egyptians divided over his legacy presiding over an era of stagnation and repression, which some nevertheless recall as more stable than the chaos that followed. He was swept out of power as an early victim of the Arab Spring revolutions that swept the region in 2011. He spent many of the subsequent years in jail and military hospitals before being freed in 2017. Egypts presidency and armed forces mourned the former air force officer as a hero for his role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The presidency declared three days of national mourning. Egypts top military officials were expected to attend the funeral. Mr Mubaraks coffin was to be airlifted from the Field Marshall Tantawi mosque to the family burial grounds, state television reported. Dozens of Mr Mubarak supporters, some from his home village Kafr al-Meselha in the Nile Delta, gathered outside the mosque, where the military funeral will take place. I am happy that his pride was restored after his removal and for the states appreciation for him after his death, said Zeenat Touhami, a 35-year old woman from Cairo. This is the history of 30 years, the farewell of 30 years. Mohamed Zaree, a human rights activist, said the present era of autocracy and economic hardship was worse than Mubaraks. President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, who came to power after leading the overthrow of Mubaraks successor, Mohamed Morsi, has overseen a broad crackdown on dissent, which rights groups say is the most severe in recent memory. Mubaraks era was painful (but) this era is much more difficult and painful in terms of freedoms and economic conditions, Mr Zaree said. Many of the activists, who helped organise mass protests which ousted Mr Mubarak, are now behind bars or live in exile abroad. Mr Al-Sisis supporters say a crackdown was needed to stabilise the country after the turmoil that followed 2011. Mr Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during the 18-day revolt in 2011, but was freed in 2017 after being cleared of those charges. He was also convicted in 2015 along with his two sons of diverting public funds to upgrade family properties. They were sentenced to three years in jail. This was a stark contrast to the treatment of his successor, Mr Morsi, Egypts first freely elected leader, who lasted only a year in office before the army toppled him. Mr Morsi died in 2019 after collapsing in court while on trial on espionage charges. Advertisements Egyptian media, which are tightly controlled, paid little attention to his death. (Reuters/NAN) Elon Musk has dismissed a long-running conspiracy theory among his Twitter followers that the secret to his success is time travel, with the billionaire claiming he is instead a vampire. The joke stems from an image of Raymond Collishaw, a World War I fighter pilot who bears a striking resemblance to the Tesla chief executive. Collishaw died in 1976 five years after Musk was born but the image is often used as proof that the entrepreneur is a time traveller, capable of picking out trends such as online payments (PayPal) and private space travel (SpaceX) long before they are established insustries. Why were you in Canada in 1914, why was your name Raymond Collishaw and why was your occupation ace fighter-pilot, one of his Twitter followers asked, after Musk tweeted about preparations to a SpaceX launch. Musk responded: Full disclosure, Im actually a 3,000-year-old vampire. Its such a trial assuming all these false identities over the centuries! Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Fellow tech bosses have been among those to question Musks uncanny ability to make money through future-facing technology. In 2017, former Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo told CNBC: Elon may be proof that time travel exists, because he seems to have either more hours in the day than the rest of us have, or hes from the future. Recommended Elon Musk crashes Tesla Cybertruck into bollard after night out He continued: In all seriousness, Im laughing because [Musks] ability to think cogently and thoughtfully about such a wide range of topics, while running these multiple companies, and seeming to be running them well is just, I mean, it makes you shake your head. Its remarkable. While the Elon Musk-time travel conspiracy is clearly tongue-in-cheek, some scientists say the concept of time travel is theoretically possible. A 2017 study in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity stated that it was mathematically possible to travel backwards and forwards through time and space, as interpreted by an external observer. There is, however, a caveat. Researcher Ben Tippett said at the time: While it is mathematically feasible, it is not yet possible to build a space-time machine because we need materials which we call exotic matter to bend space-time in these impossible ways, but they have yet to be discovered. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 00:32:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Marwa Yahya CAIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Under the theme "fruitful trees, fruitful life," an Egyptian engineer has made enormous efforts after he launched an initiative to plant fruit trees in streets and schools of Egypt. "Shagarha (plant trees in Arabic) initiative aimed at planting one million fruit trees by 2030," said Omar al-Deeb, a 33-year- old engineer came up with the idea in 2016. The main objective of the initiative was to raise awareness about sustainable development and to face climate changes, said al-Deeb. The initiative includes more than 300 events, most of which are based on the simple tools and volunteers' capabilities, and some 55 schools and universities have taken part in the events, according to al-Deeb. "So far, we have planted 100,000 trees in more than 16 provinces across the country," al-Deeb told Xinhua, adding that hundreds of volunteers have also planted vegetables, fruit trees and aromatic plants in more than 8,000 balconies and rooftops. "These trees have produced more than 7,000 tons of fruits and highly reduced air pollution," he added. The initiative was awarded Egypt's Environmental Excellence Award by the Ministry of Environment in January. "The youth volunteering activities are made for all classes and segments of the society starting from children, young people, ladies, old men and people with special needs," he added. He explained that the idea came to his mind when he saw people eating blueberries from a tree nearby his house. "If more trees with fruits are planted, more people could find food in the streets," he said. He highlighted that enthusiasm of young people was the main pillar for spreading the idea, noting that the awareness about the initiative is increasing on social media platforms. In the last event on Sunday, twenty volunteers have planted 200 olive, lemon, peach and pomegranate trees in Giza province, southwest of the capital. Another 100 volunteers put the seedlings of 400 trees in new Cairo on the same day amid joyful residents, who participated in the cleaning and the planting activities. Al-Deeb pointed out that some officials from the Ministry of Environment are helping the volunteers with technical information and some equipment. "Starting with only one person, I feel so proud that thousands of volunteers have joined me," he added. Al-Deeb said he faced some difficulties at the beginning to convince the people because his education background was far from agriculture. He reiterated that the big challenge was to learn about planting trees so he watched hundreds of videos and consulted some professors in the field. "I learnt first about the initiative from the facebook, and I watched many videos about their work before joining them," said Reham Abdullah, a 23-year-old volunteer. "I'm glad to be part of that experience," she told Xinhua, adding that the fruitful trees are much better than the ornamental ones for the food production. She added the initiative has helped in providing jobs for fifty people, noting that the volunteers have reduced water consumption through the use of hydroponic systems. With 300,000 fans on the initiative facebook page, the volunteers have also launched activities such as publishing posts on planting, irrigation, fertilizing and pest-control methods online. The initiative has collaborated with private-sector companies to raise awareness of reducing pollution via planting more trees. "Egypt needs more awareness and strict regulations to protect environment," said Khaled al-Qadi, an environmental expert. He hailed planting trees initiative in helping reduce pollution, calling for action by the government to protect public health and prevent the yearly squandering of billions of dollars on medical treatment of those affected by pollution. Cairo, a city of almost 16 million people, has a high amount of air pollution, he said, adding that "there is an urgent need for action on pollution in this city." In 2017, 40,000 Egyptians died because of pollution, the UN Environment Program said. It added that the absence of trees in Cairo contributed to the problem of air pollution. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:12:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Guangzhou Metro Group said it has formed a consortium with two other companies and the trio will take over the operation and maintenance of the Orange Line metro service, Pakistan's first-ever mass rapid urban transit, for an eight-year term. It is the first rail transit project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which fully adopts Chinese standards, technology and equipment, the company said. The consortium, consisting of Guangzhou Metro Group, Norinco International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service, signed a service contract on Tuesday with the mass transit authority of Punjab province in Pakistan. The north-south metro line, which was built in Punjab's capital Lahore, spans 25.58 km, mostly elevated, with a total of 26 stations and trains running at 80 kph. Guangzhou Metro Group is busy making operational preparations and recruiting managerial and technical staff to ensure the Orange Line's commercial launch in early June as scheduled. Service resumed on delayed GO trains Wednesday morning after Toronto police forcefully removed nearly 30 people who were rallying in solidarity with Wetsuweten overnight. Police tweeted that after providing demonstrators with an injunction and encouraging peaceful departure, they began moving people from the tracks near Lambton Arena off Jane and Dundas West streets. Police said most protesters were co-operative but arrests were made when necessary. Toronto police tweeted on Wednesday evening that 37 people were arrested during the blockades. Of those arrested, 25 were released unconditionally. The remaining 12 were criminally charged with mischief. Seven of the 12 are also facing charges under the Rail Safety Act, police said. Metrolinx said the police investigation along the tracks between Aldershot GO and Hamilton GO has cleared and they anticipate that it will be operating regular train service from Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Hamilton and West Harbour GO stations this morning. The transit agency also anticipates running regular services on the Milton line but noted that it will depend on circumstances that are out of their control and that in the event that an alternate route is taken, passengers should plan ahead to avoid delays. Anne Marie Aikins, spokesperson for Metrolinx said theyre currently waiting for an OK from CP, as the Milton line runs through it. We are determined to operate Milton service. We just might have to operate a bypass which takes longer, said Aikins. Every other line is going to operate for now that is our plan but it is a very fluid situation unfortunately. The number of people gathered at Lambton Arena dwindled throughout the evening and into early Wednesday. Toronto police cleared the rail path at about 3 a.m., carrying some 30 people off the tracks one by one. Another 30 protesters on the opposite side of a fence blocking off the tracks chanted shame and solidarity as police formed a human chain paving the way between the protesters on the track and a couple of court services vehicles waiting nearby. Several people carried off the path were allowed to walk free, though some were taken into custody. Its unclear how many people were arrested over the course of the 11-hour protest and how many face charges. This is colonization as usual, one protester, named Lil Bear, told the Star. Same thing weve been enduring for hundreds of years. Its despicable. He said the arrests wouldnt deter protesters from creating more blockades moving forwards. This is for our future. For the future of our planet. We knew these arrests were coming from the very beginning, said Koryn John, who was carried out of the rail path by three officers. This is what inevitably happens when we protest, but that isnt going stop us. The blockades will continue until Indigenous land is recognized and respected. A heavy police presence remained on the tracks for at least another hour as officers cleared personal belongings left behind by protestors and extinguished small bonfires. On Tuesday, rail lines in Toronto and the GTA came to a temporary halt as blockades were set up during the afternoon and evening commute stopping GO Train service and regular rail traffic. Union Station in Toronto was jammed with frustrated commuters. Metrolinx warned of disruptions throughout our entire system. Regular service resumed in the early evening but not before thousands of passengers were delayed. Across the country, protesters of the Coastal GasLink project in Western Canada are digging in, mounting blockades that appear suddenly, and in some cases dissipate quickly. Protesters are vowing to fight on despite police action to enforce trespassing laws. Small blockades aimed at stifling Canadian rail transport occurred in other parts of Ontario and in Quebec. Talks aimed at cooling the tension continue with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in B.C. and the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs discussing a satellite detachment (trailers housing police equipment and offices) that the chiefs want removed. While those talks continue, protesters across the country have taken to the rail lines. The hereditary chiefs claim control over lands the pipeline would have to cross. With files from Gilbert Ngabo, Ben Spurr and Tom Yun Raneem Alozzi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @r_alozzi Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc Read more about: 25.02.2020 LISTEN The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has lamented that local food prices are still high and beyond the means of many people in Ghana, especially the poor. According to IEA, many crops are still subject to seasonality and considerable price fluctuations. The assertions of IEA are sharply in contrast to claims made by President Nana Akufo-Addo that agriculture has improved under his administration and that Ghana is no longer importing maize, and that rice imports have been reduced. Mr. Akufo-Addo also claimed that Ghana is now a net exporter of foodstuffs and that food prices are at their lowest for decades. However, at a press conference on Tuesday, February 25, in Accra to respond to claims made by the President in his SONA, Dr. John K. Kwakye, Director of Research, IEA, said the fact that food accounts for 43 of the average Ghanaians monthly spending is enough evidence that food prices are still prohibitively high. According to him, on the whole, Ghana still has a long way to go in producing more food locally to reduce food prices and the general cost of living. He mentioned inadequate irrigation facilities, high dominance of peasant farming, inadequate availability of high-yielding seed varieties and fertilizer, among others, as factors for low food production in Ghana. Daily Guide Harley-Davidson India models could become cheaper by bringing current import tariffs down to a single-digit. A good majority of Indians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were pleased to receive US President Donald Trump and his family for the very first time in India as part of Namaste Trump. Needless to say, the two-day visit of one of the most powerful individuals in the world is still a hot topic for the Indian media and everyone is looking forward to understanding the positive outcomes of the event social, economic and strategic that would affect either country. For Indian automotive enthusiasts, Namaste Trump was expected to bring some good news in the form of reduced prices for premium motorcycles. Donald Trump had insisted the Indian government reduce import tariff on American-origin Harley-Davidson motorcycles on multiple occasions. As per reports, the Indian government will be making a final decision on this, at a later stage of the year. Apparently, the concerned authorities have promised to lower import tariffs to a single-digit for motorcycles with a displacement over 1,600cc. A new tariff classification will be formed for such two-wheelers. As a result, top-end models from the likes of Harley-Davidson, Indian Motorcycles, British-origin Triumph Motorcycles as well as every other brand who makes high-capacity two-wheelers; will become significantly cheaper on the Indian market. However, the two-day maiden visit of the 45th president of the United States of America (seventh to visit India) could not make it happen at the moment, but was concentrated on other important decisions. At present, the import duty on CBU (Completely Built-Up or Completely Built Units) motorcycles stand at 50%; which itself was reduced from 100% (or double the original asking price) in 2019 after a conversation between Trump and Modi. However, the US President remained unhappy claiming that the taxes were too high and not acceptable since its 50% versus nothing. Meanwhile, the Indian government had increased the tariffs on CKD (Completely Knocked Down) products from 10% to 15%. A good majority of products sold by premium brands operating in different segments come via the CKD route. The higher tariffs made them much more expensive at a time when the Indian automotive industry as a whole was not at its best performance. High-end cars and motorcycles available on the Indian market are much more expensive compared to their foreign counterparts. For the same reason, those who are able to afford and maintain such products are still making a questionable financial decision (especially taking the rate of depreciation into account). Gwyneth Paltrow made a joke about her role in the deadly virus film Contagion as she shared a photograph of herself with a mask covering her mouth as she travelled to Europe. The 2011 movie by Steven Soderbergh, about a fast-moving mystery virus that kills tens of millions of people worldwide, has found increased popularity since the outbreak of coronavirus. Paltrow played patient zero, who contracted the virus from a chef in Hong Kong who handled a slaughtered pig that had been infected by a bat. The film, which also stars Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard, has surged up the iTunes charts in recent weeks. Sharing a photograph of herself on the plane wearing a black eye mask and an Airinum air mask, she wrote: En route to Paris. Paranoid? Prudent? Panicked? Placid? Pandemic? Propaganda? Paltrows just going to go ahead and sleep with this thing on the plane. Ive already been in this movie. Stay safe. Dont shake hands. Wash hands frequently. Kate Hudson has also shared a photograph of herself wearing a mask on a flight, captioning the picture: Travel. 2020. Olympic gold medal-winning diver Mathew Mitcham has married his longtime boyfriend Luke Rutherford in a fairytale European wedding. Mitcham, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, shared photos of the ceremony from the Chateau de Halloy in Ciney, Belgium. 'After a sustained period of lovely gestures, loyalty, gazing adoringly and many trips to Ikea, I managed to trick Luke into falling in love with me,' Mitcham posted to social media. Matthew Mitcham and Luke Rutherford (pictured together) were married in a 'fairytale' ceremony in a European castle in front of family and friends The pair were married in the lavish Chateau de Halloy (pictured) in Ciney, Belgium, bud sadly Mitcham's grandparents and uncle were unable to make it to the ceremony 'Proposing to me and finally marrying me. Now he's stuck with me forever and ever.' He described the ceremony as 'beautiful'. 'I was crying for basically the entire ceremony,' he told the Daily Telegraph. Not all of Mitcham's family were able to make the ceremony. His uncle was also unable to attend the wedding after being quarantined as one of the passengers on the coronavirus hit cruise ship, the Diamond Princess. However his three siblings were able to attend and were part of the bridal party along with Rutherford's two brothers and two close female friends. Knowing some of Mitcham's family couldn't make it Rutherford took it upon himself to plan a touching gesture for his husband. Knowing some of Mitcham's family couldn't make it Rutherford (pictured together) planned a touching gesture for his husband and had the missing family record surprise videos for him 'Luke organised a big surprise video montage of messages from people who couldn't make it,' Mitcham said. Mitcham was the first openly gay athlete to win an Olympic gold medal when he came out before winning the 10 metre platform event at the 2008 Beijing games. The same games where he recorded the highest ever Olympic score for a diver, 112.10. China has detained over 4,000 people for criminal offences related to the novel coronavirus which include fraud and rumour-mongering. Security officials have handled around 22,000 criminal cases across China and 4,260 suspects have been detained, a state news agency quoted Vice Minister of public security bureau Du Hangwei. The epidemic-related criminal cases including the sale of counterfeit and shoddy protective materials. The public security official said that more than 1,560 suspects were apprehended in such cases and over 31 million fake or inferior quality of masks were seized by the authorities. According to the latest report, 50 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll because of the deadly virus over 2,700. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including Iran, France, Italy, and Japan have also reported deaths related to COVID-19. Read: Iran Accuses US Of Spreading 'extreme Fear' Over Deadly Coronavirus Outbreak outside China Iran has reported 44 new cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, as the fear of a pandemic grows with a rapid increase in the number of cases in the Middle East and Europe. Iran has officially confirmed 19 deaths due to the deadly virus and the countrys deputy Health Minister has also tested positive. Read: Philippines Ban Citizens From Travelling To South Korea Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Several Gulf nations including Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain reported first cases of coronavirus and all the patients were linked to Iran. Though South Korea has reported the most number of cases outside China, the number of fatalities in Iran is the highest after China. The neighbouring countries are scrambling to heighten measures against the coronavirus outbreak by closing their borders with Iran and travel restrictions. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States has planned to spend about $2.5 billion to fight the novel coronavirus which has claimed more than 2,700 lives across the world. Read: US Health Officials Alert Citizens To Begin Preparations As Coronavirus Fear Looms Large Read: Iran Health Minister Confirms 44 New Coronavirus Cases, Death Toll Reaches 19 (With inputs from agencies) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE:E4U) (EnWave, or the "Company") today reports the Companys consolidated interim financial results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2019. Consolidated Financial Performance: ($ 000s) Three months ended December 31, 2019 $ 2018 $ Change % Revenues 8,609 7,806 10% Direct costs 5,413 4,769 14% Gross margin 3,196 3,037 5% Operating expenses General and administration 1,758 998 76% Sales and marketing 1,943 976 99% Research and development 535 341 57% 4,236 2,315 83% Net loss for the period after taxes (1,426) (15) Adjusted EBITDA(*) (743) 1,163 Loss per share basic and diluted (0.01) (0.00) * Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure. Refer to the disclosure below regarding non-IFRS financial measures below and in the Companys MD&A. EnWaves interim consolidated financial statements and MD&As are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Companys website www.enwave.net . Key Financial Highlights for Q1 (expressed in 000s): Reported revenue for Q1 2020 of $8,609 compared to $7,806 for Q1 2019, an increase of $803 or 10%. During Q1 2020 we had the highest number of large-scale Radiant Energy Vacuum (REVTM) machines in fabrication at one point in time for the Company. Moon Cheese sales in the quarter were downwardly affected due to excess inventory in the club channel that was previously sold in Q4 2019 for the Most Valuable Member (MVM) program in Costco; however, improved distribution was achieved in other channels and repeat sales were strong overall. Achieved gross profit of $3,196 for Q1 2020 compared to $3,037 for Q1 2019, an increase of $159. Gross margin held steady at 37% in Q1 2020 compared to 39% for Q1 2019. The sales mix shifted in the quarter with more revenue from machine sales, and our cost absorption improved with a larger number of machines being fabricated concurrently. EnWave expects the gross margin on machine sales to improve in coming quarters due to the implementation of a revised pricing schedule. Consolidated net loss after taxes was $1,426 for Q1 2020 compared to a net loss of $15 for Q1 2019, an increase of $1,411. Adjusted EBITDA(*) was negative $743 for Q1 2020 compared to Adjusted EBITDA(*) of positive $1,163 for Q1 2019, a decrease of $1,906. We continued to make significant investments to establish a high-quality sales and marketing infrastructure at NutraDried to make Moon Cheese a category leading brand. Invested in S&M expenses of $1,943 in Q1 2020 compared to $976 in Q1 2019. We rebranded Moon Cheese and relaunched the brand with new packaging, a new website and new package sizes. We expanded our sales infrastructure by adding to our team of professionals that are located geographically around the U.S. with a focus on sales growth in diversified channels. We also hired a Chief Marketing Officer to develop and execute a marketing strategy to drive improved consumer awareness and trial. These S&M investments are anticipated to create sustained future value through increased distribution and new channel penetration. Maintained a strong working capital surplus of $25,093 and a debt-free balance sheet, providing a robust foundation for future company growth including, REV machine fabrication, royalty generation and Moon Cheese production. Significant Accomplishments: Re-launched the Moon Cheese brand with world-class packaging, branding, consumer messaging and digital assets. Moon Cheese is now available in 10oz, 2oz and 1oz package sizes that have been customized to suit specific channels of distribution. Along with the new branding, we launched two new flavors: Bacon Cheddar and Garlic Parmesan. The new flavors were chosen based on the results of extensive consumer testing and research. At the beginning of 2018, Moon Cheese was offered in five flavor/size variations, but has now been expanded to fifteen flavor/size formats to optimize our product portfolio to suit target customer preferences. Signed six new royalty-bearing commercial license agreements in Q1 2020 through to the date of this report. Three of these license agreements were in the food products vertical and three were in the cannabis vertical. The new royalty-bearing licenses and REV TM machine sales to the food vertical in Q1 include: Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with Pacifico Snacks S.A.S. (Pacifico Snacks) and received a purchase order for a 10kW machine. Pacifico Snacks is a woman-owned Columbian producer of natural snacks with distribution to specialty retailers and for private label in North America. Pacifico plans to launch mango, pineapple and banana products using REV TM in 2020. Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with KL Ballantyne Pty Ltd (Ballantyne), a leading family-owned Australian dairy producer. Ballantyne purchased a 10kW REV machine to initiate commercial production of several dairy ingredients and products developed for B2B sales in Australia and internationally. Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with Responsible Foods ehf (Responsible Foods) for the dehydration of premium Icelandic raw materials including dairy, seafood, meat, microalgae and seaweed. Responsible Foods is a start-up snack food company focused on better-for-you snack and ingredient offerings using REV TM technology. Secured a second purchase order from Fresh Business Consulting S.L. (Fresh Business) for a 100kW large-scale REV processing line. The purchase order represents Fresh Business second REV machine for Peru and the scale-up of Fresh Business royalty-bearing processing capacity for the meaningful commercial production of premium dried fruit and vegetable products. machine sales to the food vertical in Q1 include: Continued to broaden the global sales of REV TM drying machines for cannabis. At the beginning of 2019, EnWave had two cannabis royalty partners licensed to use the EnWave technology both in Canada. EnWave now has licensed royalty partners for cannabis and hemp drying in the United States, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia, which includes the following licenses secured in Q1: Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with Helius Therapeutics Ltd. (Helius), New Zealands largest licensed medical cannabis company. Helius purchased a 10kW REV machine to initiate commercial dying of cannabis in New Zealand in 2020. Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with Cann Group Limited (Cann Group), Australias first Medical Cannabis Cultivation Licensee. Cann Group purchased a 10kW REV machine to initiate commercial production in 2020. Signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement and equipment lease agreement with a Medical Cannabidiol (CBD) Company in Switzerland. The Swiss CBD company has the non-exclusive right to use REV TM technology to dehydrate medicinal-grade hemp for cannabidiol extraction and will initially use a leased 10kW REV machine for commercial production. drying machines for cannabis. At the beginning of 2019, EnWave had two cannabis royalty partners licensed to use the EnWave technology both in Canada. EnWave now has licensed royalty partners for cannabis and hemp drying in the United States, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia, which includes the following licenses secured in Q1: Signed a technology license and joint development agreement (the JDA) with GEA Lyophil GmbH, a global manufacturer and marketer of freeze-dry units for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, to accelerate the potential commercialization of REV technology in the pharmaceutical industry. Grant of Stock Options and RSRs to New Independent Director: On February 12, 2020, the Company appointed Mr. Patrick Turpin as a new independent director to the Companys Board of Directors. Mr. Turpin is a seasoned executive in the consumer-packaged goods vertical and brings over 30 years of experience in the space, including as co-founder and former President of Popchips Inc. and as a former Vice President at Costco. The Company has granted Mr. Turpin an aggregate of 150,000 incentive stock options, subject to the terms of the Companys Stock Option Plan (the Plan), that are exercisable at the last closing price of the Companys common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) on February 26, 2020. The incentive stock options are exercisable for a term of five years expiring on February 26, 2025 and will vest in accordance to the provisions set out in the Plan, or as otherwise required by the TSXV. The Company also granted Mr. Turpin an aggregate of 20,000 Restricted Share Rights (RSRs) pursuant to the Companys Restricted Share Rights Plan. The RSRs granted will vest three years from the date of the award. (*) Non-IFRS Financial Measures: Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under IFRS. We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before deducting amortization and depreciation, stock-based compensation, foreign exchange gain or loss, finance expense or income, income tax expense and non-recurring restructuring and impairment charges. This measure is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and should not be construed as an alternative to net income or cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS. Please refer to the discussion included in the Companys interim MD&A for the three months ended December 31, 2019. About EnWave EnWave Corporation, a Vancouver-based advanced technology company, has developed Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) an innovative, proprietary method for the precise dehydration of organic materials. EnWave has further developed patent-pending methods for uniformly drying and decontaminating cannabis through the use of REV technology, shortening the time from harvest to marketable cannabis products. REV technologys commercial viability has been demonstrated and is growing rapidly across several market verticals in the food, and pharmaceutical sectors, including legal cannabis. EnWaves strategy is to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with innovative, disruptive companies in multiple verticals for the use of REV technology. The company has signed over thirty royalty-bearing licenses to date. In addition to these licenses, EnWave established a Limited Liability Corporation, NutraDried Food Company, LLC, to manufacture, market and sell all-natural dairy snack products in the United States, including the Moon Cheese brand. EnWave has introduced REV as a disruptive dehydration platform in the food and cannabis sectors: faster and cheaper than freeze drying, with better end product quality than air drying or spray drying. EnWave currently offers two distinct commercial REV platforms: nutraREV which is a drum-based system that dehydrates organic materials quickly and at low-cost, while maintaining high levels of nutrition, taste, texture and colour; and, quantaREV which is a tray-based system used for continuous, high-volume low-temperature drying. More information about EnWave is available at www.enwave.net . EnWave Corporation Mr. Brent Charleton, CFA President and CEO For further information: Brent Charleton, CFA , President and CEO at +1 (778) 378-9616 E-mail: bcharleton@enwave.net Dan Henriques, CFO at +1 (604) 835-5212 E-mail: dhenriques@enwave.net Deborah Honig, Corporate Development at + 1 (647) 203-8793 E-mail: dhonig@enwave.net Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management's expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures, and the expected synergies following the closing are forward-looking statements. All third party claims referred to in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate. All third party references to market information in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate as the Company did not conduct the original primary research. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Organizers Zak Gregg and Eliza Booth outside of the Lancaster Stands Up office in Lancaster, Pa. The progressive group, like Reclaim Philadelphia, was largely formed by supporters of Bernie Sanders's 2016 campaign. Read more LANCASTER The idea of a progressive movement in Lancaster seemed pretty far-fetched to Eliza Booth in 2016. This small Democratic city of about 59,000 in the middle of a conservative county in southern Pennsylvania that includes Amish farm country was hardly synonymous with liberal politics. But driving home from work one day that year, Booth saw that Bernie Sanders had opened a field office here. Shed been following Sanders insurgent campaign and liked him. She pulled over to photograph her then-8-year-old son, an early adopter of her politics, outside the campaign office. Sanders just "brought something out here, said Booth, 42. Sanders went on to carry Lancaster County in 2016, one of 30 he won even as he lost the Pennsylvania primary to Hillary Clinton. This time, hes the Democratic front-runner, headed into the states April 28 primary with something he didnt have before: a ready-made infrastructure of activists across the state that sprung out of places like Lancaster. The momentum from 2016 has grown, fueled by anger over President Donald Trump and morphing into an organization called Lancaster Stands Up. The group now rivals the countys Democratic Party in influence and size. Its rise mirrors similar movements around the state, most also founded by Sanders supporters, often in areas neglected by the party establishment. That network could wield tremendous influence in the primary and in a general election with Sanders atop the ticket. Lancaster, as conservative as it is, theres a lot of independents here and theres a progressive streak now," said Booth, now an organizer for Lancaster Stands Up. Booth said Sanders speaks to people here who identify with the frustration of our broken political system. And he names a culprit of the 1%. He doesnt do the left-vs.-right politics. People get turned off by that. Lancaster Stands Up membership voted to endorse Sanders on Tuesday, though that wasnt a surprise. The Sanders campaign has close ties to the group. His national field director, Becca Rast, and deputy field director, Nick Martin, cofounded Lancaster Stands Up. Rast is married to Jonathan Smucker, another cofounder, who helped start Pennsylvania Stands Up, a larger network of progressive groups that includes Lancasters. Pennsylvania Stands Up has eight other chapters, including in Erie County and the Lehigh Valley, as well as Reclaim Philadelphia, which powered the winning insurgent progressive campaigns of District Attorney Larry Krasner and City Councilmember Kendra Brooks. With Sanders emerging as the front-runner going into the March 3 Super Tuesday primaries, establishment Democrats are increasingly sounding the alarm about his prospects against Trump, and the impact his candidacy could have on down-ballot races in battleground districts. But his so-called electability will also hinge on those places where Sanders inspired new political involvement in 2016. Activists awakened then have, from the time his campaign ended, been building their own power structures. I would estimate 80% of our base or more was not politically active prior to the 2016 election," Smucker said. If Sanders and his supporters succeed in mobilizing new voters something that hasnt happened in the early primary contests so far it could prove critical in Pennsylvania, a key swing state Trump won by less than 1%. All but one county that Sanders won in the 2016 primary went on to vote for Trump in the general election, often by wide margins. Most of those areas were already conservative, but the overlap doesnt surprise Rast. People were looking for a vision for the country that actually meets their needs and I think there are people who believed that Donald Trump would do that for them, she said. When Lancaster Stands Up started, the group tapped into the frustrations that helped get Trump elected, as well as some of the anger his win stoked. The city of Lancaster is about 40% Latino and 17% black. The surrounding county is more agricultural and mostly white. The region also has a high number of refugees, and a Mennonite community that has embraced them. Even among the conservative Mennonite community, theres an antiwar, loving-your-neighbor sentiment, said Zak Gregg, 22, a Stands Up organizer who grew up next to a farm in Leola before moving to New Holland. Gregg, who supported Sanders in 2016, left the Democratic Party after begrudgingly voting for Clinton. Raised in an evangelical conservative household, he started challenging his beliefs when his best friend came out to him as gay in high school. I sort of had to pick my life or her," Gregg said. I picked her. His political reawakening followed when he got a mailer for Jess King, a progressive Mennonite who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Lancaster and York Counties in 2018. He saw she had Sanders endorsement. Sanders would later hold a huge rally for her in Lancaster. I looked at the flier, Gregg recalled, "and I was just like: Oh my God, the Revolution survived. And it made it to New Holland. Mike Mikus, a Democratic political strategist based in Pittsburgh, said hes encountered a kind of ultra-progressiveness in very Republican areas. I think its people that are progressive and figure, Were not gonna win, so why not be true to our beliefs, he said. But Mikus is unsure how far Sanders appeal will go in more rural areas. I think theres a lot of skepticism over whether or not some of the things hes proposing are realistic, said Mikus, whos unaligned in the primary. Lancaster Stands Up uses an unconventional approach to canvassing. Organizers dont say theyre with a party, but rather that theyre looking for people frustrated by both parties. Its counterintuitive to go to the door and say, Were not happy about the Democratic Party, but we hope you register as a Democrat, Smucker said But thats kind of what were doing we say both parties have left us behind. That messaging hasnt always gone over well, Smucker said. Some local Democrats get mad at us for pointing out failures of the Democratic Party. But they shouldnt be," Smucker said. The Democratic Party has been bleeding out working-class voters for 40 years. When we are organizing in these rural areas, a lot of people come to the door and Bernie Sanders is the only thing they like about the Democratic Party. Booth said shes been accused of trying to destroy the local party: I say, No, no, no, were trying to make it better. In Lancaster County, the party recently pushed out its chair. The newly installed leader, Diane Topakian, supports Sanders, but ideology had nothing to do with the change, she said. Topakian said the party is stronger when it works with progressive organizations. We are at that place in time, in history, now where there is a shift for sure, and thats a good thing, said Topakian, 66. I think its important to have fresh ideas and I certainly when I was that age, I certainly wanted a voice in politics, so I think weve gotta make room at the table. Lancaster County, Topakian proudly noted, ranks ninth in the state in the number of registered Democrats, even though it went for Trump in 2016 by 57% to 38%. Her organization wont do much work on the presidential election until theres a nominee. But Lancaster Stands Up isnt waiting, and thats fine with her. We need that," Topakian said. We need progressive organizers out talking to voters. Fears are intensifying over the spread of coronavirus in Europe as France reported its second death and the number of people in Italy with the virus continues to climb. Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 400 and 12 people have now died. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland also reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. France recorded its second death, a 60-year-old Frenchman who died in a Paris hospital. The first positive test in South America has also been recorded in a 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy. The Brazilian health ministry said the man had spent two weeks in northern Italys Lombardy region on a work trip, where he contracted the contagious virus. Authorities had already said on Tuesday that a first laboratory test for Covid-19 had a positive result, and were waiting for a second test to confirm. Italian Army soldiers check transit to and from the cordoned areas in Turano Lodigiano, Italy, today For the first time, the number of new cases officially reported outside China has exceeded new cases reported by Beijing, Reuters has reported. It said figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed there were 427 new cases reported in 37 countries on Tuesday, compared with 411 reported by Beijing. In the UK 7,132 people have so far been tested. Of these, 13 have tested positive, of whom eight have been discharged from hospital. Meanwhile, holidaymakers at a coronavirus-hit hotel in Tenerife have been told to take their own temperatures and said there is confusion over whether they should stay in their rooms. An Italian man and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus during their stay at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south-west of the Spanish island, and two more cases have been confirmed. It is understood that guests without symptoms are able to move around the hotel grounds, although some guests say they are still being told to stay in their rooms. The Italian doctor and his wife tested positive and were placed in isolation in hospital, the Canary Islands government confirmed. Tourists in quarantine wave from inside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in La Caleta, in the Canary Island of Tenerife today. It said the couple had travelled with eight other Italians. The Canary Islands government added that more than 100 tourists at the hotel who are believed to have not had any contact with the couple will be allowed to leave. China, where the outbreak began, has reported 78,064 cases and 2,715 deaths, while South Korea has the second-highest number of cases with 1,261 and 11 deaths. U.S. Bancorps USB subsidiary, Elavon, has announced plans to divest its Mexico-based operations to Santander. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the next few weeks. Based in Atlanta, Elavon provides payment processing solutions and services to more than 1.3 million customers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Per the deal, all Elavons employees in Mexico, including operations and customer relationships, will be transferred to Santander. The company noted that the divesture is not expected to have any impact on its other operations. Jamie Walker, CEO of Elavon, said We have been pleased with the performance of our business in Mexico. This agreement is a mutually-beneficial opportunity that will allow Santander to operate the business holistically and allow Elavon to focus investments in higher growth opportunities in other markets in the United States, Canada and Europe. Another financial institution that is also resorting to divestitures in order to improve operating efficiency and shed less profitable businesses is Moodys MCO. It closed the divestiture of MAKS, its Moodys Analytics Knowledge Services business in November 2019. Other peers like Barclays PLC BCS has entered into an agreement to sell its U.S. automated options trading division. Further, Hilltop Holdings Inc. HTH has inked a deal to divest its wholly owned subsidiary, National Lloyds Corporation. Our Take We believe U.S. Bancorp, with its solid business model, is well poised for growth. Also, the company remains focused on improving its overall performance by undertaking inorganic growth strategies. Efforts to be in line with the banking sectors shift to digitization are impressive. Shares of U.S. Bancorp have gained 35.8% compared with the industrys growth of 5.3%, over the past six months. Currently, U.S. Bancorp carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020? Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Dont miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys. Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 today >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moody's Corporation (MCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report U.S. Bancorp (USB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Barclays PLC (BCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Bengaluru: The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the case of activist Amulya Leona, who was arrested on charges of sedition for shouting Pakistan Zindabad during an anti-CAA programme in Bengaluru, has taken her into police custody for further interrogation. Amulya was produced before the court where the investigating officers sought her custody based on the investigation in the case so far. The SIT has questioned her friends and gathered information from her native Chikkamagalur district. Sources explained that Amulya shared a room with Arudra, another girl arrested for holding a poster asking for liberation of Kashmir during an anti-CAA function. Amulya and Arudra have reportedly denied any connection between them to the police so far. Nor have the police been able to secure any information or photos of them when their mobiles were seized. It is said that recently, they moved to separate rooms. Police sources say that after corroborating the evidence, they will start zeroing in on the persons who are allegedly behind these young women. They maintained that it is this think tank which emboldened the young girls to make seditious statements and create disturbance in society. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Ilkin Seyfaddini Trend: The US Financial Corporation for International Development is ready to help Uzbekistan with the introduction of advanced American technologies in Uzbekistan, Trend reports with the reference to Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representatives of the embassies of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, the US - Uzbek Chamber of Commerce, as well as Caterpillar Inc., Chevron, AGCO Corporation, ExxonMobil, General Motors and other companies met with Adam Boiler, Executive Director of the US International Financial Development Corporation (IFC) of the US, the report said. The US Financial Corporation for International Development was established in October 2019 on the basis of the Foreign Private Investment Corporation, which also combines the functions of the US Agency for International Development with a budget of over $60 billion. Head of IFCD highly appreciated the attention of the Government of Uzbekistan to improvement of business environment, optimization of state management, process of introduction of market mechanisms into the country's economy. As it was stressed, the corporation has identified Central Asia as a priority region for investment. Adam Boiler expressed readiness to implement "development programs" in the region through the allocation of financial resources and technical assistance to the private sector and government for the implementation of investment projects focused primarily on the introduction of advanced US technologies and management of priority sectors, which contribute to job creation, rural development, providing the population with access to infrastructure, education, healthcare and housing, as well as the development of alternative energy. Reportedly, the corporation is ready to consider the opening a regional office in Central Asia. During the talks, the issues of implementing infrastructure projects on principles of public-private partnership in Uzbekistan jointly with major US companies with the financial support of the corporation, as well as attracting grant funds aimed at introducing the American experience in developing high-quality feasibility studies of projects in the country have been discussed step by step. Joint initiative group has been set up, following the meeting, to further discuss the implementation of reached agreements. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini CHANDIGARH: The opposition Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal held a protest outside Punjab assembly on Wednesday over issues related to unemployment and alleged sand and transport mafias in the state. Members of the Shiromani Akali Dal accused the Congress-led government of having completely failed in giving jobs to the unemployed youth in three years. Unemployed youngsters are seeking replies from chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh for not fulfilling the promise of giving employment, claimed SAD leader Parambans Singh Romana, adding that the governments Ghar Ghar Rozgar Yojana had failed. Protesting Akalis, led by Bikram Singh Majithia and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, also brought some unemployed youth along with them. They were showing their certificates of their graduation degrees and claiming that they had not got any jobs yet. AAP members, led by leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, took on the Congress-led government on the issue of alleged mafias in the state. They alleged that the sand, liquor and transport mafias still continued in the state under Capt Amarinder Singhs rule. The members of the opposition raised slogans against the state government. To celebrate the memory and legacy of Jake Burton Carpenter, on Friday, March 13 th , 2020 the first ever annual ' A Day for Jake ' will take place. Thirteen global resorts are celebrating 'A Day for Jake' by offering free lift tickets to snowboarders who pre-register to join us in riding to remember on March 13 th . Anyone who wants to step on a board is invited to participateriders, their friends and family, whatever level of snowboarder you may be. 'A Day for Jake' will also bring together the entire snowboard industry with all brands, pro riders, local reps, shop owners and employees invited to snowboard together at no cost in celebration of Jake. In honor of 'A Day for Jake', Burton offices and owned stores will be closed on March 13th. And since teaching people to snowboard was one of Jake's passions, a selection of participating resorts will also offer special Learn To Ride packages for friends and families of the snowboarding community or anyone who wants to learn to snowboard on this day. Riders are invited to ride for free at the following participating resorts: Boyne Mountain, Michigan, USA Summit at Snoqualmie, Washington , USA , USA Big Sky Resort, Montana, USA Copper Mountain /Woodward Copper, Colorado, USA /Woodward Copper, Boreal/Woodward Tahoe, California, USA Stratton Mountain, Vermont , USA , USA Bear Mountain, California, USA Cypress Mountain, Vancouver, Canada Avoriaz, France Absolut Park, Flachauwinkl, Austria LAAX, Switzerland Madonna Di Campiglio , Italy , Seki Onsen Resort, Nigata, Myoko, Japan Pre-registration is required at the event website for a free lift ticket, and lift tickets are for snowboarders only. Registration ends on Sunday, March 8th at midnight. Burton is very proud to partner with these thirteen resorts and sends a heartfelt thank you for their unprecedented support of 'A Day for Jake' and for snowboarding. Not near a participating resort? Get out and ride at your local resort or mountains. Snowboarders around the world are also invited to independently celebrate 'A Day for Jake' by simply getting out and riding anywhere on Friday, March 13th. Everyone is invited to share their participation with 'A Day for Jake' armbands and stickers available at your local Burton store and at A Day for Jake. In the spirit of innovation and creativity that has driven snowboarding since the beginning, new interpretations and evolutions of the symbol are welcomeuse this as a starting point. Share your 'A Day for Jake' experience using the hashtag #RideonJake As an industry and as a community, we will come together for this day to remember, reflect and ride together. 'A Day for Jake' will continue on as a tradition to carry Jake's spirit forward, to share our love of snowboarding and the joy of a perfect turn. SOURCE Burton Snowboards Related Links http://adayforjake.com/ (Natural News) Steven W. Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute, recently penned an article for the New York Post positing the idea that the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) may have been unleashed by tainted laboratory animals that were sold on the black market as food. In China, there exists what are known as wet markets where animals once used for scientific testing are sold for their meat. And theres a strong possibility that lab animals specifically from Chinas only level-4 research laboratory, which just so happens to be located in Wuhan, are what caused this widespread outbreak. Since the crisis first emerged, rumors have been circulating as to the true source of the novel disease, which many have speculated probably came from that level-4 lab. But Moshers hypothesis links the wet market aspect to the outbreak in a way that, ironically enough, has similarities to the communist Chinese governments initial accusation that the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19) came from the Huanan Wild Seafood Market. In his article, Mosher cites as evidence new guidelines that were released by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology that call for strengthening biosecurity management in microbiology labs that handle advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus. This statement, he suggests, points to Chinas awareness that lab animals could be spreading deadly diseases when their corpses are sold as meat. This directive, according to Mosher, is implicitly aimed at the Wuhan facility, and further suggests that the Ministry of Science and Technology in China knows full well that precautionary measures need a boost to prevent this type of thing from happening again in the future. Another major red flag that validates Moshers claims is the fact that Major General Chen Wei, who serves as the Chinese militarys top expert in biological warfare, had been dispatched to Wuhan back in January to deal with this ongoing crisis. And wouldnt you know it, but Chen has an extensive background in conducting research on coronaviruses. This would not be her first trip to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, either, since it is one of only two bioweapons research labs in all of China, says Mosher about Chens relationship with Wuhans level-4 biosafety lab. In the following episode of The Health Ranger Report, Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses what he sees as the intentionality behind the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19). Be sure to listen as he presents evidence showing that this entire global emergency was deliberate from the start: Chinese lab technicians have a history of selling experimental animals to vendors who peddle meat at wet markets According to Mosher, its a relatively common occurrence for Chinese lab technicians to take the animals theyve been experimenting on and sell them to vendors who then turn them into meat thats sold at wet markets specifically in Wuhan. Instead of properly disposing of infected animals by cremation, as the law requires, they sell them on the side to make a little extra cash. Or, in some cases, a lot of extra cash, Mosher writes. One Beijing researcher, now in jail, made a million dollars selling his monkeys and rats on the live animal market, where they eventually wound up in someones stomach. Evidence continues to mount suggesting that this is precisely how the SARS epidemic started, as local lab workers were scrounging up the post-experimental animals in their places of work and, much like Planned Parenthood has been doing with aborted baby body parts, illegally trafficking and selling them on the black market for profit. The evidence points to SARS-CoV-2 research being carried out at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Mosher contends. Be sure to check out the new Pandemic.news for more news about the Wuhan coronavirus (CoVid-19). Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com The landmark trial which saw Harvey Weinstein convicted of sexual assault and rape would not be possible in the UK because the criminal justice response to rape has gone backwards, campaigners have claimed. The conviction of the disgraced Hollywood producer, who is in custody ahead of his sentencing in March, has been heralded as the first verdict for the #MeToo era. But frontline service providers in the UK argued the high-profile case would have been unlikely to reach court in the UK and accused the justice system of failing rape victims. It is very hard to imagine a case like Weinsteins here, Sarah Green, director of End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAWC), told The Independent. Several years ago, prosecution may have happened for a case of its kind, but it is it hard to imagine that happening now. Changes at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have raised the bar on what kinds of cases are charged and old fashioned prejudices about rape victims have crept back in. Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Show all 50 1 /50 Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein trial in photos On January 6 the trial process began in New York. Harvey Weinstein arrived using a walking aid, looking frail Getty Images Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Actresses Rose McGowan, Rosanna Arquette and other women protested outside court after he arrived AFP via Getty Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Jury selection was completed on 21 January and the rape and sexual assualt trial began in earnest the next day Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast points at Harvey Weinstein during his sexual assault trial as accuser Mimi Haleyi appears on the screen Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Files arrive at the rape trial AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Lawyer Damon Cheronis stands near his client Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Louis R Aidala attends the trial Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Lance Maerov testifies Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein is photographed by members of the media as leaves court with the aid of a walker AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Attorney Gloria Allred speaks to the media during the trial Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein arrives to court with the support of the members of his defense team EPA Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Actress Annabella Sciorra arrives to testify as a witness EPA Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein looks on as she is questioned by prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon on the stand Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Assistant District Attorneys Meghan Hast, left, and Joan Illuzzi leave the Harvey Weinstein rape trial during the lunch break AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Actress Ellen Barkin arrives after a lunch break to watch the case of film producer Harvey Weinstein Actress Ellen Barkin arrives after a lunch break to watch the case of film producer Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein's attorney Donna Rotunno leaves Manhattan Supreme Court AFP via Getty Images Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Kara Young exits after testifying Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Film producer Harvey Weinstein takes notes as Dr. Barbara Ziv testifies in front of Judge James Burke as she is questioned by prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Dr. Barbara Ziv leaves court after testifying AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Actor Rosie Perez points at film producer Harvey Weinstein as she testifies Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Rosie Perez exits after testifying Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Mimi Haleyi, former production assistant, arrives to testify Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos A member of the prosecution pushes a cart loaded with files AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein looks on as Mimi Haleyi testifies Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Elizabeth Entin, right, a witness in the Harvey Weinstein rape and sexual assault trial, walks towards the courtroom with Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein smiles as he arrives for his trial Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Witness Elizabeth Entin is questioned by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Tarale Wulff, witness in the trial, leaves the courtroom for a break Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Witness Dawn Dunning is cross-examined by defense lawyer Arthur Aidala Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Lincoln Davies, a former boyfriend of accuser Dawn Dunning, leaves court after testifying AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Weinstein looks into the camera as he leaves court on 29 January Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Dev Sen, an attorney from Boies Schiller, leaves after testifying Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Witness Monika Mikkelsen testifies Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Photos are passed around to the jury Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Hotel worker Rothschild Capulong testifies under a photo of the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel in Midtown as Judge James Burke listens Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Playwright Warren Leight arrives to Criminal Court Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Professor Elizabeth Loftus is questioned by lawyer Diana Fabi Samson in front of Judge James Burke Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Actress Talita Maia leaves after testifying Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Nelson Lopez is questioned by defense lawyer Arthur Aidala Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Model Claudia Salinas leaves court after testifying AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein and lawyer, Donna Rotunna arrive at court smiling on 14 February EPA Harvey Weinstein trial in photos District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr watches as prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon gives her closing arguments in front of Judge James Burke on February 14 Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Weinstein departs the same day with a smile on his face Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos The press watch as Harvey Weinstein and his legal team arrive at the Criminal Court on February 18 Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Judge James Burke, left, instructs the jurors before they begin deliberating on Harvey Weinstein's rape trial. The panel of seven men and five women heard instructions in the law from the judge before going behind closed doors to consider charges Elizabeth Williams via AP Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein sits with his attorney Donna Rotunno as Judge James Burke instructs the jury on charges as they begin deliberations Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Women watch as Harvey Weinstein exits the courtroom Reuters Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Harvey Weinstein arrives to hear verdict EPA Harvey Weinstein trial in photos Weinstein sits at the defense table reading papers during jury deliberations Reuters Ms Green added: It is tragic that while we are still in the crescendo following the #MeToo movement, the criminal justice response to rape has gone backwards. There is a lack of leadership among police, prosecution service leaders and elected politicians to change this. In the UK the prosecution statistics show what we have called effective decriminalisation of rape. Ms Green argued it was unacceptable the justice system had gone back despite significant cultural and social change to attitudes around sexual violence noting views on victim-blaming had shifted. Rape prosecutions have fallen to just 1.4 per cent of reported offences and the number of people investigated and consequently convicted is at its lowest level since records started more than a decade ago. EVAWC, which comprises dozens of organisations including Amnesty International UK, Rape Crisis and Refuge, previously launched a legal challenge against the CPS over claimed covert changes to the way it sexual offences are prosecuted. The legal action is ongoing but the CPS denies the accusations. Katie Russell, national spokesperson for Rape Crisis, said: We have been saying for very many years that the legal system towards rape is failing. There are more people accessing our services than ever, yet these services remain under-resourced, so we cant meet their demand. The situation with the criminal justice system and rape here is beyond urgent. The #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment exploded in late 2017 after a series of sexual assault allegations were made against men in Hollywood and other high-profile industries. Women around the world have since shared their own stories of rape, assault and harassment. Deeba Syed, senior legal officer at Rights of Women, a leading UK womens legal charity, said: This is the first verdict for the #MeToo era, finally the systematic inequalities and workplace culture which has allowed serial abusers to evade accountability are being dismantled. The verdict sends a clear signal that women no longer have to suffer in silence. Weinstein spent decades misusing his power and influence to coerce and manipulate women. Leveraging their careers against them, using threats and intimidation, Weinstein was able to silence those who sought to speak out against him. We commend the 100-plus women who came forward against Weinstein and share in their disappointment and frustration that only two had their day in court. This is symptomatic of a broken system, which dismisses, disbelieves women and places the burden of responsibility of holding their abuser to account on women. Ms Deeba said conviction of Weinstein sends an unmistakable signal that no matter how powerful an individual is, they are not above the law. A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: Rape is a devastating crime, and whenever the legal test is met, our dedicated prosecutors will bring charges at the most serious level they can, no matter how challenging the case. Every decision is, and always has been, taken in the same way, following the Code for Crown Prosecutors. No individual charging decision is influenced by any factor other than the merits of the case. We want every victim of sexual violence to trust that when they come forward and report an offence, it will be fully investigated and, whenever the evidence supports, charged and fairly prosecuted. She was the first bride to leave the controversial dating experiment this year. And Poppy Jennings has spoken out about her current dating life, months after Married At First Sight was filmed. The 38-year-old told Daily Mail Australia in Sydney on Wednesday that she has no plans for a new romance. 'I never want to see another penis': On Wednesday, Married At First Sight star Poppy Jennings (right) speaks out her dating life. Pictured with co-star Natasha Spencer 'I never want to see another penis as long as I live,' Poppy said. The mother-of-two went on to reveal she has had 'no contact' with her on-screen 'husband' Luke Eglin. The admission comes after her teary departure from Married At First Sight last week. Hours after her final scenes aired, Poppy claimed that an incident had occurred with Luke during filming in September but she 'wasn't allowed to talk about it'. No thanks! Poppy has spoken out about her current dating life, months after Married At First Sight was filmed In a lengthy Facebook post, which has since been deleted, the brunette wrote: 'Why is Luke crying when I left? What really happened that he was crying over! You don't know because I wasn't allowed to say! It's too controversial! 'He's scared s**tless I will tell the truth. I was afraid to speak up! But f**k this s**t, I'm going to tell everything! It's not what you see, it's what you don't see! Go and ask Luke why I was so uncomfortable? Why the f**k did I really leave? 'He's petrified I'm going to talk. He knows he's f**ked up.' No love: The 38-year-old told Daily Mail Australia in Sydney on Wednesday that she had no plans for a new romance Luke has since responded to Poppy's extraordinary claims about their breakup, saying he wishes her well and won't be taking part in a public slanging match. He told The Daily Telegraph last Wednesday: 'I am not going to make any comments because, honestly, the best way to react is not to react. 'To be honest, Poppy is a good person and the best of luck to her. I am not going to comment on anything because it is not worth it, it really isn't. 'Honestly, she just needs to move on like I have and that is it. We are finished on the show and that is as far as it goes.' A vet filmed the moment she managed to pull a beach towel from the stomach of a three-metre long jungle carpet python. Monty an 18-year-old snake was rushed to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in Sydney's north-west last week after her family caught her devouring the towel. An endoscope was placed down the snake's mouth before vets used long forceps to pull the towel out - which was still completely intact. Teams at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in Sydney's north placed an endoscope down Monty's mouth to locate the towel 'Once we had a good grip, the towel was able to be carefully removed from the gastrointestinal tract with endoscopic guidance,' the Small Animal Specialist Hospital wrote on Facebook. 'It was smiles all round and we're happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day!' The towel was wedged so far back inside the snake that it started a metre away from the head. Monty the python has since recovered after she devoured a one-metre long beach towel last week JUNGLE CARPET PYTHON Jungle carpet pythons are found in north-eastern Queensland They can grow up to three metres long and feed on mice, quails, marsupials, birds and bats They can live for 30 years in captivity Jungle Carpet Pythons are not deadly to humans Advertisement 'Monty was discharged from hospital the same day and her owner reports she is back to her happy, hungry self,' staff said. The snake was given to the team at the vet's Avian and Exotics Department after the family brought her in the morning after she devoured it. 'We see all kinds of interesting cases in our Avian and Exotics Department, but it's not every day we see something quite as unusual and as extraordinary as this case,' they said. The family said they still don't know the reason behind Monty's strange eating habits but said she is recovering well. Vets were able to locate the towel using an endoscope before removing it with long forceps A 23-year-old New Jersey man who twice traveled to California to have sex with a middle school student has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison, authorities said. Michael Anaya-Otero, of Elizabeth, flew to Sacramento, picked up the girl at her school in Placer County and brought her to a hotel in April 2016 and January 2017, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California said Tuesday. The girl was in seventh grade when Anaya-Ontero made the first trip. He was found with a sexually explicit photo of the girl after he was detained in 2018 while trying to drive into Canada, prosecutors said. Anaya-Otero told a border agent he was traveling to Canada to meet a 15-year-old girl he met on social media. Authorities also said Anaya-Otero had an online relationship over Snapchat and Instagram with a 14-year-old from El Dorado County, California. He had a sexually explicit photo from that victim on his phone as well, prosecutors said. Anaya-Otero previously pleaded guilty to traveling interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and enticement of a minor. Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, led the investigation. This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to reduce child exploitation and abuse. It combines federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute offenders and identify victims. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Chrome News Track is a yet another exclusive from Chrome Data Analytics and Media which conducts study on News Content aired across India by choosing the "Most Aired, Most Watched and Most Discussed News of the week". The automated data picked from 30200 Chrome DM Panel Homes across India. It analyses the effectiveness of the News aired on television every week and categorises it through three broad segments namely Most Aired, Most Watched and Most Discussed. Most Aired News in Week 07: According to the Chrome News Track data for the Week 07 - 2020, Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 was the most Aired News this week, followed by News about Donald Trump to Visit India from February 24-26. The News about ISI Wanted to Make Mumbai Attack a Form of Hindu Terrorism stood at the 3rd spot, the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi Dispute was next in the list and News about Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case managed to take the fifth and the last spot. Most Watched News in Week 07: The data also unveils that ISI Wanted to Make Mumbai Attack a Form of Hindu Terrorism was the most watched news for the week grabbing maximum eyeballs, followed by Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019. The news about Donald Trump to Visit India from February 24-26, Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case & Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi Dispute also generated interests amongst viewers and are placed at 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively in the list. Most Discussed News in Week 07: On the other hand, taking a closer view of the Most Discussed News category, the news about Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 has been the talk of the nation making it the most discussed news whereas the News ISI Wanted To Make Mumbai Attack a Form of Hindu Terrorism happens to be the 2nd most discussed news as per the automated data picked from 30200 Chrome DM Panel Homes. Donald Trump to Visit India from February 24-26 became the 3rd most discussed news among masses. Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi Dispute and Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case are placed at 4th & 5th respectively in the list. As the coronavirus outbreak shows no sign of slowing down, supply chain leaders are urged to mitigate instant disruption and plan for their short- and long-term performance. Businesses are being forced to think outside the box in establishing new links in global value chains Closed-off ports and border gates, and delayed shipments from China are not only affecting Chinese companies but also global groups that depend on supplies to keep business running, including operating enterprises in Vietnam. Businesses large and small are struggling to circumvent the epidemic so as to ensure production materials in the next few weeks. A representative of Intel Groups $1 billion chip plant in Ho Chi Minh City admitted the company had a plan to proactively respond to such situations, so the group has not yet been affected by the outbreak in terms of raw material supply disruption. However, it admitted their production lines could face not running a full operation if the situation does not improve in quick fashion. Intel is not the only one facing a hard time. A range of foreign-invested enterprises have raised their voices regarding the same issue, including LG, Samsung, Formosa, and Foxconn, explaining that they may cut some production lines in the meantime. US tech giant Apple was expected to increase exports in Vietnam by 30 per cent this year, but its output depends on outsourcing companies such as Samsung, Foxconn, and LG, so the lessened output of these groups will affect Apples export volume in Vietnam. The aforementioned businesses contribute much to Vietnams total export growth. According to the General Statistics Office, the countrys total export-import value with China accounted for a very large ratio of total exports in 2019, of which exports to China accounted for 15.75 per cent while imports were 29.7 per cent. On that basis, the COVID-19 outbreak could affect the production of key export products that heavily depend on imported materials such as cellphones and their electronic components, computers, textiles, and footwear. Preparing for disruption For a short-term plan to ensure exports in time, enterprises must find a replacement market for raw materials such as from South Korea, Thailand, or India although it is certainly not an easy task, adding cost and time. Nguyen Chi Trung, chairman of leading leather firm Gia Dinh Group JSC, said that to respond to the worst case scenario, his company is considering importing raw materials from other countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Bangladesh to compensate for the shortage for production. Elsewhere, Nguyen Quoc Anh, chairman of the Rubber Plastic Manufacturers Association, said that enterprises that produce rubber and plastic components, as well as parts for foreign auto assembly lines and machinery production lines, were facing difficulties due to delayed shipments from China. If the situation does not improve by the end of February, our members may have to import raw materials from South Korea or Europe. That will bite into the profits of our enterprises, said Anh. Responding to the effects and solutions that enterprises are preparing, a representative of Canon said, This might also affect our plans to launch new products in the market in 2020. As an immediate solution, we can only increase the volume of goods from secondary suppliers for production. In addition to this, the representative added, as goods transported by shipping are delayed, Canon will use planes instead, so that products can flow more easily. However, these are only temporary measures, and we still have yet to find any long-term solutions since the epidemic situation remains complicated and unpredictable, he said. The Ministry of Industry and Trade suggested that companies should use the crisis to seek new markets and suppliers to manage future risks if the virus situation cannot be solved within a month. Business leaders could also conduct a scenario-planning exercise and develop action plans, making now the time to discover or develop alternative sources and diversify value chains. Developing local supporting industries The supporting industry plays a role as an essential foundation to improve competitiveness of industrial products. According to Reed Tradex, the largest organiser for supporting industry exhibitions in the ASEAN region, apart from challenges caused by world economic instability such as flexible exchange rate policies and strict regulation and monitoring in financial systems, the trend of production relocation from China to Vietnam is also bringing a host of opportunities to businesses that keep informed with the latest developments. However, one of the most important things is that Vietnam needs to quicken its construction of supporting industries. Do Thi Thuy Huong from the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association said that to join the global value chain, businesses should be interested in establishing links, and connecting with domestic enterprises as well as global enterprises. If Vietnams electronics industry and supporting industries can build a supply network and create products that meet international standards, it will sharply improve competitiveness and the ability to join in with the entire supply chain, Huong said. For instance, to reap the benefits posed by the free trade agreements, the leather and footwear sector needs to develop a supporting industry to reduce reliance on the import of raw materials, enhance competitiveness, and boost high-value exports. This is because new-generation agreements set strict requirements on product origin, a big challenge for Vietnamese enterprises in textiles, garments, and footwear as they are heavily dependent on material sources imported from China. Vietnamese exporters have been advised to continue promoting the supporting industry, and ensure the origin of raw materials for production. Sami Kteily - Executive chairman PEB Steel Chinas economy today is more vulnerable than it was during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and this comes hot on the heels of the devastating US-China trade dispute. Travel bans, heightened public health measures, and the current extension of the Lunar New Year holidays has undoubtedly affected production levels and will affect economic growth in the year to come. We are concerned that if GDP growth falls below 5.5 per cent in 2020, this will have an economic ripple effect throughout Southeast Asia. When it comes to our pre-engineered steel buildings industry, adequate inventory levels play a significant role in delivering goods quickly to customers in the construction market. It is normal for companies of our size to keep a large inventory of raw materials. At PEB Steel, we always keep a minimum of three months stock, especially for items imported from overseas which represent around 50 per cent of our total purchases. Thanks to our 25 years experience in Vietnam, we tend to keep more stock than usual over the Lunar New Year holidays as we expect a drop in shipments from China during the this period. This coronavirus outbreak happened to come just after the holidays when our inventory levels are high, so we have a deep reserve of raw materials that will keep us going for several months. February shipments from China have been delayed but we will not find this crippling in the short term thanks to the high reserves that we have. In order to address similar matters in the long term, we are going to work with local suppliers to develop new supply chains or replace materials to cover the shortage. It is hard to offer an accurate prediction of the future, as the coronavirus is spreading at a rate six times faster than SARS and will likely cause numerous challenges for us and our customers. This includes global firms who rely on suppliers based in China and invest in industrial sectors, which is the most important segment of our business. Joseph Perucca - General director GIVI Vietnam In addition to the already sad human loss, the coronavirus will have extreme repercussions in many Southeast Asian economies. A large proportion of components and materials come from China and over the next six or eight months, there could be problems in maintaining production. The current state of affairs, in conjunction with the Lunar New Year festivities in both Vietnam and China, has accelerated the inevitable problem of sustaining a large part of the economy given the absence of production of raw materials within the country. This situation will result in a long journey, since when China recovers, it is understandable that the priority will surely be to supply internal factories in order to mitigate the extreme financial loss that China is suffering due to this epidemic. VIR Phuong Thu Business production hit because of lack of materials from China Vietnam's reliance on Chinese materials has been clearly exposed during the Covid-2019 crisis, as imports from China have declined. Questioning of a 51-year-old criminal who gardai believe has key information about the murder of dismembered teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was suspended yesterday so he could receive medical treatment. He was being questioned at Drogheda Garda Station as officers continue to build a strong case against several suspects. It was expected that the suspect would either be charged or released today after his arrest last Thursday by armed officers. However, this may now be delayed after his questioning was suspended. A 38-year-old suspect who was arrested at the same time was released from custody in Balbriggan Garda Station early yesterday. The Drogheda criminal who was receiving medical treatment last night is considered a key member of the anti- Maguire mob and is suspected of having vital information about Keane's barbaric murder. A property in Rathmullan Park, Drogheda, was searched over a number of days after the murder and gardai believe Keane was killed there. The arrested man was a close associate of feud murder victim Keith Branigan and is suspected of destroying evidence at the property. Gardai also detected blood "soaked into the floorboards", and DNA testing has linked the teenager to this house, according to sources. Furniture belonging to the man was found burnt in a green area nearby, while burnt clothing was also recovered. He was also allegedly caught on CCTV in the aftermath of the murder buying items gardai believe helped cover up evidence linked to the killing. A source said the suspect was closely linked to Branigan while also being a "trusted" associate of the 25-year-old mob boss leading the anti-Maguire faction who is currently on the run in Spain. Branigan was the first fatality in the Drogheda feud when he was gunned down in Clogherhead, Co Louth, last August. "The arrested man is very much suspected of helping the gang who carried out the murder, and a large amount of evidence has been recovered," one source said. "He has known links to the anti-Maguire gang and would be considered a trusted member of the crime group." Keane was working for both sides of the Drogheda feud but was more closely aligned to the Owen Maguire-led faction. Gardai believe he was killed by the anti-Maguire grouping. A file will now be prepared for the DPP on the 38-year-old Drogheda criminal who was released without charge yesterday. He is a major drug user and previously served jail time over a stabbing attack on an innocent man. He is suspected of having played a major role in luring Keane to the house in which he was butchered on the night of January 12. It is understood he was also questioned about his alleged links to a stolen car that was abandoned and set alight in Ballybough. Keane's severed head was found in the burnt-out vehicle. Chinese health officials in Weihai, Shandong Province, have quarantined all passengers who arrived on a flight from Korea on Tuesday. The passengers -- 19 Koreans and around 140 Chinese -- have to be quarantined in an unidentified hotel for 14 days. This is the first time Chinese authorities have quarantined all passengers in a bid to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Weihai officials did the same with passengers on a flight from Japan. Qingdao, the biggest city in Shandong Province, decided to quarantine incoming visitors as well. One news outlet in China, in what must be the most preposterous instance of missing the beam in your own eye for the mote in another's, reported, "There are many Koreans living in Qingdao and Weihai and Chinese citizens are getting worried." Yet even now the Korean government has taken no steps to block Chinese people from coming to Korea. More Chinese cities are expected to quarantine visitors from Korea, but the government can hardly criticize China since it is only doing what Korea should have done from the start. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday raised its travel advisory for Korea to the highest level, telling Americans to avoid "all non-essential visits." The U.S. State Department maintains its travel advisory for Korea at level two, but there is a strong chance of it rising to level three (refrain from travel) or even four (travel ban). It has already raised the travel advisory for China to level four. Korean students and other expats in the U.S. are thinking twice about returning to Korea for fear that they may not be able to come back. Japan has also raised its travel advisory to Korea, joining more than 20 countries that have now either banned or restricted visitors from Korea. Israel chartered a whole plane to send back around 400 Korean visitors but at least had the decency to pick up the tab. Some neighborhoods had erupted in protest against letting Korean tourists into the country. Even Mauritius, the tiny island country far off the east coast of Africa, immediately quarantined 34 Korean honeymooners when they got off the plane. But where is the foreign minister, who should be looking out for Koreans abroad? Not in her office. Cheong Wa Dae and the government alone are at fault for this absurd state of affairs, but they show no signs of remorse. NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Wednesday (February 26, 2020) issued helpline numbers for anyone seeking information on victims admitted to various hospitals following communal violence in the northeast part of the national capital. Delhi Police helpline numbers: SI Gajender Singh (9818120026)/GTB Hospital; SI Yogender Singh (7982756328)/Lok Nayak JP Hospital; SI Yogender Singh (7982756328)/ Maulana Azad Hospital; SI Devender Singh (9818313342)/RML Hospital; ASI Narender Rana (9868738042)/Al-Hind Hospital According to Delhi Police, people can contact police personnel on these numbers who are at various hospitals for those desirous of seeking information on victims admitted there. At Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Sub-Inspector Gajender Singh can be contacted on 9818120026 for details. Sub-Inspector Yogender Singh can be reached at 7982756328 for details of victims in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and Maulana Azad Hospital. Sub-Inspector Devender Singh is stationed at RML Hospital and can be contacted at 9818313342 to seek information. Assistant Sub-Inspector Narender Rana can be reached on 9868738042 for those admitted at Al-Hind Hospital. Meanwhile, the death toll in the violence between pro and anti CAA protestors in the areas of North-East Delhi reached 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities. "Out of the people that were brought to the hospital 189 are injured and 20 are dead," said Sunil Kumar Gautam Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. On Tuesday, the death toll was 13. Curfew was imposed last evening in violence-hit areas of the North-East district to bring the situation under control. With sporadic incidents of violence being reported from the area, government sources said that National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing normalcy in the capital. Sources also said that Doval is also likely to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Cabinet about the prevailing situation. Notably, the NSA last night had visited Jafrabad, Seelampur and other parts of North-East Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. Company announcement no 1-2020 Konsolidator gets customer number 5 on the UK market In July 2019, Konsolidator signed the first customer in the UK. That number has increased to 5 solely from Konsolidator increasing its digital marketing activities and providing online product demonstrations and webinars instead of physical sales meetings. The digital approach has enabled Konsolidator to cross borders and increase the potential reach of new customers even before establishing a local office in UK. The strategy of digital marketing is set out to enable Konsolidator to further increase the number of customers in the UK. Additionally, Konsolidator has hired a UK country manager, who will start in March 2020, boosting the local presence and sales in the UK even further. The market in the UK has an estimated reach of 20,000 potential customers and is an integrated part of Konsolidators growth strategy. We have experienced a great demand for a consolidation software as ours in UK. And now we are starting to see the effects of our digital marketing efforts. To our knowledge we are yet the only company that provides financial consolidation as Software as a Service (SaaS) meaning being 100 % cloud and that is what differentiates us from the rest says CEO, Claus Finderup Grove. About Konsolidator Konsolidator is a cloud-based and standardized SaaS consolidation and reporting tool that automates consolidation and monthly reporting and delivers accurate and timely management information based on corporate key ratios. Konsolidator wants to make financial consolidation and reporting easier for small- and medium-sized groups. The time the groups save, and the quality data obtained when using Konsolidator's cloud-based tool means that the groups can make better decisions and thus deliver higher strategic value. For further information: CEO Claus Finderup Grove, mobile. +45 2095 2988, e-mail: cfg@konsolidator.com Sborg, 25 February 2020 Konsolidator A/S Tobaksvejen 2 A 2860 Sborg www.konsolidator.com Certified Adviser Ernst & Young P/S Osvald Helmuths Vej 4 2000 Frederiksberg www.ey.com Attachment Paramilitary troopers patrol streets during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) at Jaffrabad area in New Delhi. More than a dozen people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes between opposing groups of protesters in New Delhi, hospital officials said on Tuesday, as riots overshadowed U.S. President Donald Trump's first visit to India. The clashes, the worst in the capital since unrest over a new citizenship law began in December, started at the weekend but turned deadly on Monday. Violence erupted again in multiple areas of northeast Delhi on Tuesday, just miles away from where Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for talks. India's capital has been a focus of unrest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which makes it easier for non-Muslims from three neighboring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship. Local TV channels showed huge clouds of smoke billowing from a tire market that had been set ablaze and Reuters witnesses saw mobs wielding sticks and stones walking down streets in parts of northeast Delhi, amid further incidents of stone-throwing. India's junior home minister G. Kishan Reddy told Reuters' partner ANI on Monday that the violence was "a conspiracy to defame India", at a time when Trump was visiting the country. Some of those protesting at the citizenship law alleged, however, that Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters were targeting Muslims and instigating the violence. "We have no weapons, but they are firing at us," said Mohammad Shakir, a demonstrator opposed to the law. "This BJP is targeting Muslims. They want to turn India into a Hindu country." The Hindu nationalist BJP denies any bias against India's more than 180 million minority Muslims. Reuters witnesses at a local hospital spoke with both Hindu and Muslim victims, who were injured in the violence on Tuesday. A few victims on both sides of the violence had suffered bullet wounds, and many had visible injuries on their heads and bodies. An official at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in New Delhi said 13 people had died there and more than 150 injured had been treated at the hospital, many from bullet wounds. An official at the Al-Hind Hospital in New Delhi said two men had died and over 200 injured had been treated there. A fire department official said his teams were responding to more than a dozen calls over arson attacks, despite emergency measures prohibiting any gatherings in the violence-hit areas. "We have sought police protection as our vehicles are being blocked from entering the affected areas. The situation is very grim," Delhi Fire Department Director Atul Garg said. One fire department vehicle was torched by protesters on Monday and a small number of firemen were injured, Garg added. The joint commissioner of police Alok Kumar said about 3,500 police and paramilitary officers had been deployed. Police fired teargas and pellets to scatter demonstrators protesting against the citizenship law in the Jafrabad neighborhood of northeast Delhi on Tuesday. A young man suffered a pellet wound to his thigh, while another sustained injuries to his eyes, leaving his face bloodied. In New Jafrabad, local residents patrolled the street with sticks and metal rods. Two reporters with the local NDTV news channel were attacked and badly beaten by a mob. We believe in certain wisdom that have been passed down generations. Gravity keeps us planted. Light travels faster than sound. And that all lifeforms need oxygen to live. But the way things are, certain wisdom may no longer be entirely true. Scientists have discovered the first ever life form that can survive without oxygen. Yes, you read that right. Scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel have discovered that a tiny parasite that is related to jellyfish can survive without oxygen. Thats quite simple too, because it doesnt have any capability to process oxygen. This parasite, Henneguya salminicola, is found inside salmon fish. The study has been published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Aerobic respiration was thought to be ubiquitous in animals, but now we confirmed that this is not the case. Our discovery shows that evolution can go in strange directions. Aerobic respiration is a major source of energy, and yet we found an animal that gave up this critical pathway, said TAUs Prof. Dorothee Huchon, who led the study, to The Times of Israel. Scientists discovered that Henneguya salminicolas cell lack mitochondria. It has been a few years since we last went to school, but the definition of mitochondria reads, an organelle found in large numbers in most cells, in which the biochemical processes of respiration and energy production occur. Its not yet clear to us how the parasite generates energy. It may be drawing it from the surrounding fish cells, or it may have a different type of respiration such as oxygen-free breathing, which typically characterizes anaerobic non-animal organisms, says Huchon. There you have itoxygen is perhaps not as essential for certain living organisms as it is for us. MADISON, Ohio He had to fight for the bullets. The ones that barreled into his lower back when he was 14 and ricocheted around his insides until they lodged into his legs. After surgeons removed them during multiple operations, one lasting four hours, he needed a court order to get them back. By law, doctors werent allowed to give him the bullets. It took more than a year, but they were eventually returned. And he was proud of them. Wanting the bullets back was a guy thing, a police investigator told the family. But it was more than that. Cameron Smith used to look at the two bullets, one smashed in half, as a reminder he could get through anything. A reminder of when his life became a parade of nurses, wheelchair depression and physical-therapy dread. A reminder that he made it. Its harder to look at the bullets now, as an 18-year-old, because theyre also a reminder of all the damage done and how far he still has to go. Yes, Cameron learned to walk again and ultimately received his GED certificate. Cameron Smith holds the two bullets that were removed from his body, after being shot in the cafeteria of Madison Jr./Sr. High School in Middletown, Ohio on February 29, 2016. But the bullets are a reminder that Feb. 29, 2016 and the cafeteria at Madison Schools will be with him forever. They're a reminder of all the ways he will never be normal again. The first time I met Cameron, his mom was in rehab. And he showed me those bullets within 15 minutes of our first conversation. In his room at home, the only light comes from a flat-screen television he sits too close to. These days, this is where Cameron spends most of his time. In the winter, because of the cold, it hurts to go outside. And in any weather, it hurts to do much at all. Cameron was shot during lunch. At first, he thought it was a paintball gun. He felt something burn and saw red on his clothes. He stepped toward the shooter, thinking this was some type of prank, and collapsed onto the ground. Cameron Smith,18, stands for a portrait outside his home in Middletown, Ohio on Friday, February 7, 2020. Smith was shot twice while eating lunch at Madison Jr/Sr High School on February 29, 2016 when he was in the eighth grade. He broke his hand. When he looked up, the cafeteria was almost empty. His friend was on the floor beside him screaming. A nurse rolled Cameron onto his back. Thats when he realized the red seeping through his clothes was blood, not paint. Story continues Related Video: Student Witness Recalls Calif. School Shooting Four years later, Cameron lives life in constant pain even if you cant always tell, because he doesnt want anyone to feel sorry for him. He's glad he was shot that day, instead of any other terrified students in the lunchroom. He knew he could handle it. The shooting wasnt the worst thing to happen to me, he says. Cameron was 4 years old when he found his uncle on the basement floor, dead from a drug overdose. Cameron tried to wake him up, but he didnt move. With no father around, this man had been his hero. Photos of Cameron Smith through the years are on display in his grandmother's home in Middletown on Friday, February 7, 2020. He was 12 when he realized his mom used drugs. She would say she was going to Dollar General and not return for days. When she did come back, she would go straight to her room and close the door. Cameron missed 80 days of school and failed seventh grade. During that time, his mom cooked methamphetamine in their home, which he said often made him sick. He would go to his aunts house for a few days and start to feel better. Then, hed return home. He remembers his mom picking up prescriptions for his allergies and nothing else. Allergy medication, such as Claritin D, can be used to make meth. He remembers he didn't always get the medication he needed. Cameron was still in the hospital, after the shooting in 2016, when someone stole his PlayStation from the home where he lived with his grandmother, Mel. He believes his mother stole it. She denies this. He was 14. At 17, Cameron went to his dads side of the family for Christmas and asked where his father was. The police were probably looking for him, a cousin replied. After all, Camerons father owed thousands of dollars in child support. It wouldnt be Christmas without a warrant, the cousin told him. Inside Camerons game room, there is a poster tucked away in the corner. If the door is open, you can barely see it. Its signed by dozens of old classmates given to him while he was recovering. Get well soon, it says. Madison Mohawk Strong, it says. This year marks the four-year anniversary of the shooting at the Madison Jr./Sr. High School near Middletown, Ohio. Four students were injured in the cafeteria on February 29, 2016. After months in a wheelchair, he eventually felt good enough to go to a school dance. The purpose was to raise money for shooting victims at the school. In the cafeteria, the bullet marks in the lunchroom tables were still visible. The shooter was someone with deep roots in this rural community, about 40 miles north of Cincinnati. Someone with relatives on the school staff, and a relative who would later run for school board. Someone the community never completely turned their backs on. Cameron only moved to the area a few months before the shooting. As time passed, and a new school year started, Cameron and two other students sued the shooter, who pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to juvenile detention until he turns 21. Twice recently, the boy who was shot called the boy who shot him the victim. And thats what it felt like to Cameron. At some point, he started to feel like the one who did something wrong. Like an outcast who would make the community happier if he just left. After the lawsuit, some of the very kids who signed the poster wishing him well began mocking him. They clapped near his face when he wasnt looking, startling him, and he started to think some students had only been nice to him so they could say they knew the kid who got shot. Its been almost four years since the shooting, and Cameron is still in physical therapy. He has a service dog, named Honor, that wears a patch: Not all wounds are visible. Cameron Smith pets Honor, his service dog, in his home in Middletown, Ohio on Friday, January 24, 2020. Honor, a German Shepherd, wears a patch on his vest that reads, Not all wounds are visible. To this day, Cameron sometimes collapses to the ground because of loud noises. Hes 18 now, with a full beard. The kind of beard his grandmother wishes he would trim. Cameron often wears a patch on his back, under his clothes. This patch is linked to a machine that transmits small electrical shocks to ease his pain. It shuts off automatically after 30 minutes, but he usually turns it back on. Before the shooting, Cameron had been diagnosed with scoliosis, a curved spine condition that can cause back pain. The shooting left him with a cracked femur, nerve damage and arthritis. The bullets also struck his tailbone, exacerbating his scoliosis. Cameron applied for public assistance because his doctors advise him not to work. It would be too hard on his body, they say. His grandmother, who is 64 and had brain surgery in 2004, cuts their grass. On a scale from one to 10, Cameron says he usually wakes up at a pain level of three or four. That pain, sometimes an aching, pulling or stabbing in his back, gets worse throughout the day. Even when hes not doing much. By the time he goes to bed, it can be an eight or nine. Cameron used to dream about becoming an entrepreneur or an engineer. Now he dreams of going to Ohio State for esports the burgeoning sport of competitive video gaming. But because of his inability to work, and his familys limited income, even that only seems like a dream. Cameron plays a lot of video games. To do that, he alternates between sitting and standing, because it hurts to stay in one position too long. Still, he says video games take his mind off the situation. Even the shooting ones. Cameron Smith plays video games in his room on Friday, January 24, 2020. ... In many ways, Cameron is stuck. He had to become a man before he became a teenager. Its easy to forget hes just a boy who drinks Mountain Dew out of beer steins he cools in the freezer. A boy who speaks with a lisp and cant cook much more than macaroni and cheese or TV dinners. Another boy shot that day, Cooper Caffrey, spoke in court when the shooter was sentenced. In front of a throng of reporters and tearful family members, Cooper forgave the boy who took his own pain out on his peers. Cooper and Cameron are no longer friends. Some of this was because Cooper didnt want to be around Camerons mom abusing drugs, and some of it was because of their opposing reactions to the shooting. The shooter told police he was upset about his parents broken relationship and resented his father for fighting with him about grades. The teenager said he was always grounded. After being arrested, a police officer asked the boy why he did what he did. So I wouldnt have to go back home, he said. Cameron didnt like school, but still enjoyed it more than living with his mom. He said he started taking anti-depressants before the shooting and even thought about suicide. Still, the shooters explanation made him angry. At least your father cared enough to get on you, he said. When Cameron's mother completed a court-ordered rehab program in 2018, she visited her son. He retreated to his room. It had been five months since he last saw her. A part of him wished shed been sent to jail, and more than a part of him thought she eventually would. Christina Smith is barely 5 feet tall. She is 36 years old and, despite her flaws, is full of laughter and energy and seems to delight in bothering her son. Cameron stopped calling her mom when his grandmother got custody of him something he works on in counseling. He says Christina is more like his sister, or a friend whose name is Mom. Its sometime before Christmas, and Cameron is listening to music so loud it rattles the house. His mom says he got that from her. Christina walks into his room with a piece of cardboard almost as big as she is. She turns on the lights because she wants to show her son. A friend in rehab made it for her, and she looks proud. But Cameron laughs at her because only one person signed it. She smiles and turns off the lights. His mom returns a half-hour later and hands Cameron a Bible. She also gives him a pamphlet with the word acceptance on the front. Dont do drugs, she says. Cameron doesnt respond, so his mom places the Bible in his lap. I dont need this, he says. I already know not to do drugs because of you. Camerons grandmother is sitting in a dark living room watching The Price is Right. Behind her is a small computer monitor showing camera feeds from the front driveway and backyard. Mel had them installed after her daughter, Camerons mother, overdosed here in 2017. Christina fell off the toilet and Mel couldnt move her. She tried pumping her chest until paramedics arrived. They gave Christina multiple doses of Narcan before she came to. Mel said doctors almost amputated her daughters arm, but Christina seems to be doing better now. Mel hasnt seen her sober like this in several years. Student pulls a gun: Police officer shoots student who refused to drop weapon, officials say Uglier than ever: Meth is flooding the streets again On a winter day in 2018, their living room is covered in boxes. Christina is staying with Cameron and his grandmother until she can find her own place. She smokes a cigarette by the front door. And when she sits down, after complaining about the lack of seating, she puts her feet on the only chair left as Cameron walks in. The teenager pulls her feet off and sits down. Christina then rests her head on his shoulder, and he brushes her off. Im barely touching you, she says. Cameron is eating a bag of potato chips, and she puts her head on him again. He elbows her away. When he takes another bite, his mom smashes the chips into his face. Cameron chases her into the room with the camera feeds and the bathroom Christina once overdosed in. She laughs as her son takes a bowl of french onion dip and splatters thick globs of it into her hair. It might not sound like it, but this was a sweet moment. They looked happy. For a long time, Cameron didnt know where his dad was. His fathers name is not on his birth certificate. And when his grandmother got custody of him, he spoke to his dad for the first time in years. Cameron told him he wanted to live with Mel but gave his phone number to his father. He got a few texts, but that eventually stopped, and he felt abandoned all over again. Mel gained custody of Cameron because his mother was evicted from her home a home described in court documents as deplorable. It was infested with lice; the kitchen sink didnt work, and cat urine stained the furniture. Cameron has seen his mom with a needle in her arm and used to get calls from drug dealers demanding to speak with her. Cameron said his mom often begged for money by saying she needed to feed her kid and then used that money for drugs. Once, the dishes in their home piled so high they started to mold. Cameron didnt know how to use the dishwasher. In 2015, according to court documents, Christina illegally sold Camerons prescription medication and tested positive for heroin. A judge granted his grandmother temporary custody that summer. Thats when Cameron started going to Madison Schools. When Mel was granted permanent custody on Jan. 11, 2016, Cameron still thought something could go wrong. Hed learned not to trust adults and wanted to see the paperwork himself. When it finally came in the mail, more than a month later, they celebrated. It was a Friday, and Mel picked him up from school to surprise him. They ate at China King Buffet. On Saturday, they went to Kohls and, hoping for something to signify a fresh start, Mel bought him new pants, a shirt and Nike shoes. The paramedics cut those clothes off him on Monday. And he wouldnt see them again for months, until pictures from the police investigation were released to the media. Cameron saw his bloody pants on the news. This January, Cameron and his grandmother drive 45 minutes each way for physical therapy. They use a truck Camerons grandfather gave him when he turned 18. He always promised Cameron the truck, as long as he stayed off drugs and didnt get anyone pregnant. Today, Cameron's in the pool. Its the place he feels the least amount of pain. The water is warm, and there are at least two fans blowing to keep the surrounding area cool. Cameron Smith exercises during his aquatic therapy session at Drake Hospital in Hartwell on Monday, January 13, 2020. His dog whines when he gets into the water. After warmups, Cameron steps up onto a box in the pool and steps down. He does this repeatedly. Then, he stands on his toes and stretches his legs. He jogs laps and makes small talk with his physical therapist. On one end of the pool is Cameron. On the other are mostly women with gray hair. He might be in less pain here, but hed rather be anywhere else. Cameron wants to live in Hawaii. Its always warm there, he says, and the people are nice. Hes lived in Hawaii before, when his grandfather had a construction job there. Its a place where he says his mom only smoked marijuana. When asked what he wants his future to look like, Cameron responds without hesitation: Nothing like it is now. How do you think youre going to get out? I have no clue," he says. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Madison Schools shooting 4 years later: Some wounds will never heal The Wednesday restored the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order directing Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) to return 758 acres of land, which was pledged with several banks, to its debt-laden subsidiary firm Ltd (JIL). The NCLAT had allowed the pleas of all banks as well as JAL and held that the transactions were genuine and the allegation of undervaluation was not justified. The top court, while deciding a batch of appeals filed by Interim Resolution Professional of JIL and others, set aside the decision of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) passed on August 1, last year. The NCLAT had quashed the verdict of NCLT, Allahabad, which on May 16, 2018 had held that the mortgage of properties of JIL, which was facing insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), in favour of the lending financial institutions of holding firm JAL cannot be countenanced. The NCLT had also held that the lenders of JAL do not fall in the category of the "financial creditors" of corporate debtor JIL just because of the mortgage of JIL's properties in favour of JAL. The Allahabad bench of the NCLT had asked the holding firm JAL to return 758 acres of land to its subsidiary JIL, declaring the transfer of the land as "fraudulent" and "undervalued". It had also directed JAL to release and discharge interest created over the patch of land to lenders. A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari, in its 174 judgement, considered various provisions of the IBC and reversed the verdict of the NCLAT. "The impugned order dated August 1, 2019 as passed by NCLAT in the batch of appeals is reversed and is set aside. "...consequently, the order dated May 16, 2018 so passed by NCLT is upheld in regard to the findings that the transactions in question are preferential within the meaning of Section 43 of the Code," Justice Maheshwari, who wrote the judgement, said. The bench said that the mortgage of properties of JIL in favour of the lenders of JAL are "denuded of their value and worth" by the order of the NCLT which has been approved by us. "To be more specific, the security interests created by the corporate debtor JIL over the properties in question stand discharged in whole," the bench said. It held that the lending banks of JAL "cannot claim any status as creditors of the corporate debtor JIL and there could arise no question of their making any claim to be treated as financial creditors as such." The top court was to deal with two "major issues" and one was "whether the transactions in question (mortgages) deserve to be avoided as being preferential, undervalued and fraudulent, in terms of Sections 43, 45 and 66 of the Code. "And second, as to whether the respondents (lender of JAL) could be recognized as financial creditors of the corporate debtor JIL on the strength of the mortgage created by the corporate debtor, as collateral security of the debt of its holding company JAL." The bench held that the mortgages of plots of land of debt-ridden JIL to the lending banks of JAL cannot be countenanced and the FIs of JAL cannot held to be the financial creditors of JIL. The banks, involved in the case, are: Axis Bank, Standard Chartered, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bank of Maharashtra, United Bank of India, Central Bank of India', UCO Bank', Karur Vyasa Bank , L&T Infrastructure Finance Company, Canara Bank, Karnataka Bank, IFCI, Allahabad Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and The South Indian Bank Ltd. Banks have given loans to Jaiprakash Associates, JP Group's flagship firm against the land bank owned by A Spring woman attempted to use Houston billionaire Tilman Fertittas social security number to illegally open lines of credit, police allege. Stephanie Hunter, 27, told investigators that she purchased the moguls sensitive information on the dark web and applied for a bank credit card and line of credit with a popular furniture store, according to charging documents. The companies approved both applications, but Lifelock a credit and identity monitoring service spotted problems with the application and alerted Fertitta directly, police said. PHOTOS: Rockets players help out at Hobby Airport Hunter allegedly used Fertittas name, social security number and other personal information on the application. However, she created a fake email address (with the username fertitta.t57) and used her own home address in Spring for the application, police said. Fertitta called deputies with the Harris County Precinct 1 Constables Office, who arrested Hunter on an unrelated warrant and questioned her about the credit lines in October. Thats when she admitted to the scheme, police said. She was charged with fraudulent use of identifying information and using a false statement to obtain credit. Fertitta's ownership portfolio features Houston-based Landry's, Inc. with more than 600 concepts nationwide including over 60 brands, four aquariums, 11 hotels, and two amusement parks. He also owns the Houston Rockets. A spokesperson for Fertitta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com UP Election 2022 Opinion Poll: BJP, SP eating into BSP's votes, Yogi projected to become CM again UP Election 2022: From which seat should Yogi Adityanath contest? Here's what voters say UP assembly polls will be about '80 per cent vs 20 per cent'; BJP will win: Yogi Adityanath UP Election 2022: BJP panel meet today to decide candidates for first phase UP CM Yogi Adityanath likely to contest from Ayodhya Campaign to clean dirt: Yogi Adityanath on Azam Khan arrest India pti-PTI Lucknow, Feb 26: After Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan and his family surrendered before a Rampur court in a fake birth certificate case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said in the state assembly that his government was cleaning all the "dirt". Speaking in the state assembly, the Chief Minister said, "Virus grows in dirt. There is a campaign to clean this kind of dirt." He was apparently referring to the arrest of Azam Khan and the BJP-led state government's resolve to punish corrupt leaders. Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan, his legislator-wife Tazeen Fatma and MLA-son Abdullah Azam surrendered before a Rampur court on Wednesday and were sent to judicial custody over Abdullah's alleged fake birth certificate. Senior police officer Santosh Kumar Mishra told PTI that the Khan family members has been sent to jail for seven days by a court in western Uttar Pradesh's Rampur town. The case relates to two birth certificates for Abdullah Azam, who allegedly also gave a wrong date of birth while filing his nomination papers for the assembly elections in 2017. Abdullah's election was set aside by the Allahabad High Court last December. He then approached the Supreme Court, which is still hearing the case. Rejecting the opposition Samajwadi Party's claims of vendetta politics, the chief minister asserted that his government has never discriminated against anyone. "We have never discriminated. Our minister came and asked whether power has to be supplied to Rampur and I said it should be as it was in the past," Yogi Adityanath said. Without taking names, the chief minister said, "Bijli to ab bahut chamak rahi hai wahan par. Bahut tezi se chamak rahi hai. Jab chamakti hai to faltu virus nahi panapte. There is enough electricity in Rampur now. When there is electricity, there is no unnecessary virus)." The BJP leader's remarks on Rampur, the hometown of Azam Khan, evoked laughter from the treasury benches. The Congress on Wednesday called a meeting of its Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs in the wake of Delhi violence that has left at least 22 people dead and around 190 people injured in the past three days. The party also held Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here on Wednesday which was attended by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, P Chidambaram, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and other party leaders. Blaming the Central government for the violence that has rattled the city, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked for Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. "There is a conspiracy behind the violence; the country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred," added Sonia Gandhi while addressing a press conference earlier in the day. Congress will also hold a march and give a memorandum to President on Thursday, informed party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leixlip Mens Shed were crowned Best Participating Shed in Kildare for the Irish Mens Sheds Associations (IMSA) health and wellbeing programme, Sheds for Life. The programme saw eight sheds across Kildare take part in ten-weeks of health and wellbeing workshops, including cancer prevention and diabetes management. The competition for Best Participating Shed in Kildare was tough, but Leixlip came out on top. Other sheds didnt go home empty handed. Naas, Cooleragh/Staplestown, Na Fianna, Kill & District, Kilcock, Maynooth and Clane Mens Shed all won Certificates of Participation. SEE ALSO: Sod turned to start work on new Maynooth line rail station Leixlip Mens Shed spokesperson, Tony Collins, said it is very honoured to receive Best Participating Shed in Kildare for the Sheds for Life health and wellbeing programme. We took on this programme with the same amount of passion as we would with any project, committed to learning about our own physical and mental wellbeing, and this award shows just how dedicated and passionate our shed was to the programme. He said the Leixlip shedders hope to continue to use what we have learned from Sheds for Life, inside and outside of the shed, and make further strides in improving our health. SEE ALSO: more Kildare stories Also commenting on the Sheds for Life programme, IMSA Health and Wellbeing Manager Edel Byrne congratulated all sheds on their commitment to the Sheds for Life programme. You have all worked extremely hard over the ten-weeks to improve your physical and mental wellbeing. I hope that you will take what you have learned in the programme and use it well into the future to continue to improve your health and wellbeing. The Sheds for Life programme was trialled in 29 mens shed across Kildare, Limerick, Louth and Waterford with over 420 shedders taking part in health and wellbeing workshops. A comprehensive evaluation of the programme is currently underway in conjunction with the Irish Research Council, Waterford IT and the National Centre for Mens Health and IT Carlow, as well as a range of other major health organisations. South African labor unions have rejected a government proposal to review planned increases for civil servants days before they were due to be implemented. The Public Servants Association, which represents 230,000 government workers, said the state on Tuesday asked to review the last leg of a three-year pay agreement because it couldnt afford it. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is due to announce the annual budget on Wednesday. The timing of the proposal, a few days before the adjustments were due to be implemented, speaks of a government that regards public servants as an easy target to resolve its financial woes, the PSA said. The Central Executive Committee of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the countrys biggest labor federation, said if the proposal made its way into the budget speech it would be seen as a declaration of war, according to News24, an Internet news site. Some dairy farms decide to take on-farm processing to the next level by opening a retail store. This serves as an opportunity to provide products directly to consumers. The four farms in our February 10, 2020, Round Table article, They sell their own products, have found success with the retail store model as a way to sell their own milk and dairy products. In order to better serve their customers, these farms have gone beyond dairy when it comes to the food available in their store. For example, the Kilgus family (pictured) from Fairbury, Ill., raises a variety of livestock to sell as meat in their country store along with fluid milk and ice cream produced in their own creamery. This includes Jersey beef, Berkshire pork, and Boer goat meat. In addition, these farm families have also made connections with local businesses to sell their products in the store. This allows the dairy farmers to expand their offerings for customers while supporting other local farms and giving them an outlet to sell their goods. Read on to see what other products these dairy farm families offer in their retail store. DeBacker Family Dairy Farm, Daggett, Mich.: We sell milk, ice cream, cheese, beef, pork, and lamb. All the meat is grown here on the farm. We work with Laacks Cheese out of Greenleaf, Wis., for our cheese and other supplies. Glo-Crest Dairy and Mountain Fresh Creamery, Clermont, Ga.: We sell other Georgia grown products with pride! We love to support local small farmers and small businesses. We offer jams, jellies, grits, baking mixes, honey, sausage, cheeses, ready-to-cook meals, sauces, and so forth. We also market our own ground beef from our farm. We sell farm novelties with our logo and our own customized T-shirts. Kilgus Farmstead, Fairbury, Ill.: We work with several other value-added farms and stock their products in our store as well as redistribute these products on our wholesale milk routes. These items include jams and jellies, honey, local cheeses, yogurt, and butter, as well as popcorn, teas and coffees, salves and oils, and Kilgus branded clothing. Oak Lawn Farm and Kelley Country Creamery, Fond du Lac, Wis.: We sell fresh cheese curds from a local cheese maker and artisan butter from another value-added farm. We sell Sartori Cheese and glass-bottled milk from our dairy processor. All of these relationships work very well. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2020 February 24, 2020 ACLU sues 7 Texas pro-life 'sanctuary cities' in attempt to block abortion business bans Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The American Civil Liberties Union is suing seven cities in Texas that passed ordinances banning abortion businesses from operating within their jurisdictions. The national ACLU and its Texas chapter filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, on behalf of two abortion activist groups, Texas Equal Access Fund and the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity. Defendants named in the suit are the cities of Waskom, Gary, Joaquin, Naples, Rusk, Tenaha, and Wells, which have all recently voted to become Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn. The right to access abortion is protected by the United States Constitution. But in recent months, at the behest of anti-abortion activists, several east Texas municipalities have passed ordinances that claim to ban abortion, the lawsuit says, in part. Although this section of the ordinances cannot be enforced while Roe v. Wade is in effect, the ordinances existence misleads residents of these cities as to whether individuals can in fact exercise their right to access abortion. The suit also argues that while the ordinances concede that they cannot ban abortion under current law, several other provisions are in effect. The ordinances deem Plaintiffs Texas Equal Access Fund (TEA Fund) and Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity (Lilith Fund), and other pro-choice organizations, as criminal organizations, continued the suit. This means that Plaintiffs have been judged criminal without ever having been charged with a crime, much less afforded a trial. Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement released Tuesday that the ordinances were part of a nationwide attack on abortion access. Whether it is bans on abortion, attempts to close clinics, or moves to silence people who support abortion access, the ACLU will fight against these unconstitutional and cruel measures, Amiri said. Texas Right to Life was critical of the ACLU's lawsuit, describing it as desperate and commended the sanctuary cities for the unborn for showing great courage in standing up against the abortion industry. Unsurprisingly, organizations that profit off the death of preborn children are throwing a hodgepodge of complaints at the court and seeing what they can get to stick, the pro-life group said. In passing the ordinance, cities acted within their constitutional rights to self-governance and within the scope of current U.S. Supreme Court abortion jurisprudence. The ordinance language is solid and carefully drafted in expectation of the abortion industry filing a lawsuit. Last June, the Waskom City Council unanimously voted to become what is believed to be the first Texas town to declare itself a sanctuary city for the unborn. Waskom Mayor Jesse Moore said in a statement at the time that the new ordinance was about preventing the possible creation of an abortion clinic in his city. We decided to take things into our own hands, and we've got to do something to protect our cities and to protect the unborn children, Moore told Fox 26 Houston last year. Soon after, other Texas cities passed similar measures, with the total as of Wednesday morning being 11 cities across the Lone Star State, according to the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn website. Toronto has became the new battleground for protesters of the Coastal GasLink project in Western Canada, with hundreds of demonstrators occupying train lands and disrupting the evening commute. As many as eight arrests were made at the Dundas and Jane Street rail lands after a blockade took over the tracks, a major rail artery through Canadas largest city. Supporters shouted shame as police made the arrests. LAND BACK! read one sign protesters stretched between two rail lines. Im going to stay here until they remove me or until were free, said a defiant Olivia Coombe, who sat, wrapped in a blanket, a few metres from the tracks, with dozens of other protesters amid a heavy police presence. The number of people gathered at the site dwindled throughout the evening and into early Wednesday. Toronto police cleared the rail path about 3 a.m., carrying about 30 people off the tracks one by one. Another 30 protesters on the opposite side of a fence blocking off the tracks chanted shame and solidarity as police formed a human chain paving the way between the protesters on the track and a couple of court services vehicles waiting nearby. Several people carried off the path were allowed to walk free though some were taken into custody. Its unclear how many people were arrested over the course of the 11-hour protest and how many face charges. Across the country, protesters of the Coastal GasLink project are digging in, mounting blockades that appear suddenly, and in some cases dissipate quickly. Protesters are vowing to fight on despite police action to enforce trespassing laws. Small blockades aimed at stifling Canadian rail transport occurred in other parts of Ontario and in Quebec. GO Train ridership by the numbers GO operates seven train lines across about 500 kilometres of track, the majority of which is owned by Metrolinx, the provincial agency that operates GO. Here is the ridership numbers from April 2019 to December 2019 60.3 M Total ridership 47.9 M GO Train Boardings 3.0 Million Milton 6.3 Million Lakeshore East 9.0 Million Lakeshore West 1.8 Million Stouffville 1.1 Million Richmond Hill 2.5 Million Barrie 2.6 Million Kitchener 3.4 Million UP Express Source: Metrolinx Meanwhile, talks aimed at cooling the tension continue with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in B.C. and the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs discussing a satellite detachment (trailers housing police equipment and offices) that the chiefs want removed. While those talks continue, protesters across the country have taken to the rail lines. The hereditary chiefs claim control over lands the pipeline would have to cross. Tuesday, Toronto and GTA rail lines were hit with temporary blockades during the afternoon and evening commute with protests stopping GO Train service and regular rail traffic. Union Station in Toronto was jammed with frustrated commuters. Metrolinx warned of disruptions throughout our entire system. Regular service resumed in the early evening but not before thousands of passengers were delayed. If the protests continue until Wednesday, rail officials and protesters will also have to contend with an approaching snowstorm created by a low pressure zone in Texas that threatens to further disrupt the afternoon and evening commute. Delays on GO Transit began Monday afternoon when a Wetsuweten solidarity blockade went up in Hamilton. The disruption along what the commuter service describes as its busiest route left thousands of passengers scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements. Hamilton police said protesters left the blockade site peacefully at around 5 p.m. Tuesday. As that blockade was being dismantled two other blockades were springing up in locations in Toronto. Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said there had been reports of disruptions at Kipling station on the Milton line, as well as at Guildwood on Lakeshore East. GO warned of severe crowding at Union Station as a result. Frustrating matters was that attendants who were trying to help passengers didnt have the latest accurate information. Commuters who spoke to the Star didnt share frustrations with the protesters. Instead they focused their anger on Metrolinx employees who couldnt help them. Metrolinx tweeted at around 4:45 p.m. that the situation at Guildwood had been cleared and normal service was resuming. At about 6:30 p.m., the first train to Milton finally departed Union after a two-hour delay but it was using a diversion. Aikins called Tuesdays disruption unprecedented. Metrolinx said they expect GO transit will be back to normal for Wednesdays commute, though they anticipated some delays on the Milton line. Aikins said the agency had been preparing for potential disruptions in the wake of protests across the country in solidarity with Wetsuweten chiefs. We have an emergency preparedness plan that we have put in effect, she said. The first priority we have is to make sure everybody stays safe, so everybody has been working round the clock, especially the last 48 hours. The flashpoint that appears to have led to the Toronto blockade came Monday when the Ontario Provincial Police made arrests of 10 Mohawk activists near Marysville, Ont. The OPP enforced a court injunction against a protest camp that had blocked one of Canadas key rail lines since Feb. 6. Canadian National and Via Rail had temporarily laid off 1,500 workers as a result. What watchers say may become a rotating series of protests across the country dont expect anything to stop, said one activist is a show of solidarity for hereditary Wetsuweten chiefs who are opposing construction of a pipeline over B.C. land they say they hold dominion over. According to the project website, the $6.2 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline is designed to safely deliver natural gas across northern B.C. A total of 670 kilometres in length, it aims to deliver natural gas from the Dawson Creek area to a facility near Kitimat, where it will be prepared for export to global markets by converting the gas to a liquefied state. While Coastal GasLink announced in 2018 the signing of agreements with 20 First Nation Band councils along the route including Wetsuweten Nation the project is being opposed by the hereditary Wetsuweten chiefs, who say the land in question was never part of a treaty. The hereditary chiefs have said it cannot proceed without their consent. Wetsuweten officials issued an eviction notice to Coastal GasLink on Jan. 4, and the RCMP moved into the area shortly after, sparking protests across the country and debates in Ottawa. There has been an ebb and flow to the nature of the protests. Tuesday afternoon, rumours spread in the city that a protest would be set up somewhere in the city at 4 p.m. Right on the dot of 4 p.m., on rail tracks near Jane and Dundas Streets, activists, hand in hand, formed a circular blockade to stop train traffic. Toronto Police warned those present they would be charged and face fines of $5,000 or more if they did not leave. Protesters played soft music and lit a fire to keep warm. As the evening wore on, eight arrests were made (police would not confirm the number) and the protesters moved off the rail lines and kept an uneasy vigil, facing police. Crystal Sinclair of the Idle No More protest movement told the Star she had come to the Jane and Dundas rail lands to support other Indigenous people across the country who are voicing their concerns about land ownership. This is about making a statement. Indigenous sovereignty is not being respected, she said as the crowd of protesters grew larger in the evening. They have to start paying attention, get off our land because injustice to one is injustice to all. At about 10 p.m., between 20 and 30 protesters remained on the tracks surrounded by police. A short distance away, roughly a hundred protesters huddled around the fence that closes off the rail line, chanting, holding signs and raising their fists. There were some tense moments amid a heavy police presence, but also periods of calm, with protesters sharing boxes of pizza that had been delivered to the scene. Tuesday, the day after the arrests in Marysville of 10 activists, dawned with a strong police presence in the area, as a means to keep protesters away from the CN rail tracks they had occupied for more than two weeks. David Milne, of Belleville, who visited the Wyman Road encampment in Marysville Tuesday, in support of the protesters, described himself as a settler who empathizes with the plight of First Nations people. I want a resolution that they (First Nations) feel is just and that they can live with long-term, Milne said, standing near the entrance to the encampment. Were also opposed to the use of violence to remove these people from demonstrating. He said legions of officers moving in to quash a demonstration on Indigenous land is just a microcosm of the larger neglect of First Nation rights. I have trouble with that, said Milne, of the arrests the day before. Thats just a symptom of whats wrong. Milne, who was allowed to enter the encampment to meet with the small group of protesters still at the site, said he was acting on the behalf of global faith-based group Christian Peacemaker Teams. Were here as human rights observers, he said. We got their permission. While Milne struggled to propose any solutions, his colleague, Robert Holmes said the RCMP must pull out of Wetsuweten territory before any meaningful dialogue can happen. We have to recognize the sovereignty of the Wetsuweten, Holmes said. The immediate solution is: RCMP out, the pipeline people out, and we sit down and negotiate. At the break of dawn, Tuesday, no one was manning the makeshift gate, guarded Monday by a man who prevented media from entering the Mohawk encampment. A pile of wood sat near the gate made of wooden skids, while several Mohawk flags mounted on the gate blew in the wind. A few cars sit idling, while two men sat next to a fire. Two women sorted food items cupcakes, doughnuts, muffin and Tim Hortons coffee containers sitting on two tables inside the Mohawk encampment. Correction - Feb. 26, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version to update an incorrect photo caption. The first photo caption misidentified the person sitting on the rail tracks as a male. With files from Ben Spurr, Jacob Lorinc, Tess Kalinowski, Jenna Moon, The Hamilton Spectator, and The Canadian Press Read more about: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Outerbridge Crossing was closed in both directions for more than two hours due to a seven-vehicle crash during the Wednesday morning rush hour, officials said. The New Jersey-bound lanes were reopened around 11 a.m. About a half-hour earlier, traffic began flowing again in the Staten Island-bound lanes, according to a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Residual delays should be expected, according to Notify NYC. Two people with minor injuries were transported to an area hospital from the crash, the Port Authority spokeswoman said. The crash -- which involved seven total vehicles, including a truck -- occurred in the New Jersey-bound lanes on the New Jersey side of the span, according to the spokeswoman. The emergency response, which lasted around three hours, was hampered, in part, by a fuel spill and difficulty hooking up the crash truck to a tow truck, she said. The New Jersey-bound lanes were closed about 8 a.m., and the Staten Island-bound lanes were blocked within minutes. The Google traffic map shows delays leading up to the Outerbridge Crossing in both directions at 8:35 a.m. GOETHALS CRASH CLEARED, RESTRICTIONS ON VERRAZZANO Earlier, a crash caused delays on the Goethals Bridge, New Jersey-bound, before it was cleared. The right lane was blocked on a ramp to the New Jersey Turnpike, according to the Port Authority. In addition, speed restrictions due to rain and wet roadways are in effect on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has postponed his inauguration for his second term until March 9, amid a bitter dispute with his main election rival. The delay was due to "rumors about the spread of the new coronavirus and the short notice for world leaders to attend the ceremony, Afghanistans presidential palace said in a statement on February 26, a day before the ceremony was initially scheduled to take place. Last week, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission declared Ghani the winner of the September 28 national election, but outgoing Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah rejected the long-delayed results, declared his own victory, and said he would form his own government. The U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, welcomed Ghani's decision to postpone his inauguration, saying the delay "will allow time for necessary consultations so that the best interests of Afghanistan and its people are reflected and preserved by the new government." "As the electoral process has concluded, President Ghani, as the declared winner, and other leaders should ensure that the new government is inclusive and reflects the aspirations of all Afghans," he tweeted. Widespread allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's 2014 presidential election led to a political crisis between Ghani and Abdullah that was resolved by a U.S.-brokered power-sharing agreement. Under that deal, Ghani became president, while a new office of chief executive officer was created for Abdullah. The February 26 announcement comes amid a week-long "temporary reduction in violence" agreed by the United States and the Taliban that has been seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government in Kabul. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on February 25 that should the arrangement be observed, Washington was prepared to signed a deal with the Taliban that would lead to a reduction in 13,000 U.S. troops in the country and for unprecedented negotiations between the militants and the Afghan government. The Taliban has so far refused to talk directly with the Kabul government, calling it a puppet of foreign powers. Afghan officials have reported one confirmed case of coronavirus in the country. The disease has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing over 2,700 deaths, mainly in mainland China, where the virus originated. With reporting by dpa, AFP, Reuters, and Radio Free Afghanistan But even as regional governments moved to control the outbreak, Iranian authorities came under fire for what critics said is an inadequate response to the threat. Officials have rejected calls to quarantine major cities and have allowed communal prayer services to continue in places such as Qom, where the virus first emerged in Iran. Nurses and other medical personnel have complained in interviews and on social media that authorities were preventing health workers from wearing masks and were forcing staff to buy their own gloves. In her first bill before City Council, freshman Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson proposes legislation that would give preference in the form of five extra points on the civil service exam to any qualified graduate of one of the Philadelphia School Districts more than 120 Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The bill asks to amend the citys Home Rule Charter and, if it passes in Council, would trigger a ballot question in April. Currently, a similar benefit is given to veterans and children and grandchildren of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Richardson says shes trying to give grads of vocational and technical schools a leg up in a tough job market, but critics argue that the bill is insensitive to veterans, police officers, and firefighters. The Inquirer turned to City Council at-large members Richardson and David Oh to debate: Should the city give extra credit to grads of vocational and technical schools who apply for government jobs? Yes: This legislation seeks to solve a problem. By Katherine Gilmore Richardson As a former teacher and mother of school-aged children, I can tell you that educating our youth so they can achieve bright and successful futures is one of the most important duties we, as legislators, have. Education is a right for all of our children, and even though we are nearly 70 years past Brown v. Board of Education, we recognize our system is still deeply, inherently, and systematically unequal. However, as an educator, I recognize that not every child is the same and may not take the same traditional path to a four-year university that I did. Developing our workforce by utilizing the career and technical workforce programs here in Philadelphia is so important to me. The students in these programs are gaining real-life work experience suitable to fill Philadelphia city jobs, of which many are lacking applicants. In fact, according to a recent Pew report, 75% of our city workforce is eligible for retirement in 15 years. Thats why I proposed a measure that would extend a points preference to graduates of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the School District of Philadelphia taking competitive civil service exams for city jobs. After working in City Hall for 11 years, I have seen many pieces of noble legislation lose their steam and get mired down in information perpetuated by one or two people or groups who would rather see nothing happen than to work together to find a compromise. I know that legislation where many groups have stakes rarely winds up looking exactly as it started. I understand that some veterans groups are concerned about the legislation, and worry that it might negatively impact their members. As the daughter of an Army veteran, I would not support any legislation that would unfairly disenfranchise veterans and children of fallen firefighters and police. I have a three-time combat war Army veteran and grandchildren of Philadelphia police on my staff. What this legislation seeks to do is to solve a problem not take anything away from anyone else but to expand opportunities to students that Philadelphia taxpayers have invested in, in our Career and Technical Education programs, and attempt to keep that investment here. These students would receive a preference on civil service exams and hopefully be able to fill existing vacancies for our city workforce. They would then be working here, living here, paying taxes, funding our schools, and the city would be getting a solid return on investment. Pipelines of disinformation can be difficult to slow once they get started, and I am sorry one of my first efforts in City Council fell victim to this, but I want to layout the truth about this bill and look forward to it moving forward to hopefully help more of our students on their career paths. Katherine Gilmore Richardson is a councilmember at-large. She is a lifelong Philadelphian, a wife, a mother, a former teacher, and a longtime public servant. No: Exceptions to a level playing field must be rare and for good reason. By David Oh A five-point advantage for graduates of Philadelphia career technical schools is a five-point disadvantage for everyone else. Currently, Philadelphians who want to work for the city must pass a civil service exam. This is done to level the playing and allow qualified people, regardless of demographics, to gain employment. Giving preferential treatment to job applicants would be making an exception to the rules. Exceptions to a level playing field must be rare, extraordinary, and for good reason. Currently, the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter provides a 10-point hiring preference for military veterans and children/grandchildren of police officers and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. Thats the way it should stay. The idea that CTE grads would receive preferential treatment for employment would disadvantage many Philadelphians including graduates of a traditional high school, magnet school, creative and performing arts school, two-year or four-year college, persons with physical or intellectual disabilities, single parents, GED recipients, returning citizens, and victims of crime. Graduates of Philadelphia Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are very employable in their fields of training. CTE students graduate with in-demand skills, and hold higher rates of employment than high school graduates without career and technical certifications. And Philadelphia residents who graduate from CTE programs outside the School District of Philadelphia would be excluded under this legislation. Its also worth noting that amendments to the charter cannot be amended or repealed for five years. I believe there are other ways to assist graduates of Philadelphia career and technical schools without a charter change, such as a tax credit or another incentive passed through traditional legislation. Veterans have served our nation. They put themselves in harms way and placed their families at risk of losing a parent. They underwent strict discipline and training. They followed orders and went where they are sent by our government. Our city government appreciates their service, sacrifice, training, and experience to the extent it prefers to hire veterans. It is a merit-based preference. Yet only 1.8% of city governments workforce are veterans. This is well below the national average for veterans employment. Children and grandchildren of fallen police officers and firefighters are not a group of job applicants who chose to be in this category. They grew up without a parent or grandparent because our city needs people who put their lives at risk for all of us. This group of job applicants understands in a deeply personal way, the highest manner of public service and sacrifice. I have no doubt that this bill was introduced with good intentions. However, it does, in fact, diminish the hiring preference for veterans and children/grandchildren of fallen police officers and firefighters. It also unwittingly creates a need for every other group of job applicants to lobby their councilmembers to create a five-point hiring preference for them to have their own advantage. Amending the charter to add an additional hiring preference distorts the original intent and spirit of the benefit given to veterans, and arbitrarily gives one group a distinct advantage. Thats not fair and it shouldnt happen. David Oh is an at-large member of Philadelphia City Council and the only veteran currently serving on Council. The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory cautioning Indians against non-essential travel to South Korea, Iran and Italy. The advisory comes in view of the evolving coronavirus outbreak situation with deaths being reported from these countries. It also states that people coming from these three countries or having such travel history since February 10, are to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival to India. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which was first reported from Wuhan in China, has now spread to various countries with over 2,600 deaths reported from China alone while nearly a million have been infected. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the apex court's Justice Arun Mishra praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the International Judicial Conference held here last week, as "such remarks reflect poorly on the independence of the judiciary". Justice Mishra, who is third in seniority, on Saturday, praised Modi twice, calling him an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and "versatile genius who thinks globally and acts locally". Delivering the vote of thanks at a function of the International Judicial Conference 2020, he has said: "India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the stewardship of internationally acclaimed visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi." The lawyers' body in a statement said it has taken note of these comments, with a deep sense of anguish and concern. "The SCBA expresses its strong reservations of the statements and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit," it said in a statement. It emphasised that such proximity and familiarity may impact the decision making process by the judges, and it may give rise to justifiable doubts in the minds of the litigants on the outcome of their matters. "The SCBA reaffirms its faith in the Constitution and independence of the judiciary and calls upon all concerned in the administration of justice to work for the same in letter and spirit," its statement said. The Bar Association of India has also expressed discontent on the statement made by senior Supreme Court judge praising the PM. The association's President Lalit Bhasin, in a statement, said: "The executive committee of the Bra Association of India is of the view that the use of effusive terms of praise and adulation by Justice Mishra about the Prime Minister go beyond the terms of formal courtesy extended during a vote of thanks address." It claimed that such act serves to dilute the perception of impartiality and independence, and also diminishes the confidence of the general public. "... As the judges of the top court are expected to decide cases against the executive branch while upholding constitutional principles and the rule of law as paramount," the statement added. Strict restrictions reflect pragmatic, responsible responses to epidemic Several Chinese cities raised their alert and implemented strict entry measures on Tuesday by asking all foreign visitors to undergo quarantine amid rising fears of the fast-spreading outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Japan and South Korea, aiming to prevent overseas cases of infection. Such restrictions, in sharp contrast to the generous help and goodwill offered by the two neighboring countries at the early stage of the outbreak in Wuhan, sparked online discussions as some questioned whether it shows China's selfish and ingratitude mind-set as fears grow over the spreading virus. However, analysts said this is China's pragmatic, scientific and responsible responses to the epidemic as the classic quarantine measures the country has adopted proved to be the only available way that worked out. If the rebound of infections occurs, the country's previous progress would end in vain, which will also drag the global epidemic combat into a deadlock. Qingdao, a highly popular destination for South Koreans in East China's Shandong Province, is adopting a stricter epidemic prevention policy amid the COVID-19. It has asked all foreign visitors to either undergo self-quarantine or stay in designated hotels, as infection numbers in South Korea soared tenfold in less than a week. Local authorities began on Monday to assign vehicles to pick up all foreign visitors arriving in Qingdao and send them to their homes for a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Foreigners coming for short-term visit or business travel will be sent to designated hotels, the local government said. Chen Yuxi (left), a nurse from East China's Jiangxi Province who is supporting the battle against the epidemic in Wuhan, shows a paperboard with icons indicating eating, drinking and pain, to a critical patient on Monday. Chen made the board to help communicate with patients who have difficulty expressing their needs. Photo: cnsphoto Other cities in the province, including Weihai and Yantai, took similar moves. Weihai, the closest city in the country facing South Korea, imposed even stricter measures as both foreigners and Chinese who departed from either Japan or South Korea would be sent to hotels for a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Yantai, a coastal city located about 65 kilometer from Weihai, also strengthened management of entrants by requiring reports of health condition, arranging special vehicles to transfer them to designated places. Netizens allegedly from Qingdao wrote on social media platforms that some South Koreans who arrived in Qingdao were not placed under home quarantine like the Chinese citizens were, leaving a potential loophole in epidemic control. Some speculated that South Koreans might be flying to Qingdao to avoid the rapid infection rise in their home country. Those posts also aroused public concerns over possible overseas cases of infection. South Korea reported an additional 144 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 977 with 11 deaths, according to the Yonhap News Agency. The spike in infection numbers also raised concerns on looming massive infection in the country. Japan is also on the edge of a rapid spread of the virus, as the confirmed number has now topped 861, including passengers previously quarantined at the Diamond Princess cruise ship. South Korea and Japan have become two of the most virus-stricken countries outside of China. Some countries and regions also issued travel warnings to South Korea and Japan. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisory to South Korea to the highest level on Monday and urged against all nonessential travel to the country. Besides Shandong, provinces in Northeast China, with a considerable ethnic Korean population, also escalated prevention and control measures. Hunchun, a city in Northeast China's Jilin and bordering North Korea, imposed a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all foreign returnees to the city. Those without the city's permanent residence will be sent to designated places for quarantine. And Dalian, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning that hosts the annual summer Davos meeting, also took targeted measures to prevent overseas cases of infection, paying more attention to neighboring countries, the local government said on Monday. Local authorities in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, sent out alert messages to local residents, urging them to avoid going to communities where Chinese returning from South Korea live. Qingdao is believed to be the most favored Chinese city by South Koreans, where about 100,000 people from South Korea live, according to media reports. As a major port that is also a free trade zone in northern China, the city has been attracting investments of over 20 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) so far from South Korea with over 2,300 South Korean firms, also according to media reports. It's also widely believed that if a graduate speaks Korean, he won't have trouble finding a job in Qingdao. Major multinational companies such as LG and Sindoh are based there. On Tuesday, relevant authorities in some Beijing districts, particularly Wangjing, the so-called "Koreatown" that is home to the capital city's largest non-Chinese community, also issued warnings to local residents to avoid going to places where large numbers of South Korean people are known to live and go, as part of the city's epidemic control measures against public gatherings. China has made a huge sacrifice by imposing unprecedented city lockdowns and drastic restrictions on movement, which WHO experts called a "bold approach" that changed the course of the epidemic, which probably prevented hundreds of thousands of more cases of infection. The country has seen visible progress in its fight against the disease with 24 provincial-level regions across China reporting zero new cases of COVID-19 infections on Monday. Outside of Hubei, regions reported only nine new cases of infections on Tuesday, a significant drop from previous days. Meanwhile, WHO experts mentioned that the number of coronavirus cases reported in China a day has dropped from 2,500 two weeks ago to 406 on Monday, which was about an 80 percent decline. The deadly virus has caused 77,658 infections nationwide so far, with the death toll at 2,663. Authorities at all levels will not take any risks to see a possible rebound resulting from overseas cases of infection, analysts said. Provinces such as Liaoning and Shandong are regions where many South Koreans and Japanese do business, study, visit relatives and temporarily settle down. "Considering the severe situation in neighboring countries, it is necessary for local authorities in these provinces to enhance preparedness, as we can't let our previous efforts end in vain," Liang Qidong, vice president of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Local residents wait to pay at the counter in a shop in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 24, 2020. South Korea confirmed 231 more cases of the COVID-19 on Monday, raising the total number of infections to 833, and the death toll rose to eight. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday as the virus infections soared for the past week. Photo: Xinhua Raise awareness A 50-year-old man, surnamed Shim, who works in a foreign exchange company in Seoul, told the Global Times on Tuesday that his company distributed facial masks to employees on Monday and asked them to wear it before going to the office. "But not many people are wearing masks in our office today, including me, because I think it might look a little bit overreacting. The situation is not that bad in Seoul," Shim said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Monday briefing that outside of China, there were 2,074 infection cases in 28 countries and regions with 23 deaths, and the sudden increase of cases in Italy, Iran and South Korea "are deeply concerning." However, online video footage and media reports showed that local residents in Seoul showed up in a public rally over the weekend while the South Korean government vowed to bring in maximum measures to contain the outbreak. South Korea planned to test around 200,000 members of the Shincheonji Church, which is believed to be the ground zero of the spread in the country. More importantly, public awareness was also urged to be raised in combating the disease not only in South Korea but also in Japan. Nomachi Ayako, a first-year Japanese graduate studying at Shanghai International Studies University, stayed in Shanghai for the winter break and chose to continue staying there despite the virus outbreak because she feels Shanghai has taken more vigorous measures to prevent and control the epidemic than her home city Tokyo. "My family insisted I stay in Shanghai, because the situation is more serious in Japan," she told the Global Times on Tuesday. Ayako said some of her Japanese friends feel panic due to the great shortage of protective masks in Japan and no mandatory city lockdowns there like in China, and the pollen season is coming up, which may cause a further spread of the epidemic. Also, some of the dismissed asymptomatic people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have started coughing and having a fever after returning home, so people are worried of being infected unintentionally by these people during their incubation period. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing told the Global Times on Tuesday that Japanese nationals will continue to be advised to return to their homeland as soon as possible, or delay their journeys to China, preventing transmission between the countries. Wang Cheng, a 35-year-old employee with a machinery company in Busan, South Korea, told the Global Times that few people wear masks in his company and people keep going out for group dinners as usual despite a warning from the company. Given the severe outbreak, South Korea and Japan are expected to learn from the experiences of China in taking decisive and strict measures to fight the disease, while China will provide valuable experience and assistance to them. "It has become a common challenge beyond borders. China, Japan and South Korea should further strengthen information sharing and cooperation in epidemic control work, as it doesn't only concern one country or the other," Liang said. Las Vegas, NV -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- As trusted DUI lawyers servicing Las Vegas, The Law Offices of Benjamin Nadig knows one of the most controversial practices when it comes to a citizen's rights in an arrest is entrapment. Entrapment occurs when a law enforcement agent induces an individual to commit a "crime" that they would have otherwise been unlikely or even unwilling to commit. Opportunity involves merely the temptation to engage in criminal activity. Entrapment consists of the coercion or overt persuasion for an individual to commit a crime. For example, an undercover law enforcement official tips off a few suspected criminals about an unsupervised warehouse nearby full of high-value inventory, and they take advantage of that information to commit thievery. This type of police activity is allowed since presenting the opportunity for a crime is not considered unlawful. On the other hand, a situation like this could become entrapment if the law enforcement official utilizes various tactics like fraud, threats, flattery, or even harassment to coerce someone to commit a crime they wouldn't have originally engaged. Entrapment in the above example could involve the undercover police officer goading unsuspecting passersby to steal inventory with the threat of inflicting physical violence if they don't. Each state uses one of two standards to determine entrapment: objective or subjective. An objective standard is when the defendants provide entrapment evidence, and jurors decide if the officer's action were unlawful in persuading an otherwise law-abiding person to engage in criminal conduct. A subjective standard (which Nevada uses) is when the defendant offers entrapment evidence. The juror then determines whether the defendant's predisposition to commit the crime makes the defendant ultimately responsible for their actions. In addition to those fighting back against entrapment, individuals who require an experienced drunk driving attorney near Las Vegas are encouraged to contact The Law Offices of Benjamin Nadig today. About The Law Offices of Benjamin Nadig The Law Offices of Benjamin Nadig represents individuals who have been charged with a criminal offense in the Las Vegas, NV area. Benjamin Nadig, CHTD is a criminal defense lawyer who has represented clients accused of sex crimes, drug crimes, DUI crimes, violent crimes, and more. He also represents clients in catastrophic personal injury matters. This firm thoroughly researches individual cases and compiles evidence so that the client can be involved as little as possible. The Law Offices of Benjamin Nadig provides free consultations 24/7. Benjamin Nadig offers appointments in his office and on-site in jails or any other location that is convenient for the individual requesting service. For more information, please visit https://www.benjaminnadig.com/. With the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker on Wednesday rejecting the BJP's demand for a government resolution honouring Hindutva icon V D Savarkar, senior leader Devendra Fadnavis launched a frontal attack on the Shiv Sena, calling it "laachar" (helpless) for power. The BJP had demanded the resolution commemorating the death anniversary of Savarkar on Wednesday. "The BJP also wanted ban on Congress magazine 'Shidori' for terming Savarkar as a 'maafiveer' (mercy-seeker) and not 'Swantryaveer' (freedom fighter)", Fadnavis said. The magazine had also published objectionable content, saying Savarkar was punished for rape, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly said. Earlier, Fadnavis tore a copy of the magazine in the Lower House. "Unfortunately, I have never seen such a 'laachar' Shiv Sena before this," Fadnavis told reporters outside the state legislature building, after the resolution was rejected. He recalled how late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had hit with shoes the banner (carrying image) of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for insulting Savarkar. The Shiv Sena in August 2004 launched "Jode Mara" (hit with footwear) agitation to condemn Aiyar and the Congress after his purported act of removing the plaque containing Savarkar's quotes at the Cellular Jail in Andaman triggered a controversy. Bal Thackeray himself had kick-started the agitation by hitting the effigy of Aiyar, then petroleum minister in the UPA government at the Centre, with footwear. "But his son, Uddhav Thackeray who is chief minister now, is sitting next to those whose mouthpiece called Savarkar a rapist," Fadnavis said. The Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray, shares power in Maharashtra with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress. Fadnavis further said Maharashtra will not tolerate insult of Savarkar, and that the BJP will raise the issue with the people. He and another senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar also raised the photo frame of Savarkar hailing the Hindutva leader. A Congress affiliate in Madhya Pradesh had last month distributed a Hindi booklet, titled "Veer Savarkar, Kitne 'Veer'?", which had some controversial references regarding Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saturday's featured race at Freehold Raceway will be a $14,000 Invitational Handicap Pace, which will offer a full field of eight starters. The race features an interesting matchup: Freehold veteran Lyons Steel against up-and-comer Rollwithpapajoe. Rollwithpapajoe will be making his four-year-old debut for trainer Jenn Bongiorno. As a three-year-old, the bay gelding won three divisions of the New York Sire Stakes before finishing third in the final at Batavia Downs on September 14. He wrapped up his sophomore campaign with a win in the Simpson at Harrah's Philadelphia on September 21. To prep for his return, he qualified at Freehold last week and paced his mile in 1:53.3. Joe Bongiorno will drive from the outside post position. Lyons Steel was dominant two races back at Freehold, when he effortlessly won the Preferred Handicap Pace in 1:53.3 in what was his second start off of a layoff. He'll seek a rebound off of a dull try at the Meadowlands Racetrack last time out. Pat Lachance will be in the bike from Post 7 for trainer Dennis Watson, Two other recent Preferred winners are set to do battle in the tilt, as well. Lucan Hanover won the Preferred on January 4, back when he was in the care of Nick Surick. Since having been claimed by Eric Ell on February 1, he's had a fourth-place and sixth-place finish at the Meadowlands Racetrack to his credit. He'll seek improvement in his return to Freehold, where he's won four times from six tries. Pat Berry will drive from Post 4. Shneonucrzydiamnd A was impressive in victory back on January 25 when he captured the Preferred by two lengths in 1:53.2. He was pulled up last time out at Yonkers Raceway on February 8, and qualified in 1:54.3 at Freehold last Friday. Eric Goodell has been named to drive from Post 6 for trainer Ross Croghan. Art Scene, Ozone Blue Chip, Newbie, and Soho Lennon A complete the field. The race will face the gate for the ninth race on the 13-dash Saturday program (post time for the tilt is approximately 3:10 p.m. (EST). Racing at Freehold on Saturday will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. (Freehold Raceway) Passengers wear protective masks at Milan's main railway station following security measures taken in northern Italy against the novel coronavirus. Milan is just north of the main centre of infection. (Photo: AFP/ANDREAS SOLARO) The patients are two Italians who live in the province of Tyrol and were probably infected on a trip to Italy's Lombardy region, Tyrol governor Guenther Platter was quoted as saying by local media. Tyrol and Carinthia are the two Austrian provinces that border northern Italy. TV station ORF said the two 24-year-olds had reported themselves to the authorities. They had a slight fever and are currently under isolation in an Innsbruck hospital. The hospital operator will hold a news conference at 2pm. The new virus has already killed more than 2,600 people, most of them in China, and spread to about 29 other countries, according to a Reuters tally. The number of confirmed cases has risen above 80,000. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy with some 220 infections - from just three before Friday - and seven dead. REDMOND (dpa-AFX) - Microsoft said it will open an Azure cloud datacenter region in Spain and use the infrastructure of Spanish telecom company Telefonica SA as part of the two companies' global strategic partnership. Microsoft cloud services that will be delivered from the new datacentre region in Spain include Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. Under the partnership, the two companies will develop joint go-to-market plans in all the countries where Telefonica operates. Telefonica has a significant presence in 14 countries in Europe and Latin America. The two companies said they have identified the opportunity to collaborate to serve the needs of organizations in critical sectors such as government, health, education, travel, manufacturing, retail, finance, and insurance. Joint customers of Microsoft and Telefonica will be able to offer new services that require low latency, security and assured bandwidth around 5G, edge computing and Industry 4.0. 'Together, we will deliver comprehensive, intelligent, secure and trusted cloud services - spanning Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 - from datacenters in Spain, helping our customers accelerate their digital transformations,' said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. In addition, Telefonica will accelerate the use of Microsoft Azure as its cloud internally. Telefonica has already deployed Microsoft 365 to its global employee base for communication and collaboration across the 14 countries in which it operates. As a strategic partner for its multi-cloud strategy, Microsoft will train hundreds of Telefonica employees on Microsoft Cloud services. Microsoft's Azure cloud platform is only behind Amazon Web Services, which is the top public cloud provider. Microsoft has 56 data center regions globally. While reporting its second-quarter financial results in January, Microsoft said that the Intelligent Cloud segment revenues, which include the Azure on-demand computing services, increased 27 percent to $11.9 billion. Azure revenues surged 62 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de This is an opinion column. So much for that excuse. Okay, excuse is harsh. Because it implies invalidity. Because it diminishes. Neither is fair when assessing why many Birmingham high-school graduates dont attend college. Why they say: I cant afford it, or the mountain of debt that will hang like a millstone around my neck for the rest of my life. Thats not an excuse. Its the truth. Hard truth in a city where almost one in every four families live in poverty, where way too many children live every day in a bubble of trauma that hampers their ability to learn, where way, way too long its been too easy to for our children to simply shrug their burdened shoulders and say: I cant afford college. So why try? Randall Woodfin was talking about Birmingham Promisethe concept, at leastlong before becoming the citys 30th mayor two years ago. But until Tuesday, it wasnt much more than a campaign promise-turned-white-paper-turned-feel/sound-good initiative, spiced with an apprenticeship program. Its already exposed many students to potential careers they might not have before considered and provided them with pocket money they would likely not have had. On Tuesday, the Promise became real. Real enough to douse the excuse, to delete, I cant afford it, from the hallways of our high- and middle-schools, even our elementary schools. Three of the citys most prominent and prosperous entitiesthe Alabama Power Foundation, Altec/Styslinger Foundation, and Regions Bankpromised Tuesday to pony up $1 million each, enough to fund Promises last-dollar pledge to fill the hole between Pell Grants and scholarships and fully-funded tuition for city-system students to attend two- or four-year colleges in the state. Enough to fund the academic aspirations of Birminghams Class of 2020, to ensure they can afford college. Enough to take the excuse off the table. Woodfin called the commitment a big deal. It is. Big enough to acknowledge. Big enough to celebrate even. Because, until Tuesday, the elephant in the Promise room was clear: How was Woodfin going to pay for the Promise? City officials acknowledge the Promises ultimate price tag is $35 million. A far cry from $3 million. But the Class of 2020 is covered, promised the citys director of economic development, Josh Carpenter. As is the hope these first students who become a beacon for those who follow. A Promise fulfilled by the likes of 19-year-old Zahria Brewer, a Huffman High School senior who aspires to attend the University of Alabama Huntsville and ultimately become a pediatric psychologist. Given her poise and academic acumen, Brewer would likely have found a way to afford college, Promise or no Promise. But on Tuesday, before a phalanx of cameras and questioners no 19-year-old should face, she acknowledged taking I cant afford it off the table can be a vital motivator for many of her peersmany of whom are battling forces conspiring to deter them every day. Theyll see us, Brewer said, and be motivated. Will they be ready, though? No one can yet make that promise. Again, none of this is meant to invalidate or diminish the Promise or its critical potential, but promise is not always prepared. And prepared is up to all of us. Up to studentsnot just the already motivated, stratospherically inspired ones, like Brewermust take it upon themselves to do the work, to develop college-level study skills and challenge themselves beyond even where, lets be real now, some teachers and counselors may challenge them. Up to parents, who must actively participate in their childs educationin my day, parents led that journey, but thats another columnincluding ensuring the FASFA application is completed by the oft-repeated March 1 deadline. Up to, even, the colleges accepting our students. Its great UAB will match the Promise scholarships dollar-for-dollar, lowering the financial burden on students even more. But students, especially African American students from poor families, leave college, particularly after the first year, for many reasons. Room and board are not Promised. Meals are not Promised. Overcoming the anxiety of competing in an environment wholly foreign to the one left behind is not Promised. Again, no fault of Birmingham Promise. The initiative, its funders, and supporters have done their part by taking affordability off the table. Yet theres so much more to the journey. And it's up to all of us to help fill that gap. I promise. A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj Biden guarantees win in South Carolina Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden participates in the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25, 2020. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images Biden predicted victory in South Carolina on Saturday when he was pressed by the moderators on his sinking poll numbers in the state. "I will win South Carolina," he asserted when asked if he would end his candidacy if he doesn't prevail in the state. The former vice president touted his record in South Carolina with the black community, saying he has "created jobs for people. The people know me. My entire career has been wrapped up in dealing with civil rights and liberties." "I don't expect anything. I'm here to ask. I'm here to earn. But folks, I intend to win South Carolina and I will win the African American vote here in South Carolina," Biden added. Biden's lead over Sanders has been slipping in South Carolina, where the former vice president has been relying on support among black voters. If Sanders beats Biden, it will be the Vermont senator's fourth straight popular vote victory. Coming just days before Super Tuesday, that could give him a boost toward an insurmountable delegate lead. Buttigieg asks billionaires to donate Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Buttigieg told billionaires to donate to his campaign following a spat with Sanders over the former South Bend mayor's campaign contributions. Sanders, who has built his campaign on promoting wealth inequality and dismissing the ultra-wealthy, went after Buttigieg for accepting contributions from 50 billionaires. "I'll tell you, Pete, what the American people want," he said. "They don't want candidates to be running to billionaires for huge amounts of money." In response, Buttigieg downplayed contributions from the billionaire donors, saying they make up a small portion of his campaign funds. But immediately following his clarification, Buttigieg used the opportunity to ask on live television for additional donations, most notably from other billionaires. "In fact I shouldn't miss the opportunity, if you're watching right now and you support my campaign, go to PeteForAmerica.com and chip in. And if you're watching right now and you're a billionaire, I will raise your taxes," he quipped. "But if you'd like to defeat Donald Trump, please go to PeteForAmerica.com and donate the legal maximum of $2,800." Warren attacks Bloomberg over alleged 'kill it' comment Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Win McNamee | Getty Images Warren attacked Bloomberg over an accusation from a former employee who claimed the media mogul quipped "kill it" when she was discussing being pregnant. Bloomberg flatly denied ever saying any such thing. "I'm sorry if she heard what she thought she heard," he said. Bloomberg also grew testy over Warren's continued pressure on him to overturn nondisclosure agreements for all former Bloomberg LP employees who alleged misconduct at the company. He argued that he had already released the three women who claimed that he personally said offensive things in the workplace. Bloomberg said he was "probably wrong to make the jokes I don't remember what they were. ... If it bothered them, I was wrong, and I apologize for that. But we went back 40 years, and we could only find three cases where women said they were uncomfortable. Nobody accused me of doing anything other than making a comment or two." Candidates hit Trump on coronavirus Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar speaks at the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 25, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Halfway through the debate, Bloomberg segued from a question about New York's trans fat ban to attacking President Donald Trump over his administration's response to coronavirus. "If you have good public health then you can do things. You read about the [coronavirus] and what's really happening here is the president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago, so there's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing," Bloomberg said. "He's defunded Centers for Disease Control, so we don't have the organization we need. This is a very serious thing. As you see, the stock market is falling apart and people are very worried, and they should be. This is a very serious thing, and we don't have anybody to respond." In 2018, Trump fired the majority of the White House global health emergency team. The spread of coronavirus outside of China, and warnings this week from CDC experts, sent markets tanking on Monday and Tuesday. Klobuchar dodged a question on whether she'd close borders to Americans who have been exposed to the virus to prevent an outbreak in the United States, instead advocating for treatment for those people. Then she gave out the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an answer to Buttigieg's plug for donations to his campaign. "I'm not going to give my website right now. I'm going to give the CDC's website," Klobuchar said, calling the situation "serious." Immediately following the comments from the Democratic candidates who said the White House has not responded well to the outbreak in China, Trump tweeted that the "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus." Trump tweet Tweet 2 Biden cuts himself off Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Win McNamee | Getty Images KINSHASA/TORONTO/JOHANNESBURG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold , the operator of Congo's biggest gold mine, has issued a cease and desist notice to junior miner AJN Resources as it moves to block its acquisition of a 10% stake in the project, which it says the deal undervalues Barrick and AngloGold Ashanti , which each own 45% of the Kibali mine, said they had not been consulted about the acquisition even though the stake's owner Societe Miniere de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO) may not transfer or sell its Kibali shares without their approval. The two companies and the chair of state-owned SOKIMO say AJN's planned acquisition was prematurely announced to the market, without notifying stakeholders or securing approval from SOKIMO's board. Barrick has issued a cease and desist notice to AJN , and its executives in Congo are currently engaged with the government on the matter, Chief Executive Mark Bristow said. The miner won't support the sale for reasons of valuation as well as process, he said. "From what little we know, it's a deeply discounted transaction," he told Reuters. "It's cheeky at best." AJN CEO Klaus Eckhof confirmed the previously unreported cease and desist notice from Barrick, which he said instructed AJN to stop pursuing the asset because Barrick has first right of refusal if SOKIMO chooses to sell. However, his firm can still go ahead with due diligence, he said. He declined to comment on what value the deal gives the Kibali stake. AJN announced a memorandum of understanding with SOKIMO on Feb 6 under which the state-owned firm's 10% stake in Kibali, plus stakes of between 30% and 35% in five other gold assets, would be exchanged for a 60% stake in AJN. Investec in 2014 valued 45% of Kibali, one of the world's biggest mines, at $2.1 billion, meaning a 10% stake would have been worth $467 million. Canada-listed AJN Resources currently has a market capitalisation of just C$11.93 million ($8.98 million), according to Thomson Reuters Eikon. Asked about the gap between AJN's valuation and the valuation of the mine, Eckhof said: "The market will adjust. The share price will be different and actually value the project." The deal would also give SOKIMO access to capital markets, he added. "SURPRISED" On Tuesday AJN said it had closed a C$2 million equity issue. Eckhof said he aims to raise C$20 million ($15.05 million) "at minimum" by the time the deal is signed. At the close of the deal, AJN said its board would consist of two nominees from SOKIMO and three current directors of AJN, making SOKIMO board members a minority even though the firm would hold 60% of the shares. SOKIMO chair Annie Kithima said she was "surprised" by AJN's statement and that the make-up of the board was still to be negotiated. "The way AJN rushed to make this public is quite puzzling to me because at the board level we were still waiting for the full report from our management," she told Reuters. Eckhof said the MoU had been approved by the minister of portfolio, who manages state-owned enterprises. Barrick said it believes SOKIMO should maintain its stake. "We don't believe the state should be selling that asset because it's got so much value," he said. "They should be participating in it." AJN shares spiked 140% on the day of the statement, and hit a record high of C$1.34 the following day. A representative with the British Columbia Securities Commission declined to comment on AJN's announcement of the stake sale, citing a policy of not discussing interactions with issuers. Robert Moran | The Philadelphia Inquirer A 27-year-old part-time Temple University student was killed in a wrong-way hit-and-run collision Monday night near the university, police said. About 8:50 p.m., the man was crossing Eighth Street at Cecil B. Moore Avenue when he was struck by a Hyundai sedan heading north on Eighth at a high speed, said Capt. Mark Overwise of the Accident Investigation Division. Eighth street is a southbound one-way street. Police found the man lying in the street unresponsive, suffering from severe head trauma and other injuries. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. Chief Inspector Scott Small said the victim, who lived in the area of Sixth and Poplar Streets, was carrying a Temple student ID card. Overwise said the man was a part-time Temple student who took some courses online and one class on campus. His name was not released because family members traveling overseas have not been notified. Police found the Hyundai several blocks away at Eighth and Berks Streets. It had considerable front end damage. Overwise said two people in the car ran away on foot and he urged them to surrender. He said the car was not reported stolen and investigators were seeking to contact the owner. Anyone with information or surveillance video that might assist investigators was asked to call AID at 215-685-3180. Boxwood continues to establish itself as one of the premier M&A advisors for leading brands within franchising, completing its fourth transaction in the last 16 months RICHMOND, VA / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Boxwood Partners, LLC is pleased to announce the sale of Dryer Vent Wizard International LLC (the "Company" or "Dryer Vent Wizard") to Neighborly, a portfolio company of Harvest Partners, LP ("Harvest Partners" or "Harvest"), a New-York-based private equity firm. Boxwood Partners acted as the exclusive advisor to Dryer Vent Wizard with respect to this transaction. The transaction was led by Managing Partner J. Patrick Galleher, Director Brian Alas, Vice President Robbie Nickle, and Analyst Dan Martinson. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2004, Dryer Vent Wizard has grown to become the national leader specializing in the professional dryer duct and vent cleaning, inspection, repair, and maintenance services for both single-family and multi-family residential properties. The Farmington Hills, MI-based company continues to expand its domestic and international footprint and now has nearly 100 locally owned and operated franchise locations across the United States and Canada "Dryer Vent Wizard has done a tremendous job carving out an important niche in the home service industry. The Company's professional service offerings are specifically tailored to help improve appliance performance and, more importantly, prevent related hazards within the home, including potential house fires," said Mike Bidwell, President and CEO of Neighborly. "The Company represents a great addition to our trusted network of premium home service brands." Dryer Vent Wizard brings Neighborly's network to more than 3,900 franchisees representing a total of 24 home service brands and 11 corporate support centers throughout North America, U.K. and Germany. Dave Lavalle, founder of Dryer Vent Wizard, was extremely pleased with the outcome, having commented, "By joining the Neighborly network, Dryer Vent Wizard will continue to expand its national and international footprint and gain access to Neighborly's impressive network and corporate support system," he continued. "I would also like to thank the Boxwood team for their pivotal role in identifying the ideal partner for Dryer Vent Wizard. Their expertise within the franchising space combined with their undivided help and attention throughout each step in the process was critical in paving the way for a successful transaction." J. Patrick Galleher, Boxwood's Managing Partner added, "We really enjoyed the opportunity to work with Dave and Terry and the rest of the team at Dryer Vent Wizard. We believe that the Company is a great complement to Neighborly's network of premium home service offerings." Brian Farmer, Brandon Spalding and Andrea Mousouris of Hirschler Fleischer served as legal counsel for Dryer Vent Wizard while Briar Siljander of Trio Law PLC acted as franchise counsel. About Boxwood Partners Boxwood Partners, LLC (www.boxwoodpartnersllc.com), is a boutique investment bank based in Richmond, Virginia. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other important transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. About Dryer Vent Wizard Headquartered in Farmington Hills, MI, Dryer Vent Wizard provides professional dryer duct and vent cleaning, inspection, repair, and maintenance services. The Company operates throughout both the United States and Canada with nearly 100 locally owned and operated franchise locations. About Neighborly Neighborly is the world's largest home services franchisor of 24 service brands and more than 3,900 franchise owners serving 9 million+ customers in nine countries, focused on repairing, maintaining and enhancing homes and businesses. The company operates online platforms that connect consumers to service providers in their local communities that meet their rigorous standards as a franchisor across 14 service categories at www.getneighborly.com in the United States and www.getneighbourly.ca in Canada. The company was founded in 1981 as Dwyer Group and is based in Waco, Texas. More information about Neighborly/Neighbourly, and its franchise concepts, is available at www.Neighborlybrands.com. About Harvest Partners Founded in 1981, Harvest Partners is a leading New York-based private equity investment firm that focuses on investments in middle-market companies in the business services & consumer, healthcare, industrial services and manufacturing, and distribution sectors. This strategy leverages Harvest Partners' 35+ years of experience in financing organic and acquisition-oriented growth companies. For more information, please visit www.harvestpartners.com. CONTACT: J. Patrick Galleher Phone: (804) 343-3441 Email: pgalleher@boxwoodpartnersllc.com SOURCE: Boxwood Partners LLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577758/Boxwood-Partners-Advises-Dryer-Vent-Wizard-on-its-Sale-to-NeighborlyR-a-Portfolio-Company-of-Harvest-Partners-LP WASHINGTON Mass murderer Dylann Roof staged a hunger strike this month while on federal death row, alleging in letters to The Associated Press that he's been "targeted by staff," "verbally harassed and abused without cause" and "treated disproportionately harsh." The 25-year-old Roof, who killed nine black church members during a Bible study in Charleston in 2015, told the AP in a letter dated Feb. 13 that the staff at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., feel justified in their conduct "since I am hated by the general public." A person familiar with the matter said Roof had been on a hunger strike but was no longer on one, as of this week. The person couldn't immediately provide specific details about the length of the hunger strike or whether medical staff needed to intervene. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Roof wrote in his letter to the AP that he went on the hunger strike to protest the treatment he received from a Bureau of Prisons disciplinary hearing officer over earlier complaints that he was refused access to the law library and access to a copy machine to file legal papers. Roof's Feb. 13 letter indicated he was already "several days" into a hunger strike, and he wrote in a follow-up letter that the protest ended a day later after corrections officers forcibly tried to take his blood and insert an IV into his arm, causing him to briefly pass out. "I feel confident I could have gone much, much longer without food," Roof wrote in the Feb. 16 follow-up letter. "It's just not worth being murdered over." The allegations could not immediately be verified and a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said the agency had no comment on Roof's allegations, citing privacy concerns. Roof's lawyers said in a statement that they were "working with BOP to resolve the issues addressed in the letters." Roof's lawyers filed an appeal to his federal convictions and death sentence last month, arguing that he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial. In a 321-page legal brief, Roof's lawyers asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to review 20 issues, including errors they say were made by the judge and prosecutors that "tainted" his sentencing. One of their main arguments is that U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should not have allowed Roof to represent himself during the penalty phase of his trial because he was a 22-year-old ninth-grade dropout "who believed his sentence didn't matter because white nationalists would free him from prison after an impending race war." Roof is the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. Attorney General William Barr announced in July that the government would resume executions and scheduled five executions though Roof is not included among that group ending an informal moratorium on federal capital punishment as the issue receded from the public domain. The Supreme Court has temporarily halted the executions after some of the chosen inmates challenged the new execution procedures in court. Martinez reported from New York; AP writer Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report. (L-R) Democratic presidential hopefuls Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Former Vice President Joe Biden, Indiana Senator Amy Klobuchar and Billionaire activist Tom Steyer arrive on stage for the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25, 2020. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Imags Democratic presidential candidates at Tuesday night's debate took aim at the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak. Some candidates called for more funding to be allocated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's effort to prepare for an outbreak in the U.S. Others criticized President Donald Trump's apparently lax attitude regarding the outbreak, which has now infected at least 81,000 in more than 30 countries and killed at least 2,764 people. The criticism came after the CDC stepped up its call Tuesday for the public to start preparing for a possible pandemic outbreak in the U.S. "We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. has grown from five on Jan. 30 to 59 as of Wednesday. A majority of those cases came from passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in a Japanese port. Here's what the four Democratic presidential candidates who addressed the issue at Tuesday night's debate had to say: Joe Biden When asked how he would handle the outbreak, former Vice President Joe Biden took the opportunity to discuss his work in the Obama administration during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. He also pointed out that in Trump's 2021 budget request, which was submitted to Congress earlier this month, he proposed cuts to funding for the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. "I helped set up that office in the presidency, in the president's office, on diseases that are pandemic diseases. We increased the budget of the CDC. We increased the NIH budget," he said. "He's wiped all that out. We did it. We stopped it," he said about the Ebola outbreak. The former vice president added that he would work to get more U.S. experts in China amid the outbreak. "I would be on the phone with China and making it clear, we are going to need to be in your country, you have to be open, you have to be clear, we have to know what's going on, we have to be there with you." Michael Bloomberg When asked about his policies to ban trans fat and sugary drinks in New York, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg segued to attacking Trump over his administration's response to coronavirus. "The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago," he said, "so there's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing." In 2018, Trump fired the majority of the White House global health emergency team. "He's defunded Centers for Disease Control, so we don't have the organization we need," Bloomberg added. "This is a very serious thing. As you see, the stock market is falling apart, and people are very worried, and they should be. This is a very serious thing, and we don't have anybody to respond." The spread of virus outside of China and warnings this week from CDC experts sent markets spiraling on Monday and Tuesday, erasing months of gains. Amy Klobuchar When asked whether she would close the border to Americans infected abroad, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., piled on the criticism of Trump, accusing him of a lack of leadership and international coordination. "This president has not invested like he should have in his budget. He tried to cut back on the CDC. He tried to cut back on the international organizations that would coordinate with the rest of the world. He hasn't yet really addressed the nation on this topic," she said. "I would do all of that." She also directed viewers to go to the CDC website for information on the virus. "What we have to do is make sure that we have treatment for those Americans and that they are in a quarantine situation," she said. "We don't want to expose people, but we want to give them help." Bernie Sanders Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., mocked Trump's claims that the coronavirus is "under control." Tweet "In the White House today, we have a self-described 'great genius' self-described. And this 'great genius' has told us that this coronavirus is going to end in two months," Sanders said. "April is the magical date that this great scientist we have in the White House has determined. I wish I was kidding. That is what he said." Trump fires back Pete Davidson says it's only "fair" he goes after Ariana Grande in Netflix special since she got "Thank U, Next." (Photo: Getty Images for MTV) It's Pete Davidson's turn to get some creative material out of his split from Ariana Grande. In his new Netflix comedy special Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, the SNL star tackled his four month engagement to Grande and the aftermath of their very public breakup. The comedian got on the topic of his ex after joking about the controversy when he mocked wounded veteran, Dan Crenshaw. "The only thing I did do, which I am guilty of and I apologise for, is I did make that guy famous and a household name for no reason," Davidson said of Crenshaw. "I did what, like, Ariana Grande did for me." Davidson continued, "I wasn't gonna do jokes about this, but then my buddy told me, he's like, 'Yo I recently heard that Ariana said she had no idea who you were and she just dated you as a distraction.' So, now I just think it's fair game." Read more: Ariana Grande laughs off onstage tumble "Don't applaud," he instructed the audience. "This isn't, like, a competition. She has her songs and stuff, and this is what I have, OK?" Davidson added, "And youre like, 'Pete, this isnt fair. You're airing out dirty laundry. How could you do that? Where did she say this stuff? To her friends, in the confidence of her own home?' No! She said it on the cover of Vogue magazine." Actor Pete Davidson attends the Premiere Of Netflix's "The Dirt" at ArcLight Hollywood on March 18, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic) The 26-year-old comedian is referring to Grande's interview over the summer in which she called her former fiance "an amazing distraction." "It was frivolous and fun and insane and highly unrealistic, and I loved him, and I didnt know him," Grande, 26, told Vogue. "Im like an infant when it comes to real life and this old soul, been-around-the-block-a-million-times artist. I still dont trust myself with the life stuff." "Can you imagine if I did that?" Davidson quipped. "My career would be over tomorrow if I spray-painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine and just started s******* on my ex. Can you imagine? No, don't clap! ... I like the giggles, it's just jokes." Story continues "Can you imagine if I did that s***?" he said again. "If I was just like, 'Yeah, I was just f****** her because I was bored, and then Fortnite came out,' it would be insane." Davidson explained that Grande suffered no repercussions after their breakup in October 2018. "No! She won Billboard's Women of the Year and I got called 'butthole eyes' by BarstoolSports.com," Davidson laughed. "So, sometimes life is a little unfair." "Again, these are jokes," he reiterated. "My biggest fear is I'm gonna get shot in the back of the head by a 9-year-old with a ponytail and the last thing Im gonna hear is, '#cancelled.'" The actor had positive things to say about his former fiancee, too, calling her "smart" and "a really powerful woman, that Ariana." Ariana Grande, Pete Davidson seen on the streets of Manhattan on June 29, 2018 in New York, NY. (Photo by Josiah Kamau/BuzzFoto via Getty Images) "Shes a very, very powerful woman and she's very smart," he said. "You gotta be to be able to ruin Starbucks for a person." (Aside from her last name being a popular drink size, Grande also collaborated with Starbucks for its Cloud Macchiato drink last year.) "A lot of people ask me all the time, 'What was that [like]," Davidson recalled. "It's like any other breakup, except everybody sees it." "I kind of knew what I was getting into, but not really. I didn't know about the picture thing," he continued, referring to the paparazzi. "If I knew about that I would've seen a dermatologist before I started dating her." Read more: Kate Beckinsale shuts down Machine Gun Kelly dating rumours Davidson added, "It's like any other breakup. You have your boys over, they all lie to you. Like, 'No problem bro, no one even knows who she is. It's all good bro, it's all good, better off, no problem.'" "Then that song came out," Davidson said of Thank U, Next. He explained his "boys" all liked the song. "'S*** is very catchy, you're going to have a rough eight months, I'm sorry,'" he recalled. "My grandpa said, 'It's a slap... it's a good song.'" Prior to Tuesday's release of his special, Davidson got serious when reflecting about his relationship with Grande. He told Charlamagne Tha God he knew their engagement was over after the unexpected death of Mac Miller. Rapper Mac Miller and singer Ariana Grande pose backstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) Grande dated the rapper for two years before getting together with Davidson. Miller died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol in September 2018. "I totally got it," Davidson said. She would even tell you this. I was like, 'Listen, I get it, do whatever youve got to do, Ill be here.' I think I said, 'Ill be here until you dont want me to be here.'" "I pretty much knew it was around over after that," he continued. "That was really horrible, and I cant imagine what that s*** is like. All I do know is that she really loved the s*** out of him, and she wasnt putting on a show or anything. That was f***** up. Prayers to his family and all of his friends." Davidson previously said he wishes the best for Grande. "I hope she's well," he told Paper magazine in November. "I hope she's very happy." With plans to go more local in three more countries by the end of the year, the OTT service provider decided to take off with a country closer to home Looks like the Netflixes of the world and ZEE5 are on a role reversal mode. At a time when global OTT brands are concentrating on local content in India, indigenous OTT is looking beyond borders. Zee5 Global is spending big money on producing local content for international markets starting off with Bangladesh. With two shows and aggressive marketing in their kitty, ZEE5 Global is eyeing to occupy a sizeable chunk of the $97.43 billion global OTT market. Our brand marketing spends in Bangladesh this quarter is approx 70% of the overall spend in APAC, said Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer at ZEE5 Global. According to Allied Market Research the global OTT market size is projected to touch $332.52 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 16.7% from 2018 to 2025. The major factors contributing to this growth in the segment is not just the growing popularity of on-demand video streaming services but also significant investment by OTT media companies. ZEE5 Global is one of the first Indian companies in the category to tap into this growth on a global level. With plans to launch in three more countries by the end of the year, the OTT provider decided to take off the project with a country closer to home. Regional content is the next big flavour the global market is looking at. The first phase of our global expansion plan that took off with being available in 190 countries at a go was to get the global audience on board. In the second phase, we want to make ourselves a mainstream player in these markets and capture their local audience by giving them content in their language. We are taking off with this plan in Bangladesh, Anand said. First up for launch is a romantic movie titled Jodi Kintu Tobuo followed by a Talent Hunt called Bangladeshs Global Superstar. Contract, another web series based on a novel written by Mohammad Najim Uddin, is in the works. ZEE5 has also laid elaborate communication plans to popularise these shows in the local and global market. We are going to go loud. There is going to be promotional content in every medium be it TV, Print, newspaper full pagers or social media. We have had a linear presence in all these countries for a long time so we know how well the audience is tuned into local content they are tuned in to local. We know our news shows will be appreciated in the market, Anand added. Appreciation of the shows has already begun in terms of monetization of the new properties. The shows that have plans for monetization through ad sales, sponsorships and integrations have already sold out their complete ad inventory for the next two months to a single sponsor. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) [February 26, 2020] TUPPERWARE BRANDS ALERT: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Announces That a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Tupperware Brands Corporation and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of investors that purchased Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) securities between January 30, 2019 and February 24, 2020 (the "Class Period"). Investors have until April 27, 2020 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Click here to participate in the action. On February 24, 2020, Tupperware issued a press release reporting preliminary fiscal 2019 financial and operational results. Therein, the Company disclosed, among other things, that it was "conducting an investigation primarily into the accounting for accounts payable and accrued liabilities at its Fuller Mexico beauty business to determine the extent to which these matters may further impact results and to assess and enhance the effectiveness of internal controls at this business." The Company further disclosed that "total impairments for Fuller Mexico are expected to be approximately $31 million. The total pre-tax impact for 2019 is approximately $50-52 million." On this news, Tuperware's share price declined $2.61 per share, or over 46%, to close at $3.11 per share on February 25, 2020. The complaint, filed on February 25, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Tupperware lacked effective internal controls; (2) as a result, Tupperware would need to investigate Fuller Mexico's accounting and liabilities; (3) consequently, Tupperware would be unable to timely file its annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year 2019; (4) Tupperware did not properly account for its accounts payable and accrued liabilities at Fuller Mexico; (5) Tupperware provided overvalued earnings per share guidance; (6) Tupperware would need relief from its $650 million Credit Agreement; and (7) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. If you purchased Tupperware securities during the Class Period, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Melissa Fortunato or Marion Passmore by email at [email protected], telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005948/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The police on Tuesday booked 30-35 people, naming eight of them, who gathered at Marine Drive on Monday night, to protest against the violence in Delhi between pro- and anti-CAA supporters on Monday. According to the police, the protesters staged a candlelight march near Sundarmal junction, near Killachand chowk. Some of them were detained during the protest. The police said messages and pictures on a march at Gateway of India were circulated on social media. The police deployed heavy police bandobast at Gateway of India. So the protesters moved to Marine Drive. As soon as the protesters started shouting slogans, the police detained them, said a police officer. Sanjay Gurav 47, a police constable with Marine Drive police station, registered a case under section 37 (1)(3), 135 of the Mumbai Police Act. Sangram Singh Nishandar, deputy commissioner of police, zone 1, said further investigation was on. Dredging works in the basin of the Takoradi Harbour meant to deepen it and allow for larger vessels to dock have begun. The works will create water of about 18.5 metres deep (chart datum) in the port basin along the quay wall of 600 metres in length. A quay wall is a retaining structure built parallel to the bank of the dock for use as a landing place to load and unload goods. The project, which is to upgrade and expand the Takoradi Port and estimated to cost $500 million, is about 45 per cent constructed. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in November next year. When the Daily Graphic visited the harbour last Monday, workers were seen using special machines to remove both soft and hard materials from the bottom of the sea. A self-propelled dredger dug up materials from the bottom of the port basin and were sucked up through dredge pumps and discharged from a floating pipeline to pipes on shore and consequently to an area where the sludge were deposited. The contractors working on the project, that is, Atlantic Terminal Services and Jan De Nul, expressed the hope of completing the phase involving dredge works in April this year. A local firm, Ibistek Limited, is in charge of the port expansion project under a 25-year concession agreement with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA). Funding for the project is from the African Finance Group and the Ghana Infrastructure Fund (GiFF). Ibistek Speaking to journalists during a tour of the project site last Monday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ibistek, Dr Felix Nana Sackey, said the concession agreement allowed the company to look for funding to construct and operate the dock and its associated terminals across 62 hectares. This new capacity would be 10 times the current capacity of the Takoradi Port, making it a significant development, he said. Dr Sackey put the cost of phase one of the project at about $210 million and that works were expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2021. He said the Atlantic terminal was expected to have a cargo holding capacity of one million twenty-footer equivalent units (TEUs), an increase from the average container traffic of about 55,000 TEUs a year and this is a major development in the history of the Takoradi Port. Issues of funding has been the biggest challenge for this project but its not limited to only this particular project. Its a general issue when it comes to port investment in West Africa, especially when you are talking about a multi-million project being undertaken by an indigenous company with no track record in the port development and operations sector, Dr Sackey said. The Ibistek CEO said, however, that Ibistek had a team of experts who dealt in international financing and would turn things around. It is a classic example of trying our own to see if they can deliver. But if we can do it for people externally, why cant we do it for ourselves? I will entreat the system to actually test the philosophy that local firms can equally undertake successful developments within the space of port development, Dr Sackey said. Technology For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ibistek, Mr Kwame Gyan, said the company had the advantage of yesterday because they had seen technologies that were deployed at the Tema Port and other competing facilities in the subregion. We are not doing a port upgrade that will be secondary to Tema, but a port that will be comparable or even superior to existing facilities in the country and anywhere in the subregion, hence our decision to ensure that only state-of-the art information, communication and technology (ICT) equipment in container handling are deployed, he said. GPHA The Director of the Takoradi Harbour, Capt Ebenezer Afadzi, expressed his satisfaction with the progress of work which, he said, was on schedule. "This is a very important project for us because the Takoradi Port is deemed to be a port for bulk cargo only and with minimal container vessel concentration owing to our lack of capacity. But, I am, particularly, happy that this is about to change in a years time, he said. Source: Daily Graphic 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 The bus driver who pleaded guilty to causing the school bus crash on Interstate 80 that killed a Paramus student and teacher in 2018 is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, bringing an end to an emotional criminal case. Hudy Muldrow Sr., 79, will be sentenced by Judge Stephen Taylor in Superior Court of Morris County on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, five counts of assault by auto, and endangering the welfare of children in December. The plea deal calls for 20 more charges of assault by auto to be dismissed. Prosecutors have recommended that Muldrow be sentenced to 10 years in jail. The earliest Muldrow could be released if Judge Taylor accepts the recommendation is 2029, at 88 years old. Judges do have the power to deviate from sentencing recommendations and hand down shorter or longer sentences. Once released from jail, Muldrow will likely lose his license for an additional two years. He has not been allowed to drive during his pretrial release. The sentencing is expected to take all day, as those affected by the crash will be allowed to make victim impact statements. In addition to the deaths of fifth grader Miranda Vargas and teacher Jennifer Williamson, another 43 students and staffers were injured. Jennifer Williamson, left, and Miranda Vargas died in a May 2018 school bus crash on Route 80 in Mount Olive. Hearings leading up to the sentencing have been tearful affairs. A group of family and friends wearing blue Paramus Strong T-shirts and buttons have filled the audience during every hearing. Although the sentencing will bring to an end the criminal proceedings against Muldrow, he still faces over a dozen civil lawsuits filed by parents and teachers. Muldrow has asked that his guilty plea not be used against him in the civil cases. A judge will rule on that during sentencing. Muldrow was driving a school bus full of students and teachers from Paramus to Waterloo Village in Stanhope when he got on I-80 heading away from the Village. Instead of getting off at the next exit, Muldrow cut across the lanes of highway in an attempt to reach a median cut through for an illegal U-turn. A dump truck hit the bus from behind, knocking it off its frame and injuring every person on board. A school bus crashed on May 17, 2018, injuring 40 and killing a student and teacher from Paramus as the bus was traveling on I-80. That highway is among the 17 deadliest highways in New Jersey according to state transportation department crash data.NJ ADVANCE MEDIA FILE PHOTO Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 The government has announced a Rp 10.3 trillion (US$742 million) stimulus package that is expected to boost consumer spending and reinvigorate Indonesias tourism industry, which has been deflated by the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said on Tuesday that the government would disburse Rp 4.6 trillion to the 15.2 million beneficiaries of its staple needs program. The government will also add Rp 1.5 trillion to housing loan and down payment subsidies for low-income Indonesians. This is the 30 percent bottom segment. They will use the funds immediately for consumption, Sri Mulyani said at the State Palace. 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 Shoppers in The Woodlands will get to enjoy a variety of sales, amenities and other treats at the Blogger Closet Sale, which returns to Market Street Feb. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with six local fashion influencers selling their wares to eager attendees. The event focuses on six local fashion influencers who will be selling gently worn adult and childrens clothing, home decor items and other personal accessories at discount prices. All sales will be conducted through Venmo, which is described as a, mobile payment service owned by PayPal. Venmo account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app. Any items not sold at the event will be donated to charity. Noemi Gonzalez, the marketing director for Market Street The Woodlands, said the event is another opportunity for local residents to both meet fashion influencers they may recognize from online sites as well as to get high-quality, often very fashionable items, at lower prices. This years sale is the second that Market Street has hosted, as the 2019 event was so popular, Gonzalez said she and others at the premier shopping destination wanted to bring it back again in 2020. This is our second time, (in 2019) it was a huge success. It was great and we learned a lot from it and were excited, Gonzalez added. One thing we recognized was last year we had 10 bloggers and it was a lot and we had space issues. This year we reduced it to six influencers so there is more room and also different styles. The event will be hosted inside the currently empty space that is Suite No. 405, which is in between stores Tory Burch and Bluemercury, and starts at 10 a.m. with a Launch Party that will include free beverages, photographs, various free give-away items and also a dry bar where free braiding will be done. Market Street jewelry specialist store Kendra Scott is a co-sponsor of the event and will be providing free mimosa cocktails throughout the morning. Gonzalez said she and others helped choose the six fashion influencer bloggers that will be on hand Saturday, opting for a mix of local influencers based in The Woodlands as well as others from around the Houston region. Each of the six woman has robust followings on social media channels numbering in the thousands. The six fashion influencers scheduled for the event are: Loren Hamilton, of the blog Wear and When; Ashley Lastovica, of the blog Fancy Ashley; Brittany Fullwood, of the blog Hello Honey; Margaret Rojas of the blog, Style the Girl; Nicole Villareal of the blog, Blonde in the Burbs; and well known fashion writer and blogger Dawn P. Darnell. These people have thousands and thousands of followers, they are professional influencers and people follow what they do. They are experts in fashion, Gonzalez added. We asked them to bring out their own personal clothes and weve also asked them to bring childrens clothes or home goods. As influencers, they share their everyday lives with followers. They all have different styles. Gonzalez described some of the items that will be on sale, noting that each blogger will have adult womens clothes as well as different childrens options. Hamilton will have young childrens clothing from age about 5 to 12; Lastovica who is from The Woodlands will bring contemporary styles and clothes for teenage children; Rojas will have infant clothing while Villareal will have maternity options. Darnell will have fashion that Gonzalez said is more, on trend and edgy. The Blogger Closet Sale is free to attend, and kicks off at 10 a.m. Customers are reminded that vendors will only accept the Venmo style of online payment. jeff.forward@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:47:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police said Wednesday that some vehicles were damaged and Anti-Arab slogans were spray-painted in a Palestinian village in the West Bank in an apparent hate crime by Israeli extremists. The incident took place before dawn in the village of Yasuf, southwest of Nablus city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A field researcher with Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, said in a statement sent to Xinhua that at least 13 cars were damaged. Photos taken by the village council of Yasuf showed tires of car punctured and graffiti sprayed on residents' home. A police statement said an investigation has been launched and police and military forces are going to the village to investigate the incident. Israeli nationalist hardliners have been known to perpetrate such attacks against Palestinians and their property, including olive trees, mosques, churches, and cemeteries. Thousands of these attacks have been reported over the past years, mostly in the West Bank. Two weeks ago, 170 vehicles were vandalized and hate graffiti was spray-painted on the walls of a mosque in the Arab town of Jish in northern Israel. The West Bank is a land captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel has controlled it ever since, despite international criticism. It's like a harmonic convergence of progressive villains. Rachel Hinton of the Chicago Sun-Times reports: A political action committee founded by liberal billionaire philanthropist and Donald Trump nemesis George Soros kicked $2 million to a committee supporting Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx in her re-election bid against three Democratic primary challengers. A mega donor to Democrats and liberal causes, the hedge fund operators Democracy PAC transferred $2 million into the Illinois Justice and Public Safety PAC on Wednesday. Kim Foxx in 2018 (YouTube screen grab). By law, a PAC that receives large donations and supports a candidate cannot coordinate with that candidate. So Foxx is not directly receiving the money from Soros, but Soros cash is being dedicated to her re-election as state's attorney. A re-election that would ratify the cronyism that allowed Jussie Smollett to escape prosecution when Foxx's office declined to pursue charges against him for staging a fake hate crime and tying up substantial police resources needed elsewhere in the crime-ridden Windy City. Foxx claimed to recuse herself for "familiarity with potential witnesses" but declined to appoint a special prosecutor, as required when a conflict of interest is present. Instead, she had a subordinate under her direct control take over the case, and that led to the prosecution being declined. Following a public firestorm, including denunciation by Chicago's chief of police, a special prosecutor was appointed to pursue the case and investigate Foxx. Now Foxx faces a primary election on March 17 and is adopting a penitent pose. Mark Guarino reports for the WaPo: In the middle of a video announcing her reelection campaign, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx did something few Chicago politicians do: She admitted fault. Foxx had been criticized by President Trump, the Fraternal Order of Police and many Chicagoans for her office's decision in March to drop all 16 felony disorderly conduct charges against actor Jussie Smollett, who police say staged a racist and homophobic attack involving two men with a noose. Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) called Foxx's decision "a whitewash of justice." Trump characterized it as "a real big scam." "Truth is, I didn't handle it well. I own that," Foxx (D) said in her two-minute video. She faces three opponents in the Democrat primary, including one, Bill Conway, with a billionaire father. From the Sun-Times article above: Conway's campaign coffers have been bolstered by donations from his dad, William E. Conway Jr., one of the founders of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group. More than 88% of the challenger's total warchest came from his dad, the Sun-Times found last month. The senior Conway has a net worth of $3.5 billion, according to Forbes. A poll released two days ago has Foxx and Conway tied at 26% support among Democrats, with the two other challengers getting a total of 10% and 36% undecided. No doubt, the Soros millions will be a big help in a last-minute push by Foxx to grab those undecided votes. Foxx is the progressives' choice, favoring all the soft-on-crime initiatives currently all the rage on the Left, as the Chicago Crusader reports: United Working Families, Real Justice PAC, the Chicago Federation of Labor, Personal PAC, and the Wheeling Township of Democrats have all endorsed Foxx, the first Black female Cook County State's Attorney who is seeking a second term in office. (snip) United Working Families Executive Director Emma Tai said in a statement, "As Cook County State's Attorney, Kim Foxx has fought tirelessly against the root causes of violence and mass incarceration. She has exonerated 80 wrongful convictions, reduced prosecution of low-level offenses, and worked to expunge over 1,000 low-level possession convictions. These measures are essential to undoing the racist legacy and continued harm to communities of color under the failed War on Drugs." Real Justice PAC said, "Kim championed alternatives to incarceration and expunged tens of thousands of marijuana convictions. The number of people sentenced to jail or prison dropped by 20 percent. Her record speaks for itself. She is the reformer that Chicago needs." Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter said in a statement: "The Chicago Federation of Labor is proud to endorse State's Attorney Kim Foxx in her campaign for re-election. While there is still much work to be done to help lift up communities that face social inequity, Kim has worked tirelessly towards making sure our criminal justice system works for everyone." "The only way we can continue our work to protect women's rights is with progressive-minded elected officials by our side. Kim Foxx is that elected official that we can count on," said Personal PAC President and CEO Terry Cosgrove in a statement. "She is a warrior for women and part of the Personal PAC community. We proudly support her bid for re-election." Wheeling Township Democrats: "State's Attorney Kim Foxx has been a leader, and national example, of what real criminal justice reform looks like. She delivers true justice and equity to Cook County families and we know she will continue to do that work for the next four years. We're proud to join her in this re-election campaign and provide our endorsement," said Representative Mark Walker, committeeman for Wheeling Township Democrats. Soros's late entrance into funding Foxx must indicate worry that Chicago could actually turn sensible in the wake of the Smollett fiasco. Hat tip: Peter von Buol Murali Krishna CH By Express News Service Actor Mahesh Babu is up for his first collaboration with Chiranjeevi in the latters 152nd film tentatively titled 'Acharya'. He will be seen in a powerful cameo of that of a student leader in the social drama directed by Koratala Siva. Initially, Ram Charan, who is producing the film, was supposed to play the part, but things didnt work out as he was busy shooting for SS Rajamoulis RRR. As it happens sometimes, Koratala changed the script after Mahesh came on board. Instead of a naxalite, the actor will now be seen as a student leader, informs a source. Mahesh may join the sets in May. Its a 30-minute cameo, but then its crucial for the story. Mahesh character appears at a crucial juncture in the film and it is his track that changes the course of the narrative. Its going to be an enterprising and intense role that will strike a chord with the masses and Mahesh gave his go-ahead without even going through the script, the source adds. Currently, the films shooting is underway in Ramoji Film City and the team is filming pivotal scenes on Chiru and others. Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday the arrests of five men associated with the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division over threats made to journalists and activists and a series of so-called "swatting" attacks. Federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia said they arrested Atomwaffen founder and former leader John Cameron Denton early Wednesday for "swatting" attacks on a US cabinet official, a Virginia university and a local African-American church. He also plotted swatting attacks on the ProPublica investigative journalism group and one of their reporters in New York. Swatting attacks involve making a false emergency call to police to spark the deployment of a tactical "SWAT" team to an address of an unwitting third party, often in the middle of the night. Such attacks can result in police smashing into homes of the prank victims, and have, in a few cases, led to shootings and deaths. Denton, who the Justice Department said admitted his role in the attacks to an undercover investigator, was charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, and interstate threats to injure. The charge can bring up to five years in prison. Separately, the department's Seattle, Washington office announced the arrest of four others associated with Atomwaffen on charges of conspiracy to make threats against journalists and activists, particularly against Jews and ethnic minorities. The four were Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Washington; Kaleb Cole, 24, of Montgomery, Texas; Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Florida, and Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek, Arizona. The charges say they conspired together over an encrypted online chat service to identify their targets and fabricate menacing posters that they sent to the targets. "These defendants sought to spread fear and terror with threats delivered to the doorstep of those who are critical of their activities," said US Attorney Brian Moran. The southern province of Daraa has witnessed yet another assassination of former opposition fighters, with residents accusing regime forces reports Baladi News. Unknown assailants on Tuesday assassinated two former members of opposition groups in Daraa province in southern Syria, with residents accusing regime forces of being behind the incident. Local sources said that unknown attackers assassinated two young men, Ahad Atef al-Masalama and Fahad al-Bakour, in Daraa city. The sources said that the two young men were former fighters in opposition groups and that they did not join any security or military body after the Assad regime took control of the province. On Feb. 4, 2020, unknown assailants attacked the young man Abu Omar al-Shaghour, a former opposition fighter, in the town of al-Mazirib in the western Daraa countryside. A former rebel commander, Adham al-Karad, has previously warned about military operations against the Assad regime would return to Daraa if they continued to kidnap and arrest civilians. Daraa residents accused the Assad regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia of being behind the assassinations of former opposition commanders and fighters. Daraa has seen assassinations from time to time against former opposition fighters and others who recently joined the regime, or members of the regime forces or others, while checkpoints in the region have come under sporadic attacks carried out by unknown figures, resulting in deaths and injuries. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The impact of the coronavirus on Northeast Ohio businesses that rely on China for supplies or finished products is not as great as some people might expect, according to Bath-based trade consultant Kim Kirkendall. Kirkendell said thats because many businesses in Ohio and elsewhere customarily stock extra inventory early in the year in anticipation of the down time that always occurs during the two or three weeks around the Chinese New Year, which this year fell on Jan. 25. Responding to an inquiry from cleveland.com, Kirkendall also said shes optimistic that supply chains from China will be running smoothly again by early April because Chinese plants already are ramping back up with workers who have completed their periods in quarantine. Several Northeast Ohio companies responding to a cleveland.com phone survey echoed Kirkendalls assessment, reporting that the virus spreading across Asia and into Europe has not greatly disrupted their supply chains or their ability to do business. Spectrum Diversified Designs of Streetsboro, which has about 150 employees in Northeast Ohio and another 10 in Chinas Guangdong Province, had stocked up more than usual because of anticipated growth in sales of its kitchen gadgets and home-organizing products, said Matt Loncar, the firms chief operations and financial officer. As a result, Loncar believes the company has enough supplies to fulfill the orders of retail customers such as Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel and Sur La Table, at least through April. But if staffing in China doesnt continue to improve and interruptions persist, thats another story. The good news is that suppliers are slowly coming back on line and Spectrums employees in Shenzhen are also starting to return, he said. But Loncar said he will think twice about continuing to rely on a country so susceptible to a viral epidemic for 90 percent of Spectrums products. This obviously makes you think a little bit more about that, he said. SmartShape, a downtown Cleveland firm that designs plastic health-care equipment and engineers the molds for the plastic, also benefited from the down time around the Chinese New Year. The company was able to fulfill ongoing orders, but was unable to turn around some prototype requests within the proscribed tight deadlines. So, we didnt have too much disruption, said SmartShape founder Mike Mackuzak, although like Kirkendall, he cancelled a trip to China this month. The biggest risk is to multinational companies if their assembly plants rely on just-in-time deliveries from China, Kirkendall said. Just a two-week interruption can be a problem to a lean manufacturing operation, she said. Local multinationals Parker Hannifin Corp., Eaton Corp. and Sherwin-Williams Co. did not return calls seeking comment. Bill Samples, president of United Auto Workers Local 2000, which represents employees at Fords Avon Lake assembly plant, said he was not aware of any supply-chain disruptions as of right now related to the coronavirus. But he declined to comment on what, if any, parts the plant receives from China. The coronavirus has caused a problem for Jergens Inc., a Cleveland company that makes machine clamps and sophisticated electric screwdrivers, but also an opportunity. Jergens owner Jack Schron, who also is a Cuyahoga County councilman, said he hasnt been able to ship products to China in recent weeks because the companys office in Shanghai hasnt been open to accept deliveries. Instead, the products have been piling up on loading docks in the United States, where Jergens does all of its manufacturing. Only recently has the inventory starting moving, Schron said, as the Chinese factories, including car plants that use Jergens products start up again, albeit very slowly. Schron said his company may actually see a bump in sales coming out of the crisis because competitors that manufacture in China will likely experience delays getting their products made because of the tremendous backlog of forging and casting that now exists. Theres still uncertainty around the virus and its disruption of life in China and now other countries, such as South Korea, Iran and Italy, including whether it can be re-introduced by travelers to China, Kirkendall said. it just seems to me theres an ongoing chance of new clusters happening, she said. A Zimbabwean economics graduate, Blessing Chirima, says the situation in Wuhan, China, which is the epicentre of the coronavirus, is getting desperate with prices of basic commodities skyrocketing and most students now becoming destitute, as their bank accounts are now running dry. Chirima graduated in January and was due to leave for Zimbabwe and return to China later to complete her masters degree. She was caught up in the coronavirus lockdown that resulted in the grounding of planes, closing of schools and businesses and shutting down of all transport networks as the entire city population was put in quarantine to avoid spreading the disease. Chirima says most students and other Zimbabweans working in Wuhan are now running out of finances as some of them were working part time to supplement their income and pay college fees. She is appealing for donations for buying food and other basic necessities. "The financial assistance can be channelled through the embassy. We are appealing to our government for help as other nations are currently assisting their citizens here in China to ensure that they continue to be fed and afford buying foodstuffs. The situation is so dire that some people might end up succumbing to starvation despite the coronavirus being the biggest health threat right now," said Chirima. Zimbabwes chief envoy to China, Ambassador Martin Chedondo, recently told the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper that about 800 Zimbabweans are among the 60 million people that are living in Hubei Province the epicentre of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. He said all of them are currently safe from the respiratory disease. People who have been treated in intensive care commonly suffer from residual cognitive impairment, but the reason for this is unknown. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now link cognitive impairment with lasting inflammation and a potential treatment target. The results are presented in the scientific journal Intensive Care Medicine. Every year, some 40,000 people are treated in intensive care in Sweden. More than three quarters of these critically ill patients survive, but many suffer subsequent cognitive impairment as part of what is known as the "post-intensive care syndrome" (PICS). The impairments in memory, attention, processing speed and problem solving can remain for years and prevent timely return to normal life and work for those affected. "There are no specific treatments as the causes of the condition are unknown," says Peder Olofsson, researcher at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Medicine in Solna. The study, which was led by Olofsson, followed 100 intensive care patients after discharge and found that they had elevated blood levels of the endogenous, pro-inflammatory protein HMGB1 at the time of discharge from hospital and at three and six months afterwards. This supports the hypothesis that some patients suffer from lasting inflammation of unknown origin after intensive care. High HMGB1 levels could also be linked to the attention deficit observed in the patients. "More studies are needed to understand the connection in detail, but the finding gives us hope that this prolonged functional impairment can be treated with drugs designed to target HMGB1," says Emily Bruck, researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, and the study's first author. "Earlier studies have shown that such substances can improve the cognitive function of mice that have survived a serious illness." ### The study was conducted in collaboration with Karolinska University Hospital and was financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, the Olle Engkvist Byggmastare Foundation, the Torsten Soderberg Foundation, the Swedish Society of Medicine and Region Stockholm (ALF funding). Publication: "Prolonged elevation of plasma HMGB1 is associated with cognitive impairment in intensive care unit survivors". Bruck E, Lasselin J, the HICUS Study Group, Andersson U, Sackey PV, Olofsson PS. Intensive Care Medicine, online 26 February 2020, doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-05941-7. USM Physics Students Chosen as Student Ambassadors for Prestigious International Conference Wed, 02/26/2020 - 09:04am | By: David Tisdale Two University of Southern Mississippi (USM) physics students Swapnil Bhatta and Sophia Turner - were among only eight selected nationwide as student ambassadors to attend the American Physical Society (APS) international leadership conference in Washington, D.C. Jan. 28 Feb. 1. The APS mission includes advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics through its research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. It represents more than 55,000 members around the world, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry. The APS conference included educational programming, an international leadership forum along with other leadership events, interaction with members of the U.S. Congress, and a medal and prize ceremony recognizing leaders and outstanding contributions in the field of physics. "Im very proud of both Swapnil and Sophia for earning this prestigious appointment, said Dr. Jeremy Scott, assistant teaching professor of physics in the USM School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The American Physical Society is the largest and most influential organization in the discipline of physics." *Bhatta is a senior from Nepal and a double-major in physics and mathematics. He is a student in USMs prestigious Honors College. He is his second year as a student ambassador for APS, and said the leadership meeting was a great opportunity to interact with leading experts in the field of physics, both academically and in science policy. The discussions and presentations ranged from new research to current policies that are impacting the science, he said. Participating in these helped me become more informed about the issues facing the physics community. The event also proved to be a great opportunity for networking, as it included members of APS, ranging from Nobel Laureates to presidents of foreign physical societies. Bhatta is president of USM's Society of Physics Students chapter. His involvement with the organization earned him a leadership scholarship in 2019. He is also a recipient of the William F. St. Clair Scholarship in Physics as well as the Wright W. and Annie Rea Cross Mathematics Undergraduate Research Scholarship. He plans to pursue graduate studies following completion of his degree at USM. I have loved my time at USM, the cultural diversity on campus is amazing, Bhatta said. Im also grateful for the support Ive received from the faculty and staff of the School of Mathematics and Natural Science, including from Dr. Michael Vera, and Dr. (Jeremy) Scott for the opportunity to be involved with APS. *Turner, a junior from Pascagoula, Mississippi, graduate from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCC) before transferring to USM to pursue a bachelors degree in physics and minor in biology. During the conference, Turner attended research presentations and meetings about APS resources for students, and gained inspiration to pursue her own initiatives that include starting a summer camp hosted by various STEM organizations on campus. She also learned about a program called StepUp at the conference which provides materials to help with outreach in a variety of stem fields and with teaching opportunities. Its an honor to be one of the few to start this pathway (student ambassador program) into APS that will allow undergraduates and graduates to be involved. The conference was an eye-opening experience for me, Turner said. I met a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds and introduced to many opportunities in the field I never imagined. Turner connected with the USM Physics program after taking a physics night class at MGCC that was taught by Dr. Chris Sirola, a faculty member in the USM School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. After a discussion with Dr. Sirola about the USM Physics program, she decided to apply to the university, and after meeting with the programs faculty members and touring its laboratories, was sold on majoring in physics. After meeting the programs faculty and staff, and getting involved in USMs Society of Physics Students (SPS), I began to feel at home. Dr. Vera, Dr. Scott, and Dr. (Khin) Maung have all been amazing teachers and mentors. They are all very inspirational, patient, and challenging. My involvement in SPS furthered my interests. Being able to watch kids light up and become fascinated with science motivates me to inspire others to take up the ultimate challenge of changing the world, one particle at a time. Turner plans to pursue a masters degree in biophysics after graduation and a career involving research. Biophysics is exploding with new frontiers to explore and mysteries to solve, she said. For information about the USM Physics program and the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, visit https://www.usm.edu/mathematics-natural-sciences/index.php. As pictures of police personnel and private security guards in camouflage uniforms went viral, the Indian Army has urged the government not to let police forces wear combat uniforms. The Army had written to the Defence Ministry on February 24 requesting that guidelines be issued to ensure this. "Combat dress should not be worn by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) pan India while being employed to handle law and order situations and in urban areas affected by terrorism, as the surroundings do not demand such a requirement," it said. "Over a period of time, CAPFs and state police forces in India have started wearing combat uniforms which are just slightly different from the ones worn by Indian Army personnel. These minor variations cannot be distinguished by most civilians giving them the impression that the personnel wearing such dresses in cities and towns of India while engaged in internal security duties, escorting VIPs, on policing duties, static guard posts are Army personnel," the Army said. It said wearing of combat dress by CAPFs and police forces may be misinterpreted as the army being deployed for internal security duties and elections. The force further pointed that this may have an adverse impact on India's image as a vibrant democratic nation and would be detrimental to national interests. As per the proposed guidelines, the CAPFs should use different colour and pattern disruptive dress. It was further stated that its use by state police forces should be restricted only to employment in jungle terrain in Left wing extremism-affected areas. As per guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry in 2016, bullet proof jackets, which cover most parts of the torso of CAPFs and the state police forces, should be of plain khaki colour and not of combat colour. The Indian Army also said that sale of Army pattern clothes in the open market needs to be regulated. Private vendors in open market should establish identity and maintain a record of personnel to whom the army pattern clothes are being sold, it said. A SpiceJet plane, with 180 passengers and crew, made an emergency landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata after the pilot suspected that fuel was leaking. All passengers have been reported to be safe. The flight is yet to take off and is undergoing maintenance till reports last came in. Such incidents of emergency landing after suspected fuel leakage are rare, said a top airport official. At around 8:45 am on Wednesday, the flights pilot informed the ATC in Kolkata of a suspected fuel leakage and that the flight needs to make an emergency landing. The flight landed around 8:58 am, said Kaushik Bhattacharya, the director of NSCBI airport. The plane was travelling from Mumbai to Guwahati. We have informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. All passengers have been deboarded. The flight is undergoing necessary maintenance. It is yet to take off, Bhattacharya said around 11:30 am. Genetic analysis of the COVID-19 virus shows that it is very similar to a coronavirus in bats but the receptor binding looks like the receptor for SARS. This could happen naturally with slow changes of one in ten thousand sequences each year. This appeared all at once. This gives support to the belief that the Wuhan lab took the bat virus and attached the SARS receptor. However, this could happen with the mechanism of antigenic shift. While influenza viruses change all the time due to antigenic drift, antigenic shift happens less frequently. Antigenic shift is the process by which two or more different strains of a virus, or strain of two or more different viruses, combine to form a new subtype having a mixture of the surface antigens of the two or more original strains. The term is often applied specifically to influenza, as that is the best-known example, but the process is also known to occur with other viruses, such as visna virus in sheep. Antigenic shift is a specific case of reassortment or viral shift that confers a phenotypic change. Antigenic shift is contrasted with antigenic drift, which is the natural mutation over time of known strains of influenza (or other things, in a more general sense) which may lead to a loss of immunity, or in vaccine mismatch. Antigenic drift occurs in all types of influenza including influenza A, influenza B and influenza C. Antigenic shift, however, occurs only in influenza A because it infects more than just humans. Affected species include other mammals and birds, giving influenza A the opportunity for a major reorganization of surface antigens. Influenza B and C principally infect humans, minimizing the chance that a reassortment will change its phenotype drastically The Lancet published Genomic characterization and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 2019-nCoV fell within the subgenus Sarbecovirus of the genus Betacoronavirus, with a relatively long branch length to its closest relatives bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21, and was genetically distinct from SARS-CoV. Notably, homology modeling revealed that 2019-nCoV had a similar receptor-binding domain structure to that of SARS-CoV, despite amino acid variation at some key residues. As a typical RNA virus, the average evolutionary rate (antigenic drift) for coronaviruses is roughly one in ten-thousand nucleotide substitutions per site per year, with mutations arising during every replication cycle. It is, therefore, striking that the sequences of 2019-nCoV from different patients described here were almost identical, with greater than 999% sequence identity. This finding suggests that 2019-nCoV originated from one source within a very short period and was detected relatively rapidly. However, as the virus transmits to more individuals, constant surveillance of mutations arising is needed. Phylogenetic analysis showed that bat-derived coronaviruses fell within all five subgenera of the genus Betacoronavirus. SOURCES- Lancet, David Brin, Wikipedia Antigenic Shift, CDC Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune Key dates coming fast now, so I added some counters: Here is a second counter for South Carolina, coming soon: And for Super Tuesday: Super Tuesday states: AL, AK, CA, CO, ME, MA, MN, NC, OK, TN, TX, UT, VT, and VA. * * * * * * 2020 We encourage readers to play around with the charts; they are dynamic, and there are a lot of settings, more than I can usefully show here. Here is a link to alert reader dks project. You can also file bug reports or feature requests using the same contact process as for Plants, below. Thanks but no promises! UPDATE DK notes: Im completely removing the YouGov polls that were making that weird spike. Sorry for the inconsistency, I think its for the best. I can put them back in if its a problem for readers. Today we have two new national polls from Ipsos and Public Policy Polling, and a new state poll from TX. As of 2/26/2020, 10:00 AM EST (three-day average): And the numbers for IPSOS: Public Policy Polling: Again, hard to think this is what the DNC had in mind. And now to states, with the caveat that they are all small samples, irregular, and bad. TX: TX numbers: Sanders within striking distance. Wonder if theres anything under the radar gping on, as in NV (and the IA satellite caucuses, which saved his bacon then, give that organizer a promotion). CAVEAT I think we have to track the polls because so much of the horse-race coverage is generated by them; and at least with these charts were insulating ourselves against getting excited about any one poll. That said, we should remember that the polling in 2016, as it turned out, was more about narrative than about sampling, and that this year is, if anything, even more so. In fact, one is entitled to ask, with the latest I boomlet (bubble? (bezzle?)) which came first: The narrative, or the poll? One hears of push polling, to be sure, but not of collective push polling by herding pollsters. We should also worry about state polls with very small sample sizes and big gaps in coverage. And thats before we get to the issues with cellphones (as well as whether voters in very small, very early states game their answers). So we are indeed following a horse-race, but the horses dont stay in their lanes, some of the horses are not in it to win but to interfere with the others, the track is very muddy, and the mud has splattered our binoculars, such that its very hard to see whats going on from the stands. Also, the track owners are crooked and the stewards are on the take. Everythings fine. * * * Biden (D)(1): Clyburn endorses Biden ahead of South Carolina primary [The Hill]. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Wednesday endorsed Joe Bidens presidential bid, giving the former vice president a much-needed boost just three days before Democrats in South Carolina head to the polls. The endorsement is a major vote of confidence for Biden at a critical time in his campaign. After lackluster finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and a distant second-place finish in the Nevada caucuses last weekend, the former vice president is in desperate need of a win in South Carolina to power his presidential bid into Super Tuesday and beyond. Aides and allies of Biden have long pointed to South Carolina as a firewall for his campaign, given his strong support among black voters, who make up a majority of the states Democratic electorate. Bloomberg (D)(1): Mike Bloombergs Big-Tech Campaign [New York Magazine]. [Bloombergs campaign is a] series of shots in the dark and money-sucking experimentation, buoyed by a single funding source. Bloomberg is not accepting donations and his campaign runs off of his own enormous fortune. It has been estimated that he could spend up to $1 billion on his campaign an unfathomable amount of money to most Americans and also barely a dent in Bloombergs $62 billion. This is analogous to how companies like Facebook and Google operate, using revenue collected almost entirely from a single product their programmatic ad tools to fund moonshots like driverless cars, or drones that beam internet access, or virtual reality, or video-game streaming. Or, more troubling for Bloombergs chances, his campaign is being run like a tech startup thats bloated with venture-capital money and has no real path to profitability. Big Tech companies have graveyard full of dead software and hardware, because they are able to fully realize and implement ideas before determining if they even work. At these companies and Bloomberg 2020 there is no idea too foolish or counterintuitive that it cant be attempted. Silicon Valley doesnt run on an election calendar, though. And a failure in one area doesnt ricochet into all the other areas (the Dean Scream). So how are those robot cars working out? Bloomberg (D)(2): Bloomberg catches himself from saying he bought House races in 2018 [CNN]. Bloomberg: All of the new Democrats that came in, put Nancy Pelosi in charge, and gave the Congress the ability to control this President, I boug I got them. Readers spotted this in real time, it made the Twitter, and here it is in the mainstream. Turning Bloombergs greatest strength his money into a weakness is good, clean fun! Anyone can play, and many are. x Bloomberg (D)(3): Harvey Weinstein Recorded A Robocall For Mike Bloomberg In 2005 [HuffPo]. HuffPost was not able to obtain an audio file of the robocall, but there were media reports at the time about it. New York City is a great place to make movies, Weinstein said, according to the now-defunct New York Sun. And weve got a great leader in Mike Bloomberg.. Bloomberg has not yet commented on the Weinstein jury verdict, although in 2017, he said Weinsteins behavior was disgraceful. Its not a world that Im really familiar with, Bloomberg told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. I certainly never heard stories. I dont know about rumors or anything, but I never heard stories. Im not tuned in to the Hollywood thing.' Buttigieg (D)(1): Hmm: #teampete @petebuttigieg did this debate with a horrible cold. And he still performed- lets make it rain tonight https://t.co/0AmxxTNreC Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) February 26, 2020 Somebody should ask Liz Smith if Buttigieg was tested for #COVID-19 before he took the stage. Not that Im foily. Buttigieg (D)(2): Buttigieg campaign cancels Wednesday visit to Miami, citing illness [Miami Herald]. Buttigieg had planned to hold fundraisers and community conversations in Wellington in Palm Beach County and in Coral Gables Miami-Dade. But his campaign says he is too sick to come down to Florida after appearing Tuesday evening in the 10th Democratic presidential debate. Buttigieg (D)(3): Hmm: Pete's Charleston, SC headquarters in the fancy King Street shopping district was closed and desolate the entire time I was staying in Charleston, just a few days before the primary. Something isn't right. pic.twitter.com/BnFB1dC1ya Chris Sturr (@ChrisSturr) February 26, 2020 Sanders (D)(1): Bernie Sanders to hold election rally in Springfield days before Super Tuesday primary [MassLive]. Cheeky! But if Sanders is to avoid a brokered convention the now-avowed purpose of all his opponents hes got to scrap for every delegate. Sanders (D)(2): Hoo boy: The BERN app is now #14 in social networking in the iPhone store, above Google Hangouts, Telegram, and Skype. Have you downloaded it yet and added your friends who live in South Carolina and the Super Tuesday states? https://t.co/cevo8815MN pic.twitter.com/eU2C6qDC21 #KnocktoWin #CalltoWin #BerntoWin (@clairesandberg) February 26, 2020 Speaking of youth turnout. * * * The smarter commentators are now attacking the Sanders theory of change directly: Bernie Sanders looks electable in surveys but it could be a mirage [Vox]. Our data (laid out in an academic working paper here) also found what polls show: that Sanders is similarly electable to more moderate candidates. But, on closer inspection, it shows that this finding relies on some remarkable assumptions about youth turnout that past elections suggest are questionable. We found that nominating Sanders would drive many Americans who would otherwise vote for a moderate Democrat to vote for Trump, especially otherwise Trump-skeptical Republicans Democrats and independents are also slightly more likely to say they would vote for Trump if Sanders is nominated. Despite losing these voters to Trump, Sanders appears in our survey data to be similarly electable to the moderates, at least at first blush. Why? Mainly because 11 percent of left-leaning young people say they are undecided, would support a third-party candidate, or, most often, just would not vote if a moderate were nominated but say they would turn out and vote for Sanders if he were nominated.The large number of young people who say they will only vote if Sanders is nominated is just enough to offset the voters Sanders loses to Trump in the rest of the electorate. Hmm. Demographics only. No mention of class. Can Bernie Sanders really beat Trump? His pollster makes the case. [WaPo]. Sargent: I want to press you on 2018. That win was driven by a galvanized Democratic base. But it was also driven by a big shift in the suburbs and among educated whites. I want to understand the degree to which you see holding those gains as crucial to winning in 2020. Tulchin: The key to that is making the election a referendum on Donald Trump. [He] is uniquely polarizing, sexist, racist, misogynist. That motivates suburban voters. Bernie is solid on all the social issues they care about, especially choice. But we cant just rely on that suburban vote. Bernie has unique appeal with working-class voters. He can be more effective in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. If we turn just those three states around, we win the White House. This is an extremely mild way of saying that the Clinton/Pelosi/Schumer turn toward the suburbs is based too narrowly to win, and that in fact Teixieras coaliton of the ascendant was the correct strategy if and only if the various demographics are not sintered together by idenitity, but welded welded togehter by their class interests in universal concrete material benefits. The whole article is worth a read. * * * Is Gmail hiding Bernies emails to you? How inbox filtering may impact democracy [Guardian]. Handy chart: Of course, it could be that Buttigieg and Yang are more skilful at manipulating Googles algo. But doesnt Google look with disfavor on such behavior, and try to prevent it? The Debates CBSs South Carolina debate last night was universally panned. Thanks to readers for their real-time comments; over 500 (!). I couldnt get through them all today, so please forgive me if I duplicate any points made while not giving a hat tip. Sanders targeted at chaotic SC 2020 debate where candidates struggled to score points [Post and Courier]. In a move that had been telegraphed in recent days by his campaign speeches, Biden hit Sanders on his gun control record, specifically his votes against the Brady Bill, a 1994 law that mandated federal background checks and waiting periods on gun purchases. Biden noted that Emanuel AME Church, site of the 2015 mass shooting, was walking distance from the debate site. Im not saying hes responsible for nine deaths, but that man would not have been able to get that weapon if he had supported this bill, Biden said. Classic use of paralipsis. Who Won (and Lost) the Democratic Debate in South Carolina [Eric Levitz, New York Magazine]. An honest transcript of the evening would be 50 percent comprised of [inaudible crosstalk] or [much shouting]. We reprised the Medicare for All financing argument and somehow found a way to make it even more tedious than the first 573 renditions. We were treated to incisive questions like, Why are your poll numbers less high than they used to be? and Whats your personal catchphrase? The crowd booed too much, and then not enough. Somehow, the candidates eagerness to tear into each other didnt produce high drama (as it had in Nevada) but instead a vexing unpleasantness less like watching a reality show than a dysfunctional, booze-soaked family dinner. Anyhow. Ive been doing this thing for a while now where I rank the candidates debate performances from best to worst. And for the sake of brand consistency and search-engine optimization, Im doing it again. But make no mistake: The only true winners of tonights proceedings were those whose professional choices and televisual tastes spared them the burden of witnessing this garbage. If Sanders didnt lose, he won. So Sanders won. There is no expectation that Sanders will win SC (and if Biden wins, it may the last time the Black Misleadership Class is used as a club against the left, so good). On to CA and TX (!). Democrats needed a good debate, but got a bad one [Politico]. The snarling incoherence of the latest Democratic presidential debate Tuesday evening made it painfully hard to follow. But in its own way, the encounter perfectly crystallized the twin strategic challenges facing the party. The first strategic challenge is the problem of the impassioned plurality represented by frontrunner Bernie Sanders taking control of the party. .The second strategic challenge is to convey what most Democrats regard as the gravity of the case against President Donald Trump. Challenge? After Pelosi and Schumer impeached him? How could that be? Twitter results: The twitter data, for anyone interested pic.twitter.com/UKUUxFzxkZ Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 26, 2020 I really enjoy the RIchard Nixon account. This thread is as good as any other: That was as disgraceful an episode of Phil Donahue as Ive ever seen. Nothing in it was edifying or consequential. The Marines have an 11-letter word for what CBS did there. It begins with c and ends with k. Nevertheless I will try to find some lines through it. Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) February 26, 2020 With Tickets $1,750, Debate Audiences Are Elite of the Elite. But Thats Not New. [New York Times]. The state and local parties that help organize the debates offer the option for people interested in attending to sponsor the debate. This was the case tonight in Charleston, S.C., as it has been in other debates over the last seven months. The Charleston County Democratic Party offered sponsorship options ranging from $1,750 to $3,200, which included admission to the debate as well as access to other gatherings surrounding the event, according to a local news station, WCSC. This is something that the average person doesnt usually get to go to, the station quoted the county party chair as saying.' Well, that explains the boo-ing. Obviously, the tickets should be allocated by lottery. Just one more reason to level the existing apparatus to the ground, burn it, and then salt the ground. Democratic debate: CBS, Bloomberg draw jeers for ad buy, stacked audience [New York Post]. DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said tickets were divided among the campaigns, the South Carolina Democratic Party, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, CBS and Twitter. We invited local and community leaders, and DNC supporters, she wrote on Twitter. This is the most diverse audience.' Ever? See above. Realignment and Legitimacy Centrist-child syndrome [The Outline]. Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist theorist and founding member of the Communist Party of Italy, described this historical cycle succinctly in his Prison Notebooks, written as he served a life sentence in one of Mussolinis jails. The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born, he wrote. In this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear. Morbid symptoms certainly abound in our time, with one of them sitting in the White House. But the underlying sense of stasis, the refusal to be born, has found its own acolytes in contemporary politics. It has been on full display in the Democratic Party. One such representative is Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a candidate for president. At 37, the clean-cut young Navy veteran and former McKinsey consultant is the youngest person running, yet possesses the least-youthful disposition in the race. Why is Buttigieg, the first arguably Millennial presidential candidate, so leery of even slightly radical politics? In might be that his heritage lies in a revolutionary intellectual tradition. For all his appeals to the middle, mayor Pete has described his father as a man of the left. Joseph Buttigieg was a literary scholar whose work specialized in none other than the writings of Antonio Gramsci. Ironically, Kamala Harris is a victim of the same syndrome. Stats Watch At reader request, I added some business stats back in. Please give Econintersect click-throughs; theyre a good, old-school blog that covers more than stats. If anybody knows of other aggregators, please leave links in comments. Leading Indicator: February 2020 Chemical Activity Barometer Improved and Now In Expansion [Econinterect]. The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB) rose 0.4 percent in February on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following a 0.7 percent gain in January. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer increased 2.0 percent Production-related indicators increased in February. Trends in construction-related resins, pigments and related performance chemistry generally improved and suggest further gains in housing. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were mixed. Performance chemistry improved, with widespread gains among segments. U.S. exports were mixed. Equity prices surged, while product and input prices improved. Inventory and other indicators were mixed. Retail: [Walmart Inc.] is combining its U.S. online and store product-buying teams as the company seeks to reduce conflict between the units and increase profits at its $50 billion e-commerce business. The latest integration move comes after Walmart combined its online and store supply chains and finance teams last year as it sought to create a single, unified business. But suppliers selling both on Walmart.com and in Walmarts stores still had to pitch two separate buying teams. The teams sometimes clashed over pricing differences and over plans to use stores to facilitate online sales for home delivery [Wall Street Journal]. That use of stores for fulfillment has grown popular with retailers as they try to leverage sprawling real estate holdings to minimize the high inventory demands of separate e-commerce distribution channels. Shipping: BIMCO: Coronavirus Shows Shippings Dependence on Chinese Economy [Martime Executive]. BIMCO chief analyst Peter Sand laid out three likely scenarios for the impact of the epidemic on shipping. In the first, Chinas control measures succeed, and work begins to return to normal in Chinese factories by March. Shipping demand would return accordingly. In the second, normalization does not occur until April. In the third and worst scenario, the virus continues to spread in ways that are not possible to predict or analyze. (With significant new cases in Iran and South Korea reported Friday, the last case may be possible.) Scenario 1 entails a relatively minor disruption to global supply chains and a manageable impact on carriers. Scenario 2 would be more serious. In the second case, with an enforced shutdown in China extending into April, a temporarily obstructed active labour force . . .will extend disruptions to manufacturing, hinterland transportation and port operations. Given the lower container volumes, caused by a halt to regional manufacturing, the disruption could extend into a global supply shortage of retail and manufactured goods, Sand wrote. No detail on scenario 3. Shipping: The impact of Chinas coronavirus economic slowdown is landing hard at U.S. ports. The Port of Los Angeles is projecting a 25% decline in container volumes this month [Wall Street Journal]. Holy moley. More: [T]he drop will likely cascade across other ports through April as factories and logistics operations in China struggle to resume shipping flows. Cargo operators are already bracing for what [Port Executive Director Gene Seroka] says could be a big pendulum swing as operations recover and pent-up demand reaches the ports. Tourism: Royal Caribbean Unable to Predict Coronavirus Impact for 2020 [Maritime Executive]. In an earnings report released Tuesday, Royal Caribbean warned that it is unable to predict the full financial impact of the coronavirus epidemic on its earnings for 2020, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the disease and the public health measures to contain it. A petri dish in the coal mine. The Bezzle: Uber Ousts Uber Eats Head As It Looks To Stem Losses [PYMNTS.com]. As Uber aims to stem losses from its Eats business in places where there is no indication that it will turn into a number one or two player, the executive leading the Eats business of Uber is departing the firm. All these other stupid Silicon Valley names: Zomato, Swiggy. Say what you want about Uber, at least its an ethos. * * * Todays Fear & Greed Index: 23 Extreme Fear (previous close: 22 Extreme Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 53 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 26 at 10:05am. The Biosphere SF Mayor London Breed declares state of emergency over coronavirus [San Francisco Chronicle]. Given the high volume of travel between San Francisco and mainland China and the spread of the virus to other countries, there is a growing likelihood that we will see cases in San Francisco, [Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the citys health department] said. Also given the state of San Franciscos streets, and the fact that #COVIF-19 spreads by fecal transmission. China and India are home to nearly 90 per cent of cities with worst micro-pollution: Study [The Straits Times]. Taking population into account, Bangladesh emerged as the country with the worst so-called PM2.5 pollution, followed by Pakistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan and India, according to the 2019 World Air Quality Report, jointly released by IQAir Group and Greenpeace. China ranks 11th. Particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diametre roughly 1/30 the width of a human hair is the most dangerous type of airborne pollution. Microscopic flecks are small enough to enter the bloodstream via the respiratory system, leading to asthma, lung cancer and heart disease. Among the worlds megacities of 10 million or more people, the most PM2.5-toxic in 2019 was the Indian capital New Delhi, followed by Lahore in Pakistan, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kolkata in India, Linyi and Tianjin in China, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Next on the list were Wuhan epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak along with Chengdu and Beijing. We will, I suppose, see if cities with high PM2.5 ratings also have more/more serious cases of #COVID-19. Forest fire in New Jersey burns at least 80 acres near Appalachian Trail [USA Today]. The fire warden said that 2 to 3 feet of snow would usually be on the mountainside at this time of year, and that it was unusual for brush and forest fires to occur in February. Rio CEO Says World Must Sacrifice Growth to Meet Climate Goals [Bloomberg]. The challenge for the world, and for the resources industry, is to continue the focus on poverty reduction and wealth creation, while delivering climate action, Jean-Sebastien Jacques told investors on Wednesday. This will require complex trade-offs. Jacques said consumers, governments and shareholders must all be willing to make sacrifices in the form of lower consumption, growth and returns if climate targets are to be met. The mining industry, a key pillar of growth in many developing countries, is facing investor demands to cut the scale of emissions created by its products, from thermal coal to iron ore. Can plants develop their own bacterial symbionts? [John Kempf]. Our principle task as growers is to farm soil microbes. The larger and more vigorous a population of microbes we can grow in our soil profiles, the more nutritious and healthier our crops will become. Soil biology can supply all of a crops nutritional requirements when they are well managed and well supported. A controversial thesis! The far side of the moon: NASA just released video showing what Apollo 13 astronauts saw in orbit on the far side of the Moon. They were in darkness for eight minutes when they were between earthset and sunrise until the lunar terrain emerged. That's where the video starts. https://t.co/nC5bAaFenL pic.twitter.com/ijd99p893m CNN (@CNN) February 25, 2020 Black Injustice Tipping Point Neoliberalism: Harriet Tubman is having a moment. https://t.co/6NagHnodZF USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 26, 2020 Health Care Greatest health care system on earth: .@gofundme has streamlined the process for setting up a medical crowdfunding page on its site. Now, users can fast-track by selecting from one of several common ailments. This is what choice looks like in America's health care system. pic.twitter.com/aF8tUAm4kd Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) February 25, 2020 News of the Wired Not feeling wired today! * * * Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (ChetG): ChetG writes: I thought to have a Venus-setting photo, since it is Valentines Day. When trees are in leaf, they block the stars; in winter, I find the stars among trees amazing. The exposures averaged from 15 to 10 seconds (with a 20mm lens). With Earth rotation in mind, looking north allows a longer exposure than looking south; otherwise, one begins to have star trails. Star trails can be lovely, but take away something in a landscape when trees are to be the main focus. Although Venus setting was an hour or so after astronomical sunset, sunset light lingers in the west. Cheers and thank you ever so much for Water Cooler! * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated. If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you! Infrastructure Victoria is strongly opposing an extension of Melbourne's free tram zone, arguing it would overcrowd trams, direct investment away from other public transport and unduly benefit people who need it least. The inquiry is considering an extension of the free tram zone. Credit:Joe Armao Transport Matters MP Rod Barton has proposed extending the free tram zone to include the MCG, National Gallery of Victoria, Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne Zoo and Royal Children's Hospital, in order to increase accessibility and boost tourism. He also proposes free travel for full-time students and senior citizens. A parliamentary inquiry is examining the merits of his proposal. Lord mayor Sally Capp is also in favour of the extension, but Infrastructure Victoria the peak infrastructure advisory body to the state government has warned against it in its submission to the parliamentary inquiry. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: The armed forces of Armenia occupied Khojaly on the night of Feb. 25-26, 1992, after mass shelling, with the help of the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, Durdana Aliyeva, captured by Armenians that night in Khojaly, told Trend. Aliyeva spoke about the horrors that the people of Khojaly went through. Having razed Khojaly to the ground, the invaders committed genocide against the civilian population of the city with particular cruelty. Aliyeva was one of the postal workers in Khojaly. Aliyeva noted that for the first time, Armenians attacked Khojaly on Sept. 18, 1988. "That day, a wedding was held in Khojaly. Armenians launched an armed attack on the city thinking that the people of Khojaly were busy with celebrations. Men of Khojaly then gave a worthy responnse to the Armenians and forced them to retreat. For four years since then we lived in blockade. But the people of Khojaly did not leave their homes, men wanted to bring their families out of the city, but not a single woman left her house," Durdana Aliyeva said. She also recalled the events in Khojaly on the night of Feb. 25, 1992. "Then I was 20 years old. I worked as a postal worker in Khojaly. The city was suddenly bombarded at night. We were told that the Armenians captured the Khojaly airport. In the morning, heavy shelling of the city started again. "Bullets were flying all over the place. We crawled to the bridge in Khojaly, where everyone gathered. From there we wanted to cross through the forest to Agdam. It was cold, and we walked in the snow through the forest: all the Khojaly residents elderly, young and children tried to cross the mountain. I remember a woman who strangled her child so that the Armenians wouldnt hear the childs cry. There was a lot of snow, so it was very difficult to walk. Many had frostbitten hands and feet. The children were hungry, they were fed with snow. The witness to the tragedy notes that when crossing the Agdam district, they were blocked by Armenians armed with machine guns. They shot everyone - old people, women, children, Aliyeva added. I was wounded in the leg and I fainted, but when I regained consciousness, I was horrified by what I saw. Blood, corpses were everywhere. Then we were ordered to stand up. Lining us up and making us lay our hands behind our heads, women and men were taken away separately. Women were brought to the police department of the Askeran district, said the witness. In front of the police building, Armenian women began to insult and throw stones at us. Then we were thrown into the basement. My brother was taken hostage with me, to another place. There were about 50 women and children in the basement. Women and girls were abused, humiliated and tortured all night. Durdana Aliyeva said that on the night of Feb. 27, women were exchanged for gasoline, because the Armenians had no fuel. She recalled that she was tortured for eight days, kept in an icy cell. An Armenian named Karen poured cold water on me and beat me with a chain, Aliyeva said. "They forced me to say that Karabakh belongs to the Armenians and promised to let me go, but I didnt say anything, so they were torturing me. Every day I was beaten several times and they demanded me to say this phrase." After eight days Aliyeva was released with the help of National Hero Allahverdi Baghirov (Baghirov died in 1992). The general assessment of the causes and results of the war launched by the Armenian side against Azerbaijan and all the existing facts of the tragic events in Khojaly prove that the crimes committed in this Azerbaijani city are not accidental. They were not committed by chance. They are a part of the systematic policy of violence committed by Armenia. The targeted massacre of Khojaly civilians was aimed at their mass extermination because they were Azerbaijanis. U.S. President Donald Trump has extended for one year the decrees providing for a series of sanctions previously imposed on Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. "The actions and policies addressed in these Executive Orders continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 6, 2014, and the measures adopted on that date, on March 16, 2014, on March 20, 2014, on December 19, 2014, and on September 20, 2018, to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2020. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660," a document posted by the White House reads. Sanctions against Russia on the situation in Ukraine were introduced by the administration of President Barack Obama in 2014. The first sanctions entered into force on March 6, 2014, later on March 16, March 20 and December 19 of the same year they were expanded. Sanctions are annually extended for 12 months since their introduction. This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech. Dennis Prager, founder of the right-wing propaganda outlet Prager University, has a First Amendment right to lie about climate change, deny that straight people get HIV, viciously vilify Muslims, and declare that men get turned on by any sight of female flesh. He does not, however, have a right to upload these claims to YouTube and make money off them, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday. PragerU may not be a household name, but it has a surprisingly broad reach: Its five-minute videos have racked up well over 2 billion views across platforms. Although these videos are presented as unbiased educational lessons, they promote exclusively conservative, often fringe views. Prager and his friends regularly condemn Muslims, LGBTQ equality, abortion, feminism, gun control, and campaign finance reform, and deny climate change. (The company is partly funded by fracking billionaires.) The outlet has mastered the art of grabbing viewers attention with a provocative video, presented as fact, then pulling them deeper down the rabbit hole into Pragers bizarre world of toxic propaganda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is strange, and more than a little pathetic, that the 9th Circuit had to remind PragerU that YouTube is incapable of unconstitutionally censoring its videos. The Constitution prohibits Congress or the states from abridging the freedom of speech; as the Supreme Court reiterated last year, the First Amendment simply does not apply to private entities, even if they create an open forum for varying viewpoints. Yet PragerU has spent more than two years hounding YouTube in court. Its lawyers insist that PragerU has a constitutional right to host its videos on the platform and profit from them. This dispute revolves around a number of PragerU videos that YouTube either restricted (limiting them to adult viewer) or demonetized (removing third-party ads). Restricted or demonetized videos include Is Islam a Religion of Peace? (answer: it isnt), Whats Holding the Arab World Back? (answer, courtesy of Bret Stephens, summarizing his column in the Wall Street Journal: the disease of the Arab mind), and The Worlds Most Persecuted Minority: Christians (self-explanatory).* PragerU argued that, because YouTube performs a traditionally public function by regulating free speech within a public forum, it has transformed into a state actor. As a result, it cannot regulate videos on the basis of content or viewpoint, as it apparently did here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge rejected that argument in 2018, for good reason. It is true that, under certain circumstances, private actions can become a public function subject to constitutional limitations. But the Supreme Court has strictly limited the application of that principle to situations in which the government fully delegated traditional state functions to private entities. The chief example is Marsh v. Alabama, in which SCOTUS applied the First Amendment to a company town where a corporation owns all property and controls all municipal functions. Later, the court clarified that Marshs principle was never intended to apply outside the very special situation of a company-owned town. Advertisement Advertisement Despite the fact that no precedent and no constitutional provision supports its claim, PragerU appealed the 2018 ruling to the 9th Circuit. And on Wednesday, the court made quick work of its preposterous argument. Twenty years ago, the 9th Circuit held that a private entity hosting speech on the Internet is not a state actor. Today, that principle has not changed. YouTube does not perform a public function by inviting public discourse on its property, and it is not a public forum subject to the First Amendment. Even before the internet, plenty of companies hosted speech on a private platformcomedy clubs, for instancebut their embrace of diverse expression did not transmogrify them into state actors. To the contrary, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted in a brief, private companies have their own First Amendment right not to publish content they dislike. If there is any censorship here, it is PragerUs effort to suppress YouTubes own freedom of speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given that PragerU routinely produces videos purporting to contain expert constitutional analysis, it is troubling that the company would mount such a frivolous lawsuit. In fact, it is so committed to this fight that it mounted a lawsuit in California state court, too (which it is also losing). It is difficult to see why anyone should trust the legal teachings of an outlet that so grievously misunderstands the law. But the First Amendment ensures that anyone eager to poison their mind with hateful gibberish can easily watch any video they wanton PragerUs own website. Correction, Feb. 26, 2020: This post originally misspelled Bret Stephens first name. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. The spread of the coronavirus outbreak has widened with more European nations hit and the number of infections in South Korea surging to more than 1,100, while China has reported another drop in cases, with 406 new daily infections, as of Tuesday. Chinas National Health Commission said there were also 52 new deaths, all of them in Hubei, the central Chinese province at the heart of the outbreak. This compared with 508 new cases a fall of 102 and 71 deaths a day earlier. There were only five new infections outside Hubei. So far, 29,745 patients on mainland China have recovered from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. South Korea cases exceed 1,100 South Korea reported 284 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections there to 1,261. Many of the confirmed cases came from two clusters of infections linked to a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in the neighbouring county of Cheongdo, according to South Koreas Yonhap News Agency. Of the 169 new cases reported in the morning, 153 are in Daegu, 300km southeast of Seoul, and neighbouring North Gyeongsang province, but nearly all major provinces and cities have reported some infections, including four cases in the capital Seoul, according to the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). A further 115 cases were reported in the afternoon. Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, reported eight new cases and Gyeonggi province reported one new case on Wednesday morning, the KCDC said. So far, 11 people have died in South Korea from the virus, including a 36-year-old Mongolian national who was hospitalised for a liver transplant. Meanwhile, an American soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a US Forces Korea (USFK) statement. The 23-year-old man is the first US service member to test positive for the virus, and is currently in self quarantine at his off-base residence. Story continues First child case in Hong Kong A 16-year-old boy from the ill-fated Diamond Princess cruise ship has become the first child in Hong Kong to be diagnosed with the coronavirus. The teenager was one of four patients confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 on Wednesday, the Centre for Health Protection said in a press conference, taking the citys official total to 89. His 21-year-old sister, who was also on the Diamond Princess quarantined off Japans coast earlier this month, has given positive readings as well. China says Wall Street Journal admits mistakes Chinas foreign ministry said on Wednesday that The Wall Street Journal had admitted its mistakes over the headline of an opinion piece about the coronavirus, which Beijing gave as its reason for expelling three of its correspondents from the country. At its daily press conference, a foreign ministry spokesperson went on to say it could not help but ask whether the newspaper was an agent for the US government. Beijing slammed the February 3 headline China is the Real Sick Man of Asia, on the newspaper's commentary piece by US academic Walter Russel Mead as racist and revoked the credentials of three of its correspondents, in an unprecedented move that was condemned by Washington. Hu Xijin, editor of the state-run tabloid Global Times, posted to Twitter late on Tuesday that sources told him senior executives of the Journal had written a second letter to the Chinese side. They've recognised the harm and fury caused by a commentary published by the newspaper previously and they're uncomfortable about it. It seems the WSJ doesn't want the issue to expand, he wrote. Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, declined to comment on whether a second letter had been sent. An internal letter calling for the newspapers leadership to apologise for the derogatory headline was signed by 53 reporters and editors. China's new focus stop infections from abroad China's containment strategy is shifting to an effort to stop the coronavirus from being imported back into the country as the outbreak surges abroad. On Tuesday, 94 passengers aboard Asiana Airlines flight OZ349 from Seoul to Nanjing were quarantined after three Chinese nationals were found to have fevers. None of the three passengers had a travel history to Wuhan. In Beijing, a meeting chaired by the city party chief Cai Qi, called for more stringent measures to stop infections being imported to the capital. Pay close attention to the risk of overseas epidemics, strictly enforce health entry requirements, and properly implement epidemic prevention services for foreigners in Beijing, the meeting stressed. All people entering Beijing, including those coming from other Chinese cities, face a 14 day quarantine period, the meeting said. Singapore charges two with lying about travel history Singapore has charged two Chinese nationals, one of whom was infected with Covid-19, for giving false information about their travel history. Hu Jun, a 38 year-old from Wuhan, and his wife Shi Sha, a 36-year-old resident of Singapore, are accused of giving false information to officials about their movements and whereabouts between January 22 and 29. Hu arrived in Singapore on January 22 and was tested positive on January 31. He has fully recovered from infection and had been discharged on February 19, the countrys health ministry said. Chinese medical staff request global help Two medical workers in Wuhan have pleaded for more international help, describing conditions in the coronavirus-hit city as more difficult and extreme than we could ever have imagined. The two, who have been in Wuhan since late January, are from the southern province of Guangdong and were among the thousands of medical staff who answered the call for help when the outbreak was at its height. Due to an extreme shortage of health care professionals in Wuhan, 14,000 nurses from across China have voluntarily come to Wuhan to support local medical health care professionals. But we need much more help, said Yingchun Zeng and Yan Zhen, in a letter published in The Lancet on February 24. We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle. They added there was a severe shortage of protective equipment, such as N95 masks, and some nurses had pressure ulcers on their foreheads after wearing masks for extended periods of times. Often, nurses' mouths are covered in blisters. Some nurses have fainted due to hypoglycaemia and hypoxia, they wrote. Europe is also worrying The situation facing Europe is getting more serious, with Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and Romania becoming the latest European nations to confirm cases of coronavirus. Austria has two cases. Switzerland, Croatia and Romania have one each. Italian authorities updated their death toll to 11. Four additional deaths were reported in Italy on Tuesday. In Spain, the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife where an Italian man who has tested positive for the virus was staying has been locked down. Irans deputy health minister infected Iran has the highest number of deaths outside China, with 16 people killed by the coronavirus. Irans deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi, who was seen coughing during an interview on state TV, has tested positive for the coronavirus. A group of Canada-based public health experts, including Ashleigh Tuite from the University of Toronto, said a large epidemic in Iran could further fuel global dissemination of Covid-19. Between February 19 and 23, Iran reported its first 43 cases with eight deaths. Assessing interconnectivity between Iran and other countries using International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, the experts estimated that 18,300 Covid-19 cases would have had to occur in Iran. It is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a Covid-19 epidemic of significant size for such exportations to be occurring. This is concerning, both for public health in Iran itself, and because of the high likelihood for outward dissemination of the epidemic to neighbouring countries with lower capacity to respond to infectious diseases epidemics, the experts said in the paper, which has not been peer reviewed. First case in Algeria Algeria has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, its health ministry said, becoming the second African country to report the virus. Algerias health minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid announced on state television on Tuesday evening that an Italian national who arrived in the North African country on February 17 had tested positive for the virus. Benbouzid said the patient was in quarantine and receiving treatment. Algeria becomes the second country in northern Africa to report coronavirus infection. Egypt reported its first case and the first on the continent earlier this month. The World Health Organisation said it was preparing to deploy a team of experts to Algeria to support health authorities. Brazilian man tested South America could be facing its first case with a report from Brazils health ministry on Tuesday that a Sao Paulo resident who recently travelled to Italy was being tested for the coronavirus. The 61 year-old man was working in Lombardy one of two northern Italian regions at the centre of the outbreak in Europe from February 9 to 21. The preliminary test is being validated at the Adolfo Lutz Institute, the ministry said in a statement on its website. Clinical trials begin in US The first clinical trial in the US of a possible coronavirus treatment is underway in Nebraska and is eventually expected to include 400 patients at 50 locations around the world, officials said on Tuesday. Half of the patients in the international study will receive the antiviral medicine Remdesivir, while the other half will receive a placebo. Several other studies, including one looking at the same drug, are already underway internationally. Dr Andre Kalil, who will oversee the study at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, said the clinical trial had been developed quickly in response to the virus outbreak. Patients hospitalised with the Covid-19 would be eligible to join the trial if they had at least moderate symptoms, he said. A group of 14 people who were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan are being treated at the Nebraska centre. All except two of this group have tested positive for the disease. At least two patient studies are under way in China, one of which involves Remdesivir, which is made by Gilead Sciences and has been described by the World Health Organisation as the most promising candidate for an effective treatment against Covid-19. Taiwan suspends presidential inauguration Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday suspended all preparations for her inauguration ceremony in May, so that relevant organisations could concentrate on responding to the coronavirus outbreak. As long as there is concern about the outbreak, no large-scale activities marking the presidential inauguration on May 20 will be held, said Tsai, who was re-elected for a second term as president in January. On Wednesday, all of Taiwans doctors and nurses were barred from visiting countries declared to be unfit destinations because of the outbreak, to ensure there was adequate manpower to tackle the disease. Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said the ban, effective immediately, would be in place until the end of June. Medical staff will also need permission from the hospital authorities to visit countries which Taipei has said require extra precautions while travelling. The centre also urged local religious groups to temporarily suspend large-scale religious activities to prevent the community spread of the coronavirus, as experienced in South Korea. On Wednesday, Taiwan confirmed a new case, bringing its total number of infections to 32. A foreign carer was looking after an 80-year-old man in New Taipei City who tested positive for Covid-19. The carer has now also been diagnosed with the disease. Dirty money order issued in China China has told lenders to disinfect and store banknotes in a dry area for seven days, as part of the battle to contain the contagious coronavirus, a Chinese newspaper reported on Wednesday. The guidelines on how banks can help reduce the transmission of the virus were circulated by the Beijing branch of Chinas banking and insurance regulator (CBIRC), according to China Securities Journal. The report did not say how the notes would be cleaned. It went on to say that the CBIRC had advised banks to increase how often they disinfected public surfaces, such as counters and password entry devices. Disinfection supplies should also be provided at counters and other places where customers came into contact with cash. Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters 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: South Korea records almost 300 new infections as Hong Kong confirms first child case first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Finablr network brand BayanPay, a Saudi Arabia-based digital payment solutions provider, has been awarded a payment services provider licence by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama). Following its successful graduation from the Sama regulatory sandbox, BayanPay will offer digital wallets, e-commerce and SME business payments gateway solutions in the Kingdom. Through BayanPay, Finablr seeks to expand its suite of digital services, offering domestic and international payments to consumers and businesses across Saudi Arabia, by leveraging its technology, industry expertise and global network. BayanPays portfolio of solutions currently includes: BayanPay Business: an online payments gateway services aggregator that provides an easy and secure way to accept, process and disburse digital payments for B2B, B2C and B2G businesses in Saudi Arabia. BayanPay Wallet: an innovative e-wallet service, powered by Finablrs technology, that enables Saudi Arabia-based customers to make seamless payments, including cross-border payments from the second-largest remittance market with outflows of US$43 billion in 2018 as per World Bank estimates1. Promoth Manghat, Group chief executive officer of Finablr, said: Saudi Arabia is a fast-evolving market in the payments space with the right infrastructure readiness and a conducive regulatory framework. Through BayanPay, Finablr will support the Kingdoms strategic objectives of becoming a cashless society, one of the goals of the Financial Sector Development Program under Saudi Vision 2030. We look forward to supporting Sama in pursuit of their vision to promote innovation in the financial sector as we work towards shaping the future of the digital payments landscape within the Kingdom. Fahad Al Fawaz, chairman and founder of BayanPay, added: Finablrs experience, expertise and global network, underpinned by its technology leadership, will enable BayanPay to take the next step in becoming a leading player in Saudi Arabias digital payments space. In line with Saudi Vision 2030, our digital solutions support the development and diversification of the economy by enhancing payment efficiencies for consumers, businesses and the government. Convenience, reliability and a seamless experience are among the many benefits our digital payments ecosystem will provide to customers. We thank Sama, our partners and well-wishers for their continued support in our endeavour to facilitate the evolution of a vibrant digital ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. Founded in Riyadh, BayanPay is well-positioned to support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by providing trusted, secure and highly efficient digital payments solutions that can support the growth and development of the Saudi Arabian economy. Samas estimates indicate that non-cash payments for the retail sector amounted to more than 36 per cent of all payments in Saudi Arabia as of July 2019, with a goal to increase this to 70 percent by 2030 under Vision 2030s Financial Sector Development Program. Finablr acquired its majority stake in BayanPay in 2019, providing the group with entry to the GCCs largest economy while enabling BayanPay to benefit from Finablr's industry-leading capabilities and technology expertise to deliver seamless and reliable payments solutions to its customers in Saudi Arabia. TradeArabia News Service Municipal marijuana pardons will 'open' options for veterans KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Less than two weeks after Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas' office it would begin the process of pardoning misdemeanor marijuana convictions, more than a dozen applications have come in. And for homeless veterans, that move from Lucas could be a step toward getting back on their feet. A somewhat less than inspiring planted story hopes to thwart legal push back and otherwise negative reception of the Mayor's weed work with real life deets of rough life confronting the troops at home.The reality is that local Conservatives & law enforcement aren't fans of the currentapproach to weed forgiveness in KCMO whilst this missive hopes to remind hardliners how close to their own communities the drug trade hits.Read more: The poetic and ephemeral fifth basic taste, umami, is the talk of the town; you can find it in these all-natural ingredients. First things first, umami is really fun to say. (Any word that sounds like oh mommy lends itself to playful flourish in diction.) Secondly, its really fun though not easy to try and describe: It is not a "flavor," per se, its just yummy. Its rich without being overbearing, its meaty without necessarily having meat, its savory without being salty, its delicious without being specific. It is je ne sais quoi in a nutshell. It was back in 1908 when Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda proposed umami as a fifth taste in addition to salty, sweet, sour, and bitter brought about by glutamic acid, a compound which naturally occurs in a number foods. (Ikeda went on to devise a method of mass-producing a crystalline salt of glutamic acid, thus giving the world monosodium glutamate, otherwise known as the yummy-booster MSG.) While the almost-abstract character of umami has relegated it to the flavor sidelines as opposed to sweet and salty, which get most of the attention the increasing popularity of Asian cuisines and fermented foods (both heavy with umami) are bringing the flavor newfound fame. Umami has been a trend topic with chefs for quite a while now, but I think the general consumer foodie will begin delving into these flavors too, says Chef Michael McGreal. So where you can you indulge your umami mania? Foods like bacon and beef jerky are off the charts in terms of their naturally occurring glutamate levels and a cheeseburger with ketchup is a umami bomb but theyre health detractions dont make them the best choices. Instead, try some of these healthier options. 1. Seaweed Sea vegetables are brimming with glutamic acid, and thus, umami. While once reserved for enveloping sushi and garnishing miso soup, seaweed has gone more mainstream and is now commonly available in flavored snack form as well as an increasing array of other products. Look for nori the most popular type, in addition to other varieties including kelp, Irish moss, and laver. 2. Mushrooms + truffles You know the meatiness that comes with mushrooms? Part of that is due to their texture, but their high naturally occurring glutamate plays an important role too. Shitake mushrooms are the most umami-ish of the fungi family, but truffles' fragrant earthiness brings out their umami too. 3. Tomatoes Bright in flavor, tomatoes may not be the first things that come to mind when considering the yummy-savory factor; but think of them when cooked into a simmered sauce, turned into ketchup (high in umami), or at their umami-best, sundried. Seriously savory. And when paired with the umami-coaxing nucleotide inosinic acid that is found in meat and fish, tomatos umami is heightened even more. 4. Kimchi Katherine Martinkos excellent explanation for why we should all eat more fermented foods is enough for me; but figure in the incredible umami factor that fermentation brings to cabbage and Im totally sold. Plus, you can make kimchi at home! 5. Parmesan cheese The nutty, earthy, round flavors make Parmesan one of the most umami-inspiring ingredients in western cookery. Which could go far to explain why pasta with tomato sauce, meat and Parmesan is a dish that many find hard to resist. Or, pizza. Like the mushroom pizza pictured above, which with its tomato sauce, mushrooms and cheese is a umami trifecta. 6. Fermented fish sauce In fish sauces like the Thai Num Pla and Nuoc Mum from Vietnam, the fermentation process breaks down the proteins into amino acids and high quantities of glutamate are produced. Salty, fishy and, well, umami-y, fish sauces can be used in any number of Asian dishes (like pad thai) and specific recipes like this one for Vietnamese Glazed Pumpkin. 7. Anchovies If fermented fish falls on the high end of your yuck meter (while many find it divine, others see it as, basically, rotten raw fish) ... anchovies can fill the bill. (If they dont register on the yuck meter as well, that is.) Anchovies are both sustainable and packed with important Omega-3 fatty acids, making them a good choice all around. Add them to Caesar salad, olive tapenade, puttanesca sauce and anywhere else you want a blast of secret savory. 8. Miso paste Miso soup comes from miso paste, a rich, pungent Asian ingredient made from soybeans fermented with rice, barley, or rye. It is very concentrated in flavor; salty and just, delicious. For vegans its an awesome way to add umami to just about anything, from giving vegetables a toothsome glaze to working as a stand-in for anchovies in a Caesar salad. Try it in this: Roasted Mushrooms with Miso-Ginger Butter. 9. Ramen While long-simmered bones in water may be the least appealing idea ever to those of us who avoiding eating things with bones in the first place, it is the basis for traditional ramen and the result is, basically, umami in a bowl. Instant ramen swaps out the glutamate of long-simmered bones with the more-convenient MSG. While a vegan ramen won't have bone-inspired umami, one can make up for it with miso, seaweed and mushrooms. Updated: February 25, 2020 Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) and Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) on Wednesday organised a demonstration outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, seeking action against those responsible for violence in the capital and restoration of peace in the city. People gathered outside Kejriwal's residence and raised slogans demanding action against those responsible for violence in Delhi. They also gheraoed Kejriwal's residence. Appealing to Kejriwal to take action against the violence in affected areas in North-East Delhi, protestors who called themselves concerned citizens, asked the chief minister to personally visit affected areas with local MLAs and organise peace marches to de-escalate tensions. They also urged the chief minister to inform citizens about steps taken by the Delhi government and allow all rescue operations to reach hospitals from the affected areas. They further appealed to identify perpetrators of violence and take action against them. Late on Tuesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called an urgent meeting at his residence, of MLAs and officials of the violence-hit areas of Delhi, to take stock of the situation and issued instructions to take all necessary steps to restore peace. In the wake of violence in North East Delhi, Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval late on Tuesday reached Seelampur area to take stock of the situation and visited violence-hit areas. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with Delhi Police and Home Ministry officials in the wake of violence that has been raging in the capital for the past two days. The Home Minister urged political parties leaders to exercise restraint, rise above party lines to tackle the situation, according to an official release. He also urged leaders to avoid giving provocative speeches and statements which could result in a flare-up of the situation. At least 13 persons have died so far and around 190 are injured in the violence that has been raging in North-East Delhi from Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Vice President Joe Biden had precisely the night that he needed in the 10th Democratic primary debate on Tuesday. With frontrunner Bernie Sanders on the verge of breaching his South Carolina firewall on Saturday, and with this possibly being the last debate before voter preferences solidify and the race takes on a momentum of its own, Biden needed a forceful, decisive performance. And he just might have gotten it. Even though the ever-reliable Sanders turned in a typically workmanlike performance, the unusually lucid Biden clearly gained the most. He forcefully pushed back against the other candidates, as well as the moderators. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and as the stock market bled out trillions in the span of days, his foreign policy experience suddenly loomed large. And for once, he came into the debate with a real strategy: zero in on billionaire Tom Steyer, who could be sucking double digits out Biden's margin in South Carolina. Win the night, win on Saturday, and worry about the rest later. He's not wrong. Biden isn't just running out of time before the enormous delegate hauls of Super Tuesday he's also running out of debate minutes to make his case to persuadable voters. This is true for everyone, of course, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, but Biden is the only one who has basically admitted he's toast if he doesn't win South Carolina. One of the ironies of the modern nominating process is that the frequency of debates increases just as their efficacy in changing minds craters. Many undecided voters have already made up their minds, and once people make a firm choice in these primaries, they tend to dig in and tune out appeals from other candidates. That means that even though the South Carolina debate took place just six days after the one in Nevada, fewer and fewer viewers are even open to listening. Story continues While there is a robust research program looking at the effects of general election debates on presidential election outcomes (the quick-and-dirty summary is that they don't seem to matter much at all), relatively less work has been done by political scientists and communications scholars on the primary debates currently consuming so much oxygen in the Democratic primary. But what little work there is suggests that the earlier debates have greater effects. Early in the process the summer and fall before the election year Democrats and Republicans have mostly held once-a-month affairs as they wait for the field to winnow itself, before a flurry of frequent debates as the early state contests commence. In the 2016 Republican primary and the 2020 Democratic primary, the number of presidential hopefuls has been so large that the parties have had to scramble to create two separate debates. Despite the way that these gabfests might have felt unpleasant to viewers overwhelmed by crosstalk and brief response times, they created many opportunities to change the dynamics of the race. In 2016, a group of researchers at the University of Missouri led by Benjamin Warner had students watch four debates one for each party in the fall and the spring. The numbers they produced were eye-popping. After watching the October 13, 2015 Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee, Jim Webb and Bernie Sanders, for example, students more than doubled their support for O'Malley. Out of 151 viewers, Clinton lost 15 and Sanders 3. Overall fully 29 percent changed their candidate preference. By the time 94 self-identified Democrats watched the March 9, 2016 debate in Miami, their positions had hardened just 10 percent changed their mind after viewing, with neither Clinton nor Sanders (the surviving candidates) meaningfully increasing their backing. In the more crowded GOP field, fully 54 percent of students who watched the October 28, 2015 Republican debate in Colorado changed their minds about who to support after viewing, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio nearly tripling his polling. Physician Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush saw their support cut in half. The eventual nominee, Donald Trump, saw a modest drop in support after both debates, not surprising with this sample of very young Republicans who remain much less enthusiastic about the president than their older peers. The effects of the GOP's spring debate were comparatively modest but definitely more significant than on the Democratic side, with more than a third of viewers switching candidates. This was just one study, and some social scientists can be skeptical of research that depends so heavily on your own college students. The limited data that we have confirms that candidate-switching plummets as the campaign unfolds, which makes sense on an intuitive level. After all, the longer you've been thinking about the race, and the more you've seen of the candidates, the more likely you are to collect the information you think you need to make up your mind. The candidates you found mildly off-putting five months ago now make your skin crawl, and you yearn for the day that you are liberated from ever having to listen to them speak again. These conclusions hold up pretty well when measured against the current Democratic nominating cycle. After the first debate, there were wild swings in support for some candidates. California Sen. Kamala Harris, for example, nearly tripled her polling average after she confronted former Vice President Joe Biden about his past opposition to federally-mandated busing in the June debate. Warren, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar also all saw significant spikes in their support after particularly effective debate performances early on in the process. So while they might occasionally be insufferable, these shouting matches do serve a real public purpose in that they offer people an easy and accessible way to make choices. At a certain point though, the results of voting in the early states becomes much more determinative than any further debates. You can't erase a delegate deficit with a clever retort, and even a robust performance is unlikely to challenge narratives that have calcified over the course of an already long and grueling campaign. Early success or failure can profoundly affect whether viewers see candidates as winners or losers, electable or unelectable, viable or unviable, in the later debates. Elizabeth Warren's inability to translate her exceptional debate performance last week into results in Nevada is a case in point. If Sanders wins South Carolina, it could effectively end it all. And that's why Biden probably felt some urgency. This could really be the last time he could've taken his case directly to an audience of millions with a chance to change a sufficient number of minds. The next scheduled debate isn't until March 15. There are a few factors, though, suggesting that Democrats might have one or two more influential debates left. First, voters got their first look at a significant new candidate last week, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has spent mind-gobbling stacks of scratch advertising across Super Tuesday states and beyond to prop up his candidacy. That means that his bus-wreck of a performance in the Nevada debate likely had real costs for him. Still, his introduction to the debate stage so late in the process means that some more mid-primary volatility should be expected than in 2016 or 2008. The Democrats have also not yet gone through what the GOP did in 2016 see a true party outsider seize control of the nomination. That is not at all to morally equate Trump with Sanders, but rather to suggest that the process of coalescing around an obvious frontrunner and seeing support snowball over the course of successive primary wins might not be where we're headed. The unknowable dynamics of the moderate effort to stop Sanders from capturing the nomination should invite some humility when seeking to apply lessons from the past to the immediate future. That said, this could very well have been the last meaningful primary debate of the 2020 cycle. If it was, Biden did everything he could to put himself back in serious contention for the nomination. Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Naming Mike Pence coronavirus czar with 'zero experience in the medical area' is 'a total joke,' says 2014 Trump Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Officials said the Suez Canal has not been negatively affected by the Corona Virus, even though 13 percent of China's foreign trade passes through the canal Osama Rabie, the head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, has announced that the revenues from the Suez Canal rose to $5.8 billion in 2018/19. Rabie said the rise is largely due to the opening of the new Suez Canal in August 2015. Rabie, addressing a delegation from parliament's African Affairs Committee on Wednesday, said revenues from the Suez Canal increased by 5.4 percent in 2018/19, or from $5.6 billion in 2017/18 to $5.8 billion in 2018/19. Rabie indicated that the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal increased from 17,900 carrying 1,174 tonnes in 2017/18 to 18,800 carrying 1,093 tonnes in 2018/19. Rabie said shipping in the Suez Canal has not been negatively affected by the spread of the Corona Virus in parts of Asia and Europe. "We did not register any drop in the number of vessels and ships crossing the Suez Canal due to the Corona Virus, even though 13 percent of China's trade passes through the canal," said Rabie. Rabie also revealed that the Suez Canal Authority was able to cut the time of crossing the canal to just 11 hours, down from 22 hours in 2015 when the new Suez Canal was opened. Search Keywords: Short link: The Head of Iran's Prisons Organization on Wednesday ordered prison wardens to take special measures to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from spreading to prisons. Addressing prison wardens across the country Ali-Asghar Jahangir said prisoners should not be sent to courts unnecessarily and without due coordination. He also said all visits to prisons except for judicial and health officials should stop, prisoners should not be transferred between prisons and family visits to take place behind glass barriers. On Tuesday Kianush Jahanpur, the Head of Public Relations of the Ministry of Health, said there had been no "particular reports of confirmed cases" in prisons but some social media users have claimed that there is an outbreak in Karaj Central and Evin prisons. According to the Center for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), Saeed Soltanpour, one of the eight Gonabadi Dervishes who is serving a sentence at Karaj Central Prison, has said that one of the prison staff has contracted the virus. In the audio file received by CSHR Soltanpour says several wards have been converted into quarantines and an elderly man has been put into isolation. On February 23 the families of 14 political figures who have been imprisoned for demanding Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's resignation, in a letter to Chief Justice Ebrahim Raeesi said the Judiciary will be responsible if coronavirus infection spreads among inmates and a "massive human tragedy" occurs in prisons. The families of political prisoners called on Raeesi to allow "ordinary and political prisoners" to go on furlough because they are not likely to escape and will return to prisons later. They also asked the Chief Justice to order all prisons across the country to be protected by special measures. On February 25 Mahmoud Sadeqi (Sadeghi), an outspoken reformist lawmaker who has himself tested positive, called on the Chief Justice to allow political prisoners to go home to protect them from contracting the virus. Due to the closed nature of detention establishments and the low-level of hygiene even one case of coronavirus infection in a prison can quickly spread to other inmates and escalate to an epidemic. In January 2019 Jahangir said there are more than 240,000 inmates in Iran's prisons. A McDonalds employee was reportedly punched by a customer who got aggravated after being offered a free cup of water. The bizarre incident occurred at McDonalds in Midtown, Tennesse, suggest reports. During the assault, another employee was also reportedly struck when she attempted to intervene. According to the reports, a 44-year-old customer approached the McDonalds counter and asked for water. The cashier informed him that the water would cost him 32 cents, but since the system was temporarily dysfunctional at the time, she would be happy to offer the cup for free. The suspect reportedly got angry and offered the employee a $100 bill, which the employee refused. This upset the customer further, who then attacked the employee by throwing a punch at her. The customer, however, did not stop as he continued to hit the employee, confirmed reports. Read:McDonald Leads Hawaii To 38-34 Win Over BYU In Hawaii Bowl Read:Stockport McDonalds To Remain Open On Christmas Day To Serve The Needy The outlet told the media that another employee attempted to get the situation under control, but the suspect hit her too. He even hurled the cookie container at the two employees who managed to escape the blow, as he resumed to hit them incessantly in the face throwing them to the ground, it added. Suspect charged with attempt to assault Police were immediately informed who reached the outlet and arrested the man, confirmed reports. The suspect was charged with attempt to assault and possession of drug paraphernalia. McDonalds earlier came in the limelight when it was fined $250,000 after two of its employees were electrocuted to death last year. According to reports, McDonald's franchise in Pueblo Libre in Peru incurred serious safety violations when two of its workers aged 18 died while cleaning the kitchen. Authorities revealed that the first victim experienced an electric shock while attempting to clean the soda machine. Her colleague tried to help her but, in the process, got an electric shock himself. Read:US Police Tweet About Boulder Goes Viral For A Hilarious Reasons Read:US Police Looking For Wanted Man With 'crime Pays' Tattooed On Forehead Italy has sought to rally international support for its coronavirus containment efforts as the number of cases reached 400 and the UNs health agency urged an increased response. Italian premier Giuseppe Contes government appealed to European neighbours for cooperation, not isolation and discrimination. Italy has been struggling to contain the rapidly spreading outbreak that made it the country with more coronavirus cases outside Asia than anywhere else. Viruses dont know borders and they dont stop at them, Italian health minister Roberto Speranza said at the start of a crisis meeting with World Health Organisation and European Union representatives in Rome. A woman prays in an empty church on Ash Wednesday in Milan (Antonio Calanni/AP) Twelve people infected with the virus have died in Italy since Friday, all of them elderly, having other health conditions or both, civil protection chief Angelo Borelli said. The Italian government has defended its handling of the crisis, even as it acknowledges alarm over its increasing cases and inability to locate the origin of the two clusters in the northern Lombardy and Veneto regions. Germany and France also reported two cases apiece in people with no known ties to Italy, travel to China or contact with an infected person, raising concern about additional clusters of no known origin possibly forming in Europe. We are at the beginning of a coronavirus epidemic in Germany, German health minister Jens Spahn said, adding that he had asked state health officials to review their emergency plans for pandemics. Greece and neighbouring North Macedonia registered their first confirmed virus cases on Wednesday, also involving people who recently travelled to Italys afflicted north. The first cases reported in Austria, Croatia and Switzerland on Tuesday also had travel ties to northern Italy. A scattering of people in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP) Spain has reported nine new cases since Monday, all with an Italy link, two of Frances five new cases had ties to Italy and Finland reported its second case in someone who had been in Milan, Lombardys capital. Story continues Local authorities in Austria took quarantine measures after two unconfirmed cases had an Italy link, only to remove them when tests came back negative. Over a 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday, Italy confirmed 78 more cases, for a national total of 400. Hard-hit Lombardy, where 10 towns are on army-guarded lockdowns, still had the most cases with 288 four of them children. But Veneto saw a spike of 28 cases overnight, bringing its total to 71. In France, a 60-year-old Frenchman died in a Paris hospital, Frances second virus-related death. His case worried French authorities, because he was one of two new patients who tested positive for the virus in France this week who had not travelled to a risk zone, according to authorities in his home region north of Paris. A German man with the virus was in a critical condition and his wife also tested positive, but German officials to date have not been able to trace the origin of their contagion. Officials expressed fear of infections spreading since the wife works in a kindergarten and the man had been to carnival parties. The man had come into contact with dozens of people, including doctors and nurses at a Cologne hospital where he had gone for an unrelated health check-up, German officials said. Schools and kindergartens in the area where he became ill remained shut. Still, the safety and well-being of each and every child in our care is Dolton 149s top priority and we take that responsibility seriously every day of the week and every hour of the day," Ormsby said. A home has been crushed by trees, several people were trapped in cars, while widespread flooding and power outages were testament to the fury of the summer storm that whipped through Perths suburbs on Tuesday afternoon. A home in Westminster was severely damaged after three trees were uprooted by the storms strong wind gusts which reached more than 126 kilometres an hour as it set in just before 5pm. "The lounge room, the laundry area and the bathroom, they are all completely damaged," Nine News reporter Lucy McLeod said. A traveller wears a mask at the Dubai International Airport, after the UAE's Ministry of Health and Community Prevention confirmed the country's first case of coronavirus, in Dubai, By Alexander Cornwell DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates, a major air transit centre, is ready for "worst case scenarios" as the coronavirus spreads in the Middle East, a government official said on Wednesday. Three Gulf Arab states recorded their first new coronavirus cases this week, all in people coming from Iran, the UAE's neighbour across the Gulf which on Wednesday reported a total of 19 virus-related deaths, the most outside China, and 139 cases. Authorities in the UAE, which has reported 13 cases since Jan. 28, have enough facilities to quarantine patients and will be carrying out surveillance on people entering the country, said the official from the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority. It was too early to ban public gatherings in the business, trade and tourism hub, added the official. Dubai is due to host the Expo 2020 world fair in October for six months. "We are quite satisfied that we have taken all the necessary steps needed to preempt the spread of the virus at all levels, without pushing the country into a state of unwarranted panic," the UAE official said. The disease, which originated in China late last year, has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, the vast majority in China. Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes said this week it had decided to cancel its annual One on One investment conference in Dubai, which was due to take place from March 2-5. "The spread of the virus over the past three days to multiple countries from which we expect guests has underscored the importance of guaranteeing the health and safety of all our employees, clients and guests," it said in an email to clients. Kuwait, which last week evacuated 700 people from Iran, reported another case on Wednesday, bringing the total there to 26. Bahrain, which has suspended flights to Dubai, said 26 people had been diagnosed with the virus, some of whom had travelled through the UAE. Oman has recorded four cases. Story continues Major Gulf bourses slid on Wednesday, mirroring declines in global stocks over the spread of the virus. Dubai's main share index <.DFMGI> dropped 2% to its lowest level since last June. Budget airliner Air Arabia extended losses from the previous session to close 2.1% lower, after the UAE on Tuesday suspended all flights to and from Iran. Several Arab countries have suspended flights to Iran and other destinations and imposed shipping restrictions. Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has suspended flights to Hong Kong until March 28, the airline said on Wednesday, citing a drop in demand. Kuwait has barred foreign ships, except those carrying oil, from departing to or arriving from several countries, according to a Feb. 25 notice seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; additional reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Saeed Azhar, Writing by Maher Chmaytelli and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Andrew Heavens and Alexandra Hudson) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Chhattisgarh police has registered a case against former principal secretary to the chief minister and his wife for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets. The case was registered on Tuesday against Aman Singh and his wife Yasmin Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and section 120 (B) (conspiracy) of the IPC. Raipur-based RTI activist Uchit Sharma had lodged a complaint against the couple in November, an EOW official told PTI. Singh denied the charges, terming them a "political witch-hunt". Aman Singh, formerly an Indian Revenue Service officer, joined then chief minister's Raman Singh's government in 2004 on deputation. He resigned from the IRS in 2010 and continued to work with the BJP government in Chhattisgarh on contractual basis. During the 15-year rule of Raman Singh government, Aman Singh served in various prominent capacities. Yasmin Singh had worked with the Public Health Engineering and Panchayat and Rural Development Department on contractual basis from 2005 to 2018, the EOW official said. After the Congress government came to power in 2018, both husband and wife resigned. "Probe into (Uchit Sharma's) allegations revealed that Singh and his wife allegedly had acquired assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. They possess immovable assets in Raipur and Durg in Chhattisgarh, in Bhopal and also in Delhi," the officer said. Aman Singh allegedly formed shell companies which were used for money laundering, he said. Yasmin Singh was appointed as Director of Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU) under the Rural Development Department allegedly in violation of the norms of appointment of the Government of India, he said. Aman Singh has filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court, challenging the probe against him and his wife. On Wednesday, the EOW informed the HC in Bilaspur that an FIR has been registered against the couple. "The FIR has clearly been registered at the behest of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and only to harass my family and to subvert the judicial process in the midst of the High Court's hearing on my petition in which I had challenged the malafide and malicious EOW enquiry," Singh said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the women who helped bring convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein to justice said she stayed in touch with him after he assaulted her because she had 'many acquaintances who knew him'. Victim Mimi Haleyi courageously testified at Weinstein's trial about how he forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. The jury convicted him of criminal sexual act in the first degree for it. It carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years behind bars. 'I think everyone processes things differently in my particular case it was probably to do with the fact that I felt extremely embarrassed and hurt by this because I did know him to some degree I had many acquaintances who knew him,' she said Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain from New York on Wednesday morning, Mimi explained why she had stayed in contact with Weinstein after he abused her. 'I think everyone processes things differently in my particular case it was probably to do with the fact that I felt extremely embarrassed and hurt by this because I did know him to some degree I had many acquaintances who knew him,' she said. She added she felt 'trapped' and she had to try and put it aside and 'pretend it hadn't happened' to be able to move on. Talking about how she approached the court case, she revealed: 'The thing that I have had to focus on, I know what happened I have had to let go of any shame and self-blame that I may have had and just stand strong in my truth.' She described the legal process as a 'really, really, really tough time throughout' as well as 'exhausting and draining'. Former 'Project Runway' production assistant Mimi added: 'All I could do was feel strength in knowing I knew what happened and the truth was on my side.' Talking about how she approached the court case, she revealed: 'The thing that I have had to focus on, I know what happened I have had to let go of any shame and self-blame that I may have had and just stand strong in my truth' Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain from New York on Wednesday morning, Mimi explained why she had stayed in contact with Weinstein after he abused her Harvey Weinstein is shown arriving at court on Monday before being found guilty of rape and sexual assault Asked about the length of his pending sentence, she added: 'It's not up to me to decide the sentencing. It's up to the judge. Even with the verdict, I just couldn't take that on. I detached myself from the outcome and just focused, just turning up, speaking the truth and telling the jury what happened.' She went on: 'The whole process was terrifying. For many years I suppressed what had happened and I moved on. When this all started resurfacing, and once I decided to show up for the trial, I had to start processing on a level I hadn't before. It's been very draining, but now I'm glad that I did decide to follow through with it. I think it's been a healing process for myself, ultimately.' Her lawyer praised her as courageous. Gloria explained: 'She knew she was going to have to make many, many sacrifices in the interests of justice. Sacrifice of her privacy - that they would attempt to shame her and blame her and to run quite a few rape myths in their argument, and that's exactly what they did... But she stood solid. Former 'Project Runway' production assistant Mimi Haleyi, the woman Weinstein is charged with sexually assaulting in 2006, recounted during her testimony how the film mogul forcibly performed oral sex on her while she had her period at his SoHo apartment. She has described the legal process as a 'tough time', 'exhausting' and 'draining' 'She went through so many hours of intensive, invasive questioning, but in the end they found by unanimous verdict that Mr Weinstein was guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of criminal sexual assault [in her case].' The lawyer said the defendant was also found guilty of another rape in the third degree but that the main bulk of his sentence would be imposed due to her client's assault. Gloria added: 'Bottom line of this, Mr Weinstein, if he is convicted in Los Angeles as well, is liking to be spending the rest of his life in prison and that is because of the courage of Mimi and others who have been willing to testify.' Asked how the case had affected her, Mimi replied: 'When it all resurfaced and the memories started coming back I was almost surprised at how deeply it had affected me. I'm grateful, ultimately, that I have been through all this and come out the other endand that I processed all of that stuff was lying underneath for so long.' Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two of the five charges he was facing on Monday, in a case which is being hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement. Within a few hours of his verdict, he had been taken to a hospital in the city - instead of Rikers Island - and his other attorney revealed he'd cried out: 'I'm innocent! I'm innocent! How can this happen in America?' He will return to court on March 11 for his New York sentencing. Now, attention is turning to the Los Angeles trial which may have a wider scope of women. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Microscopy Devices Market Share, Trends And Growth Analysis By Type (Optical Microscopes, Electron Microscope, Scanning Probe Microscope (Spm), Others), By Application (Life Science, Material Science, Pathology), By End User (Hospitals & Clinics, Academic & Research Institutes, Diagnostics Centers) - Forecast Till 2022 Market Research Future (MRFR) in recently published study asserts that the global Microscopy Devices Market is expected to reach USD ~10.5 Billion in 2022; it has been noted that market is growing at steady pace and is expected to grow at the CAGR of 7.8% during the forecasted period 2016 2022. Surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value & volume, the market is expected to gain prominence over the forecasted period. Factors substantiating the market growth include the increased funding by the public and private sector for life science research studies and the expansion of the semiconductor industries in most of the emerging nations. Increasing research and development activities initiated by governments, schools, universities and research institutions across the developing regions have fuelled the growth of the market. Global Microscopy Device Market Regional Analysis Globally, Asia-Pacific is the largest market for microscopy devices. The APAC market is expected to grow further registering 7.3% CAGR during 2016-2022. North America market for microscopy devices accounting for the second-largest market globally will grow at 11.5% CAGR during the assessment period. Microscopy Device Market Competitive Analysis The Microscopy Device market is widely expanded and highly competitive with the presence of numerous major and small players operating at the international and regional level around the globe. The market will witness fierce competition due to the expected extensions in product & service and product innovations. Manufacturers operating in the Microscopy Device market strive to develop Device with adept technology with unrivalled design and features. Get full report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/microscopy-devices-market-2313 Key Players: FEI, Meiji Techno, Nikon Metrology NV, Woodley Equipment Company Ltd, Radical Scientific Equipments Pvt. Ltd, Bruker, Mauna Kea Technologies SA, Icon Analytical Equipment Pvt. Ltd, Olympus Corporation, NIDEK Inc., Sonix, Inc., Konan Medical USA Inc., Carl Zeiss, and Leica Microsystems are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Microscopy Device Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis. Industry/ Innovation/ Related News November 2017 Researchers of Germany and Portugal collaboratively developed the first microscope to concurrently monitor movement and neuron activity in zebrafish larvae without interfering with their behavior. To enable wider use in the research community, the neurobehavioral tracking microscope uses off-the-shelf components and is open source. Browse other healthcare-related reports Kinesio Tape Market US Onychomycosis Market About Market Research Future: MRFR team has supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country-level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with the technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com I'm a graduate from the Missouri School of Journalism and former reporter with the Missourian. Currently, I'm a working for a law firm in Dallas, Tx before beginning law school later this year. Reach me at @ByHunterGilbert on Twitter Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Actor Eric Bana is collaborating with Robert Connolly to present the story of Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood, who is considered to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo have acquired the rights of Hailwood's story from his family. Bana and Connolly will together direct, write and produce the movie. The 51-year-old Australian actor is taking on the role of Hailwood, a nine-time world-champion motorcycle racer who returned to the Isle of Man race in 1978 after an 11-year hiatus. "We are absolutely thrilled that Eric Bana and Robert Connolly have taken Mike's story to adapt into a feature film about his historic comeback' race win," Hailwood's widow Pauline Hailwood and their son David Hailwood said in a statement. "We are delighted that Mike will be depicted by Eric Bana, an actor with an immense passion and knowledge of motorsports, Mike's career, and a rider himself," they added. Bana and Connolly will produce the project through their banners Pick Up Truck Pictures and Arenamedia, respectively. They most recently worked on feature film "The Dry", based on Jane Harper's best seller and produced by Bruna Papandrea's Made Up Stories. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TORONTO - A woman in her 60s who recently travelled to Iran has become the fifth person to contract the novel coronavirus in Ontario, as the province's monitoring of the virus widens. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO - A woman in her 60s who recently travelled to Iran has become the fifth person to contract the novel coronavirus in Ontario, as the province's monitoring of the virus widens. The woman became sick with a cough, sore throat, aches and occasional fever after arriving in Toronto, the city's top health official said Wednesday. She went Monday night to the emergency department of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where precautions were followed, Dr. Eileen de Villa said. She is at home in self-isolation, as are two of her close family members, she said. While most previous patients diagnosed with the virus known as COVID-19 had recently spent time in China the epicentre of the global outbreak that's infected an estimated 80,000 people so far the Toronto woman's recent travel history centred on Iran, where a rash of new cases has recently emerged. "It's not surprising to learn of this news as we have a very mobile population with a lot of international travel," de Villa said about the new case. "So it's quite likely that we will continue to see more people presenting with symptoms and a travel history to affected areas in the world." Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said several countries have now been added to a list of areas of concern. That list now includes China, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, Iran, Singapore and South Korea. Ontario has identified four previous cases of COVID-19 in the province. While three of them have since been cleared, a new case was diagnosed in Toronto over the weekend. Officials said that patient, a woman in her 20s, had recently returned from China and is considered to have a mild case of the virus. Seven cases have been identified in British Columbia, including some linked to recent travel to Iran. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 08:20:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Cars decorated with flags march on a street to celebrate the National Day in Kuwait City, capital of Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2020. On Feb. 25 and 26 every year, Kuwait celebrates its National Day and Liberation Day. In 2020, Kuwait celebrates the 59th National Day and the 29th Liberation Day. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) Nicolas Cage and director Richard Stanley attend a special screening of "Color Out Of Space" on January 14, 2020. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images) Nicolas Cage has some of the same edginess as Marlon Brando on the big screen, according to Color Out of Space (in cinemas and on demand 28 February) director Richard Stanley, who says his screen presence isnt for everyone. He has a very impeccable sense of comic timing and deadpan, insane, surrealist black comedy, which suits me very well, explains Stanley. You dont know whether you should be laughing or crying or utterly horrified, he adds. The star, known for his trademark Cage Rage freakouts, plays a mild-mannered alpaca farmer driven insane by the arrival of a magenta-hued meteor in Stanleys adaptation of the 1927 H.P. Lovecraft short story. Cult filmmaker Stanley hasnt directed a fiction feature since his high-profile sacking from the ill-fated 1996 adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau, as documented in the 2014 documentary Lost Soul. He tells Yahoo Movies UK that Cages involvement was crucial in finally getting his new movie, which had been in development since 2013, over the finish line. Read more: The crazy story behind legendary flop The Island Of Dr Moreau So few people wouldve had the courage to climb on board something like this, the 53-year-old says. He adds: Its lovely seeing him stepping aside from being a romantic leading man or the action hero to play a character as fundamentally goofy and pathetic and doomed as Nathan the unfortunate alpaca farmer with daddy issues. Joely Richardson and Nicolas Cage in 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) Stanley says Cage went through the script, highlighting opportunities for him to improvise and push the material. It was a matter of calibrating that, knowing there was going to be some full on Cage Rage moments and letting it happen in a way that was organic to the material and the way the plot develops, he says. Read more: Face/Off reboot in the works Stanley believes that the kind of apocalyptic black comedy of Cages style suits his own filmmaking methods well. The director is set to move on to another Lovecraft adaptation next, with an eye on a trilogy of modern adaptations of the 20th century horror maestros most memorable works. Story continues Read the full interview with Richard Stanley, discussing how to control Cage on set, the environmental commentary of Color Out of Space and the reasons why hes so fascinated with the horror genre... Richard Stanley has returned to directing with an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) Yahoo Movies UK: This is your first fiction directorial gig in more than 20 years. Why was this the one that brought you back? Richard Stanley: I guess H.P. Lovecrafts alien gods were positively inclined towards me. Who knew that there were so many hundreds of thousands of H.P. Lovecraft fans out there who were waiting for this? Of all of the Lovecraft stories, why was Color Out of Space the one you thought you could tell? Well I guess I started having thoughts about Color from the time I was a teenager. Its set on an isolated farmstead in the Miskatonic Valley and concerns the destruction of a nuclear family, whereas pretty much every other one of the great Lovecraft stories is set in Antarctica or on the planet Pluto or at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. So right from the beginning, I thought maybe I had some kind of chance of doing something with Color Out of Space. You announced this film in 2013. How difficult was it to get this going? It was a pretty long journey and I guess a lot of people never thought it would be possible. The main problem is just that Lovecrafts universe means that the only way out for any of the characters is usually death or madness. Theres never a positive learning experience to be had or some kind of reassuring or dignified dramatic arc for any of the characters. So trying to find stars who could inhabit the parts and were prepared to roll the dice on playing characters who come to such terribly unjust and sticky ends proved to be a challenge. It seems that it really started to get going once Nicolas Cage got involved. How important was he in getting the film made? Madeleine Arthur and Nicolas Cage in 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) Nics involvement was ultimately crucial in getting it made. So few people wouldve had the courage to climb on board something like this. Without wanting to spoil it, the dramatic arc for Nics character is anything but heroic. Its lovely seeing him stepping aside from being a romantic leading man or the action hero to play a character as fundamentally goofy and pathetic and doomed as Nathan the unfortunate alpaca farmer with daddy issues. When youve got Nicolas Cage in your film, he brings a certain creative force. How much did he shape the film and the character once he became involved? Very early on, Nic literally highlighted areas in the script where he thought he could improv and push the material further. So quite a long time in advance, we knew that we were going to do something with, for example, the tomato scene or the moment where he wigs out in the car. Read more: Actors who played more than one role in a movie With the alpaca milking scene, hed say: What if I ran amok and threw the alpaca milk at the wall of the building? Then wed discuss it and, in some cases, wed dial it back. Like, in the alpaca milking scene, he doesnt throw the milk at the side of the barn and freak out completely too early in the movie. In other places, it seemed okay to let him roll with the material. So it was a matter of calibrating that, knowing there was going to be some full on Cage Rage moments and letting it happen in a way that was organic to the material and the way the plot develops. Once you see how heavily this film features mad things like alpaca milk, its difficult to imagine anyone other than Cage doing it. Im amazed I didnt think of him first off when I wrote the movie. Ive been wanting to do a movie with Nic for pretty much all of my life. It didnt initially occur to me, but then it seemed like such a natural mix. He has a very impeccable sense of comic timing and deadpan, insane, surrealist black comedy, which suits me very well. I generally feel that most of my work is a kind of apocalyptic black comedy. Theres a thing when youre watching his recent movies where it seems as if the audience doesnt know how to react to him. Joely Richardson and Nicolas Cage in 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) It has been an issue that has freaked some people out and divided a lot of reviewers, but I actually like that quality in Nic. Its also an uncomfortable area I like to try and steer towards with the overall tone. You dont know whether you should be laughing or crying or utterly horrified. Its the same reason why you enjoy the Texas Chainsaw films from Tobe Hooper in the old days. You alluded to this earlier but, when youre directing Cage, how much are you doing in terms of letting him go or pulling him back? Nic has got quite a good sense of it, but I think left to his own devices, youd be taking it even more full throttle. We really deliberately dialled it back in the first third of the movie and tried to keep things in shades of grey as much as possible rather than going all the way to 10 on the freak-out scale. That was certainly a part of it. Nic has got some of the same edginess as Marlon Brando and Klaus Kinski, who were both actors who didnt ever seem to be doing what you expected them to be doing. Theres something about this story which feels very timely, with its environmental edge. How important was that aspect to you? It was vital, and a big part of it given I now get a chance to continue the saga and do two more Lovecraft movies in whats going to be an official trilogy. It means were very much dealing with an apocalyptic universe one in which unknowable, ultra-dimensional, alien deities are gradually taking control of our world. Read more: Roland Emmerich wants more climate crisis movies Its something thats going to become even more pronounced and, given the current state the world is in, I think thats very much germane to the material. Lovecraft had a very different view of God and reality. He was an atheist but, at the same time, somehow translated those terrifying, mechanistic forces into these inscrutable, ultra-dimensional alien beings. They seem to be speaking to peoples hearts and minds in the 21st century in a way that maybe they didnt in the 1920s when the original story was written. 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) The story behind Color is intensely allegorical and metaphorical, and is about mental images. How hard was it to literalise that on screen into something cinematic? It seemed crucial to the success of the project to try to reimagine Lovecrafts Great Old Ones in a way that would make them terrifying and a cogent threat to us now in 2020. Ive got a plush Cthulhu toy that I sleep with and people have almost made the original Lovecraft stories cuddly over the years. I wanted to make them un-cuddly and turn them back into an implacable threat to humanitys existence. That entailed really digging into Lovecrafts original concepts and to this idea of things which are beyond our perception and coming from outside of our human consciousness and our abilities to even perceive them. Lovecrafts aliens might not be from another world; they may simply be from some other dimension of our own. They may be complex forces that have always been an essential part of our immediate environment, but which weve never perceived and have now bust through into our dimension. Read more: Guillermo del Toro thwarted again in Lovecraft movie quest That made me look very carefully at the limits of human perception and the visual spectrum, which runs from ultraviolet to infrared. Magenta, which becomes a default colour for the movie, is almost a neural bridge between ultraviolet and infrared a halfway point between the two. Essentially, if anything comes into our world, it has to come in from somewhere. If a sound is coming into our awareness, its either going to be a very low-pitched sound that gradually comes up into our perception or its going to be a very high-pitched sound that comes down. In the same way, something coming into our visual spectrum, I imagined, had to come in through ultraviolet or infrared, which started to give me ideas as to how to portray this thing. If we couldnt show the creature itself, we could at least show the closest thing to it we would be able to perceive. Once you get to the more extreme things you do so, there are some very impressive effects sequences that reminded me of The Thing. Tell me a little about that process. John Carpenter's 'The Thing' is considered a milestone of horror effects work. (Credit: Universal) Ive always been a colossal fan of John Carpenter, and particularly The Thing, which I think is his masterpiece and probably the most Lovecraftian movie ever, even though it doesnt come from Lovecraft source material. It sets a very high bar for cinematic monster effects. It was something we were forced towards, partly because fur is still very difficult for us to deal with in special effects work. Back in the day, it was always a problem for stop-motion because you could see the rippling of the fur under the animators fingertips. But in the present day scenario, fur presents issues with the VFX and having to animate all of that fluff. So having furry alpacas was a problem. Read more: Most exciting movie releases of 2020 In a way, we were forced to go with a skinless look, which pushed us a little closer to the look of The Thing. It was a matter of economics more than anything else. You mentioned your upcoming Lovecraft trilogy. This one has been well-received, so do you now have the green light to carry on? Its looking highly likely that well be seeing the second part pretty soon. Ive already got a draft. Not wanting to spoil things, it now depends on finding another star to propel the material. 'Color Out of Space'. (Credit: Studiocanal) The second one is based on The Dunwich Horror. It concerns a backwoods family who have cross-bred with some kind of ultra-dimensional demon or deity, producing a child savant who is going to basically destroy the world unless someone manages to stop him. To some extent, its almost a Lovecraftian antichrist movie. As well as your well-documented experience on The Island of Dr. Moreau, you wrote a version of J.G. Ballards High Rise. What did you think of the Ben Wheatley movie that eventually did come out? I was a little disappointed. I guess there were various times when the material was just way more extreme and [the film] seemed muted. With your Lovecraft trilogy ongoing and a potential return to Island of Dr. Moreau in the works, what is it about the horror genre and the darker side of cinema that keeps you coming back? Well I guess Ive got some natural capacity for it. A lot of its based on the way I see the world. For whatever reason, I seem to be living inside some kind of apocalyptic, supernatural sci-fi novel, or at least thats how I seem to view everyday life. Its a kind of weird which has come back into popular taste again. It made sense in the late 80s and early 90s when it was still coming from a real punk sensibility and now some part of that no future, no future sensibility seems to be back with us again. Im kind of sorry to see it but nonetheless, even if the worlds in awful shape, it may mean that Ill get a few more movies produced. Color Out of Space is in UK cinemas and on demand from 28 February. The Northern Ireland branch of an organisation that supports people with disabilities has severely criticised its late founder after a report found he sexually abused six women. A woman made allegations about L'Arche founder Jean Vanier shortly before he died aged 90 in May last year. L'Arche subsequently initiated an independent inquiry into the Catholic theologian, conducted by the UK-based company GCPS Consulting. A report released by the organisation on Saturday revealed it had received "credible and consistent testimonies" into Vanier's conduct from six adult women without disabilities between 1970 and 2005. It is believed the abuse took place over a number of decades in France. The report stated that Vanier had initiated relationships with the women which were found to be "manipulative and emotionally abusive". It added that the abuse had "a significant negative impact on their personal lives and subsequent relationships". "These women reported similar facts associated with highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these behaviours", the report said. Sexual relations were instigated by Vanier, usually under the pretext of giving spiritual guidance. Following the release of the critical report, the Northern Ireland branch of L'Arche issued a statement. In it the organisation described being "shocked" by the findings of the inquiry, adding that it "unreservedly condemns these actions". "They are also incompatible with the basic rules of respect and integrity of persons and contrary to the fundamental principles on which L'Arche is based," the statement continued. "This in no way reflects the ethos or operations, current or historical, of L'Arche in Ireland/ Northern Ireland or in any part of L'Arche International. "Our utmost priority is the safety and welfare of all our community members and we will support them through this news. "L'Arche has undertaken a thorough review of (its) well- established and recognised safeguarding policies and procedures across Ireland/Northern Ireland. "We want to pay tribute to the women who gave us their testimony. "Our thoughts very much remain with them. "This inquiry is being taken with the utmost seriousness by our international organisation to better understand its history and improve all safeguarding procedures and policies." The report highlighted Vanier's links to who was described as his "spiritual father", Father Thomas Philippe, who was banned by the Catholic church in the 1950s after a number of women made similar allegations. The inquiry found that Vanier was part of a small group "which subscribed to and participated in some of Father Thomas Philippe's deviant sexual practices". It also concluded that he had been aware of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Fr Philippe over the decades. L'Arche gained access to the archives relating to Vanier's time with Fr Philippe as part of the investigation. Charity has 154 bases in 38 countries L'Arche was founded in 1964 by Canadian Jean Vanier. It was established in France to support people with learning disabilities, who at the time were being institutionalised. In 1968 the first L'Arche community in Canada opened with the intention of setting up bespoke communities for adults with learning disabilities to live among each other. The organisation has grown to include over 154 communities across 38 countries around the world. They provide housing, supported living and access to employment for over 3,500 people who use their services. Eleven of these communities have been established in the UK, including one in Northern Ireland, based in south Belfast. That branch houses 14 adults with a learning disability and employs around 50 full-time and part-time staff. BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) French Oil Giant Total is interested in partnering with Russian companies to jointly develop petrochemical projects in southern Argentina, Sergey Derkach, the trade representative of Russia in Argentina, said on Tuesday. Earlier in February, the Russian trade representative met with the management of Total Austral an Argentina-based subsidiary of the French oil and gas company in the southern Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego. "We were made aware that Total is interested in Russian companies becoming its partners in the petrochemical industry. They promised to tell us additional information," Derkach told reporters. The local authorities in Tierra Del Fuego are currently assessing the number of projects in the oil and gas sector, including expanding natural gas production and creating a petrochemical cluster for making fertilizers. Panaji, Feb 26 : The Goa government's plans to house a museum dedicated to the memorabilia of former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a former colonial prison complex under renovation, appear to have hit rough weather. Freedom fighters in Goa have protested the proposed setting up of a museum dedicated to the four-time Chief Minister and Padma Bhushan awardee, claiming the Aguada prison complex, which is under repair and refurbishment should only house a museum dedicated to freedom fighters, many of whom were incarcerated in the Portuguese era fort and the memorabilia and display should only be limited to pre-1961 artifacts, photos, etc. Goa was liberated from 451 years of Portuguese rule in 1961. "The Aguada fort museum should have nothing to do with what happened post 1961. It should be dedicated only to the history of the freedom movement history of Goa," Nagesh Karmali spokesperson for the Goa Daman and Diu freedom fighters organisation told IANS on Wednesday. Karmali's statement comes a few days after Goa's Ports Minister Michael Lobo said, that the under renovation complex, which dates back several centuries, would house a museum dedicated to Parrikar and the former CM's personal effects, including his slippers, would be on display at the museum. Karmali, however, said that the Aguada fort was representative of the struggles of the freedom fighters and the atrocities, they had to suffer at the hands of the British and no personality from the post-independence era could have a dedicated museum in the iconic fort-cum-prison's precincts. "If they want to erect memorials or museums for eminent personalities, they should build it elsewhere. Let Aguada be dedicated to the heroes of the freedom struggle only," Karmali said. Parrikar died following a prolonged battle with cancer in March last year. Following his death, the Opposition has accused the BJP-led coalition government in Goa of going on a spree of dedicating and christening projects after the former CM. The Aguada fort was initially built in the 17th century by the Portuguese colonists to serve as a coastal sentinel and a water-refilling station for passing ships, before it was subsequently put to use as a high security prison by the colonial administration. After liberation of Goa the facility also served as a central jail, until a more modern prison facility was built at Colvale village in North Goa. Balearics tourism minister Iago Negueruela told parliament on Tuesday that there is to be wide reform of the existing tourism law in order to "update and modernise" the Balearics tourism industry. Responding to questions from the Partido Popular's Salome Cabrera, Negueruela promised that there would be dialogue in order to establish criteria that need to be adopted and to identify what should be subject to reform, including sanctions. Cabrera wanted to know if he intends to maintain proposals of his predecessor, Bel Busquets, and asked him "not to take interventionist measures". Negueurela took aim at the PP in saying that the opposition had forecast that tourism policy of the left-wing pact government would produce "all the archangels of the Apocalypse" and yet 2019 was the best year for tourism profitability. * There have been two general tourism laws in the Balearics, both introduced by the PP - one in 1999, the other in 2012. President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to spread "fear" in Iran over a deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 19 people among 139 infections in Iran, including the deputy health minister -- making it the deadliest outbreak outside China. "We shouldn't let America mount a new virus on top of coronavirus that is called... extreme fear," Rouhani told a weekly cabinet meeting, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of suppressing information about the outbreak. The Americans "themselves are struggling with coronavirus. Sixteen thousand people have died of influenza there but they don't talk about their own (dead)," Rouhani said. Iran has been scrambling to contain COVID-19 since Wednesday last week when it announced the first two deaths in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies and pilgrims that attracts scholars from abroad. Its authorities have closed schools, universities, cultural centres, sporting events and deployed teams of sanitary workers to disinfect buses, trains and public spaces. On Tuesday, Pompeo accused the Islamic republic of concealing the true extent of the outbreak. "The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak," he told reporters in Washington. Rouhani said Iran had been making progress in the fight against the virus as "we witness fewer (hospital) visits and progress in treatment". "If 100 people were hospitalised in the early days, seven to eight could have died, but this number has dropped very much today," he said. The Iranian president also vowed to be transparent about the numbers of deaths and infections caused by the virus. Iran has reported at least one death from coronavirus and two cases every day since February 19. A city council worker in protective clothing disinfects a bus in Tehran as part of government efforts to control a novel coronavirus outbreak that has now killed 19 people SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah woman who fought criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home took a plea deal Tuesday to avoid the risk of having to register as a sex offender if convicted, her lawyer said. Tilli Buchanans decision brought an end to the case that drew attention to a debate over whether its fair to treat men and women differently for baring their chests. Her husband was not charged even though he also had his shirt off at the time. Tilli Buchanan and her attorneys argued that Utah law on lewdness involving a child was unfair to women and asked a judge to throw out the charges and declare part of the law unconstitutional. Buchanan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had pointed to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel a movement. But the judge instead sided with prosecutors who argued that lewdness is commonly understood to include womens breasts in American society. This whole thing is ridiculous, her attorney Randy Richards said. She (or other women) have to worry about their kids seeing them topless? Its ridiculous. Buchanan pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour count of lewdness as part of the agreement that dropped two other charges of lewdness involving a child. The remaining charge will be dropped after a year as long as Buchanan doesnt commit any new crimes. The stakes were too high to go to trial because she would have been on the sex offender registry for 10 years if she had been found guilty of the charges that were dropped, Richards said. Buchanan and her husband said they took off their shirts to keep their clothes from getting dirty while they hung drywall in their garage in a Salt Lake City suburb. When her husbands three children, ages 9 through 13, walked in, she explained that she considers herself a feminist and wanted to make a point that everybody should be fine with walking around their house or elsewhere with skin showing, her lawyers said in court documents. The charges were filed after the childrens mother reported the incident to child welfare officials working on a separate investigation involving the children. Police said Buchanan removed her shirt and bra in front of the children while under the influence of alcohol. A global movement advocating for the rights of women to go topless, called the Free the Nipple campaign, has seen mixed success fighting similar ordinances in other parts of the country. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that blocked a ban in Fort Collins, Colorado, on women going topless in public. But the U.S. Supreme Court recently left in place the conviction of three members of the Free the Nipple campaign who were arrested for going topless on a New Hampshire beach in 2016. A university student has been given a top role in the White House, according to three administration officials with knowledge of the matter. James Bacon, a 23-year-old student at George Washington University, will reportedly become the director of operations for the White Houses Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), Politico reported. The White Houses website says the PPO oversees the selection process for presidential appointments. Mr Bacon will succeed Katja Bullock, who, at more than 50 years his senior, worked under both Bush administrations and the Reagan administration. The recently-named head of the PPO is John McEntee, 29, a former personal aide to Mr Trump. Mr McEntee reportedly called a meeting last Thursday in which he asked officials to root out Trump critics from their midst, according to the US news website Axios. Some suggest that Mr Bacon and Mr McEntees appointments are a sign that Trump wants to install loyalists and purge critics from his administration. This comes as Mr Trumps battle against the deep-state has increased since he was acquitted in the impeachment hearings. Prior to his alleged recruitment, Mr Bacon worked at the Department of Transportation alongside his studies. He also worked as a White House liaison at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, officials said. Mr Bacon is thought to have put his studies on hold while he worked on the Mr Trumps campaign, meaning he will finish his degree later than scheduled. The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment. Read more Stone judge condemns juror harassment as Trump tweets fresh attack Trump called Obama 'a psycho' for not banning flights over Ebola virus Trump defends handling of coronavirus amid widespread criticism This followed another blunder hours earlier where Biden said he was running for the Senate and if voters didn't like him they should 'vote for the other Biden' Voters took to Twitter to mock the outlandish claims, sparking fresh concerns over his mental capacity According to the Center for American Progress, the number of firearm deaths in the US between 2007 to 2017 was 373,663 Biden, 77, slammed his rival, saying the law 'has caused carnage on our streets' Biden was taking aim at front-runner Bernie Sanders over his past support of a law protecting gun manufacturers from being liable for gun-related deaths Joe Biden left viewers of the Democratic debate confused on Tuesday when he said 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007 Joe Biden left viewers of the Democratic debate confused on Tuesday when he said 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007. In the former vice-president's latest gaffe during the race for the White House, Biden hugely exaggerated the deaths from firearms in the US since the law was passed giving gun manufacturers immunity from liability for gun violence. 'Imagine if I stood here and said we give immunity to drug companies, we give immunity to tobacco companies. That has caused carnage on our streets,' Biden said during the Democratic debate in South Carolina Tuesday night. '150 million people have been killed since 2007 when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability, more than all the wars, including Vietnam from that point on.' Joe Biden left viewers of the Democratic debate confused on Tuesday when he said 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007 In the former vice-president's latest gaffe during the race for the White House, Biden hugely exaggerated the deaths from firearms in the US since the law was passed giving gun manufacturers immunity from liability for gun violence Biden's blunder came as he sought to take aim at party front-runner Bernie Sanders during Tuesday's Democratic debate over his past support of a law that protected gun manufacturers from being held responsible for gun-related deaths. Back in 2005, Sanders voted to approve the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act - something Biden himself voted against. Biden, 77, slammed his biggest rival, saying the law 'has caused carnage on our streets'. Sanders was forced to defend himself, admitting that he made a 'bad vote' on that occasion. He said: 'I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote.' However, Biden's jibe was overshadowed by his gross miscalculation of the number of gun deaths across the US. Biden's blunder came as he sought to take aim at party front-runner Bernie Sanders during Tuesday's Democratic debate over his past support of a law that protected gun manufacturers from being held responsible for gun-related deaths Biden's jibe was overshadowed by his gross miscalculation of the number of gun deaths across the US - which actually stood at 373,663 between 2007 and 2017 according to the Center for American Progress According to the Center for American Progress, the number of firearm deaths - both violent and accidental deaths - in the US between 2007 to 2017 was 373,663, a mere fraction of the 150 million Biden stated. Voters took to Twitter to mock the outlandish claims, sparking fresh concerns over his mental capacity. One person tweeted: 'How many people does he think there are in America?' Another posted, 'Biden for Senate 2020' - a reference to the candidate's other blunder just hours earlier where he had told crowds he was running for the Senate. Biden addressed a crowd in South Carolina on Monday and appeared to forget which campaign he was running in. He said: 'My name's Joe Biden and I'm a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. Look me over, if you like what you see help out, if not, vote for the other Biden.' A clip of his latest gaffe was posted on Twitter by activist Shaun King, who wrote: 'This is so sad.' He added: 'I honestly wish he would've retired & not subjected himself to the rigors of this campaign.' Donald Trump Jr took a swipe at Biden on Twitter saying: 'As I've been saying when is enough enough with Joe?' President Trump's eldest son added: 'He's been running for 18 months and doesn't know what he's running for? If his family wasn't making millions off of his public office they should have stepped in a long time ago. This isn't right.' Biden has made a series of gaffes during his presidential election campaign. Biden's jibe against Sanders was overshadowed by his gross miscalculation of the number of gun deaths in the US Voters took to Twitter to mock the outlandish claims, sparking fresh concerns over his mental capacity Another Twitter user made a reference to the candidate's other blunder just hours earlier where he had told crowds he was running for the Senate Biden has made a series of gaffes during his presidential election campaign Last August he told a group of Asian and Hispanic voters that 'poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.' Quickly realizing his mistake, the former vice president added 'and wealthy kids. Black kids. Asian kids.' In September he put the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in the 1970s. He also mixed up the timeline around the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February of 2018, saying said he was in office at the time when he'd already left the White House. That month he was also called out for getting numerous details wrong when awarding a Navy war hero the Silver Star. He got the soldier's rank and military branch wrong, along with the type of medal involved, the location and timeframe of the crucial moment, and the act of bravery that he was rewarding. Then followed a December gaffe during his 'No Malarkey' bus tour through Iowa where he called a Marine Corps veteran 'fat.' Merle Gorman, 83 , quizzed him about his involvement in Ukraine and accused him of 'selling access to the president' to which Biden called him a 'damn liar' and said: 'That's not true and no one has ever said that. No one has proved that,' Biden said. But look, fat, here's the deal.' Biden has been slammed by the Trump campaign and his mental capacity has repeatedly been called into question following a number of blunders Then, earlier this month he bungled a reference to which states had already voted saying 'it is important that Iowa and Nevada have spoken' when he should have said Iowa and New Hampshire. Then came some confusion over his late son Beau Biden, when Biden described him last week as a former United States Attorney General during a town hall event when in fact he was Attorney General of Delaware. Biden's latest blunder came as he sought to promote his pledge to tackle gun laws and come for the NRA if he is elected president. 'If I'm elected, NRA [the National Rifle Association], I'm coming for you and gun manufacturers, I'm gonna take you on and I'm gonna beat you,' Biden said. Stricter gun laws feature heavily in Biden's campaign, including promises to buy back the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in US communities and to reduce stockpiling of weapons. Two US students appeared in an Italian court on Wednesday on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing last year of a policeman during a botched drugs bust. Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth are charged with killing newlywed Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times last July. The Californians, who had been on holiday in Rome and were both teenagers at the time, face life sentences if convicted. Elder, now 20, was wearing a blue-plaid shirt under a jacket and mouthed "I love you" to his parents, who were sitting in the back row of the courtroom, which was packed with journalists. Natale-Hjorth, 19, whose parents were not in court, sat directly in front of the policeman's widow, who was accompanied by family members. Both young men were flanked by prison guards. Neither of the defendants spoke on Wednesday's opening day of the trial which will continue next month. - Major blunders - In Italy, the slaying aroused an outpouring of public sympathy for Cerciello, who had just returned from his honeymoon when he was killed. Huge crowds attended his funeral -- which was broadcast live on television -- where he was hailed as a hero. Cerciello's wife, Maria Rosario Esilio, who is a civil party to the case, has said the murder of her husband "cannot and must not go unpunished." But the case has also been marked by major blunders -- especially the blindfolding of Natale-Hjorth during his police interrogation -- and contradictory statements made by a key prosecution witness, Cerciello's police colleague Andrea Varriale, who was in court Wednesday. In the aftermath, Varriale said he and Cerciello had been attacked by men of North African descent. He also initially claimed he had been armed. Both officers were in fact unarmed and acted without backup, in violation of police procedure. Amid the intense media focus in the case, comparisons have been made to the high-profile trial of Amanda Knox, a US student convicted and later acquitted of a 2007 murder in Italy. Wednesday's hearing was procedural, with the defence asking the court to limit the number of civil parties seeking damages and each side asking that key elements of their case be allowed into evidence. Elder looked dazed as he was led out during a break. "He is very tired and stressed, and has requested to be excused from the rest of the hearing today", his lawyer Renato Borzone told AFP, after asking the guards escorting Elder out to allow him a moment with his parents. Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello with a 7-inch (18 cm) serrated-edge combat knife he had stashed in his sweatshirt but told investigators he thought he and his friend were being set upon by drug dealers. "We hope that this trial can stay focused on the facts of what happened that night," the Elder family said in a statement on Wednesday. "We look forward to the truth coming out and to Finn coming home." - 32-second attack - During the investigation, the young men and Varriale gave opposing versions of what happened during the 32-second attack in the early hours of the morning, which followed a botched drug deal. Hours earlier, the teens from the San Francisco Bay Area had gone looking for cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere. Intermediary Sergio Brugiatelli introduced them to a dealer who sold them aspirin instead. In retaliation, the teens stole Brugiatelli's bag, before demanding money and drugs to return it. Cerciello and Varriale went in Brugiatelli's place to the designated exchange point in an upscale neighbourhood near the teenagers' hotel but the handover never took place. Elder told police they were jumped from behind by the officers and believed they were thugs sent by Brugiatelli. Varriale has said he and Cerciello, both in plain clothes, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Cerciello, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale. The teens then fled to their nearby hotel, where police later found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel. Under Italian law, Natale-Hjorth faces the same charge of "voluntary homicide" with a special circumstance of killing a police officer, even though he did not stab Cerciello. On Wednesday, one of Natale-Hjorth's attorneys, Fabio Alonzi, said the defence sought a copy of the video of his client, blindfolded and handcuffed, during his police interrogation. The video "apparently was modified" after it was filmed by Varriale, Alonzi said. Excerpts were leaked to reporters. Both young men are also charged with attempted extortion. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in isolation. The court set a next trial date for March 9. Carabinieri officer Mario Cerciello Rega was killed last July in an altercation with two American students The funeral of the slain Carabinieri officer Mario Cerciello Rega drew a huge crowd and was shown live on television Certain personnel deployed with the Delhi police on Sunday to control riots at Jaffrabad were seen wearing Indian army pattern combat dress. Police personnel stand guard during clashes between groups against and those supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in north east Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The Indian Army has expressed concern over some Central Paramilitary Forces deployed in Delhi to control riots, wearing Army pattern combat dress. Indian Army has written to defence ministry, saying that home ministry should issue instructions that combat dress should not be worn by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) while being deployed to handle law and order situations or being deployed in urban areas affected by terrorism, as the surroundings do not demand such a requirement. The Indian Army said that use of distinctly different (both in colour and pattern) disruptive dress by CAPFs and state police forces should be restricted only to deployment in jungle terrain in left wing extremist affected areas. The Army said that the bulletproof jackets (BPJs) worn by CAPFs and state police forces should be of plain khaki colour and not of combat colour. Certain personnel deployed with the Delhi police on Sunday to control riots at Jaffrabad were seen wearing Indian army pattern combat dress. Army sources said that over a period of time, CAPFs and state police forces in India have started wearing combat uniforms which are just slightly different from the ones worn by Indian Army personnel. These minor variations cannot be distinguished by most civilians giving them the impression that the personnel wearing such dresses in cities and towns of India while engaged in Internal security duties, escorting VIPs, on policing duties, static guard posts are Army personnel, said sources. Sources said that today, events in our country are under constant domestic and international media glare and wearing of combat dress by CAPFs and state police forces may be misinterpreted as the army being deployed for internal security duties and elections. This may have an adverse impact on our image as a vibrant democratic nation and would be detrimental to our national Interests. Accordingly, Army from time to time has brought to the notice of the defence ministry in order to approach MHA about the increasing trend of CAPFs and State Police forces wearing combat uniforms similar to the Army pattern, said sources. The Indian Army has also asked defence and home ministry that the sale of Army pattern clothes in the open market needs to be regulated. Private vendors in open market should establish identity and maintain a record of personnel to whom the Army pattern clothes (including accessories and accoutrements) are being sold, said sources. In wake of communal violence over Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Delhi, senior officials of the Mumbai police have made it clear that no unlawful protests will be allowed in the city. Additional and deputy commissioners of police are holding meetings with junior officers and instructing them to take stern action against those breaking the law, an official said on Wednesday. The police is keeping a close eye on messages about protests posted on social media and officers have been instructed to crackdown on unlawful gatherings, the official said. "Unlawful assemblies will not be allowed in the city and if anyone is found conducting meetings, gatherings or any other protest without permission, the strict action will be taken against them," deputy commissioner of police (operation) Pranay Ashok said. Violent incidents like those taking place in Delhi will not be tolerated here, he said. "There are some designated protest sites in the city and if people want to hold meetings or rallies, they must take proper permission from the concerned police station," Ashok said. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Chinese man infected with coronavirus and his wife have been charged in Singapore for lying to health authorities investigating whether they had passed the illness to others, officals said Wednesday. Singapore has recorded nearly 100 cases of the COVID-19 infection since the illness first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December. With nearly 2,800 confirmed deaths and more than 81,000 cases worldwide, Singapore has banned the entry of visitors who have travelled through China or parts of South Korea within two weeks of their arrival. Hu Jun, originally from Wuhan, arrived in Singapore on January 22 and later tested positive for the illness. The 38-year-old has since recovered and been discharged from hospital. His Chinese wife, a resident of the city-state, was issued a quarantine order. Singapore's health ministry said the couple "had given false information... about their movements and whereabouts" to officials investigating whether they could have passed the infection on to others. They were charged because of the potentially serious risk their actions had posed to public health, the ministry added. The pair face a fine of up to US$7,150 and six-month imprisonment if convicted. Retracing the movements of those infected with the virus is crucial in tracking down individuals who may have been exposed, and prevent further spread. In a separate case, immigration officials said Wednesday it had withdrawn an unnamed foreigner's permament resident status for violating an order to stay at home in self-quarantine after his recent travel to China. Enoc Group has signed an agreement with Idemitsu for the supply and distribution of lubricants in the UAE and neighbouring countries. The agreement enables Enoc to produce lubricants for Idemitsu and its customers such as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Toyota, in addition to managing the supply and distribution of lubricants. Ensuring a seamless production, supply and service, the lubricants will be blended at Enocs state-of-the-art Enoc Lubricant and Grease Manufacturing Plant (ELOMP). Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO, Enoc Group, said: The agreement with Idemitsu further underlines our strength in the lubricants business, expanding our range, and scaling up our manufacturing competencies. This is an ideal fit to Dubais Industrial Strategy to promote local manufacturing. We take pride in the groups capabilities to produce products and services of the highest quality, adhering to all international safety and quality standards. Our agreement with Idemitsu is a testament of the trust and confidence instilled by our partners in our ability to efficiently execute operations and serve our growing customer base across 60 markets. One of the single largest plants in volume capacity in the Middle East and North Africa region, ELOMP Fujairah features a fully automated blending facility that enables the production of a full range of lubricants and greases for a comprehensive application line. Ganesan Mahadevan, General Manager of Idemitsu Lube Middle East and Africa, said: Our partnership with Enoc marks a key milestone in our presence in the region and we look forward to continue our expansion plans in the in Middle East and Africa. We are proud to receive Mr Masashi Yokomura, Executive Officer, on this occasion to attend the signing ceremony with Enoc. Supporting the group's commitment to offering customers best-in-class products and services and a comprehensive after-sales programme incorporating analytical studies, the facility also houses a fully-equipped quality control laboratory that specialises in lubricant testing; including testing of incoming base oils, additives and chemicals, testing of fresh lubricants and grease and testing of used lubricants. This on-site laboratory carries ISO 17025:2005 certification. In addition, ELOMP has recently earned its accreditation for IATF 16949, for their ability to deliver excellence in products and services and compliance to produce OEM products. Idemitsu Kosan company is a 108-year-old Japanese conglomerate that provides oil and energy services and has a strong global presence. - TradeArabia News Service The Alamo, the River Walk, Tower of the Americas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, SeaWorld are only a few of the many attractions San Antonio has to offer. Those attractions helped land San Antonio at No. 24 on TripAdvisor's ranking of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S. The Reason Why a Georgian Teacher Stayed in China's Locked City - GeorgianJournal Workers set up beds at an exhibition center that was converted into a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on February 4, 2020. STR | AFP via Getty Images As China tries to control the spread of the new coronavirus, Wuhan city the epicenter of the disease still faces a multitude of challenges. Late last week, while the rest of the country was trying to gradually resume work, Hubei province told businesses including automakers like Nissan and Honda not to begin operations until at least March 11. Wuhan, the province's capital city, accounts for 60% of mainland China's total confirmed cases and about 77% of the deaths. Even though local authorities have rushed to build new hospitals, first-hand reports still describe inadequate hospital beds and medical care. Boosting medical resources in Wuhan China has sent more than 30,000 medical staff to Hubei, among which roughly two-thirds were sent to Wuhan. Chinese health officials say that 10% of China's critical care medical staff are currently deployed in Wuhan to fight against the virus. Wuhan has also designated 46 hospitals to care for confirmed coronavirus cases, and is racing to re-purpose other locations into medical facilities. "These greatly relieved the stress, but because the number of confirmed cases is too large and keeps rising, demand can hardly get met in a short period of time," a doctor familiar with the situation in Wuhan said last week, according to a CNBC translation of the Mandarin-language remarks. The source asked not to be named, due to the sensitivity of the topic. To be clear, insufficient health care services have been an issue for China even before the outbreak. At the end of 2018, Wuhan's health commission said the occupancy rate of hospital beds was already at 94%, and that the city's medical institutions had a total staff of 136,300. This year, however, the rapid increase in coronavirus patients into the tens of thousands is stretching the medical system further. As of Monday, more than 2,000 people have died in Wuhan of the virus, according to the national health commission. More than 10,000 patients have been discharged, while the current number of confirmed cases is more than 34,600. Challenges in getting hospital care Amid the sheer number of cases, many locals say it's difficult to get medical care. It took more than one week in early February for Ao Mulin, a Phoenix TV reporter, to get a hospital bed for his father who was sick with the new virus. Due to an extreme shortage of medical resources in the early days of the outbreak, Ao said his father could not find a bed at three separate hospitals in Wuhan. He was finally hospitalized on Feb. 3. His father is currently in a critical condition and relying on an artificial lung for his life, Ao said. Many coronavirus patients' families have turned to the public for help, with some even turning to social media. "Pneumonia patients ask for help" became a "super topic" on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, with more than 3 billion views since the topic was initiated on Feb. 5. The intensity of the situation has resulted in hospitals and quarantine centers accepting more and more fever patients, while new demand continues to emerge, with non-coronavirus patients asking for help. Ke Huibing, a 41-year-old professor from a well-known University at Wuhan, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Feb 19, according to state media. The same university lost five professors in about two weeks, the report said. "If it weren't for the epidemic, he should have had surgery right after the Lunar New Year (Jan. 24), but this unexpected outbreak disrupted his treatment," Ke's sister said in a Chinese-language post on Weibo translated by CNBC. She called for attention on non-pneumonia patients who had other critical conditions that needed urgent medical care. Wuhan is trying to keep up. On Feb. 6, the city issued a call for more medical staff. This past weekend, state media reported that seven cruise ships are arriving to house the workers. The city has also imposed stricter measures than many other parts of China to keep people at home. Hospitals a concern outside Wuhan Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders condemned Donald Trumps decision to move US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2018. Leading US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he would consider moving the US embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv if elected president. Sanderss comments about revisiting US President Donald Trumps controversial decision in 2018 to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem came during Tuesdays Democratic presidential debate. Trumps move came after he declared Jerusalem as Israels capital a move long sought by Israel in December 2017. The answer is, it is something that we would take into consideration, Sanders said before calling Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of Trump, a racist. Sanders went on to say while he was proud of his Jewish heritage, he stood against Netanyahus policies. 180514142652207 I am very proud of being Jewish. I actually lived in Israel for some months, said Sanders. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country. Cannot ignore Sanders added although he supports Israeli sovereignty, there should be a greater focus on Palestinians and their rights. I happen to believe that what our foreign policy in the Mideast should be about is absolutely protecting the independence and security of Israel. But you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people, he said. We have got to have a policy that reaches out to the Palestinians and the Americans. Israels foreign minister denounced Sanders on Wednesday for what he called his horrifying comment about Jerusalem, saying those who support Israel would not back Sanders presidential candidacy after such remarks. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said there was a not a Jew in the world who hasnt dreamed of Jerusalem, and Sanders words were so severe he had no choice but to retort. We dont intervene in the internal American electoral process, which is splendid, Katz told Israels Army Radio, before noting Sanders had a long history of attacking Israel and the things most sacred to its identity and national security. The embassy move was one of Trumps key promises during his election campaign leading up to the 2016 US presidential vote. It infuriated Palestinians and sparked international condemnation but was widely hailed in Israel as a huge success. Previous US presidents, as well as nearly every other country, refrained from opening embassies in Jerusalem, arguing that the citys final status should first be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Mr Edwards originally denied the sex attack and rape when arrested in late 2016 but admitted to the crimes in 2019, a month before his murder trial commenced. His lawyer Paul Yovich claims that in the 11 years between Ms Glennons murder in 1997 and the DNA breakthrough in 2008, Mr Edwards DNA which was stored at Pathwest within the 1995 rape exhibits somehow contaminated one or both of the fingernail clippings known as AJM40 and AJM42. The defence accepts that the mixed DNA profile extracted from the sample that became AJM 40 and 42 is consistent with a two-person profile, the contributors of which are Ms Glennon and the accused, he said in his opening statement. The defence also accepts that the likelihood of a chance match between the male component of that mixed profile and the accused's profile is very low the numbers quoted range from in the order of 80 million to one to 100 million. [Mr Edwards] does not know how DNA matching his profile came to be part of this sample and no breaches or failures of lab protocol or procedure have been documented that directly explain it. With no evidence of when the contamination occurred, Mr Yovich has questioned every witness who worked for Pathwest in the 1990s about their anti-contamination protocols in an attempt to show lab processes during the early stages of DNA testing were not adequate to prevent trace DNA cross-contamination. He claimed Mr Edwards DNA most likely made its way into Ms Glennons fingernail exhibit through secondary transfer when DNA is transferred from one object to another through an intermediate, such as a bench or piece of laboratory equipment like forceps or a scientists glove. It is this type of contamination which likely led to a branch taken from Ms Rimmer's crime scene being contaminated with the DNA profile of an unrelated victim whose exhibits were tested in the Pathwest lab in the days either side of the Macro exhibit in 2002. The branch is among seven Macro-related exhibits that were contaminated between 1996 and 2003 while in the Pathwest lab. Five items were found to be contaminated with the DNA of at least three Pathwest scientists including intimate swabs taken from Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon, fingernail samples taken from Ms Rimmer and two branches taken from Ms Rimmers crime scene. The defence alleges Mr Edwards DNA contaminated Ms Glennon's fingernail exhibits while in the Pathwest lab. Credit:Cameron Myles The seventh item was a negative control sample used in a DNA test that was later found to have been contaminated with a females DNA. The identity of the female the DNA belonged to was never pursued. Mr Yovich has also hinted through his cross-examination of two Pathwest employees that its possible Mr Edwards, a former Telstra technician who mostly worked for the telcos government and business clients, may have at some stage serviced the telephones inside the secure DNA section of the lab. We accept the scientific literature suggests that the chance of contamination in a lab is usually remote although secondary transfer is known and documented in the literature, Mr Yovich said. Your Honour will have to consider just how remote the chance was here and whether it can be safely ruled out even if it was remote. Bradley Edwards in the 1990s. Mr Edwards is being tried by judge alone, with Justice Stephen Hall to decide his fate at the end of the trial, which is tipped to run for another three to six months. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo has described the defences DNA contamination theory as fantasy and claimed it ignored the evidence of the case. "DNA doesn't just fly through a laboratory, it cannot get through plastic," she said. "The mechanisms and the opportunity simply doesn't exist in the objective facts of the case. "At no time did the [Karrakatta rape victim's] exhibits occupy the same bench, box or shelf as Ciara Glennon's." Pathwest forensic scientist Anna-Marie Ashley, who was involved in the DNA testing of Ms Glennons exhibits and the Karrakatta rape victims exhibits, has given evidence at trial stating the closest timeframe between the Karrakatta rape exhibits and Ms Glennons fingernail clippings being tested was two weeks. It is expected the state will finish its DNA evidence within the coming weeks, at which point it will then move onto its fibre evidence which it claims links Mr Edwards to the murders of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon and the Karrakatta rape through common fibres found at each crime scene. Last Tuesday, a Turkish court acquitted nine defendants in connection with their alleged roles in the 2013 Gezi Park protests in Istanbul and across the country. Seven of the 16 defendants live abroad and were tried in absentia. Arrest warrants for those seven have been lifted and they are expected to be officially acquitted if they return to Turkey. The verdict also released Osman Kavala, the only defendant in prison since 2017. The defendantsincluding businessman Osman Kavala, exiled journalist Can Dundar, exiled actor Memet Ali Alabora and architect Ayse Mucella Yapc of the Chamber of Architects Istanbul branchwere accused of attempting to overthrow the government of the Turkish Republic in a coup attempt. The plaintiffs included President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several of his ex-ministers, including Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu, who left the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to found new parties. The charge alleged links between peaceful protests such as the Gezi Park movement and coup attempts backed by foreign states and financial speculator George Soros. Legislators of the opposition Kemalist Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the Kurdish-nationalist Peoples Democracy Party (HDP) attended the hearings to support the defendants. What is unfolding is a politically motivated legal vendetta aimed at managing the Turkish states tense relations with the imperialist powers and their Middle East war policies, while intimidating and discrediting social opposition within Turkey itself. Erdogan immediately denounced the ruling as an attempt to acquit Kavala and the state moved to prosecute him on new charges. Just a few hours after the verdict, Kavala was re-arrested by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutors Office on Erdogans orders. Now he is charged with having supported the failed NATO-backed coup attempt against Erdogan on July 15, 2016. The First Chamber of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) also decided to investigate the judges who acquitted the defendants in the first trial. The new charge against Kavala, based on a separate investigation, is involvement in the coup attempt of 2016, which Ankara blames on US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan said: There are Soros-like people behind the scenes trying to stir up things by provoking revolts in some countries. The Turkey branch of this [Osman Kavala] was in prison, but they dared to acquit him. He also called the Gezi protests a despicable attack just like military coups... just like attacks by terrorist groups. For years, Erdogan has repeatedly tried to blacken the Gezi Park protests as the beginning of the NATO-backed coup attempt in 2016, while continuing to wage war in Syria and beyond in coordination with the imperialist powers. Attacks on the Gezi Park protests as linked to NATO coups are a political falsification aimed at discrediting social opposition based primarily in the working class. The Gezi Park protests, coming amid mass working class protests against Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi, opposed plans to remodel the Taksim Square-Gezi Park area of Istanbul, a historical site of opposition to NATO and its allied governments in Turkey, as a shopping mall. The protests soon became a focus of broader discontent with the AKPs authoritarian policies and rising social inequality. In June-July 2013, they mobilized at least 2.5 million people in 79 cities. It was, however, a heterogeneous movement, mobilizing youth and layers of workers as well as a broad cross-section of the urban upper-middle class. Taksim Solidarity, a protest platform bringing together 80 middle-class associations and petty-bourgeois parties, met with Erdogan during the protests and worked to strangle the demonstrationsblocking protesters from orienting to a broader working-class movement and tying them to the perspective of a deal with Erdogan. While its principal target in this regard is social opposition in the working class, the AKP government is trying to threaten and discredit all political opposition by concocting legal proceedings against prominent members of the middle class milieu that joined or supported the Gezi Park protests. Osman Kavala, owner of the Kavala Group, is a millionaire businessman since the 1980s. His companies reportedly had business ties with NATO, the Turkish Armed Forces and the Istanbul Police Department. He is a leading pro-European Union philanthropist and participant in several foundations, including the Open Society Foundation of the American-Hungarian billionaire George Soros. His arrest has been strongly criticized by European political and media establishment since 2017. Mucella Yapc, a leading member of Taksim Solidarity, wrote after the protests for Sol News, a publication of the Stalinist Turkish Communist Party, and later declared her support for the Kurdish-nationalist HDP. Dundar was arrested in November 2015 on charges of espionage and aiding terrorism, after Cumhuriyet published videos in June 2015 showing the gendarmerie stopping a Turkish intelligence truck convoy taking weapons to NATO-backed Islamist groups in Syria. Erdogan publicly threatened Dundar, declaring, The individual who reported this as an exclusive will pay a heavy price for this. The arrest of Dundar came as Washington and the other major imperialist powers completed their move to abandon Islamist militias and adopt Kurdish nationalist militias as their main proxy force inside Syria, provoking a bitter conflict with the AKP government. Dundar has lived in exile in Germany since June 2016. He is editor-in-chief of a web radio station, Ozguruz (We are free). Then-German President Joachim Gauck invited him to the presidential Bellevue Palace in November 2016. Another key goal of Erdogans relentless legal campaign against Kavala is to threaten and pressure bourgeois opposition forces linked with imperialism. Kavalas supporters in the Turkish bourgeoisie and imperialist ruling classes hailed the initial acquittal and condemned Erdogans attempts to mount a new trial against Kavala. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu (CHP) said the acquittal of all the defendants in the Gezi Park trial is a true source of joy and restores trust in the Turkish judicial system. The US embassy in Turkey hailed the Gezi Park trial ruling, tweeting: We have followed the trial of Osman Kavala and other civil society activists closely, and welcome todays court decision to acquit and release the defendants. The re-arrest of Kavala has provoked broad criticisms in imperialist media. An article in the Washington Post stated: The whipsaw developments raised new questions about political pressure on Turkeys judiciary and refocused attention on the governments incessant pursuit of its perceived opponents. While German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Kavalas re-arrest was incomprehensible from every point of view, a European Union spokesperson said: The lack of credible grounds to re-arrest Osman Kavala and to continue his detention pending different charges further damages the credibility of Turkeys judiciary, adding that Judicial proceedings cannot be used as a means of silencing critical voices. The concocting of judicial proceedings on fraudulent charges is politically reactionary. However, the attempts by the CHP, HDP and the imperialist powers to posture as democratic by criticizing this trial are false and shot through with hypocrisy. Even as they posture as defenders of critical voices like Dundar and Kavala, the imperialist powers work relentlessly to jail, persecute and silence WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Broad layers of workers recall the bloody NATO coups in Turkey in 1960, 1971 and 1980, as well as the recent coup attempt in 2016. After decades of US-led imperialist wars of aggression in the Middle East, the NATO imperialist powers democratic pretensions have no credibility whatsoever. The only force that can establish a democratic regime and put an end to show trials and wars around the world is the international working class, mobilized in opposition to imperialist war and the capitalist system from which these wars arise. San Antonio, like many American cities, is facing a shortage of affordable housing. This issue will only become more pronounced as we welcome 1 million new residents by the year 2040. City officials and local housing organizations are working diligently to combat the problem by implementing smart growth plans and allocating financial resources toward the development of affordable housing inventory. At a civic level, San Antonio is also considering policies to minimize urban sprawl. Encompassing 465 total square miles, San Antonio places in the top 15 nationally by land area second in Texas, behind Houston. While in some ways advantageous, this sprawl also brings several major challenges, namely increased air pollution, significant road congestion and a lack of affordable housing. It also dramatically increases the costs of providing public services such as water, energy, sanitation and public transportation. Instituting smart growth policies that promote population density while simultaneously prioritizing an affordable housing supply is imperative to sustainability. But policies like these those that will lower construction costs and broaden housing choices offer benefits that will transcend this context of housing affordability. Reducing air pollution, diminishing our reliance on vehicles to reach our jobs, boosting economic activity for surrounding businesses and decreasing economic segregation are goals that almost all of us can get behind. San Antonio leaders recognize the uphill battle we face and are being proactive in response. In 2018, Mayor Ron Nirenberg established the Mayors Housing Policy Task Force, which worked to connect various city organizations, outside agencies and nonprofits to the citys housing needs. The committee gave birth to a strategic five-point plan of action, which includes developing a coordinated housing plan; protecting and promoting neighborhoods; increasing city investments in housing; preserving and re-adapting existing structures; and prioritizing public accountability. According to the same report, 165,000 people in San Antonio are overburdened with housing expenses spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgage payments and other costs associated with housing. Fortunately, the city and its partner organizations are rising to the challenge. The San Antonio City Council recently approved an $11 million investment in affordable housing projects. The funds come from federal grants such as the Community Development Block Grant, the HOME Investment Partnerships program, the Affordable Housing Fund and fee waivers. In August, the San Antonio Housing Authority board also approved future transactions, tax credits and bond applications that will fund hundreds of millions in affordable housing projects supplying more than 3,500 affordable housing units to Bexar County residents. Finally, in September, Assistant City Manager Lori Houston presented the City Council with a strategy to add more than 18,000 units to the market by 2029, reversing our regions persistent negative affordable housing trend. In response to many of these efforts, a recent study by Realtor.com showed that San Antonio-New Braunfels is one of two American metropolitan areas that saw an increase in housing inventory between January 2019 and January 2020. San Antonio Board of Realtors supports this citys mission to address San Antonios housing needs while ensuring that private property rights are protected. In a country where affordable housing remains a pressing issue in virtually every local community, San Antonio has dared to be thoughtful and measured in its approach. As we move forward, we stand ready to help and promote the citys efforts to bring together the partner organizations, developers, government entities and property owners needed to solve this challenge. Kim Bragman is the 2020 San Antonio Board of Realtors chairman of the board. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close No doubt the communal violence in Delhi will for the time being be quelled by the police, but it is bound to erupt again and again, and all over India, not just Delhi. Many people are blaming Kapil Mishra, former minister of Delhi in the AAP government, and presently in the BJP, for all the violence happening in northeast Delhi and some other parts of the National Capital. It is true that Mishra gave a provocative speech calling on the Delhi Police to remove the anti-CAA protesters blocking the Jafrabad and Chandbagh roads within three days or else we wont listen to you". But it would be inane to put the blame on him alone. The truth is something much deeper. In the articles, Dark days are ahead for India and Bad days are ahead for Indian Muslims it has come out clearly that though the Indian Constitution describes India as a secular country, the ground reality is very different. Secularism is a feature of industrial society, but India is still semi-feudal (as is evident from the rampant casteism and communalism prevalent in the country). Most Hindus in India are communal, and so are most Muslims. This communalism was present in India even before 2014 when the BJP came to power, but it was then largely latent, and only erupted and surfaced occasionally (in the form of communal riots etc.). After 2014 it has become open, virulent, and continuous, increasing exponentially and penetrating even the hitherto bastions of secularism like West Bengal. I have even seen this polarisation among the NRIs in the Bay Area of California, where I am presently located. Some people thought the Delhi election result had put paid to the BJP aspirations, but what they overlooked was that distributing freebies in a small state can win an election. This, however, does not change the basic underlying social realities. The recent violent events in parts of Delhi reveal the tremendous polarisation of Indian society. The violence began in Jafrabad but soon spread to Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Shiv Vihar, Gokulpuri, Brahmapuri, Chand Bagh and Ghonda. Muslim shops were destroyed, houses vandalised and vehicles burnt. The wall of the Gokulpuri burial ground was broken down. Men with covered faces wielding sticks and rods roamed around with the police remaining mute indifferent bystanders. Click here for Delhi Violence Over CAA Protest LIVE Updates The spark which became a conflagration in Delhi began with the anti-CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh. The great mistake by the protesters was to have condemned the entire Citizenship Amendment Act. Surely the oppressed minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh (Hindus, Sikhs and Christians) deserve citizenship, but this was rarely emphasised by the Shaheen Bagh protesters, and instead, there was a wholesale condemnation of CAA because it did not include Muslims. The sight on the TV screens of a disproportionate number of burqa and hijab-clad women gave rise to an impression that this was largely a Muslim show. Also, a protest for a few days is acceptable, but surely not an endless protest, blocking roads, and causing other nuisance to the general public. Demagogues like Mishra capitalised on all these mistakes by Muslims and enabled them to give incendiary speeches, setting fire to the accumulated fuel. No doubt the communal violence in Delhi will for the time being be quelled by the police, but it is bound to erupt again and again, and all over India, not just Delhi. India is a huge powder keg of communal explosive, which is bound to explode violently and repeatedly, on a bigger and bigger scale. This is particularly inevitable since the Indian economy is sinking with record unemployment, and our government is unable to get us out of the morass. So to divert attention from the real issues, which are socio-economic, and which it does not know how to resolve, there must be a scapegoat, and in India, these the Muslims. It is only when the fuel is spent, that is after some kind of French Revolution which destroys feudalism in India, that this malady will end, but that seems a far way off. Till then India will burn. UK environment minister George Eustice. (PA) A minister has come under fire from farmers over the UK governments response to flooding, insisting it did not matter that the prime minister had not visited flood-hit areas. George Eustice, recently appointed minister for the environment, food and rural affairs, told the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference on Wednesday he had seen waterlogged areas himself on the train. Eustice got a frosty reception from farmers in his first appearance at the annual conference. He faced impassioned demands from the audience for more flood defences, looser immigration rules and commitments to protect food standards in future trade deals. He told farmers he could not do anything about the weather, but said record amounts were being spent on flood defences. He also resisted calls from the audience for a public inquiry into the governments handling of the floods in the wake of Storms Ciara and Dennis. Read more: UK would be morally bankrupt to allow chlorinated chicken Flood warnings remained in force in some areas on Wednesday, with the River Severn breaching emergency defences overnight and the Worcestershire town of Bewdley evacuated. Asked by journalists if a visit by Johnson affected areas would help the minister, Eustice told journalists it would not make any difference at all. Eustice himself visited York earlier this month, but was urged to visit more affected areas. The NFU president Minette Batters, alongside him on stage, urged Eustice to put some of the 100bn ($130bn) Johnson has promised for infrastructure into flood defences. Half the countrys under water, she said. Farmers also voiced their fears flooding could threaten their access to government support. Eustice admitted current EU funding rules were bonkers, as farmers can only receive key state subsidies if they plant at least three different crops every year. Some fear the flooding will prevent them planting new crops, or force them to plant crops in poor conditions simply to access funds. Britain remains under the EU rules until at least 2021 as part of the Brexit transition. Story continues Eustice drew laughter and groans from the audience when he said farmers would be okay as long as crops were in the ground by July. These farmers might be the best in the world, but I doubt they will be sowing crops in July, Batters replied. Eustice later said farmers had misunderstood his point. Last year the government asked the EU to relax the rules, but Eustice made no commitment to making a request this year. Read more: UK would be morally bankrupt to allow chlorinated chicken The NFUs president also drew a round of applause when she told him the governments proposals for nature-based solutions dont mean anything for areas hit by a months rain in a day. Eustice had set out plans for more tree planting, natural dams and water storage upstream. The minister added that it was entirely right that he led the governments response on flooding when asked by one reporter if the prime minister should give up hiding for Lent. Johnson had faced criticism for not visiting areas suffering from flooding that he had visited during the election campaign in December. Eustice highlighted the 2.5bn spent by government on flood defences over the past five years, with more than 4bn planned over the next five years. He said current floods were a tragedy, but told farmers existing new defences had protected 50,000 homes that a decade ago would have flooded. The truth is with climate change we are getting more frequent extreme weather events, he added. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, on Feb. 19, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Trudeau Takes Pitch for UN Security Seat Council Directly to African Diplomats OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken Canadas campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council directly to African diplomats with a speech that tried to emphasize his boyhood connection to the continent. Trudeau fondly recalled accompanying his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, on trips to Africa as a child and later as a young adult backpacker. He spoke in a prereception address on the night of Feb. 25, to an audience of about 200 people, most of them diplomats from African countries, at the Ottawa headquarters of Global Affairs Canada. Trudeau said his father shared with him his deep love and respect for the African continentan apparent attempt to counter critics who said his government ignored Africa during its first term in power when it was dealing with major trade issues with the United States and Mexico. Earlier this month, Trudeau visited two African countries, Ethiopia and Senegal, as part of his governments campaign for the council seat. In all our conversations, one thing was clear: We have everything to gain by working together on the priorities we share. Canadians, like people across the African continent, want to see real progress on the issues that matter most to them, said Trudeau. In Ethiopia, he met leaders attending the African Union summit to win support for Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) speaks with Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a meeting in Addis Ababa, on Feb. 8, 2020, as part of his official visit to Ethiopia ahead of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit. (Photo by Michael TeweldeI/AFP/Getty Images) In Dakar, Senegalese President Macky Sall said he would try to drum up support for Canadas bid among African countries. Africa, with its 54 voting countries, is a key voting bloc in the secret ballot that will take place at the UN General Assembly in June. Canada will need at least 128 votes in that election for a twoyear term on the council starting in 2021, but faces stiff competition from Norway and Ireland who are also campaigning. Trudeau has said winning the position would give Canada more influence on the world stage on issues such as peace, security and human rights. He committed Canada to a council run in 2015 as part of his Canada is back pledge, following the 2010 loss of a seat to smaller and economically fragile Portugal under the previous Conservative government. Trudeau was accompanied on the night of Feb. 25, by Mary Ng, his international trade minister, Foreign Affairs Minister FrancoisPhilippe Champagne and Ahmed Hussen, the Somaliborn minister of families, children and social development. If our goal of making sure that Canada deepens its trade and investment ties, as well as peopletopeople ties, the African diaspora, the AfricanCanadian community is key and central to that effort, Hussen told the gathering. By Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press Presidential Election in Afghanistan Press Statement Morgan Ortagus, Department Spokesperson February 25, 2020 The United States notes the announcement on February 18, 2020 by the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan on the results of the presidential election held September 28, 2019 in favor of President Ashraf Ghani. Concerns have been raised about the election process. We expect these concerns to be handled in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures. Moving forward, we call on the new government to be inclusive and reflect the aspirations of all Afghans. The country's leaders and their supporters should ensure that political debate is carried out in a calm manner, free from the use or threat of violence. They should also desist from destabilizing actions, including purported efforts to establish parallel government structures inconsistent with the constitution and rule of law. Such moves call into question the country's sovereignty and unity that the United States strongly supports. The Afghan people want peace. It is time to focus not on electoral politics, but on taking steps toward a lasting peace, ending the war with the Taliban, and finding a formula for a political settlement that can serve the interests of all of this country's citizens through intra-Afghan negotiations we expect will begin in March. We urge all parties to participate in and support the immediate establishment of an agreed national framework for peace that is fully representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to prepare for and lead these negotiations. To ensure adequate time for Afghans to agree on these matters, we thank the Afghan government for agreeing to postpone the presidential inauguration. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Growing Calls for US Intelligence to Clear Up Russian Meddling Allegations By Jeff Seldin February 26, 2020 Pressure appears to be building on the White House and U.S. intelligence agencies to declassify some information and brief the public on possible Russian attempts to meddle in the upcoming presidential election. Much of the push is coming from former U.S. intelligence and security officials upset at a series of leaks that led to reports Russia was trying to bolster the campaigns of both President Donald Trump and one of his Democratic challengers, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. But some of the pressure is also coming from lawmakers who want see the American public get what they describe as an untainted assessment of what Russia is and is not doing, rather than see the allegations used for domestic political gain. Congressional officials say, so far, lawmakers have not made any official requests to the intelligence agencies for any sort of public briefing or official statement on possible Russian meddling, due to concerns about protecting intelligence sources and methods. Still, the officials note some sort of public disclosure is in line with the recommendations of a bipartisan report issued earlier this month by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which warned against keeping voters in the dark. "The public should be informed as soon as possible, with a clear and succinct statement of the threat, even if the information is incomplete," the report stated. "Delaying the release of information allows inaccurate narratives to spread, which makes the task of informing the public significantly harder." Both the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment when asked by VOA if a plan to share some of the latest intelligence with the public was under consideration. In India Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed anger over the intelligence leaks, calling the reports of Russia meddling to boost his reelection campaign or the campaign of Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders "highly exaggerated." "Intelligence never told me," he told reporters. "And we have a couple of people here that would know very well." Other Trump administration officials have also forcefully denied the reports of Russian meddling to boost the president. But on Friday, Sanders confirmed U.S. intelligence had, in fact, warned him about the Russian meddling. He later warned Moscow to stay out of U.S. politics. It is those contradicting narratives that have former intelligence and security officials calling for some sort of public disclosure. "I would certainly encourage itno matter what it says," former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin told VOA. "We don't know the whole story yet." Other longtime intelligence officials agree. "Indications and warnings of threats to our democratic process are not like fine wine, getting better with age," Daniel Hoffman, a former CIA chief of station, said. "We learned from 2016, we need a coordinated assessment based on the facts rather than innuendo and poor analysis tinged with confirmation bias." At least one White House official has indicated an openness to sharing some of the existing intelligence with the public. "I'd have no problem with that," U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday. "If there's intelligence that we can declassify, that we can get out there -- all the better -- because, again, we weren't in office in 2016 when the last election meddling took place and the administration did very little about it." However, some of those who were in office in 2016 accuse the Trump administration of doing even less. "It is vital that the Trump administration declassify what we know so it can be described by our intelligence community publicly, so the voters are armed with this information," Jeh Johnson, who served as Homeland Security secretary under former President Barack Obama, said during a forum in Detroit Monday. "That's what we did in the prior administration," he added, referring to a statement he and other top officials issued in October 2016 blaming Russia for hacking and then leaking emails from the Democratic National Committee. Some Democratic lawmakers have also seized upon the president's handling of the latest allegations of Russian meddling. "What does the president do in response to that information? He fires the head of the intelligence community," Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on the floor of the Senate late Tuesday, arguing for the passage of election security legislation. "He fires them because he doesn't want them to tell Congress what the Russians are doing," he said. Trump administration officials have consistently pushed back, arguing the president has made it clear that interference by Russia or anyone else will not be tolerated. "Meddling in our elections is unacceptable," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Tuesday. "Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response." Some former intelligence officials caution that President Trump's long-contentious relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies, dating back to their 2017 assessment that Russia did seek to help Trump win the election, is hurting the administration's credibility. "One doesn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling," said Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA chief of staff and former senior director of the White House Situation Room, who has been critical of Trump in the past. "The congressional intelligence committees should demand open hearings in order to assure the American people, and closed hearings in order to conduct appropriate oversight of the activities to assess that threat." Katherine Gypson contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Singapore is set to charge a Chinese couple on February 28 for spreading misinformation, Ministry of Health said. According to international media reports, both of them would be charged under the Infectious Disease Act. The duo would be the first people to be charged under the act since the outbreak of coronavirus. 'Had given false information' According to reports, the ministry of health said that both of them had given false information to officials and obstructed the conduct of contact tracing. The man was identified as Hu Jun, a 38-year-old Chinese citizen from Wuhan whereas his wife was identified as Shi Sha, a 36-year-old Chinese national residing in Singapore. Read: Six Countries Pull Out Of Shooting World Cup In Delhi Amid Coronavirus Breakout Jun who arrived in Singapore on January 22 was tested positive for the virus on January 31 and was discharged from the hospital on February 19. The ministry issued a quarantine order for his wife after the process of contact tracing, which was used to identify people who had been in contact with Jun while he was infected. Read: North Korea Enhances Inspections On Imported Goods Amid Coronavirus Outbreak The MOH accused both of them of providing false information to its officials about their movements and whereabouts from January 22 to January 29. In addition, Shi was accused of providing false information while being under quarantine. However, the ministry said it was able to discover the real movement of the couple through detailed investigation. It added that both of them will be charged on February 28 in view of potentially serious repercussions and the threat they placed to public health. Read: US Health Official: America Could See Similar Death Rate To China If Coronavirus Spreads Read: Malaysian, Korean Coronavirus Cases Linked To Singapore Business Gathering According to reports, the epidemic has killed over 2,700 people worldwide, with the vast majority in mainland China. Also, there have been more than 80,000 global cases of the infection, international media reported. Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials and US experts have said that it was too early to declare the coronavirus a pandemic but it was the time to prepare, international media reported. Supplier News 25 February 2020 Nor1, the global leader in hospitality upgrade, upsell, and merchandising technology will exhibit at ITB Berlin - The World's Leading Travel Trade Show. This year's mega-event takes place at Messe Berlin, Germany from March 4th to 8th, 2020. Nor1 will be showcasing its AI-driven technology designed to engage guests at every touchpoint across the reservation lifecycle, maximizing conversions, increasing revenue and amplifying service. Attendees and media are invited to visit Hall 8.1 Stand 120a to meet with the Nor1 team and view live demos. For over a decade, Nor1 has been developing and refining the most sophisticated machine learning decisioning platform in the hospitality industry. At ITB, the company will be featuring the data-driven Merchandising and Intelligence Platform powered by PRiME, including its signature eStandby Upgrade, eXpress Upgrade, and CheckIn Merchandising products. When implemented as a platform solution, PRiME delivers relevant offers at booking, during pre-arrival, and at check-in , for room and non-room inventory. Using sophisticated algorithms trained on millions of transactions, AI-powered upselling technology can better predict guests' desires and willingness to pay for upgrades, while maintaining rate integrity and guest service standards. "Nor1 is the first company to provide this level of technological sophistication for the travel industry," Jason Bryant, the company's founder, explains. "Our platform approach to upselling and merchandising elevates the guest experience at every touchpoint, leveraging AI-powered data to create value and true personalization. By assessing what each guest is willing to pay for a better stay, and refining the available offers, our next-level solutions can drive profitable opportunities across the entire journey." With headquarters in Silicon Valley and offices across the world, including the US, Mexico, Singapore, and Germany, Nor1 services over 1 million rooms in more than 100 countries, 50 currencies and 20 languages. For more information, please visit nor1.com. Chicago, Illinois, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The UIC John Marshall Law School is proud to again be recognized for its diversity. In this years Best Law Schools for Diversity issue, preLaw magazine rated UIC John Marshall the top law school in the Midwest for African-American and Asian law students. The Law School also received honorable mention for Hispanic law students. These results were based on student enrollment, faculty and student services provided. We are always looking for ways to improve not only access to legal education but increase student engagement and academic success within the law school community, said Tania Luma, UIC John Marshalls Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Student engagement, particularly a sense of belonging, is a vital part of our students' well-being and can be directly connected to individual academic performance. We are honored that preLaw magazine recognizes our efforts to support students and foster a positive and healthy learning environment. Since 1899, the Law School has welcomed students of color, women and immigrants. It graduated its first female student, Jessie Cook, in 1903; its first African-American student, James Randle, in 1904; and its first Hispanic student, William E. Rodriguez, in 1912. The UIC John Marshall community is made up of more than 30 student organizations that represent the diverse interests and pursuits of the student body. These organizations include the Womens Law Caucus, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Latinx Law Students Association, South Asian Law Students Association and Middle Eastern Law Students Association. The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion regularly holds events focusing on elevating thought, dialogue and active engagement around diversity, equity and inclusion. These events include a Diversity Week in March, during which student organizations create the content and host these events. The conversations and perspectives shared during this week are one way members of the UIC John Marshall community connects with and learns from each other. About UIC John Marshall Law School UIC John Marshall Law School, formerly an independent law school, is the 16th college at the University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagos largest university and its only public Carnegie Research 1 institution. Located in the heart of the Citys legal, financial and commercial districts, UIC John Marshall is recognized as one of the most diverse law schools in the nation and is a leader in providing access to underrepresented students. There is snow on the daffodils at the rabbitpatch! ... and on the forsythia ... and on the hyacinths and on the pale pink blossoms of the peach! We just started hearing about the chance of snow, a few days ago, unless you read the Farmers Almanac. The almanac knew all along. "Alexa" found out this morning!School closed early yesterday and a few hour later, I was watching it snow. It has not snowed in two years, here and so this is a grand occasion for me, for snow is my favorite kind of weather. It snowed all night, tiny little fine snow, but southerners can not afford to be choosy. This morning we have about four inches and a landscape that is breathtaking. Woods and field alike, have been christened in wonder. Snow and woods are an enchanting duet. . .and a short lived affair in the south. In light of that, I am persuaded to abandon all to the affair of snow on trees.Jenny called and said that Elizabeth City barely got a dusting of snow. This was odd, as they usually get snow more often than here and usually more of it! Lyla was heartbroken -and so was I. Lyla has been waiting for snow for a solid year, which to a child is "too long". I have seen her peering out the window, in the nursery, hoping for snow and I could not forget the look of hope on her face.There was some good news. Brant, Sydney and Ryan had made it safely to New Orleans. Their flight was not even delayed. Being a mother, I had been in a state, since the thing had come about.Other than snow gazing, I did cook. If there is any sort of "out of the ordinary" weather, I tend to cook "out of the ordinary" food at the rabbitpatch. No one ever complains about this habit. Kyle has been here a week now, and he was especially glad of it. I wondered what my friend Gayle, was cooking, for when she and I were neighbors, we both cooked and took to planning huge meals for our families to share at supper. We just never know what things will become some of our sweetest memories.On Saturday, the sun cast apricot rays on the snow. How lovely it was. The whole territory sparkled in the morning shine. I have lived in the south, the better part of my life and the particular beauty of snow is like a rare pearl-and I do not take it lightly.Snow also hushes. In a world when silence is a seldom occurrence, I am glad for that too.I made a big breakfast as the snow was dripping from the roof and the old oaks. I had biscuits baking and potatoes sizzling for hash browns along side some turkey bacon, that I am trying to convince the boys to like. I thought the biscuits would make up for it. I did not scramble the eggs til the last minute.Afterwards, I read, just as I did yesterday. I read a lot for I am not short on curiosity. The boxer dozes while I learn all sorts of information, I may or may not need -but I also, read scripture, verse and poetry , which I know sustain and restore. Unlike the snow, whose beauty is here today and gone tomorrow, their beauty remains. I have always believed that one way or another, what we see, what we hear becomes part of us. We do not always have the privilege of desirable circumstances, and so on account of that, I spend time gathering, all the goodness, I can, with the hope that when sorrow or ugly shows up, as it surely will . . . maybe there will be less room, in my heart, for it to claim.It is not often, that I have the luxury of having time without obligations of some sort. There is always some task at hand-or some place to be. Now, I have done laundry and swept floors and cooked, the last few days, but I have greatly enjoyed doing what I want, when I please. I make it my business, to have at least a few moments like that, every day -all be it, they are brief moments- they provide a balance, that I need. Wealth means something different to different folks. To me, it means owning your time-which is your life, really. In that case ... I got rich off of snow! ... at least for a while.Now, by Sunday morning, the remnants of the snowfall, laid in patches under the pines and along the picket fence. I have always heard that when snow lays around for three days, that more is coming. The Almanac does not confirm it, and I am not about to argue with the Almanac. I wish it were wrong, for Lylas' sake.Now, Monday came along and that did change everything. On the drive to work, the snow looked like strands of old lace by the edge of the woods. I could not wait to hear the kindergarten class tell their stories about what they remember of their first snow.I did not have to wait long and I was not disappointed, for the first story was told by a small boy. He and his dad (who is built like a line baker) were at the grocery, when the snow began. I asked what they did when they saw it . . . and he said they danced . . . right there in the parking lot! Image Credit:Wikimedia Commons Male/IBNS: Maldives has hired leading human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to fight the rights of the persecuted Rohingya Muslims at the International Court of Justice(ICJ), media reports said on Wednesday. The Maldives has joined the efforts of, mainly Muslim African nation, The Gambia against the 2017-crackdown on Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar which compelled around 740,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. The ICJ, last month, ordered Buddhist-majority Myanmar to implement emergency measures to prevent persecution of the Rohingya Muslims, including rape, murder, and destruction of their homes and villages. In a unanimous decision, the court had ruled that it has the power to consider a case of genocide against Myanmar by issuing 'international legal obligations' on it. The Gambia is acting on behalf of Organisation of Islamic Corporation, a conglomerate of 57 nations, urged the court to issue orders to Myanmar to halt the 'ongoing genocidal actions'. (Alliance News) - British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, has cancelled dozens of flights serving Milan due to a drop in demand amid the coronavirus outbreak. The airline announced it is "merging" some of its flights between Heathrow and the Italian city's Linate airport. Around 22 return flights over the next two weeks are affected. British Airways' flights to and from Milan Malpensa are continuing as normal. A spokesman for the airline said: "To match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue, we are merging a small number of flights to and from Milan. "We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options including alternative British Airways flights within two hours of their original departure time where possible, full refunds or booking for a later date of travel. "We understand that some customers flying to/from northern Italy may wish to change their travel plans and have introduced flexible booking options." Passengers are advised to visit ba.com for the latest information on their flights. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have suspended their flights to mainland China because of the virus, but some Chinese carriers continue to serve the UK. The International Air Transport Association warned last week that airlines could lose USD29.3 billion this year due to the outbreak. By Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday blamed both the Centre and the Delhi government for the violence in the national capital, and demanded immediate resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah for colossal failure to restore normalcy. Addressing the media after a meeting of the partys working committee, the Congress highest decision-making body, Sonia Gandhi said, The violence was part of a systematic design; it was seen during Delhi Assembly elections too. The BJP leaders had vitiated the atmosphere of Delhi through their speeches during the elections. A BJP leader again made such a remark on Sunday when he gave a three-day ultimatum to the police, said Gandhi without naming BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who is under fire for remarks made in Northeast Delhi hours before violence broke out. The Congress president also posed five questions for Centre: Number 1, where was the Home Minister since Sunday and what was he doing? Number 2, where was the Delhi chief minister and what was he doing? Number 3, what information was shared by intelligence officials after Assembly polls and what action was taken on that? Number 4, tell us about the number of policemen deployed in troubled areas when it was clear that situation was deteriorating, and finally, when the situation went out of hand, why wasnt the paramilitary force deployed? said Gandhi in her first press conference in many years. It is the collective failure of the two governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day, the CWC had said in a resolution adopted at its meeting held at the party headquarters in Delhi. The meeting, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, was also attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia among others. However, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was not present as he is currently abroad. The CWC resolution further said, The Delhi Police has remained paralysed in the last 72 hours - 20 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. The resolution termed the situation grave and sought urgent action, including asking the Delhi chief minister to remain visible in the affected areas and in constant communication with the people. Adequate security forces must be deployed immediately to bring the situation under control. Peace committees must be formed in every mohalla consisting of members of all communities to ensure that there are no untoward incidents. Senior civil servants must be deployed in each district to take charge of the administration to ensure that the administrative machinery responds to the evolving situation, it said. The Opposition party appealed to the people of Delhi to reject the politics of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events, to help rebuild all that has been lost and to ensure that such events do not take place ever again. The CWC called upon all Congress workers and leaders to visit the affected areas, to extend all possible support to the families of those who have suffered as a consequence of the violence and to help build bridges between communities. This would be the most fitting tribute to Mother India, it added. The death toll in the violence in Northeast Delhi violence that began on Monday has risen to 20. Among the dead was a policeman. More than 250 people have been injured in the clashes. The worst clashes in the capital in over two decades started at the weekend but turned deadly on Monday after two groups supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA clashed with those opposing the law. The warring torched houses and vehicles in Maujpur, Jafrabad and other areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Andreas Vosskuhle, presiding judge of the German Federal Constitutional Court, at a ruling on assisted suicide: EPA A German law banning assisted suicide services has been scrapped in a landmark decision for groups who believe people should be able to die when they choose. The countrys top court has ruled that a law which outlawed assisted suicide by organisations or doctors who accepted a fee for their work was unconstitutional and should be overturned. The 2015 legislation had allowed assisted suicide for altruistic motives but banned people from offering it to someone else on business terms, forcing some suicide advice centres to stop working due to the threat of up to three years in jail for breaking the law. Patients and doctors had criticised the law for forcing terminally ill people to travel abroad, to countries such as Switzerland or the Netherlands, for euthanasia. Assisted suicide is a contentious issue in Germany, partly due to its associations with Nazi Germany when euthanasia was used to kill more than 200,000 people with physical and mental disabilities. Andreas Vosskuhle, the head of Germanys constitutional court, struck down the 2015 law because he said it denied a patients right to a self-determined death. Ms Vosskuhle said on Wednesday that German citizens have the freedom to commit suicide and this right had been largely depleted in practice by the legislation, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported. The ban on assisted suicide services had been designed to stop groups or individuals creating businesses to help people die in return for money. Active assistance physically taking a patient's life for them is banned in Germany, but passive help, such as providing deadly medication for them to take themselves has been a legal grey area. The 2015 legislation was a middle-of-the-road proposal that received cross party support, with proposals discussed at that time ranging from fully permitting assisted suicide so long as it was not for profit to a near-complete ban. It will now be up to the government whether to re-open the debate to work on a measure in line with the court's ruling. Story continues Only a few countries in the world have legalised euthanasia whereby a doctor administers lethal doses of drugs to patients willing to die, or people perform the action themselves. Additional reporting by AP/Reuters Read more Doctors cleared in landmark euthanasia case A woman who needs a machine inside her body to walk has invited the writer of a note accusing her of stealing a disabled parking bay to see it in person. Geraldine Mockler, 60, said she returned to her car on Tuesday to find a note on her car reading 'what is your disability? took a photo of you and car'. The consultant from Mosman in Sydney's north said she was regularly harassed for parking in disabled bays because her handicap wasn't obviously visible to others. 'I would have been more than happy to show you my disability and the machine I have inside me that ensures I can walk,' she wrote online. 'These kinds of notes can have a profound impact on the recipients mental health. Please consider this before you anonymously walk away.' Geraldine Mockler, 60, said she returned to her car on Tuesday to find this note on her car reading 'what is your disability? took a photo of you and car' Ms Mockler has shared similar experiences, including an occasion when someone called the police on her. 'Today highlighted again the ignorance of faceless people who have no idea what the term disabled means,' she wrote in 2013. 'I think the police have better things to do than check out whether i am entitled to have a disabled parking badge.' On another occasion in 2018 she revealed a fellow shopper even abused her in person because they thought disabled people couldn't drive her car. 'I have been followed from a car park into a shopping centre by someone hurling abuse that I couldn't be disabled because of the car I drive,' she wrote. However, Ms Mockler agrees with militantly protecting disabled parking spots for people with diagnosed disabilities. She wrote in the same 2018 post that she complained that all the bays at Bridgepoint Shopping Centre in Sydney's northern suburbs were full of cars without disability stickers. Ms Mockler said she was regularly harassed for parking in disabled bays because her handicap wasn't obviously visible to others Ms Mockler received plenty of support when she shared Tuesday's experience in a local Facebook group 'Disabled parking spaces do not change their purpose because it is dark, or because it's raining, or because it's the weekend, or your child has footy in a few minutes,' she wrote. 'The number of people who say "I am only going to be a couple of minutes" when you ask them to move. 'Having a disability is difficult enough - having to ask people to move out of a designated disabled parking spot just makes live more difficult.' Ms Mockler received plenty of support when she shared Tuesday's experience in a local Facebook group, including from a woman with the same struggle. 'If anyone saw me they would not think i had a disability. I was issued a disability sticker because I have cancer and it can be quite debilitating,' she wrote. 'I have been questioned many times. I explain my situation and generally people leave you alone. 'I have had a few instances where they have kept at me. I show them my scar which goes from between my boobs all the way to the bottom of my pelvic bone.' A fierce war of words broke out between the government and opposition parties over the incidents of violence in the northeast Delhi with the Congress accusing the government of "colossal failure of duty" and demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, a demand termed as "laughable" by the BJP which charged Congress president Sonia Gandhi with playing "dirty politics" on the issue. As unease prevailed in the violence-battered localities of the northeast Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for peace and brotherhood, and said he has held an extensive review of the situation in various parts of the national capital. Stressing that peace and harmony are "central to our ethos", Modi tweeted,it is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. " At least 22 people have been killed in communal violence in northeast Delhi since Sunday, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protestors over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. While the Congress held a meeting of its working committee on the Delhi situation and passed a resolution, urging the people to "reject the of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events", CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury described Delhi violence a "chilling reminder" of the 2002 Gujarat riots. "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central Government and particularly the Home Minister and (the CWC) calls upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," Gandhi said while reading out the CWC resolution. Hitting back, Union minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said Gandhi is politicising the violence at a time when violent incidents are abating and investigation is on to find out culprits. "At such a time, attacking the government and politicising violence is a dirty politics," he said at a press conference and added that it also demoralises police. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said those whose hands are "tainted with the bloods of innocent Sikhs" are now talking about checking violence, a reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Gandhi's statement was full of and dubbed it "unfortunate and irresponsible". "The need of the hour is for everybody to talk about restoring peace. The home minister had called a meeting of all parties. Enquiry will find out the culprits," he said. Javadekar said all parties should cooperate and work for peace at a time when violence is abating. The information and broadcasting minister said Shah was continuously working with the police to control the situation in the national capital and demanding his resignation was "laughable". Meanwhile, police conducted flag marches and security personnel spread out across the violence-hit localities to quell the unrest. Later, the Congress leaders, including general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took out a peace march' from party office to the Gandhi Smriti on the Tees January Marg. Attacking the government, Yechury at a joint press conference with CPI general secretary D Raja, alleged that it was clear that the violence in Delhi has the sanction of police and that of the "powers that govern them". "Violence in Delhi is a chilling reminder of the communal genocide in Gujarat in 2002 when the current prime minister was the state chief minister," said Yechury. Both Raja and Yechury questioned the role of Home Minister Shah in dealing with the violence and blamed him for not being able to contain the situation. Opposition leaders including Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Yadav along with Yechury and Raja have sought time from President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the Delhi violence. Yechury has written a letter to the President seeking appointment for the group of leaders which also include members of the DMK and the NCP. Senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai urged the Centre to deploy the Army in the violence-hit northeast Delhi to bring the situation under control and and asked why the borders areas were not sealed despite repeated requests by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Claiming that the AAP government is doing everything it can to bring the situation under control, Singh said Shah cannot hold meetings just for "formality", in an apparent reference to Tuesday's meeting Shah had with Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal, Kejriwal and senior police officials. "Wake up Home Minister, you are calling meetings just as a formality and what are your party members doing. They are inciting violence. Just taking meetings as a formality is not going to solve anything," he said. Singh alleged that on one hand, Shah was holding meetings and on the other hand, BJP leaders were making provocative statements. He said the situation in the national capital is "terrifying" and all this is happening in Delhi, where the law and order situation is completely under the Centre. Reacting strongly, the NCP alleged that some kind of "2002 Gujarat model" is unfolding in Delhi. NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik also accused the Delhi police of being silent spectators when the violence broke out. "There is violence in the capital city... Police have become a silent spectator. Why are these things happening in the capital city? There's some kind of 2002 Gujarat model in Delhi," Malik tweeted, apparently referring to the communal riots which broke in the western state 18 years ago. In Chennai, superstar Rajinikanth lashed out at the central government, saying the riots should have been dealt with an iron fist. The actor also opined that protests should not turn violent and recalled his earlier statement that he will stand by Muslims if they were affected by the amended citizenship law. "Definitely it is Central government's intelligence failure. I strongly condemn the Central government," he told reporters. Urging the central government to take immediate steps to restore normalcy in the national capital, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also expressed concern over the "attack" on journalists covering the riots and alleged that the rule of law has collapsed there. "There is an active campaign of hatred going on. Even the journalists are attacked. The death toll is on the rise. It's a matter of concern that the BJP leader, who has made hate speech and instigated the riots, is going scot free," Vijayan said in a release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid an eerie calm in northeast Delhi's Shiv Vihar, where violence raged over the last three days, 26-year-old Rahul Solanki's body was taken to a crematorium by his distraught kin and armed paramilitary personnel on Wednesday. Solanki, who was pursuing his LLB from a private college in Ghaziabad, had stepped out on Monday to buy milk. He died after he was shot in the right shoulder near his neck, his father Hari Singh Solanki said. "Today, we took his body home from GTB Hospital. We wanted police and paramilitary forces to give us protection till we reached the crematorium to perform his final rites," he said. Senior police officers present in the area had assured the family members that they will be provided security. A friend of Rahul, who was with him when he was shot, said they could not see who fired at him. "We saw a mob approaching us and began to run. We were barefeet and Rahul went to put on his slippers. While he was putting them on, some unidentified persons shot him dead," he said. Twenty-four people were killed and over 200 injured in the communal clashes that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago after violence between anti and pro Citizenship (Amendment) Act groups spiralled out of control. Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at local residents and police personnel. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar were among the areas worst-hit by the violence. Heavy police and paramilitary presence was seen in these areas on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vietnam Railways oversees vital operators across the country such as SARATRANS and Ratraco. Photo: Le Toan Nguyen Thi Phuong, a 40-year-old white-collar worker at a tourist company in Hanoi, last week once again cancelled a business trip on train for a group of five people to the northern province of Lao Cai, which borders China, for fears of coronavirus (COVID-19). Phuong previously often took trains at Hanoi railway station to the locality on a weekly basis to work with her partners there. Train is my favourite means of transport. However, our company has seemingly suspended all business activities in Lao Cai because of the epidemic, she said. Unlike in previous months Hanoi railway station, the largest station run by Vietnam Railways (VNR), has not been its usual crowded and bustling. COVID-19 has infected 16 people in Vietnam and reached 30 countries and territories worldwide, with China being the hardest hit. According to a recent report on effects of COVID-19, between January 25 and February 12 Hanoi, Railway Transport JSC (Haraco) and Saigon Railway Transport JSC (SARATRANS) saw a drop of 14,000 and 47,000 passengers on-year, respectively. As a result, Haraco and SARATRANS the two largest passenger train operators in Vietnam under VNR suspended a total of 75 passenger trains, resulting in a loss of VND46 billion ($2 million) during this period, said VNR chairman Vu Anh Minh. Meanwhile Railway Transport and Trading JSC (Ratraco), the biggest cargo train operator in the country, halted 16 cargo trains with a total loss of VND6 billion ($261,000). Elsewhere, transnational passenger and cargo train performance also witnessed a loss. VNR officially suspended related trains to China from early February as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At Lao Cai and Dong Dang, two key border railway gates for transnational passenger and cargo trains, VNR incurred a loss of VND226 million ($9,800) in revenue on average for not running a couple of cargo trains via Lao Cai. In January, when trains were still operating as normal, the volume of goods exports and imports on train via Lao Cai rose 26 and 23 per cent on-year, respectively. The poor performance has been blamed for a halt of a number of traditional festivals, as well as for a fall in exports to China since the outbreak of the virus. China remains the key export market for Vietnamese farm produce, woodwork, mobile phones, and components, while the commodities moved by train typically involve fruit and frozen food, among others. We are updating the COVID-19 impact, and are striving to seek partners and markets to cover possible losses, Minh noted. However, if the epidemic continues in the long term, the railway sector will be hard hit, thus possibly reducing 2020 revenues by around 10 per cent on-year. In the last decade the railway sector has been facing bigger challenges due to stiffening competition, limited state funding, and downgraded infrastructure despite strong efforts. At present, VNRs passenger and cargo transport market shares are just 0.2 and 1.2 per cent, respectively. In 2019, VNR made consolidated revenue of VND8.19 trillion ($356 million), equal to that of 2018 but lower than the yearly target by 2.8 per cent, while the parent company made a revenue of VND2.39 trillion ($104 million), down 9.1 per cent on-year and meeting 97.3 per cent of the annual target. This year is forecast to be a more troubling one for VNR. The epidemic will put more pressure on leaders, forcing them to brainstorm for more efficient measures to help the sector speed up. As a result, they are discussing with potential partners an increase in cargo volume, while increasing service quality and focusing on short-way and medium-way routes to cover the loss. VNR is betting on the new restructuring plan to increase its operational efficiency. In the plan, it will dump its monopoly in cargo transport by merging Haraco and SARATRANS into one joint-stock company. This company would then be separated into two, with one part specialising in passengers, in which VNR would hold a controlling stake, and another part focusing on cargo transport, with VNR possibly divesting the entire stake. Foreign investors and private firms have previously shown strong interest but movement has been slow as the plan has been delayed since it was mooted in 2017. In addition, the transfer of the giant to the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) has kicked approval into the long grass. To assist VNR emerge out of the impasse, experts and many National Assembly deputies have proposed that the government re-transfer the corporation to the MoT. The prime minister has since asked the MoT and the committee to appraise the proposal in a comprehensive manner before submitting a report to him, scheduled for next month. WINNEMUCCA, Nev., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE American: PZG) (Paramount) (the Company) announced today it has submitted its Plan of Operation (the Plan) to the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) outlining the Companys plans to build and operate the proposed Grassy Mountain underground gold mine located in Malheur County, eastern Oregon. The projects processing facilities and tailing storage would be located on Federal Land. The BLM will review the Plan for completeness, which is expected to take 30 days, and will subsequently provide the Company with comments, if any. The BLM has previously reviewed 19 of the baseline data reports (BDRs) and their requests for clarifications have all been addressed. The BLM will register a Notice of Intent (the Notice) in the Federal Register once the application is deemed complete. The Notice initiates the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process under the National Environmental Policy Act. The BLM has selected HDR Inc. to prepare and complete the EIS, a process which is expected to take 12 months. Paramount President and COO Glen Van Treek stated: Submitting the Plan of Operation kicks off the final phase in the permitting process, bringing us another step closer to having all the regulatory approvals to operate Grassy Mountain. The permitting of Grassy Mountain requires County, State and Federal permits. To date, the Company has received all County permits . The State permitting process was initiated with Paramounts submission of the Consolidated Permit Application (the CPA) on November 18, 2019 . Under Oregon law, the State has 90 days to determine if the Application is complete. When the CPA is deemed complete, the State will issue a notice to proceed and will have 225 days to review the CPA and issue draft permits. The State then has a maximum of 140 days to complete its public consultation process and issue final permits. The submission of the Plan of Operation begins the federal permitting process as noted above. State Permitting Update The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and cooperating agencies have completed their initial review of the CPA submitted last November. As part of this process, the permitting agencies have provided Paramount with a list of supplemental information and recommendations required to submit a modified CPA. Paramount, the DOGAMI and the permitting agencies will continue to work together to discuss the additional information requested, ensuring the submission of a complete modified CPA which will trigger the 225 day maximum permit evaluation process, upon which draft permits are issued. Paramount is pleased with the support and transparency afforded by the permitting agencies and expects to submit a completed modified CPA in the second quarter of 2020. Paramounts CEO, Rachel Goldman stated: Everything is proceeding on time and within the process as defined by the regulations. We are confident that the ongoing collaboration of the regulators will enable us to address the additional State requirements in a timely fashion and maintain our momentum in permitting Grassy Mountain. To stay informed of future press releases, subscribe to our E-Alerts Program and to learn more about our projects visit the projects section of our website . About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. is a U.S. based precious metals exploration and development company. Paramounts strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and to realize this value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account. Paramount owns 100% of the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 11,000 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain Gold Project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which results of a positive Pre-Feasibility Study have been released and key permitting milestones accomplished. Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada, the worlds premier mining jurisdiction. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). The Sleeper gold project is host to a large gold deposit (over 4 million ounces of mineralized material) and the Company has completed and released a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements) pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. Paramounts future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although these words may not be present in all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements included in this news release include, without limitation, statements with respect to: statements with respect to future events or future performance; anticipated exploration, development, permitting and other activities on the Grassy Mountain project; the economics of the Grassy Mountain project, including the potential for improving project economics and finding more ore to extend mine life; and mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the conclusions made in the PFS; the quantity and grade of resources included in resource estimates; the accuracy and achievability of projections included in the PFS; Paramounts ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals and permits; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; work meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: uncertainties involving interpretation of drilling results; environmental matters; the ability to obtain required permitting; equipment breakdown or disruptions; additional financing requirements; the completion of a definitive feasibility study for the Grassy Mountain project; discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral reserves and mineral resources, between actual and estimated development and operating costs and between estimated and actual production; and the other factors described in Paramounts disclosures as filed with the SEC and the Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta Securities Commissions. Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document. Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. Rachel Goldman, CEO and Director Christos Theodossiou, Director of Corporate Communications 866-481-2233 Twitter: @ParamountNV He's an actor, producer, businessman and dad of four. But even Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg is well aware that his kids are easily embarrassed by their dad, even though he is famous. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wahlberg, 48, revealed that at a daddy and daughter dance earlier this month, his 10-year-old daughter Grace reused to dance with him. Funny: Mark Wahlberg, 48, revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that his 10-year-old daughter Grace refused to dance with him at a daddy and daughter event earlier this month 'I didn't get one dance,' he told Ellen. 'She said, 'dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again.' 'But we still did have a great time together,' he added. Grace is the youngest of his four kids with wife Lea Durham. The couple, who have been together since 2001 and married since 2009, also share daughter Ella, 16, and sons Michael, 13, and Brendan, 11. Daddy life: 'I didn't get one dance,' he told Ellen. 'She said, 'dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again' Family man: Grace is the youngest of the actor's four kids with wife Lea Durham. The couple also share daughter Ella, 16, and sons Michael, 13, and Brendan, 11 Wahlberg was on the NBC daytime chat show to promote his new movie Spenser Confidential. Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker and directed by Peter Berg, Wahlberg serves as both star and producer. He explained his character Spenser and the plot of the film to Ellen this way: 'He was a former police officer who just basically cannot stand when somebody is being wronged, especially innocent people.' 'So there's a homicide within the police department, there's a lot of corruption going on. He tries to do all the things right to get them to find out who's responsible, they're kind of sandbagging the investigation, so he decides to go after his superiors himself.' Wahlberg continued: 'He ends up beating up his superior, goes to prison for five years, actually makes it in population in prison and then he 's going to leave town.' 'And then he realizes that there's more corruption going on and he can't stand by to see injustice, so he's going to take it upon himself to now be a private investigator,' he added. Promotional appearance: Wahlberg was on the NBC daytime chat show to promote his new movie Spenser Confidential The Supreme Court rebuked Delhi Police on Wednesday for failing to act "professionally" and to check "unfortunate incidents" of violence in north-east Delhi which has left 22 people dead and scores injured, but refused to entertain pleas related to the riots over the new citizenship law, CAA. The apex court lashed out at the law enforcing agencies for allowing the "instigators of violence" to get away and said they should act "independently" as per law without waiting for somebody's nod. "If somebody makes an inflammatory remark, police has to take action," it said. Though the top court did not look into the applications on the violence, it said there was a need for "conducive environment" to go into the matters related to Shaheen Bagh protests. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph said it will not expand the scope of petitions filed in connection with Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), by looking into the pleas on violence. "We will not go beyond the scope of the petition before us. Several unfortunate incidents have taken place. The question before us is that whether the people aggrieved can sit at a place called Shaheen Bagh. We will hear only this issue," the bench said. "We are not going into the applications related to the issue of violence. It is for the high court to look into the matter," it said. The bench stated however that it is not precluding anyone from availing any remedy as per law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the apex court that the Delhi High Court has heard pleas connected with the violence in the national capital and had listed them for further hearing in the afternoon. The death toll in north-east Delhi communal violence rose to 22 on Wednesday from 13 the day earlier. Around 200 people have been injured. After the applications were disposed of, there was a sharp exchange of words between the bench and the Solicitor General, when Justice Joseph said he wanted to say something on the issue of violence. Mehta urged the bench not to make any adverse observations relating to the violence as it will demoralise the police force. Justice Joseph said, "I will make the remarks as my loyalty is to the institution. I will fail in my duty towards the institution and as a judge, if I don't speak up my mind on the issue". He added, "There was lack of independence and professionalism on part of the police. Unless you allow the police to act. Look at how police acts in UK and USA. Do they require somebody's nod to act as per law. If somebody makes an inflammatory remark, police has to take action. The guidelines in the Prakash Singh judgment needs to be followed." He said: "The police had been reluctant in implementing the Prakash Singh judgement. It cannot wait for any approval to let the instigators get away. Had the police acted in a professional manner, this situation would not have arisen. These things would not have happened had police not allowed instigators to get away". Justice Joseph further said: "Don't misunderstand me, my remarks are being made keeping in mind larger perspective." Mehta said that implementation of guidelines in Prakash Singh judgement of 2006 becomes difficult in a situation, when a police constable is shot dead and a deputy commissioner of police was attacked and attempts were made to lynch him. That verdict dealt with police reforms which included guidelines on separation of law and order and investigation. The bench said that it has nothing against Delhi Police but its remarks have long term implications and it was for the law enforcing administration to ensure environment is conducive. When a lawyer from petitioner side pointed that protestors at a road in Shaheen Bagh are using their right to protest as a weapon, the bench said, "Now a days, lot of people are using lot of things. Let the police and administration do whatever necessary". The bench posted the matter for hearing on March 23, saying there is a need for magnanimity and for situation to cool down before Shaheen Bagh issue is taken up. The top court was hearing two pleas -- one by lawyer and petitioner Amit Sahni and other by BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg -- seeking removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of agitation against the CAA for over two months. 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 National Register of Citizens (NRC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technavio has been monitoring the foodservice market, and it is poised to grow by USD 985.78 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005804/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Foodservice Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Demand for mobile foodservice has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Request a free sample report Foodservice Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Foodservice Market is segmented as below: Foodservice System Conventional Centralized Ready-prepared Assembly-serve Sector Commercial Non-commercial Geographic segmentation APAC Europe MEA North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40123 Foodservice Market 2020-2024: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our foodservice market report covers the following areas: Foodservice Market size Foodservice Market trends Foodservice Market industry analysis This study identifies the emergence of ghost kitchens as one of the prime reasons driving the foodservice market growth during the next few years. Foodservice Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the foodservice market including some of the vendors such as Aramark, Compass Group Plc, Domino's Pizza Inc., Inspire Brands Inc., McDonald's Corp., Performance Food Group Co., Restaurant Brands International Inc., Sodexo Group, Starbucks Corp. and YUM! Brands Inc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the foodservice market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Foodservice Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist in foodservice market growth during the next five years Estimation of the foodservice market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the foodservice market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of foodservice market vendors About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005804/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ New Delhi, Feb 26 : Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Wednesday discussed on a range of issues including data sovereignty and Digital India with Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Speaking to reporters here after his meeting with Nadella, IT Minister Prasad said that it was a courtesy meeting which went "very good". "We talked on issue of data sovereignty which is a work in progress," he said, adding that Digital India was also discussed among several issues in the IT segment. Data sovereignty and data localisation have been major subjects of debate with the government having introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill in the Parliament last year. Although the bill allows the transfer of personal data outside India, while transferring "sensitive" personal data outside the country a copy will have to be kept in the country. Data processing or collecting entities will, however, be barred from transferring "critical" personal data outside the country. Data sovereignty and localisation have been a matter of concern and major technology companies which are mostly based out of India and store data outside the country. The minister also told the media that he has offered the Microsoft Corporation CEO to adopt few villages in the country and transform them into digital villages in line with the government's target of establishing one lakh digital villages. "We discussed a whole range of issues on IT, particularly i have offered to him... We have to establish one lakh digital villages. He can consider adopting some of these digital villages and mentoring it to become a beacon for others to follow," he said. In the final minutes of Tuesdays Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders mentioned former South African President Nelson Mandela. He was citing an inspirational quote from the dissident and statesman, but it also summoned the specter of the peculiar stories his rival Joe Biden has been telling about Mandela recently. During an event in Columbia, South Carolina, on Feb. 11, Biden offered a reminiscence about the depth of his personal history with Mandela. This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid, Biden said. 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. Advertisement He would mention his being arrested trying to see Mandela twice more in the next seven days, according to the New York Times. And in one mention, he offered a coda to the story: After he got free and became president, he came to Washington and came to my office, Biden said in Las Vegas on Feb. 16. He threw his arms around me and said, I want to say thank you. I said, What are you thanking me for, Mr. President? He said: You tried to see me. You got arrested trying to see me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both the Times and the Washington Post, in separate looks, have found no evidence to support this story, and no instances of Biden mentioning it until recently. The U.N. ambassador at the time, Andrew Young, has said that he was never arrested in South Africa, and he didnt think Biden was, either. Advertisement Advertisement The Biden campaign didnt respond to a request for comment from the Post, which described each claimed incident as not remotely crediblethe streets of Soweto, are hundreds of miles from Robben Island, which is an islandor to five requests for comment from the Times. In other words, for four days after the Times story first went up, neither Biden nor Bidens campaign offered a word (on the record) about the South Carolina front-runners fascinating, previously untold story for which there is no apparent supporting evidence. It evoked a different piece of late 20th century history: the 1988 presidential campaign, when Bidens bid for the nomination unraveled after he delivered passages from an autobiographical speech by the British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock as if they were his own words. Then, Biden had talked about my ancestors, who worked in the coal mines of Northeast Pennsylvania, although his campaign was unable to come up with the names of any of his relatives whod been coal miners. Advertisement Advertisement In Tuesdays post-debate spin room, an answer to the Mandela questions finally came. As Biden campaign staff and surrogates arrived there, the first question a reporter asked them was to clarify the story. He took a trip with a CODEL [congressional delegation] in the 70s, he was separated from the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] members that he was traveling with at the airport when he landed, Bidens deputy campaign manager and communications director, Kate Bedingfield, told the reporter. When making that remark, he was talking about his long record of fighting apartheid. Advertisement Advertisement So he wasnt arrested? He was separated from the group he was with at the airport, she said. This explanation at least aligns with something that Biden has referenced in the past. In a statement his office released when Mandela died in 2013, he mentioned a trip he made as a 34-year-old senator, in the 1970s. Advertisement Advertisement When I exited the plane, I was directed to one side of the tarmac, while the African American congressmen traveling with me were sent to the other side, the statement read. I refused to break off, and the officials finally relented. So he was not arrested on the streets of Soweto with the U.N. ambassador during an effort to see Nelson Mandela in prison. He was, however, briefly separated from his black colleagues by the apartheid regime on the tarmac. Theres a wide gulf between those stories, and we know that (at least) one of themthe one hes told most recently, while campaigning for presidentis flatly untrue. Sajjan Kumar And Rajan Pandey By With Assembly polls just eight months away, Bihar is ripe with speculation about the possible impact of political strategist Prashant Kishors intended intervention in the politics of the state. Much has already been written about the state electorates frustration with the prevailing political status-quoism and the absence of a credible alternative against the same. With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sounding more like a shadow of his past, the reluctance of the BJP to supersede him and the RJDs consistent failure to strike a political chord beyond Muslims and Yadavs, the quest for a fresh alternative seems natural and desirable. However, mere desirability and availability of a conducive ambience are not sufficient factors for a new political initiative to succeed, and Bihar is no exception. Bihars specificity: To expect that a new party or a front, which is neither an outcome of a movement nor being led by a charismatic leader, would be a gamechanger in Bihar requires a quantum leap of faith. A cursory look at the journey of political parties in this state would reveal the absurdity of hope behind Kishors intervention. While the Congress was naturally the dominant party in the state until the late 1960s, it took a consistent and decadal post-Independence movement by the socialist leaders, primarily Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur, for the establishment of a substantial opposition party in the state on the plank of non-Congressism. The same plank got a dynamic catapulting in the wake of the sustained anti-Emergency movement and the outcome was the state having the brief preponderance of the Janata Party from 1977 to 1980. Similarly, the third moment of success for anti-Congressism in Bihar was facilitated by the Mandalisation of the states politics when the Janata Dal got entrenched under the leadership of Lalu Prasad Yadav since 1990; Lalu then went on to form his own party Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997 after the notorious Fodder Scam surfaced. The BJP, which had been struggling to have a footprint in the state since 1980, had to wait until the 1990s; helped by the twin factors of the electoral decline of the Congress and the Ram Temple movement, it then emerged as the main opposition party. It took a Herculean effort by veteran socialist leader George Fernandes and his ally Nitish Kumar to see Samata Party, formed in 1994 and which subsequently became a part of Janata Dal (United), to taste credible electoral successwhich happened from the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Further, post-2000s, the single-caste-centric parties like the LJP, RLSP, HAM(S) and VIP led by Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Mukesh Sahani had more failure in their kitty than success. Besides, they signify more the decadent political culture of Bihar perpetually trapped in regressive communitarian dynamics wherein these leaders behave as the contractors of their sub-castes willing to change sides depending upon electoral incentives. Stumbling blocs: In this backdrop, Project PK is destined to be a failure in Bihar, both in the short-term and long-term scenario, electorally as well as politically. First, the grand claim of the proposed new alternative on the MBA-ised motto of Behtar Bihar with the claim of raising the minimalist aspiration of the people doesnt seem to square up with efforts to rope in single caste leaders like Manjhi, Kushwaha and Sahani who change political sides at the drop of a hat. In fact, these leaders embody the malaise that Kishor intends to liberate Bihar from. Further, given the constant rejection of these leaders by their own caste electorates in the recent elections, any flirtation with them is neither idealistic nor realpolitik. All it reveals is the sheer lack of political imagination and perhaps desperation by Kishor, his public denials of the same notwithstanding. Secondly, the very talk of two charismatic leaders, Kanhaiya Kumar and Assaduddin Owaisi, and perhaps Prakash Ambedkar joining the new front led by PK, thereby galvanising the youth across caste and communities leading to them emerging as a better alternative to the hegemonic presence of the BJP-JD(U) coalition, suffers from the MAFA (mistaking articulation for action) syndrome. While both Kanhaiya and Owaisi are popular and talked-about leaders in the state, one among the youth and the latter among Muslims, to assume their popularity would translate into votes would be a case of sheer political ignorance. Though AIMIM won its first Assembly seat in the October 2019 bypolls from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj constituency, it was more an outcome of local factors than a sign of Owaisis appeal. In fact, in this paper, one of the authors of this article had provided a detailed account titled No takers for Muslim parties in Bihar (13 October 2015), of the Owaisi-led AIMIMs failure to capture the imagination of the Muslim electorate in Bihar in the 2015 Assembly polls even in Muslim-majority constituencies in the Seemanchal region comprising Araria, Purnea, Katihar and Kishanganj districts, despite his high-pitch campaign, on account of it being seen as dividing the anti-BJP votes. Similarly, the popular rallies that Kanhaiya has been addressing across Bihar to mobilise people against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act wouldnt translate into a vote for the new front even if he were to join it, as voters in Bihar have been voting for parties on account of their higher winnability factor rather than grand claims. This brings us to the crucial question as to who has a higher winnability quotient in the ensuing election in Bihar. That the BJP-JD(U)-LJP coalition led by CM Nitish is commanding the biggest social support base of upper castes, Banias, Kurmis and a majority of EBCs, besides the numerically significant Dusadhs, a Dalit sub-caste led by Ram Vilas Paswan, is beyond any doubt. Therefore, their comfortable victory in the October-November 2020 election is almost a given. Hence, the focus shifts upon the fight for the prime Opposition space. This brings PKs initiative directly at loggerheads with the RJD, unless it also joins the proposed front, the likelihood of which is very low. Therefore, driven by the winnability factor, if the anti-BJP voters in Bihar weigh options between the lacklustre RJD and the high-pitched PK front that is yet to take formal shape, the RJD is bound to be the beneficiary as the party still commands the support of the numerically preponderant Yadav electorate due to the caste factor and Muslims due to the trust factor. It gives the RJD a solid starting point vis-a-vis other claimants for the opposition space. This would act as a pool factor for the majority of other anti-BJP voters as people do not vote for a front that fares poorly in the winnability index. Also, the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav are a known face in the hinterland of Bihar unlike PK, who is more of a media sensation than a potent political personality. Therefore, in all likelihood, Bihar is going to witness a bipolar election between the BJP-JD(U)-LJP alliance and the RJD, wherein the former is likely to have a smooth sailing. The third front would be nowhere in the scene. Kishors MBA-ised motto of Behtar Bihar with the claim of raising the aspiration of the people doesnt seem to square up with efforts to rope in single caste leaders like Manjhi, Kushwaha and Sahani who change political sides at the drop of a hat. In fact, these leaders embody the malaise that Kishor intends to liberate Bihar from Sajjan Kumar Political analyst associated with Peoples Pulse Email: sajjanjnu@gmail.com Rajan Pandey The author teaches political science at Christ University, Bengaluru New Delhi, Feb 26 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday pulled up PSU banks on poor branch level connections with customers, which is affecting the credit push. Addressing an event organized by the Indian Banks Association in which EASE 3.0 was unveiled, she said the branch-level connect of the PSU banks with customers is not as it was earlier. EASE is a Public sector banks vision document for better banking. Customers expect personal touch from bank branch staff, the FM said, adding banks should work at branch-level in letter and spirit of banking, which is a direct connect with customers The FM pulled up the banks, saying many bank branch staff do not have any information on government schemes. She said IBA should conduct an exercise for bank branches to inform them about government schemes. Flash Cambodia on Wednesday inaugurated the China-funded National Road 58, which is a crucial road for economic and tourism development in Western provinces. The 174-km road stretches along the Cambodia-Thailand border, connecting Poipet city in Banteay Meanchey province to Samraong city in Oddar Meanchey province. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presided over the inauguration ceremony, which was held in Banteay Meanchey province. Some 12,000 people, who are government officials, local authorities, residents and students, took part in the event. The road was built by the Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd in a period of 43 months, and funded by the Chinese government with concessional loan. "The road has not only helped connect Cambodia internally, but also linked our neighboring provinces with Thailand," Hun Sen said. "It plays a very important role in further promoting trade and tourism between Cambodia and Thailand." The prime minister extended his profound gratitude to China for having provided a great amount of concessional loan and aid to Cambodia for transport infrastructure development, saying that to date, China has built more than 3,000 km of roads and eight river bridges in Cambodia. "The inauguration of this road is a new testament to the excellent relationship and cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said. Ambassador Wang was confident that the road would help boost local economy and reduce poverty in the Western part of Cambodia. "I believe that the National Road 58 will play an important role in helping develop the economy in the Western region of Cambodia, and in bringing hope for the people in the region," he said. Wang said China is committed to working hand-in-hand with Cambodia towards building a China-Cambodia community of shared future. Sudesh Amman's inquest opens today. (Met Police/PA Images) The Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman died after being shot in the neck and abdomen, an inquest has heard. The 20-year-old fanatic was shot dead by armed police after he launched his knife attack in Streatham High Road in February, days after being released from prison. His attack, which left two people injured and hurt another person as police intervened to stop him, prompted MPs to rush through legislation stopping terror prisoners from being released from jail halfway through their sentence. Speaking at the inquest into Ammans death on Wednesday, senior coroner Andrew Harris told Southwark Coroners Court: At this stage it is not clear but it may be useful to point out that if the scope was to explore decisions made by intelligence services that would touch matters of national security. If the process was likely to need to look at those matters there may be a need for me to apply for a High Court judge to hear the inquest. The inquest heard Amman was identified by his mother after he died, and a post mortem recorded that he died of shock and haemorrhage and gunshot wounds to the neck and abdomen. Police at the scene in Streatham High Road, south London. (PA Images) Amman, who was under 24-hour surveillance, took a knife from a store in Streatham High Road at about 2pm on February 3 before removing the blade and stabbing a woman in her 50s in her back. He then stabbed a man outside the White Lion pub up the road as armed officers chased him down. Another woman, in her 20s, was injured during the incident, possibly from broken glass after police fired at the terrorist, who wore a fake suicide vest. Police activity at the scene following the terror attack in Streatham. (PA Images) Amman ran towards Streatham Hill train station as people but was shot dead outside a Boots branch, 100 metres from the shop where his attack started. Footage from the scene shows armed officers keeping their weapons trained on Amman as he flailed on the ground, and an officer can be seen kicking the knife away before rushing back after spotting the fake bomb vest. The three injured people were all treated in hospital. Amman was released halfway through his jail term for distributing terror documents. Thus, this is the third consecutive year, Vietnam has become an attractive destination to Japanese investors and these enterprises continue to place high expectations on the potential and growth possibility of the Vietnamese economy. During the 30-year period of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), capital inflow from Japan has always occupied an important position, which has been increasingly diverse and pouring into areas that Vietnam is paying much attention to. Japanese enterprises are evaluated to operate effectively and seriously while complying well with the laws of Vietnam, contributing to promoting economic growth and creating jobs for locals. Working style and skills of Japanese enterprises are always appreciated while Japanese investment projects in Vietnam run effectively with good technologies. Japanese investment is considered a high-quality capital flow and has become a model for the cooperation relationship between Vietnamese enterprises and FDI enterprises. In particular, Japan has maintained a high and stable rate of investment in Vietnam and has always been one of the two leading FDI countries in Vietnam for many years. But in 2019, investment capital from Japan decreased to the fourth position in the list of countries and territories investing in Vietnam, the lowest position in the past five years. Notably, this decline occurred in the context that Japan has continued to increase investment in Asian countries. On a global scale, Japan has replaced the US to become the worlds largest country investing abroad as it has maintained an investment scale of more than US$100 billion over the past eight years. While many companies have been moving out of China, Vietnam is still not in the choice of large enterprises because Vietnam remains at the middle level of the regional and global production chains. This fact requires more effort from Vietnam to attract Japanese investment as expected. For many years, recommendations of Japanese enterprises have focused on improving the investment and business environment, developing supporting industries and improving the quality of labour training. Investors believe that the biggest risk they may face is the unilateral withdraw of incentives when policies change, complicated and overlapped administrative procedures, limited supply of electricity, and delays in investment and payment for infrastructure projects. 56% of enterprises also said that they still encountered difficulties in purchasing components, accessories and materials from the Vietnamese market even though they wish to expand purchasing from the domestic market and this rate hasnt changed compared to previous years. In order to take full advantage of and absorb the wave of Japanese investment as well as attracting new-generation FDI capital, the Government needs to improve the institution and remove difficulties and obstacles that enterprises have recommended. In particular, special attention should be paid to comprehensive solutions regarding enhancing the business environment, improving labour quality and developing supporting industries. The U.S. military announced late Tuesday that a U.S.-ROK Armed Forces in Korea soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for coronavirus. A USFK soldier stationed at Camp Carroll tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first time a U.S. service member has tested positive for the virus. We're implementing all appropriate control measures to protect the force. https://t.co/kkfEIuW7Jb U.S. Forces Korea (@USForcesKorea) February 26, 2020 This is the first time the DoD has confirmed a U.S. service member has tested positive for the virus. From Reuters tonight: South Korea reported 169 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including a U.S. soldier, as health authorities readied an ambitious plan to test more than 200,000 members of a church hit hardest by the country's outbreak. The new cases pushed the total tally to 1,146, with the numbers expected to rise as the government widens its testing. Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has been linked to outbreaks, is located, the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) said. The U.S. military reported its first case of the coronavirus on Wednesday, in a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 km (12.4 miles) from Daegu. The camp is also near a disability centre that has had its own outbreak of the virus. More from Twitter tonight as news breaks. Reuters: U.S. SOLDIER STATIONED IN SOUTH KOREA TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS U.S. FORCES IN KOREA Vincent Lee (@Rover829) February 26, 2020 BREAKING: US service member tests positive for coronavirus in South Korea https://t.co/RxedAB8khh Paul Szoldra (@PaulSzoldra) February 26, 2020 The U.S. military says one of its soldiers based in South Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first American service member infected.https://t.co/zWQBcOPfQH The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2020 A USFK soldier stationed at Camp Carrol in South Korea is the first US service member to test positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), according to US Forces Korea statement. pic.twitter.com/9spzOQTGEO Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) February 26, 2020 it's millions and millions of Chinese people to stay at home because of the outbreak of the corona virus, there is no reason is not only a virtual draw. On social media to find young people, however, have a way to throw a party to celebrate the so-called "cloud, raves," over the streamingplatforms as Douyin, the Chinese version of the TikTok, writes Business Insider. here's how it works: the dj's to make recordings of their performances from the studio or the house, and livestreamen it to Douyin. Viewers will be able to immediately respond to, and videos that they are dancing to the music, giving the illusion that the participants put together a party to celebrate. The problem is that is very popular. According to the Deputy looked at it, almost 2.3 million people to the cloud, a rave, a popular club in Beijing earlier this month. Within the first half an hour of dancing to all of more than 100,000 people living in the house with them. In addition, it is quite a lucrative one; the clubs are earning thousands of dollars in virtual raves. To keep abreast of the latest developments regarding the corona virus? Please check out our liveblog. The name of the new corona virus causes some confusion. It is hoped that this explanation will be suitable. Health organization WHO chose to be in the beginning for the provisional name of 2019-nCoV , while the virus is actually, officially the SARS-CoV-2 , as it is called. The organization took this name, which is called by the Dutch institute for public health and has been used to be difficult to find, because it is too reminiscent of the SARS outbreak in 2002. In the meantime, the WHO has chosen to make the temporal name to 2019-nCoV has to be replaced by the simpler COVID-a 19-a virus . You will, therefore, be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (used by GOVERNMENT), or COVID-19-virus (used by WHO), and you will die from the disease C OVID -19 . NU.nl it has the names of WHO to stick to it. We'll use the corona virus as an alias for this virus. Updated Date: 24 February 2020, 16:00 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM:ECO)(TSXV:EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licenses in Guyana and Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2019, alongside a corporate and operational update. Results Highlights: Financials As at 31 December 2019, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of CAD $25.4 million with no debt and remains fully funded for its share of further appraisal and exploration drilling at Orinduik Block offshore Guyana of up to US$120m (gross). As at 31 December 2019, Eco had total assets of CAD $27 million, total liabilities of CAD $0.3 million and total equity of CAD $26.7 million. Operations - Guyana On 12 August 2019, the Company announced a major oil discovery on its Orinduik offshore petroleum license in Guyana (the "Guyana License"). Evaluation of logging data confirms that Jethro-1 is the first discovery on the Guyana License and comprises high quality oil-bearing sandstone 55m reservoir of Lower Tertiary age. The well was cased and is awaiting further evaluation to determine the appropriate appraisal activity. On 16 September 2019, the Company announced a second oil discovery on the Guyana License. Evaluation of MWD, wireline logging and sampling of the oil confirms that Joe-1 is the second discovery on the Orinduik License and comprises a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone 16m reservoir with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age. Both wells were drilled within budget, with MWD logging tool and conventional wireline, and the reservoirs were considered to be high-quality sands with good permeability. Fluid samples were taken in both of the wells and were sent for analysis by the Operator. Results of that testing confirm that the samples recovered to date from Jethro-1 and Joe-are mobile heavy crudes with high sulphur content. Oil tested to date appears not dissimilar to the commercial heavy crudes currently in production in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, the Campos Basin in Brazil, Venezuela and Angola. The Company has engaged a third-party consultant with heavy oil development and economics expertise to help conduct preliminary evaluations related to production schemes and commercialisation. Technical and commercial evaluation work is ongoing and the Company is considering alternatives for further drilling and testing and a number of development scenarios and production alternatives. The Company remains optimistic in considering the development scenarios and, as the project progresses, will provide further information on plans and timing. On 3 February 2020, the Company announced the filing of a National Instrument 51-101 compliant resource report on the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, which included: Significant increase in Gross Prospective Resources to 5,141 MMBOE (771 MMBOE net to Eco) from previous estimate of Gross Prospective Resources of 3,981 MMBOE in March 2019. 22 prospects identified on Orinduik Block including 11 leads in the Upper Cretaceous horizon. Majority of the project leads have over a 30% or better chance of success (COS), enhanced by the recent discovery of light oil in the Carapa 1 well on the Kanuku block to the south of Orinduik. Leads in the Tertiary aged section estimated to contain 1,204 MMBOE. Leads in the Cretaceous section are estimated to contain approximately 3,936 MMBOE. Outlook Guyana The Block operator has proposed a further fine tuning analysis of the upper cretaceous reservoirs, and the Operator has announced a plan to incorporate the Carapa well data into Orinduik's existing geological models and technical analysis over the coming period. Further, the partners plan to integrate the discoveries at Jethro and Joe with the Carapa discovery with the rest of the regional data now available and to incorporate this data into a reprocessing of the 3D seismic already shot on Orinduik. The intent is to provide further definition to the Cretaceous interpretation and target selection for drilling. Geological modeling, prospects maturation and target selection on the Block are ongoing, and the JV Partners are working closely to agree the best work program to further explore the prospectivity of the license. Multiple prospects are currently being reviewed with high-graded candidates under consideration for the next drilling programme. Eco is fully funded and is pushing to drill a minimum of at least one upper Cretaceous target as soon as practically possible for its partners. Consideration is being given to prioritise a stacked multi-target well. The Orinduik JV partners are Eco Atlantic (15% working interest ("WI")), Tullow Guyana B.V. ("Tullow") (Operator, 60% WI) and Total E&P Guyana B.V. ("Total") (25% WI). Namibia Eco continues to progress its various work programmes offshore Namibia. Eco sees an increasing interest in Namibia by major companies and large IOCs. The Company plans to monitor near-term drilling activity in the region and will update the market on developments as appropriate. Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: "After completing a successful drilling campaign in 2019, we continue to benefit from a very strong balance sheet and remain fully funded to conduct further exploration and appraisal drilling activity on the Orinduik Block. Our recently updated CPR reaffirms the high prospectivity of the license and the considerable upside potential contained within the Tertiary and Cretaceous horizons. As such, the JV Partners are working on incorporating the learnings gained from other regional discoveries, such as the Carapa well result, into our existing geological models, as this will enable us to identify the most high value targets on the Block. "While it is Eco's intention, and there remains the potential, to conduct a drilling program later this year, the need to integrate the new data learned from recent discoveries in the region into our understanding of the Block's geology may result in further drilling and appraisal activity taking place in H1 2021. However, a final decision on further drilling activity and the overall budget will be made in the coming months. It is important to note that we remain convinced of the significant upside of Orinduik, are well funded, have strong shareholders and partners, and are confident that further drilling activity will be conducted as soon as practically possible and will prove the Block's potential." The Company's unaudited financial results for three and six months ended 30 September 2019, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis as at 31 December 2019, are available to download on the Company's website at www.ecooilandgas.com and on Sedar at www.sedar.com. The following are the Company's Balance Sheet, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statement and selected notes from the annual Financial Statements. All amounts are in Canadian Dollars, unless otherwise stated. Balance Sheet December 31, March 31, 2019 2019 Assets Unaudited Audited Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 25,365,280 25,007,479 Short-term investments 74,818 74,818 Government receivable 50,102 33,104 Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 65,632 80,926 25,555,832 25,196,327 Petroleum and natural gas licenses 1,489,971 1,489,971 Total Assets 27,045,803 26,686,298 Liabilities Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 194,782 423,513 Advances from and amounts owing to license partners, net 134,187 1,127,675 Total Liabilities 328,969 1,551,188 Equity Share capital 78,853,808 50,025,998 Restricted Share Units reserve 356,493 111,493 Warrants 70,280 52,775 Stock options 3,319,117 3,184,658 Accumulated deficit (55,882,864) (28,239,814 ) Total Equity 26,716,834 25,135,110 Total Liabilities and Equity 27,045,803 26,686,298 Income Statement Three months ended Nine months ended December 31, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Unaudited Unaudited Revenue Income from farm-out agreement $ - $ 16,759,307 $ - $ 16,759,307 Interest income $ 105,802 47,877 $ 410,012 144,852 105,802 16,807,184 410,012 16,904,159 Operating expenses: Compensation costs 265,096 247,330 832,747 771,953 Professional fees 138,017 72,295 469,390 172,591 Operating costs (Notes 14) 1,456,929 1,891,595 16,531,606 3,656,989 General and administrative costs (Note 15) 500,998 337,005 1,510,568 968,458 Share-based compensation (Notes 9(i)) 59,504 1,487 7,527,865 4,460 Foreign exchange loss (gain) 939,036 (96,049 ) 1,180,886 (4,897 ) Total expenses 3,359,580 2,453,663 28,053,062 5,569,554 Net profit (loss) and comprehensive loss (3,253,778) 14,353,521 (27,643,050) 11,334,605 Basic and diluted net profit (loss) per share attributable to equity holders of the parent (0.02) 0.09 (0.15) 0.07 Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share 184,441,830 159,785,217 182,225,982 158,998,512 Cash Flow Statement Nine months ended December 31, 2019 2018 Unaudited Cash flow from operating activities Net profit (loss) from operations (27,643,050) 11,333,119 Items not affecting cash: Share-based compensation 7,527,865 5,946 Warrants issued for services 70,280 - Changes in non???cash working capital: Government receivable (16,998) 3,904 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (228,731) 46,053 Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 15,294 48,330 Advance from and amounts owing to license partners (993,488) (8,043 ) (21,268,828) 11,429,309 Cash flow from financing activities Net proceeds from private placement 21,338,853 - Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 126,000 - Proceeds from the exercise of warrants 161,776 - 21,626,629 - Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 357,801 11,429,309 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 25,007,479 14,316,042 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 25,365,280 25,745,351 Basis of Preparation The condensed consolidated interim financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a historical cost basis with the exception of certain financial instruments that are measured at fair value. Historical cost is generally based on the fair value of the consideration given in exchange for assets. Subsequent Events On 9 January 2020, a director of the Company elected to exercise 350,000 options at an exercise price of $0.30. In order to effect a cashless exercise, as permitted under the Company's Stock Option Plan, and minimize dilution to shareholders, the Board agreed to issue 250,000 common shares in lieu of the 350,000 options intended to be exercised. The Company also granted to the Company's IR and Marketing manager, options to subscribe for up to 200,000 Common Shares at a price of $1.20 per Share (the "Options"). The Options vest equally over three years with the first vesting period occurring on the date of issue and expire 5 years from the date of issue. **ENDS** For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com or contact the following: Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas +1 (416) 250 1955 Gil Holzman, CEO Colin Kinley, COO Alice Carroll, Head of Marketing and IR +44(0)781 729 5070 Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 James Harris Rory Murphy James Bellman Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart Ashton Clanfield +44 (0)20 7710 7600 Berenberg (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3207 7800 Matthew Armitt Detlir Elezi Celicourt (PR) +44 (0) 20 8434 2754 Mark Antelme Jimmy Lea Hannam & Partners (Research Advisor) Neil Passmore Hamish Clegg Canaccord Genuity (North American Advisor) Simon Akit +44 (0) 20 7905 8500 +1 416 869 3820 The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Notes to editors: About Eco Atlantic: Eco Atlantic is a TSX-V and AIM quoted Oil & Gas exploration and production Company with interests in Guyana and Namibia, where significant oil discoveries have been made. The Group aims to deliver material value for its stakeholders through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in stable emerging markets, in partnership with major oil companies, including Tullow, Total and Azinam. In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15% working interest alongside Total (25%) and Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin. The Orinduik Block is adjacent and updip to ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation's Stabroek Block, on which sixteen discoveries have been announced and over 8 Billion BOE of oil equivalent recoverable resources are estimated. First oil production commenced in December 2019 from the deep-water Liza Field, less than 3 years from FID. Jethro-1 was the first major oil discovery on Orinduik Block. The Jethro-1 encountered 180.5 feet (55 meters) of net high-quality oil pay in excellent Lower Tertiary sandstone reservoirs which further proves recoverable oil resources. Joe-1 is the second discovery on the Orinduik Block and comprises high quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age. The Joe-1 well encountered 52 feet (16 meters) of continuous thick sandstone which further proves the presence of recoverable oil resources. In Namibia, the Company holds interests in four offshore petroleum licenses totalling approximately 25,000km2 with over 2.3bboe of prospective P50 resources in the Walvis and Luderitz Basins. These four licenses, Cooper, Guy, Sharon and Tamar are being developed alongside partners Azinam and NAMCOR. Eco has been granted a drilling permit on its Cooper Block (Operator). This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577947/Eco-Atlantic-Oil-and-Gas-Ltd-Announces-Unaudited-Results-and-Corporate-Update Amid the continues spread of cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, hopes spark as a 17 day-old baby recovered from the dreaded illness after being born to an infected mother in Wuhan, China. According to China's state media, the baby is the youngest patient to recover from the virus that has killed thousands of people worldwide, with the majority of infections in mainland China. The baby made full recovery last Friday and based on statements by the health workers, she recovered on her own without the help of medication. Per People's Daily, the baby was transferred to Wuhan Children's Hospital on the day she was born and was confirmed positive with the disease shortly after. The Director of the hospital's Department of Neonatology, Dr. Zeng Lingkong said that the 17-day old known as Xiao Xiao was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and had minor damage in her myocardium. However, since she did not display obvious symptoms of COVID-19, the doctors decided against giving her antibiotics instead they let her overcome the disease on her own. Dr. Zeng told the media that since the baby did not have apparent symptoms like cough, fever or difficulty in breathing they only gave her treatment for her myocardial condition. Hence, after the baby tested negative in COVID-19 nucleic acid detection tests three consecutive times, she was allowed to go home. Furthermore, Dr. Zeng said that she has recovered fully both from coronavirus and her heart disease, noting that the baby even grew bigger and fatter in her stay in the hospital. Also read: Filipinos from Cruise Ship Arrive in Philippines, Excluding 70 Others Who Tested Positive for Coronavirus It can be recalled that Chinese doctors have feared that there could be a possibility that infected mothers can transfer the infection to their babies in the womb. In early February, a baby was born to a mother with coronavirus and was also diagnosed with the disease after being delivered. However, there are still no enough evidence that supports mother to child transmission of 2019 ncov is possible. In addition, Dr. Zeng also said that this calls to medical professionals to pay close attention to the possibility of vertical transmission of the virus. On the other hand, the oldest patient that has recovered from the virus in China is a 96-year-old woman who survived the diseases after being in intensive care for three days. Meanwhile, despite the recoveries, coronavirus continues to spread like wildfire as the number of cases reach more than 80,000 worldwide and the death toll has shot up to more than 2,700. The densest number of cases is still in China where the virus first emerged. However, there are already cases of the virus in more than 20 other countries. South Korea, the biggest hot spot outside of China has already more than 1,140 cases, while Italy, where the virus has had its biggest outbreak outside Asia, has already had more than 320 confirmed cases. Even with COVID-19 already spreading across continents the World Health Organization said that it is still to early to declare a pandemic and there is still time to prepare. Related article: Venice Carnival Canceled: 50,000 People Trapped in Northern Italy @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The report brings an in-depth analysis of the Indian Fintech industry that is purely driven by data collected over the last 4 years. SEMrush, the online visibility management and content marketing platform unveiled an exclusive report - Top Insights into Fintech Industry of India. Fintech industry is rapidly evolving in India and has certainly gained major traction, not just from the players in the sector or entrepreneurs but from a large pool of investors as well. SEMrushs exclusive report uses data from over 600 most searched Fintech players of India. The report explores trends and data collected under web volume searches online, social media, sentiments analysis, websites traffic and user behaviours to analyse it digitally. The report brings an in-depth analysis of the Indian Fintech industry that is purely driven by data collected over the last 4 years. It mirrors the current state of affairs in India with perspective to the user behaviour. The report also showcases the popularity of Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin among major cities in India especially with growing penetration in Tier 2 cities like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal etc. Apart from currencies and payment modes, the report also peeks into investment searches and behaviours of India. Through the research, it is witnessed that most number of Indians look for mutual funds to invest their money in. The study also sheds light on the NFC payments - according to Google searches, their numbers are growing steadily. It also reveals how NFC has been growing steadily over the last several years or Indians being most interested in investing in mutual funds, share market and stock market. The report also showcased that Open business in India is among top 10 most popular open business in... Google searches globally. Additionally, Indian Rupee is searched more than Bitcoin in India. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Srinagar, Feb 26 : Former PDP minister Altaf Bukhari on Wednesday appealed to the central government to evacuate Kashmiri students and businessmen stranded in Iran due to the coronavirus outbreak in that country. In a statement here, Bukhari said the rising number of deaths and number of infected people in Iran has created fear among residents of Jammu & Kashmir who are stranded in Iran and their families here. "As we know that Iran has confirmed three more deaths and 34 new cases on Tuesday, taking the country's overall death toll to 15 and infection tally to 95. I am in touch with the ministry of external affairs, government of India and have submitted details of over 240 J&K students who are stuck in Shiraz, Tehran and other cities of Iran," Bukhari said, while appealing to the government to take measures for safe evacuation of these students at an earliest. He said the ground situation in Iran has worsened. "Iran has been hit by the deadliest coronavirus outbreak by far outside China. I have information from the stranded students who study in Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Shiraz University of Medical Science in Iran that over 300 students from J&K are studying in various provinces of the country. All of them are currently safe but they apprehend contamination if they are not evacuated from Iran very soon," Bukhari sad. The former minister appealed to the government to arrange a chartered flight for these students and a separate quarantine facility for them. Bukhari said the the government should consider operating a special flight to Shiraz or to a nearby functional airport and airlift the J&K residents stranded there to bring them back to India. Temperature control will also be introduced at the entry-exit checkpoints at the line of demarcation with temporarily occupied Crimea and certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions The State Border Service and the Ministry of Health will conduct temperature screening of all citizens arriving in Ukraine. This was stated by Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov during a Coordination Meeting on the Coronavirus Control Situation, the Interior Ministrys press service reported. "Temperature screening is obligatory for all citizens arriving in Ukraine from any country of the world, both by air and through all road and rail checkpoints at the border of Ukraine. There are 29 such points with the EU countries, and overall - 232. Today, for example, such groups examined about 1000 people at the Tisa checkpoint," he said. Avakov also noted that the temperature control would also be introduced at the entry-exit checkpoints at the line of demarcation with temporarily occupied Crimea and certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. As we reported earlier, head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Serhiy Daineko organized reinforced security measures at the Tisa customs office. Temperature screening of people traveling to Ukraine started at the Tisa customs office at the border with Hungary on February 25. Border guards are provided with the temperature measuring instruments and individual protection equipment. Stocks in the news today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Wednesday's trading session based on the latest developments. Sanofi Q3: The company reported 22.7% rise (YoY) in consolidated net profit to Rs 97.3 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, as against Rs 79.3 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Total income rose 14.01% (YoY) to Rs 851.1 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 746.5 crore in the same period last financial year. Sanofi also announced a final dividend of Rs 106 per equity share Rs 10 each and a one-time special dividend of Rs 243 per equity share Rs 10 each for the year ended 31st December 2019. The total dividend recommended is Rs 349 per equity share Rs 10 each for the year ended 31st December 2019. InterGlobe Aviation: Following reports that suggested that SEBI has found undisclosed related party transactions at IndiGo in the preliminary enquiry, IndiGo has clarified the exchanges that news item is factually incorrect and the company has not received any communication from SEBI in this regard. Wockhardt: The company informed the exchanges that India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has placed Wockhardt long-term issuer rating of IND BB+' on rating watch evolving (RWE) and revised the outlook to 'Negative'. Dr Lal PathLabs: The pharma major announced an interim dividend of Rs 6 per equity share at 60 % on a face value of Rs 10 per share. The 2nd interim dividend will be paid by the company on or after March 13, 2020, the filing added. Asian Paints: The paints major announced a second interim dividend of Rs 7.15 per equity share of the face value of Re 1. The interim dividend will be paid by the company on Wednesday, 4th March 2020 on or after Friday, 6th March 2020. Future Enterprises: The company informed the exchanges that the Infomerics Valuation and Rating Private Limited, Credit Rating Agency has assigned 'IVRA1+' credit rating to the company's commercial papers of the company. Zensar Technologies: Company informed the exchanges that ICRA Limited has re-affirmed long-term rating at [ICRA] AA+ and short-term rating at [ICRA] A1+. Further, it has revised the outlook on the long-term rating, from stable to negative, the filing added. Great Eastern Shipping Company: The company informed that its board of directors meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday & Saturday on March 06 & 07, 2020, to consider, declaration of interim dividend for the financial year 2019-2020 if any. Matali Crasset isnt afraid of a little color or a lot of it. Over the years, the French designer has become known for playful shapes and vivid hues, taking inspiration from a broad range of sources like traditional crafts and electronic music. So when she was approached to renovate the ninth-floor Parisian apartment of Michele Monory, founder of the experimental collaborative jewelry studio Le Buisson, Crasset produced exactly what youd expect: a fun set of absolutely unique interiors. Inside The pair had already worked together more than once. Crasset previously produced a set of rings for Le Buisson, and back in 2014, she transformed a stone farmhouse in the heart of the forest near the Chinon region that Monory had inherited. Its clear from the results of the 2019 project Le Rainbow et le Bousquet, which means the rainbow and the woods, that theyve developed enough of a rapport for Crasset to unleash her creativity at full blast. Monory gave Crasset free reign to do whatever she wanted with the 861-square-foot space, which originally had a conventional layout with an entryway, two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette. Naturally, Crasset wanted to start completely fresh, focusing on a sense of openness, natural light, and a full spectrum of color. The space also had to be multifunctional, serving as both a home for Monory and, occasionally, a showroom for Le Buisson. There's plenty of room to walk around in the renovated The green cabinets in Le Rainbow et le Bousquet's kitchen and dining areas make up the Sliding glass panels close or open the bedroom to the rest of the colorful interiors. I wanted to create a space suspended somewhere between two of the main places that define the modernity of Paris, the Eiffel Tower and the tour de Montparnasse: you can see both of them from the windows of this apartment, says the designer. After having completely cleared out the original plan, I made the radical choice of playing with color and a near-absence of furniture. After tearing down the original walls, Crasset established a clean white canvas throughout the house to act as a backdrop for her rainbow-colored installations. Custom built-in furniture like benches and tabletops defines separate areas within the open space, with the kitchen and showroom areas painted green to set them apart. These parts are the woods, contrasting to the rainbow seen throughout the rest of the apartment. Story continues A semi-private four-person floating lounger sits at the heart of the renovated A semi-private four-person floating lounger sits at the heart of the renovated The apartments centerpiece is a four-person floating lounger, with two halves affixed to a central white wall. Even better, a bright circular screen can be drawn around it for privacy or to filter the light. Crasset explains that the lounger is an area for comfortable exchanges in levitation, surrounded by color above all, so we are in the heart of an invigorating rainbow that invites us to take advantage of the present moment each day. Color is life. The present configuration allows double exposure and makes the terrace accessible continuously with the living area. The multi-colored vertical rhythm rotates to organize the area in different ways: along the wall, to accompany the moment of personal meetings; half-closed, it becomes an openwork panel to create several zones; completely turned, it closes the area off to create a space where one can sleep surrounded by this benevolent rhythm of color. Matali Crasset and Michele Monory relax in Monory's newly renovated rainbow apartment. The result is, according to Crasset, an invigorating framework [that] helps one to remain active with a lively mind. Monory seems to be pleased, too, saying that she moved just by changing interiors. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Periods of light snow. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%.. Tonight Occasional snow showers. Low around 25F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. New frontiers sought by diversifying firms. Illustration photo: Le Toan Over the past three weeks, Hoang An Trade Co., Ltd. has been unable to export any of its containers of cotton buds and shavers to China, a market creating 40 per cent of the companys total export turnover, due to a halt in trade activities at the Dong Dang border gate in the northern province of Lang Son, caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. We are planning to work with some new partners from South Korea and Japan to boost exports and offset the losses from exports to China, said the companys vice director Nguyen Kim Ngan. Currently, South Korea and Japan occupy 30 per cent of our export turnover, and the remaining markets are in Southeast Asia. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), hundreds of thousands of firms like Hoang An Trade are being advised to find fresh markets to export their products, instead of focusing too heavily on China. Phuc Sinh Corporation in Ho Chi Minh City has been exporting its farm produce to Europe, North America, and the Middle East for several years. Over the past two months the corporation, which holds 15 per cent of Vietnams pepper market share and 8 per cent globally, has suffered from a 70 per cent fall in revenue from a domestic consumption subsidiary. The sales have dramatically slashed. We have been deploying online sales, but they are moving very slowly, Phuc Sinhs chairman and general director Pham Minh Thong told VIR. He said that currently the corporation is not heavily affected in overseas markets by COVID-19. However, if the epidemic continues until April, we will be badly hurt in these markets due to the snowball effect, and we may have to strengthen and expand new markets, Thong added. As per the General Statistics Office (GSO), in 2019 China accounted for 15.75 per cent of Vietnams total export value, and 29.7 per cent of Vietnams total import turnover. Also last year, Vietnams largest export markets include the US ($60.7 billion), Europe ($41.7 billion), China ($41.5 billion), the ASEAN ($25.3 billion), Japan ($20.3 billion), and South Korea ($19.8 billion). However, according to Thong of Phuc Sinh, it is not always straightforward for any firm to establish new co-operation with an overseas partner. The process will take months and lots of money for travelling, accommodation, and procedures, he said. The GSO stated that enterprise difficulties mean Vietnam will likely find it hard to secure its target of import-export turnover this year. The National Assembly last November set a target of a 7-8 per cent rise in export turnover for 2020, with a trade deficit of under 2 per cent of total export turnover. Last year, total export turnover hit $253.5 billion. This means that in 2020, total export turnover is expected to be around $282 billion and total import turnover around $289 billion, with a trade deficit of $5.65 billion. In total, the export-import revenue for the year could be $572 billion, far higher than last years $517 billion. The targets may not be easy to reach. The difficulties can be seen now in almost all sectors of the economy, said GSO head Nguyen Bich Lam. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has revealed two scenarios for Vietnams first-quarter export-import turnover (see box). Under a GSO survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, the agro-forestry-fishery sector will be among the sectors most vulnerable to the epidemic, with its exports heavily affected. If the outbreak is fully contained within the first quarter of the year, Vietnams first-quarter exports of these products to China will see a reduction of $250-300 million. If the epidemic is eradicated in the second quarter of the year, Vietnams six-month exports of the said products to China will suffer from a decline of $600-800 million. Many Chinese importers have notified Vietnams aquatic exporters to halt exports until official information about normalisation in cross-border trade activities from China is released, said a representative from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Some big shipping firms have refused to transport goods to China. Even some EU and US partners have halted all of their plans to visit Vietnamese firms to forge co-operation. In addition, the textile and garment sector will also be affected by COVID-19. China last year earmarked $4.2 billion for importing garment and textile products from Vietnam, equivalent to nearly 11 per cent of Vietnams total global export turnover of these products. Moreover, up to 60 per cent of Vietnams demand for materials for garments and textiles, electronics, and automobiles are from mainland China. According to the MPIs Department for Local Economy and Territory, China currently holds 22.6 per cent of Vietnams total export-import-based revenue. It is forecast that there will be a reduction of 30 per cent in export-import revenue from China in the time to come, said the departments general director Tran Duy Dong. Meanwhile, firms such as Hoang An are now still awaiting a brighter outlook for their exports after COVID-19 is eradicated. If we are not successful in expanding exports to more partners in South Korea, Japan, or elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and if the epidemic is not stopped, we will face further difficulties, and even have to shut down production, said Ngan of Hoang An. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote a poem condemning the violence in Delhi as she sought answers for the incidents of vandalism and arson. "Search for an address getting lost/ A storm raging the country at gunpoint/ a peaceful country turned violent / Is it the end of democracy?" she penned. She further wrote, "Who will give the answer?/ Will there be a solution/ You and me are deaf and dumb/ The sacred land turns into a hell." Twenty-four people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. The Trinamool Congress leadership has refrained from making strong statements about the violence. Senior TMC leaders, who spoke to PTI on condition of anonymity, said they have been asked not to make "any out of turn statement on the issue without prior permission of the party". Banerjee on Tuesday expressed concerns over the incidents of arson and violence and appealed to people to maintain calm and peace. The opposition CPI(M) and Congress took a dig at Mamata Banerjee's party and said it was part of a "tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC". "When all the political parties are demanding Amit Shah's resignation, the TMC is maintaining a stoic silence," CPI(M) legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty said. The TMC leadership denied the charge as baseless. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky declares that the occupied Crimea will not become a bargaining chip with the Russian Federation in the issue of ending the conflict in Donbas. "Today we are doing everything possible to end the war in Donbas and not to lose our best Ukrainians every day. All our efforts are directed at this, but this does not mean that Crimea is removed from the agenda and that it can become the price for peace in Donbas," Zelensky said at the forum "Age of Crimea 2020" in Kyiv on Wednesday. He also said that Ukraine should support its citizens who remained in Crimea occupied by Russia, help young people study and settle down in Ukraine, and provide information support to fellow citizens. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:09:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has appealed for about 119.3 million U.S. dollars to meet the needs of South Sudan's internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, host community members and migrants in the conflict-torn country. IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission, Jean-Philippe Chauzy said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the funds would be used to complement humanitarian interventions and also help with transition and recovery of displaced persons. "We call on the donor community to continue providing support to the people of South Sudan as they rebuild their lives towards a durable peace as promised by the Revitalized Peace Agreement," Chauzy said. Aid agencies estimate that nearly 7.5 million South Sudanese are in dire need of humanitarian assistance following six years of civil war. Some 1.5 million people remain displaced internally and another 2.2 million as refugees in neighboring countries. An Indian Air Force (IAF) special flight carrying around 15 tonnes of medical supplies, including masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment departed for Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, on Wednesday (February 26). The Indian government has sent the IAF special flight in the wake the coronavirus outbreak in China and the request by Beining to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment. It is to be noted that on February 8, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to President Xi Jinping expressing the solidarity of the people of India and the Indian Government with the people and Government of China and also offered assistance to China in this hour of need as a gift. Indian government is hopeful that the medical supplies carried by IAF special flight will help augment Chinas efforts to control the outbreak of coronavirus infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation and has claimed over 2,500 lives in China so far. Live TV The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The IAF Flight will also bring back some Indian and foreign nationals from some of our neighbouring countries who have sought assistance in travelling to India in keeping with Prime Minister Modis neighbourhood first policy. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Mundoro Capital Inc. (TSXV: MUN) (www.mundoro.com) ("Mundoro" or the "Company") is pleased to report on exploration activity for the Company's partner funded exploration programs that are ongoing in Serbia and Bulgaria. The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis are expected to be filed by the end of April 2020 on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and posted on the Company's website at www.mundoro.com. EXPLORATION ACTIVITY DURING Q4-2019 Mundoro Generative Programs and Outlook for Projects Available for Option or Joint Venture Mundoro's exploration portfolio of targets, projects and partners is designed such that the success of the company is driven by the proven earn-in funding model. The Company has an ongoing target generation program where we evaluate both existing and new target areas in Serbia and Bulgaria. The Company has applications in Serbia and Bulgaria for further exploration areas. Mundoro continues to have discussions with interested third parties seeking options on our available projects, confirming the growing interest in exploring in Timok, Serbia as well as in Bulgaria. At December 31, 2019, Mundoro had a treasury position of $2.6 million which is a strong working capital position for new project generation, completing license maintenance exploration work while optioning our projects to third parties, and general administration. Freeport-Mundoro Projects At the Freeport-Mundoro Projects (see Figure 1 - Location Map of Projects in Serbia), drilling is ongoing and has been increased from an initial 3,500 meter program to 8,541 meters with the possibility it may increase further such that drilling is not expected to be completed until the end of Q1-2020 with results expected in Q2-2020 (see Figure 2 - Freeport-Mundoro Project - Drill Target Locations). A summary of the targets and exploration at each area is provided below: Story continues Tilva Rosh (Savinac License) This target is a large area of 2.5 km x 1 km of advanced argillic alteration containing epithermal gold mineralization cropping out at surface as observed through trench sampling by Mundoro in 2013 which returned 12 m of 30 g/t gold and 171 g/t silver . Interpretation of prior drilling suggests the epithermal mineralization is proximal to a copper-gold porphyry system. Status: Interpretation models from both the IP-Resistivity and CSAMT/NSAMT were completed and combined with other layers of data to select targets for follow up drilling. Drilling commenced in October 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,980.5 meters over 4 drill holes. Markov Kamen (Savinac License) This is another epithermal target identified by several copper-gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies related to 4 km x 1.2 km zone of argillic and advanced argillic alteration. Five holes drilled during a previous program at Markov Kamen which intersected hydrothermal breccia, and vuggy silica, suggesting high-sulphidation type epithermal mineralisation controlled by dominantly northwest structures. Status: Interpretation models from both the IP-Resistivity and CSAMT/NSAMT were completed and combined with other layers of data to select targets for follow up drilling. Drilling is expected to commence at the end of February 2020 with completion around the end of Q1-2020. Prekostenski (Bacevica License) This area is a copper-gold porphyry target identified by mapping and surface sampling which resulted in 55 m of 0.28 g/t gold and 0.21 % copper . The exploration work identified chalcopyrite-magnetite mineralisation hosted in potassic altered diorite. One drill hole from 2018 confirmed the extension of the surface mineralisation to a depth of 68.6 m. Quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins were observed hosted in potassic altered diorite porphyry and returned an intercept of 49.8 meters of 0.14 g/t gold and 0.13 % copper from surface. Detailed mapping was completed for an area of approximately 9 sq.km. and surface extension of the mineralised porphyry was identified further to the west. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,404.8 meters over 5 drill holes. Drilling is ongoing and expected to be completed in Q1-2020. Orlovo Brdo (Bacevica License) This target is a broad zone of phyllic alteration of 3 km x 700 m with gold and copper anomalism. One drill hole from 2018, intersected a zone of quartz vein stockwork mineralization related to potassic altered diorite at depth of 458 m, returning 26 m of 0.10% Cu and 0.23 g/t Au , overlain by phyllic alteration from surface. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,325.4 meters over 4 drill holes. D-Vein (Bacevica License) This target represents an area containing several copper-gold quartz veins hosted in propylitic altered andesite. Mapping and rock sampling of the veins returned up to 2% Cu and 7.2 g/t Au in grab samples . The veins area is interpreted to be related to a porphyry Cu-Au system. Detailed alteration mapping of the area highlighted a zoned alteration pattern. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 542.0 meters over 1 drill hole. JOGMEC-Mundoro JV Project in Serbia Borsko is a 35 sq.km license area sole funded by Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") as part of the earn-in agreement entered into in 2016. Borsko is located near the central portion of the Timok Magmatic Complex (see Figure 1 - Location Map of Projects in Serbia). Borsko is directly adjacent and to the west of the producing Bor copper porphyry mine which is directly west of the Veliki Krivelj copper-gold porphyry mine. For further description of the Borkso geology see Mundoro's press release dated December 18, 2017 at www.mundoro.com. Borsko's exploration model for blind epithermal and related porphyry Cu-Au system was proven in the 2017 drill program which discovered advanced argillic alteration system ("Target 1") hosted in andesite under 570 m agglomerate volcanic cover. The hydrothermal alteration consists of semi-massive pyrite, pervasive silica, alunite and hydrothermal breccias. It correlates with resistivity-high, density low and high contacts, and magnetic low geophysical anomalies. This alteration system with related epithermal geochemical signature is an important discovery as it is approximately 4 km west of the Bor deposit. Q4-2019 Drilling Program Outcomes During Stage One (March 2016 - March 2019) of the Earn-in, exploration completed at Borsko identified a CSAMT geophysical anomaly over 1.6 km in areal extent which has been identified as Target 1 and has only been partially tested. Drilling identified this CSAMT geophysical anomaly appears to be related to advanced argillic alteration (" lithocap ") under cover. The Target 1 system contains elevated copper-gold-arsenic values indicative of high sulphidation type mineralisation, while the weak potassic alteration with elevated copper identified at the bottom of the lithocap suggests a porphyry source beyond the immediate area drill tested to date. From April 2019 to date, which was part of the first year of the Stage Two Earn-in, exploration completed was focused on (i) filling in the geophysical gravity survey covering an area of 22 sq.km (63% of the license) with 2,163 measured stations at grid 100 m x 100 m and (ii) a drill program testing six new ranked CSAMT and gravity geophysical anomalies under cover which were tested with six diamond drill holes totaling 3899.8 m (see Figure 3 - Borkso Drill Target Locations ). Five of the six geophysical anomalies did not identify hydrothermal alteration related to the geophysical features. Targeting was carried out by estimation of the geophysical characteristics of the hydrothermal alteration based on results of Target 1. The last drill hole 19-BJ-26, however did intersect approximately 30m of argillic altered andesite which correlates with previously intersected argillic alteration containing pyrite in drill hole 18-BJ-19. Our exploration team has interpreted this alteration as a trend towards Target 1 to the north as an indication for extension of Target 1 hydrothermal system to south (see Figure 4 - Long Cross Section of Target 1 and Southwest Target ). The regional target testing drilling campaign from 2019 added significantly to the understanding of Borsko geology setting and structural control as well as refining the geophysical responses which are very important for under cover exploration. Intersected argillic alteration with pyrite and minor chalcopyrite in drill holes 19-BJ-26 and 18-BJ-19 suggest possible additional 2km extension to south of Target 1 connecting to the newly identified "Southwest Target". This coincides also with interpreted significant gravity low anomaly (see Figure 4). Next Steps: The latest phase of target testing proved that Target 1 is unique and remains open to the south, the north, the west and at depth (see Figure 4 ). The results also demonstrated the need for further analysis of the geophysics data in order to create a 3D review of the geophysical results which can further refine the targeting and correlate it with the drill results to date. The JOGMEC-Mundoro exploration committee approved a complete geophysical review in January 2020 with a consulting geophysical team based in Australia with extensive experience in undercover systems. The interpretation and analysis is expected by the end of Q1-2020. The interpretation and analysis will be used to design the next stage of drilling to explore Target 1 and the Southwest Target for epithermal and source porphyry copper-gold mineralisation. JOGMEC-Mundoro Generative Alliance in Bulgaria In March 2019 Mundoro entered into a Generative Program Agreement (the "Generative Alliance") in the Republic of Bulgaria with JOGMEC to be sole-funded by JOGMEC. The purpose of the Generative Alliance is to establish a program between Mundoro and JOGMEC, whereby Mundoro will carry out mineral exploration activities in Bulgaria under the direction of a joint Technical Committee with the view to identifying areas of interests that merit additional exploration and/or development work. Upon JOGMEC determining that one or more properties merit additional exploration and/or development work, JOGMEC has the right to establish a joint venture on that property with Mundoro. Status: The generative program has been completed and JOGMEC has selected designated projects to proceed to the next stage of the agreement. Vale-Mundoro Projects For the Vale-Mundoro Projects, the Technical Committee is reviewing work programs in order to be in a position for exploration in the second half of 2020. On behalf of the Company, Teo Dechev, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director Qualified Person Technical information contained in this Press Release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. G. Magaranov, P. Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Drilling, Sampling, Analysis and Quality Assurance and Control The drilling technique was triple tubed diamond drilling from surface for PQ and HQ, while for NQ was double tubed. The drill holes were generally cased from surface progressing from PQ to HQ at 380m on average, however exact depths vary from hole to hole. Drill hole orientations were surveyed at approximately 30 meters intervals. Drill core was oriented using the Reflex EZ-Trac and Devico Pee Wee tools, the bottom of the core was marked by the drillers and this was used for marking the whole drill core with reference lines. Company personnel monitored the drilling, with drill core delivered daily to the Company's core storage facility where it was logged, cut and sampled. Core recovery was measured and recorded continuously from the top to the end of the hole for every drill hole. Each run of 3m length was marked by plastic core block which provided the depth drilled. Core recovery is recorded as 99.4-100% in most intervals. The drill core was sawn into two along drill core orientation line using a core-cutter and left half looking downhole was collected in bag and submitted for analysis, the other half is kept in tray and stored. Samples were collected at one or two-meter lengths from mineralised intervals and every fifteen meters one sample of two-meter lengths from non-mineralised intervals with brakes for major geological changes. The samples were submitted to SGS managed laboratory in Bor, Serbia for sample preparation and analysis. Drill core samples are assayed using 50-grams charge for fire assay with atomic absorption finish and multi-element method 4 acid digestion ICP-AES package IMS40B. In addition to the laboratory's internal QA/QC procedures, the Company conducted its own QA/QC with the systematic inclusion of certified reference materials every 20 samples, blank samples every 20 samples and field duplicates at every 25 samples. About Mundoro Capital Inc. Mundoro is a Canadian mineral exploration and development public company focused on building value for its shareholders through directly investing in mineral projects that have the ability to generate future returns for shareholders. The Company holds a portfolio of projects in Serbia and Bulgaria as well as an investment in a producing gold mine in Bulgaria. There are eight licenses in Serbia, four of which are optioned to JOGMEC, two licenses are optioned to Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation and two licenses are available for joint venture. In Bulgaria, Mundoro has formed a Generative Alliance with JOGMEC. Mundoro's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MUN". For further information please contact: Teo Dechev, CEO, President and Director of Mundoro Capital Inc. at +1-604-669-8055 Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe" or "continue" or similar words or the negative thereof, and include the following: completion of the earn-in expenditures and options by JOGMEC; and completion of a definitive joint venture agreement by the parties. The material assumptions that were applied in making the forward looking statements in this News Release include expectations as to the mineral potential of the Timok North Properties, the Company's future strategy and business plan and execution of the Company's existing plans. We caution readers of this News Release not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements contained in this News Release, as there can be no assurance that they will occur and they are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include general economic and market conditions, exploration results, commodity prices, changes in law, regulatory processes, the status of Mundoro's assets and financial condition, actions of competitors and the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this News Release are made as of the date of this News Release and the Board undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and for a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Figure 1 Location Map of Projects in Serbia To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_1_Feb2020.jpg Figure 2 Freeport-Mundoro Project - Drill Target Locations To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_2_Feb2020.jpg Figure 3 Borkso Drill Target Locations To view an enhanced version of figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_3_Feb2020.jpg Figure 4 Long Cross Section of Target 1 and Southwest Target To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_4_Feb2020.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52794 Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:37:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israelis will vote on Monday in the third consecutive general election within a year to select the country's 23rd parliament. Party leaders will then hold coalition negotiations in an attempt to rid the country of the elongated political dead-lock and form a government. There are 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset. Recent polls show that the Likud party, led by sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has a slight advantage over its main opponent Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz. The system in Israel mandates that a government is always a coalition of parties, and in the current state, both Gantz and Netanyahu will have difficulty forming a coalition. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has to assign the coalition building task to the party leader with the most recommendations from all the parties. A total of 29 parties are running for seats this time around. With a threshold level of 3.25 percent of the votes, it is expected that eight or nine parties will make it to the finish-line. Here are some of the main parties running in the race: Likud Led by Netanyahu for over a decade, the Likud is the biggest party in Israel's right wing bloc. The party's official platform is vague. Likud members have largely embraced the recently published Trump administration's plan aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Throughout the election campaign, Netanyahu promised that he would move to implement the parts of the U.S. plan which give Israel the right to annex the Jordan Valley and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Israeli leader has also championed a tough stance against Iran, Israel's archrival, his decisions in this arena have been largely received by all sides of the Israeli political map. Netanyahu is considered a political maverick. However, two weeks after the elections, he is scheduled to make his first court appearance as a defendant. Netanyahu is facing charges of corruption, fraud and breach of trust. This may be a significant impediment to his ability to form a coalition. Blue and White Headed by former Israeli army chief of staff Benny Gantz, Blue and White is a result of a merger between new-comer Gantz and the centrist party Yesh Atid headed by former journalist and Finance Minister Yair Lapid. In recent escalations of violence between Israel and the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, the party did not offer different solutions from those offered by the leading Likud. In recent days, Blue and White has lost the lead in the polls to the Likud, however, this does not mean he will not be able to lead a larger bloc and form a government. The party has vowed not to sit with Netanyahu because of his legal status. Labor-Gesher-Meretz A joint list of three parties headed by Amir Peretz, leader of the Labor party and former defense minister. The union is part of the left bloc. The united list was formed ahead of this election in order to guarantee that the three parties cross the threshold, as there was danger that at least two of them may not even make it into the Knesset. They advocate renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians, increasing minimum wage, and major investments in the health and education systems. Should Blue and White form a government, they are expected to join. The Joint List This party is expected to be the largest party representing the Arab population in Israel. The party is led by prominent Arab-Israeli politicians Ahmed Tibi and Ayman Odeh. They vehemently oppose the Trump plan and therefore will have difficulty supporting a government led by Gantz who has voiced support for the plan. Traditionally, Arab parties do not join coalitions and hence they usually do not recommend any party leader to the Israeli president. They broke tradition in the last election and recommended Gantz in order to topple Netanyahu. It is not clear they will do the same this time, also because they are being shunned by Blue and White that has realized that leaning on Arab votes is not popular amongst the Jewish majority in the country. Yamina Another joint-electoral list, the party is a hybridization of three right-wing Jewish religious parties: The Jewish Home, The National Union and the New Right. The party is headed by former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. Its other leaders are Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, Education Minister Rafi Peretz, and Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Shaked has vowed to continue to limit the influence of the Israeli Supreme Court. Bennet has promised tougher policy towards Hamas in the Gaza Strip, although, as current defense minister, he has not made major changes. Shaked and Bennet are staunch opposers of a Palestinian state and support full Israeli annexation of the West Bank. The citys Poverty Committee is still looking for key details on Manitoba Housings recent decision to privatize management of two affordable housing buildings in Brandon and what it means for the citys low-income earners. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us 25022020 Winnipeg House at 15th Street and Princess Avenue. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) The citys Poverty Committee is still looking for key details on Manitoba Housings recent decision to privatize management of two affordable housing buildings in Brandon and what it means for the citys low-income earners. The citys Poverty Committee sent a letter to provincial Families Minister Heather Stefanson on Feb. 5 seeking more information on privatizing management of both Winnipeg House, on 15th Street, and Grand Valley Place, on Fourth Street. The letter, signed by Coun. Bruce Luebke (South Centre), asks for more information on the "community implications" of the transfer in management. It asks if vulnerable people in Brandon will still have the same access to affordable and rent-to-income units and whether the process of applying for the units will remain the same as Manitoba Housings procedure. Susan Spring, a member of the Poverty Committee, said there is a lack of public information about why the transfer was made and what it means for Brandonites. "Brandon is not Winnipeg," she said. "Maybe when you have a large-scale model of Manitoba Housing and however many units you have in Winnipeg that is not Brandon, and not everyone has the money to go to three different places to apply for housing, but they all equally need housing." She added that the committee is concerned that many non-profits in the city didnt know about the opportunity to manage the units and that this information wasnt widely circulated. 25022020 Grand Valley Place at 4th Street and Princess Avenue. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) "Our housing networks are strong and our service providers are strong and Manitoba Housing is a key provider in Brandon, so wed prefer not to lose resources," she said. See xxxxx Page A2 A negotiated request for proposal document on Manitoba Housings website says the provincial government was looking for proposals on the "management, operations and administration" of the two properties in Brandon, as well as 1390 Rothesay / 355 Sutton Ave., 385 Carlton St. and 145 Powers St. in Winnipeg. The submission deadline was June 28, 2019. In Brandon, that means a total of 130 affordable housing units across both Winnipeg House and Grand Valley Place are now under private management, a significant chunk of the citys affordable housing stock. Manitoba Housing retains ownership of the buildings, according to the RFP documents, but will no longer manage them. The documents for both Brandon buildings set out five-year management terms, up to a maximum of 25 years. The documents say housing units will be allocated "to those in greatest need as determined by a point rating system approved by Manitoba Housing. " While the letter from the Poverty Committee says the Brandon Friendship Centre and a private company have taken over management of the two buildings, Friendship Centre executive director Gail Cullen said the group is not involved. She said they are in talks with Manitoba Housing on other buildings, but couldnt share more details on Tuesday. Despite the RFP closing in June, it is still unclear what company is now managing the two affordable housing buildings. A spokesperson for Manitoba Housing said the department could not share the name of the company that was awarded the contract publicly. "Manitoba Housing does not publish a list of sponsor management companies that we work with and the properties they manage. We advised tenants directly and held a meeting with them last fall to discuss the transition and answer their questions," an emailed statement reads. The Sun asked for an explanation of why the department could not share the name of the company, but the spokesperson said the department does not announce the results of all requests for proposals. She said the units in Brandon are among 4,000 in the province managed under similar agreements. In a statement provided to the Sun last week, Stefanson said her office will respond to the letter and concerns from the Poverty Committee shortly. "Our agreements with all sponsor-management organizations, whether they are non-profit or private, require that the properties continue to be available as affordable housing units at established rental rates," the statement reads. "Tenants should not experience any changes as a result of the shift, other than they would pay their monthly rent to the sponsor-management group instead of to Manitoba Housing." Luebke, who sits on the Poverty Committee, said the committee expects a response from back from Stefanson shortly. At this point, he said it is too early and the committee lacks the information to determine whether the transition to private management is a positive or negative for tenants of the buildings. "Our concern is will it affect (residents) and thats one of the answers were looking for if theres an impact on people that are in those situations ... whether those people will have the same opportunities for those units as theyve had in the past?" dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ She recently admitted that she likes to 'cover up' and would 'never parade around publicly in a bikini'. Yet Elizabeth Hurley couldn't resist showing off her luxury swimwear line on Wednesday as she continues to enjoy her lavish Maldives getaway. The Gossip Girl actress, 54, took to Instagram to showcase her jaw-dropping figure in a tiny blue bikini with a triangle top and cut-out bottoms. Wow: Elizabeth Hurley couldn't resist showing off her luxury swimwear line on Wednesday as she displayed her jaw-dropping figure in a blue bikini during her Maldives getaway Styling her brunette locks into a relaxed loose hairdo, Elizabeth added a slick of glamorous make-up to ensure her signature sparkly blue eyes popped. Posing up a storm and proudly showing off her toned torso, the star captioned the snap with: 'A bikini a day,' followed by a kiss emoji as she tagged her swimwear brand. It comes after Elizabeth shared a gorgeous Instagram snap of herself riding a bike in a tiny yellow bikini while getting her vacation 'morning exercise'. Incredible: It comes after Elizabeth shared a gorgeous Instagram snap of herself riding a bike in a tiny yellow bikini while getting her vacation 'morning exercise' The gym-loving Liz captioned the snaps: 'Morning exercise Maldives style.' Hopping onto the bike in a short clip, the model peddled off into the distance on the tropical palm-lined street near Cheval Blanc Randheli resort in the Maldives. The star looked ready for a day on the beach as she sported loosely tousled hair and the yellow triangle bikini from her collection. Keeping active: The star captioned the image: 'Morning exercise Maldives style', as she continued to work on her gym honed figure while on holiday Off to the beach: The star looked ready for a day on the beach as she sported loosely tousled hair and a small yellow triangle bikini from her collection On Sunday, the actress shared a fun Instagram of herself dancing on the beach while soaking up the sun. Liz looked incredible as she slipped into a tiny turquoise bikini from her eponymous swimwear collection while twirling along the shoreline. The former The Royals star teamed her skimpy swimwear with a bold aqua and bold kaftan while giving her followers a glimpse at her exotic surroundings. Stunning: Elizabeth danced on the beach in a fun Instagram video posted on Sunday while soaking up the sun at the Cheval Blanc Randheli resort in the Maldives The cover-up, which is also from Elizabeth's collection, was left open to display her chiselled abs. In the playful video, the mother-of-one gracefully swung around a palm tree before heading off towards the crystal blue waters. Elizabeth danced on the white sandy beach while her chestnut tresses were left in loose waves. Bikini babe: The actress, 54, looked incredible as she slipped into a tiny turquoise bikini from her eponymous swimwear collection while twirling along the shoreline Life's a beach: The former The Royals star teamed her skimpy swimwear with a bold aqua and bold kaftan while giving her followers a glimpse at her exotic surroundings The brunette beauty completed her beach look with a pair of gold hoop earrings and oversized shades to protect her eyes from the Maldivian winter sunshine. The video is the latest in a series of posts since the actress arrived in the five-star Maldives resort late last week. Elizabeth recently 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. Natural: In the playful video, the mother-of-one gracefully swung around a palm tree before heading off towards the crystal blue waters Designer: Elizabeth danced on the white sandy beach while her chestnut tresses were left in loose waves '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 mother to son Damian, 17, and the pair are often shocking fans with just how similar they look. The star shares her only child with American businessman Steve Bing, 54. Damian, who counts Hugh Grant and Elton John among his godparents, 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. The perfect model: The cover up, which is also from Elizabeth's collection, was left open to display her chiselled abs Island life: The brunette beauty completed her beach look with a pair of gold hoop earrings and oversized shades to protect her eyes from the Maldivian winter sunshine 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.' Mom of Missing Tennessee Toddler Accused of Filing False Police Report The mother of a 15-month-old Tennessee girl who is currently the subject of an Amber Alert was arrested for allegedly filing a false police report. Megan Boswell, the 18-year-old mother of missing girl Evelyn Boswell, is being held at the Sullivan County jail on a false report charge, said the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office, according to a report from The Associated Press. She has said the childs grandmother, Angela Boswell, took the girl to Virginia. The grandmother and her boyfriend, William McCloud, were arrested last week in North Carolina on warrants unrelated to the girls disappearance. Angela Boswell told news outlets that she wanted to return to Tennessee to resolve the situation. Id like to get back there and get this situation with my granddaughter resolved, Boswell told Wilkes County District Court Judge David Byrd, reported USA Today. Angela Boswell and William McCloud were arrested and charged in connection with an AMBER alert for 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, who was last seen two months ago. (Wilkes County Sheriffs Department) McCloud said that he wasnt aware that the vehicle he was driving was stolen, which led to their arrests. I had no idea anything had went wrong with the car, he said. Apparently her daughter hadnt paid for the car. Neither of us was aware of anything about that. The young girl is still missing and her whereabouts are currently not known. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it is trying to determine why the childs disappearance was not reported to authorities sooner. The agency also said Dec. 26, 2019 is listed as the day Evelyn was last seen, but her mother and others have given conflicting dates. The young girl has blonde hair and blue eyes, authorities said. She was last seen wearing a pink bow, a pink tracksuit, and pink shoes. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Evelyn, please contact the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office at 423-279-7330 or the TBI at 1-800-TBIFIND, a news release from the agency reads. Meanwhile, the sheriffs office in Sullivan County, Tennessee, wrote that it has become aware that there are Facebook groups that are organizing search parties in relation to the Evelyn Boswell case. At this time, we are not asking for volunteers to help organize search parties. In the event that we reach a point that we need volunteers for search parties, we will make that known, the office wrote in a statement on Monday. Activists JC Zerbe, left, and Michael Worthy hold a banner outside federal court in support of Safehouse, the group planning to open a first-in-the-nation safe injection site in the country. A federal judge on Tuesday gave the legal go ahead for the project. Read more Well get right into the news today: Organizers say that the countrys first supervised-injection site will open in South Philly next week after a judge ruled the proposed facility wouldnt violate federal law. Also, West Philly residents yesterday elected a new state rep. And, outside of the city, my colleague Anna Orso explored how a major swing county in Pennsylvania is feeling as the Democratic primary heats up. Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com) Within hours of a federal judges issuing a final ruling that a proposed supervised injection site would not violate federal law, site operators said they would open one in South Philly next week. Itll be the first supervised-injection site in the United States. Sources familiar with the decision confirmed to my colleagues that the site would operate out of Constitution Health Plaza at 1930 S. Broad St., just steps from Passyunk Avenue. A second site elsewhere in the city could open shortly after this first one does. The organizers behind Safehouse, the nonprofit formed to open the site, are expected to announce more details of their plan at a news conference today. Check Inquirer.com for more information on this developing story. Getting the One Ardmore apartments built was an epic struggle that spanned more than a decade. Lower Merion residents didnt like the architecture. And neighbors fought a $10.5 million state grant all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and lost. Last spring, the 110-unit luxury building opened. But its now facing other unforeseen hurdles: complaints about mold and poor air quality. And, some residents say theyve gotten sick and have been forced to leave. But the company that owns the building calls the Facebook and Nextdoor app complaints misinformation based on unfounded and unscientific claims. One of the common refrains for Democrats in the Lehigh Valley is: Any blue will do. Theres an anxiety, especially among a group of women in Northampton County, that President Donald Trump will win again, which can overwhelm any preference about which candidate should ultimately take him on. Pennsylvanias April 28 primary is still two months away, but some organizers in the swing county are on edge, spending hours gaming out how different Democrats might appeal to their neighbors. Republicans and Democrats see Northampton County as an opportunity. But compared with places in Pennsylvania that also flipped to Trump in 2016, the Lehigh Valley skews higher in income and education levels, demographics that align more with Democrats. [Interested in how Pennsylvania is shaping the 2020 election? Were launching a new email newsletter covering the nations ultimate battleground state. Sign up and dont forget to pass it along.] What you need to know today Through your eyes | #OurPhilly Ive said it once, Ive said it a thousand times. Rain is no fun, but it does make for some great pictures. Thanks for sharing, @ninthdayofmarch. Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out! Thats interesting Opinions Teachers have always faced a complex task, but the job today is harder than ever. Not only have rigorous national standards added pressure to improve student performance, but classrooms must also support an increasingly diverse student population with a wide range of backgrounds and learning abilities. writes Deanna Burney, who has served as a principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in Philadelphia, about Philly teachers needing more support and respect to stay in their jobs. The Inquirer Editorial Board writes that Philadelphia is right to take the LGBTQ foster care case to the Supreme Court to fight a bigoted view that should not be rewarded with public funds. The 2020 Census represents an opportunity for black Philadelphians to reclaim power, writes Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and Andrea Custis, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia. What were reading Supporters of the Free Library system are asking for more money for the citys libraries after last years efforts didnt have much success. KYW reports on how advocates are trying to make an impact 10 days before Mayor Kenney presents his budget to City Hall. A turquoise fish may hold the secret to stopping human aging, the Guardian reports. Chicago magazine did an oral history of the accidental dognapping that captivated the city. Your Daily Dose of | Philly Love Sally Field, Jason Segel, Andre Benjamin, Eve Lindley, and the rest of the cast and crew of Dispatches From Elsewhere this week released a video titled Love Letter to Philadelphia. Heres a quote from Segel that really stuck out: I really fell in love with the city. It has all the culture of a big city, but I never felt like it was in charge of me. When I walk out the door in New York, Im like, the city is in charge. But in Philly, it felt like much more of a partnership. The show premieres Sunday night on AMC. A city in China has drafted a law to ban residents from eating dog meat to improve food safety in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Animal activists have demanded the Chinese government prohibit the consumption of dogs for years. If this proposal from Shenzhen gets passed, it will be the first of its kind in the country. People eat dog meat at a restaurant in Yulin on June 21, 2017. Each year, thousands of dogs are cruelly killed, skinned and cooked with blow-torches during the festival on summer solstice Puppies are seen in a cage at a dog meat market in Yulin on June 21, 2017. The Chinese city of Shenzhen has proposed legislation to prohibit all residents from consuming dog meat The annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival is one of the most controversial food festivals in China and sees thousands of dogs cruelly killed, skinned and cooked with blow-torches before being eaten by the locals. Apart from dogs, the proposed act bars snake, frog and turtle meat from the dinner table. The news comes after China banned all trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the country's deadly virus epidemic. Lawmakers from Shenzhen, a city of around 13 million people, published the proposal yesterday on its government's website. They are currently waiting for feedback from the public before signing it into law. Lawmakers in Shenzhen hope to strengthen food safety with the act. Pictured above, a woman wearing a face mask holds her dog, also wearing a face mask, in Guangzhou on February 21 Apart from dogs, the proposed act also bars snake, frog and turtle meat from the dinner table. Pictured above, a man wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus as he sits with his dog on a bench on a sidewalk in Beijing on February 25 The officials described the regulation as the 'universal civilisation requirement for a modern society'. They said they had considered the city's practical situation before including the extra animal species, which are not wildlife. The aim is to 'further satisfy the daily needs of the people'. According to the document, nine types of livestock are suitable for people to eat. They are pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons. Residents are also allowed to dine on aquatic animals permitted by law. Commenting on the necessity for the government to create 'a white list', one spokesperson said the authority wanted to make it easier for people to know what can be eaten. 'There are so many animal species in nature. In our country alone, there are more than 2,000 kinds of protected wild animal species. 'If the local authority is to produce a list of the wild animals that cannot be eaten, it will be too lengthy and cannot answer the question exactly what animals can be eaten,' the official said. Officers soldiers and social workers preach epidemic prevention knowledge to residents, Shenzhen on February 7. The city's officials are waiting for feedback on the proposed law Army health officers carry out epidemic prevention and sanitation in residential areas in Shenzhen on February 7. If this proposal gets passed, it will be the first of its kind in the country Animal rights activists have expressed their support for the proposed ban. Charity group Humane Society International said it welcomed Shenzhen lawmakers' proposal to ban the consumption of dog as well as cat meat. Peter Li, the group's China Policy Specialist told MailOnline: 'Although the trade in Shenzhen is fairly small compared with the rest of the province, Shenzhen is still a huge city bigger than Wuhan so this would be very significant and could even have a domino effect with other cities following. 'Already in Yulin where the notorious dog meat festival is held, most dog slaughter operations have temporarily shut down in the last two months because no dogs are allowed to be transported across provincial boundaries. 'Although World Health Organization advice is clear that dogs and cats pose no known coronavirus threat whatsoever, it's no surprise that attention is turning to this trade at this time, because as well as causing immense cruelty to our companion animals, the dog meat trade undoubtedly poses a huge human health risk for other diseases such as rabies.' China's top legislative committee on Monday passed new legislation to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals. Beijing is yet to revise its wild animal protection law, but the passage of the proposal was 'essential' and 'urgent' in helping the country win its war against the epidemic, wrote state newspaper People's Daily. The exact source of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, remains unconfirmed. Scientists speculate that it originated in bats, snakes, pangolins, or some other animal. In China alone, the health crisis has claimed at least 2,715 lives and infected more than 78,000 people. And globally, at least 2,771 people have died and more than 81,250 have contracted the disease. Experts from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said tests proved that humans caught the virus from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market (pictured) China passed new legislation this week to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals. In the file photo above, a man looks at caged civet cats in a wildlife market in Guangzhou on January 4, 2004. The cat-like creatures triggered the SARS outbreak in 2003 Experts from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said tests proved that humans caught the virus from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market. Conservationists accuse China of tolerating a shadowy trade in exotic animals for food or use in traditional medicines whose efficacy is not confirmed by science. Scientists say SARS likely originated in bats, later reaching humans via civets. The virus, known as SARS CoV, killed 775 people and infected more than 8,000 globally during an epidemic between 2002 and 2003. Civets, a cat-like creature, were among dozens of species listed as for sale by one of the merchants at the Wuhan market according to a price list that circulated on China's internet. Other items included rats, snakes, giant salamanders and live wolf pups. First increase in asylum requests in EU since 2015 13% rise in 2019 on 2018, surge in Venezuelans (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, FEBRUARY 26 - Last year, asylum requests submitted in EU countries plus Norway and Switzerland rose for the first time since 2015. There was a 13% rise on 2018, reported the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), noting that the increase is not so much due to an increase in undocumented migrants arriving in Europe as it is an increase in requests filed by citizens of countries for which a visa for the Schengen area is not required. EASO noted that the number of requests filed by Venezuelans had doubled (about 45,000 compared with 22,000 in 2018). Venezuela has thus jumped to third place in the EASO rankings of countries with the highest number of citizens seeking asylum, behind Syria with 72,000 requests and Afghanistan with 60,000. (ANSAmed). I can't believe it, can barely believe that I'm going to write these next few words, but here they are: a few months ago, I turned 50. Fifty years: oh, my. Funny thing is, I don't feel 50. I don't feel old, which 50 kind of is. Predictably, I've been thinking things that older, more responsible people think. I've been thinking about my posture and trying really hard to stand up straight. I've also been thinking about wearing sunscreen more often, about driving more carefully and I even wear a bright orange safety vest when I walk the dog at night because I don't want to get hit by a car. You know, 50-year-old stuff. Being 50 is slowly seeping into the way I eat, too. My entire life, I've eaten with abandon. Ice cream, cake, pizza, nachos, it all went down the hatch, no regrets. But now, I think about it. I ask myself if I really need that (insert muffin, bag of chips, glass of wine, slice of pizza here). The truth is, I don't need it. But I want it. Often, because I'm 50 and it seems like the right thing to do, I'll have half the muffin or just a handful of the chips. I'll ask Paul to pour me only a tiny glass of wine. So what's a 50-year-old to do? One who wants the chocolate and salty snacks and all the stuff that's bad for the heart of a person who's beyond middle aged? The best I can figure is that it's balance. I cook up vegetables, beans and lean meats in equal measure. Without a doubt, I've eaten enough salads to make me last another 50 years. Vegetable, salad, muffin, salad, salad, chips, salad. That's about how it goes for me. The recipes I've included here are good examples of a 50-year-old trying to eat healthy food and also be indulgent now and then. We are chili lovers around here and I make it a few times over during the cold months, with a different spin each time. The funny thing about people who like to make and eat chili is that they always declare their own chili the best chili there is. My dad is this way, and he does make pretty good chili. He also introduced me to Cincinnati chili, where you pour leftover chili, chopped onions and grated cheese over spaghetti. If you haven't had that, you should. But back to my chili: I won't say that this is the best chili around. It's just a solid chili recipe. I like the black beans for a change of pace, and the sweet potato lends a little sweetness to balance the heat. This version calls for lean ground turkey (yup, I've been thinking about fat intake, too) but ground beef is good here as well. If you make the switch to beef, you'll want to cook it first, drain the fat from the meat, then set it aside to later add with the beans. And this recipe is also just fine without any meat at all just eliminate it. Adding thyme near the end might sound a little strange but it's borrowed from Jamaican jerk spice, where super hot chiles are combined with sweet citrus, spices and the earthy flavor of thyme. I absolutely love to fix up a bowl of chili with cheese and sour cream, avocados and hot sauce, so put out a spread of accompaniments so everyone can make a bowl their own. Polenta is simply cooked cornmeal and is very versatile, a blank slate for whatever you want to put on it. It's a vehicle, really, for carrying good things into your mouth. It can be served as porridge, or as I've done here, in neat triangles that are sauteed until crisp. Cook the cornmeal with milk and stir in good cheese and it'll be creamy and delicious, excellent comfort food. Paul and I once ate crispy polenta triangles with stewed beans in a nice restaurant when we were dating. We were young pups, just falling in love and it feels sweet and kind of dreamy. It's good to remember and recreate those early days. The topping for the polenta is a stew of white beans, vegetables and plenty of garlic. This is a meal that looks kind of fancy, takes little work, and uses things you most likely have in your cabinet and fridge. Feel free to swap out the carrots for other root vegetables, whatever you have on hand. A note about polenta: It does take some time to cook. There is quick-cooking polenta out there, and it's an acceptable substitute. The cooked polenta that comes in a tube? It's like most foods that come prepared: Not nearly as good as the homemade variety. Next up is apple spice cake muffins, one of our favorite weekend treats. The thing about muffins, and these muffins in particular, is they walk the line between breakfast and dessert. I mean, we have all been led to believe that muffins are an acceptable breakfast food, but really, in their hearts, muffins know that they are dessert. And isn't that what's so great about a weekend anyway? On a Saturday, it's perfectly acceptable to eat a dessert-y muffin for breakfast. And then have one with tea. And another after lunch. You get the idea. These muffins are tender and not too sweet from sugar, but instead have a gentle sweet taste from the chopped apple, which is nice. My family loves all spice cake-related foods, and those flavors are delivered here: Plenty of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove. The best way to eat these muffins is while they're still warm, sliced, with a generous chunk of butter pressed in between. The tops are sprinkled with coarse sugar, and I wouldn't skimp on that the crunchy top is my favorite part. But if you don't have raw sugar, regular old white sugar will do. After they've been around for a day or so, they can be revived by slicing in half and frying them in butter until toasty and crisp. I won't end here by letting you know that at 50, I have it all figured out, because I don't. And who knows? Maybe I'll be around for another 50 years and, in that case, all the healthy eating will have been worth it. But no matter how many days I have left on this earth, I'll be eating muffins, chocolate and wine and yes, a few salads, too. Caroline Barrett is a freelance writer who lives in Delmar. Reach her at cvbarrett@verizon.net. Read her blog at blog.timesunion.com/tablefor5. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili Serves 6 Olive oil 1 medium red onion, peeled and chopped 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 1 heaping tablespoon ancho chile powder 1 heaping tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 lb ground turkey 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped 2 14-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed 1 28-ounce can tomato puree 1 teaspoon fresh or teaspoon dried thyme For topping the chili: avocado, sour cream, shredded Monterey jack cheese, hot sauce In a large pot, heat a swirl of olive oil over a medium-low flame. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two more. Stir in the ancho chile powder, cumin, salt and pepper and mix well to coat. Add a bit more oil if it's dry. Cook for a minute, until very fragrant. Stir in the turkey and cook, breaking up the pieces, until it's no longer pink. Add the sweet potato, beans and tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes to combine the flavors. Stir in the thyme, taste for salt and serve hot with the accompaniments. Crispy Polenta With White Bean Ragout Serves 8 For the polenta: 2 cups water 2 cups milk 1 cup cornmeal (see note) 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup grated Parmesan Olive oil, for frying For the Ragout: Olive oil 3 shallots, peeled and sliced thin 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 1 stem fresh rosemary (or 1 heaping teaspoon dried) 1 pinch crushed red pepper 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into half moons 2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 4 cups broth (low sodium if canned; chicken or vegetable) Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Salt and pepper to taste Grated Parmesan, for sering Store-bought pesto, for serving In a large pot set over medium-high heat, bring the water and milk to a gentle boil. Add the cornmeal slowly and stir well to avoid clumps. Turn the heat down to low (the polenta should just barely bubble) and cook for 40 minutes, stirring now and then. Stir in the Parmesan. Scrape the polanta out into a greased 8-by-8 baking dish. Allow to cool. This can be done one day and up to three days ahead. Use a butter knife to slice polenta into 4-inch triangles. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a generous pour of olive oil. Cook the triangles a few at a time, being careful to not crowd the pan, until crisp and deeply browned. Flip and cook on the second side. Remove to a plate and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. To make the ragout: heat a swirl of olive oil in a large pot set over flame. Cook the shallots until very soft, add the garlic, cook for another minute, then stir in the rosemary and crushed red pepper. Stir in the carrots, beans and broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes with the lid off the pan, until the liquid is reduced. Use a potato masher to mash up a few of the beans. Taste for seasoning, and serve over the polenta with a dollop of pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Spice Cake Apple Muffins Makes 12 muffins 2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger teaspoon nutmeg teaspoon clove 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/3 cup white sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 sweet apples, peeled and chopped fine For topping: 3 tablespoons raw sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir the egg, vanilla, yogurt and butter together. Add the sugars and apples and mix well. Combine the two bowls, stirring until just incorporated (the batter will be very thick). Use an ice cream scoop to drop the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the raw sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. More than any best-picture Oscar winner in some time, Bong Joon-Hos Parasite is a film shaped by architecture. The stark contrast between the Park familys minimal yet mysterious mansion and the Kims cramped, near-subterranean apartment highlights the socioeconomic disparity central to the films message, and the unique layout of each home sets various narrative-shaping events and plot twists into motion. While theres currently no evidence to suggest its anything other than an apt coincidence, the Metropolitan Government of Seoul recently announced its plans to provide 1,500 families living in the citys Parasite-style subbasement apartments with funds to fix up and modernize their homes. Photo: 2019 CJ ENM CORPORATION, BARUNSON E&A ALL RIGHTS RESERVED According to the Korea Herald, households who earn under 60 percent of South Koreas median family income can apply to receive up to 3.2 million won (about $2,650). Issued in partnership with the Korea Energy Foundation, these funds can be used to make these subbasement apartmentsknown locally as banjihamore livable. Improvements or installations covered through these grants cover changes like heating and air conditioning, HVAC systems, flood and window repairs, and the installation of smoke detectors. Photo: 2019 CJ ENM CORPORATION, BARUNSON E&A ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Though one might assume the Kim family home in Parasite is a rare or an even exaggerated example of Seouls urban squalor, such banjihas are surprisingly common in South Korea. According to the LA Times, a majority of the current banjihas were constructed in the 1970s amid fears of North Korean aggression, with many hastily modified and rented out to cope with intense housing demand. Based on 2015 statistics cited by the LA Times (the most recent available), more than 360,000 individuals or families live in banjihas. Additionally, the Korea Herald notes that more than three quarters of them are situated in the bottom 30 percent of South Koreas income bracket. With nearly 60 percent of the countrys banjiha located in the capital, it was perhaps inevitable that Bong Joon-Ho would draw on these cramped, dark, and poorly ventilated spaces to illustrate the desperate situation many South Koreans find themselves in at a time of heightened wealth inequality. Story continues Photo: 2019 CJ ENM CORPORATION, BARUNSON E&A ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Banjiha is a space with a peculiar connotation, the recent multi-Oscar winner said during a press conference at the time of Parasites Cannes debut. Its undeniably underground, and yet you want to believe its above ground. Theres also the fear that if you sink any lower, you may go completely underground. Despite the newfound international spotlight, the Seoul governments desire to do something about banjiha would seem to predate Parasite by a number of years. An intense 2010 flood damaged more than 9,000 of these semibasement dwellings, inspiring the municipal government at the time to consider a moratorium on further banjiha construction. But with such dwellings representing more than a tenth of Seouls total housing stock, simply replacing banjiha with other forms of affordable housing has proven difficult in the decade since the flooding. See the video. Though Seouls current number of home improvement grants would cover less than one percent of the citys total banjiha units, the Korea Herald notes that the range of recipients [will] be expanded each year. Even an expanded program likely wouldnt be enough to usher in systemic social change, but theres reason to believe these grants could usher in a tangible quality-of-life improvement for those lucky enough to receive them. And hopefully nobody will have to run an elaborate multifaceted con in order to get one. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed the support of the United States for India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) without any delay. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi committed to working together to strengthen and reform the United Nations and other international organisations and to ensure their integrity. President Trump reaffirmed US support for India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group without any delay," said a joint statement released by India and the United States following Trump's visit to New Delhi. The statement added that both sides recognise that to contain the build-up of sovereign debt in developing and low-income countries, it is important to ensure responsible, transparent, and sustainable financing practices for both borrowers and creditors. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi expressed interest in the concept of the Blue Dot Network, a multi-stakeholder initiative that will bring governments, the private sector, and civil society together to promote high-quality trusted standards for global infrastructure development," read the statement. Asserting that the United States and India recognize the need for an innovative digital ecosystem that is secure, reliable and facilitates the flow of information and data, the statement said: "The leaders intend to foster cooperation among their industry and academia for open, secure, and resilient supply of strategic materials and critical infrastructure, and to independently evaluate the risk associated with deployment of emerging technologies." On Tuesday, US President concluded his 36 hours official visit to India, during which he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MIAMI, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylor Castro has announced the release of the next single entitled "Girl, Afraid" (PMA Records) from the record of the same name. While Taylor's well-received debut, Pure (2018), was a peppier and lighter celebration, Girl, Afraid is admittedly darker fare. "On my first album, I was trying to stuff my OCD down and not write about it. I want Girl, Afraid to address this; OCD presents a feeling of being constantly fearful and paranoid, and I want people to know they're not alone." Taylor Castro - Girl, Afraid (Official Music Video) Girl, Afraid Cover Taylor Castro Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 2.2 million people a year in the US alone. Children with OCD have unwanted thoughts, fears and feelings called 'obsessions'; Taylor's showed itself with her having to touch walls, turn lights off in pairs and touching her chin to her chest. With support, an understanding of what was happening, and therapy, Taylor is able to live with her OCD. While not cured of it, she is aware of what makes it worse, and works hard at staying ahead of it. Other celebrities who have talked about their OCD include Lena Dunham, Howie Mandel, Fiona Apple and Camila Cabello. While Taylor has just begun to speak about it, she is appreciative for the opportunity. "I don't think having it makes me a better artist, but I am able to take that feeling and put it in to a piece of work that could comfort someone." A moving video, directed by Michael (Tizzy) McWhorter, accompanies the track and can be viewed on Taylor's official YouTube channel https://youtu.be/GybTeyvtGUk Taylor is partnering with Zach Westerbeck, mental health advocate and speaker. Zach and Taylor have joined together as they both live and cope with OCD every day, and want to use their platforms to spread awareness, smash the stigma and help others realize they are not alone. Similar to how Taylor uses her voice as an artist to advocate, Zach uses his to travel to colleges across the country facilitating his mental health workshop. All the songs on Girl, Afraid were written by Taylor. Other tracks include "Abyss," "Old Times," "Ophelia's Flowers" and "Broke." Between her music and successful acting career, Taylor has a growing social following and fans are eager for more. I'm just a Girl, Afraid Afraid of overwatering the grass that I want to be green A Girl, Afraid Afraid of nameless, unknown things Afraid of losing everything Taylor Castro YouTube : http://bit.ly/37dM9h3 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36gaotA Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/taylordaniellecastro/ Barbie Castro [email protected] 954-816-0100 SOURCE PMA Records LLC Northrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- The Silicon on Insulator market is projected to grow from USD 894 million in 2019 to USD 2,186 million by 2024, at a CAGR of 19.6% from 2019 to 2024. Advancements in smartphones, tablets, earphones/headphones, and wearables are expected to fuel the growth of the market for consumer electronics, which use SOI wafers. Moreover, the rising adoption of SOI-based devices in advanced applications such as autonomous cars is also creating growth opportunities for the SOI market. Effective use of silicon during the manufacturing of thin SOI wafers and low operating voltage and high performance of SOI-based devices are some of the factors expected to contribute to the growth of the SOI market across the globe. The flourishing Integrated Circuit (IC) industry, expanding SOI ecosystem in Asia Pacific, and increasing use of SOI in IoT applications act as growth opportunities for the SOI market during the forecast period. Download PDF Brochure Copy: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=158 The SOI market for 300 mm wafer size is expected to grow at a higher CAGR than the market for 200 mm and less than 200 mm wafer size during the forecast period. This growth of the market for 300 mm wafer size can be attributed to the increasing adoption of organic and inorganic growth strategies by SOI manufacturers for the development of 300 mm SOI wafers. For instance, in June 2018, TowerJazz (Israel) announced the expansion of RF-SOI 65 nm process in its 300 mm Uozu, Japan fab. The RF-SOI wafer type segment accounted for the largest share of the SOI market in 2018. For data transmission over 2G, 3G, and 4G/ Long-term Evolution (LTE), mobile devices require dedicated Front-end Modules (FEMs). These FEMs use RF-SOI chips, which integrate switches, power amplifiers, antenna tuning components, power management units, and filters on a single platform. As these chips need to transmit a large amount of data over a long distance, they require RF-SOI wafers. This, in turn, fuels the demand for RF-SOI wafer types across the globe. The consumer electronics application segment accounted for the largest share of the SOI market in 2018. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the increasing global demand for electronic devices that are compact, have low power consumption, offer high operational speed, and have extended battery life. Increasing use of RF-SOI in smartphones and wearables and rising adoption of FD-SOI in IoT applications also spur the growth of the consumer electronics application segment of the SOI market. For instance, Xiaomi (China), a subsidiary of Huami (US) and a leading manufacturer of wearables, incorporated 28 nm FD-SOI GPS of Sony (Japan) in its Amazfit smartwatch. Inquiry before Buying @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=158 Europe led the SOI market in 2018. The presence of leading SOI wafer manufacturers such as Soitec (France) and STMicroelectronics (Switzerland) in Europe is contributing to the growth of the SOI market in the region. Smart cut, a patented technology of Soitec that is used by wafer manufacturers, accounted for a share of over 90% of the SOI market across the globe in 2018. The presence of key automotive companies in this region is also fueling the growth of the SOI market in Europe. About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledgestore" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Sanjay Gupta MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA : 1-888-600-6441 sales@marketsandmarkets.com Health officials in Nassau County, New York, said on Wednesday they were monitoring 83 people who visited China and may have come in contact with the coronavirus. But Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state has had no confirmed cases so far. 'This situation is not a situation that should cause undue fear,' Cuomo told a news conference, saying that 27 people in New York have tested negative for the virus. At a separate news conference, officials in Nassau County, just east of New York City on Long Island, said that while they were monitoring 83 people, there were no confirmed cases in the county so far. 'I'm happy to say right now, we don't have a case,' County Health Commissioner Dr Lawrence Eisenstein said. Earlier on Wednesday Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that there were a total of 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States so far. New York City hasn't reported any patients under investigation, but in Chinatown people are already wearing protective masks (pictured). Nearby Nassau county has 83 residents in self-isolation Most new cases are among the Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan for two weeks after one infected passenger quickly spread coronavirus to more than 700 people onboard. Four ship passengers had died, as of Wednesday afternoon. So far, there have been no deaths in the US, although one American died in Wuhan, China, the outbreak's epicenter. At least 42 of the infected Americans were evacuated from the ship, three were evacuated from Wuhan, 12 were diagnosed after traveling to China, and two of those patients Officials have not yet revealed how the most recently diagnosed patient acquired the life-threatening infection, according to the Washington Post. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the positive test results of an additional six cruise evacuees, including four that had already been announced by local health departments. At least five of the new patients were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship last week. They were then transported to three different quarantine sites: military bases in California and Texas and the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Global cases have now surged past 81,000, with well over 2,700 deaths - though the vast majority of fatalities have still occurred in China, where the outbreak began. The announcements come after CDC officials warned Americans to prepare for the infection to spread, despite President Trump's reassurances that the virus is 'under control' in the US. Currently, all 83 individuals are in voluntary self-quarantine, meaning that they've agreed to isolate themselves at home, away from friends and family, for 14 days, which scientists believe is the outside bound of the virus's contagious period. A total of 60 Americans now have coronavirus, but 45 of those cases are in people held in quarantines after evacuation from Wuhan or the cruise, while only a small number were detected in the US after traveling to China. The source of one infection remains unclear One was initially under mandatory quarantine, but had been allowed to move to self-isolation after criteria changed, ABC7 reported. Quarantine can be mandated and enforced if necessary, but so far it hasn't been in Nassau county. The current group are among 175 people n the county who have undergone voluntary isolation, Nassau County Department of Health Commissioner Dr Lawrence Eisenstein told reporters at a Wednesday press conference. So far, five Nassau residents have tested negative for coronavirus. Officials are still awaiting the results of one test. The CDC has stopped posting the states where it is investigating individuals, but has tested a total 445 people. On Wednesday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar dismissed claims that President Trump was considering appointing an epidemic czar to replace him and oversee the US's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. President Trump announced Wednesday morning that he would hold a press briefing about coronavirus at 6pm that evening, after lawmakers criticized his administration's response. Ukraine jointly with SOCAR to open large service hub for citizens at Chonhar checkpoint by year end Zelensky Ukraine jointly with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will open a large service hub for citizens at the Chonhar checkpoint on Ukraine's administrative border with Russia-occupied Crimea by the end of 2020, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said. "The government jointly with SOCAR will open a large service hub for citizens at the Chonhar checkpoint by the end of the year. It will be a full-fledged center for providing administrative services with a rest area and other important facilities," he said during the "Age of Crimea 2020" forum in Kyiv on Wednesday. The president also noted that Ukraine has done a lot to equip checkpoints, although these are temporary constructions. Zelensky recalled that Ukraine has an agreement with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Turkey support for the construction of 500 apartments for Crimean Tatar families. "Representatives from Turkey will visit Ukraine soon to determine the construction sites," he said. Edinburgh: Prince Harry started the last round of his royal duties on an informal note on Wednesday, making it clear the audience listening to his speech on sustainable travel in Edinburgh should simply call him Harry. The Queen's grandson and his American wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have announced they will step down from their duties as senior royals next month to spend more time in North America. Although Harry will no longer be known as His Royal Highness, he will still be a prince. But before his speech on Wednesday, local time, event host Ayesha Hazarika told delegates: "He's made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry." Top Boy will be back with a second season, Netflix has confirmed. The streaming service revealed the crime drama series, starring the likes of Ashley Walters as leading character Dushane and 2020 EE BAFTA Rising Star recipient Micheal Ward as Jamie, will begin filming this spring. The production company revived the hit show late last year after Channel 4 decided to cancel the first two series, which originally aired in 2011 and 2013. Exciting times ahead: Top Boy will be back with a second season, Netflix has confirmed (Kano pictured as Sully and Ashley Walters as Dushane on the show) Netflix wrote on its Facebook page: 'Confirmed: Season 2 of Top Boy is happening. Dushane, Sully, Jamie and Shelley will return. Stay tuned.' The post also featured a picture of a script for the first episode, titled Killing No Murder by screenwriter Ronan Bennett. The programme's Twitter account added: 'Were back. TOP BOY Season 2 begins filming this spring. @ashleywalters, @therealkano, @michealward and @littlesimz will return as Dushane, Sully, Jamie and Shelley. Stay tuned.' Award-winning actor Micheal, 21, shared his delight at reprising his character - who was sent to prison at the end of the last series - as he said on Instagram: 'If you dont know, now you knowwwww............... It's back! The production company revived the hit show late last year after Channel 4 decided to cancel the first two series (2020 EE BAFTA Rising Star recipient Micheal Ward as Jamie) 'Coming soon': The streaming service revealed the crime drama series took to Facebook to reveal the show will begin filming this spring 'Now you know!' Actor Michael, 21, (centre), who plays Jamie on the drama, shared his delight at the upcoming series (pictured with on-screen brothers, Hope Ikpoku Jnr as Aaron and Araloyin Oshunremi as Stefan) 'so happy I can finally share with you that weve been confirmed for another season and I cannot wait to start filming this for all of us. This is gonna be even more special than the first.' [sic] Just weeks after its release in September 2019, Toy Boy became one of Netflix's most-watched shows. Taking to their social media account at the time, the platform announced the news: 'Top Boy is living up to its name after years away from our screens its back, and its been the most-watched title on @NetflixUK this week.' The drama follows the story of Dushane (Ashley) and Sully (Kano), who lead East London's underground drug scene. Impressive: Just weeks after its release in September 2019, Toy Boy became one of Netflix's most-watched shows In season two, Top Boy introduced two junkies called Lee (Josef Altin) and Sarah (Isla Jackson-Ritchie), who were seen gaining the trust of their dealers. However, the finale showed the duo being unveiled as undercover cops, before Top Boy's official Twitter shared a video of the clues that led to the shock moment - leaving fans in absolute bewilderment. The duo suffered a few mishaps along the way, which proved that there was something more to their characters. On one occasion, Sarah pretends to be drunk after chucking away some alcohol while walking through a council estate. Shocking: However, the finale showed two junkies called Lee (Josef Altin) and Sarah (Isla Jackson-Ritchie) unveiled as undercover cops In another scene, Lee ponders out loud 'how long they have to keep this up for' after being punched in the face. It's only during the final scene, when they are seen sitting in the police station, where viewers realise they are undercover cops hoping to lock away Dushane and Sully. Executive producer and chart-topping rapper Drake revealed he was inspired to work on the series after stumbling across the show in 2017. The artist told the Hollywood Reporter at the time: 'That human element drew me in. 'I started just looking them up. Like, who are these people? Are these actors I should know? Are they just famous over there? I remember I hit Future, and I was just like, "This show is incredible."' (Sharecast News) - London stocks remained under pressure come midday on Wednesday, as health officials sounded the alarm over the near-pandemic status of the ongoing outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The FTSE 100 was down 0.81% at 6,961.32 at 1226 GMT, while the FTSE 250 was off 1.57% t0 20,391.17. Sterling was against its primary trading pairs, last losing 0.62% against the US dollar to $1.29187 and falling 0.72% on the euro to 1.1866. Overnight, the World Health Organisation warned that governments were "simply not ready" to tackle their own coronavirus outbreaks, as the illness spread further through Europe and UK officials announced plans for more widespread testing. Bruce Aylward, who leads the joint WHO-China mission of experts, told the media that the success of authorities in the People's Republic in containing the infection had seen other governments take on a false sense of security. Aylward's warning echoed that from the US Centres for Disease Control on Tuesday afternoon that an outbreak in the US was only a matter of time. Meanwhile, thousands of Britons were set to be tested by GPs for the virus, as the spread of cases in Europe led to the belief that there could be more cases in the UK than were currently known. Mass surveillance was set to be introduced, with health officials also said to be mulling school closures and restrictions on transport. "What we appear to be seeing is the realisation that global economic growth could well come to a halt as the combined effects of a flu virus and belated attempts to stem the spread of it across the globe, raise the prospect of an economic sneeze, as consumers stop spending, and supply chains seize up, due to workers and consumers staying at home," said CMC Markets' chief market analyst Michael Hewson. "Over the last 12 months or so the consumer has been the one remaining pillar that has been carrying the global economy, helping in the process to push stock markets up to their recent records. "Now that politicians have started to close borders, impose restrictions on movement, as well as impose quarantines, investors appear to be preparing the ground for the inevitable profit and revenue downgrades that are likely to appear in the coming weeks and months." In equities, travel plays continued to be hit hard amid the virus outbreak, with TUI, easyJet, Carnival, InterContinental Hotels Group all lower, although British Airways owner IAG was bucking the trend. Taylor Wimpey was down after reporting a 5% increase in group completions to 16,042 for the year ended 31 December, including joint ventures. Its revenue increased 6.4% to ?4.34bn, while operating profit slipped to ?850.5m from ?880.2m, which the board said reflected its volume growth, offset by rising build costs and flat house prices. HICL Infrastructure shares were just below the waterline, after it announced the acquisition of transmission assets associated with the Galloper Windfarm, located off the coast of Suffolk, by Diamond Transmission Partners - a consortium comprising it and Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Transmission Corporation. The FTSE 250 company said the transaction was part of Tender Round 5 of Ofgem's Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) programme. Rio Tinto on the other hand had recovered following an early bout of selling, after it reported an 18% rise in full year underlying earnings on the back of soaring iron ore prices, offsetting lower shipments in 2019. The company said it was prepared for the short-term impact to supply chains from the coronavirus outbreak. Underlying earnings for the year to 31 December rose to $10.37bn from $8.81bn a year earlier. Market Movers FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,967.38 -0.72% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,398.62 -1.53% techMARK (TASX) 3,947.80 -1.04% FTSE 100 - Risers NMC Health (NMC) 917.00p 4.18% Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,700.00p 1.96% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 550.00p 1.91% Antofagasta (ANTO) 807.20p 1.25% Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,107.50p 1.14% Evraz (EVR) 362.00p 0.64% GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,611.40p 0.57% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 555.60p 0.51% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 340.90p 0.44% Centrica (CNA) 76.28p 0.37% FTSE 100 - Fallers Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 211.00p -3.65% Compass Group (CPG) 1,807.00p -3.39% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 778.20p -3.35% London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 7,812.00p -3.22% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 780.40p -3.18% Whitbread (WTB) 4,222.00p -3.08% St James's Place (STJ) 1,060.00p -2.93% Rightmove (RMV) 634.60p -2.82% Informa (INF) 724.00p -2.69% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,708.50p -2.59% FTSE 250 - Risers Weir Group (WEIR) 1,336.50p 6.88% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 382.00p 3.52% Micro Focus International (MCRO) 762.00p 3.04% Royal Mail (RMG) 170.20p 2.35% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 398.80p 2.13% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 300.60p 1.76% Serco Group (SRP) 153.00p 1.53% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,279.00p 1.27% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 422.50p 1.08% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 1,060.00p 0.95% FTSE 250 - Fallers Hochschild Mining (HOC) 184.70p -7.05% Cineworld Group (CINE) 156.00p -6.45% Restaurant Group (RTN) 110.80p -5.70% PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,740.00p -5.43% Trainline (TRN) 497.50p -5.24% Playtech (PTEC) 308.90p -5.19% SSP Group (SSPG) 567.00p -5.03% Ascential (ASCL) 344.40p -4.60% WH Smith (SMWH) 2,100.00p -4.55% PureTech Health (PRTC) 316.00p -4.53% For three decades, the actor has voiced dozens of inhabitants of the fictional town of Springfield. But Apu is perhaps the most problematic, especially through a modern lens: He is an immigrant from India who owns the local Kwik-E-Mart convenience store and is known for his catchphrase, Thank you! Come again! His thick Indian accent and singsong voice depict him as simple-minded, and even his last name, Nahasapeemapetilon, has been thought to welcome ridicule. Former Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa has said that bombing of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot by Indian Air Force marks a paradigm shift in the way India conduct operations. Exactly a year ago India carried out air strike at a terror camp in Balakot. "One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learned a lot of lessons, lot of things have been implemented post-Balakot operations. Basically, it is a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out terror training camp which we successfully executed. It is a paradigm shift and the result is there for you to see," said Dhanoa. He pointed out that after air strike there were no major terrorist attacks during the Lok Sabha polls because it acted as a deterrent. He said the mission has not been declassified yet. "All that I want to tell you is when the government told us and all three services were there, and because it is not only the IAF... It is always a joint battle. It is the first time I believe that all three services said that should there be an escalation as far as Pakistan is concerned, we can easily take them on," he said. SEE: 'Ghus kar maarenge': Former IAF chief on first anniversary of Balakot airstrike "And go-ahead was given and thereafter everybody knew that the IAF was going to lead the strike. After the mission was carried out, I personally informed the national leadership as well as the other two service chiefs that mission has been successful early in the morning," said Dhanoa. The former air chief said that considering the target that was there at Balakot, the air force was optimum for the strike. "And also at that time, the thought was that you need to tell JeM that we will kill you, no matter where you are hiding and not to cause collateral damage. The weapons were chosen accordingly," Dhanoa said. He further underlined that the Pakistan air force was not in the loop with its national leadership and ISI about the presence of terror camp in Balakot. "I don't think they are in the loop with their national leadership and ISI. They were not aware that the terror training camp is running at Balakot. If I was in his place and I have a rough idea of the kind of stand-off weapons that IAF has got, I would have definitely put in terminal weapons out there. The fact that it was devoid of terminal weapons that means I don't think (Pakistan) air force was aware that this is the target," he said. On this day, last year, IAF jets bombed the terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot. Some folks may not know what to make of The Bands Visit, and thats a huge part of its charm. Funny, poignant and exhilarating, the show runs through March 8 at the Fox Theatre. Winner of 10 Tony Awards in 2018, including best musical, this tale of Egyptian musicians who mistakenly take a bus to an Israeli desert town is uncharacteristically low-key for a Broadway hit and all the more intriguing because of that. Rather than leading you by the nose, it grabs you by the heart. But it does so without ever succumbing to cheap sentimentality. At the center of the action is Dina (Janet Dacal), who owns a cafe and extends much-needed hospitality to the band in general and its leader, Tewfiq (Sasson Gabay), in particular. During an overnight stay in Bet Hatikva before moving on to the similar-sounding Petah Tikva, the musicians including Haled (Joe Joseph), whos enamored of the music of jazzman Chet Baker mingle with the local citizenry. To span the language gap, they resort to broken English. In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Raja Farooq Haider says Pakistan needs to take daring steps against India. Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir The prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has called for the Pakistani government to act militarily in the Kashmir dispute with neighbouring India, on the anniversary of Indian air attacks on Pakistani soil that sparked a military standoff between the nuclear-armed countries. Raja Farooq Haider, the elected prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a semi-autonomous state, spoke to Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. The government of Pakistan needs to take some daring steps, he said in the capital Muzaffarabad. They have to give India a fundamental punch in [Indian-administered] Kashmir. This is my considered opinion. Asked what kind of action he was asking for, Haider said it should be both diplomatic and military, and that he conveyed this opinion to the Pakistani government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. If you do not have military force, a diplomatic action does not work. Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars since gaining independence in 1947 over the mountainous territory of Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of. The two territories are separated by a de facto border known as the Line of Control. On February 26, 2019, India carried out air raids on Pakistani territory in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with at least four bombs hitting a mountainside and farming village, causing no apparent casualties. India claimed the raids killed a very large number of [Jaish-e-Muhammad] terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis. The Jaish-e-Muhammad armed group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack earlier in February last year that killed more than 40 Indian security personnel in the Indian-administered Kashmir town of Pulwama. Diplomatic pressure Since the air attacks, and the ensuing military standoff that saw Pakistan shoot down an Indian fighter jet, tensions have been high between the South Asian neighbours. Shelling across the Line of Control killed at least 60 civilians in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in 2019, a marked uptick from previous years, according to Pakistani government data. India says Pakistani shelling into Indian-administered Kashmir has also killed several civilians, although the government did not provide specific data. In August, India revoked a special constitutional status for Indian-administered Kashmir, effectively absorbing the territory into its political and administrative mainstream. The move was decried by Pakistan as unacceptable, given the territory is subject to a bilateral dispute. Haider alleged Indias move to integrate the portion of Kashmir it controls was an attempt to change the demography of the region by allowing outsiders to migrate there. Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed. Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2020 Haider said he submitted a proposal to Pakistans Foreign Office earlier this month to ramp up diplomatic engagement on the Kashmir issue. I have suggested that [the Pakistan-administered Kashmir government] open offices in the P5 countries [and in] Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey, as well as establish embassies in Geneva and EU headquarters at Brussels, and at the UN headquarters in New York, he said. We need to work in these countries to save people from Indias fascist designs. [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is a new Hitler of the 21st century. Speaking in the same vein, Pakistani Prime Minister Khan on Wednesday criticised Indian police and security forces over violence in the capital New Delhi that has seen at least 24 people killed in sectarian attacks. Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people, said Khan, referring to the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organisation, with which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is closely affiliated. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed. Haider said he was wary of US President Donald Trumps repeated offers to mediate over the crisis in Kashmir. I am against the US mediation because it will always be in the favour of India, he said. They have interests in India. These days they have compulsions [regarding Pakistan] because of Afghanistan [and the peace process], but otherwise when would they ever take our side? Haider said he did approve, however, of the idea of international mediation in general as it means that Kashmir is not being treated as an internal issue of India. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim Higher Education provider GBS announces the appointment of a distinguished new member to its Advisory Board, bolstering its governance and scrutiny. Joining the Advisory Board is Sir Tim Lankester. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005640/en/ GBS Advisory Board Member, Sir Tim Lankester (Photo: Business Wire) Sir Tim Lankester studied economics at Cambridge and Yale. In 1966, he joined the World Bank as an economist, working in Washington D.C. and then serving in the Bank's New Delhi office. In 1973, he joined the British Civil Service. He held senior positions at the Treasury: Undersecretary for Monetary and Financial Affairs, and then as Britain's director on the boards of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. Later, he served as Permanent Secretary in the Department for International Development, and finally in the Department for Education. From 1978 to 1981 he was Private Secretary (Economic Affairs) to Prime Ministers Callaghan and Thatcher. From 1981 to 1983 he was seconded from the Civil Service to the investment bank, S.G. Warburg. He was knighted for public service in 1994. After retiring from the Civil Service in 1996, he became Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London. From 2001 to 2009 he was President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. During his time in Oxford he chaired the Admissions Executive, the body responsible for the university's undergraduate admissions system. He chaired the Council of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine between 2008 and 2014. From 2007 to 2015 he chaired the governing body of the London Contemporary Dance Trust and was a board member of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. Earlier he was a governor of the Royal College of Music. For ten years he was a member of the UK-India Roundtable. In the private sector, he has served on the boards of several major organizations: CGU plc (later renamed Aviva), Smith and Nephew plc, Mitchell and Butlers plc, and the London Metal Exchange. He chaired the board of the Simba Fund (a closed-end fund investing in Africa and managed by ING Baring), and was on the management advisory board of the private equity firm, Actis. Currently he is on the management board of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Art and Culture at the University of East Anglia. He is a member of the Joint Advisory Board of Georgetown University in Doha; Vice Chairman of the Tokyo-based charity Worldwide Support for Development; Chairman of the Wells Maltings Trust, a multi-arts centre in Norfolk; and advisor on Indonesia with the consulting firm, Oxford Analytica. He has lectured and published articles on international aid, the 2008 international banking crisis, and on the Indian and Indonesian economies. In 2012, his book "The Politics and Economics of Britain's Foreign Aid: the Pergau Dam Affair" was published by Routledge. ENDS About GBS: GBS's vision is to change lives through education that makes a fundamental difference to living standards and access to learning. GBS partners with four universities and industry tutors to deliver its banking, finance, business and healthcare Higher Education programmes. For more information, please visit www.globalbanking.ac.uk View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005640/en/ Contacts: Lipsheon Jhand, Marketing Manager, GBS 020 8132 8620 ljhand@globalbanking.ac.uk Arts Yangon Photo Festival Awards Address Myanmars Pressing Issues Hkun Li receiving the first prize for his Beauty Queen photo essay in the professional category. / Htet Wai. Photographers highlighted humanity, peace, human rights and other pressing issues at the awards ceremony of the 12th Yangon Photo Festival (YPF) at the French Institute with eight awards going to professionals and emerging photographers. The four-week festival featured free exhibitions, activities, screenings and parties at Maha Bandoola Park, the Goethe Institut, Institut Francais, Yangon Central Railway Station, the Rosewood Hotel, Dala Ferries, Junction City, Myanmar Deitta and the Ahla Thit art gallery. Organizers displayed the work of 16 nominees which highlighted peace, conflict, human rights, child labor and poverty. This year the festival received about 129 photo story submissions from beginners and professionals. The competition has two categories: emerging and professional. The emerging category had four winners from 11 nominated photo essays and the professional entries included three awards and one special prize from five entrants. In the professional category, photographer Hkun Li won the first prize with his photo essay, The Beauty Queen, about Kachin women forced into Chinese marriages. It happened among Kachin IDPs [internally displaced people] because they are poor and displaced, so they want to leave the camps. Some go willingly and some are tricked and trafficked, said Hkun Li. Some of the marriages were arranged by their families and some by village leaders, he said. This essay was made in 2019 and I will follow their lives in China after marriage. So this photo essay is not finished yet but I had to stop the project because the Covid-19 outbreak meant travel to China was impossible, said Hkun Li. He won YPF awards in 2013 and 2016 and now wins a chance to attend the World Press Photo Awards in Amsterdam. It will be my first visit to the World Press Photo Awards. Its so exciting. It is a place to study photography. I am so happy to see work by the worlds best photographers, he added. A story about an eight-year-old who carries mud baskets at a brickyard, called Wahso Moe Aka Weirdo by Ye Naing and Yan Moe Naing was the runner-up. It has gone viral on social media. The boy walks around 18 km each day carrying nearly 3 tons of mud from 6 am to 4 pm for 3,500 kyats (US$2.4) per day. He is the youngest employee at the site. In 2019, he was hit by a motorbike and received 18 stitches in his head. At first, he could not remember his friends and received the nickname Weirdo. Thuya Zaw came third with Tears of Blood and Elizabeth Jangma received the Franck Seguin special award For My People, about female Arakan Army troops. In the emerging category, Kyaw Swar Tun won with If Dad Came Home. The second prize went to Mizumi and Zaw Ma Ta with Mizumis Friends. The third prize went to Htein Htein Lynn with A Pill to Heal Cherry and Ei Ei Phyo Lwin came fourth with Nowhere To Go. Mizumis Friends is a story about a 14-year-old Lisu girl from Kachin State who was born with Downs syndrome. It shows how supportive her parents are and how much fun Mizumi has. The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, and the YPF are training IDPs living with disabilities to produce photo stories about their lives, using photography is an effective language and therapy. The winners received Canon cameras and a trip to the opening of the World Press Photo Awards ceremony in Amsterdam. The public can view the winning photo essays and work from the YPF training sessions at the Myanmar Stories Facebook page. The exhibitions run until March 21. Visit the YPF Facebook page for more details. You may also like these stories: Photos Reveal Impact of Illegal Banana Plantations on Workers, Land in Myanmars Kachin State Yangon Photo Festival Spotlights Some of Myanmars Pressing Issues Justin Trudeau's ambition was to forge a grand bargain to develop Canada's resources. In trying to please everyone, he has pleased no one. The Canadian prime minister pledged that increased support for the environment and indigenous rights would help win the social license for major projects. It hasn't worked out that way. The country's long-running argument over its vast oil riches is boiling over, and Trudeau finds himself besieged on all sides. Resource proponents are up in arms over a decision Sunday by Teck Resources Ltd. to abandon a C$20 billion ($15.1 billion) oil development in Alberta because of policy uncertainty. The government is also being accused of being too slow to respond to protesters who blocked rail lines for more than two weeks in support of indigenous people opposed to a new natural gas pipeline. But on Friday, Trudeau publicly encouraged police to clear the barricades -- which fueled mistrust among indigenous and environmental groups that are part of his political base. It's an ominous start to his second term in power that foreshadows what is likely to be Trudeau's biggest challenge in the years ahead. Having raised expectations that he can find a solution to one of Canada's most divisive issues, he's struggling to deliver. Failure risks making the problem worse -- hardening differences, creating a policy stalemate and stoking disenchantment that could fuel polarization in a country that's been largely untouched by populist politics. "The crisis of progressive political leadership around the democratic world is reuniting what some people call the brown and green factions of progressive political parties," said Robin Sears, a longtime political strategist who has run campaigns for the opposition New Democratic Party. "Those who think that social justice and economic development must come first and those who think climate response must always lead. And these guys are caught in that trap." It's a challenge that Trudeau is fully aware of after an October election that saw his party lose its majority and receive only one third of the vote, the lowest share for any government in Canadian history. More disturbing is how the election exposed a stark regional split. The main opposition Conservatives -- who have championed the oil sector -- have most of their seats concentrated in four resource-dependent western provinces. The Liberals won largely in areas like Ontario, Quebec and large cities where support for tougher climate change policy is stronger. Polls suggest Canadians from either side of the divide remain unenthusiastic about Trudeau's ability to bring results. Support for the Liberal Party is little changed since the election, at about 33%. But according to weekly tracking by Nanos Research Group, the government is now trailing the Conservatives under a lame-duck leader. As a result, "diminished ambitions may become the default for this government," said Nik Nanos, chairman of the polling firm. To be sure, Canada has a long tradition of politics that split differences and support for middle-ground policies remains high. No government has ever been too far away from the center. According to Sears, the problem isn't that Canada's differences on energy can't be reconciled. Rather, he blames the current stalemate on poor execution by Trudeau's government that has failed to build trust on either side. "You have to build the confidence and trust of contending sides that you are an honest broker and you are an authentic champion of a compromise that has something in it for everybody," Sears said. "Until and unless you do that, every time there is a setback people will call you a fraud." Whatever the causes, there is growing concern Trudeau's energy policy risks alienating everybody. Western Canadians who rely most on the oil sector are as angry as ever, led by the relentlessly critical premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney. Many top Canadian executives -- usually supportive of the middle-ground approach -- believe Trudeau has been too one-sided and not done enough to advocate the benefits of resources. They cite how two major pipeline options were taken off the table and worry the government's new environmental assessment legislation will do lasting damage. Meanwhile, capital keeps marching out of Canada's oil industry. "They haven't been very good at telling the story about how important resources are to Canada's economy and to making sure we can afford all the other things we want to do," said John Manley, a former deputy prime minister under Jean Chretien's Liberal government. "I think we got into this jam early on by not showing any flexibility on the resource development side while pushing for very strong measures on climate." Among many environmentalists, the feelings are mutual. "The communications out of the prime minister's office and the Liberal government more generally has been: We can have it all," said Dale Marshall, national climate program manager for Environmental Defence Fund. "We can tackle climate change and grow our resources -- which is code for the oil and gas sector -- and it hasn't worked because the two are at odds with each other." The resurgence of indigenous activism in recent weeks suggests things may only get tougher for Trudeau. After police dismantled one major rail barricade on Monday, protesters blocked key infrastructure in at least three others places across the country. - - - Bloomberg's Kait Bolongaro contributed to this report. (Newser) The conflicting statements offered by the mother of a Tennessee toddler last seen in December but only reported missing a week ago have led to an arrest. Megan Boswell, mother of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of false reports, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office. Capt. Andy Seabolt tells CNN that the 18-year-old gave "a number of conflicting statements," some of which have been found to be false. In a Tuesday Facebook message, Megan Boswell told WJHL she was unable to take a polygraph test because she is pregnantthough the sheriff's office doesn't use a polygraph. A day earlier, Megan told the outlet she'd been trying to protect her mother, Angela Boswell, who was supposed to be babysitting Evelyn when she last saw her before Christmas. story continues below Megan, who identifies as gypsy, said she knew something was wrong when her mother "took off and just didn't answer her phone." But she said Angela Boswell had taken Evelyn to a campground in Mendota, Va., where she could be found in "a silver camper." She said she hadn't told authorities earlier because "my mom did threaten me like, you know, if I told anybody." Authorities, however, say they've checked the campground and there's no sign of Evelyn. Megan Boswell remained in custody Tuesday night on a $25,000 bond, per the Knoxville News Sentinel. Angela Boswell, 42, and William McCloud, 33, are also in custody following their Feb. 21 arrest in North Carolina, where they were pulled over in a reportedly stolen BMW. The Sentinel also mentions "fugitive warrants." Angela Boswell has since been returned to Sullivan County. (Read more missing child stories.) Fewer Britons consider coronavirus a 'major threat', according to a new YouGov poll (Picture: Getty) A new YouGov poll has revealed fewer people think coronavirus is a major threat in the UK. The data shows 14% of respondents now feel the infection is a big concern compared to 23% on 1 February. The combined number of people who think the virus is a moderate and major threat remains at around 60%. Coronavirus has continued to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic. As of Wednesday, a total of 7,132 people have been tested for it in the UK. Of these, 13 have tested positive, and eight have since been discharged from hospital. The overall number of people who think coronavirus is a threat compared to 1 February: Brits see Coronavirus as no more of a threat to the country now as they did when asked a few weeks ago (61% vs 60%) https://t.co/2RlFdIQfct pic.twitter.com/QRlTa8qBQf YouGov (@YouGov) February 25, 2020 Matt Smith, Research Manager at YouGov said: As coronavirus spreads across the globe, concern has remained high in Britain with six in ten Brits seeing it as a threat to the country. However, while concern is at a similar level to when YouGov last asked the public, the proportion of those who see coronavirus as a major threat has decreased with more now classing the virus as a moderate threat than a month ago. This could be due to a number of factors, such as increased public knowledge of the symptoms or publicised efforts to contain patients, or the fact that as of yet nobody in the UK has died of the illness, but ultimately concern about the virus is still high." The YouGov poll has a breakdown on the region, gender, politics, age and social grade of the 4463 people surveyed which can be viewed here. Read more: UK schools close as coronavirus panic spreads across Europe The infection continues to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic (Picture: PA) Several schools in the UK have closed while others have sent pupils home for fear they may have been exposed to coronavirus during ski trips to northern Italy. Story continues In Italy, the number of people infected grew to 322, or 45% in 24 hours, and deaths of patients with the virus rose to 11. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. The first positive test in South America has been recorded after 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy tested positive, it has been reported. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said official advice has been changed to say people who have been to anywhere in Italy north of Pisa should self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms on their return to the UK. He told MPs on Wednesday: We have a clear, four-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate. Read more: In numbers: How coronavirus has spread around the world Mr Hancock added guidance has been published in recent days for schools, employers, first responders, social care and the travel industry. He said: If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited. There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education. In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice. Read more: Britons urged to 'keep their distance' from each other as coronavirus spreads Staff assigned for Coronavirus tests at the Molinette hospital, in Italy (Picture: PA) Mr Hancock said it is important not to overreact in response to the Covid-19 virus and there is no clinical benefit to using thermal imaging at airports to screen passengers. The total number of cases of coronavirus in China is around 77,150, while the death toll is approximately 2,592. Outside mainland China, the outbreak has spread to some 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of around two dozen. Burma Myanmar Prisons to Educate Inmates on Coronavirus, Work on Prevention Yangon's Insein Prison in 2017. / The Irrawaddy YANGONThe Myanmar Prisons Department is working to raise inmates awareness of coronavirus (COVID-19) in prisons across the country, according to department Deputy Director U Ye Yint Naing. Were educating the prisoners about coronavirus in cooperation with local health departments, not just prison doctors, said U Ye Yint Naing. Outbreaks can be devastating in prisons as people are concentrated in a single compound, he said, adding that the risk is especially high in prisons because they have new inmates almost every day. Suppose there is an outbreak in a place, then people can avoid that place. But the situation is different in prison. Once a person is infected in a prison, it is possible that all the people there will be infected, so we are doing this as a preventive measure, U Ye Yint Naing added. But U Bo Kyi, joint general secretary for the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, said it is not enough to give talks about the virus in prisons and that it is important to provide prisoners with the medical supplies and health care they need. How well can they really carry out health checks on new inmates? Every day, there are people who enter and leave the prison. Detainees can be infected by family members visiting them, he said. Prominent filmmaker and human rights activist U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was released from Insein Prison last Friday, said he saw no efforts to educate inmates. There was nothing when I was released from the prison on February 21, though they say they are holding education talks, he said. When I was in the prison, they did nothing at all. My family members brought me masks [via prison officials] when I was in prison, but I didnt get them, U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi added. I asked the new prison warden what he would do to prevent the virus in prison. He said nothing to me. The Prisons Department says it is conducting temperature checks at over 90 prisons across the country including the eight central-level prisons in Yangon, Mandalay, Myingyan, Tharyarwady, Mohnyin and other places. Recently, police sent 14 Chinese inmates to prison in Mandalay. They returned from Chinas Wuhan in December and we asked the police to put them in quarantine at a hospital for 14 days as required by the Health Department. We mainly dont want infection inside the facility. Once there is an infection, it will spread out of control, said U Ye Yint Naing. Prison authorities have been instructed to provide inmates with personal care items and other health supplies, Prisons Department Director-General U Zaw Zaw told The Irrawaddy. The department says it has instructed prison authorities to help inmates maintain personal hygiene. The sanitation of cells in courts is important, said U Bo Kyi. There should be educational posters [about the virus] in the cells. Police have to keep an eye on family members who visit inmates, he added. Temperature checks should also be carried out on family members, and there should be enough water and soap in prisons for handwashing. The coronavirus is spreading in Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world and the total number of cases has surpassed 80,000. The death toll from the outbreak has now topped 2,700 worldwide, the vast majority of deaths being in mainland China. Outside China, the places hit worst by the outbreak are South Korea, with more than 1,260 cases, and Italy, with more than 320 cases. Iran has reported more than 90 cases and 15 deaths. China is also struggling to control the outbreak in prisons. Last Friday, China reported that more than 500 Chinese prisoners were infected with COVID-19 across three provinces, including 230 inmates at Wuhan Womens Prison, where the prison director was sacked. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Launches Online Project Bank for Development Projects Switzerland Agrees to Resettle Wife, Children of Myanmars Rakhine Rebel Leader Angry Exchange Between Military MP, Speaker Mars First Day of Myanmar Charter Debate The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved signing of three agreements with Mayanmar, including the one on protecting wildlife, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. The other two memoranda of understanding are on communication and setting up a joint working group in petroleum sector, Javadekar said. Since Mizoram shares its international border with Myanmar, wild animals keep crossing the border "as they don't see geographical boundaries", Javadekar said. The MoU will enhance joint cooperation between India and Myanmar. India would also train officials from Myanmar in the field of wildlife, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: After China, now Corona in India seems to be increasing havoc. Due to which the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked citizens to avoid traveling to South Korea, Iran, and Italy if it is not necessary. Please tell that there is news of an increase in cases of coronavirus in these countries. It is also being said that the Ministry has said in a travel consultation that since 10 February 2020, people coming from South Korea, Iran, and Italy or traveling there will be kept aside for 14 days upon reaching India. Going to do. Minister Patwari on Delhi violence says, 'After 3 century, such riots are happening in Delhi' According to the information received, in view of the outbreak of Corona virus, a travel advisory was issued on 22 February, in which citizens were advised not to travel to Singapore if not necessary. It said that since Monday, passengers coming to India from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia are being investigated at airports. Israel takes big step after rocket attacks, Gaza Strip route closed Passengers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan are tested for coronavirus at 21 airports in the country. Prakash Javadekar's counterattack on Congress's charge, says, "Their work is only to do politics" Apollo Tyres on Wednesday said private equity firm Warburg Pincus will invest Rs 1,080 crore (around USD 150 million) in the company. The company's board on Wednesday has approved an issuance of compulsorily convertible preference shares in the company worth Rs 1,080 crore to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, Apollo Tyres Ltd said in a statement. The investment represents a primary capital infusion into the company and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, it added. "Their (Warburg Pincus) investment is a strong vote of confidence in our business, management team and growth prospects. I believe the company will benefit from the backing of a large financial investor of their pedigree and our partnership will further strengthen Apollo Tyres' board and governance," Apollo Tyres Chairman and Managing Director Onkar S Kanwar said. Commenting on the development, Warburg Pincus India Managing Director Vishal Mahadevia said, "We see a compelling growth story in Apollo Tyres and believe the company is well-positioned to build upon the strong leadership position it has carved out within the industry." Warburg Pincus is excited to partner with the management team of Apollo Tyres in this journey and looks forward to supporting them during the next phase of the company's growth, he added. Shares of Apollo Tyres on Wednesday closed 3.59 per cent lower at Rs 148.85 apiece on the BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YPSILANTI, MI The Ypsilanti Community Schools Family and Community Empowerment Conference 2020 is set to provide knowledge of local resources to parents and community members. The event in Ypsilanti Community High School begins at 8 a.m. March 14 with registration and pancakes. There are sessions and a keynote speaker until 1 p.m, along with an appearance by 97.9 WJLB - Detroits Hip Hop & R&B radio station. Radio host DJ Envy of The Breakfast Club is expected to keynote the event. A meet-and-greet with a photo opportunity will follow his discussion. One of the things that we wanted to highlight with DJ Envy is family empowerment hes really big on family, said Taryn M.R. Willis, YCS communications and marketing coordinator. He comes from Queens, New York, which is an urban environment that a lot of our families come from. He went to Hampton University. Hes also going to talk about entrepreneurship. The Ypsilanti Wealth Building Group will host DJ Envy in a registration-only session for attendees. They will discuss real estate, credit repair and mortgage brokerage. There will be one-on-one discussions, including a session on the process of moving out of rental housing to home ownership. Registration for the free conference is available on Eventbrite. YCS reached out to parents to ask what information they wanted from this conference and the committee created the event based on the feedback. The F.A.C.E. Conference will focus on four topics: care, safety, academics and partnerships. Local organizations will hold 45-minute sessions that will go in-depth on how to support your students, families and community. The National Alliance on Mental Illness Washtenaw County will lead a session focusing on mental and physical health, communication at home and supporting behaviors. The Ypsilanti District Library will have a session about improving academics. Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department will talk about cybersafety, resilience and communication. Ypsilanti Community Schools will host its own session about using community resources to improve safety, academics and care at home and in your area. The overall goal is to give information on how to navigate your family and navigate your family through the educational system and through community resources, Willis said. We are a district that relies heavily on community resources, not financially, but to help our families on an everyday basis. A vendor fair featuring local organizations such as Eastern Michigan University Bright Futures, Food Gatherers, Unite Community Church and RAHS Health Clinic will open from 9 a.m. to noon. Many resources are available for preparing children for school, assistance for children with disabilities and more. A Kid Zone will be available for students ages 5 to 10. Parents and guardians can register students on the F.A.C.E. Conference Kid Zone Google form by March 7. The Riverside Arts Center, YMCA, Growing Hope and Crunch Fitness will host activities for kids during the day. For kids 18 months to 4 years old, there is a one-day pass available to use the YMCA Child Development Center at Chapelle Business Center at 111 N. Wallace in Ypsilanti. Registration is on a Google form as well. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea by Iltija Mufti, daughter of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, challenging the detention of her mother under the Public Safety Act. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked Iltija to give an undertaking to bring on record that she has not filed any other petition before any other other judicial forum, including the high court, in connection with the detention of her mother. The top court has listed the matter for further hearing on March 18. Iltija had filed a habeas corpus, a writ petition seeking direction from court to the authorities to produce a person under illegal detention, in the top court against the February 5, administrative order invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA) provision against her mother, leading to her detention. The same bench had earlier issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory administration on a similar plea filed by Sara Abdullah Pilot challenging government notification invoking the PSA against her brother and former chief minister Omar Abdullah. CHICAGO - Two men and a woman fired nearly 20 shots into a convenience store on Chicagos South Side, killing an 18-year-old woman and wounding four other people, police said. The three walked up to Alis Minimart around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, looked inside and opened fire, Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said. All three fired shots, apparently without saying a word, he said. We know of no conversation. ... At this point, we dont have a motive, Beck said. The three then sped off in a car. Jaya Beemon, who apparently was shopping, was struck in the neck. She was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Cook County Medical Examiners Office said. Jaya Beemons mother was arrested and charged with misdemeanour battery and resisting a police officer. Authorities say officers were trying to clear the hospitals emergency room late Tuesday when Nyisha Beemon allegedly pushed an officer from behind, grabbed his vest and kicked him. In a statement Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois condemned the arrest, calling it ``puzzling and disconcerting, adding police chose the worst moment in the mothers life to arrest her. A Chicago police spokesman said the department will review the circumstances of the arrest. The four who were wounded include an 18-year-old woman shot in the back and taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Chicago Tribune reported. Also being treated at hospitals were a 17-year-old girl shot in the arm, chest and ankle, a 19-year-old man shot in the leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and a 63-year-old man shot in the leg and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was reported stable. Last month, two gunmen fired into a barbershop on the West Side, wounding five people, including three children. An East Chicago, Indiana, man was arrested Sunday in connection with that shooting. Air New Zealand on February 26 announced that it would have flatbeds for people travelling in the economy class for some of its long haul flights. However, according to international media reports, it would take more than one year before passengers could finally enjoy sleeping in those pod beds. Economy Skynest The New Zealand based airline reportedly announced that it had filed patent and trademark applications for what it is calling Economy Skynest. The Skynest would contain a six full-length sleep beds which would be 200 cm in length and 58 cm in width. According to reports, there would be three levels of beds with two beds on each level. Nestiquette (noun): How to #Skynest according to a couple friends but what are your nestiquette tips? pic.twitter.com/8DhRqAmCzP Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) February 26, 2020 Read: Malaysia Airlines Steward Loses Case After She Was Fired For Being Overweight Accompanying each bed, which resembles a pod hotel design, will be a full-size pillow, sheets and blankets, earplugs, and a privacy curtain. Air New Zealand reportedly is still assessing if it could include other features like a USB outlet and a reading light. We hear you, sometimes you just need to stretch out Our Economy #Skynest is in development to help make your dreams come true! Whos ready for a lie down? pic.twitter.com/1Qmka3YNSq Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) February 25, 2020 However, the airlines, which plans to launch the flight between Auckland and New York in October next year faces major challenges. The challenges include making the novel idea work financially, meeting regulatory requirements designed to help passengers survive a crash amongst others. Read: Mumbai: BMC Seizes 2 Helicopters Of Private Airline For Property Tax Default Read: Ahead Of Donald Trump's Visit To Ahmedabad, Airlines Issue Advisory For Passengers David Flynn, the editor in chief of a travel website, said reporters that despite pretty pictures, it is likely to be lengthy and arduous certification process. He added that there was a certain appeal to the railway-style sleeping berths, although it was highly unlikely that passengers could strap themselves into the bunk beds for take-off and landing. Air New Zealand has said that economy passengers would have to make an additional booking for the beds in addition to their regular seat, international media reported. Read: Singapore Airlines To Cut Flights As Coronavirus Outbreak Hits Demand Mohammad Abbas is the 85-year-old caretaker of the small Farukhiya mosque in the same area. After evening prayers Tuesday, he said that police officers attacked him and the mosques imam. He said they called him a traitor, and he saw them vandalizing and setting fire to the mosque. When he was taken to a hospital, he said he was covered in blood. They beat me so mercilessly, my hands were broken, Abbas said. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently launched an initiative called the Solid Start program for new veterans, as they leave the service. Solid Start is a transition program in which VA representatives proactively reach out to the 200,000 newly separated veterans during the critical first year of transition from the military to inform them about the benefits they are eligible to receive. In a recent conversation with Margarita Devlin, the VA's Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits, the Daily News learned this new program was initiated when research showed the incident of suicides was significantly increased within the first year of separation from the service. "We have the opportunity to follow up every call providing resources from employment counselors, mental health resources, doctors, and other assistance," Devlin said. "If any veteran has been separated from their service for 90 days and not received a call, they should call 1-800-827-1000 and ask about the veteran's transition program." Another resource is www.benefits.va.gov, she added. Devlin said the website will also provide veterans with information about their local medical center or regional office. "The goal here," Devlin added, "is to effectively transition service members into their civilian life." She added the government's goal is to reach out to these new veterans in three months, six months, and one year, to make sure they are getting the resources they need and are acclimating to civilian life. Veterans recently separated can, of course, also contact their local veterans center to get this assistance for their transition. Devlin added all veterans can receive these same services by contacting their local veteran office. And she encourages all veterans to check out these resources, including those who left the service years ago. She stressed the VA is here for all veterans. "Our veterans served our country, and we want to make sure they are connected to the benefits they have earned," Devlin said. These efforts to support our veterans were mandated in 2018 through an executive order of the president of the U.S., Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and Homeland Security. INDIANAPOLIS The Eagles are setting their sights higher than the free-agent scratch-and-dent bargain bin this year. Does that mean a run at the top of the market, an attempt to sign, say, Dallas cornerback Byron Jones, or Denver corner Chris Harris? General manager Howie Roseman didnt say that Tuesday, when Roseman spoke at the NFLs annual scouting combine. Roseman did acknowledge that he is no longer looking to plug holes with vets on one-year deals, as has been the case the past two offseasons. Roseman spoke of shifting focus from the three-year window that began with the 2017 Super Bowl team to what he sees as a new three-year window, from 2020 through 2022. But he said that doesnt mean rebuilding, in the sense that the Eagles wont be trying to win the Super Bowl this coming season. Were not talking about a total rebuild, were talking about a retool period, and injecting some youth, Roseman said, as part of an answer about anticipating having 10 picks in the upcoming draft, double the Eagles total in 2018 or 19. Weve got a lot of highly paid players on our team -- good players, thats why we paid them -- and so you have to supplement them with some good young players. Having 10 picks this year in a strong wide receiver class does more than allow the Eagles to potentially stock up at that critical position, and maybe at other spots as well. It also gives them ammunition to trade up in the draft, should the player they really want not be available, say, when their selection arrives 21st overall in the first round, or 53rd in the second, or wherever. As we sit here, we would love to say that were going to be having 10 picks, but there were moments in the last two drafts, when there were guys within [trading up] reach, that we would want to move up [for], and we just didnt have the ammunition to do it, Roseman said. So if there is a guy still that we thought was an incredibly high value, and we could go up and go get him, we couldnt take that off the table. In free agency last offseason, the Eagles wanted to maximize their chances at gaining 2020 compensatory picks. That affected how they looked at the market. They should get three of those picks this spring a third-rounder in compensation for losing Nick Foles, and fourth-rounders for Jordan Hicks and Golden Tate. Getting extra picks in 2021 wont be a focus of this years free-agent strategy, when the market opens March 18. If we can get the right free agents, were not in a mode now where maybe we try to find the undervalued older guys that we tried to find over the last couple of years, Roseman said. Were trying to build this over a period of time, were not kind of in this one-year window. Roseman said this offseason might be I guess, kind of similar to how we looked at free agency in maybe 2016 and 17, when the Eagles might not have made the splashiest moves but signed such stalwarts as right guard Brandon Brooks, safety Rodney McLeod, and linebacker Nigel Bradham, all of whom became long-term starters. Despite the retool, not rebuild distinction, at times, Roseman seemed to be hinting that the 2020 team could take a step backward, as younger players take over for aging vets. This much-anticipated draft class might produce the dominant wide receiver that fans have yearned for, but that player will be a rookie in 2020, new to Carson Wentz, the Eagles offense, and the NFL. But its also true that when Roseman spoke at the 2017 combine, his remarks did not reflect expectations of a 13-3 season and the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. That year, too, Roseman thought he was at the start of a three-season window. Are we in a position right now where if we sign this one guy, that puts us over the top? We have to be honest about that, Roseman said back then. The implication was that he did not believe one big free agent would make the Eagles dominant. Instead, Roseman made a number of smaller moves, nearly all of which worked out. But he ended up trading draft picks to win the Super Bowl. His roster inevitably got more expensive, and some holes werent adequately filled in the draft or in free agency. Over the last two years, coming off the Super Bowl, we had a different amount of resources going forward, and we were looking at our team-building over that 17, 18, 19 period, and we knew at 20 we were going to have to change that a little bit, Roseman said Tuesday. Now were looking at it over the course of a window. Not that we dont want to win this year -- we desperately want to win this year -- but more over building this team over 2020, 2021, hopefully 2022. Its hard to look three years out, really, but [we want to] keep our eye on that. I think that maybe changes the complexion of some of our decisions this offseason, that its different from coming off the Super Bowl or coming off losing to the Saints in the divisional round. In each of the five combine media sessions Roseman has held since he returned to power in 2016, he has been asked about improving the cornerback position, which has been a weakness for the last decade. Tuesday he was asked if you have to shop at the top of the market to get a difference-maker at corner. I dont think you have to go to the top of the market necessarily on anything, he said. I think weve got to combine free agency and the draft, and also how we want to build our team for 2020 and 2021 and try to figure out the best avenues to do that, but you know, I think the biggest mistake we can make is saying that we have to do something. We get in a position where we dont set boundaries and we do something that hamstrings us going forward. Advertisement Riot police on the Greek island of Lesbos yesterday fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters against the creation of a new detention centre for migrants as the latest outburst of unrest entered a second day. The Athens government infuriated residents of five Aegean islands - all straddling a key route to Europe used by thousands of migrants - by announcing two weeks ago that it would expedite the construction of secured detention centres to replace open-access, severely overcrowded camps. Locals residents - who are are concerned such an arrangement could become permanent - tried to approach a site earmarked for a new migrant centre and clashed with police on a road winding through a forest. A demonstrator, who opposes the building of a new closed migrant detention centre, kicks a tear gas canister during clashes with riot police outside a military camp housing police officers, near the village of Pagani on the island of Lesbos A demonstrator throws a stone toward riot police officers during protests against the construction of a new controversial migrant camp near the town of Mantamados on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos Demonstrators, who oppose the building of a new closed migrant detention centre, clash with riot police outside a military camp housing police officers, near the village of Pagani on the island of Lesbos Greek riot police face demonstrators during protests against the construction of a new controversial migrant camp near the town of Mantamados on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos Riot police on the Greek island of Lesbos today fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters against the creation of a new detention centre for migrants. A police officer is pictured running away from flames from a petrol bomb The Athens government infuriated residents of five Aegean islands by announcing two weeks ago that it would expedite the construction of secured detention centres to replace open-access, severely overcrowded camps. A protester kicks a tear gas canister thrown by riot police during clashes Locals residents - who are are concerned such an arrangement could become permanent - tried to approach a site earmarked for a new migrant centre and clashed with police on a road winding through a forest Protesters launched petrol bombs which burst into flames, threw rocks and kicked back gas canisters as the clash escalated. 'More than 1,000 people protesting at the new facility... threw stones at police, smashing their helmets. Police were forced to use chemicals,' a police spokesman said, using a euphemism for tear gas. Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered in the town of Mytilene on Lesbos as part of a general strike to protest at government plans to create the new closed migrant facility. On Tuesday, locals used vehicles and rubbish trucks to try to block police reinforcements and heavy machinery in a port. Protesters threw rocks, lit fires and kicked back gas canisters thrown by police as the clash escalated. A man gestures as he hold stones during clashes with Greek anti-riot police A protester kicks away a gas cannister during clashes with Greek anti-riot police during a protest against the construction of a new controversial migrant camp Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered in the town of Mytilene on Lesbos as part of a general strike to protest at government plans to create the new closed migrant facility. A protester throws a stone during clashes Greek riot police walking through a forest with shields and gas masks after being forced to fire tear gas to disperse protesters A riot policeman throws a tear gas canister at local protesting residents during clashes in Karava Riot police marched in formation and used tear gas and flash grenades on residents. At least three people on Chios, including the mayor and a priest, were rushed to hospital last night after suffering breathing difficulties due to the toxic fumes. The Athens government says the closed centres will offer greater security and safety to both asylum seekers and local residents, and plans to build them on the islands of Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios in addition to Lesbos. Locals say the islands are carrying a disproportionate burden from a migrant crisis that began in 2015 when more than one million people fled violence in the Middle East and beyond via Turkey, reaching Greece and then moving on to wealthier central and northern Europe, their preferred destinations. Border closures imposed since then along the migrant corridor through the Balkans and central Europe north of Greece have left many thousands of later arrivals marooned on Greek islands near Turkey. Greek anti-riot police march along a road as they clash with as demonstrators protesting against the construction of a new controversial migrant camp near the town of Mantamados A resident is pictured throwing a large stone towards riot police during the chaos as it entered a second day Riot police fire gas during a major clash with the people of Lesbos as they protest against the new migrant camp emonstrators, who oppose the building of a new closed migrant detention centre, throw rocks in the direction of riot police A demonstrator, who opposes the building of a new closed migrant detention centre, prepares to throw a petrol bomb A demonstrator, who opposes the building of a new closed migrant detention centre, throws a rock at riot police Several tear gas canisters billow with smoke as demonstrators gather near the town of Mantamados on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos Riot police arrest protestants amid the chaos of demonstrations near the town of Mantamados on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos A protester throws a petrol bomb against riot police during clashes in Diavolorema near the area where the government plans to build a new migrant detention center Dr Prince Hamid Armah 26.02.2020 LISTEN It is easy, when one surveys the social media landscape, which has come to take up the place of the proverbial public square, to sense the frustration that many feel about the state of our country, especially the manner in which public services are delivered. It is easier still to understand the source of this ennui. Some 60 odd years after that heady night when our first president declared boldly that we were perfectly capable of managing our own affairs, his optimism can sometimes feel a bit misplaced in the face of the reality that confronts us. Unlike some of our peers at birth, notably Singapore and South Korea, we have not managed to create wealthy and prosperous societies that invite others to come here en masse to seek their fortune or at the very least, an example to emulate. Periods of prosperity and progress are soon replaced by mismanagement and retrogression. We appear to struggle to adequately feed, educate, and care for our citizens. Every now and then, we are treated to harrowing stories of our compatriots succumbing to ailments that should otherwise have been easily dealt with. On a very basic level, we can't keep our streetlights on or evacuate filth from our communities. And that's before we come to the heartbreak that our national sporting teams continually visit on us. All of which can be endlessly despairing if you want the best for your nation, as many of us patently do. More so when the twin wonders of travel and technology mean that it is very easy to see the luscious grass on our neighbours' lawns. Why can we not have what they have, especially as in several cases, we had more than them to begin with? For many, the answer has been to leave and make a home where things seem easier. But in the world in which we live now, that is not as safe an option as it would seem. The rise of far right nationalism in the west means that migrants are at greater risk than they were even a decade ago. For others, the solution is to focus on personal enrichment in order to be insulated against the ills we see around. With the right amount of money, we can educate our children privately, seek healthcare abroad and procure cross-country vehicles to guard against the bad roads on our daily commute. But the widening inequality that this attitude portends makes for a potent catalyst for social strife that can engulf us all. There are no walls high enough to keep out criminals created by widespread poverty and employment and there are no planes fast enough to get you to London or South Africa when you have a medical emergency and there are no beds at the nation's premier hospital. Never then, has there been a better time to brighten our own corner. When we agonize over the many challenges that this country has, the inevitable conclusion that we come to is that it has everything to do with leadership and the quality of that we have available to us. Even when we are making progress, as we sometimes do, many of us believe we could have gone further and faster, too. We believe that there is a better way, a simpler way and a cheaper way to deliver on the many needs that our people have and we are on the wrong path because the people in charge, whether by our choice or by administrative or bureaucratic arrangement are poorly fit for the task. Whether or not this conviction is justified, it is founded on an abdication of our own responsibility to our nation and its future. Leaders, at whatever level they are, are not brought from somewhere else to be foisted on us. They are us. And we can be them. The evolution of public administration is based on the unspoken notion that it will be populated by a corp of capable and patriotic citizens; that it will have very talented, if not the most talented individuals making the decisions on which the lives of millions of people literally hinge. After all, what matters more than the sensitive decisions that decide how the rest of us will live, work and die? Every citizen, even and especially those who profess not to care, are directly affected by the decisions and actions of those in public service. From what our children learn in school to the quality of food we have to the care we have when we are unwell none of these is outside the reach of the decision makers that we criticize daily. So the question is, if we seriously believe that we can do better, why aren't we? Of course, there are challenges to answering such a call. It does not pay as well, at least if done honestly. It requires extraordinary quantities of man hours and can mean days and weeks away from the family. Should you choose to go the route of elected office, it would mean the loss of privacy, the questioning of your motives and incessant character attacks. But perhaps that is the entire point. Public service is not meant to be easy. It does not only require talent but great personal sacrifice and self-motivation. It means that only those who really want to do it, must get to do it. And if we truly want this country to be the country of our dreams, then we must be prepared to be among those people. In Omenako in the Eastern Region today sits a centre from which drones supply medical supplies to hospitals and patients to three contiguous regions, saving costs but most importantly lives. This will now be augmented by the fleet of three hundred and seven ambulances and procured and distributed by this government; a classic example of what leadership can bring. Along with the Free Senior High School Policy and countless other innovative policies, we see examples of a country that is rising up to its responsibilities. That momentum must not be allowed to wane. It took some to initiate it; it will take many others to maintain it. It is this spirit of sacrifice and service that animated our nations founders. At great personal risk, they stood up for a fundamental belief, that a nation must be able to decide its own affairs and not be beholden to any other power. Whether it was Dr. Kwame Nkrumah leaving the United Kingdom to come home just to fight for this single idea, Dr. J B Danquah expending tremendous time and energy or George Grant committing his vast resources to that same enterprise, our nations course was profoundly altered by ordinary, mostly young people who saw in her something to fight for, an ideal to pursue and charge to keep. They fought for an idea that demanded courage; the colonial power was not going to hand over power meekly. It meant time away from home, from family and from work. It meant time behind bars. And it meant great intrusion into their lives by not only the power they were up against but by the very people they sought to lead. Had these gallant and enterprising gentlemen, backed by numerous other men and women across the country, been daunted by the sheer enormity of the challenge, our countrys history would have been written in a manner much different from what we have now. And that is why they are rightfully immortalized on our national currency and in countless monuments around the country. More of us should do the same. The challenges we face today are very different from what we did when the Big Six led our fight, but they require the same spirit of sacrifice and service. We still need our brightest and our best to step up to the plate and fight for a better life for all of us. This country will be built by us and no one else. It is time we did more than lament the state of our country; it is time we got involved in building the country we want. Whether it is as an assembly member, PTA chairman or a cog in the administrative machine of state, it is time we all got involved. We are the future we have been waiting for. The writer is Prince Hamid Armah, PhD, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) and an Aspiring Paliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party in Kwesimintsim constituency. 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. Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the voices of parents and students are being heard as the government makes changes, even as he faced tough questions about a report that showed the provinces own public consultations found virtually no support for larger class sizes. It is the voices of parents and students that has guided our government in this negotiation, Lecce told the legislature Wednesday. That is precisely why we have confirmed that we will keep classes low in this province for students in Ontario. We are doing that because we are listening. What weve also heard loud and clear is that parents want us to stand strong to see more money in schools, not in entitlements, in benefits and wages for educators, and thats exactly what were going to do. Last year, Lecces predecessor Lisa Thompson announced the government was boosting high school class sizes from an average of 22 to 28, but Lecce has since said he would instead increase classes to an average of 25. However, two summaries of the provinces massive public consultations conducted when Thompson was education minister show virtually no support for larger class sizes, something public polling has also indicated. The summaries also stated that no stakeholder groups from school boards to students wanted bigger classes, because of concerns about fewer teachers, student achievement and limited course offerings for teens. The summaries were revealed Tuesday during an Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing launched by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association against the government over allegations of bad-faith bargaining because it announced changes to class size during the negotiations period. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that last year, the premier bragged that the Ford government consultations were the largest consultations in Ontarios history. (Tuesday), the result of that consultation went public. The report, which the government has repeatedly refused to release, said there was virtually no support for larger class sizes, Horwath added. How can this government claim that they are on the side of parents and teachers and students when theyre literally doing exactly the opposite of what they were told by parents, students and teachers? She also accused the premier of spinning tales about make-believe people who want cuts in the classroom while he was sitting on a government report that showed exactly the opposite. Lecce said the government is seeking deals with all teacher unions one that keeps kids in class, a good deal for students that puts their interests ahead of union interests. Thats what we believe is so important to advance in this negotiation, he said. NDP Education Critic Marit Stiles said given whats in the report now we know why they did everything in their power to stop it from coming to light. Among the more than 7,000 submissions from the public, about 70 per cent were opposed to larger classes, and none said they supported such a move even if they did support the government saving money, Tom Doyle, chief negotiator for the Catholic teachers union, testified Tuesday at the labour board hearing. The provincial government and unions remain at an impasse in negotiations, with unions opposing larger classes and mandatory online learning, among other changes, and the government insisting wages and benefits are the main issues. Talks are scheduled with the AEFO, representing 12,000 French-board teachers, Friday. No other unions have talks scheduled. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is holding a one-day, rotating strike Friday in a handful of boards. The AEFO had planned a province-wide walkout for Thursday, but cancelled it because of expected poor weather conditions. Read more about: Abbotsford residents have a new grocery store - Chalo FreshCo. The discount store offers South Asian food products, including dhal, rice and flour. Fraserview Meats and Seafood counter also are housed in this store. The grand opening featured Bhangra dance performances and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Owner and operator Clint Friesen was pleased with the turnout. Were so proud to open our doors and join the Abbotsford community today. Our expansive fresh produce assortment features discount pricing that does not compromise on quality. Im excited to build meaningful relationships in the community that will support Abbotsford for years to come, he said. To commemorate the opening, Chalo! FreshCo Abbotsford donated $2,500 to the Abbotsford Community School Meal program. There are four Chalo! FreshCo locations operating in Ontario and two in British Columbia. Chalo means lets go in Punjabi and Hindi. The store is located at 100- 32500 South Fraser Way. PARIS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EKINOPS (Euronext Paris - FR0011466069 EKI), a leading supplier of telecommunications solutions for telecom operators, has published its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 as approved by the Board of Directors on February 25, 2020. The audit of the consolidated financial statements has been completed and the certification report will be issued after specific checks. m - IFRS - Audit procedures completed 20182 2019 Change in % Revenue 84.2 93.5 +11% Gross margin 47.1 49.9 +6% % of revenue 55.9% 53.4% Operating expenses 45.8 45.3 -1% EBITDA1 10.4 15.0 +43% % of revenue 12.4% 16.0% Current operating income 1.3 4.6 +255% Other operating income/(expenses) (2.0) (2.6) Operating income/(loss) (0.7) 2.0 Net income/(loss) (0.7) 1.6 n.a. (1) EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) corresponds to current operating income restated for (i) amortization, depreciation, provisions and write-offs, and (ii) income and expenses relating to share-based payments. (2) 2018 data has been restated due to revaluation of the earn-out portion payment payable in shares in respect of the OneAccess acquisition. This resulted in a 1.4 million reduction in the earn-out liability as of December 31, 2018 and impacted 'Other operating income and expenses' (net expense of 2.0 million versus 3.4 million as reported in 2018). Ekinops posted consolidated full-year 2019 revenue of 93.5 million following sustained year-on-year growth of 11.0% (9.7% at constant exchange rates), including 15.0% growth (13.3% at constant exchange rates) in the second half. These results are in line with the Group's long-term target of maintaining double-digit organic growth. This buoyant growth largely came from strong demand for optical transport products, with the proven success of the 200G and 400G ranges. A success further illustrated by the win of several key accounts in the USA which contributed strongly to the impressive 56% growth rate recorded in the region. The revenue outside of France grew significantly in 2019 at 28.5%. Last year, the Group made further strategic progress in virtualization, with several leading operators and service providers adopting Ekinops products: OneOS6, OneAccess' VNFs (Virtual Network Functions) and OVP (Open Virtual Platform). Ekinops' leading position in virtualization was confirmed by the MEF Award in the 'Virtualization' category obtained in November 2019 and, more recently, by Orange Business Services' choice of Ekinops as a partner for its universal customer premises equipment solution (uCPE) to step up the transformation of edge networks. Gross margin rate of 53.4% at the upper end of the target range Gross margin amounted to 49.9 million, up 6%. The gross margin rate came to 53.4%, at the upper end of the Group's long-term target range (50-55%), after an exceptional margin of 55.9% in 2018. The slight year-on-year decrease is due to three factors: (i) a strong performance in 2018 driven by one-off service sales to a major client, (ii) strategic business development initiatives with two major Top 10 clients (one Asia-Pacific key account and a major European operator) leading to respective revenue growth of 48% and 82% with these two clients in 2019, and (iii) a less favorable product mix coupled with price increases affecting some electronic components. 43% EBITDA growth, record full-year EBITDA margin of 16.0% 2019 EBITDA came to 15.0 million, up 43% from 2018 driven by tight management of the cost structure. Accordingly, operating expenses fell 1% versus 2018, with reductions seen in R&D (down 3%) and sales and marketing expenditure (down 5%). The main reasons for the leveling of operating expenses were: (i) the full-year impact of the reorganization and optimization measures implemented in 2018 following the OneAccess acquisition, (ii) reduced hiring requirements after the intake of 25 R&D engineers based in Campinas (Brazil) following the July acquisition of OTN technology, and (iii) a 1.3 million increase in 2019 grants for innovation and research tax credit versus 2018. Furthermore, application of IFRS 16 increased 2019 EBITDA by 1.9 million. 2019 EBITDA margin came to 16.0% (14.0% excluding IFRS 16 impact) versus 12.4% in 2018. After net depreciation, amortization and provisions (8.6 million) and non-cash expenses relating to share-based payments (1.8 million), current operating income amounted to 4.6 million (4.9% of revenue) compared to 1.3 million last year (up 255%). Other operating income and expenses amounted to a net expense of 2.6 million (vs 2.0 million in 2018), mainly consisting of fees and charges relating to acquisitions. Operating income amounted to 2.0 million (vs a 0.7 million loss in 2018). Net income came to 1.6 million, compared to a 0.7 million loss in 2018. 14.0 million net cash[1] as of December 31, 2019 During 2019 Ekinops generated operating cash flow of 10.5 million. Cash flow from investing activities amounted to 16.1 million comprising 3.9 million capex (non-current assets and R&D capitalization) and a 12.3 million outflow representing the acquisition of OTN technology in July 2019 and payment of the last earn-out installment in respect of the OneAccess acquisition. Cash flow from financing activities amounted to a 13.1 million inflow, which includes a net 7.3 million capital increase through private placement carried out in June 2019 to finance the OTN acquisition and new bank borrowings totaling 7.9 million net of repayments. The overall change in cash and cash equivalents was a 7.5 million increase in 2019. ASSETS - m IFRS 12/31 2018 12/31 2019 EQUITY & LIABILITIES - m IFRS 12/31 2018 12/31 2019 Non-current assets 71.1 83.9 Shareholders' equity 74.4 86.5 o/w goodwill 27.5 28.6 Financial liabilities 10.9 18.6 o/w intangible assets 30.4 34.4 o/w factoring 5.0 6.7 o/w right-of-use assets - 6.2 o/w conditional advances/interest free loans 2.1 1.5 Current assets 37.8 38.9 R&D tax credit pre-financing 4.8 5.4 o/w inventories 11.2 10.5 Trade payables 14.0 13.8 o/w trade receivables 20.7 21.4 Lease liabilities - 6.5 Cash & cash equivalents 25.1 32.6 Other liabilities 30.0 24.6 TOTAL 134.1 155.4 TOTAL 134.1 155.4 Outlook After the growth achieved in 2018, 2019 results fully reflect the successful merger with OneAccess and the high value-added generated. Over the coming months, the Group plans to stay focused on high value-added applications such as SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network), uCPEs, OneOS6, VNFs, services, 1G/10G routers, OTN and SDN software. Recent achievements in virtualization (MEF Award, Orange Business Services) confirm the merits of the Group's innovator positioning in this sector and ambition to establish itself as a leading supplier of new-generation virtualization solutions to operators. 2020 financial targets As the year 2020 gets underway, Ekinops is confirming its goal of delivering double-digit annual organic growth over the long term, as achieved in 2018 (14% pro forma growth) and 2019 (11%). The Group's upselling strategy driven by increasing sales of software solutions over the coming years strengthens its confidence in achieving its gross margin target of 50-55%, above the industry average. Lastly, in terms of operating performance the Group is confirming its target of keeping the increase in expenses down to 2-4 million (excluding depreciation and amortization charges and non-recurring expenditure) versus 2019, in view of the full-year consolidation of the new OTN business and the hiring required to support growth. Potential impact of coronavirus epidemic on Ekinops' business Along with the publication of its 2019 annual results, Ekinops wishes to inform the market of the possible impact of the coronavirus epidemic and production line shutdowns in China on its business. So far, the epidemic has not had a major impact on the Group's business. It is reminded that the Group's equipment is manufactured entirely in Europe at assembly plants located in France, Belgium and Hungary. However, supply issues affecting some components manufactured in China could cause delays in equipment deliveries to clients. Meanwhile, the Group is looking into alternative supply solutions for some categories of components and parts. The Group will keep its shareholders and the market informed of any related material developments affecting its business. Financial reporting calendar Date Release Wednesday, April 8, 2020 Q1 2020 revenue (unaudited) Thursday, May 28, 2020 General Meeting Thursday, July 9, 2020 Q2 2020 revenue (unaudited) Tuesday, July 28, 2020 H1 2020 results (limited review) Monday, October 12, 2020 Q3 2020 revenue (unaudited) Tuesday, January 12, 2021 FY 2020 revenue (unaudited) All press releases are published after Euronext Paris market close. [1] Net cash = cash and cash equivalents borrowings (excluding bank debt relating to CIR pre-financing and IFRS 16 lease liabilities) For more information, visit www.ekinops.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/814911/Ekinops_Logo.jpg EKINOPS contact Didier Bredy Chairman and CEO [email protected] Investors Mathieu Omnes Investor relation Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92 [email protected] Press Nicolas Bouchez Press relation Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74 [email protected] SOURCE Ekinops Related Links http://www.ekinops.com Self-arson that took place under the walls of President's Office Holos On February 26, a man set himself on fire during the protest against consequences of the medical reform, which was held under the building of the Office of the President. According to the National Guard serviceman Serhii Dolia, the area was immediately surrounded and the injured person was provided with the first aid. He also noted that the mans wounds had been treated with an analgesic spray after the flames had been extinguished. It was specified that the victim was a resident of the Sumy region. "He was covered in jackets and we tried to douse the flames. I do not know about the severity of the burns that he got. Everything happened very quickly and a decision was made in a short time. The scene was surrounded, the operative group arrived. Along with the man who committed the arson, there was another man who tried to help him and put out the fire. He was hospitalized with burns on his hands," the serviceman stated. At the same time, the doctor of Kyiv City Hospital No. 2 Andrii Zhorniv said that about 30% of the victims body surface was burned and he required a skin graft. As we reported earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was agitated following the self-immolation that took place next to the President's Office. According to his press secretary, employees of the department of appeals of citizens have already gone to visit self-arsonist. They will try to find out what kind of problematic issues prompted the victim to such an act. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) Metro Manila police chief PMGen Debold Sinas admitted Wednesday there may have been lapses in the rollout of the controversial memorandum asking authorities to collect information on Muslim students in the metropolis. In a way, siguro may lapses din (there may have been lapses). That's why we accepted it. We're man enough to accept it naman, Sinas told CNN Philippines The Source. The police official recalled the directive last week following a flurry of protests from several cultural and religious groups. Critics including the Bangsamoro autonomous regions government labeled the move as a form of oppression and baseless stereotyping. RELATED: Police hit over alleged profiling of Muslim students The order, signed January 31, noted the information will be used by the Salaam Police Center as "part of the strengthening of peace-building and counter violent extremism of the PNP." Sinas earlier shrugged off claims the police meant to profile the students, saying the move was for logistics purposes and statistics-gathering. Officials never intended to oppress or cause harm and anxiety to the concerned parties, he added. With the order now scrapped, Sinas said the National Capital Region Police Office will instead coordinate with the different Muslim communities to draw up updated information on Muslim students. When I talked to the different Muslim communities and the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos, ang sabi nila, pwede naman daw kunin sa kanila (they said we can get the information from them). They promised to help us, Sinas revealed. Following the criticisms, Sinas added the NCRPO has fast-tracked the process of conducting cultural sensitivity seminars for police officials. The said program will be staged in cooperation with the University of the Philippines Institute of Islamic Studies. The police body this month has also been accused of profiling another minority group. A so-called Oplan X-Men operation which allegedly aims to save transgender women from sexual exploitation surfaced, but Sinas denied such scheme exists. Sinas, however, said the intensified campaign against sexual trafficking will continue. She puts on a sensational display in her work wear every day. And it was no different for Amanda Holden on Wednesday as she headed to Heart Radio while sporting an elegant yet sexy ensemble. The Britain's Got Talent judge, 49, looked sensational in a plunging blouse with a matching skirt while keeping warm with a cosy looking black coat over the top. She's got the look: Amanda Holden was a vision in a plunging top with racy leather pencil skirt as she headed to work at the Heart FM radio studios in London on Wednesday She added some extra inches to her height with a pair of nude courts. Also pictured leaving the studios was Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts, 38, who was decked head to toe in grey. She wore smart trousers with a matching top and a shearling jacket to keep herself warm. Walking tall: She added some extra inches to her height with a pair of nude courts Off she goes: Amanda looked immacutely styled as her working day came to a close The ladies were in good company on the day as Emily Atack, 30, also popped in to say hello. She wore a simple grey T-shirt and black skinny jeans which were belted at the waist and a blue checked jacket over the top. Emily carried a red bowling bag in hand and draped a white coat over the top. Muted tones: Also pictured leaving the studios was Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts, 38, who was decked head to toe in grey It's been a busy week for Amanda and Ashley who took some time out to compete in a pancake flipping competition together. Amanda suffered an unfortunate mishap as she went head-to-head with her co-host while sporting race-inspired headbands and running. Taking things up a notch, the dynamic duo later headed outside as they playfully performed a series of stretches in the middle of Leicester Square. The TV stars embarked on a brisk run while simultaneously flipping their crepes, which proved difficult for Amanda as her pancake dropped to the ground after reaching the finish line. Fancy seeing you here: The ladies were in good company on the day as Emily Atack, 30, also popped in to say hello Jammu, Feb 26 : The J&K government has established three more AMRUT outlets as part of the tertiary healthcare institutions. The outlets, opened in Medical College Hospital, Kathua, Medical College Hospital, Doda, and Medical College Hospital, Rajouri, will provide all categories of medical products (branded, branded-generic and generic) under one roof at competitive prices. Initially, the J&K government had decided to open 16 outlets in J&K, of which 12 outlets have become operational and the remaining four shall be made functional within three months. These outlets have provided services to 32,387 patients. The government contemplates to extend this initiative to 14 more outlets proposed to be located in secondary healthcare institutions across the borders of the Union Territory. Five stores in Phase II shall be made functional within three months. The AMRUT stores are operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. Much like private businesses, the United States government is in the process of moving workloads to the cloud, and facing a similar set of challenges. Today, CircleCI, the continuous delivery developer service, announced a partnership with AWS GovCloud to help federal government entities using AWS's government platform to modernize their applications development workflows. "What this means is that it allows us to run our server offering, which is our on-prem offering, and our government customers can run that on dedicated pure cloud resource [on AWS GovCloud]," CircleCI CEO Jim Rose told TechCrunch. GovCloud is a dedicated, single tenant cloud platform that lets government entities build FedRAMP-compliant secure cloud solutions (other cloud vendors have similar offerings). FedRAMP is a set of government cloud security standards every cloud vendor has to meet to work with the federal government CircleCI builds modern continuous delivery/continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines for development teams pushing changes to the application in a rapid change cycle. "What GovCloud allows us to do is now provide that same level of security and service for government customers that wanted us to do so in an on prem environment in a dedicated single tenant environment [in the cloud]," Rose explained. While there are a number of steps involved in building cloud applications, Rose said they are sticking to their core strength around building continuous delivery pipelines. As he says, if you have a legacy mainframe application that changes once every year or two, using CircleCI wouldn't make sense, but as you begin to modernize, that's where his company could help. "[CircleCi comes into play] when you get into more modern cloud applications that are changing in some cases hundreds of times a day, and the sources of change for those applications is getting really diverse and managing that is becoming more complex," Rose said. Story continues This partnership could involve working directly with an agency, as it has done with the Small Business Administration (SBA), or it might involve a systems integrator, or even AWS, inviting them to be part of a larger RFP. Rose says he realizes that working with the government can sometimes be controversial. Companies from Chef to Salesforce to Google have run afoul with employees who don't want to work with certain agencies like DoD or ICE. He says his company has tended to focus on areas where agencies are looking to improve citizen interactions and steered away from other areas. "From our perspective, given that we're not super involved in a lot of those areas, but we want to get in front of it, both commercially, as well as on the government side, and determine what falls within the fence line and what's outside of it," he said. Concerned over certain Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and State Police personnel wearing army pattern combat dress on February 23 during a protest, Army sources on Wednesday said these forces must refrain from using uniforms with such pattern. Over a period of time, CAPFs and State Police forces in India have started wearing combat uniforms, which are just slightly different from the ones worn by the Indian Army personnel, they said. These minor variations cannot be distinguished by most civilians giving them the impression that personnel wearing such dresses in cities and towns of India while engaged in Internal security duties, escorting VIPs, on policing duties, static guard posts etc are Army personnel, they added. The Army sources said the events in our country these days are under constant domestic and international media glare due to the rising stature of the nation. "Wearing of combat dress by CAPFs and State Police forces may be misinterpreted as the Army being deployed for the internal security duties and elections. This may have an adverse impact on our image as a vibrant democratic Nation and would be detrimental to our interests," they said. Accordingly, Indian Army from time to time has brought to the notice of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in order to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) about the increasing trend of CAPFs and State Police forces wearing combat uniforms similar to the Army pattern. In 2004 the issue of CAPFs and State Police forces wearing Army pattern combat dress for routine policing tasks including election duties was raised citing that such practice needs to be arrested, as it may create misplaced perceptions amongst the Indian public and international community that the Army was being employed for policing tasks during elections and law and order situations. In this regard, MoD had taken up a case with MHA and accordingly MHA had also issued an advisory to all CAPFs not to wear Army pattern combat dress. In October 2012, then Union Home Minister during the Security Review Meeting of the Combined Unified Head Quarters held in Srinagar, had agreed to Army's contention on the need to reduce visibility from Jammu and Kashmir and directed that CAPFs should not wear Army pattern combat uniforms and CAPFs and State Police forces vehicles should have a distinct paint which could distinguish it from Army vehicles. The issue was repeatedly raised with the MHA through MoD between August and December 2013 and the violation of these instructions was intimated by Army HQ duly supported by a photo folder highlighting instances of CAPFs and State Police wearing Army pattern combat dress. In January 2015, the Union Home Secretary presided over a meeting of all Director Generals of CAPFs to resolve the long outstanding issue of wearing of Army pattern combat dress. During the meeting, the Home Secretary queried DGs of CAPFs on the need for wearing combat uniform across the nation and directed all concerned to give concrete proposals within a month to resolve the issue. Post the employment of Army in aid to the civil authority during the Jat agitation in Haryana in 2016, the issue of CAPFs and State Police wearing near similar Army pattern combat dress was again raised. It was highlighted that to distinguish themselves from CAPFs and State Police forces, in order to have the desired impact of the last resort, Army columns had to carry placards. The same was not desirable and could have been avoided in case CAPFs and State Police forces were wearing a distinctly different pattern/colour uniform. Another issue is of open sale of Army pattern clothing and accoutrements in markets, which leads to misuse by anti- elements and other private security agencies. The issue has been raised repeatedly by the regional formations with the civil administration during various civil-military liaison conferences. In 2016, comments on the regulations for the restricted sale of Army uniforms as proposed by the MHA were recommended to be promulgated. However, no formal direction on the issue has been received so far. The Indian Army has now again written to DMA/MoD, dated February 24, 2020, requesting MoD/MHA to issue following guidelines for immediate implementation: The combat dress should not be worn by CAPFs pan India while being employed to handle law and order situations as also while being deployed in urban areas affected by terrorism, as the surroundings do not demand such a requirement. Use of distinctly different (both in colour and pattern) disruptive dress by CAPFs and State Police forces should be restricted only to employment in jungle terrain in LWE affected areas. The Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs) cover most parts of the torso. Hence, the BPJs of CAPFs and State Police forces should be of plain Khaki colour and not of combat colour. The sale of Army pattern clothes in the open market needs to be regulated. Private vendors in the open market should establish identity and maintain a record of personnel to whom the Army pattern clothes (including accessories and accouterments) are being sold, as proposed by MHA on March 31, 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Self-harm in the Traveller community is among some of the key topics to be explored at St Patricks Mental Health Services and Pietas annual Self-Harm Awareness Conference, taking place today, 28 February, in St Patricks University Hospital, Dublin 8. Evidence shows that members of minority groups, such as the Traveller community, are more vulnerable to self-harming behaviours. In the last six months, Traveller representatives told the Oireachtas of a mental health crisis and unprecedented rates of self-harm within the community. Now in its fifth year, the Self-Harm Awareness Conference is a joint collaboration between St Patricks Mental Health Services and Pieta that aims to equip education providers, healthcare professionals and parents, family members and carers with practical skills and advice for managing presentations of self-harm. This years conference focuses on responding to high-risk groups such as adolescents and members of the Travelling community. Topics to be explored include the therapeutic use of metaphor when treating young people who self-harm, the assessment and management of patients presenting to emergency departments following self-harm and actions needed to improve mental health within the Travelling community. The conference also gives space to exploring the individual perspective of living with, and treating, self-harming behaviours, with award-winning author David Rudden discussing his personal experience of self-harm and journey to recovery on the day. Speaking about the need for more research and understanding of self-harm in the Travelling community, Alan Kavanagh, Mens Mental Health Outreach Worker with the Tallaght Travellers Community Development Project, said: Barriers such as social exclusion, racism, discrimination, and poverty are known to contribute to trauma and mental health difficulties, which can underlie behaviours such as self-harm. While much research exists on the obstacles faced, and trauma transmitted, in various indigenous groups around the world, such analysis is non-existent from a Traveller perspective. It is vital that there is an understanding of what factors have caused trauma in the Traveller community in order to provide effective, culturally-specific treatment and reduce the high prevalence of behaviours such as self-harm. Discussing self-harm in high-risk groups, Dr Caroline Clements, Project Manager of the Manchester Self-Harm Project, noted: The National Strategy for Preventing Suicide in England emphasises that suicide risk is high in particular groups such as middle-aged men, people in the care of mental health services, people in contact with the criminal justice system, as well as people with a history of self-harm. It is important to invest in research into self-harm so that we can understand why some groups, such as young women and people in midlife, are presenting to hospital for self-harm more often and how we can provide appropriate responses, now and into the future. All city corporations in the state have been directed to eliminate the use of plastic, Urban Development Minister B A Basavaraja (Byrathi) said Tuesday. All cities must become 100% plastic-free, the minister said, after reviewing his departments works. At present, plastic has been reduced by 90%, but still there are cases of plastic being illegally used. I have directed officials to take action, he said. In March 2016, Karnataka banned single-use plastic. Since then, the authorities have been battling to curb the use of plastic. Basavaraja also allayed fears that cities will not face water shortage this summer. Drinking water supply is a priority, he said. Under the Amrut scheme, we have taken up a project in the city corporations of Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi for 24/7 water supply with World Bank funding, he said. This is a Rs 2,300 crore project for which the water source is the river (through reservoirs). He said his department is also implementing the Gruha Bhagya scheme for pourakarmikas. We are constructing 4,300 houses for pourakarmikas for which the cost is Rs 7.5 lakh per unit. This is the first file I signed after becoming a minister. Pourakarmikas toil hard to keep our streets clean, so giving them shelter is important, he said. Countries around the world are taking measures to try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, as the death toll continues to rise. Below are Feb. 26 updates. For Feb. 27 updates, click here. President Trump Appoints Pence as Head of Coronavirus Task Force President Donald Trump has appointed Vice President Mike Pence as head of the coronavirus task force to oversee an all-of-government response to the fast-changing risks posed by the outbreak of COVID-19, which has now spread from Wuhan, China, to many countries around the world, including the United States. During a press conference on Wednesday night, Trump also said that the COVID-19 coronavirus risk to the United States remains very low. Watch the press conference here. Of the just in case plans that are in place, Trump said, Were looking at worst case scenario, but I dont think were ever going to be anywhere near that. Whatever happens. were totally prepared. We are ready, willing, and able, he said. Read more here. Chinese Regime Punishes Officials for Reporting Incongruous Data on Infections Five senior officials in Jingmen city located in Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, were punished by provincial authorities on Feb. 26, after the city reported -107 new diagnoses of COVID-19 patients. In fact, 10 cities in the province also reported negative patients that day. Chinese state-run media Xinhua reported that on Feb. 26, the Hubei Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Partys anti-corruption watchdog agency, punished five Jingmen officials for reporting confusing data on Feb. 19. Read more here. Outbreak Not Under Control in Wuhan Despite Containment Measures, Local Officials Say Local officials in a district in coronavirus epicenter Wuhan City have revealed the outbreak is not under control, despite the drastic steps authorities have taken to limit its spread in the city. Since Jan. 23, the central Chinese city of Wuhan has halted virtually all ground transportation, postponed school openings, sealed off residential compounds, and built more than a dozen makeshift hospitals out of gyms and schoolsat a rate of about one every two daysto accommodate the influx of COVID-19 patients. Currently, one resident from every household is allowed to leave their residential compound once every three days to buy groceries and other necessary supplies. The control is even stricter than before, a government officer working in Jiujie, a sub-district under the district of Xinzhou, told The Epoch Times during an undercover phone call. Its self-explanatory that the outbreak is not slowing down and not under control. Read more here. US Doctors Say Lung Imaging Could Lead to Quicker Diagnosis The first U.S. doctors to analyze a COVID-19 coronavirus patients lungs said they were able to identify patterns in the lungs as indicators of the disease as it progressed over time. Doctors at New York Citys Mount Sinai hospital became the first in the nation to use CT scans on patients from China with COVID-19, they said in a statement on Wednesday, publishing their findings in Radiology. The new findings could result in a quicker diagnosis in patients who arrive with potential symptoms of the mysterious new virus, they said. Read the full story here. 200 People in Self-Quarantine After Traveling Through Atlanta Airport The general manager of Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson Airport said that around 200 travelers who went through the airport showed possible symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus and were told to self-quarantine at home, illustrating how U.S. airports are scrambling to try and contain the spread of the virus. Read more here. Microsoft Says Virus Hurting Supply Chain More Than Expected The virus outbreak in China is hurting Microsoft more than expected, as the company said it wont meet targets that had already factored in the uncertainty. In particular, Microsoft said revenue from Windows licenses and its Surface devices are more negatively impacted than previously anticipated. The company said demand for Windows products is still strong, but getting the supply chain back to normal is taking longer. That goes for both Microsoft-made Surface devices and Windows products made by third parties, which include Acer and Lenovo. Last month, Microsoft predicted it would make between $10.75 billion and $11.15 billion in revenue from its personal computing business in the January-March quarter. Microsofts chief financial officer, Amy Hood, said on a Jan. 29 earnings call that the company had widened the usual range for its revenue forecast because of the uncertainty related to the public health situation in China. The companys statement Wednesday suggests that the range was not wide enough to reflect the spread of the outbreak and its ongoing effects. About a third of Microsofts revenue comes from Microsofts personal computing division, which houses the companys Windows operating system, its line of Surface laptops and tablets, its Xbox gaming hardware and software and its Bing search service. Microsoft didnt say if its Xbox business has been affected by the supply chain problems. Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, is among many tech companies relying on Chinese factories to make electronics devices and parts. Last week, Apple warned investors that it wont meet its second-quarter financial guidance because the viral outbreak in China has cut production of iPhones. The Cupertino, California-based company said all of its iPhone manufacturing facilities in China have reopened, but production is ramping up slowly. The company said demand for iPhones was also down in China because Apples retail stores are closed or operating with reduced hours. Israel Recommends Against Foreign Travel Israel urged its citizens on Wednesday to reconsider foreign travel, citing the growing spread of the coronavirus outside the country. Two Israelis who returned home after being quarantined in Japan on the Diamond Princess cruise ship are the only confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel, and the ministry has readied quarantine facilities should more infections occur. In a statement, the Israeli Health Ministry announced that Israelis returning from Italy, where the contagion has worsened, would be required to go into quarantine at home for two weeks. Expanding its precautionary steps, the ministry said it was also now urging the public to reconsider the necessity of flights abroad in general, beyond the required isolation upon return from specific countries. The assessment is that there is a high probability the disease has already spread to other regions of Europe and many other places in the world, it said. The ministry had already instructed Israelis returning from Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea to go into isolation at home for 14 days. Cases were confirmed this week in a slew of countries among patients who traveled to other nations where the virus is spreading. The first person to die from the virus in Greece had traveled to northern Italy before returning to Greece. And the first case in Latin America was a patient who traveled to Italy earlier this month. Other cases have been linked to Iran, including the first case in Georgia. Brazil Confirms First Case in Latin America Brazilian authorities said on Feb. 26 that tests confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country. The 61-year-old man, who lives in Sao Paulo, traveled to Italy earlier this month. The confirmed case is the first in Latin America. Previously, only the United States and Canada had confirmed cases in the Americas. The man traveled to Italy between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. He showed symptoms of the virus, including a fever, a cough, a sore throat, and a runny nose, authorities said in a statement. Brazil has 20 suspected cases, one confirmed case, and 59 patients who have tested negative. Read more here. Leaked Documents Show Infections Much Higher Than Reported in China The novel coronavirus outbreak in eastern Chinas Shandong province is much worse than officially reported, according to a series of internal government documents obtained by The Epoch Times. Between Feb. 9 to 23, Shandong authorities underreported the number of infections every day, according to internal data compiled by the Shandong Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The latter kept a tally of the number of patients who tested positive for the virus during nucleic acid testingusing a diagnostic kit to test body samples and detect whether they contain the viruss genetic sequence. The Shandong CDC daily new infection numbers ranged from being 1.36 times to 52 times greater than the officially published data by the Shandong health commission and Chinas National Health Commission. As of Feb. 25, the Shandong government stated that there were a total of 755 infections in the province. But the internal document showed that 1,992 people had tested positive for the virus via nucleic acid testing as of Feb. 23. Read more here. Brazil Confirms First Case in Latin America Brazilian authorities said on Feb. 26 that tests confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country. The 61-year-old man, who lives in Sao Paulo, traveled to Italy earlier this month. The confirmed case is the first in Latin America. Previously, only the United States and Canada had confirmed cases in the Americas. The man traveled to Italy between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. He showed symptoms of the virus, including a fever, a cough, a sore throat, and a runny nose, authorities said in a statement. Brazil has 20 suspected cases, the confirmed case, and 59 patients who have tested negative. Read more here. Iran Raises Death Toll to 19 Irans president said Tehran has no immediate plans to quarantine cities over the new coronavirus rapidly spreading across the country, even as the Islamic Republic suffers the highest death toll outside of China with 19 killed amid 139 cases confirmed on Wednesday. President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged that it may take one, two, or three weeks to get control of the virus in Iran, linked to most of the over 210 confirmed cases of the virus now spread across the Mideast. That comes after the top official in charge of Irans response to the coronavirus tested positive for the illness after a day earlier trying to downplay the disease. Still, Rouhani sought to portray the virus crisis in terms of Irans tense relations with the United States. Coronavirus must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country, Rouhani said, according to a transcript posted to the Iranian presidencys website. Iranian state television reported Wednesday that 19 people have been killed by the new coronavirus amid 139 confirmed cases in the country so far. The announcement by a state TV anchor came as Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour urged Iranians to avoid nonessential travel, particularly to the hard-hit provinces of the country such as Gilan and Qom. Experts remain concerned that Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a hard-line lawmaker in Iran, alleged Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. No Shortage of Drugs Due to Coronavirus For Now: US The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Feb. 25 that although there are currently no reported drug shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak, it anticipates the medical supply chain will likely be affected. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the FDA, told reporters Tuesday the agency has been proactively reaching out to hundreds of medical product manufacturers to gauge potential disruptions to critical medical products in the United States, and none have yet reported anticipated shortages. FDA is keenly aware that the outbreak will likely affect the medical product supply chain, including potential disruptions to suppliers [and] shortages of critical medical products in the U.S., Hahn said. Its important to note that FDA is not aware of any medical product shortages at this time, Hahn continued, adding that the agency is monitoring several products that might be at risk, in particular shortages of medical products. Hahn later elaborated and said that the United States could see shortages of personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns. Theres no question that theres pressure on the demand side here, he told reporters. Were keeping a very close eye on this and a forward-leaning approach, because we may in fact see some effect on the supply chain there. Read more here. Australia to Close Schools, Cancel Sports in Event of Outbreak Australia will close schools and cancel sporting events in the event of an uncontained coronavirus outbreak, Minister for Health Greg Hunt said on Wednesday, as the government accelerates plans to cope with a possible pandemic. The new coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, has jumped to about 30 countries and territories. Australia has had 23 cases of the coronavirus but has thus far managed to head off a widespread transmission in the country. That may change and Hunt met top state and territory officials on Tuesday to discuss plans if it does. If you had an outbreak in a particular city or state you might close the schools or change the configuration of the hospitals to deal with that, Hunt told reporters in Canberra. If its in several cities or states, you do it according to the local needs at the time. Preparations to cope with the virus come as sports-mad Australia is looking forward to the start of the National Rugby League and the Australian Football League seasons. Hunt said some games could be canceled, though that would be a last resort. Australia has since Feb. 1 barred entry to anyone arriving directly from mainland China. Last week, the government evacuated 170 citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which held been held in quarantine in a Japanese port with the virus running rife on board, and put them in quarantine for 14 days in northern Australia. Hunt said an eighth person evacuated from the ship had tested positive for the coronavirus. First US Soldier Infected in South Korea A U.S. soldier has tested positive for coronavirus in South Korea, the U.S. military said, as the East Asian country sees confirmed cases of the virus surpass 1,100. The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) announced Tuesday that the 23-year-old soldier, who is stationed at Camp Carroll, is now in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. Camp Carroll is located in the village of Waegwan, which is about 12 miles from the city of Daegu. Daegu and the broader North Gyeongsang province have seen the majority of known infection cases in South Korea. According to USFK, the soldier visited Camp Walker, also in Daegu, on Feb. 24, and Camp Carrol from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25. Read more here. Brazil Reports Possible First Case in South America Authorities are investigating a case of suspected coronavirus in Brazil that, if confirmed, would be the first known COVID-19 case in the country as well as in South America more broadly. In a lengthy statement late Tuesday, Brazils Ministry of Health said that a man in Brazil is being tested for COVID-19 after he traveled alone to Lombardy in Italys north for work between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. The 61-year-old man, a Brazilian national, was on Tuesday afternoon admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, the Ministry of Health said. He was tested for a number of common respiratory viruses, as well as for the new coronavirus which causes the disease COVID-19. According to local reports from G1, Veja, and Agora, provisional results from the Albert Einstein Hospital came back positive. The health ministry said that the results of a second test on the man for the new coronavirus by the Adolfo Lutz Institute are expected on Wednesday. The man is in a stable condition after he showed mild signs symptomatic of the virusincluding a fever, dry cough, sore throat, and a runny nose. He is now in isolation at home in self-quarantine for the next 14 days. Read more here. Mimi Nguyen Ly, Frank Fang, Zachary Stieber, Isabel Van Brugen, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report. For updates from Feb. 25, click here. From The Epoch Times The implications of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak in Iran for Iranian authorities seem to go far beyond only a national health issue. Officials, including the President himself, now allege that the outbreak has become a propaganda tool in the hands of Iran's enemies, and first and foremost, the United States to bring the Iranian economy to a standstill. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday Iran Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said fear, anxiety, doubt and distrust among people is a virus worse than coronavirus and warned the situation in the country could turn into a "weapon in the hands of the enemies" to bring Iran's production and economic activity to a standstill. Rouhani's comments show the Iranian government is deeply concerned about the economic fallout of coronavirus and resists measures to isolate hotspots, close schools and institutions to prevent a further spread of the virus. "We should not allow America to add a new virus, named disruption of social activities and immense fear, on top of coronavirus. This is a conspiracy that we are witnessing and you also can see in foreign propaganda," Rouhani said. The Iranian President, like other government officials in the past few days, also referred to the death toll of the flu in the United States and charged that U.S. officials speak about the coronavirus outbreak in Iran and never mention the 16,000 death toll of the flu in their own country. Rouhani was most probably referring to the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who a day earlier said the U.S. was "deeply concerned" that the Islamic Republic government "may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak." "All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations," Pompeo said while also calling the recent Iranian parliamentary elections "rigged". Supreme Leader Khamenei, too, has alleged that the coronavirus situation is being used by "the enemy" for "propaganda" against the Islamic Republic. In his first speech after Friday's parliamentary elections he said the "propaganda apparatus" of the enemies tried to dissuade people from participating in the elections by resorting to "an illness and a virus". It is not only U.S. officials who are pointing the finger at the Iranian government and accusing it of hiding the truth about the spread of coronavirus and its fatalities. Many ordinary Iranians think the same and are very distrustful of the government. Suspicions have been high because the government only admitted to the arrival of the deadly virus in Iran last Wednesday and within a few hours reported two deaths. People ask how it could it possible for the authorities not to know about the outbreak if there had been so many patients in one place, Qom, that two among them died. Or why the mortality rate for Iran is so much higher than other countries. Since December, China has reported more than 80,000 cases and 2,800 deaths, or slightly more than two percent. After China Iran has the highest rate of coronavirus fatality with 19 deaths but has reported only 139 cases and 916 cases of suspected infections, which means around 15 percent fatality rate. According to a group of University of Toronto scientists and doctors based on coronavirus cases traveling from Iran to other countries it is statistically possible that 18,000 people are infected in the county. Given the low volumes of air travel to countries with identified cases of COVID-19 with origin in Iran (such as Canada), it is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a COVID-19 epidemic of significant size for such exportations to be occurring, the research paper says. So far Canada, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain have reported cases of coronavirus infection originating in Iran. In most cases there has been a connection with Qom, the city many Shiites from other countries visit as pilgrims. Coronavirus has even reached the elite with several officials and lawmakers including the Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi himself testing positive only a day after along with the Cabinet Spokesman Ali Rabiee he tried to play down the situation. Rabiee is in self-isolation as of Wednesday too. On the basis of the high coronavirus infection rate among Iran's high-ranking officials and lawmakers some people speculate that it could mirror the real number of cases across the country. News about the coronavirus outbreak have taken over news websites, newspapers, and social media timelines but many Iranian activists and social media users have pointed out that their distrust of the government has deep roots. They say they have not forgotten that the government has not announced the death toll of the protests in November, nor has ever disclosed how many people were arrested during and after the protests. Others point out that the Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian airliner on January 8 and everyone concealed the truth from the public for more than two days and the truth is still being withheld from the Iranian public, the victims' families and the world because Iran is refusing to hand over the black boxes of the plane to those who can actually decipher them. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 13:50:48|Editor: zyl Video Player Close VIENTIANE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Laos has earned more from the sale of rice to China in the past few years due to trade preference arrangements between the two countries. In 2017, the value of rice sold by Laos to China was 5.6 million U.S. dollars. This figure increased to 7.25 million U.S. dollars in 2018 and to 14.54 million U.S. dollars in 2019, according to Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The Chinese market is increasingly attractive to businesses across a range of fields. This is driven by rapidly changing demographics in China, along with rising incomes, increased consumer spending and an increasingly open business environment, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday. China's economic growth has increased and plays an important role in the ASEAN economy, said the report. The trade preferences which Laos and China are party to include the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), said the report. As a result, trade growth between Laos and China has sharply increased, particularly under the ACFTA. The Trade Preferences offer Lao entrepreneurs the chance to export more goods to China as these arrangements provide special and differential treatment, mainly in terms of tariff reduction or exemption and foreign investment attraction. Laos has an export quota of 50,000 tons of polished rice from the Chinese government. However, the effects of natural disasters may pose challenges for Lao rice exporters in meeting the target, said the report. China is Laos' largest rice export market, and the country's second-biggest trading partner. By Trend Failure to hold accountable the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide, despite the fact that 28 years have passed since the tragedy, is extremely unfair, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said while visiting the memorial complex of the Khojaly victims, Trend reports. The ambassador noted that the Khojaly tragedy is one of the most cruel and mournful events of the 20th century. "I want to publicly declare that this case will not be closed until the perpetrators of this tragedy are punished. The Republic of Turkey, as always, is by Azerbaijan's side in its difficult days. We are one nation, two states," Erkan Ozoral said. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Pittsfield Man Killed in Train Accident The accident occurred on the train tacks near where the Mill Street dam is being removed. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Authorities are investigating the death of a Pittsfield man who was hit and killed by a train late Tuesday afternoon. Rodney Sumner, 54, died in the collision shortly after 4 p.m. Investigators believe Sumner was in the area observing nearby construction and was unable to get out of the path of the eastbound train. According to reports in The Berkshire Eagle, Sumner had apparently been watching the demolition work on the Tel-Electric dam on Mill Street for most of the day. The man was apparently on the tracks above the river between South Church Street and Mill Street when a train came through and was unable to get off in time. A statement from the Berkshire district attorney's office says investigators did not find evidence of Sumner being distracted or impaired. Pittsfield Police are investigating the death as accidental. According to Amtrak's Twitter alert account, the Lakeshore Limited Train 448 that departed Chicago on Monday was currently east of Pittsfield "due to a trespasser incident." A following tweet stated the train would not continue on to Boston but that alternative transportation would be provided. The $3.8 million Mill Street dam removal project began last August. The defunct am has been considered a hazard for nearly two decades. Pittsfield Police, the district attorney's office, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded to the scene. The investigation is ongoing. Questioning "silence" of the Shiv Sena over a communal remark made by AIMIM leader Waris Pathan, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party might have worn bangles, but the BJP will not keep quiet on the issue. Speaking at a rally held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Tuesday, the Leader of Opposition said he was unable to understand what is happening under the watch of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by the Sena. "Some Waris or 'Lawaris' (literally meaning orphan) gets up and says that the 100 crore are no match for the 15 crore. Who is this Waris or 'Lawaris' who says that the 15 crore are more than a match to the 100 crore. Our Hindu community is tolerant and hence India takes along everyone," he said. Fadnavis said the BJP is also proud of minorities, but it will not spare any "Lawaris if he takes the tolerance of our Hindu community for its weakness". "The Shiv Sena may have worn bangles on the issue. In fact, our women don't like the usage of the phrase 'wearing bangles', hence, I will not use that phrase. The Shiv Sena may have been tight-lipped on the issue, but we will not keep quiet," he added. Fadnavis said the BJP possesses the strength to give a befitting reply to those who make such statements to pitch one community against another. The Shiv Sena shares power in Maharashtra with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress. While addressing an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rally at Kalaburagi in North Karnataka on February 16, Pathan, a former AIMIM MLA from Mumbai, had allegedly said, "We have to move together. We have to take Azadi (freedom), things that we don't get by asking, we have to take it by force, remember it...(We may be) 15 crore, but are heavy on 100 (crore), remember it". He later retracted his statement. Reacting to Fadnavis' "bangles" remark, Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray sought his apology. "Shri @Dev_Fadnavis ji, normally I choose not to comment back. Kindly apologise abt bangles comment: bangles are worn by the strongest of all- the women. Politics can go on, but we need to change this discourse. Rather disgraceful coming from a fmr CM," Thackeray tweeted on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Woman survives after calling on Jesus when husband shoots her, then kills himself outside church Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment It was the second day of the 2020 Women of God Through Promise Conference at True Cornerstone Church in Mobile, Alabama, on Friday, when the devilshowed up in a deadly way, according to Pastor Derek Scott Gandy. Pray for True Cornerstone Church. Tragic incident tonight after a Holy Ghost blow out service that I cannot discuss at all but your prayers are greatly appreciated. Cannot answer or respond. Have to wait around to secure our building. Thanks in advance for your prayers, Gandy wrote in a series of Facebook posts early Saturday morning. Arrived home about 30 minutes ago trying to wind down and get some sleep. Women Of God Through Promise was much more anointed than the devil desires and he showed up in a deadly way. Cannot go into specifics or names but please pray for those who witnessed what no one should, especially children. The Mobile Police Department said in a statement that at approximately 11:23 p.m. on Friday, they responded to the church on Halls Mill Road after receiving a report about a person being shot. When they got there, they saw a woman on the ground who had been apparently shot. The suspect involved reportedly fled the scene as police arrived. He was pursued by authorities and subsequently returned to the church. As officers approached his vehicle, however, the suspect shot himself. His car then crashed into the church. He was pronounced dead on the scene while his wife was taken to a local hospital where she is recovering. Friends of the woman told WKRG that the man came to the church looking for his wife and just shot her outside. Pastor Gandy, who said both the shooter and his wife were friends of his family, was not available to discuss the incident with The Christian Post on Monday. His wife, Kula, told WKRG that as soon as the victim was shot, she started praying right away. She was calling on Jesus, even with the bullet in her she was calling on Jesus, Kula Gandy said. Despite the tragedy, she insisted the devil did not get the victory he was seeking. The Devil is not going to get the victory, at all, he is not going to get the victory, she said. To be able to come and pray for her and see she was already looking up that she was already praying that she was already calling on Jesus I already knew Jesus was going to take care of her. Kula Gandy said she is thankful that the shooter did not crash his car into their packed church or shoot his wife multiple times along with others. Im still alive, that young lady is still alive, she said, noting that the tragedy has strengthened her faith. I cant preach faith if I dont live by faith, cannot preach determination if you dont live by it, said Derek Gandy added. The MPD has not yet formally released the names of the couple involved in the shooting. Taking time off his busy schedule, West Bengal minister Bratya Basu is directing a Bengali film starring actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Hasan. The film, 'Dictionary', deals with the distance created in relationships, the minister of science and technology said. 'Dictionary' has been adapted from two short stories by Buddhadeb Guha - 'Baba Howa' (Becoming a father) and 'Swami Howa' (Becoming a husband). "The film seeks to explore the layers of human ties," Basu, who is a well-known theatre personality, told reporters at the shooting location. Basu said theatre is his passion and he has been squeezing out time to direct and stage plays, besides facing the camera in around 30 Bengali films. "Hence, finding out time for acting or directing cannot be impossible if you have the will to work," he said to a question on Tuesday. Basu, who had directed Bengali film 'Tara' in 2010 before becoming a minister, said, "It is more challenging from the technical point of view this time since I am making the film on digital media instead of celluloid stock." Actress Nusrat Hasan, who plunged into politics last year, said she wanted to work with Basu for long. "This time I am happy he is directing me," she said. Popular Bangladeshi actor Mosharraf Karim is essaying a pivotal role in the film which also stars Abir Chatterjee and Parambrata Chattopadhyay. The shooting of the film will take place at Bolpur and Purulia apart from Kolkata. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 11:02:33|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 25, 2020. Pompeo said on Tuesday that a possible U.S.-Taliban peace deal will include a timetable for conditions-based U.S. troop withdrawals and the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations. Washington will sign a deal with Afghan Taliban "on or about February 29th" only after a successful implementation of a week-long violence reduction beginning Saturday in Afghanistan, Pompeo told reporters at a State Department press conference. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that a possible U.S.-Taliban peace deal will include a timetable for conditions-based U.S. troop withdrawals and the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations. Washington will sign a deal with Afghan Taliban "on or about February 29th" only after a successful implementation of a week-long violence reduction beginning Saturday in Afghanistan, Pompeo told reporters at a State Department press conference. The agreement "includes a timeline for both a conditions-based and phased troop withdrawal, and for the commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations," the top U.S. diplomat noted. These negotiations, if taking place, will be "the first time that Afghans representing all sides of the conflict will sit down together and begin the hard work of reconciliation," Pompeo added. Under the plan, U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, which began in 2001 and has been called "ridiculous " by President Donald Trump, will be reduced to 8,600 troops from the current 12,000 to 13,000 over the course of 135 days, reported the CNN news channel citing two sources familiar with the deal. Washington announced last week that a deal with Taliban is expected to be signed on Feb. 29 without disclosing the location of the signing. Peace talks between the two sides began in 2018 but were interrupted at least twice due to Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel in September and December last year. Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, tweeted Friday that the finalized accord is expected to be signed in the presence of "senior representatives of numerous countries and organizations." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 15:18:59|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- "Uncle Josh, would you use my pocket money to buy a few masks for my orphanage kids?" asked 7-year-old Elizabeth, with 40 U.S. dollars in her small hand. Elizabeth, who now lives in Denver, capital of the U.S. state of Colorado, was adopted by her current parents from an orphanage in central China's Hubei province five years ago. Wuhan, capital city of Hubei and epicenter of the epidemic, "has been gripping our heart and attention", said Josh Zhong, chief of the CCAI, a Chinese children adoption international service based in Denver. Hundreds of adoptive families across the United States have jumped into the Masks for Orphans fundraising project launched by the CCAI right after Wuhan was locked down in late January, said Zhong. "The response is simply overwhelmingly touching," he said. The project has so far donated more than 20,000 masks for children, together with thousands of pairs of medical gloves, disinfection wipes, protection gear and goggles, to over 50 orphanages in Hubei and some other areas in China, Zhong added. Across more than 1000 miles to the west coast on Valentine's Day, a group of volunteers living in Los Angeles saw a flight carrying 30 boxes of donated N95 surgical masks off to Shanghai, where the donation was then transferred to hospitals in Hubei. "This is our third batch of donation organized at a full speed to save lives. We think they are most beautiful Valentine's Day gifts," said Feng Wang, a leading volunteer in the group. "In cooperation with Vizion Logistics, Polar Air Cargo transported critical medical supplies donated by U.S.-based alumni of Peking University to where they are needed most: China," the aviation company said on social networking platform LinkedIn on Sunday, using the hashtag "StayStrongWuhan." "We move time-sensitive shipments all the time, but nothing is more time-critical than goods that can save people's lives," said Polar Air Cargo. "We're proud to do our small part to help people in need." From Salt Lake City in Utah to Wuhan's sister city Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, from Boston and New York along the northeastern coast to Miami in southeastern state of Florida, the relay of love and support continues day and night across the United States and the Pacific. "Working to help fight and defeat COVID-19 is going to be our foundation's top priority for as long as it's necessary and as long as we can add value in helping China cope with this public health crisis," said David Firestein, president and chief executive officer of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, on LinkedIn earlier this month. "There is a Chinese saying: 'feng yu tong zhou' -- 'wind and rain, we all are in the same boat'. This is exactly how we see the present crisis: We are all in this together," said Firestein. Meghan Markle believes she and Prince Harry are being 'picked on' and the restrictions being placed on them are 'payback' for wanting to be independent, she told her close friends, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal. Meghan grumbled to her inner circle last week over the Queen banning the couple from using the word 'royal' in their 'branding', later issuing an extraordinary statement appearing to complain the palace was treating them differently to other family members. 'Meghan said that [she and Harry] were left with no choice but to make a public statement,' a friend explained. 'She said if anyone should feel insulted, it should be them. They never intended to capitalize on the word royal, and to insinuate they were somehow abusing their privileges is absurd.' Harry is now in Edinburgh for his last round of engagements as a working royal but Meghan will not be joining him there, instead meeting up with him in London. The insider said she has no qualms about being in the UK. Meghan Markle feels she and Prince Harry are being 'picked on' and the restrictions being placed on them are 'payback' for wanting to be independent, she told her close friends, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal Meghan grumbled to her inner circle last week over the Queen banning the couple from using the word 'royal' in their 'branding', later issuing an extraordinary statement appearing to complain the palace was treating them differently to other family members Meghan also believes the Queen was 'under pressure to make those demands about the name change', because Harry is the Queen's 'favorite and others just can't deal with it.' The friend added: 'Meghan said she and Harry will continue to rise above jealousy and pettiness.' Pictured: Prince William and Kate The friend added: 'Meghan is going straight to London, not Edinburgh because that's Harry's thing. 'She said she and Harry will continue to rise above jealousy and pettiness and focus on the good they are creating and on being the best parents to Archie. 'She said she will continue to champion Harry because out of everyone, he has the most integrity and the most loyalty.' On Friday, Meghan and Harry put out a statement following the Queen's ban on them using the word 'royal' in their Sussex Royal 'branding', confirming a DailyMail.com report that Meghan didn't take the news well Meghan also believes the Queen was 'under pressure to make those demands about the name change', because Harry is the Queen's 'favorite and others just can't deal with it.' On Friday, Meghan and Harry put out a statement following the Queen's ban on them using the word 'royal' in their Sussex Royal 'branding', confirming a DailyMail.com report that Meghan didn't take the news well. DailyMail.com first revealed that Meghan had complained to her friends about the move, telling them there was nothing 'legally stopping' her and Harry from using the name. Their Friday statement struck a hostile tone in some sections and said neither the government nor the Queen herself owned the word 'royal' internationally - but they would nonetheless stop using the title. They also appeared to complain the palace was treating them differently to other family members. The statement said: '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.' Meghan and Harry are back in the UK for a string of final engagements before their official departure on March 31. Meghan will appear in London with her husband for an awards ceremony for sick and injured military personnel on March 5. Pictured: The couple arriving back in Canada on February 14 The Duke of Sussex spoke at the Travalyst conference in Edinburgh promoting sustainable tourism this morning The friend added to DailyMail.com: 'She said the reason they created their website in the first place was to be as transparent as possible. What was written was carefully worded and was in no way a jab at the Queen. ' Meghan and Harry are back in the UK for a string of final engagements before their official departure on March 31. Meghan will appear in London with her husband for an awards ceremony for sick and injured military personnel on March 5. Harry is currently in Scotland, where he appeared to launch Travalyst on Wednesday, a new eco-friendly travel firm in Edinburgh - asking delegates 'just to call him Harry'. He wants the Travalyst project to 'bring more transparency around carbon emissions for individual flights' and make vacations as eco-friendly as possible. Harry's involvement was announced last year as the Sussexes were criticized for using private jets despite regularly flaunting their eco credentials. This included four trips in just 11 days in August. The Duke and Duchess were also said to have flown into Florida for a JP Morgan conference in Miami on February 6 on the bank's private jet from Vancouver. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE In its first court filing, the State Ethics Commission says the New Mexico Court of Appeals should reverse the dismissal of criminal charges against former Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla. The Ethics Commission took no position on Padillas guilt or innocence. But it said the state Governmental Conduct Act established specific, mandatory duties prohibiting abuse of office that can be enforced through criminal charges. Padilla had fair warning, the agency said, that she could face criminal enforcement if she were to abuse her office. The filing comes after Padillas attorney won dismissal of five ethics charges last year, arguing that Padilla had been charged under parts of the law that are too vague to be enforced and were never meant to be used in criminal cases. Paul Kennedy, Padillas attorney and a former Supreme Court justice, said Tuesday that the Ethics Commission brief totally misses the mark. The governmental conduct statute can be enforced civilly, he said, just not as a criminal charge. Our position has no effect whatsoever on whatever the Ethics Commission is supposed to be doing, he told the Journal. This is a good example of a state agency that obviously has too much time and too much money on its hands. After dismissal of the five ethics charges last year, prosecutors in the Attorney Generals Office filed an appeal, which is pending. The Ethics Commission an independent state agency established last year is now seeking approval to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. The Ethics Commission brief comes as judges across the state consider criminal enforcement of the Governmental Conduct Act. Lower-court rulings have poked holes in the prosecution of public officials accused of violating the act including a former Dona Ana County treasurer, a prosecutor in southwestern New Mexico and a former magistrate judge in San Juan County. In dismissing ethics charges against Padilla last year, state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in Santa Fe said prosecutors cannot use broad language in the Governmental Conduct Act as a kitchen-sink approach to filing charges. But the Ethics Commission brief contends the act is specific enough to allow for enforcement. The parts of the law at issue, the brief says, allow an individual of ordinary intelligence in Padillas shoes to know that the statutory provisions prohibit the Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department from misusing the powers and resources available to that office to access confidential taxpayer information for anothers private benefit, including for their spouses private tax-preparation business. Padilla, an appointee of then-Gov. Susana Martinez, was charged in 2018 with embezzling more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo-based company and using her appointed position to push for favorable tax treatment. She pleaded not guilty. US Airstrike Killed Telecom Employee in Somalia, Company Says By Harun Maruf, Carla Babb February 25, 2020 Somalia's biggest telecommunications company says one of its employees was killed a U.S. airstrike Monday near the al-Shabab-held town of Jilib, Middle Jubba region. Spokesperson for the company Adnan Haji Ali said the head of the company's office in Jilib was killed on his farm. The company identified the man as Mohamud Haji Salad, the Manager of Hormud telecommunications branch in Jilib town. "We confirm that this man was our employee," says Ali. "He had nothing to do with any group or organization." The United States reported on Monday that, in coordination with the Somali government, it has conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Jilib town killing one al-Shabab member. "We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike," the statement read. However, Hormud says the person killed in the airstrike was a civilian who has been working for the company since 2002. Ali said the victim left Mogadishu on Saturday and reached Jilib town the following day. He said he visited his farm near Jilib town when the airstrike hit. The company has contacted the Somali government on Monday evening and asked for investigation into the matter. A spokesman for AFRICOM says "We will look into the matter." "The command will review any information it has about the incident, including any relevant information provided by third parties," said the Spokesman. "We comply with the laws of armed conflict and take feasible precautions during the targeting process to strike only legitimate targets tied to al-Shabab." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former IPS officer D G Vanzara, who was accused in the alleged fake encounters of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh and was later discharged in both the cases, has been given post-retirement promotion as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by the Gujarat government, six years after he retired from service. As per the notification issued by the state Home Department, a copy of which Vanzara tweeted on Tuesday night, he has been promoted as the IGP with effect from September 29, 2007. Additional secretary to the state home department, Nikhil Bhatt, on Wednesday confirmed that his department has issued a notification about Vanzara's promotion. Vanzara, a 1987-batch IPS officer, had retired as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) on May 31, 2014. He was suspended by the state government in May 2007 after his arrest in connection with the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. Later, he was also made an accused in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. The former IPS officer was subsequently discharged in both the cases by special CBI courts, first in August 2017 in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, and then in May last year in the Ishrat Jahan case. "Consequent to clean chit received from Judiciary in all Encounter Cases vch (which) were concocted by Anti- National Forces agnst (against) me & Gujarat Police, I am given Post-Retirement Promotion of Inspector General of Police wef 29-09-2007. I am thankful to both Govt of India & Govt of Gujarat," Vanzara tweeted along with the copy of the government notification. Vanzara was heading the Gujarat ATS when the alleged fake encounters took place. After his arrest in March 2007 by the state CID, Vanzara remained in jail for around seven years. The Sohrabuddin case was transferred to Mumbai in September 2012. He was serving as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Border Range at the time of his arrest. Vanzara, who had joined the police service as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) in 1980, was promoted as an IPS officer in 1987. He served as Deputy Commissioner of Police of Ahmedabad Crime Branch and was later promoted as DIG. He also worked as DIG of Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad. Sheikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared. According to the CBI, she, too, was killed. The central agency had claimed that Tulsiram Prajapati, Sheikh's aide and an eyewitness to the alleged encounter, was later killed by the police at Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006. Ishrat, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The police had claimed that they had links with terrorists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two oval-shaped torpedo glass bottles that held soft drinks for Brisbane's first European settlers have been discovered at the $3.6 million Queen's Wharf casino development. Described by the project's resident archeologist as the first SodaStream, the Islington torpedo bottle manufactured in 1818 was made from a mix of glass, earthenware and ceramics, and metals about 190 years ago. Urbis archeologist Holly Maclean with some artefacts found at the $3.6 billion Queen's Wharf Brisbane development site. Credit:Jocelyn Garcia The embossing on the British company bottle by John Webb, "Webbs double soda and other waters to her Majesty Islington near London" was the first bottle phrasing used by the company. The second torpedo bottle was made in William Starkeys factory in Sydney, which was one of Australias longest-running ginger beer, cordial, and aerated water manufacturers. HUNTLEY, Ill., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently acquired by Sonoco (NYSE: SON), TEQ Thermoform Engineered Quality, a global manufacturer of thermoformed packaging, serving healthcare, medical device and consumer markets, will rename and brand all its manufacturing locations strictly as TEQ. This includes facilities across Europe, currently branded as Plastique. The legal name will become SONOCO TEQ, with the appropriate company type dependent on the region of the facility. In January 2020, Sonoco, one of the most sustainable, diversified global packaging companies, completed the acquisition of Thermoform Engineered Quality, LLC, and Plastique Holdings, LTD, (together TEQ). The comprehensive rebrand will unite manufacturing locations globally and focus on creating a more seamless customer experience. TEQ operates three thermoforming facilities as well as one extrusion operation in the United States, a thermoforming operation in the United Kingdom, and thermoforming and molded-fiber manufacturing in Poland. Each facility has state-of-the-art cleanroom capabilities enabling the production of sterile, barrier packaging systems for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. In addition, TEQ produces recyclable, molded-pulp-fiber packaging and thermoformed plastic packaging for multiple consumer products. The rebranding of TEQ Thermoform Engineered Quality and Plastique to the TEQ name displays the evolution of how our brands have grown more cohesive to address the needs of our mutual customers, said Todd McDonald, director of sales and marketing for TEQ. Fibrepak, the fiber molding division of TEQ, will retain its own separate brand identity. Fibrepak uses the latest 'Cure-In-The-Mold' technology to produce the highest quality, most well-defined fiber packaging available. Products differ from traditional molded pulp packaging in several ways. For example, the packaging boasts a high tolerance that enables accurate registration to ensure a consistent fit. The process also allows for thin walls, defined hinges and a smooth premium finish. TEQ has recently made significant investments at all their business locations. This includes building ISO 7 controlled environments certified to ISO 13485 at the facilities in Nottingham, United Kingdom, and Poznan, Poland. The company has also added Kiefel KMD 78s in both locations, making them one of the largest users of Kiefel thermoforming machines in the world. Additionally, an extrusion facility has been installed at the manufacturing facility in Huntley, Ill. This expansion will help provide proprietary materials: TEQethylene, TEQpropylene and TEQconnex. About TEQ For over 25 years, TEQ has been dedicated to being the leader of global quality thermoform manufacturing. With recent expansion, TEQs continuous innovation, design capability, and process control gives the company the ability to serve customers better than anyone else. TEQ is uniquely positioned to help medical device manufacturers meet demanding testing and validation requirements and reduce their time to market by avoiding costly redesign efforts and delays. In addition, TEQ provides value added products like heat seal machines, engineering services, and flexible packaging. About Sonoco Founded in 1899, Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the Company has 23,000 employees working in approximately 300 operations in 36 countries, serving some of the worlds best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is committed to creating sustainable products, services and programs for our customers, employees and communities that support our corporate purpose of Better Packaging. Better Life. The Company ranked first in the Packaging sector on Fortunes Worlds Most Admired Companies for 2020 as well as Barrons 100 Most Sustainable Companies. For more information, visit www.sonoco.com. Two people have been injured following a horrific stabbing attack in Brisbane's CBD. Police were called just before 5am on Thursday with reports of a brawl breaking out outside the Brisbane's Treasury Casino. Paramedics treated three people, including a man who had stab wounds to the stomach, Townsville Bulletin reported. He was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition. Police are outside Brisbane's Treasure Casino (pictured) investigating the alleged stabbing Another man involved in the alleged stabbing suffered wounds to his leg and was taken to hospital in a stable condition. A third man also suffered minor injuries to his hands. One person has since been taken into custody, Nine News reported. A police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia two men suffered wounds following the alleged stabbing. 'One man is assisting police with enquiries,' he said. 'Two men with wounds have been taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital. New Delhi, Feb 26 : At least 27 people have lost their lives while over 200 people have been injured in the deadliest violence in the national capital in decades after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters turned violent in North-East Delhi since last Sunday, officials said on Wednesday. According to the officials, 25 people died during treatment at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara area while two others succumbed to their injuries at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital near Delhi Gate. The reports of fresh fatalities came hours after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited the violence-hit areas separately. Speaking to IANS, Sunil Kumar, Medical Superintendent at GTB Hospital, said that 25 people have been killed in the violence in North-East Delhi since Saturday while more than 200 have been injured. During the day, GTB Hospital released figures of 22 fatalities, out of which nine persons died of bullet injuries. "Twenty-two people have been killed in the violence in North-East Delhi since Saturday while more than 200 people have been injured. Out of the 22, nine died of gun shots, five were hit by blunt objects, one died due to burn injuries, three were stabbed whereas the rest of the cases are yet to be analysed. We have performed six post-mortems today," Kumar had said earlier in the day. In the violence that erupted after pro and anti-CAA groups clashed, several bullets were fired from both sides which claimed many lives, including that of a Delhi Police head constable. On Wednesday the body of an Intelligence Bureau staffer was fished out of a drain in Chand Bagh area. The IB staffer was identified as Ankit Sharma. Maharashtra's fisherfolk remind govt of promises February 26,2020 | Source: Asian Age Ahead of the Maharashtra budget, the fishing community has reminded the state government of its promise to compensate fishermen for the losses incurred last year due to back-to-back cyclones. They also said that the budget should stress on reviving the blue economy in the state. Fishermen said that losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore were incurred last year due to unseasonal rain and four cyclones in the state. Following its formation in November 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government said that the ruling party would look into the plight of fishermen in the state. The fish catch was drastically reduced due to the absence of fishing for three more months till November post the monsoon last year. Our delegation met Jitendra Ahwad and Ajit Pawar to apprise them of our problems and we were promised action on the losses incurred. We expect that the budget will provide compensatory allocation for fishermen in case of natural disasters, said Damodar Tandel, president of the Akhil Maharashtra Macchimar Kruti Samiti. The fishermens group demanded that each fisherman be compensated at least Rs 25,000 and around Rs 1 lakh for losses incurred in boats. The fishermen also demanded that the subsidiary amount for diesel which was promised and has been pending for an average three months be provided. Ganesh Nakhawa, president of Purse Seine Net Fishermen Welfare Association, said, The state government should clear the diesel subsidiary pending since three months or more in some cases. We have been giving the money to oil companies like Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, from whom we take diesel for boat operations. They take money from us in advance, based on which subsidy is provided to us. According to the group, approximately Rs 240 crore is expected in subsidy across Maharashtra. The state government had earlier provided Rs 30 crore in this connection. The group further stated that there should be an elaborate study on the impact of climate change on the marine environment and fisheries. In case of crop failure, there are provisions laid down for compensation per hectare in matters like damage to cotton, grapes etc. Similar resolutions should be passed in case of bad fishing days and marine drought, Mr Nakhawa added. The software company that facilitates the lives and operations of fund management professionals in Luxembourg and Europe is about to relaunch its website. April Software promises a fresh, modern look and focus on visitors experience. April Software has been in the business of providing effective software solutions for the fund industry players in Luxembourg for less than 5 years now, but the demand for its services keeps growing. Initially, the company The Real Housewives of Melbourne is set to return this year with its long-awaited fifth season. But fans were left reeling after it was announced that property developer, Pettifleur Berenger, wouldn't be returning. The 55-year-old told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday that she will return to TV after she resolves a personal matter. Fan favourite: On Wednesday, Pettifleur Berenger revealed the reason why she isn't returning to The Real Housewives Of Melbourne 'I am humbled by the disappointment of my fans that I am not returning to RHOM this season,' she said. 'However, I can promise them that I will be returning to TV when I have taken care of some very important issues that I can't discuss right now for legal reasons.' Pint-sized Pettifleur is one of the most controversial housewives to appear on the series over the years. Drama: Pettifleur starred in seasons two and three of The Real Housewives of Melbourne and was involved in some of the show's most memorable feuds In the hit show, she accused fellow housewife Gamble Breaux of meeting her husband on a sugar daddy website. She's also feuded with Lydia Schiavello and memorably clashed with psychic Jackie Gillies who wouldn't use her powers to find Pettifleur's son's misplaced birth certificate. Tensions reached boiling point in season three when the outspoken socialite threw an iconic tantrum during a dinner in the middle of the desert in Dubai. Meltdown: In season three, tensions reached boiling point when the outspoken socialite threw an iconic tantrum during a dinner in the middle of the desert in Dubai Earlier this week, Foxtel confirmed that Gina Liano, Janet Roach, Gamble and Lydia would all be back for season five of the series. They will be joined by three brand new Housewives: former CNN news anchor Anjali Rao, yoga teacher Cherry Dipietrantonio and 'Champagne educator' Kyla Kirkpatrick. The new season is set to begin filming in March and will air on Foxtel later this year. AKHAN Semiconductor, a technology company specializing in the fabrication and application of lab-grown, electronic-grade diamonds, announced today that it has been issued a patent by the European Patent Office (EPO). The patent covers AKHAN's next-generation N-type diamond semiconductor system and diamond-based multilayer antireflective coating systems, key components in military aerospace sensor and detector applications, amongst other use cases. The issued patent, No. 2737112, is another key addition to AKHAN's breakthrough Miraj Diamond intellectual property portfolio, and the Company's first European-issued patent. The technology enables breakthrough performance in semiconductor devices as well as new capabilities in optical sensing, detecting, and transmission. Through the integration of high-quality diamond in semiconductor electronics applications and multilayer materials, the novel systems allow for next-generation electronics performance, and optical components with ultra-hardness, scratch-resistance, high thermal conductivity, hydrophobicity, chemical and biological inertness, and with high transmittance at a variety of critical angles. "Over the past few months, AKHAN has been issued a number of patents from around the world, and this latest from the European Union is further proof that we're world leaders in producing diamond technology for semiconductor application," said Adam Khan, Founder and CEO of AKHAN Semiconductor. "Diamond is proven to be the ideal material for semiconductors and crucial to making next generation electronics faster, more powerful and lightweight. Now that we've been issued the European patent, we look forward to building further relationships with various partners from across the continent who can benefit from this generational technology." AKHAN's flagship Miraj Diamond Glass for consumer display is 6x stronger, 10x harder, and runs over 800x cooler than leading glass competitors like Gorilla Glass. The Company achieves this by coating standard commercial glass such as aluminosilicate, BK7, and Fused Silica with proprietary lab-grown nanocrystalline diamond. Diamond-based technology is capable of increasing power density as well as creating faster, lighter, and simpler devices for consumer use. About AKHAN AKHAN is a technology company specializing in the fabrication and application of electronics-grade diamonds as functional semiconductors. AKHAN is headquartered in Gurnee, Lake County, Illinois. Additional information about AKHAN is available on the Company's website at http://www.akhansemi.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005478/en/ Contacts: AKHAN Media Contact: Rob Kreis akhan@fischtankpr.com www.akhansemi.com By Daniel Larison February 26, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - There was a statement that Sanders made at the debate last night that deserves more attention, because it gets at the heart of the manufactured controversy over Sanders own past statements and the glaring hypocrisy that defines so many of our foreign policy discussions. Sanders said this: Excuse me, occasionally it might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy [bold mine-DL], and that includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world in Chile, in Guatemala, in Iran. And when dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans do something good, you acknowledge that. But you dont have to trade love letters with them. Several of Sanders opponents last night were not interested in being honest about U.S. foreign policy. If they had been interested, they would have to admit that U.S. politicians acknowledge positive developments that take place under authoritarian regimes all the time, and most of the time they do this to justify U.S. support for those governments. The fact is that both Bloomberg and Biden have sometimes said very positive things about repressive authoritarian states without any caveats. They havent prefaced their praise by saying that this is an oppressive government that violates human rights. They didnt say anything that could be construed as a criticism. Biden touted Mubarak as an ally and refused to call him a dictator just weeks before his ouster. Bloomberg praised the Saudi crown prince and his Vision 2030 plan last year without qualification: But Bloomberg has praised another murderous dictator Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS as recently as last year, long after he was implicated in the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In a September 2019 interview with Arab News, Bloomberg praised Mohammed bin Salmans Saudi Vision 2030 plan, focusing especially on its loosening of some restrictions on Saudi women. I have had a number of women come up to me and say you dont understand this is the best thing that has ever happened to Saudi Arabia because half the population was cut out and now they are going in the right direction, Bloomberg said. He lauded King Salman and MBS for their efforts to take that country into the new world, saying, They have made progress going in the right direction. He didnt acknowledge that MBS had jailed and tortured some prominent Saudi women activists. And Bloomberg didnt mention that 11 months earlier, U.S. permanent resident and Saudi journalist Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by MBSs own henchmen. International investigators and the CIA later concluded that the killing was a premeditated crime ordered by MBS himself. This wasnt just a case of Bloomberg letting optimism get the better of him. By the time he said these things, the increasingly repressive nature of the Saudi government under Mohammed bin Salman was well-known. The many war crimes and atrocities committed by his government in Yemen had been in the news for years (and they continue to happen), Khashoggis murder had happened almost a year earlier, and he could not have missed the stories about the ongoing detentions and torture of political activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, who is still imprisoned to this day. As far as political rights are concerned, Saudi Arabia has clearly been moving in the wrong direction, but Bloomberg chose to ignore all of that. It would be fair to acknowledge that there have been some positive changes in Saudi Arabia over the last few years at the same time that the crown prince has been cracking down on dissent, killing critics, and consolidating power, but if youre going to talk about those changes it would be important to state opposition and condemnation of the Saudi governments myriad abuses. On that occasion, Bloomberg only offered praise, and there is no evidence that he expressed any concern about Saudi government crimes and abuses until he was starting to run for president. The Saudi Arabia example is a telling one, because for the last several years many American politicians and media outlets embarrassed themselves by lavishing nothing but praise on the Saudi crown prince for his reforms. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter As a matter of U.S. policy, Saudi Arabia has been given a pass for the many atrocities it has committed in Yemen because the current administration places more value on selling them weapons and the previous administration wanted to reassure them of our support. The issue here is not just the double standard applied to U.S. clients, but that many of our leaders give these governments a pass on their human rights violations and war crimes in order to justify U.S. policies of support for those clients that cause even more death and destruction. In other words, when U.S. politicians praise authoritarian clients, it is usually part of an effort to whitewash the client governments record and to justify providing them with more weapons and aid. There are real consequences and human costs when politicians turn into cheerleaders for these governments. Biden was vice president when the shameful policy of supporting the war on Yemen began, and when he was part of the Obama administration there is no evidence that he opposed this policy or spoke against it at any point. He has since turned against that policy, but he had nothing to say about it when he could have done something about it. While Bloomberg was singing the crown princes praises, Sanders has been one of the leading critics of the Saudi governments crimes and an opponent of U.S. enabling of those crimes. Which one would you rather have making foreign policy decisions as president: Mohammed bin Salmans cheerleader or one of his most vocal critics? Daniel Larison is a senior editor at TAC, where he also keeps a solo blog. He has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, World Politics Review, Politico Magazine, Orthodox Life, Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter. " Source " [February 26, 2020] MTF Biologics Awards $1.8 Million in 2019 Extramural Research Grants MTF Biologics, a global nonprofit organization that saves and heals lives by advancing tissue and organ donation, transplantation, and research, has awarded over $1.8 million in funding to 12 researchers across the nation through its 2019 Extramural Research Grants Program. "For more than 30 years, our grants program has funded groundbreaking research. It's an honor to give back in this way to positively affect lives across the globe," said Joe Yaccarino, President and CEO of MTF Biologics. "We congratulate all of this year's recipients and look forward to the results of their important work." Since 1987, MTF Biologics has provided over $55 million in grants to advance allograft transplantation science and biological reconstruction. To date, more than 200 principal investigators at over 80 institutions have received funding. Top funded institutions include University of California - Los Angeles, University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve University, University of Virginia, and Columbia University. "Through our continued support of translational and clinical research, we hope to accelerate innovation that will lead to increased options for clinicians, thus improving patient experience and outcomes," said Marc Long, Ph.D., VP, Research & Development of MTF Biologics. Beginning with the 2020 grant cycle, MTF Biologics will award the Dr. Hans Burchardt Research Award to the grant with the greatest potential impact on allograft science. "Dr. Burchardt led the MTF Biologics grant program for over two decades. He was deeply committed to advancing allograft science," said Jeffrey Cartmell, Ph.D., Director, Intellectual Property & Grants at MTF Biologics. "We are delighted to honor Dr. Burchardt's legacy of scientific achievements in Bone Graft Immunology, Musculoskeletal Transplantation, & Biologic Reconstruction and to recognize his long-time leadership of the MTF Biologics grant program by naming this grant in his honor." The recipients selected for 2019 Research Grants are: MTF BIOLOGICS EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANT - ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATOR: Erin Hsu, Ph.D., Northwestern University, "BMP-2 Binding Nanofiber-Demineralized Bone Matrix Composite Scaffold as a Bone Graft Substitute for Spinal Fusion" Paul Kuzyk, M.D., Siai Health System, "Predicting Osteochondral Integration of MOPS-stored Allografts Using Cartilage Electromechanical Properties in a Pre-Clinical Ovine Model" Hai Yao, Ph.D., Clemson University, "Integrating Ice-Free Vitrification and Nanowarming for Banking Meniscus Allograft" Chia-Ying, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, "Novel Process for 3D Printing and Decellularized Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Regeneration" MTF BIOLOGICS EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANT - JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR: Murat Guvendiren, Ph.D., New Jersey Institute Technology, "Bioprinting Scaffolds from Novel Allograft-Derived Bioinks to Advance Reconstruction of Osteochondral Interface" Min Young Ju, Ph.D., Wake Forest University, "Development Decellularized ECM-based 3D Bioprinted Muscle Constructs with Dual Growth Factors Delivery for Repairing Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML) injury" Hyun Ji Kim, Ph.D., Wake Forest University, "Bioengineered Skeletal Muscle Construct Using an Allogeneic Scaffolding System for Pelvic Muscle Reconstruction" PLASTIC SURGERY FOUNDATION / MTF BIOLOGICS ALLOGRAFT RESEARCH GRANT: (Administered by the Plastic Surgery Foundation) Arun Gosain, M.D., Northwestern University, "The Effect of Acellular Dermal Matrix and Radiation on Tissue Expansion" Alex Wong, M.D., University of Southern California, "Effect of Decelluarized Adipose Tissue Matrix on Irradiated Skin Pathology" ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATION - MTF BIOLOGICS GRANT: (Administered by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation) Chathuraka Jayasuriya, Ph.D., Rhode Island Hospital, "Implementing Allogeneic Stem Cells from Cartilage Graft in Meniscus Repair" ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATION - HERNDON RESIDENCY AWARD: (Administered by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation) Connor Delman, M.D., University California - Davis, "Analysis of Tibial Contact in Kinematically Aligned TKA in Three Implants" Ryan Rauck, M.D., Hospital for Special Surgery, "The Role of the Long Head of the Biceps Tendon in Shoulder Stabilization" Applications are now being accepted for the 2020 MTF Biologics Extramural Grant Program. The application deadline is March 1, 2020. Interested applicants can view the Request for Proposals, the MTF Biologics Grant Policies, and find out how to apply for the grant on the MTF Biologics website at https://www.mtfbiologics.org/grants. About MTF Biologics MTF Biologics is a global nonprofit organization that saves and heals lives by advancing tissue and organ donation, transplantation, and research. We provide unmatched service, resources, and expertise to donors and their loved ones who give the gift of life, people who depend on tissue and organ transplants, healthcare providers, and clinicians and scientists. Our subsidiary, The International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM), honors donors of non-transplantable organs by providing their gifts to the medical research community to combat and cure diseases. Our subsidiary, Statline, provides specialized communications and technology expertise to organ, tissue, and eye procurement organizations, as well as the hospitals and patients that they serve. Our sister organization, The German Institute for Cell and Tissue Transplantation (Deutsches Institute for Zell-und Gewebeersatz - DIZG) expands our reach to patients across the globe. For more information, visit www.mtfbiologics.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005663/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France Wed, February 26, 2020 19:44 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066cdb7d 2 World #France,#coronavirus,first,victim,death-toll Free A 60-year-old teacher has become the first French casualty of the coronavirus, the health ministry announced on Wednesday. The man died overnight in a Paris hospital, bringing the coronavirus death toll in the country to two, said the ministry's deputy head Jerome Salomon. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who died in hospital in mid-February. The latest victim, who worked at a junior-high school in the town of Crepy-en-Valois, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Paris, is not believed to have travelled to an area affected by the global coronavirus outbreak, the education ministry said. Le Parisien newspaper quoted the mayor of the teacher's hometown of Vaumoise as saying he had "begun to feel ill at the start of the (mid-term) holidays and had been quickly hospitalised." Classes are due to resume in northern France on Monday. France has reported four other new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours -- two in people returning from hard-hit Italy -- bringing the total number of infections to 17. Eleven other people have recovered in France from the disease which has killed more than 2,600 people worldwide and infected almost 80,000 others, mainly in China. One of the four people still being treated in hospital, a 55-year-old man, is in a critical condition in the northern city of Amiens. Two of the four had recently returned from the Lombardy region of Italy, which is at the centre of Europe's biggest outbreak of the disease, the health ministry said. The French government has asked citizens returning from Lombardy and the neighbouring Veneto region to avoid "all non-essential outings" and keep their children home from school. The same recommendations have been issued for people returning from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and South Korea. Death of Hong Kong tourist probed Meanwhile, 30 tourists have been confined to their hotel in the Burgundy town of Beaune after the as-yet unexplained death of a tourist from Hong Kong, the regional health department said. The department said a tour group, which had been due to travel to Paris Wednesday, was being kept at the Ibis hotel while tests are carried out "to banish all suspicion of a case of coronavirus". The agency did not say where the other members of the group were from. The Beaune town hall said the dead man had a heart condition. Other guests who had not been in contact with the group were allowed to leave. Congress and alliance partner CPI(M) face litmust test of their ties in the 26 March Rajya Sabha election as a joint candidate of either the CPM-Congress or the TMC-Congress will have to win the fifth seat from West Bengal Kolkata: The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections to five seats in West Bengal on 26 March are set to be a litmus test for the CPM-Congress ties in the state for the fifth seat. According to the distribution of seats in the present state Assembly, the TMC will get four Rajya Sabha seats, whereas a joint candidate of either the CPM-Congress or the TMC-Congress will have to win the fifth one. The BJP with just eight MLAs is not a contender. Since the Lok Sabha polls debacle, both the parties have been unitedly fighting against the TMC and the BJP in the state. "There is a question mark regarding the fifth seat. One will win either as a joint candidate of TMC-Congress or of CPM-Congress. Let's see what happens, but we are keen on sending someone from our party to Rajya Sabha from Bengal," a senior CPM leader said. "Earlier, on two occasions, we have seen the Congress took support of the TMC during the elections of their candidates Pradip Bhattacharya and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. This time, talks are on as we are already fighting together since the last Lok Sabha polls," the CPM leader said. The state Congress leadership, however, has taken a "wait and watch" approach and is yet to commit anything. "The final decision whether we would put up our candidate and seek support of the Left and the TMC, or we would support the CPM candidate is yet to be taken. The high command will take a final call on it," a senior state Congress leader said. The TMC leadership said the party is yet to take a call on putting up a candidate for the fifth seat. According to the CPM's West Bengal unit sources, the party is keen to nominate its general secretary Sitaram Yechury to Rajya Sabha from the state, with the help of the Congress. Yechury had an excellent track record as a member of the Upper House of Parliament between 2005 and 2017, and the party is "eager to nominate him" in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held next month, state CPM sources said. In 2017, his name had cropped up for re-election. Even then Congress president Rahul Gandhi was keen on supporting his nomination from West Bengal. But the CPM leadership had turned down the offer, citing party rules that no member would be nominated three times in a row for Rajya Sabha. The rule of not allowing anyone to be a member of Rajya Sabha, beyond two consecutive terms, will not apply now as Yechury has already got a break since 2017. A decision regarding this will be taken at party's next politburo meeting, sources said. "If Yechury is the candidate, we don't think that we would have any problem, given the kind of equation he shares with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," the Congress leader said. Of the five seats which will fall vacant, four are presently held by Jogen Chowdhury, Manish Gupta, Ahmed Hassan Imran and KD Singh of the TMC. The fifth seat is held by Ritabrata Bandopadhyay, who was earlier elected as a CPM nominee in 2014, but was expelled from the party in 2017. Since his expulsion and post-2019 Lok Sabha polls, the CPM West Bengal unit does not have any representation in either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. This has happened for the first time since the party's inception in 1964. Priti Patel demanded police chiefs slash crime and deliver safer streets in exchange for more officers today as she said neither she nor the public would accept any 'excuses'. The Home Secretary used a speech in London to say cutting crime is 'non-negotiable' and there must be 'no weak spots' in efforts to do so. Addressing the National Police Chiefs' Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint summit she warned that she expected results from the Tories' pledge to fund 20,000 more officers on the beat in the next three years. She demanded there must be 'less crime, safer streets, no excuses', adding: 'The public won't accept them and neither should we.' She told the audience that they were being set 'quite a challenge to reduce murder, serious violence and neighbourhood crime', saying: 'That is an ambitious list, but it is no more than the public expects.' She added: 'We need to pull out all the stops to deliver the decline in crime that people want to see. There must be no weak spots. In her speech today (pictured) she demanded there was 'less crime, safer streets, no excuses', adding: 'The public won't accept them and neither should we' The Home Secretary (pictured today, left) used a speech in London (right) to unveil an extra 41.5million in 'surge' funding for forces across England and Wales 'These outcomes will be non-negotiable and I will be unapologetic about holding you to account. 'Together we can lengthen the long arm of the law to ensure no criminals can escape - and, importantly, the public can have the trust in policing that you all deserve.' The Home Secretary, who is at the centre of a bullying row involving civil servants in her department, left the event after her speech without taking any questions from police officers or the media, a further sign of her preparedness to upset people to implement change. Ms Patel announced an additional 41.5 million of funding for forces in 18 areas of the country worst affected by serious violence. She also launched an eight-week consultation on plans to enshrine a Police Covenant in law. The plan, first mooted in the Conservative Party's general election manifesto, pledges to back the rights of serving or ex-police officers, staff and their families, recognise the responsibility and risks officers take, and introduce a code of ethics. Ms Patel told the audience 'crime will not go away overnight' and the police deserve 'full respect' for the 'incredible job' they do, describing the covenant as a 'commitment' to put officers first. But she said: 'I will also be unafraid to challenge you to do more.' The public 'deserve the freedom to live their lives without fear of violent criminals, terrorists and drug dealers', she added. 'That's why I've made it my priority to restore public confidence in our criminal justice system.' The news follows calls from campaigners to make punishments for assaults on emergency workers even tougher. From the middle of November 2018, the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act doubled the previous maximum sentence to 12 months in jail for such offences. She told the audience that forces were being set 'quite a challenge to reduce murder, serious violence and neighbourhood crime', saying: 'That is an ambitious list, but it is no more than the public expects' But official figures released last week showed just 13% of criminals who attack police and emergency workers are being sent straight to jail, with more being let off with a fine, and suggested the average time behind bars was three months or less. The Police Federation of England and Wales has long campaigned for tougher punishments for those who attack officers. National chairman John Apter welcomed the plans for the covenant and said: 'Policing is a dangerous and unpredictable job and it's essential that there is something in place that ensures that police officers, staff, retired colleagues and their families receive the support they deserve. 'This consultation is an opportunity to help shape what a Police Covenant will look like. This is something I feel extremely passionate about and it's great to see this taking a step closer to becoming a reality.' Feb 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Robert Iger, who delayed his retirement four times in recent years, abruptly stepped down as Walt Disney Co's chief executive officer on Tuesday. https://nyti.ms/32tKpP9 - Tesla Inc's autopilot driver-assistance system and a driver who relied too heavily on it are likely to blame for a 2018 crash in California in which the driver died, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. https://nyti.ms/2vgsrU3 - Mallinckrodt Plc, the largest generic opioid manufacturer in the United States, has tentatively agreed to pay $1.6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by state and local governments over its role in the opioid crisis. https://nyti.ms/2vgpliV - United States federal health officials starkly warned on Tuesday that the new coronavirus will almost certainly spread in the United States, and that hospitals, businesses and schools should begin making preparations. https://nyti.ms/2TtkLGj (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) Downtown residents felt a collective shiver last week when the Coast Guard announced plans to expand Charleston operations and close the Tradd Street station. They tend to fear the worst when prime peninsula real estate hits the market. The Coast Guard headquarters, which dates back more than a century, sits on some of the most valuable waterfront land in the city, conveniently situated at the western terminus of the Low Battery. So, is it any wonder that more than a few South of Broad folks had visions well, nightmares of another high-rise towering overhead? Its not hard to imagine the Realtors pitch for that one. But dont start organizing those protests just yet because the city says it will never happen. This all started when Adm. Karl Schultz visited Sector Charleston on Thursday and announced plans to make it one of the largest Coast Guard branches in the nation. As Thomas Novelly reported, plans call for doubling local personnel to 2,000 within the next five years, adding five national security cutters and several offshore patrol ships, as well as making Charleston Harbor the deepest port on the East Coast. This gives Charleston the potential to grow into the largest concentration of assets and people in the Coast Guard, Schultz said. The move makes perfect sense, given Charlestons strategic location on the coast and the infrastructure already in place at the old Charleston Naval Base. As U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham said, its an opportunity for the community to gain back some of what it lost when the base closed in 1996. It also ensures the completion of that harbor dredge local officials have pushed for over the years. The troubling part came when Schultz, the Coast Guards top officer, said the plans call for consolidating branch operations at the base and shuttering the Tradd Street station, which was commissioned in 1914. That caught the attention of South of Broad residents faster than you can say Sergeant Jasper. But Jacob Lindsey, the citys planning director, says theres no way anyone could build high-rise condos or Lord Ashley Cooper forbid another downtown hotel on the site. The property is zoned for a limited number of residential houses no taller than 2.5 stories, Lindsey says. And thanks to Charlestons new zoning laws, even City Council could do no more than raise the height limit to the next tier, which would be 3 stories. Of course, that only lets us know what cant happen on the site. What will replace the Coast Guard station, if anything, is still murky. Local personnel say the expansion plans are preliminary, that the Tradd Street station will remain headquarters for the foreseeable future. Still, you have to figure the announcement caught City Halls attention. Charleston has casually had its eye on that property for decades. Some officials have dreamed of a day when The Battery is flanked by public parks. But the Coast Guard could decide to keep the property, even after building a new headquarters in North Charleston, because Tradd Street is a convenient staging area closer to the ocean than the former Navy base. If the feds decide to sell, however, its a safe bet the city will be first in line. As Lindsey notes, the Coast Guard station figures prominently in the Dutch Dialogues research to combat flooding. Those plans identify the foot of Tradd Street, and the terminus of the Low Battery, as a strategic location for a pumping station to alleviate South of Broad flooding. Other officials have mused that it could also become another Colonial Lake-style park that is, an area that does double duty as a public space and floodwater retention. In case anyones missed it, the city doesnt do anything these days without looking at the flooding angle. So, no one is drawing up sale papers, and there is no behind-the-scenes jockeying for the land, but we do know what wont happen there. There will never be a building that blocks the Sergeant Jaspers view of Charleston Harbor. A Cullman County sheriffs deputy found unconscious in a ravine following a crash earlier this month is being transferred today to a specialty medical center in Atlanta. Deputy Adam Clark and his K9, Figo, were injured in a Feb. 11. Sheriff Matt Gentry said Clark was on duty and responding to a call when dispatchers lost radio contact with him. Deputies, firefighters, police were all searching the area and it was about an hour later when a Cullman police officer spotted Clarks cruiser down a ravine on Alabama 69 South between Bremen and Dodge City. Asked how long they believed Clark had been in the ravine, Gentry said, We can safely say an hour plus, he said. Once Clark was extracted, he was taken to a Huntsville hospital. Deputies later that day transported Figo to Auburn University. Sheriffs officials have not disclosed the nature of Clarks injuries. However, they said he is recovering from several surgeries and his physical condition is good. He will now spend several months at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. The facility specializes in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation Clark has been with the sheriffs office for four to five years. He and Figo have been partners for about a year and have won awards for their work together. Figos condition is improving and is currently at a private facility. Anyone who would like to make a monetary contribution to help Deputy Clark may do so at any Cullman Premier Bank location or mail a donation to the Cullman County Sheriffs Office C/O Deputy Clark at 1910 Beech Ave S.E. Cullman, AL 35055. US federal health officials have issued a grim warning about a "bad" spread of coronavirus and asked the nation to prepare for drastic actions like cancelling meetings as the disease was spreading its tentacle far beyond China. The warning about meetings on Tuesday comes as the nation is preparing for the presidential elections in November with intra-party polls to select the Democratic party nominee yet to take place in 47 states and rallies are being held across the country. "In the expectation that this could be bad," the head of the respiratory diseases centre, Nancy Messonnier, said preventive actions for schools, businesses and health facilities should be planned. "Disruptions to everyday life may be severe, but people might want to start thinking about that now," she said at a news briefing outlining the possible steps like scrapping meetings, closing schools and getting employees to work remotely from home if the disease spread in the US. "It's not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses," she said. Messonnier is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). So far there are 57 people ill with the disease in the US, 43 of them evacuated from the cruise ship Diamond docked in Japan. One US soldier stationed in South Korea has also come down with the disease. San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency to empower local action should the disease turn up in the city at the heart of the Silicon Valley. The US, which has been under a state of public health emergency, has banned people who are not citizens or permanent residents from entering the country if they have been to China within the past 14 days. President Donald Trump's administration requested the Congress to allocate $2.5 billion to deal with the disease. Trump said in New Delhi that the situation is "very well under control in our country." But Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer said attacked Trump saying he "has no plan, no urgency, no understanding of the facts or how to coordinate a response". Messonnier's warning sent the stocks tumbling, with the Dow Jones index recording a loss of 3.15 per cent on Tuesday after a 3.55 per cent drop on Monday. Another CDC official later held a news conference with a message of reassurance. CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said, "We believe the immediate risk here in the United States remains low, and we're working hard to keep that risk low." On the positive side, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci announced that clinical safety trials of coronavirus vaccine could begin in about a month and a half and it could take a year to 18 months for it to be available to the public. The coronavirus, now called COVID-19 , has spread from China, where more than 78,000 cases have been reported with 2,715 deaths as of Wednesday morning, to South Korea with more that 1,100 cases, Italy with 300 and Iran with 95, Switzerland and Spain. Fears of the COVID-19 are spreading in the US and the state of Alabama opposed sending some of the people quarantined from the cruise ship Diamond to a federal quarantine facility. The federal government cancelled the plan and those under quarantine will continue to be held at military bases in Texas and California. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday accused the opposition parties of "unnecessarily politicising" the Mahadayi water dispute with Karnataka. The two neighbouring states are locked in a dispute over sharing of the Mahadayi river water, and Goa is opposed to the Karnataka government's Kalsa Bhanduri project on the river. Speaking to reporters here, Sawant said Goa will "110 per cent win the case in the Supreme Court". The Goa government has filed a special leave petition in the apex court challenging the award given by Inter State Water Dispute Tribunal on Mahadayi river. Earlier this month, the SC, which is hearing the SLP in its interim order, had allowed notification of the award. The opposition parties in Goa had termed it as the state government's failure to protect the river. "The SC has already taken our case in Mahadayi matter on board," Sawant said, adding that it is coming up for hearing this week. Reacting to the opposition's claims, Sawant said, "Don't unnecessarily politicise the issue. Those accusing my government of failing to protect the interest of the river are responsible for the current situation." "Goa will 110 per cent win the case in the SC," he said, adding that the state has put up a very strong case based on evidence before the Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a wooded area between the W Road and Taft Highway on Albion Street lies the former residence of Byron De La Beckwith, convicted killer of National Association Advertisement of Colored People (NAAC) Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evans on June 12, 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi. De La was born on November 9, 1920 in Colusa, California and at the age of six moved to Greenwood where his mother died of lung cancer when he was 12. After an unsuccessful college career, Beckwith enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and was assigned to duty as a machine gunner in the Pacific in World War II. He participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal and was wounded in the stomach during the battle of Tarawa. He received a Purple Heart and was honorably discharged in 1945. When he returned to Greenwood after the war he married his first wife, Mary Louise Williams (1946-1960) and became a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the segregationist White Citizens Council that was formed after the ruling in 1954s decision of Brown v. Board of Education. The Council used a variety of economic tactics to suppress black activism and sustain segregation by boycotting black business, denying loans and credit to blacks, and other non-violent actions. However, Beckwith as a white supremacist and Klansman did not believe that the violent (Klan) and non-violent (Citizens Council) efforts were successful enough in stopping integration of the races and on June 12, 1963 he shot Medgar Evers as he was getting out of his car at his home. He was shot in the back by an assassin from across the street. Although Beckwith was arrested for the crime, two all-white male juries could not reach a verdict in 1964. The White Citizens Council had paid for his legal defense in both trials. Beckwith moved to the residence on Signal Mountain and lived a rather obscure existence with his second wife, Thelma Neff (1981-2001) until Medgar Evers widow, Myrlie Evers Williams, pushed for another trial after a newspaper investigation revealed proof that a state agency committed jury tampering in the 1964 trials. Times had changed in the 1990s and a new and ambitious prosecutor, Bobby DeLaughter, brought a third indictment before the grand jury in Jackson charging De La once again in 1990. He was extradited back to Mississippi and, after several unsuccessful years of legal maneuvers by his appointed defense counsel, (See De La Beckwith v. State 707 So.2d 547 (Miss 1997) cert, denied 525 U.S. 880) he went to trial. This was over objections by his lawyer to dismiss the charges on grounds of denial of a speedy trial due process of law and protection from double jeopardy. The Mississippi Supreme Court by a vote of 4-3 hence denied the motion to dismiss. In January the third trial started and the physical evidence was the same except Beckwith had made several admissions before witnesses that he had shot Evers and stated that killing him gave me no more inner discomfort than our wives endure when they gave birth to our children. He was also quoted as saying, When I go to Hades I am going to raise hell all over Hades till I get to the white section, for the next 15 years, we here in Mississippi are going to have to do a lot of shooting to protect or wives and children from a lot of bad (N word)." A mixed jury of black and white jurors found De La guilty of first-degree murder without the possibility of parole and sentenced him to life imprisonment at Central Mississippi Correctional Center. On January 21, 2001 at the age of 80, De La died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi after suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure and other ailments. He was interred at Chattanooga Memorial Park, also known as White Oak Cemetery, in the community of White Oak. Many publications have been written about the murder of Medgar Evers. The feature film, Ghosts of Mississippi (1966), tells the story of the murder and 1994 trial. James Woods performance of De La Beckwith was nominated for an Academy Award. Bobby DeLaughter who was once being considered for a federal judgeship, was suspended from the practice of law by the Mississippi Supreme Court on allegations of bribery and judicial corruption while a state judge. On July 30, 2009, he pled guilty to one federal obstruction of justice charge and was sentenced to 18 months in the federal prison at McCreary, Kentucky. Said charge was linked to the criminal investigation of tort, asbestos and tobacco litigation lawyer, Richard Dickie Scruggs. Scruggs would be sentenced to jail for five years and was disbarred from the practice of law. Govt disregarded 90% objections to 2019 coastal zone law: Investigation by Meenakshi Kapoor February 26,2020 | Source: India Spend In April 2018, over 3,000 fishing collectives, environmental groups and citizens across India submitted their objections to the draft of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, the law that governs the development of the countrys 7,500-km coastline. Nine months later, disregarding over 90% of representations--in violation of the February 2014 Pre Legislative Consultation Policy--and without publishing the draft in the official gazette as mandated, the government pushed through the final notification, show documents reviewed by IndiaSpend. Fishing collectives and environment groups objected to the notification, which opened up Indias coastline for enhanced commercial activities, primarily on the grounds that: - No prior consultation was held with coastal communities, especially the fisherfolk; - The lifting of development restrictions would be disastrous for the coastal environment and the traditional communities that live off it; - Interfering with ecologically sensitive coastal areas would leave them more vulnerable to natural hazards. The new law lifted the prohibition on construction in the previously protected 200-metre no-development zone (NDZ) in rural areas and 100-metre NDZ along tidal-influenced water bodies, reducing it to 50 metres for these water bodies and densely populated rural areas (with a population density of 2,161 per sq km). This would make way for more real estate, hotels and beach resorts, exposing more lives and property to the danger of extreme weather conditions, the groups argued. Amendments brought between 2014 and 2018, and retained in the new law, also allow for activities such as mining of atomic minerals in CRZ areas and reclamation of sea for monuments and memorials. Sand dunes and mangroves provide the much-needed buffer against cyclones and storm surges. Yet "eco-tourism" constructions and activities are now allowed in vulnerable areas, as is mining for rare earth minerals in sand dunes and waste treatment in sensitive inter-tidal areas. Fishing community ignored Of the 3,833 representations made against the 2019 notification, over 2,000 were from fisherpeoples collectives, all of which rejected the draft, the compilation of comments on the draft shows. The Shailesh Nayak Committee did not consult us, said Debasis Pal, a Rajahmundry-based social activist and general-secretary of the Democratic Traditional Fishers and Worker Forum, Andhra Pradesh (DTFWF). DTFWF alone sent 1,500 representations rejecting the draft. The draft did not come in vernacular, Pal said. How many of the fishers are literate or can understand English/Hindi? Besides the fisher groups, another prominent actor in coastal governance was kept out of the review process--the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs). These bodies are responsible for implementing the CRZ Notification in their respective states/UTs. They coordinate the preparation of coastal management plans, appraise project proposals, identify and assess CRZ violations, and take measures for conservation of ecologically important sites. Antonio Mascarenhas, scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography and until 2016 a member of the Goa SCZMA, has expressed his disappointment with the CRZ review exercise. His was one of the 3,469 submissions that rejected that draft law. In support of his submission to the environment ministry, he provided a set of academic papers and stated these seven scientific papers may please be considered so as to understand coasts need to be protected and not opened up for indiscriminate commercial use. Yet, the ministry went ahead. The CRZ is a critical regulation for conservation and livelihood protection on the coast, said Kohli. CRZ 2019 stands as a testimony of a perfunctory exercise to achieve an objective that was fait accompli from the outset. Yeh lokshahi nahi thokshahi hai (this is not democracy, this is governance by force), said Kiran Koli, general secretary of Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti, a Mumbai-based fisherpeople's collective, about his and 352 of his fellow members views being ignored by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The CRZ notification is critical to the lives and livelihoods of the communities--around 171 million people or 14% of Indias population--living across 70 coastal districts, 66 in mainland India and four in island territories. Their future, especially that of marginalised communities, is directly linked to the health and disaster preparedness of the coasts, as IndiaSpend reported in October 2019. If the ecological services of the coasts such as the maintenance of water balance, control of erosion and waste processing are factored in, it becomes even more important to ensure the health and resilience of coastal areas. Upto 36 million Indians are likely to encounter coastal floods due to rising sea levels by 2050, an October 2018 study released by Climate Central had predicted. Urbanisation can increase the flood peaks up to eight times and flood volumes by six times, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Allowing intense development closer to the sea would exacerbate the risk for the coastal infrastructure and vulnerability of coastal populations, according to a paper released in August 2019 by the Observer Research Foundation. Yet, the notification allowed for higher floor space index or floor area ratio--that is, more covered area, including all floors, in a property--for buildings in disaster-prone urban areas. Many of these urban areas are densely populated cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Vishakhapatanam and Chennai. IndiaSpend emailed a detailed questionnaire to the joint secretary, CRZ, MoEFCC on January 30, 2020 seeking the ministrys explanation for these omissions. This was followed up with two phone calls over 25 days. However, we did not get any official response to our queries. This story will be updated if and when we receive a reply. 3,469 objections to draft The MoEFCC published the draft CRZ notification on its website on April 19, 2018. This draft was prepared on the basis of representations from coastal states and other stakeholders and recommendations of the Shailesh Nayak Committee, set up to review the CRZ law of 2011, the government stated. The draft was open for two months for public responses. The ministry received 3,833 representations, of which 3,469 were objections to the draft, documents obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application revealed. The ministry, finalising the law in January 2019, argued that the objections did not warrant attention because they principally fell within the set of concerns already addressed by the Nayak Committee, constituted in 2014. But this panel did not meet with the public while reviewing the law, and submitted its report in 2015. On the non-publication of the draft notification in the official gazette, the ministry countered that this purpose was served by uploading the draft on to its website. However, publication of draft laws only in the administrative ministry's website does not facilitate the kind of discussion and engagement such laws deserve, observed an August 2019 analysis by public policy researchers Arun P S and Sushmita Patel. Review of 2011 notification The CRZ notification was first promulgated in 1991 for the protection of the coast. Over the following decade and a half, the notification went through eight reviews and 20 amendments. To compile these amendments in one document and to address the long-standing demand of fisher communities for recognition of their livelihood, the notification was replaced by a fresh law in 2011, according to a blog post by Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a think-tank in Delhi. In June 2014, the environment ministry constituted a committee under the chairpersonship of Nayak, the erstwhile secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The panels scope included addressing concerns raised by the state governments, eliminating ambiguities and simplifying clearance procedures. The committee held consultations with the state governments over the following six months and submitted its report to the ministry in January 2015. While the ministry did not make the committee report public, it started chipping away at the notifications progressive clauses by incorporating the changes suggested by the panel--such as the lifting of certain restrictions on the construction of buildings in coastal towns, allowing mining of atomic minerals even in intertidal areas, and reclamation to build monuments and memorials. Between November 2014 and July 2018, 14 amendments were made to the CRZ law, four as drafts available for public review and ten as final amendments. The 2018 draft not only pieced together all the amendments, it also proposed further dilutions such as reduction of the NDZ and eco-tourism structures in ecologically sensitive areas, several stemming from the committees suggestions, an analysis by CPR shows. Committee sought no public inputs In an interview in 2016, Shailesh Nayak had stated that the committee had met with the chief minister of Kerala, the chief secretary of Maharashtra and senior government officials of all coastal states and union territories. The panel had met with other stakeholders as well, the environment ministry had claimed repeatedly. But Nayak categorically denied meeting anyone other than state officials. The committee worked in an opaque and exclusionary manner, seeking no public inputs, remarked Kanchi Kohli, senior legal advisor at CPR. Nayak also denied receiving submissions from NGOs and other groups during the review. However, think-tanks and NGOs countered that they had made submissions with requests for meetings. I sent him numerous emails requesting that we be given a hearing by his committee, and he refused to do so, said Debi Goenka, executive trustee with Conservation Action Trust, a non-profit organisation based in Mumbai. In these consultations, state governments sought reduction in the no-development zone, relaxations for tourism and mining activities and the extension of existing town and country planning norms to urban constructions in coastal areas as well, according to a summary of states representations prepared by CPR. The committee turned these demands into suggestions which were eventually made part of the new law. If you look at his report, it is evident that all that his committee did was accept almost all the demands of all the state governments to dilute the CRZ, Goenka said. Concerns of coastal inhabitants, fisherfolk, NGOs, etc. were not really relevant to his committee. The committee presented its initial findings before the ministry in November 2014 and submitted its report in January 2015. Coastal communities, citizen groups, scientists and the general public remained unaware of these developments. The Central Information Commission had to direct the ministry to share the report with CPRs Kanchi Kohli, who had filed an RTI application and followed it up with first and second appeals for a copy of the report. But the ministry, through its justification for ignoring the objections to the draft, implied that the Nayak committee had dealt with public concerns even before they were raised. It is a travesty of justice when the ministry claims that all the objections raised by the public in due earnestness had already been addressed and resolved by the committee's process, said Kohli. The Shailesh Nayak committee report has still not been officially made public by the environment ministry. Overlooked policies and rules As the second consecutive term of the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre was drawing to a close, in February 2014, the ministry of law and justice had promulgated the pre-legislative consultation policy. The policy was a result of a meeting of a committee of secretaries of the outgoing regime held in 2014. It also incorporated the recommendations of the National Advisory Council, an advisory body created by the UPA government in 2004 that ceased to exist under the current regime and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution. As a step towards transparent government, it suggested a set of practices to be followed invariably by all ministries and departments before finalising a legislation. Besides advising that the proposed law be published through the internet and other means for a minimum period of 30 days, the policy recommended that the summary of feedback received should be made available on the website of the ministry concerned. The environment ministry did not upload the summary of comments received on the draft CRZ law on its website. The comments were obtained through an RTI application and made available by the CPR on its website. For laws that could impact a specific group of people, the policy had suggested that the law should be made available in such a manner that it gives wider publicity to reach the affected people. Also, to enable wider comprehensibility, draft policies should be made available in regional languages but it is often not the case, commented scholars Arun and Patel. As a good practice, the policy also recommended that the ministry concerned could hold public consultations in addition to making the draft available in the public domain, the degree and mode of which it could decide. This was not done. There were no such gaps in the process when CRZ 2011 was being drafted. Extensive consultations were held with numerous stakeholders on several contentious issues at the time. In 2010, more than 10 consultations were conducted, in all coastal states and UTs, recalled T Peter, secretary, National Fishworkers Forum. The final law of 2011 did not include everything that we sought. But it had addressed several of our concerns. Clause 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 empowers the central government to impose any restriction regarding the location of certain industries or operations. It is on the basis of this provision that the environment ministry issued laws such as the very first version of the CRZ notification of 1991 and subsequent iterations of 2011 and 2019, and Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. Sub-clause (3) of this clause specifies that the government can bring in such stipulations by a notification in the Official Gazette. But the ministry did not publish the draft in the gazette. Results of public consultations are legally non-binding but if the draft CRZ notification was not published in the gazette it is a violation of the environment protection rules, said Rahul Choudhary of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, an NGO in Delhi. The non-publication of the draft in the official gazette may be considered an exceptional case, the ministry said, as it had been uploaded on its website. Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News Oil deepened a three-day rout as panic over a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. gripped investors and sent shockwaves through commodity, equity and debt markets. Futures fell 3% in New York to the lowest level in more than two weeks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to brace for an outbreak at home. A spike in infections in other parts of Asia as well as the Middle East and Europe has raised fears of a global pandemic impacting the stability of the global economy. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the delay in action by the law enforcement agencies in containing violence in north-east Delhi, which claimed 22 lives and left many others injured. "How many more lives have to be lost? How many properties have to be destroyed," asked the High Court, while questioning the delay in action by the law enforcement agencies. A division bench of Justice Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh, while hearing the plea seeking a judicial enquiry into the violence and registration of FIR against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for allegedly making hate speeches, adjourned the matter till tomorrow. The HC also said that it will take up each and every clip where anyone has incited violence in Delhi and will not let a repeat of 1984 happen. "This city has seen more than enough violence. No more!," added the Court. The HC directed the Delhi Police to examine the videos related to hate speeches by political leaders, which allegedly led to violence in northeast Delhi, and take a decision in the matter. The High Court directed the Special Commissioner of Police to sit with the Commissioner in view of all these clips and make a conscious decision and convey it to the court by 2:15 pm tomorrow. The court also enquired about the name of the officer, who is seen in the video of Kapil Mishra. The videos of alleged hate speech by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, BJP MP Parvesh Verma, and local BJP leader Abhay Verma were also played in the courtroom. Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner Harsh Mander, argued that these people are the senior leaders of their political parties and said this is not just an opinion but the government policy. On the prayer of Army's deployment in the violence-affected area, the court said that it doesn't want to enter into the question of Army deployment and shifted the focus on the issue of registration of FIR. "How did they select just three clips out of thousands of clips being circulated on the line? What is this selective outrage?... Please do not allow demoralisation of the forces. What do they think the police is doing? Are they at the protest site for a picnic?" said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Mehta said that the petitioner is unable to define why this petition is focusing on particular these three video clips. The Delhi Police informed the court that 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence and they will examine all aspects of the violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald J. Trump points to a member in the audience as he addresses the crowd during his opening ceremony of the New York City 100th annual Veterans Day Parade and wreath-laying at the Eternal Light Flag Staff. Stocks plunged on Tuesday, with losses accelerating after health officials warned that the coronavirus is "likely" to continue to spread throughout the United States , warning that the American public should "prepare for the expectation that this is going to be bad." The president has reportedly cautioned aides against forecasting the impact of the virus over fears that stocks could fall further, The Washington Post said. President Donald Trump is reportedly furious that stocks are plunging, believing that health officials' warnings have spooked investors, The Washington Post reported Tuesday night, citing two people familiar with the president's thinking. "Ultimately we expect we will see community spread in the United States," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call. The Dow and S&P 500 dropped more than 3% on Tuesday, for the indices worst 2-day drops since Feb. 2018 and Aug. 2015, respectively. Stocks came under pressure even after National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said the coronavirus-triggered selloff has created a buying opportunity for long-term investors. "The virus story is not going to last forever," Kudlow said on CNBC's "The Exchange." "To me, if you are an investor out there and you have a long-term point of view I would suggest very seriously taking a look at the market, the stock market, that is a lot cheaper than it was a week or two ago." He also reassured investors that the U.S. has "contained" the coronavirus and it will likely not be an "economic tragedy." On Monday the president tweeted that the coronavirus is "very much under control in the USA" and that the stock market is "starting to look very good." Tweet Trump is expected to meet with aides on Wednesday to discuss the matter, the Washington Post said. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. To read the full article from The Washington Post click here. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru rose in independent Indias first parliament to declare that while the world slept, India was fulfilling a tryst with destiny and awakening to life and freedom. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru rose in independent Indias first parliament to declare that while the world slept, India was fulfilling a "tryst with destiny" and "awakening to life and freedom." It was a time of promise. Young Indians like my father welcomed the idea of freedom. His diary entry of July 31, 1947, reads: "August. We shall see the light of that famous month, which already has been the theme of peoples talk all over the world. Two weeks more, and then we shall be entitled to call ourselves a free people." As Nehru delivered these historic words, tens of millions of Indians became refugees in their own lands as the subcontinent was partitioned into two independent states; a Hindu-majority India flanked on its east and west by two parts of a Muslim-majority Pakistan. Indias 1950 constitution declared it a sovereign, socialist, secular republic while Pakistans constitution, adopted in 1956, declared it an Islamic republic. Indias tryst with destiny created millions of refugees, and their migration came with unimaginable violence. Estimates of deaths range from 200,000 to two million people. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have remained bitter rivals. They each see global affairs through the prism of their strained relationship and have engaged in four wars. The 1971 war created Bangladesh as a new nation and ended the existence of East Pakistan. That war also created millions of new refugees as war-stressed East Pakistanis flooded into India. For many Indians, secularism has defined India. For a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, complex and multi-layered society, secularism has allowed the pursuit of equality and justice as promised by Indias constitution. For others, secularism has been an unnatural obstacle to the ascendency of Indias majority religion to its rightful place. Since independence, there has been agitation for making India a Hindu nation. Organizations such as the Shiv Sena (SS) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have actively promoted an end to secularism. They have asked, if the Muslims could have an Islamic Pakistan, why couldnt they have a Hindu India? Through wars and communal riots, insurgencies and violence, India has fended off religious nationalism and clung to the idea that its sum was greater than its religious parts. While the RSS and the SS often attacked secularism, the right-wing nationalist organizations never garnered enough political clout to supplant it with the tyranny of religious nationalism. Despite their best efforts, the secular democracy Indians welcomed in 1947 remained alive. But that may all have changed with the re-election of the Narendra Modis Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2019. The BJP is the ideological child of the RSS and SS, and a massive BJP majority has finally given these ideologues opportunity to legislate India away from secularism. Within months of its election, the BJP moved to end special constitutional autonomy provisions accorded to the Muslim majority State of Jammu and Kashmir. Before the dust had settled on repealing these provisions, the BJP government introduced and passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 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 CAA provides a pathway to citizenship for refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But the CAA does not treat all refugees equally; Muslim refugees are expressly excluded from citizenship. While Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists qualify for citizenship, Muslims only qualify for deportation. Next up on the governments list is the National Citizens Register (NRC), which intends to seek and deport "illegal immigrants." India has tens of millions of undocumented citizens who may not have the means to prove they are, in fact, Indians. Once again, the RSS and SS are agitating for the NRC as a means to deport Muslims back to Bangladesh and Pakistan, including many refugees from the 1971 war. From the outset, Indian opposition parties and citizens from across the religious spectrum have denounced the CAA and the NRC as discriminatory and anti-Muslim. While the RSS and SS have been organizing rallies in support of the CAA, tens of millions of Indians have protested the CAA and the shift away from secularism. India is a crossroads. Increasingly, Modis BJP government is bending to the aspirations of those who wish to see a secular Indian democracy replaced by a Hindu India. In effect, the question for India and its citizens is one of equality: are all citizens equal, as promised by its secular constitution, or will some become more equal than others? This battle was in full swing during this months state-level election in Delhi. The campaign pitted secularism against Hindu nationalism. Delhis election campaign was one of the most divisive in history and foretold of many electoral battles yet to come. While secularism carried the day on Feb.8, Delhi was just the beginning. In Indias fight for secularism, battleground Delhi gave a glimpse of what is yet to come. Sudhir Sandhu is chief executive officer of Manitoba Building Trades. He recently traveled to India, where he was born and resided until his mid-teens. m/SIX, GroupMs youngest media planning unit, accelerated its business to about 700 crores through its spectacular wins in the year 2019. m/SIX was seen winning the media mandate for several prominent brands like Emami, Revv Cars, V-Nourish, Toppr, The Moms Co, Sebamed, following their multi-agency pitches amongst others. Commenting on the growth and achievements of m/SIX, Prasanth Kumar, CEO GroupM South Asia said, It is absolutely a delight to see m/SIX grow at an exponential rate especially in the last few years. We are humbled to witness that the team is working with fantastic brands and has an immense passion to create growth stories for brands. The m/SIX team is a bunch of seasoned experts that showcases an exceptional outlook to the brands and delves deeper to understand the ask of each client. Am confident that the team will continue to invest in improved outcomes for our clients with more strategic and innovative solutions. Saket Sinha, Senior Vice President and Head of m/SIX India said, Last 12 months have been spectacular for m/SIX. I am happy that the clients have seen the value in our proposition of outcome-based advertising and have had full faith in handing over their mandate to us. What has helped us deliver is our data-driven acceleration model on the clients business KPI. We are constantly looking for innovative solutions to address the clients ever-evolving demands and challenges. m/SIXs unique approach to its brands, the teams business-oriented mindset and its capability to understand the brand and ponder on out of the box strategies, is what attracts its clients to the agency. m/SIX holds a global presence and its expertise in media tactics, analytics and the emphasis on achieving the brands business objective, is what makes the agency progressive and entrepreneurial. Talking about the work done by the m/SIXs team during the launch of Veeba Foods and V Nourish, Viraj Bahl Founder & CEO said, m/SIX came on board when we were planning to launch Veeba foods in the market. What I really appreciate is the involvement, passion of the brand. Their source of growth planning was remarkable in making us gain quick market share. For our launch of V-Nourish, we were launching against giants in health drinks and their Brilliant approach of Digital-first strategy to target new moms was remarkable. They have always been innovative and have brought solutions beyond media on board. Their single point agenda is business growth and they have been innovating to stand true to their commitment. "At The Moms Co., we started working closely with m/SIX for the launch of our new brand campaign, Science of Motherhood. As a digital-first brand, we were looking for a team who understands social media and digital marketing deeply and could partner with us to meet our objective of driving consideration for the brand. The m/SIX team with their deep expertise did a great job". said Malika Sadani, Founder-CEO, The Moms Co. m/Six has been working closely with us for the last two years. The team has developed a good understanding of our business needs and our brand growth journey. We have benefited through their expertise which is reflecting well in the way our brand scores have moved. Jitesh Mehta, Director, Retail Sales & Marketing, Valvoline Cummins Private Limited Revv self-drive cars is a new age company, operating in a dynamic and fast-changing industry. For us, the objectives and requirements can change within a matter of a few days and need partners that can work with such flexibility. m/SIX has constantly demonstrated agility in adapting to the changing variables and requirements. As an agency partner, they understand business objectives and collaborate to solve issues. said Karan Jain, Co-founder, Revv Cars. Konark Gaur, Head of Marketing, Consumer Products Division, USV Ltd said, As we embarked on our next phase of growth for Sebamed India, it was indeed a great pleasure to have mSIX as our media partner. Really appreciate their solution orientation and agility to deliver under tight timelines, enabling us to achieve our business objectives through efficient media planning and execution. We are extremely happy with team mSIX for their support on Sebamed so far and look forward to the partnership!" Along with m/SIXs newly won business like Emami, Revv cars, its existing clientele includes Harley Davidson, Burger King, Vadilal, Abbott Healthcare, Valvoline Cummins Private Limited, Bank of Baroda to name a few. UPDATED 6:21 p.m. A father who had just put his two children on a school bus was arrested last week by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents near Portland, officials said. On Feb. 19, the man, whom ICE identified as Tomas Galvan-Rodriguez, dropped his children off at a school bus stop, according to officials from the Tigard-Tualatin School District, where the children are enrolled. It was unclear if the children witnessed the arrest. Two of our studentstheir (parent) walked them to the school bus, the kids got on the school bus and ICE came and arrested the parent, Jill Zurschmeide, school board director, said Monday, according to the Portland Tribune. District Superintendent Sue Rieke-Smith said the children were connected with supportive services to make sure their housing and basic needs were met, the Tribune reported. School board members did not say which school the children attended but noted that Washington County has seen several controversial immigration arrests over the past several years, including an arrest at the county courthouse. Washington County is the hot spot right now for this, Zurschmeide said. In a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive, ICE representative Tanya Roman said ICE officers identified Galvan-Rodriguez and arrested him during a routine traffic stop. He is currently awaiting immigration proceedings before a federal judge, Roman said. She attributed Galvan-Rodriguezs arrest to his criminal background, which she said includes a 2004 conviction for a hit-and-run and a 2008 conviction for larceny, a misdemeanor charge. Court records show that Galvan-Rodriguez damaged property in the hit-and-run, but did not injure anyone. Roman said ICE treats certain places as sensitive locations, or areas where they wont arrest people. Those places inc lude schools, school-related events and marked school bus stops when children are around. The location of Galvan-Rodriguezs traffic stop and subsequent arrest did not occur at a known marked school bus stop or a location that was previously known to the officers, Roman said. Last week, ICE issued two subpoenas to the Washington County Sheriffs Office demanding information on two Mexican citizens wanted for deportation who were being held at the Washington County Jail. A spokeswoman for the sheriffs office said they would comply with the subpoenas. Oregons 1987 sanctuary state law, the nations first, prevents law enforcement from detaining people who are in the U.S. illegally but have not broken any other law. Additionally, local law enforcement officials wont hold criminals beyond their sentences for federal immigration agents unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. In 2017, Tigard-Tualatin school board members passed a resolution declaring their schools a safe space for students and provided training for teachers and staff on how to respond to immigration issues. ICE generally avoids making arrests at sensitive areas like schools. Rieke-Smith said the district is looking at expanding the safe space zones to bus stops, which are an extension of our district, the Tribune reported. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, has proposed legislation that would limit ICE enforcement actions at locations deemed sensitive, such as school buses and school bus stops. Targeting arrests where children gather is deeply concerning and does not make our communities safer, Bonamici told the Tribune. It only terrifies kids who must now worry about their parents instead of focusing on school. In a letter to families, the district noted that another relative of a student had been taken into custody by ICE last week, though no further details were given. We are writing to you today to affirm TTSDs commitment to the students we serve, their safety and our dedication to our legal obligation to educate students without consideration of citizenship status, the letter read. A previous version of this story misattributed Jill Zurschmeides comments to Board Chair Maureen Wolf. -- Kale Williams kwilliams@oregonian.com 503-294-4048 @sfkale Jayati Ramakrishnan contributed to this story. Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Chung Lim, the Executive Chairman & CEO of iFAST Corporation Ltd. (SGX:AIY) recently shelled out S$53k to buy stock, at S$1.03 per share. That might not be a big purchase but it only increased their holding by 0.09%, and could be interpreted as a good sign. View our latest analysis for iFAST The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At iFAST In fact, the recent purchase by Executive Chairman & CEO Chung Lim was not their only acquisition of iFAST shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid S$1.02 per share in a S$148k purchase. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is S$1.04. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Chung Lim. Chung Lim purchased 675.10k shares over the year. The average price per share was S$1.03. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! SGX:AIY Recent Insider Trading, February 25th 2020 There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Insider Ownership of iFAST Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 37% of iFAST shares, worth about S$103m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. What Might The Insider Transactions At iFAST Tell Us? Story continues It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about iFAST. One for the watchlist, at least! Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for iFAST. But note: iFAST may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. 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. SEC charges John MacArthurs son with defrauding investment firm clients Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Mark MacArthur, a son of Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in California, has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission along with a wealth management company he founded with defrauding their advisory clients. The federal agency announced earlier this month that MacArthur, 52, his Criterion Management Insurance Services, Inc., as well as then co-owner Robert Gravette, allegedly breached their fiduciary duty and defrauded their advisory clients by failing to disclose significant financial conflicts of interest when recommending investments in private real estate investment funds. The SEC's complaint, filed on Feb. 12, alleges that MacArthur and the other defendants listed recommended that their advisory clients invest more than $16 million in four private real estate investment funds without disclosing that the fund managers had paid them more than $1 million from 2014 to 2017. The $1 million payment was on top of the fees clients were already charged directly. The actions of MacArthur and his company also resulted in reduced returns for some of their clients. Because this additional side compensation was recurring and depended on Criterions clients remaining invested in the subject funds, Criterion, Gravette, and MacArthur not only had a financial incentive to recommend that their clients invest in the first instance, they were also incentivized to keep their clients in the funds going forward, rather than allocating their capital elsewhere. For two of the private placement funds, the undisclosed compensation that defendants received reduced the investment returns that defendants advisory clients would have otherwise received, the complaint says. Defendants kept their clients in the dark as to all these material facts and, in doing so, they violated their fiduciary duty and defrauded their advisory clients. Whats more, these undisclosed compensation arrangements rendered Criterions Form ADV filings with the Commission materially misleading, and no policies and procedures had been adopted and/or implemented at Criterion to prevent these compliance failures, it adds. MacArthur, who resides in Newhall, California, is currently the president, managing member and chief compliance officer of a state-registered investment adviser, M2 Financial LLC, which he formed after leaving Criterion in June 2016. From 2004 to mid- 2016, MacArthur was Criterions co-owner and chief investment officer. In mid-2016, MacArthur became an independent contractor for, but remained associated with, Criterion. MacArthur is one of four sons of Pastor MacArthur who currently also serves as Chancellor Emeritus of The Masters University. Pastor MacArthur was president of TMU from 1985 until he transitioned to his present role at the end of June 2019. The complaint says Gravette and MacArthur were long-time social acquaintances of one of the unidentified fund managers in the case dating back to the 1980s, when they attended the same university. MacArthur attended The Masters University. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:07:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Mr. Wang, 36, a recovered COVID-19 patient, "hugs" medical staff without body contact before leaving Leishenshan (Thunder God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 18, 2020. (Photo by Gao Xiang/Xinhua) China is strengthening measures to stabilize its economy and adjusting policies, which will release huge development potential and inject strong impetus into the country's efforts to achieve economic and social development goals, says a Belarusian politician. BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Observers around the world said Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech on Sunday has demonstrated the country's governance capacity and social system strength in its fight against the COVID-19. In his speech, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed unremitting efforts in the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease and coordination in advancing economic and social development. Under the leadership of the CPC, China has pooled its resources to the maximum in the shortest time to combat the virus, showcasing advantages of its social system, said Russian political analyst Victor Porozhenko. A staff member handles nucleic acid testing samples at a novel coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Nina Ivanova, chairwoman of the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, said the progress China has made in the fight against COVID-19 proved that the decisions and measures adopted by the CPC Central Committee are "accurate and effective." She noted that China is strengthening measures to stabilize its economy and adjusting policies, which will release huge development potential and inject strong impetus into the country's efforts to achieve economic and social development goals. The Chinese government has taken swift and forceful measures to prevent the epidemic from spreading, actively carried out international cooperation in the research and development of anti-virus medicine and vaccine, and continued to adjust its policies to explore economic driving force, said Eduardo Regalado, researcher at Cuba's Center for International Policy. Military medics gesture after they deplaned an aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2020. (Photo by Long Deyong/Xinhua) Regalado said he believes that China will continue to give full play to its advantages in political leadership and allocate its resources to eliminate the epidemic as early as possible and to minimize the negative impact on the economy. Pui Jeng Leong, a media veteran in Brunei, said China's firm measures in combating the COVID-19 have shown "openness," "transparency" and "a highly responsible attitude." Despite some disturbance brought by the epidemic, the observer said he believes that China can do a good job in the overall planning of epidemic prevention and socio-economic development, as "the broad Chinese market is highly resilient" and "the nationwide system to combat the COVID-19 has great advantages." Undated photo shows a medical staff member showing the drawing on the protective suit at the isolation ward of children infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan Children's Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Wuhan Children's Hospital/Handout via Xinhua) Ismatulla Bekmuratov, a professor of the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies in Uzbekistan, said Xi's speech comprehensively reviewed the measures taken by China since the novel coronavirus outbreak, and put forward clear guidance for the next steps on epidemic control and advancing economic and social development. These practical actions demonstrated the CPC's principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, Bekmuratov said, adding that China's resolute and forceful measures to combat the virus have once again proved that the strength of China's social system is an essential factor for the country to overcome all difficulties including the epidemic. Algeria has confirmed a case of Covid-19 (coronavirus), thus, making it the second African country to report this. The disease, which originated from China in December, has spread to about 30 countries across the world. Virus hits Algeria The WHO in a statement released on Tuesday said the Covid-19 was detected in an adult Italian who arrived in the country February 17. WHO said that the case was reported by the ministry of health, population and hospital reform of Algeria. The health authorities report that tests indicate that an Italian adult who arrived in the country on February 17 has tested positive for coronavirus disease . This is the first Covid-19 case reported in the country, and the second on the continent. WHO is already preparing to deploy a team of experts to Algeria to support health authorities. Italy Meanwhile, Italy has been reporting increasing cases of the outbreak with 283 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. Outside China, there have been growing concerns about the spread of the disease in three countries Iran, South Korea and Italy. Most of the 79,000 confirmed coronavirus cases to date are in Chinas Hubei province, but more than 2,000 cases have now been reported in over 30 countries. African region Africa in the past 14 weeks of the outbreak has been spared, but the window seems to be closing, officials said. The first case was reported earlier this month in Egypt. Under the WHO zoning, Egypt belongs to the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region. The Algeria case is the first in the WHO African region. Algeria is one of the 54 countries on the African continent. The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said the window of opportunity the continent has had to prepare for coronavirus disease is closing and countries must ramp up their preparedness activities. Meanwhile, WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Monday said the sudden increase was deeply concerning. He had earlier said the world is scared of the disease being transported to Africa because African health systems would be ill-equipped to respond to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Risk countries With the report of this new case, it implies that all Africa countries, especially the 13 countries which had earlier been identified as the high risk, are to enhance their surveillance and preparedness. WHO in preparation for the an eventual importation of disease had listed 13 Africa countries (Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Morocco, Sudan, Angola,Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Tunisia) as having the highest importation risk. These countries have been WHOs top priority for preparedness measures due to their direct links or high volume of travel to China. Advertisements The respiratory disease, which has killed over 2000 people, is capable of spreading through human-to-human contact, droplets carried through sneezing and coughing, and germs left on inanimate objects. Symptoms of the disease can include a sore throat, runny nose, fever or pneumonia and can progress to multiple organ failure or death in some severe cases. Capacity building Knowing the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, WHO has been assisting countries, especially the low and middle income countries, establish diagnosis capacity, in the eventuality of its spread to their territory. Mr Ghebreyesus said WHO is working to equip laboratories with the capacity to rapidly diagnose cases. Presently, WHO African region now has over 20 laboratories with three in Nigeria. Also, medical supplies such as masks, gloves, gowns and diagnostic tests have been sent to many countries in Africa, especially those on the priority list. Training of health personnel are also ongoing in many countries. However, experts say there are still critical gaps in readiness for countries across the continent. The rise of billionaires running for office is dampening the democratic impulse, that is, they threaten to take by the people out of government. The threat from those who swirl big money around in campaigns drives others to the sidelines of democracy, unwilling to waste their time in a contest where they fear being overwhelmed by billionaire money. Some context, followed by a few observations: The four resources critical to all political campaigns are money, people, skill and time. Money has always been necessary to communicate candidate credibility, issue positions, and stimulate voters to the polls. People extend the candidate by spreading his or her message and providing the campaign management skill. Time is undervalued as a resource, as late-starting Michael Bloomberg is finding on the presidential campaign trail. Until recent decades, political party organizations at the local, state and national levels have been indispensable in helping party-endorsed candidates campaign at both primary and general elections. Party foot-soldiers helped spread the word, and party treasuries provided some or all of the money needed. The parties also offered little guys like haberdasher Harry Truman and Chicagos legendary Mayor Richard J. Daley to climb the rungs of politics without personal wealth. Parties also provided voters, most of whom dont follow campaigns closely, with important cues as to how they might vote with confidence, to wit: Democrats were traditionally seen as the party of the working man, Republicans the party of business. Unfortunately, effective political party organizations are mostly a relic of the past. Court prohibitions on patronage workers and the rise of television advertising have together supplanted party precinct canvassers. More recently, the US Supreme Court has ruled that, while contributions to parties may be limited, expenditures in behalf of candidates by non-party groups cannot. This has encouraged increasing number of relatively young billionaires to try their hands at running for election. Once gaining office, they can use their wealth to influence policy-making. This does not mean that the billionaire politicians are other than well-intentioned. For example, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appears to be a good fellow who wants to boost his state. Yet the consequences of his money in politics threaten, as I have said, to take government by the people out of the equation in public life. I have written, for example, about the rather obscure but important election this year in which Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride seeks retention to a third 10-year term on the state high court. This seat may well become the swing seat on a court that since 1964 has continuously had a 4-3 (or 5-2) Democratic majority. Insiders know that Gov. Pritzker and House Speaker Mike Madigan, Kilbrides original patron, will spend whatever is necessary to retain this seat. As a result, Republican funders have decided, it appears, not to contest the election, as if such would simply be sending good money after bad. I enjoy reading of the history of ancient Rome. More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman Republic seemed to embrace virtue in politics, at least initially, similar to that of our Founding Fathers. Then, over time, virtue was replaced by ambition, and money became de rigueur for political advancement. At the end of the Republic, money purchased the votes of citizens, rigged elections, even funded political armies to control outcomes. What can be done about this anti-democratic trend in politics? Maybe nothing; sometimes trends are irreversible. I dont see, for example, political party decline ever being reversed. But maybe in the future, a different US Supreme Court majority might realize that government by the people has been rendered largely inoperable. Such a court could overturn decisions that stimulated the billionaires into running for office and shaping our politics. And the internet shows promise at generating thousands of small donations, which might combat billionaire money. Finally, a billionaires money might itself become the primary issue in his campaign, as in the case with Mayor Mike Bloomberg in his presidential bid. Whatever, as a society we must examine the consequences of really big money in politics. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Wednesday said the government is keeping a close watch on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the Indian economy New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Wednesday said the government is keeping a close watch on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the Indian economy. The minister also said that the process of merger of public sector banks was underway as per the schedule. The government has announced to merge 10 sector state-run banks to create four bigger lenders. The governemnt is "closely monitoring" the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy, she said. Finance Minister @nsitharaman addresses media, says met top executives of public sector banks today; met MSME Minister @nitin_gadkari on schemes related to the lending sector@FinMinIndia @nsitharamanoffc pic.twitter.com/8HZHud2pVo CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 26, 2020 Over 2,700 people have died due to Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) while the number of those infected is around 80,000. In the wake of the virus outbreak, whose epicentre is China, many airlines, including Indian carriers, have cancelled some of their overseas flights. On bank mergers, Sitharaman said there is "no uncertainty about bank merger" and the process is on as per the schedule. Finance Minister says there's no uncertainty on bank mergers pic.twitter.com/Q8FUTKYYsw CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 26, 2020 Last year in August, the government announced merger of 10 public sector banks into four. United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce are to be merged with Punjab National Bank, making the proposed entity the second largest public sector bank (PSB) from 1 April this year. It was also decided to merge Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank, and Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank. Similarly, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are to be consolidated with Union Bank of India. In April 2019, Bank of Baroda, in the first three-way merger exercise, amalgamated Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself. SBI had merged five of its associate banks -- State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad as well as Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself effective April 2017. Firefighters, police and paramedics could get faster access to compensation for psychological injuries, with the Morrison government planning new laws to relieve frontline emergency services workers of having to prove they were exposed to trauma. Attorney-General Christian Porter will seek to establish a national working group with state and territory work health and safety ministers, to consider legislation to ensure traumatised first responders can get immediate access to compensation to pay for their treatment. Christian Porter has backed a plan to make it easier for emergency service workers to access treatment for post-traumatic stress. Credit:Renee Nowytarger "The health and wellbeing of Australia's first responders and emergency services workers is a high priority for the Morrison Government," Mr Porter told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. United Firefighters Union of Australia national secretary Peter Marshall welcomed the commitment, which came in response to a Senate inquiry into the mental health conditions experienced by first responders. Minutes after Joe Biden picked up an expected, but vital, endorsement from U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina ahead of Saturdays primary, dozens of Bay State lawmakers and labor groups gathered in front of the Massachusetts State House Wednesday morning to show support for the former vice president. Biden, long the national frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination before Sen. Bernie Sanders started winning early states, has looked to pick up steam heading into South Carolina and Super Tuesday next week. Voters in Massachusetts and 13 other states head to the polls on March 3. Lawmakers, electricians, ironworkers and other labor leaders turned out Wednesday to encourage voters to take advantage of early voting and to say they back Biden for the same reason Clyburn did: They know Joe, and say Biden has been fighting for them for decades. Voters dont want to just look at promises for the future, they actually want to see what somebody has done, State Sen. Marc Pacheco said. If you look at Joe Biden, he is a person that has been there for us. Hes been there for working families all across America not only fighting for health care, but a leader on climate, workers rights, womens rights. He has a record that all the other candidates at the national level do not have." Former State Rep. Jeff Sanchez said in his 20 years of service in city and state government, he always knew that we could count on Joe Biden. Joe Biden has helped redeveloped and rebuild Boston in so many ways, Sanchez said. Growing up in public housing, his efforts made sure that money was injected into those public housing projects. He did substantial work relative to the Affordable Care Act ... the community health center movement was able to grow and build their infrastructure. Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are nearly tied in the latest poll of Democratic primary voters in the commonwealth. But the Biden campaign notes more than 90 current and former elected officials and activists here have thrown their support behind the former Delaware senator. The International Association of Fire Fighters, National Association of Government Employees, U.S. Ironworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Amalgamated Transit Union have also announced support for Biden. Pacheco dismissed the national media for (loving) to look at national polls, saying they dont tell you whos going to win in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan. Biden, he argued, was the best bet among the crowded Democratic field to win those crucial swing vote states and hell become the president of the United States. Pacheco and state Rep. Claire Cronin spoke of Biden bringing decency, experience and compromise back to the White House. Cronin took a shot at both President Donald Trump and the liberal wing of presidential candidates, Warren and Sanders, by saying there is no room in our country for demonizing other American citizens, and adding We dont have to demonize Wall Street. Whats good for Wall Street is good for Main Street. There is one person in this race who can unite us all, she said of Biden. Joe Biden is the best candidate who is ready to hit the ground running day one, so he can take our country in the direction we want to be in. Bob Green, a retired ironworker from Abington and instructor at U.S. Ironworkers Local 7, said in an interview he and many laborers have long backed Biden. Hes definitely in our ballpark, Green said in an interview. Were 100% behind him. Green said Biden has supported better wages and health care for workers but doesnt call for the more extreme changes that are central to his liberal counterparts proposals, such as a Medicare for All system that could eradicate private health insurance. My question for them is, just tell me how youre going to finance what you want to do," Green said. "We were happy with Barack Obama, that followed in suit for us. But dont give me something thats less than what we already have. Warren on Tuesday released a list of endorsements that have rolled in over the last several months, saying the diverse coalition of 147 federal, statewide and local elected Massachusetts officials and community leaders backing the Massachusetts progressive was unmatched. Sanders will be in the state this weekend, with events planned in Springfield on Friday and Boston Common on Saturday. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Associated Press Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially the 2020 Democratic frontrunner following his popular vote victories in the Iowa caucuses, his New Hampshire primary win, and his blowout victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses. Sanders has brought ideas including Medicare for All, legalizing marijuana, making public college free, and ending excessive US military intervention in foreign conflicts into the political mainstream. Here's a guide to Sanders' positions and policy proposals on key issues. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially the 2020 Democratic frontrunner following his popular vote victories in the Iowa caucuses, his New Hampshire primary win, and his blowout victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses. Sanders has seen electoral success gained a loyal following of millions of supporters around the country with a vision of Democratic socialism that centers around checking the power of millionaire and billionaire corporate executives and empowering the voices of middle and working-class Americans to count as much as those of the wealthy. In the mid and late 2010s, Sanders has framed his movement in the language of a "political revolution," and has political positions including Medicare for All, increasing the minimum wage and expanding labor protections, legalizing marijuana, making public college free, and ending excessive US military intervention in foreign conflicts into the political mainstream. As Sanders rapidly gains momentum and is now squarely in the lead for the nomination, both his Republican critics and some of his Democratic rivals have castigated his agenda as enabling socialist takeover of the United States and possibly "dividing" the country with his sweeping policy proposals to reign in the wealthy. Importantly, however, many of Sanders' biggest and most ambitious policies would not pass the currently Republican-controlled Senate, and those involving major appropriations and government spending (like Medicare for All). Story continues Due to the high barriers facing his legislative agenda, a Sanders presidency would likely have the most impact in the areas in which presidents have the most authority to shape policy, including immigration, foreign policy, and the make-up of the federal bureaucracy. Here's a guide to Sanders' positions and policy proposals on key issues: Healthcare Sanders is leading the charge for universal healthcare in the form of a single-payer "Medicare-for-all" system, which would guarantee government-funded healthcare for every American. He sponsored a bill pushing for this in 2017, and has centered healthcare as one of the top issues driving his campaign message. Under Sanders' plan, every American would be provided with health insurance through Medicare and private insurers would be eliminated, with "no networks, no premiums, no deductibles, no copays, no surprise bills." "The goal of health care must be to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way, not tens of billions in profits for the insurance companies and outrageous compensation packages for CEOs," Sanders said in a campaign speech in California in late March. Sanders reintroduced the Medicare for All bill in April. "The American people are increasingly clear. They want a health care system which guarantees health care to all Americans as a right," Sanders said in a statement. "In other words, they want Medicare for All, and that's what we will deliver to them." Sanders has defended his signature proposal at the September Democratic debate. "Medicare for All is comprehensive health care. Covers all basic needs, including home health care. It allows you to go to any doctor you want, which many private insurance company programs do not," he said. In addition to establishing a single-payer healthcare system, Sanders' Medicare for All would also pursue efforts to curb the costs of prescription drugs, limiting the amount Americans pay for their medications to $200 per year. Taxes and the Economy Sanders has proposed additional taxes on the ultra-wealthy Americans and the financial sector, including a "tax on extreme wealth" applying to the top 0.1% of Americans with net worths in excess of $32 million, a 77% tax on the estates of billionaires, and a tax on financial transactions in addition to targeting offshore tax havens. Sanders has railed against major companies like Amazon, Netflix, and General Motors paying "nothing" in federal income taxes. Sanders on October 14 released a plan the Corporate Accountability and Democracy Plan to raise the corporate tax rate back up to 35% from 21%. The plan would also eliminate off-shore tax havens. Additionally, the plan calls for workers to directly elect at least 45% of the board of directors at all publicly traded companies as well as privately-owned companies with at least $100 million in revenue. It would also require all publicly traded companies to provide at least 2% of their stock to their workers every year until the company is at least 20% owned by employees. This would apply to corporations with at least $100 million in annual revenue and corporations with at least $100 million in the balance sheet total. The Senator is also proposing greater restrictions and regulations on big banks and Wall Street institutions including restoring the 1920s Glass-Stegall Act In addition to proposals to strengthen unions and increase union membership across America, Sanders supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., cheer as they watch results of the Nevada Cacus during a campaign event in San Antonio, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Associated Press Climate change Sanders is a co-sponsor of a resolution known as the "Green New Deal," which is a plan to combat climate change by transitioning the US to 100% clean and renewable energy within the next decade. The Vermont senator has been vocal on environmental issues for decades and has criticized the media for not focusing enough on covering climate change. Sanders frequently rails against the fossil fuel industry and has vowed to stop allowing it to "destroy our planet for profit" if he wins the election. Sanders unveiled a $16 trillion proposal to combat climate change in late August, which he also called the "Green New Deal, and offered more specifics than the congressional proposal. The proposal, which is essentially a declaration of war on the fossil fuel industry, is over 13,000 words and calls for the US to eliminate fossil fuel use by 2050 and "immediately" end "all new and existing fossil fuel extraction on federal public lands." Sanders has also raised some more controversial energy-related proposals to shut down existing nuclear power plants, and ban the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, or fracking, nationwide. Education Notably, Sanders' policy platform includes massive government investments in public education in K-12 education, including raising the starting salary for public school teachers to $60,000 and bolstering teachers' unions, including their collective bargaining rights. Sanders' education policy proposals also include guaranteeing universal childcare and universal pre-kindergarten, expanding access to tuition-free public college and vocational education, and canceling $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt. Under Sanders' College for All Act, the federal government would cover 67% of the cost of public tuition, while the states would be responsible for the remaining 33% of the cost. His presidential policy platform also calls for huge investments in historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), capping student loan interest rates at 1.8%, and expanding Pell Grants for low-income students. Housing To address the nationwide crisis of lack of affordable housing, Sanders wants to invest $2.5 trillion into creating 10 million new "permanently affordable" units in the United States, in addition to expanding federal section 8 housing vouchers. Sanders is proposing bolstering tenant protections at the federal level, including a "just-cause" eviction standard and right to counsel, which does not currently exist in housing courts nationwide. He is the only candidate proposing a controversial plan to set a national rent control standard, which some critics argue will do little to expand affordable housing while Criminal justice: Sanders has described America's criminal justice system as "racist," stating that "far too many of our black brothers and sisters end up dead at the hands of law enforcement." Sanders, according to his policy platform, would aim to "cut the national prison population in half and end mass incarceration by abolishing the death penalty, three-strikes laws, and mandatory minimum sentences, as well as expanding the use of alternatives to detention." He's called for an end to the war on drugs, and is in favor of legalizing marijuana at the federal level, expunging previous marijuana convictions, and changing the nature of American policing, including "ending the reliance on police forces to handle mental health emergencies." The Senator also wants to end the federal government contracting private prison companies to run its correctional facilities and eliminate cash bail. Sanders believes people with felony records should be allowed to vote and is also the only candidate who supports extending voting rights to people who are currently incarcerated. Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks an outdoor campaign rally in Austin Reuters Guns For almost three decades, Sanders has represented Vermont, a rural state with a strong hunting culture in both the House and Senate, and was more amenable to gun rights than many of his Democratic colleagues. But in recent years, Sanders has taken a much more aggressive stance in favor of gun control and against the influence of the powerful pro-gun lobby represented in part by the National Rifle Association. Sanders' 2020 presidential platform calls for banning the sale of assault weapons, establishing universal background checks, banning 3D printing guns, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines, and introducing "red flag" laws which Immigration Sanders, who has referred to President Donald Trump's immigration policies as "heartless," wants to offer a pathway to citizenship to most undocumented immigrants and supports comprehensive immigration reform, including restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects many undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation. The Senator has also called for decriminalizing first-time illegal entry into the United States down to a civil citation, in addition to a total moratorium on deportations, with some expectations for individuals with deportation orders who have been convicted of violent crimes. Unlike other candidates, Sanders has called for restructuring and breaking up both Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, stating, "We must not be about tearing small children away from their families." Social issues Sanders is a strong supporter of both expanding LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access under federal law. The Senator voted against Don't Ask Don't Tell in 1993 and supported civil unions in Vermont in 2000. He was one of 67 members in the House to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, and spoke out in favor of gay marriage as early as 2009, well ahead of most of the Democratic party. Sanders opposes laws that prevent transgender people from using bathrooms of their choice, declaring that "transgender discrimination has no place in the world." Sanders has also spoken out against Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the US military. Sanders has voted against bills that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks and opposes the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal programs like Medicaid and Title X from directly funding abortions except in rare cases. "If we believe that a woman has the constitutional right to control her own body, that right must apply to ALL women, including low-income women," Sanders said last June. "That is why I have consistently voted against the Hyde Amendment and, why as president, I would eliminate it." FILE PHOTO: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders addresses supporters after being declared the winner of the Nevada Caucus as he holds a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Reuters Trade Sanders opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump withdrew the US from in 2017, and most recently voted against the US-Mexico Canada trade agreement (USMCA) for many reasons, including its lack of provisions dedicated to combatting climate change. Sanders has pushed for trade policy that "is fair to American workers, not just large multi-national corporations." He routinely speaks out against the exploitation of low-wage workers in foreign countries, and the impact this has on the job market in the US. Sanders is against Trump's tariffs against Canada and the European Union, but has expressed support for imposing "stiff penalties on countries like China, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam to prevent them from illegally dumping steel and aluminum into the US and throughout the world." Sanders has said Trump is right about the problem with trade with countries like China but has called for a more "comprehensive approach." Electoral and campaign finance reform Sanders is one of the most outspoken critics of corporate and special interest influence in politics, and has now run two presidential campaigns entirely fueled by small-dollar, grassroots donations without holding any private, high-dollar fundraisers. He's pushed for a constitutional amendment that would "effectively prevent corporations from bankrolling election campaigns, and would give Congress and the states explicit authority to regulate campaign finances." Sanders has referred to Citizens United v. FEC as "one of the worst decisions ever brought about by the Supreme Court of this country," and would prioritize nominating Supreme Court justices who would move to overturn the decision. The Senator also supports making Election Day a federal holiday, passing automatic voter registration at the ederal level, and expanding public funding for elections. Foreign policy For decades, Sanders has been a prominent voice opposing war and US foreign intervention abroad, having voted against the Iraq War in 2003. Sanders is strongly in favor of a foreign policy that involves working with the international community to solve global crises as opposed to the unilateral approach that Trump has favored. Sanders also wants to drastically cut US defense spending, and was one of 10 senators who voted against a $716 billion defense budget for 2019. "I think we have to get our priorities right, and our priorities should include not spending more than the 10 next nations on earth. As president, I would certainly look at a very different military budget," Sanders told Vox in May. Sanders led the charge in the Senate for the US to end support Saudi Arabia in the conflict with Yemen, which has resulted in a major human rights crisis and numerous civilian casualties. At the February 7 presidential debate in New Hampshire, Sanders took the extraordinary step of calling Saudi Arabia's powerful leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) a "murderer" And while Sanders has been critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, he still supports the historic US-Israel partnership. Read more: Bernie Sanders more than doubled his delegate haul with a blowout victory in the Nevada caucuses Michael Bloomberg launched a new strategy to attack Bernie Sanders on his gun control stance, but the Vermont senator has been through this before Despite previous attacks, Medicare for All proved to be a huge winner for Bernie Sanders for the third primary in a row, polls show Warren Buffett says he agrees with Bernie Sanders that capitalism is leaving people behind but doesn't think it should be completely tossed out Bloomberg's 'tax on the very rich' isn't actually a wealth tax like the ones Warren and Sanders have proposed. Here's how they compare. 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In addition to this line of level of sensors, Electrolab offers a suite of Class I, Division 1 rated wireless radios (nodes) and gateways. The Electrolab Wireless/IoT product line is optimized for Electrolab customer applications and offers oil field technicians the ability to easily install and configure a complete, robust, wireless communications network. Electrolab nodes connect all instrumentation on a pad site, regardless of brand , and reliably share information between local and remote equipment. Various communication protocols facilitate the connection of local wireless networks with the Internet and/or host systems, such as PLCs and SCADA devices. Key features include long battery life, excellent durability, safe and easy configuration. The product suite includes five different node options, based on the sensor and data transmission required, and two gateway options. Click here to learn more. Electrolab, Inc. is a privately-owned company with headquarters in Boerne, Texas. For over 43 years, Electrolab has leveraged expertise in electrical and electronic technologies to design, engineer and manufacture sensors, precision measurement systems, communication and control devices for a variety of commercial products and industrial solutions. For more information please visit www.electrolabcontrols.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electrolab-level-sensors--wireless-solutions-ideal-for-oilfield-site-maintenance-and-replacement-301011234.html SOURCE Electrolab [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ] The Duke of Cambridge (right) operating an asphalt paver in the visit. (Press Association) It was high vis and hard hats for the second in line to the throne as Prince William visited a skills centre to meet apprentices and discuss working conditions for young people. The Duke of Cambridge was in Nottinghamshire where he had a tour of the facilities at Tarmacs National Skills and Safety Park, which is a training base for people working in the construction sector. Tarmac is a sustainable building materials firm which employs about 7,000 people across more than 400 UK sites. The duke donned a hard hat and high visibility jacket as he turned his hand to operating an asphalt paver outside. Read more: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge champion mental health work at theatre The Duke of Cambridge (left) during a visit to the Tarmac National Skills and Safety Park in Nottinghamshire. (Press Association) The duke (left) operating an asphalt paver during the visit. (Press Association) Having a go on a rock quarrying simulator, he said: At least I can tell George Ive been on a digger. According to The Daily Telegraph, the duke was even offered a job at Tarmac, in recognition of a job well done. The training centre is located at an active quarry in Mansfield. It will provide training for graduates, apprentices and those retraining from other sectors. After trying out the centres equipment, the duke joined a round table of chief executives, managing directors and chairmen of leading UK businesses to discuss joint opportunities for companies in the UK to support social mobility and to improve the options available to young people across British society. Read more: Duchess of Cambridge jumps out of the starting blocks at London stadium The Duke of Cambridge (left) operating an excavator simulator at the skills park. (Press Association) The Duke of Cambridge (centre) admiring the work at the park. (Press Association) He was also joined by Justine Greening, former MP and the founder of the social mobility pledge. The Telegraph reports he told the group: Social mobility and opportunity for young people is really really important, and obviously the fact youre all here, you all understand that. This is an area my father has been heavily involved in, through the Princes Trust, for many years. So Ive slightly inherited that interest in trying to think about opportunities and young peoples potential. The Duke of Cambridge meeting with business leaders during a visit to the Tarmac National Skills and Safety Park in Nottinghamshire. The Duke of Cambridge met business leaders in Nottinghamshire. (Press Association) The duke then visited The Beacon, a day centre in Mansfield which gives support to homeless and vulnerable people. Story continues It started in 2001 when five homeless people came into St Johns Church for tea and toast. The centre now supports up to 50 people in a dedicated building where they can get a hot meal, clean clothes and medical care. While there, the duke was tickled by the tale of two friends, one of which lost the others prosthetic limb. Delroy Carr, 58, had to have his leg amputated at the knee after injecting heroin. The Duke of Cambridge poses with volunteers during a visit to the Beacon Project. (Press Association) The Duke of Cambridge jokes with one of those helped by the project. (Press Association) Daniel Walkers offer to help Carr ended up leaving him limbless, as he recalled to the prince: His leg from the hospital rubbed and he was getting really bad sores. So I said Id take it home, put the angle grinder on it. Ill change the disk, put some soft on it and run it down a little bit for you. Ive gone to work, because I worked as a binman, and Ive come back and Ive gone Babe, wheres Dellys leg gone? She went That horrible thing you left in the garage? it freaked me out, its horrible. I said, well where is it?, and she went dustbin men took it your mates come round earlier. And I went oh my God, Ive lost Dellys false leg. The Duke of Cambridge met several people who get help at the day centre. (Press Association) Prince William listens to service users at The Beacon. (Getty Images) He added: Hes never had one since nine years. Hes been hopping mad for nine years. Prince William said he would personally see that Carrs details went to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) where ex-service personnel have prosthetics fitted. Carr, 58, an ex-serviceman, later told PA: I wouldnt have expected him to know as much as he does, he seems very well informed and genuinely seems interested, not like hes putting it on. He seems very genuine and really wants to help. William also spoke to key workers about what the service users had told him, recounting their honesty of how hard it is to come off heroin. Read more: 'Call me Harry' says Duke of Sussex as he arrives back in UK for final royal duties The Duke of Cambridge (right) paid a visit to support the facility. (Press Association) While William was away in Nottingham, his wife was closer to home, meeting parents of young athletes at a SportsAid event in London Stadium. The Duchess of Cambridge was shown how to line up in the starting blocks and throw a reverse punch by some of Britains best sportsmen and women. She also met the charitys trustees and long-term supporters as well as parents whose key role she noted in a short speech. Meanwhile, Williams younger brother Harry hosted a working summit in Edinburgh where he sought feedback on his Travalyst project, which he hopes will make it easier to travel more sustainably. By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday formally dismissed a case in which Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 when he took part in the deadly 2002 "D.C. Sniper" shooting spree in the Washington area, was challenging his life without parole sentence. The move comes after a new law was passed in Virginia, where Malvo is incarcerated in a supermax state prison. The measure, signed into law on Monday, lets people sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for offenses committed before age 18 - as Malvo was - to seek release after 20 years. Lawyers on both sides had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the case. Malvo, now 35, also received a sentence of life in prison without parole in Maryland, which is not affected by the Virginia law. 18-year old sniper suspect Malvo is surrounded by deputies as he is brought into court to be identified by a witness during the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad at the Virginia Beach Circuit Court in Virginia Beach Malvo and an older accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, were convicted in the shootings in which 10 people were killed. Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in a Virginia state prison in 2009 at age 48. Virginia had appealed after a lower court ruled that Malvo should be resentenced in light of Supreme Court precedent that mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court on Oct. 16 heard arguments in the case. The shootings occurred over three weeks in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, causing panic in the U.S. capital region. Malvo received four life sentences in Virginia, where he was convicted of two murders and later entered a separate guilty plea to avoid the death penalty. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) Hours after President Donald Trump concluded his whirlwind 36-hour tour of India, the White House on Tuesday said the visit aimed at deepening the strategic partnership between both nations. "The United States and India benefit from strong economic ties that advance prosperity, investment and job creation in both countries," the White House said in a statement titled "President Donald J Trump is strengthening our strategic partnership with India". Underlining that it was the first official visit of the president to India, the White House said both countries enjoyed a long-standing trade relationship, exceeding USD 142 billion in 2018 alone. India is a growing destination for American energy exports, it said, adding that during President Trump's tenure, energy exports to India have grown substantially, generating billions of dollars in revenue. In India, ExxonMobil signed a deal to further improve India's natural gas distribution network so that the country can accept even more American LNG exports, it said. The White House said the US president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are working towards a trade pact that reflects the full potential of the economic partnership between both nation. "The United States and India are committed to investing in sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure in the region," it said. According to the White House, the two nations are deepening their security relationship and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "The United States is working closely with India to combat terrorism, confront global drug trafficking and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," it said. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are calling on other countries in the region to take steps to counter terrorism. The United StatesIndia defence cooperation contributes to the prosperity and security of the entire Indo-Pacific region," it said. During his visit, Trump spoke about the importance of the United States-India relationship before a crowd of more than 110,000 people at the Ahmedabad's Motera stadium, the White House said, adding that he had the privilege of visiting some of India's cherished cultural sites, including the Taj Mahal in Agra. During the US president's visit, India announced it will procure military equipment, including Apache and MH-60R helicopters, worth over USD3 billion. Trump and Modi also discussed the importance of building secure 5G systems to promote a trusted networking future, the White House said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It looks like Meghan Markle's stylist pal Jessica Mulroney's closet is so overflowing with outfit options that she has resorted to wearing at least two ensembles every day. The 40-year-old, who styled Mindy Kaling for the recent Academy Awards, was pictured in New York City on Wednesday morning, showcasing two different, but equally vibrant, looks in the same hour. First, Jessica was seen arriving at GMA, where she works as a fashion contributor, at 10AM wearing a pair of $395 black-and-white checked Alice + Olivia pants, which she paired with a neon pink blouse and a $495 Club Monaco coat. Changing it up: Jessica Mulroney was seen out and about in New York on Wednesday wearing two different outfits Bright and bold: Both of the 40-year-old's ensembles were incredibly vibrant, with the second focusing around the color lilac Strutting her stuff: Jessica was seen leaving the Good Morning America studios wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a lilac oversized blazer and a funky tulle blouse She topped off the look with a pair of black heels and a purple suede-and-leather Halm purse, which she carried in her right hand. Meanwhile, her long brunette locks were swept back in a high ponytail - no doubt to avoid them getting wet in the New York rain. Thankfully, as well as the sensible hairstyle, Jessica also had a handy aide to hold an umbrella up for her, ensuring that she didn't get soaked on the short walk from her car to the studio on Times Square. But while Jessica's first outfit of the day certainly packed a colorful punch, the next was perhaps even more eye-catching. An hour after first arriving at the Good Morning America studios, Jessica was seen leaving the same location, this time wearing a lilac ensemble. Perhaps in celebration of the drier weather outside, Jessica replaced her burgundy overcoat with an oversized lilac double-breasted blazer, which is also from Club Monaco but is priced at a slightly cheaper $329. Under the blazer, Jessica added a funky touch in the form of a $49.90 purple tulle blouse from Zara, which features a large neck tie that the mother-of-three had tied in a bow and left on full display over her blazer collar. There she goes: The fashion expert was seen walking away from the ABC location with two companions, while beaming happily for the cameras Hair flip! She kept her long brunette locks pulled back into a high ponytail throughout the morning, despite her outfit change On the go: Jessica also carried the same purple purse with both outfits In place of the plaid pants, Jessica chose a pair of ripped skinny jeans, which she had cuffed at the ankle, and even changed out her shoes, replacing the black heels from earlier in the morning with some patent gray pumps. The only thing that remained a constant between the two outfits was the bold choice of color palette, the purple handbag, and the high ponytail, which Jessica maintained throughout the morning. This is the second time in a matter of days that Jessica has performed a mid-morning outfit swap; on Monday, she was seen stepping out in two different ensembles, once again while visiting and leaving the GMA studios. Jessica looked every inch the fashionista as she strutted her stuff along the New York City sidewalk wearing a blue plaid Zara suit over a blue tank top, which she accessorized with a blue suede belt and blue suede shows. Jessica topped the look off with a pair of silver hoop earrings, while her long brunette locks were worn in a half up style, pulled back from her face, with loose waves left to hang over her shoulders. The fashion stylist went without a purse or handbag, but she carried her iPhone in her right hand, while holding her left in the pocket of her suit trousers, which retail for a budget-friendly $35.90, while her blazer is priced at $49.90. A few chunky silver bangles were seen adorning her wrist above the pocket. Arrival: The first outfit of the day featured black-and-white plaid pants, a burgundy coat, and a neon pink blouse Matchy matchy: Just like her second blouse of the day, Jessica's first choice featured a neck tie that she had arranged in a pretty bow Helping hand: One of her aides held an umbrella up for her so she could avoid the rain Woah! Jessica wore sky-high heels under her flared pants According to a spokesperson for GMA, Jessica was filming for GMA3: Strahan, Sara and Keke; the fashion contributor is helping to plan a wedding for a couple who will tie the knot during Friday's broadcast. After filming for the show, Jessica was later seen leaving the studios in a completely different ensemble, having changed out of her power suit in favor of a more fun and flirty look. In place of the suit, Jessica opted for a thigh-skimming $89 English Factory shirt dress, which comes complete with an oversized cream sweater, and a black ribbon neck tie. She then paired the high hemline with a pair of blue thigh-high Stuart Weitzman boots, and added a pair of sunglasses, while modeling the same half-up hairstyle and silver hoop earrings she was pictured with earlier in the day. To complete the look, Jessica carried a large briefcase-style Louis Vuitton bag. Jessica has been working as a fashion contributor for GMA since early 2019, and has teamed up with the show on a series of challenges and specials, including planning a dream destination wedding for one lucky couple. That then set the scene for Jessica to announce that she had secured her own Netflix series, I Do, Redo, in which she helps couples who move on from their disastrous weddings by planning the perfect ceremony for them. The show is set to premiere on March 22, however the first trailer was shown during the Oscars earlier this month. On the go: On Monday, Jessica was seen arriving at the GMA studios on wearing a chic blue plaid suit from Zara Quick change! Once again, the stylist was later seen leaving the ABC location wearing a completely different outfit, having apparently changed after filming Accessories: Although she arrived at Good Morning America on Monday with no purse, she was pictured carrying a large Louis Vuitton bag as she left 'Your wedding day should be one of the highlights of your life,' Jessica narrates at the start of the preview clip. 'But sometimes, things dont go as planned.' The video then cuts to footage of a storm brewing on the day of a wedding. 'That's where I come in,' Jessica continues. 'Helping couples and families redo that special day theyve always dreamt of.' Friends: It was reported on Saturday that Jessica registered the website sussexglobalcharities.com for Harry and her best friend Meghan The trailer goes on to show clips of couples exchanging vows, brides trying on dresses, and Jessica tearing up while attending one of the weddings she helped plan. However on-air wedding planning is not the only thing that has occupied Jessica's time of late. On Saturday it was revealed that the mother-of-three has begun making plans for a series of international charities in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's name. The stylist, whose children were pageboys and a flower girl at the Duke and Duchess's wedding in 2018, registered the website sussexglobalcharities.com last Wednesday through her own charity the Shoebox Project Foundation, which supports vulnerable women. It comes after the Duke and Duchess were told they would no longer be able to use their Sussex Royal brand when they officially quit the monarchy next month. Earlier this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed how Andrew Meyer, the Duchess's US business manager, registered two websites, archefoundation.com and archefoundation.org, on October 23, 2018 just eight days after Meghan revealed she was pregnant. In September, he renewed the trademark for The Tig, her lifestyle blog which was shut down in 2017. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra shared a delightful video of a little boy who broke the internet with his incredible dance moves while watching a performance for US First Lady Melania Trump at a Delhi government school on Tuesday. Sharing the video on his Twitter handle, the business tycoon wrote, "In a world burdened by natural calamities, trade battles, social upheavals & pandemics, this viral clip showing a child's unrestrained enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air. He didn't give a hoot about the celebrity in front & the nervous secret service agent behind! Balle balle!" In the shared clip, Melania Trump can be seen watching a dance performance by the students at the Sarvodaya Senior Secondary School in Nanakpura. While the students were performing bhangra moves, one student -- Gaganjit -- broke into a spontaneous jig in the audience, much to the amusement of Melania Trump. While her security apparatus went into a tizzy, Melania Trump enjoyed the impromptu performance thoroughly. As the cameras caught Gaganjit dancing, the First Lady could be seen laughing and clapping for him. As the post went viral, Twitterati flooded the social media with their reactions. A user wrote, "Chotta Sardar took the entire limelight, he is the star of event...burrrraaaaaaaaahh." Another wrote, "At last this video brought some smile on face. Paaji tusi cha gaye." A post read, "A lesson for the so called grown ups...live life child like." "Some perfections can only be inherited. Bhangra in blood. Every move he is doing is an epitome of perfection. This Little sardar just stole my heart...God bless." a user remarked. She is a leading Hollywood actress with a successful career spanning more than three decades. And Juliette Lewis looked glamorous as ever for her appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers in New York City on Tuesday. The actress, 46, looked in good spirits for her interview on the popular chat show, arriving to the set in an eye-catching gold, shimmering gown. Stunning: Juliette Lewis, 46, looked glamorous as ever for her appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers in New York City on Tuesday The figure-hugging garment featured a tasseled hemline while Juliette added height to her already statuesque frame with a pair of glittering heels. Juliette wrapped up for the evening in a black puffed coat while she also carried a burgundy handbag. The Cape Fear star let her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders for the day while she completed her look with a pair of hooped earrings. Juliette currently stars on anthology series Sacred Lies, which is based on a Brothers Grimm story dubbed The Singing Bone, along with actual murder cases. Radiant: The actress looked in good spirits for her interview on the popular chat show, arriving to the set in an eye-catching gold, shimmering gown The second season, which airs on Facebook Watch, follows Elsie (Jordan Alexander) who searches for the family she never knew, who abandoned her as a child. Juliette plays Harper, a telemarketer who has become obsessed with searching for unidentified murder victims, who meets Elise along the way. The new season also stars Ryan Kwanten and Kristen Bauer van Stratten, who reunite with Sacred Lies creator Raelle Tucker, who was a writer and producer on True Blood. Looking good: Juliette wrapped up for the evening in a black puffed coat while she also carried a burgundy handbag Tucker announced in March that the second season will more actively engage the growing Facebook group of fans known as The Sacred Lies Keepers, who were involved in creative decisions ranging from design to narrative choices. Juliette also stars in the upcoming series I Know This Much Is True, which doesn't have a premiere date slated yet. She has two movies slated for release in 2020, Mayday and Breaking News in Yuba County, both of which are in post-production. The actress also stars in the upcoming TV series Yellowjackets. Prominent Brexiteer Steve Baker declared victory last night and resigned as European Research Group chairman. Mr Baker, a former Brexit minister, helped shape the ERG into a fearsome campaign group which defeated Theresa May's proposed deal with Brussels and ultimately forced her from office. In a resignation letter he said that Boris Johnson now had 'the policy, the mandate and the majority he needs to deliver an exit from the EU worth having'. He suggested the ERG was now likely to take a more backseat role, saying it would 'no doubt privately provide indispensable advice to interested MPs' in future. Mr Baker, the self-styled 'Brexit hardman', said that after five years of chairing the European Research Group, it was time to give way to others on the issue. Mr Baker, a former Brexit minister, helped shape the ERG into a fearsome campaign group which defeated Theresa May's proposed deal with Brussels and ultimately forced her from office He said the group had 'wielded more power from the backbenches than any others in the long history of our party and country'. 'I thank God we have succeeded,' he wrote in his resignation letter to the ERG's deputy chairman Mark Francois. Mr Baker said: 'We held together through a number of counterproductive missteps by the then leadership, only entering a period of revolt over the disastrous ''Chequers'' plan of 2018. 'Today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the policy, the mandate and the majority he needs to deliver an exit from the EU worth having. I do not forget that he and I and David Davis resigned over Chequers. 'Boris named the ''Chuck Chequers'' campaign and, after much difficulty and division, we did in the end succeed in doing that. And thank goodness we did: it is alarming to reflect on what the state of both party and country would have been if we had failed in this gamble.' The Wycombe MP said he wanted to spend more time with his constituents, and to do his bit to 'start bringing the country together now we have left the EU'. He added: 'Furthermore, it is also time for me to return to certain economic issues which I consider at least as important to the future of the country as exiting the EU. In a resignation letter he said that Boris Johnson now had 'the policy, the mandate and the majority he needs to deliver an exit from the EU worth having' 'We have before us an historic opportunity to restructure power in Europe and the world, better to suit a 21st Century of accelerating progress placing greater demands for agility and consent upon political power. 'In returning to the status quo ante bellum, the ERG will no doubt privately provide indispensable advice throughout this process to interested MPs, including me. I wish my successor and the other officers every continued success.' Mr Francois said he would take over as chairman following Mr Baker's departure. He said: 'The ERG will continue to fully support the Prime Minister in his efforts to achieve a comprehensive free trade agreement, as outlined in his powerful Greenwich speech. 'I would like to pay a particular tribute to Steve Baker for his excellent leadership of the ERG and his key role, over many years, in finally securing the independence of our country.' The majority of personal protective equipment used by U.S. healthcare providers is manufactured in China and other countries hit hardest by the coronavirus. Based on current projections, most hospitals will experience about a month-long disruption in the delivery of N95 masks used to protect against the spread of airborne illness. Other parts of the supply chain, including drugs and medical devices, also could be impacted. The novel coronavirus, clinically known as COVID-19, has not yet presented a widespread health threat in the United States, but it is starting to take a toll on the healthcare supply chain. Most hospitals are experiencing delays of three to five days on orders of N95 respirators, the masks used to protect healthcare workers from the spread of airborne illnesses, and are receiving only partial orders, said Chaun Powell, group vice president for strategic supplier engagement with Premier Inc. U.S. healthcare organizations typically buy more than 2 million N95 masks each month, and the majority are manufactured in countries that have stopped shipping to the U.S. because of increased demand in their own countries. All major U.S. distributors are using allocation protocols that is, controlling the distribution of N95 masks so no hospital is shut out and many providers are rationing masks, Powell said in an email. N95 masks are different than standard surgical masks. They are effective only if they are properly fitted and used, and healthcare staff must be trained in the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations protocols for their use. Only two U.S.-based companies 3M and Prestige Ameritech are full-line manufacturers of N95 respirators, and they historically have not produced enough units to meet domestic demand, Powell said Feb. 19 during a Premier-sponsored webinar. Both companies are ramping up production in their U.S. facilities. "Barring no further outbreaks here in the U.S., we believe this could take up to about a month, but it would meet our current demand nationally and alleviate any reliance on overseas manufacturing for this critical item," he said. On Feb. 26, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told the House Appropriations Committee that the country has a stockpile of 12 million N95 masks, but according to HHS estimates, it needs 300 million to cover an emergency. Powell said the maximum annual production capacity in the U. S. and Mexico is 65 million. Health systems should work to reduce the number of N95 masks they use, Capt. Lisa Delaney, associate director for emergency preparedness and response at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during the Premier webinar. For example, food-service workers could be prohibited from entering rooms where N95 masks are required. Instead, healthcare staff directly involved in patient care could deliver and remove food trays. The CDC has published strategies for optimizing the supply of N95 respirators. Supply chain concerns go beyond masks The full impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the healthcare supply chain is not yet known. Based on current knowledge, provider organizations should not worry about the safety of packages coming from China because the virus would not survive the transit, Delaney said. "Its fragile, and its going to be susceptible to temperature and humidity," she said. "Weve gotten a lot of concerns about cargo, but I would not be concerned about that." However, the disruption to Chinas manufacturing industry poses a concern, Powell said. As with the automotive and electronics industries, healthcare may experience interruptions in supplies that rely on components made in China or neighboring countries. Pharmaceutical products. To Powells knowledge, 100% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for two vital products penicillin and the blood-thinner heparin are manufactured exclusively in China. "If shipments of these APIs are halted, global demand will create scarcity, forcing our industry to innovate and find or create alternative sources," he said. Those alternatives, he said, would entail investments by U.S. companies in the resources needed to manufacture ingredients that are not available domestically or moves by Asian companies to open U.S. factories. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in this week it had identified about 20 drug products that are linked to China through API sourcing or product manufacturing. So far, none of the manufacturers has reported a supply shortage, according to the statement. Medical devices. Its hard to predict what medical devices might be affected by the impact of the coronavirus in China and other countries. Regulations require drug manufacturers to communicate potential disruptions to industry partners, but no such regulations exist for medical device manufacturers. "As an industry, we need to set higher expectations with suppliers to improve supply disruption notification processes," Powell said. Purchasers also have no way of knowing exactly which countries are involved in the manufacture of individual medical devices or pharmaceutical products. Premier is proposing that the FDA work with suppliers to create "upstream visibility" so that purchasers know where raw material suppliers, contract manufacturers, sterilization sites and packaging facilities are located. Accounting for disruptions during future budgeting Regarding personal protective equipment such as N95 masks, global events could affect health systems budgeting processes in the following aspects. Potential price increases. Developing a supply chain in which critical products are manufactured in various geographic locations to mitigate the possibility of disruptions will prevent avoidable shortages but also could lead to price increases. "We must continue to focus on cost reduction for our member hospitals, but we cannot be so focused on cost reduction that it leads to an inability to have dependable supply," Powell said. "For a modest increase in spend for these critical items, tremendous headache and man-hours [spent] seeking alternative supplies during times of shortage could be saved." The need for stockpiles. Appropriate stockpiles of essential items can reduce the impact of a potential supply chain disruption, Scott Cormier, vice president of emergency management, environment of care and safety for Medxcel, said in an interview. He recommends that purchasers identify their peak usage in a typical year generally, that will be during flu-season months and create a PPE stockpile that is about 20% greater. Such a practice should not be implemented until the supply has resumed normal levels, Powell said, and it should be adopted over time to avoid putting additional burden on suppliers. Many items have expiration dates, Cormier added, so maintaining a stockpile requires developing and following a plan to ensure items are used before they expire. United States President Donald Trump who is on a two-day visit to India said on Tuesday that he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the Taliban peace deal and added that everybody is "happy" about it. "I spoke to PM Modi on it. I think India would like to see it happen. We are pretty close. Everybody is happy about it," said Trump during a press conference. Earlier this week, the US and Taliban negotiators agreed to finalise the pact on February 29 if a seven-day cooling-off period passed off peacefully. The truce came into effect on Friday night. Donald Trump had said he would put his name on the peace deal with the Taliban if no major violence took place in Afghanistan for a week or two. READ | Taliban Attacks Afghan Forces Hours After Implementation Of 'reduction In Violence' Taliban is tired of fighting The US President on Monday said that the Taliban is tired of fighting and hopes to reach a deal. Trump also said that he would sign the peace truce if one is eventually reached in Afghanistan. The US President's comments came after a partial implication of the deal took effect on February 22 with the Taliban, US, and Afghan forces agreed for a week-long reduction in violence. I would put my name on it, said Trump when talking about the peace deal with the Taliban. According to international media reports, the US President said that the cooling-off period has been holding up. He further added that if a deal is reached in another week and a half he would sign it because the Taliban want to make a deal too. The peace accord will apparently set conditions for Washington and the Taliban will sign it on February 29 in Doha. This would also lead to the withdrawal of the American troops of nearly more than 18 years. READ | Taliban Is 'tired Of Fighting', Hopes To Reach Deal With US: Donald Trump READ | Pakistan's Foreign Minister To Attend Signing Of US-Taliban Peace Deal In Doha 'Had a great time in India' The US President also said that India is a tremendous country and he had a great time here. "We had a great time. We had great meetings. This is a tremendous country. I think they like us more than they ever liked us. There is a great relationship between the Prime Minister (Modi) and myself," he said. Trump, who visited Ahmedabad and Agra with his family on Monday, had delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday. In Ahmedabad, he addressed the 'Namaste Trump' event which witnessed the presence of over one lakh people. In Agra, Trump and his wife Melania visited the Taj Mahal. READ | President Trump Was "impressed" After Learning Story Of Taj Mahal: Tour Guide Web Toolbar by Wibiya Mathieu Cloutier is a prosecutor at the centre of a real controversy and media drama. The Agora Cosmopolitan has presented a strong-worded editorial outing the apparently racist City of Gatineau-based prosecutor of doing everything possible to avoid scrutiny from the Quebec Human Rights Commission. The whole controversy has to do with incidents of racial profiling in which police officers in Gatineau reportedly accosted a black man for flimsy reasons such as driving a rented vehicle or even walking on the grass. This has led to a torrent of outrage as many condemn the deplorable acts by the police. Critics of Mr Cloutier and his apparent band of Dirty Cops insist that 2020 Canada is not an apartheid regime of South Africa decades ago when police officers needed no reason whatsoever to confront or arrest a black person. Such critics also question why and how the prosecutor has been able to escape scrutiny from the Quebec Human Rights Commission for weeks. It is alleged that he has been able to stay off the radar of the agency by engineering a system of Kangaroo Courts to turn a blind eye to mountains of evidence by victims against the Gatineau Police. However, dodging phone calls was not the only tactic that Cloutier has been able to deploy in the trial set for March 24 in order to stay away from the commission as much as possible. His initial excuse which emanated from his office was that he had gone on paternity leave. But, when the so-called paternity leave ended, his stonewalling tactics continued. Considering the fact that Quebec is an integral part of Canada, the prosecutor ought to have no option but to respect the rules as contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Several complaints relating to issues of racism have been directed against Cloutier and his office. For someone who is supposed to be upholding the law, he has been accused of ironically persecuting others. He has been compared to being a personification of everything that is bad with the public security system in the City of Gatineau is concerned especially from the perspective of the blacks or even aboriginal people in the city. What is going on in the City of Gatineau regarding these bad practices cannot happen or become widespread in a place like Canadas national capital region. Cloutier is accused of not just condoning these racism-fuelled transgressions but he has also been described as someone who apparently endorses such discriminatory behaviour hence the badge of corruption on him. As far as Mr Cloutier is apparently concerned, the Gatineau Police under his watch ought to be able to do anything they like against blacks and First Nations people and even if that appears to be harassment. Mr Cloutier is what can be described as an unapologetic supporter of institutionalized racism and the kind fascism that is commonplace in places like China but have no business doing a the progressive distinct society which Quebecers value. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Wed, February 26, 2020 16:07 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066bdaf7 2 People Greta-Thunberg,Malala-Yousafzai,activist,Oxford,Sweden,Britain Free Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg met Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at Britain's University of Oxford on Tuesday and posed for a photo together. Yousafzai, widely known by her first name, Malala, is a student at the University of Oxford. The 22-year-old posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Thunberg sitting on a bench with their arms around each other, with a caption "Thank you, @gretathunberg" and a heart emoji. Thunberg, 17, is in the United Kingdom to join a school strike in Bristol on Friday. Both women shot to worldwide fame after standing up for major global issues: climate change and women's education. Thunberg became a household name after skipping school in Sweden to protest against climate change, while Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be allowed to go to school. In 2014, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of education. She became a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of oppression. Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020. The pair met to discuss their activism at Lady Margaret Hall, Malala's Oxford college. Thunberg also talked to some of the students about climate change and protest. The college's master, Alan Rusbridger, posted a photo of Thunberg on his own Instagram and Twitter, saying that he was honored to host Thunberg and grateful that she found time to talk to the students. Malala also posted the photo on Twitter and commented: "She's the only friend I'd skip school for." Shes the only friend Id skip school for. pic.twitter.com/uP0vwF2U3K Malala (@Malala) February 25, 2020 A 38-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of a man following a fatal knife attack in Dublin. Father-of three Gareth Kelly, 39, died following a stabbing in the Brownsbarn Estate, in Kingswood, Co Dublin, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Mr Kelly, from Tallaght but who had been living in Clondalkin, had tried to start his car to go to work. He was believed to have been staying over with his partner in the estate, which is a small cul de sac. His car would not start when he came out to go to work at 7am and he was working on the engine when he sustained stab wounds. He died on the street between two cars. His body was removed to Dublin City Morgue for post-mortem examination. Mother-of-three Christina Anderson, with an address at Brownsbarn Wood, Kingswood, was arrested and held at Clondalkin Garda station. She was brought before Judge Colin Daly at Dublin District Court this afternoon after she was charged with the murder of Mr Kelly. Dressed in a navy T-shirt, black leggings and white runners, she walked slowly into the courtroom escorted by prison officers. She sat at the side of the court with her head bowed throughout the brief hearing, in which she was flanked six prison officers. Evidence of arrest charge and caution was given by Detective Sergeant Dara Kenny. He told the court Ms Anderson was charged at 2.20pm after which she made no reply before she was handed a copy of the charge sheet. He applied for a remand in custody. The district court cannot consider bail in a murder case. Her husband listened to the proceedings from the back of the court. Defence solicitor Michael Kelleher asked the court to direct medical attention for his client in custody. He said the court may at this stage have to seek a psychiatric report, and an assessment will be carried out. He said there had already been liaison with the relevant authorities and provisions have been made. Judge Colin Daly remanded her in custody to appear again at the same court on March 4 next and he agreed to request medical and psychiatric assessments of Ms Anderson. Separately he also sought a psychiatric report for court. In a University-wide message, President Kaplan updates the campus community on recommendations being made to Tuscany campus students, faculty, and staff. President Steven Kaplan Dear Members of the Campus Community, I am writing to inform you that due to the evolving threat of the coronavirus in Europe, we are recommending that students, faculty, and staff currently at the Universitys Tuscany campus in Prato, Italy, return to the United States. We are assisting all students, faculty, and staff in Prato who would like to return to the United States to enable them to do so in the coming days. Those returning from Tuscany are required to return to their homes until the conclusion of Spring Break on March 22. At that time, we hope to give those impacted the option to return to Tuscany, or they will be able to complete the spring semester in West Haven. For any students who wish to remain in Tuscany, we will, as always, do our best to offer them the resources they need to continue their studies. The decision to recommend that those in Prato return to the United States was made following consultation with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Consulate, the Italian Educational Ministry, the Italian Department of Civil Protection, Italian health authorities, and the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy. Our main concern is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our campus community. We also want to ensure a smooth transition back to the United States for students who wish to return from Prato and limit the disruption this has on our students current academic pursuits. We will continue to update the University community as necessary. Thank you in advance for helping to ease the impact of those affected by this situation. With best wishes, Steven H. Kaplan, Ph.D. President Donald Trump views a photo of himself on the cover of The New York Times during an RNC goodbye reception at the Westin Hotel in Cleveland, on Friday, July 22, 2016. The campaign said that the Times falsely reported "as fact a conspiracy with Russia" in the op-ed written by Max Frankel, which was published on March 27, 2019, under the headline "The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo." President Donald Trump 's campaign sued The New York Times on Wednesday for libel over an opinion article, saying the newspaper published its allegedly false claims last year with the "intentional purpose" of damaging Trump's chances for reelection this year. The lawsuit, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, claims "millions" of dollars in damages, but does not give a specific monetary amount. Among other things, the suit alleges that the newspaper "has engaged in a systematic pattern of bias" against Trump's campaign, which is designed to damage the campaign's reputation and cause it to fail. A Times spokesman said, "The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable." "Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case," the spokesman said. Frankel declined to comment. "No, I'm going to leave that to The Times," he told CNBC. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said that Trump was "taking a page from his dictator friends around the world" by "trying to dismantle the right to a free press in the First Amendment by suing The New York Times for publishing an opinion column about his dangerous relationship with Russia." The so-called subhead, or secondary headline on Frankel's article said, "The campaign and the Kremlin had an overarching deal: help beat Hillary Clinton for a new pro-Russian foreign policy." Frankel wrote, in the article's first paragraph, that during the 2016 election, "There was no need for detailed electoral collusion between the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putin's oligarchy because they had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administration's burdensome economic sanctions." "The Trumpites knew about the quid and held out the prospect of the quo," Frankel wrote. The lawsuit, in its opening sentence, noted the article's subhead and Frankel's lead paragraph. "The Times was well aware when it published these statements that they were not true," the suit said. "The Times' own previous reporting had confirmed the falsity of these statements," the suit said. "There was no 'deal' and no 'quid pro quo' between the Campaign or anyone affiliated with it, and Vladimir Putin or the Russian government," the suit stated. And the suit also said that "the falsity of the story has been confirmed" by the report issued in April 2019 by then-special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. "But The Times published these statements anyway, knowing them to be false, and knowing it would misinform and mislead its own readers, because of The Times' extreme bias against and animosity toward the Campaign, and The Times' exuberance to improperly influence the presidential election in November 2020" Jenna Ellis, a legal advisor for Trump's campaign, said the statements in Frankel's article "were and are 100 percent false and defamatory." "The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process," Ellis said. ROME Italy reported a 45% one-day increase in people infected with the coronavirus as other countries in Europe recorded their first cases Tuesday, producing evidence that travelers are carrying the virus from the European outbreaks current epicenter. Italian officials reported 11 deaths and 322 confirmed cases of the virus, 100 more than a day earlier. While the majority were concentrated in northern Italy, some of the new cases registered outside the country's two hard-hit regions, including three in Sicily, two in Tuscany and one in Liguria. An Italian couple from the afflicted north tested positive in the Canary Islands off Africa, forcing the quarantine of their hotel in what one guest said felt like being "monkeys in a cage." Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, all in people who recently traveled to Italy. The four new deaths in Italy, like the seven reported earlier, were in patients who were elderly, suffering from other ailments or both, officials said. Amid increasing cases and distribution problems with protective gear and test kits, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte defended the measures Italy has taken to contain the outbreak and predicted a stabilizing of numbers soon. But he acknowledged that the rise in cases the most outside Asia was "worrisome." "Obviously I can't say I'm not worried because I don't want anyone to think we're underestimating this emergency," he said before a meeting with a visiting World Health Organization mission. "But we trust that with the measures we've implemented there will be a containing effect in the coming days." Italy has closed schools, museums and theaters in the two regions where clusters have formed and troops are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo'Euganeo. The sponsors of one of the worlds largest furniture and design trade shows, held in Milan, announced late Tuesday that they decided to postpone the international events due to concerns over the virus. Milan is the Lombardy regional capital. "In view of the ongoing public health emergency, the decision has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milan to June 16th 21st," a statement from the organizers said. The show originally was scheduled for April 21-26. Italian health officials haven't yet identified the source of the outbreak. Angelo Borrelli, the head of the Italian civil protection department, said the case count grew from 222 to 322, representing a 45% increase, in a 24-hour period from Monday evening to Tuesday evening. The southern island of Sicily reported its first three positive cases from a woman vacationing from Bergamo, in Lombardy and two others traveling with her. Two cases were also reported in Tuscany, south out of the epicenter. Spain counted three active cases: a woman in Barcelona who had been in Lombardy in recent days, and a doctor from northern Italy and his partner who were vacationing in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. The hotel where the couple was staying, the H10 Adeje Palace was locked down after they tested positive for the virus and 1,000 tourists prevented from leaving the hotel grounds, though they were allowed to circulate outside their rooms and use the hotel facilities. "We feel a little bit like monkeys in a cage here as there are media representatives present near the hotel and police officers guarding the area are wearing masks," Harriet Strandvik, the mother in a family of four at the hotel, told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. Hotel guests were informed of the quarantine via a flyer slipped under their doors late Monday: "Kind guests, we inform you that the hotel is closed for health reasons.'' A Russian tourist dons both a carnival mask and a protective face mask as he visits St. Mark's Square Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. Italy has been scrambling to check the spread of Europe's first major outbreak of the new viral disease amid rapidly rising numbers of infections and calling off the popular Venice Carnival and closing tourist attractions. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)AP Italians Paolo and Laura Martelli waited in their room Tuesday for a medical team to take their temperatures. "There's a beautiful view of the sea which we are watching right now. We don't feel like recluses,'' Martelli, 89, told The Associated Press by telephone. The Canary Islands, an archipelago located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the African coast, is a popular vacation destination that attracts Europeans year-round. Many Italians are vacationing this week as schools have a mid-winter break. Conte shocked Lombardy officials by taking to task the hospital in Codogno, southeast of Milan, where Italy's first positive patient went on Feb. 18 with flu-like symptoms. The man was sent home, only to return a short time later with worsening conditions, at which point he was tested for the virus. Many of Lombardy's 200-plus positive tests have a traceable connection to the Codogno hospital, including several doctors and nurses, patients and relatives who visited them. Conte told reporters that the Lombardy cluster grew "because of the hospital management that wasn't completely proper according to the protocols that are recommended for these cases." "This surely contributed to the spread," he said. Lombardy's chief health official, Giulio Gallera, expressed shock at Conte's remarks and defended the region's handling of the crisis. "It's offensive. It's unacceptable," Gallera said, noting that the man presented none of the main risk factors for the virus travel to China or contact with an infected person when he first went to the emergency room. The man was eventually tested after doctors ascertained from his wife that he had met with someone who had recently returned from China. But officials have excluded that contact as the source of the outbreak since that person tested negative. As officials worked to get ahead of the spread nationally, the reality of a two-week quarantine was setting in for residents of Italy's isolated "red zones" the cluster of 10 towns in Lombardy and Veneto's tiny Vo'Euganeo. "The concern is palpable, people are worried, partly because of what they hear on television, information, on social media," said Davide Passerini, the mayor of Fombio, one of the Lombardy towns under lockdown. "Life is like it is in other isolated villages: Everything is shut, people go out just to do their shopping." And they wait to see if they develop symptoms. Italy initially tested anyone who came into contact with an infected person. But with the numbers growing and supply issues with test kits, masks and protective gear, Italy's national health system revised its containment strategies. People who live or have visited the quarantined areas, or who who have been in contact with positive cases, are advised to self-quarantine for two weeks. They are instructed to take their temperatures twice a day, and stay in touch with their doctors or the national health service via an overwhelmed toll-free number. Only if they develop symptoms are they tested, most often by a team performing house calls to prevent hospitals and clinics being overly stressed, said Elia Delmiglio, mayor of Casalpusterlengo, another of the 10 towns in Lombardy's "red zone." A street in downtown Milan's Chinese neighborhood Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. Civil protection officials on Tuesday reported a large jump of Coronavirus cases in Italy, from 222 to 283. Seven people have died, all of them elderly people suffering other pathologies. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP) APAP "Local health structures are doing their best, but in some cases they were not ready to face such an emergency," Delmiglio said. The town with more than 15,000 inhabitants doesn't have a working emergency room, only a hospital mainly specializing in cancer patients, who are particularly at risk for contracting the virus. In another hotbed of the virus outbreak -- Veneto's tiny town of Vo'Euganeo, which has most of Veneto's 43 cases local authorities were still planning to test all 3,300 residents and 600 acting hospital staff. "I'm being optimistic and I feel well," said resident Andrea Casalis, as he waited to be tested. "People continue to go out here and talk in the streets, but we try to keep some security distance." ___ Nicole Winfield, Ciaran Giles and Giada Zampano of The Associated Press wrote this story. Aritz Parra in Madrid, Giada Zampano and Frances DEmilo in Rome and Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report. ___ Full AP coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak here: https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak After American president Donald Trump arrived in Ahmedabad of west India on February 24, he announced the two countries will sign a multibillion arms deal the next day but didnt seem eager to address their thorny trade disputes. Trump sets the tone for US-India trade deal US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, around noon on February 24, starting his first official visit to India after taking the office. Trump gave a speech at a stadium that was said to be able to accommodate 110,000 people. He set the tune for the tricky US-India trade disputes with the wording that India and US are in the early stages of discussion for an incredible trade agreement. A limited trade agreement has been expected to be inked during Trumps visit to India, in which India will make trade concessions in exchange for resuming, at least partially, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) treatment from US. But just days before his visit, Trump said that he might strike a grand bargain on trade with India after the presidential election in November 2020. A senior official in the Trump administration admitted February 21 that no limited trade deal will be signed during the two-day visit as Washington still has many concerns over Indias high trade barriers. US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer wasnt among Trumps retinue this time. He called off the trip in mid-February and talked with Piyush Goyal, Indias Minister of Commerce and Industry, on the phone instead. Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on February 20 that New Delhi is in no hurry to strike a trade deal with Washington and will not set a deadline. The US is Indias second largest trading partner. The Trump administration imposed tariffs on India-made steel and aluminum products in 2018 and canceled its GSP treatment last June, affecting more than USD5 billion worth of Indian exports to the US. In response, India imposed tariffs on a variety of American goods too. According to reports by Reuters, the US-India disputes focus on whether India should open up its poultry meat and dairy market and relax the price regulation on medical devices. Arms sale is the priority On the contrary that Trump wasnt in a hurry to sign a trade deal, he predicted on February 24 that the two nations are scheduled to sign a USD3-billion arms sales contract the next day. "I'm pleased to announce that tomorrow our representatives will sign deals to sell the absolute finest state-of-the-art military helicopters and other equipment to the Indian armed forces," said Trump. Russian media Sputnik reported February 24 that Indian Cabinet Committee on Security approved earlier this month a USD 2.6-billion order to purchase 24 MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters from Lockheed Martin, and New Delhi is also reportedly planning to spend USD900 million purchasing six AH-64E Apache armored helicopters from Boeing. Agence France-Presse (AFP) predicted that the representatives of both sides will also discuss the prospects of providing New Delhi, the Indian capital, with missile defense systems that may cost as much as USD1.9 billion. Trump said on February 24 that the United States should be India's premier defence partner, which sounded like a warning for India to rely less on Russia for weapon import. As the largest weapon provider for India, Russia signed a more than USD5-billion contract with India in 2018 to supply five sets of S-400 air-defense missile systems, which has prompted the US to give repeated warnings that it may impose sanctions on India if New Delhi continues to buy Russian equipment. Disclaimer: The author of this article is Du Juan. The article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Rampur: Samajwadi Party MP Mohd Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam were sent to seven days of judicial custody after they surrendered in the district court on Wednesday. The next hearing of the case will be on March 2. The Khan family had been ignoring summons by the courts in various cases lodged against them as a result of which warrants were issued against them. A local MP-MLA court in Rampur, on Tuesday, had ordered attachments of the properties of Mohd Azam Khan, Tanzeen Fatima, and Abdullah Azam after non-bailable warrants were issued against them in one of the cases and they still refused to appear in court. The Samajwadi leader had made several attempts to get anticipatory bail but the same was denied by the court. Trouble for Azam Khan began in July last year and more than 4 cases were lodged against him and his family. He was booked for land grabbing, encroachment, book theft, power theft, statue theft, buffalo theft, goat theft while his son Abdullah Azam was booked for forgery in birth date documents. He even lost his membership of the state assembly after he was found guilty of forgery. Demolition of Jauhar University's boundary wall stayed The Allahabad High Court has stayed the demolition of the boundary wall of the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh`s Rampur till March 31. On a writ petition filed by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust of Rampur, Justice Salil Kumar Rai observed on Tuesday, "As the time for filing revision against the order dated February 20, 2020, passed by Assistant Collector, has not expired yet and the constructions existing on the disputed plots are of an educational institution, hence in the interest of justice, it is directed that the construction existing on the disputed plot shall not be demolished till March 31, 2020". During the court proceedings, an objection was raised on behalf of the state government stating that against the order of Assistant Collector of Rampur dated February 22, 2020, the petitioner can file a revision before the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) concerned. Hence, a writ petition is not maintainable here before the high court. After hearing the counsel for the parties concerned, the court directed the petitioner to file a revision petition before the SDM concerned within one week. Thereafter, the SDM will decide on it within a month. Hence, till March 31, 2020, the demolition of the structures shall not be carried out. The court was of the view that as the matter relates to an educational institution, therefore, some relief must be given till the filing of revision and subsequent decision on the petition filed before the SDM concerned. Last week, the Rampur district administration had demolished a portion of the boundary wall of the Jauhar University, which was allegedly raised illegally on government land, to provide a passage to the farmers to their land on the university campus. Photo: The Canadian Press Health workers wear full protective suits in Malaysia as they wait for arrival of evacuated citizens from China. Scientists raced to find a treatment, crews scrubbed everything from money to buses, and quarantines were enforced Wednesday from a beachfront resort in the Atlantic to an uninhabited island in the Pacific as the world fought the spread of a new virus. Worries over the ever-expanding economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis multiplied, with factories idled, trade routes frozen and tourism crippled, while a growing list of countries braced for the illness to claim new territory. Even the Olympics, five months away, wasn't far enough off to keep people from wondering if it would go on as planned. We dont expect a miracle in the short term, said Kianoush Jahanpour of the health ministry in Iran, where an official tally of infections of 139 was doubted by some who thought the problem was far bigger. About 81,000 people around the globe were sickened by the coronavirus that kept finding new targets. In Europe, where Germany, France and Spain were among the places with a growing caseload, an expanding cluster of more than 200 cases in northern Italy was eyed as a source for transmissions. In the Middle East, where cases increased in Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq, blame was directed toward Iran. In Asia, where the crisis originated late last year in China, threats continued to emerge around the region, with South Korea battling a mass outbreak centred in the 2.5 million-person city of Daegu. Though the virus pushed into countries both rich and poor, its arrival in places with little ability to detect, respond and contain it brought concern it could run rampant there and spread easily elsewhere. Were going to be trying to slow down the spread so that our hospitals are not overwhelmed in one big gulp, one big hit, said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at the University of Queensland in Australia. In South Korea, workers sanitized public buses, while in China, banks disinfected banknotes using ultraviolet rays. In Germany, authorities stressed sneezing etiquette, while in the United States, doctors announced a clinical trial of a possible coronavirus treatment. Around the world, as Christians marked the start of the holy season of Lent with Ash Wednesday, worshipers found churches closed and rituals changed by virus fears. Even in St. Peters Square, many of those gathered for Pope Francis weekly audience wore face masks and clergy appeared to refrain from embracing the pontiff or kissing his ring. Services in Singapore were broadcast online to keep people from crowded sanctuaries where germs could spread, bishops in South Korea shuttered churches for what they said was the first time in the Catholic Churchs 236-year history there, and in Malaysia and the Philippines, ashes were sprinkled on the heads of those marking the start of Lent instead of using a damp thumb to trace a cross of ashes. We would like to be cautious so that the coronavirus will not spread, said the Rev. Victorino Cueto, rector of the National Shrine of our Mother of Perpetual Help in Manila in the Philippines. Major gatherings were eyed warily, with organizers scrambling to respond in the face of the epidemic. Looming largest of all are the Olympic games, whose opening ceremonies are scheduled for July 24 in Tokyo. A member of the International Olympic Committee, Richard Pound, sounded alarms a day earlier, saying the virus could force a cancellation of the games. The Japanese government, in turn, gave mixed signals, insisting they would go forward yet urging that sports events now be curtailed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for major sports and cultural events in the coming two weeks to be cancelled or postponed to stem further infections. Meanwhile, the top government spokesman said Olympics preparations would proceed and the games would go on as planned. The South Korean military announced additional infections among its troops, with 20 cases on its bases and some 9,570 people in isolation. The U.S. military, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, confirmed the first infection of an American soldier, a 23-year-old man based at Camp Carroll near Daegu, a day after Americans said a military spouse also had contracted the illness. Bowling alleys, movie theatres and a golf course on four American bases in the country were closed. Italy recorded 52 new infections on Wednesday and Greece became the newest country to see a case of the virus. South Korea announced 284 new cases, largely in Daegu, bringing its total to 1,261. China, still the epicenter of the crisis even as new outposts caught the worlds attention, reported 406 new cases and 52 more deaths. The country has a total of 78,604 cases of the virus and 2,715 fatalities. China said Wednesday that those sickened by the virus included 555 prisoners who officials said likely became infected by guards using the same bus station as a nearby pulmonary hospital. In a twist, China is now heavily regulating arrivals from abroad, with authorities placing South Koreans under monitoring, state broadcaster CCTV reported, after five people on a flight showed signs of fever. Indonesia said it evacuated 188 crew members from the World Dream cruise ship and planned to take them to remote Sebaru Island. The workers were released from quarantine in Hong Kong after finding no infections, but authorities mandated an additional observation period. And on the opposite side of the world, the MSC Meraviglia was denied permission to land in Grand Cayman, where it was due to arrive Wednesday, following a decision by Jamaica to refuse it entry. The cruise line expressed frustration with the moves, which came after it reported one crew member from the Philippines was sick with common seasonal flu. C hannel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has announced he is self-isolating in London after travelling to Iran, which has been hit with one of the biggest coronavirus breakouts outside China. The 72-year-old broadcaster said he will remain indoors for the next two weeks after visiting the Middle Eastern country to cover its elections. Speaking to Channel 4 News from his home in the UK capital on Tuesday night, Mr Snow said: I woke up this morning feeling rather tired, but that was from the trip. Discussing official advice over coronavirus, he added that he was not really supposed to congregate with any crowds or go anywhere where there may be people So that means I'm sitting at home. To be honest, the absolute enormity of the prospect of 14 days hasn't really hit me Maybe if you call me again in 14 days you will have a head case on your hands. Mr Snow said he has not shown any symptoms of the killer virus, which has sparked further panic this week as it swept across Europe. News of his self-isolation came after Iran's deputy health minister, who is leading the country's counter-coronavirus task force, tested positive for the virus. Iraj Harirchi tested positive just one day after giving a news conference in Tehran about the virus, during which he had been sweating and looking uncomfortable. Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi Seen Wiping Forehead And Coughing Before Testing Positive For Covid 19 On Tuesday, Mr Harirchi admitted he has tested positive, and said that he has quarantined himself at his home. Mr Harirchi, who denied covering up the scale of Iran's outbreak, promised that authorities would bring the virus under control. Iraj Harirchi during a press conference on Monday. He has tested positive for coronavirus / Sky News There have been 95 cases of the virus and 16 deaths reported by the government, but the actual number is thought to be higher. The country is one of the three hotspots outside China causing fears that the virus could become a pandemic. The deputy health minister falling ill with the virus is just the latest woe to befall Iran as the UAE cut off Iranian flights from the country. The UAE, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, remains a key international transit route for Irans 80 million people. The Department of Health has recently added Iran to the list of places where travellers need to follow clinical advice over fears of the virus spreading. Under the UK governments guidelines, those who must self-isolate are told to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people. Mr. Martin Alamisi Amidu in his so-called solo fight against corruption as a Citizen Vigilante gathered masses and inspired hope in the Ghanaian that if given the opportunity, state power and resources he was going to solely fight corruption to the admiration of many. Many of us doubted him maybe because we saw a bitter Amidu who was only seeking vengeance and not showing genuine love for his nation. Time progressed, his last epistle on the 5th of December, 2016, clearly exposed his intentions. In it, he called on all Ghanaians to vote President John Mahama out by voting for Nana Addo so that he Martin will have the power to retrieve Woyomes money meant for the poor taxpayer. Ghanaians heeded to this call because, at the time, any stealing or administration infractions were said to be Mahamas doing according to Mr. Amidu. And so, the only way to stop stealing of public funds and catch all the thieves in Ghana was voting for Nana Addo and appointing Martin to the office of the Special Prosecutor. Fast forward in government, Nana Addo appointed Mr. Martin amidst celebration and popular support from the people of Ghana. Hallelujah...the no-nonsense man has been given power and will be given resources to catch all the thieves (both past and present) and chase out all the crazy, corrupt public officers. To us, the Messiah has just come and we didnt need the Auditor General any longer. Little did we know that the appointment of Mr. Martin Amidu was a strategic move by Nana Addo and his government; This was to get his wings clipped, his mouth shut and his operational zone as a citizen vigilante Limited. Today, with the state prosecutorial powers; with the state, resources to investigate; with a comfortable office to operate from and with the popular support from Ghanaians, Mr. Martin Amidu is a pale shadow of his citizen vigilante persona when Mahama ruled. Mr. Amidu had written back to some petitioners either to complain that his powers were limited and that their requests fell outside of his jurisdictions or their requests dont merit any form of investigations to start with. In some cases, Mr Amidu came crying foul that he was deliberately being overlapped by some state officials and other agencies in the case of the Anas petition against Mr. Charles Bissue. Why will Mr Amidu and the Office of the Special Prosecutor not give independence to work? Why has the OSP Act restricted the jurisdictions of Mr Amidu so that he cant investigate and prosecute financial and economic crimes? Why will state agencies commission parallel investigations into cases Mr. Amidu is petitioned to handle? The very latest issue in context is the ASEPA petition to the Special Prosecutor to investigate the galamsey thievery and corruption which were alleged by the Minister for Environment and counter-allegations from some of the persons the Minister accused. Mr. Amidu in his response to ASEPA indicated that the CID is already investigating the matter and so his office wouldnt want to also engage in a parallel investigation. While at that, Mr. Amidu refers to the petition as one full of conjectures and innuendos. This is Martin Amidu in 2020 ooo. A case he cant investigate has already been floored with prejudices by him. Mr Amidu isnt a principled man as he made us believe. He was only looking for a space to seek vengeance and not that he despised and abhor corruption and also loved Ghana so much. Mr. Martin Alimisi Amidu has been patronized by Nana Addo and his NPP, his bitterness against Mahama and the NDC was conveniently exploited, his credibility exposed to attacks and the Ghanaian people have been finally been incited against him. It is a shame! Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Xin Xu (The Jakarta Post) - Wed, February 26, 2020 15:12 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066b97ef 3 Science & Tech The-Conversation,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,vaccine,WHO,outbreak,science-and-technology,research Free The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared an international public health emergency over the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus. One day later, the Wellcome Trust research charity called for researchers, journals and funders around the world to share research data and findings relevant to the coronavirus rapidly and openly, to inform the public and help save lives. On the same day, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure launched a free website and called for scientists to publish research on the coronavirus with open access. Shortly after, the prominent scientific journal Nature issued an editorial urging all coronavirus researchers to keep sharing, stay open. So while cities are locked down and borders are closed in response to the coronavirus outbreak, science is becoming more open. This openness is already making a difference to scientists response to the virus and has the potential to change the world. But its not as simple as making every research finding available to anyone for any purpose. Without care and responsibility, there is a danger that open science can be misused or contribute to the spread of misinformation. Raising barriers Open science can come in a variety of forms, including open data, open publications and open educational resources. 1. Open data DNA sequencing is of great importance to developing specific diagnostic kits around the world. Yong-Zhen Zhang and his colleagues from Fudan University in Shanghai were the first to sequence the DNA of the novel coronavirus. They placed the gene sequence in GenBank, an open-access data repository. Researchers around the world immediately started analyzing it to develop diagnostics. As of February 19, 2020, 81 different coronavirus gene sequences had been shared openly via GenBank and 189 via the China National Genomics Data Centre. They provide the data that will allow scientists to decode the mystery of the virus and hopefully find a treatment or vaccine. The WHO and national organizations like the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention also publish open statistical data, such as the number of patients. This can help researchers to map the spread of the virus and offer the public up-to-date and transparent information. 2. Open publications Science publications are costly. One of the most expensive Elsevier journals, Tetrahedron Letters, costs 16,382 for an institutional annual subscription and 673 for a personal one. Even the University of Harvard cannot afford to subscribe to all journals. This means not all researchers have access to all subscription-based publications. Authors can publish their articles free to access, which often means they need to pay the publishers an average 2,000 in article processing costs. In 2018, only 36.2 percent of science publications were open-access. As of February 18, 2020, there were 500 scientific articles about the novel coronavirus in the comprehensive scholarly database Dimensions. Only 160 (32 percent) of them were in open-access publications. This includes preprint servers such as bioRxiv and arXiv, which are widely used open-access archives to publish research before it goes through scientific peer review. Normally, you would need to pay subscription fees to read any of the other 340 articles. However, articles published by the 100 companies who have signed the Wellcome Trusts statement on sharing coronavirus research have been made freely accessible by publishers. Major publishers including Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley Online Library, Emerald, Oxford University Press and Wanfang have also set up featured open-access resources page. The Chinese database CQVIP has offered free access to all of its 14,000 journals during the coronavirus outbreak. As it takes on average 160 days for a preprint to be published after peer review, sharing preprints can save time and save life. Free access to articles on the coronavirus can also accelerate global research on this subject. 3. Open educational resources Due to the outbreak, universities in China have postponed their new semesters and switched to online learning. But alongside the 24,000 online courses open to students, universities (including the elite Peking University, Tsinghua University and Xian Jiaotong University) are offering free online courses to the public about the coronavirus. Such courses can offer the public reliable information grounded in academic research, helping them better understand and protect themselves against the virus. Responsible open science While all these developments are positive, it is important to remember that open science doesnt mean science without limits. It must be used responsibly by researchers and the public. To start, researchers need to have mutual respect for the integrity of their work. For example, there have reportedly already been disagreements over whether scientists need to request consent to reuse pre-publication data from shared coronavirus gene sequencing. Assuming researchers act in good faith and not to simply further their own careers, it is still important for them to clarify the conditions with which they make their research available, and to carefully check and follow such conditions when using other peoples data. Responsible uses of pre-publication data are vital to fostering a scientific culture that encourages transparent and explicit cooperation. There are also issues with making research available without peer review - as happens with preprint servers - as misinterpretations and mistakes can easily happen. One paper posted on bioRxiv on February 2, 2020, claimed to show insertions in the coronaviruss DNA that showed an uncanny similarity to regions found in HIV DNA. After criticism of the their work, the papers authors withdrew it stating they did not intend to feed into the conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus had been deliberately engineered. Such conspiracy theories were recently condemned by 27 scientists from eight countries in their open statement to the leading medical journal The Lancet. Yet until February 19, 2020, the withdrawn paper was the most discussed study in the world in online news and social media, according to the academic ranking site Altmetric. The paper may have been withdrawn but it wont have been forgotten. Open science is vital to tackling the worlds big challenges. But when information can be misused, skewed or misinterpreted at global level so quickly, we also need scientists and the public to treat open science with great care and responsibility. *** Xin Xu, ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Oxford The article was first published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. "If we're going to make sure farmers get what they need to produce coffee sustainably, we need to figure out how to better distribute value," said Alexander Barrett, CEO of iFinca. "With iFinca handling the heavy work of sharing verified information, we're able to create efficiencies across the supply chain that ensure that farmers are better compensated and receive a living income." While some new tech solutions use blockchain to trace coffee and allow end consumers to 'tip their farmers,' the iFinca platform turns the trading model on its head utilizing a network of verified transactions where every actor in a supply chain has equal access to information. "The issue of transparency and being able to trace coffee to its origin is very important. It means being able to understand the way it was cultivated, how it moves around the world," said Nestor Osorio, former Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization and former Ambassador to the UK and the United Nations. "As a platform, iFinca is the answer to how we innovate, to how we answer that question bringing producers and consumers closer together." Since its launch in October 2019, the iFinca platform has grown to include 38 exporters, 14 importers, 26 roasters and 19 cafes, and 9,430 individual farmers and 13 cooperatives across Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Coffee traded via the iFinca app is currently available in the US, UK and will soon be available in the EU, Russia and South Korea. iFinca's blockchain platform validates transactions from the first delivery of parchment all the way to the cafe. In initial trading, iFinca has demonstrated a verifiable increase in price per pound for smallholder farmers. Consumers will be able to access details about their coffee, including the price received by the farmer, when they scan a QR code at the point of sale. "The insight into our relationships through iFinca allow us to have a direct connection with the farms we source from. This means better coffee for our customers and better income for the farmers we source from," said Ed Wethli, owner of Crazy Mocha , a roaster/retailer with more than 25 locations in and around the Pittsburgh area. Crazy Mocha is the first cafe to serve iFinca verified coffee from seven farms in Colombia. More information +1 (888) 684-4220 or [email protected] Download the iFinca app on Apple / Android SOURCE iFinca Related Links https://www.ifinca.co The India Business Leader Awards honours high-achievers, outstanding leaders and true visionaries of corporate India. India's No. 1 business channel CNBC-TV18 is all set to host the highly-awaited annual awards night the 'India Business Leader Awards'. The 15th edition of the show will be held on 28 February in Mumbai. The India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) honours high-achievers, outstanding leaders and true visionaries of corporate India. The awards recognise personalities who have contributed their expertise to bring about an equitable economic growth or have excelled in building profitable, sustainable and socially conscious businesses. Chaired by Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank, the challenging task of shortlisting the winners from an eminent list of nominees has been handed over to a jury comprising high-achievers and exemplary leaders such as the Union Minister of State, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur, and industry veterans, Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia, Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, State Bank of India, Zia Mody, founder and Managing Partner, AZB & Partner, Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, ITC, and Zarin Daruwala, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank. It was a challenging task to select winners who are stalwarts in their respective fields, they contribute towards economic growth and are working earnestly towards establishing profitable, sustainable and socially-conscious businesses. The jury-meet also witnessed a high power panel discussion focused on 'Going for growth: $5 trillion Target', moderated by CNBC-TV18's Managing Editor Shereen Bhan in the presence of prominent industry veterans and jury members. The engaging discussion focused on the current state of the Indian economy, fiscal and monetary measures being taken by the government to boost and bring the mojo back. The panel ended on a positive outlook where the panelists are optimistic about revival and believe in the resilience of the Indian economy. "Since its inception, CNBC-TV18 for the past 20 years has challenged and charted new avenues in the dissemination of business and financial news. India Business Leaders Awards is one such initiative by CNBC-TV18 that has honored and celebrated excellence of business leaders who have continuously contributed towards the immense economic development of the country. This year, we are excited and delighted to host the incredible jury panel for IBLA's 15th year in the industry. We hope to discover and felicitate outstanding performers for the year 2020," said Shereen. The question posed to the President of the United States after the Weinstein verdict came in was simple: What message can you, as president, deliver to women in America who are still afraid to come forward and share their stories of sexual harassment and assault? The answer should have been simple, too. Yet after a lengthy ramble in which Donald Trump slammed Harvey Weinstein as a political foe, the president couldnt offer a single word of support for women trying to summon the courage to report abuse, as Philip Bump in the Washington Post noted. POTUS was not able to whole-heartedly condemn Weinsteins behavior for obvious reasons: Trump has a history of defending men accused of sexual misconduct, including himself. And he is not alone in this. Its a bipartisan dilemma. Across the board, men in leadership positions are compromised on #MeToo issues. They are not all perpetrators themselves. Many are just fearful that they have perpetrators in their midst. At best, they mishandle the information when they find out. At worst, they may intentionally take actions to keep it under wraps. And if powerful men and sometimes powerful women, too cant offer a full-throated condemnation of those who commit these kinds of behaviors, what kind of message does that send to everyone further down? There are lots of survivors who will look at this case and say, this might be a win for the movement, but it still feels as if thats a kind of justice that is inaccessible to me, because Im just a quote everyday person, said Patricia Teffenhart, head of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Certainly, Trump is a particularly grotesque example a serial misogynist, personally accused by dozens of women of harassment and sexual assault, who still sits in the White House. And you dont need to believe these women to recognize that hes a gross enabler too. He is, after all, the man who defended Roger Ailes as a good guy, who protected abusers employed at the White House, and suggested that if his daughter were to fall victim to harassment on the job, he hoped that she would "find another career." In fact, its very common for women to feel that is the only option. Theyre afraid of being disbelieved, of facing undue scrutiny of themselves or their families, or that the benefits of coming forward may not be worth the cost. Unsurprisingly, most choose to stay silent, whether its about workplace sexual harassment or blatant sexual assault. An estimated three quarters never report their sexual assaults to authorities. They see cases like the Stockton University student in New Jersey, whose perpetrator filmed his sexual assault and posted it on SnapChat, yet received only probation. Or Chanel Miller, the young woman sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford, who despite eyewitnesses, a compelling victim statement, swift forensic medical exam and police response, still saw a minimal penalty. Or Katie Brennan, who reported being raped by a colleague on Gov. Phil Murphys campaign, only to be ignored, while the man she accused was given a promotion and a raise. Trump is just the most pungent reminder that while its easy to point the finger at others in partisan politics, this kind of behavior is rooted in power and control, something that crosses all party affiliations. The Weinstein verdict signals a shift in the right direction for survivors. But it should also be a call to action for everyone in power, to lead by example, first. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. An outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy worsened on Feb. 26, with more than 30 new cases confirmed in the two worst-hit regions and children found to have the illness for the first time. Officials in Lombardy, which includes Italys financial capital Milan, said cases had risen overnight to 259 from 240 on Tuesday, with four children, including a 4-year-old girl, infected in the first such cases in the country. In neighboring Veneto, the number of people confirmed to have caught the flu-like virus was 58, an increase of 13 on the previous tally given on Tuesday. The death toll from the contagion, which came to light on Friday, remained unchanged at 11. All those who have died so far have been elderly and most had underlying health problems. After first emerging in Italy in Lombardy and Veneto, the countrys economic powerhouse, the illness has now spread to seven other regions, including Sicily in the far south, with the total number of cases nationwide climbing above 350. Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country have tested positive in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, and France since the weekend, showing how far and fast the illnesswhich was first identified in China last monthcould spread. In a bid to halt the outbreak, authorities have shut schools, universities, museums, cinemas, and theaters across much of the north. Many countries have advised their nationals not to visit the north of Italy and hoteliers have reported a wave of cancellations, putting the local tourism industry at threat. We should stay calm, there is no reason to be particularly afraid, said Elisabetta Jacona, a Milan resident and doctor. The only advice I can give, as a doctor, is telling people who are more at risk, elderly people or people with previous pathologies to avoid going out. Analysts have warned that the outbreak could shunt Italys fragile economy into its fourth recession in 12 years. By Elvira Pollina and Riccardo Bastianello Three persons were arrested after fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 5 lakh were seized from them in Kolkata, police said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the Kolkata Police's Special Task Force nabbed Mohammed Shahid, Mohammed Salim Shaikh and Anjar Shaikh, all residents of Bihar's Kishanganj district, from Mayo Road in Maidan police station area on Tuesday night and made the seizure, an officer said. A total of 100 fake currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination and 600 counterfeit notes of Rs 500 denomination were seized, he said. All the three accused were living in Mumbai and were involved in the racket for quite some time, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor , a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, today announced that Raval, an innovator in flow control solutions for the global automotive industry, has completed a deployment of an Infor M3 enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This solution will serve more than 150 corporate users across four manufacturing and distribution centers in Israel, Luxembourg, China and the US. The project was managed by Infor partner Intentia Israel. Raval is involved in the design, development, manufacture and sale of plastic components systems and assemblies used in vehicles including fuel ventilation, flashlights for sprinklers and braking systems. The Infor M3 deployment has helped add significant improvements to Raval's operational processes, including user interface improvements, cardboard packaging management, order pickup processes and adjustments to numerous tax and regulatory requirements needed for its international operations. Zachy Abraham, Intentia Israel's senior project manager, said: "In consultation with our team, Raval chose the latest release of Infor M3 version13.4. During the project, we chose to stick to the best practice business processes in Infor M3 and embed smart solutions in the user interface. This move will make dozens of adjustments and result in tremendous savings in maintenance resources, giving Raval an operational solution at the corporate level." The implementation project, which was carried out by Intentia Israel in collaboration with Raval's information systems department, lasted just several months. Infor M3 went live simultaneously at all the company's locations around the world, while adhering to schedules and in a transparent manner, without interrupting the company's day-to-day operations and giving full operational independence to Raval. Later Raval intends to embed the Infor OS (operating services) platform, enabling the management of all solutions and tools under one environment. Also, Infor Factory Track, which will help provide transparency and tracking of production and time in the production line for insights on costs, production cycles, supply time and ability to meet customer requirements. Dedi Angel, chief operating officer at Intentia, said: "Raval joins a number of leading industry organizations that have implemented Infor M3, and we are proud to help the company achieve its business goals." Infor M3 is widely used globally in various industrial sectors especially fashion, food & beverage, metal, plastics and packaging. It includes comprehensive knowledge gathered from the world's leading companies and capabilities for managing and planning production, raw material procurement, regulatory compliance, full supply chain visibility, production from one to the next, and financial management. About Intentia Israel Intentia Israel is the regional representative of Infor. Intentia offers experienced experts in ERP, with in-depth knowledge of processes in diverse industries and rich experience in complex cross-organizational computing projects in Israel and abroad. Intentia Israel's experience and professionalism have won it numerous Infor excellence awards over the years. About Infor Infor is a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry. With 17,300 employees and over 68,000 customers in more than 170 countries, Infor software is designed for progress. To learn more, please visit www.infor.com. Infor customers include: The top 20 aerospace companies 9 of the top 10 high tech companies 14 of the 25 largest U.S. healthcare delivery networks 19 of the 20 largest U.S. cities 18 of the top 20 automotive suppliers 14 of the top 20 industrial distributors 13 of the top 20 global retailers 4 of the top 5 brewers 17 of the top 20 global banks 9 of the 10 largest global hotel brands 7 of the top 10 global luxury brands For more information: Richard Moore [email protected] +447976111243 SOURCE Infor Related Links http://infor.com PowerHouse Energy Group plc ("PowerHouse" or the "Company") Issue of Equity PowerHouse Energy Group plc (AIM: PHE), the UK technology company commercialising hydrogen production from waste plastic, announces that the Company is issuing 25,440,350 ordinary shares of 0.5p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") further to the exercise of warrants at 0.5p per Ordinary Share. Application has been made for the admission of 25,440,350 Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected that this will occur on or around 28 February 2020. These shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing issued Ordinary Shares. Subsequent to the issue of Ordinary Shares, the Company will have 2,044,956,914 Ordinary Shares in issue. PowerHouse has no shares in Treasury, therefore this figure may be used by Shareholders, from Admission, as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. For more information, contact: PowerHouse Energy Group plc Tel: +44 (0) 203 368 6399 David Ryan, Chief Executive Officer WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 James Joyce / Lydia Zychowska Turner Pope Investments Ltd (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 203 657 0050 Andrew Thacker / Zoe Alexander Ikon Associates (Media enquiries) Tel: +44 (0) 1483 271291 Adrian Shaw Mob: +44 (0) 7979 900733 About PowerHouse Energy Group plc PowerHouse has developed a proprietary process technology - DMG - which can utilise waste, unrecycleable plastic, end-of-life-tyres, and other waste streams to efficiently and economically convert them into syngas from which valuable products such as hydrogen, chemical precursors, electricity and other industrial products may be derived. The PowerHouse technology is one of the world's first proven, modular, hydrogen from waste (HfW) process. The PowerHouse DMG process can generate up to 2 tonnes of road-fuel quality H2, and more than 58MWh of exportable electricity per day. The PowerHouse process produces low levels of safe residues and requires a small operating footprint, making it suitable for deployment at enterprise and community level. PowerHouse is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market under the ticker: PHE, and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. For more information see www.powerhouseenergy.net Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Virgin Galactics VSS Unity spaceship is set to begin its first flight tests in southern New Mexico as the company prepares to send Sir Richard Branson into space later this year. The Unitys arrival Feb. 13 at Spaceport America marked a major milestone, kicking off the spaceships final test phase before launch of Virgin Galactics commercial operations to fly paying passengers to space, CEO George Whitesides said during the companys first earnings conference call with investors Tuesday afternoon. Were entering the most exciting part of our journey, Whitesides said. We continue to focus on our top priority of the year to fly Richard Branson into space. Before that can happen, the company will conduct a series of glide tests in southern New Mexico, followed by rocket-powered flights. We reached our next major milestone toward achieving our goals by relocating the spaceship to New Mexico, Whitesides said. It sets us up to conduct test flights from our permanent base of operations. Bransons first flight could still be many months off, since the company wants to test all aspects of its ground and air operations, Whitesides said. That includes flying the Unity on the underbelly of the VMS Eve, the mother ship that will carry the six-passenger spaceship to about 45,000 feet, at which point the Unity breaks away and fires up its rockets to shoot into space at 264,000 feet, or 50 miles up. Once there, paying passengers will be able to float for a few minutes in microgravity and view the Earths curvature before the Unity glides back to Earth for a soft landing at the Spaceport. Its unclear how much testing Virgin Galactic will conduct before allowing Branson to board, much less paying passengers. The company wants first to review every element of the customers experience throughout the full flight program, starting with all ground services prior to boarding the Unity and optimal comfort and safety for passengers in the cabin while on board the spacecraft. Pilots also need to build experience flying in New Mexico, collecting more performance data and coordinating operations with ground crews, Whitesides said. With each test well collect data on the entire flight performance, Whitesides said. We want to ready the vehicle for long-term, high-rate commercial service. In fact, based on testing, the company could still fly the Unity back to Virgin Galactic headquarters at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where the spaceship was built, for structural modifications if needed, Whitesides said. Weve come very far, but theres still significant, important work to accomplish to fly safely and successfully, he said. Virgin Galactic is also still navigating the approval process to obtain a Federal Aviation Administration license to fly paying passengers to space from Spaceport America. We have a commercial launch license to conduct space flight missions, but were now in the approval process to fly paying customers, Whitesides said. Weve cleared 20 of the 29 verification and validation elements needed. But with the Unity and the VMS Eve now both in New Mexico, potential interest from customers worldwide is soaring. The company said nearly 8,000 people have registered their interest in reserving a seat on Unity as of Feb. 23, up from about 3,560 last September. Thats in addition to the roughly 600 people who previously paid deposits to fly at $250,000 per ticket. The company stopped selling spots on the spaceship in December 2018, but its gearing up now to take new reservations as the company nears commercial launch. It announced a new sales program Tuesday, the One Small Step Initiative, whereby new potential customers can pay a refundable $1,000 deposit to be first in line for new tickets when the company opens the next tranche of seats for reservations, said Virgin Galactic Commercial Director Stephen Attenborough. The deposit would go toward paying off the ticket for customers who actually follow through on buying a seat on the spacecraft. We have been greatly encouraged by the ongoing and increasing demand seen from around the world for personal spaceflight, Attenborough said in a statement. One Small Step allows us to help qualify and build confidence in our direct sales pipeline, as well as ensure that those who are most keen to make reservations are able to do so at the earliest opportunity. As the company prepares for commercial service in New Mexico with the Unity and the Eve now docked at the Spaceport, Virgin Galactic is pushing forward on building a full fleet of five spaceships and a second mother ship. Two more passenger rockets are now under production in Mojave, with one of them expected to begin test flights next year. Now that the rockets basic foundation and design has been proven through the Unity, which flew two times to space from California in December 2018 and February 2019, new vehicle production has become much faster and more efficient, Whitesides said. The company placed the second rocket on its wheels for the first time last December. Thats nine months faster than it took for the first spaceship, Whitesides said. The company hopes to have the full five-rocket fleet in service by 2023. Were readying the vehicles for long-term, high-rate service, Whitesides said. Well add a full fleet of vehicles that can turn around relatively rapidly. The numbers Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. was listed in October on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with New York investment firm Social Capital Hedosophia, paving the way for trading under the stock ticker SPCE. In its first earnings conference call with investors Tuesday, the company reported that as of Dec. 31, it had: $480 million in cash and cash equivalents. $529,000 in revenue earned from October to December. $6 million in capital expenditures during the last three months of the year. A $73 million net loss in the fourth quarter. A group of Venetians dressed up like old doctors at the time when in Venice there was the plague, celebrate the end of the Venice Carnival, despite the facts it has been stopped on Sunday due to Coronavirus situation around the region. NurPhoto Italy's prime minister has called for calm as the coronavirus spreads to other parts of the country, while lockdowns, closures and "fake news" provokes panic among the public. As of Wednesday midday, there were 374 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12 deaths. Italian media said that Lombardy had reported its first cases among minors, with four children infected with the virus. Infections are now being seen beyond the original epicenter in the north, with cases now confirmed in Tuscany, Le Marche, Emilia Romagna, Alto Adige, Piedmont, Liguria, Lazio and Sicily, far south of the capital in Rome. The virus has spread rapidly; there were only three known cases last Friday morning. They have now tripled over the last two days, rising to 374 confirmed diagnoses from 124 on Monday, according to Italy's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. Eleven towns in the most heavily-affected northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto remain under lockdown with schools, universities, businesses and many public venues closed. The outbreak has prompted further tensions in Italy's fragile coalition government, and arguments between Rome and authorities in Lombardy. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called for calm and less sensationalist reporting on Tuesday. "It's time to turn down the tone, we need to stop panic," he said, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The paper added that he had asked the chief executive of public broadcaster Rai to tone down its reporting of the virus. He also sought to reassure the public who are worried about school closures and food running out, after panic buying led to empty supermarket shelves in some towns. "Panic is a completely unjustified reaction that compromises the overall efficiency of the system and triggers regrettable speculations on the prices of some products," Conte told the Corriere della Sera newspaper Tuesday. "The food supply will be ensured with appropriate measures especially in the 'cluster' areas. Calm is brought back through punctual and transparent communication," he said. A woman walks in an empty Italian supermarket after a massive rush to buy water, food supply and soaps. SOPA Images The virus has affected all aspects of Italian cultural life, from the early shutdown of the Venice Carnival to the closure of churches. On Wednesday, the Vatican announced that it was shutting all the catacombs open to the public for the time being, as the humidity and limited space in the underground burial sites favored the spread of the virus. Tensions are running high; the price of face masks and sanitizing hand gels has skyrocketed and the government is so worried about misinformation that Foreign Affairs Minister Luigi Di Maio is reportedly preparing an international plan to combat "fake news" about the outbreak in Italy. "There are too many fake news out there," Di Maio said in the Council of Ministers Tuesday. As the virus spreads in Italy, neighboring countries have become nervous as well as those further afield with many advising against travel to the country, and businesses and organizations (and even the European Commission) suspending trips to the affected regions. On Wednesday, Conte said it would be unacceptable if other countries imposed travel restrictions on Italians. Economic fears There are fears that Italy's already fragile economy the third-largest in the euro zone could tip into recession due to the shutdown of businesses, which has had the greatest impact so far on Italy's wealthiest northern regions and around the commercial and touristic hotspots of Milan and Venice. Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said that Italy's economic situation "is good" and that the country had "all the resources to face the needs of the country and also those to face the emergency of the virus." Even so, it was suggested Tuesday that the EU could give Italy some leeway over its budget commitments to help mitigate the economic impact of the crisis. The World Health Organization has sent a mission to Italy and said Tuesday that the country had taken "pretty strong" measures. But the chief of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the sudden rise in cases of the new coronavirus in Italy, Iran and South Korea was "deeply concerning" on Wednesday. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza and European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, met in Rome Wednesday to discuss the outbreak. Speaking at a news conference webcast by Italy's Health Ministry, Kyriakides said the EU was in the "containment phase" but said that it was crucial for public health-care systems in the region to be prepared to deal with more infections, given how quickly the situation can change. "This is a situation of concern, but we must not give in to panic," she said. "We must also be vigilant when it comes to misinformation and disinformation as well as xenophobic statements which are misleading citizens and putting into question the works of public authority," she said. The fact that the authorities have still not found "patient zero," the first carrier of the virus in the country, is a problem, however. The outbreak has caused tension between the government in Rome and regional authorities, particularly in the north, and especially after Conte suggested that an unnamed hospital had not followed the correct procedure to deal with the outbreak. The extraordinary commissioner to Coronavirus emergency Angelo Borrelli with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrive at the Civil Protection headquarters, for an emergency meeting on Coronavirus infections on February 23, 2020 in Rome, Italy. Stefano Montesi - Corbis By PTI NEW DELHI: Myanmar President U Win Myint arrived in India on Wednesday on a four-day visit during which he will hold talks with the top leadership here to deepen bilateral ties. The Myanmarese president is also expected to visit Agra and Bodh Gaya following his official meetings in New Delhi. He is accompanied by First Lady Daw Cho Cho. |The relationship at the heart of our NeighbourhoodFirst & ActEast policy President U Win Myint along with Daw Cho Cho arrived for his first State Visit to India. Our ties with Myanmar have continued to steadily expand in all dimensions. pic.twitter.com/D4w3lxTpsw Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 26, 2020 "The relationship at the heart of our 'Neighbourhood First' & 'Act East' policy. President U Win Myint along with Daw Cho Cho arrived for his first state visit to India. "Our ties with Myanmar have continued to steadily expand in all dimensions," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet approved signing of three agreements with Myanmar, including one on wildlife protection. Former Armenian president Serzh Sarkisian on Tuesday went on trial charged with corruption in a case supporters claim is politically-motivated, nearly two years after his ouster in a popular uprising. Sarkisian -- who dominated Armenia in two consecutive terms as president from 2008 -- resigned in 2018 when his plan to stay in power by taking the post of prime minister sparked mass protests led by Nikol Pashinyan, a former journalist who then became premier. Sarkisian, clad in a navy suit, thanked dozens of supporters who braved cold temperatures and sleet outside the Yerevan district court to support him. "I hope that in Armenia there are still judges for whom justice is above everything," said Armenia's third post-Soviet president as he headed into the courthouse. Supporters chanted "president! president!" as the trial got underway. "The entire case has been fabricated in order to keep Serzh Sarkisian away from active politics," his lawyer Amram Makinyan told AFP. Tuesday's hearing was largely procedural and it may take weeks or even months for the court to start its formal work on the case. Sarkisian initially adopted a low profile in the months after his resignation. But over the last year he has reemerged and harshly criticised Pashinyan. The 65-year-old former military officer was charged in December with organising an embezzlement scheme that allegedly helped enrich government officials. He was banned from leaving the country and if convicted could face up to eight years in jail. Prosecutors have said that in 2013 Sarkisian helped to organise a scheme for a private company to supply diesel fuel for the government's agricultural assistance programme at a deliberately inflated price. The surplus of 489 million drams ($1 million) was then pocketed by the officials and businessmen involved in the scheme, prosecutors have said. There is no direct indication in the indictment over whether Sarkisian had personally benefited from the plot. - 'Farcical trial' - In a statement Tuesday, Sarkisian's Republican Party decried the "politically motivated process" and "biased targeting of Serzh Sarkisian by the state propaganda machine." Margarita Esayan, one of those protesting outside the court and a former Republican Party MP, said: "The trial is farcical. Armenia's third president is being persecuted and denigrated on Pashinyan's orders." The peaceful uprising against Sarkisian's rule erupted in April 2018 when he tried to remain at the helm by switching to the newly-empowered role of prime minister after his second and last term as president expired. The move -- widely seen as a power grab -- proved the last straw for the landlocked South Caucasus nation of 2.9 million people, long frustrated with the ex-Soviet country's sluggish economy, poverty and corruption. The uprising was compared to revolutions that ousted autocratic leaders seen over the last years in other ex-Soviet nations such as Georgia and Ukraine. Pashinyan was then elected prime minister and has since led a relentless crusade against government graft. - Careful path - Sarkisian was regarded by analysts as a shrewd strategist who charted a careful path between the West and Soviet-era master Russia while also maintaining cordial ties with Armenia's southern neighbour Iran. He initially supported efforts to sign an association agreement with the European Union but in 2013, after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, refused to sign the pact and opted to join instead the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. In 2008, he made an attempt to forge ties with Turkey, with whom Yerevan is at odds over the World War I mass killings of Armenians by their Ottoman rules, which Yerevan and many Western legislatures term genocide. Despite initial hopes of a breakthrough, the efforts came to nothing. He is not the only former Armenian leader being prosecuted -- his predecessor Robert Kocharyan went on trial in May on charges of "overthrowing the constitutional order" for allegedly tipping 2008 presidential polls in favour of Sarkisian. Kocharyan denounced the charges against him as politically motivated. So, first Netflix had removed an episode of The Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj because it talked about killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, then Amazon Prime India took down an episode of Madam Secretary because it's reference to Hindu nationalism and Hindu extremists. And now, taking the call in its own hands, Disney owned Hotstar has decided not to release the controversial episode of HBO's Last Week Tonight With John Oliver that made headlines yesterday. In the episode whose clips went viral on social media, the show's host ripped apart Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him really dangerous. The episode which usually go on-air at 6 am wasn't available on the streaming platform yesterday. The Disney-owned streaming platform blocked the 30-minute program in which John Oliver took a close look at PM Modi's tenure as the Prime Minister and also previewed President Donald Trumps visit to India. Modi: @LastWeekTonight with John Oliver (HBO) https://t.co/3BiOUshPnt via @YouTube India enduring symbol of love deserves more than .. temporary symbol of hate. Powerful words from multiple Emmy winning @iamjohnoliver Whole world can see how evil CAA-NRC-NPR agenda is except.. Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) February 24, 2020 Calling Modi the father of India is completely inappropriate for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that there is a certain Gandhi who already holds that exact fucking title," he said on the show. Calling Modi the father of India is stupid at best, and dangerous at worst," he further adds. "The RSS is inspired from Nazi Ideology and Hitler." This episode from @iamjohnoliver about Modi, RSS and CAA is lit. Finally the Western Media has understood that BJP and RSS are Neo-Nazis. pic.twitter.com/h4YVE8fJNn Advaid (@Advaidism) February 24, 2020 "Modi has had big swing and misses too. Modis policy was a mess, it caused complete chaos and it didnt even make a dent in corruption and yet incredibly it didnt make him any less popular, " he said slamming the demonetization. He ripped him apart as he hit out at at the facts like editing religious pluralism out of history textbooks and gave people a reminder of the Gujarat riots. Not only that, he also commented on the current CAA-NRC protests in the nation. Hear! hear! "Because India, home of this enduring symbol of love (Taj Mahal), frankly deserves a lot more than this temporary symbol of hate (Modi)" ~ John Oliver. pic.twitter.com/Kry8pALIuT Chirag Patnaik (@ChiragINC) February 24, 2020 Calling NRC and CAA, a diabolically clever two-step way to strip millions of Muslims of citizenship, Oliver hailed the protests calling them a glimmer of hope. NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ridgewood Infrastructure, LLC today announced the final close of Ridgewood Water & Strategic Infrastructure Fund, LP (the "Fund") at its hard cap of $600 million. The Fund had initially targeted $500 million of capital commitments and was oversubscribed. Ridgewood Infrastructure invests in essential infrastructure in the U.S. lower middle market. The Fund has made three investments to-date, which include a 30-year contracted, 142-mile pipeline to supply the city of San Antonio with approximately 20% of its fresh water; a consolidator of regulated water & wastewater utilities; and a regional regulated natural gas utility. Ridgewood Infrastructure anticipates closing the Fund's fourth investment prior to quarter-end. In aggregate, these investments will represent approximately 45% of the Fund's capital commitments. "We appreciate the strong support we have received from leading institutional investors," said Ross Posner, Managing Partner of Ridgewood Infrastructure. "LPs recognize that our differentiated, operationally-oriented focus on the lower middle market allows us to access and create compelling investments in essential infrastructure that generate long-term, high quality, non-correlated cash flows." He added: "We look forward to continuing to build a strong Fund portfolio and generating exceptional outcomes for both our investors and portfolio partners." The Fund received commitments from a diverse group of leading North American and European institutional investors including public and private pension funds; insurance companies; endowments and foundations; and specialized infrastructure-focused investment firms. Vinson & Elkins LLP acted as Fund counsel and Eaton Partners as placement agent. "We are very proud to have hit the hard cap with our initial fundraise for Ridgewood Infrastructure," said Founding Partner Matthew Swanson. "Our success is a testament to Ross's leadership, our exceptional investment team, and the resources and relationships of the Ridgewood platform. We appreciate the partnership of our LPs and look forward to building on this success in the years to come." About Ridgewood Infrastructure Ridgewood Infrastructure invests in essential infrastructure in the U.S. lower middle market. Recent investments include the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project, a long-term contracted 142-mile water pipeline that will supply the city of San Antonio, Texas with approximately 20% of its fresh water; Undine, which owns and operates regulated water and wastewater utilities in several major U.S. markets; and SiEnergy, which is among the largest and fastest growing regulated natural gas local distribution companies in Texas, serving approximately 25,000 customers. Ridgewood Infrastructure is part of the affiliated Ridgewood companies, which currently manage $6 billion in total capital and commitments focused on investments in infrastructure and energy. For more information, please visit www.ridgewoodinfrastructure.com For More Information: Ridgewood Infrastructure 34 East 51st Street, 9th Floor New York, NY 10022 Phone: (212) 867-0050 Inquiries@RidgewoodInfrastructure.com Sudhir Suryawanshi By Express News Service MUMBAI: Shiv Sena cabinet ministers Arvind Sawant and Ravindra Waikar have resigned over the office of profit controversy expecting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to raise the issue this week in the Maharashtra Assembly. Sources said the ministers had submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray beforehand, expecting ruckus from the BJP during the session, and it was accepted, Tuesday. BJP had planned to raise this issue in this week. We did not want any controversy therefore Thackeray had taken the resignations of both leaders in advance. They have not accepted the post so there is no issue of office of profit, claimed a Shiv Sena leader, requesting anonymity. Arvind Sawant was appointed the head of Maharashtra State Parliamentary Coordination Committee by the CM on February 14. Arvind Sawant had resigned from the Union cabinet following differences between the BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra last year. Shiv Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar was appointed chief coordinator in the Chief Ministers office and was also allotted the rank of Cabinet minister. Ravindra Waikars responsibility was to coordinate with public representatives and the CM to fast track projects and fund allocations. Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena leader and MP, said that During the previous BJP rule such kind of cabinet status was given to elected representatives. It is now practicing double standards, he added. At launch, the Shack didnt have a license to serve anything more spirited than San Pellegrino. Now, you can settle in with a well-balanced cocktail or a glass of something other than the expected pinot noir; Boden would prefer you try Darting pinot meunier from the Pfalz region of Germany, and why not? Its only eight bucks a stem. The chef continues to offer his admirable hamburger, mostly for the benefit of locals, but the company the sandwich keeps includes grilled quail on celery root puree. Diners can order a la carte or create their own tasting menus from among four categories; $50 buys you three courses, and $60 gets you four. Spring for the latter. While Boden says, I can feed you as much or as little as you want, hes also a gifted chef whose range you dont want to miss. The annual Cheltenham Preview Night at Larry Tompkins Bar takes place tomorrow night and, as previously, the event is being run in aid of Crumlin Childrens Hospital. Entry to the venue on Lavitts Quay costs 10 and heading the list of names on the panel is former Gold Cup-winning jockey Bryan Cooper. As far as the appointment of a new prime minister is concerned, the National Liberal Party (PNL) will support the decision that will result after talks between President Klaus Iohannis , PNL and other parties, PNL national leader Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday. Also included in the PNL negotiating team will be the party's first deputy chairs Rares Bogdan, Raluca Turcan and Iulian Dumitrescu, as well as Secretary General Robert Sighiartau. "The mandate of the team that will represent the party is very simple: it has a full mandate to hold talks with President Iohannis, and PNL will support the decision that will result from talks between the PNL team and the President of Romania and, obviously, after talks between the President of Romania and other parliamentary political formations," said Orban after a meeting of PNL's Executive Bureau. Asked why PNL does not go with the same choice for prime minister, Orban said: "The mandate of the team is very clear: hold talks with the President, and the decision of the Executive Bureau is normal in such a situation: we have confidence in the President, and PNL will support the proposal to be put forth by the President of Romania." "We have seen so many PM versions. You wait for the President's decision," said Orban in response to whether or not Nicolae Ciuca, the former defence minister, or Bogdan Aurescu, currently acting foreign minister, could be proposed for the office. Orban also said that Romania has a government, and the government team is doing its job professionally. "I want to make a necessary clarification to the way yesterday's decisions have been presented: Romania has a government, even if I am a caretaker prime minister, the government team does its job with professionalism and dedication and solves all the problems that need to be solved at the governmental level," added Orban. Haiti - Spain : Haiti seeks to promote inter-university cooperation Alberto Castillo, the President of the Regional Assembly, received the Ambassador of Haiti to the Kingdom of Spain, Claude Joseph who reiterated the interest of Haiti to reach a cooperation agreement with the three universities of the Region and Province of Murcia (South-East of Spain): the University of Murcia (UMU), the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) and the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM) with the objective that young Haitians can enrich their training and help rebuild infrastructure in Haiti. The Ambassador of Haiti Joseph had several meetings on February 24 and 25 last with the President of the autonomous community, Fernando Lopez Miras and university presidents to conclude agreements in this regard. Recall that Haiti had signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with the Spanish Conference of Rectors, but the promises derived from this agreement did not materialize, so that Ambassador Joseph started a new series of meetings with different universities to relaunch joint work. The objective is that the young people of Haiti can train in the Region, especially in applied sciences and return to their country to rebuild the university, both physically and in terms of human capital. In addition, he was open to Spanish researchers going to Haiti to conduct studies, because cooperation must be two-way. HL/ HaitiLibre What's another two years for a 92-year-old building? HGTV darlings Chip and Joanna Gaines snatched up Waco's Grand Karem Shrine building from McLennan County in 2018 and are finally installing their vision for a sleek, new boutique hotel in downtown Waco, Texas, which should debut in 2021. For years, officials in town struggled with how to make the best use of the vacant building. The Gaineses made it easy for them when they vowed to transform the historic three-story structure, which was temporarily put on hold. Earlier this month, Joanna Gaines posted some images of what appears to be the Karem interior with a caption explaining that demo day was fast approaching. HoustonChronicle.com: 'Fixer Upper' stars Chip & Joanna Gaines snatch up Waco's 129-year-old Cottonland Castle Despite the tear-down plans, its clear to fans of the show that some of its original bones will likely remain intact. At least one room already showcases some of the Magnolia-style brand that fans have come to embrace: a fireplace with character, elegant crown moldings and unique pendants (that were pretty sure will be repurposed). In another photos, Chip Gaines can be seen amid a backdrop of an exposed-brick arcade, a staple character of the structure, that may also survive demolition day. So why the long delay between in beginning renovations, roughly two years after closing on this space? The couple has been busy: Apart from raising youngest son, Crew, the couple also manages a successful hub of their Magnolia brand in town (from a magazine to bakery and shops) and features a range of product lines from furniture to home decor and paints Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines that are sold everywhere from Target to Home Depot. Another recent focus for the couple has been launching "Magnolia Stay" vacation rentals, which opened for summer bookings just weeks ago. Their tight collection of Waco lodgings requires a two-night minimum stay and starts at a lofty $545 per weeknight. Although each rate includes full use of an entire house, which accommodates several people. Up next for the Gaineses: their TV networks premiere show. We're not sure when the busy couple sleeps, but we'd guess it's on Magnolia bedding. BEIRUT - An air strike by Syrian government forces killed 29 Turkish soldiers in northeast Syria, a Turkish official said Friday, marking the largest death toll for Turkey in a single day since it first intervened in Syria in 2016. The deaths were a serious escalation in the direct conflict between Turkish and Russia-backed Syrian forces that has been waged since early February. Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Turkeys Hatay province bordering Syrias Idlib region, said 29 troops were killed and others were seriously wounded in the attack late Thursday. He said 39 injured were being treated in Turkish hospitals. Three Turkish soldiers were killed earlier Thursday in Idlib. At least 50 have now been killed in Idlib since the start of February. U.N. Secretary-General reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire and expressed serious concern about the risk to civilians from escalating military actions,, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Without urgent action, the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour, Dujarric said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was holding an emergency security meeting in Ankara, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Minister Mevult Cavusoglu spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by telephone. Erdogans spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who plays a senior role in foreign affairs, also spoke to U.S. National Security Advisor Robert OBrien. The air strike came after a Russian delegation spent two days in Ankara for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Idlib, where a Syrian government offensive has sent hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing towards the Turkish border. The offensive has also engulfed many of the 12 military observation posts Turkey has in Idlib. Fahrettin Altun, Erdogans communications director, said all known Syrian government targets were under attack by Turkish air and land forces in response to the deaths. Turkish television news channels aired black-and-white footage of air strikes on Syrian targets. Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogans ruling party, said NATO should stand by Turkeys side. Ankara recently called for U.S. Patriot missiles to be deployed to defend its forces in Syria. In a message seemingly aimed at Europe, he added: Our refugee policy is the same but theres a situation there, were no longer able to hold refugees. Turkey hosts some 3.6 million Syrians and under a 2016 deal with the European Union agreed to step up efforts to halt the flow of refugees to Europe. Since then Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to open the gates in several disputes with European states. Angry crowds gathered outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, Anadolu said. Standing in front of a line of riot police and a water cannon, they chanted Murderer Russia, murderer Putin. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in air strikes on Idlib on Thursday. It said the attacks occurred in an area between the villages of al-Bara and Baliun near the Jabal al-Zawiya region in the southern Idlib countryside. The Britain-based Observatory monitors the Syria war through a network of activists on the ground. The air strike came after Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters retook a strategic northwestern town from government forces on Thursday, opposition activists said, cutting a key highway just days after the government reopened it for the first time since 2012. Despite losing the town of Saraqeb, Syrian President Bashar Assads forces made major gains to the south. Assad now controls almost the entire southern part of Idlib province after capturing more than 20 villages Thursday, state media and opposition activists said. Its part of a weekslong campaign backed by Russian air power into Syrias last rebel stronghold. Violence in Idlib province also left three more Turkish soldiers dead, according to Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raising the number of Turkish troops killed in Syria this month to 21. Thousands of Turkish soldiers are deployed inside rebel-controlled areas of Idlib province, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants. Turkeys U.N. Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu told the Security Council on Thursday that Turkey was committed to upholding a fragile cease-fire agreement that Turkey and Russia reached on Idlib in 2018. The Syrian government troops deliberate attacks on our forces has been a turning point. We are now determined more than ever to preserve Idlibs de-escalation status. Syrias Defence Ministry said insurgents were using Turkey-supplied portable surface-to-air missiles to attack Syrian and Russian aircraft. It did not elaborate. Earlier this month, Turkish-backed opposition fighters shot down two helicopter gunships belonging to the Syrian military. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, said opposition fighters seized the town of Saraqeb after intense bombardment by Turkish troops. Turkey and Russia support opposite sides in Syrias brutal civil war, with Ankara backing the opposition and Moscow backing Assad. Saraqebs loss is a big setback for Assad. It sits on the strategic M5 highway linking the northern city of Aleppo with the capital, Damascus. Syrian troops recaptured the last rebel-controlled section of the M5 earlier this month. Officials had hailed the reopening of the motorway as a major victory in the nine-year conflict. The Syrian governments military campaign to recapture Idlib province has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe and the wars largest single wave of displacement. According to the United Nations, almost 950,000 civilians have been displaced since early December, and more than 300 have been killed. Most have fled farther north to safer areas near the Turkish border, overwhelming camps already crowded with refugees in cold winter weather. From inside Saraqeb, activist Taher al-Omar said the town is now under opposition control. He posted a video with a fighter saying the government forces ran away like rats. The Observatory said more than 60 fighters were killed on both sides since Wednesday, adding that government forces launched a counteroffensive later Thursday under the cover of Russian airstrikes to try retake the town. Syrian state media reported intense clashes near Saraqeb, saying insurgents sent suicide car bombs and that Turkish forces bombarded the area. It said a small group of insurgents reached the highway to score a propaganda stunt, adding that Syrian troops are dealing with them. State TV later Thursday confirmed that insurgents have cut the highway, adding that fighting is ongoing in the area. The Observatory also reported on the more than 20 villages captured Thursday by the government. It added that Syrian troops have now besieged another Turkish observation post in an area known as Sheer Maghar. The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said government forces advancing from northern parts of Hama province met Thursday with forces moving from southern Idlib, bringing wide areas under Syrian army control. If government forces now turn north, they can eventually reach another major highway known as the M4 that links Syrias coastal region with the countrys west. Assad has vowed to retake all of Syria. Assads forces have captured dozens of villages over the past few days, including major rebel strongholds. However, Erdogan said Thursday that, The situation in Idlib has turned in our favour. ____ Wilks reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. CHICOPEE A 29-year-old Springfield man wanted on assault charges in connection with the November shooting at his pregnant girlfriend was arrested Wednesday morning in Chicopee. Shacolby Merriman of Brickett Street was taken into custody around 10:30 a.m. at a residence on Borbeau Street in Chicopee, said Springfield police spokesman Ryan Walsh. He was taken into custody in a joint operation by Springfield and Chicopee police, the state police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, the U.S. Marshals Task Force and the Hampden County Sheriffs Department. He was arrested on warrant charges for attempted murder, assault and battery on a pregnant woman, threatening to commit a crime and two counts of witness intimidation. The charges relate to a shooting in Springfield in November in which he was accused of shooting at his girlfriend. Merriman recently was picked up by U.S. marshals in New Jersey on the warrant charges and was being held pending a rendition hearing to determine if he would be brought back to Massachusetts to stand trial. Walsh said that because of some kind of error he was released by New Jersey officials when he should have remained in custody. From there, he apparently made his own way back to Massachusetts, and authorities tracked him to the home in Chicopee. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the attempted murder charge Thursday. Merriman has a long history with local police. He was one of four people implicated the fatal 2014 shooting of Demarcus Johnson at Overlook Drive and Island Pond Road. Merriman was arrested in 2016. One man, Nathanial Ramos, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, admitted to pulling the trigger during an attempted robbery and was sentenced in 2018 as a youthful offender. Because Merriman and the two others were participants in the robbery, they were charged with felony murder. But while they were awaiting trial, the state Supreme Court issued a ruling in September 2017 that narrowed the definition for felony murder. Prior to the ruling, all participants in a crime where someone died could be charged with murder. The court ruled felony murder could only be applied in cases where the participants planned in advance to kill the victim or inflict serious injury. The murder charge against Merriman was dropped in October 2017. A new analysis of 92 studies from 27 countries conducted by ecologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests that many recent multi-species studies of wildlife communities often incorrectly use the analytical tools and methods available. Technology such as trail cameras and drones have "revolutionized wildlife monitoring studies" in recent years, says organismic and evolutionary biology doctoral student Kadambari Devarajan, who led the study, "but if not properly used in well-designed research, they will compromise the reliability of the results obtained." Devarajan and co-authors report that the number of studies reporting community-level data has dramatically increased from fewer than five in 2009 to more than 50 in 2019. They believe that given the growth of ecological studies at the community level, it is important to identify the pitfalls that could arise from incorrectly applying certain methods and inconsistencies in reporting results, as well as what should be improved going forward. Reporting in a special issue of the journal Ecography, Devarajan and her collaborators Toni Lyn Morelli of UMass Amherst's Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and Simone Tenan of the Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy, considered how published studies approached a variable known as 'species occupancy,' which among other things takes into account how easily detected each species is in the study area. Devarajan explains, "If it's rare you can account for that, and if it's not rare, you can account for that as well, but a very important assumption made in occupancy is that you must identify the species correctly." However, that didn't always happen in the sample of studies they analyzed. "We lay out the consequences of violating assumptions associated with this method, and how to handle them correctly," she adds. Devarajan, who has done field studies on carnivore communities in Zambia and India, points out that as methods and tools used to study single species in the past are modified to entire wildlife communities, there can be "a disconnect," reducing accuracy and precision in the inferences made. Her new paper not only points out difficulties but offers recommendations and guidelines for future work with a focus on multi-species occupancy models. advertisement As she explains, "A trail camera set up to study black bears often captures the presence of other wildlife in the area, such as deer, bobcats, coyotes and rabbits. With the use of appropriate methods, scientists can use the trail camera data to simultaneously monitor populations of the entire wildlife community. At a time when human-driven climate and global change are affecting wildlife in myriad ways, multispecies methods are increasingly important as they are often more cost- and resource-efficient than conservation efforts for individual species." In their analysis, Devarajan and colleagues show that under-reporting of necessary details about community-level patterns of wildlife occurrence were common. Researchers also failed to report crucial aspects of the study design such as justifying the choice of study sites and duration of the project, as well as placement of detectors such as camera traps and how long they were deployed. With a background in computer science now applied to ecology and conservation, Devarajan also observed reporting bias and an increased potential for violation of assumptions. These factors could result in over- or under-estimating wildlife numbers, leading to spurious results, she notes. "Scientists are not always reporting assumptions and justifying the methods they used to support their conclusions, due to which the inferences drawn from such studies of wildlife communities have to be viewed with caution," she points out. "To do these community-level studies well, you have to make certain assumptions and if you have a lot of reporting bias, there is increased potential for violating those assumptions," she adds. For example, one important assumption for mapping the distribution of multiple species in a defined area is correctly identifying the different species. "In our paper we lay out the consequences for violating assumptions by looking at 10 years of studies of wildlife communities. We use this review of past studies to come up with a roadmap for how such studies should ideally be conducted and offer recommendations to make these studies more robust," she says. Other issues explored by Devarajan and colleagues include whether research groups included a local collaborator for field studies, the kinds of organisms studied and how many community-level occupancy models looked at marine and aquatic environments compared to terrestrial. "It was good news to that for many of the studies, there is diversity in the research and inclusivity in taxa," she notes. The researchers report that the studies they examined ranged from plants and insects to birds, mammals and reptiles, "a whole variety of taxa," but one bias they identified was little representation from marine environment or aquatic communities and an over-reliance on terrestrial systems, Devarajan notes. Coronavirus may hit Australia harder than China because of the country's ageing population, a leading bio-security expert has warned. The flu-like virus, which spawned in Wuhan, China in December, is more severe in older people because their immune systems are weaker. In Australia 16 per cent of the population are over 65, compared to just nine per cent in China, where some 2,700 have died. On Thursday Prime Minister Scott Morrison extended Australia's travel ban on China for another week. In a press conference, he said the coronavirus outbreak would soon enter a pandemic phase and the Australian government would initiate its emergency response plan. He said: 'We believe that the risk of a pandemic is very much upon us.' This map shows the number of cases of coronavirus as of 10am Sydney time on Thursday The flu-like virus, which spawned in Wuhan, China in December, is more severe in older people because their immune systems are weaker (stock image) Professor Raina MacIntyre, the head of Biosecurity at the University of New South Wales's Kirby Institute, warned Australia could be hit harder than China. 'The disease is clearly more severe the older you get,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday. 'So we would see proportionately more severe disease because we have more older people than China does.' Experts have raised fears that nursing homes will struggle to cope with a pandemic. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told the Daily Telegraph that in a worst case scenario family visits would be banned, patients would be isolated and 'end of life planning' would be encouraged. Professionals wearing protective gear prepare to disinfect against the coronavirus in South Korea Civil protection and health workers deliver the evening meal at the Bel Sit hotel in Alassio, Italy Last week the government lifted the ban on Year 11 and 12 students coming in from China under strict rules, and at the time said it would consider a controlled opening for Chinese university students a week later. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the government was constantly reviewing its position. 'We have been meeting multiple occasions every week so at the highest levels of the government we are constantly reviewing our response to coronavirus,' she told ABC Radio on Thursday. 'Australia has prepared ourselves well but this is obviously a significant growing issue.' Coronavirus is rapidly spreading around Europe. This map shows the cases in each nation Animation shows how the new coronavirus has outpaced SARS, MERS and Ebola to sicken more than 81,000 people worldwide A video shows how coronavirus has spread faster than SARS, MERS, Ebola and swine flu epidemics. The clip - made by production company Abacaba, and uploaded to YouTube on February 12 - compares how quickly each disease spread once cases were reported. At first, the coronavirus outbreak spread slower than Ebola, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and swine flu. But, by Day 41 of their respective outbreaks, 243 were ill from Ebola, 182 were sickened by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), 520 had come down with swine flu, and 3,600 were infected with SARS. In comparison, on Day 41 of the coronavirus outbreak - February 12 - more than 41,700 people were infected worldwide. Advertisement Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton agreed the burgeoning spread of COVID-19, particularly in Italy, was concerning. 'We are now talking about 42 countries outside of China,' he told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday. 'People should be reassured in Australia though, we have been able to contain in the way that we have.' The disease has a low death rate of around 2 per cent, only slightly higher than flu, and the spread rate is already declining in China - but governments around the world were preparing for the worst. On Wednesday experts said that Australian schools would be closed and mass public gatherings would be banned if the coronavirus escalated into a pandemic. Instead of going to the workplace, Australians would be made to work from home. Hospitals would also struggle to cope with an influx of patients - with modelling predicting a massive shortfall of 'coronavirus beds'. In a worst-case scenario, Professor MacIntyre said that mass gatherings like sporting events and concerts would be banned and children would stay home from school. Health experts were bracing for a scenario where up to 50 per cent of Australians get infected with the disease. This map shows the travel warnings that are in place for Australians as of Wednesday Schools would be closed and mass public gatherings would be banned if the coronavirus escalated into a pandemic, infectious diseases experts say Measures to deal with a coronavirus pandemic School closures Workplace closures Mass gatherings cancelled Voluntary quarantining Source: Federal Department of Heath's Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza, May 2019 Advertisement 'Closure of schools will be standard measures but may be implemented differently in different states,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has flagged the possible cancellation of sporting events like AFL and rugby league games. 'The possibility is always there, but that is a last resort,' he told reporters. Offices would also be empty, with the federal government's pandemic plan recommending workplace closures. 'Businesses should start planning working from home arrangements,' Professor MacIntyre said. The infectious diseases researcher also feared hospitals would be overwhelmed, forcing the postponement of elective surgery and an expansion of intensive care units. She has released modelling showing tens of thousands of intensive care beds would be needed to cope, going by the Chinese infection rate. Should 50 per cent of Australians be infected with coronavirus, in an extreme case scenario, 650,000 intensive care beds would be needed as 1.8million people required hospitalisation in one year. Professor Raina MacIntyre, the head of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute, said that in a worst-case scenario, mass gatherings like sporting events and concerts would be banned as children stayed home from school Professor Raina MacIntyre, the head of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute has also released modelling showing a massive shortfall in 'coronavirus beds' 'The health system would need surge capacity, and fallback plans if needs cannot be met with existing beds and resources,' Professor MacIntyre said. 'If hospital beds run short, asking people with mild infection to stay home would be reasonable. 'We would likely see elective surgery delayed or rescheduled and reprioritisation of acute care.' Coronavirus in China has a fatality rate of 2.3 per cent. Health authorities in every Australian state are on high alert after the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned coronavirus was worse than first feared. 'Current global circumstances suggest it's likely this virus will cause a pandemic,' the government agency's principal deputy director Dr Anne Schuchat told reporters on Tuesday night. Should a pandemic occur, Australia's federal Department of Health warned hospitals were likely to be overrun. 'Demand on primary health care will also increase, exacerbated by the need to attend to patients affected by the changes in availability of services at hospitals,' it said last year in its Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza. A coronavirus pandemic would also require measures to prevent diseases outbreaks in aged care homes and prisons. Health Minister Greg Hunt has flagged the possible cancellation of sporting events, like AFL and rugby league games. Pictured are AFL Hawthorn Hawks supporters in Melbourne FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS TO STOCKPILE IN A PANDEMIC Extra prescription medications, asthma relief inhalers Over-the-counter anti-fever and pain medications Feminine hygiene products Family pack of toilet paper Vitamins Alcohol-containing hand rub Household cleaning agents and soap Tissues, paper towel Cereals, grains, beans, lentils, pasta Tinned food fish, vegetables, fruit Oil, spices and flavours Dried fruit and nuts Ultra-heat treated or powdered milk Soft drink or candy/chocolate for treats Pet food and care Source: Virology Down Under by University of Queensland virologists Dr Ian Mackay and Dr Katherine Arden Advertisement The COVID-19 coronavirus has infected 80,000 people worldwide since it originated in December at an animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. That included 23 people in Australia as of Wednesday. A further seven Australians had been flown from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama in Japan to a quarantine centre near Darwin, where they tested positive. Coronavirus has killed more than 2,600 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure, particularly among the elderly or frail. Australia is still in the containment stage of coronavirus. Most contagion cases have occurred in China, with people also testing positive in South Korea, Japan and Italy. Professor Sharon Lewin, the director of the University of Melbourne's Doherty Institute, said a pandemic occurred when 'there's sustained human-to-human transmission in multiple countries'. The Australian government extended the ban on those coming from mainland China until February 29. The travel ban has meant that an estimated 65,000 Chinese students are unable to get to university. The University of Melbourne said on Wednesday it would give students who have been affected by the virus and its 'associated travel restrictions' support packages of up to $7,500. Eligible expenses include accommodation costs, fees from flight changes, costs associated with the 14-day quarantine period, and other financial losses. University Provost Professor Mark Considine said it has been a 'difficult time' for affected students and the financial support would help ensure they can complete their studies on time. A Chinese couple in protective masks and plastic coats shop in Beijing on February 11. A survival expert said shoppers in Australia should start preparing their cupboards for a food shortage On Wednesday a survival expert warned Australians should to start stocking up on food and supplies in the event of a pandemic. One of Australia's leading survivalists said the nation's shoppers should start bulking up their weekly shop before the virus' spread leads to food supply shortages. 'We should always be prepared for food shortages - not just from coronavirus but civil incidences, extreme weather and power outages which will cut us off from supply,' Western Australian survival instructor Bob Cooper told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Stockpiling by panicked shoppers has already seen shelves emptied in Italian towns at the centre of the country's outbreak in the northern Veneto and Lombardy regions. Mr Cooper said it was too early for such panic here but said Australians should start thinking about whether their food cupboards can sustain them if the supply chain is broken. - Dr Kwame Nkrumah, on February 24, 1966, was overthrown by a group led by 4 prominent men who were close to him - When he woke up to the news of the end to his government, Nkrumah reminisced on the events and wrote down deeply sad words - Nkrumah recounted how he related with his people and how the entire overthrow took place Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in On February 24, 1996, the then president of the Ghana Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup led by Colonel E.K. Kotoka, Major A.A. Afrifa, Lieutenant General (retired) J.A. Ankra, and Police Inspector General J.W.K. Harlley. Nkrumah was out of the country at the time his government was overthrown by people he least suspected to have had any ill thoughts concerning him. When the coup happened and reality dawned on Nkrumah that his government had ended, the first president of Ghana reminisced on the whole event and wrote down very emotional words in his book Dark Days in Ghana as quoted by Ghanaianmuseum.com. READ ALSO: Meet 19-year-old university student who sells sachet water to pay her fees Kwame Nkrumah s words about the coup which deposed him headed by Colonel Emmanuel Kwesi Kotoka and Major Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa: I left Accra on 21st February 1966. I was seen off at the airport by most of the leading government and Party officials, and by service chiefs. I recall the handshakes and the expressions of good wishes from Harlley, Deku, Yakubu, and others. These men, smiling and ingratiating, had all the time treason and treachery in their minds. They had even planned my assassination on that day, though they later abandoned the idea. I remember shaking hands with Major-General Barwahto be murdered in cold blood three days later when he refused to surrender to the rebel army soldiers. READ ALSO: Meet Rev Kizito Amartey a pastor supervising the Accra beautification project little thought then that I would never see him again, or that Zanerigu, Commander of the Presidential Guard Regiment, Kojo Botsio, Kofi Baako and other ministers who were there at the airport, would be shortly seized by renegade soldiers and policemen and thrown into prison. After a week of so-called manoeuvres, the operation began early in the morning of Wednesday, 23rd February 1966 when the garrison at Kumasi, numbering 600 men, was ordered to move southwards to Accra. On the way, the convoy of some 35 vehicles was met and halted by the two arch-traitors Colonel Emmanuel Kwesi Kotoka, Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade Group, and Major Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa of the Second Brigade. Furthermore, a secret tunnel had been made from Flagstaff House, the presidential residence, to Accra airport, and for days Russians had been arriving. The only way to save Ghana, and to avoid being sent to fight in Vietnam, the troops were told, was to take Flagstaff House. READ ALSO: How 19-year-old Adisadel boy Afrifa once awarded by Nkrumah overthrew him later Several days after the military seizure of power, Kotoka and Afrifa appeared on Ghana TV congratulating themselves on their easy success. One remark stood out unmistakable and clear: And you know, we didnt find any Russians at all not one! Nor could we find any trace of that tunnel. This was followed by peals of laughter at the poor soldiers who had believed their story. In other news, Katherine Johnson, an outstanding NASA mathematician whose singular contribution made it possible for the 1st man Neil Armstrong, to land on the moon with Apollo 11 in 1969 has died on February 24, 2020, after living a full life of 101 years. According to Nationalgeographic.com, for decades, Johnson, an African-American woman, was among NASAs largely uncelebrated pioneers because she was a woman of colour but that did not stop her profound impact from being felt. Due to her role in putting America on historical records for sending the first human beings to the moon, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 by the then-president. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! "I don't believe there is a president in Ghana" - Frustrated taxi driver speaks | #Yencomgh Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Bhubaneswar, Feb 26 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appealed to the people to maintain calm. "We don't want bloodshed, we want peace," said Banerjee reacting to the Delhi violence. She said it is good for everyone when there is no violence and conflict. The West Bengal Chief Minister, who is in Odisha for a 4-day visit, on Wednesday sought the blessings of the deities at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. She offered her prayer before the presiding deities seeking harmony and peace in the country. Banerjee is scheduled to meet Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday. She would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting in Bhubaneswar on Friday. She would meet Shah for the first time after the Citizenship Amendment Act was enacted. Chief Ministers of Bihar and Jharkhand, Nitish Kumar and Hemant Soren respectively, are also scheduled to attend the EZC meeting. A recent opinion letter asked What has happened to Hamden? only to tell the tale of what is wrong with our town, and disparage our towns fiscal health, our public schools and services, the competency of Hamdens local leaders and their ability to responsibly and realistically confront the challenges facing our citys residents. Let me actually answer the question instead by asking Why cant we work together to ensure our towns and cities can further thrive? The challenges facing Hamden are no different than challenges facing comparable cities and towns of our size throughout Connecticut but we are working every day to address them. As a proud graduate of Hamden High School, I have seen firsthand what a quality public education our schools provide. The excellent education I received enabled me to go on to attend Penn State University, followed by a successful career in the United States Army, of which Im still a member. Returning home, I chose to get involved locally because I not only wanted our towns students to have the same opportunities I had, but I wanted the next generation to excel even more than me. To do that, I chose to be an active member on our towns Board of Education. We have work to do as do many cities that have similar socioeconomic challenges among some of their residents. But we are taking major steps and making great strides each year to increase opportunities in our schools and improve student outcomes. For example, the board recently approved and is in the process of implementing our 3R Plan a plan that will racially balance our elementary schools, as well as offer high-quality pre-K, which will help to aggressively close our achievement gap. Additionally, weve created an Equity Committee to better understand and work on meaningful ways to improve and create greater equity throughout our schools. The board is also currently in the early stages of updating its K-12 curriculum to make it more inclusive and representative of the students in our district. Hamden Highs student acceptance rates to selective colleges continues to be comparable to almost any top school in Connecticut (including high schools in the wealthiest school districts). Currently over 300 Hamden students are taking courses for college credit through our university and college partners the majority of these at no cost to students, thanks to our partners (and through our agreement, students eligible for free and reduced lunch pay nothing). We are also proud of the fact that students in our new HECA program (Hamden Engineering Careers Academy) can earn industry certificates as well as an associates degree concurrently with their high school diplomas at no cost. Hamden has changed from being a completely suburban community to a mix of suburb and city but the hearts of so many in Hamden make it feel like one big town, a neighborhood we all can call home. We are cutting the ribbon on new businesses every month, which offers local employment opportunities while also strengthening our grand list, allowing us to further regain our financial footing. Many other local leaders like myself are working to address the towns problems and move us forward in a constructive manner by developing plans to accomplish something, as opposed to only being interested in highlighting whats wrong with Hamden. There is no other place in the state quite like Hamden. We are in the top 10 for population statewide, we have a healthy mix of suburban, urban and rural areas. We have immense diversity, great cuisines from around the world, we are just outside of New Haven, and 90 minutes from New York City. We have unique features like the Farmington Canal, and Sleeping Giant State Park. Most importantly we have a robust, world-class institution of higher learning, Quinnipiac University, that is anchored in North Hamden and provides millions of dollars in economic activity within our town. We still have a lot to offer and a lot to be proud of as a town, all the while working to be the best version of ourselves possible. It is long overdue for the bickering and finger pointing to end. It is time for us to roll up our sleeves and work collaboratively to advance this town that we all love. We all need to keep working, together, to make Hamden an even better place for all of us. Walter L. Morton IV is a member of the Hamden Board of Education. LEWISTON, N.Y. -- A home care aide who worked with two agencies, including Care.com, has been accused of stealing from the people she cared for in Upstate New York. Bridgid M. Buseman, 29, of Tonawanda, was arrested Monday by the New York State Police and charged with grand larceny. She was arrested after a four-month investigation by the state polices Bureau of Criminal Investigations out of the Niagara barracks in Western New York. The case started on Oct. 16 with a complaint about identity theft in Lewiston, Niagara County, troopers said. During the investigation, state police discovered Buseman -- a home care aide -- was stealing money and forging checks from her clients, troopers said. Buseman worked for Care.com and the Help At Your Home agency in Williamsville, caring for the elderly and other clients, troopers said. State police worked with the Buffalo and Amherst police departments. Both agencies are investigating Buseman, troopers said. Buseman has been charged with first-degree possession of a forged instrument; fourth-degree grand larceny; second-degree identity theft; and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, all felonies. She was released from the Niagara County Jail on Monday, inmate records show. 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, a story idea or a comment? You can reach me at shouse@syracuse.com | text/call (315) 466-4160 | Twitter | Facebook Veronica del Carmen Lara Marquez is photographed at her home in Philadelphia, Monday, Feb 26, 2020. She was given 45 days to leave the country or be deported. She asked that her face not be shown. Read more The mother arrested by ICE agents outside a South Philadelphia school this month and then released by the agency for humanitarian reasons has been told she must leave the country within 45 days. The agency confirmed Wednesday that Veronica del Carmen Lara Marquez, who was placed under monitoring after her Feb. 11 arrest, has been given 45 days to leave the United States. ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said its simply carrying out an immigration judges 2012 order to remove her. Still, questions remain about the case. The agency did not disclose why Lara Marquez was targeted by agents eight years later, or provide her documentation related to the judges order. In an interview this week, Lara Marquez, 32, who is three months pregnant, told The Inquirer she has lived a peaceful existence in Philadelphia after leaving El Salvador in 2011. She said she didnt know about the deportation order which ICE said was issued in absentia until she was arrested by plainclothes agents after dropping off her 4-year-old daughter at Eliza B. Kirkbride Elementary. ICE officials wouldnt comment on whether Lara Marquezs pregnancy could affect her deportation. But her situation and the lack of information are not unique, said Philadelphia immigration attorney Ricky Palladino. We get calls like this every single day, he said. READ MORE: Concern rises following ICE arrest of mother after she dropped off child at South Philly school Sitting beside her husband inside the home they share with her father and mother-in-law, Lara Marquez said in Spanish that she is confused and worried. She doesnt know what prompted her arrest this month, saying she hasnt had prior interactions with law enforcement. She doesnt know why ICE says shes from Honduras among other inaccuracies she noted with the agencys information. And she doesnt have any written order outlining the instructions she has been given to leave the country save for a Post-it note from the case specialist assigned to monitor her. Directo (sin escala en USA), the note reads referring to a direct flight. No layovers. Lara Marquez said the agents told her they were releasing her after her arrest because of her daughter. She was placed in the agencys Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, according to paperwork signed by ICE agents. Since then, a case specialist with BI Incorporated the monitoring company that contracts with ICE has visited her at home and recorded information about other members of the household. Lara Marquez said the specialist initially told her deportation would be a long process. Then last Thursday, the specialist told her she had 45 days to leave, Lara Marquez said. A spokesperson for BI Incorporated referred all questions to ICE. Once an immigration judge issues a final order ICE has no choice but to effect the removal, said an ICE official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to discuss the case publicly. Over the years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection processed and released people caught entering the U.S., with instructions that they would have to show up for court at a later unspecified date, Palladino said. But people crossing the border dont necessarily know where they will be staying, so the addresses they provide may not be accurate. Court notices may be sent to old addresses, and if individuals dont show up for their hearing, a judge can issue a deportation order in their absence. That order is final. The only thing she could do now to stay here is get her removal proceedings reopened, Palladino said. He said if ICEs records about Lara Marquez were incorrect, that could be grounds to reopen the order. The ICE official said that the agencys records are based on the information Lara Marquez provided when she crossed the border but that ICE is investigating the situation. As for how ICE may have caught up to Lara Marquez eight years after the order, Palladino said she could have filed some immigration paperwork that put her status on the agencys radar, or someone could have called in a tip. For the person, its really bad luck, he said. Lara Marquez and her husband say they are waiting for further information If they go back, they will suffer a lot, Lara Marquezs father-in-law said this week. The father-in-law, who has Temporary Protected Status, said he and his family left El Salvador because of poverty. We do have to pay a lot of money to live in the U.S., but there is also work and there is food, he said. While he and his son work, Lara Marquez takes care of chores and the young children at home. Lara Marquezs father-in-law saw her arrest and ran from the second floor of their rowhouse out onto the street to tell agents to be careful with her because shes pregnant. Until that point, he didnt know Lara Marquez had a deportation order against her. He said he has been praying the family attends the Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul and worries about repercussions for the rest of his family. I will die if I lose them, he said. By Trend About 7,500 proceedings were carried out as part of the criminal prosecution of Azerbaijans Khojaly genocide, Azerbaijani Military Prosecutor Khanlar Valiyev said. Valiyev made the remark at the scientific-practical conference in the Azerbaijani Military Prosecutor's Office, dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports on Feb. 25. A joint investigative-operational group was created on December 18, 2003 upon an order of prosecutor general, interior minister and minister of national security to address the international organizations with the relevant appeals, the military prosecutor added. "The Azerbaijani military prosecutor has been entrusted with the control over the preliminary investigation in this criminal case since May 5, 2005, Valiyev said. During the criminal prosecution related to the Khojaly genocide, about 7,500 proceedings were carried out, more than 4,500 people were interrogated, the military prosecutor said. Over 800 examinations were carried out, Valiyev said. During the investigation, as well as according to the preliminary examination results, it was revealed that the damage worth over $170,250 was caused to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani citizens. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz "Because of the ongoing challenges faced by farmers, it's necessary that we constantly look ahead for ways to accommodate their needs and mitigate risk," said Quinn Showalter, NK head of sales. "By combining the latest in seed technology with top-of-the-line genetics, NK is able to continue to add products to our lineup that we know will withstand some of the toughest conditions." Elite corn genetics to help meet agronomic needs The reinvigorated NK corn portfolio offers high-yielding performance protected by industry-leading traits, helping farmers maximize their whole-farm ROI potential. Bred from one of the industry's largest and most diverse germplasm pools and equipped with industry-leading Agrisure traits, NK hybrids fit the unique challenges of farms across the U.S. "Bred to meet farmers' local needs, the new NK hybrids are more competitive than ever, with strong agronomic packages driving winning yields," said Joe Bollman, NK corn product manager. "Ongoing innovation is allowing us to develop hybrids that can match any environment and combat any conditions which, as last year reminded everyone, could be both expected and unexpected." The new hybrids build on another strong season for NK corn. Despite the record-breaking environmental challenges of 2019, NK hybrids outperformed key competitors in the Corn Belt and beyond. For example: In South Dakota and Minnesota , NK0243-5122 E-Z Refuge brand outyielded DeKalb hybrids by 10.7 bu/A across 43 comparisons and Pioneer hybrids by 7.3 bu/A across 40 comparisons. and , NK0243-5122 E-Z Refuge brand outyielded hybrids by 10.7 bu/A across 43 comparisons and Pioneer hybrids by 7.3 bu/A across 40 comparisons. In Iowa , NK0472-5222 E-Z Refuge brand outyielded Pioneer hybrids by 16.5 bu/A in 22 comparisons. , NK0472-5222 E-Z Refuge brand outyielded Pioneer hybrids by 16.5 bu/A in 22 comparisons. In Illinois , NK1082-3330A E-Z Refuge brand outyielded DeKalb DKC59-06 by 16.5 bu/A in 17 comparisons. Expansive soybean trait portfolio offers more choice The new varieties join a lineup of consistently high-yielding varieties equipped with today's most in-demand herbicide technology choices. The NK soybean portfolio offers the industry's broadest choice of herbicide traits to manage tough-to-control weeds, including Enlist E3 soybeans, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend and LibertyLink GT27. This is made possible by a state-of-the-art trait conversion capability that enables Syngenta to bring the latest, most desirable trait packages to market with the newest genetics. Combine these trait offerings with more than 50 years of breeding experience, and NK is able to offer farmers products that protect soybean yield potential in even the toughest of environments. "We're investing directly into our breeding program so that we can deliver products that keep up with and answer farmers' needs," said Eric Miller, NK soybean product manager. "By setting the standard for soybean trait choice, the new NK varieties will help farmers minimize risk and maximize yield potential no matter their location." In 2019, NK soybeans outyielded key competitors across the U.S. For example: S14-U9X brand had strong showings in several areas. The variety outyielded Asgrow products by 4.1 bu/A in 19 Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota comparisons, 1.8 bu/A in 58 South Dakota & western Minnesota comparisons, and 1.6 bu/A in 12 Upper Midwest comparisons. products by 4.1 bu/A in 19 Wisconsin and eastern comparisons, 1.8 bu/A in 58 South Dakota & western comparisons, and 1.6 bu/A in 12 Upper Midwest comparisons. S28-E3 brand outyielded all Asgrow varieties by 5.2 bu/A across 45 comparisons in southern and eastern Nebraska , and Pioneer varieties by 6 bu/A across 18 comparisons in the same area. Value beyond seed NK is accelerating innovation to address the increasing challenges for farmers and the environment by delivering unique opportunities that add value beyond seed. One such offering is Enogen corn, available through NK retailers in select locations. These unique hybrids add benefits for farmers marketing grain to ethanol plants or producing grain or silage for livestock feed. Another is the NK Seed Analyzer, a tool that taps into decades of data to provide unbiased, field-specific recommendations. The adaptability of the platform allows retailers and farmers to proactively plan for weather volatility, soil variability and planting specifications by seeing actual results from numerous sources. NK also is helping farmers take profit potential to new heights through 0% APR1 financing offers from John Deere Financial and Rabo AgriFinance. To learn more, contact a local NK retailer or visit www.NKseeds.com. Join the conversation online connect with Syngenta at Syngenta-us.com/social. 1Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between Sept. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2020. Offer limited to Multi-Use Account Agricultural customers with an available Special Terms credit limit. Subject to the Multi-Use Account credit agreement and approval. Fixed 0% APR from the date of purchase, which may be prior to delivery, until December 2020, when the entire transaction amount and accrued interest is due in full. Regular Multi-Use Account rates will apply after that date. Offer may be limited to qualifying products. $3,500 minimum purchase required. About Syngenta Syngenta is one of the world's leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS. Web Resources: NK Corn Agrisure Enogen Corn NK Soybeans John Deere Financial Rabo AgriFinance NK Seeds Syngenta Newsroom Syngenta Seeds Syngenta U.S. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans', 'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. 2020 Syngenta. 2001 Butterfield Road, Suite 1600, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Important: Always read and follow label and bag tag instructions; only those labeled as tolerant to glufosinate may be sprayed with glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides. LibertyLink, Liberty and the Water Droplet logo are registered trademarks of BASF. GT27 is a trademark of M.S. Technologies and BASF. HERCULEX and the HERCULEX Shield are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, LLC. HERCULEX Insect Protection technology by Dow AgroSciences. ENLIST E3 soybean technology is jointly developed with Dow AgroScience LLC and MS Technologies LLC. The ENLIST trait and ENLIST Weed Control System are technologies owned and developed by Dow Agrosciences LLC. ENLIST and ENLIST E3 are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Roundup Ready 2 Yield, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend, Genuity, Genuity and Design, Genuity Icons, YieldGard VT Pro and Design are registered trademarks used under license from Monsanto Technology LLC. Under federal and local laws, only dicamba-containing herbicides registered for use on dicamba-tolerant varieties may be applied. See product labels for details and tank mix partners. Golden Harvest and NK Soybean varieties are protected under granted or pending U.S. variety patents and other intellectual property rights, regardless of the trait(s) within the seed. The Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend traits may be protected under numerous United States patents. It is unlawful to save soybeans containing these traits for planting or transfer to others for use as a planting seed. Only dicamba formulations that employ VaporGrip Technology are approved for use with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. Only 2,4-D choline formulations with Colex-D Technology are approved for use with Enlist E3 Soybeans. The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are the property of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. More information about Agrisure Duracade is available at http://www.biotradestatus.com/ SOURCE Syngenta Related Links http://www.syngenta.com A 25-year-old man bid farewell to his friend in a short but meaningful Facebook post after the friend was shot to death outside a Center Point barber shop Tuesday. Derrick Marks wrote this to 21-year-old Delquan McNeily. I know you forever with me until we meet again. Just hours later, the 25-year-old Marks, too, would be killed in a separate shooting. Authorities said it wasnt immediately clear whether the two slayings are linked but they are looking into the possibility. The first happened about 1:40 p.m. to Coreys Barber Shop on 20th Court N.W. just off Center Point Parkway. Jefferson County sheriffs deputies and Center Point Fire medics arrived on the scene to find McNeily unresponsive just outside the door to the shop. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:50 p.m. Nearby workers reported hearing at least five to six shots fired, and then saw a vehicle speed away from the area. Sheriffs Sgt. Joni Money said McNeily and another man got into an argument which escalated to a physical altercation. At that point, a third person exited the barber shop and fired several shots at McNeily. The shooter fled in a dark-colored Toyota Camry. Less than five hours later, Irondale police and medics responded to Hunter Ridge Apartments in Irondale after a barrage of shots were fired in the parking lot there. First responders arrived at 6:15 p.m. to find a wounded Marks inside a vehicle. They performed CPR on him, and then rushed him to St. Vincents East where he was pronounced dead at 7:13 p.m. Dozens of shell casings were in the parking lot and marked as evidence. Authorities said it didnt appear that Marks was actually in the vehicle when he was shot. Marks lived in Birmingham; McNeily in the Grayson Valley area. Authorities have not announced arrests in either homicide. There have been 26 homicides countywide in 2020. Enterprises on a mission to improve their customer experience (CX) will be able to access unrivaled technology and distinctive professional services from the combined firm Solidifies leadership position in multiple sectors, including automotive, financial services, hospitality and retail while expanding global reach across the Americas, Europe and Asia InMoment and MaritzCX, recognized market leaders and proven innovators in the global customer experience (CX) sector, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the two companies. The combined company will immediately support over 2,000 leading brands with a global team of 1,500 employees located in 20 offices spanning North America, Europe and Asia. "In this world of rising consumer expectations, it is imperative for businesses to have an experience program that can continuously monitor, understand, analyze and improve the total customer experience with true agility," commented InMoment CEO Andrew Joiner. "We are bringing together two world-class companies that will deliver a truly unique value to our clients in their ongoing quest to win over customers. I couldn't be more excited about our future as we bring together these two amazing companies to redefine 'what's possible' in our industry-meeting clients where they are today and innovating together to create the future." Solidifies Leadership Positions in Retail, Hospitality, Automotive and Financial Services The combined company, backed by Madison Dearborn Partners, a leading Chicago-based private equity firm, serves an impressive list of clients that includes 90 percent of the world's automotive companies; eight out of 10 of the leading banks; nearly 20 percent of the top 50 retailers and 40 percent of the top hospitality companies. MaritzCX president and CEO, Mike Sinoway added, "Combining the strengths of MaritzCX and InMoment is exciting for our clients, for our employees and for the market. This industry needs a new and disruptive approach if we truly wish to transform the way businesses look to improve experiences and results. The combined company will offer a transformative approach to enhancing the customer experience." Clients of both companies will have access to enhanced technical functionality while maintaining continuity with existing programs-protecting and future-proofing their investment. "Winning companies are those with access to the right customer knowledge, at the right time, that drives the right action to fundamentally improve the delivered customer experience," said John Lewis, executive chairman of InMoment, Madison Dearborn Partners executive partner and former global president of Nielsen. "However, that's all easier said than done. Companies can often underestimate how challenging it is to knit together the systems in a way that creates tangible value to consumers and also deliver economic value to the enterprise. The only way to 'crack-the-code' is to marry talented domain experts with leading-edge technology to create tailored systems that can deliver on the bigger vision. You need both sides of the equation-and that is exactly what we are getting by bringing these two companies together." Andrew Joiner will lead the combined organization as CEO, and John Lewis will continue to chair the Board of Directors. Leadership from both organizations is represented on the combined leadership team. It is expected MaritzCX will operate as MaritzCX, an InMoment company, for a period of time. The transaction is expected to close in early March 2020. JEGI Clarity served as exclusive financial advisor to MaritzCX. About InMoment InMoment helps organizations deliver more valuable and inspiring experiences to their customers and employees at every moment in their journey. Our clients gain the wisdom of our experts-who bring deep domain knowledge in experience design and delivery-coupled with our award-winning Experience Intelligence (XI) platform that continually analyzes and evaluates enterprise experience data and customer feedback. Recognized as a leader and innovator in our sector, we collaborate with the world's leading brands to attract, engage and retain their customers. We are fiercely proud that our clients continually tell us they love the experience of working with our company, as we constantly stretch to exceed their expectations. Take a moment, and learn more at inmoment.com About MaritzCX MaritzCX is the leader in experience management for big business, and includes customer experience (CX), employee experience (EX), and patient experience (PX). The company combines experience management software, data and research science, and deep vertical market expertise to accelerate client success. Experience programs that are most impactful drive the right kind of actions throughout an organization and support a strong business case. MaritzCX partners with large companies that insist on effective and high-ROI experience results. Customers include global brands from the Automotive, Financial Services, Consumer Technology, Patient and Healthcare, Telecom, Retail, B2B, Energy and Utilities industries. About Madison Dearborn Partners Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP"), based in Chicago, is a leading private equity investment firm in the United States. Since MDP's formation in 1992, the firm has raised seven funds with aggregate capital of approximately $23 billion and has completed over 140 investments. MDP is currently investing out of its most recent fund, $4.4 billion MDCP Fund VII, in businesses across a broad spectrum of industries, including telecom, media and technology services; basic industries; businesses and government software and services; financial and transaction services; and health care. For more information, please visit mdcp.com. About Maritz Holdings Inc. St. Louis-based Maritz is a sales and marketing services company, which helps businesses achieve their full potential through inspiring and motivating employees, channel partners and customers. Maritz companies provide market and customer research; customer loyalty, sales incentives and employee rewards and recognition programs; and meeting, event and travel incentive services to Fortune 500 companies and beyond. For more information, visit maritz.com or contact us at 1-877-4MARITZ. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005127/en/ Contacts: Adam Watson awatson@inmoment.com Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra tweeted a short video on Tuesday which shows the police in riot gear patrolling an empty road below the Metro station in Northeast Delhis Jafrabad, one of the worst affected areas due to violence. The 11-second clip has been tweeted with the caption in Hindi: Jafrabad is empty. There wont be another Shaheen Bagh now. It is a reference to the south Delhi locality where a section of road has been blocked due to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA which has been going on for more than two months now. The protest site below the Jafrabad Metro station was cleared by the police on Tuesday evening. Also Watch | Delhi violence | Unfortunate that centre is not paying attention: Ghulam Nabi Azad Eighteen people, including a Delhi Police head constable, have been killed and more than 250 injured in three days of violence in Jafrabad, Maujpur and other areas of Northeast Delhi, according to news agency ANI. The protest had been going on since Saturday, but spiralled on Sunday evening after Mishra visited the area and demanded that the police remove the protesters within three days. Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and others have moved the Supreme Court seeking the lodging of first information reports (FIRs) over the violence. Habibullah, in his application in the top court, accused Mishra of orchestrating the riots. Mishra said in another tweet posted on Monday evening that he had done nothing wrong by supporting the CAA. I am receiving death threats from abroad as well as India. I am being threatened. To help open a closed road is not a crime, supporting the CAA is not a crime, speaking truth is not a crime, Mishra said in his tweet posted in Hindi. He ended his tweet with a line in English: I dont fear this massive hate campaign against me. BJPs East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday supported strict action against anyone, including Mishra, if they gave provocative speeches. Whoever, no matter which party he belongs to, whether he is Kapil Mishra or anyone else, who gave speeches to provoke people, action should be taken against them, Gambhir told reporters after visiting injured police officers admitted at a hospital in Patparganj. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari appealed to all the party leaders to do everything possible to establish peace in Delhi. No leader should do such a thing that causes confusion and sends a wrong message among the people. Everyone should refrain from making inflammatory statements, Tiwari said in a statement. [February 26, 2020] SoftIron Co-Founder, Mark Chen, Returns to Lead Company's Secure Provenance Strategy as CSO LONDON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SoftIron Ltd., the leader in purpose-built and performance-optimized data center appliances, announces the appointment of Mark Chen to the role of Chief Security Officer. An original co-founder of the company, Mark previously served as the company's Chief Scientist before a professional sabbatical, and returns to lead the company's unique secure provenance strategy, aimed at reinforcing the company's security against root-level hardware and software compromises by both foreign and domestic actors. The appointment of Chen to Chief Security Officer reinforces SoftIron's commitment to providing "clear box" solutions to customers using its superior, task-specific hardware, which currently includes storage and transcoding. Chen has been active in information security and engineering for more than twenty years, with an extensive background in cryptology, e-commerce, network security, application development, and embedded systems. He will work to enhance security in the engineering, manufacturing and auditing of SoftIron's products, which are designed, developed and assembled in California. Chen was formerly a senior engineer and security architect for Intuit, where he designed and built the security system for the world's first online retail banking system, and was responsible for conducting scalability, performance optimization, and failure-mode analysis on the system's high-volume cryptographic servers. Chen enters the role of Chief Security Officer with a clear vision to boost SoftIron's secure provenance strategy, ringing auditable transparency to every aspect of SoftIron's hardware and software products and ensuring the integrity of critical systems and data. This mission is taking on elevated importance as governments and other organizations roll out mission-critical Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Edge Computing deployments and are looking for new strategies to secure supply chains for technology and communications networks. (News note: On February 10, 2020, The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) unveiled a new National Counterintelligence Strategy for the US , addressing modern-day threats, including "adversaries attempting to access national supply chains at multiple points by inserting malware into important information technology networks and communications systems.") "As computing systems become increasingly intertwined with the fabric of society, so too do root-level threats that can be used to exploit a range of critical assets such as sensitive communications, election results, and intellectual property. Developing strategic countermeasures against these threats is a priority across government and industry, but it has to start from a secure foundation: the very hardware and software we use to run these systems. That's where we come in," said Phil Straw, CEO of SoftIron. "Our customers can take great confidence in the appointment of a legendary talent like Mark Chen returning to SoftIron to steer the organization across all aspects of security. Mark has been a pioneer in providing security in the digital age, having worked with companies like Intuit, VeriSign, RSA, Netscape, Certicom and more. We are proud to have him returning as part of our core leadership team and look forward to leveraging his considerable talent as our security chief." "Protecting our critical technology base against a growing and diverse array of adversaries becomes ever more important as society's reliance on technology increases," said Mark Chen. "The industry's constant drive to minimize production and material costs through outsourcing has created a situation where complex supply chains with opaque, multi-tier relationships are the norm. This environment offers deep shadows in which spies and hackers can thrive and invites root-level exploits in both hardware and software. A compromised technology base, in turn, threatens industries such as energy, financial services, health care, and government. As I return to SoftIron as CSO, I am resolved to help drive our approach to secure provenance and to lead the industry in a new direction where root-level security becomes a planned priority, not a reaction to events that have already threatened lives and fortunes." For more information on SoftIron's approach to security, visit http://bit.ly/SoftIronSecureProvenance About SoftIron SoftIron is the world-leader in purpose-built, performance-optimized, storage solutions from the data center to the edge. The company's HyperDrive software-defined storage portfolio is built on Ceph; it's custom-designed and purpose-built for scale-out enterprise storage and runs at wire speed. HyperCast delivers the best density and value for real-time video streaming. SoftIron unlocks greater business value for enterprises by delivering great products without software and hardware lock-in. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1094103/SoftIron_HyperDrive.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. New Delhi: Amid the ongoing AGR crisis, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Tuesday met Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, even as an official said the telecom ministry is prepared to issue a notice to Tata Teleservices for paying only part of its dues as full and final settlement. Emerging from the meeting which lasted for over 30 minutes, Chandrasekaran declined to comment on the details of his discussion. He later also met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash. The crucial meeting comes at a time when the government is looking to issue a detailed notice to Tatas for paying only Rs 2,197 crore as full and final settlement, whereas the government's calculation put Tata Teleservices' dues at about Rs 14,000 crore. A senior government official asserted that the telecom department is not convinced with the company's dues assessment. A notice will be sent to the company in a day or two questioning its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) calculation, the official said. With the sector reeling under the impact of statutory dues burden, Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last Tuesday. In all, 15 telecom entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore in unpaid statutory 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 account for about 60 percent. 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 for extension in the payment schedule and asked companies to deposit their past dues for spectrum and licences. Since the 14 February tongue-lashing Supreme Court gave telecom companies for missing its previous deadline of 23 January to pay past dues as well as the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for failing to enforce it, firms and Telecom Ministry are busy doing separate maths on the actual dues. Vodafone Idea, which is confronted with Rs 53,000 crore in statutory dues as per DoT's calculation, has so far paid only seven per cent of those dues in two tranches. Airtel has paid Rs 10,000 crore out of its DoT 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. Meanwhile, the government is also asking telecom companies including Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices to submit supporting documents on AGR self-assessment, that formed the basis of their statutory dues calculation. The exercise will help the DoT examine the AGR calculations being made by the telecom players. Once substantiating documents are filed by the companies, the telecom department will initiate random test checks on the AGR calculation in a time-bound manner. The 'test check' will be done for any one year (of telcos' dues) to examine the deviation between telecom companies' assessment and the government calculation of AGR liabilities. Amid a deepening crisis in the telecom sector, the government is looking to strike a balance between complying with the Supreme Court order on statutory dues, ensuring the health of the sector and safeguarding consumer interest. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, and VIL's Birla met top government functionaries throughout last week to seek prompt measures that would offer a breather to the troubled sector. Mittal has urged the government for reduction in levies and taxes, as he termed the AGR "an unprecedented crisis for industry". By Park Si-soo Communities, companies and the government have joined forces to tackle the serious shortage of blood donated amid the raging coronavirus epidemic. Braving fears of the virus being amplified, they have organized blood donation campaigns across the country. Korea now has blood reserves for 4.4 days, shy of the 50,378 liters from normal five-day levels, according to the Korean Red Cross (KRC). If the level becomes "serious," hospitals will find blood supplies severely disrupted. KRC officials said the organization is managing stocks in a more conservative way, monitoring levels at hospitals and checking scheduled surgeries. There are extreme fears of coronavirus in South Korea with 1,146 people infected and 11 dying (as of noon Wednesday) so much so that many people are not leaving their homes. This also has affected potential blood donors. KRC officials said they thoroughly check the body temperature, recent travel history and any respiratory problems of donors before taking their blood. In order to create a state in a smartphone, it is important for Ukraine to examine the experience in this field and to adopt the best world practices. Nowadays, Ukraine develops rapidly in IT and digital area, including in the public sector. We have set an ambitious task to create a "state in a smartphone", where the vast majority of public services will be provided online. That is why it is important for us to examine the best experience in this field and to adopt the best world practices, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov said during his visit to the e-Estonia center, the Ukrainian Parliament press service reports. A significant difference between the size of population of Estonia and Ukraine does not mean that it will be much more difficult for Ukrainian developers to create such a system of e-governance, Razumkov noted. Today we take the first successful steps in Ukraine: the application Diya and e-service e-Maliatko were launched. Of course, we will not be able to create e-Ukraine in nine months, but I am sure that we will achieve this goal over time, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed. As reported, Razumkov started his official visit to Estonia on February 25. ol In the end, Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton decided to leave well enough alone. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In the end, Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton decided to leave well enough alone. Wharton deleted two separate video tweets this week that boasted of high greenhouse gas emissions targets for a fledgling Manitoba Crown corporation, after the Free Press questioned his facts. Earlier this month, Wharton posted a video in which he claimed Efficiency Manitoba had been given a mandate to help Manitobans reduce their emissions by more than 340,000 tonnes by 2022. That was a tall order, given the corporation, established by the Progressive Conservative government as a standalone agency to replace Manitoba Hydros old Power Smart initiative, isnt due to launch its programs until April 1. In a submission last fall to the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba, Efficiency Manitoba proposed programs that would reduce natural gas-generated emissions by an average of 23,900 tonnes over the next three years. Even on a cumulative basis, that would add up to a little more than 140,000 tonnes for that period. On Monday, Wharton replaced the video with a slightly amended one that expressed the emissions-reduction target as a cut of more than 340,000 tonnes "over the first five years." That raised questions about whether the government would be setting new GHG emissions-reductions targets for Efficiency Manitoba and precisely which five-year period Wharton was talking about. By Tuesday, that video was also deleted from his Twitter account "to avoid causing further confusion," a government spokeswoman explained. Wharton did not respond to repeated interview requests. The government spokeswoman said 340,000 tonnes was the original emissions-reduction target established by the Pallister government for Efficiency Manitoba when it announced its green plan in 2017. "Given (that establishment of) Efficiency Manitoba was delayed and wont be operational till April 2020, their targets and time frame have been adjusted to coincide with our first carbon savings account (which runs from 2018-22)," she said, referring to the provinces method of tracking emissions reductions. Manitoba has set a GHG reduction goal of no less than one megatonne for the 2018 to 2022 period. NDP MLA Adrien Sala was incredulous at Whartons initial claim Efficiency Manitoba could somehow reduce GHG emissions in the two years before its programming began. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I think were just seeing more confusion and shifting targets here from a government thats not taking climate change seriously," he said. Peter Miller, a retired University of Winnipeg professor who sits on the Manitoba Green Action Committees policy committee, said hes more troubled by the Pallister governments claims Manitoba is the "cleanest, greenest" province. Miller calls it "complete misinformation." Citing information in the June 2019 report of the Expert Advisory Council to the minister of Sustainable Development, he said Manitoba fares no better than mid-pack, compared to other provinces, in emissions per capita (sixth-highest) and emissions compared against economic growth (fifth-highest). "The premier keeps talking about our hydro investment (as a Manitoba green-selling point), but were not making use of it in the transportation sector like Quebec and B.C. (are)," Miller said. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madison Pacific Properties Inc. (the Company), reports the voting results of the Annual General Meeting of its shareholders held February 25, 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The following six nominees were re-elected as directors of the Company by the following votes: Nominee Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Percent Marvin Haasen 3,344,132 87.24% 489,300 12.76% Sam Grippo 3,344,130 87.24% 489,302 12.76% Michael W. Delesalle 3,344,130 87.24% 489,302 12.76% Peter J. Bonner 3,344,130 87.24% 489,302 12.76% Mark E. Elliott 3,344,132 87.24% 489,300 12.76% Jonathan H. B. Rees 3,833,430 100.00% 2 0.00% In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was re-appointed as the auditor for the Company. About the Company: Madison Pacific Properties Inc. is a Vancouver-based real estate company with approximately $561 million in investment and development properties, including the Companys proportionate share of properties held through jointly-controlled partnerships. The Companys investment portfolio comprises 48 properties with approximately 1.82 million rentable sq. ft. of industrial and commercial space. Approximately 98.7% of the available space of the investment properties is currently leased. The Companys development properties include a 50% interest in the Silverdale Hills LP which owns approximately 1,380 acres of undeveloped residential designated lands in Mission, British Columbia. Jersey Citys new public transport service officially hit the road Tuesday. Mayor Steve Fulop announced Tuesday the launch of the citys on-demand transit system in partnership with ride-sharing company Via. Fulop hopes the new service will help eliminate some of the citys parking problems and bring transportation to areas like Greenville with limited access to transit services. We dont want those people to rely on the successes or failures of New Jersey Transit, Fulop said about areas with limited access. We want to make sure they have options that they can get to and from work and to and from family gatherings in a cost-effective, quick, and clean ride. For now, rides are $1 each. On March 21, the price goes up to $2. Fulop said the city has been working on the first in the state program with Via for about a year, and he anticipates the ride service to build up to a total of 150,000 rides per month. Hoboken offers the HOP, a free bus service that has three routes. The system will aim to provide more transit options in the northern and southern neighborhoods of the city in areas Fulop refers to as transit deserts." Areas that dont have great access to light rail, dont have great access to the PATH system, or have to rely on buses that are often late or dont show up or show up overcrowded," Fulop said. This is an option that is cost-effective and will make those areas of the city more connected to the rest of the city. Via will operate 15 vehicles with at least 10% of the fleet being fully electric, with a focus on increasing the number of electric vehicles in the upcoming years. The fleet, which includes two handicap accessible vehicles, will grow as needed, Fulop said. Fulop has not taken a ride yet, but I certainly will. I was just excited when I passed one on the street. ... Its great to be able to see the work that we do actually implemented and I took a video of it because I was excited. Its not every day that u get the chance to launch entirely NEW transportation systems for residents. We did it w/@CitiBikeJC bike share/protected bike lanes (the most comprehensive system in NJ) + today we launch @ridewithvia - muni subsidized ride share for transit deserts pic.twitter.com/OgjE9V8mHa Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) February 25, 2020 Using the Via mobile app, or a phone line for users without access to a smartphone, passengers will select a pick-up and drop-off location and confirm their ride. Once a ride is booked, the app will match you with other passengers heading in the same direction. The app will send users to a nearby corner, or virtual bus stop to meet and be picked up with an announced wait time. Fulop said you can go from Greenville to the Newport mall or vice versa for the flat rate of $2. You cant go from the Newport Mall to City Hall for the flat fee. The city will be divided into two zone, the Central zone (Downtown and Journal Square) and the Outer zone (everywhere else). Trip from one point to another inside the Central zone will cost an extra 50 cents per mile. William Springs, 50, a driver for the citys new ride service, enjoyed his first day on the job, a far cry from the railroad job he previously held. By 12:30 p.m., Springs said he had been all over the city, from Greenville to the Heights. While the new system is meant for multiple riders, he said most of the rides Tuesday were single passengers. I think it is a very good thing for the city and a good opportunity for people looking for employment, Springs said. Its pretty cool man its also reasonable in price. The service will operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Riders can request a wheelchair accessible vehicle on the app or on the phone. I think, longer term, some residents will make the decision that with a system like Via maybe they dont need a car, Fulop said. They dont need the headaches of parking issues, insurance issues and all of the maintenance issues for a car. Maybe somebody will make the decision and say I can get around for $2. It is cheaper to use Via and than (have) all the headaches associated with a car. $1 rides from a short half a mile or going all the way to downtown Jersey City. Might get rid of the second car? pic.twitter.com/czyeSnP6dX (@ZaidaGrunes) February 25, 2020 Via is currently available in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Update: According to an email from Via to a customer, rides beginning and ending in the outer zone start at $2, and the final price will vary based on distance. Also, rides have to start or end in the outer zone for the flat rate, meaning you cant ride within the central zone. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- ABC News has suspended correspondent David Wright after a secret recording showed him criticizing the network and calling himself a socialist. The video was released Wednesday by Project Veritas, a conservative web site that publishes videos that aim to embarrass or expose bias in mainstream media. I feel terrible about it. I feel the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed and people also have the opportunity to tune into whatever they want to hear, Wright says in the video, apparently talking about the political coverage on ABC News. And so, its like theres no upside in, or our bosses dont see an upside in doing the job were supposed to do, which is to speak truth to power and hold people to account. He continues, We dont hold him [Trump] to account. We also dont give him credit for what things he does do... Again, I think, in the place that I work and the places like it, is that with Trump were interested in three things: were interested in the outrage of the day, the investigation, and of the palace intrigue of whos backstabbing whom. Beyond that, we dont really cover the guy." According to Project Veritas, the video was shot while Wright was covering the New Hampshire primary earlier this month. A source told Deadline Wright wasnt aware he was being recorded. Later in the video, he calls ABC News a profit center, a promotion center. Like now, you cant watch Good Morning America without there being a Disney princess or a Marvel Avenger. Its all self-promotional, he says. The conversation then veers to Wrights political beliefs when an unseen and unidentified woman asks if he considers himself a Democratic socialist. Oh yeah. Like, more than that, I consider myself a socialist, he responds. There should be national health insurance. Im totally fine with reigning in corporations, I think theyre too many billionaires, and I think theres a wealth gap. Thats a problem, he says, echoing beliefs held by Sen. Bernie Sanders. In a statement to media outlets, ABC News explained the decision to suspend Wright. Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved. David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns. Wright has been with ABC News since 2000, appearing on World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and Nightline. English French Villers-les-Nancy, 26 February 2020 - 6:00 p.m. (CET) Press release aXigate was selected by the French hospital purchasing network, RESAH, as a provider of patient pathway management solutions for regional hospital groups aXigate , a subsidiary of the Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division of Pharmagest Group , was selected by the French hospital purchasing network, RESAH (Reseau des Acheteurs Hospitaliers) for its new Electronic Medical Records programme for French regional hospital groups with 6 other independent health sector software vendors. , a subsidiary of the Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division of , was selected by the French hospital purchasing network, RESAH for its new Electronic Medical Records programme for French regional hospital groups with 6 other independent health sector software vendors. The functionalities to be included in this programme destined to provide the common base for EMR include the management of arrivals, patient identification, hospital stays and movements, medical appointments, prescriptions, biological tests, imaging and healthcare, medical files, ER care, medical automation solutions, the integration of biomedical data, gathering information and integration into the Hospital Information System (HIS) of the SMR (Shared Medical Records) and regional medical files. *** aXigate, a MALTA INFORMATIQUE subsidiary since 2017, is specialised in new technologies which ranks it as a French leader in the Hospital Information Systems (HIS) sector. As part of Pharmagest Group's Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division (which includes the MALTA INFORMATIQUE software for ALFs, DICSIT INFORMATIQUE software for Hospital at Home programmes and home-based nursing services, ICT software for different types of community health centres and MALTA BELGIUM software for nursing homes in Belgium), aXigate has once again demonstrated the relevance of its market positioning and the added value offered by its response to market needs for innovative technological solutions. aXigate was selected by the RESAH hospital purchasing network for its new Electronic Medical Records initiative for regional hospital groups The call for tender for the Provision of digital services for the pathway and coordination in the healthcare and social care universe (interprofessional coordination and coordination support services) and related services is part of the Health System Transformation Strategy programme of the Ma sante 2022 initiative launched on 18 September 2018. This programme addresses two major priorities for driving the digital revolution of the health system transformation strategy: Developing health information sharing between professionals through secure, interoperable (communicating) and simple to use digital services; Contributing to the deployment of services providing value to users and patients by facilitating access to their personal data, health information and the creation of a digital healthcare space. aXigate: a solution for managing the Patient pathway already deployed in several regional hospital groups aXigate provides an innovative solution for Electronic Medical Records addressing multi-establishment information needs and covering inter-and intra-hospital patient pathway. It is based on Web and mobile technologies which facilitate the exchange and integration of data, allowing access from any computer workstation, regardless of the operating system, or through mobile devices. aXigates information system addresses the needs of all healthcare stakeholders: hospitals, regional hospital groups, ALFs, Hospital at Home programmes and home-based nursing services but also private practice physicians. The aXigate solution is built around three core components: Welcome, a Patient Identity Server and a regional Platform for Information Exchange and Sharing. Reflex, the new Mobile-Web-Based Electronic Medical Records (EMR) solution. Lookup, an integrated decision-making and navigation tool within an optimized file system. A link between outpatient office-based/hospital pathways for the patient: Pharmagest Group is the only market player capable of organizing and coordinating healthcare between office-based and hospital care Pharmagest Group is constantly enhancing its system based on the largest service offering on the market. These services support patients across the entire pathway to provide a unique care experience through solutions designed to bridge the outpatient office-based and hospital phases of care. The Pharmagest Group's Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division (which includes the MALTA INFORMATIQUE software solution for ALFs, DICSIT INFORMATIQUE software solution for Hospital-at-Home programmes and home-based nursing services, aXigate software solution for regional hospital groups, ICT software solution for different types of community health centres and MALTA BELGIUM software solution for nursing homes in Belgium) proposes the most comprehensive and innovative offering in the healthcare market, facilitating exchanges between all stakeholders within a patient-centred universe. With its Electronic Medical Records solution, aXigate is fully integrated within the architecture of the software suites developed by MALTA INFORMATIQUE (TITAN Suite for ALFs) and DICSIT INFORMATIQUE (AntHADine Suite for Hospital at Home programmes). We are very pleased to be selected as a supplier which validates our commitment to our investment strategy and strengthens aXigates position. aXigate has demonstrated in recent months its ability to deploy its solutions across different regional hospital networks to create a particularly large functional scope. Its selection as a supplier by RESAH highlights the positive market positioning of aXigates software offering. This is further bolstered within regional hospital groups by the leading positions of our solutions in the social care (TITAN) and hospital-at-home market segments (AntHADine) noted Gregoire DE ROTALIER, Chairman of aXigate and Pharmagest Group's Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division. About aXigate aXigate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malta Informatique, develops one of the most innovative solutions on the Hospital Information Systems (HIS) market with a 100%-cloud-based and web-responsive solution (multi-device functionalities: tablets, smart phones, computers, etc.) providing traceability and comprehensive patient care management. The aXigate solution is destined mainly for public hospital centres, particularly regional hospital groups (Groupements Hospitaliers de Territoire or GHT). Authorised for millions of patient records and thousands of users, aXigate is deployed at more than 40 hospitals across France. About MALTA INFORMATIQUE and the Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division of Pharmagest Group MALTA INFORMATIQUE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pharmagest Group, is an independent software vendor specialised in applications for assisted living facilities and day care facilities for the elderly, a fast-growing sector in which it has a 28 % market share. Its TITAN application is the only solution on the market with the ability to cover the entire medication pathway for assisted living facilities (ALFs) for the elderly. At 31 December 2019, MALTA INFORMATIQUE was installed at 2,150 ALFs. MALTA INFORMATIQUE is the operating company responsible for spearheading Pharmagest Group's Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division (180 employees; 2019 sales: 20 million). With its subsidiaries DICSIT INFORMATIQUE, aXigate, ICT and MALTA BELGIUM, this Division also operates across a number of sectors including hospitals at home, home-based nursing services, hospitals and health centres and facilities housing multiple disciplines. About Pharmagest Group Pharmagest Group is the French pharmacy information technology leader, with a market share of more than 44% as a provider of software solutions for pharmacies, 28% for ALFs, 43% for HAD programmes and 20% for health care centres. Pharmagest Group has developed a range of specialized business lines: pharmacy IT, e-Health solutions, solutions for healthcare professionals, solutions for health and social care facilities (for ALFs, Home-Based Nursing Services, Hospital-at-Home programmes, senior care service centres, multi-professional and paramedical healthcare providers and hospitals), solutions for pharmaceutical laboratories, apps and connected health devices, a marketplace for vendor financing... These businesses are grouped within four Divisions: Pharmacy - Europe Solutions; Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions; e-Health Solutions and Fintech. Listed on Euronext Paris - Compartment B Indices: CAC SMALL et CAC All-Tradable by inclusion The Group is included in the Gaia-Index 2019 comprised of socially responsible mid caps Eligible for the Long-Only Deferred Settlement Service (SRD) ISIN: FR 0012882389 Reuters: PHA.PA Bloomberg: - PMGI FP For all the latest news go to www.pharmagest.com Follow Pharmagest on Twitter: @Pharmagest, Linkedin and Facebook CONTACTS AXIGATE Chairman and Head of Pharmagest Group's Health and Social Care Facilities Solutions Division Gregoire DE ROTALIER Tel. +33 (0)5 57 35 19 25 - gregoire.derotalier@malta-informatique.fr Pharmagest Group - Press Contact Isabelle APRILE Mobile phone: +33 (0)6 17 38 61 78 i.aprile@finextenso.fr Attachment South Africas Econet Global is the latest operator to express an interest in obtaining a licence to deliver services in Ethiopia. The operator has thrown its hat into a ring that already contains regional rivals such as MTN Group, Orange and Vodacom. Safaricom is reportedly also holding talks with possible backers regarding a potential move into Ethiopia. Econet Global stated to Bloomberg that it would that it was looking at opportunities in Ethiopia via its subsidiaries, although it did not reveal details of an offer. The groups units include Cassava Smartech, Distributed Power Africa, Econet Mobile Networks Group, Liquid Telecom, Technites Africa and Vaya Africa. Last year, Ethiopias government announced that it would liberalise the market by divesting part of its holding in state operator Ethio Telecom - which had monopolised the sector for years and encourage new entrants by making two operating licences available at auction in Q1 2020. This timeframe is now being pushed back as the government has decided to grant bidders more time to prepare funding. In addition, a general election will be held in Ethiopia in August which will likely factor into the delay. SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parsons Behle & Latimer (Parsons) is pleased to welcome three new shareholders to its Salt Lake City office. The addition of Brent R. Baker, Jonathan D. Bletzacker and Aaron D. Lebenta to its litigation, securities and regulatory enforcement practice group advances Parsons' nationally-renowned securities and regulatory enforcement practice team to a position of preeminence in the Intermountain West. Parsons' new shareholders bring with them exceptional specialization and experience defending clients in Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)-related matters, civil litigation and appellate work. Litigation department Chairperson Juli Blanch says, "With the addition of these lawyers, the firm's specialization in securities litigation and regulatory enforcement is now unparalleled among Utah firms." Baker says, "The move to Parsons Behle & Latimer allows my team and me to use tools, including tools created specifically for our local and national clients by Parsons' subsidiary Parsons Behle Lab. These tools are mainly for regulatory compliance-related issues. In addition to the progressive platform available here, this firm has more than 50 years of securities and regulatory experience. This practice group represents public companies, officers and directors, registered investment advisors, transfer agents and broker-dealers in regulatory examinations and regulatory enforcement actions." Baker concentrates his practice on SEC enforcement and regulatory defense, private securities litigation and government and independent investigations. He routinely defends corporate and individual clients in regulatory enforcement investigations and litigation before federal and state securities and commerce agencies. In his regulatory practice, Bletzacker assists clients in solving sophisticated SEC-related issues and has successfully represented clients against the SEC in multiple federal district courts in the U.S. Bletzacker focuses his practice on representing and defending clients who include individuals, broker-dealers, investment advisors, compliance officers and registered representatives. Lebenta has represented clients in civil litigation, appellate work, internal investigations and defense of government and regulatory enforcement actions by the SEC, state and federal agencies for the past 15 years. Lebenta uses a tailored, value-driven approach to obtain the most favorable results for his clients, whether through settlement or through trial and judgment. Parsons' litigation, trials and appeals practice group is one of largest, most experienced and diverse teams in the Intermountain Region and covers a full spectrum of issues from business and commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation to real estate litigation, tax controversies and more. About Parsons Behle & Latimer Established in Salt Lake City in 1882, Parsons Behle & Latimer's (Parsons) team of more than 150 attorneys delivers an in-depth range of experience to its clients in the following industries: agriculture; banking and financial services; construction; cybersecurity and data privacy; dental; energy; healthcare; manufacturing; mining; natural resources; oil and gas; resorts and recreation; and technology. One of Utah's largest law firms, Parsons subscribes to a progressive philosophy of legal service delivery and remains on the forefront of business and industry trends to help clients accelerate their business objectives. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Parsons has offices in Lehi, Utah; Boise and Idaho Falls, Id.; Missoula, Mont. and Reno, Nev. To learn more, visit www.parsonsbehle.com Media contact: Dana Robinson Marketing and Communications Manager Parsons Behle & Latimer Phone: 801.536.6647 Mobile: 801.541.4625 [email protected] SOURCE Parsons Behle & Latimer Related Links http://www.parsonsbehle.com A professor who has correctly predicted every US presidential election since 1984 says that the coronavirus outbreak could be the final straw that ends Donald Trumps presidency in November. Allan Lichtman, a professor at American University, said that the 2020 election is so-far too close to call, but that a damaged economy from concerns around a potential pandemic could add the final ingredient to flatten Mr Trumps re-election prospects. One of the big issues that is clearly hanging fire is whats going to happen to the economy in light of the coronavirus crisis, Mr Lichtman told The Independent. We have no idea, the crisis could peter out or it could lead to a worldwide pandemic that could slide America into recession, which would obviously doom Donald Trump. Nobody knows where this coronavirus thing is going, but the big institutions are already sharply downgrading their economic predictions for the year, he said. Mr Lichtmans prediction system is known as the Keys to the White House model, and operates under the assumption that presidential election results are impacted primarily by the performance of the party holding office in the run of to the vote. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty According to the theory, Americans choose their president based upon how well the sitting president has responded to and shaped consequential events of their term. Everything else like media advertising, debates, news coverage and television appearances is disregarded by the electorate on Election Day as they evaluate the president. Mr Lichtman said that there are several troubling signs for Mr Trump, including election losses for his party during the 2018 midterm elections, a lack of major foreign policy successes, ongoing scandal and the fact that Mr Trump is not a broadly appealing candidate (while the president enjoys strong support among Republicans, his approval is relatively low among the rest of the electorate). The coronavirus outbreak has rattled US markets in recent days, as the threat has disrupted global supply chains and scared investors. In the US, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that an outbreak in the country is inevitable at this point. We expect we will see community spread in this country, said Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. So far, the CDC has confirmed 14 cases in the United States, with two of those contracting the disease in the US and 12 who appeared to have contracted the virus while traveling abroad before returning to the country. Meanwhile, another 45 people have been repatriated to the US after contracting the disease abroad, including 42 people who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. While the Rochester area economy is rolling along at a good clip, local leaders are concerned about only having one "horse" called Mayo Clinic pulling the wagon. That's a theme that surfaces at every community event, including Tuesday's annual Rochester Economic Development Inc. meeting. John Wade of Rochester's Clements Chevrolet Cadillac took the reins as the chair of the RAEDI board from Byron City Administrator Mary Blair-Hoeft. "We are really about creating an environment where all businesses can develop, grow and thrive," he told the luncheon crowd of about 400 at the Rochester International Events Center."We share a dream to build a better community through economic development." A key factor for that dream to become reality is to diversify the local economy. Wade cited the oft-heard statistic that 40% of the local economy depends on health care in the form of Mayo Clinic. ADVERTISEMENT While Mayo Clinic providing the spine of the local economy gives this area a strength that other communities envy, it also puts everything at risk if that support ever weakens or fails. Longtime RAEDI Board member and Chief Business Development Officer James A. Rogers stepped to the podium and reinforced that thought. "It's not just about health care, though health care's important, particularly from my perspective," he said. "For this area to thrive and to really be the kind of place that we all want it to be, it's got to be more than just about health care. And RAEDI really plays a critical role." RAEDI President Ryan Nolander reported the organization's accomplishments for 2019. Invested $2.3 million from the City of Rochester's Economic Development Funds in 17 local companies. Those businesses, in turn, raised an additional $145 million and created 135 jobs. The private angel investment fund, the Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund, continues to grow with 56 investors. It has invested $1.2 million in 12 companies. The Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator has 15 tenant businesses. The business accelerator, based in the Minnesota Biobusiness Center, is a joint project between RAEDI, the City of Rochester and Mayo Clinic. The accelerator, which opened in 2013, is designed to help young start-up businesses. Seven have "graduated" to expand elsewhere in the area, since the accelerator launched in 2013. RAEDI's 504 Corp. helped 15 area businesses in lining up $8.4 million in financing, adding up to a total investment of $21.3 million. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:49:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Two farmers and a leader of a vigilante group were killed by the terror group Boko Haram late Tuesday in Cameroon's troubled Far North region, according to several security sources. The leader of the vigilante group was shot dead in Goldavi while the two farmers were kidnapped and later killed in Gouzoudou locality. The militants also stole "lots of cattle" from villagers, local officials said. Increased Boko Haram attacks in the remote areas of the region has seen an exodus of villagers in recent days according to local humanitarian workers. More than 2,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram launched attacks in the Far North region since 2014, according to security reports. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Launching a scathing attack on the opposition, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused it of trying to create chaos in the country, over the amended citizenship law. He also said that it was a "sickening effort" on the opposition's part to tarnish the country's image while participating in a debate over state budget 2020-21. "The energy of the administrative machinery which should be involved with the work of development, is being diverted. Efforts are being made to block the development of the state. An attempt is being made to tarnish the image of the country," he said. Now the days of doom will not arrive, he said while cautioning the protesters against spreading any violence. No one will be spared if found indulging in violence and hate-mongering, said the CM in the house. He added that those who were thinking of indulging in arson, violence and taking the law to ransom in the name of CAA, should know that it would never happen. "We will give security to everyone," he said. Adityanath emphasised that CAA is a law meant to grant citizenship and was originally introduced by Congress. "It was created by the Congress government. The only modification done in it pertained to limit of time period for granting citizenship. It has been reduced from 11 years to five years," he said. Calling the opposition's attitude towards CAA "irresponsible", he accused it of creating confusion among the people. "This is an irreparable loss to the society and a fraud with the Constitution of the country. The coming generations will never forgive them for this act," he said. Meanwhile, leaves of policemen were cancelled and a flag march was carried out in several cities of Uttar Pradesh as a precautionary measure against any possible disturbance following violence in Delhi, which claimed 27 lives. IG Agra range, Satish Ganesh, who was on leave after supervising US first familys visit to Taj, was asked to resume duty immediately. While Aligarh was turned into a fortress with deployment of over a dozen companies of PAC and RAF, Section 144 of CrPC was clamped in Meerut division. In Bareilly, Additional DG Avinash Chandra warned the protesters against indulging in violence saying he would not let violence in the state escalate, like that in Delhi. Meanwhile, following intelligence inputs, the state home department asked all the ADG rank officials to stay put in high alert in districts like Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor, Amroha, Sambhal and Muzaffarnagar. "Teen Mom " star Jenelle Evans is rumored to have gotten back with her estranged husband David Eason after officially ending her contract with MTV. Her story has been one of the most followed stories in the franchise because of her famed bad judgment. Fans are not surprised and think she might have just made her biggest mistake yet. The former MTV reality star is currently staying with her ex David Eason and her children at their North Carolina home. Her mother, Barbara Evans, once uttered that David is the worst guy she has ever been with. Despite denying the reconciliation, a source close to Eason said that they are indeed back together. Evans was recently spotted with former husband Eason at a Nashville bar on Saturday. After 3 months of moving out of state to avoid engagements with her alleged abuser, Jenelle Evans has reportedly thrown in the towel. Blogs point out a growing amount of evidence that points to a rekindled relationship. One example is that Jenelle can clearly be seen wearing a wedding ring in her Instagram story promoting a BrushX product. She removed the symbolic jewelry shortly after parting ways with David. Evans reportedly splits time between her place in Nashville and the former family home in North Carolina while the two co-parent their daughter Ensley. Also read: Jenelle Evans Talks About Heroin Addiction In Her Memoir; 'Teen Mom 2' Star Reveals Secret Details The pair have been living together off and on for several weeks at their home in North Carolina, according to TMZ. Evans and Eason are taking things slowly the second time around and the time apart proved to have been beneficial. Four years into marriage, Evans announced in October 2019 that she was filing a divorce from Eason. The two went through a rough phase after Eason shot and killed Evans' dog, Nugget, in May 2019. Evans is set on maintaining the safety of her kids but also admitted that she is still clueless about what she is doing. She explained,"My mind keeps going back and forth on what I should do. I do have an apartment in Tennessee, and I still do have my house here, so at the moment I'm kind of back and forth... I haven't made an ultimate decision of what I'm doing." Eason denied that they are back together and are trying to work out a friendship instead. "We are just trying to be the best parents we can right now," he added. Evans also denied reports, "David and I are not together as of now. We are co-parenting and deciding what to do about our futures because we own a house together. We cannot sell the house until we get repairs from the housing company who built it." The exes are looking into co-parenting counseling in the future. Related Article: 'Teen Mom 2': Jenelle Evans Flips Out When Nathan's Girlfriend Gives Kaiser His First Haircut [VIDEO] @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread has tested positive for the illness himself, authorities said on Tuesday. Dubai: The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread has tested positive for the illness himself, authorities said on Tuesday, as new cases emanating from the country rapidly emerged across West Asia. Only a day earlier, coughing and heavily sweating Iraj Harirchi said at a televised news conference in Tehran that the situation is almost stable in the country." The acknowledgement of Harirchi's illness underscores a growing crisis of confidence felt by many in Iran after nationwide economic protests, a US drone striking killing a top Iranian general and Iran accidentally shooting down a commercial jetliner and insisting for days that it hadn't. Iran on Tuesday also saw a crucial air link cut to the United Arab Emirates, home to the world's busiest airport for international travel in Dubai, as Bahrain announced more confirmed cases of the virus from passengers who transited through the UAE. The number of cases also increased sharply elsewhere in the region. Qatar Airways, one of the Mideast's biggest carriers, also said it was essentially halting operations to Iran and South Korea until further notice. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed Harirchi had the virus. Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he had it and that he had quarantined himself at home. He promised that authorities would bring the virus under control. I wanted to tell you that, rest assured that with efforts of your servants at the Health Ministry ... and backed by you people, the government and all elements of the establishment, we will be victorious in our combat against this virus within the next few weeks, Harirchi said. On Monday, however, he had offered a far different assessment while repeatedly wiping his brow while standing beside government spokesman Ali Rabiei. Currently the situation is almost stable in the country and we could manage to minimize the problem," Harirchi said. He also said that "quarantines belong to the Stone Age." That optimism, while no longer held by Harirchi, also appeared to be undercut by Jahanpour himself on Tuesday. The Health Ministry spokesman suggested it may take at least until Nowruz, the Persian New Year on 20 March, for Iran to reach a point where the virus was contained. He added that a more pessimistic assessment suggested Iran would contain it by late April. "We don't expect a miracle in the short term," Jahanpour said. A prominent pro-reform lawmaker, Mamoud Sadeghi of Tehran, also said in a tweet that he tested positive for the virus. . (@mah_sadeghi) February 25, 2020 The coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing about 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19. Jahanpour on Tuesday said 15 people had died in Iran so far amid 95 confirmed cases. However, experts remain concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. A hard-line lawmaker in Iran alleged Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. What do you have to say about those buried in Qom cemetery? tweeted lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani. Practitioners in hospitals write respiratory problems as the cause of death. But you know that they are from those quarantined for corona. While Farahani's politics make him eager to undercut moderate President Hassan Rouhani, his earlier warning that Qom's top doctor fighting the coronavirus also had been infected has proven to be true. Rouhani said he opposed closing public and government offices. This is one of the plots by the enemy to shut down the country through spreading fear," he said in a speech, although he also urged people to avoid crowds, including at major Shiite shrines. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is deeply concerned that Iran may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak. All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations, he said. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority said it would halt all flights to and from Iran. The announcement came hours after busy Dubai International Airport said there would be restrictions on flights there. The UAE, home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, remains a key international transit route for Iran's 80 million people. All passenger and cargo aircraft travelling to and from Iran will be suspended for a period of one week, and could be up for extension, the authority said. Passengers on a Mahan Air flight from Tehran to Dubai on Tuesday said their flight was delayed some two hours, only to repeatedly circle the UAE city-state, then land and sit for another two hours before authorities agreed to let them off. The passengers, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, said authorities let them walk off one at a time while being monitored with a thermal scanner. Emirates, the government-owned carrier based in Dubai, flies daily to Tehran. Its low-cost partner airline, FlyDubai, serves several Iranian cities, as does the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The announcement came after Bahrain said it would suspend all flights from Dubai and Sharjah, a neighbouring UAE emirate home to Air Arabia, for 48 hours. The small island nation off Saudi Arabia announced its first cases of the virus on Monday. By Tuesday, Bahrain said it had 23 confirmed cases. Dubai had been screening passengers on flights from China, where the outbreak began in December. Emirates and Etihad still fly to Beijing as the UAE works to maintain close ties with China. Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus Monday and connected them to travel with Iran. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has reported 13 cases of the virus. Most of those were connected to Chinese travel. Also Tuesday, Kuwait raised the number of its infected cases from five to eight, according to the state-run KUNA news agency. It said the three latest cases involved Kuwaiti citizens just back from Iran. The five previously reported cases were passengers on a flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Irans government has not yet announced a single case of the virus. Iraqs Health Ministry said four new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in the northern province of Kirkuk. It said the afflicted were members of an Iraqi family who had returned recently from Iran. Iraq announced its first case Monday in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf: an Iranian student who has since returned to Iran. The northern region, which shares a border with Iran, is a hub of economic activity and the primary gateway for the Kurdistan Regional Government to import Iranian goods and fuel, and Kurds in Erbil lined up for gas, fearing shortages. The KRG also suspended working hours across educational institutions for a month. Harirchi, the ailing Iranian official, had the following advice for worried Iranians: Take care of yourselves. This virus is a democrat virus! It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor or official and nonofficial and anyone could get it. Well, its another exciting day in the ever-changing landscape of Malaysian politics! Word from unnamed sources leaked today that the 10 PKR MPs whose abrupt split with their party precipitated a political quasi-crisis, along with their de facto leader Azmin Ali, are set to join the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. The purported defection if it indeed goes through will bring Bersatus numbers from 26 to 37, just four fewer than Barisan Nasionals (BN) 41 representatives in the Dewan Rakyat. All of the 11 in Azmins bloc except for one are bumiputra [a term for native Malays]. There wont be any problem being accepted into the stridently pro-Malay PPBM, the source told The Star. That one non-bumiputra MP will be joining Bersatu as an associate member. In fact, Dr. Mahathir has offered them membership before, but they were hesitant as they were thinking of their non-Malay voters. This is a temporary measure until things settle. Currently, the 11 are meeting with the Agong, Malaysias rotating monarch, at Istana Negara to discuss matters of Parliament going forward. Earlier today, members of PKR made a spectacular entrance at the National Palace cheering to onlookers from the roof of a double-decker bus. Members of DAP made their own visit later in the day. 10 buah kenderaan termasuk sebuah bas dua tingkat dipercayai membawa Ahli Parlimen PKR dilihat memasuki Istana Negara melalui pintu 2 pada pukul 10.40 pagi. pic.twitter.com/c4qWrRvrWO BERNAMA (@bernamadotcom) February 26, 2020 Malaysias king has been meeting with every MP over the last two days to get their input on the collapse of the ruling coalition, and how they see things working going forward. The Agong is the only one who can officially dissolve Parliament on the advice of the PM. Story continues The Agong isnt the only one seeking clarity on how things are going to shake out its been a hectic few days, after all. On Sunday, Malaysian media was abuzz with news of rumors that one of the ruling coalitions most senior PKR members was leaving the party. On Monday, it came to light that not only was PKR set to see some high-level defections, but that there was going to be an even higher-level shake-up: Prime Minister Mahathir was resigning from his post, and as chairman of his Bersatu party. Almost immediately, Bersatu, the party that the nonagenarian had recently founded, announced it would be leaving the unlikely ruling coalition Mahathir had managed to cobble together after coming to power in 2018, causing the current government to fall apart, and setting off furious speculation as to who would wind up on top of the ensuing scrum. But that wasnt the last of the head-spinning developments: despite accepting his resignation, the Agong turned around and named none other than Mahathir as interim prime minister while the whole thing is sorted out. And Mahathirs former party, Bersatu has also thrown their support behind the nonagenarian. Stay tuned, yall! Because this whole thing is far from settled. This article, Ex-PKR rebels meet with Agong, planning to join Bersatu: source, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Plc (RTNTF, RIO, RIO.L, RTPPF) on Wednesday reported lower pre-tax profit for the full fiscal year 2019, but sales revenues grew 7 percent, primarily driven by higher iron ore prices. The Group reported pretax profit of $11.1 billion, compared to $18.2 billion, a year ago. Net profit for the year slid 41 percent to $8.01 billion, and earnings per share in cents was 487.8 versus 787.6 last year. On an underlying basis, earnings grew 18 percent to $10.37 billion, and earnings per share rose 24 percent to 636.3 cents. Underlying EBITDA was $21.20 billion, an increase of 17 percent from last year, primarily driven by higher iron ore prices. Fiscal 2019 sales revenue for the Group totaled $43.17 billion, compared to $40.52 billion in the previous year. Revenue improved 7 percent primarily driven by higher iron ore prices, partially offset by lower copper and aluminium prices. In addition, Rio Tinto said it is evaluating the impact of the Covid-19 virus, which could create significant uncertainty for its business in the near term. The company noted that its guidance is unchanged from prior disclosures. For fiscal 2020, the Group foresees capital expenditure of around $7 billion. The final ordinary dividend was $3.7 billion, resulting in a full year ordinary dividend of $6.2 billion and total cash returns of $7.2 billion, the company noted. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VMware this week further integrated and added new features to its security software in an effort to bring unified protection to resources in data centers, and private clouds and public clouds. The company rolled out three new offerings: VMware Advanced Security for Cloud Foundation an integrated package of VMware Carbon Black technology, NSX Advanced Load Balancer with Web Application Firewall capabilities and NSX Distributed IDS/IPS aimed at offering customers a unified shield for data centers, private and public clouds. Support for security correlation with the MITRE ATT&CK framework Technique IDs (TIDs)a list of common tactics, techniques, and procedures now built into the VMware Carbon Black Cloud that customers can use to determine network threat risks and prioritize resolutions. Improved Carbon Black Cloud support for Microsoft and Linux is coming as well. VMware Secure State real-time detection and remediation capabilities to automate problem resolution across clouds. The announcements further VMwares overarching goal of integrating security features within its infrastructure a concept it calls intrinsic security that it says will better protect networked workloads than traditional piecemeal protection systems. They also feature the further integration of a number of technologies VMware has recently acquired. For example, Carbon Black and Avi Networks technology is at the heart of the VMware Advanced Security for Cloud Foundation package. Cloud Foundation is VMwares core virtualization package featuring vSphere, NSX network capabilities and storage. It is the core underpinning for the company's key cloud offerings such as VMware Cloud for AWS and Dell EMC. The company bought Avi Networks load balancing, analytics and application-delivery technology last year for an undisclosed amount and later in the year snapped up security technology from Carbon Black for $2.1 billion. In the Advanced Security for Cloud Foundation package VMware Carbon Black technology protects workloads with Real-time Workload Audit/Remediation, Next-Generation Antivirus and Endpoint Detection & Response. VMware Carbon Black will be tightly integrated with VMware vSphere to yield an agentless offering, eliminating the need to insert antivirus and other agents, VMware stated. Instead, endpoint telemetry will be managed and gathered via built-in sensors protected by the hypervisor. This also means, unlike agent-based solutions, the hypervisor will be able to detect if an attacker attempts to gain root access and tamper with the VMware Carbon Black technology all from a separate trust domain, VMware said. The Avi technology, now called NSX Advanced Load Balancer and VMwares Web Application Firewall combination to protects a common attack point web servers. Traditional hardware-based solutions are notoriously complex to manage. They are either massively over-provisioned for peak traffic or end up turning off security filtering under heavy loads. In contrast, the scale-out software architecture of the NSX Advanced Load Balancer enables capacity to scale elastically with traffic, wrote VMware engineer Vivek Bhandari in a blog about the announcement. Also part of the package is VMwares NSX Distributed IDS/IPS. According to VMware, the distributed architecture of NSX Distributed IDS/IPS will enable advanced filtering to be applied to every hop of the application. The idea is to decrease blind spots created when using traditional perimeter security products. Policies can also be set and enforced on an application-specific basis, Bhandari wrote. In addition to the Advanced Security for Cloud Foundation package, VMware also bolstered the Carbon Black security cloud by tying in support for the MITRE ATT&CK framework. According to the most recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, only 28% of todays attacks stem from malware, which makes it an imperative for organizations to be vigilant in detecting and identifying these techniques, used commonly in fileless attacks, wrote Scott Lundgren, vice president of engineering with VMware Carbon Black in a blog about the announcement. With this framework included in the VMware Carbon Black Cloud product experience, customers now have the ability to search by MITRE Technique IDs (TIDs), view the information on individual TIDs directly from the MITRE website, see when a particular TID is encountered, and set up alerts within their dashboard when specific TIDs are present in their environment. These capabilities will enable customers to speed integration of MITRE ATT&CK into their internal workflow and training, so they can more easily detect and prevent suspicious activity, Lundgren stated. VMware also enhanced the Carbon Black Cloud with support for Microsoft Windows Anti-Malware Scanning Interface (AMSI) that will give customers improved visibility into script content that is executed on Windows devices, with the ability to both hunt and detect more effectively within the platform, Lundgren stated. This capability provides insight into the de-obfuscated command of a script, displaying them exactly as they are executed by the interpreter, leaving nowhere for the attacker to hide, Lundgren stated. Research from the recent Carbon Black Global Incident Response Threat Report showed that 70% of todays attacks featured lateral movement of some kind, wherein a common and seemingly innocuous application, like Microsoft PowerShell, is used to instill damage by running nefarious script commands, Lundgren stated. Additionally VMware said it would add malware prevention capabilities for Linux machines to the Carbon Black Cloud. With Linux now making up about 70% of the web-server market and 90% of all cloud servers, and with the recent emergence of more Linux-specific threats such as HiddenWasp, QNAPCrypt, and Evilgnome, there is a nned to address security needs specific to Linux machines in endpoint security products Lundgren stated. Now the VMware Carbon Black Cloud platform provides endpoint security Windows, macOS, and Linux machines and the ability to protect endpoints with a single cloud-native platform, Lundgren stated. VMware Secure State was born out of two acquisitions VMWare made last year: CloudCoreo, with a focus on continuous automation, and CloudHealth, which focuses on cloud management and optimization. VMware Secure State provides real-time visibility, detection, and risk prioritization capabilities for assessing security risks. VMware Secure State is getting a new, flexible remediation framework to help automate actions across multicloud environments. Currently in beta, Secure State helps facilitate collaboration between cloud security and DevOps teams to build security into multicloud and public-cloud operations. Pro-Trump super PAC America First Action is preparing to unleash a series of targeted, swing-state attacks on the Democrat most likely to face President Trump after Super Tuesday, people familiar with the group's plans tell me in an exclusive preview of its strategy. The state of play: The group has been tracking favorable/unfavorable ratings in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania for 2020 candidates Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg under the theory that if Trump wins each of these six states he would win re-election. The spending isn't expected to begin until its clear who the Democratic nominee will be, whether that's after next week's Super Tuesday or in July at the Democratic National Convention. It sees Sanders or Bloomberg as the most likely nominees as of now. The attacks will be targeted to specific audiences in each state, based on rich data gathered beginning last August. The super PAC has pulled together about 500 pages of research on four of the five candidates, with about 300 pages on Buttigieg, given his shorter record. Their onslaught will come in the form of high-dollar digital and TV ad buys and mailers, one of the people familiar with the strategy said. Details: Axios reviewed overall and state-by-state data the group provided on each of the candidates. (The group did not poll Trump favorability numbers as part of this effort, the person said.) Biden still enjoyed the most favorable numbers of those Democrats in each of the six states, but slid underwater between last August and this January, from 46%-48%- favorable/unfavorable to a 44%-50%. By January, Sanders' favorability was highest in Michigan (44%) and lowest in Ohio (38%). His unfavorable numbers in Florida (54%) led America First officials to believe that could take that key state off the table if Sanders becomes the nominee, and allow them to shift their resources to Michigan and other places where his message seemed to resonate with blue-collar, union workers. Bloomberg's six-state average was 34%-45% favorable/unfavorable. The strategists said they expect him to struggle more in culturally conservative states with strong pro-gun cultures, and perform stronger in states like Pennsylvania that have "the northwestern mentality." Warren's average slid between August and January, from 39%-45% favorable/unfavorable to 38%-51%. Buttigieg, who only polled by the group in January during its second wave of surveys, had an average of 32%-36% favorable/unfavorable across the six states. Methodology: The super PAC conducted live-caller surveys of likely voters in the six states in August 2019 and the second half of January 2020, with sample sizes ranging from 800-1,000 per survey. The likely voters were on average slightly more Democrat, 40.2% to 37.5%. The margins of error in these surveys ranged from 3.1%-3.5%, according to the group. Representatives of Turkey will come to Ukraine in order to select sites for construction Ukraine and Turkey agreed to build 500 apartments for Crimean IDPs. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a speech at the Crimea Time forum, which was broadcasted by 112 Ukraine TV Channel. In addition, Turkish representatives would come to Ukraine in order to select sites for construction. "We also agreed with President Erdogan and Turkey to build 500 apartments for Crimean immigrants. The Turkish side will come to Ukraine within the next few days in order to select sites for construction," Zelensky said. It was also reported about the construction of a hub to serve citizens at the border with Crimea. There will be a full-service administrative center, a seating area, and other facilities. The hub will be opened by the end of this year. As we reported earlier, Secretary of the National and Security Council Oleksiy Danilov stated that Ukraine cannot supply water to occupied Crimea as liga.net informed. My personal opinion: we cannot supply water to occupied Crimea. Moreover, from the political point of view, I believe, it is impossible. If the Russian Federation returns Crimea, then the water will be immediately supplied. It is a difficult issue. And it is impossible to believe that there is a simple solution, he said. (TNS) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed executive orders Tuesday to create a council on future mobility and electrification, establish the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and to appoint a chief mobility officer.Whitmer signed the executive orders atop an Argo AI autonomous vehicle at the MICHauto Summit centered around the state "Leading the Global Mobility Revolution." The orders follow a year of next-generation investment in the city by Detroit's three automakers, and are intended to accelerate the auto industry's momentum in the state."Initiatives like these are key to keeping Michigan at the forefront of the future of mobility," said Bryan Salesky, co-founder and CEO of Argo AI, Ford Motor Co.'s autonomous-vehicle partner. said in a statement. Powered by Ford vehicles, Argo is testing its autonomous vehicles in six cities, including Detroit."The deep pools of talent and manufacturing capacity in Michigan are two of the biggest reasons why we're so proud to operate in this state and have automaker partnership like the one we have with Ford Motor Company."The Michigan Office of Future Mobility is expected to help make sure Michigan is "the go-to state to build, test and deploy the cars of the future," Whitmer said. "The office will also help us continue to build public and private partnerships that drive mobility solutions to ensure we compete globally."The state expects to announce who the mobility officer is within the next few weeks, said Jeff Donofrio, state director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.Whitmer is directing the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to create the office that will be in charge of leading the coordination of all mobility-related initiatives across economic development, workforce and infrastructure needs in the state.The Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification, which abolishes the current Council on Future Mobility, will be housed at the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The council will be responsible for providing recommendations for changes in state policy.Gov. Whitmer and MICHauto are aligned on a vision to shape Michigans mobility future," said Glenn Stevens, executive Director of MICHauto and vice president of automotive and mobility initiatives for the chamber. "MICHauto is honored to be a key partner to Governor Gretchen Whitmers administration in executing the executive actions taken today."Last year, Michigan saw investments from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. all focused, in some appreciable measure, on fielding electrified versions of top-selling pickups and SUVs.FCA has earmarked $2.5 billion to retool two plants in Detroit to build next-generation Jeep SUVs and, eventually, electric vehicles. Ford is investing $740 million to renovate a historic site in Corktown and develop future technologies there. GM plans to spend $3 billion at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant to build electric trucks and autonomous shuttles."These are exciting investments that are happening here in Michigan, happening because of the incredible assets that we have," Whitmer said at the summit.Representatives from all of Detroit three automakers applauded the executive orders."Michigan will continue to play a key role in our commitment to advance the future of mobility as evidenced in our recent announcements to create the first all-electric GM assembly plant and manufacture a variety of electric vehicles, including the self-driving Origin, in our backyard," Brian O'Connell, GM's regional director of state government relations, said in a statement. "Leveraging our capabilities and research and development leadership, we look forward to working with the state to create an all-electric future." The death toll in North-East Delhi violence between pro and anti CAA protestors rose to 18 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities. On Tuesday, the death toll was 13. Curfew was imposed last evening in violence-hit areas of the North-East district to bring the situation under control. With sporadic incidents of violence being reported from the area, government sources have told ANI that the Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing normalcy in the capital. Sources also said that Doval will also brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet about the prevailing situation. Notably, the NSA last night had visited Jafrabad, Seelampur and other parts of Northeast Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Helm Appoints Mike Meltz as the CISO/Senior Director, Security and Infrastructure We are proud to have Mike on our team, and are excited about the expertise in Cyber, Infrastructure and Cloud services he brings to Helm and our clients. Paul Weiss, Chief Knowledge Officer, Helm Partners Helm Partners, a leading technology and telecommunications advisory services firm, announced Mike Meltz as CISO/Senior Director, Security and Infrastructure. With Meltz, Helm is poised to continue to exceed expectations in delivering insights and high-impact outcomes to their clients. With technology being such a dynamic and ever-changing space, there is great opportunity and risk in the marketplace for businesses looking to secure, improve and grow. Meltzs strategic experience fits perfectly within the Helm Partners engagement model and core expertise to meet the demands businesses face now and moving forward. I am excited about this opportunity and I will focus on helping our clients build a solid Security program that will balance the need for increased security without impacting the day-to-day business of the organization, said Meltz when asked about his new role Today, all businesses face incredible cybersecurity and risk challengesfrom external threats, budget constraints, information overload and the lack of employee engagement and training. You need a detailed plan, and everyone has to be on the same page. Its not just about purchasing products but the need to craft a custom solution based on the unique needs of the business. It takes a detailed plan, internal buy-in, effective implementation and ongoing, continuous improvements. Paul Weiss, Chief Knowledge Officer at Helm Partners views this new hire as the further realization of Helm Partners mission. We are proud to have Mike on our team, and are excited about the expertise in Cyber, Infrastructure and Cloud services he brings to Helm and our clients. He went on to say that, Mike is experienced, smart and detailed in his work. He brings unique experience and perspective having been an IT Security Executive for a firm that grew from $400M to a $5.3B in annual revenue during a time of exponential growth in the Cyber-threat environment. Protecting a business while enabling its growth is the challenge, and Mike has met that challenge. His real-world qualifications will be valuable to our clients in identifying their most important security vulnerabilities and developing an action plan to execute, measure and adapt in todays increasingly challenging threat environment. Since 1987, Meltz has worked in the IT field and he specializes in the implementation of enterprise-level technologies and business process improvements. His goal is to remain focused on creating a secure and quality-driven user experience while helping the organization grow and thrive. Before joining Helm, Meltz held various technology and strategy leadership roles at companies throughout the United States. Prior to those roles, he ran IT Infrastructure and Security at Allied Universal. About Helm Partners Helm Partners is a leading technology and telecommunications advisory services firm with a track record of accelerating results. As an Inc. 500 firm, and repeat winner of Philadelphia 100 Fastest-Growing and Best Places to Work, respected and awarded by numerous top tier global technology companies, we deliver value through improved business performance, removing complexity and optimizing time for our clients through informed decision making. A partner in every sense of the word, Helm Partners earns trust by aligning with our clients objectives and managing risk while producing a quantifiable return on investment. To learn more about Helm Partners, please visit: http://www.helmpartners.com A meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the partys highest decision-making body, began on Wednesday to discuss the prevailing situation in Delhi where communal violence has claimed the lives of 18 people. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is chairing the meeting which is also attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders. However, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is not present as he is currently abroad. After the CWC meeting, senior Congress leaders will hold a peace march from the partys headquarters at Akbar Road to the Parliament House. On Tuesday, the Congress condemned the violence and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to rise above partisan politics, come forward and ensure peace in the city-state. This is Gandhi, Nehru and Patels India, can any Indian accept this mindless violence? Congress appeals to the people of Delhi to maintain communal harmony and thwart all attempts of the forces dividing the country on the basis of religion, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. He said violence and incidents of stone-pelting and murder in the national capital have shattered the nation, referring to the riots in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that continued for the third day on Tuesday. At least 10 people, including a police official, have been killed in the incidents of violence in Delhi. Our appeal to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Delhi chief minister is, can you rise to the occasion, leave aside your political partisanship and views, and become really not leaders of your parties but leaders of the society so that harmony, peace and non-violence prevail, Surjewala said and asked the government to carry out peace marches in the capital state. Surjewala asserted that the Congress party will stand with the Centre and the Delhi government in every way to maintain brotherhood and harmony in the society. Do not fail this country because you belong to different political parties. This is a sincere appeal on behalf of people of Delhi and the country to Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah and Arvind Kejriwal. There is no place for violence in Gandhi jis India... Today there is a need to establish peace on the ground and maintain brotherhood, he said. Surjewala said the Congress workers will help the government in maintaining law and order in the city. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Opposition on Wednesday held the Centre responsible for the deadly communal violence in Delhi with Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. The Congress also said it plans to march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday to hand over a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind over the issue. The party had planned to do so after the CWC meeting on Wednesday itself but postponed it as the President gave time for Thursday. Also, Opposition leaders including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Loktantrik Janata Dal Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, and those from DMK and NCP, have also sought time from President Kovind to discuss the violence that has engulfed parts of northeast Delhi. Addressing a rare press conference at the party headquarters after chairing a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Gandhi alleged there was a "well-planned" conspiracy behind the violence, that has also led to injuries to more than 200 people over the past three days. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the violence in Delhi was a "chilling reminder" of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the only way to restore peace and normalcy in the national capital was by calling in the Army. At a joint press conference with CPI general secretary D Raja, Yechury claimed that it was clear that the violence in Delhi has the sanction of police and that of the "powers that govern them". Both Raja and Yechury questioned the role of Home Minister Amit Shah in dealing with the violence and blamed him for not being able to contain the situation. "If NSA is supposed to be in charge of Delhi Police, then what is the role of Home Minister? Has the government conceded that Home Minister Amit Shah is incapable of handling Delhi violence," they asked. Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led a peace march from the party headquarters in the afternoon in which a number of senior Congress leaders participated. She also demanded Home Minister Shah's resignation and alleged that the central government had failed to maintain peace. The CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, deliberated on the issue of violence and passed a resolution, demanding answers from both the central and Delhi governments, while also urging the people of Delhi to "reject the of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events". "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central Government and particularly the Home Minister and (the CWC) calls upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," Gandhi said, reading out the CWC resolution. The Centre, the home minister and the Delhi government are responsible for the situation in the national capital, the Congress chief said. "Union Home Minister Shah must take responsibility for the violence in Delhi and resign," she said. She went on to attack the AAP dispensation, saying Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his government are "equally responsible for not activating the administration" to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. The Delhi chief minister must be visible in the affected areas and be in communication with people, she said. Meanwhile, senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai urged the Centre to deploy the Army in the violence-hit northeast Delhi and urged Home Minister Shah to take action and not hold meetings just for "formality". Singh alleged that on one hand Shah was holding meetings and on the other, BJP leaders were making provocative statements. "The Home Minister called an all-party meet on the situation, Kapil Mishra, on the other hand, is inciting violence. BJP's Laxmi Nagar MLA Abhay Verma was witnessed shouting inflammatory slogans yesterday to incite violence. This is a classic example of the two-faced BJP," he told reporters. The Delhi Congress also took out a peace march from the party headquarters later in the day. Priyanka Gandhi, who led the march, urged the Congress workers to visit affected areas and spread the message of peace and brotherhood. She also accused the government of having "destroyed" Delhi, where people from across the country come to seek employment. "This is our city. People come here to find work. Today, fire and hatred is being spread in this city. We are a party that has helped in the freedom struggle and it is our duty to bring peace and maintain harmony. I urge every one of you to spread the message of love and brotherhood," Priyanka told the party workers. The Congress president at her first press conference in many years hit out at BJP leader Kapil Mishra for making a statement that allegedly incited the violence in the city. "The CWC demands answers to questions -- Where was the Home Minister and what was he doing since last Sunday? Where was the Chief Minister of Delhi and what was he doing since last Sunday?" she said. On whether the Congress is demanding deployment of the Army in riot-hit areas, Gandhi said the CWC resolution mentions the need to deploy paramilitary forces. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BLOOMINGTON Gov. J.B. Pritzker denied on Tuesday that he is presenting two budgets one based on passage of the progressive or fair tax amendment by voters this fall and one based on that proposed constitutional amendment being rejected. There is only one budget, he said in a meeting with the joint editorial board of The Pantagraph and Decatur Herald & Review. It has a reserve that wont be spent if fair tax doesnt pass. You have to have a balanced budget. Even without passage of the amendment, which would allow the state to raise more revenue, all school districts would get an increase in funding, he said. If the amendment is approved, $350 million more than last year would go to school funding using the evidence-based formula, he said. If it is rejected, schools would still get $200 million more using a formula that allocates money based on need. District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly has said previously that, as a tier 2 district, the larger figure would result in an additional $200,000 for District 87. Asked how the uncertainty about funding would affect the ability of districts to plan, Pritzker said, Well know 4 months into the fiscal year whether the amendment passes. When the difference of $150 million is divided among the states many school districts, the amount in question turns out to be important but not determinative, he said. Increased funding for K-12 education is important not only because Illinois ranks last in the nation when it comes to state funding for schools, said Pritzker, but also because of the impact that it has on property taxes. The governor said property taxes have gone up because the state is slowly reducing its share of funding for schools. Pritzker cited two other areas placing pressure on property taxes: infrastructure and pensions for police and firefighters. He noted that the current budget provides $650 million to local governments for infrastructure projects and said another measure he helped pass which consolidated police and fire pensions funds so they can be invested more wisely will result in a better return that will alleviate pressure for higher taxes. As for the state-level pension problems, Pritzker said, We need to be sure we arent skipping payments as has happened in the past. In regard to the recent commutation of the sentence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and how that brought back talk of Pritzkers conversations with Blagojevich that were caught on an FBI wiretap Pritzker said, I think weve talked already too much about Gov. Blagojevich. We need to move on. He said what was disturbing to him was very little of the ethics reforms approved after Blagojevichs impeachment dealt with legislators' activities and thats where were seeing problems today. Pritzker said the state should stop the revolving door of lawmakers leaving office and going to work for companies for whom they supported legislation while in the General Assembly. He also said elected officials should not be allowed to be paid lobbyists, even if they are lobbying another branch of government. Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg has plastered TV, radio waves and websites in Texas for weeks, pouring at least $25 million into ads as he bets that a moderate like him will stand a better chance of winning in the Republican stronghold than a Democratic socialist or a liberal senator from Massachusetts. One problem with that logic: Both U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are polling better in Texas than the former New York mayor, as the Democratic base in the red state shifts leftward. As of February, just 27 percent of Democratic voters in Texas identified as moderate, according to University of Texas/Texas Tribune polling. Results dating back to 2008 when more than 50 percent considered themselves moderate. Sanders is essentially tied for first with former Vice President Joe Biden, according to two of the most recent polls, both of which had Warren at third. Big money is powerful, but it doesnt always win, Warren says in a new ad airing across Texas that goes directly at Bloomberg, who has become a punching bag for Warren and Sanders in the final stretch before Super Tuesday, March 3. Know the candidates: Houston Chronicle 2020 primary election voter guide; San Antonio Express-News 2020 primary election voter guide Still, in a state where a Democrat hasnt won statewide in a generation and where Hillary Clinton beat Sanders by a 2-to-1 margin in 2016 many believe a moderate is best, and fear having Sanders or Warren at the top of the ticket would tank the partys hopes of flipping the state to blue. Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, have already taken to branding their Democratic opponents as closely to Sanders and Warren as possible. We have to make certain that we have a dose of reality, longtime state Sen. Royce West, a Dallas-area Democrat vying to take on Cornyn, said during a primary debate earlier this month. No Democrat can win by being far left. It's not going to happen." The progressives disagree. Bernie is winning right now because the Democratic Party is a progressive party, and progressive ideas are popular ideas, even if there are a lot of people on this stage who don't want to say so, Warren said during Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox More Information Where Sanders and Warren stand on the issues Bernie Sanders Guns: Famously voted against the Brady Bill, but supports assault weapon and high-capacity magazine ban, universal background checks, red flag laws and a federal licensing program. Energy and Environment: Would declare climate change a national emergency and launch a multi-trillion-dollar plan paid for by petro-related military cuts and tax increases. Ban fracking. Health Care: Single-payer national health insurance "Medicare for All." Immigration: Moratorium on deportations, expand the Dreamer program, dismantle and rebuild ICE and Border Patrol agencies. No wall. Elizabeth Warren Guns: Federal licensing and registration system for gun ownership, as well as assault weapon ban. Higher taxes on gun manufacturers. Energy and Environment: No new fossil fuel leases on public land, ban fracking, enact emissions reduction deadlines and multi-trillion-dollar investment in green energy paid for by reeling back recent tax reductions on the wealthy. Health care: Famous/controversial multi-trillion-dollar universal government health care plan funded by taxes on the wealthy. Immigration: Make illegally crossing the border a civil, not criminal offense; increase number of refugees allowed into the country, end family separations and "stay in Mexico" policy. No wall. - Eric Dexheimer See More Collapse The economy is doing really great for people like Mr. Bloomberg and other billionaires, Sanders said. In the last three years, last three years, billionaires in this country saw an $850 billion increase in their wealth. But you know what? he continued, for the ordinary American, things are not so good. Warren and Sanders both say they have the solutions to level the playing field. But theyd go about it in different ways. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, but I think I would make a better president than Bernie, Warren said. And the reason for that is that getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard, and it's going to take someone who digs into the details to make it happen. Health care and college Both candidates would institute sweeping universal programs, of which Medicare For All has received the most attention. Warren has cited Sanders signature plan as a difference between herself and him, saying that Bernie and I both want to see universal health care, but Bernie's plan doesn't explain how to get there, doesn't show how we're going to get enough allies into it, and doesn't show enough about how we're going to pay for it. Warren throughout the campaign has pitched herself as more of a pragmatist, loaded with fully fleshed-out plans, while Sanders has been concerned less with the details of his proposals than with using them to energize his supporters a network hes been building since his insurgent run against Clinton in 2016. Sanderss calls to guarantee health care as a human right are a consistent refrain in his public speeches, when he also calls out America as the only major country that lacks a single-payer health care system similar to Medicare For All. For subscribers: As Bernie Sanders surges, Texas liberals take their own shot Warren released her Medicare For All plan in November, for instance, with details on how she would pay for it, after weeks of dodging questions about whether it would raise taxes on the middle class. She says it would not. Her plan calls for employers to pay the government the amount theyre currently paying to cover employees health insurance plans. It would also rely on some new taxes on the wealthy and would require states to contribute. Sanders just released his spending plan this month, and it identifies the sources including a payroll tax of a little more than half of the $30 trillion he estimates the program will cost. But its not just health care theyre pushing. Perhaps one of the clearest illustrations of the progressives differing approaches is in their student debt forgiveness proposals. Sanders would forgive all of the roughly $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loan debt a proposal he offered over the summer in an effort to up the ante on Warren, who had already called for forgiving $640 billion of student loan debt. Warrens plan would be based on income. Those making $100,000 or less would have up to $50,000 in debt forgiven. Those making over $100,000 would be eligible for significantly less. Sanders would wipe out everyones debt, in keeping with his belief in universality, as he explained when he rolled out the proposal over the summer. If Donald Trump wants to send his grandchildren to public school, he has the right to do that, Sanders said at the time. What we are saying today is public colleges and universities should be tuition-free and debt-free for all Americans. Guns Sanders has come under fire repeatedly his historic reluctance to support new gun restrictions something that sets him apart from most of the Democratic pack. In 2005, Sanders supported a federal law that protects gun manufacturers from liability for crimes committed with their products. As a congressman, Sanders also famously voted against the Brady Bill, which established federal background checks and mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases. Sanders said he no longer stands by those votes, saying I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. He supports bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, universal background checks, red flag laws and a federal licensing program. I am proud that I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA, Sanders said. If elected president, it will get worse than that. For subscribers: Bernie Sanders' ascension in Texas leaves moderate Democrats fighting for scraps Warren, too, supports a federal licensing and registration system for gun ownership, as well as an assault weapon ban. She would also significantly increase taxes on gun manufacturers. To get it all done, she says, she would push to end the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed for most legislation to pass the Senate. Sanders has said he wouldnt go that far. Warren has likened the filibuster rules to giving a veto to the gun industry. Oil and gas Another industry Warren says is benefiting from the filibuster she has in her sights: Oil and gas. Warren has made the industry a key piece of her campaign to crack down on corruption. Why can't we get anything passed in Washington on climate? she said at the debate in Nevada earlier this month. Everyone understands the urgency, but we've got two problems. The first is corruption an industry that makes its money felt all through Washington. Warren would target oil and gas executives with her Corporate Executive Accountability Act a bill the senator authored that would hold executives of large corporations criminally responsible when their companies commit crimes or harm large numbers of Americans through civil violations. She and Sanders both support the Green New Deal and would pour trillions into green energy initiatives funded by taxes on the wealthy in an effort to shift entirely to clean energy over the next decade. They also both have said they would ban hydraulic fracking. Both argue the fresh investments would create plenty of new jobs for those in the oil and gas industry, including some 230,000 in Texas who would be in the market for new employment. There's an upcoming $27 trillion market worldwide for green, Warren said in Nevada. And much of what is needed has not yet been invented. My proposal is, let's invent it here in the United States and then say, we invent it in the U.S., you've got to build it in the U.S. ben.wermund@chron.com Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has requested a government review of AT&T's pending sale of a European media company to a Czech financial firm, in a letter viewed by Axios. Why it matters: The letter demonstrates growing concern on Capitol Hill over China-linked mergers and acquisitions involving American assets. In the Feb. 26 letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Attorney General Bill Barr, Rubio urged a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) of AT&T's pending sale of its $1.1 billion stake in Central European Media Enterprises (CME Group) to PPF Group, the Czech firm. The sale was announced in October 2019. In the letter, Rubio wrote that PPF and its CEO, Petr Kellner, "have a record of acting as China's proxies inside the Czech Republic." "Mr. Kellner and his companies have supported China's malign activities abroad," he wrote. "The United States has an interest in preserving a free and open media environment overseas as well as preventing the Chinese Communist Party from subverting these platforms in its efforts to undermine democratic norms worldwide." Rubio also stated that "PPF has already used its expected acquisition of CME's Czech media outlets to intimidate Czech media and politicians into silence." Between the lines: PPF was caught up in a major scandal last year. Czech daily Aktualne.cz uncovered a quiet network of proxies, funded by PPF via a PR firm, that worked behind the scenes to inject pro-China perspectives into Czech politics and media. Czech analysts have sounded the alarm about the sale as well. "The question we keep hearing from national security institutions is: If PPF did this in the small Czech Republic, how can we trust that they wont do it in several NATO countries, where they will run a major TV station network as part of CME?" Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy in Prague, told Axios. Background: The Czech Republic has struggled against China's attempts to influence domestic politics and debate. For several years, the Czech Republic was heavily beholden to Chinese oil conglomerate CEFC China Energy, which had close ties to Beijing and bought up media companies and real estate across the country. Czech Republic President Milos Zeman is known as very friendly to Beijing and has pushed the country to adopt Huawei as its 5G vendor. Go deeper: Europe's loudest Huawei critic (Natural News) Researchers from Poland discussed the effect of ionizing radiation (IR) originating from artificial sources, particularly medical ones, on the male reproductive system. Their review was published in the journal Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine. According to recent findings, although spermatogonia are less susceptible to DNA damage caused by exposure to IR, they nevertheless suffer from slower DNA repair than somatic cells. Damage to genes after IR exposure is possible at each stage of spermatogenesis, with haploid spermatids showing the highest radiosensitivity. While the genetic risk of cells differentiating during spermatogenesis is limited to one cycle, the genetic instability may persist for life. DNA damage caused by IR exposure may also be transmitted to future generations. Reports suggest that the minimum dose that can cause detectable DNA damage is 30 gray (Gy). As this dose increases, the number of single-strand DNA breaks also increases. Among men exposed to IR, researchers have observed a decrease in sperm motility, the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa and intensification of vacuolization. The genetic material in the sperm of these males also show high fragmentation and methylation of genomic DNA. The researchers believe that the reproductive risk of IR exposure, especially from medical sources, should be considered due to the prevalence of infertility. Journal Reference: Wdowiak A, Skrzypek M, Stec M, Panasiuk L. EFFECT OF IONIZING RADIATION ON THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine. 2019;26(2):210216. DOI: 10.26444/aaem/106085 Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur. Ritwik Sharma reports. IMAGE: Children bicycle near the mazar in Dhannipur where land has been offered to build a mosque. Until some days ago, the people of Dhannipur had no inkling that the replacement for the demolished Babri Masjid would be in their backyard. Now, they are getting used to the media attention and are welcoming, with cautious optimism, the prospect of hosting a shrine that may put the village on the international map. Mohammad Shamim, a 70-year-old farmer, is hopeful of an end to the communal strife that flared up after the Babri Masjid -- a 16th-century mosque said to be built on the orders of the Mughal emperor Babur -- was razed by kar sevaks in December 1992. "This is also Ayodhya (district). If the government allotted land in Ayodhya city, there might be another fight. We want the tussle to end," he says, stepping out of a mosque after offering the afternoon namaz. "It's up to the government what kind of mosque it wants to build here. But if it is named after Babur, it might draw more visitors." Dhannipur is in the Sohawal tehsil of Ayodhya (formerly Faizabad district), about 25 km from the disputed site and on the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi told Parliament that the Centre had decided to set up a trust for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It was followed by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet approving a proposal to allot five acres to the state Sunni Central Waqf Board for construction of a mosque as ordered by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case on November 9 last year. Soon afterwards, a team of government officials, including the lekhpal, or village accountant, of the revenue department came to inspect and measure the five acres. The patch chosen is on government-owned farmland with the most luxuriant green wheat crops. A gleaming white mausoleum with green-and-gold motifs stands in the middle of the site, which is a stone's throw from the Raunahi police station on the highway. The mazar houses the tomb of Shahgada Shah Rahmat Ullah Alaih, a Sufi saint whose death anniversary (urs) is celebrated at the end of April with a three-day festival that includes qawwalis and horse races. Dhannipur is a Muslim-majority village with a population of around 2,000 that also includes Yadavs and scheduled castes. It is reported to have 22 mosques. Mohammad Shahid, a meat seller in adjoining Raunahi village, also looks forward to a new "Babri Masjid". The two villages lie on either side of the farmland allocated as the site for the mosque. "We feel it is a good step. We couldn't go to the Babri Masjid earlier. The new mosque should be named after Babur only," he says. Ruksana Banu, a 58-year-old resident, says that for three days last week there was a lot of anticipation as officials descended on Dhannipur, with media personnel in tow. "But there has been no follow-up. We can't have a say in this. The mosque will be built if the Sunni Board decides," she says. For most youths, however, bread-and-butter issues are more pressing than a mosque. Shahbaz Khan, 28, who owns a cloth store in Sohawal, says there are enough mosques in Dhannipur. "Masjid jyada hai lekin namazi hain hi nahi. Gunehgar toh hum hai dharm ke hisab se (There are plenty of mosques, but hardly anyone offers prayers. By religious standards, we are guilty)," he smiles. Along with a mosque, the authorities should also set up a graduate college and a public hospital, he says. "Children have to go to Faizabad to enrol in colleges. There is a government hospital in Sohawal, but it's not in good shape." None of the villagers I spoke to failed to point out that Dhannipur has always been an example of communal harmony. It is like a mantra, and a helpful reminder to one and all. IMAGE: The Babri Masjid before it was demolised by kar sevaks, December 6, 1992. Ram Krishan Yadav, who is in his 50s, says there was never any communal discord in the village even after the Babri demolition. He iterates that education and health care need more attention, although he has no complaint against the building of a mosque. "The mosque may lead to some development as more people may visit here. Otherwise politicians do not care beyond the kursi (chair). They rake up a mandir-masjid issue, grab power and forget about vikas (development)." Yadav is an example of the appeal that the Ram Janambhoomi movement -- the culmination of which will be the construction of the Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid stood -- has for the average Hindu beyond the city of Ayodhya. "India belongs to Hindus," he says. "Ayodhya is a religious foundation and the birthplace of Ram. So the temple should be built there." At Ayodhya's Hanuman Garhi, a popular temple on the hillock where the disputed 2.77 acres is also located, Raju Das performs a daily yagna so that the Ram mandir is built soon. The senior priest of the Hanuman Garhi recently accused the Vishva Hindu Parishad of not including Ayodhya seers in the new temple trust. The trust, which will operate from New Delhi and frame rules on its properties and funds, will have 15 members. There were muted grumblings among the seers over the members of the trust. Nritya Gopal Das, president of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas which is run by the VHP, also expressed displeasure at being excluded, prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party to pacify him. Paramhans Das of the Tapasvi ki Chawni temple sat on a fast after his proposal to name Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat as head of the trust went unheeded. Raju Das says that most sadhus are unhappy about the non-inclusion of a representative of the Vaishnav Samaj. "It was no doubt a court case, but the government should have included them in the trust. Sadhus were a bit upset, but they are accepting it. Now, the focus should be on a grand temple," he says. The priest's words appear practised as he repeatedly thanks and congratulates the government and the people, and labels those opposed to the Ram Janambhoomi movement -- and the new citizenship law-- as elements who play politics over religion. Faint discontent apart, sadhus and priests in Ayodhya anticipate that work on the temple will start on Ram Navami which will be in the first week of April this year. Raju Das says the sadhus want the temple to accommodate 100,000 devotees, apart from a revamp of the smaller temples and transportation facilities within the 67 acres of land that the Centre has acquired. After the final hearing in the case, a Supreme Court bench gave a unanimous judgment in favour of the Ram Janambhoomi. In an earlier ruling in 2010, the Allahabad high court had ordered that the disputed 2.77 acres be divided equally between the three parties -- the Nirmohi Akhara; Ram Lalla Virajman, the infant deity represented by the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas; and the Sunni Waqf Board. The judgment and the allotment of land for the mosque outside the city have drawn a mixed response, ranging from quiet acceptance to harsh criticism from Muslim leaders and parties involved in the dispute. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the court's verdict a victory of faith over facts and the alternative patch of land an insult to the minority community. While some have sought to review the Supreme Court order, more recently the offer of the land in Dhannipur has irked everyone because of its distance from Ayodhya. They have also put pressure on the Sunni Waqf Board to move the Supreme Court. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board emphasised that the Sunni Waqf Board did not represent the entire community. The VHP and the fraternity of sadhus had been demanding that land for the mosque be granted outside the 14 kosiparikram -- a radius around Ayodhya town that devotees circle during religious events. (One kos is roughly 3 km.) IMAGE: Devotees look at a model of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya in this photograph taken October 22, 2019. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Paramhans Das says that according to Hindu traditions, a pilgrim centre ought to debar unholy or profane practices within an "84 kosiparikrama". In Ayodhya, "84 kosiparikrama" and "5 kosiparikrama" are held too. But Das claims the large-hearted sadhus didn't demand that land be allocated for a mosque named after an "invader" outside the "84 kosiparikrama". Khaliq Ahmad Khan, a nominee of litigant Maulana Mahfoozur Rahman, a native of Ayodhya, argues that the court decision as well as the allocation of land in Dhannipur go against positions held earlier by the court and the government. "S B Chavan, who was the home minister then, said in Parliament in 1993 that a complex will be set up that will include a temple, mosque, library, hostel, et cetera. Where are these now? It's nothing but fraud and lies," he says. The central government had acquired the 67-odd acres in and around the disputed site through the Ayodhya Act, 1993. Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur. He points out that there are well over 30 mosques and twice as many graveyards in Ayodhya city. Five acres may be hard to come by within municipal limits. Therefore, he argues, a smaller plot would also be acceptable to the locals. "The Supreme Court asked the government to offer land in a prominent place in the city. We are asking for only that." Next to his home in Kotia Mohalla, a few hundred metres away from the disputed site, is an ancient mausoleum made of stone. A few steps away is a mosque. Both are named after a saint called Bijli Shaheed. A lane separates the two buildings from a graveyard. Ansari has suggested to the Sunni Waqf Board that this mosque be redeveloped so that it can house a thousand devotees, from around 200 at present. The government could acquire the land further up the lane leading to the main road, and offer it to the community to build a women's hospital and a dharamshala, he says. For good measure, he adds: "We don't need to associate Babur's name with the mosque. He was an emperor, not a messiah. And we don't worship emperors." One of the most celebrated temple elephants of Kerala, Gaja Ratnam Guruvayur Padmanabhan (84), a house hold name in the state, died on Wednesday, said Guruvayur temple board. The tusker was carrying the thidambu (miniature of the idol of presiding deity) of Lord Sri Krishna, at Guruvayur temple since 1962. Known for its gentle behavior, Jumbo king Padmanabhan has left a story full of legends behind. Endowed with a trunk that touched the ground, good shape and elegant tusks, he was known for his calm nature and never ran amok during festival, said Jumbo lovers. He was conferred Gaja Ratnam title by the temple board in 2004 and enjoyed special privileges and status among temple elephants. Always in great demand, he had fetched a fee of four lakh for just an appearance at a temple procession in Kochi a few years ago. He was given a reception to remember at the state capital in 2006 in the presence of three ministers, film actors and members of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore. He was rewarded with a gold chain weighing 101 sovereigns on the occasion. The temple board said Padmanabhan was dedicated to the temple in 1954 as a 14-year-old pachyderm and he started carrying the Thidambu of the Lord in 1962. The board said he was ailing for the last two months due to age-related ailments. The temple said a befitting memorial will be built for the star elephant. Domesticated elephants are an integral part of peoples lives in Kerala, which boasts of several fan clubs dedicated to them. No festival makes it big without the presence of caparisoned tuskers. Besides temple festivals, elephants presence is regularly seen in cultural programmes and wedding functions. Guruvayur temple has 58 elephants-- the largest captive herd in the country. Most of the elephants are donated by devotees, mainly businessmen and film personalities as a thanksgiving to the deity. In 2001, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had donated an elephant to the temple after her partys landslide victory in state assembly elections. It literally triggered a rush to donate pachyderms to the temple, forcing the temple authorities to accept symbolic donations with a payment of 10 lakh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:30:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TUNIS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The body of a second terrorist was discovered on Wednesday by Tunisian security forces, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported. The terrorist was shot dead in a preventive operation conducted on Tuesday evening in the western province of Kasserine, said a security source on condition of anonymity. The identity of the terrorist is still unknown, the source added. From the night of Tuesday till Wednesday, the National Guard and army succeeded in shooting down Bassem al-Ghnimi, a terrorist from the Islamic State-linked Jund al-Khilafah, or the Soldiers of the Caliphate. Kalashnikovs and quantities of ammunition were seized during this operation. It is worth noting that the operation is still going on in the area to track down the rest of the terrorist group, according to the Tunisian authorities. Canberra stopped on Wednesday evening to remember Hannah Clarke and her three children after they were killed in a murder-suicide that shocked Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese spoke as they lit candles in the young mother's honour following her tragic death alongside her kids, after they were burned alive by evil Rowan Baxter. Terri Butler, who is Ms Clarke's federal representative, said the country had seen so many deaths as a result of family violence. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese spoke as they lit candles in the young mother's honour Mr Albanese hoped the brutal murder marked a turning point in the fight against domestic violence Hannah Clarke and her three children were killed in a murder-suicide that shocked Australia 'There risk is we become habitualised and then fail to be shocked,' Ms Butler told politicians at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday. 'I know that we all want to do better.' People sung 'Amazing Grace' as they lit candles for Ms Clarke and her children - Laianah, Aaliyah, and Trey - who were murdered by her former partner Rowan Baxter. Mr Scott Morrison said it was important to remember their victims and who they were. 'All of that was taken from them in a murderous act of violence which none of us here can comprehend,' he said. Mr Albanese hoped the brutal murder marked a turning point. 'We have all failed, particularly men have failed, the women and children of this country,' he said. Greens co-deputy leader Larissa Waters said words were not enough and parliament needed to take action. 'We here collectively can fix the system and make sure that it doesn't fail anybody else,' Ms Waters said. The vigil comes as some MPs stress the need for domestic violence to be on the agenda constantly, not just in the aftermath of major tragedies. Earlier on Wednesday, Labor MP Anne Aly, said it was crucial the issue continues being tackled long after Ms Clarke's death. Face of a killer: Evil dad Rowan Baxter killed his estranged wife and their three children 'I want to make sure that this stays on the agenda - that we don't just talk about this at that critical point where we are mourning lives lost,' Dr Aly told reporters on Wednesday. She said there are a lot of women who will be wondering if they're 'going to be beaten black and blue tonight'. 'I say to those women, we see you. And we know you,' she said. On Tuesday, Dr Aly spoke publicly for the first time about her experience of domestic violence at the hands of her former partner. Fellow Labor MP Linda Burney, who led Wednesday's ceremony, said what women needed when they were escaping a domestic violence situation was certainty and practical outcomes. 'They need a place that is safe to go to. They need to be financially secure. They need to understand that there is support out there,' she said earlier on Wednesday. Pakistan has detected its first two cases of novel coronavirus, a public health advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted Wednesday, days after Islamabad closed its land border with Iran, where 19 people have died from the virus. "I can confirm first two cases of corona virus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control", tweeted health advisor Zafar Mirza. A statement issued by the southern Sindh province's health department stated that the first positive case was reported in Karachi in a 22-year-old male with a "history of travel to Iran where he has acquired the virus." The officials didn't confirm where the second case was reported. However, local media said it was in Islamabad. With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Pakistan faces a potentially devastating health crisis from the new coronavirus. The virus has spread to more than 30 countries, killing over 2,700 and infecting 80,000, mostly in China. But new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia have fanned fears of the contagion taking hold in poor nations which lack the healthcare infrastructure to cope. There are growing fears in Pakistan over how the country would deal with the outbreak. Islamabad has a history of failing to contain infectious diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and hepatitis. Meanwhile Pakistan's neighbour Iran has emerged as a major hotspot, with a total of 139 cases and 19 deaths. And Afghanistan, which also shares a border with Pakistan, reported its first case of coronavirus on Monday. While Pakistan has closed land borders with Iran, it has maintained air travel to and from China -- increasingly a source of trade and commerce for the country. "There is a limited concept of prevention unfortunately. I fear it's not well prepared at all for any health emergency," Pakistani public health expert Arshad Altaf told AFP. Pakistan this week moved quickly to quarantine at least 270 people near the Iranian border after a group of pilgrims returned and briefly mixed with other residents. Ziaullah Langove, home minister in southwestern Balochistan province, said there were nearly 10,000 Pakistanis still in Iran, mostly students and pilgrims that Iranian officials were planning to send back in small groups. Pakistani soldiers wearing facemasks stand at the closed Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan on February 25 as fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus escalate It was a week when both oil and natural gas prices settled higher. On the news front, The Williams Companies, Inc. WMB, Pioneer Natural Resources PXD and Concho Resources CXO reported December quarter earnings. Overall, it was a good week for the sector. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added 2% to close at $53.38 per barrel, natural gas prices gained 3.7% in the week to finish at 1.905 per million Btu (MMBtu). The crude benchmark rose for the second week in a row after a data report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in domestic supplies. Further, Trump administrations sanctions on the trading unit of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft and Chinas economic stimulus package had a positive effect on prices. These factors were partly offset by the rumored rift in the alliance between Russia and Saudi Arabia-led producer group and increased concerns over fears that the coronavirus outbreak in China would have a severe impact on oil demand Meanwhile, natural gas ended slightly higher following an in-line decrease in supplies and bullish weather forecasts. Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories 1. Energy infrastructure provider Williams Companies reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 24 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny owing to weaker West segment performance. However, the bottom line was above the year-earlier quarter's adjusted earnings of 19 cents on strong contribution from the energy infrastructure providers Atlantic-Gulf and Northeast G&P units. On a further encouraging note, Williams gathered volumes were up 10% year over year to a record 13.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), while reserved transportation capacity improved 8% from the corresponding period of 2018 to 21.8 Bcf/d another all-time high. The company reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance in the band of $4.95-$5.25 billion with distributable cash flow within $3.05-$3.45 billion. Adjusted EPS view for the year is expected in the range of 95 cents to $1.20. Further, Williams expects to grow its dividend at an annual rate of 5% and aims toward a dividend coverage ratio of 1.7x at the midpoint of its 2020 guidance. Importantly, the company looks to cover its dividend hike and capital spending in 2020 with internally generated cash flows. (Read more Williams Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates, Tops on Revenues) Story continues 2. Pioneer Natural Resources, a premier Permian producer, reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $2.36, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.12, thanks to higher production and average realized prices on an oil-equivalent basis. Further, the bottom line surged from the year-ago quarters $1.18. In a separate release, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company hiked quarterly dividend by 25% to 55 cents per share. The increased dividend is likely to be paid out on Apr 14, to stockholders of record as of Mar 31. At the end of the quarter under review, cash balance totaled $631 million. Long-term debt summed $1,839 million, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 15.9%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. For 2020, the upstream energy player projects capital budget for drilling, completions and facilities in the band of $3-$3.3 billion. Average oil equivalent volumes for 2020 has been estimated in the band of 383 to 403 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. Notably, the company expects daily oil production for 2020 in the range of 235 to 245 thousand barrels. (Read more Pioneer Natural Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates) 3. Concho Resources reported net income per share (excluding special items) of $1.03, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents and the prior-year period earnings of 94 cents. The outperformance can be primarily attributed to better-than-anticipated production volumes. Precisely, the Permian-focused upstream players output of 337,288 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d) surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 325,265 Boe/d. In more good news for investors, the crude and natural gas explorer raised its quarterly dividend by 60% to 20 cents per share (or 80 cents per share annualized), to be paid out on on Mar 27 to shareholders of record as of Feb 28. Production for the first quarter is expected within 316,000-325,000 Boe/d, including the impact of its New Mexico property disposition. Concho expects 2020 overall volumes to grow 6-8% year over year, with oil output increasing 10-12%. Full-year capex budget is forecast to be between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion, 10% below the 2019 spending at the midpoint of the projected range. The companys controllable cash costs are expected to clock in at $9 per Boe, down from $9.44 in 2019. Finally, Concho has set itself the target of increasing the length of the companys laterals by 10% in 2020 to 10,000 feet, up from 9,000 in 2019 reflecting improved efficiencies. (Read more Concho Q4 Earnings Top on Volume Gains, Dividend Hiked) 4. Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE reported fourth-quarter 2019 loss per share of 10 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of profit was pegged at 8 cents. The Canadian integrated energy firms weaker-than-expected quarterly results were primarily owing to higher transportation and blending expenses along with lower margins from the Refining and Marketing business. The bottom line, however, was narrower than loss of $1.03 per share in fourth-quarter 2018, driven by higher oil sand production volumes. Transportation and blending expenses in the reported quarter increased to C$1,416 million from C$1,269 million in the year-ago quarter. However, expenses for purchased products fell to C$2,059 million from C$2,555 million. The company incurred total capital expenditure of C$317 million in the quarter under review. Notably, Cenovus generated $361 million in free funds flow. As of Dec 31, 2019, the Canadian energy player had cash and cash equivalents of C$186 million, and total long-term debt of C$6,699 million. Its total debt-to-capitalization ratio was 25.9%. (Read more Cenovus' Earnings and Revenues Miss Estimates in Q4) 5. Diamondback Energy, Inc. FANG reported strong fourth-quarter 2019 results. Better-than-expected production led to this outperformance. Precisely, overall volume came in at 301.3 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 299.6 MBOE/d. Diamondbacks board of directors announced a 100% hike in quarterly dividend to 37.5 cents per share from the previous rate of 18.8 cents. The new quarterly dividend will be paid out on Mar 10, 2020 to its shareholders of record as of Mar 3, 2020. The current annual dividend yield of the company is 2%. As of Dec 31, 2019, this Permian-focused operator had $123-million in cash and cash equivalents, and long-term debt of $5.4 billion. The debt-to-capital ratio of the company was 28.8%. Diamondback projects 2020 average daily production of 310-325 MBOE/d. Its average daily oil production is estimated between 205 MBO/d and 215 MBO/d with expected capital spend of $2.8-$3 billion.(Read more Diamondback's Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong Production) Price Performance The following table shows the price movement of some the major oil and gas players over the past week and during the last 6 months. Company Last Week Last 6 Months XOM -2.5% -16.9% CVX -1% -9.5% COP -0.3% +9.8% OXY +1.3% -6.3% SLB -3% -2.1% RIG -8% -11.2% VLO +0.3% +6% MPC +2.4% +21.4% The Energy Select Sector SPDR a popular way to track energy companies fell 0.8% last week. The worst performer was offshore driller Transocean Ltd. RIG whose stock slumped 8%. Longer-term, over six months, the sector tracker is down 8.1%. Integrated behemoth ExxonMobil XOM was the major loser during this period, experiencing a 16.9% price decline. Whats Next in the Energy World? As usual, market participants will be closely tracking the regular releases i.e. the U.S. government statistics on oil and natural gas - one of the few solid indicators that comes out regularly. The Baker Hughes data on rig count will also be on the energy traders' radar, plus the 2019 Q4 earnings, with a few energy biggies coming out with quarterly results. Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020? Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Dont miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys. Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 today >> Click to get this free report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Transocean Ltd. (RIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Concho Resources Inc. (CXO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Two Colombian exchange students, a Mexican student and an Uber driver have been found slain in central Mexico after they attended Carnival celebrations, officials said Monday. The Popular Autonomous University of Puebla said the two dead Colombians, a man and a woman, were exchange students in the medicine program. The Puebla state university said a Mexican medical student was also killed. Gilberto Higuera, chief prosecutor of Puebla state, east of Mexico City, said the Uber driver who picked them up in the city of Huejotzingo was also slain. He did not reveal the cause of death or the possible motive in the killings. Higuera said three suspects had been detained in the case. The victims' car was found nearby. Puebla has been plagued by violence that in 2019 forced astronomers to reduce staff at a remote observatory. The Popular Autonomous University of Puebla identified the Colombians as Ximena Quijano Hernandez and Jose Antonio Parada Cerpa. The university said in a statement that it expresses its profound indignation and concern over the escalation in crime and violence in our state and our country, that condemns families to live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty. It is crucial employees report instances of misconduct as soon as they occur. Reporting provides their employers with the opportunity to address the situation early on and course-correct before something more egregious follows, said Ariel Weindling, founder and CEO of NotMe Solutions, Inc. #NotMe, an open, resolution-seeking, mobile misconduct solution that supports anyone who needs help, has seen rapid expansion across a variety of industries, with new clients in the government, retail, hospitality and healthcare adopting and customizing the platform to fit the needs of their employees and industries. Recent studies have shown that 90% of employees who are the victims of harassment never report it. #NotMe is working with companies and individuals to bring this statistic down to zero. #NotMes reporting solution provides a revolutionary way to move the needle from awareness to action, placing an accessible solution in the palm of everyones hands. Employees feel safe coming forward with their sensitive reports because #NotMe offers privacy and resources without fear of retribution from employers. With #NotMe, employees can decide to report anonymously or not. Employers and individuals alike feel protected because #NotMe is the only neutral, reporting solution that was created by an employment lawyer, and the platform offers expert advice on how to navigate situations of harassment and workplace misconduct. The idea for #NotMe was born on a plane back in 2017. I was flying back from Paris to Los Angeles reading one of the #MeToo stories in a magazine. In the article, a famous actress was sharing how she had been the victim of sexual harassment. I realized that anyone could be the victim of workplace misconduct, and that most people did not know where to turn for help. I designed #NotMe as a response to #MeToo. Our neutral, resolution-seeking platform offers an accessible and actionable way to eradicate workplace harassment, said Ariel Weindling, founder and CEO of NotMe Solutions, Inc. Companies are beginning to understand that a report from an employee is not a liability but an opportunity to improve the workplace by keeping it productive and safe. The adoption of this platform from retail stores to boardrooms speaks to the ease and flexibility of this App. #NotMe is a streamlined solution that is aligned with todays workforce. One of the early adopters of #NotMe is Coastal Management, LLC, a Dunkin Donuts franchisee with 70 locations and 1,600 employees, that is experiencing the practicality of this solution first-hand. "In the modern world, especially where people do everything from their phones, it made so much sense to work with #NotMe and partner with the company in order to make the reporting and prevention of misconduct much safer and easier for our employees. said Matt Smith, Director of HR/Risk Management at Coastal Management LLC. It is crucial that employees report instances of misconduct as soon as they occur, even micro aggressions. Reporting provides their employers with the opportunity to address the situation early on and course-correct before something more egregious follows, added Weindling. The first step in eliminating misconduct starts with reporting, and that is where #NotMe comes into play. Each submission through the #NotMe app is reviewed by a highly trained team of workplace experts and employee advocates, free of charge, providing advice and guidance to anyone who submits a report. #NotMes unique AI algorithms monitor each situation and provide reports that help monitor each incident. The platform can even flag repeat offenders or predict situations that may lead to an unsafe work environment. The App offers anonymous reporting and also offers live support to victims or witnesses of harassment. About NotMe Solutions: Founded in 2017 and based in Los Angeles, #NotMe (http://www.not-me.com) is a supportive and open platform, focused on prevention and reporting, empowering people to speak up about misconduct, harassment, discrimination, bullying and other injustices, directly from a mobile app. #NotMe's AI-powered dashboard enables employers to store, sort and prioritize their employee reports, and identify patterns of misconduct earlier to help prevent escalated, costly issues down the road. To learn more or download #NotMe now, visit https://not-me.com. Grand Junction, Colorado, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Bullfrog Gold Corp (BFGC:OTCQB; BFG:CSE; 11B:FSE) (Bullfrog, BFGC or the Company) is pleased to summarize progress during the past year and its plans to drill the highest priority holes in 2020 at the Bullfrog Project (Project) located 125 miles NW of Las Vegas, Nevada. 2019 Progress The key event in 2019 was the final closing in March of a US $1.1 million private placement that funded several advancements while fulfilling all Company and Project obligations. Gained positive exposure and greater liquidity by listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange in September 2019. This listing set the stage for the C$2.0 million private placement that closed in January 2020. The Company also began trading in Germany. Replaced our auditor and transfer agent to meet both US and Canadian requirements. Extended the final Barrick Bullfrog Inc. (Barrick) work commitment to a 5.5-year period ending September 23, 2020, at which time the purchase option could be exercised. Continued discussions with Barrick to acquire the southern part of the Bullfrog pit, which would add resources, allow the sequential backfill of nearly all waste rock and substantially reduce environmental impacts and mining costs. Developed detailed drilling plans to expand mineralization in the Mystery Hill (adjacent and NE of the Bullfrog pit) and Montgomery-Shoshone (MS) areas and test the new Paradise Ridge exploration target located one mile east of the Bullfrog pit. Received approvals and posted cash reclamation bonds with the State of Nevada and the US Bureau of Land Management to drill priority exploration and development holes. Column leach tests on four bulk samples were completed using conventional crushing and high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) equipment. The four HPGR tests sized at a very fine -1/16 inch recovered an average 86% of the gold and 46% of the silver compared to 71% gold and 28% silver recovered from the conventional crushed sizes of -3/8-inch. It is notable that the bulk sample from Mystery Hill only contained 0.34 g/t but 91% of the gold was recovered from the HPGR feed size of -1/16 inch. The Bullfrog area deposits are highly amenable to heap leaching much finer sizes from HPGRs because they contain much less clay contents and generate less fines during the size reduction processes than most other gold deposits. HPGRs also create much more micro-fractures in the particles than conventional crushers, thereby further enhancing leach recoveries. Remarkably, load-permeability tests on the leached residues indicate that a fine HPGR size of -1/4 inch heap size can be stacked up to 200 feet high, but the much finer -1/16 inch size requires cement agglomeration to stack this high. Detailed geologic studies have confirmed that the Bullfrog area mineralization and waste rocks contain very high alkaline and very low sulfide contents. Recent tests on ten samples also determined that the acid neutralization potential averaged 36 times greater than the acid generation potential. Furthermore, the water immediately under the Bullfrog pit is alkaline at a pH near 8. Thus, there are no acid mine drainage issues at the Project. 2020 Plans In addition to meeting all Company obligations, plans for 2020 have been fully funded by the mid-January equity raise of C$2 million and include the following programs: Complete before April a cultural/archeological survey before drilling priority holes on Barrick lands. Update and expand other environmental and water related studies. The MS and Mystery Hill deposits need more drilling to test potential resource additions and better define ultimate pit limits while meeting the final Barrick work commitment. For reference, the main Bullfrog deposit has been adequately drilled to design expanded pit limits. The Companys new Paradise Ridge target area will also be drilled to the extent funds are available. Drilling is anticipated to start before mid-May with completion two months later. Perform minor earthwork in the Bullfrog pit to collect at least two additional bulk samples for column leach testing to further document the much higher recoveries from very fine HPGR product sizes and other tests by HPGR manufacturers needed for feasibility study and final engineering and design purposes. About Bullfrog Gold Corp. Bullfrog Gold Corp. is a Delaware corporation that controls the commanding land and mineral positions in the Bullfrog Mine area where Barrick Bullfrog Inc. produced 2.3 million ounces of gold by conventional milling beginning in 1989 and closing in early 1999 when the gold price was under $300/ounce. The large data base obtained from Barrick includes detailed information on 155 miles of drilling in the Bullfrog area. An independent 43-101 report prepared in mid-2017 estimated mineralization at 624,000 ounces at 0.7 g/tonne gold within expanded pit plans on the Companys lands based on a gold price of $1,200 and heap leaching. An annual production rate of at least 60,000 ounces is currently envisioned by management. Much additional technical and corporate information may be sourced at www.bullfroggold.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including those with respect to the objectives, plans and strategies of the Company and those preceded by or that include the words "believes," "expects," "given," "targets," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "projects," "forecasts" or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward looking information in this press release includes but is not limited to statements regarding increased liquidity for the Companys shareholders and the application of metallurgical testing results. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, the Company's ability to successfully maintain its listings, the stability of industry and market costs and trends and the Company's ability to obtain all regulatory approvals required for its planned objectives. Furthermore, by their very nature, forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, events, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation, those related to: (a) adverse regulatory or legislative changes (b) market conditions, volatility and global economic conditions (c) industry-wide risks (d) the Company's inability to maintain or improve its competitive position and (e) the ability to obtain financing needed to fund the continued development of the Company's business. We use certain terms in this valuation such as mineralization and mineral inventory estimates that are not defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101; or recognized under the U.S. SEC Industry Guide 7. The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures and may not result in the discovery of mineral deposits that can be mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no resources or reserves on any of its properties. As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Additional information regarding important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations is disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures in our Form 10-K and other SEC filings, which can be obtained from the SECs website at http:www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml . Qualified Person David Beling, P.E. has 55 years of project and corporate experience in the mining industry and is a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure or Mineral Projects. Mr. Beling has prepared, supervised the preparation of, or approved the technical information that forms the basis of the Companys disclosures, but is not independent of Bullfrog Gold Corp, as he is the CEO & President and holds common shares and incentive stock options of the Company. For further information, please contact David Beling, CEO & President, at (970) 628-1670. Despite a murky result marred by a costly wage underpayment saga, grocery king Woolworths managed to deliver a solid showing across its divisions, including historically troubled department store Big W. Yet shares in the retailer dropped 2.7 per cent to $40.73 on Wednesday, as investors raised concerns over remediation-fuelled losses and comparable sales figures which suggested the company might be losing ground to rival Coles. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said he "didn't want to overplay" the effect of the coronavirus. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer As expected, the company reported $32.4 billion in revenue for the half and net profit (after significant items were excluded and the impact of a new accounting standard was discounted) matched analyst expectations at $1.36 billion for the half. However, the company's statutory results were hurt by $131 million in one-off costs, including an $80 million provision for worker remediation following the company's admission of a mammoth underpayment scandal last October. LONDON - A lawyer for Julian Assange said in a British court Wednesday that former Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, an ally of President Trump, made an offer to the WikiLeaks founder on behalf of Trump to pardon Assange in exchange for an admission that Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 hack and leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee. Assange is in a British prison while he awaits a decision on an extradition request by the United States. The U.S. government wants him to stand trial for violations of the Espionage Act for his alleged role in obtaining and disseminating secret government documents in 2010 and 2011 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange is fighting the extradition - arguing that he acted as a publisher and journalist, and that the United States is pursuing him for "political offenses." He faces 175 years in prison. In a hearing Wednesday, Edward Fitzgerald, one of Assange's lawyers, told a judge in Westminster Magistrates' Court here that Assange wanted to submit evidence that Trump offered him a deal back in 2017 through Rohrabacher. Fitzgerald made the assertion in seeking the court's permission to admit a statement by Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer for WikiLeaks, who was present when Rohrabacher allegedly made the offer. Robinson's statement, read in part in open court and reported by the British Press Association, lays out her version of what was said by Rohrabacher in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London on Aug. 16, 2017. Also present with Rohrabacher was Charles Johnson, a conservative political activist. The offer apparently was made while Rohrabacher was still a congressman from Orange County, California. He was defeated in 2018. At the time of the meeting, Assange was not under indictment. The following year, he was indicted under seal. The indictment was unsealed in April. Rohrabacher's meeting with Assange at the embassy was certainly no secret. Following his trip to London, Rohrabacher told the Orange Country Register that Assange "reaffirmed his aggressive denial that the Russians had anything to do with the hacking of the DNC during the election." He added: "I think it will have an earth-shattering political impact. It wouldn't be so important if Democrats hadn't focused so inordinately on the Russians. Democrats are creating a total upheaval over this." District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Robinson's statement was admissible in court, thereby possibly dragging Trump into the proceedings. Rohrabacher could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that, essentially, Rohrabacher's outreach to Assange was the congressman's own move. In a 2017 interview with a California TV station, Rohrabacher said that he was trying to put together a deal that would be good for Assange that he could take to the White House. Rohrabacher wanted to disprove claims that Russia was involved in the DNC hacks and leaks. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Wednesday denied the allegation that Trump was seeking a trade with Assange. "The President barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he's an ex-congressman," she said in a statement. "He's never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie. This is probably another never ending hoax and total lie from the DNC." Trump has long bristled at the U.S. intelligence community's "high confidence" conclusion, revealed publicly in January 2017, that Moscow was behind the hacking and releasing of Democratic emails in the 2016 presidential contest, and that it was part of an effort ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to undermine Hillary Clinton's campaign and aid Trump's. The president has suggested that the hacker could have been "some guy in his home in New Jersey" or the work of the Chinese. The first hearing on Assange's extradition to the United States is scheduled to begin at Woolwich Crown Court outside London on Monday, with one week of legal argument. The case will be adjourned and will continue with three weeks of evidence on May 18. It is not clear when Assange's defense team will present to the court their evidence that Rohrabacher sought to make a deal with Assange for Trump. Assange has been incarcerated in Belmarsh Prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions when he fled to the Ecuadoran Embassy in London. In 2012, Assange took refuge at the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations. Assange has always denied the allegations. Sweden has since ended its investigation. Assange was holed up in the embassy for nearly seven years before his arrest in April. Chelsea Manning, the former Army private who was convicted on charges she provided the Iran and Afghanistan documents to WikiLeaks, is petitioning for release from jail. Manning, whose prison sentence was commuted in January 2017 by President Barack Obama, said she will never comply with a subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury about her interactions with Assange. - - - Nakashima reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Karla Adam in London contributed to this report. Tuesday's City Council meeting occasionally turned heated as councilors debated several items on the agenda. North Adams Council Opposition to Sale Leaves Land in Limbo The former Jarisch Paper Box Co. was torn down by the city in 2003. The mayor's request to put it out for an RFP was met with opposition on Tuesday. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. A reduced City Council has apparently rejected the administration's proposal to dispose of a vacant lot on American Legion Drive. In a 4-2 vote against referring the request to declare the former Jarisch Paper Box Co. surplus to the General Government Committee, the council left the disposal of the land in limbo for the moment. "This is a prime location in downtown North Adams," said City Councilor Marie T. Harpin. "No, it's not a huge lot, but it's something that we might be able to use as possibly just the police station or just possibly as the fire station. But it's something that we have to consider down the road as such as a public safety building ... so until that issue is resolved, I will not be supporting selling this parcel." Mayor Thomas Bernard had brought an order to declare the property as surplus two weeks so a request for proposals could be solicited but delayed it until this week to seek further information. The interested party in the land was Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. Executive Director Amber Besaw, during public comments at the beginning of the meeting, had spoken about her hopes that the community would be supportive of the nonprofit agency's desire to have its own home. Three of the nine councilors removed themselves from discussion because of their involvement with NBCC. Both Jessica Sweeney and Benjamin Lamb are on the NBCC board of directors and left council chambers during the debate; Keith Bona felt he needed to abstain after learning NBCC was interested in the property because he has done work for the nonprofit agency. The box-maker's factory was demolished in 2003 after the city took the land. It has sat fallow ever since. Afterward, the mayor said the city was being "responsive to an opportunity" but that didn't mean any one entity would be guaranteed the site. "You make the surplus declaration, you put out the [request for proposals], part of what I have done is I've had a team look at these and make a recommendation," he said, similar to what's done with Community Development Block Grants. "Even if I'm aware of a particular party's interest, I'm still the one bringing it for a recommendation. I was getting a level of vetting through staff." Councilors went out of their way to say they had no problems with the NBCC, a well known and respected agency involved with numerous initiatives, but rather the idea of putting out a request for proposals for a prominent property without any long-term plans on how it could be used. "It was already evident to multiple members of the community that there was the appearance that this was coming to council for the benefit of a specific and beloved organization," said Councilor Jason LaForest. "This is not an issue for the city or for the organization that has a strong interest in in this property were this to go through the RFP competitive process. No accusations here." However, he said, the problem was "plan and process" and he was not satisfied that the administration had a long-term plan for 100 or so properties under its control, especially for one "in the heart of downtown." LaForest was unhappy that he had asked two weeks ago for a list of properties owned by the city for prospective disposal and only received it minutes before the meeting began. And also that the council had not received a six-year capital outlay as required by city charter. "What there is not is a plan. There's no indication what we're going to do with any of these properties," he said. "What we're going to do with our downtown." Bernard, after the meeting, said the Office of Community Development and the Community Development Committee are working on the plan. The list of properties for disposition was "a little premature," he said, because it would coming through the committee to identify the plan. Councilor Wayne Wilkinson pushed back on the idea that the lot between the Brien Center and the Oasis Plaza could be used for a new public safety building. He said the ad hoc committee he had been on did not see that land as viable. Harpin, who also was on the committee, demurred that the "casual conversations" had not ruled the property out but Wilkinson said they were not casual but extensive research that had included the mayor, police and fire chiefs, and had evaluated several properties. The American Legion Drive land, he said, had been ruled out because it was not big enough. Councilor Lisa Blackmer expressed her frustration that attempts to divest the city of excess property a goal shared by the last administration would come to naught if they couldn't agree. "We've got a lot of property. If we're going to have a fight over every piece of land that we want to put up, every project that we want to do, we're not going to get anywhere," she said. The city needs to replenish its land sale account and it makes a bad impression on potential buyers, she continued. "They're going to say, 'why do I want to do that? Why do I want to put myself through that?" Blackmer also commented on the personal involvement of councilors with potential bidders, noting it was to be expected in a small area but a possible problem that could continue in the future. A recent bid on Sullivan School, for example, had both Lamb and Bona sitting out. Bernard acknowledged that it's challenging in a community where a lot of different people have different connections. "I'm a former board member of the coalition myself," he said later. "But that doesn't influence the decision other than knowing that this is a conversation that's almost 30 years old of a permanent home for this organization that does such critical work." Harpin said her concern continued to be locations for a public safety building. The city is currently under a U.S. Department of Justice edict to resolve the handicapped accessibility issues at the 60-year-old structure. Bernard said there are short-term resolutions and that he would again be bringing the Public Safety Committee through the building in the spring to continue to press home the need of a new one. With Bona, Lamb and Sweeney abstaining or absent, the vote was Blackmer and Council President Paul Hopkins in the affirmative to refer to General Government and Harpin, LaForest, Robert Moulton Jr. and Wilkinson voting against. In other business, the council: Saw the swearing in of Patrol Officers Robert Barrett, Dana Clement, Taylor Kline, Sakan Sadowsky and John Brack, and firefighter Ryan Richards; and the promotion of Brad Vivori from detective to police sergeant. Approved the appointment of Charles Felix Jr. to the North Adams Historical Commission for a term to expire Jan. 2, 2023, and the reappointment of Shaun Dougherty to the North Adams Airport Commission for a term to expire March 1, 2023. Accepted the donation of space at Greylock Works valued at $3,500 to host the city's 125th anniversary on Aug. 24-25. Referred information requested on the physical condition of the Hoosac Mill to the Public Safety Committee with a report to return at the second meeting in March. Referred a recommendation from the Traffic Commission to install a stop sign at the intersection of Miner and East Main streets to the Public Safety Committee. Adopted the state Berkshire Scenic Mountain Act, which will allows the city to put steps in place to protect its mountains and watersheds. Heard a presentation from Viviana Dorfman, a student at Technical University in Berlin who is doing her bachelor thesis on art and culture in redevelopment with North Adams as her case study. Students from at least 12 U.S. universities are returning home from their study abroad programs in Italy, amid fears of the coronavirus spreading further in Europe. Elon University, Fairfield University, Florida International University, Gonzaga University, Loyola University Chicago, Miami University-Ohio, Penn State University, Stanford University, Syracuse University, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Miami and Villanova University all wrote in statements that their students will leave Italy, or have already left Italy, for return to the U.S. MORE: Coronavirus live updates: Washington state reports 9th death Penn State has placed Italy on the restricted list for University-affiliated student travel and is in the process of bringing students home, in response to the evolving global outbreak of novel coronavirus, Penn State University officials wrote in a statement on February 28. Of these 12 schools, 10 have either canceled or suspended their study abroad programming in Italy. PHOTO: An empty class room is pictured inside the Bicocca University in Milan, Italy, March 2, 2020. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters) This evening the CDC moved Italy from Alert Level 2 to Warning Level 3, University of Marylands Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin wrote in a statement on February 28. In light of this change the university is hereby suspending Education Abroad programs in Italy for spring 2020. Villanova University and Miami University send their students abroad through partner programs or providers, so canceling the programs is not within their purviews, their spokespeople told ABC News. MORE: PHOTOS: Coronavirus outbreak sparks global health emergency Several of these universities are working on ways to help students continue their semester coursework at home. Jonathan Gust, the Executive Director of Media Relations at Villanova University, told ABC News that the university is providing students with options for how to continue their studies this semester. For students that return from Italy, the university has made academic accommodations to complete a full program, Gust said. Some may choose to complete academic work through an online program, others may choose to return to campus. The students will make the decision best for them but will have the opportunity to complete a full academic program whether on campus or online. Story continues PHOTO: A woman reads a newspaper outside Duomo cathedral, closed by authorities due to a coronavirus outbreak, in Milan, Italy, Feb. 24, 2020. (Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters, FILE) Gust added that any student who chooses to return to campus must first satisfy a 14-day quarantine period. New York University is also urging students studying abroad in Florence to return home -- but temporarily, they hope. The program was suspended until at least March 29, after which the university will decide whether or not to reopen operations in Florence. On Monday the program began holding classes remotely, according to a statement. MORE: As coronavirus spreads in the US, employers gear up for massive work-from-home experiment John Beckman, a spokesman for NYU, told ABC News that the school decided it would be better to take precautionary measures rather than risk students getting quarantined. "We believed it was far better to temporarily suspend and have our students leave Florence than potentially be caught behind a quarantine, where our efforts to help them would be limited," Beckman said. MORE: Canceled flights, quarantined cruises and $30B losses: How coronavirus has upended the travel industry When asked when the university will decide whether to reopen after March 29, Beckman said he wasn't sure. "We can't say precisely when we'll be able to make the determination, but we will be mindful of people's wish to have advanced notice," he added. Beckman said NYU is continuing classes online so students won't fall behind. 12 universities bringing students home from Italy study abroad due to coronavirus originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Senator Elizabeth Warren dominated a key debate for the seven Democrats in fray for the presidential nomination Tuesday night ahead of the pivotal South Carolina primary, but former Vice-President Joe Biden picked up a crucial endorsement the morning after, bolstering his chances in the heavily African-American state. Senator Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner who is seeking to consolidate his grip on the race, was the target of attacks from all rivals who questioned his electability as a socialist, policies and, echoing a growing concern in the party, the impact his nomination will have on congressional races. Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight, the senator said less than 15 minutes into the debate. I wonder why. Warren attacked her rivals with the same studied aggression as in the previous debate, targeting billionaire Michael Bloomberg specially, But experts and commentators are asking if she can convert these performances into nominating contest victories she finished a poor fourth in Nevada after dominating the debate in the lead-up to it. She has not come close to the top in any of the four caucuses and primaries held so far. Warren is fighting to stay in the race, as former mayor Pete Buttigieg - who has fared better in the primaries with a tie and a close second finish; Senator Amy Klobuchar and billionaire Tom Steyer. Bloomberg has not contested any yet. Biden finished second in Nevada. But he is hoping to take charge of the race as the frontrunner he had been for a month until upstaged recently by Sanders. Heavily black state of South Carolina is where he plans to turn around his fortunes, and picked up the endorsement Wednesday of Jim Clyburn, a senior and influential African American congressman. I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us, Clyburn said, announcing his endorsement. Biden needs a win in South Carolina, and he is facing questions he will stay in the race if he doesnt. He has a double-digit lead in polls over his rivals in the state, but he has seen the gap shrink. Steyer, the billionaire, has put in a considerable amount of time and money there, his exchanges with Biden were noticeably sharp on the debate stage. Sanders is seeking to expand his base, building on his emphatic win in Nevada, an ethnically and racially diverse state that is more representative of the country and the Democratic party than the white-majority Iowa and New Hampshire, the two states that held the first two nominating contests. All eyes are on the Super Tuesday contests on March 3, when 14 states hold their nominating contests. 26.02.2020 LISTEN The 1st edition of Leaders in Health and Tech 2020 Summit - Award ceremony will be convened by MHM Health Consultancy Ltd Ghana, at the Tomreik Hotel, East Legon, Accra Ghana on the 2nd and 3rd April 2020. This event will gather Healthcare and Allied professionals, Medical and Information Technology companies, Hospital Leaders, Private and Public Health Officials to discuss solutions to improve patients choice and health outcomes. The summit will feature keynote addresses from Global Healthcare Leaders, Patient Safety Experts and plenary sessions with Healthcare Luminaries who will share their best practices to improve healthcare delivery across the globe. The event will also celebrate African Tech and Healthcare Leaders who are transforming organisational culture and have contributed exceptionally to healthcare quality, innovation, and future development ultimately, leading to better patient outcomes. Join our remarkable global leaders in Healthcare and Tech, global mobility, relocation and experts across a diverse range of service industries for this unmissable occasion where you can celebrate achievements, congratulate our winners, entertain your clients, be inspired, support your profession and network with attendees and thought-provoking speakers. For tickets purchase or reservation follow the link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leaders-in-health-tech-2020-and-award-ceremony-tickets-89654881163 For sponsorship follow the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ypfwz1SZWsLvlowbDzyB78ruOZSKtJYs STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A controversial pilot program that could result in vehicle impoundment with the accumulation of enough speed camera or red light camera violations has officially been signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Law, formerly known as the Reckless Driver Accountability Act, will create a three-year pilot program that requires vehicle owners who receive 15 or more speed camera violations, or five or more red light camera violations, within a 12-month period to complete a safe vehicle operation course offered by the Department of Transportation (DOT). If the vehicle owner does not complete the course within the period of time determined by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), the vehicle will be subject to seizure and impoundment until proof of course completion is provided. This is a major step toward our goal of achieving Vision Zero, de Blasio said. We are putting all drivers on notice that if you behave recklessly behind the wheel, there will be real consequences. Drivers who receive a speed camera or red light camera violation in the mail will be informed that an accumulation of these violations will result in their vehicle being deemed a covered vehicle," meaning they will be required to complete the course or face potential seizure and impoundment. The DOT estimates that between 3,000 and 6,000 vehicles would be deemed a covered vehicle in the first year of the program, based off existing violations data. Today we are taking a big step forward to make our streets safer. The Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program will be the first in the country to hold owners of the most dangerous vehicles accountable for the impact on the safety of their neighbors," said Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander, the bills lead sponsor. Vehicle owners who receive notification that their car is covered under the program will be granted the opportunity to contest the claim with defenses including, but not limited to: Another person was driving the vehicle and will be required to take the course The vehicle has not accrued the necessary amount of violations The owner was unable to enroll in the course, through no fault of his or her own Personal circumstances that would cause undue hardships prevent the owner from completing the course The legislation will take effect on Feb. 26, 2021, and will apply to red light camera and school speed camera violations incurred after Oct. 26, 2020. The DOT will be required to issue annual reports noting the number of vehicles that qualify for the program and three months before the legislation is set to expire, the department will be required to issue a report on the effectiveness of the program in reducing reckless driving throughout the city. Vehicles that are owned or leased by federal, state or local governments are exempt from this program, according to the legislation. We know that vehicles with the highest number of red light and speed camera violations are significantly more likely to be involved in serious crashes. Through an unprecedented program of education and enforcement, including the possible loss of a vehicle, this new law will help us change driver behavior so we can keep driving down traffic deaths and serious injuries," said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. OPPOSED BY MATTEO, BORELLI Two of Staten Islands three City Council members, Councilman Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) and Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore), voted against the new law earlier this month, claiming that the citys speed camera program is more concerned with generating revenue than improving public safety. I voted against the speed camera legislation because I believe the main goal has always been to generate revenue for the city, and it is my constituents - who have no other option but to drive - who ultimately pay. This seems to be even more the case since the program was expanded last year, permitting the city to place cameras nowhere near school entrances and to operate them at times when school activities have long since ended. I have always advocated for simple solutions such as speed humps, stop signs and targeted enforcement around schools to curb reckless driving," said Matteo. Borelli said: This speed camera program has never been about school safety, but only about revenue and punishing car owners. The City Council has decriminalized nearly everything, and yet wages its war on drivers. You can jump the turnstile and pee in a subway car 15 times and never have your privileges revoked, yet if you commit the heinous offense of doing 36 miles per hour on Hylan Boulevard you can face the seizure of tens of thousands of dollars in personal property. Again, secession is the only thing that will change this trend." SPEED CAMERAS ON STATEN ISLAND The legislation comes as New York City is in the midst of a massive speed camera expansion that has resulted in proliferation of violations on Staten Island, with over $1 million in fines issued on Staten Island during the month of January alone. On July 11, the number of school zones permitted to operate speed cameras increased from 140 to 750, with cameras now permitted to operate year-round on weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., including school and summer vacations. The language in the new law now allows cameras to be placed within a quarter-mile radial distance of a school, as opposed to the previous law that required the cameras to be placed within a quarter-mile of the school along an abutted street. Motorists who are photographed exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph at a speed camera location receive a $50 fine. The DOT refuses to offer locations for Staten Islands cameras, but the most recently available city data shows that 79 locations across the borough have issued school zone speed camera violations from Jan. 1 to Jan. 27. During a recent meeting with Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore), the DOT provided the assemblyman with the total number of fixed speed camera locations per borough as of February 2020, showing that Staten Island had 61 total stationary speed cameras at the start of the month. The remaining 18 ticketing locations in January can likely be attributed to the city's fleet of 40 mobile speed camera units, which are regularly moved to various school zones that lack fixed speed cameras. During the 27-day span, 23,157 school zone speed camera violations were issued on Staten Island, totaling $1,157,850 in fines, the data shows. When parsed down, these numbers represent approximately 858 school zone speed camera violations per day on Staten Island. At $50 per violation, the 858 violations per day on Staten Island represent about $42,900 in fines per day, $1,788 per hour or $30 per minute. An arrest warrant has been issued for former The Block star Suzi Taylor after she allegedly failed to show up to a court appearance earlier this week. The 49-year-old's lawyers have claimed her failure to attend the hearing was a misunderstanding because she was listed to appear in two courts at the same time. The warrant had been issued for two counts of breach of bail, with Taylor to appear in court again on March 9, the Courier Mail reported. Taylor, who won $349,000 with friend Yvonne Cosier in season 11 of The Block, is accused of luring a Tinder date to her Brisbane apartment then beating him when he refused to hand over his bank details in October last year. The former model was released on strict bail to live with her cousin on the Gold Coast, but was arrested in January after going missing. The 49-year-old's lawyers have claimed her failure to attend the hearing was a misunderstanding because she was listed to appear in two courts at the same time The warrant had been issued for two counts of breach of bail, with Taylor to appear in court again on March 9 A court previously heard Taylor left the house on Christmas Day, saying she was visiting her children, and stayed in a halfway house. Taylor's lawyer told the court the cousin had 'ratted' on her to police because she was jealous about who looked better in a pair of jeans. Magistrate Pamela Dowse fined Taylor $300 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching bail, but did not record a conviction. Taylor told waiting media she 'lost a little bit of weight in prison so I needed a new pair of jeans' as she walked free in January. The former Penthouse Pet was listed to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on at Roma Street for charges including common assault and breach of bail. But she was also set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court 20 on George St to face charges of driving without a licence, contravening a requirement or direction of police, drink driving, obstructing police, breach of a bail condition, deprivation of liberty, extortion and possessing dangerous drugs. Taylor was listed to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on at Roma Street for charges including common assault and breach of bail on Monday, but she was also set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court 20 on George Street for other charges Taylor, who won $349,000 with friend Yvonne Cosier in season 11 of Nines hit reality series, is accused of luring a Tinder date to her luxury Brisbane apartment then beating him when he refused to hand over his bank details in October last year. The Courier Mail reported Taylor showed up in court 20 on Monday, but the warrant was issued by the Magistrate in courtroom 1 when she didn't arrive. Police allege Taylor's assault was motivated by needing to pay off 'rebels and bikies' chasing her for money. After discovering her 33-year-old victim had no cash on him, police claim she said she needed it to pay off 'rebels and bikies' chasing her for money. She is alleged to have called for her flatmate and co-accused, Ali Ebrahimi, to come and help her, who soon tied the man up with a phone charger. Along with Taylor, he is claimed to have then beat the victim while demanding the PIN to his phone to transfer themselves money. Taylor allegedly told Ebrahimi: 'No, he isn't going anywhere, he has been here hours now. I have bills to pay, I have Rebels and bikies coming to my house chasing me for money, so I am not letting him go until I get my money.' The former Penthouse Pet and nude model denied having any affiliations with bikie gangs or owing them money. Court documents allege the midnight liaison on October 29 went very wrong minutes after the unsuspecting man walked in the door. Taylor had invited him for a drink via a message on another dating app, Plenty of Fish, and soon said they should 'take this into the bedroom'. As they lay on her bed kissing, Taylor - who the man knew as 'Katie' - whipped off her top to expose her breasts and then allegedly made her demand. 'If you want to go any further you need to cough up some money... This is what I do for a living and my time is my money,' she allegedly said. The man said in his statement filed with the court he was blindsided by this demand because he thought the encounter was a hookup not him hiring a prostitute. 'I believe by this comment Katie was implying that I needed to pay her for sex. This comment completely shocked me, and I have then said 'I am not paying for anything',' he told police. Iranian cyberpolice have arrested 24 people accused of online rumour-mongering about the spread of the coronavirus in the country, semi-official agency ISNA reported on Wednesday. The Islamic republic has been battling to control an outbreak of the novel coronavirus that has claimed 19 lives among 139 infections in the past week. "Twenty-four people were arrested and handed over to the judiciary and 118 (internet) users were talked to and let go" after receiving warnings, said Vahid Majid, head of the Iranian police force's cyber unit. The arrests were carried out after the establishment of a special unit to "combat rumour-mongers regarding the 'spread of coronavirus in the country'," he was quoted as saying. "The police are monitoring all the published in the country's cyberspace." Majid said the unit would take action over news, pictures or videos that "contain rumours or fake meant to disturb the public and increase concern in society". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of Tomball residents gathered in Old Town Tomball to welcome and celebrate with the Sam Houston Trail Riders as they make their way to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This is the 66th year the trail riders have made this ride to the Houston rodeo, and the city of Tomball welcomed them with a big celebration with food, music and line dancing. Those in attendance and their kids also got to talk to the trail riders and ride and pet their horses. PHOTOS: Everything you need to know about the RodeoHouston trail riders traveling to town this week Its events like this that really make a community like ours special, Tomball City Manager Rob Hauck said. Tradition is important, and Texas tradition is important. And that tradition of farming and ranching and just good old country living has been a part of Tomball, Texas for our entire existence. The trail ride begins in Montgomery and goes 75 miles to the Houston Rodeo, with about 100 riders making the travel with 17 wagons. ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Six days in a covered wagon: The ride into Houston for the rodeo David Supak, the trail boss in charge of the ride, accepted a proclamation from Council Member Lori Klein Quinn commemorating the day. Supak said he had been a part of the ride for more than 20 years. They also do trail rides in other areas, including Anderson and Navasota. Where else can you have horses and wagons and do this? Supak asked. Where you live in Texas, this is the way our heritage was. This is the way it started. Theres nothing more relaxing than riding in one of these wagons. One trail rider, 17-year-old Lane Pullin, said he had been part of the trail ride nearly since he was born, having been a third-generation rider, and has been riding horses since he was 2 years old. It gives you a chance to be an adult even if youre younger, Pullin said. It gives you the chance to be responsible for yourself and an animal. Many families showed up to the event with their young children. Kayley Pavloch came to the event for the first time because her infant son likes horses. Desiree Clepper said this was her third year going to the event with her four-year-old. Clepper said she used to ride herself and had been on a couple of trail rides and tells her family about the tradition of the trail rides. I tell it from way far back when the ranchers got all their areas closed off and there was all these cowboys roping and riding and they had nothing to do so they started rodeos and people had to ride in to get to those rodeos, Clepper said. paul.wedding@hcnonline.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 11:15:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANNING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A train loaded with fruit departed Dong Dang railway station in northern Vietnam and arrived in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday. Over 150 tonnes of dragon fruit on the first China-Vietnam fruit train will be shipped to cities across China after inspection and quarantine in a logistics center at Pingxiang port, which borders Vietnam, China Railway's Nanning bureau said. The fruit import service at Pingxiang railway port has passed the inspection of the General Administration of Customs, which has opened a new channel for fruits produced in ASEAN countries to enter China. According to the port, about two to three fruit trains are scheduled every week, and more fruit varieties are expected as well. San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during a news conference at the future site of a Transitional Age Youth Navigation Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Jan. 15, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) San Francisco Declares State of Emergency Over Coronavirus San Francisco on Feb. 25 declared a local emergency over the new coronavirus in a bid to curb the spread of the deadly disease in the city. The citys mayor made the moveeffective immediately for seven daysdespite having no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday said Americans should prepare for community spread of the disease. Californias fourth-largest city said it made the move to boost its coronavirus preparedness and raise public awareness of risks the virus may spread to the city. Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step up preparedness, Mayor London Breed said in a statement. We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day, and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm. Declaring a state of emergency will allow San Francisco to increase its emergency planning efforts and promptly redirect resources and employees if there were to be an outbreak in the city. A board of supervisors will vote on the declaration on March 3. It comes as the CDC confirmed 57 cases of coronavirus in the United States on Tuesday. All of the new cases were evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was held in medical isolation for two weeks off the coast of Japan, CDC officials confirmed to CNN. In all, the confirmed cases include 40 passengers who were onboard the Diamond Princess, three people evacuated from China, and 14 U.S. cases. The ship ultimately turned from a quarantine zone into a highly effective means of transmitting the virus, as hundreds of people became infected, leading to four deaths and prompting criticism about how Japanese officials responded. A man cycles past city buses (back L) lined up to transport the first batch of passengers disembarking from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on Feb. 19, 2020. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images) Of the 14 U.S. cases, eight have been confirmed in California, one in Washington state, one in Arizona, two in Illinois, one in Massachusetts, and one in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, health officials in Oregon, Michigan, and Washington state say they are monitoring hundreds of people who are at risk of contracting the virus. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC said Americans should prepare for their lives to be disrupted by the spread of the new virus, including closures of schools and businesses. She told reporters in a phone call on Tuesday that the number of cases popping up without a known source of exposure in Italy, Iran, South Korea, and other countries makes all of us feel that the risk of spread in the United States is increasing. Dozens of people around the world outside of China have died from the virus, which causes a disease that has similar symptoms to influenza, including fever, headache, and difficulty breathing. Trumps administration on Monday sent a $2.5 billion supplemental budget request to Congress as part of an urgent plan to combat the deadly outbreak of the new coronavirus. Reuters contributed to this report. A federal Queensland MP has told a vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children that Australians want to do more to tackle domestic violence. Terri Butler, who is Ms Clarke's federal representative, said the country had seen so many deaths as a result of family violence. Terri Butler during a vigil for Hannah Clarke and her children at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "There risk is we become habitualised and then fail to be shocked," Ms Butler told politicians at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday. "I know that we all want to do better." Tess Richey was sexually assaulted and brutally strangled to death by a man whom shed just met, prosecutors will argue over the next few weeks at a downtown Toronto courthouse. Kalen Schlatter, 23, is facing a charge of first-degree murder in the case. He has pleaded not guilty. The 22-year-old aspiring flight attendant was found dead in a stairwell near where she was last seen alive on Church St. on Nov. 25, 2017. The jury is expected to hear evidence from the people who last saw Richey alive and undercover officers who spoke to Schlatter after his arrest while posing as his cellmates. The Crown alleges Schlatter told the officers he was upset because Richey refused to have sex with him. The Toronto police were sharply criticized for failing to investigate Richeys disappearance properly. This took place amid concerns that missing-persons cases linked to the Gay Village were not being taken seriously. Her case was among those which prompted the police board to commission a sweeping review of how Toronto police handle missing-persons investigations. The Star will update this story as the trial progresses. It is set to last six to eight weeks. Here is what has happened so far: Jan 30: The trial began with the Crowns opening address to the jury. Prosecutor Beverley Richards gave a detailed account of the evidence the jury is expected to hear, which includes surveillance video the Crown said will show Schlatter and Richey walking towards the stairwell where her body was found, and Schlatter walking away alone 45 minutes later. Richeys body was found four days later. The Crown said Schlatters semen was found on the outside of Richeys pants. The trial also heard from police witnesses who took the jury through photos of the various locations around Church Street, including the stairwell. Jan 31: Rachel Richey, Tess Richeys older sister, gave emotional testimony about the last time she saw her sister alive Nov. 24, 2017 and the frantic search that began the next day. Their mother, Christine Hermeston, drove down from North Bay to help in the search. Four days later, Hermeston and her friend were searching the area around Church Street where Richey was last seen alive. Hermestons friend Ann Brazeau testified, through tears: I just saw her lying there and I went into complete shock. Horror. Disbelief. I couldnt process or make sense of what I was seeing . I was terrified. The trial also heard from Kabous Abadi, a hot dog vendor who said two women and a man came by his stand on Church Street in the early hours of Nov. 25, 2017. The man paid. He recognized the women when police came by with photos. Feb 3: Uber driver Marlon Allamby testified that he responded to a request for an UberPool from Tess Richeys account at 4:02 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2017, on Church Street. She never showed up. The jury also heard more testimony about the discovery of Tess Richeys body in the external stairwell of a house under renovation at 582 Church St. around 3 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2017. Const. Robert Chevalier, a neighbourhood police officer based in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood, said he joined the investigation after seeing a flyer about Richey at the 519 Community Centre that morning. He said missing people in the area were a concern, and noted that at the time serial killer Bruce McArthur had not yet been caught. Chevalier said he met Richeys mother and friend in the afternoon. They asked him to check out the address of a nearby house. Shortly after he got there, he heard a scream. He went into the alleyway and saw the stairwell, obscured from the main street by a gravel pile. He saw a dead body in the stairwell, with a pink handbag next to her. Court ended at around 2:30 p.m. because a juror injured herself in a fall over the lunch break. The rest of Chevaliers testimony was postponed to the next day. Feb 4: In one of the most difficult moments of the trial so far, the jury was shown photographs of Richeys body as it was found at the bottom of a stairwell leading down to the basement door of a house under renovation on Church Street. Richeys family left the courtroom while the photographs were shown in court. The trial also heard from Ryley Simard who had gone out drinking and dancing with Richey at the Crews and Tangos bar on Church Street the night she was killed. Simard, who was one of the last people to see her friend alive, testified that she and Richey were asked to leave the bar at around 2 a.m., both very drunk. They walked along Church Street, stopped at a hot dog stand, and then stopped outside at a house on Dundonald Street where Richey had a conversation with a woman. While the hot dog vendor testified Schlatter was with the two women at the hot dog stand, Simard did not mention it in her testimony. She did testify that she kissed Schlatter goodbye on the lips before she went home around 4 a.m., leaving Richey and Schlatter in the Church Street area. Feb. 5: On the night Kalen Schlatter was arrested, Feb. 4, 2018, he was put in the police station holding cells with two undercover officers posing as two men arrested for possessing stolen property. One of the undercover officers began his testimony Wednesday from behind a screen meant to conceal his identity from the public. He is known as Undercover Officer 1. Schlatter told the officers hed been arrested for Richeys murder and claimed theyd met at the Crews and Tangos bar where they kissed and danced, the officer testified. He said that after her friend went home, he led Richey into the alley and then stairwell to hook up but was pissed off when she refused to have sex with him. He claimed she wanted to stay in the stairwell and he asked her if he should stay. She said no and he left her there alive, the officer said Schlatter told him. Mr. Schlatter said he was drunk and something could have happened, but he doesnt remember and he doesnt think hes capable of doing it, the officer recalled. Court ended at 1 p.m., with the officers examination-in-chief set to continue the next day. Feb. 6: The testimony of the undercover officer concluded just after 11 a.m. The jury was then dismissed for the day for reasons of ensuring a fair trial through no fault of counsel for the defence or counsel for the Crown. Superior Court Justice Michael Dambrot apologized to the jury for the inconvenience. The cross-examination of the officer by the defence is expected to start Friday morning. Feb 7: One of Schlatters defence lawyers, Lydia Riva, argued the undercover officers memory and notes of the conversation with Schlatter in the cells was unreliable, cannot be trusted and that he omitted key context. The conversation was videotaped, but not audio-recorded. Riva suggested there were important discrepancies between the memories of the two undercover officers. The second officer has not yet testified. She also suggested that Schlatter bragged about his sexual exploits with women, because he is bisexual and was afraid of how he might be treated in jail if that were known. Feb 10: For the morning, the jury watched hours of soundless video clips of Schlatter in a small holding cell, with an undercover officer in a cell on either side. He can be seen speaking, though it is impossible to know what he is saying. The jury has heard that the police did not get a judicial authorization for an audio recording of the conversation between Schlatter and two undercover officers. But the jury has not heard why. Feb 11: One of the undercover officers handlers, who supervised the undercover operation, testified that there was an officer protection kit in the cell with the first undercover officer. The device allowed the handlers to listen to the conversation solely for officer safety, which in this case meant possible medical issues or distress, he said. He said he did not listen to the content of the conversation, only for any indication or signal of a problem from the officers. He said he did not take notes of the conversation as that would not be allowed. The jury also heard from the second undercover officer, who gave a much less detailed account of the conversation than the first. He corroborated some of the account given by the other officer but defence lawyer Lydia Riva pointed out some differences and omissions. The second officer could not recall if Schlatter said he was pissed off or upset that he could not have sex with Tess Richey. Riva also seized on the differences in words. The second officer said Schlatter said he was acting emotional when shown photos of Richeys body by the police, while the first said he said he pretended to be emotional. Feb 12: The jury began viewing surveillance videos seized from the Crews and Tangos bar showing the movements of both Schlatter and Richey from the night of Nov 24, 2017. The jury also saw the security video that the Crown says shows Richey and Schlatter walking towards the stairwell where Richeys body was later found, and Schlatter walking out alone 45 minutes later. Feb 13, 14 and 17: The trial did not sit. Feb. 17 was Family Day and court was closed. Feb 18: The jury continued watching security videos from Crews and Tangos. They watched Richey and Simard dancing under strobe lights in the crowded bar. The two women occasionally crossed paths with Schlatter, who was also at the bar, but they dont appear to notice each other at all. Feb: 19: In the morning, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy of Richeys body testified. Dr. Kona Williams concluded Richey had been strangled to death, possibly with a soft cloth ligature, a forearm pressed against her neck or in a chokehold. The time of Richeys death is consistent with when she is last seen alive on the security videos with Schlatter, around 4 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2017 but Williams could not pinpoint an exact time and said it could have been later. In the afternoon, the jury resumed watching security footage. They saw Richey and Simard leave Crews and Tangos at around 2:18 a.m. and linger on the sidewalk for some minutes before they started walking north on Church St. Schlatter is also standing on the sidewalk outside the bar. Simard goes up to Schlatter and they speak briefly the Crown has said this was Schlatter offering a light for her cigarette but Simard did not recall the interaction when she testified. Schlatter could also be seen slowly moving north on Church St., the same direction as Richey and Simard. Feb 20: The jury saw the last security footage of Richey alive. At about 4:15 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2017, Schlatter and Richey walked hand-in-hand into the alley off Church Street where her body was found days later at the bottom of a stairwell leading to the basement of a house under renovation. Schlatter leaves the alley alone about 45 minutes later. The detective who reviewed the footage from cameras all around the area, including motion-activated cameras with a view of the fence at the back of the house, said he didnt see Richey leave or anyone else go in or out of the area for the next two hours. Feb 21: During cross-examination the defence drew the jurys attention to another man seen in a pink hat in the videos. The defence has suggested they will argue it is possible another person was responsible for killing Richey after getting to the alley and stairwell by climbing over a fence at the back. Feb. 24: Cross-examination on the video evidence ended and the jury heard testimony from a police officer who executed a search warrant on Schlatters home. Photos of Schlatters bedroom, which showed board games and video games, were used by undercover officers to find common ground with Schlatter while they posed as recently arrested men in holding cells next to Schlatter. The jury has heard Schlatter opened up after one of the undercover officers mentioned the card game Magic: The Gathering. Feb 25: The Crown introduced several text message conversations taken from Schlatters phone after it was seized by police upon his arrest on Feb. 4, 2018. The messages included flirtatious and sexual conversations with women in the days and months after Richey was last seen alive. The jury has heard two undercover officers testify that Schlatter boasted extensively about his sexual exploits with women. The defence has suggested he was bragging out of fear of what would happen to him in jail if it were known he is bisexual. In one text, from 9:46 p.m. on Nov 26, 2017 almost two days after Schlatter and Richey were captured on video walking into the alley he told one woman: This weekend has been the worst for me and Ive been so stressed out. Feb 26: The trial did not sit because the judge had to deal with an emergency. Feb 27: Undercover Officer 1 was recalled and further questioned by the defence. Using the faint audio from the booking room video, the defence suggested the officer was the one who prompted conversation with Schlatter. The officer said it was Schlatter who prompted the conversation and said he could not make out what was being said between him and Schlatter in the background audio. The jury also heard evidence from a toxicologist about the amount of alcohol Tess Richey had in her system at the time of her death at most 206 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. A forensic biologist testified about the DNA evidence obtained from Richeys clothes. Semen on her pants and saliva on her bra were found to match Schlatters DNA. Feb 28: The testimony of the forensic biologist concluded and court broke around 11 a.m. Mar. 2: The trial did not sit. Mar. 3: In testimony that at times appeared straight out of The Wire, a combative life-long criminal and self-professed liar who once shared a jail cell with Schlatter testified that Schlatter confessed to strangling Tess Richey with a scarf and ejaculating on her body after she refused to have sex with him. Schlatter said he was too worked up to stop, the jailhouse informant who can only be described as E.S., told the jury. While E.S. said he was only testifying for the dead girl and her family and that he was not receiving any consideration from the Crown for his own pending charges, the defence suggested he had manufactured the confession in order to help himself in the future. Mar. 4: E.S., who became increasingly hostile and insulting towards Schlatters defence lawyer during cross-examination, concluded his testimony. The jury then heard evidence about Schlatters cellphone records. Mar. 5: The jury heard from a correctional officer at the Toronto South Detention Centre, who testified about the period of time E.S. and Schlatter were in custody together. The jury also heard from Det. Ted Lioumanis, the officer-in-charge of the case. He said that on Dec. 10, 2017, the police released images of a man from an ATM security video. Kalen Schlatter called in to the police station and said he was the person in the photos. However, when at the station he did not admit to being the person in the photos. Police obtained his DNA off a water bottle Schlatter had drunk from and discarded. Mar. 6: Lioumanis concluded his testimony and the jury then heard from Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson who testified about how police came to arrest Schlatter. Police had been working on getting a judicial authorization to record the undercover operation in the cells, however it was not completed when Schlatter was arrested. Gibson said the decision to arrest Schlatter was a matter of public safety. It was a stranger-on-stranger homicide, he said. I couldnt guarantee eyes on him all the time. He also said he did not want to arrest Schlatter at his home because of the potential for a volatile and dangerous situation. Schlatter was arrested on Feb. 4, 2018 after watching the Superbowl at a movie theatre with his family. The Crown closed their case at the end of Gibsons testimony. Mar. 9: Kalen Schlatter testified in his defence. Mar. 10: Schlatter was cross-examined. Mar. 11: Trial did not sit. Mar. 12: The defence called to the stand a man they claim was responsible for Richeys murder. Mar. 13: The man was cross-examined by the Crown. The defence closed its case. Mar. 16: The jury is given the option of whether they wish to continue the trial, as the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down all other trials. They decide to proceed. The defence makes closing arguments. Mar. 17: The Crown made closing arguments. Mar. 18 and 19: The jury did not sit. The lawyers and the judge discussed the legal instructions that would be given to the jury. Mar. 20: The judge charged the jury. Deliberations began at 4 p.m. and the jury ended their day at 7 p.m. Mar. 21: The jury deliberated from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mar. 22: The jury deliberated from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mar. 23: The jury returned with a verdict at shortly before 6 p.m. They found Schlatter guilty of first-degree murder. He will face a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. With files from the Canadian Press By Troy Stangarone Every U.S. president ideally wants to head into their re-election campaign with foreign policy successes to tout to voters. However, foreign policy has traditionally had very little impact on U.S. elections unless there is something deeply wrong in the policy. In the case of the current talks with North Korea, this history suggests there is likely to be little progress until after the November election. The potential downside to foreign policy for a president's re-election is perhaps underscored by the Vietnam War. What began under the Kennedy administration as an effort to support the South Vietnamese government with military advisers in time became a deeply unpopular war in the United States as casualties grew with no end to the conflict in sight. It slowly eroded President Lyndon Johnson's public approval and became a significant factor in his decision not to run for re-election in 1968. Even foreign policy achievements have often not translated into electoral success. Despite George H.W. Bush's stunning foreign policy successes in peacefully managing the end of the Cold War and then building an international coalition to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, only a year later he would go on to lose the presidential election to a relatively unknown Democrat named Bill Clinton. Instead, U.S. elections tend to be fought on domestic issues such as the state of the economy or cultural issues. The 1992 election between Bush and Clinton introduced the phrase "it's the economy, stupid." In more recent elections, those issues have remained the focus of the American electorate despite the country's deeper involvement in conflicts abroad. President George W. Bush's re-election campaign was the most recent election where foreign policy was a significant issue. September 11 was still fresh in American minds and only the year before the United States had invaded Iraq. Foreign policy played a larger role than normal. Exit polling from the 2004 election indicates that 19 percent of the American public considered terrorism the most important issue. Another 15 percent viewed the war in Iraq as the most important challenge facing America. However, these two issues still trailed the economy and moral values as the most important considerations for Americans in the election. In the 2008 election, 63 percent of Americans thought that the economy was the most important issue facing the country. Only a combined 19 percent thought either Iraq or terrorism were the most important issue. In 2012 and 2016, the most important issue for Americans remained the economy. Foreign policy became less relevant. With his impeachment trial behind him President Donald Trump could try to reach a deal with North Korea prior to the November election, but history suggests that success is unlikely to help him in his re-election. Failure would be unlikely to be as detrimental to his electoral chances as Vietnam was to Johnson's, but with little potential upside there may be negligible incentives for Trump to take significant steps before the election. North Korea is also not a significant issue for the American public. Even during the period of "fire and fury" North Korea barely registered as the most pressing problem for the United States in an ongoing Gallup poll. Trump, who is finely attuned to public opinion, may sense this as well. Reporting suggests that he does not want another summit meeting with Kim Jong-un prior to the election. U.S. political calculations aside, reaching an agreement likely also faces challenges from North Korea. In the immediate term, North Korea's self-isolation to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus makes restarting talks impractical for the foreseeable future. However, once North Korea lifts its quarantine it may still have reservations about engaging in substantive talks with the United States. Trump's own actions to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran nuclear deal likely signal to Pyongyang the innate uncertainty that comes with U.S. policy after an election. A Democratic administration might be less likely than Trump to unwind any agreement, but it might also be more of a risk than North Korea is willing to take. If reaching a deal in 2020 is complicated by politics, that doesn't mean that progress cannot be made with North Korea this year. The best course would be to engage in mid-level talks to work through the issues that need to be finalized prior to concluding a deal. Ideally, the Trump administration would work in close consultation with leaders on Capitol Hill and the eventual Democratic nominee to ensure that if real progress is made and there is a change of administrations the talks can be quickly picked up and finalized with the support of Congress and the new U.S. administration in 2021. The enmity in Washington over the impeachment may make this difficult, but continued talks would allow progress and potentially an interim deal to be concluded. The only real question is whether all of the parties are willing to use 2020 as more than a year lost to electoral politics. Troy Stangarone (ts@keia.org) is senior director and fellow at the Korea Economic Institute. Tyler Perry's nephew, Gavin Porter, killed himself in prison and family members are suspicious of foul play. The 26-year-old's body was reportedly found in his cell at a facility in Louisiana on Tuesday night, according to TMZ. Family members were told that Gavin 'hanged himself with a bed sheet while in solitary confinement.' Sad: Tyler Perry's nephew, Gavin Porter, killed himself in prison and family members are suspicious of foul play; seen in Los Angeles on Friday Officials told the family that he was involved in an altercation and went into solitary confinement at the Union Parish Detention Center in Farmville. 'There was no one else in the cell at the time he was found dead,' Sheriff Dusty Gates told RadarOnline before adding that investigators 'do not suspect a homicide at this time.' Gavin, who's mother is Tyler's sister Melva, was checked on at 6 p.m. with no concerns from officers. Terrible: The 26-year-old's body was reportedly found in his cell at a facility in Louisiana on Tuesday night, according to TMZ At 8 p.m., guards found Porter dead after he had 'hung himself with bed sheets.' Gavin was arrested in 2015 for shooting and killing his biological father after an argument. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest to manslaughter charges. Difficult: Perry admitted to People magazine last year that he struggled with thoughts of suicide after enduring years of abuse at the hands of his father; seen in 2019 Perry admitted to People magazine last year that he struggled with thoughts of suicide after enduring years of abuse at the hands of his father. 'If any of it had worked, my attempts to kill myself I wouldn't have gotten to the other side of all the horror,' he said. 'I believe that to everything there's an opposite. So for all of that pain and hell, I was going through as a child, there had to be beauty. I tell anyone who is in pain, 'just keep going. One little step is a step.' He revealed that diving deep into his creative process helped him battle negative thoughts and suicidal ideation as he created his success. 'As I dug into writing and started understanding the motivations of characters, that helped me understand my own behaviors,' he said. 'I could untie some of those strings and get to full healing.' Jaipur, Feb 26 : One Sandeep Panwar has been arrested by Ajmer police on charges of threatening to blow up Ajmer dargah after calling at district collector's landline number on Tuesday, confirmed Ravish Samariya, SHO, Civil Lines police station on Wednesday. The district collector Vishwa Mohan Sharma's team received a call on Tuesday from an anonymous number which threatened to blow up the dargarh with a bomb. Sharma's team immediately informed the police and security agencies. After investigation, one person named Sandeep Panwar was arrested late Tuesday night. Samariya told IANS that the accused is a resident of Arai in Ajmer and is working in Gujarat in a textile mill. "During interrogation, Panwar said that he was upset because authorities did not take note of his complaint registered in electricity department. And to get their attention, he made this plan, however, we are investigating the matter thoroughly," Samariya said. A delegation from Pakistan is coming to attend the 808th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty and will reach Ajmer on February 28. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:52:58|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including the shooter, were killed in a shooting on a company campus in Milwaukee in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on Wednesday, local media reported. The shooting rampage took place on the Milwaukee campus of beer brewer Molson Coors. The company notified its employees at the complex of an "active shooter" by email, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Milwaukee Police Department said in a series of tweets that it was investigating "a critical incident" and responding to "an active scene," urging people to stay away from the area. The campus was on lockdown, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said, citing Twitter posts from witnesses. This month marks the 10th anniversary of Rick Hess Straight Up, making it a propitious time to revisit some favorites from the past decade. For each of the Top 20 which run this month, Ive offered a quick reflection or thought as to why it remains a personal favorite. If youve skipped the past decade of RHSU, heres a quick refresher: A lot of people in education think Im an unhelpful jerk. Okay. Youre caught up. Dont get me wrong, Im okay with people thinking Im a jerk (its a free country and people are entitled to their views). Its the unhelpful part that bothers me more. As best I can tell, weve settled on a definition of helpful in the world of school improvement that tends to encourage groupthink by rewarding those who sign onto the conventional wisdom of the moment. I dont think this is good for kids, schools, or the nation. This has been a recurrent theme of RHSU, and I think that this post does a better job than usual of making the point. Now, on to number 3 , originally posted on June 3, 2019. Homeowners recovering from last year's devastating floods are still fighting to secure insurance payouts while others are nowhere nearer moving back into their homes. As parts of Britain face record floods, Money Mail has spoken to families who are battling insurers up to four months after their homes were destroyed. Experts have criticised the 'unhelpful attitudes' of some firms, which are stopping victims getting their lives back on track. Craig Elliott's bungalow in Fishlake, South Yorkshire, was submerged under 4ft of water after the River Don burst its banks last November. Sinking feeling: Fishlake, South Yorkshire, was submerged under 4ft of water after the River Don burst its banks in November 2019 He says that he and his wife Mary, 63, are still unable to move back home. Craig, 59, says his walls, floorboards and bathroom need to be stripped and replaced because they have been contaminated with sewage. But he says Trinity Claims is only offering to put laminate over the floorboards to cover the swelling, patch over damaged plaster and clean the bathroom. The retired electrician, who is living in a caravan, says the firm 'is doing as little as it can'. 'There are 12 bungalows along my street and they've all been sorted,' he adds. 'They've been an absolute nightmare. They're basically trying to bodge my house back together. We haven't slept for 14 weeks. We're in bits. 'It's everything we've ever worked for. I had it perfect. I just had a new kitchen fitted. I'd just retired thinking now we can enjoy ourselves a bit. Then this happened and we're in purgatory.' He is insured with Policy Expert, who referred him to Trinity Claims. The father-of-two appointed Public Loss Adjusters to step in for a second opinion on February 13. Director Andrew Price says: 'This is the worst management of a flood claim where liability has been fully accepted I have seen. 'I am also managing the property next door it was fully stripped out and drying is due to complete next week.' Stranded: Craig Elliott is still unable to return to his Fishlake bungalow. He says his insurer is only offering to put laminate over the floorboards and patch over damaged plaster Trinity Claims says it found 'a pre-existing ventilation issue', which had caused wood decay and was not covered under Craig's policy. It says there is 'no physical damage to the bathroom'. A spokesman added that once it was granted permission by the homeowner, it would begin work to reinstate the property, including replacing kitchen units, within a fortnight. It said work would then be completed within four to six weeks, 'with all work covered by a two-year guarantee'. Mike Rosser's family home was flooded in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, in October. The house is still uninhabitable. He says his claims handler Trinity Claims told him his kitchen appliances didn't need replacing because their motors were above water level. But Mike, an engineer, turned his washing machine upside down to show that the motor was at risk and offered to do the same with the tumble drier, dishwasher and fridge-freezer. He says Trinity Claims agreed to replace the goods as a result. The father-of-two says it also refused to pay for a replacement kitchen, despite replacing that of a neighbour on an adjacent street, whose water damage was identical. Trinity Claims agreed to pay for the family's accommodation until February 10, the date it said it would have completed the work by. Mike, 38, opted to take the cash settlement and do the work himself. Mike says it has left him several thousand pounds out of pocket. Trinity Claims says: 'We have settled Mr Rosser's claim and paid him the amounts under his policy. He did not raise a complaint with us.' Mike says he saw no point in raising a formal complaint until he had moved back home. Neighbour, Liz Perry, 54, is also still in temporary accommodation. Her home is still too wet for work to begin. In 2016 the Government set up insurance service Flood Re to ensure that anyone living in a flood zone could get cover. But some homeowners are still being rejected by insurers She says this is partly because she was not advised by Trinity Claims to turn her central heating back on until the end of January. Trinity Claims says it told her to do so in November, which she denies. She adds: 'Even if they had, the gas boiler requires electricity and Trinity had disconnected its electricity supply.' Michael Wilson, regional director at insurance dispute company Flaxmans, says he has noted 'unhelpful attitudes' from some firms. He said of Craig's case: 'Any loss adjuster could look at a case like that and find relatively minor issues that they're going to be awkward on, rather than taking a broad-brush approach and saying this family has experienced a disaster, let's get them back on their feet. But they're still discussing the basics.' He added: 'It's a fundamental principle of insurance that the policyholder is put back in the same position as they were before the loss.' In 2016 the Government set up insurance service Flood Re to ensure that anyone living in a flood zone could get affordable cover. But some homeowners are still being rejected by insurers. Heather Shepherd, of the National Flood Forum, says the organisation's helpline has received hundreds of calls from householders in at-risk areas complaining that insurers won't cover their homes. Heather, 60, who lives on a farmhouse with her husband near Shrewsbury, decided to test the stories by applying for contents insurance with two insurers 'with good reputations' NFU Mutual and Ecclesiastical. She says Ecclesiastical turned her down without giving a reason and she battled with NFU for more than a year before giving up. 'It was one obstacle after another, never admitting that it was because I was in a flood zone,' she adds. 'First they said I didn't have the building insured with them so I agreed to add that. Then they said my three cars weren't with them, so I offered to add those. Then they said one of the cars was too old for them to insure. They were clearly trying to avoid insuring me because I was a flood risk.' Flood Re cites research by Consumer Intelligence showing 93 per cent of householders whose properties have been flooded can now find quotes from five or more insurers, compared with none before Flood Re was set up. Chief executive Andy Bord says 94 per cent of UK home insurers are signed up to the scheme but 'the decision on whether to pass the flood element of a specific policy to Flood Re lies with the insurer'. NFU says it could not insure Heather because 'her circumstances did not meet our acceptance criteria'. It added that it tried to work with customers to 'reduce their 'overall risk profile for example if they have other assets requiring cover that are not flood affected'. Ecclesiastical says it 'is a specialist insurer offering specialist products and cover in our chosen markets', adding: 'All insurance companies have different underwriting acceptance, policies, cover and pricing.' An Association of British Insurers spokesman says: 'It is a sad fact that badly flooded homes and businesses can take months to fully dry out, and insurers will do everything possible to speed up the drying out process, so that the repairs can begin and homeowners and businesses can get their lives back together.' Additional reporting: Hugo Cox m.dilworth@dailymail.co.uk Subscriber content preview BELLEVUE The Aventine apartments, at 211 112th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue, sold for over $28.8 million, according to King County records. The seller was Meydenbauer Apartments LLC, associated with Weidner Apartment Homes, which acquired the land in 2005 for $950,000, then developed it. . . . Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 19:08 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066caecd 1 Food West-Java,coffee,coffee-shops,cafe,Melbourne,Australia,coffee-export,arabica-coffee Free West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil officially opened the first Jabarano cafe in Melbourne, Australia, to promote a type of Arabica coffee that originated from the Indonesian province of West Java. The cafe, located on 555 Flinders Lane in Melbourne, is the first of four Jabarano coffee shops to be opened across Australia. Melbournes first, then in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth as well, Ridwan said on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency. The governor said he wanted to open Jabarano cafes in 20 other cities around the world. The name Jabarano, Ridwan said, combined the abbreviation of Jawa Barat (West Java) with ano to make it rhyme with Americano coffee. Most varieties of the West Java coffee are Arabica with a lower acidity and sweet taste; making it suitable for mass market promotion. Apart from Arabica, the cafe also has other special types of premium coffee. Read also: Crazy about Indonesian coffee? Here are the basics of java The idea of opening the cafe started with the governors regret of not finding shops that sold unique Indonesian coffee during his journeys across the globe. He said he believed that West Java coffees would be easily accepted by foreign communities thanks to their high quality and the high number of variants. Our vision is simple: We want West Java coffees to be a champion in the worlds coffee market because we have diverse coffee commodities. The governor said the West Java administration would boost coffee production in regencies and cities across the province to support the vision. Ridwan said each Jabarano cafe would also come with Indonesian cultural displays, allowing visitors to enjoy them while tasting the flavors of local Indonesian coffees. The cafe is also expected to be a gateway to other local coffees looking to enter foreign markets, opening the opportunity for exports that benefit coffee farmers. Read also: 23 Indonesian coffees recognized in French gourmet product competition [Our ultimate goal] is to follow in the footsteps of Starbucks by having representatives of Jabarano coffees in every city, Ridwan said. Yuddy Renaldi, the president director of publicly listed Bank Pembangunan Daerah Jawa Barat and Banten (Bank BJB), who was present during the cafe launch in Melbourne, said the bank planned to support the promotion of agricultural products including sugar, tea and coffee. We are allocating funding for the agricultural sector thanks to the good potential of coffee commodities, Yuddy said. (syk) OTTAWA - It's imperative for Canada to ratify the new North American free-trade deal, says a leading business group, as the federal government released its long-awaited economic assessment of the pact Wednesday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Global Affairs Canada Chief negotiator Steve Verheul and chief economist Marie-France Paquet speak with Chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade Judy Sgro before appearing as witnesses Wednesday February 26, 2020, in Ottawa THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - It's imperative for Canada to ratify the new North American free-trade deal, says a leading business group, as the federal government released its long-awaited economic assessment of the pact Wednesday. Goldy Hyder, the president of the Business Council of Canada, said the uncertainty created by rail blockades and the spread of the novel coronavirus could cause serious harm to the Canadian economy. "Given the backdrop in which this discussion is happening we've had the CN Rail strike, we've had the blockades, we've had the virus, we've had the China-U.S. deal, we have our own foray with China we're involved in all of these things are elements of a perfect storm that are really impacting economic growth," Hyder said in an interview. The government's assessment predicts a very modest gain in the Canadian economy, estimating the deal will be worth an additional $6.8 billion by 2025 which amounts to a 0.25 per cent gain in gross domestic product compared with having no continental trade agreement at all. It does not compare the new deal to the old NAFTA. The assessment the Liberals released comes after demands by opposition parties to explain the economic benefits of the new deal, which is still awaiting final ratification by Parliament. Hyder said it's time to set domestic politics aside and get on with ratifying the deal. A leading trade specialist says all the fuss about the economic benefits of the deal misses an important political point. "What econometric assessments don't show is the significant geopolitical value to Canada of a solid rules-based framework for dealing with the U.S. in the years ahead," said Lawrence Herman, a Toronto-based international trade lawyer. Negotiations over continental trade were forced on Canada and Mexico by U.S. President Donald Trump, who mused about scrapping the old North American Free Trade Agreement if it weren't renegotiated in America's favour. Throughout the negotiation, the Liberal government was seized with not only protecting Canada's market access to the United States but protecting the survival of the global rules-based trading order that has come under threat from Trump's protectionism. "There's much more to this agreement than pure economic models suggest. Black box assessments might turn up numbers that don't seem stratospheric and headline-grabbing but there are important political and strategic gains for Canada in this deal. These can't be measured in purely economic terms," said Herman. The U.S. and Mexico have both ratified the new deal, which the Trump administration has dubbed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The assessment says the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA as Canada calls it, is much better than letting the U.S. tear up the old NAFTA and impose tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automotive exports. The Liberals have made deals with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois to quickly ratify the deal. Randy Hoback, the Conservative trade critic, said his party wants the new deal passed as quickly as possible but it is frustrated that the Liberals have not provided more details about its impact. "The Liberals are clearly hiding how bad the new NAFTA deal will be for the Canadian economy. This is proven by the fact that the Liberals chose to compare the new NAFTA deal to having no NAFTA deal," Hoback said in a statement. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The Liberals say that they got a better deal, but they have no way to prove it. So, the only way we can quantify this deal is by third-party reports." A report earlier this week by the C.D. Howe Institute think-tank said all three countries will be worse off under the new agreement than under the existing one but the researchers there agreed that it's better than nothing. A 2018 analysis by the Conference Board of Canada predicted a 0.5 per cent decline in the country's economy, and a loss of about 85,000 jobs within a year if NAFTA were terminated. "No deal is ever going to be perfect," Hyder said, adding that the deal the Liberals reached has buy-in from the provinces, business, labour and political conservatives. "Why would you not pass the most important trade deal that we have, that was done in the most inclusive way? To the government's credit, it is one example where it was really done well," said Hyder, a former senior staffer with the Progressive Conservative party. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe on Wednesday asked why the police took no action against former BJP MLA Narendra Mehta who had been accused of harassment by a woman. Mehta was the Member of Legislative Assembly from the Mira-Bhayandar area near Mumbai before he lost the assembly poll last year. Shiv Sena's Manisha Kayande raised the issue in the Council during a discussion on her calling-attention motion on the rising crime against women. "The woman who is an active member of the BJP had complained of harassment by Mehta in 2016 as well as in July 2019," Gorhe noted. "I direct the home minister to probe and get information as to why no action was taken against Mehta despite couple of complaints," the deputy chairperson added. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that he spoke to the woman on Tuesday night. "She assured me that she would file a police complaint against Mehta today. Once an FIR (First Information Report) is filed, we will proceed further," he said. The police had recorded Mehta's statement but no further action was taken, the minister informed. Notably, Mehta announced on Monday that he had resigned from all party posts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Security Council urges two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict Iran Press TV Tuesday, 25 February 2020 11:05 AM The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has renewed the call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict weeks after the United States unveiled a "peace" plan that runs counter to such a solution and the entire international law. All 15 Security Council member states approved a Belgium-drafted statement on Monday that urged all parties to adhere to the two-state bid. "Council Members reiterated their support for a negotiated two-state solution, recalling previous relevant UN resolutions, and in accordance with international law," the statement read. Security Council resolutions have in the past called for the two-state solution based on the 1967 boundaries. UNSC Resolution 2334, adopted in December 2016, pronounced settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds "a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution." "All parties should refrain from undermining the viability of the two-state solution in order to maintain the prospects for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace," the Security Council statement added, referring to Israel's recent settlement construction plan in the occupied Palestinian territories. Elsewhere in its statement, the UNSC "stressed the need to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues" and expressed "grave concern about acts of violence against civilians." The statement followed two days of intense fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip, which ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday. Violence has surged in the occupied lands following the release of US President Donald Trump's self-proclaimed "deal of the century," which his administration has drafted in close cooperation with the Israeli side. The scheme largely meets Israel's demands while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders. The so-called 'Vision for Peace' which all Palestinian groups have unanimously rejected bars Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland while enshrines Jerusalem al-Quds as "Israel's undivided capital" and allows the regime to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In the most detailed report so far on the deadly mid-November anti-Islamic Republic protests in Iran, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon the United Nations to take "urgent action" to address the "brutal crackdown" on the people during the uprising. "Iranian authorities have failed to hold security forces accountable for excessive and unlawful use of lethal force in confronting large-scale protests that began on November 15, 2019. Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council should take urgent action to address the brutal crackdown," HRW said in a report on Tuesday, February 25. Referring to brutal suppression of protests in the Iranian capital city, Tehran and more than 100 cities across the country, HRW said, "Interviews with victims and witnesses, a review of photos and videos from the protests, and satellite imagery analysis strongly suggest that security forces used unlawful lethal force on at least three occasions." The protests, triggered by an overnight three-fold increase in gasoline prices on November 15, 2019, soon turned into a four-day widespread anti-Islamic Republic uprising in 29 out of 31 provinces across Iran. More than three months later, the Islamic Republic has not yet officially announced the death toll and the number of injured or detained protesters. In an unprecedented move, the law enforcement units, backed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and armed plainclothesmen, used "war weapons" against the unarmed protesters. Based on documents collected and interviews with witnesses, HRW has referred to a massacre in two townships, Taleqani (Taleghani) and Chamran, Mahshahr County, in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan. "Videos posted to social media show tanks being deployed in Taleghani town and a pickup truck equipped with an automatic weapon in Chamran," HRW reports, adding, "The video showing a vehicle with an automatic weapon in Chamran appeared online on December 3, 2019. The exact location of where the video was recorded was identified by France 24 as part of a detailed investigation it conducted into the protests and crackdown." Iranian authorities have systematically repressed dissent for decades, and they are now confronting popular protests with an astonishing level of violence," said deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, Michael Page, adding, "Principled international voices should send an unequivocal message that Iran cannot get away with killing protesters." The Islamic Republic Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been quoted as saying that families of people killed who had not been protesting should be compensated, and that detained protesters should be treated with what he called "Islamic mercy," but, HRW asserts, "However, nothing in Khamenei's response to the events suggests that the security forces will be investigated for their excessive and unlawful use of force. Moreover, according to several media outlets, prison authorities have beaten and abused detained protesters. There are also reports of Iran's revolutionary courts sentencing at least three arrested protesters to death." Meanwhile, HRW has lambasted the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani for describing the protests as "riots," a term used by the Iranian authorities to dismiss the uprising. Helen Gym celebrates after winning the most votes in the Democratic primary for City Council. Read more Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, making her the first prominent elected Democrat in the city to back the partys front-runner. Gym, an activist turned lawmaker with a large liberal following, rallied with Sanders and hundreds of nurses last summer to protest the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital. She said Tuesday that the Vermont senators connection to grassroots organizing, as well as his focus on Medicare for All and debt-free college, led her to endorse him. It wasnt a difficult choice," Gym said. "I come out of movements that have reshaped the political map here in Pennsylvania. Ive seen movements reshape our city and state, and I believe in the power of movements to reshape our country. Bernie Sanders doesnt just talk about movements for change, he leads them. Gym, who supported Hillary Clinton over Sanders in 2016, got her start in politics organizing against a stadium proposed for Chinatown and as a public school activist. She was first elected to Council in 2015 and coasted to reelection in 2019 with more votes than any other candidate for at-large seats. In the May 2019 primary, Gym received more votes than Mayor Jim Kenney got when he won the mayoral primary in 2015. Shes just the second elected official in Pennsylvania to endorse Sanders, despite his surge nationally and wins in early-voting states. State Rep. Sara Inamorato, a freshman who represents parts of Pittsburgh, endorsed Sanders last year. Much of Pennsylvanias Democratic establishment is supporting former Vice President Joe Biden. Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner are backing Elizabeth Warren. Gym endorsed Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks in a successful race for Council last year, rankling local Democratic Party leader Bob Brady, who called the move stupid. Gym said fears over Sanders among establishment Democrats are overblown, including that he would doom candidates in down-ballot races in swing states. I see it as who is speaking to the needs of everyday Pennsylvanians?" Gym said. "In a city where an oil refinery exploded on national TV, leaving us with contaminated neighborhoods and lost jobs, this is not an abstract thing. His agenda for housing, for debt-free college, for clean air and water and health care for all and strong public schools, is in no way a left agenda. Its what the Democratic Party used to be, and its time to take it back. Gym was the first Asian American woman on Council, and theres widespread speculation she may run for mayor in 2023. In a poll last week, Sanders led his challengers in the April 28 Pennsylvania primary, and finished about even with them in hypothetical head-to-head matchups against President Donald Trump in the state. A 90,000-a-year City worker used her phone to search for 'shaken baby syndrome' just days before murdering her four-week-old baby, a court has heard today. Clare Sanders, 43, and her Lithuanian lover Tomas Vaitkevicius, 45, allegedly shook tiny Eva on three separate occasions at their south London flat in August 2017. Sanders' mobile phone had been used to search 'Shaken baby syndrome NHS', 'Shaking babies' and 'baby is shaking' on August 27 - six days before Eva's death, the Old Bailey heard. Tom Little, QC, prosecuting, read out a text message sent from Sanders' mobile phone, on August 26, which read: 'Tom (Vaitkevicius) and I just had a massive barnie'. 'The following day there are these searches. This was just under a week before Eva was found unconscious and the emergency services were called.' Clare Sanders, 43, and her Lithuanian lover Tomas Vaitkevicius, 45, allegedly shook tiny Eva on three separate occasions at their south London flat in August 2017. Both deny murder and an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable child Paramedics were sent to the couple's house in Mitcham at 2.40am on September 1 after an emergency call was made by neighbour Karen Brewell who lived in the same block of flats as the couple. Financial consultant Sanders was banging on her door screaming: 'My baby, my baby,' while little Eva was on her back in just a nappy. Eva was rushed to a hospital in south London as paramedics tried to treat her. She was pronounced dead shortly before 7am on September 2, 2017 and a post-mortem later gave the cause of death as 'traumatic brain and spinal cord injury.' Jurors were told Sanders and Vaitkevicius had been drinking on the night Eva was said to have been attacked. Mr Little said while Eva was being cared for at St George's Hospital, Tooting, the financial consultant was approached by a police officer and said: 'You're looking to prosecute me, and I am losing my child, we just having a drink to celebrate'. 'Nobody had suggested prosecuting her - and why would she say that she was to be prosecuted unless she knew far more than she way saying,' the QC said. 'The prosecution say Eva was violently shaken on at least three separate occasions, when only a month old, in the early weeks of her young life. 'These violent events were not close in time to each other, one after the other after the other, we say they were days apart. 'There are no viable alternative perpetrators for the injuries sustained by Eva. We say there are no viable alternative explanations. 'We say this was a brutal series of assaults in which she was shaken. 'A defenceless baby not able to talk and say what had happened to her and not able to defend herself. 'One or both of these defendants must have repeatedly assaulted Eva in August 2017 and then again on the fatal night of August 31, 2017 into September 1, 2017. 'Nobody else was in their flat on the night, except for these two and Eva.' Messages exchanged between the pair allegedly show the relationship was tense. 'They reveal that the relationship was up and down, and they showed that she was struggling to cope with the relationship and a number of other issues at the time', Mr Little added. 'One of the issues was a neighbour dispute at the time.' Sanders was living with her Ukrainian lover in a flat on this road in Mitcham, South London One WhatsApp message sent by Sanders to her partner on July 2, 2017 read: 'You have walked out again without saying anything. 'You say you will be there for the birth but once again your phone is off. You are hurting me so much. I don't want to live anymore.' Jurors were told the couple had been together for a couple of years. Eva was born on 2 August 2017 and was Sanders' first child. Sanders and Vaitkevicius, from Mitcham, both deny murder and an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable child. The trial continues. You are the owner of this article. A juror who helped convict Roger Stone came out swinging against Donald Trump's attacks on the jury foreperson Wednesday and accused the president of attacking citizens for doing their 'civic duty.' Seth Cousins wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that Tomeka Hart, who has been repeatedly attacked by the president as 'biased' after her anti-Trump social media posts surfaced, in fact spoke up for Stone and was skeptical of the government. Hart was questioned under oath Tuesday at a court hearing as U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson weighs whether to overturn Stone's conviction for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction on the grounds that Hart did not fully disclose her views. While the hearing was under way, Trump tweeted furiously from Air Force One that both and Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, were 'biased.' But Cousins, the only other juror to have gone public, wrote that Trump was wrong factually and constitutionally to attack Hart. Critic: Seth Cousins, one of the jurors who found Roger Stone guilty, said that foreperson Tomeka Hart, far from being biased, had actually stood up for the dirty trickster's rights and should not be attacked for 'doing civic duty' Back in court: Roger Stone was present Tuesday for his attorneys trying to get his conviction overturned. Donald Trump tweeted during his flight from India while the court was in session and arrived back in Washington D.C. early Wednesday 'The jury foreperson, who has been the subject recently of numerous ad hominem attacks, was actually one of the strongest advocates for the rights of the defendant and for a rigorous process,' he wrote. 'She expressed skepticism at some of the governments claims and was one of the last people to vote to convict on the charge that took most of our deliberation time.' Hart said Trump, and other critics, were wrong to call the jury tainted, and said: 'Roger Stone received a fair trial.' And Cousins attacked Trump directly, saying: 'Elected officials have no business attacking citizens for performing their civic duty.' His intervention came the day after Trump's furious tweet storm while the court was in session. In the Washington D.C. federal courtroom, Berman Jackson herself took aim at Trump, saying: 'The president of the United States used his Twitter platform to disseminate a particular point of view about a juror. 'Any attempt to invade the privacy of the jurors or to harass or intimidate them is completely antithetical to our system of justice. They deserve our protection. They deserve to have their privacy protected.' The juror at the center of the case, Tomeka Hart, went public just before Stone's sentencing to speak up for the prosecutors, who were at that point the target of Trump's ire. But her social media history was revealed to include a post about Stone's arrest, and a strong of anti-Trump tweets, while it also emerged she had run for Congress as a Democrat in 2012. Tweetstorm: The president sent a string of tweets and retweets assailing the judge and the jury foreperson, Tomeka Hart, from mid-air as he returned from his presidential trip to India Back at odds: Donald Trump tweeted an attack on U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson just as she accused him of a campaign of 'harassment and intimidation' against Tomeka Hart, the jury foreperson in Roger Stone's case That prompted Stone's lawyers to demand a retrial, with the hearing beginning Tuesday after Berman Jackson sentenced the veteran dirty trickster to 40 months in federal prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction. Berman Jackson used the hearing Tuesday to condemn both Trump and Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host who is a Stone ally, for their comments on Hart. Then she told Stone's lawyers and journalists covering the case that the safety of the other jurors could be put at risk if their identities are made public. Less than an hour later, Trump again criticized the forewoman on Twitter - his latest attack. 'She was totally biased, as is the judge. Roger wasn't even working on my campaign. Miscarriage of justice. Sad to watch!' Trump wrote. He followed by tweeting: 'A total miscarriage of justice!' The president has previously claimed the jury was 'tainted' and the foreperson 'anti-Trump.' Berman Jackson summoned the entire jury to the courthouse and held the hearing behind closed doors to protect their identities. She also warned Stone's lawyers that identifying any of them would result in them being held in contempt. And Stone's lawyers suffered a rapid setback when they admitted that they had failed to google Hart during the voir dire phase of the run-up to the trial, when jurors can be asked about their views. Jackson appeared to grow frustrated with Stone's lawyers as they argued for a new trial based on the jury forewoman's social media comments. One such post linked to an article that referenced Stone's arrest last year, with the juror writing 'brought to you by the lock her up peanut gallery,' referring to 'lock her up' chants by Trump supporters in 2016 toward his Democratic election opponent Hillary Clinton. The judge pressed defense attorney Seth Ginsberg - who previously represented the head of the Gambino crime family - for evidence that the juror's views about the president implied bias against Stone in a criminal trial. 'Let's get back to the theme of your motion, which is that her views about the president infected her bias against Stone,' Jackson said, pressing Ginsberg to give 'legal support' to back up his claims. During the hearing, the judge pressed the defense to prove juror misconduct. Two social media posts they cited referenced Stone, but most involved Trump or Mueller's investigation. The defense also pointed to tweets the juror made during the trial that did not reference the Stone case, saying they implied she may have seen media coverage of the trial and feared she had told other jurors about it. 'You don't have any facts she was reading things she wasn't supposed to read during the trial?' Jackson asked, to which Ginsberg conceded he lacked any such direct evidence. Berman Jackson brought in nearly all members of the jury that convicted Trump ally Roger Stone on charges related to the Russia investigation in order to answer questions on allegations of juror misconduct. The surprise revelation by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson was another highly unusual twist in the Stone saga, which has included a barrage of tweets from President Donald Trump weighing in on the trial, even on Tuesday as the hearing went on, threats by the attorney general to quit and the departure of the entire prosecutor team following Justice Department leaderships decision to back off its sentencing request. Hart retweeted a post about Stone's arrest in January 2019, months before the trial Among the social media which Stone's lawyers are pointing to as reason for a retrial is this tweet surfaced by the pro-Trump right-wing blogger Mike Cernovich, a former InfoWars host Stone has claimed the jury forewoman was biased and requested a new trial; his first such request was denied. During a trial, jurors are not allowed to read news accounts or social media posts about the case or discuss it with anyone until deliberations, but after their verdict is rendered, they are released from duty and can speak publicly if they wish. ROGER STONE DID A LOT WRONG: WHAT HE WAS CONVICTED OF Roger Stone was found guilty on all charges of: 1. Obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering by trying to get Randy Credico to lie to Congress. Sentenced to 40 months 2. Lying to Congress that he did not have emails or texts about Julian Assange. Sentenced to 12 months concurrent with the first count 3. Lying when he claimed his references to being in touch with Assange were actually about a 'go-between' - Randy Credico. Sentenced to 12 months concurrent with the first count 4. Lying that he didn't ask his 'go-between' to communicate with Assange. Sentenced to 12 months concurrent with the first count 5. Lying that he didn't text or email the 'go-between' about WikiLeaks. Sentenced to 12 months concurrent with the first count 6. Lying that he had never discussed conversation with his 'go-between' with anyone in the Trump campaign. Sentenced to 12 months concurrent with the first count Advertisement Jackson told Stone's lawyers that she had seen nothing to support his claim that something untoward occurred, but because of the unusual circumstances - including the president claiming both the judge and forewoman were biased - she was taking the extra step of questioning jurors. Eleven of the 14 jurors turned up, and she permitted the lawyers to choose two for questioning on whether anything fishy had happened behind closed doors during trial. They chose a man and a woman, who were questioned by Jackson. The lawyers opted not to question the jurors themselves. The man said nothing untoward happened; they'd weighed the evidence and deliberated to reach a conclusion. The woman said no one brought in a social media post or news article about the case, and no one discussed news accounts during the trial. They both described the process of choosing a foreperson: Several jurors were nominated and the forewoman was chosen by secret ballot. Jackson later questioned the forewoman, who confirmed she had posted articles critical of Trump's policies online, but said she had done her job as a juror fairly and did not look at media during the trial. Jackson said she will rule at a later date. After Stone was convicted in November, one juror wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, explaining why he felt they were right to convict. And the forewoman spoke about the case in a Facebook post. Jackson said jurors had faced harassment even before they commented, and she worried for their continued safety. She detailed comments about jurors made by Trump in tweets, by Fox News commentator and Trump supporter Tucker Carlson and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The hearing was initially sealed, but Jackson agreed to open it as long as there was no identification of jurors who would testify. 'I think its without question then that this is a highly publicized case in a highly polarized political climate in which the president himself has shone a spotlight on the jury,' she said. 'Individuals who are angry about Mr. Stones conviction may choose to take it out on them personally.' Stone's lawyers said they feel they were misled by the forewoman, even though they had her jury questionnaire and had a hired a jury consultant - who they said did no Google searches on potential jurors before the trial. They pointed to articles she sent online in posts made before the trial on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and other posts on the Russia investigation. Jackson asked why the posts suggest she misled them. 'It's a question about did she lie?' Jackson asked. 'I want to know what she lied about in this questionnaire.' Jackson told Stone's lawyers that it didn't matter if she posted articles critical of Trump because that would not mean she could not render a fair verdict. 'It paints a picture that she cares about immigration, she cares about racial justice, that voice comes through,' Jackson said. Hart was questioned for an hour and said that when she filled in the questionnaire she was honest. In the form, she had said she 'may' have posted an article on social media about the Mueller probe - which led to Stone's indictment - but said she did not mean that to say one article, and added: 'I said I'm honestly not sure. That was the honest answer.' Hart said that she tweets and posts 'a lot of stuff,' and added: 'I absolutely was not trying to downplay anything.' She was also asked by Jackson about her fist bump post on the day of the verdict and said it was an expression of 'solidarity.' Jackson asked her: 'Were you celebrating the verdict that had yet to be decided in the Roger Stone case?' but Hart replied: 'Absolutely not.' Jackson also questioned two other juror, whose names were not disclosed to the court, who said that Hart had acted fairly as foreperson and had actually slowed down the discussion rather than rushing to a guilty verdict. One juror, a woman, said that the foreperson had been picked by secret ballot and that at one point the jury had been ready to vote on one of the charges against Stone, but Hart had asked them to examine the evidence 'a little more.' The general thrust of answers seems to be bad for Stone but Berman Jackson appeared to acknowledge a certainty that the 67-year-old will appeal if she refuses his appeal, saying that she was asking questions of Hart at great length for the sake of the appeal courts. The hearing and the associated Trump tweet-storm comes after U.S. Attorney General William Barr, his own appointee, rebuked the president for prior remarks about the case, saying: 'Stop the tweeting.' Trump had assailed the prosecutors for a 'miscarriage of justice' after they urged Jackson to sentence Stone to seven to nine years in prison. The four prosecutors quit the case after Barr and senior Justice Department officials retracted the sentencing recommendation in the wake of Trump's criticism. It was also after Trump's fresh attack on the judge and the juror came just hours after he lashed out at two members of the U.S. Supreme Court - liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor - and continued a pattern of what his critics call an attempt to politicize the U.S. courts and undermine judicial independence. (Newser) The US Army may soon have its first female Green Beret. The enlisted National Guard soldier is set to graduate from the yearlong qualification course as a Special Forces engineer sergeant in the coming weeks, reports the New York Times, which cites officials as saying her success is essentially guaranteed. The unidentified soldier was one of at least two women to pass a 24-day assessment program that serves as a precursor to the so-called Q course, which is broken down into six phases. story continues below The phases include combat marksmanship, advanced Special Forces tactics, and language training, per Military.com, which describes the training as "some of the most intense in the Army." The Times reports the other woman to pass the assessment, a medical sergeant, is also working through the course. The Pentagon only opened up all military combat positions to women in 2016. (Months later, the Army named its first female infantry officer.) Ideology is and was a minor issue for many career politicians, whose interest is in winning elections, becoming minister, and generally in gaining and holding power. The issues they espouse and the personas they adopt are disposable. So too are the fools who die in their cause. Joining the Dots is a weekly column by author and journalist Samrat in which he connects events to ideas, often through analysis, but occasionally through satire *** Riots broke out on the streets of Delhi on Monday, while images of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising one another to the skies in between trumpeting their own achievements in making America and India great again were playing out on television. Pictures of a different reality began to appear in social media feeds, of mobs of young men marching through otherwise deserted streets as dark smoke billowed ominously from behind ugly buildings. The situation had been building up for a long while. It had escalated in that particular area of Delhi because of the repeated instigations of former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Kapil Mishra of the Bhartiya Janata Party, who had in recent days threatened to evict by mob violence a group of people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens, and the National Population Register. Mishra is a former Aam Aadmi Party MLA and minister. He is also, according to a profile on him by The Wire, a former employee of Amnesty International and Greenpeace. In other words, he has so far been a woke Left-Liberal activist, a secular AAP activist, and a Right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP activist. He was the one who in a tweet characterised the latest Delhi assembly elections as a contest between India and Pakistan, implying that his AAP rivals represented Pakistan. Mishra himself had no issues with being a minister from the same party earlier. So long as he was minister, the AAP, which had not yet made its public show of Hanuman bhakti, was not the party of Pakistan. Indian politics in every state is full of similar examples. In Maharashtra, former chief minister Narayan Rane was a hard-line Marathi manoos Shiv Sainik during Bal Thackerays time. He became a secular and presumably liberal Congressman after quitting the party, and is now a Hindu nationalist in the BJP. Mukul Roy in West Bengal went from Congress to Trinamool to BJP. Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam went from being an All Assam Students Union activist fighting for Assamese sub-nationalism to a secular Congress minister to being the Hindu nationalist who has helped plot BJPs expansion in Northeast India. In order to do this, he has had to sing endless praises of not just Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah but also of the Citizenship Amendment Act against which the first protests had exploded violently in Assam. In some cases, the changes of heart and ideology are accomplished even without changing parties. The most celebrated example of the flexibility of ideology in Indian politics is reputed to be Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has served as a minister under VP Singh, HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujral, AB Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi. That span and range of prime ministers covers most of the spectrum of national electoral politics in India. He beats the somersaults of his colleague and rival from Bihar, Nitish Kumar, a former socialist, who has managed to hold office in alliance at different times with Congress, BJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal of his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav. Ideology is and was a minor issue for many career politicians, whose interest is in winning elections, becoming minister, and generally in gaining and holding power. The issues they espouse and the personas they adopt are disposable. So too are the fools who die in their cause. And yet, why do people continue to support such leaders? I suspect that the feudal nature of Indian politics has something to do with it. Democracy in India is actually a thin topping on a largely feudal society. The leader is a feudal lord. Party leaders lower in the hierarchy bow and scrape before him or her. Remember the Tamil Nadu ministers lying flat on the ground at Jayalalithas feet? That was only an expression of the nature of Indian politics. The obsequious underling of the top leader is a smaller king or queen in his or her own right. This person similarly expects and receives feudal lord treatment from his or her underlings. The entire pyramid at whose apex the supreme leader sits is therefore one of little feudal lords and ladies, each with their own smaller feudatories and tributaries below them. It is just like old times, of India before independence when the new-fangled notions of equality, secularism and democracy arrived suddenly. In that pre-1947 India, there were 545-odd princely kingdoms, each with its own king or nawab, its nobles and its court. There are 545 seats in the Lok Sabha now. Even today, when any leader of note anywhere in mainland India goes to his constituency, even to ask for votes, it is customary for his voters, in the manner of subjects not citizens to greet him by touching his feet. Only equals in status may hug him, which is why the hug is such a big deal. Those below him, but above the peasantry, may greet him with a namaste, or, if they are sufficiently wealthy and powerful, with a handshake. The only exceptions to this culture that I am aware of are in parts of the hills of Northeast India. The nature of relationships in a feudal hierarchy does not depend on ideology. They depend on the personality of the leader and his or her personal relationships with tributary leaders and subjects. These relationships are maintained by networks of patronage rather than ideology. The real battle down the line is over official positions, contracts and awards. It is over ministerships, governorships, plum postings, financially lucrative contracts, prestigious honours. At lower levels, it is over relatively minor jobs and benefits, but the principle is largely maintained. Ideology is the fig leaf behind which this real business of politics is conducted. Sometimes a leader is obliged to shed a fig leaf due to some intrigue of power, but he can always adopt another. Yesterdays Amnesty and Greenpeace activist can thus become todays Hindu nationalist if it helps his career. After all, for the professional neta and his devoted acolytes a flag is only as good as the power and money it brings. Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Andrew Gillette, 37, died Tuesday morning following an exchange of gunfire at the residence in the town of Dalzell A police officer has been shot and killed while serving an eviction notice at a home in South Carolina. Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Andrew Gillette, 37, died Tuesday morning following an exchange of gunfire at the residence in the town of Dalzell. Gillette - who was a U.S. Air Force veteran - was accompanied by several other officers to serve the notice at the property leased by Terry Hasty, 56. Authorities say Hasty began shooting at them, with a bullet hitting Gillette right in the chest. The other officers fired back, hitting Hasty, who died at the scene. An autopsy will be performed in the coming days. According to WIS News, Gillette was wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died from his injuries. ABC Columbia recorded officers near the scene of the incident, closing off nearby roads in their squad cars. Gillette leaves behind his wife and an 11-year-old son. Sheriff Anthony Dennis paid tribute to Gillette in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The pair are pictured together in 2015 Officers are seen near the home in Dalzell, where both Gillette and Hasty lost their lives The officer had been a fulltime deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office for six years. Prior to that, he was a reserve officer with the agency for three years. According to a posting on the Sumter County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, Gillette joined the force after he retired medically from the Air Force after a 12-year career. A native of California, Gillette hailed from a policing family. Two of his great-grandfathers worked as police officers, while both his uncle and his cousin are employed with the LAPD. Sheriff Anthony Dennis paid tribute to Gillette in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Gillette had been a fulltime deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office for six years WIS captured emotional scenes outside the sheriff's office, as deputies lined up along the road to salute Gillette's squad car Everyone here loved him,' Dennis stated. 'He always had a smile on his face and he loved what he did - serve and protect.' Dennis announced that a fund has been set up to help Gillette's family. Those hoping to make a donation are able to select the Corporal Andrew Gillette Memorial Fund at the Serve and Connect Website. Meanwhile, WIS captured emotional scenes outside the sheriff's office following the conference, as deputies lined up along the road to salute Gillette's squad car. Grief-stricken relatives and colleagues were also spotted hugging one another. The sheriff's office has lowered their flags to half mast. A North Korean propaganda outlet on Wednesday accused high-profile defector Thae Yong-ho of deserting the communist nation after committing embezzlement and rape in the country's first reaction to the decision by the South Korean main opposition party to scout him for April's general elections. Thae, a former No. 2 diplomat at North Korea's Embassy in London, defected to the South in 2016. He has since been a vocal critic of the regime in Pyongyang, and the South's conservative main opposition United Future Party (UFP) scouted him earlier this month to run for the National Assembly. On Wednesday, Meari, one of the North's propaganda websites, slammed the party's decision, saying "driving these scums to the forefront of confrontation between the two Koreas is an intolerable challenge to our nation's desire for unification." It then described Thae as "a snob who escaped the strict punishment of the law after committing all kinds of vicious crimes in our republic including embezzling state funds and raping a minor, and he is a scum unworthy of being called a human." Weeks earlier, a North Korean media outlet had lashed out at the party's recruitment of another North Korean defector named Ji Seong-ho, a human rights activist known for his surprise appearance at U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech in 2018. (Yonhap) In 2019, India was also home to 21 of the worlds 30 most polluted cities study says, based on air-quality data. New Delhi was the worlds most polluted capital city for the second straight year in 2019, according to a Swiss-based group that gathers air-quality data globally. India was also home to 21 of the worlds 30 most polluted cities, IQ AirVisual said in the study which focused on the amount of PM2.5, fine particulate matter, in major urban areas. The study measured the concentration of poisonous PM2.5, particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter and can be carried deep into the lungs, as higher PM2.5 levels could cause deadly diseases, including cancer and cardiac problems. In 2019, New Delhis average annual concentration of PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air was 98.6, the study said, more than double the level of Beijing, which averaged 42.1 during the year, making it the ninth-most polluted city in the world. New Delhis toxic air is caused by vehicle and industrial emissions, dust from building sites, smoke from the burning of rubbish and crop residue in nearby fields. Last year, residents of New Delhi, home to more than 20 million people, could breathe moderate to satisfactory air for four days in November and December, when pollution levels peaked. Late last year, the spike in air pollution levels forced authorities, who termed the crisis as a public health emergency, to shut schools twice. The study, however, said India did see widespread improvements in PM2.5 levels in 2019 compared with a year earlier, largely due to favourable meteorological conditions, government efforts to clean the air and an overall economic slowdown. Despite improvements, India still faces serious air pollution challenges, the study said. Every Queensland state school will be airconditioned within two years, and the extra energy demand will be offset by thousands of solar panels on school roofs, the state government has pledged. The announcement came after students at almost 150 schools returned to scorching classrooms in January, despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promising to fast-track funding over the summer. Students at Ipswich's Spring Mountain State School, which is on the list to be airconditioned. Almost two-thirds of state-owned classrooms are already airconditioned, including all of those north of Gladstone, according to Ms Palaszczuk, who made the announcement in a video posted on Facebook. "We want every student to get the best education and to learn in comfortable surroundings, no matter where they live," she said. Here is why the Rafale Jets will fly with the initials BS One year of Balakot airstrike: 'It marks paradigm shift in our operations', says Ex-IAF chief Dhanoa India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 26: Exactly a year ago India carried out air-strike at a terror camp in Balakot. Former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has said that bombing of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot by Indian Air Force (IAF) marks a paradigm shift in the way India conduct operations. In an interview to ANI, Dhanoa said,''One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learnt a lot of lessons, a lot of things have been implemented after Balakot operations. One year of Balakot airstrikes: IAF chief RKS Bhadauria to visit MiG base in Srinagar ''After Balakot airstrike, there was no major terrorist attack throughout the Indian elections because they were scared that we will respond again in the same manner or even more devastatingly,'' former IAF chief, as quoted by ANI. Basically, it's a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out a terror training camp that we successfully carried out.'' NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 The statements from the former IAF chief comes on the first anniversary of the Balakot air strikes. Terror business as usual at Balakot a year after it was hit India avenged the martyrdom of 40 CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama attack by Pakistan in Balakot at 3.30 am on 26 February 2019. On 26 February 2019, the Indian Army carried out an airstrike in Balakot in Pakistan and destroyed the terror camps situated there. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed sorrow at the death of Intelligence Bureau Officer Ankit Sharma, whose body was found in Chand Bagh area of the capital. "Such a tragic loss of life. The culprits must not be spared. 20 people have already lost their lives. So painful to watch people of Delhi suffering. Praying that we recover from this tragedy soon and work together to undo damage done to people and communities," Kejriwal tweeted. Sharma's body was found in the North-East district's Chand Bagh area here on Wednesday. The North-East district of the capital has been witnessing incidents of violence and arson for the past two days. The death toll in the violence between pro and anti CAA protesters in the areas of North-East Delhi has risen to 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Doctors have performed life-saving surgery after a man swallowed a padlock and it got stuck in his throat. Jitendra Jumar, 22, who suffers with mental health difficulties, swallowed the lock while his family weren't watching him. The 6cm padlock got stuck in his throat, and his family rushed him to hospital in the city of Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand, while he gasped for air. Jitendra Jumar, 22, pictured here, who suffers with mental health difficulties, swallowed the lock while his family weren't watching him. He is now being fed through a nasal tube Doctors were unable to remove it during a non-invasive endoscopy procedure, so had to perform a four-hour op to get it out. The operation was successful, and Mr Kumar is in hospital recovering, being fed through a nasal tube. Dr Pradeep Jumar Singh, head of the ear, nose and throat department at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital, in India said: 'The patient was brought to our hospital at around 12.30 am gasping for breath. 'An x-ray was immediately taken to determine the exact spot where the ingested lock had got stuck. The 6cm padlock got stuck in his throat and required a four-hour operation to remove it, after a non invasive method failed Dr Pradeep Jumar Singh, head of the ear, nose and throat department at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital, in India said the patient is recovering well 'Following this, we decided to carry out emergency surgery to have it removed. 'As the lock was around 6cm in size and had got tightly wedged in the food pipe. 'It couldn't be removed by non-invasive endoscopy procedure. Dr Pradeep Jumar Singh, head of the ear, nose and throat department at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, in said: 'The patient was brought to our hospital gasping for breath' 'As the lock was around 6cm in size and had got tightly wedged in the food pipe. 'It couldn't be removed by non-invasive endoscopy procedure=,' the doctor added. Procedure is shown 'Left with no other option, and to save Jitendra's life, we decided to go for an open surgery to have the foreign body removed. 'The patient is doing fine and will be discharged soon after a 10 to 12 day stay.' The operation took place on February 14. By Magi Helena Tribune Content Agency BIRTHDAY STAR: Actor Mark Dacascos was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on this day in 1964. This birthday star portrays Monk on "Wu Assassins," played Wo-Fat on "Hawaii Five-0" and served as The Chairman on "Iron Chef America." He's also appeared on episodes of "Lucifer," "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Dancing With the Stars." His film work includes "The Driver," "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" and "Maximum Impact." ARIES (March 21-April 19): Eradicate someone's hesitations by demonstrating enthusiasm. Your actions prove that you are someone who follows through on promises without delay, so don't be distracted by someone's doubts or misgivings. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Silence is not an agreement. Your friend, companion or partner may be unable to voice an objection to your ideas in an acceptable way. Avoid misunderstandings by being patient and not making assumptions. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Consider what you will say beforehand. You will learn more when you are listening than when you are talking. It might be easier to earn money than to spend it well since there may be a tendency to make impulsive purchases. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your attempts to charm an audience may not work as planned. Consider staying out of the public spotlight and taking a break from social media. Listen to the wise advice of a loved one or partner if you encounter a dilemma. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Share your wealth as well as your opinion. Your partner or loved ones will appreciate having your financial support. Your good judgment and well-considered decisions will receive top billing at the workplace. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If you are willing to be wise, you can succeed. Success comes from a careful analysis of facts and the ability to see the results of your actions. It might be a good idea to hold off on a major purchase or investment. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be pleasant even when people offend your sensibilities. You might perceive a slight where there isn't one, so give others the benefit of the doubt. Avoid misunderstandings by asking a family member for advice. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your determination is commendable. You will do well at the workplace or when presented with a task. You might find that relationships require delicate handling. Steer clear of avoidable disputes. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Individual performance is of the utmost importance for your team to succeed. The better you work within a group, the better the overall results. You might dream of glory, but it is your effort in the real world that counts. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Be kind to everyone. Outmaneuver someone by following the rules of etiquette. It can be difficult to reach an agreement or follow through with tricky negotiations during the next several days. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep your head down while on the job. Casual acquaintances could be overly sensitive to remarks that hurt their feelings, so minding your manners is essential. Friends will stand up for you. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The yen to indulge a taste for fine material things can be powerful but problematic. Your pocket money might disappear quickly if you give in to every passing whim. Listen to a partner's shrewd advice. IF FEBRUARY 26 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: During the upcoming two to three weeks, you may be more driven by competitiveness and less patient. Your practical side emerges and takes charge as March rolls toward the spring equinox, so you can better concentrate on moneymaking activities and career success in a calm manner. April is a good time to tackle anything that requires logic, and you can be a leader in any occupation that requires strategic planning. Exciting changes to your lifestyle and outings with a network of friends can offer a breath of fresh air during June, when one of your dreams can become reality. Look forward to late September and October, when romance can envelope your life, maybe through a desirable vacation or excursion. This is a time when you seem more attractive to potential employers as well as romantic partners, so meet new people and make key commitments while the stars are in your favor. Learn more at https://magihelena.com/ Questions? Reach out to Helena at questionsmagihelena.com. (c) 2020 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC. People who survive cancer during childhood and early adulthood are more likely to experience severe, life-threatening health problems later on in life. In fact, many of the survivors die before other people the same age. Those are findings from a recent study. A report on the study was published this month in The Lancet Oncology. Researchers followed almost 12,000 young cancer survivors and about 5,000 of their siblings for about 20 years. All of these relatives were said to be in good health. The cancer survivors were free of the disease for at least five years at the start of the study. Yet they were still about six times more likely to die during the follow-up period than their siblings. Tara Henderson was the lead writer of the report. She noted, Before 1960, cancer before the age of 21 years was uniformly fatal, and currently about 83% of anyone diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21 years can be cured. Henderson is director of cancer survivorship at the University of Chicagos Comprehensive Cancer Center. She said that doctors need to put more effort into learning the long-term side effects of cancer treatment. The Reuters news agency reported her comments. Better survival chances also mean children may have a higher risk of developing health problems as a result of tumors or cancer treatments. The problems include heart disease, old cancers returning or possible new cancers. Many doctors turn to chemotherapy to treat cancer patients. They use drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Yet chemotherapy can weaken the heart muscle and some newer targeted medicines increase the risk of heart failure. So says the American Heart Association. The group also notes that radiation can cause heart rhythm disorders and structural damage in blood vessels and heart valves. By age 45, 56 percent of the childhood cancer survivors diagnosed with the disease before age 15 had developed severe health problems. That compares with 39 percent of survivors diagnosed while growing up or in early adulthood and 12 percent of siblings without any history of cancer. Death rates were also higher for cancer survivors diagnosed during childhood than for those diagnosed during adolescence or early adulthood. However, survivors of childhood cancer were less likely to die from returning tumors than survivors who were diagnosed a little later. Researchers followed people diagnosed with cancer between 1970 and 1999. They found that it is possible that long-term results might be better for people diagnosed today because of better treatments. The researchers said that is partly because of changes designed to improve survival chances and decrease the risk of severe treatment-related health problems. One limitation of the study is that researchers lacked information on three kinds of cancer: tumors in the gonads, thyroid, and skin. Those three make up about 40 percent of cancers discovered in 15-to 20-year-olds. Paivi Lahteenmaki is a doctor with Turku University in Finland and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She noted that, Some cancer-related complications do not become apparent until several years following cancer treatment. In an email to Reuters, she urged cancer patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle to help make severe or life-threatening medical issues less likely to develop. She added that patients can do a number of things, including exercising, eating well, not smoking and keeping a healthy body weight. Im Jonathan Evans. Lisa Rapaport reported this story for the Reuters news service. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________ Words in This Story adolescence n. the period of life between childhood and adulthood diagnose v. to recognize a disease, illness, etc. by examining someone fatal adj. causing death gonads n. sex organs that produce sperm or eggs; testicles or ovaries lifestyle n. a particular way of living; the way a person lives or a group of people live tumor n. a mass of tissue found in or on the body that is made up of abnormal cells The Desmond Fatality Inquiry is being held at the Guysborough Municipal building in Guysborough, N.S. on Nov.18, 2019.(Andrew Vaughan /Canadian Press) Vets With PTSD Treated Like Lepers, Doctor Tells Desmond Fatality Inquiry GUYSBOROUGH, N.S. A New Brunswick doctor who specializes in treating veterans with PTSD apologized today for comments he made about the Department of Veterans Affairs during testimony before a fatality inquiry in Nova Scotia. Paul Smith was testifying before a provincial inquiry that is investigating why Lionel Desmond, a mentally ill former soldier, killed three family members and himself in Big Tracadie, N.S., on Jan. 3, 2017. On Monday, Smith offered a harsh assessment of how Veterans Affairs deals with those who are leaving the military for medical reasons, which was the case for Desmond in June 2015. Desmond had been diagnosed with severe posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression in 2011 after he served in Afghanistan in 2007. Smith told the inquiry that soldiers given medical discharges for PTSD are chastised, treated like lepers and cast to the wind. The family doctor, who mainly treats veterans with PTSD using medical cannabis, also suggested Veterans Affairs lacked warmth when dealing with clients and placed too much emphasis on pills and psychotherapy, which he described as pathetic. The discharge programs are lacking tremendously, Smith told the inquiry on Monday. We have other nations that do it correctly. He later mentioned Israel as an example. Smith said communication with the department was lacking, which eroded trust. A typical conversation with DVA is Im on the phone for half an hour listening to music, and when they do talk to you, its like they dont know anything about you, Smith said Monday. Youre just a number. During testimony on Tuesday, Smith apologized for those comments when challenged by a lawyer representing the federal government. Lori Ward said the inquiry can expect to hear testimony from Desmonds Veterans Affairs case manager, who will testify how she tried to bend the rules to ensure the former infantryman received proper continuity of care. Ward said the woman is also expected to tell the inquiry that she volunteered to drive Desmond to the airport in March 2016 when he was scheduled to take part in a residential treatment program at a hospital in Montreal. Does that sound like a lack of warmness to you? Ward asked Smith. Smith replied: Theres good people in the DVA system, and I apologize for a sweeping statement that may have presented otherwise. (However), it remains the attitude of many vets is that its a constant struggle to deal with DVA in terms of attitude. Smiths testimony was considered pivotal to the inquiry because he was the one who signed off on a medical form that allowed Desmond to purchase the semiautomatic rifle he used in the killings in 2017. The inquiry has heard Smith prescribed medical marijuana to Desmond in July 2015, only six days after he officially left the military. When the two men met for a followup visit on Feb. 23, 2016, the retired corporal presented the doctor with a medical assessment form from the chief firearms officer in New Brunswick. The form said Desmonds firearms licence was under review because he had indicated to his wife Shanna he was contemplating killing himself with a rifle he owned on Nov. 27, 2015 when he was living in Oromocto, N.B. He was arrested under the provinces Mental Health Act and his weapons were confiscated in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Lawyer Thomas Macdonald, who represents Shanna Desmonds family, asked Smith if those events were red flags that could be seen as reasons for rejecting Lionel Desmonds bid to have his firearms licence reinstated. Smith testified that he believed the retired soldier when he said his actions were the result of a fleeting angry moment when he said some things he didnt mean. Smith told the inquiry it was his assessment Desmond was responding well to treatment and wasnt a threat to himself or others. Nonsuicidal and stable, Smith wrote on the form on Feb. 23, 2016. No concerns for firearms usage with appropriate licence. On Jan. 3, 2017, Desmond bought a Sovietera SKS 7.62 carbine, which he used later that night to kill his 31yearold wife Shanna, their 10yearold daughter Aaliyah and his 52yearold mother Brenda inside the familys home in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S. He then turned the gun on himself. Washington: The United States is ready to consider an agreement with the Taliban after they have agreed to dramatically reduce violence across the war-torn Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told lawmakers on Wednesday. The US plans to sign an agreement with the Taliban on Saturday in Qatar. The historic deal would see the US withdraw thousands of troops, winding down America's longest war which was launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks but has grown increasingly unpopular at home. "If the Taliban demonstrate the willingness and capability to do so, the US is prepared to consider an agreement that advances the peace process," Esper told members of the House Armed Services Committee ahead of a hearing on defence posture statement. "Should, intra-Afghan peace dialogues progress, the US will reduce our force posture as appropriate, based on conditions on the ground," Esper said. In Afghanistan, he said, the US remain committed to ending the war through a political agreement that ensures Afghanistan cannot be used as a safe haven for terrorist groups to attack the United States. "As we have previously notified members of Congress, our negotiations with the Taliban have advanced, and they have agreed to dramatically reduce violence across the country," he said. On Saturday, 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, US President Donald Trump announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban, but refused to give a timeline for the draw down 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. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty This week: Right-wing pundits death fuels conspiracy theories. The_Donalds Reddit meme cache on its last legs. Its CPAC time! Pundits death sparks new conspiracy theories The death of a former Department of Homeland Security employee last week has caught the attention of prominent conspiracy theorists, who are pinning it on none other than Barack Obamas deep state agents. But so far, the people promoting the conspiracy theoriesincluding Glenn Beck and Rep. Steve King (R-IA)dont really have any evidence that the death is even a murder. On Friday, sheriffs deputies in Amador County, California, found the body of Philip Haney, a former DHS employee, near an RV stop. While Haneys death is still under investigation, a sheriffs press release said Haney had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Haney, 66, had been briefly famous on the right as a DHS whistleblower during the Obama administration, appearing at a congressional hearing and on Fox News to promote his claims that Obama officials had squashed his investigations into Islamic terrorism in the United States. Since then, Haney had claimed he was on a special covert assignment against prominent Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a prominent Muslim-American Democrat. Even as all the evidence around Haneys death points to a suicide, Trump allies in right-wing media and government were quick to claim he had been the victim of a sinister murder plot. On Twitter, King implied that Haney had been killed for speaking out against Obama. He was a target because of all he knew of Islamic terrorist coverups, King wrote. He insured his life by archiving data that incriminated the highest levels of the Obama administration. Phil Haney didnt kill himself. Fox News contributor Sara Carter tweeted that Haney had been murdered. Glenn Beck, now fully done with his attempted NeverTrump transformation and sliding anew into the crazed blackboard-theorizing Beck of the past, made dark insinuations about Haneys demise too. Story continues He didnt kill himself, Beck said, hunched over his microphone in a camouflage jacket. No man who speaks like Philip Haney did goes off and kills himself. Of course, its not unusual for a mysterious death to be folded into a broader conspiracy theorywith the still-unsolved July 2016 murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich as probably the most prominent recent example. But its remarkable how fast prominent conservatives, including an elected official, have jumped to claiming that Haney had been killed in some elaborate murder plot. To a large degree, it reflects the mainstreaming of conspiracy theory thinking within the GOP and conservative media apparatuses. The Amador Sheriffs Office, suddenly thrust into a situation where columnists are calling for an independent Justice Department investigation into Haneys death, didnt respond to my requests for comment. On Monday, the sheriff said the FBI was investigating Haneys laptop. Haneys death already appears to have some staying power beyond the usual internet news cycle. Theres already talk of a tantalizing stash of documents to drive viewers imagination, akin to Richs laptop or the deleted Hillary Clinton emails. In this case, its a thumb-drive of super-secret files Beck claims Haney kept on a chain around his neck. On Monday, Beck claimed he would tap Haneys chest when he saw him to make sure the thumb-drive was still there. I was feeling the thumb drive, because there were documents that he kept around his neck, Beck said. I only know what a few of them were. I wonder if that thumb drive was found on the body. Reddit memelords in winter Reddit administrators are cracking down on the The_Donald subreddit, threatening the existence of whats become both the most prominent pro-Trump site on the internet and a reliable source of memes for Trumps Twitter feed. Reddit brass have been at odds with The_Donald for years and made the forum harder to find last June after users advocated for violence against police officers. On Tuesday, they went further, ousting some of the subreddits moderators and declaring that new moderators will need to be vetted by Reddit administrators before they can run the forum. A Reddit spokesperson confirmed the moves in an email to me. Reddit may intervene from time to time when moderators are consistently in violation of our Moderator Guidelines, which can include removing a user's moderator status, the email reads. The_Donalds users havent taken this well, turning the subreddit, briefly, into a home for memes aimed at Reddit administrators rather than Democrats. All of this likely means that The_Donalds time on Reddit and its access to Reddits massive user base will soon come to an end. This wont be the end of The_Donald as a pro-Trump internet community, though. Sensing that an outright ban is in the offing, The_Donalds administrators have already set up a fallback site called TheDonald.Win and are encouraging users to migrate over. While TheDonald.Win looks just like a subreddit, its independently runand thus beyond the control of Reddits administrators. Still, other right-wing groups that have been kicked off Reddit have struggled to gain traction with their own Reddit-style sites. QAnon believers who moved to another Reddit knock-off after their own Reddit bans, for example, have struggled to attract anything like the kind of Reddit-level user numbers on their backup sites. What to watch for at CPAC Im off to the Conservative Political Action Conference this week for the rights annual celebration of all things Trump. But as with every CPAC, many of the more interesting stories about the direction of the conservative movement are taking place on the conferences sidelines. CPAC should see the latest clash between the rights white nationalist groypersallied with prominent columnist Michelle Malkinand conservatisms more establishment elements, with the groypers holding a rival event nearby. CPAC seems to have taken a harsher line this year on credentialing right-wing characterslast years ban on anti-Muslim activist turned congressional candidate Laura Loomer is apparently still in place, and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes had his application for media credentials denied. Meanwhile, hapless conservative smear artists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman will be somewhere near CPAC for their annual botched press conference. Their angle this time is that the Roger Stone jury was hopelessly biased against him, based on some juror questionnaires they got their hands on. From what Ive seen so far, though, this is going to be a flop. For example, Burkman and Wohl are focusing on jurors who said they watch MSNBC and CNN as proof that the jury was biased. Even some events from within CPACs confines at Marylands National Harbor resort promise to really be something. Former Superman Dean Cain is staging a dramatic reading of the Peter Strzok/Lisa Page text messages. As one of the few people unlucky enough to have already seen this bit in person a few months ago in D.C., I can confirm that Cains mugging is as squirm-inducing as you could imagine. And then, according to the schedule, theres a definitive rap battle between capitalism and socialism. Ill be tweeting through all of it! 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. Tuesdays release of the EUs negotiating mandate had a mixed reception. Pound Sterling exchange rates initially rallied as it revealed the potential for compromise over the UK following EU rules. However, the rally has faded again and the UK has rejected the EUs insistence on a level playing field. The British Pound showed some relative strength on Tuesdays session but has faded back down as the Brexit process once again starts to dominate UK headlines and will be a key driver of Sterling going forward this year. EU Ministers signed-off on its negotiating mandate for UK/EU trade talks and this paves the way for a formal presentation on Thursday when the UK will also set out its negotiating mandate. Volatility could pick up as various spokespeople comment, but next week will be more important as the actual negotiations get underway on Monday. These should last 4 days so we should know by next Thursday if any progress is made. This seems unlikely at such an early stage but negotiations are set to continue for a total of 10 rounds, each of 4 days. Bones of Contention The market is prepared for disagreements between the UK and the EU on a number of issues. The issue for the market going forward is whether there can be compromise and whether this will come in time for the end of the transition period in December. Boris Johnson already worried the currency market by stating he will not ask for an extension to the deadline, although it is thought this is not completely binding should trade talks not progress in time. As soon as the EU mandate was released Downing Street accused the EU of trying to give the UK a worse trade deal than those offered to the US, Canada and Japan. The UK wasnt to set its own regulations and does not want to commit to what the EU calls a level playing field. This was a term used in the mandate which states any relationship should be underpinned by robust commitments to ensure a level playing field for open and fair competition, given the EU and the UKs geographic proximity and economic interdependence. Boris Johnson clearly does not agree and his spokesman said, Level playing field is an EU construct, not a piece of terminology which we useWe have been very clear on our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations, but we will not accept any demands for the UK to follow EU rules, just as we would not expect the EU to accept UK laws. The point is that other countries have not had to commit to these restriction, so why should the UK? He continued, The EU has respected the autonomy of other major economies around the world such as Canada and Japan when signing trade deals with them. We just want the same. He also pointed out that the EU was willing to offer the US zero tariffs without the kind of level playing field commitments or the legal oversight they put in its EU-UK mandate. What are the Current GBP to EUR, USD Exchange Rates Today? - The Pound to Euro exchange rate is -0.49% lower at 1.1892981415852 on 26/2/2020 - The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is -0.51% lower at $1.293665 on 26/2/2020 Room for Compromise With such a robust response from Downing Street on Tuesday it was perhaps a surprise that Sterling managed to rally. GBPUSD actually managed to break above 1.3 after a gain of 0.7% before fading again. However, there were some positives and one significant point comes from Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, who offered a compromise position on regulation. This could mean the UK does not have to follow all EU rules in future, although the EU would then have the right to punish the UK through actions such as sanctions or tariffs if this leads to disruptions of the equal condition of competition. This opens the door for a fudged compromise on some of the more contentious issues and gives hope for some kind of deal by the end of the year. President Donald Trump is quickly and forcefully making the U.S. Justice Department into his bulletproof vest and AK-47. His attorney general, William Barr, is all too happy to further Trumps aspirations. Barr unleashed a cadre of government attorneys to run interference for anyone Trump wants to support, despite criminal convictions or probes into their alleged illegal activities. Trump reportedly took revenge on Jessie K. Liu, the former U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., by withdrawing her nomination for a U.S. Treasury post. Allegedly, this was because Luis office failed to indict Andrew McCabe, a former FBI deputy director. McCabes horrendous crime was apparently his role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Barrs silence about this was both powerful and painful. And now, Trump is attacking members of the jury that convicted former Trump aide Roger Stone. This is pure jury tampering. And, during Trumps impeachment trial in the GOP-majority Senate, all Republican senators except Mitt Romney of Utah voted against conviction, abdicating their duty to be thorough and impartial. Earlier, most followed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells mantra and voted not to allow witnesses and new evidence. More than ever, they are obedient, robotic Trump acolytes. Trump has intensified his purge of government officials he viewed as disloyal. Consider his firing of Joe Maguire as acting director of national intelligence. He had the temerity to do his job right and honor his moral obligation to inform Congress about Russias energetic interference in the 2020 election. His replacement, Richard Grenell, is a Trump acolyte with no intelligence experience. If we dont quickly stop this presidents march toward authoritarianism by donating to opposing candidates and encouraging like-minded people to vote, we will suffer, our children will suffer and the world will suffer. As retired Navy Admiral William McRaven wrote in a recent op-ed, We should be deeply afraid. Howard Margolis, Voorhees Township By this measure, N.J. rep. is out of town U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., is refusing to stand in front of his constituents at an open-microphone town hall. Why has he failed to schedule one? Dont the people of the district deserve the opportunity to ask their congressman uncensored questions for an hour or so? (Van Drew reportedly held a phone-in/online town hall last November, before he switched from Democrat to Republican.) Since when did Van Drew turn into a bubble wrap representative? I hope he does not now think he is oo important to listen to the people who put him into office. A simple town hall is needed. Pick a central spot within the district. Open the microphone between just him and the people of the district. That would be democracy in action. Michael J. Makara, Mays Landing Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Photo credit: RUSSIANSPACEWEB.COM From Popular Mechanics On January 6, 1982, a bizarre beast rolled out on the runway at the top-secret Soviet flight research center in Zhukovsky, 25 miles southeast of Moscow. At first glance, this perplexing plane looked like a giant blimp with a skinny swept-wing aircraft attached to its belly. But, surprisingly, it was the other way around. The aircraft, eventually known as the VM-T Atlant, hoisted a bulbous cargo container filled with secret soviet equipment. The name was fitting. In Russian, Atlant means Atlas, and it looked like this refitted Cold War bomber was carrying the space dreams of the entire Soviet Union on its back. Big Rocket, Big Problem Photo credit: SVF2 Six years earlier in 1976, the USSR began development of the Buran reusable orbiter and Energia super rocket, Soviet equivalents to the U.S.s Space Shuttle and solid rocket booster, respectively. But the USSR had a distinct disadvantage compared to America: geography. Without the U.S.s enviable coastlines, engineers realized that the monumental size of the rocket and the space shuttle meant they couldn't use the countrys railroads to transport rocket parts. This was the traditional method for delivering rocket components from the country's industrial heartland to the remote launchpad in Kazakhstan, but the gargantuan size of the Energia and Buran meant this was practically impossible. Photo credit: AFP - Getty Images Moscow considered building the rocket right next to the launch site (as was done with the ill-fated N1 moon rocket) but gave up on the idea because moving an army of workers to the semi-desertthousands of miles from the closest population centerwould cost way too much. Instead, the Soviets considered every conceivable mode of transportation, including an oversized highway, a scaled-up railroad, or even a giant water skimmer with a liftoff mass of 3,500 tons. Realistic options were quickly narrowed down to air transport, but no existing Soviet aircraft had nearly enough capacity to carry such a large payload. The brand-new Mi-26 helicopter could lift up to 26 tons and looked promising enough to initiate a series of gut-wrenching flight tests to prove that a duo, trio, or even a quartet of helicopters, flying in formation, could lift and carry the necessary load. But, during one of the trials, a slight turbulence caused ominous pendulum swings of the simulated cargo, forcing terrified pilots to dump the payload. Story continues With helicopters out of the picture and several existing fixed-wing aircraft ruled out as too small, Moscow decided to custom-build a transport plane large enough to carry the rocket and the orbiter. Todays world-famous An-225 Mriya transport aircraft appeared on the drawing board, which, as its name suggests, could carry up to 225 tons of cargo (a fully-loaded Buran orbit weighed just over 100 tons). Engineers at the Antonov Design Bureau even considered a larger aircraft, called Gerakl (Heracles), which could serve as a flying launch pad for a large space plane. But the plane never materialized. While the Mriya appeared to be the Soviets best bet, its development was well behind the Buran and Energia, so the engineers went looking for an interim solution. An Unbelievable Alternative Photo credit: Pawel Maryanov - Wikimedia Commons Back in the 1950s, Myasishchev Design Bureau built one of the earliest methods for the USSR to deliver nuclear armageddon to North America. The resulting 3M strategic bomber was a four-engine, swept-wing aircraft. The aircraft was powered by VD-7 turbojet engines, but its most distinctive feature was its "bicycle-type" landing gear, centered under a fuselage, with small auxiliary wheels on its wingtips. But when the aircraft appeared in full metal, the 3M bomber fell short of the flight range required to bomb the U.S., and the rise of the intercontinental ballistic missile diminished its designed purpose even further. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the 3M aircraft earned a very mixed reputation in the Soviet air force due to numerous and deadly flight accidents. Photo credit: RussianSpaceWeb.com Without the Soviet space program and its Buran space shuttle, the 3M bomber wouldve enjoyed quiet retirement. Because of its mixed service record, the idea of converting aging 3M planes into a transport version, dubbed 3M-T, had its share of skeptics. But the father of the 3M, Vladimir Myasishchev, pressed on and went to work in 1977 to build five versions of the aircraft for different components of the Energia-Buran system. The fuselage of the bomber was stretched by nearly 15 feet to accommodate its cargo, its single tail was replaced with dual vertical stabilizers for better flight stability at lower speed, and more powerful engines (VD-7MD) included an afterburner for extra thrust during takeoff. Still, the 3M-T could not carry the fully assembled Buran orbiter or the core stage of the Energia rocket. But it could lift its major piecesnot exceeding 50 tonswhich could then be assembled at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The improvised air transporter would go one to have one of the most shocking appearances in aviation history. The hydrogen-fuel tank of the Energia rocket along with its aerodynamic shrouds had a length of 146 feet and a diameter of 25 feet. The diameter of the 3M fuselage was just north of 11 feet. When the aircraft began hauling its oversized loads to Baikonur in 1984, it became informally known as a " ," a "flying barrel." Getting the Job Done Photo credit: Anatoly Zak In addition to the difficulty of controlling the unusual structure in the air, 3M-T pilots had to carefully monitor the internal pressure inside the tanks of the Energia rocket itself. The loss of pressure inside the cavernous vessel could make the descent of the aircraft impossible. Thats because the increasing pressure of the atmosphere at lower altitude could collapse the entire structure, likely causing a catastrophic accident. To make matters worse, the transport version of the 3M wasnt immune from technical problems that had given a bad reputation to its military predecessor. During one flight test in 1983, the 3M carrying the mockup of the Buran orbiter skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud. The recovery operation was apparently long enough for the American spy satellites to capture images of the secret vehicle and the artist reconstructions of the incident made it into the Western press. Photo credit: RussianSpaceWeb.com During another flight in 1988this time with a flight-worthy Buran orbitertwo engines on the left wing of 3M-T shut down due to a fuel leak. Fortunately, the aircraft was already in its final approach and the pilot safely landed on the runway under the power of only two running engines. Overall, 3M-T made more than 150 ferry flights, delivering components to Baikonur from the rocket factory in the city of Kuibyshev (present-day Samara) and from Ramenskoye airfield near Zhukovsky, to pick up the Buran shuttle (which was actually built at Tushino Mechanical Plant and transported to Zhukovsky-Ramenskoye by barge). In December 1988, the much larger An-225 Mriya finally arrived and the 3M-T was quickly retired. But the entire Energia-Buran program would soon follow suit, stalling in the waning days of the Soviet Union. As many Russian aerospace firms struggled to survive the post-Soviet economic transition, the creators of 3M-T tried to find foreign customers for their remarkable machine, including a proposal to the European Space Agency to use it as a carrier for the Hermes mini-shuttle. But the European space plane never made it to the launch pad and all other ideas to use 3M-T came to nothing. Before being displayed in public for the first time in the early 1990s, the highly classified 3M-T designation changed its name to VM-T Atlant, where "VM" matched the initials of Vladimir Myasishchev. In 2013, one of three existing VM-T aircraft made a rare public appearance at its home runway of Ramenskoye near Zhukovsky, which hosted the Moscow Air and Space Show. With a mix of awe and sadness, I saw the decaying and inoperable VM-T aircraft on the tarmac, still carrying the hardware from the Energia rocket on its back. Both were destined to never fly again. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Anatoly Zak is the publisher of RussianSpaceWeb.com and the author of Russia in Space: the Past Explained, the Future Explored. You Might Also Like By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Speakers at a conference on Dalit girl children organised by Dalit Sthree Sakthi (DSS) to mark its 14th anniversary stressed the need for equal opportunities in education for girls so that they can be self-confident. The emphasis of the meet was also on safety and security of women. Principal Secretary (School Education) B Rajasekhar, the chief guest on the occasion, said education was being given top priority by the government. Emphasising the need for quality education, Rajasekhar elaborated on the education system in Delhi and how important it was to introduce English medium education in government schools, especially in schools for Dalit students. Pointing out that the majority of such children were students of government schools, he stressed the need for larger active participation of parents through parent committees in school affairs to ensure a better future for their wards. Senior IAS officer Chaya Ratan stressed the importance of the role of the teachers in educating Dalit girls and also emphasised the need of nutritious food for them. Geddam Jhansi, national convener of DSS, spoke on the journey of DSS in the last 14 years and the obstacles it had to overcome on the way. We are committed to the welfare, justice, and upliftment of Dalits. I thank everyone, who walked along with me in DSS journey in the last 14 years, she said. She spoke about the need for equal opportunities for Dalit girls in education and other spheres of activity and said education was the key to freedom from decades of ignorance and to paving a bright future for coming generations. DSS programmes manager GDV Praksh presided over the event. On Christmas night last year, Andrew Falbo felt more like a bouncer than a wildlife volunteer as he tried to wrangle 5000 tourists crammed onto St Kilda Pier to witness the daily homecoming of a colony of little penguins. It became like a nightclub one in, one out, Mr Falbo recalls. The government has funded rangers to attend St Kilda Pier every night until Easter as tourist numbers balloon. Credit:Joe Armao In recent years as social media has popularised one of Melbournes most Instagramable free activities Earthcare volunteers have warned the daily penguin parade is becoming a free-for-all. The volunteer guides have said they can no longer single-handedly ensure the safety of the penguins with tourist numbers ballooning and people illegally clambering onto the rocks to fish. References to the N1.7tn in subsidies paid by the government are associated with payments that have been made to the generating and gas supply companies, under the Payment Assurance Guarantees initiative and the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund. A pair of abortion proposals have begun making their way through the House committee process. One proposal would hold facilities that perform 10 or more abortions per month to the same standards as outpatient surgical centers. Another measure would not allow state money to be used to fund abortions. The House Health and Human Services Reform Committee approved several bills related to the two and referred them to other committees. Licensing abortion facilities Rep. Debra Kiel (R-Crookston) sponsors HF606 that would require clinics that perform at least 10 abortions per month to be licensed by the Health Department, similar to outpatient surgical centers. The bill, approved 12-9 along party lines, also would allow spot inspections by the department, require an annual licensing fee of $3,712, and includes a $63,000 appropriation to the health commissioner for licensing activities. It now moves to the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee. Sen. Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville) sponsors a companion, SF616, which awaits action by the Senate Health, Human Services and Housing Committee. Five facilities who perform about 9,000 abortions a year in Minnesota would need to conform to more stringent licensing standards as an outpatient surgical center. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed an identical bill in 2012, according to Deputy Health Commissioner Dan Pollock. There is already a law allowing licensing of abortion facilities, but an injunction prevents the department from creating licensing rules, he added. Opponents balked at the suggestion that this was a safety issue. Providers said the bill is designed to run them out of business, making access to safe abortions more difficult, especially in rural areas. Im not debating the right to have an abortion, but I am debating the right to be safe, Kiel said. Womens Health Center of Duluth would have to spend an estimated $800,000 to comply under outpatient surgical center guidelines, according to Laurie Casie, the centers executive director. Facility improvements would include new flooring, HVAC system, bathroom facilities, plumbing and moving walls to come into compliance. Casie and others argued that facility renovations would have no bearing on providing better health care to pregnant women seeking abortions, which is 14 times safer than actually giving birth, said Jane Laine, Whole Womens Health administrator. It singles out one procedure among many. Proponents said abortion clinics are not being singled out. Rather, they should have been treated as outpatient surgical centers all along because they are pre-diagnosed, one-time, procedures that do not require an overnight stay at a medical facility, as centers are defined. State funding for abortions Sponsored by Rep. Cindy Pugh (R-Chanhassen), HF787 would ban state-sponsored health care funds from being used to pay for abortions, except when the womans life is at risk or if the pregnancy was a result of incest or rape (a federal mandate). The bill, approved 12-8, now moves to the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee. SF800, a companion sponsored by Sen. Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa), awaits action by the House Health, Human Services and Housing Committee. Abortion has become a bit of an industry in Minnesota and taxpayers are footing one-third of the bill, Pugh said. Her bill would conform Minnesota abortion funding laws to federal statute, which also forbids tax-funded abortions, except in certain cases. An estimated $1 million in state funds are spent annually to pay for abortions, according to Andrea Rau, legislative director for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. Opponents said the measure would discriminate against low-income women and those on public assistance who otherwise could not afford an abortion. The result is women waiting longer to have an abortion when the risks increase, or not having one and continuing the cycle of poverty, said Andrea Ledger, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. Constitutional tight rope Then theres the constitutional aspect to consider. Previous abortion measures have landed the state in court and some believe these bills could be headed down a similar path. Rep. Joe Mullery (DFL-Mpls) unsuccessfully offered an amendment that would have appropriated $3.2 million from the General Fund to provide grants to facilities that would have to upgrade their buildings. A womans right to have an abortion is protected under the U.S. Constitution and HF606 would interfere with those rights if facilities in Greater Minnesota have to close as a result, he said. In 1995, the Minnesota Supreme Court found that the use of public funds for childbirth, but not abortions, violates a womens right to privacy, according to William Mitchell College of Law Professor Raleigh Levine. Despite the opposition to both issues, Rau said she believes there is support in the House to pass the measures. As for the Senate and a gubernatorial pen, Rau said she prefers to take it one body at a time. Bank of Ireland has today released its latest economic pulse which are conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of Bank of Ireland with 1,000 households and approximately 2,000 businesses on a range of topics including the economy, their financial situation, spending plans, house price expectations and business activity. The Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse came in at 86.4 in February 2020. The index, which combines the results of the Consumer and Business Pulses, was up 0.3 on last month but 4.4 lower than a year ago. Households who appear to have put their concerns about Brexit on the back burner for the moment - were more upbeat about the economys prospects this month, with the balance of positive and negative responses moving into the black for the first time since last June. And while they were a tad gloomier about their own finances, the buying climate remained resilient. The UKs orderly departure from the EU saw firms upgrade their near-term expectations for business activity. Bank of Ireland say Brexit is still a headwind for the economy of course, so it is not surprising that seven in ten businesses expect their region to be negatively impacted over the coming year; though this is down from almost nine in ten last September when fears of a no deal exit were to the fore. Having pared them back in January, households upped their expectations for future house price gains this month. Housing was one of the defining issues of Election 2020, with the continuing shortage of accommodation a hot topic on the campaign trail. The February survey finds that this is also a concern for businesses, with firms in all regions calling out housing as the priority area for investment in order to strengthen local economies. Commenting on Bank of Irelands February Economic Pulse, Group Chief Economist for Bank of Ireland, Dr Loretta OSullivan said, "This months survey took place in the wake of the UK leaving the EU and in the midst of a general election at home. The former event passed off in an orderly manner, buttressing consumer and business confidence and allaying some concerns about the economic outlook. But with the general election delivering a hung Dail, a period of domestic policy uncertainty lies ahead which may temper sentiment over the coming months." Source: www.businessworld.ie The prime minister says the government is working as usual. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk has denied media reports about his resignation. Read alsoZelensky mulling over appointment of banker Tigipko as prime minister media "The government is working as usual... I used to such reports in the media. Of course, I haven't written any statements. I haven't discussed the relevant topics with the president. I did see [Ukrainian banker and politician] Sergiy Tigipko, I really met with him like with many others," he said at a briefing following a government meeting on February 26, 2020. "I have interviewed about 20 people over the past month; we really need to be strengthened by advisers, maybe even by people for some position in the government who understand very well what the industry is. Therefore, I had contacts with many people," Honcharuk said. Earlier, a number of Ukrainian media, citing sources in the government, reported on Tigipko's possible appointment as prime minister. The presidential press service has not responded to an UNIAN request for comment. Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he had met with Tigipko. The RSPCA Queensland has been forced to apologise after it euthanised a kitten named Marshmallow without the family's permission. Belinda Stevens, from Brisbane, took to Facebook on Tuesday to warn people not to take their pets to an RSPCA facility in Wacol after her son's 11-week-old kitten was put down without their consent. Ms Stevens said she had taken Marshmallow to the clinic because the kitten was 'a bit unsteady on his feet', but she had previously made a full recovery from the same symptoms. When she took the cat to the clinic, the woman who looked at her thought Marshmallow may have had hypothermia. Belinda Stevens, from Brisbane, took to Faceook on Tuesday to warn people not to take their kittens to an RSPCA facility in Wacol after her son's 11-week-old kitten was accidentally euthanised The woman took Marshmallow to be looked over. 'She said to me if I needed treatment for my kitten I would need to surrender her and if she was to sick I would need to give them permission to euthanise her,' she said. 'I refused euthanization and had not signed any paperwork.' That is when the vet returned and said Marshmallow had been put to sleep - and Ms Stevens assumed that meant she had been sedated for a procedure. 'I was then led to the consultation room where my children's kitten lay - I noticed she was not moving and as I approached her she was not breathing,' she said. 'I screamed "you killed our cat" then the vet turned and said "aren't you the foster caregivers" and I told them no it was my cat. 'Her instant reply was "oh s**t".' She and her son walked out of the RSPCA centre in tears. RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said there had been a miscommunication about Marshmallow's circumstances. RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said there had been a miscommunication about Marshmallow's circumstances 'I can totally understand that Belinda is heartbroken,' Mr Beatty told the ABC. 'Even if she was a foster carer and Marshmallow was a foster kitten, probably it should have been communicated to her that Marshmallow was going to be euthanised 'All we can do, and we have done so, we've personally rung her and said how sorry we actually are.' He said in the RSPCA took responsibility for the lack of notification, but said the kitten was so ill that it needed to be put down, and any other clinic would have done the same. He said the RSPCA is reviewing their procedures. Yves here. Sorry for the lack of original posts. Too much news flow + the debate + a dentist visit (not serious but something I had to address) ate my day. Look at These Mind-Blowing Fossils of 1 Billion-Year-Old Seaweed Science Alert (Kevin W) Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain Smithsonian Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain Vice (David L) Planet Is Screwed, Says Bank That Screwed the Planet New Republic Major wind-driven ocean currents shifting toward the poles AGU (Chuck L) Researchers find new reason Arctic is warming so fast PhysOrg (David L) Fossil-Fuel Subsidies Must End Scientific American (furzy) #COVID-19 Public health experts raise alarm as coronavirus spreads The Hill Coronavirus: Outbreak spreads in Europe from Italy BBC. Croatia, which has no border with Italy, but not Slovenia, which does. Chinas health care system under pressure as coronavirus continues to spread CNBC. Disease Burden of Influenza CDC (resilc) New Paper Adds Support to Covid-19s Natural Origins Caixin (Dr. Kevin) How One Singapore Sales Conference Spread Coronavirus Around the World Wall Street Journal How the coronavirus crisis could lead to four more years of Trump South China Morning Post (Dr. Kevin) Japan Urges Telecommuting, Staggered Shifts To Curb Coronavirus Reuters Hospitals in Japan refusing to test many who suspect they have COVID-19 Japan Times Aerial footage shows huge queues for masks in South Korea amid coronavirus panic Guardian (resilc) P&G expects coronavirus outbreak to hit current-quarter revenue, profit Reuters (furzy) As Covid-19 Spreads, Amazon Tries to Curb Mask Price Gouging Wired Coronavirus threatens the global economy with a sudden stop Telegraph (David L) San Francisco mayor declares coronavirus emergency Los Angeles Times (David L) Eastbound state Highway 12 just west of Rio Vista in unincorporated Solano County is currently blocked due to a traffic collision involving a big rig, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision was first reported at 5:33 a.m. Wednesday at Summerset Road, per the CHP. A Solano County sheriff's dispatcher said tow trucks are enroute to the scene to remove vehicles from the roadway. The UDMR (Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania) will decide whether to endorse or not Mr. Citu's Cabinet after seeing the list of proposed ministers and the governing programme, leader of the Union Kelemen Hunor told AGERPRES on Wednesday. "(...) It is difficult to comment on this proposal right now, but it's an interesting proposal, and of course that we are waiting for the list of ministers and the governing programme first, before making a decision. Of course, there are some who speculate that, if Mr. Citu is not voted for, the Parliament might dissolve. This is wrong, because the Orban II government was never rejected, so this wouldn't be a second attempt, as the Constitution requires, because government number 2 was not voted, it was not rejected. Therefore, those who talk about early polls are wrong. And we will see the decision we will make, after seeing the list of ministers and the governing programme. I do not want to comment now (...)," the UDMR head said.President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday, at the end of consultations with parliamentary parties, that he appointed Florin Citu as Prime Minister. The Canary Wharf office of a US oil company has sent home around 300 British workers after an employee in London reported a flu-like illness. Chevron Corp yesterday told traders and refining unit staff to work remotely until test results can determine whether the worker has coronavirus. The employee had recently returned from a country infected with the deadly bug. A spokeswoman said the firm was taking 'precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure' and is continuing the 'monitor the situation closely'. The oil company's office is in Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf, a dense business district also home to banks such as Citi, HSBC and Barclays. Around 105,000 people head to work in the area every day. The news comes as fears intensify over the spread of coronavirus in Europe as France reported its second death and numbers rocket across the continent. In the UK, a total of 6,795 people have been tested with 13 positive cases - but there are concerns the figure could rise after an explosion of cases in Italy where more than 350 people have been diagnosed with the illness. Chevron Corp on Tuesday asked about 300 British employees to work temporarily from home after an employee in its Canary Wharf office in London reported a flu-like illness (pictured, Westferry Circus today) Chevron sent home about 300 workers from its office in London's Canary Wharf business district on Tuesday, after an employee who had recently returned from a country infected with the coronavirus reported flu-like symptoms (pictured, the Westferry Circus building today) Traders, exploration and refining unit staff were assigned to work remotely until test results can determine whether the worker has coronavirus, said a person familiar with the matter A spokeswoman for Chevron said: '[We] continue to monitor the situation very closely, utilizing the guidance of international and local health authorities. 'Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure. 'Consequently we have requested that our colleagues, based at our Westferry Circus office in London, work from home for the time being. 'It is our policy to not provide details of our employees.' It comes as thousands of Britons face coronavirus screening amid fears the number of infections on UK soil could 'explode' after a 'worst case' government report predicted 80 per cent of the population could catch it if it takes hold. The Department of Health is ramping up detection methods so anyone with a severe chest infection at one of 11 NHS hospitals or around 100 GP practices dotted around the country will automatically be tested for the deadly infection even if they haven't been to an at-risk country. Until now, members of the public were only tested if they were both ill and had a link to China or another country at the heart of the outbreak in East Asia. Now broader testing will be done to stay a step ahead of the virus. Screening will be ratcheted up to try to catch the virus on a local scale and avoid a sudden surge in infections, which could only become obvious when it is too late to stop the spread. A worker cleans the doors of a building in Westferry Circus, next to the office of US oil company Chevron in London where employees have been told to work at home A man is pictured wearing a face mask on the London Underground as UK officials step up their preparations for cases of coronavirus to start appearing on British soil At least 25 schools have taken action to try and protect their staff and pupils from coronavirus after ski trips returned from virus-hit areas of northern Italy last week Detection efforts have been ratcheted up to prevent an outbreak on the scale of Italy, where at least 11 people have died and 322 have been diagnosed in Europe's first major coronavirus crisis The 'Covid-19 Reasonable Worst Case Scenario' report was produced by the government's National Security Communications Team, which is overseen by the Cabinet Office, and said schools could be closed, transport networks shut down and public gatherings prevented if an outbreak were to take hold in the UK. Eight UK schools have now been shut down and at least 18 more have sent pupils into quarantine at home for a fortnight after half term ski trips to coronavirus-hit Italy. Public Health England is not advising schools to close but headteachers have taken evasive action after some staff and students came down with 'mild flu-like symptoms' after returning from the Alps. One primary school in Essex is closed as a precaution today because a teacher was in Italy over half term - even though the worker is not ill. England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said schools could be shut en masse if coronavirus gets out of control in Britain. Cransley School, a private school in Northwich, Cheshire (pictured) announced it will be closed for the rest of the week because of coronavirus fears. It will also undergo a deep clean, in a precautionary move to prevent any cases Italy saw a devastating surge in coronavirus cases over the weekend, with confirmed infections rocketing from just six on Friday to more than 322 today, and 11 people have died VIRUS 'COULD KILL 500,000 BRITONS IN WORST-CASE SCENARIO' Half a million Britons could be killed by coronavirus in a reasonable worst-case scenario, according to a government memo. The official paper claimed four out of five people in the UK could become infected by the virus. The document from the government's National Security Communications Team also warns: The current planning assumption is that 2-3 per cent of symptomatic cases will result in a fatality. Sources suggest that would cost 500,000 lives, according to The Sun, which saw the report. A government spokesman said they did not expect this to happen but every eventuality had to be planned for. Britons could be told to isolate themselves at home if a family member falls sick during a coronavirus pandemic. Schools may also be shut, transport networks suspended and football matches and other public gatherings postponed, according to possibilities being considered by Department of Health officials. Their coronavirus pandemic plan will be rolled out if the number of British cases escalates suddenly. They are weighing up the effect of each action to contain the disease against the impact on society and the economy. For example, closing schools would force millions of parents to stay at home, including essential health workers such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Other measures could include advising members of the public to keep a safe distance from each other and avoid kissing or hugging. Advertisement Although Public Health England is not advising schools to close, Professor Whitty's admission that closures are a possibility to contain coronavirus has caused confusion. A school in Swansea for instance is ignoring pleas from parents to shut down after a class returned from a ski trip to Italy with pupils told that they still have to come in unless they have the flu. The latest to shut their doors are Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire 'because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school'. And St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington told parents it had to shut. A member of staff at William Martin Junior and Infant School came back from a half-term holiday in Italy so is shut as a precaution today. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough and Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, shut completely on Tuesday so they can be deep cleaned. The Brine Leas Academy, also in Cheshire, shut its sixth form yesterday. And pupils and staff at 18 schools in Cornwall, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Berkshire, Pembrokeshire, Liverpool, London, Birmingham and Northern Ireland were sent home to quarantine themselves. Closing schools would force millions of parents to stay at home, including essential health workers such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Professor Paul Cosford, medical director for Public Health England, today admitted the Government does not know how many Brits have come back from skiing trips to the north of Italy but said it was a 'significant number'. Official advice was changed on Tuesday to say that people should self-isolate at home if they have travelled home from one of 11 quarantined towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, or if they feel ill after visiting north of Pisa. But health bosses triggered confusion yesterday about whether it was safe to travel in future. When asked if he would go to northern Italy, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 'I'm not planning on going, put it that way' in an interview. However, PHE's Professor Cosford, said it would be 'unreasonable' to advise people not to travel to Italy, and the Foreign Office does not warn against any other parts of the country. The dramatic escalation in policy comes as the global number of cases of COVID-19 jumped above 81,000, with more than 2,762 now dead. The situation is beginning to level off in China but infections continue to spike in South Korea and Iran, while a second person has died in France and dozens more people were diagnosed in Italy. The director-general of the World Health Organization said yesterday was the first day when more cases were discovered outside of China than within it. Parish Priest Fr Greg Howard leads mourners at the funeral of Kimberley O'Connor at St Marys on the Hill Church in Knocknaheeny, Cork. Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision A TEEN who died in an horrific accident when a car driven by a 16 year old ploughed into a wall leaving two other youngsters badly injured was hailed as "the priceless diamond and superstar" of her heartbroken family. Kimberly O'Connor (16) died when the 19 year old car that she was a front seat passenger in spun out of control shortly before midnight on February 19 and collided with a concrete wall on Harbour View Road in Knocknaheeny, Cork. Ms O'Connor died at the scene - just across the road from her family home - while two other youngsters, both aged 17, suffered multiple injuries. One was left fighting for his life though he is now in a critical but stable condition. Expand Close Kind and generous: Kimberly OConnor (16) died in a car crash late on Wednesday / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kind and generous: Kimberly OConnor (16) died in a car crash late on Wednesday The 16 year old driver left the scene - but later presented himself at a Cork hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Ms O'Connor's Requiem Mass at a packed St Mary's on the Hill Church in Knocknaheeny featured emotional tributes from her mother, Jennifer, and her older sisters, Shannon and Britney. "My heart is completely broken and I will never be the same until I am with you again, Kimberly," her mother, Jennifer, said in a statement read out by her daughter, Shannon. "You made (me) the proudest mother with all that you have done in your life - the beautiful singing you had used to make (my) hairs stand up. You had such a beautiful singing voice - you were a belter. "You had such a beautiful personality and a kind heart - you were and always will be my superstar." Kimberly's father, Mark, died when she was just five years old and she was raised, along with her sisters and brother, by her devoted mother. "It is a comfort knowing that you are with your Daddy, Mark. Now you are together and you will be his beautiful angel and mind you until I get there," she said. "I am going to miss everything about you - the pain of losing you is unbelievable. "Your name and your memories will be spoken of in my house everyday." Shannon said Kimberly was the superstar of her family with her love of singing and the arts. "Our precious Kimberly - we always cherish what a beautiful, special diamond that you are. "From the time you could walk and talk, you were our drama queen - singing and dancing all day everyday. "There is nothing you wouldn't do for anyone - you were the apple of my mother's eye. "There won't be a day goes by that we won't say (your) name and talk about your memories - sleep tight baby doll, I will love you forever." Britney said the only rows she ever had with Kimberly were over the sisters using each other's clothes. When Kimberly came back from a trip to work as a charity volunteer in India last month, she told Britney she didn't bring her a present - but her older sister was welcome to use the clothes she had purchased from multiple high street outlets in India. "My beautiful baby sister got her angel wings and went to heaven," she said. "You didn't deserve this - you were the most kind-hearted girl. You cared about everyone. You always made the whole world smile. "Sleep tight our superstar - we will love and miss you forever." Her sisters said their family will now try to adhere to Kimberly's lifelong motto of "positive vibes." The teen was a Transition Year student at Terence MacSwiney Community College and had only returned in January from India where she had undertaken volunteer work with the Irish charity HOPE Foundation helping disadvantaged children. A special guard of honour was provided by her school classmates and friends at St Mary's. Fr Greg Howard told mourners that the entire community was devastated by the loss of Kimberly. The Requiem Mass was held in the same church were Kimblery was baptised, made her First Communion and celebrated her Confirmation. The Christmas celebrations at St Mary's featured Kimberly singing some of the hymns. Offertory gifts reflected the teen's life and included a school painting, an eye lash and make-up kit, a Hope charity T-shirt, a school co-operation jumper as well as a microphone and music book. Kimberly's coffin was flanked by a large photograph of her surrounded by special flower garlands. The Mass also included prayers for the recovery of those injured in the collision. Mourners were led by Kimberly's mother, Jennifer, her sisters, Shannon and Britney, her baby brother, Cody, Jennifer's partner, Ken, as well as extended family and friends. Prayers were also offered for Kimberly's late father, Mark. A special GoFundMe campaign in aid of Kimberly's family has raised 18,000 of its 20,000 target in a week. [February 26, 2020] Genesys Applauded by Frost & Sullivan for its Commitment to Helping Clients Deliver Personalized Customer Experiences and Improve Productivity With an extensive portfolio guiding the cloud migration process, Genesys enables contact centers to achieve greater productivity and customer engagement SAO PAULO, Feb. 26, 2020 /CNW/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the Latin American & Caribbean contact center solutions market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Genesys with the 2019 Latin American & Caribbean Company of the Year Award. It employs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning engines to optimize operations for agents. With a portfolio of products adapted for local markets, Genesys guides contact centers through digital transformation and cloud migration. In addition to cutting-edge technology, it provides management and customer support that helps contact centers achieve their goals and boost performance. "Genesys posted an impressive 119 percent year over year growth rate from 2017 to 2018 for hosted/cloud solutions, and a 33 percent year over year overall revenue increase," said Juan Gonzalez Research Director at Frost & Sullivan. "The company has helped some of the largest enterprises such as Telefonica Chile, leading business process outsourcers such as Pentafon Mexico, performance marketers such as QuinStreet Brazil, and small and medium businesses in Latin America improve customer interactions across a true omnichannel spectrum." Genesys technology is built on multitenant, microservices architecture with application programming interface (API) connections that enable continuous development and scalability. The architecture enables adaptation and addition, as well as high reliability and fast disaster recovery. With applications geared for different use cases (Genesys Cloud, Genesys Engage and PureConnect), The company's portfolio is highly flexible and scalable. Besides, with offices in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico and a vast network of partners, Genesys maintains a mature ecosystem that is ready to iplement and service solutions. Genesys has invested significantly in generating AI, adaptive learning bots, and cognitive computing capabilities. In addition to strong product development, Genesys has a history of strategic acquisitions and partnerships. For instance, in 2018, it acquired Altocloud and integrated the cloud-based customer journey analytics solution into its portfolio. Renamed, Genesys Predictive Engagement, the offering delivers AI-powered, personalized, and contextual experiences before, during, and after critical moments so customers stay engaged and continue toward the desired business outcome. The product leverages powerful insights that enable dynamic predictions so businesses can deliver more intelligent, tailored engagement across multiple channels spanning marketing, sales, and service. "One of the few vendors in the market with operations and customizations across Latin America, Genesys can support and serve customers with technology and consultations to achieve their goals. It has built its technology stack to enable customers to continue using on-premise solutions and then connect to a cloud solution to make the most of new technologies and AI solutions," noted Gonzalez. "Genesys goes beyond simple software to implement a structured process for managing and supporting customers, ensuring long-term success." Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies, and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Harley Gadomski P: 210.477.8469 E: harley.gadomski@frost.com About Genesys Every year, Genesys delivers more than 70 billion remarkable customer experiences for organizations in over 100 countries. Through the power of the cloud and AI, our technology connects every customer moment across marketing, sales and service on any channel, while also improving employee experiences. Genesys pioneered Experience as a ServiceSM so organizations of any size can provide true personalization at scale, interact with empathy, and foster customer trust and loyalty. This is enabled by Genesys CloudTM, an all-in-one solution and the?world's leading public cloud contact center platform,?designed for rapid innovation, scalability and flexibility. Visit www.genesys.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genesys-applauded-by-frost--sullivan-for-its-commitment-to-helping-clients-deliver-personalized-customer-experiences-and-improve-productivity-301011368.html SOURCE Frost & Sullivan [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] As a fresh round of violence erupted in two east Delhi localities, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday asked Home Minister Amit Shah to call the army to instil confidence in people. Kejriwal said the police, despite all its efforts, had been unable to control the situation. Army shud (should) be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately, the Aam Aadmi Party boss tweeted on Wednesday morning. Kejriwal said that he would also write to Home Minister Amit Shah to make the request. 20 people have been killed in the violence that started off as clashes between pro- and anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act groups over the weekend before degenerating into communal violence. Also Watch | Delhi violence: Students protest outside CM Kejriwals residence, detained The army can only be called at the request of the civil administration of the state concerned. Chief Minister Kejriwal, however, doesnt have a say in Delhi because the national capital is a union territory with a legislature. Police and public order comes under the central government, controlled by the home ministry via Lt Governor Anil Baijal. Chief Minister Kejriwal, however, has been under intense pressure to play a more active role in quelling the violence than he has played over the last few days. Earlier in the morning, students of Jamia Millia Islamia had also attempted to gherao his residence to push him to do more. Police had stepped in promptly, used water cannon to disperse them and then detained them at a police station. Kejriwals tweet, which upped the pressure on the BJP-led national coalition to order a police crackdown on rioters in the national capital, came after reports about a fresh round of violence in east Delhis Chand Bagh and Gokulpuri. Delhi Police, which has been blamed for its inability to stop the rioters right from Sunday, has also faced accusations that police personnel had, in quite a few places, taken sides and gone soft on one group. Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party also stepped up its attack, tweeting attacks at the Centre for failing to control the law and order situation in Delhi. Concluding that Home Minister Amit Shah had failed to control the situation, AAP also nudged the home ministry to act against BJP lawmaker Abhay Verma. Verma had landed in a major row on Tuesday evening after a video emerged that showed him walking through his constituency with a group in east Delhi that raised provocative slogans. He has denied the charge, claiming that he had hit the streets only to defuse tension. Corporate raider Edward Bramson has revived his campaign for change at Barclays after it emerged the bank's boss was being probed over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Bramson, 69, claimed the investigation into Jes Staley's conduct was just the latest fiasco in a damaging 'cycle of disruption' at the lender. He blamed weak governance at Barclays, saying it had caused 'recurrent public disappointments and embarrassments'. Rough waters: Barclays boss Jes Staley and his wife visited paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's private island on their yacht Bequia It marked the American activist's first major attack on the bank since his attempts to win a board seat were defeated last year. Bramson also renewed his long-running calls for cuts at Barclays' struggling investment banking arm, which has been criticised for low returns. His comments emerged in a letter to backers of his private equity firm, Sherborne Investors, sent after the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority opened investigations into Staley's conduct. Jes Staley, pictured with wife Debora, says he regrets having any relationship with Epstein, insisting he did not know his true nature The regulators are looking at whether Staley, 63, was truthful about the extent of his friendship with US financier Epstein when he took over as chief executive of Barclays five years ago. The pair's relationship goes back to 2000, when Staley was running JP Morgan's private bank and Epstein was a client he was reportedly instructed to befriend. However, Epstein was convicted for soliciting a child for prostitution in 2008 and Staley remained in touch with him. He visited the predator's Caribbean retreat, dubbed 'Paedo Island', in 2015 with his wife, Debora, as they holidayed on their yacht. Staley claims to have cut off contact not long after, and says he regrets having any relationship with Epstein, insisting he did not know the US financier's true nature. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in August last year. Barclays has said its internal review had no concerns over the way its chief executive had described his dealings with the convicted sex offender. But analysts have said Staley's behaviour calls his judgment into question, after he was fined 640,000 in 2018 for trying to unmask a whistleblower at Barclays. The chief executive has told colleagues he will leave next year, and Bramson's fresh attack is expected to pile further pressure on him. The American raider has previously accused Barclays bosses of pursuing a flawed strategy, and wants massive cutbacks at its investment bank. But despite campaigning to win a seat on the lender's board, his bid won just 3.9 per cent support from shareholders. In the letter, he said it had been around a year since he met with Barclays chairman Nigel Higgins to discuss his concerns and that he was now requesting another meeting. Sherborne Investors still holds 5.47 per cent of Barclays shares, according to Reuters. New York-based Bramson holds the stock through a controversial loan arrangement which he has extended to July 2022. Barclays declined to comment. A convicted felon wanted for six murders was at one time a paid government informant who had been released from federal supervision last fall, despite repeatedly violating his probation, Detroit's police chief said Wednesday. On one occasion, Kenyel Brown, 40, was paid $150 for giving information related to narcotics and gang activity to members of a task force comprised of US Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Detroit Police Department officers, but his tip didn't pan out, Chief James Craig told reporters. He said the DEA-DPD task force did not know that Brown had racked up at least seven probation violations, most of them involving failed or missed drug tests, in recent years while under federal supervised release from prison. Kenyal Brown (left and right), 40, had been a federal informant working first with the ATF, then with a DEA-Detroit police task force, before emerging as a suspect in six murders Detroit Police Chief James Craig held a press conference on Wednesday, revealing that a police officer who greenlit the decision to sign Brown up as an informant did not know about his history of probation violations Craig held the news conference after The Detroit News reported that an unidentified federal agency had asked that Brown be released from custody despite numerous arrests and probation violations over the past few years. The revelation raises questions about whether Brown should have been in custody when slayings occurred in January and February that he is now a suspect in. 'Informants are informants because they are engaged in criminal activity,' Craig said. 'When we vetted Mr. Brown, we didn't know about his violations. We would not have wanted to work with this individual.' Brown shot himself in the head Monday while being chased by police just north of Detroit in Oak Park after being spotted by a clerk at an adult bookstore. He remained hospitalized Wednesday in critical condition. He was charged on February 4 in the fatal shootings of Kimberly Green, 52, and Dorian Patterson, 44, and wounding of a 44-year-old man in River Rouge, southwest of Detroit on February 2. According to her family, Green is survived by her two daughters and a young granddaughter. He also is suspected in a January 8 slaying in River Rouge, a February 18 slaying in Highland Park, separate slayings on February 21 and February 22 in Detroit, as well as two carjackings in Detroit on February 21. Money and drugs appear to be connected to the recent string of murders and carjackings, according to Craig. 'He had a significant drug problem,' Craig said of Brown. 'He spiraled out of control and began to use violence.' Brown has been charged with the murders of Kimberly Green, 52 (left), and Dorian Patterson, 48 (right), in River Rouge, Michigan, on February 2 It is unclear which federal agency had asked that Brown be kept out of prison before the slayings, or why that decision was made. The US District Court in Detroit released Brown 'at the behest of a federal law enforcement agency,' court spokesman David Ashenfelter told The Detroit News in an email, without elaborating. US Attorney Matthew Schneider told The Associated Press he was aware of the issue and would comment later Wednesday. Craig said Brown had been an informant for the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until October 29, when he was signed up by the DEA-DPD task force. The chief said there was a police officer who signed Brown up as an informant for the task force was unaware of his background and there was no discussion of his history concerning his probation violations. Craig blamed the blunder on a 'lack of communication' between the ATF and the multi-agency task force. While working as a federal informant, Brown was once paid $150 for intel related to narcotics and gang activity, but his tip did not pan out. He was deactivated as an informant after being named a suspect in the River Rouge murders 'Someone should have alerted us there were problems on the ATF side,' he added. Craig said the federal agencies pushed for Brown to be freed and signed up as an informant and that a miscommunication led to his department agreeing to help the feds. Once DPD was aware that Brown was a suspect in the murders, they deactivated him as an informant. Still, Craig blasted the federal agencies for using Brown as an informant. Brown was deactivated as an informant 'swiftly and appropriately' on February 3, when Detroit police learned he was a suspect in the River Rouge slayings. Craig said. Brown has a lengthy criminal record. He previously served 10 years in prison for manslaughter, according to court records. He also entered plea deals in about a half-dozen cases from 1997 to 2000, according to The Detroit News, which cited court records. On Monday, a clerk at this adult book store spotted Brown and called the police on him, leading to his capture after he shot himself in the head In 2015, Brown was sentenced on a federal gun charge. In a sentencing memo, then-defense attorney Mike Rataj wrote that Brown was cooperating with the government by 'providing information concerning his knowledge of others who Mr. Brown believed to be involved with criminal behavior in the neighborhood where Mr. Brown resided.' Brown served some time in prison, but was out by 2017 and under supervised release. Court records show that during his supervised released, he violated his probation multiple times. He was arrested at least twice last year. 'You want to talk about crime prevention? With [Brown's] criminal history, it looks like six murders could have been prevented,' Craig said on Tuesday. 'This is one example of where the criminal justice system is broken.' SOUTHBURY Two men were arrested following a road rage incident that led to one spraying the other in the face with bear repellent. Officers were dispatched to Old Waterbury Road around 11:12 a.m. Thursday and found two men experiencing extreme pain in their face and eyes, police said. They told police a man had hit them with bear spray after one of them struck the side mirror of the other mans vehicle because they felt he was driving dangerously close and too fast, according to Southbury police. The man who was directly sprayed after striking the mirror was identified as 67-year-old Southbury resident Charles R. Weise. The individual who sprayed them Jesse M. Zehall, 27, of Southbury drove to the Southbury Police Department and admitted to spraying the men after he said one of them broke his mirrors and screamed at him, according to police. Police said Zehall told them he drove by the men three times and had a verbal altercation each time before deciding to spray the man (Weise) on the third pass. Commercially available bear repellent typically contains a potent shot of pepper spray thats essentially a more powerful version of the kind carried as a self-defense weapon against human attackers. The active ingredient is an extract from capsicum peppers, which is suspended in an aerosol spray can. When fired at a bear, the substance is intended to blind and disorient the ursine attacker, giving humans a chance to escape. Bear spray affects humans the same way. In 2018, at least 80 workers at an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey reported difficulty breathing and two dozen were taken to the hospital after a robot at the facility punched a hole in a bear repellent canister. Zehall was charged with two counts of third-degree assault and one count of second-degree breach of peace, and Weise was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace. Weise was released on $500 bond and is set to appear at state Superior Court in Waterbury on March 3. Zehall was released on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear March 5. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:46:58|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia's policy toward Ukraine remains unchanged after Volodymyr Zelensky replaced Petro Poroshenko as the new president of Ukraine last year, the Kremlin said Wednesday. "A consistent policy is being pursued to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk agreements in every possible way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a daily briefing. The Minsk agreements, signed in September 2014 and February 2015 respectively, were designed to peacefully end the conflict in eastern Ukraine's separatist region of Donbass. The agreements envisage a ceasefire, a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the demarcation line, a prisoner exchange, and local elections, among other measures. In December, leaders of the Normandy Four -- Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany -- met in Paris, where Kiev and Moscow agreed on the full and comprehensive implementation of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The four parties also pledged to support implementing an updated demining plan, establishing three additional disengagement zones, and conducting a prisoner swap. Also on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference that the next Normandy Four summit may only be held after all agreements reached at the Paris meeting are implemented. Instagram is all about setting unrealistic body image goals and we often see photos of celebrities that look so flawless, it's hard to believe they're even real, all thanks to Photoshop. Instagram When used with caution and in modesty, Photoshop can be a useful tool for enhancing our natural beauty and giving a self-esteem boost. But when its not done right, flaws become all too apparent. On her second India visit, POTUS' daughter Ivanka Trump did a shoddy job with Photoshop. She is facing accusations that she has photoshopped her pictures from when she visited the Taj Mahal, during the familys recent two-day trip to India. Ivanka Trump posted a series of photos of herself at the historical site on social media on Monday, with the caption: 'The grandeur and beauty of the Taj Mahal is awe inspiring!'. Online magazine Slate was the first to notice the odd shape of Ivankas waist on Instagram. The report questions if the 38-year-old had edited the first photo of the album - as the area near Ivankas left arm and torso appears to be much more in focus than the water on either side of her. #1 Hunter doesnt photoshop his photos like Ivanka does, that makes her body look wonky and unnatural. She made her waist smaller. Check out the water between her waist and arm, it is a different colour and texture than the water elsewhere in the background. #PhotoshopBarbie Brenda Stockman (@DonStockman) February 24, 2020 #2 Ivanka: can some Photoshop guru please enhance this snap so it's as beautiful as I remember the moment? Snarky PS guy: sure thing! Tony Lovell (@DulcetTone) February 25, 2020 #3 Someone with photoshop skills should do something with this to counter Ivankas tweet. pic.twitter.com/vuTSzYkLkp Brutal Realist (@realist_brutal) February 24, 2020 The media outlet suggested that it could be possible that someone 'inserted or enlarged the gap in Ivankas picture' or somehow 'messed around with the photo', arguing that social media users often will, as a means of making themselves more appealing. 'But would Ivanka really go through such trouble for a single photo in a series that otherwise doesnt seem to exhibit any telltale signs of photoshopping?', reads the Slate Magazine analysis of Ivanka's picture,. Netizens did not rule out that the 38-year-old did a bad job with photoshop, one user wrote, Check out the water between her waist and arm, it is a different colour and texture than the water elsewhere in the background. Another person said: 'Either blur the full pool background or sort out Ivankas waist/arm gap or we might think her waist has been modified' Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, arrived in India on Monday as part of a high-powered delegation accompanying the US President on his first official visit to the country. The Trumps concluded their two-day trip to India on February 25 at a state dinner hosted by Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, at Rashtrapati Bhavan - the Presidents official residence in the capital city of New Delhi. For the formal occasion, Ivanka Trump - who is a senior White House adviser - donned a dress by Indian fashion designer Rohit Bal. LC Waikiki Opened the 1000th Store in Kyiv ISTANBUL, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LC Waikiki, continuing its journey of growth in the world and Turkey as Turkey's national ambassador in line with its mission expressed by "Everyone deserves to dress well" motto, opened its 1000 store in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. By stating that LC Waikiki is operating in 47 countries, 307 different cities in 3 continents, Vahap Kucuk, Chairman of the Board of LC Waikiki indicated that LC Waikiki aims to become one of the three most successful fashion retail brands of Europe by 2023. As the global ambassador of Turkey, LC Waikiki that offers affordable fashion to everybody according to their style and budget opened its 1000th store in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. LC Waikiki opened its 1000th store in the first quarter of 2020 and added another significant point to its international investments, which were firstly initiated in Romania in 2009. 1,000th store opened on February 13, 2020, in Kyiv River Mall and the inauguration ceremony welcomed many guests including LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Kucuk, LC Waikiki Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Berna Akyuz Ogut, Republic of Turkey Ukraine Ambassador Yagmur Ahmet Guldere. LC Waikiki continues its operations with 35 stores and 1000 employees in 18 cities in Ukraine. The new two-storied store in River Mall will be the largest store in the country with its place of 1880 square meters. 40 employees will be employed in the store, of which the investment cost reaches 1 million USD. Evaluating the global journey of the brand, LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Kucuk said, "When we first launched our brand, we identified our mission as "Everyone deserves to dress well". We have set the goal of bringing affordable fashion beyond our country borders by bringing it together with various cultures in different markets. We are committed to providing to our customers from all age groups with products that are suitable for the style and budget and that are manufactured in accordance with the clothes safety rules. We determined the vision of the LC Waikiki brand in 2023 as "Being one of the three most successful fashion retailers in Europe." Stating that they will continue to test new countries this year, Kucuk stated, "In August, we will open our first store in South America, Peru so that we will be entering a new continent. We are going to enter new countries such as Zambia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Angola and Senegal in Africa; Hungary in Europe and Mongolia and Turkmenistan in Asia. We will enter the 4th continent with South America in 2020. With 9 new countries, we are going to open a total of 130 new stores, 15 stores in Turkey and 115 stores abroad. Thus, we aim to operate in 56 countries on 4 continents by 2020 and reach the number of 1125 stores. This means that our total store area reaches 1 million 950 thousand square meters. In addition, we will continue to grow our LCW Dream and LCW Home stores, which we call our sub-brands. Also this year, we have a branded export target of 1 billion USD." About LC Waikiki Founded in 1988, LC Waikiki has been serving under the roof of LC Waikiki Retail since 1997 with the mission "Everyone deserves to dress well" and its approach of "affordable fashion" in Turkey. LC Waikiki continues to grow for 32 years both in Turkey and abroad. LC Waikiki, the leader of the ready-to-wear sector, operates with approximately 1,000 stores and 47,700 employees in 47 countries today. www.lcwaikiki.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1092038/LC_Waikiki_Kiev.jpg This court is not authorised and indeed lacked jurisdiction to review any judgment delivered on merit, moreso when the applicants have not pointed out any accidental error or slip in the judgment. There must be an end to every litigation. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - City View Green Holdings Inc. ("City View" or the "Company") trading through the facilities of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the symbol "CVGR" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "CVGRF" is pleased to announce that it has entered into an arm's length non-binding letter of intent ("LOI") on February 25th, 2020 with Infusion Works Inc. ("Infusion Works"). The LOI involves the acquisition of certain know-how, intellectual property and machinery related to food manufacturing, including baked goods, chocolates and other confectionary products containing various cannabinoids. The Company intends to pay a finder's fee to be determined at closing to individuals for the introduction of Infusion Works to the Company. Infusion Works is led by two seasoned consumer product veterans, Mr. Karl Wirtz and Don Robinson. Mr. Karl Wirtz, Founder, Infusion Works Inc. Mr. Karl Wirtz is a professional entrepreneur and business owner for over 33 years. Mr. Wirtz built and presently manages a globally recognized bakery and co-packing business with world class food safety certifications carrying an "A" rating under the global food safety initiative. Mr. Wirtz is currently servicing many household names in the Consumer Product Goods ("CPG") industry from all over the globe. Recently, Mr. Wirtz partnered with an Ontario based bakery and through this relationship he has built Canada's first cannabis infused bakery, contracted to Ontario's top Licensed Producer ("LP"). Mr. Wirtz created and managed the full concept and layout for an onsite cannabis packaging line and delivered excellent scores for that LP's order fulfilment upon the launch of the LP's recreational cannabis products. Mr. Don Robinson, Founder Infusion Works Inc. Mr Don Robinson is an accomplished global CEO with extensive experience in leading transformational strategies in several industries. Mr. Robinson was formerly Chairman, CEO and President Cara Operations Ltd. and was responsible for successfully leading a $1.8B business with an EBITDA of $70M for a period of 7 years including, 700 restaurants, 35,000 people and five restaurant chains. Mr. Robinson led Cara through a period of extensive transformation during his tenure. Mr. Robinson was also former President & CEO of Mars Canada. Mars Incorporated is a global business with $40B in sales $2B in EBITDA, a global branded consumer goods company, privately owned. Mr. Robinson reported directly into the Mars Global head office. He transformed the business from an unprofitable operation losing $20M annually to a profit of $25M with sales of over $500M. The LOI contemplates the following terms: a) Issuance of 19.99% of City View's common shares calculated on a post-closing basis, which, based on 177,041,579 City View shares currently issued, will result in 44,232,735 shares being issued to Infusion Works. b) Terms, still to be negotiated, for management incentives to include a management profit incentive program for the Infusion Works team. c) City View will acquire all inventories, equipment, customer lists, contact data bases, recipe files, quality management system and records, company financial records, patents, trademarks and any other assets owned by Infusion Works, including IP owned by Infusion Works related to food manufacturing products with cannabinoids. d) At closing, City View will consolidate the financial performance of Infusion Works and its existing customer contracts with other Licensed Producers or Consumer Packaged Goods Companies for the manufacture or co-packing of food products containing cannabinoids performed on an outsourced basis. Thereafter, upon City View receiving a processing license under the Cannabis Act, all assets, inventory and existing equipment, if applicable, associated with the outsourced manufacturing or co-packing of the food products will be moved into City View's facility. e) Mr. Don Robinson will be added as Director upon signing of the definitive agreement. f) CVGR will pay for build-out costs related to the food manufacturing space located at 49 Easton Road, Brantford, Ontario and the acquisition of equipment related to the extraction of cannabis or hemp oils. Management Changes: City View announces that Rob Fia, City View's President, will also assume the role of Interim CEO effective immediately, replacing Ian MacDonald, formerly CEO. Tim Peterson, Chairman, commented: "I am pleased to announce Rob's appointment as Interim CEO, which is in addition to his current position as President of City View. Rob was previously the Company's CEO from November 2014 - March 18, 2019, during which time he transitioned the Company to a cannabis company. Rob has shown considerable strength in his roles as a senior Executive Officer and his work to develop a vision for City View's future. I am confident that Rob has the necessary skills to continue to lead City View and execute our business objectives." Rob Fia, Commented: "City View is focused is on being a great CPG Company in the cannabis space. With the announcement of this LOI we look forward to adding experienced, results oriented executives with the addition of Karl and Don. City View will offer sought after products that consumers will demand. City View will use top-tier manufacturing and distribution partners to get these products into consumers' hands. We are excited with the addition of the Infusion Works team and expect this top talent will attract other Licensed Producer's and CPG companies to City View. We expect to gain an advantageous position and capture a higher market share in Cannabis 3.0 and beyond. I look forward to updating investors on our buildout at 49 Easton to obtain a processing license at 49 Easton Road which we expect to execute at a fast pace." About City View City View Green is a CPG focused integrated cannabis company focused on extraction, edibles production and distribution. Upon receipt of its Cannabis Act processing and sales licences, City View will incorporate extraction and edibles production at its Brantford, Ontario facility. It is our intention that City View Green will produce the highest quality cannabis and hemp extracts and derivatives. Once operational, it is our expectation that City View will produce high quality oils, edible products, distillates and water-soluble products for the food and beverage markets. In addition, City View owns a 19.9% stake in Budd Hutt Inc. Budd Hutt is a retail focused cannabis company with access to licenses in Alberta and other retail opportunities across Canada. We expect that Budd Hutt will secure shelf space and distribution opportunities for City View's products. For more information visit www.cityviewgreen.ca. For further information contact: City View Green Holdings Inc. Rob Fia, CEO & President Email: rob@cityviewgreen.ca Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulations services accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding a letter of intent with Infusion Works that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52830 FLINT, MI Silence fell over a Genesee County courtroom for more than 30 seconds Monday afternoon. The quiet came after Judge Mark W. Latchana shared recollections of testimony that stuck with him during a trial that led to a guilty verdict on second-degree murder for Roger D. Williams 40, in the August 2016 shooting death of Corandis Jenkins. I think the testimony that stood out to the court, in particular, was the brother of the decedent who was present and witnessed the shooting and the events that led up to the shooting which quite frankly were not events, recalled Latchana. According to the testimony, there werent any angry words. The parties didnt know each other. Latchana sentenced Williams to a minimum of 34 years in prison on the murder charge, with credit for 563 days served. Jenkins, 27, was shot and killed during the early morning hours of Aug. 5, 2016 outside the Liquor Plus Mini Mart in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Avenue at Dayton Street. Man convicted in fatal 2016 shooting outside Flint liquor store John Potbury, Deputy Chief Assistant Genesee County Prosecutor, previously told MLive-The Flint Journal that a charge of accessory after the fact to a felony was dropped against a second suspect in the case in exchange for testimony against Williams. Phrases in black and blue lettering including PBF and Peanut Butter covered the northern-facing wall at the business in the days following the shooting death. Thats (for) Pretty Boy Floyd, said Keith Jackson, Jenkins brother, on Aug. 9, 2016. And on top of that, he was smooth as peanut butter. Jenkins had turned 27 years old just five days before being shot to death. He was like a protector, my brother was a protector, said Jackson. Shooting victim in Flint remembered as protector Williams stood in an orange jumpsuit next to defense attorney Michael Ewing throughout the sentencing. There was really no reason for this gentleman to die that particular early morning at the party store in Flint," Latchana said. The brother of the decedent testified that as he was attempting to drag his brother away from the shooting, he could feel the bullets hitting him as the defendant continued to fire his weapon in the parking lot. Thats powerful testimony and a powerful thing for a family member to endure when they come to court and testify ... Briefly addressing the court, Williams offered his apologies to the family for their loss and thanked the judge for listening to his motions. Assistant Prosecutor Samuel Fleet said Williams has failed to take any responsibility whatsoever for the shooting death. Early morning blaze destroys Liquor Plus store on Flints north side Latchana said the most disheartening thing about Jenkins death is that human life is devalued to a point where somebody says one thing or another to an individual in the parking lot or they say something to each other as they go in and out of the store and that results in a gun being pulled and a person being shot three times. That is seemingly what the value of life has come to now, said Latchana. Theres never a good reason to kill somebody in violence, but in this situation, there was never a good reason of any kind good, bad, or otherwise to take this persons life. The shooting was part of a rash of violence at the party store that led to a brief shutdown. A 17-year-old was shot during a vigil for Jenkins, and a 10-year-old was shot inside a vehicle during an altercation between two adults. The stores owner and two employees pleaded guilty in April 2017 to federal charges for their roles in bilking the federal government in a scheme to purchase food stamp benefits from customers, agreeing to pay nearly $1.3 million in restitution. Liquor store padlocked on Flints north side after shootings Auckland police teamed up with Coastguard Hibuscus to rescue a very experienced kayaker who had drifted miles from his boat in choppy waters on Sunday, February 23. According to police, an empty kayak was seen two miles off Aucklands Waiake Beach. Police said conditions werent great, with 15-20 knot winds and a two meter swell. Footage released by Auckland City District Police shows the police helicopter searching for the kayaker, Alex. He was found treading water with a life jacket on and was pulled from the water by a supporting police boat. Police said the only thing Alex did wrong was get separated from his kayak, which had a GPS unit, an electronic personal locator beacon, his mobile and a PFD life-saving device on board. Alex said he owes his life to those who rescued him. It is the kind of situation where you start accepting, because I really cant do much, and nobody knows Suddenly when I see the helicopter, and it is searching for me and actually found me, it was a massive relief, he said. Credit: Auckland City District Police via Storyful Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 00:44:27|Editor: yan Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the communal violence in the Indian capital rose to 27 and more than 200 people were injured on Wednesday evening, health officials said. While 25 deaths have been confirmed at Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, the other two deaths were reported at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital. "The death toll has risen to 25 as three more succumbed during medical treatment," Dr Sunil Kumar, medical director of Guru Teg Bahadur hospital told media. The dead include a policeman and a junior-level official of Intelligence Bureau. "Two people were brought dead here, besides this over two dozen injured were brought here," an official at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital said. India's main opposition Congress party has demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah and blamed him for the violence. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for "peace and brotherhood," and said he has held an extensive review of the situation in various parts of the national capital. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday morning said curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain the violence. According to Kejriwal, police were unable to control the situation Communal violence broke out in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism. Reports said many people are leaving their homes in the affected areas and taking shelter in other safer locations. The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the northeastern part of the city on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Protests against the controversial new citizenship law were triggered on December 11, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. So far, the violence against the law has killed over 50 people across India. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday spoke to the family of the injured Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Sharma, injured during clashes between two groups in Delhi's Gokulpuri, and inquired about his health. Shahdara DCP Amit Sharma was injured during clashes between two groups in Delhi's Gokulpuri on Monday. One Delhi Police head constable lost his life during the clashes on Monday. "The situation is very tense. We are continuously receiving calls related to incidents of violence from North-East Delhi," Delhi Police stated. The Commissioner of Police also held a meeting at Seelampur DCP Office on Monday night. Meanwhile, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital informed media that the death toll in the violence has reached 17 on Wednesday. The clashes between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters took place at various places in the North-East District of Delhi on Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An oily spill discovered in Pine River on Tuesday has been determined not to contain PCBs, which are a man-made chemical known to cause adverse health effects for humans. Nick Assendelft, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), said the spill was dielectric fluid, which is used as a coolant, that leaked from a transformer. A St. Louis area resident had obtained the transformer in the hopes of scrapping the metal and while transferring the liquid inside to three 55-gallon drums, some of it leaked out and made its way to the river. Other news outlets, such as the Morning Sun newspaper, have reported the property was located on East Jackson Road and the spill made its way to the river via Bush Creek. Wednesday afternoon, the spill had been determined not to contain PCBs, which is a good thing, Assendelft said, though the spill is still a concern for EGLE. PCB, polychlorinated biphenyls, are a group of man-made chemicals with no smell or taste used in industrial processes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PCB is known to cause a variety of adverse health effects and are known to cause cancer in animals. The fact that there are no PCBs makes it a lot better situation at this point, Assendelft said. He said the spill has been contained and there is no further leakage at this time. Crews continue to work on cleaning up the spill. Tuesday afternoon, the City of Midland was made aware of a liquid sheen on the water surface that was four to five miles long. Midland County 911 issued a warning to residents that is still in effect, to avoid Pine River near Woodcock and Prairie roads, extending the warning to the Tittabawasse and Chippewa Rivers as well. EGLE has been working with local officials in Midland and Gratiot counties to investigate and capture the liquid using vacuum equipment. A couple hundred gallons of water has been captured, which partially contains the liquid. However, crews are currently trying to determine details, such as how much of the fluid was in the transformer to begin with, to understand how much is still left to capture and clean up. Some of this might have been captured on site just because it spilled onto the ground so thats another thing we need to determine, is how much conceivably spilled onto the ground and is contained in the soil, and if we need to do soil remediation, Assendelft said Wednesday. And then how much of this spilled into the river? So, that is something that were trying to determine today the capacity of the transformer, how much was captured and then essentially what is left and what happens to that. Assendelft said its not unusual for transformers to be purchased for scraping, however, there are strict rules and regulations that must be followed to dispose of the liquid inside them. There are some strict things you need to do in terms of containing the liquid inside and making sure that doesnt leak and also making sure that that liquid does not contain PCBs, he said. So, if you essentially get one of these transformers through maybe a demolition job, and you are able to get the liquids out and there is no PCB, then you certainly can take that transformer then to the scrap yard and with documentation, and scrap it. In addition, officials will work to determine how the spill happened, and the intent associated with it to figure out the next steps and whether there will be implications for the person responsible. Assendelft said in the meantime, residents should stay out of the water until the spill is taken care of and to allow crews working on the spill to do their job. Chancellor Rishi Sunak must protect the UKs access to cash in the Budget, Which? is urging (Aaron Chown/PA) The Chancellor must protect the UKs access to cash in next months Budget or else the free availability of coins and notes could soon be lost forever consumer campaigners are urging. Which? has written to Rishi Sunak ahead of the March 11 Budget, calling for legislation that protects cash for as long as it is needed. It said the industrys approach so far to tackling cash access has been lacklustre. If you don't act now, free access to our own cash will soon be gone foreverWhich? letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak The letter to the Chancellor reads: The UKs ATM network is on the verge of collapse. It continues: In the past two years, 9,000 free cash machines and 1,200 bank branches have vanished. Were even being charged a fee to access our own money at 25% of the cash machines that remain. Understandably, millions of people are unhappy about this. They rely on cash. For many of them, cash is the only option. If things carry on as they are, cash as we know it will cease to exist in just two years. Yes, digital payments are good, but right now the UK isnt ready to go cashless. The letter also cautions: If you dont act now, free access to our own cash will soon be gone forever. If the government fails to take action in this Budget, the cash infrastructure could collapse in the two years. We want to know how that would affect you. 'Cash is important to me because __________.' Which? (@WhichUK) February 24, 2020 Which? said that while a request an ATM service launched by network Link has received 274 requests so far, a tool launched by the consumer group supplied Link with 3,160 demands for a free cashpoint. Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: Many people have been left struggling from the double blow of cashpoint and bank branch closures and suffered at the hands of industry mismanagement that has left Britains cash landscape on the verge of collapse. This Budget will decide the future of cash. The Chancellor has a huge opportunity here to protect cash for the millions of people who rely on it. On Tuesday, HSBC announced the closure of 27 branches in 2020, as well as an investment of nearly 34 million in its branches, including refurbishments and installing new technology. HSBC said over the past five years, the number of customers using its UK branches has fallen by a third. Nine in 10 (90%) customers contact with the bank is now completed via the telephone, internet or smartphone and 99% of cash withdrawals are made at an ATM. Cash use is declining rapidly. At the start of 2020, we have seen an average drop in transactions by 12% on the previous year. In fact, recent weeks have seen volumes drop by as much as 20% on 2019John Howells, chief executive of Link The stormy weather has affected ATM use in recent weeks as many people have stayed indoors. John Howells, chief executive of Link, said: Cash use is declining rapidly. At the start of 2020, we have seen an average drop in transactions by 12% on the previous year. In fact, recent weeks have seen volumes drop by as much as 20% on 2019. These huge reductions are placing a significant strain on the viability of the UKs cash infrastructure and while we are delighted with the response to our community request scheme to date, we will soon need Government support to protect the wider cash system. Martin Kearsley, banking director at the Post Office, said: Like many, we support the need to protect the cash network in the UK, and await Government announcements on appropriate measures to ensure that protection in next months Budget. He continued: Post Offices across the country are an important part of the solution to this problem providing easy access to cash at our 11,500 branches, including in rural and urban areas without free-to-use ATMs. Ensuring everyone can make payments in the future will mean both protecting access to cash and supporting people to access digital services that work for themRachel Statham, IPPR thinktank Rachel Statham, a senior research fellow at the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) thinktank, said: For many, the benefits of cash payments in terms of control, trust and privacy have not yet been replicated by digital alternatives. Urgent action is needed to protect access to cash for the eight million UK adults who still rely on it. One in five UK adults still lack essential digital skills, with digital exclusion most concentrated among groups who are already marginalised. Ensuring everyone can make payments in the future will mean both protecting access to cash and supporting people to access digital services that work for them. Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) national chairman Mike Cherry said: We need to see a guarantee which enables those who want to use cash to continue doing so especially in remote and rural areas alongside a resilient wholesale cash infrastructure to ensure that the use of cash remains viable as its presence declines. We also need to protect the freedoms of small firms. They should be allowed to go cashless if that works for their businesses and customers. Enabling more small firms to offer cashback could form an important part of the mix here. A UK Finance spokeswoman said the banking and finance industry recognises the importance of ensuring cash remains free and widely available for those that continue to need it and has introduced several measures to achieve this specifically including more remote and rural areas. The spokeswoman said: There is no one size fits all approach however and understanding the needs of local communities is critical. A Treasury spokesman said: Technology has transformed banking for millions of people, but we know that many still rely on cash. Thats why weve invested 2 billion to ensure everyday banking services are available at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. Were also working closely with industry and regulators to ensure everyone who needs cash can access it. JUUL has been called 'highly addictive', but the firm may be developing a new product that helps users kick the habit once and for all. The San Francisco company filed a patent that describes an artificial intelligence powered product that delivers fewer nicotine amounts to the user by learning their smoking habits over time. The document highlights a device that alternates between nicotine and a non-nicotine product in order to gradually reduce the intake of the drug. The device may also be connected to a smartphone that could log how much nicotine is being consumed, allowing the device to determine how it should regulate the drug, as first reported on by The Logic. Scroll down for video JUUL filed a patent that describes an artificial intelligence powered product (stock) that delivers fewer nicotine amounts to the user by learning their smoking habits over time JUUL started off as a way of providing the world's one billion smokers with an alternative to combustible tobacco products. With their goal to completely eliminate smoking, JUUL has now become the number one vapor product in the United States, according to Nielsen. But the patent, which was published last summer and recently made public, may just help the firm stick to its promise. The document says a 'controller may apply machine learning to adjust delivery of nicotine and/or non-nicotine vaporizable material' based on the user's behavior and The user's behavior, in turn, 'may be learned through monitoring the vaporizer use and behavior of the user'. JUUL is also said to be developing another new vaporizer that is designed to only unlock for users older than 21. The e-cigarette maker says an app will lock the device and it will only unlock if users can verify that they are above the legal age to smoke in the US, according to The Wall Street Journal. The San Francisco-based company plans to submit its proposal to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by May 12. The document highlights a device that alternates between nicotine and a non-nicotine product in order to gradually reduce the intake of the drug. The device may also be connected to a smartphone that could log how much nicotine is being consumed, allowing the device to determine how it should regulate the drug It comes as JUUL is hit with more lawsuits that allege it targeted teens and misrepresented the possible health risks of using its products, but the company claims it's committed to fighting the vaping epidemic. The firm has already introduced e-cigarettes with an age-proof lock in the UK and in Canada, according to The Journal. The mobile app that unlocks the device can also track nicotine consumption. To use the device, one must submit a photo as well as a government ID when first logging onto the app. JUUL was founded by Stanford design student graduates Adam Bowen and James Monsees in 2015 who applied their knowledge of technology innovation and industrial design to create an e-cigarette product. And although Monsees said they developed Juul for adult smokers who want to stop and never wanted any non-nicotine user, and certainly nobody under the legal age of purchase, to ever use JUUL products, it seems their marketing tactics say otherwise. Washington DC, California, New York and North Carolina, all of which filed similar lawsuits against JUUL saying the e-cigarette maker's online ads and promotions illegally targeted minors. DC Attorney General (AG) Karl Racine announced the lawsuit in November 2019, alleging that the company 'created a teen public health crisis by 'deliberately targeting underage consumers' and 'deceiving consumers about the content, strength, and safety of its products.' Racine alleges that viral marketing, consisting of colorful ads and trendy flavors, contributed to the surge in underage vaping by teens across the US. 'JUUL has created a public health emergency in the District and nationwide by marketing its highly-addictive nicotine products to children, and failing to warn consumers about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes - all in its pursuit of profit,' said AG Racine in a press release. 'With this lawsuit, we are seeking to hold JUUL accountable for its illegal practices that have unfairly and unconscionably dragged a new generation into nicotine addiction.' Last year, an epidemic of mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping has swept the nation, sickening 2,172 people and killing 47 Americans in 25 states and DC. Most of the victims who've fallen ill are male and under the age of 35, with the ages of those who died ranging from 17 to 75. Health officials have charged that teens and young people make up the majority of illnesses because flavored e-cigarettes were marketed towards them. Most of the illnesses have resulted from people vaping a combination of THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana, and nicotine Although JUUL's products contain nicotine, not THC, politicians have used the epidemic to try and regulate the e-cigarette maker. WASHINGTON President Trump on Tuesday accused Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of leaking information about Russias efforts to interfere in the 2020 election, dismissed the intelligence as exaggerated and refused to acknowledge that Moscow was behind similar efforts in 2016. The president made the comments during a news conference at the end of his two-day visit in India. Before he took the first question from a reporter, Trump said that he did not plan on saying anything controversial. The opposition Congress has demanded the withdrawal of the state govermnment's petition, filed before the Meghalaya High Court, against the Lokayukta order for a CBI probe into the alleged coal racket. Former chief minister and leader of opposition Mukul Sangma alleged that the MDA government, backed by the BJP, has been "instrumental in delaying the process of investigation as a tactic to destroy all the evidence". Last month, the Lokayukta had ordered a CBI probe into the scam and subsequently, the state government had filed the petition against the order. "Our party will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the government withdraws its petition," Sangma said on Tuesday. He also wanted to know "what prompted the state government to challenge the order of the Lokayukta before the High Court and whom they want to defend". The purpose of having the Lokayukta is to ensure corruption-free governance, he said. Reiterating that there is a "big cartel" operating to facilitate illegal mining and transportation of coal, Sangma said, "This cartel seems to be getting all the necessary protection which is being provided by the government by way of preventing the anti-graft body to proceed ahead with the investigation." The leader of opposition said that the officers, who are under control of the state government, should not be a part of the investigation team. The Congress leader also alleged the NPP-led government "doesn't seem to be interested in constituting the full body of the Lokayukta". Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had recently removed his brother James K Sangma as the home minister of the state in view of alleged discontentment expressed by other ministers against him. The coalition partners of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government have been demanding the removal of James K Sangma as home minister over his alleged involvement in illegal transportation of coal. The National Green Tribunal had banned unscientific and unsafe rat-hole mining of coal in Meghalaya in 2014, though it intermittently allowed transportation of already mined coal from time to time. Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat-holes", as each just about fits one person. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) This Morning viewers have slammed the 'shocking behaviour' of American Airlines staff after a woman was reprimanded for filming a man 'punching' the back of her chair. Earlier this month, passenger Wendi Williams, from Virginia, filmed the man - who was sitting in a seat behind her that didn't recline on a flight from New Orleans to Charlotte - and posted a clip of him continually nudging her seat to Twitter. The video sparked a huge debate on social media about whether it's ever okay to recline your seat in the first place, but Wendi claims that when she first reclined her seat, the man asked her to put it back up while he ate - and she complied. She appeared on the show today, where she told how she was issued a passenger behaviour notice despite spending several minutes trying to get the attention of the 'eye rolling' flight attendant, who later offered the man a free drink. Viewers were divided over the issue, but many agreed with Wendi, with one insisting had 'every right' to recline her chair, with one branding the actions of the flight attendant 'appalling.' This Morning viewers have slammed the 'shocking behaviour' of American Airline staff after passenger Wendi Williams (pictured) was reprimanded for filming a man 'punching' the back of her chair She appeared on the show today, where she told how she was issued a passenger behaviour notice despite spending several minutes trying to get the attention of the 'eye rolling' flight attendant Revealing why she never simply moved her chair back up, she said: 'I was in shock. It wasn't even something I thought about, I just wanted him to stop. 'I don't think it was a battle of wills, it was simply, "I have neck problems and spine problems and that's why I recline my seat". 'You have to imagine being in my shoes, after someone communicated their needs and you obliged, and you recline again and imagine being punched over and over and over again and my only recourse being, "I'm going to video him and he'll stop".' When the air hostess, a woman she called Loretta, did eventually come to their seats, Williams says she not only sided with the man but also gave her a passenger disturbance notice, threatening to arrest her for filming him. 'It was very clear from the moment I got her attention, she was on his side', said Wendi. Many viewers agreed with her, with one insisting that the male's 'aggressive' actions should have been reprimand, while another said she has 'ever right' to recline her seat if she wants to 'I did not raise my voice and her reaction was an eye roll and going back to him, changing personalities and saying "It is tight back here, I'm sorry". She told me delete the video and I hadn't. 'I later found out Loretta, which was her name, offered him a free rum. I asked her, "Is that your policy? Is that American Airlines policy? To give the person whose assaulted me a free drink? Add alcohol into the mix". Many viewers agreed with her, with one insisting that the male's 'aggressive' actions should have been reprimand, while another said she has 'ever right' to recline her seat if she wants to. One said: 'If the seat can recline then she has every right to do so. As an ex flight attendant, I think the airline staff were shocking, the aggressive male passenger should have been given a notice for his behaviour.' Williams has divided social media after shaming a fellow traveler who she claimed repeatedly punched her seat when she reclined it Another agreed: 'It doesnt matter how long the flight is. If she wanted to recline then she had the right too.' A third said: 'Im with the lady. She was polite and he was the one at fault. If the seat has the ability to recline then your allowed to recline. The actions of the airline staff was appalling.' Several believed that there could have been a simple solution to the issue, with many arguing that while they wouldn't personally recline their chairs, they definitely wouldn't give in to someone punching their chair repeatedly. 'I wouldn't recline my seat if the person behind couldn't recline theirs, but I also wouldn't be punching the back of someone's chair if they did recline. Just ask if they could move there chair,' said one. However others did feel sympathy for the anonymous man, with one insisting that passengers should 'never' use the reclining button Another agreed: 'I would need to recline my seat on a long flight due to scoliosis but a short flight like that, there's no need to recline, especially if asked not to. However, if he started punching my chair like that, there's no way I'd lift my seat up.' However others did feel sympathy for the anonymous man, with one insisting that passengers should 'never' use the reclining button while another slammed the woman for only thinking of her 'own comfort'. 'You never use the reclining button on a plane, it's bloody obvious. There's hardly enough leg room for people in the first place,' said one. Another agreed: 'If anyone asked me not to recline my chair I wouldnt recline. I definitely wouldnt recline if someone ask me politely. The fella was in a tight space. And this woman was only thinking about her comfort.' The CEO of Delta also spoke out to say neither of the passengers behaved in a way that was acceptable. American Airlines said in a statement: 'We are aware of a customer dispute that transpired on American Eagle flight 4392, operated by Republic Airways on January 31st. 'The safety and comfort of our customers and team members is our top priority and our team is looking into the issue.' Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), left, and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, right, stand before the primary debate on Feb. 25, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images; Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images) Sanders Refuses to Accept Money From Bloomberg If He Becomes Democratic Nominee Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wont accept money from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his campaign said. Advisers to Bloomberg, a billionaire who has a net worth north of $60 billion, said last month that the business mogul would support the Democratic presidential nominee if he doesnt win the nomination. But Sanderss senior adviser Jeff Weaver said the campaign wouldnt accept financial help from Bloomberg if Sanders is the one to face President Donald Trump. Its a hard no, Weaver told NBC after the debate on Tuesday night in South Carolina. Bernie has said hes going to fund his presidential campaign with small-dollar contributions, and I think we can do that. I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions, Weaver added. Sanders himself said as much last week when pressed during a CNN town hall. There is a point at which money ceases to be significant, he said. We will have enough money to defeat Donald Trump. An adviser to Bloomberg, Howard Wolfson, told NBC that Bloomberg wouldnt spend money for a candidate who doesnt want his assistance. Bernie said he didnt want [Bloombergs] money, so were not going to. I dont think it would be prudent to spend on behalf of somebody who didnt want it, Wolfson said. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) I think everyone else has said they want the help, including Elizabeth Warren. If Elizabeth Warren is the nominee, we will do everything we can to help her. Sanders is the one candidate who said he didnt want the help. Warren has not said whether shell accept financial help from Bloomberg if she beats the field of Democrats. She repeatedly harangued Bloomberg during the debate, including repeatedly bringing up comments he allegedly made to female employees. Bloomberg has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars from his fortune since announcing his bid for the presidency in late 2019. He said hed be open to spending to help the Democratic nominee if it isnt him and has also said hell keep some of the offices his campaign opened operational through November even if isnt the nominee. Bloomberg and Sanders clashed again at the debate on Tuesday after going after each other at Bloombergs first debate last week. The businessman didnt qualify for previous debates, but the Democratic National Committee axed one-half of its qualifying requirements, enabling him to make it to the stage. We will elect Bernie. Bernie will lose to Donald Trump. The House, the Senate, and some of the state houses will all go red, Bloomberg alleged after the debate. Other candidates have said theyll accept funding from Bloomberg if they win the Democratic nomination. Sure, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said at a CNN town hall last week. This is the moment to bring everybody that we can into this effort, and I promise exactly one thing in return for any contribution, which is, were going to take that contribution and use it to go beat Donald Trump. A patient is a 38-year-od citizen of Greece who recently returned from northern Italy Open source The Health Ministry of Greece spotted the first case of infection with Covid-19, as Reuters reported. A patient is a 38-year-od citizen of Greece who recently traveled in northern Italy. As we reported, the first case of infection with Chinese coronavirus has been observed in Romania. The patient is now at the infectious disease hospital in Bucharest. Besides, the infection with coronavirus was spotted in mainland Spain. The incident was observed in Catalunya. A 36-year-old Italian was hospitalized; she traveled to Milan and Bergamo for ten days, and then she felt sick. Currently, she just suffers from typical symptoms of influenza. Medics consider it is a light case of coronavirus infection. Moreover, a patient with the suspicion on coronavirus was hospitalized to University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. Pete Davidson has a new Netflix standup special, Alive From New York, in which he makes some crass jokes about his famous ex-fiancee, Ariana Grande. Needless to say, her fans arent impressed and called out the comedian for taking aim at Grande. Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande | Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Davidson didnt hold back During his special, Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, the comedian didnt hold back about calling out Grande and their failed relationship. I wasnt going to do jokes about this, but then my buddy told me, hes like, Yo, I recently heard that Ariana said she had no idea who you were and she just dated you as a distraction. So now I just think its like fair game, he explained. Davidson further justified his reason for taking jabs at her, noting, Also, dont applaud, this isnt like a Drake vs. Lil Wayne concert. This isnt a competition. She has songs and stuff and this is what I have. Thats it. And youre like, Pete, this isnt fair. Youre airing out your dirty laundry. How could you do that? Where did she say this stuff? To her friends? In the confidence of her own home? No, she said it on the cover of Vogue magazine. Davidson assured these are jokes The comedian imagined what it would be like if he did something similar, saying, My career would be over tomorrow. If I spray-painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine and just started sh*tting on my ex? If I was like, Yeah, I was just f*cking her cause I was bored. Then Fortnite came out!, Davidson added. That would be insane. And youre like, Well, Pete, something had to happen to her, right? You know, there had to be some repercussions, right? No. She won Billboards Woman of the Year. And I got called Butthole Eyes by BarStoolSports.com. He reiterated, Again, these are jokes, I dont want any smoke, okay? Grandes fans were upset Grandes fans were quick to fire back at the comedian on social media, calling him out for using her name to stay relevant. One fan tweeted: I wish Pete Davidson could stop using Arianas name for clout like dude keep her name out your mouth annoying. Another Arana supporter tweeted: the way pete is a flop and the only way he can stay relevant is by dissing ariana in his netflix special. Others thought Davidson had every right to throw shade at his ex, with one person commenting: i dont like pete davidson and i think hes unfunny. but he can make jokes. ariana threw countless amounts of shade towards pete and he never defended himself. yall bullied him his a** off ig. even at the end he said that he wishes her the best, allow this man to make jokes. Another person pointed out on Twitter: why is ariana allowed to use her platform to speak up about her break ups but pete cant use his? interesting. Want this in your inbox each morning? Sign up here. This might be bad Another day, another bracing warning from health officials about the coronavirus. Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Americans should prepare for a wider outbreak in the U.S., leading to another severe sell-off in markets. Its a matter of when, not if, the coronavirus will spread, said Nancy Messonnier, the director of the C.D.C.s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad, she said. Disruption to everyday life might be severe. Officials are preparing to shield the economy, with the Federal Reserve vice chair Richard Clarida warning that the disruptions now centered in China could spill over to the rest of the global economy. He said it was too soon to speculate about the potential effects of the outbreak, suggesting that the Fed is not yet prepared to act. Traders, however, are betting that the Fed will cut rates sooner rather than later, with futures markets implying a 30 percent chance of a cut at the central banks meeting in March, 60 percent in April and near certainty that benchmark rates will be lower by the summer. Chad Daybell politely listened to ABC reporter Marcus Moore's questions, but refused to answer them: ABC News The husband Lori Vallow , who is linked to a "doomsday cult" and whose two children are missing, was cornered by a reporter at a gas station in Hawaii and asked the whereabouts of the boy and girl. Tylee Ryan, 17, and her younger brother, seven-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow have not been seen since September. Chad Daybell politely listened to ABC reporter Marcus Moores questions, but refused to answer them. I just can't comment. I just can't comment, he said. Asked if there was anything he would like to say to people concerned about the whereabouts of his step children, his own welfare, or that of his wife, Mr Daybell replied: Just grateful for any support. We'll have to wait for the legal process to work through. Ms Vallow was arrested in Hawaii on 21 February on child abandonment and desertion charges after she failed to comply with a Madison County, Idaho, order to physically produce her children by 30 January. The couple had previously lived in Idaho. Relatives say a radical doomsday group, which Ms Vallow is believed to be in, could be connected to the children's disappearance. Ms Vallow reportedly believes she is a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020. Police have plans for a thorough search of Yellowstone Park, once the winter's snow melts. Phone records showed that both children, their mother, and their uncle visited the park on 8 September. A photo obtained from Ms Vallow's iCloud account shows Tylee at the park. While concern for the missing children is at the forefront of the investigation, that is just the part of a wider story involving the deaths of both Ms Vallows former husband, shot dead by her brother, and the death of Mr Daybells former wife. Story continues The children then disappeared, not long after Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell got married. Then in late November the couple left Idaho for Hawaii. In December, Mr Daybells former wifes body was exhumed for autopsy, and Ms Vallows brother died mysteriously in Arizona. Ms Vallow is being held with bail set at $5m. Read more Police search Yellowstone for 'doomsday' mom's missing kids Mother linked to cult arrested during search for missing children Google project manager arrested on suspicion of wife's death in Hawaii New video raises questions about missing children's disappearance Missing mother found in Hawaii but no sign of her children JUSTICE AWUKU-Sao, a corporate governance expert, has called for the creation of a national code to guide the operations and conducts of corporate executives. Mr. Awuku-Sao, who is currently the Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management, said a national code would improve on Ghana's corporate governance standards. Ghana ranked 12out of 15 African countries in a KPMG and ACCA study on corporate governance requirements across global markets. The study focused on 81 key elements of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Principles and leading corporate governance practices. Mr. Awuku-Sao, who spoke with the media on the sidelines of the launch of his book, Corporate Governance for Banks & Specialized Deposit-Taking Institution, in Accra, said the country could do better provided there was a code of conduct for corporate executives. He said his book sought to address the challenges of poor corporate governance within the banking sector by analyzing the financial sector and giving suggestions to board of directors. It also discusses the principles and practice of corporate governance using various case studies. Furthermore, it highlights women on the board and also shares international best practices. Head of Banking Supervision at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Osei Gyisi, in a speech, said corporate governance was about following the procedures, system and processes in work performed. He noted that any attempt to deviate from simple procedures could lead to serious challenges, adding that managers of the economy must do so in a transparent and accountable manner. He said for instance, the BoG was working towards making the training of directors compulsory. They must acquire certificate and directions from institution accredited by the BoG, he said. Present at the launch was Micheal Mensah Baah, Chief Operating Officer of Barclays Bank, Benjamin Kwabla Amenumey, Chief Executive Officer of UMB Bank, and other banking executives. ---Daily Guide Bakery giant Warburtons has revealed an unlikely move into the brewing industry with the launch of an IPA made from 'wonky' crumpets, in order to fight food waste. The UK retailer is now selling the 4.2 per cent IPA, called The Toasted Crumpet, which is made from surplus crumpets that didn't quite make the cut. Made by replacing the malted barley in the beer with crumpets, the light session IPA is Warburtons first non-baked product in its 140-year history. The beer is currently only available from Warburtons' website, which cost 28 for 12 330ml bottles. There's also a 6.99 in a standard delivery fee per case, meaning shoppers are paying 2.75 a bottle. Bakery giant Warburtons have unveiled the first ever beer brewed from crumpets, in a new initiative to fight food waste Warburtons told Femail the beer may be rolled out of a larger scale if there's enough consumer demand. To make the light IPA, Toast Ale replaces some of the malted barley in the beer with crumpets, extracting starches and sugars and breaking them down into fermentable sugars - meaning the crumpet does more than just flavour the beer. The launch is part of the bakery's drive to look for innovative ways to grant its leftover food waste a second life. Darren Littler, Head of Product Innovation at Warburtons, said: 'We're thrilled to announce an innovative way of utilising our "wonky" products whilst celebrating the nation's love of crumpets in a whole new way. As Warburtons first non-baked product in its 140 plus year history, the light session IPA is made by replacing the malted barley in the beer with crumpets James King, Marketing and Brand Manager at Toast Ale added: 'Our mission remains to brew beer that is planet-saving and palate-pleasing, and we couldn't be more excited to venture into the world of crumpets.' According to the charity Wrap (Waste and Resources Action Programme), commercial and industrial businesses in the food sector produce around 2.9 million tonnes of food and rink waste a year, with a value of over 5.2 billion. It's estimated that 250,000 tonnes of the food that goes to waste each year is still edible, and could provide 650 million meals. To mark the first anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes, Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Wednesday (February 26) flew the MiG-21 aircraft of the 51 Squadron from Srinagar airbase. He will be flying in the same formation as when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman' took sortie in 2019 and downed a Pakistani F-16 aircraft during aerial combat. The IAF chief himself flew a MiG-21 Bison aircraft with Commanding Officer Group Captain Nazeer and two Mirage-2000 and two Sukhoi-30MKI jets. The 51 Squadron is the same unit that was activated following the Balakot airstrikes last year and Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was a part of it. The air skirmish on February 26 in 2019 between India and Pakistan was in retaliation to the attack on terror camps in Balakot inside Pakistan. The Balakot airstrikes were carried out in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in 2019 which killed as many as 40 CRPF jawans. George Clooney has said he is surprised and saddened after an investigation appeared to show that Nespresso has been using child labourers at farms in Guatemala. The actor has been the face of the coffee brand since 2006 and is a member of its sustainability advisory board, which works to ensure Nespresso sources coffee from well-run and sustainable farms. He said the news, brought to light by Channel 4s Dispatches, showed they still have work to do. We knew it was a big project when it started seven years ago, and honestly I was surprised and saddened to see this story, said the Oscar winner. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Clearly this board and this company still have work to do and that work will be done. I would hope that this reporter [Antony Barnett] will continue to investigate these conditions and report accurately if they do not improve. The check and balance of good corporate responsibility lies not just with the company itself but also independent journalists like Mr Barnett to hold everyones promise to account. Clooney, who is a political and social activist alongside his wife Amal, also said: Having grown up working on a tobacco farm from the time I was 12 Im uniquely aware of the complex issues regarding farming and child labour. Nespresso, which prides itself on producing coffee beans ethically, said it will stop buying coffee from farms in some parts of Guatemala, which is the 10th largest coffee producer in the world. The company also called the use of child labour unacceptable and said it had launched an investigation to identify the farms featured in the Dispatches footag. Read its full statement here. The Dispatches episode Starbucks & Nespresso: The Truth About Your Coffee airs on Channel 4, Monday 2 March at 8pm Review at a glance F ollowing the unprecedented number of visitors who turned up for last years Mary Quant retrospective and with the success of the phenomenal Dior exhibition still fresh in gallery-goers minds, the V&A unveils its latest fashion crowd-pleaser this week. But this time its without a designer logo. Kimono: Kyoto To Catwalk is a forensic and all-encompassing study which not only offers a deep dig into the history of one of the worlds most treasured and significant clothing traditions but also unearths the ways in which the kimono has infiltrated the fashion world, reflected culture and criss-crossed the globe. Beginning with the kimono favoured by courtesans of 17th-century Japan and ending with Obi-Wan Kenobis legendary Jedi ensemble, the exhibition makes a case for the countrys rich and endangered artisanal tradition as one that has given more to the global fashion conversation than the couture houses of Paris. As visitors learn of the intricate adorning technique, delicate weaving and complex creation process that lies behind some of the collections most masterful pieces, its easy to see why. And the importance of the kimono as a signifier of celebrity, style and seduction is also evident as the exhibition seeks to rid the garment from some of its more limiting geisha stereotypes. For the fashion fan, it is the contemporary element of this showcase that is most compelling. Since the early days of export, the kimono has been subject to endless transformations, the most recent of which include designs by John Galliano and Rei Kawakubo a dress designed by Alexander McQueen and worn by Bjork on the cover of iconic album Homogenic also stands among the starriest attractions. Their inclusion in this story highlights Japan as a country in which the past and future can coexist harmoniously. During a time in which the fashion industry is increasingly inspired by a democratic take on clothing, which speaks to vast proportions of society instead of an elite few, this show also pinpoints the kimono, both unisex and utilitarian, as ahead of its time. Witness a kimono once owned by Freddie Mercury, who was drawn to the garment for its ability to challenge ideas surrounding gender and sexuality norms. It stands among the most thought-provoking pieces. From Saturday to June 21, V&A Museum (vam.ac.uk) This must be the first time in India's history that it has found itself bracketed with countries in a category which political scientists will not rate very highly if only because the group recalls Nazi Germany as one of its most infamous past members, notes Amulya Ganguli. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com The BJP's supporters are likely to draw uneasy, ambivalent, satisfaction from India being listed as one of the fascistic countries in today's world by a Yale professor, Jason Stanley, in his book, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. His list includes the US, Russia, Hungary, Poland, India and Turkey. This must be the first time in India's history that it has found itself bracketed with countries in a category which political scientists will not rate very highly if only because the group recalls Nazi Germany as one of its most infamous past members. If India has not featured in a catalogue of this nature until now, the reason is that its history has been vastly different from that of, say, the US where ethnic extremism has long been prevalent. For instance, as Stanley says, a parallel can be drawn between Donald Trump's 'America First' slogan and the hero of aviation, Charles Lindbergh's white supremacism which made him say in 1939 that 'it is time... to build our white ramparts... to guard our heritage from Mongol and Persian and Moor'. This was another America First movement whose motivation was opposing the entry of the US into the war against Nazi Germany. As is known, India's heritage is completely different as it draws its inspiration from the pluralist tenets of the Emperors Asoka and Akbar as well as Mahatma Gandhi. However, it would be a mistake to deny that right-wing extremism was non-existent in India, for it struck roots way back in 1925 when the RSS was founded. However, it remained dormant because of the towering presence of Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. But if the roots have begun to yield their poisonous fruit nine decades later, the explanatons lie in a political rather than a social context. If the standard-bearer of Nehru's secularism, the 134-year-old Congress party, did not commit several blunders, right-wing extremism would still have been kept in check. For the present, it will be instructive to enumerate the factors that are associated with the rise of the far right. As Stanley has noted, these include a mythic past, anti-intellectualism, the concept of victimhood, sexual anxiety and appeals to the heartland. All of these can be discerned in the politics and propaganda of the RSS and the BJP. As is known, these two organisations routinely extol India's pre-Muslim past when the Hindus reigned supreme and were the inventors of everything from computers to the Internet to aeroplanes. As the West Bengal governor, Jagdeep Dhankar of the BJP, has informed us, the Mahabharata's hero, Arjuna's arrows were nuclear-tipped. What is odd is that the country does not have to resort to such gobbledygook to make its citizens proud of the past. There are enough evidences of savants like the scientist Aryabhatta, a surgeon like Susruta, the teacher of yoga like Patanjali, grammarian like Panini and many others for any need to flaunt fanciful ideas which can make India the laughing stock of the world. It is possible that the reason why the far right in India indulges in such drivel is that delving into the past calls for wide-ranging scholarship which militates against the right-wing's anti-intellectual stance. The insular far right is probably scared that erudition will foster rationality which will be fatal for its tunnel vision focussing on bigotry. This aversion towards sophisticated knowledge explains the paucity of right-wingers in the academic world. It also explains RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's opinion that education (along with affluence) leads to divorce. Another fascistic element in the worldview of the RSS/BJP is victimhood, which portrays Hindus being under siege from the treacherous minorities, viz. the Muslims and Christians who were classified as Internal Enemies Nos 1 and 2 by Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-1973), the second sarsanghchalak of the RSS. It has been a constant refrain of the right-wing that Muslims will overrun the country with their rapid breeding and the Christians via conversions or by 'harvesting souls' as Pope John Paul II said in 1999. Related to this propagation of fear is what Stanley identifies as sexual anxiety which has been seen in the charges of love jihad by the BJP/RSS, accusing Muslim men of converting and marrying Hindu women. If anything, this is another stick in the hands of the far right to beat the minorities with. Notwithstanding the far right's exploitation of all these factors to gain ground in India, the divisive ideology would not have been able to gain ground if the Congress did not make the mistake in Rajiv Gandhi's time of negating the judicial verdict providing relief to a Muslim woman who had been divorced by her husband. That foolish act was grist to the RSS/BJP's propaganda mill equating secularism with Muslim appeasement. If Rajiv had the courage of conviction to support the Supreme Court's judgement as he initially did before backtracking, India's recent history would have been different. Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs. Redding, Calif. - The California Community College's Chancellor's Office gave Shasta College $13,500 in grant funding. It's part of a $500,000 anonymous donation made through the Chancellor's Office. The money will go towards low-income students. It will also help increase the Fresh Success cash grants. Shasta College says, just this past fall there were close to 300 visits to the food pantry. I try to get as much food as possible and make it last, said Shasta College student, Jacquelyn Jansen. When I do have the opportunity to use the food pantry I definitely utilize it. We know students are having to make those calculated costs on what to spend their money on and this can give them a little bit of relief, said Sandra Hamilton Slaine, the Dean of Student Services at Shasta College. The college says, over 200 students received Fresh Success Grants last fall. Food for the food pantry comes through donations from Salvation Army and People of Progress. Shasta College partners with the Shasta Office of Education to help students applying for CalFresh. DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture Market - Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global artificial intelligence in agriculture market is witnessing a CAGR of 26.2% during the forecast period (2019-2024). Maximize crop yield using machine learning technique is driving the market. Species selection is a tedious process of searching for specific genes that determine the effectiveness of water and nutrients use, adaptation to climate change, disease resistance, as well as nutrients content or a better taste. Machine learning, in particular, deep learning algorithms, take decades of field data to analyze crops performance in various climates and based on this data one can build a probability model that would predict which genes will most likely contribute a beneficial trait to a plant. Increase in the adoption of cattle face recognition technology is driving the market. Through the application of advanced metrics, including cattle facial recognition programs and image classification incorporated with body condition score and feeding patterns, dairy farms are now being able to individually monitor all behavioral aspects in a group of cattle. However, lack of standardization is restraining the market growth as lack of standards in data collection, and lack of data sharing is high, and machine learning and artificial intelligence and advanced algorithm design have moved so fast, but the collection of well-tagged, meaningful agricultural data is way behind. Key Market Trends Labor Shortage and Increasing Costs of Labor to Drive the Artificial Intelligence Market Across the world, a huge decline of the workforce is observed due to many reasons, like the lack of skilled labor, aging of farmers, and young farmers finding farming an unattractive profession, thus encouraging trends for automated farming operations. According to the International Labor Organization(ILO), agricultural labors in the percentage of the workforce declined from 81% to 48.2% in developing countries. Also, developed countries are not an exception in such a huge decline. Asia-Pacific, where agriculture occupies a major part of the economy, has a huge decline in workforce, which was nearly about 9% from 2015 to 2017. In Japan, the number of people working in farms witnessed a steep fall to 1.7 million in the year 2015, a 15% decline from the previous year. The European agriculture sector has also faced such a huge decline in the workforce, which is nearly accounting to 12.8% for the corresponding period. The trend of decline in the agricultural workforce is encouraging government and private organizations to focus on automation operations by adopting artificial intelligence technologies in the agriculture sector. Owing to the above factors, the market for artificial intelligence in the agricultural sector is likely to boom in the years to come. China's Technological Innovations to Accelerate the Agriculture Sector The technological innovations pertaining to the Chinese market, are also accelerating the growth and transforming the global artificial intelligence market in the agriculture sector. For instance, McFly's Intelligent agricultural monitoring drone, GAGO's large scale application of AI technology in crop production and livestock farming, and UniStrong's "Huinong" Beidou navigation agricultural automatic driving system are few recent innovations prevailing in the Chinese Ai sector. Additionally, few technological giants have also begun to make deployment in the agricultural sector. For instance in the year 2018, JD.com's "Jing Dong Farm" has made its debut, similarly in June 2018, Alibaba's Et agricultural brain has been launched. Thus, increasing innovation in the Chinese AI sector is likely to further boost the adoption of AI in the agriculture in the coming future. Competitive Landscape The AI market in agriculture is fragmented, as a number of players supplying the same product on lower-cost make market competition stiff. Also, technological advancements by players and the high presence of local and regional players pose a major threat in a price-sensitive market. Key players are Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp. (NITI Aayog), Agribotix LLC, etc. May 2019 - XAG, a Chinese firm, presented its innovative solutions of combining drones with AI and IoT technology to achieve precision agriculture and induce transformational changes to the food system in 3rd AI for Good Global Summit, in Geneva. XAG is driving AI-powered intelligent devices such as drones and sensors to establish digital farming infrastructure in rural areas and enable precision agriculture which, for example, accurately targets pesticides, seeds, fertilizers, and water to wherever it is needed. Key Topics Covered 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study Deliverables 1.2 Study Assumptions 1.3 Scope of the Study 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Introduction to Market Drivers and Restraints 4.3 Market Drivers 4.4 Market Restraints 4.5 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis 4.5.1 Threat of New Entrants 4.5.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers/Consumers 4.5.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.5.4 Threat of Substitute Products 4.5.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 Application 5.1.1 Weather Tracking 5.1.2 Precision Farming 5.1.3 Drone Analytics 5.2 Deployment 5.2.1 Cloud 5.2.2 On-Premise 5.2.3 Hybrid 5.3 Geography 5.3.1 North America 5.3.1.1 US 5.3.1.2 Canada 5.3.1.3 Mexico 5.3.1.4 Rest of North America 5.3.2 Europe 5.3.2.1 Germany 5.3.2.2 UK 5.3.2.3 Italy 5.3.2.4 Spain 5.3.2.5 Rest of Europe 5.3.3 Asia Pacific 5.3.3.1 China 5.3.3.2 Japan 5.3.3.3 India 5.3.3.4 Australia 5.3.3.5 Rest of Asia-Pacific 5.3.4 South America 5.3.4.1 Brazil 5.3.4.2 Argentina 5.3.4.3 Rest of South America 5.3.5 Rest of the World 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Vendor Market Share 6.2 Most Adopted Strategies 6.3 Company Profiles 6.3.1 Microsoft Corporation 6.3.2 IBM Corporation 6.3.3 Granular Inc. 6.3.4 aWhere Inc. 6.3.5 Prospera Technologies Ltd. 6.3.6 Gamaya S.A. 6.3.7 ec2ce 6.3.8 PrecisionHawk Inc. 6.3.9 Cainthus Corp. 6.3.10 Tule Technologies Inc. 7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6vjt1g Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com US Africa Command denies any Somali civilians killed and says key al-Shabab planner and his wife died in an attack. An American air strike killed a worker for a telecom company in Somalia, officials said, while the US military said an al-Shabab commander and his wife died in an attack. Mohamud Haji Sirad, 55, a local manager of Hormuud, Somalias largest telecom company, was killed when two missiles struck his farm on the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Jilib on Monday, Somali officials said. Both the US Africa Command and Somalias government said the air strike killed a member of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group. But officials at Hormuud said the attack killed their local manager in Jilib. A Somali intelligence official said the man targeted appeared to have been on the security radar but he declined to confirm whether officials were aware he was a telecom worker. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Somali authorities have long accused some businessmen of having ties with al-Shabab, which extorts significant amounts of money from businesses to finance its activities in the Horn of Africa nation. Air strikes A US Africa Command statement said, We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this air strike, which was carried out in coordination with Somalias government. In a separate statement, the US Africa Command said an air strike it carried out Saturday killed a senior al-Shabab leader associated with the groups deadly attack on January 5 on a military airstrip in Kenya, which killed a US service member and two US contractors and destroyed several American aircraft. The January 5 attack occurred at the Manda Bay military base in Kenya used by both US and Kenyan forces. After that attack, the US military deployed additional forces to Kenya, which borders Somalia. Post-strike assessments confirm the two terrorists killed in the February 22 precision air strikes were an individual associated with the attack on Manda Bay and his wife, who was also a known al-Shabab member, it said. The wife was a witting and active member of the group, it added. The man organised and directed operations in the border region between Kenya and Somalia, it said. Evil and remorseless US Army General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US Africa Command, said in a statement since January 5 the military has pursued those responsible. This strike demonstrates that we will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for Manda Bay and those wishing to do harm to Americans and our African partners, he said. Townsend added al-Shabab is an evil and remorseless enemy of peace, stability, and freedom in East Africa and threatens the very way of life of people there, as well as Americans and US interests in the region and abroad. The United States has carried out a growing number of air strikes against al-Shabab during President Donald Trumps administration. Some have been followed by allegations of civilians killed. The US has said it carried out 63 air strikes in Somalia last year, and at least a dozen this year against al-Shabab. US Africa Command says only two civilians, a woman and a child, have been killed in US air strikes targeting al-Shabab since 2007, despite claims by a human rights group that dozens of non-combatants may have died. According to @USAfricaCommand, only 2 civilians have been killed in declared US actions in Somalia since 2007. As our new monitoring shows, almost 300 such deaths have been alleged with at least 72 claims well supported by investigations, local reports https://t.co/v9JdPjMAiP Airwars (@airwars) February 25, 2020 The armed group has fought for more than a decade to overthrow the Somali government and impose strict Islamic law in the country. To the Editor: As far back as 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that environmental pollution in our air, water and soil contributed to 40% of deaths, worldwide. Our own Superfund (CERCLA) site, Onondaga Lake, is one of our local public health concerns. Liberal industrial dumping by companies such as Allied (now Honeywell), exposed this previous fishing lake of the Haudenosaunee to a toxic soup of 26 industrial contaminants that to this day sit in the bottom of the lake and its surrounding area in its sediment. And despite misleading information partly coming from a myopic and premature swimming beach feasibility study the cleanup is far from over. Over 85% of the hazardous materials still remain and it is estimated that the cleanup will span the next 700 years. Cumulative exposure to the contaminants pose serious health risks to unaware individuals. The potential for unexplained organ and blood cancers, central nervous system toxicities, liver damage, kidney damage and fetal abnormalities are just a handful of the adverse effects to the known contaminants of concern. Indeed, exposure to those consuming fish from the lake is demonstrated in the elevated mercury levels of refugee families fishing from the lake. Better signage to protect children and women of childbearing age has been requested but denied, by the county, for inexplicable reasons. I sincerely hope that the unjust and misleading study is scrapped before more damage is done, and that the county executive, legislators, and office of the environment make better, more informed decisions moving forward. Marianna Kaufman Syracuse See also: County should respond to concerns about swimming in Onondaga Lake (Your letters) Onondaga Lake beach plans to be unveiled Saturday Likewise, there isnt much hope that the governments attitude towards business would change. But possibilities exist, as in perking up infrastructure. Uddalok Bhattacharya sums up What are Donald Trumps prospects for re-election? Deepak Lal would have it that there is a method in the mans ostensible madness For a country that takes pride in having improved the ease of doing business, the treatment given to three foreign companies does ... 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 Vice President Joe Biden scored a key endorsement from one of South Carolina's most influential political figures, just days before the state's crucial primary. House Majority Whip and longtime South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn ended months of speculation on Wednesday, announcing at a press conference in North Charleston that he is backing Bidens bid. PHOTO: Rep. James Clyburn shakes hands with Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden after announcing his endorsement, in North Charleston, S.C., Feb. 26, 2020. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) "I've been saying to the media. I've known for a long time who I'm going to vote for. But I had not decided whether or not to share it with the public," Clyburn said. "But I want the public to know that I'm voting for Joe Biden, South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden." Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and considered a kingmaker in South Carolina's Democratic political orbit, endorses Joe Biden ahead of the state's primary. https://t.co/qdWd7lJeBx pic.twitter.com/s1Ddlh2Hnu ABC News (@ABC) February 26, 2020 Clyburn credited a elderly woman at a funeral asking him who he intended to vote for as the catalyst for his announcement. "She said, 'You don't have to say it out loud. Would you just whisper into my ear. Who are you gonna vote for next Saturday? I've been waiting to hear from you. I need to hear from you. This community wants to hear from you.' I decided then and there that I would not stay silent," Clyburn said, recalling the recent conversation. "I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us," Clyburn said on Wednesday, announcing his endorsement at a pivotal time for Biden and his campaign, which had been dogged by disappointing results in the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire -- rebounding only slightly with a second place finish in last weeks Nevada caucuses. Story continues PHOTO: Rep. Jim Clyburn announces his endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden, Feb. 26, 2020, at Trident Technical College in Charleston, S.C. (ABC News) When accepting Clyburn's endorsement, Biden got emotional. "Its hard to know what to say, for real," he said. The former vice president also had kind words for the South Carolina lawmaker. During a National Action Network breakfast just before the press conference announcing the endorsement, Biden praised Clyburns character. (MORE: 5 key takeaways from the South Carolina Democratic debate) "A lot of folks talk the talk. Very few people walk the walk. And Jim Clyburn is a man of enormous integrity," Biden said. "Jim, youre one of the finest men Ive ever met. Not just in public life, but period." At the endorsement, Biden credited Clyburn with always keeping the publics interest at the center of his work, and took a thinly veiled jab at the current frontrunner in the race, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. MORE: Sanders feels the heat as Democrats' debate descends into a melee ahead of SC primary, Super Tuesday "[Clyburn] always reminds us -- reminds everyone on both sides of the aisle -- that it's about you family and community. It's about whether or not we can make a difference in people's lives," Biden said. "It's just pretty simple, but all too often, all too often, people get to public office began to think about them." He added, "Today, people are talking about a revolution. What the country's looking for are results, what they're looking for is security, what they're looking for, is being able to sustain and maintain their dignity." PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden participate in the tenth Democratic primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. 25, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) The endorsement also comes at a critical time in the Democratic primary, and just three days before the Palmetto States pivotal primary. "I will win the African American vote here in South Carolina," Biden said. "I will win South Carolina." Biden expanded even further in an interview following Tuesday's debate in South Carolina, saying he thought even a one point win would be enough to propel him into Super Tuesday Contests. But, he predicted: "I think I'm going to win by a lot more than that." (MORE: The Note: Biden banks on Obama legacy as South Carolina closes in) Despite the slow start, -- stumbling early on in the 2020 race following disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, coupled with Sen. Bernie Sanders early delegate lead -- his team maintains they are well positioned for a long primary race, "We believe it's going to be a long race, ladies and gentlemen, and again on Super Tuesday about one third of the delegates needed in this race are up for grabs," Symone Sanders, a Biden campaign adviser, told reporters on Tuesday. "This is just getting started," she said. Former VP Joe Biden secures endorsement from influential South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Filipinos bowed their heads to be sprinkled instead of having a cross drawn on their foreheads to mark Ash Wednesday, as Asia's bastion of Catholicism guarded against the spread of coronavirus. Leaders of the Philippine church urged priests to adapt the rite in order to reduce the risk of fanning a contagion that has killed over 2,700, mostly in China. Since the outbreak, which has resulted in three confirmed cases and one death in the Philippines, churches have also discouraged worshippers from holding hands during mass. "It makes me feel safe," said Wendy Tamidles, a 19-year-old student. She was among thousands of people, some wearing surgical masks, who lined up at Baclaran church in Manila for services on Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the run-up to Easter, and includes Catholics having crosses drawn in ash on their foreheads. The Philippines is overwhelmingly Catholic, with some 80 percent of its people said to be believers. Its unique brand of the religion also includes gruesome annual re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Local church officials have also "strongly recommended" that Catholics do not kiss or touch the cross during Good Friday services, which is usually common practice. "We are being cautious so that the coronavirus won't spread," said Victorino Cueto, rector of Baclaran church. Vietnamese carriers saw significant drops in the number of passengers in February due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Noi Bai Airport is not as crowded as usual due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic. Viet Nam's aviation market was suffering heavily from the epidemic. According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV), Vietnamese carriers transported a total 3.7 million passengers in February, representing a drop of 13.7 per cent against the same month of 2019. The number of international passengers saw a drop of 39.5 per cent to just 870,000, while domestic passengers slightly decreased by 0.7 per cent to 2.8 million. With regards to the Chinese market, three Vietnamese carriers Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Jetstar Pacific and Chinese carriers had to cancel 80 flights between the two countries per day. Vietnam Airlines reported that it had to cancel 1,000 flights to/from China in February and the damage was estimated at around VND250 billion (US$10.7 million) each week, adding that it was facing with a lot of difficulties due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The airline saw severe declines of around 50 per cent in both international and domestic passengers and up to 70-80 per cent in passengers from Northeast Asia. The CAAVs statistics also revealed a drop of 11.6 per cent in the number of arrivals and departures at airports to 8.1 million in February. Of the figure, international passengers totalled 2.4 million, decreasing by 29.8 per cent. Domestic passengers slightly decreased by 0.7 per cent to 5.7 million. CAAV said that Viet Nams aviation market saw two-digit decreases after many years of strong growth due to the direct impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. CAAV raised three scenarios for the aviation market in 2020. In the best scenario, in which China announced the end of the epidemic before April, Vietnamese carriers would see a slight increase of 1.1 per cent in the number of passengers, while the number of passengers received by the airports would be 119 million. If the epidemic lasted until June, the respective figures would be 74.6 million (down 5.7 per cent) and 111.6 million (down 4.2 per cent). In the worst-case scenario, if the epidemic did not end until August, the market would see drops of 17.2 per cent in the number of passengers carried by Vietnamese airlines to 65.6 per cent and 15.5 per cent in the number of arrivals and departures through airports. According to the International Air Transport Association, the COVID-19 epidemic threatened to erase $29 billion of this year's revenue for global airlines, mostly for Chinese carriers. VNS File Photo: Visitors temperature check for Corona Virus at Medical center in Daegu, South Korea. (Photo: Seung-il Ryu/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MANILA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Philippines on Wednesday barred travellers from South Korea's coronavirus-impacted North Gyeongsang province from entering the country in an effort to contain the spread of the pathogen. Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing the government will also conduct a risk assessment within 48 hours to determine if the travel ban needs to be expanded to other parts of South Korea. South Korea reported 169 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, pushing to total tally to more than 1,000, with the numbers expected to rise as the government widens its testing. The Philippines has confirmed three cases of the coronavirus at home, all Chinese nationals, including a 44-year-old man who died. (Reporting by Karen Lema Editing by Shri Navaratnam) 'For dealing with rioters no political orders are required.' IMAGE: Vehicles set ablaze at Jafrabad, north-east Delhi, February 24, 2020. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo "I am not really happy with the way the Delhi police is handling the (law and order) situation," former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com. However, he observed that the situation has still not spiralled out of control to call in the Indian Army. "The situation doesn't warrant calling in the army. The army was last called (in Delhi) in 1984 (during the anti-Sikh riots in after then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984). "The army is called in only when the there is large scale rioting. The situation is not that grim yet," Kumar added. "Lack of leadership explains the inability of the Delhi police to control the situation in Delhi right now," he said about the growing spiral of violence in Delhi even as United States President Donald J Trump was in Delhi. Kumar refused to attribute the rioting to lack of decisive political leadership in sending a strong message or giving a free hand to the police to deal with the situation. When asked how the Delhi police could have handled the situation differently, Kumar, who was Delhi police commissioner from July 2012 to July 2013, said, "It could have responded to first instances of violence firmly and strongly. They allowed the situation to go from bad to worse. They dithered from taking any action and that led to the spiralling of the the situation from bad to worse." When asked if he concurs with incumbent Delhi Poluce Commissioner Amulya Patnaik's statement that he needs more police force, Kumar said, "The CP has denied making any such statement and said they have enough forces (to handle the instances of rioting)." Elaborating on the swift action the Delhi police can now take to quickly quell the rioting, he said "The Delhi police should now come down with a heavy hand on the rioters; they should undertake area domination exercises in the affected areas." "The miscreants, whoever they are, must be arrested immediately and firmly dealt with; carry out more preventive arrests; people inciting the rioters should be hauled up and arrested." "It can do a lot more. It can do lathi charge and if the situation so warrants, the police can open fire, too," he added. Kumar believes the Delhi police must give a strong message to the rioters. "Let the message go through that nobody will be spared and the law would catch up with everybody. Don't wait for orders to come from anywhere." "You are on the ground, deal with the situation. The (Delhi police) leadership should not wait for orders and give confidence to the cops that they will take the responsibility if things go wrong," he said about how riots can be handled effectively by giving a free hand to the police on the ground. Polling station agent Dakoa Newman has filed to contest the upcoming parliamentary primaries for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Okaikoi South Constituency of the Greater Accra Region. Dakoa Newman is seeking to oust current member of parliament for the area, Ahmed Arthur. Also contesting for the seat will be the current Board Chairman of the National Theatre, Nana Fredua Agyeman Ofori-Atta. Ms. Newman is among 56 other candidates who are vying for some 20 constituencies within the Greater Accra Region. Speaking to journalists shortly after submitting her forms, Dakoa Newman promised to present and represent new hope as she is committed to spearheading development in the area should she be elected to lead the party and subsequently win the seat come December 2020. According to her, the constituency has not seen much development over the years. She also pledged to provide jobs and address the infrastructural deficits in the constituency. Dakoa Newman who is currently a polling station woman organizer in the Okaikoi South constituency pledged to provide jobs for the teeming youth in the constituency. Among other things she also promised to address issues of infrastructural challenges in the constituency. Dakoa Newman is an old student of Wesley Girls Senior High School, Cape Coast and holds a Political Science Degree from the University of Ghana, Legon as well as a Masters Degree in Programme and Project management from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Dakoa Newman also holds professional certificates in project management and also risk management from the Project Management Institute, USA. The foundation's headquarters is located in New Town, Accra and undertakes projects such as clean up exercises in Avenor, Kaneshie, Bubuashie and its environs, health screening exercises in Avenor and Bubuashie, the shea initiative project in Wa West, donation of medical supplies to Kaneshie Polyclinic, Kaneshie Cripple's Home and several communities in Ga, Wa West. citinewsroom As the threat from the outbreak of coronavirus moves ever closer to Australia, one of the most important weapons in fighting the disease is giving people accurate information on the risks and strategies in place to deal with it. Financial markets have fallen sharply this week after a surge of cases in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy and Iran dashed the hope that the disease would remain confined to China. It is now increasingly likely that authorities will upgrade the status of the outbreak from epidemic to pandemic. The next few days are critical. While there is some cause for optimism, with the World Health Organisation declaring the outbreak having "peaked" in China, the communist state was able to enforce a rigid crackdown on the movement of millions of people. That will not be an easy task for nations without China's authoritarian powers and financial resources. The outbreak in unstable Iran has already set off alarm bells that the disease could spread to many nearby nations. Health systems are better in South Korea, Japan and Italy but it will require resolve from their political leaders to enforce quarantines. It seems that the Morrison government made the right call in quickly banning tourists travelling from mainland China. While a similar ban on other countries might be premature, it cannot be ruled out. The decision to impose bans must be based on careful science and not emotion. The West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) has defended its stance on the recently purposed Geographic Indication for Barbados rum going against the distillers historic production methods. Earlier this year a new GI was put forward by local distilleries Foursquare, St Nicholas Abbey and Mount Gay allowing Barbados rum to only be aged locally using no added sugar, local water and only pot and column stills among other regulations. However given that the GI would favour the rum production of the three named distilleries rather than WIRD, managing director Andrew Hassell joined DI to discuss potential alternatives. We believe there should be a GI for Barbados but it should be inclusive and support the reputation of Barbados rum so that it can create sustainable jobs for the island and grow its economy. Were not out to disadvantage the smaller distilleries. Were all part of a family of Barbados rum its just that right now we have a difference in opinion as to what is tradition. WIRD is the second oldest distillery in Barbados behind Mount Gay and produces around 80% of the Islands rum with a range of brands including Plantation Rum. Some varieties of Plantation Rum use secondary ageing outside of Barbados as well as added sugar meaning that if the purposed GI comes into fruition then WIRD owner Maison Ferrand would have to remove Barbados from its labelling. We have documents dating back to the 19th century to support our stance on traditional rum making, added Hassell. Looking at these old documents theres nothing that says rum cannot have added sugar from sugar cane and ultimately rum is made from sugar, we dont think you should be using artificial sweeteners but if its from sugar cane then sure. Were not talking about using sugar to hide defunct spirits, because adding a little bit of sugar can actually enhance the flavour of rum. There are many rums we produce which dont have added sugar but of course for those that do, it should be clearly marked on the labels. In regards to using a local water source, WIRD said in a statement: Archives show that there are historical references to rum being fermented using a hint of sea water. This is a tradition that we value, continue to apply, and want to perpetuate. Salt does not pass through the distillation process. Rather, it creates a specific environment for the fermentation. As well as the technicalities of rum production, Hassell said he doesnt understand the mentality behind the new proposals. He added: Barbados is a very small place, and the distilleries generally get along well because relatives and friends work at different ones. So as a Barbadian I dont understand it. At WIRD we have a team of technical experts, some who have been working at the distillery for up to 40 years. These people do not want to see the techniques they have been using for decades disappear. We will continue to fight to protect the entire heritage of Barbados rum and we encourage you to know all the facts and join us. The future of the diversity of Barbados rum depends on this GI outcome. UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link Clear protesters from Shaheen Bagh: SC to hear plea today India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: Amidst the violence in Delhi, the Supreme Court will today hear a petition that sought to clear the mob at Shaheen Bagh which is protesting against the newly amended citizenship law. On Monday, the court-appointed interlocutors filed their report in a sealed cover in the Supreme Court on the ongoing protests at Shaheen Bagh. Advocate Sadhna Ramachandran, who was appointed an interlocutor along with senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, placed the report before a bench of justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. It made it clear that the report of interlocutors will not be shared with the petitioners and counsels representing the Centre and Delhi Police at this stage. Shaheen Bagh interlocutors submit report: SC to hear matter on Feb 26 At the outset, Ramachandran told the court that she is grateful for the opportunity given to her and the interlocutors had a learning experience which was positive also. "Let us examine it. We will hear the matter day after tomorrow," the bench said. When the counsel for one of the petitioners said the report be shared with them also, the bench said, "We are here. Everyone is here. Let us have the benefit of the report first. The copy of the report is for the court only." Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had earlier told the top court that the protest was peaceful and inconvenience being caused to commuters was due to barricades "unnecessarily" put by police on roads far away from the site. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 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 Supreme Court in the matter. Habibullah, Azad and Naqvi have jointly filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court which is seized of the matter. The 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". 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". Mediators put blame on cops for Shaheen Bagh mess Habibullah, in his affidavit, has also stated that the protestors have asked him to convey to the Supreme 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. 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. Separately, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking directions to authorities to remove protestors from Shaheen Bagh. The Ministry of Energy has explained that a major repair works on the gas pipeline from Nigeria to Ghana is the cause of power interruptions [dumsor] currently being experienced in some parts of Ghana. According to the Ministry of Energy, the repair works were almost complete and by the end of the first week of March 2020, the power supply will return to normal. "This is going to be for just a few more days, and we will come to normal... It is not as people have been saying that 'dumsor' is back and we've gone back to the bad old days again, no. This is work that needed to be done to ensure the integrity of the pipeline and gas supply to our generators." "We apologise for the inconvenience... the engineers are working," a Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr William Owuraku Aidoo said. Mr Owuraku Aidoo explained in a radio interview on Accra based Joy FM, monitored by Graphic Online on Tuesday evening [February 25, 2020], that on January 18th, 19th and 20th, the Ministry of Energy announced through the media that "there was going to be major works on the pipeline, the 500 km pipeline from Nigeria to Ghana which supplies gas to mainly the Tema enclave, that there was going to be cleaning out [in] the gas pipeline and check on the integrity of the inner lining of the gas pipeline." He said it was also announced that there might well be some interruptions. "We did take steps to try and reduce to the barest minimum the interruptions in the power supply because we shouldn't forget that Ghana, of course, we have our own indigenous gas that we can flow from the west to the east, but unfortunately because of this work, the gas from the west to the east, that is from Takoradi to the Tema enclave could not also be supplied. "And also we must also remember that in the government's quest to reduce the tariff regime of electricity in the country, we've asked the power generators to convert as much as possible from the liquid fuels to gas so when this gas supply..., that was cut out, we have been experiencing some challenges, but I'm happy to announce to the good people of this country [Ghana] that within the next few days this whole exercise will come to an end, they've completed the cleaning and analysing the data from the machine that was put through the pipeline. "So once that is done, gas will be introduced through the Tema end of the pipeline and supply will come back to normal. So we do apologise for the inconvenience that is being caused to Ghanaians..., we are doing something, which is necessary, that has to be done and unfortunately some of the ramificatinos is what we are experiencing now but I am glad to also report that by the first week of March, we'll come back to the normalcy," Mr Owuraku Aidoo said. What alternative plans were made Explaining why the announced arrangements to ensure there was no difficulty with electricity supply during the repair works did not work, Mr Owuraku Aidoo said: "Of course we shouldn't forget that we are dealing with machinery here." "The Kpone Thermal Plant, we've lost one of the generators, which is giving us something in the region of 100 megawatts. We have also lost the TICO Plant [Takoradi International Plant], we've lost parts of it as well, which were not foreseen. We made all these plans and unfortunately this has happened. Cenpower also, we were taking 180, a combination of 360, one turbine is gone off losing 180 so when we combine these unforeseen generators that have gone off..., right now we are losing something in the region of between 100 and 200 megawatts. The plants that have gone down that I have enumerated amounts to well over 300, almost 400 megawatts, so that is what has caused this problem but like I said, this is going to be for a few more days and we will come back to normalcy. So I'll apologise once again on behalf of the Ministry of Energy that we will come back to normal. It is not as people have been saying that 'dumsor' is back and we've gone back to the bad old days again, no. This is work that needed to be done to ensure the integrity of the pipeline and gas supply to our generators." Reacting to complaints of fluctuations of power in some homes, Mr Owuraku Aidoo said demand has gone up and some transformers are being overloaded in some parts of the country and that maybe some of the reason some people are having fluctuations but "it is not a question of anybody giving [power] in tots." The Deputy Minister said it was the hope of the Ministry that the work would have gone on without Ghanaians noticing any difficulty in power supply, "unfortunately, we are working with machinery and some have given us problems and engineers are working on them and I hope that TICO, for example, may come back this evening [Tuesday]. He urged customers experiencing fluctuations to report to their local ECG offices for it to be rectified because that has got nothing to do with generation, it is a distribution problem which can be sorted out locally when reported. The issue of the power generation came up in Parliament on Tuesday as the former Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah addressed journalists outside the chamber following the Minority's decision to abstain from the debate on the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Akufo-Addo last week. Mr Buah argued that the NDC government deserves credit for the current stable power supply that the country is enjoying. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Image credit: Pexels.com On the evening of 7 February 2020 (Friday), I remember telling my wifewhen the videos and photos started circulatingDont buy into the hysteria. You join the supermarket crowds in the narrow aisles, the probability of you getting infected (by the COVID-19 virus) increases. Image credit: Ministry of Health and Gov.sg That day, Singapores Ministry of Health had confirmed three additional cases of the novel coronavirus, but was unable to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to China. The Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) was heightened to Level Orange. I immediately alerted my wife, who was boarding a plane flying back to Singapore that afternoon. The reactions among some Singaporeans to these two pieces of news were unprecedented. What happened next reminded me of US Black Friday Sales with people lugging big-screen TVs and PlayStations. A few hours after the alert, I received WhatsApp messages filled with images and videos of uncles, aunties, and husbands-whose-wives-made-them-rush-out-with-no-questions-asked, thronging supermarket aisles, carting heaps of instant noodles, bags of rice, condoms, and toilet paper. The psychology behind why a majority chose these items is best left to the experts in primate anthropology, but by the time images of emptied shelves flashed on my phone, I knew something didnt feel right. While there were shoppers who wore masks, there were also many who didnt. Either they didnt have any or couldnt be bothered. It struck me then that this wasnt panic caused by concern about the rising number of cases without links to previous cases (or China). It was kiasuism caused by the notion that everyone was buying stuff up, so I better buy too. Panic, when mixed with kiasuism, has surfaced a few times over the past year. Alibabas Singles Day campaign last November was one such example. I cant for the life of me remember any other part of the year when I was spending on stuff I didnt needall in one day. If we return and ask the aunties and uncles about their excessive purchases on 7 February, they might say they dont have regrets, but you and I both know, theyre going to be eating MSG-laden instant noodles for the rest of their lives. Story continues Image captured from WhatsApp. Image captured from WhatsApp. Beyond the videos and photos, there were also messages that fueled the anxiety (if it didnt already exist). I wondered if someone compiled these materials and sent them to a few super spreaders to drive everyones kiasuism up a notch. Perhaps to test water? Or clear old Chinese New Year stock? On my phone, I received screenshots of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs Facebook message, advising Singaporeans to stay strong, followed by notes telling me to boost my immune system, NOT by taking antibiotics, but by ingesting Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin D3, Probiotics, Manuka Honey, and Essential Oils. More photos surfaced, showing empty supermarket shelves and long queues of aunties and uncles with trolleys filled with sundries. While I viewed them with amusement, my wife, who had just gotten home from the airport, didnt. This was because we do our weekly grocery runs every Saturday morning, when we buy our weeks worth of supplies from our nearby Sheng Shiong, wet market, and RedMart. I dont blame her for being anxious. She had a tiring three-hour flight, navigated intense scrutiny and security at the airport, only to come home to these developments. Worse: we couldnt do our usual ordering on RedMartthe error message said there were no delivery slots for the week. We found out, much later, that some goondu had made a purchase order amounting to 800kg! Hello, thats equivalent to a full-sized giraffe! Buying to feed the whole of Mandai Zoo is it? Can you imagine a RedMart van stocking a giraffe-sized carton for just one dude? Image source: RedMarts Facebook page Spurred by up-to-the-minute updates from close relatives, she jumped into our family car that same evening, drove to the nearest Sheng Shiong, and stumbled into what is now known as the infamous panic-buying queues of that 7 February night. We saw the ugly side of Singaporeansmany abandoned baskets of their goods, perishables inclusive, on the aisle floors because they could no longer wait. That moment coincided with the TOTO S$12m Hongbao Draw results, which unfortunately for everyone else, one lucky Bukit Batokian won. To calm everyones nerves, photos and videos of Singapores abundant national stockpile emerged in the press. Then on 9 February, NTUC Fairprice imposed a purchase limit on paper products (4x packs), rice (2x bags) and instant noodles (4x bundles) per customer. There was also a S$50 limit on vegetables. Apparently, kiasuism does have a limit. Image credit: NTUC FairPrice via NTUC Group CEOs Seah Kian Pengs Facebook post. Today, we still see queues for hand sanitisers at ulu places like Tuas, but the panic-buying queues have more or less subsided. Panic- or should I say kiasu-buying isnt just a Singaporean thing. Were also seeing this in Hong Kong and Taiwan, especially for face masks and hand sanitisers. Its human nature to think the worst when everyone else is doing it, and you dont have all the necessary information. It worsens when your close friends and relatives start giving you up-to-the-minute stock-take information when theyre not even physically there. At least, over here in Singapore, were getting up-to-the-minute details on the number of confirmed cases, where theyve been, and how many have been discharged. While I wouldnt call myself a panic-buyer or a hoarder, I am a little forward-looking, to the point of taking precautions when things are still at DORSCON NO COLOUR YET. When I read about China locking down the city of Wuhan and parts of Hubei province on 23 January, I was in Malaysia celebrating Chinese New Year with my family. I immediately went to the local pharmacy and bought two boxes of surgical face masks and one thats child-friendly. I then bought a fourth box as a CNY gift for my parents. Image credit: Unsplash When I found out Singapores immigration custom officials were taking temperature readings of checkpoint commuters on 24 January, I suggested we drive back to Singapore earlier than planned because we didnt want to get caught in subsequent gridlocks. Now, I make it a point to wash my hands and sanitise as often as I can, reminding my daughter and family to do the same. When hand sanitisers were sold out at pharmacies, we googled ways to make our own, and my wife ordered rubbing alcohol, essential oils, and distilled water for the ingredients. I was also one of the early folks to wear a mask when I was out and about. Image credit: Pexels.com Once, at the hawker stall, the uncle looked at me funny because I ordered Bak Chor Lou Shee Fan With Soup through a face mask. I looked around and no one else was wearing one. Due to my muffled voice, the uncle gave me Bak Chor Lou Shee Fan Without Soup instead. At the time of writing, because were in Code Orange and the third highest country on the list of confirmed cases for the virus (after China and the Japan/Diamond Princess cruise ship), every individual out of maybe thirty wears a mask. I bet the hawker uncles had enough practice to hear everyones orders right. While the official advisory from the Ministry of Health and the Prime Minister is to only wear a mask when one is sick (so as not to infect others), the general sentiment from the community is to wear one if entering congested places, like a wet market, crowded bus, supermarket, or cinema. Some parents complained on social media because some schools disallowed their children from wearing masks (if theyre not sick). Others are worried because the incubation period of the COVID-19 virus is 14 days (some say 24). If you do not wear one, whats stopping an incubator from infecting you? As more 14-day incubators are created, it creates a chain reaction of many more 14-day incubators, and it becomes a wait-and-treat approach. Making it worse are people who are genuinely sick and not wearing masks. I was having lunch at a hawker centre just two days ago while a sickly man was continuously coughing without covering his exposed mouth as he walked by. I felt a moment of panic, because I wasnt wearing my mask at the time. This contentious issue was further put in the spotlight when four doctors signed and circulated a letter advising that everyone should be wearing a mask, prompting former NMP Calvin Cheng to argue his view on the side of people who need it most (ie. healthcare workers, public transport workers, etc.) in his Facebook post. Image credit: Captured via WhatsApp. I wear a mask (even though I am not sick) because I believe in protecting myself from the unfortunate situation of being exposed to a spreader. No matter how hard I try to avoid staying too long in crowded places, Im usually in themhawker centres, buses, wet marketsfor work and day-to-day routines. Subconsciously, Im also doing it to set an example for my five-year-old daughter. If daddy can wear a mask and keep it there without constantly touching or adjusting it, so can you. This was my rhetoric to her. Discipline comes first. If you need to wear a mask, you keep it on, not fiddle with it because youre restless or touching your face all the time. I cannot imagine a situation where she does not wear a mask, or fidgets with it without understanding the need to keep it on, then gets exposed to a spreader and ends up being quarantined. I could only have myself to blame. Image credit: Pexels.com Which brings me to my final question. What happens if we ever get to DORSCON RED? My guess, based on what Ive seen, is that there will be hysterical kiasi-ism. Front and back doors, and windows, will remain forever closed. Wipe-downs of every nook and cranny at home, right down to the last shred of toilet paper. Knock on their door and ask if theyve got toilet paper to spare, the answer will be, Go and die lah in Hokkien or their own native languagedelivered from behind a closed door. Dont even bother trying to reach them on the phone. The phrase social distancing takes on a very different meaning. If theyre carrying umbrellas, theyll spin it around like Mary Poppins to make sure everyone stays at least ten feet away. Theyre afraid of whats going to happen to themnot others. Thats hysterical kiasi-ism. Were already seeing some signs with people entering trains completely covered in transparent head-to-toe ponchos. My hope, like SARS, is for the chain of person-to-person transmission to be broken and the COVID-19 virus contained. The last thing I need is my neighbour displaying symptoms far worse than a coronavirus infection. Or worse, I get infected and become hysterically kiasi too. Do you have an opinion on why the situation happened the way it happened? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co. The post DORSCON Orange is the New Panic: COVID-19 Makes Singaporeans Show Their True Colours appeared first on RICE. Calm returned Tuesday after a two-day flare-up in and around Gaza as a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad appeared to take hold after initial jitters. The Israeli military reported no rocket fire from the territory during the morning and AFP correspondents in Gaza reported no Israeli strikes. The main border crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Israel was due to reopen at 9 am (0700 GMT) to allow medical cases and foreign nationals to leave, Palestinian officials said. Islamic Jihad announced the truce on Monday evening but later briefly backtracked, accusing Israel of breaching it. A rocket or mortar round fired from Gaza hit open ground in Israel shortly before midnight Monday, a spokeswoman for Shaar Hanegev regional council said. Islamic Jihad is the second largest militant group in Gaza after dominant Islamist movement Hamas. As with other Gaza truces, there was no official Israeli confirmation and the army ordered the parents of some 65,000 pupils in communities near the Gaza border to keep their children home for a second day. Islamic Jihad fired more than 50 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel after the army killed one of its fighters on Sunday morning. Many were intercepted by Israeli air defences and there were no reports of casualties. One rocket hit a playground but it was empty at the time. Israeli fighter jets and helicopters responded with strikes on Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza, as well as in neighbouring Syria. Sunday's fighting was the most intense between Israel and Islamic Jihad since November, when Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders from the group. That three-day flare-up saw 35 Palestinians killed and more than 100 wounded, according to official figures. There were no Israeli deaths despite hundreds of rockets being fired from Gaza. Islamic Jihad did not accept a wider truce Hamas agreed with Israel in late 2018 and renewed after successive flare-ups last year. Under the truce, Israel has allowed Hamas ally Qatar to provide fuel for Gaza's sole power station and million of dollars for cash payouts to the needy, among other relaxations of its more than decade-old blockade in exchange for a let-up in the violence. Hamas and Israel last fought a full-scale war in 2014, but smaller flare-ups have been relatively common. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is battling for re-election on March 2 in the shadow of an impending corruption trial, threatened an "extensive campaign" to end the rocket fire. Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008, most recently in 2014. ABC News suspended veteran Washington correspondent David Wright (pictured) after he was secretly recorded slamming the network's political coverage and President Donald Trump ABC News has suspended veteran Washington correspondent David Wright after he was secretly recorded slamming the network's political coverage and President Donald Trump. Wright was disciplined late Tuesday night after higher-ups at ABC News reviewed a video released by Project Veritas, a conservative group that records 'undercover' footage of mainstream journalists to support its accusations of media bias. In the video Wright, who was apparently unaware that he was being recorded, talked at length about his political views, declaring himself a 'socialist', and appeared to criticize his own network for how it chooses to present the news. 'I don't think we're terribly interested in voters,' Wright griped, asserting that executives care more about commercial value than informing the public. At another point in the recording, Wright called Trump 'a d***' and says: 'We don't hold him him to account. We also don't give him credit for what things he does do.' Project Veritas indicated in the subtitles that 'him' stood for Trump. Wright later referred to him as 'the f***ing president'. Wright's suspension was response to a video released by Project Veritas, a conservative group that records 'undercover' footage of mainstream journalists to support its accusations of media bias. In the video Wright talked at length about his political views, declaring himself a 'socialist', and appeared to criticize his own network for how it chooses to present the news Many of Wright's comments appear to be in reference to the general mainstream media's political coverage, not just ABC News. 'I feel terrible about it,' he is heard saying. 'I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed, and people also have the opportunity to tune into whatever they want to hear.' 'And so, it's like there's no upside, or our bosses don't see an upside in doing the job we're supposed to do, which is to speak truth to power and hold people accountable.' In a more direct attack on his own network, which is owned by Disney, Wright raised a longstanding critique on how ABC News blends news with promotion of Disney-owned movies and TV shows. 'Like now you can't watch Good Morning America without there being a Disney princess or a Marvel Avenger appearing,' he says. 'It's all self-promotional.' 'Commercial imperative is incompatible with news,' he added. Project Veritas said Wright made the comments while covering New Hampshire's Democratic primary on February 11. He appeared unaware that he was being recorded Wright also talked at length about his own political views. 'I would consider myself a socialist, like I think there should be national health insurance,' he said. 'I'm totally fine with reining in corporations, I think they're too many billionaires, and I think there's a wealth gap that's a problem.' Project Veritas said Wright made the comments while covering New Hampshire's Democratic primary on February 11. A rep for ABC News issued a statement on Wednesday confirming Wright's suspension. 'Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved,' the rep said. 'David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.' Wright, 56, has not returned media requests for comment about the video. The journalist joined ABC News nearly 20 years ago and regularly reports for signature programs including World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline. He has extensive experience covering the White House and served as Nightline's lead political reporter during the 2016 presidential campaign. Wright also periodically covers events in abroad, such as the Notre Dame cathedral fire in Paris last year. He won an Emmy in 2004 for his reporting in Iraq and a Peabody for reporting in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks. Wright joined ABC News nearly 20 years ago and regularly reports for signature programs including World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline Wright is seen with Good Morning America host Lara Spencer during a 2015 segment Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe teased the release of the video in a tweet on Tuesday without revealing Wright's name. 'Tomorrow, @ProjectVeritas will expose ABC News' agenda to mislead voters and push their own narratives. You aren't going to want to miss it,' he wrote along with the hashtag #ExposeABC. O'Keefe founded Project Veritas in June 2010 with the mission to 'investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society', according to the group's website. Its operatives conduct undercover 'stings' typically targeting journalists and others who are considered to be allied with liberal causes. They often do so by befriending targets and luring them into casual conversations in bars and restaurants without informing them that they're being recorded. The videos are then edited down with the most inflammatory clips thrown together and released publicly. O'Keefe has defended the organization's methods as journalistically sound. But mainstream news organizations have largely abandoned the practice of infiltrating businesses or organizations and recording without a subject's knowledge or consent, in part because it can subject them to criminal trespass penalties. Project Veritas has previously gone after media organizations such as CNN, NPR and the New York Times, as well as Democratic political operatives. The Washington Post, which first reported Wright's suspension, noted that one of its reporters was the target of a Project Veritas sting in 2017. An operative later identified as Jaime Phillips approached the Post reporter with allegedly damaging information about Roy Moore, who was running for Senate in Alabama at the time. The Post discovered the woman's apparent affiliation with Project Veritas and concluded that her story was a hoax before recording a video of her attempting to plant it. G reta Thunberg met Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at the University of Oxford and called the education campaigner her role model. Ms Yousafzai, 22, was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman after campaigning for girls to be educated in her native Pakistan at the age of 15. She now studies philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, and shared a photo on social media of the pair together on Tuesday. Shes the only friend Id skip school for, wrote Ms Yousafzai on Twitter. The Swede, who is in the UK for a youth protest in Bristol on Friday, repaid the favour to her fellow activist, describing Ms Yousafzai as her role model. Greta tweeted: So today I met my role model. What else can I say? They met at Ms Yousafzais college, Lady Margaret Hall, to discuss their activism and talk with students. The colleges master, Alan Rusbridger, posted a photo of Greta with some of his students and said he was honoured to host her. Grateful she found time to talk to some of our students about science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more, he tweeted. The meeting of the two young campaigners was noticed around Oxford too, with lecturer Jennifer Cassidy tweeting to say she spotted them. Reason unlimited why I love this place. I walk out my door, up one street and see @Malala and @GretaThunberg talking outside, she posted. UW School of Pharmacy Lab Uses Zebrafish to Pursue Human Spinal Regeneration Second-year UW School of Pharmacy student Kirsten Underwood, of Bishop, Calif., left, works with UW Assistant Professor Karen Mruk to better understand the spinal regenerative abilities of zebrafish. (UW Photo) Spinal cord injury can result in mild to permanent dysfunction of the human body, including partial or complete paralysis. Rehabilitation may take years and can involve treatment from many health care disciplines. Karen Mruk, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical science in the University of Wyomings School of Pharmacy, is using a diminutive fish from southern Asia to research ways to help people recover from such injuries. Mruk serves as principal investigator of the Mruk Lab, housed in the pharmacy wing of the UW College of Health Sciences. The lab opened in fall 2019, and its research mission is to advance the understanding of spinal regeneration using zebrafish, with implications for treating spinal injury in humans. Unlike humans, zebrafish can regenerate their spinal cords. Mruk and other researchers hope the insights they gain from studying the fish can be applied to find ways to regenerate human spinal cord tissue. The Mruk Lab studies neural injury using the highly regenerative zebrafish larvae, Mruk says. Larvae are an ideal model to study migrating cells, as they are both genetically tractable and transparent. Zebrafish are a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family. Because they are native to southern Asia, bringing these specimens to study in a cooler climate at Wyomings high altitude presented challenges. We were definitely concerned with the altitude, but our colleagues at Stanford University were patient with maintaining our lines until we could get up and running, Mruk says. Kirsten Underwood, from Bishop, Calif., is a second-year pharmacy student working in the Mruk Lab. Underwood co-wrote a grant proposal that resulted in the Mruk Lab being accepted to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus Advanced Imaging Center (AIC). The lab will use the AICs SiMView light sheet microscope, which contains multiple objectives to illuminate and capture images from both sides, while creating a three-dimensional image. UW graduate student Sarker Ramproshad, from Khulna, Bangladesh, screens zebrafish embryos for his experiments in the Mruk Lab. His work focuses on understanding how bioelectricity changes after a spinal cord injury. (UW Photo) I have really enjoyed the opportunity to pursue research through the UW School of Pharmacy honors program. I have a lot of creative freedom to chase the biology I am excited about, Underwood says. I remember hearing about Janelia as an undergrad, and I never thought I would have the opportunity to pursue that level of research here at the University of Wyoming. The expanded curriculum of UWs WWAMI Medical Education Program includes a course in Mind, Brain and Behavior that Mruk directs. We are extremely fortunate to have a nationally renowned scholar such as Dr. Mruk leading one of our WWAMI courses, says Tim Robinson, director of the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Medical Education Program at UW. Dr. Mruks lab is getting the attention of WWAMI students throughout our five-state region, as she will be mentoring a student from Seattle this summer. Part of offering a world-class medical education curriculum is the ability to provide high-caliber research projects for our medical students. SiMViews imaging technology will allow faculty and student researchers to better understand how zebrafish cells move and interact with one another in 3D. In addition, the Mruk Lab will benefit from the AICs expertise in using customized software to analyze cell movement. This award highlights the importance of Dr. Mruks cutting-edge research and is another example of our facultys commitment to student development, says Kem Krueger, dean of the UW School of Pharmacy. I am very proud of the Mruk-Underwood team and know that this opportunity with the HHMI Janelia Research Campus will significantly advance their research program. Jointly supported by the HHMI and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the AIC makes imaging technologies developed at Janelia available to the scientific community before commercialization. Scientific investigators from nonprofit organizations anywhere in the world may apply to use the facility. We are extremely excited about the research being conducted in Dr. Mruks lab, says UW College of Health Sciences Dean David Jones. We anticipate that this research will have a significant impact regarding our understanding of spinal cord injury, and it will contribute to the development of more effective approaches to treatment and rehabilitation. 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The roommates are facing allegations on opposite ends of the country, a fact that briefly confused U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson, who heard both of their cases. John Cameron Denton, 26, of Montgomery, faces allegations in Virginia that he tricked emergency dispatchers into sending police to a series of non-existent crises at unwitting third-party addresses -- a harassment tactic known as swatting. Denton will have a hearing Thursday at 10 a.m. to determine who his lawyer will be in Houston. Kaleb Cole, 24, of Montgomery, is among a group of four people charged with federal violations in Seattle. They are accused of creating posters with Nazi symbols, threatening language and images of weapons to harass and intimidate journalists. Cole waived his right to a detention and probable cause hearing. He will have an identity hearing Friday afternoon. Denton, former leader of Atomwaffen Division, was arrested Wednesday in Montgomery on charges he repeatedly deceived dispatchers into believing someone was in imminent danger. He is also to appear before Judge Johnson on charges of conspiracy to aid in multiple swatting events in Texas and in the eastern Virginia. He is sought by federal prosecutors in the federal court district in eastern Virginia. Atomwaffen Division, also known as AWD, is organized as a series of terror cells that work toward civilizational collapse, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups. Court documents state that from November 2018 through April 2019, Denton and several others, including John William Kirby Kelley, worked together to execute three swatting calls. One was to a cabinet officials home in Northern Virginia on Jan. 27, 2019, another to a location at Old Dominion University on Nov. 29, 2018 and the third to Alfred Street Baptist Church on Nov. 3, 2018. Denton is also accused of planning to target an investigative reporter at ProPublica and the New York City office of ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization that has been awarded Pulizer Prizes for its work. Prosecutors believe Denton chose the two targets because he was upset with ProPublica and the journalist for exposing his identity and role in Atomwaffen Division. According to a news release from the Justice Department, an undercover investigator was used in the case. Denton raved about committing what he considered a top tier crime that could benefit the group, and told the undercover investigator he used a voice changer to make swatting calls, according to the release. He told the official he swatted the offices of ProPublica and the investigative journalist, according to investigators. The Justice Department said that the Seattle group conspired via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and others they wanted to intimidate. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The other three defendants in that case are Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Wash.; Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Fla. and Johnny Roman Garza, 20 of Queen Creek, Ariz. According to the criminal complaint: Defendants Cole and Shea created the posters, which included Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening language. The posters were delivered to Atomwaffen members electronically and the coconspirators printed and delivered or mailed the posters to journalists or activists the group was targeting. In the Seattle area, the posters were mailed to a TV journalist who had reported on Atomwaffen and to two individuals associated with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In Tampa, the group targeted a journalist,but delivered the poster to the wrong address. In Phoenix, the poster was delivered to a magazine journalist. Shea will make his initial appearance on the complaint at the federal courthouse in Seattle at 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Justice Department. Those arrested in other districts will make their appearances in federal court in those districts and will appear in Seattle on a future date. gabrielle.banks@chron.com Syracuse.com has updated its database of the latest commercial and residential real estate sales in Central New York. Search three years of sales data in Cayuga, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties. On the first anniversary of the Balakot airstrike, former Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa recalled the retaliate attack by India, stating a lot of things have been implemented after Balakot operations. Days after the Pulwama terror attack that shook the nation, India on February 26, 2019, pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at Balakot in Pakistan by carrying out coordinated airstrikes. Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Chief Dhanoa listed the outcome of the airstrike, stating that no terrorist attack took place following that as the airstrike instilled fear. "One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learnt a lot of lessons, a lot of things have been implemented after Balakot operations. After Balakot airstrike, there was no major terrorist attack throughout the Indian elections because they were scared that we will respond again in the same manner or even more devastatingly, said Chief Dhanoa. Former Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa on one year of #BalakotAirstrike: One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learnt a lot of lessons, a lot of things have been implemented after Balakot operations. pic.twitter.com/rkWjycNb5h ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 He further reasoned out the airstrike and said that the message the IAF wanted to give was that they will enter and attack, no matter where the terrorists were. READ: Balakot airstrikes featured in Indian Air Force's calendar for the year 2020 Balakot Air Strikes Days after the Pulwama terror attack that shook our nation, India on February 26, 2019, pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at Balakot in Pakistan by carrying out coordinated airstrikes. In a pinpointed and swift airstrike that lasted less than two minutes, officials stated that the IAF targeted 350 terrorists and trainers. The "preemptive and non-military" action by India was seen as a result of strong leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who on February 15, 2019, had said 'those responsible will pay a very heavy price' and 'security forces will be given a free hand to deal with terrorists.' The braveheart of the Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also spent a few days in Pakistani custody after he shot down a modern Pakistani F16 jet, following which his MiG-21 was shot down in a dogfight the with Pakistan Air Force just a day after the February 26 Balakot airstrike. READ: 2019 Highlights Part 1: From IAF's Balakot Blitz to 'Howdy, Modi', here's a look back Pulwama Terror Attack On February 14, 2019, an explosives-laden truck rammed into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama outside Srinagar, killing 40 soldiers in one of the biggest terror attacks in recent years. PM Modi in his speech after the Pulwama terror attack had said, "Security forces have been given complete freedom, the blood of the people is boiling... Our neighboring country, which has been isolated internationally, thinks such terror attacks can destabilise us, but their plans will not materialise." READ: IAF Chief BS Dhanoa flies his final MiG sortie, with Wg Cdr Abhinandan READ: Wing Commander Abhinandan to fly MIG over IAF Day parade in Hindon Mumbai: After the release of the international films "Shoplifters", and "Ash Is the Purest White", actor Sanjay Suri is now all set to bring the Oscar-nominated drama "Les Miserables" to India on March 13. "Watching Ladj Ly's 'Les Miserables' was an experience that stayed with me beyond the theatres. A palpable, energetic, stylish, gritty, relevant and effective piece of Cinema that engages you beyond and more. Continuing our journey after 'Shoplifters' I am happy to release 'Les Miserables' in India with my associates. A film not to be missed by us Indians, it will touch a chord that perhaps already exists," Sanjay said. The French film was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2020 Academy Awards. It also picked up the Prix du Jury at Cannes last year. "Les Miserables" was inspired by the 2005 French riots. While Discover may be just the sixth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S., it has established itself as the preferable option for the masses because of its attention to customer service and convenience. This is the story of the unusual road Discover took to get there, including its humble beginnings as a part of Sears Roebuck and longtime battles with Visa and Mastercard. "We might be more like Toyota and American Express may be more like Mercedes," Discover CEO Roger Hochschild told CNBC. "Any income can drive and buy a Toyota." Discover credit cards have topped the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey in five of the past six years with a focus on middle-class borrowers. Sears launched the Discover card in 1986, with options that at the time were considered quite innovative, including cash-back rewards and no annual fees. However, it struggled to get a foothold under the retailer. In 1993, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. spun off from Sears and later merged with Morgan Stanley in 1997. In 2004, Discover filed a lawsuit seeking damages against MasterCard and Visa claiming that the networks had harmed its business with their exclusionary policies. MasterCard and Visa settled for nearly $3 billion in 2008, a year after Discover became independent. During this time, Discover gained important card clients like Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and GE Consumer Finance, and acquired Pulse, a debit card network. Discover Financial shares have jumped nearly 500% since the aftermath of the financial crisis a decade ago, making it one of the best financial stocks over that time period. The gains have slowed recently, however, with the stock underperforming the market and major competitors over the last one- and five-year periods. "It would not be surprising if in time we see Discover either making an acquisition through a merger with another credit card issuer or being acquired by somebody bigger," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a newsletter about the payment industry. Watch the video above to learn more about how Discover credit cards became the card of the American middle class. Coral bleeching great barrier reef The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey/Richard Vevers and Christophe Bailhache New research reveals the dire threat that climate change poses to coral reefs, one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Within 20 years, 70-90% of coral reefs will likely die. By 2100, there could be few to none left. Photos show what vibrant reef systems currently look like, and what could happen to them in the future because of climate change. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Coral reefs are dying. Between 70% and 90% of all reef systems could disappear within the next two decades because of pollution and climate change, according to new research. That projection, which researchers from the University of Hawaii Manoa presented at annual Ocean Sciences Meeting last week, suggests that by the end of the century, there could be few to no suitable sites for coral reefs anywhere in the world. Coral reefs cover less than 1% of Earth's surface, but they provide a home for over 25% of all marine life. Millions of people rely on them for food, medicine, protection from storms, and employment in tourism sectors. But corals are highly sensitive to water temperature, and climate change is causing oceans to warm and become more acidic. Some studies suggest half of the world's coral reefs have already died. The new research also found that by the end of the century, there will be very few locations where human efforts to restore coral habitats would be viable at all. "Trying to clean up the beaches is great, and trying to combat pollution is fantastic. We need to continue those efforts," Renee Setter, the lead researcher on the project, said in a statement. "But at the end of the day, fighting climate change is really what we need to be advocating for in order to protect corals and avoid compounded stressors." Here's what bright, biodiverse coral reefs look like, and the dead shells they could become. Story continues Coral reefs are often considered "rainforests of the sea" because of the diverse array of creatures that live in them. Turtles in Great Barrier Reef.JPG Lucas Jackson/Reuters Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most extensive reef system in the world. But half of it was killed off in two consecutive years of coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017. It's currently facing another. Great Barrier Reef.JPG Lucas Jackson/Reuters In 2016, one-third of the 3,863 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef system went through a catastrophic die-off after an extreme heatwave. A bleaching event the next year devastated even more reefs; the cumulative effects have killed an estimated half of the Great Barrier Reef. The new research projects that reefs could cease to exist by the end of the century if ocean warming continues. Bleaching Blue Staghorn Coral.JPG Lucas Johnson/Reuters The blue staghorn coral in the image is experiencing a bleaching event. When healthy, it ranges from vibrant turquoise to royal blue in color. "The bright blue staghorn coral is not normally that color. It is fluorescing another sign a coral is in distress," Lyle Vail, director of a research station in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, said in a statement from the World Wildlife Fund Australia. As waters warm, coral loses the algae that lives in its tissue, provides nutrients, and gives coral its bright color a process called bleaching. Shark over a bleached reef in the Maldives. Carl Court/Getty Images Bleaching doesn't completely kill coral, but it makes reefs vulnerable to toxic algae, disease, predators, and death. Oceans also acidify as they absorb more carbon dioxide, and that causes bleaching, too. Some estimates suggest that about half of the world's healthy reefs have already been killed in the last 30 years. A gorgonian giant sea fan and soft corals on a rock in a coral reefs with school of fishes, Mergui Archipelago, Myeik, Myanmar.gorgonian giant sea fan and soft corals in Mergui Archipelago, Myeik, Myanmar Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images Runoff from agriculture and pollution from nearby cities pose additional threats to reefs. Starfish on bleached coral Richard Whitcombe/Shutterstock A proliferation of crown-of-thorns starfish in the Great Barrier Reef in 2018 was caused by nearby fertilizer runoff, which helped the starfish breed. Overpopulation of these predatory starfish can ravage coral reefs. The coral, meanwhile, was experiencing bleaching events that made them weaker and more vulnerable to attack. In the Pacific Ocean, overfishing has thrown food chains out of balance. The overharvesting of reef fish removes the natural consumers of some seaweed-like algae, allowing it to grow to levels that can smother reefs. Fishing net on reef in the Gulf of Thailand Guntaphat Pokasasipun/Getty Images According to estimates from the World Resources Institute in 2011, 55% of the world's reefs are threatened by overfishing, with nearly 30% considered highly threatened. Fishing boats also drag nets that entangle live coral and tear them away from their bases. Table Coral in Indonesia SergeUWPhoto/Shutterstock Boats' anchors can damage and destroy reefs, too. Scientists and policymakers have tried to protect coral by banning sunscreens with toxic chemicals and encouraging divers not to touch reefs. Large table coral dying off the coast of the Solomon Islands Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock Some marine scientists are also trying to build reef "nurseries" from equipment like old ships or concrete blocks that young coral usually raised in laboratories can grow on. coral reefs of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Alexis Rosenfeld:Getty Images) Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images The researchers at the University of Hawaii Manoa attempted to map out future locations that would be suitable for coral restoration efforts Hard corals bleaching on the rock underwater at the dive site in gulf of Thailand. Guntaphat Pokasasipun/Getty Images Their models took into account future sea-surface temperatures, wave energy, water acidity, pollution, and overfishing. The study found that by 2100, there will be "few to zero" suitable coral habitats. Shedd Aquarium coral researchers Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images The few sites that could support reef restoration were in Baja California and the Red Sea. bleached coral Luiz Rocha, California Academy of Sciences But even those are not ideal reef habitats because of their proximity to rivers, the study found. "Honestly, most sites are out," Setter said in the release, adding, "by 2100, it's looking quite grim." Bleached coral David Burdick/NOAA/AP Environmentalist David Attenborough spoke about his first time scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in a BBC interview: "Below me there was a wonderland a coral reef. On it, there were fish I never dreamed of, with colors I could only imagine, and there were all these other organisms that I had never seen before in my life." FireCoral RainervonBrandis/Getty Images Future divers, however, are unlikely to enjoy the same sights. Read the original article on Business Insider Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. 26February 2020 Acron (Veliky Novgorod) Announces Extraordinary General Meeting Acron's Board of Directors resolved to convene an extraordinary general meeting in the form of absentee voting on 3 April 2020. In accordance with the approved agenda, the general meeting is to consider distribution of Acron's retained earnings for previous years (including payment (declaration) of dividends). The recommendations of the Board of Directors on dividend amount and record date will be considered and disclosed on or before 13 March 2020. The record date for the list of persons entitled to attend the extraordinary general meeting is end of day 10 March 2020. Mediacontacts: Tatiana Smirnova Public Relations Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196) Investor contacts: Ilya Popov Investor Relations Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252) Background Information Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and the Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It owns transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licences for 11 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty, one of the largest chemical producers in Europe. In 2018, the Group sold 7.3 million tonnes of various products to 67 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets. In 2018, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 108,062 million (USD 1,723 million) and net profit of RUB 13,318 million (USD 212 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs approximately 11,000 people. For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en. The FBI is investigating Peter Nygard for sex trafficking Prince Andrew's accused pedophile friend, Peter Nygard, stepped down as the head of his fashion empire after the FBI raided his offices as part of an ongoing probe into sexual trafficking. Nygard, 77, is being investigated by the FBI amid allegations he abused girls as young as 14 on his private property in the Bahamas. On Tuesday, agents flocked to the Nygard building in Times Square, where the Canadian business executive runs his operation. It is not clear if he was there at the time but hours later, a spokesman for him said he had stepped down. 'Recognizing the priority of the welfare of the thousands of Nygard employees, retail partners, loyal customers, vendors, suppliers, and business partners, Peter Nygard has made the decision to step down as chairman of the Nygard Companies and will divest his ownership interest. 'The wonderful Nygard employees who rely upon the companies for their livelihoods must now be the priority. Peter Nygard thanks his employees for their years of dedicated service,' his spokesman, Ken Frydman, said. Frydman added that he was 'cooperating' with the investigation, saying: 'Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. 'He has not been charged, is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation,' he told ABC. Agents reportedly raided the lobby and sixth floor of the building. On Tuesday, there was no one there to even man the company's desk (above) The exterior of the building in Time's Square. There was no sign of Nygard Six police vans were there and agents were spotted on the sixth floor of the building and in the lobby. Earlier this month, Nygard was sued by a collection of women who say he raped and drugged them on the Bahamas estate Prince Andrew visited in 2011. He denies the allegations. Ten women say they were raped by the mogul at the compound. The women filed a class-action lawsuit against Nygard in the Southern District of New York last Thursday, which claims that he ran a 'sex-trafficking ring' at the island home. The suit alleges that Nygard lured 'young, impressionable, and often impoverished children and women' to his Mayan-themed vacation home in the Bahamas with cash payments and promises to launch their modelling careers. Once the arrived, the girls were entertained at so-called 'pamper parties' where Nygard would have bartenders spike their drinks with the date-rape drug Rohypnol. Nygard allegedly kept a database with details about each guest, which he would consult before picking a 'victim' to target at the weekly parties. Nygard's empire is built on sportswear. His leggings are sold in stores that bear his name and also in Dillard's. He is worth an estimated $750million. He has long had a reputation for keeping young, attractive women around him. Nygard with Prince Andrew on his Bahamas island in 2011 A Jewish group has backed proposals for displays of the Nazi swastika symbol to be made illegal, but says any new laws should go further than that. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria have called on the state's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act to completely ban the public display of the Nazi symbol. The group's president Jennifer Huppert addressed a parliamentary committee on Tuesday and said the swastika ban was simply a 'knee-jerk' reaction and more needed to be done with hate material. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria have called on the state's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act to completely ban the public display of the Nazi symbol 'There's been issues about the swastika, Nazi flags being flown, people doing other things ... this is not new, it's something that's been simmering for a while,' she told the committee, The Age reported. 'I don't have a problem with [the ban] but, and we've discussed it, we think it's important there's a [broader] ban on hate material.' The swastika was the main symbol of the Nazi government that ruled Germany from 1933-45 and which ran death camps that killed tens of millions of people, including an estimated six million Jews. Islamic Council of Victoria vice-president Adel Salman also addressed the committee about proposed new laws, and said acts of hate against Muslims had increased since the Christchurch terrorist attack which saw 50 innocent worshippers killed. He said the organisation is working to launch a hotline for Muslims to report any hate crime. 'We need to send a very clear message that any form of hate directed towards religious communities is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,' Mr Salman told the committee. He hopes the government would work with the Islamic Council to implement the hotline. The committee has until September 20 to report any recommended changes to the government. The swastika became a symbol for the German Nazi regime during the second world war which saw the deaths of six million Jews Bill (pictured) who lives in Beulah refused to take down a flag with Nazi swastikas despite complaints from furious neighbours Last month, a family came under fire for flying a Nazi flag despite living across from a Holocaust survivor. Bill and his partner Cheryl, who live in the small town of Beulah, four hours outside of Melbourne, refused to take down the flag. The couple live across the road from a frail Holocaust survivor, 83, whose parents were both killed in concentration camps. The couple moved into the home this year and claim they haven't had a single complaint from their neighbours. The flag has been flying over the street for a month, despite an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor living across the road When confronted by A Current Affair, Bill refused to answer why the flag had been put up - instead telling reporters to get off his property while holding a pair of scissors. 'Nobody has come here and even said anything about the f***king flag, not even a neighbour, not even nobody so just f**k off,' he said. But those living in the couple's street have said otherwise, with several offering to take the flag down themselves. While the flag sparked outrage across the community, police said they could not intervene as the couple were not breaking any laws but did request they remove it. The flag eventually came down but Bill refused to remove it himself - instead asking a police officer to do the job. The flag eventually came down but Bill refused to remove it himself - instead asking a police officer to do the job (stock) Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission is spreading a national campaign to ban public displays of the Nazi swastika (stock) Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission is spreading a national campaign to ban public displays of the Nazi swastika. 'While I welcome the removal of the Nazi flag by the police in Beulah, this does not in any way address the core problem which is that the flying of the Nazi flag in Victoria is still not against the law,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Hexo (HEXO) stock hasn't been getting a lot of love from the market or analysts lately, as it has plummeted over 80% from its 52-week high. A couple of analysts have also lowered their outlook on the company, seeing it struggling to gain traction anytime soon. Even its joint venture with Molson Coors (TAP) hasn't been enough to turn negative investor sentiment around at this time. In this article, we'll look at the major reasons behind the negative outlook and why it'll take time to know whether or not Hexo will emerge as a turnaround story, or continue to struggle. Future Canadian cannabis sales not convincing While the market and Hexo have looked to derivative sales in cannabis as a key catalyst going forward, analysts like Owen Bennett from Jefferies believe Canadian cannabis sales in general are being looked at too optimistically. Bennett sees derivative sales in the near term possibly being "nonexistent." While I think that's overly pessimistic at the macro level, in the case of Hexo it will probably find it challenging to generate any meaningful revenue in the first couple of calendar quarters of 2020. A major problem is even if HEXO does manage to generate some revenue from derivatives, it will in part cannibalize existing recreational cannabis sales, which means the difference in price between recreation and derivative recreational products will be limited in the early stage of legal sales. The other key factor is how long it'll take for the promised opening of new retail outlets in Ontario and Quebec to take hold. It's not likely to have a lot of impact in the first half of 2020, and if hundreds of stores do open, they'll do so at a staggered pace, which means it'll take some time for the full effect of the new stores to have an impact on sales and earnings. That in term suggests most of the derivative sales will be to existing recreational customers, which will limit the impact on Hexo's performance. In the future, when alternative ways of consuming cannabis are offered to potential customers, that's probably when companies like HEXO will get some sustainable growth from derivatives. Story continues Infused beverages One of the competitive advantages Hexo has over most of its peers is its joint venture with Molson Coors. In the near term the company will release six different infused beverage brands to the market. Initially it is offering an infused brand called Flow Glow, which is spring water infused with CBD. A major challenge is infused drinks so far is that companies, such as Canopy Growth, have struggled to identify what the market wants in the U.S. market, and that also was the case with oils. So far nothing significant has been developed on the derivative side of the market to point to it being a positive growth catalyst for Hexo. Charlotte's Web has enjoyed some success, but it's the most identifiable brand in the overall cannabis sector, and has yet to be challenged in a meaningful way with CBD-infused derivatives. The bottom line is it remains an unknown for Hexo, and can't be counted on to move the needle anytime soon. Weak balance sheet At the end of the last quarter in October 2019, the company had a cash balance of $65.4 million, with overall debt of $55 million. Operating cash flow stood at -$138 million, with dismal free cash flow of -$246 million. Consequently, Ello Capital projects that Hexo's current cash balance to allow it to operate for between six and seven months. The company has managed to raise another $100 million since October, and I think should be able to raise more capital when it needs to. How much it will be able to raise is the question at hand. Since the Canadian market will take some time to rebound, it appears it's going to need a lot more operating capital in order to keep the doors open. The company says it plans on reducing operating expenses by 25 percent in fiscal 2020, which if successful, will provide some breathing room for the company. Consensus Verdict HEXO gets a Moderate Sell rating from the analyst consensus, with 1 "buy," 5 "hold" and 5 "sell" ratings given in the past 3 months. Shares are priced at $1.24, and the $1.73 average price target suggests an upside of 39.5%. (See HEXO stock analysis at TipRanks) Conclusion Taking into account its partnership with Molson Coors, Hexo should be enjoying some strength that its competitors don't have, but its weak balance sheet, unproven ability to boost sales from derivatives, and the issues associated with the Canadian licensing process which has resulted in far fewer retail outlets than anticipated, Hexo is going to struggle to turn things around in 2020, and probably further out. Any surprise will be a big plus for the company, such as some of its infused beverage brands outperforming low expectations. Any other derivative sales that surprise to the upside will be a positive catalyst for the company as well. Even if things improve going forward, it's going to take time for Hexo to dig itself out of this hole. For that reason I'm bearish on the company for 2020, and will have to wait and see how its derivative sales do in the first half of 2020 before adjusting my outlook for rest of the year, and early 2021. To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Taking serious note of Chief Minister Zoramthanga's assertion that his party does not follow the ideologies of the BJP, the saffron party's Mizoram unit on Wednesday said the ruling Mizo National Front should leave the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). Formed in 2016, the BJP-headed NEDA is an alliance of non-Congress parties in the North East. The MNF is a member of the NEDA but did not contest the 2018 Assembly polls together with the BJP. During a discussion on a private member's resolution related to "religious freedom" in the state Assembly last week, Zoramthanga had said the MNF does not find the BJP a 'good' party and the two are fighting each other over principles and ideologies. "We suggest the chief minister and his party leave the NEDA banner if he finds that the BJP and the MNF are ideologically antagonistic to each other," state BJP president Vanlalhmuaka said here. The MNF hit back saying it is a part of the NEDA and not of the saffron party. The statement of Zoramthanga, who also heads the MNF, was a serious matter and does not behove a member of the NEDA, Vanlalhmuaka told a press conference. After taking oath on December 15, 2018, Zoramthanga said the MNF did not have any intention to leave the NEDA although it was under fire from the Congress for joining hands with the Hindutva forces as the party is a member of the NEDA. The private member's resolution adopted unanimously by the state Assembly on February 21 asked the Centre to take measures for protection of religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution. The MNF is a party that is not easily convinced by the word of an opposition leader, general secretary T Lalhmachhuana said. "No doubt the MNF is a constituent of the NEDA. But this does not imply that the party is accepting the BJP's ideologies cent percent. We are NEDA partner and not BJP member," he said. Defending his party chief Zoramthanga, Lalhmachhuana said the MNF was opposed to the Hindutva agenda and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill before it became an Act giving exemption to Mizoram. The BJP state president Vanlalhmuaka also accused state Congress president and former chief minister Lal Thanhawla of spreading misinformation that the Centre would lift the ILP regime in the Northeast. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Beijing Factories that make the world's smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled China's economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal. The problem is supply chains the thousands of companies that provide components, from auto parts to zippers to microchips. China's are famously nimble and resourceful, but they lack raw materials and workers after the most intensive anti-disease measures ever imposed closed factories, cut off most access to cities with more than 60 million people and imposed travel curbs. In smartphones, an industry that relies on China to assemble almost all its handsets, some components suppliers say production is as low as 10 percent of normal levels, according to Nicole Peng of Canalys, a research firm. "The bad news is that there will be further impact, and the impact is worse than a lot of people initially expected," said Peng. Travel and retail businesses that need Chinese customers have suffered the most so far from the partial shutdown of the second largest economy. But brands including Apple Inc. say it is starting to disrupt their supplies. Analysts warn the longer that disruption lasts, the more damage will spread to wider industries and other economies. Global brands have used low-cost Chinese labor to assemble goods for three decades. Now, they increasingly depend on China to supply auto, computer and other components. Disruptions can make this country a bottleneck, choking off their sales. The most optimistic forecasts call for bringing the virus under control by March, allowing manufacturing to rebound. Gloomier outlooks say the outbreak might last until mid-May or later. Or, as the World Health Organization warned this week, authorities might fail to stop its global spread. Automakers and other factories are reopening, but analysts say they won't restore normal production until at least mid-March. "If factory work does not spike in the coming weeks, a global parts shortage would likely emerge," Taimur Baig and Samuel Tse of DBS said in a report. There is no indication yet of an impact on consumers abroad, but retailers are starting to warn some products might be late or unavailable. China also is a major supplier of chemicals for the global pharmaceutical industry. The outbreak has prompted concern supplies might be disrupted but there is no indication that drug production has been affected. President Xi Jinping has put his personal authority behind reviving industry. Beijing is promising tax cuts, though economists say financial help will have limited impact when anti-disease controls still in effect are still keeping workers away from factories and disrupting the movement of goods. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. On Sunday, Xi said "low-risk areas" should change disease-control measures to fully restore production while high-risk areas focus on fighting the epidemic, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Manufacturers face a shortage of workers after millions who visited their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday were stranded there by the suspension of plane, train and bus services. Officials must "unblock transportation channels," Xinhua cited Xi as saying. The government of Yiwu, a southeastern city known for its thousands of suppliers of buttons, doorknobs and other components to export manufacturers, says it arranged planes and trains to help their employees get back to work. China accounts for about one-quarter of global manufacturing when measured by the value added in its factories. But it is the final assembly point for more than 80 percent of the world's smartphones, more than half of TVs and a big share of other consumer goods. Apple, which has most of its iPhones and other products assembled by contractors in China, rattled stock markets when it warned Feb. 17 that revenue would suffer due to supply disruptions. "We would certainly expect to see more news like that," said Simon Weston of AXA Investment Managers in Hong Kong. Other global companies that need Chinese plastics, chemicals, steel and high-tech components also "face reduced production," according to Kaho Yu of Verisk Maplecroft, a consulting firm. Yu said that is likely to last through the quarter ending in September. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said last week half of the 109 companies that responded to a survey reported their global operations already are affected. It said 78 percent reported they lacked sufficient staff to run production lines. Seattle, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- Different types of cables are used in cars that need to deal with vibration, heat, hydrocarbons, etc. These wires and cables are manufactured from different types of materials though aluminum and copper two of the most popular types of automotive wire materials. Copper is majorly used material as it is more conductive, flexible, and less likely to corrode than aluminum wire. Generally, these wires are soldered or solderless. Solderless connections are often used for terminals such as crimp terminals to make connections. Moreover, wires and cables are manufactured with different colors, in order to organize and repair them. The global automotive wire and cable materials market was valued at US$ 4,424.4 Mn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecasted period (2019-2027) Request For Sample Copy Now @https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/3249 Market Dynamics- Driver: 1. Increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles are expected to drive growth of the global automotive wire and cable materials market during the forecast period: Automakers around the globe are introducing new electric car model with advanced features, in order to expand their consumer base. Consumers are increasingly preferring eco-friendly, electric cars over conational gasoline cars, which in turn, is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. Moreover, hybrid cars offer benefits of both conventional and electric cars. In fact, it offers better fuel efficiency than regular petrol cars with incorporation of electrical system. Hybrid vehicles are consist of invertors and electric motors that are connected by AC and DC wiring harnesses. This, in turn, is expected to increase adoption of electric and hybrid cars and thereby drive the market growth over the forecast period. 2. High growth of global automotive market is expected to propel the global automotive wire and cable materials market growth over the forecast period: The global automotive market has witnessed significant growth in the recent past. According to Coherent Market Insights' analysis, the global automotive market growth was led by South Korea, India, Japan, China, and the U.S., with these accounting for 60.1% of the global cars and commercial vehicles production in 2015. Furthermore, India and China are expected to be the major contributors in the near future. This is owing to rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles in the region. Thus, high growth of global automotive market is expected to boost the global automotive wire and cable materials market over the forecast period. Key companies operating in the global automotive wire and cable materials market are: ACOME, Allied Wire & Cable Inc., Coficab Tunisie SA, Coroplast Fritz Muller GmbH & Co. KG, Delphi Automotive PLC, Draka Holdings B.V., Lear Corporation., Leoni AG, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and Yazaki Corporation. Market Trends: 1. Increasing demand for car digitization and connectivity is a major trend in the market: Increasing demand for car digitization and connectivity, which is an integral part of vehicle and communication is expected to boost the consumption of automotive wires and cables. Moreover, these wires are being used to aid communication with other vehicles through intelligent and enhanced roadway infrastructure. 2. Growing adoption of aluminum in place of copper to reduce weight: Manufacturers in the market are focused on replacing copper wire with aluminum wire for the use in battery cables, in order to reduce cost and vehicle weight. This is a major trend in the market is expected to continue during the forecast period. To Get Customized Report Click Here @https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/3249 About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. As for overseas Vietnamese, the department asked them to follow recommendations and guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control set by local competent agencies, and avoid unnecessary trips. Those who return from epidemic-affected areas or have had contact with infected people will be subject to medical screenings and a 14-day quarantine period. The department also asked Vietnamese citizens to swiftly inform Vietnams competent and representative agencies in foreign countries and territories, and their relatives in case of emergency. In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact citizen protection hotlines posted on websites of Vietnamese representative offices abroad or the departments citizen protection hotline: +84 981 84 84 84. Joshua Jackson's pregnant wife Jodie Turner-Smith found it hilarious that Home Depot broadcast the Dawson's Creek theme song - Paula Cole's 1997 hit I Don't Want to Wait - while they shopped there on Monday. 'You KNOW I had to serenade him!' the expecting 33-year-old - who boasts 199K social media followers - wrote of the incident. 'You couldn't write this. Felt ALL THE FEELS when I heard this song. #PACEY4EVA.' '#PACEY4EVA': Joshua Jackson's (L) pregnant wife Jodie Turner-Smith (R) found it hilarious that Home Depot broadcast the Dawson's Creek theme song - Paula Cole's 1997 hit I Don't Want to Wait - while they shopped there on Monday As the Queen & Slim star mouthed the lyrics, the 41-year-old SAG Award nominee rolled his eyes and asked: 'Is there something amusing you, babe?' Joshua got his big break portraying Capeside High School student Pacey Witter, who goes from emotionally-abused slacker to owner of The Icehouse, on The WB teen soap which aired from 1998-2003. Jackson - who romanced his leading lady Katie Holmes - even made his directorial debut helming a 2003 episode titled 'Lovelines' during the sixth and final season. Meanwhile, miles away in Maryland, Jodie was a 17-year-old Gaithersburg High School senior 'crushing' hard on Pacey - according to W Magazine. The expecting 33-year-old - who boasts 199K social media followers - tweeted of the incident: 'You KNOW I had to serenade him!' Her Instastory was captioned: 'You couldn't write this. Felt ALL THE FEELS when I heard this song' As the Queen & Slim star (R) mouthed the lyrics, the 41-year-old SAG Award nominee (L) rolled his eyes and asked: 'Is there something amusing you, babe?' Turner-Smith is about eight months along with their first child, whom they plan on raising in the When They See Us actor's native Canada due to racial tension and school shootings in the States and UK. 'England has gone off the rails,' the Peterborough-born Brit told the Sunday Times last month. 'The racial dynamics over here are fraught. White supremacy is overt. It's the reason I don't want to raise my kids here. I don't want my kids to grow up doing active shooter drills at school... Aired from 1998-2003: Joshua got his big break portraying Capeside High School student Pacey Witter, who goes from emotionally-abused slacker to owner of The Icehouse, on The WB teen soap (pictured in 2003 with Katie Holmes) Voted most likely to succeed! Miles away in Maryland, Jodie was a 17-year-old Gaithersburg High School senior 'crushing' hard on Pacey (pictured in 2003) 'In America interracial dating or marriage is not something that is as accepted. Certain people feel strongly against it, in both communities.' The inseparable newlyweds - who tied the knot in December - were first pictured canoodling at eight-time Grammy winner Usher's 40th birthday bash back in October 2018. However, Joshua never explained who the mystery woman was he was pictured kissing at LAX on June 13 - just two months before obtaining a marriage license with Jodie. 'Love you, baby daddy!' Turner-Smith is about eight months along with their first child, whom they plan on raising in Jackson's native Canada due to racial tension and school shootings in the States and UK (pictured February 14) Baby on board: The newlyweds - who tied the knot in December - were first pictured canoodling at Usher's 40th birthday bash back in October 2018 (pictured February 2) Back in 2016, the Affair star split with his ex-girlfriend Diane Kruger, who met her babydaddy Norman Reedus as the three of them acted together on the 2015 set of Fabienne Berthaud's romance Sky. Jackson will next play attorney Bill Richardson in Hulu's eight-episode miniseries Little Fires Everywhere - premiering March 18 - alongside Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, and Rosemarie DeWitt. Turner-Smith will next play Michael B. Jordan's murdered wife Karen Greer in Stefano Sollima's Navy SEAL action thriller Without Remorse, which hits US/UK theaters September 18. Premiering March 18! The When They See Us actor will next play attorney Bill Richardson in Hulu's eight-episode miniseries Little Fires Everywhere opposite Reese Witherspoon (R) NFU President Minette Batters has expressed frustration at mixed messages coming out of government over food and farming standards. There are growing fears in the farming industry that the government will be prepared to abandon food and welfare standards in order to secure trade agreements with the US and others. The NFU president said any drop in standards would be "insane" when she addressed the union's annual conference in Birmingham today (25 February). She said government was listening to the industry's arguments about standards, but she said mixed comments had been coming out of government for a long time. "It is in the national interest of this country that we maintain our food standards, but it is complicated, it is technical," she said. "I know that this will test the moral compass of some in government. There are going to have a to be some trade-offs and it would be a pipe dream to expect every country in the world to operate to the same rules and regulations." But she said the prime minister and other government ministers needed to stand up for British values in trade talks. This isnt just about chlorinated chicken. This is about a wider principle. We must not tie the hands of British farmers to the highest rung of the standards ladder while waving through food imports, which may not even reach the bottom rung," she added. The NFU leader said that battery cage egg production was still permitted in some countries, although it was banned in the UK in 2012. She also said that meat and bone meal in feed was banned in the UK 24 years ago, but was still allowed elsewhere. In Brazil, farmers do not need a vet's prescription for animal medicines and did need to record treatments. There is no legislation in many parts of the world on the use of these drugs. Mrs Batters said: In the US and other countries there are no federal controls on what are deemed in the UK to be fundamental welfare requirements. "And in Japan, Australia, China, Canada, Brazil, Malaysia and India the use of antibiotics is permitted for growth promotion," she said. "This isn't hysteria, this isn't mumbo jumbo; this is fact. "To sign up to a trade deal that results in opening up our ports, shelves and fridges that would be illegal to produce here would not only be morally bankrupt - it would be the work of the insane." She added: "This is about what's good for Britain. When the prime minister or any member of government is overseas discussing trade, our ask is that they start promoting British food and the values we hold dear about safety, quality and welfare." Questioned by journalists following her speech, the NFU president explained that there was a difference in opinion on standards between government ministers. She said that Theresa Villiers, who recently lost her job as Defra Secretary in Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle, had been adamant on BBC Country File that food imports must not undermine farmers in this country. "It's about method of production, it's about the welfare legislation that we have here that other countries don't have. She has been very, very clear about what she calls maintaining EU laws in that area for the long term," Mrs Batters said. But she said her successor as Secretary of State, George Eustice, had talked on the Marr Show of "there being a conversation to be had around those standards". "Talk to others from the Department for International Trade and other departments who will say that they want to maintain our food values, our food standards," he said. "You have to define what you want from the standards of imports." The NFU president again called for government to establish expert commission comprising various experts to ensure that trade deals do not undermine British farmings high environmental and animal welfare standards. Last year former Environment Secretary Michael Gove had written to her to say he thought an expert commission was a good idea. "He wrote to me, formally, and said, 'Yes, it must happen.'. I think Defra as a department absolutely think it is a good idea. But this has to travel right across government," she told conference delegates. She won support for such a commission from CBI director general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, who was also speaking at the conference. "Standards encapsulate who we are as a country," she said. "They encapsulate what we believe on animal welfare, what we believe about labour standards, about environment. They actually are about who we are as a nation. "I think we are just beginning to realise that but we need a really evidence based conversation about what kind of country we are and want to be. We are saying in our conversations with government, 'Create that proper framework for debate and discussion that we haven't had to have for 40 years.' "So when you, Minette, talk about a need for an expert commission, we absolutely support the principle that lies behind that. Unless we have consumer groups and farmers and businesses working out what we believe about ourselves in terms of welfare, safety, environment, employment standards, we will not get the right kind of trade deal. "So, standards feel as if they are dominating the conversation, and it is absolutely appropriate that they should." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 11:26:35|Editor: zyl Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Jewish communities have voiced support for the Chinese American and Chinese communities for their being targets of xenophobia over the novel coronavirus. "We are concerned about rising xenophobia aimed at Chinese people in this country and abroad over the COVID-19 'coronavirus,'" wrote the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), an American Jewish non-profit organization that deals with community relations, in an open letter on Tuesday to the Chinese American and Chinese communities in the United States. "We know that in such times, concern can quickly turn into hysteria, which can lead to scapegoating. We pledge to help ensure that Chinese people feel safe and supported, and to combat attacks and stereotyping on social media," said the council, which represents 125 local Jewish federations and community relations councils and 17 national Jewish agencies. The letter noted that many Chinese-owned businesses have been affected by "misinformed concerns about the virus" while there is no need in fact to avoid Chinese people or business. "Indeed, several Jewish communities have sent delegations to local Chinatowns to show their unwavering support," the letter added. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 53 cases nationwide as of Tuesday noon, a majority of which are passengers back from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. A former New Jersey governor may become the first person to head a civilian panel tasked with reviewing the policies and procedures of a county prison. On Wednesday evening, the Essex County Board of Freeholders will vote on whether to approve former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey to serve as chairman of the nine-person Essex County Civilian Task Force, conceived of last year to review operations at the Essex County Correctional Facility. McGreevey would serve in the position in a volunteer capacity, according to a county spokesperson. The task force, approved Dec. 12, will ensure conditions of [inmates] confinement are safe, sanitary, respectful and humane," county Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said, referring to the ordinance for the boards creation. County officials have said the task force comprised of formerly incarcerated people, advocates, various experts and a member of the public will hold the Essex County Correctional Facility accountable in light of recent events, including a lawsuit filed by an ex-ICE detainee who said guards allowed another inmate to attack him. We are pleased to nominate Governor McGreevey as chairman of the Civilian Task Force and honored that he would make himself available to serve in this volunteer role," DiVincenzo said in a statement. "Jim has a solid record of helping inmates transition back into the community after they are released and has been a strong advocate for rights of those being held in our jails. With his leadership experience and knowledge of our criminal justice system, he is extremely qualified to lead our new Task Force. While officials have touted the ways the task force will hold the prison accountable, critics said it was created to take away from a grassroots movement calling on the county to end its contract with ICE. McGreevey has a history as a prison reform advocate. He already leads NJ Reentry Corporation, a non-profit organization which helps reintegrate inmates into society after their release. McGreevey was in charge of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program for six years, until he was fired in January 2019. He did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning. No other members of the task force have been named. Its not clear exactly when it will begin. McGreevey served as governor from 2002 until his resignation in 2004. His nomination for task force chairman will be brought to a vote during the Board of Freeholders 7 p.m. meeting on Wednesday. Jenna Wise may be reached at jwise@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennaRWise. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By PTI CHENNAI: Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday lashed out at the Central government over the violence in Delhi that left 24 people dead, saying the riots should have been dealt with an iron fist. In a rare sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre, Rajinikanth also asked those in power to "resign and go" if the violence could not be crushed with an iron fist. However, he did not name anyone. "Definitely it is Central government's intelligence failure. I strongly condemn the Central government," he told reporters here when asked about the violence in northeast Delhi that killed 24 people including a policeman and an IB official. ALSO READ: Delhi riots day four UPDATES "They should have been so careful when the US President (Donald) Trump had visited (the country). The intelligence didn't do its job properly. It (violence) should have been completely crushed with an iron fist. We expect them to be careful at least from now on," he added. To a question, he said intelligence failure meant failure of the Union Home Ministry. "With iron fist this should be crushed, else (they) should resign and go..what is this..it is becoming too much," he said. The violence should have been nipped in the bud and it was the job of both the Centre and the state government, he said, apparently referring to the AAP government. ALSO READ: 'Govt failed to maintain peace in Delhi, Amit Shah must resign': Priyanka Gandhi at Congress peace march Asked if he wanted the protests to be crushed, Rajinikanth said he didn't refer to the anti-CAA agitations but asserted that such protests should not give way to violence. The actor, who recalled his earlier statement that he will stand by Muslims if they were affected by the amended citizenship law, said he did not see CAA being withdrawn since it was adopted by both houses of Parliament, before being given the Presidential assent. Therefore, the protests may not yield any results, he said responding to the ongoing anti-CAA agitation here, besides the occasional ones across the state. ALSO READ: 'Wake up Home Minister' - AAP urges Centre to deploy Army in riot-hit areas of Delhi "Immediately I am being branded as the BJP's mouthpiece, that the BJP is behind me, especially some senior journalists and political observers," he regretted. However, he reiterated he will "definitely stand" by those who are affected by the CAA. The actor, who has announced he will face next year's Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, also wanted the media to play a constructive role during such times. He further lashed out at politicians and individuals instigating people by making provocative statements using religion, saying this also should be dealt with firmly, else "it will be difficult in the future". By Akbar Mammadov The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prosecutor Generals Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan have made a joint statement on the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide. The joint statement published on February 26 reads that the crimes committed in the Azerbaijani town [Khojaly] were not an isolated or sporadic act, but part of Armenias widespread and systematic policy and practice of atrocities. The intentional slaughter of the civilians in Khojaly was directed at their mass extermination only because they were Azerbaijanis Investigation conducted by the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan has fully proven the involvement of a number of military servicemen and other persons in the perpetration of the Khojaly genocide. The investigation made decisions on their accusation according to the articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan on genocide, torture, deportation of the population, violation of international humanitarian law during the armed conflict and other criminal offenses. It is also stated in the statement that the Khojaly genocide and other crimes against humanity committed by Armenia in the course of the ongoing aggression against Azerbaijan run counter to the Geneva Convention and other human rights related documents and conventions. It is mentioned in the statement that as a result of Armenias ongoing aggression, Azerbaijan has lost one-fifth of its territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, and over one million ethnic Azerbaijanis living in these areas, as well as in Armenia, have been subjected to ethnic cleansing and expulsion. It was also mentioned that the material damage exceeding 170 million dollars has been inflicted to the government and individual as a result of Khojaly's occupation. Azerbaijani is taking consistent measures in the national level as well as within the international legal framework to bring to justice those responsible for the grave offenses committed against the civilian population of Azerbaijan during the conflict, the statement concluded. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz When a Springfield couple spotted a blue Honda Civic with distinctive wheel rims hours after a man driving that car abducted an 11-year-old girl, they chased the vehicle, reaching speeds of nearly 100 mph and hitting at least one curb. Benny Correa and his wife, Amanda Disley, eventually lost sight of the Honda when they ran out of gas, but they managed to get key information the cars license plate. Police then were able to find and stop the car on the Massachusetts Turnpike, arrest Miguel Rodriguez and rescue the child. The couple spotted the car driving erratically on Berkshire Avenue on Jan. 15, several hours after the child had been abducted while walking home from her school bus. Correa chased the car, eventually getting close enough to see the plate. Disley called 911 and kept the dispatcher up to date about where they were and what the other driver was doing. The couples Cadillac SUV took a considerable beating in the wild ride, which one of their children recorded on video from the back seat. After police and the family of the child thanked them for going above and beyond, the owners of Balise Collision Repair and several community donors stepped up and offered to repair the damage for free, said Alexa Napolitan, spokeswoman for Balise. On Tuesday, about six weeks after the abduction, the couples vehicle was returned to them in a ceremony at Balise Collision Repair on Riverdale Street in West Springfield. The vehicle had sustained damage to the suspension, undercarriage, brakes, shocks, struts and other places, Napolitan said. The damage alone wouldve cost thousands of dollars all of which Balise planned to cover but to thank the couple for their bravery, Balise Collision Repair chose to take it a step further. A full overhaul of the vehicle was performed, she said in writing. The company completely overhauled the SUV at a cost of between $20,000 and $25,000. Work included replacing the compressor, shocks and struts and the four wheels and tires. Bumpers were replaced, dents, dings and rust were repaired and the SUV was repainted. The company also did a full lube and oil change and detailed the car, she said. We knew right away we wanted to do something special for these two, said Brian Stone, group collision director for Balise. Every bit of additional work on their Escalade came from a place of pure gratitude, and we are thankful to the donors who stepped up to assist us in our efforts to deliver this vehicle in like-new condition. We couldnt have done it without them. Those who contributed to the vehicles overhaul included Balise Wholesale Parts, Napa Auto Parts and LKQ Keystone, who all donated parts. Autobody Supplies and Paint donated all the paint materials. Balise Riverdale Car Wash detailed the interior and exterior of the SUV, Stone said. The night of the abduction and arrest, Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood thanked city residents for helping officers locate the missing child. The biggest factor I think in this was the assistance from the public. The tips coming in were amazing. Text-a-tip was lighting up, Clapprood said. People were out looking for this car, it was amazing. Rodriguez is being held without bail on multiple charges including three counts of aggravated rape of a child with force, a single count of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and intimidating a witness. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Tbilisi, Georgia Thu, February 27, 2020 05:03 685 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066d2b77 2 World coronarita,Wuhan-coronavirus,COVID-19,outbreak,pandemic,health-issues Free Georgia on Wednesday announced its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the South Caucasus region. "A Georgian national has tested positive for the novel coronavirus," Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze told a news conference, adding that the infected man has been placed in isolation in a Tbilisi hospital. "Three different tests of the 50-year-old man's nasopharyngeal smear gave positive results, but he is doing well, he is clinically healthy," head of Georgia's national center for disease control, Amiran Gamkrelidze told journalists. The man had arrived in Georgia from Iran via Azerbaijan, Gamkrelidze said. Tikaradze said Georgia would introduce a two-week ban on Iranian nationals entering Georgia, but flatly dismissed fears of a coronavirus epidemic in the ex-Soviet country "at this point". On Sunday, Georgia's neighbor Armenia closed its border with Iran and suspended flights as fears over an outbreak of coronavirus in Iran sent neighboring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 09:37:21|Editor: zyl Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Gallery of Art (NGA) in downtown Washington D.C. is to present approximately 100 beloved works of French impressionist master Edgar Degas. Among the highlights on view are the artist's most famous works inspired by the Paris Opera, curators said in a media preview on Tuesday. "Although there have been many exhibitions celebrating Degas's love of the ballet, this will be the first to celebrate his enduring fascination with the (Paris) Opera," said Kaywin Feldman, director of the NGA. Arranged thematically in eight galleries, the "Degas at the Opera" exhibition will officially open to the public from March 1 through July 5 this year to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Paris Opera's founding. Degas, the eldest son of a Parisian banker, was born in 1834 and died in 1917. The subject of dancers dominated his art for nearly four decades. As Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese steps down from the District 3 seat he has held for 10 years to run for the state Senate, four others are vying in a close race for his position in next week's primary election. San Jose City Councilwoman and former Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco, state Assemblyman Kansen Chu, former Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee, and former San Jose Planning Commissioner John Leyba are on Tuesday's ballot for the District 3 seat, which covers parts of East and North San Jose, Milpitas, Alviso and the northern half of Sunnyvale. The candidates have all singled out the regional housing crisis and homelessness as priorities in their campaigns, along with mental health advocacy, drug rehabilitation, and municipal transit improvements. Carrasco, who grew up in Santa Clara County and represents East San Jose for the City Council, shares Cortese's background as a vice mayor and board member for the East Side Union High School District. She's highlighting her experience as a social worker and her environmental leadership through the San Jose Clean Energy program, and is endorsed by county Supervisor Cindy Chavez, state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, and state Sens. Kevin de Leon, Bob Wieckowski and Jim Beall. Lee has received a key endorsement from the Silicon Valley Democratic Club, served nearly 30 years in the U.S. Navy through the Iraq War, and markets himself as Sunnyvale's "Green Mayor" for leading a charge on climate change with the city's Sustainability Commission. He wants to work with police departments, county hospitals, public safety and health organizations to ensure sufficient staffing and resources. In 2008, Lee ran against Cortese for the District 3 seat but lost the race. Chu's state Assembly district covers Milpitas, parts of Santa Clara, San Jose, Fremont, Newark and a majority of the open space in east Santa Clara County. He has lengthy plans to address homelessness through partnerships between the public and private sectors, create housing for teachers and public safety personnel and prevent displacement by protecting the existing rental market. He served as a San Jose City Councilman overseeing District 4 in North San Jose before he joined the state Assembly. Leyba is calling for more fiscal accountability and county government transparency in his campaign for the open supervisor seat, and establishing a hardline stance on enforcing existing laws to combat homeless encampments, in addition to supporting mental health and rehabilitation programs. He grew up in East San Jose served as a San Jose planning commissioner for about a year before resigning due to familial obligations and the supervisor race. 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. So Energy Ghana, a Sahara Group company, has unveiled another retail station in just over a month in Kasoa as the company continues to redefine service delivery in sector across Ghana. Located in the central region of Ghana, the So Energy Kasoa is the tenth addition to the companys portfolio in Ghana, confirming So Energys commitment to giving consumers in Ghana access to quality petroleum products. The station will provide services to the areas of Kasoa, Amasaman, Pokuase and its environs. The National Chief Imam of Ghana, His Eminence, Sheikh Osman Sharubutu, attended the ceremony alongside So Energy management to officially commission the station. The Managing Director, So Energy Ghana, Mrs. Yvette Selormey said the company remained resolute in its commitment to providing clean energy at affordable prices. She also expressed her gratitude to the drivers and community for patronizing the station, adding that So Energy will continue to give all customers the best possible ultimate service experience. Our drive to increase the number of retail outlets in Ghana is in line with our vision to bring energy to life by providing access to clean, safe and efficient fueling solutions to drive economic growth and development, she stated. Selormey said in addition to driving access to clean fuels, So Energy continues to invest in initiatives to ensure its operations align with the highest known safety standards. She said: Due to the nature of our business, we continue to invest heavily in our Quality Health Safety Security and Environment (QHSSE) and work closely with the relevant regulatory agencies which assists us to audit and ensure we are continuously transacting our business in an eco-friendly manner. According to Selormey, So Energy will also continue to contribute its quota to Ghanas development by driving economic growth through provision of employment opportunities and a viable business environment for all. Some of So Energys corporate citizenship interventions in Ghana include a borehole project (this was a strategic partnership between Sahara, the Carter Center Foundation and W.A.T.E.R Ghana towards eradicating guinea worm across West Africa); collaboration with the Ghana Health Service to carry out surgeries for Buruli ulcer patients in the Amasaman District; funding the Saint Francis Xavier school in the north, whose dormitories were razed down by fire; and funding the Kumasi market women after the fire that gutted the market in 2018. So Energy has also had supported the Tema Senior High School by donating sanitation facilities (washrooms), rehabilitation of classrooms, hostels and laboratories which have improved the learning conditions for over 1,600 students. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Zhong Mingming, Secretary of a municipal Party Committee in Wenchang, south Chinas Hainan province, helped sell 40,000 kg of local pineapples in one hour by hosting a live broadcast on the e-commerce platform Taobao on Feb. 24 that attracted over 750,000 viewers, www.chinanews.com reported. Zhong is one of many government officials who have turned to live-streaming videos to sell agricultural products amid the pneumonia outbreak. A Dong (right), mayor of Sanya, sells local mangoes in a live broadcast. (Photo/Chinanews.com) I hope to bring fruits to more consumers and help farmers increase their income, said A Dong, mayor of Sanya, Hainan province, who used a live broadcast to help sell local mangoes. E-commerce giant JD has also introduced live broadcasts for government officials to help them sell vegetables and fruits for farmers. At least 10 officials from various parts of China have sold local products such as strawberries and sweet melons on the platform. As an emergency measure amid the epidemic, live-streaming videos have not only helped sell agricultural products, but also demonstrate the governments support for the industry, said Zhou Wei, a professor at the School of Politics and Public Administration, Hainan University. Near the entrance of Houstons Health Museum, just to the left of the giant beating heart, theres a bat cave. Not a real one, obviously. But the man-made structure includes a bat soundtrack that beckons visitors inside. At first, it might seem out of place. But it makes sense: Scientists believe bat caves and areas where animals propagate are the origin points for a number of epidemic viruses. And this bat cave, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution through May as part of the Health Museums exhibit Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World, landed in Houston with perfect timing. One of the exhibits focuses is on zoonotic diseases those that can be spread from animals to people, like the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,500 people since it was first discovered in China late last year. The exhibit opening during the early stages of the coronoavirus outbreak was a coincidence, said Becky Seabrook, the museums senior director of guest experience. The Houston part of the exhibit was added to show visitors that disease can spread rapidly in every pocket of the world, including developed countries like the U.S. On HoustonChronicle.com: Is the vaccine to thwart the new coronavirus stored in a Houston freezer? Close to Home makes these diseases more real for people as opposed to what is happening in countries far away, Seabrook said. We know that they can impact all of us. The exhibit features three diseases that affected the Texas Gulf Coast, including a bubonic plague that ravaged Galveston 100 years ago; a midcentury polio outbreak that was considered one of the largest in the world and helped lead to the development of the Texas Medical Center; and the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s. From origination to transmission, each disease was different. Bubonic plague, a bacterium, arrived in Texas via rats on cargo ships docking in Galveston, Beaumont and New Orleans. Eighteen people contracted the plague, and 12 died. Harris County was one of the counties in the U.S. hardest hit by polio during and after World War II, suffering a major polio epidemic every other year between 1937 and 1955. It was important to feature recollections by Houstonians, especially in the HIV/AIDS part of the local section, Seabrook said. Visitors can listen to The oH Project collection: Oral Histories of HIV/AIDS in Houston, Harris County, and Southeast Texas, 2015-16, while looking at numerous pieces of memorabilia and health care pamphlets from 1980s Montrose. Its fascinating to hear from people on the front lines of the disease and seeing their pictures and reading their words, she said. There was so little information at the time. It was a brand-new disease, and most of the information was not coming from doctors but from support groups. Houston continues to have one of the highest HIV rates, with one out of every 200 people diagnosed, according to the citys health department. Outbreaks can often breed stigmas, Seabrook said. People will stop visiting their relatives or certain parts of a city, which can have a devastating blow to local and statewide economies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 14 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. Its unclear exactly how the virus is spread, but health officials say people should follow common-sense hygiene principles (washing hands, covering a cough, staying home when sick). On HoustonChronicle.com: Health officials warn of coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S. Zoonotic diseases are increasing because of changes in population patterns, according to the CDC initiative One Health, which examines the health of people as it is connected to the health of animals and a shared environment. Viruses can also be passed from animal to animal, evolving without sickening its host, before jumping to a human, said Dr. Joseph Petrosino, professor and chairman of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Multiple strains of coronaviruses can get into the same animal and be passed between animals and their genomes and genetic blueprint can be shared, Petrosino said. Animals like bats have a high tolerance for these types of viruses, a strong immune system, and tend to be natural mammalian reservoirs. Multiple viruses can live in a bat for a while, recombine and mix-and-match and emerge if the bat is exposed through surface contact, killed or eaten. Pieces of the SARS virus, which killed 8,000 people in the early 2000s, was found in civet cats and bats; MERS, or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, was first recorded in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and was traced to camels. On HoustonChronicle.com: San Antonio coronavirus cases grow to 3 as of Feb. 21 According to new research by Petrosino and three other scientists, the pangolin, also known as a scaly anteater, contains a gene that matches 100 percent to the circulating coronavirus chain, which means the small mammal could be potentially part of the origin of this human virus, Petrosino said. Typically, scientific findings like this can take months to wind through a peer review process. But time is of the essence. Since the outbreak started, information has been relatively unrestricted. Scientists have released their discoveries online as soon as theyre made, in an attempt to hasten vaccine development and containment. When youre dealing with something like a potential pandemic, the time period to release new information to the scientific community is too slow, he said. You keep a mental note that this hasnt been reviewed by other experts in the field. But we are releasing information that other scientists are working to see if the puzzle piece is fitting into what theyre working on. In 2020, this makes sense. But to historys scientists, like the ones highlighted in the exhibit, this kind of real-time global collaboration would have sounded like science fiction. Most people have no concept of having to bury their friends from an epidemic, Seabrook said. So this exhibit deals with the public health aspect and science of it while it explores the effects of it, too. julie.garcia@chron.com twitter.com/reporterjulie Renew Houston: Get the latest wellness news delivered to your inbox Twenty-five year old Ingrid Escamilla was murdered by her partner in Mexico on February 9, 2020-only days before Valentine's Day. Her body's photos were scattered throughout the country into newspapers. Days later, Fatima Aldriguett Anton, seven years old, was tortured and murdered, and the anger was further fuelled. Around Mexico City's Prime Minister's Palace, protesters demanded concrete government intervention against the femicide of this country. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to such murders. They spoke by flinging red paint at the building and splattering the names of the dead victims of femicide on its walls. Unfortunately, deaths of Ingrid and Fatima have become an indication of a frequent occurrence - ten women are murdered on the basis of gender every day in Mexico. Less than five percent of these murders have been solved and the justice system never file charges. Appeal for motion is getting louder; protest marches call for the Mexican government's failure to disclose any prevention strategy for femicides and to cover the subject in the press that they say gives the abuser's testimony too much space and too little respect for the life and body of the victim. Since 2012, Mexico has distinguished femicide from homicide with a sexist lens in the murder of women. Similar differentiation has been rendered for femicides in 17 other nations in Latin America, charges that often involve harsher sentences. But this month, regardless of the fact that somehow the Attorney General reports 137 percent more femicides in the United States in the past five years- four times more than the other homicides-, it was debated by Mexico's government removing this distinction from its penal code. In response to comments accusing women of exploitation and past economic policies, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ultimately admitted that he did not agree with the proposed penal code reforms relating to femicide, and these changes did not take place. The issue of femicides has not been prevented in Peruvian media. Cases occur daily with an annual average of over 100. Studies of tentative femicides are now on the rise, perhaps not only caused by the actual crime incidence as well as by women's and their family's increasing willingness to expose such incidents. The government of Peru works to encourage women to report by providing them with a government-supported support system. The press is also working on making women more secure, not only by publicizing the crime but also on the convictions provided-which can be up to three decades. In 2016, the Peruvian Government has recognized the epidemic publicly and put it as a state priority for years to follow with the development of a government plan against gender based abuse. A number of organizations with professional task forces are now working to reduce femicides and prosecute offenders, including women's trauma centers, women's hotlines and the Specialized Police Squad for Prevention Against Domestic Violence. At the same time, a long-term program has been adopted to break a cycle of domestic violence among children in Peru. The programs include a special unit protecting the rights of orphaned children or for survivors who have been affected by abuse against them. The first thing to point out is their children did nothing wrong, Dworsky said. We know from research that children with incarcerated parents have a variety of developmental issues in terms of educational attainment, physical and mental health, across every domain you want to look at it. Even if someone is not sympathetic to the circumstances of the parents, I think theres an argument to be made about trying to mitigate the harm to the children who are involved. Sixty-five years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, the House has approved legislation designating lynching as a hate crime under federal law. The bill, introduced by Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush and named after Till, comes 120 years after Congress first considered anti-lynching legislation and after dozens of similar efforts were defeated. The measure was approved 410 to 4 on Wednesday. The Senate unanimously passed virtually identical legislation last year, although that bill wasn't named for Till. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime punishable by up to life in prison, a fine, or both. Rush, a Democrat whose Chicago district includes Till's former home, said the bill will belatedly achieve justice for Till and more than 4,000 other lynching victims, most of them African Americans. Till, who was black, was brutally tortured and killed in 1955 after a white woman accused him of grabbing her and whistling at her in a Mississippi grocery store. The killing shocked the country and stoked the civil rights movement. 'The importance of this bill cannot be overstated,' said Rush, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Horror: Emmett Till, who was just 14, was brutally tortured and killed in 1955 after a white woman accused him of grabbing her and whistling at her in a Mississippi grocery store. The killing shocked the country and stoked the civil rights movement. Memory: Bobby Rush, the Democratic congressman whose Chicago district includes Emmett Till's former home said the importance of the 'Emmett Till Antilynching Act' - which would designate lynching as a hate crime under federal law - 'cannot be overstated.' He, Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Steny Hoyer, House majority leader, spoke after the bill passed with just three Republicans and one independent voting against Remembered: Emmett Till is buried in Alsip, Illinois, where his family returned his body after his torture and murder by a mob 'From Charlottesville to El Paso, we are still being confronted with the same violent racism and hatred that took the life of Emmett and so many others. The passage of this bill will send a strong and clear message to the nation that we will not tolerate this bigotry. ' Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who represents the area where Till was abducted and murdered, called the anti-lynching bill long overdue, but said: 'No matter the length of time, it is never too late to ensure justice is served.' House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., used similar language to urge the bill's passage. 'It is never too late to do the right thing and address these gruesome, racially motivated acts of terror that have plagued our nations history,' he said, urging lawmakers to 'renew our commitment to confronting racism and hate.' The bill was unanimously supported by Democrats. Three Republicans - Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ted Yoho of Florida - opposed the bill, along with independent Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, called lynching a lasting legacy of slavery. 'Make no mistake, lynching is terrorism,' she said. 'While this reign of terror has faded, the most recent lynching (in the United States) happened less than 25 years ago.' Although Congress cannot truly rectify the terror and horror of these acts, Bass said, a legislative body that once included slave owners and Ku Klux Klan members will belatedly 'stand up and do our part so that justice is delivered in the future.' Long fight for justice: The first anti-lynching legislation was introduced in 1900 by Congress' only black member, North Carolina Rep. George Henry White. It failed; these protesters were drawing attention to the cause in 1948. Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey applauded House passage of the bill, which mirrors legislation they co-sponsored in the Senate along with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. The three are the Senate's only black members. 'Lynchings were horrendous, racist acts of violence,' Harris said in a statement. 'For far too long Congress has failed to take a moral stand and pass a bill to finally make lynching a federal crime. This justice is long overdue.' Booker called lynching 'a pernicious tool of racialized violence, terror and oppression' and 'a stain on the soul of our nation.' While Congress cannot undo lynching's irrevocable damage, 'we can ensure that we as a country make clear that lynching will not be tolerated,' Booker said. Congress has failed to pass anti-lynching legislation nearly 200 times, starting with a bill introduced in 1900 by North Carolina Rep. George Henry White, the only black member of Congress at the time. Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said passage of the anti-lynching legislation 'marks a milestone in the long and protracted battle against white supremacy and racial violence in our country.' The bill 'makes clear that lynchings occupy a dark place in our countrys story and provides recognition of thousands of victims of lynching crimes,' including Emmett Till and many others, Clarke said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Fidan Babayeva Trend: Several big Azerbaijani hazelnut-producing companies were invited by Italian companies to Italy for discussing bilateral cooperation affairs, Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association President Ismail Orujov told Trend. According to him, during business forum held in Italy on February 21, agreements on mutual co-operation have been signed between the sides. The export is intended to be realized in September. "In May 2020, well know the potential yield volumes and then start realizing the export," said Orujov. Orujov noted that the local entrepreneurs supported by Azerbaijan Export & Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) would take part in various exhibitions, i.e. in France, Russia and China. "After the International Food Exhibition Gulfood-2020 in Dubai, AHEC and Azhazelnut signed agreements on hazelnut export in the current year with Egyptian, Pakistani and Italian companies. The export is intended to be started as early as September this year," emphasized Orujov. A total of $125 million hazelnut was exported from Azerbaijan in 2019. Most of the hazelnut orchards are in Gakh, Zagatala, Balakan districts. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appealed to the people in Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood and said that nobody wants bloodshed. "We do not want bloodshed, we want peace (Hum kisi ka khoon nhi chahte hain, hum shanti chahte hain). Today, I offered prayers to Jagannath to make our country peaceful and bless the people so brotherhood is maintained. I appeal to every countryman to live with peace," said the chief minister while interacting with the reporters here. Banerjee, who is on a four-day visit to Odisha offered prayers at Shri Jagannath temple on Wednesday. She will attend the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Bhubaneswar on February 28 which will be chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah. At least 25 persons, including a police head constable, have died while around 200 people have sustained serious injuries in the violence that erupted in northeast Delhi on Sunday leading to widespread vandalism and arson. The Delhi Police have registered 18 FIRs and 106 people have been arrested in connection with the violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Native Sun News Today Columnist More discussion about a terrible crime against women seems necessary because the number of crimes and shootings, murders and mass killings have skyrocketed in the last two decades. To say nothing about the continued efforts of the law to take away the civil rights of the poor and distressed among us. This escalation of violence seems to have happened since it became legal for every man, woman and child to carry firearms of choice; not just for safety reasons, but because it is his or her God given, constitutional RIGHT. (Beware the Man Camps) The killing of a young Native woman that I wrote of several years ago is now being understood as the race attack on Indian women in modern times without just and reasonable responses. What I wrote about a few years ago concerning the Candace Rough Surface killing was a crime that can be classically defined as a crime motivated by the category to which the victim belonged. Thats what a hate crime is. Thats what a Race Crime is. The killing of that young woman was not then categorized as a hate crime in South Dakota. And I am not sure that it has been called that since. No one was convicted of it then nor sent to prison for the crime for years! Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. Courtesy photo Non-Indian parents, the community of Christians, and professional people of Mobridge where that killing took place (with the complicity of the courts), successfully covered the tracks of the hometown white killers for nearly 20 years! It is astonishing to think back to that time when there was no such thing as a hate crime in this state. It is still denied and much debated. Few use the term here (even lawyers), and few perpetrators convicted of that type of murder have been described as such in law nor punished accordingly. If there is any vague recognition of a race crime in this state it is a law with no legal consequence. As to that Rough Surface case , does anyone really think what happened to Candace would have happened (raped, dragged behind a pickup by two white men and dumped in the Missouri River outside of Mobridge, South Dakota) if she had been a white woman? Motives are often deliberately obscured by the non-Indian community that cannot bear to look at its own history concerning Indian-White hostility. When they talk about Indian women in places like Mobridge (and we could name a dozen or so other SD towns), they still call them squaws. Or worse. And now with the building of the man camps to accommodate the workers on the pipeline we can expect more dismissive and violent attitude toward a community at risk. Does anyone really think that such a vicious crime as the Mobridge crime would have been silenced for decades if the victim were not an Indian woman in that mostly white community and many others? The question of why this state and its communities wont face the reality of this needs to be addressed! Why the silence? Denial? Contact Elizabeth Cook-Lynn at ecooklynn@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation A woman packs her grocery shopping as she stocks up on food supplies outside a supermarket in Singapore on 8 February, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters) SINGAPORE The irrational panic buying of provisions in response to the raising of the countrys outbreak response level shows a lack of trust in the government telling Singaporeans what is the right thing to do especially during a crisis, said Jalan Besar GRC Member of Parliament Professor Yaacob Ibrahim on Wednesday (26 February). Rumours and misinformation about the lack of supplies help to fuel senseless hoarding. It shows a lack of trust; chaos could have broken out leading to unimaginable losses. This is something we all don't want to happen in Singapore, said the former communications and information minister during his Budget 2020 debate speech in Parliament. He noted that the rush to stock up supplies over the weekend following the 7 February announcement that the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorson) level will be raised from yellow to orange due to the COVID-19 outbreak is a reminder that getting communications right is very important. During SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003), there was no social media. Today, we are inundated by news of all sorts of various platforms, and from friends and strangers alike, Prof Yaacob explained. The fundamental question is whether we trust the government in telling us what is the right thing to do, especially during a crisis. FairPrice Group CEO Seah Kian Peng spoke in Parliament earlier on the same day about the shopping frenzy during the period, saying the cooperatives measures to limit purchase of some items attracted criticisms from a minority group. POFMA an issue of trust Another issue of trust in the government concerns the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), which some view as an attempt to stifle dissent on the internet, said Prof Yaacob. There is a sense among them that the government is using this legislation for its own agenda, rather than serving the needs of all people, he added. Last month in Parliament, Minister of Communications and Information S Iswaran had called it a coincidence that the first few cases brought under the law were against political figures and parties. Story continues Prof Yaacob noted that he is all too familiar with such concerns, citing his move to license online news sites in 2013 when he was still in the Cabinet. Several internet groups had then alleged that the move would kill the diversity of voices on the internet, said Prof Yaacob. As it turns out, the licensing scheme did not stifle the internet at all. Many groups continue to flourish on the internet, he added. All we wanted and I'm sure all of us can agree to this is responsible behaviour on the internet, especially when the issues affect the lives of so many Singaporeans. Prof Yaacob stressed that the issue of trust will continue to arise as Singapore grapple with increasingly complex issues, such as climate changes and technological advances. Dealing with the effects of climate change will raise many questions about how the government should best use its limited fiscal resources for the good of Singapore, he noted. And the government would need to build trust that it is doing what is right for people, even though it means spending significant resources for a very long term period to benefit future generations, Prof Yaacob added. Trust can be eroded if technological concerns not dealt with On technology, while Singaporeans trust that the government is using the data captured from closed-circuit television cameras in void decks and other common areas for good, it is not the case in other countries. In places like San Francisco, the residents have voted against having videos in public places. For our own digitisation efforts to succeed, people must trust that the data is collected solely for the purpose of developing useful services for them, he said. By all accounts, while Singapore has done well in this area thus far, Prof Yaacob pointed out that it is not inconceivable for some people to raise the issues of data privacy. The emergence of data protection legislation overseas, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, may also cause some to wonder whether Singapores Personal Data Protection Act is sufficiently rigorous. My intent in raising this issue is that for all of us to be cognisant of the potential hazards awaiting us in our journey towards digitalising of our economy and society, said Prof Yaacob. The questions of trust brought about by the use of technology in everyday lives can range from whether the government can protect Singaporeans from being manipulated by the big tech giants to whether Singaporeans can trust the government to use personal data for the benefit of all Singaporeans and not (for) some political agenda. We have seen how trust is broken down in other societies leading to the rise of populism and with social media, and the rise of misinformation and alternative facts, sometimes it is unclear whether the lack of trust in government is an effect of these developments, or is it the cause of the rise of other alternative centres of trust, he noted. Citing Singaporeans high trust in public institutions here to do what is right, Prof Yaacob suggested for the Republic to consider creating an independent digital commission to build trust in ensuring new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the use of machine learning algorithms, are used correctly. We cannot avoid the nagging concerns of privacy and transparency that digitalisation will bring. If we do not deal with this early, then trust in government can be eroded, he added. Related stories: COVID-19: FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng urges shoppers who have excess stocks to donate to charity NTUC to tap 4,000 companies to better match retrenched workers and PMEs to new jobs COVID-19: Dorscon level could be lowered if virus spreads worldwide COVID-19: 'Please help stop rumours' on Dorscon red Health Minister Gan Kim Yong A Senate Committee on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the slow pace of work on the Ogoniland Clean Up project despite the release of $360 million. The panel, chaired by a former deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, was disappointed that two years after the release of funds, not a single site out of the sixty-five contaminated sites marked for clean-up was certified clean. Ogoni area of Rivers State has, over the years, been destroyed by oil leaks leading to the destruction of surrounding waters and farm lands. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) after scientific study, recommended a total clean-up of the environment saying the extent of water and environmental pollution in the Rivers communities was alarming. Although the report was released during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, in 2011, the administration did little to carry out the clean-up. President Muhammadu Buhari, shortly after his assumption of office in 2015, launched the clean-up exercise. An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES in 2018 showed that despite official claims, the clean-up was yet to start. The former Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, had, in November 2018, said his ministry has reached the final stage of procurement processes that will lead to award of contracts to 21 firms so the exercise can finally begin. Appearing before a Senate panel, the Chairman of Ogoniland Board of Trustees (BoT), Olawale Edun, confirmed that $360million was sitting in the purse of the BoT, out of which $43 million had been released to the Hydrocarbon Pollution Environment Project, the agency set up to supervise the clean-up. The Project Coordinator, Marvin Dekil, also confirmed receipt of the money. He, however, said the money was not the challenge as he blamed the slow pace of work on technical factors and a sluggish procurement process. The $360 million was contribution from multinational oil companies in the last two years to the $1 billion the UNEP report had said was needed to clean up Ogoniland. Mr Edun came under fire from the Senate panel over expenditure it claimed was paid to a consultant; an action members of the Senate panel believed was contrary to extant laws. Disappointed at the situation, the Senate panel asked that the supervising Ministry of Environment come forward with new strategies to rescue the situation. The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubarkar, who also expressed displeasure at the situation, pleaded for more time to work out new plans on how to get the Ogoniland clean-up project on proper tracks. This excuse for the slow pace of work in the oil-rich area, comes about a year after an ex-senator said serious security challenges in the area was hindering the work. Magnus Abe, who was asked if work has started in Ogoni land, said despite the award of contracts to the contractors that would carry out the clean-up, the exercise would be stalled due to the security challenges in the area. I am aware that contracts for the clean-up of Ogoni land have been awarded. Right now, as we speak, the security situation in the area does not provide for a meaningful economic or even contractual activity to go on. Every day, at least six people are killed in one community or the other. There is no day that they are not killing people. Many residents of the various communities have abandoned their homes and ran away due to violence. So, in that kind of atmosphere, it will be difficult for me to say there is any contractor somewhere in the bush alone, working, he said. Canada is preparing to respond to a possible pandemic as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb around the globe. Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said the global threat posed by the novel coronavirus, which can lead to a respiratory illness called COVID-19, is evolving fast. While the outbreak continues to be contained mostly to the epicentre in Hubei, China, she noted that the virus is spreading now at the community level, person-to-person, in several other countries. Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press "These signs are concerning, and they mean that the window of opportunity for containment ... for stopping the global spread of the virus, is closing," Tam told reporters in a teleconference Monday. "It also tells countries like Canada, that have been able to manage and detect cases so far, that we have to prepare across governments, across communities, and as families and individuals, in the event of more widespread transmission in our community." The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but so far hasn't declared it a pandemic. Tam said the trajectory of the coronavirus is unknown at this time and it's possible that cases have occurred in other countries that don't have the proper tools to diagnose and contain it. Canada developed a pandemic response plan in 2009, which would serve as the foundation for any shift in the official response to the current outbreak, she said. The response plan includes accelerating research work here and contributing to international efforts to develop a vaccine abroad. Tam said it also could lead to expanding laboratory testing capabilities and access to diagnostic tools, and taking stock of essential supplies to make sure authorities don't run short. She added that Canada's course of action would be much the same whether the WHO declares a pandemic or not. Containment efforts Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Monday that a pandemic declaration by the WHO would render travel restrictions meaningless because it would mean that efforts to contain the virus had failed. Story continues "As the window closes in terms of stopping the global spread, as we watch the WHO assess whether or not this is a full pandemic, obviously our attention turns more toward our domestic preparedness and what Canada can do to make sure our system and structures are ready for a change in our own population," she said. The WHO said today that China has reported 77,362 cases of COVID-19, including 2,618 deaths. Outside China, there are now 2,074 cases in 28 countries, including 10 in Canada, and 23 related deaths. Despite the rising numbers, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said officials are encouraged by the fact that the number of new cases continues to decline in China. The epidemic peaked between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has been steadily declining since, he said. Tedros said a decision on whether to declare a pandemic is based on an ongoing assessment of the geographical spread of the virus, the severity of the disease and its impact on society. "For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death," he said. Pandemic potential "Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet." Tedros said labelling the outbreak a pandemic could create unnecessary fear. Tam said that the goal now is to slow the spread of the virus, adding it's difficult to stop its spread because more countries are reporting people with no or mild symptoms. Canada has been successful so far in detecting imported cases and preventing person-to-person spread within communities, but is preparing for other scenarios, Tam said. Tam said enhanced border control measures and messaging at airports will be broadened to include warnings to travellers returning from other countries with reported cases of coronavirus. She said international travellers arriving at Canadian airports will be told to self-isolate if they're experiencing flu-like symptoms. Tam said all travellers should take general precautions and plan ahead by, for instance, making sure they have enough medication for a trip. She repeated the standard public health messages encouraging people to wash their hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, keep track of federal travel health advice posted online and share travel history with health-care providers in the event of becoming sick. The proposed mini-trade deal between India and the US is set to be resurrected in a larger and more modern form. While more restrained than US President Donald Trumps expectations of a fantastic, biggest ever trade deal, a number of Indian and US officials familiar with the development say the new agenda will be more forward-looking. Talks may begin as early as April and will prioritise data and digital issues, the people said on condition of anonymity. The original plan was to put together a small, quick deal for this weeks summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was eager: his conversations with Trump have often run aground on trade issues. The US trade representatives office went along because it was sold as crucial to the summits success. But between America First and Make in India, even the mini-deal was going to be difficult. Both sides played switch and bait with the agenda. The US kept adding more agricultural items with an eye to the US election. US officials complain that the Indian side took electronics off the agenda. New Delhi was taken aback when the US declared India ineligible for the generalised system of preferences, a market access agreement that they wanted to rejoin after being taken off it last year. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, say US officials, was unenthusiastic about a walnuts and chicken legs deal. While Trump saw these as important, Lighthizer saw the battles over e-commerce, data localisation and digital payments as the real trade issues. These would determine the future of India-US economic relationship. He pushed for a digital dialogue to be added, but was rebuffed by a New Delhi which felt its domestic data policies needed time to be sorted out. The mini-trade deal died the instant Trump decided the giant crowd in Ahmedabad audience was sufficient reason to go to India. Although negotiators were in the final stages, deciding tonnages and tariff rates, Lighthizer spiked the deal. The US state department and lower level USTR officials tried to argue that the mini-deal would help curb the protectionist interests they feared were taking over Indian trade policy. Lighthizer held firm: he would hold out for a 21st century deal.Signs in Indias budget undermining concessions made earlier on data localisation and New Delhis blocking US firms like MasterCard and Visa from its Unified Payments Interface only strengthened his view. The USTR also felt he only had bandwidth for one trade deal with India, given pending trade problems with China and a looming European Union battle. Indian officials say having several months more time to work out the digital trade issues would not be a bad thing. They also feel that following the Trump summit, Washington might put visa concerns on the table. Walnuts, chicken legs and Harley-Davidson motorcycles remain close to Trumps heart. But with the summit done, the view on both sides is that the focus will now be on what really matters. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register India's approach to combat terrorism has undergone a major change as the armed forces now do not hesitate to carry out cross-border operation to protect the country from terror attacks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on the first anniversary of the Balakot air strike on Wednesday. A fleet of Indian Air Force aircraft bombed a terrorist training camp in Balakot inside Pakistan on February 26 last year to avenge the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. "India today celebrates the first anniversary of Balakote airstrikes. It was a successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless @IAF_MCC air warriors," Singh tweeted. He said the Modi government has adopted a new approach to combat terror reflecting a strong resolve to even carry out cross border strikes to protect India from the scourge of terrorism. "The surgical strikes of 2016 and Balakot air strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. This is certainly a new and confident India in making," Singh said in a series of tweets. On September 29, 2016, the Army carried out surgical strikes on a number of terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation to an attack on its base in Uri that month. The strike by India's warplanes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist training camp in Pakistan on February 26 and the Pakistani Air Force's subsequent retaliation the next day triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The most visible face of the confrontation was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman whose capture by Pakistan after downing his MiG-21 fighter triggered the most serious military crisis between the two neighbours in decades. But diplomatic outreach by major powers and India's stern warning to Islamabad led to his release after two days, averting further escalation of the conflict. In his tweets, Singh also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing a change in India's approach in dealing with terrorism. The Balakot bombing was seen as a doctrinal change in India's counter-terror approach as the strike was carried out deep inside Pakistan. "I salute the @IAF_MCC for its unmatched bravery and courage exhibited during Balakote air strikes. Our government led by PM Shri @narendramodi has adopted a different approach from earlier governments. Now we do not hesitate to cross the border to protect India against terrorism," said Singh. The IAF fighter jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot. Pakistan retaliated on February 27 by attempting to target Indian military installations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DJ Diplo was rushed to safety after a shooting at the start of one of his sets that left two people injured during a carnival in Brazil. A man and a woman were reportedly shot during an attempted theft at the street party in Sao Paulo on Tuesday afternoon. Diplo, real name Thomas Pentz, was about to introduce himself on stage, taking selfies and recording the crowd on his phone at the moment the gunshots rang out. He could be seen ducking for cover at the end of his Instagram post as security guards rushed into the crowd. Diplo was rushed to safety by security guards during the shooting at the Latinha Mix block in Sao Paulo, Brazil A woman was shot in the leg and a man was hit in the stomach during the shooting just before Diplo began his set Gunshots were fired during the carnival in Brazil, injuring two people and causing the street party to be cancelled Diplo captured the moment as the shots rang out in an Instagram post he was filing moments before his set was due to start Witnesses at the scene claimed the chaos began when a man tried to snatch a chain off a fellow reveler's neck. The alleged theft victim then pulled a gun out and shot the assailant, hitting him in the stomach. A female friend of the alleged thief was caught ion the crossfire and shot in the thigh, according to police. Photographer Amauri Nehn told UOL: Everyone on top of the truck bent down and security guards went to protect Diplo. 'Someone heard a shot and warned the people who were on top of the truck to duck. 'When everything calmed down, the security guards removed him [Diplo] from the truck. Diplo ducked for cover as the shots rang out just moments before he was due to begin his set in Pinheiros, Sao Paulo Diplo was rushed from the stage on top of a truck as gunshots were fired in the crowd in Sao Paulo, Brazil Paramedics and security staff helped those injured during a shooting in Sao Paulo, Brazil 'I went to the side of the trio and saw a boy, who was hit in the abdomen, and a girl, who was hit in the leg. I didn't hear the shots. The sound was loud and a lot of people shouting. 'Then I took the photos of the security guard protecting him.' Producer Diplo was on top of a truck when the shooting happened and was rushed to safety by security guards. As a result the rest of the producer's set and the street party parade were cancelled. The producer, who is behind Major Lazer, had also performed at the Latinha Mix block in the Pinheiros district of the city the previous night. Local media reported that five people were also stabbed during a separate incident earlier the festival. The case is still being investigated, but according to the Sao Paulo Public Security Secretariat, a man was arrested for attempted theft on the way of the party. ALBANY As New York works to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, a growing number of advocates are calling on the state to go one step further and ban all flavored tobacco products on the market, including menthol cigarettes. Its a step only one other state has taken. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation late last year that bans the retail sale of all flavored tobacco products, including nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored chewing tobacco. If you take some flavored products off the market but leave others youre basically putting a sign on those products that says, Kids, this way in, said Kevin OFlaherty, director of advocacy for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids New York region. We should act across the board and get rid of all flavored products. He pointed to the partial ban the Trump administration just enacted. That ban covered the sale of most flavored e-cigarette pods such as those made popular by industry giant Juul, but left on the market flavored e-liquids used in open tank systems. It also contained a loophole that has caused disposable, single-use puff pens to explode in popularity, he said. This whack-a-mole effect has existed since before e-cigarettes became popular, OFlaherty said. When Congress banned the sale of all flavored cigarettes except menthol in 2009, youth use of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products such as cigars and chewing tobacco rose. Flavors are just inherently appealing to kids, he said, and companies know it. When you look at whats happening with e-cigarettes, these kids are becoming addicted to higher levels of nicotine than you would even find in cigarettes, he said. Theres a lot of evidence now that kids who start vaping are much more likely to start smoking combustible cigarettes. So we risk losing all the progress weve made over the past 30 years if we do nothing. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has attempted to ban flavored e-cigarettes using emergency regulatory powers, but was sued by the vaping industry which successfully blocked the ban from taking effect. Now, lawmakers are hoping to enshrine a ban into state law. A bill sponsored by Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal would ban all flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol. The menthol loophole Advocates are using this moment of heightened concern around youth vaping to urge lawmakers not to create another menthol loophole for e-cigarettes and to close the loophole thats already on the books when it comes to combustible cigarettes. Dozens of advocacy groups, including the American Lung Association, American Heart Association and African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), showed up to the state Capitol this week to lobby lawmakers on the issue. They wanted to keep menthol cigarettes on the market and they did, said Carol McGruder, co-chair and founding member of the AATCLC, who flew in from California to meet with legislators. Now were seeing the same thing happen with e-cigarettes. They want another menthol carveout. A number of states and municipalities pursuing flavor bans have exempted menthol. Cuomos regulatory ban on flavored e-cigarettes initially contained a menthol carveout on the advice of state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, who said he didnt want to harm ex-menthol smokers who had turned to menthol e-cigarettes to quit. After blowback from public health and parent groups, who noted the flavors popularity among young people, he came back and recommended menthol be included once the states legal fight over the ban concludes. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. McGruder said its important lawmakers ban combustible menthol cigarettes once and for all, too. Menthol cigarettes are heavily marketed in poor neighborhoods and communities of color. Use among black people has soared as a result. These products were dumped in our neighborhoods and given away to children as young as 9 years old, she said. We are living the legacy of this predatory marketing and we need protection from the tobacco industry. People of color have mixed feelings about menthol cigarette bans. Many believe it could become the new stop-and-frisk a policy that enabled police to stop anyone on suspicion they may be dangerous and that led to disproportionate detentions of black and Latino people. Rev. Al Sharpton has emerged as a vocal critic of menthol cigarette bans, arguing they will fuel black-market sales and increase interactions between black people and police. He has cited Eric Garner, the New York City man who was killed by police after a stop for allegedly selling loose cigarettes. Many in the black community are critical of Sharpton's position, noting the nonprofit he founded, National Action Network, has received donations from tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds. The tobacco industry has cynically latched onto legitimate concerns in the African-American community regarding police brutality, and weve had to counter that, McGruder said. She said anti-tobacco advocates are working overtime to remind people that the proposed menthol bans would ban retail sales, not individual possession. She said theyre also fighting for a package of legislative reforms that would take menthol products offline and also provide services for smoking cessation and stress reduction. New York is very important in this fight, she said. New York and California are the two bookmark states. Where they go the rest of the country follows. Legislators in California are pursuing a similar ban. At least 25 people died and three others sustained injuries as a private bus carrying a wedding party fell into a river on Kota-Dausa highway in Bundi district today morning, police said. Kota: At least 25 people died and three others sustained injuries as a private bus carrying a wedding party fell into a river on Kota-Dausa highway in Bundi district Tuesday morning, police said. The wedding party with 28 persons on board was headed to Sawai Madhopur from Kota early morning when the driver apparently lost control of the bus while traversing a bridge near Papdi village under Lekhari police station limits, Lakheri Sub-Inspector Rajendra Kumar told news agency PTI over the phone. The bus, subsequently, fell into Mej river from the bridge that had no wall or railing, Kumar said. Thirteen people died on the spot while 10 others succumbed to their injuries on way to the hospital, he added. The deaths include 11 men, 10 women and three children. The injured were taken to Lekhari government hospital from where the critically injured are being referred to a government hospital in Kota, the police officer further said. Most of the injured people were rescued with the help of locals in the village, he added. "Deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident," tweeted Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, confirming that "25 people have lost their lives." O f all the futuristic technology that claims it will change our lives, drone deliveries are up there with one that might actually have an impact. By delivering parcels by air instead of the road, drone delivery could ease congestion and reduce pollution, as well as make deliveries more efficient. But, its taking a while to fully take off. Amazon first delivered a Prime package by air in Cambridgeshire back in 2016, whilst Googles parent company Alphabet launched the worlds first food drone delivery service in Australia last April. Whilst we wait for the regulation to catch up in London there are no-fly rules which prevent drones within 150 metres of densely packed buildings for instance Dublin appears to be leading the way. Irish drone delivery company Manna is launching a new commercial pilot at the University College Dublin, which will see JustEat food deliveries made by drone. Students and staff at the university, approximately 30,000 people, will be able to order Ben & Jerrys ice cream or food from Camile Thai via JustEat and have it delivered by drone as part of the pilot which starts in March. When booking a delivery in the app, there will be a drone icon which the customer can select. They will then go to the designated pick-up-point to meet the delivery. Once the drone arrives, it will descend 15 meters and lower the food on a biodegradable linen thread. Manna says that from the second the package leaves the vendor, it will take a mere three minutes to arrive at the customer. Now thats fast food. MD of JustEat Ireland, Amanda Roche-Kelly, said the trial will transform the business of food delivery as we know it. This coming together of two complementary services will greatly improve the delivery experience for our customers and further adds to the countless ways we connect people with food, everywhere, she added. The Manna drone that will be delivering JustEat orders in Dublin (Manna ) / Manna Manna has been working with the Irish Aviation Authority to guide its work over the past three years to get to this stage. The company hopes that in the future it will be able to expand its partnership from online food order companies to restaurants and dark kitchens a term used for when food for delivery is prepared at separate premises rather than a restaurant across the globe. Regulatory News: Given the changing situation around COVID-19, 2CRSi (Paris:2CRSI) is providing some information to investors on the impact in the short and medium term on its production capacities and commercial outlook. As for all players in the electronic and IT sectors, the main immediate consequence of the health crisis is the closure or significant reduction in activity of several factories of electronic components or computer server sub-assemblies. There has also been a sharp reduction in the freight offering due to the cancellation of almost all international flights to China. 2CRSi may be less impacted than other market players for two key reasons: Firstly, the company made the strategic choice several years ago to favour local production. Sheet metal elements and certain electronic cards are produced in France, or sometimes involve outsourcing to Germany. The manufacture of rugged products by TranquilPC is carried out in Manchester. Secondly, the Group has significant stocks of critical computer components, which it stores each year in case of shortages resulting from the closure of Asian factories during the Chinese New Year. However, the very long delivery delays caused by the outbreak will nevertheless impact the Group's entire capacity to deliver certain orders scheduled for execution in the first quarter of 2020, which will negatively impact the 2019/20 financial year-end and the start of financial year 2020/21. In addition, the shortage of supply will naturally lead to an increase in prices on the markets of certain components, in particular memory components (DDR4), data storage components (NAND Flash), graphic processors (GPU) and processors (CPU). Over and above the situation in Asia, the Group is observing an ever-increasing number of business enquiries in many countries, such as India, France, Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia, as well as in the Middle East. The Group would like to point out that its sales in China amount to less than one per cent of its annual revenue. 2CRSi Group's new revenue target for financial year 2020/21 is 200m, and its EBITDA margin target is expected at between 6.5% and 7%. END About 2CRSi Founded in Strasbourg (France), 2CRSi group develops, produces and sells high-performance customised and environmentally-friendly servers. In 2018, 2CRSi. In November 2019, 2CRSi has partnered with Boston Limited, the British company founded in 1992, which realised turnover of GBP 89.5m for the financial year ended 28 February 2019, while CRSi generated a turnover of 65m on December 31, 2018. The Group today has 330 employees and markets its offer of innovative solutions (processing, storage and network) in more than 45 countries. 2CRSi has been listed since June 2018 on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris (ISIN Code: FR0013341781) and is included in the European Rising Tech label. For further information please visit: www.2crsi.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005695/en/ Contacts: 2CRSi Valerie Bouleau Chief Financial Officer investors@2crsi.com +33 (0)3 69 73 81 30 Actifin Victoire Demeestere Financial Communication vdemeestere@actifin.fr + 33 (0)1 56 88 11 24 Actifin Jennifer Jullia Financial Press Relations jjullia@actifin.fr + 33 (0)1 56 88 11 19 More than two decades after he allegedly killed his wife, Mark Jensen will likely again be headed to trial. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued a ruling Wednesday overturning a 2017 decision by Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Chad Kerkman that reinstated Jensens conviction. In 2008, a jury found Jensen guilty for the 1998 death of his wife Julie. The appellate court said in its decision that Kerkman erred in his decision to allow a letter Julie Jensen had written about her husband to be admitted to trial. Kerkman allowed the letter despite earlier decisions by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a federal court to disallow it. Because of that, the appellate court said Kerkman erred in his decision to reinstate Jensens conviction despite an earlier federal ruling that Jensen have a new trial or be released from prison. We reverse (Kerkmans circuit court decision) and we remand for a new trial at which Julies letter and other statements may not be admitted into evidence, the appellate court stated in its ruling. The letter During Jensens original trial, prosecutors presented as evidence a letter Julie Jensen gave to her neighbor, the letter addressed to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. The letter stated, among other things, if anything happens to me, (Jensen) would be my first suspect and I pray I am wrong (and) nothing happens to me ... but I am suspicious of (Jensens) suspicious behaviors and fear for my early demise. She also left voicemail messages and made statements to a police officer detailing her suspicions about her husband. Julie Jensen died not long after delivering the letter and speaking to police. The state argued that Jensen poisoned his wife with antifreeze. Jensen has maintained his innocence. At his original trial, his defense attorney argued that Julie Jensen killed herself because she was depressed and acted to frame her husband. Constitutional violation The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Julie Jensens letter and other statements were testimonial and should not have been admitted to trial. Federal courts ruled that the admission of Julie Jensens letter in Jensens original trial violated his constitutional right to confront his accuser. That the jury improperly heard Julies voice from the grave in the way it did means there is no doubt that Jensens rights under the federal Confrontation Clause were violated, the court said in ordering a new trial. New precedents As lawyers prepared for that new trial, prosecutors argued that legal decisions on other cases have created new precedents that would allow the voice from the grave letter to be used at trial. Kerkman agreed, and once he decided to allow the letter in evidence, he ruled that any evidence presented at a new trial would essentially be the same as the first. With that, he reinstated Jensens conviction. Wednesdays appellate court ruling is based on an appeal of Kerkmans decision. The Supreme Court made its firm belief abundantly clear not just in a case with facts very similar to the facts in this case, but in this case itself with these same exact facts, the appellate ruling states. With that, we must conclude the circuit court erred in entering a judgment of conviction without a new trial, a new trial which was envisioned by the federal district court when it returned this case to the circuit court with instructions to release (Jensen) from custody unless, within 90 days of the date of this decision, the state initiates proceedings to retry him. Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Angelina Gabriele said the district attorneys office is working with the Wisconsin Attorney Generals office to decide whether to appeal the ruling with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The state has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision, Gabriele said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MADRID - Over a 36-hour period, Spain has found 9 news cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, in addition to two previous ones that had already been released from hospital days before. El Pais reported that of the 9 new infections, 4 had been found in Tenerife, 2 in Madrid, 2 in Barcelona, and one in Castellon, the first found in the peninsula. Those in Tenerife were an Italian doctor who had tested positive on Monday afternoon as well as his wife and two other Italians staying in his hotel. All the news cases, the newspaper noted, are linked to trips to Italy. There are 11 people that have been found to have the coronavirus thus far in Spain, 5 of whom Italian nationals. In Catalonia - after a 36-year-old Italian woman tested positive on Tuesday in Barcelona - a 22-year-old was also found to have been infected. The news was reported by El Pais, which quoted the Catalan health department as saying the man had recently been to Italy. "Tim spearheaded all of the work that led us to this critical point. His long tenure with the company, understanding of the regulatory and government framework over fintech, and his past experience in banking makes him the perfect person to guide us in achieving this critical next step," said Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub. Bogan joined LendingClub over five years ago to lead the Internal Audit function and subsequently took on the Chief Risk Officer role in 2016. As CRO, he built a rigorous control and compliance infrastructure, including building out the three lines of defense architecture at the company. He has over 30 years of experience in audit, risk management, regulatory compliance, IT, business transformation and optimization, and operational and financial controls implementation. His experience and his diverse industry background holding senior roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Charles Schwab, Levi Strauss, and Freddie Mac make him ideally suited to lead LendingClub's transition into an all-new kind of bank. "I'd like to thank Tim for agreeing to take on the critical integration work ahead and I'm equally thrilled to welcome Annie," continued Sanborn. "Annie's experience across financial services and technology makes her a great fit as we reimagine banking. They'll work together as we transition to become America's largest financial health platform powered by a marketplace bank." Armstrong has spent over 20 years focusing on building, defending, and auditing risk management structures for financial services institutions. Prior to joining LendingClub, she served as Global Head of Financial Risk for Uber where she built the risk management function for the then largest pre-IPO company in the Bay Area. Prior to that, she was a KPMG Partner serving as the Global Leader for Marketplace Lending as well as co-leading the FinTech practice in the United States. "I know LendingClub and this industry intimately and I'm thrilled to join a company that is reimagining banking," said Annie Armstrong. "As the Lead Partner for LendingClub while at KPMG, I worked shoulder to shoulder with the company's Internal Audit, Compliance, and Risk teams from the company's inception. As LendingClub continues its journey toward becoming a financial health platform with its recent acquisition of Radius Bank, the company's need to partner with regulators increases in a more meaningful way and my background and expertise will become even more beneficial." Armstrong joins LendingClub's Executive Team as Chief Risk Officer, reporting directly to Scott Sanborn and overseeing all risk functions in addition to Security and Compliance. Bogan remains a direct report to the CEO. About LendingClub LendingClub was founded to transform the banking system to make credit more affordable and investing more rewarding. Today, LendingClub's online credit marketplace connects borrowers and investors to deliver more efficient and affordable access to credit. Through its technology platform, LendingClub is able to create cost efficiencies and passes those savings onto borrowers in the form of lower rates and to investors in the form of risk-adjusted returns. LendingClub is based in San Francisco, California. All loans are made by federally regulated issuing bank partners. More information is available at https://www.lendingclub.com. Media and Investor Contacts For Investors: [email protected] Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE LendingClub Corporation Related Links http://www.lendingclub.com Government adds charge of organized crime to Borges list of grievances Cheutmal, Q.R. The Mexican government has added another charge to the list of grievances of Roberto Borge, this time for organized crime. The former governor of Quintana Roo, Roberto Borge Angulo, is currently in a federal prison facing other charges and has now had organized crime added to the list with the purpose of committing crimes related to operations of resources of illicit origin. La Fiscalia General de la Republica (FGR) already has an order of presentation issued by a judge to charge him with the crime, however, they require authorization from the government of Panama, where he was arrested, to extend the terms of the extradition agreement and prosecute him for that new crime. Borge, who was arrested at the Panama International Airport in June of 2017, is charged with several crimes including the crime for the probable illicit use of power and of probable irregular performance of the public service, which caused a bankruptcy of the treasury. He is also charged with the crime of peculation for the disposal of 18 properties at a price lower than their commercial value in contravention of what is stipulated by law. The crimes are to the detriment of the public administration of the state of Quintana Roo that Borge governed from 2011 to 2016. He was arrested in Panama in 2017 and extradited to Mexico in January of 2018. He remains imprisoned in the Centro federal de Rehabilitacion Psicosocial of Ayala, Morelos. UPDATE: The Geneva Motor Show has been canceled after the Swiss government banned large gatherings in an attempt to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Here is the latest version of events. Previous story appears below. FRANKFURT Geneva Motor Show organizers on Tuesday pressed exhibitors from coronavirus-infected areas to check staff for symptoms before arriving in Switzerland and pledged to step up cleaning and disinfection at the congress center. Geneva is set to host the show next week but restrictions on travel have caused other fairs including the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Frankfurts Light + Building fair and the Beijing Auto Show to be postponed or canceled. In the context of the coronavirus epidemic afflicting China, Palexpo SA is carefully observing the situation and its possible implications, the Geneva exhibition center said. The organizers encourage exhibitors from at-risk areas to ensure that their staff pass the necessary checks and do not show any symptoms of infection in the 14 days prior to their arrival in Switzerland, so as to avoid any risk of spread. Palexpo said it is in regular contact with the General Directorate of Health of the Republic and Canton of Geneva and its medical advisor to develop a sanitary action plan, adjustable in real time. The Geneva Motor Show will include visitors and exhibitors from Northern Italy, such as Ferraris Chief Executive Louis Camilleri and Chinese executives from Smart, a brand which is jointly run by Germanys Daimler and Chinas Geely. On Monday, the World Health Organization, which is also based in Geneva, said there was no need to adopt measures which unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked socialite Poonam Jaidev Shroff, the estranged wife of industrialist Jaidev Shroff, to search for a house of her choice in Mumbai within a week, or it would have to direct the Bombay High Court registry to do the same, and this will be binding on her. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant asked Poonam's counsel to look for a house and come back next week. "Do you want a house?" the court asked. Earlier, the top court had earlier asked here to identify a house, as her husband agreed to pay the rent till final disposal of their divorce plea by a Mumbai family court. The bench observed that it will treat it as a lack of bona fide on her part if she does not get a house. "We will ask the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court to select an architect to find a house for you... then you have to be satisfied with it," said the court. Poonam's counsel asked this offer to be monetised. The counsel argued that she could be paid Rs 25 lakh per month for rent, besides Rs 75 lakh annually for expenses. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the husband, said the offer was only for the rent. The top court will continue hearing on the matter on March 6. The court said it will not conduct a lengthy hearing on the matter. Earlier, the Chief Justice told Poonam's counsel that "move to a house of your choice on rent... in six months, divorce will be settled." Another senior counsel representing Poonam said the couple was living together until some apprehensions popped up. "Can a mother and daughter be kept out of their matrimonial house? The daughter is 13 years old," said the counsel. At this, the Chief Justice told the wife's counsel: "You need to work it out, we ordered mediation twice but it did not work. We are concerned about the roof over your head at this stage, and make a choice to rent a house." The Chief Justice had emphasised that the court is willing to record that she is willing to relocate to a premises of her choice, and this arrangement will continue till the disposal of their divorce petition before a family court. The court also asked the husband's counsel to pay the rent for the premises of her choice equivalent to the current residence. Jaidev is the executive director of United Phosphorous. In 2015, he filed a divorce suit against his wife on grounds of cruelty against him and his two daughters from his first wife. He got separated from his first wife in 2000 and married Poonam in 2005. --IANS ss/vd A Universities will forge ahead with the booming education of international students once the coronavirus shock ends, pushing back against renewed concerns about financial reliance on Chinese students. Vice-chancellors say the coronavirus crisis which has stranded 100,000 students offshore as the academic year begins and put at risk billions of dollars in revenue will not deter universities from their embrace of international education but will make them more agile in preparation for future crises. The coronavirus crisis will not deter universities from their international education reliance. Credit:Bloomberg "Internationalisation and a strategy around that is key to what we do. And the elements of that strategy will remain," said Monash University vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner on Wednesday. "We see this event as a very challenging and sad health emergency and a really significant global health emergency. We are responding to that." The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the coronavirus a global health emergency in recognition that the disease risk no longer is confined to China. United Nations member countries may decide to close their borders, cancel flights, implement special screenings at airports, or take other steps in response to the notice. U.S. health officials earlier this week announced they would fast-trackwork on a coronavirus vaccine, with the goal to have an early-stagetrial within three months. That timeline is consideredoptimistic, and even if the work proceeds apace, a phase 1 trial is still a long way from avaccine ready for mass deployment, the National Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases, an agency within the Department of Health and HumanServices, has emphasized. It could take a year or even longer before any vaccine is released for widespread use. That is likely of little comfort to those in the Chinese city ofWuhan, which is ground zero for the coronavirus outbreak and essentially has been quarantined. As of this week, the virus has killed106 people in mainland China, and it has infected nearly 4,700 peopleworldwide, including in the United States. The Chinese government rapidly constructed a1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan as a way to contain and treat patientssuspected of contracting the virus. Named the Wuhan HuoshenshanHospital, it reportedly is a 25,000-square-meter facility purpose-built to address thisoutbreak. The goal of the Chinese was to have the hospital finishedand operational in just 10 days. A second and even larger facility, the Leishenshan Hospital, also is under construction, and the goal is to have that building finished in just 15 days. Medieval Measures Essentially locking down an entire city or region isnt exactly a newtactic, and it certainly is not effective. When the Black Death spread during the Middle Ages, it was commonplace for port cities tobe closed to ships suspected of coming from infected areas. In the 14th century, Venice was among the first cities to formalize suchmeasures, closing the citys waters to suspected vessels, and evensubjecting travelers and nearly all ships to 30 days of isolation. The period was extended to 40 days, which led to the term quarantine. Sadly, those efforts generally were unsuccessful, and it is unclear if amodern quarantine would have any better success. However, this weekthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans toavoid all nonessential travel to China and extended its travel warningfrom Wuhan to the entire country. A D V E R T I S E M E N T The effectiveness of this move currently is being debated, said Mariea Snell, assistant director of Doctor of Nursing Practice programs at Maryville University. At this point, the recommendation is that travel be limited, as therisk is considered to not outweigh the benefit at this point, she told TechNewsWorld. Modern air travel exponentially increased the spread of influenza eachyear, based on a study by Chong and Chung, originally conducted in 2012 and updated in 2017. Air travel restrictions should become apriority when flu or other potential pandemic could occur, the researchers recommended. Some companies are heeding such advice. Apple CEO TimCook on Tuesday announced restrictions on employee travel andeven took the drastic measure of shutting down one store in China. The question is whether restricting travel and utilizing quarantinepractices be effective at curbing the spread of infection. Recent studies indicate that it may not be as beneficial asoriginally thought to be, Snell said. We learned a lot from theSARS and Ebola outbreak in this regard. While it may slow it down, itwill not eliminate it, she noted. The best way to prevent the spread ofillness is to wash your hands, and stay home if you are sick, Snell said. Detection Technology Aside from quarantines, efforts to halt the spread of disease include screenings. It has gotten far easier to determine if someone is contagious and carrying an illness through various methods of detection, which can be as simple as taking temperatures and observing individuals for symptoms. A D V E R T I S E M E N T A helpful way that technology can and is being used to stop thespread of illness is the use of public health surveillance data, noted Snell. The effectiveness can be hit or miss, however, largely depending on the virus. In the case of the coronavirus, scientists say that the viral sheddingperiod period when you are contagious can occur up to a weekbefore you start to show symptoms, Snell explained. Given this, using technology to detect infection like fever would notbe very effective at preventing the spread, she noted. This can behelpful during acute illness, but it would not catch all infected people. Predictive Technology Technology isnt just used just to determine if someone is ill, however.Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning now are beingused to predict where an outbreak might occur or even moreimportantly, where it might spread. One such effort is an early-warning system that utilizes artificialintelligence and machine learning, as well as natural language processing, totrack more than 100 infectious diseases, developed by the Canadian firm BlueDot. The program is designed toread from more than 100,000 articles in 65 languages, and the data then iscompiled to determine the potential for the spreading of diseases. Itwas used earlier this month to track the coronavirus and then predictwhere it might spread. Considering the coronavirus is a global disease, AI hasnt done agood job stopping it but a much better job in tracking it, said RogerEntner, principal analyst at Recon Analytics. However, it could take time to refine any AI to be truly successful. AI could certainly help, but its early days for AI yet, and thisvirus is moving faster than it would probably take to set up a good AImodel and train it on the right data set, cautioned Roger Kay, principalanalyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. More important is to execute existing protocols rigorously, liketracing contacts and quarantining and treating infected people, hetold TechNewsWorld. Crowdsourcing Disease Tracking A number of crowdsourcing methods could be effective in tracking the spread of disease. People are also using cellphone data to track population movement andhow they interact, noted Snell. This helps understand or predict where disease may spread so thatscientists and healthcare providers can take a proactive approach,she added. Social media is another promising avenue. Algorithms have been set up to detect certain buzzwords like flu orfood poisoning to detect and track possible large-scale outbreaks,noted Snell. Connected World The ease with which so many people can jet set around the world for businessmeetings, conferences, trade shows, vacation and other occasions also hascontributed to the spread of contagious diseases. Perhaps some of those occasions for travel eventually could transition to virtual reality or augmented reality experiences both to save moneyfor the participants, and to keep big gatherings such as the annual CESor the Davos political gathering from becoming ground zero fora pandemic. Not everyone is sold on that idea, however, and convincing attendees ofthose shows not to mention the exhibitors could be an uphillstruggle. The moment we have to do AR/VR in a response to a pandemic, then weare so deep in trouble not even AR/VR can save us, ReconAnalytics Entner told TechNewsWorld. In the end, there is no substitute for meeting someone in person,shaking their hand and looking them in the eye AR/VR cant do that,he added. Virtual conferences are already happening for cost reasons, of course. The only issue is you cant get people to sit through three days ofcontent on a virtual connection it just doesnt work, observedKay. Networking is an important part of conferences, but if you dont needto do business development, there is no reason not to get the contentin a format like a TED talk, and there are lots of software tools forconferencing at various levels, he added. Much of what one can learn or needs to learn from majorevents or trade shows can be done through technology, maintained Snell. Virtual events or trade shows can deliver the information in a waythat is safe and cost-effective, she noted. We can integrate discussion in an online platform and share thelatest information on products, as well as view presentations from ourhome or office, Snell suggested. Utilization of this technology forevents such as these should be industry standard as we try to navigatethese global health concerns. ROME - Two former schoolmates from California sat impassively in a crowded courtroom Wednesday for the start of their trial for the murder of a plainclothes Italian policeman while they were vacationing in Rome last summer. In pre-trial court documents, prosecutors alleged that Finnegan Lee Elder, now 20, thrust an 18-centimetre (7-inch) knife repeatedly into Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello, while his friend, Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, now 19, scuffled with the officers partner. The jailed defendants have contended they didnt realize the officers were plainclothes police but mistook them for criminals following a thwarted cocaine sale hours earlier in a Rome nightlife district. Just a row behind them, also listening intently but similarly showing little emotion, was the widow of Cerciello, who was killed on a street near the young Americans hotel only days after he returned to duty after his honeymoon. The killer thrust numerous blows into his vital organs and fled, heedless to Cerciello dying, said Prosecutor Marina Sabina Calabretta. Elder, according to pre-trial documents, admitted to the stabbing but said he acted in self-defence when he feared the burly Cerciello was strangling him. The defence on Wednesday sought to raise doubts about whether the defendants were mistreated or intimidated when first brought from their hotel for questioning at a station house. Natale-Hjorth has also told authorities he acted in self-defence, alleging that he and his friend were assaulted by the police officers, so he scuffled with Cerciellos partner, Andrea Varriale. The partner suffered kicks and scratches, according to prosecutors. Under Italian law, accomplices to an alleged murderer can also be charged with the murder itself. Italys stiffest criminal punishment is life imprisonment. At the trial, Ethan and Leah Elder sat tensely in a back row, leaning forward to see their son. But their view was largely blocked by armed penitentiary police officers who stood behind the defendants at all times. When the defendants were led out of the courtroom during a recess, one of the defence lawyers asked if the parents, who live in San Francisco, could greet their son. Ethan Elder took a few steps, touched his son lightly on the arm, and pulling his wifes head close to his, stroked her hair in a gesture of affection their child could glimpse. He held up his hand in greeting, first to Natale-Hjorth, then to their son. With the truth will come justice, Ethan Elder said to reporters. A lawyer for the Elders, Craig Peters, expressed the familys gratitude that this process is finally moving forward, and we hope that this trial can stay focused on the facts of what happened that night. Peters said the Elders were looking forward to Finn coming home. The fatal encounter between the American tourists and the two officers on a nearly deserted Rome street had its genesis a handful of kilometres (couple of miles) away, in the nightlife district of Trastevere. Both defendants have told Italian investigators they were swindled while trying to buy cocaine in Trastevere. Police and prosecutors have said they paid for the drug but didnt receive it because other Carabinieri officers on patrol in the area approached, and people scattered. The Americans, angry they received no cocaine, then snatched a knapsack, with a cellphone inside, belonging to the dealers go-between, the prosecution contends. Cerciello and Varriale were asked by supervisors to investigate the go-betweens complaint to police about the bag. Prosecutors have said that the intermediary called his own cellphone, and Natale-Hjorth proposed giving the man back his knapsack but on condition he return the Americans money and give them a gram of cocaine. One apparent line of defence has been that the Americans believed that drug dealers had showed up for the pre-dawn rendezvous, not the go-between. According to judicial documents, Natale-Hjorth claimed he didnt know his friend had the knife. Prosecutors contend that after the stabbing, Natale-Hjorth hid the knife behind a panel in the ceiling of their hotel room. When the Americans were taken to the station house for questioning, Natale-Hjorth was photographed blindfolded with a scarf as he sat handcuffed with his head bowed. Carabinieri officers allegedly circulated the photograph on phone chats, with the image winding up in Italian newspapers the next day. Defence lawyers on Wednesday asked Judge Marina Finiti to let the blindfold incident be part of trial evidence. Prosecutors objected, saying that matter was being handed in a separate criminal case against the Carabinieri involved in the blindfolding incident. Judge Finiti was expected to rule on the evidence request at the next hearing, on March 9. Dirs: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash. Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell, Miranda Otto, Zoe Chao, Zach Woods, Kristofer Hivju. 15 cert, 86 mins Last June, a video circulated on Twitter of a family sitting on the balcony of an alpine hotel, framed by white slopes. An avalanche is triggered behind them at first, the visitors reassure themselves that its a controlled explosion, done to regulate the amount of snow on the mountains. But the cloud of white grows closer and closer. Panic sets in. Right before theyre consumed, the father grabs his phone and makes a run for it, leaving his wife and two boys behind. Viewers were shocked. How could someone betray their family like that? Who could be so cowardly? It took an army of dedicated (and mildly enraged) cinephiles to point out that the video wasnt real it was a clip from Force Majeure, a Swedish comedy released in 2014. The gaff did, at least, draw attention to how effective director Robert Ostlunds austere and unfussy approach can be. He never attempts to manipulate his audiences sympathies, but lets them serve as passive observers in the breakdown of a couples marriage. No wonder the uninitiated mistook it for reality. The films American remake, Downhill, achieves none of this. Its funny, but aggressively simplified, like swapping out a roquefort for a pack of Dairylea Dunkers. Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Will Ferrell), alongside their sons Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford), are the ones experiencing the holiday from hell here. Pete spends most of the time fixated on his phone, as he pores over Instagram posts by his younger colleague Zach (Zach Woods) and girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chao). Theyre globetrotters who live by a #noagenda ethos. Petes jealous. He engineers it so that Zach and Rosie end up dropping by their hotel room, but they turn up after the avalanche or, as Pete tries to label it, a moment has created a rift in the family. Directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have transposed Ostlunds portrait of human frailty onto the fussy, brittle world of the American middle class. Were constantly reminded that this family are far from the comforts of home. Their heavily accented greeter Charlotte (Miranda Otto, a comic delight) boasts about her open marriage and thinks of sex as no more intimate than a handshake. A resort employee (Game of Thrones Kristofer Hivju, who featured in the original) reminds a flustered Billie: Were not in America where you sue because your coffee is hot. 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Show all 27 1 /27 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Alice in Wonderland (2010) Its only 108 minutes long, but Alice in Wonderland manages to feel longer than a Lord of the Rings extended cut. There are no laughs and theres no enjoyment factor beyond, Oh, look, its Johnny Depp being weird and quirky again! It might be a visual marvel, but Alice in Wonderland shouldnt have won an Oscar for Best Art Direction because anything that would encourage people to see this movie is wrong. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Beetlejuice (1988) Tim Burton's Beetlejuice won an Oscar for the only category it was nominated in Best Make Up. While the film was deserving of far more recognition, its status as an Oscar-winner may come as a surprise to many. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Death Becomes Her Death Becomes Her might not have given Meryl Streep one of her 20 Oscar nominations, but it did win Best Visual Effects ahead of Alien 3 and Batman Returns. The award seems quite rogue given all we get is a stretchy neck and a woman with a hole in her body, but then it was the 1990s. For her part in the film, on-screen legend Streep described the shoot as tedious and like being at the dentist, and claimed it would be her first, last and only effects-driven movie. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Dick Tracy (1990) Warren Beatty spearheaded this live-action version of Dick Tracy, which featured an all-star cast including Al Pacino (pictured). Despite negative reviews, the film racked up an impressive seven nominations and won in three categories: Best Art Direction, Best Make Up and Best Original Song. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them JK Rowling's extension of the Harry Potter universe is a far cry from the adaptation of her original wizarding book series. However, Fantastic Beasts won an Oscar for Best Costume Design with its first film a win made even more surprising by the fact that, despite being nominated for 12 Academy Awards across eight films, the Harry Potter series never won a single one. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Golden Compass This adaptation of Philip Pullmans Northern Lights might have a rating of 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but it still managed to win an Oscar for its visual effects. The Academy was impressed by the computer-generated animals and grand vistas of the Arctic. But the flashy CGI doesnt take away from the fact the film makes one of the most fantastical books ever published utterly dull. So unpopular, this box-office bomb caused its studio, New Line Cinema, to merge with Warner Brothers. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Grinch The Grinch might be the greatest Christmas film, but its still not a great film. Still, Jim Carreys furry green get-up did win it the Oscar for Best Makeup. Considering it took around eight hours to apply each day, you could say it was deserved. Jim Carrey told Graham Norton that a CIA operative had to be brought in to teach him specialist techniques for enduring torture and said the procedure was like being buried alive every day. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Exorcist When taking into account the Academy's inability to nominate horror films over the past few decades, it's increasingly impressive to learn the film considered one of the most shocking of all time won two back in 1974. The Exorcist is a terrific film that deserved its wins for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound. It received a further eight nominations, including Best Picture. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Happy Feet Mumble the penguin might look more real than the animations that came before him, but he also looks more lifeless. Happy Feet was one of the first films to use motion capture technology instead of Walt Disney style hand-drawn animations. But who wants an exact replica when you can have big white eyes and toothy grins? Apparently the Oscars do, because they gave Happy Feet Best Animated Film. Granted, the scene where a baby Mumble raps Close to the Edge is cute. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Harry and the Hendersons (1987) It's doubtful that even the makers of Harry and the Hendersons expected their film about a family's encounter with the cryptozoological creature Bigfoot to win an Oscar. But it did (Best Makeup). Universal Pictures 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Imitation Game The Imitation Game is as difficult to decipher as a heap of unbroken code. It features a number of historical inaccuracies, which range from the benign to the outright offensive. One scene shows a detective using Tipp-Ex in a time period where it hadnt been invented yet. One plotline slanders Alan Turings memory by suggesting he covered up for a Soviet spy. But despite the film's confusing diversions and ridiculous accusations, Graham Moore won for his screenplay. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985) While a far cry from the four Oscar wins awarded to Raiders of the Lost Ark, sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom considered to be the weakest of Steven Spielberg's original trilogy took home the award for Best Visual Effects. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Innerspace (1987) Innerspace hasn't endured as a must-watch classic like similar films that were released in the 1980s, but it has an Oscar win to its name the science-fiction adventure, starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Martin Short (pictured), won Best Visual Effects. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Men in Black It does seem weird that Men in Black won an Oscar for makeup considering the two main characters arent wearing any. But when you think of all the oozing purple aliens they shoot at, it starts to make more sense. The action film also won an Oscar for Best Musical Score thanks to contributions from Will Smith himself (though we all know the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme tune is his only award-winning sound). Sony Pictures Releasing 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Muppets The plot of The Muppets is essentially: One day a boy and girl fell in love and together they overcame an obstacle of some sort. While the old films featured big-name celebrities, in the reboot there is a feeling of will this do? Jack Black is paraded out like he were Hollywood royalty, even though at this point in his career, he was probably accepting offers to turn Christmas lights on. It managed to win an Oscar for the song 'Man or Muppet'. To be fair, there were only two others nominated in the category. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Pearl Harbor Theres nothing the Oscars loves more than a war film, so that explains why they would give a film as bad as Pearl Harbour three awards. Michael Bays movie manages to make his retelling of the Pearl Harbor disaster orientate around a self-indulgent love triangle. Bay has no excuse for the poor quality, the film cost more to make than the real Pearl Harbour cost the US government. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Back in 2007, we were all far too love-drunk on the image of Jonny Depp in eyeliner because somehow we convinced ourselves that Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was a good film. No one finds Johnny Depp in eyeliner attractive anymore so we can all be a bit more honest: its not good. The overly complicated, rambling sequel was nominated for four Oscars and ended up beating Superman Returns to win Best Visual Effects. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Rango (2011) Johnny Depp's reptilian underdog Rango beat out a boot-wearing pussycat as well as a panda with an affinity for kung fu to win Best Animated feature at the Oscars. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Song of the South (1946) Song of the South has long had controversy heaped upon it with many believing the film's African-American characters to be racist and offensive stereotypes. Because of this, it might come as a surprise to learn the film is an Oscar winner, taking home the Best Original Song trophy for "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Spider-Man 2 There havent been many Oscar nominations for superhero films, which makes sense because they often arent very good. Aside from Peter and Marys upside-down kiss in the pouring rain, Spiderman 2 is boring. Still, it managed to beat Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I, Robot to win Best Visual Effects. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Suicide Squad After Suicide Squad won an Oscar Suicide Squad has more Oscars than became a meme. Twitter pointed out that the Marvel anti-hero team-up has won more gold men than Gary Oldman and Willem Dafoe combined. To be fair it didnt win Best Film, but Best Makeup. Regardless, that anyone managed to bear the unbearable Joker and the overly sexualised Harley for long enough to notice what anyone looked like is a miracle. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Sweeney Todd took home the best Art Direction Oscar, an impressive feat considering other Tim Burton films have been far more deserving of the prize, but failed to even be nominated. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Tarzan Toy Story 2s 'When She Loved Me' is sad enough it could make Ross Kemp cry, but it didnt get the Oscar in 2000. Instead, Tarzan won Best Music for Phil Collins 'Youll Be In My Heart' a song which lacks all the emotional resonance of drum hit 'In the Air Tonight'. In an extremely bizarre decision, Collins soundtrack was inserted in rather than sung by the characters, because co-director Kevin Lima thought a singing Tarzan would be ridiculous. Because a man swinging from trees like a monkey isnt ridiculous? Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar U-571 A French-American submarine films tarring Matthew McConaughey and Jon Bon Jovi isn't a film you'd ordinarily assume would win an Oscar, but U-571 proved an exception. It won Best Sound Editing. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Wolfman Rick Baker won Best Makeup and Hair for his work turning Benicio Del Toro into a ferocious wolf. After multiple director changes and other backstage drama, Joe Johnstons much-troubled production nearly didnt get made. Humankind would have been better off if they hadnt managed to resolve their issues. The Wolfman is poorly paced and divulges into CGI overload for an action-heavy climax that is too grizzly for its own good. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar The Young Victoria This film is about as passionless as the Victorian era itself. Watching it is to spend an hour and three-quarters waiting for it to start. The Young Victoria was meant to reimagine the Queen as a young woman full of life, but director Jean-Marc Vallee ends up replacing all of Emily Blunts smouldering mischievousness with drab reserve. Luckily, two-time Oscar winner Sally Potter saved the period drama by winning yet another costume design award. Rex Features 27 films you'll never believe won an Oscar Ex Machina (2015) Nobody expected the fantastic Ex Machina to win anything at the Oscars, but when it was named as the victor in the Best Visual Effects category, it went down as the best twists of the evening. It beat Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road But the film is too forgiving of the fathers sins. Ferrell plays Pete as self-pitying and pathetic, never outwardly cruel, while the screenplay (written by Faxon, Rash, and Successions Jesse Armstrong) hurries him towards redemption. Its Louis-Dreyfus who nails the tone here she plays Billies grief with a winning sincerity, her reactions as sharp and disjointed as shattered glass. She grits her teeth and swallows her tears. But theres an absurdity to her, too. The actors always been gifted in portraying a kind of self-centred indignance (played to genius effect in Veep), with a stare that could burrow a hole right through someones head. Thats the fire a retread of Force Majeure needed. What we get instead feels timid in comparison. The first official visit to India of President Trump was his 36-hour whirlwind tour on Monday. It drew about 100,000 people and was accompanied by a tour of India and the iconic Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal, constructed as a tomb for his beloved wife by an Indian Emperor in the 17th century, was buffed and shrubbed before Trump took the first lady for a sunset tour. Trump, who had first visited the memorial, told the reporters it was "incredible, truly incredible." The brief visit by Trump will be long and symbolic, but relatively short. Both countries are facing stubborn trade tensions even as their military cooperation continues to deepen. Trump claimed a defense deal with India in the amount of $3 billion. The first ever Joint Military Exercises between the two countries took place last fall in the USA and India on Air, Land and Sea. Trump claimed "something to behold" for such an event, called "Tiger Triumph," and he praised the helicopter sales agreement, which could be his most substantive policy official statement on this great pageantry week's visit to India. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government, even from members of Congress, has faced significant international criticism of his Kashmir crackdown and the passage of a controversial bill of religious citizenship that has stirred protests across the country. In preparation for the tour, the senior official of the White House told Trump to bring Modi privately to the issue of religious freedom. Trump was welcomed by Modi, whom he described as a good friend, when arriving at the Airport in the west city of Ahmedabad. Last year in Houston, both leaders appeared together. The two leaders traveled from the airport on Monday to an Ashram by the Sabarmati River, where they were 13 years old to live with Mohandas Gandhi, India's revered independent leader. There were tens of thousands of people lined with the roads. Meanwhile, New Delhi broke out in violence as a new citizenship law clashes between supporters and protestors. A cop and a civilian were killed and an officer was wounded by violence in the northeastern part of the capital. Social media videos showed dark smoke feathers from residences and shops that have been on fire. Since December, India has seen massive protests against a law that provides a quick-strack road to citizenship for immigrants without documents from six different religions, but that excludes Islam. On Thursday, the US International Religious Freedom Commission described the law as' a significant downward trend in the freedom of religion in India.' A senior government official told Trump before leaving Washington that during the trip he would address "the religious freedom issue". Trump flew from Ahmedabad to Agra to the Taj Mahal, traveling with his wife and daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Upon his return, the Chief Minister of India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, greeted him with Yogi Adityanath, a radical Hindu monk, known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric. The journey continues on Tuesday in New Delhi, where he finished Monday night, with ceremonies, meetings and a banquet. After impressing everyone with a sherwani and cigarette pants by Anita Dongre, daughter and advisor of US President Donald Trump Ivanka Trump, chose to wear a Rohit Bal creation for the Rashtrapati state dinner. Ivanka looked absolutely stunning in a floor-length ivory Anarkali suit. Ivanka's outfit is from Rohit Bal's famous 'Guldastah' collection which was unveiled in 2018 and was the designer's ode to his birthplace, Kashmir. This was Ivanka Trump's second visit to India. She had visited India in November 2017 to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad. She attended the summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rohit Bal in 2018 on his Instagram handle wrote, "Guldastah is very close to my heart and I have used flowers of Kashmir... sunflowers, poppies , tulips, and peonies. This collection is both sensitive and ornate with an underlying sense of luxury interwoven in its many layers. Its my interpretation of absolute beauty in its purest form." Ivanka Trump was also trending on social media for repeating her Proenza Schouler baby blue viscose georgette midi dress during her second visit to India. She wore the dress last year in September during her Argentina visit. Ivanka was praised for her sustainable fashion choice. READ | Ivanka Trump picks Indian designer Anita Dongre on day two of US presidential visit PM Modi sends best wishes to Ivanka Trump As United States President Donald Trump's two-day visit to India concluded on Tuesday, February 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the First Family of USA for their high-profile visit. Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump had expressed her delight after visiting the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday afternoon. In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Ivanka stated that the Ashram was a "wellspring of inspiration and guidance." Visiting the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati; home to the ideology that set India free and a wellspring of inspiration and guidance. pic.twitter.com/xx0NhmNLpr Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) February 25, 2020 Responding to her tweet, PM Modi said that India is happy to have hosted Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. India is happy to have hosted Jared and you. Your liking towards India is clearly visible. My best wishes to you in your endeavours to further empowerment and enterprise among women. Hoping to see you both back in India soon! https://t.co/cHHLSTdjRI Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 25, 2020 READ | Chetan Bhagat concedes after Anupam Kher rebuts his '1947-2020' lament about India A selected group of successful personalities with decades of experience in business and industry in Ghana has been inducted into the novel Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame on 22 February 2020 in Accra. The nine veteran corporate titans are Mr. Kwasi Abeasi, Chairperson of the Board of the GIPC and former Managing Director of Agricultural development Bank and Executive Director of Private Enterprises Federation (PEF); and Dr. Felix Anyah, CEO of Holy Trinity Medical Centre and former CEO of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The others are Mr. Roman Krabel, the General Manager of Accra City Hotel; Mr. Aheto Abiola Tsegah, Chairman of Unicom Chemist; Dr. Edem Kojo Hiadzi, CEO of Lister Hospital; and Mr. Bernard Joseph, CEO/Director of Sunshine Healthcare. The rest are Dr. Daniel McKorley, Board Chairperson of Trade Fair Centre and Group CEO of the McDan Group; Dr. Nortey Omaboe, Executive Chairman of GCNet; and Mr. Talal Fattal, CEO of Caesars Court and former CEO of Metro TV. The Business Executive Limited (TBE), with the collaboration of some partners such as the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), founded the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame as a forum for members to contribute individually and collectively to the growth of corporate Ghana by sharing their knowledge and experience with the full-fledged and budding CEOs, business associations like PEF, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), and public policymakers and implementers. The purpose of the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame is to recognize and celebrate the professional accomplishments of these well-experienced members of the corporate community so that they can serve as role models. The Business Executive Limited (TBE) is a Pan-African media and events firm, with a track record of successfully organizing the following awards schemes and summits: Ghana Industry CEO Awards; Feminine Ghana Achievement Awards; Environment Health & Safety Awards; and Technology Impact Awards. The others are: Ghana Development Awards; Trade & Commerce Awards; Ghana Development Awards; Ghana Transport Awards; Economic Review Forum; and Ghana Manufacturers Business Summit. TBE also organized and hosts Feminine Ghana Hall of Fame and TBE Corporate Executives Network. TBE also publishes The Business Executive magazine, a leading specialized publication that covers the economy, business, finance, investment, diplomacy, tourism, education and socio-economic development issues which is widely circulated in Ghana and other West African countries, South Africa, Kenya, UK and the U.S. Violence in the North East district of Delhi has crippled the national capital with Delhiites paying the price. The communal strife that saw pelting of stones, torching of houses, burning of vehicles and attack on journalists has claimed at least 20 lives so far. As tension and fear blankets the city, the citizens bear the cost of Delhi violence during clashes over Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Some of the costs paid by Delhiites are as follows: 1. Postponement of CBSE exam | The Central Board of Secondary Education postponed the board exams for Class 10 and 12 scheduled on February 26 in violence-affected north-east Delhi Jafrabad, Maujpur, Baburpur, Noorilahi, Yamuna Vihar. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the CBSE to take a decision on rescheduling board exams to be held in these centres by 5 pm and to inform the public by 6 pm. Follow live updates of clashes among CAA protesters in Delhi here 2. Milk, vegetable prices up | Vegetable and milk prices in some pockets of the violence-hit north-east Delhi has gone up as shops remained shut amid a curfew-like situation. Some shops, which are open are running out of supplies quickly. The Delhi police had on Tuesday clamped restrictions on the gathering of four or more people under Section 144 of CrPC in a bid to check violent clashes which has also left more than 200 injured. 3. Loss of lives | At the time of publishing this article, death toll due to the Delhi violence stood at 22. It included an Intelligence Bureau Officer, Ankit Sharma, who was found dead near his home in Chand Bagh. According to PTI, the officer may have been killed in the stone pelting incident. The number of people injured in the incident, including police personnel, stands at 200 as of now. Also read Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal asks Centre to deploy Army in capital 4. Heavy deployment of forces | As tension escalated on Tuesday, sixty-seven companies (or 6,700 personnel) of police and paramilitary forces were deployed across the area. Terming the situation as "alarming," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday asked the Centre to immediately deploy Indian Army in the national capital amid unabated communal clashes. 5. Rising tension between two religious communities | The ongoing clashes have reignited tension between two religious communites. Amid the rising tensions, journalist Rana Ayyub shared a video of a mob chanting "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hinduon ka Hindustan" planted a saffron flag atop a mosque in Delhi, which apparently turned out to be an old video. Even as the incident occurred in the Ashok Nagar area of Delhi (earlier it was described as Ashok Vihar but rectified) where no violence has been reported, the video went viral, giving rise to misinformation. Also read Fact-Check: Video of mosque vandalised, set on fire is from Ashok Nagar in Delhi A Mumbai resident Ramesh Solanki has filed a police complaint seeking action against Ayyub on Wednesday for posting an "old" video purportedly of the Delhi violence. CBSI/CNET Chevron Corp. asked traders and other staff at its Canary Wharf office in London to work from home as a precaution after an employee was tested for the coronavirus, according to a person familiar with the matter. The employee had flu-like symptoms and coronavirus hasnt been confirmed, the person said. Oil prices tumbled for a fourth consecutive day early on Wednesday, as the coronavirus continues to claim lives in Italy and spreads to the Middle East, while U.S. health officials warned that the outbreak is likely to become a pandemic. At 8:47 a.m. EST on Wednesday, WTI Crude had slumped to below US$50 a barrel, trading down 1.34 percent at US$49.23. The U.S. oil benchmark hit its lowest level in more than a yearsince January 2019. Brent Crude was trading below the US$55 mark: the price was down 1.57 percent at US$53.42. Oil and equity markets took another hit on Wednesday as fears of a global pandemic battering economies and oil demand further intensified. Italy, the worst-hit country outside Asia, had reported 11 deaths from the coronavirus as of early Wednesday, with more than 300 people infected, including children. Other European countries also started reporting cases of coronavirus infections of people who had visited Italy. Switzerland, Austria, and Croatia, all three bordering Italy to the north and northeast, reported their first coronavirus cases. The virus spread to the Middle East, too. As of Wednesday, Kuwait had reported 25 cases of coronavirus infections, after confirming 13 new infections today, and all new cases were of people infected after visiting Iran, Gulf News reported. U.S. health officials said on Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak is leading to a global pandemic. Related: Oil Tanks On Fears Of Global Economic Crisis Current global circumstances suggest its likely this virus will cause a pandemic, Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said at a news conference on Tuesday, but noted that the immediate risk to the U.S. remains low. The heightened fear of a global pandemic is heavily hitting equity and oil markets and all risk assets this week, while the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday that the agency could additionally trim its oil demand growth projections due to the coronavirus outbreak. The slump in oil prices comes a week before OPEC and its Russia-led allies are set to discuss how to handle the situation with the depressed demand. We continue to hold the view that OPEC+ will need to extend current cuts, along with current Saudi over-compliance through until at least the end of June, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said on Wednesday. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: [February 26, 2020] Code42 and Its Insider Threat Solution Win Four Industry Awards at the 2020 RSA Conference Code42, the leader in insider risk detection, investigation and response, today announced that it has won four industry awards. The awards recognize companies and solutions for excellence and innovation in cyber and information security. Code42 and its data security solution were honored for the unique approach it delivers to help customers speed insider threat detection, investigation and response. Code42 secures data when employees share files using email and cloud-based collaborative technologies like Box, Microsoft Teams, Slack and OneDrive. The awards were given during the 2020 RSA (News - Alert) Conference, where Code42 is exhibiting and hosting product demos in booth N-6079. Code42 earned the following recognitions: 8th Annual CyberDefense Magazine 2020 InfoSec Award for Best Insider Threat Detection. For this year's CDM InfoSec Awards, judges looked for award winners that embody three major features: they understand tomorrow's threats, today, provide cost-effective solutions and innovate in unexpected ways that can help stop the next breach. 2020 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards: Gold award for Best Insider Threat Solution, and Silver award for Best Cybersecurity Company - North America. The winners of the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards demonstrate excellence, innovation and leadership in information security and were selected based on the strength of their nomination as well as the popular vote by members of the information security community. 16th Annual Info Security PG's 2020 Global Excellence Awards: Silver award for Best Insider Threat Solution. Companies honored with Info Security PG's Global Excellence Awards are cybersecurity and information technology vendors with advanced, ground-breaking products, solutions and services that are helping set the bar higher for others in all areas of security and technologies. More than 35 judges from around the world representing a wide spectrum of industry experts participated in the judging process. Code42 has received numerous industry award recognitions. The company was recently named as a finalist in the upcoming European IT & Software Excellence Awards 2020. In 2019, Code42's solution earned Globee and IT World Awards, a Stevie Award, two Cyber Defense Magazine 2019 InfoSec Awards, a 2019 Info Security PG's Global Excellence Award and 2019 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. For a complete list of Code42 achievements, visit the Honors page on the company's website. For more information on the Code42 solution, visit our blog. About Cyber Defense Magazine InfoSec Awards This is Cyber Defense Magazine's eighth year of honoring InfoSec innovators from around the globe. Our submission requirements are for any startup, early-stage, later stage or public companies in the INFORMATION SECURITY (INFOSEC) space who believe they have a unique and compelling value proposition for their product or service. In this program, we are particularly interested in highlighting cybersecurity companies who have a presence outside of the USA and/or a more global focus. Learn more at www.cyberdefenseawards.com About Cybersecurity Excellence Awards The 2020 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards honor individuals and companies that demonstrate excellence, innovation and leadership in information security. The awards are produced in cooperation with the Information Security Community on LinkedIn (News - Alert), tapping into the experience of over 500,000 cybersecurity professionals to recognize the world's best cybersecurity products, individuals and organizations. About Info Security PG's Global Excellence Awards Info Security Products Guide sponsors the Global Excellence Awards and plays a vital role in keeping end-users informed of the choices they can make when it comes to protecting their digital resources and assets. It is written expressly for those who are adamant on staying informed of security threats and the preventive measure they can take. You will discover a wealth of information in this guide including tomorrow's technology today, best deployment scenarios, people and technologies shaping cyber security and industry predictions and directions that facilitate in making the most pertinent security decisions. Visit Info Security Products Guide for the complete list of winners. About Code42 Code42 is the leader in insider threat detection, investigation and response. Native to the cloud, Code42 rapidly detects data loss, leak, theft and sabotage as well as speeds incident response - all without lengthy deployments, complex policy management or blocking employee productivity. With Code42, security professionals can protect corporate data and reduce insider risk while fostering an open and collaborative culture for employees. Backed by security best practices and control requirements, Code42's insider threat solution can be configured for GDPR, HIPAA, PCI (News - Alert) and other regulatory frameworks. More than 50,000 organizations worldwide, including the most recognized brands in business and education, rely on Code42 to safeguard their ideas. Founded in 2001, the company is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and backed by Accel Partners, JMI Equity, NEA and Split Rock Partners (News - Alert). For more information, visit code42.com, read Code42's blog or follow the company on Twitter. 2020 Code42 Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Code42 and the Code42 logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Code42 Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks are properties of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005770/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] JAMMU (PTI): The 13-day-long Indo-UK joint military exercise -- Ajeya Warrior -- Concluded on Tuesday in Salisbury Plains of the United kingdom, a defence spokesman said here on Tuesday. The 5th edition of the joint military exercise had commenced at the Salisbury Plains Training area in the UK on February 13, he said. The Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army and the 1st Rifles of the UK Army participated in the exercise. The closing ceremony of the exercise was held at West Down Camp, the spokesman said. It was attended by Deputy High Commissioner of India in the UK, Charanjeet Singh, Brig VMB Krishnan, Brig Tom Bewick, Commander 7 Infantry Brigade and Brig Gavin of UK in India, he said. The exercise included joint training in urban and semi-urban areas wherein a series of important lectures, demonstrations and drills related to counter terrorist operations were rehearsed and executed jointly, he said. The highlight of the exercise was the bonhomie and camaraderie displayed by troops, thereby ensuring integration and achievement of invulnerability at all levels, the spokesman said. Kabul: The ISIS-ISI bonhomie was spoken about in this 2019 IB report Waldemar Haffkine: Pioneer of plague vaccine remembered as world looks for COVID-19 cure NIA registers first case outside India and Kerala ISIS operative is prime suspect 24 killed as bus carrying wedding party falls into river in Rajasthans Bundi India oi-Madhuri Adnal Jaipur, Feb 24: Around 24 people who were part of a wedding procession were killed while four others were injured after their bus fell into a river in Rajasthan's Bundi district on Wednesday morning. The wedding party with 28 persons on board was headed to Sawai Madhopur from Kota early morning when the driver apparently lost balance of the bus while traversing a bridge near Papdi village under Lekhari police station limits, Lakheri Sub-Inspector Rajendra Kumar told PTI over phone. The injured were rushed to Lekhari government hospital from where the critically injured are being referred to a government hospital in Kota. However, rescue operation is underway. The bus, subsequently, plunged into Mej river from the bridge that had no wall or railing, Kumar said. Thirteen people died on the spot while 10 others succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital, he added. 20 killed, several injured after KSRTC bus collides with truck at Coimbatore NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 The deaths include 11 men, 10 women and three children. The injured were rushed to Lekhari government hospital from where the critically injured are being referred to a government hospital in Kota, the SI further said. Most of the injured people were rescued with the help of locals in the village, he added. Mej river is a tributary of the Chambal river in Rajasthan. Abdi Nur was the first Somali source to speak with me after I wrote about Ilhan Omar in my Her back pages post of August 2016. I have met with him frequently over the past three and a half years and confirmed everything he has told me with other sources (including law enforcement) and other researchers (including, preeminently, Preya Samsundar and David Steinberg). Abdi is a widely followed reporter for the Somali community on Facebook. After telling the Omar saga to the Daily Mails Martin Gould for the story published last week, Abdi has gone to ground. Today he has posted the following message on Facebook and asked me to share it with Power Line readers. Abdi writes: My name is Abdihakim Osman Nur and I live in Minneapolis Minnesota. I am an American citizen. I am the person who spoke to the media and said that Ilhan Omar married her brother and made legal papers for him to stay in America. I confirmed that the marriage was fraudulent and that I was personally aware since I was a close friend and neighbor to both Ahmed Hirsi and Ilhan Omar. It is also an open secret in the Minnesota Somali community but everyone is afraid of problems from supporters of Ilhan Omar, at least one of whom has a felony criminal record. This issue started in August of 2016 and the first media person whom I spoke to was Scott Johnson, who writes for Power Line. I shared his posts on my Facebook [page] and I was met with vicious online harassment and threats including insulting me for being in a wheelchair and insults to my person as a disabled man. They [i.e., Abdis Somali harassers] caricatured me as wearing diapers. I finally decided to put them on all the things that they were doing in suppressing the information through intimidation and threats and so I told the writer of Daily Mail to put it on the record. Since that day I have received veiled threats about my safety, insults online and threats of a set-up in which to have me locked up. I have had fake complaints to try and shut my Facebook [page] down. They have also told a media personality on YouTube to threaten me and she did so live on a YouTube video. I would like to inform the public and the government of the USA. If anything were to happen to me and my safety that Ilhan Omar and her team will be responsible. I also ask for the support of the American people in case Im set up or something happens to me because I have talked. Thanks for your help and understanding. Abdihakim Osman Nur My Facebook name XERTA SHEKH GOD BLESS AMERICA Rev. Jeon Kwang-hoon, president of the the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), who was arrested on Feb. 24th, announced his letter on Feb 25th (local time) while he is in prison. After Rev. Jeon explained the injustice of the cause, he is now preparing for the constraints and requesting a retrial. "Moon Jae-in arrest Jeon Kwang-hoon mistaking that everything will turn out all right, but we would never step back," said Rev. Jeon. Regarding whether to hold the March 1 Independence Movement Day rally, he said, "We are discussing with experts about the Gwanghwamun rally, including the March 1 Independence Movement Day rally, because of the Covid-19 virus, however, we will proceed the joint service." "Thank you for the fight," he told supporters. "Like Lee Seung-man's speech, I give the party "Battle, Fight, Win." A May Pew Research poll showed 42 percent of Jews believed the Trump administration favors Israel too much compared with the Palestinians. Forty-seven percent said the balance was about right. In 2013, a major Pew poll of U.S. Jews found 43 percent said caring about Israel is an essential part of being Jewish. But 38 percent of Jews under 30 said they were not very or not at all attached to Israel, compared with 23 percent of Jews over 50. By Ofeliya Afandiyeva February 26 marks the anniversary of Khojaly genocide, the killings of Azerbaijani civilians, including women, children and elderly, by the Armenian forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1992. Thousands of Baku residents visited the Khojaly memorial in Baku Khatai district today to pay tribute to victims of the genocide on its 28th anniversary. President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the commemorative ceremony. Twenty-eight years ago, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops ambushed and killed with special brutality 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people fleeing strategic Khojaly town. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 civilians were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. Some 5,379 inhabitants of the city, that is of strategic importance due to its strategic location, were forcefully expelled. Khojaly massacre was an intentional and cold-blooded crime against humanity and became to be known as the bloodiest page of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Following Khojaly, Armenian forces continued the campaign of occupation using heavy artillery to shell villages until irregular Azerbaijani units withdrew and then occupying towns and villages, expelling civilians, looting and destroying all the buildings. By the end of the war, Armenian forces occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding seven regions which together amounted to around 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally-recognized territories, expelling around one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. Today, 26 years since the signing of the cease-fire agreement, and despite the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group (co-chaired by Russia, France and the U.S.) that has been mediating the conflict since 1994, there is no prospect of peace between the two Caucasus countries. Khojaly massacre is one of the roadblocks that overshadows negotiations process and impedes building trust between the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples. In 2009, Azerbaijan launched Justice for Khojaly campaign to raise awareness about Khojaly worldwide. Today, 16 countries and a number of US states have recognized the killing of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly as genocide. Today, Khojaly residents who were able to escape the Armenian barbarianism have taken refuge in 48 regions across Azerbaijan and are waiting to return to their home town. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Homebrew Finds makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. To use Homebrew Finds you must be 21 years or older. The Health Ministry has declared Khanh Hoa Province free of the Covid-19 epidemic after recording no new patient for 39 days. The decision lifting the epidemic status from the province, which is home to tourism hotspot Nha Trang, was signed by Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen Wednesday in accordance with the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases. Despite lifting the epidemic status, the ministry has told Khanh Hoa authorities to continue disease monitoring, prevention and control measures in accordance with regulations. The ministry declared a coronavirus epidemic in Khanh Hoa on January 1 after a hotel receptionist in the province's beach town of Nha Trang tested positive for the virus. The receptionist had interacted with two Chinese visitors, who were later confirmed to be Vietnam's first cases of coronavirus infection, on January 17 before developing fever and coughing the following day. She was subsequently isolated and treated at the province's Hospital of Tropical Diseases, where she made a full recovery and was discharged on February 4. The province has detected no new Covid-19 patient since. Khanh Hoa has therefore become the first infected province in Vietnam to be declared free of the Covid-19 epidemic. The other two provinces, Thanh Hoa and Vinh Phuc, are still considered at risk. Vietnam declared the Covid-19 outbreak an epidemic on February 1, and has recorded a total of 16 patients, all of whom have been cured and discharged. The country as a whole has recorded no new infection in the last 13 days. Meanwhile, the global death toll of the epidemic is approaching 3,000, with most of the deaths in mainland China, followed by Iran with 16, South Korea with 12 and Italy with 11. Food, Wine, & Dining By Ls Cohen Published: February 26 2020 Ingredients sourced directly from Japan. Japanese restaurant Takumi recently opened at the Westfield South Shore Mall in Bay Shore with ingredients sourced directly from Japan. According to an announcement released by the restaurant Takumi is the sister restaurant to 110 Japan in Huntington. The restaurant features a main dining area, sushi bar and hibachi grills. Sonny Lin, owner of Takumi, described his restaurant as fresh, fun and flavorful. We take pride in only providing the highest quality food thats sourced responsibly from local farms, he said in a statement. Takumi was designed for every celebration, from a big night out with friends to a quiet dinner with someone special. Long Island has many sushi restaurants, but very few restaurants offer the intimacy of the customized omakase experience and food quality that we have. Photo: Courtesy of Takumi. Takumi joins Bay Shores thriving restaurant scene. The menu is described as authentic but not traditional, offering an Asian-inspired offerings not necessarily limited to Japanese food. They have build-your-own poke bowls, sushi wraps and ramen. The restaurant can seat up to 200 people and features an outdoor patio for seating in the summer. Some signature dishes include, Spicy Seafood Soup with tofu, egg, assorted seafood and veggies, Takumi Sushi Tacos with pan-seared yellowtail, lettuce, scallion and ponzu dressing, the Takumi Style Hand-roll Combo with spicy tuna, jumbo lump crab meat, yellowtail jalapeno, salmon and mango salsa as well as the Sashimi Pandora Box, which is a Japanese style antipasti. Photo: Courtesy of Takumi. Takumi is offering social media incentives to celebrate their grand opening. Customers who check-in or post about the restaurant, tagging Takumi on any social media platform, will receive one free appetizer up to $11. Location: Westfield South Shore Mall, 1701 Sunrise Highway, Bay Shore, (934) 888-6888. King Henry VI of England banned kissing in 1439 to battle the plague. As the world confronts the coronavirus spreading from China, some health authorities are again urging people to refrain from physical displays of affection. Epidemiologists say limiting contact could help slow the march of a disease thats turned up in dozens of countries in just two months and killed more than 2,700 people. Americans ought to think twice about bro hugs and high fives, they say, while the French and Italians might want to reconsider their traditional pecks on the cheek. Clearly if coronavirus is circulating in your community, its a very prudent thing to do, said Michael Osterholm, an expert on infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. Its one of the few things you can do yourself to actively reduce your risk. In Italy, where infections are surging and seven have died from a virus that spreads through droplets contained in coughs and sneezes, people are starting to embrace the advice. Giorgia Nigri, a 36-year-old economist in Rome, said people have become less willing to pucker up. People in groups have started suggesting we dont give each other the double kiss on the cheek as a greeting or goodbye anymore, Nigri said. I was caught off guard and upset by that at first. But I suppose in larger groups, especially with strangers, it makes sense. Valentines Day Elsewhere in Europe, such suggestions have provoked surprise or derision: In the U.K. over Valentines Day, tabloids including the Daily Mail and the Sun bemoaned virologist John Oxfords advice that Britons should remain standoffish rather than engaging in touchy-feely greetings. Some churches in Italy have stopped placing communion wafers on the tongue, putting them in peoples hands instead. Others have canceled services altogether. Public health authorities in Singapore, India, Russia, and Iran have gone public with calls to avoid hugs, kisses and handshakes. We neednt alter our habits for the rest of our lives, Oxford, who teaches at Queen Mary University in London, said in a phone interview. All Im suggesting is until this crisis is resolved. That may be easier in countries such as Japan where the traditional greeting is a bow, and physical contact among colleagues or business partners is shunned. Some social historians say curtsies may also have evolved in Europe as a response to the declining popularity of greeting people with the lips. Chinese President Xi Jinping amused a crowd in Beijing in a rare public visit earlier this month by saying itd be better not to shake hands. The World Health Organization doesnt go so far as to recommend a blanket halt to hugs and kisses, but its guidelines imply that it might not be such a bad idea. One Meter The Geneva-based body recommends avoiding physical greetings with people showing symptoms and to keep at least 1 meter of social distance. Bruce Aylward, head of a fact-finding mission the WHO and China sent to the outbreaks epicenter of Wuhan, on Monday praised Chinas social distancing and self-protection measures for slowing the spread of the outbreak. Arnaud Fontanet, an epidemiologist who heads Institut Pasteurs Global Health department in Paris, also advises common sense measures like coughing in ones sleeve, relying on single-use tissues and washing hands frequently. Some scientists are concerned the virus could also be shed via feces or through particles so small they can get through common surgical masks. Unlike cousins such as SARS and MERS, it doesnt cause obvious symptoms in everyone it infects, giving the pathogen a stealthy advantage. This war involves everyone, not just people in hazmat suits or scientists, Oxford said. You only need one person to mess up the thing and youre in trouble. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Charlotte car dealership is letting homeless people sleep inside their parking lot so they have a safe place to stay overnight while they're displaced. Kiplin Automotive Group manager James Charles says over a dozen people have taken up the invite to park their vehicles in the well-lit zone on Berkshire Boulevard and he is also assisting them in finding permanent housing. The offer is used by individuals who have a motor and usually have a job but have not yet found affordable accommodation in the North Carolina city where a deposit and first month's rent for an apartment is about $2,500 on average. Charles came up with the idea six years ago when the dealership went to repossess a car from a woman who was not keeping up with payments. Car dealership manager James Charles (pictured) lets people park their vehicles in his lot overnight so they can sleep safely while they find a place to live in Charlotte Kiplin Automotive Group's initiative helps those in need avoid trespassing at another business Charles was inspired by a mother who was pregnant, had three children and nowhere to go. Charles explained: 'So I said to my wife, "How am I going to leave the dealership knowing that there's three babies sleeping in a car?"' Charles explained to WBTV: 'The gentleman who was repossessing the car said, 'We can't take the car, there's somebody living in the car". 'That was really the sign we took at that time and we realized, "You know what? This is something we need to be more involved in".' 'We put her in a hotel until she could find a place but all and I mean all the shelters were full,' Kiplin posted on Facebook. 'That's when we asked God why are we here. 6 years later we have one piece of the puzzle.' So far those who have snapped up the offer include several young people, a veteran, and a mother with three children. 'A family, meaning mother - she was pregnant, and she had three children,' he told WCNC. 'So I said to my wife, 'How am I going to leave the dealership knowing that there's three babies sleeping in a car?'' It provides them a place under security camera surveillance that's 'free from disturbance, trespassing, harassment or worse' according to a Facebook post asking locals to spread awareness. Parking cars at businesses after-hours is considered trespassing. So far those who have snapped up the offer include several young people and a veteran. A GoFundMe pages states a man named 'Mr. Yates, was one on the first homeless individuals that we encountered that was living in his car. He stayed on the property for over one year until he passed away' Locals are beginning to donate food and clothes to the dealership after hearing about the initiative which Charles has since named HALO Now an acronym for Helping And Leading Others Now A GoFundMe pages states a man named 'Mr. Yates, was one on the first homeless individuals that we encountered that was living in his car. He stayed on the property for over one year until he passed away.' Charles expects the number to increase due to the nearby Urban Ministry Center's Room At the Inn program closing for its December to March season. Through collaboration with a local church, the program provides shelter and food for those in need. Now locals are beginning to donate food and clothes to the dealership after hearing about the initiative which Charles has since named HALO Now an acronym for Helping And Leading Others Now. They've also received a Sani-Can toilet and if numbers increase Charles plans on reaching out to Project Outpour which allows people to shower in a trailer. 'We're specifically focusing on the people who have a job, are living in their cars because they aren't making enough money to cover that rent, and they're just stuck in the middle,' he told WCNC. 'We want to be able to provide them a bathroom, a shower.' A GoFundMe page set up February 12 had raised $4,930 of a $250,000 goal by Wednesday morning. With the average move-in costs $2,500, they aim to help 100 people. In Mecklenburg County which serves Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, and Pineville - 2,000 people were homeless in 2019, according to an Annual Report on Housing and Homelessness. Charles can relate to the people struggling in his city. When his family first moved to Charlotte a rental agreement fell through and they were homeless for 90 days. 'Our family has gone through some very specific changes recently as we were made aware of an ongoing problem in the Queen City and surrounding area,' Kiplin said. In Mecklenburg County, 2,000 people were homeless in 2019 Kiplin Automotive declared their official mission in a social media post and shared information about how to help 'The person who owned the house decided to sell it, and didn't let us know,' Charles told WBTV. 'There we were. Six kids and a dog, and no place to live.' He added: 'I know what we can do right now, we have tons of space,' he says. 'And we know people are doing it. We know for a fact that people are living in their cars temporarily. 'You can come here,' he says. 'We will allow you to stay on our property, and of course, we're going to help you find a place if we can.' The dealership has pledged to raise $10,000 by donating $200 every time it sells a car. Last week Kiplin declared their official mission in a social media post. 'Our family has gone through some very specific changes recently as we were made aware of an ongoing problem in the Queen City and surrounding area,' Kiplin posted. 'Homelessness has impacted our family temporarily and continues to impact the lives of those in the community around us. 'We make a living selling cars, and are committed to ending the crisis of homeless families living in theirs!' Assumption College says its suspending all school-related travel to northern Italy, where the coronavirus has spread rapidly in recent days. The college opened a Rome campus in 2013, and has students and faculty in Italy. Given the increase in the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus, we decided yesterday to suspend all College-sponsored travel to the northern region and suspend all independent student travel to the region, said Assumption spokesman Michael Guilfoyle, in an email. Guilfoyle said the college has been closely monitoring the global Coronavirus situation and the incidents in Italy. As of Tuesday, Italy has confirmed 322 cases of the virus the highest number infected outside Asia, according to CNN. Most of the cases in Italy are confined to the northern part of the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned Americans to prepare for a likely outbreak of the respiratory disease in the United States. The federal agency on Tuesday noted that the U.S. response strategy would include such measures as school dismissals, canceling mass gatherings and telecommuting for schools and businesses. Officials stressed the importance of staying home when ill and practicing respiratory and hand hygiene. Related Content: THE Senate on Wednesday, February 26, approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to establish the countrys first energy think tank to be called the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute (Perpi). Senate Bill 1296 establishes the think tank which aims to perform critical research and policy development for needed reforms in the energy sector. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, main proponent of the measure, said he envisions Perpi to stand at the forefront of the Philippine energy research and policy development, as an institution solely devoted to these pursuits," According to Gatchalian, there are about 48 research institutes in the US, 13 in Germany, nine in Australia, 15 in the United Kingdom, and 11 in India. Gatchalian pointed out that having a local energy research and policy center may help insulate the country from supply shocks as a result of global geopolitical events by conducting studies on short term and long term policies on energy security. The research institute, which will be located inside the University of the Philippines (UP), will have an initial funding of P200 million. According to UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, it is important for the Perpi to have independent research bodies. Given that independence is very important in our country, we would like to ask for the institute to maintain its independence so that research endeavors will not be constrained by any political affiliation or technological bias, Bautista explained. We in UP are very grateful, this should have been done years ago, but now its here. She added. Gatchalian clarified that the UP President will be given the authority to appoint the executive director based on the recommendation of the Advisory Council. The fundamental logic of why were pushing for this bill is really to have a research institute that can compliment or at least provide check and balance to government policies, he said. Story continues The conversation of technology for me is not only a political conversation, but also a basic necessity for everyone. We have been hearing that even the talk on nuclear power is a very political discussion. It also has risks to national security. We need an independent body that will give us independent pieces of adivce, policies, and research not to criticize, Gatchalian said. As an independent, multidisciplinary institution, Perpi shall ensure that its research endeavors shall not be influenced or constrained by political affiliations, technological bias or other presuppositions. Co-authors of the bill are Senators Joel Villanueva, Juan Miguel Migz Zubiri, Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros, and Ronald Bato Dela Rosa. (SunStar Philippines) The dancer and choreographer Martha Graham and her company toured twenty five countries as cultural ambassadors for the United States during the Cold War. But it was important to Graham, as high-profile as dancers get, that her audiences understood she was not a propagandist for her country. My dances are not political, she announced, as her company arrived in India in 1955. Earlier this month, sixty-five years after Grahams first diplomatic tour, a panel of historians and journalists met at Columbia University to discuss a new book that argued the opposite. Martha Grahams Cold War: the Dance of American Diplomacy by Victoria Phillips, (Oxford University Press, 2019), came out this December. Despite Grahams disavowal, her lifelong refusal to be defined as a modernist, a feminist, or a member of any political movement, Phillips touts her book as the first to frame [Grahams] particular brand of dance modernism as pro-Western Cold War propaganda. I trained and performed with the Graham Center from 1995 to 1999. In her choreography, Graham often focused on classic myths or universal themes like love, religious worship or the ritual of daily work, to create a language of archetypes and symbols. In Cave of the Heart (1946) the Greek goddess Medea is a study in jealousy and hate, wrote Anna Kisselgoff, the widely respected chief dance critic of the New York Times. In Grahams best-known work, Appalachian Spring (1944), she found another archetypethe boundless possibility of youth, as represented by a bride on the American frontier. To Phillips, this was evidence that Graham was, despite her protestations, a propagandist for America. That she saw its myths as universal. But she also argued that Graham was a fellow travelera phrase that, in the forties and fifties, meant a person sympathetic to the Communist party. The only constant apparent in Phillips rendering of Graham was that she simply must have worked with political intent. At the panel, a voice rose from the back row. It was Kisselgoff, the former Times critic, herself. I have to say a few things, she began. Kisselgoff invoked her decades of interviews with Graham to argue that she was that most baffling and controversial of things in modern America: beyond easy political definition. Sign up for CJR 's daily email I would like to define her in the following way, Kisselgoff said. In 1923, Martha went to the Art Institute of Chicago, and she saw a painting by Kandinsky. She said, I saw a splash of red against a field of blue. And I will dance like that. That is not political in the sectarian sense, and thats who she was. It struck me, as a former dancer, now a journalist, that Kisselgoff and Phillips were outlining a key struggle the press has in 2020: journalists cannot understand that most people dont care that much about politics and certainly dont define themselves entirely by it. A Politico piece last week wondered why 92 million eligible voters dont cast ballots. In September, the New York Times traveled to swing states, only to report the constituents who live there are more concerned with how to make rent than they are with politics. Fifty-four percent of Americans either hold a roughly equal mix of conservative and liberal positions or say they dont follow the news most of the time, the piece quotes from an Upshot analysis of 2017 data from Pew Research. The Knight Foundation released the results of The 100 Million Project, last week too, which studied 12,000 chronic non-voters, many from swing states. Such studies tend to make archetypes of us all. The average chronic nonvoter is a married, nonreligious white woman between 56 and 73 who works full time but makes less than $50,000 a year, read Politicos analysis. But the piece also finds those who decide not to engage in politics are really a pretty eclectic bunchsome are wealthy, but more are poor. Most live in families and communities that dont vote either. And most express feelings of alienation from American politicsthey dont believe that they can make a difference, or they dont trust those who run the system, or they cant stand the din of the press, or its all just too much work to understand. Is it really so surprising that more than half of Americans agree with points on both sides of center? That constituents lives are too full of immediate, concrete problems for them to express political views online, to engage politically in person, and, often, to vote? Perhaps what we journalistsembattled, working in a dying industrymean really when we fail to understand is, Arent you angry? Miss Graham, Kisselgoff wrote once, never works so much with specifics as she does with universals. Maybe we should take her example. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach. A Ukrainian soldier was killed as a result of the explosion of an unknown explosive device in Donbas on Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports. "As of 12:30 of Wednesday, the enemy violated the ceasefire regime four times in the Donetsk sector. (...) Unfortunately, this morning, a soldier of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) died as a result of an explosive demolition on an unidentified explosive device," said Defense Minister Maksym Prauta at a briefing in Kyiv. "The IMD is proud to stand with West Side United and its partners in the fight for health equity," said IMD CEO Dr. Suzet McKinney. "With this collaborative, we hope to inspire those around us to create the best opportunities possible for community members to access resources and live longer, healthier lives." The West Side United collaborative will invest $6 million this year with four community development financial institutions (CDFIs). The CDFIs will offer loan capital to small West Side businesses and organizations based on the community's needs, such as improving access to affordable housing and healthy foods, financing local business projects, or supporting job creation efforts and educational programs. Investments will be deployed in the following neighborhoods: Austin, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, Belmont Cragin, Humboldt Park, Little Village, Near West Side, West Town, North Lawndale and Pilsen. To date, West Side United partners have invested a combined $7.7 million in these neighborhoods. WSU's impact investment initiative is closely aligned with the IMD's strategic goals. Situated in the Near West Side, the IMD is surrounded by some of the most historically underserved neighborhoods in Chicago. A resident of West Garfield Park, for example, has a life expectancy of just 69 years, while just a few miles east, a resident of the South Loop is expected to live 85 years. This staggering 16-year gap is shocking, but all too familiar to anyone who has called the West Side home. As an economic anchor for its surrounding communities, the IMD's work has direct impacts on the larger West Side. Dr. McKinney's strategic vision is to galvanize the public and private sectors to invest in life sciences innovation in the IMD and leverage government-sanctioned tools like federally qualified opportunity zones (QOZ) to truly create opportunities for the those in the community. "This is our moment to advance the wellbeing of our city, block by block," continued Dr. McKinney. "For us, it's more than a mission, more than steel and concrete, or even science. We are talking about saving and building lives." By building strategic partnerships and leveraging its 31 acres of vacant land in a designated QOZ, the IMD will help create a vibrant, active community that aligns the missions of its partner organizations with the people they serve. Formed in 2017, WSU's mission is to build community health and economic wellness on Chicago's West Side and build healthy, vibrant neighborhoods. All of the work being done by WSU and its partners is part of a broader effort to reduce the life expectancy gap between Chicago's Loop and 10 West Side neighborhoods by 50 percent by 2030. About the Illinois Medical District: The IMD is a community of health, technology and life science organizations in the heart of Chicago, two miles west of the Loop on 560 acres. Every day, more than 80,000 people visit the IMD, including more than 29,000 employees. With $220 million in annual research funding, the IMD generates $3.4 billion in economic activity each year. The IMD offers partners a unique ecosystem of knowledge, collaboration and resources, plus something more: the opportunity to impact the world's next great healthcare innovation district. Together, IMD partners accelerate discovery and commercialization that is reshaping the practice of all life sciences, generating prosperity for everyone. About West Side United: West Side United (WSU) is a collaborative effort of people and organizations who work, live and congregate on Chicago's West Side to make their neighborhoods stronger, healthier and more vibrant places to live. West Side United seeks to improve neighborhood health by addressing inequality in healthcare, education, economic vitality and the physical environment using a cross-sector, place-based strategy. Ryan Gage Director of Marketing and Communication [email protected] 312-738-5800 SOURCE Illinois Medical District [February 26, 2020] Physicians' Education Resource to Host Annual Psychiatric Times World CME Conference in San Diego Physicians' Education Resource (PER), a leading resource for continuing medical education (CME), in conjunction with Psychiatric Times will host the Annual Psychiatric Times World CME Conference from October 15-17, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. The dynamic program will be co-chaired by world-renowned experts Anita Clayton, M.D., David C. Wilson Professor, chair, department of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences, University of Virginia; Roger McIntyre, M.D., professor, psychiatry and pharmacology, University of Toronto; head, mood disorders psychopharmacology unit, University Health Network; executive director, Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation; John J. Miller, M.D., medical director, Brain Health; editor-in-chief, Psychiatric Times; consulting psychiatrist, Exeter Hospital; consulting psychiatrist, Insight Meditation Society; Sanjai Rao, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego; psychiatrist, VA San Diego Healthcare System. "The treatment landscape of psychiatric diseases is constantly evolving, and it is important that psychiatrists stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the field," said Phil Talamo, president PER. "With Psychiatric Times commitment to the field and our unique CME education format, we are beyond excited to bring together psychiatrists to help improve and elevate their competence in psychiatry care. Our goal is to ensure that attendees will be able apply what they have learned once they return home and are treating patients. Join us in San Diego for a dynamite conference you wll not want to miss." The Annual Psychiatric Times World CME Conference is an impactful and interactive, 3-day, educational program that addresses knowledge gaps related to the application of new strategies in psychiatry to real-world clinical practice. Throughout the conference expert faculty members will provide presentations that are in divided into 15, 20, 30, and 60 minutes reviewing emerging psychiatric treatments and newest clinical trial data, and best practices for managing challenging psychiatric diagnoses including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, postpartum depression, substance abuse disorders, and more. This curriculum keeps a focus on real-world patient scenarios to help attendees reflect on how to handle challenging cases. At the end of each day the conference will include an intimate case discussion break out with the faculty to immediate integrate what attendees have learnt into clinical practice. For more information and to register, click here. About Physicians' Education Resource (PER) Since 1995, PER has been dedicated to advancing cancer care through professional education and now advances patient care and treatment strategies on a wide variety of chronic illnesses and diseases. In 2016, PER initiated continuing medical education (CME) programming in the cardiovascular and endocrinology areas. As well as expanding into topics outside of oncology, PER stands as the leading provider of live, online and print CME activities related to oncology and hematology. The high-quality, evidence-based activities feature leading distinguished experts who focus on the application of practice-changing advances. PER is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and the California Board of Registered Nursing. PER is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005878/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Wednesday, February 26th, 2020 (7:14 am) - Score 9,789 Ofcoms automatic compensation system for customers of UK broadband ISPs has now been in operation for almost a full year, but despite that three of the providers that originally pledged their support Vodafone, Plusnet and EE have yet to officially join the scheme. But this could be about to change. The new system, which is voluntary and went live from 1st April 2019, is essentially designed to compensate consumers by 8 per day for delayed repairs following a loss of broadband (assuming it isnt fixed within 2 working days). Missed appointments can also attract compensation of 25 and a delay to the start of a new service would be 5 per day (full summary here). A quick glance at the regulators list of signatory ISPs reveals that most of the major home broadband providers have joined the scheme and the latest addition this month is the Utility Warehouse. Despite this it doesnt take eagle eyes to spot that there are a few recognisable names still missing from that list, including some that were expected to have joined by the end of last year. At the time of the launch announcement (31st March 2019) Vodafone was said to have also agreed to the new terms, and will start paying compensation automatically later this year, but by the end of 2019 the provider was nowhere to be seen. The same announcement also stated that EE has agreed to the new terms and expects to be able to start paying compensation automatically next year, while Plusnet merely said it had also committed to the scheme but apparently neither have been committed enough to actually do so.. yet. Naturally we shot off a message yesterday morning to ask Vodafone, EE and Plusnet what the hold-up was. A Vodafone UK Spokesperson said: We aim to introduce automatic compensation for our home broadband customers by Summer, this year. Just recently, we supported and implemented a scheme to notify customers when their mobile contact is coming to an end. Furthermore, we are also working on applying new regulations set by the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) that comes into effect this year. A Plusnet Spokesperson said: We remain committed to rolling out the auto-compensation scheme as soon as possible. In the meantime, when things go wrong our award-winning customer service team will do everything they can to help, which includes providing compensation on a case by case basis. An EE Spokesperson added: Were working to provide our customers the best customer service in the UK, and are always looking to improve if things go wrong. Were working with Ofcom and will be implementing the Automatic Compensation scheme in Summer 2020. Were pleased to see that both Vodafone and EE intend to join the scheme this Summer. The odd one out above is Plusnet, which as part of the BT group (alongside EE) is one provider that we would have expected to be ready by now and yet they still seem to offer no clear indication of when theyll join. Separately Ofcom has also previously said that it would welcome other providers, such as Post Office, SSE and KCOM joining, but so far none of them appear to have made a commitment. In fairness the high cost and technical requirements (new systems needed etc.) of supporting such a scheme often discourages providers from putting their name to it (such costs usually end up being passed on to end users via price rises etc.). Back in 2017 Ofcom estimated that up to 2.6 million customers could receive up to 142 million per year in automated compensation payments. We did ask Ofcom if they had any statistics to show how much the scheme had been used since launch and apparently they intend to report on this during the coming Spring 2020. Whenever John McDonnell addresses the Commons, weird things happen in Westminster. The entire parliamentary estate is gripped by unexplained phenomena. Dark nimbus clouds suddenly form over Big Ben. Birds stop tweeting. Flowers along New Palace Yard begin to wilt. Over on Parliament Square, excitable puppies abruptly cease their wagging and curl into defensive balls. It is as though the Shadow Chancellor, like some snaggle-toothed medieval sorcerer, can render the Commons incapacitated with the sheer anguish of his misery-laden oratory. We saw McDonnells eerie powers in action yesterday when he delivered the Opposition day debate on tax evasion and avoidance (the former is illegal, the latter merely frowned upon). What a gloom-fest it was. Like being made to endure an Ingmar Bergman film on a hangover. It is as though the Shadow Chancellor, like some snaggle-toothed medieval sorcerer, can render the Commons incapacitated with the sheer anguish of his misery-laden oratory The Government, McDonnell said, were incapable of caring for our people, housing our people, feeding them or providing the work that will lift them and their families out of poverty. They had used the global financial crisis as a fake alibi for their austerity which had left virtually every area of our public services in crisis. He said all this like a vicar delivering a eulogy he hoped hed never have to give. His voice, barely rising above a whisper, was weary and resigned. Occasionally, he would squeeze the despatch box and stare at the ceiling in despair. Other times he would put his hands behind his back and gently kick the floor as though shaking dust from his shoe. By contrast, McDonnells deputy Lyn Brown (West Ham), sat to his right, was a bundle of furious animation, shrieking and snarling. Each time McDonnell lobbed a statistic across the chamber, she chirped an aggressive Yep! She bridled, in particular, at McDonnells reference to recently appointed Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who had chosen not to attend the debate. Where is e, eh? Brown demanded. Give the guy a break. Hes been given barely three weeks to prepare a Budget. Needs must and all that. On McDonnell plodded. He pointed out that under George Osborne (one of the many Chancellors I have dealt with over the years) the Tories promised a boom in manufacturing. A march of the makers Osborne had called it. McDonnell said it had been more like a march of the takers. Exackkkly! cried Brown. By the time he reached his conclusion you could almost hear the screeching of violins. We will wait, to see whether the Government will at long last effectively confront the scandal of tax evasion and avoidance, McDonnell groaned. All I can say is that judging on past form, I am not holding my breath, and I do not think many others are either. The Government, McDonnell said, were incapable of caring for our people, housing our people, feeding them or providing the work that will lift them and their families out of poverty Occasionally, he would squeeze the despatch box and stare at the ceiling in despair Stephen Barclay, recently installed as Sunaks deputy in the Treasury, was tasked with responding for the Government. Poor Barclay. His opponents brain-zapping soundwaves had left him all gluey-eyed, though having sat through enough agonising Brussels meetings as Brexit minister last year, he is probably used to it by now. Since hes barely ten days into the job he said little of substance. But he did alright. Hes a polite fellow, who resisted reminding McDonnell that his economics had recently been ridiculed by the electorate. And as a former member of the Public Accounts Committee he will know his stuff when it comes to tax avoidance. Frankly, debates such as these are meaningless until Labours new leader is finally installed. Earlier that morning shadow justice minister Richard Burgon (Leeds East), McDonnells favoured candidate to be the partys next deputy leader, bungled his way through another Justice Questions, accusing the Government of being, inter alia, in the pockets of the billionaires and the private corporations. Burgon, a well-fed, oafish figure, has dismayed many of his colleagues in recent weeks with his commitment to Jeremy Corbyns disastrous 2019 manifesto. Neil Coyle (Lab, Bermondsey and Old Southwark) yesterday took to Twitter yesterday to describe him as an idiot, which some think was being too kind. Oh dear. The Labour Party really is one big happy family at the moment, isnt it? 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. 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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/577957/Best-Car-Insurance-2020-Tips-Why-Should-Drivers-Compare-Free-Car-Insurance-Quotes Lamonte McIntyre spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he didnt commit. On Monday, he was awarded $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit for his wrongful conviction, the Kansas State Attorney Generals office announced. McIntyre was 17 years old when he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1994 murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn. He served 8,583 days behind bars before being released and exonerated in October 2017. In this case, our office worked diligently to obtain and review all available evidence, including evidence identified but not provided in the earlier judicial proceedings, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement Monday. We were ultimately able to resolve all issues, satisfy all of the statutes requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr. McIntyre can receive the benefits to which he is entitled by law because of his mistaken conviction. Last year, McIntyre filed a lawsuit against the state under its mistaken-conviction statute, which was passed in 2018. The law allows those who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned to seek monetary damages from the state. McIntyre testified in support of the measure before a state Senate committee in 2018. The state of Kansas cant give me back the 23 years it took from me, he said in his testimony. But it can pass this compensation law so I can start my path to a successful future. In addition to $1.5 million, McIntyre was awarded access to the state health care benefits program for two years, counseling, and a tuition wavier for post-secondary education. Records of his conviction, arrest, and any DNA profile record information were ordered to be expunged. Today, Lamonte McIntyre has been declared, finally and conclusively, a completely innocent man, Cheryl A. Pilate, McIntyres lawyer, told CNN on Monday. That long-overdue recognition, along with the statutory payment and other benefits, will help lighten a bit the heavy load he has carried. Since being released, McIntyre co-founded a nonprofit, Miracle of Innocence, to help others who are wrongfully convicted. He also is the co-owner and student instructor at Headlines Barber Academy in Kansas City. Im not angry, McIntyre told CNN affiliate KMBC in an interview last year. Im frustrated because I dont like to see this kind of injustice happen to nobody. McIntyres is the third lawsuit to be resolved under the new statute, according to the attorney generals office. Three other cases are currently pending litigation. We are going to help innocent people come home, McIntyre told KMBC. But we also want to make sure they are sound and on solid ground once they get here. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. T he Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland has revealed it is set to shake up next years awards, which will include welcoming the public to the announcements for the first time. Revealing next years awards will take place in north London, the guide tweeted: We are delighted to announce that the MICHELIN Star Revelation for Great Britain & Ireland 2021 will take place at the iconic Camden Roundhouse on October 19, 2020 and for the first time, members of the public will be able to celebrate with us! Traditionally, the awards have been an invite-only affair, welcoming chefs and their teams alongside a select few journalists, with a lengthy ceremony capped by a party. In the last four years, however, the guide has forgone some of its traditional secrecy, live-streaming the awards on its Facebook page since the 2017 guide was revealed in late 2016. Those whove watched the broadcast or been to the ceremony itself will know its hardly a spectator sport, but there is a palpable sense of excitement in the room, with many chefs in merry spirits. The Guide also tweeted news of an inaugral second award ceremony, that will recognise those with a Bib Gourmand. The award recognises those offering good food thats excellent value, said to be three courses for 28. Michelin wrote: And another first! There will be a separate event on October 18, 2020 for all the Bib Gourmands. They receive a higher profile every year and rightly so. More information will be available later in the year. The news follows a period of broader change as the guide looks to maintain its reputation among an increasingly crowded field, and branches out into new territories: today marks the first publication of the Michelin guide to Malta. In this series for T, the author Reggie Nadelson revisits New York institutions that have defined cool for decades, from time-honored restaurants to unsung dives. As soon as I walk into Schaller & Weber, the little German grocery shop on East 86th Street, on a blustery day in January, I sense that something has changed. Until about four years ago, I regularly visited a friend who lived nearby, and Id always stop at Schaller for the Black Forest ham, the cucumber salad, the dark heavy pumpernickel bread thats the shape and weight of a small nuclear weapon and, of course, the sausages. This is one of the very few remaining outposts of Yorkville, New Yorks old German neighborhood, and over the years, Schaller had started to feel a little dowdy. Nostalgia seemed to have infected its customers, who would examine products as if they were looking for some distant past in the Christmas stollen and marzipan figurines. Remember this, I once heard an elderly woman say to her friend, looking at a jar of lingonberry preserve. Now, theres a buzz. The shop seems revitalized, peppy as a polka. On this winter morning, a steady stream of customers passes by to investigate the large selection of Austrian wines and German beers. A group of Japanese tourists surveys the gorgeous pink hams, salami, cold cuts and shelves of housemade Dusseldorf-style mustard with horseradish; they look bemused by a bottle of currywurst ketchup. A lady in a large black fur hat gazes knowingly and with reverence at the display case full of sausages: Cheddar brats, knackwurst, blutwurst, gelbwurst and a score more. President Donald Trump speaks about the proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act at the White House in Washington, DC on January 9, 2020. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) Business, Labor Back Trumps Environmental Regulation Rollbacks WASHINGTONBusiness and labor groups have banded together to support President Donald Trumps recent proposal to streamline the permitting process for major infrastructure projects, which is already facing legal challenges. Led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 45 organizations representing broad interests throughout the country have formed a coalition to back the proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Southern Environmental Law Center has sought an injunction in federal court blocking the Trump administrations planned changes. The Trump administration on Jan. 9 revealed a plan to streamline NEPA as part of its broader effort to cut regulatory red tape. We need to modernize NEPA and we need to do it now, Thomas Donohue, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said at a press conference hosted by the Chamber on Feb. 24. While NEPA was created to protect the environment, its currently misused to block infrastructure developments that could have yielded significant environmental benefits, he added. For example, the Purple Line public transit projects in suburban Maryland, which became mired in legal reviews and litigation was delayed for 14 years, he noted. The project is part of the proposal to expand the D.C. Metro system to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Enacted in 1970, NEPA is a core regulation that requires the federal government to assess the environmental effects of major infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads, bridges, highways, transmission lines, conventional and renewable energy projects, and broadband deployment. The proposed changes by the administration will be the first comprehensive update to the NEPA regulations since 1978. Since NEPAs enactment, the review process had grown more and more complex, and its been abused to block projects altogether, Terry OSullivan, general president of Laborers International Union of North America, told reporters. Taos Regional Airport in New Mexico, for example, has been delayed for 20 years, he said. And a two-lane roadway and bridge project in Grand Haven, Michigan, to improve traffic congestion has managed to clear its final hurdle after 16 years. The White House Council on Environmental Quality is accepting public comments on the proposed regulations until March 10. It also hosted two public hearings on the initiative. Critics argue that the proposal is an attempt to shield environmental violations from judicial oversight. Hence, the new rules could face legal challenges by environmental groups, according to legal experts. And some Democrats who opposed the administrations move could call for a legislative response. Costly and Time-Consuming Burden Organizations representing broad interests such as agriculture, energy, forestry, manufacturing, organized labor, and transportation have gotten behind the Trump administration and formed a coalition called Unlock American Investment. Construction companies in the United States are stuck in never-ending federal reviews, said Stephen Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America, an organization with more than 26,000 member firms. The problem is the current environmental review process long ago stopped being about evaluating the environmental impacts of proposed projects and has become a way for special interest groups to further their agenda by holding needed infrastructure and development projects hostage to countless lawsuits, he said. Speaking at the press conference, Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said that the United States has tremendous wind capacity off the Atlantic coast and a pipeline of projects worth $70 billion is waiting for approval. Were on a cusp of becoming the global leader in offshore wind, he said. NEPA has stood in the way of allowing these projects to actually move forward. NEPA has also been a costly and time-consuming burden for farmers and ranchers, said Colin Woodall, CEO of National Cattlemens Beef Association. The proposal to update NEPA has been welcome news for thousands of farmers and ranchers who suffer from the bureaucratic red tape, he said. Some ranch families have faced grazing permit delays as long as 30 years, he said. Speaking at the event, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said that the streamlining of permits would also help narrow the gap between rural and urban areas in infrastructure and broadband access. Its ridiculous that a farmers child has to go to McDonalds to be able to get online and keep up with his education, he said. The modernization of the NEPA is long overdue and its going to benefit Americas farmers and consumers. Business groups believe that NEPA reform will help reduce emissions, as it will expedite the approval of investments in renewable energy sources and transmission infrastructure. NEPA reform is absolutely essential to climate solutions, Jason Grumet, president of Bipartisan Policy Center, told reporters. If we have any hope of achieving a net-neutral climate economy in 30 years, youre going to have to invest literally trillions of dollars in brand new energy systems. More than a hundred Canadian doctors, lawyers, academics and politicians have signed an open letter calling for accountability in the death of a mentally ill man at the hands of Ontario prison guards in 2016. The letter demands justice for Soleiman Faqiri, a man who was was pepper-sprayed and beaten after refusing to get out of the shower, according to a 2017 internal report by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service. The letter was written by supporters of Justice for Soli movement, a movement that was started by Faqiris family and friends. Suffering from schizophrenia and waiting for a bed in a mental health facility, Mr. Faqiri was held in solitary confinement and was prevented from receiving visits from his family. A coroners report found that almost all of the more than 50 signs of recent injury identified on Faqiris body were caused by blunt impact trauma, the letter reads. Ontarians need answers as to what really happened to Mr. Faqiri, so that such a tragedy never happens again, says the letter. Around 30 doctors have signed the petition. Justice for Soleiman Faqiri open letter View document on Scribd Sen. Kim Pate is one of the prominent supporters and signatories of the letter, which demands those responsible for Faqiris death to be held accountable. Given all we know about the inability of prisons to respond appropriately to individuals with mental health issues, it would be preferable for the government to invest in mental health services in the community and focus on decarcerating those with mental health issues, she said. Yasin Dwyer, executive director of the Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto and Former Federal Prison Chaplain says Faqiris death is a testament to our failure to live up to our claim of being a society based on the values of justice and accountability. Faqiri, was arrested and held at Central East Correctional Centre in December 2016 for charges of aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats. A second investigation into Faqiris death began in January 2019 after a witness stepped forward, according to Yusuf Faqiri. The investigation is being conducted by Ontario Provincial Police and remains ongoing. A Change.org campaign created by the Justice for Soli group in 2019 has collected over 17,000 signatures urging for accountability of Faqiris death, an acknowledgment and official apology to the Faqiri family and reform to the mental health training within the prison system. Faqiri did not have a criminal record, but had been apprehended under the Mental Health Act about 10 times in the last 10 years, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was placed in solitary confinement while awaiting a mental health assessment. He died 11 days later, after guards at the provincial facility pepper-sprayed and beat him after he refused to get out of the shower, according to a 2017 internal report by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service that refers to surveillance video. Documents obtained by the Star through a freedom of information request said that 20 to 30 officers were involved in subduing him, he was pepper sprayed twice, his face covered with a spit hood, and his body held down with leg irons. In January 2018, Faqiris family filed a $14.3-million lawsuit against the province for excessive force. The lawsuit names the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the superintendent of the Central East Correctional Centre and several individual correctional staff members. Its claims include that Faqiris charter rights were breached, that there was battery amounting to intentional physical harm, negligence, abuse of public office, false imprisonment, and a breach of duty of care and the inflicting of psychiatric damage. Update- Feb 26, 2020: The article has been updated from a previous version that stated the letter was signed by Ontarians. It was also signed by people across Canada. As well, The Justice for Soli movement was started by Soleimans family and friends. With files from Fatima Sayed Margaryta Ignatenko is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @MargarytaIgnat1 The Offaly Express has reported extensively on the direct provision centre opening in the old Marian Hostel in Tullamore in the coming weeks. There has been considerable opposition with a protest group established on social media and a protest planned for this Saturday, February 29. Just four months ago, the story of migrants came sharply into focus when 39 people were found dead in the back of a lorry in Essex. The investigation there focused on trafficking but the nucleus of the tragedy was the fact the 39 people clambered into that trailer out of desperation to escape dire situations in their home countries. There was widespread grief as newspaper headlines bled with stories on the tragedy and the sinister element at its root in the haulage industry. In 2015, we offered prayers and sympathetic Facebook posts when the body of toddler Alan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey. His family were trying to make it to Greece and eventually Canada in search of a better life. The photographs shocked the world. A year later, a video of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh being placed into the back of an ambulance in Syria following an airstrike went viral. We took pity on the images of the dust-covered boy in a shellshocked state who had been pulled from the building he'd been living in with his family. Eight people died in that one airstrike, including five children. In all of these instances, we post heartbroken emojis and comments condemning the actions of those in power in these countries, people who allow such devastation to befall children like Alan and Omran. We do so rightly and with the best of intentions, but in the next swipe of our newsfeeds, we become hypocrites. 'Direct Provision Centre to open in Tullamore this month.' That was the headline of an article published by this outlet on February 18. We were inundated with comments, the majority criticising the decision, urging politicians locally and nationally to "look after our own first." "And our own dying on the streets. Seems pretty unfair to be housing non-Irish ahead of our own." "I'm so sick of these direct provision centres, there's enough of them going up now." "Tullamore will no longer be a safe place to walk down the street." These were just a sample of the comments under that story. Two comments were removed as they encouraged acts of vandalism and criminality at the site. One suggested "we should do a Rooskey job on it," referring to a Leitrim hotel earmarked for a direct provision centre which was set on fire on two occasions during weeks of disquiet over the plans in 2019. We speak out of both sides of our mouths in this country. It's the same way we discriminate against travellers, both as a society and systemically in public policies. We all, in theory, agree that sites should be designated for them, but 'just not in my backyard.' In that word, 'but,' we continue to reveal our racism. In terms of the arrival of refugees, it is veiled behind comments of concern for local issues. Homelessness is a legitimate and major issue in this country, but using it in every argument is often a ploy to justify ignoring some other form of social tragedy. The conflating of issues that have no link to one another is the go-to. Healthcare, housing, welfare - these are the areas referenced when people criticise the accommodation of refugees in their areas. This is where the much-fabled phenomenon of fake news comes into play. 'They get expensive buggies, social welfare, top-of-the-range phones and social houses.' This is the nonsense and faux outrage shared on our social media networks in an attempt to justify the deeply entrenched opposition. While a persons asylum application is being processed, they are accommodated by the governments Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) in Direct Provision centres around the country. That's a fact. These centres are a communal style of accommodation, where families are often housed in one room, and single people usually share a room with other single adults, quite often up to four people in one room. Shower and toilet facilities are often shared. Hardly the lap of luxury. That too is a fact. While in this process people are not entitled to usual social welfare payments. They receive a weekly allowance of 38.80 per adult and 29.80 per child. This must cover any additional expenses a person may have. Another fact. People in this system also receive a medical card, and this is another sore spot for critics, as is their children being given access to one of our most basic rights - education. Are we really a nation that would begrudge the likes of Alan Kurdi or Omran Daqneesh an education if they were to make it to our shores alive? The alternative to accommodating them is unthinkable. Pushing them back out into the Mediterranean in overcrowded rubber rafts, modern-day coffin ships. Is that the humanity we want to endorse? People say, 'that's not our problem,' and ask, 'why can't their own governments look after them?' They are fleeing war-torn countries and those run by dictators. Yes, those countries should be civilised and safe for their own citizens. But they're not. That is also a fact and one not likely to change in the near future. The reality is far harsher and far more difficult to resolve than we think and yet there remains ignorance to it. Many Irish people have short memories of the horrible histories we read in school of mass emigration from this island. The coffin ships during the famine, the economic migrants leaving this country as recently as the last decade when our youth left for the UK, America and Australia due to recession. The democratic deficit of the countries refugees are leaving for Europe nowadays is far worse than an economic downturn. As it was for Irish people in the 1800s when the alternative to trying to make it to America or the UK was to stay and die. We now celebrate our history of emigration in the EPIC museum in Dublin. Irish people who went abroad and built cities, cured diseases and became presidents. Lest we forget the opposition they met in all of those countries. 'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish.' The hardship our ancestors fought against to achieve parity in a place that didn't want them. They were seen to be stealing jobs - cast as outsiders, migrants, pests. Are we so different now in the opposite role? Is our scaremongering and resistance any different to those that stood on the docks in Liverpool in the post-war era with posters bearing the above slogan? Workplaces, shops and public houses that shunned Irish people deemed a scourge to society? The mantra we use is that bit more palatable - 'our own first' - and yet, it stands for the same thing. Additional sessions judge and special Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID) judge Shivajinagar, SS Gosavi, on Wednesday remanded sitting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP ) Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) Anil Bhosale (55), chief promoter of Pune-based Shivajirao Bhosale Co-operative Bank and three others to police custody till March 6. Bhosale and his associates were arrested by the crime branch on Tuesday night in connection with a fraud of over Rs 71.78 crore. At least dozen accused, including Bhosales wife, are yet to arrested after they were booked in the FIR lodged with the Pune police for charges ranging from misappropriation, forgery and cheating. Pune police had arrested Bhosale, one of directors of the bank Suryaji Jadhav, chief accountant Shailesh Bhosale and chief executive officer at the bank Tanaji Padwal on Tuesday night. His wife Reshma Bhosale is also one of the accused in the case. She is a BJP-backed corporator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Economic Offences Wing police inspector Muralidhar Karpe, the investigation officer in the case, in his remand application before the court said that Bhosale misused his position and conspired with the co-accused and siphoned off the amount for personal gains. Their connivance has been unearthed in the forensic audit report submitted by the bank auditor. The audit report further revealed that the bank cash book showed 71.78 crore less wherein the complainant in his specific audit report stated Bhosale had confessed and signed over a document which says that cash estimated to be worth 71.78 crore has been deposited less in the cashbook, the application stated. It further pointed out that Bhosale and other accused had bought large properties and cash in their personal accounts which demanded a detailed investigation. Also, the police want to establish the trail of where the siphoned money had gone and want to track the cash flow, it stated. The application further added that the custodial interrogation was imperative as a number of angry protestors had taken to streets demanding their fixed deposits and other investment in the bank be returned. There could be a serious law and order problem over the mammoth nature of the fraud which makes his custodial interrogation essential, Karpe said. In January, the police had registered a case against Bhosale, his wife and 15-16 others, including the board of directors, for alleged forgery, misappropriation and cheating. Five people were killed when a SUV collided with a bus on the Dhakia road in Rampur's Shahbad Kotwali area, the police said on Wednesday. "The victims of the mishap were employees of Rana Sugar Mill. They were on patrol duty to prevent illegal movement of sugarcane when the accident occurred," a police officer told ANI. The officer added that the injured werre undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) As many as 10% of adults around the world have a chronic, unexplained coughand now they might finally get some relief. There's currently no effective treatment for a cough that has no clear cause, but UK researchers say a clinical trial of a potential new drug called Gefapixant (MK-7264) has achieved promising results, the BBC reports. Of the 253 otherwise healthy men and women from the US and UK who participated in the 12-week trial, who had reported coughing 24 to 29 times per hour before the trial, those who were given the drug got down to an average of 11 coughs per hour. The drug works by blocking a cell receptor that's integral to the cough reflex, according to US News & World Report. story continues below "Many patients with a chronic cough are driven to seek treatment because of the significant negative impact it can have on their quality of life, but at the moment physicians are unable to help," says the study leader. "Ours is the first study to report a treatment that is safe and effective over the longer term." Bigger studies of the drug are currently in the works. However, researchers note there was a placebo effect, with those not given the drug still reporting a reduction to an average of 18 coughs per hour. And a doctor not involved with the study notes that while the drug could be "life-changing," physicians must be careful not to prescribe it until it's clear there is no other treatable cause for the cough. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer can also cause a chronic cough. (Read more scientific study stories.) Flash The UN Security Council's newly passed resolution that extends Yemen financial and travel ban sanctions failed to meet China's concerns, a Chinese envoy said Tuesday. The Council on Tuesday authorized a one-year extension of the asset freeze and travel ban imposed in 2014 on individuals or entities threatening peace, security and stability in Yemen. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 13 in favour to none against, with abstentions of China and Russia. "The Chinese delegation proposed many amendments, but the final text failed to meet its concerns," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, at a Council meeting. China could not, therefore, vote in favour of its adoption, Wu said, describing the resolution's requirement that the panel of experts in Yemen collect information on commercially available components that can be used for drones and improvised explosive devices as excessively broad. According to the resolution, the panel of experts in Yemen are requested to collect information on the commercially available components which have been used by individuals or entities threatening peace to assemble unmanned aerial vehicles, water-borne improvised explosive devices, and other weapon systems. The text also makes unnecessary amendments to designation criteria, he noted, emphasizing that the work of the sanctions committee should be more constructive. Also speaking at the meeting, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that the international community must focus on resolving the crisis and not on pinning blame. HONOLULU (AP) A mother arrested in Hawaii over the disappearance of her two Idaho children wants a judge to reconsider her $5 million bail. A court hearing for her request is scheduled Wednesday on Kauai, where Lori Vallow was arrested last week on an Idaho warrant. She has been charged with two felony counts of child abandonment. Seven-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan have not been seen since September. Their disappearance captured worldwide attention after authorities pleaded for help in finding them late last year. Police in the city of Rexburg, Idaho, have said they strongly believe that Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger. Bail for the equivalent felonies in Hawaii usually range from $2,000 to $20,000, Vallow's attorney, Craig De Costa said in a court motion seeking a reduction in bail. She isn't a flight risk and had offered to turn herself in to authorities before her arrest on Thursday, the motion said. DanielHempey, a lawyer who represented Vallow at Friday's hearing, asked for bail to be lowered to $10,000. The judge has discretion to set bail, Kauai prosecutorssaid in a court filing opposing Vallow's request. Vallow is a flight risk, prosecutors said. Given the extensive media attention, she is clearly aware that the authorities have prioritized her case, prosecutors said. She also has the means to move across an ocean. Prosecutors noted that Vallow's husband, Chad Daybell, had $152,000 in a First Hawaiian Bank account. Police also have said Vallow and Daybell have lied about the children's whereabouts. Vallow also is accused of disobeying a court order that required her to bring her children to Idaho authorities last month. The tangled case includes investigations into three deaths. Vallow's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in Phoenix last July by her brother, Alex Cox. Then Cox, who claimed the shooting was in self-defense, died of unknown causes in December. Vallow moved her family to Idaho in late August. In October, Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy Daybell, died of what her obituary said was natural causes. When Daybell married Vallow roughly two weeks after Tammy's death, law enforcement became suspicious and had her remains exhumed. Test results on Daybell's remains and toxicology results for Cox have not yet been released. Vallow reportedly believes she is a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020, according to divorce documents Charles Vallow filed before his death. Daybell has written several apocalyptic novels based loosely on theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both he and Vallow were involved in a group that promotes preparing for the biblical end times. Rexburg police questioned Daybell and Vallow about the missing children in late November, and when detectives returned the next day for a follow-up interview they discovered the couple had left town. She faces another Kauaihearing on March 2 for her extradition to Idaho. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Climate activists are preparing to shut down a coal mine for three days in protest at expansion plans. Extinction Rebellion (XR) is joining forces with local campaigners to blockade the open-cast coal mine in County Durham on Wedesday. The climate protesters, who are prepared to be arrested, say expanding mining flies in the face of the need to urgently stop burning fossil fuels that accelerate the climate emergency. Local residents, meanwhile, warn the plan would devastate an area that is home to red kites, badgers, bats, great crested newts, common blue butterfly, barn owls and a range of plants and fungi. The blockade launches 40 days of planned action, starting symbolically on Ash Wednesday, by XR campaigners demanding urgent action to halt biodiversity loss and reduce the UKs greenhouse gas emissions to net zero within five years. The XR group members are planning non-violent civil disobedience. A row over mining in the Pont Valley in Durham flared up in 2015, when permission was granted for a new 550,000-tonne coal mine. The Banks Group, which operates two coal mines in Northumberland, said earlier this year it would push ahead with the project. Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Show all 9 1 /9 Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The former industrial zone is now a green lung near Dusseldorf Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Nature has begun to reclaim the land around it Jochen Tack Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The land around the mine is now a kind of park Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? There's a sparse beauty to the mine Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Zollverein's main shaft has become the symbol of the area Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The exhibition is well laid out inside Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The old pool in the mine Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Guided tours of a coal mine are more interesting than you'd think Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Zollverein's been transformed into an event space for locals Frank Vinken/Stiftung Zollverein More than 300 protesters are due to join the blockade, called We are the Dead Canaries, in the culmination of a four-week campaign against the proposed expansion of the Bradley mine. They want Durham County Council and the government to reject the idea, pointing out that both the council and Parliament have declared climate emergencies. In 2018, the UK decided to phase out coal from 2025. Planning permission for the mine was refused by Durham County Council three times, in response to a massive public outcry, with more than 5,500 objections, but the mining company won on appeal. An XR spokeswoman told The Independent: We want to draw attention to the absolute hypocrisy of expanding mining. Its not just a local issue: the government is doing nothing to intervene. Kevin Haigh, 73, whose grandfather and father were local miners, said: Banks Group say its better to mine here than import our coal. To that scientifically dubious claim, I say Would you like to die from Russian coal or UK coal? We dont want to die from any coal pollution! A vicar will hold an Ash Wednesday service during the protest. The Banks Group accused XR of being privileged and ill informed and of making the climate crisis worse. Spokesman Mark Dowdall said: XRs ill conceived demands will directly exacerbate the problem they are looking to solve. Until viable alternatives are in place, five to six million tonnes of coal will still be needed each year in the UK as a raw material for our steel and cement industries so that we can build much-needed infrastructure including new wind and solar farms, houses, roads and railways. Where is the environmental sense in hauling 90 per cent of this coal over thousands of miles from places like Russia, which scandalously already supplies almost 50 percent of the coal used in the UK, when we can mine and deliver it to British cement and steelworks for significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and sustain much-needed northern jobs and investment? The consequence of XRs demands would be to increase the amount of coal that British industry is forced to import, which already adds the equivalent emissions of 200 jumbo jets constantly circling the Earth to the UKs global greenhouse gas emissions. The privileged, ill-informed XR protesters, most of whom are from outside the area and who are causing more disturbance to local residents than our operations ever have, would be more effective protesting against imports of Russian, American and Australian coal. China on Wednesday permitted India to send its special flight with around 15 tonnes of medical relief to Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. A Ministry of External Affairs statement said the Indian Air Force special flight will also evacuate some Indian and foreign nationals from China. The government said the flight carrying 15 tonnes of medical assistance, including masks, gloves and other equipment, was sent as a gesture of "friendship" and "solidarity" with the people of China on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, expressing solidarity and also offering assistance in this hour of crisis. The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of the epidemic. The IAF flight will also bring back some Indian and foreign nationals of neighbouring countries who had sought assistance from India. Families caught up in the Drogheda feud are experiencing severe trauma and struggling to find the necessary help, a support group has said. The Family Addiction Support Network (FASN) said state health services within Louth are massively underresourced and that voluntary groups are left to try and fill the gap. Project coordinator Jackie McKenna said the network, which operates across four counties in the north east, is now in a crisis situation because of lack of funding and faced closure this June. The group provides support to those in addiction and their families in coping with the psychological, emotional and financial stress involved and the threats of violence that can come from drug-related debts. Ms McKenna was one of the speakers at last month's mass rally in Drogheda, held by the local people after the murder and dismemberment of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods. The local youth was murdered on January 12 last and parts of his body were recovered in two locations in Dublin. The killing is the third murder linked to the Drogheda feud, which has embroiled senior criminals and gang bosses in north Dublin. The families and parents of people caught up in the escalation of violence in Drogheda are experiencing severe trauma, including fear, isolation and both physical and mental distress, Ms McKenna said. They are struggling to understand how they are in the situation and how to access support. Many cant articulate their experiences never mind determine a way out of or forward from this nightmare. She said that if this was recognised as a severe health and mental health issue they would know how to access support and a care plan would be put in place to alleviate their suffering. However, given the stigma facing those in addiction and their families it becomes an even greater struggle to be open and honest about their issues, never mind adding the fear from drug related intimidation into the mix, she said. She said health services, particularly in addiction, in Louth were massively under-resourced and that the bulk of the support provided comes from the community and voluntary sector, which are historically under-funded and under resourced to deal with a dramatic escalation in referrals. She said families affected by drugs can experience a wide range of harms: worry and psychological stress leading to physical and mental ill health; exposure to threats and violence associated with drug debts and involvement of the drug-using family member in the illicit market; the financial burden of directly or indirectly supporting a drug user; the impact on employment of stress or caring responsibilities; strain on family relationships; harm from domestic violence; isolation and loss of social life. Drugs are not going away and each and every one of us is rearing children in the now norm drug culture so it makes sense to be proactive and protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing, she said. She said FASN worked with Gardai, who ran the Drug Intimidation Reporting Service. Ms McKenna said the network operates across Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan, with no paid staff and only receives 7,500 in funding annually for counselling services, which comes from the North East Regional Drugs and Alcohol Task Force. Despite the escalating situation in Drogheda, she said that they have still not received any sign of further State funding. Keane Mulready-Woods was murdered on January 12 last and parts of his body were recovered in two locations in Dublin. We have received no indication of funding from anyone; in fact we are now in a crisis situation and will not be in a position to carry on after June 2020. We have our budgeted overheads for the next 3 years and what we need just to survive this year to keep doing what we are doing is 110,000......at the very least we absolutely need core staffing costs 72,000. The network held a Stop the Stigma event last Monday, the same day that the chief executive of Louth County Council called for a ministerial task force for the Moneymore area of Drogheda, one of the areas heavily affected by the feud. Joan Martin, who also chairs the council's Louth Children and Young People's Services Committee, requested Taoiseach Leo Vardakar to set up the task force with the aim of recommending measures to support the long term economic and social regeneration of the area. She said a number of initiatives are underway including a critical incident response protocol and the roll out of a drugs intimidation training programme. Drogheda district commander, Superintendent Andrew Watters welcomed the addition of five new sergeants and five probationer gardai to Drogheda. He said the sergeants will provide additional supervision for the significant numbers of younger gardai that have been allocated to Drogheda in the last 12 months. He added: The feud in Drogheda and surrounding areas places significant demands on Local, Divisional and National units in dealing with ongoing issues and investigating and prosecuting serious existing incidents. No effort will be spared by An Garda Siochana in conjunction with other agencies and stakeholders to ultimately end this feud and to bring the key players involved before the Court." Contact FASN on 042 9355251, helpline 087 9046405 The Barbie Truck Tour rolls into the Woodlands on Feb. 29, 2020 Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy This is totally rad. A hot-pink Barbie truck rolls up for a one-day stop at The Woodlands Mall this weekend, touting limited-edition Barbie merchandise as part of the brands 60th-anniversary Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour. Wrapped with imagery of neon visors, brick phones, boomboxes, roller skates and other relics of the past millennium, the Mercedes-Benz van wheels to The Woodlands after stops in San Antonio and Plano. From its walk-up window, the mobile shop will sell a Barbie fanny pack, coin purse shaped like a cassette tape, enamel pins, Barbie nameplate necklace and a denim dad cap. Other Barbie swag taps into current 90s-inspired fashion trends, as well. No dolls are for sale. Products are priced $30 and under, with the exception of a special item made for the Texas stops a distressed denim jacket airbrushed with the Barbie logo and a lone star-shaped Texas flag, $120 and another denim jacket, $70. At the Plano stop last weekend, Ashley Nichols visited the truck with her 7-year-old daughter, Abby Nichols. More Information Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 29 Where: The Woodlands Mall, 1201 Lake Woodlands Dr., The Woodlands. (Between Nordstrom and Macy's) Details: barbie.com/barbietruck Mom and daughter were equally excited. I have been a Barbie fan for a very long time, Ashley Nichols says. I remember playing with my moms old-school 80s Barbie Dreamhouse and Corvette that kind of got passed on to me and my sisters. This Christmas, Abby received a modern-era Dreamhouse. For their shopping outing, she dressed like Barbie, wearing pink hair bows and leggings. Its really fun to share the love of Barbie with her, says Nichols, who adds that Abby got really excited when she spotted the truck. She chose an iridescent Barbie tote bag. It was fun having something to do together, her mom says. Barbie kind of connects all different ages. We all probably have experience with (the dolls). The Shops of Willow Bends Amy Medford helped facilitate the Plano stop. She says she was interested in hosting the Barbie truck after having success with Hello Kitty shopping experiences in the past. On the day of the trucks arrival, Barbie customers had formed a line an hour before the mobile shop opened, Medford says. There was a lot of energy and excitement, she says. It was fun to see all the families and a bunch of little girls that came out and dressed up in pink and girly stuff and brought their little Barbies with them. Shoppers of all ages, including Barbie fanatics, waited patiently in line for a souvenir from the cross-country tour, she says. One group of middle-aged women who are members of a Barbie club bought matching jackets to wear to their meetings, Medford says. In addition to a four-pack of Barbie cookies, which sold out before noon, customers gravitated towards a Ken-and-Barbie nail polish set and iron-on patches in shapes including a Barbie car and the word Ken. Barbie is just iconic, and shes been around forever, Medford says. Theyve really evolved her over the years, and I think people are really liking that. She works now! Medford laughs, adding that shes all skin tones and ethnicities and sizes now and people really relate to that. Justin McDade, a self-proclaimed doll influencer, agrees. He visited the truck in Plano to post a video review on social media. He observed a mixed crowd of ages, from young children to adults, who told him they came for the nostalgic experience. Over the decades, he says, Barbie has expanded her career paths as well as becoming more diverse and representative of every type of person. I think thats why Barbie has kind of stood the test of time, he says. The Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Tour stops at The Woodlands Mall on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. From here, it travels to Miami, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and New York City. Allison Bagley is a Houston-based writer. Wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter Worldwide Facilities is welcoming another new leader after already bringing on an assistant vice president as well as an executive vice president of national client management and sales in recent weeks. The new hire is Brad Foote, who will join the company as senior vice president specializing in professional, cyber and management liability. Rampur, Feb 26(UNI) After avoiding to appear before the court for the past several months, senior Samajwadi Party leader and Lok Sabha member from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan, along with his Legislator wife Tanzin Fatima and MLA son Abdullah Azam, surrendered before a local court here on Wednesday. The family surrendered before ADJ-6 Dhirendra Kumar, who sent them on judicial custody in jail till March 2, after rejection of their bail applications in connection with the forged birth certificates of Abdullah. Mr Khan, along with his wife and son, were forced to surrender before the court, after a non-bailable warrant was issued against them, along with attachment of his properties. The family did not appear in the court, even after issuance of several summons, notices and even bailable warrants. However, police officials in the court requested the court to lodge Mr Khan and his family members in some other district as in Rampur jail, there could be a law and order problem. The court is yet to decide on the matter. The court had, on Monday, rejected the anticipatory bail of the trio and issued attachment notice and non-bailable warrants. BJP leader in Rampur Akash Saxena had lodged an FIR at Gang police station on January 3, 2019 about the fraud and two birth certificates of Abdullah. Police had filed the charge sheet in the court in April, 2019. According to charges, Abdullah have two passports, two PAN cards, along with two birth certificates. In one birth certificate, issued by Rampur Nagar Palika, the date was January 1,1993, while the other one , in which it was said that he was born in Lucknow, claimed that his date of birth to be September 30, 1990. Along with Abdullah, the case was registered against Azam Khan and his wife as they had given affidavit for the second birth certificate. UNI MB RJ 1430 Christian leaders speak out as Trump's extended travel ban goes into effect Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian leaders have spoken out in response to President Donald Trumps expanded travel ban that went into effect last Friday, expressing concern over its impact on countries where religious persecution is severe. Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump came under intense scrutiny when he signed an executive order restricting immigration from six Muslim-majority countries that fail to meet minimum security and information-sharing requirements. But an amended ordersigned by Trump on Jan. 31 adds four African countries as well as Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar to a travel restriction list that already includes Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea. Under the amended policy, immigrant visas are suspended for Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan. Those from Sudan and Tanzania will not be considered for the U.S. diversity visa program. The new restrictions will not apply to tourists, businesses or other nonimmigrant travel. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the new restrictions are tailored to country-specific deficiencies and travel-related risks due to the countries unwillingness or inability to adhere to our identity management, information sharing, national security, and public safety assessment criteria. As the Trump administration has been accused of anti-Muslim animus in the past, the DHS asserts that the restrictions do not reflect animus or bias against any particular country, region, ethnicity, race, or religion. While those on the political left have long been vocal in their opposition to the travel restrictions, the expansion of the policy drew responses from some Christian leaders who have been supportive of the Trump administrations push to promote international religious freedom. This includes David Curry, president of Open Doors USA, a global persecution watchdog organization active in over 60 countries. Six of the 13 countries included on the travel ban list are listed on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List of the 50 worst countries in the world when it comes to Christian persecution. Eritrea is ranked No. 6, while Nigeria is ranked No. 12 and Myanmar is ranked No. 19. Though I recognize there is an important discussion on how to best deal with terrorists who are present dangers to free societies, we must never restrict based on religious identification, Curry said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. Its up to us to exemplify religious tolerance and freedom on a daily basis. To the degree we have failed in the past, lets never fail to fix the wrong and to keep raising the level of freedom. Travis Wussow, vice president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told The Alabama Baptist that SBC churches are among the most committed people in the country when it comes to ministering to those fleeing persecution. Wussow asserted that while international religious freedom has been a priority to the Trump administration, any policy that closes the door to refugees undercuts such a priority. He stressed that the U.S. should find a way to balance security and compassion. [Our churches] recognize that all of those escaping tyranny are made in the image of God, and many of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ, Wussow said in a statement. Thats why, from the beginning, the ERLC has asked our government to do everything possible to provide security without turning away from those in danger and need. World Relief, an evangelical refugee resettlement agency and humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals that has helped resettle thousands of refugees since the 1980s, has long opposed the travel ban. World Relief President Scott Arbeiter argued in a statement that the new restrictions will mean families seeking reunification will be stymied. This overly broad policy unfairly targets individuals of particular nationalities in Africa and Asia, and sadly its consistent with various other policies that have the effect of significantly restricting legal immigration to the United States, Arbeiter stated. Although the extended travel ban does not apply to the U.S. refugee resettlement program, World Relief fears how the ban will impact Myanmar. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been the top country of origin for refugees resettled to the U.S. in the past decade with over 150,000 resettled in the last 12 years. Many of those 150,000, World Relief notes, are persecuted Christians. Prior to the official signing of the travel ban extension, Michael K. Le Roy, president of the reformed Christian institution Calvin University in Michigan, voiced concern with reports of Nigerias inclusion in the travel ban with U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback. Le Roy raised the issue during a question and answer session at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Presidents Conference in Washington. He said that Calvin Universitys mission is to equip students to think deeply, to act justly and to live wholeheartedly as Christs agents of renewal in the world. I am really concerned about these reports that I have heard that Nigeria may be [put] on the banned country list, he said, adding that the university has students that come from Nigeria. We have a long history of working with [Nigerian Christian students] to the extent that a ban would limit those students opportunities to be a part of our community. He argued that a ban on Nigeria and other countries would rob Christian students from those places of the opportunities. Brownback responded by saying at the time that he didnt know anything about plans to put Nigeria on the travel ban list but noted that the U.S. State Department recently put Nigeria on its special watch list of countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom because of the amount of violence that is going on there and the lack of effective government response. It seems to me that we really ought to be bringing people into the United States and not excluding them from being in the United States, Brownback said on Jan. 29. Particularly, when people get an education in the United States, they tend to go back and be key leaders in those nations. That has been one of the great gifts that we have given to the world and the world has given back to us. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Africa last week marked a new drive by the Trump administration to counter China's growing influence in the continent. Last week he visited Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia, three countries where Beijing has pumped billions of dollars into infrastructure projects, and used the trip to make a thinly veiled attack on China in an effort to promote the US and its companies as a better alternative. But the visit was Pompeo's first to Africa since taking on the role almost two years ago, and some observers questioned whether it was too little too late to counter Beijing's much deeper levels of engagement. On Wednesday in a speech in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, he warned African nations to be "wary of authoritarian regimes with empty promises". He said they "breed corruption, dependency, they don't hire the local people, they don't train, they don't lead them". In contrast, he said, the United States stands for local jobs, environmental responsibility, honest business practices, high-quality work, and mutual prosperity. It is a narrative common with Washington officials who have accused Beijing of engaging in "debt-trap" diplomacy by burdening poor African countries with loans they will struggle to repay. For example, a Chinese-funded rail link in Kenya has been criticised as a "white elephant". A similar project between Ethiopia and Djibouti led the former to renegotiate billions of dollars in loans, while Beijing now holds more than 70 per cent of the latter's GDP in debt and the Horn of Africa nation has reportedly considered handing over the Doraleh port on the Red Sea to a Chinese firm. Jordan Link, China policy analyst at the Centre for American Progress, a public policy research and advocacy organisation, said Pompeo had taken tacit shots at China in some of his speeches. In Angola, the secretary of state told his hosts: "We don't impose debt burdens that nations can't resolve. You suggested somehow this was different than the Chinese model. I'll leave others to make that analysis, but I can tell you how America operates. Story continues "When we come, we hire Angolans. When we come to Angola, we show up with money that will benefit the Angolan people." Mike Pompeo pictured during his visit to Ethiopia. Photo: AP alt=Mike Pompeo pictured during his visit to Ethiopia. Photo: AP But Link said: "He argued that American companies hire local Angolans while implicitly criticising China for importing its workers and not creating local jobs. This is false." Link cited research by Professor Carlos Oya from the School of African and Oriental Studies in London, which suggested 71 per cent of workers in Chinese construction and manufacturing projects are locals. However, Link also argued that African countries do not want to have to choose between the US and China, a point made recently by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta. In a recent address to the Washington think tank the Atlantic Council, he said there was no desire for a return to the Cold War era, when countries were forced to take sides, and the continent did not wish to become a proxy battleground between the two major powers. "I have noticed in the conversation in Western countries and their counterparts in Asia and the Middle East a return to competition over Africa," Kenyatta said. "In some cases, weaponising divisions, pursuing proxy actions, and behaving like Africa is for the taking. It is not." The Donald Trump administration's main focus on the continent has been the Prosper Africa initiative, which is intended to help American companies find raw materials and markets in Africa. The initiative was announced in 2018 and is intended to offer an alternative to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to open up trading routes by sea and land with Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Link said that exports from the US to Africa had risen from about US$22 billion in 2017 to US$26.6 billion last year, so "it doesn't appear that Prosper Africa has had much of any impact". China is Africa's largest trading partner, having surpassed the US in 2009, and the total value of trade reached US$208 billion last year, according to figures from China's Ministry of Commerce. By contrast US trade with Africa was worth almost US$41 billion in 2018, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Beijing is also the continent's largest bilateral lender, funding projects such as motorways, ports, dams and railways under its Belt and Road Initiative. This lending topped US$143 billion between 2000 and 2017, according to figures from the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. However, the US remains the continent's largest aid provider, donating US$8.5 billion to sub-Sahran Africa in 2018, according to USAID. Passengers on the Djibouti-Ethiopia rail link, that left both countries heavily indebted. Photo: Felix Wong alt=Passengers on the Djibouti-Ethiopia rail link, that left both countries heavily indebted. Photo: Felix Wong David Shinn, an American diplomat and adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, said US aid to Africa was significantly higher than China " and that most of it comes in the form of grants, not loans. But, he said, "China provides far more loan money to Africa for infrastructure projects than does the United States, and many African countries appear to prefer this kind of financing." Pompeo did not offer any major new investment or aid during his visit to Africa last week, instead focusing on efforts to promote trade in the three countries, where China is already a major investor. In Senegal, he witnessed the signing of an agreement for the US engineering form Bechtel to build a road linking the capital Dakar to the St Louis in the northwest of the country. In Angola, he promoted efforts by Chevron and other US firms to explore offshore natural gas fields, "bringing jobs and economic growth right along with them" while in Ethiopia Coca-Cola is planning to invest US$300 million to expand its presence, including new production plants. The US has also tried to counter Chinese influence in other parts of the continent. For example, in Kenya the Chinese-built rail line linking Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa, prompted the US to agree a US$3 billion deal with the Kenyan government to build a road link between the two cities. The project, to be built by Bechtel, is seen as an effort to counter Chinese firms' grip on major infrastructure projects in the region. But despite the deal being signed when Kenyatta visited the White House in 2018, work on the link is yet to start. Previous US efforts to counter Chinese influence " which date back to the anti-colonial struggles of the Cold War era " have not always had the desired effect. In the 1970s, Beijing agreed to fund the US$500 million Tanzania-Zambia Railway " at the time the most ambitious and expensive project it had undertaken. Washington had declined to fund the line, which would link the Zambian copper mines of Kapiri Mposhi with Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean, saying it did not make business sense " but offered to build a road link in the belief it would be quicker and more efficient. Gregg Brazinsky, a professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University, noted in a 2017 book that neither country had enough trucks to transport copper along the route for export, and the US road ended up supporting rather than countering China's efforts. "Ironically, because the road was completed before the railway, it was often used as an avenue for transporting needed materials for building the railroad tracks. Thus, it ended up facilitating rather than trumping Chinese Communist efforts" he wrote in Winning the Third World, Sino-American Rivalry During the Cold War. US diplomatic efforts may also be undermined by Trump's own actions. Stephen Chan, a professor at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, said the president's comments about African "s***hole" countries two years ago had done a lot of damage. He said more recent visa restrictions on Nigerian, Tanzanian, Eritrean and Sudanese nationals were also seen as baffling at best " Chan said there was no major terrorist threat "and discriminatory and badly thought-out at worst. Link, from the Centre for American Progress, said it appeared that was no clear US strategy for improving relations, and recent news that the Pentagon was looking to reduce its troop presence in areas such as the Sahel had raised further questions about America's commitment to the continent. He also noted that it had taken Pompeo almost two years to pay his first visit to the continent, while China " which every year makes sure that the foreign minister's first overseas trip is to Africa " places a much higher premium on building relations. "There is a clear disparity in perceived importance here," he said. Chan made a similar point, saying: "Pompeo comes at the very end, in the last year of the Trump term. It seems an afterthought." Seifudein Adem, professor of global studies at Doshisha University in Japan, said it was arguable that the US does not have a coherent policy for Africa as a whole. "It may have policies for clusters of African countries or issue areas," he said. "China's policy toward Africa seems more coherent, long-term and forward-looking." 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. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Health threat?: The family said they suffered health issues related to the wind farm. Stock picture Three children who allegedly became ill and had to move out of their family home as a result of disturbance from a nearby wind farm have secured a total 225,000 as settlement of their High Court damages claims. The settlements were made to Laura (15), David (17) and Jack (10) Kelleher, without admission of liability. It was claimed they, along with their parents, had to leave their family home at Gowlane North, Donoughmore, Co Cork, in late 2016, several months after a 10-turbine wind farm went into operation. They claimed the noise, vibrations and shadow flicker from the turbines, just over 700 metres from their family farm, resulted in them suffering various illnesses. These included nosebleeds, ear aches, skin rashes, swollen and painful hands, loss of power in their limbs, sleep disturbance and headaches. Through their father, Valentine Kelleher, the three children sued Green Energy Supply Ltd, which owns and operates a wind turbine installation known as Knockduff Wind Farm in Co Cork. The actions were also against company director Michael Murnane of Gortyleahy, Macroom, who is the owner of Green Energy Supply. The defendants had denied all the claims. The case yesterday came before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds, who was told by John Rogers SC, for the Kellehers, the case had been settled. Counsel said as well as liability not being admitted, medical evidence submitted in support of the Kellehers' claim was fully contested. In their action, the Kellehers sought damages for alleged nuisance and personal injury which they claimed was due to the defendants' failure to take sufficient precautions to avoid noise, vibration and shadow flicker from the wind farm. It was further alleged the defendants failed to operate the wind farm in a manner to avoid causing unreasonable levels of noise, vibrations and shadow flicker. They claimed the defendants did not pay any heed to the complaints. They claimed the wind farm was operated in a manner that did not respect their constitutional family, personal and property rights. They claimed they started experiencing health problems in and around their family farm from May 2016 and had to move out November 2016. After spending some time in a hotel, the family has relocated to a property at Ballyglass, Grenagh, Co Cork, 12km away from their farm. They claimed their symptoms eased after they moved away, but returned if they spent any time on the family farm. The defendants, in denying the claims, said the wind farm was operated in a lawful manner. Mr Rogers said the settlement arose following mediation between the parties conducted by retired Judge Paul Gilligan. Laura, whose ailments were more severe compared with her brothers, will receive 125,000. David and Jack will receive 50,000 each. Other separate but related claims brought by other members of the Kelleher family for alleged nuisance remain outstanding, but he was hopeful that they would be resolved. Those cases were adjourned to next month. Campaign wants to hold the newspaper accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against Trump. US President Donald Trumps re-election campaign said on Wednesday it was filing a libel suit accusing the New York Times of intentionally publishing a false opinion article that suggested Russia and the campaign had an overarching deal in the 2016 election. In an escalation of the Republican presidents long-running battle with the news media, campaign officials said the lawsuit was being filed in New York State Supreme Court, the states trial-level court. A statement from the campaign said the aim of the suit against the Times, among the most prominent American news organisations, was to hold the newspaper accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against President Trumps campaign. The lawsuit relates to a March 27, 2019, opinion article written by Max Frankel, who served as executive editor of the Times from 1986 to 1994. A draft copy of the suit, attached to a campaign news release, accused the newspaper of extreme bias against [the campaign] and animosity and cited what it called the Times exuberance to improperly influence the presidential election in November 2020. In a statement, a New York Times spokesperson said: The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable. Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case. The newspapers spokesperson said it had not been served with the suit and learned about it through media reports. Trumps criticism of what he calls liberal bias in the US news media plays well with his conservative political base and often generates applause at his political rallies where his supporters often jeer journalists. The New York Times was involved in a landmark 1964 Supreme Court ruling that has served as a safeguard for media reporting on public figures. In the case New York Times v Sullivan, the court decided that the US Constitutions First Amendment protection for freedom of the press allows even statements that are false to be published as long as the publication was not done with actual malice or with reckless disregard for the truth. The opinion piece was headlined, The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo, with a subhead adding, The campaign and the Kremlin had an overarching deal: help beat Hillary Clinton for a new pro-Russian foreign policy. In it, Frankel stated, Collusion or a lack of it turns out to have been the rhetorical trap that ensnared President Trumps pursuers. Frankel added, There was no need for detailed electoral collusion between the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putins oligarchy because they had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administrations burdensome economic sanctions. The Trumpites knew about the quid and held out the prospect of the quo. In a statement on the lawsuit, Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to Donald J Trump for President, Inc, said, The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. In a copy of the lawsuit provided by his re-election team, the campaign stated, The Times was well aware when it published these statements that they were not true. NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) ("Brookdale" or the "Company") today announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has appointed Jordan R. Asher, MD, MS, as an independent director, effective February 24, 2020. Dr. Asher was appointed as a Class II member of the Board for a term scheduled to expire at the Company's 2020 annual meeting of stockholders. Brookdale's Board is now comprised of nine directors, eight of whom are independent. Dr. Asher is a highly experienced healthcare executive with more than 20 years of expertise and a history of success in large matrixed, mission-based, national healthcare systems. Since 2018, he has served as the Chief Physician Executive and Senior Vice President of Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, VA., a large integrated delivery health system including a clinically integrated network and insurance company serving Virginia and North Carolina. Dr. Asher has a wide range of responsibilities, including a focus on growth strategies for clinical care and development and implementation of value-based care and payment models. Prior to Sentara, Dr. Asher served in several executive roles with Ascension since 2006, including Chief Clinical Officer of its Ascension Care Management subsidiary from 2016 to 2018 with responsibility for network development and population and risk management, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Innovation Officer of Ascension's Missionpoint Health Partners subsidiary from 2015 to 2016, and Chief Medical Officer and Chief Integration Officer of Missionpoint Health Partners from 2011 to 2015. Dr. Asher earned a B.S. from Emory University in 1986, an M.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1990, and an M.S. in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas and Southwestern Medical Center in 2001. Guy P. Sansone, Non-Executive Chairman of Brookdale's Board of Directors, said, "The Board looks forward to Jordan's strategic insights and drawing on his deep experience in the evolving healthcare landscape. Jordan's appointment is part of the Board's ongoing commitment to evaluate and enhance the skill sets represented on the Board and to drive stockholder value." Lucinda ("Cindy") M. Baier, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of the Company, said, "We are excited to welcome Jordan to the Board. His combination of clinical training and executive leadership experience will bring valuable perspectives as the healthcare industry transitions to more integrated, value-based delivery and payment models. We believe those perspectives will also contribute greatly to our strategic priorities of growing and integrating our healthcare services business while providing high-quality care and personalized service to seniors." About Brookdale Senior Living Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is the leading operator of senior living communities throughout the United States. The Company is committed to providing senior living solutions primarily within properties that are designed, purpose-built, and operated to provide the highest-quality service, care, and living accommodations for residents. Brookdale operates and manages independent living, assisted living, memory care, and continuing care retirement communities, with 743 communities in 45 states and the ability to serve approximately 65,000 residents as of February 1, 2020. The Company also offers a range of home health, hospice, and outpatient therapy services to over 20,000 patients as of that date. Brookdale's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BKD. SOURCE Brookdale Senior Living Inc. Related Links http://www.brookdaleliving.com Courtesy Berlin Film Festival The Foundation Pit, a dystopian novel by the Soviet satirist Andrei Platonov (written in 1930, but not published in the Soviet Union until 1987) is oddly pertinent to the struggles of post-Soviet Russians. A fanciful narrative that captured the absurdities of living in the Stalinist era, the plot concerns a group of workers who become drained of all energy when theyre sucked into a foundation pit of a gigantic house meant to house the entire countrys working class. The absurdist premise is a metaphor for the gap between idealistic rhetoric and authoritarian reality that inspired black humor during those dark times. A similar hypocrisy is evident in Vladimir Putins Russia, a country where gangster capitalism, not state socialism, reigns supreme. Andrey Gryazevs documentary The Foundation Pit, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, opens with a pre-credits sequence of Russian newscasts reporting incidents in which hapless house owners or workers have been injured in accidents involving foundation pits. Tractors, excavators, and even some people are sucked into the black holes of Russian foundation pits. Platonovs satirical barbs resemble the stuff of everyday life in the land of Putin. Undine Is a Mermaid Love Story Unlike Any Youve Seen The 7-Year-Old Trans Girl Thats Captivated the Berlin Film Festival The remainder of Gryazevs film is entirely comprised of public access YouTube videos in which ordinary Russian citizens, deprived of any other forum to voice their grievances, address President Putin with a litany of complaints. As the Russian journalist Larisa Malyukova notes, Gryazev depicts a phantasmagorical landscape of a giant country where people try to survive, but cant. YouTube provides a perfect outlet for Russians fed up with the governments negligence and corruption, as well as the private sectors sheer incompetence. They plaintively catalogue their woes to Vladimir Vladimirovich, the seemingly omnipotent leader who they know will never issue a response. Still, the confessional format allows ordinary men and women the opportunity to vent. Cries of pains form a cumulative moan. You have nothing good for my country, insists one man. Others point out that Putin is a multi-billionaire, but seems oblivious to the needs of those who have nothing. Even more bluntly, one exasperated guy proclaims that Putin should be put up against a wall and shot. Several people admit that their homes are encrusted with filth. Story continues Although The Foundation Pit is essentially a film without an author, the pleas to, and tirades against, Putin are organized into a series of thematic clusters. Early on, theres a focus on the rotting houses that are the result of corrupt real estate interests, the fruits of a system that went straight from subsidized state housing to inept privatization. One man gives the unseen Vladimir Vladimirovich a tour of his damp house where the walls are covered with moss. Another desperate complainant insists that, despite his down payment on a house, he was swindled out of his money and lost his entire savings. The plight of homeless families on the street proves especially poignant. Its also heart-rending to hear a child maintain that he cant obtain the proper medication to treat his chronic ailment. Despite these hellish reports from a country whose leader has lost touch with the needs of its most impoverished citizens, its heartening to see that many disgruntled Russians, especially women, from neglected provincial cities have banded together to publicly protest widespread environmental devastation. These brave souls, who resent the fact that their cities have become dumping grounds for poisonous waste, surely must know that Putin will remain oblivious to their outrage. They are the true conscience of a country where journalists and activists fear for their lives. Of course, Gryazevs compilation documentary, a valuable form of oral history, is inevitably limited by the lack of a wider historical context that might shed light on the origins of this widespread misery. For a more in-depth portrait of Putins kleptocracy, the work of journalists such as Masha Gessen and Anastasia Kirilenko is essential. 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. If Tuesday nights debate could be summed up in one word, it would be chaotic and it wasnt just because Michael Bloomberg tried to make jokes. The former New York City mayor delivered a better performance compared to his first debate last week, but he once again found himself on the defense for much of the time, weathering attacks from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in particular. And he was relatively silent in the second half of the debate, meaning that while he largely avoided more criticism and potential gaffes, he also said little to stand out. Here are the biggest Bloomberg takeaways from the debate. Bloomberg went on the attack (briefly) U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders attacked Bloomberg immediately at the start of debate for his billionaire status, and for a moment, it seemed like the former mayor was going to turn the tables this time around. Rather than defend his wealth, Bloomberg hit Sanders for new intelligence that says that Russia is trying to help the Vermont senator win the Democratic primary. But that was about as aggressive as Bloomberg got, even as he took opportunities to highlight his record as mayor and talk about topics like gun control he has strongly campaigned on. but was still mostly on the defensive Like in his first debate, Bloomberg found himself once again defending his record on stop-and-frisk policing and against allegations of sexual harassment in his company. On the first front, nothing novel came out of this debate that wasnt aired the first go around, even if Bloomberg has now repeatedly been forced to confront what is arguably the biggest stain on his mayoralty. He once again claimed to have decreased its use 95%, when in fact stop-and-frisk increased greatly after he took office as mayor. And once again, he was not fact-checked on this claim on the debate stage, to his advantage. Bloombergs announcement that he is willing to release three former Bloomberg LP employees who accused him of some form of harassment from nondisclosure agreements was not enough to keep Warren from once again attacking him on his alleged mistreatment of women. Even as Bloomberg brought up his recent reversal, and admitted that he was probably wrong to make the jokes that landed him in hot water, Warren demanded more. She brought up one particularly infamous case, when Bloomberg allegedly said kill it to a pregnant employee in regards to her unborn child. An angry Bloomberg vehemently denied the allegation, as he has repeatedly in the past. Warren also attacked Bloomberg for financially supporting numerous Republican candidates in the past, including her rival in her race for U.S. Senate in 2012. She asserted that he could not earn the trust of Democrats at large. In New York, Bloomberg supported Republican former Rep. Dan Donovan and Rep. Pete King as recently as the last election cycle in 2018. In defense, Bloomberg brought up the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying, I have been training for this job since I stepped on the pile that was still smoldering at the World Trade Center site. Later in the debate, he mentioned the $100 million he spent to get House Democrats elected in 2018. He caught himself before saying that he bought those candidates, which would have been quite the Freudian slip considering accusations that hes trying to buy the 2020 election. Bloomberg also touted his ability to work across the aisle to achieve policy goals and attract moderate Republicans to vote for him, which he said candidates like Sanders cant do. Bloomberg still makes bad jokes Similar to his tenure as mayor, Bloomberg attempted to make several jokes, which seemed to fall flat. He quipped that he was surprised the other candidates showed up to the debate after he so thoroughly whooped them all last time around. Though it must have been a joke, his intonation could leave one wondering if he genuinely thought he won the previous debate. Later in the night, when answering a question about his signature anti-obesity policies, he said that what works in New York wont work everywhere, otherwise you would have a naked cowboy in every city. This too fell flat. At the end of the debate, Bloomberg said the biggest misconception about him is that hes six feet tall. Of course, there are other misconceptions he could have mentioned like the claim he made during the debate that he released his tax returns as mayor, when in fact he only allowed reporters to review heavily redacted documents for a few hours. A mixed record on education Interestingly, the former New York City mayor suggested that in his town, he treated teachers right. But he famously left office in 2013 without negotiating a new contract for city teachers they were working without one since 2009. He also notably compared teachers unions to the NRA during a 2013 speech recently uncovered by Politico. However, he did raise teacher pay while in office despite the clashes. Bloombergs comment also led to some ridicule on Twitter from observers who suggested that few teachers would back his claims. Graduation rates did improve under his tenure, even if not all Democrats agree with his support of charter schools or his overall methods, like closing and consolidating underperforming schools and emphasizing student testing. He espoused both his support for charters when asked about them during the debate, as well as his successful track record improving city schools. A wasted chance to shine Bloomberg had a chance to stand out among the candidates on the stage when the debate turned to gun control, but he largely wasted the opportunity. The founder of Everytown for Gun Safety and a substantial financial supporter of the nonprofits volunteer wing Moms Demand Action, Bloomberg has been a strong supporter of gun control and has made his efforts a big part of his campaign. Climate change, another major part of his campaign platform thanks to his philanthropic and policy efforts on the issue, never came up, so gun control was his chance to make his mark. But Bloomberg made only one short remark on the subject when it came up, namechecking Moms Demand Action and mildly calling out Sanders for not taking a stronger stance on gun control. Particularly when Sanders, the frontrunner, has been criticized for his comparatively weak stance, the question could have been a standout moment for Bloomberg in the debate. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 22:30:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies said it is necessary to collaborate with global companies like Huawei to grow innovation in the ICT sector as the country moves into the era of digitization. Speaking during a community stakeholder engagement in Mthatha, after the launch of Huawei's free 5G training for ICT students at the Walter Sisulu University (WSU), Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams said, "It is very important that we understand that through collaboration with global companies like Huawei, we can build on and enhance the ideas that we have." "That is why when we choose partners, we choose those who are already advanced and that can take us, South Africa, to the next level. Huawei is one of the leading companies, in the telecoms space, that's why we say to them, as you grow, lift us, so that we can complement you in what you are doing, in favour of our national interests, as we seek to acquire all the new technologies that we need,"said the minister. "Huawei has been a willing partner with our department and the South African government, from digital skills perspective we have sought to partner with Huawei to ensure that our people are exposed to skills transfer to understand and use these new technologies to improve our economy and contribute to growing the GDP," she said. "SMEs play an important role in the journey towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as they are the enterprises that are most innovative, most capable of absorbing labor and contribute to creating competition in the economy. We believe that 5G technology has great potential to improve and grow small businesses," said Spawn Fan, Huawei South Africa CEO. Earlier in the day, Fan addressed students at the WSU 5G training launch, outlining the importance 5G would play in fast tracking much-needed economic growth and why they should start engaging with the opportunities that 5G and the digital economy would bring. The training is part of an ongoing campaign by Huawei to help South Africa's young people understand the possibilities of 5G, while giving them the skills to realise that vision. It started at Wits University and the University of Pretoria last year, and will train up to 5,000 students online, and 1,000 on site at partner universities across South Africa. VIENNA - The world powers that remain party to the nuclear deal with Iran expressed serious concerns Wednesday about Tehrans violations of the pact, while acknowledging that time was running out to find a way to salvage it. Wang Qun, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, told reporters after talks in Vienna between the parties to the deal, including Iran, that they are racing against time to work out a specific solution so as to safeguard the landmark 2015 agreement. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is known, promises Iran economic incentives in return for curbs on its nuclear program, with the goal of preventing Iran from developing a bomb something the countrys leaders insist they do not want to do. Since President Donald Trumps decision to pull the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal in 2018 and reimpose American sanctions, Irans economy has been struggling. Tehran has gradually been violating the deals restrictions to pressure the remaining parties to the agreement China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain to provide new incentives to offset the American sanctions. In response, the Europeans in January invoked a dispute resolution mechanism, designed to resolve issues with the deal or refer them to the U.N. Security Council. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that Iran still remains open to any initiative which can ensure Irans dividends of the JCPOA. We are fully prepared to reverse the steps we have taken so far in return for the fulfilment of the other sides commitments in the JCPOA, he said. In a statement following the meeting, the EUs top official for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, said serious concerns were expressed regarding the implementation of Irans nuclear commitments under the agreement. Borrell who chairs the joint commission of the JCPOA, was represented at the meeting by EU official Helga Schmid. He said that participants also acknowledged that the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions did not allow Iran to reap the full benefits arising from sanctions-lifting. He also said that all participants reaffirmed the importance of preserving the agreement recalling that it is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture. Britain, France and Germany have developed a system known as INSTEX designed to facilitate trade with Iran while protecting companies from sanctions, but so far it has found little success. Borrell said that everyone at the meetingacknowledged the importance of further strengthening INSTEX, and Iran seemed somewhat optimistic after the talks. We discussed about different waysonhow to strengthen this mechanism, how to provide it with more liquidity and funding, how to make sure that this mechanism can work, and I think the willingness is strong, Irans Araghchi said. Also the methods we discussed today can be utilized to expand trade between Iran and the EU. - Rising reported from Berlin WASHINGTON - Lawmakers from both parties told Pentagon leaders on Wednesday that the Defence Department is undermining its own efforts to get military money by diverting billions of dollars for the construction of President Donald Trumps U.S.-Mexico border wall The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the committees top Republican warned Defence Secretary Mark Esper that overturning congressional funding decisions to shift money for the wall is an enormous problem that will have consequences. The plan to shift money has triggered rare Republican opposition to one of Trumps priorities. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said the result may be that Congress will place greater restrictions on the Pentagons ability to move money around to meet military needs. The chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, said the money transfer is very, very damaging to the Pentagon. The message it sends is the Pentagon has plenty of money, said Smith, adding that it undercuts any arguments for any need for resources. The Pentagon announced this month that it was slashing billions of dollars in funding for Navy and Air Force aircraft and other military programs to free up money for the construction of the wall. Esper approved the $3.8 billion border wall request from the Department of Homeland Security, and the Pentagon acknowledged that more cuts could be coming to provide additional dollars for the wall. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Mexico is paying for his promised big beautiful wall, but that has never happened. The Pentagons decision, announced in reprogramming documents provided to lawmakers, stripped money from major aircraft and procurement programs that touch Republican and Democratic districts and states. Pointing to the $1.5 billion stripped from National Guard programs, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said shes concerned the Pentagon is going to become the piggy bank for any pet project. Today it could be the wall, tomorrow it could be someones decision to fund a health care project. Slotkin, a former senior policy adviser at the Pentagon, told Esper that, you leave us no choice but to look at what we can do to constrain your reprogramming authority. Esper said the money was shifted from programs that had more money than needed or had money that wasnt needed right away. As an example, he said that if the department sought funding for three F-35 fighter jets and Congress decided to fund five, the money for the additional two would be considered excess. Congress, which has final budget authority, often makes changes to budgets requested by various departments including the Pentagon, and adds money to programs that lawmakers deem important. Espers comments set off alarms for those who worry their budget authority is being usurped. Lawmakers also noted that the U.S.-Mexico border is not included as a priority at all in the Pentagons new national defence strategy. Esper said homeland security is a priority and noted that many things arent listed in that strategy. Esper, however, has repeatedly said the department is conducting several reviews to make certain the budget reflects priorities in the current strategy, which lists China and Russia as the key global threats. Despite congressional opposition, Trump faced no consequences when making similar transfers last year, when the Pentagon cancelled dozens of military construction projects to free up $3.6 billion and transferred $2.5 billion in counterdrug money. All together, Trump has obtained just over $3 billion for border barrier construction by working through regular congressional channels, subject to limitations imposed by lawmakers. He has used various transfer and emergency authorities to shift almost $7 billion more from the emergency declaration, from a forfeiture fund containing money seized by law enforcement and from funding for military counterdrug activities. Specifically, the plan targets money for more than a dozen aircraft, including two F-35 fighters sought by Texas Rep. Kay Granger, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, and other members of the Texas congressional delegation. It also cuts money for eight Reaper drones, four Air Force C-130 transport aircraft, two Marine V-22 Osprey helicopters and also for amphibious ships, National Guard equipment and Army trucks. A homemade Batmobile was towed by traffic police in Moscow on February 22. Footage released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia shows the modified vehicle, made to look like Batmans iconic car, being pulled away near Kutuzovsky Avenue. According to a media release, the police measured the cars dimensions, and discovered they were not within the permissible norms. They also said that the vehicle was not registered and did not have the required certification. Credit: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia via Storyful GENEVA, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- iOnctura SA., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, developing a pipeline of next generation molecules targeting cancer and fibrosis, announces it has dosed the first patient in a first-in-human dose escalation and expansion study evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of its lead programme IOA-244, which is being developed as a novel targeted therapy for solid tumours. The phase I study will enrol approximately 60 patients with solid tumours that overexpress PI3Kd and are burdened by immune cells of the suppressor phenotype that are sensitive to PI3Kd inhibition. The dose escalation part of the study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of IOA-244 and is being led by principal investigators Professor Evans from the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and University of Glasgow, and Professor Maio from the University Hospital of Siena. Results from the phase I study are expected in early 2021. Michael Lahn, Chief Medical Officer of iOnctura, commented: "Our mission is to achieve true precision medicine that optimally treats patients according to the root causes of their disease. The start of this trial represents an important milestone for iOnctura to clinically demonstrate that highly selective PI3Kd inhibition not only drives an immune-mediated response but also a direct anti-tumoural effect in a stratified patient population across multiple solid tumour indications. This study will generate important insights into IOA-244, and its potential to provide meaningful and lasting clinical benefit for patients with cancer. We are very pleased to collaborate with Professor Evans and Professor Maio on this significant first-in-human dose escalation study. We look forward to continuing our evolution into a leading biopharmaceutical company with a diverse and sustainable pipeline in cancer and fibrosis." Professor Maio, Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Siena, Italy said: "We are excited to participate in iOnctura's first-in-human study. iOnctura's innovative and differentiated approach has the potential to offer new, advanced treatment options to cancer patients and we are looking forward to evaluating this promising and unique target." Commenting on the study, recently appointed Clinical Advisory Board member, Dr. Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Clinical co-director, MD Anderson Cancer Center, added: "The design of the clinical trial is novel because it is going to investigate patients with expected high PI3Kd expression and immune suppression both of which are underlying causes of treatment resistance in many solid tumours. iOnctura's novel compound, IOA-244, could be critically important for the treatment of solid tumours that are burdened with an immune-suppressive tumour microenvironment." About IOA-244 IOA-244 is a next generation PI3Kd inhibitor with a unique chemical structure, exquisite selectivity, excellent drug-like properties and an expected best-in-class safety profile. It is being developed as a novel targeted therapy for solid tumours that over express PI3Kd and are burdened by immune-suppressive subtypes sensitive to PI3Kd inhibition. About iOnctura iOnctura SA, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, was founded in June 2017 as a spin out from Merck. It is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of next generation, differentiated molecules that are at the forefront of pioneering new therapies for the treatment of cancer. Each of iOnctura's programmes harness the combined effect of immune-mediated and direct anti-tumour activity and aim to deliver molecules with superior clinical efficacy and safety in oncology. The company's lead programme, IOA-244, entered the clinic in Q1 2020. The study is aimed to clinically demonstrate for the first time that a highly selective PI3Kd inhibition not only drives an immune-mediated response but also a direct anti-tumoural effect in a stratified patient population across multiple solid tumour indications. The company's second molecule is a novel autotaxin (ATX) inhibitor at IND stage for patients with solid tumours burdened with cancer-associated fibrosis. For more information, please visit www.ionctura.com About the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, UK The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre is the largest cancer centre in Scotland and serves a population of 2.6 million and has clinical links with all hospitals in the West of Scotland. The Beatson is renowned for being the lead centre for delivering non-surgical cancer care. There are approximately 150 innovative clinical trials ongoing at any one time, offering cutting-edge technologies, equipment and access to new cancer treatments. www.beatson.scot.nhs.uk Professor Jeff Evans Professor Jeff Evans is Professor of Translational Cancer Research and Clinical Lead of the Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow. He is also Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, and Lead of the Glasgow Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC). His clinical research interests are in clinical development of novel anti-cancer agents including molecular targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and advanced cellular therapies. He leads a multiple number of Phase I clinical trials of innovative anti-cancer agents, including the development of novel therapies for gastro-oesophageal and hepato-biliary-pancreatic cancers and melanoma. About University Hospital of Siena, Italy The University Hospital of Siena is a centre of reference for clinical research in the field of immune oncology. The centre is involved in some of the most important global immunotherapy trials in solid tumours, with the main purpose of making the latest therapeutic treatments available to patients. Since 2017, the University Hospital of Siena established a multidisciplinary entity, the Centre for Immuno-Oncology (CIO), allowing a complete and successful integration of clinical research services. The CIO has four integrated units, including the clinical facilities of Medical Oncology and Immunotherapy, the Clinical Research unit for clinical trials and the Translational and Pre-Clinical research laboratories. www.toscanalifesciences.org/en/bioincubator/research-groups/center-for-immuno-oncology-university-hospital-of-siena/ Dr. Michele Maio Dr. Michele Maio is full professor of Oncology at the University of Siena, Director of the Center for Immuno-Oncology, of the Division of Medical Oncology and Immunotherapy, and of the Department of Medical Oncology at the University Hospital of Siena, Italy. His clinical research interests include cancer immunobiology and epigenetics, as well as bioimmunotherapy of solid tumours. Dr. Maio is/has been Principal Investigator and National Coordinator of more than 100 Phase I-III clinical trials. FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government is standing firm in its position that it is not violating the Canada Health Act by refusing to fund out-of-hospital abortions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, makes an announcement regarding a Bill entitled "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)" during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Monday Feb. 24, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government is standing firm in its position that it is not violating the Canada Health Act by refusing to fund out-of-hospital abortions. "We are working with the federal government to address their concerns," New Brunswick Health Department spokesman Bruce Macfarlane said in a statement Wednesday. "We want to ensure the federal minister of health has a full and accurate understanding of the services provided in New Brunswick." He maintained that the province is "meeting the requirements under the Canada Health Act." The comments came after federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu this week tabled in the House of Commons a report on the Canada Health Act, which is the legislative framework underpinning universal health care. "In New Brunswick, surgical abortion services are only covered under the provincial health insurance plan if performed in a hospital; procedures provided in the private clinic in Fredericton are not covered," the report states. "Any patient charges for surgical abortions would be considered extra-billing and user charges under the act, and would result in penalties." Hajdu has written to New Brunswick to state that position, and last fall Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would remind Premier Blaine Higgs that his province has an obligation to fund out-of-hospital abortions or risk penalties. Trudeau and Higgs also discussed the issue during a meeting in December. On Wednesday, Hajdu repeated her concerns. "Women are not covered in specific regions of that particular province, so I have spoken with my counterpart, Minister (Ted) Flemming, and we'll continue those conversations. I've also advised him that we expect the province to come into compliance and ensure there is equity in access, in particular around abortion," she told reporters in Ottawa. "If they don't come into compliance with the Canada Health Act, they will be subject to deductions as appropriate for the specific infraction." The next step should the issue not be resolved by the end of March would be deductions from New Brunswick's Canada Health Transfer, however Hajdu said there is still time for negotiations. New Brunswick provides abortion services at the Moncton Hospital, Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton and the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst, but it doesn't cover the procedure at Clinic 554 a private facility in Fredericton. The operators of the clinic have warned they might have to close without provincial funding. The clinic's fate drew attention to the provincial policy and became a focal point on the issue of abortion access during the fall federal election. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh was among those calling on the provincial government to fund the clinic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. With files from Laura Osman in Ottawa Hudson, NY (12534) Today Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies. Low near 25F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Authorities say an autopsy has confirmed that the body found near Flagstaff, Arizona, last week is that of Sasha Krause. Krause, a member of the Farmington Mennonite Church in New Mexico, had been missing since Jan. 18. Rio Tinto, the nation's second-largest miner, says it has been in discussions with hundreds of its Chinese customers as the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak causes "significant uncertainty" in the short term for its business. Speaking from London on Wednesday night, the head of the Anglo-Australian mining giant reported profit had jumped 18 per cent last year on the back of a boom in the price of the steelmaking commodity iron ore. The bumper profit of $US10.3 billion ($15.6 billion) was its biggest since 2011 and exceeded market expectations of $US10.2 billion. Rio Tinto is a miner of the steelmaking commodity iron ore in Western Australia. Credit:Tony McDonough Rio Tinto said shareholders would receive total dividends of $US4.43 ($6.72) for 2019. But chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said the company was closely watching the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19 in China as the death toll on the mainland passes 2700. Larry Fink David Orrell | CNBC Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants Blackrock's Larry Fink to put more strength behind his pledge to have the world's largest money manager tackle climate change, and to detail how he expects to do it. In a letter made public Wednesday, Warren, D-Mass., asks Fink to support her Climate Risk Disclosure Act, which requires companies to reveal their climate-related risk. Warren is one of a number of advocates who believe creating clear, public measuring sticks is one of the only ways to hold companies accountable to their pledges of sustainability. Warren also pushed Fink to better explain how he will back up his promises of making sustainability "the new standard for investing." She asked him to describe the "concrete steps" BlackRock will take to meet its commitments and any changes in management or policies it plans to implement to support it. She asked that Fink describe BlackRock's definition of exchange-traded funds with a focus on environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues. He pledged to double BlackRock's offerings of ESG-themed products. These funds have drawn scrutiny for including companies seemingly at odds with their objective, like fossil fuel companies. The letter, dated Tuesday, comes days ahead of Super Tuesday, in which Warren will fight for delegates in her run to be the Democratic nominee in the presidential election. Among the 14 states voting on Tuesday is California, which has been plagued by environmental disasters such as wildfires that experts have blamed on climate change. Fink announced in January that BlackRock will exit investments with a high sustainability-related risk, such as coal. He attributed the decision to "a fundamental reshaping of finance" and warned that climate change is a "defining factor in companies' long-term prospects." He also said BlackRock will join the Climate Action 100+ investor coalition, which focuses on tackling greenhouse gas. The move followed criticism of the money manager from activists who argued that its investments in coal were at odds with the societal focus Fink puts forward in his highly publicized annual investor letter. BlackRock has voted against every single resolution backed by the Climate Action 100+ investor coalition to tackle greenhouse gas. "Your letters to CEOs and investors suggest that you understand the extent of the effects that climate change will have on the economy, and that BlackRock, as a fiduciary to your clients needs to understand climate risks across the investments it makes," wrote Warren, along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I, Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "If BlackRock plans to live up to the commitments you made, we hope that you will go further by endorsing the reforms laid out in the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, and require companies in which you invest to issue public disclosures consistent with its requirements," she added. What is Corneal Transplantation? Corneal transplantation or keratoplasty is the surgical replacement of a partial or full thickness portion of the diseased cornea in a patient with a healthy donor cornea from another individual. Facts and Statistics of Corneal Blindness and Transplantation Corneal transplantation was the first successful solid human organ transplantation and was performed first in 1905 by Dr Edward Zirm, an Austrian ophthalmologist. Corneal transplant is the most frequently performed organ transplant. The main goals of corneal transplant are maintenance of clarity of the cornea, and restoration of vision. Unlike most other organs in the body, the cornea has neither blood vessels nor lymph vessels. This is the reason that rejection in corneal grafts is much less than that for other organ transplants, thereby making it the most successful organ transplantation. Anatomy of the Cornea From outside to the inside these are - Layer Properties Epithelium Outermost layer of cornea that provides a barrier to external stimuli Bowmans membrane Separates the epithelium from the stroma Stroma Constitutes > 90% of cornea. Consists of collagen and water Presdescemets or Duas layer Discovered very recently by Dr Harminder Singh Dua Descemets membrane Intact membrane necessary to prevent hydration and swelling of the corneal stroma Endothelium The most vital layer of the cornea Contains an enzyme pump that helps keep the cornea in a dehydrated state What are the Types of Corneal Transplantation? Superficial anterior lamellar keratoplasty (SALK) Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) Descemets stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) Descemets stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) (graft thickness ~ 170 microns) Descemets membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) (graft thickness ~ 20 microns) What is the Source for Donor Cornea? What are the Conditions for which Corneal Transplantation is Performed? Conditions for which corneal transplantation is performed Keratoconus A condition associated with progressive thinning of the cornea and outward bulging resulting in diminished vision and scarring Fuchs endothelial dystrophy Bilateral slowly progressive swelling of the cornea due to dysfunction in the endothelium of the cornea in elderly patients Pseudophakic bullous keratopathy Chronic corneal swelling due to surgical damage of the endothelium during cataract surgery with IOL(intraocular lens) implantation Previous graft failure Following a previous corneal transplantation Injury to cornea Resulting in corneal scarring Healed corneal ulcers Resulting in corneal scarring Perforated corneal ulcer A deep corneal ulcer which gives way to expose the interior of the eye Acid or alkali injuries Resulting in corneal scarring Congenital corneal disorders Such as corneal dystrophies Non-healing corneal infection Transplantation done to remove the infective load and promote healing How is an Eye evaluated prior to Corneal Transplantation? How to Prepare for Corneal Transplantation Surgery? Avoid eye makeup from 3 days prior to surgery You may be prescribed antibiotic eye drops from 1-3 days prior to the surgery by your doctor This is a day care procedure and does not require admission. You may reach the hospital on the day of your procedure How is Penetrating Keratoplasty Performed? An oral anti-anxiety medication may be recommended to be taken on the morning of the procedure to calm you down. In the operation theatre, you will be made to lie down on the operating table. The skin around your eyes will be cleaned with povidone iodine or alcohol for antiseptic purposes. Penetrating keratoplasty is usually performed under local anesthesia, except in children and uncooperative adults where general anesthesia is preferred. The anesthetic solution is injected into the tissue around the eyeball. A sterile drape will be placed over your face to expose only the eye that is being operated. An instrument will then be placed in your eye to keep the eyelids separated so that your eye remains open. You might feel some pressure but there will be no pain. The donor cornea is placed on a Teflon block and the required size of the corneal donor button is cut with the help of a trephine (a circular blade to cut tissue). A scleral fixation ring may be sutured to your sclera to prevent collapse of the eye. Your cornea will also cut with a trephine (about 0.5 mm smaller than the donor button) to remove the abnormal area. The donor cornea is then placed on your eye and sutured with 10-0 continuous or interrupted nylon sutures. An injection of steroid and antibiotic under the conjunctiva is given, the eye is patched and a protective shield is placed over it. Nowadays some eye surgeons use the femtosecond laser (which uses an infrared scanning pulse to cut tissue) instead of the microkeratome to make the cut in donor and recipient tissue in both penetrating and lamellar keratoplasty for more precision. What is the Post-operative Course Following Penetrating Keratoplasty? After penetrating keratoplasty you may be allowed to go home after about an hour or two, if there are no other systemic or local complications You will need to visit your eye doctor the next day when he will open your eye patch. You will be instructed to instil antibiotic and dilating eye drops for up to month. Steroid eye drops are usually continued for one year following surgery. You will need to visit your eye doctor regularly for check-ups for a minimum period of one year. Sutures are generally not removed before one year. DO avoid rubbing and squeezing of the eyes. Use a fresh clean tissue (can be moistened with clean warm water) to gently clean the outside of your eyelids if there is any watering or crusting. You may shower the next day, but wear the protective eye shield. If you are washing your hair, tilt your head back so that water does not get into your eyes. DO wear sunglasses when you go outdoors DO wear the plastic protective eye shield at night till your doctor tells you to stop. This may be anywhere from one to six months. In the daytime, wear either your glasses or the protective shield. DO NOT lift any weights over 5 kilograms, or do any strenuous work DO NOT engage in sports, swimming, jogging, exercise (other than walking) or coitus till one month after surgery. Confirm with your doctor regarding when you can continue with the above activities DO NOT engage in any activity that puts your head lower than the rest of the body, including yoga. Risk and Complications of Penetrating Keratoplasty What is Some of the Latest Research in this Field? After multiple rounds of meetings with exporters, importers, industries, and other stakeholders, the has firmed up its response to the epidemic. The Centre has decided against a broad-based approached and will tackle the issue on a case-to-case basis. Officials have also ruled out any rollback of import duty hikes announced in the Union Budget. In the immediate term, the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC) is working on easing clearances of goods which arrive without proper documentation. Banks have been told by the Centre to provide bridge loans to companies which have already paid to their suppliers in China but havent got the deliveries yet. Hence, they are undergoing a working capital crunch, officials said. For the long term, the CBIC and the shipping ministry have been told to plan for times when the supply resumes. There is a huge influx of delayed shipments coming into Indian ports. Our strategy will be to watch and respond quickly, as we do not know how long this crisis will last. A flexible response is more important. We are continuously monitoring this very closely, principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal told Business Standard. On Wednesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government was closely monitoring impact of the on the economy. Sanyal said the Centre was making sure that its response to specific cases was not held up by bureaucratic hurdles.These may be relating to certification or clearance at ports. ALSO READ: Bulls quarantined by coronavirus spread, Sensex ends below 40K-mark Sanyal also ruled out any import duty rollback. I dont think the duties are an issue because this is a supply chain problem, he said. Last week, Sitharaman met various industry bodies and stakeholders to deal with the fallout of coronavirus, which has infected about 80,000 people worldwide and killed around 2,700. While the country has, so far, not seen a fatality, Indian industry has been under stress because of the dependence on China for raw materials. The people who met Sitharaman included representatives from pharma, steel, metals, electronic manufacturers, tourism, telecom, marine products and other sectors. In the following days, Sitharaman will meet senior bureaucrats as well as officials from the Prime Ministers office to chalk out Indias response. ALSO READ: Coronavirus outbreak expected to halt domestic steel price rally There are certain areas where we obviously have better visibility, like active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the pharma sector. We know what we dont produce and we know who produces them outside and in the country, said Sanyal. Sanyal admitted that there are certain APIs that are almost entirely produced by China, and in the short term, there was no alternative to importing from China. We do have a few weeks of and in some cases a few months of stock. So, it is not like it will come to a sudden stop. But obviously, if this situation gets prolonged, then we have to think of what we will do. In cases where we can produce it ourselves, of course, we will ramp up production, Sanyal said. Toll hits 2,771 US health officials urge Americans to prepare for spread of virus Vistara to cancel 54 international flights next month as outbreak weakens demand Cathay says 25,000 staff to take unpaid leave Globally, 2,771 have diedand 81,233 people have been infected We need to make sure that the Customs and ports, among others, are functioning in a manner that they are prepared for a possible bunching of arrivals once the situation improves. To ensure smooth supply of auto components, we need faster certifications. Lastly, the trade missions around the world will help source various things from alternative sources, Sanyal said. Consignments are stuck at ports due to Chinese officials not being able to provide paperwork from their end as the nations bureaucracy is involved in tackling the outbreak. These are the ones on which the Customs department has provided relaxation. The finance ministry has classified the coronavirus outbreak as a natural calamity, and covered by the force majeure clause. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:14:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani foreign office on Wednesday summoned a senior diplomat from the High Commission of India in the country to condemn the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian military along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir area on Tuesday, a foreign ministry statement said here. Due to the "indiscriminate and unprovoked" firing by Indian forces, a 40-year old civilian sustained serious injuries, the statement said, adding that the Indian forces along the LoC and working boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy caliber mortars, and automatic weapons, which still continues. The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws, and the ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, the foreign office said. During the meeting with the Indian diplomat, the Pakistani side urged India to respect the ceasefire arrangement, investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire. Earlier on Thursday, a Pakistani soldier was killed in border clash between Pakistan and India which erupted when Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing at residential settlements in Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations, Pakistani army's media wing, said in a statement. Pakistan and India declared ceasefire along the LoC, the de facto border between both countries in the disputed Kashmir region and the working boundary in 2003. However, both sides routinely exchange fire and accuse each other of ceasefire violations. Leonardo DiCaprio appeared to lend a hand to a lost stranger this week. On Tuesday, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star was seen stepping out with his longtime friend and Entourage star Kevin Connolly. During the outing, DiCaprio, 45, was photographed stopping to give what appeared to be directions to a stranger in New York Citys West Village. In the photos, the actor had his phone out as he seemed to give assistance to the individual who was holding a map and pointed him in the right direction. Connolly, 45, stood nearby, donning a black coat with black leather gloves, while DiCaprio was bundled up in navy blue bomber jacket draped over a hooded sweatshirt with blue jeans and white sneakers. RELATED: Leonardo DiCaprio and His Friends Helped Save a Mans Life After the Stranger Fell Overboard Just one day earlier, DiCaprio was rocking an outfit for much warmer weather as he stepped out to grab groceries with girlfriend Camila Morrone at Erewhon Market in Los Angeles. The Oscar winner and his model girlfriend matched in black-and-white striped slides for the outing, opting for a more casual look. Leonardo DiCaprio | Shutterstock Last month, while the couple was vacationing near St. Barts, DiCaprio came to the rescue once again this time saving a stranger who had drunkenly fallen overboard from a Club Med yacht. Leo and his friends and their boat captain decided to join the search and their efforts resulted in helping save a mans life, a source told PEOPLE at the time. The man had been treading water for 11 hours. The insider added, The boat crew were happy to try and assist even more so that they were able to help get the man to safety. RELATED VIDEO: Everything to Know About Camila Morrone, Leonardo DiCaprios Oscars Date and Girlfriend DiCaprios boat happened to be the only one searching in the area where the man had drifted. He was spotted and rescued in rough water, about an hour before the sun set and a heavy rainstorm set in. Mass coronavirus testing to be launched in Britain Thousands of Britons will be tested by GPs for coronavirus, amid fears that the explosion of cases in Europe means there could be far more cases in the UK than are known about. Mass surveillance will be introduced, as Britain ramps up its response to the growing threat, with health planners considering school closures and transport restrictions if the danger spreads. The virus has now killed more than 2,600 people and infected almost 80,000 others, in more than 30 countries including 11 countries in Europe. On Tuesday the number of cases in Italy rose by almost 100, with a total of 322 cases up from just three on Friday including 11 deaths. Daily Telegraph Thousands of Britons will be seen at GPs Daily Mail Schools face closure in action plan The Times WHO expert warns world not ready for pandemic The Guardian Doomsday scenario could see 80 per cent infection rate The Sun First US coronavirus treatment trial begins testing with patients Daily Mail Comment: Singapore shows how to stop coronavirus without bringing the world to a halt Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph Johnson demands respect ahead of Brexit negotiations Boris Johnson has told the EU to show Britain respect after accusing Brussels of offering the UK a more onerous trade deal than it has other countries. Downing Street also said Britains fishing waters were off-limits in the trade negotiations, which will begin next week, as clear battle lines were drawn between the two sides. Brussels published its mandate for the negotiations on Tuesday, in which it demanded that Britain sign up to EU rules and standards overseen by the European Court of Justice in return for a free trade agreement. Mr Johnson will set out his own red lines on Thursday, but has already made it clear that the EU has woefully misjudged what Britain is prepared to accept. Daily Telegraph Prime Minister rejects Brussels trade demands in just four hours The Sun Give way or well walk out, say both sides The Times Johnson rules out any compromise over EU access to British fishing waters Daily Express New small business group aims to shrug off Brexit gloom FT More EU: Von der Leyen ordered to keep out of Polands court reforms row Daily Express >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Barnier We are ready to begin the EU/UK trade negotiation next Monday Baker resigns as Chair of the European Research Group Steve Baker has resigned as the chairman of the European Research Group, saying he wants to start bringing the country together now we have left the EU. The Wycombe MP has been one of the most prominent Brexit-supporting politicians over the last four years and took a leading role in the 2016 referendum. However, he said it was time to focus on other issues as UK has now left the EU and the PM has the policy, the mandate and the majority necessary to make a success of it. Mr Baker vociferously campaigned against Theresa Mays withdrawal agreement. He led the group of eurosceptic MPs who struck down the deal a total of three times, which led to Mrs Mays resignation. Daily Express Davis: France wedded to lunatic mythology FT More: Brokenshire suggests hed have no problem eating US acid-washed chicken The Sun EU trade chief believes mini deal with US is within reach FT >Today: Profiles: Robert Buckland, the Lord Chancellor who stands between the judgesand the wrath of the Brexiteers >Yesterday: Johnson criticised for still not visiting flood victims Boris Johnson has still not visited the flooded regions that voted him into power 11 days after storms and torrential downpours ruined homes and devastated businesses. Flood-hit communities have lashed out at the government for its response to the severe weather conditions that have blitzed the country, and criticised the PM for his no-show in areas such as Yorkshire, South Wales and the South West, who have been battling the deluge. Storm Dennis hit on Saturday February 15, causing transport chaos as high-winds cancelled flights and rain lashed the sodden ground. Just 12 hours later, and after torrential downpours overnight, various parts of the country were flooded, and 11 days later have still not been visited by Mr Johnson. Daily Mail Chancellor to cut red diesel subsidy Rishi Sunak is expected to cut subsidies for a type of diesel used by off-road vehicles and machinery as he backs away from ending the freeze for fuel duty paid by motorists. The chancellor is shifting more of the cost of meeting climate change targets from consumers to business as he finalises the budget, say allies. They suggest that he is cooling on ending the ten-year freeze on fuel duty amid a mounting backlash from Tory MPs. Instead, he is preparing new environmental taxes, including heavy restrictions on the use of so-called red diesel. Eighteen Tory MPs in mostly northern constituencies wrote to the chancellor to say that raising fuel duty would hit our blue collar communities the hardest. The Times Sunak warned by Red wall Tory MPs not to clobber working classes Daily Telegraph >Today: Sam Bowman in Comment: The Budget offers an opportunity for Sunak to move on road pricing. He should take it. and claw back 1bn from well-off inheritance tax dodgers Rishi Sunak is looking at clawing back nearly 1 billion from the well-off who dodge inheritance tax to raise cash for Boris Johnsons infrastructure splurge in the Budget. The Sun understands the Chancellor is mulling closing two tax reliefs rich families use to funnel money through ghost companies and farmland before they die. Rich Brits cut down the amount of inheritance tax they have to pay by setting up a business or buying land, which can be passed on to their family after death. Agricultural Relief and Business Property Relief can protect between 50 per cent and 100 per cent of money invested from inheritance tax. The Sun Weak economy and coronavirus threaten UK spending pledges FT >Yesterday: Cummings wins fight for widest security review since Cold War A reduction in the size of the army is being considered as part of the governments foreign policy and defence review, which is set to end by the autumn in a victory for Dominic Cummings. Today Boris Johnson will announce plans to overhaul the approach to foreign policy through the cross-Whitehall exercise, which he has pledged will be the most sweeping review of defence and security since the Cold War. The Ministry of Defence is in line for a funding increase after No 10 sources said that the review would not be cost-neutral. While some of the extra cash is likely to fund investment in cutting-edge weapons, cybercapabilities and space technology, the departments multibillion-pound funding black hole in its ten-year equipment plan will have to be addressed. The Times Johnson signals increase in defence spending Daily Telegraph The Prime Minister warns that as the world changes we must move with it Daily Mail More: Britains submarines to use US technology for nuclear warheads FT Let us read suspect messages, MI5 chief urges tech companies The Times Bailey attacks Khan for putting PR ahead of policing Sadiq Khan was warned to stop focusing on his image rather than making life easier for Londoners amid the ongoing knife crime crisis plaguing the city. Sadiq Khan should stop focusing on PR and deliver on the demands of Londoners concerned about growing crime across the Capital, mayoral election candidate Shaun Bailey claimed. Mr Bailey, a long-time critic of the Mayor of London, insisted Mr Khan should stop talking to ensure the needs of local residents are met as he renewed his pledge to increase Police numbers to tackle knife crime Mr Khans PR machine came under fire again at the weekend after another mayoral candidate, the Greens Sian Berry, accused the Mayor of London of having his campaigns advertise him instead of environmentally-friendly public transport. Daily Express Calls to block Watson peerage as paedophile ring claims debunked Tom Watson should be blocked from getting a peerage, MPs and campaigners said yesterday after an investigation dismissed his sensational allegations of a Westminster paedophile conspiracy. The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse said that Mr Watsons 2012 claim in parliament of a powerful paedophile network at the heart of political life had been a significant factor in Theresa Mays decision to set up the investigation. The former Labour deputy leader also exerted influence on police inquiries, including Operation Midland, which pursued false claims against innocent public figures. The main conclusion of the 172-page report into claims of abuse at Westminster pointedly used his own words to reject his central claim. The Times Labour ministers led group that backed Paedophile Information Exchange The Times Dead paedophile MPs should be stripped of honours and gongs, report demands The Sun Other parties: Steel quits Lords after criticism for turning blind eye to Cyril Smith The Times and hes leaving the Liberal Democrats too FT Smiths accuser calls for Steel to face prosecution The Guardian Morrison backed by Thatcher despite claims against him The Times MPs turned blind eye to child abuse and covered up horrific claims, says report The Sun Analysis: Has the inquiry been worth the 120m it has cost taxpayers? Sean ONeill, The Times He wrecked so many lives like mine how can he get a peerage? Paul Settle, Daily Mail Editorial: Watson must never set foot in the Lords The Sun Abuse of Power The Times Political overreach turned a historic child abuse inquiry into moral panic Daily Telegraph Labour stitch-up as members get McDonnell email urging them to vote for Long-Bailey The Labour leadership has been accused of orchestrating another stitch-up after the party sent members an email from John McDonnell urging them to vote for Rebecca Long-Bailey. In a move that has reignited allegations of internal bias, thousands of Labour members received the endorsement just 24 hours after receiving their ballots for the final round of the leadership contest. Whilst Labour has sent several emails on behalf of candidates in recent weeks, the messages have until now included a disclaimer making clear they are not official party endorsements. But at 7.40am on Tuesday morning, a message written by Mr McDonnell was sent without the disclaimer, stating that electing Ms Long-Bailey would be an historic moment in the partys history. Daily Telegraph Starmer comes under fire from Long-Bailey and Nandy over Brexit The Guardian as he says hed welcome back Alastair Campbell to Labour The Times Daniel Finkelstein: Why Blairs silence on Brexit matters No credible account, however, can fail to mention it at all. So why did Mr Blair make such a obvious omission? One perhaps unkind explanation is that it was the only policy area in which Labour broadly took Mr Blairs advice and it proved a fiasco. But I think a better explanation is a more complicated one. If you believe that the future for Labour, or indeed the Tories or any party, is to capture the centre, then what was, is, or will be the centre position on Brexit? What was in the centre between leaving and not leaving? Between having a second referendum and not having one? The word centre is meaningless here. The Times Robertson pledges to support Sturgeon, not replace her, if he wins Holyrood seat battle Angus Robertson has pledged to support Nicola Sturgeon rather than try and replace her if he wins a bitter fight with a key Alex Salmond ally for a Scottish Parliament seat. The SNPs former deputy leader admitted his battle with Joanna Cherry to be the SNP candidate for Edinburgh Central is being viewed as a proxy contest about the future leadership of the SNP. But he cited his long track record of working closely with Ms Sturgeon and said he wanted to make absolutely clear that I am running to support her leadership. In another dig at 53-year-old Ms Cherry, the Edinburgh South West MP, he predicted that the First Ministers successor would be one of a range of younger talents in the Scottish Parliament. Daily Telegraph Scotlands war on drugs hit by political schism FT News in Brief: Joe Biden went all in on winning South Carolina Tuesday night, saying that he will secure victory there - then mentioned his friendship with one of the state's most infamous segregationists. The former vice-president was just four points ahead of Bernie Sanders in the latest poll in the Palmetto state ahead of Saturday's primary. He used the CBS News debate to say that he will win in South Carolina, by winning the African-American vote - meaning by extension that he will have to drop out if he loses. But then he offered a potentially spectacular gaffe, talking about his friendship with Fritz Hollings, who was a committed segregationist Dixiecrat until he shifted his positions. Perhaps in mitigation he used a segment at the end to promise he would put a black woman on the Supreme Court if elected; there have only been two black justices, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and four women, all of them white. Definitive: 'I'm here to ask. I'm here to earn it. But, folks, I intend to win in South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here in South Carolina.' Friends: Fritz Hollings was a segregationist in the Dixiecrat moved who 'evolved,' his friend Biden said at his 2019 funeral Asked by moderator Gayle King about his ability to secure the black vote, which is critical in South Carolina, he said: 'I've earned the vote, I've worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community, not just here but across the country. 'I've been coming here for years and years, creating jobs here, making sure that the port, for example, that employs one in 11 people, we put $500 million, in our administration, just into this county. ' We've created jobs for people. The people know me. My entire career has been wrapped up in dealing with civil rights and civil liberties. I don't expect anything. I plan to earn the vote. 'I'm here to ask. I'm here to earn it. But, folks, I intend to win in South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here in South Carolina.' King then asked: 'Mr. Biden, will you continue if you do not win South Carolina? You have said that South Carolina will determine the outcome of this presidential race. If you don't win South Carolina, will you continue in this race?' He replied: 'I will win South Carolina.' But later in the debate he raised Hollings' name - an echo of a string of gaffes last year in which he was hammered for speaking about his friendship with segregationist senators, Mississippi's James Eastland and Georgia's Herman Talmadge. 'Look, a guy who's a friend of mine down here named Fritz Hollings - he passed away - he said, you want to know what a woman will do, look what they have done. Look what they have done,' he said. Hollings' biography is more complicated than other Dixiecrats. He was South Carolina governor from 1959 to 1963 and a vocal backer of keeping segregation in place when he was a member of the state's House. He was elected to the Senate in 1966 and became a close friend of Biden when the 29-year-old ran for the upper chamber, helping him when he lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash. Biden eulogized Hollings at his funeral in April 2019, a week before his entry into the race, and said: 'People can change. 'We can learn from the past and build a better future.' Boeings appointment last week of Kenneth Feinberg to administer the aerospace giants $50 million Community Investment Fund to compensate the communities affected by the two 737 Max 8 crashes and the resulting 346 deaths leaves little doubt that the account will be used to defend the airplane manufacturers multi-billion-dollar profits. Kenneth Feinberg speaking. [Credit: MIller Center] Feinberg played a similar role when he was selected in July 2019 to head the $50 million Boeing Financial Assistance Fund. In that role, he oversaw payments of a mere $144,500 to each family that lost a loved one on either the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 outside of Jakarta, Indonesia or Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In total, Boeing has pledged only $100 million to compensate the crash victims families and neighborhoods for putting their friends and relatives on the deadly Max 8 jets. For comparison, the company reported revenues of $76.6 billion in 2019 and has pledged to pay airlines at least $5 billion for their lost profits resulting from the two crashes. To date, no executives at the company or regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration, which were all aware of the deadly flaws in the Max 8, have been prosecuted or even charged for the murder of the 346 men, women and children who were killed. The selection of Feinberg to oversee both funds was approved by Boeings executives with good reason. As Wall Streets preeminent corporate fixer, he has repeatedly been called upon to protect the interests of the countrys corporate and political elite. In recent times, he has chaired an escrow account to minimize compensation to victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. He was also chosen by the Obama administration as its pay czar to ensure that the heads of bailed-out Wall Street banks received multi-million-dollar bonuses in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. Feinbergs chief responsibility will be to ensure that whatever money Boeing does eventually pay out is vetted in such a way that the corporation will ultimately be absolved for manufacturing lethal airplanes. While Tim Keating, the Boeing executive who is overseeing the funds, has stated that Boeing is empower[ing] the [crash victims] families to decide how to allocate these funds, a press release on the Community Investment Fund makes clear that governments and other interested parties will have the final say. This is not the first time Feinbergs services have been employed to minimize damage to major manufacturers in the wake of their criminal negligence. He was hired by General Motors in 2015 after it was exposed that the automaker hid an ignition switch fault in low-end GM vehicles that killed at least 169 people. Under rules set by the Obama administration, Feinberg rejected 90 percent of the claims submitted against GM for the companys criminal negligence, saving GM several billion dollars in liability costs. The fixer is playing a similar role for Boeing. The payouts that Boeing gave directly to its victims families amounted to less than what ex-CEO Dennis Muilenburg averaged in a month. The company is also using the fund, and Feinbergs skills, in an attempt to stave off other lawsuits. So far only 50 families have come forward with additional claims, which Boeing has settled out of court for $1.2 million for each life lost. If Feinberg is able to convince the other 296 families that they should accept Boeings payout and not seek further damages, it will save Boeing an estimated $355.2 million. Other cases in which Feinberg has saved giant corporations or the federal government hundreds of millions or billions of dollars include suits by Vietnam citizens and US soldiers against Dow and Monsanto for supplying Agent Orange to the American military, and ensuring that BP paid only a quarter of what it originally claimed it would pay to people devastated by the ecological catastrophe caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. Feinberg, who emerged as a political figure as chief of staff for Senator Ted Kennedy in the late 1970s, was also appointed trustee of the victim compensation fund for the notoriously dangerous Dalkon Shield, a birth control device made by A.H. Robins. It was established that Robins knew of the dangers the device posed to womens health, including causing death, and suppressed and destroyed such information where and whenever it could. The Dalkon Shield ultimately caused life-threatening pelvic infections in more than 200,000 women, with side effects including complete hysterectomy, chronic pelvic pain and/or permanent infertility. Feinberg ensured that each woman injured would receive money from the fund only if she forfeited her right to sue outside of the settlement. Those who accepted the deal received an average of $725. Boeing is eager to receive similar windfalls. Over the past year, Boeings total stock value has fallen more than $72 billion. It has been forced to pay nearly $19 billion as a result of the grounding of its 737 Max fleet, including compensation to airlines for canceled flights and maintenance costs. Feinberg is being used to minimize the money going to the companys victims and to silence criticism so the aerospace giant can get back to business as usual as soon as possible. It is still unclear, however, when or even if the Max 8 will ever fly again. Since its grounding last March, a steady stream of internal leaks, news reports, interviews with former employees and congressional hearings have provided a mountain of evidence that the plane is fundamentally unsafe and should remain grounded indefinitely. Just last week, in a report to the FAA, Boeing revealed that it found trash and debris in the fuel tanks of 35 of 50 inspected Max 8s that were being reviewed in preparation for the planes reintroduction into service. Objects that were discovered in the fuel tanks included tools, rags, shoe covers and other detritus, all of which can cause fires, block fuel lines and trigger other potentially catastrophic problems. The planes that were reviewed are among the nearly 400 Max 8s that were made after the jets grounding, which are all now being inspected. According to company spokesman Bernard Choi, Its still undecided, if Boeing will mandate the inspection of the other 385 jets that have been delivered to customers. He claimed, despite the past years evidence to the contrary, that, Obviously, well do whats right for safety. Both Boeing and the FAA also missed a fault in the electrical wiring related to the aircrafts horizontal wing, which can create a short and cause an unrecoverable, uncontrolled dive similar to the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. Boeing argues that because the same wiring configuration was authorized for use on the older 737 NG model, it shouldnt need to inspect the wiring for the Max 8, basing itself on safety regulations from the early 1990s. It is likely, however, that the FAA will force Boeing to resolve the fault, pushing back the relaunch of the Max 8 by months, in order to relieve pressure from other regulatory agencies, particularly the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Even if the FAA approves the Max 8 to fly, it is now a given that other countries will not allow the Max 8 to fly unless also approved by the EASA, meaning that the Max 8 must satisfy two sets of regulators if Boeing is to have any hope of pushing its flagship aircraft into international aviation markets. The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday there were now more new daily cases of the coronavirus outside China than inside the hard-hit country, marking a shift in the outbreak. "Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva. The UN health agency put the number of new cases in China on Tuesday at 411 while those registered outside the country stood at 427. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democratic megadonor Bernard Schwartz has started reaching out to party leaders, particularly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to encourage them to back a candidate for president in order to stop the surge of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Schwartz, the CEO of BLS Investments, told CNBC that in recent days he's been trying to speak with Pelosi and Schumer about making a pick, in the hope that voters will follow their lead and end up denying Sanders the party's presidential nomination. "We should know who is the best person to beat Donald Trump, and with all due respect, Bernie Sanders cannot beat Trump," he explained, describing the message he has relayed to the two Democratic leaders. Schwartz noted he has yet to hear back from them but insisted that, with Super Tuesday under a week away, party leaders have to take a stand now before Sanders captures the nomination and, in his view, takes down the party. "They have good political reasons not to endorse until the primary is over, but I think we are losing too much if we give up on this position," he added. Although he isn't insisting on a particular candidate for Pelosi and Schumer to get behind, he said that he thinks the two best options, for now, are either former Vice President Joe Biden or former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire funding his own candidacy for president. Schwartz is currently backing Biden's campaign for president. Schwartz's concerns to leaders are being echoed by many Democratic leaders, including Bloomberg, whose campaign has ramped up its attacks on Sanders. There are also concerns among establishment Democrats that Sanders could hurt congressional candidates down the ballot if he were to be at the top of the party's ticket in November. Representatives for Pelosi and Schumer did not respond to a request for comment. Both publicly signaled on Wednesday that they would be comfortable with Sanders leading the Democratic ticket in November. Schwartz's links to Democratic leaders could move them in the direction he hopes they will go. He has been a key financier for congressional Democrats in the 2020 election cycle. He has donated over $885,000 to the House Majority PAC, a super PAC dedicated to helping Democrats get elected to the House of Representatives, while giving more than $620,000 to the Senate Majority PAC, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. During the 2018 congressional midterms, Schwartz gave more than $3 million to Democratic causes. The New York Times reported in April that Schwartz was organizing dinners on how to handle Sanders' run for president with Pelosi, Schumer, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia; presidential candidate former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress. Sanders is currently leading in two of the biggest states that are scheduled next week on delegate-rich Super Tuesday. In both California and Texas, Real Clear Politics polling averages show Sanders leading the field. Sanders has also been picking up delegates in the buildup to the South Carolina primary. He dominated during the Nevada caucuses and squeaked out a victory in the New Hampshire primary after narrowly losing the delegate edge to Buttigieg in Iowa. The Royal Air Force conducted a touching tribute to Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC on Friday January 24th. Flight Lieutenant Matt Brighty flew his 11 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon from RAF Coningsby around the spires of nearby Lincoln Cathedral while bearing the RAF wings which once belonged to the legendary WWII pilot. As most readers will remember, Gibson helped form RAF No.617 Squadron during early 1943 for the specialized and extraordinarily perilous pursuit of Operation Chastise, the daring nighttime bouncing bomb raid which breached two massive hydroelectric dams in Germanys Rhur Valley during the night of May 16th/17th that year. While 617 Squadron trained for and launched Operation Chastise from nearby RAF Scampton, Gibson spent a significant part of his combat career, both before and after the mission, at RAF Coningsby. Indeed, the pilots wings flying aboard Flt Lt Brightys Typhoon this January were a legacy of Gibsons time at Coningsby; his family found them on a uniform hanging in his locker at the RAF station following his loss over the Netherlands (returning from on a nighttime mission to Munich in a deHavilland Mosquito on September 19th, 1944). Gibson had flown on 175 combat missions by the time of his death at the age of just 26. Interestingly, Gibson had also served in night fighters on both Bristol Blenheims and Beaufighters earlier in the war. He is credited with four confirmed aerial victories, and about as many unconfirmed as well Following the ceremonial flypast of Wing Commander Gibsons wings around Ely Cathedral, the Typhoons pilot, Flight Lieutenant Brighty, noted that, Guy Gibson flew most of his operations from Lincolnshire, at Scampton and here at Coningsby. Its a huge honour and privilage to be asked to carry his wings with me as I fly over Lincoln today. The precious badge is now on display alongside his Victoria Cross at an exhibition entitled Bastion in the Air: A Century of Valour within The Collection Lincoln & Usher Gallery. The show which also contains artifacts from other RAF personnel of note spanning WWI through the Cold War will be open through March 15th. The City Council on Tuesday delayed for a week its planned 180-day moratorium on new billboards and signs. Councilman Ken Smith said he wanted to add stronger language "so that we cover our bases." He said he would have a new version ready by Wednesday for inspection by the city attorney's office. Tennessee cities have been scrambling since the Federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Tennessee Billboard Act is unconstitutional. It ruled in favor of William Thomas, who had filed suit when the state ordered the removal of a sign to cheer on the 2012 U.S. Summer Olympic Team. Mr. Thomas is represented by the Institute for Free Speech. As it notes, the Tennessee Billboard Act prohibits any billboard within 660 feet of a public roadway unless expressly permitted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The law, however, gives an exception to "on-premises" signs. Councilman Smith said the city might considering doing away with the distinction between off-premises and on-premises signs. Ten tiny dedicated dancers from Southeast Texas have captured the countrys imagination thanks to some enchanting images created by Beaumont photographer Brandie Perry. The first photo of the dancers, captioned fierce, determined, strong and posted on Perrys Facebook page on Feb. 10, slowly gathered likes and shares and then exploded when it was shared on ABCs Good Morning America. The story of the photo shoot showcasing dancers ages 5 to 8 has since been shared by media outlets such as People.com, BET.com and the Daily Mail, as well as local television stations. While many of the media outlets linked the girl-power poses to Black History Month, the association was just a happy coincidence. Roshunda Vallery, whose daughter Taraji is one of the dancers, came up with the idea of a photo show starring the 10 friends in December. The idea came when I came across a photo of ballerinas, Vallery said. I sent it to the other mothers, but we could not come up with an available day to meet up due to dance schedule conflicts. It just so happens that the day we could spend together was in February. Vallery wanted the photos for 8-year-old Tarajis scrap book because this is the childs last year with iRule Dance Studio before a move to Houston. The idea (for the photo) was just a bunch of ballerinas laughing, talking and joking, said Perry, whose business is called Bee Photography. Trying to pose 10 little girls was hard and challenging but worth the outcome. iRule Dance Studio is a second home to the young dancers, said Shawna Feliciano, whose daughter Deseraye Gums, 7, is featured in the photo. We are from Atlanta with no family here, Feliciano said, so these girls are Deserayes sisters, her family. They attend six days a week and practice few hours a day. They work hard; they do not complain; they give it their all; and on top of that, they bond. The young dancers have a strong sense of teamwork and sisterhood, said Britney Manning, mom to 5-year-old Baylee. My daughter is the youngest and the smallest, Manning said. Every time she thinks she cannot do something because her legs arent as long, the other girls say, you got it, you can do it. It gives her courage and hope and she doesnt give up. This media attention means that people care about these little girls of color dancing, doing something positive and have a strong connection, Manning said. Six-year-old dancer Chloe Collins mother, Jade, knew the picture was special but was surprised by the attention. Chloe has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has never once complained about how busy dance life can sometimes be. The bond she has with her dance sisters is creating lifetime friendships and I love it. As a mom I see such beauty and wonder in my daughter, but to be able to share a small piece of her with the world gives me so much pride and joy, said Shonte Jean, whose daughter Jace Leonard is one of the featured dancers. Beaumont has many diamonds in the rough, Jean said. I am so proud of the city that my daughter calls her hometown, embracing such pure beauty in these little girls. Southeast Texans can catch the now famous dancers in action when iRule Dance Studio puts on its spring show at 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. Find details at iruledance.com. A 16-year-old from Edison has been identified as the pedestrian who was struck and killed Tuesday evening by a New Jersey Transit train in Middlesex County, authorities said. The boy was fatally struck about 6:45 p.m. in the area of Parsonage Road in Edison, Nathan Rudy, a transit spokesman, said Wednesday. Rudy said the agency is not releasing the victims name because he was a juvenile. The train was headed to Trenton from New York Penn Station. Service along the Northeast Corridor line resumed about 8 p.m., authorities said. Editors note: The age of the victim has been updated. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Rantoul, IL (61866) Today Occasional light rain. High 41F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low near 25F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: Turkey is a country that provides Azerbaijan with the biggest support on a global scale, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while making press statement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trend reports. Mr. President, let me once again warmly welcome you to Azerbaijan! Welcome to Azerbaijan! Your visit is very important, Ilham Aliyev noted. We visit each other on a regular basis, and each meeting is of great importance. After each meeting, a new impetus is given to Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, and these relations are at the highest level today. The eighth meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held today once again showed that our views on all issues coincide, we have the same intentions and goals. They are aimed at ensuring that Turkish-Azerbaijani friendly and fraternal ties continue to develop successfully and cover all spheres. Many issues were thoroughly discussed today, the Azerbaijani president added. Very important decisions were made and important documents were signed. We held a broad exchange of views on our political ties and were further convinced that they reflect the will of the two peoples. In all international organizations we advocate a single position. We support each other. Actively interacting in the UN, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Europe and other organizations, we increase each other's strength. Last year, Azerbaijan assumed chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement, said Ilham Aliyev. It is the second largest organization after the United Nations on a global scale. Today, a wide exchange of views took place on further ties between this organization and Turkey. Ways to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were also discussed, of course, the Azerbaijani president noted. I want to thank my dear brother once again for Turkeys continued support of the just cause of Azerbaijan. In all international arenas, Turkey always stands by Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people. However, the unconstructive position of Armenia is the main obstacle to the settlement of the conflict. The extremely contradictory and conflicting statements of the Armenian leadership cause great damage to the negotiation process. They either say that Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia or that Nagorno-Karabakh is an independent state, Ilham Aliyev added. It turns out that they dont know themselves what Nagorno-Karabakh is. If they dont, we can tell them: Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan! The whole world and we are talking about this. All countries of the world recognize and support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and not a single state recognizes an illegal entity called Nagorno-Karabakh. Of course, the conflict should be resolved within the framework of territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country and the inviolability of our borders. Turkey is a country that provides Azerbaijan with the biggest support on a global scale, the Azerbaijani president noted. Thank you very much again for this. For our part, I must note that in all matters and in all international arenas, Azerbaijan always supports the just cause of Turkey. There is no and I am not sure will ever be any issue in which Azerbaijan would not support Turkey. In all the processes currently taking place in the region, the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani people unequivocally stand by the Turkish state and people. Our unity is eternal, and we are certainly building our future on this solid foundation, said Ilham Aliyev. Therefore, today's eighth meeting of the Council for Strategic Cooperation is a matter of special importance because the countries closest to each other in the world have made very serious decisions on further interaction and cooperation. Prince Harry is preparing to step down from his role as a senior member of the royal family. In the next few months, the public will likely see him start to take on a variety of different projects. While he has remained tight-lipped about the projects he will focus on, it is likely some of them will be related to mental health. Over the years, Prince Harry has been an outspoken advocate for mental wellness and has been remarkably open about his own inner struggles. Prince Harrys battle with mental health Prince Harrys mother, Princess Diana, tragically passed away in a car accident when he was only twelve years old. While the trauma of losing a parent might affect anyone deeply, being in the spotlight added to the trauma considerably. Recently, Prince Harry opened up that after losing his mother, he spent three years in therapy trying to cope with her loss. He has also stated that his life felt like total chaos after losing his mother in such a public way. Hes also said that on numerous occasions he has come very close to having a complete nervous breakdown. The royal has talked about how beneficial mental health professionals have been and how much progress he made after talking to a counselor. Prince Harrys openness about mental health is certainly unusual within the royal family. His vulnerability has definitely endeared him to many people all over the world. How did Prince Harry help mental health charities? Prince Harry | Adrian Dennis/Getty Images After Prince Harrys initial 2017 admission regarding his mental health struggles, there was a near-immediate ripple effect. According to a news report, several mental health charities reported an increase in people reaching out to use their services following Prince Harrys interview. One charity known as The Mix, reported an incredible forty-three percent increase in people contacting them for mental health support. A source for the story stated that there is real evidence to support the increase and that ordinary people are more likely to seek help if they see or hear about famous people experiencing the same problems. The source called Prince Harrys admissions inspiring and called for even more celebrities or people in the spotlight to speak out in the same manner. What mental health projects will Prince Harry work on? While most of Prince Harrys plans for the year remain under wraps, there is one major project that he is actively working on: an Apple TV+ series that he is making in conjunction with Oprah Winfrey. Recently, it was reported that the series would feature a number of visits to different mental health institutions around the United Kingdom. The series will feature facilities designed specifically for combat veterans who are struggling with depression and anxiety. In his statement announcing the series, Prince Harry stated that I truly believe that good mental health mental fitness is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities, and a purpose-driven self. It is a huge responsibility to get this right as we bring you the facts, the science and the awareness of a subject that is so relevant during these times. Theres no doubt that by partnering with a media giant like Oprah, Prince Harrys mission to increase awareness of mental health will reach a whole new audience. February 25, 2020 News By David Vergun Defense.gov Aerial Refueling, Sealift Capability Vital to Readiness Aerial refueling and sealift forces require attention so they can meet current and future challenges, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command told lawmakers. Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons testified today at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2021 and the Future Years Defense Program. "Aerial refueling as a force element is the most-stressed force element in the Transcom portfolio, both for day-to-day operations as well as for high-end conflict," he said. The KC-46 Pegasus is an important aspect of aerial refueling tanker modernization, he said. However, delays in delivery of capable KC-46s, combined with reductions of KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers, have created "a critical and deepening gap" in aerial refueling capability for the next five to seven years, the general told the senators. All three aircraft are used for aerial refueling, with last year's delivery of the first KC-46 marking the start of replacing the aging KC-10 Extender, which entered service in 1981, and the KC-135 Stratotanker, which entered service in 1957. A solution for the KC-46 delivery delays will likely be retention of 13 KC-135s and 10 KC-10s that were slated for retirement, Lyons said. The No. 2 readiness concern is the strategic sealift fleet, which is responsible for moving about 90% of wartime cargo, the Transcom commander said. "The current readiness of our fleet is below where it needs to be," he added. Sealift readiness rates have declined to 59% compared against a goal of 85%, with vessel material condition and age as the primary factors. By the mid-2030s, more than half of the sealift fleet will be unusable, Lyons told the Senate panel in his written testimony. Most sealift ships are reaching the age at which maintenance and repair costs are escalating and service-life extensions will not yield proportional increases in readiness, he added. To increase fleet readiness, the general said Transcom is working with the Navy to buy seven used vessels. He said he anticipates the purchase of the first two in fiscal year 2021. With 85% of U.S. forces stationed in the United States, it is Transcom's job to project and sustain the force globally in support of the secretary of defense's strategic priorities. "Power projection is a distinct U.S. comparative advantage," Lyons said, noting that reliance on allies and partners increases that advantage. Lyons provided senators with some of U.S. Transcom's recent achievements. With a no-notice alert, the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division was moved to the U.S. Central Command area of operations from the United States in less than five and a half days, he said. In 2019, he said Transcom: Moved 43 brigades overseas; Moved 26 million square feet of cargo worldwide; Refueled multiple bomber and fighter aircraft, dispensing 956.6 million gallons of fuel; and Transported 1.9 million passengers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mirai Fbot is back with the stronger infection speed, Currently FBOTs infection speed is about 100 nodes per day.. Dont trust me, trust the number, said the researcher who figured the come-back In the previous month we covered the mystery behind the Mirai botnet variant dubbed as Fbot after the threats latest encryption was disclosed by security researcher unixfreaxjp of the MalwareMustDie team. The article we published ended with the question Would it mean that the coder of Fbot is abandoning his botnet after all of this time? Fbot is one of Mirais variants, and Mirai is the Linux malware that originally was detected in August, 2016 by the same team who wrote the analysis. On the boom of Mirai source code leaks, followed by the sharing of its source code openly in the Github by a security researcher, a lot of young hackers involved in the circle of DDoS criminal ecosystem, who had been actively using IoT devices for the DDoS purpose were racing to use Mirai to their better DDoS botnet platforms. Fbot historically has been a part of Mirai variant for some years by now, leveraging the leak source code of other Mirai variants made by different coders and improving them to be better than other rival IoT botnets, obviously to make more infection hits In this article we successfully interviewed unixfreaxjp,, the researcher who analyzed this re-emerging threat. When he was asked about how he thinks about the FBot re-emerging, he commented ..although we are all hoping that the bad actors will stop their malicious activities seeing that the new propagation had stopped for a month during our monitoring, to only realizing that the actors were only actually put the botnet into sleep and rebuilt their botnet technology to be better in evasion and propagation.. About how recent Fbot was started to come into his attention, he explained ..basically we monitored all Linux threats non-stop, not only the ones aiming IoT, but all of them, to seek how the Linux threat landscape situated recently, what technology is used mostly now, and to understand their trends. We dealt with a lot of malware and their threat actors for these past seven years, and any threat can come-back again as long as the motivation, bad adversaries and weak target are still laying around, And Fbot is a good example for the case.. The speed of new variant of Fbot has been reported as super fast, when we came into this topic he replied ..Fbot owned significant amount of botnet before, like thousands IoT devices, they can go back to previous infection volume easy due to the circumstance for spreading the infection is on adversaries side, I think that is what the malware coder and bot herder is expecting from this wave as his first stage. However he learned from previous cases too, by improving the evasion technique using the hexstring-push method to drop the loader into the IoT What is the hexstring-push method mentioned in the post? Is it a new trick in IoT infection? Could you explain more of it? ..Well, a hexstring-push is just a term I made, since I dont know how to call this techniques, its when an actor is sending a textual-basis data which is actually a binary that can be saved or injected and to be executed in the targeted machine. This is not a new matter since exploitation development is using this concept for so long, and recent post-exploitation frameworks aiming multiple operating systems are utilizing the same concept too. The adversary is in an experimental stage by using this concept to pivot against commonly known download commands that can block their infection.. You wrote that there are embedded binaries inside the Mirai FBot, are they the same as the hex-pushed ones? What is their purpose? ..Good questions, those embedded ELF are Mirai Fbot downloaders, they call it as loader, and yes, in the ones I analyzed it is coded as same as the hexstring one. The purpose of this loader is to download Fbot from the C2 servers to the successfully compromised IoT device. You have just mentioned about C2 (Command and Control) servers, how many are they? And who owns them? ..Yes,since you asked about this, I just updated our report with the C2 servers used, it is explained as per below table. The alleged owners are the threat actor related individuals, that are possible a hands out environment through many hands. The published analysis post contains a lot of information of the infected IoT devices and the record of the infection is clearly shown to show all of us the speed of infection. The infection that has been started to be detected on February 22, 2020 as 582 nodes has become 1,086 nodes within 3days, and it was reportedly Mirai Fbot to have the infection rate of 100 nodes per day. At this point we asked about the handling of fast Fbot infection: How do you propose to stop Fbot botnet from its fast spreading, knowing that the infection speed is high?, and the reply is ..Very good question. As usual in IoT threat, the actors want their botnet to spread wide under the radar and owning as much IoT as they can get, and stay maintaining the ownership of those IoT until they are ready to do some action as a service for several bad activities like DDoS, traffic cushion for further hacks, malware proxy , and so on. Fbot is not different. Lucky that we disclosed the come-back wave early, so hopefully we had the awareness in place, thats the first important step. The next step is, no one can fight this type of threat alone, we are all have different limitation, but now security communities are all in a form of coordination to work together to mitigate this type of the threat, by spotting new infection techniques, recording new C2 for blocking purpose, patching the vulnerability the botnet aims to infect, informing CSIRT for services to be more aware of the threat, and applying better IoT policies. Hopefully these steps will suppress the propagation speed of the infection. In their post it is clearly written there are countries that are having faster infection than others. When asked about this matter, this is what unixfreaxjp replied: IoT devices are varied in many countries, not only about variation in vendors, but the policy and usability within involved carriers. In countries that are having a top-down security scheme to control their infected IoT devices the infection can be handled fast. In other countries that dont have such vertical control schemes for IoT yet, they are dwelling variation of horizontal obstacles, from rules and policies, business chain matters and privacy issues , to handle an on-going infection. There is also a factor of unknown vulnerability that has been exploited that can boost infection on a specific region users only. So, there is no best formula for fast handling, but, it has been proven that the countries that can control IoT devices are less-affected, this is what I think. The number of the infection on February 25, 2020 is showing that Taiwan, Hongkong, and Vietnam are having bigger infection ratio compared to other affected countries. We have learned much experience from the Mirai Fbot re-emerging case. What seems to be the end of a botnet can be a sign of a new beginning, and also by working together we can control IoT malware infection into a very minimum level. If the motivation, bad actors and the target are there, the same threat could rise again, and again. It is all up to us to police a better policy to prevent it from happening again. Pierluigi Paganini Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India is aiming to eliminate poverty in the next five years to ensure a good quality of life to every household of the country. "India is poised to be amongst the top 3 economies of the world and our rightful place will be when we achieve for our people a USD 30,000-40,000 per capita income level. Five years from now, we want to make sure that poverty is completely eliminated from India and every home has a decent quality of life," said Goyal while speaking at the "US-India Forum: Partners for Growth" conference here. "To reach the goal of USD 5 trillion economy, Prime Minister Modi has had extensive consultations with 80 ministries, the entire council of ministers and senior bureaucracy to bring in the interconnectivity between the different thought processes," he added. He also said that India is aiming for 24 hours-electricity, clean cooking gas, access to the internet by the year 2022. "Our goal is that by 2022, every family should have their own home with 24 hours electricity, clean cooking gas, access to the internet and good school and healthcare around the home," Goyal said. The Union minister said that Indian and the US had begun talks to move towards a Free Trade Agreement. Speaking at the conference organised to coincide with US President Donald Trump's visit to India, Goyal said: "I am delighted that both the leaders (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump) have decided to formally engage to move towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between these two big economies." "We'll hopefully close the first end of the limited engagement that we have already discussed and nearly finalised, Ambassador Lighthizer and I. We'll get into legal vetting and close that quickly," Goyal said referring to the current United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Over the US President Donald Trump's maiden state visit to India, the Union minister said, "We have had some very productive engagement with the President of USA. The discussions have been extremely positive, in a spirit of collaboration, cooperation and friendship." Commenting on the Modi-Trump chemistry, Union Minister said: "I think this is a personal relationship that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump share. I think the chemistry between the two leaders is evident in every one of their meetings every time that met and talks to each other. "And I would not at any point of time think this is to any strategy or, in terms of managing any individually. It's more about the relationship, and more about trust," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five people were killed, three more are missing and thousands are unable to return to their waterlogged homes after floods submerged parts of Indonesia's capital, officials said Wednesday. The muddy deluge inundated the presidential palace, a major hospital and entire neighbourhoods across Jakarta on Tuesday, only weeks after 70 residents of the low-lying megacity died in some of the deadliest flooding in memory. Two teenagers were among the five people drowned or electrocuted in hard-hit parts of the city, Indonesia's national disaster agency said. "The joint rescue team is still searching" for three other possible victims, agency spokesman Agus Wibowo told AFP, adding that nearly 20,000 people were staying in emergency shelters. Floodwaters reached more than a metre (three feet) in some parts of the capital but were receding by Wednesday, a day after rescuers combed drenched districts in pontoon boats to locate vulnerable residents. Parts of the city had ground to a halt as thousands of buildings were swamped, sparking power outages and disrupting commuter trains. Jakarta, a sprawling city beleaguered by massive traffic jams and poor infrastructure, is prone to flooding during the annual wet season. Indonesian president Joko Widodo last year unveiled plans to relocate the capital to an as yet unbuilt city on Borneo island. Lucasfilm and Disney ended the Skywalker Saga, back in December 2019. With the completion of the three-decade-long story, the makers are now bringing in another saga titled, Star Wars: The High Republic, as a prequel to the stories of beloved Jedis and Sith Lords. Earlier this week, Disney and Lucasfilm announced the new project, Star Wars: The High Republic, formerly known as Project Luminous. The new stories will reportedly be released over several platforms including novels, children's books and comics, which will tell one interconnected story for different age groups. The High Republic is said to be set 200 years before, The Phantom Menace, and about 260 years before the first original Star Wars film. According to the director, Michael Siglain, the new saga is inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi's quote, "For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice." Five releases have been announced for phase one, including titles like, young adult novel Into the Dark, another middle-grade novel A Test of Courage, comic book series The High Republic Adventures, a comic book series from Marvel The High Republic, and another novel The Light of the Jedi. The High Republic is set to debut in August at the Star Wars Celebration Anaheim convention. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Movie Review: Saga Comes To An End With A Dud! Fan Suggests Disney's Timeline Till 2100; Will Buy Apple, Microsoft and DC Comics Mike Casper Appointed Group Applications Engineer at TAKAYA Published: 25 February 2020 by Chelsey Drysdale by Chelsey Drysdale Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Mike Casper has been appointed Group Applications Engineer for TAKAYA flying probe test systems by TEXMAC, the exclusive authorized distributor of TAKAYA flying probe test systems in North America. In his new position, Mike will be responsible for Pre-sales evaluations and Post-sales customer support including training, service, and applications. TAKAYA is the inventor and industry leader in flying-probe test technology for more than 25 years. In making the announcement, Roy McKenzie, Takaya Group Manager for TEXMAC Inc., said, Mike is a great asset to our customers thanks to his extensive experience in our industry. He spent 15 years in a very similar position with another flying probe test company providing customer support for flying probe and functional test applications. Prior to that Mike spent 20 years developing functional test hardware and software for a number of different companies and product types. He brings tremendous talent and experience to his new position. Were pleased to welcome him to the TEXMAC team. About TEXMAC TEXMAC, the exclusive authorized distributor of TAKAYA flying probe test systems in North America, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and offers a full range of sales and support services including test and programming services. Locations include facilities in the Boston, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, and Silicon Valley areas. For more information, contact Roy McKenzie, TEXMAC Inc., 2225 Martin Ave. Suite K, Santa Clara, CA 95050, tel. (408) 970-8500, email rmckenzie@texmacusa.com, and visit www.texmac.com. SPRINGFIELD Sheriffs and Republican state lawmakers want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to scrap a new policy they say prohibits communication between law enforcement agencies when an undocumented immigrant is released from a state prison after serving a felony sentence. Im here to sound the alarm that a recent policy change by the Illinois Department of Corrections is making our communities and neighborhoods less safe, Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said Tuesday at a Capitol news conference. Downey said his department contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to coordinate the pickup, transfer and detainment of people released from state prison but still subject to federal detainers due to immigration status. Prior to the change, IDOC would transfer them to the Pontiac Correctional Center where the Kankakee County Sherriffs Department would pick them up and hold them at the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee County until their immigration case was reviewed and adjudicated. Because of the policy change which sheriffs said they learned of indirectly on Jan. 30, all such transfers at the request of ICE are no longer allowed, Downey said. Instead, those individuals are released with no notification of law enforcement entities. I am dumbfounded that we had to learn that dangerous felons were simply being released into our county and into our community without notice, coordination or even a courtesy call to local law enforcement, Livingston County Sheriff Tony Childress. Downey said he learned of, but was not given a reason for, the change when IDOC informed his office that all scheduled transfers were canceled. His department notified ICE which was eventually forwarded correspondence from IDOC detailing the policy change. Weve never been told anything as to what the rationale was, which is disappointing, he said. An IDOC spokesperson did not directly answer questions from Capitol News Illinois but pointed to the Illinois Trust Act signed in 2017 by former Gov. Bruce Rauner which restricts local law enforcement from handing undocumented immigrants over to federal agencies without a judicial warrant. Under the Illinois Trust Act, the Illinois Department of Corrections is prohibited from detaining an individual solely on the basis of an immigration detainer or non-judicial immigration warrant, the IDOC statement read. We continue to work with the Governors Office to review our policies and procedures to ensure the safety of Illinois residents and compliance with state law. Downey said his officers last year transported 223 inmates to Kankakee after they were released from one of 21 state correctional facilities which were coordinating with federal authorities. Downey said those transfers included 36 people found guilty of sexual offenses against minors; 11 of murder, attempted murder or intent to kill or injure; 19 of predatory criminal sexual assault; 33 of a criminal offense involving a weapon; 50 of drug offenses involving a substance other than cannabis; and 55 of felony-level traffic offenses including aggravated DUI and other such offenses. Downey said IDOC officials were instructed not to comply with ICE requests. The sheriffs and lawmakers said it is unknown how many people have been released without notification since the policy change. This is just plain wrong, Downey said. These convicted felons do not deserve to be given a head start or assistance from the state of Illinois in evading our federal law enforcement partners. State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said lawmakers did not learn of the policy change until the issue was brought up by local sheriffs. The Senate GOP caucus sent a letter Friday to IDOC Director Robert Jeffreys asking why the policy was changed, whose decision it was and how it was communicated but has not received an answer. A spokesperson for Pritzker released a statement to Capitol News Illinois Wednesday morning, saying that, As Donald Trump continues to advance policies that tear apart families and terrorize children, the Pritzker administration is committed to using every tool at our disposal to protect immigrant families in Illinois. The governor has made it abundantly clear that Illinois will be a firewall against the presidents attacks on immigrant communities, Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzkers press secretary, said in the statement. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- When two people gang up, its usually bad news for the third. So it was on Tuesday morning in the race to become the next boss of Germanys Christian Democratic Union, the center-right party of Angela Merkel, which is indirectly also a campaign to replace her as chancellor. The three leading candidates abruptly scheduled back-to-back press conferences in the same room. In the first, two of them showed up as a team, as they kept emphasizing. In the other, the third candidate fended for himself, looking rather forlorn. The first event involved Armin Laschet, 58, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia and leader of the largest CDU delegation, and Jens Spahn, 39, Merkels up-and-coming health minister. Theyve been at odds in the past, but now Spahn has sacrificed his own candidacy to support Laschet, who at a stroke becomes the front-runner to clinch the CDU leadership at a party conference slated for April 25. Their surprising alliance amounts to a cartel to weaken competition, quipped the third candidate, Friedrich Merz, 64. He, too, had been invited in recent weeks to become part of a Laschet-led team. But Merz, citing his good poll numbers, decided to reach for the top spot. Laschet and Merz would represent fundamentally different directions for the party, country and continent. Laschet is a jovial figure, bordering on lightweight. He wants to show voters that governing can be fun, he said. He hasnt signaled any abrupt policy changes from the Merkel era and gets along well with the present chancellor, which means he could survive the awkward year or so when he would run the party, she the government. From Merzs point of view, thats precisely Laschets weakness. The choice for the party, he said, is between continuity and stagnation (Laschet) or a new start and renewal (Merz). That might seem a bit rich coming from the oldest candidate, one who was last prominent in politics in 2002 when Merkel ousted him from a top job. Hes since had a good career in investment management at BlackRock, but yearns to get even with Merkel and the whole wobbly centrism she represents. Story continues What Merz really means is that he would steer the CDU rightward to bring back many former supporters whove defected to a party on the extremist fringe, the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Merzs notion of the right is being: good for business; hawkish on monetary, fiscal and euro-area policy; and above all tough on law and order, specifically anything to do with migrants. In divining Laschet and Merzs relative chances of success, Spahn has made an interesting choice. He represents a new and woke generation, being youngish and gay. But hes cultivated a profile as an arch-conservative whos skeptical of Merkels wishy-washy middle course. Ideologically, he should be closer to Merz than to Laschet. So why is he standing beside Laschet instead? Because hes calculated that Laschet has more hope of going all the way. If his gamble is correct, Spahn can rise alongside Laschet as his deputy, burnishing his stature until his own time comes for the top job. The main reason why Spahn gives better odds to Laschet is that hes a proven uniter, whereas Merz tends to have a tin ear for other peoples sensitivities. We had our differences, Spahn said about Laschet, but thats exactly what this is about: building bridges. Hes talking about bridges between CDU delegates and between rivals, and bridges to potential coalition partners, above all the environmentalist Greens. These will all have to be crossed to get to a Laschet cabinet in 2021 (when Merkel steps down and a national election is held), in which Spahn would be prominent. Even before that, another bridge needs building. Its to Markus Soeder, the premier of Bavaria and leader of the CDUs sister party, the CSU. By tradition, the two organizations always form one bloc in national politics, with one joint candidate for chancellor. And Soeder might want to be that candidate himself. Hes already made clear that what gets decided on April 25 is only the leadership of the CDU. The choice of joint candidate happens later, in consultation with him. If Merz becomes CDU leader, he would face a tense standoff with his old nemesis, Merkel, which could weaken him enough for Soeder to claim that the CDU-CSU will only prevail in the 2021 election if it fields Soeder for the chancellery. If Laschet gets the party chair, the transition will be smoother. Above all, Laschet being Laschet will immediately embrace Soeder (the two have already been in constant talks) to secure his support in the same way he got Spahns. Or, as Laschet put it on Tuesday, the CDU and CSU will jointly make the decision, as for 70 years, in great love and conviviality. To contact the author of this story: Andreas Kluth at akluth1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a member of Bloomberg's editorial board. He was previously editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. [February 26, 2020] Snapask Plans Further Expansion in Southeast Asia with Latest US$ 35 million Funding Snapask, Asia's leading education technology brand, announces completion of a US$35M round in 2020, adding to over US$ 50 million fundraised to date. Snapask aims to become the leader in education technology, driving the revolution of self-directed learning across Asia . With "We Wonder Why" as the central theme of Snapask in 2020, the company plans to foster self-directed learning via the "question-asking" approach. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Snapask, a fast-rising startup focusing on education technology, has made major inroads throughout the Asian region including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea since its inception in 2015 in Hong Kong. In 2020, Snapask has succeeded in securing the latest round of funding totaling over US$ 50 million, including a recent US$ 35 million fund led by investors Asia Partners from Singapore and Intervest from South Korea, among others. Timothy Yu, Founder and CEO of Snapask, remarked that the fresh injection of funds will go towards further cementing Snapask's presence in Southeast Asia, notably in Vietnam, where the company sees massive market potential for its product, and Singapore, where it plans to open its regional headquarter. The company will also focus on the development of analytics products to promote self-directed learning technology and video learning content. Nick Nash, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Asia Partners, expounded further "Snapask is a clear illustration of Asia Partners' focus in solving the growth capital funding gap for tech companies in Southeast Asia. The company has already demonstrated a strong product market fit in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore and is already successfully expanding in emerging markets like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The company exemplifies our interest in humble 'Rhinos', which focused on sustainable growth with a clear path to profitability." Positioned as Asia's leading education technology brand promoting self-directed learning, Snapask is making a revolutionary impact on education. The company matches students with quality tutors for instant one-on-one learning sessions. One of the main goals is to develop students' habit of asking questions and raise their interest in learning. Through to today, Snapask has served over 3 million students in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. Please click here for images and other visual materials. About Snapask Snapask, a mobile app that allows students to ask questions with a snapshot and then matches them with a tutor within seconds to have an instant learning session one-on-one. Founded in 2015, Snapask is now serving over 3 million students with more than 350,000 tutors in 8 Asian regions -- Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Korea. Apart from the app, Snapask also develops B2B solutions with AI technology to provide personalized learning resources through big data analysis. SOURCE Snapask [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Giving birth to a life is a gift that only women are blessed with. Just imagine nurturing the little life in your womb and then welcoming the little bundle of joy to the world. It's a feeling out of this world, and Kalki Koechlin is embracing it. Of course, you love your baby more than you ever imagined. And newborns don't know the difference between day and night, so it's very normal for them to wake up regularly. This, often gives sleepless nights to the parents. And new mom Kalki is also going through the same but she is enjoying the "sleep deprived bliss." Posting an adorable picture with daughter Sappho, Kalki revealed to her fans how she is embracing motherhood. "The past few weeks have really been a state of sleep deprived bliss. Thanks for the perfect photo @salomerebello," she wrote. Just a few days ago, Kalki shared a picture of Sappho's father and her boyfriend Guy Hershberg. "My Guy and my girl. Not much of a Hallmark consumer but this Valentine's I'm feeling particularly gushy, for obvious reasons. Guy, I couldn't ask for more, you are always more...," she wrote in the caption. Kalki welcomed the little bundle of joy in this world on Feb 7. Since then, she has been embracing motherhood and sharing glimpses of the same with her fans on social media. She opted for water birth. Some time ago, Kalki also shared a photo from when she practiced water birth methods with her "doula." "I can't experience childbirth and not talk about this word," she wrote and added, "No matter how much you read up, prepare or ask your doctor, there are challenges in childbirth that one can only know from experience and practice. A doula provides massages, breathing techniques and exercises during active labour, other support like hypnobirthing, a birth plan for the hospital, your first bonding with your baby, breastfeeding and so many other essentials which believe me, when you're a first time mum, feel like your first day at a new school all over again!" Kalki announced the arrival of the little munchkin with this post: Motherhood definitely is a magical miracle? New Delhi: 'Bigg Boss 13' fame Mahira Sharma, who earlier this week found herself in the middle of a controversy over forging the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, has clarified that she will not apologise to the body on the matter when it's a third party's fault and not hers. Taking to Instagram, Mahira said in a statement, "No doubt, the certificate given to me was a forged one as mentioned and informed by the official team of DPIFF. I was unaware of this fact while receiving the certificate on the night of 20th February 2020." On charges put against her for posting the forged certificate online and deleting it later, she said that she had shared it on her Instagram stories which lasts for only 24 hours and if she knew it was a forged one, she wouldn't have posted it. She further added, "On the point that I have conveniently put the blame on a 3rd party, whereas the so-called 3rd party, Mr Premal Mehta in this case, has himself in person been accepting the fault since the inception. There was a glitch and the situation is to be blamed here and not me. The concerned people have apologized and owned their mistakes, so I dont know why I am being pushed to apologise for no fault of mine?" And concluded by saying, "Yes, I definitely faultered in one place where I accepted the certificate off stage, but had I known that the person who invited me and held a AAA All Access badge was not official of DPIFF, I would not have accepted it at the first place. Now that the matter is clear, I would like to return the forged certificate and will take this incident as a learning experience. With all due respect to the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival, as a performer and an artist, I would love to earn this award in future, only and only by the officials of DPIFF." Over the weekend, Mahira attended the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Awards 2020 in Mumbai and a few hours after the event, on her Instagram stories, she posted a picture of a certificate, which revealed that she was named 'The Most Fashionable Contestant Of Bigg Boss 13' by DPIFF. Soon, she was bombarded with congratulatory messages and in the meantime, DPIFF claimed that Mahira has 'forged' the certificate and she should apologise for it. Later, in a lengthy Instagram post, she said that the "charges made against her were untrue and totally uncalled for". Explaining her side to the story, Mahira wrote: After Mahira's clarification, Premal Mehta, who claims to be closely working with DPIFF, also issued a statement and said that Mahira didn't know anything about the forged certificate and it is "unfair" to drag her in the controversy. However, DPIFF further issued a statement on her reply to the body and said the actress should apologise for the entire fiasco. After Mahira's statement on Wednesday, DPIFF is yet to respond. OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken Canada's campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council directly to African diplomats with a speech that tried to emphasize his boyhood connection to the continent. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a reception recognizing Canada's relationships with African countries, in Ottawa, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken Canada's campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council directly to African diplomats with a speech that tried to emphasize his boyhood connection to the continent. Trudeau fondly recalled accompanying his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, on trips to Africa as a child and later as a young adult backpacker. He spoke in a pre-reception address on Tuesday night to an audience of about 200 people, most of them diplomats from African countries, at the Ottawa headquarters of Global Affairs Canada. Trudeau said his father shared with him his deep love and respect for the African continent an apparent attempt to counter critics who said his government ignored Africa during its first term in power when it was dealing with major trade issues with the United States and Mexico. But the prime minister won applause from the crowd when he described the future of Africa-Canadian relations as one rooted in deepening business and trade ties with the fast-growing continent. Earlier this month, Trudeau visited two African countries, Ethiopia and Senegal, as part of his government's campaign for the council seat. "In all our conversations, one thing was clear: We have everything to gain by working together on the priorities we share. Canadians, like people across the African continent, want to see real progress on the issues that matter most to them," said Trudeau. In Ethiopia, he met leaders attending the African Union summit to win support for Canada. In Dakar, Senegalese President Macky Sall said he would try to drum up support for Canada's bid among African countries. Africa, with its 54 voting countries, is a key voting bloc in the secret ballot that will take place at the UN General Assembly in June. Canada will need at least 128 votes in that election for a two-year term on the council starting in 2021, but faces stiff competition from Norway and Ireland who are also campaigning. Trudeau has said winning the position would give Canada more influence on the world stage on issues such as peace, security and human rights. He committed Canada to a council run in 2015 as part of his "Canada is back" pledge, following the 2010 loss of a seat to smaller and economically fragile Portugal under the previous Conservative government. Trudeau was accompanied Tuesday night by Mary Ng, his international trade minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Ahmed Hussen, the Somali-born minister of families, children and social development. "If our goal of making sure that Canada deepens its trade and investment ties, as well as people-to-people ties, the African diaspora, the African-Canadian community is key and central to that effort," Hussen told the gathering. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. By Express News Service BENGALURU: After extraditing gangster Ravi Pujari from Senegal to India, the police are gathering details of all the cases registered against him across the state. Meanwhile, a team of officers also interrogated Pujari in connection with some of the cases. Accordingly, Pujari was interrogated in connection with the Shabnam Developers shootout case, in which receptionist Shylaja and office assistant Ravi were killed on February 15, 2007. We have questioned him about his involvement in the crime and the motive behind it. The probe then had revealed that he had supplied the gun used in the offence, and as he is an accused in the case, his statement is being recorded, an official said. It is learnt that Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil has sought details from the jurisdictional police, who have registered cases against the gangster. As there are close to 100 cases registered against him (Pujari), we need to look at his role in each of those cases. Besides, we also have to take up the cases based on the nature of the offences. In some cases, we will have to interrogate him, while in others it may not be necessary, a source from the team said. Further, the police are also questioning him about his network in Karnataka and trying to get information about his associates, who are still active. He is cooperating with the probe, but is denying his involvement in many of the extortion cases. However, we have evidence against him in some cases, the official added. An Irish woman whose boobs exploded has shared details of her shocking near-death experience. Aisling OLeary, from Ireland, underwent boob implant surgery in 2008 when she was 19 and had no problems for the first three years until one day she left a stabbing pain in her chest. In the days that followed Aisling said her body began attacking itself and she suffered from a collapsed lung and fluid on my brain and heart. After multiple visits to the hospital, doctors later discovered her PIP implants had ruptured, but it wasnt before she had already developed a catalogue of serious health problems. The implants were manufactured by the French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) and in 2010 it emerged they had been made with substandard, industrial-grade silicone. German safety body TUV Rheinland was found liable for the global PIP implant scandal in 2017 and ordered to make payouts to victims by a French court. Around 300,000 women were affected worldwide, including Aisling. She is now issuing a stark warning to others over the risks associated with implant surgery. She told The Irish Mirror : It gave me massive confidence, I was delighted with life until 2011. Then I began experiencing some issues. I was in a lot of pain, had a stabbing in my right breast, heart palpitations, breathlessness, chest pain and headaches. Despite visiting her GP, Aisling claims she was told the pain was down to a virus and was sent anyway with anti-inflammatory medication. It took three hospital admissions before doctors discovered her ruptured breast implant had burst, causing her to develop an autoimmune condition called CREST syndrome. She told Neil Prendeville on Corks RedFM: I also had a collapsed lung, fluid on my brain and heart. My body was attacking itself and shutting down, essentially I was dying. It was only later she found out the original implants were made by a company called Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) and contained industrial-grade silicone similar to that used in mattresses. Aisling said: I did my research, I put my trust in the surgeon and clinic. I just assumed I would be looked after. Since then this company I got the procedure done in has gone into liquidation. Even after her implants were replaced, Aisling continued to have chest pain and headaches. She added: After many GP visits I was seen in hospital. In October 2019, a rupture in both implants was verified, along with being informed of the link with a lymphoma breast implant-related cancer called BIA-ALCL. I would never have known this only my implants ruptured. The whole things been a nightmare. Aisling said she wanted to raise awareness for other women who have had the procedure done and are unaware of the risks. She said: This is my main priority. Some women know, some dont. Scare-mongering isnt what Im trying to do as it is a very small risk, I just want to create awareness. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The fast-spreading coronavirus has fuelled concerns for the global economy and India, too, is not immune from the jitters as the death toll and infected cases rise worldwide. The new coronavirus has killed around 2,800 people and infected 80,000 people, most of them in China where the outbreak began. South Korea is the second-most affected country, with 11 deaths and more than 1,100 infections. Indian equities joined the global fall, hitting close to February lows touched on the Budget Day, slipping more than 5 percent from its record high in January. "The fear around and spread of coronavirus to other parts of the world is worrying. Hence, we may see some more correction in the Indian market," Raamdeo Agrawal, Joint MD and Co-Founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, told CNBC-TV18. At the time of writing this copy, the Sensex had fallen more than 300 points and the Nifty was hovering around 11,700, taking the week's loss to 3 percent. The fall in China's auto sales was a clear indication of the extent of shutdown in the world's second-largest economy, Raamdeo said. As China is the largest consumer and supplier of several products, including auto parts, hardware, mobile equipment, chemicals, etc, a shutdown will have a major impact on other parts of the world. Two-and-three-wheeler maker TVS Motor has already said that its February production has been hit by the virus. While China is a major consumer of metals, oil and other commodities, the fall in their prices has some benefits for a country like India. On a lower demand, oil prices have already corrected, with benchmark Brent crude futures trading at around $55 a barrel again. "Commodity prices have corrected owing to a global slowdown, India could benefit from this," Agrawal said. "Consumption is a 66 percent of GDP and leaders in the space are doing very well. The predictability of earnings and franchise remains profitable. Look at HUL, which has done very well, benefitted by low raw material prices. Even Asian Paints also benefited by low petroleum price," he said. Agrawal also expects the life insurance sector to do well. "Credit off-take numbers are improving a little, could look up from here," he said. In the case of SBI Cards and Payment Services' Rs 13,500-crore IPO, which will open for subscription from March 2 and March 5, he said the company could see exponential growth. "I had the privilege to meet the management and it is a dynamic management. It has the entire back-up of the SBI network, which has more than 44 crore customers. The company has an asset-light model and growth potential, which are very long and large. It is called a lethal combination of quality and growth," he said. Agrawal wished luck to Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal as he enters banking. Bansals microfinance arm Chaitanya India has applied for a universal banking licence. "It is a tough to get a tight hold on this kind of business as getting the money is very easy but sustaining in the same business is a real test. One has to be there for at least five years to see growth in such business. Look at HDFC Bank, which has Rs 200 crore in equity with Rs 1,000 crore in market cap in 1996 and now it has Rs 6.5 lakh crore market cap," he said. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Oscar winner Sandra Bullock and her lookalike stunt double teamed up to shoot an action scene on the Vancouver set of her untitled Netflix movie on Tuesday. The Virginia-born 55-year-old - clutching script pages - was dressed way down in a striped cardigan over a maroon plaid shirt and green floral leggings selected by costume designer Alex Bovaird. Make-up artist Whitney James kept Sandy's complexion fresh faced so she could better embody the kind of recent parolee, who served time in prison for an unredeemable violent crime. Twinning: Oscar winner Sandra Bullock (R) and her lookalike stunt double (L) teamed up to shoot an action scene on the Vancouver set of her untitled Netflix movie on Tuesday 'Facing severe judgment from her former friends and peers,' the logline reads - according to Variety. 'Her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind.' Bullock produces and stars as Ruth Slater in the crime flick directed by Silver Berlin Bear-winning German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt (System Crasher). Production is expected to run through April 9 on the drama, which Oscar-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) is adapting from ITV's 2009 miniseries Unforgiven. Pattern clashing: The Virginia-born 55-year-old was dressed way down in a striped cardigan over a maroon plaid shirt and green floral leggings selected by costume designer Alex Bovaird Murdered a policeman? Make-up artist Whitney James kept Sandy's complexion fresh faced so she could better embody the kind of recent parolee, who served time in prison for an unredeemable violent crime Oscar winner Viola Davis, Emmy nominee Vincent D'Onofrio, and Ford v Ferrari star Jon Bernthal are also slated to appear in the movie. It marks the Golden Globe winner's second collaboration with the streaming giant after their 2018 horror flick Bird Box, which was streamed by over 80M households despite scoring a 63% Rotten Tomatoes rating. The Ocean's Eight actress' street sighting came two weeks after she opened up about raising her 10-year-old son Louis Bardo and eight-year-old daughter Laila, whom she adopted in 2010 and 2015. 'Her only hope for redemption is finding her estranged younger sister': Bullock produces and stars as Ruth Slater in the crime flick directed by filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt (System Crasher) Remake: Production is expected to run through April 9 on the drama, which writer Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) is adapting from ITV's 2009 miniseries Unforgiven Cast (from L-R): Oscar winner Viola Davis, Emmy nominee Vincent D'Onofrio, and Ford v Ferrari star Jon Bernthal are also slated to appear in the movie 'I look at everyone who is trying to raise kids, and I go, "How are we supposed to raise children outside of a bubble? And show them the difference between right and wrong, and what kindness looks like, when it's really hard to find it with all the noise on a screen?"' Sandra told Interview on February 11. 'I gave [my kids] the places where they can go to college because that's where mommy feels comfortable living. I said, "You can go to these three colleges because I'm going to buy an apartment down the street." It's scary entering the world, but when we do, we feel good and we're glad we did it, but the dread of being around people, I need to get better with that.' Bullock gets help from a nanny and her photographer beau Bryan Randall, whom she met in 2015 after hiring him to shoot her son's 5th birthday bash. The 54-year-old ex-con reportedly has a 27-year-old daughter Skylar Staten with his ex-fiancee Janine Staten, who died from a drug overdose in 2007. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has now spread outside China, affecting 47 countries. The worst-hit countries are strengthening their efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus as the number of confirmed infections globally surpassed 81,000. Amid the health crisis, Americans are being urged to prepare for a possible outbreak spread. The number of confirmed cases in the United States increased to 59, most of whom were repatriated from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had was quarantined in Japan. Of those 59, six have made a full recovery. Chengdu, Sichuan / China - Travellers wear masks at airport to prevent infection from coronavirus. Image Credit: B.Zhou / Shutterstock Prepare for coronavirus The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials issued a warning to all residents in the United States to prepare for the coronavirus spread, after South Korea, Iran, and Italy reported a rapid uptick in confirmed cases. "We want to prepare the American public for the possibility that their lives will be disrupted because of this pandemic," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but more really a question of when it will happen and how many people in this country will have a severe illness," Dr. Messonnier added. Though the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet classified the current outbreak as a pandemic, the sharp increase in cases and spread to many countries has sparked concern and fears across the globe. "We are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus. What we are seeing are epidemics in different parts of the world, affecting countries in different ways," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director-general, said during a news conference. Aggressive measures needed Dr. Messonnier said that though aggressive measures such as travel bans were imposed to prevent the spread of the virus in the U.S., more invasive steps are necessary, which could include workplace shutdowns, canceling significant events and gatherings, and school closings. She added that though these measures can disrupt schools, work, and the everyday lives of people, they should start thinking about these now. Further, Americans may start working at home temporarily, and schools should consider dividing students into smaller groups or close while opting for internet-based tele-schooling. "For adults, businesses can replace in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and increase teleworking options," Messonnier said. However, she stressed that the current risk is still low since all the cases in the country were among travelers who returned from overseas. Further, she estimates that by spring or summer, the number of cases may decline. Which states have confirmed cases so far? The cases of coronavirus in the U.S. have reached 57, 12 of those cases are travel-related, 43 cases were from those repatriated from Wuhan, China, or the Diamond Princess cruise ship, while two cases are the result of person-to-person transmission in the country. So far, seven patients have recovered, one in Washington, one in Arizona, two in Illinois, and three in California. The states reporting confirmed cases include Texas, California, Washington, Illinois, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. What is being done? So far, the U.S. government is restricting U.S. citizens who have been to Hubei province, the epicenter of the deadly outbreak, in the last two weeks before they returned to the U.S. Further, they will have to go through a mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days. The CDC urges people to follow the flu season protocol, which includes washing the hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, staying at home, avoiding ill people, and avoiding going out in the public when they are sick. The CDC, however, does not recommend wearing surgical masks in public, since they are not effective for airborne infections. Latin films have developed dramatically over the years. Today, they have succeeded in attracting the worldwide audience because they can deliver the expectations of the viewers on an international level. The Latin movies are among the best alternatives out there for film lovers who would like to explore a different field of cinematography. It has an amazing collection of flicks on Netflix so here are 10 movies which are available in 2020. This is a comedy film featuring the Spaniards ' religious devotion as its topic. This is also partly musical, as the nuns are staring at singing presentations. A psychological thriller film in which a mother is searching for the truth about the death of her six-year-old autistic son, who missed a decade ago. She met a teenager one day who looks exactly like her son and she wants answers for this. A comedy which tells the story of two overeducated underemployed people. They moved to find a good job in Berlin but ended up working in a cafe. A writer has started a blog in which she shares life stuff as a single woman and it has become a big hit. This is based on a true story by the Peruvian writer Maria Jose Osorio and her blog "Soltera Codiciada." The music-themed films are in, and Toc Toc is another one made on the basis of a hit stage play. It is a dark comedy which features characters experiencing their life's worst day. La Noche Que Mi Madre Mato a Mi Padre This is a crime-comedy flick that tells the story of an aging actress who wants to be popular again and she will do whatever she wants to reclaim her lost glory. On the day she was supposed to make the deal with two producers who finally gave her an opportunity, there were a lot of incidents that cropped up and they couldn't seem to seal the deal. This is a romantic comedy, where a man and a woman troubled by love met in a cafe and agreed to date. They know nothing about each other, but on that day they played games and started their relationship, but they're only going to be in the shop for a couple. This is a dark thriller that narrates the story of a man who returned to his hometown after murder of his mother and brother. It's been years since they last saw one another and he's back to take care of their remains then a thug pushed him to pull off an insurance scam. Inspector Amaia Salazar never dreamed of returning to her place of birth but circumstances brought her back to Elizondo. It could be a shocking truth awaiting her. This is based on a true story about Veronica, a girl who has tried using the Ouija board to summon her dead father's spirit. She did this in her school during the solar eclipse and something went terribly wrong. Instead she runs the risk of being killed because instead an evil spirit has arisen. Meanwhile, Bloomberg announced Netflix is building its Latin American headquarters in Mexico City as the following on Latin shows and movies rises. Saratoga Springs Police Department Criminal Mischief: Hunter Herzog, 19, of Saratoga Springs was arrested at 9 a.m. on Feb. 21 at 5 Lake Ave. and was charged with criminal mischief third degree: damage to another persons property valued at over $250, a felony, and criminal tampering third degree, a misdemeanor. Unlicensed Operation: Kalill Bostick, 45, was arrested at 10:41 p.m. on Feb. 21 following a traffic stop on Crescent Street and South Broadway and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation second degree: with three or more open suspensions on three or more separate dates, a misdemeanor. DWI: Anthony Luna, 28, of Schaghticoke was arrested at 3:27 a.m. on Feb. 22 on Lake and Forest Avenues after being involved in a property damage accident and was charged with driving while intoxicated:first offense, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more, first offense, and aggravated driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .18 percent or more: with no priors, all misdemeanors. DWI: Hailey Hinman, 23, of Cornish, New Hampshire was arrested at 3:44 a.m. on Feb. 22 following a traffic stop on Broadway and Division Street and was charged with driving while intoxicated:first offense, and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more, first offense, both misdemeanors. Unlicensed Operation: Brittney Cathey, 28, of Glens Falls, was arrested at 10:05 p.m. on Feb. 22, on Church and Myrtle Streets and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation third degree, a misdemeanor. Assault: Lindsay Bennett, 34, of Watervliet was arrested at 10:29 p.m. on Feb. 22 on Route 9 and was charged with assault third degree: intent to cause physical injury, a misdemeanor. Unlicensed Operation: Kyle Shuhart, 33, of Guilderland was arrested at 8:39 p.m. on Feb. 22 following a traffic stop on Route 9 and Kaydeross Avenue West and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation third degree, a misdemeanor. Criminal Mischief: Kaleb Persons, 25, of North Creek was arrested at 10:01 p.m. on Feb. 22 on Route 9 and was charged with criminal mischief third degree: damage to another persons property valued at over $250, a felony. Unlicensed Operation: Paul Pedoto, 64, of Queensbury was arrested at 6:06 p.m. on Feb. 23 following a traffic stop on Broadway and Ellsworth Jones Place and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation third degree, a misdemeanor. Criminal Trespass: Christopher Hansen, 31, was arrested at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 at 5 Lake Ave. and was charged with criminal trespass second degree:entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling, a misdemeanor. A 65-year-old male with a history of travel to Wuhan, presenting with fever and cough. CT scan obtained 11 days from onset of symptoms (late group) shows moderate lung disease with peripheral ground glass opacities in the lungs (arrows). (The Mount Sinai Hospital) First US Doctors to Analyze Coronavirus Patients Lungs Say It Could Lead to Quicker Diagnosis The first U.S. doctors to analyze a COVID-19 coronavirus patients lungs said they were able to identify patterns in the lungs as indicators of the disease as it progressed over time. Doctors at New York Citys Mount Sinai hospital became the first in the nation to use CT scans on patients from China with COVID-19, they said in a statement on Wednesday, publishing their findings in Radiology. The new findings could result in a quicker diagnosis in patients who arrive with potential symptoms of the mysterious new virus. The team received CT scans of 94 patients from China, where the virus is believed to have originated last year. Most of the patients who were admitted in hospitals between Jan. 18 and Feb. 2 had been to the viruss epicenter in Wuhan or had contact with an infected person. Doctors noted that in 36 patients who had CT scans zero to two days within reporting symptoms, more than half had no evidence of any lung disease. Another 33 patients who received CT scans three to five days after they showed symptoms had patterns of ground-glass opacities that became more round and dense in their lungs, the team said. And in another 25 patients who had CT scans between six and 12 days after they reported symptoms, a fully involved lung disease was noted by the doctors. Patterns seen in these images are similar to patterns in related coronavirus outbreaks earlier this century, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), said the doctors in a press release. Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) The virus has sickened thousands of people inside China, prompting lockdowns and quarantines in numerous Chinese cities. The outbreak has spread to more than 30 other countries, causing health authorities to scramble to try and find a way to accurately diagnose patients quickly. Chest CT is a vital component in the diagnostic algorithm for patients with suspected infection, particularly given the limited availability and in some cases reliability of test kits, said lead author Dr. Adam Bernheim in the statement. The doctors noted that COVID-19 patients might have nonspecific symptoms that may prove difficult to diagnose, while adding that X-rays dont reveal lung disease as well as a CT scan does. If lung scans for patients with symptoms are inconclusive, the doctors recommended that the patient be held in isolation for several days until medical officials can confirm a diagnosis. Recognizing imaging patterns based on infection time course is paramount for not only understanding the disease process and natural history of COVID-19, but also for helping to predict patient progression and potential complication development, Bernheim added. Dr. Zahi Fayad, the chief of the biomedical and imaging and engineering institute at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said the new findings will help with the care for COVID-19 patients. lkoreportersdesk@htlive.com LUCKNOW Over six years after the murder of a 14-year-old boy, Maaz Ahmad Khan, a police inspector Sanjay Rai and six others were convicted in the case by a local court on Wednesday. The court, after cancelling the bail of all convicts, was likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment on Friday. A source said the court of special judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) Swapna Singh convicted seven accused in the case, including the then Lucknow crime branch inspector Sanjay Rai, his brother Sandeep Rai, his domestic help Ram Babu alias Chhotu, shooters Ajeet Rai, Rahul Rai, Sunil Saini and one of his aides Rakesh Kumar Soni. The court found Sanjay Rai, Sandeep Rai, Rakesh Kumar Soni, Ajit Rai and Ram Babu alias Chhotu guilty under IPC sections 302 for murder and 120-B for criminal conspiracy. Two others, Sunil Saini and Rahul Rai, were found guilty under IPC sections 302 for murder and 449 for criminal house trespass as well as section 34 for having common intention with conspirators, said the source. Sanjai Rai masterminded the boys killing to implicate one Aqmal, who had come close to his ladylove. The shooters target was one of the two brothers of Rais ladylove, but they killed her maternal cousin Maaz when they entered her Indira Nagar house around 10.30 pm on May 29, 2013. The womans two brothers had strained relationship with Aqmal and Rai had planned to take advantage of their enmity and implicate Aqmal after killing one of them. The Lucknow police had claimed to work out the case after the arrest of Sanjay Rais domestic help Ram Babu alias Chhotu and two hired shooters Ajeet Rai and Rahul Rai on June 9, 2013. The then Lucknow crime branch inspector Sanjay Rais name surfaced in the case and he was suspended by the then SSP J Ravinder Goud. Rai was terminated from his services later, but got reinstated two years ago by challenging the action in court. CASE CHRONOLOGY MAY 29, 2013: Three unidentified shooters shot dead Maaz after barging into a house in Indira Nagars Faridi Nagar locality. JUN 9: Police arrested Sanjay Rais domestic help Ram Babu alias Chhotu and two hired shooters Ajeet Rai and Rahul Rai. They confessed involvement of Rai. JUN 27: Police announced cash reward on Sanjay Rai as he remained elusive. JUL 6Third shooter Sunil Saini arrested JUL 9 Sanjay Rai terminated from police service JUL 15: Sanjay Rai surrendered in court and sent to judicial custody FEB 14, 2014: Sanjay Rai granted bail after spending seven months in jail. He was out of jail since then. G uests stuck inside a coronavirus-hit hotel in Tenerife have given a glimpse at life inside the quarantine. People are eating pasta from plastic containers and continental breakfasts in takeaway boxes while staff wearing protective masks hand out water bottles. The guests, including 160 Brits, will remain under lockdown at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south west of the Spanish island until March 10. The Foreign Office is in touch with the UK citizens in the hotel, who have been told they will have to stay put for 14 days. A meal provided for people quarantined in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife / PA It is understood that guests without symptoms are able to move around the hotel grounds, although some said they are still being told to remain in their rooms. One guest staying in the hotel shared pictures of the food being provided, as well as thermometers and masks given out by staff. Another meal being provided to the guests / PA An Italian man and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus during their stay at the hotel, and there are reports of two more cases. The El Pais newspaper said 800 guests from 25 countries are in the hotel, along with around 200 workers. A face mask and thermometer provided for people quarantined in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel / PA Two security perimeters remain in place, while a "field hospital" has been set up to treat anybody with coronavirus symptoms. Hannah Green, 27, from Hertfordshire, who is staying in her room with her boyfriend, Court Amys, and their one-year-old son, said that nobody had approached them to take their temperature. She said travel firm TUI has told her the family will need to stay on the hotel grounds until a quarantine period ends. 160 Britons are trapped inside / AFP via Getty Images She added: "Everyone got tested yesterday - last night. They had their temperatures taken, except us and another couple so far that we know of. "If we go out on to the balcony, the couple that we can see on our right hand side, they haven't (been checked) either, so it's our two rooms together. "I was really upset this morning that the doctors hadn't been to see us. I feel like our son should be a priority because he's a baby. "I know the doctors have got loads of people to see and I understand that but I'm gutted because it seems like everyone else has been seen except us and this other couple." Water is being handed out at the hotel / via Reuters Ms Green said the family were eventually given a thermometer on Wednesday morning and told to take their own temperatures. She said their readings were currently normal, adding: "We've got to take our temperatures again at 6 o'clock." Ms Green said she wanted to go home, but added: "The hotel has turned it round a little bit, they've started giving us food and the staff are working hard. "It's not their fault, they didn't expect this to happen either. They have turned it around, it's just the lack of information really that's getting to us. We just don't know what's going on or how long we're going to have to be here. "Late last night we got a sub roll thing, like a baguette. It's things in packets like biscuits and crackers and stuff like that. We got croissants this morning. We've been making do with stuff." The guests are being kept on lockdown / via Reuters Ms Green said the couple are watching a lot of news and can get Sky News on their TV. Her 31-year-old partner, an electrician, said he had seen guests heading off to the pool and the restaurant was now open, which "makes no sense". Mr Amys added: "I'm obviously worried for my child but we're getting there. I just need some information really. "I've been putting the mask on and going for a walk to keep track of things but they're still not telling us anything, they're just saying 'Stay in your rooms'. "They're also saying they're serving lunch in the restaurant today, which makes no sense to me. "What they're saying is 'Keep your masks on, don't sit too close to people'. It's impossible, the restaurant's going to be absolutely chaotic with everybody down there. "I'll be putting the mask on and going down to bring some food back up for my family." Coronavirus: Costa Adeje Hotel lockdown in Tenerife 1 /32 Coronavirus: Costa Adeje Hotel lockdown in Tenerife A police officer stands by a barrier in front of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel where the number of coronavirus cases has doubled AP People stand on their balconies of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel AP General view of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje Reuters Tourists sunbath at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta AFP via Getty Images Police officers stand outside of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife Reuters Spanish police officers stand outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain AP Emergency workers rest at a health control outside H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife REUTERS PA AP A woman looks from a terrace of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Reuters General view taken on February 25, 2020 of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta, where hundreds of people were confined to their rooms after an Italian tourist was hospitalised with a suspected case of coronavirus. - Tourists staying in a four-star hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife AFP via Getty Images H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google A police officer controls the road to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island AP via Reuters An employee wears a protective mask as he talks with guests inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adej via Reuters Tourists stand on the balcony of their rooms at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta AFP via Getty Images H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain Google AFP via Getty Images A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain AP A Spanish National Police car is parked outside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife via Reuters Spanish police officers patrol outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island AP Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife via Reuters H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google StreetView He added: "There are a few different restaurants on site but the only one that's going to be open is the buffet restaurant. "Everyone's touching everything and it just doesn't make any sense at all. "There is quite a few people out and about but everyone's got masks on. "There's a few people down by the pool trying to make the most of the sun, but everyone's got a mask on." Mr Amys said there were big queues at reception "with people just wanting to know what's going on". The lockdown will continue until March 10 / AP He added: "The front door has got big yellow tents set up outside it and the door's locked and nobody's allowed in or out. "I don't think it's over the top. If the virus is here it needs to be contained so I do understand what they're doing. "But they could do something about it a little quicker and let us know what's going on." Nigel Scotland told BBC Radio 4's World At One that many of his fellow guests are ignoring advice to stay in their rooms. "I counted 268 people on sunbeds," he said. He said he also saw people swimming in the hotel pool and added that they had not been contacted by UK officials. CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's recent research report, Vape Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025 is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 15% during the period 20192025. Key Highlights Offered in the Report: The global vape market would realize an absolute growth of 590% a phenomenal leap of over $49 billion revenue between 2015 and 2025. Buoyed by a growing shift in preferences for next-generation smoking products and the demand for HnB tobacco among smoking population, the overall revenue of vape products will reach over $57 billion by 2025. Registering a high growth CAGR of about 6% during 2019-2025, the global market for e-vapor accounted for a majority share in 2019. However, HnB products are set to displace e-vapor products by 2022. Contributing over 55% of the market revenue in 2019, the US, Japan , & South Korea , offer lucrative market potential for vapor products' vendors. Decades-old established distribution networks of tobacco products has helped Big Tobacco companies to gain an upper hand over pure-play companies. However, small vape and tobacco shops continue to dominate with about 34% share of the retail markets worldwide. Key Offerings: Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20192025 Market Dynamics Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by E-vapor, HnB tobacco, distribution, and geography Competitive Landscape Profile of 5 key vendors and 28 other vendors Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/global-vape-market-report Vape Market Segmentation E-liquids were the largest revenue-generating product category of the global vape market in 2019. The major reason behind high market shares can be attributed to the increased proliferation of Vapor/Tank/Mods (VTM). The rise in demand for these products has enabled companies to bring innovations in products and spend more on promotion. The industry is also growing quickly in Europe , especially the UK, Italy , Poland , and France . The market value of heat-not-burn products is expected to grow twice in Western Europe than Eastern Europe . , especially the UK, , , and . The market value of heat-not-burn products is expected to grow twice in than . Changes are spurred by expanding competition, accelerating digitization, constant disintermediation, and consumerization of expectations. B2B commerce is witnessing the increase in expectations that are associated mainly with B2C, such as transparent pricing and communities and social connections. Market Segmentation by E-vapor E-liquids Pre-filled Cartridges Refill Bottles Open Tanks Systems Closed Tank Systems Cig-a-likes Disposables Rechargeables Consumables E-cigarettes Batteries Atomizers/cartomizers/clearomizers Market Segmentation by HnB Tabacco HnB Devices Direct/Indirect Heating Hybrid/Infused HnB Consumables Tobacco Sticks Tobacco Capsules and Cartridges Market Segmentation by Distribution Retail Convenience Stores Vape Stores Tobacco Stores Grocery Stores Drug Stores Others Online Vape Market Dynamics The vapor product market is witnessing the introduction of many new varieties of flavors in e-cigarettes, VTMs, and personal vaporizers. Vapor products are marketed as potentially less harmful products than tobacco cigarettes and are more economical because of their low cost. The popularity of vape shops in tier I and tier II cities has boosted the demand for a variety of e-juices with different flavors such as chocolate, mint, menthol, watermelon, and pink bubble gum, among others. Currently, studies reveal that there are more than 8,000 different flavors of e-juices available in the global market with over 100 flavors being added every month in the US alone. Vendors are introducing new varieties to attract new customers. For instance, VPR Brands, a leading e-cigarette manufacturer introduced new HELIUM brand e-liquid in the US, the UK, and Chinese markets in July 2019. Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth: Shifting Consumer Perception of Smoking Combustible Cigarettes Growing Distribution Network Shift from Smoking toward Vaping Increasing Marketing & Promotional Efforts Vape Market Geography The global vape market is growing at a tremendous rate. The US vapor market is consistently increasing after the authorization of the sale of HnB products by the FDA in the country. This is expected to help North America to increase its share as smokers in the US are becoming health conscious. One of the major influencing factors propelling growth is the increasing availability of vapor products in vape shops and over the internet. The tremendous popularity of VTMs and the availability of low-cost vaping devices in these regions will help North America to dominate the market during the forecast period. With retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Costco stocking vapor products, these products are increasingly witnessing a surge in their popularity in the region. Apart from mass distributors, tobacco shops, grocery shops, drug stores, online channels are also offering vapor products in the region. These factors are expected to drive the vape market revenue. Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/global-vape-market-report Market Segmentation by Geography Europe UK Poland France Spain Italy Germany Russia Romania Czech Republi APAC China Japan South Korea Australia and New Zealand and Malaysia North America US Canada MEA Egypt South Africa UAE Latin America Major Vendors Altria Group British American Tobacco (BAT) Imperial Brands Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Philip Morris International (PMI) Other vendors include - RJ Reynolds Vapor Company (RJRVC), Ballantyne Brands, CB Distributors, ECIG (Formerly known as Victory Electronic Cigarettes), Gamucci, Gilla, International Vapor Group, Joyetech Co, KangerTech Technology, Mainstream Cannabis Innovations Group (mCig Group), Nicotek, NJOY, PAX Labs, RR Chemicals, Totally Wicked E-liquid, Vape Holdings, Vapor Hub International, VPR Brands, White Cloud (Leads by Sales), XEO International, KT&G (Korea Tomorrow& Global Corporation), Shenzhen AVBAD Technology Company Ltd., Vapor Tobacco Manufacturing, Shenzhen Royal Tobacco Industrial Limited (Royal Tobacco), Jouz, Shenzhen Yukan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Sichuan China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd., Marvel International Tobacco Group. Explore our consumer goods & retail technology profile to know more about the industry. Read some of the top-selling reports: About Arizton: Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services. We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts. Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports. Mail: [email protected] Call: +1-312-235-2040 +1 302 469 0707 SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence The Lucknow Police on Wednesday said that the evidence collected from the spot in the case of a man allegedly raping his minor sister has been for forensic examination. Earlier today, the Lucknow Police filed a chargesheet in the incident which took place seven days ago. "We have collected the evidence and some of them have been sent for forensic examination. We have filed chargesheet in the case and will try that hearing begins soon and strict punishment is given to the accused," said Sarvshreshta Tripathi, DCP, north. The case pertains to Faizullaganj village of Madiyaon Police Station area in Lucknow. The police had arrested the accused within 12 hours of the incident. The girl had died on February 17 during treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "It was thanks to Kumamon that yuru-chara became a national phenomenon," said Shuichiro Nishi, the creative force behind the competition. Hiromi Kano with a mascot made by Kigurumi.biz, her factory in Miyazaki, Japan, November. Credit:Ko Sasaki/The New York Times When the charmingly plump black bear with rosy red cheeks won the event, the country was still reeling from the catastrophic tsunami and nuclear disaster that had struck northern Japan months earlier. People were "clamouring" for a sense of national connection, Nishi said. Kumamon moved mountains of merchandise and drove up tourism. Hit mascots can also lift tax revenue thanks to a program, introduced in 2008, that allows citizens to direct a portion of their income taxes to the locality of their choice. Inspired by Kumamon's success, local governments rushed to cash in. As the characters became fixtures on national airwaves, Inuyama said, the media "tricked people into thinking yuru-chara were making money," and local governments "went along for the ride." More and more, though, it looks like the end of the road. The number of characters in November's Grand Prix, held in Nagano, was down a third from the peak of about 1700 in 2015. An attendee wears a backpack full of mascots at the Yuru-chara Grand Prix in Nagano, Japan. Credit:Noriko Hayashi/New York Times Many of the entrants did not even bother to show up. And officials, seeing the writing on the wall, announced that the 2020 contest would be the last. Misabo's handlers, however, were not about to give up. The mayor had given them one year to show that the character was worth the tens of thousands of dollars that taxpayers had spent on him. With the deadline quickly approaching, the team was hoping for an upset victory at the Grand Prix. Loading "We need to make the Top 10," said Ayami Nakada, an employee of the town hall, who had flown to Nagano with two co-workers. "We don't know what's going to happen, but I think it's important that we stay focused," she said. It was a long shot. Misabo, who looks less like a cuddly friend than a guy who just spilled his beer at Oktoberfest, finished in 339th place in the 2018 Grand Prix a result that may or may not have been affected by a vote-rigging scandal that year. Since then, Misato's officials had worked hard and pushed his ranking into the mid-20s. But as voting was drawing to a close, he was still tens of thousands of votes behind the top competitors. The characters have their roots in the 1980s, when local government mascots first began appearing. They were a natural fit for a country where adorable characters like Hello Kitty are used to sell everything from microwaves to motor oil. As mascots flooded the market, character development began to look like a Japanese Mad Lib: Use a local animal as a base. Combine it with a famous local snack or architectural highlight. Give it a terrible pun for a name. Profit! The results were often endearingly surreal. Narita, home to Tokyo's largest international airport, dreamed up a plush eel with jet engines. But the novelty quickly wore off. Copycats were everywhere: Froglike water spirits called Kappa proliferated, and after Sanomaru a dog with a bowl of ramen on its head won the 2013 Grand Prix, other animals sporting Japanese noodles popped up. Misabo made his debut that same year. A local government employee created the character. The first suit cost around $US7200, and the village has since ordered a second one. With little to set it apart from the many other localities that have also fallen on hard times, Misato leaned heavily on Misabo. The character's grumpy disposition was a good fit for his home prefecture's brand. Shimane, which is one of the poorest and least populated areas in Japan, has turned its obscurity into a resource. In 2011, a calendar created by the local government and filled with self-deprecating jokes about the locals became a surprise hit in Japan. Misato made Misabo merchandise. It started a YouTube channel. It came up with a dance, the Misabo Samba. It built a slick tourism website prominently featuring the character. It even designed a series of stickers that fans could buy and send to each other on the chat app Line. Still, nothing seemed to stick. Officials began to wonder if it was time to put Misabo out to pasture. Hoping to drum up some publicity, early last year Misato's mayor called a news conference and threatened to fire the character. At one point, government employees held Misabo back as he tried to take a swing at his boss. The story was picked up by the national broadcaster, NHK, and it played well on social media, lifting the mascot's profile. But Misabo's moment in the spotlight had been brief. On the last day of the Grand Prix, with his job on the line, his odds looked as grim as his countenance. His team pinned their aspirations on skipping rope. "We're hoping that winning the jump-rope contest will give us a boost," Nakada, the town employee, said as her co-worker did some calisthenics nearby, preparing to strap himself into the unwieldy suit and skip for all he was worth. After a failed initial attempt, he managed 47 jumps, handily putting him in first place. Asia Chinese Minister Blames Police Force for Prison Coronavirus Cases A woman wearing a face mask walks past an entrance to a residential compound that has been blocked by shared bicycles in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China on Feb. 12, 2020. / REUTERS SHANGHAIA top leader of Chinas Justice Ministry blamed law enforcement on Monday for the hundreds of coronavirus cases discovered in prisons, calling them instances of poor disease control efforts. Authorities have revealed 555 infections in Chinese prisons, but no deaths among them, in an epidemic that has killed more than 2,700 and infected more than 78,000 on the mainland. The transmission of the disease truly reflects some gaps in our management of prisons and in our prevention and epidemic control work, said Xiong Xuanguo, deputy minister of the Justice Ministry. The womens jail in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is 100 meters from a hospital and both facilities are serviced by the same bus stop, Xiong told a news conference held by the information office of Chinas State Council or cabinet. For cases found at jails in the eastern provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang, he added, local security forces did not report they had been in contact with individuals from Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan. Our police officers at every level did not make truthful reports, he said. You may also like these stories: More Than a Dozen Killed, Hundreds Injured as New Delhi Riots Overshadow Trump Visit Coronavirus Deaths in China Top 2,600 as Hubei Records More Infections China Bans Trade, Consumption of Wild Animals Due to Coronavirus Medical staff check incoming passengers coming from Italy to detect any possible symptoms of Covid-19 also known as Coronavirus at Albanias main port city of Durres on February 26, 2020. Gent Shkullaku | AFP | Getty Images The number of daily new COVID-19 cases outside China exceeded those inside the country for the first time, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday. Outside of China, there are now 2,790 cases of the coronavirus across 37 countries, including 44 deaths as of Wednesday morning, according to a transcript of remarks from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO. "The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning," Tedros said. "Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time." He didn't give specific figures for Tuesday's count of new cases. Tedros said there are cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman. There are also cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, he said. Separately, health officials in Brazil confirmed the first case in Latin America and said it was tracking 20 other suspected cases. The localized outbreaks of the virus in Iran and Italy have been fueling concerns among infectious disease experts and scientists that the virus is spreading too quickly and may be past the point of containment. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined what schools and businesses will likely need to do if the COVID-19 virus becomes an epidemic outbreak in the U.S. Tedros said Wednesday that a team of infectious disease experts and scientists will travel to Iran this weekend to provide support there. He reiterated caution about declaring the flu-like virus a pandemic, saying, "using the word 'pandemic' carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralyzing systems." KALAMAZOO, MI NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Col. Andrew Morgan gave the oath of enlistment to a group of Kalamazoo area future soldiers at the Air Zoo. Live from the International Space Station, Morgan was on-screen to address 1,000 future soldiers from 150 locations during the first nationwide oath of enlistment ceremony from space on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Today marks the first day of the rest of your lives, Morgan said. You will forever be changed by your decision to serve your country. The group of nine future soldiers lined up with their right hand raised while Morgan delivered the oath. All future soldiers attending at the Air Zoo were enlisting in the U.S. Army. The oath of enlistment is important for future soldiers because it addresses the extent of the contract as well as all the seven core values of the U.S. Army, Sgt. 1st Class Josiah Elzy said. Future soldier Michaela Emme, a freshman at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, said that she felt the oath of enlistment made everything feel more official. Today was really exciting and fun," Emme said. "I didnt think something like this was possible. She added that she is studying criminal justice in school and plans to go into military police with airborne training meaning she will be trained to jump out of planes. It will be a new experience for me, Emme said. After the oath was read, Morgan went into a question-and-answer period where future soldiers from around the country submitted questions for him to answer about his life in space, his life in the U.S. Army, his education and his past work experiences. All things that are worth doing are hard, Morgan said. At some point in your journey, you will hear that voice in your head that tells you, maybe this isnt for you. That is your signal that what youre doing is worth doing. Army Pvt. Marshall Liesen, who attended the ceremony, said this oath of enlistment was more memorable than the regular room he took his oath in. The oath of enlistment is a big step for the future soldiers, he added. Its a huge milestone other than making it to basic (training) and graduating, Liesen said. It shows that youre sacrificing your comfort and rights so the people you love can live comfortably. Liesen said that his advice to the future soldiers is to embrace the suck because even though times can be tough, being in the U.S. Army is the coolest job they will ever have. The space station orbits 250 miles above the earth and travels over 17,000 miles per hour, making about 60 orbits around the earth each day. Morgan said he hasnt felt gravity since July and ended his presentation with a much anticipated zero gravity backflip. The event was held in partnership with NASA and the Space Center of Houston. Coordinating this unique event took about eight months, said Kenneth Jacobs, U.S. Army chief of advertising and public affairs. Similar events were scheduled in each of the seven recruiting counties in Michigan but all events except for Kalamazoo and West Branch were canceled because of Wednesdays snowy weather, he added. It went really well, Jacobs said. He added that he was a bit nervous about technology streaming from space to Michigan, but was happy that everything went as planned. I knew everything would be OK when I saw (Morgan) pop up on the screen. Also on MLive: Northern Michigan University receives $400K state grant for Invent@NMU Plainwell granted $5.1M to demolish old paper plant buildings Air Zoo announces discounted admission for low-income families New Delhi, Feb 26 : Walt Disney Company-owned streaming platform, Hotstar, has sparked controversy by censoring a recent show by John Oliver critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Citizenship Amendment Act. Although the video is available on YouTube channel, Hotstar, which currently offers over 1,00,000 hours of TV content and movies across 9 languages, chose not to stream the show on its website. An email to the company seeking a response on the issue remained unanswered. Emmy award winner John Oliver termed the combination of NPR and Citizenship Act "diabolical". Oliver talked about Modi's journey from being denied an American visa after the Gujarat riots in 2002 to becoming the Prime Minister and then hosting American President Donald Trump in Gujarat. Oliver also highlighted the widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and took a dig at the US President Donald Trump calling Modi "the father of India", given that this title is used for Mahatma Gandhi. This isn't the first instance of censorship on Hotstar. In November 2019, it had cut out parts of one of the episodes of the same show as it made jokes on Disney, which is also the parent company of Hotstar. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Joseph Sipalan and Rozanna Latiff (Reuters) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Wed, February 26, 2020 19:27 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066cd149 2 SE Asia #Malaysia,#politics,Mahathir-Mohamad,Anwar-Ibrahim Free Malaysia's decades-old political rivals Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim set out claims to lead the Southeast Asian country on Wednesday after Mahathir's shock resignation as prime minister sparked turmoil. The struggle between Mahathir, 94, and Anwar, 72, who formed a surprise pact to win a 2018 election, has shaped Malaysian politics for more than two decades and is at the root of the latest crisis. Mahathir, the world's oldest head of government in his role as interim prime minister, proposed a unified administration without political party allegiances at a time Malaysia faces a flagging economy and the impact of the new coronavirus. "Politics and political parties need to be put aside for now," Mahathir said in a televised message. "I propose a government that is not aligned with any party, but only prioritises the interests of the country." Anwar later said he opposed forming a "backdoor government" and that three parties from the former Pakatan ruling coalition had proposed his name to the king as candidate for prime minister. "We wait for the decision of the king," he told a news conference. To try to end the crisis, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been meeting all 222 elected members of parliament over two days. Those in the meetings said they were asked to name their favoured prime minister or whether they wanted fresh elections. Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), or the Peoples Justice Party, has 39 seats and alliance partners could potentially give it another 62. While some politicians have openly voiced support for Mahathir to stay in office, it was not clear whether enough of them would give him their backing. POLITICAL TANGLE The volatile relationship between Anwar and Mahathir helped prompt the latest crisis after Mahathir resisted pressure to set a date for a promised transfer of power to Anwar made ahead of the 2018 election. As well as personal relationships, politics in Malaysia is shaped by a tangle of ethnic and religious interests. The largely Muslim country of 32 million is more than half ethnic Malay, but has large ethnic Chinese, Indian and other minorities. A unity government cutting across party lines could give Mahathir greater authority than during a spell as prime minister from 1981 until his retirement in 2003. But the idea was rejected on Tuesday by an alliance of four parties including the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which ruled Malaysia for six decades until being defeated by Mahathir's coalition in 2018. The four parties said they had told the king they wanted a new election instead. After their election defeat under former prime minister Najib Razak, those parties' fortunes have been on the rise while the Pakatan coalition of Mahathir and Anwar has lost five by-elections Anwar was Mahathir's deputy and a rising political star when Mahathir was prime minister the first time but they fell out. Anwar was arrested and jailed in the late 1990s for sodomy and corruption, charges that he and his supporters maintain were aimed at ending his political career. Nick MCGregor McGregor explains, We now have the best customer experience, the most advanced tools, and the highest quality of technicians available. Its really special to be able to provide all these things to our customers at competitive prices. Plano Overhead Garage Door is the first company with over 5 employees to earn certification for all of its technicians. In order to pass the rigorous exam their technicians studied as a team over the past 4 months. They spent in excess of 30 hours in meetings studying over 400 pages of material in their Service Technician Manual, as well as tackling a wealth of content provided by I.D.E.A. Certification isnt required in Texas, and less than 5% of garage door companies in Texas employ I.D.E.A. Certified technicians. Driven to achieve the highest standards in the industry, Plano Overhead Garage Door felt that certification for all its technicians was a necessary step. All its service technicians are now certified nationally by the I.D.E.A. which means theyve been classroom tested, professionally field trained, Google Verified, background checked, drug tested, and are fully insured full-time employees. Plano Overhead Garage Doo r continually invests in their people and processes in additional ways. Recently the company invested in Surewinders, a new technology that enables technicians to safely and quickly tighten and unwind torsion springs. This expensive tool will help employees avoid bodily injuries that were not uncommon with older technologies. They have also invested in software that sends a text message with a picture and bio of their technicians when customers schedule an appointment. Customers also have access to recent reviews written about their installer. In addition, a link enables home owners to track the technician in real time on Google Maps when on route. Since 1977, Plano Overhead Garage Door technicians have provided award-winning service, repairs, and installations in the Dallas area. Among their many accolades they have garnered the Consumers Choice Award for multiple consecutive years. In addition to superior service the company only installs top product lines from the leading suppliers of both garage doors and garage door openers. Nick McGregor, the companys CEO, is especially proud of their 17 technicians having succeeded in preparing and passing their certification exams. McGregor explains, We now have the best customer experience, the most advanced tools, and the highest quality of technicians available. Its really special to be able to provide all these things to our customers at competitive prices. About Plano Overhead Garage Door: Operating since 1977, Plano Overhead Garage Door services the Collin and Dallas County areas of North Texas. They service and inspect garage doors, repair existing and install new garage doors and openers. The company provides free estimates and same day appointments. All technicians are background checked, drug tested, fully insured, company trained, and are held accountable when it comes to taking care of their customers. For more information, Visit Plano Overhead Garage Door at https://planooverhead.com/. The West Bengal secondary education boards life science question papers were leaked on social media in the Farakka community block area of Bengals Murshidabad district on Wednesday afternoon despite an official suspension of mobile and broadband internet services in the area to stop such incidents. Images of the papers were shared by a WhatsApp group barely half an hour after the exam began at noon. HT talked to members of the group, none of whom were students. When HT contacted Kalyanmoy Ganguly, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Examination, first said, It is a fake news. When told that HT compared the leaked questions with those that students answered and found them to be exactly the same, he said, In that case please inform the district officials. They should take action. This was the third leak since the boards Madhyamik exams began on February 18. The English and Bengali papers were leaked earlier. Purported images of last years geography questions were also uploaded on social media, creating panic among students. Two students were caught photographing the mathematics question paper in North Dinajpur district. Five students were caught with mobile phones and barred from taking the tests. The exams will end on Thursday. Around 12.45 pm on Wednesday a man named Ajmal Haque posted images of the life science question papers in a WhatsApp group named Arjunpur Social Group in the Farakka area of Murshidabad. The images went viral in no time. When HT contacted Haque he introduced himself as a nursery school teacher. He said, One of my friends live in the Mothabari area of Kaliachak-II block in Malda. I got the images from him. I think the papers were leaked by students in Malda. I am not associated with the leak. I only shared them. A senior officer of district education department, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, Farakka is among the eight community blocks in Murshidabad where internet services were suspended during the exam hours. I am surprised that people still got the papers through social media. A number of people in Farakka block said they did not have access to internet services provided by a particular company but services provided by two other popular companies were uninterrupted. Farakka block development officer Rajarshi Chakraborty said, All internet service providers were asked to shut down during the exams. I am not aware that all of them did not comply. Officially no one has lodged a complaint about the leak. Once we get a complaint, we will investigate. A total of 10,15,888 students are appearing for the exams this year. The number has gone down by 33,000 since 2019. Students and teachers were barred from carrying smartphones and smart-watches. The government suspended internet services for three and a half hours in about 50 community blocks in nine districts to stop leak of question papers. Since the moment of Crimea occupation, NATO's stance has remained unhindered the Alliance does not recognize Russia's illegal actions. NATO will continue supporting Ukraine, primarily in building up the Ukrainian Army, Deputy Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, Christopher Duggan, said at a Kyiv roundtable "Age of Crimea" on Wednesday. "Crimea needs to remain in the focus of our attention. Six years have passed since Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. And our message on behalf of NATO remains clear. We do not and we will not recognize it [] Allies underline that the annexation of Crimea is a serious breach of international law and a major challenge to Euro-Atlantic security [] Crimea is the territory of Ukraine," said Duggan. Read alsoUkraine may be granted Enhanced Opportunity Partner status in Oct defense minister He has noted that the Allies are aware of the human rights violations committed by occupation authorities in Crimea. According to Duggan, NATO will continue supporting Ukraine on an ongoing basis, primarily as regards sharing experience and helping in building up the Ukrainian Army. To the Editor: The episodic Afghan peace process seems like an ideal solution to end Americas longest war. Yet there is a paradox in a political negotiation for peace that results in U.S. withdrawal of troops: A potential Taliban-Haqqani takeover of the Afghan capital would follow that involves rejecting democratic principles and human rights. With this deal between the United States and the Taliban, Washington needs a sober assessment of the Haqqani network as a strategic actor at the center of the worlds largest terrorist sanctuary. Fundamentally, the United States-Taliban deal is futile if Washington is not also committed to dismantling and defeating the Haqqani network. On Feb. 21, you published an Op-Ed article by Sirajuddin Haqqani, What We, the Taliban, Want. He writes, The killing and the maiming must stop. Cyrell Paule and Eden Dally welcomed their first child, son Boston Eden, earlier this month. And following a professional photo shoot with New Idea on Tuesday, Cyrell has now shared her first family photo on Instagram. The new mother, 30, is seen doting over her newborn boy, as the proud parents both plant a sweet kiss on the child's cheeks. And baby makes three! Married At First Sight star Cyrell Paule has debuted her first family photo of partner Eden Dally and their newborn Boston 'When u finally agree on a name,' Cyrell joked under the picture. Two weeks after the birth, the couple finally revealed exclusively to New Idea they had named their son Boston. 'Eden wanted the name Cruz at first. But my sister took it,' Cyrell told the magazine. 'He's got the middle name Eden so he's definitely going places! It's a tradition. I've got my father's name and my dad got his dad's name,' Eden said. Earlier on Tuesday, Cyrell hinted she had named the child 'EJ', but it appears to have been a nickname for 'Eden Junior'. 'My handsome boys': Eden also debuted his first Instagram picture with the youngster on Tuesday, cuddling up to their bundle of joy during a restaurant outing Doting dad! On Cyrell's Instagram story, she also shared another sweet photo of Eden holding Boston in his arms Eden also debuted his first Instagram photo with the youngster on Tuesday, cuddling up to their bundle of joy during a restaurant outing. 'My handsome boys. Little EJ,' Cyrell commented below the upload. On Cyrell's Instagram story, she also shared another sweet image of Eden holding Boston in his arms. In the past: Cyrell met Eden in March 2019 after her 'marriage' to Nic Jovanovic (left) on MAFS ended when they decided they were better off just being friends Remember this? Eden had previously appeared on Channel Nine's inaugural season of Love Island as a runner-up couple with ex Erin Barnett The new mother has described her childbirth experience as 'traumatic' after she was rushed to hospital two weeks before her due date. Cyrell met Eden in March 2019 after her 'marriage' to Nic Jovanovic on MAFS ended when they decided they were better off just being friends. Eden had previously appeared on Channel Nine's inaugural season of Love Island as a runner-up couple with ex Erin Barnett. The pair began dating officially within a matter of weeks, and Cyrell later moved into Eden's $2.9million family home in Drummoyne, Sydney. They announced they were expecting their first child together in August. Microsoft is Crushing the S&P 500, Secret Trait Of Stocks That Soar 1,000%+ Microsoft (MSFT) has been on a tear over the past year. Shares of the software pioneer have jumped 70% since last Februarytriple the S&P 500s gain, as you can see: Keep in mind, Microsoft is the furthest thing from a volatile penny stock. Its a $1.39 trillion companythe second biggest stock in the world. And its impressive run shouldnt surprise you. Microsoft has posted incredible returns for years now. Over the past decade, its stock has handed investors 600% gains and counting: Last Tuesday, my colleague Justin Spittler explained how Microsoft made it onto the Mount Rushmore of stocks. It created one of the best-selling products ever: Microsoft Windows. Justin says world-class operating systems is the key trait behind many of the worlds most dominant tech companies. I agree. Its extremely important. But theres another characteristic I look for, too. Microsoft transformed itself by becoming an autopilot stock. After Dominating the 90s, Microsoft Lost Its Way In the 2000s, it missed every big disruption like mobile phones, internet search, and social networks. As smartphones were shipping by the billions, Microsoft was still focused on clunky old PCs. Back then, everyone believed Microsoft was a tired old business. Investors wanted nothing to do with it. From 20002016, its stock was dead money, as you can see: Then Microsoft Made the Switch of the Century As I mentioned, Microsoft dominated the 90s with its revolutionary Windows operating system. It cemented its dominance by creating Word docs. Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. But then it needed to adapt. Do you remember when its Office software came in shrink-wrapped CD boxes? Buying Office 03 or Office 07 meant driving to Best Buy or Walmart. But in 2014, it switched things up. It began selling subscriptions to its software over the internet. Instead of paying a one-time $350 fee for the physical CD, you could access Office for $99/year through the web. Today, 225 million folks pay to access its software over the internet. Microsoft Office has more subscribers than Spotifys music service and Amazon Prime, combined! And get this, 450 of Americas 500 largest companies pay Microsoft millions of dollars each month for its software, too. Switching from charging one-off fees to subscriptions injected a lightning bolt of growth into Microsoft. Its stock shot up almost 300% since, as you can see: Microsoft Quickly Became the Premiere Autopilot Stock In the past, it had to persuade customers to rush out and buy new physical CDs every few years. Now it charges them $99/year or $9.99/month automatically. unless they cancel their subscription. This is an incredible financial advantage. No other business model can match the predictable cash flows that a subscription business generates. I call these autopilot stocks because they rake in cash month after month, as if on autopilot. Think about it, 225 million people let Microsoft take $99 directly from their bank accounts every year. Each time normal companies transform into autopilot stocks, investors make tons of money. Just Look at Adobe Systems (ADBE) Its PDF software was a driving force behind the whole going paperless trend that swept through offices. Like Microsoft, Adobe once sold its software in shrink-wrapped boxes. And from 20072012, its business stagnated. In fact, its stock was dead money from 2000 to 2012. But then it stopped selling CDs and asked customers for $30/month to access its software on the internet. Since going on autopilot, Adobe has handed investors 1,000% profits. And heres the thing, Adobe didnt have to create a new breakthrough product to achieve these returns. The 10X stock gains didnt come from an incredible invention. Adobe simply changed the way it sells software. It became an autopilot stock. Adobes profits went up 250% since 2012. Seven years ago, subscriptions accounted for 15% of sales. Now its jumped to 90%! Another Classic Autopilot Stock Is Autodesk (ADSK) Autodesk is at the bleeding edge of one of my top disruptive trends for the 2020s: 3D printing. You may remember the craze around 3D printing a few years ago. Early 3D printers were a huge disappointment. They could make only flimsy plastic trinkets that had little use. But the technology has improved 100-fold since then. Leading 3D manufacturers can now print jet engines, car parts, and even key pieces in US military submarines. Autodesk makes the software that companies use to design and then print parts. Like Microsoft and Adobe before it, Autodesk knew it had to become an autopilot stock. Autodesk used to charge companies a big up-front lump sum to access its software. The problem was folks would buy it once and use the outdated version for years. And Autodesks sales flatlined between 20092017. But in 2017, it switched to selling its software as a yearly subscription. Shifting to autopilot mode has rejuvenated Autodesks business, as you can see: Autodesk has 4.3 million customers paying it thousands of dollars in fees each year. Last quarter, it raked in $2.9 billion in subscriptionsa 49% year-over-year jump. The stock has jumped over 50% since I first highlighted it in late 2018. And it just hit another all-time high. If you bought it after reading my letter, nice call. Autodesk isnt the bargain it was back then. But I still expect this autopilot stock to jump higher over the coming years as it dominates the 3D printing software market. The Great Disruptors: 3 Breakthrough Stocks Set to Double Your Money" Get my latest report where I reveal my three favorite stocks that will hand you 100% gains as they disrupt whole industries. Get your free copy here. By Stephen McBride http://www.riskhedge.com 2020 Copyright Stephen McBride - All Rights Reserved 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 losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. From the earliest days of mankind, the quest for a long, healthy, and fruitful existence has led bright individuals on the quest to discover the secrets to maintaining long-term health, developing preventive measures of protection against visible ailments, and treating symptoms through the most modern version of intervention available. From exploring rudimentary and experimental practices with available resources, to observing the ways in which the natural world heals itself, individuals interested in healthcare have fought to discover ways to aid humankind through medical intervention. Throughout generations, pivotal advancements in the realm of healthcare have allowed medical leaders to create vaccines, discover genetic markers, manifest preventative measures against diseases, and accomplish breakthroughs previously seen as impossible. Within these medical advancements, technology has played a pivotal role in providing the tools needed to successfully marry brilliant thoughts, the scientific method, and forward-thinking experimentation. From these joint ventures, some of the worlds most remarkable health breakthroughs have been forged. With the global implementation of the internet, and the newfound global connectivity it provided, the rate of advancement within medicine has been vastly increased. As leaders from across the globe have garnered the ability to share information in real-time, and tech companies have focused on providing the most cutting edge materials required by the medical industry to thrive, the proverbial Golden Age of Technology has translated into a massively important time in the realm of medical advancement. Dr. Tim Ioannides, and The Golden Age of Dermatology Affected profusely by the vast medical advancements of the last two decades, the realm of Medical Dermatology has taken great strides toward generating positive outcomes for various dermatological concerns. Aided by technology, this medical niche has generated bold moves toward bringing a skin cancer vaccine to market, developing the most concise skin cancer surgery, and implementing an international campaign to raise awareness of various dermatological diseases. At the helm of the Medical Dermatology field, Floridas Dr. Tim Ioannides has not only witnessed these great advancements unfolding within what he considers to be the Golden Age of Dermatology, but hes played an instrumental role in developing, researching, and implementing many cutting-edge practices in the forward-moving world of Medical Dermatology. As the CEO, owner, and Medical Dermatologist behind the ever-growing multi-location Treasure Coast Dermatology, Dr. Ioannides has loyally served Floridas Martin, Saint Lucie, and Indian River counties for many years. Driven by the innate desire to help his loyal patients maintain long-term health and dermatological wellness, Dr. Ioannides developed his practice to specialize in skin cancer treatment, skin related disease treatment, and preventative treatment, education, and empowerment. Unlike many Dermatologists, Dr. Ioannides has chosen to exclude cosmetically driven procedures from his practice, dedicating his medical prowess to the vast realm of Medical Dermatology. Through his ongoing commitment to implementing the most advanced practices for the betterment of his patients, Dr. Ioannides has played an important role in the modernization of the Medical Dermatology field, and has been involved in many ventures aimed at increasing awareness, developing breakthroughs, and implementing technology to assist Physicians in implementing best care practices. For many years, Dr. Ioannides has helped to shape the future of the field by volunteering his time as a Voluntary Associate Professor at his alma mater, the University of Miami School of Medicine. There, Dr. Ioannides teaches courses related to dermatological surgery, and reconstructive surgery, implementing his expertise to inspire future leaders in the field of Medical Dermatology. Skin Cancer Vaccine Dubbed by Dr. Ioannides as perhaps the most significant breakthrough within the field of Dermatology in his lifetime, the Medical Dermatologist took part in a breakthrough study related to the development of a skin cancer vaccine. The research study, which took place roughly seven years ago, gained positive initial results, and was a beacon of hope against the ongoing worldwide prevalence of skin cancer. While various dermatological conditions can potentially become lethal, skin cancer has predominantly been considered as the most dangerous skin related disease. With the prevalence of tanning bed usage, proverbial sun worshipping, and potential lack of insight related to the swift dangers of unprotected sun exposure, millions of people are affected by skin cancer annually. Though the death rate for Basal Cell Carcinoma, Malignant Melanoma, and Squamous Cell Carcinoma may have diminished slightly, the prevalence of the diagnosis rate has not minimized on a global scale. Without a proverbial end in sight, experts within the field of Medical Dermatology have dedicated vast time, energy, and resources into implementing breakthrough technology to create an effective skin cancer vaccine, a groundbreaking feat that would undoubtedly save countless lives. For Dr. Ioannides, bringing an effective skin cancer vaccination to market would be a pivotal moment in the history of Medical Dermatology. Thus, he proudly took part in the research phases for the proposed skin cancer vaccination. Through the implementation of newly burgeoning technologies, leaders within the industry have begun to consider ways in which skin cancers behaves like an infectious disease. Previously unconsidered, this newly blossoming thought process, which aims to identify the expected behaviors of skin cancer by drawing a parallel to the normalized behaviors of infectious disease, was the basis for the proposed skin cancer vaccination. By pivoting the means of thinking, leading experts were able to generate a vaccine based on this new thought process. In turn, the vaccine has showcased considerable research success amongst trial participants, and could soon become a momentous breakthrough in the realm of Medical Dermatology. Mohs Micrographic Surgery Considered by industry experts as the most concise way to remove skin cancer, the successful worldwide implementation of the specialized Mohs Surgery has been a pivotal advancement in the efficacy of skin cancer treatment. Requiring special certifications, lab conditions, and education, Mohs Surgery is performed by skilled Medical Dermatologists, including Dr. Ioannides, who cites the procedure as the most effective way to ensure the most fruitful outcome. Developed by Dr. Frederick Mohs at the University of Wisconsin, the comprehensive procedure not only successfully eliminates affected skin cells, but it allows Physicians the opportunity to immediately examine the removed tissue, in an attempt to eliminate all roots of the cancer. This all-encompassing methodology allows highly skilled Medical Dermatologists like Dr. Ioannides to provide the most comprehensive care of an affected area, effectively removing all dangerous and cancerous tissues, examining removed tissue for efficacy. As a result of this forward-thinking procedure, which relies on technologically-driven microscopic examination of removed tissue, Mohs Micrographic Surgery is widely considered to harvest the most effective outcome in skin cancer treatment across the world. Highly localized, the procedure removes cancerous lesions or tumors, as well as potentially affected nearby tissue, where skin cancers roots have been traditionally left behind via mere cancer removal. These roots, in turn, have previously been able to manifest as cancerous re-growths. Thus, through the comprehensive removal of all roots, the skin cancers re-emergence rate has dramatically dwindled, proving the procedure to be highly effective. As Mohs Surgery is specialized, specific guidelines for practice exist, and only Medical Dermatologists who have met all guidelines are able to perform the intervention. Due to the growing prevalence of Mohs Surgery, and the efficacy of the treatment, specialized training has become available throughout many Residency programs, specialized Fellowship programs, and intensive training courses. In addition to specialized training, Medical Dermatologists who perform Mohs Surgery must operate in surgical and laboratory facilities that meet the bespoke criteria for Mohs Surgery, and must be supported by a well-trained Mohs nursing staff, and histotechnological support staff. Through these bespoke guidelines and criteria, the industry has been able to successfully monitor, support, grow, and regulate a highly-specialized procedure that requires the successful marriage of medical skill, and technology. In terms of surgical skin cancer intervention, Dr. Ioannides cites Mohs Surgery as being an integral advancement in increasing the efficacy of skin cancer removal. Tech and Self-Awareness In the field of Medical Dermatology, patient self-awareness and autonomy are critical in terms of recognizing potential skin condition changes. Thus, championing patients to become thoroughly aware of their own skin is key in fostering a relationship conducive to allowing the patient to feel confident in reporting any perceived changes. While self-education and awareness has always been taught by Medical Dermatologists, alongside smart-sun practices, technological advancements have made it considerably easier for patients to take a proactive approach to self-monitoring. Through the widespread popularity of smartphones, patients are now able to regularly photograph all moles, beauty marks, and skin discolorations, tagging each photo with a bodily location and date. Forward thinking Medical Dermatologists like Dr. Ioannides encourage patients to catalog all skin related conditions, like moles, and to regularly recapture photographs, looking for changes. Similar to traditional mole checks, these digital versions allow patients to zoom in on particular facets of moles, or capture a good look at moles that may be in hard to see areas. In this case, technology has armed patients with the tools needed to accurately keep records of their moles, seek changes, and act accordingly. Similarly, technological advancements have made it easier to implement technology for tertiary purposes related to skincare. For example, Dr. Ioannides encourages patients to regularly set alarms to reapply sunscreen, rendering the entire process of reapplying sunscreen totally automated, allowing patients to enjoy whatever activities they are partaking in, knowing they will still be practicing sun-safe interventions. Tech Drawbacks In A Patient-First Industry While technical advancements have certainly maximized what has become routinely possible, and have played pivotal roles in the modernization of the medical field, reliance on an overabundance of technology within a medical setting has also created a new set of very real concerns. As increasing numbers of healthcare professionals rely on electronic record keeping, and the assistance of technologically advanced tools throughout appointments becomes the norm, potential issues can arise in terms of effective communication, patient expectation, and the overall patient-doctor relationship. In many medical fields, including Medical Dermatology, the construct of patient reporting is crucial toward maximizing care. However, in order to generate an environment conducive to patient sharing, tech distractions can sometimes deter from the ambiance of a patient-first environment. With too many distractions, and limited eye contact, patients can sometimes leave visits feeling unheard, unseen, and most of all, uncomfortable. Thus, in order to foster a proactive long-term relationship with all patients, Dr. Ioannides has enacted a tech-free policy throughout patient appointments. Without the need to constantly type notes while patients are describing potentially sensitive issues, Dr. Ioannides can focus his energy on not only providing extensive medial assistance, but also championing proactive communication that could ultimately become a matter of life and death. By encouraging patients to speak about any perceived skin changes, and following through on communicated concerns, Dr. Ioannides is taking proactive steps to ensuring that his attention remains on the patient at all times, a feat that is somewhat difficult to accomplish when looking at a screen throughout the majority of a visit. At Treasure Coast Dermatology, in lieu of typing patient notes throughout appointments, valuable face-to-face interaction is garnered through the utilization of audio recording via smartphone. This important dialogue is captured via audio, and then transcribed appropriately into patient charts, nursing notes, and other needed collateral to complete or update a patient profile. By pivoting his in-visit use of technology to compliment the needs of patients, Dr. Ioannides is able to maintain a thoroughly modern practice, while seamlessly meeting the ongoing needs of his patients. This blending of technology, an focus on communication, allows Dr. Ioannides to capture the best facets of technology, without losing the personal touch that is absolutely necessary to maintain effective patient-Physician relationships. Throughout his extensive career within the Medical Dermatology field, Dr. Tim Ioannides has witnessed various advancements in his niche field. From partaking in breakthrough skin cancer vaccine research, to implementing the most concise skin cancer surgery practices, Dr. Ioannides has embodied an effective example of an innovative Physician eager to propel his industry forward. Through the implementation of useful technologies, and the championing of groundbreaking products, Dr. Ioannides has played an integral role in the advancement of Medical Dermatology, and continues to strive to serve the needs of his community on a daily basis, as well as on a long-term scale. Follow Dr. Tim Ioannides on Twitter and ThriveGlobal today. The hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer who has previously been an ally of the Vermont senator joined in and so did Senator Elizabeth Warren, who contrasted herself with Mr. Sanders for the first time by saying she would be more effective as president. In response to the onslaught, Mr. Sanders joked of his newfound front-runner status. Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight, he said. I wonder why. Time and again Mr. Sanders was challenged on the political impact of his expansive agenda and how he would pay for it. Can you do the math for the rest of us? asked Norah ODonnell of CBS. Mr. Sanders declined. How many hours do you have? he said, without providing details. It was a messy two-hour affair, marked by moderators who went missing for long stretches as cross-talk, over and over, made the conversation unintelligible. Why am I stopping? No one else stops, Mr. Biden wondered aloud. When the moderators did intervene, it was sometimes to move the conversation past key moments, including when Mr. Biden pointedly suggested some complicity for Mr. Sanders in a mass shooting because of past positions on gun legislation, and when Ms. Warren began swiping at Mr. Sanders. New Delhi: Come Holi and the fans will get to watch Mouni Roy groove to a new dance number featuring 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety' actor Sunny Singh and Varun Sharma. The song is a part of the album titled 'Holi Re' which has been choreographed by none other than Remo D'Souza. Check out the inside pictures of the stars rehearsing the dance steps while the shoot took place at Mumbai's famous Chandivali Studio in Andheri. Dressed in all-white traditional attire, Mouni, Sunny and Varun add their own charm to the peppy song dedicated to the festival of colours. The actors had a great time shooting for the Holi track and even shared their own experience of celebrating the festival. This year Holi will be celebrated on March 9-10. On the work front, Mouni was last seen in 'Made In China' with Rajkummar Rao. Next, she has Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahmastra' starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles. Mouni will be seen playing a negative role in the movie for the first time. The Business Secretary has been dragged into the Sirius Minerals takeover battle amid growing fears ordinary shareholders will be shut out of a crunch vote. Alok Sharma has been urged to speed up a review of City rules that make it hard for individuals to take part in major company decisions. Concerns have been raised that a vote next Tuesday on whether Sirius should accept a 405million offer from Anglo American will not adequately represent the views of shareholders because many investors will find it difficult to vote. Business Secretary Alok Sharma has been urged to speed up a review of City rules that make it hard for individuals to take part in major company decisions Sirius, which is building a potash mine in North Yorkshire, has around 85,000 shareholders who own 50 per cent of its stock. But many have their shares in nominee accounts through brokers or investment platforms, rather than owning them outright. The only way they can vote is to go through a long and costly process to apply for a proper share certificate. Odey says no to deal Crispin Odey's hedge fund will oppose the Sirius Minerals takeover after raising its stake in the miner. Odey Asset Management, which last week branded Anglo American's bid a 'mockery', now owns a 1.4 per cent stake, up from 1.29 per cent. Henry Steel, manager of the fund that holds the shares, has submitted his proxy vote and said he had to vote 'no' unless Anglo amended its bid by 7pm. He wants Anglo to raise its 5.5p offer to 7p. But shareholder advisory groups ISS and Glass Lewis back the 5.5p bid. ISS said: 'This transaction is the only viable option identified.' If they don't do this, their shares are included in a single vote put forward by the firms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell, which holds their stock. Many Sirius shareholders have been angered by Anglo's offer of 5.5p per share, which they believe is too low, and want to have a say, with some even suggesting they want to vote against it entirely. Anglo needs 75 per cent of votes for the deal to go through. In a letter to Sharma, Cliff Weight, director of investor lobby group Sharesoc, said: 'The events at Sirius Minerals highlight how complicated the system to vote shares is and the need to make it easier. 'Low rates of voting by individual investors will mean that opportunists can overly influence takeover outcomes.' A spokesman for the business department said it recognised the system 'can make it difficult for individual investors to have a say'. Professor Sarah Green at the Law Commission, said the issues are being considered in a study for the department. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said class 10 and 12 students, who have board examination centres in violence-hit northeast Delhi, need to be informed in one go about the schedule for the next 10-15 days and not on piecemeal basis. Justice Rajiv Shakdher said the situation in northeast Delhi is getting worse and there have been more deaths and, therefore, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) needs to take a call for the next 10-15 days. The court asked the CBSE to come with instructions about a long-term plan at 2.15 pm. The direction by the court came after the CBSE on Wednesday said that the exams in 86 schools in the violence-hit northeast Delhi have been postponed. Some of those in attendance receiving ashes A former Presbyterian Moderator had the sign of the cross placed on his forehead tonight by a Catholic priest at a cross-community celebration of Ash Wednesday in Belfast's oldest Catholic church. The Very Rev Dr Ken Newell received the Imposition of Ashes from well-known priest Fr Martin Magill in the historic surroundings of St Mary's Church in Chapel Lane. Expand Close Fr Tim Bartlett, Rev Elizabeth Hanna, Rev Dr Ken Newell, Fr Martin Magill and Rev Robin Waugh / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fr Tim Bartlett, Rev Elizabeth Hanna, Rev Dr Ken Newell, Fr Martin Magill and Rev Robin Waugh The church was established 236 years ago with the help of donations from local Protestant congregations. Rev Elizabeth Hanna, a retired Church of Ireland minister, and Rev Robin Waugh, minister of the Methodist Church in Sydenham, also took part in the service and received the ashes. The wearing of ashes on the forehead has been regarded in Ireland traditionally as a mark of Catholicism, but Fr Magill said earlier this week that it is a Biblical tradition in which members from different Christian backgrounds can participate. People at tonight's service were invited to take part in the Imposition of the Ashes, but it was stressed that this was very much a matter of personal choice. Yesterday's service led by Fr Tim Bartlett is thought to be the first of its kind to be held in Belfast. Tonight's congregation replied in the affirmative when Fr Bartlett asked if it should be repeated. Expand Close Some of those in attendance receiving ashes / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Some of those in attendance receiving ashes He said afterwards: "I found it deeply moving." Rev Hanna also said: "I thoroughly enjoyed being here, and history has been made. It was great being a part of it." Dr Newell also spoke of his joy in taking part "in this special service", and in his sermon he underlined the importance of Lent and of "the need to let nothing squeeze out our sacred time with God in the 40 days of Lent". St Mary's was the first Catholic church built in Belfast, and held its first Mass in 1784. According to the 1782 Census there were only 365 Catholics living in Belfast at the time, and Protestant congregations rallied round to help establish a Catholic church in the city. There were donations from Presbyterian and Church of Ireland congregations who gave funds. Members of the local Yeomanry were present at the church opening, and in 1813 a pulpit was donated by the Anglican Vicar of Belfast Canon Turner. How many women and young girls have been physically and mentally abused by Weinstein, Epstein, and Bill Clinton because most journalists, entertainers, and other Democrats were so interested in protecting and electing the Clintons? Why didn't the media ever care about the women Bill was credibly accused of abusing? Were they disposable? After all, they went after Brett Kavanaugh with no evidence that the stories were true. She tried to warn us. (YouTube screen grab.) Why did the Miami Herald hold the story on the sweetheart deal with Epstein for almost a decade until after Hillary was defeated? Was it because the Herald had endorsed Hillary for president and the story was inconvenient? Why haven't the people who procured young girls for Epstein been arrested? Is our justice system protecting powerful people as they always have? Why haven't prosecutors and media outlets interviewed Bill Clinton as they have Prince Andrew, since he had a more extensive relationship with Epstein? Haven't the media been enablers of the abuse, since they clearly have known about the abuse for decades and still supported the Clintons? At least 22 "armed criminals" and two police officers were killed in clashes between Burundi security forces and an unnamed armed group at the weekend, police said late Tuesday. Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said an armed group appeared in the hills of western Bujumbura-Rural province last week and engaged in several clashes with police. On Sunday police "dismantled" the group "with a toll of 22 armed criminals... and two policemen killed, and six criminals arrested." On Monday a local official said 13 people had been killed. Burundi's main opposition party, the National Freedom Council (CNL), said it saw a link with the May 20 presidential elections. The appearance of the armed group sparked a wave of arrests of 23 of its local leaders last week, the CNL said. "We denounce this harassment orchestrated by the government ahead of the May 2020 elections," party spokesman Therence Manirambona said on Saturday. The fighting broke out 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Bujumbura, the country's economic capital, in a rural area with few roads, communications or electricity. CNL leader Agathon Rwasa is considered the main challenger to the ruling CNDD-FDD's Evariste Ndayishimiye in the May election. President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, shocked the country by announcing he would not seek re-election after a constitutional change allowed him to do so. His controversial election to a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis. The violent aftermath of the last presidential election in 2015 made Burundi a focus of an investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged murder, rape, torture and disappearances. Civil unrest killed 1,200 people and drove 400,000 from their homes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democrat presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday (local time) called on former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to release his tax returns, saying that he is the only candidate on stage who has not released them. "We know that Mayor Bloomberg has been doing business with China for a long time. He is the only one on this stage who has not released his taxes," Warren was quoted by CNN as saying during the 10th Democratic presidential debate here. "He plans to release them after Super Tuesday. It is not enough to be able to say, just trust me on this. President Trump promised to release his taxes when he was running for president but never did," she said. Meanwhile, Bloomberg said that his campaign is working as fast as it can and will release his tax returns. "I got into this race only 10 or 12 weeks ago. We have been working on our tax returns and I have said they will be out. We probably have another couple of weeks left to go. We are doing it as fast as we can. We have complied with every single requirement for disclosure," he said. Bloomberg continued, "When I was mayor of New York, we had our tax returns out 12 years in a row and we will do that in the White House." Today's debate is the last debate before Super Tuesday on March 3, which will see 14 states holding nomination contests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Radhe filmmaker is keen on going back home to his pending Tamil projects and his kids. The multi-talented Prabhudheva is currently directing his second cop film in a row called Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, starring Salman Khan. The dancer-turned-director admits that it isnt easy directing two back-to-back khaki sagas with the superstar. Luckily, the cop in Dabangg 3 is very different from the cop in Radhe, so it wasnt hard to start the second project after the first was over. Audiences will see a completely different Salman in Radhe, promises Prabhu, who has been stationed in Mumbai for more than a year now. Now that Radhe is almost complete, the filmmaker wants to return home to Chennai. In the past few years, Ive been concentrating only on direction. Ive three acting assignments pending in Tamil. I also need to spend time with my sons, he says. Prabhu hasnt seen them for some time now. Usually they join me in Mumbai during their school holidays, but now theyve exams going on so they are unable to travel to be with me. I miss them. Guldere noted that this year, Ukraine is marking not only the sixth year of resistance to the Russian occupation of Crimea but also the 76th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yagmur Ahmet Guldere says his country's stance on non-recognition of Crimea annexation remains unhindered. "Turkish position on Crimea has been clear since 2014 - we have not recognized the annexation, we will not recognize the annexation, we recognize Ukraine within its internationally accepted borders. And this firm position was once again reiterated during President Erdogan's visit to Kyiv on February 3," the diplomat said, speaking at the Kyiv forum titled "Age of Crimea", dedicated to Day of Resistance to the Russian occupation of Crimea, an UNIAN correspondent reports. Guldere noted that this year, Ukraine is marking not only the sixth year of resistance to the Russian occupation of Crimea but also the 76th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Read alsoTurkey supports Ukraine's initiative to set up commission on defense cooperation "Turkish people knows the past tragedies that its Crimean Tatar brothers faced. And as a country which has about 3 million some say, up to 5 million Turkish citizens of Crimean Tatar decent, we follow all the developments in Crimea, all issues related to Crimean Tatars very closely. [] We find it very sad that still, leaders of the Crimean Tatar community [] are unable to go to their homeland. [] We hope that this will change in the future," the envoy said. Also, he said that in the international arena, Turkey has always supported resolutions put forward by Ukraine, as well as Ukraine's position, and will retain such support. Besides, Turkey, together with the Ukrainian government and Crimean Tatar leaders are taking part in setting up various educational and cultural events for Crimean Tatars. Guldere said he intended to visit Kherson, where on Thursday the Turkish Housing Agency along with local authorities would be doing site surveys to build homes for internally displaced Crimean Tatars. "We will keep doing so until the time when the Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian people will once again be able to live freely and safely in their ancestral homeland [...] In these difficult times, Turkey stands ready, stands side by side with Crimean Tatars and Ukraine," the ambassador concluded. Three Bay of Plenty champions were crowned by Australian surfing legends Mark Occhilupo and Ryan Callinan at the Billabong Grom Series at Piha Beach. The surfers took three series titles - Luis Southerwood (Whakatane) in the Under 18 Boys Division, Georgia Wederell (Mount) in the Under 18 Girls Division and Tao Mouldey (Mount) in the Under 14 Boys Division. Natasha Gouldsbury took a title for Taranaki in the Under 16 Girls Division as did Jayden Willoughby for Raglan in the Under 16 Boys Division. Pihas Leia Millar and Pauanuis Chloe Groube shared the title for the Under 14 Girls Division. The culmination of three events was played out in solid 1.5m waves with strong cross-shore winds offering up new challenges compared with the small surf at the first two events of the series. Event wins went to Taranaki surfer Tom Butland who won his first event of the series in the Under 18 Boys Division. Butland had been notching up big scores throughout the event and the final proved no different as he finished with a 7.0 point ride and 11.67 point heat total for a comfortable victory. Second through fourth were split by less than a point with Jack Lee of Whakatane getting the upper hand over Josef Jungwirth from Raglan and Luis Southerwood. Brie Bennett of Raglan was one of three surfers to go back-to-back at the event winning the Under 18 Girls Division in convincing style. Bennett finished with a 10.66 point heat total for the victory with Estella Hungerford, of Christchurch finishing in second and Georgia Wederell finishing in third. Raglans Jayden Willoughby claimed his first win of the series after playing bridesmaid at the first two events. He finished with a 12.3 point heat total besting good mate Kora Cooper from Raglan while Gisbornes Finn Vette was stranded with a 7.5 point ride, the highest of the final, but no quality backup wave finishing in third.Navryn Malone of Raglan rounded out the final in fourth. Christchurch surfer Ava Henderson made it back-to-back titles in the Under 16 Girls Division with a big win today. Henderson surfed to a 10.33 point heat total and led the final from the outset. Anna Brock of Mount Maunganui edged past Natasha Gouldsbury of Taranaki for a runner-up finish and her best result of the year while Liv Haysom from Piha finished in fourth place. Tao Mouldey made it a threepeat of wins in the Under 14 Boys Division after pushing past Ryder Pennington from Taranaki in the final with a clutch 6.6 point ride to close out the heat. Pihas Will Hardie finished in third place ahead of Mathias Thompson also from Piha in fourth. Whangamatas Pia Rogers stormed to her first-ever win at national level taking out the Under 14 Girls Division with a whopping 13.6 point heat total. An 8.17 point ride at the end of the final sealed the win over Leia Millar from Piha, Chloe Groube and Alani Morse who finished PORT HURON, MI -- Leaders for the Port Huron Area School District have already made the decision to keep students home Wednesday ahead of expected wintry weather. Predicted snowfall and deteriorating conditions at commute times and throughout the day will make travel dangerous tomorrow, reads a statement Tuesday night on the districts Facebook page. All Port Huron Schools will be closed February 26, 2020. A winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service goes into effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday and runs until 4 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 for Huron, Sanilac, and St. Clair counties. Snowfall of between 4 to 7 inches is expected, with winds gusting as high as 35 miles per hour. Predicted snowfall and deteriorating conditions at commute times and throughout the day will make travel dangerous... Posted by Port Huron Schools on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 Travel could be difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute to some degree, but the evening commute on Wednesday appears to be the time frame when the heaviest snow will be falling, per the advisory. There is potential northeast winds off Lake Huron to add moisture to the system which could enhance snowfall across the eastern Thumb, leading to localized higher amounts especially as winds become more northerly in the evening. Drivers are advised to slow down and use caution while traveling in the area. The district will be offering free lunch for students able to get to Holland Woods Middle School, 1617 Holland Ave., or Port Huron High School, 2215 Court St., between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday. We do anticipate certain areas of our community (primarily in the city) to be safe for travel by lunchtime, per the districts statement. We understand that many of our students depend on our school breakfast and lunch programs for nutritious meals. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools in Oakland County have also made the decision to remain closed Wednesday. Due to a high probability of hazardous conditions during the day tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 26, and in order to err on the side of caution, Walled Lake Schools will be closed," per a statement on the districts website. Winter Storm Watch includes many of Michigans biggest cities, including Detroit, Ann Arbor Heads-up southeast Michigan; Snow forecasts you see may be too high for Detroit, Ann Arbor With a growing number of organizations being established to fight anti-Semitism, 2 for Seder stands out as one that empowers individuals to take direct, positive action against hate. The organization encourages North American Jews to invite two people of another faith to their first Seder, either at home or in the community, giving guests an authentic Jewish experience from which to learn and build bridges. More than 200 partners , including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), 25+ Jewish Federations and more than 40 Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) recommend 2 for Seder and help spread the organization's message. 2 for Seder was created in memory of Joyce Fienberg, one of 11 murdered while praying at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, by her daughter-in-law Marnie Fienberg. The program was inspired by the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam (repair the world), encouraging individuals to take direct action in their own community. Last year, its first year of operation, almost 1,000 participating Seders across 45 states and five Canadian provinces, were held. Passover begins at sundown on April 8. 2 for Seder participants are signing up now; with 1,120 Seders already planned to date (see interactive map). "I know what it's like to feel powerless in the face of anti-Semitism, but Americans are stronger than hate when we learn from each other," explains Marnie Fienberg, 2 for Seder founder. "Either at home or at public Seders in the Community, every Passover each of us has an opportunity to open doors and build bridges in our own neighborhood. This positive, unique first authentic Jewish experience provides individuals of other faiths and heritages with the facts to make their own decisions against stereotypes and tropes. We are truly stronger together." When Participants sign up at 2forseder.org they receive a free 2 for Seder Kit, which provides educational materials that help identify commonalities between religions and cultures. A fact sheet is also available. 2 For Seder is an initiative of Pittsburgh Interfaith Evolution (PIE), a non-profit based on the idea that every American and Canadian Jew can and should be involved in combatting anti-Semitism. SOURCE 2 for Seder Related Links http://2forseder.org SpendEdge has been monitoring the global castor oil market and the market is poised to experience spend growth of more than USD 200 million between 2019-2024 at a CAGR of over 3% during the forecast period. Request Free Sample Pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005313/en/ Read the 127-page research report with TOC and LOE on "The Global Castor Oil Market Procurement Intelligence Report, Pricing Outlook in Geographies that include APAC, North America, South America, and MEA, and insights into best practices to optimize procurement spend." Buyers from end-user industries such as F&B, pharmaceutical, and FMCG are exhibiting an extensive usage of castor oil as a cheaper alternative to vegetable oil varieties. This is serving as the prime spend growth driver in the castor oil market. Inherent properties of castor oil, such as high density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity render its importance as a key constituent in the manufacturing of plastic, lubricants, and paints. This is contributing to the castor market spend growth during the forecast period. Subscribe to our procurement platform to get instant access to over 1000 industry-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment. The Top Castor Oil Suppliers Enlisted in this Report: Volatile prices of castor oil beans will pose as a critical accelerator of suppliers' manufacturing expenses. A majority of suppliers tend to pass a significant portion of their recurring OPEX to buyers who end up paying the excess on their procurement in the castor oil market. Considering this possibility, this report has listed the top castor oil suppliers, SLA agreement insights, and the selection and negotiation strategies that buyers must undertake to achieve optimal and cost-effective procurement in this market. Adani Wilmar- Buyers are advised to assess this supplier's ownership of castor seed plantations which will bear testimony to the improved control of its value chain and operating costs. This will boost its capability of producing castor oil and its derivatives by saving costs and sharing cost savings with buyers. JAYANT AGRO-ORGANICS- Considering the price trends in the castor oil market, it is imperative for buyers to ensure that this supplier adopts automation and lean manufacturing techniques in its manufacturing process. Adoption of lean manufacturing techniques can help suppliers increase their plant productivity by 20%, which enables them to attain high economies of scale and thus lower the price of the product. Gokul Refoils Solvent- While negotiating with this supplier, buyers are advised to adopt the volume-based pricing model. This pricing model is functional in protecting buyers from fluctuation in the cost of raw materials as they can fix the price of the product during the contract period. The adoption of the volume-based pricing model will allow buyers to reserve production capacities with this supplier to ensure the availability of the product during demand-supply fluctuations. Buyers can negotiate for discounts on the price if the demand is significantly higher than the MOQ. Buy 1 report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 reports and get the third for free. Download the free sample of this report on the castor oil market. Some of the key topics covered in this report are: Castor oil market spend segmentation by region Castor oil supply market analysis Regional spend opportunity for castor oil suppliers Castor oil suppliers cost structure Total cost of ownership analysis in the castor oil market Castor oil pricing models analysis Category management objectives Cost saving opportunities in the castor oil market Free sample of reports that you may like: Global Edible Oils Market Procurement Intelligence Report Global Palm Oil Market Procurement Intelligence Report Global Coconut Oil Market Procurement Intelligence Report About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005313/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us (Newser) Seven Democrats took part in a fiery debate in South Carolina on Tuesday nightone more than in last week's primary debate. Tom Steyer joined Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and Michael Bloomberg in the Charleston debate, co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Analysts expected Sanders, the frontrunner, to be a target, and in the opening minutes the senator was attacked by Bloomberg over reports that Russia plans interference to help his candidacy, by Biden over his record on guns, by Buttigieg for being divisive, and by Warren for his team "trashing" her after she "put in the work" on reining in Wall Street, Politico reports. "I'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why," Sanders quipped. Some highlights: After Bloomberg said Russia was supporting Sanders so he could lose to President Trump, Sanders directly addressed the Russian president. "Mr. Putin, if Im president of the United States, trust me, you're not going to interfere in any more American elections," he said. story continues below Biden was asked about polls that show his support among black voters is falling ahead of South Carolina's primary on Saturday, the Guardian reports. "Ive worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community," Biden said. Asked if he would continue his campaign if he loses the state, Biden said: "I will win South Carolina." When addressing Bloomberg's "stop-and-frisk" policy as New York City mayor, Buttigieg admitted that his own record as mayor of South Bend had shortcomings and said: "I'm conscious of the fact that there are seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice." Bloomberg was visibly angry after Warren said he once told a pregnant employee to "kill it." "I never said it. Period," he said. Warren also slammed Bloomberg for donating to Republican candidates. "Who funded Lindsey Grahams campaign for re-election last time? It was Mayor Bloomberg," she said. "He is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage." Klobuchar and Steyer both attacked the cost of Sanders' proposals, saying Democratic voters would not support massive spending increases, the Washington Post reports. "The math does not add up," Klobuchar said. Biden criticized Steyer for investing in private prisons. When the billionaire said he no longer supported them, Biden gave him a Trump-style nickname: "Tommy come lately." Asked about his record on gun control, Sanders was booed when he tried to start criticizing Biden's record on trade deals, the Guardian reports. Sanders admitted there were some "bad votes" on his record but stressed that he only had a D-plus record from the NRA. Biden vowed to take on the NRA. "If Im elected, NRA, Im coming for you, and gun manufacturers, Im going to take you on and Im going to beat you," said Biden, who claimed, incorrectly, that gun violence has killed 150 million Americans since 2007. Warren and Buttigieg both targeted Sanders for his opposition to changing Senate rules to stop legislation from being filibustered, the New York Times reports. "How are we going to support a revolution, if you dont even support a rule change?" Buttigieg asked. Steyer got some cheers when he said he was the only candidate onstage that supported reparations for slavery. The policy is one that he mentions "when hes asked why hes doing so well among black voters in South Carolina," FiveThirtyEight notes. As the debate became increasingly bad-tempered, with candidates desperate for speaking time talking over each other, Buttigieg was asked to "honor the rules of the debate." Bloomberg, seeming slightly more relaxed than in last week's debate, cracked a joke when asked about New York's anti-obesity tax on sugary drinks, CBS reports. "What's right for New York City isn't right for every other city, otherwise we'd have a naked cowboy in every city," he said. Bloomberg said he supported decriminalizing marijuana because the "cat is out of the bag," but said legalization should go slowly because "until we know the science, its just nonsensical to push ahead." On the coronavirus outbreakwhich Bloomberg was the first candidate to bring up, more than an hour inBiden stressed that he had been part of the administration that dealt with the Ebola outbreak. Klobuchar advised worried viewers to check the CDC's website. When asked whether she would allow China to build parts of America's infrastructure, Warren pivoted to attacking Bloomberg. "We know that Mayor Bloomberg has been doing business with China for a long time, and he is the only one on this stage who has not released his taxes," she said. Asked about his remarks on Fidel Castro's education policy, Sanders said he rejected authoritarianism and he had merely been making the same point Barack Obama did, the Times reports. Biden said his former boss "did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government." Sanders, who would be the first Jewish president, called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "reactionary racist" and said he would consider moving America's embassy back to Tel Aviv. US foreign policy should ensure the "independence and security of Israel, but you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people," he said. The final question was a two-parter: Candidates were asked what the biggest misconception about them was, and what their motto is. Klobuchar said the biggest misconception about her is that she is boring. Warren said one misconception "is that I dont eat very much because I eat all the time." Bloomberg joked about his height, while Biden promised to put a black woman on the Supreme Court. (Read more Democratic debate stories.) Thanks for following along today - we will have live coverage again from Friday morning. In case you missed it, Australia has leapt ahead of the World Health Organisation and is set to declare a coronavirus pandemic, preparing health authorities for a sustained outbreak as the disease spreads around the world. The virus has now killed 2800 people and infected 82,164 worldwide. 32,897 have recovered. Australia has had 15 confirmed cases to date - Thursday was the first day where there were more new reported cases of coronavirus in the rest of the world than in China. Australia has urged India to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact that will lead to stronger Asean unity. "India should join the RCEP trade pact as openness encourages competition, fuels innovationand productivity. However, we respect India's current decision not to join the free-trade deal...," Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham, said while speaking at the Asia Society here. He further said that irrespective of India's position, Australia would continue to work with the South Asian giant in a bid to expand trade, which had previously been held back by the protectionist nature of the sub-continent. "Not everyone, not even good friends and partners like Australia and India will easily agree to the same rules or the same degree of openness," he added. He said countries should stand firm in the face of coercive behaviour in all of its forms. "And we should continue to embrace openness amongst each other, especially where we are confident of the fair approach brought by each other," he added. Talking about the impact on trade due to the spread of coronavirus, he said it is tempting for some to suggest that at times of threat, nations should look inwards. "But it is through looking outwards, particularly by supporting global markets and international trade, that the world has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] IDENTOS awarded Innovative Solutions Canada contract for digital healthcare advancement by Health Canada IDENTOS Inc., a mobile-first access, authorization and consent management company located in Toronto, to improve patient experience through a secure, connected healthcare ecosystem. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 /CNW/ - On February 3rd, 2020 - IDENTOS Inc. was awarded a contract to test their mobile security platform for patient digital access with Health Canada as federal client, through the Innovative Solutions Canada award. The Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program is a competitive federal funding program for innovators and federal agencies to collaborate and further commercialize new technology. IDENTOS was taken through a rigorous process for qualification that requires a working product ready for sale, not a prototype. Currently, patients across Canada experience the barrier of not being able to access digital health data or leverage mobile health applications due in part to the lack of consent and security infrastructure to support compliance. The technical innovation proposed by IDENTOS for Health Canada provides an intelligent, privacy respecting layer in patient authorization and consent, and data encryption that enables a connected and scalable digital health program for hospitals. "Our team was delighted with the opportunity to work with Health Canada through the ISC program. This Government of Canada is a critical component of supporting our economy and in positioning Canada as a global innovation leader. Health Canada as a reference customer will help IDENTOS to validate technology, solve digital health access for more Canadians and also propel exprts of our solutions globally. We look forward to working with all of our partners to enhance patients' and providers' ability to navigate the healthcare system." - Mike Cook, CEO of IDENTOS Program Highlights: Following a competitive procurement, IDENTOS was awarded the ISC contract with the Government of Canada to acquire and test their mobile security platform to acquire and test their mobile security platform Health Canada confirmed their role as federal testing department to evaluate the IDENTOS solution for digital access in the healthcare sector confirmed their role as federal testing department to evaluate the IDENTOS solution for digital access in the healthcare sector Health Canada selected North York General Hospital (NYGH) as its testing partner to validate the solution in a real-world setting selected North York General Hospital (NYGH) as its testing partner to validate the solution in a real-world setting A final statement of work was accepted into BCIP for 2019/2020 approval The final contract was awarded on February 3, 2020 for immediate delivery This contract will enable IDENTOS to evaluate the platform for national scale and to ensure it addresses the complex needs of digital access for Canadian healthcare. The findings from this work will help address the most effective way to maintain privacy and security of user information while scaling out digital health access and innovative health solutions; overall contributing to Canada's economic growth. About IDENTOS A mobile-first identity & access management company, IDENTOS products enable digital trust for users in a way that helps organizations connect with far greater confidence, compliance and agility. Our clients are operators of complex identity systems or cloud platforms with the need to manage and connect a trusted ecosystem of identities, data, and service providers. http://www.identos.com About Health Canada Health Canada is the Federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health, while respecting individual choices and circumstances. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada.html About Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Formerly the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP), Innovative Solutions Canada helps Canadian innovators by funding R&D and testing prototypes in real-life settings. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/101.nsf/eng/home For more information about IDENTOS: http://www.identos.com Follow IDENTOS on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Identos_Inc SOURCE IDENTOS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Flint, MI -- The sweet smell of fresh dough and powdered sugar lingered through Donnas Donuts shop in Flint on Tuesday, but it wasnt just any Tuesday. Shop manager Tony Melton arrived early at 2 a.m., to prepare for customers rushing to buy paczkis ahead of Ash Wednesday also known as Mardi Gras in French, or Fat Tuesday. Each year, the third generation family business prepares thousands of polish fried pastries described by Melton as similar to a round bismark donut with lots of extra butter, sugar and filling. Its a treat for Lent, said Melton. To use up (extra food) leftovers before you go into the Lenting season and fast. Melton said the goal for the day is to sell 20,000 paczkis. Bakery employees moved quickly as if they were dancing, flinging powder and transporting trays of the fresh filled donuts. We have a dance back here called the donut shop tango, said employee Zane Byrd. You know youve been here a long time when you start talking to the donuts. This job isnt as easy as people think it is. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 00:16:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has warned that the Ethiopian government is racing against time to control the ongoing desert locust invasion as the February-May harvest season commenced. The latest desert locust warning was made on Wednesday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is presently supporting the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in scaling up aerial and ground operations across crop-producing areas, mainly the Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' (SNNP) regions. "We are at a critical stage at which we need to save the next and subsequent harvests and safeguard the livelihood of the population," said Fatouma Seid, FAO Representative in Ethiopia. "As locusts are highly mobile, we need to quickly boost local capacities in areas where they go. Currently, we are mobilizing and training communities in SNNPR and Oromia regions and ensuring that the required resources are available to respond to the invasion," FAO statement issued Wednesday quoted Seid as saying. So far, FAO has received 6.5 million U.S. dollars for control operations from United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Office of United States Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region, as well as the government of Belgium. It also disclosed that negotiations are ongoing with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the government of Germany for an additional 10 million U.S. dollars for control operations and livelihoods support. The FAO had recently made an appeal for 138 million U.S. dollars, from the initial 76 million U.S. dollars a month ago, to assist eight eastern African countries, of which 50.5 million U.S. dollars is for Ethiopia. Appreciating the funds received so far and the ongoing negotiations with donors, FAO Representative in Ethiopia also appealed to partners to close the funding gap. "If we don't act swiftly, the resource needs will continue to grow, and it will be more complicated and expensive to contain the situation," Seid stressed. A cross-border desert locust swarm movement has continued across the Ethiopia-Kenya border amid continuing breeding in southern part of Ethiopia. The ongoing desert locust invasion has also worried Ethiopian farmers across the affected areas. Awuno Menka, 60, a farmer in Dereba village in South Omo, Gamugofa Zone in the SNNP region, has experienced the disastrous effects of the locusts and is worried about the continued invasion. "Two massive swarms landed in our area and destroyed my entire maize crop. Although they were later controlled, more swarms are coming from Kenya. I fear for the next cropping season," the statement quoted Awuno as saying. Another Ethiopian farmer, Argueta Belachew, 45, also stressed that "in the last three days alone, numerous hoppers have been hatched and are consuming green vegetation. We appeal for help in controlling them." By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press BEND In the early 1990s, the population of Bend was around 25,000 and leaned Republican. A lumber mill operated along the banks of the Deschutes River. Today, the lumber mill is an REI outdoor recreation store. The population has quadrupled. And for the first time in memory, the number of registered Democrats in Deschutes County recently eclipsed the number of Republicans. The transformation shows how demographic shifts and the GOP's tack further to the right are helping push the party into a nosedive along the West Coast. The last Republican presidential candidate that California went for was George H.W. Bush. For both Oregon and Washington, it was Ronald Reagan. Now, Republicans are struggling to hold seats in Congress, statehouses and city councils up and down the coast. California, Washington and Oregon will hold their presidential primaries on March 3, March 10 and May 19 respectively, and which Democratic candidates they favor will become clear. But this much is certain: In November, none of the three states is apt to go for President Donald Trump, and there is little hope Republicans will claw back much ground in other contests. Political districts have flipped in population centers, from San Diego in the south to Seattle in the north. There is no way out, said Chris Vance, a former Washington state Republican Party chairman and legislator. In San Diego, by the U.S.-Mexico border, each of the nine city council districts now has more registered Democrats than registered Republicans, including one that until recently leaned strongly Republican. In 1980, Orange County, near Los Angeles, was 80% white and a GOP stronghold. Today, Orange County is mostly Hispanic and Asian, with many displeased by Republicans' hard stance on immigration. In 2018, voters there dealt a stunning defeat to a two-term GOP congresswoman. The California Republican Party wound up losing six other U.S. House seats that year, leading a former Republican leader in the state to declare: The California Republican Party isnt salvageable at this time. Democrats also hold the California governor's office, both U.S. Senate seats and almost complete control of the Legislature. In Seattle, tens of thousands of tech employees have flooded into the city and its suburbs, hired by Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. The influx of highly educated workers over the past decade helped fuel a population boom that made many communities much more diverse and affluent, and turned them away from the Republican Party and toward Democrats. The result: The GOP has lost all the statehouse seats it once held in Seattle's eastern suburbs. Vance blames the areas exodus of college-educated white voters, particularly women, from the Republican Party on the partys turn toward more fundamentalist values under Trump. Vance himself abandoned the party in 2017 after an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate as the Republican candidate. "This was the party of nerdy, wonky, tweedy capitalists who cared about economic growth. Now it is the party of populists: alt-right, let's keep the immigrants out, truck- and rifle-populists," Vance said. "That works in Mississippi and Arkansas and stuff, but it does not work in the Seattle area." Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, among a line of Democratic governors dating back to 1985, faces no significant Republican challenge as he seeks a third term in November. Both of Washingtons U.S. senators are Democrats, and seven of its 10 U.S. House members belong to the party. Democrats hope to expand their majorities in the Legislature, where they hold a 28-21 edge in the Senate and a 57-41 advantage in the House. And Democrats in Oregon who already hold the governorship, both U.S. Senate seats and four of five U.S. House seats wield supermajorities in the Legislature and are gunning for more seats. Rep. Cheri Helt, foreground, a Republican from Bend, attends a session of the Oregon Legislature in Salem on Tuesday, bucking a boycott by fellow Republicans over a bill aimed at stemming global warming.Andrew Selsky / Associated Press One of them is the House seat representing Bend, currently held by moderate Republican Rep. Cheri Helt. Challenging her is Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Jason Kropf, whose treasurer is a veteran political fundraiser. After the demise of the timber industry, Bend became a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and beer lovers. The town of roughly 100,000 is arrayed along a scenic river and below the Cascade Range, with one of the highest number of breweries per capita in America. "Bend is full of beautiful, very fit, beer-swilling jocks," said James Foster, professor emeritus of political science at Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend. The shifting demographic has made Bend, and Deschutes County, "much more moderate" than in the past, he said. In 2018, about 4,100 more people moved to the county than moved out, with two-thirds arriving from 11 California counties 10 of which are predominantly Democratic and from the liberal bastions of Seattle and Portland, according to a new study by the Oregon Employment Department. The growth of registered Democrats "could be a reflection of the political party affiliation of the new residents, rather than longtime locals shifting their party affiliation," said economist Damon Runberg, who prepared the study. Republican lawmakers in Oregon are so fed up with Democratic dominance that they began a boycott of the Legislature this week in an attempt to kill a bill aimed at stemming global warming. Alone about House Democrats, Helt bucked the move and remained at the Capitol. Some Republicans also formed a group, Move Oregons Border for a Greater Idaho. It is collecting signatures to make many rural Oregon counties part of conservative Idaho. "I understand they're looking at Idaho fondly," Idaho Gov. Brad Little said on Fox News last week. "But there's a lot of governmental hurdles and legal hurdles that would have to be jumped before they could ever do that." ___ AP writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Chris Grygiel in Seattle contributed to this report. BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Newbridge Securities Corporation, an SEC and FINRA registered Broker Dealer, and Newbridge Financial Services Group, Inc. ("NFSG"), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, and their parent company Newbridge Financial, Inc. (collectively, "Newbridge") have all moved to a new state of the art Global Headquarters located at 1200 N. Federal Highway, Suite 400, Boca Raton, FL 33432 ("Global HQ"). "We are excited working in our new Global HQ which will enable us to provide a more open and collaborative environment for our team and clients who come to our offices," said CEO of Newbridge Securities, Thomas Casolaro. "We are able to leverage greater efficiencies and new state of the art technologies to better service our clients, financial representatives and advisors." "We appreciate having a more comfortable and visually appealing offices as well as additional workspace," said Leonard Sokolow, CEO & President of Newbridge Financial, Inc. "Over time, we believe our new Global HQ will support the continued growth of our Newbridge network of financial professionals and their businesses as we strive to expand the breadth of services to retail and high net worth investors, registered representatives, registered investment advisors and strategic partners." About Newbridge Newbridge Financial, Inc., as the holding company for Newbridge Securities Corporation and Newbridge Financial Services Group, Inc., provides strategic management consulting services to growth companies and explores the development of lines of business complementary to but outside of the financial services industry. Newbridge Securities Corporation and Newbridge Financial Services Group, Inc. provide full-service securities brokerage, registered investment advisor and investment banking services to a broad-based group of individuals and corporate clients. Comprised of a committed and experienced team of financial service professionals, we seek to empower our clients to build and preserve wealth by providing superior financial services and products. Newbridge Securities Corporation is an SEC and FINRA registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and SIPC. Newbridge Financial Services Group, Inc. is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Contact: Thomas Casolaro, CEO Newbridge Securities Corporation [email protected] 954.278.8117 SOURCE Newbridge Securities Corporation; Newbridge Financial, Inc. Related Links https://www.newbridgesecurities.com According to the Nautal boat hire website, the Balearics is the preferred destination for Spaniards who wish to hire a boat. In 2019, 51% of bookings through the website were for the Balearics. This represented a slight fall from 54% in 2018. Majorca has the highest number of bookings in the Balearics. In second place was Catalonia with 27% of demand, followed by Valencia with ten per cent. There was a 25% general increase in online bookings for recreational boat hire in 2019, with Spanish demand having risen 23%. The main interest, 61%, was for a day's hire. Forty-one per cent of total online demand for hiring a boat was from website users in Catalonia; this was the highest level. For foreign markets, there was a 15% increase in online bookings, with 26% of demand having come from Germany, followed by 21% France and 17% Netherlands. TEXAS TOWNSHIP, MI -- Some residents in Texas Township will have access to the Kalamazoo Public Library for two years under a new agreement between township and library officials. Texas Township residents living within the Mattawan Consolidated School and the Schoolcraft Community Schools districts will be eligible for Kalamazoo library cards beginning July 1, according to the librarys Board of Trustees. The board approved a two-year agreement with the township to provide full library services to residents after it was discovered that the library received nearly $300,000 in penal funds and state aid for service in Texas Township after it was no longer providing for those residents, according to the recommendation approved by the board at a Dec. 9 meeting. The librarys contract with the township was terminated in 1998, but the library continued to receive funds through 2015, because the termination of the contract was never formally reported to the Library of Michigan, according to the minutes. Penal fines are funds raised from traffic violations, collected within each county, distributed to public libraries serving residents of the county, according to the Library of Michigan. The state waived repayment of the money in exchange for library services provided to township residents, according to the agreement approved by the Texas Township board at a meeting Nov. 11. The Kalamazoo library received $221,708 in penal fines and $59,945 in state aid from 2001 to 2016, according to a presentation from Director Ryan Wieber to the township board during a meeting Sept. 9. The mistake was discovered when Wieber was working for Van Buren District Library and reached out to the state to inquire about getting library service the population in Texas Township, he said in an interview with MLive. In lieu of repaying $281,653 to the state, the library entered into the agreement with the township for two years of services. There are about 7,500 people eligible for library cards for two years through this agreement. Under the agreement, which is in effect from July 1 to June 30, 2022, the library will provide full service as well as bi-weekly mobile library services at an agreed upon Texas Township location. Library cards will give residents access to all print collections and digital services. Full library service for this population at $195 per household per year for two years is valued at about $730,000, according to Wiebers presentation. it was unfortunate that the contract termination went unnoticed for so long, Wieber said, but he believes both the library and township are happy with the agreement. I think residents will be pleased to get a library card, he said. Residents in Texas Township are served by four libraries, depending on which school district they live in, according to the townships website. Those living within the Schoolcraft district currently are able to purchase an annual pass for the Schoolcraft Community Library. Schoolcraft Community Schools doesnt have a library millage so the residents are required to purchase an annual pass. Mattawan school residents currently do not pay a library millage and dont have access to the Van Buren District Libraries. They can also purchase a membership to the libraries for services. Also on MLive: Kalamazoo library will stop charging late fees in 2020, wipe existing debt A lawyer for Julian Assange on Tuesday accused the United States of "boldly and blatantly" misstating facts about the Wikileaks founder's conduct, on the second day of his extradition hearing in Britain. Assange faces charges under the US Espionage Act for the 2010 release of a trove of secret files detailing aspects of US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Washington claims the 48-year-old Australian helped intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal the documents before recklessly exposing confidential sources around the world. But defence lawyer Mark Summers argued much of the 18-charge US indictment Assange will face if extradited was "provably wrong", adding elements were "lies, lies and more lies". "It's difficult to conceive of a clearer example of an extradition request that boldly and blatantly misstates the facts as they are known to be to the US government," he told a packed courtroom in southeast London. However James Lewis, a lawyer for the US, called the defence's testimony a "series of misstatements about how the indictment is formulated". He called the Assange team's strategy "a "fundamental mischaracterisation of... the allegations". - 'Stripped naked' - Assange spent much of the past decade holed up in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid separate legal proceedings in Sweden, but Washington is now seeking his transfer to stand trial. The extradition hearing at Woolwich Crown Court, next to the high-security Belmarsh prison where he is being held, is expected to last five days before reconvening in May. Assange, wearing a grey blazer and a sweater over a collared shirt in court, grew visibly tired Tuesday after listening to hours of proceedings -- prompting judge Vanessa Baraitser to check on his condition. "Mr Assange is struggling, he's finding it hard to concentrate," a member of his legal team said after conferring with him. "He can't communicate with his legal team. He's finding it very difficult." Earlier, lead defence lawyer Edward Fitzgerald complained that Assange had been stripped naked twice and handcuffed 11 times coming and going from court the previous day. He warned that his treatment could "impinge on these proceedings" and asked the judge to give "an indication to prison authorities" that the regime should be relaxed. Baraitser said it was a matter for prison officials, saying she did not have the authority to instruct them on how to treat detainees. She added that she would expect Assange to be treated fairly and like anyone else. - 'Knowingly inaccurate' - WikiLeaks initially worked with newspapers to publish details from the leaked State Department and Pentagon files, which caused a sensation -- and outrage in Washington. In several hours of submissions, Summers said the partnership with media outlets had led to a rigorous redaction process that included liaising with US officials to ensure sources names were not revealed. "That process involved the US government and State Department feeding suggested redactions to the media," he added. But Summers said a 2011 book by a journalist from The Guardian revealed the password needed to access the database of unredacted source names and ensured the cache eventually found its way online. He told the court Assange had made a phone call to the White House alerting US officials of the imminent release on various websites, allegedly warning: "Unless you do something, then people's lives are put at risk." "The notion that Mr Assange deliberately put lives at risk by dumping an unredacted database is knowingly inaccurate," Summers said. - 'Trial issues' - The Guardian later said in a statement that "it is entirely wrong" to say the 2011 book led to the publication of unredacted US government files. "The book contained a password which the authors had been told by Julian Assange was temporary and would expire and be deleted in a matter of hours," it said. On the opening day of the hearing Lewis had accused Assange of risking the lives of intelligence sources by publishing classified documents, claiming the US had evidence some had subsequently disappeared. Rebutting the defence team's claims, Lewis said they were raising "trial issues that have to be determined in the United States. "It's not the function of this court to enter into a factual determination of these types of issues," he argued. Assange could be jailed for 175 years if convicted on all 17 Espionage Act charges and one count of computer hacking that he faces. Robbyns Nest Education Center in Sherman has announced its offerings. After-school programs for ages pre-K to third grade daily from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at a cost of $20 per child. It includes an educational play space and homework help, if needed, with certified teachers. Lego Club is offered one Thursday each month from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. for $12 per child. A Chess clinic for students in third through ninth grade will be held March 3 from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. The cost is $20 per child. For more information and RSVP, call the 1 Route 37 East center at 860-354-0099. A black woman allegedly attacked a mother in front of her family on a bus in Portland last month and told her victim that she attacked her "because you're white and I hate white people." From Oregon Live, "'I hate white people': Woman charged with bias crime in Portland bus stop attack": A woman faces hate crime charges after authorities say she pummeled a mother in front of her young daughter at a North Portland bus stop. Nimo Jire Kalinle, 42, had just exited a No. 4 bus at North Fremont Street and Gantenbein Avenue on Jan. 19 when she started slugging Janae Jordan in the face repeatedly, court records allege. During the attack, Jordan, who was with her husband and child, asked why the woman was targeting her. "Its because you're white and I hate white people," Kalinle, who is black, told Jordan, a probable cause affidavit alleges. I wonder why the national media is ignoring this story? They had plenty of time to report about a black girl allegedly getting her dreadlocks snipped by a group of (non-existent) white kids! A gunman opened fire on another man pulling into a garage in Philadelphia Tuesday night, shooting more than 30 rounds in what police are calling an execution-type homicide. The man who was shot crashed his SUV inside the garage, causing it to fill with smoke, bringing in the fire department along with police, NBC 10 Philadelphia is reporting. The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. Tuesday on the 300 block of Dupont Street in the citys Manayunk neighborhood. Neighbor Sebastian Cortinez told NBC 10 he heard about eight shots, saw a fleeing, grey Jeep and saw the garage filling with smoke. Once crews cleared the smoke from the garage, they found a man in the front seat with the engine still running and the tires still spinning, reports indicate. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene, Action News 6 ABC is reporting. More than 30 shots were fired from what police believe was a semi-automatic weapon, according to reports. The man has not yet been identified, but police believe he lived at the home attached to the garage. No arrests have been made. Manayunk is normally a quiet neighborhood with few violent incidents, NBC 10 reports. 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. Organisations Are Adopting AI For Cyber Security Artificial Intelligence has come a long way. The beginnings of modern AI can be traced to classical philosophers' attempts to describe human thinking as a symbolic system. But the field of AI wasn't formally founded until 1956, at a conference at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire where the term "artificial intelligence" was coined. In the Internet Age, more and more organisations are using AI to raise productivity, improve sales and improve customers experiences. But they are also turning to it to shore up their defenses against cyber crime and many firms are already using AI in their cybersecurity initiatives, or plan to introduce it very soon. To do so successfully, they should build a roadmap for implementing AI in cybersecurity. However, 56% of the firms surveyed by Proofpoint say their cybersecurity analysts are overwhelmed, while 23% say they are not able to successfully investigate all identified incidents. Furthrmore, 42% report an increase in incidents through time- sensitive applications. The Capgemini Research Institute recently found that one in five organisations used AI cyber security before 2019, with almost two-thirds planning to implement it during 2020. The technology is used across the board in the detection and response to cyberattacks.But as with mny advances in technology, criminals and the military enemy are using AI technology to increase the speed, effectiveness and impact of hacks. Organisations now find themselves in an arms race. One that we can only win by embracing this rapidly evolving technology as part of a broad, deep defence. Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security Theres no doubt that the cyber security industry is convinced of the worth of artificial intelligence. The AI cyber security market is already valued at $8.8b and is expected to be over $38b by 2026. What started out with fairly simple yet effective use cases, such as the email spam filter, has now expanded across every function of the cyber security team. Today, AI is a vital line of defence against a wide range of threats, including people-centric attacks such as phishing. Every phishing email leaves behind it a trail of data. This data can be collected and analysed by machine learning algorithms to calculate the risk of potentially harmful emails by checking for known malicious hallmarks. The level of analysis can also extend to scanning attached files and URLs within the body of a message, and even, thanks to a type of machine learning known as computer vision, to detecting websites that impersonate the login pages of major phishing targets. The same machine learning model can also be applied to other common threats such as malware, which grows and evolves over time and often does considerable damage before an organisation knows what its up against. Cyber security defences that employ AI can combat such threats with greater speed, relying on data and learnings from previous, similar attacks to predict and prevent its spread. As the technology continues to develop, so too will its prevalence within cyber security defence. Over 70% of organisations are currently testing use cases for AI cyber security for everything from fraud and intrusion detection to risk scoring and user/machine behavioural analysis. Perhaps the biggest benefit of AI, however, is its speed. Machine learning algorithms can quickly apply complex pattern recognition techniques to spot and thwart attacks much faster than any human. Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Attacks and Security Unfortunately, while AI is making great strides in defending against common threats, its making it far easier for cyber-criminals to execute them too. Phishing: AI has the potential to supercharge this threat, increasing the ease, speed and surface of an attack. Even rudimentary machine learning algorithms can monitor correspondence and credentials within a compromised account. Before long, the AI could mimic the correspondence style of the victim to spread malicious emails far and wide, repeating the attack again and again. Malware: AI can facilitate the delivery of highly-targeted, undetectable attacks. IBMs AI-powered malware proof of concept, DeepLocker, is able to leverage publicly available data to conceal itself from cyber security tools, lying dormant until it reaches its intended target. Once it detects the target, either via facial or voice recognition, it executes its malicious payload. AIs speed will also likely prove to be a major benefit for cybercriminals, as it is for those of us defending against it. Machine learning could be deployed to circumnavigate and break through cyber security defences faster than most prevention or detection tools could keep up. AI will not only exacerbate existing threats its already creating new ones. Sophisticated machine learning techniques can mimic and distort audio and video to facilitate cyberattacks. We have already seen this technology, known as DeepFakes, in the wild. In March of this year, an unknown hacking group used this approach. The group impersonated the parent companys CEO to convince the subsidiary managing director to make an urgent transfer to a Hungarian supplier. Convinced he was talking to his boss, the he complied with the request and the money was successfully stolen. As AI becomes ever-more convincing in its ability to ape human communication, attacks of this nature are likely to become increasingly common. Winning the AI Arms Race When you find yourself in an arms race, the only way to win is to stay ahead. For the cyber security industry, this is nothing new. While the tactics and technologies may have changed, the battle to stay in front has raged for decades. In this latest standoff, to keep pace with AI-powered threats, we must embrace AI-powered defence. That being said, AI should not be considered the universal panacea. When it comes to successfully defending against modern cyberattacks, there is no silver bullet, AI or otherwise. A strong defence must be deep, multifaceted and, despite the rise of the machines, people-centric. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence is now a hugely important line of cyber defence. But it cannot and should not replace all previous techniques. Instead, we must add it to an increasingly sophisticated toolkit, designed to protect against rapidly evolving threats. Live Science: CapGemini: Information Age: Image: Alan Lomas You Might Also Read: The Human Effect On AI Security: Philadelphia, February 26, 2020 - The Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center (RIMGC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) launched in 2014 as a first-of-its-kind system to help families navigate the complex process of genetic and genomic testing and standardize how genetic testing is performed across different clinical disciplines. In a special report published today in the journal Pediatrics, RIMGC researchers, physicians, and genetic and financial counselors describe the success of the model, their plans to build on that success for the future, and the important lessons learned from their first four years in operation. As a trailblazer in the development of a center dedicated to genetic and genomic testing, the team also provides a framework for making such a center work, as other hospital systems around the country look to replicate the first-of-its kind model pioneered at CHOP. Whole genome sequencing has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine by allowing for the development of highly-targeted therapies and more nuanced treatment strategies. The practice will also accelerate research into difficult-to-treat conditions and help clinicians diagnose new diseases that would have otherwise remained a mystery. As the technology becomes more widely available, the cost to patients and the healthcare system has decreased significantly while demand has broadened across all specialties. Despite these benefits, genome sequencing is relatively new to the field of medicine, and for all the issues the technology solves, new issues have arisen, such as developing the infrastructure to support this growing field, working with health insurance companies to impart its necessity, and educating families about the importance of this information to their health. "We saw a need to standardize our hospital's approach to genetic and genomic testing, and we believe we have succeeded tremendously in this endeavor, especially since no other hospital had attempted a model like the one we established prior to the founding of the RIMGC," said Ian Krantz, MD, Director of the RIMGC, Director of the Center for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and Related Diagnoses, a Distinguished Chair in the Department of Pediatrics at CHOP and senior author of the report. "As this report outlines, even in a relatively short time, our Center has grown in response to clinical and research demands," Krantz added. "We thought it was important to share what we've learned as more hospitals look to the model we've created to establish similar centers." During its first four years, of the 1172 genomic (exome) sequencing tests ordered by RIMGC clinicians, 26% yielded a positive diagnosis, 37% yielded an uncertain diagnosis, and 28% yielded a negative diagnosis, while 6.5% yielded a diagnosis for a candidate gene - meaning a novel gene not previously associated with a known disease or diagnosis - and 1.2% yielded a dual diagnosis, meaning that two genes were identified as being responsible for symptoms. To illustrate the complexity of the cases reviewed by the RIMCG, the report includes five examples of patients with medical conditions that were properly diagnosed thanks to the resources provided by the team. These examples highlight a small number of the cases seen at the Center, including: An infant experiencing severe cardiac issues who received a life-saving cardiac transplant because exome sequencing results revealed two genetic mutations. A 34-month-old patient who had previously tested negative for cystic fibrosis but exhibited symptoms and was revealed to have a gene that increased the risk of the disease thanks to more robust and precise genetic testing offered by the RIMGC. An 11-year-old patient who received the proper diagnosis of Brown-Vialetto-Van Leare syndrome, a progressive hearing loss disorder that can lead to other issues such as vision loss, severe neurologic impairment and early death, which led to treatment that stopped the condition's progression. However, the report highlights hurdles that still exist, such as the amount of time spent working with insurance companies to justify genetic testing and a lack of understanding among parents and patients. For example, of the 3,483 referrals to the RIMGC, 994 were not seen for a variety of reasons, including insurance denials (324), unreachable parents (217), or patient or parents declining consultation (196). Since its launch, the RIMGC has more than quadrupled its full-time staff, and consistent assessment of the Center's clinical load has led to an expansion of services. In spite of this rapid growth, the team says the RIMGC presents a cost-saving model by centralizing these services and avoiding dozens of individual clinical departments having to hire their own genetic counselors and specialized administrative and medical support staff. "Since the Center opened, we have seen how the demand for genetic and genomic services will require a different approach beyond what traditional divisions and departments specializing in this field are able to provide," said Livija Medne, MS, LCGC, co-director of the RIMGC and co-first author of the paper. "Our experience shows how a model like this allows for those growing needs to be properly met and sufficiently supported." "We are deeply thankful to the Roberts family, whose generous support has pioneered the cutting-edge work we are doing in the RIMGC," Krantz said. "Their philanthropic commitment has enabled us to help thousands of patients and establish diagnoses of rare diseases that may have otherwise been missed, in turn allowing for improved management and treatment. Collectively, this experience will play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the impact that genetic and genomic testing will have in the years to come." ### Biswas et al, "A Centralized Approach for Practicing Genomic Medicine." Pediatrics, online 26 Jan 2020. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-0855. About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 564-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu The deadly violence over the amended citizenship act in the Indian capital drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump. Reacting to the violence in New Delhi that has claimed at least 24 lives, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said its Chairman Eliot Engel was "deeply troubled by the deaths from the communal violence in India." It said the right to protest is a key aspect in democracy, but they must remain peaceful and police must ensure the safety of all. "I condemn attacks against Muslims in India, and reject violence, bigotry, and religious intolerance. The US State Department should too," Republican lawmaker Don Beyer tweeted. US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying". "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she tweeted, adding that the "world is watching". The Indian Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. Congressman Alan Lowenthal too termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership". "We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said. Democrat presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren said, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable." Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India."The violence in Delhi prominently featured in the mainstream media. "The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Washington Post reported. "As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighborhood," The New York Times said. In a tweet, US Commission for International Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi". It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In January 2016, markets and shops were closed in Iwoland to honour a new monarch, the Oluwo of Iwo, AbdulRasheed Akanbi, as the then governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, gave him a staff of office. That was done amidst jubilation. The people of the town trooped out in large numbers to the venue of the occasion, the premises of Reality Television, along Ibadan road. The official coronation was attended by several political office holders and various monarchs across Yorubaland, including the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi. Speaking after the presentation of the staff of office to the monarch, Mr Aregbesola urged Mr Akanbi to lead by example. He reminded him that leadership naturally comes with certain privileges and that a good leader must convert privileges to resources of governance. Mr Aregbesola reportedly said: Not everyone will readily agree with you and many of them will say or do things you will consider abhorrent. But they are all your subjects and you are required to preside over them with tact and wisdom in a way that will enable you to get the best out of them. A leader must also be a unifying person and must never constitute a divisive agent. There are two kings whose reign the Yoruba never forget. These are the king whose reign is peaceful and the one whose reign is characterised by turmoil and scattering, Mr Aregbesola was quoted as saying. Responding after the governors speech, Mr Akanbi assured the people of Iwo land that he would not disappoint them. But four years after his coronation, the monarch has been involved in several fights with religious and traditional leaders. He was recently suspended by the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers for allegedly behaving improperly to some fellow monarchs. Mr Akanbi in his reaction said the suspension is a mere audio pronouncement In this analysis, PREMIUM TIMES reviews the many controversies involving the Oluwo since the last four years when he mounted the throne of his forefathers. Oluwo vs Ogundokun: Less than two years in office, Mr Akanbi fell out with the erstwhile publicity secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Abiola Ogundokun. He stripped him of the chieftaincy titles conferred on him by the Iwo Traditional Council after accusing the politician of disrespecting him as well as making utterances and actions he described as anti-Iwo. Speaking on what led to the fight, Mr Ogundokun said an honest advice to Oluwo to stop some of his odd attitude and illegality did not go down well with the monarch and it sparked the disagreement between them. He accused Mr Akanbi of planning to destroy the tradition of Iwo by not only equating himself with the gods but also crowning his wife. Mr Ogundokun sued the monarch. He also alleged that the Oluwo wanted to beat him in Mr Aregbesolas presence during a peace meeting. Meanwhile, Gboyega Oyetola, the current governor of Osun in January this year reportedly reunited the duo. Oluwo vs Deities: On October 7, 2018, Nigerians from all walks of life trooped to the palace of Mr Akanbi to celebrate his 50th birthday anniversary, as well as his second anniversary on the throne. He was interviewed afterwards and he condemned Yoruba deities. Ogun the god of Iron, which my Yoruba people relish to celebrate I would want to ask: Was there iron before Ogun or Ogun before iron? The Ogun we are talking about was just a blacksmith and his only invention was nothing but cutlass. After Ogun, there have been several inventions. Why are the inventors not made deities now? When Ogun and the other deities were canonised as deities, it was during the dark ages, when we were not as civilized as we are today, but that can no longer be allowed to continue in this age and era In another interview, the monarch disclosed how he boycotted some rites and rituals before ascending the throne. Mr Akanbi also spoke about how he removed 800-year-old deity from his palace because it oozed poor odour. whether you perform the rites or not, the day the government announces you as the king, that is settled, he responded when asked the reasons for boycotting rites and rituals. Oluwo vs Imam: In 2018, during Eld-l-Fitri prayer, an Imam in a viral video accused Mr Akanbi of attempting to sleep with his wife. Advertisements The Imam simply identified as Adio confronted Oluwo during what was meant to be a sallah prayer session. On that same day, the Imam who was supposed to lead the prayer during the event was sidelined by Mr Akanbi who argued that he was in the best position to lead the congregation. After the uproar on social media, the Oluwo trivialised the allegation. He simply the Imams accusation would only make him more famous around the world. Oluwo vs Ooni In February 2018, Mr Akanbi alleged that the Ooni of Ife, Mr Ogunwusi, ordered his bodyguard to push him out of the way during a meeting of traditional rulers in the country held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Mr Adeyeye denied the allegation. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, the Ooni said there was no altercation between Oluwo and anybody at that venue at all. While Mr Ogunwusi told the press that there was no rancour between him and the Oluwo, Mr Akanbi in April 2018 said there was a racour which was later settled at a meeting of the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers. At that meeting, we were quite blunt. I told some Obas at the meeting that they are not doing the Ooni any good, when they keep praising him. If they genuinely want to help him succeed as the Ooni, they should endeavour to tell him the truth at all times. That is what the Ooni requires and not praise-singing After the meeting, the Ooni and I had an almost three-hour closed-door meeting, where we ironed out so many things and told each other the home truth Oluwo vs Alaafin: In May 2019, Oluwo tackled Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi over alleged disunity among traditional rulers and security challenges ravaging Yorubaland. He lambasted Mr Adeyemi alongside Mr Ogunwusi of Ile Ife. Mr Akanbi in a statement by his spokesperson, Alli Ibraheem, said the disunity assailing the traditional institution meant both the Ooni and the Alaafin were losing their grip on the Yoruba race. None of the two monarchs attacked by Mr Akanbi responded. Oluwo The Emir: Mr Akanbi in March 2018 made history when he claimed to drop the title of Oba and declared his preference to adopt the Emir title popularly known with Northern traditional rulers He said Yoruba traditional rulers lacked cooperation and ideal royal attributes, saying the Yoruba Obas have been polarized owing to enmities. After widespread condemnation by the public, the Oluwo defended his adoption of the Emir of Yoruba land title, saying it was a metaphor of the disunity among traditional rulers in Yorubaland. He also said those criticising his decision were not exposed, saying that there was a need to change the past for a better present and future. Oluwo vs Agboowu: In his latest controversy, Mr Akanbi allegedly assaulted Agboowu of Ogbaagba, Dhikrulahi Akinropo, over a land dispute in Iwo land. The assault reportedly took place at the office of the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Zone 11, in Osogbo. While the meeting was ongoing, Mr Akanbi allegedly stood up from where he was sitting and descended on Mr Akinropo who was later rushed to hospital. Mr Akanbi later denied assaulting his colleague. All Osun Kings? Last Friday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Osun council of obas met for three hours in Osogbo and suspended Mr Akanbi for six months. The Ooni of Ife, Mr Ogunwusi, presided over the meeting. The council also alleged that Mr Akanbis indecent acts to some monarchs, including the Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi; Alake of Egbaland and the Ooni of Ife necessitated his suspension. Meanwhile, in his latest video, the Oluwo said no one has the power to suspend him. Recalling four months of working 12- to 16-hour days ahead of the Wirtgen announcement, he said: "Because I was the only communicator that could be on the project, I was writing letters to our dealers, their customers, a magazine to Wirtgen and getting ready for the announcement to Wall Street. It's a lot of work behind the scenes to, first, be sure we're saying what the business wants to say and we're keeping all these communication pieces consistent." Golden has been the media contact for news organizations around the globe as well as the Quad-City media. He also has been the voice as Deere faced issues with potential negative impacts to its reputation from fires, floods, hurricanes, industrial accidents to protests against Deere. "We truly care about people, in my opinion. I've been in meetings where people were wringing their hands because they had to make a tough decision (impacting personnel)," he said, adding that negative news impacting people "were the most difficult." Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel has the financial capacity to withstand a payout of Rs 35,586 crore ($5 billion) towards its statutory adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues following its recent $3 billion fundraiser that has boosted its liquidity position, Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday. "Following recent capital-raising, we estimated (Bharti's) cash is over $5 billion, which can be used to fund the final AGR payment," Moody's said in its latest report. According to the global rating agency, the Rs 35,300 crore cash payment will not cause a significant deterioration in the credit quality of Bharti Airtel, although it will substantially reduce its available cash reserves for Indian operations. "We estimate leverage of around 5.5x for (Bharti Airtel) India for fiscal year ending March 2020, and consolidated leverage will be around 4.4x, within our tolerance range for the current Ba1 rating," Moody's said. As per Department of Telecommunications (DoT) estimates, Bharti Airtel owes the government Rs 35,586 crore dues, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge. The company has so far paid Rs 10,000 crore in AGR dues to the telecom department. Sunil Mittal-led telco will pay the remaining dues after self-assessment of the amount payable to the government. Also Read: Sunil Mittal meets Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad amid 'unprecedented' AGR crisis Airtel on February 17 had said that the company "is in a process of completing the self-assessment exercise expeditiously and will make the balance payment upon completion of the same, before the next date of hearing in the Supreme Court". On February 14, 2020, the Supreme Court had ordered telecom companies to clear their pending licence fees and spectrum usage charges before the next hearing in the AGR matter, that is, March 17. Moody's also remained optimistic about Bharti Airtel's growth prospects, saying that it had successfully executed a significant amount of capital raising activities over the last 12 months. "Recent capital-raising activities provide additional liquidity to fund the AGR payment," it said. Also Read: Nobody wants to kill telecom sector: SBI chief on AGR As on December 31, 2019, the telco had consolidated cash and short term investments of $4.2 billion, with around $2.3 billion held at the Indian operations, excluding Bharti Infratel operations. India accounts for around 75 per cent of Bharti Airtel's debt and 60 per cent of operating profit or EBITDA. "Debt levels and cash costs are high for this segment and need to be serviced from India's own organic cash flow," Moody's said. "Cash and EBITDA generated at less than wholly-owned subsidiaries is not directly available to service debt at India. As a result, a significant expansion of India's cash flow is required to achieve meaningful debt reduction on a consolidated basis." On Indian telecom industry, Moody's said that fundamentals in the sector are improving, but uncertainty around the sustainability of the improvement and future cash requirements (including 4G/5G spectrum auction) remains. As per the 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 AGR dues, has made a total payment of Rs 3,500 crore, while Tata Teleservices has paid Rs 2,197 crore. Police kick Chandrasekhar, father of S, Sandhya Rani who committed suicide at Narayana college at Sangareddy on Wednesday. Hyderabad: A sobbing ex-serviceman, disconsolate over his daughters suicide at a college hostel and protesting that justice was not being done, was kicked by a policeman Sridhar Reddy (PC349) when he tried to prevent them from taking her body to the Patancheru Area Hospital mortuary on Wednesday. A video of the incident went viral and raised criticism of the friendly policing initiative promoted by the Telangana state police. The girl, S Sandhya Rani (16), was from Yenugonda village in the Jadcherla mandal of Mahabubnagar district. Her father S. Cha-ndrashekar is an ex-serviceman and her mother Padma is a homemaker. Sandhya was studying intermediate first-year course at Narayana Jun-ior College at Velimela in Sangareddy district. She committed suicide by han-ging herself in the hostel bathroom on Tuesday. Sandhya was not well for a week and the college management gave her medicine. However, she did not recover and called her parents, asking them to visit on Saturday (on other days, they would not be allowed). On Tuesday at noon, the girl hanged herself from the geysers pipe. Other students alerted the staff and she was rushed to a hospital in Nallagandla, but was declared brought dead. On learning of her death Chandrashekhar lodged a complaint with the BDL Banur police station alleging the negligence by the college management that led Sandhya to end her life. A case was registered against the college management and the body shifted for postmortem. On Wednesday, a number of relatives and activ-ists of student organisations arrived at the hospital and staged a protest, demanding justice and immediate action against the management. Sudde-nly, a group barged into the mortuary and broke open the freezer box. They took it to the main road and laid a roadblock. A police team at the spot brought the body back. Chandrasekhar lay down in front of the gate. One of the four policemen kicked Chandrasekhar and dragged him away. Using force, the police dispersed the gathering and returned the body to the mortuary. A video was captured in which a weak Chandrasekhar who was holding the freezers handle tightly is seen saying, Kick me, kill me, kill me. Sangareddy in-charge Superintendent of Police, Medak SP G. Chandana Deepti said, An inquiry has been ordered and the constable who manhandled the ex-serviceman was repatriated to district police headquarters. Police also registered cases against the protesters for damaging hospital property and taking the body from the mortuary freezer. My father, 92, was admitted to a dementia care home early last September. I have Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). I rang TalkTalk to cancel his account but they refused because I wasn't the account holder and didn't have his password. I was passed around, each time explaining that my father had no memory of even having a TalkTalk account. Frustrated: One reader has been unable to convince TalkTalk to close his dementia-suffering father's account despite having Lasting Power of Attorney They were intransigent. So I stopped the payments from September 23, thinking he would be charged for one more month, then his account would be closed. But TalkTalk continued to charge my father and in November a letter was sent to my mother's address from a debt agency, demanding payment of 99.50. I tried again to cancel his account but failed. Eventually, after several phone calls, I was told the account would be closed on January 3. I have sent copies of the LPA, with a doctor's letter confirming my father's diagnosis, to TalkTalk and the debt agency, with a request to direct all further contact to me, not my mother. But my mother recently received a bill for 128.50 the previous charges, plus a further 29 up to January 10. There is still no confirmation that the account is closed. On December 21, I received a text from TalkTalk saying they had been unable to contact me and would close the complaint in 14 days if I didn't contact them even though they had spoken to me the previous day. R. H., Hants. Yours isn't the first letter I have received complaining about TalkTalk in such circumstances. TalkTalk admits that when you rang on September 11, the call was not completed correctly. When you made contact again, the LPA had yet to be registered with Talktalk (not surprising, if they hadn't carried through your previous request properly). At this stage TalkTalk says your request as an emergency welfare case was registered and a 'cease order' was placed. So why did your mother get a further bill? TalkTalk says it refunded 70.50 to cover charges since the Power of Attorney was received. You agreed to pay a final bill of 58. Apparently the September bill for 29 had already been produced before you asked to cancel, and there was also a final month's cancellation notice charge. I don't believe you should be paying a penny, given how you've been treated. This is just poor customer service. You have YOUR say Every week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some about our article on investing in books. I have made a bit of money selling off my old book collection. They were mainly out-of-print military and aviation texts. I did OK, but it's pretty hard to find anything worth more than a few pounds in charity shops nowadays. B. B., N. Lincs. My wife used to run an online bookshop and once bought a batch of 500 books for 20. Going through them, she found a Samuel Beckett signed by the writer himself. She sold it for 320 but had to pay for transportation and storage. A. R., Beds. You can make good money by finding first editions of modern works. Most people wouldn't think that a first edition of On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan would sell for much, but they can be priced at over 200 and the value is bound to increase. P. R., Aruba. I like browsing charity shops to buy my books and CDs, but I am not a collector or interested in them from an investment point of view. However, I have noticed some fellow shoppers check ISBN numbers on their phones to look for bargains. J. D., Kidderminster. I have a book signed by horror writer James Herbert, but he has included a personal message. Once I got home from the signing, I saw several people were already flogging their books on eBay. I won't be selling mine, though. M. M., Manchester. I found a full set of James Bond first editions at a jumble sale in the 1990s. I only bought Thunderball for 50p because I liked the dust jacket. I went on to sell it for 250, but I'm sure the full set would have been worth thousands now. G. D., by email. Like many others, I suspect I don't have any books worth more than I originally paid for them. But a book can still be valuable as a way of escaping everyday life, even if it is worth just 20p. J. S., Sheffield. In January 2017 we were persuaded to move to Green Star Energy, which said we would save 400 a year. We told the rep we met while out shopping that we had smart meters. Green Star did not communicate with us in any way until August 2017, when we received an estimated bill for nearly 700. A month later we received a second invoice for 850. I queried the extra 150, as this seemed excessive in summer. We have been trying to resolve the issue but the only communication we have had is a further invoice for 1,400. N. B., Cardiff. Green Star Energy which has since been taken over by Shell Energy based its initial estimates on usage figures provided by your previous supplier. Shell Energy apologises for the delays in addressing your concerns and has credited your account with 75 as a goodwill gesture. You moved your electricity account from Shell in October but it still supplies your gas. Straight to the point Criminals accessed my Amazon account last August and ordered a watch for almost 400. My credit card provider recalled the money but Amazon is now chasing me for the money and has blocked my account until I repay it. D. C., by email. Amazon unfroze your account the same day I flagged your complaint. It refused to explain to me what had gone wrong but said it had 'put things right'. You told me the retailer had finally apologised and offered you 100 credit and a hamper as a goodwill gesture. *** Catalogue retailer Easylife is refusing to refund me for a security light which stopped working after a day. It says the light needed to be returned within two weeks but I was out of the country. A. A., St Albans, Hertfordshire. I reminded Easylife that under consumer law, customers are entitled to an automatic refund if they return faulty goods within 30 days. You then have a further six months to demand a repair or replacement or a refund if this is not possible. Easylife has now agreed to refund you 9.99 for the light and an extra 20 for its removal. *** HMRC has fined me 2,500 for filing my tax returns late for the past six years. I told the taxman I was not self-employed during this period but HMRC says it has no record of this. R. N., by email. A 2018 rule change means company directors must file tax returns. You didn't know this and didn't receive HMRC's letters because it didn't have your correct address. HMRC has now asked you to complete tax returns for the years you were company director and cancelled the penalties. You will also receive a 1,000 rebate for overpaid tax. *** Back in 2000, I took out a mortgage with Cheltenham & Gloucester. In August I wrote to Lloyds, which has taken over its mortgage book, to see if I had been sold PPI. I enclosed all relevant documents but have yet to receive a response. B. H., Christchurch, Dorset. Lloyds says you wouldn't have been eligible for PPI because you were 62 when you took out the mortgage and the age limit was 60. It did write to you, but it sounds as if this response was lost in the post. My brother-in-law died on September 24 last year and we wanted to get the money back from his car insurer, Autonet. We sent a death certificate on October 8 and the policy was cancelled. On October 15 we received a cheque for 510.89, made out to his executors. We returned this, because we did not think we could deposit it as his account was frozen. On November 28 we phoned the company, to be told a new cheque would be sent to his widow. On December 4 I called again but gave up after 15 minutes on hold. I called again on December 14, to be told the money had been returned to the account that had paid it. On December 16, I received an email asking for my brother-in-law's address and date of birth. On December 20 I received a copy of his bank account showing that 524.61 had been paid to Autonet on September 24. Mrs C. J., Newport. This was a straightforward misunderstanding but it highlights how companies need to put as much effort as possible into making things simple. Autonet followed standard procedure in sending you a cheque made out to the executors of the deceased person. It is normal practice to set up an executor account into which such cheques can be deposited and from which bills can be paid. When you asked for an alternative form of payment, Autonet sent the money to your brother-in-law's bank account but it showed as 'Atlanta-1', so you didn't spot it. Autonet says in future it will make sure it tells people to look out for this name when it is making repayments. It has also sent you 75 and some flowers as a goodwill gesture. An Easton man is charged with participating in a scheme to file more than 50 bogus tax returns to rake in more than $300,000. Stalyn Morales of the first block of North 13th Street conspired with an unnamed accomplice to file the false returns between January 2011 and June 2015, online court records say. The records say the returns were filed on behalf of Puerto Rican residents. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory but most of its residents arent required to file U.S. tax returns if their income is derived from Puerto Rico. The returns filed by Morales and the conspirator were filed using stolen names, social security numbers and birthdates of Puerto Rican residents, the records say. Morales is charged with six counts of aiding in a scheme to file false claims against the United States, three counts of aggravated identity theft and a single count of conspiracy to commit fraud. He runs MDFA Auto, an auto service business in Allentown, according to court records. A message left with Morales attorney, Glennis L. Clark, wasnt returned. Nor was a phone message left at the auto service business. Records say Morales was indicted in September. The indictment was sealed until December, records say. Hes scheduled to stand trial in April, records say. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- Demand for atomic layer deposition (ALD) solution increases, as it allows the use of new materials and designs for advanced chip manufacturing. ALD is considered as one of the superior deposition method for producing conformal and thin films. Market Industry Reports (MIR) has published a new report titled "Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20192030." According to the report, the global atomic layer deposition (ALD) was valued at over US$ 723.9 Mn in 2018 and It is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 19.49% from 2019 to 2030. Get FREE Sample Copy with TOC to Understand The Structure of The Complete Report @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/pdf/45 Segmentation: GLOBAL MARKET, BY PRODUCT Aluminum Oxide Catalytic Metal Plasma Enhanced (PEALD) and Other Products GLOBAL MARKET, BY APPLICATIONS Solar Devices Healthcare Semiconductors Electronics and Other Applications GLOBAL MARKET, BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe Asia Pacific RoW Technological advancements The use of ALD equipment in nanotechnology is one of the major factors driving the market growth. Technologically advanced ALD equipment is extensively used as tools for the manipulation of nanotechnology. As the market for nanotechnology is anticipated to grow over the years, this will indirectly influence the growth of ALD market. Moreover, growing demand for 3D NAND memory devices, have contributed significantly to the ALD market, as ALD technologies are widely used in fabrication of these products. Get Access to Data Pack @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/data-pack/45 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 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/Assumptions of the Study 3. ABSTRACT OF THE STUDY 4. MARKET DYNAMICS ASSESMENT 1. Overview 2. Impact Analysis 3. Drivers 4. Barriers/Challenges 5. Opportunities Buy this report @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/checkout/45 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 An investigation into a New Jersey State Police trooper charged with possessing child porn turned up evidence implicating a fellow trooper, who was arrested Tuesday, the state Attorney Generals office said. Andrea Knox, 35, of Mount Holly, is charged with a count of second-degree official misconduct and third-degree possession of child pornography. Knox, who is assigned to the state polices Moorestown station, was released from custody following a court appearance. The state AGs office said she exchanged texts with Trooper Jeffrey Reitz, of Williamstown, who was indicted in December on several child porn charges. He was also arrested again Tuesday on a distribution of child pornography charge. Both are currently suspended from the agency. An investigation into Reitzs iCloud account showed sexually explicit text messages and images exchanged with Knox. The two had conversations in April 2018 about an underage girl, and Knox asked what sex acts Reitz would want to perform, the office said. The next day, Reitz sent Knox allegedly photos from a nudist location that showed naked girls. "Knox failed to report that Reitz shared items of child pornography with her, despite her duty as a police officer to enforce and uphold the laws of the State of New Jersey, the AGs office statement said. Reitz was arrested in April 2019 on charges he received a sexually explicit photo of a 5-year-old girl from the childs mother, who suggested he should sexually assault the child. Knox is not the woman Reitz was chatting with in that case, the statement said. The Attorney Generals Cyber Crimes Bureau investigated the case. Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks is handling the prosecution. Knoxs attorney Katherine Hartman, of Moorestown, did not immediately return a message requesting comment Tuesday. Nor did Stuart Alterman, who represents Reitz. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 21:48:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia on Tuesday said a higher number of the country's citizens are taking parts in the IS activities in Syria and Iraq after an observation with the local intelligence. Indonesian Minister for Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said that a total of 1,276 Indonesian nationals have joined IS terrorist group abroad, higher than the previous data of 689 people. For adult militants, the minister said that the government is mulling to revoke their Indonesian citizenship. Currently, the government along with the foreign intelligence is observing and monitoring the activities of the militants, he said. "We will conduct an assessment again. We will see what kind of their activities there, how their conditions are," he told a session with lawmakers. The government has decided to reject the repatriation of the Indonesian IS combatants who have been classified as foreign terrorist fighters and pledged allegiance to the IS group, according to the government. However, the children aged under 10 years old without parents will be returned to their home country, it said. ANN ARBOR--A new University of Michigan-led study of individually radio-tracked tropical fish in a Bahamian mangrove estuary highlights the importance of highly active individuals in maintaining ecosystem health. The study found that the individual gray and cubera snappers that spent the most time swimming and foraging for food also spread the highest levels of the essential nutrient nitrogen throughout the estuary in their urine. The excretory contributions of the most active individuals nearly doubled the total amount of nitrogen that would otherwise be present in the ecosystem. That extra fertilizer means more plant growth and more food at the base of the food web. "In any population, the behavior of key individuals can have outsized impacts on their ecosystem--think Steve Jobs," said U-M marine ecologist Jacob Allgeier, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. "Quantifying the behavior of key individuals in wild populations is an emerging frontier in ecology, with the potential to upend how we define biodiversity and our attempts to conserve it." Allgeier is the lead author of a paper scheduled for publication Feb. 26 in the journal Science Advances. The paper reports the findings of a study that radio-tracked 33 gray snappers and 25 cuberas in a mangrove-lined estuary on Abaco Island in the Bahamas in 2006 and 2007. In October 2019, Allgeier was awarded an $875,000, five-year grant from the Packard Foundation. Much of that funding will be used for a larger study to radio-track about 500 Abaco Island fish to learn more about their feeding behavior. The big-picture goal of that research is to understand how an unlikely but renewable source of fertilizer--fish excretion--can be used to stimulate fish production and improve food security for people living in tropical ecosystems. In Science Advances, Allgeier and his colleagues report that while the most active snappers had an outsized impact on ecosystem health, they were also the most likely to be caught by anglers, who prize their bold behavior and fight. Gray and cubera snapper support important commercial and subsistence fisheries throughout the Caribbean and are traditionally harvested by spearfishing and angling with hook and line. Spearfishing typically targets fish with large body size, while angling tends to select for bolder or more active individuals. Allgeier and his colleagues used computer models to simulate the harvest of various types of individuals and found that the selective removal of the most active snappers reduced the nitrogen supply in the ecosystem by up to 69%. "Our results challenge the species-centric definition of biodiversity and provide evidence that the role of individuals may need to be further reconciled in how we approach conservation and the maintenance of ecosystem function," Allgeier and his co-authors wrote. For the study, transmitters were surgically implanted into fish body cavities, and nine receivers were scattered throughout the study site. The researchers used acoustic telemetry data and mathematical models to estimate the amount of nitrogen individual fish supplied and the extent to which they spread the nutrient across the ecosystem. They found that the amount of nitrogen supplied by the two snapper populations--excreted through their gills as ammonium--was roughly equivalent to all other nitrogen sources combined. And the most active fish contributed the most nitrogen. "In the mangrove estuaries that we studied, we show that there is roughly double the amount of fertilizer in the ecosystem due to individuals that are disproportionate fertilizers," Allgeier said. "We then show that fishing specifically selects for these extra-important individuals, which in turn has disproportionately negative effects on the ecosystem." In the study of infectious diseases, individuals who demonstrate a high ability to infect others--think Typhoid Mary--are called super-spreaders. Before this concept emerged, it had long been assumed that all infected individuals had equal chances of transmitting an infection to others. Similarly, in the management of fish and game populations, it was long assumed that individuals within populations are roughly equivalent and that the loss of any single individual has similar impacts on the ecosystem, Allgeier said. But the diversity among individuals within a single population is now a topic of growing research interest. Allgeier refers to the piscatory overachievers in the Bahamian mangrove estuaries as "disproportionate fertilizers." For simplicity's sake, you can think of them as super-urinators. Over the past decade, Allgeier and his colleagues have glued together thousands of cinder blocks to create 38 artificial reefs in a shallow bay on Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas, where the research is conducted. ### The other authors of the Science Advances paper are Timothy Cline of the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Timothy Walsworth of Utah State University, Gus Wathen of Eco Logical Research Inc., Craig Layman of North Carolina State University and Daniel Schindler of the University of Washington. Funding for the study was provided by the National Science Foundation. Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Cn1fbcwbgsMftFucsAtfvG8EYEQ9Ex-j?usp=sharing Jacob Allgeier Biggest Loser star Michelle Bridges arrives at court last week before pleading guilty to drink driving Michelle Bridges admits being hauled before the courts for drink driving was 'the toughest time of my life'. The former Biggest Loser star and celebrity trainer was caught with a blood alcohol level of 0.086 with her four-year-old son in the car about 11.25am on Australia Day. Bridges, 49, has called the experience humiliating, particularly as it revealed her messy split with boyfriend and former-co star Steve 'Commando' Willis. On Wednesday she spoke for the first time since her tearful apology outside Waverley Local Court after sentencing a week ago. 'The last month has been the toughest time of my life,' she wrote on Instagram. 'What I'd like to say is thank you - to my loved ones, my friends, my team, and to all who have reached out to me. 'I have received so many messages of kindness from both strangers and people I know. The biggest thank you to you all. 'I know the remorse and guilt won't go away, but I'm determined to keep moving forward, working hard and being thankful for all the good in my life.' On Wednesday she spoke for the first time since her tearful apology outside court, alongside this photo of her gazing at the ocean Soon after being convicted of drink driving, a teary Bridges said outside court 'I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep remorse, shame and humiliation (over) this incident and extreme lack of judgment' Her series of grovelling apologies is likely aimed at mitigating the substantial financial fallout of her various endorsements, and her training business. Bridges pleaded guilty after being pulled over in her Range Rover with her son Axel as she drove through Bellevue Hill, in Sydney's eastern suburbs. She was fined $750, her licence was disqualified for three months, and she will be required to install an alcohol interlock device in her car for a year. 'I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep remorse, shame and humiliation (over) this incident and extreme lack of judgment,' she said outside court last Tuesday. 'I would like to apologise to my family, friends and community for this gross error in judgment and the consequences of these actions will haunt me forever. 'I ask for your forgiveness to my greater community and my family and I thank you for your support.' Bridges pleaded guilty to a charge of mid-range drinking driving, after she was stopped for a random roadside breath test in Sydney's east on Australia Day Moments earlier her lawyer Tony Bellanto QC argued she shouldn't be hit with a criminal conviction because of the 'millions of kilograms' she helped Australians shed. 'Over 10 years she is responsible for the Australian public losing two million kilograms in weight,' Mr Bellatoni told the court during sentencing. 'Now that's powerful - two million kilograms over ten years.' 'A conviction would act as a 'scar on her record for the rest of her life when in fact she's a good mother, she's hardworking and this has had a most profound effect on her life. 'It's a special case, she's a special person'. Magistrate Allison Hawkins rebuked the submission saying 'Are you advancing that there is a special tier of justice to a person who has special standing in the community?' The magistrate said though she appreciated Bridges had been humiliated, the fact she had been going through a tough time would have been cold comfort to victims had she had an accident. HOW MICHELLE CLAIMS SHE BLEW 0.086 AT 11.25AM Bridges claims it was four vodka sodas, a glass of wine and a swirl of mouthwash that put her over the limit. In a police statement of facts, officers said Bridges was driving her son home from the beach at Nielsen Park when police her 'break suddenly and change lanes'. When police approached her vehicle, Bridges 'appeared nervous, her hands were shaking and her voice was trembling. Her face was flushed.' Bridges told officers she had 'used mouth wash within five minutes before being stopped and stated she had consumed alcohol 'last night'. During a later police interview, Bridges told officers she had drunk a glass of wine with dinner followed by four vodka sodas between 8pm on January 25 and 1am on the day she was caught. Advertisement In a police statement of facts, officers said Bridges was driving her son home from the beach at Nielsen Park when police her 'break suddenly and change lanes'. When police approached her vehicle, Bridges 'appeared nervous, her hands were shaking and her voice was trembling. Her face was flushed.' Bridges told officers she had 'used mouth wash within five minutes before being stopped and stated she had consumed alcohol 'last night'. During a later police interview, Bridges told officers she had drunk a glass of wine with dinner followed by four vodka sodas between 8pm on January 25 and 1am on the day she was caught. She declined an opportunity to draw blood at hospital for alcohol analysis. After she was charged on January 26, Bridges released a statement claiming she was going through a 'very difficult time ... dealing with the break-up of my long-term relationship' with Steve 'Commando' Willis at the time (pictured together) The fitness guru was supported by several minders as she arrived at Waverley Local Court last Tuesday morning Bridges with her ex-partner Steve Willis who shared a cryptic post to Instagram on Sunday saying 'So many things to be grateful for' Bridges looked stressed as she emerged from a car with a team of lawyers and supporters last Tuesday morning and made her way into the court house dressed in a black suit, heels and a frilly pink polka-dot top. After she was charged on January 26, Bridges released a statement claiming she was going through a 'very difficult time ... dealing with the break-up of my long-term relationship' with Steve 'Commando' Willis at the time. 'I would like to express my deep regret for breaking the law, this was a terrible mistake and an error of judgment,' Bridges said in a statement. 'This behaviour is inexcusable, and I am absolutely devastated and embarrassed to find myself in this position. 'It has been a very difficult time for me the last few weeks dealing with the break-up of my long-term relationship.' Her ex-partner Willis posted a cryptic Instagram message to Instagram earlier this week, saying: 'So many things to be grateful, joyous and happy for in this very moment. What are you grateful for right now in this very moment?' Bridges and Commando, her on air colleague, went public with their relationship in 2013, after years working together on The Biggest Loser. Bridges has written several weight loss and fitness books and started the 12 Week Body Transformation online business. Michigans second internationally-recognized dark sky park would be added to the list of the states dark sky preserves under legislation passed in the Michigan House Tuesday. House Bill 4740, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Miller, R-Sturgis, would officially designate Dr. T. K. Lawless Park in Cass County as a dark sky preserve in the states Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The bill passed 106-1. The 820-acre county park was recently named an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, a distinction given to locations that offer stellar views of the solar system. Michigans other International Dark Sky Park is Headlands Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City. The state currently has designated dark sky preserves in six state-owned parks: Lake Hudson Recreation Area in Lenawee County Negwegon State Park in Alcona County Port Crescent State Park in Huron County Rockport Recreation Area in Presque Isle County Thompsons Harbor State Park in Presque Isle County Wilderness State Park in Emmet County Dr. T. K. Lawless Park would be the first locally-operated dark sky preserve on Michigans list. Michigan was the first state in the country to declare public land a dark sky preserve with the designation of Lake Hudson Recreation Area in 1993, according to the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency. Dark sky areas must meet specific standards with light pollution and give observers an unaltered view of the night sky. To learn more about Michigans dark sky preserves and International Dark Sky Parks, visit the Department of Natural Resources website. Related coverage: Michigans second international dark sky park makes its debut This Michigan park is one of the worlds best stargazing spots Michigans Beaver Island seeks international dark sky designation Hold the wine and braise with beerit gives deep, dark flavor to sweet-and-sour carbonnade Carbonnade a la flamande isnt your typical beef stew. A wealth of caramelized onions, brown ale, and brown sugar give this Flemish stew a distinct sweet and sour tang that makes it stand out from the crowd. With hearty, fork-tender chunks of beef and a rich, glistening gravy, its the perfect comfort food to indulge in during these chilly winter days. Beef carbonnade is the stew of choice in historical Flanders, a region that spans parts of modern-day France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. You can assuredly feel the strong influence of Belgian Flanders in the use of brown ale to braise the meat, instead of wine, as is usually done in the rest of French cuisine (think of the famous beef bourguignon or coq au vin, for instance). The Flemish region straddling the Franco-Belgian border is in fact too cold for growing wine grapes, but has gained worldwide fame for its breweries and ales, which are very often used in the local cuisine. In French Flanders, you can find carbonnade served in most estaminets, local bistros that serve typical food and drink. A traditional carbonnade is made with beef, brown ale, and brown sugar, but you can find different local twists on itsuch as using rabbit instead of beef, or crumbling local speculoos cookies or gingerbread into the sauce as a substitute for the traditional brown sugar. A Note on Brown Sugar Its little known that brown sugar is a beloved ingredient in the north of France. In the 19th century, Frances first beet sugar refineries established themselves around Lille, the capital of French Flanders, importing sugar from the French colonies and through the local port of Dunkirk. At the time, brown sugar became a common good in households, and gave cooks and bakers infinite inspiration for sugar-focused recipes. Today, brown sugar still holds a prominent place in the local cuisine. Its enjoyed in popular local specialities, including la tarte au sucre (sugar pie), les gaufres fourrees au sucre (sugar-stuffed waffle cookies), and perhaps the most popular of all, beef carbonnade. What Beer to Choose? In addition to brown sugar, carbonnade relies on brown ale to build a rich, sweet and sour gravy. Traditional recipes call for a dark, deeply flavored Belgian Trappist ale, such as a dubbel (examples include Westmalle Dubbel, Chimay Premiere, La Trappe Dubbel, or Rochefort 6) or a stronger tripel, if you want to build a darker, more intense gravy (examples include Westmalle Tripel, Chimay White, La Trappe Tripel, or Achel 8). These Belgian Trappist ales are dark brown in color, with a subtle bitterness and fairly heavy, round bodies, perfect for cooking rich, earthy stews. They have a great cereal character and sweet, caramel-like malty notes, which will shine through in a carbonnade, lending it that distinct sweet and sour quality. Belgian Trappist ales are usually fairly strong (68 percent ABV), but dont worrymost of the alcohol evaporates during the long cooking process. The Maillard Reaction Another key to a great carbonnade is the proper browning of the beef. The browning occurs over medium-high heat, as the beef proteins melt with sugar to create new molecules with roasted aromas and flavors. This process, called the Maillard reaction, is essential for building flavor in a stew. Do not rush this stepit is well worth it. Brown the beef in several smallish batches and dont overcrowd the pan. Make sure that each piece has a brown crust on all sides before starting another batch. The beef cubes will release juices as they cook, but if there is enough space between them (about 1/2 inch), the juices will evaporate properly. If the pieces are too close together, the juices will surround and boil them, resulting in rubbery, grey-ish meat. Always resist the urge to stir the beef as it cooks. The pieces will likely stick to the pan at first, but will easily release once browned. To Cook and Serve To make carbonnade, you will need a heavy-bottomed Dutch-oven (about six quarts) that can go from the stovetop to the oven. Carbonnade is best suited for a weekend when you can devote a few hours to being home. This is a simple recipe that requires minimal effort and prepping, but the stew takes about two hours to cook in the oven. Serve it with boiled potatoes and carrots, over noodles, or on a mountain of French fries like they usually do in Flanders. Finally, most locals will tell you that carbonnade, like most stews, is even better reheated the next day. Carbonnade (Flemish Beer and Beef Stew) Serves 2, with leftovers to reheat the next day 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes (or regular beef stew meat) Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 tablespoons butter, divided 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups (one 12-ounce bottle) Belgian ale 1 cup beef stock 4 sprigs fresh thyme 2 bay leaves 1 1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar Pat the beef cubes dry with a paper towel and season them well with salt and black pepper. Let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you start cooking. In a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Working in batches, add the beef cubes and brown them, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd or overlap any meat cubes, or they wont brown properly. It should take about 34 batches to brown 2 1/2 pounds of beef. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with a rack in the middle. On the stovetop, lower the heat to medium and add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven to melt. Add the sliced onions and garlic and cook for about 15 minutes, until the onions are browned and caramelized. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes, until the onions are evenly coated and the flour starts to brown. Pour in the brown ale and scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar, and browned beef cubes and stir to combine. The liquid should almost cover all the beef cubes. Cover with the lid and place in the oven. Let cook for 2 hours, until the beef is fork-tender. Before serving, adjust seasoning if needed and remove and discard the thyme and bay leaves. Serve with boiled potatoes and carrots, or over noodles. Audrey Le Goff is a French food writer, photographer, and creator of the food blog Pardon Your French, where she shares recipes and stories from her beloved home country, France. She is the author of the cookbook Rustic French Cooking Made Easy (2019). She currently lives in Niagara, Canada. Follow her on Instagram @pardonyourfrench IMEE: GOV'T MUST MOVE FASTER ON SPIKE IN KOREA'S COVID-19 CASES Senator Imee Marcos has urged the government to decide immediately on measures that must be taken to keep a sudden outbreak of Covid-19 cases in South Korea from reaching the country. "Nakatutok ang gobyerno sa pag-quarantine ng mga Pinoy crew ng Diamond Princess na kagagaling lang ng Japan, pero mukhang nadededma ang mga turistang nakakapasok pa rin galing Korea," Marcos said Wednesday. Marcos cited that a direct flight from Daegu, where 791 of Korea's 977 cases of infection were recorded Tuesday, landed in Cebu before 11 p.m. Direct flights from Busan airport, only 85 kms southeast of Daegu airport, have also been landing in Manila, Cebu, Clark, and Kalibo airports and were still being sold online by Air Asia, Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Pan Pacific Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and T'way Air. "Nag-warning na ang WHO sa mga developing countries na ang kahinaan ng kanilang mga health care system ay magigiing sanhi ng paglaganap ng COVID-19. Ang pagiging maagap ang ating best defense," Marcos said. The Senate economic affairs committee chairman added that the government may have to temporarily forego profits from the country's largest tourist market and make the hard choice of imposing a quarantine on flight passengers from Korea, where a maximum virus alert level for Covid-19 was announced Sunday. Some 24 countries have already decided on a travel ban or strict quarantine measures on flight passengers arriving from Korea, Marcos said, quoting a report from the Korean Herald. An estimated two million South Koreans visited the Philippines in 2019, flying from Seoul, Busan, Cheongju, Daegu, Gimpo, Jeju, and Muan. EAST ALTON Gireesh Gupchup, director for university-community initiatives and professor of pharmacy at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), has been named 2020 auxiliary board chair for the Southwest Illinois Division of United Way of Greater St. Louis. He succeeds Jay Korte, director of client relations at The Korte Company, who has held the chair position since 2018. The government will host RAISE 2020 - an event focussed on artificial intelligence - on April 11-12 in the city. RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment) 2020 will be organised by the government in partnership with industry and academia. The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and charter a course to use AI for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in key areas like healthcare, agriculture, education and smart mobility, among other sectors, an official statement said. Ahead of the summit, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) organised an industry consultation with industry representatives, chaired by IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney. MeitY Additional Secretary Gopalakrishnan S, Abhishek Singh (President and CEO of National e-Governance Division) and other government officials were part of the consultation. Industry associations like FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM, companies including Intel, AWS, KPMG, IBM, Oracle as well as AI startups participated in the consultation. "We are extremely delighted to announce the first of its kind two-day summit- Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020'. In our opinion, a data-rich environment like India has the potential to be the world's leading AI laboratory which can eventually transform lives globally," Sawhney said. AI technology is a powerful tool that can be used to create a positive impact in the Indian context, further becoming the AI destination for the world, he added. "RAISE 2020 will facilitate an exchange of ideas to further create a mass awareness about the need to ethically develop and practice AI in the digital era," Abhishek Singh said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nowadays, every teen wishes to own the latest iPhone as soon as he or she enters college. Maybe this is the reason why billionaire Warren Buffet is not crazy about the shiny Apple. Instead, he was so much in love with his flip phone -- Samsung SCH-U320 that was launched in 2010 -- which he kept using for years, at least until 2019. Now, Buffet has -- you can say, forcibly -- moved to an iPhone 11. Warren Buffet, an investor in Apple with little over 5 per cent share in its stock, was using a $20 phone until last year, reports CNBC. But recently he moved to an iPhone 11, though it is not clear which iPhone 11he is using. Also, Buffet has not bought the iPhone 11 which he is using. He revealed to the business news channel that he often gets iPhones as gift, and did not feel the need to use one, until now. My flip phone is permanently gone, Buffet told CNBC. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO gifted Buffet an iPhone in the past but it's only now that he has given up on the Samsung flip phone. Cook, in fact, has been trying to get Buffet to use an iPhone, the Verge reported. Cook even offered to fly out to Omaha and perform tech support for Buffet, in case he needed it. So why did Buffet keep using an almost 10 years old feature phone? Simplicity. And the fact that he uses a phone only for calls. Buffet notes in his interview that he uses the iPhone for basic calling. He also says that he does not use all its facilities like most people. You're looking at an 89-year-old who is barely beginning to get with it, Buffet said, a statement that is rather surprising given the fact that the billionaire has many friends in Silicon Valley, including Bill Gates. While iPhone is used as a feature phone, Buffet apparently makes full and good use of the iPad. Using the tablet, he told CNBC, he researches topics as well as keeps a track on the stock markets. The government on Wednesday decided to lift the nearly six-month-old ban on export of in a bid to protect the interests of farmers as prices are likely to fall sharply due to bumper rabi crop. Sources said the decision was taken at a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. "Since the price of onion has stabilised and there is bumper onion crop, government has decided to lift ban on export of Expected monthly harvest in March is over 40 lakh MT compared to 28.4 lakh MT last year," Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said in a tweet on Wednesday. The lifting of ban would be effective once the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issues a notification in this regard. The GoM on Wednesday also deliberated on whether to reduce or scrap the Minimum Export Price (MEP) on onion to facilitate outbound shipments, the sources said. The MEP is the rate below which no exports are allowed. Paswan, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba were present at the meeting. In September 2019, the government banned and also imposed a MEP of USD 850 per tonne. The move came after prices had started skyrocketing due to supply-demand mismatch. There was shortage of onion as kharif crop was adversely affected due to excess rains and floods in key producing states, including Maharasthra. Currently, the arrival of rabi (winter) crop of onion has begun in small quantities and would increase from mid-March onwards. In March alone, onion arrivals are expected to be as as high as 40.68 lakh tonne (Metric Tonne) when compared with 28.44 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, as per the sources. The arrival is anticipated to be higher at 86 lakh tonne in April compared to 61 lakh tonne in the year-ago, they added. Exports of onion are expected to arrest sharp the fall in domestic prices and thereby protect the interest of growers, the sources said. During the meeting, the sources said import of pulses, especially urad, was also discussed. Feral hogs have been seen clashing with people near suburban hubs across the greater Houston area on social media and in the news this year. The wild pigs have been seen chasing teenagers in Atascocita, on ranches and farms in Liberty County and chastising home owners in The Woodlands. Although this problem feels new to the suburbanites, it is not new to Texas. Feral hogs are an invasive species in the state, according to Justin Foster, Research Coordinator with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for Region 2. The problem with feral hogs in suburban communities like the Lake Houston area is the potential for property damage, which applies to agricultural areas as well. In Texas, it is estimated they cause $52 million in crop damages and control costs every year and greater than $1.5 billion in the U.S., according to the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute. Watch: Atascocita dad wrangles feral hog that chased daughter If an individual is to come into contact with a feral hog they should refrain from touching the animals because of the pathogens they carry, said Mike Bodenchuk, state director for the Texas Wildlife Services Program. To prevent luring them toward homes, Bodenchuk recommends residents pick up any animal food outside. They can transfer Pseudorabies, otherwise known as PRV, to other animals from snout contact, which may be transferred through the food of household pets. They can also cause bacteria like E. coli to grow in surface water, such as lakes and streams, that they come into contact with from fecal bacteria. If someone must touch a feral hog, use rubber gloves to prevent a spread of pathogens, Bodenchuk said. We do tell people if youre going to handle them, I mean even just to drag them out of the road or drag them off your property, wear rubber gloves, Bodenchuk said. They do have a bunch of pathogens that can be passed on to people. Related: Feral hog invasion posing threat for Woodlands residents More Information How to respond to feral hogs Three tips to staying safe when encountering a feral hog Do not touch feral hogs without rubber gloves Remove animal food from the outside, especially at night Electric fencing will deter pigs from entering premises See More Collapse Bodenchuk said a man in the Texas Panhandle shot feral hogs and moved the animals to keep his equipment from running over them. By touching the hogs he contracted Hepatitis E and had to have a liver transplant. He didnt gut them, he didnt take them home and eat them, just from dragging them out of a field, Bodenchuk said. There is also the option to shoot feral hogs, as long as it is within legal ramifications. A professional trapping expert and hog hunter in Liberty County Joel Dudley, frequently hunts feral hogs on ranches, farms and in Liberty County subdivisions through his business, Nuisance Wildlife Removal. In February, his friend Mike Huckabay, of Tarkington, Texas, made a shot that killed the 488-pound feral hog. They had to use a tractor the next day to remove the body as reported in the Houston Chronicle. "We knew this one was big, but we couldnt tell exactly how big," Dudley, 47, said. "I've been doing this my whole life [and] by far this is the biggest pig that I have literally seen myself." This comes after Atascocita resident David Powe, 31, wrangled a feral hog that was chasing after his daughter. Powe's wife, Taryn, 33, said she has recently noticed an increasing amount of dead feral hogs in the Kingwood area along Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway. One of the hogs got a little too close for comfort when it chased after the Powe's 14-year-old daughter on Feb. 7. Taryn said her husband decided to capture the animal after police told them animal control would not pick it up. More from Savannah Mehrtens: Flood mitigation, Northpark expansion highlights Kingwood Town Hall Reasons for increased population, sightings Feral pigs or hogs can move for a variety of reasons, according to Foster. He said he could not explain why there may seem to be an increase in feral pigs at any particular location but knows of their general habits. Development and flooding, which have happened frequently in the last few years in the Lake Houston area, are two of the reasons why feral hogs would now be a part of the community. They could also be seeking food sources, according to Bodenchuk. Feral hogs are also increasing in population, not only in Texas but as a species. Bodenchuk said research projects from southeast Texas shows that there are between six and 10 feral pigs per square mile. Theres no reason to believe that feral pig populations are stable or decreasing, all evidence is that they are increasing, Foster said. Populations are very difficult to estimate, and thats probably not going to change for some time because of our ability to detect them on the landscape is very difficult. All evidence is that they are increasing and expanding their range geographically and certainly seeing that in general, the population is increasing. Although residents may see pigs running across the neighborhood yard, Foster said the majority of pigs exist in the United States, or any other country for that matter, in rangeland, wildlands and forests, which makes them difficult to detect. I think its intuitive that as feral pig populations and human populations increase, and we expand human development into what was previously rangeland, things of that nature, that were going to see an increase in human and pig conflict because thats part of what drives it, Foster said. savannah.mehrtens@chron.com A Winnipeg man convicted of making child pornography and banned from contacting children has won the right to contest his firing by the University of Manitoba. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Winnipeg man convicted of making child pornography and banned from contacting children has won the right to contest his firing by the University of Manitoba. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission has deemed a criminal record is now among the grounds protected against discrimination. "Individuals with criminal records are member of a group that has historically been disadvantaged in Canadian society and has been subjected to stigma and stereotype," reads a Feb. 10 ruling. The case surrounds a man named A.B. in the filings, who cannot be identified. He was convicted in 2007 of touching two children for a sexual purpose and making child pornography. The man served jail time and is banned for life from being in places where children under the age of 14 are likely to be present. The university fired the man, and "restricted his access to completing his education at the university." It is unclear what job he held, when he was fired, and whether he was pursuing a formal degree or taking part-time courses. 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. He launched a complaint in 2015, but the university objected ones criminal record is not among the protected grounds in Manitobas human-rights code. According to the panel ruling, the university didnt take issue with employing someone with a criminal record, but rather with someone convicted of sexual offences against children, as the institution "invites thousands of children to its property every day." The commission noted seven other Canadian jurisdictions have deemed having a criminal record to be a protected basis against discrimination. "All members of the human family are free and equal in dignity and rights, and they should not be subjected to negative stereotyping, prejudice or barriers to their equality of opportunity," reads the ruling. "Human rights statutes are to be interpreted broadly and purposively." The commission will now look into the facts around A.B.s conviction and dismissal, to see whether the university discriminated against the man. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca NJ Transit commuters would see the third straight year of increased state funding and no fare increases under Gov. Phil Murphys proposed fiscal year 2021 state budget. But, it doesnt end the practice of using capital funding -- meant to be used on major projects and purchases -- to pay for agency operations, which is a shortcoming, according to experts and lawmakers. Murphys budget proposal, introduced Tuesday, would increase the states subsidy to operate the agencys train, bus and light rail system by $132 million, to a total of almost $600 million. Our budget will continue our work fixing NJ Transit, increasing our investment by another $132 million to a record total of nearly $600 million, said Murphy, who stuck to his prepared remarks and didnt repeat past years comment to fix NJ Transit if it kills him. Allocating more money for NJ Transit continues what the legislature did in the current state budget, said state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, but other commuter issues arent addressed, including on-time trains and buses. No fare increase for commuters experiencing shoddy service is a good thing, Kean said. "But additional money isnt solving the management, nepotism and reliability issues. These are things people want us to focus on. Kean stopped short of commenting on whether he could support Murphys proposals for NJ Transit as they are, or whether they require changes. Were digging through it now and figuring out what the moving parts are, Kean said. What the governor proposed last year was unsustainable. We have to look at the amount, what the priorities are, and the affordability. Disappointment was expressed that this budget continues transferring $465 million from NJ Transits capital budget to the operating budget by both state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Janna Chernetz, Tri-State Transportation Campaign deputy director and a nominee to NJ Transits board. I would have hoped we could have put a significant dent in those capital-to-operating transfers, so that we could move forward with needed investments, Weinberg said. Those transfers in past years have been blamed for the state Economic Development Authority having to come to NJ Transits aid, borrowing $500 million to replace aging buses and trains. During Fridays Senate panel hearing on NJ Transit, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, noted the agency will be paying off that loan over 28 years while the average life of the buses being financed is 12 years. The life of multi-level rail cars and locomotives is longer. Sweeney introduced his own dedicated funding plan on Friday to constitutionally dedicate $125 million from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and $75 million from a Clean Energy Fund to transit operations. It would also use a 1% tax on corporate income in New Jersey from an existing tax. That plan would require voter approval. Eliminating capital-to-operating budget transfers needs to be addressed in any dedicated funding plan for NJ Transits operations, Chernetz said. My preferred plan is one that reduces, if not eliminates, the capital-to-operating transfers and dedicates funding to (the) operating (budget)," she said. The 2021 budget proposal also counts on the use of $82 million of Clean Energy Funds and $154 million from the NJ Turnpike Authority, up from the current fiscal year budgets $129 million. NJ Turnpike officials took the first steps on Tuesday to introduce a toll increase to fund a nine-year capital plan. No details have yet been released about how much tolls could increase. A specific proposal will be made public before hearings on March 18 and 19, Turnpike Authority officials said. Environmentalists were critical of diverting Clean Energy funds again. New Jersey must find a sustainable source of funding for our transportation system so that we can move forward with things like energy efficiency programs and electric vehicle infrastructure for our state, said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club director. A four-year budget projection in 2019 predicted NJ Transit faced a $138 million budget hole in fiscal year 2021, which was cut to $86 million after the state legislature added another $50 million to what Murphy had proposed. Even with that $50 million added, NJ Transit acknowledged it would be facing at least a $86 million deficit for the upcoming year, Weinberg said. We are pleased that the governor provided a $132 million increase in his budget proposal that the legislature will surely support. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. 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. A Tucson woman was found guilty of 21 felony counts for defrauding an elderly couple out of over $80,000, the Arizona Attorney Generals Office said Tuesday. A jury found Cynthia Renae Ortiz guilty Feb. 14 before Pima County Superior Court Judge Gus Aragon. She was convicted of two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, 11 counts of taking the identity of another, five counts of forgery and one count each of aggravated taking the identity of another, theft and theft from a vulnerable adult. Ortiz faces between 4 to 30 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced March 12. According to the state Attorney Generals Office: In 2014, a woman needed respite in caring for her husband, who was being treated for lung cancer, dementia and renal failure. The couple hired Ortiz, who told them she was a caregiver. Within two months, the womans husband died from his illnesses and Ortiz offered to assist with the estate paperwork. Then the widow suffered a disabling injury that left her near death. By Trend Humanity will remember all its wounds, including the Khojaly genocide, Head of the Center for Strategic Analysis of the Russian Institute for Innovative Development, well-known Russian expert Andrey Ivanov told Trend. Andrey Ivanov noted that the Khojaly genocide is one of the most tragic episodes of the collapse of the Soviet Union. "After the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) left the USSR, military and civil conflicts erupted throughout the entire territory of the former united country. The scope covered literally the whole the territory of the former union," Ivanov said. As for Armenia, in Yerevan, according to the political analyst, they did not intend to or know how to become a mature state, and therefore chose the path of war, hoping that cruelty would unite the nation. The so-called "leaders" began to use harsh nationalist rhetoric, which led to many tragedies, the most terrible of which was the Khojaly genocide, Ivanov added. As Ivanov said, unfortunately, it is obvious that today politicians in Yerevan are trying, albeit with a more "civilian" look, to use the old methods. "That is, to replace the real interests of people with empty nationalist slogans. Instead of solving the economic and urgent problems of their fellow citizens, they are trying to use the factor of hatred towards other nations. The fact is that such a policy prevents the modern generation of Armenia from realizing the essence and causes of the tragedies of the past," Andrey Ivanov said. In conclusion, the expert stressed that Karabakh is legal, historical part of Azerbaijan and the Khojaly tragedy is the pain of the Azerbaijani people. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz RFE/RLs Balkan Service serves one mission in three languages in five countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. All of these countries emerged from the wars of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia, and each is struggling with fragile democratic systems, inter-ethnic hostilities, the scars of war, and basic human rights, even as they all aspire to join the European Union. They also contend with external influences, including Russian misinformation, Chinese investment, and influence from the Gulf and Turkey. According to Freedom House, none of the regions media is free. RFE/RLs Pressroom spoke to Balkan Service Director Arbana Vidishiqi about the challenges facing her journalists as they work to provide balanced and independent news for audiences in this complex, divided region. Vidishiqi expressed special concern about the threat posed by cyberbullying. PRESSROOM: So, what are the risks journalists from the Balkan Service face? VIDISHIQI: The risks our journalists face are not similar to how journalists are treated in Russia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, for example. Its a different kind of pressure, its cyberbullying. Its a threat online because of a story on inter-ethnic tolerance or intolerance, or investigative stories, or a story on religious extremism. The journalists themselves receive threats on their own profiles, mostly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube not through RFE/RL. There is a lot of hate speech on Twitter in the region. PRESSROOM: Can you explain how, in your experience, cyberbullying works? VIDISHIQI: My Service has been making an effort to get as many women experts as possible to talk about all the topics we cover. But we have been faced with reluctance, and I think its because of cyberbullying. Women fear they are going to get slammed on a personal level rather than a political level. We had a woman who was president for a while, and she was the most bullied person online that Ive ever seen. You would see media putting on front pages what she wore, what bag shes supposed to carry, what color her underwear was from her white pants. Nobody was writing about her decision to open a dialogue with neighboring countries. It was more about her personally, and not the position that she held. This bullying is getting more and more intense with social media. We find that many women avoid going out on public platforms and on social media. You see them on TV because on TV theres no platform for bullying. You come on TV, you say whatever you have to say. On TV, female representation is higher, whereas it declines on online media, and I think this is directly connected with cyberbullying. There are very few women who are standing up to that bullying in this region. You can literally name them on one hand, its so few. PRESSROOM: Do you think the threat is unique to certain places or issues, or is it universal? VIDISHIQI: I think its a universal problem, but every country has its specifics. Its encouraging to see people like Nancy Pelosi in such a powerful political position, yet we focus on the way she puts shades on as shes going out from the White House. I remember President Bush wore shades, flew airplanes, and we know Bill Clinton had a great passion for saxophone, we know that Barak Obama had a great passion for booksI dont know what Nancy Pelosis passion is. We tend to find those virtues in men, but not with women, too. I think its a universal problem and of course in democratically challenged countries like in the Balkans that becomes a real problem. PRESSROOM: What are effective responses? Are there things that governments can do? VIDISHIQI: Governments need to do more, and local media needs to do more, too. They also focus their content too much on this kind of reporting. Many domestic media outlets in the Balkans have hundreds of thousands of followers. I know its difficult to administer an online platform 24/7, but it has to be an effort which we are not seeing. In our case too, we cant control everything that is posted on our Facebook pages and Twitter, but we try to block hate speakers. When we know beforehand that there is sensitive content, we post a warning message that says, hate will be deleted, and users will be blocked. Government authorities can follow up on direct threats against certain people and take them in for questioning. There is not one case to my knowledge when the authorities have taken measures against a threat on social media. There need to be local regulations on social media platforms. There has to be accountability. PRESSROOM: Are the social media platforms themselves responsive to threats and hate speech? VIDISHIQI: They should do more, too. Weve reported hate speech and profiles that were actually created with the single aim of inciting hate, and to date, theyre not even blocked. Im talking about genocide-deniers. There are tens of profiles on a daily basis on Twitter that target people who post anything about victims or survivors. Theyre full of hate, and still have a huge number of followers. No measures have been taken. PRESSROOM: Is there solidarity among journalists to respond to incidents of cyberbullying? VIDISHIQI: No, I dont think so. Because the journalists sometimes and I have total sympathy and respect for my colleagues have families to feed and bills to pay. I find their editors responsible. If journalists are pushed by their editors to get more clicks, get more visitors, to get more marketing products, more sponsorship to get there, you have to have this kind of content. Serious content, like promoting human rights, doesnt get that much traction on social media. You can take two countries and make peace between them, but you wont get as many likes as Kim Kardashian or what the president is wearing today. Journalism is the most noble profession that I know of and I love it dearly. There are certain standards and ethics that we need to maintain as journalists, and a certain amount of accountability. Were the ones who are passing through this information. We have to be that bridge. About The Balkan Service In 2019, the Balkan Service marked 25 years of reporting in one of the worlds most contested regions, championing professionalism and moderation in a media landscape that is sharply divided along ethnic and partisan lines. It registered a total of 43.6 million video views on its Facebook pages, and 14.5 million views on YouTube. Liz Anastasiadis Pickitup and the Pickies will celebrate their first anniversary on Saturday 29 February at Neimenster (Neumunster Abbey). Socially and ecologically conscious folk are invited for a morning of "do[ing] good to nature by ridding it of the litter that sullies it". In the spirit of the #trashtag phenomenon that boomed in 2019, more and more people are doing their bit by the environment and following the philosophy of 'leave no trace'. The #trashtag challenge: Challenge urging millennials to clear up public spaces goes viral The Pickitup team hopes that a large collection of plastic bottles and packaging, cans, and glass bottles will remind people of the mess casual litter can cause. Join the team from 9.30am for a "Cleanup" ride organized in the Alzette valley in the heart of the Grund and Pfaffenthal. The group are also planning a small eco-responsible fair in the Agora of the Abbey accompanied by an aperitif. More info can be found on the collective's Facebook page here. Fighting between armed group and security forces near Bujumbura also killed two police officers, officials say. At least 22 evil-doers have been killed in clashes between Burundis security forces and an armed group near the countrys economic capital, Bujumbura, according to police. The fighting on Sunday in the hills of western Bujumbura-Rural province also killed two police officers, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said late on Tuesday. Nkurikiye said the group took advantage of the electoral period to cause trouble in the country, which is scheduled to hold a presidential election in May. A teacher who led the group was among those killed in the week-long operation in the districts of Isale and Nyabiraba, he added. Local sources, however, told The Associated Press news agency that at least 12 people were executed on Sunday in Nyabiraba after being arrested by police and the governing party youth group, known as the Imbonerakure. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for their safety. Meanwhile, Burundis main opposition party, the National Freedom Council (CNL), said it saw a link between the incident and the May 20 vote. The appearance of the armed group sparked a wave of arrests of 23 of its local leaders last week, the CNL said. We denounce this harassment orchestrated by the government ahead of the May 2020 elections, party spokesman Therence Manirambona said on Saturday. CNL leader Agathon Rwasa is considered the main challenger to the ruling CNDD-FDDs Evariste Ndayishimiye in the presidential race. President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power since 2005, shocked the country by announcing he would not seek re-election after a constitutional change allowed him to do so. His controversial election to a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis. The violent aftermath of the last presidential election in 2015 made Burundi a focus of an investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged murder, rape, torture and disappearances. The government denies the accusations. Civil unrest killed hundreds of people and drove 400,000 from their homes. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Despite staunch community opposition, the owner of a Port Richmond property is moving forward with a plan to build a seven-story Holiday Inn Express hotel. Queens developer Amritpal Sandhu filed for a new building permit for a hotel of 29,550 square feet, on Feb. 20 for 109 Port Richmond Ave., according to city Buildings Department (DOB) records. The property is the former site of a C-Town that was destroyed by fire, and is one of two hotels Sandhus company is involved with developing on Port Richmond Avenue. After plans for the hotel surfaced in 2018, a grassroots civic organization dubbed Port Richmond Strong formed to fight the construction of the hotels on the busy North Shore commercial strip. The opposition stems from fears the hotel would house homeless people. I dont care what the city says. This is going to be a homeless shelter, said Mary Bullock, vice president of Port Richmond Strong. In addition, Borough President James Oddo has expressed strong opposition to the hotel. When reached by the Advance, Sandhu said his company was planning to build a Holiday Inn Express and hopes to obtain necessary approvals to begin construction within the next year. When asked about the communitys concern about the hotel housing homeless people, he declined to comment. Queens developer Amritpal Sandhu said his company is also involved with a plan to build another hotel at 33-37 Port Richmond Ave. Sandhu said his company is also involved with a plan to build another hotel at 33-37 Port Richmond Ave. Demolition of a structure on the property was halted in July after a stop work order was issued because of asbestos. However, the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) monitored the abatement of the asbestos in August 2019, and the stop work order was lifted, said Ted Timbers, DEP spokesperson. An application for a new building at 33-37 Port Richmond Ave. has not been submitted to DOB, according to agency records. When questioned, Sandhu said his corporation is working on the demolition, and plans for the site are contingent on building permit approvals. Hotels are permitted within the commercial zoning of both sites. FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER Hyderabad, Feb 26 : In a shocking incident, a Telangana policeman kicked the grieving father of a 16-year-old college student who died under suspicious circumstances. The video of the policeman repeatedly kicking the man went viral on the social media, prompting the officials to announce action against him. The incident occurred on Wednesday at Patancheru in Sanga Reddy district near Hyderabad. According to police, Sandhya Rani, student of Intermediate First Year (11th standard), was found dead under suspicious circumstances at a private college in Velimala village on Tuesday, Police registered a case of criminal negligence against the college management on the complaint of her father and the body was kept at mortuary room in government hospital, Patancheru for autopsy. The relatives of the deceased tried to take the body to college where she had committed suicide. They wanted to stage a protest and demand justice to the family. Chandana Deepti, in-charge superintendent of police, Sangareddy district, said the relatives and other students attacked the mortuary room and brought out the body from the hospital premises. The police chased away the protestors and managed to take possession of the coffin. As they were carrying back the coffin to the hospital, the girl's father tried to block their path wanting to know how his daughter died. The man threw himself to the ground and clung to the coffin. One of the police constables, identified as Sridhar, kicked the man repeatedly. "The entire police department regrets the insensitive beahviour of the said police constable officer and he has been attached to AR (Armed Reserve) head quarter Sangareddy immediately and a disciplinary action will be initiated against him after a detailed enquiry of the incident," the police official said. As the video triggered public outrage over social media, cabinet minister K. T. Rama Rao tweeted that he has asked Home Minister Mehmood Ali and Director General of Police Mahender Reddy to look into the insensitive handling by the policemen. "Showing empathy in times of grief such as this is the basic courtesy that is expected of Govt officials," said Rama Rao. "It is an unfortunate incident. The concerned police officer has been withdrawn from duties and attached to Hqrs. SP Sangareddy has been directed to take appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents," tweeted the DGP. The Microsoft logo Reuters A former Microsoft software engineer has been convicted of 18 federal felonies for stealing more than $10 million from his former employer. Volodymyr Kvashuk, who worked at Microsoft from 2016 to 2018, stole "currency stored value," like online gift cards, and resold them online. Kvashuk used the money to buy a $1.6 million lakefront home and a $160,000 Tesla. He's now facing up to 20 years in prison. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A former Microsoft software engineer has been convicted of stealing $10 million worth of digital currency from his former employer. Volodymyr Kvashuk who worked at Microsoft from August 2016 to June 2018, first as a contractor, then as a full-time employee was convicted Tuesday in the US District Court in Seattle following a five-day trial, according to the US Attorney's Office. The court found Kvashuk had stolen "currency stored value," like online gift cards, during his time testing the retail sales platform on Microsoft's website. He then resold the currency in exchange for bitcoin and used the money to buy a lakefront home for $1.6 million and a Tesla that cost $160,000 likely a Model X, given the price. "When we learned of this misconduct we investigated, terminated his employment, and then referred the matter to law enforcement," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider. "The US Department of Justice conducted their own investigation and prosecution, which resulted in a guilty verdict." Kvashuk had about $2.8 million in bitcoin sent to him over a seven-month span, and he intentionally concealed how much money was coming into his accounts by using a bitcoin mixing service, which is used to ensure that transactions can't be traced. Kvashuk claimed the bitcoin was a gift from family when he filed his tax returns, according to the US Attorney. Kvashuk was fired from Microsoft in June 2018, after Microsoft discovered the thefts. He was arrested and charged with mail fraud in July 2019, and has now been convicted of 18 federal felonies, including: Story continues Five counts of wire fraud Six counts of money laundering Two counts of aggravated identity theft Two counts of filing false tax returns One count each of mail fraud, access device fraud, and access to a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Business Insider US President Donald Trump lionized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Ahmedabad Monday, and continued to lavish praise on this exceptional leader who works night and day for his country during the remainder of his 36-hour India visit. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Even as Trump did so, the vile consequences of the fascistic, Hindu supremacist policies pursued by Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government were being bloodily spelled out on the streets of Indias capital city, Delhi. At the instigation of local BJP leaders, mobs of Hindu chauvinists chanting Jai Shri Ram and Long Live the (Hindu God) Ram ran amok in northeast Delhi on Monday and Tuesday. They attacked Muslims and vandalized and torched Muslim-owned businesses. In embattled neighbourhood after neighbourhood in northeast Delhi, said the Indian Express, one story played through Tuesday from morning to midnightgroups of young men armed with sticks and rods looking for a fight, setting shops and homes owned by Muslims on fire. All right under the nose of the police who either stood as silent spectators, looked the other way or were plain missing when they were most needed. As of Tuesday evening, 13 people had died in the communal violence, including a senior Delhi police officer, and scores had been hospitalized. Local leaders of the BJP and RSS, the shadowy Hindu supremacist organization that has long served as the BJPs ideological mentor, are directly culpable for the communal violence now convulsing Delhi. For weeks they have been inciting violence against those protesting against the BJP governments anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). This has included lauding the lethal violence that the BJP state government in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has used to suppress anti-CAA protests, as well as leading their supporters in chants of shoot them down. On Sunday, BJP leader Kapil Mishra mobilized a pro-CAA counterprotest in northeast Delhi and announced he was giving the Delhi police an ultimatumif they did not clear the capitals streets of all anti-CAA protesters within the next three days, he and his supporters would do it. Violent clashes soon followed. But Mishra is only a petty thug. It is Trumps true friend Modi and his BJP government who are politically responsibleand, by all rights, the true authorsfor the atrocities now being visited upon Delhis Muslim population. Amid a sharp economic slowdown (Indias unemployment rate recently reached a 45-year high) and a wave of worker protests and strikes, Modi and his BJP are relentlessly stoking Hindu communalism. Their aim is three-fold: to mobilize their Hindu supremacist supporters as shock troops against mounting social opposition; to divert growing popular anger and frustration behind reaction; and to split the working class. In August, the Modi government illegally stripped Jammu and Kashmir, Indias lone Muslim state, of its semi-autonomous status, and ever since the region has been subject to repression tantamount to a stage of siege. Bowing to a violent decadeslong campaign mounted by the BJP and its right-wing Hindu allies, Indias Supreme Court recently directed the Modi government to build a temple to the Hindu god Lord Ram on the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid (mosque) stood until Hindu communalists tore it to the ground in 1992, at the instigation of top BJP leaders. The anti-Muslim CAA, which was rushed through parliament last December, makes religion a criterion for determining citizenship for the first time ever in nominally secular India. Moreover, it establishes a legal mechanism for harassing, bullying and ostracizing poor Muslims in the name of ferreting out illegal immigrants. However, to the shock of Modi and his government, the CAA has been met with nationwide mass protests that have united Indian workers, students and professionals across all religious-sectarian, caste and ethno-linguistic divides. The greatest fear of the BJP government and the Indian ruling class is that the mass opposition to the CAA will intersect with and come under the leadership of an insurgent working class. Such a development has already been foreshadowed by last Januarys one-day general strike, which saw tens of millions of workers across India walk off the job to protest the BJPs austerity measures, pro-investor reforms and its anti-Muslim CAA. At a press conference in Delhi at the conclusion of his trip and even as significant portions of Indias capital continued to be convulsed by violence, Trump sprang to Modis defence. The US president, whose own anti-Muslim bigotry has found official expression in US travel bans on residents from half a dozen predominantly Muslim countries, praised Modi as a votary of religious tolerance. The prime minister said he wants people to have religious freedom, Trump declared. They have worked really hard on it. Trump, as always, does it more crudely and brazenly. But if truth be told, the US political establishment, Democratic and Republican alike, the Pentagon and the media all celebrate the Modi-led BJP government as a crucial ally, and have conspicuously ignored, covered over and downplayed its manifold crimes. This is because US imperialism considers India as pivotal to its reckless military-strategic offensive against China. Not only does nuclear-armed India have the worlds fourth largest military budget and share a long-disputed border with China, geographically it commands the Indian Ocean sea lanes that convey much of the oil that fuels Chinas economy and serve as the principal conduit for its exports to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Under Modi, India has been transformed into a frontline state in Washingtons anti-China war drive. New Delhi has thrown open its ports and bases to US warships and warplanes, parroted the US stand on the South China Sea dispute, and expanded bilateral and trilateral cooperation with Washington principals Asia Pacific allies, Japan and Australia. At yesterdays press conference Trump enthused over how he and Modi are revitalizing the Quad Initiativethat is, forging a NATO-style, anti-China alliance uniting India, Japan and Australia under US leadership. That said, there is no doubt that the fascistic billionaire, America First anti-immigrant US president feels genuine political affinity with the Hindu supremacist autocrat Modi. This points to vital political issues that go beyond the incendiary geostrategic aims of Trumps visit to India and have been highlighted by the past two days communal outrages in Delhi. Everywhere, crisis-ridden capitalist elites are promoting ultraright, communalist and fascist forces with the aim of intimidating, diverting and splitting the working class. In Germany, powerful elements in the national security apparatus and the political establishment have conspired to transform the far-right AfD into the official opposition in the national parliament. In France, President Emmanuel Macron has moved to rehabilitate the Nazi collaborator Marshal Petain as he uses police violence and newly normalized emergency law measures to impose sweeping social cuts. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakse, who played a key role in directing the final stages of the Sinhaleses elites thirty-year anti-Tamil war, is inciting Buddhist supremacism with the aim of derailing mounting opposition to sweeping IMF-dictated austerity measures. The wave of strikes and mass anti-government protests that has swept the globe since 2018 has demonstrated that when the working class moves, it does so as a class, uniting workers across all racial, ethnic, communal and gender lines. This is as true of India, as it is of the United States. But the objective unity of the working class must be politically leavened by a socialist internationalist program that illuminates the common class interests of workers around the world and politically underpins the fight to fuse their struggles into a global offensive against capitalism. This requires an implacable struggle against the nationalist, communalist, racialist right and far-right. But it is also a fight against the economic nationalist program of the trade union bureaucracy and against all purveyors of racial, gender and other forms of upper-middle class identity politics. The latter seek the redistribution of wealth among the top 10 percent. They are vehemently hostile to the class unity of working people in the fight for social equality and against imperialist war because they recognize it to be a threat to their own privileges. With workers around the world united by the process of global production and able to coordinate their struggles through modern telecommunications, conditions have never been more propitious for realizing the watchword of the Communist Manifesto: Workers of the World Unite. But to do so, the furious resistance of a putrid social order that is vomiting up reactionwhether in the form of far-right nationalism, racism and communalism, or poisonous pseudoleft identity politicsmust be overcome through the political education and mobilization of the working class. It is to this task that the World Socialist Web Site, the International Committee of the Fourth International and its constituent Socialist Equality Parties are dedicated. The US Embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday urged its citizens in India to exercise caution in the wake of violence in northeast Delhi. U.S. citizens in India should exercise caution in light of violent demonstrations in Northeast Delhi and avoid all areas with demonstrations. It is important that you monitor local media outlets for updates on demonstrations, road and Metro closures, and possible curfews. The Government of India-imposed law that prohibits political gatherings of four or more people known as Section 144 remains in effect in certain areas, read the statement. The advisory came the day after US President Trump left for home following a two-day state visit to India. When asked about the CAA protests and the violence in northeast Delhi during his press conference on Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that religious freedom in India figured in his talks with PM Modi, but ducked a question on CAA, saying it was up to India to deal with the issue. ALSO WATCH | What Donald Trump said on CAA debate, Pakistan terror, at Delhi briefing At least 27 people, including one police man and an Intelligence Bureau officer, have been killed and over 200 injured in three days of violence in northeast Delhi in clashes between groups supporting and protesting against the amended citizenship law (CAA). The Delhi Police on Wednesday said that it has registered 18 FIRs and arrested around 106 people in connection with the violence in northeast Delhi. Earlier in the day, the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal demanded army deployment in the city to tackle the communal violence seen in the last three days. I again appeal to the home minister to call out the army to control the situation in Delhi, Kejriwal said in the assembly. CHARLESTON, S.C. Eyeing a South Carolina victory to rescue his presidential ambitions, Joe Biden claimed one of the states most coveted endorsements on Wednesday as Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders marched past the blistering assault from his rivals on the debate stage the night before. And Pete Buttigieg, a leading critic of both Biden and Sanders, canceled multiple events on the day saying he was sick. The developments came just three days before South Carolinas presidential primary election and six days before Super Tuesday with the Democratic establishment growing increasingly concerned that Sanders, a polarizing progressive, is tightening his grip on his partys presidential nomination. Biden is staking his candidacy on a win in South Carolina on Saturday that would deny Sanders a third consecutive clear victory. He got a boost Wednesday after earning the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and a South Carolina political kingmaker. I want the public to know that Im voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden, Clyburn said, later adding I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us. Speaking afterward, Biden predicted victory and slapped at Sanders. Today, people are talking about a revolution, Biden said. But what the countrys looking for are results. The night before, Biden and his Democratic rivals unleashed a roaring assault against Sanders during a contentious debate that tested the strength of the undisputed front-runner in the partys presidential nomination fight. Sanders faced the brunt of the attacks for much of the night, and for one of the few times, fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren was among the critics. The Massachusetts senator pressed the case that she could execute ideas that the Vermont senator could only talk about. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, she said. But I think I would make a better president than Bernie. A group of moderates, meanwhile, fought to emerge as the chief Sanders alternative. Biden argued that only he has the experience to lead in the world. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. And Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, pointed to Sanders self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castros push for education. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, Buttigieg declared. But the moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited the Vermont senator. Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president and noting all the recent attention hes gotten: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why. Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver argued afterward that the debate didnt knock Sanders off his front-runner perch. They threw everything they could at Bernie Sanders. None of it stuck, Weaver said, adding that some candidates showed an air of desperation. Trump, who returned to Washington early Wednesday after a two-day trip to India, responded to a reporters shouted question about whether hed seen the debate: I did, he said while stepping into a car. Not too good, not too good. The intensity of Tuesdays forum, with candidates repeatedly shouting over each other, reflected the reality that the Democrats establishment wing is quickly running out of time to stop Sanders rise. Even some critics, Bloomberg among them, conceded that Sanders could build an insurmountable delegate lead as soon as next week. The Democratic White House hopefuls will not stand side by side on the debate stage again until the middle of March. That made Tuesdays debate likely the last chance for some candidates to save themselves and alter the trajectory of the nomination fight. Though Sanders was at the center of the attacks, this week marks something of a high point in his political career. After spending nearly three decades as an agitator who delighted in tearing into his partys establishment, that very party establishment was suddenly fighting to take him down, a clear sign of his rising status as the leading candidate for the nomination. New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg also faced sustained attacks that gave him an opportunity to redeem himself after a bad debate debut one week earlier. Warren cut hard at his record as a businessman, bringing up reports of one particular allegation that he told a pregnant employee to kill it, a reference to the womans unborn child. Bloomberg fiercely denied the allegation, but acknowledged he sometimes made comments that were inappropriate. Bloomberg cannot earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party, Warren said. He is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage. But Bloomberg will likely remain a force in the contest even as other candidates may quickly face tough choices about the sustainability of their campaigns. Bloomberg has already spent more than $500 million on a national advertising campaign, and his fortune ensures he will remain a factor at least through Super Tuesday. But the skepticism for Sanders was a constant. Buttigieg raised concerns that a Sanders nomination would cost Democrats the House and make it harder to retake the Senate. Were not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime, Buttigieg said. Back in Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday brushed back the down-ballot warnings about Sanders. I think whoever our nominee is we will enthusiastically embrace and we will win the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol. The South Carolina contest offers the first real look at the influence African American voters play in the Democrats presidential nomination process. Biden is trying to make a big impression in in the state, where he was long viewed as the unquestioned front-runner because of his support from black voters. But heading into Saturdays primary after three consecutive underwhelming finishes, there were signs that the former vice presidents African American support may be slipping. One reason: Tom Steyer. The billionaire activist has been pouring money into African American outreach, which threatens to peel away some of the support Biden badly needs. Biden used the Clyburn endorsement to repeat an idea he mentioned, almost casually, at the end of Tuesdays debate, to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. As president, Id be honored to appoint the first African American woman. Because it should look like the country. Its long past time, Biden said, recalling that Obama nominated the courts first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. And he offered a direct message to Democrats in South Carolina and beyond who may be doubting the strength of his candidacy. If you send me out of South Carolina with a victory, there will be no stopping us, Biden charged. We will win the nomination. We will win the presidency. And most importantly, we will end the fear of a second term for Donald Trump. ___ Peoples reported from Washington. AP writer Thomas Beaumont in Columbia, South Carolina contributed. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Being successful often means learning from those who have already achieved their goals. Having a mentor is an amazing blessing to an entrepreneur, but not everyone can find one in person. If you havent yet found your personal business guru, here are 21 tips for young or aspiring entrepreneur to help get you started. 1. Challenge yourself. Richard Branson says his biggest motivation is to keep challenging himself. He treats life like one long university education, where he can learn more every day. You can too! 2. Do work you care about. Theres no doubt that running a business take a lot of time. Steve Jobs noted that the only way to be satisfied in your life is to do work that you truly believe in. 3. Take the risk. We never know the outcome of our efforts unless we actually do it. Jeff Bezos said it helped to know that he wouldnt regret failure, but he would regret not trying. Related: The 3 Key Elements to Make Your Business a Success 4. Believe in yourself. As Henry Ford famously said, Whether you think you can, or think you cant, youre right. Believe that you can succeed, and youll find ways through different obstacles. If you dont, youll just find excuses. 5. Have a vision. The founder and CEO of Tumblr, David Karp, notes that an entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a desire to create it. Keep your vision clear at all times. 6. Find good people. Who youre with is who you become. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, noted that the fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be. 7. Face your fears. Overcoming fear isnt easy, but it must be done. Arianna Huffington once said that she found fearlessness was like a muscle -- the more she exercised it, the stronger it became. 8. Take action. The world is full of great ideas, but success only comes through action. Walt Disney once said that the easiest way to get started is to quit talking and start doing. Thats true for your success as well. 9. Do the time. No one succeeds immediately, and everyone was once a beginner. As Steve Jobs wisely noted, if you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time. Dont be afraid to invest time in your company. 10. Manage energy, not time. Your energy limits what you can do with your time, so manage it wisely. 11. Build a great team. No one succeeds in business alone, and those who try will lose to a great team every time. Build your own great team to bolster your success. 12. Hire character. As you build your team, hire for character and values. You can always train someone on skills, but you cant make someones values fit your company after the fact. Related: 7 Reasons Rock Star Entrepreneurs Hit Home Run After Home Run 13. Plan for raising capital. Richard Harroch, a venture capitalist, has this advice for upcoming entrepreneurs: Its almost always harder to raise capital than you thought it would be, and it always takes longer. So plan for that. 14. Know your goals. Ryan Allis, co-founder of iContact, pointed out that having the end in mind every day ensures youre working toward it. Set goals and remind yourself of them each day. 15. Learn from mistakes. Many entrepreneurs point to mistakes as being their best teacher. When you learn from your mistakes, you move closer to success -- even though you initially failed. 16. Know your customer. Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendys, cited knowing your customer as one of his three keys to success. Know those you serve better than anyone else, and youll be able to deliver the solutions they need. 17. Learn from complaints. Bill Gates once said that your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Let unhappy customers teach you where the holes in your service are. 18. Ask for customers input. Assuming what customers want or need will never lead to success. You must ask them directly, and then carefully listen to what they say. 19. Spend wisely. When you spend money on your business, be careful to spend it wisely. Its easy to spend too much on foolish things and run out of capital too soon. 20. Understand your industry. Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, once said, Dont play games you dont understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them. Truly understanding your industry is key to having success. 21. Deliver more than expected. Google's Larry Page encourages entrepreneurs to deliver more than customers expect. Its a great way to get noticed in your industry and build a loyal following of advocates. Being a successful entrepreneur takes a lot of work, a lot of vision and a lot of perseverance. These 21 tips, from entrepreneurs who have already found success, will help you navigate the path much more easily. Whats your favorite success tip for entrepreneurs? Share it below in the comments section below. Related: 3 Truths Wise Entrepreneurs Learned the Hard Way Related: The 3 Pillars of Great Presentations 8 Surprising Signs You Could Be an Entrepreneur Mind Over Matter: Why Choosing Happiness Is The Key To Success Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Army says cops should not be wearing combat uniform India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: The Indian Army has urged the Centre not to let cops wear combat gear in Delhi. The Army has written to the Defence ministry saying that the Home Ministry should issue instructions that combat gear should not be worn by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) while being deployed to handle law and order situations or being deployed in urban areas affected by terrorism. The Army says that the surroundings do not demand such a requirement. The use of distinctly different, both in colour and pattern disruptive dress by the CAPFs and state police forces should be restricted only to deployment in jungle terrain in left wing extremism affected areas. The bullet proof jackets worn by the CAPFs and state police should be of plain khaki and not of combat colour. Over the years the state police and CAPFs have started wearing combat uniforms which are just slightly different from the ones that are worn by the Indian Army personnel. These minor variations cannot be distinguished by civilians giving them the impression that the personnel wearing such dresses in cities and towns of India while engaged in internal security duties, escorting VIPs, on policing duties are Army personnel. NSA Ajit Doval reaches north-east Delhi, to take stock of situation NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Further the Army has also told the Defence Ministry that the sale of Army pattern clothes in the open markets should be regulated. F lood defences have finally been breached in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley after holding out for days against the rising levels of the River Severn. The emporary barriers, which were erected in the wake of Storm Dennis, gave way to the rising waters late on Tuesday night. Locals have been warned of the overtopping and emergency workers battled overnight to try and limit the damage. Photos taken at Beale's Corner in the riverside town show flood water pouring over the top of the barriers and swamping the surrounding area. It comes as forecasters warned low-lying areas on the Severn are to be hit by more severe flooding on Wednesday. This could spark the over-topping of defences in Ironbridge, Shropshire. Ongoing flooding is also forecast over the next few days, with England having seen more than 200 per cent of its average February rainfall. The river at Bewdley was on Wednesday expected to come close to its highest recorded level, which was 5.56m in November 2000. Flooding in the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire after the River Severn burst its banks / PA The Met Office has warned of further showers across the UK today, followed by even more rainfall on Thursday and Friday. Forecaster John Griffiths said between 5mm to 10mm could fall on the River Severn's source, the Welsh hills, throughout Wednesday. Other parts of the UK could see up to 2mm, he added. He said temperatures are likely to "hover around freezing" in the morning, with the west of England and the Midlands experiencing the most frequent showers. A yellow weather warning for ice has been issued until 10am on Wednesday for Northern Ireland, west Scotland, Wales and large swathes of England. 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 A further 5mm to 10mm of rain is forecast for most areas on Thursday, increasing to 10mm to 20mm in a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday morning across catchment areas in Wales, Cumbria and Yorkshire, Mr Griffiths said. The Environment Agency has warned flooding is possible on the rivers Wye, Ouse and Trent, with other areas at risk from localised flooding caused by heavy rainfall expected on Friday. It comes as homes were evacuated on Tuesday after the River Aire burst its banks in Snaith, in East Yorkshire. As of 10.30pm, two severe "danger to life" flood warnings had been issued for the Shropshire towns of Shrewsbury and Ironbridge. The Environment Agency said there is a "potential for the Ironbridge [flood] barrier to overtop". Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday blamed the central government for the violence that rattled parts of Delhi during the last three days. "People who are in power, who control the police are responsible for it. They (BJP leaders) have been giving inflammatory speeches. The society will naturally bear the brunt of such statements," Baghel told reporters here. Violence erupted in northeast Delhi on Monday after groups protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those supporting it clashed with each other, leading to arson and vandalism in the area. The clashes fanned out to Chand Bagh, Mustafabad, Brijpuri, Shiv Vihar and Noor Ilahi until Tuesday in which at least 20 persons, including a police head constable, died and over 200 got injured. NSA Ajit Doval who has been tasked with containing the violence visited the violence-hit areas to take stock of the situation and spoke with the locals. He asked the people to maintain peace and assured safety for all. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Reuters) - Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia Oyj is exploring strategic options and is working with advisers to consider potential asset sales and mergers, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. There is no truth to the report, a source close to the company said, while Nokia declined to comment. (https://bloom.bg/3a1uMAW) The company, which competes with Ericsson and Huawei [HWT.UL] for 5G network equipment, said in February it expects intense competition to continue in 2020, as rivals seek to grab market share. 5G networks are at the center of a brewing technology war between United States and China, as they are expected to host critical functions including driverless vehicles, smart electric grids and military communications. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the United States and its allies should consider investing in Nokia and Ericsson to counter Huawei's dominance in 5G technology. Nokia's U.S.-listed shares were up about 9% in afternoon trading. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki in Helsinki and Ambhini Aishwarya and Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Katherine Johnson, the black woman who had a key role in sending humans to the moon, died on Monday at the age of 101. Katherine Johnson, who was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, was a trailblazer. She was known as the mathematical genius who worked on the Mercury and Apollo missions during her three decades with the US space program. Her mathematical genius was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the movie 'Hidden Figures.' Coleman's intelligence and skill with numbers became apparent when she was just a child. She started attending high school at the age of 10 and graduated with the highest honors from West Virginia State College at the age of 18 where she earned her bachelor's degrees in both mathematics and French. She began working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)'s West Area Computing unit in 1953. The group was comprised of African American women who were tasked with manually performing complex mathematical calculations for the program's engineers. The women, who were called West Computers, analyzed test data and provided computations that were critical to the success of the early US program. Before NACA was incorporated into the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Katherine Johnson and the other African American mathematicians had to use separate bathrooms and dining facilities. Johnson was a member of the Space Task Group at NASA. Katherine Johnson's most important job was figuring out how to ensure that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, would land as close as possible to the recovery team waiting in the Atlantic. Johnson, who was made famous by the book and movie Hidden Figures, told NASA in a 2008 interview, "I said, 'Let me do it. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I'll do it backward and tell you when to take off.' That was my forte." She is also an author or a co-author of 26 research reports during her career. Johnson retired from NASA in 1986. Her work has earned her many awards and honors. In 2015, President Obama awarded her the Medal of Freedom. In 2016, NASA honored her by naming one of their buildings the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility. Margot Lee Shetterly published a book about the West Computers titled Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. The film Hidden Figures, which was based on Margot Lee Shetterly's book, was also released in the same year. Katherine Johnson was played by Taraji P. Henson. Johnson attended the 2017 Oscars ceremony where she joined the film's cast and was given a standing ovation. Katherine Johnson is most proud of her contributions to the first moon mission, which included the calculations that allowed the lunar lander craft and the orbiting command module to sync. She and her first husband, James Goble, shared three daughters before his passing in 1956. She married Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson in 1959. After her passing, NASA remembered her legacy in a Twitter post, saying: "Tonight, count the stars and remember a trailblazer. A figure hidden no more, Katherine Johnson helped lead us into a new era in space exploration, and for that, we are forever grateful. Join us in reflecting on her powerful legacy." At least 24 people died and four others sustained injuries as a private bus carrying a wedding party fell into a river on KotaDausa highway in Bundi district on Wednesday morning, police said. The wedding party with 28 persons on board was headed to Sawai Madhopur from Kota early morning when the driver apparently lost balance of the bus while traversing a bridge near Papdi village under Lekhari police station limits, Lakheri Sub-Inspector Rajendra Kumar told PTI over phone. The bus, subsequently, plunged into Mej river from the bridge that had no wall or railing, Kumar said. Thirteen people died on the spot while 10 others succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital, he added. The deaths include 11 men, 10 women and three children. The injured were rushed to Lekhari government hospital from where the critically injured are being referred to a government hospital in Kota, the SI further said. Most of the injured people were rescued with the help of locals in the village, he added. Mej river is a tributary of the Chambal river in Rajasthan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A model who remained in Wuhan for her boyfriend during the coronavirus outbreak has claimed that the locals were facing a food shortage, especially meat. Residents of a village on the outskirts of Wuhan were only able to buy basic vegetables, and 'some families even had no meat to eat', said Annabella Woo who is from Hong Kong. One villager allegedly got detained for 14 days after sneaking out of the community to buy groceries, she wrote on social media. Hong Kong model Annabella Woo has been stranded in a village an hour drive from downtown Wuhan after the city went into lockdown last month to prevent the spread of the coronavirus Residents of a village on the outskirts of Wuhan were only able to buy basic vegetables, and 'some families even had no meat to eat', Ms Woo wrote in a post on Instagram yesterday The 28-year-old has been documenting her life in a small community about an hour drive from downtown since the city went into lockdown last month to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. In her latest post on Instagram, Ms Woo described her situation 33 days into isolation. She said that all families in the village had to get their daily supplies through local officers, who would ask the residents what they need and buy the goods for them. She called these people 'surrogate shoppers'. 'The surrogate shoppers of our village can only purchase simple vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips and cabbages. [It's] hard to get meat' she wrote yesterday. The locals were so desperate for meat they had started to catch fish in rivers, the entertainer said. She said that all families in the village had to get their daily supplies through local officers, or 'surrogate shoppers', who would ask the residents what they need and buy the goods for them 'The surrogate shoppers of our village can only purchase simple vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips and cabbages. [It's] hard to get meat' she wrote yesterday. The locals were so desperate for meat they had started to catch fish in rivers, the entertainer said Ms Woo counted herself lucky because she said she had been given 10 chickens and a box of eggs by neighbours who are poultry farmers. 'At least, I have meat for every meal. Four dishes and a soup, this is already very good. Some families even had no meat to eat,' added the entertainer, who is also an anchor. Ms Woo said she was fortunate to have good friends and neighbours. She said she was able to harvest vegetables from other families' fields should she need; and a Japanese friend of hers had also posted face masks and herbal cough medicine to her. She encouraged people to stay calm to beat the virus. 'The epidemic is like an exam. I hope through this exam, we can improve the immunity of our emotions. After all, only those who can control their emotions well will be able to control their lives,' she said. The coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,771 people, infected more than 81,400 globally Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei with 11 million residents, went into lockdown on January 23 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The picture shows a Chinese security guard wearing a protective mask as he checks the temperature of people in Beijing on February 26 Hubei, situated in central China, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the confirmed cases and 95 per cent of the deaths globally. Outbreaks outside of China have escalated. The picture shows a woman in Beijing wearing a protective mask as she walks in the street on February 26 Overnight, the Hubei health officials reported 401 new cases out of a nationwide total of 406 and all 52 new deaths from the country. The picture shows a Chinese man wearing a protective mask as he waits to cross a nearly empty intersection on February 26 in Beijing Originating in Wuhan, the new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 78,000 people inside China. Hubei, situated in central China, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the confirmed cases and 95 per cent of the deaths globally. Wuhan, the provincial capital with 11 million residents, went into lockdown on January 23 in the wake of the outbreak. The majority part of Hubei then followed suit. A nurse donning a hazmat suit looks out from her misty goggles while working in a hospital designated for COVID-19 patients in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on February 23 Male nurse Liu Hengming adjusts his goggles while working in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital designated for COVID-19 patients in Wuhan in central China's Hubei on February 22 Dozens of countries are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. The picture shows medical personnel working in the intensive care unit of a hospital designated for COVID-19 patients in Wuhan in Hubei province on February 24 Overnight, the Hubei health officials reported 401 new cases out of a nationwide total of 406 and all 52 new deaths from the country. Outbreaks outside of China, however, have escalated in the past few days. Dozens of countries are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. Globally, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,771 people, infected more than 81,400 and spread to at least two dozen countries. The ongoing communal violence in North East Delhi has claimed around 22 lives, so far, and has injured over 170 people. The localities of Chand Bagh, Bhajanpura, Gokulpuri, Maujpur, Kardampuri and Jaffrabad saw the worst of the violence yesterday. The clashes broke out over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a matter over the which the nation has been witnessing a state of unrest for a while now, and occurred right before the visit of US President Donald Trump. According to India Today, a 14-year-old boy who wasnt an agitator or part of the violence, was also shot at in the ongoing riots. BCCL While heartbreaking images of the violence in the national capital have been flooding the internet, on the other hand, heartwarming stories of people going out of their way to protect each other have also been surfacing. In a beautiful gesture, Gurudwaras in the national capital have been opening their doors to offer shelter to the victims of the violence, irrespective of their religion. Gurudwaras are open for those in need if anyone faces any issue please DM. Aflatoon Wazir (Gobhi Parantha) (@sanamwazir) February 25, 2020 Nothing is more beautiful than watching people coming together to support each other, during a time of hate. In one part of Delhi, a gurdwara opens its doors to Muslims and anyone who needs shelter. In Seelampur, Dalits blocked the roads against mobs, sheltered their Muslim neighbours. Police and politicians have forgotten their duty; but the people have courage and heart.#DelhiRiots Nilanjana Roy (@nilanjanaroy) February 25, 2020 While half the city was burning, some people still wanted to do everything they can to help. Gurudwaras in North Delhi including in Majnoo ka Tila will look after people who need help tonight, Delhi GPC leaders said. People in North and Northeast Delhi please be informed . . Kallol Bhattacherjee (@janusmyth) February 24, 2020 People on the internet were seen spreading messages of kindness and reminding people that humanity comes first, which is nothing but a silver lining for us all. True.. Gurudwaras have always shown us the way! Kamalrukh Kahn (@kamalrukhkhan) February 25, 2020 Agreed! Ray of hope specially when all institutions failed Dr.Shibsankar Mahato (@DrSsmahata) February 25, 2020 Indeed. Only the ordinary people can save India Md Nazeer (@Md_Nazeer_INDIA) February 25, 2020 Makes sense Thanks to see probably less but some sensitive ppl. Perky (@RedChilli1976) February 25, 2020 Do you agree? That's our India. We love and care our people. Rioties spread only hatered. Time to all citizens to help each other. Show care, gain respect, spread love. This time will go soon...but always remember the one who helped for your lives. Bashir (@Bashir_Makandar) February 25, 2020 True story. That's the beauty of India Ambreen (@Only_ambreen) February 25, 2020 Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed in many areas in North East Delhi and the Rapid Action Force and the CRPF have been deployed to control the violence. Bernie Sanders slams Trump's weapons deal with India as Boeing smiles US Senator and Democratic Party's frontrunner for the US presidential elections, Bernie Sanders, on Tuesday said the US should partner India to fight climate change instead of selling billions of dollars worth of weapons, even as Boeing welcomed India's decision to acquire six AH-64 Apache helicopters for its Army "Instead of selling $3 billion in weapons to enrich Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed, the United States should be partnering with India to fight climate change. We can work together to cut air pollution, create good renewable energy jobs, and save our planet," Sanders tweeted. The 78-year-old senator is one of the staunchest critics of Trump and has cemented his grip on the top spot in the race to find a challenger to the Republican Party leader in the 3 November election. US Aerospace and defence firm Boeing on Tuesday welcomed Indias decision to acquire six AH-64 Apache helicopters and lifecycle services support for the Indian Army. Boeing said in a statement that the AH-64E Apache will be a force multiplier for the Indian Army just as it is today for the Indian Air Force. "We congratulate the US and Indian governments on this key milestone and welcome the positive momentum in the bilateral defence trade and industrial partnership. Through our local entity, Boeing Defence India, we are supporting the P-8I, C-17, CH-47 Chinook, and AH-64 Apache with holistic lifecycle support to assist with Indias defence modernisation effort and mission-readiness at competitive costs. This new contract is a testimony to the trust and long standing partnership Boeing has nurtured over the years with our Indian customers and we are committed to delivering on our commitments in the future as well," said Boeing India President Salil Gupte. It may be recalled that Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by PM Narendra Modi had approved the acquisition of six additional AH-64E Apache attack choppers on February 19. The Apache contract for six helicopters for the Indian Army follows a contract for 22 helicopters ordered by the Indian Air Force in 2015. Notably, Boeing has already delivered 17 of 22 Apaches to IAF and the remaining five will be delivered by the end of March 2020. Fuselages and secondary aerostructures for the Armys Apaches will be manufactured at Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) in Hyderabad. TBAL is already manufacturing fuselages for multiple Apache operators around the world. It is expected that deliveries of the apache helicopters for the Indian Army would begin in 2023. The Apache sale is a hybrid procurement Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) between Boeing and MoD and Foreign Military Sale (FMS) between the GoI and USG. The FMS contract for the Apache includes munitions, training, aircraft certification, and components, including engines, EO sensors and the radar. The direct commercial sale portion of the contract primarily consists of the aircraft (less engines/sensors), logistic support, spares and services. The AH-64E Apache is by far the most advanced multi-role combat helicopter in the world and it is the backbone of the US Army attack helicopter fleet. These choppers incorporate 26 new technologies designed to enhance its capabilities. To date, more than 400 AH-64E model Apaches have been delivered worldwide. The AH-64E features Advanced digital connectivity, Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, more powerful T700-GE-701D engines with upgraded face gear transmission to accommodate more power, capability to control unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and new composite main rotor blade. The harrowing details of pregnant teenager Tiffany Anna Taylor's life as a call girl have been laid bare at a Queensland murder trial. The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Rodney Wayne Williams, 65, for a paid sexual liaison via the Oasis website. Her body has never been found. The harrowing details of pregnant teenager Tiffany Anna Taylor's life as a call girl have been laid bare at a Queensland murder trial Williams has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to murdering Tiffany after allegedly picking her up from the Waterford Motor Inn, south of Brisbane, about midday. Messages between the pair show Williams agreed to pay $500 for sex, but he says it never happened. The teenager's boyfriend, Gregory Hill, says Tiffany was 'normal' when she left their motel room, saying: 'See you later on.' She never returned. Tiffany Anna Taylor The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Rodney Wayne Williams, (pictured) 65, for a paid sexual liaison via the Oasis website The court heard Mr Hill and Tiffany met when he was 38 and she was 12. Tiffany's mother, Leanne Dillon, told the court she was 'disgusted' when she found her daughter giving Mr Hill a lap dance at their family home soon after. The teenager's sister, Chloe Taylor, says Tiffany began 'drifting off' about then. 'She pursued me,' Mr Hill told the jury on Wednesday. By the time Tiffany was 16, the pair were living together in hotels paid for in cash from her sex work. Mr Hill denied being intimate with Tiffany while she was a child, but said they were together after she turned 16. Despite this, he denied being responsible for her pregnancy. 'I had my doubts about that ... there was no intimacy between me and Tiffany that went that far, so there was no way it could have been my child,' he said. Mr Hill also denied knowing Tiffany was working as a prostitute, however, 300 messages from other men were found on his phone. He also denied deleting messages about drugs before handing the phone to police. Tiffany's mother, Leanne Dillon, told the court she was 'disgusted' when she found her daughter giving Mr Hill a lap dance at their family home soon after Earlier, prosecutor Philip McCarthy QC told the jury that after Williams picked up Tiffany he drove his Hyundai sedan to Larapinta industrial park where he stopped for about 20 minutes 'Something happens before it returns to the cul-de-sac that is part of the industrial area,' he said during his opening address to the jury on Tuesday. Mr McCarthy said Williams then drove to the Esk-Ferndale region, where police have searched dams and bushland for Tiffany's body without success. Later in the day, Williams allegedly set about laying a false trail of communication with the teen on the Oasis website, Mr McCarthy said. A message sent about three hours after Williams allegedly picked her up said: 'Sorry I didn't turn up, decided I wasn't going to pay for it'. The trial continues. The 10th Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 campaign, hosted by CBS, had seven candidates, lasted two hours - and did not have many statements that merited fact-checking. Here are eight claims that caught our attention. Our practice is not to award Pinocchios in debate roundups. This fact-check was written with colleagues Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly. - - - "I got into this race only 10 or 12 weeks ago. We've been working on our tax returns. I've said they'll be out. ... And when I was mayor of New York, we had our tax returns out 12 years in a row." - Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg - - - "I released my tax returns. Yeah, that was easy to do." - Businessman Tom Steyer The two billionaires in the Democratic primary were not as transparent with their tax returns as they suggested. Bloomberg, who is ranked the 10th-richest person in the world by Forbes, never "released" his tax returns while he was mayor. Instead, he allowed reporters to view redacted versions of his returns for a few hours every year. Traditionally, candidates for high office in New York and around the country release full, unredacted versions of their tax returns for public consumption, so there's a big difference between what Bloomberg did and the norm. "One year when a reporter rolled in a photo-copy machine to the viewing room, the photo-copy machine got the heave-ho," a Wall Street Journal editor who covered Bloomberg as mayor tweeted. Steyer has released tax returns showing he earned more than $1 billion over nine years, but "he withheld nearly every page that showed where all his money came from," according to the Los Angeles Times. President Donald Trump has refused to release his tax returns or divest from his company. - - - "We have a criminal justice system today that is not only broken, it is racist, got more people in jail than any other country on earth, including China." - Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sanders is referring to official figures, which indicate the U.S. has a prison population of 2.1 million, compared to 1.7 million people imprisoned in China. But beyond sentenced prisoners, the World Prison Brief says more than 650,000 people are held in Chinese detention centers, which would bring China's prison population to at least 2.35 million. Even that's probably a low estimate. "It is alleged that between 1 million to 1.5 million ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang may have been arbitrary forced into these facilities, where there have been allegations of deaths in custody, physical and psychological abuse and torture, as well as lack of access to medical care," a recent United Nations report said. - - - "A hundred and fifty million people have been killed since 2007, when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability. More than all the wars, including Vietnam." - former vice president Joe Biden Biden bungled a gun-death statistic, though that may have been apparent to viewers given the U.S. population is just over 300 million. A spokesman said he meant to say 150,000 deaths, not 150 million. Biden was referring to a figure just for homicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figure for all gun deaths in the United States since 2007 is about 450,000. Sanders did vote to exempt gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits - a vote that Sanders said tonight was a "bad vote." - - - "Let's talk about Medicare-for-all. I'm sure you're familiar with the new study that just came out of Yale University published in Lancet magazine . . . And we have we have laid out options all over the place. One of the options is a seven and a half percent payroll tax on employers, which will save them substantial sums of money." - Sanders Several studies have tried to calculate the impact of a single-payer medical system on the U.S., and ultimately concluded that such a system would increases costs. Sanders is citing a new study, co-written by a former Sanders adviser, which claims it would reduce costs. But this reseearch has come under fire for a number of its assumptions, such as a single-payer plan paying current Medicare rates to doctors, hospitals and other providers. Those reimbursement rates are much lower than what private insurers pay, so it's unclear whether such low rates could be achieved. In any case, one study - or even many - can not easily estimate the impact of overhauling one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Sanders has put out a menu of possible options for how to fund Medicare-for-all, though many experts says he still falls short. One option would require a 7.5 percent payroll tax that employers would pay to help fund the program. Virtually every economist will tell you that a payroll tax paid by an employer largely comes out of the pay earned by the employee, but Sanders argues that the savings on the premiums currently paid by the employer should result in an overall reduction in costs for the employer. In a new estimate, the Progressive Policy Institute says the cost of the Sanders' agenda would be more than $53 trillion over 10 years, but that he has provided only $28 trillion to $42 trillion in trillion in revenue to pay for it. - - - "The filibuster . . . it's going to give a veto on immigration." - Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. This claim misses some context. A comprehensive immigration bill passed the Senate in 2013 with a filibuster-proof majority, 68 to 32. The House, then controlled by Republicans, refused to take it up. Warren previously earned Four Pinocchios for saying the filibuster doomed the 2013 immigration bill. At the debate, she gave a modified version of the claim, warning that the filibuster is "going to" stump an immigration overhaul. - - - "We let [stop-and-frisk] get out of control, and when I realized that, I cut it back by 95 percent." - Bloomberg This sanitized version of events has become Bloomberg's stock response when he's questioned over his stop-and-frisk record. Bloomberg's claim that he cut 95 percent of stop-and-frisk actions, which disproportionately targeted black and Hispanic men in New York while he was mayor, relies on a selective parsing of the data. He inherited the city's stop-and-frisk policy from his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, but it was the Bloomberg administration that ramped up the practice by New York police. In Bloomberg's first 10 years in office, stop-and-frisk incidents increased nearly 600 percent, reaching a high point of about 686,000 actions in 2011. Bloomberg's 95 percent figure comes from comparing the quarterly high point of 203,500 stops in the first quarter of 2012 and comparing that with the 12,485 stops in the last quarter of 2013. Bloomberg said he discovered that the stop-and-frisk policy had gotten out of control and ramped it down, but that claim misses some context. For starters, Bloomberg continued to defend the policy until recently, disowning it only before he joined the presidential race. In addition, his administration was buffeted by lawsuits challenging the practice, and a federal judge ruled in 2013 that the way New York police officers were conducting the stops was unconstitutional. It was in the face of those legal challenges and rulings that New York reduced stops-and-frisk incidents under Bloomberg. - - - "500,000 people tonight are sleeping out on the street, including 30,000 veterans." - Sanders This is one of Sanders' favorite lines, but the way he frames it is exaggerated. His number came from a single-night survey done by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to measure the number of homeless people. For a single night in January 2019, the estimate was that 568,000 people are homeless. But the report also says that two-thirds - nearly 360,000 - were in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs; the other 210,000 were "unsheltered" - i.e., on the street, as Sanders put it. The number has been trending down over the past decade. It was 650,000 in 2007. As for veterans, the report says the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has been cut in half since 2009. Fewer than 15,000 veterans were unsheltered. New Delhi, Feb 27 : A 56-year-old Delhi police inspector allegedly shot himself dead at his residence in Rohini, police said on Wednesday. The deceased Jai Bhagwan was posted in Delhi Police's Security Wing. "The incident came to light when Jai's wife returned home from office and saw his body lying on the floor," police said. However, the time of the incident is not yet known. Police said that the gun recovered from the spot was the personnel's service revolver. However, no suicide note has been recovered yet, so the reason behind the grave step could not be ascertained. Further, probe is on. President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday signed off on the transfer of Justice S Muralidhar from Delhi High Court to Punjab and Haryana High Court. The notification, issued on late Tuesday evening, said Justice Muralidhar was directed to assume charge as a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Supreme Court collegium - the panel of the apex courts top three judges led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A Bobde - had recommended Justice Muralidhars transfer on February 12. The Delhi High Court Bar Association had responded to the recommendation with shock and unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms condemned the recommendation. High court lawyers had also abstained from work for one day in protest on February 20. Also read: Delhi High Court reprimands Delhi cops for inaction over provocative video clips The collegium had decided to make the recommendation at its meeting on February 12, but had made it public only on February 19. The collegiums decision was considered unusual by the lawyers because senior high court judges are transferred from their parent high court only to take over as Chief Justice of a high court. Transfer of a high court judge to another high court as a puisne judge - senior judge who is not a chief justice - is many times viewed as a punishment transfer. At the Delhi Hight Court, Justice Muralidhar is the third senior-most judge after chief justice DN Patel and justice GS Sistani. Just hours before the government issued orders for his transfer, Justice Muralidhar had held a midnight hearing at his residence to order the police to rescue 22 people stuck in a local hospital in north-east Delhi, one of the many trouble spots in the eastern part of the national capital that was affected due to communal riots. On Wednesday afternoon, Justice Muralidhar had led the bench that took the Delhi Police to task for not registering FIRs against BJP politicians and others for hate speeches recorded on tape. Also read: Cops didnt respond to SOS, judges step in at midnight hearing When the Centres second most-senior law officer Tushar Mehta told the judges that he hadnt seen the clips, the bench played a sample of four clips; some on the giant screens in the courtroom. The court had also rejected the Centres plea to put off the hearing and ordered the police commissioner to examine all video clips of hate speech and register FIRs. Justice Muralidhar started his law practice in 1984 in Chennai before shifting base to Delhi in 1987. He was appointed a judge of Delhi high court in May 2006 where he has served since then. Justice Muralidhar started his law practice in 1984 in Chennai before shifting base to Delhi in 1987. He was appointed a judge of Delhi high court in May 2006 where he has served since then. At the high court, Justice Muralidhar had passed crucial judgments in sensitive matters. He was part of the bench which had, in 2009, decriminalized homosexuality by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This judgment was later overruled by the Supreme Court in 2013 before the top court eventually struck down the provision in September 2018 in another case. The fight over the inclusion of core curriculum subjects in the ultra-Orthodox educational system took a surprising turn on Feb. 13 when Knesset member Moshe Gafni (Yahadut HaTorah) announced that ultra-Orthodox schools that teach secular subjects will be established. By secular subjects, he meant primarily math and English, which are recognized universally as the basis for more advanced academic studies and professional training. Over the years, the ultra-Orthodox parties have blocked the introduction of core curriculum subjects to the independent, ultra-Orthodox network of schools. Efforts to deny state funding to those schools that refuse to teach these subjects have, so far, failed. According to Gafni, [The schools will be established], if there is a demand from parents. They will be opened wherever a group [of parents] organizes to found a school with more secular studies. So far, it remains unclear whether Gafnis revolutionary announcement is a mere campaign promise or whether it comes from a genuine recognition that such a compromise is preferable to the growing trend of establishing state-run ultra-Orthodox schools. The background to Gafnis announcement is the enormous change underway in the ultra-Orthodox sector that includes less self-imposed isolation and increased openness to non-ultra-Orthodox society, greater identification with the state and its values, and real growth in the number of people from the ultra-Orthodox sector, men and women alike, joining the workforce. The phenomenon has bolstered and expanded the so-called new ultra-Orthodox, an emerging group that hold jobs and make a decent living, increasing their quality of life as a result, and who no longer isolate themselves in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, towns and villages. They attribute great importance to education and would like to see their children exposed to a broader curriculum than that offered by the independent ultra-Orthodox school system, which focuses almost entirely on religious studies. To meet this educational demand, in 2014 Education Minister Shai Piron created a state-run ultra-Orthodox school network that now includes several dozen elementary and high schools that teach math, English and sciences alongside religious studies. According to figures provided by the Israel Institute for Democracy and the Ministry of Education for 2017, the number of ultra-Orthodox families that prefer sending their children to the state-run ultra-Orthodox network and to the state national-religious schools has grown considerably over the last few years. These families want their children to learn the core curriculum to prepare them to integrate into Israeli society and the workforce. The number of ultra-Orthodox students in higher education has grown steadily as well, from 4,000 at the start of the decade to more than 12,000 in 2017. It turns out, however, that compared to other student populations, a greater percentage of ultra-Orthodox university students drop out, largely because of their poor English. If core curriculum subjects are included in ultra-Orthodox education, it is reasonable to assume that the number of ultra-Orthodox students would rise, and the number of dropouts would decrease. Furthermore, those students would be more successful in their studies. Ultra-Orthodox politicians have been known until now for their unswerving loyalty to the conservatism of their rabbis leadership. They have, therefore, come out against state-run schools that teach the core curriculum and have blocked the introduction of these subjects into the independent school system. Their stance, however, has pushed many of the new ultra-Orthodox to seek other political options. Indeed, the number of ultra-Orthodox voting for non-ultra-Orthodox parties has increased over the past few years. In light of this, Gafnis announcement can be seen as a response to this trend. According to Gafni, secular studies have received the approval of the Lithuanian rabbinic leadership, the ultimate arbiters in the ultra-Orthodox community. This is a real turnabout in the position of the rabbis, who had rejected the inclusion of the core curriculum into the independent ultra-Orthodox educational system and until now also opposed Pirons state-run ultra-Orthodox system. One of the consequences of this opposition has been the shunning of ultra-Orthodox families whose children attend schools in the state-run system to the point that they will not let their own children marry them. Gafnis solution to the problem is to continue to maintain principled opposition to the expansion of the state-run ultra-Orthodox school network, and to even fight against it, while at the same time developing a parallel education system within the independent school network to ensure that the rabbinic leadership has the final say on everything that is taught, even if a core curriculum is introduced. Gafni seems to hope that meeting the educational demands of the new ultra-Orthodox will stop them from voting for non-ultra-Orthodox parties. In a conversation with Al-Monitor, sources in Yahadut HaTorah said that they have reached the conclusion that establishing new schools in the independent school network is preferable to expanding the state-run ultra-Orthodox school system. This way, at least, ultra-Orthodox families remain part of a framework that follows the dictates of the party and its religious leadership. This turnabout in the position of the ultra-Orthodox leadership raises several questions: Will ultra-Orthodox parents who want more secular studies be satisfied with the new schools established by the independent school network or will they still insist on state-run education outside the control of the ultra-Orthodox establishment? If the religious leadership were to indeed grant approval to secular studies, why wouldnt every ultra-Orthodox parent demand them for their children? Why the need for new schools? Why shouldnt the traditional yeshiva school introduce more core studies? A 2015 study by the ultra-Orthodox Institute for Policy Studies found the ultra-Orthodox community to be unhappy with their educational system and that parents were dissatisfied with the educational content and the curricula that the independent ultra-Orthodox education network provided. Lotem Perry-Hazan, who oversaw a study on ultra-Orthodox education for the Israel Institute for Democracy, said that most ultra-Orthodox parents want their children to have more secular courses, with an emphasis on English and mathematics, and that some ultra-Orthodox leaders are interested in the possibility of their schools joining the state-run ultra-Orthodox educational system. It would be a real revolution if Gafni does in fact stand by his statement and takes steps to introduce secular studies into the ultra-Orthodox educational system at the expense of religious studies. On the other hand, skeptics in the ultra-Orthodox community believe that it is little more than an election-season promise and that it will not meet the growing need for the core curriculum in ultra-Orthodox society. Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of India, a top Indian diplomat asserted at the UN Human Rights Council's meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, a day after Pakistan sought the international community's intervention on the Kashmir issue. IMAGE: Vikas Swarup. Photograph: ANI on Twitter. Speaking at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council which is being held in Geneva in Switzerland from February 24 to March 20, Vikas Swarup, secretary (west), the ministry of external affairs, described Pakistan as the "epicentre of global terrorism". He called for decisive action against those who direct, control, fund and shelter terrorists, in an obvious reference to Pakistan, which is accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terror groups. "It is more than a little ironical that a nation that has become the world's leading exporter of terror and violence seeks to lecture others about human rights... "Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of India," Swarup asserted a day after Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari alleged that India continues to violate the human rights of the Kashmiri people and demanded the immediate repeal of all actions by India on August 5 last year. India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5 and bifurcated it into two Union territories. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. Swarup said the transformative changes "wrought by our Parliament last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the State... It was intended to ensure the extension of all progressive legislations passed for the entire country to cover this region, and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir." Despite Pakistan's best efforts -- over decades -- to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal, he said. "Most temporary restrictions -- imposed solely to ensure the safety of the people from Pakistani trained terrorist attacks -- have already been removed, political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have been largely restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace and there is access for all to education and healthcare," Swarup added. He said schools, colleges and universities have resumed and regular examinations are being held. Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies are well-stocked and staffing is at full capacity. "These have been achieved despite Pakistan's frenetic attempts to promote both violence within our territory -- with an 81 per cent increase in infiltration attempts since last August -- and disinformation outside. Yesterday's speech was a good example of the latter," Swarup said, referring to Pakistani minister's speech. Addressing the delegation from Pakistan, Swarup said India is a nation where democracy, including the right to protest, is vibrantly and noisily celebrated every day and where dignity of every human is protected by a robust Constitutional framework. "It is Pakistan that would do well to look to its own house and introspect about the condition of its people, especially its minorities," he added. He said India is making every effort for full and effective enjoyment of all human rights by all its people. On Pakistan's warnings about the situation within India, Swarup invoked poet Robert Burns to say that "someone should give them the power to see themselves as others see them." Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg poses for a photo before the the CBS Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center. Mike Bloomberg's campaign is holding talks with two unions and is signalling to its employees that it is open to them joining the groups. "The campaign fully supports its employees' rights to organize collectively and join the union of their choice. The Campaign Workers Guild and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 have recently contacted our campaign about potentially representing some of the campaign's employees, and we are working with both unions on how best to facilitate discussions with employees about union membership," Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for the Bloomberg campaign, told CNBC. "The campaign will do the same with any other unions that express interest in representing our staff." The development comes as a member of the Campaign Workers Guild said on Twitter that he was calling on members of Bloomberg's presidential campaign to discuss the idea of unionization. Campaign workers for Bloomberg rivals Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden have unionized. Bloomberg is currently behind Sanders and Biden in the Democratic primary race for president, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average. The move by Bloomberg's campaign to start holding talks with some unions comes after the former mayor had his run ins with a few organizations when he ran New York. Bloomberg, who has a net worth of just under $59 billion, has been looking for a boost since his first debate appearance in Nevada. His performance improved in his second debate in South Carolina and he is launching a TV ad on Thursday ripping President Donald Trump for his inadequate response to the deadly and fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. Bloomberg has spent over $500 million on TV and digital ads, according to Advertising Analytics. A section of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal in Saigon, February 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ha An. A Saigon canal cutting through five districts is being cleaned starting Wednesday for over VND36 billion ($1.5 million). The Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, running nearly nine km through Districts 1, 3, Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh and Binh Thanh before it joins the Saigon River, would have its sludge and garbage removed in three separate time periods, each lasting 75 days, said Pham Ngoc Dung, director of the Management Center of Waterway System under the HCMC Department of Transport. The removal process would take place in canal sections from Ut Tich Street in Tan Binh District to an intersection of Saigon River in District 1, Dung said. Around 122,000 m3 of sludge is expected to be removed from the canal and processed at Da Phuoc, the city's largest landfill in Binh Chanh District. The sludge and other waste, flowing from sewers, have accumulated at the bottom of the canal over time and produced a severe stench that negatively affects local residents, said Dung. Machineries used for sludge and waste removal have been placed near Le Van Sy Bridge, it was reported. "We will not pump the sludge directly onto the banks, but use blends of microorganisms to reduce the stench and prevent it from affecting daily life," said Dung. The Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe was a lush river during the 19th century, before it turned into a black canal in the 1960s following the southward migration after the end of the Vietnam War. There had been several cleanup efforts before a grand resurrection project worth more than $200 million with support from the World Bank between 2003 and 2012. Now regular dumping still threatens the canal. Over 14 tons of waste, mostly plastic, animal carcasses and plants like water hyacinth, are released into the canal every day. Incidents of mass fish death have been reported every recent year. Saigon authorities have tried several methods to reduce pollution in the canal, including unblocking water flow, oxygenating water and monitoring water quality. The southern metropolis has about 170 canals that stretch nearly 700 kilometers. It allocates about VND1.1 trillion ($47.4 million) to maintain its drainage system and VND2.8 trillion (about $120 million) to collect garbage each year, according to the municipal finance department. TUNIS - Qalb Tounes, Tunisia's second-largest party, has decided to vote against the government of Elyes Fakhfakh on Wednesday, although it will provide its backing if necessary, the party's leader said. "The national council has given its recommendations to the parliamentary group so lawmakers will remain vigil, giving them the choice of granting some votes to the Fakhfakh government if it twill not be able to receive the necessary 109 to obtain confidence" in parliament, Yadh Elloumi told reporters. With peace songs, protest poems, and banners against violence and for communal harmony, hundreds gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday and appealed for peace and harmony in the riots-hit northeast Delhi. 'I am ashamed', 'I am shocked' and 'This is not my Delhi' become a familiar refrain among those who gathered at the venue. Some protesters also recited 'Dastur', a poem by revolutionary poet Habib Jalib. "Kyuun darate ho zindan ki divar se, zulm ki baat ko jahl ki raat ko main nahin manta, main nahin janta (Don't scare me with your jails, the tongue of oppression, the night of ignorance I refuse to accept)," recited Anshul Gupta, a student of Delhi University, who was also holding a placard featuring the same lines. He said he was here because "Delhi is burning and we all need to do our bit to douse the fire". The two days of communal mayhem led to the death of at least 24 people in the northeast areas of Delhi leaving. Several people were injured in the violence, triggered by clashes between two groups over the Citizenship Amendment Act. While there was a placard calling the violence "pogrom, not clash", or the one which read "Error 404 Humanity not found", majority were found to be against "failure of Delhi Police" and demanding action against BJP leader Kapil Mishra. During his pro-CAA demonstration at Maujpur Chowk, Mishra had issued an ultimatum to police to vacate the roads blocked by anti-CAA protesters in Jaffrabad and Bhajanpura areas in three days, warning that he will come back on the streets if no action was taken. CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat and others took part in the protest, which majorly saw participation by college-going students and civil society. "This is the not the time for speech or applause. Today our foremost concern is that peace should be restored in Delhi. We all need to stand united and fight the enemy together. People, our brothers and sisters, who were affected by the violence should know that Bharat stands with them in this time of distress," said 67-year-old Yechury. Throughout the protest there were constant appeals for people -- especially lawyers and doctors -- to volunteer in helping the victims. An announcement was also made for people to contribute for medicines being transported for the treatment of injured. "We all need to come out and do everything possible to curb this spread of fear and hate among people. This is the need of the hour. It can be anything, you can reach out to people in your mohalla, go to their homes and spread the message of peace, don't think is a small thing...it would go a long way in ensuring that there is no more hate around us," said activist Kavita Krishnan. Former planning commission member Sayeeda Hammed took to Sahir Ludhiyanvi's revolutionary song, 'Ye kiska lahu hai, kaun mara, Ae rehbar mulko kaum bata' to make her point. "It look as if Sahir wrote this poem today only, but the fact is that he wrote this good 70 years back. The poem is addressed to national leaders, families who lost their young ones, poor whose house were burnt, and to all those whose lives will never be the same after what happened here in Delhi," she said. Various eminent personalities from all walks of life, including historian Sohail Hashmi, senior advocate Vrinda Grover and theatre artist and activist M K Raina, participated in the protest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qatar Airways is making temporary hold and schedule adjustments to its operations to Iran and South Korea until further notice due to significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by certain countries, the airline said in a statement on its website. For Iran, Qatar Airways scheduled passenger frequencies will be on temporary hold, effective from 26 February 2020, for an evaluation period of two weeks up to 14 March 2020. This will affect flights to and from Mashhad, Shiraz and Isfahan, The Peninsula newspaper reported. Frequencies to and from Tehran will temporarily move from 20 weekly frequencies to seven weekly. Qatar Airways all-cargo operations will not be affected by this temporary hold. Flights to and from South Korea to Doha are temporarily adjusted to operate with a smaller aircraft. Vietnam Airlines is offering passengers tickets priced from zero dollars on routes between HCM City and Kuala Lumpur/Singapore (equivalent to $66 and $88, respectively, with taxes and fees included) until the end of next month. A Vietnam Airline aircraft. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines The super-saving tickets are applied for HCM City-Kuala Lumpur flights departing from February 24 to May 20, 2020 and for those on the HCM City-Singapore route from February 24 to May 30, 2020, the airline said in a statement. At the same time, the airline is implementing the Early Birds, Special Deal promotion programme on over fifty international routes as part of an activity co-executed by the Vietnam Tourism Association to stimulate tourism and promote safe international destinations to passengers in the first half of 2020. Under the campaign, passengers will have the opportunity to book round-trip flights to/from countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Europe, and Australia at prices starting from 9 USD, 29 USD, 249 USD and 399 USD, correspondingly. This promotion applies to passengers purchasing tickets from now until September 30, 2020 and departing from now until December 31, 2020. The fares do not include taxes and fees and are subject to change based on the exchange rates at the time of purchase./. Vietnam Airlines restores some inflight services thanks to COVID-19 fight The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has restored some services on domestic and international flights with durations of less than 2.5 hours since February 24, as there have been signs showing COVID-19 has been put under control in Vietnam. Conflict, divisions and war have affected Libya for many years. International actors and the United Nations have certainly not stood idly by. They have committed to support Libyans as they build a peaceful, inclusive state. The recent Berlin Summit has opened a new window of opportunity engaging international actors and the UN to support Libyans to build a peaceful and inclusive state. Conditions for a guaranteed ceasefire, an effective arms embargo, and inclusive economic, political, security, human rights and international humanitarian law tracks. Now International actors must honor their commitments in the Berlin Communique, and people in Libya must engage in real dialogue to build peace and unified state institutions for the benefit of all. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya and UNDP, as well as other UN agencies, have been present all this time. UNDP has supported public institutions, local governments, civil society and communities to continue building up basis for inclusive development that will only be possible with a sustained peace. Our programme, with the support of the international community and the Government of Libya, invested US$50 million in 2019 with the aim of achieving stabilization, resilience and recovery and contributing to conflict management and social cohesion. Throughout the country, wherever help is needed We are working from Tripoli to Benghazi and Sebha, from Bani Walid to Kufra and Ghat, namely in the west, east and south. We are supporting 40 municipalities and plan to add 20 more in all regions where approximately 75 percent of people live. I have directly witnessed the impact of our contribution in the township of Tawergha. As a result of the conflict, 40,000 residents were forced to leave their homes becoming displaced for more than seven years. The UN and others worked for several years with Misratans and Tawerghans to build reconciliation. In 2018, they reached an agreement to allow their safe return. Since I arrived in Libya in March 2019, I recognized the reconciliation process between Tawergha and Misrata people as a paradigmatic peacebuilding case. I decided to personally push for contributing to safe returns. Despite security restraints, I was able to visit both towns in August. I talked to leaders and tried to facilitate understanding. They welcomed my visit and shared their strong commitment to rebuilding their communities. I witnessed also the commitment of the Government of Libya to help people from Tawergha by supporting the reconstruction of key infrastructure. I also visited the Mental Health and Psycho-social Support centre in Tommina, a town between the two cities, that UNDP helped to establish with Italian Cooperation support. People from Tawergha and Misrata were even afraid to sit down together, now in the centre women from both cities are studying together and even creating joint businesses and social initiatives. I heard women heartbreaking stories of abuse and amazing stories of recovery. I returned in early December, and was able to confirm how many more families have returned, how many more students are learning in the only school so far in the township and how key infrastructure are being rehabilitated by the Government of Libya and the people from Tawergha, the public clinic and the hospital, and electrical grid. Security is being provided by the national police with new facilities and equipment. Let there be light In UNDP, we were eager to help and immediately we set about the task of consulting with the community on which were their most urgent needs. We provided an ambulance for the clinic and we are working on rehabilitating three schools and providing the existing school with a mobile computer lab powered by solar energy. Now all students can go online, which will reduce inequalities. Something that many may see as a small step have changed lives and is a call for those who are yet to come. One of the best-received projects was the installation of solar lights at the main entrance road of the township. I felt touched reading peoples comments on the Facebook page of the Chair of the Tawergha-Misrata reconciliation committee, widely welcoming the solar streetlights, and praising our Stabilization Facility for Libya. These lights are bringing a sense of security to an area, and are also hope for a bright future. Returning life to communities Stabilization and resilience are contributing to shape the conditions for peace. We are looking with hope, and actively supporting together with UNSMIL and others in the UN family, the dialogue tracks set by the Berlin Process. We know the challenges are big, but so is the will and commitment of Libyans. As I have seen in Tawergha, the lights and other support we are providing are helping Libyans to return life to their communities. In this transition period, international support and expertise continues to be essential, to contribute to effectiveness, transparency and building of modern and inclusive institutions. We are here to contribute to peace that will unleash the creative power of Libyan society and move towards the inclusive and sustainable development that the country deserves. It was Tuesday night, and Rachel Zhang, a Mayo High School student, was doing an atypical thing for a 17-year-old the day before her 18th birthday: She was attending her first DFL Party precinct caucus at Willow Creek Middle School in Rochester. Zhang was aiming high, hoping to become a national delegate for the Democratic National Convention in July in Milwaukee. Zhang said two concerns motivated her to participate in the state's unique political ritual: the need to address climate change and to create a fairer Minnesota for people of all backgrounds and races, which she referred to as "equity." "There needs to be a youth presence, especially with caucusing. It's dominated by a certain demographic, and it's not youth or minorities," Zhang said. "I want to be there not just to represent my peers, but Minnesota as a whole." Tuesday night's caucuses, the parties' biennial gathering, allow participants to introduce and vote on platform resolutions and pick delegates for future conventions. People sat in small groups in classrooms and discussed politics. ADVERTISEMENT DFL activists gathered at three locations Tuesday night Willow Creek, and John Marshall and Century high schools. But unlike previous caucuses, there was no drama surrounding a presidential straw poll, which is usually the headline of such events. This year, Minnesota will select their preferred presidential nominee through a primary rather than a caucus, so turnout was lower Tuesday night. Even so, a long line formed in the Willow Creek lunchroom during registration. "We'll have to wait and see, but my guess is that we won't have as high a turnout," said precinct convener Janet Krueger. "I do like the community conversations, but I'm a political junkie, and not everyone is." Representatives from Rochester's various ethnic and racial groups appeared to be well-represented at the caucus. Said Hajiali, 48, a Somali-American Rochester resident, was attending his first caucus. He said he was encouraged to attend by a friend and was trained to be a convener. A father of nine children, Hajiali said he was there to advocate for early childhood education. He said not all of his children have been able to attend Head Start, and they struggled in school as a result. He said he supported Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination because of his views on making education free. "I don't want that to happen to the rest of my kids," Hajiali said about missing out on Head Start. "It's not easy. Three- and 4-year-olds, they are suffering to find the right place." Amar Taha, a 21-year-old Rochester Community and Technical College student, was also attending his first precinct caucus, there to support Aleta Borrud for state Senate District 26. ADVERTISEMENT He said he supported her because of her stance on health care and her willingness to stand up for Muslim communities. "It's getting worse by the day," Taha said about Islamophobia. "If it's bad today, it's worse tomorrow." He said ignorance and a lack of awareness are the biggest culprits behind wrong-headed views toward Muslims. Some view them as lazy, but he noted that his mom works 16 hours a day and his dad holds down two jobs, one as a dentist. Alexa Horwart, a lead organizer for Faith in Minnesota, a sister organization of ISAIAH, an immigration advocacy group, said the group has trained over 200 people in Rochester to attend caucuses. Faith in Minnesota advocates for paid family leave, an expansion of the child care assistance program and the idea that undocumented immigrants in Minnesota should be able to obtain a driver's license. "Our mission is to transform politics, to put people at the center," Howart said. "We think 2021 could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move some of our agenda." ADVERTISEMENT The Mediterranean Sea has been a major route for maritime migrations as well as frequent trade and invasions during prehistory, yet the genetic history of the Mediterranean islands is not well documented despite recent developments in the study of ancient DNA. An international team led by researchers from the University of Vienna, Harvard University and University of Florence, Italy, is filling in the gaps with the largest study to date of the genetic history of ancient populations of Sicily, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from 5 to 66. The results reveal a complex pattern of immigration from Africa, Asia and Europe which varied in direction and its timing for each of these islands. For Sicily the article reports on a new ancestry during the Middle Bronze Age that chronologically overlaps with the Greek Mycenaean trade network expansion. Sardinians descend from Neolithic farmers A very different story is unraveled in the case of Sardinia. Despite contacts and trade with other Mediterranean populations, ancient Sardinians retained a mostly local Neolithic ancestry profile until the end of the Bronze Age. However, during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, one of the studied individuals from Sardinia has a large proportion of North African ancestry. Taken together with previous results of a contemporary central Iberian individual and a later 2nd mill. BC Bronze Age individual from Iberia, it clearly shows prehistoric maritime migrations across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to locations in southern Europe, affecting more than 1 percent of individuals reported in the ancient DNA literature from this region and time to date. "Our results show that maritime migrations from North Africa started long before the era of the eastern Mediterranean seafaring civilizations and moreover were occurring in multiple parts of the Mediterranean", says Ron Pinhasi, a co-senior author of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna. During the Iron Age expansion and establishment of Greek and Phoenician colonies in the West Mediterranean islands, the two Sardinian individuals analyzed from that period had little, if any, ancestry from the previous long-established populations. "Surprisingly, our results show that despite these population fluxes and mixtures, modern Sardinians retained between 56-62 percent of ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers that arrived in Europe around 8000 years ago", says David Caramelli a co-senior author, and Director of Department of Biology at the University of Florence. Migration from the Iberian Peninsula documented "One of the most striking findings is about the arrival of ancestry from the Steppe north of the Black and Caspian Seas in some of the Mediterranean islands. While the ultimate origin of this ancestry was Eastern Europe, in the Mediterranean islands it arrived at least in part from the west, namely from Iberia", says David Reich, a co-senior author at Harvard University, who is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. "This was likely the case for the Balearic Islands, in which some early residents probably derived at least part of their ancestry from Iberia", says first author Daniel Fernandes, of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna. ### Publication in Nature Ecology & Evolution: Fernandes, Daniel M. et al.: "The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean". Nature Ecology & Evolution 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1102-0 April 15 election makes fight against virus harder One of the worst things happening in South Korea as the new coronavirus spreads rapidly in some areas is the resurgence of divisive politics based on regionalism and ideological confrontation. This is largely associated with the April 15 general election, which, in a nutshell, is expected to be a duel between opponents and proponents of President Moon Jae-in. What is particularly worrisome is some nasty politicking over Daegu, a conservative stronghold that has become the epicenter of the ballooning outbreak in the nation. As of Wednesday morning, the country's COVID-19 cases surged to 1,146 compared to only 51 a week earlier and some 80 percent of the cases are reportedly linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is regarded as a cult by mainstream congregations. What happened Tuesday showed yet again how vulnerable our society is to irresponsible political attacks driven by regionalism. It all started when Rep. Hong Ik-pyo, chief spokesman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, used inappropriate words in announcing measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus from Daegu to other areas. He said the government will implement "maximum quarantine" measures for Daegu to stabilize the situation, triggering speculation that the government may place the city under a lockdown as China did to Wuhan in Hubei Province, where the virus originated. As the controversy continued, President Moon, while visiting Daegu, later explained that Rep. Hong didn't mean a lockdown, quarantine or isolation. "There was a horrible misconception about the government's latest anti-virus measures. The point is we will take maximum measures to stabilize the situation in Daegu and contain the spread of the virus to other parts of the country," Moon said. Rep. Hong indeed deserves criticism for causing misunderstanding by using inappropriate words to explain the government's measures for Daegu. Despite Moon's clarification, however, malicious stories highlighting "antagonism" among Daegu residents toward the Moon administration continued. Some conservative dailies even ran these articles on their front page the next day. Some politicians who are seeking to run in Daegu have been describing the virus as the "Moon Jae-in Pneumonia," portraying the city as a victim of the government's "failed" anti-virus policy. Probably the worst of all was a foolish petition submitted to Cheong Wa Dae demanding the impeachment of the "incompetent" President Moon, and irresponsible media reports about it. Some liberals have also crossed the line in politicizing the virus outbreak ahead of the elections. Some commentators tied to the ruling party have criticized top officials in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province who belong to the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) for "doing nothing" to stop the virus and "avoiding public attention" while they should lead anti-virus efforts. This is apparently to give the impression that the UFP members are "irresponsible" and "negligent" about containing the virus. It is regrettable that political fighting is getting uglier at a time when the country should be united more than ever. In a sense, divisive politics is more dangerous than the virus. [February 26, 2020] Agenda Announced for Authenticate 2020, the First FIDO Conference SEATTLE, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Authenticate , the FIDO Alliances industry conference dedicated to the who, what, why and how of modern user authentication, today announced its full 2020 agenda . This two-day event, coming to Seattle on June 2-3, 2020, will inspire attendees to embrace a new way to authenticate and present the necessary tools to move past passwords. The Authenticate 2020 agenda features: Case studies from service and technology providers including CVS Health, EMILYs List, Facebook, Google, IBM, Mass Mutual, Microsoft, MITRE Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, PNC Bank, and Target Sessions on the state of authentication, building an authentication strategy, and how FIDO fits with initiatives like W3C Web Payments, and EMVCo 3DS and SRC Standards and technical implementation presentations focusing on FIDO for identity verification; bringing FIDO Authentication to IoT; OpenID for open banking; standards and the future of payments; FIDO certification; attestation and more Policy discussions around PSD2, GDPR and eIDAS; authentication to enable better privacy for citizens; authentication from a regulators perspective and more Authenticate provides the industry with an opportunity for education and discussion on implementing modern authentication, said Andrew Shikiar, executive director and CMO of FIDO Alliance. FIDO encourages organizations of all sizes to prioritize stronger security, and we are eager to share the tools and resources to help them get there. The conference agenda features practical presentations and case studies that will give attendees a deep understanding of the best pracices they need to integrate FIDOs approach to simpler, stronger authentication into their own services. 2020 headlining keynote speakers are: Dr. Whitfield Diffie, the co-inventor of public key cryptography; Joy Chik, corporate vice president of identity at Microsoft; Mark Risher, senior director of product management at Google; and Stina Ehrensvard, CEO and founder of Yubico. A full list of speakers is available on the Authenticate website . Authenticate will also feature an expo hall with product and service offerings from over two dozen vendors, as well as various networking and social events built into the two-day schedule. Register today! Take advantage of early bird pricing by registering by March 8. To register, visit https://authenticatecon.com/register/ . Authenticate will be held in conjunction with the FIDO Alliance member plenary being held June 4-5. FIDO Alliance members have exclusive access to discounted rates to attend both events! Get involved at Authenticate There are still select sponsorship opportunities available for Authenticate 2020; companies interested can learn more at https://authenticatecon.com/sponsors/ . Follow Authenticate on Twitter @AuthenticateCon to participate in the conversation and get important updates leading up to and during the event. TWEET THIS: The @AuthenticateCon agenda has been released! Visit the event website to take a look at this years speakers and session topics for the latest in user #authentication. www.authenticatecon.com About Authenticate Authenticate is the first conference dedicated to the who, what, why and how of user authentication - with a focus on the FIDO standards-based approach. Authenticate is the place for CISOs, security strategists, enterprise architects, product and business leaders to get all the education, tools and best practices to embrace modern authentication across enterprise, web and government applications. Authenticate is hosted by the FIDO Alliance, the cross-industry consortia providing standards, certifications and market adoption programs to accelerate utilization of simpler, stronger authentication. In 2020, Authenticate will be held June 2-3 at the Motif Seattle in Seattle, Washington. Visit www.authenticatecon.com for more information and follow @AuthenticateCon on Twitter. Authenticate Contact [email protected] PR Contact Adrian Loth Montner Tech PR 203-226-9290 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The list includes the entities and individuals from Russia, China, Iraq and Turkey Open source The United States government has imposed sanctions against 13 companies and individuals from Russia, China, Iraq and Turkey for the support of Iran's missile program. This is in line with the law on non-proliferation, which concerns Iran, North Korea and Syria. Mike Pompeo, the State Secretary reported that on Twitter. "We will continue taking all possible measures so as to not let Iran develop its missile program", Pompeo wrote. Earlier, Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) has blacklisted Iran that does not meet the international criteria for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. This decision was made after repeated warnings over three years, in which the FATF called on Iran to accede to the convention on combating the funding of terrorism. The organizations statement said that Iran has not taken sufficient measures to criminalize the financing of terrorism, to ensure the transparency of bank transfers or to freeze the terrorist assets against which UN sanctions are directed. At the same time, the FATF left Iran the opportunity to rectify the situation. Delhi Violence: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews security situation in various parts of Delhi. He said police and other agencies were working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Appealing for maintaining peace and harmony, he said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored in Delhi at the earliest. Congress President Sonia Gandhi attacked the government saying there's a conspiracy behind the violence in Northeast Delhi as many BJP leaders were making hateful comments, while creating an atmosphere of "fear and hatred". Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the current situation in Northeast Delhi as "alarming". He said police, despite all its efforts, was unable to control the situation and instill confidence. "Army should be called in and curfew should be imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. I am writing to the Home Minister to this effect," he said. Check all the latest updates on BusinessToday.In live blog 2.21 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews security situation in various parts of Delhi. He said police and other agencies were working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Appealing for maintaining peace and harmony, he said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored in Delhi at the earliest. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 1.36 PM: Randeep Singh Surjewala: "Congress was to hold a march and give a memorandum to President today but he communicated that he is unavailable and has given us time tomorrow. Upholding the respect for his high office, we have deferred the march for tomorrow." 1.34 PM: Sonia Gandhi on Delhi violence: Delhi Police remains paralysed in the last 72 hours -- around 18 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. "Violence continues unabated on the streets of North East Delhi," he said. 1.26 PM: Sonia Gandhi on Delhi violence: "There's a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi: There is a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/O6c1at9bLO ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 1.23 PM: Delhi Commissioner of Police, Amulya Patnaik: "Normalcy has returned in North East district to a large extent, senior officers are on rounds, extra forces have been given and lot of confidence building measures are being taken." 1.23 PM: Justice Muralidhar says that the situation is very unpleasant. We have all watched videos of some leaders making hate speeches openly. It's on every news channel. -- ANI 1.22 PM: BJP leader Kapil Mishra's video clip played in the court in the presence of all lawyers and DCP Deo and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Justice Muralidhar says "we are surprised at the conduct of the police". The HC asks SG to advise the police commissioner on the registration of an FIR against the BJP leaders who made hate speeches; hearing to held 2:30 pm again. -- ANI 1.20 PM: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Delhi violence: "Central govt should take steps to normalise the situation in Delhi and prevent violence. The Union Home Ministry should not hesitate to take strong action against the culprits. The police should be effectively deployed to prevent violence." 1.19 PM: Senior Congress leaders to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan today to raise the issue of Delhi violence. 1.17 PM: Delhi Police makes an announcement in Seelampur area, "Ek mahine ke liye Section 144 laga di gai hai, yahan koi bhi vyakti nazar na aaye. Abhi tumhe pyar se bataya jaa raha hai, phir sakhti se bataya jayega. Dukane bandh kardo yahan". #WATCH Delhi Police makes an announcement in Seelampur area, "Ek mahine ke liye Section 144 laga di gai hai, yahan koi bhi vyakti nazar na aaye. Abhi tumhe pyar se bataya jaa raha hai, phir sakhti se bataya jayega. Dukane bandh kardo yahan" #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/BwYvFLXzM9 ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.38 PM: Justice KM Joseph, while hearing pleas in Delhi violence case, expresses displeasure over the way the police acted. "You (police) have to act immediately to handle the situation," he said. Hearing in #DelhiViolence case: Justice KM Joseph in Supreme Court today expressed his displeasure over the way the police have acted. He said you (police) have to act immediately to handle the situation. pic.twitter.com/tbWezGKn0h ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.35 PM: Delhi Police releases numbers of officials concerned who can be contacted at five different hospitals where victims of the pro and anti-CAA clashes have been admitted. Delhi Police: Any person who wants the details of any victim, he or she may contact the following officers. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/casFST2mnx ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.12 PM: A team of Fire Department is conducting cooling operation at the tyre market in Gokulpuri area; the market was set ablaze on 24th February. Delhi: A team of Fire Department is conducting cooling operation at the tyre market in Gokulpuri area; the market was set ablaze on 24th February. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/2VvzvZPavM ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.55 am: Supreme court to hear Shaheen Bagh matter on March 23 The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will hear the Shahen Bagh matter on March 23. The court was hearing pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. Shaheen Bagh matter: Supreme Court fixes the matter for further hearing to March 23. The court was hearing pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. pic.twitter.com/vhT6KfzH4v - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.46 am: Paramilitary forces stationed in violence-hit Delhi 45 companies of paramilitary forces comprising ITBP, BSF and CRPF have been stationed in Delhi. 11.40 am: Top cops of Delhi Police inspects Jafrabad area Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) SN Shrivastava and Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Satish Golcha inspecting the Jafrabad area. SN Shrivastava was appointed as Special CP, yesterday. Delhi: Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) SN Shrivastava and Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Satish Golcha inspecting the Jafrabad area. SN Shrivastava was appointed as Special CP, yesterday. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/xxHmyiKzyq - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.34 am: Congress to carry out march to Rashtrapati Bhavan Congress leaders will march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek normalisation and peace in violence-hit Delhi, according to the party sources. 11.25 am: Security personnel carry out flag march in Babarpur area of Delhi The security personnel conducted a flag march in the Babarpur area of Delhi of Wednesday. It was carried out in Maujpur. 11.21 AM: Sunil Kumar Gautam, Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: "Out of all the people brought to the hospital, 189 are injured and 20 are dead." Sunil Kumar Gautam Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: Out of all the people that were brought to the hospital 189 are injured and 20 are dead. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/U8dlp4nrZV ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.13 AM: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has termed the current situation in Northeast Delhi as "alarming". He said police, despite all its efforts, was unable to control the situation and instill confidence. "Army should be called in and curfew should be imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. I am writing to the Home Minister to this effect," he said. I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately Am writing to Honble HM to this effect Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 26, 2020 10.53 AM: Security personnel are conducting flag-march in Maujpur area. Several areas of northeast Delhi have been affected by violent clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters. 10.30 AM: The Delhi High Court issues a notice to Delhi Police, and asks senior officials to remain present in the court in connection with a plea on violence in Delhi's North East districts. 10.13 AM: Latest visuals from Seelampur area. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had visited the areas affected by violence in North East Delhi last night and reviewed the security situation. Delhi: Latest visuals from Seelampur area. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had visited the areas affected by violence in North East Delhi last night and had reviewed security arrangements in the area. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/YJCycbBMD3 ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 9.59 AM: NSA Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing Delhi violence under control, ANI quoted sources as saying. He's going to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet about the situation. NSA last night visited Jafrabad, Seelampur and other parts of Northeast Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. 9.57 AM: Sunil Kumar Gautam, MD, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, confirms the death toll due to violence has reached 18. 9.41 AM: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to attend the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting today. 9.34 AM: Locals along with family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal protest at his native place Sadeensar, demanding 'martyr status' for him. Rattan Lal was killed during pro and anti-CAA clashes in northeast Delhi. Sikar: Locals along with family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal (who lost his life in violence in North East Delhi) protest at his native place Sadeensar, demanding martyr status for him. #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/pdk614yREp ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 9.11 AM: Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to injured Shahdara DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Amit Sharma's family and inquirs about his health. 9.04 AM: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital claims four persons were brought dead on Wednesday morning; death toll rises to 17.-- ANI 8.55 AM: BJP leader Kapil Mishra asks Arvind Kejriwal to release Rs 1 crore compensation to family to the policeman killed in violent clashes. Mishra had two days ago issued a warning, asking Delhi police to vacate protesters from areas like Jaffarabad. 8.43 AM: Check latest visuals from Maujpur, Seelampur and Gokulpuri. Clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters have claimed 13 lives so far. 8.40 AM: Earlier, Delhi Police Special Commissioner Satish Golcha said the protesters had left the Jaffarabad metro station and the Maujpur Chowk was also clear. Now, 66 Futa road was absolutely clear of all protests, he said. 8.36 AM: People gathered outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Tuesday night, demanding action against perpetrators of violence and seeking restoration of peace. Delhi: Latest visuals from Maujpur, Seelampur and Gokulpuri. Security personnel deployed in these areas. #NortheastDelhi pic.twitter.com/wPoPwsnDDH ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 8.34 AM: National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval leaves from the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police North-East in Seelampur to review the security situation in different parts of North-East Delhi, on the intervening night of 25-26 February. Delhi: Police disperse the people who had gathered outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence demanding action against #DelhiViolence and seeking restoration of peace. https://t.co/NWz03HQkQT pic.twitter.com/ybGwIw0cqo ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 8.33 AM: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has tweeted saying entry and exit gates at all stations have been opened. Normal services have resumed at all stations. 8.32 AM: The Supreme Court will hear pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area today. 8.31 AM: The Delhi High Court in a midnight hearing has directed Delhi Police to ensure safe passage for the injured victims by deploying all resources, as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment. DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Human Growth Hormone Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Growth Hormone Deficiency, Turner Syndrome), By Distribution Channel, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global human growth hormone market size is expected to reach a value of USD 8.5 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 8.2% over the forecast period according to this report. Introduction of novel therapies, increasing R&D activities, and rising awareness for the diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone (GH) disorders are expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Key players operating in the market are involved in extensive R&D activities for the development of novel GH therapies to strengthen their position in the market. For instance, in October 2019, VISEN Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture of Denmark-based Ascendis Pharma A/S, received approval from China National Drug Administration (NMPA) for its new drug (IND) application to start Phase III clinical study of TransCon hGH. Furthermore, two South Korean companies, Genexine Inc. and Handok Inc., are conducting a Phase II clinical trial study on GX-H9, a recombinant human GH for the treatment of adult and pediatric GH deficiency. Furthermore, increase in the number of regulatory approvals and launch of novel hGH therapies are expected to fuel the market over the forecast period. For instance, in January 2018, Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company, received United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval for its new recombinant hGH, Zomacton (somatropin) indicated for the treatment of adult patients with GH deficiency. Various government and private organizations have been undertaking initiatives and programs to spread awareness about GH deficiency and facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment. Nonprofit organizations such as Human Growth Foundation are engaged in providing research support and spreading awareness about GH deficiency and its treatment. Such initiatives are expected to drive the demand for hGH treatment therapies. Further key findings from the study suggest: GH deficiency was the largest application segment in 2019 owing to increase in regulatory approvals and launch of novel therapies Rising awareness about GH deficiency, coupled with increasing hospital visits for its treatment, is expected to drive the hospital distribution channel segment North America dominated the human growth hormone market with the largest share in 2019. This is attributed to favorable reimbursement scenario, high awareness, and the presence of major players in the region dominated the human growth hormone market with the largest share in 2019. This is attributed to favorable reimbursement scenario, high awareness, and the presence of major players in the region Asia Pacific is projected to witness a lucrative CAGR over the forecast period owing to increasing penetration of key players with their new growth hormone therapies is projected to witness a lucrative CAGR over the forecast period owing to increasing penetration of key players with their new growth hormone therapies The key players include Novo Nordisk A/S; Pfizer Inc.; Eli Lilly & Company; Sandoz International GmbH (Novartis AG); Merck KGaA; Genentech, Inc. (Roche); Ferring Pharmaceuticals; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd; and Ipsen. Key Topics Covered Chapter 1 Methodology and Scope Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Market Outlook 2.2 Segment Outlook 2.3 Competitive Insights Chapter 3 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market Variables, Trends & Scope 3.1 Market Lineage Outlook 3.1.1 Parent Market Outlook 3.1.2 Ancillary Market Outlook 3.2 Penetration and Growth Prospect Mapping 3.3 Market Dynamics 3.3.1 Market driver analysis 3.3.1.1 Increasing R&D investments 3.3.1.2 Introduction of novel therapies 3.3.1.3 Increasing awareness regarding GH deficiency 3.3.1.4 Robust pipeline 3.3.1.5 Strategic initiatives by key players 3.3.2 Market Restraint Analysis 3.3.2.1 Adverse effects related to hormone therapies 3.3.2.2 Stringent regulatory scenario 3.3.2.3 High treatment cost 3.3.3 Industry challenges 3.4 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market Analysis Tools 3.4.1 Industry analysis - Porter's 3.4.1.1 Supplier Power 3.4.1.2 Buyer Power 3.4.1.3 Substitution Threat 3.4.1.4 Threat from new entrants 3.4.1.5 Competitive Rivalry 3.4.2 PESTEL Analysis 3.4.2.1 Political Landscape 3.4.2.2 Environmental Landscape 3.4.2.3 Social landscape 3.4.2.4 Technology landscape 3.4.2.5 Legal Landscape 3.4.3 Major deals and strategic alliances analysis 3.4.3.1 Joint ventures 3.4.3.2 Mergers and acquisitions 3.4.3.3 Licensing and partnership 3.4.3.4 Technology collaborations 3.4.3.5 Strategic Divestments 3.4.4 Market entry strategies Chapter 4 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market - Competitive Analysis 4.1 Recent Developments & Impact Analysis, by Key Market Participants 4.2 Vendor Landscape 4.2.1 List of key distributors and channel partners 4.2.2 Key company market share analysis, 2019 4.3 Public Companies 4.3.1 Company market position analysis 4.3.2 Competitive dashboard analysis 4.4 Private Companies 4.4.1 List of key emerging companies 4.4.2 Regional network map 4.4.3 Company market position analysis Chapter 5 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market: Application Estimates And Trend Analysis 5.1 Definition & Scope 5.2 Application Market Share Analysis, 2019 & 2027 5.3 Segment Dashboard 5.4 Global Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market, by Application, 2016 to 2027 5.5 Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2016 to 2027 5.5.1 Growth Hormone Deficiency 5.5.2 Turner Syndrome 5.5.3 Idiopathic Short Stature 5.5.4 Prader-Willi Syndrome 5.5.5 Small for Gestational Age 5.5.6 Others Chapter 6 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market: Distribution Channel Estimates And Trend Analysis 6.1 Definition & Scope 6.2 Distribution Channel Market Share Analysis, 2019 & 2027 6.3 Segment Dashboard 6.4 Global Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market, by Distribution Channel, 2016 to 2027 6.5 Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analyses, 2016 to 2027 6.5.1 Hospital Pharmacy 6.5.2 Retail Pharmacy 6.5.3 Online Pharmacy 6.5.4 Specialty Pharmacy Chapter 7 Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis 7.1 Regional Market Snapshot 7.2 Regional Market Share and Leading Players, 2019 7.3 Market Share Analysis by Country, 2019 7.4 SWOT Analysis, by Factor (Political & Legal, Economic and Technological) 7.5 Market Size & Forecasts, and Trend Analysis, 2019 to 2027 Chapter 8 Company Profiles 8.1 Companies Profiled 8.1.1 Novo Nordisk A/S 8.1.2 Pfizer, Inc. 8.1.3 Eli Lilly and Company 8.1.4 Sandoz International GmbH 8.1.5 Merck KGaA 8.1.6 Genentech, Inc. 8.1.7 Ferring B.V. 8.1.8 Ipsen For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5xkqey Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com An Arkansas teenager was hospitalized with a concussion after participating in a dangerous viral prank on TikTok known as the 'skull breaker challenge.' The challenge involves three people standing in a row and jumping. While the middle person is in the air, the other two kick inwards to knock the middle person's legs out from under them. That's what happened to Ke'Avion Hearn, from Pine Bluff, last week, and he landed on his head, reported KARK. Now his mother, Kimberly, says he is recovering at home instead of being able to attend classes and she's calling on teens to stop participating in the online trend before someone ends up even more seriously injured than her son. Arkansas teenager Ke'Avion Hearn was hospitalized last week (pictured) after he was allegedly tricked into participating in a dangerous viral prank on TikTok known as the 'Skull Breaker Challenge' In the challenge, three people in a row jump straight up, and two people kick inwards to knock the middle person's legs out from under them (pictured) Ke'Avion told KARK he was in the gymnasium at Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School in Pine Bluff when he was approached by classmates. They said were making a video and wanted him to participate. At the time, he says he hadn't heard of the challenge. 'They said: "All you got to do is jump,"' Ke'Avion told the station. 'I jumped [and] they kind of kicked me out under my legs so I can't land. All I remember is being on the floor.' Ke'Avion was knocked unconscious. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion. And he's not the first teenager this has happened to. Several parents have been sharing photos and videos of their sons and daughters sustaining serious injuries after taking part in the challenge. School districts and police departments across the country have been issuing warnings about the dangers of the viral trend. Ke'Avion's mother, Kimberly Hearn, said her son spent at least seven hours in the hospital before he was discharged. 'He doesn't deserve that. No child deserves that,' Hearn told KARK. 'You made him fall on his head. That's got to be so cruel, and you found it to be so funny.' She added that the prank was particularly dangerous for her son who, a few years, ago, underwent several surgeries for a brain tumor - although what type is unclear. Hearn has filed a police report and says she plans to press charges against the classmates involved in the challenge, KARK reported. Ke'Avion landed on his head when his legs were kicked out from under him and he was knocked unconscious. He rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion. Pictured: Ke'Avion (with his mother), left, and right His mother, Kimberly Hearn, has filed a police report and plans on pressing charges against the other teens involved in the prank. Pictured: Ke'Avion undergoing an MRI in the hospital Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School Principal Jeremy Cegers says the other two teens involved have been suspended. In a statement to KARK, he said: 'The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Once staff was made aware of the incident, an investigation was immediately conducted and the students involved were suspended. 'A school assembly will be held [on Wednesday] for all students to raise awareness of the harm that can be caused by activities like the "skull breaker challenge."' In a statement to a DailyMail.com, TikTok said it was planning to remove all videos related to the challenge from its site. 'The safety of our users is our top priority at TikTok, and we do not allow content that encourages or replicates dangerous challenges that might lead to injury,' a spokesperson said. 'The behavior in question is a violation of our Community Guidelines and we will continue to remove this content from our platform. We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behavior whether online or off.' Oman has announced new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the overall number of patients who tested positive to four, a media report said. The Ministry of Health issued a statement announced the two new cases which are linked to a recent trip to Iran, adding that all the patients are in stable condition, reported Bahrain News Agency (BNA). The ministry had called upon on all citizens and residents coming from countries which are affected by the Coronavirus to stay at home and report at the ministry if any signs of symptoms observed. The statement also urged people to avoid travelling to these countries unless necessary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) and US President Donald Trump exchange greetings after their joint press statement, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI) KYODO NEWS - Feb 26, 2020 - 14:41 | World, All, Coronavirus Fourteen percent of patients infected with the new coronavirus and discharged from the hospital in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong after recovering have tested positive again, according to local health authorities. The findings suggest that people who recovered from COVID-19 may have to be monitored for an extended period even after they have tested negative for the virus twice as stipulated under the health authorities' guidelines and released from the hospital. (Photo taken in Beijing on Feb. 25, 2020, shows a signboard calling on people not to eat wild animals as the spreading new coronavirus is suspected to have originated in such animals.) There is no scientific conclusion behind why some patients tested positive after recovering from the illness, said Song Tie, deputy director of the Guangdong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, during a press briefing on Tuesday. But based on a preliminary assessment, experts believe the patients had not yet fully recovered from lung infections when they were released, Song added. Similar cases have been reported in other regions. Guidelines from the National Health Commission stipulate that patients must test negative for the virus twice, at least a day apart, before being discharged. While no one who had close contact with these patients has tested positive, the province is preparing to put discharged patients who tested positive after their recovery under concentrated observation, and require hospitals to keep all discharged patients under observation for two weeks, Song said. Guangdong has reported that as of the end of Tuesday, a total of 1,347 confirmed infections and seven deaths, making it the second-worst-hit province after Hubei. China's health authorities said Wednesday that the number of deaths in mainland China from virus infections has risen by 52 to 2,715, with confirmed cases of infection reaching 78,064. All new deaths in the 24 hours to the end of Tuesday occurred in the central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the public health crisis, according to the National Health Commission. The number of new infections in Hubei stood at 401, down from 499 a day earlier. With 406 new cases confirmed, Tuesday marked the seventh consecutive day that China's daily number of new infections remained under 1,000 and the eighth consecutive day that newly recovered patients outnumbered infected ones. So far, China has recorded a total of 29,745 patients as having recovered from the virus. A few more Chinese regions lowered their public health emergency alert over the virus on Wednesday, state-run media reported. The southwestern province of Sichuan and northern autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang joined about a dozen regions that had already downgraded their alert levels after President Xi Jinping encouraged low- and medium-risk regions on Monday to "fully and quickly" restore production. Related coverage: South Korea's coronavirus infection cases exceed 1,000 Japan to ban entry by foreigners who have visited Daegu, S. Korea Hokkaido eyes temporary shutdown of public schools to fight virus Algeria is not contemplating a suspension in flights but will reinforce controls on planes from Italy after it confirmed its first case of coronavirus in an Italian man, a health ministry official said on Wednesday, Trend reports with reference to Reuters. Everyone who has been in contact with the 61-year-old, who arrived in Algeria on Feb. 17 and is based in the southern Ouargla area, an energy industry center, is being monitored, Djamel Fouar told a news conference in Algiers. SV Krishna Chaitanya By Express News Service CHENNAI: In a first, the Union Environment Ministry has returned the new hydrocarbon project proposed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in the Cauvery delta region, which the State government has notified as Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ). ONGC had proposed to drill 20 onshore hydrocarbon wells for production of oil and gas in Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Karaikal. The proposal was submitted to the Ministry in September last year seeking Terms of Reference (ToR) to conduct Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Since then, the project was returned thrice for shortcomings. The latest on February 15 was reportedly owing to PSAZ notification. Under the gazette notification, the State government has prohibited exploration, drilling and extraction of oil and natural gas, and other hydrocarbons in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and select blocks in Cuddalore and Pudukkottai. As per the ONGC project documents, 15 out of total 20 wells are proposed to be dug-up in Nagapattinam and one well in Kattumannakoil block in Cuddalore, which is protected under PSAZ notification. In the application, ONGC claimed that the demand for petroleum products was increasing rapidly and hence, there was an urgent need to boost exploration efforts to reduce imports from Gulf countries. Shambu Kallolikar, principal secretary, Environment and Forests Department, told Express that ONGC and other companies proposing new hydrocarbon projects in Tamil Nadu have to rework their ventures around PSAZ notification. The current and ongoing oil business will not be disturbed in the notified area, but no new hydrocarbon project will be allowed, he said. The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has also recognised our concerns and assured us that no fresh block allotments will be made without the consent of the State government. M Giridhar, Chief General Manager (Geology) of Block-1 Cauvery Basin, ONGC, who submitted the application to the Environment Ministry was not available to comment. The fragile Cauvery basin had been witnessing a spurt in exploration and production activities in recent past with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas steering a plethora of reforms. Last year alone, proposals for drilling 489 hydrocarbon wells in Tamil Nadu were made to the Environment Ministry, of which ONGC accounts for 215 wells, and Cairn Oil and Gas for 274 wells. ONGC dilemma The Block, where the project is proposed, was awarded to ONGC by the Government of India for hydrocarbon exploration for a period of six years with extension of 2 years under HELP/OALP Bid Round- III. The Block covers an area of 459.83 sq km in onshore out of which 386.53 sq km in Tamil Nadu (14.74 sq km in Cuddalore and 371.79 sq km in Nagapattinam) and 73.30 sq km in Karaikal region of Puducherry Over the summer, the federal government released an amended draft of its proposed Religious Discrimination Bill, designed to satisfy the bills many critics. This effort has failed. All Australians whether they practise a religion, are "lapsed" or belong to the quickly swelling ranks of those declaring "no religion" could be worse off on grounds of religious belief if this bill goes through. Illustration: Andrew Dyson Credit: This is not a bill that protects Australians from discrimination on religious grounds. Instead, it actively facilitates intolerance and will work to divide rather than unite Australians. Currently Australians enjoy a great deal of freedom when it comes to religious belief both the freedom to practise their religion, and freedom from the imposition of religious practices they do not share. Anti-discrimination laws at a state and federal level protect people from discrimination based on their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability or age. They also strike a balance in protecting the rights of religious institutions to run their operations in accordance with their beliefs, and to allow existing discriminations to be addressed. Alongside these laws, health and safety laws protect people from bullying in the workplace, which can often be the result of personal prejudice but expressed in racial or religious terms. The proposed religious discrimination law would override all these existing state and federal laws. It would strip Australians of many of the rights they currently enjoy and put the clock backwards. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Laetitia Volga (Reuters) Paris, France Wed, February 26, 2020 21:04 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066d02eb 2 Lifestyle Dior,Paris-Fashion-Week,Paris,France,fashion,fashion-week,Maria-Grazia-Chiuri Free Christian Dior turned back the clock for its latest runway show in Paris on Tuesday, as designer Maria Grazia Chiuri dipped into her childhood and teenage memories in Italy with 1970s-inspired looks. Models wearing headscarves showcased pieces in chequered prints and plenty of fringes, while the designer also explored feminist references that first inspired her, and which have become a recurrent theme for the LVMH-owned brand. "I come back to when I was younger in Rome around the seventies, eighties, because it was an important moment of my life... with important issues like the liberation of women," Chiuri told Reuters in an interview. Some looks seemed inspired directly by Chiuri's own experiences, including a camouflage-style puffer jacket. "I remember the first time I went to the flea-market to buy my denim pants, my military jacket because I didn't want to be dressed with a pretty dress in which I didn't recognize myself," she said. Actresses Demi Moore, Nina Dobrev, and Sigourney Weaver were among the stars on the front row at the Paris show. Dior was one of the first major French brands to kick off Paris Fashion Week, which closes the latest season of shows that have whizzed through New York, London and Milan. Read also: Dior stuns Paris fashion with its divine feminism Inspired by Carla Lonzi, a feminist activist from the seventies and Marc Bohan, Dior's creative director for 30 years, the Autumn-Winter styles featured polka-dot prints, crossed-body bags and see-through shirts. Dior also reinterpreted the brand's distinctive "Bar" jacket in a curvaceous cashmere wool cardigan. Other evening looks were more luxurious, like sheer silk gowns, though many were styled with sturdy boots rather than stilettos. The show closed on glittery, fluid dresses. The venue was designed by the Claire Fontaine collective, and included displays of illuminated messages such as "Consent" and "We are all clitoridian women" hung above the catwalk inside a pop-up installation in the Jardin des Tuileries. "There are certain times that you sense fashion is going to break open and I feel it's happening a little bit right now," American actress Andie MacDowell told Reuters after the show. "From losing corsets to burning bras, I think women are empowering each other." The coronavirus outbreak meant there were few Asian buyers in attendance. Last week, Italian fashion houses presented in an empty theater at Milan Fashion Week. President Trump narrowly lost Minnesota in 2016 despite making a relatively minor effort here, and the state is one that he hopes to pick up in 2020. Both Scott and I have been asked many times, as Minnesota residents and long-time observers, whether we think Trump has a good chance to carry the state this year. We both have responded pessimistically, based on a long series of Republican losses in statewide contests and a trend toward the Democrats in Twin Cities suburbs. But a Star Tribune poll released on Sunday offers hope. The results arent overwhelming, by any means: 44% approval vs. 52% disapproval statewide. But Trumps victory in 2016 didnt depend on sky-high approval ratings; it resulted from voters preferring him to Hillary Clinton, regardless of whether they approved of him or not. The same will be true in spades this year, with Berne Sanders the likely Democratic nominee. But this is the striking finding: [I]n the metro suburbs, which are expected to be heavily targeted by both parties this November, 54 % voiced approval. The Twin Cities suburbs are the states key battleground. It was a suburban swing to the Democrats in 2018 that drove the Republican wipeout here in that year. Richard Baris is a pollster whom I dont know, but his comments are spot on: Anyhoo in the burbs, Donald Trump was polling at around 47%. That's it. He ended up performing a point or so better than that, but overall it was his lead in rural North and South that made that race so close. If he's at 54% today as the Star Tribune Poll finds, it's over Richard Baris (@Peoples_Pundit) February 25, 2020 Hes right. If President Trump really is close to 54% approval in the Twin Cities suburbs, the state is very much in play this year. If not, as Baris says, over in Trumps favor. UPDATE: I should have noted a key fact, which is that the Stribs reference to suburbs excludes Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Without researching the point, I would estimate that over half of the Twin Cities suburban population is located in those two counties. Much of what is left would properly be described as exurban. You would expect Trump to do better in outer-tier, exurban communities than in inner-tier suburbs. What I dont know is whether Richard Bariss comparison was apples to applessuburbs, not including Hennepin and Ramsey countiesor whether his 2016 numbers were for the entire Twin Cities suburbs. I suspect the latter. (Newser) A day after the WHO warned the world to be in a "phase of preparedness" for a possible COVID-19 pandemic, another dire warning on the novel coronavirus: Officials from the CDC and NIH warned Tuesday that spread of the virus in the US appears inevitable. "Ultimately we expect we will see community spread in the United States. Its not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses, said the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, per the Washington Post. "Disruptions to everyday life may be severe, but people might want to start thinking about that now." There are currently 57 confirmed cases in the US, most of them Diamond Princess passengers, CNN reports, though some experts believe the true number could be in the hundreds. story continues below The Post called those and other comments, made in briefings to lawmakers and reporters, "a significant change in official statements since the outbreak began in China in December." But within a few hoursand after the Dow fell as much as 900 pointsthe paper reported that top health officials were backing off the dire warnings. "We believe the immediate risk here in the United States remains low, and were working hard to keep that risk low," said one CDC director. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said officials simply want the US to have a large-scale response ready to go "just in case." As for what that would look like, the CDC outlined that in the day's earlier briefings, CNBC reports. Officials said schools would need to consider "internet-based teleschooling" while businesses should consider letting employees telecommute; communities would need to reconsider large gatherings or events; and hospitals may even need to postpone elective surgeries and other non-urgent healthcare needs. (Read more coronavirus stories.) Shepaug Dramatics will stage its production of Little Shop of Horrors at Shepaug Valley School in Washington March 13-15. Performances will be held March 13-14 at 7 p.m. and March 15 at 3 p.m. at the South Street school. The musical sci-fi comedy centers around Seymour, a down-on-his-luck florist who has a crush on his co-worker Audrey. When they discover a mysterious - and voracious - alien plant, Seymour and Audrey are thrust into an epic battle that will determine the fate of the entire human race. Based on the 1960 film by Roger Corman - featuring a book by Howard Ashman and rock, doo-wop, and Motown music by Alan Menken - Little Shop has been called the best musical ever adapted from a movie by Time Out, Critics Pick. Shepaug Dramatics all-student cast and crew will feature a combination of solo and ensemble performances under the direction of Shepaug faculty veteran Doug Winkel. Sandra Kleisner will serve as musical director. It is a pleasure to return to Shepaug to lead another stellar cast and crew of students to stage a production of this cult-classic, Winkel said. It is always exciting to see the creative energy these young people bring to their work and Little Shop is bound to be fun. The Award-winning Shepaug Dramatics team was recently recognized by The Halo Awards for Best Scenic Design and Execution and Best Performance By a Leading Actress In A Contemporary Play for its production of Picasso At The Lapin Agile. "I am always impressed with the work of our students and applaud their efforts and accomplishments in the arts," said SVS School Principal Kimberly Gallo. General admission tickets are $10. Tickets for students, senior citizens and veterans are $5. Tickets can be reserved by calling 860-717-2444 and purchased at the door. All proceeds will be used to support future productions of Shepaug Dramatics. STATEN ISLAND -- The Islamic Leadership Council of New York is condemning the state Legislatures first Muslim-African American lawmaker, Island Assemblyman Charles Fall, for his recent trip to Israel. Fall and other members of the Assembly went on a trip to Israel last week sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), which regularly sponsors trips to Israel for lawmakers. But the Islamic Leadership Council of New York, which represents more than 90 mosques and Muslim organizations across the state, some of which supported Fall before he was elected to the Assembly, view JCRC trips as zionist propaganda trips that only provide a one-sided and pro-Israel narrative of the region. Zionism is the national ideology of Israel which asserts that Jewish people deserve their own state in Israel. However, Arabs and the majority Muslim Palestinians generally oppose Zionism, because they view the ideology as a form of discrimination against its ability to form a separate state free of Israeli occupation in the West Bank. The Islamic Leadership Council of New Yorks Executive Director Raja Abdulhaq, said that as a fellow Muslim, the council had held Fall to a higher standard and are disappointed the assemblyman went on a trip that essentially stands against fellow Palestinians including Muslim Palestinians. We are saddened because he went on a pro-Israel propaganda trip that was not balanced, Abdulhaq said. As a nonprofit, the Islamic Leadership Council of New York cannot endorse candidates, Abdulhaq said. But other Muslim groups that supported Fall when he ran for his first term as an assemblyman in 2018, can. Abdulhaq said he is unsure whether those groups will support Fall again after his trip to Israel. He said the council and other groups want to first speak personally to the assemblyman about his trip. FALLS OFFICE INITIALLY DECLINED TO SAY WHERE HE TRAVELED TO Fall was the only Democrat the Islands party endorsed who was missing from its county committee meeting last week. His office had said the assemblyman was out of the country attending to legislative responsibilities, and initially declined to say where exactly he was and for what purpose and that they needed the approval from Falls Chief of Staff Setonji Agosa. Agosa initially did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Falls whereabouts until a day later when pressed. Fall said he stands by his trip and decided to go as a learning experience. In todays climate, there is far more that unites Muslims, Christians, and Jews than divides us from commonalties in religious tradition and practice, to a history filled with cooperation and mutual learning, Fall said, defending the JCRC as an organization that has played an active role in improving Staten Island through a number of social services. As an elected official and as an advocate for my community, I have always had an independent voice and my values have not and will not be compromised, Fall continued. I viewed this opportunity to visit Israel as a learning experience. During his trip, Fall said he met with individuals like Ziad Abu-Zayyad, a writer for the Palestine-Israel Journal, and Imam Sheikh Abu-Khalil Kamini. He also said he went to the border of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, Bethlehem, which is within the Palestinian Authority as well as the border of Gaza before rockets were fired into Israel. Fall also said he went to a secondary school where Muslim, Christian, and Jewish students learn together. But Abdulhaq argued that Fall did not meet with enough civil society leaders within the West Bank or within Israel. Strengthening the connections between our communities will make us better able to work together on issues that are important to Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, Fall said. If we join forces to combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and act on issues of shared concern, our strength is multiplied. Only together, can we make New York a place where tolerance prevails. For these reasons, I will not and should not have to justify or apologize for my trip and learning experience in Israel. The people elected me to be a uniter, not a divider and I call on all community leaders to join me in this effort. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. A Chinese passenger who just arrived on the last bullet train from Wuhan to Beijing is checked for a fever by a health worker at a Beijing railway station in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) 80,000 Ask for China Flight Suspensions Into Canada Because of Coronavirus: Petition Close to 80,000 people have signed an online petition asking Ottawa to suspend flights from China in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Over 50 countries, including the United States, Australia, and the U.K. have imposed some form of restriction on travellers from China, but the federal government has so far ruled out similar restrictions. At this point, people from Wuhan have fled the city and are now in cities/provinces around China, even around the world. Some even hid the fact that they were sick and knowingly travelled carrying the virus, the petition reads. According to the mayor of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, 5 million people left the city before authorities enacted a quarantine to contain the outbreak. Canadas response to the outbreak includes asking international travellers at main airports to reply to screening questions at electronic kiosks, handing out information about the virus at airports, and asking those who show symptoms of the illness to self-report to authorities. The petition describes the current measures as ineffective. We urge the Canadian government to suspend all flights from China, to prevent further outbreak of the virus. Please learn from the SARS incident 17 years ago, it says. Canada was particularly hard-hit by SARS. The 43 SARS-related deaths in Canada were the fourth highest in the world and were only eclipsed by the death-counts in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Sheng Xue, a journalist and an author based in the Toronto area, says Canadas response wont be effective in stopping the spread of the virus by travellers coming from China, as those who are infected could simply choose not to report to the authorities. She says she knows of one case where a man with symptoms of the virus travelled from China to Toronto but hasnt reported to the authorities. The Epoch Times has seen the text conversation between Sheng and the mans wife talking about the case. Sheng says the wife told her that her husband travelled to China late last year to visit his mother, but while he was there his mother became very sick, with difficulty breathing, which is characteristic of COVID-19. The husband came back to Canada in December, and the woman says their entire family became sick for two weeks, coughing constantly and having problems breathing, all symptoms of the coronavirus. They went to their family doctor, but there wasnt much information on the outbreak back then so no one suspected it was the new virus. The womans mother-in-law passed away in January due to lung failure, and her husband travelled to China for the funeral. By this time, the woman said she was fairly certain they had all contracted the coronavirus but didnt want to tell authorities in case there would be any problems for her husband travelling back to Canada. Her husband eventually returned to Canada later in January. Sheng says she thinks Ottawa is avoiding imposing restrictions on travellers from China in order not to displease Beijing. Referring to the arrest of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada, she says Chinas hostage diplomacy has worked in subduing Canada. Chinas foreign minister has praised Ottawa for not enacting travel restrictions, while blasting the United States for its restrictions. Sheng notes that Canadas ambassador to China Dominic Barton also recently praised Beijings efforts in containing the outbreak, even though she says the regimes concealment of the facts was what contributed to the spread of the virus in the first place. [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau has been relatively weak in dealing with the Chinese Communist Party. He hasnt been able to stand up for the interests of Canada and properly respond to provocations from the Chinese regime, Sheng says. She believes Canada should enact similar restrictions as the United States, where travellers who have been in China for the past 14 daysthe presumed incubation period of the virusare barred from entering. Several members of the Chinese community have told The Epoch Times that they know of many cases where travellers from China whose destination is the United States first come to Canada and wait for 14 days, then move on to their final destination. Sheng says Canadas refusal to enact travel restrictions has added to the fear of many in the Chinese community of going to restaurants and other local businesses, causing an adverse impact on the local economy. Because of the laissez-faire approach of the Canadian government, many normally busy commercial places such as [Torontos] Pacific Mall are now deserted. The situation is very worrying, she says. Bangladesh has yet again shelved a controversial plan to relocate some 100,000 Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, a minister said Wednesday. Authorities have long sought to relocate some of the country's million-plus Rohingya population to Bhashan Char, despite warnings the silty strip of land was prone to violent and potentially deadly monsoon storms. The move would take some pressure off the overcrowded border camps home to huge numbers of the persecuted and stateless Muslim minority, most of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar in 2017 after a brutal military crackdown. But rights groups say that some refugees had been coerced into agreeing to relocation and the plan has been staunchly opposed by the Rohingya community at large. Junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said Bangladesh would increase its focus on diplomatic talks aimed at returning the refugees home. "The relocation plan has been postponed," he told AFP, adding that there had been "much progress" in repatriation discussions with Myanmar with China acting as intermediary. Bangladesh and Myanmar have already signed a repatriation deal to send back some Rohingya to their homeland -- but safety fears mean very few have agreed to return. Thousands are suspected to have been killed in Myanmar during the 2017 Rohingya crackdown and refugees brought reports of widespread rape and arson by soldiers and ethnic Rakhine mobs. The military denies nearly all wrongdoing and insists its operations were justified in order to root out Rohingya insurgents. Bangladesh's navy has spent years building homes, facilities and flood walls on Bhashan Char at a cost of $280 million. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:25:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHICAGO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Japanese automaker Subaru announced Wednesday that it will invest 158 million U.S. dollars into two new plants that will create 350 jobs. According to Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Subaru's North American production arm, the investment by the company will go toward adding a new service parts facility and transmission assembly shop in Lafayette, U.S. state of Indiana. The new facilities will be located on Subaru of Indiana Automotive's 820-acre campus. Construction is expected to begin this summer on both the service parts facility, which will be a stand-alone building, and the transmission assembly shop, which will be an addition to the plant. Subaru of Indiana Automotive is the only manufacturing facility that Subaru has outside of Asia. The company employs more than 6,000 workers and began production for Subaru in 1989. Annual vehicle production at the plant is expected to reach 410,000 in 2020. Approximately 50 percent of Subaru's sold in North America are built in Indiana, according to estimates from the company. "Our production levels have tripled over the past 10 years," said Scott Brand, senior vice president of administration and quality at Subaru of Indiana Automotive. "These new projects are exciting growth opportunities to help us meet increasing customer demand." Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper were unable to settle a drawn-out squabble over cost-sharing for the upkeep of American troops here when they met in Washington on Monday. In a press release after their meeting, the two defense chiefs agreed only that Seoul and Washington need to make more efforts to bridge their differences but were clearly no closer to a deal. Esper tried to pile pressure on Korea to bow to the U.S.' exorbitant demands for a hike. Calling Korea "a global economic powerhouse and an equal partner in the preservation of peace in the peninsula," he said, "Shouldering the cost of the common defense cannot fall disproportionately to the American taxpayer." "Increased burden-sharing is a top priority for the United States across our alliances," he added. He claimed the current agreement, under which Korea paid US$1 billion last year, "captures only a portion of the overall cost associated with the United States' defense of [Korea]." Advertisement A riverside town in Worcestershire was underwater today after flood defences finally failed in the face of unprecedented flooding and the ever-rising River Severn. Floodwater has been pouring over the top of temporary barriers erected in the wake of Storm Dennis at Beale's Corner in the town of Bewdley, which straddles the Severn north of Worcester. Water crashed over barriers for the first time in decades and consumed an area near homes and businesses at the riverbank. Thousands of properties across Britain have been evacuated since the storm hit on February 15. Firefighters have been scrambled to the town to evacuate residents, with paramedics on scene to assist the vulnerable and elderly. Emergency workers also tried in vain to pump floodwater back into the Severn. Tonight there is more misery to come, the Environment Agency warns, when the River Severn is expected to come close to its highest recorded level, which was just over six yards (5.56m) high in November 2000. England has now seen more than 200 per cent of its average February rainfall, with four days of the month still left to go. The Met Office has warned of further showers across the UK today, followed by even more rainfall tomorrow and on Friday, with up to 0.4in (10mm) expected to fall on the River Severn's source, the Welsh hills. Wintry showers in the North West will also continue tonight before hill snow spreads across the southern third of the UK, with rain possibly turning to low-level snow over the Midlands and East Anglia into tomorrow. Meanwhile anger has been growing at how the Government has reacted since the bad weather began three weeks ago when communities in Yorkshire were flooded after Storm Ciara, in scenes reminiscent of Boxing Day 2015. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has still not visited the flooded regions that voted him into power 11 days after storms and torrential downpours ruined homes and devastated businesses. Victims have criticised the 500 they can claim in compensation when they are flooded. The grants were announced by the Government earlier this month as part of a raft of measures designed to help people affected. The snow continued to affect commuters today, with several accidents on motorways in Cheshire amid the conditions, with part of the M53 closed near Little Stanney and a section of the M62 shut near Warrington. An aerial view of the severe flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, today as the River Severn remains very high in the area EAST SIDE: Flood barriers fail to hold back the River Severn, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on one side of the river this morning WEST SIDE: Flood defences in Bewdley are still holding back the river on the other side today as the Severn remains high Thousands of residents living near the Severn face flooding, with a 100-mile stretch of the river issued with flood warnings Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as the River Severn remains high today, with warnings of further flooding across the UK Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, with flood defences now breached on the east side of the River Severn today (right) Flood barriers fail to hold back the River Severn, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, as people survey the damage this morning It comes as low-lying areas along the River Severn are also expected to be hit by severe flooding on Wednesday, with potential over-topping of defences in Ironbridge in Shropshire of high concern. Ongoing flooding is forecast over the next few days, with England having seen more than 200 per cent of its average February rainfall, the agency said. Railway lines into Shrewsbury were closed due to the rising water levels close to the viaduct. Network Rail said: 'The exceptionally high-water levels in the Severn and the closure of these lives serve to highlight the extreme weather we've experienced across the network over the last few weeks. 'The current situation in Shrewsbury is very much a once-in-a-generation event.' It said engineers would be undertaking an underwater inspection of the viaduct's structure this morning before lines can reopen. Residents in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley were forced to evacuate after the river spilled over barriers at Beales Corner. Mark Bowers, a flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, tweeted: 'Huge amounts of water in the system. Thoughts with the local community who have been impacted.' Flood barriers which have moved due to the weight of water in the River Severn in the Wharfage area of Ironbridge today The swollen Severn, which has breached emergency defences, flows under The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge, Shropshire, today Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, today as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK Homes submerged in flood water in Ironbridge, Shropshire, today after further rain pushed water levels even higher Homes surrounded and submerged in flood water in Ironbridge, Shropshire, this morning A home surrounded and half-submerged in flood water in Ironbridge, Shropshire, this morning Flooding in Bewdley, Worcestershire, today as the River Severn remains high, with warnings of further flooding across the UK In the at-risk town of Ironbridge, the force of the river forced flood defences backwards, although they managed to hold. Shortly after 1am this morning, Chief Superintendent Tom Harding, of West Mercia Police, tweeted: 'The barrier appears intact but has indeed moved. This will be monitored throughout the night.' Environment Agency spokesman Marc Lidderth added: 'The temporary barriers that we have here are holding back the floodwater that's making its way down the system. 'Overnight and in the early hours of this morning those barriers have moved. However those barriers are still holding the water and the risk of the over-topping that we were going to see potentially happen through the night, hasn't actually happened.' The agency is keeping a close eye on the barriers on the Severn, said Mr Lidderth, who said drones may be used later today to assess the defences. Roads around the Ironbridge Gorge have also been closed to stop people driving in floodwater, Telford and Wrekin Council said. The level of the River Severn reached more than 22ft (6.79m) in the Shropshire village of Buildwas at around 8.30am this morning - up from a level of 16ft (4.19m) on Sunday. A car submerged in flood water in Ironbridge, Shropshire, today after further rain pushed water levels even higher The swollen River Severn is pictured from the Iron Bridge today after after it pushed back emergency defences in Ironbridge Flood defences are just about holding back floodwater in Ironbridge today, although the Shropshire town is under threat A canoe outside a flooded home in Ironbridge today as Shropshire faces severe flooding along the River Severn A swollen River Severn, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, is pictured this morning as the River Severn continues to rise The swollen River Severn, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, is pictured today after water started to pour over the top of defencesongoing flooding is also forecast for the next few days. A bridge over the swollen River Severn, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, today is pictured next to the flood defences Workers look at the river levels next to the swollen River Severn in Bewdley, Worcestershire, this morning Rising water levels from the River Severn have breached flood barriers in Bewdley, Worcestershire, pictured today High river levels in on the Severn in Bewdley, Worcestershire, today with warnings of further flooding across the UK In the North East, flood warnings remain in place in the Snaith area, in East Yorkshire, ahead of a high tide on Wednesday morning. The Environment Agency said the washlands at Gowdall Ings are continuing to fill and are overtopping, as designed, into Snaith Ings, with flooding affecting properties nearby. Further sleet and snow is expected in some areas today Hull Coastguard Rescue Team joined other agencies, including police, fire and ambulance services, on Tuesday night to alert residents and help with evacuations. Yesterday, East Riding of Yorkshire Council said that 10 properties - seven commercial and three residential - had flooded in Snaith and the road north of the town had been closed. The Snaith School said it will be closed today as a precaution and Snaith Primary School also remains closed. This morning there were two severe flood warnings - meaning there is a risk to life - on the River Severn. There were a further 102 flood warnings and 146 flood alerts in place stretching from the Lake District down to the south coast, with heavy concentrations in the North East and South West. Many towns the length of the River Severn were also at risk. The Met Office has warned of further showers across the UK today, followed by even more rainfall tomorrow and on Friday. Forecaster John Griffiths said up to 0.4in (10mm) could fall on the River Severn's source, the Welsh hills, throughout yesterday, with other parts of the UK seeing up to 0.1in (2mm). Conditions tomorrow (left) and on Friday (right) will again be wet, although temperatures will rise towards the weekend Residents in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley were forced to evacuate last night after the river spilled over barriers Water was seen gushing over the top of the barriers onto Stourport Road at Bewdley in Worcestershire last night The river at Bewdley is expected to come close to its highest ever level. Pictured: Flood water breaches defences last night Flood defences are breached in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley last night after the River Severn rose above the barriers He said temperatures are likely to 'hover around freezing' in the morning, with the west of England and the Midlands experiencing the most frequent showers. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued until 10am today for Northern Ireland, west Scotland, Wales and large swathes of England. The Met Office warned that 'wintry showers' were expected throughout last night and this morning 'leaving surfaces wet and leading to icy stretches developing on untreated surfaces'. Up to three inches of snow was also expected on higher ground in northwest England, Wales and west Scotland. Another yellow weather warning for ice is also in place in the Midlands and South of England, with the Met Office warning 'icy stretches are likely to bring some travel disruption overnight and into Wednesday morning'. Photographs taken at Beale's Corner in Bewdley last night, which straddles the River Severn north of Worcester, show flood water pouring over the top of temporary barriers erected in the wake of Storm Dennis Hereford and Worcester firefighters along with West Midlands Ambulance paramedics in Bewdley yesterday evening Flooding is possible on the Wye, Ouse and Trent rivers, the EA said. Pictured: Emergency services in Bewdley last night Up to 0.4in (10mm) of rain is forecast for most areas tomorrow, increasing to 0.4in to 0.8in (20mm) in a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday morning across catchment areas in Wales, Cumbria and Yorkshire, Mr Griffiths said. The Environment Agency has warned flooding is possible on the rivers Wye, Ouse and Trent, with other areas at risk from localised flooding caused by heavy rainfall expected on Friday. ** Have you taken pictures of the flooding or snow? Please email them to: pictures@mailonline.co.uk ** Advertisement It comes as homes were evacuated yesterday after the River Aire burst its banks in Snaith, in East Yorkshire. As of 10.30pm, two severe 'danger to life' flood warnings had been issued for the Shropshire towns of Shrewsbury and Ironbridge. The Environment Agency said there is a 'potential for the Ironbridge [flood] barrier to overtop'. A further 101 flood warnings, meaning that flooding is expected, and 147 flood alerts, meaning that flooding is possible, are also in place across the country. ELEVEN DAYS after floods devastated the regions that voted him into power, Boris Johnson sits at home in Downing Street hosting Austrian Chancellor... with storm victims left asking: 'When WILL he visit us?' Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not visited flood impacted communities since Storm Dennis struck Boris Johnson has still not visited the flooded regions that voted him into power ten days after storms and torrential downpours ruined homes and devastated businesses. Flood-hit communities have lashed out at the government for its response to the severe weather conditions that have blitzed the country, and criticised the PM for his no-show in areas such as Yorkshire, South Wales and the South West, who have been battling the deluge. Storm Dennis hit on Saturday February 15, causing transport chaos as high-winds cancelled flights and rain lashed the sodden ground. Just 12 hours later, and after torrential downpours overnight, various parts of the country were flooded, and 11 days later have still not been visited by Mr Johnson. Victims have criticised the 500 they can claim in compensation when they are flooded. The grants were announced by the Government earlier this month as part of a raft of measures designed to help people affected. Anger has been growing over the way the Government has reacted since the bad weather first started three weeks ago when communities in Yorkshire were flooded after Storm Ciara, in scenes reminiscent from Boxing Day 2015. Yesterday Mr Johnson hosted Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at Downing Street as one of the hardest hit areas in the country, Shrewsbury slammed him for not visiting the flood-stricken area. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz at a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street yesterday Mike Evans, of Evans Carpets, said he had been told that the council had run out of sandbags. 'We've had nothing no help or assistance whatsoever. We haven't seen anyone from the council or the Environment Agency,' he said. Mark Davies, 59, who runs Darwin's Townhouse B&B in Shrewsbury, said he had suffered thousands of pounds of damage and had been unable to obtain insurance. Asked about the Prime Minister's absence in the crisis, he said: 'Boris Johnson should make some sort of nod to acknowledge all the devastation.' No 10 yesterday defended Mr Johnson's absence from flooded areas, saying it was important not to 'distract' attention from the relief effort, and that Environment Secretary George Eustice was 'rightly' leading the Government's response. Last week, Downing Street confirmed the PM would not be visiting flood-affected areas, while he stayed at the Chevening estate near Sevenoaks with girlfriend Carrie Symonds. David Bickle, 57, whose ground-floor flat in Shrewsbury was under a foot of water last night, criticised the Prime Minister's excuses, saying: 'What relief effort? There is no one helping us for him to disturb.' Shropshire Council insisted last night that it has not run out of sandbags. A spokesman said: 'Any residents or businesses requiring sandbags are asked to contact the council and we will supply them.' Anger has been growing at the Prime Minister's no-show in areas that have suffered three successive weekends of horrendous weather caused by Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis. Houses in Powys village of Crickhowell were submerged in water after the River Usk burst its banks. And a major incident was declared after a terrifying landslide in Tylorstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf. York and the Cambridgeshire market town of St Ives were also nearly entirely flooded from the River Ouse, after Storm Dennis struck. The River Wye was the highest it had ever been, causing more havoc in Herefordshire. Families in south Wales - an area particularly badly affected by the huge amounts of rain fall - lambasted the government for its failure to act. Museum worker Robin Williams, 62, from Pontypridd said: 'Where's Boris? Where's the help?' Robin and wife Tracey 55, had moved into their home just one year ago and claims they have not received any help with their flooded property. Tracey, who works in a care home, said: 'We haven't long been here and a lot of our stuff was new. I asked the council for sandbags but they said you have to wait until the water is coming in, which it was. 'We haven't had any help and nobody has been here from the council. They are out of their depth. 'It was a freak flood and there was nothing put in place to stop it.' Tracey Waites, 49, also of Pontypridd, added: 'We haven't seen anyone. There are no politicians down here helping. Where are they? 'We haven't seen anyone from the government or anyone from the council. We've heard nothing from anyone.' Tracey Waits, and husband Marc, 52, described how they were desperately trying to get their belongings upstairs when the flood hit. Marc said: 'Luckily our daughter was awake when it started happening and she alerted us. 'We've just been trying to sort out our insurance as we couldn't get hold of anyone on the weekend. 'We were watching a car bobbing around in the water outside and thought it might come through our front wall. Our car has been towed away as it was caught up in all the water.' Tracey said: 'When the water was coming in we started passing our belongings to each other up the stairs. 'We managed to save my daughter's school coursework and some photos because they can't be replaced. It's so awful and I can't believe it's happened.' Colin, 78, went outside to try and poke through the drain but flood water was bursting up through it. He said: 'The water was coming up the path so I tried to poke the drain to clear it. 'I realised the water was coming up through the drain and then it all came in through the front and back of our house.' Speaking through tears, he added: 'We saved very little in fact. It's going to take a long time to get this sorted out. In the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, local authorities have called for their region to be given the same extra funding as London does to tackle terrorism so they have the best chance of limiting flood damage. Roy James, a cafe owner in Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, told Sky News: 'We are a little frustrated because we think surely the government have had 13 years to talk about this which you would imagine would be plenty but seemingly not. 'So we are hoping that this time Mr Johnson and his crew will come and do something, do something for us, help us.' Towns in the Pennines and Yorkshire Dales that have endured years of relentless flooding and were under water again just a week prior to flooding in South Wales. The West Yorkshire towns of Todmorden, Mytholmroyd, Hebden and Sowerby Bridge have been among the worst hit, with the streets transformed into canals, cars submerged and shops floors and front rooms covered in muddy water. Locals in drenched villages like Mytholmroyd, near Halifax in West Yorkshire, have demanded answers, after the area suffered a previous round of severe flooding on Boxing Day in 2011. After the December 2015 floods, a 30 million flood prevention scheme was begun in Mytholmroyd, which is due for completion in the summer. Many locals cleaning up from the carnage expressed anger that not more had been done to help them bolster flood defences. Michael Green, whose fish and chip shop van was damaged in the floods, said 'action must be taken' when asked about the controversial flood defences. The 38-year-old added: 'What's so frustrating is that we have seen this all before back in 2015. 'Back then there were flood defences in place but there were big massive gaps and the water got through. 'After that we were assured that it would never happen again but here we are now, dealing with damage caused by another flood. 'The flood warning came late and the defences just weren't up to scratch, they're an absolute joke. It's not good enough. 'This is devastating for all of us who are affected but all we can do now is move on and deal with it. 'I hope this is the last time but sadly most of us have lost faith that we'll be protected from flooding.' Mr Green, who opened Plenty of Fish and Chips three years ago, purposefully put his van on wheels so it could be moved in the event of flooding. However, when he attempted to move it after hearing the flood warning he was unable to leave his home in nearby Hebden Bridge because of a fallen tree. He said: 'I managed to get here on Sunday evening and the van was under four foot of water. 'I've had to throw away 2,500 worth of stock and a couple of fridges and I probably won't open again for another week. Business has been hit hard.' Mortgage broker Julie Clayton, who runs a mortgage and insurance services firm in Mytholmroyd, said she is 'furious' the flood defences failed. She said: 'This is the third time we have flooded since 2012, which is just outrageous. 'After the last time we were told all the right things and we thought we would never flood again, we were delighted. 'Work on the flood defences should have been finished last autumn, and if they had been then we probably wouldn't be in this situation now. But here we are flooded again, it's infuriating. 'The sad thing is that we have got used to it, it's part of our lives now.' She added: 'We've all got businesses to run and things can't just stop. 'So we're working to make sure our clients are happy while dealing with this awful flood damage. 'It's a difficult time but we just have to roll our sleeves up and get on with it.' Sue Slater, whose hairdressing business is in the most affected part of the village, says she was prepared for the flooding after suffering significant damage in 2015. The 59-year-old said: 'I was here the last time we flooded and my business was almost completely destroyed, I was out of the building for nine months. 'After that happened I made sure the place was as well prepared for a flood as it possibly could be. 'The flooring is tile and the walls are covered in waterproof paint, which meant that when we got here we could use a power hose to clean everything. 'All of our furniture is made from metal so it can be wiped down and the plug sockets are four foot from the ground so they didn't get damaged. 'The insurance won't cover us for flooding so I had to do everything possible to insure myself. 'I even put a sum of money aside every month to prepare for an event like this. 'If I hadn't done all that then I'd be out of a livelihood today, but as it is I'm hoping to be open for business on Friday.' Roger Benn, who runs a travel agents, was trapped on the first floor of his business when the flooding hit on Sunday. The 69-year-old said: 'It was really frightening because I was upstairs and the water just kept getting higher and higher. 'I was in the same position in 2015 and the water got all the way to the top of the stairs then, luckily this time it only got up to the third step.' He added: 'The clear up operation now is so difficult because the water is mixed with sewage. 'So that means we have to disinfect every last thing here, which is a nightmare, but there's a real risk of infection if we don't. 'The water came up to the table tops so you can imagine how much needs doing. 'Luckily I'm a member of the Rotary Club so I have lots of helping hands with me today, hopefully I'll open up again next week. 'In the meantime though I'm missing a lot of trade, it's bad for business.' ** Have you taken pictures of the flooding or snow? Please email them to: pictures@mailonline.co.uk ** J ohnny Guitar actor Ben Cooper has died at the age of 86. The actor's family confirmed the sad news on Wednesday, revealing that he died at his Memphis home, after a long period of illness, on Monday. His newphew. Peter Searls, said (via the Mirror): "It is with a sad heart that I pass along the news that my uncle and western actor Ben Cooper fought his last gunfight this morning. "He passed away in his sleep at the age of 86." Cooper played bandit Turkey Ralston in the drama Johnny Guitar, as well as appearing in tens of other Westerns. He appeared on the Western radio and TV series Gunsmoke three times, as well as the films Gunfight at Comanche Creek (1963), Arizona Raiders (1965) and Rebel in Town (1956). In an interview for the Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine, California, Cooper described how starring in Westerns "let me play cowboy". "I'd ridden horses, I got my own horse when I was 12. I used to jump him bareback," he said. "I didn't know they had stuntmen; I'd watch a movie and then practice on my horse until I could do [the stunt.]" The violence over the amended citizenship act in India's capital New drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump. Reacting to the violence that has claimed at least 13 lives in the past a couple of days, US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying". "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she said in a tweet, adding that the "world is watching". The Indian Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. Pramila Jayapal had last year introduced a Congressional resolution urging India to end the restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir and preserve religious freedom for all residents. Congressman Alan Lowenthal too termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership". "We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said. Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren also a swipe at the violence, saying, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable." Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India." The violence in prominently featured in the mainstream media. The Washington Post reported,"The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." "As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighborhood," The New York Times said. In a tweet, US Commission for Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi". It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities. The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday sought reply from the state government on a petition challenging the rule that only those members of the Mahar community who have been living in Gujarat prior to 1960 shall be recognized as Scheduled Caste (SC). Justice A Y Kogje issued a notice to the government, seeking its reply by March 11, on the petition by Lord Buddha Foundation, a public trust. Mahars are recognised as an SC community by the central government as well as several states including Gujarat and Maharashtra. As per the petition, on March 30, 1998, the Gujarat government passed a resolution stating that only those Mahars who were residents of Gujarat prior to the formation of the state on May 1, 1960, will be deemed to be SC and get the benefit of reservation. "Such discrimination meted out to persons who are not in a position to show that they were residing in the state of Gujarat prior to 1.5.1960 is arbitrary" and therefore it violates the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution, it said. Mahars were recognised as an SC community in the erstwhile Bombay state which was later bifurcated and reorganized into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, it noted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the conspiracies by our enemies is to spread public panic in order to push our country toward lockdown, Irans President Hassan Rouhani told a meeting of the National Committee on Combatting Coronavirus. The body was formed by high-ranking officials in response to the coronavirus epidemic in Iran, which has recorded the highest fatalities outside China, where the disease was identified late last year. Later at a Feb. 26 cabinet meeting, Rouhani rejected demands for a quarantine on affected cities. There is no such decision in our plans, he said, but people diagnosed with initial symptoms will have to be quarantined. The Iranian president has already made it clear that he expects normal operations to resume as of the next Iranian week starting on Saturday. The virus issue should not be allowed to be used as a tool by the enemies to force a halt upon our work, activities and production. Rouhani noted that the coronavirus committee holds the ultimate authority to decide on extending any closures. State media outlets reported that at least 24 people had been arrested by Irans cyber police for allegedly sowing panic on social media, where a wide range of conflicting tallies continues to be released. In its Feb. 26 statement, Irans Health Ministry raised the death toll to 19, with a total of 139 people confirmed to be infected with the disease. According to the latest global research, the estimated coronavirus fatality rate stands close to 3%. The apparent mismatch in Iran has led to suspicions that hundreds more might be affected. Rouhani assured the nation that coronavirus statistics will never be manipulated. Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Tehran of a coronavirus coverup. In response, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, linked the epidemic to Washingtons "maximum pressure" campaign. The administration of President Donald Trump has been seeking to push Irans economy to the edge of collapse and force a renegotiation of the nuclear deal it abandoned in May 2018. They are planning to use the keyword coronavirus in the latest episode of the maximum pressure policy, Shamkhani tweeted. Psychological pressure on other countries to close their borders with Iran and leveling baseless accusations of coverup against Tehran are in the new roadmap. The coronavirus epidemic in Iran mushroomed less than a month before the countrys most celebrated national holiday, the ancient Persian New Year. In the run-up to the festivities, Iran's markets have been traditionally packed with customers. This year, small businesses had been counting on a year-end boom to make up for a months-long lull as dwindling public purchasing power. The national currency has taken repeated nosedives, mostly blamed on US sanctions. Should the coronavirus panic continue to keep Iranians indoors, these vulnerable businesses' hopes of recovery will quickly fade. These days, the world mourns the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, which became one of the most brutal massacres of civilians during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During the assault on Khojaly, Armenian nationalist groups killed 613 civilians. However, today there are many people in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora who condemn the genocide of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly. Khojaly is one of the most terrible events not only in the history of Azerbaijan but in the history of all mankind. It is impossible not to shudder while reading about it, watching photographs, realizing that this could happen our days, on the eve of the 21st century, and, unfortunately, noting that my compatriots were involved in this tragedy. No matter who these people are, they are monsters, subhuman. Just as there is no statute of limitations for punishing fascist criminals, so in this case, criminals should be punished no matter how many years have passed since that tragedy. I express sincere condolences to the surviving relatives and all Azerbaijani people. And I pray God asking this tragedy and genocide to be the last in the history of our planet, editor of the Literary Canada almanac, Vahagn Karapetyan said. This is one of the most blatant tragedies of the late 20th century. The death of 613 people, women and children who were shot in their backs while they were passing through a peaceful corridor, cannot leave indifferent any adequate person in the world. Looking at the monuments of Khojaly, the names and surnames of the elderly and children who were killed at that time, I didnt want to believe that this was done by representatives of my nation. But this is a historical fact, and we have to reckon with this. The statement of President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in connection with this event remains unclear. He repeats all the time that this genocide was aimed at breaking the stereotype that the Armenian people cannot kill women and children. This was a planned act of the then leadership of Armenia, including Serge Sargsyan. Therefore, his statement was some kind of a personal revenge, journalist Susan Jaghinyan said. "I learned about the events in Khojaly in Armenia. I watched the entire video chronicle on the Internet, all those terrible photos. This is the grief not only of the Azerbaijani people, this is the grief of the whole world because to allow such a thing to happen at the end of the 20th century is horrible. Im ashamed that such people rule my country, but I hope that in the near future, they will all appear before the international tribunal. Those people are Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sargsyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Seyran Saroyan, Manvel Grigoryan. I offer sincere condolences to the people of Azerbaijan on the anniversary of the genocide in Khojaly, Armenian citizen Sergey Dzhulakyan said. "The organizers of the Khojaly tragedy, the Khojaly genocide, which claimed the lives of 613 people, are those who organized the Karabakh war. [Sergey Sargsyan] has no right to speak on behalf of Armenians. His statement (Azerbaijanis thought that Armenians would not hurt civilian population. It was necessary to change such assurance, Sregh Sargsyan said in an interview with Thomas de Waal, Ed.), just like Robert Kocharians statement about the genetic incompatibility of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, in my opinion, gives every right to the International Court of Justice to persecute them for agitating fascism. Naturally, the time will come, I am sure, very soon, they will be punished. It is sad, that these people are or were the first persons of the state. This is a tragedy, one of the most, if not the most tragic event in the entire Karabakh conflict. My condolences to the Azerbaijani people," Armenian human rights activist Vahan Martirosyan said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:35:50|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ANKARA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- So far there has been no evidence of novel coronavirus cases in Turkey, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday, noting that a total of 28 people are under quarantine. Turkey will set up field hospitals at its border with Iran for quarantine of Turkish nationals who enter Turkey from Iran, he said while speaking to semi-official Anadolu Agency. "So far there is no evidence of any coronavirus cases in Turkey. This does not mean that it will not happen. After all, it is a virus that spreads to the world," he said. Anyone coming from other countries to Turkey who had stopped by Iran in the past 14 days should be taken under quarantine, the minister said, adding that Iranian citizens are not allowed to enter Turkey. On Tuesday, a plane from Iran has diverted from its destination Istanbul to land in Ankara, Turkey's capital, because some people onboard were suspected of being infected with coronavirus, he said. Initial tests for the passengers and crew of the plane showed negative for the virus, the minister said. Meftech the leading banking, Fintech and payments conference and exhibition has been officially opened by Dr Ahmed Bin Abdulkarim Alkholifey, Governor of Sama at the Ritz Carlton, Riyadh. Presenting the keynote address, Ziad Al Yousef, Managing Director, Saudi Payments, highlighted the importance of the Fintech ecosystem in the kingdom and digital payment innovation. The two-day conference and exhibition Meftech initiated, in collaboration with mada, the national payment network, and Sadad Payment brings together leading industry experts who will address industry trends and issues around mobile payments in the region, digital transformation in banking, driving cashless payments, artificial intelligence within the e-commerce industry, impact of blockchain on payments and the future of digital currencies. Dr Alkholifey said: It is my pleasure to welcome the attendees, speakers, participants and prominent experts in the field of financial technology from around the world. We convene again for the third year in a row in Saudi Arabia, as we inaugurate the 16th edition of the Middle East Financial Technology Exhibition and Conference (Meftech), which remains with your presence a global and scientific platform for exchanging expertise and showcasing experiences and ideas about electronic transactions, as well as an opportunity for exchanging the best global practices and experiences in this regard. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is devising its strategic plan in the financial and development sector with the goal of becoming a pioneering hub for innovation in the financial technology sector. The kingdom spares no effort in working to provide a suitable environment that motivates success, supported by top local and international partners. The Monetary Authority seeks to promote digitisation of financial services and advance digital transformation in the sector to meet the demands and goals of the financial sector development programme, which is one of the programmes of Saudi Vision 2030. The kingdom is moving forward towards implementing our comprehensive programme for developing the financial technology sector. Strategies of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has achieved success in promoting e-payment solutions. 2019 witnessed a remarkable increase in e-payment usage indicating a change in sentiment in the society towards this technology. At the same time, Saudi Payments was successful in applying a high-quality performance strategy that raised the efficiency of financial transactions in all business sectors, providing more flexibility for individuals experience via various transactions of e-payment, all while continuing to encourage these transactions and registering record levels in the overall indicators of the national payment system, with the partnership of all final payments services providers in the sector. In mid-2019, the Saudi market saw remarkable growth in numbers of e-payment transactions, resulting in the increase of non-cash transactions to 36.2 per cent, exceeding the general goal of the Saudi Vision 2030 which is 28 per cent, he said. The payments system performance at the end of 2019 showed growth in the number of transactions by retail points by 57 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching more than 1.6 billion e-payment transactions, while the overall value of transactions reached an unprecedented record level, exceeding SR287 billion, with a growth rate of 24 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. The number of transactions carried out via near-field communication (NFC) technology reached 918.5 million transactions at a growth rate of 442 per cent, with NFC technology via bank cards and smartphones making up 56.5 per cent of the overall transactions carried out via retail point devices, and these transactions amounted to SR94 billion with a growth rate of 1431 per cent. The number of transactions carried out via smartphones at retail points reached 106.5 transactions at a value of SR9 billion, making up 10 per cent of overall transactions carried out via NFC in that year, he said. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is a legislative and regulatory body that devises regulatory frameworks and policies, as well as licensing service provides and beneficiaries and coordinating the work of all stakeholders to fulfill its mandate. We are committed to promoting diversity in the quality of services and solutions for all parties in a manner that achieves optimal use of the unified infrastructure services, in line with the goals of the financial sector development programme. The Cabinets approval of establishing the Saudi Payments company by the Authority aimed at promoting the transitioning to e-payment and reducing cash transactions, acting as the operator and developer of the national infrastructure of the financial sector, and helping service provides in a manner that ensures focusing on the best services with professionalism and enabling the systems to provide secure and trusted basic services that achieve compatibility by providing a joint infrastructure, ensuring competitiveness among the providers of final payment services to end users, as per the goals of the financial sector development programme. In order to enhance its legislative and organisational role in this vital sector, the Authority established a department for overseeing the payment systems and companies. The department oversees regulations and policies that regulate the work of payment services providers and the products of this sector, as well as issuing the necessary licences for companies in this field and supervising them. After that, the company issued the regulations for payment services providers, considering during the drafting of these regulations the best international practices in payments, in addition to surveying public opinions and holding workshops in cooperation with the relevant authorities. These steps are based on the Authoritys role that supports enabling innovation and empowering active sides in the field of financial technologies to provide services by setting a multi-tiered licensing framework for the various types of payment services providers, based on scale, activities, and services provided, taking into account their inherent risk portfolios; there will be separate licences for the companies of e-wallets, digital currencies, electronic money institutions, and payment institutions. The licensing categories are divided into micro companies and macro companies, based on the size of these companies, in order to encourage innovation, and develop new businesses. The Authority launched licensing for digital payment companies in the financial technology sector; last year it licensed the STCPay e-wallets company, and Geidia payment services company, and two e-wallets companies, HallaH and BayanPay were licensed. With that, the Monetary Authority has overshot the goals of the financial sector development programme which had set the goal of licensing three local financial technologies companies that are active in the market by the end of 2020. As for supporting new payments companies that are not in the trial environment, the Authority have preliminary approval to two e-wallets companies, Noon Pay and Careem Pay, providing an opportunity for such promising companies in the payments sector, as part of the endeavors of supporting companies with innovations and financial technologies in e-payments that would help all sectors, including transport, e-commerce, etc. As for supporting new payments companies that are not in the trial environment, the Authority have preliminary approval to two e-wallets companies, Noon Pay and Careem Pay, providing an opportunity for such promising companies in the payments sector, as part of the endeavours of supporting companies with innovations and financial technologies in e-payments that would help all sectors, including transport, e-commerce, etc. Continuing with this methodology, the Authority gives considerable attention to continuing investment in this sector to enhance its growth and development by providing a solid national infrastructure for the financial sector by working on the programme for developing the instant payments system, which mainly bolsters economic development by increasing the efficiency of financial transactions among all sides in the companies and retail sector, allowing banking establishments and financial technology companies to provide innovative services that meet the needs and aspirations of clients, in addition to playing a role in enabling services that improve efficiency such as services for fraud risk management and combating money laundering, in addition to improving existing banking products, and managing monetary flow for the business sector. In the long term, the impact of the instant payments system will reflect positively on expediting digital transactions and offering more innovation in the services provided by the sector to clients, individuals and companies alike. In conclusion, the instant payments system is one of several projects supervised by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority as an important step in the financial sector development programme for achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, he said. The conference witnessed the honouring of a number of banks and companies interacting the most with the products of the Saudi Payments Company: Al Ahli Commercial Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, SABB Bank, Development Bank, Aljazira Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank, Bank Albilad, Riyad Bank, in addition to honoring the Saudi Electricity and Murabaha companies. This honour comes in return for the distinction of these entities in their interaction with the services related to the national payment systems, the extent, payment and delivery of their delivery to their clients who benefit from them (individuals, commercial and governmental sectors) in line with the principle of heading towards a society where there is less dependence on cash.-- Tradearabia News Service A seventh-grader, Namya Joshi from Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana has impressed Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella while attending the 'Young Innovators' Summit' in the National Capital on February 25. Joshi has been helping teachers not just her own school but across the globe for the conversion of classroom lessons into interactive Minecraft sessions. According to the 13-year-old, if students do not like reading books, one can make them take interest in Minecraft. Read - Microsoft, SBI Join Hands To Train Differently-abled People To Find Jobs However, Nadella later said in the conference that he was excited and inspired with the quality of ideas and scope of their ambition, deep passion and deep empathy turning into action. He added that it is transformative, and is also the reason why economies and societies move forward. The gathering of 'Young Innovators' Summit' reportedly brought together more than 250 students as well as teachers in New Delhi. Namya Joshi has also reportedly mastered Minecraft, a video game, to create 'worlds' or even lessons to explain STEM and the concepts of cyber-security through storytelling. According to media reports, Joshi was introduced to Minecraft when she was only ten by her mother. Moreover, every weekend, Joshi conducts hour-long Skype classes for teachers in Russia, Finland, Hungary, Vietnam, and across the nation to demonstrate the usage of Minecraft to create lesson plans. Read - Microsoft All In One App: The Pros, The Cons, And Everything Else You Need To Know Nadella asks for balance with technology While answering a question, Nadella also addressed the abundance of devices and information. Therefore, according to him, there is a need to strike a balance between consumption and creation. In order to explain his point further, he recalled how people communicate with the question, are you Powerpoint first or a Word first, but there has to be a balance between both. Microsoft CEO also talked about the relationship of both technology and learning, while explaining that the entire society will have to play its role. In the conversation with President of Microsoft India, Anant Maheshwari, Nadella elaborated about the role of technology in transforming the education ecosystem over the span of the next ten years. According to Microsoft CEO, outlining the opportunity that students have nowadays, they can contribute to solving some of the world's biggest challenges with technology. Read - Amazon Wins Big As Court Suspends US Military Contract With Microsoft Worth $10 Billion Read - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella To Visit India This Month (With agency inputs) The coronavirus has not only sickened tens of thousands of people, killed several hundred, and disrupted life for millions, but has also sharply impacted the second-largest economy in the world. Many Chinese companies have suspended operations, and international companies like Starbucks, Apple, McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut have closed their stores in Wuhan and elsewhere. Disney has closed its parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Luxury brands have seen their stocks fall. Tesla and other companies have suspended operations. Companies that do not have operations in the geographic areas that are most acutely affected by the outbreak but depend on businesses in those areas as part of their supply chain are also impacted. Businesses should evaluate whether and how their operations and revenue may be affected by the coronavirus and then closely analyze whether existing insurance policies potentially provide coverage for the losses. Business Interruption & Contingent Business Interruption Coverage Standard property insurance policies usually include two types of valuable coverage for disruptions like the coronavirus. Business interruption coverage insures against losses resulting when the policyholders operations are directly affected; and contingent business interruption coverage insures against the risk of indirect losses, such as when suppliers or customers are affected. Policyholders may be questioning whether their property insurance policies have been triggered if there has not been physical damage to their property as a consequence of the coronavirus. Coverage for business interruption losses may exist even if there is not physical loss or damage to covered property. In most property insurance policies, business interruption coverage is triggered when the property at issue suffers direct physical loss or damage. Structural damage to the property, however, is not a requirement for coverage; proof that contamination or other relatively intangible conditions like bacteria, gases, and fumes that rendered the insured property temporarily or permanently unusable or uninhabitable may support a finding that the loss was a physical loss to the insured property. Mellin v. Northern Sec. Ins. Co., 115 A.3d 799, 805 (N.H. 2015); see also Gregory Packaging, Inc. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165232, at *15-17 (D.N.J. Nov. 25, 2014) (courts considering non-structural property damage claims have found that buildings rendered uninhabitable by dangerous gases or bacteria suffered direct physical loss or damage). Additionally, many insurance policies include civil authority coverage, which covers losses that occur when government authorities restrict access to the area where a business is located or that the business depends on for its operations. Many property insurance policies also provide contingent business interruption coverage, triggered by damage to or disruption of a businesss suppliers, customers, or other key partners. While the policyholder itself need not be physically damaged, it does need to have coverage for the type of damage that affected its suppliers, business partners, or customers. Commercial General Liability, Directors & Officers, and Errors & Omissions Coverage While business interruption claims may, at first blush, seem the most likely to follow from the coronavirus outbreak, depending upon the claims that are asserted, insurance coverage may exist under commercial general liability, D&O, and E&O insurance coverage. Commercial general liability insurance coverage provides a defense to claims asserted by third parties for bodily injury or property damage. With some companies experiencing a drop in share price, shareholder suits and others may follow. Those claims may trigger coverage under D&O and E&O insurance policies. People who are being quarantined on cruise ships or by other private entities might have claims about how they are being treated. Workers Compensation Workers compensation insurance policies generally cover occupational diseases and injuries, i.e., those that: (1) are due to causes and conditions that are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, or employment; and (2) are not an ordinary disease to which the general public is equally exposed outside of employment. There are, however, instances in which ordinary diseases may be covered if it is possible to establish a direct connection between the workplace and the circumstances through which the disease was contracted. For example, if an illness is triggered by an event at the workplace and directly flows from the work that is being performed, it may be argued that the resulting disease has been the result of an accident causing bodily injury. The coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets and is so highly contagious that health care workers are wearing full hazmat suits while treating those infected. Accordingly, if it is determined that an employee contracted the virus at work, it is quite likely that workers compensation insurance would respond to the injury. Of course, in such a situation, the businesss primary concern would be protection of its employees and the public from any other contraction of the disease, with insurance issues to be resolved in due course. It is important for policyholders to consider all potentially applicable insurance policies when evaluating coverage for coronavirus- related claims and losses. Consulting with an insurance broker and trusted insurance experts can put policyholders in the strongest position to maximize their insurance recovery in the event of a loss or claim resulting from the coronavirus. Topics COVID-19 Profit Loss Turkey takes necessary measures to prevent coronavirus Turkish officials have earlier announced that no anti-viral drug specific for coronavirus had been found. Turkey has yet to see any confirmed cases of coronavirus, but that does not mean there will never be any, said the country's top health official on Wednesday. On flights bringing back Turkish nationals from Iran, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told Anadolu Agencys Editors Desk in the capital Ankara: We can easily say that none of our passengers results are positive [for coronavirus], they are all negative. "WE HAVE SET UP FIELD HOSPITALS" Some 132 Turkish citizens arrived in Ankara on Tuesday after being evacuated from Iran, where 15 deaths from the coronavirus have been confirmed. The reason for altering plans to land the plane in Istanbul is there is an experienced team in Ankara, the minister said. Koca said that Turkish passengers coming to Turkey from the Iranian cities of Mashhad and Qom, the epicenter of the virus, are in quarantine to prevent the coronavirus from spreading inside the country. Turkey prevented a total of 28 Iranians, who showed symptoms of having caught on the virus and had been in Qom, from entering the country, he added. ''Our main aim is to prevent the spread of the disease in Turkey,'' he said. The epicenter of the virus is China. But now new sources have emerged, such as Iran, he said, adding that Turkey has set up field hospitals at its border with Iran. Koca denied Turkey was hiding cases saying it is difficult to do that with the World Health Organization (WHO) monitoring the situation. There is a widely-held belief, including by the WHO and Turkeys scientific committee, that the outbreak will recede as the temperature rises, he added. Although there has been some progress in vaccine development, it could take time to put the vaccine into effect, he said. Iran has reported 95 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far, and Turkey has closed its border gates, stopped railways crossings, and suspended most flight service, except Turkish passengers returning from Tehran. Since acquiring the samples, five-seven hours of working hours are needed to determine a result Open source The Public Health Center (PHC) has explained where the coronavirus is diagnosed in Ukraine and when the results of the test for coronavirus are announced, as the Healthcare Ministry of Ukraine reports. The test-system is situated in the virological reference laboratory of the Public Health Center of Ukraine. The samples for analysis will be sent to this lab. Since acquiring the samples, five-seven hours of working hours are needed to determine a result. The diagnostic will be held only in cases, which correspond to the epidemiological and clinical definition of the disease mentioned in the WHO recommendations. It is impossible to buy a test-system for individual use. The test-systems and reagents are designed for about 30 analyses. The PHC reported that it is enough until receiving another supply of reagents. The doctor should provide the preparation of the patient for the diagnostic. All doctors have got guidance and recommendation of the World Health Organization toward the case management of patients with the suspect in new coronavirus infection. Besides, the healthcare establishments got the methodical recommendations on the collection of the samples and transportation to the lab. Earlier, the World Health Organization has provided Ukraine with 30 sets of reagents for COVID-19 testing at the country's Virological Reference Laboratory. Earlier, Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko stated that not a single case of infection with the new pneumonia coronavirus was recorded in Ukraine, including among citizens evacuated from Wuhan. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government introduced an extra safety measure in terms of the prevention of coronavirus spread. From now on, passengers from countries with a high risk of virus spread to get body temperature checked upon arrival in Ukraine. New Delhi: Former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has said that bombing of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan`s Balakot by Indian Air Force (IAF) marks a paradigm shift in the way India conduct operations. Exactly a year ago India carried out air-strike at a terror camp in Balakot. "One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learned a lot of lessons, lot of things have been implemented post-Balakot operations. Basically, it is a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out terror training camp which we successfully executed. It is a paradigm shift and the result is there for you to see," Dhanoa said. He pointed out that after the air-strike there were no major terrorist attacks during the Lok Sabha polls because it acted as a deterrent. He said the mission has not been declassified yet. "All that I want to tell you is when the government told us and all three services were there, and because it is not only the Air Force...It is always a joint battle. It is the first time I believe that all three services said that should there be an escalation as far as Pakistan is concerned, we can easily take them on," he said. "And go-ahead was given and thereafter everybody knew that the Air Force was going to lead the strike. After the mission was carried out, I personally informed the national leadership as well as the other two service chiefs that mission has been successful early in the morning," said Dhanoa. The former Air Chief said that considering the target that was there at Balakot, the Air Force was optimum for the strike. "And also at that time, the thought was that you need to tell JeM that we will kill you, no matter where you are hiding and not to cause collateral damage. The weapons were chosen accordingly," Dhanoa said. He further underlined that the Pakistan Air Force was not in the loop with its national leadership and ISI about the presence of terror camp in Balakot. "I don`t think they are in the loop with their national leadership and ISI. They were not aware that the terror training camp is running at Balakot. If I was in his place and I have a rough idea of the kind of stand-off weapons that IAF has got, I would have definitely put in terminal weapons out there. The fact that it was devoid of terminal weapons that means I don`t think (Pakistan) Air Force was aware that this is the target," he said. On this day, last year, IAF jets bombed the terror camp in Pakistan`s Balakot. By Loretta Rodgers Times Correspondent LANSDOWNE >> Following six months of intensive interviews and a national search, the William Penn School Board, Monday night named Dr. Eric J. Becoats as the new superintendent of schools. His contract runs from May 2020 to May 18, 2025, and he will be compensated $195,000 annually. Becoats is replacing current Superintendent Jane Ann Harbert, who is retiring at the end of the school year. I am very humbled by my appointment and do not take this lightly, Becoats said during an interview. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity and look forward to working with the board and community. I believe the William Penn School District is in a position to grow. A good foundation has been laid and I am more than ready to build upon that with help from the entire community. Becoats was born and grew up in Baltimore, Md., raised by his mother who taught him the values of hard work as well as the importance of church and school. He received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Lincoln University, master of science in finance from Johns Hopkins University, and doctorate of education and educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Following graduation from Lincoln University, Becoats returned to Baltimore, worked in the banking business and taught management classes at Baltimore Community College. He also volunteered his time tutoring at a local elementary school and this is where he found his purpose in life, which is to support and improve outcomes for children. Becoats transitioned into the Baltimore Public Schools, got married and welcomed a son. Sadly, his wife died just 11 days after the birth of the baby. This traumatic experience shaped my life, he said. My son graduated from Morehouse College and is himself a teacher in North Carolina. Becoats remarried several years later and has a daughter in high school. His resume is extensive. Prior to being named superintendent of the William Penn School District, Becoats most recent position is that of adjunct professor for curriculum models in the Drexel University School of Education. He also served as assistant superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia, where he was responsible for developing and implementing a strategic plan to support underperforming schools; served as assistant superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg, N.C., Public Schools; and as superintendent of the Durham Public School District in Durham, N.C. During a public forum held on Feb. 20, the school board explained the process behind the superintendent search, and Becoats was introduced and participated in a question and answer session. The board began its search process for a new superintendent in August 2019 by conducting a community survey. Focus groups were also held to determine what district stakeholders were looking for in their new superintendent and engaged the superintendent subcommittee for input into this process. The board then conducted a comprehensive search process facilitated by the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and guided by the communitys feedback. Of the 48 applications that were received, 12 were selected by the search committee for initial interviews. Six candidates advanced to the second round, and two to the final round. During the public forum, Becoats was asked about controversies that surrounded his previous tenures, which included stepping down as superintendent of the Durham School District in 2013 and in 2004 resigning as assistant superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg School District. In Durham, according to media reports, Becoats used a district school bus for private use and in Charlotte-Mecklenberg he was reprimanded for violating district policies regarding his personal business, Queen Educational Planning. Becoats addressed the matters without hesitation at the forum. Yes, there were some mistakes I made, he said. In Charlotte, I had a consulting business that was directly aligned with my work and some of the members of the community and school had concerns about that. While in Durham, I did rent and pay for a retired school bus and utilized some district professional development funds to support teachers as well as principals who had made significant improvements in educational outcomes for students. I also used district resources for professional development for staff and myself. I also maintained a significant amount of resources in our fund balance for a rainy day. Becoats said some members of the board felt that was excessive and as a result, he became the focus. Although we achieved major success and had no low performing schools, I became the focus and I did not wish to be, so I decided to pursue other opportunities, he said. The incidents are behind me and I will not utilize district resources for any personal or professional endeavors. Becoats said his consulting business has been closed for 15 years. Becoats describes himself as a determined and dedicated educator, believing that all students must have the opportunity to achieve and excel at high levels. I believe this can be accomplished regardless of the childs circumstances, he said. It is our responsibility as adults to make certain environments are conducive to learning. Becoats stated that his beliefs are aligned with the mission goals and shared values of the William Penn School District, adding that he values the diversity within the community as well as within the district. The US President participated in a host of engagements over the course of his nearly-36-hour-long trip, including a roadshow, visit to the Taj Mahal, addressing a mammoth crowd at the 'Namaste Trump' event at Ahmedabad, among others. New Delhi: Concluding his jam-packed maiden two-day visit to India, United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday night emplaned for his country from New Delhi. During the visit, India and the United States further strengthened their defence cooperation, with the two countries giving a nod to an agreement under which India will get $3 billion of advanced military equipment including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters. In the final engagement of the visit, the US President participated in a banquet dinner hosted by his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Several Indian dignitaries including Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers of several states, among others were also present at the dinner. In his banquet speech, Trump said he had 'tremendous two days' during which lot of business was done. "It was very special two days. I love India, I respect Indians. We will be back, we will be back," he said. Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday night thanked the US President for coming to India. Modi also said, 'We have covered great ground as far as strengthening bilateral relations are concerned.' This visit, he said, has been a 'path-breaking one'. 'India-USA friendship benefits the people of our nations and the world,' Modi said in a series of tweets. 'Thank you @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP for coming to India...I am delighted that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP saw different aspects of Indian culture and hospitality,' he said. The people of India welcomed them with immense warmth, Modi said. In another tweet, the prime minister said India is happy to have hosted President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. 'Your liking towards India is clearly visible ... My best wishes to you in your endeavours to further empowerment and enterprise among women,' he said. Modi hoped to see the two 'back in India soon'. He was responding to a tweet by Ivanka about her visit to Sabarmati ashram on Monday. 'Visiting the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati; home to the ideology that set India free and a wellspring of inspiration and guidance,' she had written. THE Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has asked that Lent be used as a commitment to care for our planet. Speaking ahead of the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, Bishop Leahy urged the public to live Lent this year with our common home as motivation. In a pastoral letter, which will be read at Masses across the diocese at the weekend, Bishop Leahy makes reference to comments made by Pope Francis in a recently released Netflix documentary. Pope Francis doesnt mince his words when he says if you ask me who is the poorest of the poorest of the poor, I would say Mother Earth. We have plundered her. We have abused her. A decade or more ago, Pope Francis would have been seen as an alarmist but the reality of where we are today is that popular opinion the world over agrees, he writes. Bishop Leahy also notes how climate change is now being discussed by ordinary people across the globe. In the past year, Greta Thunberg has captured imaginations and minds. Not just her. Many young people, including across our diocese, have expressed their concern over what is happening our planet. "They are really concerned about the world they are inheriting from previous generations. In schools across the Diocese children are enthusiastic about the Green Flag awards. Young adults are searching for new ways to save our planet. There are young leaders on the environment emerging, brave and outspoken. It is important for those of us who are a little order to recognise that young people have the antennae of the future. He continued, At times we might feel the crisis needs a greater response than anything we can do personally. Yet simple steps can make a difference such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights. I would ask that this Lent, people look deeper into their own responsibilities. Citing the three traditional ways of living Lent prayer, fasting and alms giving Bishop Leahy said there are numerous options for people to consider. In terms of fasting, this year we can recognise that this is not just about giving up some food. It is about how we live moderation in general. Life is more than simply accumulating things and pleasures, he writes. Over 2,000 UK personnel deploy to Norway for major Arctic warfare exercise Royal Marines, Royal Navy ships and an air group from Joint Helicopter Command will contribute to Exercise Cold Response 2020. 25 February 2020 A Naval task group made up of four Royal Navy vessels; HMS Albion, HMS Sutherland, HMS Echo and RFA Lyme Bay have set sail this week to Norway in one of the largest UK deployments in 2020. They will join a force of more than a thousand Green Berets who have been in Norway over recent weeks mastering Arctic survival, movement and combat skills in Norway ahead of the larger multinational exercise. Exercise Cold Response is a Norway-led, large-scale exercise that will boost Allies' ability to operate together in extreme sub-zero conditions. The UK will exercise alongside the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Around 14,000 personnel will participate in total. After Norway, the UK is the largest contributing nation in terms of the number of personnel. This year marks the first of a decade-long training programme the Royal Marines have committed to with their Norwegian counterparts. Each year, around 1,000 Royal Marines will travel to Norway to test their skills hundreds of miles inside the Arctic Circle where temperatures drop as low as -30oC. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: This decade will see the Royal Marines test their expert cold weather combat skills and build rock solid partnerships with our allies in the High North. The shifting landscape and increased strategic competition of the Arctic region will create future threats. But our forces will be ready to respond wherever they emerge. Training preparations for Exercise Cold Response 2020 begin on 27 February with the main field exercise itself, in which the thousands of multinational troops will simulate a high-intensity combat scenario, starting on 12 March and running through to 18 March. The UK will be deploying over 2,000 personnel for the exercise, of which around 1,250 will be from the Lead Commando Group with the rest supporting the Naval task group led by HMS Albion and the Joint Helicopter Command air group. The Joint Helicopter Command group is made up of the Commando Helicopter Force's Merlin Mk4 aircraft and Wildcats, RAF CH-47 Chinooks and Army AH64 Apaches. Lieutenant Colonel Innes Catton, 45 Commando's Commanding Officer, said: 45 Commando Royal Marines are the UK's mountain and cold weather warfare specialists. During Exercise Cold Response, we will be working alongside our NATO allies to give our adversaries hell from the sea. As the UK's Lead Commando Group and poised to deploy on operations around the world, 45 Commando will be the 'tip of the NATO spear' during the exercise and we will strike the enemy using small, lethal teams on amphibious Commando raids, reminiscent of our World War Two Commando forebears. We have a long history of operating in the Arctic and remain at the forefront as experts in combat in one of the world's harshest environments. On Cold Response, commandos will continue to confront the challenges posed by ever-evolving threats and work on developing small-team tactics as part of our Future Commando Force evolution. While on Cold Response, HMS Sutherland will be adopting Anti-Submarine Warfare duties. Throughout the exercise, the frigate will conduct a wide variety of serials including gunnery and boarding operations, maintaining and enhancing her readiness for future tasking. HMS Sutherland's Commanding Officer, Commander Tom Weaver Royal Navy said: This period of integrating with our NATO partners as part of a wider task group presents us a wide range of opportunities. My crew will be ready to meet the harsh conditions of the arctic region, and are looking forward to honing their warfighting skills alongside our allies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Peugeot maker PSA Group posted a higher-than-expected rise in 2019 revenue on Wednesday, although the volumes of cars sold declined, with the French firm saying it anticipated sliding demand in Europe and Russia this year. The auto group, which is working through a merger with Italy's Fiat Chrysler, has relied on selling pricier models like SUVs to boost earnings at a time when revenues have faltered at many rivals. PSA said group revenue came in at 74.7 billion euros ($81.2 billion), up 1% from a year earlier and slightly above the average of 74.2 billion euros seen in a Refinitiv poll of analysts. Operating margins reached a record 8.5%. Net profit increased 13.2% to 3.2 billion euros, and the company increased its dividend against 2019 results to 1.23 euros per share, up 58% from 2018 levels. Days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe of the Elgar Parishad case, the nine lawyers and activists arrested were transferred from the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune to Arthur road jail and Byculla jail in Mumbai on Wednesday. The nine arrested include Telugu poet P VV Rao, lawyers and activists Surendra Gadling, Arun Ferriera, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, and Shoma Sen. While Gadling, Dhawale, Raut, Wilson and Sen had been arrested in June 2018, the others were arrested in August 2018 in a nationwide swoop. The men were sent to Arthur Road jail while the women accused were sent to Byculla Prison, said an official. Rao, 80 years old, was exempted from appearing in the court for the last few hearings in Pune owing to his medical condition. He was hospitalised multiple times and was taken into custody by the Karnataka police for investigation in another case. The case, under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against organisation of the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, and the links of the arrested lawyers and activists to the banned organisation of Communist Party of India (Maoist), was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on February 14. They were taken today. Their case starts in the NIA court on February 28, said advocate Rohan Nahar who was representing Rao in Pune. The case was transferred to the NIA from Pune police after the recently appointed Maharashtra government started demanding a probe in the police investigation done so far by the Pune police. The decision to transfer the court case from the UAPA court to the special NIA court in Mumbai was taken on February 14 by the Pune court. According to Pune Police, `inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad, a conclave allegedly backed by Maoists, led to caste violence at Bhima-Koregaon war memorial in the district on January 1, 2018. Taiwan raises travel alert for Italy due to coronavirus outbreak ROC Central News Agency 02/25/2020 04:15 PM Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Tuesday raised its travel alert for Italy to Level 2, citing a surge in the number of novel coronavirus cases there over the past week to more than 200. The Level 2 alert, the second-highest on the CECC's three-level scale, advises people to remain vigilant and to take safety precautions while in Italy. According to the CECC, Italy has confirmed 229 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and six deaths to date, which is the largest outbreak outside Asia. In Italy, there have been reports of cluster infections of the disease linked to hospitals, and numerous cases in which the source of the infection could not be determined, the CECC said. The outbreak is worst in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, whose capitals are Milan and Venice, respectively, according to international media reports. All schools in the two regions have been closed for the week, and large gatherings have been banned, the CECC said. In that region, about 10 towns have also been placed under lockdown, with no one allowed in or out and residents confined to their homes, according to the CECC. To date, the CECC has issued its highest Level 3 travel warning for China, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea; Level 2 alerts for Japan, Singapore and Italy; and Level 1 warnings for Thailand and Iran. (By Chang Ming-hsuan and Chiang Yi-ching) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Facebook recently promised that it would increaseefforts to remove so-called deepfake videos, including content thatincluded misleading manipulated media. In addition to fears that deepfakes altered videos that appear to be authentic could impact the upcoming 2020 general election in the United States,there are growing concerns that they could ruin reputations and impact businesses. A manipulated video that looks real could convince viewers tobelieve that the subjects in the video said things they didnt say,or did things they didnt do. Deepfakes have become more sophisticated and easier to produce, thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, which can be applied to existing videos quickly andeasily, achieving results that took professional special effects teams and digital artists hours or days to achieve in the past. Deepfake technology is being weaponized for political misinformationand cybercrime, said Robert Prigge, CEO of Jumio. In one high profile case, criminals last year used AI-basedsoftware to impersonate a chief executives voice and demand afraudulent transfer of US$243,000, Prigge told TechNewsWorld. Unfortunately, deepfakes can also be used to bypass manybiometric-based identity verification systems, which have rapidly grownin popularity in response to impersonation attacks, identity theft andsocial engineering, he added. Facing Off Against Deepfakes Given the potential for damage, both Facebook and Twitter have banned such content. However, its not clear what the bans cover. For its part Facebook will utilize third-party fact-checkers, reportedly including more than 50 partners working worldwide in more than 40 languages. Theyre banning videos created through machine learning that areintended to be deceptive, explained Paul Bischoff, privacy advocateat Comparitech. The videos must have both audio and video that the average personwouldnt reasonably assume is fake, he told TechNewsWorld. A deepfake superimposes existing video footage of aface onto a source head and body using advanced neural network-poweredAI to create increasingly realistic doctored videos, noted Prigge. In other words, adeepfake looks to be a real persons recorded face and voice, but thewords they appear to be speaking were never really uttered by them. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Defining Deepfakes One troubling issue with deepfakes is simply determining what is adeepfake and what is just edited video. In many cases deepfakes arebuilt by utilizing the latest technology to edit or manipulate video. News outlets regularly edit interviews, press conferences and other events when crafting news stories, as way to highlight certain elements and get juicy sound bites. Of course, there have been plenty of criticisms of mainstream newsmedia for manipulating video footage to change thecontext without AI or machine learning, simply using the tools of the editing suite. Deepfakes generally are viewed as far more dangerous because it isnt just context that is altered. At its heart, a deepfake is when someone uses sophisticatedtechnology artificial intelligence to blend multiple images oraudio together in order to change its original meaning and conveysomething that is not true or valid, said Chris Olson, CEO of The Media Trust. From manipulating audio to creating misleading images, deepfakesfoster the spread of disinformation as the end user typically doesntknow that the content or message is not real, he told TechNewsWorld. To varying degrees, social platforms have issued policies prohibitingthe posting of highly manipulated videos that are not clearly labeledor readily apparent to consumers as fake, added Olson. Still, while these policies are a step in the right direction, they do not explicitly ban manipulated video or audio, he pointed out. Having youraccount blocked isnt much of a deterrent. Manipulation Without Malice Facebooks ban and other efforts to ban orotherwise curb deepfakes do not apply to political speech or parodies. Consent may be another issue that needs to be addressed. This is a great point fake videos and images can be definedbroadly for example, anything that is manipulated, said ShumanGhosemajumder, CTO of Shape Security and former fraud czar at Google. A D V E R T I S E M E N T But most media created is, to some extent, manipulated, he told TechNewsWorld. Manipulations include automatic digital enhancements to photos taken using modern cameras those equipped with HDR settings or other AI-based enhancement as well as filters, and aesthetic editing and retouching, noted Ghosemajumder. If most media is thus automatically marked on a platform assynthetic or manipulated, this will reduce the benefit of such atag, he remarked. The next step will be to figure out objective criteria to excludethat type of editing and focus on maliciously manipulatedmedia, which could be an inherently subjective standard. However, it cant be a question of individuals consenting to be invideos, because no such consent is generally required of publicfigures or of videos and images that are taken in public places,observed Ghosemajumder, and public figures are the ones that aremost likely to be targeted by malicious users of these technologies. AI Tools Singled Out Facebooks deepfakes ban singles out videos that use AI technology or machine learning to manipulate the content. This is an incomplete approach, since most fake content, includingmisleading videos posted today, are not created with such technology,said Ghosemajumder. The now famous Nancy Pelosi video could have been created withtechnology from 40-plus years ago, since it was just simple videoediting, he added. More importantly, maliciousness cannot be defined based only on thetechnology used, said Ghosemajumder, since much of the same technology used to create a malicious deepfake is already being used to create legitimate works ofart, such as the de-aging technology used in The Irishman. Viewer Perception As the Facebook policy stands, satire and parody would be exempt, but what falls into those categories isnt always clear. Viewer reactions dont always align with what thecontent maker may have had in mind. A joke video that falls flat might not be viewed as satire. The standards for judging satire or fan films are also subjective it may be possible to determine what is or is not intended as satirein a court of law to societys satisfaction in an individual instance,but it is much more difficult to make such determinationsautomatically for millions of pieces of content in a social mediaplatform, warned Ghosemajumder. In addition, even in cases when a video is created with obviouslysatirical intent, that intent can get lost if the video is shortened, taken out of context, or even just reposted by someone who didnt understand the original intent. There are many examples of satirical content fooling people whodidnt understand the humor, said Ghosemajumder. Its more about how the audience perceives it. Satire doesnt fallinto the ban. Nor does parody, and if the video is clearly labeled asfiction, it should be fine, countered Bischoff. It is our understanding that Facebook and Twitter are not banningsatire or parody intention is the key differentiator, added AlexeyKhitrov, CEO of ID R&D. Satire by definition is the use of humor, exaggeration or irony,whereas the intention of a deepfake is to pass off altered orsynthetic video or speech as authentic, he told TechNewsWorld.Deepfakes are used to trick a viewer and spread misinformation. Whilea deepfake aims to deceive the average user, satire is apparent. Legal Efforts There have been legal efforts to stop the proliferation ofdeepfakes, but the government might not be the best entity to tacklethis high-tech problem. Over the past two years, several U.S. states introduced legislationto govern deepfakes, with the Malicious Deep Fake Prohibition Act andDEEPFAKES Accountability Act introduced to the U.S. Senate and Houseof Representatives respectively, said The Media Trusts Olson. Both bills stalled with lawmakers, and neither proposed muchchange beyond introducing penalties. Even if laws were passed,it is unlikely a legislative approach can keep up with technological advancements. Its very difficult to effectively legislate against a moving targetlike emerging technology, warned Olson. Until there is perfect recognition that content is a deepfake,platforms and media outlets need to disclose to consumers the sourceof the content, he suggested. Deepfake videos cannot be stopped, just like photoshopped photoscannot be stopped, said Josh Bohls, CEO of Inkscreen. Libel laws can be expanded to include altered videos that mightmisrepresent a public figure in a harmful way, providing the subjectsome kind of recourse, he told TechNewsWorld. It would also be prudent to pass laws requiring the labeling of certain categories of videos political ads, for example so that the viewer is aware that the content has been altered. Tech to Fight Tech Instead of the government creating new laws, the tech industry could solve the deepfakes problem, even if defining them remains fuzzy. Providing access to technology to determine if a video has been manipulated could be a good first step. Several social platforms have taken steps to detect and removedeepfake videos with limited success as detection lags behind thespeed at which new technology emerges to create better, more realisticdeepfakes in an ever-diminishing period of time, said Olson. The challenge remains on the difficult process of identifying andremoving deepfakes before they spread to the general public, he said. Social media is where these videos are spreading and where removal iscrucial. These platforms are in a good position to roll out new technology. Overall, Twitter and Facebook announcing plans to take action againstmalicious fake content is an excellent first step, and will increasescrutiny and skepticism of media uploaded to the Internet, especiallyby anonymous or unknown sources, noted Ghosemajumder. However, this is absolutely not a silver bullet solution to thisproblem, for many reasons warned Ghosemajumder. The detection of fake media is a cat-and-mouse game. If manipulatedcontent is immediately flagged, then malicious actors will experimentagainst the system with variations of their content until they canpass undetected, he explained. On the other hand, if manipulated content is not immediately flaggedor removed, it can be spread and will quickly morph causing damagein whatever period exists between creation and uploading and flagging, ina way that may not be possible to easily contain at that point,Ghosemajumder suggested. Finally, the use of fake accounts andautomated fraud and abuse is the primary mechanism that maliciousactors use to spread disinformation, he said. This is one of the key areassocial networks need to address with the most sophisticated technologyavailable, not just home-built solutions. Anti-Deepfake Tools Several companies are exploring methods of combating deepfakes. Facebook, Microsoft and AWS launched the Deepfake Detection Challenge to encourage development of open source detection tools. [*Correction Jan. 22, 2020] Without consistently flagging suspect digital content and labeling thesource of the doctored video or audio, technology will have littleimpact on the issue, said Olson. Providing this context will help the consumer better understand theveracity of the message. Was it sent to me from an unknown thirdparty, or did I find it on a brand website during product research? This attribution information is whats needed to counter deepfakes, he said. However, with a lot of manipulated content, it is often aboutmisdirection and in this case, too much focus on the video itself could be problematic. Its not just the visual stream thats vulnerable to deepfakes, butalso the voice stream. Both can be altered or manipulated as part ofa deepfake, said ID R&Ds Khitrov. There is technology to help detect a deepfakes manipulated audio, he noted. Liveness detection capabilities can identify artifacts that arentaudible to the human ear but are present in synthesized, recorded orcomputer-altered voice, explained Khitrov. We can detect over 99 percent of audio deepfakes, but only where that technology is deployed. The Deep View Those with a pessimistic take believe the technologyto create convincing deepfakes simply will outpace the technology tostop it. Our analogy is that there are viruses and there is antivirustechnology, and staying ahead of the bad guys requires constantiteration, and the same holds true for deepfake detection, saidKhitrov. However, the AI-based technologies that the bad guys are using arevery similar to the technologies the good guys are using. So thebreakthroughs that are available to the bad guys are also being usedby the good guys to stop them, he added. A bigger threat is that deepfake software is already freelyavailable on the Web, although its not that great yet, saidComparitechs Bischoff. We will have to learn to be vigilant andskeptical. *ECT News Network editors note Jan. 22, 2020: Our original published version of this story incorrectly stated that the Deepfake Detection Challenge was a project launched by The Media Trust. In fact, it is a joint effort of Facebook, Microsoft and AWS. We regret the error. Joe Bidens 2020 campaign has admitted the former vice president was not arrested for trying to visit Nelson Mandela at a South African prison during apartheid after the Democratic candidate used the claim at least three times during appearances in recent weeks. In campaign visits to Nevada and South Carolina, Mr Biden claimed he was arrested with the US ambassador to the United Nations in Soweto, despite there being no publicly available evidence of the incident. This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid, the Democratic candidate said at a campaign event in South Carolina. I had the great honour of meeting him. I had the great honour of being arrested with our UN ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on Robben Island. However, attempts by news organisations, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, have failed to find any evidence to support the story, which was not mentioned in Mr Bidens 2007 memoir when he wrote about a 1970s trip to South Africa. 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 It is also unclear why Mr Biden would have been arrested in Soweto for trying to visit Mandela, as the city is hundreds of miles away from the island where the anti-apartheid activist was imprisoned. Now, his presidential campaign has walked back the claim and admitted he was only separated from a congressional delegation at a South African airport. He took a trip with a [congressional delegation] in the 70s. He was separated from the [Congressional Black Caucus] members he was traveling with at the airport, when he landed, Kate Bedingfield, Mr Bidens communications director, told reporters on Wednesday. When making that remark, he was talking about his long record fighting apartheid; he was one of the leading voices in the United States Senate in the 80s. However, Ms Bedingfield could not justify Mr Bidens use of the word arrest or a coda he added to the story, in which Mandela personally thanked him over the incident. He threw his arms around me and said, I want to say thank you, Mr Biden told potential voters in Las Vegas last week, referring to a supposed visit from Mandela to Washington after his release. I said, What are you thanking me for, Mr President? He said, You tried to see me. You got arrested trying to see me. Ms Bedingfield could only say Mandela thanked the former vice president for his anti-apartheid work more broadly, not any specific incident. As for the supposed arrest, Mr Bidens communications director was clear that the incident should be referred to as a separation. It was a separation. He was not allowed to go through the same door as the rest of the party he was with, she told reporters. Obviously, this was apartheid South Africa. There was a white door. There was a black door. He did not want to go through the white door and have the rest of the party go to the black door. Ms Bedingfield added that this separation occurred during a trip while the group were in Johannesburg. Those are the facts. Thats what I know about it, she said. Ive now told you everything I know about that trip, which happened in the mid-70s. When Andrew Young, the US ambassador to the UN from 1977 to 1979, was asked about the story, he said he did not recall being arrested with Mr Biden during their time in South Africa. No, I was never arrested and I dont think he was either, Mr Young told The New York Times. I dont think there was ever a situation where congressmen were arrested in South Africa. Mr Biden is battling to save his 2020 presidential campaign after trailing behind frontrunner Bernie Sanders in the opening three states of the Democratic primary. The former vice president is currently leading in polls for South Carolina, according to analysis by RealClearPolitics, where voters will select their pick for the Democratic nomination on 29 February. Sarah Higgins (centre) is accused of inflicting devastating brain injuries on the baby she was adopting. (SWNS) A paramedic foster mum killed the baby she was adopting after "losing her temper" in a fit of rage before pretending the child fell from her knee, a court has heard. Sarah Higgins, 42, is accused of inflicting devastating brain injuries on 10-month-old Skyla while caring for the baby at home. Higgins dialled 999 and told the operator the child had slipped from her arms while being fed and had fallen to floor on to her bottom. The paramedic is accused of causing the fatal injuries after losing her temper and subjecting the baby to a "non-accidental violent action". Higgins denies manslaughter of the baby girl. (SWNS) Jurors were told the child's injuries were the type consistent of a child falling from a first-floor window. Higgins appeared in the dock at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday charged with manslaughter at the start of of a five-week trial. Read more: Murder probe launched after man dies in 'brutal and frenzied attack' The court heard Higgins and her husband Martin Dobson, both paramedics, were in the process of adopting Skyla when she died on 26 August, 2017. Jurors heard a recording of the 999 call Higgins made from her home in Huddersfield, in which she told the operator that the baby was unconscious and unresponsive. Higgins told the operator she had been struggling to feed Skyla and dropped the child on to a carpeted floor from a low height as she tried to turn her around. The defendant claimed Skyla had landed on her bottom or lower legs and did not strike her head during the fall. Higgins appeared in the dock at Leeds Crown Court charged with manslaughter at the start of of a five-week trial. (Wikipedia) Skyla was rushed to hospital where she underwent a scan, which revealed bleeding and swelling on the brain. Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said there were also bruises on the baby's arm that could not be explained by the defendant. Read more: At least 11 UK schools send pupils home amid coronavirus fears He said doctors also found evidence of bleeding to her eyes, which indicated a severe trauma. Wright said the baby's injuries clearly indicated that Higgins killed Skyla in a violent assault. Skyla, who suffered devastating brain injuries, died at Leeds General Infirmary two days later. Story continues Wright told the jury it was the crown's case that Higgins had experienced a "loss of temper". Read more: Secret House of Commons doorway from 17th century discovered He added: "Regrettably, that unlawful action caused Skyla's death and so we say that defendant is guilty of manslaughter." Higgins denies manslaughter. The trial continues. STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Lovesac Company (LOVE) today announced that Mary Fox has been appointed to the company's board of directors, effective February 25, 2020. Since 2018, Ms. Fox has served as General Manager for North America Consumer Products at BIC. Prior to joining BIC, she spent six years at LOreal in various roles within Ecommerce, New Business Development, and Business Transformation in the United States. Before LOreal, Ms. Fox held several leadership positions at Walmart in both the United States and International divisions. During her time as SVP Global Sourcing at Walmart, Ms. Fox co-founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) in 2009 with Patagonia, which is now the leading apparel, footwear, and textile coalition focused on sustainable production with over 10,000 members. Andrew Heyer, chairman of the board of directors, stated, We are pleased to welcome Mary to our board. She is a seasoned global executive with more than 24 years of experience working with consumer goods companies and a diverse background that includes serving in a range of roles across ecommerce, merchandising, operations, global brand management, and mergers and acquisitions. Heyer continued, Importantly, Marys work in the area of sustainability will be a great asset to Lovesac, bolstering the companys already strong commitment to sustainability and its Designed for Life philosophy that is foundational to its product innovation and supply chain strategies. We look forward to benefitting from her expertise as we continue to drive brand awareness and capitalize on the significant market share opportunity we see for Lovesac. Mary Fox commented, Im honored to be joining The Lovesac Companys board of directors. I admire Lovesacs differentiated offering and disruptive business model complemented by its effective marketing strategies and multi-channel approach to growth. I look forward to working with the board and management to help guide the future of Lovesac as the team focuses on executing its growth strategy and expanding the companys market share. Story continues Ms. Fox graduated from Coventry University in the United Kingdom, and holds a degree in manufacturing, engineering and business studies. The company also announced today that Jared Rubin has resigned from its board of directors. As a result, the number of directors will remain at seven. Heyer concluded, We thank Jared for his contributions to Lovesac as a board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership. About The Lovesac Company Based in Stamford, Connecticut, The Lovesac Company is a direct-to-consumer specialty furniture brand with 91 retail showrooms supporting its ecommerce delivery model. Lovesacs name comes from its original Durafoam filled beanbags called Sacs. The company derives a majority of its current sales from its proprietary platform called Sactionals, a washable, changeable, reconfigurable, and FedEx-shippable solution for large upholstered seating. Founder and CEO, Shawn Nelsons, Designed for Life philosophy emphasizes sustainable products that are built to last a lifetime and designed to evolve with the customers needs, providing long-term utility and ultimately reducing the amount of furniture discarded into landfills. Investor Contact: Rachel Schacter, ICR (203) 682-8200 InvestorRelations@lovesac.com BEIRUT Shelling and air strikes by Syrian government forces killed at least three people on Wednesday in northwestern Syria, where dozens of villages, including major rebel strongholds in the last opposition-held area, have been captured over the past few days. The new push by Russian-backed Syrian troops could worsen the humanitarian crisis that has displaced nearly a million people and left more than 300 civilians dead since the beginning of December. The Syrian Response Coordination Group, a relief group operating in the countrys northwest, said that government forces had struck numerous civilian targets in the past 24 hours, including eight schools, three medical centers, and several settlements where people displaced by the fighting had taken shelter. The groups statement condemned the silence by the international community calling it an open invitation for Russian-backed government forces to continue their assault. The violence came as a Russian delegation was scheduled to arrive in Turkey later Wednesday to resume talks aimed at easing tensions in the northwestern Idlib region. The area is the countrys last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian governments military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with more than 900,000 people displaced from their homes in nearly three months. Turkey and Russia back rival groups in the Syrian conflict and over the past weeks Ankara sent thousands of Turkish troops to Idlib. Clashes between Turkish and Syrian troops so far this month have left 16 Turkish soldiers dead. Syrian opposition activists said government forces shelled a Turkish military convoy on a road near the northwestern village of Bara on Wednesday. There was no immediate word on casualties. On Tuesday, Syrian troops shot down a Turkish drone over Idlib, saying it was carrying out a reconnaissance mission over a town recently captured by government forces. A Syrian army statement said government forces captured, in addition to dozens of villages, some strategic hills deep inside the heavily fortified areas once held by insurgents. It said the villages captured include former strongholds such as Kafranbel, Has, Kfar Sajneh and al-Dar al-Kabira. Bassem Mroue is an Associated Press writer. It's Pete Davidson's turn to get some creative material out of his split from Ariana Grande. In his new Netflix comedy special Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, the SNL star tackled his four month engagement to Grande and the aftermath of their very public breakup. The comedian got on the topic of his ex after joking about the controversy when he mocked wounded veteran, Dan Crenshaw. "The only thing I did do, which I am guilty of and I apologize for, is I did make that guy famous and a household name for no reason," Davidson said of Crenshaw. "I did what, like, Ariana Grande did for me." Pete Davidson says it's only "fair" he goes after Ariana Grande in Netflix special since she got "Thank U, Next." (Photo: Getty Images for MTV) Davidson continued, "I wasn't gonna do jokes about this, but then my buddy told me, he's like, 'Yo I recently heard that Ariana said she had no idea who you were and she just dated you as a distraction.' So, now I just think it's fair game." "Don't applaud," he instructed the audience. "This isn't, like, a competition. She has her songs and stuff, and this is what I have, OK?" Davidson added, "And youre like, 'Pete, this isnt fair. You're airing out dirty laundry. How could you do that? Where did she say this stuff? To her friends, in the confidence of her own home?' No! She said it on the cover of Vogue magazine." The 26-year-old comedian is referring to Grande's interview over the summer in which she called her former fiance "an amazing distraction." "It was frivolous and fun and insane and highly unrealistic, and I loved him, and I didnt know him," Grande, 26, told Vogue. "Im like an infant when it comes to real life and this old soul, been-around-the-block-a-million-times artist. I still dont trust myself with the life stuff." "Can you imagine if I did that?" Davidson quipped. "My career would be over tomorrow if I spray-painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine and just started s******* on my ex. Can you imagine? No, don't clap! ... I like the giggles, it's just jokes." "Can you imagine if I did that s***?" he said again. "If I was just like, 'Yeah, I was just f****** her because I was bored, and then Fortnite came out,' it would be insane." Story continues Davidson explained that Grande suffered no repercussions after their breakup in October 2018. "No! She won Billboard's Women of the Year and I got called 'butthole eyes' by BarstoolSports.com," Davidson laughed. "So, sometimes life is a little unfair." "Again, these are jokes," he reiterated. "My biggest fear is I'm gonna get shot in the back of the head by a 9-year-old with a ponytail and the last thing Im gonna hear is, '#cancelled.'" The actor had positive things to say about his former fiancee, too, calling her "smart" and "a really powerful woman, that Ariana." "Shes a very, very powerful woman and she's very smart," he said. "You gotta be to be able to ruin Starbucks for a person." (Aside from her last name being a popular drink size, Grande also collaborated with Starbucks for its Cloud Macchiato drink last year.) "A lot of people ask me all the time, 'What was that [like]," Davidson recalled. "It's like any other breakup, except everybody sees it." "I kind of knew what I was getting into, but not really. I didn't know about the picture thing," he continued, referring to the paparazzi. "If I knew about that I would've seen a dermatologist before I started dating her." Davidson added, "It's like any other breakup. You have your boys over, they all lie to you. Like, 'No problem bro, no one even knows who she is. It's all good bro, it's all good, better off, no problem.'" "Then that song came out," Davidson said of "Thank U, Next." He explained his "boys" all liked the song. "'S*** is very catchy, you're going to have a rough eight months, I'm sorry,'" he recalled. "My grandpa said, 'It's a slap... it's a good song.'" Prior to Tuesday's release of his special, Davidson got serious when reflecting about his relationship with Grande. He told Charlamagne Tha God he knew their engagement was over after the unexpected death of Mac Miller. Grande dated the rapper for two years before getting together with Davidson. Miller died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol in September 2018. "I totally got it," Davidson said. She would even tell you this. I was like, 'Listen, I get it, do whatever youve got to do, Ill be here.' I think I said, 'Ill be here until you dont want me to be here.'" "I pretty much knew it was around over after that," he continued. "That was really horrible, and I cant imagine what that s*** is like. All I do know is that she really loved the s*** out of him, and she wasnt putting on a show or anything. That was f***** up. Prayers to his family and all of his friends." Davidson previously said he wishes the best for Grande. "I hope she's well," he told Paper magazine in November. "I hope she's very happy." Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Secretary will visit the riot-hit areas of Delhi as per the directions of Delhi High Court said news agency ANI. The court had earlier on Wednesday said that the highest constitutional functionaries in the national capital should reach out to people in riot-torn areas with assurance of security and peace. Keep aside your political differences and make your highest functionary visit the victims, Justice D S Muralidhar said while hearing an urgent petition earlier today. The court directed setting up of helpline desks for victims and ordered that private ambulances are provided for their safe passage. A direction to set up shelters for the victims who had fled their homes due to rioting and said it must have basic facilities like blankets, medicines, food and sanitation. The instructions came during a special hearing held by the court at the residence of Justice Muralidhar to deal with the issue of shifting the victims to GTB hospital for better treatment. Advocate Suror Mander had asked for an urgent hearing from the court seeking safe passage for the victims. He said all victims couldnt be shifted to GTB as per the court order since it was full and that some were taken to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and RML Hospital. The court appointed advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae to coordinate between victims and various agencies in the matter related to medical assistance and their safe passage. The bench had also called for compliance report including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them. It also ordered for provision of a sufficient number of qualified professionals to treat riot victims suffering from trauma. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned sandwich chain Jimmy John's Franchise, LLC for selling adulterated fresh produce, mainly sprouts, linked to Escherichia coli O103 outbreak. Following the warning, Jimmy John's reportedly removed sprouts from the menu at all of its restaurants. The Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local health officials have been investigating several E. coli outbreaks linked to Jimmy John's restaurants. The outbreaks were occurred in the past seven years and impacted seventeen states. In the investigations, the food and health regulators found the evidence that Jimmy John's restaurants were receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers. The agencies studied five outbreaks, including the most recent E. coli outbreak in the state of Iowa during December 2019 that affected a total of 22 people as of January 7. In Iowa, all the 22 affected people reported eating at one or more of 15 Jimmy John's restaurants. The agencies also studied February 2018 infections with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Montevideo; August 2014 infections with outbreak strain of E. coli O121; October 2013 infections of outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7; and April 2012 infections with outbreak strain of E. coli O26. Majority of the affected people reported eating at Jimmy John's restaurants, mainly sprouts and cucumbers. As per the investigation, the pathogens associated with these outbreaks were found to be Shiga toxin producing E. coli and Salmonella enterica. The FDA noted that the presence of these pathogens in Jimmy John's food, as evidenced by links to foodborne outbreaks, causes its products to be adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. E. coli infections can cause serious illness in humans, including diarrhea, often with bloody stools, while Salmonella is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections. The FDA warned that the company's corporate-wide supplier control mechanisms for receiving fresh produce are inadequate. The agency also demanded detailed preventive steps for the receipt and sale of adulterated food at each of its restaurants. The company has franchised approximately 2,800 Jimmy John's restaurants in 43 states. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de A Liverpool commercial office building has sold for $52.5 million to an investment group from China. It's the highest every property sale in Liverpool. The block at 211 Northumberland Street was originally purchased by vendors ESR Australia as part of the Denison Portfolio, that also included a building in Campbelltown. It was sold fully leased to the NSW Government Department Family and Community Services until 2022, with 7,645 sqm of net lettable area. The building sold with an initial yield of 6.6 per cent, producing just over $3.45 million per annum. Ray White Commercial Western Sydney agents Peter Vines and Victor Sheu secured the sale, in conjunction with Colliers International's James Barber, Frank Oliveri and John McCann. Vines said the property was one of Centrelinks most concentrated multi-service centres across Australia. We had a huge amount of interest throughout the campaign with more than 120 enquiries coming from multiple demographics, he said. With Parramatta currently booming, investors are seeking the next hot spot and given its proximity to the new airport and billions of dollars being invested in infrastructure in the South West, Liverpool is a very good option. Sheu said the property was an impressive commercial asset investment that came with value add potential. The property is a four-level commercial building that was completed in circa. 2000 and has two levels of security basement parking, Sheu said. The asset offers large efficient floor plates that are light-filled and flexible. The plates are highly desirable to Government tenants with a strong retention history. Being in the Liverpool CBD, it provides easy access to the M5 motorway, Hume Highway and arterial roads. Its also close to the Westfield shopping facilities. Something strange happened over the weekend to Transport DSquare in Montreal. The intermodal carrier got notice that rail containers from Western Canada tied up indefinitely from weeks of protest blockades disrupting Canadian National's network were en route. "We were shocked," Transport DSquare Director Corey Darbyson told FreightWaves. The explanation could lie in a report from the CBC today that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government brokered a deal to let Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) use rival Canadian Pacific's network to route some freight around protest blockades including via the U.S. The CBC said the arrangement allowed for deliveries of essential goods, including propane, to communities otherwise cut off by the blockades. Neither rail carrier would confirm the agreement, which apparently occurred as the Trudeau government worked to defuse indigenous-led protests connected to the route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. "While people kicked and screamed, Trudeau and the team did a badass job," Darbyson said. "To get two juggernauts to share tracks and break bread together and to route through the States while negotiating the protests. It's badass," he added. Trudeau's handling of the blockades has drawn strong criticism from the left and right in Canada for either being too easy on the protesters or not doing enough to address their underlying demands. It remains to be seen when CN will resume freight service on its Eastern Canada network after police removed protesters from a blockade in Belleville, Ontario, on Monday. Other isolated protests may continue to affect the supply chain. Since Monday, protests have continued to target some rail crossings, highways and the Port of Vancouver. Shipper Fears Further Supply Chain Impacts But Supports Protests Jill Van Gyn, founder and CEO of British Columbia-based Fatso Peanut Butter is considering moving a forthcoming shipment of its namesake product across Canada via truck instead of rail if the disruptions continue at an added cost of C$6,000-C$8,000. Story continues "I'm quite nervous about it," Van Gyn told FreightWaves. However, she supports the protests in solidarity with hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation who oppose the route of Coastal GasLink through their territory in British Columbia. She went public with that support in an op-ed published by the CBC, putting her at odds with many prominent business leaders in Canada. She blamed the potential impact on her business squarely at the feet of Canada's federal and provincial governments and their failure to address long-standing issues in the country's indigenous communities. "It's crappy that we might be affected," Van Gyn said. "But it's a question of whom you're mad at." Darbyson, meanwhile, is optimistic that freight flows will normalize as CN service resumes. He expressed doubt that lingering protests will bring serious harm to the supply chain, noting that the coronavirus poses a larger threat. "Coronavirus is going to affect us," Darbyson said. "A lot of shipments are not going to be shipped." See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Parents Forced to Rethink Education Amid Coronavirus Outbreak SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides an alternative educational platform easily accessible from home NEWS PROVIDED BY The Old Schoolhouse Feb. 26, 2020 GRAY, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- Awaiting instruction from public health advisors, schools in Brighton and Hove, England, have told parents they have the option to keep their children home from school with authorized absences. Five confirmed coronavirus cases have surfaced in the area. With a long incubation period of up to two weeks, it is concerning that schools are not advised to notify the school as a whole if a student or faculty member is undergoing testing. Information is only to be revealed if a case is confirmed (theguardian.com). This means parents are forced to make a decision that will have a long-term effect on their children. Do they risk sending them to school amid the current outbreak, or do they place education on hold and wait it out? Parents who choose to keep their children home due to the outbreak need not sacrifice their education. Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the parent company of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, encourages families across the globe to try the home education platform that has gained tremendous popularity in the US and Canada and is now expanding its borders. "Our international student base is growing like never before. We gladly accommodate students from across the globe and are here to help meet the needs of those who are choosing to finish the school year from home." The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has spread faster than previous outbreaks such as SARS or MERS. The virus has infected more people over the past few weeks than SARS did in several months. The death toll and the number of infected patients have already exceeded the 2003 outbreak. Recently declared a global emergency, the virus has spread from China to Singapore, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Australia, India, Africa, the UK, Russia, the US, and Canada all have confirmed cases. A cure has not yet been developed and may take years to come to fruition. Meanwhile, each country is taking precautionary measures as they continue to learn more about the virus, how it is spread, and how it affects individuals. Parents who do turn to home education during this crisis can do so with readily available resources. TryHomeschooling.com provides help for families new to homeschooling. About The Old Schoolhouse The Old Schoolhouse (www.theoldschoolhouse.com) is a privately held corporation that publishes the industry-leading homeschool education print magazine, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, as well as hundreds of books and planning support tools for homeschooling families. SchoolhouseTeachers.com, a division of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, supports over 9,000 member families with more than 400 courses for preschool through high school, as well as educational videos, World Book Online, transcripts, report cards, planning tools, and recordkeeping. Established in 2001, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is focused on providing high-quality, encouraging, affordable solutions for homeschooling families. SOURCE The Old Schoolhouse CONTACT: Paul and Gena Suarez, 888-718-4663, publisher@theoldschoolhouse.com; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn Related Links https://youtu.be/x6SQpnmT8pE Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday visited Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital here to review the condition of people injured in violence in parts of North-East Delhi. Speaking to media, Vardhan informed that 81 people were admitted to the hospital on Monday and 69 on Tuesday. While a few of them have been discharged after treatment, others are being treated for their injuries. "On Monday, 81 patients arrived here and 69 on Tuesday. 13 deaths have occurred. Doctors told either they have been brought dead or in a critical condition. 30 to 40 per cent have gone back after receiving treatment. "I visited different departments as people have suffered injuries in different parts of the body. Some have them on the chest while some on the abdomen. You can say their condition is critical but doctors are trying their best. Preliminary treatments have been done. Some patients also underwent operations," Vardhan said. Terming it an "unfortunate incident", Vardhan said he will "pray for the speedy recovery for all patients and appeal to everyone in society not to believe in rumours and maintain peace." Meanwhile, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari termed the Delhi violence as "very painful" and urged people to maintain peace and help the government in resolving the "dreadful situation". In the wake of violence in North East Delhi, Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval late on Tuesday reached Seelampur area to take stock of the situation and visited violence-hit areas. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with Delhi Police and Home Ministry officials in the wake of violence that has been raging in the capital for the past two days. The Home Minister urged political parties leaders to exercise restraint, rise above party lines to tackle the situation, according to an official release. He also urged leaders to avoid giving provocative speeches and statements which could result in a flare-up of the situation. At least 13 persons have died and around 190 are injured in the clashes between pro-CAA and anti CAA protestors that have been raging in North-East Delhi for the past three days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It was indeed a social media war yesterday when ex-aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode and journalist, Kayode Ogundamisi dragged each other online. Mr Ogundamisi had tweeted praying Fani-Kayode will also be jailed just like PDPs Olisa Metuh shortly after a court of law handed him a seven year sentence. Tweeting, Ogundamisi wrote; Welfare check on FFK. With Olisah Metuh down, the wind is blowing closer home. But this got Fani Kayode very upset and decided to blast Ogundamisi. He took to Facebook and blasted the journalist writing; My leperous little brother, I assure you that I am well and that your evil expectation for me shall NEVER come to pass. Your level of pettiness and malice borders on madness. You are sick in body, spirit and soul. You wanted me jailed before and you failed: this time shall be no different. One thing I promise you is this: when your friends are no longer in power we will catch you, cage you and prosecute you for the northerners you butchered when you were in OPC. I guess you didnt know that even northern lives matter! Unlike you I am not a coward: I never jumped bail but stayed here, faced my accusers and proved my innocence. And this is the second time that I am doing it! You ran away with your tail between your legs and blood on your hands and ever since then you have been working like a dog for those you once killed! Please remember there is no statute of limitations on murder! When your master Buhari leaves power we will revisit your murder case and you will be arrested, put in chains, caged, prosecuted, convicted, HANGED by the neck and BURIED like a dog after which you will BURN in hell forever. You and your entire brood! As for my friend and brother Olisa Metuh he will weather this storm. He is only one of many political prisoners that has suffered persecution in Nigeria for standing up to the tyrant and that has been convicted by a biased judge and a corrupt court. I have no doubt that, like Chief Bode George, he will win on appeal, he will be vindicated, he will come out with flying colors, he will be fine and he will live long and prosper. Sadly yours will not be as happy an ending. When justice catches up with you, you will be hanged from the neck until you die on the orders of a duly constituted court of law and I will be there to watch with a big smile on my face. It as at that time that your gloating will stop and mine will begin. This shall surely come to pass. Shalom. Ogundamisi then took it upon himself to respond to Fani, and also dragged his father in between Femi Fani-Kayode I didnt know that was going to hit you. You call me a traitor? You asked who is my Father? The major legacy of your father late Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode to any free-born Yoruba is that of a TRAITOR thus the popular Yoruba adage. Ori mi oni jekin dale bi ti Fani Kayode If you did have evidence of the lies you are now pushing out, how come the government you served under OLUSEGUN OBASANJO never charged me before any court but chose to keep me under SSS underground cell until Festus Keyamo challenged your evil govt. See link https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/nigeria1203/7.htm You need serious help when you were accused of incest and your daughters almost disown you, who did you rush to for help? Kayode Ogundamisi When you displayed your bigotry against Ndi Igbo and they came after you, who did you run to for help? Kayode Ogundamisi. Ofe gbo oro ni. Unlike you, I have NEVER been put on trial on corruption charges by ANY government including all the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Nigeria you served under. You are the one jumping from one court to the other, face your case in peace and leave @ogundamisi out of it. Get yourself together. Do you still go about boasting about how you got Bianca Ojukwu impregnated just to raise your manhood a bit? Or have you been forgiving by you new found friend for your stupidity and lack of decency? for the records. I have NEVER jumped bail in any court in Nigeria. Even when I was charged to a military tribunal by IBB in the pro-democracy days, I and my Comrades fought the case to its conclusion. The so-called case is a figment of your disturbed mind. You dare mention my Father, at least he was brave enough to put on the uniform of @HQNigerianArmy , fought in two wars, victorious in both. I might be an omo atapata dide but we know who we are. The only reason you are disturbed is payback from what your lineage did. so the same OPC you came crawling to in the night when Obasanjo was to kick you out over your uncontrollable desire for the white powder is now an organisation you think some of us will be ashamed of? I am a proud son of Oodua. You remember the meeting at Best Hope? my issue with you isnt personal, everyone who took part in enriching themselves from money meant to get the best of pieces of equipment for our troops will pay for it, Olisah Metuh had his day in court today. May the same come to all who partook in such grave injustice how do people like you sleep at night knowing that some people left our troops without arms to the mercy of terrorists and spent the money on luxury lifestyles? For the sake of those soldiers who died even if those responsible dont make it to court, aisan le me fi sin. You hobnob with APC, then Move to PDP, Love Fulani in the morning even claiming to be one, hate them in the night, write about Ndi Igbo being the worst people in Nigeria even boasting of sleeping with Bianca then suddenly becoming pro Igbo in the night. You are unstable. I am going to do a compressive tweet about you. Give me time. But Femi you did ask who is Kayode Ogundamisis s father? My father is Joseph Ogundamisi He was a 2 time Nigerian War Hero a free-born Yoruba. Now Femi Fani Kayode, Who is your father? Your Father Remilekun Fani-Kayode he WAS A TRAITOR who betrayed Chief Obafemi Awolowo and fed Yorubas to the Lion for porridge! When it comes to COURAGE! PRINCIPLE! My father was not your fathers mate and I am not your mate at all. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Red Cloud Securities Inc. ("Red Cloud" or "the Company") is pleased to announce it has been approved as a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC"). IIROC is a non-profit, national self-regulatory organization. IIROC oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity markets in Canada. "We believe this is the ideal time for Red Cloud to join IIROC," commented Red Cloud's CEO Bruce Tatters. "The ability to sign prospectus offerings, as sentiment towards metals and mining improves, increases our ability to bring strong, investable ideas to a wide investor base." Red Cloud will host its 8th Annual Pre-PDAC Mining Showcase on Friday February 28, 2020, at the King Edward Omni Hotel in Toronto. This year's conference showcases 50 resource companies presenting their stories to more than 600 brokers, buy-side fund managers, analysts, mining executives, corporate development teams and media. Keynote speakers for the event include: Robert Friedland, Founder, Executive Co-Chairman, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and Trey Reik, Managing Member, Bristol Gold Group LLC. The Company also recently unveiled its new research portal, featuring Red Cloud's 2020 Market Outlook Report and several other research pieces, to equip metals and mining investors and generalists with the tools to make smart mining decisions in a burgeoning market. Red Cloud's research team hosts weekly webinars on Thursdays at 2pm EST, covering interesting investment opportunities and changing market conditions, as well as interviews with industry experts and emerging companies. About Red Cloud Securities Inc. Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals who designed the firm to service small public and private companies. This solution is a comprehensive platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for issuer clients. For more information, please contact: Gwendolyn Dorais | Chief Compliance Officer Red Cloud Securities Inc. 105 King St. E, 2nd Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 1G6 GDorais@RedCloudSecurities.com www.RedCloudSecurities.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52825 1 of 1 - , : khaskhabar.com : , 26 2020 6:33 PM New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday took over the security of hyper sensitive and strategically important Srinagar airport from from Jammu and Kashmir Police. A CISF unit headed by a Senior Commandant rank officer will guard the airport round the clock, a decision taken by the Union Home Ministry earlier this year. With this, there are 62 airports under CISF security cover, the paramilitary force said. The 1.40-lakh strong force is a premier multi-skilled security agency of the country which is mandated to provide security to major critical infrastructure installations of the country in diverse areas. The CISF is currently providing security cover to nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive government buildings and heritage monuments. As many as 348 units of CISF are deployed across the country to guard these specific establishments, including Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. CISF's other responsibilities are providing VIP security. On the occasion, M.A. Ganapathy, Special Director General (CISF), Airport Sector, emphasized that a coordinated effort should be made by all government agencies and stakeholders to ensure security of Srinagar airport. He attended the programme as a chief guest. The move to formally hand over the security of Srinagar airport to the CISF came in January after the arrest of tainted Jammu and Kashmir Police DSP Davinder Singh. Singh was arrested while he was transporting Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu, his accomplice and a law school dropout to Jammu. Singh was associated with the anti-hijacking unit of the J&K Police and was posted at the Srinagar airport as part of the official team that received a delegation of foreign envoys days before his arrest. The Jammu and Kashmir administration had reportedly written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting the CISF to take over the security of Srinagar as well as Jammu airports. Sources in the Home Ministry said that CISF will likely be inducted at Jammu Airport by March. Korean Air Flight Attendant Diagnosed With Coronavirus A Korean Air flight attendant who flew on a plane was diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus, the airliner announced Tuesday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) notified the carrier about an employee who was confirmed to have contracted the virus, a spokesperson for the airline told the Reuters news agency and other outlets. The flight number, route, and other relevant information were not immediately provided. The company is creating a structure to work very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Korea (CDCK) to prevent the spreading of the virus, a representative for Korean Air told Business Insider. The firm said it will disinfect the aircraft, ask flight attendants to self-quarantine, and install thermal cameras at its locations. Korean Air also said it was closing its operations center at Incheon Airport to disinfect the area. The Los Angeles Times reported that the flight attendant serviced flights KE017 and KE012 on Feb. 19 and 20 to Los Angeles International. Local officials and Korean Air have not confirmed the reports. The same flight attendant also reportedly serviced a flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Seoul, South Korea. Local authorities that a person who was part of a church group had also flown on the Tel Aviv-Seoul flight. A group of laboratory technicians are making their way during an epidemiological investigation in Linyi city in Shandong, China on Feb. 10, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Korean Air hasnt returned a request for comment. South Korea reported 284 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including an American soldier, bringing the total to 1,261, according to the Yonhap News agency. The unnamed soldier was in self-quarantine at his home outside the base, said the United States Forces Korea (USFK) in a statement. KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed, it read. On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a level-three travel warning for South Korea, saying that people should avoid nonessential travel. South Korea, meanwhile, has raised its national threat level to its highest. A top official from the CDC on Tuesday warned that the United States could see the virus spread inside its borders and called on schools, businesses, and other organizations to stay prepared. Ultimately we expect we will see community spread in this country. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the head of the agencys National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has resisted calling the outbreak a pandemic, but the COVID-19 spread appears to be getting closer to meeting the U.N. organizations definition of one. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, RUSSIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THE RELEVANT SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or offering memorandum or an offer in relation to any securities of First Sentinel Plc or of any other entity and should not be considered as a recommendation that any person should subscribe for or purchase any such securities. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU No. 596/2014) ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain and shall therefore cease to be inside information. 26 February 2020 First Sentinel Plc ("First Sentinel" or the "Company") Transfer of sterling denominated 7.0% Secured Bonds due 28 February 2023 ("Bonds") held in treasury Subscription for Bonds Subscription for Bonds First Sentinel Plc ("First Sentinel" or the "Company") (NEX: FSEN), the alternative investment company focused on providing growth capital for public and private company investments, announces that it has raised approximately AUD$458,455 (232,882) from the transfer of 232,882 Bonds held in treasury (at 1 per Bond). It is anticipated that the Bonds will commence trading on NEX Exchange on or around 3 March 2020 under the symbol FSBN. The Company announced on 1 February 2018 that it intended to issue up to 4,000,000 sterling denominated 7.0% Secured Bonds due 28 February 2023, to be admitted to trading on the NEX Exchange Growth Market. The Bonds are redeemable each year, and at a 5% premium if held to maturity, and Bondholders' interests are partially protected by a credit insurance policy provided by Equinox Global, which covers (subject to a 1 million aggregate cap per policy year) the risk of insolvency of certain underlying debtors of the Company's subsidiary, Perennial Enterprise PTY Ltd. Accordingly, the Company published the Information Memorandum in connection with the Bonds, a copy of which is available from the Company's website at www.first-sentinel.com. The application form can be found on https://first-sentinel.nevilleregistrars.co.uk/ On 9 August 2019 the Company announced that it had redeemed 400,000 Bonds and held them in treasury for the benefit of potential new investors. The number of bonds in issue will remain 4,000,000. 217,118 Bonds are currently held in treasury and available to be purchased by new investors. The Company will make a further regulatory news announcement at the point of any further Bond transfer(s). About First Sentinel First Sentinel is an alternative investment company, registered with the FCA as a small authorised UK AIFM, which provides growth capital for public and private company investments. First Sentinel invests in a range of debt and equity instruments in target portfolio companies. The Company's website is www.first-sentinel.com For further corporate information, please contact: Mr. Brian Stockbridge CEO First Sentinel Plc Tel: + 44 (0) 7876 888 011 NEX Corporate Advisor Beaumont Cornish Limited James Biddle / Roland Cornish Tel: +44(0)20 7628 3396 Failures in the court system are almost extinguishing justice, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary said yesterday. Tom Winsor provided a devastating assessment of the criminal justice system as he accused politicians of not caring about the state of the countrys courts because it was not a vote winner like schools or hospitals. Sir Tom said: We have the appalling inefficiencies and failures in prosecutions with inexcusable delays in bringing cases to court, disgraceful late changes in charges, the prosecutor given inadequately prepared papers at the last minute which cause disruption and delays to trials and injustice to the accused, to the complainants and to witnesses. Sir Tom Winsor (pictured) said 'justice delayed is justice denied and it is being denied almost to the point of being extinguished in some cases' during a conference in London on Wednesday 'Then there is the physical decay in our courts with the physical fabric deteriorating before our eyes. There are injustices in the waste of court time, 500 courts closed in the last ten years, court hours cut and appalling delays in justice. 'Justice delayed is justice denied and it is being denied almost to the point of being extinguished in some cases. Sir Tom said that crime detection rates were woefully low with officers run ragged and facing severe dangers on the streets and elsewhere. Failure to rehabilitate criminals behind bars had also made prisons a petri dish for the most deleterious activities. He made his remarks to a conference of the National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners in central London. The Chief Inspector of Constabulary added that a failure to rehabilitate criminals behind bars had also made prisons a petri dish for the most deleterious activities (stock picture of the Old Bailey) Martin Hewitt, chairman of the NPCC, told the conference the criminal justice system must be repaired. He added: We can all see its not coping now. Its creaking and in places its breaking. More importantly, its letting down victims and leaving criminals to walk free. He said the consensus was that crime is too high and justice is far too often not done. Last September Sir Tom warned the Police Superintendents Association conference that justice was now only for the rich and those lucky enough to get legal aid. He said funding cuts to the courts, CPS and legal aid meant justice was the preserve only of the large corporations, the very wealthy or the very, very poor. A 25-year-old missing man was found hanging in a toilet in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, police said on Wednesday. Sunil Nishad's body was found on Tuesday evening in Gadaria village in Jaspura area of the district, Banda Superintendent of Police Siddharth Shankar Meeena said. The victim's wife has alleged that four persons from the same village killed him and then hung him in the toilet. Based on her complaint, the four persons have been detained and an investigation is on, the SP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Snyder was honorably discharged in 1946 and he earned a bachelors degree in music at Morningside College in Iowa. Thats also where he met his wife, Joan, a piano player and actress. The pair are the longest-married couple living at Friendship Village 72 years together. Snyder went on to be a band director in Omaha, and founded the Nebraska Wind Symphony in 1977. He continued to substitute teach in Omaha until he was 87, and in 2013 he moved to St. Louis to be close to his son. Snyder is known to family and friends as a man who loves to throw a good party and play the piano, but not many knew the details of his military service, family members said. Were very, very proud, said Snyders daughter, Melanie Coon, adding that she learned much during the ceremony for her father. He never discussed the war. Snyder just spent two days at a hospital wrestling a bout of pneumonia, but was discharged so that he could attend Tuesdays ceremony. Hooked up to an oxygen machine, Snyder cracked a joke or two for the packed chapel that included grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Military funeral to be held for ex-Egypt president Mubarak Egypts former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has died on Tuesday at the age of 91, following years of illness. Egypt will on Wednesday bury its former president Hosni Mubarak, who died at the age of 91, in a military funeral in Cairo. Egypts top military officials are expected to attend the funeral in an eastern suburb of Cairo, but it was not clear if Sisi would do so. Mubaraks coffin will be air lifted from the mosque where the funeral will be held to the burial grounds, state television reported. MUBARAK WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR CONSPRING TO MURDER 239 Born on May 4, 1928, Mubarak took power in Egypt in October 1981, succeeding the late President Mohamed Anwar Sadat. He worked as a pilot in the Egyptian Air Force in Arish in 1950, then he was transferred to Helwan Military Airport in 1951. He worked also as an instructor for the Air Force Academy, and he became the chief of staff for the academy in 1959. Mubarak served for Cairo West Air Base until 1966 and he was appointed as director of the Air Force Academy in 1967. He was promoted as brigade general in 1969 and then became commander of the Egyptian Air Forces and deputy defense minister in 1972. Mubarak led the Air Force during the 1973 war, and was promoted to the rank of air marshal in February 1974. He was appointed as vice president in April 1975. Were delighted that the Public Service Commission is no longer going to force utility ratepayers (that is, all of us) to help foot the bill for lame-duck commissioners to jet around the country on educational junkets. But theres no reason to believe this would have happened if The Post and Couriers Avery Wilks hadnt asked the commission about the fact that its most prolific junketeer Butch Howard was scheduled to spend 26 days at five more events before he leaves office at the end of June. And if the Legislature werent in the midst of rethinking the rubber-stamp role the PSC has always played with the monopoly utilities its supposed to regulate. SC agency nixes utility regulators plans for ratepayer-funded travel blitz A longtime state utility regulator planned to treat himself to a smorgasbord of cross-country travel to hobnob with industry representatives on the ratepayers' dime in his final months in office. And as abusive as Mr. Howards plans were he already attended events in Washington and New York since withdrawing in October from consideration for another term theres something even more disturbing about the whole culture of utility conferences. Unlike many junkets, whose only harm is that they squander taxpayer money, the conferences and forums for regulators operate as much as lobbying opportunities for the regulated as real educational opportunities. To begin with, theyre subsidized by industry groups, which picked up $4,700 of the $12,700 cost of travel and hotel and registration fees for the 13 yes, 13 conferences that Mr. Howard attended last year. For the five years ended in 2017, utilities and special-interest groups paid nearly $140,000 in conference expenses, meals and other perks for S.C. commissioners. And not only do the events give utilities a great forum to spin their perspective in seminars, but their lobbyists and executives get ample time to wine and dine regulators. Which they do, routinely. Editorial: More PSC candidates won't solve problems with SC utility regulation Wed like to be encouraged by the fact that the Legislature is poised to reopen filing for four seats on the utility-regulating S.C. Public Se Now, its not uncommon for government officials to attend state, regional and national conferences where organizations that want to sell their products, services and ideas regularly help cover the cost and then entertain the attendees. We dont like it, and the events often are of questionable value, but two things make the utility conferences worse. First, it seems to be a given in South Carolina and elsewhere that its good and necessary for regulators to be spoon-fed the perspectives of utility officials. Although Mr. Howard is an outlier, all of the states PSC commissioners attend these events. Second, the regulators are regulators. Judges, essentially, who are supposed to be impartial. Who shouldnt even be having casual conversations with the people they regulate. As a result of Mr. Wilks inquires, the PSC not only clipped Mr. Howards wings but also plans to bar commissioners from taking ratepayer-funded trips during their last six months in office and to post details of planned trips that outline their educational value. +2 Scoppe: Can SC PSC win our trust? Solar contract tests regulators' independence The SC Public Service Commission has always had a reputation for cozying up to the utilities its supposed to regulate. Now the PSC's decision to hire a consultant with close ties to electric utilities to help it set rates those utilities will have to pay to independent solar providers is raising new questions. Those are good changes that might reduce our bills for the travel. But they dont get to the larger problem, which involves social interaction between regulators and the regulated that is a key component of such gatherings. As former Commissioner Scott Elliott told Mr. Wilks: When you get to know these representatives (of utilities) on a personal basis typically, not always you develop a bond of friendship, and then you give them the benefit of the doubt when theyre not entitled to any. The commission needs to find more neutral ways to help commissioners keep up with industry developments. And if thats not possible, it should impose some restrictions on commissioners socializing during the events. The reason we have utility regulators is to act in place of the free market to protect customers from the monopoly we gave utilities because free-market competition was deemed prohibitively expensive and potentially dangerous in that sector. If our regulators are too close to the utilities to act as real regulators, theres no way to justify the monopoly system. The rail logistics market is poised to grow by USD 39.55 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005442/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Rail Logistics Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Rail Logistics Market Analysis Report by Type (intermodals, tank wagons and freight cars), and Geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024". https://www.technavio.com/report/rail-logistics-market-industry-analysis The market is driven by the increased demand for rail logistics due to rising trade. In addition, the integration of Internet of Things in rail logistics is anticipated to boost the growth of the rail logistics market. Free trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), facilitate international trade, resulting in greater access to a variety of goods at a lower cost. Global trade not only benefits a company but also improves the economy of a country as these businesses rely on rail transportation to deliver goods and services to customers. Moreover, the increased efficiency of rail transport over road transportation, and the growth of intermodal transportation are the major factors driving global trade through rail. Rail freight transportation is 4.5 to 6 times more fuel-efficient compared with road transportation. Thus, the increased demand for rail logistics due to rising trade will drive the growth of the market. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Rail Logistics Companies: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has business operations under various segments, such as asset management, real estate, renewable power, infrastructure, and private equity. The company provides freight services with multiple Class I carriers, allowing choices for long-haul routing and service. Deutsche Bahn AG Deutsche Bahn AG operates its business through various divisions, such as DB Long-Distance, DB Cargo, DB Netze Track, DB Regional, and DB Schenker. The company provides services of transshipment for wagons to trucks and a door-to-door delivery or pick up of goods by truck followed by moving the goods in wagons. Deutsche Post AG Deutsche Post AG has business operations under various segments, such as post-ecommerce parcel, express, global forwarding, freight, and supply chain. The company offers freight rail services for transportation of goods. FedEx Corp. FedEx Corp. operates its business through four segments, which include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services. The company provides rail services, including intermodal, TOFC (trailer-on-flatcar) and COFC (container-on-flatcar). Kuehne Nagel International AG Kuehne Nagel International AG has business operations under four segments, namely sea freight, air freight, overland, and contract logistics. The company's key offerings include KN Eurasia Express, which optimizes supply chain by offering reduced transit times and reliable schedules for logistic services. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Rail Logistics Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) Intermodals Tank wagons Freight cars Rail Logistics Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) APAC Europe MEA North America South America Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005442/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Open source The first case of infection with Chinese coronavirus has been observed in Romania. Reuters reported that with the reference to the local TV. According to the media, the infected man came back to Romania from Italy three weeks ago. The patient is now at the infectious disease hospital in Bucharest. Silvia Boliaku, the Director of the Healthcare Department in Suceava said that if the results of the test prove positive, the patient will be transferred to Iasi. Earlier, a woman was taken to a hospital in Chernivtsi (western Ukraine) upon returning from Italy; doctors suspect coronavirus. Mariya Polishchuk, the deputy director of the regional healthcare department said so during the briefing at Chernivtsi regional state administration, Ukrinform news agency reported. According to her, the lady herself turned for medical assistance upon the arrival from Bergamo to Chernivtsi. The doctors decided to isolate her, as she could have contacted the infected people in Italy. Currently, she is being examined. "The woman came from Bergamo to Suceava, Romania by airplane. Then, she took a taxi and came to Chernivtsi. She turned to the doctors herself, complaining about increased body temperature," the official said. Paleontologists in Brazil have found thin bands of fossil gum the first occurrence in the fossil record inside 110-million-year-old (Cretaceous period) fossilized leaves of the extinct plant Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense. The discovery of fossilized plant gum is unusual because of its solubility in water. A wide variety of plants produce fluid exudates e.g. resins and gums, with each group differing in chemical definitions. Due to similarity in physical appearance distinguishing exudates based on chemistry is vital, for example gums and resins are visually similar resulting in these terms being used interchangeably. However, their chemical definitions are very different; resins are composed of lipid-soluble terpenoids, while gums are complex, highly branched (non-starch) water-soluble polysaccharides. Differences between gum and resin can also be seen in the functional roles within the plant. The main roles of resins are to respond to wounding, as a defense against pathogens and to dissuade herbivory by insects and other organisms. Gum is involved in food storage, structural support, and also for wound sealing, but there is no common role across species. Further confusion arises as some plants, e.g. Boswellia and Commiphora species, even produce exudates with a mixture of polysaccharide and resin components (the gum resins myrrh and frankincense, respectively). Until now only fossilized plant resin (ambers) and latex filaments have been reported preserved in the fossil record. While the fossilization of fluid exudates might seem unlikely, the fossilization of resin is relatively common, and extends back some 320 million years to the Carboniferous period, but chemically confirmed gums have never been reported. Our discovery overturns the basic assumption that plant gums cannot be preserved in the fossil record, said lead author Dr. Emily Roberts, a researcher in the School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences at the University of Portsmouth and the Department of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna. It has opened our eyes to the fact that other plant chemicals may also be preserved we can no longer just make assumptions. When we first tested the gum I was astonished that we were confirming something that was thought to be impossible it just goes to show that fossil plants can surprise us. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy, Dr. Roberts and colleagues analyzed the amber-colored substance inside Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense leaves from Crato Formation, Brazil. The chemical spectrum of this substance clearly differed from those of ambers and resins, but resembled spectra of plant gum. Welwitschiophyllum brasiliense is considered a relative of Welwitschia mirabilis, one of the oldest and most enigmatic plants in existence. Today, Welwitschia mirabilis can be found only in the Namib Desert in Namibia and Southern Angola and has chemically confirmed gum in both the cone and in abaxial ducts within leaves. Our findings confirm that the Welwitschia mirabilis plant found in Africa today produces a gum similar to a plant growing 110 million years ago in Brazil, said co-author Professor David Martill, also from the School of the Environmental Geography and Geosciences at the University of Portsmouth. Welwitschia mirabilis is one of lifes survivors, thriving in one of the harshest environments on earth for over 120 million years. This discovery is extremely exciting, especially when put into the context of these two continents of Africa and South America, being one during the Cretaceous period. The results were published in the journal Scientific Reports. _____ E.A. Roberts et al. Cretaceous gnetalean yields first preserved plant gum. Sci Rep 10, 3401; doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60211-2 Experts warn the entire world heading towards a climate crisis, but the Pacific edge of the Arctic Ocean is already feeling its effects. A new study reveals the region underwent a 'sudden and dramatic shift' from 2017 to 2019' that experts fear is irreversible and may be 'a sign of what is to come.' Researchers analyzed data on water temperatures, sea ice levels and wildlife patterns from the Bering and Chukchi marine shelf - both are located between Alaska and Russia. The team concluded that the Arctic is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world, resulting in less sea ice, early snowmelts and melting permafrost that releases greenhouse gases. Because of these environmental changes, Wales are not migrating south, seals are not breeding in the area and other marine animals are dying in large numbers. Scroll down for video A new study reveals the region underwent a 'sudden and dramatic shift' from 2017 to 2019' that experts fear is irreversible and may be 'a sign of what is to come.' Researchers analyzed data on water temperatures, sea ice levels and wildlife patterns from the Bering (pictured) and Chukchi marine shelf - both are located between Alaska and Russia Henry Huntington, lead author of the study, said: 'The rate of change over the study time frame came as a shock.' 'Having a team with the expertise to put together the pieces across the whole ecosystem simply drives home how far-reaching the changes are and how much they matter.' One of the key findings was the near-bottom waters that that typically remained close to freezing year-round had warmed for parts of each fall and winter from 2014 through 2018. Sea ice that usually began to form each fall was either absent or lower than average into January and even sometimes February. One of the key findings was the near-bottom waters that that typically remained close to freezing year-round had warmed for parts of each fall and winter from 2014 through 2018. Pictured is a walrus floating on ice in the Chukchi Sea The team found that the spring ice retreat was also earlier than normal in the past few years. And the lack of ice and warm temperatures began to dramatically affect the wildlife that call this area home. Juvenile Arctic cod, which dominate fish communities in the surface to mid-depth waters of the northern Chukchi Sea, were substantially more abundant in 2017 than in 2012 and 2013. The number of pink salmon also increased dramatically in the northern Bering Sea in 2017 and bowhead wales that typically head south during the cold months were found to stick around for the entire year. Seals that use the area for breeding were absent and high numbers were reported dead on the Bering and Chukchi coasts. Seals that use the area for breeding were absent and high numbers were reported dead on the Bering and Chukchi (pictured) coasts. The number of seabirds offshore were also found to decline from 2017 through 2019 and many died off in the region The number of seabirds offshore were also found to decline from 2017 through 2019 and many died off in the region. University of Alaska Fairbanks co-author Seth Danielson described the changes as a wake-up call. 'Oftentimes, when significant ecological reorganizations take place, we are only able to try to piece the story together after the fact,' he said. 'In this instance, we had the unusual opportunity to be cognizant of change as it was happening so we could purposefully document the process as it unfolded.' The big question for scientists remains whether these changes reflect a new norm. 'What this means for the region's human and other inhabitants remains to be seen, especially when industrial shipping and other activities are also increasing.' 'What happens in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas may be a foretaste of what can be expected elsewhere in the world's oceans in the coming years and decades,' Huntington said. A 25-year-old man living in the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has tested positive for coronavirus after a trip to Milan, and another man further north is in a critical condition with the disease, authorities said on Tuesday. The Baden-Wuerttemberg health ministry said the man in the southern state, who had likely become infected during his visit to Italy, had contacted authorities after coming down with flu-like symptoms. He will be treated in isolation, it added. People in close contact with the patient will be kept in home isolation and be asked about their state of health every day, it said. As soon as a contact person develops symptoms, they will also be isolated in hospital. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state health ministry said the man there was admitted to hospital on Monday afternoon with symptoms of severe pneumonia. The patient is in a critical condition and is currently being isolated in the intensive care unit, the ministry said. The patients wife is also being treated as an in-patient with symptoms of a viral disease. Her condition is currently stable. The diagnosis on whether she has also been infected with the virus is still pending, it added in a statement. Schools and kindergartens in the Heinsberg district of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the man is from, will remain closed on Wednesday as a precaution, the ministry said. The new confirmed cases take to 18 the total number of coronavirus cases in Germany. There have been no deaths. By Thomas Escritt and Paul Carrel DARIEN After students entered the social studies and language arts offices at Darien High School and copied the answers to the 300 level exams, the district is taking steps to enhance security in staff areas, the superintendent of schools said. The Board of Education discussed the question of security at its special meeting earlier this month to discuss the breach of exam answers. Dr. Alan Addley, superintendent of schools, told the board at that meeting the administration was taking a 360 review of the process and exams themselves. He pointed out that the school is large and that students know they should not be in that area, regardless of supervision at the time. Addley told The Darien Times Tuesday that security precautions for exams have been reviewed, discussed and some new practices have been implemented. The accessibility and evening security at the high school remains an ongoing discussion as the facility is often used for student and community activities and events, he said. Addley said he cannot talk specifically about any level of school security. I think it is fair to say the actions taken are responsive and procedural, he said. Addley, when asked about punishment for the students responsible, cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, as why that information could not be revealed. FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds from the U.S. Department of Education. On Tuesday, Addley reiterated that individual punishment details could not be revealed due to the law. The family of one of the teens accused of cheating on Darien High Schools exams recently hired an attorney to investigate and possibly challenge the school districts handling of the penalties for his client. Mark Sherman, the Stamford attorney hired to represent the 16-year-old boy implicated in the scheme, said the punishments imposed by the school ranged from retaking the exam to suspension. While the district showed measured discretion and compassion in setting the punishment ceiling for the accused students, we are looking into the disparate treatment of these students, especially in the context of federally mandated due process accommodations that should be considered, Sherman said after he was hired. Sherman said he will examine whether the punishment was appropriate and was fair and equitable in the context of penalties meted out to other similarly situated students received in this dumpster fire of a discipline process. On Tuesday, Sherman said he had no update to the situation. Two Illinois sheriffs said Tuesday that some violent felons who had faced deportation instead, as a result of a policy change by Gov. J.B. Pritzkers administration, are being released into local communities after their prison terms end. Sheriffs Mike Downey of Kankakee County and Tony Childress of Livingston County told reporters at the state Capitol that they were not given a reason for the policy switch, which they called reckless. By Xing Jianqiao GAO, MALI, Feb. 26 -- All the 413 members of the 7th Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali were awarded the United Nations Peace Medals of Honor on February 25. Mr. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali (SRSG) and Head of MINUSMA, Zhu Liying, Chinese Ambassador to Mali, and Zhu Jingsong, commander of the MINUSMA Sector East, attended the ceremony held at the camp of the guard detachment under the 7th Chinese peacekeeping troops in Gao. Annadif fully affirmed the efforts made by the Chinese peacekeeping forces in Mali. He said that the Chinese peacekeepers have overcome many difficulties and brought hope to the people in trouble. They made great contributions to Gao and are the pride of the UN peacekeeping forces, said Annadif. In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Zhu Liying said that China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities and undertakings as a major power and make efforts and contributions to maintain peace and promote development in Africa within its capability. The 7th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Mali consists of a guard detachment, an engineer detachment, and a medical detachment. Since the deployment to the mission area in May 2019, they have performed excellently in missions including security, patrol outside the Super Camp in Gao, engineering support, construction repair and medical support, and have been recognized by both MINUSMA Headquarters and MINUSMA Sector East. ALBANY Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday called on the Department of Defense to stop the incineration of toxic chemicals at the Norlite LLC plant in Cohoes, after officials revealed the compounds were burned next to a housing project throughout 2018 and most of 2019. Schumer and Gillibrand asked Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to immediately suspend the incineration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the Norlite plant and other plants across the country. They also called on the DOD to increase transparency to the communities that surround the plants that burn the substances. "The Norlite facility is located in a low-income community in close proximity to the Hudson River," the senators wrote in a letter addressed to Esper. "Our offices have heard from numerous local officials and constituents in Albany County and across the Hudson River in Rensselaer County with concerns for the quality of the air and water in these communities. "In the City of Cohoes, the Norlite incinerator is located next to Saratoga Sites, a public housing facility that is home to 70 families," the senators wrote. "The Norlite facility is also located next to the Salt Kill Watershed, which flows directly into the Hudson River. " In a statement, Gillibrand said it was "deeply troubling that the DOD has authorized Norlites burning of highly toxic chemicals, especially so close to the homes of dozens of New Yorkers. "Every community deserves to have a life free from contamination of such dangerous toxins as PFAS that are known to have human health risks including birth defects, various forms of cancer, and immune system dysfunction," Gillibrand said in the statement. "This needs to stop immediately before more Americans are poisoned. The South Saratoga Street facility burned the chemicals under a Defense Department contract to dispose of firefighting foam containing the substance that had been stored at military installations throughout the Northeast. The DOD has been trying to burn the substances rather than storing them on military bases. A spokesperson for Tradebe, Norlite's parent company, said in a statement that Norlite was "acting all times in compliance with its permits." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "We understand and are sensitive to public questions and concerns about PFAS," said Prince Knight, Tradebe's Environmental & Regulatory Compliance Manager. "We have no interest in any activity that federal and state regulatory agencies believe, based on sound science, would adversely affect the environment or the local community." Michael.Williams@timesunion.com or 518-454-5018. President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Los Angeles 2028 organizers, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Associated Press As the Coronavirus continues to spread with a vaccine months away, the Trump Administration's handling of the outbreak is falling under more scrutiny. Back in 2014, Trump railed against then-President Barack Obama over the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Amid some calls for Obama to cancel flights coming out of the region, Trump assailed his predecessor's character online. "I am starting to think that there is something seriously wrong with President Obama's mental health," Trump tweeted. "Why won't he stop the flights. Psycho! Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. As with many seemingly exogenous events during the Trump presidency, there's always a tweet. In the case of the Coronavirus outbreak, it turns out there are several. President Donald Trump has been trying to calm the markets during a precipitous fall as world health experts have begun to conclude the spread of the virus is "inevitable," according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. But when Obama was in office, Trump had a much harsher assesment of executive responsibility amid a pandemic. When the Ebola panic was growing as cases spread in West Africa, Trump called on Obama to cancel flights coming out of the region. "I am starting to think that there is something seriously wrong with President Obama's mental health," Trump tweeted in 2014. "Why won't he stop the flights. Psycho!" Trump was beating the drum earlier that summer, too, with nationalism and isolationism sprinkled in. Now facing criticism over his administration being unprepared for the pandemic and trying to offer a false sense of security to calm the markets, Trump blamed "incompetent" leaders in 2014 over the much less deadly Ebola outbreak. Story continues Read the original article on Business Insider A Danville man police eventually tracked down with a store receipt has pleaded guilty to charges tied to a high-speed police chase last October. Matthew Ryan Sutterlin, 30, pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing and eluding police in Danville Circuit Court on Wednesday. In the early morning hours of Oct. 24, a Danville officer responding to an alarm call near Lowes Home Improvement on Lowes Drive ended up chasing a car that sped past him after leaving the home improvement stores loading dock area, according to previous court testimony. A chase ensued, at times topping 80 miles an hour and stretching through nearly 10 miles, but was called off after several minutes because many motorists had to slam on brakes and pull out of the way. The car, which was reported stolen from a {span}Piney Forest Road business{/span}, turned up abandoned hours later in Caswell County, North Carolina, court documents show. A Walmart store receipt found in the car eventually led police to Sutterlin. {span}Investigators were able to obtain surveillance footage from that Walmart and developed a photo of the person who made the sales transaction.{/span} The pursuing police officer, during a January preliminary hearing in Danville General District Court, identified Sutterlin as the driver in the car as it sped from Lowes. But the officer identified the car as a Subaru when it instead was a 2014 Hyundai Elantra. In turn, the hearing judge dismissed a count of receiving stolen property because of conflicting testimony over the make of the car that police chased. Sutterlin is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. April 20 in Danville Circuit Court. Avent is a reporter with the Danville Register & Bee. Reach him at (434) 797-7983. Avent is a reporter with the Danville Register & Bee. Reach him at (434) 797-7983. President Buhari and Bagudu Despite attempts by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to deny the transfer of $110 million stolen from Nigerias treasury by late military tyrant, Sani Abacha, to Mr Abachas most profligate money launderer and current governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Bagudu, United States court papers obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show that the administration signed two agreements with Mr Bagudu that effectively sealed the transfer of the money to the governor. Mr Bagudu is a close friend of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as a top member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The court documents also reveal that the Buhari administration is vigorously challenging a move by the United States government to further question Ibrahim Bagudu, the governors elder brother in relation to the laundered fund. The administration is also fighting to thwart Americas effort to remove the confidential classification of the agreements, which would make available for public scrutiny as well as being presented as evidence in court. The court papers further rubbish the claim by Mr Bagudu that he had done nothing wrong and that the United States government was merely trying to use him as an excuse to confiscate the recovery of the money by the Nigeria government. One of the agreements, signed on October 26, 2018, was an amendment of a 2003 agreement signed between the Bagudu family and the Nigerian government to settle all of Mr Bagudus civil claim against Nigeria and all of Nigerias civil claim, administrative, and criminal claims against Mr Bagudu for helping Mr Abacha to launder the funds. The other agreement, signed on September 6, 2019, was a Deed of Variation, which amended the 2018 agreement by extending its termination date from August 30, 2019 to February 28, 2020. The document counters the misleading explanations given by the Office of Nigerias Attorney General and supporters of Mr Bagudu and the Nigerian government. After Bloomberg broke the news that the U.S. government was resisting a plan by the Nigerian government to transfer over $110 million to Mr Bagudu from money stolen from Nigerian treasury by the late dictator, Abubakar Malami, Nigerias Attorney General, denied that there was any such agreement between the government and Mr Bagudu. Mr Malami on Friday released a statement that apparently sought to obfuscate the governments agreement to pay Mr Bagudu $110 million with a different portion of the Abacha loot recently repatriated to Nigeria from the Island of Jersey. It is pertinent to recall at this juncture that prior to the 2020 agreement with the United States and the 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, his office said. 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. What Mr Malami did not reveal was that the Buhari administration had actually agreed to transfer $110 million from another portion of the Abacha loot laundered by Mr Bagudu and kept in a trust held in the United Kingdom. The decision to pay Mr Bagudu $110 million was taken following an amendment of a 2003 settlement agreement between the Federal Government and the Kebbi State governor. That amendment took place in 2018. 2003 Settlement Agreement In 2003, the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo entered into an agreement with Mr Bagudu, which allowed the repatriation of $163 million to Nigeria. In exchange, Nigeria renounced any interest whatsoever in Mr Bagudus other assets which include funds domiciled in Blue Holding trusts held in the United Kingdom as well as any future plan to prosecute him for laundering the stolen funds on behalf of Mr Abacha. Funds held in Blue Holdings trusts are believed to be part of Nigerias commonwealth Mr Bagudu laundered for Mr Abacha. The contested funds are different from the $300 million Abacha loot recently repatriated to Nigeria after a tripartite agreement between Nigeria, Jersey and the United States, although it was repatriated from the accounts of one of Mr Bagudus money laundering vehicles, Doraville properties domiciled at Deutsche Bank in Jersey. In 2012, the Goodluck Jonathan administration requested the help of the U.S. in reclaiming governments assets part of which are believed to be held in Blue holding trusts. Mr Bagudu immediately responded to the request by filing a claim of a breach of agreement in a UK court. Immediately Mr Badugu filed the claim, Nigeria withdrew its request for the U.S. to help it retrieve government funds and subsequently declined repeated calls to assist the U.S. since then. However, the U.S. did not stop pursuing the forfeiture of the assets. Despite Nigerias withdrawal of its request for U.S. assistance to retrieve its funds held in Blue Holding companies and its refusal to subsequently assist the U.S. in the forfeiture of the funds, Mr Bagudu obtained a breach of agreement judgement against Nigeria from the UK court. Nigeria claimed that the judgement exposed Nigeria to the payment of an amount equivalent to any amount as may be forfeited to the United States. Buhari govts plan to transfer $110 million to Bagudu The Buhari administration did not appeal the judgement obtained by Mr Bagudu from the UK court. Instead, it quickly devised a plan, using the 2018 agreement, to transfer $110 million to Mr Bagudu and his brother, Ibrahim. According to the 2018 amendment, which is aimed at preventing the U.S. from assessing the funds held in Blue Holding, Nigeria is the legal owner of the relevant trust assets. This effectively transfers the ownership of the funds held in Blue Holding companies from Mr Bagudu to Nigeria. The 2018 Amended Agreement also stated that parties will use all reasonable endeavours to obtain a variation of the UK courts prohibition order in order for the assets which is worth 141 million ($157.5 million), to be transferred to Nigeria, which effectively clears Nigeria of any liability of the breach of the 2003 Settlement Agreement. The 2018 Amendment then stated that having received the money, Nigeria will then send 98.5 million ($110 million) to an account identified by the trustees of Blue Family Trust, owned by the Bagudu family, thus allowing Mr Bagudu and his affiliates to have peaceful enjoyment of the money. The parties (Nigeria and Mr Bagudu) to the 2018 Amended Agreement argued that the payment of the money would satisfy Mr Bagudus default judgement against Nigeria for breaching the 2003 Settlement Agreement. But the U.S. argued that the 2018 Agreement, which was reached just seven weeks after the court had forfeited another Abacha loot related fund held by the Bagudu in another trust, serves to conceal the forfeited and remaining assets out of the United Kingdom and away from the courts judgement and the arrest warrant placed on the assets. It further described the 2018 Agreement as scheme designed to wrest control of the proceeds of corruption away from the U.S and U.K courts, so that $110 million can be secreted into the hands of one of the primary architects (Mr Bagudu) of the kleptocracy scheme. The U.S. Court also ruled that by signing the 2018 agreement with the Nigerian government, Mr Bagudu cannot continue to lay claim to a breach of the 2003 settlement agreement as the ownership of the funds in the trust no longer belonged to him, but to Nigeria. Surely it is relevant that the settlement agreement has been amended to declare just the opposite that Nigeria owns the assets, the court said. The court papers thus revealed that Mr Malami was being economical with the truth when he claimed that Mr Bagudu was pursuing separate cases in court in the United State and the United Kingdom to assert his right in connection to the Abacha loot, without stating the active role played by the Buhari administration in assisting Mr Bagudu to reclaim the funds which are part of the money he laundered for Mr Abacha. The court papers also discredit Mr Bagudus denial of any wrongdoing and that the U.S. was merely using him as an excuse to confiscate recovery of the money by the Nigerian government as 70 per cent of the said fund would eventually be transferred to him for his peaceful enjoyment, as the agreement stated. Nigeria chose secrecy over transparency The court papers also exposed the Buhari administration double standards in its commitment to the repatriation of the Abacha loots. Mr Malami has repeatedly and publicly pledged Nigerias cooperation with the U.S. and other international partners as well as its commitment to transparency in the repatriation of Abacha loot. However, court documents in our possession revealed that Nigeria filed an interested party application on February 3, 2020, challenging a ruling of a U.S. District Court obtained by the U.S. government to unseal the confidential 2018 agreement. In the application which demanded the court to reconsider its decision to unseal the 2018 Agreement, Nigeria through its counsel, Anthony Egbase, argued that unsealing the agreement without reference to the 2003 agreement paints an incomplete and misleading picture and subjects Nigeria to unwarranted prejudice. The U.S., however, argued that if Nigeria was concerned that the unsealing of the document would paint a misleading picture, it should simply unseal additional documents to correct or supplement the record. Nigeria also argued that U.S. court had erred in its December 23, 2019 ruling in concluding that there is a need for public access to the documents because it deals with a case that has international significance as the funds were laundered internationally. Mr Egbase argued that the documents are sovereign acts of Nigeria predicated on its official policy on Voluntary Asset Recovery Scheme issued under Presidential Executive Order 008. But PREMIUM TIMES analysis of the Executive Order 008, which was signed by President Buhari on October 8, 2018, shows that it exclusively deals with tax-related issues. The order grants immunity to Nigerians in default in payment of tax on offshore assets as long as they voluntarily declare their offshore assets in exchange for a one-time levy of 35 per cent on the assets domiciled offshore. The contentious assets are proceeds of what the U.S. believes to criminal activity (money laundering) and not legitimate assets owned offshore. Curiously, the Buhari administration also challenged the ruling of the same court for Ibrahim Bagudu to be further deposed by a U.S. prosecutor in relation to the contested funds in Blue Holding. Nigeria argued that given that the instant civil asset forfeiture implicates the 2003 Agreement, Nigeria cannot provide further assistance to the United States without subjecting itself to renewed liability for breach of the 2003 Agreement. Accordingly, Nigeria has, through its Attorney General, repeatedly advised the United States of its inability to provide discovery assistance with respect to forfeiture of the Blue Holdings assets. Additionally, Nigeria has repeatedly notified the United States of the impropriety, under Nigerian law, of a foreign sovereign making unilateral contact with any agency of the Nigerian government or citizens of Nigeria on criminal matters or taking witness depositions without recourse to or approval of the Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Egbase argued. But the U.S. argued that Nigeria has lost its right to challenge the ruling of the U.S. court because it was notified and given ample time to respond but chose not to until after the ruling was given. It also said that Nigerias argument that it could not respond to the application before a ruling was given because the document needed interagency review which took time, was nonsensical. Lawyers to the U.S. government said Nigeria could have applied to the court for an extension of the deadline to respond while waiting for the interagency reviewed to be done, but it did not. Multiple attempts by PREMIUM TIMES to get the presidency to formally comment has been fruitless. The best that has so far come from the presidency has been an unsigned comment by an official who refused to be named. The official also tried to shift the blame of the transfer of the $110 million to Obasanjo administration. Yes, there is a $100 million yet to be resolved which the Obasanjo administration ceded to Senator Abubakar Bagudu, an agreement that is being litigated because the US government itself does not recognize that Obasanjo-Bagudu settlement, the official claimed. Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media The Advocates front page (Feb. 21) has reminded us that childhood hunger persists in America. Stamfords Bethel AME Church and the local chapter of the NAACP paid all lunchroom debt at Roxbury Elementary School. Thank you, Rev. Robert Jackson and all involved! Now all children at Roxbury will eat with their peers. And thank you Advocate for making sure all of us know that this is not always the case. Nationwide, one of every five American children will go to bed hungry tonight. And this is nothing new. I once met a man who told me that, as children, he and his siblings always knew when the SNAP money came, because they had milk on their cereal instead of water. SNAP, formerly food stamps, left an indelible positive mark on his psyche and on the direction of his life. Former Bachelor Tim Robards has made extraordinary claims about the coronavirus, saying the global health crisis - which has killed more than 2,500 people and is on the verge of being labelled a pandemic - is simply 'clickbait'. The 37-year-old chiropractor and reality star spoke about the outbreak, which has so far infected 22 people in Australia and 80,000 worldwide, during an Instagram Q&A on Tuesday night. A fan asked him, 'Has the coronavirus doomed us in your opinion?' Tim, who is not a medical doctor, replied by saying that he believed the main problem was sensationalism by the media. Former Bachelor Tim Robards (pictured) has made extraordinary claims about the coronavirus, saying the global health crisis which has claimed more than 2,500 lives is simply 'clickbait' 'So firstly, look, I will just say my heart goes out to anyone that's been affected,' he said. 'But, at the same time, we have to ask ourselves how much do we buy into the media, when it's their job to create clickbait and to create headlines and to get their ratings up.' Tim's qualifications include a physics degree, a Bachelor of Medical Science and a Masters of Chiropractic. He worked as a chiropractor for seven years before being cast as Australia's first Bachelor in 2013 and now has a regular role on Neighbours. The 37-year-old chiropractor spoke about the outbreak - which has so far infected 22 people in Australia and 80,000 worldwide - during an Instagram Q&A on Tuesday night A fan asked, 'Has the coronavirus doomed us in your opinion?' Tim, who is not a medical doctor but has chiropractic training, said he believed the main problem was media sensationalism Tim is not a medical doctor, but is entitled to use the term 'doctor' due to his chiropractic training. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the world must prepare for a potential coronavirus pandemic. Tedros Ghebreyesus said the spread of the virus around the world is not yet at pandemic stage but acknowledged it has the potential to become one. The WHO no longer uses an official scale to declare a pandemic, although spokeswoman Margaret Harris said it will start to use the term in communications if it believes a pandemic has been reached. Speaking in Geneva, Dr Ghebreyesus said the focus must still be on containing the virus in individual countries, adding that the world is not yet seeing 'large-scale severe disease or death'. He said the WHO was 'encouraged by the continued decline in cases in China', although more than 77,362 cases have been declared there, including 2,618 deaths. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the world must prepare for a potential coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: paramedics wearing personal protective equipment carrying a stretcher off an ambulance in Hong Kong on February 23 A specialist team sent to China found that the epidemic peaked and plateaued between January 23 and February 2, and has since been declining steadily, he said. Dr Ghebreyesus said the death rate is between 2 per cent and 4 per cent in Wuhan city, where the virus originated, and 0.7 per cent outside Wuhan. The mass outbreak has prompted the government to introduce a ban on direct flights from China to Australia. Seven people have died and 229 have been infected in Italy, which is fighting Europe's first major coronavirus outbreak. Pictured: tourists wearing a protective face masks in central Milan on February 24 'We continue to advise Australians to not travel to China due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak,' an update on the government's travel website says. Offering advice to any Australians in the infection zone, the website states: 'If you are currently in China, leave as soon as possible by commercial means.' Because flights to Australia are cancelled, anyone who wants to fly from China will have to travel to another country and wait there for 14 days before coming home. Fourteen days is thought to be the maximum period that coronavirus can be present in a person before they show symptoms. 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 live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Despite a challenging economic environment, Shoppers Stop is looking at ways to enrich future stores by expanding its presence and investing in technology. According to Rajiv Suri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Shoppers Stop, the company is on track to achieve its target of opening 50 stores in the current financial year. "This year, we have opened 28 stores (eight department and 20 beauty) and plan to open 22 stores (four department, 11 beauty and seven airport stores) by March," said Suri. The company added 15 stores in the third quarter of FY20, taking the total footprint to 89 department stores and 135 Beauty doors across 42 cities in the country as of December, 31st 2019. Shoppers Stop is part of the K Raheja Group. It operates over 300 departmental stores, spanning 4.4 million square feet, in 50 cities across India. It is present across more than 400 fashion brands and 32 fashion categories. Approximately, 60 percent of the yearly sales are derived from the companys own brands. Suri said the company is betting big on the beauty space and hence they are expanding aggressively in that vertical. In the last quarter, beauty segment of Shoppers Stop grew 9.6 percent and we are confident that this growth will sustain in the forthcoming quarters on the back of new beauty stores, upgrading the beauty experience in existing stores, the launch of new brands and strong omnichannel support. The company has launched four new brands in the beauty segment. Within the beauty retail business, Shoppers Stop has brought together beauty brands like MAC, Clinique, KIKO Milano, Bvlgari and Armani, among others. During the current fiscal, the company has also made investments worth Rs 30 crore in Digital and Information Technology Transformation. When asked about the competition in the clothing space, Suri said that 35 percent of their revenues are derived from non-apparel business so he believes Shoppers Stop is well poised to grow despite rising competitive intensity. Ajman Free Zone (AFZ) has signed an agreement with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts to promote the public wills service provided by the UAEs first English-language common law court. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Ajman Free Zone, and Zaki Azmi, Chief Justice of the DIFC Courts. The two parties stressed the need for cooperation to serve the investment environment within Ajman and the wider UAE. In 2015, the DIFC Courts established an additional ancillary service in the form of the Wills Service Centre, a joint initiative of the Government of Dubai and the DIFC Courts that gives non-Muslims investing and living in the UAE the option to pass on their assets in accordance with the instructions in their Will. The agreement will encourage greater awareness of this unique public service, assisting to provide further protection of investment in the Emirate of Ajman, and complementing and reinforcing the overall service of Ajman Free Zone. Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Ajman Free Zone said: We are pleased to sign an MoU with the DIFC Courts as part of our vision to better our investment environment within the Free Zone and bring it in line with international standards with a view to attract more capital and investors. In AFZ, we do everything we can to overcome the difficulties and enable investors to conduct their business efficiently and achieve their accomplishments while maximising the overall contribution to the Emirate GDP." Zaki Azmi, Chief Justice, DIFC Courts said: Recognising the increased demand, in 2019 the DIFC Courts amended its rules to expand the remit of this public service to assets held across the UAE and beyond. This cooperation agreement is another step towards creating greater awareness to residents and investors in the Emirate of Ajman. As the first jurisdiction in the Mena region to offer this service, registration of wills made by non-Muslims with the DIFC Courts ensures ones assets will be distributed in accordance with his or her wishes and providing certainty. TradeArabia News Service The Boards of Directors of Dundalk Credit Union and Cuchullain Credit Union have announced that they are planning to merge both Credit Unions. The proposed merger would create one of the largest community credit unions in the country. The combined entity will be one of the largest community credit unions in Ireland with more than 45,000 members and assets approaching 300 million A statement released jointly today by Dundalk Credit Union and Cuchullain Credit Union said that while the success and growth achieved by both credit unions to date is well documented, the landscape for all credit unions in Ireland has been changing and will continue to change. According to Paddy Donnelly, Chairman of Dundalk Credit Union: Both Dundalk Credit Union and Cuchullain Credit Union are mindful of ensuring the long-term provision of services for their members and the wider community. While there have been other credit union mergers across the country, the scale of this proposal promises to be truly transformational for the delivery of credit union services in Dundalk and the surrounding areas. Our number one priority, at all times, is to serve the best interests of all of our members and the community." Reinforcing those sentiments, Michael Rafferty, Chairman of Cuchullain Credit Union, said: Our proposed merged credit union will have assets approaching 300m, reserves of 50m and funds approaching 200m available for lending. We will be in a position to broaden our personal, mortgage and business lending offerings to support all of our members and the local community. Brigene Litchfield, CEO Cuchullain Credit Union added: The merged credit union will provide the scale and capacity for investment in new products, services and ICT to meet current and future member needs. It will also provide greater security and opportunities for staff as we grow, introduce new product lines and deliver new services to a larger and growing membership Billy Doyle, CEO Dundalk Credit Union, commented: The proposal is fully supported by the boards and management in each credit union and all are excited at the prospect of realising the benefits and opportunities that will arise from combining our resources Members of both credit unions will be asked to approve the proposed merger at Special General Meetings later in the summer. The process will also require confirmation by the Central Bank in line with regulatory and legislative requirements. SANDY, Utah Feb. 25, 2020 Utah Utah the United States Utah Utah Andrew Heiner Christopher Cutler Utah Utah Sandy Lehi, Utah /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- March is recognized as National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Granite Peaks Gastroenterology works with both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT) to bring awareness to the importance of timely colorectal cancer screenings. Until recent years, the accepted age to begin colorectal cancer screenings was age 50, but the ACS suggests screenings begin at age 45 due to the increase in cancer diagnoses among younger people. Some insurance providers will cover screenings for patients age 45, or younger, if they have a family history of colon cancer or polyps, but not all.The American Cancer Society notes the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 4.4% for men, 4.1% for women. Their research showsis estimated to see 840 new cases and 300 deaths from colorectal cancer in 2020.ranks 29th infor colorectal cancer screening (at age 50, the age suggested for screening as of these reports) with 69% of the applicable population having the test, while the nation averages 70% overall.is close, but not quite above average in screenings. Granite Peaks GI is working with the NCCRT to push this number to 80% in"In its early stages, colorectal cancer has no symptoms so people may misunderstand their risk of developing the disease," said Dr., a board-certified gastroenterologist at Granite Peaks Gastroenterology. "During a screening colonoscopy, if polyps are found, they can be removed during the procedure to prevent their growth into cancer. A colonoscopy is the only way to combine screening and polyp removal in one test.""Colon cancer is preventable. A screening colonoscopy is painless, modest and safe," said Dr., a board-certified gastroenterologist at Granite Peaks Gastroenterology. "This simple test could save your life and provide important health information for your family."We suggest individuals check with their insurance plan before any medical procedure. We will continue our work encouraging every adult into get appropriately screened for this preventable, deadly disease. We hope to makethe top state for colorectal cancer screening. It's easy and it could save your life!To schedule an interview with one of our board-certified gastroenterologists, please contact us using the press contact information above.Granite Peaks Gastroenterology specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive system. Granite Peaks GI's board-certified physicians provide consultations at two locations, inand. They perform endoscopic procedures, including colonoscopy and upper GI endoscopy. For more information about Granite Peaks Gastroenterology or the digestive conditions its physicians treat, please call (801) 619-9000 or visit granitepeaksgi.comSOURCE Granite Peaks Gastroenterology Washington Eliminating racial segregation can be a little like playing whack-a-mole: Instead of going away, too often it just finds a new outlet. A massive new study of North Carolina classrooms over nearly 20 years finds that as racial segregation between schools went down, the racial isolation within the classrooms inside those schools went up. This class-level isolation can limit black and Hispanic students access to challenging courses and hamstring district efforts to encourage the broader social and academic benefits of diversity. In a working paper released earlier this month, Duke University and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers looked at data on the number of white, black, and Hispanic students in every class in the Tarheel States K-12 traditional and charter public schools. The researchers focused on English and math classes in grades 4, 7, and 10 during the 1997-98, 2005-06, and 2012-13 school years, a time when the states Hispanic student population grew from 3 percent of all students to 14 percent. They defined segregation as the degree to which the racial makeup of classrooms departed from the racial composition of all public school students in the county. Segregation within schools accounted for up to 40 percent of all racial segregation in North Carolina, which has been a bellwether for national efforts to integrate schools. The studys findings suggest this hidden segregation can become a problem for the very districts focused on making their overall schools more diverse. Within-school segregation is significant. Ignore this at your peril, said Charles Clotfelter, who co-authored the study with Duke colleagues Helen Ladd and Mavzuna Turaeva, and Steven Hemelt of UNC-Chapel Hill, at a summit here by the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, part of the American Institutes of Research. Heading Off Opposition? Clotfelter pointed to the 160,000-student Wake County school district, which has been noted for its efforts to keep its schools diverse using everything from magnet schools to various school assignment systems based on race, family income, or academic achievement. While the researchers found Wakes between-school segregation levels among the lowest in the state, the segregation rates from classroom to classroom within schools were among the states highest. Wake County officials did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Erica Frankenberg, a professor of education and demography and director of the Pennsylvania State University Center for Education and Civil Rights, said for many district leaders, it can be a practice either intentional or non-intentional to try to head off the opposition to a districts assignment policy to allow for these within-school disparities to grow. For example, vocal groups of wealthy or white parents who oppose a districts plans to reduce segregation between schools may buy in if they think their children will be concentrated in certain classes. But in the long run, allowing classrooms to become segregated undermines a districts broader diversity efforts, Frankenberg said. Prior studies have found all students benefit more when school desegregation leads to more positive contact with students from other racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Preventing internal segregation also helps districts maintain credibility, Frankenberg said. Politically, if youre trying to talk to the community about why is it important to take these efforts to desegregate the school, and then youre resegregating inside the schools, I think it can be hard for a community and the students to understand, Well, why is it worth this effort to just move us to different schools? Were still not going to really be seeing each other except in extracurriculars or in the cafeteria, said Frankenburg, who was not part of the CALDER study. Researchers also found within-school segregation isolated Hispanic students even more than black students at every grade level and in every subject they studied, which Clotfelter attributed in part to a massive increase in Hispanic students, including English-language learners, who arrived in North Carolina during that time. Researchers only looked at schools where each student group made up at least 5 percent of the overall student population. Class Differences Within-school segregation intensified as students moved to higher grades, the study showed. While all grades showed some degree of racial segregation within schools, within-school segregation contributed the least to overall racial segregation in grade 4, when most students are in standalone classrooms. By middle school, students started to split. In 7th grade, Hispanic and black students were most likely to enroll in the standard math course and less likely than average to take one of the three advanced courses typically taken by white students. For example, white students took Accelerated Middle School Math 20 percent more often than the average for their grade, while black and Hispanic students took the course 30 percent and 17 percent less often than average. By high school, isolation within schools accounted for more than 40 percent of the total segregation experienced by black students and nearly half of Hispanic students segregation. The effect was even stronger on which classes students took. White 10th graders in diverse schools were disproportionately likely to take Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Advanced Functions and Modeling, while black and Hispanic students clustered in geometry classes and Foundations of Advanced Algebra, less advanced than Algebra II. Nationwide studies have found black and Hispanic students lack access to advanced courses, especially in math and science. In part, this is because they cannot take prerequisite courses early enough in secondary school to qualify for college-prep courses in high school. An analysis of federal civil rights data found that, calculus is offered in only a third of U.S. high schools with high concentrations of black students, versus more than half of those with low black student populations. Brian Reeder, the assistant superintendent for research at the Oregon Department of Education, said its easier to track segregation between schools. During the transition points from elementary to middle to high school, schools are not talking to each other about their students, he said. Districts can avoid resegregating inside schools when they desegregate between schools, Frankenberg said. Studies on suburban schools found those that responded most effectively to increasing student diversity worked to break down stereotypes about which students could handle advanced classes. They also cut out barriers to advanced classes, such as prerequisites. Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe has joined the chorus opposing the Morrison government's proposed religious discrimination laws. So too has former High Court justice Michael Kirby. Thorpe will voice his concerns about the bill at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday. He's worried about its impact on women, people with disability and LGBTIQ people. Mr Kirby, who is backing a new campaign against the bill called #DontDivideUs, believes all Australians could be worse off under the bill. "This is not a bill that protects Australians from discrimination on religious grounds. Instead, it actively facilitates intolerance and will work to divide rather than unite Australians," he said in a statement on Thursday. "The government should heed the chorus of opposition to this law and abandon this ill-considered measure." The draft laws are aimed at protecting people of faith from discrimination. The proposal would allow hospitals to hire on religious grounds and give doctors the ability to reject procedures on the same basis. Business and union groups have this week urged the government to amend the proposal, saying the bill could harm employees. Conservative Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has also spoken out against the proposal, saying no bill would be better than the government's "flawed bill". The new #DontDivideUs campaign has been launched by the Rationalist Society of Australia, the Atheist Foundation of Australia, the NSW Rationalist Association, Humanists Victoria, Sydney Atheists, the Council of Australian Humanist Societies, the National Secular Lobby and the Australian Skeptics. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia February 25, 2020 God is an awesome God whose ways are never known nor understood by Man. Isaacs passing has solidified this in my mind and has shown how vulnerable the human body is in all aspects of life, in sickness, in good times and even in the worst of times. The bible says in all things, we should give thanks to God because it is the will of God and His ways are not ours. It is with a very heavy heart that I write to bid farewell to a friend, a colleague and a fellow Marylander, Mr. Isaac T. Cla Russell. He was an energetic organizer and a fierce fundraiser. Whenever Isaac got up to lead a fundraising effort, he performed his task with grace and vigor. No one left the room without making the smallest of donations. He made the cause so compelling and appealing that we were left with no option but to contribute. His love and commitment will be forever etched in our hearts and minds. One of the last initiatives he took was to support the building of a second to none 21st-century modern rest stop in pleebo, first of its kind in the southeastern region of Liberia. As chairperson of this project committee, Isaac made several late-night calls to me to discuss this project. One of his last conversation with me was to seek my opinion on the shape of the dedication plaque that would commemorate the dedication of the building. He said Dr. Lamptey, Im thinking of a circular shape, and during the dedication, I would really want for one or two representatives from NAMCAL to be present at the dedication. what do you think? I could feel how proud and excited he was about the project. Therefore, as chairperson of the Pleebo Rest Stop Committee, I have proposed to the NAMCAL Administration that the building, upon its completion, is renamed the Isaac T. Cla Russell Rest Stop. I have also asked the contractor of the project to halt all work on the building on Friday, February 21st and Saturday, February 22nd in memorial observance of our late president. I trust this proposal will meet the approval of the NAMCAL leadership team. Rest in peace my friend, we love you, but God loves you best. May light perpetually shine on you. Amen Signed Dr. Felicia Lamptey Past President of NAMCAL and Chairman of the Pleebo Rest Stop Project Committee Overturned cars on Gay-Lussac Street in Paris on the morning of May 11, 1968, after violent fights between students and police the night before. (AFP via Getty Images) Rail Blockades: The Destructive Spirit of the 1968 Paris Revolt Lives On Commentary It would seem the spirit of Frances infamous 1968 revolt, with all its delusions and lawlessness being imposed onto polite society, has been allowed to run Canadian politics of late. The radical protesters and modern woke culprits who have blocked railroads and government buildings over the Coastal GasLink pipeline are equally as resentful as their forebears who wreaked havoc throughout the West half a century ago. In May 1968, violent student protests erupted in Pariss Latin Quarter. From his apartment window, British philosopher Roger Scruton, then a student in Paris, watched his peers flip over cars and tear down lamp posts and bollards and use them as barricades to protect themselves from the fascist police officers at whom they flung cobblestones. This state of disorder and unrest initially stemmed from fascist measures to restrict the young men and women on campuses from sleeping together in the dormitories. They could not abide by this bourgeois-imposed obstacle to their sexual liberation. A protester carries a sign at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ont., on Feb. 15, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg) At this point, the need for revolution was no longer only rooted in the classic Marxist analysis of class conflict. That wouldnt be enough for the revolutionary appetite for struggle. As Scruton summarized it, the revolution was to be rooted also in an entire deconstruction of Western society, since every aspect of that society upheld the capitalist order. It was the perfect way for well-off students to claim solidarity with communist tyrants they idolizedHo Chi Minh, Mao Zedong, Che Guevaraas they played out their fantasies on university campuses or in the streets. Power could be located everywhere and in everything. Therefore, there was an endless list of things from which to emancipate oneself, creating an undying urge to rage at all things hierarchical or tradition-bound. This is the essence of the spirit of 68. Gerd-Rainer Horns 2007 book The Spirit of 68: Rebellion in Western Europe and North America, 1956-1976 describes it thus: In Italy, France, Spain, Vietnam, the United States, West Germany, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, and elsewhere, millions of individuals took matters into their own hands to counter imperialism, capitalism, autocracy, bureaucracy, and all forms of hierarchical thinking. The simplicity of this spirit of rebellion explains its appeal to idealistic youth who feel as if history is inevitably moving in a revolutionary direction. It takes what could be legitimate issues (institutionalized racism, sexism, etc.) and builds a narrative suggesting that these problems are endemic in the system and can only be reversed by destroying and rebuilding it. One primary aspect of such efforts is what Yuri Bezmenov, a former Soviet spy who defected to Canada, called demoralization, which is delegitimizing the state by subjecting people to ideological subversion that will alter their entire perception of reality and make them unable to look at anything objectively. Those possessed with the spirit of 68 have never been able to attain the reins of political power the way theyd like, but they have understood the importance of hegemonizing societys institutions to exercise influence. Due to the infiltration of Marxist ideology in universities, these institutions have remained the laboratory and recruitment centre for radicals. The subversive agenda of most of the humanities is obvious, as any patriotic scholarship is omitted so as not to interfere with the effort to convert students to the revolutionary religion. The fact that millions of former students were influenced by this ideology has, over decades, led to fundamental changes coming about in society, so that today, radicals feel empowered to engage in unlawful acts like the rail blockades. Underpinning this are the ideas put forth by scholars of settler colonialism, another field by which a radical can deconstruct society. Contrasting it with conventional colonialism, scholar Patrick Wolfe describes settler colonialism as a structure rather than an event. Of course, egregious injustices have been visited upon Indigenous people, but the scholarship puts forth the idea that all institutions as they exist now only function as an agent of the ongoing settler colonial conspiracy. And all non-Indigenous Canadians are settlers who are complicit inasmuch as theyre beneficiaries of the enterprise. This thinking can result in notions such as the belief that the rule of law has been weaponized by the Canadian colonial-state against Indigenous people. In an op-ed in Canada Dimension, Pam Palmater, an associate professor and chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, writes: Canada makes and breaks laws to suit its own economic and political interests, which run counter to those of Indigenous peoples. It is time to be honest about it, and call out Canada as an outlaw, and take action to support the Wetsuweten Nation, who have occupied their lands since time immemorial. An Ontario Provincial Police officer talks to a CN Rail employee after arrests were made at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ont., on Feb. 24, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Whats perilous in this rhetoric is the uprising or nothing type of approach to reconciliation. The solution often prescribed is some form of decolonization, which can act as a sort of demoralization and destabilization as it polarizes the population. Everything in Canadian society is tainted with colonialism and must be purified. But where does this end? When all the land is returned and Canadians board ships back to Europe? There isnt a clear answer to that. Its impossible to have the discussion, as any attempt to offer a realistic solution is instantly rejected by the decolonization camp. The inevitable conclusion is that anything less than a full-on settler submission to revolution is not good enough. It should go without saying that reliance on dialogue or hesitation to enforce the law will only embolden those behind the blockades. Given that nearly two-thirds of Canadians disagree with the blockades, according to an Ipsos poll, there may be political consequences. In 1968, in response to the rising radicalism and violence in the United States, then-president Richard Nixon formed much of his campaign around the idea of restoring law and order, arguing in his presidential nomination acceptance speech that it was necessary for progress. He ended up winning the election, with his strong law-and-order stance being no small factor. Canadian politicians would be wise to take note. This article has been updated to show that in the 1968 U.S. presidential election, Richard Nixon won by a narrower margin than stated, with law and order being a major part of his campaign. The Epoch Times regrets the error. Shane Miller is a political writer based in London, Ontario. Follow him at @Miller_Shane94. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Bar Association of India (BAI) has expressed concern and dismay over the use of 'effusive terms of praise and adulation' by Supreme Court Judge Justice Arun Mishra for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi: The Bar Association of India (BAI) has expressed concern and dismay over the use of "effusive terms of praise and adulation" by Supreme Court Judge Justice Arun Mishra for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying such an act served to dilute the perception of impartiality and independence of the judiciary. It is a foundational obligation of the judges to maintain a discreet and dignified distance from the executive branch of the government, it said. BAI President Lalit Bhasin said in a statement on Tuesday that such act also diminishes the confidence of the public as the judges of the apex court are expected to decide cases against the executive branch while upholding constitutional principles and the Rule of Law as paramount. "The executive committee of the Bar Association of India is deeply concerned and dismayed by certain statements made by Justice Arun Mishra, Judge, Supreme Court of India, as part of his vote of thanks address in the International Judicial Conference. "The executive committee of the Bar Association of India is of the view that the use of effusive terms of praise and adulation by Justice Mishra about Prime Minister go beyond the terms of formal courtesy extended during a vote of thanks address," Bhasin said. "Such an act serves to dilute the perception of impartiality and independence and diminishes the confidence of the general public as the judges of the Supreme Court are expected to decide cases against the executive branch while upholding constitutional principles and the Rule of Law as paramount," he said in the statement. BAI further said that an independent judiciary was essential for a democratic polity and a constant vigil is necessary to maintain and strengthen it. "Therefore it is a foundational obligation of the judges to maintain a discreet and dignified distance from the executive branch of the government and to uphold their oath of office to be just and fair, not only in their judicial conduct but in public mind at large," Bhasin said. Justice Mishra was all praise for the Prime Minister and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally" while delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 - 'Judiciary and the Changing World' at the Supreme Court on 22 February. "Dignified human existence is our prime concern. We thank the versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally, Narendra Modi, for his inspiring speech which would act as a catalyst in initiating the deliberations and setting the agenda for the conference," Justice Mishra, who is third in seniority in the apex court, had said while expressing gratitude to the prime minister for inaugurating the conference. He had said India is the biggest democracy in the world and "people wonder how this democracy is functioning so successfully". "India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the stewardship of internationally acclaimed visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi," he said. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Karyn Turk claimed today she is facing a prison sentence primarily because she is conservative commentator, a friend of Roger Stone and a business advisor to Republicans. Her attorneys, Peter Ticktin of The Ticktin Law Group and J. Ron Denman of Bleakley, Bavol, Denman and Grace, sent letters to Attorney General William Barr and to the White House extolling her high character and her innocence of charges filed by a nursing home where Turk alleges its negligence caused her mother to suffer severe bed sores. Ticktin, a school mate of President Trump at the New York Military Academy, whose book "What Makes Trump Tick" is set for release this spring, vouched for Ms. Turk's honesty as a journalist. "I know Ms. Turk to pursue truth above all else evident in her journalism. It's ironic someone of such high caliber should be hobbled by an Assistant U.S. Attorney highly motivated to bring her down. Karyn has paid full restitution, has no criminal history and dozens of letters were written on her behalf." Her commentary in support of our President unfortunately elevated the opportunity for her to be caught in a crossfire so evident in this politically-charged case, including a letter-writing campaign to Democratic officials. Ms. Turk charges the civil suit that started this was brought by alleged politically connected lawyers, Brian O'Connell and Ashley Crispin, who she said lost a $16.4 million jury trial in 2018, when "a strikingly similar guardianship case backfired on them." Ron Denman highlights the backstory like this: "Ms. Nicol [professional guardian], her counsel and the American Finnish Village used every mechanism possible to claim illegal activity so that they could pressure Ms. Turk into paying obligations on behalf of her mother. "By engaging in unfair tactics designed to create outrage against Ms. Turk, she was subject to scorn, embarrassment and public contempt as well as from what was included in the sentencing transcript by U.S. Federal Magistrate." If an appellate court Motion to Stay isn't granted, Karyn will report to prison for 30 days on March 2. Bill Dean has filed an unlawful death suit alleging her mother died with horrific signs of abuse. Karyn allowed the Guardian appointment, not understanding it was a tactic to thwart her attempts to get her mom proper care. Contact: Adrienne Mazzone 561-702-4999; [email protected]. SOURCE Karyn Turk Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the violence that has left 23 people dead in Northeast Delhi since Sunday. He appealed for calm and peace. Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for the glaring ineffectiveness of the Delhi Police over the last 48 hours. The number of deaths in the recent Delhi violence has climbed up to 23 now, confirmed doctors of the GTB Hospital where all injured were admitted. At first, reports claimed 9 deaths, which gradually moved up to 11, 18, 20, 22 and latest 23. More than 200 people were admitted to the GTB Hospital in critical conditions, reports added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Delhiites to maintain brotherhood and peace in view of the violence in Northeast Delhi since February 23. In his first reaction to the rioting and violence, the Prime Minister tweeted called for calm after a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting held to review law and order in the capital, which comes under the Central government. Modi said police and other authorities were working to ensure normalcy returned to the riot-hit parts of the capital. Of 23 people who have died in the violence, one was an Intelligence Bureau Officer and one was Delhi Police personnel. Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi attacked the Modi government saying the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy to target minorities. She called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, who holds a direct charge over Delhi Police, for the forces inability to control and curb the violence, which, she said, was glaring. In a press conference, Gandhi said the provocative speeches made by BJP leaders added to the already on-edge situation. The Supreme Court, which was hearing the Shaheen Bagh petitions, put the hearing to March 23 saying the atmosphere wasnt conducive. Justice KM Joseph, who was part of the bench hearing the petition, said if the Delhi Police had implemented the law, this would not have happened. He did clarify that he was making the remarks from a non-adversarial point of view. The apex court left it to the Delhi High Court, which was hearing pleas seeking the lodging of FIRs against people involved in the violence, to deal with cases related to the rioting. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 Delhi violence matter in Delhi High Court: Court said that the CM and Deputy CM should also visit the affected areas for confidence-building among people. This is the time to reach out. pic.twitter.com/DylAXS5PNx ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 The High Court bench comprising Justice S. Muralidhar and Anup Jairam Bhambhani asked Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to advise Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to file a FIR against the BJP leader making hate speeches, without naming Kapil Mishra, whose comments are said to have sparked the targeted communal violence against people protesting against the unequal provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The High Court said the situation in Northeast Delhi was not pleasant. The court asked Mehta if he had seen the hate speech video, which was then played in the courtroom. Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 In his affidavit, Delhi Police chief Patnaik said extra forces and senior officers out in Northeast Delhi to contain the violence. He assured the court that things are being brought back to normal and that measures to increase the confidence of each other among the communities were being taken. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has put out a tweet with the mobile numbers of officers stationed at 5 hospitals attending to the injured. The hospitals are Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, Maulana Azad Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and Al-Hind Hospital. Sunil Kumar Gautam Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: Out of all the people that were brought to the hospital 189 are injured and 20 are dead. #DelhiViolence pic.twitter.com/U8dlp4nrZV ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 Areas, where the violence is at its peak, are Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur, and Gokulpuri Chowk and Chaand Bagh. Last night, the Delhi Police issued shoot-at-sight orders in the areas where violence had raged over the last 48 hours. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App By Azernews By Abdul Kerimkhanov Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs recent visit to Italy and the signing of Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership will strengthen bilateral relationship between the two countries, former Paraguayan Commercial Attache in Washington Dc/Miami USA, Dr. Blas Oddone, said in an interview with Azernews. "Based on the sound historic and positive advancement of cultural and commercial relationship between the two countries, President Aliyevs recent visit to Rome can only strengthen the already excellent bilateral relationship which in turn will bring significant economic and trade growth, further strengthening of friendship as well as important advancement in the critical Joint Declaration on Strengthening Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy between both nations," he stated. Commenting on the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strengthening Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy, Oddone called the Joint Declaration as a strong and critical step towards facing potential future challenges in critical issues of bilateral interest, which will provide to both countries high level of social, economic, peacekeeping capacity and the continual harmony and wellbeing of their people. Touching upon Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the expert emphasized that Italy will continue to support Azerbaijans democratic and legitimate efforts to bring the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to a final peaceful resolution as well as to provide all the needed international diplomatic support in favor of the Azerbaijan efforts on this long dispute. Speaking about the trade turnover between Italy and Azerbaijan, he recalled that the commercial turn over between Italy and Azerbaijan increased by 10.5 percent from January to September year-over-year, according to Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov "Italy is one of Azerbaijan's main trading partners and that some 113 Italian companies operating in several sectors are registered in Azerbaijan. So far, Italy has invested $770 million in Azerbaijan's economy, and Azerbaijan has invested $1.7 billion in the Italian economy," he told. Commenting on the sectors that are most attractive for Italian companies in Azerbaijan and in which sectors the expert sees the greatest prospects, Oddone said: "Considering that Azerbaijan is one of the major supplier of oil to Italy, this sector is currently the most important for Italy as well as of great economic importance to Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, addressing the event, Manlio Di Stefano, Secretary of State of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that the executive meeting would play an important role in assessing existing cooperation and developing relations in new areas. During the meeting, joint measures were identified to deepen cooperation in trade and economy, logistics and infrastructure, agriculture, culture and tourism and other fields. AZPROMO, Azerbaijan Investment Company, the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the State Petroleum Fund of Azerbaijan and the relevant Italian agencies reviewed investment opportunities in both countries," Oddone explained. As for Azerbaijans significance in ensuring energy independence of Italy, he underlined that the energy factor in Azerbaijan's foreign policy continues to maintain an important position. "Although there have been notable changes in Azerbaijan's overall foreign policy strategy during the tenure of several leaders, Azerbaijan's energy policy has focused on mainly similar targets for more than 25 years. Azerbaijan, as a result of these policies, can now provide its own energy security and also play a role in ensuring the energy security of some other states," Oddone said. Furthermore, Oddone recalled a statement by TANAP executive Ardahan Posof, who said that the current stage of construction of the Southern Gas Corridor TAP, is well over 80 percent compete and is expected to be operational by 1 July 2020 after the pipeline crossed 20 provinces of Turkey, 67 regions, 600 villages and connected to Ipsala region in Edirne, near the Turkey-Europe border. "TAP routing can facilitate gas supply to several countries in southeastern Europe. Its presence in Italy provides multiple opportunities for greater transport of Caspian gas to wider European markets. At the macro level, TAP will help Europe move to a low-carbon economy, diversify supply sources, strengthen gas competition on the continent and improve its gas connectivity," Oddone said, quoting Luca Schieppati, the Managing Director of TAP AG, the company responsible for pipeline development. The expert noticed that the Ukraine crisis brought European energy security issues and the Southern Gas Corridor project back to the spotlight. "The pipeline will initially be able to supply 10bcm/a of natural gas, which can be doubled in the future by installing two additional compressor stations in Serres in Greece and in Bilisht in Albania," he concluded. Note that the development partners for the pipeline are BP (20percent), the State Petroleum Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR, 20 percent), the Italian natural gas infrastructure company Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent), and Swiss energy company Axpo (5 percent). The mortal remains of Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal were consigned to flames at his ancestral village in Rajasthan's Sikar district on Wednesday. The head constable was killed in the violence that broke out in northeast Delhi on Monday. The funeral was conducted with state honour at Tiyawali village in the presence of his family members, relatives and senior officials from the district administration and police. Earlier in the day, the villagers had blocked the Jhunjhunu highway for nearly five hours to raise their demands of giving the status of martyr to the head constable, compensation and a job to the next of kin of the deceased. Sikar MP Sumedhanand Saraswati told them that the Union minister of state for home has agreed to their demands. After getting assurance from the Sikar MP, Lal's body was brought to the village and the funeral was conducted. The Delhi government has decided to give a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of Lal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (TNS) In the digital age, data breaches top news headlines, and these breaches can come from anywhere even from local government entities.Des Moines County works with Carosh Compliance, an Indiana-based company with an office in Iowa City, to train county employees on how to handle sensitive data in an effort to help decrease the risk of a data breach."Ninety-nine percent of data breaches are caused by lack of training," Roger Shindell, president and CEO of Carosh, explained Tuesday during a board of supervisors meeting in Burlington.Nearly every county official either works with, or has the potential to work with, material that is either highly personal, such as social security numbers, or protected by the Health Insurance Portability Protection Act.Data breaches can come in many forms and can be quite costly. Shindell said often after a data breach, entities are required to pay for credit monitoring for a specific length of time to protect those affected. According to Shindell, the average data breach affects about 3,500 people, so even a small mistake can be quite costly.One example Shindell gave of a local government data breach was when confidential files were dumped into a dumpster instead of being shredded. The entity was not made aware of the mistake until the dumpster had been emptied. There would be no way of knowing whether the data actually fell into the wrong hands, but the entity had to pay for the breach nonetheless.This is where Carosh steps in. Carosh provides trainings that remind county employees of what their responsibilities are in handling sensitive information and how to handle and safely dispose of that information.As for getting county employees to actually do their training, the county is working on that. According to numbers presented at the supervisor's meeting, less than one-fourth of county employees have completed their trainings."We like to see about 80% completion," Shindell explained.According to department heads in the meeting, the trainings were difficult for county employees to complete, as clicking next instead of submitting after questions would register a training as incomplete. Other employees were having a difficult time logging into the system to take their required training sessions.In the end, the supervisors agreed to work on a solution allowing some employees to attend training in person, eliminating the confusion, while others will be allowed to take the training virtually. The hope is the flexible options will encourage a higher completion rate. Les membres du Conseil Constitutionnel du Cameroun. Droits reserves Elections Cameroon is expected to repeat the Legislative Elections in 11 constituencies ten in the North West Region and one in the South West Region, the Constitutional Council ruled Tuesday, February 25, 2020. The partial annulment of the outcome of the February 9, 2020 legislative elections comes after the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, seized the Constitutional Council citing irregularities that breached the electoral laws. Going by the Constitutional Council, the legislative elections will be rerun in Lebialem Division in the South West Region which has one seat, as well as in Bui, Menchum, Mezam and Momo divisions in the North West Region. SDF lawyers and candidates had prayed with the Constitutional Council to partially annul the elections on grounds of insecurity, and the creation of polling centres which disenfranchised their voters. From the foregoing, we find merit in the petitions and hold that there were irregularities in the electoral operations of February 9, 2020 to elect members of parliament which influenced the outcome of the elections and entirely grant the prayers of the petitioners that the said election in Menchum North, Bui West, Mezam South, Bui Centre, Bui South, Mezam Centre, Lebialem, Momo East, Menchum South, Momo West and Mezam North constituencies be cancelled and a rerun ordered in compliance with Section 135 of the electoral code, reporting judge Prof. Paul Nkwi said in his preliminary report which was later upheld by the presiding judge Clement Atangana. Going by Section 136 of the Electoral Code, the decisions of the Constitutional Council relating to elections, election results and candidatures shall be final. As such, a rerun is expected within no less than 20 days and no more than 40 days after Tuesdays cancellation in keeping with Section 135(2) of the Electoral Code. In the event of cancellation of the elections, notification thereof shall forthwith be made to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Elections Cameroon, the electoral code states in its section 135(1). Political pundits posit that this rerun may help improve the fortunes of the opposition SDF which emerged from the February 9 twin municipal and legislative elections with its worst performance ever. The SDF petition for a rerun in the Fako East (Limbe, Tiko and Muyuka) constituency was rejected to the dismay of candidate Fritz Ngeka Etoke. BAGHDAD There is no doubt that early elections were the main demand of the protests that broke out in Iraq in October; this demand also was supported by the Shiite religious authority. This prompted the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign three months ago. And Prime-Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi has vowed to hold early elections. But how would these elections take place? What are the constitutional mechanisms and necessary legal frameworks for such a vote? What are the main political and other obstacles that might hinder the holding of such elections before the expiry of the current parliamentary term in mid-2022? As per the Iraqi constitution, parliament must be dissolved for early elections to take place. This could be done in one of two ways. According to Article 64, parliament can decide to dissolve itself by two-thirds of its 329 members. This, however, remains far-fetched in the current scenario, since some Kurdish and Sunni blocs refuse to hold early elections under electoral legislation passed in December whereby the number of electoral constituencies was increased. However, this legislation has yet to be sent to the president for ratification, and some blocs now want to amend the proposed law, which would further delay things. The second option for dissolving the parliament as per the constitution would be at the request of the prime minister with the approval of the president, who would call for fresh general elections in the country within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of the parliament's dissolution. Naturally, the prime minister would not take such a step unless he believes that his government would be able to organize the elections on the specified date. This is not to mention the need for the ratification of a new electoral law. Moreover, the Independent High Electoral Commission requests a period ranging from six to months to a year to prepare for elections. The Iraqi parliament dissolved the previous electoral agency in conjunction with the approval of a new electoral law at the end of last year. As part of this electoral agency restructuring, technical staff across the countrys provinces were let go. Experts say the restructuring could be a long, intricate process that drags on for years and involves training and courses at home and abroad. Many experts see the decision to dissolve the commission's offices as a deliberate act to hinder or cancel the holding of early elections, with poor logistics then getting the blame. Naim al-Shuwaili, a member of the Coordination of Demonstrations Committee in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor that it is unlikely that early elections will be held before their due date in 2022. The political blocs controlling the government and parliament do not want this, he said. He said, The people in Tahrir Square are reluctant to chant slogans calling for early elections given the Sadrist movement's control of the square. The movement supports Allawi and does not want to pressure him to take measures in this direction. Shuwaili continued, The demonstrations have reached bottom now and are unable to make major changes on the political scene. The ruling parties have every ruse to hinder the holding of elections, starting with the delay in the restructuring of the electoral commission and in the ratification of the new electoral law. They fear losing their seats in parliament and their current interests in the states institutions. Things are getting worse and Allawi is going to stay longer than expected. Preparing for the elections is not limited to passing an electoral law and the commissions restructuring; the Federal Court crisis also needs to be resolved. On Jan. 20, the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq ordered all courts to stop dealing with decisions issued by the Federal Court, which is the competent authority to approve the election results. The Federal Court was accused of appointing a new judge in an unconstitutional manner. Member of parliament Bassem Khashan told Al-Monitor, Holding early elections first necessitates passing legislation involving the Federal Court, which is currently disrupted. There is currently no other competent authority to examine the election results. I believe the crisis between the Federal Court and the Judicial Council is politically motivated to hinder the holding of elections even at their constitutional date in 2022, he added. The absence of a supreme judicial body means that the country is on the verge of permanent chaos and the end of the constitution, Khashan said. The Independent High Electoral Commission confirmed that there are significant obstacles hampering legislative elections in the case that parliament decides to dissolve itself. In a statement Feb. 19, Jalil Adnan Khalaf, the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission's Council, said, The institution is facing major challenges internally and externally. We are making every effort in a bid to resolve the problems in cooperation with the states institutions. In light of the current circumstances, even if the ruling parties resolve the dispute on the electoral law and the Federal Court, it appears that the holding of elections would need at least 18 months for preparations. Thus, it appears that any fresh elections could not be held until at least 10 months before their due date in 2022. By that time, the parliamentary blocs might be eager to dissolve parliament. In the meantime, the Allawi government would have more time to implement its promises of change and the program it pledged to undertake. The protesters, on the other hand, do not seem ready for fresh elections either. They have yet to produce and form political alliances and blocs that could toss their hats into the ring in competition against the traditional political parties. In the wake of the violence in Delhi, the US on Wednesday issued an advisory asking its citizens to exercise caution, keep a low profile and avoid all areas where demonstrations are taking place. The US Embassy in India issued a security alert, advising American citizens that it is important to monitor local media outlets for updates on demonstrations, road and Metro closures, and possible curfews. "US citizens in India should exercise caution in light of violent demonstrations in Northeast Delhi and avoid all areas with demonstrations," the embassy advisory said. "The Government of India -- imposed law that prohibits political gatherings of four or more people -- known as Section 144 remains in effect in certain areas," it said. Advising Americans on actions they should take, the embassy urged citizens to avoid locations where heavy traffic or road closures or protests are expected. "Keep a low profile. Be aware of your surroundings. Monitor local media for updates. Follow the instructions of local authorities," the advisory read. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence which broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Jersey State Troopers Andrea V. Knox (left) and Jeffrey Reitz are both charged with possession of child pornography. Read more A second New Jersey state trooper was arrested Tuesday on charges that she received child pornography from an already-indicted trooper and failed to report the crime to police, the state Attorney Generals Office said. Andrea V. Knox, 35, of Mount Holly, allegedly received images of naked children at a nudist location during a sexually explicit text conversation in 2018 with Jeffrey Reitz, 48, of Williamstown. Reitz was indicted in December on two counts of possession of child pornography in a case also involving explicit online exchanges but with a different woman. In that case, the woman proposed that he molest her 5-year-old daughter. ANY PICS? he asked. The woman sent him a picture of the childs genitals and Reitz allegedly replied: NICE! Prosecutors said Reitz also sent the woman pictures of his genitals. The 2014 email exchange was discovered during an investigation of the woman, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for permitting a child to engage in pornography. Investigators found additional images of child porn in Reitzs iCloud account, prosecutors said. During their examination of that account, investigators allegedly found evidence of his explicit conversations with Knox. Knox, who is assigned to Troop D Moorestown, was charged with third-degree possession of child porn and second-degree official misconduct. She has been suspended from her job by the New Jersey State Police, the Attorney Generals Office said. Prosecutors said Knox encouraged Reitz in their conversations by asking for details about sex acts he would like to perform on an underage girl. In the new case, Reitz also was charged with second-degree distribution of child porn. He has been suspended by the state police since his arrest earlier last year. Attorneys for Knox and Reitz could not be reached Tuesday night. Stuart J. Alterman, the lawyer representing Reitz, said in April that his client is not guilty, and we will work through his exoneration and restoration to duty. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia February 25, 2020 Senator Prince Y. Johnson Our opposition friends, to a great degree, are still in their 2017 electoral mold. In politics, locking yourself up in the mold of nostalgia has won no victory for any camp. Such could prove disastrous for any project to rout Weah out of power and begin rebuilding the nation, creating excitement, and explaining to the poor masses of the people that despite the backwardness of the country, Liberia can make a rebound. Most countries that have gone through the terrible wilderness of stagnation have extricated themselves from the doldrums with a political leadership committed to a social revolution which changes the poverty-stricken existence of the people. This is what politics should be about: showing to the masses a better future is possible. The Liberian opposition cannot do this when it gives publicity to childish banters of madmen that pass more for political theatre than for any serious attempt at dissecting the problems of the country with the object of devising a path to social transformation and how the nation can harness its true potential in the wake of a changing global world where dynamics are constantly changing, constantly coming into being, and constantly volatile. However, in the world of social media where shares, likes, and circulations are the staple, we get treated every day to the circus of political clowns. How the opposition navigates through cyber distractions, require political shrewdness. People want to know what separates the opposition from the horrendous cartel in government. They want to hear how their lives can get better and what they must do to construct a prosperous future for their children. Mostly, they are interested in the bread and butter issues as they are about investments in social treasures such as affordable housing, 21-century complaint health facilities, poverty elimination programsthings pivotal to engender individual mobility but through a deliberate strategy of collective social advancement that prioritizes people over a political clique. This is what the voters yearn for not the regular theatrics that has gripped Capitol Hill or the Executive Mansion. Yesterday, I woke up to the news of Senator Prince Johnson saying he regretted supporting Weah for president. It has made the rounds on social media, making front-page headlines in our dailies. This has switched our attention from discussing issues affecting the have-nots such as rampant poverty and economic dislocation to the absurdity of Prince Johnson as a point for national discussion. For opposition elements being the salespersons of Johnsons ruse is much an exercise in political stupidity as it is a show of the pathetic bankruptcy that has gripped that camp. For all we know, Prince Johnson is good at slaughtering people as he is for creating political cause celebres, playing victim, and using tribal trappings to gain political favor. His latest outburst is just a page out of that playbook. Prince Johnson is crafty in his political buffoonery. He watches the mood in the country and grandstands and then certain sections of the public take his outburst seriously. Such increases his political value and brings the government genuflecting before him to keep his support as a strategy to keep the almighty Nimba in line. Political racketeering has been the single way Johnson has amassed disproportionate levels of fortune for himself. For a weak regime, he has exploited its vulnerabilities to a good effect on his self-enrichment. That some people have not realized this is disgraceful because this allows the man to get away with his political deception. In 2017, Johnson rightfully predicted the concomitant chaos of a Weahs presidency, the pathetic refusal of Weah to engage with ideas, his dangerous cluelessness about governance, and his lack of a compass to deal with the challenges of governance. Before the news could die away, Johnson made a 360-degree U-turn when Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf gifted him some green notes to endorse Weah. Again, we saw the typical Prince Johnsons nonsense months ago when he took to the airwaves to lampoon Weah for the terrible state of the country. Days later, Weah found himself in the good graces of the man when some cash got traded. He is doing it again. Johnson has no conviction, scruple or patriotism--Weah owns him. He is the last on conviction. His claim to power has been about rehashing tribal cleavages to gain a political advantage that he then uses at the disadvantage of the masses of the Nimba people for political deals. He trades the support of his people for money, exploits their sense of fear about phantom tribal conflict for political favor. Worst of all, the warlord-cum-reverend minister has no political direction. He believes in himself. Political elites drumming tribal chauvinism for political capital is not a Prince Johnson staple, but a mainstay of Liberian politics. Take, for instance, the Kru people constantly giving uncritical support to Weah, the Grebo people for Tubman, and the Krahn people for Doe. In a country where people find safety in their tribal extraction as opposed to progressive connection, political actors who refused to play to the tribal gallery but fixated on bringing people together based on progressive values and ideals, the elective office has eluded them. The way to end this scourge is to have a government that unites the people on progressive policies with spiritual and farsighted foci. In the 2017 presidential campaign, I paid attention to the manifestos of most of the political parties, but none seems to have a strategy for addressing the structural menaces except talking about reconciliation with an air of abstraction. Most didnt grasp that without economic inclusion, reconciliation is an illusion. But the Liberian Peoples Party led by Dr. H. Boima Fahnbulleh, Jr recognized that illusion and put economic justice firmly at the apex of its agenda, ranging from partial nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy to building of boarding schools across the country that promote the interchange of student and eliminating tribal divide, pivotal for building progressive values. Until people in politics understand this, Prince Johnson and other reactionary tribal chauvinists would exploit tribal loopholes for political capital. But all this would end when Liberian politicos have a class-based strategy of winning voters and inspiring transformation. And it begins with envisaging winning Nimba without Prince Johnson and treating his poorly articulated Weah bashing with a grain of salt. Easy to do. If we are to transform Liberia, beat back the current of despair hemorrhaging national life, we must offer progressive politics that bring the people into history and make actors such as Weah, Tweah, McGill and Johnson varieties either political spent forces or dinosaurs. A social revolution with democratic tendencies is Liberias path to a better future. About the Author: Kiadii writes from Accra, Ghana, and you can contact him on bokiadii@gmail.com Two ex-officials of Far East prison keeping notorious convict go on abuse of office trial RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 11:42 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) Indictment has been approved against two ex-officials of an Amur Regions penal colony where a notorious gang member Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz is serving his sentence for involvement in mass murder; a local court is to hear the case, the press service of Russias Prosecutor Generals Office reports. Investigation into the case was completed in January. Ex-chief of the penitentiary facility Sergey Kartavtsev and his deputy Vladimir Vasilyev are charged with abuse of office. Investigators believe that the defendants have illegally established bee farms, poultry houses, car services and souvenir workshops in the colony by signing contracts with the friends and relatives of certain inmates including Tsepovyaz for their employment, relaxed jail conditions and further possible release on parole. Previously, another case was launched over abuse of powers by the prison authorities. Examination conducted by prosecutors throughout 2018 revealed that prison officials made it possible for Tsepovyaz, an imprisoned member of Sergey Tsapoks gang, to systematically violate the rules: eat gourmet food, have additional visits, freely use prohibited items.It was also found that the penal colonys administration unlawfully mitigated the inmates prison conditions. Earlier, Russian media published photos of Tsepovyaz eating crabs, caviar and barbecuing in the colony. Authenticity of these photos was not disputed. In 2013, Russias Krasnodar Regional Court found gang leader Sergey Tsapok guilty of mass murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Tsapok and his group have been found guilty of other numerous crimes, including grave and exceptionally grave ones. Tsepovyaz was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. On November 4, 2010, 12 people, including four children, were brutally murdered in the village of Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar Territory in southern Russia. The family of a wealthy local farmer Server Ametov was stabbed to death along with visiting friends and a bystander. The convicted killers started several fires around the house before fleeing. That murder became one of the most high-profile cases in modern Russia. The investigation revealed that the thugs had terrorized the village for years, and that some local police officers had covered up their activities. Ukraine becomes world's top sunflower oil exporter 21:10, 26.02.20 1584 Ukraine also entered the top five largest exporters of rapeseed. Tuesday morning at #CUNAGAC. It may have been a cold, rainy, overcast day in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, but that didnt keep the credit union spirit down at #CUNAGAC. The morning began with an appearance by NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood, who encouraged credit unions and the work that they do and promised that the NCUA would do all they can to remove duplicative and outdated guidance. @TheNCUA Chair Rodney Hood to #CUNAGAC: The #creditunion industry is strong and getting stronger, largely because of the work those of you here today are doing. Take encouragement from that while asking how you can extend service where it is most needed. #cudifference Carolinas CU League (@TheCCUL) February 25, 2020 Next, Ranking Member of the GOP Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry praised credit unions and the differences they make in helping American families, while recognizing that the Financial Services Committee should focus on helping Main Street institutions like credit unions. At #CUNAGAC: Rep. @PatrickMcHenry is recognizing the important role that #creditunions play on Main Street and the need for @FinancialCmte to share that recognition. pic.twitter.com/iBXXfqGIla CUNA (@CUNA) February 25, 2020 There are bad laws that apply to credit unions that shouldnt apply to #CreditUnions. @PatrickMcHenry #CUNAGAC pic.twitter.com/yqdPljzRMd CUInsight News (@News_CUInsight) February 25, 2020 Troy Stang, new CUNA Board Chairman and President/CEO of the Northwest Credit Union Association made his first remarks to the #CUNAGAC crowd. You can watch his address below. The morning keynote featured CUNA President Jim Nussle leading a Q&A with former UN Ambassador and Governor of SC, Nikki Haley. Haley passed along some stories from her time in both positions, including some interesting interactions with President Trump. She also let the GAC crowd know exactly what she loves about credit unions. The times that I appreciated [the credit unions] the most is when wed have a hurricane or a 1000 year flood or any of those types of things. #Creditunions stepped up, wanting to help, wanting to volunteer. #CUNAGAC pic.twitter.com/1ZSmIuJDkI CUNA (@CUNA) February 25, 2020 Colorado Senator Cory Gardner has had to become an expert on marijuana over the last several years and had some interesting thoughts on the importance of the #SAFEBankingAct. David Plouffe former Campaign Manager and Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama had some interesting thoughts on the upcoming primaries, the election, and the state of the two-party system, but he did have one message for credit unions. Consumers wont give you the benefit of the doubt because youre a smaller organization people expect speed, people expect you to be intuitive David Plouffe #CUNAGAC @CUNA pic.twitter.com/tid8anjnCl Jackson Bolstad (@JB_CUInsight) February 25, 2020 Wednesday mornings final General Session at GAC will feature a message from CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle about Hill visits, as well as a keynote address from former Obama Advisor Stephanie Cutter and former Communications Director Nicolle Wallace, who served in that position under President George W. Bush. Concurs repetat pentru selectarea unei companii sociologice, care sa efectueze un studiu tematic "Barometrul opiniei publice in domeniul schimbarilor climatice" Jordan Peele is preparing to drop his latest horror masterpiece, following Us and Get Out. This time, the actor/writer/director has made a 'spiritual sequel' to the 1992 horror classic Candyman. He treated fans to some teasers Tuesday ahead of the first official trailer, which drops Thursday. He's back! Jordan Peele treated fans to some teasers Tuesday ahead of the first official trailer for his 'spiritual sequel' to Candyman, which drops Thursday Peele posted the chilling six-second video to his Twitter, writing: 'I dare you to say his name.' It begins with Teyonah Parris uttering the titular boogeyman's name into a mirror, as the superstition goes. It then shows Rebecca Spence saying his name, before cutting to Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and then Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Peele also prompted followers to tweet his name with a hashtag five times to receive and additional treat. Say his name: The six-second video begins with Teyonah Parris uttering the titular boogeyman's name into a mirror, as the superstition goes Five times: It then shows Rebecca Spence saying his name, before cutting to Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and then Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Double dare: Peele posted the chilling video to his Twitter, writing: 'I dare you to say his name' It comes with a response tweet, featuring another six-second video with quick detailed glimpses. The clip shows a hand reaching for a hook, the Candyman's weapon of choice, before it drops from inside a long sleeve. It then shows a cup of water dropping to the ground before Parris lets out a blood-curdling scream and runs away. Instantly hooked: Another teaser shows a hand reaching for a hook, the Candyman's weapon of choice, before it drops from inside a long sleeve Scream queen: It then shows a cup of water dropping to the ground before Parris lets out a blood-curdling scream and runs away The original film was about a hook-wielding ghostly figure who terrorizes a Chicago housing project when his name is said five times into a mirror. Written by Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta, the new installment offers a fresh take on the legend in the same now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood. Peele garnered a huge following with his directorial debut in the 2017 movie Get Out and last year's followup Us. This was a no ordinary week at Whistling Woods International (WWI), as Asias premier Film, Communication and Creative Arts institute hosted back-to-back masterclasses on the fashion and retail industry. These exclusive sessions, which were part of the Career Week, served as the ideal showcase of the industry and saw both local and international industry veterans share their combined wisdom and experience with the enthralled students. The first masterclass featured an interactive Q&A session with a panel of designers and brand managers from leading names of the nations fashion retail industry. Comprised of Mr. Raj Nagaonkar - Head of Design, Men's Wear at Shoppers Stop; Ms. Sanghamitra Samaddar - Ex-Brand Manager, Pantaloons Fashion & Retail, Shoppers Stop, and Reliance Trends; Ms. Archana Panda, Business Head at Shoppers Stop, and Ms. Madhumita Datta, Chief Design at Future Retail India, the experts detailed the inner workings of the sector to the eager students. Among the key topics discussed, were efforts towards environmental sustainability, the importance of understanding both the business and design aspects of fashion, and industry expectations for freshers and interns. Mr. Adrien Yakimov Roberts, International Director of Education at the Accademia Costume & Moda in Rome, Italy and International Trustee of Graduate Fashion Foundation, GFW, London, UK, subsequently brought a global perspective to the conversation during his masterclass and shared his views on portfolio enhancement and international career opportunities with the students. Over the course of the session, he highlighted the importance of building emotional connections with ones work and stressed the need to remain original over the course of the career. Describing his personal journey from being fashion student to a fashion designer, he shared, You should learn every day. Research is the key to all success. The next masterclass explored the topics of contemporary design and illustration under the guidance of Mr. Akshat Bansal, the Creative Director of the ethical luxury clothing brand, Bloni. The guest began the session by outlining his vision of fashion as a force for change. He went on to emphasise the importance of creating designs that are accessible to everybody, for as he pointed out, Fashion needs to be more than just dressing people and making rich people look better. While describing the path to success in the industry, he stressed the need to have a plan for the future, and the key roles played by perseverance and luck. While ending the session, as a final word of advice, he said, It is important to understand clothing when you wear it. Emotional value to the brand is super important. You need to touch the heart of the person when they are relating to it. The final masterclass of the tremendous week witnessed Mr. Kunal Vora, Co-Founder and Partner, ABND (branding agency), take to the stage. During the highly interactive session, the guest captured the imagination of his audience by walking them through various branding challenges and scenarios that tied into the fashion industry. After quizzing the students on their definition of branding and receiving a wide variety of answers, he provided his own definition, stating, Branding is not a logo. A logo is a part of branding, influenced by people, PR, social media, news media, etc. As he went on to explain, Branding is more than a name and symbol. Its like a child, you have to nurture it. As each of the insightful sessions ultimately reached their end, the guests were presented with tokens of appreciation by Mr. Jewellyn Alvares, HOD, School of Fashion Design amidst the applause of a packed auditorium. Cases of polar bears killing and eating each other are on the rise in the Arctic as melting ice and human activity erode their habitat, a Russian scientist said Wednesday. "Cases of cannibalism among polar bears are a long-established fact, but we're worried that such cases used to be found rarely while now they are recorded quite often," said polar bear expert Ilya Mordvintsev, quoted by Interfax news agency. "We state that cannibalism in polar bears is increasing," said Mordvintsev, a senior researcher at Moscow's Severtsov Institute of Problems of Ecology and Evolution. Speaking at a presentation in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg, he suggested that the behaviour could be due to lack of food. "In some seasons there is not enough food and large males attack females with cubs," he said. The rise in cases may also be partly due to more people working in the Arctic and reporting such behaviour, he said. "Now we get information not only from scientists but also from the growing number of oil workers and defence ministry employees." This winter the area from the Gulf of Ob to the Barents Sea, where polar bears used to hunt, is now a busy route for ships carrying LNG (liquefied natural gas), Mordvintsev said. "The Gulf of Ob was always a hunting ground for the polar bear. Now it has broken ice all year round," he said, linking this to active gas extraction on the huge Yamal peninsula that borders the Gulf of Ob, and the launch of an Arctic LNG plant. - Quitting normal hunting grounds - Russia, already a key global oil and gas exporter, is keen to develop its LNG potential in the Arctic. It has also significantly upgraded its military facilities there. Another Russian scientist, Vladimir Sokolov, who has led numerous expeditions by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, based in Saint Petersburg, said this year polar bears had mainly been affected by abnormally warm weather on Spitsbergen Island to the west in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, where there have been no ice floes and little snow. Russian researchers have recorded growing numbers of polar bears moving away from their traditional hunting grounds as ice melts due to global warming. Over the last quarter-century, Arctic ice levels by the end of summer have fallen by 40 percent, said Sokolov. He predicted that polar bears would eventually no longer hunt on sea ice and be confined to shore areas and high-latitude archipelagos. Russians living in Arctic settlements have sounded the alarm over dozens of bears entering areas of human habitation, particularly to raid rubbish dumps for food. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Class XII examinees at a Barabanki college were writing their papers with rapt attention when suddenly an announcement broke the silence. It was a 'Big Boss' moment in the hall. One student in the second row was asked to sit straight and focus on his paper. At another examination centre in another district, one of the two invigilators was asked to come in front of the CCTV camera and wave to mark his presence. The Big Boss here is the control room at the Secondary Education Directorate in Lucknow for real-time monitoring and vigilance through webcasting to deter students from indulging in the use of unfair means while taking the Class X and Class XII exams being conducted by the UP Board of Secondary Education. Moreover, it is also helping in keeping the Munna Bhais away. Around 56 lakh students of the UP Board are taking the high school and intermediate examinations which kicked off on February 18. While over 25.86 lakh students are appearing in the intermediate examination, over 30.25 lakh are writing the high school examinations. The UP Secondary Education department has introduced many firsts this year not only to curb the thriving copying mafia but also to accord credibility to the exercise and uphold the sanctity of the examinations which were largely compromised earlier. The most revolutionary step is the introduction of webcasting of examinations through a hi-tech control room set up in Lucknow. A multi-tier monitoring system has been put in place. This centralised control room with a huge camera wall is connected with each of the 7,784 examinations centres across 75 districts of state through a network of around 1.91 lakh CCTV cameras. Besides, control rooms at district level have also been set up and all of them are connected to their respective desks in the central control room in Lucknow. The arrangements for the webcasting of examinations have been made by the department using its own resources without any extra financial help from the state government. It is being done every day from 7 am to 5:30 pm covering both the shifts of the examinations, says Principal Secretary, Secondary Education, Aradhana Shukla. She adds that the exercise is being monitored by senior officials of the department in the state capital. Moreover, the officer says that all the district administrations across the state have been roped in to conduct the Board exams in a free and fair manner. At the district level, sector magistrates have been deputed at examination centres to ensure the smooth conduct of the examinations. In the control room, there are separate division-wise desks -- like Mirzapur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Gorakhpur etc -- each having monitors to keep an eye on the activities in examination centres of their respective divisions. Even Deputy CM Dr Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the secondary and higher education portfolios, conducts a surprise inspection of the control room every now and then. The decision to have webcasting of board examinations was taken in January and it was a gargantuan task ahead of us to get CCTV cameras installed and connect all 7784 centres across the state with the control room in Lucknow. But we made it happen with the use of software, roping in the power department for uninterrupted supply and ensuring internet connectivity within a month, says Rajesh Kumar, Special Secretary, Secondary Education. The intent to webcast the examinations had many pluses. First, it inculcates a sense of confidence among hard-working students that they would be getting a fair deal as cheating would be curbed. and cheaters would not impact the results. Secondly, this step is expected to come as a deterrent for those who depended on copying to sail through, says the Principal Secretary. She adds that the tight vigil also keeps the invigilators alert and curbs malpractices on their part. Other measures to minimise the chances of copying include coloured and stitched answer sheets. The UP Board has made provision of four different sets of coloured and stitched answer sheets in most sensitive centres identified across 18 districts where examinees are more likely to resort to unfair practices during the examination. The Board had identified 938 centres as sensitive and 395 as hyper-sensitive which means these centres are vulnerable to cheating. The board has also introduced the compartment system for Class 12 (intermediate) examinees. This was already in place for high school examinees. In fact, the Board had introduced NCERT syllabus and examination pattern last year and had done away with the two-paper system, leaving only one paper for students to pass in each subject. However, despite so many measures being taken by the state government to stop copying, papers are still getting leaked, solved answer sheets are still being recovered and complicity of not only the examinees but teachers too is cropping up in different districts on a daily basis. But the magnitude of the problem is much lower now. Moreover, immediate action and criminal proceedings are being initiated against such elements. Over and above all the initiatives taken by the state government, the state police system is also contributing in a major way. The Special Task Force is keeping a close vigil across the examination centres to check any attempt of copying. The impact of curbs on copying can be gauged from the fact that an unprecedented 2.39 lakh students did not turn up to write the UP Board high school and intermediate examinations on day one on February 18, skipping the Hindi paper which was compulsory for both high school and intermediate students. As per official sources, around four lakh students of different streams have skipped the examinations. While the high school examination will get over in 12 working days on March 3, the intermediate exams will conclude in 15 days March 6, just a couple of days ahead of the festival of colours Holi. Following a series of measures initiated by the Secondary Education department to check the use of unfair means, the number of instances of copying has come down from 3,233 in 2018 to 1,182 in the 2019 board exams. Likewise, while in 2018, around 12.5 lakh examinees had skipped the exam midway, in 2019 the number came down to 6.69 lakh examinees. Toll-free numbers Steps have also been taken to address the academic problems faced by students during the exams. An endeavour is being made to resolve the issues related to high stress levels of the students and keep the examination pressure at bay. Two toll-free helpline numbers -- 1800-180-5310 and 1800-180-5312 -- have been launched by the department. This is enabling students to get replies to their queries and also overcome stress through counselling. The helpline numbers remain active from 8 am to 8 pm. In addition to this, helpline numbers for the control room -- 1800 180 6607, 0522-2239198 -- and the e-mail id: boardexam2020.up@gmail.com have also been launched for the students to share their problems with the assurance of redressal within 24 hours. A new Twitter handle @upboardexam2020 for real-time speedy transmission of information has also been introduced. Special buses for candidates To facilitate hassle-free travel to the examination centres, the department has arranged for special buses for the first time in the state for students. As per the Principal Secretary, one bus runs from each depot, except Lucknow from where four buses run. With UP having 115 depots, a total of 119 special buses are plying. These buses cover the farthest route where normally buses do not ply. The idea is to ensure that no student skips the exam because of a lack of transport services, she said. Key stats Total students taking UP Board exams: 56 lakh Students taking Class X exams: 30.25 lakh Students taking Class XII exams: 25.86 lakh Total examination centres across 75 districts of UP: 7,784 Total centres identified as sensitive: 938 Total centres identified as hypersensitive: 395 CCTV camera installed across all examination centres for webcasting: A network of around 1.91 lakh CCTV cameras. Central Control room set up in Lucknow connected to each examination centre across UP Toll-free helpline numbers: 1800-180-5310 and 1800-180-5312 to respond to students' queries and counselling Helpline numbers for the control room 1800 180 6607, 0522-2239198 E-mail id: boardexam2020.up@gmail.com to redress students exam related problems within 24 hours. Dropouts so far: Around 4 lakh Number of dropouts during exams in 2018: 12.5 lakh Number of dropouts during exams in 2019: 6.69 lakh examinees. Number of instances of copying in 2018: 3,233 Number of instances of copying in 2019: 1,182 Total instances of copying reported in 2020 so far: 193 Total FIRs lodged so far in 2020: 18 examinees & 77 others High school exams to end in 12 working days on March 3 Intermediate exams to end in 15 working days on March 6 UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link NSA Ajit Doval reviews situation at Northeast Delhi, briefs Amit Shah India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 26: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Centre's point person to restore law and order in north-east Delhi, again visited the area this evening to review security and interacted with locals there. Doval, who also travelled to Maujpur that had witnessed street clashes for two days, told reporters that the police had established peace in the national capital. "Inshallah, there will be peace here," he told reporters. Doval later met and briefed Home Minister Amit Shah, who the NSA said, had instructed him to visit the troubled areas. "Situation is totally under control. People are satisfied. I have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police is doing its work," the NSA Ajit Doval said. Delhi Violence: Delhi High Court directs Police to file FIR against BJP leader Kapil Mishra The death toll in the northeast Delhi communal violence over the amended citizenship law rose to 22 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities. On Tuesday, the death toll was 13. "The death toll has risen to 22," Medical Superintendent of GTB Hospital Sunil Kumar Gautam said. Of the 22 deceased, four were brought to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital earlier in the day, a senior official said. NEW DELHI President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that Democrats who dont want Bernie Sanders to win their partys presidential nomination tried to hurt the senators chances by leaking information about Russian activities promoting his campaign. Trump gave no evidence for his claim. Bernie is probably winning looks like hes winning and hes got a head of steam, Trump said during a news conference near the end of his two-day visit to India. And they maybe dont want him for obvious reasons. So they put out a thing that Russia is backing him. Trump accused California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, of leaking the information to the media. Schiff has denied the allegation. Sanders has confirmed that U.S. officials told him last month about Russian efforts to boost his chances to challenge Trump in November. Trump said he thought it was strange that U.S. officials told Sanders but nobody told him. Its highly exaggerated. I think its disgraceful. I think it was leaks from the intel committee, Trump said. I think probably Schiff leaked it. He shouldnt be leaking things like that. It wasnt the first time that Trump levied the accusation against Schiff. He earlier tweeted that election security officials supposedly told Crazy Bernie (Sanders) that Russia was looking at him, not me. This is all a big scam between Intel and the Democrats. They want Bernie OUT & hate Trump.' Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one, Schiff tweeted over the weekend. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Trumps comments come amid conflicting accounts about what U.S. election security officials told members of the House intelligence committee during a recent closed-door hearing and how sensitive election security information has leaked into the public domain. People familiar with the congressional briefing earlier this month said election security officials indicated that the Kremlin was looking to help Trump win reelection. But a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Monday that Shelby Pierson, a top election security official who was one of the officials who briefed the committee, did not tell lawmakers that Russia is aiding Trumps reelection. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information. I want no help from any country, and I havent been given help from any country, Trump told reporters. A nearly two-year investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that 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. Election security experts say its clear that Russia is again trying to influence the U.S. election, including through the spread of misinformation to raise skepticism about the U.S. electoral process. But top U.S. officials, including Trumps national security adviser Robert OBrien, have said they have not seen any intelligence or analyses indicating that Russia has been specifically aiding Trumps reelection. In 2016, Russias meddling evolved from a generalized program designed in 2014 and 2015 to undermine the U.S. electoral system, to a targeted operation that by early 2016 favored candidate Trump and disparaged candidate (Hillary) Clinton, according to the Mueller report. Trump was asked whether former acting national intelligence director Joseph Maguire was forced out as part of an effort to purge administration officials seen as being disloyal to Trump. I dont think its a big problem, he said. I dont think its very many people. The Republican president said Maguire was not forced out. He said Maguires tenure as acting director was to end on March 11. He called Maguire an excellent guy and said he chose U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell to replace him as acting director until he can nominate someone to oversee the nations 17 intelligence agencies. ___ Riechmann reported from Washington. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 09:02:18|Editor: zyl Video Player Close TOKYO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan is planning to ban entry by foreign nationals who have visited certain regions in South Korea due to outbreaks of COVID-19 there, government sources said Wednesday. Specifically, the regions that foreign nationals have visited in South Korea that will be subject to the entry ban are the South Korean city of Daegu and neighboring county of Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang Province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the sources said. The entry ban comes on the heels of the foreign ministry here a day earlier raising its alert level for both the city and country in southeastern Korea. The ministry in raising its alert level, advised Japanese people to avoid making trips to the region that were not essential. U.S. Urges Disputes Over Afghan Election Be Settled Without 'Use Or Threat Of Violence' By RFE/RL February 25, 2020 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department has urged that disputes over Afghanistan's recent presidential election be dealt with using constitutional and legal means and without the "use or threat of violence." The comments on February 25 follow the announcement a week earlier by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission that long-delayed results from the September 28 national election showed that President Ashraf Ghani had been reelected. The United States also said it welcomed a decision by Afghanistan to delay Ghani's inauguration for his second term -- reportedly for two weeks -- to allow adequate time for the government to agree on a "national framework" for potential peace negotiations with the Taliban militant group. Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah alleged that the official results, which put him in second place behind Ghani, were the result of "systemic fraud and serious electoral irregularities" that were carried out "at the behest of a rival team." "As the rightful winners, we decided to form an inclusive government and engage all sides to aim for a just and cohesive outcome," Abdullah said in a February 20 tweet. Widespread allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's 2014 presidential election led to a political crisis between the top candidates, Ghani and Abdullah. That crisis was resolved by a U.S.-brokered power-sharing agreement that created a fragile national unity government. Under that deal, Ghani became president, while a new office of chief executive officer was created for Abdullah. In the February 25 statement, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus noted that "concerns have been raised about the election process." "We expect these concerns to be handled in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures," she said. She added that "moving forward, we call on the new government to be inclusive and reflect the aspirations of all Afghans" and that all political debate be carried out "in a calm manner, free from the use or threat of violence." Ortagus said it was "time to focus not on electoral politics, but on taking steps toward a lasting peace, ending the war with the Taliban, and finding a formula for a political settlement that can serve the interests of all of this country's citizens through intra-Afghan negotiations we expect will begin in March." Ortagus also said the United States thanked the Afghan government for deciding to postpone its presidential inauguration to ensure adequate time for Afghans to agree on a "national framework for peace that is fully representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to prepare for and lead" talks with the Taliban. A representative for Abdullah told Reuters that the swearing-in ceremony would be postponed for two weeks, but Ghani's office declined to comment. Ortagus's remarks come amid a week-long "temporary reduction in violence" agreed by the United States and the Taliban militant group that has been seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government in Kabul. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on February 25 that should the arrangement be observed, Washington was prepared to signed a deal with the Taliban that would lead to a reduction in 13,000 U.S. troops in the country and for unprecedented negotiations between the militants and the Afghan government. The Taliban has so far refused to talk directly with the Kabul government, calling it a puppet of foreign powers. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-urges-disputes-over -afghan-election-be-settled-without-use-or- threat-of-violence-/30454644.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Section 1 Content Amanda Webb, a nurse from Indianapolis, and Matthew Morin, a student at Central Michigan University (CMU), are ACE's 2019 Students of the Year. The ACE/Salesforce.org Student of the Year Award is presented annually by ACE to one or more individuals who have benefitted academically or professionally from the use of ACE credit recommendations for workforce or military training. Recipients must demonstrate outstanding achievements in their community or workplace while successfully balancing the demands of family, career, and education. Webb recently graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana, and Morin is an active-duty sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton. They will be presented with the honor at the closing plenary session March 16 at ACE2020, ACEs 102nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. Both recipients will receive a $1,000 scholarship to help fund their education. Amanda Webb Amanda Webb Webbs journey was not easy. Formerly a single mother, she put aside her dream of finishing nursing school to support her family and worked as an EMT. Eventually she went back to school while still working three jobs, but her college closed just before she was able to earn enough credits to graduate. She enrolled at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a three-hour round trip from her home, and finished her clinical rotations and credits needed, some of those being ACE credits. She graduated in December and has since passed state boards and accepted a position as a registered nurse at Franciscan Health Indianapolis in the emergency department. I juggled it all and made it happen because becoming a nurse meant more to me than most anything, said Webb. I am so thankful that Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods accepted these ACE credit recommendations and I didnt have to give up on my dreams. If you're a toy-loving child (and which kid isn't), your favorite times of year are birthdays and the big gift-giving holidays in December. If you're a toy-loving adult, however, your Christmas comes much earlier in the year, when all the companies announce their new stuff in February at the New York Toy Fair. The biggest hype at this year's show was over Baby Yoda, who was everywhere... mostly because there hasn't been a lot of merch until now. That's because Disney kept The Child's existence a closely-guarded secret before The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+ back in November. Now we have Baby Yoda figures, dolls and costumes. But the most anticipated product is the animatronic Baby Yoda, which can laugh, coo and uh, sell out within hours before it's even released. Hot Wheels RC Cybertruck Also sold out? The new 1/10-scale Hot Wheels RC Cybertruck. If you don't have $39,900 to spend on the real thing, you could have gotten pretty close with this detailed replica capable of speeds up to 25 miles per hour. If that amount is still too rich for your blood (or you just missed the pre-order window), there's a 1/64-scale version of the Cybertruck for $20, too. It may have been primarily a toy show, but video gaming also reared its digital head in some unexpected places. Remember those terrible handheld Tiger Electronics LCD games from the '80s and '90s? Hasbro is bringing them back for some nostalgic "fun." Minecraft Earth is getting NFC-enabled minis. And, for fans of FPS games, Nerf now has Halo-themed weaponry, including the iconic MA40 and Needler. Tech manifested itself in all sorts of other ways at Toy Fair, from ninja robots to digital dollhouses. But few were as charming as KidKraft's new Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market. Yes, we mean the real Alexa you can attach an Amazon Echo for sound effects and cooking instructions. A lot of the pieces are equipped with RFID chips so Alexa knows what your kids are up to and even banter with them. Do you like dad jokes? Alexa will tell a lot of dad jokes. Story continues Most of these products were given rather nebulous release dates of "some time in 2020" but rest assured we'll update you throughout the year, as well as taking these into consideration when we release our holiday gift guide this fall. Check out all the news from Toy Fair 2020 here! Video Presenter & Script: Kris Naudus Script Editor: Dana Wollman Editor: Kyle Maack Producer & Camera: Michael Morris/> Additional Footage: Brian Oh Seoul, South Korea The U.S. military says one of its soldiers based in South Korea tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first U.S. service member infected. A U.S. military statement said Wednesday that the 23-year-old man is in self quarantine at his off-base residence. It says the soldier was originally based in Camp Caroll in a town near the southeastern city of Daegu, where most of South Korea's virus cases are clustered. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea. South Korea said Wednesday it had almost 1,150 cases of the new coronavirus, the biggest outbreak outside mainland China. China on Wednesday reported 406 more cases, along with 52 additional deaths, all of them in hard-hit Hubei province and all but 10 in the epicenter city of Wuhan. China has recorded a total of 2,715 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and 78,064 cases in all. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier called for Americans to be prepared for the illness to spread there, adding new urgency to response efforts that had long focused on China and its Asian neighbors. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a call with reporters Tuesday. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Chinese officials have reported a slowing in the number of new cases in recent days, but new outbreaks were being reported in places as far flung as Italy and Iran, France and Algeria, and Spain's Canary Islands. The tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain counted 17 cases, including a school bus driver who had transported students as recently as Sunday. The head of Iran's virus task force tested positive for the virus just a day after urging the public not to overreact about its spread. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza huddled in Rome with counterparts from bordering countries France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia as well as with those from Germany and Croatia, two countries whose citizens are among frequent visitors to Italy. Among the shared views emerging from the meeting, Speranza told reporters, was this one: "Closing borders is inappropriate" as a response. Italian officials reported 322 cases of the virus overall, including 11 deaths. Croatia and Austria reported their first cases. Croatia, Hungary and Ireland advised against traveling to Italy's affected area, one of a number of government moves seeking to limit exposure. Uncertainly remained over how best to stem the illness' spread. ISTANBUL - A video shot by her father, who made her believe that Syrian and Russian bombing in Idlib was simply a game in order to keep her from getting scared, went viral online and sparked emotion in many. Now Selva, the four-year-old girl, along with her parents have been welcomed as refugees to Turkey in the border province of Hatay. In speaking to Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu, the girl's father Abdullah Mohammed thanked the Turkish government and expressed the hope that the war in Syria would soon be over and that he could return soon. He also spoke out against the terrifying humanitarian crisis in Idlib, under daily attack. The UN has said that at least 900,000 people have been displaced towards the Turkish border since the beginning of December by Syrian and Russia bombing. (ANSAmed). The sanitary napkins and tampons donated by a Beijing-based biotechnology company are ready for delivery to Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei Province, on February 23. [rongmeiti.net] A Beijing-based biotechnology company sent 70,000 sanitary napkins and pads to female medical staff fighting against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei Province, on February 23. More than 10,000 female medical workers in the city's six hospitals will receive the donation, including the Hubei Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital and the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine. The company's research and development department has come up with a new sanitary napkin targeting the female medical staff working for hours without time to answer a call of nature, according to Lu Yunjuan, president of the company. The team has replaced the non-woven fabrics with long-staple cotton in the pad, which boasts a water absorption of up to 400 ml, which is twice or even three times other products' absorption capacity. In addition, a static bacteria-inhibiting chip has been implanted to prevent infection of the reproductive system and alleviate the inconvenience of female medical workers during their menstrual periods. Its cotton care pads are good for the females' health after their menstrual period or after using diapers during their long hours of work. The company is busy preparing a second batch of donations. Though the cost of its new product is about 10 times the ordinary one, Lu said they will continue to donate to meet the female medical workers' needs. (Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China) MSNBCs Chris Matthews addressed viral comments he made about Sen. Bernie Sanders over the weekend during his show on Monday, apologizing directly to the senator. Senator Sanders, Im sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered especially the Jewish people to an electoral result in which you were the well-deserved winner, said the Hardball host. This is going to be a hard-fought, heated campaign of ideas and in the days and weeks and months ahead I will strive to do a better job myself of elevating the political discussion. Congratulations, by the way, to you, Senator Sanders, and to your supporters on a tremendous win down in Nevada, he added. Matthews faced intense criticism after he compared Sanders strong performance in the Nevada caucus on Saturday to France falling to Nazi Germany in 1940. Also Read: Chris Matthews Compares Bernie Sanders' Victory in Nevada to Fall of France to Nazis Shortly before the Vermont senator was declared the winner of the Nevada caucus, Matthews said that it was clear that Sanders had emerged the Democratic frontrunner and that the race for the White House is pretty much over. I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940, and the general, Renault, calls up Churchill and says, Its over. And Churchill says How can it be? Youve got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over? He said, Its over,' Matthews said at the time. So I had that suppressed feeling. I cant be as wild as [James] Carville, but he is damn smart, but I think hes right on this one. Earlier in the day, Carville said on MSNBC that the media is not doing enough to sufficiently make voters aware of the risks of a Sanders victory and likewise declared Sanders a clear frontrunner. Pro-Sanders activists for the Twitter account People for Bernie posted video of Matthews apology and thanked him for his contrite words. Thank you @HardballChris pic.twitter.com/3WeTifqSAU People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) February 25, 2020 Read original story MSNBCs Chris Matthews Apologizes to Bernie Sanders for Comparing His Caucus Win to Nazi Victory At TheWrap As the coronavirus outbreak spreads across Europe, Gwyneth Paltrow has been pictured wearing a heavy-duty face mask as she flies to Paris for fashion week. Several towns in northern Italy are currently on lockdown, while Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Croatia have all reported their first cases. The actor uploaded a selfie to Instagram showing her dressed in a black mask covering her mouth and nose while sitting in her plane seat. Paltrow starred as patient zero in the 2011 film Contagion, which sees a deadly virus sweep the world. She captioned the Instagram post: En route to Paris. Paranoid? Prudent? Panicked? Placid? Pandemic? Propaganda? Paltrows just going to go ahead and sleep with this thing on the plane. Ive already been in this movie. Stay safe. Dont shake hands. Wash hands frequently. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty Across the world, more than 2,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus, official name Covid-19, while it has sickened thousands more. Aircraft are typically a breeding ground for bacteria, given that a large number of people are enclosed in a small airless space. In a 2018 study tracking the behaviours, movements and transmission of droplet-mediated respiratory diseases during transcontinental airline flights, a research team led by Atlanta's Emory University found that those in window seats had far fewer encounters with other passengers than people in other seats. This remains constant even when taking into account the fact that passengers arent stationary but move around the cabin during a flight. Despite Paltrow's efforts to avoid the virus, doubt has been raised over whether face masks can protect against infection. Dr Jake Dunning, head of emerging infections and zoonoses [infectious disease spread between humans and animals] at Public Health England, told The Independent that there is very little evidence of a widespread benefit in members of the public wearing masks. He added: Face masks must be worn correctly, changed frequently, removed properly, disposed of safely and used in combination with good universal hygiene behaviour in order for them to be effective. As a winter storm moves across the country, more than 2 feet of snow fell in western South Dakota, and more than a foot in central Kansas. Just a few inches so far have accumulated in Detroit and up to 1 inch fell in Chicago, but more is on the way as the storm moves into the Northeast. From Missouri to Maine, 13 states are on alert for heavy snow Wednesday. PHOTO: Wednesday morning, 13 states are on alert for heavy snow. (ABC News) Wednesday morning, the center of the winter storm is moving through the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes with snow on the western and northern side from the Plains to New England. The storm system will move into the Northeast Wednesday evening with heavy rain moving up the I-95 corridor from Washington D.C. to New York City and Boston by Thursday morning. PHOTO: The center of the winter storm is moving through Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes with snow on the western and northern side from the Plains to New England (ABC News) On the cold side of this storm, snow will continue all day Wednesday in Michigan, including Detroit, and also in parts of Indiana and Ohio. There could even be a few snowflakes mixed in with rain as far south as Tennessee and also in North Carolina. By Thursday morning, the storm slowly moves through the Northeast, bringing very heavy rain to eastern New England with snow further inland from western New York into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. PHOTO: The storm system will move into the Northeast with heavy rain moving up the I-95 corridor from Washington D.C. to New York City and Boston by Thursday morning. (ABC News) Also, gusty winds are forecast behind the storm from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia and New York City Thursday. Those cities could see some delays at the major hubs due to gusty winds. Snowfall totals will be the greatest from Michigan to western New York and into northern New England, where 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible. PHOTO: Snowfall totals will be the greatest from Michigan to western New York and into northern New England where 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible. (ABC News) In western New York, behind the storm, as the cold wind moves over the unfrozen Great Lakes, lake effect snow could produce additional 1 to 2 feet of snow. Winter storm marching across the country, moving into Northeast late Wednesday into Thursday originally appeared on abcnews.go.com More than 160 years after it elected a slave owner as its first bishop, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas is launching a $13 million initiative aimed at healing individuals and communities directly injured by its history of racism. The funding, which the diocese called unprecedented for a racial justice project, will go toward racial reconciliation projects and scholarships at a number of historically black colleges, seminaries and organizations in Texas. Some of it will underwrite work by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that established a lynching memorial in Alabama. Its about mending the racial divide in our communities, said Bishop C. Andrew Doyle, head of the diocese. Its about naming the past but moving forward together. Doyle, who has met with 38 representatives of historic black churches to invite their collaboration and support, said in a recent interview that the need for racial healing has become increasingly apparent during his 10 years at the dioceses helm. He said that while many clergy and laypeople have spoken out against slavery and racism, other leaders have remained silent or even defended the system and white supremacy. The diocese covers a huge swath of Texas, including Houston and Austin. There has been no comparable conversation at the diocesan level concerning reparations at the the San Antonio-based Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, its leader, Bishop David Reed, said Wednesday. Reed described his diocese as moderately conservative and said the topic has been discussed more at the national than local level within the denomination. But he was careful not to suggest that he knows all the concerns of his 87 congregations, which are spread from South Padre Island to Sonora. Can you atone for the sins of people who lived two hundred years ago? Reed asked. I would be hesitant to talk about reparations because its such a volatile topic and subject to different interpretations, but we do work hard to support educationand we have anti-racism training. In fact, its required. Some churches in the West Texas diocese have ongoing education and scholarship programs for economically disadvantaged groups. In 1898, the diocese founded St. Philips College on the East Side of San Antonio as a school for emancipated slaves. As part of the Alamo Colleges District today, it is still designated a historically black college as well as a Hispanic-serving institution. The Episcopal Church is among the nations least diverse, with 90 percent of members white and 4 percent black, according to the Pew Research Center. Only Methodists and Lutherans have a higher percentage of whites. But Episcopal leaders increasingly have advocated for racial justice this millennium. In 2006, the denomination called for a commission to explore reparations. Last year, denominational leaders testified before Congress in support of the idea. In 2015, the Rev. Michael Curry was elected as the national denominations top bishop, the first black to hold the post. He said in a statement that the initiative took my breath away when he first read about it. The initiative is the latest effort by a religious institution aimed at racial reconciliation: In 2017, the Reformed Theological Seminary unveiled a new scholarship program for African Americans. Last year, Princeton Theological Seminary pledged roughly $28 million in reparations for the schools roots in slavery specifically, to change its curriculum and hire more researchers into the legacy of slavery. At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, a team of scholars in 2018 released a lengthy report on the legacy of slavery and racism in the history of the school, which is the faith groups most prominent training center for future ministers. The Southern Baptist Convention was founded after splitting from its northern counterpart over support for slave-holding missionaries. Racial issues continue to persist in the faith group and are at the core of recent infighting within the convention. Kyle J. Howard, a theologian who is outspoken about race issues, said he was encouraged by the initiatives undertaken by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and other religious institutions. But he also said more needs to be done to reconcile the centuries of economic inequality that is rooted in slavery. When it comes to slavery, there are many Christian denominations that have not only sinned against an entire people group, but continue to benefit from the economic and social oppression of the black community, Howard said. He added that schools should also prioritize hiring more diverse faculty or they will likely becomes a base for assimilation and colonization rather than the diverse community they desire. Doyle said he sympathized with Howards concerns. He added that the dioceses new initiative is only one step towards equality and healing. Doyle noted that Alexander Gregg, the slave-owning first bishop of the Texas diocese, pushed for the church to remain loyal to Southern secession during the Civil War. He also noted that the dioceses first congregation, Christ Church in Matagorda, was built by slaves. Recognizing such histories is imperative to creating a more just and equal society, said Doyle. He cautioned that some might dislike the initiative because of its focus on the past, but said that reconciling historical injustice is crucial to building a more just and equal future. When we believe that God is big enough to mend the broken, we should not be afraid of naming truths that are part of our history, he said. All of our futures are tied to our past. There isnt one future that is somehow disconnected from the story that got us here, and we must be willing to see the connectedness of the past to see how it shapes our future. There is still a lot of institutional racism and a good measure of change is still needed, he added. Initiative funding will go toward several scholarships at the Seminary of the Southwest; the Thomas Cain Fund for Historic Black Churches; the Henrietta Wells Scholarship Fund for Historically Black Colleges and Universities; the John and Joseph Talbot Fund for Racial Justice; and the Episcopal Health Foundation Congregational Engagement. Staff Writer Bruce Selcraig contributed to this report. robert.downen@chron.com Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued a decree designating February 26 a memorial day to mark the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region by Russia in 2014. Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum deemed illegitimate by at least 100 countries. In April that year, Russia threw its support behind armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, where more than 13,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict. February 26 was designated the Day Of Resistance To The Occupation Of Crimea And Sevastopol, because on that day in 2014 Ukrainians held the largest protest in Crimea's capital, Simferopol, against Russia's intervention in the peninsula following the toppling of of Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, Zelenskiy's office said in a statement. Zelenskiy also said the return of Crimea to Ukraine was not only his goal as the country's leader, but also his personal standpoint as a Ukrainian citizen. Zelenskiy said Ukraine had the backing of the international community in its fight to bring Crimea back. "And we know that this day is sure to come," he was quoted as saying. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelenskiy's move "does not correspond to the real situation around Crimea," adding that Moscow "categorically" disagrees with the wording of Zelenskiy's decree. The previous day, U.S. President Donald Trump extended for one year a series of previously imposed sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine, in particular, forcibly annexing Crimea and further destabilizing the country. Trumps executive order was signed on February 25 and includes a package of sanctions that have expanded in scope over time since March 6, 2014. They were first introduced by the administration of former President Barack Obama and broadened three more times in 2014 as well as in 2018. Trumps order says Russias actions, including its "purported annexation of Crimea and use of force in Ukraine...undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of assets." To "deal with that emergency," the sanctions "must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2020," the executive order says. With reporting by Interfax and TASS Adani Wilmar aims to become the largest food company in the country over the next 5-7 years, replicating its success in the edible oil business where it is the leading player, a top company official said on Wednesday. The company, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Gujarat-based Adani Group and Singapore-based agri business group Wilmar, aims to be in the top three nationally in five products, including wheat flour and pulses, to achieve its target. "In edible oil business we have had a journey of 20 years. During this period, we acquired companies, set up new factories and also enhanced our distribution network. Now the same journey we have started in the food business," Adani Wilmar Deputy CEO Angshu Mallick told PTI. In order to scale up the business, the company has recently acquired assets, including factories in various states like Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, he added. Mallick said there are not many players who are active nationally in segments like pulses, wheat flour and sugar and the company with presence in five such products has good chance to lead the segment. "Now this is not a journey of 20 years, this is now a journey of 5-7 years. Within seven years we want to be the largest food company. For that we will have to be among top three nationally in segments like rice, wheat, pulses and sugar. If we are in the top three in these categories we can be the leaders in food segment," he added. The Ahmedabad-based company has 21 per cent market share in the edible oil segment and has 25 factories catering to the segment across the country. Mallick said Adani Wilmar will be open to acquisitions in the food segment as well if it finds suitable options. He said the company is also in the process of having separate marketing teams for the food business to scale it up to the edible oil business. Mallick said that increase in income levels, and focus of young buyers on hygiene and quality products were among the top factors which would help the branded food business to grow in the country. The company on Wednesday said it is in the process of transforming its brand identity. In less than two decades, Fortune brand has evolved from being the number one cooking oil brand to be among the fastest growing Foods brands in India. The new visual identity is to convey this transformation to our customers. The new logo reflects modern aesthetics while keeping intact the Fortune brand's core philosophy," Mallick said. The transformation of Fortune's visual identity is also aimed at defending its position in markets, and to continue to be relevant to younger households, he added. Brand Fortune came into being 2000 with three offerings Fortune Soyabean Oil, Fortune Sunflower Oil, and Fortune Cottonseed Oil. The company entered the foods segment in 2013, with the launch of besan (gram flour). It was followed by the launch of soya chunks in 2014, Basmati rice in 2015, and wheat flour in 2017. The ready-to-cook khichdi was launched in 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Who could have imagined that the debate in Charleston on Tuesday would be worse than the previous one, the one during which Elizabeth Warren went after Bloomberg with a scythe, Bernie did his wild-eyed crazed thing, and Biden fell flat? This time Bloomberg was better, but Warren is still a shrew. And Steyer? Why is he even there? He has nothing to say. Joe Biden has lost a bit more of his disappearing gray matter; he consistently mispronounces words, loses his train of thought, claims credit for things he did not do, and generally embarrasses himself. He thinks he is Zelig, that he was arrested in South Africa, that he negotiated the Paris Climate Accord with Deng Xiaoping, who died in 1997. Why on Earth has his wife not put an end to his nightmare? No matter who has urged Biden to run, his wife should have known he was not up to the challenge. She must want this more than he does, which is contemptible. She is allowing him to make a sad fool of himself over and over again. No need to repeat the long list of his many gaffes here. YouTube screen grab. Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and Bloomberg all seemed relatively rational compared to Sanders, Warren, Biden, and Steyer, but they all essentially support Sanders's policies. They are just less honest about their socialism. They all know that not one of them can beat Trump. They all know that the policies they are promoting will undo the thriving Trump economy and they don't care. They are all leftists, and leftists are all about imposing their stringent, authoritarian commands upon us all. Not one of them ever mentions the word "freedom" or "liberty." These basic rights guaranteed to us all by our Constitution are not remotely on their radar. This is why none of them can win. They all eschew the American Constitution but claim their allegiance to it for political purposes only. But all eyes were on Sanders and Bloomberg, the communist and the billionaire. Sanders cannot help but express his admiration for Fidel Castro, the Soviet Union, and the communist dictators of Venezuela and Nicaragua, but he cannot bring himself to say anything positive about America. He is a totalitarian communist at heart. Bloomberg at least grasps the fact that Americans will not vote for the man who is vowing to onerously tax them to pay for free health care for illegal aliens, free college tuition, to bear the cost of erasing the $1.56 trillion owed in student debt, the man who cannot answer the question "how much will this cost?" Bernie has no clue but has vowed to turn the United States into what Venezuela has become a starving, dying country. Bernie loathes our country; that much is clear. The most appalling aspect of the debate was the sheer childishness of it. The moderators, while they did ask a few challenging questions, lost control from the outset. Why? Because the participants, with the exception of Klobuchar, behaved like MMA cage fighters without a referee. They all talked at once, raising and waving their hands to be called on like second-graders, shouting over one another as if they were guests on the Jerry Springer show. It was pathetic. And the moderators? They were not listening to anything any of the candidates had to say. They interrupted them mid-sentence to "move on." Anyone and everyone watching had to ask themselves, "How on Earth are these seven people the presidential candidates of the Democrat party?" Not one of them has a chance in hell of beating Trump. Each of them is campaigning on destroying all the great things Trump has set in motion and put in place. They all pretend that Trump's polices have not made life better for nearly all Americans. But they have. President Trump has accomplished what Democrats have been promising for fifty years, which is why they all pandered so shamelessly to South Carolina's African-Americans; the pandering was nauseating. Steyer is for reparations! Of course he is! Warren, like all Democrats, embraced the notion that everything is about race. No, it is not. Most Americans don't care one bit about skin color; they care about character. It is the leftists who endlessly strive to make race, class, and sex the only things that matter about every individual, and that is the purest definition of racism and bigotry there is. There are no individuals, only members of a victim group. The Left does not care about black people or poor people; leftists use them to gain power. In the meantime, the rest of us live our lives day to day. We interact with our friends and families who are of numerous and varying skin colors, gay, straight, liberal or conservative, for the most part without rancor. It is the left that promotes division among us for all the usual reasons it serves their quest for power. It is a truism that American politics have always been something of a cage fight beginning with the American Revolution. The vitriol and violence that characterized the years from 1776 to 1789 was unparalleled. Political differences were horrifically vicious in the days of Lincoln and the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war movements that plagued WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. So what we are enduring today is not new. It is still about "what kind of country are we?" But the American Left has lurched so far to the Marxist Bernie Sanders left, it no longer has any relationship to the Constitution and the founding principles that gave us the greatest nation of free people on the planet. The operative words are liberty and freedom. The people on that stage Tuesday night do not value freedom and/or liberty. Not one of them ever utter either of those two words. Ahead of President Akufo-Addo's visit to Switzerland this weekend, the Swiss ambassador to Ghana hosted a cross-section of the local media at his residence in Accra. During the breakfast engagement, the envoy and his deputy took turns to explain the importance of the visit which was against the backdrop of the special place of Ghana in the Switzerland priority top 10 countries he said was beneficial. The President's visit is at the invitation of the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mrs. Simonetta Somanruga. President Akufo-Addo will be received by the seven federal councilors in the Swiss capital of Berne between February 28 and 29, 2020. The two heads will discuss among others, the establishment of a closer partnership in the fight against climate change, trade and economic relations, development cooperation and Switzerland's continuing support for peace and security through the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra. President Akufo-Addo's visit has been described as a rare one being the first from a sub-Saharan country to pay a state visit to Switzerland. According to the Swiss embassy, State visits to Switzerland have a very special significance; the foreign guest is not only received by the yearly rotating President of the Confederation but the Swiss federal government as a whole. Ghana is touted as Switzerland's second biggest trading partner in Africa. In 2019 Switzerland recorded a trade volume of US$2.5 billion with Ghana. Gold and cocoa exports to Switzerland account for the majority of the trade. According to Matthias Feldmann, Head of Cooperation of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Ghana has been one of the few priority countries for the economic development cooperation of the SECO since 2002. It will remain one for the next strategy period. Ghana's cocoa beans were held in high esteem in Switzerland and remained one of the country's sources of the beans for the chocolate production industry. ---Daily Guide Through the new agreement, network agents across the United States will have access to consistent, affordable, and high-quality listing photography, all through a single, streamlined ordering system. Today, Rocket Photo, a photography company that connects Realtors with vetted, independent real estate photographers, announced that they have entered into an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living Real Estate as part of their Preferred Alliance Program. Rocket Photo will create a private, national network of photographers who can serve both Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living network members. Director of Preferred Alliances, Nina Fabbri, said, We are excited to provide Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living network agents with this service. Through the new agreement, network agents across the United States will have access to consistent, affordable, and high-quality listing photography, all through a single, streamlined ordering system. The nation-wide Rocket Photo network is made up of independent photographers that specialize in real estate photography. Rocket Photo vets each photographer and lists the approved photographers on the Rocket Photo Marketplace - a platform where Realtors across the country can find and book professional photographers. As part of the Preferred Alliance Program, Rocket Photo will leverage its network and create private networks for both the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living franchise networks. Real estate agents in the US are increasingly relying on professional real estate photography to sell their listings. Professional listing photos are proven to sell listings 50% faster and generate 118% more online listing views. Brokers encourage their agents to utilize professional photography in order to meet the demands of their buyers and sellers. About Rocket Photo: Rocket Photo is an online platform that connects Realtors with real estate photographers. The company provides independent real estate photographers with business tools and photography solutions, such as photo editing, virtual tours and online order management. Rocket Photo offers a white-labeling solution to real estate brokerages so they can provide their agents with customized real estate photography solutions on a national scale. Unfunded Social Security, Medicare Obligations Ignored During Star-Studded Federal Budget Reform Summit WASHINGTONVirtually everybody who is or was somebody important in the federal budget debate since 1974 came to the Third Annual Better Budget Process Summit, hosted by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) near Capitol Hill on Feb. 25. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) spoke, joined by his Democratic colleague on the panel, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, to talk about their historic Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act, the first such legislation to pass their panel in 30 years. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) discussed his proposal to avert government shutdowns by not letting Congress leave town at the end of the year until a new annual budget is approved. Key think tank and congressional staff leaders on budget issues also were present, most notably including Bill Dauster, former deputy staff director for then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Bill Hoagland, former senior budget appropriations aide to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), and Tom Kahn, the top Democratic staffer on the House Budget Committee from 2007 to 2016. Between them, Reid and Frist led the Senate from 2001 to 2017, while Dauster and Hoaglands involvement with congressional budget staff work dated back to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act days of 1985. Kahns boss, Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.), was budget chairman from 2007 to 2011. What to do about spiraling federal deficits and the exploding national debt dominated the discussion, often accompanied by gallows humor, as when CRFB President Maya MacGuineas opened the event by grimly noting: This is like a reunion of the budget family. The debt has never been this high before and the deficit has never been this large when the economy has been this strong, so its a really important issue to focus on right now. I am smiling, so I dont cry. But for all the summit participants talk about the unsustainability of $1 trillion budget deficits and the exploding $23 trillion national debt swallowing the opportunities of future generations, Washingtons biggest budget problem went noticeably unmentionedthe federal governments $122 trillion in unfunded future benefits promised under Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs. Whitehouse came closest to bringing up unfunded future-obligations debt, noting that if you are going to solve the problem, youve got to look at all of its elements, then pointed out that once you get the mathematics right, you have to figure out what your target is. For Whitehouse, the key target is the debt-to-GDP ratio. Gross domestic product is the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States in one year. As recently as 1980, the U.S. ratio was only 31 percent. Today, the official national debt of $23 trillion equals 107 percent of the $21.4 trillion GDP. But the actual national debt of $122 trillion is 570 percent of GDP. Neither Whitehouse nor any of the other speakers mentioned that data point during the summit. One reason may be Washingtons budget family is deeply divided on whether a 570 percent debt-to-GDP ratio is something to worry about. Asked if it supports including unfunded obligations in the Treasury Departments official national debt calculation, a CRFB official who asked not to be named told The Epoch Times: The national debt and the unfunded liabilities measure two different things, so they should be two different numbers. The gross national debt of $23 trillion contains some government funds like Social Security, which are a loan from one part of government to another. It will eventually need to be paid back, but for right now, it is both an asset and liability. The unfunded liabilities include a future stream of benefits over the next 75 years, so thats not the same as debt that has already been accrued. Truth in Accounting President Sheila Weinberg disagreed, asking The Epoch Times, why does Social Security send out those statements that indicate how much benefits people will get if the government doesnt owe anyone benefits? In accounting, a corporation must record a liability if it is probable that the debt will be paid and if its estimable. Social Security and Medicare debt meet these criteria. Similarly, Romina Boccia, director of The Heritage Foundations Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, told The Epoch Times: The way the federal government accounts for the national debt at $23 trillion is just the tip of the iceberg. The biggest threat arises from unfunded obligations, primarily driven by promises made to seniors via Social Security and Medicare without ensuring that those promised benefits are paid for. Unfunded entitlements allow politicians to enact popular programs without confronting the trade-off of higher taxpayer costs. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which like CRFB, has long pushed budget reforms, pointed to the last graph of its recent post on measuring the debt: No matter the measurement, it is clear that our debt is already historically high and is on an unsustainable trajectory that threatens economic opportunities for the next generation. BUFFALO In what could be described as a Pyrrhic victory of sorts, the Cuomo administration is celebrating the job creation totals of its signature Buffalo Billion project despite the loss of 400 jobs at the facility. Panasonic, which partnered with Elon Musk's Tesla company to make solar panels in Buffalo, announced Wednesday that it will cease operations at what Tesla calls its Gigafactory at Buffalo's Riverbend site. The state spent nearly $1 billion to build on the site of a former steel mill. However, at the same time, the state also announced that Tesla has been ramping up enough hiring to absorb the job losses at least to a degree and meet state job creation requirements. The state now says Tesla has 1,800 jobs in New York, including 1,500 in Buffalo. That would appear to make Tesla founder Elon Musk's April visit to the Buffalo factory a lot less stressful if he has the required 1,460 jobs in hand, plus whatever employees he can hire from Panasonic on top of that. Panasonic had partnered with Tesla to support its manufacturing of solar panels in Buffalo and employed 400 people in Buffalo. The move is part of a strategy by Panasonic to become more of a "life solutions" company that will exit industrial solar panel production. "By the end of May 2020, Panasonic will cease U.S. solar manufacturing operations and is scheduled to exit the facility by the end of September 2020," the company said in a statement. "Panasonic is supporting Tesla in its efforts to identify and hire qualified applicants from Panasonics impacted workforce. Tesla plans to hire qualified applicants to new positions needed to support its solar and energy manufacturing operations in Buffalo." The announcement raises eyebrows since Tesla is under pressure to have 1,460 employees in place at the Gigafactory by the end of April under a jobs agreement with the state. Otherwise, Tesla would be required to repay the state roughly $42 million. Empire State Development, the state's main economic development agency, put out a statement Wednesday morning saying that Tesla has hit its job numbers and may hire former Panasonic employees. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Tesla informed us that they have not only met, but exceeded their next hiring commitment in Buffalo," ESD Chair Howard Zemsky said in a statement. "As of today, Tesla said they have more than 1,500 jobs in Buffalo and more than 300 others across New York State. ESD will perform the necessary due diligence to verify the companys data." Zemsky said that the Panasonic positions were never counted against the Tesla numbers, and there is no incentive package between New York and Panasonic. "We understand that Panasonic has made a corporate decision to move away from global solar products, but this action has no bearing on Teslas current operations nor its commitment to Buffalo and New York State, according to Tesla," Zemsky said. Tesla has indicated that it intends to hire as many Panasonic employees as it can going forward," he added. A policeman and pedestrians wear masks to help guard against the coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Australia Concerned About Number of Coronavirus Cases in Italy, Japan, and Korea Health officials in Australia have expressed their concerns over the number of significant outbreaks of coronavirus outside of China, particularly in South Korea, Italy, and Japan. It comes as the Australian government announced it has activated its emergency response plan (pdf) amid warnings a potential global pandemic is looming as the disease continues to spread throughout Asia and parts of Europe. Speaking at a press conference in Canberra on Feb. 25, Professor Brendan Murphy, the Chief Medical Officer for the Australian government, said that while these countries are doing everything they can to contain those outbreaks, those developments are of concern to us. Murphy said that health officials are meeting regularly to get advice from our communicable disease experts and continually update our advice to government, and that while there is no community transmission in Australia at the moment, health officials are still preparing for a global pandemic. We have plans, we have plans that existed for years. Weve updated them. And every part of the health system is now working on its plans so that were ready if things develop further in the future, he said. The professor also noted that while the number of outbreaks in Iran arent very high, the death rate would suggest that the numbers are probably higher than being reported. Iran currently has the second-highest number of deaths after China. Its government said Monday that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, and rejected claims made by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that the death toll was higher at 50 people. At the same press conference, Health Minister Greg Hunt said that while Australia was well-prepared, it was not immune to the increasing risk of an outbreak. Australias Minister for Health Greg Hunt during question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 10, 2017. (Stefan Postles/Getty Images) What weve done, as you would hope that a government would do, is prepare for all eventualities, but so far in Australia, we have contained the virus on official medical advice, Hunt said, adding that the plan is about saying, Were not immune but we are as well-prepared anyone else in the world.' The newly released plan serves as the blueprint for dealing with a large-scale coronavirus outbreak and outlines three degrees of severity for the epidemic. The low impact may be similar to severe seasonal influenza or the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, and will likely affect those with an underlying illness more, people with immunocompromised conditions, aged care, infants, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and remote communities. In this case, primary care and hospital services may become stretched in areas associated with respiratory illness and acute care. However, existing plans and laws should be enough to support activities. A moderate outbreak would place hospitals under severe pressure, particularly in areas associated with respiratory illness and acute care, and non-urgent procedures and activities may need to be scaled back. Surge staffing and alternate models of clinical care, such as cohorting and/or establishment of flu-like clinics may need to be employed to cope with increased demands for healthcare, the plan notes, adding that pressure on health services will be more intense, rise more quickly and peak earlier as the transmissibility of the disease increases. Healthcare staff may themselves be ill or have to care for ill family members, further exacerbating pressures on healthcare providers. Additional strategies to support at-risk groups may also be required and new or existing health emergency legislation may be needed to support outbreak response activities. A high outbreak would be similar to that of the 1918 H1N1 Spanish flu, and in this case it will add immense pressure on the health sector. Areas such as primary care, acute care, pharmacies, nurse practitioners, and aged care facilities will be stretched to capacity to support essential care requirements, the plan notes, adding that heavy prioritisation will be essential within hospitals to maintain essential services and mortuary services will be under pressure. Health emergency legislation may be needed to support outbreak specific activities in this case. Australia has had 23 cases of the coronavirus but has so far managed to head off widespread transmission in the country. Since Feb. 1, it has also barred entry to anyone arriving directly from mainland China. Last week the government evacuated 170 citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been held in quarantine in a Japanese port, and put them in quarantine for 14 days in northern Australia. Reuters contributed to this report. Kazakhstan's chief sanitary doctor says the country plans to suspend flights to and from Iran from March 1 because of the spread of the new coronavirus. Zhandarbek Bekshin told a press briefing in Nur-Sultan on February 26 that Kazakhstan will also reduce the number of flights to and from South Korea, another country with a large number of coronavirus cases, from nine to three per week. Kazakhstan has registered no cases of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. South Korea has the most infections outside China -- more than 1,000. Ten people have died from the disease. Iran has nearly 135 confirmed cases of coronavirus and officially 19 deaths, but there has been speculation that Tehran is underreporting the extent of the outbreak in the country. The country is believed to have been the source of the first cases reported by neighboring Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman, which have already imposed restrictions on travel to and from the Islamic republic. Other countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan have taken similar measures in an effort to curtail the disease's spread. Several European countries -- Austria, Croatia, Spain, and Switzerland -- announced their first coronavirus cases involving people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in North Africa. In recent days, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman also reported their first cases -- all involving people who had come from Iran. Russias consumer-protection agency, meanwhile, has advised citizens not to travel to Italy, South Korea, or Iran. The regulator, Rospotrebnadzor, on February 26 warned Russians against traveling to the three countries "until the epidemiological situation stabilized." Moscow had previously imposed a near blanket ban on Chinese visitors over coronavirus fears and has recommended against travel to China. Two cases found in Russia -- one in the Siberian city of Chita and one in the Tyumen region -- involved Chinese nationals. They both recovered and were discharged from hospital. Rospotrebnadzor said no new cases have been registered in the country. Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iranian officials "tell the truth" about the outbreak in that country. "The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country," Pompeo said. The epidemic's disruption has caused stock markets to slump around the world, restrictions to be imposed on travelers, and sporting events to be canceled. But Bruce Aylward, who led a World Health Organization-led investigative mission to China, said one of his conclusions for the rest of the world is that it is "simply not ready" to contain the outbreak. "You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale...and it has to be done fast," Aylward said at a Geneva news conference. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, the BBC, and dpa Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Pipeline Safety Act more than a year after a series of gas explosions and fires killed one, injured others and left Merrimack Valley communities in disrepair. More information is expected to be released from federal officials later Wednesday. The explosions started in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover on Sept. 13, 2018. The disaster killed Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old from Lawrence. Columbia Gas reached an undisclosed settlement with the Rondon family. Over-pressurized gas lines appeared to spark the explosions and fires, which damaged more than 100 structures and injured more than two dozen people. As part of recovery efforts, the company disconnected 4,900 gas lines in the Merrimack Valley and installed more than 5,000 new lines. Residents were left homeless and staying in temporary housing for months following the explosions. In December, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera urged a judge to reject a $143 million settlement with Columbia Gas. Rivera said he believed too much of that settlement would go to class action lawyers instead of the victims of the disaster. Federal documents indicate Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is charged with failure to prepare and follow a procedure for the starting up and shutting down of a pipeline designed to assure operation within the maximum allowable operating pressure. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is a subsidiary of NiSource. The company supplies natural gas to about 325,000 customers in Massachusetts, federal documents read. #BREAKING: Columbia Gas of Mass. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Pipeline Safety Act following investigation into catastrophic gas explosions in Sept. 2018 in #MerrimackValley. Details to follow at 10:30 press conference w/ USA #Lelling, @DOTInspectorGen & @FBIBoston U.S. Attorney MA (@DMAnews1) February 26, 2020 #BREAKING: As a result of a joint investigation by @DOTInspectorGen @FBIBoston Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is being held criminally & financially accountable for the Merrimack Valley explosions & fires on 9/13/18. Full details at 10:30 a.m. joint press conference with @DMAnews1 FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) February 26, 2020 Related content: An American father is being slammed as a terrible parent after he caught his young daughter stealing money from his wallet and brought a pair of police officers to her school to teach her a lesson. Posting on Reddit, the father admitted he didn't even talk to his daughter about her dishonest habit, and instead arranged for two cops to accompany him to her school and pull her out of her sixth grade class in front of all her classmates. Worse still, the cops learned that the reason the girl was filching cash because a bully was taking her lunch money every day and she also wanted to help a poor classmate who couldn't afford to buy her own food. Overreacting much? An American father caught his young daughter stealing money from his wallet and brought a pair of police officers to her school to teach her a lesson Redditors have pounced on the father for his confession, sharing hundreds of horrifying reactions. In the original post, the man wrote that every morning, he tells his daughter to 'take a couple of dollars' from his wallet for lunch money. 'In the last few weeks, several times I have noticed that I am missing a little bit more money than usual,' he said. He decided to test her, planting a $20 bill in his wallet right before letting his daughter take her lunch money. When he looked again, the $20 was gone, in addition to her lunch money. Rather than confront her directly about it, the father came up with a much, much more dramatic plan. 'I called the police and asked them to come with me to the school so that we could teach my daughter a lesson,' he said. 'Two officers met me there and we pulled my daughter out of class.' Teaching a lesson? The girl had been stealing because a bully was taking her lunch money and she also wanted to buy lunch for a friend who couldn't afford it But while speaking to the officers, his daughter admitted that she took her dad's money for some troubling reasons: to deal with a bully, and to help a less fortunate friend. 'There has been a bully who is stealing her lunch money/forcing my daughter to buy her lunch,' he explained. 'She also has been buying lunch for one of her friends who can not afford it. This was confirmed by both the bully, and the friend.' Unsurprisingly, the father said that his daughter 'was silent on the way home.' 'I informed her that I was just trying to teach her a lesson, that stealing is wrong and can get you in a lot of trouble. And that in the future she needs to speak to myself or her mother if there are issues at school and we would be happy to help her resolve them,' he said. But it wasn't just his daughter who was upset: When he got home, his wife flipped out. 'She lost her s*** on me, in full tears, telling me that this is a one way ticket to estrangement from our daughter in the future and that we should have just asked her why she was stealing money,' he said. 'She would have just lied about stealing in the first place so I really dont understand what her idea of a solution is.' What's more, he learned that his daughter is now 'terrified' that her bully will retaliate, and that she may have lost her friend 'for bringing so much attention to her financial issue'. Redditors minced no words in telling the father that he was horribly, unequivocally in the wrong, calling him an 'a**hole' for 'humiliating your daughter without talking to her and wasting the time of police officers on top.' 'So the daughter doesn't deserve any confidence apparently, he already knew she was going to lie. Why communicate with her? Ask her why she's stealing? Better to humiliate her!' wrote one. 'Your daughter will never trust or respect you again, she knows she can't,' said another. 'You should have talked to her about it first instead of calling the police and embarrassing her in front of the entire school. 'She will never talk to her father about any problems she has ever again,' said a third. Others chastised him for not doing actual parenting, calling him and 'awful father' and a 'contender for Worst Father of the Year.' 'You just involved the cops instead of being an actual parent by sitting down to talk with them,' one said. 'As a parent myself, I say do your f***ing job and parent your child,' wrote another. 'Don't ask the cops to do it for you. What the actual f*** where you thinking? Or maybe you weren't thinking? And what makes you think it's okay to carry out such an asinine punishment without consulting your wife? 'Yes, if it's not perfectly crystal clear at this point, you are 100% in the wrong. Your daughter deserves an apology, her friend deserves an apology, your wife deserves an apology for you going rogue, and your community deserves an apology for you wasting their tax dollars.' A $1 million reward has been offered for information about the murder of three children in the 1990s. Colleen Walker-Craig, Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux were living in Bowraville, on the New South Wales mid-north coast during the 1990s were they were killed. Colleen was 16 when she vanished after leaving a party on September 13, 1990 - however her body was never found. Colleen was 16 when she vanished after leaving a party on September 13, 1990 - however her body was never found Her family reported her missing the next day and her clothes were found in the Nambucca River later. A coroner concluded she had died and had most likely been murdered. Colleen's cousin, Evelyn, was four when she vanished from the bed she was sleeping in at her grandmother's home on October 4, 1990. Her body was eventually found in bushland on April 21, 1991 - however her cause of death was never determined. The coroner noted Evelyn had a skull injury that was in line with forceful penetration by a sharp instrument. Clinton, 16, disappeared after a party on January 31, 1991. His body was found in bushland on February 18 the same year. Police initially investigated the three children's deaths separately before they were linked and a man was charged on different occasions for two of the children's deaths. He was acquitted for the crime and an application was made to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal for a retrial in 2017 but it was refused by the High Court of Australia. Colleen's cousin, Evelyn, was four when she vanished from the bed she was sleeping in at her grandmother's home on October 4, 1990 The investigation is undergoing a formal review and the reward for information has been increased from $250,000 to $1million. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the this is a step to providing justice for the families. 'The increased reward forms part of our commitment to providing justice firstly to the victims and their families but also to the entire Bowraville community,' Commissioner Fuller said. 'I'm in awe of their strength and resilience, but I'm conscious that the sins of the past have required such resolve.' He said he hopes the information will lead to an arrest. Clinton, 16, disappeared after a party on January 31, 1991. His body was found in bushland on February 18 the same year 'These murders have never left the hearts and minds of the Bowraville community, and captured the attention of people around the world, but to progress, we need people to come forward,' Comissioner Fuller said. 'I believe this reward gives us an opportunity to appeal to those who know what happened to Evelyn, Clinton and Colleen, but may have been reluctant to talk to detectives in the past. 'This is one of our most challenging investigations but we don't back down from a challenge we will continue to stand alongside the children's families and the Bowraville community in the pursuit of justice.' Brexit has thrown the reunification of Ireland into sharp relief. Polls fall among us like autumn leaves and with almost as many hues, though most agree that attitudes to the border have changed and are continuing to change. The latest LucidTalk poll puts the pro-UK vote at 46.8%, pro-re-unification at 45.4%. Taking out the "don't knows" gives unionism a little over 50%. That's still too close for comfort in the unionism camp. They can take solace in stating that the only polls that really matter are from ballot boxes. But how important are polls - or even elections - here? What effect do they have, one way or another? Fundamentally, does the opinion of the people of Northern Ireland - or even the whole of Ireland - matter? Perhaps not as much as we tend to think. It can be argued that the people of the island of Ireland have not been master of their own destiny at important points in their history - and that this applies equally to the people of Northern Ireland. Let's start at the beginning - not 1690, but December 1918. This is when modern Ireland begins, with the massive victory of Sinn Fein in the first properly democratic general election in the country. It was properly democratic because, in February of that year, a new Westminster Act gave the vote to all men over 21 and to women over 30, subject to a property qualification (it was, indeed, a different age). Sinn Fein won 73 seats and the unionists 26, mostly from the parts that eventually became the breakaway Northern Ireland. Old Sinn Fein was a nationalist party, pure and simple, then, with no paramilitary associations. Its ground-shaking victory lay in the fact that the Sinn Fein members would not take their seats at Westminster, but in a Dail in Dublin, yet to be formed. De Valera, the nationalist leader, then called on London to recognise the majority will of the Irish people. He also demanded that the unionists of Ulster do the same. That didn't happen. London decided, after a bitter military struggle in Ireland, to partition the island, something not wanted either north or south. Thus, the will of the Irish majority was discounted, setting a pattern which may still be operating. With the passing of time, the small unionist minority in the south were persuaded, by and large, to become Irish; the nationalists in the north were not persuaded, by and large, to become British. For the next half-century, there was an uneasy standstill until the acquiescence of nationalists to Northern Ireland politics began to evaporate in the late Sixties, early Seventies, prompting considerable civil unrest and deaths, such as Bloody Sunday, which shook politicians in London. This was not fully appreciated by the unionist government in Stormont. The Ulster premier, Brian Faulkner, nipped over to Downing Street in March 1972 with Senator Jack Andrews for what they thought was a consultation. But the Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath, was in no consultative mood. He told the dumb-struck visitors that Westminster was to take over law and order in the province. The unionist government immediately resigned en bloc and that was the end of majority rule at Stormont. Once again, a pivotal decision had been taken outside Ireland. What the Northern Ireland majority wanted was neither here nor there. Move forward to 1985 and the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which for the first time gave the Dublin government an advisory role in the affairs of Northern Ireland. The unionist majority vehemently opposed and mounted a wave of protests, including a huge, 100,000-strong gathering in central Belfast. Unionist majority council offices were festooned in 'Ulster Says No' banners. UUP MPs resigned to force re-election on the issue. To no avail. The decision had been taken in London and Dublin and unionist opposition was bulldozed aside. When it came to the Belfast Agreement in 1998, it was copper-fastened with a very favourable vote from both sides of the border. Seemingly, therefore, popular assent in Ireland was being restored. However, unwittingly it had within in its pages provisions that could yet prise Northern Ireland if not eventually out of the Union altogether, then further to the margins of that Union. When this agreement was assembled, Brexit wasn't on any political horizon, so it was signed by the UK and Ireland as partners in an EU which had benignly caused the border to practically disappear. Now, divergence from EU norms is likely in trade, policies and politics - and the Irish border is to become an EU border. Boris Johnson, the man leading the UK in this endeavour, is on record as stating that, in EU negotiations which will be difficult enough even without the Belfast Agreement, he will not "allow the tail to wag the dog". Ireland is the tail and the quotation must mean that opinion in this small part of the UK will not derail his grand project. If Boris was a lone voice within his party, his view might be of lesser importance. But there are indications that his perspective on Ireland's effect upon British politics has lingered in Conservative thought for a long time. Remember: it was a Conservative government that removed the old Stormont with the flourish of a pen. Dominic Lawson is the journalist son of a Conservative grandee and one-time editor of the Sunday Telegraph, a Conservative newspaper, and of the Spectator magazine, which very broadly supports a Conservative view. In a recent article for the Sunday Times, entitled "A united Ireland is the secret Tory dream", he quoted Sir Patrick Mayhew, Northern Ireland Secretary of State in the mid Nineties, speaking to the German newspaper Die Zeit in 1993: "The province costs 3bn a year - 3bn for a million-and-a-half people. For us, there is no strategic, or economic, interest at stake... the quest for a united Ireland is perfectly legitimate, but without the violence... People think we don't want to let Northern Ireland (leave) the United Kingdom. If I'm completely honest, (we'd do it) with pleasure." Updating that 3bn, it is not widely known that it costs the UK more to support Northern Ireland than it did to be in the EU. But that fact is known in Downing Street and Sir Patrick's sentiments are alive and well today in the Carlton Club. What is the upshot? The future of Northern Ireland will be decided by the big players and they are in London, Brussels and Dublin, not in tiny Northern Ireland. That's the blunt lesson of history. Don Anderson is a writer and broadcaster. He is the author of 14 May Days: The Inside Story Of The Loyalist Strike Of 1974 (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1994) The UN's Libya mission and world powers on Tuesday urged the country's warring parties to engage in peace efforts, as doubts hung over talks set to start the next day in Geneva. The negotiations are supposed to gather delegates from a Tripoli-based unity government and representatives of an eastern-based parliament backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is leading a months-long offensive to seize the capital. Both sides had said Monday they would not take part in the negotiations in Switzerland, citing different reasons. The eastern-based parliament said the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) had not approved all of its representatives. Meanwhile the High State Council, the equivalent of a senate which backs the unity government, said it would not participate in the talks until progress was made in military negotiations. But UNSMIL spokesman Jean Alam insisted Tuesday that the "Libyan Political Dialogue will start tomorrow as planned." The UN's Geneva spokesman Rheal Leblanc also confirmed the talks would take place Wednesday. Political sources in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi told AFP that UN officials were working to salvage the talks and persuade both sides to take part. Five western powers and the European Union also voiced support for the talks. "The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States (as well as the EU mission) welcome the considerable progress in the UN-facilitated talks in Geneva toward a lasting ceasefire in Libya," they said in a joint statement. "We call on all parties to reject obstructionism and engage in good faith as Libya moves forward with its democratic transition." Turkish troops killed Haftar's forces launched an offensive against Tripoli, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), last April. His fighters have since stalled on the edges of the capital, but fighting has left more than 1,000 people dead according to the UN. A joint military commission with five members from each side wound up talks Sunday in the Swiss city with a "draft ceasefire agreement" to be finalised in March, according to the UN mission. But the pro-GNA High State Council said it would not be bound by the outcome of political talks if they went ahead "before knowing the military dialogue's conclusions". Libya has been rocked by violence since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Since 2015, the GNA -- headed by Fayez al-Sarraj -- has been vying with Haftar's forces for control. A ceasefire backed by Haftar ally Russia and pro-GNA Turkey was announced in January but has been regularly violated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that two of his country's troops had been killed in Libya, where Ankara has sent dozens of military trainers since signing a deal with the GNA last year. Last week, Erdogan confirmed pro-Turkish Syrian fighters were in Libya alongside the training teams. Russia is also widely reported to have sent mercenaries to back Haftar's forces, which are also supported by the United Arab Emirates. Western powers are keen to stabilise Libya -- home to Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves -- because of concerns Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already active, will take advantage of the chaos. CLEVELAND, Ohio One additional Ohioan is under investigation for the novel coronavirus, called COVID-19, according to the Ohio Department of Health. People considered under investigation are those who have been tested for COVID-19 and whose lab results are still pending, ODH said. These are people who have symptoms of respiratory illness and have either traveled to China or been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 within 14 days of the onset of the symptoms, the state Health Department said. Another 212 people are under public health supervision in the state, ODH said. There are no confirmed cases of the illness in Ohio, and six people have already tested negative, according to ODH. The persons test swab for COVID-19 was sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday, said ODH spokeswoman Melanie Amato. Results are expected back soon. ODH is not releasing any further information about the person tested, including his or her location in Ohio. ODH only provides updates about potential cases on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The department stated that 212 people have been or currently are under public health supervision, meaning they have been or are currently being monitored or voluntarily quarantined in their homes, Amato said. It is a cumulative number compiled since Feb. 2. None of the 212 has ever showed signs of illness, she said. Some of the 212 people have already completed their 14-day quarantine and are now able to move around freely, she said. The number of people currently in quarantine wasnt immediately available. These are people who traveled in China and passed through one of the airports that the CDC is monitoring during the COVID-19 outbreak, Amato said. These travelers had no symptoms, and were not tested for COVID-19. They were asked to comply with a voluntary 14-day quarantine when they reached their destination in Ohio. The CDC passed on the names of these travelers to ODH. Local health departments monitor these travelers while they are in quarantine, Amato said. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to those of the flu fever, cough and shortness of breath that has sickened thousands and killed more than 2,500 in China, according to the World Health Organization. How the virus spreads or transmits, while suspected to be respiratory (coughing, sneezing), still is unknown, said Dr. Elie Saade, medical director for infection control at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. For now, the coronavirus seems to be mostly affecting older people and people who are already sick, he said. So far, COVID-19 is concentrated in Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected, but has spread to 29 countries, according to the World Health Organization. The CDC said today that its inevitable the disease will spread to the community level in the U.S. There are 53 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., 39 of which are people repatriated to the U.S. by the State Department, including three people who had been in Wuhan and 36 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, health officials said. Read more COVID-19 coverage: Protecting patients, health care workers priorities as Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and UH prepare for coronavirus 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 Asian community group, worried by coronavirus-related racism, urges Clevelanders to get the facts The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved adoption of 37 central laws in the Concurrent List subjects that give powers to both the Centre and state for the newly formed Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said. On August 5, 2019, the government announced in Parliament the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Centres approval is in line with Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, that came into effect on October 31, 2019. As per the Act, now the government can exercise its powers to modify the existing laws in Jammu and Kashmir through repeal or amendment within one year of the constitution of the UT. An official statement later said all the central laws, applicable to the whole of India except the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir before October 31, 2019, are now applicable to Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir from October 31, 2019. ...It is necessary to adapt the central laws made under the Concurrent List, with required modifications and amendments, for ensuring administrative effectiveness and smooth transition with respect to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir thereby removing any ambiguity in their application in line with the Constitution of India, it said. Adaptation of the Central Acts with modifications would ensure administrative effectiveness in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and remove ambiguity in implementation of these laws as per the Constitution of India, an official said on condition of anonymity. The Cabinet also gave its nod to the exemption of the India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) from the Department of Public Enterprises Guidelines, except reservation and vigilance policies. IPGL was incorporated under Companies Act 2013, as a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Deendayal Port Trust (DPT), which was earlier called Kandla Port Trust (KPT), under the Ministry of Shipping, for development and management of Shahid Behesthi Port in Chabahar, Iran. Besides, the Cabinet approved three agreements with Myanmar, including one on protecting wildlife, Javadekar said. The other two memoranda of understanding are on communication and setting up a joint working group in petroleum sector, the minister said. Since Mizoram shares its international border with Myanmar, wild animals keep crossing the border as they dont see geographical boundaries, Javadekar said. The agreement will enhance joint cooperation between India and Myanmar. India would also train officials from Myanmar in the field of wildlife, he said. In another decision, the Cabinet approved the amendments to the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Bill, 2011. The objective of the Bill is to confer status to Institutions of National Importance to National Institutes of Food Technology located in Kundli in Haryana and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. (With Agency inputs) For doctor Xuan, the saddest thing is to hear her phone ring every afternoon, when her family calls. "I miss my family so much!" she said. She can only see her children through video chat. They ask their father every day when she would be back, she said. Nurse Hue, who has two children, had to send them to her parents. Despite her family worrying for her, Hue was resolved to see everything through until the end. "During my time in the clinic, I've had so many memories. That way, I've learnt so much more about my job and our bonds with each another," she said. Lucknow, Feb 26 : With less than a fortnight left for Holi, the traders here in Uttar Pradesh are finding themselves in an unpleasant situation -- one that could cast a shadow on the celebrations. With the Coronavirus scare and the curbs on imports from China, the toy industry is facing a crunch since water pistols, in various shapes and sizes, were being imported from China for Holi. "Since the past one decade, indigenously made Pichkaris (water pistols) have gone out of fashion and the Chinese water guns and colour bombs were largely sold in the market. Apart from being highly attractive, these water guns are preferred by children because they are easy to refill and use. The colour bombs are also very popular. They are cheaper than the ones made in India," said Mithilesh Yadav, a local trader. Pawan Manocha, the president of Lucknow Traders' Association, said that the shortage of new products was also expected to push up prices of existing stocks by 30-40 per cent this year. "We will have to make do with the existing stocks because new stocks will possibly come after three months due to the Covid-19 curbs," he said. Other traders said that the Holi shopping was also expected to take a beating due to curbs on China since imports of electronic gadgets, smartphone accessories, memory cards, LEDs, AC compressors, washing machine motors have also been stalled because they are imported from China. Latest updates on Holi Festival 2020 -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text FRANKFURT - Bayer AG board chairman Werner Wenning is stepping down from his post at the drug and chemical company, which is facing a major legal battle over its Roundup weed killer. Wenning, who is 73, said he had planned to leave last year but was asked to stay due to the companys situation at the time. His current contract runs through 2022. He will be succeeded at the companys April 28 board meeting by board member Norbert Winkeljohann, 62, the company said in a news release Wednesday. Wenning has served as board chair since 2012. He joined the company in 1966 and rose to become CEO before moving to the board. He was board chair during the companys 2018 acquisition of U.S. seed and farm chemical company Monsanto. The acquisition turned into a problem for the company after it inherited exposure to legal troubles involving Roundup. Thousands of lawsuits filed in U.S. states and federal courts say Roundup has caused cancer in users. Monsantos owner, Bayer, denies such allegations and says the product is safe. Groundskeeper DeWayne Johnson was awarded $289 million by a California jury in the first Roundup case to go to trial. The award was later reduced to $78.5 million and is currently being appealed. Shareholders have criticized Bayer management for underestimating the risks when it took over Monsanto. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the violence-hit northeast Delhi on Wednesday. According to an official, the chief minister also visited the office of deputy commissioner of police (northeast). He was accompanied Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Sanjay Singh. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said his government would give a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of head constable Ratan Lal who was killed in violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Milton, Georgia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exide Technologies, LLC (exide.com), today signed a partnership agreement with the U.S. Army to join its Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) program. The PaYS program is a strategic partnership between the Army and a cross-section of private industry, academia and state and local public institutes designed to help Soldiers prepare for a career after the Army. The program helps Soldiers make connections with prospective employers and secure job interviews. Exide signed the partnership agreement at a ceremony attended by Captain Martin Ursitti, Company Commander, Atlanta Recruiting Company; Lieutenant Commander Fredrick Parker, Battalion Commander, Atlanta Recruiting Battalion; City of Milton, Ga., public officials; and Exide Chief Executive Officer Tim Vargo and Chief Operations Officer Mike Judd, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. We are honored and excited to be part of the U.S. Armys PaYS program and its mission of preparing our youth to make the transition from Solider to a future career, said Vargo. Exide has a long-standing commitment to hiring veterans, and this partnership with the U.S. Army will help us reach more Soldiers and connect them with resources to build their post-Army careers. As part of the PaYS program, Exide will conduct job interviews with qualified Soldiers and consider them for full-time positions. Exide will also participate in U.S. Army events and recruiting functions. As a veteran myself, I can tell you that theres nothing more rewarding than supporting others who have served our country, said Judd. Its a win-win for companies who are getting employees with a strong sense of discipline and work ethic and who have numerous skills to bring to the workforce. A global company with its headquarters in Milton, Ga., Exide has numerous locations across the U.S. that produce battery and energy storage systems and specialty applications that power everything from cars and trucks to forklifts and heavy-duty equipment to marine vehicles, locomotives and more. For more than 100 years, Exide has partnered with the U.S. Military to provide batteries for submarines and heavy tanks as well as solar, UPS and standby systems for remote monitoring sites. In August 2019, Exide was recognized for earning the Bronze Military Friendly designation the standard that measures an organizations commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful opportunities for the military community. To learn more about Exides activities and opportunities for the military community visit exide.jobs. About Exide Technologies For more than 130 years, Exide Technologies, LLC (exide.com) has been Powering the World Forward as a global provider of stored electrical-energy solutions for the Transportation and Industrial markets. Headquartered in Milton, Georgia, Exide operates in 80 countries with more than 9,000 employees. Exide produces a range of battery and energy storage systems and specialty applications for the Transportation, Network Power and Motive Power markets and industries including agricultural, automotive, electric, light and heavy-duty truck, marine, materials handling, military, mining, power-sport, railroad, security, telecommunications, utility and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), among others. As one of the worlds largest secondary recyclers, the company is committed to environmental sustainability. Attachment NEW DELHI (AP) - At least 24 people were killed and 189 injured in three days of clashes in New Delhi that coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump's first state visit to India, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals continue to take in the wounded, authorities said Wednesday. Shops, Muslim shrines and public vehicles were left smoldering from violence between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam. Twenty-four deaths were reported at two hospitals in New Delhi, officials said. The clashes were the worst communal riots in the Indian capital in decades. The law's passage in December earlier spurred massive protests across India that left 23 dead, many of them killed by police. The dead in this week's violence included a policeman and an intelligence bureau officer, and the government has banned public assembly in the affected areas. Police spokesman M.S. Randhawa said 106 people were arrested for alleged involvement in the rioting. Family members of Rahul Solanki, who was killed during clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law, weep outside a mortuary in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Officials reported no new violence Wednesday as large police reinforcements patrolled the areas, where an uneasy calm prevailed. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval toured the northeastern neighborhoods of Delhi where the rioting occurred, seeking to assure fear-stricken residents including a female student who complained that police had not protected them from mobs who vandalized the area and set shops and vehicles on fire. While clashes wracked parts of the capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a lavish reception for Trump, including a rally in his home state of Gujarat attended by more than 100,000 people and the signing of an agreement to purchase more than $3 billion of American military hardware. On Wednesday, Modi broke his silence on the violence, tweeting that "peace and harmony are central to (India's) ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times." New Delhi's top elected official, Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal, called for Modi's home minister, Amit Shah, to send the army to ensure peace. Police characterized the situation as tense but under control. Schools remained closed. Sonia Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, India's main opposition group, called for Shah to resign. She accused Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of creating an environment of hatred and its leaders of inciting violence with provocative speeches that sought to paint Muslim protesters against the citizenship law as anti-nationalists funded by Pakistan. New Delhi's High Court ordered the police to review videos of hate speeches allegedly made by three leaders of Modi's party and decide whether to prosecute them, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The clashes escalated Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, a resident of Mustafabad, an area in the capital's northeast. Khan said mobs with iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks attacked the homes of Muslims while chanting "Jai Shri Ram," or "Victory to Lord Ram," the popular Hindu god of the religious epic "Ramayana." As Air Force One flew Trump and his delegation out of New Delhi late Tuesday, Muslim families huddled in a mosque in the city's northeast, praying that Hindu mobs wouldn't burn it down. "After forcing their way inside the homes, they went on a rampage and started beating people and breaking household items," Khan said of the mobs, adding that he and his family had to run and take shelter inside a mosque that he said was guarded by thousands of Muslim men. "I dont know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down," Khan said. Some of the dead had bullet wounds, according to Dr. Sunil Kumar, medical director of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Others came to the hospital with gunshot and stab wounds and head injuries. Among them was Mohammad Sameer, 17, who was being treated for a gunshot wound to his chest Wednesday at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Speaking to The Associated Press after having an operation, Sameer said he was standing on his family's apartment terrace watching Hindu mobs enter Mustafabad when he was shot in the chest. "When Sameer was shot, I took him on my shoulders and ran downstairs," said the boy's father, Mohammad Akram. "But when the mob saw us, they beat me and my injured son. He was bleeding very badly. While they were beating with sticks, they kept on chanting `Jai Shri Ram slogans and threatened to barge inside our homes." Akram said he managed to get his son into a vehicle, but they were stopped several times by Hindus demanding they pull their pants down to show whether they were circumcised before they managed to escape from the area and reach the emergency room. Muslims are generally circumcised, while Hindus are not. In Kardampura, a Muslim-majority area where a youth was shot and killed on Monday, hundreds of police personnel in riot gear patrolled the area and asked people to stay indoors, while residents said they were living in fear. "We are scared and dont know where to go," said one resident, Dr. Jeevan Ali Khan. "If the government wanted, they could have stopped these riots." Close by, black smoke still rose on Wednesday afternoon from a market that sold tires and second-hand car parts in Gokalpuri as fireman tried to douse the smoldering fire. The violence drew sharp reactions from U.S. lawmakers, with Rep. Rashida Talib, a Democrat from Michigan, tweeting, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killing of Muslims, saying: "Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now." Trump told reporters Tuesday that he had heard about the violence but had not discussed it with Modi. Instead, Trump gloated about his reception in India. India has been rocked by violence since Parliament approved the citizenship law in December. Opponents have said the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test, but Trump declined to comment on it. "I don't want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India and hopefully they're going to make the right decision for the people," he said. It was the worst religiously motivated violence in New Delhi since 1984, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, triggering a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 Sikhs in the capital and more than 8,000 nationwide. In 1992, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists razed a 16th-century mosque in northern India, claiming that it stood on the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama. Nearly 2,000 people were killed across the country in the riots that followed. The religious polarization that followed saw the right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party emerge as the single largest party in Indias Parliament. The Congress party and regional parties courted Muslim votes by portraying themselves as defenders of minority rights. In 2002, the western Indian state of Gujarat erupted in violence when a train filled with Hindu pilgrims was attacked by a Muslim mob in a small town. A fire erupted - it remains unclear whether it was arson - and 60 Hindus burned to death. In retaliation, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the state. Modi was Gujarats chief minister at the time. He was accused of tacit support for the rampage against Muslims, but a court ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing. Still, for several years the U.S. included him on a travel ban. Hosting Trump in Gujarat was important symbolically for Modi. Violent large-scale clashes between Hindus and Muslims last took place in New Delhi in 2014, months after Modi's party came to power, in a largely poor neighborhood close to where this week's rioting occurred. A Muslim-owned shop was set on fire, Hindus pelted a mosque with stones, and dozens of angry Muslim men attacked Hindu homes. About three dozen people were injured. ___ Associated Press journalists Ashok Sharma and Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report. A shop burns as a mob sets it on fire during violence between two groups in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. At least 10 people were killed in two days of clashes that cast a shadow over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the country. (AP Photo) Indian Muslim women look out of a window as security officers patrol a street in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) A motorcyclist drives past shops that were set on fire by mobs in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dinesh Joshi) People look at cars that were vandalized during violence in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) U.S.President Donald Trump, and first lady Melania Trump, wave as board Air Force One upon departure from at Indian Air Force Palam airport, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) U.S.President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind during the playing of the national anthem at a state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool) Fire fighters douse a fire at Gokul Puri tyre market which was burnt in Tuesday's violence in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Black smoke rises into the sky after shops are set on fire during violence between two groups in Bhajanpura are of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. An angry group of Hindus carrying pickaxes and iron rods hurled rocks at Muslims in new violence in the Indian capital over a new citizenship law on Tuesday, with at least 10 people killed in two days of clashes that cast a shadow over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the country. (AP Photo/Sheikh Saaliq) Books lie scattered at the Rajdhani Public School which was vandalized in Tuesday's violence at Shiv Vihar in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. More than 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo) Indian security officers deny passage to an Indian couple as they guard an area after Tuesday's violence in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Indian security officers patrol a street in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities said Wednesday. The clashes between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a contentious new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam escalated Tuesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) A mob vandalizes a shop and damages vehicles during violence between two groups in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. At least 10 people were killed in two days of clashes that cast a shadow over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the country. (AP Photo) A "Department of Justice" sign is seen on the wall of the US Department of Justice building in Washington, on April 18, 2019. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) DOJ Creates Unit Dedicated to Stripping Citizenship From Naturalized Terrorists, Other Criminals The Department of Justice announced on Feb. 26 the creation of a new special section dedicated to stripping citizenship status from criminals who lied about their prior convictions on naturalization forms. The unit will target terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders, and other fraudsters who cheated their way into obtaining citizenship by concealing their criminal histories, according to a statement from the DOJ. When a terrorist or sex offender becomes a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it is an affront to our systemand it is especially offensive to those who fall victim to these criminals, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt said in a statement. The Denaturalization Section will further the Departments efforts to pursue those who unlawfully obtained citizenship status and ensure that they are held accountable for their fraudulent conduct. The DOJ says the move was motivated by an anticipated increase in referrals for such cases from law enforcement agencies. The move will join two existing sections within the DOJs Civil Divisions Office of Immigration Litigation. The office already handles denaturalization cases and touts a 95 percent conviction rate. Denaturalization cases require the government to prove that an immigrants naturalization certificate was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. In a prominent terrorist denaturalization case, Khaled Elsayed Mohammad Abo al Dahab was stripped of his citizenship. Dahab was convicted of terrorism in Egypt and admitted to recruiting for the al-Qaida terrorist group in the United States. In 2018, the office secured the denaturalization of war criminals including Edin Dzeko, a Yugoslavia native was who was convicted in Bosnia of executing unarmed civilians and prisoners of war in the Balkans. Earlier this year, the office successfully denaturalized Moises Javier Lopez, who concealed a prior conviction of sexually abusing a minor for years. The office also goes after financial fraudsters. The litigation against Guillermo Mondino, who was convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Export-Import Bank of more than $24 million, resulted in Mondinos self-deportation. The section will focus on misrepresentations and omissions made on the N-400 naturalization form. The questions on the form ask whether the applicant has been involved in genocide or torture or if he or she had been a member of a communist party or other totalitarian organizations. The form also asked if the applicants have ever been charged with and convicted of crimes or served prison time. Civil denaturalization cases have no statute of limitations, according to the DOJ. By Abdul Kerimkhanov It is increasing difficult for Armenia to preserve the status quo around the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as many people have access to the objective information from different sources in the digital information age, the head of the Caucasus Center for Strategic and International Studies (CCSIS), Malik Ayub Sumbal, said in an interview with Azernews. Sumbal made the remarks while commenting on the debate between Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Munich Security Conference held on 15 February. He noted that President Aliyev provided very strong historical references based on solid and substantial evidence that clearly says that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan and is recognized as its legal entity. Sumbal believes that the body language of President Aliyev was much more confident as compared to Armenian PM. The expert reminded that during the debate, Aliyev urged more international pressure on Armenia to force it to follow the UN resolutions and stated that the OSCE Minks group co-chairs must explain Yerevan that Nagorno-Karabakh is neither Armenia, nor an independent country and is not recognized. Sumbal further said that Armenian PM will face immense pressure back at home. "Pashinyan badly failed to defend the Armenian stance of the illegal occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. His counter-narrative of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev's debate is not logical and hard to believe for anyone who is objective," Sumbal stated. He added that Armenian politics is based on anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric and hate so Pashinyans popularity level may fall in his country. "I think President Ilham Aliyev exposed Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan on an international security forum and this is a great victory for Azerbaijan to tell the world that Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan and Armenia is an occupant," Sumbal concluded. Note that the panel discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan have been held as part of the Munich Security Conference on February 15. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz WILTON MANORS, Fla. - The 41-year-old mayor of Wilton Manors died unexpectedly on Tuesday night. The South Florida city confirmed the death of Justin Flippen on its social media pages after a city commission meeting was abruptly adjourned due to an emergency. The announcement did not describe a cause of death. We were notified that Justin apparently was on his way to the City Commission meeting and they had to rush him to the hospital and he passed away at the hospital, Commissioner Gary Resnick told the South Florida SunSentinel. Flippen was elected mayor in 2018 after serving as a city commissioner in Wilton Manors, which in 2018 became the first city in Florida to have an all-LGBT city commission. The city, in the shadows of Fort Lauderdale. has become a tourist destination in the LGBT community. The citys website declares Lifes Just Better Here. The city said on Facebook that funeral plans will be announced soon. Leaders across Florida said they were saddened by Flippens death. Like all of us who knew him, I am devastated by the news of Justin Flippens passing, Rep. Ted Deutch tweeted. Justin was a fine public servant, a wonderful person, and a dear friend. My thoughts are with his family as we all mourn this tragic loss. May Justin rest in peace. Flippen grew up in Broward County and graduated from Broward College, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida Law School. At FIU, he became Floridas first openly gay student body president, the SunSentinel reported. He later became president of the Dolphin Democrats, which is a predominately LGBT political club. Flippen was first elected to the Wilton Manors city commission in 2008. He ran unsuccessfully for state House of Representatives in 2010 and was elected again to the city commission in 2014. He also served on the board of directors of Fort Lauderdales Sunshine Cathedral, where he served as a volunteer lector during worship services, the newspaper reported. Asylum seekers thought to be victims of torture are set to be forcibly removed to Pakistan on the third charter flight to leave the UK in three weeks, The Independent can reveal. Up to 70 people are set to be sent to Islamabad on Wednesday. Among them are suspected victims of modern slavery, trafficking and torture who have not had the chance to properly fight their case due to poor legal advice, lawyers say. It comes after a flight deporting 17 Jamaican nationals set off on 11 February. Twenty-five others scheduled to be on board avoided removal after courts ruled that they had not been granted adequate access to legal advice, breaking Home Office policy. A second charter flight left Britain last Thursday carrying asylum seekers to Germany, Austria and Switzerland under the Dublin convention which requires people to claim asylum in the first safe EU country they arrive in despite warnings these individuals may have been denied access to justice. Those set to be forcibly removed to Pakistan include Mumtaz Ali, 31, who arrived in the UK nine years ago but whose asylum claim has been refused, which he said was in part due to poor legal advice. Speaking from Colnbrook removal centre, Mr Ali said he arrived in the UK on a visit visa after fleeing his country due to threats of political persecution, which he said led to him being tortured by police. Mr Ali said that since being issued a removal notice last week, he felt afraid for his life. He said: I feel depressed. I cannot sleep. I know if I go to Pakistan I will be killed. Im scared. I havent slept in three days. He said his solicitor hadnt responded to his phone calls in days, despite Mr Ali having already paid him to work on his case. Another man scheduled to be on the flight, who asked not to be named, said he came to the UK as a student in 2010 after being forced to marry his younger cousin in Pakistan when he was just 14, and being tortured after being accused of disobeying his family on a number of occasions. After completing a masters degree in IT in the UK, he lost his UK status. Fearful of going home, he said he found cash-in-hand work in a takeaway but ended up in a life of exploitation as the employer refused to pay him and beat him on a number of occasions. The employer threatened to report him to the Home Office if he told anyone about the abuse. The 35-year-old, who eventually escape the abuse and now has a British wife of eight years, referred himself to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) the UKs framework for identifying victims last week and was told his case would be considered, but he has not yet heard back. Its depressing and painful leaving family behind. I feel life is ending here. I dont see any future. They are breaking nine years relationship between me, my wife and daughter, he told The Independent from Harmondsworth removal centre. Toufique Hossain, director of public law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, said his team had seen a number of last-minute referrals of victims of modern slavery, trafficking and torture on the flight on Wednesday, adding: The Home Office know this. Theyd rather wait for the courts to intervene than do the right thing. Mr Hossain added: The Home Office continue their relentless practice of mass expulsion by way of charter flights, undeterred even by recent clear examples where removal would have been unlawful. Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: Three attempted charter flights by Boris Johnsons government in as many weeks its clear this prime minister is no Brexity-Hezza. He is presiding over a deeply illiberal mass deportation policy, which scoops up victims of modern slavery and long term British residents indiscriminately. Jeremy Corbyn attacks government over deportations Parliament must embrace fundamental reform of this system through the Immigration Bill or knowingly put its trust in a government which boasts contempt for the rule of law. The latest charter flight comes after The Independent revealed that a Christian man who was deported to Pakistan last year, despite claims he had been threatened with execution by Islamic extremists there, now says he is living in hiding and in fear for his life. A Home Office spokesperson said: The UK only ever returns those who both the Home Office and the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and have no legal basis to remain in the UK. We make no apology whatsoever for seeking to remove immigration offenders and dangerous foreign criminals. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) Chicago, United States Wed, February 26, 2020 10:07 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066a93f7 2 Health Women,cancer,health,mammogram Free Women 75 and older do not benefit from regular screening mammograms, researchers reported on Monday, offering some of the first evidence on whether screening makes sense in these women. Although studies clearly show mammograms starting at age 50 prevent breast cancer deaths, until now, doctors have had little evidence about when to end screening, Dr. Otis Brawley of Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, wrote in editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study is important because a third of all American women die of breast cancer are diagnosed after the age of 70, Brawley said in a telephone interview. The US Preventive Services Task Force, which sets screening guidelines, currently states that the evidence is insufficient to assess the harms and benefits in women 75 and older. Recommendations by other groups vary. As a result, some 52 percent of women in the United States aged 75 and older still get regular mammogram screening, according to the paper published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. A lot of women over 75 and 80 are receiving mammograms, study author Dr. Xabier Garcia-De-Albeniz of the Harvard School of Public Health, RTI Health Solutions and Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a telephone interview. Brawley said clinical trials cannot be done to provide that evidence because too many people are convinced of the benefits of mammography, and would consider withholding screening to be unethical. Read also: Study finds Google system could improve breast cancer detection Garcia-De-Albeniz and colleagues set out to provide that evidence using claims data from the federal Medicare insurance program for the elderly. They studied data on more than 1 million women aged 70 to 84 who underwent mammograms from 2000 to 2008. Women in the study had a life expectancy of at least 10 years and no prior breast cancer diagnosis. They found that in women aged 70 to 74, the benefit of screening outweighed the risks, which can include overdiagnosis, overtreatment and the anxiety of a potential breast cancer diagnosis. In women 75 to 84, screening did not substantially reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer. The reason is likely that by 75, women are more likely to die from heart disease or neurological diseases such as dementia than breast cancer, the authors said. Brawley said the findings underscore the need for more research to understand breast cancer in older women and better treatments for women in this age group. Topics : Women cancer health mammogram A nanny hired by Lori Vallow to watch over her now-missing 7-year-old son says she was told the boys adoptive father had died from a heart attack, despite the fact that he was fatally shot two months earlier in Loris home. And late last September, when police say the boy, Joshua J.J. Vallow, disappeared, the nanny alleged that Lori had told her that J.J. had gone to spend a month with his grandparents. In reality, say police, the grandparents were the ones who alerted authorities that he was missing. The information from the nanny, who asked to remain anonymous, came in a written exchange with Salt Lake City TV station Fox13 amid the ongoing five-month search for J.J. and his 17-year-old sister, Tylee Ryan, while Lori remains jailed in Hawaii on charges related to their disappearance. Police say J.J. was last seen September 23 at his school in Rexburg, Idaho, before his mother withdrew him and indicated to the principal that she was considering home-schooling the boy, who has autism. The last known image of Tylee dates to September 8, when she took a day trip to Yellowstone National Park with her mother, uncle and brother, according to a court filing in Madison County, Idaho, related to Loris arrest. RELATED: Lori Vallow: Tracking the Movements of Idaho Mom Now Under Arrest After Her 2 Kids Went Missing Prosecutors allege Lori has abandoned her two minor children, delayed law enforcements attempts to locate her children, and encouraged another individual to delay law enforcements attempts to locate her children after she defied a court order to produce the two missing kids by January 31. J.J. Vallow, at left, his mom Lori Vallow and sister Tylee Ryan | Rexburg Police Department Police in Rexburg also have said they strongly believe that Joshua and Tylees lives are in danger after learning that Lori and her newlywed husband, Chad Daybell, an author who writes about doomsday prophecies, had abruptly vacated the couples Rexburg home and left the area last November as police began a search for the two children. Story continues RELATED: Mom of Missing Idaho Children Appears Before Court, Investigators Find Last Photo Taken of Her Daughter That investigation has since yielded a second look at the October death of Chads former wife, Tammy, which officials now term suspicious. It also has focused renewed attention on the July shooting death in Loris prior Arizona home of her former husband, Charles, by Loris brother, Alex Cox, during an alleged altercation. Cox, who claimed self-defense and was not charged in the shooting, also has since died under circumstances that authorities are reviewing. Charles and Lori Vallow Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLEs free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Charles death preceded Loris move with her kids to Rexburg, near the company that publishes Chads religious writings. She and Chad had appeared together as early as December 2018 on a podcast promoted by a small media company under the banner Preparing a People, designed to help its audience plan for the end of the world. J.J. Vallow's grandparents Kay and Larry Woodcock | Dayley Smith/Rexburg Standard Journal Last September 18, according to the hired nanny, Lori was very welcoming and gave me a hug when she invited the nanny over to her Rexburg home for an interview after spotting the nannys posting on a website, Care.com, seeking work. She explained to me, as we watched J.J. play outside with the neighbor kids, some of his tendencies, the nanny said. He gets emotional easily, frustrated, distracted, has difficulty communicating with others, but can follow orders if you look at him right in the eyes. She explained to me how they recently moved here from Arizona. Her husband had just died of a heart attack and how J.J. doesnt quite understand the situation. Lori said how she and her husband adopted J.J. and that he was her nephew. Her daughter also lives in Rexburg and is going to college, Lori told the nanny, she recalled. Chad Daybell, at left, and Lori Vallow | Eric Grossarth/ EastIdahoNews.com The nanny never met Tylee. Lori told people that her daughter was attending a campus of Brigham Young University in Rexburg, according to charging documents, but police say she was never enrolled there. The next day, September 19, Lori asked the nanny to sit with J.J. while Lori and her brother, Alex Cox, went to the airport to pick up a friend. At the end of her work, the nanny was paid $40. On September 24, the nanny reached out to Lori to see if she was needed again. I was hoping to keep earning money, she said. Anyways, she responded to me that J.J. was with his grandparents for a month and that she was in Hawaii, the nanny said. She said in about a month, when they come back, that I could work again. Well once that month passed, I texted her again around Halloween time, asking if I could work. There was no response. I was upset that she didnt respond because it has been hard for me to find a job. She continued: I thought it was pretty weird that they just up and left for a month and didnt need me to work ever again after just hiring me. It seemed irresponsible for a mother to dump her kid off to the grandparents while she had a good time in Hawaii. I assumed she must have really needed a break from J.J., I guess, and I left it at that. That was the last time I ever communicated with Lori. Authorities located Lori and Chad January 25 in Kauai, Hawaii, when they presented Lori with a court order giving her five days to produce her kids to police or child welfare authorities in Idaho. Lori let that deadline pass, and was arrested February 20. She is due in court March 2 in Hawaii to face extradition to Idaho. Among other charges in Idaho, she faces two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of a child, each of which carries up to 14 years in prison if she is convicted. Lori has not yet entered a plea and PEOPLE was unable to reach her attorney. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Wednesday morning threw his weight behind former Vice President Joe Biden, offering a much-needed boost for the onetime Democratic frontrunner who has fallen behind several of his competitors in early primaries. I want the public to know that Im voting for Joe Biden, Clyburn said at a press conference in Charleston, S.C., reminiscing about the devotion his wife, who died last year, had to the former vice president. South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden. Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, has long been a force in presidential politics, thanks to his status as one of the highest-profile African-American leaders in the influential early state. Presidential candidates make a quadrennial pilgrimage to Clyburns famed fish fry event, a key stop for the contenders, and his endorsement has become one of the most anticipated events of the South Carolina primary. Clyburns influence was demonstrated in the 2008 presidential election when he backed Barack Obama, a junior senator, over Hillary Clinton, the presumed frontrunner. That endorsement was widely credited as a key moment in Obamas ultimately successful presidential campaign. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., at the National Action Network's South Carolina Ministers' Breakfast on Wednesday. (Matt Rourke/AP) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is the chair of the House Democratic Caucus and the fifth-ranked Democrat in the House, described Clyburn as a towering figure within the party. Without question Jim Clyburns endorsement is one of the most coveted indications of support anywhere in the country, particularly in the context of the South Carolina primary, certainly, but it goes much deeper than that, Jeffries said. Clyburns endorsement of Biden, who already enjoyed strong support from African-Americans in South Carolina, was not a total surprise. On Tuesday evening, prior to the announcement of the official endorsement, Politico reported that Clyburn would support Biden. But Bidens poor performance in Iowa and New Hampshire, and second-place finish in Nevada, has made a strong showing in South Carolinas Saturday primary all the more vital. The former vice president was expected to have a firewall in the state, thanks to a solid base of African-American support there. But after strong early showings from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Bidens strength in South Carolina has been called into question. Story continues A Democratic strategist in South Carolina, who spoke to Yahoo News prior to Clyburns endorsement, emphasized the importance of the endorsement and insisted it would carry weight. Whomever and whenever the majority whip will endorse will have clear understanding about the political net worth of his endorsement and his political network in one of the most consequential states, the South Carolina strategist said. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a co-chair of Bidens campaign, would not confirm Clyburns endorsement ahead of the announcement. However, Richmond described Clyburns backing as really big locally and nationally. He also underscored the strength of Clyburns ground game. Hes beloved in the state. Hes been a leader and, unlike other politicians, people look to see who he supports and take guidance from him, Richmond said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: NEW YORK - Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is stepping down as chairman of his company following an FBI raid on his Manhattan headquarters over sex assault allegations. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. NEW YORK - Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is stepping down as chairman of his company following an FBI raid on his Manhattan headquarters over sex assault allegations. "Recognizing the priority of the welfare of the thousands of Nygard employees, retail partners, loyal customers, vendors, suppliers and business partners, Peter Nygard has made the decision to step down as Chairman of the Nygard Companies and will divest his ownership interest," Ken Frydman, Nygard's spokesman, said in an email Tuesday night. Following an FBI raid on his Manhattan headquarters over sex assault allegations, fashion mogul Peter Nygard says he is stepping down as chairman of his company. Peter Nygard, left, and Courtney Stodden arrive at the 24th Night of 100 Stars Oscars Viewing Gala at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 2, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Invision - Annie I. Bang The FBI searched the designer's Times Square offices Tuesday, less than two weeks after 10 women filed a lawsuit accusing Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas with cash and promises of modelling opportunities. Several plaintiffs in the suit said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them. Nygard has denied the sex-trafficking claims through his spokesman. "Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. He has not been charged, is not in custody and is co-operating with the investigation," Frydman said. Nygard International began in Winnipeg as a sportswear manufacturer. The company website says its retail division has more than 170 stores in North America. The class-action lawsuit says Nygard used his company, bribery of Bahamian officials and "considerable influence in the fashion industry" to recruit victims in the Bahamas, United States and Canada. It alleges he plied the young women with drugs and alcohol during "pamper parties" and kept a database on a corporate server containing the names of thousands of potential victims. Nygard's victims would have their passports taken from them when they were flown into the Bahamas, the lawsuit alleges, adding the designer "expected a sex act before he was willing to consider releasing any person" from his estate. Frydman said authorities also executed a "search and seizure" on Nygard's offices in California. He blamed the raids on a "conspiracy" involving Louis Bacon, the billionaire hedge fund manager who owns an estate next door to Nygard's in the Bahamas. "After being viciously and maliciously attacked for over a decade by Louis Bacon and his operatives, which has included millions of dollars in payoffs to women and others to make false claims against him, Peter Nygard has decided that his legal battles with Louis Bacon will no longer be a distraction to the Companies," Frydman said. "Peter Nygard thanks his employees for their years of dedicated service." A spokesman for Bacon declined to comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. With files from The Associated Press Prince Harry Makes First Public Outing in the U.K. Since Relocating to Canada with Meghan Markle Prince Harry is back in the U.K.! Queen Elizabeths grandson appeared for his first public event since relocating with wife Meghan Markle and 9-month-old son Archie to Canada. The Duke of Sussex, 35, welcomed everyone at a full-day working summit for Travalyst in Edinburgh, Scotland. His appearance comes just days after the royal couple announced that they will officially be stepping down as senior working members of the royal family on March 31. Travalyst aims to help both companies and consumers adapt their travel habits to benefit the environment and destination communities. The Edinburgh event will see Harry work with more than 100 members of the Scottish tourism and travel industry to iron out the practical details of just how this can be achieved. Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images Our ambition is to transform travel and tourism so that every holiday people take, every trip they book, will have a positive impact and better protect the destinations and communities they visit, said a Travalyst spokesperson about the event, which is taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Other than a brief welcome, Harry did not make any speeches or talking part in any panels at the summit, which is being run in association with VisitScotland and Travalysts corporate partners Booking.com, Skyscanner, Trip.com, TripAdvisor and Visa. Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images Prince Harry launched his environmental tourism initiative in September, where he recalled meeting a young boy during a visit to a coral reef replanting project in the Caribbean when he was traveling on behalf of the monarch in 2012. I had a 7-year-old come up to me, tug my shirt, and say with such conviction: Because of your country, my countrys coral reef is dying, Harry said during his speech. RELATED: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Admit to a Saddening Aspect of Their Exit from Royal Life Archie, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage Harrys appearance is the first of many over the next two weeks. He will team up with Jon Bon Jovi at a recording session on Friday. The music icon is re-recording his song Unbroken with the Invictus Games Choir for release in support of Harrys Invictus Games Foundation. Story continues The couple will make their first joint appearance following their decision to step down as senior royals at the Endeavour Fund Awards on March 5, followed by attending the Mountbatten Music Festival at Royal Albert Hall on March 7. Cant get enough of PEOPLEs Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Prince Harry will also have an event on March 6, attending the official opening of the Silverstone Experience, a new immersive museum that tells the story of the past, present and future of British motor racing. Meghan, 38, will step out solo on March 8 to celebrate International Womens Day. Meghan and Prince Harry will reunite with his family on March 9 for Commonwealth Day services. A U.S. soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for Coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19, officials with U.S. Forces Korea announced Tuesday night. It's the first confirmed case of the disease in a U.S. service member. According to an announcement, the patient is a 23-year-old male who is staying at his off-base home in a state of self-quarantine. The soldier's rank, unit and military occupational specialty were not released. Related: US Military Braces for Lockdowns in Germany as Coronavirus Cases Rise "[The soldier] visited Camp Walker on 24 Feb. and Camp Carroll 21-25 Feb. [Korea Center for Disease Control] and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed," officials said. "All appropriate" measures are being taken to stop the virus from spreading, and U.S. Forces Korea remains at high-risk level protocols across the Korean peninsula, according to the announcement. They included an exhortation to all troops to practice strict hygiene with proper hand-washing, avoidance of hand-to-hand contact and minimization of large gatherings. The virus, which has its epicenter in China's Wuhan province, has now spread to 31 countries and territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Some 53 cases have been diagnosed within the United States, and more than 80,000 cases worldwide, with nearly 2,500 associated deaths. On Monday, the 60-year-old widow of a retired U.S. soldier living in South Korea became the first U.S. military dependent diagnosed with the disease. The U.S. military has gone to significant lengths to protect troops stationed on the Korean peninsula. Earlier this month, the Daegu Army Garrison imposed a self-quarantine for U.S. troops who had attended a nearby church linked to an outbreak. It also restricted access to the facility. U.S. Forces Korea also implemented a mandatory quarantine for any troops who had visited China recently. Defense Department Schools in Korea are also closed this week, with reporting at Daegu garrison, on the southeast of the peninsula, limited to essential personnel only. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Read More: Test Pilots Sound Off on Futuristic Helicopter Vying to Replace Army's Black Hawk Charleston, South Carolina: They left it until the very last minute, and they may not have gone in nearly hard enough. But the Democratic Party's presidential contenders finally got around to targeting frontrunner Bernie Sanders for his big-spending policies, patchy record on gun control and praise for revolutionary far-left leaders. The Democratic presidential contenders targeted Bernie Sanders for his big-spending policies and praise for revolutionary far-left leaders. Credit:AP Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, trounced his rivals in last week's Nevada caucuses and has been rising in the polls ahead of this weekend's South Carolina primary, putting him in a strong position to win the Democratic presidential nomination. For the first time in the Democratic debates, the 78-year-old found himself consistently on the back foot, ultimately conceding he had made mistakes during his career in Congress. English French Bombardier delivered 56 Challenger 350 aircraft in 2019, out-delivering competitors in the super mid-size segment Challenger 300 series aircraft have accounted for more deliveries than any other business jet platform in the super mid-size segment since 2004 With an exceptional cabin, signature smooth ride and the lowest operating costs in its class, the aircrafts value proposition is unrivalled New features of the aircraft include compact Head-up Display (HUD) and Enhanced Vision System (EVS); class-leading cabin sound-proofing technology; steep approach certification and performance improvement package MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardiers leading Challenger 350 business jet has extended its impressive market performance as the worlds most delivered business jet in the super mid-size segment for the last six years. The Challenger 350 aircraft outpaced its competition in 2019, with 56 deliveries and a 44-per-cent share of the super mid-size segment. The award-winning aircraft has consistently ranked as the top-selling aircraft in the super mid-size segment since it entered into service in 2014. The Challenger 350 aircraft offers customers the complete package superior comfort, performance, reliability and value, all in a single business jet. This unbeatable combination is why, year after year, the Challenger 350 business jet continues to top the rankings as the worlds most delivered super mid-size business aircraft and why it remains the preferred choice of flight departments, individuals and charter operators around the world, said Peter Likoray, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, Bombardier Business Aircraft. Its a proud record that underscores Bombardiers commitment to building the most comfortable, best-performing aircraft on the market. The Challenger 350 jet boasts class-defining performance, a true seats-full, tanks-full range capability and can connect New York City to London.* Several enhancements have made a great aircraft even greater, including an available compact Head-up Display (HUD) and Enhanced Vision System (EVS), class-leading cabin sound-proofing technology and refined cockpit aesthetics. A performance improvement package also allows the aircraft to fly up to 1,500 NM farther out of short runways, complementing its already impressive steep-approach capability. This latest success builds upon a tradition of outstanding market leadership for the Challenger 300 aircraft family platform. For more than a decade, the Challenger 300 series aircraft have accounted for more deliveries than any other business jet platform in the super mid-size segment, with almost 800 unit deliveries worldwide since 2004. In 2019, Robb Report Magazine recognized the Challenger 350 business jet as the Best of the Best super mid-size aircraft for the second year in a row. As the only super mid-size aircraft that can fly full range at full fuel with full seat capacity, the Challenger 350 aircraft offers the luxury of having it all. With its signature smooth ride, exceptional cabin and the lowest operating costs in its class, the Challenger 350 business is in high demand. Its stylish and spacious cabin accommodates up to 10 passengers, features a fully-equipped galley, and unrestricted access to the baggage compartment in flight, while recently enhanced sound-proofing technology further establishes the cabin as the quietest in its class. About Bombardier With over 60,000 employees across two business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in over 25 countries across the segments of Aviation and Transportation. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Bombardier posted revenues of $15.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. Notes to Editors Visit the Bombardier Business Aircraft website for more information on our industry-leading products and services. Follow @Bombardierjets on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from Bombardier Business Aircraft. To receive our press releases, please visit the RSS Feed section. * Under certain operating conditions. Bombardier, Challenger, Challenger 300 and Challenger 350 are either unregistered or registered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. Gladys Nilsson Through March 14. Garth Greenan Gallery, 545 West 20th Street, Manhattan; 212-929-1351, garthgreenan.com. Through April 18. Matthew Marks Gallery, 523 West 24th Street, Manhattan; 212-243-0200, matthewmarks.com. If I had just one word to sum up the art of Gladys Nilsson, whos been painting for more than 50 years, it would be exuberant. Her work contains relentless energy and, by extension, optimism. Abounding with wacky figures of different sizes cavorting and contorting in brightly colored scenes, her oeuvre feels like a celebration of being alive. Ms. Nilsson got her start in the mid-1960s, when she and five fellow graduates of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago began exhibiting together as the Hairy Who. They were part of a larger movement, the Chicago Imagists, whose graphic, irreverent art drew on pop culture and reflected an absurdist sense of humor and an often unglamorous interest in the body. In the past decade, the group started to receive its due outside its home city, but individual members remain underappreciated, especially (and not surprisingly) the women. Ms. Nilssons current doubleheader, Honk! Fifty Years of Painting, at Matthew Marks Gallery, which is showing work made from 1963 to 1980, and Garth Greenan Gallery, where recent paintings are on view, is the largest presentation of her art to date, accompanied by the publication of her most comprehensive catalog. It is in no way large enough and doesnt include any watercolors on paper, her primary medium. But its a start. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Huseyn Safarov - Trend: Humanity will remember all its wounds, including the Khojaly genocide, Head of the Center for Strategic Analysis of the Russian Institute for Innovative Development, well-known Russian expert Andrey Ivanov told Trend. Andrey Ivanov noted that the Khojaly genocide is one of the most tragic episodes of the collapse of the Soviet Union. "After the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) left the USSR, military and civil conflicts erupted throughout the entire territory of the former united country. The scope covered literally the whole the territory of the former union," Ivanov said. As for Armenia, in Yerevan, according to the political analyst, they did not intend to or know how to become a mature state, and therefore chose the path of war, hoping that cruelty would unite the nation. The so-called "leaders" began to use harsh nationalist rhetoric, which led to many tragedies, the most terrible of which was the Khojaly genocide, Ivanov added. As Ivanov said, unfortunately, it is obvious that today politicians in Yerevan are trying, albeit with a more "civilian" look, to use the old methods. "That is, to replace the real interests of people with empty nationalist slogans. Instead of solving the economic and urgent problems of their fellow citizens, they are trying to use the factor of hatred towards other nations. The fact is that such a policy prevents the modern generation of Armenia from realizing the essence and causes of the tragedies of the past," Andrey Ivanov said. In conclusion, the expert stressed that Karabakh is legal, historical part of Azerbaijan and the Khojaly tragedy is the pain of the Azerbaijani people. On many of the machines you could only see one party on the ballot, sometimes two or three, but you could never see all of the parties on a ballot, said Mr. Cabral. As the extent of the problem became clear, election officials suspended the vote. The electronic vote failed us that morning, Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman, the electoral board president, told party delegates days later. Officials also admitted that, at least a day before the election, they knew of a problem with the voting machines but thought it would be easily fixed. We were warned, but not of the magnitude of the problem, Mr. Castanos Guzman said. Referring to people who helped set up the system, he said, They told us it was an issue that could be fixed the second the machines were installed. How did the government respond? After suspending the vote, the electoral board scheduled a new election for March 15, 30 days after the original date, as the Constitution mandates. The board said polling places would use only paper ballots. Any ballots that were submitted in February would be destroyed. The board also suspended its national technical director and enlisted the Organization of American States, a United Nations-like group that represents 35 Western Hemisphere nations, to audit the automated voting system. This audit will be complete and binding in its results, the O.A.S. said in a statement. The Dominican Republic also faces a presidential election on May 17, increasing the pressure to make sure its election system works and is trusted. Flash China stands ready to boost cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in fighting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and is willing to provide support and aid to the two countries within its capacity, a spokesperson said Tuesday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the epidemic situation in Japan and the ROK. Zhao said China is closely following the COVID-19 epidemic development in Japan and the ROK. The Chinese side appreciates very much the support and help offered by the governments and people of Japan and the ROK to China since the novel coronavirus epidemic broke out in the country, Zhao said. Close neighbors should help each other and enhance cooperation in times of need, Zhao said, adding China is willing to share information and experience with the two countries and offer support and assistance to them as per their needs. "Facing epidemic situation, it is the responsibility of each country to protect the lives and health of its people and safeguard regional and global public health security," Zhao said. He said China is willing to communicate and cooperate closely with Japan and the ROK as well as other countries, discuss joint prevention and control and work together to adopt appropriate and necessary measures to effectively prevent cross-border spread of the epidemic and jointly safeguard regional and global public health security. The BJP on Wednesday alleged that the nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) were orchestrated by the opposition to "destabilise" the party-led NDA government and also the country. BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra said the Modi-led government has solved some of the controversial issues like Article 370, triple talaq, Ram Mandir and CAA within one year of its second term, which has not gone down well with the opposition. Do you think that parties in opposition will keep quiet when we solve such controversial issues within one year of coming to power for a second consecutive term?, he questioned. They wont. They will use all their might to destabilise the government and also destabilise the country. I appeal you all, we should not allow the government to be destabilised, said Patra, referring to anti-CAA protests. The BJP spokesman was here to take part in an interactive session on Building Foundations of a New India. Pointing out that the Modi government came back to power in 2019 with a bigger majority than in 2014, Patra said It would have beena great disservice to the mandate if issues hanging fire for long were not solved. Those were the issues which were pending for the last 70 years as political parties were indecisive on them, he said. If, despite such a mandate, if we dont solve those issues, then it would have been like stabbing the mandate given by the people, Patra commented. Today, I can say with pride that the country has found strong leadership under Narendra Modi and his team has given a sense of closure for those issues which were considered as controversial, he said. The BJP spokesman said he had never in his wildest dream imagined that in his lifetime, he will see a day when Article 370, which provided special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, would be scrapped. It (Article 370) was projected as a monster which was never touched, he said. The BJP leader said the situation in Kashmir is "normal" and when someone raises the slogan of Free Kashmir, he concedes that he is asking for (restoration of) Internet connectivity in the Union Territory. Patra pointed out that this is the ninth time that the Citizenship Act of 1955 has been amended. The protests against the CAA are condemnable and they have an agenda, he said. Patra said the way the Rajiv Gandhi government was blackmailed into overturning the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, similar attempts are now being made in the case of CAA. They want to blackmail the government. They want that the government should bend down. They want that government should backtrack (on the new citizenship law), he said. Time and again Prime Minister and Home Minister have said that the CAA is not about snatching anyones right but it is about giving (citizenship) rights, he added. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and state BJP president Sadanand Tanavade were also present for the interactive session. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Womens Organizer for Amasaman Constituency, Hajia Salamatu Musah is asking the opposition NDC to give the Electoral Commission (EC) the space to conduct the 2020 elections. The NPP Communicator says the Commission has proven its worth and there is no cause for alarm as far as its ability to conduct credible elections is concerned. I believe the Electoral Commission should be left in peace to do its work, this harassment is not necessary, Hajia Salamatu Musah told Kwame Tutu on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7. She added, So why do we sit in IPAC and confer with the Electoral Commission and our peers in IPAC and then we come out and do manifestations and other things and say it is our way or it is the highway. If we dont have our way then nobody must have his way, I mean it really doesnt help anybody. According to her, the incessant demonstrations by the NDC against the electoral commission will not enhance the electioneering process or inure to the benefit of the country. She urged the opposition political parties to use the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to have their concerns addressed. K orean boy band BTS have made their much-anticipated debut on James Cordens Carpool Karaoke series. The Late Late Show host, 41, was joined by RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook for the latest instalment of his musical video franchise, which sees the star and his guests drive around Los Angeles while singing along to the radio. The 17 minute clip sees the band perform Black Swan and ON from their new album Map Of The Soul: 7 and their 2017 hit Mic Drop. They also sang along to Bruno Mars and Cardi Bs duet FInesse and Post Malones Circles. BTS on James Corden's Carool Karaoke 1 /14 BTS on James Corden's Carool Karaoke The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show Corden sat in the front of the car with RM, 25, who is the only member of the group who can speak English fluently. He told Corden - who joked that his Korean is not great - that he taught [himself] by watching Friends after his mum bought a boxset of the DVDs. The language barrier became a punchline at points during the episode as the rest of the band laughed along with Corden and RM, with Jin admitting: I dont know what he said, but lets laugh! The group also discussed their nicknames and brand Corden Papa Mochi. The segment came to an end with the band joining the TV star at a cardio dance class, which they eventually take over and lead, teaching the group a routine. BTS: The world's biggest boyband - In pictures 1 /46 BTS: The world's biggest boyband - In pictures November 19, 2017 BTS perform during the 2017 American Music Awards Getty Images March 19, 2014 BTS attend the 100th episode of MBC Show Champion 2014 in Seoul AFP/Getty Images December 31, 2017 BTS performs onstage during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images for dcp January 15, 2020 Ariana Grande shares a picture of her with BTS Instagram August 10, 2014 BTS attends the Mnet America show Danny From LA KCON 2014 - Day 2 in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images August 10, 2014 K-pop group BTS arrive on the red carpet during the K-CON 2014 in Los Angeles, CA, USA AFP/Getty Images January 22, 2015 BTS arrive for the 24th Seoul Music Awards n Seoul, South Korea Getty Images January 28, 2015 BTS arrive for the 4th Gaon Chart K-POP Awards 2015 at the Olympic Park in Seoul Getty Images May 21, 2017 BTS accepts the Top Social Artist award onstage during the 2017 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, NV, USA Getty Images November 19, 2017 BTS perform during the 2017 American Music Awards Getty Images November 19, 2017 BTS pose in the press room at the 2017 American Music Awards Invision/AP November 19, 2017 V and Jungkook of BTS perform during the 2017 American Music Awards Getty Images November 19, 2017 BTS perform during the 2017 American Music Awards Getty Images December 31, 2017 BTS attends Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images for dcp December 31, 2017 BTS performs onstage during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images for dcp May 20, 2018 BTS perfrom during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images May 20, 2018 BTS attend the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images May 20, 2018 BTS perfrom during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images May 20, 2018 Tyra Banks with BTS attending the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images May 20, 2018 BTS accepts the Top Social Artist award during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images October 14, 2018 BTS performs during a Korean cultural event as part of South Korean President official visit in France AFP/Getty Images October 14, 2018 BTS performs during a Korean cultural event as part of South Korean President official visit in France AFP/Getty Images October 14, 2018 BTS members stand on scene after they performed during a Korean cultural event as part of South Korean President official visit in France AFP/Getty Images October 14, 2018 BTS performs during a Korean cultural event as part of South Korean president official visit to France AFP/Getty Images October 14, 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in greets the members of South Korean pop group BTS during a Korean cultural event as part of South Korean President official visit in France AFP/Getty Images December 14, 2018 V, Suga, Jin, JungKook, Jimin, J-Hope and RM of BTS attend the 2018 Mnet Music Awards in Hong Kong Getty Images January 15, 2019 BTS attend the Seoul Music Awards Getty Images May 1, 2019 BTS perform onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images May 15, 2019 Kim Tae-hyung, Park Ji-min, Jungkook, Suga, Kim Seok-jin, RM and J-Hope of BTS perform on "Good Morning America" Getty Images May 1, 2019 South Korean boy band BTS poses in the press room with their awards during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards AFP/Getty Images December 6, 2019 BTS attends 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2019 Presented by Capital One at the Forum on December 6, 2019 in Los Angeles Getty Images December 31, 2019 BTS performs during the Times Square New Year's Eve 2020 Celebration in New York Getty Images January 26, 2020 BTS attends the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards Getty Images for The Recording A January 26, 2020 BTS perform with Lil Nax X AT the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards Getty Images Jan 29, 2020 South Korean boy band BTS with James Corden on The Late Late Shaw Earlier this week, BTS appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, taking a tour around the city with the late night host which included a show-stopping performance in the main hall of Grand Central Station. The groups latest album Map Of The Soul: 7 is on track to score a UK number one later this week, with the band currently outselling their three nearest competitors combined. A magistrate in Londonderry has warned that anyone coming before him in connection with an incident which left a young woman with 22 stitches in her face will be sent straight to the Crown Court. Barney McElholm issued the warning at Bishop Street Magistrates' Court after a 19-year-old man appeared in the dock following his arrest on Sunday for breaching court-imposed bail conditions. Eoin McBrearty, of Rathkeele Way in the Creggan area of Derry, is alleged to have committed the offence last Saturday. Objecting to bail, a police officer told Mr McElholm that during an incident in the Clon Dara area, two local women who remonstrated with the occupants of a car which was being driven erratically in the estate were assaulted. The police witness said the defendant "was recognised by a witness who placed him as the driver of the car and who said they saw him from four metres and knew him". The PSNI officer said the defendant was one of the three people arrested in connection with the incident, all of whom he said were subsequently released on bail. However, after his release, the defendant was re-arrested when it was discovered he had breached previously imposed bail conditions by not signing on with the police, not residing at his bail address and by allegedly driving a car. The officer said the police had a witness "which had him driving the car", and he opposed bail due to the risk of the defendant re-offending. Applying for bail, solicitor Paddy MacDermott said it was not the defendant who had caused the injuries. He also said his client also denied being the driver of the car involved, though he admitted he had exited from the driver's door. Refusing bail, Mr McElholm said there was clear evidence that a witness had recognised the defendant as being the driver. "This was a horrendous incident and it was absolutely disgraceful that someone could do that to another human being," he said. "Two women had been doing their public duty by challenging the occupants of the vehicle being driven erratically and one of them ended up with horrendous injuries." Mr McElholm then remanded the defendant in custody until March 12. Another male aged 17 and a 20-year-old female have also been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences linked to the incident. Following the incident, the alleged victim, Saoirse Smith, posted a photo on Facebook showing her injuries. It was reported that she had sustained serious facial injuries and lost two front teeth. Calumet City officers were alerted to a possible shooting in the area of Sibley Boulevard and Clyde Avenue just before 2 a.m. and responded to find both victims dead inside a van that had crashed near 1968 Sibley Blvd, according to the statement. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:19:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Tourists wait to cross road in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 26, 2020. South Korea confirmed 284 more cases of the COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 1,261, and the death toll rose to 12. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea confirmed 284 more cases of the COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 1,261, and the death toll rose to 12. As of 4:00 p.m. local time, the number of infected patients totaled 1,261, up 284 from the previous day. The number of deaths from the virus increased to 12 with two more deaths reported. 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. The virus infections rose sharply for the past week, with 946 new cases reported on Feb. 19-25. The country raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday. The National Assembly passed three bills to revise laws on infectious disease, quarantine and the medical service. Under the revised infectious disease act, people with symptoms who refuse to be tested for virus could face up to a fine of 3 million won (2,470 U.S. dollars). People with symptoms who refuse to be placed under self-quarantine and hospitalized could face up to a one-year imprisonment or a fine of 10 million won (8,220 U.S. dollars). Under the revision, the health minister is allowed to ban the exports of face masks and hand sanitizers at a time of supply shortage or price spike, while the health ministry must have at least 100 epidemiological investigators from the previous 30. Face masks would be provided for children and the elderly at state welfare facilities when the virus alert is lifted to the third-highest level. Under the amended quarantine act, the health minister can ask the justice minister to ban entry to foreigners from regions affected by or at a risk of an epidemic. The revised medical service act involved the strengthened monitoring of patients, families and medical workers at hospitals. Of the total patients, 1,027 were residents in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of the capital Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province. Two clusters of infections in the country's southeastern region led to the recent viral spread. As of Wednesday morning, 597 cases were linked to the church services of a minor religious group, called Sincheonji, in Daegu. The health authorities planned to complete the test on about 1,300 Sincheonji followers of the Daegu branch, who attended the closed, crowded church services earlier this month, by Wednesday. The authorities secured the entire list of some 212,000 Sincheonji followers across the country, with which the local governments planned to check the whole followers with infection symptoms. The KCDC asked all religious groups to refrain from gatherings, recommending all the Sincheonji followers to stay at home if possible. Meanwhile, 114 cases were traced to Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo county, just south of Daegu. Test for all of about 650 patients and medical staff was completed as almost all the patients at the hospital's psychiatric ward tested positive for the virus. The government designated Deagu and Cheongdo as a "special care zone" last week, while protest demonstrations were banned in downtown areas of Seoul. In the southeastern port city of Busan, the sign of another cluster infection was found as 23 patients were linked to a church retreat. The number of infections in Busan rose to 58. The number of infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province gained to 49 and 51 each. Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 53,000 people, among whom 31,576 tested negative for the COVID-19 virus and 20,716 were being checked. A total of 24 patients have been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries. CHARLESTON, S.C. - Eyeing a South Carolina victory to rescue his presidential ambitions, Joe Biden claimed one of the state's most coveted endorsements on Wednesday as Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders marched past the blistering assault from his rivals on the debate stage the night before. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CHARLESTON, S.C. - Eyeing a South Carolina victory to rescue his presidential ambitions, Joe Biden claimed one of the state's most coveted endorsements on Wednesday as Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders marched past the blistering assault from his rivals on the debate stage the night before. And Pete Buttigieg, a leading critic of both Biden and Sanders, cancelled multiple events on the day saying he was sick. The developments came just three days before South Carolina's presidential primary election and six days before Super Tuesday with the Democratic establishment growing increasingly concerned that Sanders, a polarizing progressive, is tightening his grip on his party's presidential nomination. Biden is staking his candidacy on a win in South Carolina on Saturday that would deny Sanders a third consecutive clear victory. He got a boost Wednesday after earning the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and a South Carolina political kingmaker. "I want the public to know that Im voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden," Clyburn said, later adding I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us. Speaking afterward, Biden predicted victory and slapped at Sanders. "Today, people are talking about a revolution," Biden said. But what the countrys looking for are results. The night before, Biden and his Democratic rivals unleashed a roaring assault against Sanders during a contentious debate that tested the strength of the undisputed front-runner in the partys presidential nomination fight. Sanders faced the brunt of the attacks for much of the night, and for one of the few times, fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren was among the critics. The Massachusetts senator pressed the case that she could execute ideas that the Vermont senator could only talk about. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, she said. But I think I would make a better president than Bernie." A group of moderates, meanwhile, fought to emerge as the chief Sanders alternative. Biden argued that only he has the experience to lead in the world. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. And Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, pointed to Sanders' self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's push for education. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s," Buttigieg declared. But the moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited the Vermont senator. Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president and noting all the recent attention he's gotten: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why. Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver argued afterward that the debate didn't knock Sanders off his front-runner perch. "They threw everything they could at Bernie Sanders. None of it stuck," Weaver said, adding that some candidates showed an air of desperation. Trump, who returned to Washington early Wednesday after a two-day trip to India, responded to a reporter's shouted question about whether he'd seen the debate: I did, he said while stepping into a car. Not too good, not too good. The intensity of Tuesday's forum, with candidates repeatedly shouting over each other, reflected the reality that the Democrats establishment wing is quickly running out of time to stop Sanders' rise. Even some critics, Bloomberg among them, conceded that Sanders could build an insurmountable delegate lead as soon as next week. The Democratic White House hopefuls will not stand side by side on the debate stage again until the middle of March. That made Tuesdays debate likely the last chance for some candidates to save themselves and alter the trajectory of the nomination fight. Though Sanders was at the centre of the attacks, this week marks something of a high point in his political career. After spending nearly three decades as an agitator who delighted in tearing into his partys establishment, that very party establishment was suddenly fighting to take him down, a clear sign of his rising status as the leading candidate for the nomination. New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg also faced sustained attacks that gave him an opportunity to redeem himself after a bad debate debut one week earlier. Warren cut hard at his record as a businessman, bringing up reports of one particular allegation that he told a pregnant employee to kill it, a reference to the womans unborn child. Bloomberg fiercely denied the allegation, but acknowledged he sometimes made comments that were inappropriate. Bloomberg cannot earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party, Warren said. He is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage. But Bloomberg will likely remain a force in the contest even as other candidates may quickly face tough choices about the sustainability of their campaigns. Bloomberg has already spent more than $500 million on a national advertising campaign, and his fortune ensures he will remain a factor at least through Super Tuesday. But the skepticism for Sanders was a constant. Buttigieg raised concerns that a Sanders nomination would cost Democrats the House and make it harder to retake the Senate. We're not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime, Buttigieg said. Back in Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday brushed back the down-ballot warnings about Sanders. I think whoever our nominee is we will enthusiastically embrace and we will win the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol. The South Carolina contest offers the first real look at the influence African American voters play in the Democrats presidential nomination process. Biden is trying to make a big impression in in the state, where he was long viewed as the unquestioned front-runner because of his support from black voters. But heading into Saturdays primary after three consecutive underwhelming finishes, there were signs that the former vice-presidents African American support may be slipping. One reason: Tom Steyer. The billionaire activist has been pouring money into African American outreach, which threatens to peel away some of the support Biden badly needs. Biden used the Clyburn endorsement to repeat an idea he mentioned, almost casually, at the end of Tuesday's debate, to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. "As president, Id be honoured to appoint the first African American woman. Because it should look like the country. Its long past time," Biden said, recalling that Obama nominated the court's first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 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. And he offered a direct message to Democrats in South Carolina and beyond who may be doubting the strength of his candidacy. If you send me out of South Carolina with a victory, there will be no stopping us, Biden charged. "We will win the nomination. We will win the presidency. And most importantly, we will end the fear ... of a second term for Donald Trump. ___ Peoples reported from Washington. AP writer Thomas Beaumont in Columbia, South Carolina contributed. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Interim president of the PSD (Social Democratic Party) Marcel Ciolacu, on Wednesday said that it is absolutely out of question that the Social Democrats will vote for the designated Prime Minister, Florin Citu, in Parliament, while even labeling Florin Citu's designation as "ridiculous." "I would have preferred Mr. Citu to come out and tell us how he borrowed 10 billion euros in three and a half months and, above all, what he spent the money on (...)," Ciolacu told Romania TV private television broadcaster.Asked if he would exclude the possibility of PSD voting for the designated Prime Minister, Ciolacu replied: "Most definitely"."Mr. Citu is the minister who is called regularly in Parliament and he refuses to present the figures," he added.The interim leader of the PSD said that President Klaus Iohannis and the PNL have the "total power to manage" the political crisis in our country, which is "already serious".He added that the PSD was ready to work with its political opponents, but this was not possible."It is clear what path they chose [the President and the PNL - editor's note], they are forcing for the elections. We are ready for elections, we have no problem with this, but someone will have to answer for all this political crisis. The discussions today have been very short, around 12 minutes, so I suppose the President just took note of the decision that was already taken," Ciolacu said.President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday, at the end of his consultations with the political parties and parliamentary formations, that he has designated Florin Citu for the position of Prime Minister. Hyderabad, Feb 26 : A 22-year-old engineer from Andhra Pradesh, who is stranded in coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, is surviving on rice and pickle for nearly a month, her relatives said. With only non-vegetarian food is available at a Chinese company's dormitory, this woman from Kurnool district is eating only the rice supplied in the dormitory and the pickle she had carried with her from India. The woman, who was not allowed to board the flights to India late last month and earlier this month, is likely to return along with other Indians stranded in Hubei province on Thursday. However, her relatives are keeping their fingers crossed. "The embassy has given only a tentative date. We have to wait. There will be tension till she boards the flight because we can't say anything with certainty about the Chinese authorities," Jyothi's fiance Amarnath Reddy told IANS over phone. He was referring to reports that China last week denied clearance to Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster to evacuate Indian citizens. Amarnath Reddy said the Chinese government should allow the evacuation on humanitarian grounds as Jyothi and her family suffered a lot for the last 27 days. Jyothi, along with another trainee engineer Sathya Sai Krishna from Andhra Pradesh, were not allowed to board the flight on January 31 as they were running high temperature. They were again stopped from taking the second flight on February 2 though they had no symptoms of coronavirus. Jyothi and Krishna were among the 58 trainee engineers of Panel Optodisplay Technology Private Ltd (POTPL). Barring the two, all others have returned to India. The youths were part of a group of staff of Chinese firm POPTL who went there for training. POPTL selected the students during campus placements to work at its upcoming LCD TV screen-manufacturing unit near Tirupati. Jyothi and Krishna were lodged in POPTL's dormitory for nearly a month and waiting for help from the Indian government. Jyothi informed her fiance that neither the company nor the local authorities took care of them. "She was not provided any medicines even for common ailments. Surviving on just plain rice and pickle, she has turned weak and considerably lost weight," said Amarnath Reddy, who is a chartered accountant in Nandyal town of Kurnool district. Amarnath Reddy, a relative of Jyothi, has been anxiously waiting for her return. Their wedding is scheduled on March 15. "But we have to postpone the wedding because after her return she may be kept at quarantine facility at Manesar for 15 days. She also needs time to recover from the trauma she went through for more than a month," he said. Jyothi's mother Prameela is praying for her early and safe return. Jyothi's father Maheswara Reddy, a retired military officer, passed away in 2014. India has so far operated two Air India special flights to Wuhan and evacuated 647 Indians and seven Maldivians. China's novel coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 2,715 lives while there are 78,064 confirmed cases. (Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in) By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday warned that anyone targeting minorities in the country would be dealt with strictly, as he condemned the ongoing violence in India. At least 20 people have been killed since Sunday in violence in Northeast Delhi, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-protestors over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country," he said. Khan also condemned the violence in India and said the world community "must act" now. "Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now," he tweeted. "Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed," he said. Khan also referred to his address to the UN General Assembly last year in which he warned the international community against ignoring the situation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last. India has defended its move on Kashmir in August, saying the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. The Indian Parliament had passed the CAA last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. According to the CAA, members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship. The Indian government has been emphasising that the new law will not deny citizenship rights, but has been brought to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries and give them citizenship. Berkeley -- San Francisco's women firefighters are exposed to higher levels of certain toxic PFAS chemicals than women working in downtown San Francisco offices, shows a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, San Francisco, and Silent Spring Institute. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in grease- and water-resistant coatings and can be found in fabrics, furniture and food packaging, but also notably in firefighting foam and turnout gear. These "forever chemicals," which don't easily break down in the environment, have been linked to a variety of cancers and are known to interfere with immune function, endocrine function and breast development. The study, which appears Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, is one of the first published results from the Women Firefighter Biomonitoring Collaborative, a long-term investigation into the chemical exposures faced by women firefighters. Partners in the collaboration include the United Fire Service Women, the San Francisco Cancer Prevention Foundation, Commonweal and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. "Women firefighters actually raised concern about what they have perceived as elevated rates of breast cancer among their cohort in San Francisco," said Jessica Trowbridge, a graduate student at UC Berkeley and lead author of the paper. "As a team, we decided to conduct an exposure study looking at chemicals that are potential breast carcinogens." While studies are beginning to document higher rates of cancer among firefighters and higher PFAS exposures, in particular, these studies have primarily focused on men. Documenting the risks faced specifically by women firefighters is critical to ensuring that they receive the protections they need, both for cancer prevention and for compensation if they get sick. "This is the first study, to our knowledge, that's been done on women firefighters," said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health and of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley and senior author of the paper. "The idea of characterizing women's workplace exposures is something that few people are paying any attention to, and here, we are using the newest available technologies to start to do that." San Francisco is ideal location for this investigation because it has more women firefighters than any other urban fire department in the country. Women make up approximately 15% of the San Francisco fire force, compared to about 5% nationwide. This is due, in part, to 1980s litigation and a consent decree that encouraged the department to hire more women and people of color. "Women firefighters have benefitted from these well-paid, very honorable professions and now are facing similar concerns about the impacts on their health that studies have demonstrated in men," Morello-Frosch said. 'Is our job causing cancer?' In 2012, Lt. Heather Buren, along with colleagues form the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation (SFFCPF) noticed an alarming trend: In that year alone, five female firefighters were diagnosed with breast cancer. "We started asking questions, wondering what was up," said Buren, co-author of the paper. "Cancer wasn't new to our profession, but for the first time, I was thinking about cancer as an occupational disease: Was fighting fire somehow a contributing factor in my friends getting sick? Were our repeated exposures to toxic burning chemicals on the fire ground a factor to the high breast cancer rates among SFFD women firefighters?" Through a series of discussions and community meetings with Commonweal and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Buren was introduced to Morello-Frosch. Together, the two began the steps that would eventually launch the biomonitoring collaborative. Since beginning the study, Buren and a small group of other women firefighters have teamed up with the Bluegreen Alliance to create a training program to help other firefighters take steps to reduce their exposures to PFAS and other toxic chemicals. These steps include many basic measures, like immediately wiping down exposed areas of skin and removing and cleaning turnout gear -- a firefighter's coat, boots and helmet -- after an incident. "There's also a lot of interest in having firefighters use foams that don't contain PFAS, not just to protect the firefighters, but also because the PFAS foams have contaminated a lot of groundwater and drinking water across the U.S.," said study co-author Ruthann Rudel, research director at Silent Spring Institute. Because many manufacturers do not disclose the ingredients contained in firefighting foam, the project GreenScreen has recently launched a certification program to identify PFAS-free foams, Rudel pointed out. 'We're here, and our health is important' To conduct the study, the researchers collected blood samples from 86 women firefighters and 84 women who work in offices in downtown San Francisco. They also conducted hour-long interviews with each participant, asking about workplace activities, eating habits and consumer product use to tease out possible sources of PFAS exposure. Of the 12 types of PFAS chemicals the researchers tested for, seven were found in detectable amounts in most participants' blood samples, and four were found at detectable amounts in all participants' samples. Three of the seven -- PFHxS, PFUnDA, and PFNA -- were detected at significantly higher amounts in firefighters' blood, compared to office workers' blood. Each participant received a digital report generated by Silent Spring, detailing their individual results and providing information and concrete steps for reducing their PFAS exposure. In a companion paper, which also appeared online this month in Environmental Science and Technology, the team detailed a new method that will allow researchers to rapidly screen blood samples for the presence of a variety of different toxic compounds. This method could help identify what else these women firefighters are exposed to that might be harmful. A future study, currently in preparation, will also report on the levels of flame-retardants in the blood samples of the women firefighters and office workers. "We are here, and our health is important," Buren said. "In many occupations, women are often overlooked and understudied. Firefighting is no different. The SFFD has more women firefighters than any other metropolitan fire department in the U.S. The strength in numbers, coupled with the continued and strong support from our administration and union, has allowed us to focus on the health of our women, which we hope will benefit all firefighters nationally." ### Co-authors of the paper include Roy Gerona of UCSF and Vincent Bessonneau of Silent Spring Institute. This work is supported by the California Breast Cancer Research Program (19BB-2900), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES027051), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Targeted Research Training Program (T42 OH008429), the San Francisco Firefighter Cancer Prevention Foundation and the International Association of Firefighters-Local 798. Theres wide agreement in states that the way they collect and distribute K-12 funds is outdated and ineffective. But what system, exactly, should they replace their existing funding formulas withand what does it cost to find out? In order to overhaul education funding systems, legislatures, advocates and district administrators need an agreed-upon definition of what a K-12 education system should cost. But cost assessment itself can sometimes cause sticker shock. This legislative session, Arkansas, Nevada and New Hampshire have approved comprehensive studies of their K-12 systems, each costing more than $500,000 each. Cost studies involve researchers interviewing dozens of educators, reviewing districts budget books, and attempting to calculate how much it would cost to get several different types of students to reach states standards. In many instances, researchers come back to the state with a set of recommendations on how much the state should spend on its schools and how it should distribute that money to school districts. The process can be messy, complicated, and hyper-political with researchers sometimes bought in to be grilled by legislators. In Arkansas, legislators debated for months before deciding in December to set aside $659,580 to pay Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, a school finance firm out of Denver, to conduct a comprehensive study of public school funding in the state. It will be the first time the state has looked at its funding model since 2003. In Nevada, the states department of education recommended in November that the legislature pay Applied Analysis, a fiscal and data research firm based in Las Vegas, and WestEd, a consulting firm based in San Francisco, a combined amount of $600,000 to figure out a way to implement the states new funding formula. And in New Hampshire, a legislative committee is negotiating with the University of New Hampshires Carsey School of Public Policy and the National Conference of State Legislatures over a $500,000 contract to design a new funding formula for the state. The contract requires the school to interview educators about their experiences, establish the cost of an adequate education, and provide the state technical support in implementing a new funding formula. Mike Griffith, an independent consultant who has conducted these sorts of studies for states, said theres now pent up demand from legislatures to better understand whats wrong with their funding formula and how to fix it. The worlds changing, Griffith said. These funding formulas were designed 25 years ago and didnt take into account things like school choice and virtual classes. The nightmarish footage shows a man whose entire body has been wrapped in plastic wrap, writhing and screaming for help from his seat on a Turkish Airlines flight. The man, Emmanuel Chedjou, told the France 24 Observers how he was restrained while being deported from Turkey to his native Cameroon. Four separate videos of this disturbing incident have been circulating online since they were posted in mid-February and have sparked a national outcry in Cameroon. The France 24 Observers team was able to track down Chedjou, who denounced the violent and humiliating treatment he experienced at the hands of the Turkish authorities and Turkish Airlines staff. Our team identified a series of four videos showing the incident, which occurred on board flight number TK667 between Istanbul and Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, on the night of January 27, 2020. The first video shows the moment when Emmanuel Chedjou first managed to free his mouth and start screaming for help and protesting his deportation. The footage was filmed by his girlfriend, who was also being deported and was seated nearby. The video stops when a flight attendant wearing a Turkish Airlines uniform holds up a hand to prevent her from filming. The second video, also filmed by Chedjous girlfriend, shows three men helping him remove the plastic film around his torso. These two videos were posted on Facebook on January 28. The videos reached a wider audience when one of the other passengers on the flight shared the videos with Cameroonian social media influencer David Eboutou. The footage shows three men helping Chedjou free himself from most of the plastic wrap. They then start trying to remove the handcuffs and tape that he has around his ankles. The videos show the extent to which Chedjou was restrained. They show plastic ties around his wrists and metal cuffs around his ankles. He is seen wrapped in several layers of plastic film, which are sealed with thick pieces of tape. One of the three men in the video is holding a roll of tape in his hand. Another strange detail is that there is a surgical mask hanging from Chedjous ear, which he was likely wearing to cover the fact that his mouth had been taped shut. They said my visa was false and detained meThe France 24 Observers team managed to track down 47-year-old Emmanuel Fosso Someon Chedjou, who sells shoes for a living in Douala, Cameroon. He shared documents with our team proving that he did undertake the journey and that he was indeed deported from Istanbul airport. Our team also spoke to six other people who were detained with Chedjou in the airport detention centre. Their accounts all lined up with Chedjous story. Story continues I wanted to go to Dubai with my girlfriend to buy a shipment of shoes. I organized the entire trip through a travel agency. It was the first time I had organized such a trip and I only realised later that I had been scammed. Our flight to Dubai had an eight-hour layover in Istanbul on January 21. Emmanuel Chedjou sent documents to the Observers showing his itinerary. When we arrived in Turkey, my partner stayed in the transit zone. I wanted to leave the airport to run an errand, seeing as we had an extremely long layover. When I got to the passport control, they told me that my transit visa was fake and arrested me. They brought me to a sort of detention centre. My partner was also there when I arrived; she had also been arrested. This document (written in Turkish and English) explains that Emmanuel Chedjou was pronounced an "inadmissible passenger", or INAD in aviation jargon, because of a counterfeit visa or residency permit. Emmanuel Chedjou took this selfie in the Istanbul Airport shortly before he was arrested. The airport is recognisable because of its unique ceiling. They confiscated my phone and told me to sign papers that I couldnt read because they were in Turkish. I asked to speak to a lawyer and the officers who were there refused to let me. I dont know who exactly these officers were they might have been police officers, gendarmes or security officers. They werent wearing uniforms. Two days later, on January 23, they tried to deport me the first time. I protested, telling them that I wanted to go to Dubai as planned and one of the officers hit me. When we got to the walkway leading to the plane, I started yelling and protesting again. Thats when the staff and the pilot of the Turkish Airlines flight came out and refused to take me on board. They said I should be handed over to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. But that didnt happen. "They took the roll of plastic film used to wrap suitcases Over the next few days, I was repeatedly beaten and threatened as the authorities pressured me to return to my country. Around 1 pm on January 28, they came to get me to put me on a flight to Yaounde, Cameroon. I protested again and, this time, they brought me to a special room. There were about a dozen officers on hand and a group of them tried to control me. They put plastic ties on my wrists and ankles and then put on metal cuffs. Then, they stuffed my mouth with tissues and taped it shut. Then they took two giant rolls of plastic film, which is used in airports to wrap up suitcases. They wrapped me in layer upon layer from my neck to my feet and it was absolutely impossible to move. Thats when I started struggling to breathe. Three of them put me into a wheelchair and brought me to a plane leaving for Yaounde. In the plane, they carried me like a package to my seat. When the passengers were all seated and the plane was just 15 minutes from taking off, I managed to spit out the tissues that were stuck in my mouth and I started screaming for help. The passengers immediately reacted when they saw me and started demanding that I be freed from the plastic. My girlfriend was in the plane as well and she managed to film two videos so wed have proof of what happened. My clothes were ripped when I was struggling with the officers and I asked for my hand luggage so that I could change. I left my ripped jeans on the seat, which had 2,400 euros in cash in the pocket. I had been planning to use that money to buy shoes in Dubai for my business. When the officer gave me back my jeans, the pockets were empty. Youve been lucky so far, the officer said. Were going to kill you." "They left me in a terminal for two days without giving me anything to eat After all that, a flight attendant working for Turkish Airlines accompanied me off of the plane. My girlfriend remained on board, however, and was soon flying towards Yaounde. The flight attendant asked me why I was under escort and I told her it was unacceptable to treat people in this way and that I was sick and needed medical care. She left me in the terminal in front of a Turkish Airlines counter with absolutely nothing. I had to beg to eat. After two days, a man who claimed to be the head of staff at Turkish Airlines said to me, We cant give you medical attention and you cant stay in Turkey. Youre here, you cant even wash. You are going to have to choose a country where we can send you and you are going to leave. Then officers came to get me to bring me back to the detention centre. One night, one of the police officers who had wrapped me up in plastic was delivering me a coffee and he told me that they were going to send me to Abuja, Nigeria. I told him that wasnt my country and that it was very far from my home. He said it was nearby [Editors note: Abuja is 800 kilometres, or 500 miles, from Douala]. At that point, I was just exhausted. I couldnt fight anymore and I just gave in. I took the boarding pass for the flight and they brought me into the plane in handcuffs. Once I was seated on the plane, they removed the cuffs and left. Chedjous boarding pass for the flight from Istanbul to Abuja. I left Istanbul on the evening of January 30 and arrived in Abuja on January 31. A woman I met in the plane helped me organise a driver to take me back to Cameroon. I finally got back home on February 4 [Editors note: two weeks after Chedjou first landed in Turkey]. Between the travel agency that scammed me and everything that happened in Istanbul, I lost about 7 million CFA francs, which is equivalent to 10,500 [Editors note: Our team was not able to independently verify these numbers]. I didnt just lose capital. I also lost credibility in my community. No one wants to do business with me. I want to speak out against Turkish Airlines and the officers who humiliated me. I want compensation for everything I went through and, if possible, Im going to file a complaint. "They took the cellphones belonging to black people but not those belonging to white peopleChedjou also said he faced discrimination at the detention centre: that black detainees were treated differently by staff; their phones were confiscated and they were kept in a separate room. Johnny Mabaya, a 20-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was held in the detention centre for six days during the same period as Chedjou, told our team a similar story. Unlike Emmanuel, I dont speak English. So there was a huge problem with communication and that sparked a lot of tension. The food they gave us was basically inedible and they hit us regularly. They confiscated phones from black detainees, but not from the white people. They also put us black people in a separate room. The day when they wrapped Emmanuel in plastic, we heard a lot of yelling and screaming and then, suddenly, it stopped. We realised that they had managed to close his mouth. A few days later, I was slated for deportation. I tried to protest but I gave in pretty quickly because I was afraid that they would do the same thing to me that they did to Emmanuel Our team also spoke to two women who were also detained at the facility one from Cameroon and the other from DR Congo. They also said that the Africans were treated differently. A Ukrainian man who was briefly held in the detention centre told us that he was allowed to keep his cellphone. What is going on in the airport in Istanbul? Very few immigration lawyers or refugee rights organisations have access to the detention centre in Istanbul airport. According to our research, several lawyers working with the NGO Refugee Rights Turkey have visited the centre in the past but they were not available for an interview. The detention centre is run by airport officials, as mandated by the 2015 Turkish law on the responsibilities of air carriers. According to the law, an airline is responsible for returning a passenger denied entry to Turkey to his country of origin as rapidly as possible. The company that runs the airport is supposed to ensure that while the situation is sorted out, the passenger is kept in good conditions in a secure area. Turkish law does not specify how police units or private security firms are supposed to escort deportees onboard the planes, nor does it specify what legal means they have to control a person who does not cooperate. According to a former executive in Turkish civil aviation, airline companies contract with private security firms for such operations. We were not able to independently verify this. Piril Ercoban, the coordinator for Mutleci-der, a Turkish organisation that defends refugee rights, says the images of Chedjous deportation are revolting. "It doesnt matter what the persons legal status is; this practice is unacceptable. That cant be legal. The authorities need to take administrative and legal action against those responsible and should no longer tolerate these practices in border or transit zones. READ ON THE OBSERVERS >> What its like to get stuck in an airport for a year The Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), an arm of the Interior Ministry, said on February 22 via Twitter that "such practices are absolutely unacceptable," that two investigators had been assigned to investigate, and that the personnel responsible would be appropriately sanctioned. A tweet by Turkey's DGMM February 22, 2020 reads: "The passenger in question tried to enter Turkey with a false document on January 21. He was denied entry. There were three attempts to deport the foreign citizen on January 21, 22 and 27. They were unsuccessful because he resisted and, on the last occasion, because he tore his clothes in the airplane. He was finally deported on January 30 during a fourth attempt." Our team contacted Turkish Airlines to get their explanations for the incident but they did not respond. We will update this article when they send a response. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $53 million as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors for the gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley region that killed one person, injured many others and damaged homes and businesses. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts has also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with Columbia Gass parent company, NiSource, Inc. Under the agreement, NiSource will sell Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and cease all gas pipeline operations in the state. The fine represents the companys profits earned between 2015 and 2018 from a pipeline infrastructure program, called the Gas System Enhancement Plan. Additionally, Columbia Gass operations will be on a probation period of three years during which time it will be monitored to ensure compliance with federal and state safety regulations. Charges filed against the company alleging it recklessly disregarded a known safety risk related to regulator control lines, or sections of pipe connected to regulator stations that help monitor and control downstream gas pressure. Prosecutors allege that failure to account for control lines began during the South Union Street Project to replace pipes in Lawrence in 2016. NiSource has also agreed to forfeit any profit from the sale of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and implement national safety recommendations resulting from the 2018 explosions. Those explosions started in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover on Sept. 13, 2018. The disaster killed Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old from Lawrence, and damaged many homes and buildings. Twenty-two people also suffered injuries. Columbia Gas reached an undisclosed settlement with the Rondon family. Over-pressurized gas lines appeared to cause the explosions and fires. As part of recovery efforts, the company disconnected 4,900 gas lines in the Merrimack Valley and installed more than 5,000 new lines. Residents were left homeless and staying in temporary housing for months following the explosions. In December, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera urged a judge to reject a $143 million settlement with Columbia Gas, noting that too much of the money would go toward class action attorneys and not the victims and their families. We take full responsibility for the tragic events of September 13, 2018 that so impacted our customers throughout the Merrimack Valley," Columbia Gas of Massachusetts released in a statement Wednesday. "Todays resolution with the U.S. Attorneys Office is an important part of addressing the impact. Our focus remains on enhancing safety, regaining the trust of our customers and ensuring that quality service is delivered. NiSource also released a statement Wednesday, saying Todays agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office is an important step in addressing the tragic events of September 13, 2018 and our ongoing focus on enhancing safety and delivering quality service to our customers. We are committed to doing what is in the best interests of both the public we serve and our dedicated employees, and we will fulfill the terms of our agreement today consistent with that commitment. Geneva, Feb 26, 2020 (SPS) - The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Alvin Botes, expressed on Tuesday his country's concern about the persistence of the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, for almost four decades. In his speech at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the South African diplomat denounced the flagrant violation of international law which undermines the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara, affirming that "Pretoria hopes to contribute in an effective way, and gives an impulse to the Saharawi people to obtain their right to self-determination". For Mr. Botes, the deterioration of the human rights situation in this last colony in Africa, arouses much interest from the South African government, which "once again renews its call to all international parties to ensure that the Saharawi people enjoy the rights provided for by international law in order to obtain their right to independence and peace". He reiterated the firm support of his country, for the struggle of the Saharawi people, and the path of settlement as defined by international law and the United Nations and Security Council resolutions relating to the file. It should be noted that South Africa is one of the most active countries of the Geneva Group to support Western Sahara, and works strongly at the level of the UN, and international organizations to defend the rights of the Saharawi people. , highlighting the reality of human rights violations and the looting of natural resources in the occupied parts of Western Sahara. The Geneva Group includes countries with diplomatic relations with the Sahrawi Democratic Republic (SADR). SPS 125/090/TRA WASHINGTON - Sixty-five years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, the House has approved legislation designating lynching as a hate crime under federal law. The bill, introduced by Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush and named after Till, comes 120 years after Congress first considered anti-lynching legislation and after dozens of similar efforts were defeated. The measure was approved 410 to 4 on Wednesday. The Senate unanimously passed virtually identical legislation last year, although that bill wasnt named for Till. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime punishable by up to life in prison, a fine, or both. Rush, a Democrat whose Chicago district includes Tills former home, said the bill will belatedly achieve justice for Till and more than 4,000 other lynching victims, most of them African Americans. Till, who was black, was brutally tortured and killed in 1955 after a white woman accused him of grabbing her and whistling at her in a Mississippi grocery store. The killing shocked the country and stoked the civil rights movement. The importance of this bill cannot be overstated, said Rush, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. From Charlottesville to El Paso, we are still being confronted with the same violent racism and hatred that took the life of Emmett and so many others. The passage of this bill will send a strong and clear message to the nation that we will not tolerate this bigotry. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who represents the area where Till was abducted and murdered, called the anti-lynching bill long overdue, but said: No matter the length of time, it is never too late to ensure justice is served. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., used similar language to urge the bills passage. It is never too late to do the right thing and address these gruesome, racially motivated acts of terror that have plagued our nations history, he said, urging lawmakers to renew our commitment to confronting racism and hate. The bill was unanimously supported by Democrats. Three Republicans Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ted Yoho of Florida opposed the bill, along with independent Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. Gohmert said he supported the bills concept, but preferred that those accused of lynching in Texas be tried in state court, where they could face the death penalty. Massie said he opposed the expansion of federal hate-crime laws. A crime is a crime, and all victims deserve equal justice, he said in a statement. Adding enhanced penalties for hate tends to endanger other liberties such as freedom of speech. Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, called lynching a lasting legacy of slavery. Make no mistake, lynching is terrorism, she said. While this reign of terror has faded, the most recent lynching (in the United States) happened less than 25 years ago. Although Congress cannot truly rectify the terror and horror of these acts, Bass said, a legislative body that once included slave owners and Ku Klux Klan members will belatedly stand up and do our part so that justice is delivered in the future. Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey applauded House passage of the bill, which mirrors legislation they co-sponsored in the Senate along with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. The three are the Senates only black members. Lynchings were horrendous, racist acts of violence, Harris said in a statement. For far too long Congress has failed to take a moral stand and pass a bill to finally make lynching a federal crime. This justice is long overdue. Booker called lynching a pernicious tool of racialized violence, terror and oppression and a stain on the soul of our nation. While Congress cannot undo lynchings irrevocable damage, we can ensure that we as a country make clear that lynching will not be tolerated, Booker said. Congress has failed to pass anti-lynching legislation nearly 200 times, starting with a bill introduced in 1900 by North Carolina Rep. George Henry White, the only black member of Congress at the time. Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said passage of the anti-lynching legislation marks a milestone in the long and protracted battle against white supremacy and racial violence in our country. The bill makes clear that lynchings occupy a dark place in our countrys story and provides recognition of thousands of victims of lynching crimes, including Emmett Till and many others, Clarke said. Washington (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday declared a powerful Iraqi Shiite paramilitary leader to be a terrorist after a series of rocket attacks, vowing to step up pressure on his ally Iran. The State Department listed Ahmad al-Hamidawi, secretary general of armed faction Kataib Hezbollah, as a "specially designated global terrorist," freezing any US assets he may hold and making US transactions with him a crime. The group as a whole, which has a close relationship with Iran, has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States since 2009. "Today we are intensifying our pressure on this terrorist group," Nathan Sales, the State Department counterterrorism chief, told a news conference. He charged that the group's goal is to "advance the Iranian regime goal of turning Iraq into a vassal state." The State Department pointed to Kataib Hezbollah's series of rocket attacks including fire on December 27 against an Iraqi base that houses US troops which killed a US citizen contractor. The incident sent tensions soaring, with the United States bombing paramilitary targets and eventually killing Iran's most powerful general, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone attack at the Baghdad airport. The State Department also pointed to indications that the group was behind deadly sniper attacks against demonstrators in October in Baghdad. Nationwide protests, triggered by economic concerns, brought down a government that had close ties with Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday spoke by telephone with Iraq's designated next prime minister, Mohammad Allawi, and urged the government to protect US forces. The Soleimani killing led the caretaker government to seek the departure of the US military, a request rejected by President Donald Trump who threatened sanctions if troops are forced out. A Co Tyrone man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years over a bomb attack on an RUC station more than two decades ago. Paul Campbell (41), of The Mills, Coalisland, was found guilty last month of causing an explosion likely to endanger life, and possessing an improvised explosive device with intent to endanger life, on March 26, 1997. Campbell, who was 18 at the time of the attack, had denied both offences at his non-jury Diplock style which was heard by Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland. Police welcomed the sentencing following their "long and complex" investigation. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: "It should send a clear message to those involved in violence - we will vigorously pursue those responsible to bring them before the courts to face the consequences of their actions. We will continue to combat the threat posed by those who plan to use violence to further their agendas. We remain committed to making Northern Ireland safer for everyone. It was the prosecution case that Campbell was one of two men who launched the attack, that he was shot by an undercover military operative known as 'Soldier A' as he fled from the scene, and that he jumped into a priest's car that was parked nearby and fled the jurisdiction to the Republic. Gareth Doris, who was also shot in the aftermath of the bomb attack and arrested at the scene, was later convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. A senior prosecution lawyer said blood and DNA samples recovered from the scene matched that of Campbell. During oral submissions at a sentencing hearing at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, the senior prosecutor said that the fact that the defendant might be considered for early release under the Belfast Agreement "was not a matter for this court, but for the Parole Commissioners''. He said Campbell should receive a higher sentence than Doris received as he (Doris) was "caught red handed'' at the scene. Expand Close The scene of the bomb attack on Coalisland police station in 1997 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene of the bomb attack on Coalisland police station in 1997 The prosecutor said the aggravating factors were that the charges were terrorist-related and the fact that Campbell fled the jurisdiction and wasn't actually arrested and charged until 2015 when was detained by the PSNI after getting off a train in Portadown. A further aggravating factor was that the intended victims of the bomb attack were police officers inside the heavily-fortified RUC base. He added: "There is little by way of mitigation as this was terrorist-related.'' But defence counsel Orlando Pownall QC branded this as "laughable and risable''. He told the court: "This incident took place 23 years ago. We are not inviting the court to do Mr Campbell any favours. I am not on his behalf on bended knee seeking charity. "What we do seek is an acknowledgement of the fact that he was convicted of events which took place in March 1997 when he was 18 years of age and he is now a grown man with four young children and a wife. "We submit that the passage of time of 23 years must afford him significant mitigation.'' Mr Pownall urged the court to take into account the "significant delay'' in bringing the case to court. The defence QC said that the approach of sentencing in such cases by the courts was "to identify the need for punishment, retribution and deterrence'', but he added that retribution and deterrence in this case after 23 years had a "hollow ring'', as since 1997, "Mr Campbell has not committed any significant offence''. Mr Pownall further submitted that it was "ridiculous and unjust '' for the prosecution to assert that Campbell should receive a higher sentence than Doris. Passing sentence, Judge McFarland said it was likely that Doris "was in possession of the device which contained between half and three quarters of a kilo of military grade explosives and you (Campbell) provided support for him.'' The Belfast Recorder said while Doris was shot and detained at the scene, Campbell was also shot but left the jurisdiction to the Republic of Ireland and was treated for his injuries. Judge McFarland added: "I consider the aggravating feature is that this was a terrorist incident.'' In mitigation, the judge said he was taken into account Campbell's age at the time "and your naivety to get involved in this terrorist incident'', his lack of criminal record at the time of the bombing, and that he had since "established a family life and the impact that will have on your two sons and your two daughters and also your wife''. Taking his starting point for sentence as 10 years, Judge McFarland said he was reducing that by two and a half years because of the delay in the case and also "the impact this sentence will have on your children''. The Belfast Recorder also made Campbell the subject of counter terrorist provisions for the next 15 years. HOLLAND LANDING, Ontario, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inscape (TSX: INQ), a leading designer and manufacturer of furnishings for the workplace, announced today that Eric Ehgoetz will be appointed Chief Executive Officer effective following the Companys board meeting on March 5th. Mr. Ehgoetz will be taking over from Brian Mirsky who has served as CEO since 2017. Mr. Mirsky will remain on the Board. Mr. Ehgoetz has been a Board member since 2016 and is currently the Chair of the Audit Committee and serves on both the Human Resources & Compensation Committee and the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee. Since 2016, Mr. Ehgoetz has been the President and Founder of TEV Capital Corporation providing strategic advisory and consulting services to both private and public companies. Previously, he was a founding partner at Spectrum Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity firm, and from 2004 to 2012 was a Managing Director at BMO Capital Partners, an investor of minority equity and debt in later-stage businesses. Bart Bull, Chair of Inscapes Board of Directors said, I would like to congratulate Eric on this appointment. Eric has actively worked with Brian and the rest of the management team, in his role as Director, since joining the Board. He has a thorough knowledge of the business and our corporate strategy. The Board looks forward to working with him in his new role. Over the past year, Brian has been in active discussions with the Board about his desire to spend more time with his family and his outside interests. He has worked with the Board to put a clear plan in place that will enable a smooth transition to Eric. The Board is grateful to Brian for his leadership in putting Inscape on the path towards becoming a profitable business. He has helped build new product and customer-driven platforms, exited unprofitable businesses and developed the next generation of leadership. We are pleased that Brian will stay on the Board to support Eric in his new role. By Doug Steinhardt When I was in law school, I played piano at local piano bars to help support myself. Ive always been a jazz music fan, and one of my favorite quotes is from jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, who said, The piano aint got no wrong notes. I always thought that wisdom liberating. It reminds me there is no script for creating or problem solving. Its also a great measure of self-accountability. If Monks quote taught me anything its that in life, Im my only obstacle. I never blame the piano if the song doesnt sound right. When I hear Gov. Phil Murphy talk about New Jersey and our affordability crisis, it sounds a lot like hes blaming the piano. He describes New Jersey as a place where families and businesses should just accept high taxes. He admitted as much when he said, If youre a one-issue voter and tax rate is your issue...were probably not your state. After the governors 2020 budget address, it is clear that he has settled comfortably into accepting that New Jersey will always be unaffordable, and we will always be the nations No. 1 exporter of jobs, businesses and family members. Phil Murphy is oddly at peace with the fact that our children cant afford to start their lives here and our parents and grandparents cant afford to retire here. Im proud to be the chairman of the NJGOP because I reject that mentality and know that New Jersey can be more affordable. Family is worth fighting for, and that fight starts with admitting that the governor is no Thelonious Monk. Phil Murphy is the wrong pianist playing the wrong notes. For decades Democrats have been singing the same, tired song. But the honest answer is, we cant tax and spend our way to solvency. For the two years Ive been chairman, weve advocated a single, simple message: New Jersey government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. While the governor is willing to mortgage and tax your familys future for the cost of his sanctuary state, so-called free college and a host of special interest giveaways, the honest answer is, we cant afford it, and neither can you. Governor Murphys 2020 budget is built around yet another income tax. At $40 billion, it is the largest in New Jersey history and grew faster than the states gross domestic product. His communications team has been working overtime to try and sell New Jersey residents on the idea that if we only tax people who can afford it, hell have enough taxes to fund his radical, liberal agenda. Except, New Jersey voters are smarter than that. We know that any new income tax will eventually find its way to the middle class. The governors own caucus has been reluctant to embrace his plan, since it perpetuates the states problems, without really solving them. But they are solvable. At NJGOP, weve been advocating four, simple steps: reduce state taxes (tackle pensions and health care), relax state regulations (end COAH and the inequities in the states school funding formula), reward hard work (give tax credits for college tuition and tax breaks to seniors and small business), and respect the United States Constitution (by embracing the Bill of Rights, not trampling it). And, thats just the start. Theres nothing inherently unaffordable about our home state. Dont blame the piano. Instead, change the pianist. Every election is a chance to elect a better band. Under this band leader, though, every sharp and flat is another tax and fee, and instead of playing Bon Jovis Who Says You Cant Go Home, Phil Murphy keeps playing the Beatles Tax Man. If you drive a car, I'll tax the street If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet 'Cause Im the taxman. Doug Steinhardt is chairman of the state Republican Party. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:05:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GENEVA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A World Health Organization (WHO) team will travel to Iran this weekend to provide support regarding the novel coronavirus, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said here on Wednesday, noting that on Tuesday the number of new cases reported outside China had exceeded that reported in China for the first time. Outside China, 2,790 cases of coronavirus had been reported in 37 countries as of Wednesday morning, including 44 deaths, according to the WHO. Speaking at his weekly mission briefing on COVID-19, Tedros said the sudden increase in the number of cases in Italy, Iran and the Republic of Korea was "deeply concerning." "A joint team of the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control arrived in Rome to review the public health measures that have been put in place and to provide technical support," said the WHO director-general. Despite the rise in cases outside China, Tedros stressed that "we should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts." He urged all countries to prepare for a potential pandemic, saying that every country needs to be ready to detect cases early, isolate patients, trace contacts, provide quality clinical care, prevent hospital outbreaks and community transmission. The WHO chief highlighted three priorities for all countries in combating the coronavirus at the current stage, namely protecting health workers, engaging communities to protect people who are most at risk of severe disease, and protecting countries that are the most vulnerable. In the fight to contain the virus and save lives, Tedros reiterated that "this is a time for global solidarity -- political solidarity, technical solidarity and financial solidarity." Citing the latest report delivered by the joint WHO-China mission on COVID-19, Tedros underlined the key message that should give all countries hope, courage and confidence -- this virus can be contained. Children's Health Ireland has said a review into rods used in some scoliosis patients is "near completion" after criticism from families who said they learned of the product recall through the media. Claire Cahill off the Scoliosis Advocacy Network said it has been 13 days since the US manufacturer NuVasive issued a product recall notice when it was discovered some of the rods had experienced the separation of an end-cap in the mechanism, potentially exposing some of its internal components, including alloy debris. We contacted Simon Harris and Childrens Health Ireland on the day of the notice of the recall," she told RTE's Morning Ireland. "It is really disappointing to see it first in a newspaper, that parents havent been informed properly. Childrens Health Ireland said in a statement: "CHI is aware of a field safety notice issued by NuVasive Inc. to inform healthcare providers caring for patients with MAGEC System Model X that there is concern that an end cap component of the rod can become dislodged after it is implanted into a patient. Post-market surveillance data by NuVasive Inc has reported that this has occurred in approximately 0.5% of patients worldwide. "CHI at Crumlin, where these rods have been part of some patients treatment plan, has commenced a review in order to establish if any of the small cohort of scoliosis patients who received MAGEC System Model X Rods since March 2018 were affected. This review is near completion." It said the parents/guardians of children who have had a Model X rod implanted since March 2018 will receive communication from their consultant orthopaedic surgeon "within the next 24 hours". "The surgeon will explain the issues to these families and deal with any of their understandable concerns." It said Crumlin is the only paediatric healthcare provider that uses the MAGEC System Model X Rods adding a dedicated telephone line for parents and guardians with queries in relation to their childs scoliosis related treatment or surgery is available on 01 409 6877, with the line operating from 9am-12noon, Monday to Friday. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed business related issues with India's policy makers and industrialists. On the second and final day of his state visit to India, the President discussed the potential of trade, investment, protection of intellectual property rights, H1B visas, along with India's energy security, with policy makers here. Besides talks, India entered into agreements to purchase $3 billion worth defence equipment such as military choppers from the US. Importantly, the discussions centred around trade-related issues, with both sides, showing optimism to reach a much-awaited trade deal. "Another major focus of my discussions with Prime Minister Modi is forging bilateral economic relationship that is fair and reciprocal," Trump said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Our teams have made tremendous progress on a comprehensive trade agreement and I'm optimistic we can reach a deal that will be of great importance to both countries." According to Trump, since he assumed office, US exports to India are up nearly 60 per cent and "exports of high-quality American energy have grown by 500 per cent". At present, India has a trade surplus with the US, and it is understood that discussions were held to bring down this down. The US President further said that as India grows, "so do its energy needs". "Yesterday, ExxonMobil signed a deal to improve India's natural gas distribution network so that the US can export even more LNG to India," he noted. Lately, the US has emerged as a large LNG exporter to India. Besides, Trump announced that the US will establish a permanent presence of the US International Development Finance Corporation in India. Moreover, the two sides discussed the importance of a secure 5G wireless network. Later during the day, Trump invited India Inc to invest "billions" of dollars in the US to reap the benefit of tax and regulation cuts that his administration has implemented, and to create jobs in the US. He extended the invitation during an interaction with top honchos of India Inc including RIL's Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla Group's Kumar Mangalam Birla and Tata Group's N. Chandrasekaran amongst others at the business round table event organised at the US Embassy. Talking about an upcoming tax cut for the American middle class and the fact that unemployment in the US was at a record low, Trump said that the US economy was performing very well and that the consumers there have more disposable incomes due to growing numbers of jobs. He said that governments can only help in employment generation, but it is the private industry which actually creates jobs. Trump also said that the US might not sustain healthy economic performance, if he is not re-elected in the Presidential polls this year and the unemployment rates might soare. He also contented that a re-election will swell the stock markets, while a defeat will lead to a massive crash. People protest outside of the federal courthouse in Center City in September in support of Safehouse, which will open the first supervised-injection site in the nation in South Philadelphia next week. Read more LATEST UPDATES: Philadelphia supervised injection site on hold while organizers seek community meetings, backers say The countrys first supervised-injection site will open next week in South Philadelphia, the sites operators said Tuesday within hours of a federal judges entering a final ruling that the proposed facility would not violate federal law. The organizers behind Safehouse, the nonprofit formed to open the site, were expected to announce details of their plan at a news conference Wednesday. They would not comment on the exact location of the site Tuesday evening, but sources familiar with the decision confirmed that the site would operate out of Constitution Health Plaza, 1930 S. Broad St., just steps from Passyunk Avenue. The site would have a separate entrance for its clients. The organization plans to open a second site elsewhere in the city shortly after the South Philadelphia opening. The city has also issued a public-safety plan for the area outside a site, and Safehouse has been training volunteer escorts, like those that abortion providers have used for years to protect women. The opening is the culmination of a two-year battle to open a place where people in addiction can use drugs under medical supervision, be revived if they overdose, and access treatment. READ MORE: Philadelphia to get nations first supervised injection site: How we got here But even though Safehouses backers plan to be welcoming clients next week, the legal battle over the site is not over. U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain on Tuesday said he intends to appeal U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHughs ruling. And some neighborhood groups in South Philadelphia are already raising alarm. READ MORE: First U.S. supervised injection site? Scientists say its operating secretly, somewhere. McSwain, who maintains a supervised injection site would promote drug use and lead to a rise in crime in the surrounding area, has threatened to use all enforcement tools at his disposal, including arrests, drug seizures, and criminal forfeitures, to stop any site that opens before the appeals process is complete. We believe that Safehouses proposed activity threatens to institutionalize the scourge of illegal drug use and all the problems that come with it in Philadelphia neighborhoods, he said in a statement. In light of these concerns, Safehouse should act prudently and not rush to open while the appeal is pending. But if it does rush forward, my office will evaluate all options available under the law. Safehouse organizers have said that time is of the essence, and that the nonprofit is designed to save lives amid an unprecedented overdose crisis that has killed nearly 3,500 Philadelphians in the last three years. Philadelphia, like the nation, is in a crisis, said Ronda Goldfein, Safehouse vice president. And we have the opportunity to address that crisis; we owe it to Philadelphia to do that. Much of the citys attention and conversation around a supervised-injection site has been focused on Kensington, the neighborhood at the center of the citys opioid crisis, where people openly sell and use drugs, encampments of people in addiction line the streets and more people fatally overdose than anywhere else in the city. And while the crisis is less visible in South Philadelphia, where the Safehouse facility will launch, the areas overdose rate is staggering on its own: About one person a week dies in the zip codes that the site will serve. Goldfein hopes that neighbors wont notice much of a change in day-to-day life around the site, but said the nonprofit plans a community meeting to address concerns on March 10, about a week after the facility is expected to open. READ MORE: Philadelphia officials, including Mayor Kenney, visit supervised injection sites in Canada This is not pop-up tents and Narcan. This is a dedicated connection to services for people in addiction, Goldfein said, in a neighborhood where those resources are few and far between. The nonprofit is also looking to work with South Philadelphia neighbors who support the site, like Kelli Murray-Garant, a Pennsport resident who is in recovery and works on a van that distributes medication-assisted treatment in Kensington. She said people in addiction can hold down jobs and find housing as she did during her heroin addiction. But the shame and stigma that keeps them inside is also killing them, she said. Two years ago, Murray-Garant relapsed and overdosed in the bathroom of the home she shares with her husband, who is also in recovery. She was afraid to tell him that she was using again, she said. She was blue in the face, she said, by the time he found her on the bathroom floor. After surviving her overdose, Murray-Garant entered recovery, began volunteering with people in addiction, and eventually landed her current job in Kensington. She said she wanted people in her neighborhood to know that a supervised injection site is getting people help not enabling. If a supervised injection site had opened when I relapsed, she said, I would have gone there. I might not have used in my bathroom because thats where most people in South Philadelphia use. Tuesdays court order did not come as a surprise. It echoed a preliminary ruling McHugh issued after days of hearings last fall in which he found the overdose prevention facility Safehouse was proposing did not violate a federal law passed in the 1980s to target drug dens at the height of the crack-cocaine epidemic. The decision was the first in the United States to address the legality of a site where people in addiction could use their own illegal drugs under medical supervision, access treatment, and be revived if they overdosed. McSwain, who personally argued the case before McHugh, said in his statement Tuesday that he respectfully disagreed with the ruling. What Safehouse proposes is a radical experiment that would invite thousands of people onto its property for the purpose of injecting illegal drugs, he said. In our view, this would plainly violate the law, and we look forward to presenting our case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Supporters say the primary reason for the sites is to protect the publics health and help keep people alive until they are ready to go into recovery. As such, they maintain, they should be legal as they are in Canada and some European countries, where they have operated for decades. Philadelphia officials have said that they would sanction but not fund the opening of a site. The bottom line is that overdose prevention sites which exist in more than 100 cities around the world offer compassion for fellow human beings, Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Tuesday. Our job as a city is to support efforts to alleviate suffering and to save lives. Ronda Goldfein of Safehouse is the wife of David Lee Preston, an editor at The Inquirer. He is not involved in coverage of this story. A victim of a homophobic attack who was stabbed multiple times says "I'm lucky I wasn't killed", adding he couldn't walk for two weeks following the incident. Anthony Nolan (28) was stabbed five times, lost two pints of blood and had to get dozens of stitches to wounds on his lacerated body after he and his boyfriend were attacked at Newbridge train station in Co Kildare nearly three weeks ago. Speaking for the first time about the attack, Anthony hopes it accelerates new hate crime legislation in this country. There should be hate crime legislation brought in here, to stop stuff like this happening, stresses Anthony, from Athy, Co Kildare. Expand Close Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 There should be something done in law to stop people making hateful comments about gay people and also even attacking them for being gay. There should be more education in schools, teaching young people to treat gay people and minorities with respect. Love is love. We have a Taoiseach for the past couple of years whos gay, he could have done more to bring it in. Its getting worse. I got stabbed and thats bad enough but I was lucky I wasnt killed but someone else may not be as fortunate. Anthony and Tipperary man Gerard Lawless had been in touch for a month before the attack and met a couple of times before their first proper date on Friday, January 30. They met in Newbridge and socialised in a pub in the town before trying to catch a train to Athy at around 6.30pm. The couple flirted with each other on the platform while waiting for the train. But three young men on the far side of the railway line started hurling abuse at them. I think they knew we were gay just by the way we were going on, recalls Anthony. Expand Close Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 I think we kissed the once, just a peck. Thats when the abuse started. They then started shouting stuff across at us like gay bastards and f**gots and all of that. The vitriol was so bad that Anthony and Gerard could not ignore it. I shouted back its 2020, come out of your cave, he said. Then I called them bullies as well. Gerard said something too, standing up for himself, but I cant remember exactly what he said. Thats when they got really angry. One of them shouted over were sick of your kind. The couple then noticed the three thugs walking over the bridge to confront them. Expand Close Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anthony Nolan from Athy Co Kildare who was involved in a homophobic attack at Newbridge Train Station and receeived 47 stitches externally with many more internally. Photos by Steve Humphreys 19th February 2020 One of them got in front of me and one of them stood in front of Gerard, he explains. I cant remember what they were shouting. Then one of the lads punched me in the face. Then I put my hand out and said stop. There were a few people on the platform at the time, but didnt get involved. The second time he hit me, I defended myself, he continues. The other fellow kicked Gerard in the face. After the second punch on me thats when the stabbing happened. I didnt even see the knife. I didnt know I was stabbed until it was over, I was still standing up and a girl on the platform said something about my leg. Then I looked down at my leg and my jeans were cut open and my leg was clearly injured. I tried to push it together, then when I let go of it it opened up and then I fainted. I got a shock, because I could see right into it. Im nearly sure I could see my bone. Im not really great with anything like open cuts and blood, especially when theyre on me. So when I saw it, it was lights out, I passed out on my back. Anthony was slashed in two separate parts of his left leg, the most serious damage being to his knee. His belly was sliced open, while he was also cut on his right arm and right leg. One of the thugs filmed the attack on his phone before the gang fled the scene when Anthony collapsed on the platform. Gerard tried to stem the bleeding to Anthonys stomach by placing cloth on it, while a Good Samaritan tended to the injury on his knee. Gardai arrived quickly on the scene but it took nearly an hour for an ambulance to arrive. He was then rushed to Tallaght hospital, with Gerard staying in the back of the ambulance to comfort him. One juvenile has since been arrested in connection with the attack but has not been charged with any offence. He is the second person to be questioned by gardai. It was a huge shock for my family, sighs Gerard. My mum has trouble with her breathing and was in such a state when she heard of what happened me that she went through two inhalers. My cousins and friends were up the walls as well, as no one knew if I was going to live or die at that time. They were brought to the family room in Tallaght hospital when they got there. I was put on morphine when I got there to help me deal with the injuries. The doctor was stitching me for two and a half hours and I needed two pints of blood as I lost so much. Altogether I got 47 stitches on the outside of my body. But they had to stitch on the inside as well, across my knee and inside on my belly, so there could be nearly 100 stitches. Anthony had just completed a course in Social Studies at the time of the attack. He hails from an area near Athy and speaks with a slight English accent, as his Kildare-born parents moved to London and he lived there until he was 11, but has since been raised in the Lilywhite county. Ive never suffered from homophobia before, not even on nights out, he reflects. Everyone in Athy would know Im gay and theres never been a problem. The area is lovely, its nice and quiet. All my family are all around me, so Im surrounded by all my cousins and aunties. He is still coming to terms with the attack and when we meet in a hotel in Athy its his first time in public since the attack. I couldnt walk for two weeks, he explains. I had to get around on crutches, because where the cut is on my knee its hard to bend my leg. So my mum had to kind of mind me ... I couldnt really move with the pain. Im not allowed to run or do any heavy lifting for six weeks, and Im not allowed to drive. He and Gerard still keep in touch and he has been supportive, but the duo are not dating. After everything that happened I didnt want to be seeing anyone romantically, he says. Im a bit scared, I havent been out much. This is my first time out since it happened. He has been encouraged by the amount of well-wishers since the attack. It went viral when it happened," he said. It was nice to see the support I got online after it happened. That kind of helped a lot with my mentality as well, because it just showed that not everyone out there is as small minded as those lads. My message is let people live their lives if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all, he stresses. The people who attacked me wanted to do serious damage, primarily because of who I am and the way I lead my life. He adds: I thought there was hate crime legislation in Ireland like there is in the UK, but I was shocked there isnt. I hope telling my story helps to get hate crime legislation in for that extra bit of protection for gay people. The prodigal son has returned home, at least for the next couple of weeks. Prince Harry is back in the U.K. for the first time since announcing Megxit and finalizing the plans with his family. Since his final day as a working royal will be April 1, 2020 the Duke of Sussex has an extremely hectic schedule ahead of him. Prince Harry has returned to the U.K. a few days ahead of his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex who is set to return for her own final events in the coming days. Though many members of the British press and public are displeased about Megxit, the prince seems happy to be back on his old stomping ground as he gears up to transition into his new life. Heres a look a Prince Harrys extremely hectic final royal schedule as well as some details of his homecoming. Prince Harry might struggle with his new non-royal life The prince has spoken openly about his eagerness for a quieter life away from the spotlight. Yet, being a financially independent private citizen is something he knows nothing about. In fact, some experts believe the Duke of Sussex is in way over his head. When I see now this road hes taken, where hes got to, more or less, start a whole new career I dont feel sorry for him, I wish him well, Royal photographer Arthur Edwards told The Sun. But I hope after a year he rethinks and comes back and rejoins the firm. Hes a boy whos never had to worry about parking his car, hes never had to worry about sorting out his tax returns or his insurance. All of this is going to be new to him. No one is going to do that for him now, hes either going to have to do it himself or employ someone to do it, Hes going to find life, as most of us do, pretty tough. Hes 35 and hes never had to do anything like that and he may wish hed never gone down that road. This is Prince Harrys final schedule as a working royal After being in the inner fold of the royal family for his entire life, Prince Harry is ready to give it up for a happier, more peaceful and more private life. However, the Duke of Sussex has quite the number of events to attend before April. On Fwb. 26, the prince will hold a coalition summit in Edinburgh with a sustainable tourism company Travalyst. Then on Feb. 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 of Sussex 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 Sussexes will both attend an event surrounding the day. Then, on March 9, the couple will attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey with Queen Elizabeth. Prince Harry has touched down in the U.K. On Feb. 25, Prince Harry flew to London without Meghan, Duchess of Sussex or Archie Harrison. Noting the backlash that he and his wife have received previously about their carbon footprint, the prince opted to take the train from Heathrow to Edinburgh. The Duchess of Sussex is expected to return to the U.K. at the top of March to carry out her final royal duties as well. Katherine Johnson, a ground-breaking black NASA mathematician whose work contributed to the moon landing in 1969 died this week aged 101. The space agency lauded her legacy of excellence that broke down racial and social barriers. "She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on Tuesday, honoring "her courage and the milestones we could not have reached without her." "Ms Johnson helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color," Bridenstine said in a statement. The youngest of four children, Katherine Johnson was born on 26 August 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and passed away on 24 February in Newport News, Virginia. Segregation in America Johnson grew up in West Virginia at a time when education opportunities for blacks were limited because of segregation. Her mother, a former teacher, and her father, a farmer and handyman, moved the family to a town that had a high school for black children, where Johnson excelled in maths and French. She was one of the first black students in the graduate school at West Virginia University in 1938. After teaching school for seven years, Johnson went to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a forerunner of NASA. Human computers Johnson and her colleagues were known as computers when that term was used not for a programmed electronic device but for a person who did computations - using pens, paper and a slide rule. Johnson went on to calculate the parameters of the suborbital 1961 flight of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Along with colleagues, she plotted John Glenn's course when he became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Before embarking on the mission, Glenn asked that Johnson personally re-check the computer-produced figures on a mechanical calculating machine -- a task that took one and a half days of intense work. Calculations for Moon Mission Her math talents later helped determine the trajectory of the Apollo 11 flight that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in July 1969. She said she was most proud of her contributions to the first moon mission, which included the calculations that synched the lunar lander craft and the orbiting command module. The Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, based on a book written by Margot Lee Shetterly recounted Johnson's career and also told the stories of fellow pioneers Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, and the key role they played in the Space Race. It shows how the black women employees worked within the constraints of segragation, using a separate office, dining and bathroom facilities. Despite this, Johnson, who retired from NASA in 1986, remembers NASA as a very professional organization. Presidential Medal of Freedom "They didn't have time to be concerned about what color I was." Johnson and her first husband, James Goble, who died in 1956, had three daughters. She married Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson in 1959. US president Barack Obama presented Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the country, in 2015. In August 2018 the West Virginia State established a scholarship in her name and erected a statue in her honour. (with AFP) Washington: Hours after President Donald Trump concluded his whirlwind 36-hour tour of India, the White House on Tuesday said the visit aimed at deepening the strategic partnership between both nations. "The United States and India benefit from strong economic ties that advance prosperity, investment and job creation in both countries," the White House said in a statement titled "President Donald J Trump is strengthening our strategic partnership with India". Underlining that it was the first official visit of the president to India, the White House said both countries enjoyed a long-standing trade relationship, exceeding USD 142 billion in 2018 alone. India is a growing destination for American energy exports, it said, adding that during President Trump's tenure, energy exports to India have grown substantially, generating billions of dollars in revenue. In India, ExxonMobil signed a deal to further improve India's natural gas distribution network so that the country can accept even more American LNG exports, it said. The White House said the US president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are working towards a trade pact that reflects the full potential of the economic partnership between both nation. "The United States and India are committed to investing in sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure in the region," it said. According to the White House, the two nations are deepening their security relationship and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "The United States is working closely with India to combat terrorism, confront global drug trafficking and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," it said. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are calling on other countries in the region to take steps to counter terrorism. The United StatesIndia defence cooperation contributes to the prosperity and security of the entire Indo-Pacific region," it said. During his visit, Trump spoke about the importance of the United States-India relationship before a crowd of more than 110,000 people at the Ahmedabad's Motera stadium, the White House said, adding that he had the privilege of visiting some of India's cherished cultural sites, including the Taj Mahal in Agra. During the US president's visit, India announced it will procure military equipment, including Apache and MH-60R helicopters, worth over USD3 billion. Trump and Modi also discussed the importance of building secure 5G systems to promote a trusted networking future, the White House said. Kuwait has reportedly confirmed its 12th case of deadly coronavirus on February 26 as the disease rapidly spreads to at least nine Middle Eastern Countries. The health ministry of Kuwait cited that the patient is a woman who arrived in the country from Iran and contracted the COVID-19 virus, confirmed reports. Health Ministry reportedly said that the woman was in a better condition as she was put in isolation and is being medically treated at a hospital. Kuwait identified most of its cases with a travel history to Iran, where the coronavirus figures have drastically soared past this week, state reports. Ministry further added that the patients infected with the strain of virus were stable and the approved protocols of isolation were being administered. It said that the necessary medical care was provided to them in one of the hospitals that were constructed and equipped by the health officials to treat patients that contracted the deadly disease. According to the reports, Kuwaits civil aviation authority imposed travel restrictions suspending all flights with Singapore and Japan over coronavirus fears. The measure was enacted in accordance with Kuwaits health ministry instructions. Kuwait had later announced that it suspended all operational flights with South Korea, where the largest number of coronavirus cases have been reported outside mainland China. Kuwait also revoked scheduled flights to and from Thailand, Italy, and Iraq in subsequent announcements. Read:Bahrain, Kuwait Confirm First Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases: Reports Read:Coronavirus: Afghanistan Announces First Positive Virus Case Kuwait cancelled National Day celebrations According to reports, Kuwait cancelled the National Day celebrations which were scheduled to take place on February 25. Kuwaits Interior Ministry urged citizens to cooperate with the government's decisions amid the malignant virus epidemic. Authorities also warned the people against spreading misinformation regarding the coronavirus and threatened to take legal steps in case anyone was found guilty. Kuwait evacuated at least 800 citizens from Iran on a chartered plane from the Wuhan City in Hubei province, the epicentre of coronavirus. Kuwaits foreign ministry urged all its nationals to contact the Kuwait's embassy for assistance in case they were stranded in countries where the coronavirus outbreak is soaring alarmingly, confirmed reports. Read:Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey Close Borders With Iran Over Coronavirus Fear Read:Coronavirus Outbreak: Thailand Confirms Two New Cases, Kuwait Suspends Flights The numbers offer a sobering reminder of how deeply the modern economy still depends on fossil fuels. Whenever industrial activity declines, whether because of a recession or a major disease outbreak, climate pollution tends to plummet, too. You can see the drop in Chinas coal consumption in the chart above. Every year, the nations coal use falls during the weeklong holiday around the Lunar New Year, which occurred on Jan. 25 this year. Coal-burning emissions then typically rise again once people return to work and factories spring back to life. But this year, coal use has yet to rebound. In late January, the Chinese authorities extended the New Years holiday and restricted travel and public gatherings in an attempt to stop the coronavirus from spreading. The effects have rippled through virtually all sectors of Chinas economy. Construction activity has slowed, which has meant reduced demand for steel and other materials. Oil refineries are producing less fuel than usual as cargo trucks sit idle and the number of flights has dropped by about 13,000 per day. Activity in key industrial sectors has declined by 15 percent to 40 percent over the last three weeks compared with the previous year. (Mr. Myllyvirta first published his analysis at Carbon Brief last week and on Tuesday updated it with another week of data.) But economic disruptions on this scale, whether caused by disease or recession, are usually accompanied by severe human costs and rarely make it easier to fight climate change. In some cases, they can make it harder. Karnataka Police and intelligence have been asked to be on alert in the wake of communal violence in Delhi and take preemptive measures, state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said here on Wednesday. "We have been keeping a close watch on the developments after the Delhi incident. I have instructed my officers to be on alert and take precautionary actions rather than actions after the incidents," Bommai told ANI. "The day before yesterday we had a high-level meeting...we are having a close watch," he added. Violence erupted in Delhi on Sunday evening after groups protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those supporting it indulged in stone pelting at each other. The confrontation soon turned communal and the violence spread to other areas of northeast Delhi including Chand Bagh, Mustafabad, Brijpuri, Shiv Vihar and Noor Ilahi on Monday and Tuesday in which at least 20 persons, including a police head constable, have died and over 200 have been injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Supplier News 26 February 2020 Paris - In today's hotel ecosystem, guest data is scattered across many tools: PMS, CRS, official website... which leads to unreliability. In a recent study, CRM experts at dailypoint analysed over 4.5 million reservations across 120 hotels and found surprising statistics. The most striking is that the hotels had on average 2.3 profiles for their loyal guests - in other words, these hotels thought they had twice as many loyal guests as they actually had. As consumers, we expect our interaction with a brand to be personalised, but while the benefits of personalisation are becoming more apparent, most hoteliers feel under-equipped to deliver on this new expectation. To help hoteliers make this required jump, D-EDGE Hospitality Solutions is launching a new range of solutions, powered by dailypoint: GUEST MANAGEMENT. The new product family encompasses a Hotel CRM, Guest Loyalty, and Guest Feedback solutions, all fully integrated with the D-EDGE CRS. GUEST MANAGEMENT is based on advanced technology - AI, automatic learning, and patented algorithms - to open up a world of possibilities for hoteliers to better target and automate marketing campaigns and offer a better experience to their customers. What makes this solution particularly appealing for hotels is the unique algorithm that captures data from multiple sources (PMS, CRS, WIFI, website, etc.), cleans it - removing duplicates, inconsistencies, etc. - and re-injects it into a single guest profile. With centralised and reliable guest data, hoteliers can: View and append data such as room preferences, interests, satisfaction, etc. Adjust the marketing pressure by unsubscribing or providing temporary email marketing breaks. Fulfil guests' stored data requests for GDPR compliance. Go beyond PMS data with a visual timeline of the guests' entire interaction with the hotel brand from website visits, email exchanges, on-site interactions, feedback, and remarketing efforts. Pierre-Charles Grob, CEO of D-EDGE Hospitality Solutions, concludes "In the Expectation Economy we live in, customer data is pivotal in effective sales and marketing. With the launch of GUEST MANAGEMENT, we are offering individual and chain hoteliers a new component, integrated into our CRS, that allows them to consolidate data from multiple sources and share it with all their operational and marketing teams to improve conversion rates, satisfaction rates, and return rates". Government lawyers spent the afternoon of Wednesdays hearing trying to impeach Kem Sokhas character by linking him to multiple Sam Rainsy speeches, where the exiled opposition leader called for an overthrow of the government. The court is currently discussing Kem Sokhas political career after he decided to merge the Human Rights Party with the Sam Rainsy Party to establish the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in July 2012. Sann Chouy and Cheng Penghap, government lawyers, questioned Kem Sokhas decision to join Sam Rainsy and form the CNRP. They pointed to a 2011 speech in Lowell, Massachusetts, where Sam Rainsy called for the armed forces to not attack citizens, to instead turn their guns on the government and for an overthrow of the dictatorial regime. Sann Chouy questioned Kem Sokhas repeated assertions that he believed in non-violent and democratic means, when he had chosen to combine forces with Sam Rainsy in 2012. When you shake hands with Sam Rainsy to form the CNRP, you know that they use violence, Sann Chouy said. Why do you let convict Sam Rainsy who is violent to lead you? The government lawyers played another video in court where Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are at a public dialogue in 2013. However, the audio was almost inaudible, with Cheng Penghap claiming that Sam Rainsy was again talking about citizens standing up against the government, in the presence of Kem Sokha. The government lawyers then attempted to make the case that all of Kem Sokhas prior speeches about his political philosophy, which were based on non-violence, democratic values and rejection of revolutions, were questionable because he decided to associate with Sam Rainsy, who they alleged was a violent person looking to topple the government. But, Kem Sokha, in a few heated exchanges, pushed back at the allegations leveled against him by Sann Chouy and Cheng Penghap. He said all his activities with Sam Rainsy were based on the CNRPs bylaws that were grounded in non-violence and democratic values, and had been accepted by the Ministry of Interior. I, Kem Sokha, do not support violence, overthrowing of governments or revolutions in general, the opposition leader said in court. He also differentiated words used by him and Sam Rainsy, adding that he always called for change through democratic means, using the Khmer word pdou. In the videos, Sam Rainsy is heard using the word pduol which means to topple. The defense pointed out that their client could not be linked or his intentions questioned based on the exiled leaders speech, given that Sam Rainsy was not in court to clarify the meaning of his speech. We are not the lawyers for Sam Rainsy, said defense lawyer Pheng Heng. In response to the government lawyers attacks on Kem Sokhas character, the defense asked two questions to link Prime Minister Hun Sen directly to Sam Rainsy. Pheng Heng asked Kem Sokha if Hun Sen had requested the King to give Sam Rainsy a royal pardon in 2013, prior to the general election, and if Hun Sen had negotiated with Sam Rainsy in 2014 during the so-called culture of dialogue. Kem Sokha answered in the affirmative, laying out the defenses argument that if Sam Rainsy was a violent person, why had the prime minister engaged with him. The opposition leader also took umbrage to questions about his intentions, after joining forces with Sam Rainsy, and said he would join with anyone as long as they shared the same vision. Why would Funcinpec join the Cambodian Peoples Party? he queried. Because they agreed with each others policies. Kem Sokha was referring to the 1993 post-election tie up between Funcinpec and the CPP, adding that before the Paris Peace Agreement the two groups had been in different factions during the civil war. In a short exchange earlier in the hearing, government lawyer Ly Chantola referenced a Phnom Penh Post article from 2010 which said that former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged the head of the Human Rights Party to merge with the Sam Rainsy Party. Kem Sokha did not respond to this line of questioning, claiming he did not remember the article or having a meeting with Hillary Clinton in November 2010. Ly Chantola immediately dropped this line of questioning, later handing reporters in the gallery a printout of the story. Earlier in the session, the council of judges turned down a defense request to increase the number of hearings to at least three every week, citing the lack of trial rooms to accommodate Kem Sokhas case. Presiding judge Kuy Sao said there were thousands of other cases that needed to use the courtroom. Flash New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain violence in the Indian capital that has claimed 18 lives. "I have been in touch with large number of people the whole night. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control the situation and instil confidence," Kejriwal wrote on Twitter. Unrelenting communal violence erupted in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism. Nearly 200 people including policemen were injured, besides shops, houses and vehicles set on fire. The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the capital on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Protests against the controversial law erupted on Dec. 11 last year, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship. Emily Farley is a senior researcher at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). The CSJ has recently published the first in a two-part series called Commissioning Excellence in disability: An assessment of the Department for Work & Pensions nationally contracted disability employment provision. Last weeks record-breaking employment statistics hide a reality where certain groups in the jobs market are getting left behind. Take a minute to dig into these figures and you will find that the disability employment gap is stubbornly refusing to shift and hasnt done so in over a decade. There are approximately 900,000 disabled people who are currently not in work but who want to work. If you are disabled you are thirty per cent less likely to be in work than your non-disabled counterparts, a figure that has remained largely unchanged despite billions spent on focused employment programmes. Those with learning disabilities fare even worse: just 1-in-20 people with a learning disability have a job, a figure that has decreased while employment levels for everyone else has increased. Disabled people are not a single group, and a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Not only are there hundreds of thousands of disabled people who want to work, but when researchers looked at disabled people in the workplace they found workers who are highly committed to their jobs, take fewer sick days, and are more productive than non-disabled people. Over the past six years successive governments have spent approximately 3 billion on employment support programmes for the unemployed, and there have been government-funded, nationally-contracted disability employment programmes in place for well over half a century. Yet the disability employment gap remains. The Centre for Social Justices new report, Commissioning Excellence in Disability, looks at this in detail and sets out some of the reasons why. When we looked closely at the commissioning of welfare-to-work programmes we found a pattern of small, specialist voluntary sector organisations squeezed out of the race for contracts by a one-size-fits-all mentality. These charities have the local expertise and relationships to make a big difference, but what they cant do is easily access government-commissioned contracts. From the Jericho Foundation in Birmingham through to Project SEARCH in Eastbourne, the answers the Government are often seeking have already been established at a grass-roots level by charities up and down the country. As things currently stand however, the market for disability employment support is becoming increasingly dominated by a cartel of big companies, at the exclusion of the little guy. Under the Work and Health Programme, six players dominate one hundred per cent of the prime provider market. Any market dominated by only a few players will lack innovation, or value for money, and will carry significant risk. An oligopoly of large, multinational providers is even more concerning when we still need big ideas and to help some of our most disadvantaged workers back into the jobs market. Under one previous employment programme, the Royal National College for the Blind outperformed all other providers. Despite their excellent outcomes and specialist expertise, they have been prevented from bidding for future contracts because of misguided and unnecessary funding requirements. The CSJ believes in the genius of small charities that too often get overlooked by Whitehall. These organisations must be brought back to the fore of government interventions that seek to help the long-term unemployed find meaningful and sustained employment. Commissioning Excellence in Disability calls for Whitehall to review and scrap the one-size-fits all contracting of big companies, and wake up to the innovation found in small, local and specialist charities in delivering government welfare-to-work reforms. Former Bachelor star Vakoo Kauapirura is looking for modelling work abroad. The 24-year-old told The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Wednesday that there's limited modelling opportunities in Australia for women of colour. 'I want to do more modelling, I want to travel because there's not much work here for me,' the Namibian-born star said. 'The market is still dominated by European girls': Former Bachelor star Vakoo Kauapirura, 24, told The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Wednesday that she's looking for modelling work overseas... as she feels there's limited opportunities in Australia for women of colour 'Most jobs go to others. That's why I went to South Africa and even there, the market is still dominated by European girls. I'll try America and England,' she added. Vakoo went on to reveal that she's single and hopes to meet her match one day. Meanwhile, back in September, the glamazon issued a dire warning to brands that were hoping to secure her services as an up-and-coming influencer without proper compensation. Abroad: 'I want to do more modelling, I want to travel because there's not much work here for me,' the Namibian-born star said Vakoo took to Instagram Stories at the time, revealing that companies had asked her to promote products without monetary offers. 'I really enjoy that brands are now reaching out to me and they like my content enough to want to be involved with me. However, I don't enjoy being asked to do things for fee,' she said. Vakoo, who has over 28K followers on Instagram, continued: 'I don't know if it's because you don't respect me enough to pay me for my time, effort and energy to create content for your product. FREE PRODUCTS don't pay my bills.' Market: 'Most jobs go to others. That's why I went to South Africa and even there, the market is still dominated by European girls. I'll try America and England,' she added 'So you want me to post your product and help you possibly make money from it while I get nothing but a teeth whitening kit or whatever it may be? 'Please, let's be fair here, I want to work with new people and have great relationships but don't treat me like I'm stupid,' she warned. In a follow-up post, Vakoo clarified that her previous rant wasn't aimed at small businesses but rather brands 'that can definitely pay but think I'm an amateur and I'll always be happy with free products.' A city-based woman documentary film maker has alleged that a group of BJP activists had threatened to "skin her alive" after she removed a pro-CAA flex bearing a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The saffron party, on the other hand, alleged that she had torn the flex and threatened to attack BJP activists, besides bad-mouthing the prime minister. Both sides have filed complaints with the police against each other. Documentary film maker Kasturi Basu told PTI on Wednesday that five-six men, most of them outsiders, entered her housing complex in Patuli area of south Kolkata on Sunday night and sought to know the location of her flat. "As I went downstairs on hearing shouts, they threatened to skin me alive for daring to remove a pro-CAA flex and carrying out a house-to-house campaign in the area against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the past one month," Basu said. Basu, associated with independent filmmakers' organisation People's Film Collective, said she had removed a flex supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act as it was put up on the wall of her Muslim neighbour without the landowner's permission. "I did not remove any other pro-CAA flexes elsewhere but I will fight till death against CAA and the NRC. I will always protest if anyone puts up a flex supporting a divisive law like CAA on the property of a Muslim person," she said. Basu said that the alleged threats to her were aimed at creating a fear psychosis. Countering Basu's charges, a senior BJP Mahila Morcha leader alleged that the documentary film maker had torn the flex and threatened to attack BJP workers when they demanded an explanation for her action. Another BJP activist, who was present during the incident, claimed they did not go inside Basu's housing complex but were re-installing the "torn flex". "Basu came to the spot with some outsiders and snatched the flex from us. She talked to us in a very aggressive manner even though we showed utmost courtesy to her," the BJP activist said requesting anonymity. An officer of Patuli police station confirmed that they have received the complaints and said they are looking into the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The province is asking people to submit their ideas for how to make their community's energy generation self-sustaining. The call out comes after a provincial delegation travelled to Denmark and Germany and saw communities using self-sustaining energy-generation methods. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Steven Myers told Island Morning's Mitch Cormier this was an opportunity for the delegation to bring the concept back to P.E.I. and invest in communities and help make them sustainable. "We're looking for big vision and people who want to lead their communities to the next level, and I think there's numerous people across Prince Edward Island who are capable of doing that for their community," Myers said. Government is seeking what it's calling "community champions," and it is not expecting communities to have an energy expert to execute the vision. "If you're one of those people and you don't currently sit in a community council, come to us anyways and be the community champion. You know, you can set up a co-op or you can set up a subsidiary of your community council or any number of things to make this happen," he said. "Right from the start, we've always said that we're gonna have to come to the table and help on the design aspect of it." 'A lot of excitement' Myers said the initial stage is just showing interest and demonstrating vision, and the challenge for the public is to show that they understand the importance of sustainability in their communities. Slim ALLAGUI/AFP/Getty Images They also want to know how these champions would use the money generated to invest back into building communities and making them successful. "We could see a combination of wind and solar to create energy, we could see district heating systems come forward, we could see communities look at electrifying their own community and putting electric heat inside all the homes and generating electricity themselves," said Myers. Story continues As for how the projects would be funded, Myers said they're able to tap into the infrastructure program and they pitched the idea to some federal ministers in December and asked for help. "There's a lot of excitement through the federal chains," he said. "I think we're going to have a good opportunity to put together a fund that's going to match." European Inspiration A release sent earlier this week said the delegation was inspired by two communities: Sams Island in Denmark and Gottingen, Germany. In Gottingen, the delegates toured a power plant that fuels two villages with the production of electricity and district heat from corn, and is one of 9,000 similar plants in Germany, said the release. We're allowing the communities to lead their own charge. Minister Steven Myers Sams is a carbon-neutral island with a population of just under 4,000 people. The release said it reduced its heating costs by 40 per cent and created local energy businesses that don't rely on imported oil while generating more energy than the community uses. Sams has four district heating plants where they burn straw or waste wood and use solar or wind power. It buys the straw from local farmers at a rate above market price and the heat generated from the burning straw goes to heat homes for a much lower price than burning fossil fuels. Myers said the province wants to scale similar initiatives to the all of P.E.I. by breaking it up on a community-by-community basis. "Our approach is going to be slightly different in that we're allowing the communities to lead their own charge, but if you view each community as the Sams of their own, then yes [it's] absolutely attainable," he said. The province plans to host community information sessions on the topic across P.E.I. in the coming weeks. More from CBC P.E.I. A specific format has been prescribed for auditors to report the period and the amount of default by the company in repayment of loans or other borrowings or in the payment of interest thereon to any lender. New Delhi: Auditors will have to provide detailed disclosures about loan defaults, amount of cash losses and immovable properties as well as other aspects about companies in their annual reports starting this financial year, with the government putting in place a stringent framework. Amid instances of corporate misdoings wherein the role of auditors has also come under the regulatory scanner, the corporate affairs ministry has come out with the revised framework that seeks to bring in "greater transparency and faith in the financial affairs of the companies". The corporate affairs ministry has notified the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 (CARO, 2020). It would be applicable for audit of financial statements of eligible companies for the financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2019. "CARO 2020 would necessitate enhanced due diligence and disclosures on the part of auditors of eligible companies, and has been designed to bring in greater transparency in the financial state of affairs of such companies," the ministry said in a release on Wednesday. A specific format has been prescribed for auditors to report the period and the amount of default by the company in repayment of loans or other borrowings or in the payment of interest thereon to any lender. In a significant move, the ministry said auditors would have to provide details about a company's investments and whether any guarantee or security has been extended to other entities during a financial year. This is to ensure that such actions are not "prejudicial to the interests of the company". "The amount of cash losses incurred in the financial year and in the immediately preceding financial year have to be reported," the release said. As per the latest CARO, an auditor has to render opinion based on various aspects that "no material uncertainty exists as on the date of the audit report that company is capable of meeting its liabilities existing at the date of balance sheet as and when they fall due within a period of one year from the balance sheet date". The ministry noted that the latest CARO is expected to significantly improve the overall quality of reporting by auditors on the financial statements of the companies. This would lead to greater transparency and faith in the financial affairs of the companies. This is automatically expected to result in greater inflow of investment by and in Indian companies, it added. Further, an auditor has to consider whistle-blower complaints received during a year by the company in the audit as well as report whether the company has conducted any non-banking financial or housing finance activities without a valid certificate of registration from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Any objections or concerns raised by outgoing auditors should also be taken to consideration by present auditors before forming an opinion. Among other requirements, an auditor has to report whether a company is a declared wilful defaulter and whether term loans were diverted for any purpose other than for which the amount was raised. There is also a format for reporting details of such immovable properties whose title deeds are not held in the name of the company but are disclosed in the financial statements, the release said. Details of proceedings against a company for holding benami property and whether the same have been disclosed in the financial statements also need to be disclosed in the CARO. "Discrepancies of 10 percent or more in the aggregate of each class of inventory noticed during physical verification of inventory would have to be reported," apart from specific details on whether a company has been sanctioned working capital limits in excess of Rs 5 crore in a particular financial year. "The auditor is now required to indicate the details of the subsidiary companies and the sub-clauses' number containing qualifications/adverse remarks by the respective auditors in the CARO reports of the companies included in the consolidated financial statements," the release said. Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk'. So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. As with many other companies GT Steel Construction Group Limited (HKG:8402) makes use of debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt? What Risk Does Debt Bring? Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together. View our latest analysis for GT Steel Construction Group What Is GT Steel Construction Group's Debt? You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2019 GT Steel Construction Group had S$3.57m of debt, an increase on S$3.43m, over one year. But on the other hand it also has S$6.99m in cash, leading to a S$3.42m net cash position. SEHK:8402 Historical Debt, February 26th 2020 How Healthy Is GT Steel Construction Group's Balance Sheet? Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that GT Steel Construction Group had liabilities of S$9.82m due within 12 months and liabilities of S$1.40m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of S$6.99m and S$25.5m worth of receivables due within a year. So it can boast S$21.3m more liquid assets than total liabilities. This luscious liquidity implies that GT Steel Construction Group's balance sheet is sturdy like a giant sequoia tree. Having regard to this fact, we think its balance sheet is just as strong as misogynists are weak. Succinctly put, GT Steel Construction Group boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! Story continues But the bad news is that GT Steel Construction Group has seen its EBIT plunge 11% in the last twelve months. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is GT Steel Construction Group's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend. Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. GT Steel Construction Group may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. In the last three years, GT Steel Construction Group created free cash flow amounting to 8.5% of its EBIT, an uninspiring performance. For us, cash conversion that low sparks a little paranoia about is ability to extinguish debt. Summing up While it is always sensible to investigate a company's debt, in this case GT Steel Construction Group has S$3.42m in net cash and a decent-looking balance sheet. So we don't have any problem with GT Steel Construction Group's use of debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Be aware that GT Steel Construction Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable... 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. Thirteen years ago, Cassandra Clare launched her bestselling Mortal Instruments trilogy with City of Bones, a YA urban fantasy novel about demon-slaying Nephilim known as Shadowhunters. This March, Clare kicks off her fifth Shadowhunters series, The Last Hours trilogy, with Chain of Gold. PW spoke with Clare regarding her ever-expanding fictional universe, character diversity, time management, and her first foray into adult fantasy. With the publication of Chain of Gold, which launches the Last Hours trilogy, youve now got five different series set in the Shadowhunters universe, spanning almost 150 years. How do you keep track of all the intersecting plot lines, timelines, and family trees? The process of keeping track of everything has definitely changed along the way. With the first books, the universe wasnt as expansive as it is now; I kept notes in a notebook, but I wasnt incredibly methodical. Then, at some point, I decided that I wanted to put together a Shadowhunters Codex. Within the world of the books, when a Shadowhunter becomes old enough to go out and hunt demons and whatnot, theyre given a Shadowhunters Codex, which is a list of rules and regulations that the Shadowhunter world has, and has some of the Shadowhunter history in it. I thought it would be a fun project to put together one of those so that readers could, if they wanted to, have their own Codex. As I did that, I realized how scattered my notes were. I was working on it with my husband, Josh, and hed be like, Okay, wheres the stuff about this? And Id be like, Umm, its on my computer, in a file called miscellaneous.... I needed to get more organized, so I went through all the books. I tabbed them with different colors, which corresponded to things like history, weapons, characters, lineage, magic, things like that, and then from that, I sort of built out the Shadowhunters Codex. I also created for myself a thing that my assistant and I now call the bible, which is sort of a giant virtual notebook that has all of that information in it. You seem to publish at least two books a year, which means you must constantly find yourself plotting one book while editing another. How do you manage to compartmentalize, and to hit your deadlines? For me, it requires a lot of discipline to work quickly. What Ive learned over the years is to outline carefully before I write, and work out the kinks in the story before I get to the process of writing it. Im not working out every scene or emotional beat, but Im kind of saying, This is what happens, this is what happens. B follows on A, and C follows on B. Im working out the A, B, C, D part of it, so when I sit down to write, hopefully I dont suddenly get caught short by information I dont have or a problem in the story. And in terms of keeping the books and the worlds separate, I never work on more than one book at the same time. I find it difficult to switch back and forth between them. I know some people can [work on two books] on the same day, but I cant, and when I figured that out, I was like, Okay, so what Im going to need to do is cut it into dedicated chunks of time that are at least three or four weeks long. So I work on book A, then switch over to working on book B, and I dont edit one book while writing another. The cast of Chain of Goldand the Shadowhunters organization, in generalcomprises characters of sundry species, ethnicities, abilities, and sexual orientations. Why is character diversity so important to you, and how do you avoid stereotype when writing them? For me, character diversity is important because my readership is very diverse, and I tend to be pretty close with them, and often answer questions and talk to them at signings and on social media. One of the things that was important to me was for people to feel thatregardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, abilityeveryone is able to be a Shadowhunter if they want to. I recall when I was a kid reading the Narnia books and having the realization that, as a Jewish kid, I was not welcome in Narnia. That was a really terrible feeling, and I didnt want to give that feeling to anybody else. That was more significant than my own worry about writing outside what I know. So what I do is I contact members of the marginalized community that I am writing about, and run what Im writing by them. Its obviously not the burden of your sensitivity reader to fix your book, but I think that we all can fall into unconscious stereotyping even when were trying really hard not to. And also, we can fall into things that we didnt know were stereotypes. When I wrote a transgender character in The Dark Artifices, before I ever started the book, I reached out to the transgender community in my area. I met with many trans women and talked with them before I even started writing, so that I could more carefully and sensitively build that character. Of course, any mistakes are mine, but I feel that while research in journals, in books, and online is certainly valuable, it is important to reach out to members of the community that youre trying to represent. The Shadowhunter books are YA fantasy, and you collaborated with Holly Black on the Magisterium Series, which is middle-grade fantasy. Do you have any plans to write adult fantasy one day? I do! I have two books coming out with Random House. The first one comes out next year, and its called Sword Catcher. Its an adult high fantasy novel, and its been a really different experience working on it. Shadowhunters books are set in various cities all over the world, so [in order to write them,] Ill have to do research on Paris in 1903 and London in 1878. With high fantasy, I have to make up everything, down to the street signs. So, I have had that experience of writing high fantasy for the first time, and also the experience of writing adult characters who have different concerns, and think about things differently. In these books, I have to plunge into the immediacy of what it feels like to be a character who is an adult and has very different concerns than they would have if they were a teenager. With both middle grade and YA, there is a lot of concentration on family and parents because those are your primary relationships; our parents, our parents opinions of us, and our relationships with them shape big parts of our lives when were young adults. I had to move into a phase where peoples primary relationships are going to be with colleagues, and with husbands and wives, and even with their own children, so that was definitely an adjustment. Its been fascinating, and really fun to stretch myself as a writer in that way. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare. McElderry, $24.99 Mar. 3 ISBN 978-1-4814-3187-3 Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:51:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- After the xenophobic shooting in Hanau that killed nine people, German politicians across most parties have sharply criticized growing right-wing extremism in their Ash Wednesday speeches. The so-called "political Ash Wednesday" in Germany takes place every year after the carnival season. On this day, the country's leading politicians traditionally hold speeches and engage in verbal disputes with rival parties. Markus Soeder, head of the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU), criticized the strong rhetorics of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and described the AfD as the "parliamentary arm of the radical right-wing scene." Robert Habeck, co-leader of the Green Party, called upon Germans to offer more support to people affected by right-wing extremist hatred. Last week, a 43-year-old German citizen with a xenophobic and racist motive killed nine people with immigrant backgrounds in the German city of Hanau, and later he killed his mother and himself. Responding to the accusations against his party, Gottfried Curio, spokesperson for domestic policy of the AfD's parliamentary group in the Bundestag, rejected any connection between the politics of the AfD and the shooting attack in Hanau and described his party as a victim of "disgusting defamation." Many Ash Wednesday speeches also dealt with the question of the CDU's future leadership and political orientation and the relationship between the governing coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the CDU/CSU. Throwing her party into a political vacuum, CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has recently announced that she was not planning to run for the country's chancellorship and would resign as the party's leader. For now, the race for Chancellor Angela Merkel's succession is likely to be fought between the CDU's former parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz, who is leading in the polls, and Armin Laschet, minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, who has more support within the party. Regardless of the outcome, Kramp-Karrenbauer has warned her party against overly intensive introspection in view of the competition for her and ultimately Merkel's succession in Germany. Even SPD leader Saskia Esken has expressed concern about the situation in coalition partner CDU. "We have no tactical interest in an unstable CDU," she said. HONEY BOY (MA15+) 94 minutes "The only thing my father gave me that was of any value to me is pain." That's a real quote from Shia LaBeouf, who plays that father in the autobiographical Honey Boy, in what is certainly the best work he (the son) has done. LaBeouf has often seemed like another Hollywood headcase: a million-dollar talent and a five-cent head. Honey Boy feels like an attempt to find a way back - to take a shot at redemption. Shia LaBeouf stars as his father in the autobiographical Honey Boy. James Lort (LaBeouf) is a lunatic parent to 12-year-old son Otis, a child star in Los Angeles (played at that age by Noah Jupe). They live in a fleabag motel, smoking cigarettes and swearing at each other, acting out a complex father-son pathology that's gone into reverse: the kid earns the money and has a grip on reality, the father only thinks he does. James is a Vietnam vet, an addict and an alcoholic. He's also trying to be a good father, to instil some lessons in his son and protect him from the bad things he knows are out there. That's something the movie never lets us forget, and it makes the story raw and powerful. Especially since the film begins with Otis as a young man, 10 or more years into the future, now played by Lucas Hedges. Otis has become a movie stunt man, an out-of-control alcoholic and drug user who's sent to rehab to consider his mistakes. He begins writing as a way to exorcise his demons, which takes us back into his childhood, with scenes often running in parallel between the present and 2005. LaBeouf may be familiar as the young lead in the first three Transformer movies, but his career began as a teenager in 1999, on a Disney comedy show called Even Stevens. He might also be familiar from the excesses and eccentricities of his rise - a number of arrests for alcohol and drug abuse and his wry performance art pieces, such as walking the red carpet at Berlin with a paper bag on his head that said "I am not famous any more". He started writing Honey Boy while in rehab in 2017, after his arrest in Savannah, Georgia, for being drunk and disorderly. He was diagnosed then as suffering from PTSD. The writing was therapy more than project and he has said he never intended to play his own father (who's still alive and has seen the film). That was suggested by his friend Alma Har'el, an Israeli-born music clip director who makes her feature debut with this script. Both script and direction are impressive. The script has a searing honesty, but fractured time frames, as the older, tormented Otis recalls his life. Har'el imposes her own dream-like poetic style, but it's rigorously controlled, so that these disparate scenes come together in a disjointed unity. The dream-state suits the material, which is confessional and reflective, a journey into memory through which Otis tries to understand and forgive his father. Many post-2000s young Chinese have joined the countys nationwide efforts to fight the novel coronavirus epidemic, playing active roles in various fields of the battle, the WeChat account of China Youth Daily (ID: zqbycol) reported Monday. Han Weimin at the construction site. Han Weimin, a student at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, is one of the many young Chinese born after 2000 who have contributed to the countrys achievements in fighting the epidemic. On Jan.31, Hans father received an order from his employer to go to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to help with the construction of the Huoshenshan Hospital and Leishenshan Hospital, two makeshift hospitals built for treating patients infected with the novel coronavirus in the city. Im a college student. I want to go there and contribute to the fight against the epidemic too, Han said immediately after he heard the news. As the decision to help at the construction site not only involved heavy tasks, tight schedules, and physical labour that was too much for many ordinary people, but also the risk of infection, Hans father didnt want to take him to Wuhan until he repeatedly insisted on taking part in the work. Han was in charge of the installation of the water supply pipelines in the medical staff quarters at the Leishenshan Hospital, which followed a strict schedule. The work was intense, and he only got to sleep five to six hours a day, and was hard at work the rest of the time, according to Han, who finally got through the job because of his determination. I got so much out of taking part in the project. I felt the solidarity and resolve of construction workers from around the country in the race against time and the fight against the epidemic. We have successfully accomplished this sacred mission given to us by our country and people, Han said. I wasnt involved in the construction for a very long time, but this will be the most unforgettable experience of my life. As a student of Jilin University in the new era, I feel so honored to have been able to contribute to the epidemic prevention and control, Han added. Xu Zhuoli at work Xu Zhuoli, a 19-year-old student at the school of civil engineering, Changan University, also took part in the construction of the Leishenshan Hospital. Xu, a young man from Hanchuan, central Chinas Hubei province, arrived at the construction site of the hospital on the evening of Feb. 2 and joined the team that was in charge of equipment installation there. Xu was overwhelmed by his first job, which was to carry with his bare hands a total of 169 pieces of cargo to the construction site with 19 other workers. It was only after completing the task through strong will and persistence that Xu truly realized how laborious working on a construction site was. Xu often worked all night on the project. In the mind of this young man, who wanted to play his part in his hometowns efforts to fight the epidemic, he was not only one of the people in the country who rose to the challenge posed by the epidemic, but also one of the men who built Leishenshan Hospital. I believe winter will pass and spring will arrive, Xu said firmly. On Jan. 28, the bureau of transport of Pengjiang district, Jiangmen, south Chinas Guangdong province, received a special written request for an assignment. The request was from five college students from different universities around the country. Zhong Yue, a freshman from the School of Arts and Design, Zhuhai College of Jilin University, was the youngest of the five students. Zhong Yue (2nd from right) We had been volunteers helping at the transport bureau during the Spring Festival travel rush since Jan. 10. After the outbreak of the epidemic, we were asked to rest for a few days for our own safety, explained Zhong. Seeing that the bureau was undermanned, we wanted to help. So we wrote our request and submitted it on Jan. 28, when we started to play a part in the epidemic prevention and control efforts, Zhong said. Zhong was part of the team on the front line of the battle that registered basic information of travellers at various passenger stations as well as exits and entrances of highways. I think voluntary work in school and outside campus is similar, as no matter what I do, I get a lot of positive energy from my coworkers. They make me feel the value of teamwork, Zhong said. I was not a cautious person before. But after my experience taking part in the epidemic prevention and control this time, I became careful and learned to take precautions, Zhong noted. My parents are also among the medical workers and people fighting the epidemic on the frontline. When I told them my idea of taking part in the transport bureaus epidemic prevention and control efforts, my father supported me, but my mother was worried about me, Zhong disclosed. I had fears, for sure, as people had died. But I feel honored to have contributed to the prevention and control of the epidemic, Zhong added. I checked the news about the epidemic situation online every day. As a college student, Ive always thought about what I can do for our country when it is in difficulty, said Gan Zhiyi, a student at the Hunan Vocational Institute of Safety Technology, who donated 10,000 yuan ($1,425.86), which was all his Spring Festival lucky money, to a charity in Kaifu district, Changsha, capital of central Chinas Hunan province on Jan. 31. It was not until I made the donation that I told my family I had donated all my lucky money that Id saved up to charity. All my family members supported my decision, Gan said. Medical workers and grassroots staff at various organizations are working extra hours at their posts, said Gan, who explained that as a college student, besides staying at home and not adding to the countrys problems, the only thing he can do is to donate money, which was his way of helping with the prevention and control of the epidemic. Such stories of post-2000s youngsters making contributions to Chinas efforts to fight the novel coronavirus go on and on. Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelovo has responded to a letter from Lawyers of Member of Parliament(MP) for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko over the publication of his name as a beneficiary of the GET fund scholarship. The letter requested the Auditor-General to with immediate effect retract and render an unqualified public apology to the Member of Parliament. According to the Lawmaker, he has never taken any scholarship or never been a beneficiary of any scholarship scheme. In the Auditor-General's response, he said his office, in consonant with article (187)2 of the 1992 Constitution and Sections 13 (c) and 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584). undertook a special audit at the GETFund office spanning the period 2012 to 2018 and submitted a copy of the audit report to parliament as mandated by law. He clarified that the report is from the audited entity, and in this instance, every information or names that is contained in the performance audit report on GETFund came from GETFund, the audited entity. "Certainly, my office has no malice or bias toward any individual named as beneficiary from GETFund in our audit report. Your grievance, therefore, is best addressed by GETFund who provided the audit team with the necessary information and names of beneficiaries during the audit," Mr. Domelovo stated in his response. Deputy Agric Minister Threatens To Sue A-G The Deputy Minister for Agric and Member of Parliament(MP) for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko has threatened to sue the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelovo over the publication of his name as a beneficiary of the GET fund scholarship. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that the Auditor-General must have done due diligence before releasing the said beneficiary list. A performance audit report has listed a number of high-ranking government officials including the Minister of State in Charge of Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo who applied and obtained $12,800 in allowances with $17,004 in tuition fees to study at the Harvard Kennedy School. Another person captured in the list is the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Prince Hamidu Armah also receiving 38,400 for living expense in addition to 33,000 for tuition fees, While Education Minister Mathew Opoku Prempeh, also received $12,800 for living expenses and $11,200 as tuition fees to study at Harvard University. The Auditor-General intends to surcharge persons involved in scholarship awards and also disallow expenditure items of the GETFund Secretariat, in accordance with Article 187(7) (b) of its mandate. This follows recommendations by the Auditor-General after faulting the GETFund for not being fair in the award of scholarships to those in need. The Auditor-General has also accused the secretariat of not instituting a robust selection process, leading to the haphazard granting of scholarships to Ghanaians, to the detriment of those who really need them. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in a scene from the film 'Pretty Woman', 1990. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images) This month sees the 30th anniversary of what many consider the greatest romcom of all-time Pretty Woman. Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere as a prostitute and the billionaire who picks her up and who falls in love with her, it launched Roberts career, spawned a mega-hit soundtrack and became a benchmark for romantic comedy. In the decades since its release, it has also precipitated doctoral theses about whether the storyline was problematic (hooker with a heart of gold, anti-feminist). Whatever your take, it remains iconic, a movie with a host of myths about its inception, original script and ending. We asked writer JF Lawton currently working on the films stage musical adaptation which has just premiered in London for the real story. Lawton was a struggling screenwriter when he wrote a dramatic script in response to provincial 1980s industrial downsizing and the women he met at his local Hollywood donut shop who had travelled to the west coast when their blue collar communities were devastated by corporate sharks. Screenwriter J.F. Lawton poses beside a poster that bears a famous line from his film "Pretty Woman", 2007. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images) He called it Three Thousand note the words spelled out and not the number. This was its title, but through the years people mistakenly started calling it 3000, as development executives would scrawl the figure on the spine of the pages. Myth: The studio didnt want Julia Roberts or Richard Gere - False Julia Roberts has a drink with Richard Gere in a scene from the film 'Pretty Woman', 1990. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images) Casting rumours on this one are difficult to clarify, mainly because its unclear whether some of the actors touted for the lead roles were being considered when it was a dark indie or a glossy studio romcom. Molly Ringwald, Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Emily Lloyd and Winona Ryder were in the mix, while its said that Valeria Golino (Rain Man) was extremely close to getting the role. For Edward, Christopher Reeve, Dennis Quaid and Christopher Lambert (Highlander) were discussed. Read more: Richard Gere thinks Pretty Woman relationship wouldnt have lasted My manager at the time, Gary Goldstein, who went on to be an executive producer of the film, instantly said he knew exactly who should play the role Julia Roberts, remembers Lawton. At that time she was only known for Mystic Pizza, but Gary was certain she was perfect for it. When Vestron optioned the script, Gary pushed for her and she was briefly attached to it. When Touchstone picked up the rights, they were more hesitant to go with Julia and for a while other actresses were considered, but Gary Goldstein kept fighting for Julia and of course, he was right. Story continues UNITED STATES - 1991: American actress Michelle Pfeiffer with co-star Al Pacino on the set of their film 'Frankie and Johnny'. (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) There were serious discussions about casting Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, he continues. As you might imagine, that version probably would have been closer to the original. But after Gary Goldstein got them to test Julia Roberts, they pretty quickly signed her. Edward was much harder to get cast because it was viewed as Vivians story and in the original script he was pretty unlikable. I know they were turned down by many stars at the time, like Burt Reynolds and Tom Berenger, before they were able to convince Richard Gere to do it. Myth: It was close to being filmed in its original downbeat state - True Julia Roberts rides with Richard Gere in a scene from the film 'Pretty Woman', 1990. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images) The Sundance Institute selected the script for its prestigious workshop and it was then quickly optioned by a small company called Vestron (who made Dirty Dancing) with the plan of making it as a low-budget independent film, says Lawton. But Vestron ran into financial troubles and [producer] Arnon Milchan got the rights to the script in turnaround. He decided to try to get it made at a major studio. There was a bidding war between Universal and Touchstone Pictures. Arnon closed the Touchstone deal and Garry Marshall was assigned to direct it. They greenlit the movie based on the original script and they were already building sets by the time I took my first meeting at the studio. TODAY -- Pictured: (l-r) Garry Marshall and Julia Roberts appear on NBC News' "Today" show -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images) Touchstone and Marshall had recently had success with bittersweet comedy Beaches and Marshall took on Pretty Woman thinking he could heighten the fish out of water story aspect, while still mixing laughs and tears as he did in that movie. Three Thousand was gritty, but it had laughs and some of the Pygmalion-style elements we see in the end product, like the opera visit and high-end shopping trips. Still, Lawton says, at first there was no intention of making it a full out romantic comedy. In fact, the Touchstone executives initially said that the characters couldnt end up together, because that would be a cop out. There was talk about Vivian going to work at the hotel, or ending up with David (the polo playing grandson of Mr. Morse, the shipbuilder). Myth: Vivian and/or Kit dies at the end of the original story - False Julia Roberts in a scene from the film 'Pretty Woman', 1990. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images) The Three Thousand screenplay is a very different animal to Pretty Woman. In it, Vivian is quite open about her desire to smoke crack during the week shes with Edward, shes pimpier towards Kit (Laura San Giacomo) and the pair buy drug paraphernalia at the beginning. Meanwhile he is significantly crueller, bordering on awful. Aside from his irredeemable callousness in business (theres no building things), he happily banters with his lawyer (called William Reaves here rather than Phil Stuckey) that William should sleep with Vivian when hes finished, all while shes listening. Even worse, when William propositions and then hits Vivian, Edward punches him and bundles him out of the room, but doesnt really criticise his behaviour and ultimately seems to laugh it off. UNITED STATES - MARCH 18: Laura San Giacomo (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) But, says, Lawton, No one dies at the end. The basic story is very similar, Vivian and Edward make a deal for six days for three thousand dollars, but at the end of those six days Edward doesnt fall in love with her. Vivian however, kind of imagines she loves him or at least doesnt want to go back to her old life. Edward drives her back to Hollywood Boulevard and they get into an argument, with Edward not understanding why Vivian is so upset. When she wont get out of the car, Edward tries to pull her out and she starts hitting him. He throws her off and as she is sobbing, he tries to give her the money in an envelope. She wont take it, and when he puts it on the curb for her, she grabs it and throws it in his face. But as he drives off, she slowly picks the money up from the street. Read more: Original ending of Pretty Woman revealed There was though, something of an optimistic coda. Vivian and Kit are on a bus heading to Disneyland and have an innocent conversation about getting a balloon with mouse ears, explains Lawton. My hope was that [the audience] would see a transformed Vivian who has to confront her life choices after this experience and hopefully will take a more positive path forward. Myth: They didnt know the ending even after they started filming - True American actors Richard Gere and Julia Roberts on the set of Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall. (Photo by Touchstone Pictures/Silver Screen Partners IV/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) There was still a ton of uncertainty about the ending, admits Lawton. But once the footage started coming in, the chemistry between Julia and Richard was so strong, it was clear they had to end up together in the end. Some people criticise the story for being unrealistic (which is weird since most movies arent realistic), but if you watch the first half of that movie, despite coming from such different worlds, the growing love between Julia and Richard is so believable that I dont think any other ending would have been true to those characters as they were portrayed. Myth: Its a problematic, anti-feminist movie about a billionaire rescuing a hooker with a heart of gold - Inconclusive Lawton is loathe to mansplain, pointing instead to writings by authors like Mari Ruti, who discussed the film in her 2015 book, Feminist Film Theory and Pretty Woman. In that, Ruti suggests that it received particular criticism due to its nature as a popular romcom, writing the movie walks a tightrope between retrograde, potentially anti-feminist themes and progressive, potentially feminist onesFeminist analysis of the film should perhaps focus less on its alleged misogyny than on the version of female empowerment it endorses. Co-Book Writer/Co-Composer Bryan Adams, Co-Book Writer J.F. Lawton, Producer Paula Wagner, Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell and Co-Composer Jim Vallance pose at The Opening Night of the musical based on "Pretty Woman", 2018. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/WireImage) But Lawton does have his own opinion. While it certainly isnt a feminist film, it does have a higher level than expected of embedded feminism than a typical romantic comedy, he says, using a phrase coined by critic Susan Douglas to suggest persistent traces of feminism in a cultural product. Read more: Pretty Woman director dies aged 98 Some say its about a billionaire who rescues a prostitute, he continues. No, its about a woman who walks out on a billionaire and he has to chase after her. Vivian stands up for herself and it is Edward who has to change. In retrospect, neither [director Garry Marshall or I] realised that we had hit the third rail so to speak, of societys incredible hypocrisy on the issue of prostitution. Pretty Woman is fundamentally a story about a woman who decides not to be a prostitute. She goes from being willing to sell herself for $100 an hour to not being willing to be bought at any price. What could be wrong with telling that story? Detention of one of Golunov case defendants changed to house arrest Moskva city news agency, Kirill Zykov 18:01 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) Moscows Basmanny District Court on Wednesday released ex-policeman Denis Konovalov, a defendant in a criminal case over abuse of power against journalist Ivan Golunov, from detention and put him under house arrest, RAPSI reported from the courtroom. Last week, lawyer Aleksey Kovrizhkin told RAPSI that Konovalov testified against ex-chief of a police department for drug control Igor Lyakhovets, whom Kovrizhkin defends, saying it was him who ordered to plant drugs on Golunovs bag and apartment. Investigators believe Lyakhovets, who does not admit guilt, is the organizer of the crime. Earlier, all five ex-police officers, investigators allege are involved in the case, were placed in detention for two months, until March 29. Defendants are ex-Moscow narcotics control policemen Denis Konovalov, Akbar Sergaliyev, Roman Feofanov, Maxim Umetbayev and ex-chief of their department Igor Lyakhovets. They are charged with abuse of power, evidence tampering and illegal drug trafficking. All the men plead not guilty. Investigators believe that they planted drugs on Golunov. Thus, they falsified the results of operative search activity that later became inculpatory evidence against Golunov in a drug dealing case; however, the drugs had been earlier illegally bought and kept by the police officers, according the Investigative Committee. In late December 2019, investigators opened the case over arrest of Golunov. The journalist was recognized as an injured party. All five defendants in the case have been dismissed from police. Golunov was arrested in Moscow on June 6, 2019. On June 8, the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow placed him under house arrest for 2 months. According to the Interior Ministrys official statement, police seized nearly 4 grams of methylmethedrone from Golunov. The journalist pleaded not guilty, insisted that the drugs were planted on him during the arrest and claimed that his prosecution is related to his journalistic investigations. According to his defense, an examination showed no drugs in his biomaterial. On June 11, charges against Golunov were dropped because of a lack of evidence that he participated in the crime, and the journalist was released. On June 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed two generals of police on the back of the arrest of Golunov. WASHINGTON It was a bill 120 years in the making. The U.S. House on Wednesday voted, 410-4, to make lynching a federal hate crime. The first anti-lynching bill was introduced in 1900 by Rep. George Henry White, R-N.C., then the only Black person in Congress. White went on to found Whitesboro in New Jersey. It is a bit of a travesty that it has taken 120 years, said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. New Jersey has a state law outlawing lynching. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a sponsor of the Senate version, said the legislation would force the country to acknowledge what he called a dark chapter in our nations history. Lynchings were used to terrorize, marginalize, and oppress Black communities to kill human beings in order to sow fear and keep Black communities in a perpetual state of racial subjugation," Booker said. If we do not reckon with this dark past, we cannot move forward. Originally, the House was poised to clear the Senate bill and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature. Instead, the House version made some changes, meaning the bill will have to return to the Senate for final passage. Rep. Bobby Rush, the chief sponsor in the House, said he expected the Senate to act by the end of the week, when Black History Month ends. One change names the legislation after Emmett Till, who came from Rushs congressional district. The 14-year-old Chicago boy was visiting Mississippi in August 1955 when he was abducted and murdered for allegedly looking the wrong way at a white woman. Despite the fact that he was beaten almost beyond recognition, Tills mother insisted on an open casket. Pictures of the mutilated boy appeared in Jet magazine and helped galvanize the then-nascent civil rights movement. As result, America and the world saw the result of hatred and evil in our nation, Rush, D-Ill., said at a press conference before the vote. That picture of Emmett in that casket catalyzed an entire nation. One of those who saw the pictures was Cora Lee Rush of Albany, Georgia. She grabbed her four boys and one girl and moved to Chicago. She was Rep. Rushs mother. She said, This is the reason I would not allow my boys to be raised in the south, Rush quoted his mother as saying. It created an indelible imprint on my brain. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said lynching, which he defined as the premeditated murder by a mob in order to instill fear, was designed to intimidate the entire Black community. Having this be the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Bill is extremely important, said Hoyer, D-Md. According to the NAACP, 3,446 Black people were lynched from 1882 to 1968. Around 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced from 1882 to 1986, and all failed to clear Congress, according to the findings in the Senate legislation. The entire New Jersey delegation backed the measure except for Rep. Albio Sires, D-8th Dist., who was ill and did not vote. Sires, though, was a co-sponsor along with Reps. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist.; Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist.; Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist.; Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist.; and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Michael Hertz, the man who helped design New York City's famous subway map, has died at the age of 87. His death was confirmed by his son Eugene, who announced his father died on February 18 at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, New York. His cause of death has not been revealed. Hertz is best known as the man behind the map of the New York City subway system, which is still used by commuters and tourists to navigate their way round the city today. Michael Hertz (pictured), the man who helped design New York City's famous subway map, has died at the age of 87 Hertz is best known as the man behind the map of the New York City subway system (above), which is still used by commuters and tourists to navigate their way round the city today The Metropolitan Transportation Authority hired Hertz's firm, Michael Hertz Associates, in 1979 to come up with a new map of the subway system that would be easier and simpler for riders to find their way around In 1979, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hired Hertz's firm, Michael Hertz Associates, to come up with a new map of the subway system that would be easier and simpler for riders to find their way around. The map in use at the time, created by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli and introduced in 1972, was largely unpopular. It looked fun and colorful. But the underground and overground landscape of the city didn't match up. Hertz's team set to work aiming to create a version that would be easily readable by everyone from tourists to local residents. His map gave a more accurate depiction of New York City, with its key features such as Central Park and the city's waterways shaped and colored more realistically and streets, neighborhoods and other areas of interest clearly labeled. Hert'z map has been popular for giving a more accurate depiction of New York City, with its key features such as Central Park and the city's waterways shaped and colored more realistically and streets, neighborhoods and other areas of interest clearly labeled Hertz later tweaked his creation in 1998, but the version New Yorkers look at in subway stations today remains largely the same as it did back in 1979. In 2004, Hertz spoke of his pride in his creation in an interview with The Times. 'I still get a pleasure in a subway station when I see somebody in lederhosen looking at the map,' he said. However, the map has been mired in some controversy after various claims have been made over who the key mastermind behind the map was. John Tauranac, who led the MTA committee into the map design, has often be credited as the 'chief designer', something Hertz brushed off in a 2012 New York Times interview where he said: 'I design subway maps, and he claims to design subway maps.' Hertz's map succeeded the 1972 map of Italian designer Massimo Vignelli (above) which looked fun and colorful but was unpopular because the underground and overground landscape of the city didn't match up Hertz (left) was born on August 1 1982 in Brooklyn, New York, to Abraham and Jean Hertz. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from Queens College, he joined the army before working for Walt Disney Company and then founding Michael Hertz Associates in the late 1960s Hertz was born on August 1 1982 in Brooklyn, New York, to Abraham and Jean Hertz. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from Queens College, he joined the army. Hertz then joined the Walt Disney Company working as art director for movie advertising before he founded Michael Hertz Associates in the late 1960s. It was here that he made his name in the map world, including working on transit maps for Houston and Washington, and maps of New York neighborhoods. Hertz is survived by his wife, Carole Ann, sons Eugene, David and Joseph, daughter, Leslie, and eight grandchildren. New York, Feb 26 : US President Donald Trump returned home on Wednesday after a whirlwind visit to India that he tweeted on arrival "was great" and "very successful". Stepping off the Air Force One, he plunged into domestic politics telling reporters at the Joint Base Andrews that he had watched the Democratic Party's presidential candidate's debate Tuesday night and that it was "not too good, not too good". Trump confronted the fears over the coronavirus after a federal expert had warned that dire actions may be needed in the US to confront an outbreak and the stock market plunging, with the Down Jones index down 6.7 per cent over two days. He tweeted that there would be a briefing on it Wednesday afternoon and added that Health Secretary Alex Azar "and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus!" He has faced criticism from Democrats and others that the country was not prepared to deal with the outbreak. Trump is scheduled to speak on Thursday to a rally of his supporters in North Charleston in South Carolina state, which will be holding the Democratic party's intra-party poll to select its candidate for the November election. In terms of the crowds, the rally at the North Carolina Coliseum with a capacity of 13,000 will be a let down after the after the Ahmedabad "Namaste Trump!" event attended by about 120,000 people. His supporters and the Republican Party have been tweeting photos and videos of the Ahmedabad rally as evidence of his international stature. Since his party doesn't have a primary in South Carolina with Trump acknowledged as the candidate, unlike some states where pro forma Republican polls are to be held, his rally will be for whipping up support for re-election. The state has open primaries under which even those who are not registered Democrats can vote in that party's poll and, according to some media reports, local Republican leaders have told party members to vote in the rival party's election to boost a Democrat candidate like the self-declared democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, who they think would be easier to defeat. Summing up his trip, the White House said in a statement that he worked "to expand our already strategic partnership" with India. It mentioned that the two countries were "working closely with India to combat terrorism, confront global drug trafficking, and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific." The two countries are still struggling to reach a comprehensive trade agreement, but the statement said Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi "are working toward a trade agreement that reflects the full potential of the economic relationship between our two countries." Trump has consistently complained about US trade deficit with India, but the White House pointed to the positives, saying: "During President Trump's tenure in office, energy exports to India have grown substantially, generating billions of dollars in American revenues." It said that India will be buying over $3 billion in American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60R helicopters. While India does not seem to have acceded to US requests to not use Chinese technology for building the 5G telecommunications network, the statement said they "discussed the importance of building secure 5G systems to promote a trusted networking future". (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) During the incubation period, doctors would communicate with the person at the place of stay The condition of all the passengers, who were on the same bus or plane with a potential patient, would be monitored at Ukraine's border with the EU. Chief sanitary and epidemiological doctor of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko announced this to journalists at a briefing in the Cabinet of Ministers. During the incubation period, doctors and a family doctor will communicate with the person at the place of stay. People, who are suspected of being infected with coronavirus, will be taken to infectious diseases hospitals where additional tests will be carried out and after that certain decisions will be made. In addition, Ukraine has developed a memo on self-isolation, which is implemented in most countries of the world. People who have been to countries where coronavirus infection has been reported are advised to have an observation at home and minimize contact with other people. If you have symptoms, its important not to go to the doctor, but to call him. After that, either an ambulance will come and hospitalize the patient, or the doctor will come home for examination on his own February 25, Ukraine has introduced additional security measures on its borders. In Transcarpathia, they were strengthened because in 99% of cases vehicles on the Italy - Ukraine route use the Tisa checkpoint. Border guards work in masks and gloves and subjected more than 2,100 people to temperature screening per day. As we reported before, in Ukraine, ten people have died from influenza and ARVI over the past week. From February 17 to February 23, 217,459 people fell ill with the flu, of which 61% were children. Non-epidemic level of influenza activity persists only in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhya regions and in Kyiv. Close Trump official wrongly says coronavirus rate similar to flu Donald Trump has downplayed the possibility of a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus inside the United States, calling the risk "low" a day and appearing to disagree with his top health officials who have said it is a matter of when, not if, the country sees serious illnesses. "No, I dont think it's inevitable. It probably will, It possibly will," he said. "This will end. ... Nothing's inevitable." He said he was putting vice president Mike Pence in charge of overseeing efforts to protect Americans from the deadly virus, which has killed thousands of people particularly in China although there have been no fatalities in the US. Please allow a moment for our blog to load The Beautiful China photo exhibition is being held at the China Cultural Center in Sydney until March 6. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] A photo exhibition, Beautiful China, which showcases China's natural and cultural landscape, opened at the China Cultural Center in Sydney on Feb 12. Consisting of 32 artworks celebrating the abundant heritage all around China, the display was organized by the China Cultural Center and the China tourism office, both in Sydney. "China has an enormous amount of tourism resources," said Xiao Xiayong, director of the China Cultural Center in Sydney. "We host this exhibit to introduce China's scenic beauty and cultural charm to the Australian public." The Beautiful China photo exhibition is being held at the China Cultural Center in Sydney until March 6. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] All photos on display are unretouched, emphasizing the natural subjects without any photo-revising software. Visitors are able to view many magnificent Chinese landmarks, such as the Great Wall, Mogao Grottoes, Taishan Mountain and Potala Palace. The exhibition will run through March 6. (Source: China Daily) Ethiopia announced earlier on Wednesday it would not take part in what was due to be the final round of US-mediated talks to resolve the dam dispute Egypt has said it is committed to the course of US-sponsored negotiations on Ethiopia's disputed Nile dam project after Addis Ababa said it would not take part in what was due to be the final round of talks to resolve the years-long crisis. The Ethiopian water ministry said earlier on Wednesday that Addis Ababa will not take part in talks with Egypt and Sudan scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington, as it "has not completed its discussions with domestic stakeholders" on the dam. It said it had briefed the US treasury about the decision. Hours later, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Cairo "is committed to the course of negotiations sponsored by the United States and the World Bank," affirming that Egypt's foreign and water ministers will take part in this week's talks that are intended to put the final touches on a deal on the filling and operation of the 6,000-megawatt hydropower dam. "Egypt's participation in the meeting is in line with the Egyptian approach, which reflects goodwill and a sincere desire to reach a final agreement on the filling and operation of the dam," the statement added. Also on Wednesday, the Ethiopian ambassador in Washington Fitsum Arega said his country "will not sign any agreement that will give up its right to use the Nile." Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan said in late in January that they would sign an agreement by the end of this month to iron out differences over the filling and operation of the $4.8 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas said earlier this week that the three regional powers received a draft deal prepared by the US Treasury on the mechanism of filling and operating the dam. The three countries agreed last month on a schedule for the staged filling of the dam and mitigation mechanisms to adjust its filling and operation during dry periods and drought. Details about other aspects were still due to be finalised. Ethiopia hopes the mega project will help it become the continent's biggest power exporter, but Cairo fears that the dam will diminish its water supply from the Nile. Search Keywords: Short link: By Trend Tourism is a promising area of cooperation between Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, said Ambassador of Georgia to Kyrgyzstan Zurab Abashidze, Trend reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic. He made the remark at the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Chingiz Aidarbekov in Bishkek. According to the press service of the ministry, the parties discussed the current state of relations between the countries and prospects for further development of bilateral cooperation. At the meeting, agreements on enhancing trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation were reached. The parties also discussed issues of holding joint events in 2020 as well as the organization of the official visit of Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani to Kyrgyzstan. The parties also noted that tourism is a promising area of mutual cooperation. The Kyrgyz side expressed interest in gaining Georgias experience in this area, as well as attracting Georgian tourism companies to the market of Kyrgyzstan. The parties exchanged views on pressing issues of the international and regional agenda, and also reaffirmed their mutual disposition towards the further development of multifaceted bilateral cooperation. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz CHARLES CITY -- Dennis White was born in Charles City. He lived and grew up on the towns east side. As he got older, White got interested in architecture and building design. It was enough of an interest that he made it his life and his business. And through that hes learned some things: Hes learned about the stories buildings can tell. He knows how they can embody a time and place. And hes even well aware of the sort of aesthetic comfort they can provide to people who see them. Which is a big part of why White wants to work with others to "save" the Milwaukee Rail Depot in downtown Charles City. "My interest in this building is strictly in it as a thread in the fabric of our timeline. This is a pivotal building," White said. Its a building with some history. When the Milwaukee Rail Depot opened to the public in June 1913, the Charles City Intelligencer referred to it as a "brick-veneered building so equipped as to make it a joy and pleasure to entrain on the Milwaukee." At the time, it was a major upgrade from a wooden building where passenger trains had been coming through since the 1860s. Even after that passenger flow stopped, almost 100 years later, in 1960, and cut into part of the depots utility, it continued to be of note and make news. When an infamous F-5 tornado ripped through downtown Charles City on May 15, 1968, and killed 13 people while injuring 450 residents while doing $30 million in damage, it somehow bypassed the Milwaukee Rail Depot. "That building remained intact even though other buildings were flattened. I think thats a sign," White said. Usage With such a history, White and a coalition called "Friends of Save the Depot" want to do as much as possible to respect the building and its legacy. Which weighs heavily into the workable plans for the space that hes shared as much as possible. "I end up being the spokesperson for this but there's a lot of parts and pieces," White said. What the Friends of Save the Depot want to do is really in two phases. The first involves purchasing the building and transferring it to a site just two blocks down Grand Avenue where it will complement the American Passenger Train History Museum. According to White, it would require about $250,000 to secure things with Canadian Pacific, who still oversees the property, and do that heavy lifting. As for cost of renovation and development, that isn't as set in stone because there are a number of options a private or public entity could pursue. "I feel that the best use for the building is a multi-purpose usage that can be a meeting area and a destination," White said. Part of that would mean the depot would become a crucial stopping point for the area's Charley Western Bike Trail. It would also feature a small movie theater for patrons to learn area history related to passenger trains, would be easily accessible for those with disabilities and would serve as a welcome center for the Charles City Chamber of Commerce. Which is where Chamber Director Mark Wicks comes in. Through the Chamber, Wicks, who is also the recording secretary for the Historic Preservation Society in Charles City, has organized meetings between the city and folks trying to save it. And he's done that because he also thinks it's unquestionably a historic asset. "Our historic buildings downtown are at a premium because of the '68 tornado and that building is in remarkable shape for its age," Wicks said. Wicks thinks that the plan White and Friends of Save the Depot would be a boon for showcasing the best of the city. "I dont think theres any question. With trail improvements and a public restroom, that would absolutely be a benefit," Wicks shared. Wicks too shares White's passion for the building's historical nature and his sense of importance to do whatever possible to preserve such history. As far as Wicks is concerned, the building's an important part of Charles City. For future generations Still neither Wicks nor White nor anyone with the Friends of Save the Depot have such a love of history that they're blinded to the present realities of what it's going to take to get all this done. They all know that there are big questions around ownership and sustainability. And they know they're on a timeline. "They're working to demolish this building at the same time we're working to save it," White said about Canadian Pacific. Which is true. But the railroad has delayed demo now for about two years to work with the City and residents to find a solution that everyone can be happy about. Though it's only possible to delay for so long. And then history could be lost. "This is an important piece of Charles City before I ever was," White said. "Someone in our generation, or some of us, need to take to task saving certain things so that future generations can understand their significance." Reach Reporter Jared McNett at 641-421-0527. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @TwoHeadedBoy98. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 [February 26, 2020] VMware and Deutsche Telekom Unveil Collaboration on Cloud-Based Open and Intelligent Virtual RAN Platform Today, VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) and Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) announced the companies are collaborating on an open and intelligent virtual RAN (vRAN) platform, based on O-RAN standards, to bring agility to radio access networks (RANs) for both existing LTE and future 5G networks. The solution, architected by VMware and Intel (News - Alert) and based on Intel's FlexRAN architecture, is planned to undergo testing and validation at Deutsche Telekom's Bonn, Germany, headquarters. While the majority of network modernization efforts start with virtualization of the core network, service providers are beginning to set their sights on realizing the benefits of end-to-end network transformation and are working to virtualize all parts of their network, including the RAN. Moving to an open vRAN helps create a more innovative RAN environment that introduces cloud economics in the radio access network environment - an essential component to delivering apps and services over a 5G network. "As the traditional RAN becomes the open RAN, we need to accelerate the development of scalable high-performance open RAN solutions. Our work with VMware and Intel aims to address scalability and related economics for vRAN macro layer deployment," says Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation (STI), Deutsche Telekom. "Going forward, we plan to work with the open RAN vendor ecosystem to accelerate cmmercial availability of solutions." The Open RAN solution architecture leverages standards-based Intel processors and FlexRAN, a vRAN software reference platform, to run vRAN workloads on top of VMware's telco cloud platform, optimized for real-time and low latency workloads. The solution will also feature a VMware-developed pre-standard, near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) that will adopt O-RAN open interfaces with required enhancements to enable real-time radio resource management capabilities to be delivered as applications on top of the platform. VMware, Deutsche Telekom and Intel are collaborating with an open partner ecosystem to develop this solution, and key initial partners include Cohere Technologies and Mavenir. "This solution brings the promise of RAN to the forefront for today's LTE (News - Alert) networks and tomorrow's 5G networks," said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president and general manager, Telco and Edge Cloud, VMware. "In a 5G world, the RAN needs to become software-defined in order to meet the needs of CSPs, and what we're proposing with this open and intelligent vRAN platform will do exactly that." "Virtualizing the RAN is an important step in the 5G future that will enable innovative services at the edge. Through this collaboration we aim to demonstrate how standards-based hardware and software can accelerate new types of network deployments," explained Cristina Rodriguez, vice president and general manager of Intel's Wireless Access Network Division. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to customers globally, aided by an extensive ecosystem of partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert), California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005462/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] CHARLESTON, S.C. Bernie Sanders has spent much of his career on the political margins, an outsider looking in. Now, the protest politician is learning what its like to be the front-runner for a major political party. Sanders was the target of persistent attacks in Tuesdays Democratic presidential debate, both from his more moderate rivals and the competitor closest to him philosophically, Sen. Elizabeth Warren. He faced granular questions about the cost and scope of his sweeping domestic policy agenda. His leadership credentials were challenged and his temperament tested like no time in his career. Ive been hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why, Sanders quipped. The pile-on indeed reflected the new reality of the Democratic race for the White House. Riding a wave of enthusiasm among young voters and the strength of an increasingly diverse coalition, Sanders has won two of the first three contests and effectively tied in the third. Hes competing aggressively in South Carolina, which votes Saturday, and could pull away from the field in the all-important delegate lead in next weeks Super Tuesday contests. For Sanders, this is new political terrain. Hes spent 40 years in politics as an agitator and an outsider. Hes run for office as an independent and is a loner on Capitol Hill. He prides himself on being ideologically rigid and has been willing to criticize Democratic leaders, including former President Barack Obama, for what hes seen as politically expedient compromises. Now, four years after his insurgent White House bid made him a household name, hes poised to become the Democratic standard-bearer, and the partys pick to take on President Donald Trump in November. Sanders strength has rattled many Democrats, who fear that his uncompromising liberal ideology will turn off voters in swing states, particularly suburban women who were crucial to the partys takeover of the House in 2018. Donors and other party elites are anxiously hoping a more moderate candidate can overtake him in the coming weeks, but they concede those prospects are increasingly unlikely unless theres a significant swing in the race. His rivals tried to engineer a shift in the trajectory of the race in Tuesdays debate. They pummeled the Vermont senator with a fierce onslaught of attacks and, at times, put him on the defensive. Former Vice President Joe Biden challenged Sanders effectiveness as a lawmaker, saying, Bernie, in fact, hasnt passed much of anything. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, accused Sanders of moving the goalposts on the costs of his sweeping policy proposals, including a Medicare for All health insurance system. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg charged that Sanders would not only lose to Trump, but his nomination would result in a catastrophe for Democratic House and Senate candidates running in more moderate states and districts. Can anybody in this room imagine moderate Republicans going over and voting for him? Bloomberg asked. Even Warren, a friend and ideological partner of Sanders, took him on vigorously for the first time, finally giving in to supporters who have urged her to explicitly cast herself as the more pragmatic and effective progressive candidate in the race. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, but I think I would make a better president than Bernie, Warren said. Sanders was prepared for the onslaught. When faced with questions about his electability, he rattled off polls showing him beating Trump in a head-to-head contest. When pressed about the feasibility of his pricey, government-backed policy agenda, he said it was a misconception that his policies are radical. Yet Sanders was also forced to concede that he had made a bad vote in voting against stricter gun control legislation in the Senate. And when he defended favorable comments he made recently about longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, he appeared caught off-guard when some in the audience in the debate hall in Charleston, South Carolina, jeered. Really? Really? he challenged the crowd. The intraparty offensive came as a relief to supporters of Sanders rivals, who have urgently been raising alarms about his prospects in the general election and warning that time is running out to block his path to the nomination. You saw him pressed, finally pressed by the other candidates, said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Bloomberg supporter. The coming days will test whether the increased scrutiny of Sanders raised new doubts for voters. Hes not expected to win in South Carolina but, flush with cash, he is pouring resources into the state this week in hopes of pulling off a surprise and blocking out Biden, who needs a convincing win to continue his campaign. But Sanders real focus is on the delegate-rich states that quickly follow March 3, including California, the primarys biggest prize. A win there could start to put the race out of reach for the rest of the field. Sanders team voiced confidence after the debate, arguing the senator benefited from being the focus of the fields attention. They threw everything at him, said Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and a prominent Sanders backer. He was in the center of that stage, where all the rest of them wanted to be. ___ Associated Press writers Bill Barrow and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report. ___ EDITORS NOTE AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace has covered the White House and politics for the AP since 2007. Follow her at https://twitter.com/jpaceDC. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has rescind its decision to embark an industrial action, after holding talks with the government. The health workers had given government up to February 29, 2020, to implement an already signed agreement on their conditions of service. But the Ministry of Health has indicated that the doctors and dentists have rescinded their decision after discussions between all parties. The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Elorm Ametepe stated that: We had a meeting. The three institutions involved; the Ministry of Employment and Labour, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Ministry of Health met with the Ghana Medical Association. The GMA agreed to call off the intended strike. Finally, they agreed to suspend whatever they intend doing. The issue was resolved. Background The Association had earlier served notice that doctors in the country will embark on a strike if the government failed to immediately implement their signed Conditions of Service. An internal memo sighted by Citi News directed all members to withdraw their services in all facilities if the government fails to meet their demands by January 29, 2020. The Association has accordingly given the government up to Saturday, 29th February 2020 to ensure full implementation (including payment of all occasioned arrears) of the CoS document at both the National and facility levels. If any default on the part of Government occurs Vis-a-vis the stated deadline, there shall be immediate withdrawal of all services by members in all facilities, the memo warned. The National Executive Committee of the Medical Association said it also observed that during the validation of February salaries, there was the absence of fuel allowance on the payslips of members; and urged members to put all discrepancies on notice for rectification. The Association further vowed that the intended strike action by its members will only be called off if the government and the Health Ministry play their part in meeting their demands before the given deadline. citinewsroom Assad regime attacks kill 20 civilians in Idlib Images revealed that bombs exploded inside one of the school gardens. At least 20 people were killed when Syrian regime attacks hit Idlib, northwestern Syria, a local civil defense group said on Tuesday. SEVERAL INJURED WERE REPORTED The Assad regime forces carried out bomb attacks in the Idlib city center, and killed six people, including students and teachers, according to the White Helmets. Separately, the attacks later in the day killed one in Binnish district and 10 others in the town of Ma'arrat Misrin. At least 12 civilians were also injured in the attacks. Since Moscow and Ankara reached a deal in September 2018 under which acts of aggression are supposed to be prohibited in Idlib, over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the de-escalation zone. To the Editor, In support of my brother Jim Schwegels letter on Feb. 21, 2020, I agree with what he said. He did not call all Democrats liars, distortionists, and fabricators. He did question the Democratic leadership about all of this and to me that was obvious. Nowhere did he question the patriotism and devotion to our country of the typical democratic populist. Joe H. Leach uses his military service to question Jims patriotism. A person does not need to serve in the military to make them a patriot. If that were the case then only about 10% of the population would be considered patriots. I served Army Vietnam 1970 non-combat and am proud to call my brother a patriot. Sgt. Edward Schwegel Godfrey Standard Chartered has an office footprint spanning more than 60 countries By the end of 2024, the bank commits to providing $75 billion in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) project financing. $40 billion of this is set for infrastructure that promotes sustainable development, and $35 billion for renewables and clean technology projects. The bank also commits to net-zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2030. Standard Chartered will achieve net-zero emissions by only taking energy from renewable sources and continuing to pursue energy efficiency measures across its 12 million square feetof property. According to Tracey McDermott, group head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, in the past 18 months, the bank has made a series of commitments which are all geared towards supporting the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the transition to a cleaner, greener, fairer economy. We know that the investment required cannot be provided by governments and NGOs alone, so it is critical that investors embrace the Sustainable Development Goals at pace and scale. Our unique footprint means we are well placed to help get finance to where it matters most. That is why we also have a renewed target for financing and facilitating $35 billion of clean technology and renewables, and $40 billion of sustainable infrastructure, McDermott noted. Standard Chartered has a broad range of sustainable finance product offerings that can be deployed to help clients pivot their business towards a more sustainable model. Nirukt Sapru, CEO Vietnam and ASEAN and South Asia Cluster Markets, Standard Chartered Bank, said, While Vietnam is making good progress in the implementation of SDGs, significant investments are needed. We estimate that the country requires $111.1 billion investment in SDGs by 2030, of which the private sector can contribute $45.8 billion. Leveraging our global capabilities and local insights, we will continue to act as a catalyst for the acceleration of SDGs in the country through the provision of meaningful sustainable finance. Standard Chartered has a broad range of sustainable finance product offerings that can be deployed to help clients pivot their business towards a more sustainable model. In October 2018, it created the Sustainable Finance team and has since launched sustainable deposit products in London, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and New York; plus, a 500 million ($542 million) Sustainability Bond, the proceeds of which will be used to provide finance in areas aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals including clean energy projects, smaller business lending and microfinance loans. Teachers and babysitters at schools and daycare centers in the town of Yelabuga in Russias oil-rich Tatarstan region are being asked to donate one-day's salary to a foundation run by a local city councilman for events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Oksana Yermakova, the head of an education watchdog in the town, showed RFE/RL what she says is a request from the Foundation for the Development of the Yelabuga Municipal Area asking teachers to donate money for the "organization and conduct of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day." The foundations director is Aleksandr Zakirov, who is in the restaurant and food business as well as a local city councilman from the United Russia party loyal to President Vladimir Putin. The non-profit foundation was established four years ago and its financial figures for 2018, the last year for which they are available, show that the value of its assets were roughly equal to the amount of debt it had: 680,000 rubles ($10,409). Yermakova of the School Control group said that such requests from little-known foundations are sent every year to teachers who already complain about their meager salaries. "And its not difficult to notice that the money isnt specifically for helping WWII veterans," she said, adding that there are less than 30 surviving veterans in the local district. Yermakova said it was "an open question of how the money will be used and what is meant by 'organizing and conducting' events." She said the amount asked each year has risen and "forced upon the will" of teachers who local officials know "don't have strong spines" to withstand the pressure and threats of "dismissal or other forms of retribution." According to Yermakova, teachers have told her that a few years back they were asked to give "what they could," and last year 500 rubles ($7.65) was requested, while this year the equivalent of a day's salary was solicited. The average monthly teachers salary in Tatarstan, one of the richest regions in Russia, is 30,000 rubles ($459) and in Yelabuga it's lower -- 28,000 rubles ($429). The watchdog director said that so-called nannies or babysitters at daycare centers start off by making the minimum wage -- around 12,000 rubles ($183) and they get asked to donate a days worth of their salaries as well. According to online employment portal Trud (Labor), Yelabuga has the most vacancies for teachers in the Tatarstan region, at 20 percent. Putin has been devoting a lot of attention to events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII in May. It was the only forthcoming event mentioned in the presidents New Years address to the nation. Putin has also regularly spoken about the event informally and formally, including at meetings with post-Soviet leaders, during his end-of-year news conference, and in a meeting with Russian tycoons. Invitations have been extended to world leaders for ceremonies marking the anniversary in Moscow as well. The party, however, hailed Wednesdays verdict of the Supreme Court on Bayelsa State governorship election but noted that the grounds for the demands by the PDP and majority of Nigerians for the reversal of Imo state governorship election judgment are completely different from those of Bayelsa. Man arrested after Cancun gas attendant robbed of cash at gunpoint Cancun, Q.R. A man who robbed a woman of her cash at a Cancun gas station in SM 509 has been arrested by police. The man, who fled on a motorcycle with another male, was tracked down by police after they saw a woman requesting their help. Cancun police were patrolling the area when the woman caught their attention, detailing that she had just been robbed of her cash by two men on a motorcycle. In her testimony, the Cancun gas attendant said that she was returning from making change for a customer in his vehicle when two subjects on motorcycle pulled up and threatened her with a gun. She was stripped of her cash. They fled. Cancun police began a search operation, managing to detain one of the males alleged involved in the robbery. Police say 29-year-old Carlos N, originally from the state of Yucatan, was taken into custody and his bike seized. He was placed at the disposal of the corresponding ministerial authority. MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC announced today that it has secured $20 million in Opportunity Zone funding for a luxury apartment complex in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. The project, known as Bird Town Flats, opened for occupancy in January 2020. The Qualified Opportunity Zone is a half mile from downton Robbinsdale and minutes from downtown Minneapolis, with easy access to the highway and transit options. The 152-unit, Class A apartment community offers two-bedroom, one-bedroom and studio units. Amenities include premium kitchens, a rooftop deck, fitness center, underground garage, outdoor TV lounge and bike trails. The Beard Group Inc. served as the real estate development company and NAI Legacy sponsored the Opportunity Zone package. CLA Wealth Advisors helped raise capital and provided tax advisory and compliance services. At CLA, were committed to creating opportunities in the communities we serve, said Tony Hallada, managing principal with CLA Wealth Advisors, who led capital raising efforts for the development. Im incredibly pleased to see this project come to fruition, because its a model for what Opportunity Zones are about bringing a high-quality project to an area that hasnt seen this type of development in years. In addition to raising capital, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) will provide ongoing professional services for the Oppportunity Zone fund supporting this project. CLA is a national leader in the Opportunity Zone space, combining deep experience in the real estate industry, tax and investment management services to offer stakeholders a broad spectrum of insight into the full benefits of the Opportunity Zone program. Its exciting to see the redevelopment efforts in Robbinsdale, and were thrilled to be part of this boom, said Bill Beard, president and CEO with The Beard Group Inc. Theres been a tremendous demand and lease up went quicker than expected. CLA, NAI Legacy, The Beard Group and the entire team worked together to make this project a success. About CLA CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services. With more than 6,200 people, 120 U.S. locations and a global affiliation, we promise to know you and help you. For more information, visit CLAconnect.com. Securities products, merger and acquisition services, and wealth advisory services are provided by CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors LLC, a federally registered investment advisor and member FINRA, SIPC. Attachment GREAT FALLS In honor of February being National Career and Technical Education Month, Great Falls College MSU is hosting a welding competition on Thursday, Feb. 27. The welding competition is for high school students who are enrolled in welding or other trades programs at their high school. We hope this competition lights a fire in these students about the importance of trades education, said Doug Zander, Great Falls College welding instructor and event coordinator. During the competition, students perform three different types of welding shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding. They also do oxy fuel cutting and must pass a written test. Each student receives pieces of metal and rotates through different stations to perform each type of welding and cutting. After they finish, judges review their final product and give them a score. The competition begins at 10 a.m., with the awards ceremony at 3 p.m. It will be held in the welding building at Great Falls College MSU, 2100 16th Ave. S. Steel Etc. donated some of the materials students will use in the competition. Albertsons donated lunch for the contest and General Distributing and American Gas contributed some surprises for the students. The Great Falls College MSU Invitational Welding Competition is open to high school students across the state, with students coming from schools from Red Lodge to Augusta. The 25 students participating Thursday may advance to the state SkillsUSA welding competition in Havre, and from there, can go on to the national competition. In addition to the welding invitational, National Career and Technical Education Month aims to highlight the importance of trades education. Trades education is such an important part of the mission of Montana schools as we prepare the next generation of employees for meaningful careers in high-wage, high-need areas, said Joel Sims, Trades Division director at Great Falls College. It is fun to have the welding students on campus showing off their skills and showcasing the quality education they are receiving in schools all around Montana. With the signing of the TRACED Act, the deployment of STIR/SHAKEN across the telecommunications industry is no longer optional it is now mandated by United States Federal Law. The SIP Forum announced today that it will host the STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT, a new two-day educational conference focusing on the challenges and opportunities related to the deployment of the STIR/SHAKEN Call Authentication Framework. The STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT will be held in Herndon, VA on June 23-24, 2020 at the Hilton Washington Dulles Hotel, and will build on the success of the SIP Forums last SIPNOC 2019 conference, which earned high praise from attendees for its educational, non-commercial and technical content that focused on the real-world challenges service providers face when deploying STIR/SHAKEN. Developed jointly by the SIP Forum and ATIS (the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions) to efficiently implement the Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF) STIR (for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited) standard, SHAKEN (for Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) defines a mechanism to verify the calling number and specifies how it will be transported across communications networks. Together, STIR/SHAKEN offers a practical mechanism to provide verified information about the calling party as well as the origin of the call what is known as attestation for the first time in the network. Giving service providers the tools needed to sign and verify calling numbers makes it possible for businesses and consumers to know, before answering, that the calls they receive are from legitimate parties. With the recent signing into law of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, or the TRACED Act (S.151), by President Trump on December 30, 2019, there is new urgency surrounding the deployment of STIR/SHAKEN within the telecommunications industry. The TRACED Act authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue additional civil penalties on individuals who intentionally violate restrictions on the use of automated telephone equipment (i.e., illegal robocalls and spoofing); and directs the FCC to require voice service providers to offer call authentication technologies (i.e., STIR/SHAKEN) to consumers. With the signing of the TRACED Act, the deployment of STIR/SHAKEN across the telecommunications industry is no longer optional it is now mandated by United States Federal Law. Our goal with the STIR/SHAKEN Summit is to provide those with a vested interest in the deployment of STIR/SHAKEN with the most timely and essential information they need to tackle the technological, logistical and business challenges involved in that endeavor, said Marc Robins, SIP Forum President and Managing Director, and STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT Program Chair. The STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT will feature a special Certificate Administration and Service Provider On-Boarding workshop focused on providing a comprehensive, step-by-step tutorial on service provider registration, testing, and certificate procedures, as well as in-depth coverage of Out-Of-Band STIR solutions, a comprehensive review of proposed DOJ/FCC/FTC enforcement actions and their ramifications, Track and Trace, trusted customer solutions, RCD (Rich Call Data), navigating IP Interconnection, the state of International deployment, and much more. STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT attendees will include telecommunications providers, major backbone operators, interconnect and wholesale solution providers, ISPs, cable operators, and wireless network operators, as well as industry stakeholders in the Robocall and Caller ID Spoofing elimination/mitigation ecosystem, including governmental regulators and agencies, regulatory attorneys with state and federal jurisdictions, equipment manufacturers and mobile product developers, device integration specialists, large enterprise service assurance operations and IT/communications staff, government agencies, customer care/contact centers, and application providers and data analytics firms. For More Information and to Register To receive more information about the STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT, and notification once registration is open, please send an email to stirshakensummit@sipforum.org. The SIP Forum will release further details about the STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT, including early bird registration, in mid March 2020 at its website https://www.sipforum.org/ and through a variety of membership mailing lists and other outreach efforts. For information about corporate sponsorship opportunities at the STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT, please contact Marc Robins at +1-203-829-6307 or email marc.robins@sipforum.org. About the SIP Forum The SIP Forum is a leading IP communications industry association that engages in numerous activities that promote and advance SIP-based technology, such as the development of industry recommendations; interoperability testing events including SIPit, and special workshops, educational activities, and general promotion of IP communications standards, services, and technology for service provider, enterprise and governmental applications. The SIP Forum is also the producer of the annual SIPNOC conferences (for SIP Network Operators Conference), focused on the technical requirements of the service provider community, and the STIR/SHAKEN SUMMIT. One of the Forums technical activities is the development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation a standards-based SIP trunking recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IP peering and interoperability between IP PBXs and SIP-based service provider networks, and the SIPconnect Certification Testing Program, a unique certification testing program that includes a certification test suite and test platform, and an associated SIPconnect Certified logo program that provides an official seal of certification for companies products and services that have officially achieved conformance with the SIPconnect specification. Other important Forum initiatives include work in security, SIP and IPv6, and IP-based Network-to-Network Interconnection (IP-NNI) and the SHAKEN Call Authentication Framework. For more information about SIP Forum initiatives, please visit: https://www.sipforum.org. The death toll has risen to 18. The wave of violence is widespread. All private as well as government schools remain shut today as well. CBSE board examinations have been postponed in the city. The situation is grave and serious. So much so that even Hollywood stars are worried. Reuters The violence which started in North-East Delhi on Sunday night has continued for a couple of days now. People are dying. For the first time, a security personnel, a police constable, have been killed. On one hand, the Hindu-Muslim riots are prevalent in the capital of the nation, on the other hand, US President Donald Trump was being hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same city. In the wake of the same, Hollywood actor John Cusack condemned the Northeast Delhi violence in a tweet. Twitter "This is fascism - while trump modi declare they themselves the state - Delhi burns Savage crackdown widens - no achievable goal except humiliation and terror -@IndiaAboriginal: @LastWeekTonight See what happened in India," he said. This is fascism - while trump modi declare they themselves the state - Delhi burns Savage crackdown widens - no achievable goal except humiliation and terror -@IndiaAboriginal: @LastWeekTonight See what happened in India @LastWeekTonight @johncusack pic.twitter.com/fd3FSVUS2m John Cusack (@johncusack) February 25, 2020 In another tweet, he wrote, "I know- @fjriwlpq: Hey @johncusack this is what's happening in India right now #DelhiRiots" and shared a picture of news article. In the light of the same, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap wrote, "One thing is clear: Pro-CAA means anti-Muslim" PRO-CAA Anti-Muslim Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) February 24, 2020 For the unversed, this isn't the first time that John Cusack has commented on the situation in India. Earlier as well, he tweeted support to Jamia Millia Islamia University Students in 2019. He had tweeted a quote by Arundhati Roy and along with that he wrote, Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by Modi. Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by modi pic.twitter.com/aPEFOcexsw John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019 John Cusack also posted videos of the violence in Delhi and wrote, Solidarity. A particularly harmful Obama-era labor rule, designed to fill union coffers while harming small business owners, is coming to an end. In a rule to be published tomorrow, the National Labor Relations Board upholds common sense and balances the scales of justice. The NLRB rule rejects union demands that the national headquarters of a franchise be punished for labor violations committed by local franchisees. The trigger came when local McDonalds owners allegedly fired employees trying to unionize their workforce. The NLRB ruled that complaints at only 0.5 percent of McDonalds 14,000 franchises had any merit. But in December 2014, the NLRB faulted the national franchisor, McDonalds USA, alongside its franchisees. For decades, the federal government held that the national office could only be held liable for actions in its local franchises if it qualified as a joint employer that is, if it exercised direct and immediate control over a locations employees. Otherwise, the local franchisee would be held responsible for his or her actions, not the franchise name that happened to hang over the drive thru. But in the Obama years the NLRB, at the urging of the Service Employees International Union, changed the standard to indirect control. Why did the Obama administration change the rule? It wanted to super-size labor unions. First, the newer, laxer standard would allow anyone who has a beef with a local McDonalds manager to sue the corporation itself. That kind of financial jackpot would prove more tempting to unscrupulous lawyers than the establishments crispy, golden fries. Shaking down the Golden Arches for a pot of gold would clog the nations court systems more effectively than (insert menu item of choice). Second, the SEIU spent an estimated $182 million trying to organize the fast food industry, with little success. SEIU organizers hope that McDonalds USA will sign a neutrality agreement, which silences employers from presenting the negative points of union membership. They also often give unions employees home addresses, and contain card check provisions that eliminate employees right to a secret ballot when deciding whether to unionize. If the national headquarters is a joint employer, it can bind all of its franchises at once. Both of these goals would be windfalls for organized labor, which has seen its numbers decimated in the wake of the Supreme Courts Janus v. AFSCME ruling, giving workers greater choice in union representation. The SEIU lost 94 percent of agency shop employees, who chose not to join the 1.9-million-member union but were forced to pay union dues anyway. The thought of unionizing fast food workers makes organizers mouths water. The industrys high turnover rate means they can collect a regular flow of new membership dues, while doing little to benefit workers during the time they work the fryer or fire the guacamole gun. The Capital Research Center calculated that unions would collect $155 million by organizing McDonalds, including $45 million in from initiation fees alone. Collecting tens of millions of dollars for nothing? Theyre lovin it. But the unions meal deal would not be appetizing for small business owners or employees. The new incentive to file lawsuits would drive up business insurance, placing the dream of owning their own business out of reach of the middle class. To stave off lawsuits, the national headquarters will micromanage local businesses or preemptively deny agreements to those with little business experience. Meanwhile, the SEIUs Fight for $15 campaign would cost between 1.3 million and 3.7 million jobs, many of them at McDonalds. Nearly 98 percent of people making minimum wage are under the age of 24, trying to break into the labor market. Aiding well-heeled unions at the cost of the poor, the young, and the middle class hardly sounds like social justice. The greatest offense the federal labor bureaucracys action would inflict is its offense against justice a word often misinterpreted by the measures supporters. The lax NLRB rule would allow unions and lawyers to plunder anyone tied to the nations 800,000 franchise locations, although they had neither participation nor, perhaps, knowledge of the offense. The Bible condemns this in the words of the prophet Ezekiel: The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the iniquity of the transgressor shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20). The SEIUs standard confuses the actions of one person to damage the reputation of another. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio used a similar sleight-of-hand on New Years Eve, when he bashed Dominos for the actions of one of its franchisees. Thankfully, the issue is temporarily at rest. The Trump administration dropped the court case, three years into its administration, and hammered out a settlement last December. The NLRB will codify the traditional understanding of the relationship into law. Fast food franchisees can stop worrying about federal regulatory overreach and focus on the job we ask of them like fixing the ice cream machine. (Photo credit: Fibonacci Blue. This photo has been cropped. CC BY 2.0.) Terry Calvani Terry Calvani, a top competition lawyer, has joined Brunswick Group in Washington as a senior advisor. The former Federal Trade Commission commissioner and Competition Authority of Ireland board member, focused on criminal cartels and mergers, will counsel Brunswick clients on antitrust and regulatory matters. Neal Wolin, Brunswick CEO, said Calvani's expertise in US and international antitrust enforcement matters "will be of significant value to our clients in the U.S. and elsewhere. Calvani, 73, stepped down in 2019 from his "of counsel" post Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in DC. He has been working as a part-time lawyer since last May. The book A Battle Against Epidemic is compiled to show China's efforts in strengthening cooperation with the international community to jointly safeguard global and regional public health security.[Official website of China Intercontinental Press] A book on China's efforts on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 outbreak has been co-published by the China Intercontinental Press and the People's Publishing House. With more than 100,000 Chinese characters selected from media reports, the book focuses on key moments, individuals and events during China's ongoing fight against the epidemic. The book is compiled to show the strength of the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership and China's socialist system, as well as China's efforts in strengthening cooperation with the international community to jointly safeguard global and regional public health security. The book will also be published in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. (Source: Xinhua) Ghanaians have affirmed Vodafones position as telecom operator with the best customer experience, in the 2019 edition of the Ghana Customer Service Index (GCSI) Report by Hegemony Consulting. The report measured nine customer experience metrics, which include trust, look and feel, competence, professionalism, ease of doing business, customer focused innovations, feedback and complaints channels as well as engagement with staff. Commenting, Angela Mensah-Poku, Director of Commercial and Digital Transformation for Vodafone Ghana said: Our goal has always been and remains to provide the best experiences for our customers. This commitment is what pushes us to deliver experiences that are above industry standards. It is gratifying to know that our customers recognise and appreciate our efforts. I really want to thank our customers for continuously sharing feedback, which enables us to improve our services and deliver matchless customer experience. We care for each one of our customers and this is not mere rhetoric; it is a way of life for us and the value system of our business. Vodafone has reinvented how it interacts and engages with customers, by adopting intelligent digital channels. These include ToBi, an industrys first virtual assistant chabot that performs customer care functions and provides 24-hour assistance to customers on products, services, and enquiries. The telecommunications giant has also launched a revamped customer mobile application, My Vodafone App, which combines customer touch points and queries into one place to make engagements with the company much easier. The Ghana Customer Service Index (GCSI) is a yearly report, which provides insights into the state of customer service in Ghana. The report uses three-component approaches; research, traditional surveys, which are face-to-face, telephone and written questionnaires; and online surveys as a basis to measure the performance of businesses vis-a-vis their customer relations. Interviews were held across various university campuses, public events and city centres. The objectives of the GCSI report include identifying the drivers of customer satisfaction in the various sectors and their impact on customer loyalty. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Germanys Development Bank, KfW, has lent Tunisia 27.5 million earmarked for the modernization of the Medjerda canal project at northeastern Cap Bon. The loan will be used to modernize all infrastructures and equipment of the canal to meet the increasing demand in potable and irrigation water. The canal provides the cities of Tunis, Cap Bon, Sahel and Sfax with potable water. It also supplies water for the irrigation of 19,000 hectares of agriculture land in El Mghira, Mornag and Cap-Bon. Stretching on 120.165 km, the canal is under the authority of the ministry of agriculture and is managed by Societe dExploitation du canal et des Eaux du Nord (SECADENORD). The grant is part of a set of financial agreements signed between Tunisia and Germany in April 2019. Under the agreements, the EU powerhouse is to allocate the North African country 264.5 million, including 12 million as donation. Catholics who accept all of the church's teachings are most likely to vote for Trump: poll Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Catholic support for President Donald Trump has increased but theres a disconnect between Catholics who agree with all of the Churchs teachings and those who dont. The Eternal Word Television Network and RealClear Opinion Research released the survey of over 1,521 registered self-identified Catholic and former Catholic voters Monday. The results show that even though Trump is still trailing Democratic candidates in head-to-head polling, one of the most prevalent predictors of whether or not a Catholic voter will vote for Trump is whether or not he or she accepts the entirety of Catholic church teachings. About 18 percent of the respondents said that they accept all the Churchs teachings, which conflict with Democratic Party positions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said that they accept most of the Churchs teachings, while 29 percent said they do not accept some of the key teachings. Thirteen percent said Catholicism has a minor influence on them, while 2 percent identified as former Catholics. [The 18 percent group] is the one that has opinions that are distinct from essentially the other 80 percent who indicate that their religion plays a less integral role in their lives, John Della Volpe, the director of polling at RealClear Opinion Research, said on a conference call with reporters. While the majority of Catholics surveyed (53 percent) said they disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, 59 percent of Catholics who say they accept all the Churchs teachings indicate that they are sure they will vote to reelect Trump in 2020. As well, 8 percent of devout Catholics said there is a very good chance they will vote to reflect Trump. So thats 67 percent [of devout Catholics who] say they are sure to reelect him or there is a very good chance they will, Volpe said. This is a core group of that 18 percent. In addition to that, they are more likely to follow the news and they are much more likely than the other Catholics to indicate that they never miss an election. Seventy-five percent indicate that they vote in almost every federal election. By comparison, 34 percent of the 1,521 total respondents said they are sure to vote for Trump in 2020 and 12 percent said there is a good chance theyll vote for him in 2020. Thirty-six percent of all respondents said they will never vote for Trump, while 10 percent said it is unlikely theyll vote to reelect the president. About 8 percent of all respondents said that it is possible they will vote for Trump in 2020. The poll is the second in a series of four polls on Catholic political and theological opinions during the 2020 election cycle to be conducted, the first of which was released in December. The respondents were surveyed online between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 and the results have an error margin of 2.77 percent. Trumps job approval rating among Catholics of 47 percent is in line with the national average, Volpe explained. In the December polling, Trumps job approval among Catholics was at 44 percent. Historically, if the Catholic vote is evenly divided, you're looking at a close election, Real Clear Politics Washington Bureau Chief Carl Cannon said. It happened last time. The job approval rating in social sciences is the gold standard because the question has been asked the same [way] starting with George Gallup in the 1930s. It's not always been a predictor of reelection. But with this president, it kind of feels like it is. Volpe said that the 18 percent group of respondents who accept all the Churchs teachings is unique for different reasons. One, he said, is they include more people of color (41 percent Hispanic), with nearly half of the demographic being white. He added that there are slightly more females (52 percent) in the group than males. Nearly one-third of the respondent group is below the age of 45. Volpe said that 72 percent of those who say they accept the Catholic Churchs teachings attend mass at least once per week and 92 percent say they pray at least once per week. Additionally, at least half of the Catholics who accept all the Churchs teachings are Republican and 38 percent are Democrats. As for the less devout Catholics, about 30 percent consider themselves Republican. Among Democratic Catholics, former Vice President Joe Biden, the only Catholic in the primary, seems to have a slight edge over his competitors. Twenty-nine percent of respondents who said they are likely to cast a Democrat primary ballot said they are likely to vote for Biden and 24 percent said they are likely to vote for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Seventeen percent said they would likely vote for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and 10 percent indicated support for Massachusets Sen. Elizabeth Warren. I want to note that when we think about the upcoming primary on a national basis, we see the race at the top level unchanged since the last wave was polled, Volpe said. The poll also questioned respondents about their opinions on various political issues. A major issue for Catholics over the years has been abortion, as Catholics have led the pro-life movement over the decades through events like the annual March for Life. On abortion, 47 percent of all respondents said that they think abortion is intrinsically evil, while 71 percent who say they accept all the Churchs teachings said the same. Twenty percent of all respondents surveyed said they think abortion should always be legal (20 percent). Thirty-one percent of respondents said they think abortion should be legal but want limits on late-term abortion. Thirty-three percent said they think abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to save a mothers life. Eleven percent said they think abortion should always be illegal. Among the 18 percent of Catholics who say they accept all the Churchs teachings, 23 percent said they think abortion should always be illegal and 32 percent said that it should be illegal except in the cases for rape, incest or to save a mothers life. Twenty-seven percent of devout Catholics think abortion should always be legal. What it tells me is that even the most devout Catholics, they take the separation of church and state pretty seriously, Cannon said. They don't always just go with what their faith says. That doesn't mean they do it in their own lives. But they think they grant some space to the political sphere to work out these issues. Catholics are divided when it comes to whether or not Christian business owners should have the right not to provide services for a same-sex wedding. While 45 percent of all respondents said they think business owners should have that right, 40 percent said business owners should be required to provide services for same-sex weddings. Fourteen percent said they did not know. About 55 percent of all respondents said they think that transgender individuals use of public restrooms should be consistent with biological sex. Meanwhile, 30 percent believe transgender individuals should be allowed to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. There was something missing from the houses, cars, planes and fantasy world these children spent hours playing with, Sarah Herman wrote in her book A Million Little Bricks: The Unofficial Illustrated History of the LEGO Phenomenon. Mr. Knudsens minifigures, she wrote, went on to define and drive the Lego system more than any other part since the launch of the new Lego brick in 1958. Mumbai, Feb 26 : The Maharashtra Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Wednesday after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray move a resolution honouring Veer Savarkar on his 54th death anniversary. Several BJP members arrived in the Assembly donning caps with 'Mi Pan Savarkar' (Me Too Savarkar) and later, attempting to embarrass the ruling Shiv Sena, demanded a resolution to honour the Hindutva ideologue. BJP senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had tabled the motion before Speaker Nana Patole, saying: "In the past few days, there have been several disgusting and unpalatable statements made against Veer Savarkar. There has been an attempt to create confusion and misguide people about his role in the freedom struggle in his birth state. February 26 is his death anniversary and the State Assembly must pass a motion in his honour." On Wednesday, Mungantiwar said that this was also the desire of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and there was no politics in the demand. However, Speaker Patole continued with the regular house business. Later, when the Speaker rejected the motion, agitated BJP members rushed to the well of the House carrying posters and shouting anti-government slogans. Targetting the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the Shiv Sena has become so helpless for power that it is siding with those who are insulting Savarkar, but the people will not forgive this. Nationalist Congress Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar countered by asking the BJP why it did not announce 'Bharat Ratna' for Savarkar despite Fadnavis, during his tenure as Chief Minister, writing twice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. A number of highways that were closed Tuesday morning in Wyoming because of snow have reopened by Tuesday afternoon. Interstate 25 was temporarily closed between Chugwater and Wheatland because of winter conditions, according the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Stretches of Interstate 80 were also closed Tuesday morning because of the poor visibility, but they have since reopened. Additionally, stretches of I-80 to the west are back open after large stretches were closed for a time on Monday. Visibility between Cheyenne and Laramie was near zero at times because of the strong winds and snow, the National Weather Service said. The weather service said the snow would decrease Tuesday afternoon and evening from the west to the east. Northern parts of Wyoming faced more severe conditions. Interstate 90 was temporarily closed between Buffalo and Gillette, and Wyoming 387 was closed for a time from Midwest to Wright. Wyoming Highway 59 was closed between Wright and Gillette before reopening as of 8:11 a.m. Tuesday. A Kildare woman appears on a new Irish stamp being launched by An Post this week. Newbridge born scientist, Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, is featured on one of five stamps issued on the subject of The Irish Abroad, highlighting the shared experiences of Irish people leaving Ireland for economic, cultural and humanitarian reasons. Designed by Irish company, ZeroG, the new stamps are available in main post offices, at the GPO, Dublin and online at anpost.com/shop. She appears on a stamp along with actor, Richard Harris, and musician, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. Born in County Kildare in 1903, she was one of the first two women to be admitted as fellows to the Royal Society. She became a Dame of the British Empire. In her scientific career she developed several X-ray techniques for the study of crystal structure and the first female Professor of Chemistry and Crystallography at University of London. She was also an anti-war campaigner, writer, mother, and former inmate of Holloway Prison. SEE ALSO: Kildare film feast lined up for Riverbank on March 7 Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was born in 1829, raised in Galway. He served as a stretcher bearer and musician in the American Civil War and became bandleader, composer and showman who played to millions across America during a forty-year career in the second half of the nineteenth century. Richard Harris was born in Limerick in 1930. He studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and made his stage debut in 1956. His acting career spans four decades and he received the 1990 Evening Standard Theatre Award for playing Pirandello's Henry IV. SEE ALSO: more Kildare stories Another stamp features writer, Edna OBrien, aid worker, Fr. Michael J Kelly, and humanitarian, Mary Elmes. Minister of State for the Diaspora, Ciaran Cannon, said he was delighted to see the launch of this set of stamps which commemorate the Irish emigration experience, and honour the contributions of the global Irish diaspora. He said it is appropriate that this collection pays tribute both to the painful aspects of emigration the separation, and the challenges of staying connected across great distances - but also to the many success stories of the Irish who settled in their new societies and thrived there. As these stamps travel the world, they will tell the story of the extraordinary resilience of the global Irish who overcame great challenges and flourished in the new homes they made overseas. A world premiere show at the Riverbank this month will highlight the life of Kathleen Lonsdale. The Lonsdale Project, written and directed by Sian Ni Mhuiri, is a new theatre show for young people from the ages of 11 years plus that connects science with real events and spotlights the story about the life and work of the pioneering scientist. The play stages its world premiere at Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, on March 14, and transfers to Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin (Mar 19 - 28). They will also open an exhibition in conjunction with the premiere of the play on March 12 to explore a day in the life of the scientist. Lonsdale was a prominent chemist, crystallographer, anti-war campaigner, writer, mother, and former inmate of Holloway Prison. She was incredibly renowned in her time. Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg met Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at Britains University of Oxford on Tuesday and posed for a photo together. Yousafzai, widely known by her first name, Malala, is a student at the University of Oxford. The 22-year-old posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Thunberg sitting on a bench with their arms around each other. She also shared the same picture on Twitter and wrote, Shes the only friend Id skip school for. Shes the only friend Id skip school for. pic.twitter.com/uP0vwF2U3K Malala (@Malala) February 25, 2020 Thunberg, 17, is in the United Kingdom to join a school strike in Bristol on Friday. Both women shot to worldwide fame after standing up for major global issues: climate change and womens education. Thunberg became a household name after skipping school in Sweden to protest against climate change, while Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be allowed to go to school. In 2014, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of education. She became a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of oppression. Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020. The pair met to discuss their activism at Lady Margaret Hall, Malalas Oxford college. Thunberg also talked to some of the students about climate change and protest. The colleges master, Alan Rusbridger, posted a photo of Thunberg on his own Instagram and Twitter, saying that he was honoured to host Thunberg and grateful that she found time to talk to the students. Former IPS officer D G Vanzara, who was accused in the alleged fake encounters of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh and was later discharged in both the cases, has been given post-retirement promotion as the inspector general of police (IGP) by the Gujarat government, six years after he retired from service. IMAGE: D G Vanzara. Photograph: Courtesy, D G Vanzara on Twitter. As per the notification issued by the state home department, a copy of which Vanzara tweeted on Tuesday night, he has been promoted as the IGP with effect from September 29, 2007. Additional secretary to the state home department, Nikhil Bhatt, on Wednesday confirmed that his department has issued a notification about Vanzara's promotion. Vanzara, a 1987-batch IPS officer, had retired as the deputy inspector general of police on May 31, 2014. He was suspended by the state government in May 2007 after his arrest in connection with the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. Later, he was also made an accused in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. The former IPS officer was subsequently discharged in both the cases by special CBI courts, first in August 2017 in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, and then in May last year in the Ishrat Jahan case. "Consequent to clean chit received from judiciary in all encounter cases vch (which) were concocted by anti-national forces agnst (against) me & Gujarat police, I am given post-retirement promotion of inspector general of police wef 29-09-2007. I am thankful to both Govt of India & govt of Gujarat," Vanzara tweeted along with the copy of the government notification. Vanzara was heading the Gujarat ATS when the alleged fake encounters took place. After his arrest in March 2007 by the state CID, Vanzara remained in jail for around seven years. The Sohrabuddin case was transferred to Mumbai in September 2012. He was serving as deputy inspector general of police (DIG) of Border Range at the time of his arrest. Vanzara, who had joined the police service as a deputy superintendent of police (DySP) in 1980, was promoted as an IPS officer in 1987. He served as deputy commissioner of police of Ahmedabad crime nranch and was later promoted as DIG. He also worked as DIG of Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad. Sheikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared. According to the CBI, she, too, was killed. The central agency had claimed that Tulsiram Prajapati, Sheikh's aide and an eyewitness to the alleged encounter, was later killed by the police at Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006. Ishrat, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The police had claimed that they had links with terrorists. [February 26, 2020] ePac Breaks Record for Flexible Packaging Production on HP Indigo Digital Presses PALO ALTO, Calif. and AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) and ePac Flexible Packaging, the all-HP Indigo digital flexible packaging leader, today announced that ePac hit a new production record at the start of 2020 on its fleet of HP Indigo 20000 digital presses operating globally, driven by a doubling of its customer base in the past year. Expanding in 2020 in North America, Europe, and Asia, ePac is currently serving more than 6000 customers, primarily small and medium-sized businesses benefitting from HP Indigo digital technology for economical short, medium and even longer run length orders, and ePacs commitment to 10-15 business day turnaround time. In January 2020, production reached a new record of over 20 million B1 impressions at 10 sites where ePac is currently operating HP Indigo presses. Compared to January of last year, volume has tripled. Our customers have discovered the advantages of locally sourced, fast turnaround packaging as a means to drive market expansion of their brand. A high percentage of orders today are coming from returning customers, said Carl Joachim, ePac CMO. By the end of 2020, ePac is set to roll out a total of 52 HP Indigo 20000 presses as it continues its global expansion to 20 locations. ePac is leading the digital flexible packaging movement worldwide, as it successfully replicates its HP Indigo digital printing-based business model in new locations. This expansion provides new opportunities for brands and end users benefit from digital printing advantages, including fast turnaround, no minimum order quantities, low waste and unlimited variable data for targeting, customization and personalization, said Alon Bar-Shany, general manager, HP Indigo. ePacs growing footprint in the US today includes sites in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Madison. In Canada, ePac Vancouver has begun operations, as has ePac Silverstone in the United Kingdom. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle and Richmond will open this year with several more US sites currently under review, as well as expansion in Europe. ePac Asia Pacific, announced in late 2019, is scheduled to open for business in Bandara Mas, Tangerang,Indonesia in mid-2020 as the first ePac site in the region. ePac taps into growing market for digital flexible packaging Founded in May 2016 as a Greenfield business with one HP Indigo 20000 press, ePac has grown exponentially. ePacs key markets include coffee, pet food, nutritional supplements, snacks, health and beauty, organic foods, cheese and dairy, confection, jerky and bakery products. In 2019, ePac placed an incremental order of 24 HP Indigo 20000 presses that was the largest packaging deal ever for HP, in preparation for the global expansion. The investment is valued at over $100 million, including hardware, supplies and services over several years. Advantages of the 30-inch wide (76 cm) HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press are the 42-inch repeat and white ink options. At ePac, HP PrintOS is also an integral part of job flow, performing press performance uptime monitoring across their entire fleet of printers. More information on the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press is available at hp.com/go/hpindigo20000. About HP HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through our product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers and 3D printing solutions, we engineer experiences that amaze. More information about HP Inc. is available at www.hp.com. About ePac Flexible Packaging ePacs founders began with a mission to provide locally-based consumer packaged goods companies the ability to compete with large brands with great packaging. Our customers are predominantly locally-based small and medium-sized CPGs, many of whom are focused on creating natural and innovative products for their consumers. Since opening our first manufacturing facility in 2016, our mission has been clear to help small brands obtain big brand presence, give back to the communities we serve and contribute to the creation of a more sustainable, circular economy. Media Contacts: Vanessa Forbes, HP [email protected] Nina Gilbert, HP [email protected] www.hp.com/go/newsroom Copyright 2020 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/79423c7a-de3f-442a-8dd8-343d26613e73 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2cdca388-bef0-4357-b316-ce3f6112eca3 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Pension scam victims yesterday gathered outside a Spanish court at the start of a major criminal prosecution of alleged fraudsters accused of fleecing Britons of millions. After the failure by UK authorities to take action, campaigners launched a private prosecution on the Costa Blanca where many of the rogue schemes operate. Victims of the now defunct ex-pat-run Continental Wealth Management (CWM) and its associates arrived at the court in Denia where initial hearings were heard in front of a judge. Battle: Victims including Karen OHagan, third from right, and Les Hutchings, fourth from left, at court They included widow Karen OHagan, a former buyer in the City of London, who lost 63,000 of her RBS pension after the death of husband Peter. She had been told by CWM staff that transferring the money was the only way to protect it for her two young children if she also died. Les Hutchings, 67, a retired bus driver originally from Blackpool, also lost almost all his 102,000 pension after CWM put it into high-risk investments with hefty fees, despite having requested low-risk investments. Former government pensions adviser Stephen Ward is one of nine defendants in the case along with ex-model Jody Smart, the former director of CWM, who is accused of living a life of luxury and funding her fashion label through the company. The defendants are each accused of falsifying commercial documents, disloyal administration and fraud. In the first round of hearings they or their lawyers are expected to be questioned by the prosecution lawyer and by a lawyer acting for the judge. The case is being brought on behalf of 17 victims of the alleged scam as a representative sample, who between them lost about 2.5 million. Campaigners bringing the case say the true number of victims is about 750 and the total amount lost over 30 million. If convicted, the defendants could be ordered to pay back a substantial sum to victims. They could also be jailed. A Mail investigation has exposed how tens of thousands of workers lost up to 10 billion between them in UK schemes registered with HMRC and the Pensions Regulator. This official registration led Army veterans, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, care workers and teachers to believe everything was above board until their money vanished. Savings scandal: The Government belatedly tightened regulations on UK- based schemes, but swindlers moved abroad and began using overseas pension vehicles recognised by HMRC Under the scheme said to be linked to Mr Ward, hundreds of workers thought it was safe to put their nest eggs in foreign retirement funds recommended by CWM. They did this because it was recognised by HMRC and therefore appeared official. But the victims allege their money went into high-risk and often toxic investments that paid huge commissions to the British ex-pats running the company and their business associates. Mr Ward, who lives in a Costa Blanca villa with pool and also has a Florida real estate empire, did not work for CWM. However, his company, Premier Pension Solutions, is accused of arranging scores of transfers of retirement funds on its behalf. He was organising many of them around the time he was an adviser on the 2014/15 Taxation of Pensions Bill, having previously been a government expert on other financial matters. Mr Ward also wrote the Tolleys Pensions Taxation manual described as the bible of the pensions industry for 2015/16 and 2016/17 and contributed to pension textbooks for the Institute of Financial Services. The Mail revealed last month he was linked to five rogue schemes. The Pensions Regulator described him as reckless and showing a lack of integrity after more than 90 workers lost 6 million in retirement funds in the London Quantum scheme. The Government belatedly tightened regulations on UK- based schemes, but swindlers moved abroad and began using overseas pension vehicles recognised by HMRC. Operating abroad also allows them to cold-call potential customers a tactic outlawed in the UK this year because of its use by conmen. Rogue financial advisers can also levy huge commissions, also banned here. Despite many complaints to Action Fraud and police, victims complained about a lack of action by the authorities against those behind rogue schemes. Lawyer Antonio Bertomeu, who is bringing the CWM case on behalf of victims, said: Unscrupulous people have been able to deceive honest, hard-working people to the point of losing their savings and putting their retirement pension at risk. We hope the Spanish justice system will act quickly and decisively so this does not happen again in Spanish territory. British citizens believed that their pensions were safe, because behind all these movements there were authorisations from the British authorities. Campaigner Angie Brooks, who has brought the case, said many victims of other scams were expected to come to Spain to support the prosecution. She said: The Denia Criminal Court has given hundreds of victims of Continental Wealth Management hope there will be justice. We have lead complainants who have put their hearts and souls into representing the interests of many other victims. Miss Smart has previously denied ever dealing with clients or having anything to do with the running of CWM other than promoting it in the Spanish media. Mr Ward and Ms Smart, who are due to appear in court in April, did not respond to requests for comment. investigations@dailymail.co.uk Irans deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi Irans deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi has tested positive for coronavirus, a ministry official said on Tuesday. The coronavirus test for Mr. Harirchi, the deputy health minister who was on the front lines combating the coronavirus, was positive, Alireza Vahabzadeh, a media adviser to the health minister, said in a tweet. According to Aljazeera, Harirchi coughed occasionally and appeared to be sweating during a press conference on Monday with government spokesman Ali Rabiei. At the conference, Harirchi denied a lawmakers claim that 50 people have died from the virus in the Shiite shrine city of Qom, saying he would resign if the number proves true. Iran also confirmed three more deaths and 34 new infections, taking the countrys overall death toll to 15 and infection tally to 95. According to the health ministry, most of the deaths and infections outside Qom are among people who have recently visited the holy city. The ministrys spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 16 of the new cases were confirmed in Qom, while nine were in Tehran, and two each in Alborz, Gilan, and Mazandaran. The virus has now infected more than 80,000 globally, killing at least 2,700. Donald Trump's re-election campaign has filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing America's newspaper of record of intentionally publishing a false story last year about Russia's interference in the 2016 election. In the lawsuit, which the campaign annouced was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, the campaign alleges that the Times published a false story on 27 March 2019 claiming that Mr Trump and his campaign had engaged in a deal with the allies of Russian president Vladimir Putin to help his campaign in 2016 in exhange for a pro-Russia policy once Mr Trump became president. It marks an escalation between Mr Trump and the news media, which he has often derided as "fake news" while complaining about critical coverage of his administartion that he often says is biased against him. "Today the President's re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the Cmapaign had an 'overarching deal' with 'Vladimir Putin's oligarchy' to 'help the campaign against Hillary Clinton' in exchange for 'a new pro-Russian foreign policy starting with relief from ... economic sanctions,'" said Jenna Ellis, the senior legal aide to the presiden'ts re-election campaign, in a statement. The lawsuit, which originates from the campaign and not the presdient himself, falls roughly in line with his past comments, including the characterisation of elements of the news media as "the enemy of the American people". More follows... A mother has been charged after allegedly leaving her three children in a hot car while she went shopping for more than an hour on a 30C day. Police were called after a witness reported a nine-year-old boy and twin four-year-old boys in an SUV in the underground car park on Belmore Road in Riverwood in Sydney's south-west on Tuesday afternoon. The boys were allegedly left in the car for more than an hour before being rescued, with police unsuccessfully searching for the parents in a nearby shopping centre. Dramatic footage captured the moment their mother was confronted by police on her return to the vehicle. A mother has been charged after allegedly leaving her three children in a hot car while she went shopping for more than an hour on a 30C day A witness reported seeing a nine-year-old boy and twin four-year-old boys in the car in the underground car park on Belmore Road in Riverwood and called police 'Why did you leave the kids in the car?' a policeman said. 'You've got three kids in the car on a 30C day! 'It's ridiculous!' The boys were removed from the car and taken to Hurstville Police Station, where Family and Community Services were informed. They were uninjured. The 52-year-old mother was charged with leaving children unsupervised in a motor vehicle. A NSW police media statement says that police will allege in court the mother parked the vehicle and did not return to it for over an hour. She will appear in Sutherland Local Court on April 14. Advertisement Storm-battered Britain faces more misery today and tomorrow when snow and ice is forecast to settle across large swathes of the country. Met Office forecasters are warning of up to four inches of snow from the Shetland Islands down to Nottingham and across to Northern Ireland this evening. On Thursday the snowfall will be even wider, with severe warnings reaching London, the south east and Wales and lasting until midday. The first warning will expire at 10am on Thursday when the snow will turn to ice, causing traffic and train chaos across the network. Today high ground in Derbyshire and Wales are already covered in a blanket of white. It comes after unprecedented rainfall caused flood defences to buckle along the River Severn, with Britain already experiencing 200 per cent of its normal February rainfall, with four more days of the month set to go. Earlier this month vulnerable riverside communities in Wales, West Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire had to battle two storms in a week. Snow is pictured blanketing fields in Wardlow, Derbyshire today, with the Met Office warning of more to come later today and into Thursday There is also snow around Pen y Fan mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, today, ahead of more tonight High ground will experience up to four inches of snow, with some parts of Wales (Brecon Beacon National Park pictured) already covered Paul Gundersen, Chief Meteorologist Met Office meteorologist said: 'The flow of cold air over the UK will lead to heavy, wintry showers and icy conditions overnight. 'From 10pm Wednesday until 10am on Thursday there is a Met Office Yellow warning for snow & ice for most of the UK north of a line from the central Wales to the Wash, except north-east England and eastern Scotland. 'A low-pressure system moving in to the South West from the Atlantic overnight will bring a further period of rain to southern England. 'As this system encounters the cold air further north over the UK, there is a risk of snow along this boundary and we have issued a Yellow warning north of the M4 corridor from central Wales, parts of the Midlands and East Anglia. 'Snowfall up to 5cm (two inches) is possible over higher ground in South Wales, with 1-3cm (0.3 to one inch) possible over the Cotswolds and the Chilterns. 'It is possible that rain may briefly turn to sleet or snow over lower ground across the Midlands, East Anglia and areas north of London, although accumulations here are likely to be small.' A herd of sheep are pictured being fed by their freezing-cold farmer in Wardlow, Derbyshire this morning, where snow has already hit high ground The Met Office has issued a warning for snow and ice covering large parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from 10pm on Wednesday to 10am on Thursday (left). There are also weather warnings in place for a larger area from midnight on Wednesday to midday on Thursday (right) Rain, sleet and snow will quickly clear eastwards by late morning and any snow at lower levels will soon thaw, he said. On Friday and Saturday the forecast remains distinctly unsettled with yellow rain warnings in force for most of Wales and parts of northern England. Mr Gundersen added: 'Within these warning areas 40-60mm of rain is possible on the highest ground with 15-30mm likely more widely. This could bring further flooding impacts to already-affected communities and catchments.' Caroline Douglass, Director of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said: 'Flooding has a long lasting and devastating impact on people's lives, and we offer our heartfelt sympathies to all who have been flooded and continue to be affected by the persistent wet weather. 'We have seen our third weekend of exceptional river levels and stormy weather, continuing into this week; with the effects of climate change, we need to prepare for more frequent periods of extreme weather like this. People need to be aware of their flood risk, sign up to flood warnings, make a flood plan and not to drive or walk through flood water.' A man accused of murdering his wife told gardai he lay down with the mother of three for ten minutes after he killed her, a jury is to hear. Rafal Karaczyn (34), of Crozon Park, Sligo, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 30-year-old wife Natalia Karaczyn, also from Poland, at their family home in Crozon Park between April 29th, 2018 and May 1st, 2018. His trial got under way yesterday afternoon at the Central Criminal Court before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of seven women and five men. The trial is expected to last three weeks at most, the court heard. Opening the prosecution's case, Bernard Condon SC told the jury that Natalia and Rafal Karaczyn got married in Poland in October 2008 and that the couple moved to Ireland in 2014. They have three children. Mr Condon told the jury that there had been some difficulties in the relationship which he said were not unusual. He said the jury will hear something of this background. He said Natalia had been socialising with friends on the night of Saturday, April 28, 2018, and told the jury that they will hear evidence from Natalias sister Magdalena McMorrow and some people she was out with on that night. He said it appears Natalia was out with friends and a man with whom she had an intimate relationship that night, before she continued home. The barrister told the jury that they will see the relevant movements of the parties through the Saturday night into the early hours of the Sunday morning, April 29, 2018. Mr Condon said on the Sunday morning Ms McMorrow, who also lived in Sligo, reported to gardai that she was concerned about her sisters whereabouts, which prompted gardai to carry out inquiries. Mr Condon said gardai went to her home in Crozan Park where they met Rafal Karaczyn. The barrister said the jury will hear that Mr Karaczyn told gardai that his wife had not returned home. The barrister said the jury will also hear that, after speaking with Mr Karaczyn, gardai went across the road to the home of Leo McGee as they could see he had CCTV cameras on his property. Mr Condon said the jury will hear that after gardai called to Mr McGees home, Mr Karaczyn approached Mr McGee and asked him what could be seen on his CCTV. Mr Condon said that the prosecution say this chain of events is relevant. He said the jury will hear that Mr McGee subsequently looked at his CCTV and could see Mr Karaczyn moving his car. Mr Condon said the court will hear evidence of Mr Karaczyn calling to Mr McGees home another time and asking him if he [Mr McGee] saw anything. The court will hear that Mr McGee told Mr Karaczyn that he hadnt, before he informed gardai of this exchange. The barrister said this CCTV will be played for the jury. The senior counsel told the jury that they will hear how gardai carried out CCTV searches across Sligo and how they were able to trace Natalias movements across the town that Saturday evening into early Sunday morning. He said following further investigation, they returned to her home and became concerned after Mr Karaczyn said Natalia had not returned home when "they could see she had returned home". Mr Condon told the jury that they will hear evidence of Mr Karaczyn going to a Garda station in the company of Natalias sister and another friend on the morning of Tuesday, May 1, 2018 and that he indicated he wanted to say something else to gardai. The barrister said the jury will hear evidence from gardai that Mr Karaczyn got into a patrol car and directed them to a very remote hidden area which was some distance off a very quiet road. Mr Condon said the court will hear that this is where gardai discovered Natalias hidden body. He said the jury will hear and see a series of Garda interviews subsequently carried out with Mr Karaczyn. Mr Condon said the jury will hear that in an interview he [Mr Karaczyn] didnt tell the truth" when he told them he looked into her bedroom one morning and saw her in a strange position. The barrister said the jury will hear that he told gardai he found Natalia dead; that he maintained he didnt kill her; and that a man with a gun threatened her. Youll hear all these things, Mr Condon told the jury. Mr Condon said in a later Garda interview, Mr Karaczyn admitted that he killed Natalia and that he said he started to strangle her and that after a while I felt her slide down. The barrister said that Mr Karaczyn told gardai that he then lay down with her for about ten minutes. Mr Condon said the jury will also hear evidence of Mr Karaczyn telling gardai about how he disposed of the body. He said the jury will also hear evidence in relation to phone communications between the accused, his wife and other relevant people, and they will hear evidence from deputy State pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan who found that the cause of Natalias death was asphyxia with external pressure on her neck. Manual strangulation was the cause of death, Mr Condon said. The trial continues today INDIANAPOLIS On Ash Wednesday, you may encounter Christians, especially Catholics, wearing a smudge of ashes on their foreheads. That could be a bit startling, unless you know the meaning behind this religious practice. Here is what you should know about Ash Wednesday and the celebration of Lent. What is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday officially known as the Day of Ashes is a day of repentance, when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. During a Mass, a priest places the ashes on a worshiper's forehead in the shape of a cross. The ceremony, which also can be performed by a minister or pastor, is meant to show that a person belongs to Jesus Christ, and it also represents a person's grief and mourning for their sins the same sins that Christians believe Jesus Christ gave his life for when he died on the cross. Ash Wednesday is important because it marks the start of the Lenten period leading up to Easter, when Christians believe Jesus was resurrected. Doughy tradition: What is Fastnacht Day or Fat Tuesday and why are people eating doughnuts? The ashes symbolize both death and repentance. During this period, Christians show repentance and mourning for their sins, because they believe Christ died for them. When the priest applies the cross of ashes, he says to the worshiper: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. He also may say Repent and believe in the Gospel. It is not required that a worshiper wear the ashes for the rest of the day, although many Christians choose to do so. However, dining out or doing non-essential shopping are considered inappropriate on Ash Wednesday. The Rev. Tom Kryder-Reid, right, signs the cross of ashes on the forehead of Siara Reyes, as others wait their turn, on Ash Wednesday "Ashes On The Go!" offered at Christ Church Cathedral on Monument Circle, on Feb. 14, 2018. People could come up to receive the ashes and head on their way. Where do the ashes come from? Traditionally, ashes used on Ash Wednesday are gathered up after palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned. They are then blessed before being used in the ceremony. Palms are used on Palm Sunday in many Christian churches to symbolize Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his crucifixion. Residents of Jerusalem are said to have waved palm fronds to celebrate his arrival. Story continues Father Rick Nagel shows the ashes used during Ash Wednesday service at Saint John Catholic Church, Wednesday, February 10, 2016. Can Catholics eat meat on Ash Wednesday? No. Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday. They also are expected to give up meat on Fridays during Lent. Catholics also are expected to fast on Ash Wednesday. Fasting means consuming only one full meal a day; two smaller meals that don't together add up to a full meal also are allowed. Children and the elderly are exempt from the fasting requirement on Ash Wednesday and during Lent. Some Protestant denominations, including Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Methodists and Presbyterians, also hold worship services on Ash Wednesday. Is Ash Wednesday based on a pagan festival? No. Early Christians in Rome were sprinkled with ashes during Lent, but the Ash Wednesday practice of placing ashes on the forehead of Christians didn't begin until the Middle Ages. When is Ash Wednesday in 2020? Ash Wednesday falls on a different day each year, because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as Feb. 4 or as late as March 10. Last year, it fell in early March. This year, Ash Wednesday will be on Feb. 26. Ash Wednesday always occurs six and a half weeks before Easter. So, Easter will be celebrated earlier this year, too, on Sunday, April 12. What is Lent? Ash Wednesday is one of the most important dates on the Christian calendar, because it marks the start of Lent. Lent is a six-week period of fasting or self-sacrifice, prayer and almsgiving observed by Christians each year to prepare for the celebration of Easter, when they believe Christ rose from the dead to sit at the right hand of God, his father. Lent is celebrated over 46 days. It includes 40 days of fasting and six Sundays, on which fasting is not practiced. The 40-day period has a special significance in the Old and New Testaments. For instance, Moses spent 40 days and nights with God on Mount Sinai in preparation to receive the Ten Commandments. Jesus also is depicted as being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days. A nun prays during Ash Wednesday service at Saint John Catholic Church, Wednesday, February 10, 2016. Things to give up for Lent Many people want to know what they should give up for Lent to prove your devotion. Many people give up things that they love, such as candy or sweets, favorite foods, television or gasp! social media. The reason for their self-sacrifice: Christians want to replicate the hardships felt by Jesus during his time in the wilderness. Follow Dwight Adams on Twitter: @hdwightadams. This article originally appeared on IndyStar: Ash Wednesday: Why Christians wear ashes, fast and give things up The Government of India (GoI) announced the mega event, RAISE 2020- Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020, to be held from April 11-12 in New Delhi. RAISE 2020 is Indias first Artificial Intelligence summit to be organized by the Government in partnership with Industry & Academia. The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and charter a course to use AI for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in key areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility amongst other sectors. Ahead of the summit, MeitY organized an Industry Consultation with industry representatives to bring in synergies within Indias Artificial Intelligence landscape. The consultation was chaired by Shri. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); Shri. Gopalakrishnan S., Additional Secretary, MeitY; Smt. Jyoti Arora, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, MeitY; Shri. Sanjay Goel, Joint Secretary, MeitY; Shri. Saurabh Gaur, Joint Secretary, MeitY and Shri. Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD) from the Government. Apart from the Government, Industry associations including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM & NASSCOM and corporates namely Intel, AWS, KPMG, IBM, Oracle and AI startups amongst others participated in the consultation. Speaking on the occasion, Shri. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said, We are extremely delighted to announce the first of its kind two-day summit- Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020. In our opinion, a data-rich environment like India has the potential to be the worlds leading AI laboratory which can eventually transform lives globally. AI technology is a powerful tool that can be used to create a positive impact in the Indian context, further becoming the AI destination for the world. Explaining in detail about the first of its kind event, Shri. Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD), said, The name RAISE 2020 came into being because we want to leverage responsible AI practices for enabling the masses. Through this summit we will outline Indias vision for utilizing the power of Artificial Intelligence to responsibly transform the social landscape for a better tomorrow. RAISE 2020 will facilitate an exchange of ideas to further create a mass awareness about the need to ethically develop and practice AI in the digital era. During session, the Government also launched the AI-Startup Challenge and the event website as a part of championing the AI movement in India. A church in Galway has been offering drive-thru ashes to its parishioners this Ash Wednesday. Fr Paddy Mooney of St. Patrick's Church in Glenamaddy is giving the ashes to parishioners as they pass through. Amaravati, Feb 26 : The Andhra Pradesh government plans to set up desalination plants along coastal districts in collaboration with Israeli company IDE Technologies to overcome the drinking water shortage in the state. After a meeting with IDE Technoligies Deputy CEO Lizi Torenstine and other officials here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said efforts to set up desalination plants was to ensure that not a single drop of water goes waste. He pointed out that Israel is totally dependent on water through desalination. The Chief Minister outlined the need for utilising only desalinated water for industrial purpose and there should be provision to upgrade the plant for drinking water as well. He asked the Israeli company officials to make a study of where the desalination plants could be set up, starting with Visakhapatnam and later covering the other coastal areas. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that Vizag Steel Plant should be using desalinated water and an action plan should be prepared to ensure that all thermal plants use desalinated water. He emphasised the need to estimate the cost of the technology that is in vogue in the purification of polluted water. The Israeli company officials were all praise for the Chief Minister for making efforts to solve drinking water shortage in the state and said Israel started a commercial desalination pant in 1964 and that the services of IDE Technologies were being utilised by 40 countries across the world. The company has been working in India for the past 25 years and providing services to corporates like Essar and Reliance. GREENSBORO, N.C., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE: SKT) announced today that it will participate March 2-4, 2020 in the Citi Global Property CEO Conference. The roundtable presentation by Steven B. Tanger, Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled for 11:40 AM Eastern time on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. A live audio webcast can be accessed at investors.tangeroutlets.com. A replay will be available through Friday, March 13, 2020 and can also be accessed via the company's website. About Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE: SKT), is a publicly-traded REIT headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that presently operates and owns, or has an ownership interest in, a portfolio of 39 upscale outlet shopping centers. Tanger's operating properties are located in 20 states and in Canada, totaling approximately 14.3 million square feet, leased to over 2,800 stores which are operated by more than 510 different brand name companies. The Company has more than 39 years of experience in the outlet industry. Tanger Outlet Centers continue to attract more than 181 million visitors annually. For more information on Tanger Outlet Centers, call 1-800-4TANGER or visit the Company's website at www.tangeroutlets.com . Contact: Cyndi M. Holt Vice President, Investor Relations (336) 834-6892 SOURCE Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:04:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Robots take on the coronavirus! A Chinese company has donated 3 disinfection robots to battle against the #coronavirus. Find out how they work. #FightVirus U.S. agency slams brakes on self-driving EasyMile shuttles after passenger injury FILE PHOTO: An EasyMile EZ10 shared autonomous vehicle is seen during a deployment demonstration at Bishop Ranch By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. vehicle safety regulators on Tuesday said they had ordered a suspension of passenger operations for 16 autonomous shuttles operated by France-based EasyMile after a passenger was injured in an unexplained braking incident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said operation of the battery-powered buses in 10 U.S. states would be suspended pending an examination of "safety issues related to both vehicle technology and operations." EasyMile said the suspension followed an incident in which a passenger fell from a seat in Columbus, Ohio last week while the shuttle was driving 7 miles per hour (11 kph) "and made an emergency stop as it is programmed to do for safety." The company said the vehicles were still allowed on U.S. roads, but cannot carry passengers, while the NHTSA is performing its review. That was "a clear indication it considers them safe for other road users," the company said, adding it was "running test loops on the ground for further analysis." EasyMile said the deployment in Columbus that started earlier this month was the first public self-driving shuttle in a residential area. Two EasyMile shuttles had been servicing a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) route at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour (40 kph), the company said. EasyMile said a human operator rides aboard each vehicle with access to driving controls at all times. In July, several news outlets in Utah reported a 76-year-old was injured and required medical assistance when the EasyMile shuttle he was in came to an abrupt stop. A Utah official told the Deseret News the maximum speed was reduced after the incident and the company told media outlets it added signs to warn riders the vehicles make sudden stops. The company told the newspaper the passenger shuttle in Utah "stopped abruptly in response to a detected obstacle, as it is programmed to do." Earlier this month, the city of Gainesville, Florida, began using an EasyMile driverless shuttle in the city's downtown area. Privately-held EasyMile has shuttles in use around the world. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown and Rosalba O'Brien) A vulnerability in Philips Hue smart lightbulbs and their controller bridges could allow intruders to infiltrate networks with a remote exploit, Check Point Software Technologies disclosed Tuesday. The research stemmed from a detailed paper on the security of ZigBee-controlled Philips Hue smart lightbulbs, which was presented at the 2017 IEEE symposium on security and privacy. Check Point conducted its own research last year, together with the Check Point Institute for Information Security at Tel Aviv University. The researchers notified Signify, owner of the Philips Hue brand, about the vulnerability in November, and Signify issued a patched firmware version through an automatic update. The billions of devices that increasingly run our homes and businesses are the single largest threat vector for digital exploitation by bad actors, given their poor security record and their being relatively easy to take over, said Dion Hinchcliffe, principal analyst at Constellation Research. Baby monitors have been breached, and cameras, printers, network routers all have zero-day vulnerabilities, noted Constellation Research principal analyst Liz Miller. Why is security by design not the de facto for device manufacturers? she asked. The reason is often cost, Miller told the E-Commerce Times. Also, security is far too often an afterthought in product development. Exploiting the Flaw This is how the researchers exploited the flaw: They remotely controlled a bulbs color or brightness to trick users into thinking the bulb had a glitch. The user had to delete the bulb from the Hue app then instruct the control bridge to rediscover the bulb and add it back onto its network. The researchers sent a lot of data through the compromised bulb to set off a heap-based buffer overflow on the bridge. The data could have included malware. Malware sent that way would connect with a hackers command and control center, allowing the distribution of ransomware or spyware to the target network through an exploit such as EternalBlue. ZigBee was never intended for the security first, zero trust environment that has emerged as a requirement for Internet of Things devices in smart homes and smart cities, Constellations Hinchcliffe told the E-Commerce Times. Its primary feature is its very low power requirements, not security, he added. Despite its popularity in devices like Hue, we need to move to more advanced protocols designed for todays much more security-conscious operating environment. IoT has the poorest track record of any type of technology in not providing a safe environment for connected devices at scale, which is rather ironic. The problem is amplified in industrial controls and critical infrastructure, Miller noted. One entry point into the network of a power plant is the only entry point a bad actor needs, she said. The Threat of IoT Hacking Hue lights was easy and cheap, according to the research paper presented at the 2017 IEEE symposium. Hue lamps contain a ZigBee chip that has a bug in its stacks proximity test. It lets any standard ZigBee transmitter which costs just a few dollars initiate a factory reset procedure that will dissociate lamps from their current controllers from up to 400 meters away. The transmitter then can take full control of all the lamps. The researchers drove around their university campus and took full control of all the Hue lamps installed in buildings along the cars path. They also attached a fully autonomous attack kit to a standard drone, and forced all the Hue lamps installed in buildings hundreds of meters away to disconnect from their own controllers and to blink S.O.S. in Morse code. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Such a drone attack could take out all Philips Hue smart lamps in a city, but its effects could be reversed by bringing each lamp to within a few centimeters of its legitimate controller and reassociating them, the paper states. To achieve a longer-lasting effect, the researchers reverse engineered the process Philips uses to enable lamp firmware updates, which allowed them to upload firmware of their own creation into any Philips Hue lamp. The process was relatively cheap and easy. A single infected lamp with modified firmware plugged in anywhere in a city could start an explosive chain reaction in which each lamp will infect and replace the firmware in all its neighbors within a range of up to a few hundred meters, the researchers said. Infections jump directly from lamp to lamp using only unmonitored and unprotected ZigBee communications. Consequently, they will be very difficult to detect that an attack is taking place and to locate its source after the whole lighting system is disabled, the paper notes. Attackers have to infect just one lamp. Their attack spreads through physical proximity alone, disregarding the established networking structures of lamps and controllers, so it cannot be stopped by isolating various subnetworks from each other, as system administrators often do when they are under attack, the research paper points out. Trouble Ahead for Smart Cities Many governments around the world are planning to develop smart cities that will be chock-full of smart devices, which multiplies security risks. Otherwise innocuous items such as the Bigbelly trash compactors and cans we see so often are smart devices that use cellular communications to signal when they need to be emptied, said Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4. Imagine if these devices were compromised and used to stage a DDoS attack or even as a command and control node for ransomware, he told the E-Commerce Times. The best use from a malicious perspective is likely to infiltrate networks that are not segregated from other, more important systems, suggested Mike Jordan, VP of research at Shared Assessments. Preventing that type of environment, as well a monitoring weird traffic on a network like lightbulbs talking to each other, are manageable steps that should be mandatory if IoT devices are introduced into an organizations environment, he told the E-Commerce Times. City planners should demand some objective evidence that smart devices are safe, using available industry certifications, Hinchcliffe recommended. Id argue that they have a fiduciary and public safety responsibility to do so. At some point, we need to admit that the current data center-driven network security mindset is out of date, woefully incomplete, and simply dangerous in the world of IoT and connected headless devices, Miller remarked. We cant afford to cling to these old network security standards of deeper moats and taller walls. The Russian Foreign Minister has lambasted the United State for considering a deal with terrorists present in northern Syria writes Al-Masdar. Moscow views US statements on the possibility of reaching an agreement with terrorists in Syria as unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Both the al-Nusra Front [outlawed in Russia] and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [formerly known as the al-Nusra Front] are officially included on the UN Security Councils lists of terrorist organizations. They are also included on the national lists of terrorist organizations in the United States. Nevertheless, it is not the first time that Washington officials, including US Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey, have made statements suggesting that they view Tahrir al-Sham as not such a terrorist organization. And that it would be possible to establish a dialogue with it under some circumstances, Lavrov said at a press conference. This is not the first time we hear such hints which are quite transparent and we consider them absolutely unacceptable, the minister added. A series of consultations between Moscow and Ankara dedicated to the situation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idleb is currently being prepared, Lavrov said. Now the next series of consultations is being prepared, which we hope will be able to lead us [Russia and Turkey] to an agreement on how to ensure that this [Idleb] really is a de-escalation zone and that terrorists do not control it, Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin. The Russian foreign minister also added that Moscow would continue to confront militants in Idleb. Therefore, I hope that the ongoing contacts between our [Russian] and the Turkish military, with the participation of diplomats and security services will end positively and we can still make sure that the terrorists do not control this part of Syria, as they should not be in control of any part of the country, Lavrov said. Lavrov added that as per the Russian-Turkish agreement, the opposition in Idleb had to separate itself from the terrorists. From the agreements that were reached back in September 2018 and re-confirmed a year later, it was clear that the de-escalation zone was turning into an escalation zone, because from there the militants, who did not want to separate themselves from any groups, attacked targets outside the zone. Nobody ever agreed, within the framework of the agreements reached between the Russian and Turkish presidents, that terrorists would not see retaliations if they acted in the way they began to act, so there was nothing unexpected for anyone. I am sure that the Turkish military, who work on the ground, see and understand everything perfectly, Lavrov said. Earlier in February, Sergei Lavrov said that Turkey had not fulfilled several key commitments on Idleb, including its failure to distinguish between the armed opposition, which is ready for dialogue with the government within the framework of the political process, and terrorists. In turn, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has claimed that Ankara had fulfilled its obligations in Idleb. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned this week that a military operation in Idleb was just a matter of time and gave the Syrian government until March to pull troops away from observation posts that Ankara set up in Syria close to the Turkish border. Russia, Turkey, and Iran are the ceasefire guarantors in conflict-affected Syria. Russia regularly carries out humanitarian operations across the country and helps Damascus in providing safe passage for the return of Syrian refugees. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Assuring people that the situation is completely under control in Delhi, Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday went to ground zero and interacted with the locals in the violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi. He assured the people that peace will "Insha Allah" prevail in the area. The NSA went inside narrow alleys in Seelampur and Maujpur area and appealed to people to maintain communal harmony and let bygone be bygone. Some people were also seen complaining to the NSA about the police inaction and the sense of fear that they faced over the last three days. A burqa-clad college girl told Doval: "Sir, we have been living in constant fear. I have not been able to go to college. Our brothers are trying to protect us." The NSA assured the girl that safety and security of everyone would be ensured and there was no need to fear. Doval also spoke to the reporters here on the situation and said, "Situation is totally under control. People are calm. I have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police are doing their work. No harm should come to any peace-loving citizen of this country. All the people I spoke with want peace to prevail and Insha Allah peace will prevail." "My message is that everyone who loves their country also loves their society, their neighbours. Everyone should live with love and harmony with others. People should try to resolve each others' problems and not increase them," he added. He said that a few anti-social elements wanted to disturb the peace but the residents have isolated them. He said that he had come "as per the orders of the Home Minister and the Prime Minister". Last night too, Doval had visited some of the violence-hit areas. According to government sources, NSA Doval, who has been tasked with containing the violence, will apprise the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the situation in Delhi. Violence had erupted in Delhi on Sunday evening after groups protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those supporting it indulged in stone-pelting at each other. The confrontation soon turned communal and the violence spread to other areas of northeast Delhi including Chand Bagh, Mustafabad, Brijpuri, Shiv Vihar and Noor Ilahi on Monday and Tuesday in which at least 20 persons, including a police head constable, have died and over 200 have been injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shelley White-Means, PhD, a professor of health economics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, is the principal investigator of a paper published this month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that found breast cancer support groups play a major role in helping underserved African-American women at risk for or diagnosed with breast cancer in Memphis. Using data from in-depth focus groups, Dr. White-Means, a faculty member in the Department of Interpersonal Education and the Institute for Health Outcomes and Policy at UTHSC, and her co-authors determined that these community based groups are essential in overcoming barriers to care that include fear, lack of transportation and or child care, cost of medication, inadequate insurance, and other issues. Co-authors on the paper are Jill Dapremont, EdD, RN, CNE, associate professor and director of the RN-BSN Program at the University of Memphis, Barbara D. Davis, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Management at the University of Memphis, and Tronlyn Thompson, a biology student at Howard University. The research was funded by the Tennessee Department of Health. "There are community based support agencies that are vital for the survival of African American women in Memphis with breast cancer," Dr. White-Means said. These groups help women overcome economic, social, and psychological barriers to diagnosis and treatment and act as connectors in underserved areas for women with breast cancer. The organizations include the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as navigator programs, and support groups that provide education, social, and psychological support to African American women. "The work that needs to be done is to have a greater interaction between providers and the health care system and the community based support groups," Dr. White-Means said. "Gaps in death rates from breast cancer exist between black and white women in Memphis," Dr. White-Means said. The national goal is to reduce breast cancer deaths to 20.7 per 100,000 females. "In Memphis, while white women are close to meeting the 2020 goal, black women are not." Dr. White-Means has championed research into issues related to health disparities and health equity for decades. She joined the faculty of UTHSC in 2004, bringing with her a dedication to address health disparities in her hometown of Memphis. From 2009 to 2012, Dr. White-Means, her students, colleagues at UTHSC and LeMoyne-Owen College, and various community organizations, with the help of funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, developed and ran the Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research (CHEER). The organization aimed to enhance outcomes and increase the health status of the population in the city's poorest inner-city neighborhood by addressing food insecurity and food deserts, performing health risk assessments, investigating breast cancer disparities, conducting community health summits, and other programs. Our emphasis was community-based participatory research collaborations that engaged many agencies that today would be described as 'social determinants of health' organizations. This focus is very popular now, but at that point, it wasn't." Dr. Shelley White-Means, professor of health economics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center In October, Dr. White-Means presented a paper at the Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis on the impact of job types on individual health. It was titled, "Workplace Setting and Job Types as Determinants of Health Disparities." She said she produced that paper to make the public aware that the jobs they have chosen will impact health outcomes. Gig-market or contract jobs that don't carry health care coverage tend to be filled by minorities. "We need to look at what is going on in the labor force," she said. "It's not just about wages. Employees need to be aware that job choices and the growing racial divide in quality of jobs impact health over the lifetime." Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said Guru Nanak Dev does not belong only to Sikhs, but he belongs to the world and the entire human race. He was speaking at a event of 'Sikh heritage of Nepal' here where he lauded former Nepal ambassador Manjeev Puri for bringing out a book linking the Sikh heritage to Nepal. "The importance of both the Sikhs and the Gurkhas in our Army is well known but I don't think many have focussed on the implication of bringing the two together. It has been fascinating to learn the origins of the connection and that even now Nepalese soldiers going overseas are known as 'Lahures', a reference to the Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore. "Ambassador Puri has drawn our attention to another remnant of history, the flight of Rani Jindan to Nepal resulting in a small group of Sikhs who remained in Nepal but kept up their faith over more than a century in trying circumstances. "I am aware of other such examples of 'lost' Sikh communities, most notably one in the North East of India. I think these 'lost' communities are also another subject fit for academic research, apart from extending to these communities the benefits of economic development," he said. Singh said India-Nepal ties are about the richest links between nations anywhere in the world and it can be said that the two countries are bound by nature, God and the strongest possible links among the people. The former prime minister said he was happy that today one has heard of yet another facet of these rich civilisational ties, this time covering the Sikh heritage of Nepal. He said Guru Nanak Dev travelled extensively, even beyond the limits of India, in all four directions. "He went westwards beyond Indian borders to Mecca and Medina. He went as far east as Bangladesh and Assam and as far south as Sri Lanka. Today, we learnt that possibly during his 3rd Udasi, which famously covered Tibet, he had also visited Nepal. The connection with Nepal is thus rich and very auspicious for the Sikhs," he said. "While Ambassador Puri has drawn our attention to the shrines dedicated to Guru Nanak in Nepal, it would be good if there was academic research undertaken by scholars to verify and document these incredible links of Sikhism and Guru Nanak with Nepal," the former prime minister said. He also recalled that Sikhs are known throughout India, and now even in other parts of the world, as champions of the transport business. "I am, therefore, happy, though not surprised, that they pioneered the commercialisation of the road links, as they developed, between India and Nepal." Singh added that the issue of three commemorative coins to mark the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak by Nepal government certainly symbolises the close ties that bind India and Nepal and this is also a tribute to the efforts of the Sikh community in the economic development of Nepal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BOSTON A subsidiary of utility operator NiSource Inc has agreed to pay $53 million and plead guilty to breaking federal pipeline safety laws to resolve an investigation into catastrophic gas explosions in three Massachusetts communities in 2018. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts will plead guilty to violating the Pipeline Safety Act to resolve a probe into to the disaster, which killed one person, injured at least 21 others and destroyed multiple buildings, federal prosecutors in Boston said on Wednesday. The blasts in the Lawrence, North Andover and Andover communities northwest of Boston occurred while Columbia Gas was replacing cast-iron pipe with plastic lines and prompted large-scale evacuations of thousands of residents. The deal is separate from a $143 million settlement the company reached in July to resolve lawsuits brought by residents and businesses affected by the explosions and an $80 million accord it struck with the three communities. Columbia also last year reached a settlement with the family of a teenager killed during the gas explosions. Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource, which serves nearly four million natural gas and electric customers across seven states, said it is committed to doing what is in the best interests of both the public we serve and our dedicated employees, and we will fulfill the terms of our agreement today consistent with that commitment. NiSource has also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in which it agreed to try to sell its Massachusetts business, prosecutors said. The company has called the explosions tragic and has sought to resolve claims stemming from the disaster. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in September cited deficiencies in management in the incident. The board found Columbia Gas of Massachusetts should have first relocated the control lines to the newly installed plastic main line after the existing cast iron main line was replaced. One condition of the plea agreement is Columbia must implement all of the NTSBs safety recommendations made after the incident. About the photo: In this Sept. 21, 2018 file photo, fire investigators pause while searching the debris at a home which exploded following a gas line failure in Lawrence, Mass. Federal prosecutors have been conducting a criminal investigation into the natural gas explosions and fires that rocked three communities north of Boston in September. NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, disclosed Thursday, Nov. 1, it is cooperating with a criminal investigation by U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lellings office. The Indiana-based utility made the disclosure in its quarterly financial disclosure report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy after each country reported a spike in coronavirus cases. "People coming from Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy or having such travel history since February 10, 2020 may be quarantined for 14 days on arrival to India," the ministry said in a travel advisory. This is in addition to the travel advisory issued earlier in the wake of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The last one issued on February 22 advised citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Singapore. It also said screening at airports is now being planned for flight passengers coming to India from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia from Monday. Currently, passengers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan are screened at 21 designated airports in the country for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: Byron Cohen/Walt Disney Television via Getty Chad Johnson, former contestant on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, was arrested on Monday evening for domestic violence and robbery after his girlfriend, Annalise Mishler, called 911 on Sunday. Mishler also posted a video of the incident to her Instagram, showing a hole in the wall Johnson allegedly punched through, and claiming that Johnson became physical during the altercation. After Mishler posted the video to Instagram and shortly before he was arrested, Johnson released a statement on TooFab, saying I had a little relapse well I wouldnt call it a little relapse. Big relapse. Johnson also adds that he was too drunk to remember the incident, stating, I drank to the point where I didnt even know I was with her. I just gotta take the Instagram Storys word that I was there. However, Johnson denies laying a hand on Mishler during the argument, but does say he screwed up 1000 percent. You cant take that kind of stuff back. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders could become the first-ever Jewish major-party nominee. He once lived on a kibbutz. His Brooklyn accent is iconic for many Jews. But the senator from Vermont illustrated this week why he's a lightning rod for the Jewish community, saying he would boycott the massive American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference that starts Sunday and accusing its leaders of welcoming bigots. "The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people," Sanders tweeted, "I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference." His announcement cranked up to a boil a simmering left-right divide among American Jews over his candidacy. The split spans questions of whether and how to support Israel and what qualifies as anti-Semitism, those who study the community say. It includes a debate over whether Jewish ideals of justice are most urgently expressed through issues like universal health care, wage gaps and the environment, or supporting and defending the Jewish state. "Sanders is, for some Jews, the encapsulation of what they see as Jewishness. And to some he's the antithesis," said Yehuda Kurtzer, who studies Jewish identity as president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. "Among involved Jews, I think he created a bigger problem for himself than he needed to," Kurtzer said of Sanders' decision to skip the annual Washington gathering of nearly 20,000. "He's catering to a small percentage of his Jewish base that wants him to declare war on AIPAC." AIPAC called Sanders's tweet "truly shameful" and said its conference - which focuses on preserving U.S. support for Israel's security - is "mainstream, bipartisan." Such debates are most important to affiliated Jews - the community center directors, synagogue presidents and rabbis from across the country who regularly attend the conference. But American Jews are changing. And AIPAC's bipartisan status is as well, with the lobbying group's strong defense of Israeli security policies and embrace of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu increasingly drawing criticism from Palestinian advocates and liberal Democrats. A May Pew Research poll showed 42% of Jews believed the Trump administration favors Israel "too much" compared with the Palestinians. Forty-seven percent said the balance was about right. In 2013, a major Pew poll of U.S. Jews found 43% said caring about Israel is an essential part of being Jewish. But 38% of Jews under 29 said they were not attached to Israel, compared with 23% of Jews over 50. Jews who do focus on Israel had strong reactions to Sanders's move on AIPAC. Mairav Zonszein, a writer who splits her time between Israel and the United States, tweeted that "Sanders is literally a hero for saying f--- you to AIPAC." The post was liked 8,100 times. "When he first started to rise in the polls, I thought - he should be the Jewish community's favorite. You'd think: Finally someone who has all these social justice values," Zonszein said. "But he represents the battle over what Jewish American values are on Israel. He represents this civil war." Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League tweeted that Sanders's announcement was "offensive," especially given a national spike in anti-Semitism. "At a time when we see a surge of real hate across the US, it's irresponsible to describe AIPAC like this. @ADL proudly will be there," his tweet said. Sanders was asked in Tuesday night's debate what he would say to Jews concerned by his choice. "I am very proud of being Jewish," he answered, before calling Netanyahu "a reactionary racist." "I happen to believe that what our foreign policy in the Mideast should be about is absolutely protecting the independence and security of Israel. But you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people." Sanders has also taken heat from some Jewish leaders for his welcoming of support from freshman Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., strong critics of Israel who support a controversial boycott movement. Sanders does not support the boycott effort. Multiple Jewish groups reacted to Sanders' AIPAC decision by emphasizing unity and dialogue. "If Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to lead the Democratic Party and the nation, I hope he can speak to, engage with, and even debate everyone," tweeted Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Reform Movement, the largest denomination of Judaism in the United States. But U.S. Jews are less affiliated with denominations and institutions than other faith groups. One third say they are not part of any Jewish denomination, Pew found in 2013. They may not particularly care whether Sanders, a frequent critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, speaks at AIPAC. The organization in previous decades was seen as less partisan. But its strong support for Netanyahu during the Obama administration, even as the two leaders clashed over settlements and the Iran nuclear deal, thrilled Republicans and offended many Democrats. In 2016, some conference attendees gave a raucous welcome to then-candidate Donald Trump, who slammed both President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in his remarks. Hundreds had walked out in protest when Trump took the podium. Sanders, who was also a candidate that year, declined to attend the conference but sent a video. AIPAC had allowed candidates in the past to address the conference that way. But the group said it had changed its policy, and declined to play Sanders' message. Liberal groups critical of Israel have pressured Democratic candidates to skip this year's conference. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told a questioner before the New Hampshire primary that she is not going; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg say they have scheduling conflicts. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also is Jewish, will speak at the conference. It was not clear Wednesday whether former Vice President Joe Biden will attend. Sanders has been reluctant to discuss his personal life on the campaign trail, though he has opened up recently about his Jewish heritage. He ties the deaths of relatives in Nazi Europe to his fight for immigrants and his stance against white nationalism in the Trump era. His campaign did not return an email request to discuss the AIPAC decision. But he has styled himself as an insurgent, calling for radical change. So upsetting some Jewish leaders and institutions may not be a major concern to him. Nor do Jews appear to be a key part of Sanders's base. The most recent data, from Pew in January, had just 11% of U.S. Jews picking Sanders as their top choice. Jeremy Burton, head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, said he's heard responses to Sanders's decision that are all over the map. The one common theme, he said, is anxiety among Jews about having a Jewish nominee or president. That's true whether the person is Sanders or Bloomberg. "At the end of the day, Jews know anti-Semitism is part of the DNA of Western civilization," Burton said. "And when people are despairing or feeling at a loss, somehow Jews will get blamed." - - - The Washington Post's Sean Sullivan contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the apology of broadcast giant ABS-CBN for airing a smear ad against him by opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Nandiyan na eh (Its already there.) I accept the apology, of course, Duterte told reporters Wednesday at Malacanang. But Duterte said ABS-CBN should just donate the remaining 2.6-million the network owes him for its failure to air his political advertisements during the 2016 election. Despite accepting the apology, Duterte was noncommittal on the renewal of the TV networks fate, refusing to say whether he will approve or reject a bill passed by Congress granting ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise. He said he may consult the media whether or not to approve the bill on ABS-CBNs franchise. ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak publicly apologized to Duterte during the first congressional hearing on their franchise at the Senate, over the airing of the advertisement which questioned if a tough-talking, cursing politician would be a good fit for president. "We are sorry if we offended the President. That was not the intention of the network. We felt that we were just abiding by regulations that surround the airing of political ads, Katigbak said Monday. Critical move with House Duterte is also keeping a hands-off approach to Solicitor General Jose Calidas bid to void ABS-CBNs franchise through a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court. Ang problema nitong sa [The problem here with the] SolGen, once he makes an official statement that there is violation of law then I cannot just tell him to stop, he said. He said the fate of ABS-CBNs franchise lies with Congress, adding that the critical move is with the House of Representatives which is yet to hold a single hearing on bill seeking a new franchise. Duterte said he has never and will not interfere in congressional deliberations on the issue. House Committee on Legislative Franchises vice chair Rep. Tonypet Albano said Duterte's acceptance of ABS-CBN's apology paves the way for a better timing for the House to take up the TV network's franchise and for them to have a "good hearing." "In the coming days, weeks, and months, we expect to tackle this franchise bill and show the world that we as legislators in the House are fair, honest, and hard working to promulgate a justifiable and amicable decision for ABS-CBN and its employees," Albano said. It is still not clear when the House will finally schedule ABS-CBN's franchise for hearing. Congress only has six session days to tacke the TV network's franchise before it goes on a break from March 14 to May 3. ABS-CBN's existing franchise expires May 4 the same day Congress returns from a seven-week break.. ABS-CBNs proposed franchise has yet to move in the House of Representatives, with the legislative franchises committee just beginning to receive comments about it, while the Supreme Court has deferred discussions on Calidas quo warranto petition to March 10. The House formally asked Wednesday the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to give ABS-CBN a provisional permit so it can continue operating pending the renewal of its franchise. It also requested the same for ABS-CBN's subsidiaries and affiliates, including ABS-CBN Convergence, Sky Cable Corporation, and Amcara Broadcasting Network, Inc. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said this would be enough to make sure the network continues operating even beyond the expiry of franchise, but added that a similar move from the Senate would provide a tougher armor for the NTC in the event of a legal challenge. Resolutions have been filed in both houses of Congress seeking to extend ABS-CBNs franchise pending its renewal, but some Congress leaders said this is not needed as the NTC has granted provisional permits in the past even without the legislatures action. A 1994 agreement between the House, the NTC and the media group Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas provides a mechanism for media entities with expiring Congressional franchises. The memorandum of understanding states that the NTC "shall continue to issue and grant permits or authorizations to operate" for radio and TV stations for a two-year period as long as there is a pending bill seeking to renew its franchise. However, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said this could no longer be done, since a 2003 Supreme Court decision, which he himself penned, had ruled that there is a need for an existing license before a corporation can operate. CNN Philippines Janine Peralta, Eimor Santos and Anjo Alimario contributed to this report. ITHACA, N.Y. - A new study has uncovered key details for how the Salmonella bacteria that causes typhoid fever identifies a host's immune cells and delivers toxins that disrupt the immune system and allow the pathogen to spread. The findings, published Feb. 21 in the journal PLOS Pathogens, provide new directions for developing treatments for typhoid fever. The Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi bacteria that causes the fever annually infects up to 21 million people worldwide and close to 6,000 people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease is most common in areas with poor sanitation and unsafe water and food, including South Asia, and especially Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The study identifies three subunits on a typhoid toxin protein, one of which is key for delivering the toxin into host cells. "Typhoid fever is life-threatening but the underlying pathogenic mechanisms are not well understood," said Jeongmin Song, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Tri Nguyen and Sohyoung Lee, both postdoctoral researchers in Song's lab, are co-first authors of the study. "Here we show that one of the proteins secreted by the typhoid bacteria plays an important role for this pathogenic mechanism," Song said. The study focuses on a toxin, a protein compound secreted by S. Typhi that helps the bacteria evade the host's immune response. This toxin consists of three protein subunits that form a complex. Two of the subunits, called 'A' subunits, are enzymes; after entering host immune cells, they disrupt immune responses. A third 'B' subunit recognizes and binds to specific target sugars on the host immune cell's surface, which initiates a process whereby the toxin enters the cell. The study's authors found that the bacterial B subunit recognizes and attaches to the sugars, known as trisaccharides, on the membranes of immune cells. A trisaccharide called N-acetylneuraminic acid comes in unmodified and modified forms: The B subunit attaches to the unmodified form, but it has a higher affinity to the modified form. Once attached, the toxin gains entry into the cell. Once inside an immune cell, also known as a white blood cell, the two enzymatic subunits work to disable the cell's innate immune response, which is the body's immediate and general response when a pathogen is detected. Disabling the innate immune response limits the body's adaptive immune response development, where cells have a memory of a prior infection and launch an attack if the pathogen returns. The findings open the door to develop small molecules that block the high affinity trisaccharides and inhibit the toxin from binding to and entering the target cell. "We are not saying this is all we should know," Song said, "but this typhoid toxin is essential in this important pathogenic mechanism behind typhoid fever." ### The study was funded in part by National Institutes of Health. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Egbert J. Doran, signed a covenant between different services within the Ministry of Justice in order to facilitate electronic monitoring of detainees. This form of digital incarceration is one where ankle bracelets will be used in order to monitor the movements of detainees who are temporarily released. One of the most important aims of introducing the Electronic monitoring system is to bring relief to the capacity of the Prison in Point Blanche, which is currently at its maximum. Electronic monitoring will be utilized only in the following cases: 1) Suspension of pre-trial detention 2) Special condition to conditional release 3) Special condition to a conditional sentence, ordered by a judge. The Public Prosecutor office is the entity that will allow or request the use of electronic monitoring in the case of suspension of pre-trial detention or for monitoring in a conditional sentence, in accordance with their legal authority and whenever deemed necessary and applicable. The Police (KPSM) will be responsible for the 24/7 monitoring of the participants and will also be involved in any restorative action that may need to take place on request of the Foundation Judicial Institute, in charge of rehabilitation services in St. Maarten (SJIB). SJIB is responsible for the guidance and overall supervision of participants of the Electronic Monitoring program. All staff within the Ministry of Justice who will be involved in working with the Electronic Monitoring have received training. The hard- and software is provided for by a private company contracted by the Ministry of Justice. Signing the covenant were the Chief public prosecutor, Ms. Mirjam Mol, the Chief of police, Mr. Carl John, and the Chairman of the board of SJIB, Mr. Eunicio Martina. Minister Doran sees this as a great accomplishment for the Justice Ministry and looks forward to all stakeholders working together in order to guarantee the success of this program. The Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says their advocacy helped Ghana to save over $4.8 million when Akufo-Addo government wanted to secure a property to be used as the countrys Chancery in Oslo, Norway. Ablakwa, who led the Minority to challenge the governments plan in 2018 said their protest has really protected the public purse since the government eventually boycotted the idea and has now settled for a rented property in Oslo. The Minority has saved this country some $4.8 million. This [new Chancery deal] vindicates the position we held at the time, that the property had been inflated and we were not getting value for money We have really protected the public purse, he said in an interview on Eyewitness News. 2018 claims Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had claimed that the cost of the 100-year-old 6-bedroom house in Oslo that was being considered to be used as Ghanas chancery was inflated. Ablakwa alleged that the property was bought by a certain woman for $2.9 million in 2014 and sold to an unknown buyer for $3.5 million in August 2017, and so it was surprising that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a presentation to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament said it was purchasing the same building for $12.2 million in 2018. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially justified the amount but later backtracked and said it was looking elsewhere for a new property. Ghanas new mission in Norway Ghana on Monday, February 25, 2019, commissioned its Diplomatic Mission in Oslo, Norway. The commissioning of the five-year lease rented facility was held on the sidelines of President Akufo-Addo's official State visit to Norway. The facility has a consular section, offices for the head of chancery, political and economic officer, reception, accounts, secretary, conference room and the ambassador's office. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, stated that it is a rented property; this is not the property Ghana wanted to buy. Minority alert ensured cheaper option But Okudzeto Ablakwa indicated that but for the Minoritys vigilance, Ghana wouldve been buying the previous controversial facility for an unreasonable amount. The government has found another property [for the Chancery], which it has rented For the ambassadors residence, a permanent purchase has been made, it is a separate property for $5 million. At the time we were challenging the $12.2 million for the Chancery, they rebutted that properties were too expensive in Norway and that $12.2 million was an acceptable figure but due to the expose and the clarity we brought, they did differently, he said on Eyewitness News. The North Tongu legislator further claimed that the property that government wanted to acquire for $12.2 million has been advertised for sale at a price of $7.4 million. The latest on the specific property which generated all the controversy is that, it has now been renovated and listed on the Norwegian real estate market and it will shock you to know that what we were going to buy for $12.2 million is now being sold for $7.4million, the legislator claimed. ---citinewsroom 18,685 hectares, 25 kilometers from Thompson Nickel Plant; Fjordland to have Staged Option to Earn Up To 80% Interest; Focus on Large Sulphide Nickel Targets with Tier-1 Potential Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) ("CanAlaska" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Fjordland Exploration Inc. ("FEX") to allow FEX to earn up to 80% interest in CanAlaska's 100%-owned North Thompson Nickel Project in Manitoba, Canada (the "Project"). North Thompson Project To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2864/52797_d837c06fe4fbe903_001full.jpg FEX may earn up to an 80% interest in the Project by undertaking work and payments in three defined earn-in stages. FEX may earn an initial 49% interest ("Stage 1") in the Project by paying the Company $25,000 cash, issue 1,000,000 common shares of FEX, and incur $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures on the Project within 18 months of TSX Venture Exchange approval date. FEX may earn an additional 21% interest ("Stage 2") in the Project by paying to the Company a further $50,000 cash, issue a further 1,500,000 common shares in FEX, and incur an additional $2,500,000 in exploration expenditures on the Project within 24 months of entering the Stage 2 option. FEX may earn an additional 10% interest ("Stage 3") in the Project by paying to the Company a further $75,000 cash, issue a further 6,000,000 common shares in FEX, and incur an additional $5,000,000 in exploration expenditures on the Project within 24 months of entering the Stage 3 option. After successful completion of either of Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the option agreement, and if FEX elects to not enter the next stage or in the case of completion of Stage 3, a joint venture will be formed and the parties will either co-contribute on a simple pro-rata basis or dilute on a pre-defined straight-line dilution formula. A summary of the various stages is contained in Table 1. During Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the option agreement, CanAlaska will be operator of the Project. FEX will have sole voting rights on exploration programs while sole funding at the various option stages and will have the right to assume operatorship after successfully earning 70% interest in the Project (Stage 2). FEX will issue a further 10,000,000 common shares in FEX upon completion of a positive Feasibility Study for the Project provided that FEX has earned, at a minimum, the 70% interest as outlined in Stage 2 of the option. If either of the Company or FEX dilute down to less than 10% Project interest, the party diluting will relinquish its remaining Project interest and a 2% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty will be granted to the diluting party. In the event the Company is the party granted the 2% NSR royalty, the Company will be entitled to receive up to a maximum $10,000,000 CDN advance royalty payment ("ARP") at commencement of commercial production on the Project, with the sum of the ARP payment being calculated based on 2% of the value of the capital expenditures to develop the operation. An Area of Mutual Interest ("AMI") will extend five kilometres from the outer boundary of the Project. Table 1: Summary of Option Stages Option Stage FEX Interest Earned (%) Cash Payment ($) FEX Shares Issued Exploration Expenditure ($) Timeline (months) On signing 25,000 1,000,000 On TSX Approval Stage 1 49 1,500,000 18 Stage 2 21 50,000 1,500,000 2,500,000 24 Stage 3 10 75,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 24 Totals 80 150,000 8,500,000 9,000,000 66 North Thompson Nickel Project The Project consists of the "Strong" #1067A, the "Hunter" #1118A, and "Hunter Claims" with a total combined area of 18,685 hectares (Figure 1). The Project is located approximately 25 kilometres from the city of Thompson, Manitoba, with its existing mines and nickel processing facilities. The Project covers most of the northern extension of the Thompson Nickel Belt, the fifth largest sulphide nickel belt in the world based on contained nickel endowment, the largest of which is the main Thompson Mine at an estimated 150Mt at an average grade of 2.3% nickel. The Project area hosts the same geological and structural environment as the nearby Tier-1 Thompson Mine owned and operated by Vale but has seen essentially no exploration drilling since 2005. A detailed compilation of historical information of the Project, including a 2007 VTEM survey, provide a number of priority Tier-1 size drill targets that have never been followed-up with drilling. The Project contain a series of high-grade nickel drill intersections from historical work that warrant follow-up with modern geophysics and drilling. The Mel deposit, with an Indicated plus Inferred resource of 5.3Mt at 0.87% nickel, occurs three kilometres east of the Hunter claims and the structure hosting the Mel deposit extends onto the Project. CanAlaska President, Peter Dasler, comments; "Management is very pleased that Fjordland and their financing partners have been able to confirm the targets identified by the CanAlaska team. In addition, the application of their evaluation techniques have identified further targets at depth and along the trends of existing targets. We are looking forward to working with Fjordland to advance exploration on the Hunter and Strong properties." Other News CanAlaska is currently conducting drilling at the West McArthur Uranium project in the Athabasca Basin, a joint venture with Cameco Corporation. CanAlaska invites shareholders and investors to meet with management at booth number 2140 at the PDAC convention in Toronto between March 1 and 4, 2020. About CanAlaska Uranium CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 152,000 hectares (375,000 acres), in Canada's Athabasca Basin - the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium." CanAlaska's strategic holdings have attracted major international mining companies. CanAlaska is currently working with Cameco and Denison at two of the Company's properties in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. CanAlaska is a project generator positioned for discovery success in the world's richest uranium district. The Company also holds properties prospective for nickel, copper, gold and diamonds. For further information visit www.canalaska.com. The qualified technical person for this news release is Dr Karl Schimann, P. Geo, CanAlaska director and VP Exploration. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Peter Dasler" Peter Dasler, M.Sc., P.Geo. President & CEO CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. Contacts: Peter Dasler, President Tel: +1.604.688.3211 x 138 Email: info@canalaska.com Cory Belyk, COO Tel: +1.604.688.3211 x 138 Email: cbelyk@canalaska.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking information All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52797 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will delay his inauguration until March 9, his office said Wednesday, after Washington warned Kabul against allowing an election spat to derail a historic deal to withdraw American troops. The war-torn country went to the polls last September but Ghani was only declared victorious last week. The announcement he had won a second term was immediately rejected by rival Abdullah Abdullah, who has vowed to form his own parallel government. Their bickering has cast a shadow over efforts to forge an agreement between the US and the Taliban that could ultimately see the end of America's longest war and launch Afghanistan into an uncertain future. That accord, due to be signed in Doha on Saturday, would see thousands of US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan after more than 18 years, in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with Ghani's government in the capital Kabul. Ghani made no reference to the talks in Wednesday's announcement, saying only that the delay was due to "rumours about the spread of coronavirus" and to allow foreign dignitaries more time to make travel plans. Abdullah has also planned to hold his own inauguration but the date remains unclear. Washington fears the ongoing row between the pair could hurt Kabul's negotiating position and leave the insurgents with the upper hand in Doha. "It is time to focus not on electoral politics, but on taking steps toward a lasting peace," a US State Department spokeswoman said in a Tuesday statement. The Taliban, US and Afghan forces have preceded the deal with a partial week-long truce that entered its fifth day on Wednesday. While the ongoing truce does not amount to a full ceasefire, the number of Taliban attacks has fallen dramatically. The situation remains tenuous however, with the interior ministry reporting four deaths -- including three civilians -- in five attacks on Wednesday. Another nine civilians were injured in a separate bombing in Kabul the same day. The Taliban, which has vowed not to attack urban areas as part of the truce, immediately denied responsibility. The election and the infighting which followed has strained the patience of the international community and ordinary citizens exhausted after years of fighting. Afghans have shown little enthusiasm for Abdullah, Ghani or the election process in general, with most of them abstaining from voting in last year's lacklustre poll that saw candidates pitch few new ideas. US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad urged the president and other leaders on Wednesday to "ensure that the new government is inclusive and reflects the aspirations of all Afghans". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) M illions of people were today urged to keep their distance to stop an outbreak of coronavirus spreading in Britain. The World Health Organisation called on countries around the globe to prepare for the arrival of Covid-19 as America warned that a pandemic was now likely. Stockmarkets fell again today. More than 2.5 trillion has been wiped off the value of shares globally in the past four trading sessions as investors became spooked by the infections spread. With more and more cases being confirmed in Asia, Europe and also the first diagnosis in South America, in Brazil, scientists were racing to learn more about the virus. The most important thing we are realising is its really infectious but its infectious if you are close up with people, WHO coronavirus response envoy Dr David Nabarro told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn in central London / PA So social distancing, learning to actually not have to be very close with each other, is really important. London faces particular challenges given it is one of the most visited cities in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people packing into the Tube every day. Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle told its board meeting this morning that 19,000 people had called its helpline last night. She said: If the situation changed and we were trying to mitigate spread, we would look at school closures. A man is seen wearing a mask while walking along the Thames / AFP via Getty Images Ms Doyle added that two of the four Diamond Princess passengers had now tested negative for coronavirus. US oil giant Chevron yesterday sent home 300 workers from its Canary Wharf office after an employee, who had recently returned from a country hit by coronavirus, reported flu-like symptoms. Thirteen people have been treated in the UK for Covid-19 which is not believed to be transmitting between people here. Checks of patients displaying possible symptoms at hospitals and GP practices are being stepped up to try to catch any outbreak early. Dr Nabarro, who led UN campaigns against ebola and cholera, emphasised that countries needed to react speedily to Covid-19 outbreaks, such as quarantining communities, as is happening in northern Italy. Dr Margaret Harris, of the WHO, suggested draconian actions taken by the Chinese authorities, including forcing people infected into clinics, shutting down cities and transport links, might have prevented a million cases. Coronavirus: Costa Adeje Hotel lockdown in Tenerife 1 /32 Coronavirus: Costa Adeje Hotel lockdown in Tenerife A police officer stands by a barrier in front of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel where the number of coronavirus cases has doubled AP People stand on their balconies of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel AP General view of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje Reuters Tourists sunbath at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta AFP via Getty Images Police officers stand outside of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife Reuters Spanish police officers stand outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain AP Emergency workers rest at a health control outside H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife REUTERS PA AP A woman looks from a terrace of H10 Hotel, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Reuters General view taken on February 25, 2020 of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta, where hundreds of people were confined to their rooms after an Italian tourist was hospitalised with a suspected case of coronavirus. - Tourists staying in a four-star hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife AFP via Getty Images H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google A police officer controls the road to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island AP via Reuters An employee wears a protective mask as he talks with guests inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adej via Reuters Tourists stand on the balcony of their rooms at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta AFP via Getty Images H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain Google AFP via Getty Images A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain AP A Spanish National Police car is parked outside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife via Reuters Spanish police officers patrol outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island AP Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife via Reuters H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, Google StreetView Health chiefs in the UK have said that quarantining whole communities here is unlikely. Other measures, yet to be announced in detail, are being favoured in most circumstances. With about 18 schools sending staff and pupils home after trips to Italy, Health Secretary Matt Hancock was due to update MPs this afternoon on the scale of the crisis. The decline of the virus in China has given hope that the infection can be controlled but health bosses are worried about its spread in other countries. In other developments: Thirty new cases were confirmed in Lombardy and Veneto, northern Italy, taking the total to 317, with four children, including a four-year-old girl, infected. The death toll rose by one person to 12. The illness has now spread to seven other Italian regions, including Sicily in the far south, with the total number of cases nationwide climbing above 350. Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country have tested positive in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia and France. Four people, including a doctor who had been in northern Italy, and who were staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife, have tested positive for the virus, with Britons among hundreds of holidaymakers confined, at least temporarily, to their hotel rooms. Another hotel in Innsbruck, Austria, named locally as the Grand Hotel Europa, was in quarantine after an Italian receptionist was reportedly diagnosed with the virus. A 60-year-old Frenchman has died of the virus in a Paris hospital , the first French fatality. It is the second coronavirus death in France, after an 80-year-old Chinese man died this month. German health chiefs said a man in his forties with an underlying health condition and who contracted Covid-19, was in a critical condition and had been taken to a specialist hospital in Dusseldorf. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to prepare for an outbreak as a pandemic was likely. America has reported 57 cases of the virus. The first positive test in South America has been recorded after 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy tested positive In London, the FTSE 100 tumbled 73.36 points, or 1 per cent, to 6,944.52, falling through the 7,000 mark for the first time in a year. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 plunged 353.78 points, or nearly 2 per cent, to 20,362.19. Stock markets in France, Germany and Italy all fell. Neil Wilson, an analyst at Markets.com, said: At present there is no sign of a stabilisation in progress trying to guess when the bottom is in will be dangerous. Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast: The shelter will be 18,400 square feet; more than 11,000 square feet is designated for kennels and a spay/neuter clinic. Texas Tech Animal Services helped design the facility, which will have meet-and-greet rooms, medical room and natural daylight in every animal room. The cost of the shelter is $8.95 million; $1 million of that was donated by Midland County, according to previous Reporter-Telegram articles. Project completion is expected to be spring 2021. Last Tuesday, while activists reportedly tried to arrest Premier John Horgan at his house in British Columbia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to the House of Commons, stressing the need for patience as rail blockades continue to prevent freight and passenger movement across Canada. The #ShutDownCanada movement is in full swing across the country, with rail blockades, road closures and protests causing mass disruption and frustration. All because of the proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline through the traditional territory of the Wetsuweten First Nations people in B.C. Theres been a lot said and written over the past week. But heres what you need to know about this dispute. According to the 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada Delgamuukw decision, the Wetsuweten have Aboriginal title to an as-yet-undefined area of B.C. Aboriginal title is a form of ownership but its not absolute. The same Supreme Court decision also elaborated the doctrine of infringement, which allows government to make use of title land for the public good. This is one of those cases. The Coastal GasLink pipeline cant be built without crossing Wetsuweten traditional territory. It will carry natural gas from B.C. fields to Kitimat, a municipality in the north coast region of the province, where it will be liquefied and exported to Asian markets. Its an enormous project that will create profit for investors, revenue for governments (including First Nation governments) and jobs for workers, many of whom will be First Nations people. It will also reduce carbon emissions in the world at large because it will replace coal now burned for power generation in countries such as Japan, China and Korea. The protesters talk about Wetsuweten sovereignty and Wetsuweten law, but dont be misled. Canadian courts have consistently upheld Canadian sovereignty, which means that Parliament and the B.C. legislature have the right make law for the Wetsuweten. Traditional Wetsuweten laws are enforceable only if explicitly adopted through federal or B.C. legislation, depending on the subject matter. That has not happened. So traditional Wetsuweten law cant be used to block pipeline construction. In fact, Coastal GasLink passes through the traditional territories of 20 First Nations. The elected band councils of all these First Nations (including the Wetsuweten) signed agreements in support of the pipeline because of the substantial benefits they will receive cash payments from the B.C. government and TC Energy, a natural gas company not to mention jobs and job-training, and contract set-asides for work on the pipeline. These First Nations are small, poor and remote. They dont have many economic opportunities. The average income of their members is about half the provincial average. Coastal GasLink is their best perhaps only way out of poverty. Thats why their elected governments have endorsed the pipeline. So wheres the opposition coming from? A faction of the Wetsuweten, the hereditary chiefs who claim that only they not the elected band council can give consent to the pipeline. Again, dont be misled. There is no basis in the Canadian Constitution, legislation or judicial decisions for this claim. Many of the protesters swarming the B.C. legislature or blocking highways and railways across the country are not members of the Wetsuweten Nation or any other First Nation. They are the usual crowd of environmentalists and anti-capitalists. For many, their goal is to destroy the market economy thats created so much prosperity and the democratic government that protects our freedoms. They want a government of activists, where they will call the shots. Their hashtag says it all: #ShutDownCanada. Dont be fooled. This isnt a genuine movement for social justice. These are outsiders exploiting a division within one First Nation in the hope of creating chaos on the ground. Canada is a free country. If the protesters stay within legal limits, let them speak. If they break the law by obstructing buildings, roads and railways, let the police do their job of re-establishing the civil order on which we all depend. Tom Flanagan is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute. Actor and aspiring politician Rajinikanth hit out at the Central government over Delhi communal violence that has led to 27 deaths so far and said it was a result of intelligence failure that meant the government had also failed, said agency reports. He added that the violence should have been dealt with an iron hand. It is an intelligence failure and hence home ministry also failed. Protests can happen peacefully but not in a violent manner. If violence breaks out, it should be dealt with iron hands, ANI quoted Rajinikanth as saying. Rajinikanths comments are significant as his critics accuse him of being soft on the BJP in the past. Another agency said the Tamil Nadu movie star, who is expected to formally enter politics by launching his own political party before the assembly elections next year, said if the government was unable to crush the violence it should resign. With iron fist, this should be crushed, else (they) should resign and go..what is this..it is becoming too much, PTI quoted Rajinikanth as saying. He had earlier explained that his criticism over intelligence failure was aimed at the Central home ministry. He added that he expected the government to be careful at least from now on. He didnt spare the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Arvind Kejriwal either and said it was equally responsible for letting the situation worsen in the capital. Rajinikanth also hit out at some political experts and journalists for branding him a BJP mouthpiece in the past. Immediately I am being branded as the BJPs mouthpiece, that the BJP is behind me, especially some senior journalists and political observers, he said. Rajinikanth had earlier said he will stand by Muslims if the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) affected them. He reiterated his pledge on Wednesday but added that the act was unlikely to be withdrawn as it had been cleared by both houses of the parliament before the grant of presidential assent. Rajinikanth also condemned individuals for instigating violence through provocative statements, said PTI. His contemporary and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan endorsed Rajikanth in a tweet in Tamil and said he had chosen the right path. Sabash friend @rajinikanth. This path is the right path (it is) not a separate path..., he said in an apparent reference to Rajinikanth famous film dialogue-- my path is a separate path. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment This week, on February 26, we welcome the Hebrew month of Adar. This month contains the Holiday of Purim, and beginning on the first of the month, the messages of the Book of Esther, which we read every Purim, are particularly relevant. A Time of Happiness and Joy, Gladness and Honor The first of Adar is also the Hebrew date of my father's passing. Looking back now, I can see that it is no coincidence that God chose that date to call him home. At my father's funeral, I noted that the month of Adar encapsulates his life's work. The Purim story tells how, "For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor" (Esther 8:16) as they were saved after a period of extreme hardship. Similarly, my father brought joy and comfort to so many Jews in difficult situations. Such a Time as This However, I see now that Adar not only fits my father's life story, but also my own. It was the story of Esther that gave me strength during those first difficult weeks after my loss, and it's the story that has inspired me throughout the year. When my father died, I lost not only a parent, but also my mentor and predecessor. I had worked with my father at The Fellowship for over 15 years and I had already been chosen as the next President of the organization. With his passing, I became one of the few female leaders of any comparable non-profit organization in the United States and Israel. Was I ready to lead? Could I do my job without my father's guidance and support? My doubts quickly dissipated as I realized that, just as God had prepared Esther for "such a time as this," He had been preparing me my entire life for that very moment. And I knew that just as God helped Esther succeed in her mission, He would surely help me in mine. Growing up, my parents instilled in me the belief that I could achieve any goal that I was called to. I am the youngest of three girls, and my parents were very aware that they were raising women in a world often dominated by men. My father told me that as a woman of faith, there was nothing I could not do and my mother led by example. Women of Faith In our home, we celebrated the women of the Bible. Every year on Purim, we focused on Esther and her unique role as one of the only women to serve as a biblical hero and the only woman for whom a Bible book is named. Esther was just a young orphaned girl, but through her courage and faith, she succeeded in eliminating the evil Haman and saved the Jewish people. Through Esther's example, I learned what it means to be a strong, obedient, and faithful servant of God. When it was time for me to step out in faith in my own life, I had Esther and other biblical women to guide me and serve as powerful sources of encouragement. Soon, on March 8, the world will mark International Women's Day, recognizing the contributions of women to our world. How appropriate that this day will fall in the Hebrew month of Adar, the same month that highlight's Esther's heroism. History is filled with great women who, like Esther, courageously changed the world for the better. As we celebrate women this month, I am particularly grateful for women of faith, both past and present. From biblical women to the women of my own family and community, my life and my character have been profoundly enriched by extraordinary women of God. I hope that you will join me in acknowledging great women of faith may we know them, may we raise them, and may we appreciate them always! RIO DE JANEIRO - Latin America saw its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus spreading worldwide when Brazils government announced that a 61-year-old man who travelled to Italy this month had the virus. The Brazilian man had spent two weeks in northern Italys Lombardy region on a work trip, where he contracted the contagious virus, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. Our healthcare system has already undergone grave respiratory epidemics before, Brazils Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said in a press conference. We will get through this situation, investing in science, research and clear information. Since the COVID-19 virus began to spread throughout the world from China, Brazil and other countries in the region have registered dozens of suspected cases, all of which previously had been discarded following tests. According to Brazils Health Ministry, the man began to show symptoms compatible with the illness, such as a dry cough, throat pain and flu symptoms. Lombardy is the epicenter of the outbreak in Italy, and there have been hundreds of confirmed cases there as well as several deaths. Sao Paulos Albert Einstein Institute, where the man received medical attention, carried out respiratory tests, and the Adolfo Lutz Institute in the same city carried out the subsequent test confirming the virus The man was in stable condition and in isolation at home in Sao Paulo. Brazils national health agency Anvisa has been working to map all contact the man had with others, and on Tuesday requested the manifest of the flight he took to investigate other possible cases. The Health Ministry said that the man received some 30 family members at his home after returning to Sao Paulo on Feb. 21. Those people are under observation, as are with passengers from the plane. We will now see how this virus behaves in a tropical country in the middle of summer, how its behaviour pattern will be, Mandetta said. Residents of the biggest city in Latin America were beginning to acknowledging the risks of an epidemic. Thiago Alves, the manager of drugstore in central Sao Paulo, said he had sold more than 3,000 masks on Wednesday. We are already short and it isnt even the beginning of the afternoon, he said. Sao Paulos stock exchange, which had been closed since Friday due to the Carnival holiday, was down 5% shortly after 2 p.m., which economist Andre Perfeito attributed to the global outbreak of coronavirus, not necessarily its arrival here. Global stock markets had dipped sharply while the Brazilian exchange was closed. Four years ago, Latin Americas largest country found itself under the microscope as the spreading Zika virus was linked to cases of microcephaly in babies just ahead of the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Brazils response was deemed adequate by international organizations and its public health care system handled most cases, though medicine was in short supply in many isolated areas of the Northeast region. Some foreign sports fans and competitors still cancelled their plans to attend South Americas first Olympics. As of Wednesday, there were 20 suspected cases of the new coronavirus in Brazil, 12 of which in people who returned from Italy. Authorities have so far ruled out 59 cases that were suspected since the outbreak began. Due to the spread of the new virus worldwide, Brazil on Monday broadened its critieria for analysis of suspected cases. The Health Ministry determined that people with fever and flu symptoms returning from Italy and six other countries should be considered suspected cases. Those countries are Germany, France, Australia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines. The news of the virus reaching Brazilian soil comes as the nation emerges from its annual Carnival revelry. Amanda Pereira, who joined a street party on Wednesday with her young daughter, said, I worry a lot because my daughters have breathing problems, so we will stay alert. Asked whether Brazilians should cancel plans to visit Europe, Mandetta said this is just another reason for domestic tourism and said that people should use good sense AP videojournalist Diarlei Rodrigues and writer Mauricio Savarese contributed to this story. PRESTON, Md., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PSB Holding Corp., parent company of Provident State Bank, Inc., reported net income of $3.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. These earnings produced a .79% return on average assets and 9.02% return on average shareholders' equity. Stockholders' equity totaled $43.1 million as of December 31, 2019 compared to $35.7 million at December 31, 2018. President and Chief Executive Officer Melissa Quirk stated, "We opened two branch offices in growth markets while maintaining sound performance in 2019. We are pleased with the financial results and look forward to continued growth in 2020." Total assets of $462.7 million increased by $35.9 million compared to December 31, 2018, an increase of 8.4%. Net loans increased by $16.2 million to $358.0 million, a 4.7% increase as compared to December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2019, non-performing assets were .69%, of total assets and the provision for loan losses was $300 thousand for the year. Total deposits at December 31, 2019 was $367.4 million, an increase of 9.5% as compared to December 31, 2018. Earnings per share increased to $2.44 per share at December 31, 2019, from $2.39 at December 31, 2018, after restating to reflect a 2.5 for one forward stock split on December 28, 2018. The most recent stock trade reported was $27.88 per share. As of December 31, 2019, the book value per share was $28.13, compared to $25.12 at December 31, 2018, after restating to reflect a 2.5 for one forward stock split on December 28, 2018. Melissa Quirk concluded, "We appreciate the support from our customers, shareholders and employees for making this another successful year at PSB." PSB Holding Corp. is the holding company of Provident State Bank, Inc., a full service financial institution serving the eastern shore of Maryland since 1904. Provident State Bank, Inc. has ten locations in Preston, Federalsburg, Ridgely, Denton, Easton-Elliot Road, Easton-Harrison Street, Secretary, Cambridge, Salisbury and Lewes (Delaware). For more information on PSB Holding Corp. and Provident State Bank, Inc., visit www.providentstatebank.com. Forward-Looking Statements Forward-looking statements relating to PSB Holding Corp. and its subsidiary, Provident State Bank, Inc. may include plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and adequacy of resources. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding business strategy, future events, activities, performance, and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Therefore, the illustrative value of forward-looking statements made in or pursuant to this press release should not, under any circumstances, be considered a guaranty or promise that such future events, activities, occurrences or performances will take place. PSB HOLDING CORP. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET Dec 31, 2019 Dec 31, 2018 Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 21,479,293 $ 13,174,076 Investment securities 58,551,239 54,336,990 Loans, net of allowance for loan losses 357,977,559 341,826,327 Property & equipment 9,906,709 8,364,376 Bank-owned life insurance 8,408,723 5,228,080 Accrued interest receivable 1,302,954 1,372,733 Foreclosed real estate 83,700 83,700 Other assets 4,997,646 2,383,343 Total assets $ 462,707,823 $ 426,769,625 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Deposits: Noninterest-bearing $ 106,468,438 $ 87,366,503 Interest-bearing 260,953,016 248,183,941 Total deposits 367,421,454 335,550,444 Repurchase agreements 7,324,045 3,986,233 FHLB advances and other borrowing 40,433,594 49,870,684 Other liabilities 4,445,552 1,672,610 Total liabilities 419,624,645 391,079,971 Stockholders' equity 43,083,178 35,689,654 Total liabilities and equity $ 462,707,823 $ 426,769,625 Book value per share $ 28.13 $ 25.12 PSB HOLDING CORP. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended December 31, December 31, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Interest income Loans, including fee income $ 4,522,712 $ 4,302,294 $ 17,418,179 $ 16,466,009 Investment securities 377,262 364,939 1,445,881 1,393,092 Other 82,277 60,176 367,018 255,625 Total interest income 4,982,251 4,727,409 19,231,078 18,114,726 Interest expense Deposits 770,834 571,430 2,737,276 2,129,032 Borrowed funds 270,753 247,319 1,144,684 992,117 Total interest expense 1,041,587 818,749 3,881,960 3,121,149 Net interest income 3,940,664 3,908,660 15,349,118 14,993,577 Provision for loan losses 130,000 400,000 300,000 1,260,000 Net interest income after provision 3,810,664 3,508,660 15,049,118 13,733,577 Noninterest income 642,581 644,315 2,555,999 2,848,977 Noninterest expense 3,107,290 3,070,147 13,130,302 12,079,653 Net income before tax 1,345,955 1,082,828 4,474,815 4,502,901 Tax expense 187,583 178,524 951,956 1,016,460 Net income $ 1,158,372 $ 904,304 $ 3,522,859 $ 3,486,441 Net income per common share, annualized $ 3.00 $ 2.53 $ 2.44 $ 2.39 2018 Book Value and Earnings per share have been restated to reflect the 2.5 for one forward stock split executed on December 28, 2018. SOURCE PSB Holding Corp. Related Links http://www.providentstatebank.com 2020 Music In Our Schools Month logo Every day, in classrooms and rehearsal rooms across the United States, music educators dedicate themselves to reaching all students with life-changing musical experiences, which we celebrate during Music In Our Schools Month. This March, music educators and music students will be celebrating music education in their schools and communities with concerts and classroom activities that show how Music Changes Lives, the theme of the 2020 observance of Music In Our Schools Month. The impact of music education on the lives of students is evident in its social-emotional effect on young people and how they interact with the world around them. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) recognizes March as the thirty-fifth annual Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM). Since 1985, MIOSM has been observed as a yearly month-long celebration when schools and communities celebrate music in their local schools and the educators who dedicate themselves to bringing music into the lives of students every day. This year the NAfME Council for General Music Education has provided teachers resources to show the learning process throughout the whole school year. The Music In Our Schools Month: Process into Product document explains this new direction, which began in 2018. Every day, in classrooms and rehearsal rooms across the United States, music educators dedicate themselves to reaching all students with life-changing musical experiences. What parents, administrators, and the wider community have not always had the opportunity to observe, however, is the months of practice and rehearsals, and the process of learning that takes place in the music classroom and on the stage. Each school year provides an opportunity for music educators to show that process through informanceswhen students demonstrate various learning stagesbefore the performances at the end of that process. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to show their growth and learning in the music classroomand for educators to share the incredible work they are doing in their music programs. NAfME also celebrates the music program leaders, superintendents, school boards, parents, and local businesses that support their local schools music programs and the difference music makes for all students. NAfME encourages teachers and music education advocates to share on social media how their schools are celebrating music education, using the hashtags #MusicChangesLives and #MIOSM and tagging @NAfME. This year NAfME has provided MIOSM lesson plans for twenty songs, including resources from the Library of Congress, instructional goals and objectives, connections to the National Core Arts Standards learned in each lesson, worksheets, and more. Additionally, music educators can join in the biggest school chorus in the world with American Young Voices, which has provided lesson plans, teaching aims and objectives, sheet music, vocal tracks, and more for the song Pinwheels. NAfME has also provided classroom materials for MIOSM that teachers can share with their students as they celebrate how Music Changes Lives in their classrooms and schools. All of these items are available at nafme.org/MIOSM. On March 26, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, NAfME will host a congressional briefing for legislators, Hill staffers, and stakeholders on music education and social-emotional learning. Speakers will include Scott Edgar, Associate Professor of Music, Music Education Chair, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College and author of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music, and Bob Morrison, school board member and New Jersey music education advocate. For more information, contact advocacy@nafme.org. Meanwhile, state music education associations (MEAs) are conducting their own advocacy days this spring in state capitals to support music education for all students. Ensembles are performing for elected officials at their state capitols and in local communities to demonstrate the importance of music education. Many state MEAs sponsor resolutions or proclamations for MIOSM. A how-to guide, sample language, and examples of current resolutions are posted at nafme.org/MIOSM. On February 24, Rob Lyda, chair of the NAfME Council for General Music, hosted a Twitter chat on Advocacy and MIOSM, which can be accessed by following @RobLyda and the hashtags #musedchat, #MusicChangesLives, and #MIOSM on Twitter. Music In Our Schools Month and MIOSM are trademarks of NAfME, and may not be used for fundraising or materials produced for profit. National Association for Music Education, among the worlds largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century. With more than 60,000 members teaching millions of students nationwide, the organization is the national voice for music education in the United States. Follow NAfME on Twitter (twitter.com/nafme) and on Facebook (facebook.com/nafme). For additional information, contact Catherina Hurlburt at catherinah@nafme.org or 703-860-4000. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on February 26 demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah should resign in view of the violence that has rocked Delhi in the last couple of days. Addressing the media on February 26, the Sonia Gandhi alleged that there was a "conspiracy" behind the violence. "Many BJP leaders made inciting comments, creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred," she said. Holding the Centre and Home Ministry responsible for the violence, Sonia said that the Delhi Police had remained paralysed in the last three days. "Over a dozen people have died so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. Violence continues unabated on the streets of north east Delhi," she said. For the latest updates on the violence in Delhi, follow our LIVE blog Sonia held Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the newly-sworn-in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. It is the collective failure of both governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city, she added. The violence, which started on February 23 after two groups one supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act and the other opposing it reportedly clashed outside Jaffrabad Metro station, intensified on February 25, taking the death toll to 20 as police struggled to check rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people. Home Just In Foreign Affairs Minister in Geneva renews Nepals commitment to human rights Kathmandu, February 26 Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali on Tuesday addressed the High-level Segment of the 43rdSession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, expressing Nepals commitment to human rights. In his address, the minister discussed Nepals opinions about crucial human rights issues including the rights of women, children, and people with disabilities. He also highlighted that Nepal was concerned about climate change and global warming. Noting that Nepal presents a unique case of a home-grown and successful peace process, he expressed commitment to concluding the transitional justice process in an equally unique way, the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in Geneva informs. Meanwhile, the minister also informed the international community about Nepals initiation of a multi-stakeholder global dialogue forum named Sagarmatha Sambaad, to be hosted in Kathmandu in April 2020. On the sidelines of the event, minister Gyawali also met political leaders from different countries of the world. SIUs Womens History Month honors womens suffrage by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondale commemorates Womens History Month 2020 in March with events recognizing the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. The monthlong celebration, Valiant Women of the Vote: Celebrating 100 years of Womens Right to Vote features guest speakers, workshops, inspirational performances, a leadership retreat and other special events. Festivities begin Monday The official kick-off is March 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Morris Librarys John C. Guyon Auditorium. Carmen Suarez, an assistant professor of practice in educational administration and higher education focusing on diversity and inclusion, is the special guest speaker. Suarez, a Chicago native, is a triple alumna of SIU Carbondale, earning her bachelors degree in history, a masters degree in medieval history and a doctorate in higher education administration. Suarezs career has included a number of roles involving diversity, inclusion and equity at several universities, where she has worked to make school environments more welcoming to students of diverse backgrounds. Her work at SIU included serving as the affirmative action officer, Hispanic community liaison, assistant dean of the School of Law Career Services Office, interim assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management, and director of the Office of Diversity and Equity. Suarez earned a number of awards at SIU including the Lindell W. Sturgis Public Service Award in 2006 and the Outstanding Administrative and Professional Staff Award in 2008. She went on to serve in various administrative positions at the University of Idaho and Portland State University before returning to her Midwest roots and SIU Carbondale. Suarez has also served on the board of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Suarez said her greatest satisfaction has come from raising her daughter, being an adviser for student groups and working with students, especially those from underrepresented populations. Refreshments will follow her presentation. Prepare for success An interactive presentation, How to Succeed in Graduate School: The Role of Conferences in Building a Diverse Network will focus on the importance of networking and conferences to understanding your chosen career and being successful. Kimberly Turner, a doctoral student in political science, will lead the event at noon on Wednesday, March 4, in Student Services Building Room 150. Inspirational performance Prepare to be inspired at the I AM/ YO SOY: Womxn of the World Performance Celebration, set for 6:30 p.m. on March 24. Hosted by Erikah Lewis, a local WDBX 91.1 FM radio celebrity, this program in the Student Center Auditorium will feature live, impactful female performances of poetry, music, spoken word and other art forms. The focus is on women and their stories from yesteryear and today. Refreshments will follow. Numerous other events on tap A variety of other activities will also take place throughout the month, including: Redefining Success: Annual Womens Leadership Retreat. This March 20-21 event at Touch of Nature Environmental Center connects women for a weekend of leadership enrichment, personal development and interactive discussions. The $15 registration fee covers activities, meals, overnight lodging and transportation from the Student Center (if needed). Register online by March 13. Rhetoric and Reality: A Century of Votes for Women. The 7 p.m. March 23 Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Lecture by Christina Wolbrecht in Guyon Auditorium will explore the story of women and voting. Wolbrecht is director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and teaches political science at the University of Notre Dame. She will discuss popular misunderstandings about womens voting records. Womens Luncheon: Visionary Women (Dreams, Goals and Destiny) noon, March 31 in the Student Centers Old Main Room. RSVP to vtaylor@siu.edu by March 16. Other events scheduled include: The College Panhellenic Associations Circle of Sisterhood Week, Monday through Friday, March 2-6. The Celebrate Women: Honoring Inclusive Excellence event on March 18 with Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza as keynote speaker. Professional Womens Networking Event on March 19 in Becker Pavilion. A lecture by former Illinois U.S. Senator Carol Mosely Braun at 6 p.m., March 25, in the Student Center Auditorium. Performances of The Muses are Calling, March 26-28, in the Kleinau Theatre. Everyone welcome All events are open to the public. All activities are free with the exception of the Celebrate Women event, womens retreat and the theater performance and the womens retreat. Find the complete schedule of events and additional information about Womens History Month 2020 on the Student Multicultural Resource Center website. Contact Samantha Patterson, SMRC graduate assistant, at 618/453-3740 or by email at wrc@siu.edu with questions. Atlanta, GA, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BitPay, the worlds largest provider of blockchain payment services, today announced its one of the Top 40 Innovative Technology Companies in Georgia, from The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the states leading association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgias technology industry. TAGS Top 40 Awards recognize Georgia-based technology companies for their innovation, financial impact, and their efforts at spreading awareness of Georgias technology initiatives throughout the U.S. and globally. In 2015 and 2019, BitPay was also honored as one of the Top Innovative Technology Companies in Georgia. Its an honor to be recognized for the third time, said Stephen Pair, co-founder and CEO of BitPay. The hard work and dedication of the BitPay team shows in our continual innovation in the blockchain space to offer tools and services to make it send and receive payments anywhere in the world. BitPay is a pioneer and leader in global blockchain payments. The Companys suite of products enable businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments globally for ecommerce goods and services or cross border transactions while receiving settlements in fiat currency. In addition, BitPay powers a secure wallet that can be used to store cryptocurrency, make payments or liquidate cryptocurrency to fund a Visa prepaid debit card or dozens of retail gift cards. This years Top 40 were selected from among over 100 applications submitted by companies from across Georgia. Companies selected for the "Top 40" will be showcased in an exhibition at The Summit 2020. The 2020 Top 40 finalists are an elite group of innovators who represent the very best of Georgias Technology community, said Larry K. Williams, president & CEO of TAG. The 2020 Top 40 finalists are shining examples of what makes our state such a hotbed for technology and we applaud them for standing out as leaders in Georgias technology community. This years Top 40 was more competitive than ever, said Dennis Zakas, managing partner of Zakas & Leonard, LLP and chairperson of the Top 40 Selection Committee. In our quest to showcase the most innovative companies in Georgia, we had to make hard decisions, resulting in the exclusion of numerous deserving companies, many of which had been recognized as a Top 10 company in the past. The companies that we selected this year are truly outstanding. TAG will recognize this prestigious group at The Summit 2020 on March 3-4, 2020, at the Cobb Galleria Centre. ABOUT The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) TAGs mission is to Connect, Promote, Influence and Educate Georgias technology ecosystem to advance the innovation economy. Through those four foundational pillars TAG serves the technology community, helping to support, grow and ignite tech leaders, companies and the overall Georgia economy. TAG serves more than 30,000 members statewide through regional chapters in Metro Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon/Middle Georgia, and Savannah. TAG hosts more than 150 events each year and serves as an umbrella organization for 26 professional societies. TAG provides networking and educational programs; celebrates Georgias technology leaders and companies, and advocates for legislative action that enhances the states economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website or TAGs community website at www.hubga.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit www.tagedonline.org. About BitPay Founded in 2011, BitPay pioneered blockchain payment processing with the mission of transforming how businesses and people send, receive, and store money. Its business solutions eliminate transaction fraud, reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency and fiat, among other services. BitPay offers consumers a complete digital asset management solution that includes the BitPay Wallet and BitPay Prepaid Visa Card, enabling them to turn digital assets into dollars for spending at tens of thousands of businesses. The company has offices in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised more than $70 million in funding from leading investment firms including Founders Fund, Index Ventures, Virgin Group, and Aquiline Technology Growth. For more information visit bitpay.com. The BitPay Visa Prepaid Card is issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa, U.S.A. Inc. Metropolitan and Metropolitan Commercial Bank are registered trademarks of Metropolitan Commercial Bank 2014. Use of the Card is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable Cardholder Agreement and fee schedule if any. WASHINGTON, DC / LONDON / SINGAPORE, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Witt OBriens, LLC , a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CKH ) (SEACOR), announced today the acquisition of the maritime crisis and corporate communications agencies Navigate PR Ltd, Navigate Response Ltd, Navigate Response Asia Pte Ltd and Helix Media Pte Ltd. (together known as Navigate). Witt OBriens specializes in crisis and emergency management for both governments and corporations, worldwide. It is a market leader in maritime emergency management, supporting more than 11,000 vessels trading in US waters. Navigate is a leader in crisis and strategic communications for the global maritime sector. Based in London and Singapore, the group supports the owners and managers of more than 4,000 vessels across several asset classes. It also supports leading maritime organizations with a wide range of corporate communications services. This acquisition broadens our support for the maritime industry at a critical time, said Tim Whipple, chief executive officer of Witt OBriens. Ship owners and managers face an evolving range of disruptions that can put their operations and reputations at risk. These include disease pandemics, cyber-attack, hurricanes, and oil spills. We believe the best approach is to integrate outstanding emergency management with effective crisis communications. Weve partnered with Navigate for two years, so we have a strong working relationship. While our initial focus will remain in the maritime sector, we see significant potential to grow our combined offerings in both the private and public sectors. Were delighted to welcome the Navigate team to our family of businesses. Navigates founders Mike Elsom, Bill Lines in London and Ed Ion in Singapore will continue in leadership roles. They will report to Managing Director Sean Fitzgerald, a communications industry veteran who joined Witt OBriens in 2019, following a career in increasingly senior positions at Ketchum, the global corporate communications agency, as well as Mattel and Levi Strauss. Navigates Bill Lines added: This initiative represents a shipping industry first: the integration of world-class crisis management with a global crisis communications and reputation management capacity, in one seamless offering. Witt OBriens shares our commitment to innovation and resiliency in the maritime sector. We are hugely excited about the future and look forward to serving our clients as one team. * * * * * About Witt OBriens Witt OBriens is the world leader in crisis and emergency management. We help protect our clients by preparing for all types of business disruption. If disaster strikes, we deploy in a matter of hours to help them respond and recover as quickly as possible. Witt OBriens is a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc. To learn more about us, please visit wittobriens.com . About Navigate Navigate is a leader in crisis communications and reputation management for the global maritime industry. Based in London and Singapore, Navigate maintains an integrated network of crisis and strategic communications experts in 43 locations worldwide. To learn more, visit www.navigateresponse.com , www.navigatepr.com and www.helixpr.asia . They were courteous in explaining why their neighborhoods had been mischaracterized, but several of them used the word colored, repeatedly. I was stunned at first, and then a little frightened. The 800 marchers had gotten away from me, so I abruptly stopped talking to them and ran to catch up. During the ten years Hiller served as CEO, the Foundation significantly increased investments in Chicagoland communities to help families and children thrive and make neighborhoods safer, with philanthropic investments of more than $450 million over the decade. The Foundation helped lead state-wide efforts to improve early childhood care and education and to bring civics education back to Illinois schools. Also during his tenure, the Foundation established a Veterans Program to assist Illinois veterans and their families in their transition back to civilian life. The decade also included a major renovation of Cantigny Park, Colonel McCormick's former estate in Wheaton, Illinois, which provides recreation and education opportunities to more than 300,000 visitors annually. "David Hiller led the Foundation through a time of remarkable growth and change," said Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of the McCormick Foundation board. "We are grateful to David and his team for their passion and commitment to Chicagoland. Their work with our community partners has helped tens of thousands of families and children." "And we are excited to welcome Tim Knight as the next leader of the Foundation," said FitzSimons. "Over his career, Tim has demonstrated the leadership and values that will carry forward Robert R. McCormick's legacy of service to our community and country." Knight will assume his new responsibilities on March 30. Hiller will serve as an advisor to the McCormick Board through the end of the year. "I am thrilled to be joining the McCormick Foundation, whose work helping communities and families in Chicagoland I have known and admired for many years," said Knight. Knight has had a distinguished career in the media industry, much of it with Tribune Company. Until earlier this month, Knight served as CEO, President, and a member of the Board of Tribune Publishing Co. He previously served as President and CEO of Newsday Media Group and Publisher of Newsday. Prior to Newsday, Knight held a number of senior management positions at Tribune Company and the Chicago Tribune. He was a co-founder and held senior management roles at Classified Ventures, LLC (parent of cars.com and apartments.com). Prior to joining Classified Ventures, Tim served as mergers and acquisitions counsel for Tribune Company. Knight also previously served as the President of Advance Ohio and directed the strategy, sales, marketing, and content of cleveland.com. He also served as CEO of Wrapports LLC. Knight started his career as a corporate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in Chicago. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a law degree from DePaul University College of Law. Knight has been engaged in a number of civic organizations over the years and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of DePaul University and the Board of Regents of the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. About the McCormick Foundation The Robert R. McCormick Foundation helps communities in Chicagoland and across Illinois develop educated, informed, and engaged citizens. Through philanthropic grantmaking and Cantigny Park, the Foundation works to strengthen our democracy, and to help ensure that people, especially children, have equitable access to the opportunities they need to flourish. The McCormick Foundation, among the nation's largest foundations with more than $1.5 billion in assets, was established in 1955 upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. Find out more at www.mccormickfoundation.org. SOURCE Robert R. McCormick Foundation Related Links http://www.mccormickfoundation.org By Trend The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and the Italian National Microcredit Agency have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, Trend reports on Feb. 25 referring to the CBA. The memorandum was signed by CBA Chairman Elman Rustamov and President of the Italian National Microcredit Agency Mario Baccini during a business forum with the participation of Azerbaijani and Italian companies organized on the occasion of the state visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Italy. The purpose of the memorandum is to promote cooperation between the parties in the field of creation, exchange of experience in the development of microlending and microfinance instruments in Azerbaijan. According to the signed memorandum, two organizations intend to cooperate in promoting microlending tools, improving the legal and regulatory framework, as well as monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. At the same time, this cooperation will play an important role in enhancing the exchange of experience with foreign partner organizations in this sphere to develop the microfinance services sector and strengthen control over the activities of microfinance institutions. The planned cooperation will also contribute to the successful implementation of the tasks set by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to enhance the role of the financial sector in economic development and the role of credit institutions in improving the access of small and medium enterprises to the financial services. The Italian National Microcredit Agency promotes, regulates, evaluates and monitors microfinance instruments which are encouraged and funded by the EU. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz More than two dozen crashes are being reported across mid-Michigan Wednesday afternoon as persistent snowfall throughout the day has led to slippery roads. Genesee County 911 is listing 30 crashes since approximately 3 p.m. Feb. 26 including an incident at West Pasadena Avenue and North Linden Road in Mt. Morris Township that led to a temporary road closure after a vehicle hit a pole causing downed wires. Crashes also have taken place on southbound Interstate 75, south of Mt. Morris Road and south of Stanley Road, in Mt. Morris Township; Mt. Morris Road and Dort Highway in Genesee Township; northbound I-75 east of Stewart Avenue in Flint; Bristol and Seymour roads in Clayton Township; and, Corunna Road and Maxwell Street in Flint Township. In Lapeer County, the Michigan Department of Transportation is reporting eastbound I-69 at Elba Road (Exit 149) just reopened after being closed for roughly one hour due to a crash. EB I-69 at Elba Rd Exit 149 All Lanes Open Lapeer County MDOT - Bay Region (@MDOT_Bay) February 26, 2020 A special weather statement from the National Weather Service notes increasing northerly winds will draw in colder air to the area, with temperatures expected to fall through the 20s Wednesday night. This along with falling snow is allowing snow to more effectively stick to road surfaces, per the statement. Light to occasionally moderate snow will persist through the evening rush. Snowfall rates may reach a half inch per hour. A winter weather advisory in effect until midnight Wednesday for several counties including Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Tuscola, Huron, Shiawassee, and Oakland counties calls for an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow, with a total accumulation of 4 to 6 inches by the time it tapers off. Thursdays forecast shows no snowfall and highs in the mid-20s, but wind gusts may reach above 30 MPH. Flesh and Blood viewers have eagerly offered their suggestions for who torched Vivien's car in the second episode - and most fingers are pointing to 'creepy' neighbour Mary. The series, which jumps between flashbacks and present day, began on Monday night with a scene showing a body bag being removed from a home by police, setting up all the characters as the potential attackers or victim. And as the ITV drama continued last night, the widow-of-18 months (played by Francesca Annis) was gifted a flashy vehicle from her new beau Mark (Stephen Rea). But the classic car suddenly went up in flames as the couple sat together with her three adult children on the nearby beach, shortly after Vivien and Mark announced they had married during a trip to Gibraltar. Mark spotted the vehicle was on fire as he walked back to Vivien's house and shouted at everyone to get back before it exploded, and despite their neighbour Mary's (Imelda Staunton) shocked face, she was picked as the front runner of possible suspects by fans. Scroll down for video As Flesh and Blood continued last night, Vivien (played by Francesca Annis) was gifted a flashy vehicle from her new beau Mark (Stephen Rea) - but it soon burst into flames (pictured) And despite their neighbour Mary's (Imelda Staunton, pictured) shocked face when spotting the dramatic scene, she was picked as the front runner of possible suspects by fans One viewer tweeted: 'Oh wow, I wonder who set the car on fire... Does her name rhyme with Scary by any chance?' Another person wrote: 'Getting intriguing. It definitely wasn't any of the children who torched the car. 'The neighbour is the one to watch. Thought she would be a sideline character but you don't give a small part to Imelda Staunton.' Viewers eagerly offered their suggestions for who torched Vivien's car in the second episode - and most fingers are pointing to 'creepy' neighbour Mary In a police interview, Vivien's daughter Natalie (Lydia Leonard) insisted it was a group of youngsters who committed the crime, even though the family didn't notice any strangers hanging around. The characters - which also include siblings Jake (Russell Tovey) and Helen (Claudie Blakley) - are part of a police investigation after the four-part series opened on Monday with a shot of a 'body in a bag' - setting them all up as both a potential victim or attacker. But showrunner Sarah Williams confirmed the victim isn't actually dead, telling Metro: 'It's not a body bag.' The classic car suddenly went up in flames as Vivien and Mark (pictured) sat together with her three adult children on the nearby beach In a police interview, Vivien's daughter Natalie (Lydia Leonard, pictured) insisted it was a group of youngsters who committed the crime, even though the family didn't notice any strangers hanging around Most viewers believe Mary is the villain of drama, yet some have suggested the 'nosy' neighbour could be working with Vivien's new man Mark to bring down the family. One viewer said: 'Nah I'm right Mary and Mark are in this plot together,' as another added: 'Mary and Mark definitely have a connection in some way judging by the shared stares!' The pensioner appeared horrified when it was revealed that Vivien had secretly remarried, with the youngest child Natalie admitting: 'Yes, they got married in Gibraltar.' Most viewers believe Mary is the villain of drama, yet some have suggested the 'nosy' neighbour could be working with Vivien's new man Mark to bring down the family Fans have suggested that Mary is purposely sparking suspicious when speaking to the family Seeing the look of shock on Mary's face, Natalie added: 'I know, we all feel the same. Do you mind keeping an eye on her? We're all a bit concerned it's happened so fast.' Mary then asked: 'Natalie, I'm just wondering, what did his first wife die of?' with fans suggesting she was purposely sparking suspicious. One person tweeted: 'Mary is planting seeds of doubt in the children's head so it looks like they all planned it together to murder him.' Jourdan Dunn was among the stylish models arriving at Mugler's Paris Fashion Week show on Wednesday. The British beauty looked incredible in head-to-toe purple, taking the plunge by going braless under a structured blazer with strong, 80s inspired tailoring. The star, 29, completed her super sexy look with a matching leotard, ensuring not to flash too much flesh thanks to a pair of semi-sheer stockings in a similar violet hue. Pretty in purple: Jourdan Dunn was among the stylish models arriving at Mugler's Paris Fashion Week show on Wednesday Jourdan added pair of daring, leopard print stilettos with red toe detailing, boldly rocking the clashing heels with confidence. She topped off her ensemble with a mesh embellished fascinator, adding some extra drama to her look. The model styled her bob in retro waves and kept her golden toned make-up muted. Earlier this month, Jourdan announced that she was engaged to her 'life partner' Dion Hamilton, and took to Instagram to share the news. What a look: The British beauty looked incredible in head-to-toe purple, taking the plunge by going braless under a structured blazer with strong, 80s inspired tailoring Posting a snap of her ring-clad hand being held by her husband-to-be, Jourdan wrote: 'Jourdan Dunn Hamilton ....... has a nice ring to it!' In the sweet post, Jourdan couldn't hide her delight as she covered her eyes with one hand while placing the other in her beau's. The new addition to her wedding finger could be perfectly seen, with Jourdan also sharing a closer look at the ring with another post on her Stories. Finishing touches: She topped off her ensemble with a mesh embellished fascinator, adding some extra drama to her look Wrapping up warm: Jourdan kept cosy in a padded coat and stripe detail jeans Glamour: Jourdan looked sensational in a tiered ballgown as she headed out in the City of Lights on Wednesday Following Jourdan's post, Andrew Brown, WP Diamonds CEO, offered his expertise on her engagement ring to MailOnline. He said: 'The ring on Jourdan Dunn's engagement finger looks to be a 2ct oval with a large halo and diamond band. A nice colour clarity combination of G VS would retail for around 22,000.' Jourdan has kept information about her other half secret, but hinted last month that they started dating in 2019 when she shared a picture of him during their holiday in Jamaica. I'm getting married! Earlier this month, Jourdan announced that she was engaged to her 'life partner' Dion Hamilton, and took to Instagram to share the news The model's post in January sparked speculation that she had already married Dion, as she shared the holiday post of themselves alongside her beloved son Riley, nine. The accompanying caption was rather telling. She wrote: '2009 my son entered my life, 2019 my life partner entered my life. Stepping into 2020 with both by my side is priceless.' While she pixelated her man's face, the trio had all co-ordinated their outfits for the occasion. Platinum Games is opening up a new studio in Tokyo, an announcement coupled with news that the company plans to launch a new game that follows in the footsteps of Viewtiful Joe and The Wonderful 101. Platinum SVP Hideki Kamiya and studio head Atsushi Inaba discussed both developments in an interview with Famitsu, translated and shared in brief by the folks over at Gematsu. Both updates come as PlatinumGames Kickstarter campaign for a remaster of The Wonderful 101 continues to amass crowdfunding support. The drive kicked off earlier this month with a goal of $49,102, and quickly soared past that initial ask. Currently the tally sits around $1.7 million in crowdsourced funds to go toward The Wonderful 101s debut on non-Wii U platforms (so far Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam) and to further PlatinumGames self-publishing aspirations. Glioblastoma is an aggressive and deadly brain cancer. Although improved treatment protocols have doubled the survival rate over the past 20 years, glioblastoma tumors usually grow back. After surgeons remove the tumor, patients typically undergo surveillance imaging within 48 hours followed by regular screenings to monitor for recurrence. However, a retrospective study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and MU Health Care showed patients who underwent surveillance imaging after surgery did not have better outcomes than patients who did not have imaging and returned when they felt symptoms of recurrence. "Patients who undergo regular imaging can become nervous or anxious in the days or weeks leading up to their imaging appointment," said N. Scott Litofsky, MD, professor and chief of neurological surgery at the MU School of Medicine and MU Health Care. "While surveillance is good, maybe we can change our protocols to make patients more comfortable and give them more control of the process but still deliver quality care." Litofsky's research team reviewed 74 cases at MU Health Care. Of those, 47 patients underwent routine surveillance and 27 returned when they felt symptoms of recurrence. Litofsky found the median survival without a worsening condition was 6.1 months for the surveillance group and 6.0 for the symptomatic group. Post-recurrence survival rates were 6.4 months for surveillance and 7.7 months for symptomatic cases. "We have a lot of patients who come from a long distance, and our general philosophy of care is to provide regular follow-up visits," Litofsky said. "The hypothesis was patients would do better if we did regular surveillance. The results indicated that for this population of patients, the outcome was equivalent whether they had surveillance or showed up when they had symptoms." Litofsky said less patient surveillance testing could improve patient convenience, reduce cost and ease pre-imaging anxiety. "Sometimes we do things because they seem to be the right thing to do, even if the evidence suggests maybe we don't need to do it," Litofsky said. "We may need to change our paradigm on how we are taking care of these patients." Litofsky is now planning a pilot study to link patient-reported outcomes identified through a questionnaire to clinic visits for patients. Then he'll examine if the patient-reported outcomes are superior to clinic visits that included surveillance imaging. "Maybe down the road, we could use a combination of reported outcomes and surveillance so we can reduce the amount of time the patients need to spend coming to appointments," he said. Litofsky's study, "Does Surveillance-Detected Disease Progression Yield Superior Patient Outcomes in High-Grade Glioma?" was recently published by the journal World Neurosurgery. ### Research reported in this publication was supported by the University of Missouri Research Council Summer Research Fellowship and Head for the Cure Foundation philanthropic gift. The authors of the study declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Captiva Verde Land Corp. (CSE: PWR) (OTC: CPIVF) (the "Company" or "Captiva"), is pleased to announce the following updates for each of its business segments. Mexico Pharmaceutical License Captiva has started construction on its new manufacturing plant in Mexico to supply a wide range of psychoactive, heath and wellness, and narcotic medicines pursuant to our comprehensive pharmaceutical license to sell and distribute over 300 different types of psychoactive (psilocybin) and non-psychoactive (CBD) products. The plant will be finished in June and ready to produce in October of this year for positive accretive cash flow. Further, we have an arrangement to sell all of our products to the Union of Health Care Workers plus the larger group within the Union Federation, as a buying club of 1.2 Million members. Our products will be exceptional quality but priced for the Mexico market in the price range affordable in Mexico at a special discounted price for the benefit of the Union members and their families. This is a long term and sustainable strategy. Solargram Farms As stated in our previous news releases, one of the few remaining value propositions in the Cannabis business is to blow up the current status quo of high priced indoor cultivation with extremely low cost high quality outdoor grow. Last year, four (4) public companies produced only 3% of the legal Cannabis supply in Canada with outdoor grow operations. Their respective public disclosures list their total cost to produce at between 10 and 24 cents per gram vs $1.00 to $13.00 per gram for indoor grow, not including their destructively high G&A costs. Solargram was built to supply compassionate Cannabis at retail values well below that of the grey market, which grey market stubbornly controls 75% of the market share. The Solargram operations are almost complete and ready to commence licensed operations in early May with a very large ultra-low cost harvest ready for sale in October of this year. Miss Envy Miss Envy is an award winning health and wellness organization with the biggest selection of organic products in the market. Captiva has the world-wide rights outside of Canada. Captiva is currently developing the Miss Envy product line in Mexico to coordinate with the opening of our Mexican facility in June of this year. Miss Envy provides another one of the remaining value added propositions left in the industry, which is a world recognized brand with a huge following. Every time any other LP in the US or Canada sells a Cannabis product, they sell at a loss according to their public disclosures. This is not sustainable. Miss Envy offers a sustainable and profitable solution to the compassionate needs of the industry. Meanwhile, Captiva is in the process of tweaking Miss Envy's product lines to better appeal to Asian consumers and exploring opportunities to procure substantial sales from the Asian community with Miss Envy, where the products and themes are very well received. Updates will be released as they become available. Sage Ranch, California Captiva owns 50% of the sustainable and affordable one-thousand (1,000) housing unit Sage Ranch subdivision in Southern California. The project will have its final California Environmental Impact Report issued on March 4th for the 45 day public review period and then approval in front of the Planning Commission and City Counsel in June of this year. Upon approvals and completion of a 30 day appeal period, construction will commence at the annualized rate of 150 to 250 homes per year. Summary Captiva Verde is a highly efficient, nimble, extremely low overhead, high impact and sustainable socially responsible investment company with a multitude of high value projects that will all succeed due to a very loyal shareholder base and an execution oriented, sharply focused and dedicated management team. On Behalf of the Board of Directors "Jeffrey Ciachurski" For further information, please contact: Jeffrey Ciachurski Chief Executive Officer and Director Cell: (949) 903-5906 E-mail: westernwind@shaw.ca Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52846 Making predictions about politics is risky to ones reputation, especially now that Google has made it so tough to lie about what you said last month. But here goes: Gov. Phil Murphy is finally going to get his tax on millionaires. The governor got a standing ovation at the start of his budget speech Tuesday, a genuine outpouring as he begins his fight against kidney cancer, with good prospects thanks to early detection. But thats not the reason hell get his tax. The reason is that Senate President Steve Sweeney, the governors arch-rival, has opened a path towards a grand bargain: Hell back the millionaires tax, he says, if the governor helps find $1 billion in savings from the $40 billion budget, and then deposits all of it into the states depleted pension funds. Hes going to help if he wants his millionaires tax, Sweeney said after the speech, adding, Im all about love. If you want New Jersey to dig itself out of the ditch, to solve the fiscal crisis thats been such a curse, then you should be rooting for this deal. Because both ends of it will help. The millionaires tax will bring in about $500 million a year. And putting $1 billion more into the pension system will break the insane habit at the core of our crisis -- shorting the pension funds, as every governor since Christie Whitman has done. You may think the fiscal crisis is about numbers in some dusty book. But it explains why NJ Transit is a nightmare, why our property taxes are so brutal, why everything from Rutgers tuition to a bus ride is so damn expensive. It explains why Murphy can expand preschool by only 3,000 slots this year, and why New Jersey has among the highest corporate tax rates in the country. If youre a millionaire, and youre thinking about complaining, please just stop. The increase means you lose two pennies of every dollar you earn over $1 million. Youll manage. And quit kidding us, those two pennies will not spark an exodus to Florida. There is no evidence of that, only anecdotes. The number of millionaires in Jersey is going up, not down. Ask yourself: Why would wealthy families leave their homes, their schools, their friends, and their access to Manhattan -- all for those two pennies? Time for some disclaimers. Because if Im wrong about this, which would not be unprecedented, I want to at least say I straddled a bit. First caveat: Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, has not signed onto any deal. Coughlin is notoriously reluctant to risk the defeat of any of his members, and he believes New Jersey voters might not distinguish between a tax on millionaires and a general tax hike that threatens them. He might not buy in, and like Sweeney, he has the power to block any deal all by himself. I remain cautious of increasing any broad-based taxes on an already overburdened state, Coughlin said in a statement Monday. The Assembly, Im certain, will have additional ideas and priorities to discuss during the review process. We will continue to look for more government inefficiencies and cost savings, as we do each year. I remain cautious of increasing broad-based taxes. Speaker Craig Coughlin (@SpeakerCoughlin) February 25, 2020 Sweeney says he wants a deal, but he hasnt identified the $1 billion in savings. If he proposes only cuts in pension and health benefits, then the stalemate is back. And of course, Murphy might blow this by refusing to accept the needed cuts, which amount to 2.5 percent of his proposed budget. But a deal is made easier this year because of the robust economy has produced a surge in tax receipts, and that gives the players more wiggle room. One example: Murphy has proposed a surplus of $1.6 billion, which is huge by New Jersey standards, even if its less than half the national average. The Legislature could grab some of that surplus. It would be risky, and Sweeney says it shouldnt count towards his $1 billion in savings. But the governor cant stop the Legislature from raiding his surplus, and Sweeney might change his tune as the search for savings drags on. Its not hard to imagine a deal. Take $400 million from the surplus. Take $200 million from Murphys program expansions. Find $200 million more in health savings. And tell Sweeney that $800 million is close enough. Both men have incentive to be flexible. Murphy cant enjoy banging his head against this wall every year. And Sweeneys has already stretched his luck by opposing a tax increase that has overwhelming public support, especially after he supported it when his buddy Chris Christie was in office. This is good news, folks. Heres hoping that Murphy and Sweeney put down their weapons long enough to make it happen. 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. Miami-Based Cruise Ship Denied Entry in 2 Countries Over Coronavirus Fears In a development that is sure to put even more strain on the cruise industry, a second cruise ship has been refused entry at several ports amid fears that a passenger onboard might have the novel coronavirusthe first such incident in the Caribbean. The Cayman Islands confirmed that it didnt allow the MSC Meraviglia to dock in Georgetown on Wednesday after ship officials announced someone on board had influenza-like symptoms. The ship had left Miami to Jamaica, which also denied the ship to port. In an abundance of caution, in order to provide protection to the health and safety of the residents of the Cayman Islands, the government has denied permission for the cruise ship to call on Grand Cayman as previously scheduled, Dwayne Seymour, health minister for the Cayman Islands, said in a statement to the New York Times on Wednesday. The firm, in a statement, strongly denied that anyone on board was diagnosed with COVID-19, which has sickened tens of thousands of people in China and is spreading in several other countrieswith South Korea, Italy, Iran, and Japan seeing significant daily increases. The ship is carrying more than 4,500 passengers and crew on a 14-day cruise in the Caribbean. The quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship sits docked at the Daikoku Pier at night in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 20, 2020. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images) Jamaicas Ministry of Health and Wellness said it was told that a crew member reported influenza-like symptoms and subsequently blocked the ship from entry. MSC told Time magazine that officials in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica made their decisions out of unfounded fears, while both countries didnt properly review the ships medical records. According to the firm, a crew member from the Philippines tested positive for Type A influenza after being evaluated by the ships medical center while onboard, and MSC said its a standard practice to report illnesses to local health officials. But Jamaican officials said they had no choice but to block the ship from entering. The crew member had a cough, fever and associated muscle pains with a travel history to a country of interest relating to the COVID-19, the National Ministry of Health in Kingston said in a statement to the NY Times. Earlier this month, Holland Americas MS Westerdam ship was denied entry by five countries over fears that someone had COVID-19the disease the coronavirus causesincluding in Japan, Taiwan, Guam, Thailand, and Vietnam before Cambodian officials allowed it to dock. After disembarking in Cambodia, a passenger tested positive for the new virus, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was a false positive, saying the person doesnt have the virus, it was reported. The cruise industry is reeling after the Westerdam incident as well as the quarantine of the Diamond Princess, which is being held off the coast of Yokohama, Japan. Hundreds of passengers have caught COVID-19 on board the ship, prompting criticism of Japans response. As for whats next, the MSC Meraviglia is heading to Cozumel, Mexico, the next scheduled port of call, according to the companys statement. The ships command and MSCs management said they are in contact with local health officials to make sure they will review medical records. BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has called for timely treatment of medical waste and close monitoring of air and water quality as the battle against the novel coronavirus continues. The watchdog pledged full coverage of environment supervision and services on medical institutions and facilities across the country, according to a statement released after a work conference. It also urged solid implementation of timely and effective disposal and treatment of medical waste. Monitoring of air and surface water should be further enhanced while the monitoring results should be made public, the statement added. Earlier information from the MEE showed that the ongoing epidemic has not contaminated China's environment as the quality of urban air, surface water and drinking water sources were all kept stable. Between Feb. 1 and 19, Chinese environmental authorities monitored the country's more than 6,900 drinking water sources and did not find any impact from the epidemic on the quality of the sources, the ministry said. 'Many said his visit was very risky. But mercifully, Air Force One has taken off from Delhi without Mr Trump stepping on anybody's toes,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. IMAGE: President Donald J Trump makes a point at President Ram Nath Kovind's banquet, which has Prime Minister Narendra Damodasdas Modi chuckling, February 25, 2020. President Trump makes news when he follows his brief without making shocking and undiplomatic statements. As he himself claimed at the end of his visit, he did not want to say anything controversial in India. Indeed, there were no gaffes and it was goodwill all the way. He appeared mesmerised by the 'Namaste, Trump' jamboree and Prime Minister Modi's solicitous posture. Despite close scrutiny, no faltering step was detected except that the American president did not mention Gandhiji in his comments in the visitor's book at Sabarmati Ashram and he mispronounced the names of Swami Vivekananda and Sachin Tendulkar. Finally, there was general agreement that the significant outcomes more than matched the spectacular optics. However, in the run-up to the visit, there was considerable anxiety on account of his Bahubali tweet and his complaint that India was not cooperating on matters of trade. What if he repeated his complaints about India, 'the king of tariffs'? What if he declared a trade war against India? What if he insisted on mediating between India and Pakistan? What if he mocked Mr Modi as he has done before? What if he raised the issue of religious freedom? What if he endorsed the protests on account of Kashmir and the new Citizenship Act? Many, who did not want improvement in India-US relations, said his visit was very risky. But mercifully, Air Force One has taken off from Delhi without Mr Trump stepping on anybody's toes. Mr Trump did not complain against India. It is a trade agreement that is in the making, not a trade war. He would not have mentioned mediation if an Indian correspondent had not asked him about it. He naturally said he would be willing to do it, if he was asked. He inquired about religious freedom as it is a Constitutional requirement for every president to do so. And he found that Mr Modi is as enthusiastic about religious freedom as anyone else. He heard about the protests in Delhi on the citizenship issue, but considered it an internal matter and left it to the prime minister to deal with it. So, the worst fears about him proved baseless. Mr Trump is no more considered a bull in a china shop, but a man who protects the interests of his country in his own style. He is an elected president of the United States whose rating has only gone up in the last year of his first term. The roller coaster of IndiA-US relations reached an all-time high when 'as the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies recognising the importance of freedom, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights and a commitment to the rule of law, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump vowed to strengthen a India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens.' They also pledged to deepen 'defence and security cooperation, especially through greater maritime and space domain awareness and information sharing; joint cooperation; exchange of military liaison personnel; advanced training and expanded exercises between all services and special forces; closer collaboration on co-development and co-production of advanced defence components, equipment and platforms; and partnership between their defence industries.' Apart from the order placed for helicopters etc worth $3.5 billion, the close defence cooperation was upgraded to the level of interoperability of the armed forces by operationalising the necessary bilateral agreements. Mr Trump suggested energising the Quad consisting of the US, India, Japan and Australia to ensure security of the Indo-Pacific. Mr Trump noted that there was considerable easing on the trade balance issue. US exports to India has gone up by 60% and if technology exports are taken separately, it has gone up by 500%! With energy imports for which an MOU has been signed, the situation will improve further. In these circumstances, the prospects of a major trade deal became clearer, he said. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump recognised the increasing importance of the trade and investment dimension of the India-United States relationship, and the need for long-term trade stability that will benefit both the American and Indian economies. They agreed to promptly conclude the ongoing negotiations, which they hope can become phase one of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that reflects the true ambition and full potential of the bilateral commercial relations, advancing prosperity, investment, and job creation in both countries. The rumoured agreement on setting up six American reactors in Andhra Pradesh was a non-starter. First of all, the Indian liability law imposing the liability of damage on the supplier is against international law and American law. Moreover, Westinghouse, the company which had got the contract, was in financial straits. No foreign reactor has been set up in India after the nuclear deal. The Kudankulam project is continuing only because it predates the new regulations. However, the joint statement 'encouraged the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Westinghouse Electric Company to finalise the techno-commercial offer for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India at the earliest date.' It remains unclear as to which insurance will undertake the huge liabilities involved. On terrorism, India and the US are of one mind and this was reiterated. Mr Trump spoke of 'radical Islamic terrorism', while Modi spoke of cross border terrorism. Both of them agreed to combat terrorism jointly. However, on Pakistani terrorism, Mr Trump said he would be in a position to persuade Pakistan to give up terrorism, knowing well that Pakistan would do nothing of the sort. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump denounced any use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. They called on Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot. They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D-Company, and all their affiliates. The two leaders committed to working together to strengthen and reform the United Nations and other international organisations and ensure their integrity. President Trump reaffirmed the support of the United States for India's permanent membership on a reformed UN security council. He also reaffirmed US support for India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group without any delay. But neither of these is anywhere near to fruition. Against the backdrop of the impending agreement between the US and the Taliban, which would lead to the withdrawal of US troops, India and the United States expressed interest in a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. They supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in a sustainable peace; cessation of violence; elimination of terrorist safe havens; and preservation of the gains of the last 18 years. President Trump welcomed India's role in continuing to provide development and security assistance to help stabilise and provide connectivity in Afghanistan. India and the United States committed to an open, reliable, and secure Internet that facilitates trade and communication. They noted that India and the United States recognised the need for an innovative digital ecosystem that is secure and reliable, and facilitates the flow of information and data. The leaders intend to foster cooperation among their industry and academia for open, secure, and resilient supply of strategic materials and critical infrastucture, and to independently evaluate the risk associated with deployment of emerging technologies. An anti-climax came when the media blacked out the president's visit and turned its attention to the violence in Delhi streets at the very end of the visit. Obviously, the organisers of the protests were not able to distract attention from the visit earlier. The optics of the unprecedented welcome accorded to the first family of the United States and the mutual praise Mr Trump and Mr Modi showered on each other attracted global attention and criticism from the Opposition in India. The boycott of the President's banquet for Mr Trump by the Congress party was the height of irony as two Congress prime ministers, P V Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh were the main architects of the relationship with the US after the end of the Cold War. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967) is a former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA. He is currently the chairman, academic council and director, NSS Academy of Civil Services and director general, Kerala International Centre. A long time columnist for Rediff.com, you can read Ambassador Sreenivasan's earlier columns here. Auditors will have to provide detailed disclosures about loan defaults, amount of cash losses and immovable properties as well as other aspects about companies in their annual reports starting this financial year, with the government putting in place a stringent framework. Amid instances of corporate misdoings wherein the role of auditors has also come under the regulatory scanner, the corporate affairs ministry has come out with the revised framework that seeks to bring in "greater transparency and faith in the financial affairs of the companies". The corporate affairs ministry has notified the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 (CARO, 2020). It would be applicable for audit of financial statements of eligible companies for the financial years commencing on or after April 1, 2019. "CARO 2020 would necessitate enhanced due diligence and disclosures on the part of auditors of eligible companies, and has been designed to bring in greater transparency in the financial state of affairs of such companies," the ministry said in a release on Wednesday. A specific format has been prescribed for auditors to report the period and the amount of default by the company in repayment of loans or other borrowings or in the payment of interest thereon to any lender. In a significant move, the ministry said auditors would have to provide details about a company's investments and whether any guarantee or security has been extended to other entities during a financial year. This is to ensure that such actions are not "prejudicial to the interests of the company". "The amount of cash losses incurred in the financial year and in the immediately preceding financial year have to be reported," the release said. As per the latest CARO, an auditor has to render opinion based on various aspects that "no material uncertainty exists as on the date of the audit report that company is capable of meeting its liabilities existing at the date of balance sheet as and when they fall due within a period of one year from the balance sheet date". The ministry noted that the latest CARO is expected to significantly improve the overall quality of reporting by auditors on the financial statements of the companies. This would lead to greater transparency and faith in the financial affairs of the companies. This is automatically expected to result in greater inflow of investment by and in Indian companies, it added. Further, an auditor has to consider whistle-blower complaints received during a year by the company in the audit as well as report whether the company has conducted any non-banking financial or housing finance activities without a valid certificate of registration from the Reserve Bank of India. Any objections or concerns raised by outgoing auditors should also be taken to consideration by present auditors before forming an opinion. Among other requirements, an auditor has to report whether a company is a declared wilful defaulter and whether term loans were diverted for any purpose other than for which the amount was raised. There is also a format for reporting details of such immovable properties whose title deeds are not held in the name of the company but are disclosed in the financial statements, the release said. Details of proceedings against a company for holding benami property and whether the same have been disclosed in the financial statements also need to be disclosed in the CARO. "Discrepancies of 10 per cent or more in the aggregate of each class of inventory noticed during physical verification of inventory would have to be reported," apart from specific details on whether a company has been sanctioned working capital limits in excess of Rs 5 crore in a particular financial year. "The auditor is now required to indicate the details of the subsidiary companies and the sub-clauses' number containing qualifications/adverse remarks by the respective auditors in the CARO reports of the companies included in the consolidated financial statements," the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mick Fanning's pregnant fiancee Breeana Randall has given fans a glimpse at her baby bump, weeks after announcing her pregnancy with the surfing legend. The American model, 26, shared three photos of herself posing in black lingerie and clutching her belly on Instagram Stories this Wednesday. 'Four month bumpdate' the expectant mother wrote in the caption, adding an option for fans to vote on whether she was having a boy or girl. Bumping along! Mick Fannings pregnant fiancee Breeana Randall, 26, showed off her four-month-old baby bump as she posed in black lingerie on Instagram this Wednesday Surfing legend Mick proposed to pregnant Breeana during a pregnancy photo shoot at Dreamtime Beach, Northern New South Wales. On Feburary 8th, the athlete shared a photo to Instagram capturing the moment he proposed, along with a heartfelt caption that read: 'Yesterday was one of those incredible days.' 'Breeana and I went to shoot some baby announcement photos and then this happened,' he explained, sharing a beautiful photograph of the moment he got down on one knee. Romantic: Surfing legend Mick proposed to pregnant Breeana during a pregnancy photoshoot at Dreamtime Beach, Northern New South Wales on February 7th. The pair are pictured at a friend's wedding on February 22nd He added: 'This beautiful woman has stolen my heart and I'm so excited to create a beautiful family with her. Bub is due in August. 'So excited to start this new chapter with a person I truly admire and love. Breeana and Harper and new little one, this is going to be magical!' Breeana was of course equally as excited, writing on her own account: 'We are beyond thrilled and so over the moon to finally share this news. On top of the world! Mick announced the happy news on Instagram, writing: 'Yesterday was one of those incredible days' 'My heart has exploded a million times over. Becoming a mommy and having another heart beating inside me is by far the greatest gift and accomplishment in my life.' The American model went on to praise Mick, revealing she believed he would be a great father. 'Im so excited for this beautiful and rad journey together as a family, and to see you flourish as a daddy. You melt my heart everyday with your outpouring of love and affection.' 'You melt my heart everyday': Breeana shared her excitement via Instagram, writing on her own account: 'We are beyond thrilled and so over the moon to finally share this news She added that even their dog Harper has been 'super protective and loving', before speaking about the surprise engagement. 'And what I thought would be a bubby announcement photo shoot turned into something else so very special. Im still speechless and soaking in this moment,' Breeana wrote. She added: 'Youve had me smiling bigger than I ever have before since weve met, and that smile continues to grow on the daily. Thank you for supporting my happiness and choosing me to ride this wild thing called life with you by each others side. Im so stoked on you.' 'Youre my partner, my lover, my supporter, my encourager. My everything. My forever. Life is pure magic.' The loved-up couple went public with their relationship in late November 2017, around two years after Mick split from ex-wife Karissa Dalton. This article originally appeared in The Inquirer on Jan. 27, 1998. Thanks to some amazing royal connections and the kindness of strangers, a poor 2-year-old Serbian boy will return to his war-torn country this week after getting his malformed heart repaired in rural New Jersey. Nikola Majstorovic was in severe heart failure when he arrived a month ago at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills. He already had lived far longer than most children with his congenital heart problem, said surgeon Lynn B. McGrath, who performed two operations on Nikolas heart. The boy is expected to return to Yugoslavia tomorrow. Yesterday, Nikola, a thin child with wispy brown hair, played shyly with toys while nibbling on an apple. His pediatric cardiologist, Ljubica Georgijevic, who accompanied Nikola and his mother, Jovanka, from Yugoslavia and is the only member of the group who speaks English, said the mother was very happy her son is doing well and can return home. Luckily for them, the situation at home is much better than when they left for America. We are happy that the war stopped, Georgijevic said. We are very happy. Nikolas parents were forced from their native Croatia in 1995 by an earlier round of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. They have settled in a small home provided by the government in Kupusina, a village in northern Yugoslavia. Nikolas heart defect was obvious at birth, but nothing could be done for him. READ MORE: At 81, she became a stand-up comic. Seven years later, shes still slaying Philly crowds. This congenital heart disease is very complicated," Georgijevic said. It was very high risk and beyond the capabilities of doctors in Yugoslavia. In this country, McGrath said, surgeons recommend operations to repair this sort of defect at 3 months old. Without it, children rarely live more than a year. Why Nikola made it to 2 1/2 is a mystery. By this year, though, it was clear he was dying. He was having trouble breathing, and he had no energy. Without the operation, he should not live, Georgijevic said, but how long, I dont know. She sought help for Nikola from the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization in Yugoslavia. From there, the story took some curious turns, said Spero Margeotes, president and chief executive officer of Deborah. The ecumenical group sent an email about Nikola to Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavias exiled royal family in London. It so happens, Margeotes said, that she is a first cousin of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, who happens to be a very dear friend of mine. READ MORE: Graffiti-removal company hires only homeless or formerly incarcerated workers Margeotes, who is American-born but makes frequent trips to his familys Greek homeland, once told Prince Pavlos, son of Greeces deposed king, about Deborahs Children of the World program, which provides heart surgery to about 100 foreign children each year. The prince had mentioned this to Princess Katherine. She remembered it when the email about Nikola arrived. Soon, Nikola had the go-ahead to come to New Jersey. Even then, it took the family three weeks to get to America. They had to travel from their village to Budapest, the temporary home of the U.S. Embassy for Yugoslavia, to get their visas. They waited in line for more than a day there, then had to arrange payment for their plane fare, which came from the Christian Aid Society. It was a real horrendous situation, Margeotes said. Georgijevic refused to discuss anything political, including how the boys family and medical care had been affected by the war. Once Nikola was here, McGrath set about repairing four problems with the childs heart. During the first operation on May 25, McGrath closed one hole between the two filling chambers of the heart and another between the two pumping chambers of the heart. Then he tried to fix two leaking valves inside the heart. One of them continued to leak after the operation, which is not unusual in a child this age, McGrath said. On June 4, he went into Nikolas chest a second time to replace the leaking valve with a mechanical valve. That worked. In about 10 years, Nikola will outgrow the mechanical valve, and he will need a new one, McGrath said. Deborah will do the replacement. Once you operate on a child, hes kind of your child for life, McGrath said. Margeotes said it was of no importance to the hospital that Nikolas family and doctor are Serbs, whose brethren are the targets of NATO bombs in the Yugoslavian war. When it comes to the Children of the World program, he said, Deborah is like the blindfolded lady of justice. Hospital leaders do not consider the political leanings or ethnic backgrounds of parents when they choose patients, he said. We see a child. We see a child who needs our help. The most affected prisons are in Hubei, Shandong and Zhejiang. The central government admits errors, while dozens of officials are removed. The confined spaces favor propagation. Prisoners' relatives: spread of the virus due to overcrowding and poor hygiene. Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - According to Chinese health authorities, 555 prisoners in prisons in the central and eastern provinces of the country have been infected by the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), which has killed more than 2700 so far and infected over 78 thousand people . The hardest hit is the Wuhan Women's Prison (Hubei), where 230 cases are reported, followed by the Rencheng (Shandong) prison with 207 patients. About thirty are those reported in the Shilifeng penitentiary (Zhejiang). The problem also affects other correctional facilities, such as detention houses for "administrative" detentions and mandatory rehabilitation and detoxification centers. In all affected penitentiaries, there are also several prison guards among the infected. Dozens of senior Party officials in prisons affected by the epidemic have been removed or placed under investigation. Their fault is that they did not prevent the infection effectively. Xiong Xuanguo, deputy minister of justice, addmitted to serous errors claiming that the spread of lung infection in prisons reveals the shortcomings of the national penitentiary system. Guo Shengkun, head of the Communist Party's Committee on Legal and Political Affairs, said that those responsible for prisons must adopt "combat" measures to prevent the spread of lung infection in their institutions. Party leaders in Hubei have allocated only 385,000 yuan (around 50,000 euros) to contain the threat in 30 provincial prisons. Central government authorities have promised more action to tackle the prison crisis. Confinement in cells favors the spread of the virus. Prisoners usually come into contact with eacho other in recreation periods, or in workshops where they do poorly paid jobs. Prisoners' relatives, especially activists and political dissidents, claim that the spread of the virus is largely due to the poor living conditions in prisons: overcrowding (20-30 people crammed into a cell with a maximum of 15 beds) and scarce hygienic conditions. Ethiopia will not take part in the final round of US-sponsored talks this week with Egypt and Sudan on a massive dam project Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, the country's water ministry said on Wednesday. During the negotiations set to be held on Thursday and Friday in Washington, the three countries were due to discuss and sign a draft deal prepared by the US Treasury Department on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia's water ministry said it will not take in the talks as it "has not completed its discussions with domestic stakeholders" on the dam. It added in a brief statement on Twitter that it had told the US treasury "it would not be able to take part in a tripartite conversation." Egyptian Irrigation minister Mohamed Abd El-Ati arrived in Washington on Wednesday to resume the negotiations, according to state news agency MENA. Sources told Saudi channel Al Arabiya the reason behind Ethiopia's withdrawal is fears that the signing of the draft agreement might negatively impact Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's standing in the upcoming national elections, slated for August. The sources added that the Ethiopian delegation doesn't guarantee that the draft agreement will be accredited by the elected parliament. Earlier this week, the three countries received a draft deal prepared by the US Treasury on the mechanism of filling and operating the hydropower dam, AFP quoted the Sudanese irrigation minister Yasser Abbas as saying. The draft contains requirements regarding the safety of the GERD during the operation process and also includes means proposed to resolve the disputes that may arise between the three countries, according to the Sudanese legal negotiator Hisham Kahn. During talks in Washington earlier this month, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed to entrust the US and the World Bank with the preparation of the final agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD to be signed by the end of this month. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said later it could take "months" to resolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the massive dam on the Nile. Ethiopia started constructing its $4.8 billion project on the Blue Nile in 2011 in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where most of the Nile's waters flow. Ethiopia aims to become the continent's biggest power exporter by generating more than 6,000 megawatts through the dam. Egypt however fears that the speed of filling the Ethiopian dam will diminish its share of the River Nile water. Search Keywords: Short link: As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, scammers and unsavory businesses are ready to take advantage of the fear and uncertainty. They use the headlines to steal your money. Dont be a victim. Here are four scams to watch out for as the world comes to grips with coronavirus. 1. Price gouging While New Jersey and other states have laws to protect consumers from price gouging when businesses raise prices more than 10 percent on products that are in great demand during an emergency disreputable sellers will try to take advantage of consumer desperation. Want more personal finance news? Enter your email address to be the first to know: Its already happening on Amazon.com as consumers shop for face masks to protect themselves from the virus. Amazon has warned merchants not to raise prices too high, according to published reports. The online seller has threatened merchants that product listings that are not in compliance with Amazons pricing policies could see the listings removed, and the merchants could be booted from the site completely. Amazon has also removed listings from sellers who claim their products are a treatment, cure or remedy for the coronavirus, published reports said. Other sellers are setting up fake websites to sell bogus products, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They also use fake emails, texts and social media posts to take your money for products that dont exist, and they steal your personal information to use in future scams. 2. False vaccine offers While pharmaceutical companies and government researchers are working on vaccines for coronavirus, a vaccine does not yet exist. That means you should ignore any offers for vaccinations. They might come in an email or in a phone call. Be especially wary of calls that come from someone claiming to work for Medicare or your health insurance company. "This is Medicare calling and you need to get on the list for a coronavirus vaccine, a caller might say. Just give us your credit card number to reserve your spot." Others are posing as officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO), and they try to fool people into giving up their personal information. There are no vaccine waiting lists. There is no vaccine yet. And no legitimate health authority will call you and ask for your personal information. 3. Fake charities Hucksters especially love when something big happens. Think Superstorm Sandy. Theres no doubt fake charities will start asking for money to help those who have contracted the virus and their families. If you receive an email from a purported charity, use caution. Dont click on links in the email, which could download a virus onto your computer. Consider carefully before you give money to anyone you dont know or anyone who reaches out to you. If you want to give, research online for the legitimate phone number or website of the charity. And be sure to check out the charity on sites like Charity Navigator and GuideStar. 4. Watch out for investment opportunities Tricksters are trying to get people to invest in companies that claim to have products or services that will be used to help fight the coronavirus. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it has become aware of online promotions, including on social media, claiming certain publicly-traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure coronavirus, and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result. The promotions often take the form of so-called `research reports and make predictions of a specific `target price, the SEC said. We urge investors to be wary of these promotions, and to be aware of the substantial potential for fraud at this time. Microcap stocks are especially vulnerable and used for pump and dump schemes, SEC said. Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter. BlackRock Long Term Private Capital announced today that it has reached an agreement with Mr. Olivier Creed to become the new majority shareholder in Creed, his family's multi-century old luxury fragrance company. Industry leading executive Javier Ferran will become chairman of the company's board of directors and join as an investor. Mr. Ferran, who has extensive experience with niche luxury brands and in working with European family-owned businesses, assumes his responsibilities at close of the transaction. He will work closely with Mr. Creed, who will continue as the master perfumer of the fragrance house. The partnership with Mr. Ferran and the Creed family, including Mr. Creed's son Erwin, is BlackRock LTPC's first investment in Europe and reflects its unique proposition to founder-led and family-owned companies who value a longer-term investment horizon. Mr. Creed said: "To have a business leader of Javier's calibre join the Creed family is a significant boost to the business I have built over the past 50 years. His leadership and experience in the family owned luxury sector, as well as the financial support of a new majority investor with long term DNA, will ensure that Creed can continue to develop and produce the world's greatest scents. This business has been in my family for over 250 years and it was critical that, when the time was right, I was able to choose the best partners who would be able to best maintain our heritage as a luxury family business while helping us reach more people around the world. Both Javier and our new partners at BlackRock LTPC are ideal partners for Creed given their collaborative approach to working with their companies and their long-term orientation. I also look forward to continuing to work with all our staff, suppliers and distributors, and I know that they will continue to share in our success." Mr. Ferran said: "It is a privilege to build on Olivier's legacy and become custodians of this treasured business. The quality of the products that Olivier and Erwin have developed has enabled Creed to become the world's leading artisan fragrance company. I am looking forward to maintaining all the elements that make this such a great business and partnering with all of the company's employees, suppliers and distributors. BlackRock LTPC brings the right approach to building a premium brand, and together we can be a unique owner for the company. All of us recognise that the fragrance can reach new customers and enable them to experience the joy of Creed while growing carefully and thoughtfully over time." Dag Skattum, Head of European Office of Long Term Private Capital, said: "We are very pleased to be partnering with the Creed family and Javier Ferran as the new majority owner of a truly differentiated and world-class business that we can preserve and enhance for many years to come." Michel Dyens Co acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Creed. -ends- About Creed The House of Creed has become one of the world's leading perfume houses. Established in 1760 in London by Henry Creed as a luxury goods maker, Creed is led by Mr. Olivier Creed, "Createur Parfumeur" and direct descendant of the founder. Mr. Creed travels extensively to source, research, inspect and commission the finest materials for Creed. Creed manufactures essences using a traditional infusion technique which enables Creed to maintain the superior quality and authenticity of its fragrances. About BlackRock LTPC Long Term Private Capital is BlackRock's direct private equity strategy and is focused on partnerships with best-in-class businesses, prudent capital structures, and flexible investment durations that enable compounded capital appreciation. LTPC's team of 20 professionals is based in New York and London and invests globally with a focus on North America and Western Europe. LTPC is backed by BlackRock, Inc., the world's leading investment firm, which manages more than $7.43 trillion on behalf of investors worldwide, including $215 billion across alternative asset classes. Further information is available at www.blackrock.com. About Javier Ferran Javier Ferran is a seasoned executive with over three decades of experience partnering with European family and founder-owned companies. Mr. Ferran serves as chairman of Diageo plc, having previously been a non-executive director. Before that, he spent over 20 years at Bacardi, ultimately serving as President and CEO, and previously as president of Bacardi EMEA. He serves on the board of directors of International Consolidated Airline Group (IAC) and Coca-Cola European Partners, and previously served on the boards of Associated British Foods plc, SABMiller plc, William Grant Sons Ltd, and Agrolimen SA. Risk Warnings Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. The investor may not get back the amount originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or strategy. Changes in the rates of exchange between currencies may cause the value of investments to diminish or increase. Fluctuation may be particularly marked in the case of a higher volatility fund and the value of an investment may fall suddenly and substantially. Levels and basis of taxation may change from time to time. An investment in the Partnership is speculative and includes a high degree of risk, including the risk of a total loss of capital. 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Due to a wide variety of market factors and the nature of the securities and assets to which the Partnership will be exposed, there is no guarantee that any value determined will represent the value that will be realised on the eventual disposition of the Partnership's investments or that would, in fact, be realised upon an immediate disposition of such investment. The Partnership Does Not Have a Fixed Term and Withdrawals Generally Will Not Be Permitted. The Partnership is not intended to be a short-term investment and has no certainty of returns. The Partnership is intended only for long-term investors able to accept the risks associated with an illiquid investment. The Partnership does not have a fixed term and is generally expected to retain and reinvest proceeds from Investments. Additionally, even if an LP Termination Event or a Dissolution Event occurs (as defined in the Private Offering Memorandum), the Representative may cause the Partnership to continue to hold some or all Investments until at least the two year or five year anniversary of the relevant LP Termination Event provided that such date may be extended by the General Partner by up to two terms of one year each with the prior consent of all of the Cornerstone Investors. Investors should ensure that they have read and understand the Private Offering Memorandum and the operation of the Partnership following an LP Termination Event. Limited Partners will not be allowed to voluntarily withdraw their Interests. Accordingly, the only manner in which Limited Partners may be able to realise a return on their investments in the Partnership, or even receive a return of capital, is to transfer their Interests. Interests, however, will be subject to restrictions on transfer and there can be no assurance that a market for the purchase or sale of the Interests will develop. No Assurance of Investment Return. There can be no assurance that the Partnership will be able to generate returns for the Limited Partners. Even if the Investments prove successful, returns realised by the Partnership are expected to be reinvested in Investments and accordingly the Partnership will likely not produce a realised return to a Limited Partner unless such Limited Partner transfers its Interests in connection with a Liquidity Pool or otherwise. There can be no assurance, however, that a market for the purchase or sale of Interests will develop. Accordingly, Limited Partners may not be able to generate returns in connection with their investments in the Partnership. Additionally, even if such returns are generated, there can be no assurance that the returns will be commensurate with the risks of investing in the type of companies and transactions targeted by the Partnership. Difficulty of Locating Suitable Investment. There can be no assurance that there will be a sufficient number of suitable investment opportunities to enable the Partnership to invest all of its committed capital in opportunities that satisfy the Partnership's investment objectives or that such investment opportunities will lead to completed investments by the Partnership. The availability of investment opportunities generally will be subject to market conditions as well as, in some cases, the prevailing regulatory or political climate. Please refer to the Private Offering Memorandum XI. INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS AND CERTAIN RISK FACTORS for a complete list of fund specific risk details. 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Historical performance information depicted herein is not indicative of future performance or investment returns, and actual events or conditions may not be consistent with, and may differ materially from, those depicted. This material contains "forward-looking" information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections, forecasts, and proposed or expected portfolio composition. No representation is made that the projections or forecasts presented will be achieved, or that every assumption made in calculating or presenting either the forward-looking information or the historical information herein has been considered or stated in preparing this material. Any changes to assumptions that may have been made in preparing this material could have a material impact on the results presented herein by way of example. This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date of this presentation and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by BlackRock to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This document contains general information only and is not intended to represent general or specific investment advice. The information does not take into account your financial circumstances. An assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate for you having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. Any research in this document has been procured and may have been acted on by BlackRock for its own purpose. The results of such research are being made available only incidentally. The views expressed do not constitute investment or any other advice and are subject to change. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any company in the BlackRock Group or any part thereof and no assurances are made as to their accuracy. This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or invitation to anyone to invest in any BlackRock funds and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. Issued in the United States by BlackRock Investments, LLC, a member of FINRA. 2020 BlackRock, Inc. All Rights reserved. BLACKROCK, BLACKROCK SOLUTIONS, iSHARES, BUILD ON BLACKROCK and SO WHAT DO I DO WITH MY MONEY are registered and unregistered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005820/en/ Contacts: Media BlackRock Tara McDonnell +1 (212) 810-5337 tara.mcdonnell@blackrock.com Timi Oni +44 (207) 743 1592 timi.oni@blackrock.com As the number of people diagnosed (and undiagnosed) with mental illness continues to rise, it has become increasingly important for employers to provide a working environment that is conducive to the overall well-being of their staff. An employee who is overly stressed or emotionally overwhelmed cannot work as efficiently. Not to mention, the wrong working environment can bring down morale, increase turnovers, and hinder your success. Fortunately, there are lots of effective solutions and strategies employers can utilize to both prevent and support the emotional well-being of their staff. Below are a few suggestions you can consider: Open Communication Whether it's about work or home life, employees need to feel comfortable enough to speak up when life is getting out of hand. Most fear talking about their emotions or mental illnesses in the workplace for fear of judgment, lack of a relationship with their employers, or the fear of losing their jobs. You can change the work environment by encouraging your team to open up. Talk to them often and freely about their roles in the workplace and their personal lives. You should also have an open-door policy that allows employees to come to you when they need to address certain matters. Offer Assistance To reduce the fear of judgment or job loss, you can further create a positive work environment for your team by offering assistance. Employee Assistance Programs are very instrumental for just that. These are a list of mental health services provided to employees for free or at a very low rate. Make sure your team is aware of the programs available and how they can utilize them to their advantage. Provide Comfortable Working Conditions The spaces your employees work in can have a lot to do with their emotional health. A workspace that is often dirty, poorly lit, disorganized, or inefficient can cause complications with their ability to perform at their best. Some solutions include incorporating more natural lighting into your design, decluttering office space, purchasing comfortable furniture, and investing in up to date technology and equipment. Recognize Great Work Yes, your employees are paid for the work that they do every day. Be that as it may, there's nothing like being recognized for all that you do. Find ways to let your employees know that you appreciate their efforts in the workplace. Whether it's saying good job, having an employee of the month, or handing out plaques with custom engravings, it makes them feel good to know that you're paying attention. Support Career Goals Most employees start working for an organization with the hopes of advancing in their careers over time. You can boost your team's spirits even more by helping them to accomplish their dreams. Talk with your employees individually to find out where they see themselves in a few years. Then, help them to develop a career plan to get where they want to be. You can also offer training and allow them to attend seminars and other networking events to further advance. Help with Work-Life Balance One of the biggest stressors for employees is finding a healthy work-life balance. Trying to be a great performer in the office while still being there for family is often difficult to juggle. While it is the responsibility of the employee to figure out how to manage their personal and professional life, you can make things a lot easier. You can offer flexible hours, paid or earned days off, tuition assistance (for employees and their family), daycare services, and host family-friendly events. Manage Workloads Time management is another big issue for employees. Trying to get work done while still maintaining high-quality is often stressful and time-consuming. You can help your employees to better manage their time by being mindful of their workloads. Delegate tasks and responsibilities based on the skill level and expertise of each employee. Also, implement systems and work flows that help to make managing tasks easier such as utilizing project management software. Your employees are your greatest assets. Without a mentally strong workforce productivity and morale go way down. To get ahead of issues like this, it is highly recommended that employers utilize suggestions such as those provided above to create a work environment that supports positive mental health. By Joseph R. Fischer On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my Country, I said when I entered the Boy Scouts. It was the first time I had spoken such words, the first time I had pledged myself to something bigger than myself. On the day I graduated from Penn State, I raised my right hand and swore a different oath: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I said those words as my second lieutenants bar was pinned to my collar. In neither oath did I swear my loyalty to something so easily corrupted as a human being. Every commissioned officer swears the same oath. The power of an oath is to guide and steel us for the common good in service to the nation, sometimes in the face of seemingly overwhelming power. On Feb. 7 White House security, under orders from President Donald J. Trump, escorted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman off the grounds. The president conceded first, I dont know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I dont believe!). Then he went on to allege, but he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my perfect calls incorrectly. This is why oaths are sworn to the nation in functioning republics. For kings and dictators, loyalty to the leader is the essential cement of power. Vindmans real sin was that he obeyed a subpoena from the U.S. House of Representatives, rather than an order from the president that he not testify on the presidents dealing with Ukraine. He obeyed his obligation to us as he saw proper. Did the colonel lie in his testimony? He was, after all, under oath and subject to the penalties of law if he spoke falsely. The only way we could know if the colonel lied is for the president to prosecute him, to bring forth the records, the real transcript (the White House had never produced the complete official transcript), the one the president claims is perfect and compare it with Vindmans testimony. We would get to hear all the presidents men testify to the presidents perfection, the quid pro quo that wasnt. They would also have to swear under oath to a truth so far kept hidden by this White House. And so there will be much bluster and a goodly degree of slander aimed at Vindman, but there will be no prosecution for his alleged sins. There will be no proof offered to back the presidents allegations. As of this writing, Vindman is not alone. Nearly all of those who swore their oath to us, to this nation, to We the People are now purged or forcibly retired from their positions in the State Department and National Security Council. All have been or will be slandered, disparaged, belittled but none will be prosecuted, for to do so would force this president into the light. Joseph R. Fischer, LTC, Special Forces (retired), lives in Northumberland, Pa. Setting up CCTV cameras will become mandatory in new buildings in Maharashtra, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh told the Legislative Council on Wednesday. The CCTV cameras will be connected to the state Home department's Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), he added. The announcement came while the opposition BJP has been aggressively raising the issue of "rising" crimes against women in the state. "We will amend the current rules and make setting up of CCTV cameras mandatory in every new building coming up in the state. We will also connect the feed of such CCTV cameras with our existing CCTNS network," Deshmukh said while replying to a calling attention on the crime against women. The Home minister further said that 5000 more CCTV cameras will be added to the existing network in Mumbai. Deshmukh also said the 'Manodhairya' scheme will be modified to include other inflammatory items such as petrol or diesel among others which are used for attacking women in many crimes. The state-run scheme currently caters to the victims of rape, acid-attack survivors and children who are victims of sexual offences. When the members raised issues related to counselling of women victims, Deshmukh said, "Pune Police runs a 'Bharosa' cell where trained staff counsel survivors of sexual assault. "We will try to open such cells across Maharashtra," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China's leading solar technology company LONGi announced that it had recently signed a contract with Atlas Renewable Energy to supply 122MW of Hi-MO4 bifacial modules for one of its projects in Chile. LONGi has pioneered bifacial module technology in PV, promoting applications in solar plants on barren grass, sand, cement, snow and flat roofs. Depending on surface reflectivity, bifacial modules can deliver power generation gain of 7-25% over equivalent monofacial panels. Patrick Valentin, Head of Strategic Sourcing at Atlas Renewable Energy, said: "We are pleased to select LONGi as one of our project partners. Implementing LONGi's state-of-the-art technology in bifacials is a further representation of Atlas Renewable Energy's strong commitment to technology innovations. It also aligns well with our mindset of partnering with great companies in the PV industry that are bringing the technologies of the future. We aim to always provide the most competitive solutions for our projects and clients in order to fulfill our mission to deliver reliable and cost-efficient clean energy to Latin America." "We are very pleased to partner with a leading company such as Atlas Renewable Energy. This is a great step forward for LONGi as we develop the solar market in Latin America. With this strategic partnership, LONGi and Atlas Renewable Energy are confident to deliver high-performance PV products and contribute to the energy transformation in Latin America," Richard For, Vice President of LONGi Solar, said. Since the launch in early 2017, LONGi bifacial products have accumulated a wealth of application cases around the world, and their product reliability has been verified in pilot projects and independent third-party tests. In May 2019, LONGi introduced its next generation bifacial module, Hi-MO4, based on the new M6 silicon wafers, once again leading the development of bifacial technology into a new era. LONGi reported that the company has, to date, the world's largest shipment of bifacial modules in the PV industry with cumulative shipment over 3GW as of 2019. SOURCE LONGi Solar She hit out at a British Airways staff member after she was reprimanded for making too much noise while jetting to New York for her 30th birthday in January. And Billie Faiers and her sister Sam have set the record straight over their dramatic experience and explained what really happened. The reality stars, aged 29 and 30, spoke exclusively to MailOnline ahead of the new series of her hit ITVBe show Sam and Billie Faiers: The Mummy Diaries, which hits screens on Wednesday. Setting the record straight: Billie Faiers has set the record straight after she was reprimanded for making too much noise while jetting to New York for her 30th birthday in January (pictured with mother Suzie Wells) Talking about her 30th celebrations and New York trip, Billie revealed: 'Literally, I didn't expect that to happen. We got on the flight and we hadn't even taken off, we were just sitting there and laughing, we were doing the silly Snapchat filters. 'Bear in mind, it wasn't screaming hens, it was just us three,' to which Sam added: 'People were still boarding the flight as we were doing it.' Billie continued: 'You know what it is, I've had a few issues with BA recently, flying with them. I am not going to lie, sometimes they are just so rude. I have never, I always thought about it, I always thought about exposing them.' Explaining why she was annoyed, the reality star continued: 'It's just like, look, come on, are we not even allowed to laugh? It wasn't even the fact she told us to be quiet, I get that maybe, but it was the way she said it. Fun! Billie, 30, and her sister Sam, 29, spoke exclusively to MailOnline ahead of the new series of her hit ITVBe show Sam and Billie Faiers: The Mummy Diaries, which hits screens on Wednesday (pictured ahead of their flight to NYC) 'And there were other things as well... that she had said and done, which were just...' With Sam adding: 'Also, I think if it was three old ladies giggling about something in the magazine or something, this would never of happened. 'If she had said, "Oh, look, we've just had a lady complain," she could have been so nice about it and we would have been like, "Oh, of course."' The sisters added that the BA staff they encountered at the airport were amazing and were 'so nice' in comparison. Yet despite the dramatic start, the trio didn't let the encounter ruin their holiday and the sisters said their trip was 'pure fun'. Here come the girls! Talking about her 30th celebrations and New York trip, Billie revealed: 'Literally, I didn't expect that to happen. We got on the flight and we hadn't even taken off, we were just sitting there and laughing, we were doing the silly Snapchat filters.' Fuming: Billie said: 'You know what it is, I've had a few issues with BA recently, flying with them. I am not going to lie, sometimes they are just so rude. I have never, I always thought about it, I always thought about exposing them.' (Her January Instagram messaged pictured) And Billie also had a Gatsby-inspired 30th birthday party, which will feature on The Mummy Diaries. The star explained she hired a venue with a banquet table, which sat 65, where they all had a lavish brunch before the place was transformed into a 'party room' with dancing and a band for guests to enjoy. She said: 'It was amazing, it was epic. It was brilliant, obviously all the different celebrations. We definitely celebrated it, the party was just brilliant. It was just like a real Gatsby party!' Such fun: Yet despite the dramatic start, the trio didn't let the encounter ruin their holiday and the sisters said their trip was 'pure fun' To which Sam added: 'It felt like we were all back in time and everyone was smiling, laughing, almost like it was in slow motion. They obviously filmed it for the show.' It comes after Sam gifted Billie with her NYC trip, however the ladies and their mum Sue, were left with a sour taste in their mouths after they were scolded by staff for making too much noise. Sharing an impassioned message on Instagram, the birthday girl fairly thanked the majority of staff but hit out at one member, in a message shared after a series of clips showed the trio enjoying champagne cocktails and wine. When in NYC! And Billie also had a Gatsby-inspired 30th birthday party, which will feature on The Mummy Diaries The previous day, Billie was treated to an amazing birthday by her nearest and dearest, including husband Greg and their two kids. Sam however pulled out all the stops for the big three-oh as she dressed up as the Statue Of Liberty to reveal that she was jetting her sister to New York for a getaway. They began detailing the trip on social media, however things took a turn for the worst when they seemed to have too much fun. Happy days: It comes after Sam gifted Billie with her NYC trip, however the ladies and their mum Sue, were left with a sour taste in their mouths after they were scolded by staff for making too much noise Billie revealed that their fun had been thwarted when they were accused of making too much noise by a staff member - much to her chagrin. Ever the professional and as a seasoned traveller, she was sure to emphasise to her 2.1million followers that it was not all the staff who she struggled with. Billie wrote: 'I would like to say a huge thank you to some of the staff at British Airways at the airport... however... since being on the plane someone has complained because me my mum and sister have been laughing... 'Yes laughing... how dare we on our way to New York... anyhow that fun sucker (BA staff) from British Airways told us to keep the noise down. Please honey are we not even aloud to laugh these days??'[sic] Cheers! Once on the plane, Sam looked incredibly happy while raising a glass of white wine to the camera and then posing for a selfie with the birthday girl SURPRISE! Sam pulled out all the stops for the big three-oh as she dressed up as the Statue Of Liberty to reveal that she was jetting her sister to New York for a getaway Their displeasure was understandable, as it was clear to see that the girls were in utter excitement mode as they posed in matching New York jumpers in the First Class lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5. In a series of videos, the girls were seen cheersing with champagne flutes which appeared to contain Bucks Fizz or a similar fizzy cocktail. Once on the plane, Sam looked incredibly happy while raising a glass of white wine to the camera and then posing for a selfie with the birthday girl. MailOnline has contacted representatives for British Airways for comment. The brand new series of Sam and Billie: The Mummy Diaries starts on Wednesday 26 February at 9pm on ITVBe. RACINE COUNTY The race for the District 14 County Board seat, which includes the Foxconn development area, pits a vocal opponent of the Foxconn land acquisition process and political newcomer against a current Sturtevant trustee. Law enforcement, the condition of roads, property taxes and Foxconn are among the issues cited by the two Racine County Board candidates, Jason Eckman and Kim Mahoney, who will spar at the polls over the District 14 seat on April 7. The Journal Times will run election profiles throughout the next month leading up to the election. Regardless of who wins, the district will have a new representative because incumbent Kay Buske opted not to run again. The district, which includes parts of Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant, is roughly bordered by I-94 to the west, Stuart Road to the east, Spring Street to the north and KR to the south. County supervisors serve two-year terms at a current annual salary of $7,000. Their responses to two questions about their candidacies follow. What do you see as the issues in the race? ECKMAN: Law enforcement and public safety should be the number one priority for local government. As Supervisor, I intend to make sure that the Sheriffs Office has the resources that they need and that they are used in the most efficient manner possible. Second, property taxes continue to increase. I will push for a balanced budget which will require tough decisions to offset increases in employee health care costs. Finally, Racine County needs to create a positive environment for businesses to create good jobs. The county will need to work with the municipalities to provide the infrastructure and workforce necessary. MAHONEY: One of the primary concerns residents have expressed to me is the sad state of roads in Racine County. We will fall further behind if we dont craft a targeted, comprehensive plan to address them in the next few months. That must be a priority. Another major concern for residents is protecting our financial investment allocated for the Foxconn development. Local leaders must hold Foxconn accountable for the hundreds of millions we have already spent. We must increase transparency. As county supervisor I will live stream every board meeting so residents can watch what we are doing on their behalf. What qualifications make you a good candidate? ECKMAN: The most important qualification is leadership. Having served on the Sturtevant Board of Trustees for three years and on the school board for Concordia Lutheran School for six years, I have learned that in order to be effective as a board member, you need to be able to influence others for the sake of the common good. As an engineer, we are trained to solve problems. I take that same logical, problem solving approach to issues facing local government while understanding that when people are involved, the answer is not always black or white. MAHONEY: I was raised in Sturtevant and have lived in Racine County for more than 40 years. As a senior litigation and legal compliance paralegal, I have the experience to do the proper research and ask tough questions. Living in Foxconn Area No. 1, I know firsthand how local government can impact you and your property. My county supervisor turned her back on me and my neighbors. I am running to make sure that never happens again. Responsible growth should not include higher property taxes, the erosion of private property rights, risking the health of our residents, and damaging our natural resources. Note: The original story characterized Mahoney as a "vocal Foxconn opponent." The story has been amended to state that she opposes the Foxconn land acquisition process. 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Olga Nedbaeva (Agence France-Presse) Paris Wed, February 26, 2020 08:09 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20669f85b 2 Lifestyle Christian-Louboutin,high-heels,Women Free Super-high heels can free women, says legendary French shoe designer Christian Louboutin, who insists that wearing his towering six-inch stilettos is a "form of liberty". While some feminists see vertiginous heels as sexual enslavement, Louboutin believes the opposite -- even if it means women have to walk slowly and carefully in his iconic red-soled creations. "Women do not want to give up wearing high heels," the designer told AFP before "The Exhibitionist", a retrospective of his 30-year career, opens in a Paris museum Wednesday. While Louboutin also makes trainers and flat shoes, he admitted that when it comes to the spike-heeled classics that made his name: "I don't think about comfort when I design." "No shoe with a 12cm heel is comfortable... but people do not come to me looking for a pair of slippers," said Louboutin, who helped bring high heels back into fashion in the 1990s and 2000s. They are not meant to be worn all the time, but super high heels allow women to express themselves and break free of crushing norms, he said. "To be a woman is also about enjoying one's freedom to be feminine if you want. Why renounce (high heels) when you can have them and flats," he said. Not meant to be comfy "I don't want people to look at my shoes and say: 'They look really comfortable!' The important thing is that people say: 'Wow, they're beautiful!'" Even if they can only totter around in their Louboutins, that is no bad thing, he told AFP. If the shoes "stop you running", that is something "positive", he added. Having learnt his art under Roger Vivier, the man who claimed to have invented the stiletto, Louboutin became a household name in the 1990s after Princess Caroline of Monaco fell for one of his first solo creations. Pop stars from Madonna to Tina Turner and Jennifer Lopez were soon competing with half of Hollywood for fittings. But even as some luxury brands like Dior, led by feminist designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, have taken an axe to towering heels, Louboutin insisted they still had their place. "People project themselves and their stories into my shoes," he said, pointing to a particularly high pair of intricate lace boots called Corset d'Amour, embroidered with scenes of love-making. Louboutin revealed his life-long fascination with heels was sparked when he was 10 years old and saw a sign banning the shoes at the Palais de la Porte Doree -- the museum now holding his retrospective. "I started to draw them because of that sign," he said, which was put up to save the museum's parquet floors. Forbidden pleasures "I think the fact that high heels were forbidden played on the unconscious... there was also the mystery and the fetishistic side... the simple drawing of a high-heeled shoe is often associated with sexuality," he added. Louboutin also credited the sign with plunging him into "the universe of curves" which was to shape his art. And he insisted that is art was not just about making heels higher and higher. He has also been working on making his shoes disappear into the wearer's leg in a series which he calls Les Nudes -- in a variety of skin colors -- as well as designs which lengthen the leg. Other highlights of the often cheeky show, which runs until July 28, include a hologram of a shoe that turns into the burlesque star Dita Von Teese as well a series of Louboutin-sporting nudes shot by the American film director David Lynch. Louboutin rejoices in the fact that his shoes have now become so iconic that his name has become a shorthand for luxury and sexiness, popping up in rap songs, films and books. "Pop culture is neither controlled or controllable, so I am very happy about that," he added. The Kolkata Police has arrested two persons from Delhi for allegedly duping a youth from Kolkata of over Rs 1 lakh by promising him a job in a leading pharmaceutical company, a senior officer said on Wednesday. Acting on a complaint lodged with Amherst Street police station earlier this month, sleuths of the Kolkata Police nabbed the duo from Delhi on Tuesday, the officer said. "The accused had lured the complainant by sending him two emails from different addresses, giving him false assurance of providing a job in a private firm after conducting a telephonic interview," he said. The duo had approached the complainant in October last year and after being directed by the accused, he had deposited Rs 1,66,422 in several bank accounts to get the job, the officer said. "We located the accused through their IP addresses. They are being brought to Kolkata. We are also looking at how many people were duped by them in all and whether more people were involved in the racket," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suicide is a global problem taking place in every part of the world but the sharp increase in suicidal tendencies between 2016 and 2019 in Ghana, is a problem that needs to be investigated to find the actual cause behind this unprecedented high suicide rate. It is very clear that since Ghanaians were sick and tired over massive corruptible activities in the country under John Mahama, the NDC miserably lost to NPP in the 2016 general elections. Unfortunately, Ghanaians have been deceived without realizing it. The NPP government who made frustrated poor Ghanaians to believe that they are coming to save them from corruption is rather a government composed of a family of nepotistic crooks that holds the master-key of corruption. You shouldn't be surprised if Ghana ranks the third corrupt country in the world today. This is not a joke, it a serious problem every concerned Ghanaian must demand answers from Akufo Addo's government of how it happened. When people are denied common basic amenities, employment, and proper medical care, many lose their thinking power to make the right decision. I can clearly see that many Ghanaians are totally confused about the right political party which can save them. The truth is, intelligent Ghanaians or voters, are supporting and promoting corruption in the country themselves because both NDC and NPP don't deserve your votes. In Ghana, traders that often say that "it's because of you I have reduced the price are rather those that inflate the prices to benefit them." The NPP is, therefore, a criminal political party as well, which has been able to manipulate and convince Ghanaians by appointing a Special Prosecutor, called Martin Amidu, who continue to drain Ghana's resources, yet, has never prosecuted a mouse that stole a piece of cheese from his kitchen, let alone a corrupt politician. I cant describe where this energy often comes from but all that I can say is I feel so strong to shout it loud and clear that Akufo Addo is one of the worst Ghanaian leaders to take office and if given another four years, the current high suicide rate will rapidly increase without any solution. It will be recalled that last year, in the month of September, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, Dr. Akwasi Osei called on Ghanaians to unite and give a hand in reducing the unprecedented number of suicides taking place in the country. Why suicides fellow Ghanaians? Find out and you will know that poverty in mineral-rich Ghana, is the main reason many have taken their lives. The suicide rate in Ghana has increased sharply because the country is under a leader that lacks efficiency and productivity. The NPP wants to investigate the Airbus corruption scandal the former government, NDC was involved, however, the government is not interested in the investigation of missing excavators taken from illegal mining sites. According to Mr. Amidu, the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is handling the case. Why Mr. Amidu? Because the case will naturally die without making any headlines since the CID is similarly weak and corrupt like the country's judiciary system. Akufo Addo's government also promised to fight against crime, yet the government ignored the protest of concerned Ghanaians and quickly released two new high printed currencies into the market of a country with a troubled economy because he desperately needs money for his election campaigns. And when the Cedi rapidly depressed, the criminal government of the NPP even though know the reason the Cedi plummeted, Bawumia, the conman-Vice president thinks Ghanaians are stupid, according to him, "a committee will be set up to investigate the rapid fall of the Cedi." Bawumia, please, tell Ghanaians what the committee you suggested found. No committee was formed to investigate the plummeted Cedi, it was just to deceive Ghanaians to avoid knowing the real reason behind the Cedi depreciation, yet, in Ghana, we have economists who know the reason but they prefer to remain quiet. Sincere Ghanaians must understand the reason this writer is always under attack with false names, accompanied by insults because I am revealing too much but the truth is, the attacks are my inspiration to know that some people are uncomfortable, so I need to knock the nail at the same direction. Akufo Addo has created many difficulties for Ghanaians, despite having the largest number of ministers in Ghana's political history. The government keeps boasting about an improved economy, while many are unemployed and cant even boast of three regular meals per day. I think it will be a good decision for intelligent Ghanaians to vote for one of the new political parties because both the NDC and NPP are deeply corrupt, the only difference between the two leaders is Mahama exhibits intelligence in whatever he does, as for Akufo Addo, I have run short of words to describe him. To convince people that you are a good leader and care about them, the Ghanaian leader must listen to the voice of the people but thats the case. The disguised dictator under democratic rule continues to steal with impunity because there is nobody to expose them. Akufo Addo has abandoned Ghanaian students faced with the threat of coronavirus in China, yet he is appealing to Ghanaians to vote for him. However, he has forgotten that some of the Ghanaians he wants them to vote for him children are among the students in China. Akufo Addo, pregnant with hate and jealousy has abandoned projects which belong to suffering Ghanaians because they were started by the former government, NDC. Which intelligent leader will do such a thing? Unless someone who lacks intelligence, the reason I find it difficult to understand why Ghanaians will vote for such a leader. Real Ghanaians need to show their intelligence because the developed world is watching us. Ghanaians are not fools, so why should they do something the developed world will not do? He claims to be on the path of democracy, Ghanaians should ask him which true democratic country in the developed world abandons projects because they were started by the opposition? For abandoning a project which belongs to a country, Akufo Addo has already disqualified himself to be a president. The truth is bitter than the bile, yet I know that sincere Ghanaians will reason with me. He will not get a single vote for that political blunder assuming he is in a developed country. At the same time, Ghanaians mustn't accept this blunder as something Ghana deserves because we are in the third world, if so, then excuse me to say that all Ghanaians are stupid. Ghanaians must think deeply and stop voting for any corrupt political party in the country because your votes will determine everyone, including your children's future. Just imagine a leader who quits the International Money Fund only to pile up debt on his country through borrowing, which has gradually exhausted the countrys economy. Every good leader must know that when borrowing from international institutions and banks appeared to be an easy solution to stem economic crises resulting from the volatility of commodity prices. But he doesnt care because he and his elephant size ministers have enough to eat and know the right place to steal money from the government coffers, else, they will not be making foolish noises of doing better for the suffering masses in Ghana. Sometimes, it is difficult to recognize a bad leader, especially since the first impression is misleading but its very easy to know that Akufo Addo is a poor leader. Ghana is too rich for its citizens to be killed by worries and poverty, to commit suicide or to force the youth to leave the country to die in the Mediterranean. Ghanaians must, therefore, find the right political party in the country to vote for. Dictators in power have always the upper hand to do anything they want for their selfish benefits. Akufo Addo will, therefore, rig to win the 2020 elections but along the way, his lack of skills, knowledge, and greed, will expose him and the Ghanaian population will cry for salvation. In the early hours of Wednesday 26 February, 2020, a Chinese national was presented to Ikeja branch of Reddington Hospital complaining of fever. Following standard protocol it was ascertained that he had arrived in Nigeria from China seven weeks ago and had not been in contact with anyone else who might have coronavirus. As a precautionary measure, staff immediately isolated him in accordance with the hospital's standard operating procedure for potential coronavirus patients. The state public health authorities were promptly informed and involved. Despite the risk being assessed to be relatively low according to the currently available science regarding incubation period, blood samples were taken using full prescribed precautions and sent to the Lagos State authorised virology laboratory for analysis and diagnosis. The results of the tests will be made available on or over the next 48 hours. The patient has since been transferred to Lagos State Infectious Disease Hospital at Yaba for further observation while results of tests are being awaited. It is to be emphasised that the risk is thought to be low and so far the patient has not been diagnosed with coronavirus disease. The Reddington team acted in a highly professional manner and in absolute compliance with international standards. We thank all staff for their diligence and professionalism in dealing with this case. We will continue to pursue strict surveillance of all patients and visitors in all our branches. Signed Dr Olutunde Lalude Group Medical Director Reddington Hospital Group SOURCE Reddington Hospital Hauliers are facing "an administrative nightmare" over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland, a House of Lords committee has been told. The European Union Committee was in Belfast today to hear the concerns of local representatives from the freight sector, ports, ferry operators and Belfast International Airport. There was a unanimous demand for clarity from the Government over what is expected of firms once the Brexit transition period ends in December. The UK's withdrawal agreement with the EU means checks and controls will be required for goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. A tariff would also be imposed if the items are at risk of travelling on to the Irish Republic. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has insisted this will not amount to a border in the Irish Sea and that local businesses will have unfettered access to trade. But this was questioned by Les Stracey, director of corporate affairs for Stena Line. He told the House of Lords committee that 540,000 freight units pass through Belfast Harbour with Stena Line a year, of which 97% are UK to UK trade. "We're uncertain when it comes to checks... will it be for the 3% or for the 100% of goods?," he asked. With sailings usually taking 90 minutes, he said there was "great concern" about how the Stena Line timetable would be affected. He called it "a nonsense" that ferry operators could be forced to collect data for hundreds of trailers, amounting to "an administrative nightmare". Mr Stracey called for a digital solution to stop any delays and avoid extra infrastructure costs. He said: "We're running out of time to put systems in place, to put infrastructure in place." Graham Keddie, managing director of Belfast International Airport, was asked about introducing exit declaration forms for goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. "Do you want the brutal answer? It's just to get rid of it," he said. "It's going to be very difficult because it is bureaucracy and it does limit our competitiveness." He said any extra red tape and likely need for increased infrastructure would be "a double whammy" in which customers would pay more for a lesser service. Pamela Dennison, chair of the Freight Transport Association Northern Ireland, issued a similar warning. "I despair at what's going to come (in) January," she said. She said an increased responsibility for paperwork would place considerable pressure on the business: "If that paperwork goes wrong, it's myself and my drivers that will be affected." She said that local hauliers who deliver to both the UK and Ireland were in "a very volatile area" as they waited to juggle both the Northern Ireland protocol and EU regulations. Any extra costs from the new arrangement, she said, "will end up on the consumer's door and will make it unfeasible to buy goods from Northern Ireland". "We will have to very careful how we manage this moving forward," she added. Asked for a message for the Government, she replied: "Stop telling businesses what you think they want to hear and tell them what's going on". The committee later heard from David Phinnemore, professor of European politics at Queen's University Belfast. He was asked what goods entering Northern Ireland would be considered at risk of being transported to the Irish Republic and therefore subject to a tariff. "The starting point is very clear: everything is at risk," he said, until the EU can be persuaded otherwise. "Businesses are crying out. The last three years have been about uncertainty. "I don't think you'll find any economic operator who thinks that this is a good deal for Northern Ireland." The UK was today warned not to renege on the commitments on the Irish protocol as the EU gathered to discuss its position on the imminent trade talks. Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said the EU made a "generous and fair" offer to the UK which must be honoured. "Michel Barnier and the Irish government are at one on this. The withdrawal agreement involves significant commitments in the context of Northern Ireland through the Irish protocol that both the EU and the UK need to follow through on," Mr Coveney added. His comments follow reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered his Brexit team to find ways to "get around" the protocol. Downing Street has insisted, however, it will honour the terms of the deal. Marbella Real Estate Last year, we helped over 350 international customers succeed in finding their ideal property and we will continue to provide an unrivalled service in this area In the 4th quarter of 2018, from October to December, 12.64% of all Spanish properties were bought by people from outside Spain and 15.54% of these buyers were from the UK. Similar figures were also reported for Andalucia, with British nationals accounting for the majority (22.49%) of foreign purchases in this specific region for 2018. Such statistics suggest that Britain is still the biggest foreign market in Spain, with Brexit having very little impact on the number of British citizens showing interest in and buying property. In fact, since the Brexit vote of 2016, the registry has reported a significant increase in the number of British buyers, with 9116 British sales completed in 2015 and 10166 sales completed in 2018. Supplying the British demand at Bromley Estates In line with this new data, Bromley Estates Marbella have also seen a considerable rise in the number of Britons looking to buy a property in Spain since 2016. Regardless of Brexit, it appears that British citizens are still looking to relocate to Andalucia particularly Marbella and have continued to seek the help of property experts to find their dream home in this region. Bromley Estates is a leading real estate agency in the Costa del Sol and, to supply this rising demand amongst the British, they have endeavoured to keep their property portfolio up-to-date with the latest new-build developments and re-sale homes. Director and Property Specialist at Bromley Estates, Hayley Bromley, said: Last year, we helped over 350 international customers succeed in finding their ideal property and we will continue to provide an unrivalled service in this area. Now that Brexit has finally happened, the British market in Spain looks set to remain as strong as ever and, as we head into 2020, were prepared for the same steady rise in the number of British clients approaching us for help. For help with buying a property in Spain, you can reach Bromley Estates Marbella by either calling (+44)208 068 7606 or sending an email to info@bromleyestatesmarbella.com. A federal judge Tuesday declined to give his approval to Portlands new community approach to police oversight, part of the citys settlement with the U.S. Justice Department for using excessive force against people with mental illness. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon said hes not convinced that an amendment creating the 13-member volunteer Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing is fair, reasonable and adequate. Given the number of problems we heard, I dont feel comfortable right now,'' making a decision either way, the judge said after a five-and-a-half hour hearing in his courtroom in downtown Portland. He ordered all parties to the case to return to court in exactly one year for another status conference. The judge departed from past practice by inviting community members to share their comments first, ahead of statements from attorneys from the city, Justice Department and police union, who are parties to the case. Community input lasted three-and-a-half hours. Simon approved the settlement in 2014 after a federal investigation found Portland police officers too often used stun guns or excessive force against people experiencing a mental health crisis. The agreement called for significant changes to use-of-force and Taser stun gun policies, improved crisis intervention and de-escalation training, better tracking of police force and complaints against officers and community oversight of the reforms. Most of the community representatives, including leaders of the Albina Ministerial Alliance and its Coalition for Justice and Police Reform and the Mental Health Alliance, said they were dissatisfied with the citys new oversight committee. They highlighted the high turnover rate of its members, as well as a lack of broad community outreach and respect for recommendations offered by members with lived experience of mental illness. Those who sat on its subcommittee for People with Mental Illness resigned this month, saying they felt unheard. Amanda J. Marshall, an Oregon City-based lawyer (not former U.S. attorney) who was the co-chair of the subcommittee, said she and others left feeling marginalized, misunderstood and ultimately dismissed. Unfortunately, these feelings parallel the experience of those with mental illness. Others pointed to the continued police use of deadly force against people in crisis, noting that five fatal police shootings in 2019 marked a high since 2010. Several speakers told the judge that it seemed as if the compliance officer hired by the city to monitor the fixes and the Justice Department are more focused on whether the city has followed the mechanics of the settlement requiring changes to police training, policies and oversight rather than analyzing the outcomes. The changes should result in improvements, the judge noted. If we dot our is and cross our ts, he said, one would hope over time thered be an outcome that is better. In January, compliance officer Dennis Rosenbaum and the Justice Department gave a substantial compliance mark to the city for adhering to all 190-provisions of the agreement and urged the judges support of a settlement amendment establishing the community oversight group. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hager said its up to the Justice Department, not the court, to find the city in compliance and that the settlement didnt envision the government permanently overseeing the Police Bureau. The agreement doesnt demand perfection, Hager said. The United States is the monitor and decides when and whether the city is in substantial compliance. He argued that the new committee provides the greatest chance of a lasting framework for community-involved policing and suggested that the longer the judge holds out in lending his support to it, problems will persist. It will hamper the mission of the community group and everyone will continue to bring their concerns to the court, instead of to city staff, he said. But Simon dismissed that suggestion, saying he heard nothing plausible to back up the claim that his conditional or delayed approval of the committee has in any way contributed to its problems. The judge commended the federal government for intervening and working to make the city a safer place and the city for accepting responsibility for its problems, but he said hes not comfortable that the current community group is effective. I think its been very positive, going in a good direction, he said. But the process hasnt been without hiccups and some problems, he added. After listening to community concerns and reading legal briefs filed with the court, Simon said, It appears to me there is a serious disagreement over whether or not the city is in substantial compliance. But the judge said his powers are limited. I dont I have authority to order any remedial provisions, absent a motion from the United States, Simon said. He suggested that city officials, Justice Department lawyers and other parties reach an agreement on what substantial compliance would look like, so we can all know when we have achieved it. The Albina Ministerial Alliances coalition called on the court to assign a local person to serve as an independent court monitor to assess the citys progress. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go, the Rev. LeRoy Haynes said. We have made some substantial quantitative progress, but we are far from achieving the intent of the settlement agreement. The Rev. T. Allen Bethel urged the city to appoint a community-organizing staff person and facilitator for the committee, not just someone who is liked by everyone. Andrew Kalloch, co-chair of the community oversight committee, told the judge that the group voted Monday night to find the city is in substantial compliance with the settlements community engagement requirements. But he added, We by no means believe PCCEP is a final product; we are a work in progress. Kalloch said the high turnover of members isnt surprising given their volunteer nature and he defended the outreach efforts. He said the group is motivated to work with the community and will continue to build on its foundation. The 13 of us are not going to do this alone,'' he said. "We need buy-in.'' Shawn Campbell, who chairs the Police Bureaus training advisory council, said he wonders who will broker matters with city and police officials when community members concerns go unaddressed, once the Justice Department is gone. Maybe we need to slow down a little bit, instead of just rushing this because we need to get it done, Campbell said. More than five years after he first asked about body-worn cameras for police, the judge asked again Tuesday if the citys made any progress on outfitting officers with the cameras. He was told the police are considering a pilot program, but havent received support from city council. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who attended part of the hearing, offered to have his office, the police chief and the community groups co-chairs host a quarterly meeting to collaboratively address pressing issues, such as racial disparities in police stops or police accountability, City Attorney Tracy Reeve told the court. The judge called that a great idea, but asked, Any insight as to why those havent been done previously? Reeve said the city has been focused on meeting the legal requirements of the settlement. My concern is that we may invest another 14 months in complying with a conditionally approved amendment and, in the end, the new community group might not gain final court approval, Reeve said. The judge urged the city, the Justice Department, the police union, the Albina Ministerial Alliance and Mental Health Alliance to confer and agree on metrics to define fair, adequate and reasonable when it comes to the community oversight committee. If you all agree sustained, substantial compliance has been achieved,'' the judge said, "then Id give final approval to amend and terminate the litigation.'' -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Subscribe to Facebook page The protester explained that he joined the rally of those standing against the medical reform in Ukraine because he wanted to turn the government's attention to his issues; he could not complete a procedure of assuming legal ownership of a land parcel in Sumy region Man puts himself on fire in Kyiv, February 2020 112.ua A man set himself on fire during the protest against consequences of the medical reform; the event took place next to the building of Presidential Office in Kyiv on February 26. 112 Ukraine news agency broadcasted the rally live. Other participants in the meeting rushed to put out the fire on his clothes. They rendered first medical aid, and the protester was able to get up. Now, the doctors will have to check his health conditions. The man explained that he wanted to draw attention to his problem. He's been trying to complete a legal procedure to get the ownership of the land parcel in Sumy region, northern Ukraine. The government, he said, took no action in this. On February 26, Ukrainian medics all over the country reached the main square of Kyiv, protesting against shutting down of hospitals and cutting the payments. Earlier, Davyd Arakhamia, chairman of the Servant of the Peoples parliamentary faction, announced the final vote on the land market bill in April. He stated this in a comment to reporters, the channel "112 Ukraine" conducted the broadcast. Yesterday, we measured the speed of editing changes. Today were still measuring, but its not accelerating, you see. Then if we move at that speed, regardless of how many session weeks we have, it will happen in April, then April 16-17, something like that," Arakhamia said. Egypts leader for nearly 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, has died, Egyptian state television announced Tuesday. He was 91 years old. State TV said Mubarak died at a hospital in the capital Cairo where he had undergone an unnamed operation. Mubarak became president in 1981, following the killing of President Anwar Sadat. At first, few people thought his presidency would last. But, he remained in power until his overthrow by the military in 2011. During his presidency, Mubarak was an important ally to the U.S. The U.S. gave his country billions of dollars in assistance. U.S. administrations considered him a force for peace and stability in the Middle East. But, to the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who protested for 18 days in 2011, Mubarak was a kind of dictator. History The son of a government worker, Muhammed Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was born in the Nile Delta village of Kafr Al-Musailha on May 4, 1928. After Israeli warplanes destroyed much of Egypts air force in the Six-Day War of 1967, Mubarak became head of the air force academy. His job was to rebuild Egypts air force. Sadat made Mubarak vice president in 1975. Taking power after Sadats death, Mubarak faced a rebellion in the army and moved to improve relations with Arab neighbors. Over the next 30 years, Mubarak was seen as a dependable U.S. partner against Islamic extremism. He sent Egyptian troops to be part of the U.S.-led coalition in the 1990 to 1991 Gulf war. He also made efforts to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Within Egypt, he oversaw slow economic growth. Unlike his predecessors, Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser, Mubarak had no strong ideology. Over the years, Mubarak struggled with Islamist groups. He presented himself as Egypts only protection against Islamic militancy and religious division. Nobody imagines that we can press a button and freedoms will arrive. Otherwise it would lead the country to chaos and that would be a danger to people, Mubarak once said. But, critics said Mubarak never had an answer to the question of how Egyptians should be governed in the future. He always refused to name a successor. Legacy World leaders expressed sadness at the news of Mubaraks death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed deep sorrow. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Mubarak spent his life serving his homeland and the issues of righteousness and justice in the world, with the issue of our Palestinian people at the top of them. Some experts say Mubarak missed chances to reform Egypts government. H.A. Hellyer, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote on Twitter, At multiple points during Mubaraks reign, he had the opportunity to reform the Egyptian state. He didnt. Hellyer added that the January 25th uprising that led to Mubaraks ouster didnt come out of nowhere it was the result of many years of pent-up anger at how the state was failing the citizenry. But other experts suggest that Mubaraks legacy is not so clear. Steven A. Cook is a senior fellow in Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He said, In a lot of ways, Mubaraks legacy will be mixed. Egyptians are taking stock of their abilities to voice their views on the state of their lives, and realizing they were safer doing that in 2010 than in 2020. Some rights groups and activists say current president Abdel Fattah El-Sisis rule has proved more oppressive than Mubaraks. Im John Russell. John Russell adapted this story based on reports by the Associated Press and Reuters. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story stability -- n. the quality or state of being stable: such as the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change predecessor n. a person who had a job or position before someone else ideology n. the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party successor n. a person who has a job, position, or title after someone else : someone who succeeds another person multiple adj. more than one reign n. the period of time during which someone is in charge of a group or organization pent-up adj. held or kept inside : not released legacy n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past take stock v. expression to carefully think about something in order to make a decision about what to do next We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Islamabad on Tuesday declared former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an absconder while simultaneously denying extending bail to him. The federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, cited that Sharif failed to provide required medical reports and has violated the bail terms. The government has also decided to freeze gas and electricity tariffs for the next four months, The Dawn reported. "After Nawaz Sharif failed to submit his medical report of any hospital in London, the medical board rejected a medical certificate sent by him and [the government] declared him an absconder. From today, Nawaz Sharif is an absconder according to the law of land and if he does not return to the country he will be declared a proclaimed offender," said Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information, in a press conference. She further asserted that the Punjab government, which was authorized by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide Sharif's case on medical grounds, had written several letters asking him to submit his medical report from any hospital in London. However, he failed to do so and only sent a certificate that was not accepted by the medical board. "If he (Nawaz Sharif) is seriously ill then why a comprehensive medical report is not being submitted to the medical board," Firdous added. Further, she said that the office of the opposition leader was also waiting for his younger brother and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, who was also staying in London for 'no reason'. "He is getting a monthly salary and enjoying luxurious offices and other perks and privileges but not performing his duties required by his office and the people. Shahbaz Sahib, return to the country and justify your salary and other benefits being given from taxpayers' money," Firdous added. On October 29 last year, the IHC granted bail for eight weeks to Sharif, who was convicted and disqualified in corruption cases, on medical grounds. Sharif left Pakistan for London along with Shahbaz on November 19, 2019, for his medical treatments there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 25 people have been killed in the Delhi during violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), according to GTB Hospital authorities, although there was an eerie calm on Wednesday in the riot-torn areas. "There are 15 patients in critical condition," the hospital official from the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital said, adding a total of 20 people had now died at the facility. 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 Panaji, Feb 26 : The Goa Congress used the passage of resolution against NRC in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday to fire salvo at the ruling BJP in the coastal state, here on Wednesday. Addressing a the media, Goa Congress spokesperson Trajano D'Mello said the BJP MLAs, who had passed a resolution in the Assembly earlier this month hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), should now collectively urge the duo to pack Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar off to Pakistan. "Those MLAs who helped pass a resolution congratulating the CAA, should now make a public appeal to Shah to sack Nitish Kumar and send him to Pakistan," D'Mello said. "Whenever the Congress expresses opposition to divisive laws, like CAA and NRC, we are trolled as 'anti-nationals'. Nitish Kumar, a BJP ally in Bihar, has helped pass the resolution against the NRC now? Is he anti-national too? Then why is the BJP in government with him," D'Mello said. On Tuesday, the Bihar Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The resolution also sought the implementation of the National Population Register in the previous format. On February 4, the Goa Assembly had passed a resolution congratulating the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for facilitating the passage of the CAA. Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2020 -- Advance Market Analytics released a new market study on Global Solar Glass Market with 100+ market data Tables, Pie Chat, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed analysis. At present, the market is developing its presence. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Solar Glass Forecast till 2025*. Some are the key players taken under coverage for this study are Changzhou Almaden Co., Ltd. (China), Guardian Industries (United States), Asahi India Glass Limited (India), Dongguan CSG Solar Glass Co., Ltd. (China), ?i?ecam Group (Turkey), Euroglas GmbH (Germany), Xinyi Solar Hldgs (China), Glasstech, Inc. (China), Vitro Architectural Glass (United States), AVIC Sanxin Solar Glass Co., Ltd (China), Changzhou Huamei Photoelectric New Material Co., Ltd (China), Jiangsu Xiuqiang Glasswork Co., Ltd.(China) and Henan Yuhua Solar Glass Co., Ltd. (China) Solar Glass is used in photovoltaic modules as layer of protection against the elements. In thin-film technology, glass also serves as the substrate upon which the photovoltaic material and other chemicals (such as TCO) are deposited. Solar glass is also the basis for mirrors used to concentrate sunlight, although new technologies avoiding glass are emerging. Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/19841-global-solar-glass-market Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report: 1) What all companies are currently profiled in the report? Following are list of players that are currently profiled in the report Changzhou Almaden Co., Ltd. (China), Guardian Industries (United States), Asahi India Glass Limited (India), Dongguan CSG Solar Glass Co., Ltd. (China), ?i?ecam Group (Turkey), Euroglas GmbH (Germany), Xinyi Solar Hldgs (China), Glasstech, Inc. (China), Vitro Architectural Glass (United States), AVIC Sanxin Solar Glass Co., Ltd (China), Changzhou Huamei Photoelectric New Material Co., Ltd (China), Jiangsu Xiuqiang Glasswork Co., Ltd.(China) and Henan Yuhua Solar Glass Co., Ltd. (China) ** List of companies mentioned may vary in the final report subject to Name Change / Merger etc. 2) Can we add or profiled new company as per our need? Yes, we can add or profile new company as per client need in the report. Final confirmation to be provided by research team depending upon the difficulty of survey. ** Data availability will be confirmed by research in case of privately held company. Upto 3 players can be added at no added cost. 3) Can we get more level of segmentation to meet our market intelligence objective? Yes it can be provided, however ETA would vary and final confirmation would be given only after checking data in data repository. 4) Can inclusion of additional Segmentation / Market breakdown is possible? Yes, inclusion of additional segmentation / Market breakdown is possible subject to data availability and difficulty of survey. However a detailed requirement needs to be shared with our research before giving final confirmation to client. ** Depending upon the requirement the deliverable time and quote will vary. Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/19841-global-solar-glass-market Market Trend - Rising R&D Activities and Green Building Trends Market Drivers - Supportive Policies and Initiatives of Various Governments Across the Globe - Increasing Demand for Solar Systems in Residential Applications - Rapid Industrialization And Urbanization in Emerging Nations Opportunities - Shifting Focus Towards Renewable Energy Sources Owing to the Increasing Environment Concerns - Decreasing Costs of Solar Systems and Energy Storage Devices - Increasing Prices of Fossil Fuels Restraints - High Costs Involved in the Installation, Storage, and Purchase of Power Conversion Devices - Stringent Implementation of Various Regulations for Carbon Dioxide Emissions To comprehend Global Solar Glass market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide Solar Glass market is analyzed across major global regions. AMA also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas. - North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico. - South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. - Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa. - Europe: UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Russia. - Asia-Pacific: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia. Get Reasonable Discount on This Premium Report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/request-discount/19841-global-solar-glass-market Try a limited scope research document specific to Country or Regional matching your objective. GET FULL COPY OF United States Global Solar Glass market study @ --------- USD 2000 And, Europe Global Solar Glass market study @ --------- USD 2500 Major Highlights of TOC: Chapter One: Market Overview Chapter Two: Executive Summary ---------- Free of Cost Chapter Three: Market Dynamics ------ USD400 Market Drivers, Market Challenges, Market Trends, Restraints & Opportunities Chapter Four: Market Factor Analysis ------ USD400 Supply/Value Chain, Porters Five Forces, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent & Trademark Analysis, Bargain Power Chapter Five: Global Solar Glass, by Market Segmentation and Geography (value, volume**) (2013-2018) ------ USD1400 Global Solar Glass By Type: Anti-Reflective (AR) Coated, Tempered, Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) Coated, Others By Application: Utility, Residential, Non-Residential Solar Glass Type : Crystalline Cells, Thin Film Global Solar Glass Region North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Nordic, Others) Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, Australia, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Middle East & Africa, Others) Chapter Six: Global Solar Glass - Manufacturers/Players Analysis ------ USD1200 Competitive Landscape, Comparative Market Share Analysis (2017-2018), Peer Group Analysis (2018), BCG Matrix, Company Profile, Product/Service Offering Matrix Chapter Seven: Global Solar Glass, by Market Segmentation and Region (value, volume**) (2019-2024) ------ USD1400 ------ Sections same as Chapter Five ------ Chapter Eight: Company profiles / Competitive Landscape [12 Players] ------ USD1250 Chapter Nine: Methodology/Research Approach, Data Source, Disclaimer ** If applicable Actual Numbers & In-Depth Analysis, Business opportunities, Market Size Estimation Available in Full Report. AMA also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research according to clientele objectives. Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report like North America, Europe or Asia. About Author: Advance Market Analytics is Global leaders of Market Research Industry provides the quantified B2B research to Fortune 500 companies on high growth emerging opportunities which will impact more than 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Our Analyst is tracking high growth study with detailed statistical and in-depth analysis of market trends & dynamics that provide a complete overview of the industry. We follow an extensive research methodology coupled with critical insights related industry factors and market forces to generate the best value for our clients. We Provides reliable primary and secondary data sources, our analysts and consultants derive informative and usable data suited for our clients business needs. The research study enable clients to meet varied market objectives a from global footprint expansion to supply chain optimization and from competitor profiling to M&As. Contact Us: Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager) AMA Research & Media LLP Unit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ New Jersey USA 08837 Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218 sales@advancemarketanalytics.com DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Axxess, the industry-leading innovator in healthcare at home technology, has been selected as a preferred vendor for franchises of Interim HealthCare, the largest and first home care provider. This preferred status enables more than 300 local franchise owners to choose any application from the complete suite of Axxess solutions to efficiently operate their business and make people's lives at home better. Seven Interim Healthcare franchisees, operating in California, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin, are already working with Axxess solutions to manage their business and provide timely care. "We are extremely excited about our successful partnerships with several Interim franchisees and look forward to expanding our relationship with many more," said Axxess founder and CEO John Olajide. "Interim HealthCare franchisees provide services across a continuum of care, from home care and hospice to staffing, and now they have the option to use a single vendor for all their needs. This partnership will ensure Interim HealthCare franchisees can streamline operations while also improving patient outcomes." Interim HealthCare CEO Jennifer Sheets added: "We are quite encouraged with the positive experience our Interim franchisees have reported using Axxess solutions. Franchisees are seeing discernable benefits in their ability to provide greater operational efficiencies with Axxess' robust solutions. We take great pride in harnessing the power of our network to offer cutting-edge technology solutions that translate to meaningful value for our dedicated franchise owners and their operations." Interim HealthCare franchisees will have the opportunity to leverage value-added Axxess solutions to manage home health, hospice, pediatric care, personal care and patient engagement operations. Franchisees in Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Florida will also be able to utilize AxxessCARE, an innovative scheduling and staffing platform, helping providers overcome staffing challenges. About Axxess Axxess is the fastest-growing home healthcare technology company, providing solutions that improve care for more than 2 million patients nationwide and are trusted by more than 7,000 organizations. Axxess offers a complete suite of easy-to-use, innovative software solutions, empowering home health, home care and hospice providers to grow their business while making lives better. The company's collaborative culture, focused on innovation and excellence, is recognized nationally as a "Best Place to Work." About Interim HealthCare Inc. Interim HealthCare Inc., founded in 1966, is a leading national franchisor of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing. It is part of Caring Brands International, which also includes UK-based Bluebird Care and Australia-based Just Better Care, both well-known franchise brands in their countries. With more than 530 franchise locations in seven countries, Caring Brands International is a global healthcare leader. Interim HealthCare in the United States is unique in combining the commitment of local ownership with the support of a national organization that develops innovative programs and quality standards that improve the delivery of service. Franchisees employ nurses, therapists, aides, companions and other healthcare professionals who provide 25 million hours of home care service to 190,000 people each year, meeting a variety of home health, senior care, hospice, palliative care, pediatric care and healthcare staffing needs. For more information or to locate an Interim HealthCare office, visit www.interimhealthcare.com. SOURCE Axxess Related Links http://www.axxess.com/ Democrats say they are monitoring updates ahead of Super Tuesday voting from the coronavirus outbreak stemming from China, where voters living abroad have been told they will need to cast their ballots online instead of in person when overseas voting starts next month. Our number one concern is to ensure all eligible voters are able to make their voices heard without jeopardizing anyone's health and safety. We will continue to closely monitor as the situation develops, said Democratic National Commitee spokesperson Maya Hixson, in an email after The Independent inquired about precautions in place in primary states. The decision to only allow voters in China to cast ballots online was announced by Democrats Abroad, which oversees voting for Americans abroad, and comes just as US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention officials said on Tuesday that they expect an outbreak of the virus in the United States. In that warning, the director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said: Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. The outbreak has led Chinese officials to quarantine entire cities, leading to a slowdown or halting of supply-chain production in the asian economic powerhouse. And, in response, global markets including the Dow and S&P 500 in the US have seen dramatic drops. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty That economic unease and the current concern that the outbreak might reach pandemic levels has led some to note that continued issues could even impact the 2020 election in the US, especially if Donald Trump heads into November with a weakened economy as a result of the economic disruptions from the virus. The decision by Democrats Abroad marks the first time that American elections have been impacted in a tangible way, however political observers say that it is unlikely that Democratic primaries in next weeks Super Tuesday states will be impacted by concerns surrounding the coronavirus. And, beyond those upcoming states, it remains unclear whether this summers party conventions might be impacted. This concern seems premature. But, who knows how serious this becomes? Robert Erikson, a professor of political science at Columbia University in New York, told The Independent in an email. For example, could the party conventions be affected? I stress that it is way too early to speculate about. The DNC had previously told Buzzfeed News which first reported Democrats Abroads switch to online voting in China that decisions and preparations related to primary safety are not made by the national party. The Trump administration has sought billions to address growing concerns in the US, while Democrats have called the president's response inadequate, with some Republicans urging Mr Trump to ask Congress for more funding than what the White House has asked for. So far, more than 2,400 people have died from the disease in China. As of Sunday, the CDC reported there were 76,936 reported cases of the disease in mainland China, and another 1,875 in locations outside of China. Citing coronavirus concerns, at least two Massachusetts colleges are offering students the option to return from studying abroad in Italy. Endicott College in Beverly and Northeastern University in Boston stressed they are monitoring the outbreak and communicating with students studying in Northern Italy who want to make arrangements to return home. Italy has confirmed 322 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths, CNN reported Tuesday evening. Endicott currently has 36 students in Florence, Italy. "The Office of International Education will assist in arranging travel and covering additional costs incurred related to flight changes," Endicott College's president, Steven DiSalvo, said in an email to students abroad and their parents. "Our goal is to help students return as soon as possible, however, keep in mind that all will be subject to travel reentry protocols established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC)." DiSalvo added that the college will work with students who return to the U.S. so they can still complete the semester. Students and parents who seek to return to the U.S. must make the decision by Friday, Feb. 28 at noon. "If students decide not to leave their current international location, we advise you to stay in place for activities and learning, and avoid field trips, international or spring break travel or visits to sites that are heavily populated," he wrote. DiSalvo, president of the college since July, said in an interview with the Business Journal Tuesday that hes never called back students from a study abroad program in the middle of a semester before during his career. Before taking the top job at Endicott, DiSalvo served as the president of Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. Endicott has roughly 5,050 students enrolled at the college. Northeastern University has offered four students currently in Northern Italy on co-ops the option of returning home, said university spokeswoman Renata Nyul. If they choose to do so, we would help them find alternate locations, Nyul said. She added that Northeastern is also currently evaluating all of its abroad programs. The Business Journal asked several other schools in the Boston area whether they are recommending students studying in Europe return home. Boston University, which currently has 25 students studying in Italy, said it is monitoring the situation but has not made any decisions to bring students home at this time. Our students and staff are fine and in good spirits and restricting travel, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. We are monitoring the situation daily, following national and local directives, communicating regularly with students and staff, reinforcing appropriate hygiene practices, considering alternatives or contingencies, if necessary, etc. Im sure that well know more in the coming days. Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said the school is monitoring the situation and has been in close contact with students, but BC is not planning to pull students out of their study abroad programs. "The situation remains fluid, however, and we will make adjustments, if needed, based on State Department and CDC recommendations," Dunn said. Emerson College said it has asked its 81 students studying at its Kasteel Well, Netherlands campus not to travel abroad during spring break. The school said no other programs have been affected. Last month colleges and universities in the Boston area told the Business Journal about the precautions and steps they were taking to prepare for the possibility of the coronavirus hitting their campuses. A handful of New England schools including Providence College and UMass Amherst suspended abroad programs to China for the spring semester because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Boston Globe report. MIT did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. Harvard declined to comment about its European study abroad programs. A spokesman referred to its webpage with updates about the outbreak. Sen. Bernie Sanders wanted to keep his momentum after winning contests in New Hampshire and Nevada, while former Vice President Joe Biden hoped to keep his own campaign alive. The other five candidates were just trying to hang on. What's happening: Seven contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination were in Charleston, South Carolina, for the 10th debate, just days before the South Carolina primary and a week before Super Tuesday. They spoke, sometimes over each other, about health care, Russian interference in the election, foreign policy, the economy, gun control, marijuana, education and race. Of note: Within two debates, Mike Bloomberg has emerged as a lightning rod for candidates hungry to distinguish themselves as challengers to President Trump, the other New York City billionaire in this race. A third billionaire, Tom Steyer, returned to the debate stage after a bye in Nevada. Foreign policy Bloomberg and Biden said they would not allow Chinese firms to build critical U.S. infrastructure. said they would not allow Chinese firms to build critical U.S. infrastructure. Bloomberg advocated for placing U.S. troops overseas to combat terrorism. advocated for placing U.S. troops overseas to combat terrorism. Former South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg, in response: "I don't think we need to have ground troops anywhere terrorists can gather because terrorists can gather everywhere in the world." in response: "I don't think we need to have ground troops anywhere terrorists can gather because terrorists can gather everywhere in the world." Sen. Amy Klobuchar did not say whether she would close the border to Americans who have been exposed to the coronavirus. On North Korea, she said she would meet with leader Kim Jong-un, "but I would do it with our allies." did not say whether she would close the border to Americans who have been exposed to the coronavirus. On North Korea, she said she would meet with leader Kim Jong-un, "but I would do it with our allies." Biden touted his experience dealing with the Ebola outbreak: "I was part of making sure that pandemic did not get to the United States." touted his experience dealing with the Ebola outbreak: "I was part of making sure that pandemic did not get to the United States." Tom Steyer: "If you look at the biggest threats to the United States, we're talking right now about coronavirus that cannot be solved within the borders of the United States, we're talking about climate change, which is a global problem where we need U.S. leadership for countries around the world." "If you look at the biggest threats to the United States, we're talking right now about coronavirus that cannot be solved within the borders of the United States, we're talking about climate change, which is a global problem where we need U.S. leadership for countries around the world." Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on moving the U.S. Embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv : "We should let the parties determine the capitals themselves." on moving the U.S. Embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv "We should let the parties determine the capitals themselves." Sanders: U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East should focus on "absolutely protecting the independence and security of Israel, but you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. Catch up quick: Biden's foreign policy centers around restoring America's global leadership and alliances, while Sanders is more likely to condemn American imperialism and Warren contends that America has hurt itself by promoting globalization, Axios' Dave Lawler writes. Russian interference in U.S. elections Buttigieg : "The Russians want chaos." : "The Russians want chaos." Sanders : "Putin, if I'm president of the United States, you're not going to interfere in any elections." : "Putin, if I'm president of the United States, you're not going to interfere in any elections." Biden: "The fact of the matter is we didn't have the information in the end," he said, of the 2016 election. The Obama administration theoretically could have done more to respond to reports of Russia interfering in the 2016 election, he added, advocating for imposing sanctions on Russia now. Catch up quick: Sanders told reporters at a campaign stop last week that he was briefed by U.S. officials "about a month ago" on Russia's attempts to assist his 2020 presidential campaign, AP reports. "It was not clear what role they were going to play," he added. Marijuana Bloomberg , on states that have already legalized marijuana: "You're not going to take it away." But he insisted that with kids in their late teens, "it may be damaging their brains." , on states that have already legalized marijuana: "You're not going to take it away." But he insisted that with kids in their late teens, "it may be damaging their brains." Sanders would "legalize marijuana in every state in the country" and help African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos "to start businesses to sell legal marijuana." Education Warren: "My secretary of education will be someone who has taught in public schools. ... People across this country are being crushed by student loan debt." "My secretary of education will be someone who has taught in public schools. ... People across this country are being crushed by student loan debt." Sanders pledged to "triple funding for low-income Title 1 schools, make public colleges and universities tuition-free," and improve teachers' wages. pledged to "triple funding for low-income Title 1 schools, make public colleges and universities tuition-free," and improve teachers' wages. Buttigieg: "We don't have an adequate mental health system to support kids," also denouncing that teachers are expected to "somehow transform themselves into highly armed guards" in school shooting situations. Catch up quick: Buttigieg supports free tuition at four-year public colleges for families earning up to $100,000. Biden has proposed a $750 billion plan to provide free tuition for community and technical colleges only, and Warren has pitched a $640 billion plan for public and private student-loan-debt cancellation. Race Buttigieg: Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policy was "in effect" racist. Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policy was "in effect" racist. Klobuchar agreed. agreed. Buttigieg: "Im conscious of the fact that theres seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice." "Im conscious of the fact that theres seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice." Warren: "We can no longer pretend that everything is race-neutral," she said about creating affordable housing. "It is important to recognize the role the federal government played for decades and decades in discrimination against African Americans having an opportunity to buy homes." "We can no longer pretend that everything is race-neutral," she said about creating affordable housing. "It is important to recognize the role the federal government played for decades and decades in discrimination against African Americans having an opportunity to buy homes." Biden said he would "go after people" causing gentrification. "We've got to deal with the institutional racism." said he would "go after people" causing gentrification. "We've got to deal with the institutional racism." Steyer said he supports reparations. Catch up quick: The U.S. District Court judge who ruled in 2013 that New York's stop-and-frisk policy violated the rights of people of color refuted Bloomberg's statements during the last debate. Gun control Biden , on Sanders' vote for a 2005 bill that shields gun-makers and sellers from lawsuits: "That has caused carnage on our streets," , on Sanders' vote for a 2005 bill that shields gun-makers and sellers from lawsuits: "That has caused carnage on our streets," Buttigieg: "A second school-shooting generation has now been produced," adding that the weaponry he trained to use for war has "no business" being sold near U.S. schools or businesses. "A second school-shooting generation has now been produced," adding that the weaponry he trained to use for war has "no business" being sold near U.S. schools or businesses. Warren emphasized that pushing gun safety legislation relies on rolling back the filibuster. Catch up quick: A chronic lack of gun violence research and data inaccuracies have hindered change to gun laws in the U.S. Mass shootings are also becoming deadlier: 10 years ago, the deadliest shooting left 16 people dead; in 2017, a shooting at a Las Vegas hotel killed 59. Health care Sanders, when asked to do the math to pay for Medicare for All's major components: "How many hours do you have?" when asked to do the math to pay for Medicare for All's major components: "How many hours do you have?" Biden shot back: "That's the problem." shot back: "That's the problem." The candidates all jumped in, talking over each other to denounce the plan's cost. Catch up quick: The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, estimates the cost of Medicare for All to be between $32 trillion to $34 trillion over the first 10 years. Economy Sanders, on how he would convince voters that a democratic socialist can do better than President Trump with the economy: "Well, you're right. The economy is doing really great for people like Mr. Bloomberg and other billionaires." Catch up quick: Trump claims to have revolutionized the U.S. economy as the job market expands. But prospective homeowners are finding it harder to find houses, and if federal debt continues to grow at its current pace, incomes will drop and interest payments to foreign debt holders will increase. Go deeper: What to watch in tonight's Democratic debate Oklahoma is dismissing its federal lawsuit against three of the nations largest opioid distributors and will refile new lawsuits in state court against each company individual, state Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a media release. The move comes three weeks after McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Corp. removed the states case from Cleveland County District Court to a federal court in Oklahoma City. Dismissing the charges takes the case out of federal court. In January, the state filed one lawsuit against all three companies. Attorney General Hunter said the companies ultimate goal is to have the states case buried with the thousands of others in Ohio. We want to hold these three companies accountable to Oklahomans in an Oklahoma courtroom, Hunter said in a statement. It is regrettable, yet not surprising, that these companies are taking a page out of Johnson & Johnsons failed playbook in an attempt to escape responsibility for their irresponsible and deadly business practices in our state. It is because of their misconduct we have lost thousands of lives, while hundreds of thousands continue to struggle with addiction. The team and I look forward to refiling these cases where they belong, in state court. The state will file the petitions against each company in state court at a later date. Source: Oklahoma AGs Office Topics Lawsuits Oklahoma A video comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set off a political storm in Israel. The clip, released Feb. 25 by the Blue and White Party, shows Erdogan delivering a speech to his parliament, but the soundtrack is of Netanyahu, accompanied by cheering voices. After the speech, a narrator states that if Netanyahu gets one more seat, hell stay put. Only Blue and White can prevent an Erdogan-like government, he says. Blue and Whites Benny Gantz and other party leaders repeated this same message in interviews this morning. Why it matters: Blue and White produced this unusual video in an effort to stop a loss in support over the past week. This shift in support is worrisome for Gantz, as the Likud now appears in polls as the largest party, with Netanyahu largely considered more suitable for premiership. With less than a week before the March 2 elections, Blue and White has reason for concern. The video is intended to wake up potential center-left voters to the dangers of Netanyahu and his intentions of crushing the legal system. Their main message is that if reelected prime minister, Netanyahu would end Israels democracy. Likud retaliating: The Likud didnt take the video sitting down. Science Minister Ofer Akunis told Al-Monitor, "This proves once again that Gantz and company are losing it." Senior Likud member Gideon Saar called upon Blue and White to apologize, saying, "They compared the prime minister of Israel to a dictator, one of the greater Israel-haters of our generation. A red line has been crossed today; this is incitement." Whats next? A source within the Blue and White campaign told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "The Likud issues no less dirty messages. We must get our supporters out to the polling stations." The source was referring to another video tweeted by Netanyahu on Feb. 25, showing Gantz making mistakes in interviews and even forgetting words. In the clip, Netanyahu asks whats wrong with Gantz, hinting that he suffers from dementia and isnt fit to rule. Will the Erdogan video get Blue and White back on its feet? It's certainly generated a sense of urgency among the partys followers, but likening Netanyahu to a dictator has rallied his followers around him. Read more: Mazal Mualem describes how Blue and White is stumbling as the election draws near and Ben Caspit discusses how Netanyahus mudslinging strategy is allowing him to edge past the opposition. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- Smoking is killing more than 11,000 Hoosiers per year however there's always help. The phrase strength in numbers is true when it comes to quitting the habit. IU Health Arnett offers a free, group course run by respiratory therapists. Its goal is to have people save money, live longer and in the end have a sense of freedom. Ryan Kingsley has smoked cigarettes since college and is now in the fourth week of the class, thus four weeks tobacco free. "I've been a smoker 20 plus years and I have quit multiple times," said Kingsley. If you're like Kingsley, you have tried to kick the habit time and time again. "It's embarrassing," said Kingsley. "It is the hardest thing I have ever done." Inside classrooms at IU Health Arnett, Kingsley is getting help for free to quit and as he said quit for good. "I'm done," said Kingsley. Kingsley is done ruining his health, smelling like a cigarette and taking years off his life. "There was a switch," said Kingsley. "Mentally, it was just in my will. Ultimately that's what it takes." Ultimately a social smoke became a habit. The Indiana State Department of Health says one in five Hoosiers die from smoking. IU Health Arnett's spokesperson, Rhonda Jones, said this smoking cessation class was a necessity "We didn't see a lot of classes being offered," said Jones, "There's a lot of products you can buy. We didn't find there is any one-on-one support. IU Health Respiratory therapists wrote a grant, were awarded $12,500 and started the group classes. It's an eight week program year round that continually will accept new people. "People learn better in group situations," said Jones, "They retain better when there are group situations." Kingsley found himself in a situation where going up stairs is a challenge for his lungs. "Ultimately it's for my health and I want to be around," said Kingsley. Kinglsey wants to be around to see this goal through and live life healthier. He said this course can offer that. "So happy to have found this program," said Kingsley. "I encourage anyone who is a smoker who wants to quit and ready to quit reach out." Reach out to IU Health Arnett, Frankfort or White Memorial to sign up for the classes. They all offer smoking cessation group courses. A link to IU Health Arnett's class is here. IU Health White Memorial's classes are on Wednesdays and IU Health Frankfort's classes start on Mondays in March. The first day for the next program is March 3rd at IU Health Arnett. Use this link to sign up for the classes at IU Health Frankfort and White Memorial. The coronavirus, now officially known as covid19, appears to have been contained with most of the cases, and deaths in Hubei province, where it all started about 80 days ago. So far there have been at least 80,000 cases and 2,800 dead worldwide. Some 90 percent have been in China, mainly in Hubei province. While cases are showing up, in much smaller numbers, in other parts of the world, there are already vaccines developed and entering human trials (after working on primates) within the next two months. The biggest danger is long-term economic damage, which translates into more poverty and unrest. Treatments have now been developed to handle those infected and keep down the death rate everywhere but Hubei. The death rate is now about one percent worldwide because the genetic makeup of East Asians makes them more susceptible to dying from covid19. As a result the death rate in China is still over two percent. Actually the situation is worse than that in one area. Outside of Hubei province, the death rate is less than one percent. The death rate is much higher (nearly three percent) in Hubei. No one can officially explain that. Hubei residents believe the high death rate is the result of the government underreporting the number of cases, but not being able to fake data on how many died. People still have their cellphones and Internet access. Even with heavy Internet censorship the truth, especially in cases like this, eventually gets out. Another unfortunate development is that catching covid19 does not seem to always provide immunity to catching it again. That is how viral diseases tend to work. About 14 percent of those who recover from the covid19 are later found to be infected again. Moreover, the current virus is worse than the 2003 SARS outbreak in terms of disruption. Covid19 infects more people than SARS and, compared to 2003, China now accounts for twice the percentage of worldwide manufacturing capability. That means twice as many firms worldwide depend on China for components to make cars, aircraft, ships, electronics and all sorts of major items. SARS was disruptive to this supply chain then and covid19 is much more disruptive now and not yet over. Many firms can find another supplier, although production cannot always increase fast enough to minimize the disruptions. In many cases replacing Chinese components is much more expensive and time-consuming. Many foreign firms were already moving production out of China because of rising costs and labor shortages. Then there is its increasingly aggressive foreign policy, especially in East Asia. The South China Sea dispute is but the largest of many. Economists believe the coronavirus impact on the Chinese economy will cut annual GDP growth for 2020 from six percent to as little as three percent. That assumes the virus problem does not get a lot worse and that companies are able to restart their businesses now that the government has lifted travel and quarantine restrictions in most of China. Currently, 24 of Chinas 34 provinces report that they have no new covid19 infections and these provinces are gradually returning to normal. That is important because, in provinces that still have new infections local governments and unofficial citizen groups are often not cooperating and millions of workers are still unable to return to work. This pushes many (at least a third) of firms dangerously close to bankruptcy. The government now promises low-interest loans to help deal with that. Economists expect the economy to make a V shaped recovery but that depends on how long the outbreak lasts, how many foreign firms move operations out of China and how many foreign customers shift to non-Chinese suppliers. It could be a U shaped recovery or worse. Its not just the virus outbreak but various other problems with doing business in or with China. Whatever damage is done to the Chinese economy will be felt more now than in previous crises. Since 2008 Chinese economic growth has comprised 37 percent of global GDP growth. China has become like the U.S. (the worlds largest economy); crucial to global economic health and growth. If the covid19 economic disruptions continue for another month or two that could trigger a worldwide economic recession and long-term damage to Chinese exporters. It is the enormous economic growth during the last three decades than enabled China to create a modern, well-trained military that is increasingly being used to threaten neighbors. Other nations, especially the Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Iran and many African nations where Chinese workers are numerous, are trying to contain the spread of covid19. Success depends on the living standards in each nation and the extent of local medical care. For nations less well equipped to handle an epidemic, like North Korea, Iran and African nations, the infection and death rates could be substantial. Getting medical aid into some of these areas is difficult, especially with North Korea and Iran. The Other Threat The trade war between China and the U.S. caused oil prices to fall below $60 a barrel and covid19 is keeping it down. Even with most Venezuelan and Iranian oil off the market, new production in the U.S. and Canada has more than made up for it. Recently the oil price was further reduced (to near $50) because demand from China, the largest importer worldwide, is still further reduced by economic problems and now the current coronavirus epidemic. The December 2019 covid19 outbreak in China so disrupted economic activity as to significantly reduce its use of imported oil and fill up its oil storage capacity. Now there are many large tankers stuck off its coast waiting for permission to unload. Until that is done, the petroleum supplier does not get paid. Provinces other than Hubei, the original source of and worst hit by the disease, are returning to normal economic activity. Hubei is still in shutdown mode and the situation is not improving fast enough to get a lot of people back to work. In Hubei, many people have been confined to their homes for over a month and depend on local government to deliver food, and check for new infections. North Korea is particularly at risk. The government has taken extraordinary measures to keep coronavirus out of the country and prevent news of any infections from getting out So far the official position is that there have been no confirmed cases in North Korea much less any deaths. Suspected coronavirus victims in the capital are effectively quarantined but in the rest of the country, local officials are on their own with orders to cope as best they can and not publicize any people coming down with coronavirus or dying from it. Such information is considered a state secret and is to be treated as such. Covid19 symptoms are similar enough to influenza and other similar diseases that can, up to a point, to be blamed for coronavirus infections and deaths. But if the number of people stricken and then dying reaches unusual levels the local population will do the math and realize they have been lied to and abandoned by their government. North Korea leaders are hoping that does not happen because if it does it will have a major crisis on its hands and few resources with which to handle it. The best protection from the spread of the disease in North Korea is the sorry state of transportation there. The population does not travel much and even less so now after two years of increased economic sanctions. In early February North Korea halted all Chinese tourism (a major source of foreign currency) and curbed normal (business and government) travel to China. North Korea is also very poor and in no condition to deal with an outbreak of the new virus. Yet North Korea still has a lot of smugglers operating along the Chinese border and in some coastal areas. The border with China has been closed to major traffic since January 30th and that means bulk imports of food and fuel are not arriving. These are legal imports that China is the major supplier of. North Korea cannot afford to maintain much in the way of food or fuel reserves and what reserves do exist are for the military, in case there is a war or other national emergency. These supplies may already have been released to provincial security forces (soldiers and police) but they wont last long if the Chines border remains closed. The South Korean army has thousands of soldiers quarantined until they are cleared of any possible coronavirus infection. All these soldiers had visited China, Hong Kong or Macao recently and the quarantine was just a precaution often applied to any recent South Korean visitors to China. So far South Korea has had 1,200 confirmed cases of the virus and a dozen deaths. Unlike North Korea, the south has the economic and medical resources to handle the virus. February 25, 2020: The Hong Kong protests continue and the economic costs have the city government worries about long-term damage as more firms shift operations elsewhere. Hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions have suffered greatly over the past year. In response, the city government has tried some economic stimulus. Every adult (over 18) resident will be a one-time cash payment of $1,289 to use any way they want. It is hoped that most of that will be spent in Hong Kong and stimulate the economy. Other measures provide direct assistance to companies most damaged by the year of protests and several months of economic disruption because of covid19, which Hong Kong has managed to contain and limit the number of cases in the city. The national government is distracted by the covid19 crises and the city government cannot act without permission from the national leadership. February 24, 2020: China imposed a ban on the sale and consumption of illegal wildlife. These animals, who are offered live in large markets, have always been a delicacy in China and the increased number of people who can afford it has meant more, and larger, markets that provide it. Chinese are big fans of exotic food. Cuisine plays a bigger role in Chinese history and life than just about anywhere else on the planet. Wild game is particularly popular and the more exotic the better. Outlawing consumption makes such delicacies even more desirable. Bringing all those different species together so often provides more opportunities for a new disease created by a virus moving from one species to the other via these animals breathing near each other. With the sale of these animals going underground there will be no large markets and less risk of new diseases developing. The transferred virus cannot survive long outside the animal that exhaled them and in the wild there is miniscule chance of such transfers. In crowded markets, where cages containing many wild species are stacked up for people to closely examine, you get more viral transfers that turn very, very bad. Most viral transfers have no impact at all or one that is benign and often not noticed at all. Even with widespread efforts to ignore the ban, the disappearance of the hundreds of large live wildlife markets will help. But the risk still remains. For thousands of years, China had the largest population of any political entity on the planet. Most of the people were farmers who lived closely (often the same building during bad weather) with domestic animals like swine and poultry (especially ducks). This led to influenza and periodically new strains of the flu. Less often it brings us SARS or the coronavirus. There are still a lot of farmers and this problem may spur greater efforts to improve the lives of farmers and reduce their frequent interaction with the livestock. This disease creation phenomenon is known to Chinese medical professionals but the government long refused to do anything about the hugely popular wild animal trade. It was a matter of priorities. Now the situation has changed and a permanent ban is in effect. If living standards on farms can be increased and the number of farmers decreased this ancient cycle of devastating new diseases may be disrupted. February 22, 2020: In the last year the U.S. surpassed China as Indias largest trading partner. Currently, the value of annual trade between the United States and India is $87 billion. Given the proximity of India and China, it was something of a surprise that the Americans should replace China. Within India, it was no surprise. China is considered Indias most dangerous military threat and the Chinese are not trusted. The U.S. has long sought closer diplomatic, military and military ties with India but until the 1990s that was not possible. After independence in 1947, India adopted socialism, which proved to be a major economic disaster. India also declared itself neutral in the Cold War despite buying most of its weapons from Russia and having a large and active local Communist Party. Then the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 after all the communist governments in East Europe had already done so. At that point, anti-communist sentiment led India to ditch socialism (in theory, anyway) and seek new allies and arms suppliers. The United States and Israel have proved to be the most useful and American firms were eager to do business with India. Millions of Indians who had migrated to the U.S. and become economically successful, and often quite rich, helped encourage Indian firms to check out American suppliers. Indian emphasis on economic growth since the 1990s has paid off because that growth has been spectacular lately, with GDP nearly doubling in the last decade from $1.7 trillion to the current $2.9 trillion. This made India the fifth largest economy, recently surpassing Britain and France. The rest of the top five are the U.S., China, Germany and Japan. Chinese GDP growth is slowing although in the last decade it more than doubled from $6.1 trillion to $14 trillion. But for once the annual Indian GDP growth has been faster than in China, where GDP growth rates have been declining over the last five years. February 20, 2020: The government has ordered its Internet censors to halt the deletion of criticism of Wuhan city and Hubei province officials. Senior leaders in Wuhan and Hubei had recently been replaced because of dissatisfaction about how they had and were handling the covid19 epidemic. Normally the communist government does not allow any criticism of local officials or nations considered friends of China. But that ban can be turned on and off as needed. It is rarely used on senior officials who are still on the job. Officials suspected of corruption or some other misbehavior are another matter, as are countries that have temporarily lost the approval of Chinese leaders. Allowing criticism of Wuhan and Hubei officials now is a means of encouraging the most effective performance. Failure does not mean prison or execution but it does mean the end of a promising career. Success puts an official on the fast track to future promotions and public acclaim as a hero. Lifting criticism of these officials does not mean the freedom to report embarrassing (to the national government) details of how the coronavirus is being handled or anything that would reflect badly on China in general. In a way, lifting censorship on an official means more work for the censors as they now have to filter criticism to suppress anything that reveals too much about China. February 19, 2020: In Hubei province, two new field hospitals the army created in record time (less than ten days near Wuhan, the provincial capital have not been used much, if at all. It took ten days to build the temporary thousand bed hospital and staff it with 1,400 army medical personnel by February 2nd. The army built a second field hospital nearby, with 1,600 beds, less than a week later. These new facilities are for dealing with the covid19 epidemic. It turned out that the army was unable to deliver all the military medical personnel to staff in both hospitals. Some of the soldiers who built the hospitals came down with the virus and army leaders realized that their medical personnel would be needed at army hospitals if the virus hit a large number of military personnel or immediate family. Wuhan could not spare any medical personnel because over 3,000 local doctors and nurses had come down with the disease and most were still being treated while over a hundred had died. Most of these medical casualties were in Hubei and Wuhan. The Chinese military was not as active in dealing with the covid19 crises as they usually are with other natural disasters. The military has questionable combat effectiveness but it has proved increasingly useful during natural disasters. There are very few combat opportunities but a steady supply of natural disasters. What you have to deal with you get better taking care of. Yet this time the military leadership made the case that it was more important to keep covid19 away from the troops than it was for the military to get heavily involved. It was still unclear how long and how severe the epidemic would be and became most of the troops live in barracks and train together any virus cases means there has to be isolation of the uninfected and that is difficult to do. So, without any publicity, the military is sitting this one out. There are other virus related problems for the military. Most military equipment for the armed forces is produced in China many of the local manufacturers have not been able to deliver on time. Deliveries of combat vehicles, aircraft and ships may be delayed months, or worse. If the economic costs of the epidemic are high there will be further cuts to the military budget. February 14, 2020: In Pakistan has enacted new laws that make it easier for the government to block Internet sources that do not cooperate in identifying who is posing material that Pakistani officials consider supporting or being "terrorism, extremism, hate speech, defamation, fake news, incitement to violence and national security". The new law makes it easier for the government to find and punish dissenting or critical voices. This is nothing new as the military has long been using illegal methods to deal with dissidents it could identify. These new laws enable the government to threaten Internet firms with being blocked from Pakistan if they do not cooperate. Some of these firms will not cooperate, knowing that the critical voices they host will still get through to some Pakistanis because no Internet block is completely effective. For that reason, Pakistan is eagerly accepting help from China to improve Internet censorship and blocking capabilities. Unfortunately for Pakistan to run Internet censorship like Chinas is very expensive and Pakistan does not have the cash to fully implement a Pakistani version of the Great Firewall of China. February 10, 2020: The United States announced indictments against Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke and Liu Lei for engineering and supervising a 2017 hacking effort that stole personal data on 145 million Americans from a credit rating firm. The four indicted men work for the Chinese military at the 54th Research Institute. This organization specializes in Cyber Warfare and hacking in particular. Many major hacks have been traced back to the 54th and often to individual personnel there. The four men indicted are not in the United States and probably never will be. So they will be prosecuted in absentia (while not present in court) and if convicted will be subject to arrest anywhere the U.S. can do that. February 9, 2020: In the southeast J-11 fighters and H-6 bombers flew around Taiwan on their way to a training exercise out on the open ocean. Taiwan sent up F-16s to escort the Chinese warplanes lest they get to close to Taiwan. China said it was just another training flight but aerial maneuvers like this are meant to send a message and this time it was apparently a protest against the January re-election of Taiwans pro-independence president. The U.S. sent two B-52 bombers through the Taiwan Strait (the 300 kilometer wide water barrier between China and Taiwan) two days later as a response. February 7, 2020: The military announced it was suspending recruitment efforts for 2020 or until the virus threat was gone. Military recruitment in China is based on the Russian model of two brief (six week) cycles of selecting and putting new recruits into training. The first cycle was supposed to start in a week and is now canceled. The second cycle begins in mid-August. Some senior military officials are known to be in quarantine. Unlike past natural disasters, the troops were not sent in to help. Many units are confined to their bases. The military did provide some medical personnel but these did not arrive in Wuhan until the end of January, two weeks after the coronavirus was recognized as a major health emergency. By early February military transport units were seen moving military and other emergency supplies around. The soldiers operating those trucks wore masks and some were heard complaining about being constantly tested for exposure to coronavirus. Steven K. Green, a professor at Willamette Universitys College of Law, has made significant contributions through his scholarship in the fields of American history, law and religion. Greens work is routinely quoted in the news media, and last month he was cited in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, involves a provision in Montanas constitution that prevents state aid from being directed to religious schools. Greens book, The Bible, the School, and the Constitution: The Clash that Shaped Modern Church-State Doctrine, was cited by both parties and in several of the amicus briefs in Espinoza. In addition, Green submitted an amicus brief on behalf of four national religious denominations. Over the course of his career, Green has authored or collaborated on more than 25 amicus briefs for the Supreme Court. Hes also written several books on legal history, American religious history, and the issues surrounding church and state. Greens work regarding the separation of church and state, specifically the Blaine Amendment, was extensively quoted in a story that was featured last month in Education Week. The piece cites Professor Greens analysis of the complex issues regarding the amendments origins. Garrett Epps of The Atlantic also cited Greens research in The Battle for the Constitution Montana's Original Sin. Epps was exploring the question of potential bias toward the Catholic Church due to the origins of Montana's no aid provision, which forbids the payment of state funds to any school or institution controlled in part or whole by any church, sect or denomination. Green found no evidence that the "no-aid" provisions in the 1889 and 1972 constitutions were motivated by anti-Catholicism. He noted that several of Montanas prominent political leaders, including representatives of Congress, were Catholic. In addition, the Catholic Church was the largest denomination in the territory/state, and the 1889 no-aid provision had the support of Catholics and Protestants alike. Green was also cited by the Martha's Vineyard Times in a recent article by Jack Fruchtman, Church and State, Again. The article touched on issues related to Espinoza. In another article published last month, Paul Rosenburg of Salon.com quoted Greens book, Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of Religious Founding. The book provides a broad perspective on the history of religion in America, including the development of the Christian nation narrative. Rosenburgs story, Religious Wars: With the Christian Right on the Offensive, Activists Are Fighting Back, discusses Christian nationalism and the policies of the current administration. It also touches on the efforts of groups across the nation who are opposed to those policies. Last week, Green wrote a piece for Georgetown Universitys Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs in response to the Berkley Forums Politics of School Prayer. The piece, Trumps Low-Hanging Fruit, traces various iterations of federal guidelines on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools. It explores the guidelines under various administrations and questions the motivations of the Trump Administration revising the guidelines in an election year. At the Willamette University College of Law, Green serves as the Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law and Director for the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy. About the Willamette University College of Law The College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon at Willamette University, the oldest university in the western United States. Willamette Law boasts an innovative program designed to prepare leaders in government, private practice, and business with the lawyering skills needed in the 21st Century. In recent years, outside industry watchers such as Moodys and The National Jurist Magazine have recognized Willamette Law for its positive job placement results. Willamette lawyers are the best dealmakers, problem solvers, community leaders, and change-makers in the most innovative and exciting region in the country. Our location nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley and across the street from the Oregon State Capitol, Supreme Court and many state agencies is an advantage that cannot be matched anywhere in the region. " " McDonald's Shamrock Shake has reached legendary status. It's been on the menu now for 50 years and has a real-life cult following. McDonald's/HowStuffWorks You know spring is coming when you start seeing those quirky ads for McDonald's Shamrock Shake. This minty milkshake has been a staple of the fast-food giant since 1970, outlasting other McD's icons like the McRib (1981) and Chicken McNuggets (1983). In honor of this long-lasting treat, we're diving into the history behind this iconic minty green milkshake. Advertisement History of the Shamrock Shake While the Shamrock Shake made its official debut back in 1970, it was actually dreamt up in 1967 by a Connecticut McDonald's owner and operator Hal Rosen, who created the green shake to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The shake debuted on McDonald's menus three years later. Those fans who look back fondly on the shake might remember that the frozen dessert wasn't always a minty green delight. Surprisingly, in its first iteration, the Shamrock Shake was more citrusy in flavor. Back then the Shamrock Shake customers sipped down on was a vanilla ice cream mashup with lemon/lime sherbet and vanilla syrup. ZERO mint. Three years after that shake was introduced, McDonald's did away with the sherbet altogether and sold it as a simple vanilla shake with green food coloring. In 1983, a significant milkshake moment occurred in fast-food history (OK, we're getting silly here) when McDonald's officially added mint flavor to the recipe, forever solidifying the Shamrock Shake as a one-of-a-kind albeit fleeting addition to the menu. Why did McD's wait more than a decade before deciding to shake things up with this minty flavor? The world may never know. Minty or not, from the moment of its arrival, the Shamrock Shake proved to be a massive hit. Sales from the 1974 shake even paid for Philadelphia's very first Ronald McDonald House. Advertisement OK, But How Does It Taste? McDonald's has a way with its ice cream and the Shamrock Shake is no exception. It's smooth and creamy with a distinct-but-not-overpowering minty flavor. Plus, it's topped with whipped cream. Who doesn't love whipped cream? And this thing has been a success for over 50 years, so McDonald's is obviously doing something right. Part of what they've done right is marketing (and charity). On St. Patrick's Day in 2010, for instance, the "World's Largest Shamrock Shake" (it was 24-feet [7 meters] tall) was dumped into the Chicago River in honor of a $10,000 donation to help build a new Ronald McDonald House in Chicago (see image below). When it comes to ingredients, the shake is surprisingly simple: vanilla reduced fat ice cream, Shamrock Shake syrup (whatever that is, though we presume it includes some leprechaun magic) and whipped light cream. If you're watching your weight or sugar intake, though, don't let the reduced fat ice cream and light cream fool you. A small Shamrock Shake comes in at 460 calories with 13 total grams of fat (8 grams of saturated fat) and a whopping 63 grams of sugar. The large is even worse at almost 800 calories and 112 grams of sugar. Yikes! " " On St. Patrick's Day in 2010, McDonald's dumped the "World's Largest Shamrock Shake" into the Chicago River to help raise money to build a new Ronald McDonald House. U.S. Army Public Affairs, Midwest Advertisement When Can I Get It? Like most good things at McDonald's (the McRib!), you can only grab the Shamrock Shake once a year generally between early February right up through at least St. Patrick's Day. (That's part of what makes it so popular.) But the Shamrock Shake didn't become a national treasure until McDonald's decided that every state in the U.S. deserved it that was in 2012. Before then, the milkshake's cult following jonesing for one had to use McDonald's Shamrock Shake Finder app (yes, there was an app for that) to track down the locations of every single Shamrock Shake-serving McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. Talk about dedication! Throughout its run, the Shamrock Shake has taken many different tastes and forms: the Shamrock Chocolate Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappe, the Shamrock Mocha, the Shamrock Hot Chocolate and an extremely short-lived Shamrock Sundae. McDonald's added a new twist on the fan favorite in 2017: the OREO Shamrock McFlurry. You'll be able to get it again this year, too. NOW THAT'S INTERESTING McDonald's introduced a short-lived character named Uncle O'Grimacey (for all intents and purposes, a green version of Grimace) to promote the shake before phasing him out. Sorry, Uncle O'Grimacey. Advertisement Originally Published: Feb 25, 2020 The search for a missing Tennessee toddler has shifted to the northwest corner of North Carolina as authorities grow increasingly frustrated in their desperate bid to find the little girl, officials said Wednesday. The mother and grandmother of 15-month-old Evelyn Mae Boswell have both been arrested and put in the same jail as deputies in two states continue looking for her, Tennessee's Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said. "They are actively looking in an area in Wilkes County North Carolina" for the girl, Sullivan told reporters. Image: Megan Boswell A representative for the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon. The child, Evelyn Mae Boswell, was last seen in December but was reported missing only this month, authorities have said. The girl's mother, Megan Boswell, 18, has been charged with one count of false reports by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail, officials said. A visibly frustrated Cassidy said Wednesday that the young mother has hindered the search. "Every time we talk to her, her story changes," Cassidy said. "Im serious when I say that. Every single time." Download the NBC News app for breaking news During the course of the investigation, Boswell provided investigators with a number of conflicting statements, the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Further investigation revealed that some of the information provided by Megan Boswell was false," the statement said. Questions have been raised about when Evelyn was last seen and reported missing, and state investigators say that people connected to the girl have given conflicting dates. On Feb. 18, the sheriff's office got a referral from child services after the toddler's grandfather said Evelyn had not been seen for two months, Cassidy has said, and an investigation was launched. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says that the date investigators have of when the girl was last seen was Dec. 26, but "the child's mother, along with others connected to the child, has given conflicting dates." Story continues It was not immediately clear if Boswell has an attorney who could speak on her behalf. The jail said she was still being held late Tuesday. Before she was arrested, Megan Boswell on Tuesday told NBC affiliate WCYB of nearby Bristol, Virginia, that her mother, Angela Boswell, was to babysit Evelyn. "If you talk to anybody who actually knows me, they know that I would never hurt Evelyn or do anything like that," Megan Boswell told the station. She said that she misses her child and that the pain "just gets worse every day." She also said the girl's father, who the sheriff has said is in the military and stationed in Louisiana, was trying to get leave to help look for the girl. A statewide Amber Alert was issued Feb. 19, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. The next day, in a search for clues, authorities asked for help finding a gray BMW in connection to the case. The child's grandmother Angela Boswell and her boyfriend, William McCloud, were arrested in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in that 2007 BMW after its owner reported it stolen, WCYB has reported. After their North Carolina arrest, McCloud told a judge that they did not know the car had not been paid for and that it was given to them by Megan Boswell, according to the station. Megan Boswell told WCYB on Tuesday that she did not want to comment on that claim. Angela Boswell and McCloud were booked into custody on fugitive warrants unrelated to the toddler's disappearance. Angela Boswell was returned to the Sullivan County jail on Monday evening and arraigned on Tuesday on a theft charge, news outlets reported. The little girl's mom, Megan Boswell, was put in the same Tennessee jail Tuesday night, and her bond was set at $25,000, the sheriff's office said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation describes the case as complicated, in part because of the conflicting statements and the fact the child wasn't reported missing right away. "We know you have a lot of questions about this case. So do we," agency spokesman Josh DeVine said in a video that was distributed on social media this week. Authorities are looking for any information that could lead to Evelyn's whereabouts. More than 500 tips have been received, and agents and detectives are continuing to pursue any leads, the agency said. COLUMBUS, Ohio and MILAN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As businesses continue to expand across borders and compete internationally, they increasingly expect an insurance solution that will enable them to effectively manage global commercial risks. It's why Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide), one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the United States, and Generali, one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers, through its P&C unit Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C), are embarking on an innovative joint venture. Today, the two companies announced the creation of N2G Worldwide Insurance Services, LLC (N2G) to support multinational solutions for international commercial clients. Today commercial P&C gross written premium in multinational programs is estimated at ~$33B in US and Europe marketi. N2G will exclusively promote, distribute and administer insurance solutions for multi-national exposures on behalf of both organizations. Business to N2G will be sourced through independent agents, brokers and wholesalers. N2G will leverage Nationwide's strong U.S. based brand recognition and distribution with Generali's footprint as a leading global insurer with a large international network and marketing capabilities across the property and casualty spectrum. Utilizing the combined resources of both Nationwide and Generali, N2G will be well positioned to address the needs of multinational organizations with U.S. operations as well as U.S. based clients with complex multinational insurance needs. Nationwide will assume U.S. risk exposures and Generali (directly or through its partners) will assume non-U.S. exposures. "We are proud to join forces with a strong partner like Generali, combining our trusted customer-focused protection with their existing multinational footprint," said Mark Berven, President & COO, Nationwide Property and Casualty. "This partnership between two insurance powerhouses will elevate the solutions we can offer to commercial members to help them protect their business across the globe with extraordinary care." "This partnership is part of our strategic plan 2021 to be a Life-Time Partner to our customers, offering them innovative and personalized solutions," Marco Sesana, Country Manager Italy & CEO of Generali Italia and Global Business Lines Generali said. "Today we are proud to announce this joint venture that brings together Nationwide's brand recognition and distribution with Generali Global Corporate & Commercial's extensive global network and local knowledge in over 160 countries around the world. N2G will be fully equipped to offer a comprehensive and seamless multinational program to its customers," he added. Bill Skapof will lead N2G as Chief Executive Officer. Skapof joined Generali in 2015 as Head of GC&C US, Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Skapof is a senior P&C underwriting sales executive with 30 plus years' experience developing highly successful product, distribution and sales strategies in support of global commercial markets, having established successful multinational capabilities for the most prominent insurance players in the segment. Backed by Nationwide, rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's and Generali, rated A by A.M. Best and A- by Fitch, N2G will be an organization brokers and agents can trust. N2G will be based in New Jersey and focus solely on serving the needs of multinational commercial insurance clients, opening for business in second quarter 2020. Learn more at: www.N2G.com About Nationwide Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. 2020 About Generali Generali is one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers headquartered in Italy. It is present in 50 countries in the world, with a total premium income of more than 66 billion in 2018, serving 61 million clients. Generali Country Italy and Global Business Lines is the largest unit within the Group, leader in the Italian retail insurance market and is amongst the major insurance players worldwide focusing on corporate business. Via its two units, Generali Global Corporate & Commercial and Generali Employee Benefits it caters the needs of medium and large businesses by providing flexible, custom tailored insurance solutions in P&C (property, casualty, engineering, marine, aviation, cyber and specialty risk) and Life, health protection, and pension plans to local and expat employees of multinational companies in more than 160 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.generaliglobalcorporate.com. i (Source: analysis based on Orbis, RIMS, Bureau of Economics data 2017). Contact: Lyndsey Kleven (614) 249-6349 [email protected] Renato Agalliu +39 342 1889490 [email protected] Carla Di Leva + 39 345 6068447 [email protected] SOURCE Nationwide Related Links http://www.nationwide.com The death toll has risen to 20 now. The tensions amid violence continue. Schools are shut, CBSE board examinations are postponed in the capital, as the riots between Hindu and Muslim in the wake of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register Of Citizens (NRC). Everyone is worried. Even the Hollywood star John Cusack condemned the violence in Northeast Delhi. After celebrities questioned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's silence over the riots in Delhi, he visited Mahatma Gandhi Memorial to pray for peace. "MLAs of the affected areas informed me that there is a severe shortage of police force and police can't take action till they receive orders from the top. I have also asked District Magistrates to take out peace march with police in these areas," he said. After his visit, he posed for photos with other MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Retweeting those pictures, actress Richa Chadha took a dig at him and wrote, "Because, photo op > riots." From Sona Mohapatra and Rekha Bhardwaj, several Bollywood stars have raised their concern over the prevalant situation in Delhi. Here's how Bollywood celebrities have reacted. No protester wants riots. No rioter wants protests. Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) February 24, 2020 Abominable, Loathsome. Repugnant, Vile & Heartbreaking stories I hear & see, #Delhi . #India this isnt what we ever want to be. SONAdevi (@sonamohapatra) February 26, 2020 There is a conflict , confusion inside me coz i am continuously praying for peace, for giving wisdom n peace n kindness in hearts of miscreants, praying for divine intervention and a miracle.. at the same time reading news of only pain violence sufferings is disheartening! rekha bhardwaj (@rekha_bhardwaj) February 26, 2020 So many of my friends were willing to ignore 2002 in favour of development. So many of my friends were willing to accept anything better than the rudderless dynastic rule. The one time I wish I never would have had to say I told you so... #DelhiRiots #DelhiBurning Nikkhil Advani (@nikkhiladvani) February 25, 2020 Dear Indian uncles who have spent years with silent pent up bigotry and racism in them who now casually pass that off as patriotism because it matches the govt narrative, Hating people isn't the same thing as loving India. You're not a patriot, you're a goddam creep. Vir Das (@thevirdas) February 25, 2020 We live in a world where people are still defending this. Some even owning it. With pride. Lets stop worrying about going to hell. Were here. Sandhya Mridul (@sandymridul) February 24, 2020 Stop burning my country! Shruti Seth (@SethShruti) February 25, 2020 Our country feels like the wounded boy towards the end of this video. pic.twitter.com/Yr5uhYWchH Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) February 26, 2020 As per several reports, section 144 has been imposed in North East Delhi currently. Photo: CTV News Dr. Bonnie Henry British Columbia's provincial health officer says plans are in the works to expand the province's battle against the novel coronavirus, which has been diagnosed in seven people. Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday the World Health Organization has not listed the outbreak as a pandemic, but the situation is changing, with confirmed cases in 39 countries. Among the seven people in B.C. with COVID-19, five are doing well and have either recovered or are near recovery, she said. The other two people with COVID-19 are listed as stable in isolation at their home. Henry said the seventh case is a man in his 40s who is a close contact of the sixth case, a woman in her 30s whose diagnosis was confirmed last week after returning from Iran. In the coming days, Henry said B.C. will ramp up its public awareness campaign reminding people about measures to fight COVID-19, including staying home from work or school and not attending mass gatherings if they are sick. The plan will also stress vigilance by international travellers who may be sick upon arriving in Canada. "We are thinking about what is different if we move to having widespread transmission in countries around the world, having widespread transmission of this in Canada and here in B.C.," said Henry. "We are making plans with our health-care system and with our partners across government." Henry said the elderly would be most at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus if it starts to spread. Following the success of the most recent event in late December, Gaeil Lu will be hosting a second 'Ciorcal Comhra agus Cocktails' event in Russells Gin Emporium in Dundalk on March 7 at 7pm. The event is open to everyone no matter what level of Irish they have, from cupla focal to fluency. The event takes place during Seachtain na Gaeilge, which runs for the first two weeks in March each year. The December event attracted a large crowd of local Gaeilgoeirs and Irish language enthusiasts, as Russells had a special 2 for 10 offer on cocktails as Gaeilge Laigheas an Luan, a name selected by a member of the public. The group are again asking members of the public to name a cocktail as Gaeilge to be in with a chance of claiming a free one on the night if your name is chosen. Email your ideas and any queries to cnag.lu@cnag.ie or check out the event Ciorcal Comhra agus Cocktails Dhun Dealgan on Facebook. Gaeil Lu is a volunteer group who are working with Conradh na Gaeilge to promote and spread the use of Irish in Co Louth. These events are an important element in the promotion of Irish in Co. Louth and is part of a wider plan to promote Irish in Louth. The group have recently opened a local Irish speaking Youth Club, Ogras Dhun Dealgan, which operates from the Conradh na Gaeilge building in Seatown place and is open to children from 5th class to 3rd year. Ogras provides the children the opportunity to meet friends and play as Gaeilge and encourages them to use Irish in everyday life. Kayleigh Mulligan, of Gaeil Lu said: We are delighted to see the level of positivity toward the events we have been holding here in Dundalk. We are working on a number of initiatives to create the space for everyone to use the language, have fun with it and be comfortable in doing so. As well as the Pop-Up Gaeltacht/Ciorcal Comhra agus Cocktails in Russells Gin Emporium on March 7th, there will be a Youth Ceili in the Conradh na Gaeilge building on Monday 16th March at 8.30pm. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:26:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close AMMAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Royal Jordanian Airlines on Wednesday said it has suspended its Amman-Rome flights, starting from Feb. 26, 2020, until further notice. "At this stage, RJ (Royal Jordanian Airlines) is also consolidating several flights from Amman to its stations in the Far East, bringing the average of cancellations of weekly Asian operations to up to 50 percent," it said in a statement. The decisions are aimed at the safety of travelers in light of the increasing numbers of infections with coronavirus in Italy and some Asian countries, RJ President Stefan Pichler said in the statement. At Tuesday nights Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina, Former Vice President Joe Biden sidestepped the question of whether hed keep running for president if he lost the state, where hes consistently led polls and held onto strong support from African American voters. The people know me, said Biden, whos seen his national frontrunner status slide as Sen. Bernie Sanders picked up momentum by winning New Hampshire and Nevada. My whole career has been wrapped up in civil rights and civil liberties. Im here to earn it. I intend to win South Carolina and I will win the African American vote here in South Carolina. Biden targeted Sanders on gun safety, arguing the Vermont progressive voted five times against the Brady Bill," which mandated background checks and a five-day waiting period. He referenced the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and said he wasnt implying Sanders was responsible, but the killer would not have been able to get that weapon with the waiting period backed by Biden. Biden, who complained throughout the debate that other candidates were stretching out their answers and cutting each other off, said progressive is about getting things done. Im the only one whos gotten things done." Biden said he took on the National Rifle Association twice, citing his work in the 1990s getting assault weapons and high-capacity magazines banned. He argued Sanders helped give gun manufacturers absolute immunity, a move that has caused carnage on our streets because of the more than 100 million killed since 2007 when Bernie voted to exempt gun manufacturers. If Im elected, Im coming for you and Im going to beat you, Biden said to gun makers and the NRA. Sanders responded by admitting he made a bad vote on the Brady Bill. He added that Joe has voted for terrible trade agreements. Joe voted for the war in Iraq. Sanders noted his voting record has received a D-minus grade from the NRA and said hes backed an assault weapons ban for three decades. Right now my view is we need to expand background checks, end the gun show loophole and do what the American people want, not what the NRA wants, Sanders said. Sanders, whos gearing up for Super Tuesday beyond Saturdays South Carolina primary, also argued multiple times that his economic, environmental and health care policies would help average American workers, particularly people of color. Answering the question of what motto that inspired him, Sanders went to South African leader Nelson Mandela, who said Everything is impossible until it happens. That means if we have the guts to stand up to powerful special interests, were doing phenomenally well, Sanders said. If we can bring working people together, black and white and Latino, we can create a nation where all people have a good standard of living. Billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer, whos gained significant African American support and been polling in third place South Carolina, noted hes the only candidate pushing for reparations to overcome the legacy of slavery. Everything has a subtext of race, Steyer said, whether health care, environmental justice or education. He noted that he started a bank to correct the injustice in the financial services industry to make loans to black, Latino and female business owners and created thousands of affordable housing opportunities. Myung Sung Church has two confirmed patients now. /Korea Times file By Kim Se-jeong Myung Sung Church was scrambling to defend itself Wednesday against critics who are accusing it of being connected to the controversial Shincheonji Church. This comes after one of its pastors was found to have contracted COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak in Korea that mostly affected members of the controversial religious sect. "Myung Sung Church has nothing to do with Shincheonji," the church wrote in a statement on its website. "Nor does it have anything to do with Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo. The church will respond actively to those who make false accusations." PALMDALE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- References at www.bsne1.com The CEO of CWF Flooring, Inc., James Maksimuk of Palmdale, CA has filed a Writ of Certiorari, Case No. 19-493 with the U.S. Supreme Court questioning the Constitutionality of laws requiring corporations to hire legal counsel when appearing in court. Link to original transcript here: https://sporttiles.pro/court-transcripts.pdf. Mr. Maksimuk is asking the Supreme Court to apply the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, Equal Protection Clause (1868) and apply Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific R. Co., 118 U.S. 394 (1886) which states"The Court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which forbids a state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws applies to these corporations. We are all of opinion that it does." so Mr. Maksimuk can refute alleged violations of a trademark without hiring a lawyer / so the corporate defendant can self-represent itself in court. During the trademark violation case against Mr. Maksimuk at the District Court hearing in Utah the judge, Hon. Bruce Jenkins stated to the corporate defendant: "THE COURT: "Yeah. You're welcome to observe, but you're not going to be able to participate." "Three times you have been told that an entity can't represent itself." "MR. MAKSIMUK: "Do I have any opportunity to refute that, Your Honor? "THE COURT: "No. You sit there. You listen." "THE COURT: "Sit down. I don't want to have to have the marshal have you sit down" Consequently, the defendant lost the case and was ordered to pay the legal fees of the Plaintiff. District Court defendant never had his day in court. The legal requirement for corporations to be represented by legal counsel started in about 1840 when Martin Van Buren was president in Commercial & RR Bank of Vicksburg v. Slocomb, Richard & Col, 39 U.S. 60 (1840) decided "because, as such a corporation cannot appear but by attorney" This 180 year old ruling has not been amended. Mr. Maksimuk is asking the Supreme Court to throw out this outdated ruling so to conform with the Equal Protection Clause which states "nor shall any State [...] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". The requirement for corporations to hire legal counsel has impacted small corporation who can't afford the expense of lawyers. Consequently, small corporations-on a common basis- have been issued unfavorable Default Judgments. "In Arizona's courts and other proceedings, the specters of legal fees or default judgments sink small business litigants before they even start." Hon. David B. Gass, Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona stated in his Petition to the Supreme Court of Arizona to Amend Rule 31 of the AZ Supreme Court dated Jan. 08, 2018. That this judicial disparity, rather non-access to the courts, have been acknowledged by the State of Arizona but ignored by the US Government. To address this non-access to the courts AZ has proposed amending Rule 31 of the AZ Supreme Court that will provide corporations to self-represent without legal counsel in courtrooms in Arizona. This amendment to Rule 31 is supported by: 1. Hon. David B. Gass, Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona 2. Hon. Ann A. Scott Timmer, Chair, Atty Regulation Advisory Committee, Phoenix, AZ 3. Mark Brnovich, Attorney General, State of Arizona. 4. Glenn Hamer, President & CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry 5. Atty. Paul V. Avelar (AZ Bar No. 023078) Managing Attorney, Institute for Justice Arizona Office. Sources 1-5 at: https://www.azcourts.gov/Rules-Forum/aft/804 Amendment to Rule 31 is NOT supported by the Arizona State Bar, Lisa Panahi, General Counsel. Atty. Panahi states: "The non-lawyer representative the Petition contemplates do not have the ethical obligations to represent the business 'client'"Grave harm could befall corporate entities who rely upon unqualified representative to present their case." Mr. Maksimuk responds to that assertion with "the fears of the AZ Bar that a layperson does not have the 'ethical obligations' can't be supported by evidence and there is greater harm in non-access to judicial proceeding than having an 'unqualified representative' Mr. Maksimuk adds, "I'm of the opinion the state bar associations oppose corporate self-representation because it may affect their pocketbook." Mr. Maksimuk argues in his Writ of Certiorari that "Government's judicial actions has produced and imposed burdens against low income corporations and conferred benefits to wealthy corporations." The case with the Supreme Court has precedent setting potentials. This case is a constitutional litmus test for the Supreme Court. Will the Supreme Court maintain the status quo and force low income corporations to pay lawyers to speak on their behalf or will the court recognize the judicial disparities between wealthy and low income corporations in the courtroom and apply the intent and spirit of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ? SOURCE CWF Flooring, Inc. DENVER, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NBHC) announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new program to repurchase up to $50.0 million of the Companys common stock from time to time either in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. To date, the Company has repurchased $37.4 million of its previously authorized $50.0 million stock repurchase program announced in August 2016. The new program will go into effect once the existing program is completed. As of the close of business on February 25, 2020, the Company had outstanding 31,177,476 shares of Class A Common Stock, excluding 120,623 shares of restricted Class A common stock issued but not yet vested. Since early 2013, the Company has repurchased 26.6 million shares, or 52% of shares issued, at a weighted average price of $20.03 per share. About National Bank Holdings Corporation National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to shareholder results. Through its bank subsidiary, NBH Bank, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of 101 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. The banks core geographic footprint consists of Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. NBH Bank operates under the following brand names: Community Banks of Colorado in Colorado, Bank Midwest in Kansas and Missouri and Hillcrest Bank in New Mexico, Texas and Utah. It also operates as Community Banks Mortgage, a division of NBH Bank, in Colorado. Additional information about National Bank Holdings Corporation can be found at www.nationalbankholdings.com. For more information visit: cobnks.com, bankmw.com, hillcrestbank.com or nbhbank.com. Or, follow us on any of our social media sites: Community Banks of Colorado: facebook.com/cobnks, twitter.com/cobnks, instagram.com/cobnks; Bank Midwest: facebook.com/bankmw, twitter.com/bank_mw, instagram.com/bankmw; Hillcrest Bank: facebook.com/hillcrestbank, twitter.com/hillcrest_bank; NBH Bank: twitter.com/nbhbank; or connect with any of our brands on LinkedIn. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contain words such as anticipate, believe, can, would, should, could, may, predict, seek, potential, will, estimate, target, plan, project, continuing, ongoing, expect, intend or similar expressions that relate to the Companys strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements involve certain important risks, uncertainties and other factors, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such statements. Such factors include, without limitation, the Risk Factors referenced in our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other risks and uncertainties listed from time to time in our reports and documents filed with the SEC. The Company can give no assurance that any goal or plan or expectation set forth in forward-looking statements can be achieved and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not intend, and assumes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law. [February 26, 2020] Over 5,000 Expected in the Netherlands for Mendix World 2020, Largest Conference for Low-Code Application Development BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mendix , a Siemens business and the global leader in enterprise low-code, today announced that registration is officially open for Mendix World 2020 , the largest gathering of business and IT professionals focused on creating real business results using the leading low-code application development platform. More than 5,000 attendees from around the world are expected for the three-day event, to be held from June 24 at the Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands. Attendees will have unprecedented opportunities for hands-on learning more than 3,000 hours of high-value content in all and access to industry and technology experts. The event is designed to catalyze conversations and the exchange of ideas for implementing low-code development to accelerate digital initiatives throughout the enterprise. This year's conference theme, "Make it Real," emphasizes the real-world stories of organizations of every size, in a host of industries, that are using the low-code platform every day to transform internal and customer-facing operations and achieve real business results. Those stories will describe how to leverage the entire enterprise workforce for software development; how to develop solutions within a flexible, future-proof architecture; and how to create powerfully engaging experiences for employees and customers. "The most important session I attended last year was a presentation by eXp Realty explaining how they moved a monolithic application to a microservices architecture," said Miroslav Samoilenko, managing technical architect at Ingersoll-Rand, a Mendix customer. "I still reference that presentation today. I'm looking forward to Mendix World 2020 to see more of what other Mendix customers are making." Mendix World 2020's high-value content is tailored for IT and business leadership, developers, architects, and business experts and analysts. New this year will be a range of content focusng on solutions for specific industries such as logistics, insurance, financial services, manufacturing, the public sector, and a number of others. These "Mendix Makers" will detail how they scaled up and deployed new mobile services, UX/UI, microservices architecture, IoT, multi-cloud strategies, legacy migration, BizDevOps, and other digital execution success stories using the Mendix low-code platform. The three main content tracks for Mendix World 2020 are: Low-Code for the Enterprise: Exploring what is possible using Mendix to digitalize operations and implement ideas and strategies to gain competitive advantage. Mendix for Industry: Rounding up specific requirements and vertical solutions that address the needs of particular industries. Digital Execution: Detailing the organizational and technical best practices necessary to drive low-code adoption and bring enterprise innovation and transformation to life. In their keynotes, Mendix leadership will chart the course for the future of application development and unveil the latest capabilities and innovations that raise the bar once again for the low-code category. "This year, we're inviting attendees to connect with their peers and colleagues who are 'making it real,'" said Derek Roos, Mendix CEO. "We'll hear compelling stories about how low-code applications are driving real results, real revenue, real growth for enterprises. Executing on immediate and long-term goals for digital execution will be center-stage throughout Mendix World. The future of application development is low-code, and for three days, this will be the center of the low-code universe." For more information and to join in the excitement of Mendix World 2020, please visit mendix.com/mw2020 . Connect with Mendix Follow @Mendix on Twitter Connect with Mendix on LinkedIn About Mendix Mendix , a Siemens business and the global leader in enterprise low-code, is fundamentally reinventing the way applications are built in the digital enterprise. With the Mendix platform, enterprises can 'Make with More,' by broadening an enterprise's development capability to conquer the software development bottleneck; 'Make it Smart,' by making apps with rich native experiences that are intelligent, proactive, and contextual; and 'Make at Scale,' to modernize core systems and build large app portfolios to keep pace with business growth. The Mendix platform is built to promote intense collaboration between business and IT teams and dramatically accelerate application development cycles, while maintaining the highest standards of security, quality, and governance in short, to help enterprises confidently leap into their digital futures. Mendix's 'Go Make It' platform has been adopted by more than 4,000 leading companies around the world. Press Inquiries Katherine Schroeter Account Manager, SHIFT Communications [email protected] (617) 779-1868 Dan Berkowitz Senior Director, Global Communications [email protected] (415) 518-7870 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/over-5-000-expected-in-the-netherlands-for-mendix-world-2020--largest-conference-for-low-code-application-development-301011316.html SOURCE Mendix [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Through our more than 20 years of experience in industry, technology, and change management, we know intimately the people and process challenges organizations often face to realize their desired outcomes. B2B organizations are often challenged by maximizing margin and measurably boosting the bottom line and the reason isnt always a lack of technical capability. Business process shortfalls, inefficient KPIs and a lack of shared vision contribute heavily to the challenge and today, Vendavo, the market leader in commercial excellence solutions, responded with the launch of Vendavo Value Consulting. Most B2B organizations realize that as they seek commercial excellence and improved profitability by offering their customers the right products, at the right prices, at the right time, and in the right manner, frequently changing market and customer demands require an integrated and holistic approach. But the answer isnt just technology. Research shows 78% of technology projects failed to realize even 50% of the originally identified benefits. The primary reason for the friction is found within people and process. Vendavo Value Consulting was created to help companies overcome these challenges in their commercial excellence journey and meet their desired outcomes, said Justin Baily, Director, Value Consulting, Vendavo. Through our more than 20 years of experience in industry, technology, and change management, we know intimately the people and process challenges organizations often face to realize their desired outcomes. Our dedicated team works alongside our customers to ensure that the proper change management process is in place that brings people, business process and technology together, with a focus on achieving the desired KPIs. Organizations embarking on digital transformation journeys can encounter roadblocks when it comes to adopting meaningful KPIs, securing stakeholder engagement, and adoption of new technologies and processes. In the absence of success with these tactics, many organizations fail to achieve promised outcomes. With the launch of Vendavo Value Consulting, Vendavo is the only provider of commercial excellence solutions that also partners with customers after technology go-live to ensure ROI is continuously optimized. The team does this by: Delivering a custom data and process-centric assessment Working with customers to define a value strategy rooted in data analysis and effective price setting strategies. Identifying key strategies necessary for organization-wide change management and communication Providing ongoing guidance for growing value optimization and measurement Too often, new software is seen as the silver bullet solution to every pricing problem. While technology is essential, software alone isnt enough, Bailey said. It must be implemented as an enabler to the process that is executed by individuals. When people, process and technology work in harmony, thats when true value is realized. Supporting Resources: About Vendavo Vendavo powers the shift to digital business for the worlds most demanding B2B companies, unlocking value, growing margin and accelerating revenue. With the Vendavo Commercial Excellence platform, companies develop dynamic customer insights and optimal pricing strategies that maximize margin, boost sales effectiveness and improve customer experience. With an annual margin improvement totaling more than $2.5 billion across companies in chemicals, distribution, high-tech and manufacturing, Vendavo delivers cutting-edge analytics and deep industry expertise that help companies stay one step ahead. Vendavo is headquartered in Denver, CO and has offices around the globe. Learn more at Vendavo.com. Pastor Greg Locke slams Bernie Sanders as wannabe Fidel Castro as Christians debate socialism Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to gain momentum in the party's primary with his promotion of democratic socialism, outspoken internet preacher and lead pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Tennessee has slammed him as the wanna be Fidel Castro of our day. Bernie Sanders is the wanna be Fidel Castro of our day. If you cannot see through his blatant communist agenda, you are absolutely blinded by the fake news and the utter garbage that he propagates. He is one of the greatest dangers that America has ever encountered, Locke tweeted Monday. Locke joined a chorus of evangelical and conservative critics who are unnerved by Sanders continued praise of Fidel Castros regime in Cuba. In a CBS 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday night, Anderson Cooper asked Sanders to defend his position and he said that: We are very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba. But you know, its unfair to simply say, Everything is bad. When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing, even though Fidel Castro did it? He has since maintained his position in subsequent public debates while critics continue to brand him as a communist like Castro. According to Democratic Socialists of America, "Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democraticallyto meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the many decisions that affect our lives." Democracy and socialism go hand in hand. All over the world, wherever the idea of democracy has taken root, the vision of socialism has taken root as welleverywhere but in the United States. Because of this, many false ideas about socialism have developed in the US, the political group argues on its website. The group claims that the goal of the movement is not to have the government own and run everything. Democratic socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. Rather, we believe that social and economic decisions should be made by those whom they most affect, the group adds. A Miami New Times reporter on Wednesday criticized Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for speaking out against what the reporter described as supposed hidden dangers of democratic socialism. In doing so, he noted that in 2015 Rubio said it was unfair to compare Sanders' ideology to that of Fidel Castro's regime in communist Cuba. From an event in New Hampshire in November 2015, CNN reported that Rubio bristled when a member of the audience said the socialism that Sanders promoted had similarities to the Cuban communism Rubio's own family had fled. Rubio pushed back and said even though he didnt support the idea of democratic socialism, Sanders' platform was similar to those of the social-democratic parties that exist in many thriving European nations. "In fairness, they fled communism," Rubio explained at the time. "There is social democracy, right, like you see in Europe, where government provides for every aspect of your life, but there's consequence to that. They fled communism, which is beyond socialism, obviously, where government controls society, but also government controls politics, life, the banning of religion people were being executed." Bernie Sanders is the wanna be Fidel Castro of our day. If you cannot see through his blatant communist agenda, you are absolutely blinded by the fake news and the utter garbage that he propagates. He is one of the greatest dangers that America has ever encountered. Pastor Greg Locke (@pastorlocke) February 24, 2020 Rubio also said that although he didn't believe in Sanders' platform, he did not "personally have a problem with Bernie because he's being honest about what he believes in. I'd love to have that debate." He added, "I don't think it works for America. My argument is, [if] you want to live in a country like that there's like dozens of countries around the world that are socialist move there. We should continue to be America." During a discussion on Fox & Friends on Sunday, a group of Christian pundits hotly debated whether socialism is something Christians should be supporting and Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the 12,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, said socialism is "antithetical to Christianity." The Rev. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, a former Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, who now leads the First St. Paul AME Church, said she believes the way black Christians interpret Scripture would lead them to support things that people would describe as socialist today. I can speak for the African American community because we have always been a faith-led people and very spiritual in everything that we do. Our interpretation of Scripture actually lead us to some of the things that people would call socialist because we believe in things like: what did you do to the least of them; whether you fed the hungry; you clothed the naked; you went to see those that were in prison; but for some reason the message that some of these Democrats left in this race now are trying to relate is not crossing over well to white evangelicals and Im not understanding why, she said. Jonathan Morris, who formerly served in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York as a priest and requested dispensation from the clerical state in 2019, said while Christians are called to do good works, many Americans dont support Sanders approach to government. I could not agree more with what youve said there Dee, in terms of that is what Christians are called to do. To take care of the homeless. To take care of the foreigner. But the problem with the Democratic Party right now is that it has to be my way or the highway. And if its Bernie Sanders, its that times 10. And my way or the highway is government must be the principal caretaker of our needy and thats not just gonna work for a big, big part of the United States of America and especially for value voting Americans, Morris said. He also argued that the Democratic platform in general does not align with values voters on issues like abortion, school choice and religious freedom. I mean these are huge issues. The Democratic platform, and Im not just talking about the candidates, the Democratic platform has said nobody who stands for those things, school choice, limits on abortion or religious liberty issues, can even be in this party. That is segregating a huge swathe of the voting population. Very dangerous, I think, for the Democrats, he said. Jeffress warned that if Democrats nominate Sanders, they will not attract any faith voters. The truth is you do not have to be a socialist to be compassionate and 53% of Americans, Gallup says, will not vote for a socialist and its even higher for Christians. Socialism is absolutely antithetical to Christianity. And if they nominate Bernie Sanders they are not gonna be able to attract any faith voters whatsoever, he said. Haigler disagreed. I totally disagree because people would have said that Jesus was more of a socialist than anything we are talking about today. And so we have to be very careful of how we use the language, she said. Jesus did not sit with the establishment, he overturned tables of the tax collectors, he sat with people who were lepers. He made sure he healed people who people thought should not have been healed. So we have to be very careful how we use this language and try to take ownership of who God is and peoples faith. Jeffress refused to back down from his position. No! Jesus was not a socialist! the preacher insisted. He said render unto Caesar the things that are Ceasars and to God the things that are Gods. He was compassionate. Church is to be compassionate. But you dont have to believe in socialism, which is nothing but communism light and is absolutely opposed to everything that is Christian. An Australian woman has revealed how her dream of having a lasting relationship with her boyfriend took an unexpected turn almost a decade after it was already over. The 36-year-old woman took to Instagram to share a screenshot which revealed a three-line exchange between her and her ex-boyfriend. She sent a message to him which he took eight years and seven months to reply. Jennifer Sally spoke to news.com.au about how her partner Thomas ghosted her for many years. "We were great together. There weren't any red flags, no warning bells. I never met his family because they lived interstate, she said. Thomas wanted to take her to Adelaide where his family resided and also professed his love for her. According to Sally, moving in together was Thomas idea and they found a one-bedroom apartment. Sally said she was looking forward to it. The lease was set with both their names on it. Things didnt go as planned and on the day they were scheduled to shift, Thomas went missing. To say I was devastated would be a major understatement," news.com.au quoted her as saying. The pair's conversation goes back to 2011 when it started with Thomas first text that said, Hey gorgeous, how are ya?" To which Sally replied three days later, "Hey, I'm good thanks. What you been up to?" This message was met with radio silence from Thomas. He did finally reply though, over eight years later. He said his response got delayed due to a phone update! I had an update on my phone long time it's been," read his text. Jennifers is a typical case of ghosting and is currently posted on the news portals podcast Ghosted. Pete Buttigieg speaks to supporters at his party after the Nevada Caucus in Las Vegas: Reuters Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has cancelled a string of events in Florida because of an illness. A spokesman said Mr Buttigieg was sick with a cold. He will attend an event in South Carolina and meetings in Washington next week as planned. Three of the Florida events were fundraisers, with Mr Buttigieg hoping to raise $13m for his campaign before the Super Tuesday primaries on 3 March. Mr Buttigieg has been knocked by other candidates for accepting money from billionaires and for holding a California fundraiser in what his adversary Elizabeth Warren called a wine cave. Florida may prove to be a crucial primary state when it votes on 17 February thanks to its large haul of delegates. However, Mr Buttigieg must first get through primaries in South Carolina, the Super Tuesday states and several others. Mr Buttigieg scored two important results at the start of the primary process, claiming victory in the disputed Iowa caucuses and placing a close second after Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary. But he came a mediocre third in the Nevada caucuses and has yet to pull away from the rest of the candidates in national polls, where Mr Sanders is surging. He has also been criticised for apparently plagiarising Barack Obamas back catalogue of inspirational speeches. University of South Florida medical researchers applied CRISPR technology to study the function of a very large human non-protein coding gene expressed only in placenta, stem cells and certain cancers TAMPA, Fla (Feb. 25, 2020) -- Abnormal formation and growth of the placenta is considered an underlying cause of various pregnancy complications such as miscarriages, preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Yet, much remains to be learned about molecular mechanisms regulating this blood-vessel rich organ vital to the health of a pregnant woman and her growing fetus. A new study by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine researchers has discovered how a very large human non-protein coding gene regulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) - a process that contributes to placental implantation during early pregnancy as well as cancer progression and spread. The USF Health researchers used a powerful genome editing technology called CRISPR (shorthand for "CRISPR-dCas9) to activate all of the chromosome 19 microRNA cluster (known as C19MC), so they could study the gene's function in early pregnancy. C19MC -- one of the largest microRNA gene clusters in the human genome -- is normally turned off and becomes expressed only in the placenta, embryonic stem cells and certain cancers. In their cell model study, published Feb. 20 in Scientific Reports, a Nature research journal, the USF Health team showed that robustly activating C19MC inhibited EMT. But when cells from which the placenta arises (trophoblasts) were exposed to hypoxia - a lack of oxygen like that occurring in early placental development -- C19MC expression was significantly reduced, the researchers found. This loss of C19MC function then freed the trophoblasts to differentiate from stem-like epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells that can migrate and invade much like metastatic tumors. "We were the first to use CRISPR to efficiently activate the entire gene, not just a few regions of this huge gene, in human cell lines," said the paper's senior author Hana Totary-Jain, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "Our study indicates C19MC plays a key role in regulating many genes important in early implantation and placental development and function. The regulation of these genes are critical for proper fetal growth." Dr. Totary-Jain and others in her department collaborated with colleagues in the medical college's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology on the project. The USF Health study offers new insight into how trophoblasts interact with the maternal uterine environment to become more invasive or less invasive in the formation of the placenta, said co-author Umit Kayisli, PhD, a USF Health professor of obstetrics and gynecology. "More research on microRNA expression and how it inhibits the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition may help us better understand and control preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, which account for 5-to-10 percent of all pregnancy complications and premature births." EMT happens early in the formation of the placenta, an organ which attaches to the lining of the uterus during pregnancy and supplies oxygen and nutrients from mother to the growing fetus. During the first trimester, fetal trophoblasts penetrate the maternal uterine lining and modify its blood vessels. This remodeling of the mother's spiral arteries allows oxygenated blood to flow from the mother to fetus. However, the trophoblast invasion prompted by EMT is a tightly coordinated balancing act. If the invasion is too shallow to adequately remodel the maternal blood vessels, preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction can occur. Invasion that progresses too deeply -- beyond normal anchoring of the placenta to the uterine wall - leads to placenta accreta, a rare condition that can cause dangerous bleeding and often require pregnancy termination. "You need the EMT process, but at some point it needs to stop to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes," Dr. Totary-Jain said. "You really need a balance between not enough invasion and too much invasion, and C19MC is important in maintaining that balance." Investigating the effects of altered C19MC expression on cell differentiation and trophoblast invasion has implications not only for a better understanding of normal and abnormal placenta development, but also for cancer and stem cell research, Dr. Totary-Jain added. ### USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and the physicians of USF Health, the largest multispecialty group practice on Florida's west coast. The University of South Florida, established in 1956 and located in Tampa, is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks in the top 25 nationally for research expenditures among public universities, according to the National Science Foundation. In 2018, the Florida Board of Governors designated USF as a Preeminent State Research University, placing USF in the most elite category among the state's 12 public universities. By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Cancellation of a massive Canadian oil sands project leaves Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a fierce critic, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, with the challenge of overcoming their differences to square economic growth with environmental concerns. They are the politicians with the most at stake in Teck Resources' decision Sunday to abandon its Frontier project, which would have created thousands of jobs in Alberta but spewed emissions that would hinder Trudeau's green goals. Instead of waiting for government to decide the project's fate, Teck withdrew, saying investors require "a framework that reconciles resource development and climate change." Trudeau, Kenney and other premiers must now collaborate on a climate plan that accounts for oil developments, said Jack Mintz, president's fellow at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. They "have to lay down arms and start working together," Mintz said. "If Canada wants to stay together, it needs to reach some agreement on resource development." Trudeau is aiming Canada toward carbon neutrality by 2050. Teck's decision was a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for Trudeau and problematic for Kenney, said Ian Urquhart, political science professor emeritus at the University of Alberta. "(It) may push the premier to reconsider whether, to attract the investment he craves, his government needs to take seriously a climate-change policy that will reduce oil sands greenhouse gas emissions," Urquhart said. Kenney, 51, former head of a taxpayer watchdog organization, faces economic pressure to defend the oil industry and political incentive to fight Trudeau, in a right-of-center province where a separatist movement is swelling. Trudeau, 48, is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who was deeply unpopular in Alberta, Canada's largest oil-producing province, for his energy policies. Story continues Kenney's game plan has to date involved support for the oil industry and casting Trudeau as a villain, Urquhart said. Protesters in Canada in recent weeks have blocked rail lines in sympathy with indigenous activists looking to stop construction of a gas pipeline. On Monday, Kenney blamed Teck's withdrawal on Trudeau for allowing regulatory uncertainty and "lawless" protests. He criticized "urban, green-left zealots" for opposing oil projects, but also extended a peace offer. Alberta had offered an oil sands emissions cap in exchange for approval of major projects, before Teck's withdrawal, he said. "We have been ready, willing and able to find an agreement on environmental issues that would also pave the way forward for our industry," Kenney said. The oil industry is already frustrated at federal targets changing from year to year, said Tim McMillan, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Complicating matters for Kenney, Teck's decision likely adds strength to Alberta's separatist movement, Mintz said. "He has to deal with anger here. He needs the federal government to show they take him seriously." Trudeau is always willing to work collaboratively with his provincial counterparts on climate change and supporting Canadian jobs, said Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, a spokeswoman for the prime minister. Capital to develop technology is also needed to cut emissions across the economy, said Reg Curren, spokesman for oil producer Cenovus Energy. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler) COLUMBIA, SC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2020 / While Monaco has a population of only 38,695 and expands across 499 acres, this luxurious country has a lot to offer visitors. Monaco is a sovereign city, state, and country located on the French Riviera and borders France. Travelers visit Monaco due to its decadence, casinos, and Mediterranean atmosphere. Bennett Velasquez loved his experience in Monaco, and he shares the top things to consider before visiting. Tipping Culture is Different For those visiting from the United States, the tipping culture in Monaco can be a bit of a shocker, explained Bennett Velasquez. While in many countries, tipping is custom, visitors shouldn't feel obligated to do it in Monaco. When it comes to most services such as hotel service, the service fee is included in the bill. Those who feel like leaving a little extra for their server are certainly allowed to do so, explained Bennett Velasquez. Beware of Visiting During the Grand Prix Unless visitors want to attend the Grand Prix, Bennett Velasquez recommends they stay away during this time. Not only will travelers face more massive crowds, but the main roads will be closed off in preparation for the race. Monaco is Not a Budget Destination While it's possible to visit many places on a budget, Bennett Velasquez points out that Monaco is not that type of destination. Even by European standards, visitors to Monaco will pay a lot more for meals and accommodations. There are a few things to do for free, but for the most part, people travel to Monaco for a decadent experience, says Bennett Velasquez. Be Prepared to Fight the Crowds As we mentioned before, Monaco is a small country, and it's densely populated for its size. With a population of 38k plus tourists, there can be a lot of people at once. Bennett Velasquez recommends those travelers who are not a fan of big crowds to visit during the off-season. Put on Walking Shoes As a country that sits on two square kilometers, there's no need to travel long distances. Bennett Velasquez mentions that visitors to Monaco should be prepared to do a lot of walking. Besides walking, the only other way to get around Monaco is by city bus or taxi, and taxis are quite expensive. Even though walking can get challenging due to the hilly terrain, it's the best way to enjoy what this city has to offer, Bennett Velasquez adds. Story continues Bennett Velasquez is a young traveler who has visited England, Italy, Spain, Monaco, Colorado, France, Hawaii, and many other places. He hopes to inspire others to travel the world. CONTACT: Caroline Hunter Web Presence, LLC +1 7865519491 SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/577870/Bennett-Velasquezs-Top-Things-to-Know-Before-Visiting-Monaco Jaipur, Feb 26 : At least 25 people died and four others injured when a private bus with a wedding party fell into a river in Rajasthan's Bundi district on Wednesday morning. The accident took place around 9 a.m. at Kota-Dausa highway in Bundi. The survivors said that the tyre of the bus came off while it was crossing the bridge as a result of which the driver lost control. The bus was on its way to Sawai Madhopur from Kota when it lost control while passing through a bridge near Papdi village and fell into Mej river which had no walls around, confirmed police officials. Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal expressed shock over the accident and said that it is sad to receive this news that many people died after the bus fell into Mej river. Chief minister Ashok gehlot also tweeted saying, "I am deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident in #Bundi in which about 25 people have lost lives after the bus fell into river Mej... My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loves ones in this tragedy. I wish speedy recovery to all injured." Meanwhile police officials confirmed that 13 people died on the spot while others breathed their last on the way to the hospital. There are 11 men, 10 women and four children amongst the deceased. Five critically injured were referred to a government hospital in Kota, informed police officials. Most of the deceased are from the same family which belonged to Kota and were going to perform the mayraa ceremony. Local villagers helped with all their resources to fish out the bodies and injured, he said. Close Donald Trump says 'when it gets a little warmer' the coronavirus will 'miraculously go away' Reports of a female flight attendant diagnosed with coronavirus having repeatedly travelling through Los Angeles International airport is sparking fears of an outbreak in the region, as officials confirm 59 cases of the mysterious illness. The unidentified flight attendant reportedly serviced a flight from Tel Aviv to Seoul on 15 February, and had travelled through the LAX airport on multiple occaisions before receiving the diagnosis. A majority of cases in the US (39) are among Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Tokyo. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while the immediate risk of coronavirus to American citizens is low, the global situation suggested a pandemic is now likely. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is once again attacking the fake news media on Twitter over its coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus, a day after US health officials warned the deadly virus would inevitably spread across the country. The president suggested in a series of tweets that the latest developments surrounding the outbreak outbreak were simply the result of news outlets dong everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. The White House has since scheduled a public statement about the virus for 6:00pm EST. Follow live updates below: State Investigation Bureau (SIB) will create a special Department for investigation of the Maidan cases. It also plans to hold meetings with the representatives of public organizations Homeland of Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Invictus Maidan 18.02 as the SIB reported citing its Head Iryna Venedyktova. It is reported that the SIB holds 49 criminal proceedings on Maidan cases. Venedyktova reported to the families of Heavenly Hundred Heroes and their representatives about the progress of their investigation. Our investigators have filed two Maidan cases to the court on kidnapping and murder of journalist Vasyl Serhienko and former militia investigator, who detained the partakers of the protests illegally. A former fighter of Omega special forces is notified on suspicion in murder and attempted murder of Maidan protesters, she noted. Soon, the SIB will create a special Department for investigation of crimes committed due to mass protests in 2013-2014. The competition for the position of the head of this department will be announced soon. One of the criteria of the selection is the experience of the candidate in the investigation of Maidan cases. Besides, this department will be supplemented by new staff, Venedyktova noted. As we reported earlier, the Revolution of Dignity embraces political and social changes that took place in Ukraine from November 21, 2013, to February 2014. They were caused by resistance against the departure of the country's political leadership from the legislatively fixed course towards European integration and its subsequent abandonment of this course. On February 18, 2014, after activists refused to fulfill the ultimatum of the security forces to end the resistance, one of the bloodiest assaults of the Maidan began. It lasted until February 20. More than a hundred people were killed in the shootings. They are called the Heavenly Hundred, and their memory is annually honored on February 20. 02/26/2020 Photo (c) Josie Desmarais - Getty Images Juul, the maker of a popular e-cigarette product, has reportedly told federal regulators that it is willing to redesign its vaporizer so that it unlocks only for people 21 years of age or older. The Wall Street Journal quotes people familiar with the matter as saying that the company is willing to make this accommodation in order to keep its products legal in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate e-cigarette products, as well as all tobacco products. For manufacturers of e-cigarettes, the companies must demonstrate that their products present a net benefit to public health. Thats widely interpreted as meaning the products help adult smokers kick their cigarette habit by switching to e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine in vapor form. While thats a noble objective, public health officials have sounded the alarm over a huge increase in young people getting hooked on nicotine through vaping. Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr, Scott Gottlieb has accused Juul, in particular, of luring young people into the nicotine habit through vaping. Juul proclaims its innocence Juul, in which tobacco company Altria is a stakeholder, has professed its innocence. It says it intends to provide the FDA with more than 250,000 pages of scientific research and marketing materials, as well as an update on its efforts to curb illegal sales to minors, to prove that it has not been marketing to young people. Juul also says it plans to submit additional paperwork over the next three to five years, including an application to market its products as less harmful than cigarettes, to show that its mission has been to help smokers kick their smoking habit. The company has reportedly submitted an application to the FDA that says its product can combat underage use of e-cigarettes by locking the cartridge where the vaping liquid is stored. That would prevent a user from replacing the liquid with one that is more desirable. Juul has been working on this solution for some time. It has introduced products in the U.K. and Canada that allow the cartridge to be locked or unlocked using a Bluetooth connection to a mobile app. Users must submit a photo of themselves and government identification. The app also allows users to monitor their nicotine consumption. The change addresses a new U.S. law that bans sweet and fruity e-cigarette cartridges because underage users tend to favor these flavors rather than the tobacco flavored liquids that are used to wean smokers away from cigarettes. [February 26, 2020] Fintech Pioneer HouseCanary Adds Craig Phillips as Senior Advisor Home valuation fintech pioneer HouseCanary, Inc. today announced that Craig Phillips has joined as a Senior Advisor. Phillips most recently served as Counselor to Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005293/en/ Craig Phillips has joined HouseCanary as a Senior Advisor (Photo: Business Wire) Craig Phillips will be working with CEO and Founder Jeremy Sicklick and the senior team as the lending market undergoes fundamental changes with digital mortgages and automation of appraisals. Phillips is joining HouseCanary at a pivotal time in the mortgage lending industry. Late last year all of the federal banking regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve Board of Governors, adopted a rule that rised the threshold for which a traditional appraisal is required for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. The federal regulator of credit unions, the National Credit Union Administration, is in the process of making a similar modification to its regulations. "Technology changes will likely enable a disruption of the traditional appraisal process as we now know it, benefitting both consumers and lenders," said Mr. Phillips. He continued, "HouseCanary has developed industry-leading analytics that have the ability to support a frictionless home purchase and borrowing experience. I'm excited to join at this period of growth and innovation for the company and the industry." At the U.S. Department of Treasury, Phillips focused on financial institution and capital markets policy, debt management, fiscal policy, fiscal operations, government asset and liability management and general economic policy. He also led development of policy for the regulatory framework of the financial system under the Core Principles established by Executive Order 13772 and managed policy efforts to enhance the financial sector's cyber security and resilience through the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy. Phillips has held leadership roles in driving innovation across the mortgage and capital markets over the past 30 years. Between 2008 and 2017, Mr. Phillips was a Managing Director of BlackRock where he founded and led the Financial Markets Advisory group, a global risk consulting practice that served over 200 unique clients in 32 countries and booked revenue in excess of $1.6 billion. From 1994 to 2006 he was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and led its global Securitized Products Group. "I am honored to have Craig join HouseCanary in this strategically important role," said Jeremy Sicklick, CEO and Founder of HouseCanary. "Craig is a proven leader and pioneer in the mortgage and banking industry. His background in innovation, the private and public sector, and regulatory and financial systems are an asset to HouseCanary as we continue to build the most accurate valuations in the housing industry." About HouseCanary: Founded in 2013, valuation-focused real estate brokerage HouseCanary provides software and services to reshape the real estate marketplace. Financial institutions, investors, lenders, mortgage investors, appraisal management companies, and consumers turn to HouseCanary for industry-leading valuations, forecasts, and transaction-support tools. These clients trust HouseCanary to fuel acquisition, underwriting, portfolio management, and more. Learn more at www.housecanary.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005293/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, today announced that it has been positioned as a 'Leader' in Everest Group's Life Sciences Digital Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2019, globally. Wipro has been investing in people, methods and technologies to help Life Sciences clients lead with innovation and deliver better health outcomes. The company has been enabling digital transformation across the value chain of pharma and medical device companies. In research and development (R&D), manufacturing supply chain, commercial operations and drug safety regulation, Wipro leverages its power of cognitive computing, automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and rich domain expertise to serve clients. This report analyses the capabilities of 23 IT service providers specific to the Life Sciences sector globally. These service providers are mapped on the Everest Group PEAK Matrix, which is a composite index of a range of distinct metrics related to provider's capability and market impact. The research focuses on: IT digital services market trends for Life Sciences, the landscape of service providers for Life Sciences digital services and assessment of the service providers on several capability and market success related dimensions. Abhishek Singh, Vice President, Everest Group said, "Life Sciences enterprises expect their service providers to have strong digital and Life Sciences consulting skills to enable digital transformations. Wipro's success in this market is due to its strategic acquisitions, skills and continued evolution of its value proposition to align to market needs." Steven Duryee, Vice President Global Head, Life Sciences, Wipro Limited said, "The biopharma and medical technology industry is transforming traditional business models. It's an era of great expectations, fleeting markets and global prospects, characterized by experience. Our vision for Life Sciences Digital Services is to address enterprise challenges such as care coordination, patient engagement, development of novel therapies, acceleration in all phases of drug device development and reduction in the execution of studies, while keeping investigator and patient satisfaction at its core. Given that Everest Group PEAK Matrix reports are based, in part, on client feedback, we are especially happy to be recognized for our consulting, intellectual property and ability to deliver on complex digital transformations." The report with a focus on Wipro can be found here. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 175,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005477/en/ Contacts: Purnima Burman Wipro Limited purnima.burman@wipro.com 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... The latest season of Red Scare has come to Sacramento. Driving the news: Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has repeatedly accused Ben Meng, chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), of tacitly working on behalf of the Chinese government. Banks also says that, were it up to him, Meng would be fired and has questioned the patriotism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom for not at least investigating Meng. The most important thing to know is charge against Meng is mostly baseless. And, even were Banks' theories corroborated, it still doesn't make much sense. The backdrop: Rep. Banks claims Meng has "steered" $3.1 billion into 172 Chinese companies, based on CalPERS investment reports. Meng doesn't pick the companies in which CalPERS invests. Neither does anyone at CalPERS, which doesn't have an internal stock trading desk. Almost all CalPERS equity investments, both domestic and international, are done via third-party passive indexes. CalPERS also has a few active equities managers, although again those are third-parties. Some increase in CalPERS exposure to Chinese equities could be based on the FTSE last year deciding to include China A shares, but CalPERS' user of FTSE as a benchmark index (alongside MSCI) long predates Meng's employment. But let's imagine Memg was "steering" this money. It works out to $18 million per company. Big money for most of us, but not for some of the large Chinese companies at issue. Banks acknowledges that other public pensions have similar exposure, but argues CalPERS is different because Meng once was part of the 1,000 Talents Program a Chinese program to recruit and retain the country's best and brightest. The FBI has argued that the Chinese government has sometimes used 1,000 Talents for "unofficial espionage." Meng was born in China, and remained there until his mid-20s. He moved to the U.S., where he became a citizen and held various jobs on Wall Street. He then spent seven years at CalPERS before returning to China as deputy CIO of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), which oversees around $3 trillion of currency reserves. He rejoined CalPERS as CIO in January 2019. Meng claims his involvement with the 1,000 Talents program was limited to recruitment for the SAFE role, and there is no known evidence to the contrary. In one breath, Banks is simply asking Gov. Newsom to investigate Meng. In the next, he's saying there's already enough smoke to have him fired. Quick note: California's governor does not control CalPERS executive employment. That is done by the CalPERS board, which is something CEO Marci Frost makes clear in her public response to Banks. Outside of the personal attacks, Banks is basically arguing for divestment from China or at least from companies at all involved with China's military and/or government intelligence community. Similar to what we heard last year from Sen. Marco Rubio, in terms of the MSCI index. But the proper place to make that case is at the U.S. Treasury Department, or inside the Oval Office. Not on cable news, at the reckless expense of a U.S. citizen tasked with generating financial returns for pensioners. As metropolises balloon with growth and sprawl widens the footprint of cities around the world, access to nature for people living in urban areas is becoming harder to find. If you're lucky, a pocket park might be installed next to a new condominium complex on your block, or perhaps a green roof tops the building where you work downtown. But it's unusual to find places in a city that are relatively wild -- even though our evolutionary history suggests we need interactions with wild nature to thrive. A new study led by the University of Washington has found that not all forms of nature are created equal when considering benefits to people's well-being. Experiencing wildness, specifically, is particularly important for physical and mental health, according to the study published Jan. 29 in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. Past research has found health and wellness benefits of nature for humans, but this is the first study to show that wildness in urban areas is profoundly important for human well-being. "It was clear from our results that different kinds of nature can have different effects on people," said lead author Elizabeth Lev, a graduate student in the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. "The wilder areas in an urban park seem to be affording more benefits to people -- and their most meaningful interactions depended on those relatively wild features." While these findings likely hold true in most major cities, the research team focused on Discovery Park in Seattle, the city's most expansive urban park, which encompasses about 500 acres. The park, less than a 20-minute drive from the downtown core, has faced development pressures common for parks in cities with burgeoning populations. The park's advisory board asked the UW researchers to look at what elements were most important to people who visit, with the goal of gaining usable information for decision-makers. "We looked at Discovery Park, but this is about the entire planet," said senior author Peter Kahn, a UW professor of environmental and forest sciences and psychology. "Everywhere, development is chipping away at wild areas. Humanity has caused so much destruction and there's no stopping it -- unless we stop. We're trying to show that if you're going to develop an area, you at least need to understand the human costs." The research team surveyed several hundred park-goers, asking them to submit a written summary online of a meaningful interaction they had with nature in Discovery Park. The researchers then pored over these submissions, coding experiences into different categories. For example, one participant's experience of "We sat and listened to the waves at the beach for a while" was assigned the categories "sitting at beach" and "listening to waves." Across the 320 participant submissions, a pattern of categories the researchers call a "nature language" began to emerge. After coding all of the submissions, half a dozen categories -- what the researchers call "interaction patterns" -- were noted most often as important to visitors. These include encountering wildlife, walking along the edge of water, gazing out at a view and following an established trail. Additionally, the researchers looked at whether the park's relative wildness was important in each visitor's most meaningful experiences in the park. They defined "relatively wild" as including Discovery Park's varied and relatively unmanaged land, its high levels of biodiversity, its "big nature" like old growth trees, large open spaces, expansive vistas, and people's experience of the park's solitude and removal from civilization. These wild features were important to people's experiences, in nearly every case. For example, "spotting bald eagle" references a relatively wild bird, and "watching birds perched on an old growth tree," denotes a wild habitat where that tree can thrive. Naming each nature experience creates a usable language, which is important for people to be able to recognize and take part in the activities that are most fulfilling and meaningful to them. For example, the experience of walking along the edge of water might be fulfilling for a young professional on a weekend hike in the park. Back downtown during a workday, they can enjoy a more domestic form of this interaction by walking along a fountain or water feature on their lunch break. "We're losing the language of interaction with nature and as we do, we also lose the cultural practice of these deep forms of interaction with nature, the wellsprings of human existence," Kahn said. "We're trying to generate a nature language that helps bring these human-nature interactions back into our daily lives. And for that to happen, we also need to protect nature so that we can interact with it." The researchers hope this study -- and future ones conducted in other cities -- can be used as part of the decision-making process for development proposals in parks and urban natural areas. They compiled their analysis methods into a handbook that can be used to undertake similar studies in other cities around the world. ### Co-authors are Hanzi Chen of Tongji University in China who completed the research as a visiting scholar at the UW and Garrett Esperum, a Seattle resident and member of the Discovery Park Advisory Council. This research was funded by the University of Washington. For more information, contact Lev at elev@uw.edu and Kahn at pkahn@uw.edu. Photos available for download: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MwnA-pl1v6Nk48vKSGTLtPQMpHwCwsLf?usp=sharing (If link doesn't work, copy and paste into a browser) [February 25, 2020] Miller Barondess Files Complaint for Peninsula BH Hotel Accusing Hilton of Corporate Espionage, Unfair Business Practices The owners of the top-rated luxury hotel The Peninsula Beverly Hills filed court papers today accusing Hilton of engaging in corporate espionage and unfair business practices by stealing thousands of proprietary documents to "jump start" the opening of the rival Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, located across the street. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006092/en/ The amended complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses the Hilton Domestic Operating Company, its Waldorf-Astoria Management division, and property owner Oasis West Realty, LLC of conspiring with a former Peninsula BH manager to steal more than 45,000 confidential documents including guest lists, financials, personnel records, marketing plans and operating protocols. The complaint compares the thefts to a previous case when Hilton executives were caught stealing confidential information from Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Starwood sued in U.S. District Court, leading to a 2010 agreement in which Hilton paid $75 million and signed a permanent injunction prohibiting it from using Starwood's data. Hilton also instituted a policy barring every employee from bringing with them or sharing any competitor's trade secrets. The Peninsula BH's complaint, however, calls that policy a "sham" and details how Hilton executives engaged in an "orchestrated scheme to raid and steal the Peninsula's trade secrets" before opening the Waldorf in June 2017-saving millions of dollars in start-up costs. "This is a blatant and outrageous case of corporate espionage, theft of trade secrets and unfair competition where the Hilton Defendants got caught red-handed-once again," it says. The complaint also accuses Hilton officials of covering up the scheme. After discovering th thefts in early 2017, Peninsula BH legal representatives approached Hilton to inquire if it knew anything about the misappropriation of information by Waldorf executives. Hilton's corporate General Counsel reported back that a thorough internal review showed no trace of the Peninsula BH's proprietary information in Hilton files. "This was not true," the complaint says. "Hilton was intimately involved with every aspect of the opening of the Waldorf Hotel, including the misappropriation of Peninsula's information. Hilton, by and through its top lawyers, covered up its culpability." Hilton's deception led Peninsula BH to initially believe the thefts were the rogue actions of former Guest Relations Manager Houssem Tasco. Only after a two-year legal fight, which included constant stalling and obfuscation, did The Peninsula BH finally obtain access to Tasco's personal computer and phone, uncovering the trove of stolen documents that revealed he had been a willing "pawn in the Hilton Defendant's scheme to steal Peninsula's trade secrets," the complaint says. Documents recently obtained in discovery show that while working at The Peninsula BH, Tasco met secretly with Oasis President Ted Kahan and Waldorf Beverly Hills Managing Director Luc Delafosse, who reported directly to Hilton's corporate offices. Delafosse used Tasco as a "mole" to access Peninsula BH's proprietary files for 14 months-from September 2015 to November 2016-while Tasco was still working at The Peninsula BH, the complaint says. Even after the Waldorf hired Tasco away in November 2016, Tasco convinced a former Peninsula BH colleague to leak him the hotel's 150-page operations manual. In all, Tasco emailed, downloaded or took screenshots of more than 45,000 documents. Of particular importance were files on Middle East guests, a lucrative Beverly Hills market segment that accounts for millions of dollars in business. For nearly 30 years, The Peninsula BH has been the choice of well-heeled travelers because it is widely considered one of the best and most successful luxury hotels in the world. It has consistently earned AAA's "Five Diamond" and Forbes' "Five Star" ratings, along with No. 1 rankings from Conde Nast Traveler and Global Traveler Magazine. The Plaintiffs are represented by Skip Miller and a team of lawyers at Miller Barondess LLP in Los Angeles. Per Miller, who is lead counsel: "With a reputation earned over nearly 30 years of exceptional service, The Peninsula Beverly Hills is not afraid of fair competition from anyone else, even Hilton." "But what Hilton did was far from fair," said Miller. "It was a calculated, unethical and illegal scheme to steal the Peninsula playbook-and that playbook is quite unique." About Miller Barondess, LLP: Miller Barondess, LLP is a 35-lawyer firm in Los Angeles handling high-stakes litigation and trial work. Skip Miller is among the top trial lawyers in the nation, representing clients from celebrities to Fortune 500 companies to government in litigation matters. The firm's attorneys hail from top law schools and aggressively and effectively litigate. For more information, please visit www.millerbarondess.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006092/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The security of the strategic Srinagar international airport in Kashmir was on Wednesday taken over by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), six weeks after a Deputy Superintendent of Police posted there was caught ferrying militants out of the valley. According to officials, the process of the CISF taking over the airport security was expedited after DySP Davinder Singh was arrested on January 11 ferrying three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists to Chandigarh. The CISF has deployed over 500 personnel to guard the premises, which includes frisking at the gate followed by comprehensive search ahead of boarding a flight. The CISF, which has been tasked with security of all airports and government installations, will provide a "comprehensive anti-terror cover to the facility", a senior official said. With this, Srinagar airport will be the 62nd civil aviation facility under the cover of the CISF and will be under a commandant-rank officer, they said. Airport Director Santosh Dhoke handed over a ceremonial key of the facility to CISF Special Director General (Airports) M A Ganapathy to mark the induction of the force at the airport which till now was guarded by the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police. Srinagar international airport, which is named after Kashmiri saint Sheikh-ul-Alam, handles around 28 to 30 flights every day. The airport has seen two attempts of suicide attacks by terrorists during the 30-year-long militancy in Kashmir Valley. However, both the attempts failed because of alert security forces. The CISF will be guarding the airport premises while the CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police will secure the outer perimeter. As a precautionary measure, the luggage of passengers is checked thoroughly at the outer perimeter which is nearly 700 metres away from the main airport building. The airport got clearance for operating international flights in 2009 and one Air India Express flight was scheduled to operate once weekly. However, due to lack of demand, the flight could operate only once and was subsequently taken off the schedule. Last year, the airport was cleared for night landing facility as well but these operations are yet to commence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI AHMEDABAD: Former IPS officer D G Vanzara, who was accused in the alleged fake encounters of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh and was later discharged in both the cases, has been given post-retirement promotion as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by the Gujarat government, six years after he retired from service. As per the notification issued by the state Home Department, a copy of which Vanzara tweeted on Tuesday night, he has been promoted as the IGP with effect from September 29, 2007. Additional secretary to the state home department, Nikhil Bhatt, on Wednesday confirmed that his department has issued a notification about Vanzara's promotion. Vanzara, a 1987-batch IPS officer, had retired as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) on May 31, 2014. He was suspended by the state government in May 2007 after his arrest in connection with the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. Later, he was also made an accused in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. The former IPS officer was subsequently discharged in both the cases by special CBI courts, first in August 2017 in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, and then in May last year in the Ishrat Jahan case. "Consequent to clean chit received from Judiciary in all Encounter Cases vch (which) were concocted by Anti- National Forces agnst (against) me & Gujarat Police, I am given Post-Retirement Promotion of Inspector General of Police wef 29-09-2007. I am thankful to both Govt of India & Govt of Gujarat," Vanzara tweeted along with the copy of the government notification. Vanzara was heading the Gujarat ATS when the alleged fake encounters took place. After his arrest in March 2007 by the state CID, Vanzara remained in jail for around seven years. The Sohrabuddin case was transferred to Mumbai in September 2012. He was serving as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Border Range at the time of his arrest. Vanzara, who had joined the police service as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) in 1980, was promoted as an IPS officer in 1987. He served as Deputy Commissioner of Police of Ahmedabad Crime Branch and was later promoted as DIG. He also worked as DIG of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad. Sheikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared. According to the CBI, she, too, was killed. The central agency had claimed that Tulsiram Prajapati, Sheikh's aide and an eyewitness to the alleged encounter, was later killed by the police at Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006. Ishrat, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The police had claimed that they had links with terrorists. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 04:43:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes part in a Likud Party election rally in northern Israeli city of Migdal Haemek on Feb. 25, 2020. As Israel is heading to an unprecedented third election within a year on March 2, polls indicate that a fourth election in a few months seems increasingly realistic. The two main opponents are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, and Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party. (Gil Eliyahu/JINI/Handout via Xinhua) by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- As Israel is heading to an unprecedented third election within a year on March 2, polls indicate that a fourth election in a few months seems increasingly realistic. The two main opponents are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, and Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party. Netanyahu is facing charges of corruption, fraud and breach of trust, but he has denied any wrongdoing. His trial is scheduled to begin two weeks after the election. Gantz remains steadfast in his refusal to sit in a coalition with an indicted leader. Polls are showing no major change in the breakdown of power between the two blocs, and it looks like that there is no one acquiring the 61 seats needed to rule Israel's government. The 120-seat Israeli parliament, or Knesset, appears to remain fragmented beyond repair. "It's difficult for me to see any real chance for a surprise of substantive change in the large picture ... Unfortunately, the most likely scenario is another election," said Assaf Shapira, researcher at the Israeli Democracy Institute. Gantz has also said that he will not form a government with the Arab parties. With the two large parties currently tied, neither is capable of garnering a majority and the path to a fourth election seems clear. Although there was an attempt to replace him within the party ahead of these elections, Netanyahu won the internal vote in the Likud. His loyal supporters believe that he is innocent and since Israeli law does not bar him from remaining in power, they think that Netanyahu has the right to do so. However, his opponents believe that his morals are crooked and he is holding on to his seat only to improve his legal position. If Netanyahu leads the next government, he could promote a law that exempts a sitting prime minister from being prosecuted during his term. "I do think this is Netanyahu's last election but since he is probably the most experienced politician in Israel's history ... one can never count him out," said Jonathan Rynhold, professor from the political science department at the Bar Ilan University. "If there is even one chink of light, which gives him some kind of opportunity, he will take advantage of it," the professor added. Israel has been under an interim government for over a year now. There is no updated budget and long-term projects are at a standstill. While most Israelis are not yet feeling the impact of the political impasse, the longer it persists, the more effects the country will suffer. "This is an acute crisis of the Israeli political system and ... maybe the most acute crisis in the history of the country," Shapira told Xinhua. The looming and realistic threat of a fourth election may be enough to motivate politicians to budge from their steadfast positions and compromise and form a government. This depends largely on the Israeli kingmaker in the political arena, Avigdor Lieberman, head of the leader of the right-wing Israel Our Home party. Lieberman was once a member of the right-wing bloc and made a surprise appearance in the last two elections, saying that he refuses to sit with Orthodox Jewish parties who are in a solid pact with Netanyahu. A few days ago, Lieberman explicitly stated that Netanyahu "could no longer lead." Since polling shows that his party will win between 7-10 mandates, neither Gantz or Netanyahu can gain the majority without Lieberman. While the main issue of the current campaign remains Netanyahu's capability to continue governing, and it is the voters' turnout which will have a critical impact on the results. Still, there is a concern that Israelis are tired of heading to the polls and might express their dismay by simply not showing up. In a race which is so tight, every vote counts. "The public really doesn't want a fourth election and the politicians are aware of that and they do not want to be blamed for it," Rynhold told Xinhua. "People are right when they think the deadlock will continue. Voters vote when they feel they can change the picture," said Shapira. "This increases voter fatigue and we will see a decline in voter turnout but not drastically." Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. When Yael Filipovic joined the Museum of Contemporary Art five years ago she set about bringing the joys of artmaking to people living with dementia. "There was a lot happening in the sector around gallery tours and there was a lot of focus on memory recall," she said. "I thought, 'Actually what if we don't put pressure around memory recall but instead create meaningful experiences in the moment and shift the power dynamics with the care partner'." Anne Latimer, 76, who is living with a form of dementia, paints with her son and carer David Latimer at the MCA. Credit:Kate Geraghty Small groups of older people and their care partners were invited to respond to artworks and get their "hands dirty". Some danced and sang while others who had not written in a while took up paintbrushes; all seemed to have experienced a lift in confidence. Carers found it joyful to work side by side with their loved ones. The results have prompted the MCA to develop an online digital toolkit to take its Art and Dementia program into the wider community. On February 26, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made a phone call to President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Aliyev congratulated President Erdogan on his birthday, and wished him the best of health and success in his activity for the prosperity of brotherly Turkey. The Turkish president thanked President Ilham Aliyev for his attention and congratulations. Pointing to the importance of the meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held in Baku yesterday, the heads of state expressed confidence that the friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries would continue to develop successfully. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz SYRACUSE, N.Y. Syracuse University is temporarily banning travel by students, faculty and staff to South Korea because of the coronavirus outbreak. Anyone who travels to South Korea during the temporary ban will not be able to return to any SU building or facility for 14 days to allow for self-monitoring for any coronavirus symptoms, SU said in an email sent to students and employees this morning. The new travel restrictions come one day after SU announced the suspension of its study aboard program in Florence, Italy. South Korea is experiencing the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of China. It has reported more than 1,200 cases. An American soldier in South Korea tested positive for the virus Wednesday. SU banned all university-related travel last month to China, where the coronavirus outbreak began in December. SU Chancellor Kent Syverud said in the email to faculty the school is working to help students from China and other countries hit hard by the virus who may not be able to go home this summer because of the outbreak. SU is helping them line up housing, classes and jobs if they stay in Syracuse this summer. SU also said it will allow graduating international students to keep their visas if they decide to stay here for graduate school. The University community will remain steadfast in its commitment to provide care and offer empathy to our international students, many of whom are facing incredible challenges, including not being able to travel home and daily worry about their loved ones back home, Syverud said in the email. SU said a working group of faculty, staff, health professionals, emergency managers and administrators are preparing for the possibility of an outbreak in Central New York. Federal health officials warned Tuesday it is a matter of when, not if, the virus will spread in the U.S. There have been 57 cases in the U.S., 40 of them connected to the cruise ship hit by the coronavirus after it docked in Japan. There have been no confirmed cases in New York state. James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The Supreme Court Wednesday deferred the hearing of the Shaheen Bagh matter to 23 March as it took note of the sensitive situation in Delhi over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act The Supreme Court Wednesday deferred the hearing of the Shaheen Bagh matter to 23 March as it took note of the sensitive situation in Delhi over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. "Let this fandom cool down. The timing is not conducive to hear this matter. It is for law enforcing administration to ensure environment is conducive," a Bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph. The court also made some harsh comments about the Delhi Police even as the Solicitor General of India, urged the court not to do so. Justice Joseph said that there was lack of professionalism on part of the police. "The problem is lack of professionalism of police. If this had been done before, this situation would not have risen," Joseph said. Police doesn't have to wait for orders if someone makes inflammatory statements but act in accordance with law, the court said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to this saying that any adverse comments may demoralise the police force. He said, "We are not aware of the ground realities in which the police officials function." He said that the DCP is on the ventilator after he was virtually lynched by the protesters. The Supreme Court said that its remarks are made not in adversarial context but to ensure that the law and order is maintained. The bench said it has nothing against Delhi Police but the remarks are being made keeping in mind the larger perspective. Justice Joseph also gave the example of police in US and UK and said the force has to act professionally as per law if something goes wrong. He added that the remarks are made not in adversarial context but to ensure that law and order is maintained. But apart from these observations, the court refused to intervene in the matter as the Delhi High Court is already hearing related petitions. It also dismissed pleas demanding court monitored-SIT probe in the violence and refused to expand the scope of Shaheen Bagh case to hear the larger matter of violence over CAA. "This is a very limited matter before us. We are not inclined to expand the scope of this petition," the court said. It also refused to discuss the report of the interlocutors which they submitted after trying to negotiate with the Shaheen Bagh protesters. The interlocutors had filed their report in a sealed cover in the apex court on Monday following their talks with protestors at Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of agitation against the CAA for over two months. The court had on 17 February asked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde to "play a constructive role as an interlocutor" and talk to the protestors to move to an alternative site where no public place would be blocked. It had said that Hegde along with advocate Sadhana Ramachandran or any other person of his choice may talk to the protestors. Follow LIVE updates on Delhi Violence over CAA protests here The bench made it clear that the report will not be shared with the petitioners or the lawyers representing the Centre and Delhi Police at this stage. When the counsel representing one of the petitioners requested the court that report be shared with them, the bench said: "We are here. Everyone is here. Let us have the benefit of the report first. The copy of the report is for the court only." The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by advocate Amit Sahni, who had approached the 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 15 December last year. While dealing with Sahni's plea, the high court had asked local authorities to deal with the situation keeping in mind law and order. 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. Restrictions have been imposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on 15 December last year due to protests against CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Advocate Wajahat Habibullah has recently filed an affidavit in the court and said that the protest at Shaheen Bagh 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 Naqvi and Azad in their joint affidavit filed in the court in the matter. 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". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi government and Delhi Police, had told the court that the solution is to remove these protestors from the site. 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". 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 NRC as a "death knell" for their and future generations' survival and existence. With inputs from agencies Oil markets will begin to recover in the second quarter as the virus that has inflicted a big hit on Chinese demand abates, the head of Saudi Aramcos trading unit said. By the end of April, we will not have that fear, Ibrahim Al-Buainain, chief executive of Aramco Trading, said in an interview in London. I am confident that the support and measures taken by countries will contain the virus. Oil prices have slumped to the lowest in a year, slipping below $50 a barrel in New York, as the coronavirus causes massive economic disruption in China and spreads throughout the world. Jet fuel demand has been slashed by about 300,000 to 400,000 barrels a day, mostly in China, according to Al-Buainain. While the abrupt halt in the movement of people and commercial activity threatens to create a huge dent in the global economy, trading has so far remained resilient, said Al-Buainain, speaking after the official opening of the trading units new London office. The trading unit has requested its full monthly allocation of crude from its parent, which in turn is seeing normal customer demand from China, he said. The London office typically buys and sells about 300,000 to 400,000 barrels a day of crude oil, most of it produced by third parties rather than Aramco itself, Al-Buainain said. Sentiment in markets had been upbeat just before the infection struck because Washington and Beijing were resolving differences over trade. Everyone was excited, Al-Buainain said. We were happy the trade war was moving in the right direction. Aramco aims to increase trading volumes of crude and refined products to 6 million barrels a day by the end of 2022, up from 4.5 million a day currently, he said. Thats a year later than the target Al-Buainain outlined in September, which also had been pushed back. The trading venture enables Aramco to balance crude in the upstream and downstream parts of its business, and to offer customers greater flexibility, he said. Heat still rises from the blackened debris inside Khursheeds home as he opens the door, his palms covered in ash from picking his way through what little is left of his belongings with his bare hands. His was one of around eight homes belonging to Muslims targeted by a rampaging mob in this Delhi neighbourhood on Tuesday afternoon, picked for destruction because they sat next to a mosque in this otherwise mostly Hindu-populated neighbourhood, vandalised, looted and then gutted with fire. The mosque was also attacked in what has now become a high profile and especially contentious incident amid three days of religious riots that have so far claimed at least 24 lives. Khursheed said around 400 people came to the Ashok Nagar neighbourhood in the morning and started attacking Muslim properties. Police officers rescued the residents and escorted them to a nearby station for their own safety but, outnumbered, retreated as the vandalism of the mosque began. Look at my home, the whole thing is burnt, as well as all our possessions clothes, utensils everything, he said. There were 11 of us living here, what do I do now? Where will we go? Flags can be seen on the burnt-out mosques minaret in the Ashok Nagar neighbourhood (AFP/Getty) Videos then went viral of men chanting the Hindu nationalist slogan Jai Shri Ram (glory to Lord Ram) as the mosque was vandalised and two flags, one of India and the other showing the Hindu deity Lord Hanuman, were hoisted on its tallest minaret. Due to confusion over the name of the neighbourhood, the Delhi police mistakenly said on Twitter that this mosque had not been targeted and that the videos were misinformation, prompting the major right-wing channel Times Now to run unquestioningly a prime-time segment denouncing the fake footage and those sharing it on TV. Yet the buildings around the mosque were still smoking when The Independent met with the Muslim victims of the attack on Wednesday, as well as the Hindu neighbours who tried to protect them from the mob of outsiders. Khursheed, who works driving a battery-powered autorickshaw, said he does not blame Hindus for what happened, but rather the heightened tensions created by the Modi governments new citizenship laws. Critics say the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and a planned National Register of Citizens (NRC), discriminate against Muslims and threaten Indias secular constitution. He and other residents said they didnt recognise the attackers. I dont know the people who came and did this it is all just politics, he said. I am just very sad for the situation my family is now in. Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures A shop burns as a mob sets it on fire during violence between two groups in Delhi, India on 25 February AP Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Police officers clash with members of Communist Party of India (CPI) as they demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the responsibility about the violence in Delhi on 27 February AFP Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Student members of the Campus Front of India stage a protest in front of the Karnataka Governor's house, also known as the Raj Bhavan, in Bangalore on 27 February AFP/Getty Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Student members of the Campus Front of India stage a protest in front of the Karnataka Governor's house, also known as the Raj Bhavan, in Bangalore on 27 February AFP/Getty Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures People watch on as a car is burned during clashes between hundreds of supporters and opponents of a new citizenship law in Delhi, India on 24 February AP Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Demonstrators form a human chain to protest against India's new citizenship law, in Kolkata on 25 February AFP/Getty Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol a street vandalized in Tuesday's violence in Delhi on 27 February AP Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Police officers detain members of Communist Party of India (CPI) as they demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the responsibility about the violence in Delhi on 27 February AFP/Getty Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Activists of the All India Trinamool Congress party hold electric candles during a vigil condemning he recent sectarian violence in Delhi over the Indian government citizenship law and to demand peace, in Kolkata on 27 February AFP/Getty Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Men look at burnt vehicles at a parking lot in a riot affected area following clashes between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in Delhi on 27 February Reuters Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures A Delhi municipal worker stands next to heaps of the remains of vehicles, steel cupboards and other materials on a street vandalized in Tuesday's violence in Delhi on 27 February AP Religious riots flare up in Delhi: In pictures Relatives, friends and residents gather during the funeral of Mohammad Mudasir, who died in the recent sectarian riots in Delhi AFP/Getty Parveen, another resident, said she had lived in her home in Ashok Nagar for 25 years. Yet seeing it gutted by fire was still not as painful as what the rioters did to the adjacent mosque. We were targeted because we are Muslim, she said. All the shops belonging to Muslims were burnt, while none of the Hindu shops were touched. They want to single us out, to separate us from the other religions. She said Hindus and Muslims in the neighbourhood had never had any problems. We have always prayed together, Hindus and Muslims, in mosques and temples. We have always believed that we are all equal. Like the other residents, Parveen says she bears no ill feelings for her Hindu neighbours, saying that when the mob first came from outside they tried to save us. I am just very sad for the situation my family is now in Khursheed, resident But she says she doesnt know whether the situation will calm down across the city after what happened. She is just thankful she wasnt home to see the mosque attacked. It is totally broken and burnt, we feel worse about that than what happened to our own homes. We were so surprised when we heard they targeted the mosque, we never thought that people could be capable of such a thing. A little down the road from the burnt-out mosque, shattered shop fronts and piles of debris, a group of Hindu neighbours watch the clear-up and are nervous about speaking to the media. A 39-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said he welcomed prime minister Narendra Modis call for calm on Wednesday afternoon, but that it should have come on Monday. He admits the situation is very tense. We have always been living together amicably here, there was no tension, we spent our childhoods together. Now these outsiders have come in and this has happened, and it is the people living here who have to deal with the tension. Muslim homes and businesses stand broken and charred next to attacked mosque (Adam Withnall/The Independent) He points to four armed police officers sitting outside the burnt-out mosque. At least there is some protection now, but we were expecting it earlier. There should have been some procedure in place, he said For some, though, the four officers provide little comfort. A Muslim man whose house across the road from the mosque was burnt, who did not give his name, said the violence had turned into the most terrible outcome possible for this neighbourhood. We were so surprised when we heard they targeted the mosque, we never thought that people could be capable of such a thing Parveen, resident The situation is calmer today but it could still turn turbulent [again]. I see [almost] no police here, no big deployment, nothing. I am obviously worried surely there must be a heavy deployment of police at a place where a mosque has been demolished? Clearly nervous, he says he is only returning briefly to retrieve any key documents that he hopes may have survived the fire. All the documents, all the possessions we have, we had to just leave them behind and just run for our lives, he said. If they are not there, how will I get a job? These attacks are not just damaging property, they are ruining peoples lives. Johnny Depp sent texts during his relationship with Amber Heard saying he would 'drown' and 'burn' his wife then 'f*** the corpse', the High Court has heard today. The Hollywood actor is suing the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article which alleged he had been abusive to his former wife. At a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, Mr Justice Nicol heard 70,000 text messages were 'accidentally' disclosed to the defendants by Mr Depp's former legal team. Adam Wolanski QC, representing News Group Newspapers, told the court the texts are 'very damaging' to Mr Depp's case. The barrister said the messages included texts sent to actor Paul Bettany, in November 2013, in which Mr Depp wrote: 'Let's burn Amber'. Johhny Depp, 56, wearing a blue suit and sunglasses, arrived at London's High Court today where he is suing The Sun newspaper over a column written by Dan Wootton in April 2018 He also wrote: 'Let's drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead.' Mr Wolanksi said that, in a further text to Mr Bettany in May 2014, he wrote: 'I'm gonna properly stop the booze thing darling ... Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past Sunday. 'Ugly, mate... No food for days... Powders... Half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, two bottles of champers on plane and what do you get...??? 'An angry, aggro Injun in a f*****' blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f*** who got near... I'm done. 'I am admittedly too f***** in the head to spray my rage at the one I love... for little reason, as well I'm too old to be that guy. But, pills are fine!!!' Mr Wolanski said the 'significance' of the messages is that Mr Depp's case is that he was not drunk on that flight, while Ms Heard claims he slapped and kicked her and threw his boot at her before passing out in the toilet. The Pirates of the Caribbean star, seen arriving with his legal team, denies his ex-wife Amber Heard's claims that he was violent towards her during their turbulent 18-month marriage The barrister added: 'His version of events is that he was quietly sketching during the flight.' Mr Wolanski said there was another text message from Mr Depp to Ms Heard in March 2013, following an incident in which she claims he assaulted her during a row over a painting, in which he referred to the evening in question as a 'disco bloodbath' and 'horrendous moment'. The barrister also referred to texts sent by Mr Depp's nurse during a 2014 'detox trip' to the Bahamas, in which she revealed that he was 'manic... full on - flipping out' and said he was 'angry with everyone but mostly himself'. David Sherborne, representing Mr Depp, said there is 'no single smoking gun' in any of the evidence disclosed so far which supports Ms Heard's claims Mr Depp was violent. Amber Heard leaves the Superior Court of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, America on May 27, 2016 'Nowhere, I repeat, nowhere, is there a single smoking gun, text or email, no document - unlike Ms Heard's own taped confession we looked at before - there is no document where Mr Depp says 'I hit Ms Heard' let alone 'I hit her on numerous occasions'.' Mr Sherborne said there is no document is because Mr Depp 'simply never did it so they (the defence) are not going to find it.' He said the defendants had the opportunity to look at 70,000 messages and had only found these few. Mr Sherborne added: 'The idea that somehow these texts contradict the account (given by Mr Depp) and are therefore so critical to the defendants' case just simply isn't made out.' The barrister said Mr Depp's witness statement claims it was 'physically impossible' for him to do the things Ms Heard accused him of on that flight, and that two other witnesses supported his account. Actor Johnny Depp leaving the High Court in London after attending a hearing in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton Mr Depp, wearing a suit and blue-tinted glasses, sat in court behind his lawyers throughout the hearing. The 55-year-old denies the allegations of domestic abuse and has accused Ms Heard of being the 'aggressor' in their relationship, which ended in May 2016. Actor Paul Bettany was sent text messages by Mr Depp who wrote: 'Let's burn Amber' The court was told he stopped using law firm Brown Rudnick on February 11 and is now represented by Schillings. The star's libel claim arises out of publication of an article in The Sun in April 2018 under the headline 'Gone Potty How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?' Mr Sherborne told the court the words 'wife-beater' were later removed from the article online. The court previously heard Mr Depp's case is that the article bears the meaning that he was 'guilty, on overwhelming evidence, of serious domestic violence against his then wife, causing significant injury and leading to her fearing for her life, for which the claimant was constrained to pay no less than 5 million to compensate her, and which resulted in him being subjected to a continuing court restraining order; and for that reason is not fit to work in the film industry'. A trial of the libel claim is due to start on March 23 and last for 10 days, during which a number of witnesses will give evidence - including many over video link from California. Depp and Ms Heard will go head to head in the High Court over their conflicting accounts Mr Depp has brought separate libel proceedings against Ms Heard in the US, which Mr Sherborne said are 'ongoing'. In response to today's hearing, Depp's lawyer told MailOnline: 'When The Sun's own reporter Dan Wootton refuses to stand up and testify in support of the falsehoods he's written, the named #MeToo source for the Sun's defamatory article is testifying against them, and Amber Heard's own personal assistant has been subpoenaed and will testify against Ms Heard regarding her trail of abuse, lies and frauds, what is The Sun to do to keep the hoax alive? 'Today we learned the answer - cherry picking a fragment of a text message to a friend out of 500 gigabytes of text and email messages provided. The best that they could muster was a single frustrated email to a friend followed by Mr Depp's assertion that he actually could never harm Amber: 'I am admittedly too f*** in the head to spray my rage at the one I love.' Mr Depp and Ms Heard met on the set of 2011 comedy The Rum Diary and married in Los Angeles in February 2015. In May 2016 Ms Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp after accusing him of abuse, which he denied. The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017, with Ms Heard donating her seven million US dollar (5.5 million) settlement to charity. Despite changes in consumer behavior, book awards remain a powerful tool in the publishing industryespecially for Christian presses. The benefits of winning a book contest today can mean even greater sales for a title, increased visibility, and front-of-mind placement for potential buyers. As a result, more and more Christian houses are submitting their books to religious as well as secular awards programs. We strive to introduce new voices to the fiction world by various means, including nominating our titles for national and state awards, says Karen Steele, senior publicist for Revell. Two Revell fiction titles, All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner and We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels, recently won Michigan Notable Book awards. The win garnered special recognition for the authors, including a feature story in the Detroit Free Press, and the authors will participate in a tour of Michigan libraries. Michigan Notable Books named 20 titles to the 2020 list from a variety of publishers, with Revell the only Christian publisher. Bethany House routinely enters its titles into Christian awards programs as well as general, genre-based contests. This includes the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (won by Bethany authors in 2013, 2014, 2018 in the Inspirational category) and regional programs such as the Midwest Book Award, won by novelist Julie Klassen in 2011 for The Girl in the Gatehouse. In recent years, however, wins have generated a stronger response online, according to Bethany publicist Amy Green. With the rise of social media, authors are able to celebrate award wins with readers more widely, she says. Where only the highly dedicated super-fans would follow awards in the past, now even casual readers can hear about the latest award winner and update their TBR piles. In addition to media coverage and heightened social media engagement, a win can really make a difference in sales, especially if theres a particularly good media machine behind it, Justin Paul Lawrence, senior director of sales and marketing for IVP, tells PW. IVP won several Christianity Today Book Awards this year, plus two Awards of Merit. Lawrence says awards and resulting media coverage is useful given the ease of ordering for customers with mobile commerce, but that contests are just one component of having a successful title. Ultimately, winning awards for literature has always invited new opportunities while also offering encouragement to those across the entire books business, and those values remain undiminished. Every industry has its own award distinctions, Andrea Doering, editorial director at Revell, tells PW. When you love what you do and the industry you are in, you want to know that your work is meeting the standards of the industry. Cindy Bunch, associate publisher and director of editorial at IVP, notes: Authors love winning, of course, and it gives us a reason to re-promote the book and remind readers of it. WASHINGTON Bernie Sanders is leading the race for the Democratic presidential nomination because hes talking about ideas and could give President Donald Trump a run for his money in November, according to former Gov. Chris Christie. Christie, who once ran for president himself, went on CBSs Late Show to analyze the field after Tuesdays Democratic debate. Hes one of the only people up there whos actually talking about ideas, Christie said about Sanders. He also noted that Sanders doesnt care what people say, pointing to the Vermont senators praise of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castros literacy program on 60 Minutes over the weekend. The great thing about Bernie is that they were basically calling him a Castro-loving commie tonight. He said like, 'OK, all right, I am. Now lets talk about Medicare for all. He doesnt care. He hasnt cared for 30 years. Christie, a friend of Trump, also joined Colbert in June after the first Democratic debate and picked California Sen. Kamala Harris as the clear winner. Harris withdrew from the race in December. He said Sanders versus President Donald Trump would be ratings gold. He will be a very interesting opponent for Trump, Christie said. Trump will yell at him and Bernie wont care. He may not even hear him. Who knows? While saying typically socialists dont do well in America, Christie refused to pick the winner of a Sanders-Trump contest. There are no rules any more," he said. Anybody can win or lose an election. Christie said Elizabeth Warren also used to offer policies but she ceded that lane to Sanders. She used to talk about all of the same ideas then she backed off of it, he said. Now everybody doesnt like her because the people who are real progressives dont think shes genuine any more and people who are the moderates dont trust her. He didnt have nice words to say about other Democrats either. He criticized Joe Biden for saying during the debate that 150 million Americans were killed by weapons after Sanders voted to exempt gun manufacturers from liability. He actually meant 150,000. Its like his head is like a file cabinet drawer but there are no file folders. Its just all this paper. He goes, How about this? and he pulls it out and he just start saying stuff like you cant even believe. He also was critical of Mike Bloomberg, the former Republican mayor of New York City. He said to me, Youre excited about being governor?' I said, Yeah. He said, Well, theres only two elected jobs in America worth a crap, mayor of New York and president of the United States, but good for you." During the debate, Bloomberg referred to the naked cowboy, a street performer in Times Square who wears just cowboy boots, a hat and underwear. I know someone whos not going to be likable when you see them and hes not likable, Christie said about Bloomberg. To win for president in this Democratic primary, youve got to have some of those voters fall in love with you. I dont know whos falling in love with the guy whos talking about the naked cowboy when nobody in America knows what hes talking about. Christie didnt confine his barbs to one party. For example, while Trump denies that Russia intervened on his side in the 2016 election, Christie said nobody takes that seriously. Hes wrong about it, Christie said. I believe the 17 different intelligence agencies who say that it actually happened. Hes sensitive about the fact that he thinks it makes his election less valid and he wants to push back against that. The former U.S. attorney also defended the Justice Department against Trumps attacks, saying most of the employees were good people trying to do their jobs the best way they could. Weve seen that the president wants certain people be gone, he said. There are people inside the Justice Department who we know wanted to go after the president." "All this stuff is losing what were supposed to be. The Justice Department is supposed to be the place where everybody can count on to make sure the right thing is done. Not the political thing, the right thing. He said he would have made a better president than the current occupant, and a better attorney general than William Barr, who he said should not have criticized Trump for tweeting about the department. The president gets to say whatever he wants he wants to say, Christie said. Hes the president. Stop complaining and do your job. Is there anyone Christie wouldnt be better than, Colbert asked. Christie replied, I couldnt be a better pitcher for the Mets than Jacob deGrom. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. When it comes to the smallest of creatures, the hydrogen bonds that hold water molecules together to form "surface tension" lend enough strength to support their mass: think of insects that skip across the surface of water. But what happens to small creatures that dwell below the surface of the water? UConn researchers have taken a close look, and in research published recently in The Proceedings of the Royal Society B, have documented how tiny tadpoles are able to access air above the water's surface, breathing without having to break through the surface tension. Tadpoles often live in water with low oxygen levels where fewer predators lurk, but this also means the tadpoles need a way to get to air to breathe. Tadpoles have gills, but they don't usually provide enough oxygen for them to survive, so most tadpoles also have lungs and breathe air as a back-up. But during the earliest period of their lives, tadpoles are too small to break through the water's surface to breathe. Luckily for the tadpoles, they have a way to work around this problem, says ecology and evolutionary biology professor Kurt Schwenk. Tadpoles will often charge upward toward the surface of the water, yet due to their small size and the surface tension of the water, they bounce back down. While watching this during an unrelated study on aquatic salamanders feeding on tadpoles, Schwenk noticed a bubble left behind after one tadpole's visit to the underside of the water's surface. "Many researchers have observed tadpoles breathing at the surface before, but unless you look very closely and slow the action down, you can't see what is actually happening," says Schwenk. Using high-speed macro-videography, Schwenk and graduate researcher Jackson Phillips captured hundreds of breathing events on film shooting at the super slow motion rate of 500-1000 frames per second. The tadpoles were seen to use a never-before-described breathing mechanism they call "bubble-sucking," a novel breathing mechanism for vertebrates captured with novel technology. "This research would have been much more difficult to do before high-speed video cameras were developed, and that is probably why the behavior has not been described before," says Schwenk. The researchers studied tadpoles from five species of frogs -- four of which can be found in Connecticut. What they found was that tadpoles of all species were able to inflate their lungs within a few days of hatching, despite being too small to access air. Instead of breaching the water's surface, the tadpoles were seen to bubble-suck. To bubble-suck, the tadpoles first attach their mouths to the undersurface of the water. They then open their jaws wide and draw a bubble of air into the mouth. What happens next was visible through the skin of some of the tadpoles. The tadpoles empty their lungs into their mouths, where the air mixes with the fresh air of the newly sucked bubble. After the mouth closes, the air bubble is forced down into the lungs, but since the bubble is larger than their lung capacity, a portion of the air remains in the mouth, which is then expelled as a small bubble that floats to the surface. The entire process takes about three tenths of a second. Bubble-sucking appears to be an adaptation the tadpoles use while they are still small. When they grow large enough and charge the water's surface, they are able to break the surface tension and "breach-breathe." The researchers observed bubble-sucking in other species, as well -- larval salamanders and even snails. They note that it is likely limited to organisms that can create the suction necessary, therefore arthropods, like insects, cannot bubble-suck. "As a result of an accidental observation, my research has taken a turn--I never expected to work on these organisms," Schwenk says. "Before, I thought that tadpoles were uninteresting. But now I find them deeply fascinating." Schwenk says this accidental discovery conveys an important point about research in general. "These frog species are incredibly well-studied and very common," he says. "Yet, one can learn new things even about the most common animals, which is a good lesson for students, because when getting into research, one can be left with the sense that it has all been done. The fact is, it hasn't been--we just have to be observant and keep asking questions." ### An Arizona man who confessed to killing his wife and two of his three children ultimately sparing his youngest, as she took after him and not her mother learned Tuesday he will be spending the rest of his life in prison. Austin Smith, 30, had accepted a deal from prosecutors in November, and pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault, according to several local media outlets. The Arizona Republic reports that Smith was sentenced to life on Tuesday, avoiding a possible death sentence. Tuesdays proceedings in Phoenix were confirmed by KPNX and KNXV-TV. Smith was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder in early April 2019. In addition to his wife, 29-year-old Dasia Patterson, and two kids, Mayan Smith, 7, and Nasha Smith, 5, Smith fatally shot a family friend. According to authorities, Smith confessed to the shootings soon after his arrest. He allegedly said he was drinking at a bar the night of April 11 before going home to confront his wife, who he suspected was cheating on him with his brother. She denied cheating on him, but Smith fatally shot her before turning the gun on his 5-year-old daughter, Nasha. He allegedly told police God told him to kill his wife. Smith then beat Mayan to death because she was crying. Next, he headed to his brothers residence, where he was met by Ron Freeman, 46, a friend of the family. RELATED: Man Accused of Killing Wife, 2 Daughters Spared 3rd Because She Reminded Him of Himself, Not Wife Police said Smith admitted to shooting Freeman after he called him crazy for thinking his wife had strayed. Freeman was shot several times, even after hed fallen to the floor. Following his arrest that evening, Smith admitted he spared his youngest daughter because she reminded him of himself. Nasha and Mayan, he said, reminded him of his wife. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLEs free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Pattersons family issued a statement after the killings. We are in anguish over the senseless loss of our beloved Dasia and her young children, it read. As we try to process our profound grief, our focus is on the welfare of her sole surviving three-year-old daughter. She just lost her mother and sisters, and we want nothing more than for her to be with her family right now. In a joint communique released at the end of the conference, representatives of the G20 countries agreed to strengthen global risk monitoring, including the recent outbreak of COVID-19, whilst standing ready to take further action to address these risks. The communique forecast that global economic growth would pick up modestly in 2020 and 2021, with the recovery being supported by the continuation of accommodative financial conditions and some signs of easing trade tensions; however, downside risks to the outlook persist. The G20 members showed their commitment to safeguard the global economy by using all available policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. The G20s meeting took place in the context of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) recently forecasting that the COVID-19 outbreak may curb demand for oil in China and other Asian countries, depressing oil prices further, to as low as US$57 per barrel, and clouding growth prospects across the Middle East. According to Garbis Iradian, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the IIF, the virus outbreak could depress Chinas gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.5 to 0.7%, which would have a dramatic impact on crude oil prices. Meanwhile, in its recent forecast, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said global economic growth this year would decline by 0.1% compared to the previous forecast. Under the chair of the Finance Minister and the Central Bank Governor of Saudi Arabia, officials of G20 member nations focused on discussing the development and severity of the COVID-19 epidemic, affirming their readiness to take action in response to the impact of the epidemic on the global economy. The representative of Japan warned that the COVID-19 epidemic could pose a serious threat to the macroeconomy by stagnating production activities, disrupting travel activities of people as well as goods circulation, and cutting off supply chains. Journalists sit in the media centre during the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 22, 2020. (Reuters) Delegates also talked ways to achieve a more balanced global tax system in the digital era. Frances Finance Minister Le Maire stressed the need to reach a consensus among G20 members on the importance of the international tax system for the sake of fairness and efficiency. He urged G20 leaders to work toward a compromise on this issue later this year. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emphasised that in a global economy, it is impossible for different national tax systems to be in conflict with each other. In this regard, the financial leaders of the G20 endorsed a proposal which was agreed by members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in January, considering it as a foundation for negotiations with multinational business corporations. Under this proposal, countries will be able to tax multinational corporations, including technology corporations, that are doing business activities within their borders. This is said to be primarily aimed at the United States, which has the largest technology companies in the world. The meeting also saw a compromise between G20 members in assessing the impact of climate change on economic growth. Delegates agreed in words concerning the content of the final communique, which mentioned the state of climate change for the first time since US President Donald Trump came to power. However, under US pressure, the final communique of the conference did not touch on the issue that climate change poses risks to global economic growth, because Washington previously opposed the draft communique with a content macroeconomic risk related to environmental stability. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic is on a "V-shaped" trajectory, with a sharp decline in Chinas GDP at the present time and then a strong recovery of this country. However, the IMF chief warned that the situation could cause more catastrophic consequences for other countries, as the impact of the diseases spread widely. Meanwhile, the French Finance Minister said the question that remains open now is whether it will be V-shaped with the rapid recovery of the world economy or it will lead to an L-shape with continuous slowdown in the global economic growth momentum. These assessments show concerns over the potential risks to the health of the world economy and the strong determination of the worlds leading economies in an effort to minimise and prevent risks to global growth. Intel has ordered a halt to all workers business-related travel to China and other countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The chipmaker is not recalling workers already in those countries and described the indefinite travel suspension as a precautionary measure. Still, its another sign of how the virus is affecting commerce and threatening the global economy. Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our employees. We have not recalled workers, but were monitoring the situation closely and working to ensure that our employees in China and elsewhere have the information and resources they need to stay safe, Intel said in a statement Wednesday. Intels travel ban applies to China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Italy. It took effect Tuesday and figures to be a substantial disruption to the chipmakers global operations. Additionally, Intel asked that workers returning home from those countries avoid work at company sites for two weeks and that workers with fever, cough or shortness of breath seek medical care and stay away from their office or factory. Intel is Oregons largest corporate employer, with 20,000 workers at its campuses in Washington County. Its Oregon employees frequently travel to factories and offices around the world, and receive visits from their colleagues overseas. The company has substantial operations in China, including two factories as assembly and test facility in the western city of Chengdu and a memory chip factory in northern China. Neither are close to the center of the outbreak in central Hubei province. Intel said billings to China accounted for 28% of its revenue last year. Apple and many other technology companies have warned that the coronavirus outbreak has impacted production and demand for their products. Intel has not issued such an advisory, but the companys stock price is down 7.6% this week following the broader markets downward amid fears of a pandemic. Nike closed stores in China earlier this month. The company did not respond to a question Wednesday about whether it is restricting employee travel. Clark County laser manufacturer nLight Corp. which has a factory in China and substantial sales there said last week that it expects the virus impacts will cost it $8 million in revenue this quarter. Shares in nLight are down nearly 10% this week. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Sarama Resources Ltd. ("Sarama" or the "Company") (TSX-V:SWA) advises that an updated mineral resource estimate has been compiled on the Karankasso Project (the "Project"), located in south-west Burkina Faso (refer Figure 1). The Project is a joint venture between Sarama and Semafo Inc ("Semafo"), with the parties holding approximate interests of 20% and 80% respectively. The updated mineral resource estimate of 12.74Mt @ 1.73g/t for 709koz Au(4) (reported using a US$1,500/oz gold price assumption) was fully compiled by, or under the supervision of, Semafo in its capacity as operator of the joint venture. The previous mineral resource estimate of 12.3Mt @ 2.03g/t Au for 805koz Au(3) was compiled by Savary Gold Corp ("Savary") and published in November 2017 (reported using a US$1,250/oz gold price assumption). Savary was acquired by Semafo in April 2019 and was the operator of the joint venture and fully compiled, or supervised, the compilation of the November 2017 mineral resource estimate. In the interests of clarity, Sarama notes that in conjunction with the updated mineral resource estimate for the Karankasso Project, Semafo also reported(7) an update of the mineral resource estimate on its adjacent, 100%-owned Bantou Property of 38.37Mt @ 1.24g/t Au for 1.535Moz Au. In conjunction with the updates to the mineral resource estimates, Semafo reported(7) selected recent exploration results from satellite prospects within the joint venture project area, including 21m @ 14.63g/t Au from 63m (KARC19-0127) at the Tiebi Zone, situated at the northern extremities of the Karankasso Project. Sarama notes Semafo's commentary on the 2020 exploration program which indicates that the Tiebi Zone will be a key focus for the Project exploration. Sarama's President and CEO, Andrew Dinning, commented: "Sarama is pleased that the Karankasso Project's mineral resource estimate has been reviewed and revised. The recent high-grade drill results at the Tiebi Zone and other areas within the joint venture between Sarama and Semafo are encouraging and we look forward to further exploration success. The higher grades being realised should result in feed from the Karankasso Project being brought to account earlier in a potential regional development scenario." For further information on the Company's activities, please contact: Andrew Dinning or Paul Schmiede e: info@saramaresources.com t: +61 (0) 8 9363 7600 Figure 1 - Sarama's Principal Property Interests(1,2,4,5) in the Southern Hounde Belt ABOUT SARAMA RESOURCES LTD Sarama Resources Ltd (TSX-V: SWA) is a West African focused gold explorer and developer with substantial landholdings in south-west Burkina Faso. Sarama is focused on maximising the value of its strategic assets and advancing its key projects towards development. Sarama's South Hounde and ThreeBee Projects, in which the Company holds a 100% interest(5) , are located within the prolific Hounde Greenstone Belt in south-west Burkina Faso and are the exploration and development focus of the Company. Its exploration programs have successfully discovered an inferred mineral resource of 2.1Moz gold(1) at the South Hounde Project which is complemented by the ThreeBee Project's Bondi Deposit(5) (historical estimate of mineral resources of 0.3Moz Au measured and indicated and 0.1Moz Au inferred(2). Together, the projects form a cluster of advanced gold deposits, within trucking distance of one another, which potentially offers a development option for a central processing facility fed from multiple sources in the southern Hounde Belt region of Burkina Faso. Sarama has built further optionality into its portfolio including a 600km exploration position in the highly prospective Banfora Belt in south-western Burkina Faso. The Koumandara Project hosts several regional-scale structural features and trends of gold-in-soil anomalism extending for over 40km along strike. Sarama holds approximately 20% participating interest in the Karankasso Project Joint Venture ("JV") which is situated adjacent to the Company's South Hounde Project in Burkina Faso and is a JV between Sarama and Semafo Inc ("Semafo") in which Semafo is the operator of the JV. In February 2020, Semafo declared an updated inferred mineral resource estimate of 709koz gold(4) for the Karankasso Project JV. The Company's Board and management team have a proven track record in Africa and a strong history in the discovery and development of large-scale gold deposits. Sarama is well positioned to build on its current success with a sound strategy to surface and maximise the value of its property portfolio. FOOTNOTES 1. South Hounde Project - 43.0Mt @ 1.5g/t Au (reported above cut-off grades ranging 0.3-2.2g/t Au, reflecting the mining methods and processing flowsheets assumed to assess the likelihood of the inferred mineral resources having reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction). This mineral resource contains an oxide and transition component of 16.0Mt @ 1.2g/t Au for 611koz Au (reported at a cut-off grade of 0.3g/t Au for oxide and 0.8g/t Au for transition material). The effective date of the Company's inferred mineral resource estimate is February 4, 2016. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate please refer to the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report South Hounde Project Update, Bougouriba and Ioba Provinces, Burkina Faso", dated March 31, 2016 and prepared by Adrian Shepherd. Adrian Shepherd is an employee of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and is independent of Sarama. The technical report is available under Sarama's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com 2. Bondi Deposit - 4.1Mt @ 2.1g/t Au for 282,000oz Au (measured and indicated) and 2.5Mt @ 1.8g/t Au for 149,700oz Au (inferred), reported at a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off. i. The historical estimate of the Bondi Deposit reflects a mineral resource estimate compiled by Orezone Gold Corporation ("Orezone") which has an effective date of February 20, 2009. The historical estimate is contained in a technical report titled "Technical Report on the Mineral Resource of the Bondigui Gold Project", dated date of February 20, 2009 and prepared by Yves Buro (the "Bondi Technical Report"). Yves Buro is an employee of Met-Chem Canada Inc and is independent of Orezone and Sarama. The technical report is available under Orezone's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com ii. Sarama believes that the historical estimate is relevant to investors' understanding of the property, as it reflects the most recent technical work undertaken in respect of the Bondi Deposit. iii. The historical estimate was informed by 886 drillholes, assayed for gold by cyanidation methods, were used to interpret mineralised envelopes and geological zones over the area of the historical estimate. Gold grade interpolation was undertaken using ID methodology based on input parameters derived from geostatistical and geological analyses assessments. Field measurements and geological logging of drillholes were used to determine weathering boundaries and bulk densities for modelled blocks. iv. The historical estimate uses the mineral resource reporting categories required under National Instrument 43-101. v. No more recent estimates of the mineral resource or other data are available. vi. Sarama is currently undertaking the necessary verification work in the field and on the desktop that may support the future reclassification of the historical estimate to a mineral resource. vii. A qualified person engaged by Sarama has not undertaken sufficient work to verify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource and Sarama is therefore not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. 3. Karankasso Project previous mineral resource estimates - the previous mineral resource estimate for the Karankasso Project of 12.3Mt @ 2.03g/t Au for 805koz Au (effective date October 5, 2017) and was disclosed on November 1, 2017 by Savary Gold Corp ("Savary" and since acquired by Semafo Inc "Semafo"). For further information regarding that mineral resource estimate, refer to the news release "Savary Gold Announces Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Karankasso JV Project", dated November 1, 2017. The news release is available under Savary's (now Semafo Inc's) profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The mineral resource estimate was prepared by Eugene Puritch, Yungang Wu and Antoine Yassa. Eugene Puritch, Yungang Wu and Antoine Yassa are employees of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and are independent of Savary and Sarama. Sarama has not independently verified Savary's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy. Semafo is the operator of the Karankasso Project JV and Sarama is relying on their Qualified Persons' assurance of the validity of the mineral resource estimate. Additional technical work has been undertaken on the Karankasso Project since the effective date, including but not limited to, metallurgical testwork, exploration drilling and mineral resource estimation, but Sarama is not in a position to quantify the impact of this additional work on the mineral resource estimate referred to above. The effective date of the most recent Karankasso Project JV mineral resource estimate that is supported by a technical report is October 7, 2015. For further information regarding that mineral resource estimate please refer to the technical report titled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Karankasso Project, Burkina Faso", dated October 7, 2015 and prepared by Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa. Eugene Puritch and Antoine Yassa are employees of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. and are independent of Savary and Sarama. The technical report is available under Savary's (now Semafo Inc's) profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com Sarama has not independently verified Savary's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy. Semafo is the operator of the Karankasso Project JV and Sarama is relying on their Qualified Persons' assurance of the validity of the mineral resource estimate. Additional technical work has been undertaken on the Karankasso Project since the effective date, including but not limited to, metallurgical testwork, exploration drilling and mineral resource estimation, but Sarama is not in a position to quantify the impact of this additional work on the mineral resource estimate referred to above. 4. Karankasso Project current mineral resource estimate - the current mineral resource estimate for the Karankasso Project of 12.74Mt @ 1.73g/t Au for 709koz Au (effective date of December 31, 2019) was disclosed on February 24, 2020 by Semafo Inc ("Semafo"). For further information regarding that mineral resource estimate, refer to the news release "Semafo: Bantou Project Inferred Resources Increase to 2.2Moz" dated February 24, 2020. The news release is available under Semafo's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The mineral resource estimate was fully prepared by, or under the supervision of Semafo. Sarama has not independently verified Semafo's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy. Semafo is the operator of the Karankasso Project JV and Sarama is relying on their Qualified Persons' assurance of the validity of the mineral resource estimate. Additional technical work has been undertaken on the Karankasso Project since the effective date but Sarama is not in a position to quantify the impact of this additional work on the mineral resource estimate referred to above. 5. The ThreeBee Project comprises the Djarkadougou, Botoro, Bamako 2(6) and Nakar (formerly Bouni)(6) Properties and Sarama has, or is entitled to have, a 100% interest in each of the properties. The Djarkadougou Exploration Permit is going through a process with the government of Burkina Faso where it is required it be re-issued as a new full-term exploration permit. The Company is in discussion with senior government officials regarding certain impediments to the re-issue of the Exploration Permit and anticipates these discussions will be completed in due course, though there can be no assurance that the process will be successfully completed on a timely basis, or at all. 6. For further information regarding the drilling on the Bamako 2 (formerly Bamako) and Nakar (formerly Bouni) Properties, please refer to the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report South Hounde Project Update, Bougouriba and Ioba Provinces, Burkina Faso", dated October 28, 2013 and prepared by Adrian Shepherd. Adrian Shepherd is an employee of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and is considered independent of Sarama. The technical report is available under Sarama's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com 7. Semafo Inc news release dated February 24, 2020. CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Information in this disclosure that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the potential for the Karankassom South Hounde and ThreeBee Projects to host mineralization of economic significance, any potential development of a central processing facility as part of regional project development, the potential for the receipt of regulatory approvals, the potential of the projects to host mineralization of significance to support regional development plans, the timing and prospects for the re-issuance of the Djarkadougou Exploration Permit by the Government of Burkina Faso, plans for exploration and development at the South Hounde, ThreeBee and Karankasso Projects, the potential to expand the present oxide component of the existing estimated mineral resources at the South Hounde Project and the reliability of the historical estimate of mineral resources at the Bondi Deposit. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may vary from the results suggested by such forward-looking statements due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors include, among others, that the business of exploration for gold and other precious minerals involves a high degree of risk and is highly speculative in nature; Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves, they do not have demonstrated economic viability, and there is no certainty that they can be upgraded to Mineral Reserves through continued exploration; few properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; the actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. There can be no assurance that any mineralisation that is discovered will be proven to be economic, or that future required regulatory licensing or approvals will be obtained. However, the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration activities, the sufficiency of funding, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold and other precious metals, that the Company will not be affected by adverse political events, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain further financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Sarama does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. QUALIFIED PERSONS' STATEMENT Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to exploration activities on the Company's properties in Burkina Faso is based on information compiled or approved by Guy Scherrer. Guy Scherrer is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Guy Scherrer consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to the preparation of the South Hounde Project mineral resource estimate is based on information compiled or approved by Adrian Shepherd. Adrian Shepherd is an employee of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and is independent of Sarama Resources Ltd. Adrian Shepherd is a Chartered Professional Member in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Adrian Shepherd consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Scientific or technical information in this disclosure, in respect of the Bondi Deposit relating to mineral resource and exploration information drawn from the Technical Report prepared for Orezone on that deposit has been approved by Guy Scherrer. Guy Scherrer is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Guy Scherrer consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to the quotation of the Karankasso Project's mineral resource estimate and exploration activities is based on information compiled by Paul Schmiede. Paul Schmiede is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a Fellow in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Paul Schmiede has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Paul Schmiede consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Paul Schmiede and Sarama have not independently verified Savary's or Semafo's mineral resource estimates and take no responsibility for their accuracy. SOURCE: Sarama Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577955/Sarama-Resources-Announces-Updated-Mineral-Resource-Estimate-for-the-Karankasso-Joint-Venture-Project-South-West-Burkina-Faso She dumped ex Rhyce Power during an Instagram live video after she allegedly discovered that he'd had a threesome with two other women on her birthday. And it looks like personal trainer Cheyenne O'Leary, 24, has done a partner swap, as she has now moved on with Rhyce's sister Jessika Power's ex boyfriend. Cheyenne was seen leaving professional BMX rider Matt Whyatt's apartment on the Gold Coast, Queensland, on Saturday morning, before the pair made their way to get breakfast. MAFS couple swap! Jessika and Rhyce Power's partners Matt Whyatt (left) and Cheyenne O'Leary (right) appear to have moved on from their past relationships... with each other The couple opted for comfort for the morning outing, with Cheyenne dressed in a plunging black button-up dress which showed off her ample cleavage. She had her blonde tresses down while wearing a full face of makeup. Cheyenne completed her look with black nail polish, a hair band around her left arm and black strappy flat shoes. Moving on: Cheyenne was seen leaving professional BMX rider Matt's apartment on the Gold Coast , Queensland, on Saturday morning, before the pair made their way to get breakfast Meanwhile, former Bachelorette star Matt, who failed to match with Angie Kent on last year's series, opted to go shirtless, giving onlookers a full glimpse of his tattooed chest. He wore black shorts, a black hat with the letters LSKD on them and a pair of flip flops. During the outing, Cheyenne had her hands full as she gripped onto a bag of McDonald's with one hand and had her iPhone, wallet and a coffee in the other. The morning after the night before? The couple opted for comfort for the morning outing, with Cheyenne dressed in a plunging black button-up dress which showed off her ample cleavage The professional dirt bike rider appeared to keep his meal light, opting to only order a caffeinated drink. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Cheyenne for comment, however she refused to discuss her new romance. Matt sparked romance rumours with Jessika Power back in September last year, after they were spotted 'going home together' following a meet up at a Gold Coast nightclub. Remember this? Matt sparked romance rumours with Jessika Power back in September last year, after they were spotted 'going home together' following a meet up at a Gold Coast nightclub Back in September, Matt claimed that he tried to keep his relationship with Jessika a secret, but she had other ideas. Speaking to Now To Love, he said: 'I didn't know how situations with the paparazzi worked. I got asked to do things and I did them.' Meanwhile, Rhyce and Cheyenne had started dating last August, and the carpenter later relocated to Queensland to focus on his relationship, which only lasted a mere four months. The sell-off in equity markets continued for the fourth consecutive session on February 26 as bears stayed in control. Concerns over the widespread impact of coronavirus on the global economy dented sentiment. Investors also looked cautious ahead of the December quarter GDP data on Friday as well the February F&O expiry on Thursday. The BSE Sensex fell below the psychological 40,000-mark, down 392.24 points at 39,888.96, taking the total four-day loss to over 1,400 points. The Nifty 50 closed below the 200-day simple moving average (which was placed at 11,685), declining 119.40 points or 1.01 percent to 11,678.50, forming a bearish candle on daily charts. The market breadth remained in favour of bears as about two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE. Experts feel the market may remain volatile in the near term given the F&O expiry and spread of coronavirus outside China. The 200-day SMA would be a crucial level to watch out for. "At the current juncture, Nifty is hovering around its key cluster and 200 SMA on a daily scale. However, till the time Nifty holds below its immediate resistance of 11,800-mark, bears will have an upper hand on the market and we may see a further correction towards 11,615-11,500 levels," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services told Moneycontrol. Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities also feels having not showed any decent upside recovery from near the support, there is a possibility of more weakness in the next session. "The Nifty is expected to show upside bounce from near 11,600-11,550 levels in the next few sessions." We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades: Key support and resistance level for Nifty According to the pivot charts, the key support level for Nifty is placed at 11,617.67, followed by 11,556.83. If the index continues moving up, key resistance levels to watch out for are 11,761.27 and 11,844.03. Nifty Bank Nifty Bank fell 0.41 percent to close at 30,306.80. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 30,120.64, followed by 29,934.47. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 30,504.14 and 30,701.47. Call options data Maximum Call open interest (OI) of 47.40 lakh contracts was seen at the 12,000 strike price. It will act as a crucial resistance level in the February series. This is followed by 11,900 strike price, which holds 35.24 lakh contracts in open interest, and 11,800, which has accumulated 31.08 lakh contracts in open interest. Significant call writing was seen at the 11,800 strike price, which added 13.87 lakh contracts, followed by 11,700 strike price that added 12.89 lakh contracts and 11,600 strike price, which added 1.27 lakh contracts. Call unwinding was witnessed at 12,200 strike price, which shed 15.29 lakh contracts, followed by 12,100 which shed 8.34 lakh contracts and 12,300 strike, which shed 7.06 lakh contracts. Put options data Maximum Put open interest of 26.72 lakh contracts was seen at 11,600 strike price, which will act as crucial support in the February series. This is followed by 11,500 strike price, which holds 23.91 lakh contracts in open interest, and 11,300 strike price, which has accumulated 12.71 lakh contracts in open interest. Put writing was seen at the 11,600 strike price, which added 4 lakh contracts, followed by 11,500 strike, which added 2.15 lakh contracts. Put unwinding was seen at 11,800 strike price, which shed 15.93 lakh contracts, followed by 11,900 strike price which shed 6.45 lakh contracts and 11,700 strike, which shed 4.03 lakh contracts. Stocks with a high delivery percentage A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks. 7 stocks saw long build-up Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 7 stocks in which long build-up was seen. 72 stocks saw long unwinding Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long unwinding was seen. 49 stocks saw short build-up An increase in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short build-up was seen. 12 stocks witnessed short-covering A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short-covering. Based on open interest (OI) future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short-covering was seen. Bulk deals (For more bulk deals, click here) Analysts and Board Meetings Chalet Hotels: Company's officials will meet Fidelity International and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company on February 27. Finolex Industries: Analyst/Investors meet arranged on February 27 and 28. Kirloskar Oil Engines: Company to consider the declaration of interim dividend, if any, on March 6. Aster DM Healthcare: Meeting is scheduled to held on February 27 in Dubai with Thornburg Asset Management. Praj Industries: Company to consider the declaration of interim dividend on March 5. Stocks in the news HUL: NCLT approved Scheme Of Amalgamation and agreement between GSK Consumer Health and HUL. DB Corp: Promoter created pledge on 20.43 lakh shares (1.17 percent equity) on February 24. RITES: Government to sell up to 5 percent stake in the company via OFS, floor price set at Rs 298 per share. Thomas Cook: Company to buyback 2.61 crore shares at Rs 57.50 per share. Container Corporation of India: Service agreement signed between CONCOR and Joint Stock Company, Russian Railways Logistics. CCL Products: Company declared second interim dividend of Rs 1.50 and special dividend of Rs 1.50 per share. City Union Bank: Bank has inaugurated 3 new branches at Saligramam, Noida & Tirukalukundram on February 26. Gravita India: Step-down subsidiary Gravita Cameroon closed itself due to operational losses. Carborundum Universal: Company declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.75 per share. Mahanagar Gas: Company declared an interim dividend of Rs 9.50 per share. CreditAccess Grameen: RBI granted it's no objection to the acquisition and to the consequent changes in the control and directors of MMFL. PTL Enterprises: Company declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share. InterGlobe Aviation: IndiGo CEO strongly denied any allegations of wrongdoing or avoidance of processes - CNBC-TV18. FII and DII data Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,336.6 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares of worth Rs 2,785.67 crore in the Indian equity market on February 26, provisional data available on the NSE showed. Stocks under F&O ban on NSE Yes Bank is under the F&O ban for February 27. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press NEW DELHI President Trump lashed out at two liberal Supreme Court justices Tuesday, escalating his battle with the judicial system to new heights despite entreaties by his attorney general to refrain from Twitter blasts that complicate the administrations legal fights. Weighing in on a domestic matter on a day of ceremony and meetings in India, Trump seized on an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and a years-old comment by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to demand that the two Democratic-appointed jurists recuse themselves from any cases involving him. (Newser) To the state of New York, Harvey Weinstein is now Inmate No. 06581138Z. Weinstein, who was convicted of sex crimes on Monday, was taken to a prison ward at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center after the verdict. His next stop is expected to be the notorious Rikers Island jail. Lawyers have asked for the former film producer to be housed in a medical unit until his sentencing on March 11, and while it's not exactly the Four Seasons, a former city official says Weinstein will likely have a private cell with a shower, a TV, and possibly a phone. "It's like a little hotel, like your own little apartment," a former city jail official tells the New York Times. "You have everything you need. It's very isolated. Its a way to guarantee his safety." story continues below Sources tell TMZ that New York prison officials are so worried about Weinstein ending up like Jeffrey Epstein that they plan to watch him very closelyand they would prefer to ship him elsewhere. Weinstein faces up to 29 years in prison and it's not clear where he will end up long-term, though as a rapist, he is unlikely to be sent to a minimum security institution. He hired a prison consultant to advise him two weeks ago. Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, tells Bloomberg that Weinstein is likely to end up in protective custody at the Clinton Correctional Facility upstate, where he will spend almost all of his time alone in an 8-by-10-foot cell. (Read more Harvey Weinstein stories.) The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday took over the security of the Srinagar International Airport in Kashmir. The unit will be headed by a Commandant rank officer. The event was attended by senior officials of Airports Authority of India, CRPF and representatives of airline operators (Air India, Air Asia, Indigo, Spice jet, Go Air, etc.) and other stakeholders. MA Ganapathy, Spl Director-General, CISF, New Delhi was the chief guest on the occasion. In his address, Ganapathy emphasised that coordinated efforts should be made by all government agencies and stakeholders to ensure the security of Srinagar airport. During the ceremony Srinagar Airport Director Santosh Dhoke handed over a key replica to the CISF Commandant Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal as the symbol of handing over the security to CISF. With this, the number of airports under the CISF security cover was raised to 62. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following their shocking announcement that they were done playing by royal rules, its all come down to this. Just three short months after announcing Megxit, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will finish out their final royal duties and fully move into their new independent life. The Sussexes will officially drop the royal aspect of their brand on April 1, 2020. However, at the end of this week, they will return to the U.K. after being away from nearly two months to complete an intense and extensive list of final tasks. While much of the Sussexes schedule is public knowledge, it appears that the duchess will be making several mysterious private visits before saying goodbye to royal life for good. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer be branded, Sussex Royal Though they have spent the last two years building their brand and audience Megxit means the Sussexes will have to completely overhaul their brand and strategy. Its going to cost the duo a pretty penny. Given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word Royal, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization, when it is announced this Spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation, the Sussexes spokeswoman said in a statement. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use SussexRoyal in any territory post Spring 2020. Thus far, the rumor is the Sussexes will be represented by Sussex Global Charities. Prince Harry and Meghan Markles final royal schedule Later this week, the Sussexes will return to the U.K. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the duke and duchess extensive royal schedule which will extend into mid-March. On February 28, Prince Harry will attend the Invictus Games Choir Visit with rockstar, Jon Bon Jovi. Then, 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. Meghan Markle has a private final royal schedule Though she will be attending several high profile events during her last weeks as a working royal the Duchess of Sussex also as other things up her sleeve. An insider told BAZAAR.com, Meghan will be conducting something private and patronage-related meetings during her time in London. Though the Sussexes will be looking for ways to support themselves a major part of their brand is charitable work which they will continue to pursue. 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), their website states. Tigerair will drop several popular destinations and flights after Virgin Australia announced a $99m loss. Key flights relied upon by thousands of Australians will disappear completely, including all Tigerair services to and from Coffs Harbour. The Adelaide to Sydney route will also disappear, as will the daily flights from Sydney to Cairns and Hobart to the Gold Coast. Changes will come on April 27, as the budget airline prepares to have its fleet slashed from 14 planes to just eight. Key flights relied upon by thousands of Australians will disappear completely, including all Tigerair services to and from Coffs Harbour (stock image) WHICH TIGERAIR ROUTES WILL DISAPPEAR? From April 27, there will be no flights from: - Sydney to Coffs Harbour - Coffs Harbour to Sydney - Adelaide to Sydney - Sydney to Cairns - Hobart to the Gold Coast Advertisement It comes after Virgin Australia announced it would stop all flights from Australia to Hong Kong in early March, one of aviation's most competitive routes. The airline admitted it was preparing to take a $75 million hit from the coronavirus crisis, with some travellers too scared to fly. Its CEO Paul Scurrah told staff on Wednesday morning the company would be reducing its network capacity by 3 per cent. He also revealed it was 'proposing to close Tigerair's Brisbane and Sydney bases'. There will be no Tigerair services between Sydney and Coffs Harbour (pictured) from April 27, as the company cuts back on loss-making services 'Unfortunately a number of our team members will be impacted as a result and we have commenced formal consultation with pilot and cabin crew representatives,' he said. Just a few weeks ago, Virgin Australia insisted it had 'no intention of shutting its budget carrier' after questions were raised about Tigerair's future. 'Virgin Australia has no intention of shutting its budget carrier, Tigerair, and any suggestion is completely inaccurate and uninformed,' the airline said in a statement. 'Tigerair will continue to play a very important role as the budget carrier for the Virgin Australia Group now and into the future.' The Sydney to Cairns (pictured) route will also be stopped, as the company slashes its fleet from 14 planes to just 8 Virgin Australia (pictured) has reported a $99 million loss in the first half the year and is 'proposing to close Tigerair's Brisbane and Sydney bases' Mark Landau, managing director of investment firm L1 Capital, had claimed the airline would need to 'cut capacity or shutdown altogether', after losing millions. Virgin Australia has already made 750 staff redundant as it attempts to claw back its profits. Under new CEO Mr Scurrah, it is trying to manage a $349 million full year loss and a tumbling share price. The Virgin Australia Group bought out budget airline Tiger Airways in 2014, having already bought a 60 per cent stake in the company for $35 million in 2013. As budget airline Tigerair struggles, it has cut all flights from Sydney (pictured) to Cairns Travellers in Adelaide (pictured) will no longer be able to fly Tigerair to Sydney as part of cost-cutting measures Mr Scurrah said the changes are intended to help turn around the company's finances. 'Theres no doubt we are operating in a tough market, and we need to make sure our capacity deployment is disciplined to ensure our routes are profitable for our business,' he said. 'Coronavirus is having a significant impact on the travel industry and these changes will help us manage the changes were seeing in demand.' The sordid story of Harvey Weinstein has taught us many unsavoury truths about Hollywood, and about the kind of abuse that lurks behind those million-dollar smiles. Never before have the workings of this tawdry world been laid bare in such excoriating detail. We have been spared nothing, from detailed descriptions of the ex-moguls apparently deformed anatomy to the acts themselves, each one more grotesque than the last. In many ways its nothing new: sleazebags like Weinstein have always used their power to take advantage of beautiful young women. We shall perhaps never know how many he subjected to his callous games of fat cat and mouse in hotel suites across the world. The sordid story of Harvey Weinstein (pictured at court in New York on Monday) has taught us many unsavoury truths about Hollywood... but there remains one aspect of this trial that has not been fully explored, writes Sarah Vine Still, by testifying at great emotional cost the witnesses have not only secured a great personal victory but also (we must hope) helped safeguard future generations of women against this kind of abuse and exploitation. But there remains one aspect of this trial that has not been fully explored. It formed the central plank of the defence case and remains, despite the guilty verdicts, a source of doubt for many. Why, if Weinstein was a revolting abuser and rapist, did the victims continue to pursue relationships with him, in some cases even seeking out his company? Many have taken this to mean his victims in reality understood perfectly well the nature of their interactions with the big-shot producer. But the truth is far more complex. Weinsteins assaults were not random acts of opportunism, a drunken date gone wrong. He had a clear modus operandi. He was a serial abuser, and his targets were groomed over a period of time. Why, if Weinstein (seen in a court sketch) was a revolting abuser and rapist, did the victims continue to pursue relationships with him, in some cases even seeking out his company? Many have taken this to mean his victims in reality understood perfectly well the nature of their interactions with the big-shot producer. But the truth is far more complex Weinstein was convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 (left) and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 (right) These were vulnerable women he was targeting, women for whom an audience with someone as powerful as Weinstein would have represented a rare opportunity. Of course they wanted to please him, yes, even after he had defiled them. And that is what I think will strike a chord with many women (he is pictured leaving court on February 14 with lawyer Donna Rotunno) He would strike up a relationship, ostensibly professional, with his victims, before exercising coercion. He would gain their trust, make them feel valued, shower them with praise before making his move. Like all skilled abusers he knew how to exploit the ambiguity of the situation to his advantage. He set out deliberately to manipulate and confuse their emotions. Lets face it, these were vulnerable women he was targeting, women for whom an audience with someone as powerful as Weinstein would have represented a rare opportunity. Of course they wanted to please him, yes, even after he had defiled them. And that is what I think will strike a chord with many women. I am not comparing for a minute our experiences with the horrors those witnesses faced. But how often in your life have you held your tongue or gone along with something that made you feel uncomfortable simply because you didnt want to upset the people involved? Time and again womens fear of confrontation leaves us feeling awkward or compromised. It is, I think, a feminine trait. Girls are programmed from a young age to want to please. In part its how society sees us: providers, enablers, helpers. But whatever the reasons, rightly or wrongly this constant underlying need for approval ultimately makes us vulnerable especially when there are ruthless men like Weinstein on the prowl. So, yes, I can really understand how a woman can, on the one hand, be violated and abused, yet, on the other, continue to seek the approval of her abuser. Time and again this happens in situations of family or domestic abuse. And I agree with the decision of that New York jury: it doesnt mitigate the abuse. Weinsteins assaults were not random acts of opportunism, a drunken date gone wrong. He had a clear modus operandi. He was a serial abuser, and his targets were groomed over a period of time (Weinstein is pictured with his lawyer Donna Rotunno) Theres a very good reason why women behave this way. Because when we push back or challenge certain behaviours, we are immediately labelled as difficult. Difficult in a man is a sign of strength. But a difficult woman, even in this day and age, is a whole other thing entirely. Strident, stubborn, harridan . . . mad or, worse still, menopausal. At the very least, deeply suspicious. This verdict goes some way towards changing that. Thanks to the stubbornness and resilience of a group of extremely difficult women, a deeply unpleasant man has finally got his comeuppance. I p-pilfered a Penguin The news that Burtons biscuits in Blackpool is drafting in 30,000 of extra security to tackle gangs of children some as young as eight pilfering their products (which include Fig Rolls, Wagon Wheels and Jammie Dodgers) brought back a childhood memory of my own thats haunted me for the best part of four decades. It was the early Eighties, and my friends and I got wind of a new delivery of Penguins to the school canteen. Being the end of term, we figured no one would miss them and so sneaked in and p-p-picked up a box. To our dismay, the Head found out and the whole school was kept behind on the last day as punishment. We never confessed, and were never discovered but Ive never been able to look a Penguin in the eye since. Bit of a Catastrophe on the red carpet? One red carpet, two very different results at the Military Wives premiere this week. On the right, Kristin Scott Thomas, simple, understated lines in dazzling contrasting gold make her look both laid back yet glamorous. By contrast, the black bin-liner onesie worn by Sharon Horgan (writer of the inspired comedy Catastrophe) is both impractical, creased and, Ill wager, extremely uncomfortable. Kristin Scott Thomas looked laid back yet glamorous, while the black bin-liner onesie worn by Sharon Horgan at the Military Wives premiere is both impractical, creased and, Ill wager, extremely uncomfortable Coronavirus is an anagram of carnivorous screams PETAs latest advert, adding that contact with live animals or their flesh may be the source of the deadly virus. Im all in favour of the humane treatment of animals but taking advantage of the human suffering and rising death toll of this outbreak to promote PETAs vegan agenda is, Im afraid, grotesque. Harry storms in! Hes back! Scowling Storm Harry blew into Edinburgh last night, cap pulled down as he arrived back in the old country minus wife and son (will we ever see Archie again?). Smurfs plastered I welcome the long overdue introduction of multi-skin-toned plasters at Tesco. But if we can match them to colouration, who are those blue ones for? The Smurfs? Advertisement Its a long way from the delights of deepest winter in freezing Vancouver Island, though its not clear if he took a private jet as he often has before on jaunts around Europe and the U.S. So why was he home? You guessed it! To attend a sustainable travel conference thereby single-handedly proving the adage that satire really is dead. Wonder if hell find time to pop in and see his dear old Granny while hes here. It was so thoughtful of the Indian government to honour the American First Lady Melania Trumps cultural identity by presenting her with an orange flower garland that was the exact same colour as her face. Melania Trump is seen during her visit at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School, in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday Thanks to a load of Lefties getting their knickers in a twist about the Chancellor drinking Yorkshire tea, I have discovered the very funny Yorkshire Tea Twitter-feed. No idea who runs it, but their sense of humour and good grace in the face of spittle-flecked vitriol and general derangement deserves a medal. Even better was a message of solidarity from their counterpart at rival firm PG: Just wanted you to know that Im here for you. Message me if you wanna cuppa. If PG Tips can make peace with Yorkshire Tea, surely all is not yet lost. Rejoice! Gwyneth Paltrows vagina-scented candle is back in stock at Goop. Yes, we really are living in a world where that kind of thing sells out. Whatever next? The bottled essence of Brad Pitts pits? On second thoughts . . . One reason Im so wary of the idea of scrapping the licence fee for the BBC is that, having grown up in Italy, I know what a world without good public service broadcasting looks like. My favourite recent example of this is the brilliant BBC3 mockumentary This Country, which started its third series last week. It stars brother and sister Charlie and Daisy May Cooper playing hapless cousins living in the Cotswolds. If you havent seen it, do give it a try. Its witty, quirky, dark and hilarious. In other words, precisely the sort of thing that wouldnt stand a chance without the BBC. tech2 News Staff Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday a technical error on its UK website temporarily exposed the personal data of about 150 users. The South Korean manufacturer said it stopped all users logging into the site after it became aware of the error, which it said has since been resolved and only affected the UK. Samsung did not say for how long the data was exposed. The error exposed information including names, telephone numbers, postal and email addresses and previous orders, Samsung said in a statement to Reuters. It did not expose credit card details, the company said. We will be contacting those affected by the issue with further details, Samsung said in the statement. As per a report by Android Authority, due to this data breach, Samsung Galaxy users got a "1-1" notifications from an app called Find My Mobile, a tool that allows users to connect with your devices in case it is stolen or lost. Several users reported this on Twitter to which Samsung replied and said, "it was sent unintentionally during an internal test and there is no effect on your device." Recently, a notification about Find My Mobile 1 occurred on a limited number of Galaxy devices. This was sent unintentionally during an internal test and there is no effect on your device. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers. ^LF Samsung Help UK (@SamsungHelpUK) February 20, 2020 In October, Samsung issued an apology after a user reported issues with fingerprint recognition on its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone. With inputs from Reuters Google has reportedly applied for a license with the US government, to be able to work with Huawei once again. This comes after the company was placed on the US Entity list last year. Which meant that Huawei could no longer work with US companies. And that includes software companies like Google and Microsoft. The government is allowing companies to apply for licenses to be able to work with companies on the Entity list, like Huawei. Which is what Google has reportedly done. Microsoft has already been granted one, which is why its new laptops announced earlier this week, are running on Windows 10. Advertisement The big question is whether the US government will grant the license Now, just because Google has applied for this license, doesnt mean that the government is just going to give the license to them. It could be denied for some reason, or another. So its not a done deal. However, if this license is approved, Huawei will be able to work with Google again. And that means that its smartphones will be able to use Google services once again. As that is the biggest issue with its newest smartphones, like the HONOR View30 Pro, since it doesnt have Google services many in the West wont be interested in it. Google needs Huawei more than Huawei needs Google Google applied for this license because it knows that it needs Huawei more than Huawei needs it. Huawei is a huge company, and has a huge base in China its home country. In fact, after being put on the Entity list last year, Huawei continued to ship record numbers of smartphones, because the Chinese were standing behind Huawei and buying their phones. So Huawei doesnt really need the US or even the west. Advertisement However, Google does need Huawei. Huawei is in the top five biggest smartphone manufacturers, and depending on the report you look at, they are ahead of Samsung or Apple. Which means they are huge. And thats a big part of Android. Without Google services on Huaweis products, that means a lot of users that Google wont be able to reach. And that also means less advertising revenue for Google. So its clear that Google needs Huawei. But Huawei would likely be fine without Google. Especially since it has rolled out Huawei Mobile Services. But well see in the very near future what the government decides and if Google does get the chance to work with Huawei again. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AvantStay , a technology-first hospitality brand revolutionizing group travel, today announced that it has launched a partnership with Pacific Western Bank with the closing of a long-term debt facility. The capital will be used to support the company's continued growth into new markets and increase the number of properties in its portfolio. "AvantStay has been scaling at an unprecedented rate to meet the demands of travelers who crave curated, aspirational group travel experiences, and it was clear to us that the business needed a creative and collaborative partner to support our aggressive expansion plans," said Sean Breuner, founder and CEO, AvantStay. "Pacific Western Bank is the perfect partner for a high-growth company at our stage, and they will undoubtedly be instrumental in supporting our mission of redefining the way in which people travel." "We are thrilled to partner with AvantStay to transform the short-term rental experience, particularly for group travelers," said Brian Weber, SVP of Pacific Western Bank's Technology Group. "AvantStay has built a best-in-class business that is reinventing hospitality, and we look forward to supporting the team through this period of high growth." The partnership with Pacific Western Bank comes on the heels of a rapid growth period for AvantStay, including a new agreement with Marriott International's Homes & Villas and a recently announced $20M+ Series A fundraise. The brand has also expanded its reach into new markets, having launched properties in Sonoma, CA, Fort Lauderdale, FL and Park City, UT. ABOUT AVANTSTAY Founded in 2017 by Sean Breuner and Reuben Doetsch, AvantStay is the leader in short-term rentals for group travel, merging technology, design and world-class operations to create memorable experiences. AvantStay leases high-end properties, boutique hotels and differentiated commercial spaces in some of the most sought-after destinations, converting them into high-performing short term rentals, with nearly 200 properties and more than 850 rooms across the U.S. The company is based in Los Angeles. For more information on AvantStay and a list of available properties, visit https://avantstay.com/ . ABOUT PACIFIC WESTERN BANK Pacific Western Bank is a commercial bank with over $26 billion in assets and 76 branches primarily located in California, with one in Denver, Colorado and another in Durham, North Carolina. Our Venture Banking Group offers a comprehensive suite of financial services focused on entrepreneurial businesses and their venture capital and private equity investors. We also offer Community Banking and National Lending services. For more information about Pacific Western Bank, visit www.pacwest.com , or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. SOURCE AvantStay Related Links https://avantstay.com TDT/Manama A Gulf national, who succeeded in entering the Kingdom using a stolen identity card, was caught on King Fahad Causeway on his way out of the Kingdom. This was revealed when the man, who is in his thirties, stood trial before the First High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to three years and blacklisted him from entering the Kingdom. The details of the case show that the man was wanted to serve an imprisonment sentence issued against him here in absentia after he was convicted in a drugs consumption and possession case. In his statement, he told the interrogators that he stole someones wallet in his country and used the identity card of the person to enter Bahrain through the causeway without being questioned. The man apparently succeeded to cheat the Customs Officer and entered the country in a taxi after using the card that he claimed was his, according to Prosecutors. After he finished his trip here, he attempted to exit Bahrain using the same method, they added. However, this time, the Customs Officer on the Bahraini side of the Causeway suspected whether the card originally belonged to the defendant. According to court files, the defendant was asked by the officers more than once if the card belonged to him, to which he insisted to claim that it was his. The unconvinced officers then decided to escort him to the Saudi Customs, where his fingerprint could be checked. According to the officers testimonies, the defendant confessed that he stole the card so he could use it to enter Bahrain because he was wanted to serve an imprisonment sentence issued against him here. The defendant was then handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Department in Interior Ministry, which later referred the Public Prosecution. On October 31, 2019, the prosecution charged him of providing wrong data to a government body, using someone elses identity as if it was his own and illegally entering Bahrain. Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is leading the Democratic presidential polls in California and the nation, will be in San Jose for a rally Sunday afternoon, two days before Tuesdays state primary. The 1:30 p.m. rally will be held at the South Hall of the San Jose Convention Center, 435 S. Market St. Admission is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. New Delhi, Feb 26 : "As of now, we have not issued any written orders to shoot on the spot. Nor has curfew been imposed in any area. Yes, if the need arises, we will not miss any of these steps," said Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Eastern Zone, to IANS on Wednesday. Kumar said, "If the conspirators, who are spreading the violence, are beginning to understand themselves, it is very good. Otherwise, the police will not hesitate to take steps from shooting to imposing curfew. It is better that they understand this." The violence started on Sunday in northeast Delhi -- Jafarabad, Kardampuri, Brahmapuri, Gokalpuri, Bhajanpura, Maujpur, Babarpur, Gagan cinema in Seelampur, Karawal Nagar, Dayalpur, etc. Delhi Police's head constable Ratn Lal was among the 20 killed in the violence. The Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Amit Sharma and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anuj are among the 57 policemen, who have been injured. On Tuesday, in a hurriedly called press conference, the Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep singh Randhawa said, "Many have been detained and the number is increasing. So far 11 FIRs have been filed." A police officer of the rank of Assistant Police Sub-Inspector posted at the Dayalpur police station told IANS on Wednesday, "A murder case has been registered in the death of Havildar Ratan Lal, who lost his life in the violence in the Dayalpur police station area on Monday afternoon. The matter is being investigated. The attackers have not been identified yet. CCTVs installed near the spot are being checked." Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police also confirmed to IANS that a murder case under section 302 has been registered and is being investigated by the Dayalpur police. Teams of Delhi Police and para-military forces were maintaining vigil in the affected areas. After National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met the top police officials in the midnight, the police seems to have got its act better now. (Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan can be reached at sanjeev.c@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Delhi police on Wednesday used water cannons on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) who were outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence asking to meet him to submit a charter of demands over violence in the capital. The students also alleged that they were later detained by the Delhi police and were taken to nearby Civil Lines police station. The students gathered near Chief Minister's residence at about 12:00 a.m. asking to meet him to submit a charter of demands that included the Chief Minister's direct intervention in violence-hit areas and action over the person involved in creating unrest in North-East Delhi. However at around 3:30 a.m. the Delhi police restored to use of water cannon over the protesters to disperse the mob. "Activate all Delhi government services and infrastructure to rescue, provide medical facilities and shelter to citizens," the students demanded in their charter. The students-led by JNUSU Vice-President Saket Moon also urged for action against the culprits involved in the communal violence. "Identify perpetrators of communal violence, including police officials who have participated in it and take action against them," the students said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 17:07 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c1948 1 Tips coronavirus,COVID-19,Indonesian-Embassy,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,Hong-Kong,South-Korea,Japan,Taiwan,Italy Free In the wake of the global novel coronavirus outbreak, Indonesian embassies in countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases have issued recommendations for Indonesian nationals to avoid infection. Below is a list of recommendations made by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry for Indonesians in countries with COVID-19 cases. 1. Hong Kong The Hong Kong government has banned access for non-Hong Kong citizens traveling from South Korea. This ban is imposed for those traveling directly from South Korea and also for those who were in South Korea within 14 days of their arrival in Hong Kong. This travel ban started on Tuesday at 6 am local time. Indonesians who were in South Korea in the last 14 days and want to travel to Hong Kong are recommended to postpone their travel until local authorities lift the ban. 2. Italy As a spate of confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in northern Italy in the past few days, the Indonesian Embassy in Rome has responded by releasing a letter recommending Indonesians in Italy to avoid visiting cities such Codogna in Lombardy, Vo Euganeo in Veneto and Turin in Piedmont. 3. South Korea The Indonesian Embassy in Seoul has warned Indonesians to postpone their travels to Daegu, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in South Korea. The embassy also warns Indonesians in South Korea to take precautions to avoid infection by maintaining their physical and psychological health, donning face masks, repeatedly washing their hands with soap, eating only well-done meat and avoiding crowded places. 4. Japan As with the embassy in South Korea, the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo also warns Indonesians in the country to be extra careful in maintaining personal hygiene and urges them to keep a look out for updates from the local authorities. (gis) WEST HAVEN A U.S. Army veteran and the citys former head of welfare services will share the honor of being named West Haven African-American Citizen of the Year by the West Haven Black Heritage Committee, according to a release. Freddy Jackson, 75, a native of Opp, Ala., served in Colorado and Korea in 1963-66, the release said. He has served as commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9422 and is a member of the American Legions Hughson Miller Post 71. In 2018, he was grand marshal of the West Haven Memorial Day parade. Jackson was an obvious choice, due to his service to the nation and his continued service and commitment to veterans here in the City of West Haven, committee Chairman Steven R. Mullins said in the release. Also receiving the honor this year is the late Teresa S. Blackwell, former head of welfare services in the city. Blackwell, a native of Bennetsville, S.C., moved to West Haven in the mid-1950s, the release said, and later worked on several political campaigns. She was appointed the citys first female director of welfare services in the mid-1980s by then-Mayor Azelio Sal Guerra, the release said, and after retirement worked as an office manager for U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3. Blackwell died in 2005. Teresa Blackwell was a trailblazer in the City of West Haven. Mullins said in the release. She was ahead of her time and her contributions to West Havens black community and the City at large still live on to this day. The annual Black Heritage Celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 27 in the Harriet C. North Community Room on the second floor of City Hall. Blackwells sons will receive the award for their late mother. Also to be honored at the event will be West Haven High School seniors Edward Kruah and Esther Danso, for academic achievement and leadership, the release said, having been chosen by school Principal Dana Peredes. The event is open to the public; light refreshments will be served. For information, call Mullins at 203-824-4262. A couple enjoying the rock garden in one of the famous landmarks at the Ryoan-ji temple in Japanese old capital city Kyoto. Nicolas Datiche | LightRocket | Getty Images Online dating in Japan has been seeing rapid growth in recent years, as more and more people go on the internet to seek partners, according to analytics provider App Annie. Figures from the app data tracker showed Japanese consumers' expenditure on the top 10 dating applications in the country surged 125% in the first half of 2019 to $120 million, compared to the same period two years prior. A spokesperson from the company behind Japan's top dating app, Pairs, also said the online dating industry in the country is "blooming" and may just be getting started. "We're seeing, like, a two-digit growth in terms of market for several years and we do believe that it will keep on going that way for a while," said Emu Nishiyama, brand director at Eureka. Eureka is part of Match Group, the firm behind other popular online dating apps such as Tinder. In 2019, Pairs had the highest consumer spend among dating apps in Japan, according to data from App Annie. On a global scale, Pairs ranked 5th overall in terms of consumer spend, the data showed. We only have 20% of the single population who have ever used online dating. If you compare it to (the) United States where it's 60%, I think there's only growth which can happen for Japan. Emu Nishiyama Brand director at Eureka And that number could see further growth, with the market in Japan still "very nascent," according to Nishiyama. "We only have 20% of the single population who have ever used online dating," Nishiyama said. "If you compare it to (the) United States where it's 60%, I think there's only growth which can happen for Japan." Safety concerns Nishiyama admitted, however, that security concerns could get in the way of greater adoption of online dating apps in Japan. "One of the biggest barrier(s) for people to enter online dating usually is about security," Nishiyama said. "I think the image that it is unsafe is one big barrier for us." That may have to do with past media reports of social media meetups gone wrong, said National University of Singapore's (NUS) Yuen Shu Min. She pointed out that there've been "many cases" of people meeting online in Japan which eventually turned out to be a "scam" a few have even led to murders. Such meetings tend to happen through Twitter and Facebook, which are usually collectively termed social networking services in Japan, said Yuen, a post-doctoral fellow at the NUS Department of Japanese Studies. "These stories have become sensationalized in Japanese media," she told CNBC. "I wouldn't say that because of these reports, therefore people are kind of suspicious of dating apps, but I think there would be some kind of influence on how they think about social media in general." For its part, Nishiyama said that Eureka has taken steps to improve safety on its platforms. "What we are trying to do is, we need to get to the highest standard of safety for our users, and therefore we have full in-house customer care. Very high level of service there, and chatbots and stuff too to help," she said. "What is really important within the platform to keep it clean is the monitoring and the patrolling." Violations and improper conduct Nishiyama also added that the firm places emphasis on what are known as "violation" reports of improper conduct by users. For example, she said, those who are accused of being married, or using the platform for purposes other than seeking serious relationships, will be asked to leave immediately. Asked about the frequency of such instances, Nishiyama declined to give any figures. Beyond concerns about safety, Yuen from NUS said online dating is just "one of many" options for singles looking to find a prospective partner in Japan today. "From my observation, I don't think this is like, one big thing that suddenly (popped up) that everybody will rush to it," said Yuen. An alternative method for meeting a prospective partner in Japan is known as "dairikonkatsu," she said. It refers to someone going to spouse hunting parties, or events on behalf of others, in the hope of finding them a suitable marriage partner. "In most cases, it is the eager parents who can't wait for their kids to get married who would go to these events with their kids' personal particulars and help them look for a partner whom they think is suitable for them," Yuen said. Parents go to these matchmaking events "because the kids are too busy at work," she said. Online dating globally In fact, the online dating boom is not isolated to Japan. More and more people across the world have been flocking to the internet in search of their significant other. Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Belarusian state energy company Belneftekhim has signed a contract with Azerbaijans SOCAR to receive two cargoes of oil totalling 160,000 tonnes, it said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Belarus is locked in a row over oil supply with Russia. More than a decade ago, Rey Saldana was a teenager at South San High School in San Antonio, Tex., not quite sure about his path after high school. This month, Saldana, a former San Antonio councilman, was named the president and CEO of Communities In Schools, the national non-profit that provides academic, health, counseling and other services to about 1.6 million disadvantaged students in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Saldana was one of those students, and he credits the Communities In Schools coordinators at his high school with helping him, first to even think about college outside of the state, guiding him through the application processeven paying the feesand then providing on-going support as a first-generation, first-year-college-student at Stanford University. I do think it sends a strong statement that Communities In Schools is taking a bet on one of their own, Saldana said in an interview with Education Week. The organization could have easily gone with somebody with much more non-profit or executive experience. But I think what they are doing here is really sending a message to the entire network about living out what it truly believes inwhich is that the students that they invest in are the kinds of students that are going to not only transform their lives but likely transform the city, state, or country they live in. Saldana, who starts in the new position next month, is taking over from Dale Erquiaga, who is returning to Nevada. Erquiaga will continue his affiliation with the organization as a visiting fellow. Elaine Wynn, the chair of the organizations national board, said in the announcement: Reys track record as a successful policymaker, an education advocate, and a tireless champion for young people make him uniquely qualified to carry out our strategic plan to ensure that every student in America has a community of support inside and outside the classroom. She continued: Moreover, his remarkable journey from former CIS student to national leader of our organization, sends an inspiring message to all young people about the power they have to write their own success story, no matter where they start out in life. Saldana is expected to continue with the strategic plan that Erquiaga had in place, which includes expanding the organizations model of comprehensive student supports across the country. But Saldana also plans to draw on his experience as a former Communities In Schools student who benefited from the organizations work. He expects to spend the first few months listening and learningvisiting independent CIS sites across the country. Challenges and needs differ from place to place, he said. That comes from a philosophy I learned when I was in local officethat the way to really transform communities is not from the outside in; its from the inside out, he said. He expects to lean on what hes learned from his eight-year tenure on the San Antonio City Council, where he championed education and transportation initiatives, and from his work with Raise Your Hand Texas, where he most recently served a regional advocacy director. Saldana has had plans to run for mayor of San Antonio, but he said he provided assurance to Communities In Schools that he was not signing up for a short-term commitment. Paying It Forward As the son of Mexican immigrants who grew up in a working-class neighborhood, going away to college was not something Saldana contemplated. But the Communities In Schools coordinators convinced Saldana that he could go as far as he wanted. They paid for his SAT prep classes, college application fees, got him into a summer college program so he could experience what it was like to be away from home for the first time, and helped him apply for the Gates Millennium Scholars Programs, which covered his undergraduate and graduate education at Stanford. In many ways, they were like my middle-class parents who had gone to college, who were going to walk me through this maze I couldnt have gone through on my own, he said. When Wynn reached out to him about the opportunity last year, Saldana wasnt sure hed say yes. He had a young son, and hed recently taken the job at Raise Your Hand Texas. But his wife convinced him to say yes. My entire life, Ive felt like Ive had debts to pay to people and organizations who have invested in me, he said. So, this was another time that I got the chance to pay it forward. (Raise Your Hand Texas is funded by the billionaire philanthropist Charles Butt, who owns the Texas supermarket chain H-E-B. Saldanas father got his first job when he became an American citizen at the grocery stores frozen food warehouse, where he still works today.) Saldana expects that Communities In Schools will increase advocacy on the state and local levels as working-class communities continue to grapple with rising income inequality and the effects of poverty. There is a lot the rhetoric I hearabout folks wanting to do something about the effects of poverty, the effects of income inequality. That work is not terribly complicated, but it is hard, Saldana said. It means that the person [doing the work] has to be on the ground. They have to know their job well... Its going to take a greater funding approach to do that. And we need to convince lawmakers, we need to convince elected leaders that this is how you get past rhetoric and into transforming the communities by investing in the people who are doing the work on the ground. Image: Rey Saldana, the new president and CEO of Communities In Schools. Photo courtesy Communities In Schools. Rush Limbaugh AP The conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is under fire for spreading misinformation about the novel coronavirus to millions of his listeners. Limbaugh falsely claimed the coronavirus was "a common cold" being "weaponized" to take down President Donald Trump, who recently awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Limbaugh accused the Chinese government of using the disease to take aim at the US economy. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The novel coronavirus has swept across the globe, infecting more than 80,000 people with COVID-19 and taking 2,600 lives. While China remains the center of the outbreak, the epidemic is on the verge of breaking into a full-blown pandemic. As the World Health Organization tells countries to prepare for infections, the popular conservative host Rush Limbaugh on Monday revealed to listeners what he claimed to be the "truth" about the "overhyped" coronavirus. "It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump," Limbaugh said. "Yeah, I'm dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks." The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient then went on a 10-minute diatribe that observers called "reckless," airing debunked conspiracy theories and misinformation about the disease to millions of his listeners. Limbaugh began his tirade by resurfacing a widely debunked conspiracy theory that the coronavirus is a Chinese biological weapon that leaked from a government lab in the city of Wuhan a false narrative that was also shared by GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. He then speculated about an elaborate scheme by the Chinese government in which it "weaponized" the virus "by virtue of the media," which he accused of overhyping the deadliness of COVID-19. "It's really being hyped as a deadly Andromeda Strain or Ebola pandemic that, 'Oh, my God, is going to wipe out the nation. It's going to wipe out the population of the world,'" Limbaugh said. "It's exactly how the media deals with these things to create audience, readership, interest, clicks, what have you." Story continues Though Limbaugh was correct in suggesting the flu is a greater health threat in the US than the coronavirus, he downplayed the threat of the coronavirus. Public-health officials are concerned about the containment of the virus, for which there is no vaccine. It also remains unclear exactly how the disease is transmitted, though it is thought to be spread mainly from person to person, according to the WHO. COVID-19 has rapidly spread to at least 37 countries with 53 cases in the US, including 36 passengers from a quarantined cruise ship in Japan. Police officers in protective gear in Hong Kong waiting to evacuate residents from a public-housing building following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Reuters He also accused news organizations of using the death of the whistleblower Li Wenliang, a doctor who raised alarms about the virus in the early days of the outbreak, to instill fear in their audiences and claimed the spread of the virus was a Chinese tactic meant to destroy the American economy. "It's to scare people into leaving, cashing out of the stock market," Limbaugh said. "So losing a few people here or there is not so bad for the Chinese government." Limbaugh ended the segment stoking Cold War-era fears, falsely accusing the presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist, of trying to turn America into a "mirror image" of "Communist China." At least one conservative pundit responded to Limbaugh's claims with criticism. Charlie Sykes, who founded the conservative site Bulwark, called Limbaugh's diatribe on the coronavirus "stunningly reckless." While Twitter directs users to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for accurate information about COVID-19, Facebook has vowed to actively take down misinformation on its platform. Read the original article on Insider Communities across the United States should start preparing right awayfor the almost inevitable incursion of the new coronavirus, which is now circulating internationally at near-pandemic levels, federal public health authorities said Tuesday. The warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention marked a sharp shift in tone for public health officials, who have repeatedly stated that the risk to the general public is low. Thats still the case, the CDC said. But with outbreaks occurring in countries outside China, it appears the virus has breached containment efforts and will almost certainly spread in the United States at some point. The announcement in a CDC news briefing prompted San Francisco Mayor London Breed Tuesday to declare a state of emergency to help rally resources to fight potential outbreaks, and city officials advised schools to begin drafting plans for closures. Three people have been treated for the new virus in San Francisco, though there have been no cases reported among local residents. If but more likely when the virus begins to circulate in the United States, the public should expect an aggressive public health response to keep it contained as much as possible. That could include school shutdowns, cancellations of major events such as concerts and sports, and businesses encouraging employees to work from home. Ultimately we expect we will see community spread (of the virus) in this country, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases with the CDC, said during the news conference. Its not a question of if, but when, and how many people in this country will have severe illness, she said. People are concerned about this situation. Rightfully so. Now is the time for businesses, hospitals, communities, schools and everyone to begin preparing. As of Tuesday, 57 people in the United States had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. More than half of those people were passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was the source of an outbreak off the coast of Japan. Every case in the United States can be traced to China, and there is no sign the virus is circulating here. Blanchard; John The coronavirus has infected more than 81,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700. The vast majority of cases have been in China, where the new virus was reported for the first time in late December. The outbreak there appears to be waning somewhat. But over the past week new clusters have popped up in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan, sometimes in people for whom its not clear how they became infected. That suggests the virus may be spreading in communities there. Italy has quarantined a dozen towns to halt transmission, but new cases have shown up in far-off parts of the country. I would hope the Europeans can get a handle on this, but there seems to be lots of new disease cropping up all of a sudden. Cases in Italy are showing up in the south of Italy, outside the quarantine zone, said Dr. George Rutherford, head of the division of infectious disease and epidemiology at UCSF. How much we can stop these secondary outbreaks I think is anybodys guess right now. Theres been a change in tone from the CDC. Theyre starting to paint a worse-than-ideal scenario. And I dont think thats inappropriate, he said. Assuming that the virus does begin circulating in the United States, its impossible to know what that would look like just yet, infectious disease experts said. Ideally, public health officials would be able to contain the spread to small clusters by aggressively quarantining individuals and closing specific schools or other locations as needed. But if theres evidence that it is circulating more widely, more dramatic social distancing measures could go into effect that impact public transportation and other spaces where people interact in close quarters. BART officials said Tuesday that they have a confidential plan to handle an outbreak situation. Already, some Bay Area conventions have been canceled or postponed, though thats largely due to travel complications. Closing down public transit, not having Warriors games, canceling concerts, things like that those are all attempts to basically reduce transmission from person to person, said Dr. Art Reingold, an epidemiology expert at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Officials will have to consider the economic, social and political costs of an aggressive public health response if community outbreaks occur, he added. Reingold is on a weekly phone call with UC Berkeley staff to discuss plans for the school should coronavirus arrive. Administrators ask whether theyre prepared to hold classes online, or break larger lectures into smaller groups. 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 hope is that organizations, corporations, large universities, everyone else is thinking along those lines, he said. Getting ready to have employees work from home may be paramount for many businesses ahead of a possible increase in cases in the U.S., said Marc Cenedella, the CEO and founder of career website Ladders Inc. Were about to go through a great experiment, Cenedella said. Companies are not prepared for this big work-from-home experiment, he added. They need to start thinking of how they can prepared and not scared by coronavirus. Individuals, too, should start preparing now, public health officials said. That means making sure people have emergency supplies of food and water which anyone in the Bay Area should already have on hand for earthquake preparedness, Reingold said. But they should also start thinking now about whether they can work away from the office, and what they need to be able to do that. People with children should ask their schools what their plans are in case of community outbreaks, said the CDCs Messonnier. I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming. But these are things people need to be thinking about now, Messonnier said. I told my children that while I didnt think they were at risk right now, we as a family need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives. San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Chase DiFeliciantonio and Dominic Fracassa contributed to this report. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday Little Rock AFB squadrons cross the Pacific, train with Yokota AB Airmen By Airman 1st Class Brieana E. Bolfing, 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published February 25, 2020 YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- Airmen from Yokota Air Base welcomed four Air Mobility Command C-130J Super Hercules from Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, as part of a capstone exercise Feb. 8-19. "Yokota (AB) has a very unique AOR (area of responsibility)," said Capt. John Walitsch, 61st Airlift Squadron C-130J pilot. "By the 61st flying out, we get to enhance our skill set and learn how to fly in different parts of the world where there may be language barriers, different air space and problems we may need to overcome." The 19th Airlift Wing Airmen flew thousands of miles to integrate with Pacific Air Forces C-130J's from Yokota AB, Japan, as part of a larger exercise for the 4/12 deployment initiative, a 12-month process focused on sharpening readiness and preparing for tomorrow's fight. With the new 4/12 initiative, AMC squadrons can deploy all their aircraft at once, creating the same downrange impact with a more cohesive training unit at home and less time away from family. Since 9/11, deployments for AMC squadrons have been four-months long followed by four months at home sending a few aircraft at a time, resulting in a constant deployment rotation and a consistently fragmented squadron at home, Walitsch said. The training provided diverse flight-operation opportunities while allowing the 41st Airlift Squadron and 61st AS to operate in the Defense Department's largest area of responsibility. To help the 61st AS adapt to a new environment, Yokota AB Airmen worked alongside Little Rock AFB Airmen, furthering their own training and strengthening their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "It really has been a wing effort to receive them," said Capt. Sean Boyington, 36th AS C-130J pilot and event coordinator. "We are practicing our reception working group here, which encompasses every organization and squadron on base." "It allows us to be able to receive incoming aircraft, house them, provide maintenance and process their cargo. We are able to brief them on local airspace and any kind of special instructions we have for this AOR, utilizing aircraft from other locations to help bolster our capability if necessary." The exercise was a success overall with all seven aircraft from both wings flying in joint formations as planned, Boyington said. "We are guests at Yokota (AB) and this airspace, but we are one big Hercules family," said 1st Lt. Riley Richards, 61st AS C-130J pilot. "Having that tight-knit community makes training in these new environments all the easier. Given the opportunity to come back, I would really enjoy another opportunity to train alongside the Airmen and aircrews of Yokota (AB)." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Health Minister is facing a fresh crisis after community pharmacists voted to begin industrial action. High street pharmacists, who dispense one million NHS prescriptions every week in Northern Ireland, have said they are being forced to take the action to ensure the safety of patients. It comes after talks between Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland and the Department of Health failed to reach an agreement. Pharmacists in Northern Ireland have repeatedly said severe underfunding of the key NHS service means they are increasingly unable to pay wholesaler bills for medication. This has resulted in patients experiencing difficulties in getting their medication. Pharmacists recovering from surgery have also reported leaving hospital against medical advice because they cannot afford to pay for cover at their premises. No date has yet been set for the beginning of the unprecedented industrial action, although services have already been disrupted as a result of the ongoing funding row, as pharmacists reduce services and opening hours in a bid to make ends meet. Gerard Greene, chief executive of Community Pharmacy NI, said: "We have been warning the Department for years of this growing crisis. "A litany of unresolved issues stemming from sustained underfunding now means that community pharmacists have reached breaking point. "The decision to take action is not one reached lightly and we regret that the refusal of the Department to address this crisis has brought us to this, but our network is at the point where the safe delivery of crucial frontline services for patients could be compromised. "Over 123,000 people visit pharmacies in Northern Ireland every single day. "The ability to access this service and professional advice keeps people out of GP surgeries and hospitals. "Community pharmacists already play an enhanced role in transforming our health service but until the Department engages in meaningful talks to stabilise community pharmacy funding and address the current issues, then it is only paying lip service." Any industrial action by the community pharmacy sector will be a hammer blow to official efforts to shift more work out of hospitals and into the community. Under efforts to reform the health service and drive down spiralling hospital waiting lists, more work is being done in the primary care sector. Community Pharmacy NI has been campaigning for increased funding for the service, while a number of reports have called for more money for the key NHS service. A PwC report, commissioned by the Department of Health, said community pharmacy in Northern Ireland is underfunded each year to the tune of 20m. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee released a report late last year calling for Stormont to resolve the funding crisis. Despite this, the permanent secretary for the Department of Health, Richard Pengelly, said he disagreed with the findings of the PwC report. Community pharmacist Loretto McManus said: "Morale in the sector is at an all-time low, so the result of this ballot is no surprise. "The refusal by the Department to acknowledge that there are serious issues in our sector is a significant problem and has led us to this outcome. "Dispensing medicines is a role that is critical in maintaining the health of all the patients in our communities. "It requires focus and attention to detail, when we have reached a point where we are now working excessive hours and the pharmacist's health and mental wellbeing is compromised due to the unrelenting pressures, then we have serious concerns for patient safety that need to be put right immediately. "Expert reports on transforming our health service say we must enhance community services to keep people out of hospital. "The refusal to properly resource and support services like community pharmacy is a total contradiction of this." Meanwhile, Health Minister Robin Swann has said he is due to meet with Community Pharmacy NI in the coming weeks, and urged it to reconsider plans for industrial action. "Its announcement of planned industrial action is regrettable and surprising," he said. "I am very aware of the challenges within community pharmacy, including the need for greater funding certainty. "My Department has been working with Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland on a programme of reform including new services, development of the pharmacy workforce, and updated arrangements for reimbursing community pharmacists for medicines dispensed. "I want to assure patients that contingency measures will be developed to minimise the impact of any industrial action." The Congress on Wednesday said the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration must change their "hostile approach" towards opposition to create a conducive political atmosphere in the Union territory. It also expressed concern over the violence in Delhi and appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony, a spokesperson said after a meeting of the party unit chaired by J&K Congress president G A Mir here. "The meeting lashed out at the hostile approach towards opposition by the people at the helm of affairs and sought immediate review of the present approach on political and security environment to create a conducive atmosphere for routine political activities in Jammu and Kashmir," the spokesperson said. He alleged that "The Centre and UT administration is not taking any positive step to facilitate a conducive political atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir." The meeting was attended by senior party leaders of the J-K Congress, the spokesperson added. During the meeting, party leaders also alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir administration has "failed" to respond positively to the demands and problems of the common people, he said. The Congress leaders also expressed concern over lack of employment opportunities for the youth in the Union territory and the "inadequate compensation" given to the paddy farmers of the border belt of Jammu region who suffered crop loss, the spokesperson added. The leaders also discussed about the programmes to reach out to the party cadres and people in the coming days in order to highlight the problems and issues of different sections of society. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All hands to the pump: Members of the 6th Infantry Battalion and the 2nd Artillery Regiment get sandbags. Photos: Mark Condren It's hard enough beef farming at the best of times. Try doing it in Co Roscommon with your fields flooded. In their farmyard in Nure, Michael McManus lifts a round bale of silage across a huge puddle into the cowshed using the forks on his tractor. His mother Nancy splits the plastic off it using a Stanley knife. While the rest of the cows are in feeding stiles, a cheeky calf eats direct from the bale. "If you don't have buckets, you're no use here," Nancy greets the visitors to the yard with a commentary on the flooding. The flooding is likely to worsen over the coming days as the weather deteriorates. Expand Close Flooding in Roscommon. Photos: Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flooding in Roscommon. Photos: Mark Condren Fifty yards behind the cow shed, there's a lake stretching all around. Except it's not a lake, it's a series of flooded fields, taking in several farms. A bitter chill comes in off the water. Michael is worried the problem will get worse in time as urban areas are protected. "Our concern is the flood defences will push it up to us," he says. He ironically points out slurry couldn't be spread last November as it was banned at that time of year. Now they can't spread slurry because the land is under water. His 50 cows will be staying in the shed for another while yet. The McManus farm is not on the banks of the Shannon. The river is a mile away. But the fields are flooded nonetheless. The townland has an historic monument to the 'Caoinne Marbh' - an ancient wake house used for mourning the dead prior to burial. Families would sometimes transport the dead across the river to Clonmacnoise, the ancient monastic settlement situated on the bank of the Shannon. The land between the monument and the river is all water now. Expand Close Flooding in Roscommon. Photos: Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flooding in Roscommon. Photos: Mark Condren Farmers in the west feel the flooding is man-made, pointing to the activities of semi-State bodies and the inactivities of other State bodies not doing anything to alleviate the issue. Michael points to legislation drafted by Fianna Fail TD Anne Rabbitte to force the ESB to manage the flow of the river, by releasing more water down river at Parteen Weir. The law hasn't passed through the Dail though. "This is a recurring problem. But none of the State agencies has recognised it," he says. Beyond the McManus's farm, the road suddenly ends as it goes below the water. At the far side of the 'lake' on the skyline is Drumlosh, where farmers Mossie Walsh and Larry Shine have flooded fields in front of and behind their farms. Dykes built to carry the water away are overflowing. A sudden hail storm lashes down on Mossie's cow shed where he too is feeding his cattle. "You can't let the cattle out and any grass that's there will be destroyed from the flooding," he says. The road beyond the farms in Drumlosh is cut off too as the flooded fields overflow up to the entrances to a house. The whooper swans are enjoying the newly created areas for swimming. Once the snow melts on the mountains, it will cause even more flooding. There's worse to come in the floodlands of the midlands. Severe problems are emerging across the west, particularly in parts of Galway and Clare. A yellow wind warning came into effect from yesterday afternoon until last night as north-west winds at speeds of 50 to 60kmh and gusts of 90 to 100kmh moved towards Clare and Kerry. Today, weather forecasters have warned of a cold day with a possible snow spell after a mix of rain, hail and sleet showers. The weathermen and women have predicted the rest of the week will be bitter with persistent rain showers across the country this Friday, after days of snow, sleet and hail showers. A flurry of wintry showers is expected to continue throughout the week following the nationwide snow and ice warning issued on Monday. Met Eireann has warned of frost and icy patches developing, as temperatures drop to -2C, with the warning remaining in place until 9am today. Met Eireann forecaster Liz Gavin said the wintry showers of sleet, hail and snow will be met with persistent rainfall this Friday. "The next few days it's going to be cold with showery conditions. The showers will be wintry in nature so we can expect to see some hail, sleet and snow showers at times," she said. "Later in the week as we go into Friday, a more persistent spell of rain is likely to affect the country. We have a snow ice warning in operation until tomorrow morning, that's really for the wintry showers we're expecting for the coming day into tomorrow." The flooding also knocked out the train line between Galway and Limerick after water levels rose above the rail line at Kiltartan in Co Galway. Iarnrod Eireann said bus transfers will operate on the route for a number of days. In Athlone, the Shannon tips the top of the walls but the flood defences are largely keeping the river at bay. Inside Custume Barracks, the Defence Forces are on standby by help out - if asked to do so. The Army was asked by the local council to fill sandbags and be ready to help. A group of 20 soldiers from the 6th Infantry Battalion and 2nd Artillery Regiment had their makeshift sandbag filler in action. The contraption involves sticking two upturned traffic cones through a ladder balanced on two metal stands. It works a treat. The sandbags are then left on pallets for collection. Commandant Shane Hickey, the second in command of the 6th Infantry Battalion, points out they can only respond to requests for assistance from the local authority, which is in charge of the flood response. "As part of the inter-agency approach to flooding, we have been asked by Westmeath County Council to assist in the preparation and provision of sandbags and to be prepared for possible deployment," he says. Additional reporting by Aoife Walsh Bollywood actress including Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker and Tanushree Dutta take a sigh of relief as Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is found guilty of rape. The actresses also hope that Harvey's conviction would bring hope to victims that their voices would be heard. Here's what they have to say to Subhash K Jha. Taapsee, who is currently gearing up for her forthcoming release, Thappad, said, "Finally! Better late than never. I hope it's a beginning of many others who are held accountable. As for the MeToo offenders in Bollywood, I am the wrong person to answer that. Only the ones in authority can. But I can only hope and wish it happens asap." Swara Bhasker also reacted to Harvey Weinstein's conviction and said, "I'd say it's a victory for the victims and kudos to the judicial system that did a thorough investigation and brought Weinstein to justice. The stories of so many victims who are often questioned and shamed stand vindicated. Also kudos to the journalists who meticulously verified the accounts and built a strong verified story before publishing it." Tanushree Dutta, who green-signalled the #MeToo movement in India, also shared her reaction and said, "Great move on part of the United States judiciary to bring a notorious perpetrator to justice in a landmark verdict. It just proves that when it comes to law and order and safety of women India needs to catch up with the US on speedy justice." Tanushree Dutta Wants Bollywood To Boycott Choreographer Ganesh Acharya! She further added, "While the Nirbhaya case of 2012 still awaits justice from her grave, Harvey Weinstein has got his comeuppance in the most powerful way. I applaud the US department of justice for this victory against sexual misconduct. A new era is dawning where karma will come and bite you sooner than expected. Heaven and hell are right here on earth!! Choose your actions wisely, folks." A woman wears a face mask at the main train station in Dusseldorf, Germany (AP/Martin Meissner) Germany is at the start of a coronavirus epidemic, its health minister has warned. Jens Spahn said some of the infection chains in the country are no longer trackable. It comes as fears grow over the spread of coronavirus across Europe. France has reported its second death, while the number of people in Italy with the virus continues to climb. Coronavirus cases in Europe as of 9am on Wednesday (PA) Spahn said: We are at the beginning of a corona epidemic in Germany. The new cases in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wuerttemberg are a further sign of that. The infection chains are partially no longer trackable, and that is a new thing. Which worldwide events have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak? "Large numbers of people have had contact with the patients, and that is a big change to the 16 patients we had until now where the chain could be traced back to the origin in China. Spahn suggested the country would need to change its strategy to contain the virus and cut infection chains. Meanwhile, Italy has reported the number of people with the virus has grown to 322, up 45% in 24 hours. Eleven people have died. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland also reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy, while Spain and France recorded new ones also involving people who had been to northern Italy. Confirmed cases by country as of 9am on Wednesday (PA) The first positive test in South America has also been recorded, with a 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy. Meanwhile, for the first time, the number of new cases officially reported outside China has exceeded new cases reported by Beijing. Reuters reported figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) showing there were 427 new cases reported in 37 countries on Tuesday, compared to 411 reported by Beijing. In the UK, health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs on Wednesday that 7,132 people in the UK have so far been tested. Story continues A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground (PA) Of these, 13 have tested positive, of whom eight have been discharged from hospital. He said the NHS is looking to extend home testing while a new public information campaign will be launched. Countries with confirmed cases of coronavirus (PA) A number of schools in the UK have told staff and pupils to stay at home after returning from ski trips to northern Italy, where several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions remain on lockdown. At least eight schools have closed despite national guidance urging them to stay open. Hancock urged schools not to close unless they had a confirmed case of the virus. Additional reporting by PA. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic opioid manufacturer in the United States, has tentatively agreed to pay $1.6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by state and local governments over its role in the opioid crisis. The agreement was endorsed by 47 states and U.S. territories along with a committee of lawyers representing thousands of cities and counties, the company said on Tuesday. The money, to be paid into a cash trust over eight years, will be used to underwrite the costs of opioid addiction treatments and related efforts across the country. Nothing can undo the devastating loss and grief inflicted by the opioid epidemic upon victims and their families, but this settlement with Mallinckrodt is an important step in the process of healing our communities, Attorney General Xavier Becerra of California said in a statement announcing the agreement. Our office has worked aggressively to hold accountable bad actors who fueled this public health crisis. 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 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL continues to suffer due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Travel warnings and cruise cancellations are starting to take a toll on the company. In fact, the outbreak has compelled management to further trim 2020 guidance. In the past month, the companys shares have fallen 23.4%, compared with the industrys decline of 8.7%. The company announced that it has put travel restriction on those who have travelled from, to or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days. The coronavirus outbreak has persuaded the company to cancel 30 cruises in Southeast Asia. The company has also modified several itineraries. The company now expects earnings to be down by 90 cents due to the cancellation of cruises. Notably, it had previously projected 2020 earnings to be impacted by 65 cents. The company further added that if it has to cancel remaining cruise sailings in Asia through the end of April, it would hurt earnings by another 30 cents. China remains of utmost importance to the Royal Caribbean brand. According to 2020 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, China constitutes 7.6% of the global cruise industry. Notably, the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus resulted in the cancellation of a number of voyages in other parts of Asia. While cruise business from China and Asia fell significantly, bookings for the broader business outside Asia has also softened recently thanks to travel restrictions to contain the spread of the contagion. Other major cruise operates like Carnival Corporation & Plc CCL and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH have witnessed a sharp decline of 20.8% and 27.4% in the past month, respectively. 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Click to get this free report Carnival Corporation (CCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) : Free Stock Analysis Report WW International, Inc. (WW) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has foreseen a huge shortage in construction workers for the development of infrastructure, such as roads and office buildings, in the new capital in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan . The agency's deputy of workforce and population, Pungky Sumadi, estimates that the development of the new capital will require at least 300,000 workers, while the number of registered construction workers in the province totaled 101,671 people. We will prioritize locals for construction jobs, he said during the seventh national dialogue on capital relocation at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java, on Tuesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The officials of the Lagos State government have arrested leaders of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) who had gone to the government house to protest the restriction of tricycles in some parts of the state, a human rights group, Enough is Enough, has said. The protesters, in their hundreds, had stormed the government house in Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday and vowed to remain there until they get an audience with the governor. They had been ignored in an earlier protest to the governors office. Enough is Enough (EIE) said the protesters were dispersed with tear gas in the early hours of Wednesday. About 9 p.m. yesterday, the security guards hired to protect the PLWDs from unprovoked harassment were arrested and taken to Area F, the group said in a statement Wednesday. The police came back to beg the citizens to leave as their presence was embarrassing the government. About midnight, the external lights were turned off but over 600 PLWDs stayed strong. At 2 a.m., five of their leaders were arrested and tear gas used to disperse the others, it added. The state government, on February 1, began the enforcement of its decision to restrict the activities of commercial motorcycles and tricycles from major roads and bridges in the state. Although the decision resulted in untold hardship to citizens, the government has refused to back down from its decision. Not aware When asked about the arrest of some of the protesters, Bala Elkana, the Lagos police spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES that he is unaware of any arrest. He would make efforts to confirm if there was any. Gboyega Akosile, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the state government did not order the arrest of any of the protesters. Im not aware that anybody was arrested, Mr Akosile told PREMIUM TIMES. The state government did not order the arrest of anybody. We saw them at the gate yesterday, hundreds of them, but we are law-abiding citizens, nobody touched them. Our government does not discriminate against people, protesters are entitled to peaceful protest. Nobody was arrested on the order of the state government, nobody, Mr Akosile said. #OccupyAlausa During Tuesdays peaceful protest, the Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiative (PCEI), a network of persons with disabilities, said its members are in a desperate situation as a result of the restriction. Expressing the effects of the ban of tricycles on their livelihoods, the group vowed to remain at the government house until they are given audience by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state. They tagged their protest #OccupyAlausa. Mohammed Zanna, the spokesperson of PCEI, said the sufferings of persons with disabilities have increased since the enforcement of the restriction. We condemn the blanket ban; the latest anti-poor policy in Lagos, and call for an immediate repeal while suitable, pro-people regulations are developed. Mr Zanna said many of PCEI members were formerly street beggars whom they have supported to enter into Keke driving business as a dignified and legal alternative to street begging. He said the implementation of a blanket ban on Keke and Okada across Lagos State, with ruthless and illegal enforcement activities, has created more problems for the group as many of the riders had their motorcycles impounded even while they were not moving on the restricted routes. The ban has witnessed several of their Kekes seized on 1 February 2020 from within a taxi park where they were parked respecting the ban. Mr Zanna added that the impacts of the restriction have been worse on PCEI members since many of them are practically trampled in the rush for buses and have been unable to either move themselves using their networks Keke fleet or move long distances self-propelled. Advertisements This amounts to a severe assault on their right to mobility and, more so, their right to dignity, he said. The group had earlier held a peaceful protest and delivered a petition to the Lagos State governor on February 7, but no response was received. In a fresh petition written to the state governor on Tuesday, PCEI said that despite that persons living with disabilities registered en masse with the Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs (LASODA), they enjoy no protection, support or benefits. PCEI said the enforcement of the restriction has unleashed untold hardships to persons living with disabilities who are hardworking and find means to fends for themselves. The group demanded that the government repeals the restriction or find alternative means of livelihoods for PLWDs. We are ready to work with the government to find workable alternatives through appropriate regulation of Keke, special permits for PLWDs to use our Keke for the transportation of our members, or real and immediate support for alternative livelihoods through skills training and support for PLWDs to start new businesses, the group said. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alianza Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ANZ OTC: TARSF) (Alianza or the Company) is pleased to report that the recently announced financing has been closed and a total of $1.1 million raised by the issuance of 22,000,000 units at $0.05 per unit. Jason Weber, President & CEO, noted that with Alianzas working capital covered for 2020 and into 2021, we are in an excellent position to build upon the upcoming drill program with Hochschild at our Horsethief Gold Project in Nevada, and advance or option out additional projects. Exploration expenditures in 2020 will exceed $1.5 million with the majority of that funded by our partners. Financing Terms Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant at $0.05 per unit. The warrant is valid for three years from the date of closing of the offering and is exercisable at $0.10 to acquire one common share. Finders fees of 7.5% in cash and 7.5% in finders warrants were paid to eligible parties. All securities are subject to a four-month hold expiring on June 26, 2020. About Alianza Minerals Ltd. Alianza employs a hybrid business model of joint venture funding and self-funded exploration to maximize opportunity for exploration success. The Company currently has gold, silver and base metal projects in Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Nevada and Peru. Alianza currently has three projects optioned/leased out in Nevada and Yukon Territory, and is actively exploring on three others. Alianzas current partners include Hochschild Mining PLC (LON: HOC) and Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE). The Company has 104.4 million shares issued and outstanding and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ANZ and trades on the OTC market in the US under the symbol TARSF. Mr. Jason Weber, P.Geo., President and CEO of Alianza Minerals Ltd. is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Weber supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this release. For further information, contact: Jason Weber, President and CEO Sandrine Lam, Shareholder Communications Tel: (604) 687-3520 Fax: (888) 889-4874 Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Melanie Barbeau mbarbeau@renmarkfinancial.com Tel: (416) 644-2020 or (514) 939-3989 www.renmarkfinancial.com To learn more visit: www.alianzaminerals.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. STATEMENTS IN THIS NEWS RELEASE, OTHER THAN PURELY HISTORICAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING STATEMENTS RELATING TO THE COMPANY'S FUTURE PLANS AND OBJECTIVES OR EXPECTED RESULTS, MAY INCLUDE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON NUMEROUS ASSUMPTIONS AND ARE SUBJECT TO ALL OF THE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES INHERENT IN RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT. AS A RESULT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. Because he wants to practice law in his home state, Arnold Fleck, like attorneys in at least 29 other states and their own bar associations, must be a member of SBAND to which he must pay dues. So imagine Flecks annoyance when in 2014 SBAND spent $50,000 necessarily including a portion of his dues; money is fungible advocating against passage of a ballot measure (concerning child custody) he had supported with a $1,000 contribution. SBANDs executive director devoted some of his paid time to opposing the measure, and opponents were allowed to use SBANDs email system. That year, however, the U.S. Supreme Court said something pertinent. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - United Way and Purdue University are partnering for the 10th year in a row to offer free tax filing services to the community as part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also known as VITA. Anyone who makes less than $66,000 a year qualifies for the free service. Volunteers will take you step-by-step through the sometimes daunting task of filing your taxes. Many of the volunteers are accounting students from Purdue's Krannert School of Management. Thomas Godwin is an Assistant Professor at Krannert and is one of the coordinators for the program. He said regardless of how big the refund, the people are grateful for their help. "It's something that saved them time, gave them confidence and I really hope that they learned something through the process as well," he said. The students are learning too, gaining hands-on real life experience working with people and their finances. Megan Swift is the VITA Program Manager. She said it's important to provide access to these kinds of tools. "It reduces costly taxation fees for our clients in the community and it also helps them to use their refund and get the full amount back," she said. Swift said they helped about a thousand people last year and they hope to help even more this year. They also have help for international students who may need to final taxes here in the U.S. They will be providing this free tax filing service until April 10th. Click here to sign up for an appointment and learn more about VITA. Offaly priest Michael Kelly is to feature in a new stamp collection from An Post. An Post has issued five stamps on the subject of The Irish Abroad, highlighting the shared experiences of Irish people leaving Ireland for economic, cultural and humanitarian reasons. Designed by Irish company, ZeroG, three N stamps for national postage and two W stamps for worldwide postage explore the complex story of Irish emigration over the past two centuries. They will add a very special dimension to cards, letters and parcels being posted to family and friends all over the world to mark St. Patricks Day 2020. Fr. Michael Kelly, born in Offaly in 1929, will feature on one of the stamps celebrating the contributions of Irish people in various fields all over the world. The others to feature are Dame Kathleen Lonsdale (Scientist), Richard Harris (Actor), Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (Musician), Edna OBrien (Author) and Mary Elmes (Humanitarian). Father Michael Kelly is an advocate and activist for HIV/Aids prevention and human rights in Sub Saharan Africa and worldwide. He is a citizen of Zambia, living and working as an educator there for over 50 years. In 2012 he received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award (PDSA) from the President. three other stamps feature images of emigration, including a photo of people gathering in The Galtymore Dancehall in Cricklewood, London, an image of suitcases at Dublin Airport in 1969, and a detail from the painting Emigrants letter and envelope, 1988 by Geraldine OReilly representing communication with home and the importance of staying in touch. The new stamps are available in main post offices, at the GPO, Dublin and online at www.anpost.com/shop. Abnormal formation and growth of the placenta is considered an underlying cause of various pregnancy complications such as miscarriages, preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Yet, much remains to be learned about molecular mechanisms regulating this blood-vessel rich organ vital to the health of a pregnant woman and her growing fetus. A new study by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine researchers has discovered how a very large human non-protein coding gene regulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) - a process that contributes to placental implantation during early pregnancy as well as cancer progression and spread. The USF Health researchers used a powerful genome editing technology called CRISPR (shorthand for "CRISPR-dCas9) to activate all of the chromosome 19 microRNA cluster (known as C19MC), so they could study the gene's function in early pregnancy. C19MC -- one of the largest microRNA gene clusters in the human genome -- is normally turned off and becomes expressed only in the placenta, embryonic stem cells and certain cancers. In their cell model study, published Feb. 20 in Scientific Reports, a Nature research journal, the USF Health team showed that robustly activating C19MC inhibited EMT. But when cells from which the placenta arises (trophoblasts) were exposed to hypoxia - a lack of oxygen like that occurring in early placental development -- C19MC expression was significantly reduced, the researchers found. This loss of C19MC function then freed the trophoblasts to differentiate from stem-like epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells that can migrate and invade much like metastatic tumors. We were the first to use CRISPR to efficiently activate the entire gene, not just a few regions of this huge gene, in human cell lines. Our study indicates C19MC plays a key role in regulating many genes important in early implantation and placental development and function. The regulation of these genes are critical for proper fetal growth." Hana Totary-Jain, PhD, paper's senior author, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Dr. Totary-Jain and others in her department collaborated with colleagues in the medical college's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology on the project. The USF Health study offers new insight into how trophoblasts interact with the maternal uterine environment to become more invasive or less invasive in the formation of the placenta, said co-author Umit Kayisli, PhD, a USF Health professor of obstetrics and gynecology. "More research on microRNA expression and how it inhibits the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition may help us better understand and control preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, which account for 5-to-10 percent of all pregnancy complications and premature births." EMT happens early in the formation of the placenta, an organ which attaches to the lining of the uterus during pregnancy and supplies oxygen and nutrients from mother to the growing fetus. During the first trimester, fetal trophoblasts penetrate the maternal uterine lining and modify its blood vessels. This remodeling of the mother's spiral arteries allows oxygenated blood to flow from the mother to fetus. However, the trophoblast invasion prompted by EMT is a tightly coordinated balancing act. If the invasion is too shallow to adequately remodel the maternal blood vessels, preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction can occur. Invasion that progresses too deeply -- beyond normal anchoring of the placenta to the uterine wall - leads to placenta accreta, a rare condition that can cause dangerous bleeding and often require pregnancy termination. "You need the EMT process, but at some point it needs to stop to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes," Dr. Totary-Jain said. "You really need a balance between not enough invasion and too much invasion, and C19MC is important in maintaining that balance." Investigating the effects of altered C19MC expression on cell differentiation and trophoblast invasion has implications not only for a better understanding of normal and abnormal placenta development, but also for cancer and stem cell research, Dr. Totary-Jain added. Jeffrey Gundlach, DoubleLine Capital CEO and Wall Street "bond king," is pointing the finger at Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders for the market's tumultuous rout this week. "If this stock market reversal is due exclusively to the virus, then why is United Healthcare down far more than SPX?" Gundlach wrote in an email to CNBC's Scott Wapner, referring to the S&P 500. "Why is healthcare as a sector broadly not outperforming? Answer to these questions: the market is digesting a better than 50% chance of Bernie getting the nomination." The Dow and the S&P 500 dropped on Wednesday, continuing a dismal week for stocks as investors worry about a dent to global economic growth due to the coronavirus. The S&P 500 wiped out a whopping $1.7 trillion in just two sessions earlier this week. The equity benchmark nosedived 6.3% in two days, suffering its biggest two-day drop since August 2015. All the while, Sanders has opened up a double-digit lead nationally over his closest rivals, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released last week. It said the senator from Vermont has maintained the support of 27% of Democratic primary voters. "Maybe this is the dark side of momentum investing (which is exactly what defines 'passive')," Gundlach wrote. "The market goes down in a knee jerk way on the Bernie rise, but the market going down makes Bernie's polls go up on his rejection of a market based economy. Which makes the market go down another leg. Rinse and repeat." Gundlach has previously said that Sanders is the biggest risk to the financial markets in 2020. Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is pushing for policies including higher taxes on the wealthy, breaking up big banks and a $15 per hour minimum wage. Sanders has also vowed to take on the pharmaceutical industry and his biggest proposal, "Medicare for All," would end private health insurance like that provided by United Healthcare. Gundlach went on to say he pitied the Federal Reserve, which lowered interest rates three times last year in order to sustain the economic expansion. "Just weeks after finally being able to term the present policy stance 'appropriate' and 'in a good place' the bond market is asserting that present policy is, in fact (to quote Joe Biden), in need of significant adjustment," Gundlach wrote. If commodity prices, specifically oil prices, continue their recent weakness, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will have to pivot again soon, according to Gundlach. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. As Kem Sokhas trial resumed after a two-week recess, the prosecution and government lawyers hinted, and occasionally alleged, that the opposition leader used foreign assistance to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party, but provided no evidence to support the claim. The treason trial entered its seventh week on Wednesday, after hearings were cancelled last week because the defense walked out of court on February 13 alleging irregularities with evidence. Defense lawyers returned to the trial on Wednesday, saying they hoped the hearing proceeded smoothly. The court is currently discussing Kem Sokhas career around the formation of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in 2012, with prosecutor Vong Bun Visoth repeatedly asking Kem Sokha if any outsiders facilitated negotiations between him and opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Who would facilitate if there was no agreement [to form CNRP]? he said. Was there any other [party] in the negotiations? There is no foreigner who ordered the negotiations, Kem Sokha replied. It is based on the peoples request. Vong Bun Visoth then used another document sourced from the anonymous Facebook page Kon Khmer, which alleged that Jackson Cox, International Republican Institutes (IRI) former Cambodia representative, had facilitated the negotiations. Jackson Cox was previously mentioned in the trial, again by the prosecution, to allege that he had influence on Kem Sokha and the functioning of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, because the U.S.-funded IRI was a major donor of the rights group. Kem Sokha said he refused to answer any questions based on documents found on Kon Khmer, asking the court to summon the author of the page to testify in the trial. This Kon Khmer information is not real, Kem Sokha said. The prosecution continued to question Kem Sokha about his meeting with Sam Rainsy in Manila, Philippines, to discuss the formation of the CNRP, such as the choice of logo, party name, location for the meeting, and who paid for the expenses. Kem Sokha said the participants paid for the meeting themselves and that all decisions taken around the formation of the party were a group effort and in compliance with the Law on Political Parties. Government lawyers then repeated most of the questions asked by the prosecution, saying they needed clearer answers, even though Kem Sokha refused to answer the questions again. However, Ly Chantola, one of the four government lawyers, asked Kem Sokha if he had heard of CALD, seconds later clarifying that he was referring to the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. Ly Chantola said that Sam Rainsy was a member of CALD and negotiations to form the CNRP had been held at the CALD office. The government lawyer said that Kem Sokha earlier said the negotiation were held in a rented location. Ly Chantola queried Kem Sokha as to why they had to rent the CALD office when Sam Rainsy was a member of the group, to which Kem Sokha maintained that they paid for use of the office. In this line of questioning, government lawyers were able to introduce and reference another international group in the trial without clearly explaining its link to Kem Sokhas treason charge. The government lawyer then proceeded to question Kem Sokha about a July 2012 joint statement issued with Sam Rainsy announcing the formation of the CNRP and the partys official bylaws, asking why both spoke about overthrowing a dictatorship. Defense lawyer Chan Chen objected asking Ly Chantola to exactly point out in the bylaws where it said the word overthrow. If the bylaw did not use the word overthrow of the dictatorship, then the government lawyer is mistaken, Chan Chen said. Immediately, co-government lawyer San Chouy asked the court for a lunch break, however the presiding judge asked Ly Chantola to clarify his question before the break. Ly Chantola read out sections from both the bylaws and joint statement, but did not mention the work overthrow, glossing over his previous question suggesting the documents called for an overthrow of the dictatorship. Earlier in the hearing, the defense again said it had not received all the evidence in the case file, marking the sixth week that the court was unable to resolve this issue. Defense lawyer Ang Odom asked that around 72 pages in evidence dossier No.126, which was at the center of the defense walkout two weeks ago, be excluded from the trial for irregularities. He did not elaborate on the alleged irregularities. Presiding judge Kuy Sao said the evidence was part of the investigating judges case file and could not be excluded, but that defense could question its evidentiary value in their closing statements. CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sen. Bernie Sanders came under withering and sustained criticism during Tuesday night's presidential debate, as his six rivals launched urgent attempts to stop the candidate who has the clearest path to the Democratic nomination. Standing at center stage for the first time, a reflection of his newfound front-runner status, Sanders faced attacks from all sides on matters including his inconsistent record on gun control, his praise for leftist dictators, the cost of his signature Medicare-for-all plan and the damage other candidates believe he would inflict on the Democratic Party if he were the nominee. "I'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight!" Sanders, I-Vt., said, with a mixture of glee and sarcasm. "I wonder why?" The 10th Democratic presidential debate came at a critical moment ahead of both South Carolina's primary on Saturday and, three days later, Super Tuesday, when a third of the party's delegates are up for grabs across 14 states. With the future of several of the campaigns hanging in the balance, the candidates let loose, throwing their arms in the air and shouting over one another, presenting a cacophony from a party that, as it approaches its biggest voting day, has made no strides in its quest to figure out where it's headed. They debated capitalism and socialism, a host of liberal ideas and cautions about their cost, struck at one another's pasts and questioned the legitimacy of their promises for the future. With the candidates pivoting off Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts cast herself as a more effective version of her liberal rival. Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg argued that Sanders would lose to President Donald Trump; former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg said he would be a drag on the party's down-ballot candidates; and former vice president Joe Biden struck at Sanders' record on gun control. Sanders largely weathered the attacks, throwing counterpunches of his own, and at times seemed to relish the sudden attention after decades as an insurgent underdog pushing ideas from the sidelines. He spared no criticisms of his own. Asked how he would be able to sell his brand of democratic socialism in a period of positive economic news, he replied, "Well, you're right. The economy is doing really great for people like Mr. Bloomberg and other billionaires." But, he added, after reciting statistics about the struggles of "ordinary" Americans: "That is not an economy that's working for the American people. That's an economy working for the 1 percent. We're going to create an economy for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors." Tuesday's debate marked a chance at redemption for Bloomberg, who will not appear on a ballot until Super Tuesday but has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in ads touting his candidacy and criticizing Trump. His first debate, last week in Las Vegas, was disastrous, as he struggled to offer a defense of his wealth, his record of sexist remarks, and a stop-and-frisk policing policy widely seen as racist. His unusual electoral strategy and extravagant spending also earned him scorn from his opponents, who accused him of trying to buy the presidency. Throughout the debate, Bloomberg appeared more steady even as rivals reiterated their critiques. He eagerly jumped in to defend his record and attempted to go on offense against Sanders and others who criticized him. He knocked Sanders over reports that Russians were attempting to help his presidential campaign in an effort to disrupt the Democratic nominating contest. "Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States," Bloomberg said. "And that's why Russia is helping you get elected, so you will lose to him." Buttigieg jumped in, criticizing Sanders as a divisive figure at a time when he suggested that voters want a calming force. "The Russians want chaos," Buttigieg said. "You think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting? Imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders versus Donald Trump." Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota used the chaos onstage to drive a point that she has tried to make throughout the campaign, casting herself as a common-sense civil leader who embodies Minnesota nice. "If we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, we're going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart," she said at one point. No candidate was in more need of a strong performance than Biden, who has staked his candidacy on winning South Carolina to reverse a string of losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. His frustration showed as he repeatedly complained about the lack of decorum onstage. "I note how you cut me off all the time, but I'm not going to be quiet anymore," he told the moderators at one point. "Gentlemen don't get very well treated up here," he directed at another. Biden went after Sanders early, invoking Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the house of worship across the street from where the debate was taking place and where a white supremacist killed nine parishioners in 2015 as they prayed. "I'm not saying he's responsible for the nine deaths, but that man would not have been able to get that weapon with a waiting period," Biden said, adding that Sanders had voted against gun-control legislation five times. He also pointed out statements Sanders made about having a primary challenge to President Barack Obama in 2012. And he was also blunt in his criticism of Sanders' effectiveness: "Bernie, in fact, hasn't passed much of anything." Warren also went after Sanders, her ideological ally on the party's left flank, by repeatedly criticizing his Senate career as ineffective. "Bernie is winning right now because the Democratic Party is a progressive party and progressive ideas are popular ideas even if there are a lot of people in this stage we don't want to say so," Warren said. "Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, but I think I would make a better president than Bernie," Warren added, saying that she focuses on details. Using health care as an example, she pointed out that she tried to fill in gaps in Sanders' Medicare-for-all plan. "I dug in, I did the work, and then Bernie's team trashed me for it," Warren said. Billionaire Tom Steyer, back on the debate stage after failing to make the cut in Nevada, has spent more money advertising in South Carolina than any other candidate. He telegraphed before the debate that he would hit Sanders on his Democratic socialist policies, arguing that they would be bad for Americans. "I am scared," he said at one point, referring to Democrats' potential choice between Sanders and Bloomberg, whom he described as having a "long history" as a Republican. The candidates spent months largely ignoring Sanders as other candidates rose and fell, alternately believing he would never gather the support he has and also wary of inflaming the ire of his passionate base. Yet the field in recent days has shed some of its unwillingness to criticize him. They were given an opening by Sanders, who in an interview last weekend on CBS News's "60 Minutes," said that Fidel Castro should be given credit for literacy programs in Cuba, appearing to overlook his human rights record. Sanders's rivals pounced, as did Democrats in Florida, where a significant portion of voters are immigrants from Cuba and other South American countries with autocratic rulers. During the debate, Sanders defended himself by invoking the last Democratic president, who normalized relations with Cuba. "What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba: that Cuba made progress on education," Sanders said. Biden pounced, rejecting the parallels the senator from Vermont drew, while Buttigieg charged that Sanders was advocating outdated views. Democrats would not win, the former mayor said, "by reliving the Cold War." Bloomberg, using his well-funded campaign apparatus, has tried to steady himself since the last debate by responding to some of the attacks he earlier had failed to parry. Bloomberg agreed Friday to release three women from nondisclosure agreements they had signed after they accused him of making inappropriate comments in the workplace. Warren repeated her request from last week that Bloomberg release women who've complained of sexual harassment at his company from their nondisclosure agreements. Bloomberg noted that he let the three women out of their agreements and curtailed the use of NDAs at his company. Warren continued to make the case that he must do more. Bloomberg quipped: "With this senator, enough is never enough. We cannot continue to re-litigate this every time." Bloomberg sounded somewhat more contrite about the matter than he did during the last debate, when he suggested that women who were offended by his comments didn't like his jokes. Given another chance to explain himself, Bloomberg said that he was "probably wrong to make the jokes. I don't remember what they were, so if it bothered them, I was wrong. I apologize. I'm sorry for that." But Bloomberg stumbled verbally as he attempted to take credit for the new Democratic House majority, saying he "bought" House members by donating about $100 million to fund campaigns. "All of the new Democrats that came in, put [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi in charge, and gave the Congress the ability to control this president - I bought," said Bloomberg, before quickly correcting himself. "I - I got them," Bloomberg said. The coronavirus that is threatening to become a world pandemic became a debate focus for the first time Tuesday, with Klobuchar encouraging people from the stage to pay attention to advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and announcing its website from the stage. Biden said he would work to address the outbreak in much the same way the Obama administration handled Ebola. "I was part of making sure that pandemic didn't get to the United States. Saved millions of lives," he said. "We did it. We stopped it." - - - The Washington Post's Michael Kranish contributed to this report. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced Rs 1 crore relief and offered a job to a family member of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal who was killed by the mob in riot-hit North East Delhi. Delhi riots: Days after the death of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal in the riot-hit North East Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Rs 1 crore relief and a government job to a family member of the deceased on Wednesday, February 26. In the Delhi Assembly, Chief Minister said the government would take care of Ratan Lals family. The people of the city never support violence, this all has been done by some anti-social, political and external elements. They can not be Aam Aadmi (common man) asserted Kejriwal. He further said that the politics of hatred and violence would not be tolerated. The chief minister had met and extended condolences to the families of Ratan Lal on Tuesday. Reports said CM Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Secretary would soon visit the riots-hit areas of North East Delhi to build confidence among people as ordered by the Delhi High Court. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly: I want to assure the family of Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal ji that we will take care of them. We will give a compensation of Rs 1 Crore and a job to a member of his family. pic.twitter.com/ifh9UernLI ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 The authorities have confirmed 23 deaths till now and more than 200 people were admitted to the GTB Hospital since Sunday, said reports. An IB personnel, Ankit Sharma, was also killed in the violence whose body was found in a drain of Jafrabad. Reports said Ankit was attacked by rioters near the Chand Bagh bridge and was beaten to death. Also read: Coronavirus in India: How to make hand sanitizers at home? Also read: Coronavirus in India: KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan says players, spectators health first Call for peace: In view of the tensed situation in the Capital, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called for an all-party meet to seek support to control the situation. The BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, all 3 have urged to maintain peace in the city and not to believe any rumor or false information. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Scientists are debating whether it is still possible to contain the new coronavirus. San Fiorano is one of the Italian towns on lockdown Major outbreaks of the new coronavirus have suddenly been detected in both Italy and Iran in the past few days. Meanwhile, cases in South Korea have surged making it one of the worst-affected countries. The new coronavirus is no longer a problem just in China, with a small number of exported cases. It has many people asking if the virus is about to become a pandemic and whether containing it is still possible? A pandemic is a disease that is spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time. This virus "absolutely" has pandemic potential, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. But he added: "We are not witnessing uncontained global spread of the virus, using the word pandemic does not fit the facts." Not everyone agrees. Wiggle-room "I think many people would consider the current situation a pandemic, we have ongoing transmission in multiple regions of the world," Prof Jimmy Whitworth, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the BBC. Some scientists were even arguing two weeks ago that we had already entered the earliest stages of a pandemic. All this tells us there is some wiggle-room around the word. The developments in South Korea, Italy and Iran are the reason why people are drifting closer to calling the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. South Korea is piling on hundreds of new cases, showing how contagious the virus is. Italy and Iran now have substantial outbreaks. There are almost certainly far more cases in these countries than have been reported - and the connection with China has not yet been established. "The virus is spreading around the world and the link with China is becoming less strong," says Prof Whitworth. And Prof Devi Sridhar, from the University of Edinburgh, said her perspective "has definitely changed" over the past couple of days. "This has largely been a Chinese emergency, now we are seeing it progress it South Korea, Japan, Iran and now Italy," she says. "It's a highly infectious virus and spreading very quickly." She does not think we are in a pandemic yet and is waiting to see long chains of transmission in countries outside of China. "We don't have the evidence to say we're in one, but I'm pretty sure we'll have the evidence in next couple of days. "If it's in Italy and Iran, then it can be anywhere." 'Barely existent' healthcare Researchers have described the cases in Iran as the most worrying for efforts to contain the global spread of the virus and prevent it becoming a pandemic. The number of deaths reported in the country, 12, is far more revealing than the number of reported cases, 61. Deaths are significant as the virus kills only a small proportion of people who are infected and it takes weeks to go from infection to death. Dr MacDermott said: "It suggests fairly large numbers of people with minimal symptoms, or who are asymptomatic, that aren't being tested or even being identified. "Who knows how long it has been going on?" The country has already been linked to cases in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Canada and Oman. She added: "Iraq and Afghanistan - that's two of the countries you don't want the virus in, healthcare is barely existent after decades of war and it's not safe for healthcare workers to travel there. "I think we are teetering on the balance of a pandemic, in the next week or two we're likely to see it pop up in lots places and if it's on several different continents then we'd be approaching a pandemic." Officials now say the WHO will not formally "declare" a pandemic for the new coronavirus, though the term may still be used "colloquially". In 2009, the organisation was criticised when it declared swine flu a pandemic. It based the decision on a criteria it no longer uses. The virus did spread round the world - but it proved to be relatively mild, leading some to argue the organisation had been too hasty. BBC At Tuesday nights Democratic presidential debate, the audience booed Sen. Bernie Sanders after a rival noted his vote for a 2005 bill that shielded gun manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for crimes committed with weapons they made and sold. Sanders launched into a full-throated response to the attack, acknowledging he had cast a bad vote, but disputing the idea that he had been soft on gun issues and had opened the door for high-powered weapons to be used in mass shootings. MORE: Here's where the 2020 Democrats stand on gun control "Because of all these disgusting and horrific mass shootings, the American people now understand that we must be aggressive on gun safety, not be dictated to, by the NRA," Sanders said. "I am proud that I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA -- if elected president, it will get worse than that." The issue has the potential to dog the Democratic front-runner, who has spent a career navigating a nuanced course on gun control measures popular with many primary voters, but less appealing to his constituents in rural Vermont. PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, South Carolina. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images) In a 1991 letter he wrote to a gun shop owner in Burlington, obtained by ABC News and not previously reported, Sanders put his mixed feelings about gun control measures into words. Over the course of the letter, Sanders writes that he is against a one-size-fits-all policy, that he opposed the Brady Bill [and] the seven-day waiting period. He writes that he would support an assault weapons ban so long as it did not permit Treasury Department officials to add additional models of weapons to the ban and providing the ban expired in three years. He concludes by writing that he would ultimately be voting against the ban -- because it was part of a larger crime bill, which had other provisions he did not like. The letter lays out an approach that has sent mixed signals to voters who are trying to evaluate his stance. While he has, as he said in the debate, amassed a record disliked by the National Rifle Association, he has not always voted in step with those advocating gun control, including the 2005 vote backing legislation that shielded gun manufacturers from lawsuits filed by victims of gun crime. And he has, over decades, remained largely silent about the presence just north of Burlington of one of the nations largest manufacturers of military-style assault rifles which made the weapons used in two mass shootings last summer. Story continues Bernie Sanders 1991 Letter by ABC News Politics on Scribd One of his rare public statements about the factory came in 2012, after the Sandy Hook school shooting, in which Sanders appeared to defend the Century Arms factory. The statement -- issued with two other Vermont lawmakers -- came after critics raised questions about the manufacturer. They [Century Arms] are engaged in a lawful business just as other are that are involved in firearms commerce, employing many Vermonters, the statement read. And if Congress approves new steps to address gun violence, we are confident that Vermont businesses would comply with them. Sanders' record on guns When Elizabeth Deutsche, a nurse and community advocate, went to the state capitol to urge the state legislature to pass gun control legislation, she appeared at the same witness table as Henry Parro, a gun shop owner who was there advocating for votes against the bill in 2018. Deutsche and Parro couldnt be farther apart in their views on how gun control ought to be legislated, but they do seem to agree on one thing: Sanders. They both believe Sanders has crafted his stance on gun issues based on political winds, not passion. Parro said Sanders has ditched pro-gun rights positions that were popular with many Vermont voters, and adopted a more strident gun control stance to suit his bid for president and satisfy a more liberal national primary audience. I think he is giving lip service to the Democratic party, Parro said. Some of his voting record shows it goes completely against, if you go back to the beginning, his core values. Deutsche sees those past conservative votes that Parro liked as troubling. Its a record that make it hard for her to see him as a reliable advocate going forward. MORE: Bloomberg campaign signals renewed focus on Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders ahead of SC primary Senator Sanders uses our rural state with a large number of sportsman and hunters to justify his previous weak stance on gun control," Deutsche said. "As a gun owner, I can't stand behind that and I don't accept his justification for that." Parros gun shop in Waterbury, Vermont, sells hunting and defense firearms, as well as military-style AR-15 rifles produced by Century Arms. He still remembers a different kind of relationship between Sanders and guns. Its a relationship that Parro says once won Sanders the favor of the NRA helped get the once little-known political hopeful elect. Sanders lost his first bid for the House of Representatives to Republican Peter Smith after campaigning in favor of an assault weapons ban in 1988, which he highlighted during Tuesday night's debate. "Thirty years ago, I likely lost a race for the one seat for Congress in Vermont because 30 years ago,I supported a ban on assault weapons," Sanders said. "Thirty years ago," he repeated. PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders participates in the tenth Democratic primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. 25, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) But after Smith voted in favor of an assault weapons ban on the Hill, the NRA ran ads targeting Smiths re-election bid in 1990. Though the NRA didnt endorse Sanders for the House seat, and the earliest rating he received from the NRA came two years later -- a "D" -- he did benefit from the NRAs attacks on his opponent. "We don't like everything that Mr. Sanders has to say about firearms," James Baker, an NRA lobbyist, told a local newspaper in 1990. "But he's been up front about it. He's at least as good, if not better, than Mr. Smith." Sanders unseated Smith that year. He held that seat until 2006, when he was elected to the Senate where hes served ever since. Sanders goes to Washington During his early years on Capitol Hill, Sanders held some positions welcomed by gun control advocates. He campaigned in favor an assault weapons ban, and since the mid-1990s, Sanders has voted for several bills that would ban semi-automatic weapons. But when Congress was debating the Brady Bill requiring a mandatory five-day waiting period for those wishing to purchase handguns, Sanders voted no. Multiple versions were proposed during the two-year battle to get it passed, and Sanders voted against almost every one, including the one signed into law. Sanders did vote in favor of an amendment that would remove the waiting period and allow for an instant background check, but the technology to perform instant checks did not exist at the time. MORE: Sanders feels the heat as Democrats' debate descends into a melee ahead of SC primary, Super Tuesday In the letter Sanders wrote to the concerned constituent, he explained he voted against the bill because it contradicted his "basic philosophy" that "whenever possible, this issue should be dealt with at the local or state level." "In most instances, there is not a 'one-size-fits-all' policy that would be appropriate for the entire nation," Sanders explained. As he wrote in the 1991 letter, Sanders expressed his desire to support an assault weapons bill, but stated he would be unable to do so if it were introduced as part of other legislation he disagreed with. He said he viewed the larger legislation, including the Brady Bill, as something that "would further limit the right of the citizens of our nation" as it would "'federalize' certain crimes that have previously been under the jurisdiction of the states." Sanders highlighted what he said was his "basic philosophy" that "whenever possible, this issue should be dealt with at the local or state level." When asked if Sanders' record on gun control is a source of worry, his campaign pointed to a number of endorsements from gun control activists, such as Delaney Tarr, the co-founder of March for Our Lives. James Haslam, who serves as the Executive Director of Rights and Democracy Vermont, a liberal advocacy organization, said Sanders' position on guns in his early career made political sense. His constituents supported many progressive ideas but felt that the government should lay off our guns, Haslam said. He is obviously trying to unite communities in a state that didnt see gun violence as a big problem and that cares deeply about freedoms, Haslam explained. So as a representative, he laid off. Sanders maintained that posture when he voted in favor of a 2005 law that shielded gun manufacturers and distributors from liability if they sold a weapon used to commit a crime. The bills 65-31 passage in the Senate was a hard-fought victory for the NRA and its lobbyists. Fourteen Democrats and the Independent Sanders, along with the bulk of the Republican majority, helped turn the bill into law. This 2005 bill has come up again and again in the wake of mass shootings. A judge used it to overrule a lawsuit brought by the parents of the victims in the Aurora, Colorado, shooting. And though the case was ultimately allowed to continue, parents of students at Sandy Hook Elementary faced a similar battle in bringing a different lawsuit. In the years since the legislations passing, Sanders has said he would reconsider the law. But hes never gone so far as to call for its repeal. There are parts of it that made sense to me, Sanders told ABC News in 2016. If you have a small gun shop owner in Northern Vermont who sells a gun legally to somebody and then, you know, something happens to that guy, he goes nuts or something, and he kills somebody, should the gun shop owner be held liable? I think not. This year, on the debate stage, Sanders offered a much stronger view. Right now, my view is we need to expand background checks, end the gun show loophole, and do what the American people want, not what the NRA. wants, Sanders said during the debate Tuesday night. To Parro, statements like this read like a betrayal. Hes abandoned his core beliefs, hes jumped on the band-wagon to say whatever he needs to say to get elected, Parro said. Century Arms A Century Arms MSR-15 is in the center display on a wall of semi-automatic weapons at Parros gun shop. Its likely that weapon traveled less than 35 miles from the nearby Century Arms factory to the walls of Parros shop-- a short journey during which the guns would certainly have been driven past pro-Sanders signs posted all over his home base in Burlington. Despite the proximity of the factory to Bernies hometown, the senator has said almost nothing about the facility despite his aggressive campaigning for gun legislation reform. Though Century Arms is just 40 minutes north of Burlington, where Sanders once served as mayor, locals say they dont see him around their part of the state very much. The public record also shows little contact between Sanders and the manufacturing plant. The Century Arms facility sits at the end of a winding road inside of a large industrial park about 30 minutes outside of Burlington. The facility is largely unmarked, save a flag that bears the Century Arms logo, which flies next to a U.S. flag and a flag for the state of Vermont. The whole manufacturing plant is surrounded by a metal chain link fence, and employees park in a lot within the fence. The single-level facility is a hub of activity, with loading docks for trucks lining the walls. Employees can be seen walking around the plant and trucks come and go, with boxes being loaded on and off with deliveries Its one of the largest employers in Vermont, a factor some local politicians say has made the state reluctant to propose regulations that could curtail employment opportunities. PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopeful Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gives an interview in the spin room after participating in the tenth Democratic primary debate in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 25, 2020. (Logan Cyrus/AFP/Getty Images) ABC News attempted to speak with representatives for Century Arms on multiple occasions over the phone, by email and in person. The company, which industry professionals say is known to avoid news media attention, could not be reached for comment. Since the 1960s, Century Arms has been producing guns in Vermont. Today, it is one of the largest manufacturers of firearms in the nation. In 2017, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reported that Century Arms produced 45,372 firearms in its Vermont facility. This summer, when mass shootings in Gilroy, California, and El Paso, Texas, killed 25 people, one common thread between the two shootings was the gun used by the killers. Both wielded weapons made by Century Arms, law enforcement officials told ABC News. When Sanders appeared on MSNBC to talk about the shootings, he blamed the NRA. "We have got to ask how it happens that a time when so many people want to go forward with gun safety legislation that we have a Senate that is refusing to deal with a bill that was passed in the House," Sanders said. "And that again goes back to the NRA." Sanders made no mention of Century Arms. Newly revealed letter highlights Sanders' complicated history on gun control originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Connecticut father charged in the Florida killings of his wife, three children and the family dog is facing the death penalty after being indicted on capital murder charges. According to Hearst Television station WESH, State Attorney Aramis Ayala said Tuesday the grand jury returned an indictment on four counts of capital murder and one count of animal cruelty against 44-year-old Anthony Todt. Prosecutors had previously charged him with second-degree murder to keep him in custody until a grand jury could be convened. Florida law requires a grand jury indictment for capital crimes. The bodies of 42-year-old Megan Todt and the couples three three children, Aleksander, 13; Tyler, 11; Zoe, 4; and their dog, Breezy, were found in the Celebration, Fla. home on Jan. 13, when officers went to assist in serving a warrant connected to an investigation in Connecticut, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. Last month, Todt entered a written plea of not guilty to the murder charges against him. Judge Wayne Wooten set pre-trial to begin April 15, with jury trial scheduled to start on April 27, according to the court records. The Todt family lived in Florida for a couple of years. But Anthony Todt worked Monday through Friday in Connecticut at his physical therapy business and would return to his family in Florida on the weekends. Anthony and Megan Todt were listed as the owners of Family Physical Therapy, which has locations in Colchester at 7 Park Ave. and 744 Middletown Road. Preliminary autopsy documents released last month indicated that Todts wife and their three children were in the early stages of decomposition when they were found in their Celebration, Fla., home on Jan. 13. The autopsy documents showed that Megan Todt, Aleksander Todt and Tyler Todt were each stabbed. The mother who graduated from Sacred Heart University with a Bachelor of Science in 1999 and again in 2001 with a Master of Science was stabbed twice in the upper abdomen. Her sons were each stabbed once in the abdomen. There was no evidence of injury to Zoe Todt. The autopsy documents did not list a cause of death for any of the four Todts. Authorities have not said how the family dog, Breezy, died. Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson called the case evil and horrendous when he provided details on the investigation during a press conference earlier this month. Gibson said Anthony Todt confessed to killing his wife, their three children and the family dog. But, Gibson said, authorities believe he killed his family some time in late December. Police responded to the familys 202 Reserve Place home in Celebration on Dec. 29 when a family member asked for a welfare check because she hadnt heard from them in two days. The deputies checked around the residence and noticed the blinds were closed, but ultimately they did not report anything suspicious and left. Gibson said its possible that when deputies responded to the home that day, the family members and the family dog might have already been killed. Soon after, on Jan. 9, federal agents reached out to the Osceola County Sheriffs Office about an investigation involving Anthony Todt, linked to his time in Connecticut. Again, nothing suspicious was noticed and authorities couldnt make contact with anyone. Then, on Jan. 13, deputies again responded to the Reserve Place home with federal agents to serve an arrest warrant for Anthony Todt from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This time they made contact with Anthony Todt and he was immediately detained. When authorities did a safety check of the rest of the home, they found the other Todt family members and the dog. The United States and Russia simulated a "limited" nuclear exchange in a military exercise that was conducted last week according to a senior official from Pentagon. Dubbing it as a "war game," the event was notable due to the fact that the U.S. Military and Department of Defense briefed the media of the details to prove the notion that a battle with nuclear weapons is possible to fight and win, without leading to a conflict that might end the world. The aforementioned exercise was done only weeks after the US.. released the new low-yield submarine warhead that President Donald Trump commissioned which intends to deter the use and counter Russian tactical weapons. As stated in a transcript of the background briefing done by officials of the Pentagon, American Defense Secretary Mark Esper participated in a "mini-exercise" that was held at the US Strategic Command in Nebraska. Esper took part in a simulation that depicted Russia launching an attack in a US target in Europe. The senior official said that the simulation was of a scenario of a war against Russia and Russia decided to use a low-yield nuclear weapon against a base on Nato territory and that they also simulated a contingency plan in case of that. It is also simulated how conversations would go with the defense secretary and the president before responding to the attack. The official further added that in the exercise, the simulated response was the US answers Russia's attack with a nuclear weapon but only referring to it as a limited response. The limited response could be described as the use of a small number of nuclear weapons or usage of the existing low-yield weapon or the new submarine that Trump commissioned, which was already deployed in the Atlantic last year. The fielding, however, was only publicized in January. Also read: US Grapples To Broker a Trade Deal With India in Time for Trump's Visit During last week's "war game," officials of the Pentagon also defended the deployment of the W76-2. According to them, the fielding was a reasonable response to Russia's nuclear doctrine and capability which suggested that they might exercise limited-use of nuclear weapons. The press briefing was first reported by a trade magazine of the National Defense Industrial Association, National Defense. In the briefing, the Director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists, Hans Kristensen, pointed out that the Pentagon only gives a detailed briefing on extremely rare occasions. He also suggested that it could be a marketing exercise for the additions in the US's weapons arsenal. Supporters of the new weapons that the U.S. acquired say that they represent a deterrent against Russia believing that they can use a nuclear weapon without a U.S. response since Washington would only have two choices which are to either not respond or escalate the situation by releasing a more powerful nuclear warhead. Meanwhile, weapons control advocates raised their concerns that both U.S. and Moscow leaderships have developed a mindset that their nuclear arsenals are not just there to stop attackers but can also be used to win conflicts and may cause World War III. Related article: US and Korean Military Training Under Review Amidst Coronavirus @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Santa Clara County will spend nearly a half million dollars on a county gun team in charge of removing guns from supposedly dangerous people, the county's Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday. In a unanimous vote, the board accepted a proposal from board president Cindy Chavez to create a gun team of seven people -- three crime analysts, two lawyers and two prosecutors -- within the district attorney's office. The team, which already had a lawyer and prosecutor and will add the five additional positions, will be funded by grant money and by $427,247 from the county's general fund for staff salaries. The county funds will cover the newly hired attorney's salary of $215,653 and the prosecutor's salary of $211,594. Supervisors Joe Simitian, Dave Cortese and Mike Wasserman all called the proposal a "good idea" after Assistant District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro briefed the board on the county's gun violence. According to prosecutors, gun violence has been on the rise in San Jose, the county's largest city, since 2009 -- specifically cases involving aggravated assaults with a weapon and robbery with a weapon. The new gun team will be tasked with identifying persons with domestic violence convictions and temporary restraining orders who are no longer lawfully allowed to own guns, making sure they don't have guns and, if necessary, obtaining search warrants for local law enforcement to remove the guns from the possibly violent people. Wasserman said Tuesday that while the county "does God's work in a thousand ways," he was concerned about spending money addressing San Jose's gun violence problems and said he'd like to know why the city can't address the issue without additional funding from the county. A San Jose police spokesman said police will respond Wednesday to Wasserman's question. Wasserman also noted that the board had been approving recently many items that increase costs for the county, but few, if any, that boost revenue. "We have nothing in our agenda (today) that raises revenues in our county," Wasserman said. "We're funding everything, and it's all good stuff, but I feel like we're headed to a cliff." 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. Riding high on the success of Kabir Singh, Shahid Kapoor is currently busy shooting for Jersey in Chandigarh. It was a working birthday for the handsome star yesterday as he turned 39. Taking some time out from his busy shooting schedule, the actor let his hair down last night as he celebrated his birthday with his wife Mira Rajput and dad Pankaj Kapur. Shahid Kapoor birthday Mira Rajput Misha Zain FilmiBeat A video from Shahid's birthday celebrations has surfaced online where the Kabir Singh actor is seen cutting a two-tier red cake, while his wife Mira and father Pankaj are seen clapping as they stand next to the birthday boy. Check out the video here. Earlier, Mira Rajput had posted a romantic birthday wish for her hubby by sharing a cozy selfie with the birthday boy which she captioned as, "Happy birthday to the love of my life." The celebrity wife even posted a blurred photo of the two of them with just a heart emoji in caption. "This blurred moment is quite the juxtaposition to the clarity I have in my heart about being so incomplete without you," the actor dropped a lovey-dovey comment on the picture. Earlier while speaking with Hindustan Times ahead of his birthday, the actor told the tabloid, "Being grounded is very important. Success and failure come and go but family is priority for me. To sustain a career that's long, you need to stick to the basics and you need to stay connected with yourself as a human being. I feel very fortunate that I've two kids and my wife by my side. I'm happy that we're always there for each other." Shahid Kapoor Reportedly Walks Out Of Awards Show After Organizers Break Promise On Award Mira Rajput's Romantic Birthday Wish For Shahid Kapoor Features A Cozy Selfie! Southern Italy's first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in the Sicilian city of Palermo, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) Southern Italy's first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in the Sicilian city of Palermo, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday. According to ANSA, a female tourist visiting Sicily from the northern Italian city of Bergamo tested positive for the virus after being hospitalized with flu symptoms. Everyone that the patient may have been in contact with has been placed under quarantine, the news agency reported, citing the local authorities. Cases of the new coronavirus in Italy now numbering more than 270 were previously confirmed only in the northern and central Italian regions, including Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol, Piedmont, Tuscany and Lazio. Italy has confirmed that seven people have died from coronavirus-related complications in the country. TRAVELERS from North Gyeongsang province of South Korea are now barred from entering the Philippines. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced this in a press briefing Wednesday, February 26, saying the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging and Infectious Diseases approved the ban due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in the South Korea's province. Cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in South Korea jumped again Wednesday, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying 134 of the 169 new cases were in Daegu, a city in North Gyeongsang. Another 19 cases were in neighboring towns. As of Wednesday afternoon, South Korea has 1,146 confirmed infections of the virus and 11 fatalities from the Covid-19 illness it causes. The national government has been channeling medical personnel, protective suits and other supplies to Daegu, and there are concerns the local hospitals are being overwhelmed and fatigued doctors are becoming vulnerable to infections. "This week will be critical in the fight to combat the illness," Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said at a meeting in Daegu City Hall to discuss quarantine efforts. If the situation in South Korea worsens, Panelo said the IATF might expand the travel ban. "The IATF shall conduct a risk assessment of the situation within 48 hours to analyze whether it is necessary to expand the travel ban," he said. In the meantime, he added that strict protocol with respect to travelers entering the Philippines from North Gyeongsang will continue to be observed. He clarified that the government only imposed the travel ban on North Gyeongsang, because it is only where the virus is concentrated. "Yung iba, wala, malinis eh (The other areas are clear of the virus)," Panelo said. He also said that the IATF has authorized Filipinos to travel to South Korea provided that they are permanent residents thereof or leaving for study, or are overseas Filipino workers. Story continues "They [will be required to] execute and sign a declaration signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risk involved prior to their travel," Panelo said. For Filipino tourists from the Philippines, they are advised not to travel to South Korea "for their safety," added Panelo. "The safety and security of the Filipinos here and abroad remain our primary concern. Our countrymen's welfare is foremost in the mind of the President (Rodrigo Duterte), as well as concerned officials," he said. He added that the IATF will continue to discuss the matter and make recommendations with respect to the management of the novel coronavirus. For now, he said there is no travel ban for other countries with Covid-19 cases. (LMY/With AP/SunStar Philippines) By PTI MUMBAI: A 68-year-old auto driver was allegedly beaten to death by employees of a gas station in the western suburb of Borivali here following a spat over Rs 5, police said on Wednesday. Ramdular Sarju Yadav went to fill gas in his autorickshaw at a CNG station on Tuesday evening and telephoned his son Santosh to meet him there, an official said. After filling the fuel for Rs 205, Yadav handed a note of Rs 500 to a gas station attendant but instead of returning balance amount of Rs 295, the man gave Rs 5 less, he said. When the Yadavs demanded Rs 5, attendant Santosh Jadhav abused the duo and other employees started hitting them, the official said. The senior citizen fell unconscious and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead, the official added. "We have arrested five gas station employees under section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code," senior inspector Namdev Shinde of Kasturba Marg police station said. 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 ministry expresses its sincere condolences to his relatives and fellow soldiers. Ukrainian Defense Ministry press secretary Maksym Prauta has said one Ukrainian soldier was killed in a booby-trap blast in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday morning. Read alsoNSDC Secretary Danilov: 50% probability that elections will be held in Donbas "Unfortunately, a member of the Joint Forces has been killed today after an unidentified explosive device exploded," he said at a briefing on February 26, 2020. The ministry expresses its sincere condolences to his relatives and fellow soldiers. As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's hybrid military forces on Tuesday, February 25, mounted five attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. YORK The York Public Schools Board of Education convened Monday, February 24 at the YPS District Office. The diverse lineup of business items included the announcement of YPS board member Jim Hoffmanns resignation. Hoffmann, who was sitting YPS Board of Education Vice President, had been on the board since January 2015. His resignation was due to new employment and moving from the area. Hoffmann and his family have lived in York since 2000, according to his board member profile. The board approved Hoffmanns resignation unanimously (board members Barb Skaden and Hoffmann not present). School board president Matt Holthe noted Hoffmanns valuable financial knowledge contributing to board operations. We definitely thank him for his years of service, said YPS Board member Amie Kopcho. Following the acceptance of Hoffmanns resignation, board member Skaden was unanimously elected to replace Hoffmanns seat as board vice president. Reports on YPS school improvements were presented, reflecting high survey scores for each campus. Slightly lower-rated responses were received from parents when asked to consider the statement There are ways for me to provide input about how the school functions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a letter to Jimmy Johns corporate restaurant warning that the franchise engaged in the sale of adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers. The letter was sent via certified mail on Feb. 25. In this letter we detail evidence from five outbreaks, including the most recent outbreak in the state of Iowa during December 2019 of human infections with Escherichia coli O103. The evidence demonstrates that your corporation, through your franchised Jimmy Johns restaurants, engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers. The pathogens associated with these outbreaks are Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and salmonella enterica. The bacteria can cause serious illness in humans, including diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly, the FDA reports. The condition, known as HUS, can lead to serious kidney damage and death. Salmonella is a pathogenic bacterium that can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections. These infections can be especially serious in young children, the elderly, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer short-term symptoms such as severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever, chills, abdominal discomfort and vomiting. The FDA reported five outbreaks that occurred over seven years tied to Jimmy Johns. November to December 2019; outbreak of human infections with E. coli: Iowa Department of Public Health reported that as of January 7, 2020, a total of 22 people from Iowa were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103. Twenty of the 22 case individuals were interviewed by the Iowa Department of Public Health. Of the case individuals interviewed, 100 % reported eating at one or more of 15 Jimmy Johns restaurants. Of the 20 interviewed, 45% (9) reporting eating sprouts in the week before their illness. Iowa Department of Public Health states this proportion is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy people in which 3.3% reported eating sprouts in the seven days before being interviewed. Outbreak of human infections with salmonella Montevideo: The CDC reported that as of Feb. 28, 2018, ten people were infected with the outbreak strains of salmonella Montevideo in Illinois (2), Minnesota (2), and Wisconsin (6). Eight of these ten people ate meals at Jimmy Johns restaurants in Illinois and Wisconsin the week before becoming sick. All eight people reported eating raw sprouts on sandwiches from Jimmy Johns in Illinois and Wisconsin. Outbreak of human infections with E. coli: The CDC reported that as of August 1, 2014, 19 people were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli in Idaho, Montana, Michigan, Utah, California and Washington. In interviews, 13 of 16 ill persons reported eating raw clover sprouts in the week before becoming ill. This proportion is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy persons in which no more than 8% reported eating raw clover sprouts in the week before they were interviewed. FDAs traceback investigation for 11 of the 19 case individuals identified seven points of service as the likely or most likely locations of their sprout exposures. Five of seven points of service were identified as Jimmy Johns restaurants. Clover sprouts served at each were sourced from the same sprout grower. Outbreak of human infections with E. coli: CDC reported that as of the end of October 2013, eight people from Colorado were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli. Of the eight persons interviewed by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 100% report eating a sandwich with raw cucumbers at one of three Jimmy Johns restaurants in the Denver metro area. No other ingredient exposure was as significant as cucumbers. FDAs traceback investigation identified that all three Jimmy Johns restaurants involved in the outbreak received cucumbers from the same source during the period of interest. Outbreak of human infections with E. coli: CDC reported that as of April 5, 2012, a total of 29 people from eleven states were infected with an outbreak strain of E. coli. Of the 27 persons interviewed, 85% report eating sprouts at one of six Jimmy Johns restaurant in the seven days preceding their illness. Though traceback investigation, FDA identified a single lot of seed grown and distributed by multiple sprouting firms, including sprout operations that supplied the six Jimmy Johns restaurants implicated in the outbreak. Taken together, these outbreaks, which spanned over the past seven years and impacted no fewer than seventeen states demonstrate the corporate-wide supplier control mechanisms you have in place for receiving fresh produce are inadequate. The opposition National Democratic (NDC) is accusing the Akufo-Addo Government of adding over Gh3billion monthly to Ghana's public debt stock within the last three years. The World Bank is on record to have cautioned Ghana against excessive borrowing as the total debt stock of the country hits 214.9 billion Ghana Cedis. Speaking at a public forum on the matter in Accra yesterday, Bolgatanga Central MP, Isaac Adongo described the rising debt stock as scary. The NDC was adding an average of GHS1.15 billion to our public debt every month and a total of GHS13billion a year but President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is adding GHS3billion every month and GHS36billion a year and quite clearly, the numbers are showing a very scary picture. Mr. Adongo was speaking at a public forum organized by the Coalition For Restoration (CFR) on the theme Assessing the three year reign of President Akufo-Addo yesterday, 25th February 2020 at the Karma Conference Center, Labone, Accra. The minority spokesperson on Agriculture, Eric Opoku speaking at the same event also alleged that the plight of cocoa farmers has worsened under the current administration. Since this government assumed office, they have never paid any pesewas to any cocoa farmer in this country as a bonus. In fact, under our watch, we used to pay GHS5 per bag bonus to farmers and immediately they assumed office, they abolished it. The producer price of cocoa in the last 20years in Ghana is a clear testament to President Mahama's superior record in the promotion of the welfare of cocoa farmers as captured below. Ghana's debt stock Ghana's rising debt stock continues to be a source of concern for economic watchers who believe the situation makes the economy more vulnerable to shocks such as commodity price changes on the international market due to dependence on primary commodity exports. In spite of the improvements in Ghana's economic fundamentals in recent years and reports of economic growth, the country's debt per capita continues to rise. Figures from the Bank of Ghana indicate that the country's public debt reached GH 214.9 billion as of November 2019. The data shows that between May and July this year Ghana's debt stock increased by 5.5 billion cedis. By May 2019, the debt stock was at 200 billion cedis. Comparing the debt stock to the same period in 2018, the figure was at 159.7 billion cedis which represented 53.5 percent of the GDP at the time. A breakdown of the debt stock shows that the external component was at 20.4 billion dollars representing 31 percent of GDP. The domestic side is made up of 98 billion cedis representing 28.4 percent of GDP. It is suggested that our debt stock is in such dire straits that an impending catastrophic failure of the economy may be imminent. citinewsroom President Donald Trump had planned to defer his India visit till after the US presidential election scheduled to be held later this year but came anyway as Prime Minister Narendra Modi "did not like the idea." "I called Prime Minister Modi and said that do you mind if I make it after the election (US presidential polls) and he was not happy. He did not like the idea. I guess, he had already put the signs out," said the US President in a speech at a dinner banquet hosted in his honour by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Tuesday. Taking about his experience at the maiden India visit as the US President, he said: "We had a tremendous two days and I am not including the 18 hours that we flew. That wasn't even bad because I was coming to the place I like very much. You know I have been to India before, not as President but I have been to India and I will be back hopefully many times." "I feel so comfortable that they gave my speech and I said I don't want to read the speech. Do you know what it read? It said: 'I love and I respect India.' I am sure First Lady (Melania Trump) feels the same way," he said. Making a reference to the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Texas last September, Trump added, "We had a great time in Texas and they still talk about that in the US." "I must say that Texas is a big place and it is hard to beat Texas and what we saw yesterday with 1,250000 people was great. Also what they talk about is the thousands of people standing outside the stadium trying to get in" Trump said. On the first day of his two-day trip to India, the US President had addressed 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad which was attended by over one lakh people. The US President concluded his jam-packed maiden two-day official visit to India on Tuesday evening. During the visit, he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Law passes to disclose personal information of quarantine offenders ROC Central News Agency 02/25/2020 09:57 PM Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed an article Tuesday to allow the government to disclose the personal information of offenders who flout COVID-19 coronavirus quarantine rules. The article, which is part of an 18-article bill designed to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, cleared its third reading in the Legislative Yuan that day. It allows the chief of the Central Epidemic Command Center to permit filming, photographing and disclosing the personal information of people who violate their home isolation or quarantine obligations. Under the quarantine rules, people who are subject to home isolation or quarantine must remain at home or at a designated place of quarantine with electronic monitoring for 14 days. There are over 20,000 people currently undergoing home isolation or quarantine, according to Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (). The bill also raises significantly the penalties for violating quarantine terms, with individuals who violate their 14-day home quarantine terms facing fines of between NT$100,000 (US$3,291) and NT$1 million, up from the NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 stipulated under the Communicable Disease Control Act. Those who violate the home isolation terms will be fined between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million. In addition, people who drive up the prices of supplies related to disease prevention or hoard such supplies will face prison terms of up to five years or fines of up to NT$5 million, while those who disseminate false information regarding the virus will face up to three years in prison or fines of up to NT$3 million. President Tsai Ing-Wen () thanked both the ruling and opposition parties for allowing passage of the bill in a relatively short period of time. According to the CECC, of Taiwan's 31 confirmed COVID-19 cases, one person has died and five have been released from hospitals, while the remaining 25 are under medical quarantine. (By Wang Yang-yu, Wen Kuei-hsiang and William Yen) Enditem/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A teen trying to get the paperwork to become an Eagle Scout received strange, and in some cases sexual, questions when he contacted his former scoutmaster, police said in documents filed Monday. Kenneth Eugene Barber, 60, of Harrisburg, is accused of sending inappropriate messages to the 17-year-old boy earlier this year, according to the affidavit written by state police investigators. The conversation in question happened in Upper Paxton Township on Jan. 31, at 10:37 p.m., according to the affidavit. The teen had reached out to Barber about paperwork related to becoming an Eagle Scout. Instead of talking about the paperwork, Barber responded by asking if he needed to figure this stuff out and about the teens sexuality. When the teen responded asking what he was talking about, Barber texted him back with four consecutive messages asking about his sexuality and saying if not I will not think about this, according to the affidavit. He also said he was done with all this. The teen questioned Barber again and Barber messaged back that the teen should forget about it and asked the teen if they were going to be OK, according to the affidavit. The teen said they would be OK, according to the affidavit. Sometime after that message, the teen said he woke up to 12 messages from Barber. In the messages, Barber asked him about his clothing sizes then talked about sexual things he wanted to do to the teen, according to the affidavit. Baber also sent a text to the teen that read what is wrong buddy before requesting nude photos from the teen and other seemingly sexual texts that included incoherent and misspelled language, according to the affidavit. The teen said after he woke up to the messages, he messaged Barber that he could keep sending him messages like that, according to the affidavit. Barber then instructed the teen to delete the conversation. On Feb. 3, the teen and his mother went to state police and shared the messages with investigators. Photos of the messages were taken by police. On Feb. 6, police spoke with Barber and searched his phone, according to the affidavit. Barber confirmed that he had been talking to the teen, but when police were looking at Barbers phone, the suspect messages appeared to have been deleted. Barber is charged with corruption of minors, dissemination of sexual materials involving a minor unlawful contact with a minor. According to a statement from Ronald Gardner, Scout Executive with New Birth of Freedom Council, Boy Scouts of America, the allegation from January might not be the first against Barber. He was prohibited from any Scout programming after a report was made in July 2019. Barber was released on $10,000 unsecured bail on Tuesday, according to online court dockets. A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for March 3. Read the statement from the Boy Scouts in America in full: In July 2019, we first learned that Mr. Barber had exchanged inappropriate text messages with a Scout and took immediate action to remove him from Scouting and prohibit him from any future participation in our programs. We promptly reported his actions to law enforcement and held a meeting to inform the troops parents. These charges against Mr. Barber come more than six months after he was removed from Scouting and reported by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to law enforcement. We are disgusted by his behavior, which is reprehensible and runs counter to everything for which the BSA stands. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in our Scouting programs it is our top priority. The BSA has a multi-layered process of safeguards informed by experts, including the following, all of which act as barriers to abuse: a leadership policy that requires at least two youth-protection trained adults be present with youth at all times and bans one-on-one situations where adults would have any interactions alone with children either in person, online, or via text; a thorough screening process for adult leaders and staff including criminal background checks, and the prompt mandatory reporting of any allegation or suspicion of abuse. The BSA also offers a 24/7 Scouts First Helpline (1-844-SCOUTS1) and email contact address (scouts1st@scouting.org) for help reporting suspected abuse or inappropriate behavior and to request funding for in-person counseling. In addition, the BSA has partnered with 1in6, a trusted national resource for male survivors, to meaningfully expand its online services so that more men who suffered abuse while in Scouting can access vital, anonymous support from trained advocates when and how they need it. Victims can access these services at www.1in6.org/BSA. Read more on PennLive: SALEM Oregons booming tax revenues have exceeded economists expectations for years, and lawmakers opened the 2020 short session hoping to spend as much as $500 million from the windfall on critical needs. The states understaffed child welfare program, overburdened psychiatric hospital, nearly broke forestry department and other programs all badly need the money, lawmakers said. House Speaker Tina Kotek wants $120 million to pay for shelters and other services to address the states homelessness crisis, including using debt to pay for affordable housing preservation and construction. Now it looks increasingly unlikely those priorities will receive funds, because nearly all the Republicans in the Senate and House walked out of the Capitol this week to halt a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade bill. In doing so, they are preventing Democrats and the two Republicans who stuck around Rep. Cheri Helt and Sen. Tim Knopp, both of Bend from passing bills to appropriate the money, because they cannot reach the states constitutional two-thirds quorum requirement necessary to conduct business. On Tuesday, the outlook to resolve the standoff did not look good, as Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr. told reporters that most of his caucus is unwilling to return to the Capitol unless Democrats deep-six the climate bill. Well, the bill dies somehow, Baertschiger said of what would secure Senate Republicans return. The goal is: One, kill cap-and-trade; two, send it to the ballot. Democrats and their supporters, including public employee union representatives, pushed back at a rally on the Capitol steps Tuesday, saying they were finished offering deals and compromises to Republicans. Were done, said House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland. We cannot put up with this. If Republicans continue to deny Democrats a quorum for the remaining 12 days of the legislative session, the hundreds of millions of dollars in anticipated windfall revenues would likely remain untouched until July 2021 when the next biennial state budget would take effect. Although a group of lawmakers known as the emergency board handles pressing budget requests between sessions, they have a limited fund to tap. It stands at $75 million, Legislative Fiscal Officer Ken Rocco told The Oregonian/OregonLive via email. Even with another $500 million or more sitting unallocated in state coffers, however, the Emergency Board cannot touch money in the states general fund not appropriated to the emergency fund, Rocco wrote. Universities were also anticipating lawmakers would approve roughly $300 million in bond-backed debt for renovation and expansion projects around the state, including schools in Republican districts such as the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. The Emergency Board cannot approve new bonding projects, but can increase expenditure limitations for agencies that are receiving bond proceeds, Rocco wrote. Only the Legislature can approve bonding authorizations. One other constituency affected by the walkout could be flooding victims in the Pendleton area. Although an emergency declaration freed up immediate funds to help, Gov. Kate Brown wants lawmakers to pass an additional $11.65 million in long-term recovery money. That would likely be included in another budget bill. On Tuesday, Baertschiger blamed Brown for not finding another way to get the money to eastern Oregon. Shes playing politics with peoples lives, and you who bring the light to the public should be outraged by that, Baertschiger said to reporters, adding that he believed Brown had discretionary funds she could use. That is incorrect, according to a spokeswoman for Brown. The Governor does not have $12 million in funding at her discretion, and if she did the first thing she would do is use it to relieve the pressure on the community of Pendleton, Kate Kondayen wrote, adding that there is currently not an emergency relief rainy-day fund in state government. As a stopgap measure, we are researching the viability of covering the levee repair using Business Oregon infrastructure funds, which comprises $1.8 million of the package, but we know that the rest of the funding would have to be approved by the Legislature, Kondayen wrote. Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Gyeonggi Provincial authorities inspect a Shincheonji facility in Gwacheon, Tuesday, to seize PCs that hold lists of members of the religious group confirmed as the infection cluster for the new coronavirus. / Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye A minor Christian sect, known as the Shincheonji Church, which has been at the heart of a surge in coronavirus cases here, is igniting concerns over a further mass infection as its worshipers tend to conceal their affiliation with the cult, even from family members, experts said Wednesday. While Korea has reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 infections so far, more than half have been traced to the Shincheonji Church in Daegu. Several cases, in which confirmed COVID-19 patients were belatedly discovered to be Shincheonji followers, have already been reported, disrupting quarantine officials' efforts to contain the virus by isolating those possibly infected in advance. According to the health authorities, an officer working in the prison service at Cheongsong in North Gyeongsang Province, near Daegu, tested positive for the virus Monday. Until the confirmation of his infection, the officer had not notified the prison of the fact that he was a member of the Shincheonji Church and had participated in services of the minor Christian sect, continueing to work at the prison. JSC Ukrainian Postal Service (UkrPoshta) has resumed acceptance of all kinds of export deliveries to China since February 26. This was reported on the company website. "This was made possible through the assistance of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Ukraine," the company noted. It was also stated that, at that moment, there were no bans from China's National Post on acceptance of parcels. Import deliveries from China continue arriving in Ukraine. However, the transit time to Ukraine may be increased due to the significant reduction in most airlines number of flights. As we reported earlier, on February 12, JSC Ukrainian Postal Service temporarily suspended all kinds of delivering to China due to the coronavirus outbreak. As of February 25, the mortality in China amounted to 2,663: 71 people died in mainland China, 68 of them were in Wuhan, which is the epidemic center, and 508 deaths from the epidemic were spotted outside China. According to Johns Hopkins CSSE (U.S.), the total amount of deaths by Covid-19 made 2,704 people. [February 26, 2020] Louisiana's 360 AUTO wins AWA Rising Star Award for its New 360CXM Technology LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Louisiana-based technology company, 360 AUTO, an Inc. 500 MarTech company, was recognized recently as an AWA Rising Star at the 2020 NADA Expo in Las Vegas. This year's Automotive Website Awards recognition comes from its new 360CXM (Customer Experience Management) technology, which was unveiled last week at the expo. "We're thrilled that our 360CXM technology was recognized for what is really a new vision of CXM that brings more enriched data around each person and each potential car buyer to dealers," said Frankie Russo, Founder & CEO of 360 Auto, which specializes in marketing automation and business intelligence. This year, over 150 industry leaders were in attendance at the AWA Awards, which are held annually at the NADA Expo, the biggest annual auto dealers conference in North America. 360CXM was one of a handful of This year's attendees to be recognized for its innovation. "This award affirms our dedication and continued focus to bringing our industry partners the best technolog available," says Russo. Russo said 360CXM technology offers dealers a host of improvements over other industry CRMs, including AutoTarget scores, more enriched data from first-party and third-party sources on each person, and tools such as click-to-dial, texting, one-to-one emails, ringless voicemail, and alerts for salespeople to let them know when a customer is coming into the dealership. The AWAs were started in 2008 to recognize the best vendors in automotive digital marketing. Since then, they've become a benchmark in the automotive industry for innovative products in technology, design, search marketing, and social media. "Dealers can use 360CXM technology for outreach to potential customers in the surrounding neighborhoods the dealers serve," Russo said. Founded in 2015, 360 AUTO, a subsidiary of 360ia, is a Lafayette, LA based MarTech software company focused on cutting edge marketing automation and intelligence solutions. For more information visit 360 AUTO. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/louisianas-360-auto-wins-awa-rising-star-award-for-its-new-360cxm-technology-301011497.html SOURCE 360 AUTO SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Robert Neulander can start making summer plans: his murder retrial has been delayed until October. The former DeWitt doctor has been free on $1 million cash bail since July 2018, when a state appellate court overturned his 2015 murder conviction in the death of his wife, Leslie. Hed been scheduled to stand trial again June 1 of this year. But trial Judge Thomas J. Miller granted a delay requested by Neulanders latest defense team, according to his chambers. Neulanders trial is now scheduled to begin Oct. 13 -- the Tuesday after Columbus Day. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick confirmed that Neulanders new trial would likely be delayed earlier this week. He told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that there was a scheduling conflict involving Neulanders experts. Neulanders retrial -- like the first one -- is bound to be a battle of experts over what happened on Sept 17, 2012, the morning that Leslie Neulander was found with a fatal head injury inside the couples DeWitt home. Her death was initially ruled a slip and fall in the shower, but later investigation determined she was killed and the scene covered up, authorities say. Its unclear if Neulander plans to use the same experts that he hired for his first trial, or is seeking new ones. He hired a Detroit-area medical examiner and a Corning-based blood pattern expert for his first trial. Neulanders 2015 trial led to national attention and a lengthy appeal over juror misconduct. His conviction was overturned in the summer of 2018. And the states Court of Appeals in September 2019 upheld the new trial, ruling that the misconduct could have allowed for bias in deliberations. Neulanders appellate lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, of New York City, turned over the case to her husband, Jonathan Bach, a partner in the same law firm, to handle the retrial. During a November 2019 bail hearing, Bach asked that the judge return most of Neulanders $1 million cash bail, arguing that the former doctor needed that money to pay for his trial defense. Miller, the judge, kept bail at $1 million. Neulander has stayed out of trouble and remains free as the case slowly winds toward trial. With little to debate before trial, Neulander is only expected back to court once or twice before jury selection begins Oct. 13. He has previously requested that the case be moved out of Onondaga County, arguing that he cant get a fair trial so close to home. But an appellate court ruled earlier this year that both sides needed to try to select a jury in Onondaga County before deciding whether a trial was possible here or not. Its possible that the trial might be delayed again if Neulanders lawyers determine they cant find impartial jurors and ask the appellate court again to move the case out of county. If thats ultimately granted, the judge, lawyers and Neulander would be sent to a different countys courthouse to hold the trial. Such an event would likely push Neulanders retrial unto 2021 or beyond. In New York state, it is extremely rare for a trial to be moved out of a community where the crime is alleged to have happened. Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070. 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. Ukraine's interagency commission on international trade has decided to impose a 50.09% anti-dumping duty on imports of steel wires and wire ropes from Russia into Ukraine for five years, according to a report posted in the government's Uriadovyi Kurier newspaper on February 25. According to the law of Ukraine on the protection of national producers from dumping imports, on the basis of a complaint filed by PJSC Stalkanat-Silur Production Association, the interagency commission on international trade decided to launch an anti-dumping investigation into imports into Ukraine of twisted wire ropes and wire ropes from Russia. The commission found that the applicant's share in the total production of these goods in Ukraine exceeds 50%. In 2016-2018, Stalkanat-Silur's production capacity decreased by 10.9%, domestic sales fell by 1.9%, and employment at the enterprise dropped by 47.7%. The investigation established that these steel wires and wire ropes were imported into Ukraine from Russia at prices lower than selling prices for similar goods made by the national producer on the domestic market. The commission established a causal link between the dumped imports into Ukraine of goods originating in Russia and the threat of material injury to the national producer. In this regard, the commission decided to apply anti-dumping measures for a period of five years by imposing a 50.09% anti-dumping duty on the said goods. op Six years ago, on February 26, 2014, many thousands of people held a rally outside the building of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the significance of which will still be appreciated in the modern history of Ukraine. This opinion is held by a former political prisoner, deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, MP Akhtem Chiygoz. Our conversation with him is about the real situation in Crimea today, the first item in a strategy for the de-occupation of the peninsula, and about attempts to bribe Chiygoz in the Simferopol pretrial detention center to lure him into taking the side of the new regime in Crimea. Question: Today some experts in Ukraine call for a "sober and realistic" assessment of the situation in Crimea and advise that people not hope for its return to Ukraine's control in the coming decades. The other day, well-known journalist Vitaliy Portnikov compared Crimea with the former Baltic republics where patriots had to fight for seats in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to protect their land and preserve their language. Do you share these concerns about Crimea? Answer: Ukraine should understand that it is obliged to liberate Crimea and to be at the forefront of this process, and then the world will not be able to shut up. Because only Ukraine can do it. And actually, it is the duty of the state to fight for its territory. Therefore, Ukrainian politicians should stop building the illusion that someone else will solve the Crimean issue for them, that it is enough for them to observe the process from a distance, agreeing on something or not. But if any representative of the government or part of society today says that he or she is "tired of the war" and that the problem of Crimea can be "frozen" for a while, then let him or her prepare that all the horrors that befell Crimea and eastern Ukraine will reach Kyiv and Lviv. Because Russia represents a monster that exists at the expense of blood, both in the literal and figurative sense of the word, and the appetites of this monster are growing. Therefore, every day, without forecasts, pessimism and fortune-telling on coffee grounds, every effort must be made to resist this aggression. I have great respect for the opinions of experts and journalists, but what we need now when we look at Crimea is realistic and sober assessments. Q: Do you know anything more about the situation in Crimea? A: Enough to make sober conclusions. Every day I have dozens of phone calls with Crimea and I know the sentiments of people there. In addition, we sometimes underestimate the dynamism of the processes taking place in the world. We already see signs of the fall of Russia, for example, in matters of satisfying imperial ambitions. Therefore, do not tell me about the Baltic states, which had been striving for liberation for 50 years, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had lasted for ages. Russia does not cope with the subordination of Ukraine, it does not extend its status as a great power. Blood is pouring, but we see Russia's failures in an attempt to establish itself by the strength of its weapons in foreign territories. For example, they said in Russia yesterday that it maintains very close friendly relations with Turkey. I never believed that, I thought that it was a temporary, situational relationship. Until now, Turkey has allegedly fought with the Assad regime, and it was understood that the weapons and military instructors there are from Russia. Today we see that the conflict between these countries is moving into an open form. And what will happen to this "friendship" now? On the other hand, Turkey today has truly sincere intentions of friendship with Ukraine, and we strive for these intentions to become practical and have humanitarian and economic benefits for Ukraine. Take the Tomos. It is no secret that Dzhemilev's request to Erdogan - to support Ukraine in the issue of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine receiving the Tomos - played a role in solving this issue. Of course, Putin is enraged by this situation, as well as the supply of arms from Turkey. And the most important thing is that Turkey always emphasizes that it does not recognize Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Therefore, I urge analysts to use not only analogies from history, but to pay more attention to the real facts of today. I urge them to talk with people from Crimea, as we do with our colleagues. Firstly, it is very important to maintain the spirit of resistance of our citizens in Crimea. The second aspect is the aggravation for Russia of the issues of maintaining Crimea. And thirdly, our entire politics needs to be built with a focus on the liberation of the occupied Crimea. Q: This is already similar to a strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea. What place should the arms issue occupy in the strategy? A: One of the first ones. But when we say that Crimea must be liberated by force of arms, this does not mean that we will go there in tanks. But we need to have tanks. Q: Do you consider it appropriate to spend money on tanks if Ukraine excludes the military path of the de-occupation of Crimea? A: I say once again that the military path and the strengthening of the military positions of the state are not the same things. Weapons as a show of strength are one of the most powerful tools for liberating Crimea. A state that demonstrates its modern weapons may cool the ardor of the enemy. For example, American Javelins cooled Russia's aggressive intentions. At the same time, Ukrainian weapons raise the spirits of citizens in the occupied territories and show our European partners that we will never retreat from our own territory. This is the position of the state, supported by determination and strength. Q: Are Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait also a demonstration of determination and strength? A: Yes, they were shot at, they were taken prisoner because there is a war going on. But look, the whole of Crimea, despite brutal repressions, undertook to defend the Ukrainian military, which means to help Ukraine. Our activists arrived even at the Lefortovo prison. This mobilized our entire society in Crimea and gave a signal to Ukraine that they are waiting for it and supporting it, despite the fifth year of the occupation of Crimea. And this mobilized Ukraine? Why did international courts make decisions in favor of Ukraine? Why did the Hague Tribunal decide that Russia should immediately release Ukrainian prisoners of war? And now the command of the headquarters of naval sailors says that they will no longer go to the Sea of Azov. But who will go to the Sea of Azov instead of you? Turkey or NATO? Today, our government, unfortunately, does not demonstrate the necessary decisiveness, citing the fact that the highest value of the state is human life. But in any nation and in any religion the highest value is HOW a person has lived his life. Q: We figured out with weapons. Should the issues of cultural and social integration be included in the Crimea de-occupation strategy? A: I think one of the dangers that the government demonstrates today is the substitution of important components of victory with humanitarian issues. For example, they call for the provision of pensions to people in occupied territories, water supply to Crimea, the release of political prisoners at any cost. You can ask Balukh, and he will tell you that prison was his choice. And that was my choice. This is our front of the struggle that we waged in prison against the occupier. Of course, the issue of lawyers' support for political prisoners is important, and it needs to be worked out, but it does not belong to strategic ones. This is one of the aspects of the routine work of any state. Another thing is strategically important - for society to mobilize. Then there will be resistance to the occupier and support for this resistance. You can compensate for the costs of lawyers to some extent - this money will not be enough to cover the costs. Another thing is important - a society mobilized to resistance, then the society itself will help families, children, and lawyers. Thus, we have been supporting our political prisoners and their families for five years. Our society in Crimea offers organized resistance to the occupier, and this is one of the main aspects of the struggle for Crimea. Otherwise, it would not have been mentioned in the information space. Q: Is Crimea mentioned in the information space? A: Yes, it is. We really see it - both in the information field of Ukraine and in the thoughts of our people in Crimea. The authorities need to strengthen the spirit of the struggle and show solidarity with Crimea through their actions and decisions, but now, unfortunately, there are fewer messages of this kind. Q: Do you see a different development path for Crimea, for example, under the joint control of several countries, for example, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia? Or, for example, under the control of the UN? A: No, the future of Crimea is only with Ukraine. Everything else is an illusion - the world today will not reconsider the issue of the status of Crimea, although there should be some forms of influence on the situation. There are many international institutions for this - the OSCE, the UN, the EU - but today they are demonstrating their failure. We provide them with all the necessary information, we press on them, but they are not able to fulfill their main role: to ensure the safety of people in the occupied territories. Their tools do not work today, because the West is faced with a new phase of fascism, transformed from the Soviet authoritarian regime, but in a more bloody and aggressive form. Only Ukraine itself can cope with the task of returning its territories now. It is already strong enough, and the authorities need to further strengthen the positions gained over the previous five years. Q: In what areas is Ukraine strong today? A: The fact that it showed the willingness to continue the fight for its independence. That it was able to build all the pillars of its independence. The latest major achievement is the receipt of the Tomos, religious independence. Now there is an attempt to undermine these pillars. Moreover, they hit both government institutions and public self-awareness. But I am convinced that it is impossible to turn Ukraine towards the Russian colony, because the debate in society today is not on ideological, but on strategic issues. Ukraine will never return to colonial dependence on Russia. Q: Mustafa Dzhemilev said the other day that in 2014, Crimean Tatars were ready to defend Crimea with weapons in their hands and there were allegedly the lists of 3,000 people who were ready to fight against Russia. A: I will tell you more. I handed him these lists of 3,000 people in February 2014. And when they searched for these lists in my house during a raid, they even searched for them under the floor. Then Mustafa came from Kyiv. I remember that checkpoints in Perekop and Chonhar were still open, and there was a railway connection with mainland Ukraine. He said that the issue of weapons from mainland Ukraine was being resolved, and in one day we made a list of people who were ready to fight there were about three thousand of them. I did not make copies of the list, I handed over the original one to Dzhemilev, and he took it to Kyiv, so they didn't find anything during the raid. In those days, by the way, we were actively working on the creation of Crimean Tatar national self-defense units. All men began to guard populated localities and places of compact residence of Crimean Tatars. For example, Bakhchysarai was completely cordoned off by our guys. Q: Were the weapons needed to demonstrate strength? A: No, not for demonstration. It was a clear intention to protect our land. So, if even one military unit had begun armed resistance, tens of thousands would have stood with them in the trenches. The military should have led the resistance, and Crimean Tatars were ready to support them. Another thing is that we had provocations on the part of individual military units, when their representatives proposed going to the unit and opening the hangars with weapons. The commanders of these units were already in collusion with Russian invaders. It was a clear provocation, and we did not resort to that. Because we knew for sure that these commanders of military units and Russian illegal groups in Crimea would say then that they were attacked and their weapons were taken away from them, and we would be declared terrorists. Subsequently, the commanders of units in which we were offered to "take" weapons had already served in the Russian army. Q: And they still serve there? A: No, they and people like them now serve on the far borders of Russia, in the "warm" Siberian regions. And it is written in their personal files that they are unreliable and prone to treason. Q: So if at least one military unit had resisted... A: Tens of thousands would have stood next to them. Q: And history would go the other way? A: For sure. We would not let Russia establish itself. Evidence of that is a rally on February 26. I believe that on that day, the civilian population of Crimea fulfilled its duties. Thanks to our rally, provocative political decisions were not made at a session of the then legitimate Crimean parliament. Q: You were at this rally. What did people feel? Did you fear for tomorrow? Q: I attended hundreds and thousands of such rallies for 25 years. And there was never fear, including that day. People had an inner feeling of anxiety, and with that feeling they got up and came from all over Crimea. When more than a thousand of us arrived to the Crimean Supreme Council from Bakhchysarai, we already heard people shouting "Crimea is Ukraine!" No one wrote slogans or banners for these people, no one forced them or specifically taught them what to say and what to protest against. All of this came from their hearts, because we always lived in Crimea with a feeling of danger from Russia. This feeling of danger never left Crimean Tatars. Therefore, we were afraid of losing Ukraine, and when the parliament session under the pressure of the rally did not take place, we won. We really won a serious battle that day, and its significance should not be underestimated. We stopped the separatists, and then the authorities and special forces had to work. Q: Who was on the other side of the rally and shouted "Crimea is Russia?" A: I know for sure from the materials of my "case," and there are 54 volumes there, and no one, of course, revised it that "ordinary" Crimean residents were represented at the rally, for example, by the Wagner private military company from Sevastopol, the Terek Cossacks, also from Sevastopol, as well as marginal Cossack formations and pro-Russian organizations such as Russian Community of Crimea, Russian Bloc, Russian Unity, which successfully functioned in Crimea due to the inaction of the Crimean government and Kyiv. My lawyer took pictures of two interesting references randomly hiding in the materials of my "case," which confirm the presence of representatives of these entities on the square. We beat them well that day, because they constantly tried to show their strength against us. They had sticks, spray cans with various toxic substances. We responded with force to force and cleared the area from this riffraff in 15 minutes. Q: What happened the next day? A: On the night of February 26 to February 27, Russian special forces seized all the administrative buildings of Simferopol. Over the next two days, Russian troops began to enter Crimea mainly through the port of Crimea - the port of Kavkaz, and military airports, including the Belbek airport, began to receive Russian aircraft. And the famous Mamchur simply surrendered all the hangars, airstrip and observation towers, leaving behind only a dining room and barracks. Q: Do you think they acted not on the instructions given by high-ranking officials? A: What kind of instructions can be there if it is written in the military charter that you must defend your territory if the enemy encroaches on it! It is necessary to shoot in this case, rather than wait for instructions from the authorities. You didn't swear allegiance to the chief of staff, the general, or the defense minister, you swore allegiance to the people of Ukraine. Case closed. I consider all discussions on this subject to be demagogy. Q: Why were you accused of organizing the rally on February 26? A: After Dzhemilev and Chubarov were deported and denied entry to Crimea, they persuaded me for a very long time into working for Russia. They offered everything: fabulous money, opportunities, power. They thought that I could have a different price, a higher one, but I could not explain in a clear way to them that I do not accept the betrayal, first of all, of my principles. For me, the citizenship of Ukraine is not an empty phrase. I demanded at every court session for three years that I not be called a citizen of Russia. I demanded the recusal of judges and investigators. I stated that I did not accept and was not going to accept the citizenship of this country. And they had to write in the verdict that I am a citizen of Ukraine. Q: Should February 26 be declared the day of Crimea's resistance to Russian occupation? A: Yes, it should. Together with my colleague Rustem Umerov, we collected the signatures of more than a hundred MPs, including representatives of the mono-majority, for the endorsement of a respective presidential decree. I am sure that February 26 will go down in the history of the state of Ukraine as the Day of Crimea's Resistance to Russian Occupation. Glory to Ukraine! Zera Ashirova, Kyiv Photo credit: Yulia Ovsiannikova Representative image The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on February 25 issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels asking them to be cautious about content that may incite violence or promote "anti-national" attitudes. Fresh violence tore through northeast Delhi on February 25, killing six more people and taking the toll in the communal clashes over the amended citizenship law to 11. "It is herby reiterated that all TV channels are advised to be particularly cautious with regard to any content which is likely to encourage or incite violence, or contains anything against the maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national attitudes," the advisory said. For the latest updates on the violence in Delhi, follow our LIVE blog The advisory also called on private channels to be cautious of content that contains attack on religious or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religions groups or which promote communal attitudes. It also cautioned against content that may carry "defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths". The advisory asked channels to ensured that no content is telecast which is violative of the Programme and Advertising Codes as prescribed in the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995. "All private satellite TV channels are requested to ensure strict compliance," the advisory added. HONG KONG/BEIJING Autonomous driving firm Pony.ai said on Wednesday it has raised $462 million (425 million pounds) in its latest funding round, led by an investment by Japan's largest automaker Toyota. Toyota invested around $400 million in the round, Pony.ai said in a statement, marking its biggest investment in an autonomous driving company with a Chinese background. The latest fundraising values the three-year-old firm, already backed by Sequoia Capital China and Beijing Kunlun Tech Co, at slightly more than $3 billion. Reuters reported the funding earlier on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources added that some of Pony.ai's existing investors had joined the financing, but did not specify names. The investment by Toyota comes at a time when global car makers, technology firms, start-ups and investors including Tesla, Alphabet Inc's Waymo and Uber are pouring capital into developing self-driving vehicles. Over the past two years, 323 deals related to autonomous cars raised a total of $14.6 billion worldwide, according to data provider PitchBook, even amid concerns about the technology given its high cost and complexity. The Silicon Valley-based startup Pony.ai co-founded by CEO James Peng, a former executive at China's Baidu, and chief technology officer Lou Tiancheng, a former Google and Baidu engineer is already testing autonomous vehicles in California, Beijing and Guangzhou. The firm is focusing on achieving "Level 4," or fully autonomous standards, in which the car can handle all aspects of driving in most circumstances with no human intervention. The latest funding will support Pony.ai's future robotaxi operations and technology development, one of the sources said. Pony.ai, which has partnerships with automakers Hyundai and GAC, said it will explore "further possibilities on mobility services" with Toyota. Pony.ai is not the first time that Toyota, which sold more than 10 million cars globally last year, has invested in firms focused on autonomous driving and mobility services. Story continues Its autonomous vehicle partnerships include a venture with SoftBank Corp and an investment in robotaxi developer Uber ATG. Last year, it invested $600 million in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and a new joint venture to develop mobility services. However the Japanese car maker, which has researched into autonomous driving technologies mostly through in-house engineers and this year will launch its first vehicle with autonomous highway driving capabilities, has been lagging rivals in bringing self-driving cars to market. It has taken a long view towards the technology, saying it will take decades for cars to drive themselves on roads. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> New Delhi: In a letter to Lyca Production, actor-politician Kamal Haasan has expressed grief over the fatal accident while filming 'Indian 2' on February 19 and has called for safety audit on the sets. The letter is now circulating widely on social media and has also been carried by other media reports. It begins with Kamal Haasan saying that the night "continues to haunt" and the "realisation that the people with whom he was working will never come back is remorseful." The accident claimed three lives and over nine persons got injured. Kamal Haasan and actress Kajal Aggarwal had a narrow escape as they were just seconds away from being crushed under the crane. It occurred when a crane, which was being used to fix lighting, fell on the people while they were constructing the sets for the shooting. "I was just a few seconds a few meters away from the spot where the mishap occurred and miraculously escaped from joining the list of fatalities. I can hardly express my trauma and agony in words. Our ability to compensate can and should never be equated to our sense of responsibility. With so many human lives involved in a shoot, the paramount importance for the Production is to ensure safety of people involved in the shoot," Haasan wrote in the letter addressed to Subhaskaran, Chairman and founder of Lyca Productions. The 65-year-old actor had announced financial assistance of Rs 1 crore for the kin of those who lost their lives. Post the mishap too, Haasan had appealed to the film fraternity to take steps to protect the workers. "I want to understand the steps taken by the Production team to ensure the safety of the artists, crew and other technicians involved in the shoot and also the kind of insurance that the Production team has taken. As Producers you should ensure the best of medical help to each of those who have been admitted and provide the affected families with your utmost support during this time of need, both financially and emotionally," he added in the letter. Here is a copy of the letter, shared by a fan club on Twitter: Read this letter and RT if you feel proud to be a follower of @ikamalhaasan - THIS is a mark of a great leader. He helped the victims physically, stood by them, announced 1 cr for the deceased families and now requested support and precautionary measures for the industry. pic.twitter.com/76iYYw6i3w (@Mass_Maharaja) February 25, 2020 Those dead were assistant director Krishna, art assistant Chandran and Madhu, a production assistant. 'Indian 2', directed by S Shankar, stars Kamal Haasan, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Siddharth and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead roles. It is a sequel to Kamal Haasan's 1996 film of the same name. 'Indian 2' is expected to hit the screens in 2021. VANCOUVERThe UBC InterFraternity Council has permanently banned open social events at the University of British Columbia because it said it could not ensure safe conditions. The council, which represents fraternity organizations at UBC, had previously suspended all social events while RCMP investigations were pending into drugging allegations at fraternity parties. A UBC economics instructor, Marina Adshade, had alleged in a tweet on October 1, 2019 that a student of hers spent the weekend at the hospital with six other women who had allegedly been drugged in fraternities at UBC. The tweet gained widespread attention and triggered investigations by RCMP, as well as a decision from the universitys Alma Mater Society to remove club status for the fraternities council (IFC). In a Tuesday interview with the Ubyssey student newspaper, IFC president Adam Moallemi said the events from last October led the council to re-evaluate its approach to risk management. Having those parties where the whole Greek village or other houses are just packed with people, theres no way we can control whos coming in, and it just opens the door for so many issues, he said. I think its fair to say that were moving in a direction where open parties like the ones people are used to are never going to happen again, he added. In the future, social functions will happen on an invitation-only system where fraternities will have strict guidelines about who could attend, but details are still under development, Moallemi said. An IFC spokesperson told the Star on Wednesday that it has made its stance clear in the Ubyssey interview and would not be commenting further. Adshade told the Star on Wednesday that she was happy to see that the council has taken responsibility for the role they play in sexual violence on UBC campus. Have your say: I think its a very good first step and its important that with parties on invitation basis going forward, they are implicitly taking responsibility for what happens at these parties, she said. Female students interviewed by the Star last October had shared stories of feeling uncomfortable at previous frat parties where they experienced aggressive come-ons. However, there is no data on the number of sexual harassment or assault cases that may have happened at UBC frat or sorority parties. The university has the largest fraternity and sorority system in Canada, according to an article by the University of Torontos student paper, The Varsity. A 2019 UBC student society survey found six per cent of respondents participated in a fraternity or sorority. Seven per cent of UBC students have experienced sexual assault or misconduct at the hands of another member of the UBC community during their time at the university, according to the schools student society survey for the 2018-19 academic year. Of the respondents, women were more likely (13 per cent) than men (four per cent) to experience this. Fifteen per cent of students had accessed the student societys sexual assault services centre in the 2018-19 academic year. Canadian universities are generally hands-off when it comes to fraternities and sororities, according to The Varsity report, but Queens University has an explicit ban on Greek organizations. Matthew Ramsey, director of university affairs for UBC, told the Star that the university has provided safety resources to students and encouraged students to come forward to the RCMP with any information. Police did not immediately respond to the Stars requests for comment. With files from Wanyee Li Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based reporter covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @joannachiu Read more about: Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday lashed out at the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who led her partys attack on the central government over the Delhi violence that has killed at least 20 people. Javadekar said Sonia Gandhis statement after the Congress Working Committees resolution was timed to politicise the violence. This, he said, was unfortunate and condemnable. According to the police and hospital authorities, 20 people have died and 250 injured in the violence that started with isolated instances of stone throwing on Sunday and rapidly escalated into a full-scale communal riots over the next two days. The police had started to crack down on Tuesday evening but instances of violence were reported from some pockets on Wednesday morning as well. Javadekar said the effort to politicise violence was the wrong thing to do. Also Watch | Delhi violence | Things happening before them: SC rebukes police At a time like this, instead of helping to calm the situation down, they are pinning the blame on the government, Javadekar said, pointing that this wasnt the first time that Congress had opted to criticise the government. Last year too, the Congress raised questions on the Balakote air strikes, and before that on the surgical strikes, he said. The Congress has targeted Union home minister Amit Shah and demanded that he step down for his handling of the violence that the opposition has described as a colossal failure. They should know he (Amit Shah) called a meeting yesterday and has been raising the morale of the police. By politicising this violence, the Congress is lowering the morale of the police, the union minister of information and broadcasting said. The irony is that the party that has the blood of the Sikh massacre on its hands is talking of this violence, said Javadekar, alleging that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had supported the violence that had broken out after Indira Gandhi assassination in 1984. Javadekar called the demand for Shahs resignation farcical since he had been trying to control the situation from day one. In 1984, Sikhs were killed across the city, here the violence has been contained to an area. But a probe will tell who initiated the violence, he said. We are confident that a police probe will prove who initiated violence, arson and attacked the police personnel. The BJP does not believe in cheap politics attacking the government at a time like this, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Fifty-three patients remain at Muckamore Abbey, the Health Minister has said. A target to resettle everyone into community care has been missed, Ulster Unionist Robin Swann acknowledged. The Health Minister admitted it had probably not been achievable within the timeframe. He said the authorities did not want to cause undue distress if placements did not work out. The minister said: "One size will not fit all, and at the heart of this the welfare of patients is paramount." Muckamore treats people with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs. Police are probing claims of physical and mental abuse of patients in the psychiatric intensive care unit near Antrim town in 2017-18. At one stage, more than 220 patients were living at the hospital. Professor David Bamford led a 2002 review which presented compelling evidence of the need for comprehensive reform and modernisation of mental health services. Relatives of vulnerable patients allegedly abused in Muckamore have urged the Health Minister to call a public inquiry. Police suspect there were 1,500 criminal assaults over a number of months in a ward with six beds in the Co Antrim hospital. Detectives probing the alleged abuse at Muckamore have been trawling through hours of CCTV footage. Mr Swann said he was still considering whether to order a public inquiry, adding that such a choice had to be properly informed. West Belfast MLA Pat Sheehan said: "I hope that the minister has the requisite funding to ensure that as many patients as possible can be resettled in the community. "That will require bespoke support services within the community and, in many instances, bespoke accommodation also." A 26-year-old man was arrested yesterday by detectives probing the alleged ill-treatment of patients at Muckamore. The man, who was arrested in the Antrim area, is the sixth person to have been arrested. To date, they include one woman and five men. The PSNI has been investigating thousands of incidents after allegations of abuse of a number of vulnerable patients. At least 40 members of staff have been suspended. Scores of staff and managers have also resigned or retired. The previous arrest by the PSNI's public protection branch was of a 34-year-old male in the Antrim area on 22 January. (Photo: Malaysia an Experience like No Other in Southeast Asia) If you are a tourist looking to experience life in Southeast Asia, then you should consider visiting Malaysia. It is a country that is well renowned for its beautiful and expansive beaches; thick, beautiful and largely untouched rainforests; and really friendly disposition to cultures from all around the world. In fact, the country itself is a potpourri of different cultures including Malay, which are the natives, Chinese, European, and Indian. All of these influence its culture to a certain extent and people from all over the world will definitely feel at home amidst them all. In case you are wondering what it is that is fascinating about this country, the following should give you an idea. They are sure to pique your interest and make you want to visit as soon as you can manage it. Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia and it is, therefore, a prime location to take in some of the beautiful sights that this country has to offer. One of such sights is the Petronas Twin Towers, which were allegedly the tallest buildings in the entire world from 1998 until 2004 when it was knocked off this pedestal by Taipei 101. It is built using a postmodern Islamic architecture style which further supports Malaysia's supposed acceptance of all cultures. This 88-story structural masterpiece is one of the most memorable landmarks in the country; it is, therefore, a must see. What's more, it is connected by a sky-bridge, which makes it even more suitable for the adventure-minded traveler. Check out some Singapore to Kuala Lumpur flights here today. Genting Highlands Genting Highlands is a region of granites mountains that make up Peninsula Malaysia's north-south backbone. This region is basically the Las Vegas of Malaysia and it features several attractions designed to help tourists have the best fun of their lives. There are several casinos, nightlife attractions, and luxury hotels to experience and have fun at, with Resorts World being one of the foremost. It is also home to First World Hotel, which was, as at 2006, the largest hotel in the whole wide world, according to the Guinness Book Records. For a full list of Genting Highlands hotels, check here out. Lastly, Genting Highlands also features several cave temples which gives you an insight into some of the religions practiced in the region. You will also find skyways, theme parks, and several eye-catching, and memorable places to visit. Batu Caves The Batu Caves are an absolute must see for people who are touring Malaysia. While Hinduism is a religion that is mostly restricted to India, there are notable shrines in other parts of the world, one of which is in these caves. Your experience starts right from the mouth of the caves where a 140 ft high status of Lord Murugan - a Hindu deity - constructed of steel, concrete, and gold paint sits. The complex consists of three mains caves and several smaller ones. Of the three major caves here, the biggest requires tourists, and devotees of Murugan, to climb 272 steps. This series of caves is fun to explore and it has several attractions including Hindu statues and paintings, among others. Other fun places to visit in Malaysia include Mount Kinabalu, Redang Island, Taman Negara, Langkawi Sky Bridge, and Kek Lok Si Temple, among others. Malaysia is a country for the adventurous tourist who is interested in seeing nature as it can be, and also to enjoy the wonders of civilization. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HR for Health and 1-800-DENTIST have announced that an exclusive lineup of over twenty group dentistry experts, dental industry entrepreneurs and tech innovators will headline the 6th annual DSO Leadership Summit, April 15th 17th in Beverly Hills, California. DSO executives, owners, investors and industry partners can register for the popular two-day educational / networking event by visiting www.hrforhealth.com/dsosummit . This year's meeting, titled "Survival of the Fittest: Strategies for a Rapidly Changing Industry," is sponsored by RecallMax. A full slate of talks and panels focusing on the business, staffing and technology challenges faced by emerging and mid-sized dental service organizations will be presented at the Summit's new location - the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City at Beverly Hills. The Summit is bringing together a unique group of business, legal, marketing, HR, staffing and technology thought leaders. Event organizers said that when selecting speakers and panelists they deliberately expanded their search beyond the "usual suspects," the core group of experts often appearing at industry events. "We felt it was time to get some fresh perspectives on what's happening in the DSO world, especially as it relates to emerging groups," said HR for Health's DSO Summit Director, Kimberly Fuller, CMP. "Our goal is to provide new insights on the obstacles and opportunities that lie ahead for DSOs with three to seventy-five locations. In many ways, their concerns are very different from those of larger dental groups." The 2020 Summit features appearances by many of the industry's rising stars and most influential new voices, including Google's Parker Nelson; Ophir Tanz, CEO of Pearl, Inc.; and Floss Bar founder Eva Sadej. Other key speakers include: Brian Colao , Director of Dykema's Dental Service Organizations Industry Group , Director of Dykema's Dental Service Organizations Industry Group Jill Hasselmann , Director of Business Development for HR for Health , Director of Business Development for HR for Health Dr. Ryan Hungate , founder and CEO of Simplifeye , founder and CEO of Simplifeye Brian McCarthy , 1-800-DENTIST's CEO , 1-800-DENTIST's CEO Mike Montgomery , Director of Healthcare Strategic Markets for Live Oak Bank , Director of Healthcare Strategic Markets for Live Oak Bank Josh Muir , Director of DSO and Special Markets at RecallMax , Director of DSO and Special Markets at RecallMax Bill Neumann , Group Dentistry Now's CEO , Group Dentistry Now's CEO John Whitaker , SVP and Chief People Officer at Sage Dental Management , SVP and Chief People Officer at Sage Dental Management Mike White , Managing Partner at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) The 2020 Summit will be emceed by Gary Takacs, the host of dentistry's #1 podcast, The Thriving Dentist. Always a fast-paced, high-energy meeting, this year's Summit highlights include: DSO Diagnosis: Winners Take All This crowd favorite features three emerging dental groups receiving real-time business consultations and operational analyses from in front of a live audience. This year's panel of experts includes Vincent Cardillo , founder of Maeva Dental Advisors; Maria Melone , founding partner of MORR Dental Solutions, and Ali Oromchian , founder and CEO of HR for Health. This crowd favorite features three emerging dental groups receiving real-time business consultations and operational analyses from in front of a live audience. This year's panel of experts includes , founder of Maeva Dental Advisors; , founding partner of MORR Dental Solutions, and , founder and CEO of HR for Health. Jessica Pettitt Standup comedian, diversity training expert and author of "Good Enough Now," Jessica Pettitt is this year's special keynote speaker. Jessica's highly engaging presentation, "Conversations That Matter," combines humor with hard truths to challenge long-held assumptions about the types of people who drive change and are successful. Standup comedian, diversity training expert and author of "Good Enough Now," is this year's special keynote speaker. Jessica's highly engaging presentation, "Conversations That Matter," combines humor with hard truths to challenge long-held assumptions about the types of people who drive change and are successful. Networking Often called "Dentistry's Best Networking Event," the Summit's focus on providing attendees with ample time and opportunity to share ideas and build new connections with senior DSO executives, venture capitalists and key industry partners is one of the reasons for its continuing success. With over 200 DSO attendees expected, event organizers predict the 2020 meeting will be the Summit's sixth consecutive sellout. To learn more about the DSO Leadership Summit or to register, visit: www.hrforhealth.com/dsosummit . About HR for Health HR for Health is the leading Human Resources Information System (HRIS) dedicated to empowering practice owners with the resources to develop and implement enforceable employment policies and avoid legal pitfalls. The cloud-based platform provides offices with a comprehensive and compliant HR experience including, customized employee handbooks, seamless time and attendance tracking, payroll, performance and task management tools, plus live HR support with SHRM-certified specialists. HR for Health makes it easy for practice owners to protect their interests while drastically simplifying HR administration. No matter how complicated the issue, we are here to find solutions together. www.hrforhealth.com About 1-800-DENTIST 1-800-DENTIST is the flagship product of Futuredontics the industry's largest direct marketer focusing solely on the challenge of maximizing dental practice production. Both independent practitioners and DSOs nationwide depend on us to provide qualified new patient leads and effective patient engagement solutions including patient communications and social media enhancement, plus access to a library of educational resources and exclusive marketing intelligence. These advanced services, along with additional training and support, help practices build profitable, long-term relationships with patients. The Futuredontics family of products also includes Dentistry.com and PatientActivator. Learn more at www.futuredontics.com or call 1-855-248-4307. SOURCE HR for Health Related Links http://www.hrforhealth.com By IANS NEW DELHI: BJP President JP Nadda announced on Wednesday that deceased Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal has not only been given martyr status, but his family will also be awarded a financial aid of Rs 1 crore. Ratan Lal lost his life on Monday in Maujpur in North-East Delhi after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters took a violent turn. ALSO READ: Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit's daughter saves man attacked in Northeast Delhi Nadda said, "The Government of India has declared him a martyr, besides announcing a financial aid of Rs 1 crore for his family along with a job for one of his family members." He added that no amount of financial aid can match the sacrifice of Lal who lost his life on the line of duty. ALSO READ: Slain constable Ratan Lal cremated with full state honours in Rajasthan's Sikar The head constable was allegedly killed in the Dayalpur police station area by miscreants when the violence was at its peak around noon on Monday. Lal's wife Poonam fainted after she heard the news of her husband's death. He is survived by three children -- Siddhi (13), Kanak (10) and Ram (8). ALSO READ: 'What's making you scared? You're not dead in the fire' - Residents allege Delhi Police apathy Lal, a resident of Fathepur Tihwali village in Rajasthan's Sikar district, had joined Delhi Police in 1998. He got married to Poonam, a resident of Jaipur, in 2004. Lal's younger brother Dinesh told IANS, "He was the reader of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Gokulpuri. He had just accompanied the ACP, but the mob surrounded him and took his life." The ceiling sometimes referred to as a rooms fifth wall often gets short shrift in decorating schemes. Walls and furnishings take center stage while the acreage overhead receives a coat of neutral white paint, with perhaps a snazzy ceiling fixture. That wasnt the case historically. Plaster ornamentation and murals were used centuries ago, and the Victorians really went to town on the ceiling, with elaborate moldings and stamped tin sheeting. Ceiling medallions graced more formal spaces like dining rooms and parlors, while timber beams and tongue-and-groove boards were popular in kitchens, bedrooms and common spaces. Through the early 20th century, curvy coving, paneled grids and ornate moldings were popular. But with the advent of modernism after the 1930s, ceilings became the serene planes most of us are familiar with. Now were looking up again. Designers are really getting creative with architectural elements, as well as paint, wallpaper and lighting. Statement ceilings are a great way to bring detail and visual interest to a room, says Gideon Mendelson, founder and creative director of his New York-based eponymous design group. ``We see them as an opportunity to create something unexpected that adds to the space. For one client in the New York suburbs, hed been tasked with creating a classic white kitchen, but he wanted to add some personality. The client loved checks and plaids, so a decorative painter painted a green checkered design on a canvas and then installed it on the ceiling. The color matches the green on the kitchen island, so it ties the room together and makes the space feel that much more special. The positive reaction to that ceiling spurred Mendelsons team to include them in other projects. We quickly realized how impactful and powerful they can be. It immediately makes the space feel like one-of-a-kind. In almost every project we do now, theres some ceiling treatment. He turned traditional Tudor style on its ear in another project by creating a modern design made of oak for the ceiling. And in a Hamptons retreat, faux-wood wallcovering from the French firm Nobilis added a beachy feel to the ceiling, punctuated with fresh Lilly Pulitzer-esque green paint. Story continues As well as millwork and wallpaper, Mendelsons done custom hand-painting on ceilings. It sets it apart from the rest of the home, and gives the space its own personality, he says. Miami interior designer Christopher Coleman had some fun with a childs bedroom in Coral Gables, Florida, putting a deliciously glossy deep pink Stark patent leather on the ceiling. In the same home, Coleman installed a series of architectural wood beams across the ceiling in both the dining area and a bathroom, giving the spaces a Japanese country-house vibe. In a Roxbury, Connecticut, country home, designer Philip Gorrivan ran wallpaper up the walls and across the ceilings in several rooms, including a Cole & Sons Fornasetti leaf print in the dining room and a storm-cloud print called Nuvolette, also by Fornasetti, in a boys room. Wrapping rooms in strong patterns like this creates drama, and in nurseries and childrens rooms can spark imagination. Smooth-finished ceilings make it easy to apply whatever you can dream up: paint, peel and stick or traditional wallpapers, or even ornamentation like origami, decals, buttons, faux jewels, botanicals, twigs, garlands, ribbon, stencils or scarves. Command strips will hold most lightweight objects firmly to a smooth ceiling, but if youre stuck with one of those textured ceilings, youll either have to refinish it or opt for wood paneling or tin sheets. Not ready to fully dress your ceiling? You can still add some excitement there with a light fixture. A ceiling statement doesnt have to involve complicated architectural details, points out Leigh Spicher, design studio director for the Atlanta-based homebuilding group Ashton Woods. It can also be created by adding a chandelier that contrasts in either style or scale to the room. Sometimes an unexpected bonus comes from creating a statement ceiling. Chris Coleman remembers a project in Manhattan a few years ago, in a 39th floor apartment: The husband said what do we do with the ceiling? And I said lacquer it, and they were so ecstatic when they saw the yellow taxis reflected in the ceiling. LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Centrica chartered a vessel to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) this month to power firm Centrais Eletricas de Sergipe S.A. (CELSE) , launching Brazil's first private LNG terminal. Brazil has been implementing reforms to end the monopoly of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, in supplying natural gas to the domestic market. The new terminal was developed before the reforms were announced last year. The Singapore Energy tanker delivered a 95,000 cubic metre cargo to the terminal on Feb. 4, performing a ship-to-ship transfer to the Golar Nanook Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) located 8.5 km (5.3 miles) off the coast of Brazil, Centrica said in a statement on Tuesday. The new FRSU is connected by pipeline to CELSE's Usina Termoeletrica (UTE) Porto de Sergipe I combined-cycle gas-fired power plant, the largest in Latin America. "This cargo represents another milestone for the Brazil LNG market and demonstrates Centricas growing global LNG trading, optimisation and operations capability," said Jonathan Westby, Centrica's global LNG head and co-managing director of marketing and trading. Brazil's LNG imports rose 19% to 2.61 million tonnes in 2019 compared to 2018, Refinitiv data showed. Brazil imported 5 million tonnes of LNG in 2015. The country's terminals have operated below capacity because of lower domestic demand, increased domestic production and the need to curb foreign exchange spending. Three other regasification terminals in Brazil were operated by Petrobras, which said last year it would lease its LNG regasification terminal and an associated gas pipeline in the northeastern state of Bahia. Petrobras has been importing only spot LNG cargoes, with no long-term contracts, an LNG trader said. There have been no imports into the Guanabara Bay terminal since 2018. Brazil relies for most of its gas supplies on domestic output. Alongside LNG, it also imports gas from Bolivia via pipeline. (Reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; Editing by Edmund Blair) Graham joins eight other agencies and brokerages to become investor partners in BrokerTech - including co-founder agencies, Holmes Murphy and M3 Insurance all of whom will help to deploy and elevate the incubator program, while also mentoring start-up companies involved in the accelerator program, and testing and refining new technologies before they hit the market. Technology is moving so fast, commented Mike Mitchell, vice chairman at Graham Company. Today, we can do almost everything from our phones. Thats just the standard weve grown accustomed to, and yet, when it comes to commercial insurance, we cant really do anything from our phones. We cant even do half of the things we need to from our laptops. So, we really need to innovate in order to survive. At Graham, we want to be first out of the gate and get ahead of the curve, because if youre staying still, everyones going to pass you by, and its going to be hard to catch up. We want to be out in front of it, and, fortunately, there are eight other brokerage firms from around the country [the BrokerTech partners] who feel the same way. For the most part, we dont compete with each other. Everyone is a leader in this industry, and were pooling our money, resources, and brainpower to attack this together. Grahams BrokerTech investment is just one part of the brokerages innovation drive. The firm is also making changes internally to create better client experiences, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance its value proposition. To enable this momentum, Graham has hired Michael G. McIntire as the companys first ever chief technology officer. McIntire, who has more than 20 years of experience developing new solutions and transforming technology operations, will lead Grahams technology strategy and manage its execution, while also heading up the Graham innovation team and working closely with BrokerTech. Over the next 12 months, our number one priority is to improve the customer experience, McIntire told Insurance Business. Grahams clientele is made up of approximately 250 large upper-middle market private companies that want to outsource their risk management department. To best serve these clients, Graham isnt preoccupied with maximizing throughput or efficiencies, but rather is completely focused on providing an improved customer experience, McIntire added. Weve created an innovation team, which looks at the whole customer experience lifecycle, whether thats prospecting a new customer through on-boarding, servicing the client, or renewing the client, and were identifying the pain points associated with those interactions, and trying to scope out how we can improve those experiences, said McIntire. As we improve the customer experience, we should also see improved capabilities on the back end at Graham as a result. The hope for Graham is that some of the technology tools and capabilities born through BrokerTech will further enhance and enable the firms transformational efforts. The one core element that both Mitchell and McIntire are incredibly excited about is the potential for improved data analytics. This is something that both execs believe is a valuable resource that is under-leveraged in the insurance brokerage side of the business. A registered nurse has accused wildlife rescue organisation WIRES of withholding more than $50million in donations meant to help native animals recover from Australia's devastating bushfires. Sarah Hart met with chief executive Leanne Taylor last Tuesday with the intention of discussing animal welfare and making a donation. She discovered WIRES had distributed just $7million out of the $60million worth of donations they received to assist carers and animals who were impacted during the nation's most extensive bushfires. 'The world made a massive mistake in entrusting $60m to your organisation,' she concluded in an open letter later posted to Facebook. But WIRES told Daily Mail Australia they strongly refute the claims, and are doing all they can to help distribute the money effectively. Injured koalas being carried to treatment by vets and volunteers at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park after fires tore through in early January A cart of orphaned Kangaroo and Wallaby joeys are seen at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah, Queensland on January 15 'Animals are in critical care or starving out in the barren wild... Expectations appear to have not been met,' Ms Hart wrote. She said she spoke for every donor who contributed to the fund these past months by saying the money was intended to go directly into the field to assist with the care of animals. She started her own fundraiser, The Gift Collective, where people can purchase a small item with all profits going toward purchasing desperately needed equipment for animal carers in Australia. Ms Taylor said WIRES was still working out how to distribute the funds in the most effective manner. 'It's a great gift and it comes with huge responsibility and we absolutely have to deliver now we've been entrusted with this funding across the sector nationally,' she said. A dead Koala is seen after bushfires swept through on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, Tuesday, January 7, destroying most of the habitat Horses panic and attempt to escape as a spot fire runs through a property on February 01, 2020 near Canberra WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones holds a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home after its habitat was destroyed in bushfires Ms Taylor said the organisation has factored in the animals that are yet to arrive in care, and said the effects of the bushfires - which have largely been brought under control - will be felt well into the future. 'A lot of the animals, I guess, are going to come in from secondary things as a result of the fires, so around loss of habitat and the drought, loss of food. So it will be a long running program to assist carers.' HOW MS HART THINKS WIRES SHOULD SPEND THE DONATIONS 1. Immediate release of all funds donated by the global community as was intended. 2. Reimbursement of all costs incurred plus ongoing coverage of all costs as a result of veterinary treatment or consultation. 3. Ongoing supply of all food for every species for all carers so no carer is out of pocket, at all, period. 4. Feed and water stations set up throughout the country to feed our starving wildlife. Advertisement WIRES have pledged an additional $25million to meeting the long-term care of animals and funding projects that address the impacts of the changed environmental landscape. A further $25million will go to engaging volunteers in the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife affected by bushfire, drought and extreme weather events when the time is right. But Ms Hart wrote in the open letter that she felt the organisation had a long list of excuses for keeping $53million in the bank. 'It blows my mind that you cannot hear the roar of discontent and distress that has been building over the last 6 weeks as you sit on these funds,' she wrote. 'It is imperative that you release funds immediately to allow wildlife carers to do what they dedicate themselves to do.' Some of the carers who have worked tirelessly for months trying to save animals have simply given up, Ms Hart said. In response to Ms Taylor's argument that research was important, Ms Hart said 'no amount of research is going to help these starving critters unless we act immediately to rescue them.' A dead kangaroo joey is seen on the edge of the Playford Highway west of Parndana on January 10, 2020 on Kangaroo Island It may mean monkey in Hindi and port in Persian, but 'Bandar' for now retired Air Force commander Hari Kumar was the code word for success that fateful morning one year ago when Indian jets crossed over to Pakistan to pound a terror camp in Balakot. And 'Bandar' it was at 3.55 am on February 26, 2019, when Kumar called then Chief of Air Staff B S Dhanoa to confirm that the top secret Balakot air operation was a major success. It was also his birthday, Air Marshal (retired) Kumar recalled on the first anniversary of the Balakot strike, which took place 12 days after the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel was killed. "There was a farewell banquet for me on February 25. In the event the chief asked me about the preparations for the operation. I briefed him about finer details. Then, the chief told me to call him and say 'Bandar' if the operation was successful," Kumar told PTI in an interview. Kumar, a key planner of the Balakot strike, was then serving as Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-IN-C) of the Western Air Command which is responsible for protecting India's air space along the Pakistan border. "At around 3.55 am on February 26, I conveyed to the air chief that it was a 'Bandar'," Kumar remembered. A fleet of 16 aircraft of the IAF had crossed over to the Pakistani side and attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist training camp in Balakot with Spice 2000 bombs to avenge the killing of the CRPF personnel. Recapping the events leading to the strike, Kumar, who was involved in detailed planning of the top secret operation, said he received broad indication of the government's thinking about effectively responding to the Pulwama attack on the evening of February 14 itself. "The chief of air staff called me on a secured phone line and asked me whether the Western Command was ready for punitive action and asked me to come for a meeting on February 15," he said. Kumar said a bouquet of targets, comprising terrorist training camps, military establishments and infrastructure, was chosen as possible targets for the retaliation and it was left to the government to decide which installation was to be selected. "We had to reduce collateral. That meant we could not afford to have civilian casualties like women and children. The other aspect was that we wanted to achieve targets in our first attempts," Kumar said. Not allowing Pakistan to engage with IAF jets was another consideration, he added. "When we selected a bouquet of targets, it was left to the government to decide which target they want to select and the timing of the operation," Kumar said. He said then RAW chief A K Dhasmana and his deputy came up with very good intelligence about the JeM terrorist training camp in Balakot at a meeting on February 18. Kumar suggested the target was decided at the meeting while the day and timing of the operation was finalised on February 21. "It was a perfect target as the camp was on a hilltop. There was no civilian near by. So there was no chance of collateral damage. There was a mosque on the campus which we did not want to target," said Kumar. On how the government decided the day of the operation, Kumar said Aero India, considered one of Asia's largest aerospace exhibitions, was scheduled to be held between February 20-24 while the inauguration of the national war memorial was slated for February 25. "Moreover, we needed time to prepare for any Pakistani retaliation," said Kumar. The JeM camp fitted the bill as it was found to be involved in the Pulwama attack. "In our planning, we decided on designated mean points of target. We could do it because of clear images and intelligence inputs about the camp," he added. Kumar said 16 Mirage aircraft, six armed with Spice bombs and another six with Crystal Maze missiles crossed over to Pakistan early in the morning of February 26 while four others escorted the main fleet. Five Spice 2000 bombs hit the targets while one was not successful. The strike by India's warplanes on the camp and the Pakistani Air Force's subsequent retaliation the next day triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The most visible face of the confrontation was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman whose capture by Pakistan after downing his MiG-21 fighter triggered the most serious military crisis between the two neighbours in decades. But diplomatic outreach by major powers and India's stern warning to Islamabad led to his release after two days, averting further escalation of the conflict. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Elisabeth Moss in "The Invisible Man" Photo: Mark Rogers/Universal Pictures Photo: Mark Rogers/Universal Pictures The Invisible Man may be the latest cinematic swing at an H.G. Wells tale written in 1897 about an optics expert who renders himself unseeable, but it lands at a time that makes it as contemporary as this weeks Harvey Weinstein headlines. Australian director/writer Leigh Whannell, who made the wildly entertaining, low-budget 2018 action film Upgrade, has turned the classic science-fiction tale inside out and fashioned it into a tense, suspenseful story about a brutalized womans journey from seclusion to visibility. Elisabeth Moss is Cecilia, a former architect who has given up her life to marry Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), an astoundingly successful San Francisco Bay Area tech titan whos the Elon Musk of the optics world. They live in sleek splendor on a cliff overlooking a rocky beach in a home straight out of Architectural Digest. But, as the film opens, shes putting into motion her plan to escape a marriage that has become controlling and cruel as well as emotionally and physically punishing. Her sister, Alice (Harriet Dyer), spirits her away to the home of her cop boyfriend, James (Aldis Hodge, Brian Banks), who lives in considerably more modest means with his daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid, Euphoria, When They See Us). Its there, a few weeks later, that Cecilia is told something unbelievable: that Adrian has killed himself. It would seem that she is now free to put her fractured life back together. Well, not so fast. Little inexplicable things start happening hey, how did that skillet on the stove get turned up so high that it almost burned the house down? that evolve into big, scary inexplicable things. Maybe Adrian isnt gone after all. But thats crazy talk, right? Whannell slowly ramps up the tension, turning even the most innocuous moments into nail-biters. Hes aided by Moss, who throws herself into the role with a wonderfully physical performance. If theres a problem with The Invisible Man, its one of logic in how Adrian behaves. Whannell cant seem to make up his mind as to whether Adrian is now more supernatural or just a guy who has come up with a way to conceal himself but whose high-tech haunting skills would still be encumbered by all other human limitations in terms of strength, speed and stealth. Do ghostlike ninja abilities automatically come with the technology to make yourself invisible? But Whannell has said in interviews that when asked by the studio about rebooting The Invisible Man, he was less concerned with the character of the title than the effect of that persons behavior on those around him. At that, he has succeeded, as the satisfyingly unnerving The Invisible Man effectively puts all its sympathies with Cecilia, James and Sydney. But for those viewers who may be wedded to the Wells story or previous movies based on it, in which the focus is on the troubled Invisible Man himself, Whannells film offers little solace but the title. More Information "The Invisible Man" Rated R: for some strong bloody violence, and language Running time: 124 minutes **** (out of 5) In fact, a better but perhaps less marketable name might have been The No Longer Invisible Woman. cary.darling@chron.com 26.02.2020 LISTEN The President of TESCON at the University of Ghana, Martin Abdallah, has called on Bolgatanga Central Member of Parliament, Isaac Adongo to a face- to- face economic debate. In the past few days, your braggart-self was at a full gear when you challenged the venerable economic wizkid cum Vice-President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia. As you may be in the know, the plate of Vice-Presidential duties is almost always full and that will not serve the Vice President the luxury of comfort for such an encounter. Dr. Bawumia is preoccupied and fully neck-deep in his aged-continuance effort to partner His Excellency President deliver on the transformative policies, projects, and programmes of government. Thence, in the stead of the Vice President, I WELCOME AND ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE to debate you on the unprecedented economic gains recorded under the Nana-Addo led NPP government, Abdallah said in a statement. Below is a full statement from the TESCON President. OPEN LETTER TO ISAAC ADONGO: I ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO DEBATE YOU ON THE ECONOMY, I HOPE YOU WONT CHICKEN OUT I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit. I must apologize for conveying this message to you through this medium. If I had any other practicable and convenient channel of communicating with you, I would have graciously explored it. Accept my sincere apologies if you are discomfited by my resort to public engagement through an open letter. In the past few days, your braggart-self was at a full gear when you challenged the venerable economic wizkid cum Vice-President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia. As you may be in the know, the plate of Vice-Presidential duties is almost always full and that will not serve the Vice President the luxury of comfort for such an encounter. Dr. Bawumia is preoccupied and fully neck-deeped in his aged-continuance effort to partner His Excellency President deliver on the transformative policies, projects and programmes of government. Thence, in the stead of the Vice President, I WELCOME AND ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE to debate you on the unprecedented economic gains recorded under the Nana-Addo led NPP government. Mr. Adongo, let it never dawn on you for a nano-second that Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia is your coequal in the discipline of economics. Need I remind you that while you were still struggling to obtain your degree at the University of Ghana Business School in the late 1990s, Dr. Bawumia was already an astute Ph.D. holder for years from the University of British Columbia, Canada? I wish to inform you that with my little degree of knowledge in economics as a final year student of Economics at the University of Ghana, I have readied myself to debate you on the economy. Sir, I can bet you with my bottom cedi that your self-serving and skewed thoughts on the economy will not pass you any basic macroeconomic paper at Legon. Mr. Adongo, On this note, I hereby submit myself to all terms and preconditions that will facilitate the debate between you and me. I can assure you that if you succumb to this challenge like Goliath met his David, you( Isaac) will meet your Matin. I hope that you will not chicken out of your own challenge. While I wish you plentiful years in opposition, I look forward to your speedy response. Thank you. Martin Abdallah, President, UG-TESCON ---KingdomfmOnline Dr Siphokazi Magadla at her Vice-Chancellors 2018 Teaching Award Lecture By Kristin Engel, fourth-year BJourn student On Thursday, 20 February, students and academics of Rhodes University attended the Vice-Chancellors 2018 Teaching Award Lecture by Dr Siphokazi Magadla, titled Tragicomic hope, nokuzinza as black matriarchal inheritance. The evening commenced with an introduction from Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs, Dr Mabokang Monnapula-Mapesela. Dr Magadla began her academic journey with a Bachelor of Arts in Political and International Studies and Journalism and Media Studies, followed by an Honours degree in Political and International Studies from Rhodes University. She was then granted a Fulbright scholarship, which enabled her to complete her Masters Degree in International Affairs at Ohio University in the USA. She continued her studies and graduated with her PhD in 2017, which investigated the state-assisted integration of women ex-combatants into civilian life in post-apartheid South Africa. Dr Magadla began as a Junior Lecturer at Rhodes University in 2011, and has since worked her way to becoming one of the most respected and beloved Senior Lecturers in the Political and International Studies Department. Dr Magadla noted the influence of feminist scholar, bell hooks, on her teaching practices, combining anti-colonial, Pan Africanist, critical and feminist pedagogies. This approach enables Dr Magadla to bring forth pedagogical practices that allow for investigating the biases that inscribe systems of supremacy and ways in which to educate a diverse group of students. One of the main objectives that Dr Magadla hopes to achieve is equipping her students with the knowledge and skills they need in order to think critically about the key concepts of international relations from an African perspective. To achieve this end, Dr Magadla introduces first-years to the world of international relations in her course, The personal is the international, which is based on the notion that, to understand all aspects of our society, one must consider all disciplines as related. International Relations was historically concerned with questions of war and peace between states, said Dr Magadla. She noted that the first department of International Relations was founded after the devastation of World War 1.The commitment of the discipline was to understand the causes of these wars and to find possible ways of preventing them in future. Dr Magadla said that international system today is understood to be dominated by the Westphalian state system, the state is regarded as the highest level of authority and how this power was attained. She used the example of the State Capture inquiry to say that even in South Africa, we recognise the state as the highest authority that organises our lives. She noted that she challenges students to not take it for granted that the state has always existed. She tries to show that that its emergence from Europe was a violent process, and its spread, through colonialism in Africa and elsewhere, was a very violent process. She made the example of Makhanda Nxele, who fought in the 1919 Battle for Grahamstown, as a local example of how the state was violently imposed in Africa. She said that if students understand the violent emergence of the state then they will understand why we still deal with the question of state violence even today, and maybe begin to consider other political systems that can allow us to achieve peace beyond the state. One of the skills Dr Magadla instils in her students is the importance of integrating African concepts and languages in order to understand international relations of the past and today. She illustrated this by sharing excerpts of student essays, written in isiZulu and isiXhosa throughout the lecture. She noted that she challenges students to be sceptical of accepting the dominant view in International Relations that individuals and countries live in a self-seeking environment where they have to prioritise their survival at the expense of others. She said that she draws on the African concepts, such as Ubuntu, to challenge students to critically think about what it means to live in a self-seeking international system, as many of them have been raised in an African society that teaches them about shared destiny and interest. Even today, there is no issue that can solved by one country, Dr Magadla said, whether it is poverty, the coronavirus or climate change. These problems need people and countries to collectively work together, just as the values of Ubuntu talk about shared destiny, she explained. Dr Magadla reflected that to be a teacher of International Relations in Africa is to be a bearer of bad news. Whether I am historicising the evolution of the Westphalian state system, African countries emerge as victims of the violence of this system. With all its vibrant youth and enormous mineral resources, Africa and Africans almost always seem to be on the losing end of the events of International Relations. It is due to this reality that I argue that to think, teach and theorise about international relations from an African context requires tragicomic hope. She referred to philosopher Cornel West (2004) when defining the concept of tragicomic hope, as the ability to laugh and retain a sense of lifes joyto preserve hope even while staring in the face of hate and hypocrisyas against falling into the nihilism of paralyzing despair. Ukuzinza for me is about an education that does not pretend to paint a beautiful and simple picture of African societies in the world, but a system that shows that Africa and Africans are central part of the international system. In grounding key International Relations concepts on everyday African reality and concepts, I hope that students understand that they dont come to the classroom as empty vessels. Ukuzinza means that students take their environment as interesting and worthy of theorising, even if the reality of their environment in Africa is that the international system, as it is, disposes with African livelihoods and Africans, she said. Source: Communications Please help us to raise funds so that we can give all our students a chance to access online teaching and learning. Covid-19 has disrupted our students' education. Don't let the digital divide put their future at risk. Visit www.ru.ac.za/rucoronavirusgateway to donate Newspapers on Wednesday, February 26, lead with the decision by Nairobi governor Mike Sonko to surrender vital city departments to the national government. Another story leading in today's dailies is Tuesday, February 25, arrest of Narok senator Ledama ole Kina following his remarks that have been perceived as incitement. READ ALSO: Convenient workspace in Nairobi's Kilimani for cost conscious entrepreneurs Newspapers lead with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's move to surrender vital city departments to the national government. Photo: UGC. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Doctors council says no evidence of patients' extortion at Nairobi Women's Hospital 1. The Standard The Standard continues to crunch data from the 2019 census, the Word Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that describes Kenya as a vibrant economy in Eastern Africa. With Kenya's economy (GDP) hitting the KSh 10 trillion mark, the daily wonders why majority of the 47.5 million citizens are still jobless and struggling to set food on the table. According to IMF, Kenya's economy dwarfs that of Uganda, Somalia, Burundi, South Sudan and Djibouti combined. Even with such a monstrous economy, official data shows that only 132,519 employed Kenyans take home more than KSh 100,000 monthly. The irony is that with a GDP of KSh 10 trillion, every Kenyan is currently valued at at least KSh 212,000. The reality, however, is that most employed Kenyans are just a payslip away from poverty. According to IMF, Kenya's economy dwarfs that of Uganda, Somalia, Burundi, South Sudan and Djibouti combined.. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: World's second richest man Bill Gates donates KSh 1 billion to fight locusts in East Africa 2. Daily Nation For the second day, the Daily Nation lays bare intrigues of how the SGR deal punctured the pockets of Kenyans. On Tuesday, senior government officials skipped an SGR event where staff celebrated 1,000 days in service after details of how procurements were overpriced surfaced. Transport CS James Macharia and Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) staff were among those who skipped the event. During construction of the project, it has emerged that at least 6,000 Chinese nationals were employed. Most of them were doing menial jobs which could have been taken up by Kenyans who are sinking deeper in unemployment. At least 6,000 Chinese nationals were employed to work on SGR. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Kesi ya talaka ya seneta Linturi yachukua mkondo mpya 3. People Daily Members of the National Assembly have blasted Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) George Magoha and Inspector General of Police (IG) Hillary Mutyambai for failing to appear before the House's education committee. Magoha and Mutyambai were expected in parliament on Tuesday to shed light on transfer of non local teachers from the North Eastern region. The duo sent their juniors, Education PS Belio Kipsang and Deputy IG Njoroge Mbugua, to represent them. The lawmakers said it was disrespectful of Magoha and Mutyambai not to present themselves before them as directed by Speaker Justine Muturi. READ ALSO: Showdown looms as Mt Kenya leaders clash ahead of Meru BBI rally 4. Taifa Leo The daily reports that strict clauses in the SGR deal between Kenya and China have prevented citizens from knowing the nitty gritty of the agreement. In December 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to allow journalists look at the contract but 13 months later, this has not been possible. According to Taifa Leo, Beijing issued Nairobi with strict instructions not to disclose any information concerning the multibillion project. Details of the deal can only be given to the public if China agreed in writing. This is despite the fact that the project is funded by taxpayers. This comes even as it emerges that most acquisitions were overpriced, for instance, paving grass was bought for KSh 1 billion and an engineer awarded KSh 5 million airtime for three months. Beijing issued Nairobi with strict instructions not to disclose any information concerning the contract. Photo: Taifa Leo. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Absa Bank Kenya announces KSh 10 billion kitty for women entrepreneurs 5. The Star Section of MCAs at the Nairobi County Assembly has vowed to press on with the Mike Sonko impeachment motion even after the county boss surrendered key county functions to the national government. Minority Leader David Mberia said "Sonko had just handed them the wild dogs" by signing the transfer of services. Majority Leader CharlesThuo faulted Sonko's decision arguing that the governor made a rushed choice and did not consult anyone. Some constitutional pundits have termed the move as unconstitutional. They want to know how the governor accessed his seal yet the court barred him from accessing office. Majority Leader Charles Thuo faulted Sonko's decision arguing that the governor made a rushed choice and did not consult anyone. Photo: The Star. Source: UGC 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 uncles molested me for 8 years - Margaret Munga | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke A 32-year-old police officer attached to Nyamarambe Police Station in Gucha South, Kisii County, Kenya on Tuesday morning (February 25) shot himself dead after arriving at his workplace. Rodgers Arusei fired a bullet into his chest shortly after arriving at work. The 6:30am incident happened at the stations reporting desk. Kisii County Police Commander, Jebel Munene, told K24 Digital that they were yet to establish the cause of Aruseis suicidal ideation, given he hadnt exhibited any signs of depression. Other police officers who were away from the reporting desk heard a gunshot sound, and upon rushing to the scene, they found Arusei lying unconscious on the floor, with blood gushing from his chest. Aruseis body was taken to a Kisii hospital mortuary. Investigations into his death have begun, says county police boss, Munene. He was a very hard-working police officer, who related well with members of the community that he was part of, said Munene. Residents who knew Arusei, however, said of late he had been going through episodes of depression, which came to a head on Monday evening (February 24). Jacqueline Bochere, who did Aruseis laundry at a fee, told K24 Digital that the Late police constable appeared disturbed yesterday (Monday), when I went to his house to wash his clothes. He asked me so many questions that suggested he was depressed, Bochere said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Ranking Member on Parliaments Select Committee on Agriculture, Eric Opoku has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of collapsing the cocoa sector due to poor farming policies. Speaking at the Coalition for Restoration (CFR) forum on Assessing the three-year reign of President Akufo-Addo, Mr Opoku said governments ineffectiveness of implementing cocoa policies has affected livelihoods of cocoa farmers in the country. Annual production has continuously declined in the past two seasons thereby dwindling the incomes of our cocoa farmers. In the 2016/2017 cocoa seasons, Ghana produced a total of 969, 000 metric tonnes of cocoa which is the second-highest production in the history of cocoa in Ghana. However, in 2017/2018 seasons the figure dropped to 904,000 metric tonnes and in 2018/2019 cocoa production dropped to 811,125 metric tonnes, he stated. Mr. Opoku who doubles as a legislator for Asunafo South Constituency further noted that the results of cocoa production over the past two years exhibit the exact opposite of governments claims of implementing initiatives to boost the cocoa production by 189%. In 2017, government recruited 10,000 youth for the artificial hand-pollination programme with the intention to increase cocoa production by 189%, however at the end of 2017, production did not increase but rather decreased by 12%, he was categorical. The MP, however, attributed the decline of low cocoa production over the years to governments decision to erode initiatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under the Mahama government He cited: Under our [NDC] watch we gave cocoa farmers fertilizers for free because we wanted to improve the fertility of the soil as a means of increasing cocoa production. And this government [NPP] assumed office and the fertilizers that we have embossed Not for sale, they were selling it t cocoa farmers at a cost of GH80.00 and since farmers could not buy them, the fertilizers have been left to rot in the offices. Touching on the fisheries sector, he said due to utter neglection by government the industry has contracted, subjecting fisherfolks to emaciating hardships as a result. He observed governments little effort has also caused a rise in the importation of seafood into the country. In 2016, the Fisheries sector grew to 3.1%, in 2017, when the NPP government was in full gear, the fisheries subsector grew by -1.4%, in 2018 it grew by -6.8%, and in the first half of 2019, it was -2.2%. The Akufo-Addo government has supervised the continuous contraction and decline of the fishery sector from positive growth of 3.1% handed down to them to negative growth for the past three years, he said. 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 Jennifer Lopez has so many different hair looks it's almost dizzying, from her long curls she wears when singing on stage to the short bob she likes to model when hoping to be taken more seriously like at the Independent Spirit Awards. But on Wednesday the 50-year-old Hustlers actress made the rare move of stepping out to her gym in Miami with her natural hair which is short, a bit frizzy and highlighted. Her hairstylist Chris Appleton must have been busy. The fiance of Alex Rodriguez also looked paler than normal as she seemed to ditch her usual spray tan - J-Lo is almost always bronzed to perfection when on the red carpet. Very unusual: Jennifer Lopez stepped out to her gym in Miami on Wednesday with her natural hair and without her usual spray tan The mother-of-two let her unstyled and reddish locks flap in the wind as she walked. There was a hair tie on her wrist suggesting her hair may have been up earlier in the day. Also gone was her deeply bronzed skin which she always has on the red carpet. Instead, her skin looked pale. The former Fly Girl had on mirrored aviator sunglasses as well as matching medium-sized hoop earrings. Her crop top was black with a hoodie and she added high-waisted camouflage leggings with white sneakers. Free hair: The mother-of-two let her unstyled, slightly frizzy and reddish locks flap in the wind as she walked. There was a hair tie on her wrist suggesting her hair may have been up earlier in the day A new shade: Also gone was her deeply bronzed skin which she always has on the red carpet. Instead, her skin looked pale She also carried a black crystal cup from Guess and her cell phone while flashing her gold nails. Her better half Alex was not seen when she made her way in. Later, Jenny From The Block still had her hair down and in a messy style when she was at a studio with a microphone in hand. A man was at the piano walking her through a song. More music from Jenny? Later, Jenny From The Block still had her hair down and in a messy style when she was at a studio with a microphone in hand. A man was at the piano walking her through a song Sing her heart out: The Instagram caption read, 'Back in the studio, workin' on my skills' Happy times: The ex-fiance of Ben Affleck added a heart, musical note and microphone emoji Wild look: Her hairdresser must have been on holiday because the siren usually does not let her hair free like this The Instagram caption read, 'Back in the studio, workin' on my skills.' caption read, 'Back in the studio, workin' on my skills.' The ex-fiance of Ben Affleck added a heart, musical note and microphone emoji. Lopez is constantly changing her hair styles more than any other star out there as she goes between bob hairdos to very long hair that reaches her bottom. Singing one of her classic tunes: Here the siren was belting out, 'My love don't cost a thing' Loving social media: The On The 6 singer was using Tik Tok while at a bench And yet the ex of Marc Anthony rarely comments on her use of hair extensions or wigs. For her Super Bowl performance on February 2 with Shakira, the star wore long, full hair with lush curls. Six days later on February 8, her hair was short for the Independent Spirit Awards. Then it was long again for an Oscar party. The hair fell down to her chest as she wore a plunging gunmetal grey dress. Super look: For her Super Bowl performance with Shakira on February 2, the star wore long, full hair with curls Short then long: On February 8 her hair was short and stick straight, left, when at the Independent Spirit Awards. But the next day at an Oscar party on February 9, she had her highlighted hair worn down past her chest Jennifer does often go out in public without extensions, but when she does, it is pulled up in a tight topknot. Real deal: Jennifer does often wear her hair without extensions, but when she does, it is pulled up in a tight topknot Lopez told People she feels sexiest 'when my hair is curly and Im a little bit tan.' And the star said that her style came from her hometown. 'Everything about growing up in the Bronx influenced me and is still with me today,' she said, adding, 'Im still a ponytail, bun-on-top-of-your-head girl, which is all very Puerto Rican Bronx.' Though she does not talk often about using extensions, it is undeniable that she does. At the Latin Billboard Awards in 2018 the star wore 50 inch long extensions that went past her bottom. The Shades Of Blue actress often uses Appleton but has also worked with Lorenzo Martin, Ken Paves and Oribe. A Tehran municipality worker cleans a metro train to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 illness on. AFP photo Iran on Wednesday reported four more novel coronavirus deaths among 44 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 19 and infections to 139. Fifteen new COVID-19 cases surfaced in the Shiite holy city of Qom, nine in Gilan, four in Tehran, three in Khuzestan, two each in Sistan and Baluchistan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, and Fars, and one in Markazi, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Mazandaran, Lorestan, Semnan and Hormozgan. Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to spread fear in Iran over a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 19 people in the Islamic republic. We shouldn't let America mount a new virus on top of coronavirus that is called... extreme fear, Rouhani told a weekly cabinet meeting, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of suppressing information about the outbreak. WASHINGTON BP is pulling out of three trade groups representing oil and gas companies as the British oil company continues to push ahead on climate change. The company said in a report released Wednesday it had reviewed the emissions policies of 30 trade groups around the globe with which it is affiliated and decided to pull out of American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, Western Energy Alliance and the Western States Petroleum Association because their policies no longer align with BPs views on climate change. "BP will pursue opportunities to work with organizations who share our ambitious and progressive approach to the energy transition. And when differences arise we will be transparent. But if our views cannot be reconciled, we will be prepared to part company," BP CEO Bernard Looney said Wednesday. My hope is that in the coming years we can add climate to the long list of areas where, as an industry, we work together for a greater good. The split comes as oil and gas companies continue to debate how to address the looming rash of regulations aimed at reducing fossil fuel consumption. While many U.S. firms continue to resist those efforts, European firms such as BP have tended to be more supportive, endorsing measures the Paris agreement on climate change and similar measures. In the case of the split with American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents the nations leading refining companies, BP said its support for carbon pricing schemes, which use market mechanisms such as taxes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, was at odds with the trade group. But AFPM President Chet Thompson suggested there was more to the break. "As a member of our executive committee they know that AFPM is and has been committed to supporting policies that address climate change, he said. Because of that, it leads us to assume that this decision was made based on factors other than our actual positions on the issues. The move marks the latest effort by BP to move beyond its traditional business as an oil company. Two weeks ago, the company announced it aimed to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050, not only cutting emissions from its refinery and petrochemical operations, but also from the petroleum and natural gas-based fuels it sells around the globe. In doing so, BP has put pressure on the rest of the industry to move along faster on reducing greenhouse emissions than many would otherwise be inclined. But some analysts suggested that BPs break with energy industry might be more style than substance. BP loves to re-brand itself every decade or so (remember Beyond Petroleum and how well that worked?) and this is likely more of the same, Stephen Brown, a California-based energy consultant, said in an email about the companys decision Wednesday. As to why BP [left] AFPM, their rationale lacks logic so it strikes me as puffery. In addition to leaving the three U.S. trade groups, BP said that its interests were only "partially aligned" with five others, including the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's largest trade group, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. BP noted that API opposed federal regulation of methane emissions, which BP supports, but recent changes in its climate policies were "now more closely aligned with BP." API, for example, says it supports global efforts, including advancing technologies, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "API took significant steps in 2019 to revise its climate position, BP said in its report. The new position and corresponding climate policy principles have shifted a great deal." Water in the Great Lakes is hovering near historic highs and Toronto Islands residents have begun preparing for a third year of flooding. Some people are afraid their worry is that this maybe is just the new normal, said Tony Farebrother, chair of the Toronto Island Community Association, adding that residents began sandbagging on Monday in anticipation of spring flooding. Increasingly, the blame is being placed on climate change. This isnt related to the spring thaw. This is related to global water levels increasing, said Coun. Joe Cressy (Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York), whose ward includes the Toronto islands and the citys waterfront community. The reality is, climate change is here. The islands and parts of Toronto were flooded in 2017 and again in 2019, when water levels in Lake Ontario reached record highs due to wet weather. The chances of a flood this year stand at roughly 30 per cent, down from 50 per cent earlier in the month, according to Rob Caldwell, Canadian Secretary of the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board. The agency monitors and adjust Lake Ontario water levels, subject to an agreement between Canada and the U.S. The risk of flooding has dropped considerably as a result of recent dry weather in the Great Lakes basin. However, that said, the upper Great Lakes are still pumping record amounts of water into Lake Ontario through the Niagara River as we speak that is the bad news, said Caldwell, blaming record precipitation over the lakes in the past 38 months. Lake Ontario is about 10 centimetres higher than levels recorded at the same time last year and 48 cm above normal for this time of the year. It typically peaks in early June. Many of the juries are still out on whether this is an outlier, but more and more it seems to be pointing towards the effect of our changing climate, Caldwell added. Toronto islanders arent taking any chances. Theyve set up a flood preparation committee that began meeting in January to raise money and fortify against further flooding. A separate group is looking into why Lake Ontario levels are so high and what, if anything, can be done in response, including a more robust approach to lowering lake levels to better prevent flooding in Toronto. That is a delicate negotiation however, as lowering the water level of Lake Ontario can create problems in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The levels are monitored and lowered as necessary, at a dam near Cornwall, Ont., subject to an agreement between Canada and the U.S. After two major floods in three years, everyone on the island is watching the lake levels, Farebrother said. Have your say: About 675 people live on Wards Island and Algonquin Island, two of the many small islands that make up the hook-shaped archipelago in Lake Ontario, south of downtown Toronto often referred to, confusingly, as Toronto Island, singular. On Monday, members of the Algonquin Island Association began installing large and small sandbags along the seawall protecting them from Lake Ontario, Farebrother said. The association is putting $6,000 of its own money toward the $20,000 that islanders hope to raise to improve flood prevention measures. Cressy said the city and the federal government have invested $29.6 million toward flood mitigation measures, through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. Three projects have been completed as part of the work and four more are expected to be completed this year. The city announced Tuesday it is working with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to accelerate flood mitigation work at Toronto Island Park and along Torontos waterfront, including construction of a beach curb on Wards Island and reinforcement of the existing seawall at Algonquin Island, pending the outcome of engineering investigations. Construction of a natural barrier at the Eastern Beaches, along the east side of the citys shoreline, is also planned. Farebrother said islanders are particularly concerned about keeping Cibola Avenue open. Running the length of the islands, from Wards Island in the east to Hanlans Point in the west, it is an emergency access road and was closed for a time last year. Cressy said the flood mitigation work includes a geotechnical assessment of raising 200 metres of Cibola Avenue that runs through Toronto Island Park, and 300 metres of Lakeshore Avenue, part of which was underwater in 2019. Islanders are also trying to ensure there is an evacuation plan in the event houses are flooded and electrical systems fail. There are a lot of elderly and seniors who live on the islands, Farebrother said. A spokesperson for the Centreville Amusement Park said they are planning on providing uninterrupted service this year as the property is slightly elevated and inland and doesnt take the brunt of flooding. Not everyone is convinced the islands flooding is a result of climate change, including islander Lynn Robinson. People attribute this to climate change, but they also attributed very low lake levels to climate change in 1999-2013, said Robinson, who has lived on Wards for 50 years. That was a serious problem and everyone gravely decided that was due to climate change. I think its tempting to want to say that, but I stay away from it. I think were in a dont-know stage. Read more about: President Donald Trump. Reuters President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about the novel coronavirus on Tuesday morning just hours before the CDC warned that the virus would inevitably spread in the US and it "might be bad." Democrats and even some Republicans began lashing out at the president and his administration's response to the virus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump's Monday request for $2.5 billion in emergency funding "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, called National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow's claim that the US has "contained" the virus "bad information" and "extraordinarily dangerous." Even Republican Sen. John Kennedy accused the acting Homeland Security secretary of not knowing enough about the virus and how it spreads. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about the novel coronavirus during a Tuesday morning press conference, saying, "The whole situation will start working out." Just a few hours later, officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the American public should prepare for the spread of the flu-like virus in the US and that it "might be bad." While Trump said Tuesday that there were "probably 10" infected people in the US, the CDC said 57 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the US. "It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters. "We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad." Democrats and even some Republicans began lashing out at the president and his administration's response to the virus. Story continues House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called Trump's Monday request for $2.5 billion in emergency funding to combat the disease "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." The Trump administration hesitated for weeks to pursue the "supplemental funds" but shifted course as COVID-19 accelerated outside China on Monday and financial markets dropped sharply. "Our state and local governments need serious funding to be ready to respond effectively to any outbreak in the U.S.," Pelosi tweeted. "The President should not be raiding money that Congress has appropriated for other life-or-death public health priorities." 'No plan' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of having "no plan" to deal with the virus' spread and argued he was exhibiting "towering and dangerous incompetence." Democrats also attacked the president for cutting significant funding and staff from the federal government's pandemic-response teams, including the CDC's global-health division and the National Security Council's global-health-security unit. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, called National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow's claim that the US has "contained" the virus "bad information" and "extraordinarily dangerous." Schatz accused Trump administration officials of lying about the severity of the threat posed by the virus to prevent further drops in the stock market. The market continued its drop on Tuesday after the S&P 500 fell 3.4% on Monday, its biggest drop in two years. "I cannot imagine anyone more ill equipped to prevent a global pandemic," Schatz said of the president in a tweet. "This is when having some knowledge of and respect for government and science is essential." Some Republican lawmakers also took issue with the Trump administration's response. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana accused acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf of not knowing enough about the virus' spread in the US and the ways it can be contracted. Trump previously said the coronavirus, which has infected a confirmed 77,000 people in mainland China, would naturally disappear in the spring "as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone." Gina Heeb contributed to this report. Read the original article on Business Insider Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said of a proposed Internet tax expansion bill that would require up to a 10 percent excise tax on digital ads from big companies (greater than $100 million in annual ad revenue) that are targeting Maryland Internet users. ( PEW Trusts February 25, 2020) Chhattisgarhs Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) registered a case on Wednesday against former principal secretary to the chief minister, Aman Singh, and his wife Yasmeen Singh for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets. Aman Singh was an influential bureaucrat during Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh. The Singh couple had resigned from their respective services after the change in government in the state after assembly election in 2018. As per the release of EOW, the case was registered on Tuesday against Aman Singh and his wife under sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and 120 (B) ( (criminal conspiracy ) of Indian Penal Code ( IPC) on the complaint of one RTI activist Uchit Sharma. Aman Singh has said that he is aware of the FIR filed by the state. I have learnt that the state has lodged an FIR against me and my family. But I have applied for a copy but it has not been provided to me. Therefore, I am not aware of its content, Aman Singh said. It was found that Aman Singh and his wife have disproportionate assets in Raipur, Durg, Bhopal, Delhi and foreign countries, which is under investigation, said a release of EOW. The release further claimed that Singh has formed shell companies which were engaged in money laundering. It was found that shell companies Vyas Mines and Minerals, Samay Multi Trade, Shrishti Natural Resources, YN Singh Memorial Foundation and Kargil India Limited was made by them and crores of money laundering was done, the release said adding that Singh was himself promoter YN Singh memorial foundation even after he was a government employee. The FIR has clearly been done at the behest of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and only to harass my family and to subvert the judicial process in the midst of the High Courts hearing on my petition in which I had challenged the malafide and malicious EOW enquiry on a false and frivolous complaint, he added. Earlier, in October 2019, Chhattisgarh government ordered a probe on into the appointment of Aman Singhs wife Yasmeen Singh as Director of the Director of Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU) in November 2005 on a contractual basis even after she was not having experience of government works. In May 2019, Chhattisgarh police booked former Chief Minister Raman Singhs son-in-law Dr Puneet Gupta for committing irregularities to the tune of Rs 50 crore when he was superintendent of state-run Dau Kalyan Singh( DKS) postgraduate research centre, in Raipur during BJP rule. Later, in June 2019, on the direction of special judge of Surguja, Chhattisgarh police registered a case against former Raman Singhs son Abhishek Singh and other 19 accused in Anmol India chit fund company case under section 420 and Section 10, Protection of Interest of Chhattisgarh Depositors Act 2005. Later in December 2019, Singh got interim relief from Bilaspur High Court and the ordered the state government not to take any action against him. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON : Daimler India Commercial Vehicle, the 100 per cent subsidiary of Stuttgart-based Daimler, is studying opportunities on entering defence and making engines in the offroad highway segment, a top official has said. The company currently has presence in commercial vehicle and buses segment under Daimler India Commercial Vehicle and Daimler Buses India, respectively. DICV CEO Satyakam Arya said the company was also 'talking to some players' on entering the freight aggregator segment. On company's future plans, he said there were two approaches one currently studying to enter segments like defence and the other was making off highway engines. "The second is more progressive for future-oriented approach. There, we will use our culture of innovation, find new business ideas and revenue streams," he told reporters. Elaborating, he said, for example the company is eyeing the "freight aggregation" space to check whether it makes sense to enter. "We believe that it is a fast growing segment and big enabler for us to penetrate into the market", he added. On the company's performance in 2019, DICV's wholsale business went down by 36 per cent while retail fell by 29 per cent. In 2019, the company expanded its footprint in the country by adding 54 touchpoints in 2019, he said. "For 2020, we plan to add another 25 per cent of retail expansion..." On exports, Arya said the company recorded 14 per cent growth shipping 8,000 trucks to 53 markets. Later responding to a query on how the company was planning to enter off highway engines space, he said, "we are looking at the opportunities. We have two series of engines which locally produce in India." "Six cylinder and four cylinder engines. Both of these are fitting very well to off highway sector. So we have started studying...," he said. The company has commenced interactions with customers in the process of feasibility, he said. On plans to enter defence business, he said the company also started studying the requirements from defence side when it comes to vehicles. "We need a four by four truck mostly. We have started now a study on developing that four by four," he added. However, the company was aware that it has to cross one step on whether government of India was changing the regulation as current norm in defence is that companies headquartered outside India cannot supply to defence segment. "They (Government of India) have also indicated that they are going to change this. And have indicated that by April they will give a relaxation on the norms," he said. "We are closely looking at that and when that happens we will start developing...," he said. To a query, Arya said Daimler as a group was present in many parts of the world in terms of supplying off highway engines and also in defence. "We have the technology here...," he said. He acknowledged the foray into new business was to address the cyclicality in the commercial vehicle business. "The commercial vehicle is anyway a cyclical business. We definitely are looking for ways to mitigate this and also to look for new revenue streams...," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NSA Ajit Doval said he is visiting the areas affected by violence in northeast Delhi as per the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah New Delhi: The situation in the violence-hit northeast Delhi is under control and the police are doing their job, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said after he visited the affected areas and interacted with locals on Wednesday. He was greeted warmly at some places, but at a location two agitated locals complained about the violence. This is the NSA's second visit to the riot-hit areas in less than 24 hours. In Jaffrabad, a young girl walked up to him and said she does not feel safe in the area. She also blamed the police for "inaction" when rioters went on a rampage. To her, he said, "I give you my word. Everyone is safe here." Doval also asked police personnel to ensure that the girl reaches home safely. An agitated elderly man from the area said, "Terrorism is being bred in Yamuna Vihar. Muslims are being killed here. But we have ensured the safety of the area. We said we will not commit any atrocities against Hindus." The man was pushed away by police and security personnel as he continued to speak. His remarks drew cheers from some in the crowd. At some places, the NSA was also greeted with slogans of 'Delhi Police zindabad' and 'Ajit Doval zindabad' as he pacified locals and urged them to maintain peace and harmony. "People have a sense of unity among them, there is no enmity. A few criminals do things like this, people are trying to isolate them. Police is here and doing its work," he said. Doval said he is visiting the affected areas as per the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. "The situation is under control and people are satisfied. We have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police is doing their job and is alert," he told reporters. "Police is working hard. Only some criminals were involved in this. One should try resolving issues and not increasing them. There were incidents earlier but today it is calm. Locals want peace. We have full faith there will be peace," he said. "If god wills, there will be peace and harmony here (Inshallah yahan par bilkul aman hoga)," he said. Earlier, Doval, who has been tasked with checking the violence, held a meeting with the top brass of the Delhi Police at the office of the deputy commissioner of police (northeast) in Seelampur. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, newly appointed special CP (Law and Order) SN Shrivastava, Special CP (Law and Order) Satish Golcha and DCP of northeast Delhi Ved Prakash Arya were among those present at the meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. At least 27 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. By Laman Ismayilova National Art Museum has organized an event in Jojug Marjanli village to mark the 28th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide, committed in 1992 against hundreds of Azerbaijanis by Armenians. 613 people were killed, 1,000 civilians of various ages became disabled as a result of the bullet wounds received. As many as 106 women, 63 young children, 70 old men were killed, eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, 130 - one of the parents. On the night of the tragedy, 1,275 civilians were captured, and the fate of 150 of them is still unknown. The event was attended by teaching staff and students of Novruz Aslanov High School. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs of the National Art Museum Khadija Asadova, informed about the museum's activities. Head of Exhibition and Design Department Araz Osmanov provided insight into ancient Khojaly-Gadabak culture and traveling exhibition held as part of the event. Furthermore, Vusal Gumbatli, who works in the museum's Science and Mass department, gave a lecture on the theme "Cry of Khojaly". Head of the Innovation Department Sabina Aghamirova spoke about new achievements in promotion of contemporary art works. Next, the participants visited mosque, museum, school library, mosque and other institutions. National Art Museum donated painting to Novruz Aslanov High School. The museum workers expressed their gratitude to the school principal Zamin Gaziyev for cooperation. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Coronavirus continues to spread around the world. It inflicts an insidious blow not only on the population of about four dozen countries, but also affects the global economy unprecedentedly. International auditors predict pessimistic scenarios if it comes to a pandemic. UNIAN learned what awaits Ukraine in such conditions. Coronavirus continues to sow fever across the world. Despite the statement by the director-general of the World Health Organization that the peak of the epidemic in China - the center of the outbreak - has passed, the new "21st century plague" is not about to recede. The number of patients in China who have contracted COVID-19 continues to grow. Over the past day, 71 people have died from pneumonia caused by the new type of virus in China, the number of infected has increased by 508 people. In general, in the Celestial Empire, COVID-19 was discovered in 77,658 patients, 2,663 people died, while 27,323 recovered. To this day, million-plus cities are blocked in the country, hundreds of enterprises have ceased operations. Despite all the measures taken by the Chinese side, the virus continues to spread beyond the PRC. Cases of infection were detected in 36 countries, with the number of infected having reached 2,438. Thus, the total number of infected around the world exceeded 80,000. The second largest outbreak of the virus is in South Korea, where 893 cases were confirmed and nine people died. The infection also got to Europe. An acute outbreak has been reported in Italy. A total of 230 cases were confirmed and seven patients died. Ten cities in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto are isolated. Authorities asked around 50,000 residents to stay at home. The so-called "red zone" included the municipalities of Va'Euganeo and Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somalia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano. Authorities have banned entry to or exit from the outbreak areas. Schools, shops, and museums have been shut down, while government agencies operate in a limited mode. The police and, if necessary, the armed forces will be empowered to enforce emergency procedures. Non-compliance with the measures may be punished in accordance with the article of the Criminal Code, which provides for a fine and arrest for up to 3 months. Neighboring countries of Italy said that they did not rule out complications and were already preparing for the adoption of stringent isolation measures. For Ukraine, the situation is complicated by the fact that quite a lot of our citizens work in Italy, who may wish to return to their homeland. In addition, Italy is one of the leaders in Europe in terms of tourism. Therefore, migration is quite difficult to control. Virus strikes economies Everything that happened could not but affect the global economy. Oil and gas prices collapsed to an annual minimum, only gold quotes went up. This is how investors react to news about the spread of coronavirus. American stocks, Japanese and European stock indices are sliding. The base index of Australia and New Zealand fell especially. The International Monetary Fund has already made a disappointing forecast coronavirus will slow down the global economy by 0.1 percentage points, to 3.2%. But this is at best if the Chinese economy returns to normal in the second quarter. That is, the impact on the global economy will be relatively minor and short-lived. Meanwhile, as noted by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, the Fund is considering more pessimistic scenarios, according to which the spread of the virus will continue longer and more globally, and the consequences for the economy will be long-lasting. The IMF is ready to help, including through the Disaster Protection Fund, which can provide grants to ease the debt burden for the poorest and most vulnerable members, Georgieva emphasized. The impact of the coronavirus on the global economy is further complicated by the fact that it is already on the verge of a new wave of crisis. It is predicted for the second year in a row by all international institutions, recording a slowdown in growth in all sectors. What awaits Ukraine So far, in Ukraine, no patients with coronavirus have been identified. The authorities are taking measures to control the situation inside the country, including those coming to Ukraine. Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk assured that everything possible was being done for a prompt response. Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov assures that there are no negative consequences for the Ukrainian economy due to the coronavirus epidemic in the world. According to him, the ministry is monitoring the situation, and the export of goods from Ukraine to China, despite the spread of the disease there, continues. "We have a certain export, we sell goods to China. But most of the goods there is oil and other food products they will not be affected," the minister emphasized. Meanwhile, a worrying note was still heard in his words: "Ukraine continues to import certain consumer goods from China, although in general, imports of Chinese goods in particular have declined. On the one hand, this may somehow affect the economy, but on the other hand, it allows Ukrainian businesses to enter this niche and develop. That is, it is an opportunity." Another opinion is shared by Anastasia Holovach, senior economist at the World Bank in Ukraine. She believes that the situation in China, where the coronavirus epidemic broke out, could reduce the flow of investment in Ukraine. Last year, our country received more than $4 billion in portfolio investments, and now the prospect of this trend continuing is in great doubt. "The passivity of investors has become one of the reasons for the low results of the latest placement of government bonds by the Ministry of Finance. If this trend continues, it will affect the exchange rate of the national currency," Holovach said, adding that the World Bank does not expect significant risks for the global economy due to the coronavirus epidemic, provided that in a month the wave of diseases will decline. Member of the NBU Council Vitaly Shapran draws attention to the fact that the first measures taken to counter the coronavirus epidemic in Italy show that the virus inflicts a big blow on the economic activity of the population due to quarantine. He admits that the effect can be far greater than we can imagine. "It is difficult to forecast here, since the PRC economy is far from being in good shape, it needs only a small push for problems," the expert said. The leading analyst of the Institute for Socio-Economic Transformation Slava Cherkashyn believes that most likely the pressure on the economy from the coronavirus will be short-term and will not have a serious impact on the recovery of the domestic economy. "The only factor is Chinese imports, from which VAT is collected at the border. This could be discussed, and potentially (the volume amounted to $9.1 billion last year). In general, a gap of $150-190 million in tax is not critical, but sensitive, especially against the backdrop of a total budget failure by the customs authorities. The second aspect of the slowdown in Chinese imports is the possible disruption in the timing of supplies of equipment, goods and the consequences for Ukrainian companies with established production chains from China. Other special risks have not yet been observed," the expert emphasized. President of UNIVER Investment Group Taras Kozak noted that while the situation with coronavirus is unclear, therefore several scenarios are not ruled out, including for Ukraine. "If a few days ago it was believed that the epidemic in the world was on the decline, in particular, in China the number of those healed exceeded the number of new cases per day, then over the past 2-3 days the situation has changed significantly. New mass cases in Japan and Italy increase the threat of a pandemic. In this regard, two scenarios for Ukraine can be distinguished. If our country does not have an epidemic, that is, if there are no cases of illness, or if there are several cases and it is possible to localize the problem, then the potential losses for the economy will consist only in a decrease in global demand for Ukrainian exported goods. We can assume that this scenario is conditionally positive, there will be no serious consequences for Ukraine. If the epidemic spreads in the world and there are massive cases in Ukraine, which will result in quarantines and shutdowns of companies and enterprises, then, in this case, a reduction in GDP growth is possible," the expert said, adding that most likely it wont result in the fall of the Ukrainian economy, even in the worst case scenario. Even if the direct effect of coronavirus for the Ukrainian economy is insignificant, secondary effects cannot be ruled out. They will depend on how markets react to what is happening. Moreover, there is a risk of deterioration in the global financial markets, this year as well. And for Ukraine this year is the year of peak payments on external debts. Nana Chornaya Main opposition Congress on Wednesday attacked the ruling BJP-JJP coalition in Haryana over "corruption", unemployment and farmers' issues and said the two allies are yet to frame their common minimum programme. Participating in the discussion on the Governor's address in the Haryana Assembly during the ongoing budget session, Congress leader Kiran Choudhary said the government has done nothing for the welfare of the farmers of the state. She also targeted the government over the alleged paddy and mining scam, deteriorating situation in the Aravalis, saying the "destruction" of the forest cover there will cause immense damage to environment. Choudhary said the unemployment rate in the state was 28 per cent, the highest among all the states of the country. On the farmers' issue, she said during the previous Congress government, the sugarcane MSP was hiked by Rs 193. But the BJP government in the last six years had increased the same by a mere Rs 30, she added. Choudhary said the input cost of crops including fertilisers, seed price, diesel price among others has gone up very high in the last few years, but the government was not taking any step to help the farmers. On the common minimum programme (CMP) issue, she said, "Though the BJP and the JJP had made tall promises to the people at the time of assembly polls, yet the common minimum programme of the coalition government has failed to move beyond formation of a committee." Choudhary also raised an issue a school in Bhiwani where "land sharks" are trying to garb its property estimated at Rs 200 crore. She also referred to a letter written by BJP MP from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh, Dharambir Singh, to the chief minister, in which he has reportedly pointed out that land mafia was eyeing Rs 200 crore land of the private school after encroaching land of an adjoining temple. "The land for the institution which was given by late Chaudhary Bansi Lal is at present valued at nearly Rs 200 crore and land sharks are eyeing to grab it. The BJP MP has also written to you in this regard and government should immediately take cognizance of this," she told the CM, adding that she too had written to him in this regard. Chief Minister Khattar replied to the Congress member, "This is an old school. I do not know what the background of that land is. But what I know is that management running the institution had some dispute and there were two groups If management wants to collectively run the school, we have no objection. But if anyone wants to grab land, then it will not be allowed." During the discussion on the Governor's Address, Indian National Lok Dal's lone legislator Abhay Singh Chautala also attacked the government, alleging that it had failed to conduct a probe into the "paddy scam". The state government also came under attack from JJP MLA Ram Kumar Narnaund for its alleged failure to raise old-age pension to Rs 5,100 per month as per JJP's pre-poll promise. "Our party members also have to face the public," Gautam said pointing towards the chief minister while urging him to immediately increase the old age pension from present Rs 2,250 per month to Rs 3,100 per month and then gradually increase it to Rs 5,100 over the next three-four years. Congress legislator Kuldeep Vats and some other party members raised the demand for withdrawal of cases against "innocent youths" registered during the Jat quota agitation in the state in 2016, violence during which claimed 30 lives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Director of Public Prosecutions will not take action against a person who the coroner believes could be convicted "beyond reasonable doubt" over the death of Sydney woman Lynette Bradbury. State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan suspended an inquest into Mrs Bradbury's death in June having formed an opinion that there was evidence capable of "satisfying a jury beyond reasonable doubt that a known person had committed an indictable offence". Lynette Bradbury was killed on October 31, 2011. Ms O'Sullivan then wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions but on Wednesday, in handing down her findings into the 52-year-old's death, the coroner said she was told by the DPP last month that "no proceedings would be taken against that known person in relation to the indictable offence". Mrs Bradbury was found face down and bound with duct tape in a bedroom at her Oatlands home in Sydney's west on October 31, 2011. She lived there with her husband, Brian Bradbury, who raised the alarm at about 11.20pm when he returned from work. Heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor and megastar Amitabh Bachchan are coming together for Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra trilogy, whose first part is all set to hit the screens on December 4. Although the film has suffered delay over its release, the anticipation surrounding the project refuses to die down. Recently, Amitabh posted several pictures from Brahmastra sets and praised co-star Ranbir saying that he has enormous talent as he even called him one of his favourites. Read: Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt Dance for Brahmastra Song in Varanasi, See Pics The new pics posted by Big B from Brahmastra sets show him and Ranbir gearing up to possibly shoot their segments in the film together. The two actors can be seen walking around in one of the stills while they seemingly have a conversation, and in another one they are seated on the sets, possibly waiting for their shot to roll. Seeing Big B and Ranbir together will make you want to see Brahmastra hit screens sooner than it is supposed to. Sharing the BTS pics with Ranbir from Brahmastra sets, Big B wrote on social media, "At work with one of my favourites, RANBIR... I need 4 to keep up with his enormous talent (sic)." Brahmastra is a reportedly a fantasy trilogy in which Ranbir will be seen playing Shiva while Alia Bhatt will be seen playing a character called Isha. This will be the first time Alia, Ranbir and Big B will be seen sharing screen space together. Brahmastra also stars Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy in pivotal roles. Follow @News18Movies for more Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Eric Rosen (Bloomberg) Wed, February 26, 2020 11:07 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066adeb9 2 News Airlines,travel,inflight-lounge,passenger,Airport,airplane Free In 2020 the coolest airplane bar is actually parked at New Yorks JFK airport. Its been decades since American Airlines had its onboard piano clubs or Continental had Polynesian Pubs aboard; now even Emirates is pivoting away from its horseshoe-shaped bars. Instead the new high-altitude drinking den is a best-of-all worlds lounge designed like a coworking space but with flight attendants who can bring you cocktails. And while its been slowly cropping up as a trendEtihad introduced the idea in 2014, with other airlines from Virgin Atlantic to Qantas recently embracing itexpect more airlines to follow suit with flexible and relaxed spaces setting the tone for your mile-high carousing. Rethinking the seat map Last September Virgin Atlantic introduced a new business-class-only concept called The Loft, which offers various seating configurations in a common area minus a wall of booze bottles. Vice President of Customer Journey Daniel Kerzner says in-flight spaces resembling on-the-ground cocktail bars are out-of-date: Customers told us they wanted multipurpose spaces akin to a living room or a corner booth at a bar rather than just high stools. The Loft includes two booths, a small table, and a standing counter for three, with power ports all around. A 32-inch HD screen on the back wall allows passengers to sync up their Bluetooth headphones and watch a movie in tandem. From any of those areas, guests can order not just cocktails but light meals and snacks, like the airlines Mile High afternoon tea. As with most of the lounge spaces being designed on planes today, the seats all have safety belts, which means travelers dont have to stop socializing when turbulence hits. Not surprisingly, this redesign benefits the airline, too. The task of preparing drink orders in galley kitchens gets spread out across the cabin crew, eliminating the need for a dedicated bartender; meanwhile, better separation between the Loft and actual plane seats keeps the party atmosphere from bleeding into the Upper Class cabin. We have given passengers a lot more privacy in the new Upper Class suites on the A350, says Kerzner. But if youre traveling with someone else, the Loft provides a space where you can interact with one another. Read also: Seven little known airplane features The privacy paradox That same rationale drove Qantas to install new lounges on three of its double-decker A380s, with nine more to come end of 2020. Because first- and business-class cabins have basically morphed into self-enclosed pods with privacy doors and do not disturb signs, industrial designer David Caon aimed to create new common spaces with booths and tables on one side and a long banquette with a self-serve bar on the other. The color scheme has jade-toned upholstery and dark wood paneling that wouldnt look out of place in a slick Singapore speakeasy. And despite being much larger than the old onboard lounge, which was little more than a bench, splurging on the square footage didnt compromise head-count. Newer seat designs allowed Qantas to trade up 30 economy seats for 25 premium-economy and six business-class ones. A more private seat is fundamental for longer flights. But passengers want more ways to spend blocks of their time, and thats what drove us to create a new multiple-use space on our airplanes, says Phil Capps, head of customer experience for Qantas. The airlines flights from Australia to the US can easily top 15 hours, which means even with two meals, a movie, and a solid eight-hour sleep, passengers might still have time to pass and want a change of scenery. Other adopters Abu Dhabi-based Etihad was the industrys earliest adopter of this bar-to-lounge trend in 2014. Aboard its A380s passengers can camp out in The Lobby for meals, drinks, and self-serve snacks while getting work done around a decorative, six-seat table. Similarly, Emirates began transitioning the mostly-standing-room-only bars on its A380s to a more understated, yacht-inspired design in 2017. Theres still an iconic horseshoe-shaped counter, but flyers can also settle in at booths or an L-shaped sofa and watch live TV on a 55-inch LCD screen. The reimagined space can be found on 16 of the fleets jets, with eight more to be delivered by the end of 2021. Of course, if its a bar you seek, you can still enjoy cocktails and conversation in all these spaces. But now you should also be able to get a little work done, too, if thats your flight plan. Attorney Amanda Jelks has been named Best Attorney by Chattanooga Business Elite. The award was presented to Ms. Jelks at the 1st Annual Black Excellence of Chattanooga Awards at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The ceremony was held to recognize and celebrate successful minority entrepreneurs, minority-owned businesses, and community organizations that are making a great impact in the Chattanooga community. With all the legal talent in Chattanooga, it is indeed an honor to be recognized as the best in the industry, said Ms. Jelks. Ms. Jelks is the founder of Jelks Law, PLLC where she and her team assist individuals and families with estate planning, probate, and business matters. She is licensed in Tennessee and Georgia. Outside of being recognized by Chattanooga Business Elite, Ms. Jelks has received numerous awards and honors over the past eight years including Emerging Business of the Year Award by the Urban League of Chattanooga; Rising Star in Business Law by Super Lawyers; Top 20 Under 40 Young Professionals in Chattanooga Award by Chatter Magazine and Chattanooga Times Free Press; and Pro Bono Excellence Award Recipient from Legal Aid of East Tennessee. Aside from her legal practice, Ms. Jelks has a heart for womens issues, community service and mentoring. In 2017, she was unanimously appointed by the City Council to the city of Chattanoogas Health, Education and Housing Facilities Board for a six-year term. Shes currently serving on the board of the Chattanooga Womens Leadership Institute helping shape womens opportunities and the Diversity and Inclusion Board for the Chamber of Commerce. She also regularly volunteers with The Company Lab and Launch to provide new entrepreneurs a real-world view of business ownership. A Chattanooga native, Ms. Jelks earned degrees from both UTC and The Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. To learn more about Ms. Jelks or Jelks Law, PLLC, call 602-2230. On February 26, 1992, the nationalist illegal armed groups, which fought against the Republic of Azerbaijan, committed an act of genocide against the 7000 population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. All these acts were committed by Armenian military with extreme mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism. The second battalion of 366th regiment under the command of Major Seyran Ohanian, the third battalion under the command of Yevgeniy Nabokhin, staff chief of the first battalion Valeriy Chitchyan and more than 50 officers and ensigns took part in the attack. On the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly events, Vestnik Kavkaza spoke with Russian cultural figures about the importance of preserving the memory of this crime against humanity. The rector of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, People's Artist of Russia Yevgeny Knyazev, stressed that the memory of the Khojaly tragedy should be preserved. "Of course, we know about this tragedy. How can we forget about those who have suffered such misfortune? If we forget about it, it will be unfair," he said. "I can only express sympathy and regret to all those people who've been there, who have lost their relatives. I dont understand how people can go to war against each other and destroy each other. People of all nations are good. Wherever you go, you meet wonderful people. Therefore, I want to tell everyone: come to your senses, let us live in peace, otherwise we will destroy ourselves," the rector of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute said. The presenter of the intellectual TV programme for university entrants 'Geniuses and Wits', professor and writer Yuri Vyazemsky, agreed with Knyazev. "Its absolutely necessary to remember these dates, they should be written in the brightest red letters in a sign of spilled human blood," he said. "The fact that they shed so much blood in this beautiful and diverse corner of the Earth - the Caucasus - is a shame. It's a shame for everyone who participated in this even indirectly, who at least sympathized with it, because human life is the most valuable thing, and nothing can justify this - neither politics, nor national feelings, nothing. Its necessary to understand that a person is a creation of God," Yuri Vyazemsky urged. "For me, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis are wonderful people, certainly worthy of living on this land. Politicians who pursue their interests in conflicts need to learn one thing for sure: 'Do not incite hatred in any case.' And those who puts a finger on a trigger at a critical moment must remember that the most basic border is between a human and non-human," the professor emphasized. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 The novel coronavirus outbreak will not only disrupt supplies of raw materials for the manufacturing industry in Indonesia but will also cause a delay in important infrastructure projects, which involve many Chinese companies, a senior minister has predicted. Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the infrastructure projects that were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak included the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, as many Chinese workers that worked in the projects could not return to Indonesia. They cant return to Indonesia and are currently still being held up in their country after the Lunar New Year holiday, he said during a press briefing in Jakarta. 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 P rincess Anne has paid tribute to a dog breeder who was shot dead near Boris Johnsons family estate, and who trained one of her puppies. The Queens daughter said Debbie Zurick, 56, who was killed in an incident allegedly involving her estranged husband, will be sorely missed. John Zurick, 67, is in a critical condition in hospital after reportedly turning the gun on himself. Mrs Zurick was honorary secretary of a local dog training society, of which Princess Anne is patron. A spokeswoman said: The Princess Royal is saddened to hear of the death of Mrs Debbie Zurick. She will be sorely missed as secretary of the Working Clumber Spaniel Society, of which Her Royal Highness is patron. Princess Anne is a lover of dogs / AFP via Getty Images The statement came as it emerged that police had seized guns from the cottage in Somerset in which Mrs Zurick was killed prior to her death. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed the weapons had been seized earlier this month as part of a separate investigation at the property which lies next to a country estate owned by the Prime Ministers father, who said he was shocked, stunned and saddened by the death. A police spokesman said: We can confirm we previously attended the address where this incident happened to seize licensed firearms as part of a separate investigation, Were satisfied that no firearms licensed to any of the occupants remained at the premises following this visit. He was unable to provide further details because the force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the incident. Officers were called to Winsford by a member of the public raising concerns over the welfare of a woman at 2.30pm on Saturday. Mrs Zurick was found outside the property with severe injuries and pronounced dead at the scene. Police said a second woman, being treated as a key witness, was located unhurt nearby. A further search found a 67-year-old man in an outbuilding understood to be Mr Zurick who had also suffered serious injuries caused by a shotgun. Police said he is now in custody but has been taken to a hospital in Devon for emergency treatment. A murder investigation has been launched over Debbie Zurick's death / Facebook Mr Zurick previously told the Working Clumber Spaniel Society that he had trained a dog for the Princess Royal. Asked in a now-deleted question-and-answer section on the website about the most embarrassing thing his dog had ever done, Mr Zurick replied: Sparkle, who I trained for (Princess Anne), burying a pheasant rather than giving it to hand. Princess Anne left a message on the answer phone machine saying If I wanted an undertaker then I would have asked for one. She didnt leave a name but Debbie knew the voice so I called her back in the morning and she was chuckling, telling me what had happened. She had sent Sparkle out, she had picked the bird beautifully, brought it halfway back, dug a hole and buried it. The Zuricks had several dogs, including one apparently named after the Prime Minister. Stanley Johnson paid tribute to Mrs Zurick following her death / AFP via Getty Images An image posted on Mr Zuricks Facebook page in March 2016, captioned Boris meets Boris, appears to show Mr Johnson with the dog. The PMs father, Stanley, shared his sadness at the news of Mrs Zurichs death, telling reporters on Monday: Both I and my whole family are shocked, stunned and saddened by this tragic incident. We very much regret the passing of Mrs Zurick. She was a neighbour and she was much loved. A surge in suspected cases of the coronavirus is expected following the decision to extend the list of at-risk countries, Health Minister Simon Harris said today. He was speaking after the expert group overseeing the coronavirus plan expanded the list beyond China to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran and four regions in northern Italy - Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. People who return to Ireland within fourteen days from one of these regions and develop potential symptoms of the virus will be asked to self-isolate the be tested. If people do not have symptoms they do not need to self-isolate and can contact the HSE for advice. The National Virus Reference Laboratory is to deploy more staff to the testing and the plan is to provide a same-day result where possible. Read More Mr Harris was meeting with the IRFU this afternoon after the decision to call for the cancellation of the upcoming Ireland - Italy Six Nations rugby match because of public health concerns arising out of the arrival of large groups of Italian fans. He said the option of the match being played behind closed doors could be looked at. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said no decisions on the St Patricks Day parade would be made until nearer the March 17 date and it will depend on how the spread of the virus evolved. He said it was not advising Irish people to avoid Cheltenham racing festival from March 10 at this stage. An Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer was killed in Northeast Delhi on Tuesday, during the national capitals worst violence in last two decades. The incident came to light on Wednesday when the body of 26-year-old Ankit Sharma was pulled out of a drain in Chand Bagh. Sharma worked as security assistant in the IB, said his brother Ankur. He returned from work at 4:30 pm on Tuesday and went out to see that was happening in the locality when he was caught by those who were protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, his brother added. Sharma was stabbed and dumped in the drain, said Ankur, adding that the protesters caught his friends too who went to save Ankit. The protesters kept firing relentlessly and did not let anyone to come near Ankit, said his brother. Watch | Delhi violence: Intelligence Bureau staffer, a cops son, killed; family mourns His father Devendra Sharma is an Assistant Sub-Inspector with Delhi Police. Such a tragic loss of life. The culprits must not be spared. 20 people have already lost their lives. So painful to watch people of Delhi suffering. Praying that we recover from this tragedy soon n work together to undo damage done to people n communities, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Twitter, condoling Sharmas death. Such a tragic loss of life. The culprits must not be spared. 20 people have already lost their lives. So painful to watch people of Delhi suffering Praying that we recover from this tragedy soon n work together to undo damage done to people n communities https://t.co/5iYR5jiNbu Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 26, 2020 Sharma is the latest casualty in the violence which has so far claimed 20 lives and left more than 250 injured. The protest started on the weekend, but escalated on Monday. The groups protesting for and against the CAA went on rampage on the streets of Jafrabad, Maujpur, Chand Bagh and other localities; they attacked the locals and pelted stones at policemen stationed there. Some vehicles and houses were also torched. The mob kept roaming on the road underneath the Jafrabad Metro station with swords and guns in hands. More than a dozen policemen were also injured while trying to control the mob. The city administration and Centre immediately sprung into action and ordered a series of steps to control the mayhem. The Delhi government activated the peace committees and asked them to speak to the locals to shun violence. The Centre, which controls law and order in Delhi, deployed more policemen and clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have made appeals for calm after reports of fresh violence on Wednesday morning. Security personnel, including paramilitary forces, conducted flag marches in the riot-hit areas and saw that the road where Ankit Sharmas body was found littered with stones and glass shards, giving an indication of the heavy stone pelting in the area. Kejriwal said the situation in Delhi is alarming and urged the Centre to call in the army to stem the protests. The Opposition Congress, meanwhile, launched a blistering attack on the Centre and the Delhi government for the violence in the city. Led by its president Sonia Gandhi, the party demanded immediate resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for colossal failure to restore normalcy. Film aficionados may appreciate the opening night of the 25th annual East Bay International Jewish Film Festival on Wednesday in Orinda. Opening night festivities get underway at 7:30 p.m. at the Orinda Theatre at 4 Orinda Square. The festival continues Saturday at the Century 16 theaters at 125 Crescent Dr. in Pleasant Hill and lasts until March 8. Suspects are at large Tuesday evening following a shooting earlier in the day in a Fremont home that left a mother injured, police said. A mother suffered a graze wound from a bullet and her infant fell from her arms in the shooting at 3:30 p.m. in the 37500 block of Mission Boulevard. The mother suffered a graze wound to her leg, which police said was not life-threatening, and was taken to a trauma center along with her child. The child was taken to the hospital as a precaution, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said. Bosques said a caller told police that three people were shooting inside their home. Officers responded at 3:32 p.m. and found a woman injured. San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to require the city's Police Department to regularly report data on victims of hate crimes, among other crimes. Supervisor Gordon Mar initially called for the data back in July 2019, amid what he said were growing incidents in hate motivated crimes, particularly property crimes targeting Chinese residents and businesses. The passing of Mar's Crime Victim Data Disclosure Ordinance comes just a day after police said they were investigating a viral video shot in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, in which suspects appear to rob an elderly Asian man of the recyclables he was collecting, as a crowd of onlookers laugh and taunt the victim. "The shocking and racially-fueled attack of an older Chinese man collecting recyclables... is the latest in a continual series of high-profile crime incidents targeting older Chinese community members in Chinatown, Southeast neighborhoods and the Sunset District," he said. Mar's legislation will require police to issue quarterly reports on the aggregated demographic data of crime victims, like their age, race and gender. Police would also be required to report motivating factors for 15 different types of serious crimes, including hate crimes. As cases of the novel coronavirus have spread worldwide, San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday declared a local emergency in order to be prepared should the city start seeing confirmed cases. Although no cases have been reported in San Francisco, Breed said the emergency declaration is a precautionary measure that mobilizes city resources, accelerates emergency planning, streamlines staffing and coordinates city agencies, as well as allows for future reimbursement by state and federal governments. So far, three people have been treated in the city for the virus, although those patients were from neighboring counties. Currently, there are 80,239 confirmed cases worldwide, the World Health Organization reported. The virus has killed more than 2,700 people since it first emerged in Wuhan, China, back in December 2019. Although the majority of those cases have been in China, the virus is rapidly spreading across the globe. "While I'm proud of the work that we've done, we're at a point where we will need to do more," Breed said. Santa Clara County will spend nearly a half million dollars on a county gun team in charge of removing guns from supposedly dangerous people, the county's Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday. In a unanimous vote, the board accepted a proposal from board president Cindy Chavez to create a gun team of seven people -- three crime analysts, two lawyers and two prosecutors -- within the district attorney's office. The team, which already had a lawyer and prosecutor and will add the five additional positions, will be funded by grant money and by $427,247 from the county's general fund for staff salaries. The county funds will cover the newly hired attorney's salary of $215,653 and the prosecutor's salary of $211,594. Supervisors Joe Simitian, Dave Cortese and Mike Wasserman all called the proposal a "good idea" after Assistant District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro briefed the board on the county's gun violence. The Sonoma County Department of Health Services Tuesday said a patient who tested positive for the novel coronavirus is being treated at a hospital in Sonoma County. The patient is one of the recent U.S. evacuees from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who were flown to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, department of health services spokesman Rohish Lal said. The patient was taken from the air base to a hospital in Sonoma County Monday night to lessen the burden on the health care system in communities near Travis Air Force Base, Lal said. The patient was not infected in Sonoma County, department of health services officials said. The patient tested positive for the coronavirus but has not shown any symptoms such as fever and difficulty breathing, Lal said. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, at its regular meetings, routinely makes presentations to various county employees, community groups and others in line for recognition. But Supervisor Diane Burgis of Oakley may have taken this one to heart - literally - more than most, as she on Tuesday honored the American Heart Association, John Muir Health Cardiology Department, and Contra Costa Emergency Medical Services Agency in observance of American Heart Month. Tuesday also marked the one-year anniversary of her open-heart surgery to correct aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve opening. "It's meaningful to be here a year later," said Burgis, who asked three fellow heart surgery veterans -- retired longtime Lafayette City Councilman Don Tatzin, retired East Bay municipal administrator Don Blubaugh and Betty Geishirt Cantrell, director of the Richmond-based SparkPoint, a nonprofit helping families solidify their finances -- to be on hand for Tuesday's presentation. "You don't always know who your support system is going to be," Burgis said. The chief executive officer of PG&E testified at a California Public Utilities Commission hearing in San Francisco Tuesday that "I'm going to do everything I can to make this right" for wildfire victims. CEO Bill Johnson spoke on the first day of a seven-day evidentiary hearing before the commission on the utility's proposed financial reorganization plan for exiting its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In order to be eligible for a wildfire insurance fund established by a state law last year, PG&E must have its plan approved by the CPUC as well as by a federal bankruptcy judge by June 30. Johnson, who took the helm of the utility last year, was questioned during the hearing by wildfire survivor Will Abrams of Santa Rosa about how he could assure fire victims that the utility's managers had compassion for them. "I've been to Paradise five times," Johnson answered, referring to the Butte County town that was destroyed by the deadly Camp Fire of 2018, in which a total of 85 people died. "We watched videos and listened to 911 tapes. If you think I'm not affected by this, you are wrong. This has affected me deeply. I'm going to do everything I can to make this right," he told Abrams. Wednesday will be sunny. Highs will be in the 60s to lower 70s. Northeast winds of up to 5 mph will become southwest winds in the afternoon. Wednesday night will be mostly clear. Lows will be near 50. Southwest winds will be 5 to 10 mph. Thursday will be sunny. Highs will be in the 60s to lower 70s. Northeast winds of around 5 mph will become northwest winds 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. The BJP Wednesday hit back at the Congress and Sonia Gandhi for holding the Centre responsible for the violence in Delhi, saying "those whose hands are tainted with the bloods of innocent Sikhs are now talking about checking violence". The BJP's attack came after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed a press conference here in which she held the Centre and the Delhi government responsible for the violence and demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Shah was continuously working with the police to control the situation in the national capital and demanding his resignation was "laughable". "The Home Minister is continuously working with the police, helping their morale and directing them. Such comments and from the Congress will not help the morale of the police. We appeal to them to not do on the issue," Javadekar told a press conference. He further said Shah had called a meeting of all political parties including the Congress over the communal violence in Delhi -- which has left at least 22 dead -- and asserted it is the responsibility of all parties to help maintain peace. Javadekar said all parties should cooperate and work for peace at a time when violence is abating, notwithstanding the ongoing investigation. "Playing a blame-game at this time is wrong. Politicising such violence is a wrong way always used by the Congress," he said, while asserting that culprits will be identified and no one responsible will be spared. "At such a time, attacking the government and politicising violence is a dirty politics," he said, adding that it also demoralizes police. He also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the Congress was in power to hit back at the opposition party. "Those whose hands are tainted with the bloods of innocent sikhs in 1984 are now talking about checking the violence...they themselves had supported the violence," Javadekar alleged. BJP National Secretary Y Satya Kumar also tweeted, "Who incited 1984 riots, where 4000 innocent Sikhs were killed? You remember those infamous words 'Jab badaa ped girta hai to dharti thodi hilti hain. How about some introspection?" Javadekar, however, parried questions about the "provocative" statements made by BJP leader Kapil Mishra which allegedly led to the escalation of violence in the national capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Wednesday approved the exemption of India Ports Global Ltd from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines for smooth execution of Chabahar Port project. The approval was given during a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The Union Cabinet...has approved the exemption of the India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) from the DPE Guidelines, except reservation and vigilance policies," the shipping ministry said in a statement. IPGL was incorporated as a special purpose vehicle jointly promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Deendayal Port Trust (DPT) for development and management of Shahid Behesthi Port of Chabahar in Iran. Subsequent to the withdrawal of the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the external affairs ministry advised the shipping ministry on October 29, 2018 to exclude JNPT and DPT from possible impact of US sanctions. "Based on this and with the approval of empowered Committee all the shares of JNPT & DPT were purchased by 'Sagarmala Development Company Ltd' (SDCL) on December 17, 2018," it said. SDCL is a central public sector enterprise (CPSE) and therefore IPGL being a subsidiary of SDCL has also become a CPSE. As a result, guidelines of DPE are technically applicable on IPGL. Since Chabahar Port is the country's first overseas port project with strategic objectives, there is an urgent need to allow IPGL to continue to function as a board managed company, duly following the instructions of the shipping as well as external affairs ministries without making the guidelines of DPE applicable to it for a period of five years, the statement said. Accordingly, the shipping ministry has requested exemptions to IPGL from the applicability of the DPE guidelines, for smooth execution of the project. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acumen Research and Consulting, a global provider of market research studies, in a recently published report titled Gene Editing Market (By Technology: CRISPR, TALEN, ZFN, Other technologies; By Application: Cell line editing, Animal genome editing, Plant genome editing, Others; By End-user: Pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, Academics and government research institutes, Clinical Research Organizations (CRO)) Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities And Forecast, 2019 - 2026. Technological advancement in the biotechnological field is anticipated to propel the market during the forecast period. Get Free Report Sample Pages for Better understanding@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/1769 An increase in demand for synthetic genes in the North America and Asia Pacific regions and growing funding for genetic research in developed as well as developing countries will boost the gene editing market in the coming years. North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa are the major regions. Currently, North America holds the largest share of the global gene editing market and is anticipated to maintain its position during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the local presence of major market players, early adoption of the latest technology of gene editing, and higher awareness about benefits associated with gene editing. Furthermore, high government funding and investments by market players for research and development activities on genetic modification further boost the market. The Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a steady rate due to the slow adoption of technology and an unorganized regulatory environment across and within countries. However, government funding, an increasing number of laboratories, and investment by market players are expected to propel the market growth. China dominates the market due to high penetration and more research. Patent applications from China for CRISPR have climbed rapidly in the last few years, and hence the country dominates in the industrial and agricultural fields. Based on technology, the market has been segmented into Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), Transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN), Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN), and other technologies. CRISPR accounted for the largest share of the market due to a wide range of advantages such as availability of tailor-made option specific to the patients mutations for the disease like cystic fibrosis, government initiatives for the development of drug, devices, and vaccines, and investment by market players. For instance, in October 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Synthego collaborated to manufacture and distribute synthetic guide RNA products for CRISPR genome engineering. Furthermore, CRISPR is easy to use, works with high throughput, and affordable technology. View Detail Information with Complete TOC@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/gene-editing-market Based on the application, the global gene editing market is divided into cell line editing, animal genome editing, plant genome editing, and others. In 2018, the animal genetic engineering segment accounted for the largest share of the market. Extensive use of gene-editing technology for altering the animal genome sequence to obtain maximum output from domestic animals is a key factor for the dominance of the segment. Based on the end-users, the market has been segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, academics and government research institutes, and Clinical Research Organizations (CRO). Pharma and biotech companies dominated the market in 2018 and are expected to maintain their dominance during the forecast period. The increasing number of rare diseases and patients and growing investment by pharma and biotech companies to develop new drugs against these rare diseases are the key driving factors of the segment. Key players operating in the gene editing market are Addgene, Allele Biotech, Bio-Rad, Caribou Biosciences, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics, Dharmacon Inc., GE Healthcare, GeneCopoeia, Inc., GenScript Corporation, Horizon Discovery Group plc, Integrated DNA Technologies, OriGene Technologies, Merck Millipore Limited, Precision Biosciences, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc., Takara Bio, Agilent Technologies, Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Browse More Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals Industry Related Research Reports@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/industry-categories/healthcare-and-pharmaceuticals Some of the key observations regarding the gene editing industry include: In January 2020, Horizon Discovery Group Plc announced the development of a novel base editing technology licensed from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, for diagnostic, therapeutic, and services applications. The companys new generation base editing is a novel technology for engineering DNA in cells, which can correct certain mutations or errors in the DNA, or inactivate disease-causing genes. Conventional CRISPR/Cas9 technology creates cuts in the gene that can lead to adverse or negative effects on patients. However, this newly developed technology allows accurate gene editing while reducing unintended genomic changes. In June 2019, Vertex Pharmaceuticals acquired Exonics Therapeutics for to expand its presence in gene editing. Exonics has its SingleCut CRISPR gene editing technology to develop treatments through repairing mutations that cause DMD and other genetic neuromuscular diseases with significant unmet needs. Hence, the acquisition helps Vertex to develop new treatments against rare diseases. In April 2019, the first time two patients treated by using the CRISPR technique in the U.S. The clinical trial of CRISPR to treat cancer had started. One patient had multiple myeloma, and the other patient had sarcoma. Both had relapsed after undergoing standard treatment. Similarly, other studies are also set to start in the U.S., Canada, and European countries. In January 2019, Horizon Discovery signed a partnership agreement with Rutgers University to commercialize a new gene editing technology. The basic technology was developed in the lab of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; however, Horizon through this agreement Horizon will further augment the research and commercialization activities. In December 2015, Bayer signed a partnership agreement for gene editing with CRISPR Therapeutics, a Switzerland based biotech firm. Through this partnership, Bayer will financially support the research activities for the next five years. Request for Customization@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-customization/1769 The report is readily available and can be dispatched immediately after payment confirmation. Buy this premium research report@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/buy-now/0/1769 If you would like to place an order or have any questions, please feel free to contact at sales@acumenresearchandconsulting.com | +1 407 915 4157 OR +1 408 900 9135 For Latest Update Follow Us: https://twitter.com/AcumenRC https://www.facebook.com/acumenresearchandconsulting Involving an event management company with the ability to organize Shows, Exhibitions, Conference, Seminar, Award Ceremony, Road Show, or whatever event it may be, is vital to its success. The success of any event depends entirely on the management of the organization powered by the responsible event management company. Bengaluru, India - Planotech Events And Marketing (OPC) Pvt Ltd, is that excellent one-stop resolution for all kind of events. The company Welcome back to Tech Chronicle. Im not looking for a co-writer for this newsletter, but maybe you could persuade a friend to become a co-reader? Well, thats one less co-CEO arrangement we have to worry about. With Keith Block stepping down from his joint chief role at Salesforce, Marc Benioff is back fully in charge, and we no longer have to find awkward locutions to avoid having to explain the whole co-CEO thing. Blocks departure seems friendly, and hes staying as an adviser for 12 months (read: continuing to vest stock compensation). But I never quite got the co-CEO thing, since Benioff remained the one thing most people could remember about Salesforce if pressed. Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Studies of dual CEO arrangements generally agree they can work, if structured correctly, which means each co-CEO staying in his or her lane. For Block, that was sales and operations, leaving Benioff in charge of product and showmanship. Benioff once compared his partnership with Block to a marriage, saying weve exchanged our vows. There might be something to the marital analogy: Like spouses who watch each others spending, studies have found that co-CEOs can serve as a check on each other, reining in impulses to, say, go on an acquisition spree. Then again, Salesforce gave Block a car worth $211,703 and a watch worth $86,243 after he was named co-CEO. Who will watch the watchmen, indeed. Other examples of shared leadership in tech are rare. The triumvirate that ran Google for years adult supervision Eric Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin has fallen away, with first Schmidt then Page and Brin quitting, leaving Sundar Pichai in charge of not just Google but now of parent company Alphabet as well. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd were both CEO of Oracle (Oracle didnt like the co-CEO term) until Hurds death in October. Then theres Jack Dorsey, whos doing the opposite of co-CEO-ing, continuing to split his time between Twitter and Square. Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle 2016 I think co-CEO arrangements will remain rare at the top ranks of technology companies. Employees, partners and investors like to know whos really in charge. The lone CEO may want someone to help shoulder the load, but top executives are well-compensated for their burdens. And Benioff wont hurt for executive counsel: He has four count them! presidents. Soon to be five: Tucked away in the announcement of Blocks departure was the appointment of a new president for international sales. Owen Thomas, othomas@sfchronicle.com Quote of the week Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes HQ didnt die of natural causes. It was poisoned with a lethal cocktail of incompetence, arrogance, short-sightedness and sociopathic delusion. Former HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky on the mobile-phone game show startups failure Coming up Square and Box report earnings Wednesday. Hope everythings at the right angle. What Im reading Brian Fung on the 26 words that created the internet and a push to overturn them. (CNN Business) Roland Li on how drone photos over the Golden Gate Bridge are likely illegal and Instagram turns a blind eye. (San Francisco Chronicle) Andrew Hawkins on the surprising reason Uber and Lyft rides generate more pollution, not less. (the Verge) Tech Chronicle is a thrice-weekly newsletter from Owen Thomas, The Chronicles business editor, and the rest of the tech team. Follow along on Twitter: @techchronicle and Instagram: @techchronicle HARTFORD Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, joined Stop Solitary CT in unveiling a 5,000-pound replica prison cell at the state Capitol Tuesday as part of an effort to end solitary confinement in Connecticuts prisons. Stop Solitary CTs website says the replica will allow those who visit to experience the horror, isolation, and dehumanization that is solitary confinement. It will be in the lobby of the Capitol until March 4. Members of Stop Solitary CT argue that increased isolation in prisons may achieve the very opposite goal of rehabilitating inmates. Correction means to correct something. But this is not correction, this is torture, said James Tillman, who was wrongly convicted and served more than 18 years in prison for a rape he never committed. Tillman said three of those years were spent in solitary confinement at the Northern Correctional Institution in Somers. To this day I still get chills, Tillman, a member of Stop Solitary CT, said. The Judiciary Committee plans to raise a bill to legislate the end of solitary confinement in Connecticut. The issue was raised as a concept two weeks ago. Winfield said there is an untold lasting impact that solitary confinement can have on those who are forced to endure it. At this point we know that many of these people return to our communities, the question is what have we already done to these people, he said. Department of Correction Commissioner Rollin Cook expressed sympathy for how solitary confinement was handled in the past, but insisted that the DOC has overhauled its operations to be far more humane in recent years. Its not where it was 10 to 15 years ago, or even 5 years ago for that matter, Cook said Tuesday. Correction officers present at the Capitol Tuesday disagreed with the characterization of solitary confinement. They blamed a sensationalized view of solitary confinement in the media for contributing to a misconception of how the system has evolved over time. Solitary confinement, according to two correction officers, doesnt exist as its being portrayed by activists who want to end the practice. The inmates are allowed phone and showers and have recreational time in addition to being allowed out of their cells to attend a variety of programs, Michael Vargo, vice president of AFSCME local 1565, stressed. Advocates for abolishing prison isolation also argue that the practice overwhelmingly targets people of color. Barbara Fair, a New Haven activist who said her son was indelibly changed by his exposure to solitary confinement at the age of 17, likened the practice to a modern form of slavery in that those who support its usage have either lost humanity or dont understand the humanity of those in there. No longer do they use the whip, they use mind control. Its hoped that Connecticut will soon join the ranks of nine other states that have passed comprehensive system-wide reforms to their solitary confinement practices in recent years. While the state was praised for legislation passed in 2017 to end solitary confinement for juvenile inmates, a 2019 report revealed the practice was still occurring for juveniles in adult facilities. Many blame the legislatures failure to properly define solitary confinement as allowing correction officers to continue many of these same practices under a new designation: confined to quarters extended. Cook pushed back on this assertion, however, claiming that most of the time when Im in, there are no juveniles that are being housed in those particular areas. He emphasized how small the number of actual inmates exposed to solitary confinement is in relation to the states total prison population. He said 0.03 percent of our prison population is actually in that type of custody. Cook acknowledged that the DOC knows that isolation is not good but maintained a continued need for solitary confinement to protect prisoners from one another and safeguard facilities and correction officers from potential outbursts of violence. Were doing everything we can to change that environment and speed up the process of getting people out of those situations, he said. Stop Solitary CT is also pushing to close Northern Correctional Institution, which is Connecticuts only super-maximum security prison. I dont have any plans at this time to do that, Cook said. He said they are constantly evaluating their facilities and units to best manage the prison population, which is currently under 13,000, the lowest level in 25 years. On Tuesday, in the morning, at the Rocks, Yeppoon, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC attended a Capricornia Chamber of Commerce breakfast, and the Governor addressed guests. Following, at Rockhampton Regional Council Chambers, Rockhampton, His Excellency received a briefing from Rockhampton Regional Council representatives. Following, at Rockhampton Regional Council Chambers, Rockhampton, His Excellency received a briefing from Rockhampton Local Disaster Management representatives. Following, at Headricks Lane, Rockhampton, His Excellency hosted a morning tea for members of the community affected by the recent bushfires, and the Governor addressed guests. Following, at Rockhampton, His Excellency visited Rockhampton Grammar School, and the Governor addressed students and guests. In the afternoon, His Excellency returned to Government House following official travel to Livingstone Shire and Rockhampton. In the evening, at QPAC, South Brisbane, His Excellency and Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended a Gala Dinner to mark the retirement of the Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet, Mr David McAllister AM, and the Governor addressed guests. Following, at QPAC, South Brisbane, His Excellency and Mrs de Jersey attended the Australian Ballets world premiere and opening night performance of The Happy Prince. DANVERS, Mass., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global printing industry leader Inkcups announced that Hendrik Koemans has joined the company as Sales Director Europe, strengthening the companys European operations, together with the additional hiring of several local service technicians. With over 26 years of demonstrated leadership in the European print industry, Koemans brings his extensive knowledge and experience working in several international management positions within leading promotional product organizations. Hendriks wide network and expertise in the promotional market will open up many doors and opportunities for Inkcups in Europe, said Benjamin Adner, CEO of Inkcups. This move is part of a plan and commitment to build up our presence in Europe as the market grows and our customer base there expands. We are thrilled to add Hendrik to our team. Prior to joining Inkcups, Koemans spent most of his career in sales and marketing with Philip Morris International and in a key account management role at Berendsen Hygiene and Textile. He earned his specialization in marketing from the Netherlands Institute for Marketing (NIMA) and B.S. from Titus College in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands. I am pleased to be working with Inkcups and excited about this grand opportunity. Having worked with the company for many years as a customer before, I can attest to the quality and value they offer, said Hendrik Koemans, Inkcups Sales Director Europe. At Inkcups, we dont just sell printing machines, we offer the complete picture: a turnkey package with all the equipment, supplies and services needed. This is what makes us unique, and will make us stand out in Europe. Inkcups has also expanded the number of local service technicians to better service existing and new customers in Europe. We are serious about providing the best service to all customers, globally, said Ron Howell, Inkcups Digital Service Manager. While growth is important, having a strong support team behind the company is paramount in providing the best in class service and support that we have here. Koemans and the new technicians will be based out of Inkcups Europe office in Germany: Gewerbestrasse 15 D-57258, Freudenberg, Germany. About Inkcups Inkcups is a leading supplier and manufacturer of digital inkjet equipment, pad printing equipment, laser plate-makers and corresponding supplies, with direct sales, technical support and warehouse locations in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Hong Kong and other global locations. Inkcups manufactures high-quality industrial machines for a wide range of industries including apparel, drinkware, promotional, electronic, medical, sporting goods and automotive markets. The companys global network comprises 24 technical service, demonstration, warehouse and platemaking service facilities; 19 distribution centers; and 32 offices. For more information, visit www.inkcups.com . Media Contact: Gene Hunt Trevi Communications, Inc. 978.750.0333 x.101 Gene@trevicomm.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac3012cb-8e61-43fe-8971-1a36f375dd81 Manitobans overwhelmingly support Prince Harry and Meghan Markle coming to Canada after stepping back from Royal duties but only if it doesnt affect their taxes. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitobans overwhelmingly support Prince Harry and Meghan Markle coming to Canada after stepping back from Royal duties but only if it doesnt affect their taxes. Polling firm Leger found that three out of four Manitobans supported the couple stepping away from the British Royal Family and possibly residing in Canada. When asked if they would still support the Royals living in Canada should citizens have to foot the bill for security requirements, that number dropped to 19 per cent of those surveyed. The poll, which was conducted on behalf of the Winnipeg Free Press, was taken by 800 randomly-selected Manitobans aged 18 and over between Feb. 7 and 17. "At that point, Manitobans get a little crustier with respect to their enthusiasm of the royals coming to spend a bunch of time in Canada," Leger executive vice president Andrew Enns said. After it was announced in January that the couple would be stepping away from royal duties and working to become financially independent, they began to split their time between the U.K. and Canada, leading to some speculating they would move here permanently. Enns noted the drop in support was most significant among the mid-tier age group Manitobans aged 35 to 54 and suggested this was likely due to the group containing the most taxpayers among the tiers polled. After it was announced in January that Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would be stepping away from royal duties and working to become financially independent, they began to split their time between the U.K. and Canada, leading to some speculating they would move here permanently. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / Pool / Canadian Press files) "Then we see the big drop there, and I said to myself, while the drops across all age groups, it is interesting that the biggest taxpayer population that we probably have in our survey, that 35 to 54-year-old, theyre the ones that are already a little bit cautious about their support for the royals moving to Canada," he said. Women polled slightly higher than men when asked if they would oppose the Royals staying in Canada should it come with tax costs, something Enns called "a bit of a puzzler." "Theres something thats a little bit more off-putting for females in Manitoba on the whole notion of taxpayers needing to kick in for their security detail here in Canada," he said. Concerns have been brewing about the possibility of a tax increase since the news was announced that the Royal couple would be spending more time in Canada. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation delivered a petition with over 80,000 signatures to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanding he "ensure taxpayers money isnt used to support Harry and Meghan." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to comment definitively on whether or not Canadians will have to pay into security measures should Prince Harry and Meghan Markle choose to stay. (Andrew Milligan / Tribune Media files) "Its a simple thing," said Todd Mackay, the Prairie director for the group. "Theyve made a choice for their family, and good on them, hopefully it turns out well for them," he said, "But this is a very wealthy couple, theyve got lots of different choices they could be making in this case, and Canadian taxpayers cant be the ones paying for those choices. "So welcome here, wed love to have you as neighbours, you seem like great folks, but youve got to cover your own bills." Trudeau has yet to comment definitively on whether or not Canadians will have to pay into security measures should the couple choose to stay. Recently-retired Manitoba chief of protocol Dwight MacAulay spent much of his career organizing royal visits to Canada. He said security detail for official royal visits is typically organized by the RCMP and, should the couple come to Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Police Service. He said while Canada is responsible for providing security detail to members of the royal family during official visits, he could not say what security would look like should Harry and Meghan stay, as their situation was relatively unique. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. I think everybody is thrilled to think that theyre moving to Canada with respect to the security issue, thats really a whole new dynamic. Retired Manitoba chief of protocol Dwight MacAulay "I think everybody is thrilled to think that theyre moving to Canada with respect to the security issue, thats really a whole new dynamic," he said. MacAulay noted that despite the couples decision to step back, it was important to keep in mind that Prince Harry remains attached to the royal family. "No matter what happens in his life, he will always be that, and whenever a member of the royal family is here, Canada does provide security for them," he said. "Regardless, it will have to end with them being safe and secure." malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca [February 25, 2020] Lost Money in Tupperware Brands Corporation? Tupperware Brands Corporation shares plummeted over 45% to a record low after the company announced an investigation into its financial accounting, disclosed a 2019 profit shortfall and admitted it is expecting a need for relief from creditors on a covenant for $650 million of debt. Gibbs Law Group is investigating a potential Tupperware Class Action Lawsuit on behalf of investors who lost money in Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP). To speak with an attorney regarding this class action lawsuit investigation, click here or call (888) 410-2925. On February 24, 2020 after the market closed, Tupperware issued a press release in which it disclosed that it is conducting a financial accounting investigation related primary to accounts payable and accrued liabilities at its Fuller Meico beauty business, and estimated that the pre-tax impact of these issues would be approximately $50 million to $52 million. The company also stated that the investigation is intended to "determine the extent to which these matters may further impact results" In addition to confirming it will not be able to file its 10-K on time, Tupperware announced that it expects 2019 adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.35 to $1.70, significantly below the consensus estimate of $2.79. The company also disclosed that it would likely need to seek relief on a leverage ratio covenant in its $650 million credit agreement. On this news, Tupperware's stocks plummeted over 45% on February 25, 2020, causing significant harm to investors. What Should Tupperware Investors Do? If you invested in Tupperware Brands Corporation, visit our website or contact our securities team directly at (888) 410-2925 to discuss how you may be able to recover your losses. Our investigation concerns whether Tupperware has violated federal securities laws. About Gibbs Law Group Gibbs Law Group represents individual and institutional investors throughout the country in securities litigation to correct abusive corporate governance practices, breaches of fiduciary duty, and proxy violations. The firm has recovered over a billion dollars for its clients against some of the world's largest corporations, and our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including "Best Lawyers in America," "Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California," "California Lawyer Attorney of the Year," "Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40," "Consumer Protection MVP," and "Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40." This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006096/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Delhi, Feb 26 : The crucial Congress Working Committee meeting chaired by interim chief Sonia Gandhi began here on Wednesday without Rahul Gandhi, who was being expected to return to the helm soon. Party leaders observed silence for two minutes as they remembered all those who lost their lives in violent clashes in Delhi since February 23 over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Randeep Surjewala tweeted: "CWC observes silence in memory of those who have lost their precious lives in #DelhiRiots!" The party will take out a 'Sadhbhawna March' highlighting communal harmony. It will go up to the 30 January Marg where Mahatma Gandhi was martyred. The Congress on Tuesday appealed for peace and said that every Congress worker will help to maintain peace here, even as the riots toll rose to 17 in four days. The CWC is likely to issue a comprehensive statement on the Delhi violence. New Delhi, Feb 26 : After unprecedented violence in Delhi, prohibitory orders under Section 144 imposed in several parts of the national capital, will continue till further order, sources said on Wednesday. Sources in the Delhi Police confirmed that the prohibitory orders which were imposed on Tuesday haven't been lifted as of now and status quo remains. However, the police official refused to confirm anything about the shoot at sight orders. According to sources, no officer in Delhi Police ordered for shoot-at-sight till now. Several localities, including Chand Bagh, Bhajanpura, Maujpur-Babarpur, and Jaffrabad witnessed unprecedented violence on Monday and Tuesday as pro and anti-CAA protesters clashed in which 17 persons are confirmed dead. [February 26, 2020] Analyttica TreasureHunt(ATH) Precision by Analyttica Datalab to be Awarded at the 10th Annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards ATH Precision bags a spot in top 3 finalists under Innovation in Artificial Intelligence BENGALURU, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aegis Graham Bell Awards marking its 10th year, recently announced its finalists for their contribution towards innovation across multiple sectors. Analyttica Datalab's augmented AI/ML platform, Analyttica TreasureHunt(ATH) Precision bagged a spot among the top 3 in the category of Innovation in Artificial Intelligence. Aegis Graham Bell Award is an initiative of Aegis School of Business and is supported by NITI Aayog, which is a policy think tank of the Government of India. This award is intended to promote innovations in the IT, Telecom, SMAC domain, and Exponential Technologies to provide recognition for outstanding contributions by the innovators. ATH Precision offers a powerful ecosystem for business integrated analytics. It is an experiential analytics eco-system which fundamentally integrates within any environment (cloud or on-prem) & empowers enterprises to apply data science & ML in a tool-agnostic point n click manner, or via an integrated coding console. The ability to operationalize solutons at scale with a single click enables the maximization of ROI from organizations' data assets at 4X the speed and 100% accuracy. ATH Precision owing to its efficient mechanism of deriving data-based business solutions was also listed among the Top 13 Data Science Products in India. It has also been covered by respected publications like Economic Times, Reuters, Analytics India Magazine, etc. On becoming the finalist at Aegis Graham Bell Awards, Analyttica Datalab's CEO, Rajeev Baphna commented, "Feels honoured to be part of seven-year journey to make our three decade worth of analytical experiences come to life by bringing the best of innovation and AI into an ecosystem that enables contextually solving business challenges at scale for organizations across industries through ATH Precision. Thank you, Aegis, for recognition of the same!" "This recognition is a moment of pride for all of us at Analyttica and reinforces the confidence that our customers show on us to deliver on ATH Precision's value proposition to create sustainable business impact through augmented AI," said Satyamoy Chatterjee, EVP, Analyttica Datalab. "I would personally like to convey my best wishes to Analyttica Datalab for making it to the finalist for 'Innovation in AI'. Their intelligent innovation which is robust enough to build an ecosystem for business based on AI applications is certain to get the market consideration and the much-needed acknowledgment. Congratulations and good luck for the future undertakings," said Bhupesh Daheria, CEO, Aegis School of Data Science, Cyber Security and Telecom; Founder of Aegis Graham Bell Awards. About Analyttica Analyttica Datalab is a contextual Data Science (DS) & Machine Learning (ML) Platform company, ATH Precision and ATH SimuLab (A simulation-based contextual approach to enable a data-driven culture) are the two main offerings of Analyttica Datalab. Media Contact: Prashant Dixit [email protected], +91-8050074490, Assistant Vice President, Analyttica Datalab [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A mixed-income apartment complex on the near West Side is the first to break ground under the citys Neighborhood Improvements bond, part of the $850 million package voters approved in 2017. The project also will receive a property tax break and benefit from its location in an opportunity zone. Terramark Urban Homes plans to build 24 units on an empty lot on the 700 block of South Frio Street, near the University of Texas at San Antonios downtown campus. Half will be set aside for residents making up to 60 percent of the area median income, with a maximum rent for a two-bedroom costing around $950 a month, said John Cooley, the companys chief operations officer. Asked whether the apartments target students, Cooley said they are not designated as student housing specifically. San Antonio-based Terramark, which has built clusters of townhomes in neighborhoods ringing downtown, plans to start construction in March and finish early next year. The complex also will include a private courtyard. Im so excited, Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, who represents District 5, said at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday. This has been a long time coming. There have been a number of attempts to get this project developed. On ExpressNews.com: Looking to become a homeowner? Startup offers updated rent-to-own plan in San Antonio She added, It takes a lot of subsidies and a lot of support to get a project like this, an affordable housing development, going. Terramark is using San Antonios first housing bond, a $20 million component of the package voters green-lighted in 2017, for the complex. The initiative is aimed at funding the development of affordable and mixed-income housing, with the city using some of the money to buy and prepare land for development in 12 areas across San Antonio. Developers bid on purchasing and redeveloping the land with housing. At least half of the units must be for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income. Last year, City Council members approved the sale of an empty lot on South Frio to Terramark for $20,000 and reimbursement of up to $250,000 for eligible expenses. The city also can make additional reimbursements for up to $50,000, according to a council memo. On Thursday, officials also OKd a $242,000 forgivable loan. Council members also have approved two other projects under the bond program a complex on Parkdale Drive and the redevelopment of the Southeast Service Center on New Braunfels Avenue. Franklin Development Properties, a local company, is spearheading both. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio restaurateur restoring Main Plaza buildings and adding apartments, retail Terramark also will receive $98,817 worth of city and San Antonio Water system fee waivers through the Center City Housing and Incentive Policy, which subsidizes housing development in the urban core. The company is teaming with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corp., an Austin nonprofit created by the Legislature to promote affordable housing, to build the apartments. The organization will buy the land and lease it back to Terramark, providing a full property tax exemption, Cooley said. Terramark also is benefiting from the propertys location within an opportunity zone, a program in President Donald Trumps 2017 tax overhaul designed to encourage investment in economically distressed areas. Twenty-four census tracts in the San Antonio area are designated opportunity zones, areas where investors can put their capital in long-term investments in exchange for postponing, reducing or eliminating capital-gains tax burdens. If investors hold onto their investments for 10 years, the gains are tax-free. The plan is to have the Texas State Affordable Housing Corp. take over the project after 10 years and run it, Cooley said. Terramark is putting in $600,000 and is out of pocket on this deal, said Charlie Turner, the companys CEO. We're in this for the right reason, he said. madison.iszler@express-news.net The nine-year-old boy who said he wanted to kill himself after being bullied about his dwarfism has signed a celebrity agent as his Disneyland fundraiser rakes in more than $700,000. As supportive friends including a little boy who also has dwarfism rally around the family of Quaden Bayles, the clan has enlisted a celebrity wheeler-and-dealer to handle global media interest. The nine-year-old Indigenous boy, who has the most common type of dwarfism, achondroplasia, told his mother 'give me a rope, I want to kill myself' in a viral video which has been viewed more than 20 million times. The heartbreaking footage prompted celebrities across the globe to publicly defend the schoolboy from bullying, including actor Hugh Jackman, rugby league legend Johnathan Thurston, rapper Cardi B, broadcaster Piers Morgan and Eric Trump. Quaden Bayles, 9, disproved bizarre internet conspiracy theories that he is actually an adult by carrying a Super Mario themed Nintendo Switch case as he arrived home on Monday The media frenzy has led the family to enlist the assistance of Stephen Moriarty, who has been publicly linked to past media deals involving Schapelle Corby's family and is the publicist for Sarah Monahan, the Hey Dad! abuse victim. Mr Moriarty rarely appears in the headlines and does not even have a website for his celebrity wheeling-and-dealing business. Quaden and his family returned to their Brisbane home on Monday afternoon following his unforgettable weekend appearance at the Indigenous All-Stars match on the Gold Coast. He carried a Super Mario themed Nintendo Switch case - a move that appeared to disprove bizarre and false conspiracy theories that have emerged falsely claiming he is actually 18-years-old. Bayles has been supported by family, close mates and global celebrities in the wake of his mother filming a video where he threatened to kill himself Quaden led the Indigenous All Stars onto the field on the Gold Coast on Saturday night, holding the hand of captain Joel Thompson Quaden and his mother have signed a celebrity agent who once represented the family of drug smuggler Schapelle Corby (pictured) Meanwhile, a close mate of Quaden's who also has achondroplasia has sent his friend a touching message of support, saying: 'I love you mate and I'm always there for you'. Louise Martin said her son Riley, 10, from the New South Wales Central Coast, sent Quaden a series of moving messages in the wake of the viral video. The little boys have a shared love of the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team. Riley, 10, from the NSW Central Coast, is a good mate of Quaden's and sent him a series of moving messages in the wake of the video, including: 'I love you mate and I'm always there for you' Louise and Quaden's mother, Yarraka Bayles, became friends through social media pages supporting short-statured children. A video message Riley sent Quaden said: 'You need to come to my school and everyone will play with you and talk to you here'. Ms Martin said she, her mother and sister 'bawled their eyes out' at Quaden's heartbreaking video, and had not shown Riley the full context of the clip. 'We were all just crying and I reached out (to Quaden's mother Yarraka) straight away'. Ms Martin said her son is aware people are often curious about his condition and sometimes faces bullying. But she said Riley had a supportive environment at school: 'Everyone knows him, everyone loves him,' she said. How Quaden Bayles's GoFundMe money will be spent American comedian Brad Williams, who also has dwarfism, raised more than $700,000 (US$465,899) to send Quaden and his mother to Disneyland. 'I'm setting up this GoFundMe to let Quaden know that bullying will not be tolerated, and that he is a wonderful human being who deserves joy,' he said. After the Disneyland trip for Quaden is paid for, the rest of the funds will be donated to charity. 'After all the flights, hotel, tickets and food is paid for, any excess money will be donated to anti-bullying/anti-abuse charities,' the GoFundMe page said. It has been reported the GofundMe page will support both US and Australian charities. The exact charities have not yet been revealed. Advertisement Quaden's mother, Yarraka Bayles, has reportedly pulled her son out of the state primary school he attends. Ms Bayles has claimed Quaden has faced constant discrimination throughout his life. Ms Bayles said she twice thought about deleting the bullying video she originally posted to Facebook, 'but I wanted people to see the effect bullying is having on my child.' NITV reported Quaden was six when he first attempted to take his own life, following the death of his grandfather, the Indigenous broadcaster Tiga Bayles. He has reportedly made several attempts since. 'Thank you for all the support,' Quaden said in a video at the weekend. For confidential crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. LC Waikiki opened its 1000th store in the first quarter of 2020 and added another significant point to its international investments, which were firstly initiated in Romania in 2009. 1,000th store opened on February 13, 2020, in Kyiv River Mall and the inauguration ceremony welcomed many guests including LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Kucuk, LC Waikiki Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Berna Akyuz Ogut, Republic of Turkey Ukraine Ambassador Yagmur Ahmet Guldere. LC Waikiki continues its operations with 35 stores and 1000 employees in 18 cities in Ukraine. The new two-storied store in River Mall will be the largest store in the country with its place of 1880 square meters. 40 employees will be employed in the store, of which the investment cost reaches 1 million USD. Evaluating the global journey of the brand, LC Waikiki Chairman of the Board Vahap Kucuk said, "When we first launched our brand, we identified our mission as "Everyone deserves to dress well". We have set the goal of bringing affordable fashion beyond our country borders by bringing it together with various cultures in different markets. We are committed to providing to our customers from all age groups with products that are suitable for the style and budget and that are manufactured in accordance with the clothes safety rules. We determined the vision of the LC Waikiki brand in 2023 as "Being one of the three most successful fashion retailers in Europe." Stating that they will continue to test new countries this year, Kucuk stated, "In August, we will open our first store in South America, Peru so that we will be entering a new continent. We are going to enter new countries such as Zambia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Angola and Senegal in Africa; Hungary in Europe and Mongolia and Turkmenistan in Asia. We will enter the 4th continent with South America in 2020. With 9 new countries, we are going to open a total of 130 new stores, 15 stores in Turkey and 115 stores abroad. Thus, we aim to operate in 56 countries on 4 continents by 2020 and reach the number of 1125 stores. This means that our total store area reaches 1 million 950 thousand square meters. In addition, we will continue to grow our LCW Dream and LCW Home stores, which we call our sub-brands. Also this year, we have a branded export target of 1 billion USD." About LC Waikiki Founded in 1988, LC Waikiki has been serving under the roof of LC Waikiki Retail since 1997 with the mission "Everyone deserves to dress well" and its approach of "affordable fashion" in Turkey. LC Waikiki continues to grow for 32 years both in Turkey and abroad. LC Waikiki, the leader of the ready-to-wear sector, operates with approximately 1,000 stores and 47,700 employees in 47 countries today. www.lcwaikiki.com SOURCE LC Waikiki Related Links https://www.lcwaikiki.com/ In what appears to be official connivance, PREMIUM TIMES has obtained details of how top civil servants in Bauchi State lied about budgetary provisions to provide an excuse for Governor Bala Mohammed to award a contract valued at over N3.6 billion to his own company. This newspaper reported on Saturday how Mr Mohammed, who has a pending corruption case from his past position as minister of the federal capital territory, awarded a company in which he is a director a huge contract in clear contravention of the code of conduct and public procurement laws. The contract was for the supply of 105 officials vehicles for use of the governor and other government officials. Just like the award of the contract, delivery by the contractor remains controversial with allegations of shady execution. On Monday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the state government under Mr Mohammed duplicated purchases already made to arrive at the N3.6 billion contract awarded to Adda Nigeria Limited, a company in which Mr Mohammed retains a 20 per cent stake. New details now show how state officials misrepresented facts to allow the governor to have his way by violating federal and state laws guiding public procurement. Unapproved expenditure One document that highlights such misrepresentation is a memo from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development dated July 9, 2019. The memo, addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government, provided purported quotations from three companies for the supply of 105 vehicles. The memo, signed by one Muhammed Sabo Abdullahi on behalf of the permanent secretary of the Finance and Economic Development ministry, prayed the governor to approve the purchase from Adda Nigeria Limited, which put the cost at N3,602,000,000. Two other companies, according to the correspondence, quoted N3,740,000,000 and N3,911,000,000 respectively. The governor gave his approval on September 9, 2019, directing the Secretary to the State Government to table the memo before the executive council for ratification. In the memo, Mr Abdullahi claimed that the states 2019 budget provided N3.5 billion for vehicle purchases under the budget of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. [T]here is adequate budgetary provision in the 2019 Budget of the Ministry under Code 2310165-03101 with N3.5 billion to cater for the expenditure, the official wrote as part of the two-page memo. But a review of the 2019 budget of the ministry showed no such provision. The budget code is also non-existent in the budget document. The only provision in the budget for purchase of vehicles was allocated N1 billion, far less than N3.6 billion the official claimed. There was no further budget amendment approved by the states House of Assembly. The contract awarded to Adda Nigeria Limited alone is worth more than 200 per cent of the ministrys total capital expenditure put at N1,111,500,000. The budgeted N1 billion for vehicle purchases was to be part of this figure. No virement too As reported by this newspaper on Monday, the Finance and Economic Development ministry had, from May to September 2019, awarded five vehicles procurement contracts costing N881,537,000, thereby exhausting almost 90 per cent of the budgeted N1 billion. Checks at the Bauchi State House of Assembly revealed that the 2019 Appropriation Act was not subjected to amendment or virement to warrant that expenditure. There is no amendment or virement on the 2019 budget, said a senior official of the Assembly who craved for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak. The states entire budget for official vehicles for the three arms of government is also lower than N3.6 billion, the value of the controversial contract. Aside from the N1 billion budget for the Executive branch captured under the Ministry of Finances budget, the 2019 Appropriation Law also provides for N1,729,449,805 for vehicles for state assembly members. The budgetary provision for the states Judiciary to purchase motor vehicles were provided under two codes with the sum of N528,000,000 and N46,500,000 respectively. The total provision stands at N3,303,949,805, an amount that is almost N200 million lower than the Adda contract. Cover-up? Aside from distortions to give room for the contract approval, PREMIUM TIMES also noticed that the contract is missing from the list of government contracts for the year 2019. Advertisements A document obtained from the website of the Bauchi State Public Procurement, Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Agency left out the huge supply contract among awarded projects for the year. The official document, which was downloaded on February 18, 2019, listed 77 projects cutting across agencies and various facets of government work. But while the document excluded the N3.6 billion contract, it revealed another contract awarded Adda Nigeria Limited by Mr Mohammed. On September 16, the agency issued approval for the supply of two Toyota Camry cars to the company at the varied cost of N72,555,000. The agency indicated a reduction of N445,000 from the quoted amount. The exclusion of the procurement agency from the contract award process contravenes Section 14 and 16 of the Bauchi State Public Procurement, Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Agency law (2017). The chairperson of the agency, Joshua Sanga, did not respond to our request for comment on this story. Mr Mohammed and Adda Nigeria Ltd Adda Nigeria Limited, first incorporated in October 1996 with a share capital of 500,000, has four directors. A certain Abdullahi Salihu Bawa holds 200,000 share capital while Mr Mohammed and two other persons, who appear to be Mr Bawas children have 100,000 share capital each. Fresh evidence shows that Mr Bawa also goes by the name of Abdullahi Yari. The latter name was used in nominating Mr Bawa as the Company Secretary of Adda Nigeria Limited on August 1, 2019, two months after Mr Mohammed was sworn in as the state governor. Records obtained by this newspaper from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in January 2020 show that Mr Mohammed was in 2006 reappointed as a director of the company. The company documents, however, did not indicate the purpose of the reappointment; whether it was a result of re-entry after exit or renewal of the mandate. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The growth of cyber-attacks against organizations and entities have made traditional cybersecurity measures virtually outdated which has given rise to the requirement of threat intelligence. It is the knowledge that helps organizations to comprehend the risks caused by common and severe external threats. Many a time the organizations face risks like zero-day threats, and exploits. These threats exploit the vulnerability and generate an incident which can cause harm to the company. Thus, solutions like threat intelligence help to inform an organization about prevailing or emerging hazard to their resources and provides with intelligent decisions as a response to them. The industries using threat intelligence the most are healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services since they are most regularly targeted for attacks. Also, the most common type of attacks to any organization is coming in the form of emails and malware. These are the latest trends in the threat intelligence market. Interesting.? Apply For A Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/20140 Threat Intelligence market: Drivers and Restraints In organizations, it is hard to determine the indicators which are causing them threats. Thus, threat intelligence is necessary to save an organization from any attack. Also, the information security offices have no control over the threats or attacks to any organization. Such factors are driving the use of threat intelligence in the market. The threat intelligence is a very complex concept to understand and any new analyst coming to a company will not be able to understand the information provided by it and thus wont be able to take necessary actions. Also, training of professions is difficult. Such factors are challenging the growth of the market. Also, the organization must know where this threat intelligence has to be applied exactly. Threat Intelligence market: Segmentation Segmentation based on components of Threat Intelligence in Market: Software Platform Support Services Segmentation based on format type of Threat Intelligence in Market: Internet based Solution File based Solution Mobile based Solution Segmentation based on applications of Threat Intelligence in Market: Information security Management Log Management Risk Management Identity & Access management Others Segmentation based on Industries of Threat Intelligence in Market: BFSI Telecommunication Retail Healthcare Energy & Utilities Manufacturing Other Industries Threat Intelligence market: Competitive Landscape The key players in the market are iSIGHT Partners Inc. Symantec Corporation Looking Glass Inc. Dell EMC VeriSign Inc. Crowdstrike Inc. Alienvault Inc. EclecticIQ BV Anomali Inc. and ThreatQuotient Inc. Regional Overview North America is expected to the largest market of Threat Intelligence market. The majority of Threat Intelligence vendors such as iSIGHT Partners Inc., Symantec Corporation and Looking Glass, Inc., are based in North America region. This is attributed to the growth of threats to an organization. The market is anticipated to grow in Europe region due to the presence of other market vendors like EclecticIQ BV and few others in the region. To get Info on Business Strategies, Challenges & Policies Request Detailed TOC@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/20140 Regional analysis for Global Threat Intelligence Market includes As death toll in the violent clashes between pro and anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in Northeast Delhi touches 20, leaders across India have condemned the incidents, slamming the ruling governments for failing to control the situation. Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia said he had never felt scared in his own city before. "Been in Delhi since 30 years. Never felt so scared in my own city. What is happening? Who are these people who are burning down Delhi? I am really saddened and embarrassed today. This is Delhi-the national capital. We have to save it," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted about meeting the victims at the GTB Hospital and Max Hospital on Tuesday. In the same tweet, he urged people to end "this madness". Met with victims of violence being treated at the GTB Hospital and Max Hospital. Hindus, Muslims, policemen - none have escaped unhurt.. this madness must end immediately pic.twitter.com/Nh2VI6BRTG - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 25, 2020 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the violent protests over CAA in Northeast Delhi, urging people to show restraint and understanding. The violence today in Delhi is disturbing & must be unequivocally condemned. Peaceful protests are a sign of a healthy democracy, but violence can never be justified. I urge the citizens of Delhi to show restraint, compassion & understanding no matter what the provocation. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 24, 2020 Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram raised questions over the inefficiency of the Delhi Police. Whether the violence in East Delhi was instigated (MOS-Home) or spontaneous (MHA), the government has a duty to end the violence. - P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 26, 2020 Permanent Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) Randeep Singh Surjewala expressed anguish at the anti-CAA riots in Northeast Delhi district. Surjewala also shared a snap of the CWC observing silence in memory of all those who lost their lives in the violent clashes. ,, pic.twitter.com/8l6MJST1pF - Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) February 26, 2020 CWC observes silence in memory of those who have lost their precious lives in #DelhiRiots! pic.twitter.com/2m3vtnepGy - Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) February 26, 2020 Punjab CM Captain Amrinder Singh urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal "to sit together and resolve the crisis immediately". Shocked & concerned about the #DelhiViolence. Urge @AmitShah and @ArvindKejriwal to sit together and resolve the crisis immediately to prevent the situation from escalating further in the larger interest of the national capital & the country. - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) February 25, 2020 Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted, "The Delhi Violence is disturbing, senseless and undoubtedly condemnable. Under no circumstance is violence ever acceptable! I urge the protesters to exercise restraint." Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and DMK President MK Stalin said the violence in Delhi had reached alarming proportions with gruesome attacks on citizens and journalists. "The Union Govt, which controls police in Delhi, must act swiftly to book perpetrators of violence and restore normalcy. Democracy is at peril," he tweeted. The actor-turned politician Kamal Hassan also expressed anguish over the ongoing violent clashes over CAA in Northeast Delhi. How can we allow these children of hate to run amok in my United and diverse India. Stop! Please return to reason, before it is too late. No religion propagates hate, only people do. India has survived such madness before, I sincerely hope it will again. - Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2020 CPI (M) leader and MP from West Bengal, Sitaram Yechury questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the deteriorating law and order situation in the national capital. As the situation in national capital remains tense, where are the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister? Both are missing. Incompetence or complicity? https://t.co/GtdeninPu4 - Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) February 24, 2020 Meanwhile, the officials at Guru Teg Bahadur hospital told agencies the death toll had risen to 20. Hundreds of people have been injured in the violent clashes in Northeast Delhi, including two media persons from a private news channel. Also read: Delhi Violence Live Updates: Death toll touches 20; SC slams police for mishandling situation Also read: Delhi violence: Amit Shah expresses condolences to wife of cop who died yesterday Thank goodness that two thoroughly shredded national flags one Canadian and the other American have been replaced at an Etobicoke warehouse. Otherwise, a guy with an itchy Twitter finger who happens to be the Don of the U.S. might have taken another run on Twitter at Canada and our guileless Prime Minister. One of the things that really fires up people who are proud of the Canadian Maple Leaf or the U.S. Stars and Stripes is an ensign that is tattered and slowly falling apart. It infuriates them that whoever is responsible didnt swap out the flag for a new one at the first sign of deterioration. To ignore it until it is falling apart is perceived by many as the ultimate show of disrespect. We fly our red Maple Leaf proudly in the Great White North, but without the same level of patriotism as America, where waving the flag is right up there with fist-bumping Jesus or the Dallas Cowboys. But Canadians also get offended by a tattered flag. Ive gotten many notes over the years expressing outrage about a Maple Leaf in dire need of replacement. A reader emailed to say a large warehouse at the intersection of Albion Road and Humberline Drive has for months been flying dual Canadian and U.S. flags that are falling apart. He pointed out that it is a sign of disrespect and neglect. I went there and found two thoroughly shredded flags flying from poles on the side of a warehouse, next to a sign with the initials NFI on it. A bit of online poking around showed that NFI is a large logistics and trucking firm based in Camden, N.J., but with substantial Canadian operations. STATUS: I sent a note to NFI on Sunday afternoon and got a phone call about 24 hours later from Robert Lesyk, its manager of Canadian operations. Within a day I also got emails from Jean Marie Decker at NFI in New Jersey, and also from Richard Doyle, who manages the facility at Albion and Humberline. Lesyk said the flags were replaced with new ones on Monday, adding that NFI had replacement flags in hand much sooner, but couldnt put them up because of unstable frozen ground along the side of the warehouse where the flagpoles are located. Lesyk said that NFIs goal is to put up new flags four times a year, to make sure theyre never tattered and avoid the perception that NFI has neglected them. So NFI is in the Fixers good books right now, and should be saluted by flag-waving Canadians and Americans. The opposition BJP on Wednesday demanded that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray bring a resolution to honour Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the state legislature. On the occasion of the death anniversary of Savarkar, members of the BJP donned "Mi pan Savarkar" (Me too Savarkar) caps when they came to the House in the morning. When Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole called for Question Hour, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar said remembering Swatantryaveer Savarkar on his death anniversary is equally important as are the proceedings of the House. "This is the wish of (Shiv Sena founder late) Balasaheb Thackeray and there isno politics in this demand. The government should not force us to bring such resolution," he said. However, Speaker Nana Patole continued with Question Hour. The BJP's demand for a resolution to honour Savarkar is viewed as a move to corner the Sena, which shares power in the state with ideologically incompatible NCP and Congress. The Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena, a former ally of the BJP, has been demanding Bharat Ratna honour for Savarkar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The crazy rate of production growth seen in US shale over the last five years is a thing of the past, Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch told Reuters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a conference in Saudi Arabia. While shale production will continue to grow this year and in future years, the rate of growth will slow considerably, to 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day this year, and even worseto just 200,000 barrels per day in 2021, after which it will plateau, never to the previous rate of growth. Unless, of course, there are significant developments in new technologies that will allow E&P companies in the United States to lower their costs, Le Peuch said. This isnt the first time that analysts and industry players have called the end to the rapid growth in US Shale that has forever changed the landscape of the global oil industry. And while most believe that US shale cannot possibly sustain the rapid rate of growth it has seen up until now, few agree on when, exactly, this rapid growth will slow to next to nothing. Few analysts predicted that Saudi Arabia would still be taking the brunt of the OPEC cuts on itself, effectively subsidizing oil prices for the entire worldand it is precisely this subsidy that is allowing US shale to keep pumping more and more. But Schlumberger sees this US Shale heyday ending soon, and is already preparing for tough times, after experiencing a strong Q4but not in North America. Rather, its international business carried the oilfield services giant to better than expected profits. Determined to improve Schlumbergers bottom line in North America, it cut 1,400 jobs since Q3 2019, and is looking to ditch underperforming businesses. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: DGAP-News: APEIRON Biologics AG / Key word(s): Study APEIRON's respiratory drug product to start pilot clinical trial to treat coronavirus disease COVID-19 in China 26.02.2020 / 07:30 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. APEIRON's respiratory drug product to start pilot clinical trial to treat coronavirus disease COVID-19 in China. Investigator Initiated Trial (IIT) to start in China, with an international team of experts from China, Austria, and Canada. 24 patients with severe COVID-19 to be treated in a randomized, dual-arm trial with Apeiron's ACE2 drug product APN01 APN01 was previously proven to be safe and well tolerated in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials With its unique ACE2 approach APN01 offers an alternative treatment option to other approaches currently in development Vienna, Austria, 26 February 2020: APEIRON Biologics AG, a biotechnology company with an approved product on the market as well as a broad preclinical and clinical pipeline, today announced the launch of a Pilot investigator-initiated clinical trial (IIT) with APN01, a recombinant human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (rhACE2), to treat patients with severe coronavirus infection in the People's Republic of China. The randomized, unblinded trial will treat 24 patients for seven days to obtain preliminary data on the impact of rhACE2 on biological, physiologic, and clinical outcomes, as well as safety in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data will be assessed to ascertain whether a Phase 2B clinical trial in a larger number of patients is warranted. The trial is being supported by a global team of leading experts: Intensive care specialist, Prof. Arthur Slutsky, Scientist, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, and Prof. of Medicine, Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) and Prof. Haibo Zhang, Prof. of Anesthesiology, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto; Prof. Nanshan Zhong and Prof. Yimin Li, both of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health and leading physicians in fight against COVID-19 in China, will oversee the trial; and Prof. Josef Penninger, Scientific Director and Professor of the Life Science Institute of the University of British Columbia, Canada. "To address this unfortunate crisis and dreadful disease our team has at short notice been able to bring together a worldwide team of experts and scientists. Our drug candidate APN01 has been proven safe and well tolerated in patients in previous clinical PhI and PhII trials. We are delighted and proud that we can now start treating infected patients in China." said Peter Llewellyn-Davies, Chief Executive Officer of APEIRON Biologics AG. "Our lab provided the first in vivo proof that ACE2, which we had cloned and made the first mutant mice, is the essential receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 and that ACE2 has the potential to protect the lung from injury by collaborating with Prof. Chengyu Jiang at PUMC in Beijing. I am excited that based on our research and developments, the potential of APN01 (soluble human ACE2 protein) for the treatment of patients suffering from the novel coronavirus infection is now being explored in clinical trials," stated Prof. Penninger, MD, co-inventor of APN01, founder of APEIRON, member of its supervisory board and Professor at the University of British Columbia. "ACE2 has been shown to be essential for early viral infection of the SARS-CoV virus, which spread rapidly around the world in 2003. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 also relies on the ACE2 receptor to infect human cell. Thus, treatment with recombinant human ACE2, can be used to block viral spread, and may minimize lung injury, and multiple organ dysfunction, and ultimately decrease mortality in patients with COVID-19." explained Prof. Slutsky. After seven days of treatment, the trial data will be evaluated and potential further clinical development will be assessed by APEIRON and the IIT team. This trial cooperation has been supported by Dr. Liqun Zhang and team of Angalpharma Co., Ltd (Suzhou, China), for coordinating the Chinese clinical trial with the support of dMed Pharmaceutical Co., a CRO team based in China. About APN01 APN01 is a recombinant human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (rhACE2) and was developed by APEIRON for the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). After licensing from APEIRON in February 2010, GSK conducted trails from 2014 to 2017 to treat ALI and PAH and (ARDS), the latter being the major source of Covid-2019 mortalities, the disease caused by the new corona virus 2019-nCoV. In 2019, APEIRON obtained the APN01 licenses back from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for further clinical development, after a strategic refocusing of GSK to oncology. The ACE2 receptor is expressed in human airway epithelia as well as lung parenchyma and was previously identified as the gateway, which the SARS virus uses to infect the cells. ACE2 is also the critical receptor for the new virus 2019-nCoV to enter human cells. Thus, treatment with recombinant human ACE2 could be used to not only block viraemia but also protect lungs from injury. APEIRON currently has the full licenses, clinical data and protocol from GSK, GMP production technology and stored GMP grade rhACE2 available for immediate use in trials in China. The drug candidate is administered intravenously as an infusion and has shown safety and tolerability in 89 patients and volunteers. About APEIRON Biologics AG APEIRON is a privately-held European biotech company based in Vienna, Austria, focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies. APEIRON received EU marketing approval for APN311 (Dinutuximab beta, Qarziba(R)) in May 2017 for the treatment of pediatric neuroblastoma patients and out-licensed global, exclusive rights for this product to EUSA Pharma Ltd. APEIRON now leverages its proprietary master checkpoint blockade mechanism to enable the human body's natural defense mechanisms to fight the tumor. APEIRON's clinical lead program APN401 is a first-in-class autologous cellular therapy to strengthen immune reactivity via an intracellular master checkpoint, Cbl-b. APEIRON's projects and technologies are bolstered by a strong patent portfolio. APEIRON's development expertise is validated through partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions. For further information please contact: APEIRON Biologics AG Peter Llewellyn-Davies CEO Email: investors@apeiron-biologics.com www.apeiron-biologics.com Media and Investor Relations MC Services AG Julia Hofmann T +49 89 210 228 0 Email: apeiron@mc-services.eu FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of APEIRON as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Senior Congress leader Karan Singh on Wednesday said the Army should be deployed if necessary to bring peace in violence-hit parts of Delhi and a judicial inquiry be conducted to fix responsibility after the situation has returned to normal. After two days of communal clashes that claimed 22 lives, a brittle quiet settled over parts of riot-hit northeast Delhi, but there was violence in some other places with shops set ablaze and the body of an intelligence staffer found in a drain. "Having lived in Delhi for over half a century and represented it in Parliament, I am shocked beyond belief at the vicious communal riots that have broken out in our capital city," Singh, a former Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi, said in a statement. "The loss of lives and extensive destruction of property that have accompanied these riots will remain a blot on our capital for many years to come. I sincerely appeal to all communities not to fall into the trap of communal polarization and violence which can only result in further deaths and disaster," the 88-year-old leader said. Suitable compensation should also be provided to the next of kin of the deceased and to those who suffered loss of property, the former Sadr-i-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir said. "It was essential for the government, which is directly responsible for law and order in the capital, to have intervened effectively as soon as the trouble began. Unfortunately, this did not happen and we have witnessed riots for over three days," he said. "Even at this late stage, I urge that the para-military forces and, if necessary, the army itself should be deployed without any further delay so that the riots are contained and not allowed to spread to other parts of Delhi," he said. After the situation has returned to normal, there should be a full-fledged judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts regarding these terrible events so that responsibility can squarely be fixed on all those who, by their acts of commission or omission, were behind this tragic situation, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) archived recording Across the world, there are rising concerns of a potential coronavirus pandemic after a major jump in cases outside of China. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. archived recording 30 countries and territories, nearly 80,000 cases. michael barbaro Today: archived recording 1 South Korea, which has now 750 cases or more. archived recording 2 And in Iran, where there have been close to 100 cases and the death toll is 15. michael barbaro What began as a public health crisis in China is well on its way to becoming a pandemic. archived recording 1 Its still unclear how the virus made it into Italy. archived recording 2 Four new cases are here on a French territory. archived recording 3 Japan. archived recording 4 Canada. archived recording 5 Afghanistan. archived recording 6 Austria, Switzerland, and Croatia all confirming their first cases. michael barbaro Now. archived recording And the C.D.C. in the last hour, warning Americans to prepare for the possibility of an outbreak. michael barbaro As officials warn of a coming outbreak in the US archived recording C.D.C.s Dr. Nancy Messonnier said its not a question of if the novel coronavirus will spread through the United States, but when. michael barbaro My colleague Donald G. McNeil Jr. on how bad the coronavirus might get. archived recording 1 Outbreak could go any direction. archived recording 2 I do think that we are heading towards a pandemic. michael barbaro Its Thursday, February 27. Donald, I have the sense that you have covered a lot of epidemics in your career. And if this isnt too strange a question, how many epidemics have you covered? donald g. mcneil jr. SARS, MERS, bird flu, 2009 swine flu, Zika. Dengue and chikungunya didnt really become epidemics. And also Ive covered H.I.V., although that started long before my time as a health reporter. And seasonal flu. Have I forgotten anything? Thats enough, right? michael barbaro That seems like enough. That seems like a lot of epidemics. donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah, and this. michael barbaro And by this, you mean donald g. mcneil jr. COVID-19, coronavirus infectious disease 2019. michael barbaro Well, thats the reason we want to talk to you, Donald, is because you have this history and this experience when it comes to epidemics. And at this moment, there is a lot of news about this new virus, the coronavirus, but not a lot of understanding about it. So given your history, how do you rank this epidemic in terms of previous epidemics, in terms of let me use some unscientific words here bigness, scariness, awfulness? donald g. mcneil jr. I spend a lot of time thinking about whether Im being too alarmist or whether Im being not alarmist enough. And this is alarmist, but I think right now, its justified. This one reminds me of what I have read about the 1918 Spanish influenza. And the reason I say that is because, right now, the only measure we have for the death rate from this flu is a study that the Chinese did of the first 45,000 cases. And of those, 80 percent were mild. 20 percent were various degrees of seriousness, up to critical and on a respirator and in organ failure. And 2.3 percent died. Now, 2.5 percent mortality is about the mortality rate of the 1918 flu. michael barbaro Which was a very big deal. donald g. mcneil jr. It was a very big deal epidemic. Now, its not the Black Death. In the Black Death, a third of the world died. But in 1918, not everybody died, but everybody knew somebody who died. I mean, my oldest friends grandmother died. She was a young woman with two kids. She died. Another guy I talked to said, oh, yeah, my grandmothers sister died in that one. michael barbaro I thought you were here to bring calm, Donald. donald g. mcneil jr. Im trying to bring a sense that if things dont change, a lot of us might die. If you have 300 relatively close friends and acquaintances, six of them would die in a 2.5 percent mortality situation. michael barbaro OK, youre painting a pretty scary portrait here. What makes this virus something so lethal and fearsome? What is it specifically about this virus? donald g. mcneil jr. There are six kinds of coronaviruses we know about before. Two of them, SARS and MERS, kill a lot of people. michael barbaro Those are both coronaviruses. donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah. SARS kills about 10 percent of the people who get it. SARS is gone. MERS kills about 30 percent of people who get it. michael barbaro Wow. Those are high death rates. donald g. mcneil jr. Absolutely. But there are four other coronaviruses that cause about a quarter of all the common colds this year. And youve had all of them. Ive had all of them. Everybodys had all of them. michael barbaro So weve had coronaviruses and just maybe not called them coronaviruses. donald g. mcneil jr. Yes, you called them, I had a cold. There are many causes of the common cold, but some of the most popular ones are four different coronaviruses. This doesnt give you a common cold. It attaches deep in your lungs. So you dont get runny nose as much as you get fevers and cough. And then ultimately, if it keeps getting bad, you get pneumonia. And thats what kills a lot of people. michael barbaro The final stage of this. donald g. mcneil jr. And its a viral pneumonia. So giving antibiotics does not help. michael barbaro So what you just said makes me think that in the grand scheme, this coronavirus is not as bad as a SARS or a MERS. So help me understand why, even though its seemingly statistically not as bad as those, it is something quite worrisome? donald g. mcneil jr. SARS and MERS, if you get them, are very likely to kill you. But youre very unlikely to get them because they dont transmit very easily. If you dont hang around camels or emergency rooms in Saudi Arabia, youre unlikely to get MERS. This coronavirus is very transmissible not as transmissible as measles. About as transmissible as flu, maybe a little bit less. But its quite transmissible. We saw that on the Diamond Princess. Here you had a boat with three or four people who might have had the virus on it, then suddenly they were what was it 600 people who had the virus on it. Thats a transmissible virus. michael barbaro And why is it so transmissible? What is it about the virus? Do we know? donald g. mcneil jr. We dont know. We know that it attaches to some receptors deep in the lung called the ACE-2 receptors, but then so do other viruses. We dont know why this one jumps easily. Something in the genome does it, but we havent pinpointed that genetic change yet. michael barbaro So we dont know why its so transmissible, but we do know that its passing from person to person quickly. So how exactly do you contract it? How does it transmit? donald g. mcneil jr. Its transmitted mostly by coughing. And we think its transmitted by fomites, which is to say touching surfaces. So if youre in this room and youve got it, youve coughed all over this table. And I come in later and I dont know you were here. And I, you know, Ive got my hands on the table, and then I pick up my finger and I put it in my eye or my nose. I might get it. And thats scary. Now theres a whole question of is it got aerosol transmission, which means it drifts through the air and might go through the ventilation system into another room. That might be part of it. And there might also be some fecal transmission. But those are unimportant. The main thing is coughing and surfaces. michael barbaro Thats how it gets transmitted. donald g. mcneil jr. Were still in the early days of knowing about this virus, but thats the prevailing theory, that those are the number one and two drivers. michael barbaro My sense is that when it comes to infections, this is not a virus that discriminates. That young people get it. Middle-aged people get it. Old people get it. But do we have a sense of who is most likely to contract this coronavirus? donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah. michael barbaro It sounds like because its so transmissible, almost everybody might be able to get it. donald g. mcneil jr. Oddly enough, children are very unlikely to get this virus. michael barbaro Huh. Why is that? donald g. mcneil jr. Well, nobody knows. The theory Ive seen that makes sense is that kids have enormous numbers of these mild coronaviruses, because thats the typical cold virus. Kids are the ones who get colds. You go to kindergarten, you come back with a cold. So they may have some immunity from having somewhat similar but mild viruses circulating in the child population. Whereas all of us who had those viruses as kids, our immunity to those has waned. And now we have a new coronavirus. michael barbaro Our immune system is just not as prepared. donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah, were susceptible to it. The people who are getting sick and hospitalized is basically people from 30 on up. Most of the people in the hospitals are between 30 and 79, the Chinese said. Now, the people who die is basically the older you are, the more likely you are to die. So far, the large numbers of deaths have been elderly Chinese men. Thats because the virus has been in China. But theres also a phenomenon in China that something like 50 to 80 percent of all men smoke, and only 2 to 3 percent of all women smoke. And once youre a smoker and youre over 50, your lungs are kind of half shot, you know? Youve got emphysema or C.O.P.D., maybe a mild case. But if you get a dangerous lung infection on top of that, youre much less likely to recover. Also once youre over 65, you have an immune system that starts weakening slowly, so youre less able to bounce back from that kind of thing. So we see the death rates are like people in their 80s and then people in their 70s and then people in their 60s. But weve seen people in their 30s die from this. Weve seen some of the doctors, you know, including the famous doctor Li Wenliang, who tried to raise the alarm. He was 33 or 34, and he died. michael barbaro And how do you explain that? donald g. mcneil jr. He might have been unlucky, and he might have gotten a big blast of virus from a lot of patients. Even with viruses, the dose, to some extent, makes the poison. If you get a big load of virus in one blast, your bodys overwhelmed more quickly by it. And that may have happened to him. michael barbaro Youve been talking about this death rate of around 2 or 2.5 percent from this coronavirus. And you mentioned earlier that that is a lot like the Spanish flu of 1918. For those of us who didnt live in the early twentieth century, can you put this into a more modern context? How does this compare with the annual flu? How does this compare with something maybe a little more knowable for us? donald g. mcneil jr. OK, this is not like the annual flu. The annual flu, in a bad year, has a death rate of around 0.1 percent. So were talking about 20 times as bad. michael barbaro Thats very meaningful. donald g. mcneil jr. When people were going around saying, oh, not to worry about this. You should get a flu shot because the flu is a bigger threat. Yes. At this moment, the flu is a bigger threat, definitely, in the United States. But dont think you have nothing to worry about. One thing that might happen is it might not get here in a big wave until the fall. That happened in 1918. There was a spring wave that was scary, and then the virus mostly disappeared in the summer, because a lot of viruses dont like hot weather. But then when it came back in the fall and winter, that was the real killer wave. And thats when a lot of people died. But we conventionally say that if the 1918 flu came back today, it wouldnt be as deadly. michael barbaro Because its not 1918. donald g. mcneil jr. Because in 1918, we didnt have antibiotics, and a lot of people died of secondary bacterial pneumonias. We didnt have mechanical ventilators to put people on. We didnt have the steroids that cuts down on lung inflammation. We have a lot of things in modern medical care that we didnt have then. But whats disturbing about what you see happening in China is that a lot of people are going into hospitals and they are getting antibiotics, and they are getting Tamiflu, and they are getting antivirals, and they are getting steroids, and they are getting put on ventilators. And they still die. And thats unexpected, and its quite spooky. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. archived recording 1 Back now with scientists around the world working day and night to contain the coronavirus. archived recording 2 Chinese now sharing information with the World Health Organization in the hope that it will lead to treatments for the coronavirus, but archived recording 3 There has been an effort to secure funding with Congress, some $2.5 billion used for vaccine development, treatment, as well as archived recording 4 Top health authorities have played down the rising hopes about a vaccine, as well as a treatment for the coronavirus. [music] michael barbaro Donald, I want to move into diagnosis and treatment. Right now correct me if Im wrong there is no treatment. donald g. mcneil jr. Correct. Right now, there is no treatment. I mean, theres treatment in that you hospitalize somebody. You put them on oxygen. Then you give them antibiotics so they dont get a secondary bacterial pneumonia or things like that. But theres nothing that actually cures this virus. michael barbaro Or prevents it. donald g. mcneil jr. Correct. Nothing that prevents this virus. michael barbaro So what are the most promising possibilities out there to do either of those things? And whats the timeframe were looking at to do that? donald g. mcneil jr. There are several anti-viral drugs that are being tested. Some have been used against H.I.V. Some have been tried against Ebola and didnt work. Theres an anti-malaria drug theyre trying as ways of stopping this. Theyre doing tests on them in China now. And we may know the results of that trial within the next two or three weeks. michael barbaro So far, then, none of the experimental treatments for this are known to work. donald g. mcneil jr. Theyre still in the testing phase. michael barbaro Got it. Do we know anything? donald g. mcneil jr. Frankly, I think if there was something that was a miracle drug, it would have leaked right now. They ethically, if it was a miracle, theyd have to stop the trial early and just give everybody that drug. michael barbaro OK, what about a vaccine, something that would prevent this virus? donald g. mcneil jr. A vaccine is going to take pretty close to a year to produce. michael barbaro A year. donald g. mcneil jr. A year. michael barbaro Thats a really long time. donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah, so were not if this virus arrives here, we will not have a vaccine. And the reason is, you have to do the safety and efficacy trials. And those have to be done in animals, and then they have to be done in people. And first you have to do them in a small number of people, and then you do them in a large number of people. Because when you dont do that, you may find and this has happened that the vaccine makes the problem worse. michael barbaro What do you mean? donald g. mcneil jr. Well, there have been vaccines that have caused horrible side effects in the past. And there also have been vaccines that actually make you more susceptible to the disease. There was a dengue vaccine that appeared to make children more susceptible to dengue. There was an H.I.V. vaccine trial that had to be stopped because it made people more likely to catch H.I.V. michael barbaro OK, so during this year when a vaccine would be under development, but not yet available, paint a portrait of what is likely to happen. Now I know, based on my many years as a Times reporter, science and health reporters here do not like to speculate. But I am going to, with your permission, ask you to speculate a little bit about what that year looks like, the worst-case scenario and the best-case scenario. donald g. mcneil jr. I dont know whats going to happen. But keep in mind, the 1918 flu was really the 1918-1919 flu. It started in the spring, faded in the summer, came back like a monster in the fall. That would be a worst-case kind of scenario. That we dont have a vaccine yet by the fall, and the disease hits us hard then. michael barbaro In that scenario, could almost every person in the country who is not a child get the virus? donald g. mcneil jr. Some big chunk of the country 30, 40, 50 percent are likely to get a new virus when it blows through. And if you dont get it in the first wave, you might get it in the second wave. michael barbaro And 2 percent lethality rate of 50 percent of the country. I dont want to do that math. Its really, really awful. donald g. mcneil jr. Its a lot of people. It means, you know, you dont die. 80 percent of people have mild cases. But you know somebody who dies. michael barbaro Thats pretty horrible. donald g. mcneil jr. Yeah. Right now, its a smaller threat than the flu for us in the United States right now, but it could be a lot worse. And take that threat seriously. And thats what the C.D.C. is saying, too. Prepare. Its not just prepare as in stock up on food and buy masks. Its more like, mentally prepare yourself for what would happen if you and all of your friends had to stay home for a month, or not be able to ride the subways, or supermarkets ran low on food. Or, you know, your medicine your insulin or your H.I.V. meds or your heart meds or whatever it is you take wasnt available because the supply lines from China have been cut off. So weve got to mentally prepare ourselves for something like that. michael barbaro OK. Now, the best-case scenario. donald g. mcneil jr. The best-case scenario is one of these drugs works, and basically everybody gets sick next year, but everybody who is hospitalized gets a drug that keeps them from dying and keeps them from going into deep, deep, deep respiratory distress. And we have the equivalent of a bad flu season. And then everybody says, oh, the media, they blew it out of proportion again. You know, its all ridiculous. And, you know, I get blamed. So, too bad. Its happened before. michael barbaro So at this point, American health officials are saying its just a matter of time and theyre not saying how much time before this virus reaches the U.S. in a pretty meaningful way and starts to spread. So how prepared is this country? donald g. mcneil jr. Not prepared enough. And its hard to know exactly how prepared we need to be. michael barbaro Why do you say not enough? donald g. mcneil jr. Well, in any bad flu season, hospitals put people on all their ventilators. We have a National Strategic Stockpile, which has a lot of stuff in it masks, gowns, gloves, drugs, even some ventilators. But you cant stockpile enough ventilators to put a ventilator is like a cost of a car. Its $25,000 to $50,000. Hospitals cant go out and order an extra hundred of those. And if they did order an extra hundred of those michael barbaro It would take awhile. donald g. mcneil jr. It would take awhile. And also you need at least three people to staff that ventilator with the patient on it around the clock. And thats a lot of trained respiratory technicians and things. So if we get hit with a gigantic epidemic of a lot of people with pneumonia needing to be on breathing machines, were not prepared for that. michael barbaro What about preparations beyond ventilators? donald g. mcneil jr. What happened in China, with the shutdown of Wuhan and Hubei province during Tet, during New Year, was the equivalent of shutting down Chicago and most of that surrounding part of the Midwest at Christmas time and telling people, you are now going to stay in Chicago. You cant leave. You cant see your families. All the flights are canceled. All the trains are canceled. All the highways are closed. Youre going to stay in there. And youre locked in with a deadly disease. We can do it. michael barbaro Would we do that? donald g. mcneil jr. We can do it, but were not used to being controlled from the top down the way people have been in China. So I dont know whats going to happen in the United States. Were not mentally prepared to fight a sort of peoples war against an epidemic, which is what happened in China. [music] michael barbaro Before I let you go, I feel like I have to ask you, given your experience covering these kinds of epidemics, what kind of preparations are you personally making? donald g. mcneil jr. I have food in the basement anyway. I always have about a months worth of food in the basement, because thats the kind of person I am. Ill probably order some more of my heart you know, blood pressure medicine, you know, so that I have another 90-day supply. I shouldnt stockpile masks. Im against it. I did go out and buy a box of 10 masks back in January. I feel a little ashamed I did that, because really those masks are more important on health care workers than they are on me. Otherwise, Im not sure theres much you can do. You know, I take some comfort in the fact that 80 percent of the people have a mild disease, and that might be me and everybody I love, too. We might all get lucky. But not everybody we know is going to get lucky if this turns into something like 1918. [music] michael barbaro Well thank you, Donald. donald g. mcneil jr. Youre welcome. michael barbaro On Wednesday, U.S. health officials reported the first American infected with the coronavirus who had not traveled to countries in which the disease was circulating. Such an infection may represent a case of community transmission, which would be a turning point for the virus in the U.S. [music] archived recording (donald trump) I have just received another briefing from a great group of talented people on the virus that is going around to various parts of the world. We michael barbaro On Wednesday night, President Trump addressed the nation about the virus from the White House, heralding his administrations handling of the situation so far, describing the risk to Americans as low and appointing his Vice President, Mike Pence, to oversee the response effort. archived recording (donald trump) We were ready to adapt, and were ready to do whatever we have to as the disease spreads, if it spreads. michael barbaro Asked whether the U.S. would undertake the kind of sweeping measures used to contain the virus in China, the president said that nothing was off the table. archived recording Mr. President, have you been presented any plans that would involve quarantining cities like we saw in China? And what would have to happen for you to take a step? archived recording (donald trump) We do have plans of a much on a much larger scale, should we need that. Were working with states. Were working with virtually every state. And we do have plans on a larger scale if we need it. We dont think were going to need it, but, you know, you always have to be prepared. michael barbaro As of Wednesday, more new cases of infection were reported outside of China than inside of it. The total number of cases has now surpassed 80,000, and nearly 3,000 have died. [music] Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording [CROWD SHOUTING] michael barbaro At least 25 people have died in some of Indias worst Hindu-Muslim violence in years. archived recording [CROWD SHOUTING] michael barbaro The violence began with a speech from a local Hindu official calling for the forceful removal of Muslims, who were protesting Indias new citizenship law, which is widely seen as discriminating against Muslims. Within hours of that speech, violence had broken out, much of it directed at Muslims. The latest case of what many inside and outside of India see as the rising danger of Hindu nationalism. [music] Game Art senior Azalea Rosado uses digital content creation (DCC) tools in virtual reality (projected on a large screen for classmates to see) in UArts' new VR class for arts students, gamers, and theater majors. Read more Today is make-a-useless-object day at Artmaking in Virtual Reality class at Phillys University of the Arts, and senior Azalea Rosado is crafting a pair of virtual spiked underwear. Wearing a pair of VR goggles and holding some intuitive controls, shes drafting the uncomfortable 3D garment, which instructor Erik Van Horn can see taking shape on the monitor in front of her. Rosado is a game arts major who hopes to one day design and produce video games, and the new VR class, the first of its kind at UArts new Center for Immersive Media, has given her a new way to make her art. The useless-object exercise is meant to acquaint the class with the new technology as the semester starts, but Rosado is already thinking of ways to incorporate her useless underwear into a video game, perhaps as punishment for a gamers avatar that fails to level up. For UArts, the aggressive push into VR is a way to help build the universitys brand as an innovator in creative fields, according to UArts president David Yager. It sends a message about our brand, which is about creativity," he said. "And that can mean dance or theater or music, but also the larger idea of expressing yourself, and VR is a tool that can achieve that in many different ways. Yager brought an interest in VR with him when he arrived as president in 2016, after stints at the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus and University of California, Santa Cruz, where he emphasized visual arts innovation. He said hed also been hearing about the importance of VR from UArts visiting artists, whod been using the technology in their work across a variety of disciplines, and so made the $1.7 million commitment to retrofit space in an old campus building space that had been used to build theater sets. Now, it has trusses and camera mounts for motion-capture performances, and classrooms where students can work on games and 3D modeling in a variety of ways. Looking ahead, he also sees the schools VR investment as a way to put UArts at the center of collaborative relationships with local partners, including a proposed a joint venture with Jefferson University Hospital to create a virtual emergency room that will help physicians work through a variety of high-pressure situations. Yager, who holds a faculty position in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, worked with doctors there to use the immersive technology to help manage pediatric patients pain by redirecting the childrens focus. The potential for VR applications, he said, is unlimited. I know some exciting things are going to happen. I dont know exactly what they are, and thats what excites me the most. Spiked underwear as muse Spiked underwear artist Rosado, a senior, enrolled in the VR class as a way to round out and expand her curriculum in gaming, a passion that started when she was 4, playing Mario Kart on a GameCube at her home in the Northeast. When the class was introduced I was super-hyped, even if I didnt totally know what to expect, she said. Now, shes looking past the boundaries of conventional game design, inspired by the VR format to think of how to make games in that world. Rosados keen gamer skills have obviously helped her absorb the VR process quickly. Using control devices in each hand, shes drawing lines and adding color with impressive speed, rotating the object so that she can inspect it and add color, mass, and form in all dimensions. Compared to the tools used to design conventional games she said, Its a much faster process." Thats been consistent through the class, said instructor Van Horn, UArts program director for animation and game art. The software that creates the VR modeling environment may be complex, but the interface is incredibly easy and intuitive, he said. The students are able to work fast. Its so much faster than a keyboard and a mouse. That makes it a great way to ideate, Van Horn said. Its so fast and intuitive that all kinds of students find it useful. Colin Sass attends UArts to study theater design and can use the VR technology to build virtual sets that enable him to plot and build the dimensions, so the elements can essentially be measured beforehand. There are huge advantages, he said, to being able to make something that feels physical. Sass can construct and design a 3D stage in the VR realm, and even create virtual lighting that shows where shadows fall on stage. That means Sass can create a space that matches the precise characteristics of his real-world stage and create objects with dimensions that can be modeled in VR before the hands-on phase. There is less worry, for instance, of cutting the wood down too much. Going full Andy Serkis Ryan Pater, a graduate student and actor, is using VR to design and create a stage mask. The data stored when the VR model is created can be plugged into a 3D printer, making the manufacturing process flexible and easy. Hes already thinking of going full Andy Serkis (Gollum in Lord of the Rings, and Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) using the VR modeling capabilities to capture a performance, then add a digital outer layer, erasing the line between what can be imagined and what can be created, he said. It allows actors to create characters who are [physically] so different from ourselves, he said, "and thats very intriguing. Yager said the goal from the outset was to create a cross-fertilization of students and ideas at the new VR studio. The concept of this was that it was a university facility and it wasnt owned by any one department. What we hoped would happen is exactly what is happening. The students, he said, are "figuring out how to collaborate, and how to construct a project in completely new ways. The university wasnt sure it would have enough interested students to fill even one class, he said, but decided to offer three and quickly filled every slot after word of the new course circulated among students on social media. As the Post-Dispatchs Nassim Benchaabane reports, Gateway Elementary kindergartner David Birchfield III, age 6, was killed Saturday afternoon at least the fifth child killed or wounded by guns in St. Louis in this still-young year. He was in a car in the Kingsway East neighborhood midday with his mother, her two other children and a male driver, when the assailant opened fire. Police have no suspects, so theres no way yet to know how the shooter obtained his gun. But its not hard for even a criminal to get one in St. Louis, or anywhere else in Missouri, and to carry it around at will. The supposedly pro-life, Republican-controlled Legislature has made sure of that. Federal law requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks to screen out felons, but theres no such requirement for private sales whether at gun shows, over a neighbors fence or from a stranger in an alley. States like Illinois have closed this outrageous loophole, but Missouri refuses, meaning felons can easily buy guns here. The states concealed-carry system means they can then carry those guns around without a permit. [February 26, 2020] RTI Earns 2020 Great Place to Work Certification for the Second Consecutive Year SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real-Time Innovations (RTI) , the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity company, today announced its re-certification as a 2020 Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work organization. RTI achieved an outstanding score; 94 percent of RTI employees agree that RTI is a great place to work. This is 35% higher than the national average. The rigorous certification process is based on a global employee survey, a detailed culture audit and a comprehensive assessment of company benefits, policies and philosophies. To earn certification, a company must achieve consistently high ratings across all categories. RTI received a 97 percent confidence rating for its cooperative environment, the strength of its management team and the genuine care and comradery between all employees, no matter their role on the team. No critic is tougher than an internal audience. Being named a Great Place to Work for a second year in a row by our employees is truly an honor. RTIs most important asset is our culture that we call 1RTI. 1RTI simply and profoundly means that we truly work together; we are stronger as a team than we are as individuals, said Stan Schneider, CEO of RTI. A great workplace stems from great people, clear underlying values and an important mission. At RTI, we foster an environment that inspires us to do good, empowers us to do well and enables us to change the world. The Great Place to Work survey highlighted a variety of key factors that make RTI a truly great workplace. Employees consistently said they were proud of the RTI company culture, in that employees express a genuine interest in their co-workers and their lives and passions outside of work. Flexible vacation time, bonuses and the annual Company Kick Off (CKO) are also highly regarded perks. We congratulate Real-Time Innovations on their Certification, said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Best Workplace List Research at Great Place to Work. Organizations that earn their employees trust create great workplace cltures that deliver outstanding business results. For more information about what its like to work at RTI and for a list of our current open positions, please visit our careers page: www.rti.com/careers . About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place to Work helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Emprising, their culture management platform, empowers leaders with the surveys, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Their unparalleled benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified companies and the Best Workplaces in the US and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For and Worlds Best list published annually in Fortune. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a Great Place to Work For All. To learn more, visit greatplacetowork.com, listen to the podcast Better by Great Place to Work, and read A Great Place to Work for All. Join the community on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Instagram . About RTI Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity company. The RTI Connext Databus is a software framework that shares information in real time, making applications work together as one integrated system. It connects across field, fog and cloud. Its reliability, security, performance and scalability are proven in the most demanding industrial systems. Deployed systems include medical devices and imaging; wind, hydro and solar power; autonomous planes, trains and cars; traffic control; Oil and Gas; robotics, ships, and defense. RTI is the largest vendor of products based on the Object Management Group (OMG) Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Download a free 30-day trial of the latest, fully-functional Connext DDS software today: https://www.rti.com/downloads . Media Contacts: Madeline Kalicka Karbo Communications for RTI 240-427-8961 [email protected] Cameron Emery Director of Corporate Communications at RTI [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] US President Donald Trump addressing a press brief alone said that he had done the most against terrorism, and reiterated that the Islamic State (ISIS) has been 100% dismantled. Appending to the list, the US President said that under his administration ISIS so-called caliph Abu Bakr Baghdadi, Al Qaeda's Hamza bin Laden and even Iran's top guard Qasem Soleimani was killed. He said, "I don't think anybody has done more than I have. We have 100% of the caliphate, we have tens and thousands of people in the prison which is guarded by the Kurds. We killed Baghdadi a few months ago, Soleimani is gone. Hamza bin Laden is now gone, Al Qaeda last week you saw what happened." Asserting that other countries should act upon terror, Trump said, "At the same time, Russia should do, Iran, Iraq, and Syria should do. Iran hates ISIS, they should do. We are down to a small force in Iraq, we'll have a small force in Afghanistan. We are moving out." READ| Donald Trump calls Osama bin Laden, Hamza "tall, very handsome" ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in Syria's Idlib by a US airstrike on October 26 last year, Iran's military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in an airstrike in Iraq on January 3 by the US forces, souring US-Iran relations further. Trump on Pakistan Maintaining his reservations over the terror emanating from Pakistan, Trump said, "The US is 8000 miles away from Pakistan, so others should do something about it. We've killed thousands of ISIS soldiers," further added that he shares a good relationship with both, Prime Minister Modi and Pakistani PM Imran Khan. Describing the Kashmir issue as a "big problem" between India and Pakistan, he said it is "a thorn in a lot of people's sides" and reiterated his offer to mediate between the two countries to ease the tension. "If anything I can do to meditate, I will do," he said, adding that Pakistan figured in his talks with Modi. "I have a good equation with Pakistan PM Imran Khan. They are working to control cross-border terrorism," he said. READ| US-Iran tensions: Israel, China, Russia pick sides; here's how rest of the world reacted READ| Spy stole Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's underwear for DNA identification Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained two teenagers in the city of Saratov on suspicion of plotting a deadly gun-and-bomb attack in a local school amid a rise in school-shooting cases in the country. The FSB said on February 26 that the two teens, both born in 2005, were members of online groups propagating mass killing and suicide. According to the FSB, a sawed-off shotgun was confiscated from the boys, who also planned to make explosives using manuals available online. The FSB also made public videos showing the two boys during questioning, where one of them says they planned the attack as "revenge." It did not elaborate. One boy said that he did not care how many people might be killed in the attack, while the other said he planned to kill at least 40 people and that the attack was planned for May. Last week, the FSB said that its officers had prevented a school attack in the city of Kerch in Russia-controlled Crimea, while a court in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk sentenced a teenager to eight years in prison after convicting him of a planning a school shooting. Historically, attacks at schools in Russia and other former Soviet republics are uncommon. However, in recent years they have been on the rise. The latest occurred at a college in the far eastern city of Blagoveshchensk in November. One student was killed before the shooter took his own life. In October 2018, an 18-year-old student killed 20 people in a gun-and-bomb attack in a college in Kerch before fatally shooting himself. In April 2019, a court in the Urals city of Perm sentenced a 17-year-old to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of a knife attack in January 2018 at his school that left 12 people hospitalized with stab wounds. Also in January 2018, a ninth-grader attacked fellow students with an ax and other weapons in the Siberian region of Buryatia. In April 2018, a teenager in the Russian region of Bashkortostan entered his school and stabbed a female student and a teacher before setting a classroom on fire. Another girl sustained serious injuries when she fled by jumping from a second-story window. With reporting by Interfax and TASS New Delhi, Feb 26 : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that the Delhi government will give a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of head constable Ratan Lal who was killed in violence in northeast Delhi. Speaking in the Assembly, Kejriwal, who had visited the family on Tuesday, said: "As per the Delhi government's policy, we will give Rs 1 crore to head constable Ratan Lal's family." "Politics of hatred and violence will not be tolerated. Common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence; outsiders, some political elements are involved in it," he said. Kejriwal later in the day, along with his deputy Manish Sisodia and other party leaders, visited the violence hit areas of northeast Delhi and met the local residents. He also went to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital to meet the injured people. Over 27 people have lost their lives while over 200 people are injured in the violence which swept northeast Delhi area since Sunday morning after the pro and anti-CAA groups clashed. Apart from the Delhi Police head constable, an Intelligence Bureau operative was killed in the area. On Wednesday, the body of the IB staffer, identified as Ankit Sharma, was fished out of the drain in Chand Bagh area. Holding the Central and the Delhi governments responsible for the communal violence in the city that has left at least 20 dead, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation as she addressed a rare press conference. She spoke to the media after chairing a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, and alleged there was a "well-planned" conspiracy behind the violence, that has also led to injuries to more than 200 people over the past three days. The CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, deliberated on the issue and passed a resolution, demanding answers from both the governments, while also urging the people of Delhi to "reject the of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events". "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central Government and particularly the Home Minister and calls upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," said Gandhi, reading out the CWC resolution. She went on to attack the AAP dispensation, saying Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his government are "equally responsible for not activating the administration" to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. "It is the collective failure of the two governments that has resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day," she read out from the CWC resolution. The Congress had also planned to march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the meeting to hand over a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind over the issue, but they postponed it as the President gave them time for a meeting on Thursday. But, the Delhi Congress will be taking out a peace march from the party headquarters later in the day with many AICC leaders in attendance. The Congress president also hit out at BJP leader Kapil Mishra for making a statement that allegedly incited the violence in the city. "The conspiracy was witnessed during Delhi polls and BJP leaders gave hate speeches creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred. On Sunday, a BJP leader has given inflammatory speech by giving a three-day ultimatum to Delhi Police," she said. She said the tragic events since last Sunday have a "history, design and pattern" which was evident even during the Delhi elections. "The deliberate inaction of the Central & State governments in the last 72 hours has resulted in 20 lives being been lost so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries, including a journalist," she said. The Centre, the home minister and the Delhi government are responsible for the situation in the national capital, the Congress chief said. "Union Home Minister Shah must take responsibility for the violence in Delhi and resign," she said. "The CWC demands answers to questions -- Where was the Home Minister and what was he doing since last Sunday? Where was the Chief Minister of Delhi and what was he doing since last Sunday?" she said. Gandhi asked what were the reports given by intelligence agencies in the days immediately after the Delhi elections and leading upto today, and also what was the strength of the police force deployed on the night of Sunday when there were clear indications that violence will break out. "Why were additional security forces not called immediately when it was clear that the situation was beyond the control of the Delhi police," the Congress chief asked. The CWC resolution also appealed to the people of Delhi to "reject the of hate and...to help rebuild all that has been lost and to ensure that such events do not take place ever again". It also called upon all Congress workers and leaders to visit the violence-hit areas and extend all possible support to the affected families and to help build bridges between communities. "This would be the most fitting tribute to Mother India." "The CWC believes the situation is grave and an urgent action is required and adequate security forces must be deployed to bring situation under control and peace committees must be formed in mohallas," Gandhi said, reading out from the CWC resolution. The Delhi chief minister must be visible in the affected areas and stay in constant communication with the people, she said. This is the Congress president's first press conference at the AICC headquarters in many years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ipsos in 2019: A Dynamic Year 2019 Revenue: 2,003.3 million Organic growth: +3.8%, of which Q4: +5.6% Paris, February 26, 2020 - Ipsos generated over 2 billion in revenue in 2019, 14.5% increase on FY 2018. 2019 is the first year in which revenue passed the 2 billion mark, ten years after hitting the 1 billion mark in 2010. In 2019, Ipsos posted growth on the back of strong operating performances with: an organic component at constant exchange rates and scope of 3.8%, the best annual performance since 2011; plus scope effects (+8.6%) resulting from the acquisition in the final months of 2018 of GfK Research and Synthesio; and lastly, exchange rates had a 2.3% positive effect. In Q4 2019, these same factors also explain revenue levels, though with different weightings. Q4 quarterly revenue broke the 600 million mark for the first time ever, up 12.1% on the 535.6 million in Q4 2018. Organic growth in Q4 2019 was 5.6%, almost twice the level of the three previous quarters. Scope effects amounted to 3.7%, much lower than for the full-year, with GfK Research having been included in the Ipsos financial statements in October 2018 and Synthesio a month later. Only exchange rate effects had similar quarterly and annual trends, of 2.2% and 2.3% respectively. The strong performance in Q4 2019 is a positive effect of the implementation of the Total Understanding project which commenced the 1st of July 2018 and through 31st of December 2018. Thanks to this new organization, Ipsos is better positioned to meet the needs of a very large number of public and private companies and institutions, and to generate information that is reliable, clear, usable, offers a competitive edge or, in any event, is conducive to better decision-making. The Ipsos market is dynamic and, like many other markets, is moving towards demand for concrete and specific uses. PERFORMANCE BY AUDIENCE In millions 2019 Contribution Total growth 2019 / 2018 Organic growth Consumers1 944.4 47% 8.5% 2.5% Clients and employees2 485.8 24% 18.1% 4% Citizens3 259.8 13% 28.8% 7% Doctors and patients4 313.2 16% 17.7% 5% Annual revenue 2,003.3 100% 14.5% 3.8% Breakdown of each business line by segment: 1 - Brand Health, Clinics & Mobility Labs, Creative Excellence, Innovation, Ipsos UU, Ipsos MMA, Market Strategy & Understanding, Observer, Social Intelligence Analytics (excl. pharma and the public sector) 2 - Customer Experience, Market Measurement, Mystery Shopping, Quality Measurement, Retail Performance, ERM, Audience Measurement, Media Development 3 - Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation 4 - Pharma (quantitative and qualitative) The positive performance posted by Ipsos is across all target audiences, including consumers, clients and employees, citizens, as well as doctors and patients. PERFORMANCE BY REGION In millions 2019 Contribution Total growth 2019 / 2018 Organic growth EMEA 859.6 43% 12.9% 2% Americas 769.9 38% 17.8% 4% Asia-Pacific 373.7 19% 11.7% 7% Annual revenue 2,003.3 100% 14.5% 3.8% This positive performance can also be seen across all regions, although Asia-Pacific continues to lead with organic growth of 7%, well ahead of the Americas (+4%) and EMEA (Europe / Middle East / Africa) (+2%). Ipsos performed particularly well in major markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, Turkey and India. These performances, which were above average, were not, however, exclusive to the major markets. Ipsos teams have also made progress in Eastern Europe and Northern and South-Eastern Asia. Some countries in Western Europe and also in the Middle East and Africa saw slower growth than the company average. Their goal will be to do better in 2020. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Condensed income statement In millions 2019 2018 Change 2019 / 2018 Revenue 2,003.3 1,749.5 14.5% Gross margin 1,288.5 1,138.4 13.2% Gross margin/revenue 64.3% 65.1% - Operating margin 198.7 172.4 15.2% Operating margin/revenue 9.9% 9.9% - Other non-recurring income and expense (16.4) (5.3) - Finance costs (26.6) (21.3) 25.2% Income tax (36.9) (38.5) -4.2% Net profit attributable to owners of the parent 104.8 107.5 -2.5% Adjusted net profit* attributable to owners of the parent 129.5 125.2 3.4% *Adjusted net profit is calculated before (i) non-cash items related to IFRS 2 (share-based compensation), (ii) amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets (client relations), (iii) the impact net of tax of other non-current income, (iv) expense and the non-monetary impact of changes in puts in other financial income and expenses, (v) deferred tax liabilities related to goodwill for which amortization is deductible in some countries. Application of new accounting standards IFRS 16 Ipsos applied IFRS 16 as of January 1, 2019. In doing so, it elected to use the simplified modified retrospective approach, with the impact of the first-time application being recognized in equity on the date of transition and with the right-of-use being calculated from the outset. The impact on opening equity was (9.6) million. A right-of-use of 157 million was recognized as of January 1, 2019 alongside lease liabilities of 179 million. With regard to the income statement, the application of IFRS16 had a 5.1 million positive impact on operating margins and an equivalent negative impact on finance costs. Net profit was thus not affected. IFRIC 23 The IFRIC 23 interpretation had no impact on the Ipsos financial statements other than the reclassification of a 0.3 million tax provision under current tax liabilities in the balance sheet. Effects of the acquisition of GfK Research Ipsos completed the acquisition of four global divisions of GfK's custom research business: "Customer Experience", "Experience Innovation", "Health" and "Public Affairs" for an enterprise value of 105 million in October 2018. Given the manner in which this deal was structured and in light of the transition period required for the continuity and quality of data provided to customers, Ipsos posted 30 million in revenue in 2018. This increased to 175 million in 2019 and should be around 200 million in full-year 2020. The profitability of these divisions was below the Ipsos Group average in 2018 and 2019 and should converge with it in 2020. Income statement items The gross margin (which is calculated by deducting direct variable and external costs associated with contract delivery from revenue) stood at 64.3% compared with 65.1% in 2018. The fall in the percentage gross margin was due to a less favorable mix created by the integration of the four divisions of GfK Research with gross margins under the Group average by virtue of activities that by their very nature have lower-margin collection processes. Excluding this change in scope, the percentage gross margin would have been unchanged at 65.3%. Regarding operating costs, payroll was up 14.5% with 9% being due to acquisitions. The cost of variable share-based compensation fell slightly to 6.9 million from 8.9 million in 2018, due to the extension of the vesting period of the bonus share plans from two years to three years in 2018, which had a positive effect in 2019. Overheads are under control, rising 5.5% despite revenue growing more quickly. Overall, the Group's operating margin was 198.7 million, representing 9.9% of revenue and unchanged on 2018 levels, primarily due to the effects of acquisitions. At constant scope, the operating margin would have been 10.3%. Under the operating margin, the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets for the portion of goodwill allocated to client relations over the 12 months from the date of acquisition and which is amortized in the income statement over multiple years in line with IFRS. This line item amounted to 5.2 million, up from 4.4 million previously. Other non-current and non-recurring income and expenses totaled -7.3 million compared with +4.9 million the previous year. This line is composed of exceptional non-operating items. In 2019, it includes the acquisition costs of 2.4 million as well as costs of ongoing restructuring plans of 24.6 million, the level of which is above previous years, mostly because of the remaining costs of implementating of the TUP programme as well the integration costs of GfK Research. This line item includes also a net positive amount of 11.8 million from the decision to capitalize internal development costs as of 1st January 2018 (this net amount was 14.8 million in 2018). It should be noted that the Group previously only capitalized external development costs when criteria laid down in its accounting policies were satisfied. Following the improvement in its internal monitoring system, Ipsos was able to use the same criteria to capitalize its internal development costs consisting of the employee benefit expenses of its teams working on its platforms and projects. This decision resulted in a clearer understanding of the total cost of the Research and Development done by Ipsos. This resulted in a change in the accounting estimates of the sums currently capitalized. In accordance with IAS 8, the prospective method was applied as from January 1, 2018 for the purposes of recognizing these impacts in the profit and loss statement. In order to prevent operating margin trends being distorted by the recognition of the capitalization of an item not offset by amortization in the first fiscal years following this change in accounting estimates, the positive effects on operating profit of this first period of recognition of intangible assets were classified under "other non-current and non-recurring income and expenses", under operating margin. It had been decided in 2018 that the same treatment would be applied for the following four fiscal years, with the positive effect on the income statement reducing each year, until such time as the implementation of the capitalization was at a consistent level in 2022, given an amortization period typically of five years for such assets. Financing costs. Net interest expenses totaled 26.6 million, up from 21.3 million on the back of the higher debt levels from October 2018 in connection with the financing of the GfK Research and Synthesio acquisitions. Income tax. The effective tax rate in the IFRS income statement was 25.9%, compared with 26.2% the previous year. This includes deferred tax liabilities of 2.3 million which offsets the tax savings achieved as a result of the tax deductibility of the amortization of goodwill in some countries, even though this deferred tax expense would only be due in the event of the disposal of the operations in question (and which is thus restated in adjusted net profit). Net profit (attributable to owners of the parent), amounted to 104.8 million compared with 107.5 million in 2018. Adjusted net profit (attributable to owners of the parent), which is the relevant indicator consistently used to measure performance, amounted to 129.5 million, up 3.4% from the 125.2 million in 2018. Financial structure Cash flow. Cash flow amounted to 266.4 million, compared with 206.3 million in 2018 due to 44.7 million in accounting entries required by IFRS 16. By contrast, financing activities included two new line items: "Net repayment of lease liabilities" of 40.2 million and "Net interest paid on lease obligations" of 4.5 million, the application of IFRS 16 having no impact on total cash and cash equivalents. The working capital requirement saw a negative change of 52.7 million due to the upswing in revenue, particularly in Q4 2019, resulting in an increase in trade receivables of 75.6 million. Current investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets mainly related to IT investments, totaling 43.2 million in 2019 compared with 49.0 million in 2018. Regarding non-current investments, Ipsos invested 22.9 million over the year in its acquisition program, spending 5 million in connection with GfK Research, in particular buying out non-controlling interests in the US company, and taking a 10% non-controlling interest in QuestBack, a company developing a customer and employee relationship management platform (announced in February). Worth noting: The acquisitions of Maritz Mystery Shopping business and Askia, announced earlier this year, will be integrated in the group accounts as of 1st February 2020. Equity stood at 1,123 million at December 31, 2019 compared with the 1,035 million reported at December 31, 2018. Net borrowings stood at 578.4 million at December 31, 2019, slightly higher than December 31, 2018 (574.6 million) as they included the financing of the monies invested in the acquisition program and the payment of 38.6 million in dividends in July 2019. The net debt ratio dropped to 51.5%, down from 55.5% the previous year. Cash position. Closing cash and cash equivalents stood at 165.4 million at December 31, 2019 compared with 167.8 million at December 31, 2018, giving Ipsos a strong cash position alongside available credit facilities of close to 500 million. At the General Shareholders' Meeting on May 28 2020, a dividend payout of 0.89 per share will be proposed in respect of FY 2019, payable on July 3, 2020, up 1.1% and representing a payout ratio of close to 30% having regard to adjusted net profit of 2.95 per share. OUTLOOK FOR 2020 Throughout 2019, Ipsos strengthened its position with a large number of clients, across a broad range of markets. This is evidenced by the strong performance in Q4 2019. The volume of orders at the end of January 2020 was high. This being said, the Coronavirus outbreak in China in January 2020, which from early February then spread to other countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, raises several questions about 2020 activity. It is not possible at this stage to make reliable forecasts since the sequence of events is uncertain. This is true for markets, Ipsos clients and Ipsos itself. Who would have thought, even a week ago, that many factories and offices would reopen at least partially in China while universities, schools and other public places would close indefinitely in Milan? Other markets will without doubt also be affected by the epidemic. It is, obviously, impossible to make an exhaustive and complete list. However, it is likely that, in each country where a strict or more relaxed quarantine is imposed, be this only for a few days or a few weeks, there will be a slowdown in economic activity, the needs for priority information will be reassessed and investment programs rescheduled. Some companies will face temporary challenges on account of the contribution of China to their business and other affected countries. It is, however, possible to state a few facts and make some assumptions. Ipsos will be impacted in China, to a greater or lesser extent depending on how long the epidemic lasts, and this could be for at least the first six months of 2020. The company plays an important role there, and in 2019, the Chinese market represented 7.5% of its revenue. Finally, and in a very real sense, not everything is possible at a time like this. For instance, it will become difficult to question or even observe people face-to-face. Ipsos has already taken measures, notably in China and in Asia, to reduce its costs and roll out innovative services tailored to current needs, so that even if the situation were to extend beyond the next few weeks the company will strengthen its position in its markets. Conversely, the content of discussions on social media will get more interesting and analyses of behavioral data will become irreplaceable sources for understanding people. Services to support businesses and institutions in their efforts to consider and adjust their plans are absolutely vital. More generally, Ipsos considers itself to be better positioned than others to get through this crisis which, nobody will deny, is unprecedented. Ipsos provides its clients with a real capacity to work in a market and / or throughout the world simultaneously and almost instantly. Ipsos is still committed to: Improving its operational performance by developing new tools such as Ipsos.Digital (a Do It Yourself or DIY solution), the automated platform that clients and the Ipsos teams can use to carry out surveys at competitive rates. The recent acquisition of the software provider "Askia" is part of this approach. Increasing the efficiency and attractiveness of the 72 services it offers clients from large and complex survey programs of identified segments of the population of a country or a wider area, to practical and qualitative interventions intended to help businesses improve product design and usage. To this end, Ipsos will give priority to the new services that were identified and formalized in 2015 and that have been updated annually since then. Stepping up the development of data analyses and Artificial Intelligence solutions, thus accelerating the process of optimizing, identifying and using the data contained in the countless databases available to the company and its clients. Accelerating the use of multiple information channels that ultimately, alone or combined, will help realize the promise of "Total Understanding". In addition to conventional survey procedures, Ipsos can now use observation and immersion techniques that get up close to people in their everyday lives. It is also developing automated and passive systems for measuring behaviors without people having to be actively involved and systems to monitor and analyze content on social media. Strengthening team training and performance, to help them collaborate better, by creating the conditions for "research" and "advisory" divisions to work together to better address the decision-making issues faced by businesses and client institutions. Finally, continuing to develop active, trusted, customized relationships with its thousands of clients. Teams that, beyond their technical and operational capabilities, have a deep understanding of their clients and an instinct for collaboration and are now better placed than ever to disseminate sound information, rich in content and insights so they can act with speed and accuracy. In particular, Ipsos has gathered together and deployed 250 high-level professionals in a dedicated "client organization", capable of handling the necessary and optimized adaptation of its services, solutions and resources to meet actual needs. The recently developed Ipsos' "raison d'etre" sums up the company's ambition and sense of purpose and was adopted by its Board of Directors: "Deliver reliable information for a true understanding of Society, Markets and People." At a time when so many plans, projects and organizations are at stake, when we are all facing an epidemic on an extraordinary scale, when everything is going to have to be reconsidered, reassessed and redesigned, Ipsos feels well-positioned to meet the information needs of its clients thanks to its resources, geographical footprint, teams, experience and solutions. Ipsos believes that it is in a position, at this stage, to attain its targets for 2020: organic growth of between 2% and 4% and an improved operating margin of over 10%, so that the 11% target for 2021 is attainable. Obviously, given the specific context in which 2020 begins, these annual forecasts will be reassessed, and if necessary, adjusted no later than end of April when Q1 2020 results are published. Appendices Consolidated income statement Consolidated balance sheet Consolidated cash flow statement ABOUT IPSOS Ipsos is the third largest market research company in the world, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data coming from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques. "Game Changers" - our tagline - summarizes our ambition to help our 5,000 clients navigate with confidence our world of rapid change. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD). ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com Consolidated income statement For the year ended 31 december 2019 In thousand euros 31/12/2019 31/12/2018 Revenue 2,003,255 1,749,494 Direct costs (714,791) (611,119) Gross profit 1,288,464 1,138,374 Staff costs - excluding share-based payments (862,948) (753,464) Staff costs - share-based payments* (6,924) (8,937) General operating expenses (1) (218,902) (207,477) Other operating income and expenses (995) 3,922 Operating margin 198,696 172,418 Amortization of intangible assets identified on acquisitions* (5,160) (4,380) Other non-recurring income and expenses* (16,381) (5,273) Share of profit/(loss) of associates (615) 587 Operating profit 176,539 163,352 Finance costs (26,637) (21,281) Other financial income and expenses (1) (7,328) 4,980 Profit before tax 142,574 147,051 Income tax - excluding deferred tax on goodwill amortization (34,539) (37,078) Deferred tax on goodwill amortization* (2,339) (1,420) Income tax (36,878) (38,498) Net profit 105,695 108,554 Attributable to owners of the parent 104,785 107,520 Attributable to Minority interests 910 1,033 Basic earnings per share (in ) 2.39 2.48 Diluted earnings per share (in ) 2.32 2.40 Adjusted net profit* 130,719 126,810 Attributable to the Group 129,519 125,237 Attributable to Minority interests 1,200 1,572 Adjusted earnings per share (in euros) - Basic 2.95 2.88 Adjusted earnings per share (in euros) - Diluted 2.87 2.80 (1) The application of IFRS 16 as of 1 January 2019 had an impact of 5,450 thousand on general operating expenses and of (5,028) thousand on other financial income and expenses in FY 2019. The impact on Group profit/(loss) for the period was 373 thousand. Consolidated balance sheet For the year ended 31 December 2019 In thousand euros 31/12/2019 31/12/2018 ASSETS Goodwill 1,322,906 1,291,077 Right-of-use assets(1) 152,646 - Other intangible assets 89,076 82,001 Property, plant and equipment 39,753 37,890 Investments in associates 1,114 2,892 Other non-current financial assets 44,766 35,021 Deferred tax assets 25,300 26,987 Non-current assets 1,675,561 1,475,868 Trade receivables and related accounts 518,697 466,119 Contract assets 203,094 168,822 Current tax 14,833 16,905 Other current assets 92,846 78,831 Derivative financial instruments (1,094) 500 Cash and cash equivalents 165,436 167,834 Current assets 993,812 899,011 TOTAL ASSETS 2,669,372 2,374,878 In thousand euros 31/12/2019 31/12/2018 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Share capital 11,109 11,109 Share premium account 516,000 516,038 Treasury shares (12,382) (22 723) Other reserves 580,314 526,177 Currency translation differences (96,352) (121,475) Net Income - attributable to the Group 104,785 107,520 Equity attributable to the shareholders of Ipsos SA 1,103,475 1,016,646 Minority interests 19,247 18,314 Total shareholders' equity 1,122,722 1,034,960 Borrowings and other non-current financial liabilities 561,490 729,180 Non-current lease liabilities (1) 133,112 - Non-current provisions 762 4,678 Provisions for retirement benefit obligations 33,058 29,715 Deferred tax liabilities 72,196 70,934 Other non-current liabilities 14,980 22,040 Total non-current liabilities 815,599 856,547 Trade payables and related accounts 300,681 276,266 Borrowings and other current financial liabilities 181,229 13,713 Current liabilities on leases (1) 41,971 - Current tax 16,273 12,153 Current provisions 9,025 4,996 Contract liabilities 34,594 30,199 Other current liabilities 147,278 146,045 Total current liabilities 731,051 483,372 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 2,669,372 2,374,878 (1) The main impact of the application of IFRS 16 as of 1 January 2019 was the recognition as of 31 December 2019 of a net right-of-use of 152,646 thousand, non-current lease liabilities of 133,112 thousand and current lease liabilities of 41,971 thousand. Consolidated cash flow statement For the year ended 31 December 2019 In thousand euros 31/12/2019 31/12/2018 OPERATING ACTIVITIES NET PROFIT 105,695 108,554 Items with no impact on cash flow from operations Amortisation and depreciation of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets(1) 75,199 32,698 Net profit of equity-accounted companies, net of dividends received 636 (609) Losses/(gains) on asset disposals 323 (9,461) Net change in provisions 5,889 4,074 Share-based payment expense 6,604 8,458 Other non-cash income/(expenses) 1,028 (1,106) Acquisition costs for consolidated companies 2,383 3,930 Finance costs(1) 31,750 21,281 Tax expense 36,878 38,498 CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE TAX AND FINANCE COSTS(1) 266,386 206,317 Change in working capital requirement (52,676) 3,482 Income taxes paid (35,854) (39,697) NET CASH (USED IN)/FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES (1) 177,855 170,103 INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES Acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (43,232) (49,006) Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets 81 164 (Increase)/decrease of financial assets 3,187 5,216 Acquisitions of companies and consolidated activities, net of acquired cash (5,435) (152,479) NET CASH (USED IN)/FROM INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES (45,400) (196,105) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Increases/(reductions) in share capital - - (Purchases)/sales of treasury shares 1,324 1,219 Increase in long-term borrowings 62 603,286 Decrease in long-term borrowings (5,160) (481,034) Increase in long-term borrowings from associates (12,284) - Increase/(decrease) in bank overdrafts and short-term debt (1,467) 567 Lease payments (principal)(1) (40,231) - Net interests paid (25,367) (18,385) Net interest on leases(1) (4,508) - Acquisitions of non-controlling interests (10,935) (9,125) Dividends paid to shareholders of Ipsos SA (38,649) (37,831) Dividends paid to minority shareholders of consolidated companies - (857) NET CASH (USED IN)/FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES(1) (137,215) 57,839 NET CHANGE IN CASH (4,760) 31,837 Impact of foreign exchange rate movements (2,362) (1,269) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD 167,834 137,267 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF PERIOD 165,436 167,834 (1) The main consequence of the application of IFRS 16 as of 1 January 2019 was to increase the amortization and depreciation of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets by 39,348 thousand, to increase finance costs by 5,113 thousand and to increase cash flow before finance costs and tax by 46,256 thousand; cash flow from financing activities fell 44,739 thousand following the recognition of (40,231) thousand in net repayment of lease liabilities and (4,508) thousand in net interest paid on lease obligations. Consolidated statement of changes in shareholder's equity For the year ended 31 December 2019 Shareholders' equity In thousand euros Share capital Share Premium Own shares Other consolidated reserves Currency translation difference Attributable to the Group Minority interests Total 1st January 2018 11,109 516,130 (32,235) 569,719 (112,515) 949,208 17,290 966,498 Impact of the first-time application of IFRS 15 - - - (6,958) - (6,958) (41) (6,998) Change in capital - - - - - - - Dividends paid - - - (37,484) - (37,484) (857) (38,341) Impact of acquisitions and commitments of buy out minority interests - - - 1,424 - 1,424 (296) 1,128 Delivery of treasury shares under the bonus share plan - - 10,905 (10,905) - - - - Other movements on own shares - (92) 1,607 - 1,515 - 1,515 Share-based payments taken directly to equity - - - 8,458 - 8,458 - 8,458 Other movements - - - 1,089 - 1,089 449 1,537 Transactions with the shareholders - (92) 12,512 (37,418) - (24,999) (704) (25,701) Net profit - - - 107,520 - 107,520 1,033 108,554 Other elements of the Comprehensive income - - - - - - - - Hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - (9,108) (9,108) (117) (9,225) Deferred tax on hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - 1,650 1,650 - 1,650 Currency translation differences - - - - (1,503) (1,503) 854 (649) Actuarial gains and losses - - - 834 - 834 - 834 Deferred tax on actuarial gains and losses - - - - - - - - Total of the other elements composing the Comprehensive income - - - 834 (8,961) (8,127) 736 (7,391) Comprehensive income - - - 108,354 (8,961) 99,393 1,769 101,163 31st December 2018 11,109 516,038 (22,723) 633,697 (121,475) 1,016,646 18,314 1,034,960 1st January 2019 11,109 516,038 (22,723) 633,697 (121,475) 1,016,646 18,314 1,034,960 IFRS 16, change in accounting policy - - - (9,488) - (9,488) (44) (9,532) Change in capital - - - - - - - - Dividends paid - - - (38,327) - (38,327) 0 (38,327) Effects of acquisitions and commitments to buy out non-controlling interests - - - 105 - 105 73 177 Delivery of treasury shares under the bonus share plan - - 9,162 (9,162) - - - - Other movements on own shares - (38) 1,179 181 - 1,322 - 1,322 Share-based payments taken directly to equity - - - 6,604 - 6,604 - 6,604 Other movements - - - (1,970) - (1,970) (357) (2,327) Transactions with the shareholders - (38) 10,341 (42,569) - (32,266) (285) (32,551) Net profit - - - 104,785 - 104,785 911 105,695 Other elements of the Comprehensive income - - - - - - - - Hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - 15,610 15,610 (69) 15,541 Deferred tax on hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - (4,267) (4,267) - (4,267) Currency translation differences - - - - 13,781 13,781 419 14,200 Actuarial gains and losses - - - (1,710) - (1,710) - (1,710) Deferred tax on actuarial gains and losses - - - 385 - 385 - 385 Total of the other elements composing the Comprehensive income - - - (1,325) 25,124 23,799 350 24,149 Comprehensive income - - - 103,460 25,124 128,584 1,261 129,844 31st December 2019 11,109 516,000 (12,382) 685,100 (96,352) 1,103,475 19,247 1,122,722 Attachment Aqua-Tots Swim Schools Al Manar is ready for children of all abilities to learn how to swim safely in their state-of-the-art facility and year-round, 90 pool. Aqua-Tots Swim Schools has announced its 106th worldwide franchise location which opened in Al Manar, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, February 17, 2020. Aqua-Tots Swim Schools has been the leader in the swim instruction industry since 1991, offering comprehensive swim curriculum for children from four months to 12 years old. With over 100 locations in 14 countries, families all over the world are able to experience the dedicated, year-round, indoor swim facility where their children can become safe and confident swimmers. Opening our location in Al Manar gives us an opportunity to serve the east side of Riyadh, says Franchise Owner Bader Al Saud. We are happy to be giving back to the community by teaching children safety, confidence and courage around the water, and were proud of the value that Aqua-Tots adds to communities all over the world. Swim lessons are proven to reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children ages one to four years old, according to Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Thats an encouraging reality as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that drowning is the leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death among children ages one to four years. With each location that opens across the globe, we are reminded that families just want the same thingsafety and security for their children, says Co-Founder Ron Sciarro. Children gain the swimming skills they need for a lifetime of safety, and parents get the peace of mind they desire as they raise their families. With nearly 29 years of experience in the swim instruction industry, Aqua-Tots Swim Schools continues to take the message of water safety around the world with plans to open 20 more locations, both in the U.S. and internationally in 2020. This is a really exciting time for us, says Co-Founder Paul Preston. Our franchise owners are our family, and we are proud to continue to partner with those who align with our core values and see the importance of serving their communities. Giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to advance their futures through business ownership is an amazing thing to be a part of, and were thankful to walk alongside people like Bader and Mohammed as they open their second Aqua-Tots location. To learn more about opening an Aqua-Tots Swim Schools franchise in your community, visit https://www.aqua-tots.com/franchise-opportunities/. About Aqua-Tots Swim Schools Aqua-Tots Swim Schools serves over 100 communities worldwide, offering dedicated, year-round, indoor swim instruction, community outreach and drowning prevention education to children of all abilities from 4 months to 12 years old. As the worlds largest swim school franchise, their hand-selected instructors are passionate about teaching children how to remain safer in and around the water, using tried and true curriculum, 28+ years in the making and trusted worldwide to teach 2.9 swim lessons annually. To learn more, visit http://www.aqua-tots.com. [February 26, 2020] Peiffer Wolf: 2,000 or More Farmers Expected to File Claims Seeking Justice as a Result of Dicamba Damage to Their Crops More than 2,000 U.S. farmers are likely to file lawsuits seeking justice for the damage to their crops inflicted by the controversial dicamba herbicide from Monsanto/Bayer and BASF in the wake of the recent $265 million verdict in Missouri, according to the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane (Peiffer Wolf). Today, Peiffer Wolf made that estimate public during a news event featuring three Missouri, Arkansas and North Carolina farmers who have been victimized by dicamba. Peiffer Wolf currently represents dozens of farmers with dicamba damage and the number of such clients has increased in the days since the $265 million Bader Farms verdict in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Peiffer Wolf managing partner Joseph Peiffer said: "We now have the road map to get justice for dicamba victims. The Bader verdict in Missouri sent a clear signal that you can't profit off of hurting innocent farmers and get away with it. Monsanto/Bayer and BASF understandably want to calm down shareholders and the markets by pretending that there aren't more than 2,000 farmers out there with dicamba damage. The crop damage research and increasing farmer complaints forecast a much bigger problem than Monsanto/Bayer and BASF want to admit. At some point, Monsanto/Bayer and BASF need to stop killing farmers and their livelihood." Peiffer Wolf attorney Paul Lesko said: "Since the verdict, we've spoken with many farmers who have suffered dicamba damage to their crops. They want to know what to do and what recourse they have. As the farmers we have brought together to speak today indicate, these are people who are already up against difficult odds for success. They don't need dicamba to make an already difficult situation worse." Hunter Wankowski is a sixth-generation farmer with family roots going back to Wisconsin in 1885. He is one of the owners of Hunter Tree Farms in O'Fallon, Missouri, which is outside of St. Louis. He raises shade trees for sale, including maples, oaks, lindens, conifers, red buds and birch. Hunter Tree Farms suffered dicamba damage to nearly 3000 trees in 2016 and 2017. Wankowski's operation had to postpone the tree farm's plans for a grand opening in 2018. Wankowski said: "The impact was very bad considering we were in our infancy of starting up our company Our company could not sell ay trees in 2018 or 2019. We started with 1875 trees a year and should have had well over 3,000 trees by now. Yet at this point, we only have around 350 total trees from that time frame, and out of these there are maybe only 100 marketable trees. We are planning again to do our grand opening this year, but may have to hold back again because we don't have the more mature four- to five-year-old trees that we anticipated." Joe McLemore is the owner of the 1,000-acre McLemore Farms. In 2016-2019, dicamba damaged his soybean fields near Marion and West Memphis, Arkansas. Speaking of the toll he has suffered, McLemore said: "This ordeal has caused me to live with increased anxiety. We always have a lot of factors that determine how well we are going to do. This was another thing that we had no control over, which has made for a lot of sleepless nights. For this to happen over and over is very frustrating. It's hard enough to make a living as a farmer, and this just makes everything worse. I don't ever get a chance to relax, when the entire year the crop is stressed from this and there is no way of anticipating which of the fields were hit or with how much of the chemical." Marty Harper is a farmer south of Greenville, North Carolina. He grows peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, sweet potatoes and tobacco. He estimates the dicamba-related damage to his tobacco fields at over $200,000. Harper said: "We do use Monsanto/Bayer products but not dicamba technology. We have a way to keep the fields clean without using dicamba. We can't use it because of all the different crops on my farm and our neighbors' farms. You want to be respectful of your neighbors. In North Carolina, we have close proximity to our neighbors, and there are much smaller farms all around. We farm thousands of acres in smaller chunks, meaning there are neighbors on either side of us all the time." In 2017, 3.6 million acres of soybeans on 2,708 farms nationwide were damaged by dicamba, according to the estimate of University of Missouri crop science professor Kevin Bradley. The Illinois Department of Agriculture found a five-fold increase in complaints - from less than 130 total complaints for all pesticides in 2016 to more than 700 for dicamba alone in 2019. According to Modern Farmer, farmers impacted by dicamba will lose an estimated 10 to 30 percent of their annual crop yield. Peiffer Wolf is fighting on behalf of farmers and landowners to seek maximum compensation for the damages suffered due to dicamba. Farmers who suspect that their crops or plants have been damaged by dicamba should contact Peiffer Wolf by filling out an online contact form or by calling 314-833-4826. Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane, APLC is a national law firm with offices in Missouri, Cleveland, Austin, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. https://dicambadrift.com/ EDITOR'S NOTE: A streaming audio replay of this Peiffer Wolf news event will be available as of 5 p.m. CST/6 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at https://dicambadrift.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005647/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tonya Ward (R) enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts with her parents, who saw Shen Yun last year and brought Ward, at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, on Feb. 25, 2020. (NTD Television) OMAHA, Neb.Tonya Ward is an elected official in Nebraska and president and founder of Energy Rescue, Inc., a charity that helps Nebraska citizens who have fallen on hard times, and fallen through the cracks of other assistance programs, regain services such as electricity. But on Feb. 25, 2020, Ward found herself handling another kind of energy: positive, spiritual energy that she felt coming from a production of Shen Yun Performing Arts who had just completed opening night at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. Ward, who is the Official of The Learning Community Douglas, Sarpy County, attended the evening with her parents, Sylvia and Ronald Ward. Oh, the whole [Shen Yun] performance was so enchanting, Tonya said, And it was magical and beautiful. Everybody was so pretty. Even the mengorgeous. And I just love it. Tonya was at a loss for words to describe the performance she had just seen. You know, there isnt really good words to describe. I mean, you say brilliant, beautiful, enchanting, wonderful. And you just feel good seeing it, you know, being present. And everybody in the audience was too happy and kind. And everyones speaking with each other. And so my mom and dad brought me tonight and I get to be the third wheel. But Im grateful. Because we [have] got to see it again. And Ill bring my kids. Love it, Sylvia said, Tonyas mother. This is our second time. And Im planning on coming next year. Ronald Ward may be the familys biggest fan. Ive seen [Shen Yun] three times. I saw once in DC, and twice here. Ive enjoyed it every time. Been very, very nice, he said. Id go again to see it. Any time, that theyre here, Ill make sure I see it, he added. A Heartfelt Experience at Shen Yun New York-based Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture through ancient and highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, bel canto vocal performances, couture costumes, and original orchestral compositions for an orchestra of Eastern and Western instruments. But what lies at the heart of authentic Chinese culture is its spirituality and connection to the divine, an aspect thats pervasive throughout Shen Yuns performance and which Tonya was most impressed by. Itseverything about the Chinese culture is in, it just encompasses everything, so beautifully intricate, the colors, the technology that they added to the film when the angels flew out at us. Oh my goodness! I just, I couldnt be happier, the Nebraska official said. And to the performers themselves: Thank you. She elaborated on how the divinely-inspired aspects of Shen Yun made her feel. That was just magical. I dont know how to describe it, because its beautiful and it makes you feel so emotional. All the colors, all the details, that went into the production. Amazing. Just brilliant. Brilliant. Two pieces in the performance depict an ancient Chinese legend about the Creator. These pieces were especially moving for Tonya. My goodness. It made me cry. It really made me cry. I think I cried the whole time. Happy tears, just happy, she said. Ronald is a musician and he reveled in hearing Shen Yuns orchestra which travels wherever the production goes to provide accompaniment. I play violin, cello, and piano, and I listened to the orchestra, Ronald said. Im really interested in the music. The music is really different from what we have here, and I looked at the instruments on the program it showed what the, the violin, viola, double bass. So it was really nice to have the orchestra here and listen to their music. I play the drums, I sing, and Im a musician as well, Tonya said. So the drums came out with those wheelbarrows of gold. I was just enchanted, just wow, I want to get up there with them and start drumming. In the end, Tonya was incredibly grateful to be able to experience Shen Yun and thanked the performers directly. Thank you so much for your beautiful, outstanding performance. The whole time I had hot tears pop out my eyes, and I was so happy. And I want to see it again right now. Thank you so much. We appreciate you all, she said. With reporting by NTD Television and Brett Featherstone. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. Oleksiy Solovyov Open source President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on appointment of Oleksiy Solovyov as the Deputy Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. The decree from February 25 published on the website of the Presidents Office. To appoint Oleksiy Solovyov as Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the message reads. It is noteworthy that Solovyov earlier was head of State Service for Medications and Drugs Control. In May 2014 he was fired from this position. The Health Minister of that time Oleh Musiy accused him of corruption over increased prices for medicine. There was no information on public trial over these allegations. Before his appointment to Defense Council he worked in Interregional Academy of Personnel Management and in 2018 he got a salary of around 1,800 dollars. Solovyov is a holder of Habilitation degree in Medicine, he is a Doctor of Pharmacy and heads professorate of general and clinical pharmacy. Oleksiy Solovyov worked part-time in Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, was a chairman of board of directors of the Ukrainian Medical and Pharmaceutical Association. He was engaged in private business in 2018 and received an income of 196,000 dollars. Solovyov is an expert of the World Health Organization (WHO). Several years ago, German manufacturer Be Quiet!known for components that make minimal noiseturned its attention to cases. As with its other product lines, the company focused on maintaining a peaceful silence at your desk. Late last fall, Be Quiet! released its Pure Base 500, a mid-tower that prioritizes sound-dampening while also making concessions for air flow and showing off a build. Two variants of the case exist, one with a solid side panel and the other with tempered glass, with each variant coming in three different colors. Pricing starts at $75 for the black solid panel tower and stretches up to $90 for metallic gray and white with a tempered glass side panel. As you can see in the video above, the interior of the case reveals a few standout features. The Pure Base 500 offers more room than other compact mid-towers, with a slightly wider frame that supports CPU coolers up to 195mm in height. It also accommodates 140mm fans throughout the case, including at the back, and comes with two options for top covers. One is lined with sound-muffling material, while the other is made of mesh. Be Quiet! says the Pure Base 500 should comfortably accommodate water cooling, and that particular care has been taken to match the paint color of the interior and exterior of the tower. The company also plans to follow up with an air-flow spinoff of this case, the Pure Base 500! DX, which was announced at CES 2020 in January. An ex-soldier jailed for sexually abusing three young girls, including his stepdaughter, over the course of a decade, has had the final 12 months of his 15-year prison sentence suspended following a successful appeal. Shane Costello (50), with an address at Hillview, Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, was found guilty of the rape, oral rape and attempted oral rape of his stepdaughter on dates in 2012 when she was aged between 13 and 14 years. He had denied these charges. Waiving her right to anonymity, Costellos stepdaughter said the attacks robbed her of her youth, innocence and dignity. The past will never change, the pain will never leave, but I'm trying to make my future better, she stated. After the jury's verdicts, Costello pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two other children on dates between 2001 and 2013. He had two previous assault causing harm convictions from 1998. Sentencing him to a total 15 years imprisonment, Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh said the task of trying to translate human suffering into figures was a crude exercise. She commended Costellos stepdaughter for showing great strength and great dignity while giving evidence during the trial, and said she hoped that all three of his victims could move on with their lives. His sentence involved consecutive elements totalling 15 years. The Court of Appeal suspended the final 12 months of his 15-year-sentence and ordered three years post-release supervision, following an appeal. Giving judgment in the three-judge court, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the offending was grave indeed, involving as it did, the abuse of three young girls over a protracted period. She said Costello had abused his position of trust as a father, and father figure. A prison governors report indicated that he was on an enhanced regime in prison, working in the laundry and attending the gym. A medical report raised the possibility of a recurring illness that may require treatment. Ms Justice Kennedy said the sentence ought to have been structured in such a way as to incentivise rehabilitation, It was also a case for three-years post-release supervision, she said. Ms Justice Kennedy, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, resentenced Costello to 15 years imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended. He was required to enter into a good behaviour bond for the suspended period, and undertook to be so bound. Costellos barrister, Patrick Gageby SC, submitted to the sentencing court that his client had an exemplary career in the Irish defence forces until 1999. He handed in testimonials and a letter of apology written by Costello, in which Costello said he was sorry and wished to undo the past. Mr Gageby said Costello also wanted to state publicly that his victims were blameless and that he accepted the jury's verdict. The growth of small businesses has been concentrated in big cities and urban suburbs since the Great Recession, while nearly all rural areas have experienced substantial loss of businesses in the past decade. Why it matters: "Firm growth is a crucial part of economic development, and business creation has been critical in the aftermath of previous recessions. But policies geared toward encouraging startups have not been effective in rural areas, leading to a growing regional divide," per a new report by the Center for American Progress. Southern rural areas have seen the highest levels of business deaths, with African American communities bearing the brunt of economic decline. Small businesses in the South and rural middle America have been battered by growing consolidation in the agriculture industry, leading to communities being dominated by a single company. Yes, but: Some pockets of rural America are seeing business growth, even though it pales in comparison to larger cities. Graying America communities are generally recreation-dependent. These communities are located in large states such as Florida, Texas and California. Many Hispanic centers are mining-dependent, especially in the oil and gas industry. Latter-day Saint enclaves in Utah have large youth populations and less population loss than other rural communities. Between the lines: In rural America, the small business decline is tied to population decline. There's little point in setting up shop in a town with few potential customers. Some have opened their doors to immigrants to increase their populations and generate more small business demand in agriculture, manufacturing, health care and tourism. There's sometimes a "trust gap" to overcome in rural towns where locals tend to be skeptical of newcomers, said CAP senior economist Olugbenga Ajilore, author of the report. Social infrastructure could help bridge that gap, particularly for new migrants. What's needed: Policymakers should consider expanding the capacity of community business development corporations or co-ops to support rural towns, which are also dealing with other problems like opioid use, hospital closures and unemployment, per CAP. "Instead of federal government parachuting in and saying, 'Heres what you need to do,' they should come and say, 'What are you doing and how can we help you do it better?"' said Ajilore. Go deeper: The disappearing startup Footballer Ki Sung-yueng on Tuesday signed a short-term contract with RCD Mallorca in Spain's La Liga after his bid to return to the K-League fell through. The contract only lasts four months until June 30, covering the remaining matches of the season. In a video posted on the club's social media to introduce Ki, his eyes are covered with a black line, in a parody of the poster for the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," from his home country. Ki's search for a new club has attracted huge interest among Korean fans. He became a free agent after terminating his contract with Newcastle United in the English Premier League by mutual consent last month. Tonight, seven contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, and Mike Bloomberg will debate in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to being the first debate in the South, tonight's showdown will be the last debate before voters across sixteen states head to the polls on Super Tuesday, Mar. 3. Hosted by CBS News, the debate comes at a critical time not just for voters, but for candidates: Without a significant boost, it could mark the last debate for multiple candidates who dont have a path forward. (Sanders is currently considered the front-runner after claiming a victory in the Nevada caucuses last weekend.) As news breaks beyond the race for the nomination, the role of the journalists moderating the debate has intensified there are too many policies that deserve attention, and too little time. And meeting a moment where voters feel engaged instead of overwhelmed requires steady, thoughtful questions. Among the guiding forces asking those questions are three women journalists who are leaders within their respective beats: Margaret Brennan, moderator of CBS Newss Face the Nation and a CBS News senior foreign affairs correspondent, has a background covering global financial markets and the State Department, and has reported national security stories on nuclear negotiations with Iran and the standoff with North Korea; Norah O'Donnell, anchor and managing editor of CBS News, as well as an anchor of CBS News Election Specials and a 60 Minutes contributing correspondent, won an Emmy in 2018 for a story about a sexual abuse at the U.S. Air Force Academy; Gayle King, co-host of CBS This Morning, is known for her in-depth interviews with controversial figures like R. Kelly , as well as her exceptional reporting on hot button issues, including on-the-ground coverage of the Texas border in response to the Trump Administrations zero tolerance immigration policy. Story continues Lazarus Jean-Baptist/CBS According to data from Time's Up, which analyzed primary debates from 1996 to the present, 44% of debates included no moderators who were women, while 73 % included no moderators who were people of color. Last spring, UltraViolet Action and other organizations, including EMILYs List, NARAL, and the National Womens Law Center Action Fund, released a letter urging media outlets to ensure 50% of moderators were women, and at least 50% of moderators were people of color, in order to make election coverage truly equitable. (The DNC issued a rule that every Democratic debate must include at least one women moderator, as Refinery29 reported at the time.) The increased focus on moderators that represent the American people comes with a push to make politics and political coverage more inclusive overall. Brennan, the only female host of one of the five big political Sunday shows, explained that after she had her son and came back to work, she realized the importance of first-person experience for journalists, and bringing your personal background, be it your gender or race, to your work. "I think it better informs you to anticipate, to empathize, to connect, and to hone in on things that other people in the country want to know," she said. O'Donnell mentioned her own version of a personal experience proving impactful to her work, noting, "I'm from a military family. I'm interested in military issues." She explained that her sister is serving abroad and her father served thirty years in the U.S. Army, and "that influences questions that I have about the military and foreign affairs." Michele Crowe/CBS Tonights women moderators (who will be joined by Major Garrett, Chief Washington Correspondent CBS News, and Bill Whitaker, 60 Minutes correspondent) will use their platforms, perspectives, and reporting prowess to ensure the American people are empowered to vote with confidence. Ahead of one of the most consequential debates of the 2020 primary cycle, we asked them about debate preparation, what makes South Carolinas primary different, and what theyd tell their younger selves. (Learn how to watch the debate, starting at 8PM ET, here.) InStyle: At a time of increased polarization, how do you connect with viewers who feel disenfranchised by the current state of politics, or who feel overwhelmed by political news? Brennan: These days, there's a lot of politics and less discussion of policy, because things aren't getting done legislatively, really. And we're in a campaign year, so perhaps that's not particularly unusual. It is keeping that electorate informed that is really fundamental to our job as journalists, and the purpose of journalism in many ways in terms of serving our democracy. Thomas Jefferson is often quoted I went to [the University of Virginia], so I try to shout him out saying that information is the currency of democracy. I love that quote because it gets at the point that there's a reason that you need to follow up and push for an answer to a question, and to get at the heart and the nub of it. And that is because, particularly at this moment of extreme partisanship, having someone talk straight or cut straight through to the fundamentals is so important. King: I just feel at CBS we always take the position of giving you the facts and letting you decide. I get overwhelmed too. It used to be the news was 24/7 now its 24 seconds. Thats how fast things change. And so you always have to be on top of your game to keep track of it. I also think were so polarized because we are not listening to each other. Id like to see us do more of that. And be more open to that and people with another point of view. ODonnell: As a journalist, and this being the seventh presidential election that I've covered, I really believe that my role is to foster understanding, to help find the truth. I think not only is there increasing partisanship, I also think that there is so much information and disinformation out there that it is incumbent on journalists to help voters understand these complex issues and help uncover the truth. Not every voter out there can read six or seven newspapers a day. But I'm a journalist. I ask presidents and politicians tough questions. I do read six or seven newspapers a day and speak regularly with the campaigns. So it's my job, really, to curate all of that information and ask the tough questions that voters want to hear, and in a way that helps clarify the positions of these candidates. MARY KOUW/CBS Do you think theres something fundamentally different about South Carolina's race versus other early-voting contests? Brennan: I was out in Nevada on Friday and Saturday because I flew out there to speak with Joe Biden at the Nevada caucus. That was the first state in the West, but it was also kind of the most diverse state up to that point in the primary process. And you heard that change [reflected] in terms of what the candidates were engaged in and talking about out in Nevada, they were talking a little bit more about immigration, because about 19%of the population of that state was born outside the country. Here in South Carolina, the transition is to speaking more to the needs of people of color, and that is not a mistake. [Sixty percent] of self-identified Democratic primary participants are African American, and so candidates are keenly aware of it. I think on the debate stage you're going to hear from the candidates an attempt to appeal particularly on issues here, local to South Carolina and to that community. There's a reason they're speaking on these different issues in these last two states [rather] than in Iowa and New Hampshire, which are predominantly white. King: Its the first time you get to see a voting bloc where 60% are people of color.That alone makes it very different. And South Carolina races in the past have always been an important barometer [for primaries]. ODonnell: This is the first contest in the South, where 60% of those who turn out in the South Carolina primary will be African American voters. This is going to be the most diverse I should even say, where a minority population is the majority voting bloc in the primary. Thats why it's a test for these candidates of their support among the African American community, which has been a reliably Democratic base. In order to win an election, you have to not only turn out the most fervent supporters, you have to grow your base that's the formula that goes into winning the presidential race. RELATED: Meet the Women Moderators of Tonight's Debate, Hallie Jackson and Vanessa Hauc John Paul Filo/CBS Is there anything you can share regarding your debate prep? Brennan: I've gone about it the same way I do for Face the Nation every single Sunday, which is to try to immerse myself in what the candidate has spoken about, what they've explained their platforms are. What I think the function of a debate should be I'm not saying it always is but the utility to our democracy is that these candidates are trying to argue that they are not just qualified, but the best choice America can make to be the commander in chief. I would like to hear from them exactly what it is they're offering because I've heard a lot from them about why they're not like the current occupant of the White House. But I haven't necessarily heard them differentiate themselves from one another on a lot of different issues. I think a lot of questions have not been asked, particularly in this Democratic race, because President Trump in particular feeds the news cycle and dominates it. I think at this point, a lot of the candidates have gotten away with just saying, I'm not going to be that guy. I'm going to be better. But they haven't exactly explained what it is that they are offering, and that's what I hope to get to. King: I look at it as going back to your college days and pulling an all-nighter. You want to make sure all the is are dotted and all the ts are crossed. I feel very well prepared, because we have a team thats been preparing for several weeks. But no matter how much you prepare, at the end of the day its live, and when its live anything can happen especially this debate in particular, when you know its the last race before Super Tuesday, and chances are that some of the people on this stage on Tuesday wont make it to the next round. And they know that, so theres a lot at stake. I believe theyre all going to try to make a moment. And its our job to let people have that moment but also maintain some kind of order. ODonnell: There is an enormous amount of research and preparation that goes into a debate like this, and it's the entire organization of CBS News and this incredible teamwork to put this together. This process started months ago. The research has been ongoing. Every single thing that the candidates say is cataloged and compiled into their research positions on what they said on every single issue. For me personally, in terms of the preparation, above and beyond what is my regular reading of everything I deep dive and talk to experts on each of these issues so that I fully understand what the stakes are so that I can ask the type of fair and tough questions that voters want to hear the answers to. Chris Usher/CBS News As you prepare to moderate one of the most consequential debates of the 2020 primary cycle, what would you say to your younger self, at the start of your career? Brennan: I would encourage myself to stay true to my instincts on what drives me, and what my instincts are in terms of trying to, you know, do the basics, do your homework, know what you're talking about when you ask a question. Know the issue as well as you possibly can. Constantly be a student of that moment. King: That just makes me nervous hearing it even put that way. I would like to think that everybody ends that debate feeling like theyve been heard. God can dream a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself, because never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming. I feel so lucky to be in this position, but at the same time, you have to create your own luck. I say this: Hard work is never, ever wasted. ODonnell: Continue to trust your gut. Trust your instincts. Remember that the quality of your life is built on the quality of your relationships. Build trust with everyone you meet, because that will continue throughout your life. One of the things I'm trying to do, and I've been less successful in the past couple of weeks, is just write down a little thought or a phrase every day about just what happened that day, because the great thing about being a journalist is having a front row seat to history, and meeting some of the most fascinating people in the world. I want to make sure I keep a personal record of that to memorialize it at some point. Giant Food Stores has unveiled a new name and logo. The chain of grocery stores is now called The Giant Company, and its logo is designed with oversized red letters, including a subtle leaf motif in the letter A. The announcement was made Feb. 26 during a company business meeting in Hershey. Giant said the change is meant to highlight the role the company, its stores and employees play in the lives of families since its founding in 1923. For nearly a century, weve been a trusted part of the communities we serve, helping families come together to share a meal and create special memories, said President Nicholas Bertram in a statement. The company said logos for all of its banner brands including Giant, Martins, Giant Heirloom Market, Giant Direct and Martins Direct have been refreshed. The leaf in the letter "A" is intended to signify the companys commitment to growth and freshness, according to a press release. The new logo for Giant stores includes a leaf design in the letter "A." In recent years, the chain has expanded with different services including grocery delivery and pickup, catering, in-store pharmacies, nutrition education and on-site fuel stations. The new logo is already erected on the exterior of The Giant Center in Hershey and Giants corporate headquarters in Carlisle. Giant said the name and logo will be integrated into its operations over the next year. 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. A 15-year-old turned themselves in to police Tuesday, two weeks after the teen allegedly vandalized property during a protest in downtown Portland. The teen was one of several people police were trying to identify from a Feb. 8 event, in which a group of demonstrators came out in response to a rumor that the Ku Klux Klan would be holding a white supremacy rally in downtown Portlands Lownsdale Square park. No rally took place, but a group of counter-protesters showed up, including antifascist activits, or antifa. Police said they were trying to identify three suspects besides the teen who were allegedly throwing items at police and passersby and chasing people with metal-tipped umbrellas. They said someone spray-painted a monument at Chapman Square park. Police said the other three suspects related to the event are all men who were wearing masks during the protest. The teen, who police said they would not publicly identify because of their age, went to Portland Police Bureaus downtown office, and officers interviewed them about two crimes abuse of a memorial to the dead and first-degree criminal mischief. The teen was then released to their parent. Portland Police Bureau Sgt. Brad Yakots said the case has now been referred to the countys Juvenile Services Division. He said he didnt know what the exact charges would be, but suspected they would be related to vandalizing the monument. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. JACKSON, Wyo. - Sharpshooters killed 36 mountain goats from a helicopter in a contested effort to eradicate the nonnative animals from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Four days after Interior Secretary David Bernhardt intervened to stop the shooting on the day it began, park officials released the tally Tuesday to the Jackson Hole News & Guide. About 100 mountain goats, descendants of animals introduced outside the park decades ago, inhabit the Teton Range. Using a combination of shooters in the air and eventually on the ground, park officials say they want to eradicate the goats because they compete with bighorn sheep for food and habitat and can spread diseases including pneumonia to the native animals. About 100 bighorns live in the Tetons. Wyoming officials oppose the helicopter gunning, saying it causes the goat meat to go to waste. After bad weather postponed previous plans to use a helicopter to kill goats in January, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission passed a resolution opposing the helicopter shooting. Clear and calm weather allowed the shooting to begin Friday afternoon. Soon after, Gov. Mark Gordon released a letter telling the parks acting superintendent, Gopaul Noojidail, the shoot was a farce that disregarded state sovereignty. The letter prompted Bernhardt to tell park officials Friday evening to suspend the shooting. Gordon had a productive meeting Tuesday with Noojidail to discuss how to help the bighorns, park officials said in a statement. Park officials have reopened a large portion of the Teton Range closed off for the operation. The mountains in the park get fewer visitors in winter than during the busy summer tourist season. The Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Tod D. Wolters speaks to journalists at the Siauliai Air Base in Siauliai, Lithuania, on Aug. 30, 2017. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images) US Air Force Warns Coronavirus May Cause More Closures at Military Bases in Europe The top U.S. general in Europe said on Feb. 25 that some military bases in Italy could be closed beyond March 1 as outbreaks of the coronavirus continue to spread throughout Europe. Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, who leads U.S. European Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that a fair amount of the militarys 35,000 soldiers in Italy are just sitting at home right now trying to avoid the coronavirus. His comments come as Italy is experiencing the largest outbreak of coronavirus outside of Asia, with a reported 300 cases and 11 deaths. In the city of Vicenza, Italy, where the United States has 6,000 to 7,000 troops plus thousands of their family members, the Army has closed on-base schools, child care centers, gyms, and churches after a spike in coronavirus cases across the northeastern region. Military personnel have been told not to travel to areas where clusters of confirmed cases have emerged, including in the Lombardy region, where the outbreak has been most prevalent thus far, and in Vo Euganeo. So far, no coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Vicenza. The closures are currently scheduled to end at the start of March, but Wolters said Tuesday that there was a 50-50 possibility that the closures in Vicenza would be extended beyond the original date. Wolters said that the military is also anticipating an increase in the number of reported cases in Germany, which has so far confirmed 16 cases of the virus, and is preparing a response should the virus gain traction. The general said that officials anticipate the need may arise for travel restrictions in the country, which is home to the largest U.S. military presence in Europe at more than 33,000 troops, but that is still to be determined. We are anticipating an increase in the number of cases reported in Germany, and were prepared to execute, he said. The generals comments come after Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Monday that joint exercises in South Korea, where nearly 600 people have tested positive for the illness, may also need to be curtailed. The countrys Minister of Defense, Kyeong-doo Jeong, added that 13 cases of the coranavirus have been confirmed among South Korean military personnel. On-base schools in Korea were also closed on Feb. 24, and are expected to remain so through Feb. 28. On Feb. 26, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) announced that the first U.S. soldier had been infected with the virus. The 23-year-old male, stationed at Camp Carroll in the village of Waegwan, roughly 12 miles from the city of Daegu, is currently in self-quarantine at his residence off-base. According to the statement, the man had visited Camp Walker, also in Daegu, on Feb. 23 and Camp Carroll between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. military are conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed, the announcement stated. South Korea authorities informed the United States on Tuesday that a U.S. Forces Korea dependent living in Daegu tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, prompting the forces to raise the risk level to high for personnel peninsula-wide as a prudent measure to protect the force, the military said in a statement. That patient, a 61-year-old female, visited Camp Walkers Post Exchange on Feb. 12 and 15. PEOPLE talk about... [1] HOUSE SPEAKER CAYETANO'S REMARK THAT THE SENATORS WERE BEING 'SIPSIP' TO ABS-CBN. That's for holding the hearing on the broadcast network's franchise. How about the House members? They were also being "sipsip," by sitting on the franchise bills, to those who wanted the network to stop operating? Which of two groups was more "sipsip"? [2] "GILANGAW ANG EDSA." Critics have been saying that of the 1986 anniversary celebration in the last few years. The crowds are getting thinner each year, depending upon what the sitting president thinks of the "revolution." Only if Eddiegul gives way Naga City [Cebu] Mayor Val Chiong is eyeing, or being groomed for, the House seat occupied by Representative Eduardo Gullas. The speculation that Chiong will run for congressman in 2022 is among the guesses that political watchers have raised following Val's resignation as mayor effective March 16. Chiong himself gave as his reason the wish to give way to young leaders of the town, He will be resting, Chiong, 59, said. Other speculations include concern about his health but there are no specific to support that theory. Whatever, he won't be resting if he'll be going the rounds of the first district to prepare for his congressional bid. And his excuse about giving way to the young won't wash if he gives up the mayorship only to seek another elective post, Besides, he wouldn't want to fight Gullas who is considered to have a tight control over the district. Representative Eddiegul would still have two terms after this term, which he could still handily secure, barring a monstrous issue against him. Mayor Chiong would only have a good chance of becoming congressman if Eddiegul would give way for him, as the mayor now does "for the young" of Naga City. Junjun, Georgia, Tomas, Margot Another speculation is that another Osmena, not former Tomas Osmena, might run for Cebu City mayor in 2022. Story continues He is Renato "Junjun" Osmena Jr., eldest son of the late former vice mayor Renato Osmena. Broadcaster Choy Torralba on dyRF's "Tug-ani ang Lungsod," mentioned Junjun when somebody said the Osmena clan had run out of mayoral timber for the next election. Junjun was appointed by President Duterte to the seat vacated by councilor Hanz Abella in December 2017. He was among the Barug-PDP Laban councilors who won in Cebu City south in the last election, placing #5 in a batch of eight. In 2018, he reported P41.3 million as his assets, which made him the richest city councilor in that year. Then there's also Georgia Osmena, sister of Tomas, who ran for mayor in 2010. But Junjun and Margot are two Osmenas who have stood against Tomas. Georgia previously ran against Mike Rama, Tomas's BOPK bet at the time while Junjun won as Barug candidate in 2019. Junjun might run only if Mayor Edgar Labella or Vice Mayor Mike Rama wouldn't run for chief executive, unless the councilor would muddle the waters some more by joining the fray. On the BOPK side, the possible runners are Tomas, who was reportedly raring to make a comeback; his wife Margot; or their "unico hijo" Miguel, who made a virgin appearance at the party rally on the homestretch of the 2019 elections. *** Tell us about it. [paseares1@gmail.com] The city of Conroe has launched a multilayered plan to be prepared for any potential outbreak of the coronavirus in Montgomery County. Before its workshop session Wednesday, Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon, who also serves on the Public Health District Board of Directors, presented the plan to the council. Coon said the preparations include creating an action plan to ensure city operations continue in the event of an outbreak, direct staff to secure vendors for the procurement of medical support supplies including medical gloves and face masks, directing the citys IT department to ensure all key city personnel can work from home, directing the finance department to identify funding sources from nonbudgeted emergency expenditures, directing the IT department to provide links to the Centers for Disease Control on the city web page, directing City Administrator Paul Virgadamo Jr. to share all information with Montgomery County, other municipalities and townships. The purpose of this statement is to inform our citizens that the city of Conroe is taking precautionary steps related to a possible coronavirus outbreak, Coon said. Coon emphasized there have been no known cases of coronavirus reported to Conroe officials. According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. This is just a just in case, Mayor Toby Powell said. We always need to be prepared to protect yourself, your children and the elderly. cdominguez@hcnonline.com Sheila Chance-Morrison, a career educator who has taught in the Harnett County School System in Dunn, North Carolina for thirty-seven years, has published her latest book Juanita, Emma Jean, and Sometimes Hughie: The Struggle for Integration in the 1960s: a is a true reflection of difficulties faced by Native American children in the segregated South. The author shares, This story in 2018 has an anniversary of fifty-eight years. I wrote this book for information and to tell our story. We are Native Americans, and we live in Dunn, which is located in Harnett County, North Carolina. This book is a true account of the struggle of two brave Indian brothers who wanted better education opportunities for their children. My dad often made this statement: Parents want a better life for their children than what they have experienced. He often reminded me and my nine siblings, Your money could be taken, your valuables stolen, but no one could take knowledge from you. After the eighth grade, there were no accommodations in Harnett County for Indian high school students. High school students attended the state-run Eastern Carolina Institute for Indian Children. This involved a seventy-two-mile round-trip on a bus daily. We had to rely upon our Lord and Savior for our strength. Our journey would take six long years. It was our faith that made us strong for the challenge. When the mission was accomplished, six of the siblings received an education at Dunn High School. Published by Page Publishing, Sheila Chance-Morrisons engrossing book is a riveting portrait of one familys experiences in an all-white school district that resisted integration after the landmark Supreme Court decision. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Juanita, Emma Jean, and Sometimes Hughie: The Struggle for Integration in the 1960s at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. A WOMAN has claimed she was groped by veteran comedian Syl Fox when she asked to have her photo taken with him on a Christmas night out. Sylvester 'Sil' Fox (86) has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault of a woman at a bar in the city-centre's south-side on December 17, 2018. He has gone on trial before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court. The hearing resumes on March 11 next. Mr Fox, who grew up in the Liberties in Dublin but has an address at Wellington Lawn, Templeogue, D6, had been asked for a selfie picture with the middle-aged woman, the court heard. The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Judge Murphy she had been on a Christmas night out with friends. Questioned by State solicitor Alva O'Herlihy, she said Mr Fox came up her group and said, Hi ya girls, are you looking for men and there was blatant chorus of no and he said fuck you and turned away from us but that was described by another witness as banter or a joke. Mr Fox was a was performer popular with her parents generation and she wanted a photo with him to show her father. She tapped him on his side and he agreed. She gave her phone to her friend to set up the picture as Mr Fox turned and asked if they were ready. She told him she liked a brooch of a clown he had on the lapel of his jacket. He agreed to the photo and put his right hand on the back of her chair and his left hand in front as he stood to her side, she said. The woman claimed that as her friend said Smile, Mr Fox proceeded to put his hand on to my lap, on to my groin and he tickled my vagina, and doing so he said, You will always remember where this picture was taken. She was stunned and did not say anything and he scurried away, she told the court. I was sick, stunned, I was floored, oh my God, this man has interfered with me, she said. She turned to her friends and said to the three of them, that man is after groping me, hes after sexually assaulting me. She said she was stunned and totally embarrassed and it was totally without my consent. She said she did not know what to do or say but she did not want to make a fuss and did her utmost to enjoy the night and put a brave face on it. I did my utmost to recover from an embarrassing and actually terrifying situation, she said. The night continued and there was joking and laughing and after the band finished she confronted Mr Fox who was talking to other men. She asked him if she could have a word, One of the men said excuse me, we are sharing a joke, That was Barry Murphy from Apres Match, the court heard. She told Mr Fox, You sexually assaulted me, you groped me, and you are a dirty old man. His reply, she claimed, was You should be so lucky and she then told him she would put you on Facebook. She claimed he asked her address a couple of times and then her name but she would not give him any details. The complainant alleged he told her this is ridiculous, this is stupid. She told the court her reply was You are a dirty old man, what you did was inappropriate, it is, sexual assaulted me and touched me inappropriately. She claimed he told her she had no witness but she told him about her friends and he went to talk to them. The woman said that while she and Mr Fox walked over to them he commented You are all mad fucking bitches and she told him that was inappropriate and nasty. At their table, she alleged, he told her friends, Do you hear what she is saying about me? and she claimed he said they were all mad bitches. One of her friends asked him to go away, she said and she spoke to the manager of the venue who told her he would keep the CCTV footage. Cross examined by defence counsel Emer Ni Chuagain (instructed by solicitor Michael French) she said the assault lasted for 30 seconds during the taking of the photograph. Asked why she was smiling in the photo she said she was shocked and did not know what to say. She said three quarters way through he whispered in her ear and groped her vagina. She did not think it was an accident or that his hand slipped. She realised what was happening and stopped smiling but the photo had been taken. She said he put his hand on her and tickled with his fingers and lasted split seconds. Asked why she said in her statement split second only, she said that was a typo and should have said split seconds. She could not explain why a friend who was present had a different recollection of what she told her Mr Fox had whispered. Counsel said the first garda she reported it to also had different version. She told her friends at the same time, she said. Her comment about putting him on Facebook was spur of the moment and she was not computer literate, she said. She agreed it was unusual for someone to stay at the same location after they had sexually assaulted someone. CCTV was shown to her and she agreed it took three seconds, not 30, to take the photo and her hand was going toward Mr Fox as he leaned in. She accepted his left hand could be seen in front on the table as the photo was taken and his other hand was on the back of the chair. Counsel suggested it was impossible and she replied that she did not know, but she said he had lowered his hand and touched her vagina. Maybe it felt like 30 seconds, she added. She also said maybe he brought his other hand around and she rejected suggestions it did not happen. Her friends at the table did not see it but saw her expression change after the photo was taken and she became more upset as the night went on and after she confronted him. It was accepted they also had a sing song later. One of her friends told the court she understood the complainant had said he would have touched her vagina if she had not been carrying weight. The gardai were not called that night because they felt it was her decision. She made her first complaint the following day. Detective Garda Shane Behan said his note of the complainants allegation was it that it happened in a split second. Mr Fox came to Pearse Street station voluntarily. He gave gardai a handwritten account of the night and agreed to be interviewed and that he did not need a solicitor. He told the detective he was there with friends but was not intoxicated. He said she was a liar and trying to ruin my name. He denied the allegation completely. He was shown the CCTV and told gardai it showed him doing a selfie but he did not touch her vagina and that is a load of crap. She had put her hand around him, he said. In his own notes he stated he was speaking to Barry Murphy when the complainant approached with the allegation. In his note he asked if drink had given her false courage and where is it in the photo?. He wrote that he was mass going Catholic and as a result of health problems 11 years ago his libido had vanished. He accused her of trying to ruin his reputation with false accusations. In the account he gave gardai, he wrote that he had never been accused of anything improper during 50 years in showbiz. I have been in hundreds of selfies, as far as I am concerned I am being shafted. Detective Behan agreed with defence counsel that Mr Fox he had no prior convictions and had never been accused of an offence before. The State has closed its case, and the court is to hear a defence application when the case resumes. A Cork mother has revealed how she feels unsafe in her own home after being assaulted by a man who broke into her home at the weekend. The woman revealed on The Neil Prendeville Show on Corks RedFM how she was woken from her sleep by a man who broke into her house in Gurranabraher on the northside of Cork city at 4am on Sunday morning. She woke when she felt his hand under her pyjama bottoms while her young son was sleeping nearby. "We were all in a deep sleep and I felt something very unusual around the underwear area. I pushed it away and I went back to sleep and then it happened again," she told The Neil Prendeville Show on Corks RedFM. I sat up in the bed and I looked over. There was a man leaning over my son. It was a very big man, a very tall, stocky man. I pulled my son and I was uncontrollably screaming, telling him to leave. "He then got up and tried to go back out through my daughter's bedroom but then he went down the stairs. He got in through my daughter's bedroom window. It's faulty and it has been for a long time." The woman said her 16-year-old son rushed to her when he heard her screams, which woke her other children too, and helped her call the local Garda station. "They were so frightened. They were shaking, we were all shaking ... We didn't know what to do, everyone was panicking ... The front door was wide open. He closed the door and then he dialled the Gurranabraher Garda Station and put me on to the guards. They came straight down." The woman said she hopes a neighbour's security camera may have captured footage of the man. She described the man as aged between 19 and 25, of stocky build and with dark, skintight hair. She said there was a strong smell of alcohol from him and he wore black runners. She said she and her children feel unsafe in their home. "I'm just trying to stay strong for the kids," she said. I'm terrified, absolutely terrified. I don't sleep, I'm watching my kids. I won't sleep until they take me out of this house. What if he comes back? I'm just trying to get through until somebody comes and helps us. "We were going to bed and my son said to me, 'is the man going to come back?' "We were never happy with the conditions we live in but it was our little safe haven. Your home is where you feel safe. I just want to make sure now that my children are safe at night and we can lock doors and windows. Gardai have confirmed they are investigating an alleged sexual assault. By PTI NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Police in Uttar Pradesh have enhanced security and patrolling along Ghaziabad and Noida borders the state shares with Delhi, where violence over the amended citizenship law has claimed 20 lives in the last two days, officials said on Tuesday. The Noida police said it was on 'high alert' and Section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of four or more people, was in place in the district, while the Police Armed Constabulary (PAC) has also been deployed in huge numbers. "Liquor shops near Delhi border areas were being closed and comprehensive checking was being carried out," the Noida Police said in a statement on Tuesday night. Similar measures were being taken in Ghaziabad, where police have increased security on Loni border which is close to northeast Delhi. "The security apparatus is active in the border areas, like Loni, where patrolling has also been increased. Peace committee meetings are being convened across the district. Intelligence unit is also active," Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani told PTI. Mobs roamed unchecked through the streets, burning shops, pelting stones and threatening locals, as fresh violence tore through northeast Delhi, resulting in the death of six more people on Tuesday and taking the toll in the communal clashes to 20. More than 200 people have suffered injuries. Ghaziabad is barely 1.5 km from Gokalpuri, adjoining Yamuna Vihar, Musfatabad, Bhajanpura and also close to Maujpur and Jafrabad in northeast Delhi -- the main areas hit by the violence that broke on Sunday night. "Precautionary deployment of the force has been increased in border areas along with checking of vehicles and patrolling in parts leading to Delhi," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida Zone I, Sankalp Sharma told PTI. "Senior officers are also on the ground to take stock of situation, while intelligence unit has also been activated in the wake of the violence in the national capital," Sharma added. While Noida does not share a border with northeast Delhi, it is close to Shaheen Bagh in southeast Delhi -- the epicentre of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests. A major road connecting Noida with South Delhi and further to Faridabad is closed for vehicular movement except ambulances and school buses since December 15. So far, there has been untoward incident reported in Noida or Ghaziabad which could be linked with the clashes in Delhi, officials said. The deadly coronavirus will likely spread to U.S. communities, and federal health officials are warning that people should take precautions and prepare for major disruptions in their daily lives in the event of an outbreak. Quarantines have been how health official around the world have been responding to this outbreak and a similar approach might be used if infections spike in the U.S. The experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say isolation, which separates sick people with a contagious disease, and quarantine, which separates and restricts peoples movement, help protect the public by preventing exposure to people who have or may have a contagious disease. Family members should stay home during a quarantine and not allow any visitors, and follow CDC recommendations for heightened hygiene and personal protection equipment to reduce risk of airborne virus spread, say experts. People who are sick should not share a bedroom, bathroom, towels or eating utensils with other members of the household, and they should wear a face mask to reduce the spread of illness. A disinfectant should be used to clean tables and other surfaces touched by the sick person. During a medical quarantine, earthquake, major power outage or other disasters, people should have plenty of food, water, medicines and other necessities already at home since supply chains will be interrupted and limited supplies will be in demand. Weve been inundated with questions and requests for respirator masks and hygiene items, and have limited the number of respirators any one person can buy to discourage hoarding, said Skyler Hallgren, co-founder of Redfora, the San Francisco-based company that sells emergency kits. Its important for each person to have a plan in place for themselves and their families without taking more than is necessary. Experts recommend that a basic disaster kit have nonperishable food, water and supplies for 14 days for each member of the family who is hunkering down in the home. Emilio DeBess and Paul Cieslak, both infectious disease experts with Oregon Health Authority, said its never too early to put together a two-week emergency supply. That applies even without the specter of a coronavirus outbreak, they said, because there are other possible emergencies. An earthquake could happen before coronavirus gets here, DeBess said. If you havent already made plans to be ready to act fast in a life-threatening emergency, its time. With climate change, possible pandemics like the coronavirus and looming disasters such as earthquakes, we all need to put a little time and money into preparation at home," said Jen Brown of Portland Earthquake Kits. "Store extra water, have an N95 face mask and keep an emergency radio/cell phone charger in case of a blackout. Disasters are inevitable; youll be glad to have a few extra supplies at your disposal. Steps to Prepare for an Emergency Sign up for notifications: Enroll in Public Alerts, Citizen Alert or a service in your county to be notified via text, call or email by emergency response agencies when you need to take action such as shelter-in-place or evacuate. Practice smart hygiene: Whether it is the coronavirus or simply practicing smart hygiene during flu season, its in everyones interest to wash and sanitize hands often, keep hands out of your mouth, nose and eyes, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, put used tissues in no-touch disposal receptacles and stay home if youre sick. The CDC has made it clear that its time for every American to take precautions," said Hallgren. Expert advice is to focus on social distancing to limit exposure, including the use of N95 masks, the respirators best suited to guard against viruses, and hygiene tools when in close contact and especially when traveling, he added. Have a family emergency plan: Its important to account for the risks where you live and put some common sense thought into an emergency plan, said Hallgren. Have a conversation as a family or household about how to mitigate risks, and what role each can play to help each other in case of an emergency. Make sure everyone in your home knows the plan, including where you will all reunite if separated and how you will contact each other if phones arent working. Assemble essentials: Refresh and update items in an emergency supply kit, especially water and food, says Ali Ryan, who works as the earth-science information officer for the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (Watch the video below of her putting together an emergency preparedness kit.) You can buy ready-made emergency preparedness kits or you can build your own. Many of the must-have supplies are already in your home, from a manual can opener to hygiene items, but you may need more to last two weeks or longer. Also make sure to have enough of any prescription and nonprescription medication you need to last a couple of weeks. Basic Disaster Supplies Kit Heres a list of what should be inside your emergency preparedness kit, as recommended by the American Red Cross and Ready.gov, which educates people in the U.S. on what to do to prepare for natural and manmade disasters, from earthquakes to wildfires. Reliance Jumbo-Tainer (7 gallons) from Portland Earthquake Kits has two handles for easier, shared lifting and its narrow form factor makes it easiest to carry, despite its 60-pound weight. Water: Youll need a gallon of water a day per person and pet to drink, cook with and clean. Half-cup pouches of water, available by the case, have a five-year shelf life while bacteria- and parasite-removing water purification tablets and personal water filters work if you have access to untreated water. Were very much concerned about Portland residents having the water they will need after a disaster and thats why we offer free delivery on 55-gallon drums, Aquatainers and Jumbotainers in Portland, said Brown of of Portland Earthquake Kits. She added that people should read instructions on how to safely store water. Containers should be certified free of BPA-containing plastics and specifically made to hold drinking water. Food: Experts recommend that nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food, like canned, ready-to-eat soup, not be super salty or something you dont like to eat. You can buy a compact bucket of dehydrated meals, from beef stew to granola, or shop for long-lasting food you wont mind eating before it spoils. Lights, radio, chargers: If theres no electricity, youll appreciate the American Red Cross Clipray crank-powered, flashlight and phone charger. Cranking for one minute produces power for 10 minutes of light. Portable emergency radios with real-time NOAA weather reports and Public Emergency Alert System information can be powered by a hand-crank generator, solar panel, rechargeable batteries or wall power adapter. First aid kit: The American Red Cross Deluxe Family First Aid Kit weighs only two pounds, including the zippered case with handles, yet its packed with 115 essential supplies to treat injuries: From aspirin and triple antibiotic ointment to a CPR face shield and the American Red Cross Emergency First Aid Guide tucked into a ringed binder. In case of a medical quarantine, check that your first aid kit includes a thermometer and acetaminophen like Tylenol to relieve pain and reduce fever. Multipurpose tool: In a little over 5 inches tall, a multitool can provide, at your fingertips, knives, pliers, screwdrivers, wire cutters, bottle and can openers, an electrical crimper, wire stripper, file, saw, awl and ruler. Other helpful items: Protective: Goggles, dust masks, gloves Personal: Toilet paper, towels, medicine Practical: Duct tape, matches, scissors, disinfecting household liquid bleach, whistle -- Janet Eastman with additional reporting by Fedor Zarkhin jeastman@Portlaian.com | @janeteastman Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the environment in the capital was not conducive for it to hear a plea against the Shaheen Bagh protesters as the toll in the Delhi violence over CAA crossed 20. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph noted the inability of the police to work without taking instruction from anyone, which resulted in the spread of the violence that erupted on February 23. Justice Joseph said: "Regarding the police inaction, I want to say certain things. If I don't, then I would not be discharging my duty... I have loyalty towards this institution, Constitution and the nation." The apex court deferred the hearing till March 23, as it pulled up Delhi Police for its inaction over the last four days, when widespread violence spread across Gokulpuri, Jafrabad, Maujpur, Seelampur, Chand Bagh among other areas in capital's northeast. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to refrain from making any strong observation, as it would demoralise the police force. "In this environment, you should not make such remarks," he contended. This did not stop Justice Joseph, who continued to make a strong observation on the police's functioning. "The problem is lack of professionalism and independence in the police... if it were to be done before, this situation would not have arisen." Mehta continued to object to Justice Joseph's remarks, arguing that one policeman has already died in firing by "a private bullet" and that a Deputy Commissioner of Police was nearly lynched by a mob. "He (DCP) is on ventilator... we are not aware of ground realities where police function. This may not be a time to put the blame on the force," he said. Expressing deep concern on the loss of lives in the spurt of violence in many parts of the city, Justice Joseph however recommended the Indian police force should learn from US and UK police, which takes action immediately without waiting for sanction of higher authorities. "If somebody makes inflammatory remarks, they get into action. They (police) do not wait for orders," he said. Mehta also vehemently contested this observation, saying that if Delhi Police were to act in accordance with its western counterparts, then the "courts will be the first to intervene". The court reiterated that the Centre had not taken appropriate steps to allow Delhi Police to work professionally to instill faith in the rule of law. Expressing anguish over the loss of life, Jutice Joseph also cited the implementation of the top court verdict in the Prakash Singh case to make police more effective and professional in its conduct. A plea was filed seeking direction to the police to register FIRs on the complaints made in respect of the attacks that started in the evening of February 23 and escalated throughout the day ob February 24. Declining to expand the scope of the petition, which focuses on the clearing road blockade at Shaheen Bagh, the court took cognizance of the recent spike in violence in various parts of the capital. The top court said the Delhi High Court is already seized of the matter. On February 17, in accordance with the apex court's direction, senior advocate Sanjay Hedge and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran held talks with the protesters at Shaheen Bagh to clear the road blockade and shift the protest to some other location. The top court had asked them to file a report on this matter. "What happened is very unfortunate and it should not have happened....we do not to expand the ambit of Shaheen Bagh case and people can seek remedy by filing separate petition on the matter," said the top court. Justice Kaul, after examining the report submitted by Hedge and Ramachandran, said that he gone through the report and in order to resolve the issue, people have to come forward. He insisted the process of engagement with people should continue. "Sometimes, the situation demands out of box solutions... we try sometimes. I have seen interlocutors (Hedge and Ramachandran) put in every endeavour (to resolve the issue), and we back them. We cannot guarantee that they will succeed," Justice Kaul said, posting the matter for further hearing on March 23. SELBYVILLE, Del., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report "Semiconductor Memory Market by Type (RAM, ROM), Application (Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Industrial, Medical, Telecommunications), Regional Outlook, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2026", by Global Market Insights, Inc., the market valuation of semiconductor memory will cross $250 billion by 2026. The market growth is attributed to digital evolution in the semiconductor industry and rising adoption of memory-based components in various industries segments. Some of the key players operating in the semiconductor memory market include Microchip Technology, Inc., Crocus Technology, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Everspin Technologies, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, GlobalFoundries, SK Hynix, Inc., Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Semiconductor Manufacturing Inte The industrial application segment in the market will register around 13% gains through 2026 as rising adoption of IoT technology in cameras, smart devices, etc. will drive the demand for non-volatile memory products. The technological innovations in the industrial segment with AI and big data will boost the demand for high information storage and faster processing requirements. This will increase the adoption of several memory solutions, contributing to market growth. Request a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2548 The RAM memory type dominates the semiconductor memory market with the DRAM sub-segment accounting for over 75% revenue share in 2019. This is due to its wide adoption in mobile devices to run data and command in the processor. Memory providers are continuously enhancing their DRAM memory solution due to rising demand for mobile & computer devices worldwide. The growing demand for real-time data simulation in autonomous vehicles has attracted major players to invest in cloud-based technologies. This will increase the requirement for memory solutions, further driving market revenue. The Europe semiconductor memory market is set to witness a growth of over 10% during the forecast period due to the expansion of the automotive manufacturing sector in the region. Manufacturers for automotive electronics in the region are the key customers of semiconductor memory solutions on account of increasing usage of ADAS, braking systems, and automotive lighting. Advanced characteristics including connectivity features and high memory processing provide high efficiency to automobile systems. Asia Pacific held a share of approximately 49% in the global semiconductor memory market in 2019. The growth is majorly attributed to the presence of leading memory solution providers in the region. Furthermore, the consumer electronics and automotive sectors in the region will also increase the consumption of various computing features and memory devices. Make an Inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2548 Some major findings of the semiconductor memory market report include: The rapid increase in data center establishments in various developing nations due to rising demand for high storage capabilities will further add an advantage to the market growth. - Proliferation of 5G services will increase the demand for smartphones and various gaming applications, which require various memory products & components. - The requirement for high capacity & faster memory solution for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and complex database will create several opportunities for NAND flash memories. - Some of the key players operating in the semiconductor memory market include Microchip Technology, Inc., Crocus Technology, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Everspin Technologies, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, GlobalFoundries, SK Hynix, Inc., Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), Texas Instruments Incorporated, Western Digital Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. - Semiconductor memory providers are focusing on the development of innovative products and improving their existing product portfolio to gain a competitive edge in the market. Table of Contents (ToC) of the report: Chapter 3 Semiconductor Memory Market Insights 3.1 Industry segmentation 3.2 Industry landscape, 2015 - 2026 3.2.1 Global semiconductor industry landscape 3.2.2 Global computer engineering industry landscape 3.2.3 Global electronic design automation industry landscape 3.2.4 Global consumer electronics industry landscape 3.2.5 Global IoT industry landscape 3.2.6 Global wearable industry landscape 3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis 3.3.1 Distribution channel analysis 3.3.2 Vendor matrix 3.4 Technology landscape 3.4.1 Evolution of the semiconductor memory industry 3.4.2 Impact of IoT 3.5 Regulatory landscape 3.5.1 International Standards 3.5.1.1 JEDEC memory standards 3.5.1.2 ISO/IEC 14443 3.5.1.3 ISO 14001 3.5.2 North America 3.5.2.1 FIPS 140-2 3.5.3 Europe 3.5.3.1 ROHS 3.6 Industry impact forces 3.6.1 Growth drivers 3.6.2 Industry pitfall and challenges 3.7 Growth potential analysis 3.8 Porter's analysis 3.9 Competitive landscape, 2019 3.9.1 Company market share analysis 3.10 PESTEL Analysis Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/semiconductor-memory-market About Global Market Insights, Inc. Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider. Offering syndicated and custom research reports, growth consulting and business intelligence services, Global Market Insights, Inc. aims to help clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data that aid in strategic decision making. GMIPulse, our business analytics platform offers an online, interactive option of exploring our proprietary industry research data in an easy-to-use and dynamic manner. Clients get to explore market intelligence across 11 top level categories and hundreds of industry segments within them, covering regional, company level and cross-sectional statistics that make our offering a stand-out for decision makers. Contact Us: Arun Hegde Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights, Inc. Phone: 1-302-846-7766 Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688 Email: [email protected] Related Images global-semiconductor-memory-market.jpg Global Semiconductor Memory Market revenue to cross US$250 Bn by 2026: GMI Some of the key players operating in the semiconductor memory market include Microchip Technology, Inc., Crocus Technology, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Everspin Technologies, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, GlobalFoundries, SK Hynix, Inc., Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Semiconductor Manufacturing Inte Related Links Dialog Semiconductor takes over Adesto Cue Report - Market News SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc. A partial truce in Afghanistan between the Taliban, American and Afghan forces is holding, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday, despite insurgent attacks and US strikes against Islamic State targets. "So far the reduction in violence is working -- imperfect, but it's working," he told reporters at a news conference in Washington. The planned week-long detente, which has lasted four days, doesn't amount to a full ceasefire but the number of Taliban attacks has fallen dramatically. If the "reduction in violence" holds, the US and the Taliban are expected to sign a historic deal in Doha on Saturday that would see the Pentagon withdraw thousands of troops after more than 18 years of war. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Afghan security source told AFP Taliban attacks had dropped from an average of 75 a day to about 15 since the truce began on February 22. But underscoring the fragility of the situation, the interior ministry said five security personnel were killed in three attacks in rural areas Tuesday. Meanwhile, US forces announced the death of four IS members in two airstrikes in Kunar province. Pompeo said the two sides were on the cusp of an "enormous political opportunity." "Make no mistake about it: we want to make sure that those who want the status quo -- bloodshed, tears, economic challenges -- all of those people who have an interest, whether that's because of corruption or because of some ideological views, can't spoil what it is that the Afghans so richly deserve," he added. The number of Catholics applying to join Northern Irelands police service has risen by more than 200. Almost one third of those who want to join are identified as Catholic, equating to 2,158. PSNI deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton said he was pleased. There are obviously always going to be problems in policing any community but what has been achieved here has been outstandingLord Chris Patten Lord Chris Patten, a former Conservative Party chairman whose 1999 report on overhauling the RUC led to the creation of the PSNI and 50/50 recruitment of Catholics and Protestants, said: I am extremely pleased that the Police Commission Report which I chaired with great support from a number of others has turned out to be such a success. That is partly because of the leadership of the police and the support of the community. There are obviously always going to be problems in policing any community but what has been achieved here has been outstanding. In just over three weeks the force received 6,961 applications, an increase of over 700 from a 2018 recruitment campaign, the PSNI said. Lord Chris Patten (Michael McHugh/PA) An extra 223 were from Catholics. Senior officers have expressed concern the proportion of Catholics applying has fallen back amid the continued threat from dissident republicans. Measures have been put in place to encourage them to put their names forward in relative safety. Sinn Fein and the SDLP have called for the reintroduction of the 50-50 recruitment policy, which ran for 10 years until 2011. Unionists have expressed concern. At the time Lord Patten produced his report only 8% of the force was Catholic, now it accounts for around 30% (Paul Faith/PA). At the time Lord Patten produced his report only 8% of the force was Catholic, now it accounts for around 30%. He said: At the moment the Equality Commission and police service have done a very good job and they will want to keep an eye on whether they need to go back to 50/50 recruiting. The proportion of women applying has also increased on 2018, to around 40%. Mr Hamilton said: I am encouraged to see the number of people who have shown an interest in a career in the police service from across all sections of the community. 31% of applicants are from a Catholic background and 41% are women. An accountable police service needs to be representative of the whole community it serves and representative in all grades and ranks also. The decision to abandon 50/50 recruitment was both political and wrong. Gerry Kelly (@GerryKellyMLA) February 26, 2020 Sinn Fein policing spokesman Gerry Kelly has been subjected to threats from dissident republicans after he lent support to the latest recruitment campaign and urged Catholics to sign up. He said: An accountable police service needs to be representative of the whole community it serves and representative in all grades and ranks also. The decision to abandon 50/50 recruitment was both political and wrong. It is anticipated that successful applicants will begin training from autumn 2020. Fishers in Tamil Nadu demand subsidy hike for deep-sea vessels by Antony Fernando February 26,2020 | Source: The New Indian Express Fishers in Nagapattinam have demanded subsidy to be increased on par with three other districts to encourage deep-sea fishing. Thirty-six Nagapattinam fishers, whose trawlers were seized by Sri Lankan navy, have been selected for 70 per cent subsidy with an upper limit of `56 lakh to build deep-sea fishing boats (DSFBs). They have been selected for the first time under a scheme which had been confined to Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram districts till now. Nagapattinam fishers have demanded that the scheme be extended to all in the district. Deep-sea fishing is still a dream for a lot of Nagapattinam fishers. Subsidy for DSFBs should not be restricted to those whose boats are impounded. They should get the amount on par with the other three districts to enable deep-sea fishing, said RV Kumaravelu of National Fishworkers Forum. Of the 46 people who had applied for subsidy, 36 were deemed eligible. Thirteen of them are now ready to get DFSBs built. The fishers also want the money to be given to the builders they choose. The notified builders do not do a proper job and we are forced to spend more. We want the subsidy amount to be directed to those we choose, said S Mohandas, a fisher from Akkaraipettai. R Amal Xavier, Joint Director, Fisheries department, said, We have forwarded the request of Nagapattinam fishers to be considered on par with Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram. The State government is considering it. Deep-sea fishing boats These boats can travel over 100 nautical miles and designed to catch large fish like tuna using longline fishing ropes stretching over five to 10 km, fitted with specialised hooks and pulled using winches. Subsidy for DSFB Subsidy is given in phases to build DSFBs as 70 per cent (50 per cent Central contribution + 20 per cent State contribution) with an upper limit of Rs 56 lakh to all fishers in Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram. It is to discourage them from venturing into Sri Lanka waters. Fishers from other districts get subsidy of 50 per cent with an upper limit of Rs 30 lakh. Nagapattinam district fishers avail the scheme only if their boats are seized by Sri Lankan forces. "I see you." This simple statement of fact might be the most powerful and the most dangerous thing an abuse victim can say to their abuser. Because abusers operate in the dark, away from prying eyes, twisting their own warped reality into the truth. Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) shouts "I see you" to a seemingly empty room. And although it comes at her lowest moment, the declaration is the first step on her road to redemption in Leigh Whannell's inventive and utterly riveting twist on "The Invisible Man." To reinvent H.G. Wells' 1897 story, which is best known as the 1933 James Whale classic horror film, Whannell has flipped the notion of invisibility. In this take, invisibility is no superpower, and no affliction, like the bandage-wrapped Claude Rains, but rather, it's a threat. In his script, Whannell centers a woman, Cecilia, as the target of the invisible man, who is her abusive, vindictive tech mogul partner, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). And she tries desperately to escape from him, running away in the middle of the night from his fortified oceanside mansion outside of San Francisco, seeking shelter with friends and family. Trump to Brief on Virus as Markets Ignore Plea to Shrug Off Fear (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump and federal health officials plan to brief the public Wednesday evening on efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, even as the White House continues to want global markets and the American public to believe that the disease poses little risk to the U.S. I will be having a News Conference at the White House, on this subject, today at 6:00 P.M., Trump tweeted Wednesday, adding that hed be joined by representatives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC warned Tuesday that the viruss spread in America is inevitable and could bring significant disruption to the worlds largest economy -- a message that runs counter to the one that has been coming from Trump in recent days. So far, the markets have sided with the CDCs experts. U.S. stocks hit a 12-week low following the CDC warning, with losses on the S&P 500 totaling 7.6% over four days. Read More: U.S. Futures Edge Up as Stocks Slide; Gold Gains The American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus and Im not getting them from you, Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf at a hearing on Tuesday. At the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday night, candidates accused Trump of making the country more vulnerable by failing to take action. The mixed messages from top U.S. officials illustrated the balance that Trump and his advisers are trying to strike: Demonstrating that they have control over the situation while avoiding any move that spurs a panic and subsequent stock market sell-off as the re-election campaign heats up. Trump returned to Washington early Wednesday morning from his trip to India and indicated he would turn his attention to the potential of an outbreak in the U.S. Heading to the White House, Trump tweeted. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon. Story continues Trump returns to growing questions about the administrations handling of coronavirus. His Health and Human Services secretary, Alex Azar, will face a second day of scrutiny over the governments response during House hearings Wednesday on his agencys budget. Earlier: Trump Administration Asks for $2.5 Billion to Battle Coronavirus Earlier Tuesday, as he concluded a two-day trip to India, Trump told reporters that the disease was well under control in the U.S. His top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, declared at the White House later in the day that we have contained this virus. But they were contradicted by public health professionals at the CDC. We expect we will see community spread in this country, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. It is not a matter of if, but a question of when, this will exactly happen, she said. The benchmark S&P 500 index extended its losses for a fourth straight day, the longest such streak since Aug. 5, falling more than 3% on Tuesday. Compounding investors worries about the U.S. governments preparedness, the World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that the number of global infections exceeded 80,000, up 900 in a day, and that cases were reported in four additional countries -- Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq and Oman. There have only been 60 Americans infected so far, according to the CDC, and none have died. Nevertheless, there is deep concern on Capitol Hill that the government is unprepared for a domestic outbreak. Some lawmakers have pushed Trump for a more aggressive response, including broader restrictions on travel from countries with outbreaks, but there are worries within the White House about the impact on the economy -- and by extension, the presidents re-election campaign. Read More: Feds Clarida Says Too Soon to Speculate on Virus Spillover A test for the virus developed in part by the CDC and shared with states has produced inconclusive results, limiting the ability of local health departments to detect the disease and raise alarm if its silently spreading through U.S. communities. Thats crucially important, given that mild cases can resemble the flu. I am frustrated that we have had issues with the test, Messonnier said. The agency is working on a modified test kit it hopes to send out to state and local health departments as soon as possible. Twelve states and localities are now able to perform testing on their own, she said. Through Feb. 23, the CDC conducted 2,620 coronavirus tests on 1,007 patients. While it has no backlog, completing the test involves sending a sample back to the agency, potentially delaying results. The U.S. also has far fewer protective masks than it would need in the case of a major coronavirus outbreak, Alex Azar told lawmakers. There are about 30 million stockpiled N95 masks that can block infective particles, Azar said, but the country would need as many as 300 million for health workers in an outbreak. More Money The Trump administration asked Congress on Monday to provide $2.5 billion to help fight the looming outbreak, money that would be used to help expand disease surveillance, bolster state and local health agencies, fund work on vaccines and drug treatments and help fortify the strategic national stockpile with protective gear including masks and respirators. About half of the $2.5 billion would come from reallocated funds, including $535 million for efforts to combat Ebola, according to a person familiar with the matter. Democrats and some Republicans said the White Houses request was not enough. Even some close Trump allies expressed frustration with the governments preparations and public statements. Asked to comment on Kudlows assertion that the virus is contained in the U.S., Senator Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, demurred. I cant comment on what the White House has been saying on this, because the people who work for the White House are not saying that, he said. Kennedy complained that U.S. officials couldnt consistently answer even basic questions about the virus. In a hearing Tuesday morning, he asked Wolf about the diseases mortality rate. Worldwide I believe its under 2%, Wolf said, saying hed provide an exact figure from the CDC. It changes daily. Its under 2%, it was as high as 3. Asked the mortality rate of influenza, Wolf said, its also right around that percentage as well. You sure of that? Kennedy said. While seasonal flu kills as many as tens of thousands of Americans each year, its mortality rate is less than 0.5% this year, in part thanks to broad vaccination. During the Tuesday night debate, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg all said Trump has sought to cut funding to the CDC, and Klobuchar said that the president hasnt really addressed the nation on this topic. (Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.) Trump, on his way back from India, responded on Twitter that CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. He added that so far, by the way, we have not had one death. Lets keep it that way! Radical Transparency After the Senate hearing, Kennedy said that officials need to speak straight up to the American people, and when they dont know an answer, they need to say we dont know the answer to that but were working on it. A Homeland Security Department spokeswoman said that Kennedy should have directed his questions about the viruss mortality to health care officials, not Wolf. Azar said that the administration is trying to engage in radical transparency with the American public as we go through this. Each of those messages is accurate, but addresses a particular aspect of what were talking about, he said. Abroad, this is spreading quite rapidly. In the United States, thanks to the president and this teams aggressive containment efforts, this disease is contained. Trump, tweeting grievances about the prosecution of his friend Roger Stone as he flew back to Washington, will return to a city consumed by concerns about the coronavirus and his governments preparations. His message to Americans, so far, has been that even if they get sick, the virus is unlikely to kill them. Of the 60 Americans who have become infected so far, 36 were on a cruise ship in Japan that was the site of one of the largest outbreaks outside China. None have died. We think theyll be in very good shape very, very soon, Trump said. Blunt, the Missouri Republican, took a darker and more global view. After a classified briefing from U.S. officials at the Capitol, Blunt said: It would be true that most of them are getting better. But he added: Theyre not all getting better. The ones that died arent getting better. (A previous version corrected the chamber holding hearings, in the sixth paragraph.) --With assistance from Billy House, Steven T. Dennis, Jordan Fabian, Jennifer Jacobs, Daniel Flatley, Drew Armstrong, Justin Sink and Kathleen Hunter. To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Wayne in Washington at awayne3@bloomberg.net;Michael Shepard in Washington at mshepard7@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman 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 YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Equiteq, the leading global investment bank to the knowledge economy, announced today that Anirban Dasguptahas joined the firm as Managing Director to further bolster Equiteq's growing investment banking practice in North America. With competition for complex people- and innovation-driven assets at an all-time high, both corporate and financial acquirers are turning to external IP, process and sector expertise to find and activate the most strategic targets. Equiteq offers unrivalled support through its global footprint, sector focus, multi-disciplinary resources and long-term engagement model. Based in New York, Anirban will lead Equiteq's buy-side and market intelligence practice in the region, driving specialist insight into the increasingly mature and competitive community of entrepreneurs, strategic acquirers and private equity firms looking to transact in the knowledge economy. Anirban has extensive experience advising private equity firms and major strategic acquirers on inorganic growth strategies and origination across multiple sectors and geographies. He joins Equiteq after co-leading the buy-side practice of MHT Partners, having previously spent 2 years at an investment firm that he established, almost 9 years in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank and 5 years in management consulting at McKinsey. Anirban Dasgupta said, "I am pleased to be joining Equiteq at a pivotal time in the company's growth journey. In particular, their buy-side offering has gained real traction in the US market serving what is evidently a fast-growing but under-provisioned need to identify and engage with specialist, high value, on- and off-market assets. Equiteq offers an outstanding integrated platform to help clients identify core components of value in these firms, as well as deep operational knowledge, sub-sector expertise and international reach to support M&A outcomes." Paul Dondos , Global Head of Buy-side and Market Intelligence at Equiteq, said, "We are delighted to welcome Anirban onto the platform at this very exciting time for our buy-side offering. Anirban's combined skillset, as former consultant, entrepreneur and senior banker, and his wealth of international experience advising clients in the M&A market make him a singular asset to deliver Equiteq's specialist insights into firms looking to achieve superior transaction outcomes in the knowledge economy." About Equiteq Equiteq is the only investment bank dedicated to serving shareholders and investors in the knowledge economy. We pride ourselves on having a unique skillset, perspective and IP which enables us to identify, forge and consummate transactions that maximize value, choice and confidence for our clients. With six offices in four continents, we give each client the benefit of local knowledge and contacts, as well as the ability to capitalize on our global reach and relationships. Visit us at equiteq.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1095274/EQUITEQ_FULLCOLOR_Logo.jpg Ankit Sharma, one of the 22 killed in the communal violence over the citizenship amendment law in Delhi, is survived by his parents, brother and sister. New Delhi: An Intelligence Bureau staffer was on Wednesday found dead in a drain in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh area where he lived, officials said. Ankit Sharma, 26, had been missing since Tuesday and might have been killed in stone pelting, they said. His body was taken to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for an autopsy. Sharma's father Devendra, who also works with the Intelligence Bureau, said he returned home around 5.30 pm on Tuesday and soon after left to assess the situation outside. However, for hours, he did not return. "When he didn't return, we started looking for him. We also went to the GTB and LNJP (Lok Nayak Jai Prakash) hospitals to check whether he was admitted, but could not find him. "We kept searching him till 3 am on Wednesday. Later around 10 am, we got information that his body was lying inside the Chand Bagh drain. We never thought that he will be killed," he said. Sharma's mother Sudha was inconsolable and said she never thought "destiny would be so cruel to her". "I can't live without him," Sudha said repeatedly as relatives and friends tried to console her. Sharma's brother Ankur said some women from their colony informed them in the morning that they saw people throwing his brother in the drain. "When the persons saw the women, they threatened them with dire consequences if they revealed about it to anyone. He sustained several stab wounds before being dumped into the drain," Ankur claimed. On Tuesday evening, mobs roamed Chand Bagh and other areas, pelting stones and setting property on fire. Sharma, one of the 22 killed in the communal violence over the citizenship amendment law, is survived by his parents, brother and sister. He joined the service in 2017. Share Market Update: Extending the fall for the fourth straight session, market indices Sensex and Nifty closed majorly bearish on Wednesday, following overseas trend, amid heavy sell-off in almost all sectors. BSE 30-share S&P Sensex closed 392 points lower at 39,888 and NSE 50-share index Nifty50 closed 119 points lower at 11,678. Domestic indices tracked volatility from global equities due to rising concerns over coronavirus epidemic outside China and on worries over its impact on the global economy. Traders said market is also likely to be bearish ahead of Futures and Options expiry. Here's a look at the live updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today: Closing Bell 3: 50 PM Extending the fall for the fourth straight session, market indices Sensex and Nifty closed majorly bearish on Wednesday, following overseas trend, amid heavy sell-off in almost all sectors. BSE 30-share S&P Sensex closed 392 points lower at 39,888 and NSE 50-share index Nifty50 closed 119 points lower at 11,678. Domestic indices tracked volatility from global equities due to rising concerns over coronavirus epidemic outside China and on worries over its impact on the global economy. Traders said market is also likely to be bearish ahead of Futures and Options expiry. India Cements sharerise 20% 1: 10 PM India Cements share price hit upper circuit of 20% on Wednesday after brother of Avenue Supermarts founder Radhakishan Damani, Gopikishan Damani, bought 2.75 per cent stake in the cement maker. Damani's brother bought 85,22,428 shares at Rs 82.7 per share, bulk deal data on NSE showed. Radhakishan Damani himself held 1,46,24,021 shares or 4.73 per cent stake in the cement maker at the end of quarter December 31, 2019. Share price of India Cements rose 19.95% to hit an intra day high of Rs 104.60 against previous close of Rs 87.20 on BSE Bharti Airtel share price falls nearly 3% 12: 40 PM Bharti Airtel share price fell in early trade today after the Sunil Mittal-led telco lost over 11,000 subscribers in December. Airtel's customer base fell to 327.29 million, according to latest subscriber data from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Share price of Bharti Airtel dropped 2.78% to Rs 520.45 compared to the previous close of Rs 535.35 on BSE. Indigo shares exends losses 12:15 PM InterGlobe Aviation share price fell in early trade today after market regulator SEBI found prima-facie violations of corporate governance and listing disclosure norms in certain related party transactions involving the firm. Share price of InterGlobe Aviation lost 1.74% to Rs 1,352 compared to the previous close of Rs 1376.70 on BSE. InterGlobe Aviation share has lost 6.11% in three sessions. SBI Cards IPO 12:00 PM SBI Cards, the credit card company of India's largest lender State Bank of India, is coming out with an IPO (initial public offering) at Rs 750 to 755 per share. SBI Cards' annualised EPS (earning per share) of Rs 15.58 apiece for 2019-20 puts the company's valuation at a price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 48 times, which is on the higher side. Rupee Today 11: 15 AM The Indian rupee appreciated by 11 paise to 71.74 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday. The domestic unit, however, could not hold on to the gains and was trading at 71.78 against the dollar. On Tuesday, rupee had settled for the day at 71.85 against the US dollar. Global update 10: 15 AM Asian shares fell as a US warning to Americans to prepare for the possibility of a coronavirus pandemic drove another Wall Street tumble and pushed yields on safe-haven Treasuries to record lows. Stock exchanges in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with losses, while bourses in Shanghai turned positive. US stocks continued their sharp two-day sell-off overnight trade after American health authorities said they ultimately expect the novel coronavirus to spread in the United States and are urging local governments, businesses, and schools to develop plans like cancelling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.84 points, or 0.4%, to 29,348.03, the S&P 500 gained 15.86 points, or 0.47%, to 3,386.15 and the Nasdaq Composite added 84.44 points, or 0.87%, to 9,817.18. US Futures (Dow Jones) traded at 27,314, up 197 points or 0.73%. Losers and gainers today 10: 00 AM Top losers in the Sensex pack included Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries and HDFC. On the other hand, HUL, Nestle India, PowerGrid and Asian Paints were trading with gains. Brent Today 9: 45 AM Brent crude oil futures rose 0.50 per cent to USD 54.53 per barrel. FII/DII action on Tuesday 9: 35 AM On a net basis, foreign institutional investors (FPIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,315.07 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,565.28 crore on Tuesday, data available with stock exchanges showed. Opening Bell 9: 20 AM Extending the fall for the fourth straight session, market indices Sensex and Nifty opened majorly bearish on Wednesday, following overseas trend, amid heavy sell-off in almost all sectors, barring FMCG. BSE 30-share S&P Sensex traded 200 points lower at 40,075 and NSE 50-share index Nifty50 fell 60 points at 11,735. Domestic indices tracked volatility from global equities due to rising concerns over coronavirus epidemic outside China and on worries over its impact on the global economy. Stocks to watch today on February 26 9: 00 AM IndiGo, Wockhardt, Sanofi, Asian Paints among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Wednesday's trading session Last Close 8:45 AM On Tuesday, domestic market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty erased early gains and closed bearish, backed by heavy selling in pharma stocks. BSE 30-share S&P Sensex rose 78 points higher at 40,441 and NSE 50-share index Nifty50 traded 8 points higher at 11,837. Domestic indices tracked volatility from global equities due to rising concerns over Chinese coronavirus epidemic. In a move that'll enable foreign brokerage firms to venture into Indian insurance space, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified amendment to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, allowing 100 per cent FDI in insurance intermediaries. These intermediaries include insurance brokers, re-insurance brokers, insurance consultants, corporate agents, third party administrator, surveyors and loss assessors. The announcement regarding 100 per cent FDI for insurance subsidiaries was made by Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitahraman in her Budget speech last year. "FDI inflows into India have remained robust despite global headwinds...I propose to further consolidate the gains in order to make India a more attractive FDI destination," she had said. Also read: Buying car insurance? Keep these points in mind So far, FDI in the insurance sector was capped at 49 per cent under automatic route. Notably, FDI for insurance companies is still capped at 49 per cent. As per the new policy, no Indian company will allow "aggregate holdings" by way of "total foreign investment" in its equity shares by foreign investors, including portfolio investors, to exceed 49 per cent of the paid up equity capital of such Indian insurance company. Allowing foreign insurance subsidiaries to buy 100 per cent stake in Indian companies will enable them to sell and target new products to its clients, while bringing global practices in the country. The policy says an insurance intermediary that has majority shareholding of foreign investors will be incorporated as a limited company under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. Also, at least one from among the chairman of the board of directors or the CEO or principal office or MD of an insurance subsidiary should be an Indian resident. Such intermediaries are also required to take prior permission of the authority concerned before repatriating dividend. The policy also says that foreign intermediaries are not permitted to make payments to any foreign group or promoter or subsidiary or interconnected or associate entities beyond what is mandated. Also read: This startup helps customers fight insurance claim rejection REGINA - Emails show the University of Regina's dean of arts told George Elliott Clarke that he was sorry the acclaimed poet had been vilified over his relationship with the killer of an Indigenous woman. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. REGINA - Emails show the University of Regina's dean of arts told George Elliott Clarke that he was sorry the acclaimed poet had been vilified over his relationship with the killer of an Indigenous woman. They also show Clarke was hopeful he would be invited back to the school someday. Governor General Adrienne Clarkson presents the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry to George Elliott Clarke, of Toronto and originally of Windsor Nova Scotia, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall official residence of the Governor General in Ottawa, Wednesday, November 14, 2000. Emails show the University of Regina's dean of arts told George Elliott Clarke that he was sorry the acclaimed poet had been "vilified" over his relationship with a killer of an Indigenous woman in the city. Clarke was also hopeful he would be invited back to the school someday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand Clarke, a former poet laureate of Canada, cancelled his lecture at the university in January after news reports that he was connected to killer-turned-poet Stephen Brown. "I just wanted to take a moment, Dr. Clarke, to say how sorry I am that it has come to this," Richard Kleer wrote in an email to Clarke's literary agent on Jan. 3. The email and others were released to The Canadian Press under freedom-of-information legislation. "Your intentions were the very best," wrote Kleer. "And I still find it almost impossible to believe that anyone who has worked so hard to draw attention to the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls should have been vilified in the way that we have all witnessed over the past two days." Clarke had been scheduled to give a lecture titled: '"Truth and Reconciliation' versus 'the Murdered and Missing:' Examining Indigenous Experiences of (In)Justice in Four Saskatchewan Poets." In early January, CBC News first reported that Clarke had edited the poetry of Brown, who changed his name from Steven Kummerfield after he was released from a 6-1/2-year sentence for manslaughter. Brown was a student at the university in 1995 when he and his friend Alex Ternowetsky killed Pamela George in Regina. Brown was granted parole in 2000. He later moved to Mexico. Clarke told the CBC in January that he wouldn't pander to "so-called intellectuals" and "may or may not" read a poem by Brown at the lecture. Concerns about Clarke's relationship with Brown were raised by members of the lecture's selection committee in early December. Three members who wanted his invitation cancelled eventually resigned. Emails show that as Clarke's relationship with Brown became public, school officials were watching reaction roll in. "As expected, we are weathering a bit of a storm with this. The university is being positioned as guilty by association ... albeit once-removed," Paul Dederick, acting director of communications and marketing, wrote Jan. 2. Kleer publicly said at the time that while the university condemns violence against Indigenous women and girls, it wouldn't censor a speaker. A few days later, Clarke cancelled the talk. Kleer told Clarke in an email that he understood the cancellation: "Having seen some of the vitriol coming across my own desk, I can only imagine the kinds of inflammatory messages to which you have been subjected." Ahead of his official statement being released, Clarke told the faculty's interim associate dean in an email that he was in "deep anguish" over the pain his proposed lecture had caused. "I am dreadfully sorry that my attempt to think in public about the relationships between poets and matters of grave social injustice has turned into a civil liberties ideal of academic freedom pitted against the grief and rage of an oppressed community," Clarke wrote. "That was never my intent; I really imagined that it could be possible to examine poets in this way." Clarke also said he hoped to be invited back to the university. "I don't think I'll be proposing any more lectures for the time being. But it might be safe for me to still recite poetry!" he wrote. The university said in a statement this week the school is focused on repairing its relationships with stakeholders, including Indigenous representatives. "We have acknowledged that our position was not supported by all communities and brought back some painful memories for many. While it was never our intention to cause hurt or harm, we know we need to do better," said Dederick. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020 A worker sprays disinfectant at the Suseo Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on February 25, 2020. Associated Press The coronavirus outbreak that originated in China has spread to at least 40 other countries. South Korea, Italy, and Iran have seen a dramatic spike in cases. More than 50 deaths have been reported outside of mainland China. Health experts say this is a critical week to contain the spread of the virus. For the latest case total and death toll, see Business Insider's live updates here. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. For a few weeks in February, it seemed the coronavirus outbreak had passed its apex. The World Health Organization said on Monday that the epidemic had peaked and plateaued in China between January 23 and February 2, and a recent study found that the largest number of Chinese patients were showing symptoms on February 1. But over the last few days, the epidemic has taken a worrisome turn: The number of cases outside of mainland China more than doubled in just four days, jumping from around 1,150 on Friday to more than 2,600 on Tuesday. More than 1,200 people are now infected in South Korea, and 12 have died. Italy has confirmed 11 deaths and a case total of 322. Iran, meanwhile, has nearly 140 cases, but 19 people have died. "There now are a number of countries where the virus has been introduced and there clearly was some spread," William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told Business Insider on Tuesday. "Those countries are still trying to contain it, but we're not certain how successful they're going to be." Schaffner said he's much more nervous this week than last. "There's no numerical definition of a pandemic like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "I think we're right on the edge of it." Drastic upticks in South Korea, Italy, and Iran On Sunday, South Korean president Moon Jae-in said the country faced "a grave turning point" in its efforts to contain the outbreak. Story continues A few days earlier, a 61-year-old member of a controversial fringe religious group the Shincheonji Church of Jesus was reported to have spread the virus to dozens of other worshippers. More than half of the coronavirus patients in South Korea were either members of that church or had contact with a member as of Monday. The New York Times reported that worshippers at the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, where the 61-year-old woman had attended an event, were forbidden to wear face masks. Workers in protective gear spray an anti-septic solution to fight the coronavirus in a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, on February 21, 2020. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Italian authorities, meanwhile, have struggled to find "patient zero" there. The country's case total skyrocketed over the weekend; only three cases has been confirmed there as of Friday. Most of the Italian patients are in the northern region of Lombardy, which is home to Milan. Italy has banned public events in 10 municipalities, closed public buildings, and restricted transport in the northern region. "We are asking basically that everyone who has come from areas stricken by the epidemic to remain under a mandatory house stay," Italy's health minister, Roberto Speranza, said in a press conference on Saturday. While Iran has reported fewer cases than in Italy or South Korea, many health experts think the full case count there is higher than the official total so far, given the death count. Iran now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside of China. At least five Middle Eastern countries Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Oman have linked their own infections to travelers from Iran. Over the weekend, several other Middle Eastern countries including Afghanistan, Armenia, Pakistan, and Turkey restricted travel to and from Iran. 'This is a critical week' Despite the climbing number of international coronavirus cases, around 97% of the more than 80,000 total cases are in China. The World Health Organization has thus far hesitated to call the virus a pandemic, since the designation also takes into account the severity of illnesses caused by a virus. A recent study from the Chinese Center for Disease Control found that around 80% of cases have been mild. Still, the coronavirus has spread to 40 other countries and killed more than 2,800 people in total. A pandemic refers to a virus that has escaped its origin country, been introduced to a number of others, and is spreading in those nations in a sustained fashion. An epidemic, by contrast, is more regionally contained. "It's clear that the virus has escaped to other countries," Schaffner said. "It has been introduced and it has spread, but it's not clear that it is spreading in a sustained fashion." But that might not be the case for long. "This is a critical week," Schaffner said. "We could change our mind within days." Richard Martinello, an associate professor of infectious disease at the Yale School of Medicine, told Business Insider on Tuesday that the number of countries with cases of the virus was still "relatively limited." "Of course, as the days have gone on over the last week or two, we've seen that list actually grow quite a bit," he added. "At some point, it won't be surprising if we're seeing transmission here in the United States." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that the outbreak will likely spread to more communities in the US, and that Americans should "prepare for the expectation that this might be bad." CDC officials said that any travelers returning from China, South Korea, Italy, Japan, or Iran who develop a fever, cough, or shortness of breath should seek medical help and self-isolate. Travel could still fuel the spread of the virus The spread of the virus to other countries "was always very, very likely," Schaffner said. "Many of the countries bordering China did not put in an absolute travel ban," he added. "South Korea is now paying the price for that." Airport staff check the temperatures of passengers returning from Milan as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at the Debrecen airport, Hungary, February 25, 2020. Zsolt CzeglAdi/MTI / AP South Korea issued a travel ban for all foreign nationals who had visited China's Hubei province in the prior two weeks on February 2. A few days earlier, more than half a million South Koreans signed a petition calling for a ban on all Chinese visitors. But such policies may have come too late, Martinello said. "This virus has already circulated so widely that, at best, travel bans may slow things down a little," he said. "Without real draconian measures, it's essentially impossible to prevent further spread of this." At the moment, he added, people shouldn't refrain from traveling internationally. But the risk of contracting the virus while traveling, he said, is "not zero and it is increasing with time." "We are losing the ability to focus on just one country," Martinello said. "As we see further spread of this virus, it does increase the risk that those who are traveling internationally may be in contact with somebody who is connecting from some other country where they may have picked this up." The outbreak can still be contained, but time is running out Last week, the World Health Organization warned that the window of opportunity to contain the outbreak was narrowing. A health worker wears protective suit at the infectious disease clinic in Zagreb, Croatia, where the nation's first coronavirus patient is hospitalized on February 25, 2020. Associated Press Schaffner said countries might now want to consider testing people who have recently returned from hotspots outside of China. "Suppose they've come back from Italy, particularly northern Italy I would open the door to that testing," he said. But travelers from countries like Spain, which have only reported a handful cases, wouldn't require a test, he added. Although there's some evidence that the virus can be transmitted when patients aren't showing symptoms, Schaffner said doctors shouldn't be too concerned about identifying asymptomatic patients. "The more frequent that phenomenon is, the more difficult it is to control it. But there's nothing we can do about it," he said. "So forget about it. Work on what you can deal with." Read the original article on Business Insider [February 26, 2020] Beacon Healthcare Systems Virtual Appeals Manager to be Showcased at Upcoming Health Plan Conference March 25-27 in Nashville Beacon Healthcare Systems announced today that it will be one of the lead sponsors and exhibitors at the upcoming Insight Exchange Network "Enhancing Appeals & Grievances and Improving ODAG & CDAG Readiness" conference March 25-27 in Nashville. The conference is designed to provide the tools that attendees from leading health plans around the country need to boost operational effectiveness in ways that optimize member satisfaction, quality performance and audit outcomes. Beacon is home to the healthcare industry's leading compliance, appeals and risk management technologies. Attendees stopping by the Beacon booth at the conference will be able to learn about the company's Virtual Appeals Manager (VAM), the industry's most intuitive and easy-to-use appeals and grievances tool. Designed by health plan compliance and operational experts, VAM is a highly configurable and automated solution that can be implemented in record time and provides unparalleled control and transparency of cases from intake to review, thus ensuring complete compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. VAM also helps reduce a massive amount of health plan letters into a manageable and efficient core of templates. "As a result of its reliability, transparency and ease of use, VAM has been shown to improve star ratings; and that translates into additional dollars from CMS to the health plan-dollars that the plan can invest into bettr serving its members," said Beacon CEO Ken Stockman. "We are excited to share this product with conference attendees and together discuss even better ways that we can smartly use technology to enhance efficiencies and serve health plan members." In conjunction with the IEN conference, Beacon will also be holding its second annual VIP Forum. This invitation-only event provides an exclusive opportunity for Beacon's clients to meet and exchange ideas on how they use Beacon's VAM as their solution to manage appeals and grievances. "The VIP Forum is central to our core belief that listening to our clients, working closely with them and fully understanding their needs is the best way to truly be their trusted partner in helping them achieve their business and strategic goals," said Stockman. The IEN conference will be held at the AC Hotel in downtown Nashville. Information and registration is available at https://insightxnetwork.com/healthcare-conferences/enhancing-appeals-grievances-odag-cdag-readiness-2020/. Beacon Healthcare Systems is home to the healthcare industry's leading compliance and risk management technologies, providing health plans of all sizes and sponsorships with customizable and scalable SaaS (News - Alert) (Service as a Software) solutions that ensure accountability, accuracy and operational efficiency. With a focus on appeals, grievances, compliance and analytics, Beacon HCS is the first place health plans turn to when they are looking for a trusted, experienced partner who can help them reduce costs, grow revenue and achieve their strategic goals. Founded in 2011, Beacon HCS is a privately held California-based company with a technology center located in Austin, Texas. beaconhcs.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005760/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The AIADMKs governments latest expression of solidarity with those protesting against CAA, NRC and NPR in Tamil Nadu is a missive by the chief minister, Edappadi K. Palanisamy, and his deputy O. Panneerselvam to the Centre urging it to exclude needless questions during the enumeration of the next Census, vaguely suggesting that all might not be hunky-dory with the coming NPR. Prior to that, when over 20,000 vocal protesters marched to Fort St George, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu, on March 19, they were stopped by a wall of iron barricades and allowed to disperse meekly after handing out a 24-hour ultimatum for the state legislature to adopt a resolution against the CAA. He should have heaved a sigh of relief for there was no compulsion for an unsavoury crackdown as it happened a few days earlier when a protest against CAA, NRC and NPR in north Chennai was violently dispersed by the police, at least for that night, leading to eruptions of anger all over the state the next day. So, it was indeed intriguing that the chief minister let the marchers cover a distance peacefully and it was more baffling that he wrote to the Centre to refrain from asking pesky questions during the Census when he had, on March 18, challenged an Opposition MLA to prove which Muslim has been affected by the CAA and his own party MPs in Rajya Sabha had voted en masse in favour of the bill to bring in CAA. Has the chief minister suddenly realised his mistake in the 12 MPs not defeating the bill in Rajya Sabha and hence moved away from the BJP? If that is the case he could have passed a resolution in the House against the CAA, as it was demanded by the prime Opposition party, the DMK, and also the protesters who marched up close to the Assembly. So, is Mr Palanisamy caught in a Hamletian dilemma to decide who is important for him? Yes, and the choice is between the people of the state, whom he would have to meet and seek votes in a little over a year from now, and the BJP government in New Delhi, under whose spell he was believed to be in since February 2017 when he became chief minister, a momentous occasion that saw its third anniversary recently. In the three years since, Mr Palanisamy has been least bothered about public sentiments. On May 22, 2018, the state police ruthlessly opened fire upon common people, protesting against a private company, Sterlite, at Thoothukudi in south Tamil Nadu and shot down 13 people. Prior to that, AIADMK MPs there were 37 of them in Lok Sabha, the third biggest group, then voted for the GST and NEET bills, which went not only against public sentiments in Tamil Nadu but against the wishes of their late leader, J. Jayalalithaa. Besides, the conduct of the government itself gave rise to suspicions of the AIADMK being guided by acolytes of Hindutva and it was proved right recently when auditor S. Gurumurthy openly stated at a public meeting as to how he had urged Mr Panneerselvam to rebel against V.K. Sasikala, when she was all set to take over as chief minister prior to her latest incarceration. Mr Gurumurthy proudly said that he had asked Mr Panneerselvam if he were a man. Mr Paneerselvam went on to divide the party into two. When the two groups merged, the AIADMK was projected as a party with a dual leadership. So in all government publicity material the images of both the chief minister and the deputy chief minister were displayed with equal significance. But Mr Palanisamys completion of three years in office on February 16 saw him alone in the limelight, portrayed as the undisputed leader. He started behaving like one too. Like, when the bill to declare the Cauvery delta region a protected agricultural zone was passed on the last day of the Budget Session, Mr Palanisamy elbowed out the agriculture minister and cornered all the accolades to him inside the House. Outside the House, the move was used to earn for him the sobriquet saviour of the farmers as there was a growing resentment in the state against various projects on the exploration of methane, hydrocarbons and so on being carried out in the delta region, which is the rice bowl of the state. He was projected as one who protected farmers interest by piloting the bill. That was just a continuation of an image building exercise aimed at portraying Mr Palanisamy as a farmer himself. It began during the Pongal celebration when a Tamil television channel did a special programme on the chief minister, shooting him with farming paraphernalia in a field. Newspapers were provided with pictures of him with a sickle and so on. Perhaps the image building is done on the premise that public memory is short. Not too long ago, the state was rocked by a farmers struggle against the proposed Rs 10,000 crore Salem-Chennai highway. The project is now in a limbo due to a high court order. Otherwise, hectares and hectares of agricultural land would have been levelled by now with bulldozers to pave the way for the laying of a 277-km eight-lane road. When farmers fought tooth and nail against the proposed project, the state government, under Mr Palanisamy, took an inflexible stand and sought to quell the protests. However, farmers associations preferred legal remedies that have put the project on hold, though the case is now in the Supreme Court. Hoping that people may not remember that, Mr Palanisamy pulled out his latest caper in piloting the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Bill that was passed on the last day of the Budget Session in the Assembly evoking mixed reactions from stakeholders. He first made a grand announcement of his plan to declare the Cauvery delta as a protected agricultural zone while speaking at an official function at Thalivasal in his native Salem district on February 9; he added I am a farmer. The farmer image, Mr Palanisamy hopes, would help in the 2021 Assembly elections. In fact, as of now, the entire AIADMK rallies around him, though it seems to find the BJP to be an albatross around its neck. But after travelling such a long distance with the BJP, at least since 2017, it may not be that easy for Mr Palanisamy to shake it off. A military training exercises between the U.S. and the South Korean Military is now under review. One of the reasons is the current contagion of the coronavirus that has affected activities of the U.S. Armed Forces on a global theatre. This was relayed to the South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo when he visited the Pentagon. News reveal that 13 South Korean soldiers are now positive for coronavirus contagion, which U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper concurred with. Transparency over the situation with 13 troops was seen as a positive gesture as well. In South Korea, their health officials are now investigating the cause of 833 recorded infections all over the country. To date, they have confirmed 8 Koreans who died from coronavirus. The South Korean government is now taking action to stave off more cases. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said, "As of yesterday, we had 13 cases in the (South Korean) armed forces. We do regard this situation as a serious one." During the presscon at the Pentagon he said that there will be no leaving the base, which means no vacations. With this, they quarantine their soldiers in their barracks. He also added that Korean servicemen will be kept in barracks as a precaution. Last Monday, military sources have remarked that a 61-year old woman tested positive with coronavirus. This individual visited an America Military base in Daegu where there are many cases of the contagion which became an immediate concern in the upcoming military training exercises with U.S. and Korean troops. Also read: Jars Filled With Tongues, Other Body Parts Alarms Florida Police Based on reports, she was married to a deceased serviceman who went to Camp Walker on Feb.12 and 15, said military sources. He is one of the 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula. Increasing infection due to the coronavirus in South Korea has prompted the U.S. military to declare a 'high risk' situation for their troops, who might get exposed to potential contagions. Officials in the U.S. military wanted limited travel and require the troops to stay on the bases, to keep U.S. servicemen safe from the virus. In a communique given to top American and Korean officers who were currently in the Korean Peninsula, they are deciding on the reduction of participating units in military exercises. Esper added that both organizations should keep alert with the threat of North Korean aggression via nukes. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, made it clear that both the U.S. and South Korea are ready to counter any threats. He stressed this commitment with the Korean envoy. A big concern about the effects of the contagion is how the two forces, spread out the money spent to hold the military-related activities. With the Americans asking the South Korean government to lessen the U.S. costs for holding the said military activities. According to U.S. Defense Secretary Esper, talks on Monday made it clear that costs for the common defense is not proportional to American taxes. But Jeong said the talks were at a statement as of now. South Korea's defense ministry said that efforts should be both should reach something 'mutually acceptable' and fair for both parties. Especially for American and Korean Military training, and concerns with the coronavirus. Related article: G20 Summit Tackles Climate Changes as Factor to World's Financial Stability @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Hosni Mubarak, a former air force commander who ruled Egypt with an iron hand for three decades before his overthrow by a mass popular uprising in 2011, died Tuesday at a Cairo military hospital at the age of 91. While hated by the masses of Egyptians and disgraced at the end of his life by jail and convictions on corruption charges, he died with his legacy secured in the form of the current military regime of Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, which is even more repressive than the one that Mubarak himself headed. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, sworn in Oct. 14, 1981. (AP Photo) The Sisi regime issued a statement proclaiming Mubarak a military leader and war hero, while remaining silent on his three decades as head of the Egyptian state. It announced that he would receive a military funeral at an unspecified date. The most heartfelt condolences for the hated dictator came from Israels right-wing government, with which Mubaraks regime maintained its unilateral peace accord at the expense of the Palestinian people. On behalf of the citizens and government of Israel, I would like to express deep sorrow on the passing of President Hosni Mubarak. President Mubarak, my personal friend, was a leader who led his people to peace and security, to peace with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. Mubaraks death came just one month after the ninth anniversary of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The January 25 anniversary saw a blanket of state repression in Cairo, with a heavy police presence in every major square to dissuade anyone from marking the mass popular upheaval that brought Mubarak down. In advance of the anniversary, security forces raided and shut down major restaurants in downtown Cairo, searching customers bags and mobile phones. Anyone found with even vaguely political messages or posts on their Facebook pages were arrested and hauled away in police cars. Those refusing to turn over their phones were also arrested. Since seizing power in a bloody military coup in 2013, overthrowing Egypts elected president, Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood and massacring over 1,000 of his followers, including women and children, the Sisi regime has imprisoned an estimated 60,000 people, sentenced over 1,000 to death and carried out systematic torture in its prisons. In March 2017, the regime dictated a ruling by Egypts supreme court that overturned Mubaraks 2012 conviction and life prison sentence in connection with the slaughter of over 800 unarmed demonstrators during the first days of the Egyptian revolution. While he was immediately released, the courts failed to overturn his conviction on corruption charges, no doubt also at the orders of a Sisi regime anxious to divert attention from its own rampant embezzlement and corruption. Mubaraks conditions of imprisonment, confined to a hospital where he freely received visits from family and cohorts, contrasted sharply with those of the deposed Muslim Brotherhood President Mursi, who was held for years under conditions tantamount to torture and collapsed dead in the prisoners dock last year while on trial for his life. The rise of Mubarak was bound up with the evolution of the Arab bourgeois nationalist movement led by Gen. Col. Gamal Abdul Nasser. Born in 1928 to the family of a janitor in a rural village in the Nile Delta province of Monufiya, he went to military school and joined the Egyptian Air Force in 1950. This was two years before the Free Officers Movement, a dissident movement of junior officers drawn from Egypts petty bourgeoisie who were veterans of the 1948 war with Israel, was to overthrow the British puppet monarchy of King Farouk in a successful coup detat. Within 11 months of the coup, the military-controlled regime abolished the monarchy, established the Republic of Egypt and initiated a limited agrarian reform based on the redistribution of lands belonging to the monarchy and sections of the aristocracy. Nasser became president in 1954, a position he would hold until his death in 1970. He won mass popular support with his nationalization of the Suez Canal, triggering an Israeli, British and French invasion in the Suez crisis of 1956, that ultimately failed thanks in large measure to pressure from Washington against the former colonial powers. Promoting a program of Arab socialism at home and Pan-Arabism and the non-aligned movement abroad, Nasser was able to institute a program of limited economic and social reforms, nationalizing many of the countrys industries and banks. This was thanks to the specific historical conditions of the post-war capitalist economic boom, on the one hand, and the ability of bourgeois nationalist movements to balance between US imperialism and the Moscow Stalinist bureaucracy, on the other. Crucial to the consolidation of his regime was the ruthless suppression of a powerful movement of the Egyptian working class, whose militant leaders were executed or jailed. Among them were many members of the Stalinist Communist Party, whose leadership, basing itself on the Stalinist two-stage theory of revolution, worked to subordinate the working class to Nasserism and ultimately liquidated itself into Nassers ruling party, known as the Arab Socialist Union. While other Arab bourgeois nationalist movements sought to emulate Nasserism, the Egyptian presidents efforts at forging a Pan-Arab state ran aground on the conflicting interests of the national bourgeois ruling elites that sought to hold onto the old borders and state structures inherited from colonialism as guarantors of their own power and privilege. While Nasser retained a mass popular basehis funeral in 1970 was attended by some 5 million peopleby the time of his death, Egypts defeat in the 1967 war with Israel and the drain of its military intervention in Yemen had taken a toll on both his anti-imperialist standing and his economic nationalism at home, with resources for social reform diverted into war spending, and the economic growth enjoyed during the early 1960s slowing sharply. Before his death, Nasser had embraced a US-brokered agreement, the so-called Rogers Plan, that called for an end to hostilities with Israel and an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Egyptian territory. The plan was rejected, however, by Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organization and all Arab states except Jordan. At the same time, within Egypt he relaxed controls on private capitalist enterprises and the state monopoly on foreign trade. Nasser was succeeded by another former member of the Free Officers Movement, Anwar Sadat, who sharply accelerated the rightward turn of the Egyptian government while maintaining its dictatorial control. Sadat shed Nasserisms socialist pretensions, opened up the country to foreign capital and slashed subsidies, triggering widespread food riots in 1977. He created the conditions for the rapid enrichment and corruption of government-connected layers of the Egyptian elite along with ever-widening social inequality. He also broke close ties with the Soviet Union, turning decisively toward alignment with US imperialism. This was to culminate in the signing of the 1978 Camp David Accords, which represented not a Middle East peace agreement, but rather the rapprochement between the Egyptian bourgeois government and both Tel Aviv and Washington, at the expense of the Palestinian people. It was during this right-wing turn under Sadat that Mubarak rose rapidly from chief of staff of the air force to commander of the air force and deputy minister of defense in 1972, and then to vice president in 1975. He became head of state in October 1981, after Islamist military personnel hostile to the Camp David deal broke off from a parade to shoot Sadat to death as he sat in the reviewing stand alongside Mubarak, who emerged relatively unscathed. Mubarak continued and accelerated Sadats rightward turn, cementing a close alliance with Washington, which granted Egypt $1.2 billion in annual aid, second only to Israel. He implemented International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programs, scrapping state monopolies, slashing subsidies, cutting corporate taxes and expanding the private sector. The social consequences for the working class were devastating, even as corruption flourished and the ruling elite accumulated ever greater wealth. To maintain this social order, Mubarak ruled through a harshly repressive dictatorship. There is an undeniable continuity between the dictatorial repression of the working class under Nasser, carried out in the name of Arab socialism and nationalism, and the methods utilized under both Sadat and Mubarakand now Sisias the Egyptian military and the bourgeois class interests that it defends moved firmly into the orbit of US imperialism. The fate of Nasserism paralleled that of bourgeois nationalist movements and so-called independent paths of economic development throughout the former colonial world. Significantly, in a chronology of Mubaraks life published by the government-controlled Ahramonline, there are no entries between 1950, when he joined the air force, and 1982, when as president he marked the recovery from Israel of Egyptian control over the Sinai Peninsula. Clearly, the entire history from the rise Nasser to the completion of Cairos rapprochement with US imperialism remains too explosive for the Egyptian bourgeoisie to even mention. Deepening social inequality and hostility to a regime that ruled through police-state killings, imprisonment and torture, while enriching top officials, including the Mubaraks themselves, finally erupted in the mass uprising of 2011 which saw millions take to the streets all over Egypt. While international attention was focused on the dramatic clashes in Tahrir Square, the decisive role in bringing down Mubarak was played by the Egyptian working class, which carried out a wave of strikes and occupations at factories all across Egypt, the culmination of a long period of strikes and protests by workers against social cuts, privatizations and the looting of state assets by the criminal and corrupt ruling elite. The successful overthrow by the working class of a US-backed dictatorship that had ruled Egypt for 30 years had immense international significance, heralding a new period of global revolutionary struggle. From the outset of the Egyptian revolution, however, the basic problem was and continues to be the absence of a revolutionary political leadership in the working class. The day before Mubarak was forced from power, the chairman of the World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board, David North, warned in a Perspective column that the greatest danger confronting Egyptian workers is that, after providing the essential social force to wrest power from the hands of an aging dictator, nothing of political substance will change except the names and faces of some of the leading personnel. The Perspective continued: In other words, the capitalist state will remain intact. Political power and control over economic life will remain in the hands of the Egyptian capitalists, backed by the military, and their imperialist overlords in Europe and North America. Promises of democracy and social reform will be repudiated at the first opportunity, and a new regime of savage repression will be instituted. These dangers are not exaggerated. The entire history of revolutionary struggle in the twentieth century proves that the struggle for democracy and for the liberation of countries oppressed by imperialism can be achieved, as Leon Trotsky insisted in his theory of permanent revolution, only by the conquest of power by the working class on the basis of an internationalist and socialist program. This assessment has been tragically confirmed by the developments that followed the mass uprising of 2011. The burning question posed by this revolutionary upheaval was that of establishing the political independence of the working class from all of the various bourgeois forces vying to succeed Mubarak, combating every illusion in the progressive potential of the military officers who rushed to assume control, bourgeois liberal parties and the Muslim Brotherhood. The diametrically opposite role was played by the petty-bourgeois pseudo left in Egypt, represented by the so-called Revolutionary Socialists (RS), which reflected the interests of affluent sections of the upper-middle class, and whose reactionary and sinister politics dovetailed with those of the US State Department. Initially claiming that the military junta that replaced Mubarak would grant reforms, the RS then sought to channel the continuing opposition of the working class behind the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming that its electoral victory in 2012 represented a victory for the revolution. When working class opposition again developed against Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013, the RS lauded the pro-military Tamarod campaign as a road to complete the revolution, thereby helping to pave the way to the July 2013 military coup (which the RS initially welcomed as a second revolution) and the rise of General Sisis regime of counterrevolutionary terror. With the emergence of a new wave of mass revolutionary struggles in the Middle East and across the planet, the vital lessons of the mass struggles that brought an end to the dictatorship of Mubarak are more vital than ever. The fundamental question remains that of building a revolutionary party based upon an uncompromising struggle for the political independence of the working class and the program of permanent revolution. Such parties must be built as sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Egypt and across the Middle East. Two US students appeared in an Italian court today on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing last year of a policeman during a botched drugs bust. Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth are charged with killing newlywed Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times last July. The Californians, who had been on holiday in Rome and were teenagers at the time, face life sentences if convicted. In Italy, the slaying aroused an outpouring of public sympathy for Cerciello, who had just returned from his honeymoon when he was killed. Huge crowds attended his funeral - which was broadcast live on television - where he was hailed as a hero. Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth (right) and Finnegan Lee Elder, in their hotel room in Rome Mario Cerciello Rega, who had just returned to work from his honeymoon, suffered 11 stab wounds and later died in hospital from his injuries But the case has also been marked by major blunders - especially the blindfolding of Natale-Hjorth during his police interrogation - and contradictory statements made by the key prosecution witness, Cerciello's police partner Andrea Varriale. In the aftermath, Varriale said he and Cerciello had been attacked by men of North African descent. He also initially claimed he had been armed. Both officers were in fact unarmed and acted without backup, in violation of police procedure. Amid the intense media focus in the case, comparisons have been made to the high-profile trial of Amanda Knox, a US student convicted and later acquitted of a 2007 murder in Italy. The pair appeared in a packed courtroom Wednesday as the judge read trial procedures to the men, who listened expressionless. As Elder was led out during a break he looked at his parents and held up crossed fingers. Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello with a 7-inch (18cm) serrated-edge combat knife he had stashed in his sweatshirt but told investigators he thought he and his friend were being set upon by drug dealers. The death of the victim, Mario Cerciello Rega, shook Italians and has dominated headlines across the country The young men and Varriale have given opposing versions of what happened during the 32-second attack in the early hours of the morning, which followed a botched drug deal. Hours earlier, the young men from the San Francisco Bay Area had gone looking for cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere. Intermediary Sergio Brugiatelli introduced them to a dealer who sold them aspirin instead. In retaliation, the teens stole Brugiatelli's bag, before demanding money and drugs to return it. Cerciello and Varriale went in Brugiatelli's place to the designated exchange point in an upscale neighbourhood near the teenagers' hotel but the handover never took place. The two officers approached Finnegan and Hjort and announced they were Carabinieri, but after brief exchange of words Finnegan pulled out a knife and stabbed Rega several times Elder, now age 20, told police they were jumped from behind by the officers and believed they were thugs sent by Brugiatelli. Varriale has said he and Cerciello, both in plain clothes, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Cerciello, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale. The teens then fled to their nearby hotel, where police later found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel. 'His murder cannot and must not go unpunished,' his wife, Maria Rosaria Esilio, said in a statement on the eve of the trial. 'My family has ended with Mario's death because our unborn children and dreams were buried with him,' she said. Under Italian law, Natale-Hjorth, who was 18 years old last July, faces the same charge of 'voluntary homicide' with a special circumstance of killing a police officer, even though he did not stab Cerciello. Both young men are also charged with attempted extortion. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in isolation. Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have made a breakthrough that may eventually lead to improved therapeutic options for people living with asthma. The researchers have uncovered a critical role for a protein (Caspase-11), which had previously never been implicated in the disease. They report their findings today [Wednesday 26th February 2020] in leading journal Nature Communications. Lead author Zbigniew Zaslona, working with a team led by Luke O'Neill, Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, has been exploring the role that inflammation plays in asthma -- a very common and often serious disease of childhood. Ireland has one of the highest incidence of asthma in Europe, which in its most severe form remains difficult to treat and can be fatal. Caspase-11 is a protein with an important role in defending against bacteria, but the team in Trinity has found that when it is over-active it can provoke a damaging inflammatory reaction. When this happens, it is likely to be a key driver of allergic inflammation in the lungs of asthmatics. Dr Zaslona said: "Caspase-11 can cause cells to die, which is a very inflammatory event as the cells then release their contents, which can irritate tissues in our body. We have found that Caspase-11 is a key driver of inflammation in the airways in asthma. This causes the signs and symptoms of asthma which most notably involves difficulty breathing." Although symptoms of mild asthma can be managed with current therapies, severe asthma remains very difficult to treat and asthma rates are constantly on the rise. Dr Zaslona added: "A variety of irritants such as airborne pollutants, certain types of pollen and house dust mites can induce cell death in the lungs. Our work suggests that Caspase-11 is sensing these noxious things and causing disease." Professor O'Neill said: "Caspase-11 -- or it's human equivalent, which is Caspase-4 -- has never been implicated in asthma before so we think it holds great promise as a possible target for new drugs to treat this common, debilitating disease." The work was funded by the the Wellcome Trust and European Research Council. A male baboon that dodged a vasectomy after escaping from a truck in the car park of a Sydney hospital will have his operation tomorrow. The baboon, along with his two wives who with him for 'moral support' sparked a widespread police hunt when they fled Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's research facility in Camperdown on Tuesday night before being recaptured. New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard has given an update on the escapees, whose antics have made headlines around the world, and revealed that the male baboon actually has six wives. Writing on Twitter Mr Hazzard said the 15-year-old male baboon will now undergo his planned vasectomy on Thursday. He added that all three baboons were 'well and resting' after their 'big day out' and will 'join their family (4 other females) post op. tomorrow'. The escapees enjoyed a big hearty breakfast on Wednesday, according to the health minister The trio enjoyed a hearty breakfast of bananas, capsicum, apple and bread the morning after their exciting but short-lived adventure. The escapees were part of a colony bred at the Sydney Local Health District in Wallacia in Sydney's west. NSW Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi announced on Wednesday she will move a motion in the Senate acknowledging the Sydney baboons and highlighting the harm and suffering caused by animal testing. 'The government must invest in the methods and tech needed to end the use of animals for research,' she tweeted. A long-running Change.org petition calling on the federal government to end medical experiments on primates has grown to more than 66,000 signatures in the wake of the failed escape bid. A group of baboons (pictured) have escaped from a research facility at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown The petition was originally started several years ago by Humane Research Australia, who now hope to make Australians more aware of the bleak future the recaptured baboons now face. 'While the industry is shrouded in secrecy, much of this research is funded by taxpayers through the National Health and Medical Research Council,' chief executive Helen Marston said in a statement. 'Not only is this a cruel and unethical industry, it is a huge waste of precious resources funding and time that would be better spent on research methods that are applicable to humans not a pseudo-model of a human that is more likely to lead to erroneous data' 'Sadly, the three baboons captured will now face a lifetime of imprisonment, being subjected to invasive experiments.' The male baboon escapee (pictured) has had his vasectomy rescheduled for Thursday The baboons were on the loose outside one of Sydney's busiest hospitals for more than an hour before they recaptured by animals handlers and police in the hospital car park after a 90-minute stand off. The trio escaped through a truck door while being transported to the hospital. Mr Hazzard told The Daily Telegraph that the 15-year-old male was accompanied by his two wives to keep him comfortable before his operation. 'The two girls came as effectively his wives to keep him company while he had his vasectomy, then they will all return back home to his family troupe,' Mr Hazzard said. 'He can stay there with his family without having any more babies which could be problematic.' Dramatic pictures captured the primates wandering on Missenden Road. A woman told 2GB Radio that her daughter, who is an occupational therapist at Royal Prince Alfred, had helped to wrangle the baboons. 'She texted me, 'Mum, they were psychotic',' she said. Mr Hazzard said the baboons are used for medical research in the hospital. 'The research includes reproductive issues, kidney disease, gestational diabetes, a whole range of research areas and with the conclusion of the research they return to the colony in Western Sydney and they usually just live their lives out until old age,' he said. NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia no one was injured in the recapturing process. The head of U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) called Tuesday for the U.S. Air Force to slow the retirement of more than 20 aerial refueling tankers slated to be cut in its fiscal 2021 budget request, saying doing so is necessary to reduce stress on overtasked aircrews. Army Gen. Stephen Lyons told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing Tuesday that the Air Force should keep some of the tankers slated for the boneyard in order to avoid mission gaps while it works with Boeing Co. to fix its newest tanker, the KC-46 Pegasus, and trains aircrews working on legacy tankers to convert to the new aircraft. Lyons said that 13 KC-135 Stratotankers and 10 KC-10 Extenders "must be retained" out of the 29 tankers that the Air Force plans to cut. The request is the command's leading unfunded priority, which he proposed in a Feb. 20 letter sent to Capitol Hill, Breaking Defense reported. "In some scenarios, we're tail limited; in some scenarios, we're crew limited," Lyons said during the hearing. He stressed that the deploy-to-dwell ratio is running higher for some airmen, especially those serving in the Air National Guard. Related: The Air Force Wants to Retire Aging Aircraft. It Will Have to Get Past Congress First "Particularly in the Guard, I would say we do come very, very close, [or we] penetrate the mode to dwell in that particular force element," he said. Lyons' request comes as the Air Force's budget calls for retiring 16 KC-10s and 13 KC-135s from its total force inventory. This is not the first time military officials have suggested a halt in aircraft retirements, especially in the tanker community. Last month, Lyons said the Pentagon should explore an air refueling leasing program with the defense or commercial industry because of the KC-46's problems, which have included how its boom connects and disconnects from other aircraft; foreign object debris, such as trash, tools, nuts and bolts, found scattered inside multiple planes; and a glitch in its Remote Vision System (RVS) software, among others. The first KC-46s were delivered in January 2019 despite the RVS problem, a critical capability that permits the in-flight operator to view the refueling system below the tanker. "We are taking a look at [leasing]," Lyons said during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28. An immediate, positive effect of leasing would be relieving the stress put on refueling operators and pilots, he said. "We wouldn't be able to employ that capability in a contested environment, but nonetheless ... much like we do on airlift, it would be able to take the pressure off." The effort could also include tanker leasing opportunities for the commercial airlift industry already working with TRANSCOM. In September, Gen. Maryanne Miller, head of Air Mobility Command, confirmed the KC-46 isn't likely to deploy to a combat zone for at least three years, given its setbacks. As a result, AMC has also been weighing how to potentially slow the retirement of older KC-10s and KC-135s, she said at the time. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read more: Duckworth: Army's New Helicopters Should Not Be Designed for Anyone Else We have restrained ourselves from joining issues in a certain section of the media in the light of what Magu said on coronavirus, but are now constrained to issue this clarification, he said. ONEONTA, N.Y. Oneonta police have arrested a man for defacing multiple businesses and private properties in the area with graffiti. Thomas R. Miller, 26, of Oneonta, is charged with eight counts of making graffiti, and six counts of criminal mischief. One of the criminal mischief charges is designated as a hate crime, because offensive symbols were painted onto a church. Photo courtesy of Oneonta Police Photo courtesy of Oneonta Police The perseverance of our dedicated officers sends a clear message that expressions of hate have no place in Oneonta and will not be tolerated. I thank Officer Amanda Catapano for her leadership in pursuing this arrest, said Mayor Gary Herzig. Police say the incidents took place from November of 2019 through February. Miller was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the City of Oneonta Court at a later date. Click here to read the full article. Brazilian distributor Fenix Films is moving into co-productions with three projects, including two international projects, one featuring Vincent Cassel and the other Berlin Silver Bear winner Paulina Garcia. Fenix Films first international co-production, Baden Powell, is a documentary about Baden Powell, considered by some to be the greatest Brazilian guitarist of all time. More from Variety Directed by Benjamin Passat and Philippe Baden Powell, the musicians son, the film will be shot throughout this year and features Cassel as one of the interviewees, as well as musicians Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethania and Yamandu Costa. The project is under negotiation for co-production with France. The company is also developing Los anillos de la serpiente, a drama directed by Chilean helmer Edson Cajas and starring Garcia, who won the Silver Bear for best actress at the 2013 Berlinale Gloria. Set in Chile, the film tells the story of an exemplary doctor who is discovered to be a former agent of the military dictatorship. Ivan, The TerrirBle, a documentary by director and film critic Mario Abbade, looks at the career of Ivan Cardoso, one of the most inventive and renowned Brazilian filmmakers and creator of the terrir genre, which mixes Brazilian parodic comedy and American horror. The film mixes archival material, documentary scenes, animation and fictional reconstructions in its portrait of a remarkable character in Brazilian cinema. Fenix Films will also co-produce Abbades next feature, The Mythomaniac. The companys move into co-productions reflects growing difficulties in the market, particularly in Brazil, according to CEO Priscila Miranda do Rosario. We are opening new markets and looking for smart solutions to continue bringing good films to our audience. This is not only a Brazilian reality, although here the crisis is very difficult. Distributors worldwide are increasingly investing in film production. The situation is very complicated for all distributors. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Sen. Todd Young and state Rep. Vanessa Summers recently announced plans to work together to address high maternal and infant mortality rates in Indiana. At a press conference earlier in February at the Indiana Minority Health Coalition headquarters, the two lawmakers, along with state Rep. Jean Breaux, brainstormed ways to lower the number of women who die as a result of childbirth in the state. Indiana has the seventh highest rate of maternal mortality in the nation, with 41.4 white women out of 100,000 and 53.4 Black women out of 100,000 dying every year. While no definitive plans came from the meeting, Summers urged Young to work with Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who are collaborating on a Healthy MOMMIES Act, which is aimed at decreasing the rate of maternal mortality among Black mothers. Related: Play shines light on discrimination, Black experience Further, Summers and health care professionals called for the extension of Medicaid coverage for prenatal and postpartum care, as well as the implementation of doulas, who help care for women during pregnancy, labor and the postpartum period. Im looking forward to continuing to address this issue, Young said. Indiana should not be in the top 10 [in the country for rates of maternal mortality,] everyone agrees on that. Summers noted, however, that hospitals and health care providers have to work to address systemic racism in order to make a difference. Black women are often less likely to be believed by doctors when they complain of pain or other symptoms, leading to higher rates of death and complications from childbirth. We need to have cultural competency, said Summers, who is Black. We need to have conversations about how doctors get the idea that I can take more pain, that Im tougher. We have to have those conversations with hospitals. Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:09:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENNA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Remaining parties of the Iran nuclear deal reaffirmed the importance of preserving the agreement as a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, according to a statement released by the European Union's diplomatic service Wednesday. The statement was published on the website of the European External Action Service (EEAS) following the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, held at Palais Coburg in the Austrian capital. The Joint Commission was chaired, on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles, by EEAS Secretary General Helga-Maria Schmid and was attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran at the level of Ambassadors/ Political Directors/Deputy Foreign Ministers. The meeting was held as related parties try to find a way to persuade Tehran to come back into compliance with the JCPOA after Tehran made a series of steps reducing commitments in retaliation for the U.S. withdrawal from the multilateral accord and reimposing sanctions. Serious concerns were expressed regarding Iran's steps in reducing its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA, while participants of the meeting also acknowledged that the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions did not allow Iran to reap the full benefits arising from sanctions-lifting, according to the statement. Participants welcomed positive developments in the processing of first transactions by INSTEX (a barter system for trade with Iran), and the addition of four European countries as new shareholders, while acknowledging the importance of further strengthening the instrument. They also took note of recent developments concerning the Arak Modernisation Project and the Fordow facility as essential part of the JCPOA. The meeting took place against the background of the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants expressed their solidarity with China, Iran and all countries affected, in their efforts to address the outbreak and, in particular, the contribution of China and those later affected to the global fight against this public health challenge. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has asked all the party members to not only meet the people injured in the Delhi violence but also donate blood for them. Congress leader Alka Lamba, during her visit to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, told mediapersons: "Our chairperson Sonia Gandhi has asked all the party workers to not only meet injured but to donate blood also. I could not donate due to haemoglobin deficiency but one of the workers who came with me, has donated blood here." Criticising the government, Lamba said the government is unable to control the situation. "Leaders are making irresponsible remarks." She also appealed to the people to maintain peace. University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC) graduate teaching assistants (TAs) entered their third week of wildcat strikes this week. At a general assembly meeting last Friday, 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 grading strike grew into a full-blown wildcat strike on February 10, in defiance of the no-strike clause and poverty wages included in the contract negotiated by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union last year. Striking grad students last week [Credit: UC Student Workers UAW 2865 Santa Cruz] The strikers central demand is a substantial cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) of $1,412 per month to offset crushing rent burdens, currently over 50 percent of most graduate students salaries in one of the most expensive areas of the country. In the face of the popular support for the students, UC President Janet Napolitano decided not to enforce her threat to fire the grad students if they didnt submit grades last Friday and has moved the deadline for strikers to end their action to this Thursday. Demonstrations and assembly meetings are set to continue throughout the week at UCSC with another Doomsday rally on Thursday. If Napolitano goes through with her threat to fire the strikers, hundreds of UCSC TAs have pledged to withhold Spring 2020 quarter grades and refuse any new TA appointments. Last Friday also saw solidarity actions spread to nearly all of the nine other campuses in the University of California system. Hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students and faculty throughout the state and nearly 1,000 protesters at UCSC marched in opposition to Napolitanos threat to terminate striking TAs. Graduate students across the state have also taken up the COLA demand at their own campuses. UC graduate students also plan to demonstrate in Los Angeles, Davis, Merced, Irvine and San Diego. Following a general assembly meeting on Monday, grad student TAs at UC Santa Barbara formally voted to approve a one-day wildcat strike on Thursday to demand their own COLA increase of $1,800 per month. Ben, an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, expressed his support for the striking students and faculty. They are protesting to try to raise wages, so it actually goes above the cost of basic living conditions. There are situations where people cannot afford to live even if they work for the university, and thats a huge problem at various UC campuses. Lecturers and grad students are being used as free labor. They do work that requires a lot of professional knowledge that isnt paid for or is being paid at a wage that cant sustain them. Theyre contributing a lot to teaching students, but if the wages arent there then they cant live. They [UC Regents] want to raise tuition every year, but they dont factor in any benefit for students. What TAs provide is essential for lower division students, and this is the primary reason to hire them in the first place. But youre paying them such a low wage that they have to go on strike and cancel classes. Protesters also denounced the mobilization of the police, who have arrested at least 17 demonstrators at UCSC since the strike began. Napolitano, previously Secretary of Homeland Security under the Obama administration and governor of Arizona, is notorious for her repressive measures against students. Reports in 2016 exposed a secret program under her administration to install spyware on the computers of students and campus affiliates. Following the general assembly vote to refuse to submit grades by UCSC TAs, UCSC Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer declared in an email that the grade submission deadline was extended to Thursday, February 27, and that graduate students who returned to work would receive a $2,500 housing supplement for the academic year, far below the $1,400 per month COLA demand. Using a carrot-and-stick approach, UC administrators at each campus also sent emails to students and faculty combining insincere declarations of sympathy for graduate students with declarations that the wildcat strikes and any further actions were in violation of the United Auto Workers no-strike clause. Napolitano and the state Democrats that stand behind her extended the deadline to give the UAW more time to reassert its control and strangle the strike. On Tuesday, UAW Local 2865, which covers 19,000 graduate student TAs in the UC system, released a statement championing the $2,500 housing supplement as a result of union pressure while urging the UC administration to open negotiations. This is a complete fraud. The fact that Napolitano is using the no-strike clause in the UAW contract as a cudgel against UCSC grad students demonstrates that the unions are not workers organizations, but agents of management. It is also a criminal syndicate whose top leadership has been indicted and convicted for taking company bribes in exchange for signing sweetheart contracts and embezzling millions to fund the luxurious lifestyles of the union bureaucrats. There is no doubt that behind the scenes, UAW officials are meeting with high officials in the UC system and the state Democratic Party to figure out how to break the strike and prevent the spread of the contagion of opposition to other sections of the working class. All of the unions in the UC system have worked with the university administration to balkanize students and workers across at least 15 different unions. This only underscores the fact that the unions do not unite workers but divide them, making it easier for corporation management to pick off one section of workers at a time. But the widespread support for the strike demonstrates the potential to unite grad students with other sections of UC workers, along with far broader sections of the working class, in a common struggle. Grad students have already taken the initiative to form independent organizations, but this must be concretized through the formation of rank-and-file strike committees, which are answerable to the democratic will of grad students and workers and are prepared to defy every effort by the UAW bureaucracy to reassert its dictatorial control. These committees must fight for what grad students need, not what Napolitano, the Democrats and the UAW claim is affordable. What is possible can only be determined in the course of struggle, and for this rank-and-file committees must fight to mobilize the full support of the working class, including teachers, supermarket workers, Amazon workers and other workers in struggle. Grad students are in a direct fight against the Democratic Party. Eighteen of the 26 members of the UC Board of Regents are hand selected by the governor of California, Democrat Gavin Newsom, and seven are ex-officio members, comprised of the current governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the state assembly, state superintendent of public instruction, the president and vice president of the Alumni Associations of UC, and the president of the University of California. Austerity has been the modus operandi of the Democratic Party, which has long controlled state politics in California. In the richest US state, home to over 150 billionaires and over 150,000 homeless, higher education funding stands at $2 billion less than the pre-2008 financial crash level. The only way to attain the resources to provide free, high quality public and secondary education, and living wages to all workers is through a frontal assault on the entrenched wealth of the corporate and financial elite. Zack, a third year PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCSC, tied the fight for a living wage at the university to fights teachers have waged for living wages and benefits. I find it difficult to believe that an organization [UC system] with more than $6 billion in their annual operating budget cant find $16 million per year somewhere [to pay graduate students]. I do not believe that there isnt enough money. Education has been almost comically underfunded nationwide for decades, and there is growing support to pull federal money from various bloated federal projects to be funneled into education. I actually have a number of friends taking part in the Red for Ed campaign in Indianamost of my former school teachers are participating, and many of my high school friends who went into education are on board as well. TA grad students and educators share many commonalities. I havent seen this discussed in earnest yet by the COLA campaign, but I think a good step forward would be to explicitly expand our scope to include the undergraduate tutors and readers, which are also covered by our contract. That would only affect 100 or so undergrads, so it wouldnt be enough on its own, but I think its a powerful first step forward if we choose that route. Another good step would be to help undergraduates organize in the event that UCSC attempts to increase tuition costs in the future and make explicit promises of support from the COLA campaign should that happen. There is a general feeling of distrust for the UAW, both statewide and international, among the grads. Though the UAW issued a statement to the administration about a month ago to defend our grads against threats of termination by the university that wouldve violated the terms of our contract, theres little love for the union. If someones union is no longer meeting those obligations, and attempts to create change within the union have failed, then its time to create a new organization that better suits their needs. It seems bizarre to me that unions have become as large and amalgamated as they have. A "nervousness" around the term 'apprenticeship' could be why more than two-thirds of higher level apprenticeship participants in Northern Ireland are male, it's been claimed. The Department for the Economy found 66.1% of participants in 2018/19 were male at 464, almost double the number of females at 238. Higher-level apprenticeships (HLAs) offer training and a recognised qualification up to Masters level while in paid employment. Most are provided at foundation degree level. The statistics also found there was a 40% increase in HLA new starts in 2018/19 (452) compared with the previous academic year (324). Business advisory firm PwC and Queen's University offer a fully-funded four-year technology degree apprenticeship. It currently has 40 students on the apprenticeship scheme with another 20 places up for grabs in September. Stephanie Gowdy, student recruitment senior manager at PwC, said that males are typically more inclined to take an apprenticeship but her firm was working to address the gender imbalance. "There is still a nervousness around the term apprenticeship and we have a double-edged challenge as technology is typically a male-heavy industry," she said. "We have established relationships to tackle problem areas such as diversity. "The national average of females studying computer science is 16%. Across the two HLA QUB Tech intakes we've 32% females. "We've supported programmes such as Bring IT on, Belfast IT girls, Sentinus, mTech Academy to create awareness around the programme." The Department for the Economy said there were 702 participants on HLA programmes in 2018/19, with the most popular subject area engineering and manufacturing technologies. Almost two in every five (38.3%) HLA participants were studying in this area. Richard Kirk, director of Workplus, said the figures demonstrate that companies are "really starting to see the value" in HLAs. The firm, which helps employers develop talent through apprenticeships, recently announced it was creating 120 apprenticeship opportunities this year, with around 60% of these at higher level. "Employers get bright, focused and ambitious people who ensure their companies have the skillset needed to remain competitive," he said. "Higher level apprentices get real jobs as well as access to training and professional networks that will transform their lives. Many are getting degrees while earning and will graduate with no student debt but lots of career experience. "The report shows that the largest relative increase in higher level apprentices is in construction, planning and the built environment which has been a focus for Workplus since 2016." He added: "Many companies in this area didn't have apprenticeships before then but we're helping them change their culture around talent intake." A man works in a textile factory in Thai Nguyen Province on February 6, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh. Textile firms across Vietnam are facing the possibility of closure as the coronavirus outbreak hampers material imports from China. Truong Van Cam, deputy chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), told a recent forum many small and medium textile producers would run out of feedstock by the end of this month and may have to close down next month. These companies, which account for around 90 percent of the industry, have reduced working hours, with supply orders remaining unfulfilled due to the coronavirus, he explained. Limited cross-border trade with China, where 60 percent of textile materials are sourced, have seen producers struggle to supply buyers in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, it was added. In Binh Xuyen District of northern Vinh Phuc Province, where a lock down order serves to contain the spread of the virus, many garment factories are running at minimum capacity as staff are quarantined. Exports to China are also struggling. Vietnam Cotton and Spinning Association (VCOSA) stated most producers had reported plummeting cotton orders from the country, and are concerned about this years profits. Vietnams textile exports in January fell 23.5 percent year-on-year, while imports fell 28.5 percent. "The industry has never seen such a steep drop," said Cam, blaming the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday (January 23-29) and coronavirus outbreak. Fitch Solutions, a unit of credit rating firm Fitch Group, said small and medium textile producers would struggle to tap an alternative source of input, with unemployment and closures expected. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Trade Department, said even after the epidemic is contained the industry would still struggle due to its reliance on Chinese imports. Some companies have been looking for alternative markets as Chinese businesses wont resume full operation until mid-March, with Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Brazil potential sources. Insiders have proposed lower road and port tariffs to support textile companies amid the outbreak. Textiles were among the largest export categories in Vietnam last year with a value of $32.8 billion, up 7.8 percent from 2018. The U.S. was the largest export market, followed by the E.U. and Japan. J&K government has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) with four IlTs and three IISERs for two months internship of 500 final year students undertaking professional courses and pursuing Science streams in the colleges of J&K for the academic session 2020-21. The objective of the MoUs, which was signed in New Delhi by Secretary Higher Education Department J&K Talat Parvez along with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is to provide internship opportunity to students of J&K for empowering, inspiring and enhancing their employability. During the internship the students will be working on cutting edge research in the field of Science and Technology under the guidance of Faculties from these premier institutions. Students from any of the Science and Engineering disciplines of Under Graduate and Post Graduate Programs are eligible to apply. MoUs in respect of IIT Guwahati, IIT Ropar, IIT Pune, IIT Bhubaneshwar, IISER Orrisa, IISER Pune and IISER Kolkata were signed under the presence of Union Minister for MHRD. Under this unique first of a kind internship initiative, the travelling expenses of students will be funded by MHRD through AICTE while the hostel and tuition expenses will be borne by host institutions. The applications will be invited online for merit based selection from all colleges and shortlists prepared by April 15, 2020. The training scheduled to commence on May 15 to July 15, 2020 and for a month in December 2020. Furthermore IITs and IISER institutes are likely to extend similar offer to help J&K Higher Education to provide much needed exposure to quality enhancement and research opportunities in latest technologies. Iranian police seizes 5.5 million protective masks The Middle East country reported 16 deaths from the virus, with 95 confirmed cases so far. Iranian police seized more than 5.5 million protective masks hoarded by black marketeers in Tehran in recent days, according to the countrys IRNA news agency. THREE SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED The head of Tehran security department, Huseyin Rahimi, said some of the masks do not comply with the health regulations, reported IRNA. Seized masks will be sent to medical faculties to be distributed to the public, Rahimi said. He said as Iran struggles with the new type of coronavirus, dozens of warehouses have been inspected this week. Three suspects -- who allegedly engaged in illegal mask production -- were arrested, while three factories producing masks in unhealthy conditions were shut down, he added. Irans Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi announced Tuesday he tested positive for the virus. Lee had been sentenced to 17 years behind bars by the Seoul High Court last week and his bail was revoked. But Lee appealed and will now stay out of jail under virtual house arrest until the Supreme Court decides on the matter. Ex-President Lee Myung-bak was released from jail again on Wednesday after just six days in detention following his conviction on appeal for corruption. Earlier on the same day, Lee's lawyers argued for release from detention since the sentence was subject to immediate appeal at the Supreme Court. They said it was wrong to revoke his bail on the grounds that he poses a flight risk since he is under constant guard by security staff assigned to any ex-president. The Seoul High Court responded that it had been unable to reach consensus and therefore bailed him again. The reversal raised some eyebrows. Lawyer Choi Jin-nyeong said, "Citing the flight risk was far-fetched since Lee was confined to his home while on bail. The court has needlessly embarrassed itself." Ivanka Trump who was visiting India for the second time with her father and US President Donald Trump made some great fashion choices during the visit. She was spotted in a white sherwani made of handwoven silk by Indian designer Anita Dongre who has dressed Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Sophie GregoireTrudeau, The First Lady of Canada and Hillary Clinton, Former First Lady of United States. Ivanka paired the sherwani featuring enamel coat buttons with ivory pants by the designer. She completed the look with a pair of traditional gold Polki earrings. Ivanka Trump made another classic choice at the dinner hosted at the another Rashtrapati Bhavan last evening. She was seen in a rich ivory anarkali with intricate floral embroidery work by designer Rohit Bal. The ensemble featured a detailed floral hand-embroidery in a high neck pattern. The bodice coloured full-sleeve number featured a high-neck and a layered free-flowing silhouette. Also Watch what Ivanka Trump said about Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad She looked every bit as elegant in the Rohit Bal anarkali and completed the look with a beautiful hair-do, bold eyes and minimal jewellery. She was accompanied by her husband and the White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner to the dinner. Ivanka was also applauded for repeating her Proenza Schouler baby blue viscose georgette midi dress during her second visit to India. She wore the dress last year in September during her Argentina visit, giving a go-ahead to sustainable fashion choices. She joined the likes of Jane Fonda, Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and Joaquin Phoenix who have been spotted repeating outfits as their contribution towards strengthening sustainability in fashion. We loved Ivanka Trump in traditional silhouettes and wish to see her more in traditional wear. What do you think? Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter She's stepped behind the camera as co-creator of the series Stateless. And Cate Blanchett cut a chic figure in classic khaki green co-ords on Wednesday to attend the photocall for her new TV venture at the Berlin Film Festival. The actress, 50, opted for the Roksanda suit teamed with a black polo neck jumper for the launch of the series, which focuses on four strangers in an immigration detention centre based in the Australian desert. Stylish: Cate Blanchett, 50, cut a chic figure in classic khaki green co-ords on Wednesday to attend the photocall for her new TV venture at the Berlin Film Festival Cate displayed her ageless sense of style in the mixed-print green suit, with a mixture of olive and khaki green fabrics in both the oversized blazer and matching trousers. The Blue Jasmine star teamed the look with black pointed-toe heels and a polo neck jumper as she joined her fellow series creators at the photocall. Cate kept her blonde tresses styled into a sleek bob as she arrived at the launch in the German City. Funky: The actress opted for the classic suit which boasted a mixture of green fabric, teamed with a black polo neck jumper for the launch of the series Lovely: Cate co-created the Australian series Stateless with Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie (pictured), which focuses on four strangers at a detention centre Gorgeous: The Oscar winner kept her blonde tresses styled into a sleek bob as she arrived in the classic green suit Stateless will air on the ABC network in Australia and Netflix worldwide, and focuses on four strangers, whose lives begin to intertwine at an immigration detention centre. The four strangers are an airline hostess fleeing a cult, an Afghan refugee fleeing persecution, a young Australian father escaping his job and a bureaucrat caught-up in a national scandal. When their lives collide, they are pushed to the absolute brink of their sanity, and surprising connections begin to form. New show: Stateless will air on the ABC network in Australia and Netflix worldwide, and focuses on four strangers, whose lives begin to intertwine at an immigration detention centre Screen star: Cate also stars in the series, along with Dominic West, Jai Courtney and Yvonne Strahovski Upcoming: Elsewhere the Oscar Winner is set to star in the upcoming thriller Nightmare Alley, which will be directed by Guillermo del Toro Epic: In the film she will play a a female psychiatrist who teams up with a corrupt con-man, to trick others into giving them money Cate also stars in the series, along with Dominic West, Jai Courtney and Yvonne Strahovski. Elsewhere the Oscar Winner is set to star in the upcoming thriller Nightmare Alley, which will be directed by Guillermo del Toro. In the film she will play a a female psychiatrist who teams up with a corrupt con-man, to trick others into giving them money. The con-man will be played by Bradley Cooper, with Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette rounding out the cast. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was the target of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in the latest televised debate held Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina. Sanders has emerged as the national front-runner after victories in the first three nominating contests, but his rivals contend that the self-declared democratic socialist would lose to Republican President Donald Trump in November's national election. VOA's Richard Green has the latest chapter in 2020 presidential election. VOA Khmer's Moryvan Ly narrates in Khmer. A young woman who cried out when she was victim of a robbery that she needed the money to pay rent was given some of her money back by the culprit. Judge Sean O Donnabhain jailed David Long, aged 36, for three years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for the robbery. This was a nasty assault on a vulnerable woman. He was determined to take money from her notwithstanding her reduced circumstances on the occasion, which he must have known. He has an alarming history of robberies. He was dealt with leniently in the past and that had no perceivable benefit. He has considerable problems but he has yet to sort them out. I take into consideration genuine efforts he is making in prison, the judge said. Peter OFlynn said the accused suffered as a result of addiction to heroin and was desperate for heroin on that day. He said Long had written a letter of apology. He showed some consideration for the victim when she did plead for the money back and he gave her some portion of the money back, Mr OFlynn BL said. Detective Garda Mark Durcan said that on April 10, 2019, a young woman withdrew her disability allowance of 203 at St Lukes post office. Det. Garda Durcan said: On exiting, she had a conversation with David Long whom she knew. She states he was asking her to come across the road to the junction of Summerhill North and OMahonys Avenue where she was pulled to the ground and her money bag was taken from her pocket. She said she started crying and pleading with David Long to return the money as she owed it in rent. He took 100 from the money bag and returned the rest of the money to her in the money bag. He warned her not to contact gardai as this would make matters worse. He left the scene. CCTV was gathered from various premises in the St Lukes area and it captures both of them walking away towards St Lukes church. He is seen walking away and handing back something to her on the ground. David Long was living in a tent on St Patricks Quay at the time. Pipeline 26 February 2020 Located in the Arava Valley in the south of the Negev Desert, Six Senses Shaharut will celebrate its highly anticipated arrival this June. The resort is intimate in nature, comprising just 60 suites and villas, offering guests an authentic desert adventure with uplifting experiences at every turn. From sunrise yoga workshops and immersive local community experiences to late-night stargazing sessions, incredible hikes and camel treks through the luminous Negev Desert, the aim is to leave enriched and reconnected. Back to press releases First Glimpse of the Desert Colors and Dunescape at Six Senses Shaharut in Israel Located in the Arava Valley in the south of the Negev Desert, Six Senses Shaharut will celebrate its highly anticipated arrival this June. The resort is intimate in nature, comprising just 60 suites and villas, offering guests an authentic desert adventure with uplifting experiences at every turn. From sunrise yoga workshops and immersive local community experiences to late-night stargazing sessions, incredible hikes and camel treks through the luminous Negev Desert, the aim is to leave enriched and reconnected. A modern reinterpretation of nomadic structures, reminiscent of the Nabataean community which occupied the area over 2000 years ago, the resort's design preserves the unique characteristics of the site. Constructed in an eco-friendly manner, the masterplan introduces architecture and interiors that blend seamlessly with its desert environment. Six Senses Shaharut aims to bring guests in sync with nature and its elements by reinforcing the relationship between the inside and outside. The interior design draws on the ancient Incense Route's assets, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant to India and beyond, as the inspiration is to create spaces and moods that reflect their locale. Inside, the furniture and fittings have been sourced from local artisans to complement the unique weathered rock formations, utilizing natural stone, wood, and copper. The interior doors are custom made from reclaimed teak, which was rescued from disused boats, houses, and footbridges. Over two-hundred years old, each piece has its own story to tell. There are many on-site experiences including the fascinating Earth Lab, camel stables and an open-air amphitheater. The desert setting presents a host of activities from overnight camel camping to extreme sports, hiking, jeep safaris, and neighboring Kibbutz tour. Locally-inspired and restorative treatments together with a variety of wellness programs will be on offer at Six Senses Spa which draws its inspiration from the majestic landscape in which it is situated. The journey to Shaharut is part of the story as guests travel through the timeless landscape steeped in history. A comfortable transfer can be arranged to the resort, with the drive from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem taking around three-and-a-half hours, or three hours from Petra in neighboring Jordan. Alternatively, guests can opt for a 50-minute domestic flight from Tel Aviv to the new Ramon International Airport (ETM) near Eliat, which also directly serves key European markets. From there, it is a 45-minute transfer to the resort. Reservations are being accepted now for stays from June 1, 2020, onwards. Fijian troops have bid farewell to Australia in a moving performance after helping battle deadly bushfires for more than a month. The 'Bula Force' arrived in the fire ravaged East Gippsland region of Victoria on January 18 and headed home on Tuesday afternoon. Before boarding a plane back to Fiji, the group performed a song of faith and recited prayers. The troops spent more than a month helping lift the spirits of those affected by the fires with Australian military personnel saying they're now part of the 'family'. High Commissioner of Fiji to Australia Luke Daunivalu said the song was 'about a faith that is rooted in God and that is the source of strength and encouragement as they conduct their work'. During their time in Australia, Fijian troops visited schools and churches where they performed traditional songs and dances. 'You can tell they are so well integrated within the local community and all working so well together,' Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said at Melbourne Jet Base on Tuesday. He added that since their arrival, they had become part of the 'family'. 'I've spoken to people in the Orbost area and they're very, very sad to see the Fijians leave,' Mr Crisp said. Before boarding a plane back to Fiji, the troops performed a song of faith A 54-strong group of Fijian soldiers helped communities in East Gippsland recover after devastating bushfires Together the Bula Force of 54 troops were able to clear more than 170km of road and also removed more than 600 hazardous trees that had been damaged in the blazes. Brigadier Matthew Burr said the support from Fiji was overwhelming. 'I can't speak highly enough about what the Fijians have brought to this operation,' he said. At the height of Australia's bushfire crisis, a lending hand was also offered by Japan. Two planes full of 80 troops, face masks for firefighters and medical supplies arrived in mid January to help fight the blazes. More than 200 American firefighters as well as troops from New Zealand also assisted tackling the fires. After spending more than a month here, the troops headed back to Fiji on Tuesday afternoon While they were here, they visited churches and communities to lift their spirits amid the blazes East Gippsland was crippled by fires that tore through the region for three months. Countless homes were destroyed and some who desperately tried to save their properties were tragically killed. David Moresi, 69, died after being involved in a traffic incident while working at the at the Gelantipy fire in East Gippsland on November 30. Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. Fred Becker, 75, died after he suffered a heart attack while trying to defend his Maramingo Creek home. Crews monitor the blaze and begin back burning in East Gippsland on January 2 The candidate stood before a tiny crowd at the foot of a mud-wet street in an obscure village on the edge of Sochi, a sprawling Russian city that stretches along the Black Sea shore and up into snowcapped mountains of the Caucasus. He was a hometown boy trying to stage a political comeback in his native city 11 years after Russia's financial crisis pushed him out of his post as a deputy prime minister of Russia, an abrupt fall following a swift ascent that included more than five years as the reformist, whiz-kid governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region. On that bright spring day he wore black boots, blue jeans, and a white button-down shirt that was not all that buttoned-up: Boris Nemtsov. For much of the mid-1990s Nemtsov -- who was shot dead near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015 -- had been seen as one of the most likely potential successors to post-Soviet Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin. His 16 months as a senior cabinet minister ended in August 1998 and he served a single four-year term in the lower house of parliament from 1999-2003 -- the end of his time in the State Duma coinciding, like that of several other liberals, with what opponents of Putin said were steps by the Kremlin to restrict rights and freedoms. Now it was April 2009, and Nemtsov, 49, was running for mayor of Sochi, which is currently Russia's 37th-largest city, give or take a few, and back then was lower down the list. Putin's Second Home These days, Sochi is firmly associated with Putin. He was the driving force behind the city's successful bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics -- an achievement that was badly marred in the eyes of many by the revelations of a state-orchestrated doping program that helped the hosts top the medals table. And Putin has made Sochi something like a second home -- or a third one, given that he is from St. Petersburg but governs from Moscow. He spends long periods of time at Bocharov Ruchei, an elaborate shoreline estate there, hosting foreign leaders in a setting even more isolated from scrutiny than the high-walled Kremlin. But in 2009, at least to a Moscow-based reporter covering the mayoral election for the Associated Press, Putin's imprint on Sochi was not so strong. In fact, his stamp on Russia itself was impressed less deeply than it is now: this was before he made clear he would return to the presidency in 2012 and before the big protests -- and ensuing clampdown -- that his impending return helped incite. So, if the mayoral race was a test for Nemtsov, it was also closely watched as a symbol of whether the Kremlin would change its ways under President Dmitry Medvedev, who had been formally handed the position less than a year earlier in a move that enabled Putin to avoid violating a constitutional limit of two straight presidential terms without going far: he became prime minister. Medvedev was seen as more liberal than Putin, who had tightened control over electoral politics in his first two terms, in 2000-2008. He was from a younger generation than Putin and was famous for saying, in 2007, that "freedom is better than unfreedom." How would that translate in the election in Sochi -- a contest that Medvedev, weeks before the ballot, said would bode well for "the electoral system and for democracy in our country" if it were genuinely competitive? It wouldn't, according to Nemtsov as well as other critics of the Russian authorities, rights activists, and ordinary Sochi residents who said the odds were stacked heavily in favor of the ruling United Russia party candidate, acting Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov. For one thing, about one-quarter of Sochi voters cast ballots early, many of them soldiers and students or teachers, doctors, and other government-paid workers who activists said were vulnerable to pressure to vote -- and to vote for the Kremlin favorite. The campaign, too, appeared highly lopsided to a reporter covering it in the days ahead of the vote. Pakhomov dominated the airwaves, bathed in positive coverage, while Nemtsov was ignored or derided by channels connected to the state and said that TV stations, newspapers, and billboard companies refused to take paid advertising for his candidacy. In real life, though, Pakhomov was barely visible, shunning stumping and arguing that he had no time to campaign because as acting mayor he had to run the city -- which had been awarded the 2014 Games in 2007, putting it under Putin's gaze and under the gun to build stadiums, roads, and other facilities and infrastructure from scratch. Nemtsov, by contrast, campaigned with gusto. Faced with what he called a "total blackout, total censorship" of his campaign, he hit the streets, seemingly determined to tell the people that it didn't have to be Pakhomov's town or Putin's Russia. In the western Sochi village where he spoke to a small crowd a few days before the vote, Nemtsov argued with a man who broke in to state loudly that Putin had brought order to Russia. "What order? Corruption, bureaucracy," he countered, accusing the man of being a paid heckler. Sochi is big, encompassing four separate districts and a range of terrain, with a plethora of place names hinting of a hugely diverse history, harking back to people who settled there over the centuries -- some of them before Russia existed. 'Blatant Fraud And Falsification' Nemtsov covered a lot of ground. Along with central Sochi and remote areas to the west or and up in the foothills, he pressed the flesh at a maze-like market that stands at the border with Georgia -- or, more specifically, with Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region. Along the way, Nemtsov was splashed once with ammonia by assailants and said he faced various forms of harassment including being followed, seeing campaign workers detained, and having leaflets seized by police -- all tactics that have been used more recently against increasingly beleaguered Kremlin opponents including Aleksei Navalny, who today is Putin's most prominent foe. "It's a dirty campaign even by very low Russian standards, because there's too much at stake," chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, a political ally who was at Nemtsov's side at some of the events in Sochi, said at the time. In the end, Pakhomov was awarded the victory with 77 percent of the vote, with Nemtsov a distant second at less than 14 percent, according to the local election commission. Nemtsov challenged the official figures, calling it a case of "blatant fraud and falsification." He said that exit polls conducted by his campaign pointed to a far closer race, indicating that he won about 35 percent of the votes cast on election day itself while Pakhomov received about 46 percent -- numbers that, if accurate for all the ballots cast, would have required a runoff election. But the official results stood, as expected, and Pakhomov stayed on as mayor of Sochi for a decade, until August 2019. Nemtsov's career in electoral politics did not end in his hometown: Four years after the vote there, he was elected to the legislature in the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow -- a mandate he held until he was shot dead on February 27, 2015. Shortly after I returned to Moscow following the Sochi election, I was wondering out loud how the country might differ if it were governed by Nemtsov and his allies. A Russian acquaintance remarked that he did not know, but wished he had the chance to find out. Grande and Davidson dated for one magical, big dick summer in 2018. Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Pete Davidson is right about one thing. After his breakup with Ariana Grande, the world collectively rebounded with Thank U, Next. So, he figures, Grande got her double-album drop and now he gets his Netflix special, Alive From New York. In his set, sandwiched between the Dan Crenshaw controversy and 9/11 jokes, Davidson attempts to rewrite the relationships history from his perspective, like that leaked Stephenie Meyer Twilight spinoff from Edwards point of view. Bellas side already went platinum, so what else is there to talk about? Inevitably, Pete Davidson found something to say. The Saturday Night Live cast member bounces to everything from her music to her fans to his big dick energy (or lack thereof). Here are all the cringey things Pete Davidson had to say about Ariana Grande in his Netflix special. I did make that guy famous and a household name for no reason. I did what, like, Ariana Grande did for me. I sucked his dick at SNL. Transitioning from his Dan Crenshaw material to his relationship drama (we didnt say it was a smooth transition), Pete acknowledges a truth you, me, and all the NBC pages have been trying to block out. I wasnt gonna do jokes about this but then my buddy told me hes like, Yo, I recently heard that Ariana said she had no idea who you were and that she was just dating you as a distraction. So, now I just think its, like, fair game. She has, you know, her songs and stuff and this is what I have. Which one of Petes four friends walked up to him with a fresh-off-the-presses August issue of Vogue and dished like that? That is messy. Have to respect it. My career would be over tomorrow. If I spray-painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine and just started shitting on my ex. For the record, many comedians have spray-painted themselves brown for worse reasons and still kept their careers. Youre like, Pete, something had to happen to her, right? There had to be some repercussions. No, she won Billboards Woman of the Year and I got called butthole eyes by BarstoolSports.com And what about it? Again, I dont want no smoke from the 9-year-olds. Arianators, dont take the bait. I walked into Starbucks the other day, I was like, Hey man, can I have a medium coffee? and the guy was like and I was like, Fuck you, Im going to Dunkin Donuts. Wow, this is so sad. Alexa, play Thank U, Next. Then, that song came out and my friends were like, Bro, I love you. I love you, right? Shit is catchy. Shit is very catchy. Youre gonna have a rough eight months. My grandpa, he goes, Its a slap. Peter, its a slap. To be fair, shes very nice to Pete in that song. I dont like that she talked all the shit on behalf of my dick. Like, I thought that was really weird . First of all, lets just take a step back. Can you imagine if I said that shit? Can you imagine if I was like, Sorry it didnt work out. Nice pussy though! Pete Davidson, mens-rights activist, ladies and gentlemen. Its just simply not true. She has little tiny little hands. She has just very little hands. Everythings fucking huge to her. The king of dig dick energy renounces his title? Its Prince Harry all over again. She did that so that every girl that sees my dick for the rest of my life is disappointed. Yes that will be the sole reason I didnt even get to enjoy my big dick summer or whatever the fuck it was called. Hey, theres always next year. [February 26, 2020] Raytheon, US Navy test first Standard Missile-2 from restarted production line WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and the U.S. Navy successfully flight tested the first SM-2 surface-to-air missile from the company's restarted production line. The SM-2 Block IIIB missile launched, flew and provided accurate telemetry data to the range, and engaged an airborne Navy target. SM-2 allows navies to defend against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Raytheon and the Navy restarted the production line to meet global demand. The program ivested in new equipment and improved manufacturing processes to increase efficiencies. "The SM-2 is in high demand because of its advanced capabilities and history of more than 2,700 successful flight tests from U.S. Navy and international ships," said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems vice president. "Navies worldwide have relied on this missile and it will continue to provide fleet protection for decades to come." Raytheon has delivered over 11,000 SM-2 missiles to customers worldwide. In 2020, the company will begin to provide Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands with more than 280 missiles from its latest production batch. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Doug Shores +1.256.527.5196 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/raytheon-us-navy-test-first-standard-missile-2-from-restarted-production-line-301011817.html SOURCE Raytheon Company Protest against court's decision that dissolved Future Forward party at Thammasat University in Bangkok BANGKOK (Reuters) - A banned Thai opposition party on Sunday accused the former military junta of helping cover up Malaysia's multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, urging Thais to demand the truth ahead of a censure debate against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The Future Forward Party, the third-largest party in parliament, was dissolved on Friday by Thailand's Constitutional Court over a loan it took from its billionaire founder. The dissolution was decried by democracy advocates as a means of weakening opposition to the government of Prayuth, who first came to power in a 2014 military coup and led a military junta until after elections last year that his pro-army party won. Future Forward's spokeswoman, Pannika Wanich, told a news conference on Sunday that the junta had worked with Malaysia's former government to arrest a whistleblower in the 1MDB case in 2015 and had allowed financial criminals to operate in Thailand, risking the country's international ties. "The junta government yearned for international acceptance after the coup ... and formed a dark alliance with Malaysia," Pannika said. "The only person who can issue these orders is Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha," Pannika said. Pannika cited irregularities surrounding Thailand's arrest and the subsequent confession of Xavier Justo, the Swiss national who was arrested in Thailand in 2015 the first whistleblower in the 1MDB affair. The government also harbored Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, allowing him to enter the country at least five times between October 2016 and May 2018, despite Low having an Interpol red notice from Singapore, she said. Low has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the help of Low, to promote economic development. At least six countries, including the United States, have launched money laundering, financial mismanagement and criminal probes into 1MDB dealings. Low has denied any wrongdoing. His whereabouts are unknown. Story continues The government denied involvement. "These accusations are not true ... and create confusion in society," government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said. "Anything said that was false will be followed with legal action," she added. Future Forward Party said it would have opened an investigation on corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB case if it were in power. "If we were in government, we would investigate. We want a government that is a responsible neighbor and acts with dignity," Pannika said. "Since we have been dissolved, we can't, but the Thai public can demand the truth." A spokesman for the Malaysian prime minister's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Giles Elgood) Amy Melendez was in a supermarket in Maryland with friends when it happened to her. She had ordered one of her favorite drinks, a corn-based beverage from Central America called atole. She began to drink her atole when a man nearby asked if it was good. But the man was using casual language and Melendez did not understand his question. So she said, I dont know. The man then asked how it was possible for her not to know how the drink was. That's when the laughter began. The man laughed. Her friends laughed. Amy Melendez felt a little foolish. Her spoken exchange with the man was entirely in Spanish. Melendez is a Spanish learner. But she is also an English language teacher. Currently, she supervises English and service worker training programs at 32BJ in Maryland. Melendez has shared the supermarket story with many of her students. She wants them to know she can relate to the challenges of learning a language. Being laughed at or joked about can happen no matter what language you are learning. And it may make some learners nervous about speaking their new language. However experts say there are ways to overcome those feelings. So on Education Tips today, we offer suggestions from a few teachers. Why do people laugh? But first, lets explore why some people laugh. Wynter Oshiberu teaches English in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, including for the International Center for Language Studies and a nonprofit group called Paper Airplanes. She says most people who laugh are not trying to be mean or hurtful. Instead, a language learners pronunciation or way of putting words together may sound unusual to some native speakers and can take them by surprise. And theyre not thinking about how it might make the other individual feel who's learning the language... Its just a natural instinct when you hear something that sounds a little bit different than what you would expect to hear or how you would expect to hear it. If the way you say something sounds different or unusual to a native speaker, that person may not have had much contact with foreigners. Josh Plotkin is an American living in Brazil. He has been fluent in Portuguese for years. He operates a website called BrazilianGringo.com, which teaches foreigners how to live in Brazil and improve their spoken Portuguese. On his website, Plotkin notes that some Brazilians who have little contact with foreigners laugh at him because they aren't used to hearing an American speaking Portuguese. He notes similar experiences when traveling in other countries and trying to speak their languages. But whether the reason is lack of contact or something else, we have tips for overcoming the fear of using your English. Tip #1 Relax; be patient with yourself The first suggestion is to relax and be patient with yourself, a piece of advice from Oshiberu. She says to remind yourself that you are learning the language, so it is normal to make mistakes. She advises not to be too hard on yourself. I think sometimes the best thing to do is just smile and just breathe and relax andtry not to let the fear of laughter stop you from learning the language or immersing yourself in the language. Oshiberu also suggests learners avoid setting learning goals that are too strict, which can sometimes become a barrier rather than help. Other experts note that people who make jokes or laugh may not have studied a second language. This is yet another reason not to judge yourself by the reactions of others. Plotkin warns against worrying that people are thinking, You look like a fool trying to speak our language. Ideas like these can hurt your progress and be a barrier to fluency. Tip #2 Practice your speaking skills The second tip is to practice your speaking skills. Both Melendez and Oshiberu say practice is one of the best ways to deal with fear. Melendez suggests doing role plays. In a role play, two or more people act out an imaginary situation; for example, going to a market or talking to a bus driver. If you know theres a new situation a situation you might not feel comfortable in, what are the phrases you might need? What are the words? Is there someone you can practice with? But definitely just going through those role plays will help you overcome the fear." You can imagine, for example, your friend is a bus driver. You have a lot of questions about taking the bus. You can practice the questions on your friend. Melendez says if you are unable to find a practice partner, you can practice in your head or you can talk out loud. Oshiberu says another solution is to record your voice as you train by yourself. That way, you can listen for mistakes, whether in your wording or pronunciation, and correct them. Tip #3 Dont be afraid to ask questions Our third tip is: Dont be afraid to ask questions. If you are worried about what to do in the moment when someone makes a joke, the solution can be simple: Kindly ask the person the reason for the laughter, like this, says Melendez: Is there a different way that I could have said it? or How would you usually say it? She said the issue could be something very simple. Then, once you know the issue, you can bring the information to a trusted person, such as a friend or practice partner, and ask them to help you correct it. Tip #4 Keep a sense of humor The fourth and final tip is to keep a sense of humor. Keeping a sense of humor can make the long process of learning a language more fun. You might even laugh with the person who is laughing or making the joke. This may feel strange at first but gets easier with time. Josh Plotkin notes that, over time, he has come to understand that being laughed at when speaking a foreign language is not a bad thing. He has learned not to take it personally. These days, he even laughs along with the people, using it as a way to make new friends. Im Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________ Words in This Story beverage n. something you can drink casual adj. not suited for serious or official speech and writing challenge n. something that is hard to do pronunciation n. a particular person's way of saying a word or the words of a language instinct n. the way people or animals naturally react or behave, without having to think about it fluent adj. able to speak a language easily and very well immerse v. to make yourself fully involved in some activity or interest strict adj. used to describe a command or rule that must be obeyed moment n. a precise point in time practice v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it Since his surprise victory in 2016, Mr. Trump has increasingly clashed with New York lawmakers, many of them the same people he had spent years donating to and seeking favors from. Now, rather than cutting deals, Mr. Trump is becoming an unavoidable roadblock to some of New Yorks most ambitious projects. He objected to rail tunnels For years, transportation experts said economic activity in the New York City region would vastly be improved if new rail tunnels were dug under the Hudson River. Officials in both states agreed and earmarked money for the projects. But plans stalled in March 2018. Thats when Mr. Trump urged Republicans to withdraw federal funding, reportedly out of anger at Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader from New York. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/26/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. : Before the 90 Days star Darcey Silva admits it was "a slap in the face" and a "kick in the ass" to see her exes Tom Brooks and Jesse Meester become friends.Although Tom and Darcey will be starring on Season 4 of : Before the 90 Days, which just premiered on Sunday, it's clear -- based on their social media activity and numerous reports online -- their relationship fizzled out and they've both moved on.But Darcey, 45, said she was very surprised to see that Tom, 40, had befriended Jesse, 27, especially since Darcey had confided in Tom for years about how badly Jesse had allegedly treated her and tried to manipulate her during their former relationship."Yeah, I heard about [them hanging out]. I thought that was like a little kick in the ass to be honest with you," Darcey told Us Weekly in a video interview."It was like a slap in the face, but that's their style and they're going to do what they want to do anyway."Not only were Tom and Jesse spotted having coffee together at a restaurant in New York City in November, but Tom also insisted Jesse "is a good guy" on Instagram after the two European men ended their feud.Jesse wrote a long message about Tom and Darcey on his Instagram Stories around that same time, which Instagrammer John Yates re-posted on November 21."Tom did reach out to me and I accepted his apology. We had a good yet shocking conversation and found out we were both manipulated and played at the same time," Jesse wrote."She told him how bad I was and she told me how bad he was. Result: I thought he was a bad guy and he thought I was... Tom and I were both lied to. He had his lesson, as I had mine... Now we are helping each other and have coffee. Good guy. God, truth and real love always prevails."Darcey said of the men's friendship. "I think people can see through that... What was the reason for it? [Tom] knew exactly how I got treated and he thought that I was very much disrespected by Jesse, and for them to kind of band [together] -- I felt ganged up on."Jesse, a Dutchman, starred on Seasons 1 and 2 of : Before the 90 Days with Darcey, an American, and the couple was shown having a tumultuous relationship in which they seemed to argue more than they got along.Once Darcey's toxic, on and off-again romance with Jesse finally ended, she moved on with Tom, whom she had met on a dating app. Darcey was shown traveling to meet the Brit in person in England on Season 3 of : Before the 90 Days."What did I do that was so bad?" Darcey asked in her interview with Us."I just gave my heart to these guys and I feel like I got stomped on, and then for them to do that for the media or the press or whatever they were trying to do, it was just a low blow.""Nobody wants to feel like that," she added.By the time the Tell-All for Season 3 of : Before the 90 Days rolled around, Tom and Darcey were trying to figure out their relationship while Jesse made an unexpected appearance at the taping in what some fans viewed as an attempt to stir the pot and make Darcey uncomfortable.Jesse claimed he had completely moved on from Darcey but she was "stalking" him "ever since" they split. Jesse insisted he had moved on from Darcey and he just wanted her to do the same.Meanwhile, Tom accused Jesse of having wronged Darcey and thanked her co-stars for standing up for Darcey and putting Jesse in his place -- saying Jesse didn't belong at the Tell-All. Tom alleged Darcey had lost her voice in her relationship with Jesse at the time. (Darcey had always accused Jesse of being controlling and condescending).Tom wouldn't call Darcey his girlfriend at the time and said things were "complicated" between them, but he planned to spend a full day with Darcey in New York City after filming the Tell-All.However, Tom and Darcey have since split, and now Tom has apparently had a change of heart about Jesse."There was an agenda. There must have been!" Darcey noted of the men hanging out together."A lot of people saw that and they were like, 'What the heck? That's not cool.' But it is what it is. I don't really respond to stuff like that in the media and don't like to give it attention because it just fuels their fire and it's not worth it for me."Darcey -- who confirmed in October 2019 she's "single" and "ready to mingle" -- also couldn't believe Jesse previously called her "a master manipulator.""Me? Wow! I think he needs to, like, look in the mirror," Darcey told the magazine."No, no. There's no reason for me to be; I don't have that kind of heart. I'm me. I am what I am. I'm Darcey. I have two beautiful children, I work hard, and I just want love like everybody else in the end. I have to fight for it and I'm tired of these guys treating me like that."Darcey said hearing something like that "still hurts" her and Jesse clearly just wanted to have the last say."I feel like that's just how they want it. Have the last say, go ahead. I don't care anymore," Darcey said."I wish them well, but I cut the cord. I really did, and I just want to move on from it. I know what I deserve, and I do deserve better. For me, it's about self-love... and feeling empowered. When I least expect it, that's when it's going to happen."Darcey acknowledged she doesn't like having bad blood with men after relationships."I don't know why there's so much animosity, hate and mocking. I don't get it... They're getting off on it, so okay!": Before the 90 Days currently airs on Sunday nights at 8PM ET/PT on TLC. Darcey and Tom have yet to be featured in an episode.Want spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage! (TNS) Delaware officials approved plans Monday to aid Amazons largest-ever fulfillment center on the site of a demolished General Motors plant west of Wilmington.The state Council on Development Finance unanimously approved $4.5 million in taxpayer subsidies for the 5-story warehouse over objections from a few state legislators, plus union workers and neighbors.Site owner Dermody Properties plans to spend $200 million building the warehouse, and Amazon would spend another $50 million outfitting the site with robotics and other equipment, pending final negotiations.The 3.7 million-square-foot Amazon.com Services LLC facility would occupy the site of the old Boxwood Road auto assembly plant where Delawareans and immigrants including future Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley labored to build GM cars, from the 1940s to the late 2000s.The planned center will be more robust than older Amazon centers, using more robotics to line up boxes for workers to process, said Holly Sullivan, an Amazon global economic development team leader.This is one of our new designs, she added. We will go up in height, rather than out.The 1,000 full-time workers Amazon estimates it will need at the site is less than the number working at some of the facilities Amazon has developed in central and northeastern Pennsylvania and other states since the 1990s which cover one-quarter to one-third the floor space of the planned, 90-foot-high center.Delaware expects to collect 100 times the subsidy in wages, in real estate and other taxes, thanks to the new center, over the next several years, said Damian DeStefano, the state official who conducted the hearing. (His office later clarified that this would include direct and indirect economic benefits.)But why should Amazon, which is run by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in America, and which earned $12 billion in after-tax profits last year, need any money from taxpayers, asked State Rep. John Kowalko (D., Newark).Enough is enough, Kowalko said. Stop these gifts to these obscenely wealthy companies.He also objected to the way state officials released details of the plan only after it was approved. Bottom line: The American people are funding Amazons pursuit of an e-commerce monopoly.The companys annual financial report, which took up most of the 103-page grant application, acknowledges that Amazons North American fulfillment center profits fell last year, despite higher sales, amid relentless cost-cutting.Kowalko was joined at the meeting by State Rep. Kim Williams (D., Wilmington) and other opponents of subsidies for Amazon, including activists from Local 74 of the plumbers and pipefitters union, who pointed out that site demolition contractors have used out-of-town labor from Virginia and other states.While Kowalko, a Port Richmond native and longtime oil refinery worker, criticized his fellow Democrats for giving big employers tax breaks and grants while cutting social spending, the subsidy also raised objections from conservatives, including Jake Smith, host of the Delmarva Live radio program on WGMD-FM, which devoted a segment to questioning the giveaway last week.Sue Laushey, who lives near the plant, said Amazon would employ fewer people in a larger facility than at other sites. She asked for noise, traffic, air pollution studies."Todd Ruckle, a real estate agent and Newark councilman and son of a Boxwood Road GM worker, said former workers who stayed in the neighborhood have had a tough time finding comparable jobs. He added that home values have risen in Middletown since Amazon built there and called the state aid a pinprick compared with the benefits Delaware will gain.But Amazon pay projections released by state officials after the proposal was approved shows the jobs created dont replace the high-end manufacturing jobs lost when the plant shut in the late 2000s.According to an application filed with state officials, Amazon expects to pay 900 of the 1,000 workers on the site an average $31,200 a year, or $15 an hour. And 50 more-skilled workers would earn $33,000, while the remaining 50, area and operations managers, would average $60,000, plus benefits. The current median household income for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area is now more than $70,000, according to U.S. Census dataGMs base pay the year before the plant closed was $26 an hour, plus benefits, or around $54,000, close to the then-median household income in the region.The financial incentives Amazon requested included a $3 million performance grant for adding to the 2,500 full-time Delaware-based workers Amazon already employs at centers in New Castle and Middletown, plus a $1.5 million capital spending grant, said Kirk Foreman, chief executive of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, which presented the request to the council.Both are matching grants that can be clawed back if Amazon didnt make good on its promises.Builder Dermody has contracted general contractor Clayco Inc., of St. Louis, Mo., and Corrado Construction Co., Wilmington, to help complete demolition at the site, said Jeff Zygler, a New Jersey-based Dermody official.State Sen. Anthony Del Collo (R., Elsmere) said he would like to see states move away from subsidies to profitable companies such as Amazon.But development council member Nancy Cook, a former Democratic state senator, said Delaware, as one of the smallest states, has little alternative but to court wealthy employers such as Bezos Amazon.We have to have incentives, she concluded, or we cannot compete with other states. CANTON, Mich., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fraza, an end-to-end material handling solutions provider headquartered in southeastern Michigan, is pleased to announce it has received the distinguished Dealer of Excellence award from Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA) -- a leading manufacturer of forklifts under the Cat lift trucks, Mitsubishi forklift trucks and Jungheinrich brands -- for the fifth consecutive year. "Fraza continues to show its dedication to delivering the high-quality products its customers deserve by earning the Dealer of Excellence award for the fifth consecutive year," said John Sneddon, vice president of sales and marketing at MCFA. "Their commitment to providing outstanding service and industry expertise is a hallmark of their longstanding partnership with MCFA, and I applaud their efforts." "Winning the Dealer of Excellence award for the fifth year in a row is a thrill," said Roger Runyan, CEO of Fraza. "We focus on delivering the best service possible and our strong relationship with MCFA is a key to our success. Being able to offer the best equipment available to our customers and report their feedback to MCFA is integral to the customer getting the exact products they need for their warehouse, all from one brand. We are proud of our partnership and our team and look forward to serving customers with MCFA products for many years to come." Fraza is a leader in material handling and warehouse products and services, providing innovative solutions to reduce costs and improve uptime for its customers across North America. About Fraza Fraza is southeast Michigan's fastest growing material handling provider, committed to providing its clients excellent customer service, experienced technicians, and the industry's most advanced technology. Fraza offers new and used equipment; parts and service for any make or model of material handling equipment; dock and door products and service; batteries and chargers; racking and shelving; rentals; related warehouse and industrial supplies; and operator training. In business since 1938, Fraza has four full-service locations in Canton, Sterling Heights, Bridgeport, and Grand Rapids. Learn more at frazagroup.com. About Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA) Manufacturer of High-Quality Material Handling Equipment Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality forklifts and warehouse products in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Based in Houston, Texas, the company distributes three distinct brands Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Cat lift trucks and Jungheinrich warehouse products through its extensive dealer network. All products are backed by industry-leading customer service and superior product support. For more information about MCFA or any of its brands, visit Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America, Cat Lift Trucks, Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks or Jungheinrich Forklifts. SOURCE Fraza The Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos staged a general strike Wednesday, as protests against the construction of new migrant camps intensified. For a second day, protesters on Lesbos faced off against riot police near the town of Mantamados, close to the site of a planned camp for up to 7,000 people. Small groups of protesters threw stones and firebombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and flash grenades. "You're going to die here," a protester shouted as police, as others screamed obscenities at them. "We are in a wartime situation," local priest Father Stratis told AFP. "(The police) have the weapons, we have our heart and soul." The regional governor's office has called a 24-hour strike, rejecting the government's plans to build the new camps to replace currently overcrowded facilities where asylum-seekers live in dire conditions. On Chios, hundreds gathered in a protest at the main square of the island's capital. There are more than 38,000 migrants crowded into camps on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos despite an official capacity of just 6,200. The islanders, who have long complained that the presence of thousands of asylum seekers threatens safety and public health, oppose government plans to build new camps for them there. "We are also fighting for those who want to go to a better place. We want them to leave" the squalid camps, Father Stratis said. "We will embrace war refugees, but the criminals should go back." The islanders say they will only accept small facilities where asylum-seekers are screened and then either moved to the mainland or sent back to Turkey outright. The conservative government, which came to power in July has announced that the camps on Lesbos, Samos and Chios will be shut down this year, to be replaced with new facilities that are to be operational by mid-2020. On Leros and Kos, existing facilities are to be revamped and expanded. The government says that the new camps, where entry and exit will be tightly controlled, will actually address most of the islanders' concerns by ending a currently "chaotic" situation. "We are creating 20,000 places of hospitality on the islands when today there are over 42,000," migration minister Notis Mitarachi told Skai radio. "I would be irresponsible if I allowed the islands to remain undefended in the face of migration flows." "We ask residents to trust us," he said. The administration of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is under increasing pressure to address the issue before springtime, when new arrivals from Turkey are expected to increase. After weeks of fruitless talks with local officials, the government on Monday secretly shipped construction machinery and hundreds of riot police to Lesbos and Chios, causing outrage. Opposition parties say the move is undemocratic and regional officials called it a "barbaric" attempt to "forcefully turn Lesbos and Chios into prisons". The state had already angered the islanders earlier this month by announcing that land could be requisitioned for a three-year period to build the new facilities. "There is a limit to our patience," said one villager, Stratos Paspalas, a retired butcher. "They requisition areas and bring riot police, tear gas people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Identifying an overlooked market need can lead to a lucrative new line of business. For Applied Development, such a discovery came about by luck, happenstance, and a willingness to take a risk. The Baltimore-based company launched in 2011 and received its very first federal contract four years later: a nine-hour-per-month job providing sign language interpretation services for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It came through a referral from a former client who wanted to help married co-founders Kimberly Citizen and Biffrey Braxton. The problem? Applied Development was an IT consulting startup. Neither Citizen nor Braxton had any experience hiring sign language interpreters--or, for that matter, with sign language at all. In need of revenue, they said yes anyway, and worked to learn on the job. The move paid off, and since then Applied Development has pivoted into related work full-time. In 2018, the company had $2.1 million in revenue, a 329 percent increase over 2016 that landed it at No. 27 on this year's Inc. 5000 Series: DC Metro list of the fastest-growing companies in the Washington D.C. metro area. Today, Applied Development has 25 full-time employees, 300 part-time sign language interpreters, and contracts with 14 U.S. federal agencies across 23 states, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Think of the company as part staffing firm, part PR firm, focused on providing services for the disabled, exclusively for government agencies. Applied Development is also notable for its diversity in leadership: It's the only company on this year's Inc. 5000 Series: DC Metro list that's led by a black female military veteran. Citizen, the company's CEO, served for three years in the U.S. Army, and has been a government consultant since 2001, including seven years as a senior manager at Booz Allen Hamilton and Accenture. "I wasn't satisfied with my experience in the larger organizations," she says. "I felt very much like a number." Even so, it took three years for Braxton--Applied Development's COO, and a former IT director and consultant in the real estate industry--to persuade Citizen to launch their own firm. Once they got started, the IT work they specialized in was proving hard to come by. Meanwhile, that tiny sign language contract was growing--and while it wasn't enough to sustain the entire business, its profit margins were noticeably high. So, midway through 2016, Citizen and Braxton did some market research. They quickly realized they'd stumbled into an untapped niche: Almost every single U.S. federal government agency was in need of disability-focused communications experts. Applied Development could provide internal services from sign language interpretation and captioning for the hearing-impaired, to social media and public relations for disability-focused advocacy events like the DOD's Warrior Games, an annual competition for disabled and wounded military personnel. Near the end of that year, the founders made the pivot. Braxton notes that their backgrounds helped them quickly get up to speed in an unfamiliar industry. "As consultants, knowing exactly how to do that business was less important than knowing the things that we would apply to that business to make it both effective and efficient," he says. It helps to have guidance from someone who's been there. For Citizen and Braxton, one such mentor is Rodney Thomas, whose Silver Spring, Maryland-based Thomas and Herbert Consulting ranked near the top of the Inc. 5000 list in 2004 and 2005. The trio spends roughly five hours per month working through Applied Development's largest obstacles together. The experience has made Citizen and Braxton want to return the favor. They've already started their own mentoring efforts, working to support other veteran and minority women entrepreneurs. Citizen's long-term goal is to launch her own venture capital fund and incubator for women veterans of color. If her revenue projections for Applied Development are accurate, that could happen sooner rather than later. She says she's expecting the company to make $6 million in revenue in 2020, and double it to $12 million next year. Bambawale served as India's Ambassador to Bhutan and China as well as the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan between 2016 and 2017 Strengthening its advisory board, Ola, one of the worlds largest ride-hailing companies has named Gautam Bambawale as Senior Advisor for Corporate and International Affairs. A retired bureaucrat, civil servant and executive, Gautam has played multiple diplomatic roles during his 34-year career with the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). He has served as India's Ambassador to Bhutan and China as well as the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan between 2016 and 2017. Gautam also held a number of positions where he was directly involved with advancing Indias relations with Japan, China, and South Korea amongst other countries. With his extensive experience in international relations, Gautam will play a key role in advising Ola on its Corporate Affairs initiatives across India and the global markets in which it operates. Speaking on his appointment, Gautam Bambawale said, Ola has driven transformational growth for Indias mobility ecosystem and created a deep social and economic impact in its journey of just under a decade. As the company builds on its endeavour to build mobility, not just for India but for consumers globally, Olas philosophy of collaborating with local governments and communities will only help it build more relevant and sustainable solutions for users and drivers. I am excited to join Bhavish and the Ola team in this journey of becoming an institution that is globally respected and is a hallmark of collaboration. Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Ola said, I am very excited to welcome Gautam as a Senior Advisor to Ola. His experience in international relations and diplomacy from his three decades of service to the nation will play an invaluable role in Olas next phase of growth across global markets. He added, "In our mission to build mobility for a billion people, we also have the opportunity to build a global brand that every Indian can be proud of. I look forward to working closely with Gautam as we build Ola into a globally respected mobility company." Apart from serving in multiple diplomatic roles, Gautam was Indias first Consul General in Guangzhou (China) (20072009); the PMO (20022004); and served as the Joint Secretary for East Asia, MEA (20092014). Currently a Professor and a member of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at the Symbiosis International University, Pune, Gautam earned his M.Phil. in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) (@ChaudhryMAli88) PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) The government of the Czech Republic recommends its citizens to refrain from visiting northern Italy and consider not leaving the country at all for the time being due to a coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said. Late on Tuesday, the prime minister called a session of the republic's security council on the spread of COVID-19 across Europe as well as appropriate measures against it. "We recommend our citizens not to visit the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto ... And, of course, it is necessary for our citizens to consider whether they should leave the country in the present situation," Babis said during a press conference following the meeting. There are currently over 320 cases of the novel coronavirus registered in Italy, making it the leader among the European countries. MONTREAL - Canadian Pacific Railway obtained an injunction Tuesday aimed at ending a blockade erected more than two weeks ago in a Mohawk community south of Montreal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. People gather at a protest in Kahnawake, Que. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz MONTREAL - Canadian Pacific Railway obtained an injunction Tuesday aimed at ending a blockade erected more than two weeks ago in a Mohawk community south of Montreal. Coming a day after Kahnawake's elected band council had praised the railway and the province for showing restraint, the move came angered protesters, who say they are supporting Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. "We were surprised to get an injunction from CP Rail, we had a good relationship with them ... they indicated they were not going to be asking for an injunction," said Kenneth Deer, the secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake on Tuesday. CP Rail said in a statement that despite obtaining the injunction to the blockade of its tracks in Kahnawake, it is encouraging peaceful dialogue to resolve the matter. The railway said it needed to act after more than two weeks without a resolution and with "copycat" blockades popping up, including those by non-Indigenous Peoples. "CP was compelled to take action to secure a province-wide injunction to deal with future 'copycat' blockades," a spokesman for the railway wrote, noting the company's CEO last week supported the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' request for direct dialogue with the prime minister. Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel A. Pinsonnault granted the order, which is valid until March 5 and authorizes any police force to assist CP to execute the order, including Kahnawake Mohawk Peacekeepers. But in a statement late Tuesday, Kahnawake's grand chief said the injunction will not be enforced. "It is truly unfortunate that CP is taking this rash course of action, which will only add to the problems at hand," Joseph Norton said. The band council's statement declared that the local Peacekeepers are the only police force with jurisdiction over Kahnawake, implying there is no place for provincial police on the reserve. It quoted Peacekeeper Chief Dwayne Zacharie as saying his officers have "no interest in criminalizing people for standing up for our rights." Premier Francois Legault tread carefully as the injunction was being granted Tuesday, saying he's confident Quebec provincial police would take the correct steps. "Of course we have to be very, very careful. I remember Oka," Legault said, referring to the 1990 crisis triggered by a provincial police intervention in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake. "But at the same time, we've been in this situation for 20 days now, people in Quebec are suffering and I think we need to dismantle those barricades." Legault said he wants everything to be done to ensure the blockades end peacefully. Deer said that upon learning of the injunction, the people at the Kahnawake blockade said they plan to stay put. "Their understanding is they are there to support the Wet'suwet'en chiefs, and the chiefs have not yet made an agreement with the Government of Canada, so therefore the blockade will still continue," Deer said. Quebec provincial police didn't immediately comment. The blockaded line is used for freight traffic as well as commuter rail service between Montreal and several communities to the south, which was interrupted as of Feb. 10. Exo, the transit authority that operates commuter trains on the line, said it is losing $35,000 to $45,000 each weekday the Kahnawake blockade continues as it is forced to rent buses to shuttle passengers to and from downtown. That means the blockade had cost the commuter rail agency up to $540,000 by Tuesday afternoon, the 12th weekday of rail disruption. A second injunction was granted Tuesday in Quebec City to deal with a blockade along a small rail line in Listuguj, a Mi'kmaq community in eastern Quebec, about 525 kilometres northeast of Quebec City by the New Brunswick border. Meanwhile, Sherbrooke police moved in to end another blockade set up Tuesday, about 150 kilometres east of Montreal. Nineteen people, their faces covered with masks, blocked a rail line in the city's Lennoxville district in support of Wet'suwet'en chiefs. Police dismantled the blockade, arresting those on site in the afternoon one by one. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. With files from Christopher Reynolds in Montreal. (TNS) A user may not think twice when sharing exercise stats on an app with their trainer, but several University of Michigan researchers warn health privacy is affected as technology advances.Healthcare professionals and lawmakers should be more concerned than ever about the uses of patients data outside the clinical setting, Jessica Golbus, a cardiovascular medicine fellow at the Michigan Medicine Frankel Cardiovascular Center, said.Golbus and two colleagues authored a perspective Privacy Gaps for Digital Cardiology Data: Big Problems With Big Data," in the medical journal Circulation, which published on Tuesday.In it, Golbus and her colleagues argue there is a greater role of physicians responsibilities to educate their patients on privacy when recommending technology, and a greater role for legislation that could protect data use.The article came from conversations about digital interventions in health care. As more research began to show commercial interest in health-generated data, the team wondered about the implications. Of 24 prominent, medically related apps found that 19 shared user data with 55 unique entities, according to a 2019 study cited in the perspective.Golbus said part of the issue is apparent in the narrow scope of the Health Information and Privacy Protection Act, or HIPAA. The U.S. health-data privacy law regulates data between healthcare professionals and patients, but not un-identified data.Data without a name can still create a picture of someones health, Golbus said.For example, somebody that shared a story on a website about depression -- that may be clear that person has depression, she said. "But you could also gain information from people searching for light therapy lamps and then if that person likes posts on a website from other patients of depression, these online sources may be able to combine or triangulate this information make inferences about health, in this case perhaps depression.Even voluntarily shared data can face similar privacy concerns. If a patient is a Bluetooth-connected blood pressure cuff and an app to share the data, such as their heart rate or blood pressure, with their physician, that information is protected. However, if that patient shares that data with their fitness trainer or nutritionist, the data is unprotected. That data can be used in combination with other analytics to piece together more information about a person.Even actions outside of health apps could be used in relation to health data. Processes like geofencing, or using smartphone-based location to trigger a digital response, could indicate how often a user visits a fast-food restaurant. That data can be used then to make predictions.Third-parties may then use that information for sales, loan eligibility or create a health score to make decisions about life insurance or employment, she said.But that doesnt mean doctors should shy away from mobile apps and other data-centered patient products, Golbus said. Not all health correlations are covered in non-discrimination laws.Were really excited about the types of the things that we can do with this data to help our patients and deliver targeted interventions, she said. "We really are of the belief that all of this data were generating is ultimately for good and to help our patients. We also want to make sure were thoughtful while were doing this and that our patients are educated.The team argues that once clinicians educate themselves on the topic, they will be able to have frank conversations about data privacy. Its too big of a burden to expect users to read lengthy, often technical privacy policies, Golbus said.The authors also argued broader privacy laws would be better in the long run. They pointed to the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation passed in 2016 as an example. That law requires data processors and controllers to provide users with their own data, clearly disclose data collection, set high-privacy defaults and more.Although we do not regard the General Data Protection Regulation as a panacea, the United States needs law that governs data, not just a limited number of covered entities that hold it, and embraces a broad and inclusive definition of health-related data, without the artificial distinctions inherent in HIPAA, the article states. Dutch French English Solvay launches Solvay One Planet Ten goals focused on positively impacting climate, resources and better life Brussels, February 26, 2020 Solvay today announces a new 2030 sustainability program, Solvay One Planet. An integral element of the Groups G.R.O.W. strategy , the plan is directly aligned with Solvays purpose of bonding people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The plan outlines ten ambitious targets to drive progress across three key pillars: climate, resources and better life. To meet these goals, Solvay pledges to reallocate investments to promote sustainability within its portfolio, operations and workplace. With Solvay One Planet, we are setting bolder objectives to solve key environmental and societal challenges through science and innovation, says CEO Ilham Kadri. Beyond climate change, we will tackle resource scarcity and promote a better life. Together with our customers, we will create sustainable shared value for all. This is Progress Beyond. This is G.R.O.W. Solvay One Planet is inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes ten measurable commitments in three key focus areas, to be achieved by 2030: Climate Lowering greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Solvay will double the rate at which it reduces emissions, with a goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions by 26% and aligning its trajectory with the well below 2C temperature increase goal outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Eliminating the use of coal. Solvay will not build new coal-powered plants and commits to phase out coal usage in energy production wherever renewable alternatives exist. Reducing pressure on biodiversity. Solvay plans to reduce its pressure by 30% on biodiversity in areas such as terrestrial acidification, water eutrophication and marine ecotoxicity. Resources Increasing water use efficiency. Solvay will diminish its impact on freshwater withdrawal by reducing its intake of freshwater by 25%. Accelerating the circular economy. Solvay will leverage its partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to more than double the sales of products based on renewable or recycled resources to 15% of Group sales. Increasing waste recovery. The Group will reduce by a third its non-recoverable industrial waste, such as landfill and incineration without energy recovery. Leveraging innovation to grow sustainable solutions. Solvay will upgrade its sustainable portfolio to reach 65% of Group sales, in collaboration with the Solar Impulse Foundation. Better Life Prioritizing safety. Solvay targets a zero accident policy, to protect the safety and security of its employees. Embedding inclusion and diversity. Solvay will work to achieve gender parity for mid- and senior-level management by 2035. Solvays code of business integrity paves the way towards an inclusive work environment that welcomes diversity of any kind such as thoughts, race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation. Extending maternity and paternity leave. Solvay is adapting its global policy of 14 weeks maternity leave to 16 weeks, extending it to co-parents employed by the company regardless of gender, by 2021. Furthermore, Solvay is also walking the talk by taking concrete actions internally in the three focus areas: Climate : Solvay will start switching to electric or hybrid company cars as of 2021. : Solvay will start switching to electric or hybrid company cars as of 2021. Resources : A new Stop Office Waste plan includes phasing out single-use plastic, generating almost zero food waste at canteens, and aiming to become a paperless company. : A new Stop Office Waste plan includes phasing out single-use plastic, generating almost zero food waste at canteens, and aiming to become a paperless company. Better life: Solvay is establishing a Better Life Observatory with managerial training to support work-life integration. I am convinced that clean technologies can accomplish impossible goals," said Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation. "With its ambitious sustainable commitments, Solvay is showing that solutions improving the quality of life on earth and making our planet a better place for humans already exist. The solutions labelled by the Solar Impulse Foundation are proof of it. Science and research play an important role to tackle the worlds environmental and health challenges and I'm particularly happy that Solvay is leading the way. Ellen MacArthur, founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) promoting circular economy, commented: With the launch of its Solvay One Planet plan, the company is sending a strong signal to the chemical industry and its value chain that the circular economy is happening and that Solvay wants to lead the way. Its plans to double turnover from renewable resources from 7 to 15% is an important first step on the journey. We are also pleased to see that Solvay will be measuring its progress on circular economy transition by using the EMF circularity measurement tool, Circulytics. We encourage other businesses to do the same. The Group will report progress against these initiatives annually in its integrated report. More information about Solvays new sustainability goals can be found here . Attachment Here is the latest Hamilton County arrest report: BANDEL, KAREN JOY 1180 S MCDONALD RD SW MC DONALD, 37353 Age at Arrest: 42 years old Arresting Agency: Hamilton County THEFT OF PROPERTY UNDER 1000 THEFT OF IDENTITY ---- BASLER, SHANE MICHAEL 217 WINCHESTER ST CHATTANOOGA, 37405 Age at Arrest: 32 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga THEFT OVER $2,500 ---- BIBBS, ANN MICHELLE 3401 CAMPBELL ST APT 711 CHATTANOOGA, 37406 Age at Arrest: 37 years old Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) ---- BLAKE, LISA MARIE 1107 LULLWATER ROAD RED BANK, 37405 Age at Arrest: 34 years old Arresting Agency: Hamilton County POSSESSION OF HEROIN FOR RESALE POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURING)POSSESSION OF COCAINE FOR RESALENONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT----BOILEK, KENNETH DEAN703 HIGHVIEW DRIVE CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 54 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT----BOWMAN, CHARLES HENRY5427 JOHNSON ROAD BIRCHWOOD, 37308Age at Arrest: 60 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF HYDROCODONE)----BREWTON-ADAMS, BRITTNEY ELIZABETH3901 LEEWARD LN SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTY----CARTER, KHALIA Q1664 GREENDALE WAY HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 18 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTYVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF----CAYLOR, HEATHER L240727 E 11ST STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----CHRISTOPHER, RAVEN7175 HOLLAND LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaSPEEDINGDRIVING ON REVOKED LICENSE----CLIFTON, JOSHUA K1011 GADD ROAD APT 726 HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULTFALSE IMPRISONMENTCOERCION OF WITNESSRETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER----COLEMAN, ELLIS DEWAYNE5521 OLEARY STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 60 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED DOMESTIC ASSAULTASSAULT----DAVIS, DOUGLAS EDWARD4229 GREENBRIAR RD EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (FAILURE TO APPEAR)----DONAHUE, KIANA NESHA2735 SHEPHERD VIEW DR CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTYCRIMINAL TRESPASSING----DYKES, JOHN SAMUEL502 FORRESTER WHITE DRIVE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFAILURE TO APPEAR----EBERHART, RICHARD KENNETH145 DUCK DRIVE ESTILL SPRINGS, 37330Age at Arrest: 55 years oldArresting Agency: Federal MarshallBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----EPPERSON, GREGORY LYNN1764 SAMS CREEK ROAD ASHLAND CITY, 37011Age at Arrest: 52 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (HARASSMENT)----GAYHEART, CLYDE EDWARD4306 9TH AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 60 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaFEL.OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLELEAVING SCENE OF ACCIDENT W/DAMAGE TO VEHICLEDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE----GEORGE, TERRANCE WILLIE1103 GROVE ST APT A CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Chatt. Housing AuthorityCRIMINAL TRESPASSING----HALFACER, ERWIN TYRONE517 ROYAL CREST DR HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPINGAGGRAVATED DOMESTIC ASSAULT----HARDEMAN, CURTIS WILLIAM315 HIGH POINT DRIVE CHICKAMAUGA, 30707Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyPOSS.HANDGUN WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCERECKLESS ENDANGERMENT----HARRIS, DAVONTE TRAMELL2117 KIRBY AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374043618Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEREGISTRATION, EXPIRED----HARTZELL, THEA AMELIA2058 OAK STREET NORTH WEST CLEVELAND, 37311Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT----HEDRICK, DAVID AUSTIN2635 HENDON ROAD SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCONTEMPT OF COURT----HENDRICKS, LAURA L4718 CRANMORE COVE RD DAYTON, 37321Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: Soddy DaisyTAMPERING WITH EVIDENCEPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCECRIMINAL LITTERINGRESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS----HIXSON, ROBERT ALLEN592 GATE ST ROSSVILLE, 30741Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----HUGHES, MEGAN DIANA2321 STANDIFER GAP RD CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 38 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaASSAULT----JACKSON, VERNON ANDREW3802 WILEY AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37412Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----KECK, CHARLES EDWARD3919 KINGS RD CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 49 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----KENNEDY, TERRI JEAN7912 LONG DR CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 59 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $1,000----KING, AUTUMN RENEA430 MCCALLIE FERRY RD SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: Humane SocietyDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEFAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE----KNIGHT, MYKAH LAMAR981 AL HWY 73 BRYANT, 35958Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT UNDER $1,000----LAMBRETH, CHARLES B929 ASHLAND TERRACE CHATTANOOGA, 37343Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT----LAY, TOMMY LABRON3309 HOYT ST CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeTAMPERING WITH OR FABRICATING EVIDENCESIMPLE POSSESSION OF MARIJUANACONTROLLED SUBSTANCE SCH I----LEWIS, WILLIAM GUSTAVSON1360 MEADOW WOOD LANE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 57 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyAGGRAVATED BURGLARY (OCCUPIED HABITATION)----MAYNOR, CHRISTOPHER DONN8887 LOVELL ROAD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 44 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE----MCCRARY-LANGSTON, SKYLAR L3900 6TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULTFALSE IMPRISONMENT----MCIVOR, KAYLA4906 EAST 13TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFAILURE TO APPEAR----MCSPADDEN, ARIAL K4805 ALPINE DR CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAPOSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURING)POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE----MCWHORTER, JEREMY BERNARD4806 SYLVIA CIR CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED ASSAULT DOMESTIC----MEDINA, SILVESTER M2203 WESTGATE DR APT 22 CHATTANOOGA, 37172Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEVIO. DRIVERS LICENSE LAW----MEEKS, MEGIN PAIGE1008 HILL CREST RD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED S----MOORE, CHRISTIAN JEWEL1306 CYPRESS STREET CT CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFAILURE TO APPEAR----MORGAN, ANDREW JASON2001 LONG STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37408Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaFUGITIVE CATSOOSA COUNTY----NEELY, CASSAUNDRA GABRIELE1105 ARLINGTON AVENUE APT 22 CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE 2ND OFFENSEDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE----OGLETREE, DAYTON KALVIN2705 E 13TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 30 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----PARHAM, KENETRA L5004 ALABAMA AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37409Age at Arrest: 49 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEOPEN CONTAINER LAWSPEEDING----PARKER, DAVID GREGORY7700 EAST VILLAGE LN HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: Soddy DaisyCRIMINAL TRESPASSINGSHOPLIFTINGBURGLARY----PARRISH, MARY ANN4109 WOODLAND DR APISON, 37363Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSS. OF METHAMPHETAMINE F----POLLARD, THADDEUS1803 E. 27TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (CRIMINAL TRESPASSING----PUCKETT, CANDACE MARIE2413 GLENGERRIE DRIVE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF SERVICES)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY(CONDUCT----PULLUM, JENNY CLEMENTI2605 E 38TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----RECTOR, CLIFFORD RAY700 OLD DIXIE HIGHWAY KIMBALL, 37380Age at Arrest: 39 years oldArresting Agency: Federal MarshallBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----ROBINSON, ALECIA SHAUNTA1110 ARLINGTON AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 374063201Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING ON REVOKED LICENSE----ROBINSON, DAVID LEE199 WELCH ST DAYTON, 37321Age at Arrest: 66 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----ROLLINGS, JULIAN PAUL5106 N ELDRIDGE RD APT A CHATTANOOGA, 37343Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyIN TRANSIT TO SEQUATCHIE COUNTY----SANDERS, JOHNNIE LEE5207 SUNBEAM AVENUE APT B CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (FAILURE TO APPEAR)VIOLATIN OF PROBATION (EVADING ARREST)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT)----SLATTON, DESTINY2442 CHAUNCY LANE SW MARIETTA, 30064Age at Arrest: 18 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY----SMITH, ALDONTA ARSA50001 NORTH MOORE LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37408Age at Arrest: 43 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaCRIMINAL TRESPASSINGTHEFT OF PROPERTY----SMITH, ZEPHYR LEBRON2405 STUART ST CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPOSS.A FIREARM DURING COMMISSIION OR ATTEMPT TO CODRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIATINTED WINDOWS VIOLATION----SNOW, LEROY III4417 BYRD AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 46 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE----SPATES, AVA ROSE2475 15TH AVE APT 210 CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 19 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)----SUMNER, ERICA JEANNE2080 NEW LAKE RD SPRING CITY, 37381Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT----THURMAN, CHRISTOPHER KEVIN5908 THURMAN LN HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (FORGERYVIOLATION OF PROBATION ( FORGERYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (FORGERYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (AGGRAVATED BURGLARYVIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY----TURNER, PATRICIA LYNN7304 STERLING ROAD MIDDLE VALLEY, 37343Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY UNDER $1,000----UNDERHILL, HEATHER NICHOLE7526 SIMS ROAD HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 42 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA----WARRICK, MARCUS E48 FRANK GASS ROAD TRENTON, 30752Age at Arrest: 44 years oldArresting Agency: Humane SocietyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (PUBLIC INTOXICATION----WATKINS, TORRICK WYKEE4612 KEMP DR APT A CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCONTEMPT OF COURTCONTEMPT OF COURT----WEBB, JENNIFER REBECCA3725 JENKINS RD CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 43 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeDISORDERLY CONDUCT----WOODS, DEQUAN JATORIAN609 SNOW STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37405Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) Here are the mug shots: BASLER, SHANE MICHAEL Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 01/23/1988 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): THEFT OVER $2,500 BIBBS, ANN MICHELLE Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 06/11/1982 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) BLAKE, LISA MARIE Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 03/07/1985 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF HEROIN FOR RESALE POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURING) POSSESSION OF COCAINE FOR RESALE NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT BREWTON-ADAMS, BRITTNEY ELIZABETH Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 02/06/1992 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY CAYLOR, HEATHER L Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 12/12/1986 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) CHRISTOPHER, RAVEN Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 10/15/1993 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): SPEEDING DRIVING ON REVOKED LICENSE CLIFTON, JOSHUA K Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 12/08/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT FALSE IMPRISONMENT COERCION OF WITNESS RETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER DAVIS, DOUGLAS EDWARD Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 09/25/1990 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (FAILURE TO APPEAR) EPPERSON, GREGORY LYNN Age at Arrest: 52 Date of Birth: 03/05/1967 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (HARASSMENT) GEORGE, TERRANCE WILLIE Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 07/13/1997 Arresting Agency: Chatt. Housing Authority Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING HALFACER, ERWIN TYRONE Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 07/23/1982 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): ESPECIALLY AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING AGGRAVATED DOMESTIC ASSAULT HARDEMAN, CURTIS WILLIAM Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 08/10/1999 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): POSS.HANDGUN WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT HARRIS, DAVONTE TRAMELL Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 06/10/1999 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE REGISTRATION, EXPIRED HARTZELL, THEA AMELIA Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 08/26/1997 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT HEDRICK, DAVID AUSTIN Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 03/12/1994 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): CONTEMPT OF COURT HIXSON, ROBERT ALLEN Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 01/31/1988 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) HUGHES, MEGAN DIANA Age at Arrest: 38 Date of Birth: 01/03/1982 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): ASSAULT JACKSON, VERNON ANDREW Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 07/28/1987 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) KECK, CHARLES EDWARD Age at Arrest: 49 Date of Birth: 09/03/1970 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) KENNEDY, TERRI JEAN Age at Arrest: 59 Date of Birth: 05/21/1960 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $1,000 KING, AUTUMN RENEA Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 11/13/1999 Arresting Agency: Humane Society Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE KNIGHT, MYKAH LAMAR Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 08/27/1995 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): THEFT UNDER $1,000 LAY, TOMMY LABRON Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 12/06/1982 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): TAMPERING WITH OR FABRICATING EVIDENCE SIMPLE POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE SCH I MAYNOR, CHRISTOPHER DONN Age at Arrest: 44 Date of Birth: 08/07/1975 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE MCCRARY-LANGSTON, SKYLAR L Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 11/21/1998 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT FALSE IMPRISONMENT MCIVOR, KAYLA Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 10/26/1994 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): FAILURE TO APPEAR MCSPADDEN, ARIAL K Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 02/11/1989 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA POSSESSION OF METH (SELL, DEL. OR MANUFACTURING) POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE MEDINA, SILVESTER M Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 12/31/1982 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE VIO. DRIVERS LICENSE LAW MEEKS, MEGIN PAIGE Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 03/17/1998 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED S MOORE, CHRISTIAN JEWEL Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 09/15/1984 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): FAILURE TO APPEAR MORGAN, ANDREW JASON Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 10/02/1985 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): FUGITIVE CATSOOSA COUNTY NEELY, CASSAUNDRA GABRIELE Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 08/14/1979 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE 2ND OFFENSE DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE OGLETREE, DAYTON KALVIN Age at Arrest: 30 Date of Birth: 06/30/1989 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) PARHAM, KENETRA L Age at Arrest: 49 Date of Birth: 01/16/1971 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OPEN CONTAINER LAW SPEEDING PARRISH, MARY ANN Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 12/14/1979 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSS. OF METHAMPHETAMINE F POLLARD, THADDEUS Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 02/11/1987 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (CRIMINAL TRESPASSING PUCKETT, CANDACE MARIE Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 01/14/1980 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF SERVICES) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY(CONDUCT PULLUM, JENNY CLEMENTI Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 04/18/1983 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) ROBINSON, ALECIA SHAUNTA Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 06/01/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED LICENSE ROBINSON, DAVID LEE Age at Arrest: 66 Date of Birth: 11/24/1953 Arresting Agency: Hamilton County Last Date of Arrest: 02/25/2020 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) Uganda has shown a strong appetite for the debt however, its not facing difficulty in repaying, the State Minister for Finance, David Bahati has said. Mr Bahati said this during a two days debt conference organised by government of Uganda in collaboration with the Netherlands and support from the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs Over the past decade, the government of Uganda has borrowed extensively to finance the countrys infrastructure demands. The debt-to-GDP position increased from 19.2 per cent in 2009 to 36.1 per cent in 2019. While this is a large increase, it represents the governments ambition for economic development. Stories Continues after ad As of last financial year, Ugandas debt stood at Shs41 trillion (US $10 billion) in the fiscal year ending June 2018 as government borrowed to build roads and hydroelectric dams. We use our debt wisely. 59 per cent of our borrowing is still on concessional terms with multilateral institutions and development banks. Our engagement with bilateral and commercial partners is to finance specific projects that are of high returns and directed towards growth drivers and export promotion. He said. The strategy to allow us to continue meeting our debt obligations in the future is aiming to appropriately align the terms and conditions with the projects that we finance. Assets that are likely to generate high returns are more suitable to be financed on less-concessional terms, whereas, for social projects, we try to finance on concessional terms. Some countries in the region just like Uganda are experiencing low debt distress levels and could comfortably bear more debt. However, Uganda is cognizant of the risks that our borrowing poses and we are taking action to mitigate these risks. Uganda does not aim to hit its debt limits, but rather take on the amount of debt that best supports our development objectives, all factors considered. he said. In the last decade, there has been a reduction in grants and concessional financing alongside a rise in non-concessional financing including commercial loans many of which are from unsolicited financiers. While the majority have attractive rates of interest, they typically come with additional charges which may significantly increase the true cost of the loan. In order to adequately address the existing debt sustainability challenges, Bahati said it calls for not only tackling the borrowing conditions but also think through ways of; improvement of the terms of trade, improvement of the contribution of the exports sector, expanding the tax base, inclusion of agriculture and the informal sector in the tax system and harnessing the opportunities of the information and communication technology to improve collection of taxes. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - OSPREY GOLD DEVELOPMENT LTD. (TSXV: OS) (OTCQB: OSSPF) (the "Company" or "Osprey") is pleased to announce assay results from its diamond drill program at the Mitchell Lake Zone of the Company's Goldenville Property located in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. A total of 646 metres ("m") in five holes were drilled across approximately 300 m of strike length; all five holes successfully intersected near surface zones of disseminated style gold mineralization within host rock argillites and slates. This style of mineralization is currently the focus at St. Barbara Mining Ltd.'s Moose River Consolidated mine. Highlights of these latest results include: All five holes returned near surface disseminated gold values from this expanding mineralized zone located 3.5 kilometres ("kms") from the Goldenville Resource Results demonstrate lower-grade disseminated gold mineralization is present along at least 500m of strike length Results step out 350 m to the west from known mineralization at Mitchell Lake; the deposit remains open in all directions and at depth Hole MIT19-5 intersected 13.0 m of 1.05 grams per ton gold ("g/t Au") within a broader intercept of 32.0 m of 0.49 g/t Au Hole MIT19-4 intersected 14.0 m of 0.49 g/t Au Results from an additional five holes drilled at Goldenville are pending Company President Cooper Quinn said, "At Mitchell Lake, we were targeting this style of mineralization, so we're quite excited by these results. Following up on our results from 2017 (See News Release dated March 1, 2018), we did a UAV geophysical survey, structural interpretation, and on the ground targeting work, so it's great to see this pay off with significant gold intercepts. We're now awaiting the results from an additional five holes at Goldenville, where our initial results included the very high grade intercept in hole G19-18, which returned 269.15 g/t Au over 2.0 m. Results from the remaining holes will be reported as they become available." Significant results from Mitchell Lake are available below in Table 1, with collar location data in Table 2. All five holes reported here were drilled stepping out along strike to the west along a structural trend defined through mapping and geophysics. Mineralization occurs in sulphide-rich argillite sequences, as well as within quartz veins hosted within these sequences. This structure remains open in all directions, and at depth. Geophysical surveying results indicate over 1 kilometre of potential strike length, of which less than half has been drill tested to date. Table 1 - Drill results from 2019 Exploration Program Hole ID From To Width Au (g/t) Mit19-4 67 81 14.0 0.49 Incl 77 81 4.0 1.00 Mit19-5 47 79 32.0 0.49 Incl 64 77 13.0 1.05 67 69 2.0 3.07 Mit19-6 61 79 18.0 0.23 Incl 68 74 6.0 0.35 Mit19-7 117 123 6.0 0.24 Mit19-8 75 80 5.0 0.36 Incl 75 76 1.0 1.73 Much of the core from Mitchell Lake drilling has core angles approaching 90 degrees however, in the mineralized sections, the range is from 40-50 degrees in Mit-4, 5, 6 and 7, reflecting a structural change thought to be shear related. Hole Mit19-8 ranges from 40-90 degrees for most of the hole, becoming sub-parallel toward the bottom of the hole. Much folding is evident in the Mitchell Lake area and lower core angles are thought to be changes in strike rather than dip. Core samples from an additional five holes drilled at the Goldenville Zone have been submitted for laboratory analysis and will be reported as they become available. Figure 1 - 2019 Mitchell Lake Drill Collar Locations on UAV magnetics (1st vertical derivative) To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5059/52821_1e6e34ff8474ca20_001full.jpg Table 2 - Drill Hole Collar Data Hole ID Location Easting Northing Depth Azimuth Dip Mit19-4 Mitchell Lake 573398 4997433 149 180 -45 Mit19-5 Mitchell Lake 573304 4997432 149 180 -45 Mit19-6 Mitchell Lake 573250 4997433 134 180 -45 Mit19-7 Mitchell Lake 573110 4997445 134 180 -45 Mit19-8 Mitchell Lake 573111 4997492 80 180 -45 About Goldenville and Osprey Osprey is focused on exploring five historically producing gold properties in Nova Scotia, Canada. Osprey has the option to earn 100% (subject to certain royalties) in all five properties, including the Goldenville Gold Project, Nova Scotia's largest historic gold producer. Goldenville hosts a current NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 2,800,000 tonnes at 3.20 g/t gold for 288,000 ounces of gold (2,800,000 tonnes at 4.96 g/t gold for 447,000 ounces of gold uncapped) near the town of Sherbrooke, NS. All five properties in Osprey's current portfolio have a history of high-grade gold production. A copy of the Company's technical report titled "Technical Report on the Goldenville Property, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Canada" prepared by by David G. Thomas, M.Sc., P. Geo. and Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo. is available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. Samples from the 2019/2020 exploration program are split with a hydraulic splitter, and placed in sealed bags and shipped to ActLabs for gold and multi-element ICP analysis. A Quality Control/Quality Assurance program, including the insertion of Standards, Blanks, and Duplicates has been implemented. The 2019/2020 exploration program is performed under the supervision Perry MacKinnon, P.Geo, Vice President of Exploration of Osprey and a 'Qualified Person' under NI 43-101. Mr. MacKinnon has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. Additional information regarding Osprey and the Goldenville and Caribou properties is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and at www.ospreygold.com. ON BEHALF OF OSPREY GOLD DEVELOPMENT LTD., "Cooper Quinn" Cooper Quinn, President and Director For further information please contact Osprey at (778)986-8192 or cooper@ospreygold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Osprey within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Osprey 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 to the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs, exploration findings, results and recommendations, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Osprey's public filings under Osprey's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Osprey 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. Osprey 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52821 [February 26, 2020] INVESTIGATION REMINDER: The Schall Law Firm Announces it is Investigating Claims Against Tupperware Brands Corporation and Encourages Investors with Losses to Contact the Firm The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Tupperware Brands Corporation ("Tupperware" or "the Company") (NYSE: TUP) for violations of the securities laws. The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Tupperware admitted via a press release issued February 24, 2020, that it would be incapable of filing its annual report for the fiscal year ending December 28, 2019, in a timely manner. The Company stated that it expects 2019 net earnings per share "in the range of breakeven to $0.34 versus $3.11 in the prior year" and adjusted EPS of $1.35 to $1.70. Acording to the Company, its Fuller Mexico business suffered "financial reporting issues," and stated that it is "conducting an investigation primarily into the accounting for accounts payable and accrued liabilities at its Fuller Mexico beauty business." It added, "the Company is forecasting a need for relief concerning its existing leverage ratio covenant in its $650 million Credit Agreement dated March 29, 2019, to avoid a potential acceleration of the debt, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company." Based on this news, shares of Tupperware fell by more than 42% during intraday trading on February 25, 2020. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian[email protected]. The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005652/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A freestyle dancer was caught on camera pulling off an impossibly slick moonwalk routine that has been branded by social media users as the smoothest ever. The footage of Javier Romero is thought to have been recorded in a warehouse in Los Angeles, California. The 26-year-old professional dancer shows off his enviable moves that mirror those of King of Pop Michael Jackson. The footage of Javier Romero is thought to have been recorded in a warehouse in Los Angeles, California, as the professional dancer showed off his enviable moves that mirror King of Pop Michael Jackson In the video, Javier can be seen wearing a black jacket and ripped jeans with a pair of white sneakers. He effortlessly glides across the floor as the track No Idea by Don Toliver plays in the background. He performs a series of turns and slow-motion poses as he continues his fancy footwork before the video comes to an end. In the video, Javier can be seen wearing a black jacket and ripped jeans with a pair of white sneakers. He effortlessly glides across the floor as the track No Idea by Don Toliver plays in the background He performs a series of turns and slow-motion poses as he continues his fancy footwork before the video comes to an end. Javier later posted the video to his social media channels where it was flooded with praise from astonished viewers Javier, who has now been dancing for eight years, later posted the video to his social media channels where it was flooded with praise from astonished viewers. One, @wrightjtorres, said: 'I feel like I broke my ankles from just watching you.' Another, @rnc_rico, added: 'How the hell is your leg okay? You be doing some crazy s*** that looks like it should hurt.' A third, @tommywrightda3rd, added: 'Does he have wheels on his shoes? WTF.' And @ashl0nd0n wrote: 'Smoothest I've ever seen!! Outta this world!' The dancer currently has more than 1.9 million followers on his TikTok account and frequently posts videos of himself spontaneously breaking out into routines while in public. Speaking after the video gained millions of views, Javier said: 'This is my third time going viral so it becomes something that was meant to happen. 'I just go with the flow and keep working... I'm on my way for sure!' Delhi Violence: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews security situation in various parts of Delhi. He said police and other agencies were working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Appealing for maintaining peace and harmony, he said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored in Delhi at the earliest. Congress President Sonia Gandhi attacked the government saying there's a conspiracy behind the violence in Northeast Delhi as many BJP leaders were making hateful comments, while creating an atmosphere of "fear and hatred". Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the current situation in Northeast Delhi as "alarming". He said police, despite all its efforts, was unable to control the situation and instill confidence. "Army should be called in and curfew should be imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. I am writing to the Home Minister to this effect," he said. Check all the latest updates on BusinessToday.In live blog 2.21 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews security situation in various parts of Delhi. He said police and other agencies were working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Appealing for maintaining peace and harmony, he said it was important that calm and normalcy was restored in Delhi at the earliest. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 1.36 PM: Randeep Singh Surjewala: "Congress was to hold a march and give a memorandum to President today but he communicated that he is unavailable and has given us time tomorrow. Upholding the respect for his high office, we have deferred the march for tomorrow." 1.34 PM: Sonia Gandhi on Delhi violence: Delhi Police remains paralysed in the last 72 hours -- around 18 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. "Violence continues unabated on the streets of North East Delhi," he said. 1.26 PM: Sonia Gandhi on Delhi violence: "There's a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi: There is a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/O6c1at9bLO ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 1.23 PM: Delhi Commissioner of Police, Amulya Patnaik: "Normalcy has returned in North East district to a large extent, senior officers are on rounds, extra forces have been given and lot of confidence building measures are being taken." 1.23 PM: Justice Muralidhar says that the situation is very unpleasant. We have all watched videos of some leaders making hate speeches openly. It's on every news channel. -- ANI 1.22 PM: BJP leader Kapil Mishra's video clip played in the court in the presence of all lawyers and DCP Deo and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Justice Muralidhar says "we are surprised at the conduct of the police". The HC asks SG to advise the police commissioner on the registration of an FIR against the BJP leaders who made hate speeches; hearing to held 2:30 pm again. -- ANI 1.20 PM: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Delhi violence: "Central govt should take steps to normalise the situation in Delhi and prevent violence. The Union Home Ministry should not hesitate to take strong action against the culprits. The police should be effectively deployed to prevent violence." 1.19 PM: Senior Congress leaders to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan today to raise the issue of Delhi violence. 1.17 PM: Delhi Police makes an announcement in Seelampur area, "Ek mahine ke liye Section 144 laga di gai hai, yahan koi bhi vyakti nazar na aaye. Abhi tumhe pyar se bataya jaa raha hai, phir sakhti se bataya jayega. Dukane bandh kardo yahan". #WATCH Delhi Police makes an announcement in Seelampur area, "Ek mahine ke liye Section 144 laga di gai hai, yahan koi bhi vyakti nazar na aaye. Abhi tumhe pyar se bataya jaa raha hai, phir sakhti se bataya jayega. Dukane bandh kardo yahan" #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/BwYvFLXzM9 ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.38 PM: Justice KM Joseph, while hearing pleas in Delhi violence case, expresses displeasure over the way the police acted. "You (police) have to act immediately to handle the situation," he said. Hearing in #DelhiViolence case: Justice KM Joseph in Supreme Court today expressed his displeasure over the way the police have acted. He said you (police) have to act immediately to handle the situation. pic.twitter.com/tbWezGKn0h ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.35 PM: Delhi Police releases numbers of officials concerned who can be contacted at five different hospitals where victims of the pro and anti-CAA clashes have been admitted. Delhi Police: Any person who wants the details of any victim, he or she may contact the following officers. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/casFST2mnx ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 12.12 PM: A team of Fire Department is conducting cooling operation at the tyre market in Gokulpuri area; the market was set ablaze on 24th February. Delhi: A team of Fire Department is conducting cooling operation at the tyre market in Gokulpuri area; the market was set ablaze on 24th February. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/2VvzvZPavM ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.55 am: Supreme court to hear Shaheen Bagh matter on March 23 The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will hear the Shahen Bagh matter on March 23. The court was hearing pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. Shaheen Bagh matter: Supreme Court fixes the matter for further hearing to March 23. The court was hearing pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. pic.twitter.com/vhT6KfzH4v - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.46 am: Paramilitary forces stationed in violence-hit Delhi 45 companies of paramilitary forces comprising ITBP, BSF and CRPF have been stationed in Delhi. 11.40 am: Top cops of Delhi Police inspects Jafrabad area Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) SN Shrivastava and Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Satish Golcha inspecting the Jafrabad area. SN Shrivastava was appointed as Special CP, yesterday. Delhi: Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) SN Shrivastava and Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Satish Golcha inspecting the Jafrabad area. SN Shrivastava was appointed as Special CP, yesterday. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/xxHmyiKzyq - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.34 am: Congress to carry out march to Rashtrapati Bhavan Congress leaders will march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek normalisation and peace in violence-hit Delhi, according to the party sources. 11.25 am: Security personnel carry out flag march in Babarpur area of Delhi The security personnel conducted a flag march in the Babarpur area of Delhi of Wednesday. It was carried out in Maujpur. 11.21 AM: Sunil Kumar Gautam, Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: "Out of all the people brought to the hospital, 189 are injured and 20 are dead." Sunil Kumar Gautam Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: Out of all the people that were brought to the hospital 189 are injured and 20 are dead. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/U8dlp4nrZV ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 11.13 AM: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has termed the current situation in Northeast Delhi as "alarming". He said police, despite all its efforts, was unable to control the situation and instill confidence. "Army should be called in and curfew should be imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. I am writing to the Home Minister to this effect," he said. I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately Am writing to Honble HM to this effect Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 26, 2020 10.53 AM: Security personnel are conducting flag-march in Maujpur area. Several areas of northeast Delhi have been affected by violent clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters. 10.30 AM: The Delhi High Court issues a notice to Delhi Police, and asks senior officials to remain present in the court in connection with a plea on violence in Delhi's North East districts. 10.13 AM: Latest visuals from Seelampur area. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had visited the areas affected by violence in North East Delhi last night and reviewed the security situation. Delhi: Latest visuals from Seelampur area. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had visited the areas affected by violence in North East Delhi last night and had reviewed security arrangements in the area. #DelhiViolencepic.twitter.com/YJCycbBMD3 ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 9.59 AM: NSA Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing Delhi violence under control, ANI quoted sources as saying. He's going to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet about the situation. NSA last night visited Jafrabad, Seelampur and other parts of Northeast Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. 9.57 AM: Sunil Kumar Gautam, MD, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, confirms the death toll due to violence has reached 18. 9.41 AM: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to attend the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting today. 9.34 AM: Locals along with family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal protest at his native place Sadeensar, demanding 'martyr status' for him. Rattan Lal was killed during pro and anti-CAA clashes in northeast Delhi. Sikar: Locals along with family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Rattan Lal (who lost his life in violence in North East Delhi) protest at his native place Sadeensar, demanding martyr status for him. #Rajasthanpic.twitter.com/pdk614yREp ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 9.11 AM: Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to injured Shahdara DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Amit Sharma's family and inquirs about his health. 9.04 AM: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital claims four persons were brought dead on Wednesday morning; death toll rises to 17.-- ANI 8.55 AM: BJP leader Kapil Mishra asks Arvind Kejriwal to release Rs 1 crore compensation to family to the policeman killed in violent clashes. Mishra had two days ago issued a warning, asking Delhi police to vacate protesters from areas like Jaffarabad. 8.43 AM: Check latest visuals from Maujpur, Seelampur and Gokulpuri. Clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters have claimed 13 lives so far. 8.40 AM: Earlier, Delhi Police Special Commissioner Satish Golcha said the protesters had left the Jaffarabad metro station and the Maujpur Chowk was also clear. Now, 66 Futa road was absolutely clear of all protests, he said. 8.36 AM: People gathered outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Tuesday night, demanding action against perpetrators of violence and seeking restoration of peace. Delhi: Latest visuals from Maujpur, Seelampur and Gokulpuri. Security personnel deployed in these areas. #NortheastDelhipic.twitter.com/wPoPwsnDDH ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 8.34 AM: National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval leaves from the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police North-East in Seelampur to review the security situation in different parts of North-East Delhi, on the intervening night of 25-26 February. Delhi: Police disperse the people who had gathered outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence demanding action against #DelhiViolence and seeking restoration of peace. https://t.co/NWz03HQkQTpic.twitter.com/ybGwIw0cqo ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 8.33 AM: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has tweeted saying entry and exit gates at all stations have been opened. Normal services have resumed at all stations. 8.32 AM: The Supreme Court will hear pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area today. 8.31 AM: The Delhi High Court in a midnight hearing has directed Delhi Police to ensure safe passage for the injured victims by deploying all resources, as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment. Five incumbent trustees have drawn challengers for their seats on the board that runs North East Independent School District, the second largest in Bexar County, in the May 2 elections. In District 1, incumbent Sandy Hughey faces a challenge by Michael Osborn. Hughey, 70, has been on the board since 2000 and said she hopes to continue working with Superintendent Sean Maika, who the board promoted in September. He had been interim superintendent since Brian Gottardy stepped down in May. Maika has rolled out three goals: improving mental health for students and staff, recruiting and retaining teachers and marketing the school district. The board added a fourth goal, Hughey noted: hearing more from the students perspective not just asking to hear their voice but wanting to hear that voice and integrating it into our decisions, Hughey said. Hughey, who worked in banking before retiring, also serves on the Texas Association of School Boards and the North East Educational Foundation. Her two youngest children graduated from Lee High School. Osborn, 69, who is retired from a career in electrical engineering, said he was disturbed by how distressed students are feeling. Im concerned about bullying, especially the recent suicide, Osborn said, referring to Alonso Jones, the Reagan High School student who took his own life in the schools weight room on Feb. 10. In the aftermath of his death, other students alleged Jones was a target of bullying. The school district said it had no evidence of that and was investigating. Osborn said he wants to learn why parents take their students out of district schools to attend charter schools and to look into the districts finances. I dont think that the board is taking thier fiduciary responsibility seriously. I think that they just leave it up to staff, he said. Two of Osborns daughters graduated from the district and three grandchildren currently attend NEISD schools. In District 3, the winner will serve out the remaining two years of former trustee Joseph Trevinos term. The board appointed Omar Leos in November and he is seeking to keep the seat against a challenge by Ione McGinty. Leos, 45, who works as the fine arts coordinator for Harlandale ISD, said his focus would be on retaining quality teachers for the district. During the 2018-2019 school year, the most recent year data is available, NEISDs teacher turnover rate was 14 percent, about two percentage points lower than the states overall rate. We have a lot of young professional teachers that come into the workplace and they leave sometimes after their second year of teaching, Leos said. How do we develop strategies to keep them and find the best candidates out there so we can hire in North East? McGinty said she wants to take on the issues of bullying and students mental health if elected. One way to get the community involved in the schools and encourage these kids is to just have greeters, McGinty said. Have people from the community go in there and encourage the students, as a volunteer. McGinty, 57, a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, is studying kinesiology at San Antonio College and previously worked in banking. She was critical of the boards 2017 decision to change the name of Lee High School two years after voting to keep it, saying: The time and energy could have been spent in better ways. In District 4, Joseph Hoelscher, 43, said he decided to run as a reaction against the boards recent decision to phase out class rank a listing of students from highest to lowest grade point average, or GPA, which often is used as a factor in college admissions beginning in the 2021-2022 school year. Required Reading: Get San Antonio education news sent directly to your inbox Hoelscher is challenging incumbent David Beyer, 45, who was appointed to the District 4 seat in January 2019 to replace Jim Wheat, who resigned to become an associate judge. Reading about the class ranking and why that was a unanimous vote, that just kind of stunned me, Hoelscher said. Hoelschers platform also includes expanding gifted and talented programs and paying more attention to special education. A MacArthur High School graduate, he is a partner in the law firm Hoelscher Gebbia Cepeda and focuses on criminal defense and child welfare cases. Beyer, a landscape architect, said he plans to focus on encouraging more classroom innovation, addressing mental health among students and staff and hearing more from students about their concerns. The class rank decision came after two years of research and community meetings, and wont be implemented immediately, Beyer pointed out. Theres always the opportunity for tweaking that policy if theres something specific that could improve it, he said. In District 5, school board president Shannon Grona is seeking a third term. Her challenger, Cimarron Gilson, thinks shes had enough time on the board after eight years. Im not going to be a career school board member, he said. If Im elected, Ill serve my four years and pass it on. Gilson, 39, a lawyer, works on estate planning and wills. He attended Catholic schools and said his wife and her siblings graduated from MacArthur High. The frequency of unanimous votes on the NEISD board is evidence of a lack of diversity of thought and perspective, Gilson said. He cited the Lee High debate, which drew fiercely held opinions from the community but was resolved in a unanimous vote to change the name to Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School. Gilson said he would have voted against that. The board had also considered changing the high schools name in 2015, and Grona voted against it then. When it was presented to us in 2017, it was about school safety. That there had been incidents around the country and then we actually had some information coming to us about threats that were going to happen at our campus, Grona said. Because of those safety concerns, while I personally did not want to change the name, I voted to do it because it was my responsibility as a trustee to do it. On ExpressNews.com: NEISD ponders next steps for Lee High School name change If re-elected, Grona, 57, wants to continue working with superintendent Maika to beef up mental health resources for students and teachers. She also welcomes more opportunities to hear from high school students on committees who meet with her and Maika once every three months. Weve learned from student voice meetings that we need to do a better job of actually communicating with our students, Grona said. District 6 drew three candidates. Incumbent Tony Jaso, 47, an investment banker elected in May 2016, is seeking a second term and echoed his colleagues on the need to focus on expanding mental health resources for students. He also applauded the board for lowering the districts property tax rate. Challenger Dylan Pearcy, 41, is a lawyer with a personal injury and family law practice. He taught in NEISD for four years until 2012 and wants to bring that perspective to the board, he said. Pearcy has four children in district schools. I want to make sure that theres someone on the board making decisions about the financial future of the district, looking at it from the perspective of the three major groups: the teachers, students and community members, Pearcy said. Steve Hilliard, 46, a pilot, also is seeking the District 6 seat and said he wants to involve parents more often in decisions. Hilliard graduated from Roosevelt High School and has two children in the district. To me, the biggest thing is that parent and campus collaboration and that theyre involved in collaborating with the campuses so the needs of the families are met, Hilliard said. Ashley McBride covers several school districts and the Alamo Colleges District in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | Ashley.McBride@express-news.net | Twitter: @Ashleynmcb OTTAWA - Some experts fear that legislation intended to make it easier for intolerably suffering Canadians to receive medical assistance to end their lives might actually make it harder in some cases and will create confusion among doctors who provide the procedure. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A screen displays a patient's vital signs during open heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore on Nov. 28, 2016. Some experts fear that legislation intended to make it easier for intolerably suffering Canadians to receive medical assistance to end their lives might actually make it harder in some cases and will create confusion among doctors who provide the procedure.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Patrick Semansky OTTAWA - Some experts fear that legislation intended to make it easier for intolerably suffering Canadians to receive medical assistance to end their lives might actually make it harder in some cases and will create confusion among doctors who provide the procedure. Bill C-7, introduced Monday, would remove a provision in the four-year-old assisted dying law that restricted the procedure to those whose natural death is "reasonably foreseeable" a restriction that was struck down as unconstitutional by a Quebec court last fall. But the revised law would still use the notion of reasonable foreseeability to impose a number of restrictions on those who are not near death that wouldn't apply to those who are. Dr. Stefanie Green, president of the Canadian Association of MAiD (medical assistance in dying) Assessors and Providers, says the bill muddies the already somewhat ambiguous notion of what constitutes reasonably foreseeable death and could mean some people who are currently eligible for an assisted death would not be eligible in future. The bill also explicitly prohibits assisted dying in cases where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition. Jocelyn Downie, a professor of law and medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says that exclusion is discriminatory and takes away access to the procedure that exists in the current law. For those deemed to be near death, the government is proposing to drop the requirement that a person must wait 10 days after being approved for an assisted death before receiving the procedure. It would also reduce the number of witnesses required to one from two. As well, it is proposing to drop the requirement that a person must be able to give consent a second time immediately prior to receiving the procedure. Both Downie and Green welcomed those changes. But they have concerns about the more restrictive requirements for those whose natural deaths are not deemed to be reasonably foreseeable. Such people would face a minimum 90-day period for assessments of their requests for assisted deaths. One of the two medical practitioners who assesses a request would have to have expertise in the person's particular medical condition. And the person would have to be able to give final consent immediately prior to the assisted death. Both Downie and Green said they're concerned that the bill might narrow the concept of reasonably foreseeable death, which has been interpreted to mean that a person is on a trajectory towards death be it in one, two, three or more years. Downie and Green said a technical briefing Justice Department officials gave on the bill Monday left the impression that death must be relatively imminent to be considered reasonably foreseeable. Moreover, they noted that the preamble of the bill refers at one point to "dying persons." "If they want to narrow it, they need to own that they're narrowing it and define it," Downie said in an interview. The wording in the preamble "raises a question," said Green. "I'm not sure that's the intention of the government and if it is, boy, we better know that." Green said that overall the members of her organization think the bill is "a step in the right direction" but they have some practical concerns, including "frustration" that they're going to have to continue wrestling with the concept of foreseeable death to determine which of the two proposed eligibility tracks apply in each case. Green said there's also concern that those who are not deemed to be near death will have to be assessed by a medical practitioner with expertise in their medical condition. That expertise could be hard to find for patients in rural or remote areas. Moreover, she said specialists are already consulted by doctors who are assessing a patient's eligibility for an assisted death. The bill would require those specialists to actually be involved in the assessments, a burden she predicted few would be prepared to do. Downie said she's also concerned that the bill stipulates that a person not near death would have to be suffering intolerably to be assessed for an assisted death and then that assessment would have to last a minimum of 90 days. "By definition, people in the second track have to experience 90 days of intolerable suffering and that seems cruel." Downie said she was "floored" by the bill's blanket prohibition on assisted deaths for those suffering solely from mental illnesses. "It's discriminatory, it's stigmatizing, it undercuts efforts of many people for many years to try to get people to acknowledge that mental illness is as serious as physical illness and that the suffering from it can be as excruciating as the suffering from physical illness," she said. "It's taking away access." NDP justice critic Randall Garrison said his party shares some of the same concerns but overall believes the bill "looks good" at first glance. He said the government which is asking for a four-month extension on the March 11 deadline given by the court to amend the law wants initial debate, which started Wednesday, to wrap up this week so that the bill can then be sent to committee for more detailed study. However, Conservative justice critic Rob Moore said his party "would object to that timeline." "This is an important matter for all members and needs thoughtful consideration. Any effort to curtail debate is inappropriate," he said in an email. Conservatives believe the bill "goes far beyond" what was ordered by last fall's court ruling and "reduces protections for vulnerable members of our society," Moore added. He said his party also wants the bill to do more to protect the conscience rights of health professionals who don't want to be involved in any way in providing assistance in dying. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version attributed a view to Justice Department officials that is held by Stefanie Green and Jocelyn Downie. Violence continues unabated in Maujpur; Rioters damage 2 fire tenders in Gokulpuri. New Delhi: A journalist with JK 24x7 news received a bullet injury and two reporters from NDTV were beaten and punched by rioters in Northeast Delhi, which was wracked by fresh violence on Tuesday. Akash sustained a bullet injury while covering the communal clashes in Maujpur locality and is in hospital where his condition is serious, said a tweet from JK 24X7 channel. Journalists Arvind Gunasekar and Saurabh Shukla were attacked when they were filming a mosque being set on fire. The crowd let them go only after another journalist pleaded with them. Many other journalists were heckled and asked to go back. A number of journalists across media organisations have voiced how challenging reporting the Delhi riots has been the last few days. Rioters are questioning anyone holding a mobile phone and these are being checked for any incriminating pictures, which are being deleted on the spot. As tension smouldered, rioters damaged two fire tenders in Gokulpuri and crowds raising incendiary slogans set on fire a bike in the epicentre of troubled Maujpur. Streets in many parts of the area were littered with stones, bricks, and burnt tyresmute testimony to the spiralling violence and bloodshed that took on a communal taint on Monday and injured about 150 people, including 48 police personnel. With violence continuing unabated, Union home minister Amit Shah convened a meeting with Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi police chief Amulya Patnaik, and others to address the situation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.26 Trend: Turkey will not forget true culprits of Khojaly tragedy in Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to Turkeys Ministry of National Defense. The ministry said that Turkey honors the memory of citizens who were brutally murdered by Armenians 28 years ago in Khojaly town. Saying one nation, two states, we will continue standing shoulder to shoulder with our Azerbaijani brothers and will not forget those who committed this massacre! the ministry said. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. First the good news; as yet, the United States has only a few isolated cases of the coronavirus, code-named COVID-19. Now the bad news; a lack of resources is leaving health officials in the dark about whether the virus is actually spreading. Emergency room (ER) doctors say they currently lack the resources to deal with a major outbreak. Test kits used to determine whether someone has COVID-19 or simply a cold are in short supply. California Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters at a news conference Thursday that the state only has 200 test kits on hand, a situation he called simply inadequate. Everybody in this country is rightfully anxious about this moment, the governor said. I think they should know we are meeting this moment with the kind of urgency that is necessary and I dont want to overextend the anxiety. Consumers in California may be on edge because one resident of the state is the first patient in the country to have contracted COVID-19 from unknown origin, meaning the patient had not traveled to China or had known contact with anyone who had been diagnosed. Taking issue with CDC policy Other health experts point to policy directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for what they say is a lack of timely testing. Dr. Michael Mina of the Harvard School of Public Health says the CDC has mandated all testing be conducted centrally. The frustrating thing, I think, for people who are trying to perform tests for their patients is we just dont have the capacity in the United States and the local laboratories that would normally be testing have been banned from being able to do that because of the declaration of a public health emergency by the CDC, he told CNBC. Meanwhile, a professional group representing hospital ER doctors is asking Congress to approve emergency supplemental appropriations to ensure the system has the resources necessary to address an outbreak. "More can and should be done to minimize the risk of coronavirus in the United States," said Dr. William Jaquis, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). "It is critical that we empower our nation's emergency care teams and public health experts to protect millions of people and respond quickly and effectively to this virus." Request for additional funding ACEP and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) have sent a request to the House Appropriations Committee asking for an increase in funding for health emergency preparedness, noting that COVID-19 patients will likely enter the healthcare system through an ER. "As the safety net for our communities, emergency departments across the country are filled with patients who have nowhere else to go for their health care needs, Jaquis said. He added that ERs around the country are already dealing with what he called a challenging flu season. Talk about biting off more than one can chew! In a bizarre incident, a python had to be taken to an animal hospital after it managed to swallow a beach towel whole. The hospital has shared a video of the exact moment said towel was pulled out from snake and no, it doesnt make for an easy watch. SASH - Small Animal Specialist Hospital thats shared the clip on Facebook described the incident has both unusual and extraordinary. The post details that the snake brought in, named Monty, is an 18-year-old female Jungle Carpet Python. Monty was brought in to the hospital after she was seen eating the towel the night before. In order to treat Monty, she had to be anaesthetised and radiographs were taken to find the edge of the towel. A flexible endoscope was placed down Montys gastrointestinal tract, which allowed us to visualise the end of the towel sitting in her stomach, says the post. With assistance from our internal medicine team, very long forceps were placed through the endoscope and used to grasp the towel, it says further. The towel was then removed from the snakes gastrointestinal tract. It was smiles all round and were happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day! says the post. The video shows the entire process and may not be very easy to watch. The video has collected quite a few reactions from people on Facebook. OMG! What a story and incredible work from the team! Good to hear that Monty is on the mend, says a Facebook user. Wow! So clever! What would make the snake eat a towel? wonders another. What do you think of this video? Two cheetah cubs at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium shows two cheetah cubs. Ohio zoo officials announced Monday that the two cheetah cubs had been born through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer to a surrogate mother for the first time. Read more For the first time, a pair of cheetah cubs was born after an in vitro fertilization procedure to a surrogate cheetah, with help from scientists at the National Zoo. Zoo officials said the cubs were born Wednesday at the Columbus Zoo to 3-year-old Izzy. The cubs' biological mother is 6-year-old Kibibi. Experts at the National Zoo in the District of Columbia said in a statement that "cheetahs naturally have low genetic diversity due to a near extinction at the end of the last ice age." For about 20 years, scientists have been trying to boost the cheetah population through IVF and embryo transfers. Officials said the embryo transfer was done by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, and the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. The zoo waited until Monday to announce the births due to the high infant mortality rate in cheetahs - about 25%. The next step will be to figure out what to name the cubs. The semen for the cheetah cubs came from a cheetah at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas. Eggs were harvested from Kibibi at the Columbus, Ohio, Zoo in November, and they underwent in vitro fertilization in a lab. The fertilized embryos were then transferred to Izzy. Officials said it was the third time scientists had attempted the procedure worldwide and it was the first time it worked. Pierre Comizzoli, a reproductive biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and one of the scientists who performed the embryo transfer, said the birth makes cheetahs the second large cat to successfully be born from in vitro fertilization. The first was the tiger in 1990. "The cheetah is one new success in terms of IVF but this is still extremely rare in wild species," he said. "Wild species are far behind livestock and humans." Kibibi has never given birth but was unlikely to reproduce on her own. "Her valuable genes were at risk of never being passed on," the zoo said in a statement. Meanwhile, Izzy is "less genetically valuable," and scientists had recommended she not be bred. Izzy was hand-raised as a cub and comfortable with keepers, making her a good candidate for surrogacy, officials said. About a month after the procedure, veterinarians discovered two fetuses on an ultrasound. For cheetahs, pregnancies usually last between 90 and 96 days. Izzy started showing signs of labor on Feb. 19. The cubs - a male and a female - have been nursing since they were born. Adrienne Crosier, a cheetah biologist at the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute, said artificial insemination has been performed on cheetahs for decades, but a cub hasn't been born as a result for about 20 years. "Just the fact that we were successful with embryo transfer after only the third attempt gives me hope for the future of this technique for improving cheetah management, potentially on a global scale," she said in a statement. "We can extend a cheetah's biological clock." Crosier said the public might be able to see the cubs this spring at the Columbus Zoo. They join 17 other cheetahs at the zoo. In the wild, cheetahs have become extinct in at least 13 countries in Africa. There are about 7,500 cheetahs in the wild. They are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. MONTREALCanadian Pacific Railway obtained an injunction Tuesday aimed at ending a blockade erected more than two weeks ago in a Mohawk community south of Montreal. Coming a day after Kahnawakes elected band council had praised the railway and the province for showing restraint, the move angered protesters who say they are supporting Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs. We were surprised to get an injunction from CP Rail, we had a good relationship with them ... they indicated they were not going to be asking for an injunction, said Kenneth Deer, the secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake on Tuesday. CP Rail said in a statement that despite obtaining the injunction to the blockade of its tracks in Kahnawake, it is encouraging peaceful dialogue to resolve the matter. The railway said it needed to act after more than two weeks without a resolution and with copycat blockades popping up, including those by non-Indigenous Peoples. CP was compelled to take action to secure a province-wide injunction to deal with future copycat blockades, a spokesman for the railway wrote, noting the companys CEO last week supported the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs request for direct dialogue with the prime minister. Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel A. Pinsonnault granted the order, which is valid until March 5 and authorizes any police force to assist CP to execute the order, including Kahnawake Mohawk Peacekeepers. But in a statement late Tuesday, Kahnawakes grand chief said the injunction will not be enforced. It is truly unfortunate that CP is taking this rash course of action, which will only add to the problems at hand, Joseph Norton said. The band councils statement declared that the local Peacekeepers are the only police force with jurisdiction over Kahnawake, implying there is no place for provincial police on the reserve. It quoted Peacekeeper Chief Dwayne Zacharie as saying his officers have no interest in criminalizing people for standing up for our rights. Premier Francois Legault tread carefully as the injunction was being granted Tuesday, saying hes confident Quebec provincial police would take the correct steps. Of course we have to be very, very careful. I remember Oka, Legault said, referring to the 1990 crisis triggered by a provincial police intervention in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake. But at the same time, weve been in this situation for 20 days now, people in Quebec are suffering and I think we need to dismantle those barricades. Legault said he wants everything to be done to ensure the blockades end peacefully. Deer said that upon learning of the injunction, the people at the Kahnawake blockade said they plan to stay put. Their understanding is they are there to support the Wetsuweten chiefs, and the chiefs have not yet made an agreement with the Government of Canada, so therefore the blockade will still continue, Deer said. Quebec provincial police didnt immediately comment. The blockaded line is used for freight traffic as well as commuter rail service between Montreal and several communities to the south, which was interrupted as of Feb. 10. Exo, the transit authority that operates commuter trains on the line, said it is losing $35,000 to $45,000 each weekday the Kahnawake blockade continues as it is forced to rent buses to shuttle passengers to and from downtown. That means the blockade had cost the commuter rail agency up to $540,000 by Tuesday afternoon, the 12th weekday of rail disruption. A second injunction was granted Tuesday in Quebec City to deal with a blockade along a small rail line in Listuguj, a Mikmaq community in eastern Quebec, about 525 kilometres northeast of Quebec City by the New Brunswick border. Meanwhile, Sherbrooke police moved in to end another blockade set up Tuesday, about 150 kilometres east of Montreal. Nineteen people, their faces covered with masks, blocked a rail line in the citys Lennoxville district in support of Wetsuweten chiefs. Police dismantled the blockade, arresting those on site in the afternoon one by one. Read more about: Nguyen Van Vinh, 50, at the Quang Ha clinic in the northern Vinh Phuc Province, February 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Chi. "I hope the community won't shun me," said Vietnam's last Covid-19 patient to date as he was discharged Wednesday. 50-year-old Nguyen Van Vinh, a native of Son Loi District in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, had caught the novel coronavirus infection from his 23-year-old daughter Nguyen Thi Du. Du was one of eight workers of a Japanese-invested company who returned from Chinas Wuhan City, the epicenter of the outbreak, on January 17. Six of the eight workers were found infected later, and the infection passed on from them to some relatives and friends. Vinh had stayed with his daughter after she returned from Wuhan until she was quarantined on January 25. Other members of the family were also infected, and they were treated successfully and discharged earlier. Vinh tested positive for the novel coronavirus on February 13 and was quarantined at the Quang Ha Clinic in Vinh Phuc the same day. "I really miss my home and want to return to my wife and children. I hope the community won't shun me," he said. Under the Health Ministry regulations, a person infected with the novel coronavirus is deemed healthy once she/he shows no sign of fever for three days and tests negative twice in three days. Other signs include improved clinical symptoms, overall stable status and vital signs, normal organ function and improved chest X-ray readings. With Vinh's discharge, Vietnam now has no Covid-19 infection case left. The nation had declared the novel coronavirus outbreak an epidemic on February 1, and has recorded 16 infected cases in total, so far. The first cases, a Chinese father and son, were quarantined in Saigon's Cho Ray Hospital on January 23 and discharged by February 12. "Even though we have finished treating patients who've tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, we still have to monitor cases of suspected infection," said Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy head of the Health Examination and Treatment Department. Vietnam has recorded no new infection cases in the last 13 days. The global death toll of the epidemic is near 3,000, with most of the deaths in mainland China, followed by Iran at 16, South Korea at 12 and Italy at 11. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:22:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Dr. Bruce Aylward, team lead of the WHO-China joint mission on COVID-19, has given examples of China's scientific and technological measures taken to fight the virus: -Routine medical services provided online -Real-time, long-distance contact, support, investigation between experts, researchers on 5G platform China "turbo-charged it (classic approach for infectious disease control) with modern science and modern technology in a way that was unimaginable even a few years ago," Aylward told the press on Monday. See what China has done with science and technology to better fight the virus. Doctors provide online medical services to patients at an office of the Internet Hospital of Jiangsu Province Hospital in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng) A staff member operates a 5G body temperature screening system at Nanning East Railway Station in Nanning City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Technicians work on a second generation disinfection robot in a technological company in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) A staff member puts food inside the delivery robot in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 14, 2020. Two delivery robots are transformed to deliver lunch and dinner for employees at the enterprises which have resumed production inside an economic and technological development zone in Changsha. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge) In this presidential election year there has been an ongoing and vigorous debate, nay, a knock-down-drag-out fight over the question of whether the wealthy pay their fair share of federal taxes. There is ample ammo for both sides of that argument. But when it comes to state and local taxes there is no debate. The tax data from nearly every state shows those tax practices are highly regressive, meaning the poorer citizens pay a disproportionately higher share of their income in state and local taxes than wealthier citizens, which is simply unfair. This was detailed by an October 2018 analysis by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy. The study found that on average nationally the lowest-income 20 percent of taxpayers face a state and local tax rate more than 50 percent higher than the top 1 percent of households. The nationwide average effective state and local tax rate is 11.4 percent for the lowest-income 20 percent of individuals and families, 9.9 percent for the middle 20 percent and 7.4 percent for the top 1 percent. The institute concludes, Most state and local tax systems worsen income inequality by making incomes more unequal after collecting state and local taxes. The study found that Nevada was the fifth worst state in the nation for taxation inequity. The effective tax rate for the poorest 20 percent of Nevadans was 10.2 percent. For the middle 60 percent the rate was 7.4 percent. For the top 1 percent the rate was a paltry 1.9 percent the lowest tax rate in the nation for that earnings group. This inequity is due to reliance on sales and excise taxes, because poorer families must spend a higher portion of their income on taxed necessities. Of course, when the Clark County teachers union earlier this year launched two tax hiking ballot initiatives to increase funding for education the biggest was a proposal to hike the sales tax by $1.1 billion a year. The other was to hike the gaming tax to raise $330 million a year. The sales tax initiative would increase the Local School Support Tax a part of the statewide sales tax from 2.6 percent to 4.1 percent, a 58 percent increase. If the union gathers enough petition signatures it would go before the Legislature in the spring of 2021, tax loving Democrats already hold a supermajority in the Assembly and are one shy of a supermajority in the state Senate. Thus this Novembers General Election is significant at the state level, too. If lawmakers fail to impose the taxes, they would go before the voters on the November 2022 ballot. If passed, in Clark and Lincoln counties the overall sales tax would jump from 8.375 percent to 9.875 percent, among the highest rates in the country. In Mineral, Eureka and Esmeralda counties, which have the lowest current sales tax rates in the state, the tax would jump from 6.85 percent to 8.35 percent. The impact on poorer families would be devastating. Earlier this month the board of directors of the Nevada Taxpayers Association (NTA) announced its opposition to both the sales and gaming tax propositions, saying such a drastic change in the taxation policy should be thoroughly debated by all stakeholders and that should be conducted via the standard legislative process, not through a ballot initiative. An increase of $1 billion in annual sales tax revenue is likely to affect tax neutrality and change consumer behavior, the NTA said in a press release. The exporting of the tax burden to non-residents is also of concern given the importance of tourists to our statewide economy. As with the Sales Tax, an annual increase in the Gross Gaming Tax of $330 million is very likely to cause unpredictable economic consequences. The focus of this tax on one industry is prone to have a harmful effect on gaming companies and their employees. The NTA also pointed out that the two tax hikes would represent an annual increase of 28 percent in taxation, but the propositions contain no performance benchmarks that would assure taxpayers get a return on their investment. In fact, most of the performance benchmarks enacted when lawmakers in 2015 approved a $1.5 billion tax hike targeted to improve education have been rescinded. No longer are third graders who cant read required to be held back a year, and while student achievement was once 50 percent of a teachers evaluation that has been cut to 15 percent. These tax proposals will hurt poor families without ensuring education improvements. Thomas Mitchell is a longtime Nevada newspaper columnist. You may email him at thomasmnv@yahoo.com. He also blogs at http://4thst8.wordpress.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 For even the heartiest of souls, Syracuses long cold winters can take a toll. By late February, most of us are tired of cold ears, wet feet and frozen fingers. In the winter of 1920, the cold winter weather was responsible for ending an incredible work streak by one of the citys toughest residents, Lewis Light. For 41 years, until he was 79 years old, Light worked as a letter carrier for the Syracuse Post Office, walking his route day after day, every day, without once calling in sick. He was the living embodiment of the old Post Office motto: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. And he did it with a withered left arm after having six inches of bone removed after being wounded while Marching to the Sea with General William Sherman during the Civil War. (Lewis Light was one of 31 soldiers who formed an all-Jewish company in the 149th New York.) He did his duty without second thought, with a modesty and philosophy all his own. In a 1901 profile of veteran letter carriers in the Post-Standard, Lewis summed up his attitude toward work: It has always been my belief that what a man does while he lives is more to the point than what the preacher says about him in the funeral sermon. If Im satisfied with the work I have done and if my patrons are also satisfied, why, thats all there is of it. (Light was so modest he refused to give the newspaper a photo it could run with the article.) By the start of 1920, Lights Iron Horse-like streak of work without calling in sick was intact. (Now, to be fair, he had to have missed some time. In 1912, when he was only 71 he was hit by an automobile while stepping off a curb on South State Street. He was thrown to the ground and the wheels passed over his leg. He was badly bruised, but no bones were broken. In January 1919, at age 77, he was hit again, suffering a knee injury after being struck by an automobile at the intersection of Warren and Fayette. But there were no reports of how long these accidents prevented him from working. The fact that both occurred in his 70s only adds to his reputation.) But then on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1920, his streak officially was snapped. Winter was to blame. There have been colder ones, he said of the winter of 1920. Ones where there has been more snow, but never do I remember one where everything worked together to make things disagreeable. I never saw a time when it was so hard to walk about as it has been this winter. He said the all-around orneriness of the winter weather had caused a chilblain in his foot, a painful inflammation of the small blood vessels in the skin in response to repeated exposure to cold but not freezing air. The inflammation meant he could not put on his shoe that morning. Why talk about it? Lewis Light told a newspaper reporter about his accomplishment. Even if I am 79 years old and have been carrying letters to Syracuse folks for the last 41 years, it is only what I was hired to do, and Ive had my pay for it. He would continue to work until later that year when he reached the mandatory retirement age. He retired to Los Angeles but frequently returned to Syracuse for Army reunions and to catch up with things at the Post Office. He died in 1929 at the age of 89. Lewis Lights words of wisdom Some more philosophy of Syracuse letter carrier Lewis Light, including one quote about how a person should retire as soon as possible, to make work for the next generation. Ironically, Light worked until he was 79 when he reached the Post Offices mandatory retirement age. You cant have speed and efficiency in workers. If everybody liked me, I should consider myself an idiot. Its no more than duty that a man should do the best he can at what hes paid to do. No man is so good that somebody else isnt just as good. Every man should retire as soon as he has enough to live on comfortably, so that somebody who needs the job can have it. Read More 1925: The killer snowstorm which paralyzed Syracuse with 27.5 inches of snow in 24 hours Making the most of winter for 35 years: Enjoy these vintage images of Syracuse Winterfest 1920: Some things never change; Syracuse business owners complain over snow-covered sidewalks This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958. 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 Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission will hold a special meeting on Feb. 27 at 9:00 a.m. in the commission chambers on the 2nd floor of the Denver Davison Building in Oklahoma City to receive the final public oral comment on the Proposed 2020 Fee Schedule. Interested parties must sign in at the door. At the close of this meeting the public written and oral comment periods will end. The Proposed Fee Schedule has been posted on the commissions website at https://www.ok.gov/wcc/. Written comments should be submitted via email to feeschedulecomments@wcc.ok.gov before the Feb. 27 meeting. Comments submitted after the Feb. 27 meeting may not be considered by the OWCC. Since September 2019, the OWCC has worked with consulting firm, Fair Health, to review and update Oklahomas Medical Fee Schedule. To ensure an impartial review, Fair Health developed a data-driven approach through regional and nationwide comparisons of Oklahomas fee schedule rates. The consultant compared market information from a variety of sources and considered data from both public and private payers. The Feb. 27 public hearing will close out the 30-day comment period of the 2020 Fee Schedule. The commissioners will then consider the public comments and submit the final Fee Schedule to the Oklahoma Legislature for approval. Source: Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission Topics Workers' Compensation Oklahoma On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO The rapper Pop Smoke had been out that night, returning late to the four-bedroom Spanish-style house where he was staying in the Hollywood Hills. Around 4 a.m., soon after he came home, the police said, four men in hoodies broke in and shot him twice. A bullet to the torso left the promising 20-year-old musician dead. A week after his death, the Los Angeles Police Department is trying to untangle whether Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, was the victim of a random robbery or if he was targeted, perhaps because of what he was posting on social media. There have been no arrests. In the weeks before his death, Pop Smoke had posted pictures on Instagram showing him next to or holding large stacks of cash. One such picture was posted the day before he died. He also posted about a gift bag he had received, in which the address of the Hollywood Hills home was clearly visible. Its an angle were looking at, Capt. Jonathan L. Tippet said of Pop Smokes Instagram posts. It also extends the pool of people that would have known where he was at and could have targeted him for a variety of reasons. The rugged trails and scenic vistas of Angwins Las Posadas State Forest have provided decades of enjoyment for local hikers, bikers and even one sitting president. Now, as Cal Fire tightens up management of the 796-acre forest, those days of recreational use have come to an end. Anita Blake, a naturalist and botanist, donated the property to what is now Cal Fire in 1930. She was adamant that it be reserved for forestry and botany research and tree propagation not for recreational use. Its very clearly stated in the deed: sole use forestry, botany, kindred subjects. No recreation, said Peter Leuzinger, Cal Fire forest manager for what is now called Las Posadas Experimental Forest as well as Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest in Lake County. I understand that it doesnt make people happy to hear that they were never supposed to have been on Las Posadas, Leuzinger said. But the state of California through the Department of Forestry made a commitment to the Blake family many years ago that we would not allow recreation. The deed restriction came under renewed scrutiny as Las Posadas was evaluated under the Demonstration State Forest program and Cal Fire secured authorization for its new fire station at Las Posadas. Meanwhile, Leuzinger became the first forest manager to have a physical office at Las Posadas. Blakes family has declined to alter that deed restriction out of respect for her wishes, so authorities have begun enforcing the ban on recreation. The prohibition does not extend to Boy Scouts, 4-H and other educational programs that are consistent with Blakes original vision for the forest. It also wont affect the evacuation corridor that runs through Las Posadas, offering Angwinites an alternate route to Chiles-Pope Valley Road in case of a wildfire or other disaster. The shift in policy comes as Pacific Union College has expanded public access to its own adjacent forests. The college reached an indemnification agreement with the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District last year shielding the college from potential liability and allowing it to formally welcome outdoors enthusiasts to the PUC forest and its 35 miles of trails. The best way to access PUCs forest is from the Angwin Airport. Its also accessible from a gated easement that extends from the elbow along Las Posadas Road and through the Las Posadas forest. To facilitate public access to the forest from Las Posadas Road, the college plans to build a recreational staging area, 20 to 30 parking spaces, and a roofed structure for picnics and outdoor classes at the point where the easement enters PUCs forest. This is one of the ways the college can support Las Posadas, by taking some of the recreational pressure off of their forest and putting it onto ours, said Peter Lecourt, PUCs forest manager. Lecourt is trying to raise about $150,000 to fund the improvements. For information about how to help, email him at plecourt@puc.edu. Las Posadas, which lies south of PUCs forest, has been popular among nature-lovers, hikers and mountain bikers, despite the lack of recreational facilities like water, restrooms, signs and trail maps. Then-President George W. Bush rode his bike there in April 2006, accompanied by Secret Service agents and medical staff. (Just in case he got hurt, the White Houses chief nurse paid an advance visit to St. Helena Hospital, which was told to have plenty of snake antivenom on hand.) Smartphone apps geared toward hikers and bikers made unofficial Las Posadas trails like Dans Wild Ride more popular than ever. Leuzinger estimated that recreational use of Las Posadas quadrupled during the last decade while Cal Fire was still turning a blind eye. The Redwood Empire Mountain Bike Alliance is getting the word out to bikers about riding in PUCs forest instead of Las Posadas. Old routes like Dans Wild Ride, which connects to Moore Creek Park, are being realigned to run through PUCs forest instead of Las Posadas. Itll be different from Dans Wild Ride, but itll be just as fun if not more fun, said Deb Bloomquist, executive director of the alliance. Itll be super-scenic once you get up to the ridgeline. Mountain bikers whove been using Las Posadas didnt learn until recently that its supposed to be closed to recreation, Bloomquist said. This is an educational opportunity, she said. Trail maps are available at mountainbikealliance.org. You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Some of the survivors of some of the deadliest violence in the national capital in decades, which claimed 23 lives while leaving more than 200 injured, shared their ordeal with IANS. Lala, Deepak and Anup Singh all residents of Moonga Nagar in Chand Bagh area were attacked by angry mobs, and all three of them have different tales of their survival. Sharing his experience, Anup Singh (21), who received a bullet injury in his neck on Tuesday evening, said: "More than 300 people were pelting stones and throwing petrol bombs. At around 5 p.m., I went to see why people were pelting stones. Suddenly, something hit my neck and blood started to come out profusely. As I was on my way back to home after being hit, an elderly person of the locality put a bandage on my neck and told me that I was hit by a bullet." Residing with his sister after the death of his father and mother, Singh said: "I was admitted to a private hospital by my family members." "Due to the violence, there were no taxis, auto rickshaws or ambulance service in the area, therefore, I was taken to the hospital on a bike," said Singh. Singh has now been discharged from the hospital and with bandages over his neck feels lucky that the bullet didn't slice through a nerve. Lala and Deepak, both friends and drivers by profession, said they were beaten mercilessly by an angry mob in the Bhajanpura area on Sunday. Speaking to IANS, Lala said: "I and Deepak were at Bharat Dairy near Bhajanpura when we suddenly heard people shouting and running. We panicked and started to run but were surrounded by over 200 people, who started beating us." Interrupting Lala, Deepak said: "In order to save ourselves, we stopped breathing and acted as if we were dead." "The mob then left us as they thought we were dead," both said in unison. Both had bruise marks on their bodies and even their eyes had swollen up as they said that they were beaten with rods and sticks. Lala got over five stitches on his head. Talking about the presence of police, Lala said: "The police was standing almost 200 meters away from the spot but they didn't bother to save us." The violence which erupted in northeast Delhi on Sunday is the worst since at least 1992, when there were nationwide riots following the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, and possibly since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The clashes broke out after groups favouring the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) clashed with the groups protesting against it. In the last three days hundreds of vehicles, shops and homes were burnt. The streets of Chand Bagh and Bhajanpura on Wednesday wore a deserted look with people peeping outside from the windows of their homes and heavy deployment of police and para military forces. Bricks and stones littering the streets, shattered glasses, burnt homes, offices, showrooms and vehicles clearly indicated the intensity of the violence. Earlier in the day, the body of an Intelligence Bureau staffer was pulled out from a drain in Chand Bagh. The officer has been identified as Ankit Sharma. (Anand SIngh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in and Ananya Bhatnagar can be contacted at ananya.b@ians.in) The London Times reports on the discovery of a major spy ring in Australia. The guilty country is not named, but obviously is China: Australias national intelligence agency has broken up a large foreign spy ring but faces an unprecedented level of espionage directed from overseas, its director-general has revealed. Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said it had stopped a sleeper agent running a spy ring that provided logistical and financial support for foreign agents engaged in intelligence-gathering and the harassment of dissidents. The level of threat we face from foreign espionage and interference activities is unprecedented, Mr Burgess said. It is higher now than it was at the height of the Cold War. This is rather chilling: Mr Burgess said: Weve seen visiting scientists and academics ingratiating themselves into university life with the aim of conducting clandestine intelligence collection. That certainly has happened here, too. ASIO has uncovered cases where foreign spies have travelled to Australia with the intention of setting up sophisticated hacking infrastructure targeting computers containing sensitive and classified information, Mr Burgess said. And perhaps most disturbingly, hostile intelligence services have directly threatened and intimidated Australians in this country. He said that the case of the sleeper agent unmasked by his agency read like a Cold War thriller. The agent lay dormant for many years, quietly building community and business links, all the while secretly maintaining contact with his offshore handlers, Mr Burgess said. The agent started feeding his spymasters information about Australia-based expatriate dissidents, which directly led to harassment of the dissidents in Australia and their relatives overseas. Whatever the Chinese have done to infiltrate and spy on Australia, we can be sure they have done orders of magnitude more to infiltrate and spy on the U.S. Chinese influence on American universities, which has been bought and paid for, is particularly alarming. Given what we now know about the conduct of Chinas Communist regime, it is hard to understand the deference that the American government paid to the Chinese prior to the Trump administration. A cruise ship that was turned away from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday received permission to dock in Mexico on Wednesday. The MSC Meraviglia from MSC Cruises, was turned away from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after a crew member tested positive for the flu on Tuesday. The ship, with more than 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew members, is scheduled to arrive in Cozumel Wednesday evening. MSC Cruises is pleased to confirm that it has just received formal and final authorization from the local health authorities in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico to get to Cozumel, a spokeswoman for MSC said on Wednesday. It seemed that the ship was falling into a pattern set by Holland Americas MS Westerdam, which earlier this month was turned away from five countries because authorities feared that people onboard had Covid-19. After the Westerdam docked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, one passenger tested positive for the illness. The C.D.C. later said that the womans diagnosis was a false positive. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked a clip of Bharatiya Janata Pary (BJP) leader Kapil Mishras remarks made at Northeast Delhi hours before the violence broke out to be played inside the court. The court was hearing a plea filed by retired bureaucrat Harsh Mander on violence in which 20 people have been killed. The petitioner has sought judicial enquiry into the incidents of violence, FIR against the culprits, deployment of army and compensation for the victims. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for Delhi Police, and asked the matter to be postponed till tomorrow. Cant this matter wait for 16 more hours? said Mehta seeking to make Union of India a party to this case. Justice Muralidhar immediately shot back: Isnt lodging of FIRs against the culprits an urgent matter? The situation out there is very unpleasant. Also Watch | Only 3 days...: BJP leaders threat to disobey Delhi cops amid CAA protests He the pointed out the alleged inflammatory remarks made by Mishra. There are videos that hundreds of people have watched. Do you still think its not an urgent matter? asked the judge. When a policeman informed the court that he has seen videos of the violence, but not of Mishras, the judge said, This is really concerning. There are so many TVs in your office, how can police officer say that he hasnt watched the videos. Im really appalled by the state of affairs of Delhi Police. He then ordered the clip of Mishras address to be played in the court. Petitioners lawyer Rahul Mehra made an objection when the Solicitor General said that he has been authorised by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. The LG cant authorise Solicitor General to appear on behalf of Delhi Police without the aid and advice of Delhi government. Its against rule of law, said Mehra. The protest started in Jafrabad, Maujpur and other areas of Northeast Delhi on Saturday, but flared up after the weekend after Mishra reached the area and asked the police to remove protesters within three days. The groups protesting for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) act or CAA were seen roaming on streets with swords and pistols. Houses and vehicles in the area were torched and more than 250 injured in two days of violence. Though the protesters shifted from the main road under the Jafrabad Metro station on Wednesday morning, there are reports of a fresh round of violence in two Northeast Delhi pockets of Chand Bagh and Gokulpuri. Some protesters started pelting stones, which led to a crackdown by cops in these areas. The Centre has been continuously reviewing the situation - Home Minister Amit Shah held three meeting in 24 hours and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval visited the violence hit areas on Tuesday night. He was accompanied by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. Doval has been tasked with overseeing the Delhi Police efforts to maintain peace in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile, asked Home Minister Amit Shah to call the army to instil confidence in people. Kejriwal said the police, despite all its efforts, had been unable to control the situation. I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence. Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. Am writing to Honble HM to this effect, he tweeted on Wednesday. The Chief Minister held emergency meeting over the situation on Tuesday and instructed city officials to coordinate with central agencies in restoring peace in the violence-hit areas. Job Title: Middle East and Africa Analyst Program 2020 (Several Fresh Graduate Job Opportunities) Organisation: Citi Bank Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda About US: Citigroup is todays pre-eminent financial services company and was built to create a highly diversified financial services company that could act as one to deliver solutions to clients throughout the world. With the most diverse array of products and the greatest distribution capacity of any financial firm in the world, our employees manage 200 million customer accounts across six continents in more than 100 countries. Citi works tirelessly to provide consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial services and products. We strive to create the best outcomes for our clients and customers with financial ingenuity that leads to solutions that are simple, creative and responsible. About the Citi Middle East and Africa Analyst Program 2020: Citi is looking for fresh graduates to join the team in various locations across the Middle East and Africa region. The MEA Analyst Program begins in July with a 3-week training program in Dubai. Formal training begins with an orientation and induction sessions providing an overview of Citi, followed by classroom training sessions. Analysts have the opportunity to meet representatives from multiple business areas as well as network with other Analysts from across the Middle East and Africa region. The classroom training program is followed by 4 x 3-month rotations across various business areas of Citi, including Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS), Corporate Bank, Operations & Technology (O&T), and Risk. In some countries, the Risk rotation will be replaced by another business area. In the Middle East and Africa, we have offices and potential opportunities in Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Congo, Cote dIvoire, Egypt, Gabon, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Zambia. We provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to succeed. During your training program in Dubai, you will receive an in-depth education on a variety of topics to learn the fundamentals of the Analyst role. These topics can include training in financial statements, credit analysis, treasury and operations. You will also have the opportunity to network with senior representatives from multiple business areas who will introduce you to Citi and its culture. So whatever your degree is in, we will give you the training you need to excel. Upon successful completion of the program, you can apply for full-time opportunities within the Citi network via our internal mobility opportunities. Your time here will look something like this The jobs that you will do and the responsibilities that you will be given will be as varied as your rotations. Below are some examples of the tasks the Analyst may be performing during their rotations. These are only examples you will also often find yourself working on unique projects and process improvements. Corporate Bank Source and create pitch and marketing material, liaising with product partners and the Bankers. Maintain regular and frequent dialogue with product partners to assist with relationship maintenance. Assist in managing the Corporate Banking relationship infrastructure, including approvals and documentation. Produce and update client plans in conjunction with product partners and bankers. Collaborate within the team to manage the portfolio and individual client risk. Interact with Citis network around the region Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) Develop an understanding of the cash, trade and sales products and processes. Track market developments across the region and share geopolitical, economic and banking industry trends that may affect the business with a consultative approach. Prepare and analyze financials while ensuring actuals and run-rated projections meet the business plans. Liaise with partners across TTS to capture key client and product pipelines/wins are to be showcased in business reviews. Risk Develop an understanding of and be able to apply at an Analyst level: Risk reporting, spreading, risk ratings, Corporate/FI/Public Sector Credit Analysis writing and stress testing. Understanding projections, scenarios, assumptions and variance analysis. Reading and interpreting cash flow statements, balance sheet, income statements etc. Taking part in client calls / site visits. Understanding regulatory requirements and impact on the organization. Operations & Technology (O&T) Develop a good understanding and appreciation of the operations processes. Understand the functions carried out within the subunits of operations. Analyze volumes, address & resolve issues, identify wasteful activities and suggest improvements that can save cost/time/improve processes. Understand workflow, key controls and key risks linked to various products. Accurately evaluate risks as they relate to key business objectives. Assess the effectiveness of key controls. Develop an understanding of the impact of regulatory and financial impacts on the organization. Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The applicants for the Citi Group Middle East and Africa Analyst Program 2020 should have completed their university degrees or will complete it prior to July 2020 You have a minimum grade of 2:1, a minimum GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 or equivalent in any degree discipline You have an interest in business and banking You are fluent in English You have less than 2 years of work experience Ugandan nationals preferred Were looking for motivated individuals who are eager to start their careers at a global organization, tend to think globally, and have an innovative outlook on business. We know that anyone, not just those with business degrees, can have a knack for business, so were open to all disciplines. Well also be looking for the following: Desire to develop a deep understanding of the financial industry. Intellectual curiosity and proactive approach to searching for new and creative ideas. Strong communication, planning, and organizational skills. Commitment to personal growth and career development including mobility and flexibility. You also have a strong desire to learn, are proactive, building rapport and relationships in team environments. Unquestioned commitment to integrity ethical decision-making. NB: If you meet the criteria above, we encourage you to apply promptly as the program will start in July 2020. How to Apply: All applicants who to join Citi Group in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to apply online at the web link below by submitting an updated CV, cover letter, copy of ID and up-to-date transcript of academic results. Click Here For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline Two geckos seized after discovered being illegally shipped Merida, Yucatan Two exotic reptiles have been seized at the airport in Merida after they were discovered being illegally shipped in transport boxes. Elementos de la Guardia Nacional made the discovery of the two live reptiles that they report were being illegally shipped in cardboard boxes from the city of Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon. In a statement, the National Guard say that the assurance occurred at a parcel company at the Aeropuerto Internacional Manuel Crescencio Rejon (Merida International Airport) when carrying out inspections of the parcel hangar. There, they came across two transparent plastic containers. Each container had one reptile, a Gecko Albino, that was found in a dehydration state, without food and without documentation. They proceeded to inform personnel of the la Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (Profepa), who came to rescue the reptiles and carry out the following corresponding procedures. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday held a meeting with senior officials of the Delhi Police and took stock of the situation after communal violence killed 22 people in northeast Delhi. Doval held a meeting at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) along with the top brass of the Delhi Police. On late Tuesday night, Doval held a similar meeting with the top brass of the Delhi Police after violence swept through northeast Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Orthopedic surgeon Chad Manke attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Sophia Zheng/The Epoch Times) NORFOLK, Va.Despite Chinas growing presence in the world, few people are familiar with traditional Chinese culture, which lies at the heart of that ancient country but was almost lost at the hands of the current communist regime. Experiencing and learning about authentic Chinese culture is one of the reasons orthopedic surgeon Chad Manke attended Shen Yun Performing Arts opening night at Norfolk, Virginias Chrysler Hall on Feb. 25, 2020. In his eyes, the performers delivered a performance that was more than great. [Shen Yun] is beautiful. Very amazing, very graceful, Manke said. Im not as familiar with the Chinese culture or the spiritual aspect. You know, growing up in the United States, I dont get as much exposure to it so Im trying to get exposure to it today, he added. To Manke, the performances beauty lay in, the whole combination, he said. Very graceful in their moves and excellent music. New York-based Shen Yun is on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture through the highly-expressive art form of classical Chinese dance. The artists utilize this ancient form to tell intricate and inspiring stories and legends from throughout Chinas 5,000 years of history and to portray soul-stirring scenes from modern China. I thought [Shen Yuns dancers] were great. It was a nice blend with the dancers. My daughters were dancers so its nice for them to see this culture and see the mix of the dancing and the music. And just the wonderful expression, he added. I think [Shen Yuns musicians] are also amazing, Manke said. Putting it all together and having the live music with the live show, its great. Menke has personal experience with such musiche played the trumpet for many years. The doctor commented on Shen Yun orchestras unique blend of Western-style compositions with Chinese instruments and melodies. I thought they matched very well and they mixed very well. The Western instruments and the Chinese instruments, they mix very well. The directors keeping it all together and doing a wonderful job. To his medical and also musical friends, to family and colleagues, Manke said he would describe Shen Yun as a blend of beautiful dance and beautiful music with a very nice Chinese culture. Overall, Manke considered Shen Yun very powerful and said that he absolutely felt energy come off the stage from the performers. With reporting by Sophia Zheng 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. NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Indian refiners of edible oils urged the government on Tuesday to stop issuing import licenses for palmolein to help avoid a crash in domestic prices of rapeseed. India is the world's biggest importer of palm oil, an alternative ingredient to rapeseed oil in food. In a surprise move last week the government issued import licences for 1.1 million tonnes of refined palmolein from Indonesia, weeks after curbing overseas purchases of the commodity. On Jan. 8, India had put refined palm oil and palmolein on a list of restricted items, a move seen by trade experts as a retaliatory step against top supplier Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur criticised India's policy on Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region also claimed by Pakistan. Malaysia has also denounced India for a new citizenship law, which critics say undermines New Delhi's secular foundations. With India's rapeseed harvest about to begin next month, the Solvent Extractors Association of India said its president, Atul Chaturvedi, had written to India's commerce minister on Tuesday, saying the government should not issue refined palmolein import licenses as any further purchases would result in a sharp drop in rapeseed prices and cut farmers' incomes. Lower rapeseed prices could dissuade growers who could switch to other crops, jeopardising India's efforts to boost its local oilseed output to cut the countrys reliance on imports, India's edible oil refiners say. Indian farmers plant rapeseed, the main winter oilseed with the highest oil content, from October, and harvests start in March. Indian palm oil imports fell 27% in January from a year earlier to 594,804 tonnes, partly due to the restriction on imports of refined palm oil. The country imported 9.4 million tonnes of palm oil in the marketing year that ended in October, including 2.72 million tonnes of refined palm oil. Palm oil makes up nearly two-thirds of Indias total imports of edible oils. It buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's top two producers of the commodity. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Susan Fenton) Two Chinese nurses treating coronavirus cases in virus-hit Wuhan city have published an open letter pleading for health workers from around the world to come to China to help fight the COVID-19, saying that the prolonged duty is taking toll of their health. Yingchun Zeng, of the Guangzhou Medical hospital, and Yan Zhen, of the Sun Yet-sen Memorial hospital, also in Guangzhou, published the letter in the medical journal the Lancet on Monday describing mental and physical exhaustion and severe supply shortages on the frontlines of the outbreak, the Britain's The Guardian reported on Wednesday. Ten medical workers, including three doctors and a nurse, have died. On Tuesday, Liang Wannian, who headed the Chinese experts team along with WHO experts, said that over 3,000 medical workers have been infected nationwide. He said most of the infection of the medical staff took place in early stages as they were not aware of the virulence of the virus and did not wear the protective gear. Zeng and Zhen are two of at least 14,000 nurses, among almost 20,000 medical personnel, from across the country who have gone to Wuhan to help the overwhelmed medical system. "But we need much more help. We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle, they said. The death toll in China has climbed to 2,715 while the confirmed cases rose to 78,064, amidst strong signs of COVID-19 slowing down even at its epicentre Hubei and Wuhan, according to Chinese health officials. The two nurses who arrived in Wuhan in late January, wrote: "The conditions and environment here in Wuhan are more difficult and extreme than we could ever have imagined. The letter describes shortages of protective equipment, from N95 face masks with respirators, face shields and goggles to gowns and gloves. Their letter also described the difficulties of day-to-day operations. Protective goggles are hard to see through, while wearing several layers of gloves make opening packages to give patients injections a "huge challenge". Many medical staff have pressure ulcers on their ears and forehead from wearing a mask for so many hours, while others have painful rashes all over their hands from constant washing, they said. The nurses also highlighted the emotional toll the work had taken. "While we are professional nurses, we are also human. Like everyone else, we feel helplessness, anxiety, and fear. Experienced nurses occasionally find the time to comfort colleagues and try to relieve our anxiety," they wrote. "But even experienced nurses may also cry, possibly because we do not know how long we need to stay here and we are the highest-risk group for Covid-19 infection," they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The quality of ideas and ambition of entrepreneurs and innovators in India - many of whom are school kids - are "exciting" and driving innovation and growth for societies and economies, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Speaking at the Young Innovators Summit, the India-born executive also highlighted how empathy is also playing an important role in development of some of these new solutions, especially for the differently-abled people. He talked about his meeting with children from three schools across the country, who are developing solutions to solve different challenges in the society. One of these groups is developing a speech therapy solution, while another is working on a solution that measures pollution levels. The third group is developing an AI-enabled chatbot to help children with school curriculum. "There was a group that I met who talked about how they want to change speech therapy...the level of empathy they work with. One of their teachers has a kid with speech issues and they said let's build an AI tool that can substitute speech therapists because access to speech therapy and speech therapists is scarce," he said. He further said these group of students have deep passion and are turning that into action. "That's what innovation is all about. That's how societies and economies move forward," Nadella said. Nadella is on a three-day visit to India. He was in Mumbai and Bengaluru earlier this week. He is slated to meet government functionaries later on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian Air Force special aircraft on Wednesday brought 15 tonnes of medical supplies from India to the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan and later left with 112 Indians and foreign nationals stranded in the city. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the consignment of relief material as a strong expression of India's solidarity with the Chinese people in their "difficult time". The C-17 Globemaster military aircraft brought around 15 tonnes of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment sent by India. The Indian Embassy, which coordinated the operations, said that after unloading the relief supplies, the flight carried 112 Indians and foreign nationals to Delhi. 76 Indian nationals are returning home on this flight, which also has on board 23 nationals from Bangladesh, 6 from China, 2 each from Myanmar and Maldives and one each from South Africa, USA and Madagascar. Wish them all a safe journey and good health, Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri tweeted. The six Chinese were stated to be the spouses and family members of the Indians. They were expected to undergo a 14-day quarantine in India like their previous batches to ensure that they are cleared of the COVID-19 virus. India operated two special Air India flights on February 1 and 2 and airlifted 647 Indian nationals, mostly students, and seven Maldivian nationals. Wednesday's flight was cleared by China after allegations of delay by Indian officials. China's worst-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan have been under complete lockdown since January 23. The death toll from coronavirus in China has reached 2,715 while the number of confirmed cases jumped to 78,064, officials said on Wednesday. "This assistance has been provided in the wake the Corona virus outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment," a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. In a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed India's solidarity with the people and government of China and also offered assistance in this "hour of need as a gift". "The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation," it said. "The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NORWALK The Common Council voted to set the budget cap for the next fiscal year at $385 million with $208 million going toward the Board of Education. Dozens of people called for the Common Council to raise the cap recommended by the Finance and Claims Committee in order to fund the Board of Educations $216 million budget request. The Board of Education would get $208,415,928 with the approved cap of $385,630,101. This cap represents an $18 million increase overall to the city budget. The Board of Education will get a $9.9 million increase from the $198 million it received for this fiscal year budget, which Mayor Harry Rilling said is the largest increase hes seen since he took office in 2013. However, the Board of Education will have to make around $8 million in cuts from their proposed budget next month. The board has already cut some programs, like year-round school at Kendall Elementary School, due to budget constraints. The cap represents the maximum amount the city budget can be set when its approved later this spring. While discussing the budget cap, many Common Council members expressed that theyd like to give more money to the Board of Education, but they needed to account other city needs. I want to mention the unrepresented residents of Norwalk: the elderly, the ones on a fixed budget, the people living off Social Security checks whove worked all their life to make Nowalk what it is, District D Council Member George Tsiranides said. Id love to give the schools everything they need, but we have to stay within a fiscally responsible number and think of the ones who cant go to work, who cant change their job. Under the current budget recommendation, the average tax increase would be about $329 or a 4.65 percent increase. The Common Council also expressed interest in working more closely with the Board of Education moving forward. Hours before the meeting, Superintendent Steven Adamowski said the district would agree to a review of city and Board of Education expenses, as well as answer questions posed by Rilling before the final budget is approved. These questions came to light when Norwalks Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz made his budget presentation when he called out the schools for sneaky and deceptive budgeting. Dachowitz pointed out a lack of transparency in the school budgeting process, including the addition of 23 new positions with no explanation, a faulty gift card program and recruiting trips with no known benefit. It was enough to raise red flags and questions for many of the Common Council members who expressed concerns after hearing public comments about a lack of supplies and professional aid at schools, despite increasing funding to the district. The truth is were all disappointed with the way this process went, District E Council member Lisa Shanahan said. It wasnt our best face put forward. We cant do this again next year. The vote on the budget cap passed with 14 members voting in favor. District B Council member Ernie Dumas did not attend the meeting. erin.kayata@hearstmediact.com The Gujarati language is the lingua franca of Indian stock exchanges. Gujarati businessmen traditionally play both sides of the political street and this is no different in the US, where migrants from the state constitute the largest component of Indians. While Gujarat was welcoming President Donald Trump its business community out of sheer instinct was probing a strategy to deal (or cope) with a Bernie Sanders presidency; his amazing successes in significantly multicultural and multiracial races would be stalking the visitor. Of course, the businessmen have to be ready for contingencies wherever they be, and they have acquired the financial sinews to steer their interests, which is what counts in the existing American political format. It may not be a coincidence, therefore, that of the two sons of the late polyester magnate Dhirubhai Ambani, one attended the swearing-in of the Clinton presidency and the other was invited to the Bush Jr inauguration. But what would Trump have to offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who the Gujarati businessmen had helped win Indias top job in 2014? What is it that could not be given or traded without the visit? Theres talk of six nuclear reactors, military helicopters and possibly an American push for an alternative to Indias Huawei telecom option. This menu may or may not fructify. Available explanations for the visit remind me of my university. The leftist students union of Jawaharlal Nehru University was marching to the vice chancellors office to demand his resignation as an alleged colluder in Indira Gandhis emergency. Nagchaudhry hosh mein aao, hosh mein aa ke istifa do [Nagchaudhry come to your senses, after coming to your senses tender your resignation], roared a comrade who was indulgently nicknamed Tanashah. I ribbed Tanashah and wondered whether the vice-chancellor would not be ready to resign without coming to his senses. Would Trump have to visit the Taj Mahal for the nuclear reactors to be bought and sold? The fact is Prime Minister Modi is sold on President Trump. It is unusual for a serving leader to openly canvass support for a leader of another country in their domestic election. But Mr Modi is an unusual man. Be that as it may, what does his love of Trump imply for Indias national interests? If its truly crucial for India that Trump must win next year, with Mr Modis blessings, no doubt, would it be conversely harmful for Indias interests if his rival pips him at the post? By aligning himself so unabashedly with Trumps re-election campaign, Modi has explicitly directed his countrys foreign policy not to a specific country but to a person, and his government is now committed to the hilt with the objectives of the prime minister and his Hindutva hordes in the US. Would cheering or supporting a different candidate in the critical US elections to the one backed by the Modi be deemed an anti-national sentiment? Differing with the prime minister on key issues in the past has attracted the British-era penalty of sedition no less. Away from the two-day presidential visit, which primarily seeks to consolidate Trumps hold on Indian voters and election financiers, galloping past his Democratic rivals is Bernie Sanders who could be in line to become the first Jewish president of the United States. We believe well begun is half done. If thats a valid aphorism, Sanders is nicely on his way to claim the Democratic mantle to challenge President Trump next year. Many or possibly all his voters who perversely flocked to Trump to spite Hillary Clinton and also to mock the Democratic establishment for apparently stealing from Sanders his candidacy in 2016 should be returning home to trounce the incumbent. This is the emerging scenario after the Nevada races. There is of course the proverbial slip between the cup and the lip. Then there are the sly media folk who have been trying to airbrush Sanders by giving all the time to his rivals. One has never quite trusted the likes of The New York Times or the CNN after they colluded with the deep state in the fake narrative to invade Iraq in lockstep with Colin Powell under the Bush Jr presidency. Their stories are to be thus taken with dollops of salt, currently for spelling doom for America under a socialist leader who in reality merely wants to make his country as politically agreeable and economically equitable as The Netherlands, no more, no less. There was an allegation of Russian collusion too with the Sanders campaign. Clearly, the establishment is getting desperate and they are preparing to stall his advance by hook or by crook. Assuming the Nevada way is more or less how it would be playing out for Sanders in the remaining caucuses, his candidacy as the challenger to Trump should worry not only the Republican Party and President Trump and, of course, Prime Minister Modi, but several others in the right-wing club would be quaking in their boots. Certainly not the least affected of these would be Benjamin Netanyahu. If he is not convicted for corruption by the next US election, he could be politically orphaned with a Trump defeat. Strange are the curious ways of temporal dialectics that make religious bonding irrelevant, even an impediment at just the wrong moment. Bernie Sanders and Netanyahu represent the opposite ends of the Jewish spectrum. The Israeli rights alliance with Trump and Modi is a subject for Miss Marples investigation. Trumps mass base as glimpsed in Charlottesville, is built around a white supremacist pivot that targets synagogues and non-white Christians with equal ferocity. Modis entire life has been devoted to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, which gleefully propounded Hitlers treatment of Jews as a model to be applied on Indian Christians and Muslims. So how does the coalition of right-wing opposites work? Just to answer the question, Sanders needs to win. By arrangement with Dawn The death toll in the violence between pro and anti CAA protestors in the areas of North-East Delhi has risen to 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB Hospital authorities. "Out of the people that were brought to the hospital 189 are injured and 20 are dead," said Sunil Kumar Gautam Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. On Tuesday, the death toll was 13. Curfew was imposed last evening in violence-hit areas of the North-East district to bring the situation under control. With sporadic incidents of violence being reported from the area, government sources have told ANI that the Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing normalcy in the capital. Sources also said that Doval is also likely to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Cabinet about the prevailing situation. Notably, the NSA last night had visited Jafrabad, Seelampur and other parts of North-East Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Children participating in an art education program run by the POSCO 1% Foundation pose during their class at a daycare center in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Sept. 20. Courtesy of POSCO By Nam Hyun-woo The POSCO 1% Foundation will support disabled artists and persons of national merit as the charity foundation's main projects this year. According to the foundation, Wednesday, it has selected the two projects as outstanding proposals in its idea contest for new charity programs, and will carry out related support programs throughout 2020. Last month, the POSCO 1% Foundation launched the idea contest for the first time to explore new projects by receiving outside proposals. A total of 271 proposals were received throughout last month, and the foundation selected 11 outstanding ideas, giving the top prize to the support program for disabled artists. The top prize program, proposed by the Korea Disabled Artist Association, aims at providing greater opportunities for disabled artists to present their artwork. The association notes that eight out of 10 disabled artists in Korea have experienced difficulties in showcasing their work. With the program, the POSCO 1% Foundation said it will find little-known artists with talent and messages of public importance, and support them with studio rental, filming, editing, video clips and collaborations with popular YouTubers. In addition, the foundation will promote their artwork through POSCO's official YouTube channel, news channel and social networks. In this way, the foundation will help facilitate greater opportunities for artistic activity. In the program for supporting persons of national merit, the foundation will provide cutting-edge assistive devices to selected beneficiaries. The foundation said the program is run in line with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. Along with the two programs, a shared kitchen for marriage immigrants, a vocational camp for students in remote areas and other ideas also won commendation prizes in the contest. The foundation said it will also review these ideas as long-term projects. "It was a meaningful attempt to launch an idea contest and accept various peoples' opinions," said Lee Bong-joo, a Seoul National University professor and the director of the foundation. "We evaluated the ideas for their feasibility and contribution to society." "This year, the foundation will focus on developing cultural programs for underprivileged people and reflect the social trends and demand in supporting them," an official at the foundation said. The POSCO 1% Foundation was established in 2013 and is run on donations from employees and executives of POSCO Group units and their partner companies. The employees voluntarily donate 1 percent of their monthly salary to the foundation, which runs various philanthropy programs for children, multiracial families and the disabled. As of December, employees at 27 POSCO units and 88 partner companies were participating in the charity campaign, and funds raised from their donations averaged a total of 10 billion won annually. The number of POSCO Group employees donating to the foundation stood at 33,844, accounting for 98 percent of the total employees of the steelmaking conglomerate. More than 60,000 people have received support through the POSCO 1% Foundation since 2013, it said. Under group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo's drive, POSCO has been pursuing corporate citizenship as its focal business ethic, while expanding its charity efforts across society. It also seeks mutual growth alongside its partner companies by setting up joint venture funds. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 08:02 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20669ee7c 1 Editorial #Editorial,Mahathir-Mohamad,Prime-Minister,Malaysia,Politician,politics,malaysia-indonesia Free Malaysias political landscape has provided surprises in the past few years. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamads resignation on Monday sent shockwaves through the countrys political establishment in a seemingly calculated yet unexpected move. Furthermore, the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (PPBM) left the ruling coalition, Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope). In 2018, Pakatan deposed the powerful Barisan Nasional (National Alliance), which governed Malaysia from independence in 1957 to the 2018 general election. Now 94 and among Southeast Asias leading statesmen, Dr. M, as he is known, had previously said that he would transfer power after a few years as he did not intend to rule forever. His once-presumed successor and former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim remains the prime minister in waiting. The 2018 election results reflected aspirations for change among Malaysians of all races, after Barisan Nasionals rule under Najib Razak was seen as sending the country into a deep state of corruption, which peaked with the 1MDB financial scandal. External forces, however, have hindered the new coalitions ability to deliver better economic conditions, improve geopolitical circumstances involving China and the United States and decrease unemployment among new graduates. Malaysia ran the New Economic Policy until 1990, which gave affirmative action to ethnic Malays so that they could catch up to Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent to reduce the wealth gap. Affirmative action started in 1970 with the goal of having ethnic Malays control 30 percent of the nations wealth. Other Malaysians (mostly those of Chinese and Indian descent) were allotted 40 percent and foreigners the remaining 30 percent. A similar division was introduced with politik perkauman (racial politics). Each of the countrys three major ethnic groups has its own parties; one that is progovernment and another that acts as the opposition. Very seldom has a party in Malaysia taken a nationalist stance while embracing all ethnic groups. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) has long been perceived as a Chinese party and the antithesis of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), even though the DAP is a multiracial party. Ethnic Malays are similarly divided into several factions, ranging from the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to the more progressive Peoples Justice Party (PKR). The next government, whoever the leader might be, has the Herculean task of maintaining Malaysias economic performance not only for the sake of its citizens welfare but also for Indonesians, to some extent, as Malaysia is one of the top destinations for Indonesian migrant workers. On the political front, the consensus seems to be that Malaysians support racial politics. All we can do is lend our support to whatever system our neighbor believes is the best and share our past experiences, good and bad, as lessons learned. Malaysia and Indonesia need to work strongly together on various fronts, from crude palm oil to terrorism issues, especially when the welfare of both nations is affected. As saudara serumpun (brothers and sisters of one root), we hope for the best for Malaysia. President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to spread "fear" in Iran over a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 15 people in the Islamic republic. "We shouldn't let America mount a new virus on top of coronavirus that is called... extreme fear," Rouhani told a weekly cabinet meeting, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of suppressing information about the outbreak. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Read more: Insurance boss charged with attempting to bribe insurance commissioner Causey was aiding federal investigators in early 2018 by wearing hidden recording devices which recorded his conversations with Lindberg and his associates. Those recordings were revealed during the cases trial held this week. But Lindbergs lawyer, Paul Johnson, argued that Causey had been repeatedly seeking private conversations with Lindberg. The defense also further alleged that the insurance commissioner had entrapped Lindberg and the other three. Charlotte Observer reported that the defense team kept referring to a comment Causey made to Lindberg in March 2018. During that meeting, the two had discussed how the insurance department could hire Palermo (who, at the time, was still working for Lindberg) to serve as the regulator for Lindbergs company. I guess what Im trying to say is whats in it for me? Causey asked Lindberg during that conversation. When asked by Johnson for an explanation about why he made the comment, Causey said that he did it at the direction of the FBI agents. I did not ask for $2 million or $3 million or 50 cents. I asked, Whats in it for me? And the response came from Greg Lindberg, the insurance commissioner testified. Johnson also argued that if Causey had transferred the regulator overseeing Lindbergs company, the change would not be official, and thus would not count as bribery. Lindbergs camp cited a precedent in which the US Supreme Court overturned the trial courts conviction of former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, who had been accused of bribery. The Supreme Court made its decision after ruling that McDonnells actions were not official acts. US District Judge Max Cogburn Jr. did not agree with the argument. When someone does an act in their official capacity and it affects the people of North Carolina ... I think thats an official act, the judge said. TWIN FALLS Changes are coming to the nations premier outdoors organization after losing a major sponsor last year and filing for bankruptcy last week. The Scouts BSA formerly Boy Scouts of America are moving ahead without the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church and the Scouts were partners since 1910 when scouting began. Before the split, the church sponsored one out of five scouts nationally. But here in south-central Idaho, the church sponsored 94% of the Scouts in the Snake River Council, former leader Dave Kirk told the Times-News. Kirk moved last year to Boise and began working with the Ore-Ida Council, which has now merged with the Snake River Council to create the Mountain West Council. Meanwhile, its full steam ahead for the remaining 6% of Scouts in the Magic Valley. In Jerome, the United Methodist Church sponsors troops 139 and 1139. Troop 1139 is the only girl troop in the former Snake River Council, now the Snake River District. Were pretty much a family here, said Jennifer Jacobo, who leads Cubs and Webelos. The Jacobos have been part of the scouting scene in Jerome since 13-year-old Adrian joined when he was 6. Scouting teaches things we arent taught elsewhere, said Jacobo, also an assistant scout leader. Things like using common sense and basic first aid. The merger of councils has opened up more opportunities for Scouts, she said. Before, Scouts were limited to attending camps within the boundaries of their council. A larger council area gives Scouts more camps to chose from. Jacobo is grateful for the Methodist Churchs sponsorship of 24 Scouts, both boys and girls. Its not a big congregation, but its very supportive, she said. In return, the Scouts complete service projects for the church. A similar scene is playing out across the Magic Valley with sponsors of other troops. The scouting program teaches kids how to teach other kids, Cone said. It builds camaraderie. Although the LDS church no longer sponsors scouting, it continues to support the values and goals of Scouts BSA, leader Caroll Cone said. LDS members are still welcome to join the BSA, Cone said. If there are enough in the district, the BSA may start a troop for Scouts from the church who previously started the program and want to continue. The Scouts BSA store remains open from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at 2988 Falls Ave. E. in Twin Falls. Service center hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, according to the BSA website at www.srcouncil.org. Were moving forward, Brian Stucki, executive assistant at the Snake River District office, said. But its going to be a challenge to get the membership increased. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The trouble-plagued brother of an NRL star has been slammed by a magistrate after being caught in possession of four bags of cocaine. Grayson Jarvis Goodwin, 30, fronted Waverley Local Court on Wednesday charged with drug possession after police found he had four bags of cocaine hidden inside his Mazda 3 last October. A one-time rugby league prodigy, Goodwin first made headlines in 2014 when he posted on Twitter during an NRL game: 'Gay refs shouldn't be allowed to ref(eree)'. The son of St George Illawarra legend 'Lord Ted' Goodwin and brother of current NRL star Bryson was hit with a 26-week ban for his comments, despite claiming his friend had hacked his phone. Just weeks later Goodwin was in the headlines again, being blamed for leaking a photo of NRL star Todd Carney drinking his own urine. Another mate eventually took the blame. But Goodwin did not dispute the drug charges against him before a Sydney court on Wednesday, agreeing with a magistrate that he was an 'idiot' for possessing drugs in the vicinity of his two young children. Grayson Jarvis Goodwin (pictured), 30, fronted Waverley Local Court on Wednesday charged with drug possession after police found he had four bags of cocaine hidden inside his Mazda 3 last October Goodwin (left, pictured with South Sydney Rabbitohs captain Adam Reynolds) first made news headlines in 2014 when he posted on Twitter: 'Gay refs shouldn't be allowed to ref(eree)' Goodwin was once in the headlines after being blamed for leaking a photo of NRL star Todd Carney drinking his own urine The court head Goodwin had been caught with cocaine only after being pulled over when he was seen using his mobile phone while driving through Matraville, in south-east Sydney, on a Friday afternoon. Court papers reveal the failed footy prodigy was stopped at a red light when police noticed him 'looking at his lap and making quick glances upwards'. After being pulled over, Goodwin was asked if he had been drinking or taking drugs, to which he replied: 'No mate, I can tell you when my last party was, it was Thursday.' When asked by an officer if he had a 'drug of choice' when partying, he immediately replied: 'Cocaine'. According to court papers the two officers then returned to their car and conducted checks on Goodwin, 'which led to intelligence relating to drug supply'. The officers then returned to the Mazda 3 being driven by Goodwin and told him of their plans to search his car, to which he replied: 'F**k'. 'Are we going to find something?' one officer asked. 'Yeah, I've got four bags (of cocaine) in there,' Goodwin responded. During a hearing on Wednesday, Magistrate Allison Hawkins asked Goodwin's lawyer Hayden Woolf to question his client about why he had bought the drugs. Grayson Goodwin (right) is the son of St George Illawarra legend 'Lord Ted' Goodwin (left) Goodwin (left) is the brother of recently returned South Sydney player Bryson Goodwin (right) 'I was an idiot,' Goodwin responded. Magistrate Hawkins slammed him for putting his need for drugs ahead of the need to care for his two young children. 'You, by standing before this court, are a criminal,' Magistrate Hawkins said. 'You've obviously seen that I have a very dim view of the fact you're choosing to engage in the taking of an illegal substance and making a criminal of yourself when you have two young children to care for. 'Can you imagine a circumstance where these bags fall into the hands of your young children?' She said she was concerned Goodwin 'had a drug problem' but took into account his previously good criminal record. The Sydney Airport baggage handler escaped conviction and received a supervised 18-month good behaviour bond. CAIRO - Rival Libyan politicians met on Wednesday for U.N.-sponsored political talks in Geneva aimed at ending the latest round of fighting over the countrys capital, Tripoli. Yet just hours later, the High Council of State, an advisory body to the western Tripoli-based government, sent a letter to the U.N. mission demanding that talks be suspended until concrete progress is made in ongoing military negotiations. In the east of the country, the spokesperson for the rival Tobruk-based House of Representatives also requested a postponement and said it would pull its participants. Power in Libya is divided between two rival governments, in the east and west of the country, and a patchwork of armed groups that support either administration. In the wake of intensified international diplomatic efforts, the U.N. launched three parallel tracks of negotiations to push a cease-fire and resolve various crises in war-torn Libya. Its an uphill battle in a country with competing political structures. Disagreements over the delegate list for Wednesdays talks swiftly surfaced, as rival officials objected to the last-minute inclusion of several independent politicians in the Tripoli delegation. We stress our agreement to choosing the group of additional representatives...to ensure it represents a cross section of Libyan society, said the High Council of State letter. Ghassan Salame, the U.N. envoy for Libya, briefed a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council late Wednesday by video after the Geneva meeting which he organized. Diplomats said after the U.N. briefing that Salame told members the eastern delegation from Tobruk didnt show up in Geneva, and he urged countries with influence to pressure the delegation to attend the talks. Earlier this week, the U.N. said that military officials agreed on a draft cease-fire deal as they emerged from days of talks. The declared cease-fire deal, now under review by Libyas competing leaders, addresses the return of thousands of displaced civilians to Tripoli. But it makes no mention of key points of contention, such as the withdrawal of eastern-based forces or the demobilization of formidable militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported Tripoli government. Some cast doubt on whether the draft agreement was the breakthrough that the U.N. and U.S. embassy hailed it to be. This draft is nonsense, said Abdul-Qader Hwaili, a member of the High Council. In actuality, we have seen no progress in the military track. We cannot continue with the political meeting until we see it. Peace negotiations have made halting progress over past weeks, as low-intensity clashes continue around Tripoli and weapons flow into the war-torn country despite world powers pledges to the contrary at a peace summit in Berlin last month. The commander of the eastern forces, Khalifa Hifter, and his followers, who control the countrys east and south, launched an offensive to capture Tripoli last April. The fighting has displaced more than 150,000 people and killed hundreds of civilians. Hifter receives extensive support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Russia and France. The embattled Tripoli government has increasingly relied on Turkey to supply military aid, including air defences and fighters deployed from nearby Syria, to repel Hifters advances. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday slammed the Delhi Police over its 'state of affairs' while directing it to take 'conscious decision' with respect to the lodging of FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders in connection with the CAA violence and convey its decision to the court by Thursday The Delhi High Court on Wednesday lashed out at the police for its handling of the recent violence in the northeastern part of the city. The court directed the police to take a "conscious decision" with respect to the lodging of FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders in connection with the CAA violence and convey its decision to the court by Thursday. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani passed the order following a day-long hearing on a plea filed by advocate Colin Gonsalves on behalf of activist Harsh Mander seeking an FIR against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for making hate speeches, which allegedly instigated the violence. The court took on record the assurance by special commissioner Praveer Ranjan that he will sit with the police commissioner and view all video clips and take a conscious decision on lodging of FIRs. The court also said that its order applies to all inflammatory speeches and not just the three BJP leaders. The high court also issued notices to the parties concerned on the plea filed by the Centre seeking to be impleaded in the case. The violence which started on Sunday following a clash between pro-CAA and anti-CAA protesters in Jaffrabad and spread to several parts in northeast Delhi since then has left 22 people dead and over 180 injured. Court slams Delhi Police During the hearing on the plea on Wednesday, the bench of Justices Murlidhar and Bhambhani also came down heavily on the Delhi Police, saying it is "amazed" at the police's state of affairs. The court made the remarks after Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Rajesh Deo told a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh that he had not seen the clip where BJP leader Mishra allegedly made a speech instigating violence in northeast Delhi. During the hearing, the court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared at the court on behalf of the Union government and represented the police officer, if they had seen the video clip of Mishra making alleged hate speeches. While Mehta maintained that he does not watch television and has not seen those clips, Deo said he has watched the video of BJP leaders Thakur and Verma, but has not of Mishra. On the submission made by the police officer, Justice Muralidhar remarked, "I am really amazed at the state of affairs of the Delhi Police", and asked the court staff to play Mishra's video clip in the courtroom. Are you saying that even the Commissioner of Police has not seen the video related to one? This is too serious a matter. I am amazed at the state of affairs of Delhi Police. : Justice Muralidhar#DelhiRiots #DelhiBurns #DelhiCAAClashes @KapilMishra_IND pic.twitter.com/UpkcyRdYLC Bar & Bench (@barandbench) February 26, 2020 Deo had appeared in the court in the afternoon following the court seeking the presence of a senior police officer's presence in the court in the morning. Decide on FIR by Thursday: HC During the argument, Mehta said that the high court should wait for the response of the authorities concerned on the issue of lodging FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders. During the hearing, Mehta said any decision taken now may aggravate the situation. Delhi government's standing counsel Rahul Mehra contended however that there was no reason to not lodge the FIRs against the leaders. Mehra said that FIR ought to be lodged against everyone involved in the violence. 'The attackers belong to the party in power, while the police was a mute spectator. Such is the tragic state of affairs in this city', Colin Gonsalves#DelhiBurns #DelhiRiots Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) February 26, 2020 According to Live Law, arguing on behalf of the petitioner, advocate Gonslaves said: "This is one of the most serious cases that has ever come before this court. They (the BJP leaders) not only gave speeches, their affiliated people went on to attack people while chanting 'Goli Maro Gaddaro Ko'. It has become such a popular slogan," he submitted after playing the BJP leader Thakur's speech for the court's viewing. Besides Mishra, Verma and Thakur's speeches, the court also played video of another BJP leader Abhya Verma. "They're physically exhorting their supporters to take up arms he submmits," Gonsalves argued, according to LiveLaw, adding, "Police allowed people to get killed. They were protected by the party in power." Objecting to Gonsalves argument, Mehta said that there has been selective public outrage on the three videos urged the court to not not exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction. He also said the statements by BJP leaders Verma and Thakur were made several days back and it was not urgent to be heard today. The court observed, "Does that not make it even more urgent. When the commissioner was made aware of such statements, does he need someone to approach him to take action? As a law officer, you answer whether this prayer (for lodging FIRs against three BJP leaders) is not urgent." Mehta replied, "I am not saying it is not urgent, but it can wait till tomorrow." Mehta also assured the court that FIRs will be filed in right time. To which, Justice Murlidhar remarked: "What's the appropriate time, Mr Mehta? The city is burning." As the hearing progressed, Justice Murlidhar directed his ire to the police, saying, "When you have multiple clips of inflammatory speeches, what are you waiting for? Why aren't you registering the FIR?..." "Just register FIRs. You showed alacrity in lodging FIRs for arson; why aren't you showing the same for registering FIR for these speeches?...When you've registered FIRs for damages to property, why aren't you registering it for these speeches? Don't you want to even acknowledge the presence of a crime? "When the SG himself is saying that these videos are inflammatory, why aren't you registering the FIRs? The entire nation is asking that question," Justice Mulridhar said while directing the police to inform the court of its decision on filing the FIR by Thursday. Court Appoints Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae On Wednesday morning, the court appointed advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae to coordinate between the victims and various agencies. It further asked the director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to provide a sufficient number of qualified professionals to cater to the victims suffering from post-trauma stress. The court has put up the matter for further hearing on 28 February. The court said that the highest constitutional functionaries who move with Z-security should reach out to the affected people to give them confidence that law is functioning. Don't want a repeat of the 1984 riots: HC Hearing the plea in multiple sittings over Wednesday, the court observed in the morning that the police does not need its direction to take action in relation to the violence and that the police should take suo motu action as "this is very important" "This is time to reach out and do confidence by building. We can't let another 1984 scenario happen in this city; not under the watch of this court," the bench observed, according to NDTV. The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before Justice Muralidhar's bench as the bench headed by the Chief Justice was not holding the court on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the court had told Central Government's standing counsel Amit Mahajan representing Delhi Police Commissioner that since they were served with an advanced copy of the petition they should come with instructions during the day. It also issued notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police of northeast Delhi. The petition filed by Mander and activist Farah Naqvi also sought setting up of a special investigation (SIT) team to inquire into the incident and compensation for those killed and injured in the violence. The petitioners had also sought directions to the Centre for the deployment of the Army to maintain law and order in the national capital and areas where the "communal attack on people are most ferocious", but the court refused to pass any order on that. The matter will be heard again on Thursday. With inputs from PTI No U.S. firm has taken up that offer . Huawei says it's still "on the table." He said the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker would be willing to license its 5G technology exclusively to an American firm so that the U.S. could create a rival that would be able to compete in the next-generation mobile networks. Huawei has faced pressure from the U.S. government which has accused it of being a national security threat. Washington maintains that Huawei's equipment could be used by China to carry out espionage, a claim Huawei has denied. Last year, the U.S. added Huawei and its affiliates to a blacklist, the so-called Entity List which effectively halts its ability to do business with American companies. The Huawei USA Twitter account, responding on Tuesday to a CNBC opinion column, reiterated the idea of licensing its tech to an American firm. TWEET Ren told CNBC in September that a license could include Huawei's proprietary 5G tech including source code, hardware, software, verification, production, and manufacturing know-how. "I think that we should give (an) exclusive license with one U.S. company. After getting a license, they will be able to take our technology to compete with markets around the world," Ren said. Officials from President Donald Trump's administration have also been pressuring allied countries to ban Huawei from their 5G networks. Those networks are seen as crucial pieces of technology, touted as having the potential to underpin critical parts of countries' infrastructure. The U.S. is concerned about Huawei's ties to the Chinese government, and what that could mean for the safety of these networks. The U.S. is trying to figure out a strategy to stop Huawei's continued growth. Attorney General William Barr recently suggested that the U.S. should take controlling stakes in Huawei's European competitors Ericsson and Nokia. And a group of bipartisan senators introduced a bill in the U.S. aimed at freeing up $1 billion of federal funds to invest in rivals to Huawei. South African Tourism (SA Tourism) recently appointed a suite of marketing and communications agencies in response to the RFP162/19 the organisation issued in June 2019. Image source: Gallo/Getty Images Grey Advertising has been appointed as SA Tourisms strategy agency with Trender as its subcontractor. MetropolitanRepublic Integrated Communications has been appointed for creative with Rudeboy Collective as its subcontractor. For media strategy, planning and buying, the MediaShop has been appointed with BlackMarket Media as its subcontractor. Digital will be serviced by Digitas Liquorice with BWD Advertising as its subcontractor. Vuma Reputation Management will service Brand PR with Darkstar as its subcontractor. FleishmanHillard has been appointed as the Corporate PR agency with Ethicore Consulting and Advisory Solutions as its subcontractor. And lastly, the B2B component will be serviced by Demographica with 1215 KA Studio as its subcontractor. Our brand work must remind South Africans of who we are, create conversation and re-invigorate the national psyche. 25 years into our democracy, with the rapid shift and uptake of the digital and social media world, we have been given an opportunity to re-energise our tourism proposition to the world, increase awareness and consideration of South Africa in our global hubs, to shape the reputation of our country and to make sure we reach our target of 21 million arrivals by 2030, said SA Tourisms CMO, Themba Khumalo.This follows a rigorous and detailed selection process with proposals considered from 16 shortlisted companies. We appointed agencies in February 2020 after a rigorous selection process that started in June 2019 as per the requirements of the PFMA. This process is one that is followed by all government entities when seeking the services and expertise of service providers.We would like to thank all the agencies for their participation and take this opportunity to congratulate the successful agencies on their pitches. We look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship with them as we continue to build the tourism brand both domestically and internationally, said interim board chairperson Ravi Nadasen.The agencies will commence work on the SA Tourism account as soon as contracting is concluded. The contracts are five years, running from 2020 through to 2024 and each agency is required, among other things, to provide sound strategic counsel to the organisation that is a) globally and locally relevant, especially in elevating South Africas brand positioning and managing barrier issues to travel that impact on consumer perceptions, b) superior implementation and go-to-market capabilities that bring to life the brand positioning, c) stakeholder relations and d) the ability to drive meaningful consumer engagements in a highly digitised world.Each of these agencies has subcontracted 30% of their scope and billing to a small black-owned business. For the duration of the contract, SA Tourism will ensure that the subcontractors provide valuable input into the account and that billing is carried out appropriately.The contracts are with the main agency and are inclusive of the costs and services that will be delivered by the agency and its relevant black-owned subcontractors in each discipline. The management and relationship with the respective 30% is for each agency to manage, he explains.This marks SA Tourisms commitment to the empowerment of small businesses. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that there is inclusivity and meaningful transformation in the tourism sector, from a structural and product perspective, as well as from us as an organisation.Ultimately, we want to see a much more inclusive marketing industry in South Africa that deliberately involves smaller and newer entrants so they are able to participate visibly in our strategic and global go-to-market solutions.Their main goal is to attract 21 million visitors to South Africa by 2030 and they want to do this in an inclusive manner that creates an equitable playing ground for stakeholders and product owners in the sector.Further, we are intent on producing work that is strategically sound, responsive to consumer feedback, meaningfully engaging and with a strong call-to-action for travellers to choose South Africa.It must be true to our essence and identity so as to connect with international and domestic audiences based on what they have been telling us through their experiences of our country and through our insights and analysis, he adds.Finally, we are of the firm belief that advertising alone will not solve our challenges or create sufficient travel to South Africa. It will instead, require the mobilisation of all South Africans to drive the countrys tourism efforts, inspired by bold and integrated communication that awakens all of us towards action. The mother and grandmother of a missing 15-month-old girl are now in the same Tennessee jail after giving conflicting accounts about the toddler's disappearance. Evelyn Mae Boswell's mother, Megan Boswell, 18, is in the Sullivan County Jail on a charge of filing a false police report. Megan's mother, Angela Boswell, is being held there as well, on charges of theft and violating probation in an earlier case. Authorities frustrated by their multiple versions of what happened to Evelyn held a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 'There's not really much that we can answer due to the irrelevant information from Megan,' 'Every time we talk to her, her story changes.' 'We hope and pray that she's alive and we are going to continue to work like she is alive,' the sheriff said about Evelyn. Scroll down for video Evelyn Mae Boswell's mother, Megan Boswell (left), 18, is in the Sullivan County Jail on a charge of filing a false police report. Megan's mom, Angela Boswell (right), is being held there as well, on charges of theft and violating probation in an earlier case Authorities frustrated by their multiple versions of what happened to Evelyn (pictured) will hold a news conference on Wednesday. The case prompted an Amber Alert after the toddler was reported missing on February 18, at least seven weeks after she was last seen The sheriff also addressed Megan's claim that she was turned away from taking a polygraph test. On Tuesday, Megan claimed she went to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office for a lie-detector test but was turned away because she is pregnant. 'She was never asked to meet us for a polygraph. We never set up any type of interview for her,' the sheriff said. The sheriff did not address whether or not Megan is actually pregnant. In an interview on Monday with WJHL, Megan claimed that her mother took Evelyn to a campground in Mendota, Virginia. Authorities have searched multiple campgrounds in that area and found no sign of the girl. 'I told TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) where to find her in Mendota. My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper and if they dont go tonight, Im going to go find her myself, because Ive told them and theyre not really like taking it seriously,' Megan said. She added that TBI isn't taking her seriously because 'I've not fully told them I've been like "hey, like my mom camped out in Mendota, you know, to go check them out," but I've never been like, "hey, she's like in a silver camper" because my mom did threaten me like you know if I told anybody Im not gonna get into that but she did.' On Friday, Megan spoke out for the first time about her daughter's disappearance claiming she knew who has the toddler. Speaking to WCYB, Megan said she last saw Evelyn in December but didn't report her missing until Tuesday because she was afraid the people who had her would disappear. 'Well the reason I didn't report it or anything was I knew the person who had her, and I didn't want them to run away with her,' Megan said. 'And as soon as they thought anything was going on they just kinda vanished. So I'm just kinda worried, you know, about where they are at. What they're doing with her at this point in time.' In an interview on Monday, Megan claimed that her mother took Evelyn (pictured) to a campground in Mendota, Virginia Authorities have searched multiple campgrounds in that area and found no sign of the girl Megan added that she left her daughter with a person she thought she could trust while she was at work but that she would do things differently if she had a second chance. 'In a way I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear and they have. And they have tried to find them... They won't answer phone calls. They just kinda disappeared,' she continued. 'Yeah I probably would have called the first day. I should have. But I just didn't want them to run with her, like they have now.' Megan refused to name who she believes to have her daughter but says that she is cooperating with the police and can not share further information on the case. Angela and her boyfriend, William McCloud, were arrested last week in North Carolina on fugitive warrants unrelated to the toddler's disappearance. Before she was returned to Tennessee, Boswell told the judge she wanted to go home and resolve the situation with her granddaughter, news outlets reported. Angela was returned to the Sullivan County jail on Monday evening and arraigned on Tuesday on a theft charge. Sullivan County detectives have interviewed Angela and McCloud. Details regarding those conversations have not been disclosed and Sheriff Seabolt did not comment on those details on Wednesday afternoon. Angela's boyfriend, William McCloud (left) is also in jail. They were arrested last week in North Carolina on fugitive warrants unrelated to the toddler's disappearance The judge set her bond at $5,000 in the case, but Sullivan County Sheriff's Capt Andy Seabolt said she will remain incarcerated because a bondsman revoked her bond in another, unrelated case. Megan joined her mother at the jail Tuesday night, and her bond was set at $25,000, the sheriff's office said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, said there are so many unanswered questions that it decided to post a video addressing what they don't know. The TBI said McCloud and Boswell are 'believed to have information' regarding the girl's whereabouts. The agency also said that while the Amber Alert said Evelyn was last seen on December 26, they can't be sure of the date because of the mother and grandmother's conflicting accounts. The Amber Alert was issued after the sheriff's office received a Tennessee Department of Children's Services referral saying family members hadn't seen the baby in about two months. David Jones, the baby's great-grandfather, said he hadn't seen the baby since about a week before Thanksgiving. A candlelight vigil was held by a local mother's group for Evelyn on Saturday night in Cumberland Square Park in Bristol, Virginia Attendees are seen at the candlelight vigil that was held by a local mother's group for Evelyn on Saturday in Cumberland Square Park in Bristol, Virginia Evelyn's father, 20-year-old Ethan Perry, is on active duty in the military and stationed in Louisiana. Megan said he is currently seeking leave to return home. Perry posted a brief Facebook update addressing his daughter's disappearance last week saying: 'I'm currently working with authorities trying to find Evelyn. I can't say much more than that at the moment.' Authorities said they have received more than 570 tips from the public, but 'there have been no credible sightings'. Police have followed up on each tip. People and businesses in the community are offering reward money for Evelyn's safe return. The total has now reached more than $59,000. Authorities are urging anyone with information that could lead to Evelyn's whereabouts to call 1-800-TBI-FIND. A former Russian police officer who testified against his ex-supervisor in a high-profile case on planting drugs on investigative journalist Ivan Golunov last year has been transferred to house arrest. The Basmanny district court ruled on February 26 that Denis Konovalov, who is charged with forging documents related to the probe against Golunov that sparked public outrage in June, can be transferred to house arrest from his current incarceration at a detention center. Konovalov made a deal with investigators and testified in court earlier in February that his former boss, Igor Lyakhovets, had ordered him to plant drugs on the reporter. Lyakhovets is also on trial. Konovalov's lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, and the prosecutors supported the investigators' recommendation of the transfer. Konovalov, Lyakhovets, and three other former Moscow police officers, Akbar Sergaliyev, Roman Feofanov, and Maksim Umetbayev, were detained on January 29. A day later, they were charged with abuse of service duties, falsification of evidence, and the illegal handling of drugs. The 37-year-old Golunov, who works for the Latvia-based Meduza, was arrested in June in Moscow for allegedly attempting to sell illegal drugs. He was released several days later after the charges were dropped following a public outcry. The case sparked an investigation into his detention over the charges and also into why Golunov suffered bruises, cuts, a concussion, and a broken rib during the ordeal. In mid-July, police officers who detained Golunov were fired along with their supervisor for violating the journalist's rights. After Golunovs release, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired Major General Yury Devyatkin, the head of the Moscow police department's drug control directorate, and Major General Andrei Puchkov, the police chief in Moscow's West administrative region, over the case. Authorities announced in November that the case had been classified, a decision harshly criticized by Golunov's lawyers, who called the move an attempt to cover up the "wrongful arrest" of their client. In a very rare move, the Prosecutor's Office of Moscow's Western District apologized to Golunov in February for his illegal prosecution. They offer a special glimpse into local life and they always have good snacks. The grocery store might not be your favorite place to visit when you're at home, but is it ever fun when you're in another country. An article in Eater describes supermarkets as "must-visit travel destinations," and I have to agree, having spent a disproportionate amount of my travel time over the years wandering the aisles of foreign grocers. They're one of those strange little destinations that I like to sniff out everywhere I go, much as other travellers gravitate toward clothing stores, pharmacies, libraries, cafes, or art galleries. The beauty of the grocery store whether it's a huge supermarket or a tiny bodega is that it gives you a glimpse into what local people buy to cook, snack on, and what they pay for food. This offers clues into their lifestyles and preferences, and into the agricultural and cooking practices of the country. I stare at the strange fruits and vegetables, the exotic-looking seafood, the cheeses, the spices, the breads, and oh, the chocolate... always the chocolate! Being the environmental nerd I am, I like paying attention to packaging and seeing how different places present foods for sale. Italy, for example, has an awful habit of requiring customers to bag their fruits and veggies in plastic for weighing, while Sri Lanka leaves everything loose in bins. In Brazil, everything is prepackaged and swaddled in absurd layers of plastic, whereas I was able to use cloth bags in Costa Rica and buy loose fruit in Turkey. I've noticed that people in grocery stores tend to be friendlier than in other places because they don't expect to see you there, an out-of-place tourist. They smile, say hello, and sometimes ask questions, which can lead to great conversations. I had an animated discussion with a teenaged cashier in a neighborhood corner store in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, over which bag of crunchy mix to buy. He insisted that the one labeled 'spicy' would be too hot for me, but I told him I was willing to risk it. He laughed and we ended up talking about my favorite Sri Lankan foods for ten minutes. (And just so you know, the mix was was just fine.) K Martinko Sri Lankan snacks Visiting a grocery store is also a good way to save money as a traveller. You can stock up on curious-looking snacks with hilarious names (think 'Ah-Ha Vanilla Cake on Chocolate' or 'O-Kay Layer Cake'), call it an exercise in cross-cultural studies, and suddenly you've got a frugal dinner to munch on a street corner (hopefully not in Florence) or in your hostel common room. Sometimes you can share your edible discoveries with fellow travellers, which makes for a better meal. This happened to me in Istanbul, when a Russian guy at my hostel pulled out containers of salty cheese and honey and flatbreads, and I contributed apples and chocolate. We feasted as we swapped travel stories and that's how I planned my next day of sightseeing. The financial savings extend to souvenirs, too, which I always buy at grocery stores. Whether it's ground spices for my mom, a bottle of truffle oil for my husband, or chocolates for my kids, the grocery store is the first place I look for unique gifts that aren't marked up to crazy-high tourist prices. It's interesting then to come home and look at one's own local grocery store through new eyes. What would a visitor think? What stands out, and what do the food displays say about us as a culture? You might be surprised by what you realize. When competition for talent is at an all-time high, data is key to attracting and retaining the best. - Express CEO Bill Stoller Express Employment Professionals recently released its inaugural compensation report for the United States and Canada, highlighting average national wages for light industrial, office services, skilled trades and professional jobs. Compensation data provided in the report includes jobs such as food servers, marketing managers, landscapers, executive assistants, medical transcriptionists, construction managers and several types of machinists, among several others. In todays tight labor market, talented job candidates know they have options, so offering competitive compensation is more important than ever to attract the best and brightest workers. Additionally, businesses that are unwilling to compete on pay risk losing employees to the competition. If businesses dont stay on top of the latest market data, job seekers will do the talking with their feet and find better-paying jobs with competition that knows what they are worth, said Dwight Hahn, Express franchise owner in Windsor, Connecticut. In Longmont, Colorado, Express franchise owner Todd Isaacson says his area is booming with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the countryand employees evaluate several aspects of a job. Just a few years ago, many employees were happy just to have a job. Now, they look very closely at pay, benefits and opportunity for growth, he said. Express franchisees have been hard at work for several years educating local businesses about current market conditions and how quickly they evolve. In our market, the speed of wage growth caught many employers by surprise, Isaacson said. Many assume what was good pay in 2017 is still good now. It isnt, and a number of owners are scratching their heads wondering why its so hard to find and keep quality employees. Hahn agrees that some companies turn a blind eye to the current tight labor situation in the workforce. We see some companies in our area refuse to adjust to what is happening around them in terms of wages and other key benefits, he said. They cannot seem to make the connection with the quality of the workers they end up with and the extensive turnover that is naturally generated when a company does not offer competitive wages. The time wasted adjusting compensation for positions actually has far-reaching implications in every area of business, according to Express Corporate Developer Pat Dolan. Some defy the market wage for the positions they seek to fill, and subsequently are unable to get to the full employment they need to fulfill their business objectives, he said. Product isnt produced, orders arent filled, client support diminishes, revenues are lost, and reputations are tarnished. Express CEO Bill Stoller said he hopes businesses will find value in Express 2020 Compensation Report and the insight it offers. We are pleased to be able to provide this wonderful tool to help businesses evaluate local market conditions, he said. When competition for talent is at an all-time high, data is key to attracting and retaining the best. All data within the report was provided via Emsi, a third-party, labor market data and analytics research company. More information about Emsi and their research methodology is available at EconomicModeling.com. *** If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena Karami, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966. About Bill Stoller William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has more than 800 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Since its inception, Express has put more than 8 million people to work worldwide. About Express Employment Professionals At Express Employment Professionals, were in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, our international network of franchises offer localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve, employing 552,000 people across North America in 2019. For more information, visit http://www.ExpressPros.com. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Managua, Nicaragua, February 26, 2020 Honduran authorities should investigate threats made online against journalists at the news outlet El Perro Amarillo and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 19, El Perro Amarillo, an independent online broadcaster, published leaked recordings that allegedly showed officials in the national prosecutors office hiding evidence in organized crime cases and working with criminal groups. Since the leaks were published, social media users have threatened El Perro Amarillos director Milton Benitez and other journalists on the team, Benitez told CPJ in a phone interview. In one video, which CPJ reviewed but has since been set to private, a Facebook user named Luis Rodriguez said that Benitez is on a list of journalists to be killed in 2020. The video had been viewed more than 50,000 times before it was set to private. Several anonymous internet users have also sent threatening messages, according to Benitez and Katia Lara, a documentary producer for Terco Producciones who collaborates with El Perro Amarillo, who spoke to CPJ via phone. In a screenshot of one such message shared with CPJ, an unnamed Facebook user told Benitez that he was going to die, and that he hoped his mother and children had their heads cut off. Lara said the journalists have received so many such messages that she has stopped reading them. Lara told CPJ via phone that the El Perro Amarillo team previously contacted Honduras national protection mechanism for journalists and human rights defenders to ask for assistance after receiving other threats in October 2019, but authorities simply told them to call an emergency phone number if they were in danger. She said they have called that number multiple times since then, but no one has answered. The Honduran journalist protection mechanism must respond seriously to the online threats against El Perro Amarillos team and take appropriate steps to ensure the journalists safety, said CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick in New York. Reporting on alleged government misconduct is a public service and journalists who do so should not face personal attacks or threats of violence. CPJ called the Honduran attorney generals office and Danilo Morales, the director of the protection mechanism, for comment, but no one answered the calls. Since publishing the leaked recordings on February 19, internet users have also spread rumors that Benitez had ties to drug trafficking groups, including in a post on the Facebook page Politica Viral, which has been shared more than 100 times, Benitez said. Benitez launched El Perro Amarillo on local TV station Channel 26 in 2017, and it aired until June 2018, he told CPJ. Since then, the outlet has continued to broadcast on social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube, covering politics and human rights issues. The outlet was also the subject of harassment after it published a series of reports in October 2019 alleging that Banco Atlantida, a corporation based in Honduras, was involved in criminal activity including consumer fraud, Lara said. After publishing those reports, El Perro Amarillo journalists were followed by suspicious vehicles without license plates and approached by unidentified armed men in an apparent attempt to intimidate them, Lara said. In October 2019, Banco Atlantida sued Benitez for civil defamation and slander, in a case that was closed due to lack of proof on January 22, 2020, Benitez said. However, Banco Atlantida president Guillermo Bueso also sued Benitez in civil court in January, accusing him of crimes against his honor, according to Lara, who said that case is still ongoing. CPJ emailed Carlos Giron, a spokesperson for the bank, for comment but did not immediately receive a reply. This is a process to intimidate us, so we do not continue publishing this information, but we know that we have support from the Honduran people, Benitez told CPJ via phone. At least six journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation for their work in Honduras since 1992, including Valle TV reporter Leonardo Gabriel Hernandez, who was killed in March 2019, according to CPJ research. [Editors note: This article has been changed in its fifth paragraph to correct Laras affiliation with El Perro Amarillo.] Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed his condolences over the deaths of 24 people in a bus accident in Rajasthan's Bundi. "The news of the bus falling into the river in Bundi, Rajasthan is a cause of great grief. Many people have lost their lives in this accident. In this hour of grief, I express my condolences to the families of the dead and wish those injured in the accident will recover soon," PMO tweeted (roughly translated from Hindi). As many as 24 people were killed after a private bus plunged into the Mej river in Bundi earlier today. Five injured were referred to Kota Hospital for treatment. The Rajasthan government announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the families of the deceased. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Army has pushed back on a study purporting to show that World War I "tinpot" helmets were just as good or, in some cases, better than the service's current Advanced Combat Helmet in mitigating the shock wave effects of blasts that can cause traumatic brain injury (TBI). "Our current helmets are much better," the Army's Dr. Christopher Hoppel said Tuesday in questioning a study released earlier this month by Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, which gave surprising results for the French Army's WWI "Adrian" helmet. Hoppel and other researchers at the Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory said the Army's Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) and the Marines' Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) offer far superior overall protection than the helmets worn by U.S., French, British and German troops during WWI. The "Brodie" helmet worn by U.S. and British troops in WWI, the French Adrian and the German Stahlhelm "pale in comparison" to the versions sported by today's troops, said Rob DiLalla, the Army's team leader for Ballistic and Blast Protection. Related: Army Secretly Fields Lighter Helmet that Offers More Ballistic Protection The ACH and ECH are "the best engineered systems that you'll find anywhere in the world today," DiLalla said. The Duke study found that the Adrian helmet resulted in lower crown pressures than the ACH, Brodie and Stahlhelm in testing for shock wave effects from an artillery blast directly overhead. The Adrian had an unusual crest along its crown. "This feature of the helmet could deflect the shock wave off to the side of the head," the study states. "The results found here suggest that the ACH did not perform quantitatively or qualitatively better than the historical helmets and performed worse than the Adrian helmet for overhead primary blast at the crown of the head," the Duke engineers found. "While we found that all helmets provided a substantial amount of protection against blast, we were surprised to find that the 100-year-old helmets performed just as well as modern ones," said Joost Op 't Eynde, a biomedical engineering Ph.D. student at Duke and first author of the study. "Indeed, some historical helmets performed better in some respects," he said in a Duke release. "This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to assess the protective capabilities of these historical combat helmets against blasts." But the Army researchers had several problems with the testing. The Duke study measured the shock wave effects only from blasts directly overhead to the crown and failed to take into account shock waves coming from the sides or underneath the helmet, the Army researchers said. "I wouldn't go as far as to say it reduced concussive effects," Hoppel said of the Duke findings on the Adrian helmet. "It reduced the pressure in one specific loading condition -- a blast coming from the top of the helmet. I recognize that from other angles it would be much worse for pressure." DiLalla agreed. "I think the [Duke] study was extremely limited based on the fact that they looked at just one loading condition, particularly just the crown. You have to look at the frontal loading, the side loading," he said. The Duke study states, "The helmets were tested with shock waves of varying strength, each corresponding to a different type of German artillery shell exploding from a distance of one to five meters away." That was a fatal flaw in the study, according to DiLalla. Five meters is well within the "kill radius" of artillery rounds, and TBI would be the least of the concerns for troops subjected to it, he added. "Inside five meters is well inside the kill range of that artillery shell," DiLalla said. "It's not even in range where the protective equipment could actually do something." Hoppel, DiLalla and Mike Maffeo, a member of DiLalla's ballistics team, said that comparing helmets for their ability to protect against the shock wave effects of artillery blasts is, in a sense, comparing apples and oranges. The ACH "doesn't have a requirement" for protection against shock waves, but was primarily designed for protection against blunt force from shrapnel and debris churned up by blasts, Hoppel said. However, after years of work and design, the Army has come up with a test method for measuring helmets' ability to protect against shock waves, the Army researchers said. "This has been debated for many years -- how to get the correct pressure profile," Maffeo said. The Army now has what he called a "large advanced shock tube. We have a test device that replicates the free field blast environment." "We're working with the test community now to coordinate blast testing," he added. The pluses and minuses always have to be weighed in coming up with a better helmet, or any other form of soldier protection, Hoppel said. "When it comes to improving the current helmet technology, we have to consider performance versus protection," DiLalla added. "It would be great if we could put every soldier in a tank" to maximize protection, he explained. "And if he has to dismount, well, put him in a bomb suit. But we understand there's a trade-off" in soldier performance. Hoppel pointed to the difficulty of giving troops' unguarded faces some measure of protection against the concussive effects of shock waves. "There is a face shield available," he said. "We've done a lot of research on different types of protection" for the face. But there is a trade-off that comes with limited vision and adding yet another device for already overburdened soldiers to deal with, he added. The issue of shock wave effects and TBI came to the forefront after the Jan. 8 Iranian ballistic missile attack on Iraq's Al Asad Air Base in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Pentagon on the night of the Al Asad attacks that he believed the Iranian missiles carried 1,000- to 2,000-pound warheads. Initial reports the next day from the military and President Donald Trump said there were no U.S. casualties. In the following days, however, the Defense Department began reporting that some U.S. troops at the base had suffered mild traumatic brain injuries. Some were sent to Germany for observation and others to the U.S., but most had returned to duty, the DoD said. By last week, the number of troops who had suffered TBI had climbed to at least 110. At a Pentagon briefing Monday, Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff surgeon, said the initial reporting on the TBI injuries had been sketchy "because the signs sometimes are fairly non-specific." "If you're 18, 19 or 20 years old, even though we've trained everybody who deploys downrange on what to look for, it's quite common that we'll have folks who will say, 'I just was blasted. Of course, I'm not going to feel quite right. I'm just going to ride this out for a couple of days,'" he said. "And then they come in, several days or weeks after the fact." The researchers at the Army Research Laboratory said it is impossible to determine whether helmets might have prevented or limited the cases of TBI at Al Asad. It is unknown how many of the troops who reported TBI were wearing helmets, DiLalla said. He added that it's also unknown how close troops were to the blasts and whether they were in bunkers or above ground. "It's very hard to answer that question," DiLalla said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Read more: Woman on Track to Become 1st Female Army Green Beret: Report A constructive view on China. That's what exchange-traded fund issuer KraneShares is advocating as global markets feel the pressure of the growing coronavirus outbreak, the China-focused firm's chief investment officer, Brendan Ahern, told CNBC's "ETF Edge" on Monday. "The markets were due for a correction" in China and the United States after a strong 2019, Ahern said. "I think this is a little bit of just the market ... taking a correction. Who would've thought corona? But I think markets, for long-term investors, are on sale." U.S. buyers appeared to recognize that early on Wednesday as stocks bounced back from a nearly 2,000-point sell-off earlier in the week. China's Shanghai Composite index, which had a weak start to the year, has recovered slightly from its January drop. So far, Ahern's suite of China-based ETFs is holding up as well. KraneShares' Bosera MSCI China A Share ETF (KBA), a catch-all for large and midsize Chinese companies, climbed more than 1% on Wednesday, bringing its year-to-date gain back into the green. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), widely considered the benchmark ETF for Chinese internet names, is up 4% for 2020. "If you're quarantined at home in China, what are you doing? ... Online gaming, online education, downloading content," Ahern said, attributing the sharp sell-off in Chinese internet stocks this week to "a kneejerk reaction" from investors. "They're just basically throwing away these great names that arguably are actually benefiting from this," he said. "I think what you're starting to see is, in mainland China, equity markets are stabilizing. So, I think that'll slowly come and we'll see these names, which are on sale, being bought." Perhaps one of KraneShares's more interesting winners this year has been its MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF (KURE), which tracks a mix of stocks in China's health-care market and has gained nearly 10% year to date. As China's government enacts stimulus measures across its economy including in the health-care space, KURE is poised to continue its climb, Ahern said. "Health care is an area that has a little bit of a defensive as well as an offensive characteristic right now," he said. "It's clearly a beneficiary." All in all, the investment pro didn't see the coronavirus weighing too heavily on China's economic outlook. "We're seeing a lot of fiscal monetary policy to get the economy going. We know Q1 data's going to be very weak for China, but they're ... saying Q2, 3, 4 are going to more than make up for it," Ahern said. "They're not changing their 2020 targets, so, that's where I think investors who are selling today could be regretting that very, very quickly." Todd Rosenbluth, senior director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA, said investors should note their exposure to Chinese stocks via funds like the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) or Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Index Fund ETF (VWO). "It's important for investors to realize they have [more] exposure in a broader ETF portfolio than they perhaps realize," he said in the same "ETF Edge" interview. "We think that 2020 is going to be a volatile year to begin with, and that was before we saw what was going on in China." KWEB gained nearly 2% by midday Wednesday. KURE shed less than 1%. Disclaimer A Brooklyn mother-of-two was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison for drowning her two-year-old daughter by holding her head under water in a storage bin nearly four years ago. Lin Li, 28, was convicted in June 2019 of manslaughter and two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child in the death of her daughter, Melody Zheng, but was acquitted of second-degree murder. A jury also found Li guilty of first-degree attempted assault for holding her four-year-old sons head under water a day before Melody's killing. Lin Li, 28, arrives in Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn for her sentencing on Wednesday, nearly four years after the drowning death of her daughter Li broke down in tears as she spoke through an interpreter (right) about her child's death in 2016, saying she regrets her 'mistake' Li was convicted in June 2019 of manslaughter in the death of her daughter, Melody Zheng, but was acquitted of murder. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to 18 years During Li's sentencing, her defense lawyer spoke of his client's 'tough upbringing' in her native China, and her deplorable living conditions in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, where he said the mother, her husband and their two young children lived in an apartment where they had to share a bathroom with a dozen other people. Attorney Mario Romano described Li as a 'loving, caring' mother and said she 'blames herself every day' for what happened.' He added, 'I did not see the actions of a monster in what I read.' When given a chance to address the court before learning her fate, Li, dressed in light-brown jail garb, broke down in tears as she spoke through a translator. 'I would like to say being a mom, it is my duty to take care of my children, and I really regret my daughter's death,' she said through tears. 'It was my mistake...losing my daughter is very, very painful to me.' Li was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after her sentencing in Brooklyn Wednesday Li's husband attended his wife's sentencing and was photographed outside the courtroom Li then directly addressed Kings County Supreme Court Judge Deborah Dowling, telling her: 'no matter how much time your're going to send me to jail [for].. I will accept it.' Dowling handed down separate sentences for each of the counts totaling 18 years, ordering them to run concurrently. 'This defendant had a duty to care for her children and to keep them safe, but instead she used inexplicable and dangerous methods to discipline them and caused the violent death her daughter,' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. 'Nothing can bring back little Melody, who had an entire life ahead of her. But, with todays sentence, we have obtained a measure of justice in this terribly tragic case.' Prosecutors said on March 13, 2016, Li, whom they painted during the trial as a strict parent, took Melody into a bathroom to discipline the toddler for wetting herself by submerging her head in a plastic container filled with water and holding her under until she stopped struggling. Li walked out of the bathroom without checking if her daughter was alive. She later called 911. Police who responded to the family's home found Li's husband performing CPR on his daughter. Melody was taken to Maimonides Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Medical Examiner determined the toddler had multiple bruises and contusions that were consistent with her being held under water and drowned. Li's lawyer said the family lived in deplorable conditions in Sunset Park, where the mother, her husband and their two young children lived in an apartment on 47th Street (pictured) where they had to share a bathroom with a dozen other people A law-enforcement official said, in a videotaped interview, Li had admitted to pushing her daughter's head underwater in a basin and then leaving the room. The girl's father was asleep at the time of the incident, the official added. As the New York Times reported at the time, Li's two children had been living with grandparents in China before joining their parents in their apartment on 47th Street in Brooklyn just weeks before Melody's drowning death. Li testified in her own defense in ?June 2019, telling the jury that she left Melody in the storage container for a brief period of time without supervision, but denied holding her head under water as a form of punishment, reported New York Daily News. 'If I didnt leave that bathroom, then my daughter would not have died,' she said. Li also denied allegations that she forced her son's head under water to discipline him. During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Roger McCready played for the jury Li's videotaped police interview, in which the mother told officers that she held Melody's head down in the water-filled bin up to her forehead and saw bubbles coming out of her child's mouth. The first Harvey Weinstein juror to speak out about the trial has told how she tried to 'block out' pictures of the rapist's deformed body and said that 'the way things went' for Soprano's actress Annabella Sciorra was 'wrong'. The woman, who has been named only as Juror No. 2, described how it was 'hard not to make a face' when the jury was shown photos of the 67-year-old's naked body as evidence during his trial. 'I tried to block it out,' the female juror told Inside Edition on Tuesday. 'It was presented to us, so it wasn't something that we could have blocked out, but it's hard not to make a face.' The woman, who has been named only as Juror No. 2 (above), told Inside Edition on Tuesday how it was 'hard not to make a face' when the jury was shown photos of the 67-year-old's naked body as evidence during his trial The first Harvey Weinstein juror to speak out about the trial has told how she tried to 'block out' pictures of the rapist's deformed body and said that 'the way things went' for Soprano's actress Annabella Sciorra was 'wrong' The naked photos of Weinstein were shown as evidence to the jury after Jessica Mann, one of the two key accusers in his case and the woman he has been found guilty of raping, described her attacker's 'deformed body' as part of her testimony The naked photos of Weinstein were shown as evidence to the jury after Jessica Mann, one of the two key accusers in his case and the woman he has been found guilty of raping, described her attacker's 'deformed body' as part of her testimony. Mann told the court she didn't believe he had testicles and that his penis looked like a vagina. She also said that when she first saw him naked she thought Weinstein was 'physically deformed or intersex' and may have been a burn victim due to 'extreme scarring' on his stomach. The jury was shown naked photos of Weinstein to corroborate Mann's description of his body. The photos, which were only shown to jurors, were taken by a Manhattan District Attorney's office photographer on June 18, 2018 during the investigation. Juror No. 2, who said she didn't know who Weinstein was until the trial, also cast some doubt on the jury's decision to find the disgraced media mogul not guilty of the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault. The charge incorporated Sopranos actress Anabella Sciorra's allegation that she was raped by Weinstein in her Manhattan apartment in the mid-1990s. Mann (above) told the court she didn't believe he had testicles and that his penis looked like a vagina. She also said that when she first saw him naked she thought Weinstein was 'physically deformed or intersex' The jury was shown naked photos of Weinstein to corroborate Mann's description of his body. The photos, which were only shown to jurors, were taken by a Manhattan District Attorney's office photographer on June 18, 2018 during the investigation A courtroom sketch of Mann pointing at Weinstein during the trial. Weinstein was convicted of the third degree rape of the actress Sciorra's allegation is too old to be charged on its own because of the statute of limitations, but jurors had to consider it as a basis for charges alleging Weinstein is a sexual predator. To convict Weinstein of that charge, jurors had to agree on two things: that Weinstein raped Sciorra and that he committed one of the other charged offenses related to Mann or Haleyi. While the jury convicted Weinstein of the third degree rape of Jessica Mann and criminal sexual assault of film production assistant Mimi Haleyi, they acquitted him of first degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault. The juror said that a lot of the jury had actually believed Sciorra's testimony and that the 'way things went for her' was 'wrong'. 'I wouldn't say [her testimony] wasn't convincing, it was convincing to a lot of the jury,' she said. Weinstein has been convicted of third degree rape and criminal sexual assault. He was acquitted of first degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault Weinstein watches as witness Jessica Mann is questioned by Donna Rotunno during his sexual assault trial Harvey Weinstein: The verdict Third degree rape - Jessica Mann: Guilty. Facing four years in prison Criminal sexual act - Mimi Haleyi: Guilty. Facing 25 years in prison Predatory sexual assault - Jessica Mann and Annabella Sciorra: Not guilty. Carried a life sentence Predatory sexual assault - Mimi Haleyi and Annabella Sciorra: Not guilty. Carried a life sentence First degree rape - Jessica Mann: Not guilty. Carried a sentence of 25 years Advertisement 'I feel like the way things went for her, it was wrong. I feel like hopefully with the verdict we gave, she has some type of closure.' The juror said she hopes Weinstein's conviction will provide some closure for his victims. 'Every last woman that took the stand, I wish them the best' she said. 'I hope this is now a chapter that they can close and move forward with their lives now.' The juror recounted how the jury room was tense at times, with the jury telling the judge Friday they had reached a verdict on three of the five counts, but needed more time on the others. 'We wanted to get more clarification on how to move forward,' she said. 'Some people wanted to go home and think about it. Some people wanted to think long and hard about the decisions we had to make.' 'Tensions were very high. Everyone was nervous,' the woman added. She went on to describe how the jury returned from the weekend and reached a verdict. 'We had one person take control, he was the person that put everyone on the right path,' she said. Those final moments were especially fraught, the juror recalled. 'My hands were sweating. I felt like my heart was gonna pop out of my chest,' she said. 'I wouldn't say it was nerve-wracking, but it was just like 'This is it. This is the moment.'' The juror said that a lot of the jury had actually believed Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra's testimony and that the 'way things went for her' was 'wrong' She also recounted how the jury room was tense at times, with the jury telling the judge Friday they had reached a verdict on three of the five counts, but needed more time on the others However, Juror No. 2 maintains that she is confident in the decision she reached. She said: 'I thought about it, I was confident in my decision.' An alternate juror has also come forward saying the jury's decision to find Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault shows that 'justice does work'. John Deysher sat through the trial on the basis that, had any of the jurors been excused, he would have been called on to deliberate. Deysher and the two other alternates were not called in the end and so they were not in the room as the jury spent four days deliberating. However, he said the process was 'one of the most interesting things I've ever done, and one of the most intense things I've ever done'. Deysher admitted that, had he been called upon to decide the case, he is not sure how he would have come down. 'Everybody had their own opinion going into deliberation. Part of the deliberation process is to hear other people's ideas,' he said. 'I was not part of that dynamic, so I really can't say whether I agreed with the verdict or not.' Deysher went on to praise the attorneys on both sides and Judge James Burke. 'I really want to give credit to the judge,' he said. 'The judge is sitting there listening, and he has to be ready to respond to an objection immediately. He cannot let his attention wander.' He also praised his fellow jurors for reaching their decision: 'It gave me conviction that democracy does work, that justice does work.' On 23 March, Boris Johnson placed a lockdown on the UK, meaning that all shops selling non-essential goods, such clothing and electronics, and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms have been forced to close. During an address to the nation, the prime minister made it clear that only key workers should be travelling to work and people should only be going to shops to buy food or collect medicines and prescriptions. Although this should be done as little as possible. Acknowledging that many more people will die in the crisis, Mr Johnson added that the measures will be reviewed in three weeks time, when they will be relaxed if the evidence shows we are able to. While the entire country is expected to take part in the lockdown, those with symptoms of the coronavirus are being asked to self-isolate, which is seen as an important technique to help protect the public from coronavirus. But what does self-isolation mean and who needs to be doing it? Heres everything you need to know. What is self-isolation? Self-isolation is about protecting others and stopping the spread of infectious diseases such as coronavirus. According to Public Health England (PHE), this means you must: stay at home not go to work, school or public areas not use public transport like buses, trains, tubes or taxis unless you have been told it is safe to do so by a member of the port or public health team avoid visitors to your home Who needs to self-isolate? Self-isolation should be adopted by anyone who has or is living with someone who has symptoms of the coronavirus. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, you will need to self-isolate for 7 days. If you live with someone who has symptoms, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days from the day their symptoms started. This is because it can take 14 days for symptoms to appear. Who should be self-isolating for 12 weeks? Last month, the government confirmed that it was to send letters to people in England who should take themselves out of society for at least 12 weeks. Anyone that falls into this category was strongly advised to stay at home at all times and avoid face-to-face contact. They should also not go out for shopping and any food or medication deliveries should be left at the door to minimise contact. Those included in this category are people suffering from serious health conditions which could put them most at risk from coronavirus and those aged 75 or older. The groups defined as extremely vulnerable who will receive the letter are: Solid organ transplant recipients. People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer. People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment. People having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer. People having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or Parp inhibitors. People who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs. People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD. People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID and homozygous sickle cell). People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection. Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired. How do you self-isolate if you live with other people? It is important that anyone told to self-isolate separates themselves from other people in their home. PHE recommends staying in a well-ventilated room with a window that can be opened, separate from other people in your home and to use a separate bathroom. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty If a separate bathroom is not available, consideration should be given to drawing up a bathroom rota for washing or bathing, with the isolated person using the facilities last, before thoroughly cleaning the bathroom If you share a kitchen with others (such as university halls of residence or similar), PHE recommends avoiding using it while others are present. If this is not possible then a facemask should be worn and meals should be consumed in your own room. What if you need to go to work or take care of children? During an outbreak, PHE states that it is important for people to do everything they can to reduce the risk of further spread of the infection, and this will require understanding and support from employers, family members and friends. The organisation recommends talking to those around you about the importance of self-isolation to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Recommended Coronavirus outbreak sweeps Europe as US fears pandemic Since the UK has been placed on lockdown, people should only be travelling to and from work if it is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home. The government has also published a list of key workers whose children will continue to be cared for at school amid the coronavirus pandemic. The list of key workers has been separated into eight categories, including health and social care, key public services such as those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and journalists and transport. Those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery are also included, along with administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the Covid-19 response in local and national government. More NHS advice on what to do if you think you have been exposed to coronavirus can be found here. BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Wednesday alleged that police under the TMC government is "torturing and implicating" the saffron party's possible candidates for the upcoming civic polls in "false cases". Listing out the names of some of the police officers who are "implicating BJP activists in false cases", Vijayvargiya cautioned them not act as the "cadre" of the TMC as the "BJP would come to power in Bengal very soon". "Ahead of civic polls in West Bengal, the TMC government has started a new tactics which is to send our promising young party candidates to jail by slapping false cases against them. "They are even using police against them to put pressure on them to join the TMC. We will urge the state government here not to resort to such tactics," he told reporters at the BJP headquarters here. The elections to 107 municipalities and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), to be held this year, are being dubbed as "mini assembly elections" ahead of the 2021 state polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) A Welsh man was on Monday found guilty of "a barbaric, medieval-style execution in one of the safest parts of the UK"and a key Amazon purchase had a lot to do with his conviction, the Washington Post reports. Gerald Corrigan, 74, was shot with a crossbow as he tried to fix his satellite dish shortly after midnight on April 19, 2019; he died of sepsis three weeks later. Terence Whall, 39, was one of just two people in the UK who had purchased the exact type of arrow that killed Corrigan on Amazon.com during the year prior to the attack; the other was a hunter. More on the twisty case: Another critical clue: "There was no forensic evidence, no direct eyewitness evidence to the shooting and in fact no-one saw him going to and from the scene," a detective on the case says, per the BBC. But in June, investigators found a burned-out SUV abandoned in a deserted quarry; Whall had borrowed it from his partner. The vehicle's GPS system had kept a record of everything, showing that Whall had scoped out Corrigan's house the night before the attack and had gone back at the time of the attack. story continues below The arrest: Whall, who had also been seen practicing shooting a crossbow, was arrested in late June after the discovery of the SUV; three others were also arrested in connection with the case, USA Today reports (they were ultimately convicted of arson; see below). Authorities say Whall tampered with Corrigan's satellite dish, then hid and waited near the man's remote Wales cottage to shoot Corrigan in the torso when he came out to fix it after the signal went out. Whall, who had also been seen practicing shooting a crossbow, was arrested in late June after the discovery of the SUV; three others were also arrested in connection with the case, USA Today reports (they were ultimately convicted of arson; see below). Authorities say Whall tampered with Corrigan's satellite dish, then hid and waited near the man's remote Wales cottage to shoot Corrigan in the torso when he came out to fix it after the signal went out. The motive: It's still not clear why Whall killed Corrigan, but Whall knew Richard Wyn Lewis, with whom Corrigan and his partner had recently gotten mixed up. They were allowing Lewis to cultivate cannabis, which helped alleviate Corrigan's partner's multiple sclerosis symptoms, on their property, and had also given him hundreds of thousands of dollars thinking they were investing in a real estate enterprise. It's still not clear why Whall killed Corrigan, but Whall knew Richard Wyn Lewis, with whom Corrigan and his partner had recently gotten mixed up. They were allowing Lewis to cultivate cannabis, which helped alleviate Corrigan's partner's multiple sclerosis symptoms, on their property, and had also given him hundreds of thousands of dollars thinking they were investing in a real estate enterprise. Things went south: But when Corrigan and his partner found out Lewis was growing more cannabis than had been agreed to, and when they hadn't seen the returns they expected on their money after a year and a half, they confronted himand told him there would be no more money coming. Weeks later, Corrigan was dead. But when Corrigan and his partner found out Lewis was growing more cannabis than had been agreed to, and when they hadn't seen the returns they expected on their money after a year and a half, they confronted himand told him there would be no more money coming. Weeks later, Corrigan was dead. Were others involved? Lewis, who has previous fraud convictions on his record unrelated to this case, remains under investigation, but authorities have not been able to tie him to Corrigan's murder. Whall made multiple visits to Lewis' house after the attack, including, per Sky News, to place a tracker on Lewis' car. In May, the month between the attack and the arrest, Whall and a friend were arrested at Lewis's house after a dispute about money. That friend was convicted Monday of helping Whall to set fire to the SUV that ultimately led to Whall's arrest, and his brother and a friend pleaded guilty to the arson, per the Review. Lewis, who has previous fraud convictions on his record unrelated to this case, remains under investigation, but authorities have not been able to tie him to Corrigan's murder. Whall made multiple visits to Lewis' house after the attack, including, per Sky News, to place a tracker on Lewis' car. In May, the month between the attack and the arrest, Whall and a friend were arrested at Lewis's house after a dispute about money. That friend was convicted Monday of helping Whall to set fire to the SUV that ultimately led to Whall's arrest, and his brother and a friend pleaded guilty to the arson, per the Review. More on the victim: Other than his dealings with Lewis, Corrigan's daughter says the retired photography teacher was "just an average bloke enjoying his retirement. He enjoyed a lie in, a nice cup of tea and reading books. He loved Laurel and Hardy films and photographing flowers and mountains." His partner describes herself and Corrigan as a "boring couple" who typically kept to themselves. After Whall's conviction, she pleaded with anyone who knows why he killed her partner to come forward, the Guardian reports. (Read more murder stories.) US Army soldiers after a live-fire drill during joint exercises with South Korea in Pocheon, South Korea, in 2011. Ahn Young-joon/AP A US soldier stationed in South Korea "tested positive" for COVID-19, the military said in a statement on Wednesday morning. The unnamed soldier, a 23-year-old man, is in self-quarantine at an off-base residence. The incident marks the first time a US service member has tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A US soldier stationed in South Korea has "tested positive" for COVID-19, the military said in a statement on Wednesday morning. The 23-year-old unnamed male soldier is in self-quarantine at an off-base residence, the US military added. Health officials are investigating whether others were exposed, as the soldier had visited several US bases in the country, including Camps Walker and Carroll, in the past week. The incident marks the first time a US service member tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. United States Forces Korea "is implementing all appropriate control measures to help control the spread of COVID-19 and remains at risk level 'high' for USFK peninsula-wide as a prudent measure to protect the force," the military said in a statement. A 61-year-old widowed US military dependent was previously found to have tested positive in the country on Monday, prompting US forces to raise the risk level to "high." The woman visited a post exchange, the military's shopping center, at Camp Walker in Daegu, where South Korean health officials have cautioned there was a "high possibility that COVID-19 could spread nationwide." "We are going to begin to limit all soldier movement," US Army Col. Michael Tremblay, the garrison commander of Camp Humphreys, said on Tuesday. South Korea is addressing an influx of confirmed coronavirus cases, which have passed 1,100 in the country. At least 11 people there have died of COVID-19. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday issued a travel advisory warning that people should avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea. Read the original article on Business Insider He loved showing off his tattoos when he stripped down during Angie Kent's season of The Bachelorette. And on Wednesday, Ciarran Stott, 26, unveiled yet another new inking - a goddess on his toned torso. Despite already being covered in tattoos, the British reality star admitted that his latest sitting was rather painful. New addition! Former Bachelorette star Ciarran Stott showed off his latest and most intricate tattoo on his torso this week He told fans in the clip: 'Outline is done. Time for the shading. I am not having a good time.' The next clip showed the tattoo a little more shaded in - particularly in the wings and necklace area. Tatts painful! He told fans in the clip: 'Outline is done. Time for the shading. I am not having a good time' Almost done: The next clip showed the tattoo a little more shaded in - particularly in the wings and necklace area In another clip, he wrote in the caption: 'Six hours and I've tapped out! Back in two weeks.' Fans will fondly remember when Ciarran boldly posed nude during a hen's-themed group date on Angie Kent's season of The Bachelorette, last year. During the life drawing class portion of the date, the former Army rifleman dropped his dressing robe and flexed his muscles before showing off his backside to the group. Remember this? Fans will fondly remember when Ciarran boldly posed nude during a hen's-themed group date on Angie Kent's season of The Bachelorette, last year Ciarran is expected to star in the third season of Bachelor In Paradise in Fiji, which will air later this year on Channel 10. Production is believed to have taken place at Mango Bay Resort, where filming has occurred over the past two seasons. His ex-girlfriend Renee Barrett, who appeared on Matt Angew's season of The Bachelor earlier this year, is also believed to have signed up for Paradise. By Alex Ho Investing.com - Oil prices steadied on Wednesday in Asia, but virus fears continued to weigh as the spreading showed no signs of slowing. U.S. Crude Oil WTI Futures gained 0.2% to $50.02 by 1:18 AM ET (05:18 GMT). International Brent Oil Futures inched up 0.1% to $54.30. Oil prices dropped almost 3% in the previous session amid the growing coronavirus contagion. Oil prices are naturally feeling the full wrath of the coronavirus spread, with Brent now not trading too far from its February lows and momentum not its friend, said Craig Erlam, analyst at New York-based OANDA. (The) $54 (level) is looking vulnerable. Outside of China, Irans virus death toll rose to 16 today, while infections worsened in other countries including South Korea and Italy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at a news briefing overnight that a spread of Covid-19 in the U.S. was "inevitable" and warned Americans to prepare for disruptions in their daily lives. We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare, in the expectation that this could be bad, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC. Messonnier noted that citizens should consider social distancing measures, which might include closing schools and cancelling meetings and conferences. On the data front, the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels last week. Government data on weekly oil inventories is due later in the day and is expected to show a 2 million-barrel rise. In other news, OPEC+ are due to meet in Vienna in early march and is expect to take measures to respond to the spread of the coronavirus. Related Articles Gold Prices Fall on Profit Taking Oil rises on short-covering despite growing fears over coronavirus U.S. trade panel rejects import duties on fabricated structural steel The Missoulians 2019 Troubled Kids, Troubled System series that examined issues in private programs for teens with behavioral and emotional issues was named a finalist for the prestigious Scripps Howard journalism awards Tuesday. The series is a finalist in the community journalism category, along with MLK50: Justice Through Journalisms "Profiting From The Poor," about a nonprofit Memphis hospital filing thousands of lawsuits against low-income patients, and Lawless, a project by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica focusing on the fact that one in three Alaska villages has no local police. The Missoulian series shined a new light on the private programs that first came to the publics attention in 2004 with the death of a student by suicide at one of the programs. A move by the Montana Legislature to impose regulation resulted in an oversight board whose majority by law comprised program owners and managers, a situation likened by the father of a second teen who died by suicide at a different program as the fox guarding the henhouse. Missoulian reporters spent nearly a year interviewing former students, program directors, employees, state officials, legislators, child psychologists and psychiatrists, and parents. They reviewed inspection reports obtained through public records requests, legislative and congressional records, law enforcement reports and court records, and other investigative files. They found that none of the 58 complaints filed in 12 years resulted in meaningful sanctions by the board. Last year, the Legislature passed new laws designed to safeguard those enrolled in the programs, and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services shut down one the Ranch for Kids in Eureka crediting the Missoulians work that led to the regulation overhaul. In the shutdown, the agency removed 27 children from the facility less than a month after taking oversight of the industry, citing allegations, some a decade old, of abuse and neglect, including claims children were hit, kicked and spit on by staff. The stories were reported and written by Lucy Tompkins, Seaborn Larson, Cameron Evans and Gwen Florio; photographed by Tommy Martino; edited by executive editor Florio (then city editor) and former executive editor Kathy Best; and followed by editorials from Opinion Editor Tyler Christensen. The 2019 Scripps Howard Awards involved 897 entries in 15 categories. The winners will be announced March 3. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia February 25, 2020 Candidate Bernie Sanders Makes A Point The phrase Democratic Socialism continues to find its way into current national and political discourse of the United States. Vermont Senator and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders embraces the term, while his opponents, both from within his own party as well as on the Republican aisle, using its label as a bit of an albatross. Mr. Sanders own description of the philosophical, theoretical, and pragmatic applications of Democratic Socialism have yet to lay the weaponizing of this concept to rest. In his emphasis on the universality of rights, be they environmental, economic, health-related, educative, or concerning human dignity, he leaves out the primary distinction of Democratic Socialism. If properly conveyed, he could directly appeal to even its most vehement opponents at present. Indeed, classic Democratic Socialism, at its essential core and manner of societal organization is riveted upon this basic premise: local people exert control over their own affairs without the central level of government making determinations on the pathways, priorities, and planning of communities and sub-national jurisdictions. The Democratic Socialist notion, therefore, is not all that distinct from the basis of the United States Federalist system and the birth and fundamental identity of the Republican Party. Let us take a case and point. In a recent Town Hall, Senator Sanders was asked what specifically he would do in order to combat the effects of climate change visiting upon marginalized communities along Marylands seaboard. A Democratic Socialist response to such a question one which a significant swath of Republican Party members may also appreciate hearing would adjudicate that to effectively combat climate change and take measures in a specific area, residents of the impacted community with relevant local government officials, business owners, and members of civil society come together to protect that location against the hardship they are experiencing. Democratic Socialism would advocate pivoting some of the responsibility of the national level away from being the focal point of decisive action and instead also shift to a supporting role for local decision-makers. Yet, in his answer, Senator Sanders entirely emphasized national strategies, including battling fossil fuel companies and heralding a new era of renewable energy, along with other certainly necessary measures. It is responses like as these, however, that can be taken as fodder for those who wield the term Democratic Socialism to scare their listeners. The public and likely many in the Republican Party would feel a greater sense of control over and certainly less threatened by Democratic Socialism if it was expressed more closely to its true meaning; that is, a high level skepticism toward central planning and an unbridled emphasis on local community decision-making on matters of greatest communal importance. Let us take another matter: the restoration of and investment in infrastructure. Both major political parties in the United States have conceived substantial infrastructural bills to include massive investments in large-scale projects, such as water, energy, and transport modernization. These certainly have their critical place in the betterment and political discourse of our society. Nonetheless, a Democratic Socialist perspective on infrastructural investments would contend that governmental expenditures ought to spotlight a far greater number of projects at the local level with smaller sized budgets, rather than fewer projects requiring much greater amounts of capital. Upon hearing this alternative portrayal of an infrastructural program, those who may traditionally fear the Democratic Socialist agenda will come to see that its translation into reality is in fact under their own determination and management, resulting in a decrease of their anxiety and fear. And, even in regard to large-scale big-budget infrastructural initiatives, a Democratic Socialist would emphasize that identification of such considerably sized projects would heavily come from federations of local associations that support one another, unite, and still maintain their own autonomy. Federations tier upward in order to gain a greater scope of shared local priorities. This is to say that large scale projects are also able to be reflective of the will of local communities through the federation of their own associations into broadly representative groups of increasing numbers of people. Efforts like these put forth a more precise description of what actually constitutes bottom-up change and movements, although these processes are rarely applied effectively, even by those who espouse them. When explaining Democratic Socialism to the American people, particularly those who are highly skeptical proponents of this political philosophy, one ought to emphasize what it most truly is, a commensurate of an American ideal. This epitome of the American character asserts that the people, when faced with matters of concern and affect, must rely on the fundamental assumption that it is they, through their direct participation, who are in the best position to make decisions for the future of their jurisdictions. Wrexham Council urge wedding attendees at towns Guildhall to think natural and use eco-friendly confetti This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 26th, 2020 Those attending weddings at the Guildhall are being are being encouraged to swap their celebratory confetti for an environmentally friendly alternative. With 300,000 weddings in the UK every year theres a huge market for confetti. However if its made from plastic or foil that can cause issues to local wildlife, watercourses and the environment if it isnt eco-friendly. Wrexham Council are now urging those who attend or organise wedding ceremonies at the Guildhall to to think natural and buy natural confetti. Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: Weddings are very happy occasions and should be celebrated by everyone involved. However, in todays modern world its clear that plastic and foil confetti is becoming popular and wed like to ask that you think of the environment when buying or providing confetti. Its a small consideration in the planning of a wedding but can go a long way to reducing our non compostable waste. We have recently declared a climate emergency and we know that lots of residents in Wrexham support this so please think natural. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The bodies of a goat and five chickens were found lifeless on Monday morning in New Dorp Beach. It wasnt clear how the carcasses got there and a law enforcement source told the Advance they didnt appear to be positioned in a ritualistic manner. Unfortunately, this was not the first eerie animal discovery in our borough, Advance records show. In recent years, several gruesome finds in public places have sparked speculation about ritual sacrifice and cult activities. PREVIOUS INCIDENTS In 1988, authorities found the corpses of dismembered dogs, cats and other animals near a concrete slab which they believed was an altar in a wooded area near Susan Wagner High School. A year later, police found dozens of animals, including a goat, inside an apartment in Clifton. Authorities believed then that the animals were expected to be sacrifices in a Santeria ritual, an Afro-Carribean religion that uses animals for sacrifices. In 1990, police arrested two teenagers at the graveyard of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Richmond, after finding the carcasses of two dogs that officials believed were sacrificed. Only trespassing charges stuck. In September 1997, an employee at Willowbrook Park found three duck heads at the front entrance of the park. A month later, a Parks Enforcement Patrol officer discovered five decapitated chickens and four dead doves on a path leading from the skating rink near Marx Street and Victory Boulevard at Clove Lakes Park. After the officer called police, they discovered boxes of white cord and three live doves. There is no mention in Advance archives of possible animal sacrifices for the next five years, but in 2003 a man was walking his dog in Wolfes Pond Park when he found the battered carcass of an adult sheep on the beach. Weve had deer wash up, and sea lions, then-Borough Parks Commissioner Thomas Paulo said. We had a [sea] turtle at Midland Beach years ago. But never a sheep, he said. In 2005 a couple walking their dog in the old Staten Island Cemetery in West Brighton found six decapitated chickens in a semicircle, their heads placed in a wooden bowl at the center. I just cant fathom it. Its so very cruel and inhumane, Ethel, who made the discovery, said at the time. In 2009, for two consecutive days, dog walkers at Von Briesen Park in Fort Wadsworth found a mutilated animal, possibly a dog or a goat, wrapped in a white sheet. Shortly after the discoveries a Port Richmond woman went to the park and doused it with holy water in the location where one of the animals was found, as people started believing the animals were killed as part of a ritual sacrifice. The two women who discovered the animals then told the Advance they heard stories from a neighbor describing three or four people dressed in white and black robes coming into the park at night. TSX.V: VIPR, OTC:VIPRF High Grade results include 22.6g/t Gold and 1,431g/t Silver over 3.0m All Holes encountered zones of significant mineralization. Intercepts from LV20-217 and 218 indicate increased grade and thickness beneath previously reported holes. El Rubi strike-length extended an additional 50m and remains open along strike and to depth. VANCOUVER, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Silver Viper Minerals Corp. (the "Company" or "Silver Viper") (TSX-V: VIPR) is pleased to announce the latest batch of results from ongoing drilling at the La Virginia Gold-Silver Exploration Project, Sonora State, Mexico. The current campaign began in late November 2019 and expands upon the Company's 2018 initial test of the El Rubi target, a new gold-silver zone on the Property. The El Rubi mineralized structure has now been intercepted on seven sections for a total 300m of strike extent. The mineralized structure is open to the north, south and to depth. In addition, results to date indicate the likely presence of adjacent parallel mineralized structures. The current campaign was designed to total 5,000m of diamond drilling in approximately 20 holes. Currently the Company has completed 15 holes for a total of 4,200m, with results from 10 holes now released. The Company intends to expand the program should positive results continue to be realized. Mineralization at El Rubi is similar in character to other mineralized centres on the Property, such as La Virginia, Con Virginia and Las Huatas. Gold and silver mineralization is hosted in quartz veins, stockworks and breccias controlled along a north-northwest structural trend. The Phase I drilling at El Rubi comprised 5 drill holes on three 50m spaced sections, for a total strike-length of 100m. To date Phase II comprises 10 reported holes having tested both an additional 250m along strike as well as increased depth tests of previous intercepts. Drilling is ongoing and will continue to provide a systematic testing along the structure on 50m sections. Results from Phase II should provide sufficient data points to allow the estimation of a maiden resource, encompassing all of the mineralized zones at La Virginia. Such an estimation would employ a database of over 223 drill holes compiled from historical and newly completed work. In addition to work at El Rubi, the program continues to advance prospective targets elsewhere on the Property. Silver Viper's President and CEO Steve Cope states, "The intercepts from El Rubi continue to show a highly encouraging trend of stronger mineralized widths and grades as we progress northward and to depth. We are excited about the commencement of a second drill on the property which will be positioned to evaluate additional prospect areas along the trend and adjacent to El Rubi." Significant intercepts returned from LV19-216 to LV19-218 are tabulated below. HOLE From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Estimated True Width1 Au g/t Ag g/t Au equiv2 g/t Ag equiv2 g/t LV20-216 85.0 88.0 3.0 2.29 1.02 74 2.07 145 AND 101.5 102.0 0.5 0.38 4.30 401 10.03 702 AND 157.5 160.5 3.0 2.29 1.44 99 2.85 200 LV20-217 260.5 261.5 1.0 0.57 1.45 113 3.06 214 AND 265.5 273.5 8.0 4.56 4.45 401 10.18 713 incl 270.5 272.5 2.0 1.14 15.55 1436 36.06 2524 AND 276.5 289.5 13.0 7.41 1.79 91 3.10 217 incl 277.5 278.5 1.0 0.57 7.49 586 15.86 1110 AND 279.5 280.5 1.0 0.57 7.36 91 8.66 606 AND 293.5 304.5 11.0 6.27 2.05 46 2.70 189 incl 301.5 303.5 2.0 1.14 8.44 201 11.30 791 AND 312.5 313.5 1.0 0.57 0.75 23 1.07 75 AND 316.5 317.5 1.0 0.57 3.96 38 4.50 315 AND 327.5 328.5 1.0 0.57 0.96 10 1.11 77 LV20-218 184.0 187.0 3.0 1.89 5.82 530 13.39 937 incl 185.0 186.0 1.0 0.63 14.40 1253 32.30 2261 AND 192.0 200.0 8.0 5.04 9.15 569 17.28 1210 incl 194.0 197.0 3.0 1.89 22.63 1431 43.08 3015 AND 223.0 228.0 5.0 3.15 1.22 71 2.24 157 AND 236.0 253.0 17.0 10.71 0.48 25 0.83 58 incl 238.0 239.0 1.0 0.63 1.30 78 2.42 169 AND 252.0 253.0 1.0 0.63 1.86 99 3.28 229 AND 275.5 277.0 1.5 0.95 2.14 149 4.27 299 1 True widths are difficult to estimate at this early stage of exploration. The estimated true widths presented are based on current geological interpretation of the mineralized zones. Presently the mineralized structures are interpreted as being sub-vertical. This interpretation may be revised as additional data are generated. 2 Gold and Silver Equivalent values are based on contained metal values reported as direct exploration results and do not assume any recovery characteristics or other parameters. Equivalent values were calculated using an Au:Ag ratio of 70:1, for example, Gold Equivalent grade = Au grade + (Ag grade / 70), Silver grade = Ag grade + (Au grade x 70).. Drill hole LV19-216 (dip -500, azimuth 240) representing a 50m step-out to the north, intersected the mineralized structure(s) at a relatively shallow depth. Steeper holes are programmed to test the mineralization at greater depths. Holes LV20-217 (dip -650, azimuth 240), and 218 (dip -550, azimuth 240) represent deeper intercepts on previously drilled sections. LV20-217 intercepted mineralization 50m below the intercepts in hole LV20-211, and LV20-218 intercepted mineralization approximately 80m below the intercept in LV20-215. In both cases, results from LV20-217 and LV20-218 indicate an increase in width and grade compared to the previously reported shallower intercepts from the same sections. Subsequent drillholes will continue to push northward, testing for extension along the El Rubi trend. In addition, a series of confirmation holes at differing azimuths and dips are planned in order to better interpret the nature of the mineralization. An updated drill plan for the El Rubi area is available at the following link. https://silverviperminerals.com/site/assets/files/1197/rubidrillling_feb2020.pdf. About the Project La Virginia is located 220km east-northeast of Hermosillo, Sonora. It is a large exploration area, primarily prospective for fault-controlled, low-sulphidation epithermal precious metal mineralization. The Property and historical exploration database were acquired by way of option agreements made with two distinct parties. Gold and silver mineralization at La Virginia occurs within breccias, veins and stockworks hosted primarily by andesitic volcanics, often in close spatial association to, or cross-cutting pre-mineral dacite dykes and controlled by fractures and faults that define the regional structural trend. Originally 37,700 hectares in size, Silver Viper's reconnaissance program has identified key targets and trends which are of primary interest. The Company has filed reductions of the large concessions to better focus efforts on the high priority trends. Silver Viper's Phase I drilling comprised work over five target areas totaling 4,753m in 20 drill holes. Phase II is underway using the services of Hermosillo-based drill contractor Globexplore Drilling Corp and the Company intends to drill at least 5,000m in the El Rubi area. A second drill has been contracted to test surrounding targets and is set to commence work by the end of February. Drilling by the Company to date builds upon a sizeable database including 52,635m of drill core from 188 diamond drill holes generated by the efforts of previous operators between 2010 and 2013. Silver Viper is expanding upon this work by continuing exploration northward into prospective untested ground. QA/QC Analytical results herein represent samples of halved diamond drill core submitted by Silver Viper staff directly to Bureau Veritas, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Samples were crushed, split and pulverized as per Bureau Veritas method PRP70-250, then analysed for gold by lead collection fire assay fusion on a 30g split with AAS finish, and for a multi-element suite including silver by multi-acid digestion with ICP-ES/MS finish. Samples triggering precious metal over-limit thresholds of 10g/t Au or 200g/t Ag were retested by lead collection fire assay fusion with a gravimetric finish. Silver Viper monitors QA/QC using commercially sourced standards and locally sourced blank materials inserted within the sample sequence at regular intervals. Dale Brittliffe, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration is the 'Qualified Person' under National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Ongoing verification of scientific and technical information is achieved by direct involvement in the exploration work, requiring regular site visits by the Qualified Person. About the Company Silver Viper Minerals Corp., is a Canadian-based junior mineral exploration company focused on precious metals exploration in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. The Company currently operates the La Virginia Gold-Silver Project. Silver Viper has 100% ownership of the La Virginia concessions acquired from most recent operator, Pan American Silver Corp. and has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Rubi-Esperanza group of claims internal to those concessions. Silver Viper is under management provided by Belcarra Group Management Ltd., which is comprised of highly qualified mining professionals. On behalf of the board of directors, Steve Cope President and CEO Forward Looking Information Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development, the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations, fluctuations in the prices of commodities, operating hazards and risks, competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's financial statements available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE Silver Viper Minerals Corp. Related Links https://www.silverviperminerals.com/ facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter Published Feb. 24, 2020 The University of Louisiana Monroe School of Visual and Performing Arts will host its First Annual Louisiana Horn Day on Saturday, March 21, 2020. The event is free and will include performances, masterclasses, and exhibits dedicated to the horn instrument and horn playing. t Stacie Mickens, Associate Professor of Horn at the University of North Texas, will be the guest artist and clinician for the event. Louisiana Horn Day was created to serve a three-fold purpose: to provide a state-level conference dedicated to the (French) horn; feature guest artists, as well as students, university faculty, and professional musicians from around the state; and to promote membership in and awareness of the International Horn Society, the official organization for horn players worldwide, said James Boldin, D.M.A., ULM Associate Professor of Music. Registration for Louisiana Horn Day begins at 9 a.m. in the lobby of Emy-Lou Biedenharn Recital Hall. For registration information and a detailed schedule, visit https://www.ulm.edu/music/lahornday.html. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25 By Huseyn Safarov - Trend: Azerbaijan seeks to reduce energy consumption, vice president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences, candidate of technical sciences, associated professor of Russias Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation Arseniy Mitko told Trend. Mitko noted that the conditional fuel savings in the electric power industry in Azerbaijan in 2007-2012 amounted to about 1.7 million tons per year (thermal power plants mainly use natural gas in the amount of about 5 billion cubic meters per year, generation losses are estimated at 1 percent of the total power generation). As a result, by 2012, on average, 131.8 tons of conditional fuel were spent on production of 1 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is 12 percent less than in 2009, the professor added. It is assumed that in the future, electricity generation will expand through the commissioning of renewable energy facilities, and electricity production may grow by 2.6 billion kilowatt hours per year. Thus, renewable energy power plants will allow additionally saving up to 1 million tons of conditional fuel of primary energy per year. Mitko noted that Azerbaijans long-term goal until 2030 is to achieve a 30 percent share of renewable energy in the expenditure part of the energy balance and a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the level of 1990. Mitko emphasized that the EU provides financial assistance to Azerbaijan to implement the set targets. The professor reminded that in 2004 Azerbaijan adopted a state program for the development of alternative energy, in 2009 the corresponding agency was created under the Ministry of Industry and Energy, which in June 2012 was transformed into an independent state company called the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. The scope of this organizations responsibilities includes resolving issues related to the development of projects, the purchase of equipment, construction of renewable energy facilities, the operation of energy equipment and the development of the infrastructure necessary to expand the use of renewable energy sources, Mitko said. Azerbaijans national energy system has significant energy saving potential in the transportation sector, the professor noted. At the end of 2011, network losses (over power lines) amounted to 4.59 percent of the total volume of transported electricity (4.7 percent in 2010), in power distribution networks this indicator was much higher - about 16 percent. The Azerbaijani government of the country assumes that further measures taken will allow expanding the export of electricity to 8-10 billion kilowatt hours per year. In the modern era of innovation, the industrial system of the format of the 19th-20th centuries begins to be replaced by new principles of the socio-technological organization of society, and Azerbaijan is trying to comply with these principles. Mitko believes that the vector of transformations, affecting all aspects of human life, is aimed at the post-industrial management system and the integrated economic system of a multilayered economy (combining private initiative and business activity, strategically innovative function of the state and social orientation of the economy). The process of forming a multilayered structure has been also launched in the energy sector, which involves the synthesis of centralized and autonomous energy supply, and in addition - intellectual management of production, transportation, storage, distribution and consumption of all types of energy, Mitko added. A sharp increase in the scientific and technological progress led to a new technological revolution, the expert said. The industrial economy is using the capabilities of existing energy technologies (energy threshold), which led to the formation of conditions for another innovative energy leap and transition to the next technological level, where a special place is given to the renewable energy sources. At the same time, there has been a tendency in the modern society to widen the gap between the volume of needs of growing population of the Earth and the physical capabilities of the planet to meet these needs, Mitko added. In the middle of the 21st century, advanced countries moving towards a post-industrial mode of production and the 6th technological mode, passed the first point of no return in the large-scale introduction of energy-efficient and energy-saving, as well as renewable energy technologies in all sectors of the economy, the expert said. Moreover, the state was and remains the guiding force to expand demand for these technologies with the active support of most layers of society and business circles, Mitko said. In the future, the pace of this process will increase until restraining contradictions accumulate, which will be overcome at a new level of economic and social development. At the end of the 20th century, the CIS countries were backward in their development and were forced to look for the ways to survive in the new conditions, the expert said. Therefore, the sphere of energy efficiency was not their priority. In the current century, the attention of the CIS countries to these sectors has intensified as they are a prerequisite for ensuring the continued economic growth. In 2000s, the CIS countries developed appropriate measures and began to implement them, Mitko said. The leading countries, especially the US, have actively rendered and continue to render assistance in these issues. Thus, the program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on the introduction of Central Asia Energy Efficiency Support Program (CAEESP) involves rendering of various types of support, including financial support, the expert said. The regional program is implemented by ICF International, Inc. in such countries as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Mitko said. The activities are carried out within CAEESP, namely, assessment of the situation and setting of priorities; raising the level of awareness of interested people and training in existing approaches in the field of energy efficiency and energy-saving technologies; development of energy saving projects and assistance in attracting financing; support for private energy service companies; regional analysis and recommendations in the field of energy efficiency. The CIS countries, including Azerbaijan, by the world standards have big potential in renewable energy resources, Mitko said. In a number of economies, the relative indicator characterizing the share of renewable energy sources in the structure of the energy balance is at such a high level that the industrialized countries, with a large-scale concentration of financial and other resources, may reach only by the middle of this century, the expert said. A flock of more than 100 European starlings were killed along Route 225 in northern Dauphin County late last week. The Pennsylvania Game Commission believes the birds were killed by passing cars and trucks. The birds showed signs of blunt-force trauma, said Travis Lau, communications director for the commission. Its believed they were struck by one or more vehicles. The 100-plus dead birds, along approximately 40 yards of Route 225 about a mile east of Halifax, were nearly all on the eastbound side of the road. The majority were off to the side of the road, although a couple dozen had been flattened on the eastbound travel lane. Some of the European starlings killed as a flock along Route 225 in northern Dauphin County. Social media speculation presented several alternative possibilities for the cause of deaths for so many birds in one small location. Some thought the electrical lines along the road, about 30 feet from the birds, may have malfunctioned and sent a charge through a roosting flock of birds. None of the dead birds were closer than 30 feet to those lines. Others speculated that agricultural chemicals may have been the cause. The deaths occurred in an open area surrounded by agricultural fields. And still others wondered in the cell tower 50-75 yards northwest of the birds may have played a part. European starlings are one of the most common birds in agricultural and residential areas of Pennsylvania. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All the European starlings in North America descended from 100 birds set loose in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. The birds were intentionally released by a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare ever mentioned. It took several tries, but eventually the population took off. Today, more than 200 million European starlings range from Alaska to Mexico, and many people consider them pests. They are a non-native invasive species that competes aggressively against native birds like eastern bluebirds and tree swallows for the limited supply of vital nesting cavities. 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. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Eighteen FIRs at various police stations had been registered and 106 people arrested under various sections over violence in northeast Delhi that erupted on Sunday, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday. Addressing the media, the Delhi Police spokesperson said no untoward incident was reported on Wednesday. Two telephone numbers -- 22829334 and 2282935 -- have been activated to help citizens. They will remain operational for 24 hours. They would work along with the emergency number 112, he added. The Delhi Police spokesperson said, search for perpetrators of violence was on and CCTV footages were been scanned to identify the accused. He said drones were used to monitor the areas. The police forces were also removing bricks and stones from rooftops of buildings in the area. BAD AXE The Huron County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday affirming its support of gun rights in the Michigan and United States Constitutions. The resolution also urges the Michigan Legislature, United States Congress, and state and federal agencies to reject any provision, law, or regulation that may infringe on that right. It had the support of local gun groups and sportsmen, who had representatives present at Tuesdays meeting. The passage makes Huron County the latest county to pass a resolution affirming that its citizens have the right to bear arms. Other counties that have passed such actions have called themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, but there is no language in the resolution using those exact words. Now, at least 24 of Michigans 83 counties have either passed or are considering passing resolutions affirming citizens' second amendment rights with or without calling themselves sanctuaries. Locally, only Lapeer County has called itself a Second Amendment sanctuary, as most of the counties calling themselves that are located either in the Upper Peninsula or the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. Sanilac County, like Huron County, also voted earlier this month in support of reaffirming the second amendment without using the word sanctuary. As Casey Armitage, a Harbor Beach resident and member of Michigan Open Carry, said at the commissioners previous meeting, the motion is more symbolic than carrying any legal weight, just affirming where the board stands on this issue. In other Board of Commissioners news: The commissioners made appointments to the Mental Health Services Board, Region VII AAA Advisory Council, and Economic Development Corporation Board. They elected commissioner John Bodis, Johnnie Colton, Rich Swartzendruber, and Rhonda Matelski to three-year terms on the Mental Health Services board Daniel Glaza was appointed to the Region VII AAA Advisory Council for a three-year term. Commissioner Mary Babcock was appointed to the Economic Development Corporation Board for a six-year-term. Late night host Stephen Colbert left his audience seemingly cringing at a series of tough punchlines aimed at Mike Bloomberg, attacking the billionaire Democratic presidential hopeful for his past support of the controversial stop-and-frisk programme. The comedian targeted Mr Bloomberg and other leading White House hopefuls after the latest Democratic debates in South Carolina, mocking the former New York City mayor for his performance on Tuesday night. Mayor Bloomberg tried to explain how much he has learned since he oversaw the programme in New York City that targeted black and brown communities and was later ruled unconstitutional in its implementation, the late night host said before playing a clip of the candidate defending himself. The former mayor said in the clip that he met with black leaders to try to get an understanding of how I can better position myself. Mr Colbert then responded: Mr Mayor, I have a feeling a lot of black leaders want your position to be spread eagle up against a wall. 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 At one point, the audience could be heard audibly jeering when the late night host mocked Mr Bloomberg for pointing out the black members of the audience who had endorsed him, saying: A lot of them are in the audience tonight, officersstop them, check their pockets, theres an endorsement in there someplace, I promise you. As the crowd appeared to react with hesitancy to the joke, Mr Colbert quipped: All of Bloombergs voters are here tonight I think. Recommended Everything you missed at the latest chaotic Democratic debate The late night host also mocked Mr Bloomberg for suggesting his former employees who have signed nondisclosure agreements simply didnt like callous jokes he made while on the job. Mr Colbert played a clip of Mr Bloomberg joking about New York Citys infamous Naked Cowboy at Times Square, adding: Oh, OK, now I understand why he asks people to sign an NDA after he tells a joke No one wants to remember that. He added: Now, for those of you who dont live in New York City, theres this crazy man who wanders around the city and will not leave people alone. And that mans name is Mike Bloomberg. Mr Colbert also joked about the other leading Democrats, pointing out how Bernie Sanders was attacked from all sides while impersonating the Vermont senator, and noted the apparent failings of the moderators to keep the event organised. These folks said a lot of words, and I did not hear many of them, he said. Because these candidates were speaking all over each other. New Delhi: A state banquet was hosted for US President Donald Trump at the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday night with its forecourt decked up to its glory for the last engagement of his two-day visit to India. The architectural marvel, spread over 130-hectares, was lit up for Trump and his wife Melania were given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt, which has a mixture of pink and cream sandstones. As the Presidential Bodyguards lined up on the stairs leading to the Durbar Hall, Trump, who was received by President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita, were taken to the hall where the visiting dignitary took a round. The banquet was attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several of his ministerial colleagues, four chief ministers -- Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), B S Yediyurappa (Karnataka) and K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana). Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, Wipro founder Azim Premji, banker Kotak Mahindra, musician A R Rahman besides others also attended. Later, the Kovind and Trump, along with their spouses posed for a picture before a 5th century statue of Gautam Buddha. It was followed by official talks during which Kovind said importance of the Indo-US relations could be gauged from the fact that a large number of people came to welcome him. "The US is a valued friend and India is deeply committed to the strategic partnership between the two countries," Kovind said in his opening remarks. The US president said the last two days have been "very productive". Both the countries are working for trade and military deals, Trump said. He said coming to India has always been a learning experience and thanked President Kovind for the hospitality extended to him and his entourage. An elaborate spread was laid out for the Trumps. The vegetarian delicacies served included coriander shorba, aloo tikki with palak papdi, zarkhez zameen (seasonal vegetable cooked in its juice) and dal raisina. The non-vegetarian fare includes raan-ali-shaan (marinated lamb) and cajun spiced salmon (pink salmon marinated with cajun spices and roasted in clay oven). For desserts, hazelnut apple pie with salty caramel sauce and malpua rabri roll were served. In his banquet speech, Trump said he had "tremendous two days" during which lot of business was done. "It was very special two days. I love India, I respect Indians. We will be back, we will be back," he said. President Kovind said the past two days were very special for India as the US-India relations were very deep. "India views the US as a long-term friend and a natural partner. Our strong democratic credentials bind us together. Continued economic prosperity and geo-political leadership of the US is in India's interest. Similarly, India's growing political, economic and military footprint will be beneficial for the US interests in the region as well as globally," he said. Kovind said as the world's largest democracies, India is deeply connected with each other through the people and their aspirations. He said the bedrock of Indian and American society has been hardworking middleclass families and that's what makes everyone understand each other instinctively. "Over 4 million people of Indian origin have made America their home. They are a living bridge between the American Dream and our vision of New India. Our bilateral canvas has many folds, but none more impressive than the one painted by the growing Indian student community in the US," he said. 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!! Longtime teachers union president Jerry Jordan will hold on to his leadership post after fending off a challenge from an increasingly vocal and consequential caucus within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Organizing by the Caucus of Working Educators fueled strong turnout in the election, whose results were announced Wednesday. READ MORE: Read more: The Caucus of Working Educators' bid to seize control of the PFT The results are especially weighty given the PFTs outsized role in the citys political landscape. The union plays a crucial oversight role in the Philadelphia School Districts unfolding asbestos crisis, and it is negotiating the first contract since the union won back the right to strike with the district returning to local control in 2018. Jordans slate, known as the Collective Bargaining Team, appeared to win 62% of the vote, with the early tally 4,453 to 2,761. Split-ticket votes have not yet been counted, but the early results made clear that most of the unions 13,000 members favored Jordans steady hand, track record, and collaborative working style. Jordan, who has led the PFT since 2007 and has worked for the union full time since 1987, said he was delighted by the results, which came on his 71st birthday. "Our nearly 13,000 members are passionate, dedicated, and engaged, and working with them daily is one of the great honors of my life, Jordan said in a statement. The campaign was spirited, and it allowed us the opportunity to organize around a vision for public education that resonated with our membership. Nearly 60% of the PFTs 13,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, secretaries, and paraprofessional workers cast ballots, up from 46% in 2016, the first time WE opposed Jordans leadership. The Caucus of Working Educators, whose slate was topped by Kathleen Melville, a teacher at the Workshop School, a high school in West Philadelphia, made a stronger showing than it did in 2016, the last time it challenged Jordans leadership. READ MORE: Read more: With salaries capped at $30k, Philly's paraprofessionals are demanding more The progressive groups platform centered on empowering PFT members to have more of a say in the operation of their union, and on holding open contract negotiations with the district. It promised to fight for higher wages for paraprofessionals, better environmental conditions, and smaller class sizes. WE members have criticized the current PFT regime as too bureaucratic and slow to respond to members concerns, and not active enough on issues of social justice. WE, part of a wave of young people turning to organized labor as a way to make change, comes out of a tradition of the rank-and-file educators who have taken over unions in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. These are cities where union leaders have taken their members on massive, high-profile strikes with significant public support that reminded the country that unions are still a force to be reckoned with. The Caucus of Working Educators campaign is part of a trend of rank-and-file challenges to the union establishment, as legacy unions have languished around the country. Union members from journalists to UPS package handlers to truck drivers have challenged veteran leadership, which they accuse of being too complacent and too cozy with management to fight for workers. Melville, 37, congratulated Jordan and his team and said in a statement that WE looked forward to continuing to push for a more engaged and empowered PFT membership together. The caucus stronger showing, she said, made it plain that Working Educators vision has resonated with thousands of educators across the city." Jordan, in an interview, said WEs campaign was a very serious challenge," but said that its platform was very similar to the platform my caucus had focused on working conditions and meaningful wage increases. WE members views will certainly have a place during negotiations, said Jordan, adding that so far only a few bargaining sessions have been held. The PFT president expects that the pace of talks will now accelerate. So far, Jordan said, the talks have been very professional. Ethiopian government says it will not attend this weeks talks as its delegation has not completed consultations. Ethiopia will not attend this weeks latest round of US-brokered talks on a disputed Nile dam project with Egypt and Sudan, the countrys water ministry has announced. Ethiopia will skip the talks in Washington, DC on Thursday and Friday because the countrys delegation hasnt concluded its consultation with relevant stakeholders, the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy announced on its Facebook page on Wednesday. The decision has been communicated with the US Treasury secretary. A final deal on the massive Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was expected this month, but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on his Ethiopia visit last week, said an agreement may now take months as a great deal of work remains. The dispute over what will be Africas largest hydroelectric dam pits Ethiopias desire to pull millions out of poverty against Egypts concerns over critical water supply. Ethiopias announcement came amid widespread concerns in the country that its delegation was pressured by the US to reach a deal on the $4.6bn dam that is nearing completion. The US became involved in the talks at Egypts invitation. Ethiopia will never sign on an agreement that will surrender its right to use the Nile River, the Ethiopian ambassador to the US, Fitsum Arega, said on Twitter. Egypt wants the dam to be filled more slowly to reduce restrictions on the flow of the Nile. It says the dam is needed to provide electricity for development. In January, it announced it will start filling the dam now more than 70 percent complete in July at the start of the rainy season. IRISH guests on lockdown in a hotel in Tenerife are being tested for the coronavirus by a team of doctors. It emerged yesterday morning that an Italian doctor staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace resort in Tenerife tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Several hundred guests are currently on lockdown inside the hotel, including overnight staff. It is understood that there are approximately 20 Irish guests currently in the hotel. Expand Close An employee wears a protective mask as he talks on the phone inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain, February 25, 2020. Christopher Betts via REUTERS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An employee wears a protective mask as he talks on the phone inside a hotel under lockdown after a coronavirus case was identified in Adeje, in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain, February 25, 2020. Christopher Betts via REUTERS They were told to stay in their rooms via a note which was slipped under their doors on Monday morning. An Irish man currently on holiday with his partner and staying at the hotel, who did not wish to be named, spoke to Independent.ie. He said that a team of doctors was making its way throughout the hotel, taking guests temperatures. After theyve taken your temperature, they give you a mask and a thermometer and you can move about the grounds. You take your temperature again in the morning and if its gone up, youre supposed to notify them. What we think is happening is that theyre going to quarantine us here, but we dont know that, they havent told us that, he explained. Expand Close A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Spanish police officer sets a barrier blocking the access to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife (AP) Read More Guests received a picnic meal yesterday and all cafes and bars in the resort remain closed. It was alright, it would keep you alive, the man said. The mood remained quiet yesterday evening, however the main source of news and updates for the guests has been through the media and from speaking to each other. Were a little bit anxious to see what is going to happen, because we dont know. The official line is that this is precautionary but the logical follow on is that theyre going to quarantine us. But that means well be stuck here for two weeks minimum, he said. The hotel remains on lockdown and police are ensuring that nobody enters or leaves. Overnight staff from the Sunday to Monday shift are still in the hotel. When we went downstairs [this morning] we also had seen that the police had cornered off the streets around the hotel, we found out that staff who were turning up for work werent being allowed in, the holidaymaker explained. The only staff that were around were the ones that have been here all night so they were exhausted. The couple were due to fly home tomorrow. But people arent overly concerned about the virus, it kind of seems unlikely, he said. Nobody is feeling unwell. Theres no panic around the place, its just a little bit surreal, theres certainly no panic at all, he added. This view was also echoed by bar staff working in Irish bars in the area, Manager at Mullerkeys bar in Costa Adeje Lucy Szatmairi said: Nobody is panicked, everything is working normally, its just the hotel is closed, nobody is panicking around here. Also nearby is Irish bar The Temple Bar, where staff worker Peter who did not wish to give his last name said that the bar is close to the hospital where the Italian doctor has been taken to. We are working business as usual here, but we are a bit worried if they will close the whole town. Especially for the people who are on holiday, it must be terrible for them. The department of foreign affairs has now opened a dedicated phone line for those with concerns relating to the virus due to a high volume of calls. Anyone who has specific concerns regarding Irish citizens currently in any affected areas can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 01 613 1733. The Italian doctor, who had travelled with his wife, tested positive on Monday and has been placed in isolation in hospital. A statement from the hotel said it has implemented all health and operational recommendations from the health authorities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of customers and employees. We are providing customers and hotel staff all the necessary care and attention so that, despite the inconveniences this situation may cause, they are taken care of in the best way possible. GH Media School held its 2020 Matriculation Ceremony for the 2020 batch of newcomers on Friday, February 21, 2020. The freshers have been admitted to pursue various academic programmes in the institution. This year, over 400 students were admitted into the institution with over 200 Students who are interested in enrolling as Journalists. 103 enrolled for GH Cosmetology and 100 registered GH fashion, of which 11 were the jewels of the street. GH media school was established 5 years ago in order to provide practical training to students who are interested to enroll as a journalist, as years go by, the school has unveiled different institutions like Gh cosmetology school and GH fashion school. Speaking during the ceremony, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs. Cynthia Morrison advised the matriculants to remember where they are coming from and to make good friends. "As you are here today remember where you are coming from, remember your before you make friends because friends can make and unmake you, all depends on the friends choose today because your future depends on them", she said. You are here to be shaped, you are here to learn and then you are to go forth and take what you've learned at ensign and share it with the world, she added. Member of parliament for Okaikwei North, Hon. Fuseini Issah, in his address, advised matriculants to take advantage of all resources, both material and human, so as to achieve their goals. He also congratulated and welcomed the newly admitted students. He advised them to make good use of their time at the institution and avoid external activities that will be detrimental to realizing their dreams. Dr. Kofi Osei Kusi, Chancellor of GH Media Schools congratulated the freshers for joining the leading private media school in Ghana. He edged them to thrive for greatness as they begin to embark on such an intensive academic program. I want to tell you all that you are at the right place, at the right time, learning the right job to acquire the right skills to make your life meaningful to yourselves and the country. Mr. Leslie Addo Listowel, the Rector of GH Media School noted that the school will soon unveil more schools, technical and vocational to provide technical and vocational training to students who are ready and willing to learn. According to him, the country's growth and development is through technical training. "We believe that the best way to grow a country is by technical and vocational education, we are therefore ready to partner with stakeholders to make this dream a reality", he said. He urged the MP of the constituency to support youth ready to learn in the constituency as their social cooperation. The event saw in attendance some important media personalities like Kwesi Pratt, Ama K. Abebrese, Akumaa Mama Zimbi. Rioters roamed the streets with iron rods and wooden sticks, demanding to know whether people were Hindus or Muslims. Mosques were damaged and shops were set ablaze Mass Hindu-Muslim violence engulfs Delhi today during Trump and Melania's suck-up session with Modi. From the Washington Post: "Rioters roamed the streets with iron rods and wooden sticks, demanding to know whether people were Hindus or Muslims. Mosques were damaged and shops were set ablaze, sending smoke billowing high into the air. People with gunshot wounds and blunt trauma from hurled stones rushed into a nearby hospital." The video and photos of the bloody violence are horrifying. None are published by us in this blog post, but some are shown in the embedded tweets that follow. Excerpt: The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. () This week's violence in northeastern Delhi is the worst in the capital since at least 1992, when there were nationwide riots, and possibly since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The trigger for the clashes came when Kapil Mishra, a local leader of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, on Sunday threatened to clear a sit-in mounted by protesters, nearly all Muslim women, against the citizenship law. He said he would take no action while Trump was visiting, but that if police did not move the protesters soon, he would take matters into his own hands. Read more: Worst communal violence in Delhi in decades leaves 13 dead as Trump visits India [Joanna Slater, Niha Masih, and Tania Dutta, Feb. 25, 2020] PHOTO: "President Trump and the First Lady in India," Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, PUBLIC DOMAIN. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are presented with a gift by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a tour of the home of Mahatma Gandhi Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India. Hindus and Muslims marching together in Delhi: 'Hum sabb aik hein!' Goosebumps. #whatweneedmoreof https://t.co/TtzMaZVzj9 Saba Gul (@sabagl) February 25, 2020 The saffron flag a symbol appropriated by Hindu nationalists put on top of vandalised mosque in Delhi. @therealnaomib writes more on it here https://t.co/mFkfncCCef https://t.co/zDCmmuUKdE Kaamil Ahmed (@KaamilAhmed) February 25, 2020 Shoot at sight order applies to people with particular clothes. #ShootAtSight order has come from home ministry. It has to be implemented by Delhi Police. Understand the chronology! Delhi Police has long way to win trust of large section of society! https://t.co/0L3XlaC5ih Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) February 25, 2020 "We are all one! We won't let them destroy our community' shout residents of a mixed-religion area of India's capital New Delhi as Hindu fascists go on an arson/killing spree pic.twitter.com/2COhsRhHI1 Ali Mustafa (@Ali_Mustafa) February 25, 2020 A New Delhi, 13 morts dans des violences entre hindous nationalistes et musulmans https://t.co/UT0SexlCQk pic.twitter.com/wsxHtibQSZ FRANCE 24 Videos (@F24videos) February 25, 2020 "Delhi Police are present saying they are unable to intervene." https://t.co/0dHLq66pkn Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) February 25, 2020 USCIRF is alarmed by reports of deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi, #India and urges the #Modi government to rein in mobs and protect religious minorities and others who have been targeted. #DelhiViolence #CAAProtesthttps://t.co/MiUaDI2GnQ USCIRF (@USCIRF) February 25, 2020 Many victims felled by bullets in Delhi clashes https://t.co/SBGRAsTlVg The Hindu (@the_hindu) February 25, 2020 Deadly clashes in Delhi during Trump visit, @paraicobrien reportshttps://t.co/Kp7bbWEm4D Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 25, 2020 UPDATE: At least 13 people in New Delhi are dead after clashes over India's citizenship law, some of its worst sectarian violence in years: Police set up roadblocks Mobs reportedly attacking journalists People report "bullets are being fired" but limited police presence pic.twitter.com/mhHhkn8PSz AJ+ (@ajplus) February 25, 2020 National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval reviews the security situation in North-East Delhi. #DelhiViolence https://t.co/Nm146mT9da pic.twitter.com/Tdlo4WKESi ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 Chaos, Panic In GTB Hospital As Those Injured In Delhi Violence Rushed In https://t.co/WdEz0rPCZu NDTV News feed (@ndtvfeed) February 25, 2020 Mr Modi, Mr Shah, you and your people and your values have turned Delhi into Gujarat. A place of hate, violence, impunity, and bigotry. Tunku Varadarajan (@tunkuv) February 25, 2020 Muslims are being forced to chant Hindu Nationalist slogans on the streets of Delhi, or else face brutal attack https://t.co/vHBHHaWa1C Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) February 25, 2020 The number of fellow journalists and well wishers who have advised me against heading to Delhi tomorrow speaks volumes of the situation in the national capital. Their concern is my Muslim name which at this moment makes any citizen of the national capital vulnerable. Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 25, 2020 Trump praised India's PM Modi for "working very hard on religious freedom." But just 10 miles away, in New Delhi's working-class neighborhood of Maujpur, tensions boiled over into violence. At least 13 people (Muslims and Hindus) were killed. PHOTOS: https://t.co/jaUgL47ydq Kainaz Amaria (@kainazamaria) February 25, 2020 These visuals from Delhi have left me absolutely gutted. Never thought I would be alive to witness yet another pogrom. aparna (@FuschiaScribe) February 25, 2020 Trump's witnessing first hand the poor air quality in India very thick smog in Delhi today. 2/3 of world's most polluted cities are in India, @iainmarlow reports https://t.co/m617XLxaFZ pic.twitter.com/7GHcYIUL0p Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 25, 2020 Hindu-Muslim violence has broken out in Delhi, sparked by protests over Modi's divisive new citizenship law. "The Muslims have other countries they can go to, like Syria or Nigeria. They need to get out of India,'' one Hindu told @gettleman @suhasiniraj https://t.co/fwvKQueFTa Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) February 25, 2020 The scariest part of what's happening in Delhi is the total radicalisation and dehumanisation of Delhi Police. Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 25, 2020 #DelhiViolence | A man with a gun, seen around around 3.30 pm on 24 February, in Yamuna Vihar, across the road from Chand Bagh, in northeast Delhi. Photograph by Shivam Khanna. pic.twitter.com/L8JgtbzWOy The Caravan (@thecaravanindia) February 25, 2020 Late night hearing by the Delhi High Court directing the police to provide safe passage for transferring injured patients to hospitals equipped to deal with serious injuries. Order records doctors were asking for help from police since 4 pm with no success. pic.twitter.com/muY3k8NWsE Anjali Bhardwaj (@AnjaliB_) February 25, 2020 The lede on @nytimes report from Delhi: "In one part of New Delhi, President Trump was sightseeing and talking about his warming relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In another, a neighborhood was ripping apart in flames, along religious lines." https://t.co/ON0owvHq1v Daniel Medina (@dmedin11) February 25, 2020 What Nero's guest ate on the night Delhi burned. https://t.co/QKY1ktQXwS Aruna Chandrasekhar (@aruna_sekhar) February 25, 2020 At least 13 people are dead and hundreds injured after days of violent protests in New Delhi. Protesters and supporters of India's new citizenship law clashed in the most deadly confrontation since the law was passed. #DelhiRiots2020 Warning: Graphic images. pic.twitter.com/Hx6oZFYjJ7 AJ+ (@ajplus) February 25, 2020 On-ground reporting from a hospital in NE Delhi where people began flooding in w/ bullet and multiple stab wounds. Many died simply because the ambulances to carry them to a bigger facility were barred from entering. Only a late night court order allowed them to pass through. https://t.co/Aq7Oa4K2bG Yashica Dutt (@YashicaDutt) February 25, 2020 The news coming out of #Delhi is crazy. Praying for peace and tolerance for minorities Arjan Singh Bhullar (@TheOneASB) February 25, 2020 Jim Watson/AFP via Getty For the first 10 minutes of the 10th Democratic debate, it was officially the Bernie Sanders show. It was clear from the jump that the candidate who hadnt faced much scrutiny in the nine prior debates was due to receive the frontrunner treatment in Charleston, the last chance for candidates to take on the Vermont senator who is surging ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg took the first crack, aiming to ding Sanders on recent reporting from The Washington Post that, according to intelligence officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been attempting to help him in order to disrupt the primary in 2020. But he took a puzzling route to that attack. When asked if Bloomberg believes Sanders economic vision would be better for the countrys direction than President Donald Trumpsa question that was originally directed at the self-avowed Democratic socialistthe billionaire former mayor quickly pivoted, seemingly out of nowhere, to Russia. I think Donald Trump thinks it would be better if he's president. I do not think so. Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected, Bloomberg said. The line fell largely flat. But just seconds later, other candidates attempted to pile on Sanders with better success. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things. But I think I would make a better president than Bernie, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said. After listing similarities between the two of them, Warren went on. I built the coalitions, and I won. Bernie and I both want to see universal health care. But Bernie's plan doesn't explain how to get there, doesn't show how we're going to get enough allies into it. And doesn't show enough about how we're going to pay for it, she said. And then, she got at a topic thats dogged Sanders over the past several days: his online supporters. Story continues I dug in. I did the work. And then Bernie's team trashed me for it. We need a president who is going to dig in, do the hard work, and actually get it done, she said. The line was slightly better received than Bloombergs opening. But before wasting much time, it was next former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigiegs turn. Turning back to the topic of Russia, the millenial ex-mayor simply said the countrys leadership wants chaos, before moving to mount a broad electability-based argument that Sanders progressive parties are enough to tip the election in Trumps favor. I'll tell you what the Russians want. They don't have a political party. They want chaos. And chaos is what is coming our way. I mean, look, if you think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting, imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders versus Donald Trump, Buttigieg said. Bernie Bros Are Loud, Proud, and Toxic to Sanders Campaign That Sanders found himself in the wringer was hardly a surprise. The senators second run for president had gone just about as well as he could have hoped. Clear wins in New Hampshire and Nevada powered him to frontrunner status. Hed managed to keep the progressive wing of the party from switching allegiances to Warren. His moderate rivals struggled to maintain momentum, giving Sanders a divided field where major candidates were unwilling to drop out. But in what may be one of his rival Democrats last attempts to slow his momentum, the 2020 field aggressively challenged Sanders during Tuesday nights South Carolina debate as moderate fears about the democratic socialists electability continue. Saturdays South Carolina primary may be Sanders most important test yet. Sanders was blown out by eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton there in 2016, with the Vermont Independent winning only around 26 percent of the vote to Clintons 73 percent. Sanders allies are more hopeful this time. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has struggled to prove his own electability argument, is counting on a victory in South Carolina to restore his campaigns frontrunner mystique ahead of Super Tuesday. The state amounts to a must win for Biden. After falling flat in Iowa and New Hampshire, a distant second place finish in Nevada has done little to rally support for the former frontrunner. Candidates were already signaling a day before the debate how they planned to strafe Sanders. Bloomberg would take Sanders to task over his record on gun safetyzeroing in on gun friendly votes Sanders had made during his lengthy legislative career while representing Vermont. Unlike Bernie Sanders, I will always take the fight to the gun lobby, Bloomberg tweeted Monday. 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. Rebel Wilson has downplayed her controversial joke about Prince Andrew and Megxit at the BAFTA Awards in London earlier this month. The Bridesmaids star, 39, told Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa on Wednesday that there was no backlash from the audience, despite some rumblings on Twitter. 'People say they are outraged but William and Kate have such good senses of humour,' she said, referring to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were in attendance on the night. 'They have good senses of humour': Rebel Wilson has downplayed her controversial joke about Prince Andrew and Megxit at the BAFTA Awards in London earlier this month 'There was no backlash or anything from that. I think they like a few jokes at times,' she added. Rebel confirmed she had spoken to the Cambridges' private secretary following her performance, and was told the couple had found her routine amusing. During her outrageous monologue, Rebel joked about the recent controversies surrounding Megxit and Prince Andrew's friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. No worries! The Bridesmaids star, 39, told Australian radio show Fitzy & Wippa on Wednesday that there was no backlash from the audience, despite some rumblings on Twitter While presenting the Best Director Award, she told the crowd at London's Royal Albert Hall: 'It is really great to be here, at the Royal Andrew... Royal Harry... no, sorry, Royal Phil- at this royal... palace... place.' The Duke of York stepped down from royal duties in November following a disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in New York City on August 10 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Following the interview, Prince Andrew was accused of failing to show regret over his friendship with the disgraced businessman, or empathy for his victims. Good sports: During her outrageous monologue, Rebel joked about the recent controversies surrounding Megxit and Prince Andrew's friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked notably reserved as they sat in the audience Rebel's awkward gag prompted a ripple of laughter in the audience, but William and Kate looked notably reserved as cameras cut to the royal couple. While her appearance went down well in the room, viewers were divided over her decision to make jokes at the monarchy's expense. One person tweeted at the time: 'Three cheers for the producer who cut to William and Kate after Rebel Wilson's Prince Andrew and Harry joke.' Hoping for a royal invite? Rebel confirmed she had spoken to the Cambridges' private secretary following her performance, and was told the couple had found her routine amusing Another wrote: 'I thought it disgustingly rude and unfunny. I felt sorry for them. Why should they go to an awards ceremony to have their family insulted? A crude and insensitive remark.' A third added: 'I totally agree she made me cringe... not the time or the place for her tasteless remarks. 'I don't find her remotely funny anyway, just crude and talentless in my view. When you have to resort to being unkind to promote yourself it's sick.' There are 88,000 appeals pending before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and efforts are being made for their speedy disposal, its chairman said on Wednesday. Of the total appeals, 24,000 are pending before the Delhi bench followed by Mumbai bench (15000-16000), ITAT Chairman Justice PP Bhatt told reporters here. As part of the endeavour to dispose the pending appeals expeditiously, 41 vacancies in the tribunal will be filled in the coming days, Bhatt said. It is likely to take one-and-a-half month to fill the vacant positions, he added. A new circuit bench will be inaugurated in Dehradun by Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday. After that, 800 income tax related appeals from Uttarakhand pending before the tribunal's Delhi bench will be transferred to the circuit bench of Dehradun. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats) leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu on Wednesday told AGERPRES that, by proposing Florin Citu as Prime Minister, President Klaus Iohannis is "deepening the political crisis," because the PNL (National Liberal Party) "cannot" coagulate a majority in Parliament to have a new government invested. "The proposal made by the President is not one to help us exit the crisis, but one that deepens the crisis, because, obviously, right now, PNL cannot gather a majority in Parliament to have this government invested. The political crisis will deepen, with very bad consequences for the country, especially as we are confronted with this additional problem generated by the risk of the coronavirus epidemic, as well as the drought, which is already affecting some of the country with its consequences, some predictable and some less predictable. I expected the President to take into account that he has only one practical solution, namely, that of an independent Prime Minister, who would have led the government until the parliamentary elections. But it seems that for the President and for the PNL the ambition to have early polls is the most important objective, and not to help Romania exit the crisis," said Tariceanu.On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis announced at the end of the consultations with the parliamentary parties that he designated Florin Citu as Prime Minister. OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chaparral Energy, Inc. (CHAP) announced today it will issue its year-end 2019 financial and operational results with the filing of its Form 10-K report on Thursday, March 12. The company will also host a conference call to discuss its results that morning at 9 a.m. Central. Interested parties may access the call toll-free at 877-790-7727 and ask for the Chaparral Energy conference call 10 minutes prior to the start time. The conference ID number is 2098675. In addition, a live webcast of the call will be available through the Investor section of the companys website. For those who cannot listen to the live call, a recording will be available shortly after the calls conclusion at chaparralenergy.com/investors . A copy of the Form 10-K and corresponding earnings release and presentation will be available on the Investor section of the companys website at chaparralenergy.com/investors , as well as the Securities and Exchange Commissions website at sec.gov . The company also plans to participate on a panel and host investor meetings at the 32nd Annual ROTH Conference in Dana Point, CA on March 16 17. About Chaparral Chaparral Energy (CHAP) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City. Founded in 1988, Chaparral has over 210,000 net surface acres in the Mid-Continent region. The company is focused on Oklahomas STACK/Merge Play, where it has over 120,000 net acres primarily in Kingfisher, Canadian and Garfield counties. For more information, visit chaparralenergy.com . IT pros in the future will need to polish the soft skills that give them an edge over computers, as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated, according to research and experts who study human-AI interaction. What practical steps might someone take to be hired in a future where AI will be doing some of the work where humans currently excel? AI is already taking some jobs and will create a need for tech staff with strong skills like people management, working with others, emotional intelligence and negotiation skills, according to a report from the business school at the University of Maryland. Everybody will be and already is working with AI, said Maryland marketing professor Roland Rust, who co-wrote the study. The key is to recognize that collaborating with AI is essential. The worker must realize that AI has its strengths, and its best not to compete with it. Rather, human workers should focus on what they are naturally good at, which is people skills. A beginning worker should develop the skills necessary to interface with AI, and willingly delegate those aspects of the job for which AI is better-suited. [ Inside AI ebook: Artificial intelligence in the enterprise ] Like workers in other areas, tech professionals will see a shift in how they achieve success, agrees Megan Beck, practice manager at Bain & Co., who frequently writes about AI in the workplace. Just like the industrial revolution automated physical tasks, decreasing the value of human strength and increasing the value of human cognition, AI is now reshaping the landscape, Beck said. Today, AI is automating cognitive tasks such as data processing, which means that these cognitive tasks are becoming less valued and higher-level tasks, such as creativity and emotional understanding, are becoming move valued. [ Tech careers: IT certifications and training center ] AI and the rise of the feeling economy Rusts research describes the shifting needs for people skills as the rise of what he and his team call the feeling economy. The researchers studied Department of Labor data, which described the work of millions of people in the United States. From 2006 to 2016, researchers observed a sharp rise in what they described as feeling tasks, rather than ones described as thinking or physical. They also found that compensation growth coincided with feeling work vs. thinking work. At first, the job skills that require common sense and intuition will be safe, Rust said. Before too long, though, even those skills will be attained by AI, and at that point, only the emotional and empathetic parts of feeling skills will be the differentiator for people. In general, the more people the job touches, the safer the job is from AI. Management and interpersonal communications are the kinds of job characteristics to look for. When we think about the skills that are most likely to be protected from AI, we think of a broader category than feeling, said Emily Rose McRae, director in the Gartner HR practice. We call it social-creative. These are the skills for tasks that AI really struggles with feeling tasks such as empathy, yes, but also creativity, strategizing and improvising. Gartners research echoes the rapid pace of change found in the Maryland study. In fact, 63 percent of job postings in 2018 were for jobs where at least a quarter of the required skills have changed in the last five years, McRae said. In particular, jobs are shifting towards requiring more social-creative skills. This is a trend we expect to see continuing into the future, as AI learns to successfully perform more skills. McRae suggested asking yourself a few questions about your work now, if you want to envision a career in the future that includes a heavy dose of AI: What tasks do you do that are repetitive or based on clear decision rules? If a machine was doing those tasks, what else could you be doing? Would you focus more on other, less predictable tasks in your role? Would you likely spend more time working with the output of that machine, finishing the process? Would you spend more time in strategy meetings, or collaborating with your team? Answering these questions will help you imagine what a future version of your current role might be, and if there are any skills youd like to develop now. McRae recommended actively practicing creativity, in your job, studies or even a hobby. Studies show that the biggest factor in being creative is not innate ability, but needing to be creative on a regular basis. Eventually AI will target sophisticated emotional intelligence as well, said Tractica principal analyst Mark Beccue. AI, particularly deep learning, can tap digitally captured data to learn empathy, Beccue said. There are conversational AI companies, focused on customer service, assisted driver technology, autonomous vehicles, customer experience and sales, that today are developing virtual digital assistants that have sentiment analysis and emotion recognition skills. Emotional intelligence can be developed from previous experiences. In terms of existing work, Beccue sees little opportunity in jobs that focus on collection and processing data. If your job is mainly about the routine processing of information, look for another job that isnt. Second, focus on sharpening your nonlinear thinking skills and abstract thinking, the ability to make connections among unrelated concepts or ideas. Most people regularly use both linear and nonlinear thinking but tend to favor one over the other. People who are naturally drawn to linear thinking are at the most risk, as they will always gravitate towards roles that let them leverage that thinking. I think we will see an increasing amount of education resources focus almost entirely on nonlinear thinking. So, what practical steps might someone take to be hired in a future where AI will be doing some of the work where humans currently excel? Bain & Co.s Beck thinks IT pros should focus on skills like creativity, persuasion and leadership: Workers who want to future-proof their careers should invest in skills that are hard for AI to mimic. Dont focus on learning one technology, said McRae. Focus on developing your ability to adapt to new technologies. In the short-term, some jobs will require specific technology, and it can make sense to learn that technology if youre pursuing a role in such a field, but long-term, technology changes and evolves at a very rapid pace, so being adept at learning new technology is incredibly important, and is a skill top employers are seeking. There is also a spot for taking photos. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled More information about travelling in Slovakia Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide Visitors of the Kuchajda natural swimming pool in Bratislava's Nove Mesto came to see the new lookout jetty. The jettys worn out boards were the reason for its closure. At the end of last year, owner of the nearby shopping centre, the Austrian company Immofinanz, started its reconstruction. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The jetty has been renewed and there is a heart-shaped installation, representing the relations of people living in Nove Mesto towards their borough. 20 years old The new jetty and photo point are the first steps to the significantly bigger connection of the shopping centre, offices and compound of Kuchajda Lake, the Austrian company noted, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Mining giant Rio Tinto says it will invest $1.5 billion over five years in initiatives to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations and become carbon-neutral by 2050. Matching recent pledges by federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese and national carrier Qantas, the Anglo-Australian miner on Wednesday night became the latest global company to set an ambition for "net zero" emissions by 2050, and unveiled the industry's largest carbon-reduction investment to date. Rio Tinto, Australia's second-largest miner, has unveiled a $1.5 billion push to reduce emissions. As mining operations are significant sources of emissions, miners worldwide are facing a rising tide of shareholder pressure to sign up to bolder emission reduction targets and to neutralise their carbon dioxide by becoming net-zero emitters. This can include by purchasing carbon "offsets", such as tree-planting programs, which naturally store carbon, to mitigate emissions generated from their own operations. Rio Tinto's updated targets include a 15 per cent reduction in absolute emissions below 2018 levels within the next 10 years. RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy is adding 16 new schools to its Solar for Students Program, giving students across Virginia and the Carolinas a hands-on experience with solar energy. Nine schools in Virginia, one in North Carolina and six in South Carolina will have the unique chance to learn firsthand about harnessing solar energy from a solar array installed right outside the classroom. The program, which started in 2015 with four public schools, now includes a museum and 33 different schools. "We're excited to provide the opportunity for more children to learn about solar energy," said Hunter A. Applewhite, president of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. "This program will give students a better understanding of a renewable energy source that will play an important role in a clean energy future." Dominion Energy currently has more than 60 solar projects operating or under development in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and owns the fourth-largest solar fleet among utility holding companies in the United States. Investing in solar energy is part of Dominion Energy's commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The following organizations have been selected to participate in Solar for Students: Advanced Career Education Center (ACE) at Highland Springs ( Henrico County, VA ) ( ) Bowen's Corner Elementary School ( Berkeley County, SC ) ) Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Career Tech Academy ( Halifax County, VA ) ) C.S. Brown High School STEM ( Hertford County, NC ) ( ) Dinwiddie High School ( Dinwiddie County, VA ) ( ) Eau Claire High School ( Richland County, SC ) ) Gilbert High School ( Lexington County, SC ) ( ) Great Bridge Middle School ( Chesapeake City, VA ) ) Irmo High School ( Lexington County, SC ) ( ) Louisa Middle School ( Louisa County, VA ) ( ) New Horizons Regional Education Centers ( Hampton, VA ) ) Port Royal Sound Foundation ( Beaufort County, SC ) ) Quioccasin Middle School ( Henrico County, VA ) ) Riverside High School ( Loudoun County, VA ) ) Dent Middle School ( Richland County, SC ) ) Spratley Gifted Center/ Hampton City Schools ( Hampton, VA ) Each participant will receive a 1.2-kilowatt photovoltaic system that converts sunlight into electric power, as well as technical support, educational materials and training for educators. Each solar array will have a visual display that shows students and faculty real-time data on the amount of electricity generated. Each array will generate enough electricity to power up to 18 desktop computers, 40 ten-gallon aquariums or 15 42-inch LED televisions. The NEED Project (National Energy Education Development) will administer the program once again by providing technical support, coordinating the installation of solar panels, preparing educational materials for students, and training the teachers. Students will be able to track the generation of electric power by viewing their data online and can challenge other participating schools around the world to a solar power match. They will learn about their state's energy resources and how weather and temperature impact solar electricity. Students will also help choose school colors or other designs for their solar array. After the solar installations are completed, the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation will sponsor a "Solarbration" at each location to showcase the solar projects and give students, local officials and community members the chance to learn more about this collaborative learning project. For more on this program, visit www.dominionenergy.com/solarforschools. About the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation More than 7 million customers in 18 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D). Through its Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, as well as EnergyShare and other programs, Dominion Energy contributed $48 million in 2019 to community causes. The Foundation supports nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, promote education, and encourage community vitality. Please visit www.DominionEnergy.com to learn more. SOURCE Dominion Energy Related Links http://www.dominionenergy.com Maharashtra health department will start screening passengers who arrive in the state from Iran and Italy after Irans deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi was tested positive for the coronavirus and a sudden spike in the number of cases in Italy has been reported. Until now passengers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, S Korea, Japan, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia were being screened for the virus. Officials on Wednesday said that all 91 samples sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, have been tested negative. Till February 26, 53,981 travellers from 441 flights have been screened at the Mumbai International Airport. For additional screening, necessary workforce has been provided by state public health department and municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai. Field surveillance is also actively going across the state in search of people coming from the Coronavirus-affected areas. To increase surge capacity and for future preparedness, the state has established isolation wards in all district hospitals and government medical colleges. The state has 39 isolation wards and 361 beds available as on February 26. As per guidelines from ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFw), all travellers coming from Wuhan city of China are being isolated and tested for Corona whether symptomatic or asymptomatic. Travellers coming from other affected parts are being followed for 14 days. Till date, out of 304 travellers, 225 have completed their follow-up of 14 days. Apart from Mumbai, Pune and Thane, travellers are also monitored in Nanded, Buldhana, Nagpur, Wardha, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Amaravati, Palghar, Jalgaon, Chandrapur and Satara districts. By PTI MUMBAI: A Mumbai resident has filed a police complaint application seeking action against journalist Rana Ayyub for posting an "old" video purportedly of the Delhi violence, an official said on Wednesday. The complainant Ramesh Solanki claimed the video was two-year-old, and it was posted by Ayyub "with an intention to spread hatred in the society and to add more fuel to the Delhi violence". In his complaint, which he filed online on Tuesday, Solanki (50) also uploaded a photo of Rana's tweet and the twitter handle "@ranaayyub". "Please take action against this hate-monger Rana Ayyub. The video shared by Rana Ayyub is two-year-old and she is sharing it again in this situation trying to spread hatred in the society and to incite people and add more fuel to the Delhi violence. "Rana is regular at posting false rumours and defame India and Government of India, it's very necessary to take action against her before she is successful in creating communal disharmony in the country, arrest her and take legal action against her (sic)," stated the complaint. A senior Mumbai Cyber Crime official said they will first verify facts before deciding to take any action if needed. "If needed, we will transfer the complaint to the police station concerned for further investigation," he said. A 45-second video clip posted on the twitter handle @RanaAyyub on February 25 shows some men attempting to place a saffron flag and the National tricolour on what looks like a minaret, against the backdrop of billowing black smoke. "Re-posting this video after verifying its authenticity. It is from Delhi. Men marching on top of a mosque, vandalising it and placing a saffron flag over it," Ayyub tweeted. Ayyub had shared the video earlier as well but deleted it after it was alleged to be fake. She then posted it again. Twenty people have died so far and over a hundred were injured in the violence that has gripped several parts of northeast Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) since Sunday. The teerth-purohits (priests) in Uttarakhand on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat's intransigent stand over the Devasthanam Management Act which hands over the control of over 50 temples in the state, including the Chardham, to the government. The Act, passed by the state assembly in December last year, permits a government-headed panel to take over the management of temples in the state, including Chardham, whose affairs have traditionally been run by priests or "haq and hakukdharis". "The chief minister has adopted an intransigent stand on the issue which is not good for him. He must realise that we are not going to budge on our demand for abrogation of the Act," Ashok Semwal, a priest who earlier headed the Gangotri Mandir Samiti, told PTI. He said the entire teerth-purohit community feels insulted as they were not taken into confidence prior to the introduction of the Devasthanam Management legislation in the state assembly and its subsequent passage by the House. Semwal said the community's main grouse is that they were completely ignored by the government before taking such a major decision which was going to impact them directly. He also threatened that ignoring the interest of teerth-purohits "do not augur well for Trivevdra Singh Rawat's government or the Chardham yatra which is the lifeline of Uttarakhand's economy". Semwal, who was president of Gangotri Mandir Samiti from 1998 to 2000, said senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's PIL in the Uttarakhand HighCourt against the Act was a result of the collective efforts of teerth-purohits. He is currently Uttaranchal Daivi Aapda Pidit Samiti's Maneri president besides being the convenor ofMukhwaa Markanday Puri's Ganga Saptami programme. The teerth-purohits associated with the Chardham are also planning to go to court separately against the constitution of the government panel under the Act to run the affairs of over 50 temples dotting the state, Semwal said. He said they may also seek the intervention of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to ensure abrogation of the Act which is a "direct assault on the interest of teerth-purohits". On the chief minister's repeated reassurances that the Act is meant only for better management of the temples and teerth-purohits had nothing to worry, Semwal said the temple committees which had been running the affairs of these places of worship for decades were doing a good job and there was no need to constitute a state panel for the purpose. The Uttarakhand High Court had on Tuesday sent a notice to the state government seeking its response within three weeks on the PIL filed by Swamy challenging the constitutionality of the Act. The Act permits a government-headed panel to take over the management of51 prominent temples of the state, including the four famous Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The legislation has not gone down well with the teerth purohits who claim to be the traditional 'haq-hakookdharis' of the temples. Swamy filed the PIL on Monday stating that the decision of the Uttarakhand government to claim authority over the management affairs of Chardham is legally incorrect and therefore, the Devasthanam Act should be revoked. The petition said no such authority could be retained permanently by the government as per the directions of the Supreme Court in a similar case earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Residents of a village in the Swiss Alps may have to evacuate their homes for more than a decade while a massive underground munitions store from World War II is cleared. The Swiss Army depot in Mitholz, about 35 miles south of the capital Bern, contains 3,500 tonnes of ammunition and several hundred tonnes of explosives. Nine people died there in 1947 when around half of the arsenal exploded and the Swiss defence ministry now fears a second tragedy. Experts said the risk of a second explosion had been underestimated for decades and that the risk is now 'unacceptable' and 'total evacuation' was the best option. Villagers in the Swiss mountain village of Mitholz could be evacuated for a decade An explosion at the munitions store in 1947 (pictured) killed nine villagers in Mitholz The underground store has partially caved in and many of the explosives are now covered by fallen rocks. The cost of cleaning up the site is expected to significantly exceed one billion Swiss francs (790m) and will take until at least 2031. The village's 170 inhabitants, are being asked whether they would prefer to evacuate for a decade and return after the work is done or be given assistance to relocate permanently. Either way, the idyllic mountain village will become a ghost town for years. Many of the families have lived in the village for generations. 'We want to support the inhabitants as much as possible,' explained Bruno Locher, Head of Territory and Environment at the ministry. Debris from the explosion in 1947 that killed nine people in the Swiss village of Mitholz The Swiss Army depot in Mitholz, about 35 miles south of the capital Bern, contains 3,500 tonnes of ammunition and several hundred tonnes of explosives Mitholz in the Swiss Alps, which has 170 residents, could be evacuated for a decade A ministry spokesperson said: 'Depending on how the work develops, residents should expect the evacuation to last up to more than 10 years.' It also said a major road passing through the village - a collection of chalet-style homes - could be rerouted and a railway line would have to be covered. The ministry added, however, that closures of both 'may become necessary, at least temporarily'. The consultation will last until April 17. 'If the evacuation creates insurmountable problems... it would still be possible to significantly reduce the risks by covering the depot with rock,' the ministry said. The defence ministry website said thousands more tons of munitions had been dropped into several Swiss lakes but detonation could be 'practically excluded' as the explosives were not as concentrated as at Mitholz. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is planning to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with a series of gas explosions and fires that caused chaos in the Merrimack Valley in 2018, killing one person and destroying homes. Federal officials are expected to release more information Wednesday about the allegations. On Sept. 13, 2018, over-pressurized gas lines set off the explosions in the Merrimack Valley communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. Firefighters descended on the towns as multiple homes burned in unison. The explosions killed 18-year-old Leonel Rondon of Lawrence and injured more than two dozen people. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is a subsidiary of NiSource. The company supplies natural gas to about 325,000 customers in Massachusetts. Federal documents indicate Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is charged with failure to prepare and follow a procedure for the starting up and shutting down of a pipeline designed to assure operation within the maximum allowable operating pressure. Read the allegations against Columbia Gas of Massachusetts in the federal document below. Related content: Three new coronavirus cases were recently confirmed in Bahrain bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 26. According to reports, all three new cases include Bahraini women who arrived in Bahrain International Airport on indirect flights from Iran. As per reports, nine additional cases were also confirmed in which all the Baharani and Saudi citizens that were discovered to have the coronavirus were travelling from Iran via Dubai and Sharjah through Bahrain airport. All flights suspended After the discovery, it was announced that all flights from Dubai and Sharjah would be suspended for two days, starting on February 26. According to reports, the authorities on Tuesday confirmed that they were conducting tests for all those entering Bahrain from affected countries. In addition, the health ministry also asked all those who had visited Iran in the month of February to voluntarily come forward for testing. Dubai has been screening passengers on incoming flights from China, where the outbreak began. Long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad are among the few international airlines still flying to Beijing. However, the outbreak in Iran only became public in recent days. Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Hong Kong Schools To Remain Shut Till April Read: Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain To Resume Postal Services With Qatar After 3 Years Irans government said on February 24 that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicentre of the virus in the country. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian governments transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. Meanwhile, Kuwait raised the number of its infected cases from three to five people. All five were passengers returning on a flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Irans government has not yet announced a single case of the virus. The deadly coronavirus that has been officially named COVID-19 by WHO first surfaced in China's Hubei province and has already infected more than 80,000 people worldwide. Read: Bahrain Temporarily Stops Dubai, Sharjah Flights Over Virus Read: 9 Regime Fighters Killed In Northwest Syria In Turkish Shelling (With inputs from AP) Mark Esper played himself in the simulated crisis, in which Russia launched an attack on a US target in Europe The Pentagon has briefed about the simulated exchange in a move that could signal readiness to fight and win nuclear conflict. The US conducted a military exercise last week which simulated a limited nuclear exchange with Russia, a senior Pentagon official has confirmed, The Guardian writes in the article US staged 'limited' nuclear battle against Russia in war game. The war game is notable because of the defence departments highly unusual decision to brief journalists about the details and because it embodied the controversial notion that it might be possible to fight, and win, a battle with nuclear weapons, without the exchange leading to an all-out world-ending conflict. The exercise comes just weeks after the US deployed a new low-yield submarine-launched warhead commissioned by Donald Trump, as a counter to Russian tactical weapons and intended to deter their use. According to a transcript of a background briefing by senior Pentagon officials, the defence secretary, Mark Esper, took part in what was described as a mini-exercise at US Strategic Command in Nebraska. Esper played himself in the simulated crisis, in which Russia launched an attack on a US target in Europe. The scenario included a European contingency where you are conducting a war with Russia, and Russia decides to use a low-yield limited nuclear weapon against a site on Nato territory, a senior official said. And then you go through the conversation that you would have with the secretary of defense and then with the president, ultimately, to decide how to respond. The official said that in the course of [the] exercise, we simulated responding with a nuclear weapon, but described it as a limited response. The limited response could suggest the use of a small number of nuclear weapons, or an existing low-yield weapon, or the new W76-2 low-yield submarine-launched missile which was deployed in the Atlantic for the first time at the end of last year. The deployment only became public at the end of January. At the same time as describing last weeks war game, Pentagon officials defended the fielding of the W76-2. Its a very reasonable response to what we saw was a Russian nuclear doctrine and nuclear capability that suggested to us that they might use nuclear weapons in a limited way, a senior official said. The briefing was first reported by National Defense, a trade magazine of the National Defense Industrial Association. Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists, pointed out that it was extremely rare for the Pentagon to give such detailed briefings about nuclear exercises and suggested it could have been a marketing exercise for the new weapons being added to the US arsenal. Remember, its only a few weeks ago that we had the official confirmation that this new low-yield warhead had been deployed, Kristensen said. And were now moving into a new budget phase where they have to go to Congress and try to justify the next new nuclear weapon that has a low-yield capability which is a sea-launched cruise missile. So all of this has been played up to serve that process. Advocates of the new US weapons say they represent a deterrent against Moscow believing it can use a tactical nuclear weapon without a US response, as Washington would have to choose between not responding, or dramatically escalating through the use of a much more powerful strategic nuclear warhead. Arms control advocates are concerned that the leadership in both the US and Russia are developing a mindset in which their vast nuclear arsenals are not just the ultimate deterrent but weapons that could be used to win limited conflicts. Deputy Agric Minister, Kennedy Osei Nyarko who was listed as a beneficiary of a GETFUND scholarship has said that his position has been vindicated by the Auditor-General, Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelovo. He says the Auditor-General did no proper auditing when the GETFUND list was handed over to him. In a short write up, he explained that the Auditor-General has admitted in his response addressed to his Solicitor that the information contained in his audit report is from GETFund. However, he did not Audit the information supplied him by GETFund. According to him, in this regard, his position has been vindicated. He says Mr. Domelovo never delved into any document but simply relied on information supplied him by GETfund. "This is the Auditor-General of the Republic of Ghana," he said. Kennedy Osei Nyarko's Response To A-G "The Auditor-General has admitted in his response addressed to my Solicitor that the information contained in his audit report is from Getfund, and that he did not Audit the information supplied to him by Getfund. That indeed he did not demand any supporting documents in respect of any alleged payment". "That a copy of the audit report was published on its website. His office has no malice or bias towards any individual named from Getfund. "It is clear from the foregoing that my position has been Vindicated. The Auditor-General did not Audit the information supplied by his office by Getfund. Can this one too be called Proper Audit? Let Ghanaians decide," his short write up added. Deputy Minister for Agric and Member of Parliament(MP) for Akyem Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko has threatened to sue the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelovo over the publication of his name as a beneficiary of the GET fund scholarship. According to the Lawmaker, he has never taken any scholarship or never been a beneficiary of any scholarship scheme. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that the Auditor-General must have done due diligence before releasing the said beneficiary list. He stated that he started paying for his foreign school fees way back in 2000 and since then he has had never been a beneficiary of any scholarship scheme. But replying to the letter, Mr. Domelevo said his office did nothing wrong. In the Auditor-General's response, he said his office, in consonant with article (187)2 of the 1992 Constitution and Sections 13 (c) and 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584). undertook a special audit at the GETFund office spanning the period 2012 to 2018 and submitted a copy of the audit report to parliament as mandated by law. Auditor-General's Response To Kennedy Osei Nyarko 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 Solution to Be Jointly-Architected With Intel and Anticipated to Significantly Improve Open RAN Infrastructure Scalability and Economics Today, VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) and Deutsche Telekom announced the companies are collaborating on an open and intelligent virtual RAN (vRAN) platform, based on O-RAN standards, to bring agility to radio access networks (RANs) for both existing LTE and future 5G networks. The solution, architected by VMware and Intel and based on Intel's FlexRAN architecture, is planned to undergo testing and validation at Deutsche Telekom's Bonn, Germany, headquarters. While the majority of network modernization efforts start with virtualization of the core network, service providers are beginning to set their sights on realizing the benefits of end-to-end network transformation and are working to virtualize all parts of their network, including the RAN. Moving to an open vRAN helps create a more innovative RAN environment that introduces cloud economics in the radio access network environment an essential component to delivering apps and services over a 5G network. "As the traditional RAN becomes the open RAN, we need to accelerate the development of scalable high-performance open RAN solutions. Our work with VMware and Intel aims to address scalability and related economics for vRAN macro layer deployment," says Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy Technology Innovation (STI), Deutsche Telekom. "Going forward, we plan to work with the open RAN vendor ecosystem to accelerate commercial availability of solutions." The Open RAN solution architecture leverages standards-based Intel processors and FlexRAN, a vRAN software reference platform, to run vRAN workloads on top of VMware's telco cloud platform, optimized for real-time and low latency workloads. The solution will also feature a VMware-developed pre-standard, near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) that will adopt O-RAN open interfaces with required enhancements to enable real-time radio resource management capabilities to be delivered as applications on top of the platform. VMware, Deutsche Telekom and Intel are collaborating with an open partner ecosystem to develop this solution, and key initial partners include Cohere Technologies and Mavenir. "This solution brings the promise of RAN to the forefront for today's LTE networks and tomorrow's 5G networks," said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president and general manager, Telco and Edge Cloud, VMware. "In a 5G world, the RAN needs to become software-defined in order to meet the needs of CSPs, and what we're proposing with this open and intelligent vRAN platform will do exactly that." "Virtualizing the RAN is an important step in the 5G future that will enable innovative services at the edge. Through this collaboration we aim to demonstrate how standards-based hardware and software can accelerate new types of network deployments," explained Cristina Rodriguez, vice president and general manager of Intel's Wireless Access Network Division. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to customers globally, aided by an extensive ecosystem of partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005462/en/ Contacts: Angela Leaf VMware Global Communications Phone: +1 860 480 3367 aleaf@vmware.com Environmentalists have seized on the visit of BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink to Australia to demand the world's largest fund manager fully divest its holdings of thermal coal producers. Mr Fink is in Australia this week to meet with major superannuation funds, which have money in BlackRock's offerings. Based in New York, BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world with US$7.4 trillion ($11.2 trillion) under its control, most of which is in "passive" funds. Last month the fund manager made global headlines when it pledged to divest its holdings of thermal coal stocks as part of what Mr Fink described as a "fundamental reshaping of finance". Larry Fink is currently in Australia visiting clients. Credit:Louise Kennerley However, the restriction only applies to companies that generate more than 25 per cent of their revenues from thermal coal, thus allowing BlackRock to put money in major producers such as BHP and Glencore. The new policy also only applies to the company's actively managed funds, that make up 27 per cent of total assets, and not its passive products which track the performance of indices. Almost 80m was spent on overtime to keep Northern Ireland's crisis-hit health service running over a three-year period. Expenditure increased by more than 20% in that time, with staff working four million additional hours. The annual overtime bill has risen from 23.5m in 2016/17 to 28m in 2018/19. One health trust, the South Eastern, saw a 40% jump. It is the latest revelation about the huge costs of addressing staff shortages in our health service. Around 640,000 a day is also spent on agency staff to fill gaps in the workforce. The annual bill is predicted to hit 230m this year. In November this newspaper revealed one agency had been paid 1,600 to cover a single shift. In some cases, trusts have spent up to 155 an hour on agency workers. The Belfast Telegraph reported how the Ambulance Service had spent 18m on overtime in three years to cover gaps. Sinn Fein's Colm Gildernew, who sits on the Stormont health committee, said the rising costs of agency staff and latest revelations on overtime was symptomatic of a workforce crisis. The MLA said the committee would raise the issue when it meets later this week. Officials from the Department of Health are due to brief members on a workforce strategy tomorrow. The Department of Health's workforce bulletin shows there were 7,203 vacancies across the system as of October 2019. The latest bulletin is due to be published today. Overtime costs, detailed in documents obtained by this newspaper, show: 76.7m was spent on overtime in three years across Northern Ireland's five health trusts; Some 4.1m extra hours were worked - rising from 1.2m hours in 2016/17 to 1.5m in 2018/19; The Belfast Trust - the largest trust - had the highest bill (32.5m), with costs rising 30.5% in three years. The South Eastern Trust saw its overtime expenditure rise by around 40%, from 3.5m to 5m. One admin worker in the Belfast Trust claimed 38,316 in overtime in 2018/19, while numerous other payments of 20,000-plus were made by trusts across the three years. One 'domestic services' worker at the South Eastern Trust worked 1,942 hours of overtime last year - based on an eight-hour day, that is equivalent to 243 extra days. Mr Gildernew said it was clear that the health service's workforce shortage needed to be urgently addressed. "The Department of Health needs to bring forward a detailed workforce strategy that will begin to address vacancies in the Health and Social Care system in the immediate and medium term," he said. "This needs to be considered in line with Minister (Robin) Swann's commitment to health unions to introduce a costed implementation plan for safe staffing levels within a short period. "The high rate of agency staff spend is not a new development and along with wider workforce issues, will be raised by the health committee when it questions the Department of Health this week. "Safe staffing levels and the reliance on overtime and agency staff is an issue that needs addressed urgently." People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, who also sits on the health committee, called for an end to the reliance on agency workers and staff overtime. "This figure reflects a lot of what staff and their unions have been highlighting for years - that we have a serious issue with workforce planning across the health trusts," he said. "We are faced with an overworked and underfunded health service and, instead of forking out huge sums of public money to agencies, staff should be properly recruited and employed by the health service. "Now more than ever we must invest in and recruit staff that are paid a fair wage and not forced into working extra hours just to pay the bills." The Belfast Telegraph reported last week that an international drive to recruit 622 nurses by March 2020 from overseas has achieved just half its target. Some 420 new registered adult nurses have been recruited from EU and non-EU countries since the scheme began in January 2016. Of these, 374 remain in post. Responding to an Assembly question, Mr Swann said he was confident the target will be met, adding: "Recent numbers have been increasing and current trends indicate that the target of 622 will be reached - and perhaps exceeded - within the coming months." And last Thursday, British Medical Association Northern Ireland chairman Dr Tom Black told a Stormont co mmittee that an extra 1,000 consultants will be needed over the next 15 years. The Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment. (Natural News) The Elmhurst branch of the Queens Public Library in New York City announced on Friday that it would take down a Chinese government exhibit falsely depicting children in Tibet as happily learning the Tibetan language and living freely a far cry from the repressive reality Beijing has imposed on the region. (Article by Frances Martel republished from Breitbart.com) New Yorks local government only took down the exhibit after more than a week of protests from the local Tibetan community, which includes many former political prisoners under communism and refugees who endured the full brunt of Beijings human rights abuses. The Tibetans say that the exhibit did not appear to be advertised, but, as members of the community, they were broadsided by images promoted by the U.S. government hiding the suffering of their relatives back home. While the exhibit is set to be taken down this weekend, many questions surrounding the incident remain unanswered. Mayor Bill de Blasio, when confronted on Wednesday by a member of the Tibetan community concerned about Chinese infiltration of American institutions, said he had no idea the exhibit was there. New York City has not yet made public who approved the exhibit or how it came to be. Had Tibetan Americans not encountered it on routine visits to their local library, it might still be there. We are residents of Queens and the neighborhood around the Queens Library, Ngawang Tashi, the vice president of the U.S. Tibet Committee, told Breitbart News on Friday. So we are used to going there for studying and reading books, etc. Last week, one of our neighbors went there and noticed pictures hanging on the glass walls stating that Tibet is happy and [Tibetans] have the right to learn their languages and all the development China has given Tibet. Activists from Students for a Free Tibet visited and realized this was Chinese propaganda: Most offensive to the Tibetans was an image of three children holding up scrolls in the Tibetan language, clearly appearing to be learning it. China banned children from learning Tibetan last year and has imposed Mandarin, the language of the Han ethnic majority in the country. Tibetans in the region have self-immolated to protest the erasure of their language. The main focus of the exhibition is to show that Tibetans in Tibet are happily enjoying religious, cultural, and language rights under [the] well-developed CCP [Chinese Communist Party] government, Tashi explained. They exhibited pictures of kids enjoying writing Tibetan scripts, people dancing, and the introduction says that different Tibetan communities are enjoying their religious rights, human rights, and so on. Tashi told Breitbart News the exhibit also claimed that parts of India and Nepal were Chinese sovereign territory. The New York Tibetan community began protesting the exhibit almost immediately after discovering it, organizing a rally outside of the library two weeks ago. In response, the Chinese consulate in New York insisted that Tibet was part of a sovereign Tibet and happily so. In response to a request for comment from the local outlet Gothamist, the Chinese consulate refused to call Tibet Tibet, instead using the Mandarin term Xizang. Xizang has been part of China since ancient times. Xizang affairs are purely Chinas internal affairs that allow no foreign interference. During the past 60 years or so, Xizang has seen historical progress in economic, social, cultural, ecological and other areas, the statement read in part, continuing: Today, it enjoys sound economic growth, social stability, ethnic solidarity, religious harmony, cultural vitality, well-preserved ecological environment and improving living-standards. People of all ethnic groups in the Xizang Autonomous Region endorse wholeheartedly the policies of Chinas central government and the regional government. Last week, Students for a Free Tibet revealed that library officials had rejected their request to take the exhibit down. There are so many young Tibetans who go to this library and now they have to see an exhibition that shows that everything is fine in Tibet, when in reality they know about the plight of their families in Tibet, Pema Doma, campaigns director at Students for a Free Tibet, said in a statement after the Queens Public Library rejected their petition. Imagine if a library had an exhibit which showed white Americans in blackface. This is how we Tibetans feel when we see photos on display of Chinese people proudly appropriating Tibetan dress. The Tibetans organized more protests in response and took their grievances directly to Mayor Bill de Blasio. While de Blasio identifies as a far-leftist and has supported communist regimes in the past, he appeared offended at the idea of communist propaganda appearing at a New York library and vowed to remove it. Youve got my full attention, de Blasio told a Tibetan community member at a town hall on Wednesday. I did not hear that one before. I am exceedingly critical of the Chinese government, the way they have oppressed people and taken away their human rights. No one has suffered more than the Tibetan people. So I did not have any reason to believe that any of our library systems would present the Chinese government point of view. I would have assumed the other way around, honestly, and Id be getting the complaint from the Chinese government, de Blasio said, adding that he would immediately address the issue with relevant officials: Two days later, the Queens Public Library system announced it would remove the exhibit. [T]he Chinese Consulate and its affiliate made the decision to discontinue the exhibit, which will be removed by tomorrow morning, the Queens Library said in a statement on Friday. We thank the Tibetan community for their ongoing conversations with us, and we look forward to future collaboration with them. Tashi told Breitbart News this was the first exhibit of his kind that his group was aware of, in which Chinese government officials peddled communist propaganda in local public institutions in America. China has more publicly focused on academic institutions, founding Confucius institutes that pressure American academics not to deviate from Chinas false territorial claims on places like Tibet, Taiwan, and international waters in the South China Sea. Chinese officials also regularly pressure American politicians and academics not to speak up about human rights abuses against ethnic minorities like Tibetans and Uyghurs and not to support protesters in Hong Kong. They also threaten Hollywood movie studios not to tell stories that question the greatness of the Communist Party if they wish to maintain access to the lucrative Chinese theater market. President Donald Trump has branded China a strategic competitor and empowered his State Department to combat Communist Party lies on the dire state of human rights in the country, particularly against ethnic minorities. Chinese officials appear to have recalibrated their propaganda tactics in response, cutting deals with local governments and pressuring them to promote the Partys interests while Washington is not looking. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned local governments that China had expanded pressure on them to promote Beijings interests: But sometimes Chinas activities arent quite that public, and I want to talk about some of that today. Let me read you an excerpt of a letter from a Chinese diplomat. It was Chinas Consul General in New York sent a letter last month to the speaker of one of your state legislatures. Heres what the letter said in part. It said, quote, As we all know, Taiwan is part of China avoid engaging in any official contact with Taiwan, including sending congratulatory messages to the electeds, introducing bills and proclamations for the election, sending officials and representatives to attend the inauguration ceremony, and inviting officials in Taiwan to visit the United States. End of quote from the letter. Think about that. You had a diplomat from China assigned here to the United States, a representative of the Chinese Communist Party in New York City, sending an official letter urging that an American elected official shouldnt exercise his right to freedom of speech. Let that sink in for just a minute. And this isnt a one-off event. Its happening all across the country. Chinese consulates in New York, in Illinois, in Texas, and two in California, bound by the diplomatic responsibilities and rights of the Vienna Convention, are very politically active at the state level, as is the embassy right here in Washington, D.C. Maybe some of you have heard about the time when the Chinese consulate paid the UC-San Diego students to protest the Dalai Lama. Or last August, when former governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi received a letter from a diplomat in the consuls office in Houston, threatening to cancel a Chinese investment if the governor chose to travel to Taiwan. Phil went anyway. Last year, a high school a high school, a high school in Chicago disinvited a Taiwanese representative to serve on a climate panel after Chinese pressure. Its one thing to pressure the Secretary of State of the United States of America. It seems quite something else to go after a high school principal. It shows depth. It shows systemization. It shows intent. Chinese Communist Party officials, too, are cultivating relationships with county school board members and local politicians often through what are known as sister cities programs. Across the Hudson River from New York, Chinas relationships with local school board members prompted a bitter fight between Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and his Board of Education in January. Fulop moved to attempt to make school board seats appointed positions, rather than elected ones so that he could remove individuals he considered an embarrassment to the city: Bottom line is were asking for the tools to fix it. In the last 3 years: 5 board members resign midterm 1 board member overseas for the yr 1 board member indicted 1 board member saying public anti Semitic comments 1 board member w/ethics charges huge budget gap Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) January 3, 2020 The member overseas is Board Trustee Mussab Ali, currently in China studying under Tsinghua Universitys Schwarzman Scholars program. Tsinghua is dictator Xi Jinpings alma mater. From China last month, Ali complained that Fulops attempt to make positions appointed rather than elected was nothing short of political greed. In February, Matt Schapiro, a former Jersey City Board of Education trustee, filed a complaint against Ali with the states Department of Education, protesting that there has been a lawless environment among the Jersey City Board of Education and it is impossible for Ali to serve Jersey City students while spending a year in China. The Chinese Communist Party has banned children from learning Tibetan, forcing them to learn Mandarin instead, and banned those under 18 from engaging in religious activities. This keeps Tibetans from passing down their Buddhist beliefs, as it also represses Uyghur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, and the ever-growing numbers of Chinese Christians. Beijing regularly detains Tibetans for insufficient loyalty to Beijing and has branded the Tibetan Buddhist religious leader, the Dalai Lama, a terrorist and Islamic State sympathizer. China has also reportedly begun using the ongoing coronavirus outbreak to persecute Tibetans speaking freely, claiming it necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation and rumors. Among the banned activity local activists have documented have been prayers for those suffering from the virus. Read more at: Breitbart.com Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian criticized on Wednesday the results of corruption investigations conducted by Armenian law-enforcement authorities during his rule, saying that so far they have recovered only up to $80 million in funds stolen from the state. Pashinian said the sum makes up a fraction of the financial damage which Armenia has suffered in the last 30 years as a consequence of corruption-related crimes. Can we guarantee that the law-enforcement system is now fully and wholeheartedly performing its functions in the fight against corruption? Unfortunately, I cannot give a definitely positive answer [to this question,] he said at a meeting with the heads of Armenias law-enforcement agencies. Armenia has suffered billions of dollars worth of damage as a result of corrupt activities of high-ranking officials, and I, as the leader of Armenia, received a popular mandate also for my pledges to recover those billions, he told them. So I expect the law-enforcement bodies to live up to our peoples just expectations. Pashinian complained that investigators have failed to prevent some corruption suspects from fleeing the country and to find evidence of current or former state officials connection to illegally acquired assets. In that context, he spoke of traitors in the highest echelons of the law-enforcement system who he said had ulterior goals. Pashinian did not name names in his opening remarks at the meeting publicized by his press office. The office released no details of his ensuing discussion the top security officials. It said only that they discussed further steps in the fight against corruption. Pashinian has repeatedly claimed to have eliminated systemic corruption in Armenia after coming to power in the 2018 Velvet Revolution. The number of corruption cases brought by Armenian law-enforcement authorities has risen significantly since the dramatic change of government. The most high-profile of these cases have involved former top government officials and individuals linked to them. Armenia has improved its position in an annual survey of corruption perceptions around the world conducted by Transparency International. It ranked, together with Bahrain and the Solomon Islands, 77th out of 180 countries and territories evaluated in the Berlin-based watchdogs 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released last month. INDIANAPOLIS - A man charged with shooting two southern Indiana judges outside of an Indianapolis fast food restaurant last year claims in a Tuesday court filing that he acted in self-defence. The filing claims that Brandon Kaiser was pulling on a locked door and trying to enter a downtown White Castle when the judges approached him in a hostile manner, slammed him to the ground, choked him, beat him and kicked him in the head. The defendant, who was repeatedly beaten, choked and slammed around, was reasonable to fear that this assault would result in his death or injury, the notice of affirmative defence said. Kaiser faces 14 charges, including four felony counts of aggravated battery, in connection with the May 1 shooting of Clark County judges Andrew Adams and Brad Jacobs. The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications announced disciplinary charges in October against Adams, Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Court Judge Sabrina Bell, who was also present during the incident. The judges, who were in Indianapolis for a judicial conference, had been bar-hopping before going to the restaurant. They were outside the restaurant when Kaiser and his nephew Alfredo Vazquez drove by in an SUV. Court documents say one of the men yelled something out a window that prompted Bell to give them the middle finger. Vazquez parked the SUV and a verbal altercation turned violent. Kaiser drew a weapon and shot Adams in the stomach, documents in the disciplinary and criminal cases say. Kaiser then shot Jacobs twice in the chest. Kaiser and Vazquez then drove away. A jury trial has been scheduled for March 16. A grand jury indicted Adams for his role in the fight. Adams, who admitted to kicking Kaiser, pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanour count of battery but avoided jail time. Vazquez was sentenced to 180 days on home detention and a year on probation for violating probation and for misdemeanour battery. In an urgent midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked police to ensure safe passage and emergency treatment to injured people stuck in north east Delhis Al Hind hospital. The hearing, held at 12:30 am at the residence of Delhi HC judge Justice S Muralidhar, was attended by joint commissioner Alok Kumar and DCP (crime) Rajesh Deo. Delhi government counsel Sanjoy Ghose was also present at the hearing. The matter was taken up on a call by advocate Suroor Mander, who said that several injured people at the Al Hind Hospital in the New Mustafabad area, were unable to be moved to the GTB hospital and needed urgent medical attention. Mander, in her petition, sought safe passage of ambulance both to the Al Hind Hospital and from the hospital for the injured victims. Also read: In midnight intervention, NSA Ajit Doval reviews situation in north-east Delhi At the hearing, Suroor made the judge speak to Dr Anwar from the Al Hind Hospital on speaker phone. The doctor informed the judges that at the hospital, there are two dead and around 22 injured at the hospital, who were in need of assistance from Delhi police since 4 pm on Tuesday evening but no such help was made available. The court was informed that the rioters were not allowing the ambulance to pass and since the situation is tense, the doctors wanted the police to help in the safe shifting of the patients from Al Hind hospital to GTB hospital. The Court said that, at this stage, it is primarily concerned about ensuring the safety of lives of the injured and immediate medical attention. The Court accordingly directed the Delhi Police to ensure such safe passage by deploying all the resources at its command and on the strength of this order and to ensure that apart from the safe passage, the injured victims receive immediate emergency treatment , if not at GTB, then at LNJP or Maulana azad or any other government hospital. While the order was being dictated the DCP east managed to reach the Al Hind Hospital and confirmed Rajesh Deo that the police was in process of evacuating the injured near the nearest hospital. Also read: Communal riot rages on in Capital; 13 dead The petitioner also told the Court that the information about the injured admitted to the hospital is not available with their immediate relatives and friends and that there should be some arrangement in the form of medical or police control rooms or desks at the major hospital including GTB, LNJP, Maulana Azad to provide information on request. Rajesh Deo stated that the police would work out a mechanism to make available the above information and keep the Court apprisedd. The court directed that a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them, be placed before this court later today when the matter is taken up for hearing at 2.30 pm. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Marzio Toniolo works as a primary school teacher in the small, quiet northern Italian town of San Fiorano. Until recently, he would usually spend his weekday mornings riding a bicycle to work and teaching children. Now, he is one of about 50,000 people whose lives are on hold. They have been placed under quarantine as Italy tries to contain Europes worst outbreak of coronavirus. Italian officials say Lombardy and Veneto, two areas in the countrys north, have the largest number of cases. Many businesses are closed, and people speak to each other from a safe distance. Marzio Toniolo says he has trouble explaining the situation to his grandfather. We told my grandpa 100 times that the bar is not open because of the Spanish flu, to make him understand, Toniolo said. He is very angry and very old, he added. Toniolo was speaking about the deadly disease that killed millions of people after World War I. San Fiorano is only about 70 kilometers from Italys financial capital, Milan. But the town has effectively been closed off from the outside world. Italian officials have reported that San Fiorano and nine neighboring towns were the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Living under quarantine Toniolo lives with his grandparents, who are both in their 80s, his wife Chiara Zuddas and their two-year-old daughter. We can take walks. We can walk our dogs... We can ride bikes, but the authorities have suggested that we should avoid contact with other people, he said. Police put up barriers at the entrance of the town. Anyone who tries to escape faces up to three months in prison or a fine of up to $220. Like her husband, Zuddas is a primary school teacher. She has created a WhatsApp messaging group to keep in contact with her students. Even if they are very young, I understood that they needed to hear from us and we needed to hear from them. I didnt do this to carry on with the school program, but to maintain human contact, she said. Next Wednesday, I am going to do an English exam via WhatsApp, she added. The family regularly tests body temperatures with a thermometer to make sure none of them are getting sick. They and other families are counting down the days to when the 2-week quarantine ends. We know that we may be infected and that we may already have contracted the coronavirus, said Toniolo, adding that they were watching television stations to stay informed of what was happening. Lets hope everything will be fine. I have friends who have contracted the coronavirus these days, but they already feel better, he said. They told me not to worry. Im Susan Shand. The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________ Words in This Story primary - adj. relating to the education of young children bicycle - n. a 2-wheeled vehicle that a person rides by pushing on foot pedals quarantine - v. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading outbreak - n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease bar - n. a building or room where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Feb. 25 criticized China and Iran for allegedly covering up cases of the new coronavirus and warned that the possible suppression of information may hinder the global response to the outbreak. Had China permitted its ownand foreign journalists and medical personnelto speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge, Pompeo told reporters during State Department news conference on Tuesday. He accused the Chinese Communist Party of censorship and of hiding the severity of the deadly COVID-19 illness while condemning the governments decision to expel three Wall Street Journal reporters last week. Pompeo said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel. Expelling our journalists exposes once again the governments issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences, Pompeo said. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been sickened by the virus, although outside medical experts have questioned the number of cases that are being reported by Chinese health authorities. Pompeo also said Iranian authorities must tell the truth about the virus amid signs the outbreak there may be far wider than officially acknowledged. The virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, emerged in the city of Wuhan, China in late 2019 and has since spread to dozens of countries. There has been a rapid increase in the number of cases in Italy, Iran, and South Korea this week, among other nations. Dozens of people have died around the world outside of China from the virus, which causes a disease that brings similar symptoms to influenza, including fever, headache, and difficulty breathing. Iran currently has the second-highest number of deaths after China. Its government said Monday that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a death toll of 50 people by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. The lawmaker, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, claims the death toll dates back to Feb. 13. Iran first officially reported cases of the virus and its first deaths on Feb. 19. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian governments transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. Pompeo said the United States is deeply concerned by information indicating that the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country. The Secretary of States comments condemning the nations came as the head of an Iranian health minister, Iraj Harirchi, who had urged the public not to overreact about the spread of the virus tested positive for the illness himself. Harirchithe head of Irans task force to stop the spread of COVID-19confirmed he was infected in a video posted online by the state-run Fars News Agency. I wanted to tell you that I got corona, said Harirchi, according to a translation from The Guardian. I had a fever yesterday. The tests came back positive last night. I isolated myself. Just a few moments ago, I was told that the final test came. Ill start taking medicine. Generally, I feel fine. I just felt a bit tired, I had a fever, and it will drop. According to the BBC, Harirchi was seen wiping his forehead during a press conference before he tested positive for the virus. The number of infections in Iran has risen to 61, according to its health ministry. First cases of the virus have also been reported in five neighboring countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, and Afghanistan, with all patients having links to Iran. Some infected by the virus traveled directly from a city in Iran where confirmed COVID-19 cases have not been reported by authorities. In response to the outbreak in Iran, the UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority said it would cut off flights to and from the country. The UAE is home to international carriers Emirates and Ethiad, and reports noted that Iranians are heavily dependent on using its airports. Take care of yourselves, said Harirchi. This virus is a democrat virus! It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor or official and nonofficial and anyone could get it. Pompeo added that the number one priority is to protect the United States from further spread of the virus after new cases were confirmed in a number of countries this week. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday said Americans should prepare for community spread of the disease. The Associated Press and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. From The Epoch Times Amid Coronavirus Outbreak In Iran, Political Prisoners Should be Granted Furlough, Say Relatives 02/26/20 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Grave Concerns About the Spread of COVID-19 in Iranian Prisons Political Prisoners Hashem Khastar (L) and Mohammad Nourizad Relatives of prisoners of conscience who were imprisoned in Iran after publicly calling on the supreme leader to resign have called on Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi to allow their loved ones to go on furlough (temporary leave) to protect them from contracting the potentially deadly coronavirus. "Given the very worrying news about the spread of the coronavirus in the country's prisons, we the families of 14 political prisoners held in Mashhad, Tehran and Kashan prisons, who petitioned [for Ali Khamenei's resignation], call on the state to release them or grant them furlough, especially the women prisoners, as soon as possible to prevent a great humanitarian catastrophe," said an open letter signed by "some of the families" that was published online on February 24, 2020. The families also called on officials "to put all prisons under quarantine in order to stop the spread of this dangerous disease among the prisoners." To date, Iranian officials have not commented on unconfirmed reports that prisoners in three prisons around the country have contracted the virus that's officially called COVID-19. The families' letter was published online after the wives of two of the imprisoned dissidents informed the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) that they were extremely concerned about their husbands who had fallen ill in state custody. Prisoner of conscience Mohammad Nourizad was in serious condition after going on a long hunger strike to protest his unjust incarceration in the Iranian city of Mashhad, his wife told CHRI on February 17. The wife of fellow prisoner of conscience Hashem Khastar told CHRI that her husband was also ill. Both men were imprisoned in August 2019 after signing an open letter published online in June 2019 along with 12 other dissidents calling on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to resign. Nourizad has been banned from receiving visitors or making phone calls since being transferred from the Intelligence Ministry's detention center in Mashhad to the city's Vakilabad Prison on February 12. "He was not feeling well at all when we visited him on Sunday, February 9," his wife Fatemeh Maleki told CHRI. "He was not feeling well during previous visits either but this time he told us his condition could get worse at any moment. He was not talking normally." Maleki added that her husband almost fainted during their last visit and was carried away by intelligence agents: "I was there with his mother, my daughter and my son, who had recently been released from prison. Mr. Nourizad told us, 'I have made my decision. I will throw my corpse at these people [Iranian officials].' Ten minutes later he hunched over and almost fell on the floor. We caught him from falling and the intelligence agents took him away." Nourizad has been imprisoned since August 11, 2020. After a preliminary trial earlier this month, the filmmaker and activist was sentenced to 15 years in prison, three years in exile in the city of Izeh, Khuzestan Province, and banned from traveling abroad after being convicted of the charges "forming an illegal organization" against the country's security and "propaganda against the state." "He refused food and medicines for three months," his wife told CHRI. "He has broken his hunger strike but is still refusing medications. He's not taking his pills for sugar and heart problems. As a result, he loses consciousness and passes out. He wants to be free. He says, 'I haven't committed a crime or anything to be in prison.'" Maleki added: "Our visits took place in a safe location that looked like a normal house. They would bring Mr. Nourizad from the Intelligence Ministry's detention center and I would see him. When he got sick and they took him away, I shouted, 'You have to free him. He needs to be under [medical] observation.'" Nourzad's attorney Mohammad Hossein Aghasi has also expressed concern for his client's health. "Mr. Nourizad is not consenting to pleas by friends and relatives and me to stop refusing medications so now he is passing out more frequently and there are fears we could lose him. I asked the court to release him on bail and the bail was set but the authorities are refusing to accept it," Aghasi tweeted on February 7. CHRI has learned that a fellow prisoner of conscience Hashem Khastar, who signed the same letter as Nourizad, is also in poor physical health. "Mr. Khastar, who was in the Intelligence Ministry's detention center in Mashhad for seven months, has become very weak but he's well mentally," his wife Sedigheh Maleki told CHRI. "They sentenced him to 16 years in prison and three years in exile in Nikshahr [Sistan and Baluchistan Province] and banned him from traveling abroad for three years," she added. "During our last visit he told us, 'We haven't done anything wrong.' He rejected the verdict." She continued: "The first charge against him is related to the letter signed [against Khamenei] and they accused him of forming a group [against the state] for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. They also sentenced him to one year in prison for propaganda against the state and 10 years for a channel created outside the country in his name on Telegram [messaging app]. Sedigheh Maleki added: "Intelligence agents have taken away all our phones and tablets and therefore we have no access to this channel. Mr. Khastar has no managerial role or contacts with this channel. He is in prison. Still, they sentenced him to 10 years in prison for this. My only wish is that all freedom-seekers in the world would voice support for us." Khastar has been banned from receiving visitors or making phone calls since being moved to Vakilabad Prison from the Intelligence Ministry's detention center on February 12. Read this article in Persian. Related report: FILE PHOTO: The Mattel company logo is seen at the 114th North American International Toy Fair in New York City (Reuters) - Mattel Inc had received a subpoena in December from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking documents related to a whistleblower letter and subsequent investigation, the U.S. toymaker said in a filing on Tuesday. In connection with the letter, an independent investigation by Mattel's audit committee and a separate probe by the company's external auditor found that the lead audit partner of the external auditor violated SEC rules. (https://bit.ly/2VyctQ7) Mattel had disclosed in August that it received the anonymous letter. (Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) (Newser) A woman zipped her boyfriend in a suitcase, ignored his pleas for help as she berated him with allegations of abuse and cheating, and ultimately left him to die, according to police in Florida. Sarah Boonearrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder in the Monday death of Jorge Torres, Jr.instead claims the death came as a result of a hide-and-seek game gone wrong. Boone, of the Orlando suburb of Winter Park, told authorities that the pair, both 42, had been drinking before she put Torres in the suitcase as a joke, per NBC News. She said she passed out before waking hours later to find her boyfriend unresponsive in the confined space. Authorities responding to her 911 call around 1pm confirmed Torres, who had a bruised eye and cut on his lip, had died, per WKMG. story continues below Two videos found on Boone's cellphone, which she allowed authorities to search, dispute her "inconsistent" account, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. In one video, Torres is heard screaming Boones name, deputies said, per Fox News. The other video shows the suitcase in a different position, reportedly facing downward. "I can't f---ing breathe, seriously," Torres is heard saying, according to an arrest report. "Yeah, that's what you do when you choke me ... That's what I feel like when you cheat on me," Boone allegedly responded. "For everything you've done to me, f--- you," she reportedly added while laughing. At one point, she allegedly told Torres to "shut the f--- up." An autopsy is pending. (There's been a guilty plea in this suitcase murder.) Donald Trump attacked a handful of his potential general election foes after a Tuesday night Democratic debate he called "crazy" and "chaotic," ending his critique with this plea: "Just give me an opponent!" Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is considered the Democratic frontrunner following his showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada including his wide margin of victory over the weekend in the latter but the president had critical words for several Democratic candidates. Reporters traveling with the president as he arrived early Wednesday morning back at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after a state visit to India filed a dispatch in which they heard Mr Trump appear to confirm he watched what was the 10th Democratic debate on Air Force One during the long flight home. His critique was limited to two tweets, but was chock full of attacks on various members of the still-crowded Democratic field. "Crazy, chaotic Democrat Debate last night. Fake News said Biden did well, even though he said half of our population was shot to death. Would be OVER for most," he wrote of former Vice President Joe Biden. Mr Biden remains ahead in the latest polls from South Carolina, where voters will head to the polls on Saturday. It would be the former Democratic frontrunner's first victory, if he can hold off a surging Mr Sanders. He also had this for former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has sat out early primaries and caucuses, but polls well against the incumbent GOP president. "Mini Mike was weak and unsteady, but helped greatly by his many commercials (which are not supposed to be allowed.......during a debate)," he wrote, taking another swipe at the former Big Apple chief executive's height. The president again used his preferred nickname for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who once made false claims about her own alleged Native American ancestry, writing: "Pocahontas was mean, & undisciplined, mostly aiming at Crazy Bernie and Mini Mike." Mr Trump has predicted Ms Warren will not get the Democratic nomination. Still, in recent days, he has tried to paint her as angry -- and attempt to contend she lacks the temperament for his job. Yet, he seems to have a newfound respect for Ms Warren as she has gotten more aggressive during debates, tweeting the other candidates on stage "don't know how to handle her." He then took another shot at the Oklahoma-born conservative-turned-progressive, claiming this: "I know she is a "chocker". He appeared to mean choker, meaning she does not have the ability to win the nomination after briefly being the Democrats' frontrunner. Mr Trump will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday about his administration's plans to combat the Coronavirus amid a stock market tumble over worries it could spread. From there, he will return to the campaign trail with stops in South Carolina on its primary eve on Friday night and North Carolina on Monday night ahead of its Super Tuesday primary. In between, he will speak on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); in previous years, it has been used by Mr Trump as another political campaign event to rev up his base. Ahead of the crucial meet of Digital Communications Commission (DCC) on the AGR issue, Vodafone Idea is staring at a fresh lease of life. Despite an AGR burden of Rs 53,000 crore, there are reasons for Vodafone Idea to look forward to a better future. The telco has reportedly written a letter to the government asking for adjustment of Rs 8,000 crore of Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund towards AGR dues. In addition, the telco has requested deferment of the AGR payment schedule. Vodafone Idea is also batting for reducing license fee from existing 8 per cent to 3 per cent, and spectrum usage charges (SUC) from about 3 per cent currently to 1 per cent. These demands have been raised just before a meeting between Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and others on Thursday. As the highest decision-making authority in the Telecom Ministry, DCC members are likely to discuss relief measures for telcos such as giving soft loans to them to pay up their AGR dues, and easier payment terms on components like interest, penalty, and interest on penalty, which together constitute nearly 74 per cent of the overall AGR dues. A soft loan is essentially a loan given on lenient terms as compared to the usual loans available in the market. ALSO READ: Bharti Airtel can survive Rs 35,586 crore AGR blow, says Moody's Vodafone Idea is also reportedly mulling over seeking funds against its 11.5 per cent stake in Indus Towers, which is the largest tower company in the country. The funds generated from the deal would help relieve the liquidity crunch in the telco. Market sources say that the last week's meeting between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and telco bosses - Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal - went well. The Minister reportedly assured them of providing relief to the distressed sector. Since then, market has been abuzz with reports of some kind of relief could be on the way for telcos. "Even if some of the Vodafone Idea's demands are met, it would have a fair chance of revival despite the tough conditions that it is facing," says a telecom analyst. "I think that the chances of the telecom sector's revival, including that of Vodafone Idea's, would be credible if the government is ready to review the policy. Unless something major is decided upon that includes rescheduling of the large payments, Vodafone Idea would still be in the woods," says Mahesh Uppal, director at NCR-based consultancy firm ComFirst, referring to the 'half-hearted' measure announced by the committee of secretaries (CoS) in November that gave two-year moratorium on spectrum payment instalments for 2020-21 and 2021-22. ALSO READ: Vodafone's plight continues, loses 4 crore subscribers in 2 months Earlier, there were reports that the government is looking at bringing ordinance to change the definition of AGR which would provide succor to the sector. The proposal didn't seem to go anywhere as there were several issues with it. Telcos like Vodafone Idea and Airtel have thus far suffered back-to-back setbacks from the Supreme Court in their pursuit of seeking relief in the AGR matter. After the rap from the court in February, Vodafone Idea has submitted Rs 3,500 crore with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) while Airtel has deposited Rs 10,000 crore with a promise to pay the remaining amount before March 17 - the next date of hearing on the matter. As per some reports, DoT's own estimates on AGR dues seem to be differing from telcos', and the department has asked telcos to submit documents supporting their internal estimates. The total dues of telcos are likely to jump as license fee dues for 2017-18 and 2018-19 are expected to be added in the final calculation which are not currently part of the Rs 1.47 lakh crore dues. ALSO READ: AGR stricken Hughes Network denies reports of exiting India By Ryotaro Nakamaru, KYODO NEWS - Feb 26, 2020 - 21:05 | All, Japan The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that Japan's plan to release radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the environment meets global standards of practice in the industry. The comment by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi made during a tour of the facility that was devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 comes amid strong opposition to the plan from local fishermen and neighboring South Korea. "Whatever way forward must be based on a scientific process, a process which is based on a scientifically based and proven methodology," Grossi told reporters after the tour. "It is obvious that any methodology can be criticized. What we are saying from a technical point of view is that this process is in line with international practice," he said. (IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (front)) This is a common way to release water at nuclear power plants across the globe, even when they are not in emergency situations, he said. The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the crippled complex at the time, are considering ways to safely dispose of the more than 1 million tons of water contaminated with radioactive materials after being used to cool the melted fuel cores at the plant that straddles the towns of Okuma and Futaba. The water, which is increasing at a pace of about 170 tons a day, is being treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants other than the relatively nontoxic tritium. The water is being stored in tanks on the facility's premises but space is expected to run out by summer 2022. Methods being discussed include releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean and evaporating it, both of which the government says will have minimal effect on human health. But local fishermen have voiced strong opposition to such plans for fear that Japanese consumers would shun seafood caught nearby. South Korea, which currently bans imports of seafood from the area, has also repeatedly voiced concern about the environmental impact. Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who succeeded the late Yukiya Amano as IAEA director general in December, said the Vienna-based organization is prepared to help put the international community at ease. (Photo taken in January 2019 shows tanks in which radioactively contaminated water is stored within the compounds of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.) "What the IAEA can do, at the request of Japan, is to provide support, advice when the process starts. This can take different forms, for example, we can assist in the monitoring of the water previous to its controlled release into the environment," Grossi said. "What this does is provide the public in general, be it in Tokyo, Seoul, Buenos Aires, or Washington, the assurance of what exactly is happening," he said. In a speech to TEPCO employees at the plant, Grossi voiced appreciation for their hard work on the decommissioning process, which is scheduled to end 30 to 40 years after the disaster. "It's a job of decommissioning but it's (also) a job of reconstruction," he said The process has been marred by setbacks, with the extensive damage at the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors posing technical challenges. TEPCO had planned to begin assessing the wreckage inside the No. 1 unit's containment vessel using a drone in the latter half of 2019, but the company said in January it had pushed back the survey due to a spike in radioactivity during the cutting of an entry point into the vessel. Grossi, who is on a five-day trip to Japan, also met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday, and is slated to hold talks with Cabinet members including industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama on Thursday. Related coverage: Nuclear reactor hit by 2011 tsunami passes safety screening Shikoku Electric not to appeal injunction over Ikata nuclear plant Costs for managing Japan's nuclear plants to total 13 trillion yen - Kenya Airways (KQ), once the pride of Africa, operated the Nairobi- Guangzhou route three times a week before Coronavirus outbreak - KQ's chief executive Allan Kilavuka said the suspension of flights to and from China has affected the airline's revenues - KQs stock on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has fallen by 1.29% over the past month to trade as low as KSh 2.29 per share as of Thursday, February 20 Kenya Airways (KQ) woes have deepened after the airline suffered a KSh 800 million loss in one month after suspending flights to China as a precaution against the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19). The troubled national carrier which was once the pride of Africa, operated the Nairobi- Guangzhou route three times a week before the pandemic spread. READ ALSO: World's second richest man Bill Gates donates KSh 1 billion to fight locusts in East Africa A KQ plane on air. Photo: Kenya Airways. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Baboon being transported to hospital for vasectomy escapes with female companions KQ's chief executive Allan Kilavuka said the suspension of flights to the Asian nation has affected the airline's revenues. We are looking at lost revenue of about $8 million (approximately KSh 800 million) both passenger and cargo. However, various initiatives are in place to increase passenger and cargo revenues on other routes to minimise this impact, Kilavuka said in an interview with The East African. KQ widened its losses for the year 2018 to KSh 7.5 billion from KSh 6.4 billion in 2017. Photo: Kenya Airways. Source: Facebook KQs stock on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has fallen by 1.29% over the past month to trade as low as KSh 2.29 per share as of Thursday, February 20. Kilavuka however, expressed optimism things will return to normalcy as China tries to take control of the virus that has killed over 2,200 people and infected over 75,000 others. A file photo of KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka. Photo: Habari Network. Source: UGC I am optimistic that the situation in China will be under control soon and we will resume our service that continues to create convenience and a good flying experience for all our guests, he said. KQ was forced to suspend its flights to China on Friday, January 31, after a scare involving a passenger who exhibited coronavirus symptoms boarded the plane. The passenger, a Kenyan student, was isolated at the Kenyatta National Hospital but tests later confirmed he had not contacted the deadly virus. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly The deaf photographer proving nothing in this world is impossible | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Voting in the MCD Election 2017 was peaceful but both voters and political parties reported numerous cases of faulty EVMs and state election commission's apathy towards resolving the issues Around 54 percent men and women in the national capital on Sunday voted amid EVM glitches to pick three new municipal bodies in an election crucial for all three main contenders the BJP, Congress and the AAP. Following a sluggish start at 8 am, voting gradually picked up and became fairly brisk as the heat waned towards the afternoon. The 2012 MCD polls had registered a 53.23 percent turnout. Around 1.32 crore electorate were eligible to exercise their franchise in the municipal election. According to IANS, residents reported "low" voting in many areas but in many others there were long queues of men and women keen to pick three wings of a municipal corporation that covers almost the whole of Delhi. State Election Commissioner S K Srivastava told a press conference that North corporation's Bakhtawarpur ward recorded the highest turnout at over 68 percent, while south Delhi's Lado Sarai registered the least turnout at 39 percent. The balloting was peaceful but both voters and political parties reported numerous cases of malfunctioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which themselves have come under a cloud. "The turnout by 4 pm was around 45 percent and we are very hopeful that the final tally will be beyond 54 percent, the voting percentage in the 2012 civic body polls in Delhi," State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava told PTI. "Around 22.2 lakh people have cast their vote in areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation," the SEC said. The Aam Aadmi Party, which rules Delhi, and the Congress want to end the 10-year reign of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the civic body, citing poor upkeep of the city's cleanliness. The BJP used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to reclaim the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 seats), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 seats) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 seats). Polling did not take place in two wards Maujpur in East Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in North Delhi where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died. Even as the polling was on, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said reports of EVM malfunctioning came from all over the capital. He also tweeted that many people with voter slips were not allowed to vote. BJP leader Arvinder Singh Lovely, who recently quit the Congress, could not vote because the EVM in his polling station there were 13,022 in all broke down. By 3 pm, the AAP "War Room" reported 250 calls from voters complaining about non-functional EVMs. The complaints came from several areas including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's constituency Patparganj. According to an ANI video, some voters also complained of the SEC officials apathy, who allegedly went on to suggesting voters that they press any buttons when faced with faulty EVMs. Firstpost, however, couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the claims. A Maharashtra Congress leader, Shehzad Poonawala, tweeted about the EVMs in Delhi: "Better we call them (E)xtremely (V)ulnerable (M)achines." However, Srivastava told PTI that 18 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were replaced owing to battery or button related issues. "Out of 13,000 polling stations, EVMs were changed in only 18 polling stations. It shows our EVMs are unhackable, robust and no wrong can be done," Srivastava said. A total of 2,537 candidates were in the fray. Among others who contested the election are the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United and Swaraj India of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan who were earlier Kejriwal's colleagues in the AAP. The three civic bodies cover 68 of the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi. The two smaller civic bodies are the Delhi Cantonment Board as well as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Kejriwal, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and Delhi BJP leaders were among the early voters. "I urge the people of Delhi to vote for a filth-free Delhi, a dengue- and chikungunya-free Delhi," said Kejriwal after voting along with his family. Asked if the election was a referendum on his government's two-year performance, he replied: "We will see when the results come (on Wednesday)." Maken rooted for the Congress. "The BJP has done enough damage for 10 years. The only thing it has done is engaging in verbal duels with the AAP. People want sensible governance. Going by Congress' track record, they will vote for us," he said. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi blamed the Kejriwal government for the capital mess and said she was confident her party would again control the civic body. Some voters complained of poor organisation. "Voter slips have not been given to many. This has created a lot of confusion. My wife and I didn't get any voter slips," Amit Basu, a voter from Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi, told IANS. With agency inputs Jaipur, Feb 26 : Ratan Lal, the Delhi Police Head Constable and resident of Tihawali village in Sikar district, who lost his life during the Delhi violence on Monday, was given a martyr's status by the Central government on Wednesday, confirmed BJP state President Satish Poonia here. He said that he spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister of State G. Kishan Reddy for giving martyr status to Ratan Lal, after which he was awarded the same. The Central government also provided financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to his family. These apart, a government job will be provided to a dependent in his family. In this regard, Sikar MP Sumedhanand Saraswati handed over the letter by the Central government to the family of the martyr. Poonia said that Ratan Lal's family had demanded martyr's status for him and the entire BJP had shared the same sentiment with the government. Poonia passed the demand to BJP National President J.P. Nadda who suggested that he contact Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "On his instructions, I spoke to the Union Home Minister and the Minister of State for Home. As a result of this, the information of Ratan Lal ji getting martyr status was given by Home Minister Amit Shah himself on the phone. After receiving the information, Sikar and Jhunjhunu MPs were informed and the martyr was cremated with full honours and respect," he said. Advertisement The holiday plans of millions of Britons could be at risk after the number of coronavirus cases around the world overtook China for the first time and the virus crisis tightened its grip on the UK today. Brazil has reported its first patient with the illness, which means the virus has now spread to every continent except Antarctica, with cases also diagnosed for the first time in Norway, Greece, North Macedonia, Georgia and Pakistan. British Airways has cancelled dozens of flights to Milan due to a drop in demand and fresh cases in Spain, France, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland sparked industry fears that people may choose not to go on holiday at all over Easter in April or avoid booking foreign breaks in 2020 altogether. Italy is the epicentre of a European outbreak with 50 more cases, including eight children, reported yesterday taking the countrys toll to 458 - and twelve patients have died in a week. And there are growing fears that coronavirus could now gain a foothold in Britain because of the 100,000-plus people travelling between the two countries every week. All 66million people in Britain will be told to wash their hands for 20 seconds and sneeze into tissues as part of a new public information campaign to halt the killer virus' spread. NHS nurses and paramedics will also start testing people with flu-like symptoms at home to stop patients walking into GP surgeries and hospitals. Travellers to and from Britain are in limbo about whether they should cancel their business or holiday travel for fear of being exposed to the killer virus sweeping the globe, which has infected more than 81,000 people and killed almost 2,800. Attempts by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to quell panic and avoid 'overreaction' that could harm Britain's economy failed as at least 13 schools ignored his plea not close, businesses sent staff home and international sport fixtures were cancelled. There is also growing anger and confusion over differing messages about the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis because yesterday Public Health England warned that it could shut down towns and cities, schools and public transport systems if the current 13 positive tests in the UK began going up at the same shocking rate seen in Europe. Passengers from China Southern Airlines flight CZ319 arrive at Perth International Airport earlier this month with protective masks People with masks walking in the still semi-deserted streets of the Coronavirus psychosis centre. Towns and Cities in Italy are in lockdown as authorities race to contain the biggest outbreak of coronavirus in Europe People pictured wearing masks for fear of contagion from Coronavirus. Many people seem to have now incorporated the masks into their everyday lives A health worker screens the temperature of a passenger arriving from Milan Bergamo to Krakow International Airport on February 26 AS Roma fans wearing face masks inside the stadium before the match amid concern following a coronavirus outbreak in Italy Travellers to and from Britain are in limbo about whether they should cancel their business or holiday travel for fear of being exposed to the killer virus sweeping the globe. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough is one of more than a dozen schools which have been completely closed after students and staff returned from Italian ski trips. The Health Secretary has urged them to stay open A China-style shutdown would force tens of millions to stay at home, including essential health workers such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists. England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'There's no secret there's a variety of things you need to look at, you look at things like school closures, you look at things like reducing transport.' The developments came as guidance issued to airlines by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned passengers not to fly if they have a cough or cold. Experts fear Europes outbreak could have a devastating effect on the tourism industry with airlines worldwide facing up to a 23billion loss because of the virus. In Italy, the worst-affected areas are Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto, which covers Venice, and Emilia-Romagna. The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to 11 affected towns in the north of the country. However holidaymakers travelling to other Italian cities and nearby countries have expressed fears that if they cancel flights they will not be entitled to refunds. Refunds will only apply to those whose holidays are disrupted when the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel. A man is pictured wearing a face mask on the London Underground as UK officials step up their preparations for cases of coronavirus to start appearing on British soil At least 13 schools have closed and 20 have sent pupils and staff home for health and safety reasons after pupils went on trips to the Alps Worldwide, more than 80,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 2,700 have died. Numbers continued to rise across Europe this week NHS to extend home testing for coronavirus to stop it spreading The NHS is looking to extend home testing for coronavirus, while a new public information campaign will be launched, Matt Hancock has announced. The Health Secretary also urged schools not to close unless they had a confirmed case of the virus. The NHS has already started pilots of home testing for coronavirus in London, where nurses and paramedics visit people with symptoms in their own homes rather than them needing to travel, which risks spreading the virus. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hancock suggested that home testing will be rolled out more widely, to complement existing hospital testing and the 'isolation pods' which have been sited at hospitals in England for people who turn up at A&E with symptoms. He said: 'We now have testing sites at all A&E facilities, as far as we know, across England. 'But we're also planning to introduce home testing and some of this has started already so that people don't have to go to the pods in front of A&E which have been put there to ensure that people don't actually go into A&E where they might infect others. 'Home testing is the safest place to be tested because then you don't have to go anywhere, and that will allow us to roll out testing to a much larger number of people as well.' Advertisement Despite British Airways cutbacks, other major airlines vowed to continue flying to Italy as well as Tenerife, which has also suffered a major virus outbreak. A spokesman for BA said it was merging some flights between Heathrow and Linate airport to match reduced demand. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: People are understandably concerned about how their travel plans will be impacted, and a lack of clear and timely information has left many travellers confused about their options. While the government has now updated its advice to cover the Italian locations that have experienced an outbreak, those travelling to nearby cities like Milan or Verona still wont be able to cancel and claim on travel insurance, nor will those travelling to Tenerife. A total of 459 new cases were reported by 37 countries outside of China on Tuesday. There were also alarming spikes in South Korea and Iran. On the other hand, China reported 412 cases and the spread is finally slowing, according to the World Health Organisation. Iran recorded 139 cases and 19 deaths and authorities urged people to avoid non-essential travel. Anyone coming back from Iran to the UK is being urged to self-isolate for 14 days. On Tuesday night, Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow announced he would be self-isolating for two weeks after visiting Iran. On Tuesday South Americas first case was recorded in Brazil, a 61-year-old man from Sao Paulo who had returned from Northern Italy. France recorded its second death, a 60-year-old in Paris. The Foreign Office is currently advising against all but essential travel to the Hubei Province in China and all mainland China. The advice also covers Daegu and Cheongdo in South Korea. Anyone with a holiday booked to a do not travel area should be reimbursed by a provider or insurer. It comes as children returning from schools trips to various parts of Italy have been sent home from school, with some being placed in safe isolation as fears grow that they have contracted the virus. Many schools up and down the UK closed their doors this week with many vowing to remain closed until next week, despite health secretary Matt Hancock urging communities to keep their schools open. Princess Charlotte and Prince George are pictured being collected from school by their parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge A general view showing Thomas's Battersea school in London where Prince George and Princess Charlotte attend WHERE ARE THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN GRIPPED BY CORONAVIRUS FEARS AFTER SKI TRIPS TO NORTHERN ITALY? Closed Lutton St Nicholas primary school in Lincolnshire Gedney Church End primary school St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire The Brine Leas Academy sixth form in Cheshire William Martin Junior and Infant School in Essex Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst, Birmingham The ContinU Plus Academy in Kidderminster Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough Shepeau Stow Primary School, in Spalding St Peter's Church of England Middle School, Old Windsor Archbishop Temple School, Preston Pupils sent home Salendine Nook High School, Huddersfield Newquay Tretherras The Holt School, Wokingham Cambridge House Grammar School, County Antrim Penair School, Truro Torquay Boys' Grammar School Haverfordwest High School, Pembrokeshire Hall Cross Academy, Doncaster Sandbach High School, Cheshire The Crispin School, Somerset Cleeve Park School, London (Sidcup) Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby Woodrush High School in Wythall, Birmingham Guernsey Grammar School Sydney Russel School in Dagenham Ysgol Friars School in Bangor, Wales Banbridge Academy in Northern Ireland Limavady Grammar School in Northern Ireland Ely College in Cambridgeshire Advertisement Four pupils at Prince George and Princess Charlotte's school are in self-isolation over fears they may have contracted the coronavirus. The children, who attend the Thomas's Battersea school in southwest London have been sent home and are awaiting test results, it was reported this evening. It comes as at least 13 schools across the UK closed their doors over fears of the virus spreading. A number of schools have told staff and pupils to stay at home after returning from ski trips to northern Italy, where several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions remain on lockdown. Children at the school in southwest London had recently been on a trip to northern Italy. Two children returned from the trip after displaying flu-like symptoms and there is no suggestion that the royal children have been exposed to the virus. The school's website says that it runs a trip to Italy every two years. This evening, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial published a statement from the school. 'Like all schools, we are taking very seriously the potential risks related to the spread of Covid-19 and to this end we are following the Government's instructions to the letter on infection prevention and case management in which it is suspected that some staff member or students exposed to the virus or showing any symptoms. 'We currently have a very small number of students who have been evaluated and these individuals currently remain in their homes waiting to receive the results of their exams'. It added that all parents had been informed and that information was being circulated regularly. The school also said that it would 'preserve the confidentiality of staff and students and would not comment on specific cases'. More than 30 schools around the country have been caught up in panic and confusion after children returned home from ski trips to Italy. But a school in Swansea is ignoring pleas from parents to shut down after a class returned from a ski trip to Italy with pupils told that they still have to come in unless they have the flu. Cransley School, a private school in Northwich, Cheshire (pictured) announced it will be closed for the rest of the week because of coronavirus fears. It will also undergo a deep clean, in a precautionary move to prevent any cases Three pupils at Torquay Boys' Grammar School in Devon (left) tested negative for the virus after being sent home feeling ill after a school trip to Italy, and Cambridge House Grammar School (right) in County Atrim, Northern Ireland, sent home around 50 staff and pupils WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CORONAVIRUS? The signs of COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus, are often mild and are very similar to a cold, flu or chest infection. Typical symptoms of infection include a fever, a cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. These are common complaints at this time of year, so where someone has travelled or who they have come into contact with are important in determining whether they might have coronavirus. The NHS considers people to be at risk if they have the symptoms above and have recently travelled to mainland China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, or the north of Italy (north of Pisa and Florence). People who have, in the past two weeks, been to the Hubei province of China, Iran, the South Korean cities of Daegu or Cheongdo in South Korea, or one of 11 quarantined towns in northern Italy are considered to be at risk even if they feel well. The 11 towns in Italy are Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo, San Fiorano and Vo' Euganeo. Those who have come into contact with others who have visited those places and then feel ill may also be at risk. People who fit any of the categories above should stay at home and self-isolate, away from other people, and phone NHS 111 for more advice. If you think you have the coronavirus do not go to a doctor's surgery or hospital. The virus can spread through coughing, sneezing, or by being close to someone for prolonged periods of time. To protect themselves, people should cough and sneeze into a tissue and throw it away, wash their hands and avoid contact with sick people. Source: NHS Advertisement Secondary school Cleeve Park, in Sidcup, south-east London also remained open today despite some of its pupils and staff reporting 'feeling unwell' after returning from a school ski trip to Bormio, in northern Italy on Saturday. The school has announced today that it has advised an unspecified number of pupils and staff to isolate themselves at home, but allowed others from the trip attend. It said it decided not to close after following advice from Public Health England that the school should remain open and all students should attend if they are well. However, some parents are against the headmaster's decision. One father has chosen to keep his son at home until results come back negative. Headteachers have the final say on when schools close for health and safety reasons such as illnesses or bad weather. The latest to shut their doors are Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough and Shepeau Stow Primary in Spalding. Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire also closed 'because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school'. St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington told parents it had to shut. A member of staff at William Martin Junior and Infant School came back from a half-term holiday in Italy so is shut as a precaution today. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough and Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, shut completely on Tuesday so they can be deep cleaned. The Brine Leas Academy, also in Cheshire, shut its sixth form yesterday. St Peter's Church of England Middle School in Windsor closed today for a 'precautionary clean' after a pupil returned home from a trip to Italy during half-term. Archbishop Temple School in Preston closed and said in a notice on its website that it had an 'unavoidable closure' because a ski trip had recently returned from Pila, Italy. Public Health England will be launching a new campaign which will help with cleanliness. Pictured above is a assessment pod at Chesterfield Royal Hospital In London one woman was seen doing her daily commute while wearing a protective mask on the tube on Wednesday People wear antivirus masks to protect themselves from Coronavirus infection in Rome in St. Peter's Square and along Via della Conciliazione, the day of the beginning of Lent Saudi Arabia finally BANS religious pilgrims from visiting Mecca or Medina to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia has banned religious pilgrims from visiting Mecca or Medina to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Kingdom. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom stated that they had been following developments of the virus for some time. In order to support countries impacted by the virus it said the Kingdom would be implementing 'approved international standards' in the form of a temporary ban on pilgrimages. It has temporarily suspended entry into the Kingdom for the purpose of Umrah and visiting the Prophets Mosque. It has also suspended entry for those travelling into the Kingdom with a tourist visa, if they have come from countries where the virus has been spreading. Saudi Arabia had temporarily banned religious pilgrims from visiting Mecca or Medina to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Kingdom (Muslim pilgrims pictured earlier this week) The statement also revealed that the Kingdom would be suspending Saudi nationals and citizens of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council with national identity cards from travelling to and from the Kingdom, with the exception of Saudis who are abroad. 'The Kingdom affirms that these procedures are temporary, and is subject to continuous evaluation by the competent authorities. 'The Kingdom renews its support for all international measures taken to limit the spread of the virus. 'The Foreign Ministry calls on citizens not to travel to countries where the new Coronavirus (COVID) is spreading. We ask God Almighty to spare us all humanity, all harm.' The decision from the Kingdom comes as sports events across the globe has been postponed due to the outbreak. Ireland's rugby match against Italy on Saturday was postponed today amid fears Italian fans could bring the virus to Dublin but England's Six Nations fixture in Rome on March 14 is still going ahead. England's FA is holding urgent talks today about whether it is safe to host Italy's football team for a Wembley friendly on March 27. This is while several businesses today in the UK also sent staff home over fears that employees could be carrying the virus. Advertisement And pupils and staff at 18 schools in Cornwall, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Berkshire, Pembrokeshire, Liverpool, London, Birmingham and Northern Ireland were sent home to quarantine themselves. Professor Paul Cosford, medical director for Public Health England, today admitted the Government does not know how many Brits have come back from skiing trips to the north of Italy but said it was a 'significant number'. Hundreds of cases of the virus have been diagnosed in northern Italy since Friday as dozens of school trips made their way home after half-term trips. Some headteachers have taken evasive action and shut down schools after staff and students came down with 'mild flu-like symptoms' after returning from the Alps. Others have sent home the pupils and staff who went on the trips to Italy, where 11 towns are now in government lockdown. While many have decided to stay open, telling pupils they must come in unless they have clear symptoms of the killer virus a move which has angered some parents. Public Health England is not advising schools to close and Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs today: 'If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited. 'There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education. 'In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice. 'Our goal here is to try to keep schools open wherever we can so long as that protects the public. In fact, our wider goal is to have the minimum disruption, social and economic and indeed to the NHS subject to keeping the public safe.' Some schools also reported that they closed immediately for a deep clean following Department of Health and PHE advice. Contradictory messages from the government have led to widespread confusion and caused individual headteachers to take matters into their own hands. In terms of sporting events Ireland's Six Nations clash with Italy in Dublin has been called off amid fears over the coronavirus. The deadly epidemic has swept through northern parts of Italy, and in a bid to prevent the disease reaching their shores, the Irish government have taken the step to postpone the game on March 7. Both the women's Six Nations and Under 20s clashes have also been cancelled. IRFU chief Philip Browne revealed they are working with the Six Nations in an attempt to find a date to reschedule the fixtures, but there are no details on when that may be. In his statement, Browne said: 'We had a very positive meeting with [Irish health minister] Mr [Simon] Harris and his advisors where we requested an instruction as to the staging of the Ireland. England's Six Nations match in Rome in a fortnight is still scheduled to go ahead. The FA will today hold urgent talks over the impact of the coronavirus on England's Wembley friendly with Italy next month. Senior staff will sit down at the national stadium to talk through the problems associated with the fixture after the outbreak increased in northern Italy. The European Commission, which enforces the rule book for the open-border Schengen Area, encouraged countries to adopt measures based on scientific evidence and 'in coordination and not in a fragmented way', a spokeswoman said. Symptoms include a cough, fever and shortness of breath. MailOnline has contacted the school and Kensington Palace was unavailable for comment this evening. The closure of the schools and the issues surrounding sporting events yesterday came as various businesses across the capital closed their doors due to fears of the virus. OMD UK has closed its office in Fitzrovia (above) and has sent staff members home and is set to reopen on Monday Just two streets away from the OMD offices, two men were seen coming out of an ambulance dressed in hazmat suits and masks, they were knocking on the door of a property. It is not known if this incident is related to the employee at OMD A media agency in London temporarily shut its doors for business after a staff member returned from international travel via Singapore and is now being tested for coronavirus. OMD UK has closed its office in Fitzrovia and has sent staff members home and is set to reopen on Monday. Security is on patrol around the building and there is currently a sign on the door stating it is closed. OMD UK is part of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) and a spokesperson for the firm said the employee in question had been on business in Australia. The worker had stopped off in Singapore which so far has recorded 91 cases of the virus. As of today there had been 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which is where the worker had initially travelled from. As a precaution the company has asked all staff to work from home. Speaking to the MailOnline a spokesperson said: Earlier today, we became aware of an employee showing flu like symptoms, who had returned a few days ago from a trip to Australia with a flight connection through Singapore. 'As a precautionary measure, and until definitive results of the employees coronavirus test is confirmed, we are asking OMG employees at our Fitzrovia offices to immediately work from home. An ambulance was seen parked outside Cleveland Street this afternoon, which is just two streets away from the OMD office A worker cleans the doors of a building in Westferry Circus, next to the office of US oil company Chevron at Canary Wharf, after 300 staff were sent home when a worker who had been abroad began feeling unwell 'OMG UK employees have been informed that, whilst the risk of the test being positive is minimal, every precaution is being taken to protect their health and wellbeing. 'We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidance provided from the Government and expect to reopen these offices on Monday pending the results'. People wearing hazmat suits were seen just a few streets away from the OMD building on Cleveland Street. An ambulance was parked on the street and two officers dressed in protective clothing and masks were seen knocking at the door of a property. It is not yet known whether or not this incident is related to the employee being tested at OMD. Singapore, where the employee had travelled through, was one of the first Asian countries to be affected by the virus. Singapore has managed to contain the virus, with many people still going about their daily business. Early on the government placed a strict ban on those who had recently visited China from entering the country. This limited the possibility of potential carriers further spreading the disease. The UK also moved quickly and limited the movement of travellers from infected areas with airlines putting bans on flights to key Chinese cities. Public Health England today refused to rule out the possibility of shutting down entire towns, communities and public transport if a coronavirus outbreak takes hold in the UK. This is while US oil company Chevron also sent home around 300 British staff from his London HQ in Canary Wharf after a worker came down with flu-like symptoms after a foreign trip. 'Come and rescue us, Boris!' British tourists trapped in Tenerife hotel at centre of coronavirus scare slam 'absolutely awful' response but panic doesn't stop some holidaymakers making the most of their time in the sun by Mario Ledwith for the Daily Mail Some guests chose to stay in their rooms. Others put on their face masks and decided to relax by the hotels swimming pool. The two approaches were just one sign of the confusion and frustration facing a group of British holidaymakers being contained in a Tenerife hotel for two weeks. Frustrated guests pleaded with Boris Johnson to intervene yesterday and said they were desperate to return home amid a chaotic attempt to control corona virus from spreading within the Costa Adeje Palace Hotel. At least 160 Britons have been holed up in the four-star resort after the Spanish authorities padlocked its doors when four guests from Italy tested positive. Sunbathing in masks: Tourists lounge by the pool of H10 Costa Adeje Palace as they settle in for a two-week lockdown after Spanish authorities confirmed a quarantine The hotel laid on free champagne for tourists on Wednesday after guests were told they would have to stay put at the resort until mid-March Food served to guests on Wednesday included pasta in a takeaway box (left) and a tray of bread, pastries and orange juice (right) as well as bottles of water Yesterday they told of the absolutely awful situation and said they had been given conflicting information about how long the enforced stay would last. And, as the Foreign Office began contacting them last night telling them they must remain at the hotel until March 10, some complained that staying put placed them at increased risk. Mandy Davis, who is on holiday with her husband Roger, said: Nobody knows what the right thing to do is, because nobodys had this virus before. So please, lets sort something out, come and rescue us please, Boris. And lets just get the hell out of here. Rosie Mitford, who is on holiday with her father and brother, only arrived at the hotel on Monday when the four Italians who tested positive had already left. Guests were sunbathing in masks and enjoying free supplies of food and alcohol at the hotel poolside on Wednesday after learning they would be staying well into March Guests wearing masks lie on sun loungers and walk by the poolside at the Tenerife hotel on Wednesday as many sought out protection measures Two hotel guests wearing masks wave from the window of the Tenerife resort on Wednesday where holidaymakers will have to stay put for 14 days Employees wearing protective masks arrange water bottles in the lobby of the hotel. The lobby looked relatively quiet on Wednesday An employee wears a protective mask as he talks with guests inside the quarantined hotel. The guests above didn't seem too concerned The 18-year-old nursing student said: We want to come home now. We dont see the point of staying here for two weeks when none of us have symptoms and then isolating when we get back. The family group were preparing for a reprieve last night when authorities on the Canary Islands said that a group of more than 100 recent arrivals could be allowed to go home. Spanish officials have begun tracking down guests who may have come into contact with the infected quartet before returning to their homes across Europe. Guests holed up at the 500-room property told of the shambolic arrangements inside as they faced two-weeks of quarantine. A guest wearing a protective face mask stands at the window of the H10 Costa Adeje Palace on Wednesday where tourists were told they face two weeks in quarantine Guests queue for food and serve themselves to drinks inside the hotel on Wednesday, many of them wearing protective face masks Tourists in quarantine wave from inside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife on Wednesday. The two women seemed to be carrying on as normal One British couple, Hannah Green and her boyfriend Court Amys, who are in Spain with their one-year-old son, said the lockdown had been 'pretty rough' Holidaymakers with babies described how they had unsuccessfully pleaded with the hotel for suitable food, while being left without essential products such as nappies. In the UK, family members said they were concerned about the welfare of elderly relatives at the property. Guests were initially told to stay calm and stay in their rooms yesterday morning as medical teams in protective suits handed out face masks and thermometers, then carried out medical checks. Guests have been told to take their temperature twice a day. A face mask provided for people quarantined in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife. The mask looks thin and has straps for the ears A police officer walks outside H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after four cases of coronavirus were detected there Closed: The H10 Costa Adeje Palace is being guarded by police. Guests were confined to their bedrooms at the four-star hotel in a desperate attempt to stop the virus from spreading The curfew was dropped shortly afterwards and more than 260 guests were seen sun-lounging outside, some in face masks, while others took to the swimming pools. After more than 24 hours without hot food, the hotel provided a lunch buffet yesterday afternoon and laid on bottles of free Champagne. Images showed hungry guests clamouring for food. Despite the curfew being relaxed, some guests decided to remain in their rooms and had breakfast brought to them. Lara Pennington, 45, from Manchester, who is on holiday with her two sons and elderly in-laws, said: Its very scary because everyone is out, in the pool, spreading the virus. It has been reported that between 600 and 800 guests from 25 countries are at the hotel in the south-west of the island. Because the containment measures affect guests liberty, a local judge will rule each day on whether to allow some to leave. An Foreign Office spokesman said: Our staff are in close contact with the hotel management and the Spanish authorities and have written to all British guests, and are in touch with anyone identified as vulnerable or in need. Montgomery Countys top public defenders, chief Dean Beer and deputy chief Keisha Hudson, were fired Wednesday and replaced. John Corcoran, a county spokesperson, confirmed Wednesday that Carol Sweeney and Greg Nester are taking the places of Beer and Hudson as co-chief deputy public defenders. Corcoran gave no additional details on the departures, citing a county policy of not commenting on personnel matters. Officials said the decision to fire Beer and Hudson was made by the countys Board of Commissioners, which oversees all department heads in the county. Sweeney, currently case-management chief at the office, and Nester, chief of the Mental Health Unit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Beer and Hudson also did not respond to messages Wednesday. A county spokesperson would not comment on whether their termination was connected to the defenders recent filing of an amicus brief lambasting the countys practices for setting bail in hearings without lawyers or consideration of ability to pay. We witness firsthand the multitude of individual and community harms caused by dysfunctional bail practices that result in unnecessary and prolonged pretrial detention, read the brief, which was filed Feb. 3 and abruptly withdrawn eight days later. Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, issued a statement demanding answers. These terminations should alarm Montgomery County residents and all Pennsylvanians who care about reforming our criminal legal system, Shuford said. The ACLU of Pennsylvania calls on the Montgomery County Commissioners to give a full accounting as to how and why this decision was made and whether or not the filing of the amicus brief was a factor in the firing of Mr. Beer and Ms. Hudson. Local defense lawyers were also taken aback by the personnel change. Keir Bradford-Grey, Philadelphias chief public defender, called the termination of Beer and Hudson a stunning move that will have a negative, chilling effect on public defenders. And Jules Epstein, a Temple University law professor who has conducted training at the Montgomery County defenders office, described the terminations as a great loss. Historically, there was a sense that many county public defender offices were not independent and were actually political patronage jobs and dont-rock-the-boat jobs, Epstein said. Many offices have changed, and in the last several years Montgomery County seemed to be part of the change model, where they hired people who were not political but who really were focused on providing high-quality indigent defense." Pennsylvania is one of only two states in the country that provide no funding for, or oversight of, county defenders. David Carroll, an expert on the right to counsel at the nonprofit Sixth Amendment Center, said the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the importance of an independent public defender, and noted that the American Bar Association describes independence as the first of 10 core principles of public defense. The problem is that none of the other 10 principles are achievable without the first, he said. Rosalie Joy, vice president of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and former chief defender of Atlanta, said that incidents of public-defender interference continue to arise around the country. It sounds as though in Montgomery County we are looking at once again a situation where public defender chiefs are thought to be working for other than their clients, she said. Thats problematic, she said: When they have to function in an environment that says to them, I cant make hard decisions that are in the best interest of my client, otherwise I lose my job, that is not effective representation." Beer was hired in 2013, and was appointed to lead the office two years later. He was being paid $123,334 a year, according to county records. Hudson had been in her position since 2016, making $111,050 annually. They oversaw an office that included nearly 30 defenders, who have handled a number of high-profile defendants in the county who could not afford private attorneys. Recently, that caseload has included Lawrence Crawley, who killed his ex-girlfriend outside her workplace, and Keenan Jones, who opened fire in a crowded Walmart in Cheltenham Township. The office is also handling the case of Robert Fisher, who won an appeal last month and will have his fourth trial in 2021 on a decades-old murder in Norristown. Hudson and Beer had successfully negotiated for a number of reforms, including bringing an end to the practice of extending probation without a hearing for those who couldnt pay restitution. Recently, the office also created a new position, chief of mental health, to specifically handle cases where those issues play a significant role. Coincidentally, Nester was given that assignment, which involves working with county prosecutors to create resolutions for defendants that best suit their treatment needs. Bradford-Grey, who preceded Beer as chief in Montgomery County before coming to Philadelphia, said advocating for systemic reforms is part of the job. The Defender Association of Philadelphia, an independent nonprofit agency funded by the city, last year sued Philadelphia courts over what it said were illegal practices in lodging detainers to hold people accused of probation violations. Its a nontransparent system and if the people who are insiders cant collaborate with those who are feeling the impact of the justice system practices, then what are we here for? she said. Indigent defense is not just you go to the court and argue the facts. If not us, understanding the complexities of the system but also having access to file the motions, file the briefs on behalf of the indigent, then who? No expectation of a breakthrough, but experts say the fact the discussions are happening is encouraging. Madrid, Spain Long-awaited high-profile negotiations between Spains central government and Catalonias officials over the troubled regions future finally got under way this afternoon in Madrid, in a bid to break years of deadlock, with regional nationalists adamant that Catalan independence should be included in discussions. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Catalan regional leader and separatist Quim Torra, each flanked by small but politically heavy-weight delegations of advisers and ministers, met at the formers official residence of the Moncloa to get the bridge-building discussions rolling. Expectations of an early breakthrough are understandably low given the tumultuous relationship between Spains central government and Catalonia in recent years, and with a dozen top Catalan politicians in prison or self-imposed exile following a failed independence bid in 2017 looming large in the background. In a joint statement, it was agreed that further meetings would be held monthly, alternating between Barcelona and Madrid, and recognising that as a conflict of a political nature a political solution is required. In separate press conferences, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero emphasised that there would no short-term solutions, but called the meeting satisfactory and dynamic. For his part, Torra said it had established a frank dialogue between institutions, but also to confirm the differences that exist between us. Germa Capdevila, a political analyst with naciodigital.cat told Al Jazeera: This isnt the start of a long road, its the start of a very long one but the important thing is both the nature of the talks and that they are happening at all. Catalonia has recognised that it cant just act without bearing Spain in mind, and the Spanish government has effectively recognised that Catalonia needs to be talked to as a political entity. Those are both new developments. But this is a major political conflict which has been going on for a very long time. Nobody should expect that in a couple of meetings, it all gets resolved. Whats more encouraging is a willingness to negotiate that weve never seen before. Sanchez had warned the Spanish government on Wednesday morning that it will be a long, difficult and complex process. But he insisted that the negotiations represented a break with earlier intransigence towards the Catalan question shown by the previous right-wing government. As things stand, and as has happened before, the left-wing forces governing Spain need to count on the countrys political and cultural minorities like the Catalans, Manuel Lopez, a professor of history at Spains Open University, told Al Jazeera. If the two sides dont back each other up at moments like this, they both lose and other minorities, like the Basque Nationalists, would also lose out as well. 191230133129593 The Socialist Party is eager to avoid controversy in the early stages of the talks, as it is keenly aware that as a minority government it needs the ongoing neutrality of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) party in Parliament. A major test of that neutrality is coming up very shortly: on Thursday, the state budget, unchanged since 2015 because of Spains seemingly permanent political instability, is set to be voted through. After their abstention in early January ended months of caretaker governments, the ERC has insisted that their continuing neutrality is conditional on the talks on Catalonia taking place, and have yet to guarantee they will abstain on Thursday. In Catalonia, the start of talks coincides with the buildup to regional elections, with the ERC jostling with the Junts per Catalunya party to which Torra belongs for superiority in the nationalist camp, and potentially boosting a more bullish attitude in the Madrid negotiations. Spains opposition parties have done little to lower the tension by continuing their strong attacks against the Spanish Socialists for allegedly selling out to the nationalists. On Tuesday, Spains Minister of Justice Juan Carlos Campo said jail sentences for sedition such as those meted out to the imprisoned Catalan leaders were unusually long and an anomaly. His comments were greeted with fierce criticism. Come what may, Lopez is convinced the fact the talks are taking place represents a potentially very significant milestone in the countrys recent political history. Or as he puts it: That two parties of the calibre of the Socialists and ERC are sitting down and talking like this constitutes a break with the recent past and a very big step forwards. A man who formerly worked at Microsoft was convicted of 18 federal felonies after he stole $10 million worth of digital currency from his former employer. From the U.S. Department of Justice: Seattle A former Microsoft software engineer was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of 18 federal felonies related to his scheme to defraud Microsoft of more than $10 million, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. VOLODYMYR KVASHUK, 25, a Ukrainian citizen residing in Renton, Washington, worked first as a contractor at Microsoft and then as an employee from August 2016 until he was fired in June 2018. Today, following a five-day trial, KVASHUK was convicted of five counts of wire fraud, six counts of money laundering, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count each of mail fraud, access device fraud, and access to a protected computer in furtherance of fraud. When sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on June 1, 2020, KVASHUK faces up to twenty years in prison. According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, KVASHUK was involved in the testing of Microsoft's online retail sales platform, and used that testing access to steal "currency stored value" such as digital gift cards. KVASHUK resold the value on the internet, using the proceeds to purchase a $1.6 million dollar lakefront home and a $160,000 Tesla vehicle. Initially, KVASHUK started stealing smaller amounts totaling about $12,000 in value using his own account access. As the thefts escalated into millions of dollars of value, KVASHUK used test email accounts associated with other employees. KVASHUK, a knowledgeable software developer, attempted to mask digital evidence that would trace the fraud and the internet sales back to him. He used a bitcoin "mixing" service in an attempt to hide the source of the funds ultimately passing into his bank account. In all, over the seven months of KVASHUK's illegal activity, approximately $2.8 million in bitcoin was transferred to his bank accounts. KVASHUK then filed fake tax return forms, claiming the bitcoin had been a gift from a relative. In closing arguments, Assistant United States Attorney Siddharth Velamoor said KVASHUK "hid behind his colleagues' names. dripping fraud and deceit every step of the way. This is a simple case anyway you look at it this is a crime of greed." KVASHUK testified at trial that he did not intend to defraud Microsoft. He claimed to be working on a special project to benefit the company. That testimony was, "A house of lies on top of a previous house of lies," Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion told the jury. The jury deliberated about five hours before returning the guilty verdicts. "In addition to stealing from Microsoft, Volodymyr Kvashuk also stole from the government by concealing his fraudulent income and filing false tax returns. Kvashuk's grand scheme was thwarted by the hard-work of IRS-CI's Cyber Crimes Unit. Criminals who think they can avoid detection by using cryptocurrency and laundering through mixers are put on noticeyou will be caught and you will be held accountable," said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation's Western Area Cyber Crime Unit and the U.S. Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Dion and Siddharth Velamoor. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), like everyone else, has some regrets. He let the country know about about one during Tuesday's Democratic primary debate in Charleston, South Carolina. Former Vice President Joe Biden went after Sanders for his past gun control record, which Biden doesn't think is strong enough. Sanders was then asked about previously voting for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act which shields gun manufacturers from liability in shootings. Instead of immediately pushing back, he admitted he considers that one of the bad votes among the thousands of his votes he's cast during his time in Congress, adding that he now has a D-minus rating from the National Rifle Association. Sanders, on his past record supporting gun rights: 'I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote. I have today a D- rating from the NRA...30 years ago I supported a ban on assault weapons.' #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/R5f5RE8iyK NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 26, 2020 He then went on to point out that Biden also has what he considers bad votes under his belt, like his support for the Iraq War, which Sanders didn't back. More stories from theweek.com Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity CDC: California coronavirus case may be 1st in U.S. without link to traveling abroad Updated March 4, 2020 A popular Southeast Portland dive bar was robbed Tuesday night, two days after someone in disguise struck another watering hole, making at least 12 bars to be robbed in the citys east or north sides since November. The gunman walked into The Vern, in the 2600 block of Southeast Belmont Street, about 9:30 p.m. and fled before officers arrived, said Nola Watts, a Portland Police Bureau spokeswoman. According to dispatch records, the suspect was wearing a mask. Messages to bar, formerly known as Hanigans Tavern, were not immediately returned. On Sunday, a masked bandit also struck the Bear Paw Inn in the 3200 block of Southeast Milwaukie Avenue at nearly the exact same time, police and bar staff said. No injuries have been reported or arrests made in any of the dozen stickups. The previous attacks generally took place early in the week and late at night. Some have involved two robbers while others just one. Nov. 12, 2019, 12:50 a.m. Mulligans Bar & Grill (3518 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.) Nov. 18, 2019, 2:03 a.m. Tulip Shop Tavern (825 N. Killingsworth St.) Nov. 19, 2019, 12:19 a.m. Lotsa Luck Bar & Grill (2136 S.E. Powell Blvd.) Nov. 19, 2019, 2:30 a.m. Cosmo Lounge (6707 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.) Nov. 25, 2019, 11:33 p.m. Wilshire Tavern (4052 N.E. 42nd Ave.) Nov. 30, 2019, 11:17 p.m. Lombard Pub (3416 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 6, 2019, 5:29 p.m. Darcys Restaurant and Bar (4804 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 9, 2019, 1 a.m. Mock Crest Tavern (3435 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 11, 2019, 12:27 a.m. Darcys Restaurant and Bar (4804 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 20, 2019, 5 p.m. Barlow Tavern (6008 N. Greeley, Ave.) Jan. 14, 2020, 11:52 p.m. Gold Dust Meridian (3627 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.) Feb. 23, 2020, 9:30 p.m. Bear Paw Inn (3237 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.) Feb. 25, 2020, 9:30 p.m., The Vern (2622 S.E. Belmont St.) -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Get an audio rundown of the days top headlines, now available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Were also on Amazon Alexa. Despite lingering concerns over the coronavirus and Moodys South Africas investment rating, South African Rand (ZAR) exchange rates have seen a jump in demand today. Markets are reacting to and digesting South Africas highly anticipated 2020 Budget presentation, and the Rand is rebounding strongly from recent lows. Weaker commodity news is also boosting market demand for the Rand. Due to combined concerns over the coronavirus and South Africas domestic outlook, ZAR exchange rates have seen weeks of limp or poor performance. Last week the currency was barely able to hold its ground even against weak rivals, and this week ZAR has been trending lower. For example, even the weak Pound (GBP), hit by fresh Brexit jitters, has been able to hold its ground against the Rand. GBP/ZAR trended tightly around the level of 19.44 last week, and this week has been trending higher. GBP/ZAR touched on a year and a half high of 19.87 this morning, before tumbling in reaction to the budget news and trending closer to the level of 19.59 at the time of writing. The strong US Dollar (USD) has been able to even more easily sustain against the Rand. USD/ZAR climbed from 14.91 to 15.00 last week, and continued advancing this week. USD/ZAR touched a 2020 high of 15.33 this morning before trending closer to the level of 15.18 at the time of writing. Rand Exchange Rates Jump in Aftermath of South Africa Budget Following days of weak performance, the South African Rand is seeing something of a rebound in demand today. Investors are buying the currency in a relief rally as South Africa presents its highly anticipated 2020 Budget. While uncertainties remained over how likely Moodys was to slash South Africas final investment-grade rating, South Africa Finance Minister Tito Mboweni initially impressed some investors with todays budget plans. Mboweni announced plans for tax relief in income taxpayers, and a slash in government spending, as well as various other chances to product taxing. While the Rand climbed following the budget, how the market reacts for the remainder of the day remains to be seen. Analysts note that the Rand is volatile, and that sharp movements are likely to continue. According to Bianca Botes, Treasury Partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions: We expect volatility throughout the day, with large moves and a bias towards weakness. While currency markets remain volatile, with emerging markets bearing the biggest brunt of activity, equity markets have shed 5 percent in just two days, South African Budget Reaction to Unfold in Coming Days Markets will continue to react to South Africas sweeping 2020 Budget for the remainder of the day and likely until the end of the week, due to the impact it might have on South Africas economic outlook. The budget has been seen as South Africas last chance to protect its investment grade rating from Moodys. If the budget is perceived as having disappointed overall, the Rand could see fresh plummets as investors may begin to price in a Moodys credit rating cut. On the other hand, if the budget has overall impressed investors, the Rand may hold its ground a little better on hopes for the investment rating to survive. South African trade data due for publication at the end of the week could also be influential if it surprises investors. Lastly, coronavirus developments will remain in focus for South African Rand exchange rates as well. "In other words, our families had to be sacrificed," she said. "If this is the best Victoria Police has to offer, then we are better off protecting ourselves." Matthew Si, with daughter Aria and wife Melinda Tan. Ms Tan accused certain officers of being more concerned with protecting their careers than the public that day. "There are, however, officers in Victoria Police who remain egoistic and not willing to admit to their mistakes. You cannot effect change with that attitude," she said. "You should not wear a badge or carry the title if youre not willing to risk yourself for the safety of the public." Ms Tan added: "Our young daughter Aria asked me the other day, why did Papa have to die? I will leave that for Victoria Police to answer." She blamed complacency for what happened and said "the whole plan hinged" on Detective Senior Constable Murray Gentner pleading with Gargasoulas via phone and text messages to surrender as he drove around the city. Mr Si's father, Kheng Si, struggled to understand the events leading to that day and how Gargasoulas was on bail, despite multiple prior breaches, and then eluded law enforcers as he continue to offend. Loading He said it was "unbelievable" all the resources of the police force could not subdue him. "Over the last three years it has been very difficult for me to understand, let alone accept, one single offender possibly only armed with a knife ... was able to challenge a contingent of law enforcement officers and win," he said. "I have the impression that on January 20, 2017, the different police units were fragmented, there was no overall leader and there was reluctance for teamwork among the various units. "There seems to be no accountability. There was acknowledgement of victims' pain, agony and sufferings but no formal apology." Three-month-old Zachary Bryant, 10-year-old Thalia Hakin, Jess Mudie, 22, and Bhavita Patel, 33, were also killed in the rampage. Matthew Bryant shed tears as he spoke of his son Zachary, who died after Gargasoulas hit the infant's pram with his stolen Holden Commodore. "I hate knowing my son's death had to be the catalyst for change," he said. Coroner Jacqui Hawkins adjourned the inquest until May 25 and extended condolences to affected family members, urging them to take care of themselves. "This trauma may resurface in a different way now the inquest has concluded," she said. Gargasoulas was jailed in February 2019 for at least 46 years. Melinda Tan, wife of Matthew Si "We are forced to hear that nothing could have been done and that the outcome may not have changed even if other actions were taken. In other words, our families had to be sacrificed on that day. If this is the best that Victoria Police can offer, then we are better off protecting ourselves. "There were some officers who offered their heartfelt apologies to the families. Although it does not bring my husband back, it helped to know that others were suffering with us. There are, however, officers in Victoria Police who remain egoistic, who will not admit to their mistakes and are not willing to learn from this incident. Certain officers were more focused on their careers and safety rather than protecting the public. "The offender's intelligence on the police was apparently more effective than the force's against him. He knew what unmarked cars looked like and that they would stop pursuing him the moment he drove recklessly The offender must be the luckiest person on this planet." Kheng Si, father of Matthew Si "The emotional and physical sufferings of the victims will linger forever. Over the past three years it has been very difficult for me to understand, let alone accept that one single offender, possibly only armed with a knife and driving in a stolen car was able to challenge a contingent of law enforcement officers and won. "Various issues have been identified but there seem to be no accountability. The evidence presented in court last week highlighted that the tragic events of January 20, 2017 were unavoidable. I was led to believe that it had to happen and nothing could be done about it as every officer acted in good faith. "There was acknowledgment of the victim's pain, agony and sufferings but not a formal apology. As I have not ventilated my grief and frustration, myself and my family would like to thank our legal team ... and a sincere thank you to everyone who helped Matthew, the first responders, paramedics, hospital staffs, doctors, nurses who tried so hard to save Matthew despite his unsurvivable injuries." Sue Si, mother of Matthew Si "Over the past three years, I have seen the pain, struggles and courage in each member of my family to cope with the full loss of Matthew. We were a happy family before this and had many happy days to look forward to. Now, it's only one day at a time." Masayuki Kanno, father of Yosuke Kanno "The records of the statements which was provided to us contains many comments expressing self-justifications by those who are involved. Or they can even be seen as blame shifting. The statements appear to be limited to what actions each personnel have taken and what their basis for those actions were. There are no words of remorse." Junpei Kanno, brother of Yosuke Kanno (read by a relative) "All the apologies are coming from those officers who were at the scene, however, on the other hand, I think those who were in controlling and supervisory roles have not acknowledged their own fault in failing to understand the skills of the officers working under their command and the situation those officers were in before making decisions. "I see Australia as a country where you are murdered just because you just happen to be walking on the streets, while the killer is guaranteed a warm bed and cooked meal, as well as medical care to fulfil his life. "Humans are animals that can die from sadness. The condition of our grandmother's dementia seems to have worsened since the incident. My father now drinks more than he used to. Every month, my mother goes to my brother's grave, whether it is in the heat of summer or on a cold winter day, despite the travel taking more than three hours. And as for myself, I have become a cold-hearted person." Nawwar Hassan-Bryant, mother of Zachary Bryant "Zachary was our second baby and he was just perfect. He was the true definition of that word in every way. From the moment he was born till we laid him down to rest, he was perfect. It gives us comfort to know he will always be safe in heaven and he'll be waiting for Matt and I and his sister Zara and his brother Zane to see him again soon." Matthew Bryant, father of Zachary Bryant "I hate knowing that my son's death had to be the catalyst for change but I hope that whatever outcomes follow meaningfully prevent incidents of this nature occurring again." With AAP NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that the government is in the process of creating a portal to share data on public platform for public use. Speaking at the session on 'Shaping the New Economy: Transitions & Trends in Technology' during 'US-India Forum: Partners for Growth' organized by FICCI, jointly with USISPF and ORF, Kant noted that India has a vast amount of data. NITI Aayog is working on a portal to put this data in an anonymous manner in public domain so that the people across the sectors can utilize it. Kant said that India has over 2,000 startups working in AI and machine learning and we can't starve the startups of data. However, he outlined that critical human personal data should be kept within the country. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gorakhpur, Feb 26 : Shravan Kumar Shukla, a teacher in a government school in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, is a happy man these days. His happiness has not only rubbed off on school children, but has also catapulted him to international acclaim, almost overnight. Shukla has been on deputation to Delhi since 2016 and is a part of the team that developed the happiness curriculum concept. It took a chance meeting with Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia that gave him the chance to change the curriculum for government schools in Delhi. "In 2004-05, I had gone to Chhattisgarh to attend a camp on human values. There, I met Manish Sisodia who at the time was neither in politics nor associated with Anna Hazare. He was working for the RTI. We found we were on the same frequency in many ways. When he came to power in Delhi in 2015, he called me on deputation, and I became a member of the core creative team of six people for the happiness curriculum in schools there. I am happy that the programme has achieved recognition and praise," he said. Shukla said that while Uttar Pradesh officials have not contacted him for the happiness course, Nepal has asked the team to share the curriculum for their schools. Other countries like Afghanistan and the UAE have also evinced interest in the programme. Shukla, who got his education in Gorakhpur and got a job in 1999 at a basic education school in Chiluatal, believes that all human beings irrespective of location, religion, caste and sex share immense similarities. "A set of values is common to everyone. However, instead of nourishing those values, we have blindly adopted an education system and forgotten what makes us happy and good human beings," said Shukla. He further added that the results of the happiness classes would be understood after 20 years when Delhi becomes a better place to live in. US First Lady Melania Trump visited a happiness class in Delhi on Tuesday and spent time with the children. Ahead of the critical South Carolina presidential primary and Super Tuesday contests, Bernie Sanders, who emerged as the clear frontrunner, came under heavy fire from his Democratic rivals during the final debate here on Tuesday (local time). The other Democratic candidates targetted Sanders on the practicality of his plans, his ability to implement his promises and whether he would cause Democrats to lose not just the White House but Congress as well, reported USA Today. Elizabeth Warren, who spent most of the last debate going after former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, went on to attack Sanders and said that while they agree on a lot of things, she would make a better president. "While both want universal health care, Sanders' plan does not explain how to get there, including paying for it. I dug in and did the work and then Bernie's team trashed me for it," Warren said. While Amy Klobuchar opined that Sanders' health care plan could not be enacted, Pete Buttigieg said, "House Democrats defending the most competitive districts are running away from Sanders' platform as fast as they can." "If you think the last four years have been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting, imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders v Donald Trump," Buttigieg added. However, Sanders, who came under such sustained attack, quipped, "I am hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why?" The Vermont senator also brought up former US President Barack Obama to defend his recent comments praising some aspects of Fidel Castro's Cuba and said, "What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba - that Cuba made progress on education." "When the Cubans do something good, that should be recognised," Sanders added. The Democrat presidential candidate came under much criticism after he said Castro "educated their kids, gave them health care, totally transformed the society, you know?" when he was asked by interviewer Anderson Cooper on Sunday why the Cuban people did not rise up and help the US overthrow Fidel Castro, the dictator of the communist country. Today's debate is the last debate before Super Tuesday on March 3, which will see 14 states holding nomination contests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Photo : Image by 024-657-834 from Pixabay ) UFO (Photo : Google Earth Official Website / via Tiziana Celine) An alleged UFO was sighted on Google Earth A conspiracy theorist has now seemingly made yet another intriguing claim that Google Earth had captured an alien vessel carrying out an abduction on an airplane. The stalwart UFO hunter Scott Waring of ET Database, who previously announced the invention of an alleged underwater alien base off the coast of Mexico, said the bizarre incident occurred somewhere near the Fiji Islands. Alien ship 'protected its base' In a YouTube video, the UFO hunter presented an image that seems to depict some "mysterious sparkling object" hovering in front of a plane midflight somewhere in Fiji. Waring saw an extraordinary photograph in the coordinates 18 3'22.84"S 178 41'8.51"E using Google Earth. In the picture shared by Waring on his blogsite, a huge airplane can be seen flying in front of an unidentified item that appears to have a very bright feature. ALSO READ: UFO Spotted On Google Earth: Did Aliens Crash In Antarctica? Waring proceeds to use sophisticated imaging software to measure the weird Google Maps anomaly. Waring said the plane is predicted to be 36ft (11m) in length - about the identical size as a nearby sparkling patch. Waring continued by speculating how both objects are, in fact, very low in altitude and even probably at the ground. According to Waring, a strange item could be an alien vessel. The vivid white glow on its front facet might imply that it opened one of its doors. Waring stated the aliens running the ship could be in the middle of abducting the passengers on the plane when the satellite image was taken. "I was looking at Google Earth map when I discovered this mysterious glowing item in the front of a plane," he wrote in a weblog post. He said the UFO's colors stood out. Waring justified his claim that what he saw is a UFO, saying the object had a pinkish half-circle item, and the front portion was glowing white. Waring speculated that it might've been an alien ship that "has lowered a part of its base [to] convey things to the aircraft from the UFO." If extraterrestrial beings had abducted the passengers, Warring claims the travelers in the plane would have no remembrance of the incident. However, they might encounter a weird phenomenon known as time loss, which refers back to the length when the abduction took place. "A second in time frozen [happens when] aliens erase the memories of the human beings then [return] them back hours later," the conspiracy theorist mused on his blog. ALSO READ: Leaked Pentagon Report Reveals Supersonic UFO That Could Make Itself Invisible Interacted With Mysterious Underwater Object Bizarre image indicates real alien abduction The bizarre image, according to Warring, sincerely shows that alien abductions are real. Warring said the phenomenon is an instance of an alien abduction taking region over the ocean in an aircraft. He added that his sighting shows a hundred percent evidence that aliens are abducting humans. This week, Waring made another weird claim by using predicting that a possible increase in UFO sightings shortly could be related to the continuing coronavirus outbreak. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Supplies of Chinese-made consumer goods, such as curtains and sofas, are expected to run low in shops here due to factory shutdowns triggered by coronavirus. And our exports to China are also affected by delays at the other side due to a backlog at Chinese ports. It's understood dairy exports from Northern Ireland have been disrupted, with orders cancelled, and, in some cases, ships containing exports still at sea when they should already have been delivered. Over 2,700 people have died in China from the virus, while Italy has become Europe's most-hit country, with 300 cases and 12 deaths. Phillip Burns, business development manager at Hamilton Shipping, which specialises in dealing with imported goods, said it had already noticed a significant fall-off in deliveries from China. Retailers in Northern Ireland dependent on imports from China range from the big national chains to the smaller independents. At 682.6m in 2018, according to the NI Statistics and Research Agency, the volume of goods coming here from China every year makes it the third biggest exporter to Northern Ireland. Expand Close OCO chief executive Mark OConnell says companies will look elsewhere for supplies / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp OCO chief executive Mark OConnell says companies will look elsewhere for supplies Mr Burns said: "Normally we would have had about 30 containers since Chinese New Year by now. But we've only had about two or three. The volume has dropped drastically because factories in China aren't back to full production, and that will definitely have an impact on the supply chain. "Normally we'd be taking full loads of things like curtains or sofas from China for shops in Northern Ireland but they haven't come." He said a delivery expected on February 14 would now be delayed until March 23. Chinese factories shut down as part of an effort to contain the virus and those in regions less badly hit by the virus are returning to production. Mr Burns said he has worked in shipping for 20 years but that the coronavirus had had the worst impact of any public health crisis. "I remember SARS back in 2003 and it wasn't as bad as this," he said. Northern Ireland exported just under 167m in goods to China during 2018, the most recent year for which figures are available. Machinery and transport equipment made up around one third of yearly sales. Around 7m in food and animal products were also sent in 2018. Mark O'Connell, the chief executive of global trade advisers OCO Global, said the crisis will lead companies to reduce their reliance on China for supplies. "They might switch to more domestic suppliers but not everyone has capacity to do that," he said. "But there's no doubt people will look to simplify their supply chains to reduce their dependency on China." And he said exports of food to China would face delays getting into the country's ports. "In the case of beef or pork, that will be frozen, so as long as they keep the refrigeration going, another week at sea won't destroy it," he said. But he said insurance was unlikely to pay out for consignments which were spoiled or where orders were cancelled, as a public health crisis is likely to be classed as a force majeure. And he said companies in Northern Ireland were also likely to take a hit from the spread of the virus in Italy. "Italy is an important supplier in composites and aircraft, and to anybody in aerospace or advanced manufacturing," he said. "A lot of highly-specialised fabrication equipment comes from Italy." Invest NI, which advises Northern Ireland companies on accessing external markets such as China, said: "We are consulting with Invest NI customers that are active in China to gather information on any challenges presented by the coronavirus and will monitor the situation as it unfolds." China was the 10th largest export market for Northern Ireland in 2018. Reh Kendermann secures 16% share of North South Wines Reh Kendermann has bought a 16% share in North South Wines, matching the amount held by existing shareholders The Wine People and De Bortoli Wines. As a result of this, North South Wines will manage all of Reh Kendermanns UK business in the wholesale, convenience, discount, independent wine specialist and on-trade channels, effective from April 1, 2020. Northern Ireland and the UK supermarket channel will continue to be managed directly by Reh Kendermann. Reh Kendermann, the producer of Black Tower, is one of Germanys largest wineries and the business dates back to 1920. It is now in its third generation of family ownership under Andrea and Carl Reh. The business is the largest exporter of wines from Germany and it designs and produces branded and premium own-label wines from Germany and beyond. Its flagship Black Tower brand sells around 13 million bottles worldwide. The 16% shareholding has been held by North South Wines since 2017, when the Bolitho family, one of North Souths founding winery members, decided to sell the family business, Waimea Estates, to a New Zealand investment company. Following todays announcement, North South is 52% owned by the UK-based management team with each of The Wine People, De Bortoli Wines and Reh Kendermann Weinkellerei holding a 16% equal share. Kim Wilson, managing director of North South Wines, said: This marks a very exciting time for North South Wines as we enter into our seventh year of trading. We have been working with Reh Kendermann for the past couple of years and there are some great synergies with our two businesses, so when the opportunity came up for another winery to invest, they were the obvious choice. We are seeing increased demand for premium German wines, and we have the relationships and routes to market that will allow us to continue to grow the Reh Kendermann business in the UK. There is a brand refresh of Black Tower coming in 2020, so we are thrilled at the prospect of being able to take this out to customers. Reh Kendermann is celebrating 100 years of making wine in 2020, so it is fantastic to have a winery rich in history and heritage joining the North South Wines board. Alex Rittlinger, joint managing director at Reh Kendermann GmbH, said: With this new partnership and the investment into NSW we continue to strengthen our position in the UK market as well as our Black Tower brand. Although there are many challenges at the moment, we strongly believe in the UK market and in the NSW team. This is a new chapter after investing in Yapp Brothers wine merchants around four years ago. We look forward to this new investment being beneficial for all parties for future growth. NSW is the right partner for us and together with our business, as a leading German wine producer, we will better overcome the challenges of the UK market in terms of German wine growth. In this way we can give the right signal to the changing UK retail market. Related articles: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 25, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Reduction in Violence Working in Afghanistan, Pompeo Says The US, Taliban are halfway through a weeklong semi-truce that could unlock door to US troop withdrawal The semi-truce in Afghanistan that could unlock the door to a U.S. troop withdrawal and long-term peace is still holding, according to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In 19 years of war, this is the first weeklong break in violence by all sides, if were successful in achieving it, he told reporters on Feb. 25, about halfway through the historic weeklong reduction in violence. So far, [its] is working. Its imperfect, but its working. The semi-truce between the Taliban, United States, and Afghan forces began on Feb. 22. If it holds for the entire week, the United States and the Taliban are expected to sign a deal over the weekend that includes what Pompeo described as a conditions-based and phased troop withdrawal. Ifand only ifits successful, we will sign the U.S.Taliban agreement coordinated with the Government of National Unity on or about Feb. 29, Pompeo said. The agreement also includes the start of negotiations between Afghans. These negotiations, if they take place, will be the first time that Afghans representing all sides of the conflict will sit down together and begin the hard work of reconciliation. We want to assist and provide structures so that the Afghans can ultimately get an outcome that is led by Afghanis, driven by Afghanis, and is a long-term solution that all of the people of Afghanistan can live with. The Taliban have agreed to not attack major military installations, provincial capitals, and major cities during the current weeklong agreement. However, logistics convoys and rural areas didnt come under the agreement. Only a handful of attacks have occurred since the detente began, according to the Military Times, which said attacks have been significantly reduced compared to usual levels. Were seeing what we would call a downward trend in violence, which is great for the Afghan people, said U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller. Its great for the country of Afghanistan. Taliban attacks have dwindled to about 15 a day from roughly 75 since the truce began on Feb. 22, according to AFP, citing an anonymous Afghan security source. The United States has continued to target the ISIS terror group in Afghanistan during the week, with the Pentagon announcing on Feb. 25 it had conducted two airstrikes that killed four ISIS terrorists. Pompeo said the negotiations reflected three principles that underpin President Donald Trumps foreign policy: realism, restraint, and respect. All of these apply to Afghanistan and what were doing there. Its a place where our brave soldiers, diplomats, allies, and Afghan counterparts have served and sacrificed now for nearly two decades, Pompeo said, adding that the United States had to be realistic about the costs of an outright military triumph in Afghanistan. Were proud of our gains, but our generals have determined that this war is unlikely to be won militarily without tremendous additional resources, he said. All sides are tired of fighting. Weve arrived at a historic opportunity for peace. It wont be easy to obtain; we should seize the moment. Opioid makers and distributors who proposed paying almost $50 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits over the addictive drugs are drawing more support from states, including California and New York, as pressure mounts for a deal before a trial starts next month, people with knowledge of the talks said. But nearly two dozen states and most of the cities and counties suing to hold the industry responsible for the havoc and high costs of the opioid epidemic say the terms still arent good enough. A Feb. 22 vote by the members of the National Association of Attorneys General found that 35 states and U.S. territories representing about 70% of the U.S. population back offers by Johnson & Johnson, McKesson Corp. and other opioid companies, people familiar with the results said. The proposal includes more than $23 billion in cash as well as donations of drugs and other services valued at more than $26 billion over nearly two decades. Thats a pickup of seven states plus one U.S. territory since the offer was unveiled in October, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they werent authorized to speak publicly. The pro-settlement state attorneys general are pushing the deal to resolve more than 2,500 lawsuits seeking to recover billions spent on drug treatment, police services and the like. More than 400,000 Americans have died of opioid overdoses over two decades. Shares of McKesson rose more than 2.4% on news of the additional support for the settlement before declining along with much of the market. AmerisourceBergen Corp. rose more than 1.8% on the news before giving up its gains. Another 19 states plus Puerto Rico, along with a majority of the suing cities and counties, say the current offer doesnt provide enough money fast enough. Although the companies want to strike a deal before next months state trial in New York, their lawyers have said they wont move forward with the deal unless a critical mass of states, cities and counties support it, the people said. Its unclear what they consider a critical mass. Richard Ausness, a University of Kentucky law professor who has been tracking the opioid suits, said no matter how many states sign on, the companies wont be interested until almost all the states, cities and counties are willing to drop their suits. Im sure the companies would like to pay out this settlement once rather than two or three different times to accommodate different groups of states and local governments, Ausness said. But to get this off their plate, they might be willing to do it piecemeal. The municipalities say a recent offer by McKesson, Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen to kick in more than $1 billion to cover some of their legal fees didnt sweeten the proposal enough to get them on board. As it stands with communities, the deal with the additional $1.2 billion over 18 years is not workable, plaintiffs lawyers Joe Rice, Paul Hanly and Paul Farrell said in an emailed statement. They are leading the charge for the cities and counties. AmerisourceBergen spokeswoman Kate Traynor declined to comment on the vote. McKesson spokesman David Matthews, Cardinal Health spokeswoman Erica Lewis and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. spokeswoman Kelly Dougherty didnt immediately return calls and emails seeking comment. Jake Sargent, a J&J spokesman, couldnt immediately comment on the vote. The companies deny wrongdoing and say they were making and distributing a product that was approved by regulators and plays an important role in pain management, despite the abuses. State and local governments are waging a litigation battle to force the industry to pay what some analysts say may be $100 billion to compensate them for tax dollars eaten up by the crisis. The suits have been consolidated before a federal judge in Cleveland. Oklahoma last year won a $465 million award against J&J in the first opioid case to go to trial. A federal jury was set to hear claims against McKesson and other distributors in October when that case settled for $260 million. In connection with that accord, the opioid makers and distributors announced their roughly $50 billion settlement offer. The New York case was the third to be set for trial. Drugmakers are accused of pushing opioid prescriptions on doctors across the U.S. and downplaying the risks of addiction, while distributors and pharmacies are accused of turning a blind eye to suspicious orders and failing to meet government requirements on the painkillers. Lawsuits have swamped some manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, which sought bankruptcy court protection from creditors in September. Mallinckrodt Plc announced Tuesday that it had reached a $1.6 billion settlement that will be handled through a Chapter 11 filing. The deal was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. Mallinckrodt, which was named as a defendant in the New York trial, has asked to be dropped from the case while it readies its bankruptcy filing, according to Hunter Shkolnik, one of the local governments lawyers. That request was denied, he said. Mallinckrodt spokesman Michael Freitag said the company had no comment on the matter. Among the states that have recently thrown their support behind the settlement are California and New York, the people said. That may put New York Attorney General Letitia James in an uncomfortable position, they noted. Jamess lawyers, along with private plaintiffs attorneys representing two New York counties, are slated to start presenting their cases against McKesson and the other distributors March 23. James said Monday that while her lawyers continue to prepare for the trial, shes backing the current offer to get funds to areas of the state hard hit by the opioid crisis. The consolidated case is In Re National Prescription Opioid Litigation, 17-md-2804, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland). [February 26, 2020] U.S. Treasury Official Danny McGlynn Joins K2 Intelligence Financial Integrity Network NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- K2 Intelligence and Financial Integrity Network (FIN) today announced that former U.S. Treasury official Danny McGlynn has joined the firm as a senior vice president. Mr. McGlynn joins the firm after serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was responsible for leading intelligence research and analysis to safeguard the international financial system from abuse and combat threats to national security. Following the firms' merger in 2019, K2 Intelligence and FIN offer premier financial crimes risk and compliance services to commercial, retail, and investment banks; financial services and FinTech firms; and governmental and non-financial obliged entities around the world. As part of his role, Mr. McGlynn will be responsible for managing and expanding the firm's online products and services team, with particular focus on developing the firm's newest offering, the Dedicated Online Financial Integrity Network (DOLFIN). DOLFIN is a seamless eLearning platform and online interface that offers a growing array of comprehensive continuing education, training, testing, and certification resources and risk management tools for professionals working in financial crimes compliance. The platform is uniquely designed to enable tailored access to specialized content and features for global and regional financial institutions, businesses, investment and FinTech firms, nonprofit organizations, and individuals seeking to manage heightened Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), sanctions, and Anti Bribery and Corruption (ABC) risks. Multimedia resources include a user-friendly library, live webinar, on-demand video, podcasts, toolkits, databases, and curated content to help users track and effectively mitigate emerging risks and evolving regulatory requirements. "We are excited to welcome Danny to our growing management team at K2 Intelligence and FIN," said Chip Poncy, Co-Head of the firm's financial crimes risk and compliance practice. "Danny's leadership experience working for the Treasury Department is invaluable, having played a key role in developing several of the counter-illicit finance strategies that guide global policies today. We know that by adding Danny's expertise and management skills to help grow our best-in-class team, we will further enhance our training and other offerings to clients around the globe, including our innovative, on-demand DOLFIN platform." "In today's global business environment, it is no longer enough to refine controls once an incident is detected and illicit activity occurs. There must be risk mitigation actions in place to prevent such activity at the start," said Thomas Bock, Co-Head of the firm's financial crimes risk and compliance practice. "Deepening our bench of experts and enhancing our core offerings for clients will continue to set us apart as the leader in risk management solutions, and we look forward to working with Danny to help drive training and other initiatives." Mr. McGlynn held a variety of positions over his 20-year tenure at the Treasury Department, including at the OIA and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Most recently, he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of OIA, and as the acting Assistant Secretary. He also served as OIA's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Analysis and Production, and as Director of its Middle EastEurope Office, helping to manage the department's effort to utilize intelligence information to conceptualize, coordinate, and implement strategies to deny terrorist and insurgent groups access to funding. Mr. McGlynn also held positions as Treasury's liaison to the U.S. Central Command, as a Compliance Specialist and Investigator for OFAC, and as a Presidential Management Fellow. Click here for additional information on Mr. McGlynn. About K2 Intelligence Financial Integrity Network (FIN) K2 Intelligence is an industry-leading investigative, compliance, and cyber defense services firm founded in 2009 by Jeremy M. Kroll and Jules B. Kroll, who is credited with originating the modern corporate investigations industry. Redefining 21st-century corporate intelligence, the firm combines subject-matter expertise with cutting-edge technology, bringing to bear the industry's best multidisciplinary teams to solve its clients' most difficult problems. With offices in New York, London, Washington, DC, Madrid, Geneva, Los Angeles, and Chicago, K2 Intelligence advises governments, companies, boards, and individuals in business areas including investigations and disputes, regulatory compliance, cyber defense, construction and real estate, strategic risk and security, and private client services. With the addition of Financial Integrity Network (FIN) in 2019, the firm assists financial institutions, sectoral clients, and governments with strategic advisory, policy, controls, and training to protect against the full range of illicit financing threats. For more information, visit www.k2intelligence.com or www.finintegrity.com. CONTACT: Paula Zirinsky Global Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] Lindsay Sweeney Media Relations Manager [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-treasury-official-danny-mcglynn-joins-k2-intelligence-financial-integrity-network-301011842.html SOURCE K2 Intelligence [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday alleged the Delhi Police was complicit in the violence that rocked parts of the national capital in the last few days even as the BJP in Telangana charged him with making provocative statements on CAA. Accusing the BJP-led NDA government of 'failure' to control the communal riots over the amended citizenship law that left 22 people dead in north east Delhi, he said it was high time Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah to visit the violence-hit areas and instill confidence. It is the failure of the BJP government... The whole world has seen how the Delhi police was complicit in this whole communal carnage which took place. I will not call it a communal riot. But, this is a deliberate pogrom. It reminds the nation of what happened in 2002, the Hyderabad MP told reporters here. He claimed the violent atmosphere was created by the incendiary speech made by a former MLA of BJP. Despite being aware of this, the Modi government and the Delhi Police deliberately failed to react creating an atmosphere in which fatalities occurred, he charged. Referring to certain reported incidents, he said:It clearly shows the government allowed these unsocial and communal elements to have a field day in Delhi." On the visit by National Security Adviser Ajit Dobhal to the affected areas, Owaisi claimed unsocial, communal elements entered the NSAs convoy. Innocent people had been killed. This is a shameful thing which has happened in the capital of our country. What is the Home Minister doing? What is the Prime Minister doing? You allowed this atmosphere to be created," he charged. On the reported comments of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur that those who chant Bharat Mata ki Jai will stay in India, Owaisi said he would like to ask the Prime Minister whether it is the sab ka sath- sab ka vikas that he talked about. Is this your belief in Indian Constitution? Your BJP chief minister is saying that if you want to live in India, you have to say this slogan. I will not say this slogan," he added. I would urge the Prime Minister, if you want to end this, let the Prime Minister, Home Minister visit these areas. Let them create confidence and take to task, who is responsible for all this. What is the message you are sending to the whole world," he said. Hitting out at Owaisi, state BJP President K Laxman said the Hyderabad MP had become like "another (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah. "He is provoking people the way Jinnah did then for creation of Pakistan," he alleged in a statement here. Laxman also accused Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his son and Minister K T Rama Rao of keeping mum and not taking action against AIMIM leaders. "What the CM is doing and why Rama Rao is not responding when the AIMIM leaders are making provocative statements and sowing seeds of differences by giving a communal colour to the CAA," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ability of different countries to effectively deal with the deadly Covid-19 outbreak will serve as a new benchmark for property buyers, say market observers. With the rapidly spreading epidemic providing the stress test for a countrys health security preparedness, there will be some winners and losers among the favoured investment destinations. After the epidemic, we expect health care to be even more important to buyers, said Georg Chmiel, executive chairman of property portal Juwai IQI. Countries like Thailand, the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia, which have good health care systems and highly ranked abilities to react to viral outbreaks, are likely to benefit from an increase in buyer activity. Chinese investors, one of the biggest sources of cross-border capital in property markets who spent an estimated US$120 billion in 2017, would be more conscious of health security in basing their decision, he added. According to the latest Global Health Security (GHS) index report released in October, no country in the world is fully prepared for epidemics or pandemics, but the US, with an overall score of 83.5, has the best capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to public health emergencies such as a viral outbreak. The UK came second, followed by the Netherlands, Australia and Canada, respectively. The study by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, and London-based The Economist Intelligence Unit assessed the capabilities of 195 countries. Thailand, a favourite investment destination of the Chinese and Hongkongers, took sixth spot. Thailand seems to be doing a good job of managing the outbreak, Chmiel said. The number of cases and deaths from the illness are about half or even better than the numbers in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Thailand was the first country after China to report cases of Covid-19. So far it had 35 confirmed cases, lower than the several hundred infections each in South Korea and Japan, and 90 in Singapore. Thailand has not reported any deaths. Story continues Cross-border property buyers are already considering health care and health systems among other criteria by which they evaluate destination countries. The reputation of countries like Singapore, Japan and Vietnam in this area will significantly impact future investment flows, Chmiel said. A view of Auckland city from Mt Eden. New Zealand is a perennial favourite among property buyers. Photo: SCMP For other potential buyers, perception of a countrys health security could be enough to sway their investment decision. Although New Zealand is ranked 35th overall in the GHS index, lower than South Korea (9), Japan (21) and Singapore (24), inquiries for investment in the country have risen by 32 per cent. Demand in New Zealand is always up when things globally look down. Its the classic safe place during a global crisis, Chmiel said. For Singapore-based proptech company PropertyGuru, the alarming news over the deadly and rapidly spreading coronavirus is making buyers and investors undeniably conscious of health security. I think countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam with lower infection rate and higher rate of recovery as well as robust precautionary measures taken would be favoured, said Tan Tee Khoon, country manager for Singapore at PropertyGuru. On the other hand, investors might just look for health-related property segments as an investment option instead of focusing on a specific country. This outbreak has made people more health conscious and has highlighted the importance of health-care type of well-being related real estate investment projects, said David Ji, head of research and consultancy for Greater China at Knight Frank, citing the likes of health spas or medical resorts in Switzerland as a future growth area. More from South China Morning Post: This article As coronavirus outbreak rages on, perceptions of a countrys health security to sway investors decision first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Donald Trump's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit against The New York Times Wednesday alleging it falsely spread a conspiracy theory tying the president to Russia. The campaign claims the newspaper intentionally committed libel when it reported the Trump team made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime to help him win the 2016 election. 'Today the President's re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the campaign had an 'overarching deal' with 'Vladimir Putin's oligarchy' to 'help the campaign against Hillary Clinton' in exchange for 'a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from ... economic sanctions,' the campaign's Senior Legal Advisor Jenna Ellis said in a statement. She also claimed the reports from the Times 'are 100 percent false and defamatory.' Donald Trump's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit against The New York Times alleging it engaged in 'libel' against the president The lawsuit stems from a March 2019 op-ed that claimed Trump had a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to help him win in the 2016 election in exchange for relief to Russia once he was in office 'The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process,' she continued. The case stems from a March 2019 op-ed article by columnist Max Frankel, who also served as the Times' executive editor from 1986-1994. He argues in the piece that there was an understood agreement between the Kremlin and Trump campaign to assist him in getting elected in exchange for relief toward Russia once he was in office. 'There was no need for detailed electoral collusion between the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putin's oligarchy because they had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administration's burdensome economic sanctions,' Frankel wrote at the time. 'The Trumpites knew about the quid and held out the prospect of the quo,' he continued. This was published before the term quid pro quo earned national attention when it became the center of the impeachment proceedings after Trump's infamous phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart. During the call, Democrat allege, Trump said he would release frozen military aid to the nation if it announced it was investigating his political rival Joe Biden. Max Frankel claimed in the Times op-ed that 'there was no need for detailed electoral collusion between the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putin's oligarchy because they had an overarching deal' In the lawsuit filed this week, the campaign says the Times was aware at the time of publication that the statements made by Frankel were false. It claims the op-ed was only allowed to be published because the paper has a bias against the Trump administration. 'The Times was well aware when it published these statements that they were not true. The Times' own previous reporting had confirmed the falsity of these statements,' the campaign alleges. 'But The Times published these statements anyway, knowing them to be false,' the filing continued, 'and knowing it would misinform and mislead its own readers, because of The Times' extreme bias against and animosity toward the Campaign, and The Times' exuberance to improperly influence the presidential election in November 2020.' Darnell Shields got a loan that he used for an office for his organization, Austin Coming Together. The organization connects other area groups and businesses, so they can work together on projects to improve life for residents. For example, it worked on a project to offer training in manufacturing for teens and adults at a local high school, he said. During one particularly heated exchange in Tuesdays presidential primary debate, former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads in the polls in South Carolina, turned his attention to Tom Steyer, the billionaire businessman who had managed to stay out of any conflicts despite running third in the polls in the state. Biden told an accusatory anecdote that may have shockedand confusedviewers unfamiliar with its context: You talk about concerns about race. My good friend on the end of this platform, he, in fact, bought a system that was a private prison system after he knew that, in fact, what happened was they hogtied young men in prison here in this state. They, in fact, made sure that in Georgia they did not have health care for the people who were being held. They, in fact, went on, and he said, after he knew that, he bought it. And then he said he was proud of his accomplishment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What exactly was Biden talking about? A real controversy involving Steyers hedge funds investment in the countrys largest private prison corporation in the early 2000s. Steyers hedge fund, Farallon Capital Management, had invested millions of dollars in the Corrections Corporation of America. According to Politico, this investment drew some notice at the time. Members of Yales graduate teachers union called on the university to divest from Farallon over the prison corporations alleged abuses. In 2004, Steyer defended the hedge funds work, but two years later, Farallon sold its CCA stock, and Steyer later cited the concerns of student leaders when explaining the decision. But Biden was talking about very specific kinds of abuse during the debateallegations the companys prisons hogtied young men in South Carolina and in Georgia made sure they did not have health care for the people who were being held. Advertisement Advertisement These allegations come from a lawsuit and a report mentioned in a 2000 Mother Jones article. The lawsuit, about a juvenile detention facility in South Carolina, mentioned children who were hog-tied and beaten by an overworked, undertrained staff. In one case from 2000, a federal jury awarded a teenage inmate $3.1 million after CCA officers hogtied him and threw him against a wall, bolstering this depiction of affairs. Advertisement A 1999 state audit found that in two Georgia prisons, the companys neglect of medical care and security amounted to borderline deliberate indifference. After Biden made his comments, Steyer responded angrily by saying that Biden was misrepresenting the situation. I bought stock in a prison company thinking theyd do a better job, and I investigated, and I sold it, he said. Advertisement Biden replied, You knew when you bought it theyd done that. Its impossible to know whether Steyer was aware of the prison companys mistreatment of prisoners, but that information was public at the time. However, Bidens assertion that Steyer had said he was proud of buying a prison was false. Steyer hadnt bought it (his hedge fund invested in the company), and he only said he was proud of his hedge funds work, not the prison itself. Steyer made one false claim to end the exchange: Since then, Ive worked to end the use of private prisons in my home state, and weve ended it. He has claimed this before. Steyer has supported legislation in California to eventually eliminate private prisons and privately run immigration detention facilities that contract with the federal government. But there are still private prisons in the state, and there are limitations to the law that will allow a number of them to continue to operate in California. Think About It: 365 Day Devotional: a beautiful 365-day companion in times of struggle that inspires readers with encouragement and a deeper faith in the Lord. Think About It: 365 Day Devotional is the creation of published author Betty Lambert, a lifelong resident of south Mississippi. She was a reading tutor at her local elementary school and Wounded Warrior liaison for the Mississippi National Guard before she gave it up and joined her husband in his travels across the United States. Lambert shares, The sole purpose of this book is to encourage you and to help you understand no matter what you are going through, you are not alone. No matter how hateful or hurtful this world has been to you, you have a loving Father that wants to wrap His arms around you to protect you and provide for you. He wants to fill you with His love, shower you with His mercy and grace. He wants to fill your heart, mind, and life with His peace, joy, strength, wisdom, and discernment. He wants to open the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings on you. It is my prayer that you will find all you need and more within the pages of this book. May God bless you and move mightily in your life. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Betty Lamberts new book is a heartwarming source of faith that will help the readers calm the storms in their lives as they read through the messages and thoughts held in this manuscript. The author deeply hopes that readers will hear Gods voice through her book. View a synopsis of Think About It: 365 Day Devotional on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Think About It: 365 Day Devotional at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Think About It: 365 Day Devotional, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Fromer Egyptian autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak died this Tuesday at the age of 91, nine years after a revolution flashed him out of power. State TV announced the death of the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years, without revealing the causes of the demise. The family of the Kafr El Meselha-born had announced a couple of weeks ago that he had undergone a surgery procedure. Taking over from President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Mubarak led Egypt with an iron-fist, allowing less criticism of his rule. However a coalition of opposition groups and very active youth movements sparked the end of his grip over the Arab country in 2011. Millions of Egyptians had then gathered in the now famous Tahrir Square to demand his resignation. Two months later, the former strongman was arrested and appeared in court for trial on multiple charges including corruption and massacre of demonstrators during the popular uprising. He was sentenced in 2012 to life in prison for conspiracy in the murder of 239 demonstrators during the revolt. The now-gone former ruler and his two sons were sentenced to three years in prison for corruption in early 2015. The sentences were later dropped and he was acquitted in 2017 following an appeal. A lot of our immigrant, English-language learners have overcome such traumatic experiences that really put a hindrance on their learning, Solano said. Having school staff that is culturally competent, that know how to engage families, that is really willing to work with community organizations to find resources they may not have at school is critical to students success. SARATOGA SPRINGS - In an effort to inspire voter participation, the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County and MLK Saratoga will present a literary tribute to democracy. The event, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, at Saratoga Arts, will include prose, poetry and music. Attendees are invited to share their original work, using language to celebrate differences, reaffirm human dignity and embrace humanity. A security guard wears protective clothing as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus as he stands at the entrance of a restaurant in Beijing on Feb. 25, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) Beijing Residents Fear Spread of Deadly Contagion As the novel coronavirus continues to ravage parts of China, residents in Beijingthe Chinese regimes seat of powershare the fear that the worst is yet to come. To date, authorities officially reported tens of thousands of infections nationwide, though experts say true numbers are likely to be much higher. More than 2,400 cases have popped up in 38 other countries, with local cases of transmission occurring in Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. This virus is just terrifying, a Beijing resident surnamed Chen said. He called the virus the invisible enemy. You cant see it, and it can stay in hiding for a long time, he said. Because we dont know where the enemies are, we also cant eliminate them out of sight. As the outbreak worsens, the Chinese regime has postponed the Communist Partys two largest political conferences, originally scheduled for early March. The Partys top officials usually meet in Beijing to discuss policies and priorities for the coming year. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has described efforts to contain the outbreak as an all-out war. We have battled for so long, but we dont even know where the enemy is, Chen said. Waiting It Out Beijing has turned into a ghost town amid virus fears. Few commuters ride on buses and subways during rush hour, while many shops and restaurants remain shut. Meanwhile, the egg-shaped theater venue, China National Center for the Performing Arts, on Sunday canceled all March events. Iconic tourist sites such as the Palace Museum have been closed since late January. At least 29 hutongs, narrow historical alleyways traditionally associated with Beijing neighborhoods, have installed doors or fences to restrict peoples movements. Chinese security guards wear protective masks as they stand on an empty commercial street in Beijing on Feb. 25, 2020. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Communities across the city have set up checkpoints to check peoples body temperatures. Vehicles cannot go through community compounds unless granted special permission. A local surnamed Liu told The Epoch Times only two of nine roads in his district were accessible. Many people like Chen have simply chosen to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible. Since late January, clusters of hospital-acquired infections have broken out in at least four Beijing hospitals, leading to mandatory quarantine of hundreds of patients and medical staff, according to local media reports. For example, Fuxing Hospital shut down two buildings in early February. The facility tracked down 668 people who had close contact with the infected patients and medical staff. On Feb. 19, health officials confirmed that a female employee at the Beijing-based e-commerce giant Dangdang.com was infected with the virus. She had worked for more than a week before she was diagnosed with the virus on Feb. 19, leading to the isolation of 66 co-workers at a quarantine center. More than 200 other employees also self-quarantined at home. On rare occasions when Chen steps out the door, he keeps a mask on at all times, and sprays himself with disinfectant after returning home. Like many local residents, he buys groceries in large quantities in order to minimize his trips. The advantage of being in a northern city like Beijing, Chen said, is the cold weatherthe vegetables dont spoil as quickly. He added that many residents are just waiting it out through gritted teeth. Calls for Transparency Zhao, a resident in Zhaoyang district in Beijing, said he has heard of four to five infections in his community compound. Local authorities sealed off the neighborhood and surrounding areas since the second case appeared. Though the city government provides a daily press briefing about the virus, residents sense that the government is not revealing the true scale of the outbreak. On Feb. 3, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference that it had notified the U.S. of the epidemic and their control measures 30 times since Jan. 3. But the Chinese public did not learn more details about the virus until weeks later. To Chen, this incident represented why the authorities cannot be trusted. How come Chinese people didnt hear anything about it? he said. Are you answering to Chinese people or Americans? A gate of a residential area is locked up as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Beijing on Feb. 24, 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) Chen was a student during the 1960s, when the Chinese regime launched the Great Leap Forward campaign, a five-year forced industrialization effort that led to one of the largest famines in human history. Despite the vast numbers of deaths, Chens school promoted propaganda that everything was normal. He also recalled that authorities downplayed the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2002 to 2003. He feels the handling of the current outbreak is similar, although citizens have made up for the absence of information through posting on social media. Otherwise we would all be in the dark, he said. We know nothing besides hiding at home. Zhao was similarly critical. Theres no transparency not the slightest clue about whats going on, Zhao said, adding that he was not optimistic about the future, given current information about how the disease spreads. Chinese authorities have acknowledged that the virus is capable of being spread through aerosols, or micro-sized droplets in the air, in a relatively closed environment. A Feb. 7 study by Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention also found that the virus was more contagious than related coronaviruses that cause SARS and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Chen also lamented the death of a whistleblower doctor, Li Wenliang, who was reprimanded on Jan. 3 for spreading rumors online about a SARS-like outbreak. He later died of the virus, after contracting it from a patient. Online censors, he said, make sure only what the Chinese regime wants to hear stays on the internet, with no questions asked. It created an impression that people are all praising them They muffle your mouth and ears, and prevent you from knowing anything, he said. But if [the outbreak] goes out of hand, no one can escape. Continuing the party's attack on Home Minister Amit Shah over the violence in Delhi, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proved that Shah had "completely failed" in his duties by sending Security Advisor to the affected areas of Delhi. He said party chief Sonia Gandhi had also said that the central government and Shah were responsible for the situation in Delhi. "By sending NSA Ajit Doval, Modiji has proved that Amit Shah has completely failed as Union Home Minister. Soniaji has also said this. Modiji, if you do not have faith on a failed Home Minister, why don't you dismiss him?" Surjewala said in a tweet. The Congress Working Committee had met in the morning to express its concern on violence in Delhi. While the party resolutions after CWC meetings are normally read by senior leaders, Sonia Gandhi addressed the media after the meeting and demanded resignation of Shah. Doval visited narrow alleys in violence-hit Maujpur area on Wednesday and appealed to people to maintain communal harmony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief executive of Vodafone Inaki Berroeta says he will push ahead with the telco's 5G plans as the deadline for an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission appeal to the Federal Court over its $15 billion merger with TPG approaches. Mr Berroeta said he had no update on whether the ACCC would appeal the decision, but announced he would commence the roll out of its new 5G towers within weeks before focusing on broader integration of the two businesses. Vodafone will switch on its first 5G towers within weeks, pushing ahead with plans for its merger with TPG despite the possibility of the ACCC appealing the Federal Court's decision to allow the tie-up. Credit:Louie Douvis We are very excited to be pushing ahead with our plans for 2020 by delivering our first 5G sites within weeks, with the initial rollout to continue throughout the year, Mr Berroeta said. Several thousands of 5G sites are expected to be built in the next few years, following the merger with TPG. Chinese people around the country are taking a positive attitude to having to stay at home for long periods during the coronavirus outbreak. In a recent interview to mobilize society to battle against the epidemic, Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to the Fudan University in Shanghai, said, Everyone is a soldier. Youre not just quarantining yourself at home, but combating the virus. Others are making the most of their time, with some seeking to better themselves by gaining new skill sets, such as 25-year-old Jia Yi, who works for an internet company in Beijing. Jia Yi works at home (Photo provided by the interviewee) While working from home, Jia has read four books, and does physical exercise every day. In addition, she also learned video and picture editing through online courses, saying these skills might be helpful in future work. "Though the epidemic has caused inconveniences, my work has not been greatly impacted, said Jia, who has helped her company launch six online events. Some are kept going through a sense of duty, as the epidemic affects the lives of millions of Chinese citizens. A woman surnamed Wang from the outbreak epicenter Wuhan had to be separated from her husband due to travel restrictions. Wang's daughter plays game at home. (Photo provided by the interviewee) Wang, who works for a state-owned enterprise in the city, lives at her parents house with her daughter in Wuchang, a district in southern Wuhan, while her husband takes care of her parents-in-law in Hankou, another district of the city. We canceled our family reunion for the Chinese New Year, as thats what the country called on us to do, and besides, we both have to take care of our parents in these two districts. Now we talk to each other through video calls every day, Wang said. Wang says that going out to fetch the daily necessities she has ordered online is like going through a battlefield. She has to put on a coat and shoes that she uses exclusively for these missions, as well as two masks, a pair of goggles and a shower cap. "Nobody wants to be like this, but this is not a big deal as we have to protect ourselves and our family, said Wang, who was inspired by the rapid construction of makeshift Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals. Although more and more patients are being discharged from hospitals, she said that they will continue to protect themselves and wait at home for the final victory over the virus, and for her family to meet again. Wang Liangliang teaches math online. (Photo provided by the interviewee) Wang Liangliang, a teacher at an online education institution, started offering online courses from Feb. 3, days after the outbreak of the epidemic. "I have to work harder during the epidemic to show the attraction of mathematics to the students who have to study from home, said Wang, adding that there has been an obvious increase in the number of students taking live online courses compared to previous years. According to Wangs company, over a million students from across the country took Wangs online math courses between Feb. 3 and 10. "This is my job. I think teachers and doctors both do honourable jobs, but this time, the epidemic further increased my admiration for the doctors fighting the virus on the frontline, he said. In this silent war, millions of ordinary citizens are confining themselves to their homes in a bid to contain the virus. They are doing so in the same spirit as the doctors battling the virus at the front line. They firmly believe that Wuhan, and China, will eventually win. Picture shows the main entrance to the hospital of Erkelenz, Germany, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) New Coronavirus Cases in Germany, One Man in Critical Condition A 25-year-old man living in the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has tested positive for coronavirus after a trip to Milan, and another man further north is in a critical condition with the disease, authorities said on Tuesday. The Baden-Wuerttemberg health ministry said the man in the southern state, who had likely become infected during his visit to Italy, had contacted authorities after coming down with flu-like symptoms. He will be treated in isolation, it added. People in close contact with the patient will be kept in home isolation and be asked about their state of health every day, it said. As soon as a contact person develops symptoms, they will also be isolated in hospital. Picture shows the closed main entrance to the administration headquarters of the North-Rhine Westphalian district of Heinsberg, Germany, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Wolfgang Rattay/ Reuters) In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state health ministry said the man there was admitted to hospital on Monday afternoon with symptoms of severe pneumonia. The patient is in a critical condition and is currently being isolated in the intensive care unit, the ministry said. The patients wife is also being treated as an in-patient with symptoms of a viral disease. Her condition is currently stable. The diagnosis on whether she has also been infected with the virus is still pending, it added in a statement. Schools and kindergartens in the Heinsberg district of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the man is from, will remain closed on Wednesday as a precaution, the ministry said. The new confirmed cases take to 18 the total number of coronavirus cases in Germany. There have been no deaths. A poster with information about the new coronavirus and an advice on how to get medical help for suspected symptoms is displayed at an entry door of a doctors office in Berlin, Germany on Feb. 25, 2020. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters) Car supplier Webasto said last month a Chinese employee had tested positive for the virus upon returning to China following a visit to the company headquarters near Munich. The employee apparently infected several German colleagues during the visit. The new coronavirus, believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has since spread to more than a dozen countries. Neighboring Switzerland confirmed its first case of the coronavirus earlier on Tuesday. Austria also confirmed its first two cases on Tuesday. By Thomas Escritt and Paul Carrel Vladimir Putin's assistant spoke about his work in government of Russian Federation and his attitude to Ukraine Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Vladislav Surkov, from the end of 2013, was the curator of the unrecognized Donetsk and Luhansk republics, but resigned in February 2020, because "the context has changed." He said this in an interview with the Russian news agency of Actual Comments. I mainly dealt with Donbas and Ukraine. The context has changed, lets say so. That is, in the end, I had to continue to deal with them. But the context has changed ... - he said. Surkov also said that he was proud of his political participation in the Donbas conflict. "I have spent a long time on domestic politics, but in 2013, it was time to leave. I left. But then I returned to the civil service. There were reasons. And also because I got a unique opportunity to choose a project myself. I chose Ukraine. I am proud to be a participant," the former assistant to Putin noted. He also spoke about his negative attitude towards Ukraine, Ukrainians and Ukrainian culture, while clarifying that he is a "ukroptimist." "There is no Ukraine. There are Ukrainians. That is a specific disorder of minds. A fascination with ethnography is brought to extremes. There is a welter instead of a state. There is borsch, Bandera, a bandura. But there is no nation. I believe that Ukraine does not exist yet. But with time it is all So it will be, Surkov said. According to him, relations with Ukraine were never simple for Russia, even when Ukraine was part of the USSR. And the only method that has historically proven its effectiveness in the Ukrainian direction is force coercion towards fraternal relations. As we reported before, Assistant to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vladislav Surkov, almost stopped his work in the Ukrainian direction after the Zelenskys victory in the presidential election in Ukraine What lessons must both parties draw from two decades of war? Two decades after its invasion of Afghanistan, the United States has come to the inevitable conclusion that it must end its military intervention there. Unable to win against the Taliban insurgency, Washington has finally given up on a military solution and embraced negotiations, dictated largely by those it long deemed terrorist fundamentalist killers swathed in American blood. The decision has been a long time coming, but successive US administrations have persistently avoided it, insisting that the US was making progress, if not outright winning. The secret documents dubbed the Afghanistan Papers released last year revealed a long-standing official policy of deliberately deceiving the American public into thinking everything was fine on the war front when in fact nothing was. Just like the 1971 Pentagon Papers about the war in Vietnam, the new revelations made it clear that this was also an unwinnable war and that it was only a matter of time before the US pulled out. In this context, the deal reached with the Taliban in Doha this month may soften the blow, but the compromises are no less humbling for the US and quite unsettling for its Afghan allies. Failing successfully It took the US and its allies only two months to liberate Kabul from the grip of the Taliban and less than two years for the then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to declare at a May 1, 2003, news conference in Kabul that major combat activity was over. This was the same day President George W Bush proclaimed rather bombastically that the war in Iraq was mission accomplished. The US did disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, at least militarily, and in 2011 killed its leader Osama bin Laden, but all subsequent military surges and strategies failed to crush or contain the Taliban. Instead of declaring victory against al-Qaeda and calling it a day, considering that the Taliban took no part in the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the US persisted in its war efforts. But Afghanistan like Iraq soon turned into a huge quagmire for the US-led coalition. Its tough terrain, tribalism, and the tenacious Taliban, all made it impossible to win the war. Indeed, the Taliban grew even stronger and deadlier in the second decade of the conflict, exacting a heavy price on the Americans, their coalition and their Afghan allies. After 18 years of war, some 2,400 US soldiers and more than 150,000 Afghans killed, Washington has finally accepted the reality of its defeat. In the process, the US has spent, not to say wasted, over a trillion or according to some, two trillion dollars on the war, almost 1,000 times more than Afghanistans GDP. Once again, the imperial power of the day has lost to indigenous fighters, finally realising that when it fights a relatively weaker party for too long, it also becomes weak. After Vietnam and Iraq, the US seems to have lost its third major war and the longest of them all. The only remaining question for the US was how best to avoid a repetition of the fall of Saigon and the humiliating scene of the last US helicopter fleeing South Vietnam. Saving face To put an end to continuing losses in blood, pride and treasure, two years ago, the US finally embraced the idea of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, largely on the armed groups own terms. The US had wanted the Taliban to start talks first with the Afghan government in order to reach a national accord on the future of the country and governing system, but the Taliban leaders refused to negotiate with the US puppet in Kabul. They insisted on direct negotiation with Washington over a US military withdrawal before any dialogue with the Afghan authorities. The US caved in or, as former US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker called it surrendered. For a year and a half, it engaged in talks with the Taliban in Doha. It pushed them forward even after US President Donald Trump called them off temporarily after the death of a US soldier in a suicide bombing in September last year. Last week, an agreement was finalised, at least in principle. Before proceeding with the signing, the US insisted that the Taliban agree to a week of reduction in violence to show it controls all of the various armed groups in the country, and commits to denying any hostile group like al-Qaeda a haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban agreed. But the armed group refused to commit to a particular American, democratic or liberal vision for the future Afghanistan, and insisted on the release of its imprisoned members before it began negotiations with the central government in Kabul. Diplomacy once again reflected not the absolute power of either party or the primacy of international law, but the balance of power on the ground. It is, in fact, a symmetrical diplomatic process with the clear objective of restoring Afghan sovereignty and independence free of foreign forces, no ifs, no buts, no maybes. The electoral calculus President Trump began his tenure by talking tough, making threats and even warning of tens of millions killed in Afghanistan, but the Taliban leaders were not impressed. They called his bluff through further escalation, believing time was on their side. As the US election countdown clock ticked, the president became ever more eager to make a deal. He even floated the idea of a Camp David summit to end the war in Afghanistan, but the Taliban rejected it. The US president may lack certain qualities, but tenacity is not one of them. He has already made good on his pledge to walk away from important international agreements, erect a wall along the border with Mexico and move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And now comes the time to reduce US military footprints in the greater Middle East, notably in Afghanistan, especially after Trump deployed more troops to the Gulf region to deter Iran. If it works out, this deal would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration, considering the broad public consensus in the US over the need to end the war in Afghanistan as soon as possible. Bringing to a close the US withdrawal which the Obama administration started but could not finish may well prove to be one of his greatest electoral assets Lessons learned? Afghans have lived in horror and devastation for the past four decades, starting with the 1979 Soviet invasion, which ushered in a civil war, and then the US invasion of 2001. The countrys war economy has bred corruption and expanded the narcotics-dominated black market, which produces some 80 percent of the worlds opium. Even if diplomacy succeeds, and the foreign forces leave, it is going to take a miracle for Afghans to reach national reconciliation, rebuild their nation, and put the country on the path to normalcy. Despite the calming words of deputy Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani in an op-ed in the New York Times last week, many Afghans are afraid of a vengeful, uncompromising Taliban. The armed group could come back with a vengeance in Kabul and re-impose its ultraconservative ways on Afghan politics and society, facing little resistance from a weak and inept central government unable to protect the few political and social reforms enacted over the past two decades. A lot will depend on the tenacity of Afghan society and its ability to engage in nation-building on its own, without the dictates of outside powers. It is said, the wise learn from the mistakes of others, the smart learn from their own mistakes, and the foolish learn from neither. The Americans may have finally learned their history lesson: all empires, from the Persian and the Mongol to the British and Soviet, have suffered defeat in Afghanistan. It is the graveyard of empires, stupid. If the US-Taliban agreement holds, and that is a big IF, the Afghans too will have the opportunity to draw their own lessons. Will they stop al-Qaeda and ISIS type groups from making Afghanistan their safe haven? Will they begin the process of healing to end the suffering? May Afghans, especially the Taliban prove as resilient in the pursuit of peace as they have been in waging war. At least 11 schools in the UK have sent pupils home over fears children and staff are at risk from coronavirus after an outbreak in Italy. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) At least 12 schools in the UK have sent pupils home over fears children and staff are at risk from coronavirus. Some schools have closed entirely while others have told students and teachers who are feared to have been exposed to the virus, known as Covid-19, in Northern Italy, to stay at home. Travellers returning to the UK from northern Italy have been told they may need to self-isolate as part of measures to stop the spread of illness after hundreds of infections were confirmed in the region. Authorities in Italy reported on Tuesday night that the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, and deaths of patients with the virus rose to 11. Britons who have been in affected regions of Italy including Lombardy and Veneto were told they should self-isolate at home for 14 days even if they have no symptoms. A number of schools are closed and more have sent some staff and pupils home over coronavirus fears. Coronavirus cases in Europe have rocketed this week. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. The first positive test in South America has been recorded after 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy tested positive, it has been reported. These are the schools which are known to be been affected: Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire is closed for the week Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough is closed for the week Lutton St Nicholas primary school in Lincolnshire is closed Gedney Church End primary school in Lincolnshire is closed St Christophers C of E High School in Accrington told parents it would be shut on Wednesday Sandbach High School in Cheshire said students and staff who visited Aprica, in Italys Lombardy region, were to stay indoors and self-isolate Brine Leas School in Nantwich, said its sixth form was closed due to staff shortages following Government advice regarding travel to Italy Penair School in Truro, Cornwall has told students to stay home after returning from ski trips Salendine Nook High School in Huddersfield has told students to stay home after returning from ski trips Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby has told students to stay home after returning from ski trips Newquay Tretherras in Newquay has told students to stay home after returning from ski trips St Peters C of E Primary School in Windsor is closed on Wednesday Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK [Read the latest on the shooting] MILWAUKEE In a city renowned for its brewing tradition, the sprawling Molson Coors campus was an icon in itself, a place known for decades to Milwaukee locals as the old Miller Brewery. But on Wednesday afternoon, officials said, a worker still in his uniform stormed the facility and began shooting. He killed five people, all fellow employees. Its frightening, said Representative Gwen Moore, a Democrat whose district includes Milwaukee, and whose congressional office includes a Miller High Life sign. Its anathema to the kind of culture that we expect. This is heartbreaking because Milwaukee is a very friendly city. The police chief, Alfonso Morales, said the gunman, a 51-year-old from Milwaukee, killed himself after the attack. Hours after the shooting, the police were continuing to search the more than 20 buildings on the Molson Coors campus, where about 1,000 people work. Late into the evening, some workers remained stuck inside the complex waiting for the police to finish their search and clear the workers to go home. ANSAmed - Tomorrow's events in the Mediterranean (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 26 - Weekly diary of the main events scheduled for tomorrow in the Euro-Mediterranean area: NAPLES - Italy-France Summit. PARIS - PM Edouard Philippe meets with party leaders and parliamentary groups to focus on risks linked to the coronavirus epidemic. BRUSSELS - 10th meeting between the European Commission and the African Union Commission. (ANSAmed). BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Nargiz Ismayilova Trend: Azerbaijan has established close cooperation with foreign companies, as well as began to negotiate on the implementation of certain projects, Director of the Regulation of Energy Efficiency and Ecology Department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy Alasgar Hasanov told Trend. "As a result of negotiations and a deliberate choice from the proposals of the companies on January 9, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan signed agreements between the Ministry of Energy and the companies of ACWA Power company of Saudi Arabia and Masdar company of the UAE with the aim of implementing pilot projects for the construction of power plants based on wind and solar energy," Hasanov added. Director of the ministry's ecology department noted that the implementing agreement signed with ACWA Power, includes the construction of a 240 megawatt wind farm and a 200 megawatt solar plant. "Within the framework of these two projects, it is planned to generate about 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity during the year. The volume of investments in these projects is estimated at $400 million," the director said. "Legal and technical activities are continuing in Azerbaijan within the framework of the Commission established to coordinate and implement pilot projects, associated with the construction of wind and solar power plants," Hasanov said. Presently, Azerbaijan is taking steps to develop alternative energy. For this purpose, the negotiations are underway with foreign companies and investors, including the companies from China, the UAE, the US and the EU. The reason for the search for alternative energy sources is the need to receive it from the energy of renewable or practically inexhaustible natural resources and phenomena. Its other advantage is environmental friendliness and profitability. --- Follow the author on Twitter:@IsmailovaNargis By Akbar Mammadov The 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide perpetrated by Armenian forces on February 26, 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh war has been commemorated around the world. A commemoration event was held in Solothurn, Switzerland on February 25. Co-organized by the Azerbaijan-Turkish Culture Association, Friends of Azerbaijan and Cultural Center of Azerbaijanis in Switzerland diaspora organizations jointly with the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Switzerland, the ceremony brought together public figures and Azerbaijanis living in Switzerland. Ambassador Khanum Ibrahimova described Khojaly massacre as the most painful tragedy in the recent history of the Azerbaijani people. She used a quote from Former President Heydar Aliyevs speech on Khojaly, who had said that "The Khojaly genocide with its inconceivable cruelty and inhuman punitive methods completely targeted against the people of Azerbaijan and represents an act of barbarism the history of humankind. At the same time, this genocide was a historical crime against humanity". Ambassador talked about the atrocities committed by Armenia, noting Azerbaijan's efforts to expose the aggressive policy of this country in the world. She informed the audience about the international awareness campaign "Justice for Khojaly!", initiated by Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Khanum Ibrahimova reminded that the Khojaly genocide was also brought to the attention of the international community by President Ilham Aliyev during his speech at the Munich Security Council on February 15 where he exposed Armenias policy of aggression. Addressing the event, head of the Azerbaijan-Turkish Culture Association Cevzet Aras said that Khojaly massacre was the continuation of ethnic cleansing policy carried out by the Armenian chauvinist-nationalists against Azerbaijanis. The Embassy also organized an exhibition reflecting the horrors of the Khojaly genocide, as well as Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Khojaly genocide was also commemorated in Chicago, the United States. The event was organized by the Azerbaijan Center of Midwest America, with the support of the State Committee for Work with Diaspora and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United States of America at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. As part of the event, a photo exhibition and seminar on Khojaly tragedy - bloody memory and memories were organized. The event was attended by the head of Azerbaijani Center of Midwest America (ACMA), Farid Mammadov and ACMA Board Chairman Mehriban Mammadova, Consul General of Turkey in Chicago Ayse Selcan Sanli, employyes of the Embassy of Azerbaijan to the US and the State Committee for Diaspora, US Congressman Mike Quigley's Representative, Jenny Herman, Head of the Central Asian Effectiveness Research Center, Professor Harry Lepinski, Jenin Ntihirageza, professor of genocide and war disasters at Northeastern Illinois University, Professor Maria Korkatsch-Groszko, Member of the Board of the Holocaust and Genocide Commission of Illinois, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American American Congress in Ukraine - Roman Yatskowski and Feny Sempson-Cohen, Representative of the American Jewish Community in Chicago, as well as, as a special guest Canin Oberrotman, the Holocaust witness and others. Earlier, on February 22, Azerbaijanis living in around 30 European countries held a rally to commemorate the Khojaly victims and to raise awareness about Armenian aggression against Azerbaijani civilians. The participants of the rally voiced the slogans "Karabakh is Azerbaijan!", "We say no to terror!", "Azerbaijan demands justice!", "Don't be indifferent to Khojaly!", "Shame to the murders of the civils and innocent people!", "Armenia stop lying!", "Stop invasion!", etc. A number of commemorative events were also held in Azerbaijan. The even dedicated to the 28 anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held in Navy Forces according to the action plan approved by the Minister of Defense. The staff of the N military unit, members of the Public Union "Promotion of Khojaly genocide", public representatives and schoolchildren participated in the event. The comprehensive information about the ethnic cleansing, genocide, aggression policy purposefully committed by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijani people, the dire consequences of the massacre in Khojaly committed on February 26, 1992, material and moral damage to the Azerbaijani people as a result of the tragedy were provided during the event. Series of events commemorating the anniversary of the Khojaly genocide were held in the troops of Nakhchivan Garrison. It was stated during the event that for the first time, the Khojaly genocide was legally and politically evaluated upon the initiative of Heydar Aliyev and the Justice for Khojaly international promotion campaign that plays a significant role to raise awareness about the tragedy. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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But, added Principal Baruch Hochman, Theyre not certified. And therefore, Hochman said, STEM-related classes for Toldos Yaakov Yosefs 220 Orthodox Jewish students are not as advanced as the school would like. So, Hochman and a colleague from the school, known as TYY, were among dozens of representatives of Lakewood yeshivas who had attended an informational meeting at Lakewood High School about a new state grant program that will pay eligible public school teachers to teach STEM classes in private schools. More than 100 men in black coats and yarmulkes and women dressed in skirts, woolen stockings and flats gathered in the LHS auditorium. Some were among the 21 Lakewood public school faculty members who had volunteered for the program, including Orthodox and non-Jewish teachers. None of them said they were volunteering for the program for the extra pay, which will be an hourly wage based on their regular pay. I love math, said Maryan Mikhail, a Lakewood algebra teacher who is a Coptic Christian originally from Egypt. I like to give it to the students. Hochman said the religious or other backgrounds of the STEM teacher would make no difference to him or the yeshivas Orthodox families. As long as theyre ethical and they respect the religion, Hochman said. The grant program sets aside a total of $5 million for the programs first year, 2020-21, to pay public school teachers who inform their district they would like to be placed on a list of participants compiled by each county superintendent of schools and made available to private schools looking for STEM teachers, whose email addresses are included on the list. The private schools, which can look for teachers beyond the district or county in which theyre located, then reach out directly to teachers theyre interested in. If the teacher wants the work, he or she then works with their district and the private school to arrive at a teaching schedule that does not interfere with the teachers normal public school classes. To be eligible, teachers must either be STEM certified, enrolled in a STEM certification program, or pledge in writing to enroll in a program within 2 years. Education department and public school officials say the eligibility requirement will benefit public school students as well as private, by encouraging more teachers to earn their certification. The signed agreement, plus a teaching plan and proof of eligibility, are then submitted to the education department as part of the grant application for review and approval. The states deadline for application is April 15, with grants to be awarded later in the spring. In addition to being the deadline for filing state and federal tax returns, Lakewood Public Schools lawyer and spokesman Michael Inzelbuch noted that April 15 is also a Jewish holiday this year, the last day of Passover, and he urged yeshivas to contact teachers and work out scheduling agreements well before the deadline. Inzelbuch said an early submission did not guarantee a grant, but it couldnt hurt. I assume the sooner you apply the better, Inzelbuch said. When Costco is having a sale, you want to get there first. Although the grant program was authorized under a 2018 amendment to existing private school funding legislation, it has received little attention up to now, particularly in areas where the private school population is not unusually large. The education department said last week that a total of 119 teachers from throughout the state had volunteered for the program a full month after registration for it began, meaning most districts had not registered a single teacher. But nonpublic education is a dominant issue in Lakewood, thanks to the large and growing Orthodox community, which sends its school age children almost exclusively to private yeshivas. Yeshvia students outnumber their public school counterparts by a nearly 6-1 ratio n Lakewood, with 36,000 Orthodox students attending 127 local yeshivas, compared to about 6,300 mainly Hispanic, black and non-Jewish white students in the public schools, according to Inzelbuch, who hosted Tuesdays STEM meeting. Like the Orthodox communitys overall population, the number of Orthodox students in Lakewood is also rapidly growing, at a rate of about 2,500 per year, Inzelbuch said. That pace of growth alone has fueled demand for STEM teachers in local yeshivas, according to Rabbi Aaron Kotler, a leader of Lakewoods Orthodox community, who was involved in the creation of the STEM grant program. Critics of the program have labeled it one more example of public spending on private education. David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, which advocates for state aid sufficient to provide a thorough and efficient education for students in poor districts, said state spending on private schools is totals $118 million for the current school year. But in the case of the STEM grant program, Inzelbuch insisted the $5 million set aside for the coming school year is not taking away from public school students. None of this money is coming from our public school money, said Inzelbuch, or our public school students. The states biggest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, which has questioned public spending outside traditional public schools but whose members could benefit financially from the STEM grants, does not have a position on the program, said a spokesman for the union, Steven Baker. Lakewood Public Schools attorney Michael Inzelbuch during an informational meeting Tuesday morning on the new STEM grant program. To his immediate right is the district superintendent, Laura Winters, with the school board president, Moshe Bender, on the far left.Steve Strunsky |NJ Advance Media For NJ.com 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 Details on extending the Luas out to Finglas have been revealed. The plan includes four stops and a park and ride facility. Transport Infrastructure Ireland says the proposed Luas Finglas project will involve extending the northern part of the green line from its current terminus in Broombridge to Charlestown. The new track will be around four kilometres long, with four news stops, two main bridges and a new park and ride facility. The Broombridge depot would also be extended. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has published a tender for a survey of the landscape to be carried out. Former Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has long campaigned for the extension, dubbing it "FingLUAS". He says it would connect communities in Charlestown and Meakstown to the City Centre in as little as 15 minutes. Very much welcome todays release of proposed draft plans of the FingLUAS. We know the intention is to have 4 stops, a park and ride facility, and ending in Charlestown. Ive campaigned for it since 2016 and wont be stopping now. Full steam ahead, so to speak. pic.twitter.com/XynSoPfOgE Noel Rock (@NoelRock) February 25, 2020 A public consultation is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Irish Rail will begin building the country's newest train station today. Pelletstown Station will be located in the Cabra area of Dublin and will cost about 10m. The station is set to opens in 18 months and trains will reach the city centre in just 12 minutes. Barry Kenny from Irish Rail says it will be the 145th station on the network: "This is the newest train station on the Iarnrod Eireann network commencing today. "Pelletstown station is between between Ashtown and Broombridge on the Dublin to Maynooth line. "It is obviously a very growing and busy commuter area, the existing community of Ashington and the new community of Royal Canal Park. "And with construction beginning today this station and trains for that community will be arriving in the summer of 2021." The two men had met when they faced enemy fire in a bunker on Marble Mountain in Vietnam. In 2017 retired Marine Master Sgt. William H. Cox stood tall, proud, and dressed in his Blues at the head of the coffin of his close friend Retired Marine First Sgt. James Hollie Hollingsworth. In doing this, he fulfilled a vow made to his close friend. It was New Years Eve, but instead of champagne corks and dance music, all that could be heard was the whine of bullets that ricocheted in all directions and explosion of shells. The two men vowed that if they made it through this horror of a New Year, they would keep in contact every New Year for the rest of their lives. After completing their military service, the two men returned to the United States and went on with their lives. They ended up living thousands of miles from each other, but this separation did not stop the two men from keeping their promise made in the heat of battle. The vow made by Cox and Hollingsworth stood the test of time, and every year for the next 50 years, the two old friends made contact with each other every 31st December. Neither allowed any of the vagaries of life to interfere with the keeping of this tradition. As Hollingsworths life was drawing to a close, Cox, aged 83 at the time, made the long trip from Piedmont in South Carolina to see his friend in Hephzibah in Georgia, and to have the chance to say good-bye. At that meeting, Hollingsworth had one final request to make to his friend; he asked him to stand guard over his coffin and to deliver a eulogy. Cox jokingly replied that Hollingsworth had assigned him a rough mission, but after all that they had endured together, he was sure that he could accommodate his friends dying wish. Coxs son, Bill Cox, shared a photograph on Facebook of the two men deep in conversation. The caption on the picture said that the two great Marines were reunited once again. Cox went on to say how proud he was of his father and the service that he had done for his country. He also mentioned how great it was listening to stories recounted by one of his fathers oldest friends. The two old warhorses always ended all their conversations with the same phrase, Hollie, you keep em flying, and Ill keep em firing. In keeping with their tradition, this was the last thing that Cox said to Hollingsworth as the friends parted company for the last time. Cox kept the promise made to his friend at that last meeting and at Hollingsworths funeral held on the 20th October 2017, there is a photograph of the proud octogenarian, dressed in his Marine Blues standing at the head of his friends coffin. At the end of a very emotional eulogy, given by Cox, his last words were the traditional farewell between the two men, Hollie, you keep em flying, and Ill keep em firing. Lt. Dan Gary Sinise Honored With Award From Congressional Medal of Honor Society There has also been an outpouring of respect shown to these two amazing men that met in the midst of chaos but faithfully kept their vow to maintain contact, a pledge kept for 50 years. GENEVA, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Headquarters of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Today, Call for Code Founding Partner IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Creator David Clark Cause, in partnership with United Nations Human Rights and the Linux Foundation announced this year's Call for Code Global Challenge, inviting the world's software developers and innovators to help fight climate change with open source-powered technology. Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: Prometeo Tests Call for Code Winning Solution with Firefighters in Spain Prometeo, winner of the Call for Code 2019 Global Challenge, field tested their technology during a controlled burn near Barcelona, Spain. Prometeo's wearable device helps monitor firefighter safety in real-time and aims to help improve health outcomes in the long-term. Prometeo was created by a veteran firefighter, an emergency medical nurse, and three developers. Prometeo won the 2019 Call for Code Global Challenge. https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8668651-ibm-2020-call-for-code-global-challenge/ On its 75th anniversary, the United Nations is demanding a 'global reality check' and has launched the biggest-ever global conversation on how to address the world's most pressing issues such as climate change. Heeding the UN's rallying cry to help build the future we want, IBM is joining forces with key UN agencies and world leaders to help tackle the climate crisis. Following two successful years, the 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge encourages and fosters the creation of practical applications built on open source software including Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, and data from The Weather Company. The goal is to employ technology in new ways that can make an immediate and lasting humanitarian impact in communities around the world. A recent global IBM study conducted by Morning Consult surveyed more than 3,000 developers, first responders and social activists across China, Columbia, Egypt, India, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States, and found: 77% of first responders and developers surveyed agree with the statement 'Climate change is the single most pressing issue facing my generation.' 79% of respondents agree that climate change is something that can be reduced or combated with technology. 87% of respondents feel it is important that a potential employer has taken action on climate change. Three quarters of respondents agree that the open source community can help scale climate change solutions to communities in need. Eight in ten respondents agree that most people want to do something to help combat climate change, but don't know where to start. Over 180,000 participants from 165 nations took part in Call for Code in 2019; they created more than 5,000 applications focused on natural disaster preparedness and relief. This year Call for Code is challenging applicants to create innovations based on open source technologies to help halt and reverse the impact of climate change. "There is an urgent need to take action against climate change, and IBM is uniquely positioned to connect leading humanitarian experts with the most talented and passionate developers around the world," said Bob Lord, IBM Senior Vice President of Cognitive Applications and Developer Ecosystems. "IBM is determined to identify, deploy, and scale technology solutions that can help save lives, empower people, and create a better world for future generations." Lord noted that IBM has been mobilizing throughout the company, from policy commitments on climate to IBM's weather forecasting capabilities powered by AI and supercomputers. "Over these past two years through Call for Code UNDRR has seen the potential for developers to tackle major societal challenges, and developers will have a crucial role in our response to the climate emergency," said Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction. "Climate change is the most critical issue of our time, with a multitude of localized contributing factors and cascading effects that cannot be solved by a single organization. We need a global network to fight this together." IBM and David Clark Cause are thrilled to launch the third year of Call for Code in Geneva with new sponsor Unity Technologies, returning sponsor Persistent Systems, returning supporters Johnson & Johnson and Capgemini, and new supporters Red Hat and Nearform. We also welcome continued collaboration from returning supporters Bank of China, Morgan Stanley, Cognizant, Infosys, Arrow Electronics, and the Clinton Foundation, in addition to the broad ecosystem of companies, foundations, universities, and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Jonas Brothers, Sting, and Morgan Freeman supporting the initiative. "As part of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, we are proud to work with our Founding Partner IBM to help commemorate this momentous occasion by focusing the 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge on climate change. By inspiring and empowering developers around the world to help with this global threat, Call for Code can generate real impact," said David Clark, Creator of Call for Code and CEO of David Clark Cause. "I am also excited President Bill Clinton returns for the third year as an eminent judge for the Challenge, along with leading experts in human rights, disaster response, business, and technology from all over the world." Last year's Call for Code Global Challenge winning team, Prometeo, created a wearable device that measures carbon monoxide, smoke concentration, humidity, and temperature to monitor firefighter safety in real-time as well as to help improve their health outcomes in the long-term. The solution has been developed further through IBM's Code and Response program and has just completed its first wildfire field test during a controlled burn with the Grups de Reforc d'Actuacions Forestals (GRAF) and the Grup d'Emergencies Mediques (GEM) dels Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain. Prometeo was developed by a team comprising a veteran firefighter, an emergency medical nurse, and three developers. As recently piloted, the Prometeo hardware-software solution is based on multiple IBM Cloud services. Other applications like 2018 Call for Code winner Project Owl and 2018 Puerto Rico Call for Code hackathon winner DroneAid have also been cultivated through the Code and Response program. Visit CallforCode.org to join the community and learn more about the challenge, which will open for submissions on March 22, World Water Day 2020. Additional details, a schedule of in-person and virtual events, and training and enablement for Call for Code will be available at https://developer.ibm.com/callforcode/ . Download the full IBM study conducted by Morning Consult here. About Call for Code Developers have revolutionized the way people live and interact with virtually everyone and everything. Where most people see challenges, developers see possibilities. That's why David Clark Cause created and launched Call for Code in 2018 alongside Founding Partner IBM. This five-year, $30 million global initiative is a rallying cry to developers to use their skills and mastery of the latest technologies, and to create new ones, to drive positive and long-lasting change across the world with their code. Call for Code global winning solutions, among others, are further developed and deployed via IBM's Code and Response initiative. About UN75 The United Nations launched the UN75 campaign - the largest, most inclusive conversation on the role of global cooperation in building a better future for all. The campaign will see the UN spark dialogues throughout 2020 in diverse settings across the world. In a 'global reality check', four innovative data streams will build the first ever repository of crowd-sourced solutions to major global challenges, including climate change. The UN75 dialogues together with a 'One-minute Survey' that anyone can take, available here: https://un75.online/ MEDIA CONTACTS Deirdre Leahy IBM Developer Media Relations 845-863-4552 [email protected] Chris Blake IBM Developer Media Relations 415-613-1120 [email protected] SOURCE IBM On February 19, China announced that it was revoking the press credentials of three journalists from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and expelling them in retaliation for the newspapers coverage of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The expulsions, the largest of journalists in more than 30 years, follows tough new measures imposed on Chinese media outlets in the United States. People wearing masks in China [Credit: AP Photo/Kin Cheung] Beijing stated the opinion piece published in the WSJ on February 3, smears the efforts of the Chinese government fighting the spread of Covid-19. Furthermore, Beijing has accused the newspaper of racism stemming from the title of the article, China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia. Some 53 reporters covering China at the WSJ have called on the paper to issue an apology, though it has stated it does not intend to. The day before Beijings announcement of the expulsions, the US designated five Chinese media outlets as foreign diplomatic missions. These include Chinas official news agency, Xinhua, China Radio International, China Global Television Network, and China Daily Distribution Corporation and Hai Tian Development USA, which prints and distributes the newspapers China Daily and Peoples Daily respectively. The five media outlets are now subjected to greater monitoring by the US government. All employees are required to register with the State Department, declare property holdings and seek approval prior to acquiring new property. In justifying the decision, a senior state department official said that each and every one of these entities does work for the Chinese government and that they take their orders directly from the top. Beijings Foreign Ministry denounced the move, saying the US was wantonly restricting and thwarting Chinese media outlets normal operations. The three journalists expelled are deputy bureau chief Josh Chin and Chao Deng, both Americans, and Philip Wen, an Australian citizen. None were involved in the writing of the opinion piece, but have written on Beijings policies towards the Uighurs in Xinjiang Province. Chin and Wen have both left China, but Deng is in Wuhan where she has been reporting from the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak. The US media has exploited the outbreak of the Covid-19 to ramp up the campaign to vilify China as Washington mounts an across-the-board confrontation with Beijing by diplomatic, economic and military means. Articles and commentary including in the WSJ and New York Times have criticized Beijings political system claiming it represents a danger to the rest of the world due its lack of transparency in addressing the initial outbreak. After the journalists expulsion, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo weighed in, declaring: Mature, responsible countries understand that a free press reports facts and expresses opinions. The correct response is to present counter arguments, not restrict speech. The remarks are utterly cynical. While the Chinese regime certainly imposes tough restrictions on the media, the so-called free press in the United States increasingly functions as a propaganda arm of government, exploiting or ignoring issues depending on the economic and strategic interests of US imperialism. Washington has for instance seized on the anti-democratic measures used by Beijing against the Uyghurs in its province of Xinjiang to blacken Chinas name while turning a blind eye to the anti-democratic methods of US allies in the Middle East and elsewhere. It is attempting to do the same with the corona virus outbreak. Moreover, both Pompeo and President Donald Trump regularly attack the media, calling reporters the enemies of the people and incite violence towards journalists. The Daily Beast reported on February 4 that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) was issuing a safety kit to reporters covering the presidential election, the first time in its four-decade history it has done so for US-based reporters. The CPJ website stated that a kit provides journalists and newsrooms with basic safety information on physical, digital and psychological safety resources and tools. CPJs Emergency Director Maria Salazar-Ferro told the Daily Beast, Weve been speaking to journalists who have been to recent rallies, and the rhetoric is coming from people who are participating in the rallies, and there was a lot of aggression around fake news and the press is the enemy. And its reverberating beyond the actual political event as well as online. Washington is also demanding the extradition of journalist Julian Assange from the United Kingdom for publishing information exposing US war crimes and other offences. Assange was forced to spend seven years isolated in the Ecuadorian embassy in London seeking political asylum as Washington sought his arrest on bogus espionage charges. When Ecuador revoked Assanges asylum last year, UK authorities locked him in Belmarsh prison where he has suffered psychological torture. This is setting a dangerous precedent for attacking free speech and press freedoms. Washington is using the torture of Assange, as well as that of jailed whistleblower Chelsea Manning, to intimidate would-be publishers and others seeking to expose the truth of US crimes. The attack on free speech is by no means limited to the Trump administration or the Republican Party. The vindictive attacks on Assange and Manning began under the Barack Obama government, which prosecuted more whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined. Furthermore, the Democratic Party has persecuted the torture of Assange and Manning, claiming, with no evidence whatsoever, that WikiLeaks was part of a Russian conspiracy to install Donald Trump in the White House and spread division in the country. The Democrats and their allies in the media have demanded the censorship of social media and search engines like Google. Vladislav Surkov was once "the man" in the Kremlin -- the "gray cardinal" and ideologist who oversaw Ukraine policy during the now six-year war that has killed more than 13,000, displaced more than 1 million, and ruptured ties between Moscow and the West. Since Ukraines president fled the country in February 2014, following months of street protests, Moscow has consistently suggested that the government that assumed power in Kyiv was illegitimate. Ukrainian sovereignty over separatist-controlled areas of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where war erupted in March 2014, was also in question. Surkov was central to this thinking before his surprise departure from the Kremlin was officially announced on February 18. In an interview published February 26, his first since leaving, he said the very idea of a Ukrainian state is open for debate. "There is no Ukraine. There is Ukrainian-ness," Surkov said. "That is, it is a specific disorder of the mind, sudden passion for ethnography, taken to its extremes." "Local history there is so bloody. It's a muddle instead of a state...there is no nation. There is only a pamphlet: 'The Self-Styled Ukraine,' but there is no Ukraine. The only question is, is Ukraine already gone, or not just yet?" he was quoted as saying. The interview was conducted by Aleksei Chesnakov, a longtime confidant of Surkov, and published on February 26 on the little-known Russian news site Actual Commentaries. The comments elicited anger in Ukraine, whose forces have been pitted against Russia-backed separatist fighters. "Surkov, with his pearls about Ukraine, looks like a self-hating 'strategist' who thinks more about himself than is wise, like that mutt trying to bark at an elephant, feeling his greatness in it," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a response posted to Twitter. "Do not make noise, sir. Ukraine lives on, regardless of the idea of a retired chauvinist." Kremlin Talking Points? It is unclear to what extent Surkov's comments reflect the thinking behind Kremlin policies on Ukraine, particularly considering that Surkov's departure from the Kremlin took place under a cloud. Some analysts suggested he may have been forced out as part of an informal deal with Ukraine's government in a bid to reinvigorate peace talks. Asked by reporters about Surkov's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Surkov was no longer a government official. "This is the opinion of a Russian, albeit very authoritative and competent," Peskov said. His replacement, with oversight of Kremlin's Ukraine policy, is Dmitry Kozak, a deputy head of administration under Putin and a longtime aide to the Russian leader. But while Surkov is purportedly no longer speaking from the inner circle, his comments echo past remarks by Putin and other Russian government officials who have dismissed or mocked the idea of a fully sovereign and independent Ukraine, in part to undermine the aspirations of Ukrainians wanting closer relations with NATO and the European Union. In 2008, Putin told U.S. President George W. Bush that "Ukraine is not a country," according to a memoir published years later by Bush's national-security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. As recently as February 21, Putin suggested that Russia and Ukraine should unify. "Any integration of Russia and Ukraine, along with their capacities and competitive advantages would spell the emergence of a rival, a global rival for both Europe and the world," he told the state news agency TASS in an interview. Moscow has long denied direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, including supplying or equipping the militia fighters, despite substantial evidence to the contrary gathered by journalists, independent monitors and Ukrainian officials. When Surkov's e-mail inbox was hacked and its contents leaked in 2016, the correspondence showed Surkov had direct hands-on involvement in the minutiae of how the separatist authorities tried to administer the territories under their control. In November 2019, Dutch prosecutors investigating the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 released audio intercepts of phone calls, purportedly between local officials in eastern Ukraine. Surkov's name is mentioned repeatedly. Managed Democracy Surkov, who has dabbled in gangster-fiction novels and hip-hop lyrics, served as a close aide since the early part of Putin's term, when oversight of domestic politics was among his main duties. During that time, he adopted the term "sovereign democracy" or "managed democracy" to describe Russia's political system. Domestic politics were shifted from his portfolio following Putin's return to the presidency in 2012, but analysts believe he's kept Putin's ear on many internal political matters. In January, Putin unveiled proposals for a substantive change in the country's political system, shifting some presidential powers to parliament, and giving new legal authority to an advisory body called the State Council. Putin also proposed eliminating language regarding consecutive presidential terms, sparking speculation on whether he might be angling to stay in power beyond the end of his final, six-year term in 2024. In the interview, Surkov suggested that the constitutional amendments Putin proposed would reset the clock on presidential terms, meaning he could stay in power until 2036. "If, as a result [of the amendments], the powers of the president are somehow clarified...then the legal logic leads to the need to restart the countdown of the presidential terms. Because with new powers it will be like another institution of the presidency," he was quoted as saying. "The restrictions of the current presidency will not be able to apply to him." "This is my private opinion, of course. But based on the experience of lawmaking," he said. I'm A 'Ukro-Optimist' After casting doubt on Ukraine's current sovereignty, Surkov claimed he was optimistic about Ukraine's future. Then he went on to say the country might have different borders or be fragmented in the future, prospects that might seem like the opposite of optimism to many Ukrainians. "Oddly enough, I'm an 'Ukro-optimist.' That is, I think that Ukraine does not yet exist. But over time, it will. Ukrainians are stubborn folks, they will make it happen," he said. "However, what kind of Ukraine it will be, what its borders will be, and even, maybe, how many Ukraines there will be, these are open questions. And one way or another, Russia will have to participate in resolving these issues." And he suggested that Ukrainians historically were upstarts who needed to be restrained by force. "Relations with Ukraine were never simple, even when Ukraine was part of Russia. Ukraine has always been troublesome for the imperial and Soviet bureaucracy," he was quoted as saying. "Forceful coercion for brotherly relations, this is the only method that has historically proven effective when it comes to Ukraine. I do not think that any other will be invented." Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was elected Ukraine's president last year in a landslide vote, has made resolving the conflict with Russia a priority. In December, he met in Paris with Putin for the first time to try and advance a peace framework known as the Minsk accords. The talks did not yield substantial progress, however. Asked whether he believes the areas held by separatists in eastern Ukraine, a region often known informally as the Donbas, will ever "return to Ukraine," he suggested it would not happen any time soon, and threw in another derisive remark. "My imagination is not strong enough to imagine this," he was quoted as saying. "The Donbas does not deserve such humiliation. Ukraine does not deserve such an honor." SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lawmakers will address current legislative issues of interest to the legal profession at the California Lawyers Association's (CLA) second annual Legislative Day on March 4, 2020 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, CA. The day-long event will provide a unique opportunity for CLA members to meet with decision makers in Sacramento and discuss key issues shaping the legislative landscape. The event includes an Awards Luncheon featuring a Keynote Speech by Assemblymember Mark Stone, Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Legislator of the Year Award recipients Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblymember David Chiu will also be on hand to accept their awards. Saul Bercovitch, CLA's Director of Governmental Affairs, noted that "this is only our second Legislative Day and participation has doubled from last year, with over one hundred people registered to attend." Ona Alston Dosunmu, CLA's CEO and Executive Director, said: "I am thrilled about the level of engagement by CLA members with our advocacy efforts. CLA is very excited to offer this event to our members, and looks forward to expanding engagement and enhancing opportunities as we continue to grow." ABOUT CALIFORNIA LAWYERS ASSOCIATION Established in 2018, California Lawyers Association is the bar association for all California attorneys. CLA's mission is to promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law. SOURCE California Lawyers Association Related Links https://calawyers.org Haiti - France : Antenor Firmin doctoral mobility scholarships, call for applications The French Embassy in Haiti, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) are launching the Antenor Firmin doctoral mobility scholarships, in tribute to the author of the essay "Equality of human races". This scholarship program aims to strengthen university research in Haiti. Support for scientific research is a priority for the three partners, who are joining forces around these scholarships intended for Haitian students wishing to pursue doctoral studies. Application deadline: June 5, 2020 Students wishing to apply for an Antenor Firmin doctoral scholarship must be enrolled in joint supervision or co-supervision both at a Haitian university of origin (in Haiti) and in a host university (in France or elsewhere) member of the AUF where candidate prepares and finalizes his thesis alternately between these two universities over a period of three years. The principle of joint supervision or co-supervision aims to strengthen international scientific cooperation. It also encourages the doctoral candidate to complete his thesis while being anchored in his local reality. The Applicant must determine with his thesis directors the periods of research stay abroad for each of the three years which will be funded by the Antenor Firmin scholarships. The duration of mobility within its host university should not exceed 6 months per academic year. Eligibility criteria : Be of Haitian nationality and reside in Haiti; Hold a master's degree (M2) at least or equivalent at the end of a training course conferring research skills according to the provisions of the Order of May 25, 2016 setting the national framework for the training and procedures leading to the issue of the national doctorate diploma; Have the support of a thesis director at his university in Haiti and at a host university (in France or elsewhere) Constitution of the file : Applications must be sent, before June 5, 2020, to the following address: doctorat@antenorfirmin.org . In the title of the message (s), always write your First and Last Name. Documents required : A precise research project (2 to 3 pages presenting the research subject, the problematic, the hypotheses, the methodology and the corpus or the databases); 2020/2021 scholarship application form duly completed and signed Download the form : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/formulaire_bourses_antenor_firmin_2020-2021.docx https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/formulaire_bourses_antenor_firmin_2020-2021.docx Detailed curriculum vitae; A provisional calendar over three years indicating the progress of the thesis, the periods of stay at the host university (funded by the scholarship) and in Haiti, the date of the planned defense; Letter of recommendation from the two thesis directors (home university and host university); Extract from certified birth certificate; Photocopy of passport. All the documents making up the file must be written in French. The absence of one of them will automatically reject the file. No additional documents will be accepted after the deadline of June 5, 2020. HL/ HaitiLibre [February 26, 2020] Summit Partners Announces Global Promotions Summit Partners, a leading alternative investment firm, today announced the promotion of five professionals globally. Scott Ferguson and Sergio Mur were promoted to Principal; and Chris Bon, Olivia Ley and Jono Pagden were promoted to Vice President. "We are pleased to recognize the achievements of Scott, Sergio, Chris, Olivia and Jono with these well-deserved promotions," said Peter Chung, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Partners. "These talented professionals have served our limited partners and our portfolio companies with distinction. We are proud of the positive impact they've made at Summit Partners and beyond." Scott Ferguson has been promoted to Principal. Scott joined Summit as an Associate in 2009, was promoted to Senior Associate in 2012 and returned to Summit as a Vice President in 2015. Scott is based in Summit's Menlo Park office and focuses primarily on the technology sector. His board and investment experience includes Calypso Technology, HelpSystems (acquired by H.I.G. Capital), MercuryGate, Perforce Software (acquired by Clearlake Capital), Teaching Strategies and Trintech. Prior to Summit, Scott worked for Piper Jaffray in the Technology Investment Banking Group. He holds a BS in finance from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Sergio Mur has been promoted to Principal. Sergio joined Summit's London office as a Vice President in 2016. He has been an active member of Summit's Peak Performance Group, leading engagements with numerous Sumit portfolio companies including Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc), Signavio, DentalPro (acquired by BC Partners), Syncron and Siteimprove. Prior to Summit, Sergio worked as a Vice President of European Operations at Cerberus Capital, in business development at Privalia (acquired by vente-privee.com), planning and analysis at TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) and M&A at J.P. Morgan. Sergio holds a CEMS Master in international management from St. Gallen University in Switzerland and a Master in business management from ESADE Business School in Spain. Chris Bon has been promoted to Vice President. Chris joined Summit's London office as an Associate in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. He is a member of the firm's Growth Products & Services team. His investment experience includes Normec, OnRobot, ProGlove (News - Alert) and Sipartech (acquired by Blackstone). Prior to Summit, Chris worked in M&A advisory at J.P. Morgan. He holds a BCom in economics from the University of Toronto and an MSc in finance from HEC Paris. Olivia Ley has been promoted to Vice President. Olivia joined Summit's Menlo Park office as an Associate in 2017 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. She is a member of the firm's Healthcare & Life Sciences team. Her portfolio experience includes Healthline Media (acquired by Red Ventures). Prior to Summit, Olivia worked at Castlight Health and The Advisory Board Company. She holds a BA in English literature from Princeton University. Jono Pagden has been promoted to Vice President. Jono joined Summit's London office as an Associate in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2019. He is a member of the firm's Healthcare & Life Sciences team. Jono's investment experience includes Advance Medical (acquired by Teladoc) and zahneins (acquired by PAI Partners). Prior to Summit, Jono worked on the Retail/Healthcare and U.K. M&A teams at Goldman Sachs. He holds a Bachelor of Business Science, with honors, in accounting and finance from the University of Cape Town. About Summit Partners Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $19 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 500 companies in technology, healthcare, consumer, financial and business services, and other growth industries. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more Summit stories and to learn about #TheSummitPartnersNetwork, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn. In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC (News - Alert)-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 11-12 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners' potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005642/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Governor Bandaru Dattatreya said in the address on Tuesday at the inauguration of the budget session of the assembly that the central government has implemented a constitution in the entire country by abolishing Article 370 and bringing it from Kashmir to Kanyakumari under one flag. Along with this, the landmark decision of the Supreme Court has paved the way for the construction of Ram temple. At the same time, he said that there is a system of granting citizenship of India with conditions to the people of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain Parsi or Christian community who entered India due to religious persecution from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh from the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. BJP targets its own member Kapil Mishra The government supports these historical decisions. Apart from this, the government congratulates the Central Government for these unprecedented decisions. At the same time, the Governor said that the members will give their help in constructing the session with constructive deliberations so that the government can work effectively according to the needs and expectations of the people. I wish the members a successful discussion. Along with this, the central government has sanctioned 327 schemes worth 2,896 crore for the state's water life mission. At the same time, 597 crores from the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, 8, 46,784 farmers of the state. An area of 2,114 hectares will be brought under the natural farming Khushal Kisan Yojana. The rate of electricity for irrigation has been reduced from 75 paise to 50 paise. Ajit Doval will join Union Cabinet meeting In two years, the government has fulfilled most of the election promises. The government is second to none in fulfilling the wishes and aspirations of the people. At the same time, under the Chief Minister Kisan Jeevan Suraksha Yojana, 12 farmers have been given a compensation of 11.10 lakh. 20 crore will be spent under the state mechanization program. In addition, an additional area of 5,250 hectares has been brought under diversified fruit production. 330 crore will be spent on minor irrigation scheme. The amount of MLA fund has been increased to 1.50 crores. Tejashwi and CM Nitish meeting over NRC and CAA issue (CNN) The US Supreme Court dismissed on Wednesday the pending case of Lee Boyd Malvo, who was convicted for his role in the serial sniper shooting spree that rocked Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia 17 years ago. Last fall, the court heard arguments in the case after a lower court ordered a new sentence for Malvo, who was 17 when the crimes were committed in 2002 and was originally sentenced to life without parole. In court, lawyers for Malvo said his sentence deserved a fresh look because the Supreme Court had issued new guidance on juvenile offenders in recent years. At the time, Virginia argued against Malvo. The one-sentence order, which was expected, comes two days after Virginia's governor signed a bill making juvenile offenders who were sentenced to life imprisonment eligible for parole after serving 20 years. Both sides told the Supreme Court there was no reason to continue the case. Malvo, who is now 35 years old, was one of two people convicted in the sniper attacks that left 10 dead. His partner in the shootings, John Allen Muhammad, was executed in November 2009 in Virginia for his part in the spree. The ruling is is likely to have a broader impact on other inmates who were convicted as juveniles because Malvo is also serving life sentences for his crimes in other states. Last year, the justices struggled for more than an hour discussing the impact of their own prior cases as well as the details concerning Virginia's sentencing scheme. The case came after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote a landmark opinion in 2005 barring the death penalty for juvenile offenders. In 2012, the justices held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Four years later, the court said the decision applied retroactively. At oral arguments, Virginia argued that the sentence of life without parole could stand because Malvo's sentence was discretionary, not mandatory. Justice Elena Kagan had questioned, however, whether Virginia properly considered Malvo's age. She pointed out that the 2012 decision, which she wrote, could be summarized in two words: "youth matters," and that a sentencer must treat children differently from adult offenders. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, on the other hand, repeatedly questioned a lawyer for Malvo on the meaning of the court's precedents and how they would impact cases where the judge or jury did not just consider a sentence of life without parole. A growing sense of crisis on the Greek islands which house thousands of migrants is leading to rising tensions. Lesbos, Greece The mood is uneasy in Mytilene; cafes and shops throughout the normally bustling city are shut. A general strike across the island has been organised in the wake of what they call heavy-handed tactics used by police against islanders on Tuesday, who were protesting at the construction of a detention centre for refugees in the north of Lesbos. Units of riot police had been dispatched to the island on Monday night and arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Tear gas was used against protesters who had blockaded the Mytilenes port to prevent police and construction equipment from disembarking from the ferry. Clashes continued throughout the day in the north of the island near the town of Mantamados, where the detention centre is due to be built. The Northern Aegean regional governor, Kostas Moutzouris, who announced the strike, spoke of his indignation at how the islanders had been treated. It is a day of shame for all, and mostly for those who ordered these actions, he said. It is a shame for the islanders to be beaten and to suffer from tear gas. Not even the military junta did these things. Images from Tuesday showed bloodied residents clashing with police, and at least two people were reportedly taken to hospital. 200217103659127 One bystander, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera that police did nothing to help the highly volatile situation when a small group of angry protesters attacked him for trying to film at Mytilene port on Tuesday morning; however, he said, most came simply to have their voices heard. There were also a group of protesters who were perfectly peaceful. They had their hands locked in solidarity and were just chanting slogans against detention centres. The notorious Moria refugee camp on Lesbos is nearing a population of 20,000 in a space built for just 2,840. Islanders have expressed frustration at the ongoing crisis on Lesbos and a sense of being ignored and forgotten by Greek and European authorities. The Greek government reportedly dispatched more riot police to Lesbos on Wednesday in anticipation of further unrest. On Tuesday night, students from Mantamados hung banners outside the local high school in protest against the riot polices treatment of islanders. Michael Trammer, a German journalist who was present at the protests in Lesbos on Tuesday morning and throughout the day told Al Jazeera that he expected tensions to rise. There are more police coming to the island, but also this means that there is also going to be more resistance by locals because they feel like the central Athens government is overriding their decision on how this should be dealt with, he said. So I would expect more resistance and more police and an increasingly tense situation. 200207163424072 In a statement, Stelios Petsas, a government spokesperson, insisted that health concerns such as coronavirus necessitated the urgent creation of closed centres on islands such as Lesbos. In July 2019, the Greek government rescinded access to healthcare for asylum seekers and undocumented people living in Greece. Stephan Oberreit, MSFs (Doctors without Borders) head of mission for Greece, who works in Moria camp, expressed solidarity with local residents and said detention centres were not a solution. We stand beside the local communities who oppose the creation of closed camps on the islands, he told Al Jazeera. He called instead for the immediate evacuation of refugees from the island camps. As further protests are organised, the mood amongst islanders remains defiant. Closed because of treason, read many signs hung outside businesses in Mytilene on Wednesday. It is evident that Lesbos residents will continue to make their anger over their treatment heard this week. A request for comment put to the Ministry for Citizen Protection about the use of tear gas and force against protesters had not received a response by the time of publication. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex keen to step away from the appurtenances of the royal family, made it known at a tourism conference in Edinburgh on Wednesday that he should now on be called only as Harry. Conference host Ayesha Hazarika told the gathering before his speech: Hes made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry. He will step down as a working member of Britains royal on March 31, according to an arrangement approved by Queen Elizabeth. Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have moved to Canada and intend to divide their time between Britain and Canada. After March 31, they will cease to receive public funds. The Travalyst conference is one of his last official engagements as the duke. Calling for sustainable growth in the tourism industry, the prince paid tributes to tourism in Scotland and said if action were not taken now, more destinations would have be closed to visitors. He told the delegates: We want to hear truths and perspectives from across the industry. We dont need to reinvent the wheel, a lot of great work has already been done. But our research again shows that many of these endeavours have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers. We have to work together to scale up the good practices already being used around the world. Scotland is a great example of what we mean. There is a holistic ambition to Scotlands intent that can be adopted across the UK and even around the world. Scotland is one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations worldwide and its at the forefront of a more sustainable approach, which is why your insight into these issues is so incredibly valuable, Prince Harry, who founded the Travalyst coalition of travel brands, added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Canadian Researchers Say 18,000 People Might Be Infected With Coronavirus In Iran 02/26/20 Source: Radio Farda A group of University of Toronto scientists and doctors have published an article offering an estimate that based on Coronavirus cases traveling from Iran to other countries it is statistically possible that 18,000 people are infected in the county. "Incompetence Epidemic" Reads headline of Iranian daily Eghtesad Saramad The research results were published on February 24 based on information available until that date. Researchers focused on volume of travel from Iran to other countries and proven cases of infected people arriving in other countries, such as Lebanon and Canada. Based on statistical models the study says up to 18,000 people might be infected in Iran. "Given the low volumes of air travel to countries with identified cases of COVID-19 with origin in Iran (such as Canada), it is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a COVID-19 epidemic of significant size for such exportations to be occurring", the research paper says. 1. What is the burden of #COVID19 in Iran? We looked at this, and at how this may be transmitted through air travel locally and more broadly given that flight restrictions were only recently imposed. This is a pre-print (not peer reviewed):https://t.co/TxnQI8YDWC Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) February 25, 2020 So far, the Iranian government has announced only 95 cases and 16 deaths. This ratio raises questions about the reliability of official figures issued by the government. Sixteen fatalities mean that Iran has at least a few hundred cases of infected patients. In addition, many citizen reports speak of dozens of deaths. Also, a member of parliament claimed February 24 that only in his constituency 50 people had died of the virus. Iran admitted having COVID-19 cases on February 19, the same day two people were officially announced dead because of the virus. This raised questions of a government cover-up or lack of timely reporting about the spread of the disease. The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 32-year-old mother of two identified as Hassan Bala of Usuba for the attempted kidnap of one Umar Sarkin Turaku of Kawo village in Kontagora Local Government Area of the state. Hassan who was arrested after a tip-off, joined the kidnapping business following a seperation from her husband. She reportedly planned to abduct Turaku on February 19, 2020, but her prospective victim reported the incident to the police before the plan was perfected. Turaku reportedly filed a complaint with the police after receiving threatening phone calls, asking him to pay a ransom of N5million or risk being kidnapped. Confessing to the crime, the mother of two said; After separating from my husband, I got a man friend who introduced me to this business, and that was how I started ruining my life because of money. I am a disgrace to womanhood. Since I left my husband, my life and situation have worsened. Life is not fair to me in all standards. It is unfortunate. I regret my action; my family, children and friends will definitely desert me, but I pray they find a place in their hearts to forgive me. Niger State Police spokesman, Muhammad Abubakar told newsmen that the suspect who has already confessed to the crime will be charged to court after the conclusion of investigation. Share this: Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Tuesday lauded himself for "voluntarily" agreeing to resign after he was accused of having a hand in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife. The premier has bowed to pressure to step down and announced July 31 as his official resignation date, citing advanced age. He appeared in court on Monday for allegedly acting in "common purpose" in the killing of 58-year-old Lipolelo Thabane, with whom he was in the process of divorcing. The matter was deferred to the High Court, where he is expected to be formally charged on a date that has not yet been decided. Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) party has asked him to leave office "immediately" and nominated chairman Sam Rapapa as his successor. During an address to parliament on Tuesday, Thabane complained about the lack of praise for his decision to retire early. "I had hoped that this parliament would set a record today of someone stepping down by cutting short their tenure," said Thabane, aged 80. "Not many people would do that but I am doing it, and instead of being given a pat on the shoulder, I get insults," he added. "I don't understand you people." Lipolelo Thabane's murder sent shockwaves through Lesotho -- a tiny landlocked nation of 2.2 million with a history of political turmoil. She was gunned down outside her home in the capital Maseru just two days before her husband took office. The accusations against her husband came after communications records from the scene of the murder included Thabane's mobile phone number. His current wife Maesaiah Thabane, 42, whom he married two months after Lipolelo's death, is considered a co-conspirator in the murder case. She has already been charged with murder and is out on bail. Thabane's defence lawyer has argued that his client should be granted immunity from prosecution for as long as he remained in office. The prime minister has yet to comment on the accusations. He maintains that he decided to resign due to "old age". "I am my grand-kids' grandfather," he told parliament. "Not yours." realme, the No. 1 quality and fastest growing smartphone brand in India, has today announced Salman Khan as its brand ambassador, endorsing its upcoming realme 6 and realme 6 Pro. realmes partnership with the celebrated star and actor, who has set a trailblazing path with his distinctive style, dare and panache, highlights the unique promise of the brands Power Meets Style product philosophy. Commenting on the partnership, Madhav Sheth, Vice President of realme and CEO of realme India, said: What makes Salman Khan the best choice for us it that he enjoys a massive appeal across various regions and demographic profiles of India. That brings immense value to us as one of the unique selling propositions of our brand lies in making cutting edge technology, fun, stylish, quality-driven products within everyone's reach and across all price segments. Having Salman Khan on board with a mammoth fan following will help us reach and tap into that target audience of ours. The collaboration marks a new milestone as this is the first time the star-actor has worked with a smartphone brand. A true trendsetter, Salman has created a distinct imprint among generations with his iconic Being Human spirit, ability to stay real and face challenges head-on. With Salman coming on-board as realme 6 series brand ambassador, the synergy further complements the brands Stay Real attitude, inspiring thousands of millennials across India to be themselves. Enthused with the partnership, Salman Khan, actor and producer, commented, I am happy to be the face of the worlds fastest growing smartphone brand realme. In a short span of time, the brand has established a proven track record and expertise, with unparalleled products and quality. Further, its ethos of Dare to Leap is something that I strongly resonate with. The realme 6 series is stylish and edgy and I am sure it will find favour with consumers. realme is the fastest growing brand in India and has recorded a massive seven-fold growth. Its appeal amongst the youth has grown overwhelmingly and established its leadership position in the country. The value of realme products lies in making cutting-edge technology fun, stylish, quality-driven, and within everyones reach, ensuring a premium user experience across all price segments. The new realme 6 series, set to be launched on March 5, will again disrupt the mid-range price segment with more flagship features such as 64MP 6 Pro cameras and super smooth Pro displays. realmes Dare to Leap approach of constant innovation, product differentiation, and user orientation has helped the young brand set multiple industry benchmarks and firmly establish itself as a domain leader in the fastest time. As per Counterpoint reports, realme was the worlds fastest-growing smartphone brand in 2019 with 453% growth on an annual basis, ranked no. 4 in India and no.7 globally. By IANS NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday held the RSS and the BJP responsible for the killing of over 20 people in a communal riot in Delhi. Accusing the BJP government of targeting 200 million Muslims in India, Khan appealed to the international community to come to the rescue of Indian Muslims. In a series of tweets, Khan said, "Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed." Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed. Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2020 He recalled that in his address to the United Nations General Assembly last year, he had "predicted" targeting of Muslims in India following the reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir state and nullification of its special status by the BJP government. ALSO READ: Delhi riots day four UPDATES | Can't let another 1984 happen under our watch, says Delhi HC "Once the genie is out of the bottle the bloodshed will get worse." Kashmir, he said, "was the beginning. Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now." As I had predicted in my address to UN GA last yr, once the genie is out of the bottle the bloodshed will get worse. IOJK was the beginning. Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now. Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2020 However, he warned people in Pakistan against targeting of non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. "Our minorities are equal citizens of this country," he tweeted. I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country. Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2020 Incidentally, it has been a year since India launched an airstrike against terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot area. India had retaliated with an airstrike for the first time last year, after a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber blew up a bus of CRPF killing 40 paramilitary soldiers in Pulwama, Kashmir. One of my latest emails said, "Dean, I read your business columns every week, and you write about "SCORE mentors." But I havent seen anything about who they are and how they became mentors." John B, you are right! So let me tell you about that today. SCORE is proud to have the nations largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. Without these wonderful, willing-to-share folks, there would not be a SCORE. Local business CEOs share their talents and expertise with the small business community in four different roles: Mentor: They offer confidential business mentoring services, either in person or online. Subject matter expert: They provide focused knowledge based on their professional skills or industry. ADVERTISEMENT Workshop presenter: They lead local workshops, seminars and events to help entrepreneurs meet their goals and achieve success. Chapter support role: They share their skills in marketing, tech, finance, fundraising and more to help expand the outreach of SCORE In many instances, CEOs serve in more than one role as a SCORE volunteer. Some of us have retired from our active businesses but continue to serve. At SCORE, we celebrate our mission through values such as Volunteers Matter and Lifelong Learning. All new members are trained to fulfill their roles effectively and are expected to reaffirm their commitment to SCOREs mentoring methodology and code of ethics annually. I have had the opportunity to serve in a 10-state region (from Minnesota to Alaska and from Iowa to Oregon). In all of this, I have met and observed many small business CEOs who tell me that they enjoy a variety of personal, local and national rewards as a SCORE Volunteer. They can: Feel good knowing they helped someone achieve their goals and dreams. Give back to their local community by helping small businesses thrive and driving economic growth. Become a recognized leader in their local business community. Make new friends and network with SCORE volunteers and business leaders in their area. Grow professionally and personally with SCORE's Lifelong Learning training programs. More specifically, these various roles give volunteers a variety of ways to serve. A SCORE mentor is an adviser who helps individuals and small businesses reach their goals. Mentors provide free business advice and education to aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners. As a mentor, they will help clients solve problems, make businesses more efficient, and assist with developing long-term business plans. Additionally, they may discover new sources of insight and knowledge to help their own business and leadership style. Teaching others how to manage people or projects, along with illustrating ways to succeed in other aspects of business, could inspire a local CEO to continue with their own professional growth all of this while helping their local community. ADVERTISEMENT The ideal mentor is empathetic, flexible, and loves connecting people to the right resources. Mentors often have significant experience within their field, excellent communication skills, and the ability to dedicate a few hours a week. As a SCORE subject matter expert (SME), you assist clients with your specific skill set and expertise. In this role, you will co-mentor alongside one of SCOREs certified mentors. You will provide free business advice and education in your area of experience to clients who want to start, grow or exit their businesses. As an SME, youll have access to an amazing network of SCORE volunteers and many resources for professional growth while helping small businesses in your community. Subject matter experts should have the ability to dedicate a few hours per month. Some CEOs have a talent and love to be a Workshop Presenter. These may be interested in volunteering with SCORE but dont think mentoring is the best role for them? Consider volunteering as a workshop presenter. Workshop presenters share their business acumen with their local community. They: Create and deliver presentations in their community. Facilitate roundtable discussions. Lead educational seminars, meetups and other networking events. Track the statistics on their workshop program. Chapter Support Roles. If you don't wish to mentor or train entrepreneurs but still want to volunteer, there are other ways that you can help. Every SCORE chapter depends on the talent and time of volunteers to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of small business ownership. SCORE chapters depend on general volunteers to work on specific projects. These volunteers are staffed on tasks based on their unique skills and are welcome to assist with leadership and support tasks they really are the backbone of the organization. For example, some CEOs might be able to sharpen their email marketing, networking and social media skills while helping the local business community. If you are interested in aiding a local chapter with data and analytics, pulling reports, helping with local events, or serving in other capacities that will make your local chapter more effective, let us know. Examples of chapter support roles include: ADVERTISEMENT Community Ambassador. Partnerships & Fundraising. Media Contact for National and Local PR. Marketing. Chapter Administrator. IT Administrator. And more. SCORE welcomes current or retired CEOs who want to help other business folks make their dreams come true. Natural disasters are increasing in both frequency and severity and that is becoming a bigger concern for Americas home buyers and sellers. A new survey from Redfin shows that 73% of respondents said that natural disasters have at least partly influenced where and whether to buy or sell a home. Just 10% said it was not a concern at all. The firm surveyed buyers and sellers across 29 US and Canadian destinations and found that those in Houston were the most likely to be concerned about climate change (60%) following flooding in recent years. Those in New York City (47%) and Miami (46%) complete the top 3. Irish guests "on lockdown" in a hotel in Tenerife were being tested for the coronavirus by a team of doctors last night. It emerged yesterday morning that an Italian doctor staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace resort in Tenerife tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Several hundred guests and staff are currently on lockdown inside the hotel. It is understood there are approximately 20 Irish guests currently in the hotel. They were told to stay in their rooms via a note which was slipped under their doors yesterday morning. An Irish man who is on holiday with his partner at the hotel, and who did not wish to be named, spoke to the Irish Independent yesterday. He said that a team of doctors was making its way through the hotel, taking guests' temperatures. "After they've taken your temperature, they give you a mask and a thermometer and you can move about the grounds. "You take your temperature again in the morning and if it's gone up, you're supposed to notify them. "What we think is happening is that they're going to quarantine us here, but we don't know that, they haven't told us that," he said. Guests got a picnic meal yesterday evening and all cafes and bars in the resort remain closed. "It was all right, it would keep you alive," the man said. The mood remained quiet yesterday evening even though the main source of news for the guests has been via the media and from speaking to each other. "We're a little bit anxious to see what is going to happen, because we don't know. The official line is that this is precautionary but the logical follow on is that they're going to quarantine us. "But that means we'll be stuck here for two weeks minimum," he said. The hotel remains on lockdown and police are ensuring that nobody enters or leaves. Overnight staff from the Sunday to Monday shift are still in the hotel. "When we went downstairs [yesterday morning], we also had seen that the police had cordoned off the streets around the hotel, we found out that staff who were turning up for work weren't being allowed in," the holidaymaker said. "The only staff that were around were the ones that have been here all night, so they were exhausted. "There's no panic around the place, it's just a little bit surreal. "There's certainly no panic at all," he added. This view was also echoed by bar staff working in Irish bars in the area, "Nobody is panicked, everything is working normally, it's just the hotel is closed, nobody is panicking around here," said Lucy Szatmairi, manager at Mullerkey's bar in Costa Adeje. "We're waiting for further news now," she said. Also nearby is Irish bar The Temple Bar, where staff worker Peter, who did not wish to give his last name, said the bar was close to the hospital where the Italian doctor had been taken for treatment. "We are working business as usual here, but we are a bit worried if they will close the whole town. "Especially for the people who are on holiday, it must be terrible for them." The Department of Foreign Affairs has opened a dedicated phone line for people with concerns relating to the coronavirus due to a "high volume of calls". "Anyone who has specific concerns regarding Irish citizens currently in any affected areas can contact the department on 01 613 1733," it said. BEIJING A court in eastern China has sentenced a Swedish seller of books that took a skeptical look at the ruling Communist Party to 10 years in prison for illegally providing intelligence overseas, in a further sign of Beijings hard line toward its critics. Gui Minhai first disappeared in 2015, when he was believed to have been abducted by Chinese agents from his seaside home in Thailand. He and four others who worked for the same Hong Kong publishing company all went missing at around the same time, only to turn up months later in police custody in mainland China. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said what BJP leader Kapil Mishra had said was "shameful" but the government's silence on it was even "more shameful". Speaking just minutes after Congress president Sonia Gandhi's press briefing where she demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, Priyanka appealed to all the people of Delhi to desist from violence and maintain peace and harmony. "What BJP leader Kapil Mishra has said is shameful and the government not doing anything is even more shameful, says Priyanka Gandhi. She also appealed to the people of Delhi not to indulge in any violence as it is they who will suffer due to it. She also urged all Congress party workers to ensure that there is peace in the city. "I appeal to the people, for God's sake, do not indulge in violence as it is they who will suffer due to the violence. I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and calm. I have also appealed to the people of Uttar Pradesh to not allow the spread of violence in the state. I have also urged Congress workers to not allow any spread of violence and urge people to maintain peace," she told reporters. Priyanka Gandhi is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Congress affairs in Uttar Pradesh East. Mishra had earlier made an open call to forcibly remove protesters from various protest sites. Boeing is in talks with prominent customers about funding simulator training on the 737 Max once it's cleared to fly again in a bid to mollify airlines frustrated by a global grounding approaching a year in length. The planemaker has told India's SpiceJet that it will cover the cost of putting pilots through sessions on the machines, which sell for up to $US20 million ($30.5 million), while FlyDubai and Ryanair Holdings are in talks on the matter, according to people familiar with the discussions. The carriers are among the top Max buyers with almost 600 orders in total. The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide since March. Credit:AP Negotiations are being conducted on an airline-by-airline basis, Chaz Bickers, a Boeing spokesman, said in response to questions from Bloomberg. The talks include provision of services such as training to offset costs from the Max's idling, he said. Boeing has repeatedly missed targets for re-certifying the Max, grounded since March after two fatal crashes. The company has set aside $US8.2 billion to cover compensation to carriers forced to reschedule thousands of flights and shelve growth plans. The figure was increased by $US2.6 billion after the planemaker last month accepted that Max pilots would benefit from simulator training, and the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to make it mandatory for the jet's return. BJP's demand for a state government resolution honouring Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for his contribution to the Independence struggle did not find support in both Houses of the Maharashtra Legislature on Wednesday. While Assembly Speaker Nana Patole rejected the BJP's demand, triggering protest from its leaders, in the Legislative Council, Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe refused to entertain the saffron party's move as she adjourned the House when a BJP leader stood up to speak about it. Speaking in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis demanded that the government move a resolution on the death anniversary of Savarkar for his sacrifices and contribution to the freedom struggle. He also demanded the government ban "Shidori", the in-house magazine of the Maharashtra Congress for publishing "objectionable" references to Savarkar. He also tore a copy of the magazine. To this, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that Fadnavis, a former chief minister, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20, 2018 and January 17, 2019 urging the Centre to honour Savarkar with Bharat Ratna. "I wonder why there had been a delay when the BJP was in power in Maharashtra and also at the Centre," he said. "Modi had been the PM for more than five years now, while Fadnavis had ruled the state for the last five years. Like today, Savarkar's death anniversary falls every year," he said. Fadnavis said he had sought Bharat Ratna for Savarkar as well as Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule. "I am confident that the demand will be accepted. But what is the harm if the state assembly passes a resolution to honour Savarkar?" he asked. Fadnavis targeted the Congress for making "derogatory" comments against Savarkar in its in-house magazine. "Insult of Savarkar will not be tolerated. This is the reason why we want a resolution to honour him," he said. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said as Savarkar has been insulted (in the magazine), a resolution to honour him was necessary. NCP ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil objected to the references made to Savarkar by Fadnavis while quoting from the magazine. Bhujbal, who is the state Food and Civil Supplies Minister, saidthe resolution demanded by BJP does not fit the legislature rules. "The resolution is not only to honour Savarkar, but also to criticise somebody else," he said. Meanwhile, Pawar said that everyone has respect for Savarkar and his contribution to the freedom struggle, but not everyone agreed with some of his views. At this point, Patole rejected the demand of the BJP for the government resolution on honouring Savarkar and continued with the rest of the agenda, which angered the MLAs of the BJP. Some MLAs of the BJP entered the Well of the House holding placards and photographs of Savarkar and shouted slogans against Shiv Sena, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Sensing the mood, the Speaker rushed through the business, including the passage of some bills and a calling attention notice on crime against women. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announced that an Act on the lines of the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh government will be introduced in the ongoing budget session. The Speaker then adjourned the House for the day. Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was not present in the House. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs who squatted in the Well of the House held parallel proceedings in which Fadnavis accused the Sena of being "desperate" for power and turning a blind eye to insult to Savarkar by Congress leader and former Union minister Manishankar Aiyar. "I recall how Balasaheb Thackeray had protested by hitting Mani Shankar Aiyar's photograph with chappals when the then Union minister had made critical remarks against Savarkar and removed the plaque from the Andaman Cellular Jail," he said. BJP members among themselves "passed" a resolution honouring Savarkar before leaving the House. Earlier in the day, the BJP legislators donned the caps with 'Mi pan Savarkar' (I am also Savarkar) printed on them. In the Upper House, after a Bill making Marathi mandatory in all the schools in the state was passed, Leader of Opposition Pravin Darekar stood up to move the motion on Savarkar. However, Gorhe, who was aware of a similar attempt made by the BJP in the Assembly, immediately adjourned the House. She left the House along will all the ministers and members of the council from Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. Wearing saffron caps, BJP leaders then raised slogans in the House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Julian Assange was handcuffed 11 times and stripped naked twice by Belmarsh prison guards on the opening day of this weeks extradition trial in London, his lawyers revealed in court yesterday. Edward Fitzgerald QC told District Judge Vanessa Baraitser that his clients legal documents were confiscated by prison authorities, who later moved him to five different cellsvindictive measures aimed at intimidating and oppressing the WikiLeaks publisher. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange [Credit: AP Photo/Matt Dunham] Baraitser made the extraordinary claim that she had no jurisdiction over Assanges treatment in detention, despite it interfering with his right to a fair trial. Yesterday, she said it was up to his legal team to issue a complaint with Belmarsh. In the lead-up to this weeks hearing, Baraitser repeatedly refused to protect Assanges due process rights, including access to lawyers and defence evidence. Meanwhile, Assanges closest supporters were openly targeted yesterday morning at court. As proceedings were due to begin, a court official told WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson that he was barred from the public gallery. I was standing outside the public gallery waiting to go inside when one of the guards called out, Where is the WikiLeaks editor? and then declared, I have been informed that you are not allowed into the public gallery, Hrafnsson told the World Socialist Web Site. Unable to obtain an explanation from court authorities for their outrageous action, Hrafnsson addressed an impromptu press conference outside the court building. He was flanked by Assanges father John Shipton and brother Gabriel Shipton, who had walked out in protest. With news of the ban spreading on social media, and with Assanges solicitor Gareth Peirce intervening, the court backed down and Hrafnsson was readmitted to the gallery. The lawless actions of the court make clear that a show trial is underway. Indeed, journalists covering yesterdays trial in the press annexe told the WSWS that the measures in place for the Assange hearingincluding police checkpoints and court vetting of media credentialswere unprecedented. In court, Mark Summers QC began the days arguments for the defence with the ringing condemnation, One could accurately describe this chapter of the case as lies, lies and more lies. He delivered a forensic refutation of the three fundamental accusations made in the US extradition request. The claim that Assange had assisted Manning in cracking a password to facilitate the hacking of sensitive documents was, Summers said, a false allegation." He continued, "Its provably wrong from the Manning trial from the prosecutions own evidence and unchallenged defence evidence. The allegation that he had actively solicited classified material from Manning was likewise, provably wrong, this time from publicly available information. Finally, the accusation that Assange had knowingly put the lives of US informants at risk by dumping unredacted files online was obviously and provably false, again from publicly available information and information known to the US government. Dealing first with the 250,000 US State Department cables released in April 2010, Summers cited evidence from Chelsea Mannings Court Martial proving that no password hacking was necessary either to access these files or to conceal her identity. Nor was Assange involved in soliciting the theft of these materials, as the extradition request alleges, through WikiLeakss most wanted list of government files. His lawyer explained that no matter how hard you read this list youre not going to find reference to cables anywhere on it. Summers said, the notion that they were uploaded to WikiLeaks as a result of Chelsea Manning having seen them on the most wanted list is absolute fantasy. Summers then delivered a detailed chronology of the events that led to these documents being posted in bulk in unredacted form. Neither Mr Assange nor WikiLeaks, when they received these materials rushed to publish precipitously Instead, Mr Assange and WikiLeaks entered into a partnership with a series of mainstream media organisations in order to understand and deal responsibly with these materials. He cited evidence from key witnesses explaining how WikiLeaks pioneered utterly innovative security and harm minimisation protocols, which have since been adopted for use in high profile cases like the Panama Papers tax haven expose. These procedures were sabotaged not by Assange or WikiLeaks but by David Leigh of the Guardian, who published a password to a secure archive of unredacted documents in his book WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assanges War on Secrecy. The breach was first recognised and reported on by the German newspaper Die Freitag. Assange called the paper and begged them not to reveal what they had discovered. He then acted immediately, Summers explained, to control the potential fallout, phoning the White House and US Department of State with WikiLeaks employee Sarah Harrison. In the conversation, says Summers, they talk in terms of an emergency about to happen. Astonishingly, US officials asked them to call back in a couple of hours. Assange replied, I dont understand why youre not seeing the urgency in this. Unless we do something then peoples lives are at risk. Only when the full unredacted files had been publicly released by other websitesfirst of all, by US-based site Cryptome.org, which has never faced chargesdid WikiLeaks publish the material. Similar points were made in relation to the Detainee Assessment Briefs, the Rules of Engagement and the Afghanistan and Iraq War Diaries acquired and published by WikiLeaks. None required password hacking to be accessed by Manning from US government databases and all were inconsistent with WikiLeakss wanted list of documents. As for the allegations that Assange encouraged Manning to commit theft, Summers made clear how Mannings release of the Rules of Engagement flowed from her decision to leak in the public interest the chilling Collateral Murder videodescribed in court as like 5-year-olds playing computer games with real people being killed, including children being shot at. The Rules of Engagement leaked by Manning came with, and to explain, this horrific war crimes video, exposing the US Governments claims that soldiers had acted in accordance with protocol. The Afghanistan and Iraq War Logs releases, Summers demonstrated with reference to the Manning Court Martial, were known by the US government to present no threat to the lives of US informants. WikiLeaks even worked with US officials to ensure that this was the case, at one point delaying publication of some 15,000 documents at their request. Their security measures were described by one defence witness as more extreme measures than I had ever previously observed as a journalist. Summers noted throughout his presentation that these details find no mention at all in the US extradition request, which had been completely stripped of relevant context. He repeatedly challenged whether the request was therefore fair, proper and accurate. Were it proven not to be, Summers argued, Baraitser would be bound to establish the true facts and rule on the extradition on that new evidentiary basis. He cited the cases of Castillo v Kingdom of Spain and Anor (2005) and Criminal Court at the National High Court, First Division v Murua (2010), and their establishing of the concept of Zakrzewski abuse, named after the case Zakrzewski v The Regional Court in Lodz, Poland (2013). This case law holds that although an extradition hearing cannot scrutinise the sufficiency of the evidence presented by the extraditing state, the prosecutions misrepresenting of the defendants alleged conduct can be challenged and corrected. Referring to the extradition requests repeated misrepresentations by omission of Assanges conduct, Summers concluded, strip all those away and what comes out isnt criminal. James Lewis QC, acting for the US, responded curtly and unconvincingly with the claim that Summers constantly seeks to put up a straw man and that the court should rule out any claim of abuse of process. Closing the days proceedings, Edward Fitzgerald QC indicated that the defence have a response to every single one of the prosecutions points. The hearing continues. Press Release Highlights The Tonopah District produced over 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold from approximately 7.5 million tonnes of high-grade silver-gold epithermal quartz veins making it one of the most significant silver-gold districts in North America 1 . Mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization hosted on the Tonopah West Project. Blackrock has acquired an option to purchase the Tonopah West Project, consisting of 98 patented and 17 unpatented lode mining claims. The optioned Tonopah West Project produced 30% of the tonnage and 26% of the revenue from the Tonopah District, making it the third largest producer in the Tonopah District which contributed to the historic production that made Tonopah the second largest silver district in Nevada, behind only the Comstock Lode. First consolidated ownership of land package since Howard Hughes held it in the 1960's, giving Blackrock control over largest claim package in the Tonopah District. Blackrock has identified four target areas with the potential ranging from 2.5 million to 6 million tonnes averaging 13 to 21 g/t gold and gold equivalent. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2020) - Blackrock Gold Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the "Company") announces a Lease Option to Purchase the historic West End and Tonopah Extension properties through a 4 year purchase option from Ely Gold Royalties Inc., ("Ely Gold") for payments totalling US$3 million. The transaction consolidates these properties into the Tonopah West Project. These properties are a significant landholding within the historic Tonopah silver district located in the Walker Lane trend of western Nevada. Known as the Queen of the Silver Camps, the Tonopah District produced over 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold from approximately 7.5 million tonnes of high-grade silver-gold epithermal quartz veins1. The main hosts of gold and silver are volcanic rock of the Mizpah andesite and the West End Rhyolite. These host lithologies are present on the Tonopah West Project. Mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Tonopah West Project. Story continues The Tonopah West Project consists of 98 patented and 17 unpatented lode mining claims covering mineral rights on approximately 4.5 square kilometres (1,100 acres). The project consolidates the historic West End, Victor, 76, Extension and portion of the McNamara mining company holdings under single ownership and provides the opportunity for modern exploration on the western portion of this historic and storied district. Ely Gold's wholly-owned subsidiary, Nevada Select Royalty, controls 23 patented and 17 unpatented lode mining claims. As part of the Agreement, Nevada Select Royalty will complete the purchase of Cliff ZZ LLC's 75 patented claims which will then be included in the transaction. Andrew Pollard, the Company's CEO, stated, "Upon closing of this transaction, Blackrock will have consolidated for the first time in decades a leading land package in what is one of the most significant silver-gold districts in North America. Blackrock now holds the keys to the largest package of claims that make up the famed Tonopah silver district since Howard Hughes held them in the late 1960's. These claims contributed to the historic production that made Tonopah the second largest silver district in Nevada, behind only the Comstock Lode, and provides Blackrock with multiple compelling drill-ready targets to explore." "With the addition of the consolidated Tonopah West package to our Silver Cloud project, Blackrock will have strategic interests in two prolific low-sulphidation epithermal districts in Nevada," Mr. Pollard continued. "This brownfield addition to our portfolio represents low-hanging exploration fruit, while our greenfield Silver Cloud project provides investors with a compelling blue-sky opportunity. With a presence on both the Walker Lane and the Northern Nevada Rift, these two strategic projects provide Blackrock with a significant position on two prolific gold and silver belts in Nevada." Based on the existing underground mine geology reports, historic assay data and production records, the Company is targeting four areas with the potential ranging from 2.5 million to 6 million tonnes with an average grade ranging from 13 to 21 g/t gold and gold equivalent. The potential quantities and grades of the target zones set out below are conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain whether further exploration will result in the targets being delineated as mineral resources. The target zones are as follows: On the northern portion of the property at the Victor shaft, the underground workings encountered a high-grade vein on the 1880 level that had widths up to 24 metres. The shaft was deepened to the 2375 level; however, high water flows, unreliable electrical power, and debt associated with the purchase of electric water pumps forced the closure of the operation. The target is the thick, high-grade vein below the 1880 level. The potential target ranges from 0.5 million to 1 million tonnes averaging 15 to 20 g/t gold and gold equivalent; Adjacent to the southeast portion of the property, the flat-lying Ohio vein was mined from the Ohio and McNamara shafts. The Ohio vein was mined up to the Tonopah West property boundary. No geologic work to find the off-set portion was completed and the potential exists for the down-thrown extension of the Ohio vein on the Tonopah West property. The vein dips 20 degrees to the south and the offset portion should be to the west and north well within the Tonopah West property. The potential target is a zone ranging from 0.5 million to 1 million tonnes averaging 15 to 30 g/t gold and gold equivalent; Through the KcKane shaft, three veins, Denver, Paymaster, and Bermuda/Merton, were mined from 1200 to the 1880 level. Geologic and assay reports indicate additional mineralization down dip and along strike. Chevron drilled a core hole 650 metres to the west of the Denver vein and intersected vein material with 127 g/t silver and 1.25 g/t gold within footwall rocks of the Tonopah Formation. Drilling will target the host rocks along strike and down dip in the Mizpah and West End Ryholite lithologies. An area with potential ranging from 1 million to 3 million tonnes averaging 10 to 15 g/t gold and gold equivalent is the target; and A new discovery was made using RC drilling in 1997. The area is located on the southwest portion of the Tonopah West property, and the drillhole intersected a new zone with values of 7.5 g/t gold and 288 g/t silver over 3 metres. Follow-up drilling in 2018 cut two 1.5 metres zones grading 9.7 g/t gold, 715 g/t silver and 4.6 g/t gold, 401 g/t silver. This zone is within the same stratigraphic package as the Ohio vein located 1.5 kilometres to the east and may represent a similar flat-lying vein with a similar potential target ranging from 0.5 million to 1 million tonnes averaging 15 to 30 g/t gold and gold equivalent. Tonopah West Project Target Map To view an enhanced version of this map, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/676/52782_4bcacc0414d258a9_002full.jpg The Transaction Through Ely Gold's wholly-owned subsidiary, Nevada Select Royalty, Blackrock Gold Corp's wholly-owned US subsidiary is acquiring the Tonopah West Project under an option to purchase. The 4 year option has payments as follows: US$325,000 on Closing; US$325,000 on the 1 st Anniversary of Closing; US$650,000 on the 2 nd Anniversary of Closing; US$700,000 on the 3 rd Anniversary of Closing; and US$1,000,000 on the 4th Anniversary of Closing. There is no work commitment. Upon option exercise, Nevada Select Royalty will retain a three percent (3%) net smelter returns royalty in respect of all mineral production from the Tonopah West Project. Nevada Select Trust must complete the acquisition of the Cliff ZZ land package consisting of 75 patented lode mining claims on or before March 28th before any funds change hands. The Transaction is expected to close on or before April 1, 2020, and is subject to customary closing documents and approvals including TSX-V approval. Blackrock's exploration activities at the Tonopah West Project are being conducted and supervised by Mr. William Howald, Executive Chairman of Blackrock Gold Corp. Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. About Blackrock Gold Corp. Blackrock is a junior gold-focused exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Anchored by a seasoned Board, the Company is focused on its Nevada portfolio consisting of low-sulphidation epithermal gold & silver projects located along on the established Northern Nevada Rift in north-central Nevada, and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada. For further information, please contact: Andrew Pollard, President & CEO Blackrock Gold Corp. Phone: 604 817-6044 Email: andrew@blackrockgoldcorp.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern the Company's strategic plans, exercise of the Tonopah West option, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, geological information projected from sampling results and the potential quantities and grades of the target zones. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the ability of the Company to exercise the Tonopah West option; conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; and the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors including: the ability of the Company to exercise the Tonopah West Option; the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and undertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data, and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 1 All historic production information from Nevada Bureau of Mines & Geology, Bulletin 51 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52782 New Delhi, Feb 26 : On the occasion of 609th Foundation Day, Tweeple greet the people of the Walled City of Ahmedabad on Wednesday. On February 26, 1411 AD, the city was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah on the banks of the Sabarmati river. #HappyBirthdayAhmedabad is trending on the social media platform as people celebrate Ahmedabad Foundation Day and recalling the historic moment. A user wrote, "Warm Greetings & Best Wishes on the Foundation Day of #Ahmedabad. Today, let's resolve to protect the rich heritage of India's First & Only UNESCO #WorldHeritageCity. Let's also pledge to work together to make #MaruAmdavad cleaner, greener & more beautiful." Another wrote, "On this Day Ahmedabad city completed 609 glorious years. Celebrating the foundation day of the city that is true pride of country's heritage." A post read, "On this Ahmedabad Foundation Day, let us pledge to keep our cultural spirit high and pedal towards a sustainable future for our Ahmedabad." "Happy Birthday Amdavad!! You are very special to me for the soul of my mother vests in you. You have beautiful people and joy around. Always Love you," a user remarked. WKTV -- Two defendants in the Word of Life church beatings will be released from prison this week. Linda Morey and her son David Morey pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault and were sentenced to five years in state prison. They were convicted of playing a role in the beatings that lead to the death of Lucas Leonard and the severe injuries to Christopher Leonard. The author of the book "Without a Prayer: The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult" reached out to NEWSChannel 2 about their parole. Oneida County D.A. Scott McNamara said he believes that it is accurate they will be released this week. The victim's mother, Deborah Leonard, was released from prison last month. Married At First Sight's toothbrush scandal could lead to a legal firestorm. According to OK! magazine, Hayley Vernon considered taking legal action during filming after she discovered David Cannon had scrubbed a dirty toilet with her toothbrush. 'She was understandably completely outraged and threatening behind the scenes to call in the lawyers,' a source claimed. 'She was completely outraged': Married At First Sight's Hayley Vernon considered taking legal action after she discovered David Cannon had scrubbed a dirty toilet with her toothbrush The toothbrush incident was reportedly so notorious on set that filming was temporarily shut down while the participants were 'forced to cool off'. Meanwhile, a lawyer has weighed in on the legal action Hayley, 32, potentially could have taken over the toothbrush saga. Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers told Pedestrian on Wednesday that several criminal offences could apply. Disgusting: A video surfaced of Hayley's 'husband', David Cannon, scrubbing a toilet with her toothbrush after she'd cheated on him with Michael Goonan 'If the victim [Hayley] had known about it at the time, she would have had ample grounds to seek an apprehended domestic violence order [against David],' Mr Bradley said. According to the NSW Crimes Act (1900), it is also an offense to cause another person to take a 'poison, intoxicating substance or other destructive or noxious thing' with the intention of causing pain, injury or distress. Mr Bradley noted that whether this rule applies depends on 'whether the toilet water qualified as noxious... and whether the requisite intention was present.' Cooling off: The toothbrush incident was reportedly so notorious on set that filming was temporarily shut down while the participants were 'forced to cool off' During Wednesday's dinner party, Hayley broke down after revealing that David had cleaned a dirty toilet with her toothbrush. David committed the 'vile' act of revenge after learning she had kissed another groom, Michael Goonan. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7:00pm on Channel Nine. Stephen Colbert did his Late Show monologue live following the Democratic debate Tuesday, sharing his take on the spectacle hosted in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina and broadcast by his home network, CBS. The host remarked on the candidates disregard for manners throughout the contentious debate, which is the last one theyll get before the South Carolina primary on Saturday, followed by Super Tuesday next week. These folks said a lot of words, and I did not hear many of them because these candidates were speaking all over each other, Colbert said. Things got a little shouty. Also Read: Democratic Candidates Fling Attacks, but Few Stick in Latest Debate After his monologue, he roasted candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden. First, he donned a pair of sunglasses to mock Biden, who made his usual incoherent remarks last night. Im Joe Biden and Im running for Biden against the other Biden. Look me over, if you like what you see, wrap me in a blanket and take me to a safe place filled with people I know. The address is right here on this bracelet, Colbert said before tossing off the sunglasses and laughing, Thats the worst impression of all time. Also Read: Desus and Mero Offer NSFW Takedown of Warren vs Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate (Video) Then he joked that Bloomberg was punching below the belt when he accused Sanders of getting help from Russia to win the election. Then again, Bloomberg cant reach much higher, he said of the 58 former mayor of New York City. Watch Colberts full live monologue above. Read original story Colbert Roasts Candidates Manners During Live Post-Debate Monologue: Things Got a Little Shouty (Video) At TheWrap [February 26, 2020] Global Technologies, Ltd is Pleased to Update Shareholders on its Recent Corporate Progress ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ?Global Technologies, Ltd (OTC Pink: GTLL), a former technology portfolio company that acquired nascent technology and related innovations, inventions and IP assets to enhance their growth and development is pleased to provide todays shareholder update on the Companys current progress and operations. Over the past six months, the Company has worked to complete its two-year audit for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 and stub period for the six months ended December 31, 2019. The Company is at the end stage of the audit and anticipates the filing of its Registration Statement on Form 10 during the month of March. By filing the Form 10, the Company will become a fully reporting entity with the Securities and Exchange Commission thus increasing transparency for its shareholders. Prior Operational History From inception until March 2011, Global Technologies was a technology portfolio company that acquired nascent technology and related innovations, inventions and IP assets to enhance their growth and development. The Company built revenues and asset value through a model of continuous growth, income from or sale of its portfolio holdings, and technology licensing or distribution agreements. The Company invested primarily in innovative and promising clean/renewable energy or bio-tech technologies that had reached the stage in the critical Technology Development & Demonstration phase of the Innovative Cycle, which includes Prototype, Demonstration and Market Analysis. In March 2011, the Company abandoned its operations. Future Operations The Companys current business plan is to seek a merger candidate for future operations. In implementing a structure for a particular business acquisition, we may become a party to a merger, consolidation, reorganization, joint venture, or licensing agreement with another company or entity. As part of our investigation, we expect to meet personally with management and key personnel,visit and inspect material facilities, obtain independent analysis of verification of certain information provided, check references of management and key personnel, and take other reasonable investigative measures, to the extent of our limited financial resources and management expertise. The manner in which we participate in an opportunity will depend on the nature of the opportunity, the respective needs and desires of both parties, and the management of the opportunity. At present, the Company has not identified a target acquisition, but anticipates upon filing the Form 10 we will be presented with several candidates. The company also wishes to remind all shareholders and persons of interest that Global Technologies, Ltd will be making announcements and updates via social media. Updates can be found at our social media channel on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/GlobalTechGTLL . About Global Technologies, Ltd: Global Technologies, Ltd, based in St. Petersburg, FL, was a technology portfolio company that acquired nascent technology and related innovations, inventions and IP assets to enhance their growth and development. The Companys previous business model built revenues and asset value through a model of continuous growth, income from or sale of its portfolio holdings, and technology licensing or distribution agreements. The Company is currently seeking a merger candidate. For further information, please visit the Companys website at https://globaltechnologiesltd.info/ Forward Looking Statements and Disclaimer Statements made in this press release that express the Company or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will" and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Those statements are based on many assumptions and are subject to many known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual activities, results or performance to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. The Company cannot guarantee future financial results; levels of activity, performance or achievements and investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. No information contained in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future financial performance, future revenues or its future stock price. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of the Company as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues or results of operations. Contact: Global Technologies, Ltd (727) 482-1505 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Feroz Akhtar, who is differently-abled, was beaten with sticks by a mob that entered a mosque when he was offering prayers in northeast Delhi's Mustafabad, his wife Sanjeeda claimed. One of the riot-affected victims being treated at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, the 42-year-old tailor received severe injuries on his head, back and shoulder. Akhtar had met with an accident five years ago and since then he struggled to walk properly. Recalling the incident, Sanjeeda said her husband and 20-year-old son, Danish, were among many others from the locality who had rushed to a protest venue to safeguard the women who were on a sit-in in a nearby area on Tuesday. "My son returned after a while, but my husband was still there. As soon as I got to know about incidents of stone pelting and firing, I called up my husband and asked him to return since he won't be able to rush in case of any emergency," she said. Sanjeeda said her husband rushed to a nearby mosque and while he was offering prayers, a mob entered and beat him and others with sticks and dragged him out. After a while, she received a call from an unknown person who informed her that her husband was at his place currently. "I was very scared and did not trust the caller," he said, adding that he had given him first-aid and asked her to come to his house to take Akhtar. "Later, he made me speak to my husband who said he won't be able to return or go on a bike even if I sends our son to him," she said. The unknown caller informed Sanjeeda that he had admitted Akhtar at Al hind hospital, Mustafabad from where she, along with her two sons, managed to take him to LNJP. "With the help of my sister who stays in Jamia, we managed to arrange for an ambulance and with the aid of police we managed to reach LNJP from Bhajapura at around 2.30 am," she said. However, one the way, near Signature Bridge, stones were also pelted at the ambulance, she added. Nainital-resident Amar Jahan had come to Wazirabad at her brother's place just two days ago to get her daughter treated at LNJP. "The situation is very tense. We could not sleep the entire night because we feared someone would attack us. I somehow managed to get a van and brought my daughter for treatment today. I don't feel safe enough to go back home," Jahan said. Since Monday, a total of 45 people injured in the violence were brought to LNJP. Out of them, bodies of Mehrum Ali (32), a resident of Bhajanpura, and Aman (17), a resident of New Seelampur were kept in the mortuary for the post-mortem, police said, adding three injured were brought to the hospital on Wednesday. Most of them have been discharged after first-aid while some of them are still being treated, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the face of a global health emergency, thousands of U.S. college students studying abroad are scrambling. On Thursday, Seton Hall University announced that all spring study abroad trips were cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus in a growing number of countries, including China, Italy, Greece and India. As the coronavirus gains steam in northern Italy, some schools there, including Elon University, Stanford University, Syracuse University and New York University, already announced they were closing their campuses in Florence. "We have urged students to leave Florence for this period," NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement. Villa Rossa, Syracuse University campus in Florence, Italy Source: Sailko | Wikipedia Classes will continue remotely, as they are at NYU Shanghai in China, and students are strongly encouraged to return home, the university said. "More schools will follow suit," predicted Hafeez Lakhani, president of New York-based Lakhani Coaching. "The risk aversion is extremely high at universities. "Everyone is going to err on the side of caution, there is too much liability." The risk aversion is extremely high at universities. Hafeez Lakhani president of Lakhani Coaching Other U.S. schools, such as Marist College, are keeping their overseas campuses open for now but offering students the option of leaving. "As of today, our assessment is that we are comfortable staying open," John Peters, dean of international programs at Marist's Florence campus, said Wednesday. For students who choose to remain in Italy, Marist has banned travel to northern parts of the country, including the Lombardy and Veneto regions, where the country's outbreaks are most severe. Despite the uncertainty, Peters predicts that Italy will remain a popular destination for students studying abroad through the fall. "This is a signature Marist experience," he said. "Just about half of students study abroad during their undergraduate years and by far the Florence campus is the most popular destination." More from Personal Finance: One solution to student loan crisis: a degree abroad It may actually be getting easier to get into college here are the schools giving the most financial aid Italy is second only to the U.K. as the most popular destination to study abroad. Nearly 37,000 American students went there in the 2017-2018 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education, which has tracked the flow of international students since 1919. However, in recent years, China has also become a popular destination for American students, the institute found. There are now close to 12,000 students from the U.S. studying in the country, according to the group's most recent data. "This has been a really coveted opportunity for any student interested in business across the U.S.," Lakhani said. Many schools, including Cornell University, have already suspended travel to China because of the coronavirus outbreak. China's National Health Commission said 77,658 cases of the COVID-19 virus had been confirmed there as of Tuesday. CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) has released an updated version of its "Guide to Fighting Robocalls" to help Illinois consumers reduce the nuisance calls. Visit CitizensUtilityBoard.org to get a free copy of the 7-page publication, which includes simple tips to reducing the calls. Robocalls are prerecorded messages from computer-generated dialers. Technology allows scam artists to cheaply and easily make thousands of calls a minuteand the calls have reached an alarming level. Consumers received 4.7 billion robocalls in January, according to YouMail, a developer of robocall-blocking software. The U.S. received over 58.5 billion robocalls throughout 2019. In response to the growing number of spam calls and corresponding consumer frustrations, lawmakers in Washington passed the nation's toughest anti-robocall legislation, the TRACED Act, in January. The act requires all service providers to offer robocall-blocking services at no additional cost to consumers. That's good news in Illinois, which last year was the target of 2.1 billion robocalls. While the TRACED Act gets the ball moving, it isn't likely to completely halt the deluge of calls that at best annoy us and at worst take advantage of vulnerable consumers. That's where CUB's guide comes in. "We know that Illinois consumersand even CUB staffersare exasperated by bothersome robocalls," CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. "This guide gives consumers the tools they need to reduce the frustrating calls and teaches them how to handle the spam and scam calls that do make their way to the phone." CUB is Illinois' leading nonprofit utility watchdog group. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit CUB's award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org. SOURCE Citizens Utility Board Related Links http://www.citizensutilityboard.org Delhi Commission For Women chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday said an office of the Mahila Panchayat of the panel was set ablaze in riot-hit northeast Delhi's Gokalpuri area. Maliwal shared images of the burnt office on Twitter and said the rioters had not even spared the office of the Mahila Panchayat. She had a meeting with senior officers on Wednesday and urged police to ensure peace in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) OROVILLE, Calif. Butte County Sheriffs Office arrested two people after a cleaning staff at a northern California casino found more than just linens that needed changing. The Butte County Sheriffs Office said staff at Gold Country Casino found an illegal weapon along with ammunition inside a bag that was left in a hotel room at the casino. Deputies said two people showed up at the casino looking for the items, thats when staff called the sheriffs office. 18-year-old Bryce Boston and 30-year-old Brittnie Fonseca were both arrested. Fonseca had several felony and misdemeanor warrants out for her, according to deputies. The two are now facing charges including possession of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of an illegal firearm. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Pete Davidson, the Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedian born and raised on Staten Island, makes himself scarce when it comes to press interviews...until he joins forces with Charlamagne The God. Davidson sat down with the radio host and fellow mental health advocate for a video interview that lasted nearly an hour. No topic was off-limits as the interview began with his Netflix special Alive From New York, and the $1 million non-disclosure agreement fans needed to sign before attending specific performances of his. Once you do a joke, its over, so we had to make sure the material doesnt get out so I can film it and people could see it, Davidson said. And then someone took a picture of the NDA and put out the NDA, which just proved my point about the NDA. The interview eventually led in to his upcoming feature film King of Staten Island," about growing up in Great Kills, along with his other projects, including Big Time Adolesence and James Gunns The Suicide Squad. Davidson also revealed his true thoughts on leaving SNL for good and the prospect of becoming a father. You dont ever want to pull the trigger too early," Davidson said when asked about leaving SNL. "Everybodys always been like, Youll know when you know, and itll be all right. I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it. Colin Jost, a fellow Staten Island native, poked fun of Davidson for missing SNL tapings to promote The Suicide Squad" in a Weekend Update segment. A man who drove his car to a music festival still cannot remember where he parked his car a week after the show, Jost said. "Well, we hope you make it back soon, Pete. Im like, cold open, political punchlines,'' Davidson recounted to Charlemagne. Im like, Weekend Update jokes. When Im not there, theyll be like, Huh huh huh, Petes a f***ing jerk face. And youre like, Whos side are you on?' I have a weird feeling in that building where I dont know whose team theyre playing for, really if Im the joke or Im in on the joke. With several projects dropping in the next few months, Davidson says what would make him happiest is finding the love of his life and becoming a father, although he does not want to start dating anytime soon. I love love,'' Said Davidson, whose father, a New York City firefighter, died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when the comedian was 7 years old. Thats how I grew up. Just my mom, my sister I didnt have a man around the house, so I was just like, When am I going to find my Princess Charming? Thats all Ive ever wanted. I just want to have a kid, thats it, he added. I think that would be awesome. Im at the point where Im like, Maybe I should adopt. Me and my mom or something, just adopt. I think everybody is afraid of the Davidson seed. The borough was brought up briefly when Davidson spoke about media and paparazzi traveling to Staten Island to get a photo of him at his home in the borough. Charlemagne said: Wow. You a real star if theyre coming all the way to Staten Island for you. I dont even think they came to Staten Island for Wu-Tang. ITS commonplace to see international tourists getting off flights in Churchill there to see polar bears, northern lights and beluga whales. For most, its a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a remarkable part of our country. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion ITS commonplace to see international tourists getting off flights in Churchill there to see polar bears, northern lights and beluga whales. For most, its a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a remarkable part of our country. But tourists are quickly being joined by international investors looking for business opportunities, a situation theyre taking seriously because climate change will soon open northern shipping routes, year-round, to the world. While climate change brings serious risks that need to be addressed, it also offers an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions. Using northern shipping routes and Arctic gateways is one example. Development of Indigenous and northern partnerships can bring about new business opportunities. OneNorth is such a partnership. Its role in the development of the trade corridor exiting western Canada at the port of Churchill will help give Canada new access to global markets and get global commodities to our central and western provinces. The international community is looking north because change is happening in the Arctic at an amazing pace. Research coming out of the Centre for Earth Observation Sciences at the University of Manitoba is predicting Hudson Bay will be ice-free year-round by the early 2040s. The "Northern Passage," which runs right over the North Pole and is one of the three major trans-Arctic shipping lanes, is anticipated to have single-season ice only in the summer of 2040. By way of comparison, the "Eastern Passage," running along the northern Russian coast east of Murmansk, is currently being kept open year-round by Russian ice breakers. Russia and China are ahead of the pack when it comes to Arctic investment. Russia plans to spend close to $170 billion in Arctic infrastructure over the next few decades, while China, asserting itself as a country with "Arctic interests," plans to invest close to $1 trillion on Arctic research and development. This influx of international interest in the North will be transformative to our communities; the question remains whether this transformation will be positive or negative. We will never subscribe to a development-at-any-cost attitude. This is our homeland. We must preserve it. Therefore, as we move forward, we will balance economic growth with social and environmental responsibility. We know that we are in the best position to find that balance. In the North, we are changing how we do business. Northern communities do not wish to sit by and watch as others control development in our territories. If we choose development, we will be partners. Without sharing in development decisions, northern and Indigenous communities run the risk of losing control of what happens in our backyards. Starting now, northern and Indigenous communities need to be partners in all northern and Arctic development projects. We cant be left on the sidelines to watch as foreign or southern interests embark on projects that extract tremendous wealth from our traditional communities without our control, consent and participation. 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. Arctic Gateway Group has created a model for what Canada needs. It is an equal partnership, with OneNorth holding 50 per cent ownership, and Fairfax Financial Holdings and AGT of Saskatchewan holding the other 50 per cent. OneNorth is owned by northern Manitoba First Nations and municipalities, large and small, along the Hudson Bay Railway. Its partnership with Fairfax/AGT provides a meaningful opportunity to participate in the development of the Hudson Bay Railway, the Port of Churchill and Churchills Marine Tank Farm and, on the broader scale, the Northern Passages. This is a national project. The government has given it a critical push start that made this partnership possible, but we need to continue to move forward. While AGG has made striking improvements in just a year, more needs to be done to gain credibility and attract global customers and investment. For the first time in Canadian history, all the First Nations in a region are owners of a strategic national asset. But OneNorth goes far beyond that; it is a partnership of all Canadians in the region, with municipal and unincorporated communities sitting side by side with their First Nations neighbours a social and economic neighborhood defined by the rail line to create a corridor of prosperity for the region. Opportunities in northern Canada are opportunities based on relationships. OneNorth is a great model for creating business relationships in the future. Onekanew (Chief) Christian Sinclair of Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Churchill Mayor Mike Spence are co-chairs of OneNorth, which was formerly known as Missinippi Rail LP. Its new name reflects its culture and focus. See this story, Italy admits hospital mess-up as officials scramble to contain coronavirus outbreak which is a finger-pointing exclamation point at one hospital in Italy.I don't know the full story, but I'm guessing a fairly remote hospital, not on the "global scene," did not apply good infection control measures because they didn't recognize the disease and the danger. Given our worldwide economy and global travel patterns, there isn't any place that is safe.Everyone needs to have their "antenna up" for potential cases of the coronavirus COVID-19. In the essay, Mr. Frankel wrote about communications between Mr. Trumps inner circle and Russian emissaries in the lead-up to the 2016 election. He concluded that, rather than any detailed electoral collusion, the Trump campaign and Russian officials had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy. The Trump lawsuit argues that this conclusion is false and that The Times published the essay knowing it would misinform and mislead its own readers. The suit also accuses The Times, without evidence, of harboring extreme bias against and animosity toward Mr. Trumps re-election campaign. The Times responded on Wednesday that it would fight the suit. The Trump campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable, Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement. Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance, Ms. Murphy added. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case. Mr. Trump, whose vilification of the news media has little precedent among past presidents, has ratcheted up his attacks on the press over the past year. He has accused The Times of treason, tweeted the term fake news hundreds of times and threatened to pull broadcast licenses. 4-10% of adults worldwide have a chronic cough - a cough lasting more than eight weeks. Phase 2b clinical trial of drug to treat unexplained chronic cough, a condition that has a significant impact on quality of life, shows promising results. Currently, no effective licensed therapies exist for this problem. A new treatment - called gefapixant - may reduce the frequency of coughing, including in patients who have suffered from a chronic cough for more than 15 years, according to results from a phase 2b clinical trial which lasted 12 weeks and included 253 people, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. Between four and 10% of adults worldwide suffer from an unexplained chronic cough. Non-smokers with a chronic cough are likely to have an underlying condition such as asthma, or to have been exposed to dust or fumes in the workplace. However, not all people with conditions such as asthma report a chronic cough. This suggests that it's caused by a separate process, which may explain why it often does not respond to treatment for underlying conditions. When a cough is unexplained and unresponsive to treatment, a patient may be described as having cough hypersensitivity syndrome. Until now, there has been no safe, long-term treatment for this. A target for treatment could be reducing hyperexcitability of the neuronal pathways involved in coughing. Gefapixant blocks a receptor involved in the cough reflex. Previous studies found that gefapixant could reduce the frequency of coughing when given in a high dose (600mg) over two weeks, and that doses as low as 50mg could reduce coughing over a four-day trial when given twice daily. The new trial, which lasted 12 weeks, was randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled to study how effective three different doses of gefapixant were and their associated side effects. "Many patients with a chronic cough are driven to seek treatment because of the significant negative impact it can have on their quality of life, but at the moment physicians are unable to help," says Professor Jacky Smith from the University of Manchester, who led the study. "Ours' is the first study to report a treatment that is safe and effective over the longer term, and phase 3 trials are already underway with an even larger group of people and over a longer timeframe." [1] In the current study, the researchers recruited 253 patients with an unexplained or untreatable cough that had persisted for an average of 14.5 years. The patients were recruited from 44 sites across the UK and US. Most (70%, or 177/253) had never smoked. The average age of patients was 60 and over three-quarters (76%, or 193/253) were women, which resembles the profile of patients who attend cough clinics. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo (63 patients) or gefapixant twice daily, every day for 84 days. They were administered one of three doses: 7.5mg (64 patients), 20mg (63 patients) or 50mg (63 patients). Throughout the study, patients kept a cough severity diary, including reporting how many times they coughed per hour. Cough frequency was also captured objectively, by fitting patients with a sound recording device over four 24-hour periods. During three treatment visits, participants completed a Leicester Cough Questionnaire, and during six visits they rated the severity of their cough on a scale from "no cough" to "worst possible cough". Clinicians recorded any adverse events that could be associated with treatment. Before treatment started, patients coughed around 24-29 times per hour. After 12 weeks of treatment, the placebo group coughed 18 times per hour, but this reduced by an additional 37% to 11 coughs per hour in the 50mg group. There were also some reductions in the 7.5mg and 20mg groups, but these were not statistically significant. The most common side effect seen in the trial was a change in patients' sense of taste (occurring in three (5%) patients given placebo, six (10%) given 7.5 mg gefapixant, 21 (33%) given 20 mg gefapixant, and 30 (48%) given 50 mg gefapixant). Dysgeusia and other taste-related adverse experiences led to 10 patients in the 50mg group discontinuing with the study, but most patients who continued to receive treatment said they would be happy to continue for at least a year. It is not yet available on prescription, while clinical testing continues. During the trial, there was one serious adverse event (frostbite) but this was thought to be unrelated to the drug. The authors note that a limitation of their study is that it recorded a strong placebo effect. For example, the waking frequency of coughs in the placebo group went down from an average of 28 per hour before treatment to 18 per hour after 12 weeks. Previous, smaller studies with gefapixant recorded little change in patients given placebo. The authors suggest that patients' expectations in this trial may have been affected by positive results from previous studies, as well as by the high likelihood (75%) of being assigned to a treatment group. Writing in a linked Comment, lead author Dr Richard Irwin (who was not involved in the study) from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA, says: "Based on the unadjusted data shown in table 2, there was an incrementally larger decrease in cough frequency with each successively larger dose, with the cough frequency at 50 mg being the lowest, but the absolute frequency of cough is not reported as being statistically different from placebo. Because large placebo effects have been seen in other randomized, placebo-controlled cough treatment studies, the authors took this into account by analyzing cough frequency relative to placebo. When this was done, the improvement with the 50mg dose, but not other doses, did reach statistical significance compared with placebo."] ### NOTES TO EDITORS This study was funded by Afferent Pharmaceuticals and supported by the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network and the UK National Institute of Health Research. It was conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Hull York Medical School, King's College London, Queen's University Belfast, the Center for Cough (Florida, USA) and GetStat Solutions, USA. A full declaration of interests for all authors is provided in the paper. The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com [1] Quote direct from author and cannot be found in the text of the Article. Peer-reviewed / Randomised Controlled Trial / People Defendants in fictitious works at Vostochny case sentenced to up to 5 years in prison flickr.com/ Patrik Theander 12:38 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) A court has sentenced former project manager of the Chief Administration for Special Construction in the territory of Siberia Natalya Bulantseva to 5 years in a penal colony for embezzlement of budgetary funds during construction of Vostochny Cosmodrome, a statement of Russias Investigative Committee reads on Wednesday. The court has also sentenced ex-first deputy head of this enterprise Sergey Batukayev, yet another defendant in the case, to 21 months in a penal colony. Two other defendants, engineer Elina Kuchina and head of the construction company Severstroy Gleb Sukhoverkov were sentenced to 33 months in a penal colony each. According to investigators, in March through September of 2015 the defendants made up fraudulent documents on completion of construction works at Vostochny Cosmodrom and procurement of various materials on the basis of which they could illegally obtain 21 million rubles (about $320,000 at the present exchange rate). The court also established that Batukayev and Bulantseva attempted to hide the stolen funds. In the course of investigation and litigation Batukayev voluntary returned about 8.6 million rubles ($131,000), the statement reads. NEWTOWN BOROUGH >> The Newtown Borough Council welcomes the new year with three new members of council and a new borough mayor. District Court Judge Mick Petrucci was on hand on January 3 to administer the oath of office to the towns new mayor, Republican John Burke, who replaces longtime mayor Charles Corky Swartz who decided not to run for... Over the past few months, several BJP leaders including Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra and many more have made provocative speeches against those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). And the ugly repercussions of it are being played out on the streets of Delhi right now where murderous mobs are on a rampage attacking everyone and everything on their path. BCCL Even as the nation watches in horror, there is no end to the hate speech and calls for violence against those opposed to the legislation. former Union minister and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has courted controversy after threatening to kill freedom fighter and Gandhian, HS Doreswamy and CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar for opposing the law. BCCL Patil on Tuesday called centenarian Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy a "fake freedom fighter who behaves like a Pakistan agent". "There are many fake freedom fighters. There is one in Bengaluru. Now we have to say what Doreswamy is. Where is that old man? He behaves like a Pakistan agent," he said. The MLA also said that he wishes that Doreswamy should better die for opposing the implementation of CAA. The BJP said it was not proper for him to speak like that, but added that "We have lots of respect for Doreswamy, but we too feel that he (Doreswamy) is biased." The 101-year-old Doreswamy who has fought in the Independence movement was seen in several Anti-CAA protests in Bengaluru in the past few weeks. BCCL Patil's comments come a day after another Karnataka BJP MLA P Appachu Ranjan called for a law to shoot at sight those who raise pro-Pakistan slogans in the country. "Every citizen must protect and preserve the nation's rich culture. However, many are involved in anti-national activities. Such people must be shot down immediately. They must be exiled and sent to Pakistan. No advocate must fight their cases in court," he had said. A day ago Karnataka agriculture minister BC Patil had also made a similar demand. The duo had made the comment on the context of the girl who was arrested last week for chanting Pakistan Zindabad at an anti-CAA rally in Bengaluru. BCCL Amulya Leona, who raised pro-Pakistan Slogans has been booked for sedition and remanded to judicial custody. She had raised Pakistan Zindabad slogans thrice after organisers, under the banner of Save the Constitution, invited her to address the gathering in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. A 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three men in two separate incidents within a span of two hours on the night of February 19 in Navi Mumbai, police said on Wednesday. All the three accused, including an autorickshaw driver, have been arrested. Narrating the sequence of events, a Rabale MIDC police station officer said that the victim had failed to board a train at suburban Ghatkopar on February 18 while she was with her relatives. The woman then boarded another train and reached Mumbra railway station in Thane district on February 18 night and slept at the station, he said. "On February 19, she boarded another train and reached Diva station where she requested a woman beggar to help her in selling her nose ring for money. However, they couldn't sell the ring till night," he said. The woman then started walking the road with the hope to locate the Diva railway station. "At around 8:30 pm, she reached near a hotel and asked the auto driver to drop her at the nearest railway station. The auto-driver, however, took her to a dilapidated building in Mahape area in Navi Mumbai and raped her," the officer said, adding that the accused left the woman near a temple in the area. Around 10 pm, the woman sought help of two men who were riding a scooter in locating a nearby station, he said. "The duo made her seat on the two-wheeler, took her to an isolated area near Ghansoli and raped her," the officer said quoting the complaint. A case of rape was registered with Rabale MIDC police station on February 23. The accused were arrested on the basis of the description given by the victim. The trio were remanded in police custody till February 29. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nigerian Customs Service in Akwa Ibom state have been thrown into morning after two of their colleagues attached to the Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, reportedly died in an auto crash on Sunday while pursuing a bus suspected to be carrying smuggled rice. Two other officers including the driver of the truck being chased sustained injuries. An eyewitness said the truck was later found to be without any bag of rice. According to the eyewitness, the Hilux vehicle conveying the customs officer, marked Strike Force Team, hit the Sienna bus, with number plate, APP 784 FM, and somersaulted several times. ShThe Nigerian Customs Service in Akwa Ibom state have been thrown into morning after two of their colleagues attached to the Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, reportedly died in an auto crash on Sunday while pursuing a bus suspected to be carrying smuggled rice. Two other officers including the driver of the truck being chased sustained injuries. An eyewitness said the truck was later found to be without any bag of rice. According to the eyewitness, the Hilux vehicle conveying the customs officer, marked Strike Force Team, hit the Sienna bus, with number plate, APP 784 FM, and somersaulted several times. When I inspected the Sienna bus, no single grain of rice was in it. The bus was returning from a church in Oron, the eyewitness added. Nigeria has restricted the importation of foreign rice and has even shut its border to stem smuggling of the commodity. Share this: Resonate, the leading provider of A.I.-driven voter data and intelligence, today unveiled new voter research findings that provide deep insights into the values and motivations shaping the decisions of the 81 million voters who plan to vote in the Democratic Primary. The research uncovered five unique voter segments that candidates must consider as they plan their campaigns. The Democratic Primary Voter Landscape is highly segmented, and to date it has been a challenge for a single candidate to gain major traction, said Bryan Gernert, Chief Executive Officer of Resonate. As candidates drop out, its more critical than ever for the remaining candidates to effectively address each nuanced audience individually and doing so requires a deep and dynamic understanding of the different Democratic primary voter segments, that only Resonate provides. In order to demystify the highly complex Democratic Primary Voter Landscape, Resonate tapped into its continuously updated, highly accurate voter insights platform, which houses more than 13,000 attributes scaled to over 200 million American voters. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning, Resonate discerned clustered groups within the 81 million voters who plan to vote in the Democratic Primary and looked at how their values, motivations, policy positions, candidate platform support, voting history and media consumption habits influence who they are and who theyll vote for in the primary. Key insights from the analysis included the following: Aspiring Advocates (41.7 million U.S. voters): This subset of voters includes a significant number of Gen Z minority females with lots of student debt. What they lack in income they make up for in passion for advocacy issues, which they care about more than political issues. Theyre also not influenced by party affiliation and could also be known as the #socialreformsquad. Trend-Setting Activists (21 million): This group of voters includes a significant number of progressive and professional Millennials. Theyre forward-thinking and accepting of others. By sharing their thoughts online, they're paving the way for future generations to speak their mind about political and social issues theyre passionate about. Engaged Intellectuals (7.6 million): This cluster includes a significant number of female Gen Xers who are highly educated and wealthy. They are the most politically engaged cluster. They donate more money to charities and political groups than any other Democratic primary voter segment. They read the newspaper, watch political programming and are staunch supporters of gun control. Duty-Bound Patriots (6.4 million): This cluster of voters includes male Baby Boomers who grew up during the Cold War, leaving them worried about terrorism and nuclear threats to the U.S. Their sense of civic duty and tolerance for others was formed watching the civil rights movement unfold during their youth. Theyre creatures (or patriots) of habit who prefer to read the newspaper and watch the local news. Church-Going Moderates (4.1 million): This moderate subset includes a significant number of retired black women who are religious and also pro-choice. They dont have much in the way of formal education or income, but they consume political media regularly, from live debates to broadcast news, and see voting as their civic duty. Read the complete findings of Resonates Democratic Primary Voter Landscape research here. Resonates deep history in helping political campaigns identify and target niche voter audiences has manifested in a strong track record of candidate victories. The five unique voter segments identified through Resonates unprecedented study are now available for targeting via Resonate. About Resonate Resonate is a pioneer in A.I.-driven consumer intelligence & analytics, delivering deep understanding, dynamic insights, cross-channel engagement and analysis in a single, simple-to-use SaaS platform. Resonate has deep consumer insights and contextually relevant data across more than 13,000 attributes, including values, motivations and other psychographics, describing more than 200 million U.S. consumers. Hundreds of companies have used Resonate to reveal and engage The Human Element, a 360-degree understanding of the individuals in their target audience that extends beyond traditional demographics, psychographics and behavioral data to uncover why consumers choose, buy or support certain brands, products or causes. Empowered with unparalleled insights, leading brands, agencies and organizations use Resonate to identify, engage and analyze these audiences, driving growth and increasing customer lifetime value. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Resonate is privately held and backed by Argentum Capital Partners, Revolution Growth, Greycroft Partners and iNovia Capital. For more information, please visit http://www.resonate.com. Media Contact: Kyle Kuhnel Broadsheet Communications (For Resonate) kyle@broadsheetcomms.com 212-699-3721 English French TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunwing announced today that it has revised the coming 2020 summer season to operate without the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The new schedule, which will run until October 31, 2020 has been reconfigured ahead of time to accommodate the non-availability of this aircraft type. While the move has been prompted by the continued worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, the company explained that being able to offer an excellent customer experience and provide their clients with much-needed reassurance while planning their vacation were equally important factors in their decision. President of Tour Operations for Sunwing, Andrew Dawson, commented, Proactively revising our summer schedule will ensure that we can offer our customers the same exceptional value and award-winning inflight experience they have been accustomed to. Until the end of October, all Sunwing Airlines flights will be operated on our Boeing 737-800 airplanes with their distinctive orange tails. With these changes, our customers should feel more confident about booking their vacations or destination weddings early and taking advantage of the great deals. All schedule changes required to accommodate the change in aircraft type have already been made and are now live on the companys website and reservation system, through to October 31, 2020. Should the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft become available earlier, the company will evaluate opportunities to add capacity or reintegrate the aircraft into the fleet at that time. Sunwing would like to thank their customers and travel agent partners for their continued loyalty and patience throughout these changes. About Sunwing The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from over 33 airports across Canada to more than 45 popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing is consistently voted the top leisure airline by travel agents and is the perennial winner of the Consumer Choice Award. Customers can look forward to starting their vacation off with award-winning inflight service, which features a complimentary glass of sparkling wine*, non-alcoholic beverage service; together with a buy on board menu of light meals and snacks, including kids choices, the World Famous Original Smoked Meat from the iconic Montreal-based Schwartzs Deli along with delicious menu options inspired by Food Network Canada Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford. Sunwing customers also benefit from the assistance of the companys own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. Sunwing supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid. Sunwing matches all donations the Foundation receives through its Spare Change Program on board Sunwing Airlines, no administrative fees are collected and 100% of the proceeds go to charity. *Service may be unavailable on select flights. For all media enquiries, please contact: Rachel Goldrick Senior Corporate Communications Manager Sunwing Vacations 1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca https://www.facebook.com/SunwingVacations https://twitter.com/SunwingVacay https://www.instagram.com/sunwingvacations https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzjZ-lcuaqBQH7Sq0u3ru7A A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/728777f7-5fc1-45c1-954f-ac6cac200fd6 In January 2020, Ukraine increased the export of agricultural and food products by 14.3% compared to January 2019, according to Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Tymofiy Mylovanov. "Our export of agricultural products is growing ... In January 2020, Ukraine exported to the foreign markets agricultural and food industry products worth USD 2 billion, which is 14.3% more than in January 2019," Mylovanov wrote on Facebook. The minister noted that the share of agricultural products and food industry products in the total export of Ukrainian goods made up 47.7%. According to Mylovanov, the main share of agricultural exports includes grain crops, fats and oils; prepared edible fats; waxes (48% and 22.9% of the total export volume of agricultural and food products, respectively). During the reporting period, Egypt became the leader in the import of Ukrainian crops (44.4% of wheat exports and 15% of corn exports). Sunflower oil was mainly imported by India (25.1% of the total oil export), the Netherlands (13.9%), and China (13.9%). Mylovanov said that the Government planned to allocate UAH 455 million for the current year and the next three ones in order to support exporters and increase the export potential of Ukraine. ish Hand sanitiser, air filtering masks, rice, pasta, and cheese are among the necessities Irish people are bulk-buying in fear of the deadly coronavirus infecting Ireland. News of a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy earlier this week saw panic-stricken locals flock to the supermarkets, leaving shelves cleared of long-lasting necessities such as biscuits, pasta, and canned goods. Fearful that a similar scene will play out here, tech worker, Roy Hennessy (38), has told of the drastic measures he has gone to in order to prepare for the possibility that the virus could make its way to Ireland. Roy, who lives with his partner and two-year-old daughter in Dublin, said he has spent just under 200 on additional supplies that he hopes will carry his family though at least three months if an outbreak was to occur. At the top of Roys shopping list is enough rice to last his family a year, pasta, meat, sauces, and cheese. I bought 30 bags of rice, which are extremely cheap. But if you think about it that's 30 to buy 30 bags of rice. They're one kilogram each, and they're very cheap. That would survive us a year if necessary, he told Independent.ie. I think it's most likely to last two or three months. But, just in case, other people are going to need it. I know my extended family aren't as organised as me so I'm going to have to give them the rice because they won't have prepared. I have huge bags of pasta, and these are extremely cheap. You've seen the bags in Tesco. Five kilograms of pasta for 2.65. I bought an awful lot of sauces for the rice which are about 1 each as well. It's not that expensive to prepare. That's the main thing you've got to remember, it's actually quite cheap. I've done it for I'd say under 200 in total for a three month shop, he said. The rice will last for longer but I have enough to create dinners for three months, including meat, which is in the freezer, an awful lot of mince was bought over the last weekend. Roy said his preparations come after shops across Dublin were stripped bare after Storm Emmas arrival in 2018. I think people will be expecting the government to provide for them, but they're not going to provide for them. You remember two years ago, almost exactly two years ago to the day when the snow storm came here. I couldn't find any food, I couldn't find any meat, I couldn't find anything to eat, and I got caught in that badly. And that went on for two or three days. This thing could go on for three months and I think, I think people should be prepared. Meanwhile, Cork couple Brian and Emanuela Gough have set up a Facebook group to help Irish people prepare for a potential coronavirus outbreak. Emanuela is originally from Italy, where she worked as a nurse. She said her parents are not living in northern Italy, but are still bracing themselves for the virus to possibly spread. My parents are in their seventies, and they live in different areas of Italy. Neither of them are in the affected zones, thank God. But, still the situation is not great. I was on the phone just last night with my mother and she said we didn't get any case yet but you can see that the situation is changing. She can't go to her GP because she can't get an appointment. My mother is sensible, but other people are just panicking, and stocking up on food, water and masks. I haven't got a mask so far. We will get some to wear if we are going to places that are overcrowded. So supermarkets, probably the doctor. The best precaution and the best prevention we can do is to stay at home as much as possible, and to block any possibility that the coronavirus can spread. I saw on the news a report that said its too early to start testing for the virus, but its actually too late, we need to start now. Brian, who works as a lorry driver, said the couple are doing their food shopping as soon as the supermarkets open in order to avoid mixing with potential carriers. To be honest with you, I get up at 6am every morning, so I like to lie in at the weekends, but weve been getting up early every weekend to go to the shops as soon as they open. Were staying indoors as much as possible. Were cautious of shaking hands with people. Weve bought five big bottles of hand sanitiser and I have one with me in the car all the time, he said. While some may see their efforts as extreme, Shayne Phelan, survival expert with Eagle Ridge Survival group, said those who are stockpiling in fear of a coronavirus pandemic are doing so as their body is not ready for the physical demands of survival. I am not necessarily a prepper, I am a survivalist, but that being said there is a over spill with both. A lot of preppers are preparing for a number of potential disasters within civilisation and generally stockpile resources for what they feel is going to be the most likely event, whether that be a tsunami, a coronavirus pandemic or a solar flare, he said. The weakness of prepping alone is that a lot of the preppers, but not all, have low level survival skills and maybe haven't prepared their body for the physical demands of survival, it really is too late to get fit when bell strikes. Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health, has previously said that there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ireland, and preparations are in place to assess how the virus spreading overseas could impact the country. Ireland has been working on its preparedness for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) since January. We remain in a containment phase and, to date, there have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 here. However, clearly the international situation is evolving. We will work with counterparts at the ECDC and WHO over the coming days to fully assess and incorporate the implications of these developments into our approach in Ireland. Our public health advice currently remains unchanged - anyone who may have been in contact with a person who has COVID-19, or who has been to mainland China in the last 14 days, is advised to contact HSE Live. If they are unwell with cough, especially with respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever) they should isolate themselves and phone their GP immediately. Major US stock indexes gave up early gains and closed mostly lower Wednesday, extending the market's heavy losses for the week. The benchmark S&P 500 fell for the fifth straight day after swinging between a 0.6 per cent loss and 1.7 per cent gain. Smaller company stocks bore the brunt of the selling. The bond market continued to flash warning signs as long-term Treasury yields fell further below short-term yields. Wall Street made early gains, but soon headed south. Credit:AP Worry about economic fallout from the virus outbreak that originated in China has fueled a sharp sell-off this week that's wiped out the market's gains for the year. The virus continues to spread and threatens to hurt industrial production, consumer spending, and travel. More cases are being reported in Europe and the Middle East. Health officials in the US have been warning Americans to prepare for the virus. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Upholding the spirit of a community with a shared future for mankind, China has not only been doing its best to protect the lives and health of its own people, but made positive contributions to safeguarding global public health security, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in a phone call with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In the conversation, Xi noted that at a critical moment when China is sparing no effort to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, the crown prince lost no time in publicly voicing support for China's endeavors, and the government and people of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have for multiple times provided China with medical supplies. That, said the Chinese president, has fully demonstrated the profound friendship of supporting each other through thick and thin between the two nations and the high level of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership. He stressed that since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, China has always placed the lives and health of the people in the first place, and has given full play to its institutional strengths and adopted the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough prevention and control measures to resolutely contain the spread of the epidemic. Thanks to China's arduous efforts, the situation is witnessing positive changes across the country, Xi said, adding that China has full confidence, capacity and certainty to win the battle against COVID-19. While making all-out efforts in epidemic prevention and control, China is also promoting an orderly resumption of work and production and pushing for continuous and healthy economic and social development, Xi said. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has always acted with an open, transparent and responsible attitude, sharing information in a timely manner, actively addressing the concerns of various parties, and boosting cooperation with the international community, said the president. China, he added, will continue to take effective measures to safeguard the life and health of all foreign nationals in the country, including UAE citizens, and stands ready to work with the UAE to maintain close communication on the latest development of the COVID-19 and share experience in epidemic prevention and control. Xi recalled that the crown prince's state visit to China last year was a great success, as the two leaders reached important consensuses, and charted the course and drew a blueprint for the development of bilateral ties in the new phase. China is ready to join hands with the UAE to continuously enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation in such fields as energy, infrastructure, finance, investment and production capacity within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and boost people-to-people exchanges, so as to push for greater development of the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era, Xi said. On behalf of the UAE government and people, the crown prince expressed sincere sympathies to the Chinese people over the COVID-19 outbreak as well as high appreciation for China's strong measures to combat the disease. As China's friend and comprehensive strategic partner, the UAE firmly supports China's fight against the epidemic and stands ready to provide more help, he said, expressing confidence that under the strong leadership of Xi, the Chinese people will surely defeat the epidemic at an early date. The UAE people will stand firmly with their Chinese brothers to overcome the difficulties, and the UAE side is ready to work with China to continuously deepen mutual support and cooperation and push for greater development of bilateral relations. H Khogen Singh And Pushkar Banakar By Express News Service NEW DELHI: India and the US deepened cooperation between the two countries on Tuesday, signing defence deals and deciding to open a permanent office of the US International Financial Development Corporation, while also discussing touchy issues like Kashmir, religious freedom and Pakistan. While the Indian side was not very forthcoming on the talks on these issues, with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla only saying US President Donald Trump had already hailed Indias record as a plural society during his speech at Motera in Ahmedabad on Monday, Trump was more open in his press conference in the evening. Trump said he spoke at length about religious freedom in India and the Muslim and Christian communities with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I asked this question in front of a large group of people today and we talked about it for a long time, he said. We discussed about Muslims and Christians and we talked about religious liberty. Prime Minister Modi told me that they are working very closely with the Muslim community, he added. While Trump was forthright, he also strongly supported Indias efforts on religious freedom, stressing that the Indian government was doing its best to improve communal relations. The Prime Minister was incredible about religious freedom. He wants people to have religious freedom and they are working very hard on it. However, he refused to be drawn into a debate on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the ongoing riots in Delhi, saying that was an internal matter of India. It is for India to do and hopefully they will do the right thing, he said. Trumps balancing act can be attributed to his unwillingness to alienate Indian business interests by speaking out sharply against the issue. People like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella commented against the issue and were immediately targeted. After receiving such a grand reception and promises of investments, Trump could not have afforded to speak out blatantly, according to an expert on Indo-American ties at the Indian Council of World Affairs in Delhi. Describing Kashmir as thorn in a lot of peoples sides for a long time, Trump yet again offered to mediate on the issue, something that India has repeatedly dismissed on the ground that it was a bilateral issue. Ties with both Modi and Imran good: Prez There are two sides to every story but they (India and Pakistan) are working on it, Trump said. Revealing that we talked a lot about Pakistan, Trump said he would do whatever he could to help. I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister (Imran) Khan." I can help because my relationship with both the gentlemen (Modi and Khan) is very good. But as with religious freedom, Trump praised Modi for his governments efforts to tackle the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Modi is a very religious man, he is a very calm man but he is very strong. The Indian side did not comment on the Presidents remarks on the offer to mediate on Kashmir but sources said they had expected it to be raised and they were prepared with their answers. Presidential banquet The banquet in honour of Trump was attended by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, CMs Sarbananda Sonowal, Manohar Lal Khattar, BS Yediyurappa and K Chandrashekar Rao. CJI SA Bobde, CDS Bipin Rawat were also present George Clooney has said Nespresso has 'a lot of work to do' after an investigative documentary reported the brand's coffee beans are picked by child laborers. The probe by Channel 4's Dispatches showed youngsters working eight-hour days picking beans and shifting heavy loads to weighing areas in Guatemala on plantations for less than $6.50, and doing up to six-day weeks. The actor, who has reportedly earned over $40million as the brand's ambassador for the past 14 years has pledged 'work will be done'. 'I was surprised and saddened to see this story. Clearly this board and this company still have work to do. And that work will be done,' Clooney, who joined Nespresso's Sustainability Advisory Board in 2013, said in a statement. George Clooney has reportedly earned over $40million as an ambassador for Nespresso. An investigation uncovered child labor at farms linked to Nespresso coffee Clooney he was saddened after youngsters were filmed working eight-hour days on plantations for less than $6.50, and doing up to six-day weeks (file photo, Tena, Cundinamarca, Colombia) Clooney, who worked on his grandparents' tobacco farm in Kentucky during summer vacations, said he hoped Dispatches reporter Anthony Barnett, who revealed the evidence, 'will continue to investigate these conditions and report accurately if they do not improve'. 'Having grown up working on a tobacco farm from the time I was 12 I'm uniquely aware of the complex issues regarding farming and child labor,' he continued. Clooney, 58, is also a member of groups including the Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade International and the Fair Labour Association. Nespresso, known for its stylish coffee machines and capsules, does not publicly list its supplier farms. But Dispatches said it found information about suppliers in Guatemala, the world's tenth largest coffee producer. Reporters claim they were given access to farms located in remote regions and saw children working at all of them. The Swiss coffee brand has previously claimed its beans come from ethical sources. 'The check and balance of good corporate responsibility lies not just with the company itself but also independent journalists like Mr Barnett to hold everyone's promise to account,' Clooney said. The actor insisted he was 'enormously proud' of its work. But he's 'enormously proud' of the company he's represented for 16 years: 'They've improved the lives and livelihoods of thousands of farms all around the world' He added: 'The goal then, as it remains to this day, is to improve the lives of farmers. Make their farms more profitable. More sustainable. I'm enormously proud of the success of their efforts. They've improved the lives and livelihoods of thousands of farms all around the world.' Dispatches said Nespresso declined to give an interview. Nespresso chief executive Guillaume Le Cunff insisted it had 'zero tolerance of child labor' and promised to investigate. He said: 'It is unacceptable. Where there are claims that our high standards are not met, we act immediately. 'In this case, we've launched a thorough investigation to find out which farms were filmed and whether they supply Nespresso. We will not resume purchases of coffee from farms in this area until the investigation is closed.' Since its formation in 2000, the company has hired more than 13,000 staff in 76 countries and launched more than 700 boutique stores. It is not the first time the brand has been accused of forced labor. An investigation by Reuters in December found coffee produced by forced labor in Brazil was stamped slavery-free by certification schemes and sold at a premium to firms like Nespresso. An Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 15 tonnes of medical supplies for coronavirus-affected people in China landed in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the consignment of relief material as a strong expression of India's solidarity with the Chinese people in their "difficult time". "Consignment (15 tonnes) of Indian medical relief for #COVID19 lands in Wuhan. Strong expression of our solidarity with the Chinese people at this difficult time. Thank you @IAF_MCC and @EOIBeijing for your efforts," he tweeted. China has been reeling under coronavirus outbreak with the death toll due to it climbing to 2,715 while the number of confirmed cases rose to 78,064. The C-17 military aircraft will bring back over 80 Indians and around 40 citizens from neighbouring countries, government sources said. In a statement, the IAF said the C-17 Globemaster III will bring back 120 personnel and "five children in arms" from Wuhan. "The passengers for the return leg will mainly comprise Indian citizens and citizens from friendly foreign countries. It is likely to return during early morning hours on Feb 27 to Air Force Station, Palam," it said. Last week, India accused China of deliberately delaying permission to send the aircraft while allowing other countries to operate flight from Wuhan to evacuate their citizens. China had rejected India's charges. The Ministry of External Affairs said the medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of coronavirus infection which was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation. It said the aircraft carried around 15 tonnes of medical supplies comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment. "The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year," the MEA said in a statement. It said the assistance has been provided in the wake the coronavirus outbreak in China and a request by the country to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment. In a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed India's solidarity with the people and government of China and also offered assistance in this "hour of need as a gift". "The IAF flight will also bring back some Indian and foreign nationals from some of our neighbouring countries who have sought assistance in travelling to India in keeping with Prime Minister Modi's neighbourhood first policy," the MEA said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sergey Sirotkin has played down the role Mercedes' innovative 'DAS' steering system will play in 2020. The F1 paddock was stunned at the first Barcelona test when it was noticed that Mercedes' drivers also push and pull on the steering wheel to adjust the 'toe' of the front wheels in motion. But Sirotkin, the former Williams driver and 2019 Renault and McLaren reserve, is not so sure the system is as significant as is being suggested. "I've read what they write about the system, and watched the video, but nothing more," he told Russia's Championat. "I actually think Mercedes will only use it on certain tracks. "And if I'm not mistaken, Valtteri Bottas drove his best lap without using the system. I don't think this will be the difference between Mercedes winning or losing." The Russian agrees that DAS may help with cooling the tyres, but noted: "As a rule, we suffer from overheating at the rear, not at the front. "Yes, if you can straighten the wheels on the straight lines, this can be an advantage on tracks with long straights. And you could use slightly more aggressive front suspension settings. "But I don't think this system will play a key role in any particular race," Sirotkin added. But another former F1 driver, Mika Salo, says the top teams will definitely already be working on similar systems back at their factories. "If it is allowed, it will surely be on all the cars at some point and even on some cars in the first race," the Finn told C More. He hinted that he knows for sure that Ferrari is looking into DAS. "It was quite a surprise for everyone but they are already planning something like this and will probably test it soon," said Salo. "Ferrari and Red Bull have such great resources that they can develop something pretty quickly if they can benefit." (GMM) President Donald Trump returned home Wednesday morning after, he wrote on Twitter, a great and very successful trip to India to confront growing concerns about coronavirus outbreak engulfing the United States. He has called for urgent briefings and will hold a news conference later. Just landed. India was great, trip very successful, the president wrote on Twitter. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov (Centers for Disease Control Control and Prevention), @SecAzar (health secretary Alex Azar) and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon. Just landed. India was great, trip very successful. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020 Earlier, National Security Adviser Robert OBrien, who had travelled with the president to India, tweeted his own view of the visit. Thanks to all the people of India that came out to support @realDonaldTrump, @FLOTUS (the first lady) and the US delegation, affirming our friendship and partnership for the future. You have friends in the USA and in the White House. The president and his team returned home after a whirlwind 36-hour trip to India, which was the first by Trump after his election. The two sides announced their intention to upgrade the global strategic partnership and the sale of $3 billion worth of defense equipment to India. The president appeared most excited about the rally he addressed with the prime minister in Motera, Gujarat, where he gushed, we will always remember this remarkable hospitality. We will remember it forever. Trump returned home to rising concerns about the spread of Coronavirus in the United States. The CDC said Tuesday imported cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the US, along with some person-to-person transfer. But at this time, this virus is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States, it said, but urged people to follow everyday measures to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, such as staying home when sick and washing hands with soap and water. What would San Francisco be like if the plague of AIDS had never struck? Two whole generations of gay men might largely be with us. Western SoMa would probably have more than a handful of bars. And erotic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe would not only be alive hed be a mainstream artist with a billion Instagram followers. Thats how Leo Herrera imagines it, at least, in his 45-minute, five-part film Fathers. A raucous and occasionally heartbreaking what-if, its final episode premiered at Mannys in the Mission on Dec. 1, 2019 (World AIDS Day). The film has subsequently been viewed 100,000 times on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo or more if you count the parts shown in a 2019 Emmy-winning PBS Behind the Lens documentary about the project. The Fathers universe is one where poppers (a.k.a. amyl nitrate) are advertised on TV and protect sexually active people from STIs. The fashion designer Halstons robes help people evade surveillance. There is no Jerry Falwell although, in a way, Fathers grapples with the Christian rights outsize role in American life by setting up a queer parallel. We dont know much about the evangelical lifestyle, but it affects our elections, Herrera says in late January outside Four Barrel Coffee, wearing a vintage T-shirt honoring the AIDS quilt. His vision gives queers that outsize influence instead. In the America that Fathers imagines, no matter where you were, there would be these pockets of queer people creating their own sort of culture. I thought that was fascinating. A project five years in the making, Fathers is a rejoinder to decades of moral panic about sex, drug use and disco. Narrated by a female voice with an affectless British accent, it has the air of a bizarro-America documentary. Stonewall Nation and the Queer Colonies are the films more or less interchangeable terms for Herreras LGBTQ country-within-a-country, a loose constellation of communes rooted in 20th century gay Mardi Gras krewes. They are joyous, uninhibited places, the vital center of American cultural life, marshaling hedonism to bring about social change, reinvigorating decayed cities and becoming home to the highest life expectancies in the nation. Alex Ray Herrera, 38, was born in Mexico, grew up in Phoenix and lives in Hayes Valley. In addition to filmmaking, hes also a painter, essayist and occasional politico, having managed Tom Tempranos campaign for S.F. school board. Post-Fathers, hes revisiting a novel he began writing in 2005 that describes a dystopian San Francisco whose problems are todays afflictions in reverse, a sort of cyberpunk Tales of the City if that city were also broke and under constant surveillance. Herrera hasnt found his Michael Tolliver yet, but the characters are based on people he knows. There is one character whos obsessed with free plastic surgery, he says. One of them is Mother, a big bear whos a matriarch of this commune of wayward boys living in a burnt-out version of the Vida complex in the Mission. But instead of a beacon of gentrification, its this community hub, a derelict, dilapidated apartment complex where all these squatters live. At times, Fathers revels in similar tensions between utopia and dystopia. Colonies, for instance, is a curious term, generally referring to places in need of liberation, not exponents of it. Herrera chalks this up to the type-to-text software that gave the narrator her voice. She said colonies better, he says. But my idea of liberation would be that we live in these uninterrupted communes. The most utopic moments Ive had were when we were left on our own, like the Radical Faeries, a loosely affiliated movement of left-leaning, artistically inclined queer pagans. Even the phrase Stonewall Nation isnt pure. It hails from an unrealized, back-to-the-land movement by early-70s San Francisco gays to take over rural Alpine County in the Sierra Nevada and run it as their own. The Oakland Museum of Californias Queer California exhibit in 2019 included a not-so-fast response to that idea from local indigeneous leaders, who took a dim view to being dispossessed. Herrera, who is Latinx, acknowledges this while also observing that queer and Native identities are hardly in conflict; many indigenous cultures have long accepted nonbinary or two-spirit people. The inclusive, utopian vision of Fathers is not a separatist one, either. In it, the activist and film historian Vito Russo who authored The Celluloid Closet, the definitive account of gay Hollywood is an ambassdador from the Queer Colonies who wins the 2020 presidential election. He therefore becomes the leader of the whole of America, not just Stonewall Nation. Courtesy Leo Herrera In the films internal chronology, it is legal advocacy by a real-life 1980s GOP attorney and leatherman named Duke Armstrong that helps the Colonies gain recognition as a religious organization, elevating gay bars to the status of churches and protecting them from evictions. In other words, this utopian vision owes itself in part to a white Republican, albeit one who fought to keep the bathhouses open before dying at 39. Fathers was filmed over several years in New York and Fire Island, New Orleans, Mexico, San Francisco, rural Northern California and Provincetown, Mass. Queer-identified Bay Area residents will surely recognize locales like SF Underground in Lower Haight, the AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park, or the Saratoga Springs Retreat Center near Clear Lake in Lake County, along with performers like Sister Roma from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Jake Shears. As for the future of Fathers: Herrera has submitted the project to multiple film festivals, although, as he says, not all of them have a category for episodic features, so thats a little bit of a challenge. Hes also at work at finding widespread distribution and recutting it for Dolby Surround Sound, which would eliminate the credits that conclude each episode. Except that its not finished. Like Tony Kushners two-part Angels in America which the playwright has rewritten several times, even after it won a Pulitzer and a Tony Fathers is something of a palimpsest. A section on the performer Sylvester was taken out to give space to Roxana Hernandez, a trans migrant who died of complications from AIDS in 2018 while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Herrera makes these alterations less out of dissatisfaction than because creating the film largely on his own has been such a costly, time-consuming undertaking. 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 never going to be complete, he says. I want to say that my part will be done and if I did get hit by a bus Its hard to work on a project where all the people died making art at your age and youre constantly thinking about them. One scene that has proven to be a roadblock in terms of promotion depicts footage of a real-life orgy in New York. Setting a new benchmark for NSFW art meant that censorship on YouTube and Instagram was probably inevitable. But Herrera also believes hes been occasionally shadowbanned for violating vaguely worded community standards, particularly by the third-party processor that handles payments for the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Our Indiegogo campaign was shut off a day before it was supposed to be finished, which is the most important day, he says. And Facebook wont let me take out ads for Fathers. They wont let me promote articles about it, even if the clips are G-rated. What really pisses me off is that if I have two men kissing, or if theres a butt or too many shirtless men, Im not allowed to post that or the sponsored posts get taken down, he adds. But if you do a search for Burning Man girls, theres half a million half-naked women running around the playa. But Herreras targets arent just hypocrites and puritans. Fathers allots screen time to a NOLA Carnival-goer who dismisses San Francisco AIDS documentaries as overly grim, saying that you have to have something to laugh about. Outrage can be exhausting, the film argues, and for people to get up and fight another day, they need to be touched. They need to be surrounded by beautiful things. They need exposure to radiant joy, even if that looks like cruising at funerals. This is the camp essence of Leo Herreras queer theology, perhaps with the baroque freak Klaus Nomi as its pope. Liberation, as Herrera defines it, is strength in numbers and freedom from the heterosexual gaze. Hes consequently nonplussed by reactions to Fathers that boil down to AIDS was almost a blessing because it helped LGBTQ people win political rights. Thats wrong, he says, because it depends on the straight, cis gaze to dictate what made us human. So his touching and gleefully raunchy film is a plausible path away from that. The pre-AIDS moment of liberation in the late 1970s was so achingly brief that its practically a Greek tragedy, and the films attempt to recapture its dynamism demonstrates the ur-hope of progressives everywhere: A better world is possible. Peter Lawrence Kane is a Bay Area freelance writer. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com A Michigan man has been sentenced to 14-20 years in a Nebraska prison for causing a crash that killed a 71-year-old woman. The Associated Press reports that Abram Sollman, 46, of Dowagiac was sentenced in Sarpy County District Court in Papillion on Monday. Hed been convicted in December of vehicular homicide while driving drunk, drunken driving and reckless driving after the Feb. 1, 2019 crash that killed Clausen, of Gretna. According to the Sarpy County Sheriffs Office, the crash occurred when a silver 2017 Honda CRV driven by Clausen was traveling eastbound on North Star Drive when she tried to make a left turn onto northbound Hwy 6/31. A silver 2002 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Sollman struck the CRV. Clausen later died at the hospital from her injuries. An investigation showed Sollman was speeding and had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal driving limit. The Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) said yesterday that it has asked travel firms to stop receiving tourists from countries hit by COVID-19 in the face of new complicated development of the disease in South Korea and Japan. In its document No.23/CV-HHDLVN, VITA urged local tourism associations and travel companies to keep themselves updated about the COVID-19 situation, and strictly follow the Government and Health Ministrys regulations on the disease prevention and control. In case tours cannot be cancelled, travel firms must ask their partners to provide information on customers activities in the 21 days prior to their scheduled trip to Vietnam. The visitors are required to comply with Vietnams rules on disease prevention, including quarantine if necessary. Meanwhile, with groups of visitors who have already entered Vietnam, local travel agents need to confirm their health condition in the 21 days before their date of arrival, as well as monitor their health during their stay in Vietnam, and report the information to competent authorities. VITA also suggested local firms to refrain from organising tours to countries with COVID-19 outbreaks. For groups of tourists who have already arrived into the RoK, Japan, Italy and Iran, travel agencies should change the itinerary to keep the tourists away from disease-hit areas or crowded sites. The tourists are advised to shorten travel time and strictly follow epidemic prevention rules of host countries. As the RoK and Japan are two tourism markets of Vietnam, travel firms should work closely with their foreign partners to carry out regulations on disease prevention and control, as well as provide good services for the visitors, thus building good and long-term relations with Korean and Japanese firms. Earlier, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism estimated that the COVID-19 epidemic could cause losses of 5.9-7.7 billion USD for the domestic tourism sector in the next three months. The tourism sector estimated a 90 percent decrease in the number of Chinese visitors due to the disease, and a 50-70 percent drop in holidaymakers from other countries. Meanwhile, the number of domestic holidaymakers is likely to suffer a fall of 50-70 percent./. Interpreters needed for health checks at border gates: Health Ministry The Ministry of Health (MoH) has urged localities nationwide which are carrying out health checkups to send interpreters to support border regions in the face of the acute respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). All cities and provinces have been instructed to issue health declaration forms for people entering Vietnam from or transited in China or the Republic of Korea, the MoH said in a dispatch, as COVID-19 cases surge in the two countries and is likely to spread to other countries and territories, including Vietnam. The form is available in English, Chinese and Korean. However, most border gates face a shortage of staff capable of reading these languages, making it difficult for officials to screen cases coming from countries with COVID-19 outbreaks. Departments and offices of external affairs in all provinces and cities have been asked to join local steering boards in the prevention and control of the disease. Additionally, local authorities have been tasked with working with relevant agencies to send interpreters to border gates to support health examinations. Health officials in border regions are requested to create optimal conditions for the interpreters to work there. Vietnam, foreign airlines suspend flights to South Korea on epidemic fears Both Vietnamese and foreign airlines have suspended flights to South Korea until March as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. A 13-year-old girl Namya Joshi, a class seven student from Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana, on Tuesday (February 23) left Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella for making learning fun through technology. Joshi has been helping teachers across the convert classroom lessons into interactive Minecraft sessions. For her, Minecraft is a great platform and if children do not like reading books, one can make them take interest in Minecraft. Namya got the chance to meet Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on stage at the Young Innovators Summit and the Indian-origin executive was hugely impressed with Joshi. We need to reformulate the relationship between technology and learning. It is very interesting to witness the way young innovators think today, Nadella told the gathering. What excited and inspired me from my meetings with students was the quality of their ideas, the scope of their ambition, deep passion and deep empathy turning into action. This is truly transformative, and is how societies and economies move forward, he added. Over 250 students and educators in Delhi NCR participated in the Young Innovators Summit. Nadella also spoke about the role that technology can play in changing the education ecosystem in the next decade or so. Gov. Gretchen Whitmers pick to chair the Michigan Natural Resources Commission was rejected by the Senate Advice and Consent Committee Wednesday, setting the stage for a disapproval vote on the Senate floor. Former Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, the former mayor of Grand Rapids, was appointed to chair the commission overseeing hunting and fishing rules in Michigan. He previously served as a member of the Michigan Transportation Commission. Heartwells appointment has been opposed by several gun rights groups due in part to his past support of an unenforceable local gun ordinance in Grand Rapids - and was drawn into the controversy over the Senates first rejection of fellow NRC appointee Anna Mitterling. Whitmer spokesperson Tiffany Brown said at the time of Mitterlings rejection that Senate Republicans demanded the governor pull Heartwells appointment in exchange for keeping Mitterling on the Natural Resources Commission, which she called sexist, partisan games. Brown said after the committee vote that the rejections of Whitmers appointees clearly depart from the long established tradition of approving well-qualified candidates, and defended Heartwells background as a former Christian minister, an avid fisherman and former gun owner who supports the Second Amendment and hunters rights. Its sad that Sen. Lucido would rather waste time on partisan games than focus on getting things done for the people of Michigan, she said in an email. Committee member Sen. Kim LaSata, R-St. Joseph, said she was offended the governor would claim that she and other senators would use gender to disqualify someone from a position and said the governor chose public rejection for her appointees when she had the option to spare them a public and formal vote. She said the committee has received 387 appointments from the governors office, and the panel has so far rejected two, one man and one woman. The governor was all too eager to make a false claim of discrimination against this body and seize the opportunity to elevate herself on the political stage, regardless of the damage done to the people she tapped to serve, LaSata said. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said shed had a lot of discussions with the legislature on other topics, but very few on the Heartwell appointment. Unless they had an epiphany and decided to start, you know, determining these particular candidates on their credentials and not letting partisanship get in the way, I would expect it on the same trajectory, Whitmer said. Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, said after the hearing hes heard from hundreds of constituents about their concerns with Heartwells appointment. That demonstrated to me that there was going to be a significant inability for Mr. Heartwell to operate with the trust of the hunting and sporting community, McBroom said. Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr., D-East Lansing, is the lone Democrat on the panel and was the only one to support Heartwells nomination. He said the process has broken with the Heartwell and Mitterling appointments an said he was seeking a better explanation from lawmakers about why the appointees didnt meet their standards. Instead of saying what the reasons arent, it would be nice to hear at some point what the reasons are, he said. A testy exchange between Hertel and Committee Chair Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, ensued, and Lucido said he was cutting Hertels comments short. It was very clear as to the testimony that was taken the input from committee members and also the discussions with Mr. Heartwell that came before the committee, Lucido said. Lucido is currently under investigation by the Senate Business Office over sexual harassment allegations, including complaints from Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and Michigan Advance reporter Allison Donahue. Under the state constitution, the Senate has 60 days to vet gubernatorial appointments and can reject one by majority vote. No Senate action results in automatic confirmation of the appointee. Heartwell was appointed to the post on Feb. 7 and was first questioned by the Senate Advice and Consent Committee Feb. 20. Asked about the need for a second hearing on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, said the process is ongoing. Its not going to be normal to have two meetings, necessarily, he said. Were going to let the committee process play out, so well see what happens. Heartwells appointment now heads to the full Senate. Shirkey spokesperson Amber McCann said it hasnt been decided whether the question will be considered on the floor Thursday. Related coverage: Whitmer appointee tells Senate panel he supports Second Amendment rights amid criticism over gun record New Natural Resources Commission chair opposed by gun groups slated for Senate grilling Whitmer natural resources appointee was smeared by Michigan Senate rejection, critics say New Michigan NRC chair says hes not anti-gun, despite gun group opposition Michigan GOP Senate scrutinizes Whitmer appointments under partisan power split Michigan Senate rejects Whitmer appointee, governor alleges sexist, partisan games Appointment 26 February 2020 Guerov brings 20 years of hospitality management experience with Hilton to his position and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the luxury property including hotel management, guest experience and day-to-day operations of the hotel, including its meeting and event spaces and the signature lobby restaurant, Dabble. Prior to his role at Millennium Hilton New York Downtown, he was the hotel manager at Conrad New York Downtown. Throughout his career, he's held various roles with Hilton including resort manager at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates, director of operations at The Waldorf Hilton, London and service operations manager at Hilton Prague in the Czech Republic. He also held various management roles at the Hilton Sofia in Bulgaria and the Hilton London Gatwick Airport. Guerov holds a bachelor's degree in hospitality management from Sofia University and a master certificate in hospitality management from Cornell University. Gettyimagesbank By Anna J. Park Investors here and abroad are flocking to safe-haven assets, such as gold and treasury bonds, amid growing fears that the financial malaise caused by the rapid spread of the coronavirus is spreading worldwide. According to the gold bourse of the Korea Exchange (KRX), the price of gold hit an all-time high Tuesday, closing at 64,800 won ($53.36) per gram, up 3.09 percent from the previous day. It was the highest price recorded since the gold bourse opened in March 2014. Gold futures traded on the New York COMEX also reached the highest prices in seven years. On Monday (local time), the precious metal's price climbed up to $1,688.86 per troy ounce its highest level since January 2013. Two American students have appeared in Italian court on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing of a policeman during a botched drug bust last year. Finnegan Lee Elder, 20, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 19, are charged with killing newlywed officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times last July. The two men from California, who had been on vacation in Rome and were teenagers at the time, face life sentences if convicted. The pair listened expressionless today as the judge read them trial procedures in a packed courtroom. Prime suspect Elder swaggered arrogantly into the crowded courtroom as his heart-broken parents watched from the public gallery filled with news crews from around the world. As he was led out during a break, Elder looked at his parents and held up his hand showing his fingers crossed. Co-defendant Gabriel Natale-Hjorth appeared wide-eyed and terrified as he was led into court by armed prison officers a few seconds later. His Italian-born father was also in court. Gabriel Natale Hjorth is pictured today at the opening of his trial for the killing of Italian policeman Mario Cerciello Rega in Rome Finnegan Lee Elder, 20, is pictured at court in Italy today where he will stand trial for the murder of an Italian officer last year Finnegan Lee Elder, 20, (left ) and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 19, (right) are charged with stabbing Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega to death in Rome Mario Cerciello Rega, who had just returned to work from his honeymoon, suffered 11 stab wounds and later died in hospital from his injuries Dressed in a plaid, checked shirt, jeans and sneakers, Elder looked around him as he took in the extent of the media spectacle his alleged crimes have created in Italy. Natale-Hjorth was more smartly dressed in an opened-neck white shirt, black sweater and tan trousers. The funeral of Brigadier Cerciello Rega was held at the same church where he was married just months before Both men had short-cut hair and had shaved their adolescent faces. Elder, now aged 20, and Natale-Hjorth, 19, are charged with the murder of the Carbinieri deputy brigadier who died from stabs wounds in the early hours of July 26. The pair are also charged with attempted extortion, resisting arrest and injuring Rega's partner, Andrea Varriale. Opening the proceedings at Rome's Criminal Court, Judge Marina Finiti welcomed the 12-strong jury into court, each dressed in a red, green and white sash, the colors of the Italian tricolor flag. Officer Rega's widow Maria Rosaria Esilio was also in court for the beginning of the trial, which is expected to last months. In Italy, the slaying aroused an outpouring of public sympathy for Rega, who had just returned from his honeymoon when he was killed. Speaking outside the court, Elder's lawyer explained that his client had no idea that Rega was a policeman. Renato Borzone told DailyMail.com: 'Finnegan does not dispute what happened that night. But Finn and Gabriel had no idea they were fighting with policemen, they thought they were criminals. 'At no point did Officer Rega show Finn his badge. And even if he said he was a Carbinieri [ Italian paramilitary police] Finn does not speak Italian so he did not understand. 'The boys thought Rega and his partner were working with the drug dealer. They were sure that the people that they met were criminals. 'And we will demonstrate in court that when they were taken by surprise they did not think they were Carabinieri but criminals.' Maria Rosaria Cerciello Rega is seen at the first day of the trial of the two men accused of killing her cop husband. They had just returned from their honeymoon when he died The death of the victim, Mario Cerciello Rega, shook Italians and has dominated headlines across the country Natale-Hjorth, 19, (left) and Elder, 20, (right) could face life in prison if convicted. Natale-Hjorthand is from the affluent area of Mill Valley, California, known as 'millionaire's village' Elder's (left) legal team claim their client acted in self-defense when he stabbed officer Rega. Natale-Hjorth's (right) lawyers are attempting to distance their client from Elder and for him to be judged separately for his part in the events Last night Finnegan Elder's parents Ethan and Leah said they were pleased that the legal process had started and looked forward to the truth coming out about what happened on the night in Rome. They said in a statement: 'We are grateful that this process is finally moving forward and we hope that this trial can stay focused on the facts of what happened that night. We look forward to the truth coming out, and to Finn coming home.' Huge crowds attended the officer's funeral - which was broadcast live on television - and he was hailed as a hero. But the case has also been marked by major blunders - especially the blindfolding of Natale-Hjorth during his police interrogation - and contradictory statements made by the key prosecution witness, Rega's police partner Andrea Varriale. The case has been marked by major blunders - especially the blindfolding of Natale-Hjorth during his police interrogation Varriale said he and Cerciello had been attacked by men of North African descent. He also initially claimed he had been armed. Both officers were in fact unarmed and acted without backup, in violation of police procedure. Defendant Finnegan Elder did not come to court the afternoon session. He was returned to jail claiming he was unwell. Judge Finiti told the court the students would also be charged with carrying the knife and that the crime had been aggravated by the fact that they hid the murder weapon in their hotel room. Natale-Hjorths legal team Nicola Petrelli demanded that Officer Regas boss, Colonel Sandro Ottaviani, and other officers involved in blindfolding the youngster during his interrogation give evidence in court. Lawyer Nicola Petrelli added that he wanted the court to see the phone records between the Carbinieri station and Rega, his partner Andrea Varriale and the drug dealer in the hours leading up to the murder. He claimed that these record will show that the operation against Natale-Hjorth and Elder were suspicious. His other lawyer Roberto Capra demanded Officer Varriale's phone be submitted in evidence as well as a document in which he falsely claimed he had his gun on the night murder. Judge Finiti adjourned the case until March 9 when she will rule on what evidence is accepted into the trial. Ethan and Leah Elder, who had sat through all of the proceedings, walked out together at the end of the day. Gabriel Natale-Hjorth at the opening of the trial today. The US teenagers are being tried for killing the officer Mario Cerciello Rega This social media photo shows Natale-Hjorth flaunting his wealth outside the Gucci Shop in Rome just days before being arrested for the stabbing death of an Italian officer The two officers approached Finnegan and Hjort and announced they were Carabinieri, but after brief exchange of words Finnegan pulled out a knife and stabbed Rega several times Hundreds of people turned out to honor Cerciello Rega outside a chapel in Rome Amid the intense media focus in the case, comparisons have been made to the high-profile trial of Amanda Knox, an American student convicted and later acquitted of a 2007 murder in Italy. Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello with a 7-inch serrated-edge combat knife he had stashed in his sweatshirt but told investigators he thought he and his friend were being set upon by drug dealers. Gabriel Natale Hjorth at the opening of the trial for the killing of Italian policeman Mario Cerciello Rega in Rome today The young men and Varriale have given opposing versions of what happened during the 32-second attack in the early hours of the morning, which followed a botched drug deal. Hours earlier, the young men from the San Francisco Bay Area had gone looking for cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere. Intermediary Sergio Brugiatelli introduced them to a dealer who sold them aspirin instead. In retaliation, the teens stole Brugiatelli's bag, before demanding money and drugs to return it. Cerciello and Varriale went in Brugiatelli's place to the designated exchange point in an upscale neighborhood near the teenagers' hotel but the handover never took place. Elder told police they were jumped from behind by the officers and believed they were thugs sent by Brugiatelli. Varriale has said he and Rega, both in plain clothes, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Rega, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale. The teens then fled to their nearby hotel, where police later found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel. Last night, widow Esilio issued a statement ahead of the trial stating that her life, her family and her dreams all lay in ruins following her husband's death. She said: 'Tomorrow is seven months since the murder of my husband Mario. 'He believed in God, and was a brave police officer, who dedicated his life to the service of others, in particular the most vulnerable in society. 'His murder cannot and must not go unpunished. Our new married life was cut short by criminals. His murder shocked the world. It shattered the peace of a lot of humble people, who just like Mario had faith in God. 'These good people must compete every day with a minority who poison society with terrible crimes. Since Mario's death, my family also is over, because our unborn children and all our dreams also lie in his grave. 'My life has been reduced to memories and how our life would have been together.' It continued: 'I'm thankful to those that proved their sincere solidarity in this sad affair while I am in the hands of the judges, prosecutors and lawyer in my search for justice not revenge. 'But also to you journalists from your words deepens the respect of the memory of the heroic sacrifice of Mario who fell defending the rule of law for all of us.' Ethan and Leah Elder sat in court at the opening of the trial for their son Ethan and Leah Elder released a statement saying they are pleased that the legal process had started and looked forward to the truth coming out about what happened on the night in Rome Gabriel's mother Heidi Hjorth, 57, (left) is a high-end realtor with upmarket real estate brokerage Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty while his father, Italian-born Fabrizio Natale, 54, is also among the elite an Executive director at a venture capital and private equity firm. Fabrizio was in court on Wednesday Elder's legal team claim their client Elder acted in self-defense when he stabbed officer Rega. Natale-Hjorth's lawyers are attempting to distance their client from Elder and for him to be judged separately for his part in the events. Both boys claim their confessions to the murder were signed under duress and after hours of bullying and intimidation. Pictures and film of Natale-Hjorth being questioned while blind-folded in the hours after their arrests were leaked to Italian media. Their lawyers have called for film from a bank's security camera overlooking the murder scene, seized by the police investigators, should be made public as it supports their clients' case of self-defense. Prosecutors claim the film is of no interest to the case. Rega's death caused uproar throughout Italy. Natale-Hjorth hails from the leafy affluent enclave of Mill Valley - a small town located just a short drive from San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge often referred to as 'millionaire's village', DailyMail.com previously revealed. The town is packed with art galleries, trendy fashion boutiques and open-air coffee shops and is popular with wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and downtown financial brokers. The 19-year old's luxurious lifestyle is in stark contrast to the jail cell in Rome where he was awaiting trial. Natale-Hjorth is from an affluent area of Northern California called 'Millionaire's Village' This is the Natale-Hjorth's family's main home - a posh $1.65 million three bedroom house with stunning views of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area This is the home of Elder and his family in the Sunset District of San Francisco The pair have been held in solitary confinement at the Regina Coeli holding jail (above) in central Rome while detectives investigate the murder Former Interior Minister, hardliner Matteo Salvini branded the accused 'b******s' and called for them to be sentenced to 'hard labor for life'. Lawyers acting for Elder and Natale-Hjorth have questioned whether the boys can get a fair trial. The case has been compared to that of Amanda Knox, the American college student who was convicted and later acquitted of murdering her British flat-mate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Umbria, in November 2007. Today's hearing was adjourned after less than half an hour while for Judge Finiti to consider an application from the defense to postpone the trial. Elder's parents, Ethan and Leah, declined to comment when they left the court room. Under Italian law, Natale-Hjorth, who was 18 years old last July, faces the same charge of 'voluntary homicide' with a special circumstance of killing a police officer, even though he did not stab Cerciello. Both young men are also charged with attempted extortion. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in isolation. President Erdogan to meet Putin, Merkel, Macron in March Turkish President said that the meeting will focus on the humanitarian crisis in Syrias Idlib. Turkey's president said on Saturday that he will meet with the leaders of Russia, Germany and France on March 5 to discuss the recent situation in Syria and Libya. "IDLIB ISSUE IS AS IMPORTANT AS AFRIN" Referring to Friday's phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Syria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: The Idlib issue is as important as Afrin and the Peace Spring region. We will meet again on March 5 to discuss the same issues. Erdogan's remarks came during his visit to the western Turkish province of Izmir where he attended several opening ceremonies and held speeches. He underlined that Turkey's operations brought peace to the areas that were held by the [YPG/] PKK terrorist group for a while, and Turkey aims to establish the same peaceful environment in Idlib. "Hopefully, we will achieve the most relevant result that works best for the interests of our country and our Syrian brothers in this matter," he added. During his visit, he also stressed that Turkey's policies on Syria and Libya are "neither an adventure nor an arbitrary choice." If Turkey avoids struggling in Syria, Libya, the Mediterranean and generally in the region, those would return to the country with a heavier toll in the future, he said. Stressing the power changes in the region, Erdogan underlined the importance of locating Turkey in a right position, and said that the country has been fighting for a new war of liberation as a country and nation. Sometimes, the interests of our country and other powers conflict in this struggle. [] Turkey has enough power and capacity to pursue an independent policy and implement this on the ground, he said. Referring to Turkey's strategy in the region, Erdogan said that after phone calls with Putin, Macron, and Merkel on Friday, a roadmap was drawn. Vienna, Feb 27 : The latest attempt to save a nuclear deal that limits Irans capacity to build atomic weapons ended without any progress being made on Wednesday. At a summit of high ranking officials from China, Germany, Russia, the UK and France in Vienna, Iran insisted that it was willing to meet the commitments of the deal if the European Union compensates Tehran for the sanctions imposed by the United States when it withdrew from the pact in 2018. The summit was held as an attempt to save the dying deal, which is in danger of collapsing under the pressure exerted by Washington on Iran, which has relaunched key parts of its atomic weapons program since the US pulled out of the agreement two years ago. "We are discussing with the other participants how to save this deal, how to ensure Iran's reverse to full compliance, in return for economic benefits of this deal," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. Iran argues that the sanctions that were reimposed by the US after it pulled out of the deal have cancelled out the economic benefits that were guaranteed under the deal, primarily its inability to export oil, one of the pillars of its economy. Tehran has accused the EU of not compensating for the US sanctions, but Araqchi said that in Wednesday's meeting, the Europeans showed their willingness to strengthen "Instex", the mechanism created to overcome the US sanctions. Meanwhile, China warned that the international community is facing "a race against the clock" to save the deal, and blamed the impasse on the US and its sanctions against Iran. Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018, which had been negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reimposed sanctions in order to pressure Iran into signing a "better deal". "The participants are racing against the clock to work out specific solutions so as to safeguard the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), the official name of the deal) so as to ensure that not only Iran, but also other partners, all re-embark on the process of implementation (of the deal)," said Wang Qun, China's Permanent Representative to Vienna. He was attending in place of China's Director-General of the Department of Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fu Cong, who could not travel due to the coronavirus outbreak. Qun added that the possibility of implementing the EU's dispute resolution mechanism was "not an answer at this stage", and that the issue had not been included on the agenda. Wednesday's summit was the first since Germany, the UK and France - the European signatories of the deal - announced in January the activation of the dispute resolution mechanism in the JCPOA, after learning that Iran was violating the terms of the agreement. That mechanism allows for an initial term of 35 days, which can be extended, to find a solution. In case a resolution cannot be reached, the issue would be sent to the United Nations Security Council, which could ultimately reimpose the economic sanctions that weighed against Iran when the agreement was signed five years ago. Araqchi said that all of the countries still following the deal had reaffirmed their support for the agreement, which, when it was signed, was seen as a successful example of diplomacy and multilateralism to resolve international disputes and conflicts. "It is important that we can say that the JCPOA is still alive," he said. SEATTLE, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Paine Field welcomed the millionth traveler to walk through its doors this week, a major milestone for the airport as it approaches one year of operations next month. The airport has been an enormous economic success for the region and has received praise from passengers, national media outlets, civic and business groups and policy makers. "Hitting a million passengers in under a year demonstrates the appreciation regional travelers have for Paine Field and the idea that you can use public-private partnerships to achieve civil projects to benefit the public not only here in Metro Seattle, but around the country," said Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports, the firm that designed, built and operates the passenger terminal at Snohomish County airport. "Our partners in the County and local government, the airlines and the business community all shared our belief that if we built this, the public would embrace it. That has never been more evident than it is today." Aristotle Roberts of Lynnwood, WA, a supervisor at a biopharmaceutical company and United Airlines passenger, became the millionth Paine Field passenger on Monday. Mr. Roberts was presented with one million days of free valet parking at the terminal, two round trip tickets to any of Paine Field's 12 nonstop destinations, and a bottle of Dom Perignon to celebrate. Paine Field, which was named one of USA Today's top 10 small airports last month, represents a new standard of excellence in air travel for passengers in the Puget Sound region. By providing best-in-class amenities like valet parking, gourmet food options, and outstanding customer service, the airport has won over business and leisure passengers alike. Construction on the terminal was finished in late 2018, with inaugural flights departing on March 4, 2019. "Surpassing one million passengers ahead of the terminal's first anniversary is an amazing accomplishment," said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. "After years of diligent work with Propeller, our team at the airport and our community partners, I'm proud of the passenger terminal's success and its growing economic development and tourism benefits to the county and region." "The passenger terminal at Paine Field is unique in the world of airports because of the premium experience Propeller has built into every detail of a passenger's experience there," said Snohomish County Airport Director Arif Ghouse. Paine Field continues to grow its map of nonstop offerings to west coast hubs, most recently with Alaska Airlines' announcement of upcoming service to Boise, ID. About Propeller Airports Based in Everett, WA, Propeller identifies untapped potential for commercial air travel by working with local communities and government to maximize airport assets. Propeller Airports is focused on opportunities to invest, develop and manage both general aviation and commercial service airports throughout the U.S. For more information please visit www.flypainefield.com . SOURCE Propeller Airports Related Links http://www.flypainefield.com President Donald Trumps reelection campaign sued The New York Times for libel on Wednesday, alleging that an op-ed article published by the newspaper falsely asserted a quid pro quo between Russian officials and Trumps 2016 campaign. Trump often threatens to sue media organizations but rarely follows through. The lawsuit, filed in New York state court in Manhattan, is the first time his political operation has taken legal action against an American news outlet since he took office. The lawsuit concerns an essay published by the Opinion section of The Times in March 2019. The article, headlined The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo, was written by Max Frankel, who served as executive editor of The Times from 1986 to 1994. (The Opinion section of The Times operates separately from its newsroom.) In the essay, Frankel wrote about communications between Trumps inner circle and Russian emissaries in the lead-up to the 2016 election. He concluded that, rather than any detailed electoral collusion, the Trump campaign and Russian officials instead had an overarching deal: the quid of help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton for the quo of a new pro-Russian foreign policy. The Trump lawsuit argues that this conclusion is false and that The Times published the essay knowing it would misinform and mislead its own readers. The suit also accuses The Times, without evidence, of harboring extreme bias against and animosity toward Trumps reelection campaign. The Times responded shortly after the suit was filed Wednesday. The Trump campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable, Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement. Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance, Murphy added. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Trump campaign by Charles J. Harder, a lawyer with a reputation for waging aggressive legal battles against prominent news organizations. Harder is best known for representing Terry G. Bollea, the former professional wrestler known as Hulk Hogan, in a lawsuit against Gawker Media that was secretly underwritten by tech investor Peter Thiel. The suit, which concerned the publication of a sex video, resulted in a $140 million decision that led to Gawker Medias bankruptcy and forced the sites sale. Harder also represented Melania Trump, Trumps wife, when she sued The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, in 2016, over what she said were false and defamatory statements, including that a modeling agency she worked for in the 1990s was also an escort service. The Daily Mail ultimately apologized, retracted the article and paid damages in a settlement. Trump, whose public vilification of the news media has little precedent for someone in his office, has ratcheted up his attacks on the press over the past year. Though he has accused The Times of treason, tweeted the phrase fake news hundreds of times, and repeatedly warned of pulling broadcast licenses, his campaigns lawsuit against The Times is the first concrete legal broadside against a news outlet of his tenure. It is not, however, Trumps first time going to court against a journalist. In 2006, Trump sued Timothy L. OBrien for libel after the publication of OBriens biography, TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald. The case was dismissed three years later. (OBrien, who previously worked as a reporter and editor at The Times, is currently a senior adviser to Michael Bloombergs presidential campaign.) The Times is also defending itself in a defamation suit brought by Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential nominee, over an editorial published in the Opinion pages that incorrectly linked her to a 2011 mass shooting that severely wounded Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona representative. Palins case was dismissed by a U.S. District Court, but an appellate court reinstated the suit last year. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 26.02.2020 LISTEN Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and some leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been accused of feigning ignorance on the programmes of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. According to James Kwabena Bomfeh, acting General Secretary of the Convention Peoples Party, (CPP) the Electoral Commission (EC) has never hidden the intention to procure new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) from the stakeholders at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) level and that members on the Minoritys side in Parliament have always have been part of the process right from day one. Mr. Bomfeh, who is affectionately called Kabila, said the Commission has an internal Procurement Committee on which are two representatives from Parliament representing each side of the divide Majority and Minority. Information available to me is that Dr Bernard Okoe Boye and Dr Dominic A. Ayine represent the Majority and Minority respectively. The ECs budget, as well as procurement for each year, are discussed in house before sent to the Special Budget Committee of Parliament, he said in a statement. According to him, the minority can therefore not feign ignorance of the procurement programme of the Commission unless their representative perhaps failed to live up to expectation or kept them in the dark. Furthermore, the Special Budget Committee comprises the top echelons of the House including the leadership of both sides. Are we being told that the Minority did not know of the ECs intention to procure a new BVMS when their budget for 2020 was approved? If a different budget was approved for the EC other than the activities lined up to be undertaken, then why not resort to the application of the law or Parliaments oversight power to bring the Commission to order?, Mr Bomfeh, queried. He further referred to comments made by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, which indicate that the procurement of a new BVMS was a necessity. Parliament is known as the House of Records. Indeed records are kept of proceedings in the House to the minutest detail. Opportunities are given for corrections of previous minutes at the following or subsequent sitting. Parliamentary records of December 17, 2018, on budget estimates for 2019 show in column 5165, paragraphs 3, 5 and 6 the following statements from the Minority Leader, inter alia, the same EC, acquire BVRs, they have not; acquire BVDs, they have not. Yet, they are not able to use their budget allocation and they are asking for more. That contradicts our quest to say that give them additional resources. Mr Speaker, they should replace the Data Centre, improve their IT infrastructure and refurbish those equipment and prepare for those major elections. Mr Speaker added to it is the matter of the bloated register. We all cry about numbers and bloated numbers. In South Korea, there is now what we call an image recognition software. If you double register, you could be detected through an IT instrument. The EC should be encouraged to look for such software so that people who double register, would be exposed by the IT software of image recognition. I am sure it is in other parts of the world. The call on the EC to procure an improved system, best fit to overcome challenges of the present BVMS obviously could be read coming from the Minority Leader quoted extensively above, Mr. Bomfeh quoted the Minority Leader. Mr Bomfeh, who was once the Director of Elections for his party advised Public office holders to engage in honest conversations with the citizenry, adding that Ghanas democratic journey has come of age with three successful regime changes at the Executive level and seven Parliamentary terms. We have had the longest surviving Constitution since independence, though the most problematic and controversial. The People of Ghana have shown the highest level of tolerance for this democratic dispensation and that must be respected and applauded. The EC has put a case across justifying their programme for a new BVMS. It is a solid case thus laid. Let complimentary views be expressed and presented in a respectable fashion. Let all democracy lovers endorse and support the EC for this initiative. Every Ghanaian, once of age, 18 years and above wherever they may be, must be ready to participate in the process when the registration starts, he said. Meanwhile, the EC is focused on ensuring a free and transparent election by compiling a credible electoral roll in this years election and therefore would not be distracted by tangential issues emanating from certain quarters. Over the last quarter-century, Amazon has transformed itself from an online bookseller into an e-commerce behemoth thats reshaping retail economics. In 2018 alone, Amazon reported more than US$232 billion in revenue a number thats sure to jump once 2019s final revenue figures are released. Those eye-popping returns mean the online seller accounts for nearly 50 percent of all e-commerce revenue. With no slowdown in sight, manufacturers and brands alike must formulate an effective Amazon strategy if they want to find e-commerce success. With that in mind, here are three Amazon trends to track in 2020. 1.The Platform Will Become More Social To keep users on the site longer and increase engagement, Amazon has been busy building a homegrown social network. Click on a profile photo above a user rating, and youll navigate to a profile page that compiles all the users reviews in one place. Within these profile pages, users can follow each other, curate wish lists and create posts. So far, Amazon has let this social community develop organically, but recently weve seen this social approach expand to brands. Amazon last year launched a product it calls Posts. Currently in beta, this feature allows participating brands to create a curated feed of shoppable product posts. As with traditional social posts, creators have access to engagement metrics like views, clicks and click-through rates. By testing different content and calls to action, users can gain valuable information about what resonates with Amazon shoppers. Because these posts include category tags, they also appear on competitor search pages, which can be a big boost for brand discovery. The more free exposure you can get on Amazon, the better, and early adopters already are seeing big traffic bumps. Amazon likely will continue expanding these social offerings in 2020, so posts could be an excellent opportunity for brands to get their feet wet while increasing engagement with Amazon shoppers. 2. More Support for Brands and Manufacturers In 2020, companies will see Amazon ramp up its support for brands and manufacturers through better content tools and improved analytics. Brand Registry Some brands and manufacturers historically have been hesitant about selling directly on Amazon due to competition from third-party sellers or counterfeiters. To address this issue, Amazon recently introduced its brand registry. This feature allows companies to establish themselves with Amazon and provides some brand protection controls. As an additional benefit, registered brands can create store pages that serve as mini-websites within Amazons platform. These pages give brands increased control over their image on Amazon while providing shoppers with a more consistent brand experience. Registered brands also gain access to improved analytics tools for more in-depth insight into the customer journey on and off Amazon. A+ Content Tools Another way Amazon is encouraging activity is through its A+ Content Tools. This feature allows registered brands to create product listings with customized descriptions, enhanced images, and different text placement. Product posts created with A+ Content Tools stand out from other Amazon products and can lead to higher conversion rates, increased traffic and more sales. Amazon Attribution These new toys wont be very attractive unless brands can measure their ROI on the platform. Previously, users had no insight into how external ads drive buying decisions on Amazon. The online giant is trying to change that through a new tool called Amazon Attribution. This feature allows advertisers to tag Facebook, Google and Microsoft ads with a code snippet that pulls information directly to an Amazon dashboard. Now advertisers can track effectiveness down to the keyword level, which adds an essential layer of insight into their campaigns. API Improvements Amazon also is working on improvements to its application programming interface (API), which will give companies the ability to make changes and report on campaigns at scale. An improved API will encourage technology partners and agencies to develop better products and services to help their clients compete within the Amazon ecosystem. Because Amazon earns a percentage from every item sold on its site, the company is motivated to help brands and manufacturers find success. Its likely that Amazon will continue to make the platform more friendly for large sellers throughout 2020. Improved Advertising Tools In addition to providing brands and manufactures with more support, Amazon will roll out improved advertising tools to help drive sales. New Ad Types These efforts begin with several new advertising options that tap into Amazons unique targeting abilities. Sponsored Display Amazons sponsored display ads work primarily as a remarketing tool that utilizes the Amazon display network. Previously, access to this tool required a whopping $35,000 monthly minimum ad spend. However, Amazon recently debuted a slimmed-down version of display ads that users can access for as little as $35 per month. A D V E R T I S E M E N T As you might imagine, Amazon has tons of purchase data, so its easy to categorize people based on their purchases. Sponsored display ads utilize this valuable data and give users increased options around targeting. This product is ideal for new-to-market products that consumers arent aware of yet. Sponsored Brand Ads Sponsored Brand Ads are Amazons version of banner ads. Just last month, Amazon rolled out more targeting capabilities and functionality, including the option to include video. This is part of Amazons effort to get more videos on their site because they know how much people like watching them. Amazon Live Amazon also recently launched a product called Amazon Live ads, which are QVC-style video ads brands can produce themselves. I expect to see more variety of ad types and programs like Amazon Live debut on the platform in 2020. UI Improvements Amazon is making much-needed improvements to its user interface (UI) to help advertisers better manage their efforts and assess campaign performance. These improvements include adding a Change History tab and bulk editing features, which provides more tools advertisers and agencies can use to impact sales performance. Improved Insight Amazon knows that more data equals more sales. However, Amazons reporting capabilities left much to be desired. Currently, users can pull reports only over the last 60 days, which makes it impossible to compare year-over-year data. Much to everyones delight, Amazon recently announced it would expand reporting on search query and campaign level reports up to 720 days, for greater insight into historical data and past trends. I expect to see Amazon continue building out its reporting capabilities to advertisers with greater insight into user behavior. Amazon Isnt Going Away, So its Time to Dive In One things for sure: Amazons sales will increase in 2020 likely by double-digits. As the company continues dominating e-commerce sales while at the same time reshaping the entire retail sector, brands and manufacturers need to react. That means using every available tool to make your products more searchable and attractive than those of the competition. That way, when Amazon releases its final 2020 revenue figures, youll have seen some eye-popping results of your own. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska law enforcement officers seized 82 illegally possessed firearms in a co-ordinated effort to reduce gun violence in Anchorage and nearby communities, federal officials announced Wednesday. About one-third of the seized guns had been stolen, Bryan Schroder, the U.S. attorney for Alaska, said at a news conference. Were committed to driving down violent crime, Schroder said, standing with representatives of the Anchorage Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, airport police,FBI, federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This group has done that by taking on drug traffickers and particularly drug traffickers who carry firearms, he said. Prosecutors filed 10 indictments charging 16 people with firearm or drug trafficking crimes. Not all the suspects were in custody. Thirteen suspects are from Anchorage and three live in Wasilla. Officer seized about 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms) of methamphetamine and 10.6 ounces (300 grams) of heroin. Law enforcement officers served search warrants and made arrests Tuesday. The seizures and arrests were part of an investigation over several months that was dubbed Operation Cold Snap, Schroder said. Dozens of the weapons were displayed at a conference table. Schroder said it was a visual reminder of what our law enforcement officers face. Its also meant as a reminder that the danger to these officers is real, he said. An Anchorage police officer earlier this month was shot in the upper torso in the line of duty but was protected from serious injury by body armour, Schroder said. All of the seized firearms at first glance were legal for purchase, said Derek Pleasants, special agent in charge of the ATF Seattle Field Division. They will abe nalyzed to determine if any were illegally modified. None of the seized weapons have been linked to other crimes, Schroder said. Some leads in the cases were generated by the bureaus National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a national database of digital images of spent bullets and cartridge cases found at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated weapons. The guns seized Tuesday will be fired and their brass cartridge cases analyzed to determine if there are links to crimes. Having the guns in hand now, we can check those guns against other brass that we tested in other places, Schroder said. H eres a home truth for the new Chancellor. His Budget next month has just been downgraded. It was meant to be a moment that defined the Government big changes to tax and spending, proof that the Johnson age is getting into gear. Actually, that plan fell apart the moment No 10 launched a powergrab against the Treasury, which led to the departure of Sajid Javid and the appointment of Rishi Sunak in his place. It gave the new Chancellor little time to prepare for the Budget on March 11. Mr Javids Commons statement today explaining his resignation probably wont do much damage right now. But if things go wrong for the Government soon, his warning about the need to run things responsibly will come back to bite. All this leaves Mr Sunak in a tricky place too, caught between backing the Prime Ministers love of big spending, and showing that hes still his own man, able to balance the books. He has a spending review and another Budget later this year to show us how he is going to walk the tightrope. There is something else, however, that he can use the March Budget to do. And that is to set out a package that shows that Britain is ready to cope with the biggest public-health emergency for a generation. This is the week in which coronavirus moved from being a massive issue for China to a potentially traumatic one for the world. Even if it doesnt spread across the country as part of a global pandemic, it has become the single-most urgent issue facing all of us. Theres the economic harm it is already doing, of course, which in itself is a big challenge. Plans to raise taxes, spend on long-term projects and reshape the country suddenly all seem secondary to getting through the next few months in good shape. When disasters strike, people turn to the Government to help sort things out. So whats happening? Not enough. Instead theres the unsettling sense that ministers are trying to work things out alongside everyone else. We are fortunate to live in a mostly ordered and open democracy, with well-equipped public services and an excellent National Health Service ready to care for everyone regardless of how rich they are or where they live. Societies such as ours are well placed to cope. And its true that the fear of the unknown may turn out to be more alarming than the reality but thats no consolation to many people in this country, from the elderly to those with respiratory conditions who are understandably alarmed. Serious situation So this is the moment to get the country ready for what might be a more serious situation. What we all need from the Government is leadership, organisation and communication. We can be sure that the NHS is putting its plans in place and the Department for Health is taking a lead. But lets hear more about those plans. Say you are the head of a primary school. Are you being given the support you need to work out what to do if theres just been a school trip to Italy? Are all those children supposed to stay at home? It cant be right to leave decisions like this up to individual heads, but is there an alternative system in place? Public Health England offers guidance on its website but the messages are often vague and sometimes confused. Or imagine you are running a business. Should you now plan for staff to work from home? Will people feel confident about travelling on public transport? Where does that advice come from? For everyone right now theres the challenge of finding trustworthy information. But it hardly begins to answer the bigger questions people have: what, for instance, does it mean to self-isolate. What about food? What do you do in a family home? All these questions and more are ones people are asking. Its the Governments job to take a lead. That means calm, reasonable and clear advice. Everyone can see this is a difficult situation and most will want to play their part in getting through it. But as Sajid Javid reminded the House of Commons today, in the end the buck stops with the Prime Minister. Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast: An 83-year-old woman from Ukraine was pronounced dead at her home by both paramedics and police, last week, but 10 hours later, after her family started making preparations for her funeral, she showed signs of life and has since made a full recovery. Paramedics first consulted Ksenia Didukh, an 83-year-old retired nurse from the Ukrainian town of Stryzhavka, at her home at around 6am, on February 17. This was to be one of three visits they paid the woman that Sunday, a day theyll likely never forget. After that first visit, they concluded that the octogenarian was agonizing and basically on deaths threshold, so they so no point in taking her to the hospital. The family agreed, and later that day, the doctors prognostic was confirmed. Ksenia stopped breathing, and paramedics were once again called, along with police, to confirm the womans death. Photo: geralt/Pixabay Doctors checked for vital signs, and performed an EKG, which showed no heart activity whatsoever. Ksenias death was also confirmed by police, and the family immediately started making preparations for her funeral. Local authorities were notified to get started on her death certificate, a grave digger was hired, and the local priest came to perform the final rites. But later that day, the womans daughter noticed something strange. At around 7.30pm we touched her forehead, and it was warm, Tetyana Potomchenko said. Her armpits were warm, she was alive. The death certificate had to be cancelled and torn up. Vladimir Chebotarev, an intensive care doctor with over 37 years of experience, told Ukrainian news site Depo that on February 17, at 9:08pm, an ambulance from Stryzhavka arrived at Vinnytsia Hospital. It brought in an 83-year-old woman in a stage 3 coma, with almost no signs of life. Under the careful watch of doctors there, the woman soon came out of the coma, and appeared to be in satisfactory health. Photo: TCH/YouTube Asked what she saw while she was in the deep coma, Ksenia Didukh answered: The Kingdom of Heaven. I called for my father! I wanted to ask if it was easy for him there? I thought we would meet, I already felt him. But I opened my eyes and standing above me were these people dressed in white! I thought they were angels, but they were actually doctors. I myself worked as a nurse, saved people and, apparently, God had mercy on me. Stryzhavka priest Roman Petrik, who had been booked to perform the funeral service for the 83-year-old woman, attributed the womans resurrection to divine intervention. He said God gave life to this old lady. This is the first time I have seen it. I have been working as a doctor for 20 years, but I have not seen anything like this, Dr Tetyana Katylova, deputy medical officer of Vinnytsia regional hospital, said. According to Ukrainian news portal TSN, Ksenia Didukh was discharged a week after being admitted to Vinnytsia hospital, and is now in relatively good health for her age. Recent 5G coverage has reported launch activity in Thailand, Tajikistan and Croatia, though what constitutes a launch may be up for debate; a couple of 5G debuts are concentrated in a relatively small area. Thai mobile operator AIS certainly does seem to have launched a 5G service. It is using frequencies in the 2600MHz band despite having received its 2600MHz spectrum licence only a week ago. While 4G subscribers using smartphones compatible with the band are apparently able to benefit from the 5G service, and thousands of AIS cell sites are said to be compatible with the frequency band, full 5G adoption in the form of comprehensive ecosystem development could be a year or two away, it seems. Meanwhile a single zone in the central area of the Tajikistan capital Dushanbe now has live 5G, courtesy of MegaFon Tajikistan. Again the services availability depends on whether customers have compatible devices allowing them to access 5G mobile broadband data speeds. Even more area-specific is Hrvatski Telekoms (HT) just-launched closed 5G network in Zagreb, Croatia, in conjunction with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the citys university. The operator is quoted in the press as saying that says the network will offer students, the scientific community, start-ups, and industry the opportunity to work on the latest communication technologies such as Industry 4.0, 5G networks and IoT. Similar campus networks are due to follow in the cities of Rijeka, Split and Osijek, though mass-market 5G is no doubt a little further off. CORVALLIS, Ore. - Massive freshwater river flows stemming from glacier-fed flooding at the end of the last ice age surged across eastern Washington to the Columbia River and out to the North Pacific Ocean, where they triggered climate changes throughout the northern hemisphere, new research published today in Science Advances shows. The findings provide new insight into the role the North Pacific Ocean plays in the planet's climate, said Alan Mix, an oceanographer and paleoclimatologist in Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and one of the study's authors. "We look to the past to give us context for what might happen in the future," Mix said. "We didn't know before this research that the increase in freshwater flows was going to trigger widespread changes. It tells us this system is sensitive to these kinds of changes." The lead author of the study is Summer Praetorius, a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey who first started constructing records involved in the project as a doctoral student at Oregon State more than a decade ago. Praetorius, Mix and OSU co-authors Maureen Walczak, Jennifer McKay and Jianghui Du collected data and analyzed records from across the Northeast Pacific region. They also examined an aggregate of data spanning several decades that was collected by scientists around the globe. Alan Condron, a modeling expert from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, also contributed to the analysis. The researchers used computer modeling to project the rapid movement of floodwaters during deglaciation between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, showing the flow from the Columbia River traveling along the coastline north to the Gulf of Alaska, across the Bering Strait and to Japan, as well as northward into the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Freshwater is less dense than saltwater, sitting on top of the saltwater like a blanket and mixing down with the saltwater slowly, Mix said. The layers of water can change how heat moves around in the ocean, leading to less moderating of the climate. The Columbia River runs along the dividing line between the subtropical region of the Pacific to the south and the subpolar region to the north. While some of the freshwater flowing out during the floods traveled south and dissipated, more of the water went north, where it flowed like a river along the coastline. "This spread of floodwaters along the Alaskan coast was a big surprise," said Condron. "The model showed that water from the Columbia River can impact most of the North Pacific and might even leak across the Arctic Ocean and into the Atlantic." Marine geologists from Oregon State then worked like crime scene investigators, tracing the impacts of the floodwaters through time using chemical "fingerprints" left in fossil shells that were alive during the flooding but sank and accumulated in muddy sentiments on the ocean floor along the floodwater's path. Mix led an expedition to collect sediment cores along the path of the floodwaters in 2004. The cores were then stored in OSU's Marine and Geology Core Repository while the research was underway. "The expedition yielded a treasure trove of mud from places nobody had thought to examine," he said. "It has taken more than a decade of painstaking work sifting through the mud we retrieved looking for fossil shells that could help tell the story of the floodwater's impact." Praetorius used the data from the shells and the modeling to show how the repeated flooding over 1,000 years cooled the ocean, which in turn impacted the climate across North America. "Our findings suggest that freshwater flows into the North Pacific can have far-reaching impacts, changing ocean temperatures and steering winds and storm tracks in North America," she said. "What happens in the North Pacific won't stay in the North Pacific, but instead will cause changes far and wide." The warming underway today is opposite of what occurred at the end of the last ice age, Mix said, but understanding circulation patterns in the North Pacific gives researchers insight into what might happen as more warm water flows into the North Pacific as the planet warms. "What we expect in the future is lower river flows and warmer water in the North Pacific - the opposite of what we saw at the end of the last ice age," Mix said. "But the past is still informative, because it tells us how the circulation system of the North Pacific works." ### (Natural News) When listening to the CDCs Dr. Nancy Messonnier warn about the coming pandemic outbreaks across America, you no longer have to read between the lines. Shes just flat out saying it now: Its coming. Get prepared. If you arent prepared, youre a fool. Now is the time for businesses, hospitals, communities, schools and everyday people to begin preparing, Dr. Messonnier recently told reporters on a conference call, according to CNBC. We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad. The Wall Street Journal adds this unambiguous statement that needs no interpretation: We expect we will see community spread in this country, meaning the virus circulating within local communities, said Dr. Messonnier. She added that the question isnt if the virus will expand in the U.S., but when. The coronavirus is coming to America its no longer a question of if Thus, its only a matter of time before the coronavirus spreads in America. And with one case already testing positive in Brazil, we now have the coronavirus on a whole new continent. Over the last 48 hours, the pandemic accelerated rapidly, moving into 8 new countries. It has now been detected in Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Iraq, Spain, Algeria, Austria, Brazil, Italy, Australia, Malaysia, France, Vietnam, Canada, Kuwait, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, USA, Egypt, Finland, Belgium, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Israel, Cambodia, Nepal, Oman, Afghanistan, Philippines and China. Such a vast, global spread would be impossible if the virus were contained as the communist-run WHO continues to falsely claim. (Notably, Google refers all searches on coronavirus to the WHO so that its official lies dominate the narrative.) This pandemic is so far beyond containment that the question of it going global is already answered. Yes, its global. And no, it wont be contained. President Trump and Rush Limbaugh are trying to tell everyone its no big deal and the WHO has it under control Both President Trump and Rush Limbaugh are working overtime to downplay the severity of this global pandemic. Rush says its no worse than the flu, while President Trump has scheduled a press conference this evening at 6pm Eastern to tell America that theres no reason to panic and everybody should buy more (overpriced) stocks. Rush and Trump, it seems, are all-in with the everythings awesome bandwagon, while the independent media (InfoWars, ZeroHedge, Natural News, etc.) are doing the math and warning that this pandemic could be devastating to the U.S. economy and the health of its citizens. Further complicating this issue is the newly uncovered fact that the CDCs Dr. Nancy Messonnier is reportedly the sister of Rod Rosenstein, part of the anti-Trump conspiracy coup gang that tried to overturn the 2016 election and remove Trump from office. But Rosenstein, notably, is widely reported to be cooperating with AG William Barr and may be providing testimony to help indict other deep state traitors such as James Comey (were not holding our breath that anybody gets indicted too early to tell). At this point, there are so many conflicting stories, theories and narratives that its nauseating to try to navigate the truth about all the motivations and agendas here. So keep it simple. Whats undeniable is that the virus is spreading globally at a breathtaking pace. Its also undeniable that the CDC has prohibited nearly all coronavirus testing by U.S. states and local hospitals, meaning theres virtually no testing taking place anywhere in America. In my view, the CDC is setting a trap for Trump by getting him to address the nation and tell everyone its all under control. Once the testing actually resumes in America, well see hundreds (if not thousands) of cases exploding overnight, and the media will pounce on Trump, blaming him for incompetence and a lack of action to stop the pandemic. And if you want another conspiracy layer to consider on top of everything else, I wouldnt even be surprised if some particularly wretched Democrat operatives are spreading the virus on purpose, contributing to the eventual spike of cases in America that can all be blamed on Trump. The Dems cant wait to blame Trump for people dropping dead in the streets from the coronavirus and San Francisco just declared a state of emergency, by the way, even though they claim there are no infections in the city so far. (Huh?) Dr. Messonnier, once again, seems to be telling the truth (for the moment) when she says this pandemic is coming to America. That part seems inevitable. We already have confirmation from a Homeland Security source that there are over 1,000 confirmed infections in America, and that number is over a week old. Given the roughly 3.5-day doubling period of this virus when left uncontained, that means we might already have > 4000 infections in the United States. And Trump is about to tell America everythings under control? Its a Trump trap. In fact, I think the spread of the coronavirus in the United States is deliberate. Listen to the evidence in this podcast, below. Hear all my podcasts (now posting 3 per day) at Pandemic.news or Brighteon.com: Pushkar Banakar By Express News Service NEW DELHI: H1-B visa was among the many issues US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed during a restricted and delegation-level bilateral talks on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. There is a strong and vibrant Indian community in the United States and it is contributing to both the US economy and society. It was pointed out to the US side about how Indian professionals contribute to increasing competitiveness of the higher-tech sector. Apart from this, the Indian professionals also provide value to the American society by virtue of their democratic background, the foreign secretary said and added that brutalisation of professionals was also discussed between the two leaders. The H1-B visa has been a contentious issue between the two countries ever since Trump conceptualised the idea of restricting the number of such visas and also changing some of its clauses. According to Trumps plan, the spouses of H1-B visa holders would not be allowed to work in the US as is the case now. Indian companies provide one of the highest numbers of applicants for H1-B with major tech companies like Infosys, Wipro and TCS making up the bulk of them. Shringla also spoke about the large student community in the US. We know that there is a large Indian student community of around two lakh in the US. This helps to better people to people connect between the two countries, the foreign secretary said. Trump and Modi held talks for close to two hours. Discussions were held on increasing cooperation in the fields of defence and security, energy, technology and trade, people-to-people connect and on other global and regional issues. LGBTQ100 ESG Index represents large-cap companies most dedicated to advancing equality WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings, Inc. (OTCPINK:LFAP), ("LGBTQ Loyalty" or "the Company"), a financial methodology and media company that quantifies corporate equality alignment with the LGBTQ community, announced today the full roster of corporations included in its LGBTQ100 ESG Index. This is the first public disclosure of the comprehensive listing, which comes as the Company introduces their LGBTQ100 Index Partnership Program. "Our inaugural LGBTQ100 ESG Index is as historic as it is empowering, in that we have engaged the LGBTQ community to participate in our annual national survey with the large-cap businesses that represent our global financial Index," said Bobby Blair, CEO of LBGTQ Loyalty. "By announcing the 100 corporations included in the LGBTQ100 ESG Index, investors and consumers can embrace transparent insight into the corporations that implement diversity and inclusion best practices at the highest level, which are not only doing well, but are outperforming the marketplace." Corporate constituents in the top selection of the LGBTQ100 ESG Index include: NortonLifeLock, Inc.; Amazon.com, Inc.; Apple, Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; Visa Inc. Class A; JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Mastercard Incorporated Class A; The Coca-Cola Company; Salesforce.com, Inc.; and Alphabet Inc. Class C. Click here for the comprehensive listing. "This is a monumental Index milestone for the advancement of equality in Corporate America," said Kevin Hopper, Chief Product Officer at LGBTQ Loyalty. "The LGTBQ100 ESG Index is the first to incorporate direct input from the LGBTQ community into its Index methodology and constituent selection process, and we extend our congratulations to all of the companies included." The LGBTQ100 ESG Index Partnership Program empowers Index constituents to share, educate and align with the pursuit of advancing equality across the business community from coast to coast. Leading the way with their diversity and inclusion initiatives, executives, managers and business owners can benefit and learn from these examples. About the LGBTQ100 ESG Index The LGBTQ100 ESG Index is comprised of 100 LGBTQ equality-driven companies from the nation's top 500 large-cap publicly traded companies. The LGBTQ100 ESG Index maintains industry sector grouping whereby each sector can represent up to 25% in the weighting calculation. The Index also screens for ESG and LGBTQ equality compliance, performance and alignment with the LGBTQ community through an annual corporate survey response from LGBTQ constituents across the country and is reconstituted annually. The Index is listed on the NYSE, ticker symbol: LGBTQ100. For more details and to monitor activity on the LGBTQ100 ESG Index, follow the hashtag LGBTQ100 or visit www.LGBTQ100.com. About LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings, Inc. LGBTQ Loyalty is a financial methodology and media company that quantifies corporate equality alignment with the LGBTQ community and its supporters. The Company has benchmarked the first-ever U.S. Loyalty Preference Index, which the Company believes will empower the LGBTQ community to express their preferences for the nation's high-performing corporations most dedicated to advancing equality. Branded as LGBTQ100 ESG Index, it is an environmental, social and governance ("ESG") Index that offers an added perspective for those seeking to align with equality-driven, ESG-responsible corporations. LGBTQ Loyalty's leadership includes seasoned authorities in the financial industry and LGBTQ community. Contact: LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings, Inc. 750 N. San Vicente Boulevard Suite 800 West West Hollywood, CA 90069 press@lgbtqloyalty.com LGBTQloyalty.com 1-310-870-9661 SOURCE: LGBTQ Loyalty Holdings, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577958/Top-100-LGBTQ-Equality-Driven-Corporations-in-the-US-Announced An armed robber struck a Southeast Portland bar Sunday night, marking the latest in a string of stickups at neighborhood watering holes. The masked suspect entered the Bear Paw Inn in the 3200 block of Southeast Milwaukie about 9:30 p.m., according to police and staff. There were no reported injuries. Gun-wielding bandits have held up at least 10 other bars and taverns in east or North Portland since November. Police have reported no arrests in any of the robberies. The prior attacks generally took place early in the week and late at night. Most involved two robbers, in contrast to Sundays heist. Nov. 12, 12:50 a.m. Mulligans Bar & Grill (3518 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.) Nov. 18, 2019, 2:03 a.m. Tulip Shop Tavern (825 N. Killingsworth St.) Nov. 19, 2019, 12:19 a.m. Lotsa Luck Bar & Grill (2136 S.E. Powell Blvd.) Nov. 19, 2019, 2:30 a.m. Cosmo Lounge (6707 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.) Nov. 25, 2019, 11:33 p.m. Wilshire Tavern (4052 N.E. 42nd Ave.) Nov. 30, 2019, 11:17 p.m. Lombard Pub (3416 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 6, 2019, 5:29 p.m. Darcys Restaurant and Bar (4804 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 9, 2019, 1 a.m. Mock Crest Tavern (3435 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 11, 2019, 12:27 a.m. Darcys Restaurant and Bar (4804 N. Lombard St.) Dec. 20, 2019, 5 p.m. Barlow Tavern (6008 N. Greeley, Ave.) Jan. 14, 2020, 11:52 p.m. Gold Dust Meridian (3627 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.) Feb. 23, 2020, 9:30 p.m. Bear Paw Inn (3237 S.E. Milwaukie) -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Get an audio rundown of the days top headlines, now available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Were also on Amazon Alexa. No residents or firefighters were injured, according to the department. Three pets were reportedly rescued from the house, but the fire department did not indicate what types of animals they were. After years away from sculpture, the renowned painter Mohamad Abla returns to this art, presenting his works in a solo exhibition held at Samah Art Gallery Why does an artist decide to change medium or discipline? This question is forced upon us when visiting the sculpture exhibition of Mohamad Abla at Samah Art Gallery in Zamalek. The exhibition continues until 22 February. With a decades-long reputation in painting, Abla turned to sculpture, commenting on his choice: "The idea of being able to hold your work in your hands, to react to its weight, to turn it around, to kiss it, is a fascinating experience, which can only be achieved with sculpture." However, sculpture is not new to Abla, as he studied this form of expression in Switzerland at the beginning of his career some 40 years ago. Since the 1990s, his Sisyphus statue adorns one of the most famous squares in Walsrode, Germany. Returning to sculpture today, Abla underlines that he always wanted to see his works in three dimensions. However, he was looking for a new path. Unfortunately, sculpture in Egypt is dominated by a trend that confines it within certain limits. It tends to represent specific direct ideas, rather than reflecting the identity of the sculptor. This makes most of the sculptures look so alike, he says. When creating sculptures, it is in painting or drawing that any artist finds a starting point before going through subsequent stages: wax modeling, molding, dewaxing and finally as in Abla's case bronze casting. "During these long stages, a lot of feelings and emotions are at risk of being lost. So, to avoid this, I decided to turn the drawing into a sculpture without going through these steps. I managed to find very modest craftsmen who work in a primitive way in a workshop, without molds. That said, the molding is done from the drawing. The time taken to develop this work is linked to the artist's know-how. Impossible to go to sculpture before going through the drawing, and to study the curve, the straight line, the movement, and then work spontaneously. Learning sculpture requires above all a perfect mastery of drawing. You also need to master the art of sketching before tackling bronze. "I had never done sketches, because my professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Kamel Moustafa, had told me that the first touch is always irreplaceable," the artist clarifies. Indeed, Abla's sculptures suggest that we are facing canvases that take shape before our eyes. This is the case, for example, with his sculpture entitled The Military, which immediately brings to mind one of his paintings, created one year after the January 2011 Revolution. With perfect abstraction, the sculpture retraces an overwhelmed, exhausted and weakened silhouette. His sculptures representing animals refer to some heroes of his paintings: the donkey, the cat, the dog, the rooster, the horse. They are present as if to draw or release in space the energy of movement. Sculptures in context The sculptures on display recall the way of working the form found in his paintings, but from a new angle. Not only does the artist attribute expansive movement to his figures, but he embosses the surface, catching on them the play of light, and making them all sparkle. The sculptor also goes as far as to open the mass for light rays to better capture their environment. For example, in his work In Nature, light passes through the open surface of the sculpture, giving it a deeper dimension, enough to concretise the idea of man's resistance against the forces of nature. Some sculptures are placed in relation to the paintings that inspired them. But the eye is not limited to the painting, since Abla refuses to be locked in the labyrinth of the frame, trying to access the sculpture amid all the surrounding space. Thus the context is not just a place, or even a frame, but an echo. Choice of material Why bronze? "It is a most resistant metal. An alloy of copper and tin, corrosion does not affect bronze, hence it has been there for millennia, while retaining its original qualities, freshness and liveliness," Abla explains. Certainly, bronze pieces have always held a unique value, a prestige that defies time. Furthermore, Abla's bronze works break with tradition as the artist masters its colours different shades of blue, green and purple. These are colours often found in his paintings, and here they give different sensations: a lace effect is felt in Kitabat which, through green pictographs decorated with golden touches, points to stories about women. If Abla's sculptures are reflections of his talent as a painter, they also suggest a formidable influence of the Swiss painter-sculptor, Giacometti. The latter gave up surrealism to return to nature, in a quest for truth. His busts and figures are the result of his desperate search for a vision. His work can thus be placed in a philosophical and literary current that marked the turn of the 20th century: existentialism. Abla did not hesitate to pay tribute to the Swiss artist, naming one of his sculptures Greetings to Giacometti. Here we see a threadlike figure reminiscent of The Walking Man, once created by the Swiss artist. Mohamad Abla integrates light and movement in his sculptures as in his paintings. He creates a paradox between immobility and rhythm, giving power to his work. *This article was originally published in Al-Ahram Hebdo (issue of 19 February 2020). For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: P rime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm today after Delhi was rocked by a third consecutive night of violence amid reports of Muslims being shot and beaten. The rioting has left at least 20 dead and hundreds injured since Sunday. Mr Modi tweeted today: Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. He said he had ordered an extensive review on the situation, adding: Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. At least two mosques in north-east Delhi have been set on fire. Local residents look at burnt-out vehicles following the clashes / AFP via Getty Images Rouf Khan, 43, who lives in Mustafabad, said Hindu vigilantes were attacking Muslim areas. He said: After forcing their way inside the homes, they went on a rampage and started beating people and breaking household items. I dont know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down. Security personnel stand guard near a burnt-out mosque and shops / AFP via Getty Images He said his family had taken refuge in a mosque with 24-hour security. Hospitals were overflowing with victims of the riots, said Dr Sunil Kumar, medical director of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Mohammad Sameer, 17, was being treated there for a chest wound after being hit by a bullet as he watched clashes from the balcony of his home. His father Mohammad Akram said he and his son were beaten with sticks by a mob as they went to hospital. Today, parts of the riot-hit areas were largely deserted, with paramilitary and police forces on the streets. Posted on: February 4, 2020 10:29 AM [ACNS, by Staff Writer] The Dean of St Georges Cathedral in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum, has been elected coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Jerusalem. The election, which took place last Thursday (30 January) is subject to ratification from the Central Synod of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. Plans are being made for Dean Hosams consecration during a service at St Georges Cathedral in Jerusalem in the Spring, following provincial ratification. The bishop coadjutor will work alongside Archbishop Suheil Dawani until his retirement in 2021; he will then be installed as the new Anglican Episcopal Archbishop in Jerusalem. The Diocese of Jerusalem serves Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It has 28 congregations and more than 30 charitable institutions, including two major hospitals, several clinics and rehabilitation centres, and over a dozen schools. Dean Hosam represents the Province of Jerusalem and Middle East on the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and is a member of the ACCs Standing Committee. Another Standing Committee member, Bishop Jane Alexander of Edmonton in the Anglican Church of Canada, has announced that she is stepping down with effect from 31 July this year. In a message read to congregations in her diocese on Sunday 26 January, she said: During my time as your Bishop I have done my best to focus us on looking outward into the world and concentrate on discipleship and the mission of Christs church. I love you deeply and will miss you terribly. It has been my great joy to see us step out in faith in new areas of ministry and to dive more deeply into our role as Disciples of Christ. Elsewhere in Canada, Lincoln Mckoen has been elected to serve as the first Bishop of the Territory of the People. The Territory has the status of a diocese within the Anglican Church of Canada. It brings together the churches previously known as the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior churches which were previously part of the Diocese of Cariboo, which was became bankrupt in 2001 following a compensation award for safeguarding failures. In making the announcement, the Church of Canada said that through his ministry experience in Alert Bay, living amongst the Kwakwakawakw people for almost a decade, he has been learning how necessary reconciliation work is for the Church. Canadas Provincial Secretary General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Canadas General Synod Archdeacon Michael Thompson, will retire on 30 June. The Bishop of Pennsylvania in the US-based Episcopal Church, Daniel G P Gutierrez, has been named as the new President of the Compass Rose Society (CRS), succeeding the Bishop of Texas, Andrew Doyle. The CRS is an international charitable organisation which supports the Archbishop of Canterburys ministry in the global Anglican Communion and the work of the Anglican Communion Office. Founded in 1997, the CRS comprises 393 members located primarily in north America and Hong Kong. In 2018 it provided nearly $900 thousand USD (approximately 681,000 GBP) to support the reconciliation and communication initiatives of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Princess Basma Centre for Children with Disabilities in the Diocese of Jerusalem, hospitals in Gaza and Nablus, and Canterbury Cathedral. Dates have been confirmed for the installation of three new Primates. The first indigenous Bishop of Sabah, Melter Tais, will be installed as Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of South East Asia on 9 February. He succeeds Archbishop Moon Hing, Bishop of West Malaysia. On 1 March, the Bishop of Mityana, Stephen Samuel Kaziimba, will be installed as Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda. The outgoing Archbishop, Stanley Ntagali, will hand over the primatial pastoral staff to new Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba during an investiture service at St Pauls Cathedral in Namirembe. And on 25 March, the Bishop of Gombe, Archbishop Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, will be installed as the new Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Currently Archbishop of the internal province of Jos, Archbishop Henry will succeed Archbishop Nicholas Okoh when he becomes the Churchs fifth Primate. OROVILLE, Calif.- The Butte County Board of Supervisors had a lot to discuss during Tuesday's meeting, including youth vaping and flavored tobacco products. They also discussed the 2019 Groundwater report. Something that was not on the agenda but had the spotlight was the ongoing contract negotiations between the county and IHSS staff. During the meeting, dozens of in home caregivers gathered for a protest in front of The Butte County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday to express their concerns about health care and low wages. Caregivers, clients, and health advocates are asking supervisors for affordable healthcare and a pay increase for in home support workers. They say the countys last contract offer included a 50 cent per hour increase, but in exchange, workers were asked to give up some existing protections in their medical insurance plans. The careworkers are represented by the United Domestic Workers of America. Kesha Haynie, who is part of the union said, "We are out here letting our Board of Supervisors know that taking away healthcare or not even providing affordable healthcare is really an insult." Butte County District 4 Supervisor, Steve Lambert, said "I think that its a good outreach they are trying to get our attention it doesnt go unnoticed, its tough, its a state funded project and its tough to make it work but we want to make it work, believe me." The union is asking for pay to be increased over the state minimum wage of $13 per hour. They also want the board plan for long term care needs in its budget because they say the need is growing and there is a shortage of in home workers in Butte County. Another topic discussed was The Groundwater Status Report. It shows there was an overall increase in average precipitation and in groundwater levels in 2019. According to the report from October 1st of 2018 to September 30th 2019, there was a 137% increase in precipitation for the year. It also shows a three foot increase in groundwater levels in the Spring and Fall compared to the previous year. Flavored tobacco and youth vaping was also a hot topic at the Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting featured a presentation from the Butte County Public Health Department regarding flavored vaping products and the potential health risks associated with using them. Oroville and Chico city councils both approved ordinances to ban the products recently but now the county as a whole is looking to adopt a similar ordinance. A suggestion from Tuesdays presentation was also to require local licensing for stores that wish to sell tobacco. The council instructed staff and public health to bring back recommended steps for the restriction before the board at a future meeting. The board will ultimately have the say in what the county staff will do as far as potential ordinances go. A recent poll shows 66 percent of Butte County residents surveyed support a similar ban for the county. Pauline Hanson has defended voting against a Labor motion calling for controversial men's rights activist Bettina Arndt to be stripped of her Order of Australia award. The One Nation leader was one of only two senators to vote against the motion which arose after Ms Arndt praised a Queensland police officer who said last week's horrific murder-suicide in Brisbane was a case of a 'husband being driven too far'. Rowan Baxter killed his wife Hannah Clarke and their three children last Wednesday after setting their car alight in Camp Hill, before then stabbing himself to death. Ms Hanson, who was joined by fellow One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts in refusing to condemn the social commentator, said it was not the role of the Senate to get involved in such a matter. Both Labor and the governing Coalition supported the motion, which passed with an overwhelming 55-2 majority. 'It is not up to us the Senate whether someone should be stripped of their honours or not,' she told Sky News. 'That (her comments on the murder-suicide) has got nothing to do with her receiving the honours. 'It was disgusting what they did and I stood my ground. I don't regret what I did and neither does my colleague.' Ms Arndt was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia as part of the Australia Day honours in January for achieving 'gender equity through advocacy for men'. Bettina Arndt congratulated Queensland police for keeping an 'open mind' about Rowan Baxter's horrific murder of his family in Brisbane last Wednesday. Pauline Hanson refused to support a motion condemning the men's rights activist Ms Hanson said it was not the role of the senate to get involved in stripping someone of their honours She tweeted in support of a Queensland police officer who said he was keeping an open mind as to what was behind Baxter's killing of his family. '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.' But note the misplaced outrage. How dare police deviate from the feminist script of seeking excuses...' she tweeted on Friday morning. She has previously been slammed for her views on domestic violence and in 2005 called convicted paedophile Robert Potter 'a good bloke' in a Courier Mail article. Ms Arndt praised Queensland detective inspector Mark Thompson - who said a day after Rowan Baxter killed his wife and three children (family pictured together) police should keep an 'open mind' about whether it was a case of a 'husband being driven too far' The motion condemning Ms Arndt (pictured) drew the support of both sides of the Senate, with the only two voting against it Ms Hanson and her One Nation colleague Malcolm Roberts Inspector Mark Thompson, who made the initial comments about Baxter's crime, was stood down from the case and 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. Detective Mark Thompson (pictured) has been stood down from the murder-suicide after making controversial comments in a press conference '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. 'He is distraught and he is gutted about the way he said it and what was said,' Commissioner Carroll told the ABC. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:51:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, Feb.26 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Wednesday announced plans to collect additional blood from willing donors and distribute it to health facilities experiencing shortage. Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS) said in a statement that it will collaborate with stakeholders to ensure there is a sustainable supply of safe and adequate blood for transfusion to critically ill citizens. "We intend to collect 1 million units of safe blood to Kenyans using international evidence-based best practices," KNBTS said KNBTS said that it collected 164,000 units of blood in 2019 yet there is a demand for blood for emergency purposes. It said the government plans to spend 14 billion shillings (140 million U.S. dollars) annually to be able to obtain enough blood for supply to health facilities. Currently, Kenya has 31 blood centers spread across the 47 counties and plans are underway to increase the centers to 50. PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 15:28:33 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 773 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 -Technology solutions for global gas emissions monitoring-TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE:KNR)(OTCQB:KNRLF)(FSE:1K8) ("Kontrol" or 'Company') a leader in the energy efficiency sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology announces it has received a CDN$405,000 order from a new USA industrial customer for the implementation of a continuous gas emission monitoring system.The customer operates an industrial glass manufacturing facility and is regulated to deliver continuous emission data at the local and state level. Under the terms of the installation, Kontrol will provide both process control and government regulated emissions monitoring equipment. The installation is anticipated to commence in Q2 2020 and be completed in Q3 2020.Software and Service Recurring RevenuesFollowing the completion of the installation Kontrol will deliver ongoing service and software monitoring on a recurring revenue basis and in the approximate amount of $40,000 per annum."Given the importance of continuous gas emission regulation and real-time data for local and state governments in the USA, we are anticipating increased demand in the gas emission monitoring sector. This demand for our solutions is further driven by the increase in accountability for greenhouse gas reductions", says Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol.Clarification to Press Dated February 24, 2020As per the press release dated February 24th, 2020 in relation to Kontrol's engagement of Integrous Capital to provide investor relations services in the United States, Kontrol will pay Integrous $12,500 USD per month for a period of 6 months.About Kontrol EnergyKontrol Energy Corp. (CSE: KNR) (OTCQB: KNRLF) (FSE: 1K8) is a leader in the energy efficiency and smart building sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology. With a disciplined mergers and acquisition strategy, combined with organic growth, Kontrol Energy Corp. provides market-based energy solutions to our customers designed to reduce their overall cost of energy while providing a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Kontrol is one of Canada's fastest growing companies in 2018 and 2019 as ranked by Canadian Business and Maclean's.Additional information about Kontrol Energy Corp. can be found on its website at www.kontrolenergy.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward-Looking InformationCertain information included in this press release, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of management or estimates of future performance constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding possible future/next acquisitions and/or investments in operating businesses and/or technologies, accelerated organic growth and revenue growth, strategic partnerships to promote and deploy energy and asset performance tracking software and technology deployment for improved emission compliance and real-time management of energy, recurring revenues, the provision of solutions to customers and Greenhouse Gas emissions reductions, proposed financial savings and sustainable energy benefits and energy monitoring. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief are based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that suitable businesses and technologies for acquisition and/or investment will be available, that such acquisitions and or investment transactions will be concluded, that sufficient capital will be available to the Company, that technology will be as effective as anticipated, that organic growth will occur, and others. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, lack of acquisition and investment opportunities or that such opportunities may not be concluded on reasonable terms, or at all, that sufficient capital and financing cannot be obtained on reasonable terms, or at all, that technologies will not prove as effective as expected that customers and potential customers will not be as accepting of the Company's product and service offering as expected, and government and regulatory factors impacting the energy conservation industry. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law.SOURCE: Kontrol Energy Corp. Airport employees wear masks as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 as they work at the Sao Paulo International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Feb. 26, 2020. (Andre Penner/AP Photo) Brazil Confirms First Case of New Coronavirus in Latin America Brazilian authorities said on Feb. 26 that tests confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country. The 61-year-old man, who lives in Sao Paulo, traveled to Italy earlier this month. The confirmed case is the first in Latin America. Previously, only the United States and Canada had confirmed cases in the Americas. Brazils Ministry of Health said that the first test, which was done at Albert Einstein Hospital, came back positive. A counterproof conducted at the Adolfo Lutz Institute confirmed the infection. The patient is in good condition and is at home with his family, authorities said at a press conference on Wednesday. Theyre working on locating people who came into contact with him, including passengers on the plane that he flew back to Brazil with. The man traveled to Italy between Feb. 9 and Feb. 21. He showed symptoms of the virus, including a fever, a cough, a sore throat, and a runny nose, authorities said in a statement. Italy has reported a spike in cases this week, prompting lockdowns of cities and towns across several northern regions. Italy has by far the highest number of confirmed cases in Europe. Brazil has 20 suspected cases, the confirmed case, and 59 patients who have tested negative. The confirmed case presents health officials with a new environment to study the virus, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Brazils minister of health, told reporters. Airport Passengers wearing masks as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19 at the Sao Paulo International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Feb. 26, 2020. (Andre Penner/AP Photo) Members of sanitation services sanitize a vaporetto public waterbus in Venice on Feb. 26, 2020. (Andrea Pattaro/AFP via Getty Images) Now well see how this virus behaves in the Southern hemisphere, in the situation of a tropical country, in the middle of summer. How its going to behave. Its a new virus, he said. The new virus, which causes a disease dubbed COVID-19, has spread to dozens of countries since emerging in China late last year. Its part of a family of viruses that are hosted in animals but can, in rare cases, infect humans before spreading from person-to-person. Community spread of the new virus has happened in a number of countries, including Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Singapore. U.S. health officials warned Americans on Tuesday to prepare for community spread of the virus, with school and business closures among the possible consequences of such a spread. Experts say ways to avoid contracting the virus include frequently washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding sick people, and not touching ones nose, eyes, or mouth with unwashed hands. The new virus spreads through the air or personal contact. The incubation period of the virus is believed to be two to 14 days and some people have recovered from the disease. COVID-19 has killed thousands worldwide and infected tens of thousands. Ileana Alescio contributed to this report. Pune, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Perfume Market size is likely to gain impetus from the rising initiatives by the industry giants to create various innovative products. One of the main concerns of consumers today is perfume longevity. Therefore, renowned companies are investing huge sums in the research and development activities to provide long-lasting perfumes and attract more consumers. Fortune Business Insights provided this information in a recently published study, titled, Perfume Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Extrait de Parfum, Eau de Perfume, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and Eau Fraiche), Product (Mass and Premium), End-User (Men and Women), Distribution Channel (Online and Offline), and Regional Forecasts, 2019 2026. As per the study, the perfume market size is projected to reach USD 56,983 million by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. However, it stood at USD 39,406 million in 2018. What Does This Report Contain? Significant transformations in market dynamics. A comprehensive backdrop analysis consisting of the evaluation of the parent market. List of the emerging niche segments and regional analysis. In-depth information about the perfume market trends, growth drivers, barriers, opportunities, and challenges. Request a Sample Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/perfume-market-102273 Rising Disposable Income of Masses to Boost Growth In emerging countries, the disposable income of people is increasing day by day. It is further up surging their purchasing power. They are thus, spending a lot of money on beauty and personal care products for maintaining hygiene and beautification. Apart from that, the number of awareness campaigns regarding cosmetics is increasing worldwide. Coupled with this, the rising working-class populaces would also affect the market positively. In the urban areas, the standard of living of the masses is rising. It is leading to increasing demand for various scents and fragrances from the younger generation. As per one of our lead analysts, Approximately 600 million people in India were under the age group of 25 years in January 2018. It proves that India houses the largest number of young population in the entire world. All these factors are set to accelerate the perfume market growth during the forthcoming years. List of best companies operating in the perfume market are as follows; Procter & Gamble L'Oreal Coty Unilever Natura Cosmeticos SA Estee Lauder Chanel SA Puig SL J&J Avon Products Inc. Beiersdorf Elizabeth Arden, Inc. Other key market players To Get Detailed Insights Into The Market, Click Here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/perfume-market-102273 Increasing Demand for Premium Quality Perfumes to Favor Growth in Asia Pacific In terms of region, the market is grouped into Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and South America. Out of these, Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth stoked by rising working-class populaces, increasing awareness programs about personal hygiene, high levels of disposable incomes, and surging young population. Apart from these, several existing companies present in this region are working persistently to create new products in developing countries, such as China and India, to gain traction. Amongst all the countries in this region, China is likely to experience huge growth potential in the coming years. This growth is attributable to the rapid shift of consumers towards premium quality perfumes. North America, on the other hand, held USD 13,720 million perfume market share in the year 2018. The region would showcase a steady growth owing to the skyrocketing demand for high-end perfume and flourishing economy. Ajmal Launches Aristocrat in India While L'Oreal Unveils YSL Libre Perfume Key players present in the market are constantly engaging in R&D activities to launch state-of-the-art products and attract consumers. Through this, they are not only gaining more fragrances and scent market revenue but also expanding their product portfolio. Order a Complete Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102273 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends Key Insights Overview of the Parent/Related Markets Perfumes Consumption Trend Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Partnerships, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions Global Perfume Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Product (Value) Mass Premium By Type (Value) Extrait de Parfum Eau de Perfume Eau de Toilette Eau de Cologne Eau Fraiche By Distribution Channel (Value) Online Offline By End-User (Value) Men Women By Region (Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa TOC Continued.! Get your Customized Research Report on Perfume Market: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/perfume-market-102273 Below are a couple of the latest industry developments: January 2020 : Ajmal & Sons, a family-owned perfume business based in the U.A.E., launched its new range of perfumes at Shoppers Stop in India. The company teamed up with the latter to put up the celebrated fragrance brands new products. The companys luxurious and unique collection is called Prestige. It includes one of the global bestsellers named Aristocrat Eau De Parfum for Him & Her. : Ajmal & Sons, a family-owned perfume business based in the U.A.E., launched its new range of perfumes at Shoppers Stop in India. The company teamed up with the latter to put up the celebrated fragrance brands new products. The companys luxurious and unique collection is called Prestige. It includes one of the global bestsellers named Aristocrat Eau De Parfum for Him & Her. September 2019: L'Oreal, a personal care company headquartered in France, unveiled Libre, its latest Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) perfume. It took eight years to develop the perfume. The company would grow at a fast pace in Western Europe through the launch of this innovative product. Libre is made by utilizing orange blossom, vanilla, and diva lavender. The latter is a plant from Provence. The perfume is available across travel retail outlets in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, America, and India. Have a Look at Related Market Insight: Perfumery Glass Bottles Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Form (Translucent, Transparent, and Opaque), Capacity (0-50 ml, 50-150 ml, and >150 ml), and Regional Forecasts, 2019 2026 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Fortune Business Insights Linkedin | Twitter | Blogs Photo: The Canadian Press Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is stepping down as chairman of his company following an FBI raid on his Manhattan headquarters over sex assault allegations. "Recognizing the priority of the welfare of the thousands of Nygard employees, retail partners, loyal customers, vendors, suppliers and business partners, Peter Nygard has made the decision to step down as Chairman of the Nygard Companies and will divest his ownership interest," Ken Frydman, Nygard's spokesman, said in an email Tuesday night. The FBI searched the designer's Times Square offices Tuesday, less than two weeks after 10 women filed a lawsuit accusing Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas with cash and promises of modelling opportunities. Several plaintiffs in the suit said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them. Nygard has denied the sex-trafficking claims through his spokesman. "Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. He has not been charged, is not in custody and is co-operating with the investigation," Frydman said. Nygard International began in Winnipeg as a sportswear manufacturer. The company website says its retail division has more than 170 stores in North America. The class-action lawsuit says Nygard used his company, bribery of Bahamian officials and "considerable influence in the fashion industry" to recruit victims in the Bahamas, United States and Canada. It alleges he plied the young women with drugs and alcohol during "pamper parties" and kept a database on a corporate server containing the names of thousands of potential victims. Nygard's victims would have their passports taken from them when they were flown into the Bahamas, the lawsuit alleges, adding the designer "expected a sex act before he was willing to consider releasing any person" from his estate. Frydman said authorities also executed a "search and seizure" on Nygard's offices in California. He blamed the raids on a "conspiracy" involving Louis Bacon, the billionaire hedge fund manager who owns an estate next door to Nygard's in the Bahamas. "After being viciously and maliciously attacked for over a decade by Louis Bacon and his operatives, which has included millions of dollars in payoffs to women and others to make false claims against him, Peter Nygard has decided that his legal battles with Louis Bacon will no longer be a distraction to the Companies," Frydman said. LUCKNOW The police booked seven students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), including five females and two males, in connection with the ongoing anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protest on an important link road in Jeevangarh area of Aligarh. The protest began on Monday night, a day after the violence in Aligarh when a group of women staged a sit-in on the link road. The protest at Jeevangarh is illegal and does not have permission from the administration. We have lodged an FIR in this regard. Role of AMU students has been found in the protest, so a few of them are also named in the FIR, said SSP (Aligarh) Muniraj G. According to police sources, one Mohd Sajjad and Shadab, active in student politics at AMU, and five female students, are named in the FIR along with the two. For further action, we will share the details of these accused with the AMU administration, said the SSP. Over 150 unidentified protesters were also booked for rioting, inciting violence and obstructing officials in work. The said FIR was lodged on Tuesday, but the names of AMU students were added on Wednesday. AMU registrar Abdul Hamid said, The university administration will take suitable action against the students after reviewing evidence and information provided against them. The district administration had on Monday accused AMU students of inciting violence in the city. Meanwhile, police teams investigating the violence that erupted in Aligarh on Sunday, collected pictures of 73 people allegedly involved in the violence. The cops decided to put up these pictures at important crossings for the identification of the accused. These 73 people, including men and women, were identified after viewing video footage of the violence. We are seeking support of local police to identify them, said officials. Aligarh, located 162 km from Delhi, became tense after violence between police and anti-CAA protesters on February 23. The district administration deployed additional police force and booked over 2,000 people in 13 FIRs regarding the matter. Senior police officials were monitoring the situation in the district while internet services remained suspended in the district for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. They spent their weekends together at family events, a hookah lounge or a bar. Other times they took the kids out to play. They were together from Friday to the Sunday before she died. Now, shes left wondering if Brooks would still be alive if they had been together another day, but she had to go to work. FAIRFIELD A controversial affordable housing complex in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Fairfield has been greenlit by the towns zoning commission under duress. The commissioners said their moral objections were outweighed by legal obligations. Everyone in the room should understand that, on the basis of an 8-30g application, a developer does not have to comply with any of our regulations, Commission Chair Mathew Wagner said. Many of the things that we have identified here that we dont like about the plan courts look at that as convenience factors. The Fairfield Housing Corporation, a non-profit that falls under the Fairfield Housing Authority, cleared a hurtle in its ongoing process to get approval to build a five-building, 40-unit housing complex on a 2.5 acre lot at 980 High St.. Seventy percent of the complex would qualify as affordable housing. The decision came at the conclusion of hearings, postponements and amendments to the plan, which the commission first started discussion on in the fall. The application for the development fell under 8-30g, a state regulation which allows developers of affordable housing to ignore municipal laws and regulations in order to get affordable housing into communities that have less of that kind of housing than the state recommends. In order for a town body to deny an application under 8-30g, it needs to prove that the decision is necessary to protect substantial public interests in health, safety or other matters which the commission may legally consider. The body also needs to provide evidence that the factors are important enough that they outweigh the need for affordable housing and cannot be solved with reasonable changes to the plan. The Inland Wetlands Agency, part of the town Conservation Commission, denied the FHC the inland wetlands permit, claiming the development would disrupt the neighborhood economically, environmentally and historically. While the Housing Corporation appeals the decision in state court, the development cannot move forward. During the TPZ meeting, every member of the commission spoke of their disapproval of the plan. Their concerns ranged from issues with drainage and traffic to its effect on the environment. Still, nearly all of them did not think they had enough evidence to hold up in court. Commissioner Lenny Braman said while he agrees with the concerns about the plan, he thought that if the commission were to deny the application it would be setting up the courts to overrule us. Kathryn Braun, the lone dissenter in the commissions vote, said after hearings with experts brought in front of the commission by Joel Green, who represents neighbors opposing the plan, she felt they had enough evidence to deny the application. Do we care more about affordable housing, or could it be smaller scale? Braun asked. Why cant we consider that and let the court decide? Meg Francis, secretary of the TPZ, said she agreed with Braun, adding that the property did not have the acreage for the number of units planned. A discussion about cutting the number of apartments from 40 to 20 did not get any traction. Wagner said the courts look at the public records of the meetings the commission holds and judge cases by those comments. He said denying the application could result in the body losing credibility with the courts. Wagner said he does believe there are valid issues with the wetlands component that are already being decided in the courts. If indeed those issues are as significant and as real our courts will uphold that denial, Wagner said. In which case that application will not proceed. Head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Binh expressed his delight at the substantial and effective development of Vietnam US comprehensive partnership over the past years, especially in the context of the 25th anniversary of the normalisation of bilateral diplomatic ties this year. The Party and State of Vietnam treasure the relationship with the US and want to foster the bilateral comprehensive partnership between the two countries, with economic and trade ties as an important pillar, he said. The Party official added that Vietnam has directed competent agencies to regularly review the trade and investment ties with the US, with a view to promptly clearing obstacles and arising issues, including the trade deficit and market access, and creating more favourable conditions for US investors to do business in Vietnam. According to him, Vietnam is actively considering the possibility of stepping up cooperation projects with the US, including those in energy field. The host also welcomed the USs initiatives on regional cooperation in energy, science-technology, infrastructure, thereby attracting more US investment in Vietnam and facilitating Vietnams imports from the US. Kaproth, for his part, said he is impressed by Vietnams achievements in economic development over the past years. He also pledged to continue working closely with the Vietnamese Party and Government to strengthen Vietnam US ties. In view of the tense situation in the riot-hit areas of Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have asked National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to monitor the situation closely and ensure restoration of peace at the earliest, officials said. Immediately after visiting US President Donald Trump embarked on his return flight, 75-year old Doval undertook a late night tour of the riot-hit areas on Tuesday accompanied by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, newly-appointed Special Commissioner S N Shrivastava and other senior officers, they said. The former Intelligence Bureau chief, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister, visited the affected areas, including Jaffrabad and Seelampur, where he met police officers and gave them necessary directives, besides meeting leaders of different communities to assuage the tension, the officials said. Later Doval presented his on-the-spot assessment of the situation to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by the prime minister about the steps taken to quell the violence and restore normalcy in areas under the grip of communal riots over the amended citizenship law, they said. Besides the prime minister, the CCS, the country's top-most body on strategic affairs, comprises Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Doval again visited the affected areas on Wednesday with senior officers where he met with locals and assured them that the situation is under control. He said he was there on the instructions of the prime minister and the home minister. "Police is working hard. Only some criminals were involved in this. One should try resolving issues and not increasing them. There were incidents earlier but today it is calm. Locals want peace. We have full faith there will be peace," he said. Doval returned to North Block to brief Shah in the afternoon about the current law and order situation. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar and Amulya Patnaik attended the meeting. During the meeting, Shah, who was himself monitoring situation closely till late in the night, and Doval discussed the situation and chalked out future strategy for early restoration of peace in the national capital, the officials said. Twenty-four people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. Doval is known for his hands-on approach and is considered a close confidante of the prime minister and his go-to man for any crisis situation. He had camped in Jammu and Kashmir for more than a fortnight after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in August last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Navy launch search for missing crewman after Phuket fishing boat sinks PHUKET: A search has been launched for a Myanmar worker now missing at sea after the fishing boat he was on sank south of Phuket earlier today (Feb 26). marineSafetymilitary By Eakkapop Thongtub Wednesday 26 February 2020, 05:34PM The fishing boat sank just 2.9 nautical miles north of Racha Noi Island, south of Phuket. Image: Royal Thai Navy Officers from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Third Area Command at Cape Panwa were notified at about midday that a fishing boat had sunk about 2.9 nautical miles north of Racha Noi Island. Vice Admiral Cherngchai Chomcherngpat, Commander of the RTN Third Area Command identified the sunken fishing boat as the Jor. Kongwattana 54. There were seven people on board at the time the boat sank, he said. Six of them were rescued by the crew of another fishing boat, the Chor. Namcharoenchai 6. However, one Myanmar national crewman has not yet been recovered, V/Adm Cherngchai said. The Third Area Command has dispatched three patrol boats to search for the missing crewman, V/Adm Cherngchai explained. At this stage, the search teams have not reported any progress in the search for the missing man or the cause of the boat sinking. V/Adm Cherngchai told The Phuket News. We will announce any more details as soon as we know more information, he said. While you have been using smartphones since they first came out, some people have stuck around for a feature phone for its simplicity. Reuters Warren Buffett -- worlds fourth-richest person -- is known as the billionaire who advises others to spend responsibly. Owning 5.6 percent of one of worlds most valued tech company -- Apple -- for the longest period of time he only used a regular flip feature phone as his daily driver. However, it looks like the life of the Samsung Haven flip phone has finally come to an end as the 89-year-old billionaire has finally revealed in a recent interview with CNBC that he has finally made the switch to an iPhone. While he didnt mention the exact model that hes got his hands on, he did specifically mention that he will be using the smartphone only for making phone calls. He also mentioned that he didnt really buy the iPhone, but it was gifted to him. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook has apparently been trying to get Warren Buffett on the iPhone since quite some time now. Reuters In a previous Bloomberg interview, Tim Cook has admitted that he will personally fly to Omaha, Nebraska to help Buffett with tech support if ever such a situation arose. In case you were wondering the iPhone is Warren Buffetts first Apple gadget, it isnt. He has been an advent user of the iPad that he uses for browsing the internet for research as well as looking at stock prices. Buffett is one of Apples largest shareholders. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway -- which is also one of the most valuable companies in the United States, valued at more than $560 billion. When did you buy your first smartphone? Do you miss owning a feature phone? Let us know in the comments below. RACINE The Racine Unified School Districts Governance Committee has voted to require a supermajority to make changes to its proposed referendum-related tax rate policy. The committee added to the proposed policy on Monday that any changes made to the policy after its approval would require a three-fourths supermajority of the full board. That means seven of the nine members would have to vote in favor of any changes. I think three-fourths sends a message, said Matthew Hanser, the School Boards vice president. If were going to make these modifications, we need to have real conversations as a board. The proposed policy aims to hold the superintendent accountable for maintaining a flat rate for the portion of the tax levy that funds referendums, building construction and maintenance. The policy would cap that number at $2.31, the existing mill rate for those purposes. The proposed policy does not pertain to the entire tax rate, which this year is $9.49 per $1,000 in assessed valuation. The School Board is looking to pass this policy prior to asking voters via a referendum on the April 7 ballot to collection more than $1 billion beyond its revenue limit over the next 30 years. If the voters approve, that money would fund various levels of renovations at district schools as well as new buildings to replace some that are set to close. School Board member Dennis Wiser, chairman of the Governance Committee, clarified that if voters approve the referendum, it sets a state-enforceable legal limit on annual district tax collections, while the $2.31 limit is only board policy. In at least some years, the referendum would allow amounts significantly higher than the $2.31 limit to be collected. Marc Duff, the districts chief financial officer, said a policy of this sort is something new for school districts. I dont think other school districts have done this type of thing, he said. A hard cap The board had initially discussed the possibility of allowing the district to exceed the $2.31 limit only if it coincided with a drop in the overall tax rate, but decided to nix that possibility on Monday. I think that in terms of having a concise, clear story, that those few extra cents that we might levy detract from the consistency of the message, said School Board member Mike Frontier, via phone. Wiser said that if future School Boards found themselves in the position of being able to exceed the $2.31 referendum-related tax rate cap while also lowering the overall tax rate, they could vote to change the policy. After about 45 minutes of discussion on Monday, the Governance Committee voted unanimously to forward the proposed policy to the School Board for a vote on March 3. The Governance Committee is made up of the entire School Board, and all members were present during Mondays meeting except for Frontier, who listened in via phone but did not participate in the vote. I think three-fourths sends a message. If were going to make these modifications, we need to have real conversations as a board. Matthew Hanser, Racine Unified Board vice president Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. President Donald Trump. Reuters Amid mounting criticism over his administration's preparedness and response to the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump fought back by tweeting during Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate. "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world," Trump tweeted. "It was opposed by the Dems, 'too soon', but turned out to be the correct decision." "So far, by the way, we have not had one death," he added. "Let's keep it that way!" Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. As Democrats at Tuesday night's presidential debate in South Carolina piled onto President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, there was a quick response. Trump began tweeting during the debate to defend his response to the novel coronavirus. The tweets came minutes after Democratic candidates went after Trump's response to the virus. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City hit Trump for firing key government officials normally in charge of epidemics, and former Vice President Joe Biden touted the Obama administration's actions on the Ebola outbreak. In a reference to Trump proclaiming himself a "very stable genius," Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont ribbed the president over his prediction that the virus was going away. In a dig at both Trump and an earlier campaign-website promotion by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota recommended that Americans visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, Cdc.gov, to stay safe. Story continues Trump rounded up his response by hailing a lack of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States so far. The US as of Monday had about 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19, most of which were people caught up in the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Read the original article on Business Insider Joseph Kishore for US president: "Free Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning!" As the Socialist Equality Partys candidate for US president, I condemn the torture and persecution of WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange. The SEP opposes Assanges extradition to the United States. We demand immediate freedom for Assange and for whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who remains in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury convened to file additional charges against Assange. The extradition hearings that begin formally on Monday are a legal travesty. Throughout his incarceration in the UKs Belmarsh prison, Assange has been denied the most basic requirements for his legal case. The United Nations Nils Melzer has said that the conditions in which he has been held amount to torture. This by itself nullifies any legal proceedings and requires his immediate freedom. Assange is a political prisoner. He has been targeted because he has exposed the truth. He exposed the crimes of American imperialism and the ruling class. He did what journalists should do, inform the population about what is really going on. For this he has been hounded by Swedish prosecutors, forced to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, spied on by American intelligence agencies, dragged from his only place of security by British police, imprisoned in a maximum security prison, and targeted for rendition to the United States, where he would face life in prison or worse. Those responsible for the international witch-hunt against Assange include the governments of the United States, Britain, Sweden, and Australia. They include the media, which has shamelessly and relentlessly slandered Assange. They also include the pseudo-left organizations that have spread lies to justify his persecution. All those who have actively or tacitly supported this pseudo-legal abomination have upon them a black mark that can never be washed clean. Here in the United States, the entire political establishment has participated in the persecution of Assange. The Trump administration is continuing the vendetta against him initiated by the Obama administration, as part of its wholesale assault on democratic rights. Trump leads a government of the far-right, with distinctly authoritarian characteristics. He is sending Swat teams into cities throughout the country to terrorize immigrant communities and carry out mass round-ups. He has threatened to unleash the military against countries throughout the world. He displays complete contempt for basic democratic rights. However, it is the Democratic Party that has played the leading role in targeting WikiLeaks. From the beginning of the Trump administration, there were mass protests against his fascistic policies. The Democrats worked to smother these protests and channel them behind their own reactionary, pro-war agenda. What is the central issue upon which the Democrats have waged their supposed opposition to Trump? That he is an agent of Vladimir Putin, that he has failed to pursue an aggressive enough policy against Russia. A central aim of the anti-Russia campaign, which has assumed levels that can only be compared to the McCarthyite witch-hunts of the 1950s, has been to fight out foreign policy differences within the ruling class. An additional motivation, by no means secondary, has been to criminalize domestic opposition. The targeting of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange is part of an effort to tar all opposition to the American imperialism and the policies of the ruling class as the operations of a foreign power. This is now being revived in the 2020 elections, in the form of unsubstantiated claims, originating from US intelligence agencies, that Putin is intervening in order to bolster the campaign of Bernie Sanders. To further this reactionary narrative, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other corporate outlets relentlessly smeared Assange as a Russian agent and depicted him as the linchpin of a conspiracy hatched in Moscow to deprive Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton of the presidency in the 2016 US elections. This is and has always been a lie. It is a lie used to justify the torture of Assange. It is a lie used as a pretext for internet censorship. It is a lie used to suppress free speech and a free press. In the 2020 elections, the extradition of Assange is not a subject for discussion or debate. None of the major Democratic Party candidates have even spoken about the extradition hearings, let alone opposed them. They support what is being done to Assange because they support American imperialism. This includes the supposed socialist Bernie Sanders. Sanders has won widespread support in the Democratic Party primaries from workers and young people because of his calls for a political revolution against the billionaire class and his appeal to anti-war sentiment. However, Sanders main role has been to try to keep mass social opposition within the framework of the right-wing Democratic Party, to promote the fiction that anything can be done through this instrument of the military-intelligence agencies and Wall Street. In a recent interview given to the New York Times, Sanders declared that he would consider military force to preempt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test. He also declared that the United States should consider Russia an adversary or even an enemy. The Democrats and Sanders are also silent on the continued incarceration of Chelsea Manning, who has stood as a model of courage in her refusal to testify before the grand jury against Assange. For this, she has been imprisoned for nearly a year for contempt of court. Just this past week, Manning filed another motion for her release. I have been separated from my loved ones, deprived of sunlight, and could not even attend my mothers funeral, she wrote. It is easier to endure these hardships now than to cooperate to win back some comfort, and live the rest of my life knowing that I acted out of self-interest and not principle. Manning has been fined nearly half a million dollars, and she could face hundreds of thousands more in fines and another seven months in jail if her appeal for release is not granted. The fight to free Assange and Manning, and to defend democratic rights, must be connected to the fight against imperialist war and the capitalist system. Their persecution takes place under conditions of growing class conflict and social unrest throughout the world. The capitalist oligarchs and war criminals are well aware that their policies are encountering mass resistance. By making an example of Assange, they are seeking to silence all opposition. If Assange is extradited to the US, the same can be done to any journalist, publisher or activist who falls foul of the American government. The greatest mistake would be to harbor illusions that Assange will be freed through the actions of any faction of the state. Fruitless appeals directed toward Sanders in the US or Corbyn in the UK are worse than useless. They can only serve to strengthen the political institutions and parties responsible for Assanges persecution. The working class must fight to free Assange and Manning and to defend democratic rights through its independent organization. The past year has seen the eruption of major demonstrations and strikes throughout the world. In the United States, strike action is at its highest levels in three decades. There is growing support for socialism and opposition to capitalism among workers and youth. In these elections, the Socialist Equality Party pledges to connect the fight to free Assange and Manning with the independent political mobilization of the working class against war, fascism, authoritarianism, inequality and the capitalist system. By Associated Press CHICAGO: Two men and a woman fired nearly 20 shots into a convenience store on Chicago's South Side, killing an 18-year-old woman and wounding four other people, police said. The three walked up to Ali's Minimart around 5:30 pm Tuesday, looked inside and opened fire, Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said. All three fired shots, apparently without saying a word, he said. We know of no conversation. At this point, we don't have a motive, Beck said. The three then sped off in a car. Jaya Beemon, who apparently was shopping, was struck in the neck. She was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said. The four who were wounded include an 18-year-old woman shot in the back and taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Chicago Tribune reported. Also being treated at hospitals were a 17-year-old girl shot in the arm, chest and ankle, a 19-year-old man shot in the leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and a 63-year-old man shot in the leg and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was reported stable. Last month, two gunmen fired into a barbershop on the West Side, wounding five people, including three children. An East Chicago, Indiana, man was arrested Sunday in connection with that shooting. Navi Mumbai Six boys aged 13 to 16 were rescued from various shops in Turbhe and Vashi on Tuesday in an operation to clamp down on child labour in Navi Mumbai. The anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) arrested five employers. Most children were found working long hours for 1,000 to 2,000 a month. We received information that minor children were working in shops. This flouts the Juvenile Justice Act. We raided five small-time shops along with the labour officer and rescued the boys, who were working in kitchens, said Sunita Bhoir, assistant inspector at the AHTU. A 13-year-old boy, who was working at a tea stall at Turbhe, used to get 1,500 a month . The tea stall owner, Rajkishor Yadav, 43, was arrested. A 16-year-old boy who ran away from his Rajasthan home was rescued from a lunch home in Turbhe. He worked and stayed at the shop and was paid only 1,000 for working almost the entire day, said the police. The 22-year-old shop owner, Chelaram Chowdhari, was arrested. Two boys aged 15 were rescued from another restaurant in Turbhe. The boys, hailing from Malda, were working there for three months. Another 16-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh was rescued from a juice centre while a 15-year-old boy was rescued from a catering service in APMC fruit market. Sayyed Ali, Baburam Pal, 55, and Subhash Gupta, 49, were arrested. All the five men were handed over to the APMC police station and later released on bail. The accused were booked under Juvenile Justice Act and Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. While the children are sent to childrens remand home, the APMC police will investigate to trace the childrens parents or guardians to unite them with their family. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Former vice president Joe Biden said after the South Carolina debate Tuesday that it is not likely that the nomination of Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) will lead to record levels of Democratic turnout. The fact is, the idea that Bernies going to bring out more people than Barack and I brought out in 2012 or 2008, is just not likely, Biden told CBS correspondent Major Garrett after the debate. And you look whats happened so far youve got to be able to go out and get mainstream Democrats, and youve got to be able to go out and get independents, and some Republicans to vote, to bring this country together. And you do that by talking sensibly about whats at stake. Sanders has repeatedly raised the notion that the 2020 Democratic nominee will need to have a huge voter turnout to defeat President Trump. Democrats need to have the largest voter turnout in the history of the United States, he said at the debate on Tuesday. In January, Sanders criticized Biden for a record that lacked energy and excitement. What is imperative is that we defeat Trump, the most dangerous president in modern history, and that means youre going to have to have a huge voter turnout. Youre going to have to get working people excited, youre going to have to get young people excited, Sanders told CNNs Anderson Cooper. . . . If were going to beat Trump, we need turnout. And to get turnout you need energy and excitement. And I just dont think that that kind of record is going to bring forth the energy that we need to defeat Trump. Joe Biden helped lead the effort for the war in Iraq. He voted for trade deals that cost us millions of jobs. He pushed a bankruptcy bill that has been disastrous for working families. That is not the kind of record that will bring forth the energy we need to defeat Trump. pic.twitter.com/6LTlYrsK5Z Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 7, 2020 Voter turnout has been relatively average in the Democratic primarys early states. New Hampshire saw a record turnout but numbers fell short of the 2008 primary turnout in Iowa and Nevada. Data shows that Sanders likely decreased his 2020 primary support in Iowa and New Hampshire compared to 2016, with a slight increase in Nevada. More from National Review The mother of convicted serial killer Cosmo DiNardo says she sought help from 10 different psychiatrists and even had a priest exorcise demons from their home prior to him murdering four young men. DiNardo, now 23, is serving life in prison after pleading guilty to killing the four men and putting their bodies in a pig roaster on his family's Pennsylvania farm in July 2017. His mother, Sandra Affatato DiNardo, is now opening up about what she says was a rapid decline in her son's mental health and how she tried to get him help in the year before the grisly murders. It comes after she filed a lawsuit against one of her son's psychiatrists who said he thought DiNardo's mental health was improving and subsequently lowered his medication around the time of the killings. Cosmo DiNardo, now 23, is serving life in prison after pleading guilty to killing the four men and putting their bodies in a pig roaster on his family's Pennsylvania farm in July 2017 In an interview with Philadelphia Magazine, Sandra said her son's issues started at some point in 2015 after he broke up with his girlfriend and wasn't able to fulfill his plan of becoming a Navy SEAL. He was diagnosed with major depressive order in February 2016. She noticed visible changes in her son a month after he suffered head injuries and was briefly bound to a wheelchair following an ATV crash in May 2016 on their farm. She said DiNardo became physically aggressive towards her and refused to eat her cooking because he thought she was trying to poison him. Sandra said doctors gave her son strong anti-depressants but the medication caused him to put on about 100 pounds and saw her once-muscular son develop 'man boobs'. DiNardo was institutionalized three times in five months in 2016 for his mental health. He started seeing Christian Kohler, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, in November 2016. He was being treated for bipolar, schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia. His mother, Sandra Affatato DiNardo, is now opening up about what she says was a rapid decline in her son's mental health and how she tried to get him help in the year before the grisly murders DiNardo was sentenced to life in prison in May 2018 after pleading guilty to all four murders In total, Sandra said she sought help from 10 psychiatrists at eight different facilities to treat her son. Sandra said that, in desperation, she also asked her local priest to spiritually cleanse their home to ward off any evil In total, Sandra said she sought help from 10 psychiatrists at eight different facilities to treat her son. Sandra said that, in desperation, she also asked her local priest to spiritually cleanse their home to ward off any evil. She said by Christmas 2016, her once model son was on numerous anti-psychotic drugs to help with his violent outbursts. His mother said she begged Kohler - the psychiatrist she is now suing - for help because she feared he would kill her. Kohler responded by changing up the medication, which Sandra said made a noticeable difference. Despite several violent outbursts in the months that followed, Sandra said Kohler noted that DiNardo's mental health was improving a month before the killings. DiNardo's murder rampage in July 2017 took place over two days. In between that time, DiNardo had an appointment with Kohler that he attended with his mother. The bodies of three victims were discovered within days by police during their investigation. DiNardo later led authorities to his first victim's body DiNardo pleaded guilty to all four murders and was sentenced to life in prison. His cousin Sean Kratz, 22, (right) was convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses By then, he had already killed one of his victims. On that day, Kohler took him off some his medications and noted that he posed 'no clear risk to self or others'. DiNardo then went home and, with the help of his cousin Sean Kratz, killed his additional three victims. Sandra partly blames Kohler for her son's decline because he was aware of his 'complex and dangerous history of psychosis, suicidal/homicidal thoughts, grandiose speech and violent behavior'. In the lawsuit, Sandra accuses the psychiatrist of 'grossly and negligently' allowing DiNardo to 'stop taking his medication, lapse into remission and kill four men'. All four victims were shot after being lured to the farm with the belief that DiNardo would sell them marijuana. He killed 19-year-old Jimi Patrick first and buried his body on the farm. The four victims: Dean Finocchiaro, Mark Sturgis, Jimi Patrick and Thomas Meo. They were all lured to DiNardo's property with the promise of buying marijuana DiNardo returned the following day with his cousin and shot the other three men: Dean Finocchiaro, 19; Mark Sturgis, 22; and Thomas Meo, 21. While the first two died from their gunshot wounds, Meo was shot in the spine and paralyzed. DiNardo then crushed him with a backhoe because he had run out of ammunition. He then tried to set all three bodies on fire in a pig roaster before burying the remains elsewhere on the property. DiNardo and his cousin then went and ate cheese-steaks. The bodies of three victims were discovered within days by police during their investigation. DiNardo later led authorities to his first victim's body. DiNardo was sentenced to life in prison in May 2018 after pleading guilty to all four murders. Following his arrest and subsequent sentencing, Sandra said the father of one of the teen Columbine mass shooters reached out to her to offer any help he could. She said it left her feeling distressed her son was being put in the same category. 'My son wasn't this horrible animal that everybody says he was. He lost his life a year before those kids. He's a prisoner in his own brain. He's lost forever,' she said. Mamaroneck Ribbon Cutting Ceremony There are now 46 C2 locations in the New York metropolitan area. The Mamaroneck Chamber of Commerce welcomed the new C2 Education at the official ribbon cutting ceremony. Sean Fontno, the Director of the new C2 location, is proud to join the Mamaroneck community. We look forward to helping area students realize their full academic potential in the coming years. Fontno comes to the Mamaroneck location after opening and running C2 of Ridgefield for four years. While at Ridgefield, Fontno and his team helped students attain admission to colleges including Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Emory, Michigan, UNC, Brandeis, and Northeastern. Nationally, C2 has a proven track record of helping students gain acceptance to the countrys top colleges. C2s class of 2019 received over 3,200 top 100 college acceptances and $45 million in scholarship offers. The top 100 colleges & universities are according to U.S. News & World Reports Best College Rankings. For more information about the new location, call 914-732-1500, visit C2Education.com/mamaroneck, or stop by the center. About C2 Education C2 Education (http://www.C2education.com) was founded in 1997 by David Kim and Jim Narangajavana, two Harvard students offering private tutoring programs from their dorm room, and has grown to over 190 centers nationwide serving over 15,000 students and their families. C2 is the only service that combines in-person test prep, tutoring, and college admissions counseling into a comprehensive, personalized program that supports students on the journey to their dream college. C2 Education is headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia. Follow the company on Facebook at facebook.com/c2education. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 00:26:31|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Photo taken on Feb. 6, 2020 shows the site of the plane accident at the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. A pilot of the aircraft, which slided off a runway in an airport in Istanbul earlier this month, was arrested on Feb. 24 for causing the death of three people and injuring 180 others, local media reported. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui) ISTANBUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A pilot of the aircraft, which slided off a runway in an airport in Istanbul earlier this month, was arrested on Monday for causing the death of three people and injuring 180 others, local media reported. According to the state-run Anadolu agency, prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued the detention of the captain pilot for "causing death and injuries by negligence." The incident happened on Feb. 5 when the aircraft with Turkey's Pegasus Airline coming from the western province of Izmir skidded off the runway shortly after landing at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. Many universities in HCM City are providing online career counselling for high school students since they are unable to attend school due to COVID-19 fears. A teacher of FPT University in HCM provides online career counselling for his students. Photo tuoitre.vn Soon after the Lunar New Year holidays in the early part of the year personnel from higher education institutions and vocational schools usually visit high schools to showcase their offerings and provide career counselling to students. The students apply to universities, colleges and vocational schools after the national high school graduation examination at the end of June. The COVID-19 outbreak has meant schools have been closed for more than three weeks now and university staff have been unable to visit high schools. They have instead used livestreaming on Facebook fanpages to answer questions from students. Universities using this have included members of the Vietnam National University-HCM City, University of Technology and Education, University of Economics, University of Technology, and University of Food Industry. According to Tran Nam, head of communication and enterprise relationship at the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the universitys livestreams attract many high school students and their parents. Nhan Van Chao Ban (University of Social Sciences and Humanities Welcomes You) has been livestreamed on its fanpage and Youtube. On February 14 staff from the Vietnam National University-HCM Citys seven member universities organised an online counselling programme. The programme provided information about the VNUHCMs examination for assessment of capacity, which is recognised by many universities in the country for enrolment, new majors and other features. Assoc Prof Dr Do Van Dung, rector of the city University of Technology and Education, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that online counselling needs internet infrastructure and modern equipment, and the university spent VND1.5 billion (US$64,535) for setting up a studio and television channel broadcasting on its website. Broadcasting on TV channels The Department of Education and Training in Dong Nai Province near HCM City has tied up with Dong Nai Radio-Television to broadcast a programme on lessons for ninth and twelfth grade students since schools remain closed. The broadcast began on February 17 and will continue until schools reopen. The department has selected the best teachers to teach students on the programme. The Department of Education and Training in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long also broadcasts a similar programme. The Ministry of Education and Training has suggested that provinces and cities should reopen schools on March 2 if the disease appears under control. It has approved extension of the school year until the end of June, a month later than usual. VNS HCM City high schools begin to take career counselling seriously Many high schools in HCM City have begun to conduct tests to match their students aptitudes with future careers, take them to universities or bring university staff to talk them about careers. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: The number of Azerbaijani servicemen wounded and martyred as a result of ceasefire violation by Armenia since its announcement day has been revealed, Head of the Special Investigation Department of the Military Prosecutors Office Emil Tagiyev said at a joint press conference of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor Generals Office in connection with the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, Trend reports Feb. 26. Tagiyev noted that from the day the ceasefire was announced, a total of 856 Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded or became martyrs. As part of criminal cases on crimes against humanity committed in Khojaly, Garadaghly and other settlements of Azerbaijan, on the articles of genocide, deportation and others of Azerbaijans Criminal Code, 305 persons were proven guilty, and a decision was made to bring them to criminal liability, said Tagiyev. Among these persons, Arsen Baghdasaryan and Karen Dasaryan were prosecuted in Gazakh district, the department head noted. The work is underway to investigate war crimes committed in Nagorno Karabakh and other occupied Azerbaijani territories, to establish a full circle of victims and to prosecute other parties involved. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. "Naked wine," "raw wine," and "biodynamic wine" have reached a feverish peak among trend-setting oenophiles. But are these fermented beverages actually better for the environment? Like many a bourgeois millennial, I like to dabble in drinking trends and new, hip restaurants. Oftentimes, it's not necessarily "new," but rather, new to American diners. If there's yet niche offering that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon (looking at you, shishito peppers and beet salads), it's natural wine. But what exactly is it? It's a concept, not a category Let's start with a very basic overview of the wine-making process, which is generally pretty complex. To make wine, you grow and pick grapes, and then process them into wine via fermentation. There are many stages where "natural" plays a part or entirely opts out. The following processes often fall under the umbrella of natural wine: Natural wine is... made from grapes not sprayed with herbicide or pesticides hand-picked, not by machines fermented through native yeast (the stuff floating around in the barn air) rather than commercial, lab-grown yeast additive-free (no sugar, acid, egg whites, etc. added during the process) often sulfites-free often cloudy, because it's not strained It might be more helpful to think of natural wine as what isn't in it, rather than what is. Conventional winemakers uses a lot of technical interventions in order to mass-produce a product that tastes relatively the same in every bottle and lasts on the shelves for a long time. People think that natural wine is a fad or a new thing, but its the traditional way to make wine, Krista Scruggs, a winemaker and farmer based in Vermont and Texas, explained to Vox. Its conventional wine thats actually new. Sometimes conventional wine practices can be as innocent as adding a bit of sugar for body (common in the Burgundy region). Or, it can be as unsettling as this list of 60 approved additives U.S. winemakers can toss in without mentioning on their label. Gelatin, egg whites, and isinglass (made from fish bladders) are often added to clarify wine, but, to the dismay of many vegans, are not mentioned on the bottle itself. Maureen O'Connor writes in Grub Street that "the semiotics of what counts as 'natural,' and why, and who gets to decide, can be a source of rancor." So while the debate continues to rage on, consider befriending someone at a locally owned wine shop and getting their personal recommendations this is one product you shouldn't rely solely on online reviews for. What does it taste like? L. Reynolds Now that we've got the scientific stuff out of the way, we can get to the juicy part: is it any good? I'm not a sommelier by any means, but the natural wines I've had a chance to try run the gamut from funky-fresh to pickle juice to delightfully refreshing. "In natural wine," O'Connor writes, "the resulting imperfections are not really imperfections; they are the goal." In that respect, they're like any wine you might choose off the shelf; you don't really know until you sample a bunch! Some people swear that the risk of a hangover is lowered with natural wine, because there are no added sugars or sulfites. It might help to think of natural wines as cousins of kombucha or sisters of sauerkraut. When you're working with wild yeasts and healthy soil chock-full of microorganisms, flavors are bound to get a little funky. O'Connor explains that you'll discover "...white wines that can be amber, orange, and cloudy. Red wines that resemble fizzy beet juice and occluded amethysts. The flavors can be intense and unfamiliar savory, salty, and startlingly sour." Are these wines better for the environment? Technically, yes. The grapes used in natural wines are usually grown organically, and often with regenerative or biodynamic farming practices. But, just like with organic foods, there are also small winemakers using organic grapes who can't afford those official certification labels on their bottle. Perhaps what is most striking about natural wine is the tender loving care winemakers give their soil. Since they're creating wine without relying on additives to fix flaws, their soil must be in tip-top shape. Which brings us to regenerative agriculture, a hot topic in environmental circles these days. Katy Severson writes in Bon Appetit that, "Long degraded by industrial agriculture, regenerating our soil is one of our most promising solutions to climate change, and the natural wine movement fits...naturally...into that conversation." Of course, any wine, natural or not, is subject to our supply chain and its many wasteful practices serving the global economy. Wine is still being shipped or flown thousands of miles around the world and stored in air-conditioned trucks, pumping out noxious fumes. Buying domestic wine certainly helps lower your carbon footprint, though many of us aren't lucky enough to live within walking distance of a winery. But individual actions do matter, particularly when you're purchasing items based on a growing trend. Choosing to support a winemaker who is just as devoted to keeping her soil healthy and the natural ecosystem happy as she is creating the next great bottle of wine certainly deserves a toast in my book. In the midst of climate change, natural wine and its diversity might be one way forward for traditional winemakers. Scientists have suggested that more resilient varietals of wine grapes, ones able to withstand hotter temperatures and drought, should be explored. Severson believes that many of the natural wine producers she interviewed see themselves as activists in their own way, writing, "[They] think the natural wine movement can lead the way to a much larger revolution against Big Agriculture." Less-processed wine, sustainable farming practices, gentler hangovers, and rebelling against Big Ag? I'll drink to that. Seven Portland chefs, three restaurants, two bars, a baker and a restaurateur earned semifinalist nominations for the 2020 James Beard Awards, the James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday. Sometimes called the Oscars of food, the James Beard Awards seek to recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields, according to the foundation. The awards ceremony, now in its 30th year, was named for James Beard, the native Oregonian cook and cookbook author who went on to become one of Americas first celebrity chefs. Portland has been shut out at the chef and restaurant awards since 2017, when Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quinonez Denton took home the Best Chef Northwest award. The so-called long list of semifinalists includes Portland representatives across a half-dozen national and regional categories. Those include best new restaurant spots for the Thai-spiced Texas barbecue at Eem, The Oregonians 2020 Restaurant of the Year, as well as the modern Indonesian fare at Gado Gado; Outstanding Chef for Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon and Canard; Outstanding Baker for Kim Boyce of Bakeshop; Outstanding Bar for Expatriate; Outstanding Restaurant for Ha VL; Outstanding Wine Program for Canard; Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer for Brianne Day of Day Wines of Dundee and Andre Hueston Mack, Maison Noir Wines in McMinnville; and Outstanding Restaurateur for Akkapong Earl Ninsom of Langbaan, Hat Yai, PaaDee and Eem. Portlands best chance of making the finalist list -- and earning an award -- comes in the regional Best Chef Northwest & Pacific category, redrawn this year to include Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska but not Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, which join the Mountain district. (The change comes amid other shifts, with California and Texas each given their own regional categories starting this year.) Portlands regional semifinalists include Peter Cho of Han Oak, Gregory Gourdet of Departure, Katy Millard of Coquine, Sarah Minnick of Lovelys Fifty Fifty, Kristen Murray of Maurice, Ryan Roadhouse of Nodoguro, and Naoko Tamura of Shizuku. Also named to the semifinalist list were Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, the Seattle chef duo behind Portlands Revelry. -- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Mobile phone brands Samsung featured at the top and Apple iPhone the next in the most desired brands list in 2020. At the third slot is again Samsung, but in the consumer electronics segment, followed by Sony TV and Maruti Suzuki. For Samsung Mobiles, this is the fourth entry having been topping the list in 2013, 2015 and 2018. From a group level or house of brand perspective, the Tatas have 30 brands in the list followed by Godrej with 11 and Amul, Reliance, LG with nine each brands in the list complied by TRA Research. The laptop maker Dell secures the sixth rank, followed by Samsung TV, Amul Milk, Honda Activa and Hyundai at the tenth sot. The list has 394 new brand entries, N Chandramouli, chief executive of TRA Research said here on Wednesday. The list is based on the consumer expressions of desire on 36 intangible attributes of a brand, he said, adding the 2020 list has 1,000 brands across 326 categories and 39 super-categories. However, the homegrown brands dominate the top 100 of the list featuring 42 brands, followed by 15 American, 12 Japanese and 11 Korean brands. Six German brands also feature of which three are luxury car brands followed by four British brands, and three Chinese mobile brands. The ranking is based on inputs from 1,454 consumer-influencers across 14 cities and generated nearly 3 million data points and 5,000 unique brand mentions, Chandramouli said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOS ANGELES Jose cared for the bottle-fed babies, 700 of them in all. He knew a calf was healthy if her eyes were bright and her appetite hearty. Droopy ears were a bad sign. He was attuned to calf coughs. His job was to do all things a mom would do to look after her young, said Mary Kraft, who employed Jose and his brother, Juan, both immigrants from Mexico, for a decade at her Quail Ridge Dairy in Colorado. Then about a year ago, the brothers informed Ms. Kraft that they were returning to Mexico. They had amassed enough savings in the land of opportunity to resume their lives back where they had started. The pair are among a growing number of Mexicans who have been departing the United States in recent years, part of a reverse migration that has helped push the undocumented population to its lowest level in more than 15 years. The ministry said on February 24 that aside from re-counting Vietnamese workers in the countries and territories affected by the disease, it is devising plans for assisting them and quarantining those returning home. It is also carrying out diplomatic solutions to exchange information with managing agencies of the host countries, while working out response measures in case foreign markets stop receiving workers from Vietnam. Notably, the MoLISA has launched a mobile app for connecting and providing urgent support for the labourers, especially those in the RoK and Japan, and those taking part in the programmes implemented by the Centre of Overseas Labour. Additionally, it is also reviewing the number of foreign labourers in Vietnam who came from or transited through the areas affected by COVID-19, particularly in China, the RoK and Japan, according to Chief of the MoLISAs Office Nguyen Ba Hoan. This ministry is coordinating with relevant agencies to build quarantine and treatment plans for foreign labourers and experts in Vietnam. It is also seeking ways to help businesses in case they face a shortage of foreign workers and experts as a result of COVID-19 outbreaks in other countries, he added. Peter Parker at Literary Review: Unlike much that was extracted from India, these paintings were not plunder, and those who created them were properly remunerated and often received due credit for their work. When annotating the paintings of birds and animals she commissioned, Lady Impey, wife of the chief justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta, left a space for the artists names to be inscribed in Persian. Similarly, the outstanding studies of animals commissioned between 1795 and 1818 by the surgeon Francis Buchanan bear the inscription Haludar Pinxt, which means that this Bengali artist became known in Europe during his lifetime. Indeed, his image of an Indian Sambar deer, sent to the Companys library in Leadenhall Street in 1808, was cited at the time in French and German scientific journals precisely because it had been painted on the spot and provided the first accurate record of the animals appearance. It was also, like many of these paintings, a work of art in its own right, a perfect example of the fruitful confluence of European science and Indian sensibility. more here. Mary Mwikali Kavuu, the main suspect in the murder of German national, Detering Herman, 78, on Tuesday almost made a big blunder after she temporarily pleaded guilty to killing her lover. Mwikali, who was arraigned at the Malindi High Court, admitted to killing her lover on January 28 in Malindi, shocking court attendees. However, High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi, sensed that Mwikali had not understood the charge, which had been read to her in English language. Mwikali had, initially, suggested that she killed Herman while defending herself after he attacked her. I saved myself from death, self and defense (sic). It is true [I killed Herman], she said. On sensing that that a plea of guilty was going to be entered by the judge, the suspects lawyer, Enrica Ruto, who was also shocked, leaned over to the dock and informed Mwikali that she had, actually, admitted to killing Herman. In Kenya, a person who is convicted of murder faces death by hanging. A perplexed Mwikali immediately said she did not mean to plead guilty to the charge, and that she had limited understanding of English language. Justice Reuben Nyakundi decided to reread the charge to Mwikali, this time around in Swahili language, and not English. Mwikali pleaded not guilty to the charge. The judge set March 24, 2020 as the date for trial. Meanwhile, the suspect remains remanded at Mtangani Maximum Prison. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates A local court in Bhubaneswar sentenced Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Somnath Parida to life imprisonment on Tuesday (February 25) for murdering his wife. The local Khurda court pronounced the quantum of punishment on the basis of the evidence presented by 24 witnesses and the scientific team. The retired Army man, 78, beat his wife Ushasree Samal, 61, to death over a domestic dispute with a steel torch and then chopped her body into 300 pieces. Parida then mixed a chemical on the body parts and hid them in steel and glass tiffin boxes. The incident took place in 2013. The murder came to light when the couple's daughter told her maternal uncle who lived in Bhubaneswar that she was unable to contact her mother. The uncle was not allowed to enter the residence following which he registered a complaint with the police. The police conducted a search for the missing woman and found her chopped up body parts from different places in their residence. The husband was taken into custody and a chargesheet was filed. He has been lodged in the Jharpada jail since then. During the hearing, Parida appealed for a reduced sentence which was rejected by the court. His lawyer is now preparing to file an appeal in the High Court. When Bahija Karim arrived in Idaho as an Afghan refugee in 2005, she knew little about American culture. She didnt speak English. A volunteer directed her to Artisans for Hope, a local crafts initiative for refugees. There, she was taught crafting skills and English. Artisans for Hope took Karim on field trips. They found her a job with a seamstress, which she held for nine years, and then they helped her start her own custom drapery business, The Golden Needle. Karim says Artisans for Hope helped her feel like an empowered member of her new community. With their help, she says, all the people know we are human beings. We could make something for ourselves, for them, for the country, for the community. Around the world, crafting is being used as a tool to help refugees and especially women get acclimated to a host country, learn skills and, sometimes, earn a living. We provide a venue for refugee women to craft together, build a community, make some friends, and have a safe way to interact with each other and talk about what theyve been through, says Sharon McCreary, who in 2007 helped found A Little Something, a womens refugee crafts organization in Denver. A Little Something also sells the crafts and gives artisans 75% of the earnings. In Paris, the Agency of Artists in Exile (aa-e) supports professional artists from painters to photographers to dancers to musicians who come to France as refugees. Founded in 2017 by Judith Depaule and Ariel Cypel, the group works with about 200 artists from 45 different countries, many of them seeking political asylum. The organization hosts a festival, provides workspace, offers French classes, and helps artists find grants, residencies and jobs. If they need lawyers, psychiatrists or accommodations, aa-e helps find those too. When you get to a country in the way of exile, Depaule says, you can have a lot of bad experiences, very hard, very traumatizing experiences. And when you are waiting for papers its very hard, too. Because you dont know if they will say yes or not, so (art) is a possibility to start to build something, and to start thinking about something else. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also runs a craft-based initiative, Made51. It partners with local groups around the world to help artisan refugees connect to markets where they can sell their products. Made51s Global Manager Heidi Christ says that after forming a successful partnership with Virgin Megastores in the United Arab Emirates, the Made51 team is now working to expand and grow its direct-to-consumer market. We see lots of possibility, Christ says. People love the storytelling behind Made51, love the idea of being able to buy from refugees in many different countries and do it in a way that also supports local business growth in these developing countries. She hopes a ripple effect of Made51 will be to shift peoples perception of refugees. Despite the conditions that a refugee artisan is living in, theyre able to make this beautiful product, she says, And then the way the consumer can think about refugees changes. Depaule, too, hopes to change attitudes, aiming to hold more aa-e festivals in countries where taking in refugees is controversial. And back in Idaho, Artisans for Hope worked to change hearts and minds through a traveling quilt project. In partnership with the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the artisans created story quilts and traveled around Idaho, Oregon, and Utah to display them. It was for me a very good experience, says quilt project participant Wafaa Alwan, because I was seeing support from people. Alwan came to the United States from Iraq, and was connected to Artisans for Hope after opening up to a friend about struggling with homesickness. Its not just a center for crafting, she says. Its a healing center for us. Its really a second chance for refugee ladies to find a place to live and prosper in the community. CNN and 60 Minutes host Anderson Cooper, who red-baited Bernie Sanders over old comments praising Fidel Castros literacy program, worked in CIA headquarters for two summers. By Ben Norton Anderson Cooper sits at the heights of the US corporate media. A host of his own program on CNN and a correspondent for 60 Minutes, he may be one of the most powerful people working in journalism. On February 24, 60 Minutes produced a report criticizing Bernie Sanders for comments he made in the 1980s tepidly praising social programs run by the revolutionary leftist governments in Cuba and Nicaragua. The 60 Minutes feature was hosted by Anderson Cooper, who pressured Sanders to denounce Fidel Castro and stressed, Theres a lot of dissidents imprisoned in Cuba. Bernie Sanders defends his 1980s comments about Fidel Castro in an interview on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/ySqvQKoiBU pic.twitter.com/lTwuXWp9sA 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) February 24, 2020 The exchange with Sanders set off a firestorm of attacks on the Vermont senator, with campaign rivals and a bipartisan cast of pundits slamming him for his mild defense of Cubas gains in literacy. But Cooper and his red-baiting performance remained above scrutiny. The seemingly non-partisan media celebrity rarely talks about his upbringing, and understandably so, because Cooper comes from a background that most average working-class Americans could only dream of. The medias favorite silver fox hails from one of the most powerful families in human history. He is the son of oligarch Gloria Vanderbilt, and his great-great-great grandfather was Cornelius Vanderbilt, a prototypical American robber baron who had in fact helped lead a bungling imperial plot to build a canal through Nicaragua during the 1850s. It is by no means uncommon for scions of elite families to get rewarded with massive platforms in US corporate media. The mainstream press is chock-full of figures like Coopers CNN colleague Erin Burnett, who was hired by the media giant after occupying senior positions at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. A blue-blooded TV anchor coming from money and privilege is one thing, but a top news personality with a background at the Central Intelligence Agency is quite another. In 2006, Cooper published an article at CNN admitting that he worked at CIA headquarters for two summers while he was a student at Yale University an intelligence agency-linked elite bastion where former CIA director George H. W. Bush also studied. The CNN host downplayed his work in the infamous spy agency, which has orchestrated coups, armed and trained death squads, and tortured and assassinated people all across the globe. Cooper even flippantly likened it to a job he had as a waiter another summer. It was less James Bond than I hoped it would be, Cooper would later joke to the Washington Post. He said he ultimately found the job bureaucratic and mundane. But Cooper chose to work for the CIA not just for one summer, but two. After one stint at the agencys headquarters, he returned a year later. In fact Cooper justified his work at the CIA in his 2006 article writing, I was a political science major and was interested in serving my country. This makes it clear that the CNN host believes good, patriotic Americans can help their compatriots by joining the intelligence apparatus. This mindset Cooper took into the CIA cannot be divorced from the mentality he brought into his interview with Sanders, where he grilled the left-wing politician for his insufficient opposition to progressive governments in Latin America. But Coopers perspective is emblematic of corporate media culture, and he is hardly the only prominent journalist with CIA ties. In 2014, a prominent American national security reporter, Ken Dilanian, was exposed for having collaborated extensively with the CIA. At the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times, Dilanian shared stories with spy officials before publication, and even plotted with CIA officers to manipulate public opinion on the drone assassination program. Dilanian follows in a long line of spy agency collaborators. As the Cold War kicked off in the 1950s, the CIA initiated an operation called Project Mockingbird, with the intent of surveilling and ultimately recruiting journalists, using corporate media outlets as weapons to advance the US governments foreign-policy agenda and bolster Washingtons crusade against communism. The Grayzone has previously referred to an investigation by renowned journalist Carl Bernstein, the former Washington Post reporter who exposed the Watergate scandal. In 1977, Bernstein published a Rolling Stone cover story titled The CIA and the Media: How Americas Most Powerful News Media Worked Hand in Glove with the Central Intelligence Agency and Why the Church Committee Covered It Up. Bernstein obtained CIA files that showed that more than 400 American journalists in the previous 25 years had secretly carried out assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency. How this program continues today is not known. But what is clear is that Anderson Cooper and other media professionals have enjoyed special relationships with the CIA. And in their work, they have treated those who challenge the agencys imperatives with suspicion, and its targets around the world with reflexive contempt. ORILLIA, ONT.A popular casino north of Toronto has been evacuated as police investigate a threat to the building. Casino Rama has issued social media posts saying the anonymous threat was called into the Ontario Provincial Police at around 2 p.m. today. The casino says it has evacuated the building near Orillia, Ont., and closed the facility to patrons and staff. Neither the casino nor police provided details on the substance of the threat. Casino Rama says both the OPP and Rama Police are on the scene investigating and clearing the property. The casino says its top priority is the safety of its customers and employees. The quality of ideas and ambition of entrepreneurs and innovators in India - many of whom are school kids - are 'exciting' and driving innovation and growth for societies and economies, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella New Delhi: The quality of ideas and ambition of entrepreneurs and innovators in India - many of whom are school kids - are "exciting" and driving innovation and growth for societies and economies, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Speaking at the Young Innovators Summit, the India-born executive also highlighted how empathy is also playing an important role in development of some of these new solutions, especially for the differently-abled people. He talked about his meeting with children from three schools across the country, who are developing solutions to solve different challenges in the society. One of these groups is developing a speech therapy solution, while another is working on a solution that measures pollution levels. The third group is developing an AI-enabled chatbot to help children with school curriculum. "There was a group that I met who talked about how they want to change speech therapy...the level of empathy they work with. One of their teachers has a kid with speech issues and they said let's build an AI tool that can substitute speech therapists because access to speech therapy and speech therapists is scarce," he said. He further said these group of students have deep passion and are turning that into action. "That's what innovation is all about. That's how societies and economies move forward," Nadella said. Nadella is on a three-day visit to India. He was in Mumbai and Bengaluru earlier this week. He is slated to meet government functionaries later on Wednesday. An Aer Lingus Cabin crew member has launched High Court proceedings aimed at preventing his employer from terminating his employment. The action has been brought by Lorcan Delaney, who claims Aer Lingus took action against him after the Dublin Airport Authority declined to re-issue his airside access card following a Garda vetting process. He requires the card to access secure areas in the airport. He had initially been placed on unpaid leave, after an issue over the card's renewal arose, last December. Represented by Marguerite Bolger SC, Mr Delaney claims his employment was terminated in recent days. He does not know why Aer Lingus escalated matters for a suspension to a termination, and what procedures were implemented in his situation. Mr Delaney, who has worked for the airline since 2015, said in a sworn statement that he went to renew his card last December. As part of that process he had to undergo Garda vetting. He said that an issue was raised during that process. It relates to a summons Mr Delaney received concerning an allegation that he was allegedly found in possession of a controlled drug, cannabis and MDMA for personal use, contrary to Section 3 of the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act at a music festival at Slane Castle on June 8th 2019. That summons remains pending before the District Court and Mr Delaney says that if he is not convicted of the offence and if it is dealt with under the Probation Act, no conviction will appear on any future vetting certificate that he might apply for. He said that he was aware that other Aer Lingus staff who were summoned to court for non minor road traffic offence did not have their employment terminated. After the issue with his card arose he asked Aer Lingus if he could be redeployed to areas at Dublin Airport where an access card is not required. However that application was not successful. Counsel told the court the decision to dismiss Mr Delaney has been done without any legal or contractual basis nor any recourse to the airline's detailed disciplinary procedure. Counsel said Aer Lingus have claimed that a requirement to have an access card is fundamental terms of her client's contract of employment. However the requirement is not mentioned in his contract, nor is any reference made to any consequence arising from issues raised during the Garda vetting process. In his proceedings Mr Delaney of Castlefarm, Swords, Co Dublin seeks various orders against Aer Lingus including one preventing the airline from terminating his employment. He also seeks an injunction preventing Aer Lingus from treating him as being otherwise than employed with the airline, and that it continues to pay him his salary and benefits. He further seeks declarations from the court that his purported termination is null and void, and that the remains employed as cabin crew. The action came before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Wednesday who granted Mr Delaney's lawyers permission to serve short notice of the proceedings against the airline. The case comes back before the court on Friday. BAY CITY, MI During an interview with the FBI, authorities allege a Gladwin County man became so agitated that he threw a table and demanded an agent be arrested by other law enforcement officers. The man was interviewed after he was accused of sending an email threatening to hunt down and bleed out an attorney who represented the whistleblower who started impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump. A detention hearing was held for defendant Brittan J. Atkinson before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris in the federal courthouse in Bay City on Monday, Feb. 24. Atkinson, 52, was indicted on Feb. 12 and arraigned on Feb. 20 on a charge of one count of making interstate communications threats. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors allege that Atkinson on Nov. 7 sent a threatening email to attorney Mark S. Zaid, who represented the intelligence official who blew the whistle on Trumps involvement in pressuring Ukraine to investigate former vice president and current rival Joe Biden. During the Monday hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Janet L. Parker asked Morris to have Atkinson detained pending trial, arguing hes a risk to the public and could fail to appear for future proceedings. When he was originally interviewed regarding that offense by the FBI in November of 2019, Mr. Atkinson initially was calm and coherent," she said. "At some point, he became so agitated that he threw a dining room table across the room, causing it to hit the wall on the opposite side of the room. Atkinson then demanded other law enforcement personnel arrest the agent interviewing him, Parker said. At times, Mr. Atkinson was able to be calm and control himself, she said. At other times, he would become extremely agitated, would be physically shaking and assaultive. Not only that, as he did when he was interviewed by the FBI, he reaffirmed his intention to harm the victim of the assault. Atkinsons has convictions of domestic violence, assault and battery, attempted assaulting, resisting, or obstructing police, and malicious destruction of property, Parker said. Atkinson currently has a personal protection order against him, she said. Atkinson does not work due to mental health reasons and back problems and receives disability payments. While in custody over the weekend, Atkinson placed several phone calls to loved ones indicating he was suicidal and engaging in dark, destructive thoughts, Parker said. Parker also said that Atkinson has made statements about wanting his family to have him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility. Parker said she was submitting a motion to have Atkinson undergo a competency examination. Defense attorney Stevens J. Jacobs asked his client be freed on bond, saying he has no prior felony convictions. He is remorseful, Jacobs said. He is depressed. He did make some statements to his spouse, who is present here in courtroom over the weekend about his past behavior and sending the email. We wont get into the specifics of that. Jacobs disputed Parkers description of his client having thrown a table during an interview with the FBI. He said the FBI agent bumped the table while standing up and Atkinson reacted violently. When law enforcement searched Atkinsons home, they found no weapons aside from a bow and a half-assembled musket loader, Jacobs said. Yes, on occasion hes a hothead and he can get excited over things and he needs to get a handle on that, Jacobs said. He added that he was not joining in Parkers motion to have Atkinson undergo a competency examination. Magistrate Judge Morris ended up ruling in Parkers favor and ordered Atkinson be held in custody pending trial. Related: Michigan man made death threat to Trump whistleblowers attorney, feds say Kolkata Port Trust, which owns an area as large as the London Docklands but uses less than half of it, is looking to rent out more of this land to boost profit. Indias oldest operating port has hired property consultant JLL India to survey and digitize records of its land bank, Chairman Vinit Kumar said in an interview at his office in Kolkata. Kolkata Port owns about 4,500 acres (18 square kilometers), of which it directly uses about 2,000 acres. We plan to gainfully utilize this land bank, Kumar said. The focus is on improving operations, augmenting capacity and also diversification. Its total holdings are roughly the size of the derelict London Docklands, before bits of it were sold off starting around 1970 and today house the Canary Wharf development. The 150-year-old Kolkata Port is now focused on improving profitability after years of high costs. It reported a profit of 600 million rupees last financial year, its first in about 15 years, due to rising cargo volumes, more efficient handling, and lower staff costs. Kolkata Port reduced headcount to about 3,600 from 6,000 ten years ago, and over the past five years it has created a 35 billion rupee fund that will be managed by Life Insurance Corporation of India for its 23,000 pensioners. We expect better profit next financial year, Kumar said. The economic slowdown has not impacted us much -- we are still growing. The firm -- which traces its ports origins to the grant of trading rights to the British East India Company by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb -- already rents out some land to companies including Hindustan Unilever Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Indian Oil Corp. Rent income of about 3 billion rupees ($42 million) accounted for 12% of Kolkata Ports revenue for the year ended March 2019 and Kumar aims to double lease earnings in the coming years. Kolkata Port estimates cargo traffic will increase 3% in the current financial year after a record 10% jump last year, partly because the coronavirus may impact iron ore exports to China. Early indicators of Chinas economy in February confirm that the coronavirus outbreak has crippled production and consumption, as factories remain below capacity and transport is curtailed. While it is still assessing the effect of the contagion, Kolkata Port is investing 8 billion rupees over the next two years to boost its annual cargo-handling capacity to 80 million tons from 70 million tons now. Additional capacity, in areas such as liquid cargo, should move Kolkata Ports ranking up from No. 5 in India in terms of cargo volume handled, Kumar said. By Nidhi Verma and Aftab Ahmed NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to impose more sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, in an attempt to choke financing to President Nicolas Maduro's government. 'You will be seeing something on that in the not too distant future,' Trump told a news conference in Delhi when asked if Washington would impose more sanctions on Venezuela or on Indian firms that buy Venezuelan oil from third parties after imposing sanctions on a trading unit of Russian oil giant Rosneft. 'There could be very serious sanctions,' he said without giving details. By Nidhi Verma and Aftab Ahmed NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to impose more sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, in an attempt to choke financing to President Nicolas Maduro's government. "You will be seeing something on that in the not too distant future," Trump told a news conference in Delhi when asked if Washington would impose more sanctions on Venezuela or on Indian firms that buy Venezuelan oil from third parties after imposing sanctions on a trading unit of Russian oil giant Rosneft. "There could be very serious sanctions," he said without giving details. "You are going to see in a little while. You are asking a question right in the middle of us doing something." The United States imposed sanctions last week on Rosneft Trading SA as it emerged as a key intermediary for the sale of Venezuelan oil. India and China are the important buyers of Venezuelan oil, with India importing about 342,000 barrels per day for Venezuela in 2019, according to tanker data obtained by Reuters. Reliance Industries Ltd , operator of the world's biggest refining complex, and Nayara Energy, part-owned by Rosneft, are the only Indian buyers of Venezuelan oil. The two firms had been purchasing Venezuelan oil from Rosneft. U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told Reuters on Monday that new sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector will be more aggressive in punishing people and companies that violate them. Trump said Venezuela had been "wealthy 15 years ago and very wealthy 20 years ago, the wealthiest in all of Latin America." "When you look today they don't have water, they don't have basic food, they have no medicines... We are watching Venezuela very closely. We don't like it, not at all," he said. Since the latest sanctions were announced, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has shifted several oil cargoes from Rosneft Trading to TNK, another Rosneft affiliate, Reuters reported on Monday, citing internal PDVSA documents. Rodent's units take Venezuelan oil as repayment for billions of dollars in loans extended to Venezuela in recent years. They also swap Venezuelan crude for imported fuel that the poverty-stricken South American country desperately needs. Other firms taking Venezuelan oil as repayment of loans or late dividends - including U.S. oil major Chevron Corp and Spain's Repsol SA - have not been sanctioned by Washington. (Editign by Timothy Heritage) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. CLEVELAND, Ohio A pair of guards from the privately-owned Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown sued the prisons owner and said the company should pay them for the time they spent going through security prior to the beginnings of their shift. Guards Jeanne Ballard and Marsha Caposell said in a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday that private prison giant CoreCivic requires corrections officers to undergo a security screening before each shift. This requires an officer to empty their pockets; take off their shoes, belts, jackets and all metal objects; empty their bags; and submit personal items for inspection, the lawsuit says. The guards then walk through a metal detector before reclaiming their belongings. Since the screenings are to prevent guards from bringing weapons and contraband into the prison, they are integral and indispensable to their jobs, the suit says. However, the company did not pay the guards for the pre-shift screenings and violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act because the employees did not receive overtime, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says Ballard and Caposell were employed at the prison within the past three years, though their current employment status was not immediately known. A phone call left for their attorney Hans Nilges was not returned Wednesday. The lawsuit seeks an unnamed amount in damages and wants the judge to approve collective and class action statuses to allow other current and former CoreCivic corrections officers from across the country to participate. A spokesman for CoreCivic said in an email that the company does not comment on active litigation but said that we believe that the security screening practices that are challenged in this complaint are fully compliant with applicable legal requirements. CoreCivic is one of the largest private prison companies in the U.S. In addition to the Youngstown facility, the company owns the Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut, which operates as a state prison. The Northeast Ohio Correctional Center houses state prison inmates as well as people awaiting trial in federal court in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A contract CoreCivic had with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house immigrant detainees ends after this month. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson. STEPHANIE Pemberton has a missionto nurture the next generation of the middle class. And not just in T&T. But in the Caribbean. The way to do that, she reasons, is through the development of entrepreneurs. So she established an entrepreneurship development company, Planting Seeds, which focuses on growing/promoting small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). 'Cult' mom Lori Vallow has asked a Hawaii judge to reconsider her $5million bail as she awaits extradition to Idaho following her arrest over the September disappearance of her children. Lori, 46, is scheduled to appear at a court hearing 2pm local time Wednesday in Kauai, where she was arrested last week on an Idaho warrant charging her with two felony counts of child abandonment. Seven-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan were last seen in Idaho over five months ago but were never reported missing by their mother. Lori and the man she married in early November, doomsday author Chad Daybell, fled their home in Rexburg late that month when police began asking questions about her children's whereabouts. Authorities tracked the couple down in Princeville, Hawaii, and served Lori with a court order on January 25 requiring her to physically produce the children to authorities in Idaho within five days. Lori failed to meet the deadline, prompting her arrest last Thursday. Rexburg police have accused Lori of repeatedly lying about where JJ and Tylee are and refusing to cooperate with investigators conducting a multi-state search. They've said they 'strongly believe that Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger' and that Lori knows what happened to the kids. Lori Vallow has asked a Hawaii judge to reconsider her $5million bail as she awaits extradition to Idaho following her arrest over the September disappearance of her children. She is pictured at a previous hearing on Friday Seven-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan were last seen in Idaho over five months ago but were never reported missing by their mother Lori's older son, Colby Ryan, issued another plea for the safe return of his siblings on Tuesday. 'I pray for you both everyday. I always have to ask how is this possible? You both mean so much to me,' Colby wrote in a Facebook post with a photo of JJ and Tylee. 'My heart is broken over all of this. I'm going to speak with our mom. I need to know what is happening with you both. Just know I love you with all of my heart. Im here to stand up for you. 'I won't leave no matter how hard this gets. I love you Tylee and JJ.' Colby has spoken out about the case multiple times, posting several videos in which he begged his mother to show him a sign that JJ and Tylee are okay. Earlier this month he insisted that Lori was not capable of harming her own children and said she 'would die for' JJ and Tylee. 'To see this and hear it, and also be questioning why they're not being found, that's where this all comes into a battle into what you think and what you feel,' he told Fox10. Colby said the final contact he had with Lori came in November last year when detectives called at his house and began asking where JJ and Tylee had gone. He said he texted her mother about the call and she responded saying: 'I got it, I'll take care of it... Love you.' Colby claimed to have no idea who Lori's new husband Chad was until he appeared alongside her in news reports about the missing kids, and had no idea the couple had moved to Hawaii. Lori's older son, Colby Ryan, posted this photo of JJ and Tylee on Facebook on Tuesday. In the caption he wrote: 'I pray for you both everyday. I always have to ask how is this possible? You both mean so much to me. My heart is broken over all of this. I'm going to speak with our mom. I need to know what is happening with you both. Just know I love you with all of my heart. I'm here to stand up for you. I won't leave no matter how hard this gets. I love you Tylee and JJ' Colby (pictured) has spoken out about the case multiple times, posting several videos in which he begged his mother to show him a sign that JJ and Tylee are okay JJ was last seen at his elementary school in Rexburg on September 23, a day before his mother withdrew him and told administrators she would be homeschooling him. Doorbell camera footage recorded at a neighbor's house appeared to show JJ playing in his front yard on September 17. Tylee was last seen on September 8 at Yellowstone National Park on a day trip with her mother, uncle and JJ. Police recovered a photo of Tylee in the park from Lori's iCloud account and said there's been no sign of the 17-year-old since. Detectives are reportedly preparing to search Yellowstone as soon as the snow melts, which could not happen until May or June. Lori is currently facing five charges, according to an arrest warrant issued by Idaho's Madison County Magistrate Court on February 18. Two are felony counts for desertion and nonsupport of a dependent child under 18, each dated the day JJ and Tylee disappeared. The other three are misdemeanors: resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court. Lori's defense team has requested that her bail be reduced from $5million to $100,000 because she does not pose a flight risk and had offered to turn herself in to authorities before her arrest last Thursday. In the court motion that prompted Wednesday's hearing, Lori's attorney Craig De Costa noted that bail for equivalent felonies in Hawaii usually range from $2,000 to $20,000. 'The request should have been $10,000 cash only,' De Costa wrote. 'In any case the total amount of bail in this case should not exceed $100,000. This would be an amount sufficient to ensure Lori's appearance at court hearings and to protect the public. 'In the present case none of the procedural requirements have occurred. As a result, Lori's constitutional rights have been violated.' Lori was arrested last Thursday on an Idaho warrant charging her with two felony counts of child abandonment. Police are seen frisking her before she was taken into custody outside her Kauai apartment As officers prepared to take Lori away in a patrol car, her Doomsday author husband Chad Daybell (right) watched helplessly Lori is seen in two new mugshots taken after her arrest in Hawaii on Thursday In a court filing opposing Lori's request, prosecutors explained that they requested the lofty $5million bail because Lori is 'clearly' a flight risk. 'She left Arizona (after witnessing her brother shoot and kill her now deceased husband) and within a short time, moved to Idaho; within a couple months, after talking with investigators in Idaho, she fled to Kauai,' the filing states. 'Given the extensive media attention, she is clearly aware that the authorities have prioritized her case.' 'She also has the means to move across an ocean.' Prosecutors said Lori 'has the means to move across an ocean', citing one of her husband Chad's bank accounts which has a balance of $152,000. 'In addition, Defendant has not complied with a January 2020 court order from Idaho, commanding her to produce the minor children - J.V. and T.R. 'Therefore, this court was clearly justified in setting substantial bail for her.' Lori appeared in court Friday, where a judge ruled against her attorney's motion to reduce her $5million bail to $10,000 Lori appeared in court for the first time after her arrest on Friday, where her attorney Daniel Hempey asked for bail to be lowered to $10,000 and said she did not have a passport. Hempey scolded authorities for taking Lori into custody so publicly, after photos of the arrest outside her rented apartment were published by media outlets nationwide. 'We remained willing to produce her as soon as police wanted her to be produced,' Hempey said. 'Instead, she was arrested and media was calling us all day. It seems like it was a made for media event at the taxpayer's expense.' In response, the prosecution cited charges that imply she poses a risk to the community and will engage in illegal activity. 'She has no ties to this island, apart from a rented condo,' the prosecution argued. 'If ever there was a case suitable for a person to be denied bail, this is the case'. The judge denied the request - pointing out that Lori had already fled from Idaho, where the charges were filed, and that she is accused of obstructing justice. Lori is scheduled to appear in Kauai court again on March 2 for an identity hearing - the next step in the extradition process that could take up to 90 days. Idaho Gov Brad Little has said he is hoping to expedite Lori's extradition and is waiting for Madison County prosecutors to send the required paperwork for him to issue the order. 'Come to our office. We'll run it through the system, and we'll send it back and it'll go to Hawaii for extradition,' Little, a Republican, told KMVT on Sunday. 'I hope there is justice, and I hope the children are found,' he added. Idaho Gov Brad Little told KMVT on Sunday that he is hoping to expedite Lori's extradition Lori's husband Chad, 51, is expected to attend her hearing on Wednesday to support his wife. He watched as she was taken into custody outside their condo in Princeville on Thursday and was in the gallery at her first court appearance on Friday. Chad has stayed largely silent about his wife's arrest but did briefly speak to an ABC News reporter who approached him at a gas station over the weekend. Reporter Marcus Moore summarized the brief exchange in a tweet on Monday. Asked if Lori's children were okay, Chad replied: 'I can't comment.' He added that he was 'just grateful for any support' and said: 'We just have to wait for the legal process to work through.' Moore repeated his question about the kids before Chad said: 'I have to go. No comment.' FOX10 reported that Chad had canceled his lease on the Princeville condo and was expecting to move out by February 28. Source told the outlet Chad plans to leave the island. Madison County Magistrate Court issued three new subpoenas in the case on Tuesday - one for Lori and Chad's landlord in Princeville, a second for the Kauai Beach Resort where they were staying and a third for Kennedy Elementary School, where JJ was enrolled for a few weeks before his disappearance in September. First two subpoenas are for records pertaining to Lori and Chad, and the third for records pertaining to JJ. Chad is seen in the courtroom during his wife's hearing on Friday Authorities began searching for JJ and Tylee in late November after performing a welfare check ordered by concerned relatives who said they hadn't spoken to the boy, who is autistic, in months. When officers first went to Lori's home in Idaho on November 26, she told them that JJ was visiting relatives in Arizona - which investigators say was a lie. Officers returned the following day and found that Lori and the man she married weeks earlier, Chad Daybell, had fled from the home. Timeline of JJ and Tylee's disappearance July 11: Lori Vallow's husband, Charles Vallow, is killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona August: Vallow moves children JJ and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho September 8: The last time Tylee was seen on a day trip to Yellowstone park September 23: The last time JJ was seen at his school in Idaho October 19: Chad Daybell's wife Tammy dies at their Idaho home October 25: A friend of Tylee receives a text from her phone November 5: Vallow and Daybell marry November 26: Out-of-state relatives ask Idaho police to perform a welfare check on JJ. Vallow and Daybell claim he is in Arizona with relatives. Police also learn Tylee has not been seen since September, either November 27: Police execute a search warrant at Vallow and Daybell's home, discovering the couple have fled Idaho December 11: Tammy Daybell's body is exhumed from the Utah cemetery December 12: Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, believed to have died in Arizona December 21: Police issue a press release about JJ and Tylee, revealing they believe their disappearance is linked to Tammy's death December 24: Vallow and Chad issue a statement through an attorney saying they love their son and daughter and look forward to addressing 'allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor' December 30: Police accuse Vallow and Chad of lying to investigators and say they believe the couple know where the kids are or what happened to them January 26: Vallow and Chad are seen for the first time in months as police serve two search warrants in Kaua'i January 30 Vallow misses court deadline to produce the children to authorities Advertisement The pair were named persons of interest in the children's disappearance after investigators said they believe the mother knows where her children are or what happened to them. Lori and Chad issued a statement after they went on the run insisting that they'd done nothing wrong. It has since emerged the couple had told people Tylee was dead and that Lori has no minor children. The case captured nationwide attention with the revelations that police are also investigating three mysterious deaths linked to Lori and Chad, as well as family members' claims that the couple are members of a dangerous doomsday cult. The first death is that of Lori's estranged husband Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona on July 10. Charles and Lori had gotten into an argument when the father came to pick up JJ at the mother's home in Chandler. Lori's brother intervened and fatally shot Charles. Police initially determined that he acted in self defense - but the case was reopened amid the multi-state search for JJ and Tylee, who had moved to Idaho, where Chad lived, with their mother in August. The second mysterious death was Tammy Daybell - Chad's previous wife - who was found dead at the couple's home in Salem, Idaho, on October 19. An obituary stated that Tammy passed away in her sleep and her cause of death was ruled as natural after Chad reportedly declined an autopsy. Investigators reopened the case after learning that JJ and Tylee were missing, as their mother had married Chad just two weeks after Tammy died. They believe the two cases could be linked. Tammy's body was exhumed on December 11 and the autopsy results have not yet been released. On December 12, Lori's brother, Alex Cox, was found dead in Gilbert, Arizona. The 51-year-old's death is now under investigation as police wait for an autopsy to determine the cause. Lori's estranged husband Charles Vallow (pictured together) was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona on July 11 Chad's wife Tammy Daybell (pictured together) was found dead under mysterious circumstances in October, just two weeks before he married Lori Saying it with flowers: Donald Trump sprays rose petals at Raj Ghat, the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP US President Donald Trump commended Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "working very hard on religious freedom" and refused to discuss a controversial new citizenship law that set off protests across the country, saying that the matter was "really up to India". Mr Trump's comments came amid the worst outbreak of communal violence in India's capital in decades. At least 11 people were killed in Delhi on Monday and yesterday when clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims in the north-eastern part of the city. The violence was triggered by a confrontation between Hindu supporters of the citizenship law and mostly Muslim opponents. People threw stones, set fire to buildings and attacked journalists with police unwilling or unable to intervene. Critics of the citizenship law say it is unconstitutional and discriminatory. The rest of the city continued as normal and Mr Trump went ahead with his scheduled meetings, which took place about 16km away from where the violence was unfolding. Mr Trump said that he had discussed religious freedom with Mr Modi at length during a closed-door meeting yesterday in light of a controversial new citizenship law, and suggested he is more than satisfied with the answer. "We did talk about religious freedom, and I will say the prime minister was incredible," Mr Trump said. "In India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom." Mr Trump did not directly comment on whether he thinks the new citizenship law is appropriate. "I don't want to discuss that," he said. "I want to leave that to India and hopefully they're going to make the right decision for the people." Critics say the citizenship law is unconstitutional and discriminates against Muslims. Asked about the deadly violence in parts of Delhi that erupted during his visit to the country, Mr Trump expressed confidence in Mr Modi, who leads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and has insisted that the citizenship law is not discriminatory and aims to help persecuted religious minorities in three nearby countries. Mr Modi and Mr Trump once again praised each other yesterday. Mr Trump said he had a "really great relationship" with the Indian leader, whom he called "incredible", "very calm", "very strong" and "very tough" in a solo press conference later in the day. (Modi is notorious for not having held a news conference in his six years as prime minister.) One outcome of the friendship between the two men was that Mr Trump declined to engage in anything that might be construed as criticism of Mr Modi or his government, except on the issue of trade. The Modi government has made large strides in recent months toward its agenda of emphasising Hindu primacy in India. Mr Trump was particularly enthused by the welcome extended to him in the western city of Ahmedabad a day earlier, where 100,000 people attended a rally with the two leaders. "Somebody said it was the greatest greeting ever given to any head of state by any country," Mr Trump told reporters, without providing details. But the fulsome praise could not mask the fact that Mr Trump's 36-hour visit was long on symbolism and short on substance. A much-discussed deal to resolve long-standing differences over trade remains elusive. The Indian government released a list of three paltry agreements concluded during the visit: joint memoranda on mental health and medical-device safety, plus a letter of co-operation between energy companies. The prospects for partnership remain promising in the security realm, where both the United States and India are looking to counter a rising China. While in India, Mr Trump announced that the two countries were moving ahead with a $3bn (2.75bn) sale of American military equipment including maritime helicopters. Mr Trump spent yesterday in meetings with Mr Modi and other Indian leaders. He also attended a round table at the US embassy with Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, where he claimed he had attracted record investment to the United States and rejuvenated moribund sectors of the economy. ( Washington Post) The Renault Samsung XM3 / Courtesy of Renault Samsung By Nam Hyun-woo Renault Samsung, BMW and several other major auto brands have called off their scheduled launch events for new vehicles as the coronavirus sweeps the country. Industry officials said the cancellations will have a negative impact on vehicle sales because the events are considered crucial marketing tools in the early stages of sales campaigns. Renault Samsung canceled the launch and test-drive event for the XM3 crossover, which was scheduled for March 4, it said. The carmaker said the decision is in accordance with the ongoing "national effort to prevent the further spread of the virus." But it said the vehicle would still be launched and the company was preparing promotional events without mass attendance. The XM3 has been at the center of Renault Samsung's plan to introduce six new models here this year and it is hoping the XM3 will provide fresh impetus in terms of lifting the company's domestic market share. The vehicle's design was led by Korean designers at the Renault Design Asia Studio and will be produced at Renault Samsung's plant in Busan, the country's second-largest city. Once manufacturing begins, the XM3 is expected to have greater advantages from company and consumer standpoints compared to imported Renault models. According to the company, it received about 2,500 pre-orders for the XM3 from Feb. 21 to 24, which is significant given that the company sold just 4,303 vehicles domestically in January. Meanwhile, Renault Samsung is aiming to manufacture XM3s for the European market at its Busan base, to prevent a possible production vacuum after it ends production of the Nissan Rogue at the plant in March. However, the company is yet to receive Renault headquarters' confirmation to proceed due to labor disputes, meaning Renault Samsung's earnings this year depend largely on domestic sales of the XM3. "Though the event was canceled, Renault Samsung will continue providing rich information on the XM3 to promote the vehicle's value," a company official said. The new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe / Courtesy of BMW Korea live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Qatar Airways has launched an ambitious 'Cost Transformation' initiative that it hopes will lay the ground for a sustainable platform for profitable growth, but at the same time could result in slashing of workforce, its top executive has said. In a letter to the airline's employees on February 23, CEO Akbar Al Baker said 'the aim of the Transformation is to make Qatar Airways 'fit for the future' by simplifying business and "distance ourselves from legacy ways of working; we have created many roadblocks that prevent us from adding value to your business and our customers". He also said that this 'transformation will include a recalibration of our workforce requirements and a likely reduction in our headcount". While Al Baker didn't specify or comment on the number of job cuts, he reiterated that the 'resources freed up in this process will be reinvested' into the airline. The Doha-headquartered airline, which along with other Middle-East carriers has dominated the global aviation industry in the last few years, has around 45,000 employees on its rolls. The communication from the airline's top executive comes after Qatar Airways announced losses of more than $600 million in the 2019 financial year. The recent outbreak of coronavirus in China has also severely impacted the global aviation business, with industry organisation IATA putting the total estimated loss at nearly $30 billion. The virus has spread to other regions in the world, including Iran, where Qatar Airways has curtailed its flights. The state airline of Qatar had also been hurt by the restrictions imposed by nearby countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, since 2017. The setbacks though hadn't stopped Al Baker from expanding the airline's network. Qatar Airways, which had signed a code share agreement in IndiGo late last year, renewed its agreement with American Airlines, earlier this week. The Transformation was needed, added Al Baker, because 'our rapid growth has sometimes been achieved at the expense of our efficiency and organisational performance.' Moneycontrol, which has seen the letter, wrote to the airline for a response. The story will be updated as soon as the Doha-based carrier responds. Following is the full text of the letter: After many years of strong growth, today Qatar Airways has a position of leadership in the aviation industry. Confirmed by our long standing 5-Star Airline status and multiple industry awards, we are the worldwide benchmark for superior standards of service. Despite the recent geopolitical crisis, our fleet, passengers and cargo volumes put us in the top tier of carriers, not just in the region but also globally. This has been achieved first and foremost thanks to the contribution and effort of all our employees. For this, am thankful to all of you. It also true, however, that our rapid growth has sometimes been achieved at the expense of our efficiency and organisational performance. Too many of our internal processes have become too cumbersome resulting us rarely being in a position to match the superior quality of our product with the agility needed to deliver it efficiently. More concerning, we often leave money on the table in our interactions with our suppliers. For this reason, I have decided to launch a Cost Transformation initiative: this will focus on our passenger and cargo activities, and cover all internal processes from Operations to Admin. The objective is to enable us to work better, smarter and with an even stronger focus on the quality of the service we deliver to our customers - while supporting a sustainable return to profitability. We are already the best airline in the world and we operate the best airport in the world; our next goal is to lay the foundation towards a sustainable platform for profitable growth. The target is Transformation of our Company into an organisation fit for the future: we must simplify our business, and distance ourselves from legacy ways of working ; we have created many roadblocks that prevent us from adding value to your business and our customers. We must critically re-examine anything that stands in our way of being the very best we can be, from our position of Employer of Choice for the talent in the industry, to working more effectively with suppliers or building stronger relationships with our customers. As we streamline the company, this Transformation will include a recalibration of our workforce requirements and a likely reduction in our headcount. I want to emphasise that the resources freed up in this process will be reinvested in the development of our people and in the technology needed to support our future growth, making us an even stronger global airline. This critical project for Qatar Airways will be led by our Transformation and Strategy team, headed by Thierry Antinori (CO-ST) with the close cooperation of finance, also providing invaluable support will be Daniel Ho (CFO-QR) and Guillaume Halleux (COC). They will be supported by an external team of consultants, with years of experience in efficiency programs in the aviation industry. I will, of course, take a leading role in this crucial project for the Company. I thank you in advance for putting your trust in the team that will manage the initiative. I encourage you to share your views and ideas on how we can better streamline our processes at XXXXXXX@XXXXX. Your engagement and experience of what works and what needs to improve is the best base to build, together, a better Qatar Airways. Finnish English Finnvera Group, Stock Exchange Release 26 February 2020 Finnvera Groups Report of the Board of Directors and Financial Statements for 2019 SME and export financing increased the positive result grows Finnveras risk buffer CEO Pauli Heikkila: After a few years decline, Finnveras financing granted to SMEs and midcap nterprises increased in 2019. Financing granted to large corporates for export transactions also increased year on year. Growth stemmed particularly from the wave of investments in cruise shipping. The corona virus that spread across the world from January 2020 on demonstrated that global events affect enterprises in Finland, too most concretely in tourism and cruise shipping sector. The total impact of the virus remains to be seen. For a provider of financing, it is essential to assess impacts in the long term. Finnveras drawn cruise shipping exposure amounts to EUR 3.7 billion, and in addition, Finnvera has a portfolio of commitments and binding offers far into the future. Our operations are guided by self-sustainability, which is ensured with risk management, careful risk analysis and reinsurance, among other means. Finnvera has achieved cumulative self-sustainability during the companys 20 years of operation. The year 2019 was financially favourable for Finnvera. The Finnvera Groups result was EUR 94 million (EUR 98 million). The profit of the SMEs and midcap business of the parent company Finnvera plc stood at EUR 17 million (EUR -4 million), and the result of the parent companys Large Corporates business and the subsidiary Finnish Export Credit Ltd. accounted for EUR 77 million (EUR 103 million) in total. The reserves accumulated during the operations for potential future losses amounted to EUR 1.9 billion at the end of the year. Long delivery times of cruise ships have tied up Finnveras authorisations to grant export financing. At the turn of the year, the Finnish parliament decided on a legislative amendment that raised our authorisation to grant export credit guarantees from EUR 27 billion to EUR 38 billion at the beginning of 2020. These figures are high, but we need authorisations in order to make the existing orders possible in cooperation with Finnish shipyards and to also serve other sectors and SMEs. The impact of export financing extends widely through subcontracting networks and jobs created, which strengthens its importance for the national economy. The financing we granted to SMEs and midcap enterprises amounted to nearly EUR 1 billion. In line with our strategy, more than 80 per cent of the financing focused on start-ups, enterprises seeking growth, internationalisation and change, and transfers of ownership. The share of financing granted to SMEs seeking growth and internationalisation in SME financing increased to 45 per cent. Financing for transfers of ownership also reached a new record. One of the highlights of the year was the introduction of an unsecured SME Guarantee in September 2019. The SME Guarantee is a guarantee of 80 per cent aimed at growth-oriented enterprises. The enterprise applies for the guarantee through a bank from Finnvera for a maximum loan amount of EUR 150,000. The SME Guarantee, for its part, supports our objective of our financing helping clients generate and obtain turnover, financial profit and jobs that would not have been possible otherwise. Finnveras total exposure, including credit commitments, at the end of 2019 was EUR 27.5 billion. Approximately half of the total exposure were binding financing offers or agreements that are related to future deliveries by export companies. Finnvera Group, business operations and the financial performance 112/2019 (112/2018) Loans and guarantees granted: EUR 794 million (EUR 765 million), change 4% Export credit guarantees and special guarantees granted: EUR 5,442 million (EUR 3,145 million), change 73% Export credits granted: EUR 2,491 million (EUR 2,197 million), change 13% The credit risk for Finnish Export Credit Ltds export credits is covered by the parent company Finnvera plcs export credit guarantee The annual fluctuation in the amount of export credit guarantees and export credits is influenced by the timing of individual major export transactions 31 December 2019 (31 December 2018) Exposure, drawn loans and guarantees for SMEs and midcap enterprises: EUR 1,928 million (EUR 1,974 million), change -2% Exposure, export credit guarantees and special guarantees, including SME and midcap export credit guarantees: EUR 25,489 million (EUR 23,631), change 8% Of this cruise shipping exposure EUR 13,786 million (EUR 12,835 million) Drawn exposure EUR 11,443 million (EUR 10,275 million ), change 11%, of which cruise shipping exposure EUR 3,669 million (EUR 3,005 million) Undrawn exposure EUR 9,486 million (EUR 9,474 million) and binding offers EUR 4,560 million (EUR 3,881 million), change in total 5%, of which cruise shipping exposure in total EUR 10,117 million (EUR 9,830 million) Exposure, export credits drawn: EUR 7,299 million (EUR 5,981 million), change 22% Finnvera Group, year 2019 (vs. 2018) Profit for the period 94 MEUR (98 MEUR), change -4% Balace sheet total EUR 12.7 bn (EUR 11.0 bn), change 15% Average number of employees 364 (372), change -2% Non-restricted equity and the State Guarantee Fund EUR 1.9 bn (EUR 1.8 bn), change 6% Expense-income ratio 25.4% (29.3%), change -3.9 pp Equity ratio 11.6% (12.3%), change -0.7 pp Focus of financing 86* (87%), change -1 pp NPS index (net promoter score) 64 (70), change -6 points *of SME and midcap financing focused on start-ups, enterprises seeking growth, internationalisation and change, and transfers of ownership Finnvera Groups result for 2019 was EUR 94 million (EUR 98 million), which was 4 per cent less than in the previous year. Compared to the previous year, the factors that had the greatest impact on the generation of the result were the increase in the net amount of realised and expected losses from the outstanding credits and guarantees and the guarantee portfolio, positive changes in the value of items measured at fair value through profit or loss, as well as the higher amount of the net fee and commission income from export and special guarantee operations. Of the Groups result, EUR 22 million was generated in JulyDecember and EUR 72 million in JanuaryJune. The considerable lower result in the second half of the year was due, in particular, to the increase in the expected losses in the exposure and the measurement at fair value. Finnvera Group Financial performance H2/2019 MEUR H1/2019 MEUR Change % H2/2018 MEUR 2019 MEUR 2018 MEUR Change % Net interest income 22 19 18% 19 41 42 -2% Net fee and commission income 72 68 6% 70 141 135 4% Gains and losses from financial instruments carried at fair value through P&L and foreign exhange gains and losses -6 17 139% -9 10 -9 220% Administrative expenses -19 -23 -14% -23 -42 -46 -8% Other operating expenses and depreciations -10 3 -429% -2 -7 -5 42% Realised and expected credit losses total, net -42 -2 - -7 -43 -22 99% Operating profit 23 77 -70% 49 100 100 0% Profit for the period 22 72 -70% 49 94 98 -4% Outlook for financing According to forecasts, the year 2020 will be considerably more subdued in the Finnish economy than the previous year. For instance, the Bank of Finlands and the Ministry of Finances forecasts of the growth of Finlands GDP in 2020 have declined to approximately 1 per cent. The decline in new orders in industrial production also indicate that growth is coming to a halt. In order to maintain its growth opportunities, Finnveras strategic objective is to direct 80 per cent of the SME and midcap financing to start-ups, growing and internationalising enterprises as well as to transfers of ownership and investments. In particular, we will work to ensure that investments and international growth receive financing in the current year, and we are prepared to assume even larger financing shares in projects when the business operations meet the profitability requirements. In smaller financing needs, Finnvera focuses on providing guarantees. Increasing the provision and awareness of the SME Guarantee introduced in the autumn 2019 is a key goal for 2020. Our work to increase the number of SMEs that use export financing services continues. Finnvera continues to actively offer advisory services related to financing export transactions and preparing for risks. Demand for financing related to enterprises transfer of ownership is expected to remain high. The use of the EU guarantee instruments may impact the demand for financing provided by Finnvera. The diversity of the financing market and availability of financing to enterprises are key. The raised export financing authorisations implemented at the beginning of 2020 will provide Finnvera with opportunities to address the demand. It is estimated that granting export credit guarantees and export credits will remain strong in 2020 and that demand for guarantees will continue to focus on the cruise shipping, telecommunications and pulp and paper sectors. As in previous years, the overall volume is affected by the realisation and timing of individual major transactions. Regionally, financing is expected to focus on the United States and Latin America. The uncertainty of the global economy will support the demand for financing guaranteed by an export credit agency in countries with political risks. The corona virus that started spreading from January 2020 on may have an extensive effect on world economy. The overall impact remains to be seen. For a provider of financing, it is essential to actively monitor the situation and to assess the impacts in the long term. The strategy will be implemented throughout the Group as planned in 2020, and operations are expected to be self-sustainable in the current financial period as well. The realisation of losses and development of expected losses involves uncertainty, which may have a considerable impact on the generation of the result. Further information: Pauli Heikkila, Chief Executive Officer, tel. +358 29 460 2400 Ulla Hagman, CFO, tel. +358 29 460 2458 Finnvera Groups Report of the Board of Directors and Financial Statements 1 January31 December 2019 (PDF) Distribution: NASDAQ Helsinki Ltd, London Stock Exchange, the principal media, www.finnvera.fi The Annual Report is available in Finnish and English at www.finnvera.fi/financial_reports Attachments Video PlayerClose President Xi Jinping inspects the center for disease control and prevention of Chaoyang District in Beijing, on February 10, 2020. [Xinhua/Liu Bin] BEIJING, February 19 (Xinhua) President Xi Jinping has called for great attention to the protection and care for medical workers to make sure they are healthy and stay focused on winning the battle against the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a recent instruction on protecting the medics participating in the COVID-19 prevention and control. Medical workers check patients' information at Jiangxia temporary hospital that mainly adopt Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) to treat the patients in Wuhan, February 14, 2020. [Xinhua/Cheng Min] The following are highlights of Xi's instruction: Medical workers are the backbone force in defeating the epidemic, and it must be ensured that they get full support. More efforts are needed to relieve the stress on medical workers, and provide them with adequate daily necessities, ensure they have necessary rest, and get encouragement. It must be ensured that medical teams in Hubei and Wuhan can carry out their work in a safe, orderly, coordinated, effective and swift manner. Medical workers inject medicine for Li Zuofan(R) at an intensive care ward of the novel coronavirus infection cases at a branch of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, February 18, 2020. [Xinhua/Wang Yuguo] Xi's Particular Concern Since the outbreak of COVID-19, medical workers have worked day and night on the frontline. Some were infected or even sacrificed their lives while saving lives. President Xi is particularly concerned about their wellbeing. On January 25, the first day of the lunar New Year, he expressed sincere gratitude to the medical workers at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the epidemic prevention and control work. On February 5, he called for a severe crackdown on violence against medical workers, at a meeting of the Commission for Overall Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee. On February 10, he extended regards to medical personnel during his inspection of the epidemic prevention and control work in Beijing, making arrangements to address their difficulties and problems. He talked to doctors in Wuhan via a video-link and spoke at length about the protection and care for medical workers during the inspection. On February 14, at a meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform, he again called for strengthening the building of public health teams and improving the mechanisms for the training, employment, benefits, performance evaluation and incentives for medical practitioners. President Xi Jinping checks the treatment of hospitalized patients at the monitoring center and talks to medical staff on duty via a video link at Beijing Ditan Hospital in Beijing, on February 10, 2020. [Xinhua/Ju Peng] Since the outbreak, more than 30,000 medical workers, including military medics, have been sent from across the country to Hubei and Wuhan to fight the epidemic around the clock. Medical workers help the first batch of patients infected with the novel coronavirus move into their isolation wards at Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, February 4, 2020. [Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu] Lauding these medical workers, President Xi said, They embody the great revolutionary spirit of forging ahead without fear of difficulties. Racing against time to fight the virus, they have shown a keen sense of responsibility to the Party and the people. (Source: Xinhua) - An unidentified Nigerian man has shared how he landed in prison after human traffickers lied to him that he would be travelling to Italy by ship - The man says he did not know that the traffickers had planned that the journey would be by boat, and not by ship - The victim said they were arrested after spending about six hours on sea A Nigerian man has narrated his ordeal at the hands of human traffickers who lied to him that he would be travelling to Italy by ship, only to travel by boat. The man, who used to operate a barbing saloon before embarking on a journey from Nigeria to Europe, said they were arrested after spending about six hours on sea. IOM Nigeria posted a video of an interview with the victim on its official Facebook page on Tuesday, February 18, but did not identify the victim. Legit.ng gathers that the victim said when he got to Niger, he discovered that all that he was told were lies. The man says he did not know that the traffickers had planned that the journey would be by boat, and not by ship. Photo credit: IOM Nigeria Source: UGC He said: "They brought a balloon boat, then I said 'you guys told me in Nigeria that I'm going to board a ship, not a boat', but they told me 'you don't have any say here, just move on alongside other people, don't worry, you will be in Italy in less than four hours." The victim said they boarded the boat in the evening, but after spending about six hours on sea, they couldn't find any rescue. He said: "Then a flying boat just came, we thought it was Italy rescue, we never knew it was Libya rescue. They came and they took all of us down to prison." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app The victim's father said the mother fell sick two weeks after they did not hear from their son, adding that his wife would later pass on in 2017. He said he came back to Nigeria to realise that his mother had died. Meanwhile, another batch of 161 Nigerian refugees arrived from Libya on Thursday, February 6. This is the first to be carried out in 2020 after 168 returned in December 2019 as the European Union and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) continues repatriation. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better BUSTED: I was without clothes when they came to arrest us - lady cries out | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Oleksii Liskonih/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused the governments of China and Iran of censoring information about the outbreaks in their countries and putting the rest of the world at greater risk of its spread. The top U.S. diplomat's sharp tone towards Beijing was matched by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who told Congress on Tuesday that the world is not getting reliable data out of China on issues like mortality rates. But President Donald Trump seems to be out of sync with both of his Cabinet members and other top officials, praising Chinese President Xi Jinping and his government's handling of the outbreak even as his own administration's response comes under fire from Republican and Democratic members of Congress. "Censorship. It can have deadly consequences," Pompeo said Tuesday at the State Department. "Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge." The flow of accurate information out of China, he added, is critical to assisting not just the Chinese people, but also "citizens across the world." He called on all governments to "tell the truth about coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations." Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Azar said the administration is also uncertain if the data provided by China on the novel coronavirus outbreak has been full and transparent. But both of those were at odds with Trump's own remarks just two days ago, praising Xi for "working very, very hard" and "doing a very good job." "It's a big problem, but President Xi, he's working very hard to solve the problem, and he will solve the problem," Trump told reporters at the White House Sunday. Trump also showered praise on his own administration's response in the U.S., saying Tuesday in India, "We have very few people with it. ... We're really down to probably 10. Most of the people are outside of danger now." There have been 57 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., with three now released from hospital and no longer thought to be contagious. The majority of those -- 43 of the 57 -- are Americans repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship or Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. Only 14 are individuals that either arrived in the U.S. from China and checked into a hospital or caught the virus in the U.S. from a loved one who had traveled overseas. But officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that the most recent data suggests another level of virus spread globally, with cases identified in more countries now and another level of virus spread. "The data over the last week has raised our level of concern," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. During his news conference in India, Trump also said the U.S. is "very close to a vaccine." But his acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Congress Tuesday the U.S. was at least "months" away from developing one, with other advisers testifying one was still a full year away. The various answers vexed Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who told Wolf his "numbers aren't the same as the CDC's. ... Don't you think you oughta contact them?" Trump's administration has requested $2.5 billion from Congress for emergency supplemental funds to combat COVID-19, the virus's formal name. That funding would come from a $1.25 billion emergency cash requested from Congress as well as reprogramming existing money, including money Congress allocated to fight Ebola. Democrats condemned the move as both insufficient to deal with the crisis and a short-sighted effort "to steal funds dedicated to fight Ebola," in the words of Sen. Chuck Schumer, amid the second largest outbreak of that deadly disease still lingering the Democratic Republic of Congo. The request "is indicative of his towering incompetence and further proof that he and his administration arent taking the coronavirus crisis as seriously as they need to be," the Senate Democratic Minority Leader added Monday. It's not just Democrats, however, who have challenged the administration's response. Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told Azar the administration's "request... is low-balling it possibly, and you can't afford to do that. ... If you low-ball something like this, you'll pay for it later." Trump's top diplomat for Europe and his State Department also warned that Russia was spreading disinformation about the novel coronavirus outbreak on Saturday. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Philip Reeker and the agency's Global Engagement Center, which combats terrorist propaganda and foreign government disinformation, told AFP news agency that thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts are actively spreading alarm about the outbreak in a coordinated effort, including accusing the U.S. of creating the virus. Pompeo said nothing about Russia's role Tuesday. But he did attack Iran's government for censorship as well. "The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country," he said, noting Iran is second to China in COVID-19 deaths. Dr. Iraj Harirchi, the head of Iran's counter-coronavirus task force, tested positive for the virus himself, authorities announced Tuesday -- one day after he appeared at a news conference downplaying the danger posed by the outbreak in Iran and opposing a quarantine of Qom, the city with the largest number of infected patients and fatalities in Iran. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. The U.S. Navy recently ordered two more MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance UAVs for $86 million each. In late 2017 the navy received its first production model MQ-4C. There are now six production models in service and two development models. There used to be five development models but three have been lost, the first one in 2012 (in the United States). Two were lost in 2019. One was heavily damaged during a takeoff accident late in 2019 while another was shot down by the Iranians in mid-2019. The development models were air force RQ-4B aircraft modified for naval service. As development ended the development aircraft were put to work and the last two losses were operating in the Middle East. One of the production models had a landing accident in late 2018 and it is unclear when that one will return to service as it landed on its belly because the UAV lost power and the landing gear did not fully deploy. The first production MQ-4Cs joined squadrons already created to use them. The first (of five) MQ-4C squadrons, VUP (Unmanned Patrol Squadron) 19 became operational in late 2016 even though the squadron only had access to the three MQ-4C prototypes and three RQ-4s configured as Tritons. VUP 19 was moved to Guam in the Pacific and received its first two MQ-4Cs in early 2020 and began operations. Each VUP squadron has about 130 personnel, including UAV operators and maintenance personnel. The MQ-4C carries a lot of electronics, including a new sense and avoid system so that the UAV can operate in commercial airspace and alongside other military aircraft, including the P-8A manned reconnaissance aircraft. The sense and avoid system is still not fully operational. The 360-degree ocean surveillance radar is operational as is the air search radar. The ocean surveillance radar operates in all weather and can identify most ships it detects on the surface. A second squadron is being formed on the west coast (California) to cover the eastern Pacific. Three more VUPs will be based in Kadena, Japan, Sigonella, Italy and the Atlantic. All five VUP squadrons are supposed to be operational by 2022. At that point, each VUP will receive more MQ-4Cs until they each have eight or more, are able to maintain at least four of them operational at all times and thus provide 24/7 surveillance where needed in their region. Each VUP will eventually have at least 12 MQ-4Cs so that some can also be sent overseas as needed. Before that happens some MQ-4Cs will be flown to the new VUPs as needed for training or operations. Australia has seven MQ-4Cs on order to complement its P-8As and other manned maritime surveillance aircraft. India and Britain are watching all this unfold before while they consider obtaining MQ-4Ca. There is no question that the MQ-4Cs can perform and the developmental models have spent enough time in the air to determine that the MQ-4Cs will probably suffer about four UAVs lost per 100,000 flight hours. That will improve over time but it has already improved quite a lot since the original RQ-4 Global Hawk entered service. The navy now plans to buy at least 60 MQ-4Cs Tritons and 117 P-8A Poseidon manned jet aircraft to replace 250 prop-driven P-3Cs maritime surveillance aircraft. This replacement program is supposed to be completed before 2030. The new surveillance aircraft provide more information over a wider area and do it more quickly. So far 106 P-8As are in service with the U.S. Navy and foreign customers. In 2009 one of the six navy RQ-4Bs used for MQ-4C development was put in service on an experimental basis. The first year of testing consisted of 60 flights and over 1,000 hours in the air. The flights were over land and sea areas, even though the UAV sensors are designed mainly to perform maritime reconnaissance. In 2012 a navy RQ-4B began operating with a carrier task force at sea. Circling above the task force at 22,500 meters (70,000 feet), the UAV monitored sea traffic off the Iranian coast and the Straits of Hormuz. Anything suspicious was checked out by carrier aircraft, land-based aircraft, or nearby warships. The RQ-4B could fly a 24 hour sortie every three days. The brief tests with the fleet were a success and the first pre-production MQ-4C was delivered in late 2012. The Navy initially planned to buy MQ-4Cs for over $60 million each. The MQ-4C has a wingspan of 42.2 meters (131 feet) and is 15.5 meters (48 feet) long. Range is over 22,000 kilometers and cruising speed is 650 kilometers an hour. The MQ-4C is based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk which entered service in 2006. At 13 tons the Global Hawk is the size of a commuter airliner (like the Embraer ERJ 145) but costs nearly twice as much. Global Hawk is equipped with powerful and expensive sensors, which more than double the cost of the aircraft. These "spy satellite quality" sensors (especially AESA radar) are usually worth the expense because they enable the UAV, flying at over 20,000 meters (62,000 feet), to get a sharp picture of all the territory it can see from that altitude. The B version is a lot more reliable. Early A models tended to fail and crash at the rate of once every thousand flight hours. The MQ-4C is seen as the ultimate replacement for all manned maritime patrol aircraft, at least once it is equipped with more anti-submarine sensors and weapons. The P-8A will probably be the last manned naval search aircraft. Some countries are using satellite communications to put the sensor operators who staff manned patrol aircraft on the ground. Some nations propose sending aircraft like the P-3 or P-8 aloft with just their flight crews, not all the system operators and having all the other gear operated from the ground. This will enable the aircraft to stay in the air longer and carry more equipment. The scene at Divis and Black Mountain after snow fall earlier this week. Pic Freddie Parkinson The Met Office has issued yet another weather warning for snow and ice across Northern Ireland this week. The organisation has put in place a yellow alert from 10pm on Wednesday, February 26, through to 10am on Thursday. Read More Forecasters are warning of wintry showers and icy patches bringing travel disruption. It is the fourth such alert in as many days with the last warning ending at 10am on Wednesday. "Wintry showers are expected to continue through Wednesday night into Thursday morning especially over Northern Ireland," the Met Office said. "This will leave surfaces wet, leading to icy stretches developing on untreated surfaces. Showers will fall as a mixture of hail, sleet and snow. Some places are likely to see 1-3 cm of snow, mainly above 100 m, with 5-10 cm possible above 400 m." There has been a number of alerts through the week with Monday seeing the worst disruption with schools having to close and roads impassable. On Wednesday there were reports of black ice on some isolated areas. Pompeo Demands 'Truth About Coronavirus' As Iran Reports More Deaths By RFE/RL February 25, 2020 The new coronavirus has killed an additional three people in Iran, bringing the total to 16 -- the highest death toll outside the disease's focal point in China -- as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on February 25 demanded that Tehran "tell the truth" about the outbreak, voicing alarm at allegations of a cover-up. "The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country," Pompeo told reporters in Washington. "All nations including Iran should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations," he said. Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew this week after sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy, and South Korea. The virus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. A spokesman for Iran's Health Ministry told state television on February 25 that three more people infected with the new virus died in the country amid 95 confirmed cases. "It will be safer for people to stay at home. There were 34 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, including 16 people in Qom city," said the spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour. Qom is a popular place of religious study for Shi'a from across Iran and other countries that is 120 kilometers south of Tehran. A media adviser to the health minister later announced that Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi had been infected. "The coronavirus test for Mr. Harirchi...who was on the front lines combating the coronavirus, was positive," Alireza Vahabzadeh wrote in a tweet. Meanwhile, the U.A.E. General Civil Aviation Authority "suspended all passenger flights and cargo to and from Iran starting today and for one week that can be renewed," a statement carried by the official WAM news agency. The statement described the decision as a precautionary measure undertaken to ensure strict monitoring and prevention of the spread of the virus. The U.A.E. has recorded 13 cases, with the latest two involving an Iranian tourist and his wife. The Arab state is Iran's biggest trading partner in the Persian Gulf. Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, is a major transit point for passengers travelling to and from Iran. On February 25, a plane carrying more than 130 passengers and crew from Tehran to Istanbul was diverted to the Turkish capital, Ankara, amid suspicion of infections on board. Turkey's health minister said all would be quarantined for 14 days. On February 24, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman reported their first cases of the coronavirus -- all involving people who had come from Iran. On February 25, four Iraqis of the same family tested positive for the coronavirus in the northern city of Kirkuk, the Iraqi Health Ministry said. They recently arrived from Iran and were put in quarantine by health authorities, the ministry added. Meanwhile, the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research said on February 25 that the first coronavirus clinical trial testing biotechnology company Gilead's experimental antiviral drug remdesivir has started. The first trial participant is a U.S. citizen who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the study is being conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, according to the National Institutes of Health. In Washington, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said there will likely be more cases of coronavirus in the United States, and he asked a Senate subcommittee to approve $2.5 billion in funding to fight the outbreak. "We are working closely with state, local, and private sector partners to prepare for mitigating the virus's potential spread in the United States, as we will likely see more cases here," Azar told a Senate appropriations subcommittee on February 25. Azar added that recent fast-spreading outbreaks in Iran and Italy were particularly worrying. In Tenerife, hundreds of guests at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife were confined to their rooms as medical tests were carried out after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for COVID-19. The doctor is reportedly from the Lombardy region, where Italian authorities are battling an outbreak. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uae-bans-all -flights-with-iran-as-coronavirus-claims -more-lives/30453129.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Does Translation of Proverbs 18:10 Impact the Meaning? We can gain an even greater understanding of Proverbs 18:10 by looking at several different translations that will reveal certain nuances of the original languages. Starting with the NIV, we read: The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. We note the slight change in wording here, where the NIV uses the word fortified, which does no violence to the verse, but rather enhances it; something that has been fortified has been thoroughly secured and strengthened for battle. Can different wording impact how we understand the verse? One of the dangers that can be encountered when dealing with some translations is an unintentional watering down of the original meaning. We possibly see this in the Expanded Version. It renders this verse: The name of the Lord is like a strong tower;those who do right [the righteous] can run to him for safety [refuge]. Some would take issue with saying that His name is like a strong tower, claiming this takes something away from the force of the original. This observation is very slight, and does not at all ruin the truth concerning His name. On the other hand, Youngs Literal Translation adds another subtle shade of meaning when it states: A tower of strength [is] the name of Jehovah, Into it the righteous runneth, and is set on high. Here, another form of the word strong is used when Young says, a tower of strength. Referring back to Judges 9:51 where the people went up to the top of the tower, notice that Young states that the righteous are set on high. All of this also does no violence to our verse; but rather confirms it. He also uses the transliteration of Yahweh, which is Jehovah. As an aside, one might ask, What is the difference between the names Yahweh, Jehovah, and LORD? The answer is that there is actually no difference. LORD is a transliteration of the name Yahweh, which is a transliteration of the name YHWH; since there is no way to truly pronounce this name, it was given the spelling Yahweh. The name Jehovah then is an anglicized version Yahweh. Photo credit: Unsplash/James Coleman Laws could soon be changed to ensure Celeste Barber's $51million bushfire relief fund goes to the victims who need it most. Under current law, funds donated to the New South Wales fire authorities must be spent on equipment, operations and supplies. The Greens have put forward a bill in state parliament to amend the Rural Fires Act to allow donations received from November 1, 2019 to February 1, 2020 to go toward their intended cause - in Celeste Barber's case, that is bushfire victims across Australia. 'There is no question that the families of any RFS volunteer who was killed on duty should be eligible for support and assistance from these funds,' Greens MP David Shoebridge said. Laws could soon be changed to ensure Celeste Barber's $51million bushfire relief fund goes to the victims who need it most Greens MP David Shoebridge said they will put forward legislation to amend the Rural Fires Act to allow fund donations received from November 1, 2019 to February 1, 2020 to go toward their intended cause 'The extraordinary generosity of ordinary Australians needs to be matched by some common-sense politics.' The record number of donations for the Rural Fires Trust was co-ordinated by comedian Barber via social media, and saw more than one million people worldwide contribute to the cause. The 37-year-old launched her NSW RFS bushfire fundraiser in January, with the goal of raising just $30,000, with her concerns sparked when her family home was threatened in Eden on the NSW south coast. The campaign became the largest ever fundraiser in Facebook's history, finishing with more than $51million donated from more than 1.3million people. Funds were donated to the NSW RFS Donations Trust account, who legally can't give the funds to other charities. Pictured: firefighters tackle a blaze in Bilpin, west of Sydney, New South Wales) Ms Barber hosted the Fire Fight Australia concert after the incredible success of her fundraiser Ms Barber's fundraiser was initially aimed at supporting the NSW RFS, but once the incredible amount of money started rolling in, she decided to broaden the fundraiser to support other states affected by the bushfires. However, legal issues arose because the money was being donated to the NSW RFS Donations Trust account, who by law cannot forward the funds to other charities. Barber has indicated she will bring an application to the NSW Supreme Court to attempt to fix the issue. The RFS has previously said it wants to distribute the money in line with Barber's wishes but isn't confident it can legally be done. 2019/2020 FIRE SEASON DEATH TOLL The national death toll of Australia's 2019/2020 bushfire season was 33 as of Monday, March 2, with 25 confirmed deaths in New South Wales, three in South Australia and five in Victoria. OCTOBER New South Wales: Robert Lindsey, 77, and Gwen Hyde, 68, were found in their burned out Coongbar home near Casino on October 9th. NOVEMBER New South Wales: The body of 85-year-old George Nole was found in a burnt out car near his home in Wytaliba, near Glen Innes. Vivian Chaplain, a 69-year-old woman from Wytaliba, succumbed to her injuries in hospital after attempting in vain to save her home and animals from the blaze. The body of 63-year-old Julie Fletcher was pulled from a scorched building in Johns River, north of Taree. Barry Parsons, 58, was found in a shed at Willawarrin, near Kempsey. Chris Savva, 64, died after his 4WD overturned near burnt-out South Arm bridge, near Nambucca Heads. A 59-year-old man was founded sheltered in a Yarrowitch water tank on November 7. He died of injuries on December 29. Victoria: David Moresi, 69, died after being involved in a traffic incident while working at the at the Gelantipy fire in East Gippsland on November 30. DECEMBER New South Wales: Firefighters Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died on December 19 after a tree fell on their truck while they were travelling through Buxton, south of Sydney. Samuel McPaul, 28, was battling a blaze in Jingellic, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on December 30 when a 'fire tornado' caused his 10-tonne firetruck to roll. South Australia: The body of 69-year-old Ron Selth was found in his Charleston home, which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek blaze on December 21. NEW YEAR'S EVE FIRES New South Wales: Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega, on December 31. A 70-year-old man, named by local media as Laurie Andrew, was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola. The body of a 70-year-old man was found in a burnt vehicle on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah on the morning of New Year's Day. The body of a 62-year-old man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road at Sussex Inlet about 11.30am on New Year's Day. A body, believed to be a 56-year-old man, found outside a home at Coolagolite, east of Cobargo on New Year's Day. An off-duty RFS firefighter, believed to be 72-year-old Colin Burns, was found near a car in Belowra after the New Year's Eve fires swept through. Victoria: Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. Fred Becker, 75, was the second person to die in Victoria. He suffered a heart attack while trying to defend his Maramingo Creek home. JANUARY New South Wales: David Harrison, a 47-year-old man from Canberra, suffered a heart attack defending his friend's home near Batlow on Saturday, January 4. A 71-year-old man was found on January 6. Police have been told the man was last sighted on December 31, 2019 and was moving equipment on his property in Nerrigundah. An 84-year-old man who stayed to defend his home in Cobargo, NSW, dies in hospital three weeks after fire hit. His pet dog Bella, who stayed by his side as fires raged, was also killed in the disaster. Three American firefighters are killed when Coulson Aviation C-130 Hercules water bomber Zeus crashed while fighting fires near Cooma on Thursday January 23. They have been named as Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr, 43. On January 24, Michael Clark, 59, was found in a Bodalla home destroyed by bushfires near the NSW South Coast town of Moruya. Victoria: Forest Fire Management firefighter Mat Kavanagh, 43, was killed Friday January 3 when he was involved in a two-car crash on the Goulburn Valley Highway. Bill Slade, a 60-year-old father of two from Wonthaggi was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on January 11. He has been remembered as one of the longest serving, most experienced and fittest firefighters. South Australia: Well-known outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son, Adelaide surgeon Clayton Lang, died in the Kangaroo Island bushfire after their car was trapped by flames. Advertisement FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Several leaders of a violent neo-Nazi group have been charged with conspiring to harass journalists, church congregations and a former Cabinet official, prosecutors on both U.S. coasts announced Wednesday. Some of those arrested were charged with cyberstalking and sending Swastika-laden posters to journalists, telling them, You have been visited by your local Nazis. These defendants from across the country allegedly conspired on the internet to intimidate journalists and activists with whom they disagreed, John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a written statement. John C. Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, was charged in U.S. District Court in Virginia with a series of hoax bomb threats that prosecutors said were aimed at drawing a heavy police response to the homes or offices of the groups targets. Denton was arrested on Wednesday in Texas along with Kaleb J. Cole, 24, who moved to the state after he came to the attention of authorities in his home state of Washington. Both Denton and Cole appeared in federal court in Houston and remained in custody pending further proceedings. Cole was one of four defendants charged in Seattle. Prosecutors say he and the three others, as well as Denton, were members of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division. Atomwaffen is a German term meaning atomic weapons. According to an affidavit unsealed Wednesday, Denton was a founding member and former leader of Atomwaffen. He used the names Rape and Tormentor in online conversations while holding a day job as a mortuary worker, prosecutors said. They said his targets included a predominantly African American church in Alexandria and Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Charging papers do not identify the former Cabinet official targeted, but a swatting call involving the Alexandria, Virginia, home of then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was made in January 2019, when prosecutors say the conspiracy was active. Another man who prosecutors say is a member of Atomwaffen, Andrew Thomasberg, faces sentencing for unrelated weapons crimes in Alexandria on Friday. In Seattle, the members cyberstalked and sent Swastika-laden posters to journalists and an employee of the Anti-Defamation league, telling them, You have been visited by your local Nazis, Your Actions have Consequences, and, We are Watching. The criminal complaint includes lengthy excerpts from encrypted text conversations. Investigators warned several of the intended victims before they received the intimidating communications, indicating that they were monitoring the people making the threats. Seattle police obtained an extreme risk protection order against Cole last fall, seizing nine guns from his home. They said Cole had gone from espousing hate to now taking active steps or preparation for an impending race war. Those steps including organizing paramilitary-style hate camps in Nevada and Washington, investigators said. The others arrested in Washington state were Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Washington; Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Florida; and Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek, Arizona. Shea made an initial appearance in court, where his lawyer declined to comment. It was not immediately clear if the other two had attorneys who could speak for them. Seattle FBI Special Agent in Charge Ray Duda said Cole and the other three posed a legitimate and escalating threat to anyone who dared counter or tried to expose their activities and crossed the line from protected ideas and speech to illegal acts of intimidation and coercion. Chris Ingalls, a reporter with Seattles KING-TV who had reported on the group, said Wednesday that about a month ago he received a poster in his home mailbox that featured a figure wearing a press badge and the words, Death to Pigs. The FBI, which was already monitoring the group, had warned him it might be coming, he said; at one point, members of the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force had staked out his home to protect him and his family. Ingalls said Wednesday he was nevertheless frightened because he knew of the Atomwaffen Divisions affinity for Charles Manson, whose followers wrote Death to Pigs with a victims blood when they killed actress Sharon Tate and others. Atomwaffen is not just a bunch of Nazis running around in the woods, Ingalls said. Theyre following the helter skelter teachings of an insane killer from the 1960s. ... The exposure of these guys is extremely important to me. Federal authorities have paid close attention to the group: At least 13 people linked to Atomwaffen Division or an offshoot called Feuerkrieg Division have been charged with crimes in federal court since the groups formation in 2016. Another two men who were members of Atomwaffen are facing murder charges in state courts. ___ Associated Press reporters Nomaan Merchant in Houston and Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland, contributed to this report. ___ The story summary has been edited to change men to people. [February 26, 2020] Generational Equity Advises Cy-Fair Music & Arts in Sale to a Private Investor Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of its client, Cy-Fair Music & Arts, Inc. to a private investor. The acquisition closed January 16, 2020 and details were not disclosed. Located in Houston, Texas, Cy-Fair Music & Arts has established itself as one of the premier providers for music, art, and drama classes within the Houston market for nearly 25 years. The Company's core services include music lessons, kid's drama classes, art classes, camps, Kindermusik, and music sales. Since 1995, Cy-Fair Music & Arts has helped over 7,000 students begin and continue on their journey in music, art, and drama. Generational Equity Executive Managing Director of M&A - Central Region, Michael Goss and his team, led by Senior M&A Advisor, Bob Baumgartner, and assisted by Vice President Jon LePage successfully closed the deal. Senior Managing Director Thomas Hamm established the initial relationship with Cy-Fair Music & Arts. "We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to help Nancy achieve her exit goals and transition the business tosomeone who has just as much love for music, art, and drama, and sharing those gifts with the next generation," said Goss. About Generational Equity Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America. With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. Their five-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A transactional services, and wealth management. The M&A Advisor named the company the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005020/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Embattled former Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela made a brief appearance in court Wednesday morning, a little more than a month after she was indicted on six criminal charges. Vela, who is running for sheriff, is facing one count of aggravated perjury and two counts of tampering or fabricating evidence. Those offenses are third-degree felonies. She also is charged with three counts of official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor. The former constable sat with her husband, Carlos Vela, and other supporters in the first row of the 379th state District Court. They were there only for the few minutes it took for her attorneys, former Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas Nico LaHood and former prosecutor Jason Goss, to confer with lead prosecutor Dawn McCraw and state District Judge Ron Rangel on a preliminary timeline for the trial and to review discovery documents. On ExpressNews.com: Former Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela faces charges of perjury, official oppression and evidence tampering After the brief hearing was over, Vela declined to comment, leaving the courthouse with her supporters. LaHood stayed to talk to the media on her behalf, saying she was heading back to the campaign trail. He said he and his associates are reviewing the charges and that it is going to take as long as it takes for us to make a proper assessment and to give Ms. Vela a proper defense. At this point, weve seen nothing that worries us, he said. She maintains her innocence, and we stand by her. This was the first hearing for Vela, 46, and former Precinct 2 Constable Captain Marc Duane Garcia, who worked for Vela, since they turned themselves in after being indicted Jan. 23. Garcia, 40, was indicted on one count of aggravated perjury and three counts of official oppression. I have full confidence in demonstrating that the claims against him are frivolous and without merit, said Garcias attorney, Mark Anthony Sanchez. Vela has been under a cloud of controversy almost since she took office in 2017; several employees have filed grievances and lawsuits against her and she clashed with several other elected officials. One of the charges in the indictment stems from an incident that occurred last Easter. She is accused of altering, destroying or concealing a cash log detailing payments she allegedly took from a family as they were having a picnic at a pavilion they had reserved for the holiday in Rodriguez Park on the West Side. Vela claimed the other family had canceled their reservation and it was hers, but a park manager confirmed the family had not canceled. On ExpressNews.com: Constable squeezed cash from Easter reveler at county park Family members said when they refused to give up their spot, Vela demanded immediate payment of $50 an hour for security to be paid to her and a deputy constable. The family said they paid $300 before they ran out of cash. She was charged with tampering with evidence, but not for taking the money. The official oppression and perjury charges that Vela and Garcia face involve treatment of two constable employees: Leonicio Moreno, who at one time was Velas chief deputy, and former Deputy Constable Chris De La Cerda. They have both sued her in state and federal court for discrimination. Vela and Garcia are accused of making false statements while under oath to obtain an arrest warrant for Moreno for allegedly altering training records. The DAs Office declined to prosecute Moreno, citing a lack of evidence. Official oppression refers to a public servants misuse of power to benefit oneself or harm others. Each felony count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and each misdemeanor by up to one year. Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Redwood Green Corp. (OTC: RDGC) ("Redwood Green" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the immediate appointment of Michael Saxon as CEO and director. Former CEO Christopher Hansen will remain a director; John Knapp has resigned his position with the board. Michael Saxon, CEO and Director, Redwood Green Corp. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6970/52828_enh.jpg CEO Michael Saxon is an accomplished consumer products executive with over 25 years of experience growing F100 businesses in the USA, Europe and Asia, having led business units with full P&L responsibility from $100 million to $3 billion while operating in different regulatory systems and successfully influencing government policy. His career reflects a demonstrated history of setting record income and market share results in a wide range of market conditions and succeeding in various go-to-market models, including wholesale, distributor and DSD. He brings a strong, innovative mindset from his experience creating new products and brands and having been the catalyst for successful large-scale transformation initiatives to drive organic growth and executing M&A transactions to enter new markets. Mr. Saxon served in various positions for over 20 years with Altria Group and Philip Morris International (PMI). Most recently, he founded and is CEO of SXN Strategy Partners in Richmond, VA, which advises boards and the C-suite on long-term strategies. Clients include private equity and venture capital firms, institutional investors, startups, middle market companies and non-profits. "I'm excited to be joining the Redwood Green team," said Michael Saxon. "This is an exhilarating time in our industry. With the strong backing of our shareholders and contributions from our distinguished board, I'm confident in the future of the company. We will be refining our strategy over the coming months but running profitable businesses and seeking strategic acquisitions and partnerships will be the foundations of our future." Former CEO Chris Hansen stated, "It has been my pleasure to lead Redwood Green and our subsidiaries through our first very challenging year of foundational structure building and shifting strategy into this new industry, as we developed and implemented our initial road map through rocky and often rapidly changing terrain. We have built strong organizational teams for the Company, and it has been a delight to work with such a highly skilled, diverse group of people. At this point, I am satisfied the company is in an excellent position to hand direction over to Michael, and I am pleased to be continuing my participation now as a member of the board." Board Chair Dr. Delon Human expressed appreciation for the contributions of both Chris Hansen and John Knapp. "Chris Hansen has led Redwood Green and our subsidiaries through an extraordinary time of change in both Company strategy and the regulatory landscape of the market. He has accomplished significant multi-pronged foundational building and has set in place the structure for exceptional development as we move forward with Redwood Green's strategy of, as Michael Saxon stated, running profitable businesses and seeking strategic acquisitions and partnerships." "John Knapp, founder of Redwood Green subsidiary Good Meds, has likewise done an admirable job of building, from the ground up in a brand-new industry, what has become a respected player in Colorado's medicinal cannabis space. His strengths as an entrepreneur and innovator have set the stage for potentially remarkable growth in the near future. We appreciate the contributions to the Company from both of these men." See RedwoodGreenCorp.com/Investors Governance page to review Michael Saxon's full bio. About Redwood Green Corp. Redwood Green delivers high-quality, safe, sustainable, innovative and accessible marijuana- and hemp-derived products that support individual well-being. Safety and high quality is a critical commitment from Redwood Green, both for our own brands as well as the partners with whom we do business. The drive behind what we do is rooted in improving well-being and quality of life for a wide range of audiences, ensuring we grow and improve upon what is currently available for consumers in the cannabinoids market. The company is publicly traded and listed on the OTC as RDGC. This press release is not an offer of securities, or a solicitation for purchase, subscription or sale of securities in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction in which it would be unlawful to do so. For more information: RedwoodGreenCorp.com Investor inquiries: Investors@redwoodgreencorp.com Media: Media@redwoodgreencorp.com Forward-looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or "recurring" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, such as changes in the regulatory environment affecting the sale and use of cannabis products, demand for the Company's products, internal funding and the financial condition of the Company, product roll-out, competition, our dependence upon our commercial partners, and other commercial matters involving the Company, its products and the markets in which the Company operates, as well as general economic conditions and those other risk factors identified in the Company's SEC filings, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this email message. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. However, any further disclosures made on related subjects in subsequent reports should be consulted. Caution Regarding Cannabis Operations in the United States Investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the U.S. to, among other things, cultivate, distribute or possess cannabis in the U.S. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the U.S. may form the basis for prosecution under applicable U.S. federal money laundering legislation. While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the U.S. has trended toward non-enforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with medical or adult-use cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve Redwood Green of liability under U.S. federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against Redwood Green. Enforcement of federal laws in the U.S. remains a significant risk to the business of Redwood Green and any proceedings brought against Redwood Green thereunder may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance. Related Images michael-saxon-ceo-and-director.jpg Michael Saxon, CEO and Director, Redwood Green Corp. Michael Saxon, CEO and Director, Redwood Green Corp. photo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52828 One kilogram gold bars are displayed for a photograph at the YLG Bullion International headquarters in Thailand on January 13, 2016. Gold pared earlier gains on Wednesday as investors took profits and U.S. share markets gained footing, even as the spread of the coronavirus dimmed the global outlook. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $1,644.03 per ounce, having earlier jumped over 1% to 1654.68. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,646.8. "The market is well saturated with bullish news. I think we are seeing some participants taking profit here ... especially the longs are taking advantage," said Ryan McKay, a commodity strategist at TD Securities. "The stronger dollar is also weighing on gold prices slightly," he added. The dollar rebounded from a two-week low and U.S. markets also opened higher, after suffering their worst four-day percentage fall in over a year in the previous session. Gold is up over 3% so far this month, having hit a seven-year high of $1,688.66 earlier this week as the rapidly spreading coronavirus aggravated fears of an economic slowdown. The effects of the outbreak are likely to reverberate beyond China as most major economies in the region are expected to either slow significantly, halt or shrink in the current quarter, Reuters polls found. "Besides the safe-haven demand, a growing number of people who are buying in anticipation of weaker growth from the spread of coronavirus and action from the Fed," McKay added. Money markets are now pricing in roughly two 25-basis-point (bps) rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and expect a 10 bps cut by the European Central Bank by December. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Indicative of rising investor interest in bullion, holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, climbed to the highest since November 2016 at 940.09 tonnes on Tuesday. "Considering that a couple of uncertainties are still lingering in the market, along with the coronavirus threat and very low yields, investors are taking positions at a lower price," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. "If we see yields at these levels and no other positive news come about the virus situation, we will see gold go back to levels it hit earlier." Elsewhere, palladium gained 1.1% to $2,728.05 per ounce, while platinum fell 1.4% to $913.12, having touched its lowest in over two months earlier. Silver rose 0.6% to $17.87 an ounce, having fallen as much as 3.4% in the previous session. I wish to bring to the attention of the minister in question that Parliament is not all about LAW as she seeks misleadingly to suggest in order to propagate her interest. It is utterly far from that! For Hon Hajia Alima to suggest that she is a lawyer and that Parliament is all about the law is not only woefully inaccurate but also amounts to, either an expression of ignorance about the business of Parliament or that she is being insincere with the people of Nalerigu/ Gambaga constituency. It is, in my estimation, an attempt to mislead the public! The Hon. Member is well aware that the august House of Parliament is made up of experts of diverse backgrounds and not only Law. These include the finance committee, Agric committee, security committee, economic planning committee, social services committee, political committee, public accounts committee and many others. Does one need to be a lawyer in order to function effectively, in the above-stated committees? Even during the precolonial and colonial era, the colonial administrators, recognizing the wisdom bestowed in our revered chiefs, appointed them to form part of the legislative assemblies at the time in order to make not only laws but also formulate policies that inured to the effective functioning of the colonies. Law is just a component of Parliament and so should not be misconstrued to mean Parliament is all about law. Parliament means a lot! If parliament were all about law, then the constitution which is more supreme than Hajia Alima should have provided that only lawyers should be qualified to go to parliament. The constitution never provides this because one does not need to necessarily be a lawyer in order to function effectively in Parliament. The Hon minister should stop the deception and be honest for once! Her bid to perpetuate her stay in power should not cloud her professional knowhow or vision! We have had distinguished parliamentarians who have never pursued law yet did their work very well that merited their continued stay in Parliament. We the NDC would not sit down to allow the Hon member, who doubles as the local government minister, to mislead the good people of Nalerigu/Gambaga constituency in east Mamprusi, from making a wise choice by voting for Hon Alhaji Baba Seidu Issifu come December 7. Alhaji Baba has all the needed expertise to function honourably to the administration if his constituent much more than what Hajia Alima is doing. Long live Alhaji Baba! Long live NDC! Yentik Gariba [email protected] Northeast Nalerigu No lockdown in Delhi for now but some curbs, says Arvind Kejriwal amid Covid surge Kejriwal comes out with AAP's Punjab Model, promises justice in sacrilege cases Kejriwal come out, talk to us: Protesters call upon Delhi CM; Police uses water canon India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Feb 26: Several students on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday crowded outside Delho Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, raising slogans of "Kejriwal come out, talk to us" and demanding restoration of peace in the national capital. On Wednesday, the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) and Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) organised a protest, seeking action against those responsible for violence in Delhi. Delhi: Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) and Jamia Coordination Committee organise a demonstration outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence. People have gathered here demanding action against #DelhiViolence and seeking restoration of peace. pic.twitter.com/pwMwAZETPe ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 The protesters, who called themselves "concerned citizens", urged CM Kejriwal to personally visit those affected areas with the help of local MLAs to reduce tension. Delhi: Police disperse the people who had gathered outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence demanding action against #DelhiViolence and seeking restoration of peace. https://t.co/NWz03HQkQT pic.twitter.com/ybGwIw0cqo ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 Also, Delhi Police used water canon on the demonstrators as they refused to disperse. However, the demonstrators, who refused to leave the side even after using water canon were detained by the police. NSA Ajit Doval reaches north-east Delhi, to take stock of situation On Tuesday, CM Kejriwal called for an urgent meeting at his residence, to take stock of the situation and issued instructions to take all necessary steps to restore peace. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday reached Seelampur area to take stock of the situation. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 9:07 [IST] It's date night at the theater! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out on Tuesday evening for a special performance of the show "Dear Evan Hansen" at the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End. The show was held to benefit The Royal Foundation, which launched in 2009 in support of the family's various philanthropic initiatives. The musical, which tackles bullying, anxiety, depression and suicide in its storyline, was a fitting choice for the couple, who focus much of their charity work on mental health. In particular, the parents of three have established two initiatives to promote mental health awareness under the foundation; Shout, the UK's first 24/7 mental health text hotline, and Heads Together, which seeks to cultivate open conversation on mental health. Following the show, Kate (in a tweed Eponine dress and Jimmy Choo heels) and William will meet with the production's cast and crew. On Monday, Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would embark on their first official visit to Ireland to meet with various community leaders and hear about the country's environmental conservation efforts. The visit will fall in the middle of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's brief return to the United Kingdom for a series of engagements before they officially transition from royal life in late March. It is believed that the two couples will reunite at the Commonwealth Service on March 9. Dozens of people were injured tonight (February 24) in a head-on collision between a passenger train and a cargo train. The two vehicles smashed into each other at around 6:40pm local time in Ratchaburi, central Thailand. Initial reports from the scene suggested a signal error for the crash. Officials said there were 258 passengers onboard the diesel train when it hit the cargo train travelling from Bangkok to Hat Yai in the south of the country. Deputy Governor of Ratchaburi Kiatisak Trongsiri said at least ten people were rushed immediately to hospital. He said: ''The freight train has derailed and we are working to clear the tracks. A signal fault is the most probable cause of accident but we need to investigate more.'' The conductor of one of the trains, Pakorn Mananan, 37, was identified one of those seriously injured. Safer consumption rooms should be installed in Glasgow to combat an unprecedented spike in drug deaths, a conference highlighting the problem has heard. Held at Glasgows SEC on Wednesday, the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council event welcomed around 350 delegates in what local authority leader Susan Aitken hailed as a landmark event but also a challenging day. During the event, which is being held ahead of a UK-Government organised drugs summit tomorrow, safer consumption facilities in countries such as Canada and Switzerland were highlighted. The UK governments Home Office has refused to allow the facilities in Glasgow. Cllr Susan Aitken opens Glasgow's Drug Deaths Crisis Conference at SEC. "Glasgow has to be bold and innovative and the single most effective intervention is the creation of a Safer Drugs Consumption Facility." #stopthedeaths pic.twitter.com/Ia5o7rNgfV Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) February 26, 2020 The city accounted for around a third of Scotlands 1,187 drug deaths in 2018 among Europes highest and the most in the UK something Ms Aitken said needed an emergency response. She told the conference: A cohort of ageing long-term intravenous heroin users and the emergence of new cheap poly drugs is fuelling an unprecedented spike in drug-related deaths here. We can lead the way for the rest of the UK while ensuring this crisis is first addressed where it most acute. The underlying causes to this crisis are complex and varied, such is the scale and persistence of the problem that no single intervention will have a transformative impact by itself. Story continues She added: Previous efforts to address the issues around injecting drug use have floundered. New approaches are now necessary to target those most at risk. Glasgow again has to be bold and innovative. International evidence tells us (a safer consumption room) is the most impactful intervention to reduce harm and improve health. Glasgow is ready and willing to work constructively with both governments to find solutions that save lives and build better futures. We wont stay quiet if we believe solutions are not being properly resourced or if the door is closed in our faces. Nothing can be off the table. Naloxone injections are used to help revive people who have had a drugs overdose (Glasgow City Council/PA) A demonstration of the consumption rooms was held before the conference began, which include various syringes and swabs and Naloxone injections, which are used to help revive people who have had a drugs overdose. The Home Office has previously refused to grant the powers needed to make such a facility legal. Despite this an Enhanced Drug Treatment Service Scotlands first addictions service was licensed and at the end of last year started treating patients with pharmaceutical-grade heroin in Glasgow city centre. John Campbell, Glasgows injecting equipment provision improvement manager (GCHSCP/PA) The conference also heard about the recent HIV outbreak that began in 2015. A video featuring John Campbell, injecting equipment provision improvement manager at Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (GCHSCP), revealed around 170 people are believed to have contracted HIV in this current outbreak. But it is feared that the actual number may be much higher as many drug users do not engage with needle exchange services that offer blood tests. Ms Aitken also suggested there are around 500 people regularly injecting in lanes, car parks, closes and public toilets around Glasgow City Centre. With a clear link to public injecting and the recent HIV outbreak, she again backed the cause for consumption rooms. It is hoped the discussion around the such facilities will carry over to a similar UK Government drugs summit being held at the same venue on Thursday. What matters is saving lives and I will work with anyone to achieve that Public Health Minister @JoeFitzSNP speaking at the Scottish Drug Deaths Conference in Glasgow #StopTheDeaths pic.twitter.com/QKDfuMHnoz Scot Gov Health (@scotgovhealth) February 26, 2020 Public health minister Joe FitzPatrick told the conference: The problem were all here to discuss is as brutal as it is simple. The solutions may be complex but they must be found otherwise this senseless carnage will continue. We must address the impact of drug use in a way that is public health-led rather than just as a justice issue. This is not a view that is universally held but it is one that has shown real benefits around the world. He added: What matters is saving lives and I will work with anyone to achieve that. Tomorrow the UK Government will be hosting a summit in this same building I want to be able to bring Scotlands experience directly to that meeting. Speaking to the audience, he said: You are Glasgows front-line in this public health emergency. There is some fantastic work going on up and down our country and our Drugs Deaths Taskforce has started its work, making recommendations and new actions are under way as a result. But we want to go further. We must go further. Collectively you are Scotlands best hope for saving lives which would otherwise be lost to drugs. HOWELL, MI -- Livingston County passed a resolution Monday night committing itself to protecting the Second Amendment in the gun-rights movement spreading across the state and country. The countys Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its Feb. 24 meeting to affirm the countys commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the right to bear arms. The resolution avoids creating a sanctuary from any potential gun control laws. The Michigan House of Representatives passed a similar measure Tuesday. Pro-Second Amendment resolution passes Michigan House Commissioners also asked state and federal lawmakers to vigilantly preserve and protect those rights by rejecting any provision, law or regulation that may infringe, have the tendency to infringe, or place additional burden on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms," according to the resolution. Two commissioners, Gary Childs and Carol Griffith, were absent from the meeting, and one board seat is vacant. Childs voted against sharing the measure with the full board of commissioners at the Feb. 18 Public Safety and Infrastructure and Development Committee meeting. 5 things to know about the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement in Michigan Other counties have passed more specific measures. For example, Kalkaska County, east of Traverse City, stated that it supported its sheriff and prosecuting attorney to not enforce an unconstitutional firearms law." Livingston Countys attorney said such a statement would be outside the countys authority, according to the resolution. The Sanctuary Counties movement is part of a national response to Virginias recent attempts to create stronger gun control, including red-flag legislation that would allow law enforcement to temporarily take someones firearms if a judge deemed them a danger do themselves or others. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Men alleging sexual abuse during medical exams by late UM doctor hire lawyers Hazardous, snowy commutes expected this week in Washtenaw, Livingston counties Gov. Whitmer, Democratic leaders push extreme risk gun bills after national shootings Moodys Analytics has won five categories at the 2020 InsuranceERM Awards: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200211005170/en/ These results continue our strong showings at the InsuranceERM Awards, following three category wins last year, two wins in 2018, and two wins in 2017. This is the first year that these awards have included an IFRS 17 category. We won it on the strength of our RiskIntegrity solution for IFRS 17, which comes with all the capabilities required to efficiently implement the new standard. Available as a software-as-a-service solution, it integrates seamlessly with an insurers existing infrastructure to connect data, models, systems, and processes between actuarial and finance functions. A unique combination of industry-leading modeling capabilities delivered through cloud-based enterprise software is at the heart of our IFRS 17 solution and helps distinguish Moodys Analytics from other vendors. More broadly, insurers around the world use our suite of solutions to address a broad range of challenges across actuarial, financial, and risk functions, reflected by the range of award categories in which we were recognized. We are delighted by our excellent performance in the InsuranceERM Awards, said Colin Holmes, Managing Director of Insurance Solutions at Moodys Analytics. Our goal is to help insurers efficiently meet their actuarial, risk, and finance needs. These results reflect our continued progress and the overall strength of our insurance solutions. Moodys Analytics remains at the forefront of insurance risk and financial management technology, as evidenced by their five wins in this years awards, said Christopher Cundy, Managing Editor of InsuranceERM. They continue to develop their offerings to help insurers navigate the changing marketplace and evolving regulatory regimes. Solvency II Product of the Year at the 2020 Risk Markets Technology Awards and the Category Leader distinction in a Chartis Research report evaluating vendors of IFRS 17 solutions were among more than 50 awards and industry accolades for Moodys Analytics in 2019. View the full list. Click herefor more on our insurance solutions. About Moodys Analytics Moodys Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moodys Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO). Moodys Corporation reported revenue of $4.4 billion in 2018, employs approximately 10,900 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 44 countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200211005170/en/ Opposition leaders including Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja and those from DMK and NCP have sought time from President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the violence that has engulfed parts of northeast Delhi. CPI(M) general secretary Yechury has written a letter to the President seeking appointment for the group of leaders. "I am writing to you seeking an appointment to hear the views of leaders of various political parties represented in the Indian Parliament, on the very disturbing situation prevailing in the country's capital, Delhi. "I, along with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, D Raja, President of the Loktanthrik Janata Dal, Sharad Yadav, President of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav and prominent leaders of political parties like the DMK, NCP and others wish to seek an appointment with you at the earliest, preferably the 28th of February, 2020," the letter stated. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota is all set to launch its latest luxury MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) Vellfire in India on Wednesday. Advance bookings for the luxury MPV are already open and the customers need to pay Rs 10 lakh for the same. The expected cost of the Toyota Vellfire is Rs 85 lakh. Toyota Vellfire will compete with the likes of Mercedes-Benz-S-Class Marco Polo in the luxury MPV segment. Even though the Vellfire appears exteriors appear similar to a minivan, what sets it apart is the chrome 'samurai armour' grille. The MPV also features split headlight setup and huge tail lights. It also reportedly comes with a bulky bumper that features chrome inserts and huge windows. Talking about the interiors of the car, the Toyota Vellfire comes with powered seats along with leg support, heating and cooling functions, memory function and fold-out tables. Vellfire boasts two touchscreen displays: 10-inch primary display with Apple Carplay support and a 13-inch secondary display with WiFi and HDMI support. Vellfire features private screens, chauffeur controls, power sliding doors, dual sunroof, 3-Zone AC, ambient roof lighting and 17-speaker JBL audio system as a part of its lounge experience. The latest Toyota minivan has features like 7 airbags, parking assist, hill start assist, TPMS among many others to ensure driver safety. The 6-seater luxury MPV by Toyota is powered with a 2.5-litre petrol hybrid engine that churns out 115 PS of power and 198Nm of peak torque. The new Toyota Vellfire is reportedly a self-charging hybrid vehicle that runs on a battery with a 60:40 power split between electric and petrol motor. The latest Toyota car will be available in a single Executive Lounge variant across the country. It will reportedly have 4 colour options - burning white, pearl white, graphite and black. Also read: Toyota to launch luxurious 7-seater minivan Vellfire on Feb 26; to rival Mercedes Marco Polo, Kia Carnival Also read: Trump's fresh 'high tariffs on Harley' jibe at India; he's right and wrong! Kartik Aaryan has his sense of humour intact. The actor, who is busy shooting for the Bhool BHulaiya sequel after Love Aaj Kals second iteration released, was asked recently about meeting Taimur Ali Khan. Taimur, son of actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, is the half brother of his co-star from Imtiaz Ali film. Kartik joked and said that the first time he met Taimur, the conversation went well. The actor went on to say that Taimur only said ka ka ka ka, amid laughter. Kartik added that he actually met Kareenas son in Chandigarh where he was shooting for Dostana 2 and Kareena was working on Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha. Kareena was with her son and while he forgot to take a photo, he will do so the next time. Kareenas colleagues often talk about or share moments with her son on social media. Earlier, during the shooting of Good Newwz, Kiara Advani had shared a clip where she was seen racing with Taimur. She captioned it as: The real star on set. Keeping up with Tim Tim. Talking about Taimur being constantly followed by media and fans alike, Kareena had said earlier, Even if we want to take pictures, Taimur sometimes says No photos. He has learnt to say that. Hes constantly being watched and he realises hes being clicked now. This culture has been there for a while now and nobody is asking anyone not to do their job. But we are just asking for a little space because they are children and we want them to grow up in an environment that is safe and secure, where they can be the way they want to be. T he BBC's Nick Robinson has been tested for Covid-19 after returning home from a holiday in southeast Asia. The Today host said on Wednesday morning that paramedics from the Whittington Health Trust had tested him as part of a "routine precautionry check" on the advice of doctors. Mr Robinson, who has been on holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia, said he was hoping for results within 48 hours. It comes after Channel 4 News host Jon Snow said he was self-isolating after travelling to Iran to cover the elections there. Vietnam has 16 cases of the coronavirus, while Cambodia has one. Iran reportedly has 95 cases and 11 deaths, but there are fears it could be much worse in the country. Ex abudanti cautela, section 285 (14) of the Constitution as amended in 2017 defines a pre-election matter as a suit filed by an aggrieved aspirant or political party .in respect of the selection or nomination of candidates for an election or in respect of preparation for an election. It is crystal clear from the novel provision of the constitution that a pre-election case filed in respect of preparations for an election cannot metamorphose into a post election case. Description With live music offered just about every night, K.J. Farrell's is a must-visit for music fans in Nassau County. The venue has a full menu of appetizers, pizzas, tacos, sliders, and more to snack on during each show. Wonderous Stories will be performing on this particular date. South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies said it is necessary to collaborate with global companies like Huawei to grow innovation in the ICT sector as the country moves into the era of digitization. Speaking during a community stakeholder engagement in Mthatha, after the launch of Huawei's free 5G training for ICT students at the Walter Sisulu University (WSU), Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams said, "It is very important that we understand that through collaboration with global companies like Huawei, we can build on and enhance the ideas that we have." "That is why when we choose partners, we choose those who are already advanced and that can take us, South Africa, to the next level. Huawei is one of the leading companies, in the telecoms space, that's why we say to them, as you grow, lift us, so that we can complement you in what you are doing, in favour of our national interests, as we seek to acquire all the new technologies that we need,"said the minister. "Huawei has been a willing partner with our department and the South African government, from digital skills perspective we have sought to partner with Huawei to ensure that our people are exposed to skills transfer to understand and use these new technologies to improve our economy and contribute to growing the GDP," she said. "SMEs play an important role in the journey towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as they are the enterprises that are most innovative, most capable of absorbing labor and contribute to creating competition in the economy. We believe that 5G technology has great potential to improve and grow small businesses," said Spawn Fan, Huawei South Africa CEO. Earlier in the day, Fan addressed students at the WSU 5G training launch, outlining the importance 5G would play in fast tracking much-needed economic growth and why they should start engaging with the opportunities that 5G and the digital economy would bring. The training is part of an ongoing campaign by Huawei to help South Africa's young people understand the possibilities of 5G, while giving them the skills to realise that vision. It started at Wits University and the University of Pretoria last year, and will train up to 5,000 students online, and 1,000 on site at partner universities across South Africa. Many residents of northeast Delhi, who had been trapped in their homes as violence raged outside for two days, were rescued on Wednesday with the help of police and locals. Among those rescued were a sexagenarian resident of Mustafabad, Nawab. As police personnel reached out to him, a teary-eyed Nawab Malik, who had been confined to home for two days along with his wife, said, "I have never witnessed such a violence in many decades." "I have been living in Delhi for 30 years but never witnessed such violence," he said as he prepared to leave for a relative's house in Ghaziabad for shelter. About 15 families were rescued by locals and police from Govind Vihar. "A team went to rescue them after we received information about them and brought them out safely without any harm," said a police officer. Salim, 22, said his family had been trapped since the riots erupted two days ago. "The mobs gathered outside our house, after which our neighbours Pankaj, Vikas and Chintu Bhai took us to their homes. They also contacted police after which we were rescued," Salim said, highlighting a rare harmony and brotherhood among neighbours at a time the areas witnessed communal strife. His cousin Karim, a barber, said, "The people in our street helped us. They supported us or else we would have been killed." Salim said the family would go to live with their relatives at Khajoori and Sundernagari till the situation became normal. "Our biggest problem is how to survive without any work. My family members used to do odd jobs to earn livelihood but we have no idea when will we come back," he said. The communal violence that started with stone pelting between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the Jaffrabad area on Sunday afternoon, has so far claimed 24 lives and left over 200 injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senators Call for Stronger Sanctions on North Korea Amid Diplomatic Stalemate By Eunjung Cho February 25, 2020 U.S. senators are urging stronger sanctions enforcement amid a prolonged stalemate in denuclearization talks with North Korea. Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the return to the "maximum pressure policy." "The successful policy of maximum pressure that was adopted early in the Trump administration, but since abandoned in earnest effort of diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang. We must immediately enforce sanctions against Pyongyang and its enablers," Gardner said. However, he said the Trump administration must double down on diplomacy to isolate Pyongyang internationally. The subcommittee held the hearing Tuesday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam. But the hearing was sparsely attended. Trump and Kim first met in Singapore in June 2018, signing a broad agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but they failed to agree on how to implement that deal when they met again in Vietnam. Except for a brief working-level meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, last October, North Korea has been refusing serious talks with the U.S. Pursuing diplomatic solutions Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, ranking member of the subcommittee, also called on the Trump administration to tighten sanctions enforcement on North Korea. Senators Gardner and Markey introduced sanctions legislation, called Leverage to Enhance Effective Diplomacy (LEED) Act, expanding U.S. sanctions against North Korea and its enablers, including those engaged in illegal oil transfers to North Korea. So far, they have no other co-sponsors. Markey, while stressing that his sanctions legislation would strengthen Washington's negotiating position over Pyongyang, also underscored the importance of pursuing diplomatic solutions. "We must not return to the charged rhetoric of 'fire and fury,' a war, much less a nuclear war, will lead to unfathomable loss of life," he said. "Threats are not an alternative to a negotiated agreement." Markey said he would reintroduce legislation, the "No Unconstitutional War against North Korea Act," in the coming weeks in an effort to speak out against Trump taking actions against North Korea that mirror the removal of a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani. Promoting human rights Testifying before the subcommittee, Robert King, former special envoy for North Korea, said the U.S. should not lose sight of human rights in policy toward North Korea. "Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, sincere efforts by the U.S. to resume dialogue with the North on denuclearization have not been reciprocated. Abandoning our principles on human rights, did not lead to progress on the nuclear issue," King said. He said the U.S. has backed away in the United Nations from pressing North Korea on its dismal human rights record. Last December, the Trump administration refused to support a U.N. Security Council discussion on North Korea's human rights situation, effectively blocking the meeting for the second straight year. King said the "United States should be a shining example on the hill, a beacon of hope on human rights, unfortunately we've hidden our light under a bushel." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Apparel firms cushion COVID-19 blow. Photo ATTA KENARE / AFP The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has just submitted to the prime minister a fresh report on the coronavirus (COVID-19), involving the survey of over 180,000 enterprises in 30 cities and provinces nationwide. Results showed that 553 enterprises have had to scale down their performance, and another 322 have completely shut down. Further details revealed that as many as 9,000 employees have been hurt by the epidemic. Two-thirds of them are working in agri-forestry-fisheries, water and waste treatment, management, and logistics. Besides that, the epidemic outbreak is causing ever more hardship to enterprises involving textiles and garments, hotels, restaurants, and manufacturing. According to the report, businesses of many sectors lamented over their difficulties in maintaining operations however, many have made efforts to improve the livelihoods of their staff. They also insisted that labour suspension is only a temporary solution. Leather footwear exporter Golden Top Co., Ltd., founded in 1995 in the northern port city of Haiphong, allowed its workers a month off to protect them from the outbreak. A company representative told VIR that the delay in importing raw materials from China forced operations to be suspended. In another case, an anonymous source from a large Japanese manufacturer of cameras and printers, which operates many big factories in Vietnam, also told VIR, Currently, suppliers from China are closed indefinitely, leading to the interruption of manufacturing of components. On the flip side, enterprises are finding solutions to temporarily overcome the impact from COVID-19. Vu Mai, director of human resources at Sheraton Hanoi Hotel, said, The hotel staff have been on a leave of absence since late last year. Therefore, we decided to arrange a temporary period of time for our staff to be absent but still ensure their income. Elsewhere, a Stateway Vietnam Footwear Co., Ltd. representative said that the company is working, albeit at half strength, as it still has raw materials imported from before the Lunar New Year, and can maintain manufacturing into next month. Also, we have arranged an alternative timetable for staff to protect their health as well as guarantee their salary. We hope transportation between the two countries will soon recover as the epidemic has taken a toll on our productivity, the representative said. Meanwhile, businesses like TNG Investment and Trading JSC also have their own solutions to cope with the situation. TNG chairman Nguyen Van Thoi said, Learning from the fact that years ago the Chinese take a long time off for the holidays, TNG has imported raw material for the whole first quarter of this year. Along with that, TNG also discussed with customers to choose Vietnam or South Korea instead to maintain raw materials for production. Thus, labour suspension has yet to happen at TNG. Small businesses might be the biggest victims as the epidemics impacts are still unpredictable. Others may even take the chance to clear out inventory, hoping that transportation will recover in good time. COVID-19 has already taken a heavy toll on enterprises of many economic sectors in the country. However, those engaging in chemicals as well as textiles and garments have been nosing out opportunities, with an increased workload coupled with maintaining or even increasing their employment. Specifically, regarding the hand-wash thirst recently, Vinachem subsidiaries Hanoi Soap JSC and Lix Detergent JSC, result introduced new products in order to meet the rising demand. According to statistics published by the Ministry of Health, Vietnam boasts 38 businesses manufacturing medical face masks, 11 of which are large-scale manufacturers with the total capacity of 1.23 million units per day. Dong Xuan Knitting Sole Member LLC, for instance, usually provides markets with 50,000 masks. However, amid the health scare it has expanded the manufacturing line to increase capacity to 300,000 units per day. Dai Uy Pharmaceutical JSC, which specialises in supplementary foodstuff products and has invested into its mask manufacturing lines in the last year, noted that on normal days, the company operates at a capacity of 50,000 masks. But now, all manufacturing lines have to run all day at maximum capacity to provide 100,000 units a day. Cao Huu Hieu, deputy general director of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, told VIR that in the first quarter of this year, the parent company and member companies have full orders to export. As manufacturing of textile and garment products cannot cease, and simultaneously the activity to process masks is in a hurry, the company had to propose partners to delay delivery deadlines for export products in order to allocate workers to produce masks. The group has approximately 80,000 employees working on textiles and garments but now has allocated 2,000 workers for mask production with the plan to provide six million units in February, Hieu said. In order to complete export orders and reach the production target for masks, our workers have to work extra hours, even during the weekends, and therefore the group has had to pay more. Along with textile and garment businesses, some foodstuff makers have also created new items as well as changed production plans to combat the impacts of COVID-19. For example, Lavifood JSC in the Mekong Delta province of Long An specialises in providing fruit, vegetables, and agricultural products on the global market. While the selling price of dragon fruit has dropped due to halting exports to China, Lavifood collected dragon fruit to process numerous frozen, dried, soft, and juiced products for the local market with the capacity of 500 tonnes of material a day. This way, the company did not have to suspend operations or let go of workers. MADRID - They signed up for a bit of a beach holiday to break up the winter. Instead, hundreds of holidaymakers, mainly from northern Europe, are set for a two-week lock-down as a result of an outbreak of the new coronavirus. Holidaymakers in Tenerife, one of the most popular year-round destinations in the Canary Islands, will only be able to have an occasional dip in one of the many pools at the 4-star hotel that has been jokingly termed a luxurious prison. Therell be lots of time to watch box-sets or read a series of page-turners. All part of a holiday experience for sure, but this isnt what the guests, a large chunk of whom are from Britain and Belgium, had in mind when they signed up for some winter release in the archipelago thats closer to Africas northwestern coast than to Spain. Close physical contact has been discouraged over contagion fears after the virus that originated in China arrived in the Canary Islands resort this week via Italy. The situation is improving. Today they reopened the restaurant. We can circulate freely, sunbath. But we cant come out of the hotel, said Paolo Martelli, an 89-year-old Italian pensioner from Milan who is staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel with his wife, Laura. There is overall a feeling like we are in a luxurious prison, the pensioner said, adding that he worries about missing the plane back home next Saturday. The worse thing is the uncertainty of not knowing what they are going to do with us. Authorities in Tenerife said Wednesday that 106 of the 723 guests at the resort could be released in coming hours because they had no direct contact with the four holidaymakers who tested positive for the COVID-19 disease. The infected are a doctor from the northern Italian region where a cluster of the virus has led to hundreds of infections, his wife and two more in the party of 10 Italians vacationing together in Tenerife. The remaining 600 or so customers from 25 countries, will need to remain quarantined for 14 days, Teresa Cruz, the health regional ministry in the Canary Islands told a news conference. She added that hotel workers are being allowed to rotate in shifts, and those among the staff who leave the premises will need to remain under official surveillance at home. The islands are also famous for their carnivals. The H10 hotel had planned celebrations this week, but its website on Wednesday said that the hotel has closed for the next days in order to guarantee the safety of customers and employees. Juan Cristobal del Monte, a doctor from France who is also staying at the hotel, told Spains Antena 3 broadcaster that there was an understanding among the guests that the measures were necessary even though there werent anymore more suspected cases. Our movements are curtailed, yes, but this is something for the common good, he said. Martelli said that boredom had settled in as Tenerifes Enramada beach, with its palm trees and beer shacks, are out of reach. Instead, they can see the yellow tents of a makeshift health clinic, installed in case anybody falls sick. Authorities also said they would be providing psychological support, masks, latex gloves, thermometers and hydrogel to ensure the guests hand hygiene. But barring a group of 35 guests who have been classified as higher risk, those who show no symptoms whatsoever are free to roam the premises but to keep a safety distance from each other. I dont understand what the sanitary authorities have in mind, because there are no more infections here, Martelli said. From my point of view, the biggest uncertainty is outside the hotel. Spanish authorities are grappling with a spike in positive cases in the country, from two patients who had already recovered and released from hospital earlier this month to twelve in a matter of 48 hours. All except for the most recent one, confirmed by authorities in the southern city of Sevilla, were cases tied to the cluster in northern Italy. Attacking BJP for the violence in the capital which has claimed the lives of 20 people so far, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said 'from the way the clashes broke out, it is clear that the Godhra model had been replicated'. "The violence that took place in Delhi is sad and several people have lost their lives. The way the violence took place, it is clear that the Godhra model has been replicated," Chavan told reporters outside the Maharashtra Assembly, referring to the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. The leader said he seconds Sonia Gandhi's demand for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah. "We stand with our president's demand seeking the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah. The Central home ministry holds the responsibility of the incident which took place in Delhi," Chavan added. Earlier in the day, Sonia Gandhi had said, "CWC (Congress Working Committee) believes Home Minister and Centre is responsible. The Home Minister should tender his resignation with immediate effect." Violent clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups in parts of northeast Delhi on Sunday, leading to widespread vandalism and arson for over two days. While many blamed police for inaction to control the mobs, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the top brass of Delhi Police, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG Anil Baijal and directed the officials to control the situation. The death toll in the violence rose to 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB hospital authorities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meet Michele Sullivan, Who Says Standing Just 4 Feet Tall Allowed Her 'To See The Big Picture' Michele Sullivan remembers the first time she knew she was different. It was the first day of kindergarten, she recalls to PEOPLE. A little boy stood up and said, Why are you so little?' Sullivan didnt think he was talking about her. And then a girl asked, Why do you look funny? Soon after, she says, Every kid had stopped playing and was staring at me. When she met her mom in the car to go home, she asked her if there was something wrong with her. She said I wasnt going to be as big as everybody else but I could still be whatever I wanted to be, says Sullivan, 55, who was born with a rare form of dwarfism called metatrophic dysplasia and stands four feet tall. With an amazing amount of determination and optimism, she had a 30-year career in business and became the first female president of the Caterpillar Foundation, a story she tells in her new book Looking Up, which she describes as a guide to overcoming lifes obstacles. When I was born, my doctor in Peoria [Illinois] told my parents to treat me like everybody else and thats exactly what they did, she explains. At first I had no idea I was a little person, because my parents treated me like everybody else in the family. courtesy Michele L. Sullivan Her journey, from a grade school math whiz, to chess champion, to MBA, to Caterpillar (one of the worlds leading manufacturers of heavy equipment), to philanthropist, landed her on the board of the ONE Campaign, founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver. And she and the U2 rocker hit it off. Shes one of those people who is totally present and in the moment, says Bono. She takes in every detail, listening like a hawk, before swooping in with her point, every time very astutely made. And shes so much fun. The first to make a joke, the first to get a joke, always with a very loud laugh. What struck me when we met was how curious she is about people. Shes fascinated by the stories of others, as you can tell by her book. And despite the fact that she asks all these direct, probing questions, people just trust her. Instinctively. She always looks for the best in people, and she always finds it. Story continues RELATED: Actress Selene Luna on Her Role in Coco and Being a Little Person in Hollywood Being four feet tall, Ive looked up to people my whole life, Sullivan says of her books title. I dont look down on anyone figuratively or literally. I want all people to look up. In these divisive times, we have to come together more. We all have challenges and most of them you cant see. After Sullivans doctor told her in second grade that she would not grow anymore, she was devastated. But mom said, Thats just our size, its not who you are,' she recalls. You can continue to grow as much as you want to.' As I got older, the height difference got more and more obvious, she explains. There were times I didnt want to go out in public. I hated walking down the hall and all the kids stared. But her talents in math and chess showed her a new path. RELATED VIDEO: Why the Seven Little Johnstons Refuse to Let Their Size Define Them It had nothing to do with my size, she says. Those little things started to show me what my mom and dad had said. Its not what you look like but what talent you have and how you use it. In 2011, she became head of the Caterpillar Foundation, the companys philanthropic arm, which invests approximately $40-60 million a year around the world to alleviate poverty. RELATED: Tori Roloff Confirms Daughter Lilah Is a Little Person, Explains C-Section Was Due to Dwarfism The foundation works on human infrastructure: basic human needs, education, and the environment, says Sullivan, who traveled the globe to see programs at work. I went to every continent except Antarctica. Now concentrating on philanthropic work and public speaking, she hopes to use her experience as what she calls a little person, to give back. Growth is never just physical, she says. Maybe physical growth stops as adulthood starts, to remind that us that the growth that matters isnt on the outside. The biggest life we can live is not an independent one, she says. When eyes are all we use to see people, we arent looking with every resource we have. People have a lot of obstacles. Many that you dont see. New York, Feb 26 : US President Donald Trump was in India, but his controversial remarks from 13,000 kilometres away on domestic US issues like Supreme Court Judges and the Democratic Party were reverberating here more than what he had to say about his host nation. He tangled with the judiciary on Tuesday saying that Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor should recuse themselves from cases involving him and lashed out against the head of jury that convicted a friend. He said at his news conference in New Delhi, Ginsburg should recuse herself because "she went wild" during the 2016 presidential campaign. "I don't know who she was for - perhaps she was for Hillary Clinton, if you can believe it - but she said some things that were obviously very inappropriate," he asserted. AGinsburg had called Trump a "faker" in 2016A and said that he said "whatever came to his mind." As for Sotomayor, he took issue with her critical minority opinion in a case in which the Supreme Court's majority upheld the Trump administration's enforcement of a rule that bars people who would bar people requiring public assistance from immigrating. "I just don't know how they cannot recuse themselves for anything having to do with Trump or Trump-related," he said. He said, "Justice Sotomayor said what she said yesterday. You know very well what she said yesterday." Sotomayor had criticised the administration for repeatedly seeking "extraordinary relief" from a lower court's decision saying "its cries of urgency ring increasingly hollow" and took issue with the fellow for granting it. "She's trying to shame people with perhaps a different view into voting her way, and that's so inappropriate," Trump said. While those comments by a president against the judiciary created a backlash from law experts and politicians, Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson citing Trump's comments ordered a partially closed hearing in a case involving Trump's associate Roger Stone because of possible threats to the jury. Trump tweeted, "There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case. Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of 'Trump' and Stone. She was totally biased, as is the judge." After initially ordering a closed hearing, Berman later agreed to allow reporters and the public to listen to hearings from a different room in Stone's appeal for a retrial but not see the jurors saying they were at high "risk of harassment or intimidation." Stone was convicted of lying to investigators and obstructing congressional inquiry into Russia's role in the 2016 elections and sentenced to 40 months in prison. Attorney-General William Barr had over-ruled the proposal by the prosecutors in the case to ask for a sentence of seven to nine years, leading to their resignation. At the same time, Barr complained about Trump's tweets. He told a TV interviewer the tweets and statements "make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we're doing our work with integrity." Getting into Democratic Party politics, Trump said that the party's establishment was trying to undermine Senator Bernie Sanders, who "looks like he's winning" the nomination to challenge him in the November election. "They maybe don't want him for obvious reasons, so they put out a thing that Russia's backing him," he said. On the eve on the intra-party election in Nevada last Saturday to select the party's presidential nominee there was leak to the media that the US intelligence services had warned that the Russians were trying to help the left-wing candidate. At the same time, Trump said at a meeting of Indian investors that if Sanders becomes the party nominee, the markets "will be down.a ASanders continues to do well and becomes the Democratic nominee, it will "keep the markets down" for a while. He said the markets may jump around quite a bit until the election. "When we win, I think the market's going to go up like a rocket ship," he told them, with a warning, "If I donaAt win, you're going to see a crash like you've never seen before." On a more substantive matter, Trump sent a request to Congress on Tuesday for $2.5 billion to deal with the coronavirus crisis. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday condemned the ongoing violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India. Over 20 people have been killed since Sunday in violence in Northeast Delhi, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-protestors over CAA. He also warned that anyone targeting minorities in Pakistan would be dealt with strictly. "I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country," he said. Khan also condemned the violence in India and said the world community "must act" now. "Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now," he tweeted. "Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed," he said. Khan also referred to his address to the UN General Assembly last year in which he warned the international community against ignoring the situation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last. India has defended its move on Kashmir in August, saying the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. The Indian Parliament had passed the CAA last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. According to the CAA, members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship. The Indian government has been emphasising that the new law will not deny citizenship rights but has been brought to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries and give them citizenship. (With inputs from PTI) Also Read: Greta Thunberg meets 'role model' Malala Yousufzai; pictures go viral Also Read: Trump's fresh 'high tariffs on Harley' jibe at India; he's right and wrong! Also Read: 'We'll offer them a deal they can't refuse': Piyush Goyal on India-US trade pact On December 12, 1991, Ukraine became the first country recognized by the UN in the post-Soviet space to begin the path of decriminalization of homosexual relation Open source Recently, Switzerland residents came to a referendum for introducing a law that would punish people for discrimination based on sexual orientation in the country. Many European countries, the US, and some countries of South America envisage punishment for homophobia. In Ukraine, homosexuality is still often condemned, and people of homosexual orientation are attacked. At the same time, we already had precedents for punishing insults of representatives of the LGBT community. But first things first. Switzerland against homophobia On February 9, Swiss citizens voted in a referendum to introduce a law that would punish discrimination based on sexual orientation in the country. Proponents of the initiative pointed out that Switzerland is significantly behind Europe in terms of LGBT rights. Opponents argued that the new law would restrict freedom of speech. According to preliminary data, 63.1% of the voters supported the bill, 36.9% voted against. Only in three of the 26 Swiss cantons did the majority of the population turn out to be against such a law. As a punishment measure, it provides for both fines and imprisonment for up to three years. The result is a significant sign of support for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. After a clear yes, the LGBT community will use this shift to consistently apply the criminal code and ensure equal rights to marry, reads the statement by the Pink Cross Swiss LGBT organization. The bill on the legalization of same-sex marriage is currently under consideration in Parliament. At the end of 2018, the country's parliament approved the expansion of the existing law against discrimination against gay people (previously it protected only against racial discrimination). Then the opponents of innovations collected 50,000 signatures required in the framework of the Swiss system of direct democracy to send the issue to a referendum. Not only Switzerland Similar laws punishing homophobia exist in many European countries. So, in 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a verdict on the legality of the prosecution for the propaganda of homophobia. The case concerned appealing the conviction by the Swedish Supreme Court of four men who distributed homophobic leaflets in one of the schools. The ECHR ruled that the prosecution of people who disseminate such abusive material against sexual minorities is legal, and emphasized that such activities that incite hatred are not protected by the right to freedom of expression, and discrimination based on sexual orientation is equally serious as well as discrimination based on race or ethnicity. In early February of this year, the Westminster Magistrate Court in London sentenced a 23-year-old man to two months in prison. He was found guilty of the fact that on March 27, last year, standing at a traffic light, he saw a cyclist in a pink lycra uniform and shouted Oh, gay boy from his car, after which he spat at the man and disappeared from the scene of the crime. The police tracked down the attacker using a sample of DNA taken from saliva. Nine months after the incident, the offender appeared in court. At the hearing, the judge stated: "Spitting on someone is disgusting in itself, but much worse than it was made out of homophobic motives." The man asked the court not to send him to prison, claiming that this would aggravate his anxiety disorder and provoke panic attacks. But the judge ignored the attacker's requests, sentencing him to eight weeks in prison. The brutal gay student murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 provoked the outrage of many people in the United States and other countries and gave rise to a social movement to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the motives for hate crimes. Such laws have been passed in several US states. Corresponding amendments to the national legislation were adopted only in 2009 and signed by President Barack Obama. In December 2019, an American court found guilty of homophobia and sentenced to 15 years in prison 30-year-old Adolfo Martinez, who burned the flag of the LGBT community. This summer Martinez tore off the rainbow cloth from the United Church of Christ in Ames, Iowa, and went to the Dangerous Curves club, from the outside of which he set fire to the canvas with a flammable liquid. He also threatened to set fire to the institution itself. The intruder was promptly detained. He immediately pleaded guilty. Last May, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled homophobia a crime. By a decision of 6 out of 11 judges of the Supreme Court of Brazil, homophobia and transphobia were criminalized in the country. Responsibility for crimes motivated by the attitude to different sexual orientations or gender identity of a person can be both individual and collective. Thus, the court will punish for any manifestations of aggression, in particular violence or murder. Homophobia in Ukraine On December 12, 1991, Ukraine became the first country recognized by the UN in the post-Soviet space to begin the path of decriminalization of homosexual relations. However, same-sex marriages in Ukraine are not officially recognized. At the same time, representatives of the LGBT community in Ukraine are periodically subjected to convictions and attacks. So, on June 19 of last year in Kyiv, a group of attackers attacked participants in the LGBT movement. It was noted that the attackers tried to knock the victims off their feet, kicked, sprayed pepper gas and verbally abused. The Ukrainian churches stand against homosexuality as well. For example, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Epifaniy reported that representatives of the LGBT community will be able to participate in the sacraments (in particular, in the sacrament of the sacrament) if they "repent of their sins, if they correct their mistakes." He has noted that the OCU is unshakable in this matter, because "the church clearly distinguishes where there is sin. We cannot call sin good." Nevertheless, there is progress in the fight against homophobia in Ukraine. So, in 2019, the prosecutor's office opened a criminal proceeding on the fact of the statements of deputy mayor of Sumy city, Maksym Halytsky, against LGBT people and participants in the Equality March. On the eve of Equality March in support of the LGBT community, one of the deputy mayors of Sumy on his Facebook page expressed his vision of this event, in particular, noted that he would like to see such people in concentration camps. Criminal proceedings have been launched on the fact of such statements, Larysa Sargan, the former press secretary of the prosecutor general, noted. According to Sargan, production is open under Part 1 of Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Deliberate actions aimed at inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred and hatred, humiliating national honor and dignity or insulting the feelings of citizens in connection with their beliefs). A screenshot of Maksym Halytskys Facebook post was published by journalist Yevgeniy Kuzmenko. As for the scale of the whole country, during a press marathon in October last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he did not intend to legalize prostitution in Ukraine, and with regard to gay people, the head of state emphasized that they were free to choose and the rest should leave them alone. T he offices of fashion mogul Peter Nygard have been raided by police and FBI agents investigating an alleged sex trafficking ring. The 77-year-old has been accused of sexually assaulting and exploiting young women and girls who had been lured in with offers of cash and lucrative modelling contracts. In a US lawsuit filed by 10 women this month, Mr Nygard, right, is accused of using drugs, alcohol and force to coerce them into sex acts, with allegations going back 40 years. Yesterday a search warrant was executed at his Manhattan offices, leading him to resign as chairman of his Nygard International brand. The Finnish-Canadian multi-millionaire denies any wrongdoing. His spokesman said his California office had also been searched, adding that he welcomes the investigation and expects his name to be cleared. Russias Defense Ministry is planning to sign a contract for the construction of the first two all-purpose amphibious assault ships by late April, a source in the Russian defense industry told TASS. Russias Defense Ministry is planning to sign a contract for the construction of the first two all-purpose amphibious assault ships by late April, a source in the Russian defense industry told TASS. Mistral-Class helicopter carrier Sevastopol in Saint-Nazaire port, France (Picture source: Tass) "The Defense Ministry is expected to sign a contract for the construction of two all-purpose amphibious assault ships by late April. They will be laid down by the Zaliv Shipyard in Crimea," the source said. According to the source, "a technical design for the ships has been worked out on the basis of the requirements specification obtained from the Navys main command." The source said that the ships were planned to be laid down in early May in the light of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The source did not specify the value of the deal. TASS does not have any official confirmation of the information provided by the source. Copyright 2020 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Kitco News) - Bitcoin is the future method of payment that will be accepted by most consumers, due to its ease of use, and prices will likely skyrocket said Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of Herjavec Group. Im a big believer in bitcoin, electronic payments in the future but I think were a long way away from that, Herjavec told Kitco News. Herjavec noted that $100,000 a coin for bitcoin is not impossible. Consumers, over the long run, always go to convenience, and bitcoin is just convenient, he said. Stocks tumbled on Monday and Tuesday on the back of coronavirus fears, and Herjavec said that markets are starting to take note of how the global trading ecosystem could be negatively affected. What I think we all learned yesterday is how truly interconnected the world is in ways that we dont even think. The coronavirus breaks out in South Korea, [so] why does this affect the global economy? South Korea is the number one shipping point for most goods out of Asia. So anything out of Asia is going through South Korea and if they shut down, how do we get goods? he said. The S&P 500 closed 3% lower on Tuesday, following a 3% drop on Monday as well. That doesnt mean the virus, which already has claimed about 2,700 lives, is contained, Grassley said during his weekly conference call with Iowa reporters. I dont think that I could give Americans any certainty that it couldnt crop up in the United States like it did in Italy over last weekend or 10 days ago in South Korea, where all of a sudden, you get an explosion of it, Grassley said after joining more than a dozen senators at the briefing. Among those presenting information were the departments of State, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. Officials scrambled Tuesday to halt the spread of the burgeoning virus, from northern Italy, where troops were dispatched to enforce quarantines and schools were shuttered, to South Korea, where some neighborhoods in a city of 2.5 million were brought to a near standstill. In Italy, where more than 200 people were sickened, a dozen towns were sealed off and police patrolled wearing face masks. In South Korea, the caseload has grown to 977 people sickened by coronavirus. The virus is having a terrible economic impact on the world economy and trade, Grassley added. Just think of the manufacturing supply chains that are being broken up because people are so dependent upon on China, Grassley said. A long-term impact may be less reliance on China as a supplier of parts and goods. So more at the corporate level than at the government level youre having people scrambling to see can they replace their supplies, he said. Ill bet you in the future theyre going to make sure that they dont have so much dependence upon on China. Theyll have another source. Forecasts say coronavirus will shorten first quarter economic growth in the United States and globally, especially in China, Grassley said. Members of Congress were told there will be another $1.2 billion appropriation to combat coronavirus and probably another $1 billion transferred at the discretion of the presidential from other health programs to stay on top of the spread of the virus. But (theres) no certainty, you know, that what happened in Italy couldnt happen here, Grassley added. Srinagar, Feb 26 : On the first anniversary of the Balakot air strikes, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria flew a five aircraft mission at Srinagar Air Base along with aircrew from squadrons that had participated in the cross-border operations on February 26 and 27 last year. The CAS flew a MiG-21 Type 69 aircraft along with the Commanding Officer of 51 Sqn, Gp Capt Kamran Nazeerin in a formation comprising one MiG-21, two Mirage-2000s and two Sukhoi-30 MKIs. The Indian Air Force jets had on February 26 last year crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to strike JeM terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. An official statement said that February 26, 2019 was a momentous day as it bore testimony to the professionalism and operational preparedness of men and women of the Indian Air Force who successfully executed a very complex mission and achieved their objectives under extremely challenging conditions. "On this day, the IAF salutes the spirit, tenacity and sacrifice of its brave air warriors and assure the nation of its unstinted resolve. The IAF stands shoulder to shoulder with other defence services in discharge of its sacred duty of defending the nation's sovereignty and integrity," an IAF statement said. A centuries-old whale jawbone which is now the centerpiece of the Oxford College science building is part of a multi-year research project that took Oxford students, alumni and faculty on a recent trip to the Smithsonian Institute. Once thought to be a whale rib, the jawbone was stored for years in an attic at Oxford, before being featured in the science building. For the past year, a group of Oxford students have studied the jawbone with LaTonia Taliaferro-Smith, Oxford's director of undergraduate laboratories and lecturer in biology, along with biology professors Steve Baker and Eloise Carter. Before joining the Oxford faculty in 2015, Taliaferro-Smith had studied triple negative breast cancer at Emorys Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta. She came face-to-face with her next project during her involvement with the relocation of the Oxfords science program from its old location in Pierce Hall to the new science building, which opened for classes in January 2016. It was pretty fascinating, says Taliaferro-Smith, recalling seeing the whale jawbone hanging low on a wall near the loading dock at Pierce Hall. I started asking general questions and nobody knew anything. I thought that was a shame, because it's an interesting specimen. I thought this would be a cool project for the students to work on, she says, adding that she wondered what type of whale the bone belonged to, how old it was and how it made its way to Oxford. Crossing disciplines and campuses The bone became a prominent feature of the new Oxford Science Building and the centerpiece for research in the new research laboratories. Faculty collected samples of the bone for DNA analysis and carbon dating before it was permanently mounted in the Nucleus the science buildings main gathering space. We love that (the project) crosses so many (academic) disciplines, says Carter, adding that they have studied biology, paleontology, architecture, genetics and history while researching the bone. Several Oxford students have worked on the project for the past year, including two current second-year students and two Oxford continuees who are continuing to work on the project as juniors at Emorys Atlanta campus. It was such an unusual thing and a true mystery, says Victoria Cespedes, a junior from West Virginia studying biology and art history on the pre-med track. It was so different from anything I was doing and that I thought about doing. The team has studied campus archives, talked with alumni and residents around Oxford and Newton County, and conducted countless hours of research and tests. The student and faculty team has dated the bone as 500 to 600 years old and determined that it was on display at Oxford as early as 1907. The team believes the bone came from a North Atlantic right whale, a species that breeds off the coast of Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. They are still trying to track the bone's lineage and how it came to Oxford. I found myself enchanted with the story, admits Quin Goodman, a second-year student from Newnan, Ga., majoring in neuroscience and behavioral biology on the pre-med track. To know that I am a part of a team that is working to uncover knowledge that has never been exposed before is such an exciting and humbling experience. We have been working on this project from scratch. Expanding their research base Recently, the team traveled to the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., to study archives and look at similar fossils with alumnus Nick Pyenson. Pyenson, the marine fossil curator at the Smithsonian and author of Spying on Whales, had previously returned to Oxford to get a closer look at the project. He hopes to help get the research published in scientific journals. Dr. Pyenson gave us access to the museum before it was open to the public, explains Alyssa Forsyth, a junior from Florida studying neuroscience and behavioral biology, Spanish and Portuguese. I loved going through all of the exhibits there are so many extraordinary artifacts to see there. The group also took a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum, visited the lower level where the fossils are kept before they are ready for display, visited off-site archives in Maryland and compared similar specimens with theirs. This has been a true example of what Oxford is about: having research opportunities, working close with professors and esteemed alumni, Cespedes says. It has been an incredible opportunity and I'm grateful. The trip received financial support from the Student to Alumni Experience Committee that is part of Oxford's Board of Counselors. It really stood out as being a very special project, says committee chair Henry Anthony, adding that a committee of 14 diverse alumni and other stakeholders from all over the world review proposals each semester. We were excited about supporting students and professors who need it. The committee has funded more than 30 student projects of about $30,000 in the last four years. It's a great example of work that goes on at Oxford academically, involving both students and alumni and involving intricate work, Anthony says about the whale bone study. It continues a partnership between Oxford alumni, students and faculty, and that's very helpful. The whale bone team will continue to conduct deeper DNA tests of the bone, research the bone's history and try to find out about its trip to Oxford. We have a lot more archival research to do, Forsyth notes. I think that many students walk right past the bone, not paying it much attention. But it really is quite curious how a bone of that size has been a part of Oxford College for so long, and no one has a clue as to how it was brought there. I hope through our research project, other students start to find its presence in Oxford College curious and intriguing. By PTI NEW DELHI: Many residents of northeast Delhi, who had been trapped in their homes as violence raged outside for two days, were rescued on Wednesday with the help of police and locals. Among those rescued were a sexagenarian resident of Mustafabad, Nawab. As police personnel reached out to him, a teary-eyed Nawab Malik, who had been confined to home for two days along with his wife, said, "I have never witnessed such a violence in many decades." Delhi riots day four UPDATES | 106 arrested, 18 FIRs filed as death toll touches 27 "I have been living in Delhi for 30 years but never witnessed such violence," he said as he prepared to leave for a relative's house in Ghaziabad for shelter. About 15 families were rescued by locals and police from Govind Vihar. "A team went to rescue them after we received information about them and brought them out safely without any harm," said a police officer. Salim, 22, said his family had been trapped since the riots erupted two days ago. "The mobs gathered outside our house, after which our neighbours Pankaj, Vikas and Chintu Bhai took us to their homes. They also contacted police after which we were rescued," Salim said, highlighting a rare harmony and brotherhood among neighbours at a time the areas witnessed communal strife. His cousin Karim, a barber, said, "The people in our street helped us. They supported us or else we would have been killed." Salim said the family would go to live with their relatives at Khajoori and Sundernagari till the situation became normal. "Our biggest problem is how to survive without any work. My family members used to do odd jobs to earn livelihood but we have no idea when will we come back," he said. The communal violence that started with stone-pelting between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the Jaffrabad area on Sunday afternoon, has so far claimed 24 lives and left over 200 injured. Studying from home is not a choice for Vietnamese students since schools and teachers do not know how to run online courses. Dang Huong Giang My younger sister is a fifth grader. For the past few weeks she has been receiving a mountain of homework sent by her teacher every day. My sister has to finish the homework, submit and wait for until she returns to school for her teacher to correct it all. She has been following this routine for three weeks now after authorities decided to extend the Lunar New Year break for students on February 2 to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. At first the extension was for a week, and then an extra week was added before it was decided that students will stay home until the end of this month. At first my mother agreed wholeheartedly with the extra break. She said: "Just let the kids stay at home for one more month. There's no need to worry about a knowledge gap. Her teacher sends me her homework every day and I have registered for some online learning packages for her already." During the first week of the holiday extension, my little sister was over the moon since she did not have to go back to school. The week after that, she was still excited about staying home but now had to do homework through the online platform. Every morning at nine her teacher sends my mother "a mountain of homework," as my sister describes it, and she has to work on it all day. Just three days into that online course designed by her school, my sister started to get bored. "Our teacher gives us assignments on lessons we have already learned," she told me. The course does not enable them to study online. There are no videos for lectures, either live or recorded, there is no homework system, there is no evaluation and there are no tools or interaction to arouse students interest in learning. And these are usually the strong points of studying online. Mother is not too excited about the online course these days. "If only the teacher sends the kids some videos on physical exercises it might be helpful," she said with a sigh. My older cousin, Hue, has two children studying at a private primary school. She and her husband insist that while studying is extremely important children's health is the top priority, and so letting them stay home is the best choice. The couple, however, could not stay home and look after the two kids, and their parents, my aunt and uncle, had to travel all the way from their hometown to the city to take care of them. Every day my aunt and uncle urge the two to go to their school website and do the homework. The two seniors almost have no technological skills, and so that is the best they can do for the kids. The argument my mother and cousin have been using to justify letting their children stay at home is similar to what millions of other parents are doing: Safety first. Like Hue, my mother, and maybe many other parents out there, set high expectations for schools, which they believe hold the main responsibility for their students' study affair. As long as schools can give their children some assignments, parents will breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, the problem is: we do not have the technological infrastructure to properly connect all the components in the education system. The most effective solution to solve all educational problems these days is online teaching. Students can attend classes from home, discuss with friends via interactive tools, complete their assignments, and wait for their teachers' feedback. This is the ideal educational scenario, but only for developed countries. Primary students in Ben Tre Province in southern Vietnam clean their hands on February 7, 2020. The province is one of just a few letting students go to school amid the Covid-19 outbreak, before deciding to let them all stay home from February 8. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam. In Vietnam, for schools and teachers, preparing lesson plans for online classes is like a sprint which is beyond their capability. Making traditional lesson plans requires a lot of efforts, and now teachers have to design lessons to make them suitable for online classes along with activities to help the lessons interact with students and make sure they all meet the standards set for online courses. Vietnamese teachers have not been well equipped to make that switch. An effective online teaching model does not mean merely changing the location from school to home and watching each other on a screen rather than face to face. It needs a smooth technological foundation and software for managing progress and a framework for designing tests and assessing results. And what is more important is that the knowledge resources must be made diverse and intensive but appropriate for students ages. Technology is just a tool, but to use it for teaching teachers need to be trained properly. But now teachers are unprepared for teaching online since all these factors cannot come true instantly unlike an announcement that students should stay at home. Online teaching has become the new normal around the world, and its efficiency has been recognized for more than three decades. In Vietnam, when I graduated from one of the top pedagogical universities three years ago, the educational technology available was zero. Our close relationship with technology in this modern age is undeniable, and therefore instead of arguing about or questioning its values and impacts, I think we should move on and get teachers prepared for a technology ecosystem since in the near future online teaching will replace all traditional educational methods we have ever known. Now that February is coming to an end, people are continuing to argue whether students should get back to school and how long any further break should last since the epidemic shows no signs of going away. Amid that debate, I have an insecure feeling about the education system's ability to respond and react. Schools are an important link in society. All decisions made by schools have an impact on families and ultimately society. When there is no cogent or consistent plan for a school break, parents have no choice but to make their own. This epidemic is a chance for us to take a serious look at the education system and plan for all scenarios that could occur in future. It needs more than urging people to improve their immune system so that they can get ready for the epidemic. The entire system needs its immune system to be boosted so that it can cope with unstoppable changes in an age when humans have become more and more vulnerable. *Dang Huong Giang holds an MA degree in science education. The opinions expressed here are her own. He suffered head, arm and spinal injuries and was flown to hospital for treatment An experienced rock climber miraculously survived falling 12 metres from a cliff because he landed on his female assistant. The unnamed 48-year-old man - who had reportedly performed rock climbs around the world - was climbing at the Morialta Conservation Park in Adelaide's northeastern suburbs on Saturday morning when he had issues with his climbing gear. He slipped from the cliff and plummeted toward the ground where he landed on the female belayer the term given to the person who controls the safety rope on the ground. An experienced rock climber (pictured, his smashed helmet) is lucky to be alive after falling 12 metres from a cliff The man, 48, had to be winched from the cliff before he was taken to hospital for treatment The man suffered head, arm and spinal injuries, while the woman, believed to be in her 20s, had minor injuries. The Climbers Track, Norton Summit Rd, also known as Muesli, has steep terrain which made it difficult for rescuers to get to him. Country Fire Service volunteer Andrew Charlton said the crew managed to find a small track and were able to reach the stricken man. He was winched from the cliff before the pair were taken to hospital. A witness told Adelaide Now the climber was lucky to be alive. The Climbers Track, Norton Summit Rd, also known as Muesli, has steep terrain which made it difficult for rescuers 'He was bleeding from his head, he was sitting up by the time we got down there. He was bleeding and had a dislocated finger. He was quite in shock,' he said. 'The belayer was fine and more focused on him. She had wrapped his head in a bandage.' The man had been doing a traditional climb in which protection bolts are installed during the climb to prevent a fall and then removed as the climber continues the ascent. Alarming practices among new ride-hailing services Vietnams ride-hailing market is considered one of the most dynamic in the region. According to a report from Google, Singaporean state-owned holding company Temasek, and US management consultancy firm Bain, Vietnams market was the fourth-largest in Southeast Asia last year, behind Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Market advisory firm ABI Research estimated the markets value at $1.1 billion last year, potentially rising to $4 billion by 2025. As a result, local and foreign startups related to this service are launched every year. For example, local startups Unicar and ZuumViet are preparing to launch ride-hailing apps alongside delivery and other logistic services. Unicar, based in the central province of Nghe An, is currently testing out its services in Vinh, the provinces capital. Resources available on the Unicar app include Uni Car (car ride-hailing), Uni Bike (motorbike ride-hailing), Uni Fast (express delivery service), Uni Truck (logistics service), and Uni Rent (car rental). The company has announced plans to expand to the central cities of Hue and Nha Trang, two major tourist hotspots in Vietnam, in the near future. Meanwhile, ZuumViet has been posting driver recruitment advertisements for its ride-hailing app since early December, offering financial incentives for its first 3,000 drivers. ZuumViets services will include ZuumBike (motorbikes), ZuumCar (4-seater and 7-seater cars) and ZuumLux (luxury cars), according to the companys website. The company has yet to publicise a launch date. MLM in ride-hailing However, in order to recruit and retain drivers in this highly competitive market, many companies not only offer high discounts and bonuses, but also use tricks to obtain higher profits. For example, while Unicar has invested in branding, uniforms, drivers, and a specific headquarters, ZuumViet has conducted their business in a very different way. The company has not released much information, but its social media presence has shed some light on its approach to recruitment, with messages posted on its page reminiscent of multi-level marketing (MLM). For instance, they urge potential employees to Register right now to become a VIP member of Zuum Bike and claim that When you suggest a driver to the ZuumViet network, you will be able to be promoted to brand manager of ZuumViet, which operates 12 managers, 144 team leaders, and 1,728 drivers. ZuumViet encourages senior drivers to recruit or suggest new members. For each new employee that joins, the driver who suggested them earns 1 per cent of their sales. Therefore the more members that a driver puts forward, the more money he gets. MixGo, a ride-hailing service developed by MixWay Technology Apply Co., Ltd. was launched last year, and advertised widely on social media, focusing on an outstanding business model different from other applications like Grab, Be, and Go-Viet. A MixGo driver has to pay VND3 million ($130), VND15 million ($650), or VND30 million ($1,300) to become an agent of MixGo. Then these agencies recruit other sub-agents to earn commission, and receive shares in the company in the future. Illegal business model VIR spoke with lawyer Lai Ngoc Thanh from Basico Law Firm on the issue of MLM in the ride-hailing industry. Thanh said that companies like these should base their activities on a sharing economy and apply technology to connect and match the demand of drivers and customers alike. These models, which focus on enlarging agencies and expanding networks and members, and asking drivers to pay for registration instead of reviewing the markets and approaching new customers, are quite alarming, said Thanh. MLM, which these models share similarities with, generally refers to business activity run through a network of participants, which allows these members to receive commissions, bonuses, and other economic benefits from their sale activities, and sale activities of other people in the network. However, Decree No. 40/2018/ND-CP issued two years ago on management of business activities also stipulates that this process can only be applied to goods. This means MLM in ride-hailing is not recognised by a legal framework, added Thanh. For illegal multi-level businesses, Article 92 in 2013s Decree No.185/2013/ND-CP fixes a penalty of between VND40-50 million ($1,750-2,170) for MLM members, and VND80-100 million ($3,450-4,350) for traders. Decree 185 provides penalties on violations in commercial activities, production of, trading in counterfeit or banned goods and protection of consumer rights. New services and business methods are quite good for socio-economic development, especially in the era of Industry 4.0. However, if businesses take advantage of legal loopholes and the states encouragement and support for innovative activities, they must be strictly controlled to mitigate damages, and maintain social security. The sheriff's office in rural Amador County, California, which originally labeled the death by a single gunshot of DHS Obama-era whistleblower Philip Haney last week as "self inflicted," has now backed away from that assertion. A follow-up press release from the office of the sheriff coroner on Monday had this to say: On February 22, the Amador County Sheriff's Office released initial details regarding Philip Haney being found deceased in our jurisdiction. ... Unfortunately, there was misinformation being immediately put out that we have determined Mr. Haney's death to be a suicide. This is not the case. We are currently in the beginning phase of our investigation and any final determination as to the cause and manner of Mr. Haney's death would be extremely premature and inappropriate. No determination will be made until all evidence is examined and analyzed. This latest official statement, on top of an avalanche of comments by his friends and colleagues on social media, further opens the door to the widespread suspicion that Haney was the victim of politically motivated foul play. Typical of the skeptics is Teressa Monroe-Hamilton, who wrote an article on Sunday titled "Philip Haney's Death More Questions Than Answers." On Saturday, Jan Markell, the founder of Olive Tree Ministries, author, and host of the most popular Christian radio show in the U.S., Understanding the Times, posted a tweet (later deleted): My friend Phil Haney was found shot yesterday in CA. I had lunch with him a month ago. He warned something could happen to him. He was to get married in a month. It will be falsely called a suicide. Jan Markell (@OliveTreeMin) February 22, 2020 Haney was a guest on Markell's program on several occasions, including in 2018 with former rep. Michele Bachmann (audio podcast here). A friend of mine sent me an email on Sunday morning: Peter, I received personal emails from Phil Haney. I believe he was murdered it was not suicide. He had a book coming out in March and he has been a part of seminar ENEMIES WITHIN that I have been a party of. The red-green axis murdered him maybe the Clintons for the truth he spoke. Screenshot: Philip Haney on The Hagmann Report, January 4, 2018. Used with permission. Perhaps the most extensive article about questions surrounding Haney's death by a friend and associate of his is "Suspicious death of Phil Haney, DHS whistleblower, only strengthens resolve of like-minded patriots" by independent freelance journalist and former WND news editor Leo Hohmann. In his article, Hohmann wrote that Haney: ... was dangerous to the deep state. He was a whistleblower who uncovered the Obama administration's malfeasance in shutting down the Department of Homeland Security's system of monitoring mosques and the imams who inspire young Muslims to commit jihad. Phil was instrumental in setting up a system that would net these terrorists. According to a report [February 23] by Lloyd Billingsley in the California Globe, "on Sunday the whistleblower's stepmother, Judith Haney, said 'No one in the family believes it's suicide.' And, 'with his history with the government and everything it is very suspicious.'" I'm here to tell you that none of Phil's friends who worked with him in the fight to save our country believe it was suicide, either. In addition to his forthcoming book, Haney told friends that in the coming months, according to Law Enforcement Today, "he was planning on doubling down on efforts to 'protect America from progressive leftist socialists.'" The Amador County Sheriff Coroner press release on Monday provided further details about Haney's death. The deceased, it turns out, was living in an R.V. park less than three miles from where he was found dead. The release notes that Haney's neighbors were canvassed and interviewed on the day that his body was found in a park and ride open area immediately adjacent to State Highway 16 near State Highway 124." According to the news release, a forensic autopsy, to be performed by forensic pathologists from the Sacramento County Coroner's Office, has been scheduled. Additionally, the Amador County sheriff's department has called on the FBI "to assist in analyzing documents, phone records and a lap top that were recovered from the scene and Mr. Haney's RV." The release also notes, "We are currently in possession of his vehicle, the firearm located at the scene, and his RV and we will be requesting evidence processing assistance from the FBI on those items as well." Philip Haney's death is likely the most prominent news story in the history of Amador County, a rural area in the Sierra Nevada about 40 miles east of Sacramento with a population, according to the 2010 census, of 38,000. "The investigation is still active and will be ongoing," according to the release, which added that "the investigators are continuing to follow-up with the overwhelming number of persons who are calling our office from throughout the United States asking for detailed information on our investigation." Philip Haney emerged publicly in 2015 in a series of articles, speeches, and interviews, and the following year with a book, See Something, Say Nothing, about his 12 year career with the Department of Homeland Security. He was especially critical of the department's policies under President Obama. Almost immediately, Haney achieved a high profile in both mainstream and new media, and he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 28, 2016. One of his appearances that generated news was his interview with Megyn Kelly on The Kelly File on Fox News, December 10, 2015 (video here). Philip Haney (center) on The Kelly File, Fox News, December 10, 2015. Other whistleblowers are taking note of Haney's passing. Dr. Robert Epstein, a widely published research psychologist, is the most prominent mainstream critic of Big Tech manipulation of social media and Google search results that, in his opinion, favors Democrats. Last summer, Epstein's research on Big Tech's manipulation of millions of votes in the 2016 was criticized without any evidence as "debunked" by Hillary Clinton after President Trump referenced it in a tweet. Having never had his credibility challenged before, Epstein a Democrat who voted for Clinton in 2016 suddenly found himself put on the defensive in a high-profile political crossfire. I got to know Epstein when I interviewed him about his work in September 2018 on The Hagmann Report in an episode titled "Big Tech Can Shift 12 Million Votes in November" (video podcast here). On Monday, I sent him a link to my first article on Philip Haney's death. On Tuesday at 4:50 P.M. E.T., Epstein replied to me via a chilling direct message on Twitter: For the record, yet again: I am NOT suicidal. If I die of an apparent suicide in the near future, it was murder. 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. Prince William looked the part in a bright orange high-vis jacket as he visited the Tarmac National Skills and Safety Park in Nottinghamshire today. The Duke of Cambridge, 38, was photographed operating an excavator simulator, before heading out on site and trying out the real deal. During his visit, the father-of-three met with bosses and young apprentices at the site. He then joined a meeting with chief executives, managing directors and chairmen of leading UK businesses, where they discussed everything from social mobility and training for young people. Prince William, 38, donned a bright orange high-vis jacket as he visited the Tarmac National Skills and Safety Park in Nottinghamshire today The Duke of Cambridge was keen to get stuck in and was pictured operating an excavator simulator Tarmac is the UKs leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business - and it has recently developed a skills centre which provides dedicated training to those hoping to embark on careers in the industry. It helps the company with everything from training apprentices, graduates and those hoping for a smooth transition into the sector. Later that day, he visited The Beacon - a day centre which gives support to the homeless and vulnerable people - where he spoke with service users. Prince William's solo engagements come a day after he and wife Kate Middleton made a joint appearance at the theatre in London last night. The father-of-three (pictured) looked in high spirits as he visited Tarmac - the UKs leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business The royal was keen to get stuck in as he was given a tour around the construction site earlier today Prince William was also shown the recently developed skills centre, which provides training for individuals moving into the sector. Pictured, operating an excavator simulator The Duke of Cambridge was given a lesson on how to operate an asphalt paver during his visit to the Tarmac National Skills and Safety Park today After heading outside, Prince William donned a hard hat and protective glasses as he operated an Asphalt Paver The father-of-three had the look of concentration as he learned how to manoeuvre the heavy piece of machinery The father-of-three looked in high spirits as he engaged with chief executives, managing directors and chairmen of leading UK businesses (pictured) They attended the special performance of Dear Evan Hansen, which is being held in aid of The Royal Foundation. The couple will embark on a royal tour in Ireland from March 3 to 5 - the first carried out by any member of the Royal Family since Brexit. Meanwhile, the 'Fab Four' - as William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were once known - are expected to join together with other royals at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 9. Prince William's visit comes as his brother Prince Harry today embarked on his final round of engagements as a senior working royal as he launched a new eco-friendly travel firm in Edinburgh - before asking delegates 'just to call him Harry'. The Duke of Sussex, who will step down as a senior royal in less than five weeks, is in the Scottish capital for a 'working summit' of the Travalyst partnership, which will feature a grading system for users to track their carbon emissions. Later, Prince William visited The Beacon, a day centre which gives support to the homeless and vulnerable people in Mansfield The Duke Of Cambridge could be seen smiling as he engaged with various individuals who use the service Prince William looked deep in thought as he leaned forward to engage in conversation with individuals who use the day centre services The duke engaged in conversation with those at the day centre, which gives support to the homeless and vulnerable people The service users appeared to share a joke with the father-of-one as they discussed the positives of the service Prince William was photographed shaking hands with a service user during a visit to The Beacon The duke could be seen sharing a joke as he spoke with service users during a visit to the day centre Drug firm Ltd on Wednesday said that the US health regulator has issued a warning letter to the company for its manufacturing facility in Goa. "Further to our earlier communication on the Goa manufacturing facility inspection conducted from September 16-27, 2019 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the company has received a warning letter from USFDA," Ltd said in a regulatory filing. The company further said that it remains committed to maintain highest standards of compliance and will work closely with the agency to comprehensively address all the observations. Shares of were trading at Rs 418.30 a piece on BSE in the morning trade on BSE, down 1.66 per cent from its previous close. Zhong Nanshan, a scientist at China's National Health Commission, is sometimes called the "SARS hero" because of his work during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. STR/AFP via Getty Images The world's biggest iPhone maker, Foxconn, is slowly restarting production that was halted over the coronavirus outbreak in China. The company is reportedly offering up to $1,000 to new employees as a means of enticing people back to work. More than just money, Foxconn has hired Zhong Nanshan, the scientist leading China's investigation into the coronavirus, as an adviser. Zhong is regarded in China as the "SARS hero" for his work during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple's main iPhone production partner, Foxconn, is slowly restarting production that had been halted in China over the coronavirus outbreak. The manufacturing giant, which closed nearly all its factories in response to the outbreak, is taking a major step to reassure workers: It has hired Zhong Nanshan, the scientist leading China's investigation in the coronavirus outbreak, as an adviser. Foxconn has also reportedly offered new employees up to $1,000 to come to work. Zhong will act as a consultant to Foxconn for prevention and rehabilitation, in addition to serving as the leader of China's National Health Commission investigation. In China, Zhong is sometimes called the "SARS hero" because of his work during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. He is credited with discovering severe acute respiratory syndrome and figuring out how to treat it. Foxconn's primary facilities are in China, where the majority of Apple's products are manufactured and where the coronavirus has had the greatest impact. The company announced at the beginning of the month it would close all its mainland China plants, and though it initially said it would reopen factories on February 10, it has extended that timeline. Sources at the company told Reuters it hoped to resume half-production by the end of the month. Foxconn employees at the company's Lunar New Year celebration in Taipei in January. Reuters Thus far, the coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 81,000 people and has reached every continent except Antarctica; over 2,700 have died from the virus, primarily in mainland China. Story continues As a result, major Chinese businesses have either shut down or diverted resources to fighting the outbreak. Foxconn, in addition to halting production, had shifted facilities to manufacturing medical face masks and clothing. Apple recently announced that its production of iPhones would be affected by the shutdowns in Chinese manufacturing, and it warned investors that quarterly revenue would most likely be down as a result. Read the original article on Business Insider (Newser) On Tuesday, CDC officials warned of the likely inevitable spread of COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) in the US, and that "disruptions to everyday life may be severe." On Wednesday, President Trump took issue with the gravity of the situation, saying that the country is in "great shape"and blaming two news networks and Democrats for overhyping the dangers, per the Hill. "Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible," Trump tweeted, misspelling the name of the illness that's infected 80,000 or so people and killed nearly 3,000 worldwide. "Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action." story continues below Trump added that he'll hold a press conference at the White House on Wednesday at 6pm ET, with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and "others" in attendance, to brief the nation on the matter. The president's reference to the "panicking markets" touched on an abysmal Monday in the stock world, which saw the biggest dip in the Dow in two years; Tuesday didn't fare well, either. As of Tuesday, there were 57 reported cases of COVID-19 in the US, per CNN. "We've ... enacted the first quarantine of this scale in the US, and are supporting the State Department and [Department of Health and Human Services] in repatriating citizens from high-risk areas," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters. (Read more coronavirus stories.) 26th of February, 2020, 7:00 AM ET - Insilico Medicine today announced that MIT Technology Review selected AI-discovered molecules as a breakthrough of the year with the availability horizon of 3-5 years. Insilico Medicine's research together with the University of Toronto was highlighted. 'The ability of deep learning and other AI tools to find novel molecules with desirable properties will transform drug discovery. It promises to make the development of new medicines far faster and more effective, and is an important new tool in the hunt for better drugs. Insilico Medicine has been a leader in using some of the most exciting techniques in AI, such as GANs, for drug discovery. And, with the latest results, GANs is proving to be a powerful new tool for finding promising molecules.' said David Rotman, Editor at Large. On the same day, Insilico Medicine announced the launch of its Entrepreneur in Residence program in brain cancers with the objective to externalize the effort before August, 2020. The program will be led by pharma industry expert and seasoned R&D scientist, Dr. George Okafo. 'I remember the first AI and drug discovery conferences in early 2016 when we presented the first theoretical basis for using the Adversarial Autoencoders (AAE) for the generation of new molecular structures with desired properties. I had to spend a lot of time explaining the principles using images and the deep learning folks did not get the chemistry part and chemists were lost in math and asked for experimental validation. No one took it seriously. Now, most pharmaceutical companies started their internal generative chemistry groups. I am very happy to see that', said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, co-founder, and CEO of Insilico Medicine. Generative AI is an emerging technology in both chemistry and biology. Insilico Medicine is working in these areas since 2015 and holds the critical intellectual property. According to the recent opinions, drugs generated using AI may be classified as being invented by AI. Insilico published its first peer-reviewed papers in this area in 2016, multiple theoretical papers in 2017, and recently published several proofs of concept for JAK3 and DDR1 kinases with experimental validation. It recently generated and released a range of molecules targeting COVID-19 protease generated in 4 days. Generative biology technology for the target discovery is developed and utilized internally since 2015 and the first landmark experiments are expected to be published in 2020. 'Drug discovery is a special industry where secrecy is encouraged and many advances cannot be openly shared. Generative chemistry is in a more advanced state than what can be judged from published work as most of the efforts in difficult targets are internal. I hope that within the next couple of years it will be possible to publish these advances, and the pharmaceutical companies will also publish their achievements, and molecules designed using generative chemistry will progress into the clinic', said Alex Aliper, PhD, co-founder and president of Insilico Medicine. ### About Insilico Medicine Insilico Medicine is an artificial intelligence company with offices in six countries and regions striving to accelerate three areas of drug discovery and development: disease target identification, generation of novel molecules (generative chemistry) and synthetic biological data (generative biology), and prediction of clinical trial outcomes. The Company was the first to apply the generative adversarial networks (GANs) and reinforcement learning (RL) to generate new molecular structures with the specified parameters in 2015. In addition to collaborating with large pharmaceutical companies, Insilico Medicine is also pursuing internal drug discovery programs in different disease areas. Website: http://insilico.com/. Memphis, Tenn. (February 25, 2020) - Shelley White-Means, PhD, a professor of health economics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, is the principal investigator of a paper published this month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that found breast cancer support groups play a major role in helping underserved African-American women at risk for or diagnosed with breast cancer in Memphis. Using data from in-depth focus groups, Dr. White-Means, a faculty member in the Department of Interpersonal Education and the Institute for Health Outcomes and Policy at UTHSC, and her co-authors determined that these community based groups are essential in overcoming barriers to care that include fear, lack of transportation and or child care, cost of medication, inadequate insurance, and other issues. Co-authors on the paper are Jill Dapremont, EdD, RN, CNE, associate professor and director of the RN-BSN Program at the University of Memphis, Barbara D. Davis, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Management at the University of Memphis, and Tronlyn Thompson, a biology student at Howard University. The research was funded by the Tennessee Department of Health. "There are community based support agencies that are vital for the survival of African American women in Memphis with breast cancer," Dr. White-Means said. These groups help women overcome economic, social, and psychological barriers to diagnosis and treatment and act as connectors in underserved areas for women with breast cancer. The organizations include the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as navigator programs, and support groups that provide education, social, and psychological support to African American women. "The work that needs to be done is to have a greater interaction between providers and the health care system and the community based support groups," Dr. White-Means said. "Gaps in death rates from breast cancer exist between black and white women in Memphis," Dr. White-Means said. The national goal is to reduce breast cancer deaths to 20.7 per 100,000 females. "In Memphis, while white women are close to meeting the 2020 goal, black women are not." Dr. White-Means has championed research into issues related to health disparities and health equity for decades. She joined the faculty of UTHSC in 2004, bringing with her a dedication to address health disparities in her hometown of Memphis. From 2009 to 2012, Dr. White-Means, her students, colleagues at UTHSC and LeMoyne-Owen College, and various community organizations, with the help of funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, developed and ran the Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research (CHEER). The organization aimed to enhance outcomes and increase the health status of the population in the city's poorest inner-city neighborhood by addressing food insecurity and food deserts, performing health risk assessments, investigating breast cancer disparities, conducting community health summits, and other programs. "Our emphasis was community-based participatory research collaborations that engaged many agencies that today would be described as 'social determinants of health' organizations," she said. "This focus is very popular now, but at that point, it wasn't." In October, Dr. White-Means presented a paper at the Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis on the impact of job types on individual health. It was titled, "Workplace Setting and Job Types as Determinants of Health Disparities." She said she produced that paper to make the public aware that the jobs they have chosen will impact health outcomes. Gig-market or contract jobs that don't carry health care coverage tend to be filled by minorities. "We need to look at what is going on in the labor force," she said. "It's not just about wages. Employees need to be aware that job choices and the growing racial divide in quality of jobs impact health over the lifetime." ### As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health through education, research, clinical care, and public service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. The main campus in Memphis includes six colleges: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and health professions students, as well as medical residents and fellows, at major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville. For more information, visit http://www.uthsc.edu. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, Twitter: twitter.com/uthsc, LinkedIn: linkedin.com/uthsc, and Instagram: instagram.com/uthsc. Broadcaster Alan Jones (pictured) has backed calls for the national anthem to be changed Alan Jones has backed calls for the Australian national anthem to be changed, adding his voice to those who claim it ignores the country's pre-colonial past. The broadcaster, 78, backed calls for the lyrics to be changed to get rid of the line which calls Australia a 'young' nation. Campaigners said the change would reflect the fact that Aboriginals have been in the country for 60,000 years, making it the oldest civilisation on earth. It would also add an extra third verse about overcoming devastating bushfires and drought. He joins the likes of Olympic hero Cathy Freeman, who on Wednesday said that the anthem 'doesn't acknowledge indigenous existence in Australia'. The song contains the words 'we are young and free'. Indigenous Australians object to the word 'young' because they lived on the land for tens of thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Calling the proposed changes 'contemporary and sensible', Jones backed the calls on his radio show. Cathy Freeman (pictured after winning gold in the 400m final in 2000) has supported the campaign, which would change aspects of the Australian national anthem 'I dont think any sensible person would have a problem with that,' he said. 'I dont have any problem with that at all. 'I think the changes are very contemporary and sensible.' First performed in 1878, the anthem has already had the lyrics revised on three occasions to reflect social and political change. 'If this ends the debate, I really don't have a problem,' Jones said. 'All that Catherine Freeman is advocating, and this movement, is that instead of "for we are young and free" to change it to "for we are one and free". 'I don't have a problem with that.' He also supported the proposed changes for the second verse and an entirely new, extra third verse. Speaking again about the issue on his Sky News programme on Thursday, he said the 'minimal' changes were sensible, and not something people should get upset about. 'There's nothing wrong with [the changes],' he said. 'You would have to be a bit of a ratbag to say thats worth dying in a ditch for. 'I just think, and Catherine Freeman is a lovely lady and very moderate in her views, there's nothing wrong with it.' Victorian Supreme Court judge Peter Vickery QC founded the Recognition in Anthem Project in order to change the wording. On Tuesday, Ms Freeman threw her support behind the project. 'I agree with Peter Vickery that the national anthem doesn't acknowledge indigenous existence in Australia,' the sporting star told the Australian. Several indigenous NRL players, including Cody Walker, Josh Addo-Carr and Will Chambers, refused to sing the anthem before game one of the State of Origin series last year. The anthem was not played before last weekend's indigenous All-Stars game between Indigenous and Maori teams. Cathy Freeman (pictured after winning the Olympic gold in the 400m in 2000) has thrown her support behind the campaign Advance Australia Fair was chosen as the de facto national anthem in a 1977 plebiscite by just over 8.4 million voters who picked the song over God Save the Queen, Waltzing Matilda and Song of Australia. It was officially adopted as the national anthem on April 19, 1984 on the recommendation of the federal government. The song was composed by the Scottish-born Peter Dodds McCormick, first performed in 1878 and was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. Later it was used at the start of official functions and the ABC used the melody to announce its news bulletins until 1952. Freeman was the first Australian Indigenous person to become a Commonwealth Games champion at age 16 in 1990. Ten years later she won gold in the 400m at the Sydney Olympics. Studying abroad can bring a major change in a students future. It comes with a lot of questions in the mind of students as well parents with respect to choosing the right country, college, scholarship and the most important is accommodation. Each country and college is unique in terms of providing quality education and experience which helps the students turn into a valuable graduate or a post-graduate. However, finding the best of everything to study abroad is not an easy task. There are plenty of options and we should be ready with the right one beforehand be it applying for scholarship or accommodation in any country. Witnessing the gap and trying to help students, these brands are making overseas education ease. Looking for a Scholarship? Buddy4Study Launched in 2011, Buddy4Study is Indias largest financial match-making platform committed to making quality education accessible to all. To achieve this, the Noida-based start-up is currently focused on facilitating simplified access to finances for students through scholarships while democratizing the disbursement processes for providers. More than 2 million prospective learners log on to the platform every month with a daily average of 90,000 students to seek financial assistance for pursuing higher education. Boasting an expanding user base of 23 lakh students registered on the platform, Buddy4Study has facilitated over 80,000 scholarships worth INR 90 crore to date. Looking for Global student accommodation? University Living Founded by Saurabh Arora and Mayank Maheshwari in January 2015, University Living is an innovative, customer-focused organization committed to helping international students find verified, quality accommodation across the globe while delivering a suite of value-added services as well. The company currently has 1 million beds in 15,000 verified properties, with a global presence in more than 210 international cities across markets such as the UK, the US, Europe, New Zealand, among others. Looking for Consultation? ESS Global ESS Global Private Limited is a consultancy firm that provides recruitment services for students who wish to study abroad. Incepted in 2013, the company focuses on recruiting students for studying abroad across various destinations like Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, etc. and partners with various prestigious universities & colleges in these locations. Highly reputed for their deep, credible and supportive facilitation for students overseas education, ESS Global provide universal access to the worlds best immigration. Guiding you with study abroad options, ESS Global is your go-to the platform, offering hassle-free consultation. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. (Natural News) A mysterious disease is wreaking havoc in villages across Ethiopias Somali region. In a report published by The Guardian, locals and officials believe that this deadly mystery disease may be linked to a nearby Chinese natural gas project, a claim repudiated by federal government officials in Addis Ababa. In addition, they also denied the existence of a health and environmental crisis, as well as issues with large-scale energy projects, in the region. The natural gas project in question belongs to Poly-GCL, a Chinese oil and gas company that has been investing heavily in the region. It has been in talks with Ethiopia and Djibouti to build a 767-kilometer (or 476-mile) natural gas pipeline that will run between the two countries. In the region, known locally as the Ogaden Basin, the company has been prospecting for oil and gas in the area since 2014 and is planning to start commercial gas production soon. Something in the water? For Khadar Abdi Abdullahi and many locals, the mysterious disease could be traced back to hazardous chemical waste that has contaminated their water supply. It is the toxins that flow in the rainfall from Calub [gas field] that are responsible for this epidemic, Khadar told The Guardian. During the time of the report, he had just been discharged from the hospital after collapsing from a fever. Before that, his eyes and his palms first turned yellow, he was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and he was swollen all over. By the time he was released, his doctors said there was nothing they can do for him. Khadar died shortly after. In a statement, Ketsela Tadesse of the federal ministry of mines and petroleum said that the government is unaware of any reports of spillages in the Ogaden Basin, adding that, in any case, there were there are no permanent settlers in nearby areas. An adviser to the Somali regional government says otherwise. In the report, he said the region is now experiencing new diseases that have never been seen before in this area. Without any public health protection, it is very clear that Poly-GCL uses chemicals that are detrimental to human health, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Khadar wasnt the first to succumb to the mystery disease. Other locals in the area have died from the same symptoms swelling, fever, sleeplessness, yellowing eyes and palms, and lack of appetite. According to Xuseen Sheekh Siraad, the chairman of Dhoobaweyn district (where Ogaden Basin is located), there have been at least 2,000 deaths since 2014. A problem found the world over Despite the Ethiopian governments denial, certain practices by the natural gas industry can cause groundwater contamination. To note, Natural News previously reported that even the Environmental Protection Agency has said that fracking, a controversial technique for extracting natural gas, is linked to water contamination even as the natural gas industry claims otherwise. In the 121-page report, the agency has found that fracking chemicals from nearby gas wells have contaminated the groundwater in Pavillion, Wyoming. The report explained that glycol ethers and the assortment of other organic components (found in the water) is explained as the result of direct mixing of hydraulic fracturing fluids with groundwater in the Pavillion gas field. Back in the Somali region, the local government has stated that it recognizes the serious consequences of resource exploration, particularly for those living closest to exploration sites. We are seriously dedicated to addressing the decades of [marginalization] and abuse that have resulted from oil and gas exploration, adds to Abdikarim Abdirahman, who heads the regions energy, mines and petroleum ministry. But in the face of the mysterious killer disease, locals remain skeptical. For one, they have not been consulted on the impending natural gas pipeline project, which they feel will disrupt their grazing lands and natural habitat. Of all this, a local decries: Not a single person has ever asked us about our plight. Sources include: TheGuardian.com OilReviewAfrica.com FILE PHOTO: A oil pump is seen at sunset outside Scheibenhard By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were near flat on Tuesday, pressured by concerns over the impact on crude demand from the coronavirus outbreak in China, but prices drew support from a reduction in supply from Libya. Brent crude rose 8 cents to settle at $57.75 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were unchanged from the previous session, settling at $52.05 a barrel. Though new cases of the coronavirus in mainland China have dipped, global experts said it was too early to judge if the outbreak is being contained. Forecasters including the International Energy Agency (IEA) have cut 2020 oil demand estimates because of the virus. The virus is having a wider impact on financial markets. Asian shares fell and Wall Street also retreated after Apple Inc said it would miss quarterly revenue guidance due to slower iPhone production and weakened demand in China. The IEA last week said first-quarter oil demand was likely to fall by 435,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a year ago. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers including Russia have been considering further production cuts to support prices. The group, known as OPEC+, has a pact to cut oil output by 1.7 million bpd until the end of March. OPEC+ oil ministers will meet in Vienna on March 6 as initially planned, a senior Russian energy ministry official said on Tuesday. The group will consider an advisory panel's recommendation to cut supply by a further 600,000 bpd. OPEC has been trying to persuade Russia on the deeper cuts. Moscow has said it will disclose its stance in the coming days. "Risk aversion has returned to the markets," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. "OPEC+ has shown no sign yet of reacting to the virus-related slump in demand by making additional production cuts." Supporting prices, oil output in Libya has collapsed since Jan. 18 because of a blockade of ports and oilfields. Story continues "Supportive fundamental influences are still being seen in a continued loss of... Libyan supply availability," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates, said in a note. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia's crude stockpiles fell by 11.8 million barrels in December, despite steady shipments by the world's biggest oil exporter, official data showed. Meanwhile, U.S. shale oil output is expected to rise by about 18,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March to a record 9.18 million bpd, driven by gains in the Permian Basin, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore; Editing by Barbara Lewis, David Goodman and David Gregorio) SAN RAFAEL (BCN) A San Rafael couple lost more than $11,000 Monday in a phone scam that had them fearing their grandson was in jail and needed bail, police said. The couple in their 70s told police they received a call around 7 a.m. from someone who claimed to work in a law office. The male caller said the couple's grandson was arrested for DUI, and he was working on lowering their grandson's cash bail, police Lt. Dan Fink said. The caller then handed the phone to a person in distress who claimed to be the couple's grandson, and the couple was told he needed $11,250 for bail. The couple agreed to get the bail money but told the caller they did not have the money now. The caller told the couple to handle the transaction privately and not to speak to any other family members about it, Fink said. The couple went to their bank, got a personal loan in cash for the bail amount and contacted the caller, who said someone would come to their home to pick up the money, Fink said. A thin, white person dressed in dark clothing showed up at the couple's residence around 1 p.m. The couple did not ask him any questions and gave him the cash. The scammer left on foot and the couple did not see any vehicle, according to Fink. MORE NEWS: Smash-and-grab thief held a dog hostage for $1,000 in San Francisco The couple called their grandson at 6 p.m. to confirm he was released from jail, and they learned he was never detained by law enforcement and they were the victims of a scam. The couple then called San Rafael police and a detective is investigating the theft by false pretenses, Fink said. Fink said it was unusual for a scammer to show up at a victim's home. 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. Tunis:Qalb Tounes won't vote confidence for Fakhfakh cabinet But will give votes if necessary (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, FEBRUARY 26 - Qalb Tounes, Tunisia's second-largest party, has decided to vote against the government of Elyes Fakhfakh on Wednesday, although it will provide its backing if necessary, the party's leader said. "The national council has given its recommendations to the parliamentary group so lawmakers will remain vigil, giving them the choice of granting some votes to the Fakhfakh government if it twill not be able to receive the necessary 109 to obtain confidence" in parliament, Yadh Elloumi told reporters. (ANSAmed). A wild elephant brought traffic in eastern Thailand to a total standstill as he appeared to be showing his son how to steal food from passing motorists. Drivers stopped in their tracks as the jumbos stomped onto a road in Chachoengsao and started pinching food from a vehicle. Footage captured one elephant snatching bags of salt from a silver Toyota Hilux pick-up truck before slinging them across the road. Previously they had looted sugarcane, which they then proceeded to munch on. Wildlife ranger Amnouy Artchula captured the astonishing moment near the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, a national park that is home to hundreds of wild elephants. Ms Artchula said the older male elephant was teaching the younger juvenile how to forage for food from passing vehicles. She added: 'The elephants know very well how to stop the passing cars to get food, even if they are not given permission from the drivers. 'In this case, the older elephant was showing the smaller elephant how to get food from cars. It was probably his son or another juvenile in the herd.' Herds of wild elephants roam through nearby forests, and occasionally stumble onto the road when they are looking for food. Ms Artchula said: 'The animals are nice to humans, if humans are nice to them. That is why we ask all drivers not to harm any wildlife, we should live together peacefully.' Wild elephants brought traffic in Chachoengsao, eastern Thailand, to a total standstill as terrified motorists stopped while the jumbos raided the backs of their vehicles for food Wildlife ranger Amnouy Artchula said that the older male elephant was teaching the younger juvenile how to forage for food from passing vehicles Thailand has between 3,000 and 4,000 elephants. Around half live in the wild in national parks, like the animal seen in the video, while the others are domesticated. Wild elephants are endangered by human activity, causing the Thai Government to sanction the creation of the Wildlife Sanctuary in 1977. According to the Thai Department of National Parks, the elephant population of Khao Ang Rue Nai in 2008 was just 219. However, around 20 elephants a year are born in the region. This startling incident was filmed on February 21. Donation and friendship from a Qatari cheers up Shanghai By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-02-26 08:46 A Qatar Airways cargo freighter delivering 91.9 tons of coronavirus supplies has recently landed in Shanghai. They were donated by the airline to Shanghai people. The man behind the donation is friend of Shanghai Akbar Al Baker, secretary general of the Qatar National Tourism Council and CEO of Qatar Airways Group. While he had to give up his original plan to visit Shanghai in mid February, he decided to do his bit to help China overcome the virus. (435,000 medical masks and 162,996 bottles of hand sanitizer are donated to Shanghai.) Akbar Al Bakers relationship with the city dates back to September 2019, when he met with a Shanghai delegation led by Yin Yicui, director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress, in Doha, Qatars capital city. At the meeting, he expressed his firm support for Chinas one country, two systems policy and Qatars standing on the Hong Kong and Taiwan issues. He also accepted with delight an invitation by the Shanghai delegation to visit the city in 2020. Since then, Akbar Al Baker has remained in contact with his Shanghai friends via correspondence. In a letter on December 30, he said, we are keen on engaging with the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Government to explore strategic cooperation opportunities. He also mentioned his plan to visit Shanghai from Feb. 17-19 to seek cooperation with Shanghai in the fields of tourism, aviation and startup businesses. Right after learning the news of the delayed visit, Akbar Al Baker sent his condolences and encouragement in a letter to his Shanghai friends. Please know that my steadfast thoughts are with the people of China as they encounter the novel coronavirus, he said. We remain committed to supporting the Peoples Republic of China during this critical time. Actually, since the COVID-19 outbreak, the CEO has spoken of his support for China in public many times. He said: I dont think there is any country in the world that could have acted so quickly to quarantine 11 million people in a city and still keep them fed and supplied, while building a hospital for 2000 people in one week. To help China fight the coronavirus emergency, he also announced in early February that medical supplies donated by Chinese communities worldwide will be flown by Qatar Airways Cargo freighters through its global network of around 170 destinations to its China cargo gateways. Apart from that, the national carrier of Qatar has aims to independently donate medical-grade masks and sanitization bottles to areas in China most urgently in need. On Feb. 21 local time, a convoy of five Qatar Airways cargo freighters departed to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, carrying approximately 300 tons of relief supplies donated by the airline. Among them, 435,000 medical masks and 162,996 bottles of hand sanitizer were given to Shanghai. Before departure, a ceremony was held at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, witnessed by Zhou Jian, Ambassador of China to Qatar, and Akbar Al Baker. A sign at the airport says, Qatar Airways and China fight together against coronavirus. (2nd from left: Zhou Jian, Ambassador of China to Qatar. 3rd from left: Akbar Al Baker) To thank Akbar Al Baker, a Shanghai artist painted a portrait for the Arabian. With the city skyline as the background, the artwork sends a message that the Shanghai people are looking forward to meeting Akbar Al Baker when the coronavirus is overcome. (Photos provided by Qatar Airways, Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, Shanghai Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries) The enemy opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles. Russia's hybrid military forces on Tuesday, February 25, mounted five attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Read alsoZolote residents in Donbas: We're caught in-between warring sides: "Bang!" a shell is flying over our heads. We constantly wonder which "bang" will eventually hit us "The armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire five times on February 25," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on February 26, 2020. The enemy opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Talakivka, Pisky, Novomykhailivka, and Katerynivka. "Since Wednesday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka, using a 120mm mortar," the update said. No Ukrainian army casualties were reported on Wednesday morning. Images: ANI At least 24 people died and four others sustained injuries as a private bus full of passengers fell into a river on KotaDausa highway in Rajasthans Bundi district in the morning on February 26, police said. The wedding party with 28 persons on board was headed to Sawai Madhopur from Kota early morning when the driver apparently lost balance of the bus while traversing a bridge near Papdi village under Lekhari police station limits, Lakheri Sub-Inspector Rajendra Kumar told PTI over the phone. The bus, subsequently, plunged into Mej river from the bridge that had no wall or railing, Kumar said. The river is a tributary of the Chambal river in Rajasthan. The deaths include 11 men, 10 women and three children. The injured were rushed to Lekhari government hospital from where the critically injured are being referred to a government hospital in Kota, the SI further said. Most of the injured people were rescued with the help of locals in the village, he added. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all injured. "I am deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident in Bundi in which about 25 people have lost lives after the bus fell into river Mej.. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their loves ones in this tragedy. I wish speedy recovery to all injured" Gehlot tweeted. (With inputs from PTI) Cities tighten measures against import virus spread Global Times By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/25 23:58:40 Strict restrictions reflect pragmatic, responsible responses to epidemic Several Chinese cities raised their alert and implemented strict entry measures on Tuesday by asking all foreign visitors to undergo quarantine amid rising fears of the fast-spreading outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Japan and South Korea, aiming to prevent overseas cases of infection. Such restrictions, in sharp contrast to the generous help and goodwill offered by the two neighboring countries at the early stage of the outbreak in Wuhan, sparked online discussions as some questioned whether it shows China's selfish and ingratitude mind-set as fears grow over the spreading virus. However, analysts said this is China's pragmatic, scientific and responsible responses to the epidemic as the classic quarantine measures the country has adopted proved to be the only available way that worked out. If the rebound of infections occurs, the country's previous progress would end in vain, which will also drag the global epidemic combat into a deadlock. Qingdao, a highly popular destination for South Koreans in East China's Shandong Province, is adopting a stricter epidemic prevention policy amid the COVID-19. It has asked all foreign visitors to either undergo self-quarantine or stay in designated hotels, as infection numbers in South Korea soared tenfold in less than a week. Local authorities began on Monday to assign vehicles to pick up all foreign visitors arriving in Qingdao and send them to their homes for a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Foreigners coming for short-term visit or business travel will be sent to designated hotels, the local government said. Other cities in the province, including Weihai and Yantai, took similar moves. Weihai, the closest city in the country facing South Korea, imposed even stricter measures as both foreigners and Chinese who departed from either Japan or South Korea would be sent to hotels for a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Yantai, a coastal city located about 65 kilometer from Weihai, also strengthened management of entrants by requiring reports of health condition, arranging special vehicles to transfer them to designated places. Netizens allegedly from Qingdao wrote on social media platforms that some South Koreans who arrived in Qingdao were not placed under home quarantine like the Chinese citizens were, leaving a potential loophole in epidemic control. Some speculated that South Koreans might be flying to Qingdao to avoid the rapid infection rise in their home country. Those posts also aroused public concerns over possible overseas cases of infection. South Korea reported an additional 144 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 977 with 11 deaths, according to the Yonhap News Agency. The spike in infection numbers also raised concerns on looming massive infection in the country. Japan is also on the edge of a rapid spread of the virus, as the confirmed number has now topped 861, including passengers previously quarantined at the Diamond Princess cruise ship. South Korea and Japan have become two of the most virus-stricken countries outside of China. Some countries and regions also issued travel warnings to South Korea and Japan. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisory to South Korea to the highest level on Monday and urged against all nonessential travel to the country. Besides Shandong, provinces in Northeast China, with a considerable ethnic Korean population, also escalated prevention and control measures. Hunchun, a city in Northeast China's Jilin and bordering North Korea, imposed a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all foreign returnees to the city. Those without the city's permanent residence will be sent to designated places for quarantine. And Dalian, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning that hosts the annual summer Davos meeting, also took targeted measures to prevent overseas cases of infection, paying more attention to neighboring countries, the local government said on Monday. Local authorities in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, sent out alert messages to local residents, urging them to avoid going to communities where Chinese returning from South Korea live. Qingdao is believed to be the most favored Chinese city by South Koreans, where about 100,000 people from South Korea live, according to media reports. As a major port that is also a free trade zone in northern China, the city has been attracting investments of over 20 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) so far from South Korea with over 2,300 South Korean firms, also according to media reports. It's also widely believed that if a graduate speaks Korean, he won't have trouble finding a job in Qingdao. Major multinational companies such as LG and Sindoh are based there. On Tuesday, relevant authorities in some Beijing districts, particularly Wangjing, the so-called "Koreatown" that is home to the capital city's largest non-Chinese community, also issued warnings to local residents to avoid going to places where large numbers of South Korean people are known to live and go, as part of the city's epidemic control measures against public gatherings. China has made a huge sacrifice by imposing unprecedented city lockdowns and drastic restrictions on movement, which WHO experts called a "bold approach" that changed the course of the epidemic, which probably prevented hundreds of thousands of more cases of infection. The country has seen visible progress in its fight against the disease with 24 provincial-level regions across China reporting zero new cases of COVID-19 infections on Monday. Outside of Hubei, regions reported only nine new cases of infections on Tuesday, a significant drop from previous days. Meanwhile, WHO experts mentioned that the number of coronavirus cases reported in China a day has dropped from 2,500 two weeks ago to 406 on Monday, which was about an 80 percent decline. The deadly virus has caused 77,658 infections nationwide so far, with the death toll at 2,663. Authorities at all levels will not take any risks to see a possible rebound resulting from overseas cases of infection, analysts said. Provinces such as Liaoning and Shandong are regions where many South Koreans and Japanese do business, study, visit relatives and temporarily settle down. "Considering the severe situation in neighboring countries, it is necessary for local authorities in these provinces to enhance preparedness, as we can't let our previous efforts end in vain," Liang Qidong, vice president of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Raise awareness A 50-year-old man, surnamed Shim, who works in a foreign exchange company in Seoul, told the Global Times on Tuesday that his company distributed facial masks to employees on Monday and asked them to wear it before going to the office. "But not many people are wearing masks in our office today, including me, because I think it might look a little bit overreacting. The situation is not that bad in Seoul," Shim said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Monday briefing that outside of China, there were 2,074 infection cases in 28 countries and regions with 23 deaths, and the sudden increase of cases in Italy, Iran and South Korea "are deeply concerning." However, online video footage and media reports showed that local residents in Seoul showed up in a public rally over the weekend while the South Korean government vowed to bring in maximum measures to contain the outbreak. South Korea planned to test around 200,000 members of the Shincheonji Church, which is believed to be the ground zero of the spread in the country. More importantly, public awareness was also urged to be raised in combating the disease not only in South Korea but also in Japan. Nomachi Ayako, a first-year Japanese graduate studying at Shanghai International Studies University, stayed in Shanghai for the winter break and chose to continue staying there despite the virus outbreak because she feels Shanghai has taken more vigorous measures to prevent and control the epidemic than her home city Tokyo. "My family insisted I stay in Shanghai, because the situation is more serious in Japan," she told the Global Times on Tuesday. Ayako said some of her Japanese friends feel panic due to the great shortage of protective masks in Japan and no mandatory city lockdowns there like in China, and the pollen season is coming up, which may cause a further spread of the epidemic. Also, some of the dismissed asymptomatic people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have started coughing and having a fever after returning home, so people are worried of being infected unintentionally by these people during their incubation period. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing told the Global Times on Tuesday that Japanese nationals will continue to be advised to return to their homeland as soon as possible, or delay their journeys to China, preventing transmission between the countries. Wang Cheng, a 35-year-old employee with a machinery company in Busan, South Korea, told the Global Times that few people wear masks in his company and people keep going out for group dinners as usual despite a warning from the company. Given the severe outbreak, South Korea and Japan are expected to learn from the experiences of China in taking decisive and strict measures to fight the disease, while China will provide valuable experience and assistance to them. "It has become a common challenge beyond borders. China, Japan and South Korea should further strengthen information sharing and cooperation in epidemic control work, as it doesn't only concern one country or the other," Liang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Kano State Council of Ulama has criticised Governor Abdullahi Gandujes decision to ban street begging across the state. In Islam, the Ulama are the guardians, transmitters and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam, including Islamic doctrine and law. By longstanding tradition, Ulama are educated in religious institutions. The chairman of the council, Ibrahim Khalil, expressed this in an interview with journalists on Wednesday. He said the action is not feasible and the government is not serious. According to Mr Khalil, necessary steps towards curtailing the practice have not been taken or put in place before taking the decision. To us at the Council of Ulama, the government cannot do it and is not serious about it. They are just doing it to appease their masters abroad, or get their money or some kind of noise making. Or they might have been accused of something from somewhere for which they simply organise a ceremony and that is all. That is our opinion, he stated. The official, who is also an advocate against street begging, outlined efforts made in the past to curtail the menace. He also insisted that stakeholders must be involved before the decision, and the real street beggars should be identified. The right steps to follow in banning street begging include the Quranic clerics involved, (who) have to be identified because there are street beggars who are Quranic students. And there are beggars who were sent by their parents from the rural areas to come and be begging in the urban areas. There is also begging engaged in by some physically challenged individuals. All these forms of street beggars need to be identified and each one be addressed accordingly. But they (government) have not done that. So, for the ban to work, there has to be a cooperation between the government and the Quranic clerics. You have to sit with them and understand why they engage in begging, get some statistics, know the total number of those engaging in street begging among them. If you identify all these, it is then that you will come to know exactly beggars that are not almajiris (but) Quranic students. More so, you can not stop begging in the state without joining hands with the neighbouring states, he stated. He added: If you recall, there was the case of a man who sent three of his children to the city to be begging for sustenance because he wanted to place his new wife in the room they were occupying. You can see that these kids are not necessarily almajiris or Quranic pupils. Therefore, you need statistics of the real situation, know the total number of the Quranic teachers, the total number of the Quranic schools and their pupils, know exactly who the real Almajiris are first. You will then know their needs, understand their problems and then proffer the right solutions. Two Maryland public high school students, aged 19 and 20, have been arrested for allegedly raping different 11-year-old girls off campus in separate incidents. Jonathan Coreas-Salamanca, 20, and Ivan Reyes Lopez, 19, have both been charged each with second-degree rape. Coreas-Salamanca faces additional counts of sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sexual offense. Coreas-Salamanca, a Salvadorian national living in the US illegally, was arrested at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, where he was enrolled as a student, on February 13. Six days later cops arrested Lopez at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, where he is a student. Both students had immigrated to the US and were enrolled in the Montgomery County Public School system. Montgomery County made headlines last year for their sanctuary city policies, but have since rolled back on them, allowing ICE to cooperate with police under certain circumstances. Maryland public high school students Jonathan Coreas-Salamanca, 20, (left) and Ivan Reyes Lopez, 19, (right) have both been charged with second-degree rape after they were arrested earlier this month for allegedly assaulting different 11-year-old girls in separate incidents According to Maryland state law, any resident between five and 21 is entitled to a free public education. Coreas-Salamanca was living in Adelphi, Maryland and was in the US illegally, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It's not clear when he arrived in the US or how long he has been living in the country for. CBP said he was a minor when he arrived to the US. ICE has filed an immigration detainer with the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. He is accused of giving a 11-year-old girl a cell phone some time last year. Using that phone he exchanged explicit text messages and photographs with the girl and arranged for sexual meetups. The victim's father discovered the phone on Christmas Eve and found a trove of text messages describing 'vaginal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus'. The father reported to police a text message where the suspect advised the victim that 'she bit his penis the last time she performed fellatio', according to court documents. Coreas-Salamanca, a Salvadorian national living in the US illegally, was arrested at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring (above), where he was enrolled as a student, on February 13 'Suspect Coreas-Salamanca's purpose in sending the text message was to teach Victim A how to better perform fellatio,' the documents said. The father reported the phone to police and cops seized the phone for forensic analysis. Lopez emigrated from Honduras nearly three years ago and was living with his uncle in Silver Spring, according to court documents. He is accused of luring a different 11-year-old from a park near the Rollingwood Apartments in Silver Spring to his family's apartment. Once there he told the girl to sit down on a bed and turned on Netflix before raping her, the victim told detectives. Lopez, speaking through a Spanish translator, argued to investigators that he led the victim by hand to his bedroom and the two had 'consensual vaginal intercourse', court documents say. Both were denied bond in initial court appearances. Coreas-Salamanca faces up to 55 years in prison whereas Lopez faces 20 years. Coreas-Salamanca faces a higher sentence because he is accused of repeatedly molesting his victim. Six days later cops arrested Lopez at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (above), where he is a student. Lopez emigrated from Honduras nearly three years ago and was living with his uncle in Silver Spring, according to court documents When asked how many students aged 19, 20, of 21 are currently enrolled in the county public school system, the MCPS refused to comment. 'There is no data suggesting that being a high school student at 19, 20, or 21 makes a person more or less likely to commit a crime. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong and trying to make a connection there to students enrolled in our district is wrong,' spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said to WJLA. The two incidents in the same school district have sparked outrage among parents. 'If the school system would not allow an employee or a volunteer to be back in the school while theyre facing such serious charges, how does that change when its a student? Theyre over 18. They are men. They just use a different badge to get into school,' Jennifer Gross, a Montgomery County resident, mother, and longtime advocate for sexual assault prevention said. 'Will they be allowed to return to the classroom? Will they be allowed to be back in general education public high school?' she added. 'These are adult men. They are over the age of 18 and simply because youre enrolled in MCPS schools or any other school system does not change the fact that youre legally an adult,' she said. Last year, Montgomery County rolled back its sanctuary policies following a slew of arrests of undocumented immigrants linked to alleged rape or sexual abuse. In 2019, Democratic Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich issued an executive order that forbade county police from asking an individual about their immigration status and prohibited officials from cooperating with ICE agents. However, in November 2019 the county announced that ICE agents would be allowed access to certain areas of the Montgomery County jail to apprehend illegal aliens. Syracuse University students protesting racism and prejudice on campus continue to occupy an administrative building for the 11th day in a row. Organizers say they are ready to negotiate, but prepared to remain at Crouse-Hinds Hall, including sleeping overnight, until their demands are met by administrators. #NotAgainSU, which formed after a rash of racist, anti-Semitic graffiti was found on campus last semester, set up camp in the building Feb. 17. Administrators and campus police initially attempted to shut down the protest, suspending around 30 students. Officials for two days locked the building to outsiders and refused to let food or other items in, encouraging the protesters to leave. Since then, the university has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to review the campus police department. #NotAgainSU has had visits from legal counsel, concerned parents and students from other colleges including SUNY Binghamton who have expressed solidarity. Chancellor Kent Syverud, urged by faculty, lifted protesters suspensions and directed staff to stand down in efforts to stop the protest. Now campus officials are treating the protest like the eight-day sit-in at the Barnes Center in November. Supporters drop off food, between 30 and 50 protesters freely move in and out of the building, and the schedule includes events like open mic nights and teach-ins about institutional racism with professors. This week, #NotAgainSU signaled it was open to negotiation -- but willing to remain in the building as long as it takes for a list of demands to be met. Those demands include resignations from top campus officials including Syverud and two leaders of the Department of Public Safety, which administrators have previously signaled are not negotiable. A list of 18 demands, originally formed during last semesters protests, has grown to 34. Organizers say thats partly because administrators have not genuinely delivered on promises theyve made. For example, protesters say the hiring of four new mental health counselors is not adequate, when they demanded the school bring its ratio of counselors to students in line with the national average of one per 500. Organizers say administrators declaration that this demand has been met is a blatant lie. Because of examples like this, #NotAgainSU organizers say they amended demands to include deadlines, specific requests for money to be allocated to various causes, and the formation of paid student oversight committees. At least six new demands are directly in response to the universitys handling of this round of protests, organizers say in documents spelling out their concerns. Chancellor Syverud appeared to acknowledge the university flubbed its initial response to protests this semester. He reversed suspensions and apologized for the way some students were treated. I am not proud of how last weeks events involving student protesters in Crouse-Hinds Hall were handled, Syverud said in a message to the campus community. While university officials vow that by closing the building they were not intentionally depriving students of food, the protesters argue placing any restrictions on their basic needs amounted to violence. #NotAgainSU in its communications on social media and online has said that lackluster responses are a big part of why they have continued to protest. Syracuse Universitys repugnant and violent response to #NotAgainSUs peaceful protest has undeniably illustrated the universitys allegiance to white supremacist institutional violence, #NotAgainSU writes. The continued racialized tactics deployed by the university is one of the main reasons why we are currently occupying this building." In remarks to the media Monday, an administrator said the students were now welcome to remain in the building as long as they want. #NotAgainSU organizers have posted on social media that the group hopes to hold a meeting to negotiate with administrators and members of the Board of Trustees at 4 p.m. today. SU senior associate vice president for communications Sarah Scalese said in a statement that university leaders met with students Tuesday night, but have not scheduled a meeting for this evening. The University is committed to constructive discussion with our students in Crouse-Hinds Hall," Scalese said. Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government, education and sometimes fun stuff like treasure hunters. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 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 At least 21 people were killed and 189 injured in three days of clashes in New Delhi that coincided with US President Donald Trumps first state visit to India, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals continue to take in the wounded, authorities said on Wednesday. Violence broke out on Sunday after Hindu mobs attacked Muslims protesting against a new citizenship law that critics say violates the secular ethos of the South Asian country. The violence-affected areas were tense on Wednesday with most shops and schools closed. The city government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for the army to be deployed as police were accused of partisanship. The Hindu nationalist government has banned public assembly in the affected areas to prevent violence. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm but he has been criticised for not acting on time and hosting a lavish reception for Trump while Delhi burned for three days. Vice Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, Comrade Patrick Ochei has congratulated Comrade Ejime Udueme for being the recipient of the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS), Best Staff award. Ochei who sent the congratulatory message in a statement to his colleagues, said Udueme deserved the award. He described the thoroughbred broadcaster as a humble, dedicated, diligent, hard-working and resilient journalist, who could passionately give everything to deliver on his job. The Vice Chairman commended the Board of DBS led by a veteran journalist, Comrade Felix Ofou and of course an administrative savvy General Manager, Lady Evelyn Binitie for initiating such a laudable award that seeks to reward and motivate hard-working practitioners within the organization. Moreover, Comrade Ochei advised other journalists to imitate the virtues of Comrade Ejime Udueme so as to be rewarded in their due seasons. P riti Patel today told police chiefs to deliver safer streets and warned that there could be no excuses for failing to stem the surge in violent crime. The Home Secretary conceded that public confidence in the justice system had been hit in recent years but said the Governments decision to boost police numbers by 20,000, along with changes such as simplified stop-and-search rules, meant it was time to turn the tide. New national targets on cutting crime would be introduced and police chiefs would be held to account for failure. She warned she would be unapologetic about doing this, adding: Police leaders should be visionary crime fighters and not pen pushers thats why you joined up in the first place. Ms Patel also called for a new drive to improve diversity in senior ranks. Her speech to a joint conference in London of the National Police Chiefs Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners followed the publication of official statistics showing the number of offenders being brought to justice at a record low. The Home Secretary said that in response the Government was putting law and order at its very heart, and praised frontline officers for tackling ruthless county-lines drugs gangs, terrorists and other offenders. But she warned that major improvements must be delivered by the time the 20,000 extra officers promised over three years were in place: People must see a difference. Less crime. Safer streets. No excuses. The public wont accept them, and neither should we. Ms Patel said forces would need to be more efficient and make savings. Police chiefs were told a new Crime and Policing Performance Board would assess their progress in meeting new targets. These would focus on reducing murder, serious violence and neighbourhood crime as well as victim satisfaction, the roll up of county lines and helping those whose lives are torn apart by domestic abuse. Ms Patel said it was an ambitious list but warned: There must be no weak spots. So, these outcomes will be non-negotiable, and I will be unapologetic about holding you to account. on Wednesday assured that they will not be hauled up for genuine commercial decisions even if the call goes wrong due to business reasons. She, however, added that the decision taken with malafide intension will be dealt as per the law. "They are at least now reassured that the government is repeatedly making distinction between vigilance based decisions and those which are not. We have made it very clear that genuine commercial decisions even if they have gone wrong because businesses went down are not going to be held against their decision making at all," she said. Addressing heads of public sector here, the said have gone through period of churning starting with Asset Quality Review in 2015 leading to some disorientation among them. "So many things have to be reset, so many things have to be reoriented and till today, many of us still feel we need to give that extra push to people move forward with that without fear or without any suspicion in their minds that the intent with which that they working is well meant, well intended and therefore it is done with certain sense of professionalism and nothing more to worry about," she said. The Prime Minister has spoken with great sense of assurance that there will be a clear, divide between genuine commercial decisions which are taking and which is critical to running and banks, as different from those in which they could be vigilance angle, she said. She also urged to give emphasis on branch based banking and improve customer ease. "Even today, when people come to meet me, they've been voicing worries about how at branch level we can be a bit more friendlier," she said. Coming back to branch-level banking, she said branches are now losing personal touch which needs to be restored. Customers expects that little level of touch from bankers, she added. Observing that ratings from credit rating agencies are not advisory, she said it is just an indicator of a customer. So the decision solely based on the advice of a credit rating agency should not be taken. "Was there ever a directive from either the Reserve Bank of India or Indian Banks' Association to say that you will blindly follow the rating agencies figures or numbers given to you. No," she said. The also wanted to sensitise bankers about the government schemes at the branch level even if they are not concerned. Meanwhile, the finance minister unveiled EASE 3.0, the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda 2020-21 for smart, tech-enabled banking, and the PSB EASE Reforms Annual Report 2019-20. EASE 3.0 seeks to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences, using technology, FinTech, alternate data and analytics. Dial-a-loan for doorstep loan facilitation, Credit@click for end-to-end digitalised lending, on-the-spot EASE Banking Outlets at well-frequented places like malls and stations, palm banking, digitalised branch experience are part of a wide array of tech-enabled ease enhancements that PSBs would effect during FY2020-21. At the launch function organised by Indian Banks' Association, individual PSBs gave a preview of the array of tech-enabled services that are in the pipeline or have been piloted and will be scaled up over the coming year across PSBs. UCO Bank unveiled its plans for customers to obtain via app, portal or call centre, Doorstep Banking Services offered collectively by PSBs as 'PSB Alliance', for services such as pick-up of cheques and income-tax exemption certificates and delivery of income-tax challan, drafts and account statements in major cities across India. State Bank of India showcased Shishu e-Mudra app-based lending for instant sanction of working capital up to Rs 50,000 to existing small business customers of the bank and the bank announced its plan to scale up sanctioning through the app to Rs 1 lakh in branch-assist mode. Union Bank of India gave a preview of its app for end-to-end digitalised lending to MSMEs of up to Rs 50 crore, which it proposes to roll out during the coming year. Bank of Baroda showcased its tablet-based Tab Banking services for doorstep account-opening, including in villages and for migrant labourers in industrial units, and has created capacity for opening about 10,000 accounts per day. There are the exam gloves, the surgical masks, the dubious supplements and the deceptive disinfectants. If unchecked Internet information is any guide, theres an inexhaustible list of products you should buy to prepare for the spread of coronavirus which, according to US health officials, now appears inevitable. But heres the thing: Covid-19 may be novel, but you really dont need to buy anything new or special to brace for it. In fact, The Washington Post spoke to epidemiology experts and they said the most important aspect of preparedness costs nothing at all: calm. As of Tuesday evening, there were 57 people with the virus in the United States, all but 14 of them evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. But CDC officials said they expect to see the number of cases increase as the disease spreads, while also stressing that the immediate risk remains low. So heres what doctors, researchers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say you can do now and in the event of a future outbreak to prepare and protect yourself. Timothy Brewer is a professor of epidemiology and medicine at UCLAs Fielding School of Public Health and David Geffen School of Medicine, yet his central piece of advice is not exactly medical. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty Dont panic, he said. Theres no value in panicking or telling people to be afraid. Dont let fear and emotion drive the response to this virus. That can be extremely difficult because it is new, and were still learning about it, but dont allow fear of what we dont know about the virus to overwhelm what we do know. Brewer said its important to remember that covid-19 is a respiratory virus, as is influenza, and while theres not a vaccine for it, there are tried and true ways to deal with this type of disease which we will cover here. The most important thing right now is to remain calm, said Saskia V. Popescu, a senior infection prevention epidemiologist for a Phoenix-based hospital system. Remember: We dont have that many cases in the US, and prevention strategies for this coronavirus are not new. Weve been doing them for years. A few minutes into a phone call with this reporter, Brewer paused, coughed and then explained himself: Im currently recovering from a non-covid respiratory virus, he said. But the precautions he took when fighting his influenza-like illness are no different from what people should be doing every day to stave off coronavirus and other respiratory diseases, Brewer said. Youve seen the guidance before: Wash your hands regularly, cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, and when youre sick, stay home from work or school and drink lots of fluids. The CDC recommends washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose or sneezing. It also advises to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, and to frequently clean objects and surfaces you touch often. These are all things you can do to prevent the spread of pretty much any respiratory virus, Brewer said. And for the record, he added, he stayed home sick last week. I practiced what I preached, Brewer said. You probably dont need to buy anything new, but if youre already on your way to CVS, Brewer has some advice. Dont go crazy, he said. You dont need to go out and stock up on lots of things. And those surgical masks? If youre not sick, you dont need to wear them and you certainly dont need to buy every box your local pharmacy has in stock. The main point of the mask is to keep someone who is infected with the virus from spreading it to others, Brewer said. Passengers on a flight from Asia arrived to Los Angeles International Airport waring face masks. US health officials recommend people to only wear masks if they are sick (AFP via Getty Images) CDC agrees, writing on its website succinctly: CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases. Common surgical masks block the droplets coming out of a sick person from getting into the air, but they are not tight enough to prevent whats already in the air from getting in. There are specialised masks known as N95 masks because they filter out 95 percent of airborne particles that are more effective, and some online retailers are sold out of them. But theres a problem: The masks are difficult without training. They must be fitted and tested to work properly. If you just buy them at CVS, youre not going to do all that, Brewer said. Youre not going to get it fit-tested, and youre not going to be wearing it properly, so all youve done is spend a lot of money on a very fancy face mask. The same goes for exam gloves, Brewer said, which can get contaminated just like our hands. Theres no need for them if youre washing your hands properly and often, he said. If youre itching to buy something, you can stick to the typical respiratory virus medicine: decongestants, anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen for fevers. Popescu has had a bag packed since she was in graduate school if she didnt have one, she said, shed feel like a bad public health emergency advocate. Thats because, she explained, one of the best things you can do to prepare for any emergency, including a coronavirus outbreak, is put together an emergency kit. In hers, she has a first-aid kit, flashlights, a space blanket, an external battery for her cellphone, a change of clothes and extra food for her dog. The CDC has a useful checklist for families. Its also important to have plans in place in case the outbreak disrupts your daily routines, Popescu said. You should be asking yourself: What if schools close for a week or two? What if there are issues with public transportation? What if I have to work from home or stay at work late? You should have a plan for child care, for getting to work and for feeding pets, she said. A lot of preparedness is planning ahead of time, Popescu said. Practice makes permanent. If I have a plan, that means I dont have to panic. And its good advice in general, she added, not just in the age of coronavirus. This is a good reminder to go through your resources and your plans so that, should it get more serious, you are not taken off guard, she said. People think they need to go out and buy stuff, but so much of it is just having a plan. Coronavirus is spreading rapidly and so is misinformation about it. Popescu and other experts call this an infodemic, and it can be as harmful as any disease. Since the earliest cases were reported, hoaxes, lies and junk science about coronavirus have swirled online, mostly through social media. People are more click-susceptible during these events because theres more info and people arent sure who to trust, University of Washington researcher Jevin West told The Post this month. You should ensure youre staying informed through trustworthy sources, like the CDC, the World Health Organisation and local health departments, Popescu said. Not the anonymous user doling out advice in Twitter mentions. It can be really easy to go online, buy supplies and freak out and then just stay on Facebook, she said. But stay up to date. On college campuses, at a music conservatory, in Chinese restaurants, among the ranks of a famous dance troupe and on streets every day, Asians have reported a rise in aggressions micro and macro. As coronavirus has spread, so too has the rise of anti-Asian prejudice. The World Health Organisation has urged government agencies to do what they can to prevent discrimination against specific populations, since stigmatization can fuel the spread of the outbreak by driving marginalized individuals to hide infection and avoid seeking treatment. Remember to not let fear override your common humanity about how you treat other people, Brewer said. Just remember were all in this together. This is a virus. It does not think, it is not planning. We shouldnt be blaming our neighbours or our fellow colleagues or people in the community because a virus happens to exist and is spreading. The Washington Post San Jose BioCube now offers 15 new wet labs in the heart of Silicon Valley, located inside the just-completed Q Bay Center, a 112,232-square-foot innovation center near Levi Stadium. San Jose BioCube provides all the resources we need to run our operations with less capital and greater efficiencies. Being able to expand within the facility without space constraints has been instrumental to our success, too. San Jose BioCube, a long-established life sciences incubator, announced the availability of 15 move-in-ready wet labs designed for high-potential life sciences startups. Dubbed BioCube North, the incubator is housed on the ground floor of the Q Bay Center, the 112,232-square-foot facility at 160 East Tasman Drive in San Jose. Since 2004, the legacy of improving life through discovery has been deeply rooted at San Jose BioCube. The headquarters, located at 5941 Optical Court, San Jose, spans approximately 37,000 square feet and is currently home to 24 startups. The companys master plan is to change the world by providing a resource-rich infrastructure and community where scientists can thrive. With a multi-billion-dollar track record of nurturing nascent startups and supporting scores of commercialized discoveries, BioCube continues to foster next waves of great ideas that will rival past graduate disruptors such as Impossible Foods, Ariosa Diagnostics (acquired by Roche), Collagen Solutions (AIM: COS), Genia Technologies (acquired by Roche), Aridis Pharmaceuticals (NAS: ARDS), and Geneweave (acquired by Roche), to name a few. The San Francisco Bay Area is a top science and research hub because there are three major universities and scores of global companies that attract top scientists and technicians from around the world, said Oscar Battaglia, director of operations at BioCube San Jose. Our objective is to provide access to all this talent and a launchpad for the next wave of biotech, cleantech, and life-sciences success stories. Today, the life sciences incubator submarket is the most in-demand sector in the Bay Area, said David Klein, SVP at Transwestern San Francisco and BioCubes top advisor. While estimates peg demand at approximately 6mm square feet of incubator space, the current inventory of 750,000 square feet is consistently 100 percent leased with waiting lists. So, we wanted to help fulfill lab space needs because when researchers have a space to hatch new ideas, we all win. Launching in March, BioCube Norths labs will offer over 5,000 square feet of shared space where life-sciences startups have the appropriate plumbing, ventilation, refrigeration and equipment, together with BioCubes global standard of facility management and client care, to grow their businesses. San Jose BioCube provides all the resources we need to run our operations with less capital and greater efficiencies, said Julia Kirshner, CEO of zPredicta. Being able to expand within the facility without space constraints has been instrumental to our success, too. QBays amenities available to BioCube clients include bench, cubicle, single office, office suite and conference room availability, off-street parking, access to events, workshops, gym, barbeque, outdoor amenity space, and a theater for all-hands meetings. Highlights of the new BioCube facility: Ground floor lab space in a 112,232-square-feet newly built research and innovation center Located in Tech Triangle Corridor with easy access to routes 237-101-880 and across from Santa Clara Bay Pointe light rail station Offers gym, cafe, on-demand office areas, common conference rooms, and outdoor amenities Near LEVI Stadium, retail stores, coffee bars, restaurants, and new residential communities Connection to HEDA Investment Co. Ltd. (Hangzhou Economic and Development) with $500 million available for life-sciences investment Facilities and leasing contact: Oscar Battaglia 408.960.3807 info@sanjosebiocube.com About Q Bay Center Q Bay Center, founded by Hangzhou Overseas Center Inc., is a Silicon-Valley-based platform to connect and support innovation and entrepreneurship. With a tripartite mission of Platform + Investment + Services, Q Bay Center is designed as an innovative business model which combines real property, business exhibition, financial activity, technology cooperation, business services and startup incubation. By leveraging the synergy of technology, finance, industrial ecology and culture, the center is committed to enhancing connection and empowering development. About San Jose BioCube In everything we do, we believe in making the world a better place for innovators by providing user-friendly workspaces, modern labs and common areas that are as clean and safe as they are beautifully designed and maintained. We thrill at providing care and all the little things that help accelerate and commercialize profound discoveries. Located in South San Jose, the original BioCube incubator is already home to some of the most dynamic early-stage companies that are pushing the limits of life sciences. For more information, visit: sanjosebiocube.com. A burglar who was still hiding in the attic of a pub when gardai searched the premises after being alerted to the break-in has been sentenced to three years in prison. Brian O'Connor, 25, had climbed in through the roof of McGrath's Pub in Dublin's Drumcondra and gained access into the building by kicking through the ceiling boards. Gardai were alerted to the break-in after a carpenter who had been carrying out work there arrived early that morning, opened the shutters and saw O'Connor looking out at him through the window. Garda Chloe Hurst told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that there was no other exit from the pub, apart from a locked side door. Gardai searched the attic space after noting that a table had been stacked onto chairs directly under a large hole in the ceiling. O'Connor was ultimately found there lying flat on his back. He was arrested but was too drunk to be interviewed initially. He made no admissions when later questioned. O'Connor of Whitworth Place, Drumcondra, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at McGrath's Pub on February 28, 2019. He has 103 previous convictions. Gda Hurst agreed with Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, that although his client was clearly in a state of intoxication, he did not cause any trouble for arresting gardai. Mr Le Vert said his client had a both a chaotic and challenging childhood which resulted in him attempting suicide as a young teenager. Judge Melanie Greally noted that O'Connor had gained access by causing substantial damage to the roof and ceiling of the building. She accepted it had been his intention to steal alcohol and cash. She sentenced O'Connor to three years in prison but suspended the final nine months on strict conditions. [February 26, 2020] Government Experience (GX.ae) Portal endorsed at Government Services Forum hosted at University of California, Berkeley BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The importance of digital platforms such as the Government Experience (GX.ae) portal launched by the Emirates Government Services Program (EGSEP) at the Prime Minister's Office in the UAE was discussed at the Government Services Forum on February 21 at the University of California, Berkeley. The second edition of the Forum was co-hosted by EGSEP and UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. The experts endorsed the GX portal and noted its critical role in facilitating the global exchange of ideas and expertise revolving around the design and delivery of government services. The forum convened 15 experts from government, academia and the public sector, mostly from in and around the Silicon Valley, to engage in discussions moderated by Jonathan Reichental, CEO of Human Future and a former CIO of the City of Palo Alto, California. Leading universities represented included UC Berkeley, Harvard and Pepperdine. They were joined by senior public servants from the City of Palo Alto, City of Menlo Park, City and County of San Francisco, Human Services gency San Francisco and private sector executives from companies including IBM, Oracle, IDEO, Swiftly, SAP and Amazon. Ernst & Young served as the Forum's knowledge partner. The GX portal, which is free to join, was launched at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE in 2019 as a one-of-its-kind platform to share knowledge, enable interaction and activate ideas on government services. It aims to unite government decision-makers, global practitioners and innovators to re-examine and re-define government experience for the present and future. The GX portal also offers members video-based learning opportunities, including content extracted from GXTalks events held by the Prime Minister's Office in Dubai. These talks, delivered by thought leaders from both the public and the private sectors, bring out ideas around service design, customer service, the increased impact of digital platforms and other topics relevant to public servants in this realm of new technologies. His Excellency Mohammed Bin Taliah, Assistant Director General for the Government Services Sector at the Prime Minister's Office in the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, said: "GX.ae is a platform that aligns with our mission of empowering public officials in the UAE and across the globe to provide the best Government Experience. We will continue to offer resources and encourage the international community to take part in the discussion on GX.ae as we prepare to receive our colleagues for our global gathering in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the World Government Summit in November 2020." About GX Portal: The Government Experience (GX) Portal is a global platform to share knowledge, enable interaction and activate ideas on government services, launched by the Emirates Government Service Excellence Program at the Prime Minister's Office in the UAE. GX is being developed as a new concept for government service excellence from the UAE, that optimizes government service experiences and goes upstream to serve customers with intuitive, intelligent and delightful services. http://gx.ae Contact: Reem El Shafaki, 908-309-6146, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/government-experience-gxae-portal-endorsed-at-government-services-forum-hosted-at-university-of-california-berkeley-301011788.html SOURCE Emirates Government Service Excellence Program, Prime Ministers Office, UAE [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Brazilian citizens coming from the Chinese city of Wuhan land and disembark at the Air Force base of Anapolis, State of Goias, Brazil, on Feb. 9, 2020. (Andressa Anholete / Getty Images) Brazil Investigates Possible First Coronavirus Case in South America Authorities are investigating a case of suspected coronavirus in Brazil that, if confirmed, would be the first known COVID-19 case in the country as well as in South America. In a lengthy statement late Tuesday, Brazils Ministry of Health said that a man in Brazil is being tested for COVID-19 after he traveled alone to Lombardy in Italys north for work between Feb. 9 and Feb 21. The 61-year-old man, a Brazilian national, was on Tuesday afternoon admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, the ministry of health said. He was tested for a number of common respiratory viruses, as well as for the new coronavirus which causes the disease COVID-19. According to local reports, including from G1, Veja, and Agora, provisional results from the Albert Einstein Hospital came back positive. The man is in a stable condition after he showed mild signs symptomatic of the virusincluding fever, dry cough, sore throat, and a runny nose. He is now in isolation at home in self-quarantine for the next 14 days. The health ministry said that the results of a second test on the man for the new coronavirus by the Adolfo Lutz Institute are expected on Wednesday. This process of validating the results is ongoing and the [Brazil Ministry of Health] will release the final investigation report in due course, the ministry said in a statement, translated from Portuguese by Google. The ministry recommends caution about any information other than official information, since the investigation is not completed, according to the statement. On Monday, a spokesman for Brazils Health Ministry said that the country has added an extra nine countries to its coronavirus alert list, including Italy, France, and Germany. Those who show symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever or coughing will be put under suspicion and may have to undergo medical tests when they arrive in Brazil. Wanderson Oliveira, the Brazil health ministrys secretary of health surveillance, said that in addition to the three European countries, the following were also added, bringing the total to 16: Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. On Feb. 9, 34 Brazilians arrived at a military base in Anapolis, in the state of Goias, Brazil from Wuhan, Hubei, Chinathe epicenter of the coronavirus outbreakand began 18 days of quarantine. At the time, Brazils defense ministry said none of the passengers showed any signs of infection by the coronavirus. The Brazilian air force said that four Poles and one Chinese person, who disembarked in Poland, were also evacuated along with the Brazilians. Italy has 322 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and has seen 11 coronavirus-related deaths. Of the deaths, four were reported on Tuesday. Like the seven earlier deaths, the latest deaths involved patients who were elderly, suffering from other ailments or both, officials said. Reuters contributed to this report. WILLIAMSPORT The parents and estate of a Dauphin County Prison inmate who died July 1 are seeking more than $1 million in damages, claiming Tyrique Rileys death was the result of being beaten and negligence. The wrongful death suit originally filed in Dauphin County court by his parents Carmen Riley, who also is the administrator of her sons estate, and Thomas Matthews was transferred Tuesday to U.S. Middle District Court. It alleges Riley was beaten and subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, a sharp contrast to the ruling of Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick that the 21-year-old died from natural causes, specifically inflammation of his brain. Riley, who had no criminal history, was arrested June 18 following an incident at his Susquehanna Twp. home. He was transported to UPMC Harrisburg on June 26 on the advice of prison medical staff officials and he died July 1. Death was caused by grossly negligent care after Riley was subjected to excessive and unwanted beatings and other physical force, the suit alleges. According to the court complaint, Carmen Riley called Susquehanna Twp. police early on June 26 after waking up to see her son standing over her and Matthews with a sledgehammer mumbling nonsensically about needing to protect his parents. He was taken into custody without incident, but the suit claims police failed to recognize Riley was in the midst of a mental health crisis and that they took him to the prison instead of a hospital. The complaint alleges the following happened at the prison: Riley was struck unnecessarily by guards about the head, shoulders and torso, wrestled to the ground and pepper-sprayed as he was forced from the cruiser. PrimeCare medical personnel merely flushed his eyes and failed to see that he required medical treatment. At some point, several guards beat Riley into submission while placing him in a restraining belt after which PrimeCare personnel only cleaned a small abrasion on his right wrist. Later, Riley was regarded as a suicide risk and was placed in a suicide smock until a decision was made to transport him to the hospital. Despite complaining of abdominal pain neither guards nor PrimeCare personnel showed any urgency to get him to the hospital. As Riley was being changed from the suicide smock to a prison uniform for the trip to the hospital, he was beaten, wrestled to the ground, shackled and placed in a restraint chair until an ambulance arrived. While being forced into the chair Riley stopped breathing and PrimeCare staff performed chest compressions until an ambulance crew arrived and took over resuscitation efforts. The suit cites several hospital inpatient encounter reports and a nursing timeline that suggested death resulted from external injuries that occurred in the prison. Hetrick found death was caused by Rileys brain becoming inflamed and that inflammation was followed by a series of related illnesses throughout his body. He ruled Rileys lungs became filled with blood clots, his muscles deteriorated and his kidneys failed. None of those medical issues were the result of violence or trauma, Hetrick said, dismissing theories of wrongdoing. He made it clear he could not say with certainty what caused the illness that led to the inflammation and, eventually, Rileys death. Named as defendants are the prison, Warden Brian Clark, 14 corrections officers, Susquehanna Twp. police and four of its officers and PrimeCare Medical Inc. PrimeCare is contracted to provide medical services at the prison. Claims include negligence by failing to properly train personnel to recognize mental health issues, assault, battery and medical negligence, claiming Rileys death was the result of being beaten and negligence. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The Africa Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) is calling on the leadership of Parliament to find a solution to the recent tensions that have led to recent boycotts and walkouts by the current Minority in Parliament. According to the centre, the current Majority may repeat the actions of the Minority when the tables turn in the future. This follows the Minority's abstinence from the debate on President Nana Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address. The opposition caucus walked out of Parliament during the State of the Nation Address last week. Speaking to Citi News, Executive Director of ACEPA, Dr. Rashid Draman, said resolving the issue will benefit both sides in Parliament. The effect of their action is that someday if they [the current Minority MPs] hold the Majority [seat], they will get paid back in their own coin by the future Minority, he warned. I think I would rather focus more on how the leadership of Parliament can work together to make sure we bring an end to what is appearing to be endless walkouts and boycotts in our Parliament, Mr. Draman added. The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday abstained from the debate on President Nana Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address. Other recent boycotts, threats Previously, the opposition MPs threatened to boycott the vetting of the then-Chief Justice nominee, Justice Anin Yeboah over complaints with the timing of the vetting. But it did walk out of Parliament in protest of the swearing-in of the newly elected MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Lydia Seyram Alhassan following the violence that marred the by-election she won. Before this, the Minority caucus said it would not cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry probing the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence. Minority MPs also boycotted the debates on the Holidays Amendment Bill as it accused the government of trying to rewrite the country's history. ---citinewsroom Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 11:49:38|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. health officials have heightened their alert against COVID-19 outbreak, calling on Americans to brace for an inevitable community spread in the country. "It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen," said Nancy Messonnier, a top official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a media telebriefing on Tuesday. "We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad," said Messonnier, also director of the U.S. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. It signaled a change in tone for U.S. health authorities that had been working to keep the coronavirus away from the country by quarantining individuals traveling from China. Also on Tuesday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Azar said at a press conference that the community transmission in a number of countries, including outside of Asia is "deeply concerning," which makes "successful containment at our borders harder and harder." "CDC is taking aggressive action to reduce the impact of this virus on the U.S.," Director Robert Redfield said. Messonnier suggested that businesses and schools could work on plans like canceling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking and teleschooling, depending on the severity of a potential outbreak within localities. Michigan officials continue to look at how to manage increasingly high water levels in the Great Lakes. But in the meantime, evidence of the erosion problem created by waves and wind remains strewn across its shorelines. Torn off decks, stairways, BBQ grills, large trees and docks among many other things are now littering Michigan beaches, said Jim Storey, chairman of the Allegan County Board of Commissioners. The situation is creating problems for homeowners and communities - and, by spring, risks for the recreation and tourism industries. Concerns over clearing debris from the states shoreline were raised Tuesday during two committee meetings in the Michigan Legislature focusing on impacts of shoreline erosion as a second year of record-high lake levels are forecast. Testimony during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing focused on the impact on local communities, which face significant costs from damage, Storey said. His county includes the lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, both of which expand with summertime visitors. Clearing beaches in preparation for seasonal tourism has to take place now, he said, but public funding is stretched. Our beaches need immediate attention to remove the wreckage, he said. The situation could worsen, other officials said, if record-setting rains continue this spring. We already have a huge debris problem, said Jerrod Sanders, assistant division director for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, as he testified before a House Natural Resources Commission. EGLE is processing permits for expedited shoreline structure repair, a process that so far this fiscal year has been granted to 500 applicants who seek to build protective wave barriers and firm up foundations, among other work. Thats coming as state residents have watched several homes on the Lake Michigan shoreline fall into the water or face demolition before reaching that point. Beyond that, in case after case along the coastline, steps, decking, trees, rocks and other items are being washed into the water, only to turn up in other areas. Some of the wreckage even travels across the lake from Illinois. The property owner should be doing the cleanup, said Nick Assendelft EGLE spokesman. It is the responsibility of the owners of the debris to remove it from the water before it causes an unsafe situation, Assendelft said. But that gets trickier when a house isnt immediately removed - or when absentee owners discover some time later that a portion of their property has eroded into the lake. By the time it travels to shore yards or miles away, it likely never will be tracked, leaving the problem with whoever controls the beach where the debris washes up. At the same time, it isnt possible to track some debris to individuals. Thats the case for tree trunks and branches. In many communities, portions of roads, bike paths and municipal piers also are churning into the surf. That leaves a lot of debris without a responsible party for cleanup, even as it begins to pile up. Officials so far dont have a statewide plan to address it. (The state) encourages the removal of debris that washes up on shore and whose ownership or source is unknown, Assendelft said. Joe Bush, water resources commissioner for Ottawa County, which includes Holland and Grand Haven, said his county convened a meeting of emergency management officials to explore potential to declare a state of emergency in the hopes of receiving federal disaster assistance to deal, in part, with debris. That is unlikely, he said, because the situation isnt an emergency with a start and end date, like a hurricane. In Ottawa County, at least 14 homes remain in jeopardy for falling into the lake. As debris piles into the lakes, Bush said, among the concerns raised for spring is the potential impact to swimmers and boaters if they strike floating wreckage in the water. The situation on the lakeshore "is not getting any better, " Bush said. With the higher lake levels, its only going to get worse. Anyone with questions about debris disposal can contact EGLE at 800-662-9278. 19 Cleanup completed on collapsed Lake Michigan cottage before big storm hits More from MLive.com: Fixes for record high water levels expected to come with big pricetag for Michigan MichMash: How houses falling into the Great Lakes impacts all of Michigan Lakes Michigan and Huron set January water level records, could go higher than ever recorded Apollo Tyres on Wednesday announced that its board approved increasing the authorized share capital of the company from Rs 75 crore to Rs 1575 crore. The new Rs 1575 crore authorized share capital will be divided into equity shares of Rs 75 crore of face value of Re 1 each and preference shares of 15 crore with a face value of Rs 100 each. The company said the alteration in the authorized share capital is subject to shareholder's approval. The company also announced issuance of 10.80 crore compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) with a face value of Rs 100 each. These convertible preference shares will belong to 'public category' and is subject to approval of the shareholders. The CCPS will carry a dividend at the rate of 6.34% per annum. The company also said that it will be convening an extraordinary general meeting to obtain shareholders' approval (by way of a special resolution) in relation to the preferential allotment. Further, the company also declared a dividend of Rs 3 per equity share for the Financial Year 2019-2020. Apollo Tyres is an international tyre major with manufacturing units in India, the Netherlands and Hungary. The company markets its products under its two global brands - Apollo and Vredestein. Shares of Apollo Tyres were down 3.14% at Rs 149.55. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 369.72 points or 0.92% at 39,911.48. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man accused of murdering his wife told gardai he lay down with the mother-of-three for 10 minutes after he killed her, a jury will be told. Rafal Karaczyn (34), of Crozon Park, Sligo, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Natalia Karaczyn (30) at their home between April 2 and May 1, 2018. His trial started yesterday at the Central Criminal Court. Opening the prosecution's case, Bernard Condon SC said Natalia and Rafal Karaczyn got married in Poland in October 2008 and moved to Ireland in 2014. They have three children. Mr Condon told the jury that "there had been some difficulties in the relationship". He said Ms Karaczyn had been socialising with friends on the night of Saturday, April 28, 2018, and told the jury it would hear evidence from her sister, Magdalena McMorrow, and some people she was out with. Intimate He said it appeared Ms Karaczyn was out with friends and a man with whom she had an "intimate relationship" that night, before she continued home. Mr Condon said that on the Sunday morning, Ms McMorrow reported to gardai that she was "concerned" about her sister's whereabouts. He said gardai went to her home in Crozon Park where they met Rafal Karaczyn. The barrister said he told gardai his wife had not returned home. The barrister said gardai then went across the road to Leo McGee's home as they could see he had CCTV cameras. Mr Condon said the jury would hear that Mr Karaczyn later approached Mr McGee and asked him what could be seen on his CCTV. Mr Condon said the prosecution say this chain of events is "relevant". He said Mr McGee looked at his CCTV and could see Mr Karaczyn moving his car. Mr Condon said Mr Karaczyn called at Mr McGee's home another time and asked him if he saw anything. The court would hear that Mr McGee told Mr Karaczyn that he had not, before he informed gardai of this exchange. The senior counsel said gardai carried out CCTV searches across Sligo and were able to trace Natalia's movements. He said officers returned to her home and became concerned after Mr Karaczyn said Natalia had not returned home when "they could see she had". Mr Condon told the jury that it would hear evidence of Mr Karaczyn going to a garda station on May 1, 2018, and saying he indicated "he wanted to say something else" to gardai. The barrister said the jury would hear evidence from gardai that Mr Karaczyn directed them to a "very remote, hidden" area. Mr Condon said this is where gardai found Ms Karaczyn's "hidden" body. He said the jury would hear and see a series of subsequent garda interviews with Mr Karaczyn. Mr Condon said the jury would hear that in an interview "he didn't tell the truth" when he told officers he looked into her bedroom one morning and saw her in a strange position. The barrister said the jury would hear that he told gardai he found Ms Karaczyn dead; that he "maintained he didn't kill her"; and that a "man with a gun threatened her". Mr Condon said that, in a later garda interview, Mr Karaczyn "admitted that he killed Natalia" and that he said he "started to strangle her" and that after a while "I felt her slide down". He said Mr Karaczyn told gardai that he then laid down with her for about 10 minutes. Mr Condon said the jury would also hear evidence of Mr Karaczyn telling gardai about how he disposed of the body. He said the jury would hear evidence from Deputy State pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan who found that the cause of Ms Karaczyn's death was asphyxia with external pressure on her neck. "Manual strangulation was the cause of death," Mr Condon said. The trial continues. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar at the Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina: AP The 10th Democratic debate, in Charleston, South Carolina, failed to repeat the drama of last week's confrontation in Las Vegas, with the seven rival candidates often shouting over each other, but gave voters another chance to run the rule over the candidates before what looks like a crucial vote on Saturday. It is also the last debate ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when 14 states decide who they want to take on Donald Trump in November: California, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, as well as Democrats Abroad. Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer went head-to-head in the debate.. Here's how the seven hopefuls fared. Bernie Sanders As the man who looks like he might run away with the nomination following three out of three triumphs, the Vermont senator was always going to be the main target. And sure enough, his rivals took turns to lay into him. Sanders was taken to task over gun control, the cost of his healthcare plans and accusations that he was being unwittingly helped by Russia so that Moscow could ensure another four years of Donald Trump in power. An enduring theme played into the dilemma facing Democratic voters: is the lifelong democratic socialist electable? Pete Buttigieg in particular so far his main challenger pushed the idea that Sanders would be unable to attract moderates and would not only let Trump back in for a second term but could affect the chances of congressional candidates further down the ticket. None of it put the veteran senator off his stride and he finished with an appeal to the young, who have bolstered his success so far. If he can make a good showing in South Carolina on Saturday and particularly on Super Tuesday a week from now then he will probably feel untouchable. According to analysis by CNN, he had the most speaking time, with 15 minutes and 43 seconds. Story continues Joe Biden Under pressure after disappointing results despite having long been the frontrunner in national polls the former vice-president was in feisty mood. Biden relied hard on his experience, in increasing funding for the Center for Disease Control when asked about coronavirus, and playing on his foreign policy record. He hit Sanders on gun control and over reports that he wanted to challenge Barack Obama in 2012. In a comparatively chaotic debate, Biden got a roar of applause from the audience when he insisted he would keep speaking. In front of a sympathetic crowd, Biden gave the performance he needed to ahead of a vote which is meant to revive his fading fortunes but whether it's too late to make much of a difference remains to be seen. Pete Buttigieg The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had a clear strategy attack Bernie Sanders. The two have emerged as the frontrunners so far and Buttigieg will be keen to consolidate his place as the lead moderate at the expense of Biden, Bloomberg and Klobuchar. Addressing the democratic socialist Sanders, the 38-year-old said vulnerable Democrats were "running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can". Under fire from Sanders for accepting contributions from billionaires, Buttigieg cheekily used his answer as a call for donations from everyone else and warned billionaires that he would tax them more. An upbeat and confident performance, although his lack of popularity with African-American voters may result in a dent in his prospects come Saturday night and even more so on Super Tuesday when more significant black electorates come into play. Elizabeth Warren She was the undisputed star of last week's Las Vegas debate but it didn't appear to do her much good in the Nevada caucuses, where she finished fourth with less than 10 per cent and no delegates. The Massachusetts senator picked up where she left off, tearing into Mike Bloomberg for his treatment of women in the workplace, his historic support for Republicans (including South Carolina's Lindsey Graham) and his failure so far to release his tax returns (he has said he will after Super Tuesday). She also accused him of being the "riskiest" choice available. Warren also laid into Sanders, her rival on the left of the party. "Bernie and I both want to see universal health care, but Bernie's plan doesn't explain how to get there. Doesn't show how we're going to get enough allies into it and doesn't show enough about how we're gonna pay for it." She said bluntly that she felt she would make a better president. Mike Bloomberg After his mauling in his debate debut in Las Vegas last week at the hands of Elizabeth Warren, the former New York mayor came out fighting. Referring to reports that intelligence officials have told Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to interfere in his campaign, Bloomberg told him: "Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that's why Russia is helping you get elected so you lose to him." As soon as she got the chance, however, Warren was back to putting Bloomberg on the back foot again, this time with a claim dating from 1995 that he had once told a pregnant employee to "kill it". Amy Klobuchar The Minnesota senator also targeted Bernie Sanders, saying: "I like Bernie. We came in together to the Senate. But I do not think that this is the best person to lead the ticket." Stressing her moderate credentials she warned her rivals: "If we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, we're going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart." Tom Steyer The billionaire has been trying to foster African-American support in North Carolina -- the first state in the primary process where a majority of Democratic voters are black. He stressed his work providing banking facilities to minorities -- and to women -- and spoke in favour of providing reparations for slavery. Steyer was forced to defend his previous business interest in private prisons under attack from Joe Biden, who is relying on a strong African-American showing in Saturday's primary. Moderators Not a great night for those asking the questions and trying to keep things under control. CBS journalists Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett and Bill Whitaker struggled to maintain discipline and, at one point, seemed not to know whether the debate was over or not. The adoption of digital energy meters by utility companies has been one of the greatest success stories in the dynamic and fast-growing IoT industry. According to David Green, Research & Analysis Manager Smart Utilities Infrastructure, IHS Markit, A paradox exists within the electric utility industry - vendors and utilities are uncertain about making a clear decision for their IoT strategy, yet almost 900 million smart electricity meters will ship from 2016 to 2023. Smart meters, which are being implemented by thousands of the worlds electrical energy service providers, have taken a decade or two to take off truly, but according to IHS Markit research (Electric Grid Managed Services Report 2018), over $1.2 billion will be spent on just meter-to-cash focused AMI managed services during 2016-2023, as utilities take advantage of these new vendor propositions to better achieve their ROIs. Utilities, especially in the U.S. market, are engaged in competitive battles unlike any theyve experienced, as incumbents are being confronted by challengers following the deregulation of the energy industry, and given the commoditized nature of electric energy (in fact all energy types, including natural gas, solar, wind and geothermal) they have no choice but to compete based on Customer Experience (CX) by providing a great experience to go along with the service. Digital meters make so much more possible, as they generate data that can be shared not only with the utility itself, to drive usage and billing processes, but by the customer who can now view usage on a mobile app, for example. These mobile apps have been proliferating and hugely successful, enabling customers to not only view their energy usage and related costs for electricity but to actively conserve by adopting smart home products (appliances, lighting, HVAC, and more). The providers who are tapping into this connected lifestyle are finding ways to understand and meet the needs and preferences of the Millennial generation, as a driving force behind modern energy conservation using digital interactions (Millennials are digital natives having been born in 1982 or later). Utilities have an extraordinary opportunity to develop and utilize customer information, and with the ongoing evolution of cloud and big data analytics are personalizing customer interactions to make that customer journey more intuitive, cooler, and more competitive. The Institute for Electric Innovation in a report published in December of last year said smart meter installations have grown dramatically since 2011. As of year-end 2018, electric companies had installed more than 88 million smart meters, covering nearly 70 percent of U.S. households. Based on survey results and approved plans, estimated deployments are expected to reach 98 million smart meters by the end of 2019 and 107 million by year-end 2020. Smart meters, or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), are digital meters that measure and record electricity usage data hourly, or more frequently, and allow for two-way communication between electric companies and their customers. According to their survey, more than 50 investor-owned electric companies in the United States have fully deployed smart meters. Smart meters provide a digital link between electric companies and their customers by opening the door to new and expanded services, such as smart home energy management, load control, budget billing, usage alerts, outage notifications, and time-varying pricing, all which can be combined and orchestrated into a more convenient and attractive CX. We caught up with Greg Weber, Chief Technology Officer at Eventus, a contact center and customer experience company based in Colorado, which works with hundreds of large enterprise clients, and partners across a broad ecosystem of technology companies, to find out what the future of CX in the utility industry will look like when data from smart meters, for example, can be integrated into the interactions between the utility and its customers. Weber is speaking this week in Dallas to a gathering of innovators in the utility industry, coming together to discuss the future of CX. The opportunities for utilities to compete based on a CX that is dramatically enhanced with data and technology are huge, Weber said. When we combine the data being collected by smart meters, for example, with data being collected from customers based on their personal preferences and behavior, we can orchestrate and truly deliver what we call productive, predictive, and personalized experiences. From the contact center and CX perspective, building blocks are already put in place and proven, including Channel Engagement Engines, Managed Experience Systems, and Performance Management Modules. Weber explained that with the proliferation of data combined with multiple channels for contacting companies (voice, web, mobile, social, and more), customer CX transitions have become complex to manage. In order to deliver the kind of intuitive, instantaneous, and innovate experience Millennials and other generations are now expected, orchestrating the customer experience in what we call an engagement journey is key. The work being done in the utility industry with respect to mobile apps that enable consumers to understand and control their consumption of energy is incredibly exciting, Weber said, and that experience naturally blends together with their overall experience whether that is being able to ask a question and have a chatbot return the answer, or whether that is being able to reach an expert with a single tap a human being who has all the information at their fingertips and can have a meaningful conversation with the customer about how to reduce their costs. With the integration of digital meters to billing systems, Weber says utilities are becoming far more profitable by automating more and more of the billing process, including the adoption of credit card payments, which make traditional paper invoices and costs a thing of the past. Its not enough to attract more customers and keep existing customers in this increasingly competitive industry, Weber said. To be profitable and to thrive, making all operations more cost-efficient can make a huge difference to financial performance, and simplifying the CX and customer service process contributes to this. Technology and the orchestration of the customer journey will continue to play a significant role in the modernization of the complete transformation of the relationship between utilities and consumers, as well as the businesses they serve. Weber stated that while contact center technology has come a long way, customers still experience excessive hold times only to connect with a customer service representative who may leave them dissatisfied. With businesses hyper-focused on best-in-class engagement through CX, including the energy industry and mobile devices being the customers interface of choice, the current state of contact center service is deficient, Weber said. Customers expect an orchestrated, frictionless experience, on their terms, in a way that provides positive outcomes in the context of their personalized journey. Weber explained that even though contact centers have matured, too much complexity has been created, resulting in much of the customer experience coordination being manually performed by the CSR, leaving the customer experience inconsistent, prone to error, and subject to lack of CSR knowledge. The desired CX must be orchestrated by technology allowing the CSR to serve as the human touch to the process as opposed to serving as the process coordinator, Weber said. To effectively achieve this orchestration, all the components need to move beyond mere integration and be synchronized to optimize customer engagement. With an Orchestrated Customer Experience, CSRs can focus on being people-oriented, which we have found results in a significantly positive impact to the customer experience and reduces labor complexity and cost while improving contact center operational metrics across the board. There is a multitude of opportunities for IoT providers in the utility and industrial spaces, and the best way to dig into those opportunities and make those partnerships happen, is to attend the Industrial IoT Conference, taking place in Miami, February 2021. Edited by Ken Briodagh Pune Police on Tuesday arrested Nationalist Congress Party Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Anil Bhosale along with three others connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 71.78 crore in Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank. Besides Bhosale, who is also the director of Shivajirao Bhosale bank, CEO Tanhaji Padval and S V Jadhav and chief accountant Shailesh Bhosale of the bank have been arrested, said Pune Police. Earlier in the month of January, Pune Police had registered a case against Bhosale, his wife and around 15 others including the board of directors for alleged forgery, misappropriation and cheating. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) This blood drive helps me to give a sense of purpose to the pain I have been through; it gives meaning to my suffering, Sandford said. If my story can inspire people to donate blood, then that makes it worth it. And if my story can inspire people to think on a larger scale about the ways that they can live a more selfless and giving life, then I would not change a thing about my experiences. Global body, UNESCO, the Media and Information Literacy of Nigeria (MILCON) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) have finalised plans to introduce media and information literacy (MIL) into Nigerian colleges of education as another step aimed at curbing hate speech and fake news. This was revealed at an interactive session held on Monday at the UN House, Abuja, by MILCON, a coalition of Nigerian news outfits, media groups, NGOs, educational institutions and government parastatals formed to tackle fake news and hate speech in 2017. MILCON enjoys technical and institutional support from UNESCO, which has deployed resources over the years to support its activities. During Mondays meeting of the coalition, the various groups deliberated on how the coalition can increase the momentum of its activities toward engaging Nigerians on how to spot and avoid being caught in the web of fake news. Representatives from various schools, ministries, government establishments, the media, NGOs and others attended the event. In 2019, PREMIUM TIMES published a piece on how the negative effects of fake news cum hate speech was slowly ravaging the country. Earlier in 2018, the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) launched Dubawa , a fact-checking platform aimed at checking the menace. Tackling through curriculum On Monday, a senior official of NCCE, Umar Adamu, said media and information literacy, pivotal to tackling the menace would soon be officially integrated into the curriculum of colleges of education as the first step toward integration into other curricula. Yes, we are at an advanced stage. In the next couple of months, media and information literacy will be part of compulsory courses, our students are expected to take in their year one and two. He said NCCE in collaboration with UNESCO, MILCON and others developed the curriculum for MIL. We mainstreamed the MIL curriculum into the 2019 minimum standards for our schools, which is about to be ready soonest. We have also organised the train the trainers workshop in the six geopolitical zones to train our teachers on the methods of teaching MIL to the pre-service teachers, Mr Adamu said. However, the director, Library and Information Centre of the Nigerian Educational Research Development Council (NERDC), Eleri Otu, who spoke at the meeting, said MIL should also be integrated at the basic level of education to aid it effectiveness. The idea should be catch them young and with UBEC providing the needed funds, and NCCE, providing the technical expertise, MIL will be seamlessly integrated into the system especially at the formative years of our children, he said inter alia. Meanwhile, Olunifesi Suraj, who represented activist, Chido Onuma, the acting chairman of MIL, said when fully integrated into the nations educational system, MIL will go a long way in curbing hate speech and fake news. Mr Suraj is a UNESCO Consultant & MIL National Coordinator and Sub-Dean, School of Communication, Lagos State University. MIL will help Nigeria and Nigerians to be fully integrated into the global media activities aimed at curbing hate speech and fake news, the scholar said. He also said MILCON is working on other fronts to curb the menace. This, he said, included its collaboration with the National Open University and Universal Basic Education to integrate MIL into the academic syllabus of Nigerian schools. He also said the coalition was working on guidelines for broadcasters that would incorporate MIL. For now, 22 schools have done pilot phases of the integration of MIL in their curricula. We are also working to translate MIL into major Nigerian languages to reach those that are not literate. We are working with various NGOs to utilise other extra-academic measures to educate Nigerians on MIL, Mr Suraj explained. At the event, he also presented two game packs, books and animation developed by the coalition and supported by UNESCO to push the idea of MIL into the Nigerian populace. In his submission, the co-chairman at the meeting, Zubairu Attah, said MILCON has come a long way since its formation in 2017 and has undertaken numerous projects across the country to call the attention of Nigerians to the need for a responsible and responsive media and information terrain. The literary activist and human rights advocate said, in the next couple of months, MILCON would be unveiling many other projects to engage Nigerians on MIL. Advertisements Meanwhile, the National Professional Officer-CI, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, Macauley Olusola, in his remarks said MILCON is a Nigerian project and should not be misconstrued as UNESCOs. He, however, said UNESCO will continue to offer the needed support to ensure that the project succeeds. UNESCO will also support the move by MILCON to ensure that a national policy on media and information literacy becomes a reality, Mr Macauley said. Iraq closes Shoushmi border with Iran IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Kermanshah, Feb 26, IRNA -- Iraq closed its Shoushmi border with Iran's Kermanshah province on Tuesday morning as part of efforts to control the spread of Coronavirus, said Paveh Governor Parviz Idehpour. He told IRNA that the staff members of the Iraqi side were not present at the site for border transactions on Tuesday morning. The official further noted that today (Tuesday), no exchanges were made on the border, hoping that the border market will reopen soon. Over the past days and after the spread of Coronavirus, the Iraqi government canceled flights to Iran and closed the Shalamcheh border. 8072**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xiaomi sub-brand Black Shark is preparing to launch its next device on March 3. As such, leaks about the Black Shark 3 have been intensifying over the past few weeks, and today we get a benchmark result that should blow every mobile gamer's mind. The Black Shark 3 (or rather, a prototype of the device) ran the popular AnTuTu benchmark and scored 620,952 points. That's the highest score ever recorded by the benchmark app, so this is definitely shaping up to be a gamer's dream phone. According to previous leaks, rumors, and teasers, the Black Shark 3 will sport the Snapdragon 865 chipset with 5G support, up to 16GB of RAM, a QHD touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate, and a 5,000 mAh battery with 65W fast charging. That battery can be fully juiced with the charger in the box in just 38 minutes. Source (in Chinese) | Via Sydney, Jan. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, the 25th edition of Paul Budde Communications annual report on Turkmenistan outlines the major developments and key aspects in the mobile, broadband and fixed line telecoms markets. Comprehensive data is provided on regulatory developments, spectrum assignments and licensing, subscriber statistics, penetration rates and the key market players. Read the executive summary of the report here Turkmenistan - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses Strong growth in mobile broadband predicted for Turkmenistan but investment is needed. Turkmenistans mobile market experienced extraordinarily strong growth over the 2007 to 2012 period and since 2017 it has increased over 20%. It is expected though as it reaches saturation there will be an inevitable slowing in the growth rate. Also, TM-Cells monopoly since Russia-based Mobile TeleSystemss (MTS) licence was revoked in 2017, does not create an optimal situation for strong growth. The market will be constrained from higher growth due to a further maturing market and the potential lack of investment and competition. In 2019, MTS is said to have begun the process of dismantling its equipment in Turkmenistan with a view to fully withdrawing from the country. So Turkmenistan only has one public mobile operator left in the country and no private national or international operator. Turkmenistan has seen a strong increase in mobile broadband penetration over the past four years however the mobile broadband market is still at an early stage of development and penetration remains relatively low compared to other Asian nations. Strong growth is predicted over the next five years to 2024 but to encourage this growth the government will need to make additional investments in the telecom sector. Mobile Broadband Subscribers 2014 2019 Turkmenistan is ranked 32nd within Asia for telecoms maturity according to BuddeComms Telecoms Maturity Index. Compared to other Asian nations it has it has very low fixed-broadband penetration and very low mobile broadband penetration. Read the executive summary of the report here Turkmenistan - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses Table of Contents 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 WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The United States announced on Tuesday it was imposing sanctions on 13 foreign entities and individuals in China, Iraq, Russia, and Turkey for supporting Iran's missile program. The State Department said the action included new sanctions against three Chinese firms, a Chinese individual and a Turkish company. It named the Chinese as Luo Dingwen and the three Chinese entities as Baoding Shimaotong Enterprises Services Co. Ltd, Gaobeidian Kaituo Precise Instrument Co Ltd, and Wuhan Sanjiang Import and Export Co Ltd. It named the Turkish firm as Eren Carbon Graphite Industrial Trading Co Ltd. The statement added that Luo Dingwen had also been involved in supplying sensitive items to Pakistans weapons program. It said the sanctions would include restrictions on U.S. government procurement, U.S. government assistance, and exports. "The imposition of these measures underscores that Irans missile program remains a significant proliferation concern," the statement said. "The imposition of sanctions against these foreign entities is consistent with our efforts to use all available measures to prevent Iran from advancing its missile capabilities," it added. The statement gave no details about the other sanctions targets, but said the measures were the result of a periodic review required under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). A 'mongrel' farmer who repeatedly sexually abused his close friends' 14-year-old daughter and told her it was their 'little secret' won't spend a day in jail. Ross Edgar Ewing, the former North Otago Federated Farmers president, was sentenced to nine months' home detention in the Oamaru District Court, New Zealand's South Island, on Wednesday. The 71-year-old retired farmer - who abused his victim between 2002 and 2004 - pleaded guilty to doing an indecent act with a girl aged between 12 and 16. The girl was 14 years old when Ewing began to sexually molest her at a rural North Otago property, the New Zealand Herald reported. A 'mongrel' farmer who repeatedly sexually abused his close friends' 14-year-old daughter and told her it was their 'little secret' won't spend a day in jail (stock image) Ewing's 'sick, twisted desire to molest a young, teenage girl' was revealed in a victim impact statement read to court by the girl's aunt. The once 'confident girl' said she went from having a bright outlook on life to struggling to get out of bed. 'Because of you, I would cry in the privacy of my bedroom ... and pray that you would stop doing these things to me,' she said. 'The hate and anger I have for you is overwhelming.' The statement said the abuse left the victim with trust issues. Her mother said Ewing was a 'flaming mongrel' who 'betrayed' the family. 'I thought she was safe, but in fact I was sending her straight to the lion's den,' she said in her statement. Ewing asked the victim to help on his farm, where he would give gifts and compliments, police summary of facts revealed. The 71-year-old retired farmer - who abused his victim between 2002 and 2004 - pleaded guilty to doing an indecent act with a girl aged between 12 and 16. The girl was 14 years old when Ewing began to sexually molest her at a rural North Otago property (stock image) The farmer began by hugging her and kissing her on the cheek before beginning to kiss her, touch her breasts and genitals. He then performed an indecent act on her. In one instance of abuse, Ewing put the girl's hand on his crotch while she sat next to her father in a farm vehicle being driven by the defendant. Ewing advised the girl she shouldn't tell her friends about him as they could take it the wrong way. He also threatened they would both be in 'so much trouble' if others found out and told the girl the abuse was there 'little secret'. Ewing was also ordered to give the victim an emotional harm payment of $10,000. Only companies that participated in the first pilot ... will be eligible to participate in the second pilot, Biagi said at a City Council hearing on the scooter program. So only those 10 companies are eligible under the terms of this pilot project. We do think fewer companies makes sense. Well need to develop objective criteria to determine how many, and which ones. But we think this will make our management easier and the vendors more responsive. NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) between January 30, 2019 and February 24, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Tupperware investors under the federal securities laws. To join the Tupperware class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1787.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. AN INVESTOR'S ABILITY TO SHARE IN ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE RECOVERY IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON SERVING AS LEAD PLAINTIFF. According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Tupperware lacked effective internal controls; (2) as a result, Tupperware would need to investigate Fuller Mexico's accounting and liabilities; (3) consequently, Tupperware would be unable to timely file its annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year 2019; (4) Tupperware did not properly account for its accounts payable and accrued liabilities at Fuller Mexico; (5) Tupperware provided overvalued earnings per share guidance; (6) Tupperware would need relief from its $650 million Credit Agreement; and (7) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 27, 2020. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1787.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim, Esq. of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 3 each year since 2013. Rosen Law Firm has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links https://www.rosenlegal.com Connecticut Cabaret Theatre / Contributed photo With a tumbler of scotch in one hand and a cigarette dangling in the other, Tallulah Bankhead was a southern actress who flaunted excesses and ravished underlings. Outspoken and flamboyant, she had a persona that was larger-than-life. The famous lady will bring her giant ego and personality to the stage of the Connecticut Cabaret in Berlin, weekends until March 21. Kelly Boucher will play the infamous star in Looped by Matthew Lombardo, under the careful and detailed direction of Kris McMurray. In the summer of 1965, Tallulah Bankhead was invited to return to the studio to re-record, dub or loop one line of dialogue from her last movie Die! Die! My Darling! You have reached a premium content area of TOL. To read this entire article please login if you are already a TOL subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). A 9/11 memorial in Plymouth, Massachusetts, has been vandalized just days after other landmarks in the historic town were daubed with graffiti. The memorial was 'desecrated by vandals' on Sunday, according to the town's fire department. It's the eighth time a site in the town has been tampered with in less than a week. Firefighters repair a 9/11 memorial in Plymouth, Massachusetts after it was vandalized The memorial was funded by Plymouth resident Dick Quintal who had to taken out a second mortgage to fund the project. He was said to be 'heartbroken' at seeing the damage The police officer statue had been knocked over but the firefighter was still standing The town's 9/11 memorial was 'desecrated by vandals' according to the town's fire department The memorial, which was constructed in 2004 is a six-foot high pillar of granite upon which the names of those killed in the attacks is engraved upon it The memorial, which was constructed in 2004 is a six-foot high pillar of granite upon which the names of those killed in the attacks are engraved. On either side stand statues of a firefighter and police officer 'They can knock us down, but we will always get back up even stronger,' the fire department tweeted. Some 25 firefighters came out to remove the offensive markings and restore the memorial and by Monday there were no signs that the memorial had ever been touched. 'They can knock us down, but we will always get back up even stronger,' the fire department tweeted It's the eighth time a site in the town has been tampered with in less than a week It's not clear who was behind the act of vandalism but it has upset the town's residents Some 25 firefighters came out to remove the offensive markings and restore the memorial and by Monday there were no signs that the memorial had ever been interfered with Vandals hit Plymouth Rock and other landmarks last week. The vandalism comes as Plymouth prepares to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower The memorial was funded by Plymouth resident Dick Quintal who had to taken out a second mortgage to fund the project. 'At first I was angry, then I was heartbroken and sad,' Quintal told WCVB. Another monument at the site is seen above after it was vandalized last week. The number 508 is the Plymouth area code phone number Vandals also defaced a seashell-shaped sign celebrating the upcoming 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower landing Last week, more than half-a-dozen other iconic landmarks in Plymouth, including Plymouth Rock, were defaced. The rock, Pilgrim Maiden Statue and a Monument to the Forefathers had all been splattered with red paint and words of various kind, although that vandalism has also since been removed. Plymouth police say they are looking into the incident but have so far not made any arrests according to ABC News. It's also not known if the attacks are related. 'What the vandals are doing is heinous,' Plymouth's Town Manager Melissa Arrighi told CNN. 'Between the 9/11 memorial and Plymouth Rock, there is no excuse and there is no reason for this.' 'Our firefighters jumped to action almost immediately,' Arrighi said. 'When something bad occurs, the residents and community jump in. 'I can't thank everybody enough for the outpouring of concern, outrage, support and offers to help,' she continued. The above image shows graffiti spray-painted on the National Monument to the Forefathers, a 120-year-old statue that commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims The rock sits in Pilgrim Memorial State Park on the waterfront in an isolated area. It is a small piece of a larger rock that once stood in the place where the Pilgrims landed. The rock has come to symbolize the spot where William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims disembarked before founding Plymouth Colony in December 1620. Police said the vandals also targeted a seashell-shaped sign celebrating the upcoming 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower landing, the Pilgrim Maiden statue and the National Monument To The Forefathers. United American Indians of New England holds the solemn remembrance on every Thanksgiving Day since 1970 there to recall what organizers describe as 'the genocide of millions of native people, the theft of native lands and the relentless assault on native culture. As awareness of bees and their importance to life on Earth continues to grow, the Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center has announced a new beekeeping certificate program. The three-step program is designed to provide a deep understanding of honeybees and beekeeping. The three levels of certification are Beginner Beekeeping, Intermediate Beekeeping and Advanced Beekeeping. The ten-week Beginner Beekeeper certificate is accepting students for its March 26 launch, at a cost of $250 plus textbook. Designed to lead beekeepers through an entire apiary year, the course will cover honeybee biology, rules and regulations, beekeeping equipment, steps to start a colony, applied care and environmental challenges. By the end of this course, participants will be able to start an apiary and manage hives for maximum bee and ecological health. Upon successful completion of the course, students will earn a Beginner Beekeeping certificate and will be prepared to take the Intermediate Beekeeping certificate program, which is set to begin in the fall. The programs support a beekeepers preparation for the Eastern Apicultural Society of North Americas nationally recognized Master Level Beekeeping certification process. The Environmental Education Center aims to educate students of Lackawanna College and citizens of northeast Pennsylvania through innovative approaches leading to ecological sustainability. 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. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:21:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's parliamentary committees passed on Wednesday a draft law legalizing cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use, Elnashra, an online independent newspaper, reported. Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli said that the draft law will be transferred to the parliament's general committee for approval. "According to the study by McKinsey, there is a great economic benefit out of this new step," Ferzli said. The global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co prepared a thousand page report containing a wealth of recommendations to bolster Lebanon's economy including a suggestion to export the country's rich cannabis crop for medicinal use which has previously divided Lebanese political opinion. Mckinsey suggested that legalizing the cultivation of cannabis would release up to 1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for the government prompting House Speaker Nabih Berri to appoint a committee to prepare a law proposal for cannabis cultivation. (Newser) A Molson Coors worker fatally shot five people and himself Wednesday at the company's sprawling Milwaukee campus, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. No names have been released, but police say the shooter was a 51-year-old male who used two handguns, one with a silencer (which is legal in Wisconsin if it's registered with the federal government). Seems he killed all his victims; no one was injured. The tragic ordeal began around 2pm when law enforcement was called to the complex and showed up in force, with police officers, SWAT teams, and agents from the ATF and FBI. Minutes later, employees were notified by email of the shooter's location and began frantically contacting loved ones on the outside. story continues below Meanwhile, police and firefighters taped off surrounding streets as nearby businesses and schools were shuttered. Parents were seen driving around the block for an all-clear to pick up their children; one teacher was seen comforting a visibly distraught parent. Police said the threat was over by around 5pm, the Washington Post reports. It's one of the worst mass shootings in the history of Wisconsin, which has suffered 11 over the past 20 years. "This is a time for us to think about those families because there were five individuals who went to work today, just like everyone goes to work, and they thought they were going to go to work, finish their day and return to their families," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. "They didn't, and tragically they never will." (Read more mass shootings stories.) A 10,000-a-year girl's prep school is refusing to renew the lease for a bowls club on its property because players can see pupils getting changed through windows. Seaton House School wants to get Carshalton Beeches Bowling Club off its land amid concerns over daytime drinking and rowdy wakes when elderly members die. But the bowls club is refusing to go without a fight and is suing the school at London County Court over its refusal to renew the lease on its clubhouse. The school claims it cannot renew the lease as 'safeguarding' concerns were raised over the presence of bowlers on school property - and is afraid the Department of Education could close it down if these are found to continue. It followed a report in November 2019 by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) - the private school equivalent of Ofsted - which said the 10,000-a-year school was failing in its 'safeguarding' duty towards its pupils because of the presence of the bowlers. And came after parents at the top independent all-girls prep school complained about players being able to look from their bowling green into classrooms where girls aged between two and 11 get changed for PE classes. Parents at Seaton House School (pictured bottom) complained about bowls players being able to look from their bowling green (centre) into classrooms where girls aged between 2-11 get changed for PE classes The bowling club has existed on leased land within the school grounds for almost a century, having been established in 1929 - a year before the school itself was founded (pictured, members from the bowling club in action) Head teacher Ruth Darvill (pictured outside court) told Central London County Court that the future of the school is under threat. The school fears the Department for Education could close the school if safeguarding issues are found to continue Lawyers for the school say the problem lies with members of the bowling club and visiting teams being able to see into classroom windows which face the bowling green. They are also complaining about the bowling club running a licensed bar on school premises and particularly about daytime drinking during funeral wakes which are held at the clubhouse to give a good 'send off' to members who pass away. The school wants the bowling club out and are refusing to renew the lease on the club's HQ, which they plan to demolish and rebuild as a school outbuilding. That's despite the bowling club having existed on leased land within the school grounds for almost a century, having been established in 1929 - a year before the school itself was founded. Head teacher Ruth Darvill told Central London County Court that the future of the school is under threat, adding: 'The continued presence of bowlers on our site would be devastating for our reputation.' 'If we continue to be in breach of regulations, the Department of Education will take a view about whether we continue operating as a school,' she told judge David Saunders. But the club is now suing the school - which was voted Prep School of the Year by the Sunday Times in 2018-19 - seeking to force them to renew their lease. Club chairman Robert Rumsby told Judge Saunders there was 'no evidence to support what [the school] are saying,' adding that it would be a 'tragedy' if the club were to be shut. 'We have been there for 90 years and many of our members have been with us for a lot of that time,' he said from the witness box. 'It's the centre of their sporting and social life and it would be a tragedy if we closed it. We want to keep it for the benefit of the local community.' The school (pictured) wants the bowling club out and are refusing to renew the lease on the club's HQ, which they plan to demolish and rebuild as a school outbuilding Lawyers for the club also emphasised that there have been no specific allegations by anyone at the school of voyeurism against any individual bowler. Mrs Darvill, giving evidence, told the court that parents are concerned about the bowlers being on site and said that since the ISI report last year: 'There is now documentary evidence that we fail due to non-compliance and security risk. 'The continued presence of bowlers on our site would be devastating for our reputation,' she told the judge. But she confirmed under questioning from barrister Robert Bowker for the club that, while there some parents had complained, there has been 'no specific allegation of sexual impropriety directed towards a member of the club or a visitor' since she took over in September 2019. Debbie Morrison, the previous headteacher at the school, also confirmed to Mr Bowker 'that there has been no allegation of sexual impropriety against any specific individual' during her time in charge of the school. Mr Rumsby, in the witness box, urged the judge not to heed the worries of the school staff and parents. 'There is only one classroom which faces the green. You can hardly see through the windows because its dark. It's up to the teachers to make sure the children are sheltered,' he said. The school's barrister Charles Irvine told him: 'You make criticisms of what parents complain about...[that] bowlers can see pupils changing. 'You say the teachers can deal with that....are you aware that the school has no changing rooms? 'It's not obstructed glass and there are two classrooms facing the green which can be seen.' Debbie Morrison, the previous headteacher at the school, told the court 'that there has been no allegation of sexual impropriety against any specific individual' during her time in charge of the school (she is pictured outside Central London County Court) The barrister also went on to criticise the club for running a bar selling alcohol on school grounds. 'Having a licensed bar is incompatible with school premises. You regularly have pre-match drinks before afternoon matches,' he said. Mr Rumsby told him: 'It is not usually open in school hours. People playing matches at that time might have a cup of tea or if they did have a drink they wouldn't bring it down to the green. The bar isn't usually open until evening.' The barrister then focused his criticism on daytime drinking during wakes held at the club HQ for recently deceased members, saying: 'The clubhouse also hold funeral wakes, which take place during school hours when the bar is open.' 'If one of our members dies we usually give them a send off in the club house,' Mr Rumsby admitted, adding, 'but those occasions are pretty rare.' In documents supporting their claim, the club explain that they are applying to the court under the Landlord and Tenant Act for the grant of a new business tenancy. Notice to terminate their current lease was served in August 2017 to take effect in April 2018, along with a message 'stating that the school would oppose a claim to the court for a new tenancy.' The club say they are legally entitled to a new tenancy, partly because the school led them to believe they would be moving to a new pavilion on school grounds after the demolition of the Senior House Building where they are currently based, and they have spent money preparing for that move. 'The claimant has operated from the clubhouse since 1929,' lawyers for the club say, claiming that at a meeting in 2015 to discuss the proposed redevelopment, the school's governors had provided an assurance that 'the club was very much a part of the school's development plans.' The school would not have won planning permission for redevelopment of the Senior House Building had they told the council they were planning to evict the bowlers, says the club. And chair of the school governors, Judith Ann Evans, had written to parents to say they were proposing to the local council that the club 'is housed in a new purpose built pavilion on the opposite of the bowling green.' 'In all the circumstances, it was and is unconscionable for the school to oppose the grant of a new tenancy or oppose the grant of a new tenancy on terms which are the same or substantially the same term as the current tenancy,' say the club. Judith Ann Evans, chair of governors at the school, (pictured outside London County Court) had written to parents to say they were proposing to the local council that the club 'is housed in a new purpose built pavilion on the opposite of the bowling green' In written submissions to the court, Mr Bowker called the school's concerns about safeguarding 'a distraction,' adding: 'The club and school have co-existed for decades.' He also claims that, even if the bowlers were evicted, the school could not afford to carry out the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Senior House Building. But in their defence to the action, the school's lawyers says it will be able to obtain funding for the development once it has possession of the clubhouse. 'The club is not entitled to the grant of a new tenancy,' the defence continues. Of the proposed move to the new pavilion, the school says: 'It is admitted the school was willing to grant a tenancy in respect of the pavilion if the parties were able to reach an agreement as to the terms on which the club would occupy it...and the times during which the club was entitled to use the pavilion, in particular, bearing in mind the defendants need to safeguard its students at all times.' The school's alternative case if they fail in their bid to deny the bowlers a new tenancy is that the 9,500 a year rent the club now pay should be upped to 17,000 and the bowlers should be banned from using the premises before 6pm on weekdays, when the schoolgirls are on site. The ISI regulatory compliance inspection report on the school last November noted: 'The school has identified safeguarding risks associated with the use of the premises by a local bowling club...although measures to reduce this risk are in place, further measures are currently being pursued. 'However, at the time of the inspection, the risks identified had not been satisfactorily addressed. As a result, appropriate safeguarding arrangements are not fully implemented. 'The school must ensure that the safeguarding risks associated with the use of the school premises by a local bowling club are fully resolved. 'The school must implement measures to reduce all risks associated with the school premises by a local bowling club which have been identified through its strategic risk assessment.' The Democrat debates have a Groundhog Day quality. The same faces say the same things over and over. Only die-hard political junkies and those paid to watch are getting anything out of them. Barring minor gaffes and revelations, the candidates stay in character and say precisely what you'd expect them to say. Bernie Sanders would like America more if it had policies like those in hard socialist countries (as opposed to market-based big-welfare states such as Denmark and Sweden). When pushed, he'll disavow authoritarian leaders in communist countries but he won't disavow their policies, which he consistently praises. He makes it clear in every debate that he envisions himself as the "nice" authoritarian leader. For those voters who support Israel, Bernie has given up any semblance of support for the country. He openly called Netanyahu a "reactionary racist." Mike Bloomberg has an anemic presence; an occasionally agile brain; a terrible sense of humor (his so-called jokes land like lead bricks); a conservative economic bent; and, barring two exceptions, a belief in every hard-left social policy from unlimited abortion to gun control to nanny-state control over life habits to racial pandering. The exceptions are charter schools, which he supports, and slowing the rush to legalize marijuana, because its ill effects are still very much unknown. As president, even as Bloomberg disavows China's worst policies, one feels that his preference is a Chinese-style state-controlled market economy and tight control over people's lifestyles. Elizabeth Warren finally admitted that her policies are the same as Bernie's but claims she would implement them more effectively. She doesn't call herself a socialist, of course. She says she's a progressive and assures us that the majority of Americans want the government to control health care, education, guns, and childcare. What Warren doesn't think America should control is the location of its embassies, for she said that's a choice for the Israelis and Palestinians to make. She seems unaware that the Israelis have made the choice and that their chosen capital is Jerusalem. She also seems unaware that Palestinians already have self-determination, having determined in both the West Bank and Gaza that they want bloodthirsty dictatorships. She also thinks Trump's too nice to Israel. And Warren still lies. In South Carolina, she repeated that she was fired from her first job because she was visibly pregnant. The problem is that contemporaneous documents prove that this is untrue. Biden, although technically the frontrunner in South Carolina, has the smell of defeat about him. Throughout the debate, he complained about the other candidates' anarchy, for they interrupted each other and ran wildly over time. Nevertheless, he obediently stopped every time the clock ran out. Eventually, he made a rather cute little joke about his Catholic education doing him in, but he still looked weak. Mostly, Biden did his familiar shtick of "I'm the one who" worked on whatever policy was at issue: helping blacks, raising minimum wages, affordable housing, gun control, etc. His problem is that he joins the other candidates in claiming that the economy is rotten, health care is nonexistent, blacks are exploited, and guns are killing people (150 million people since 2007, he said). He doesn't look like a solution; he looks like part of the problem. As the evening progressed, Biden's answers became increasingly incoherent. He stayed on-topic, but between his stutter, the fact that too many thoughts were crowding out of his mouth, and his general mental confusion, it was difficult if not impossible to figure out what he was saying. He got a lot of applause from the audience, but this confused, incoherent man who boasted about accomplishing things he concedes are still problems today did not do himself any favors. Steyer, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg talked, but no one cared. Buttigieg got off a couple of clever one-liners but sounded more like a TV commentator than someone ready for prime time. The nagging Klobuchar had her moment when she essentially said she is the best person to take on the NRA because she won't take guns from hunters the Second Amendment being reduced to the "hunting amendment" on Klobuchar's watch. And why, again, is Steyer even on that stage? It's invariably dispiriting to see the once-mighty Democrat party reduced to this uninspiring leftist rabble. The base wants a revolution, but it's not going to happen with these guys. Even Bernie's spit-flecked denunciations of the American system are going to be meaningless when the man who's never held a real job and who's greedily grasped every penny that's come his way since his surge in 2016 faces the reality of America's political system. He'll be an awful president, but the worst thing about him, should he be elected, is that he'll be living proof that the American people have fallen so far from our liberty-based constitutional system. [February 26, 2020] Kimberly-Clark, United Renewable Energy LLC and NextEra Energy Resources Team Up to Construct Solar Project in LaGrange, Georgia LAGRANGE, Ga., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A 3MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project has been completed and commercialized by United Renewable Energy at Kimberly-Clark's facility in LaGrange, Georgia. The project was the result of collaboration between Kimberly-Clark's facility, United Renewable Energy LLC as the project developer and builder, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC through a subsidiary, which is the long-term project owner. All of the output from the new solar facility, along with all the renewable energy credits (RECs) will be sold to Georgia Power as part of Georgia Power's Renewable Energy Development Initiative, and the associated RECs will be retired on behalf of all of Georgia Power's customers. The 3MW solar project has over 8,600 solar panels. In addition to leasing the land for this project, Kimberly-Clark has entered into a separate agreement to purchase RECs from NextEra Energy Resources, which allows Kimberly-Clark to offset its greenhouse gas emissions. "The development of this project and our purchase of RECs provide the most recent examples of how we demonstrate our commitment to renewable energy," said Jeremy Cannady, mill manager at Kimberly-Clark's LaGrange facility. "The project is a source of pride for LaGrange employees, and purchasing RECs from NextEra Energy Resources helps us strive towards our global goal of a 40% offset in greenhouse gas emissions by 2022." "We are proud to be a part of this world class team, including Kimberly-Clark and NextEra Energy Resources, for the benefit of the LaGrange Plant and community," said William Silva, CEO of United Renewable Energy. "Kimberly-Clark's commitment to pursuing a global Energy and Climate strategy focused on energy conservation, switching to lower GHG emitting fuels and implementing alternative energy sourcing solutions is evident." "Our partnerships with industrial clients are focused on helping them achieve their business goals, which can range from saving money on their utility bills to meeting their greenhouse gas emissions goals. Distributed generation assets like this one a Kimberly-Clark are a great way for industrial businesses to make an impact at their facilities where they are visible to employees and stakeholders," said Matt Ulman, vice president of distributed generation for NextEra Energy Resources. About Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people's most essential needs, we create products that help individuals experience more of what's important to them. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company's 147-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. About United Renewable Energy URE is an engineering, procurement, and construction firm developing utility scale photovoltaic plants and energy storage systems. URE focuses on creative design and installation of solar energy systems and energy storage projects with superior quality, performance, and safety at competitive costs. Learn more at www.u-renew.com. Contact: Jakky Tucker, 678.881.0014 x708 or [email protected] About NextEra Energy Resources, LLC NextEra Energy Resources, LLC (together with its affiliated entities, "NextEra Energy Resources"), is a clean energy leader and is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., with approximately 21,000 megawatts of net generating capacity, primarily in 36 states and Canada as of year-end 2018. NextEra Energy Resources, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest operator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. The business operates clean, emissions-free nuclear power generation facilities in New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin as part of the NextEra Energy nuclear fleet, which is one of the largest in the United States. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit www.NextEraEnergyResources.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kimberly-clark-united-renewable-energy-llc-and-nextera-energy-resources-team-up-to-construct-solar-project-in-lagrange-georgia-301010855.html SOURCE United Renewable Energy LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Press Release February 26, 2020 Villanueva: Measure expanding legal assistance fund for overseas Filipinos hurdles 3rd reading With 21 affirmative votes, no negative votes and no abstention, the Senate on Wednesday, February 26, approved on third and final reading a measure expanding the use of a fund meant to help more than 10 million Filipinos working in foreign lands. Filipinos abroad encountering legal issues could avail of free legal assistance from the government through the embassies and foreign posts which taps the legal assistance fund (LeAF), explained Senator Joel Villanueva, principal author and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1233. "It is only befitting that we call this fund the LeAF because it symbolizes hope for our distressed kababayans overseas. They need not look very far to seek assistance because our government will always be ready to lend a helping hand," Villanueva said in a statement. Villanueva, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, thanked colleagues for supporting the bill, which was filed under Committee Report No. 30. The measure, which seeks to amend Section 26 of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, expands the use of the Legal Assistance Fund that the government taps to cover various costs of overseas Filipinos who initiate or is impleaded in any type of case abroad. In 2020, a total of P201.34 million is available for the provision on legal services to help overseas Filipinos and migrant workers in distress. Outlining the amendments to provisions on the LeAF in RA 8042, Villanueva said the measure mandates the availability of the fund at all times for the use of distressed overseas Filipinos and migrant workers abroad. "It further clarifies that such assistance shall be given from the moment the case is initiated, or the proceeding is commenced, until its termination, promulgation, and execution. This assistance extends further to all appeals taken on these cases, thereby guaranteeing full and complete support to distressed Filipinos overseas," the senator said. Villanueva also pointed out that the measure seeks to expand the coverage of the fund to include other bonds aside from bail bonds required by foreign courts, tribunals or other agencies. Another amendment introduced in the measure is the grant of authority to the head of mission of the Philippine Embassy concerned instead of the home office to use the fund to hire foreign lawyers to serve the needs of distressed overseas Filipinos and migrant workers. The aim is to advance and improve not only the quality, but also the promptness of the delivery of legal assistance to our migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress, according to Villanueva. Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria on Wednesday said that the message of the Balakot airstrike, which the IAF carried out last year on this day, was clear that there will be a robust response to a terror attack from across the border. "The message is clear that it will no longer be a status quo, if there is an attack orchestrated from across the border there will be a response and it will be a robust response," the Air Chief told ANI. The Chief of the Air Staff flew a sortie in MiG-21 of 51 Squadron with two Mirage-2000s and Sukhoi-30MKI from Srinagar airbase to mark the completion of one year of Balakot airstrikes. "Today is the Balakot anniversary. So, it was really to get back to the boys to spend some time with them, fly a mission with them," he said. Last year, on this day, Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot, targetting Jaish-e-Muhammed's (JeM) terror training camps. The JeM had claimed responsibility of a deadly terror attack on February 14 in Pulwama, killing more than 40 CRPF personnel. A day after Balakot airstrikes, the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force retaliation in which India's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, while piloting a MiG 21, shot down Pakistan's F-16. "51 Squadron and Abhinandan demonstrated the spirit of the Air Force. They had no hesitation in engaging vastly superior aircraft in terms of technology and weapons, they did the right thing. Air Force is proud of them," Bhadauria said. Praising the Rafale aircraft, which India is procuring from France, the Air Chief said: "Rafale is a total game-changer. When we will use it along with the other aircraft we have in our inventory then we would be a different air force. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) This gift from David and Jane Melone will help us get some real traction in terms of putting polychromatic light therapy systems in the hands of Veterans with PTS who may most benefit from its use." Randall Reed, founder of the Light Up To Live Foundation David and Jane Melone have donated 100 polychromatic light therapy systems to the Light Up To Live Foundation. In turn, the foundation will donate them to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Veterans living with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), pain, and depression. The systems are used to increase blood flow and reduce pain in the body. The total retail value of all of these systems is an estimated $500,000. We are excited to share this wonderful technology with members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Veterans who are living with pain and service-related injuries. Light therapy is one more tool in the toolbox that can be used to help get our Veterans back to their best health, said David Melone, co-owner of inLight Therapy, Inc., along with his wife, Jane Melone. Polychromatic light therapy is ever-evolving, and there is hope in the industry that its use will continue to grow. Randall Reed, founder of the Light Up To Live Foundation based in Dallas and a proponent of polychromatic light therapy, said This gift from David and Jane Melone will help us get some real traction in terms of putting polychromatic light therapy systems in the hands of Veterans with PTS who may most benefit from its use. We raise money to purchase them, but this gift will allow us to do other things to support our Veterans including fund highly trained service dogs and support programs for Veterans with injuries that may require adaptive training and support. Reed, his wife, Sherry, and daughter, Shelby -- who are best known as owners and founders of World Class Automotive Group based in Dallas -- have supported Veteran causes for years in Texas and around the U.S. both personally and through Reed Family Enterprises. Reed said Veterans may submit a brief application at LightUpToLive.org to be considered for a polychromatic light therapy system. Ultimately, they will need to have a DD214 form to demonstrate their military service and related health needs. All communications are HIPPA compliant. I want to encourage our Veterans who are struggling with pain, depression, suicidal thoughts, adaptive living challenges, to simply reach out to us as a resource, added Ben Michael (USN Ret.), a Light Up To Live board member and 38-year-old Veteran. We want to help and connect you with some of our charitable partners including: 22KILL, Adaptive Training Foundation, REACT, Task Force Dagger and the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation. Together, we are doing some amazing work to help our Veterans. NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The promise and potential risks of machine learning and other technology will be examined by experts at the 29th Healthcare Risk Management / Patient Safety Conference on Wednesday, March 11, at the New York Marriott Marquis. 2020 Healthcare TechnologyFriend or Foe is hosted by Healthcare Risk Advisors (HRA), a business unit of The Doctors Company Group that provides third-party comprehensive insurance and risk management advisory services to New York hospitals. Several hundred healthcare leaders and providers from throughout New York City are expected to attend the conference, and complimentary registrations are still being accepted. Keynote speaker Robert M. Wachter, MD, will speak on "Healthcare's Digital Revolution: (Finally) A Time for Optimism." Dr. Wachter is professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; thought leader in organization of care, quality, patient safety, and digital health; and best-selling author of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age. Additionally, Dr. Wachter serves on the Board of Governors of The Doctors Company. Dr. Wachter will also moderate a point-counterpoint debate on whether handheld devices are a patient care aid or a dangerous distraction. Adam Levine, MD, anesthesiologist with Mount Sinai Health System, will take the pro side. Kerin Torpey Bashaw, MPH, BSN, RN, senior vice president of patient safety and risk management with The Doctors Company, will present the cons. Other healthcare experts speaking at the conference are: Bryan Sexton , PhD, director of the Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality at the Duke University Health System. Dr. Sexton will address "Workforce Well-Being as Quality of Care: Evidence-Based Burnout Busters (Mobile Friendly)." , PhD, director of the Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality at the Health System. Dr. Sexton will address "Workforce Well-Being as Quality of Care: Evidence-Based Burnout Busters (Mobile Friendly)." Hardeep Singh , MD, MPH, chief of health policy, quality and informatics at the VA Innovation Center, Baylor College of Medicine , in Houston, Texas . Dr. Singh will talk on "Relationship of Diagnostic Errors and Health Information Technology: It's Complicated." , MD, MPH, chief of health policy, quality and informatics at the VA Innovation Center, , in . Dr. Singh will talk on "Relationship of Diagnostic Errors and Health Information Technology: It's Complicated." Zachary Lockerman , MD, MBA, FACG, CPE, chief medical informatics officer / patient safety officer at Maimonides Medical Center; Peter Shamamian , MD, vice president and chief quality officer at Montefiore Medical Center; and Robbie Freeman , MBA, MSN, BS, vice president of clinical innovation at Mount Sinai Health System. They will provide an update on how their hospitals are using technology to improve patient outcomes. "We are exceedingly proud to attract some of the most preeminent experts in healthcare technology to our conference," said David L. Feldman, MD, MBA, FACS, senior vice president of HRA and chief medical officer for HRA and The Doctors Company Group. "Our speakers will explore the latest technological advances in healthcare and examine the benefits, as well as potential underlying risks, to providers and patients." About Healthcare Risk Advisors Healthcare Risk Advisors (healthcareriskadvisors.com), formerly FOJP Service Corporation, provides comprehensive insurance and risk management advisory services to leading academic hospitals, long-term care facilities, and social services agencies in the metropolitan New York area. Healthcare Risk Advisors is part of The Doctors Company Group. About The Doctors Company Founded and led by physicians, The Doctors Company (thedoctors.com) is relentlessly committed to advancing, protecting, and rewarding the practice of good medicine. The Doctors Company takes the mal out of malpractice insurance by helping hospitals and practices of all sizes manage the complexities of today's healthcare environmentwith expert guidance, resources, and coverage. The Doctors Company is the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, with 82,000 members and over $4.5 billion in assets, and is rated A by A.M. Best Company and Fitch Ratings. To learn more about data-driven insights and to stay up to date on industry trends, follow and subscribe to The Doctors Company on Twitter (@doctorscompany), YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. SOURCE Healthcare Risk Advisors Related Links http://www.healthcareriskadvisors.com After a week-long reduction in violence across war-torn Afghanistan, the United States is now ready to consider an agreement with the Taliban. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper reportedly said that if the Taliban demonstrate the willingness and capability to do so, then the US is also prepared to consider an agreement that advances the peace process. The much-awaited peace deal will mark a historic step in more than 19 years of conflict in Afghanistan and it would also pave the way for a deal that could see the end of the war. Esper further added, Should, intra-Afghan peace dialogues progress, the US will reduce our force posture as appropriate, based on conditions on the ground. He further added, As we have previously notified members of Congress, our negotiations with the Taliban have advanced, and they have agreed to dramatically reduce violence across the country." READ: US Upbeat On Taliban Peace, Warns Afghan Leaders Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even said that the US-Taliban deal will be signed on February 29. According to Pompeo, the peace deal will be built on the fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan. Furthermore, he said that the progress made so far had provided hope and also represented a real opportunity. As reports suggest, after the deal signing, the US troops are further expected to pull out of the South East Asian country within 18 months, that is till August 2021. READ: 'Spoke To PM Modi On Taliban Peace Deal, Everybody Is Happy,' Says POTUS Donald Trump Taliban no longer seek monopoly of power However, even after the US claimed that its peace accord with the Taliban is almost complete, there has not been any decrease in the intensity of insurgency operations. According to international reports, the Taliban fighters attacked the Afghan government forces overnight and the militant commanders on February 17 said that such operations would continue until they receive new orders from their leadership based on the deal signed with the US to reduce violence in the region. The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan with a harsh version of Islamic law from 1996 to 2001 and hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, reportedly said that they no longer seek a monopoly on power, however, the militant group still controls or holds sway over roughly half of the country. There are also fears that a full withdrawal of some 20,000 NATO troops, including about 12,000 US forces, would leave the Afghan government vulnerable, or unleash another round of fighting in a war that has reportedly killed tens of thousands of Afghans and also claimed the lives of 2,400 US servicemen and women. (With PTI inputs) READ: Pakistan's Foreign Minister To Attend Signing Of US-Taliban Peace Deal In Doha READ: Taliban Attacks Afghan Forces Hours After Implementation Of 'reduction In Violence' Bay of Plenty We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Come March 2 visitors to the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata will have a glimpse of the letters and acts of protests by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore against the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. The brutal act of repression by the colonial British regime took place on April 13, 1919, when the troops opened fire on a peaceful gathering killing about 400 people. The exhibition titled "Ways of remembering Jallianwala Bagh and Tagors response to the massacre" will be held on the occasion of completion of 100 years of the massacre which was conducted under the orders of General Reginald Dyer. Apart from Tagores letters, the exhibition will also have audio-visual elements depicting how protests erupted in Bengal against the massacre. It will also have comments of family members of the victims. The photos of atrocities by the British police in Amritsar will also be on display at the exhibition. "Apart from returning his knighthood in protest against the massacre, Tagore wrote to several important personalities in the then British administration demanding action against those who were behind the incident. The poems and articles he wrote in protest against the incident will also be on display, said Sarmistha Dutta Gupta, the curator of the exhibition. She also said that the rare letters of Tagore have been collected by the British Library and the National Archives. The interviews of the victims relatives describing how they identified their bodies and how were they informed about the incident will also be on display. The media clippings of the incident will also be among the exhibits. "The information displayed in the exhibition has been provided by eminent experts on Tagore," said Gupta. Gupta also said that if in future anyone else wants to organise such an exhibition, full cooperation will be extended to them. Good morning. Greetings from Los Angeles, where Ive been eating Korean cold noodles and steaming food-truck tacos and French pressed duck, gathering more ideas than you can imagine to bring back to my kitchen and yours. Watch this space! In the meantime, though, Alison Roman has a sweet story in The Times this week about how she traveled to Greece and learned a beautiful way to make salmon from a shy fisherman on the shore of an azure sea actually, not at all. Its a straightforward recipe column with no personal narrative attached to it: salmon with whole lemon dressing (above), served over crunchy lettuces. Theres no folderol, just the facts lined up as if in composition class, the fish cooked slowly in a low oven so that the fat eases out of the flesh to combine with the tart brightness of the lemon juice. Its really great. I hope youll make it tonight even though its the middle of the week and youve been cooking every night for days. This is a recipe that youll be making once or twice a month for the next little while. The time to start doing that is now. Or you could make Kay Chuns recipe for honey and soy-glazed chicken thighs, which I also like with lemon, sliced and served in lettuce cups with steamed rice and julienned zucchini. Of course not if youre Catholic and observing Ash Wednesday today! Then you should stick with Alisons salmon, or make Martha Rose Shulmans pasta with fresh herbs, lemon and peas. Its a taste of springtime in the depths of winter. (If you want to add a little protein to the meal, you can follow my pal Emily Weinsteins lead, and crumble a can of good tuna over the top.) The plating on plastics (POP) market is expected to grow by USD 275.75 million during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005625/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Plating on Plastics Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) ABS is one of the widely used plastics for plating. Electronics and appliances are the key users of plastics for plating, followed by the transportation sector. The automotive industry uses high-quality plastic with superior ductility to ensure recovery from impact. ABS is used for manufacture of various exterior and interior parts in commercial and passenger vehicles. In addition, the growing trend of using lightweight materials in vehicles to reduce their weight and emissions is driving the use of ABS in the transportation industry. APAC was a key consumer of ABS resins in 2018, with China contributing to more than one-third of the global capacity and more than 50% of the global consumption. Thus, the increasing use of ABS is expected to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40531 As per Technavio, the emergence of double (twin)-shot molding will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Plating on Plastics (POP) Market: Emergence of Double (Twin)-Shot Molding The double (twin)-shot molding is undertaken to manufacture medical devices, consumer electronics/lighting, door handles, key fobs, grills, vent plates, and cockpit designs, which involves a plateable and non-plateable plastic resin. When conducted with proper etching and activation, this technique helps perform selective plating with no yield loss. The benefits of this technique include low assembly costs and construction of intricate designs. The assembly cost is low because two integrated resins are used for making one piece, and there is no post-plating assembly. This technique helps create 3D designs and colored textured plastics. Thus, the emergence of double (twin)-shot molding is expected to drive the growth of the market. "Factors such as the increase in electric cars, and the development of new POP techniques will have a positive impact on the growth of the plating on plastics market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Plating on Plastics (POP) Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the plating on plastics (PoP) market by product (chrome-based, nickel-based and other metal-based), end-users (automotive, electrical and electronics, plumbing and other industries), and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America). The European region led the plating on plastics (PoP) market in 2019, followed by APAC, North America, MEA and South America. However, during the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the thriving automotive and electronics industries in China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Product Chrome-based Nickel-based Other metal-based End-users Automotive Electrical and electronics Plumbing Other industries Geographic Segmentation APAC Europe MEA North America South America Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005625/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 12:03:39|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close XINING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- For years, stories of King Gesar, a legendary 11th-century hero who fought evil and helped the weak, were a staple in the repertoire of Tibetan folklore artist Gurnyi. This year, as the coronavirus outbreak spreads across China, Gurnyi tried something new by incorporating anti-virus knowledge into his popular audio podcast usually dedicated to the stories of the ancient hero. In late January, Gurnyi posted on his WeChat account the first anti-virus audio program in Khams Tibetan, a Tibetan dialect, with the aim of informing local Tibetans who understand no other language and lack knowledge about the virus and protective measures. "At first I just wanted to give it a try. I never thought it would go viral, with the first program drawing more than 30,000 listeners," said the 47-year-old artist from Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province. "Listening to and chanting the epic of King Gesar is an essential part of the Tibetans' daily life, just like rolling the prayer wheels and drinking butter tea," said Gurnyi. "By incorporating knowledge about the virus into the stories of the king, the show would be much more accessible to ordinary Tibetans." Building on the success, Gurnyi invited nine other folklore artists on board, making nine episodes of anti-virus programs that all use the same rhythm as in the epic of King Gesar. To add more professional knowledge into the programs, Gurnyi also had dial-ins with experts on Tibetan traditional medicine in his show. Gurnyi's family members also pitched in. "My younger brother works on the illustrations and my son does the audio editing, while my wife is in charge of catering," said Gurnyi. Now, Gurnyi's anti-virus programs are not only accessible from his WeChat account, but also being broadcast in villages across Yushu, and even in faraway places in Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan Province. "Besides sharing information on the virus, the audio programs are also aimed at passing on our confidence in victory over the epidemic," he said. SWAN'S ISLAND, Maine, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Harbor Watch Inn, a quaint inn on an unbridged island in Maine will be awarded to the most convincing essay in a new contest. Entrants answer a few questions and write a 350-word essay telling judges how owning this property would fulfill a dream for them and why they think they would be successful. The winner receives a turn-key, viable business, plus $25,000 in an operating fund to help with the transition. Visit www.WinOurInn.com for official rules and entry form. The contest is up and running and will only accept entries until March 31, 2020. Entries are unlimited and only $99/each. The essays will be reviewed by a group of independent judges headed by a couple of retired school teachers who have deep roots on the island. A winner will be selected and announced by mid-May, with the real estate closing shortly thereafter. The Harbor Watch Inn is the only motel on Swan's Island and has been in constant operation since the mid-1980s. The motel includes two standard rooms and two rooms with full kitchens and views of the harbor. Upstairs is a furnished one-bedroom apartment that is rented year-round, or could serve as the new owner's home. Located 6 miles off the Maine coast Swan's Island is remote enough that visitors can truly escape from the every day, but close enough that they can make day trips to Acadia, Bar Harbor, and the rest of Down East Maine. The island attracts visitors who appreciate the rugged beauty and peaceful setting intrinsic to the area. With a lighthouse, marine museum, and working waterfront, the island also draws tourists interested in learning about the history and culture of the Maine coast. Dale Joyce, current owner and descendant of some of the original Swan's Island settlers, says he has decided to focus on his photography business. "We have loved our time as stewards of this inn, but we're equally excited to introduce a new owner to the hospitality of this amazing island." See our website www.WinOurInn.com for official rules and entry form. SOURCE Harbor Watch Inn Related Links https://www.swansisland.com/ DELAWARE, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Greif, Inc. (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B), a world leader in industrial packaging products and services, today announced first quarter 2020 results. First Quarter Highlights include (all results compared to the first quarter of 2019 unless otherwise noted): Net sales increased by $215.4 million to $1,112.4 million . Gross profit increased by $49.8 million to $222.6 million . Net income of $32.3 million or $0.55 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income of $29.7 million or $0.51 per diluted Class A share. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments(1), of $37.9 million or $0.64 per diluted Class A share decreased compared to net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $38.3 million or $0.65 per diluted Class A share. Adjusted EBITDA(2) increased by $41.1 million to $147.4 million . Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $29.1 million to $19.5 million . Adjusted free cash flow(3) increased by $22.3 million to a use of $13.3 million . "Greif's performance in the first quarter was strong across all strategic priorities," said Pete Watson, Greif's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Adjusted EBITDA rose by 39% to $147.4 million, driven by strong performance in our Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services segment and the acquired Caraustar operations. Our internal customer satisfaction index score improved to an all-time high and we received several recognitions for our sustainability leadership. While we continue to face a challenging industrial market, our global Greif team is successfully managing those areas within our control to deliver strong performance." (1) A summary of all adjustments that are excluded from net income before adjustments and from earnings per diluted Class A share before adjustments are set forth in the Selected Financial Highlights table following the Company Outlook in this release. (2) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, plus restructuring charges, plus acquisition and integration related costs, plus non-cash asset impairment charges, plus non-cash pension settlement (income) charges, less (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net. (3) Adjusted free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less cash paid for purchases of properties, plants and equipment, plus cash paid for acquisition and integration related costs, plus cash paid for acquisition and integration related Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Note: A reconciliation of the differences between all non-GAAP financial measures used in this release with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the financial schedules that are a part of this release. These non-GAAP financial measures are intended to supplement and should be read together with our financial results. They should not be considered an alternative or substitute for, and should not be considered superior to, our reported financial results. Accordingly, users of this financial information should not place undue reliance on these non-GAAP financial measures. Customer Service The Company's consolidated CSI(4) score was 93.9 during the fiscal first quarter 2020. Our long term objective is for each business to achieve a CSI score of 95.0 or greater. CSI for the Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services segment was 93.7, or approximately 3% higher than the prior year quarter. CSI for the Flexible Products & Services segment was 93.6, which was flat compared to the prior year quarter. CSI for the Paper Packaging & Services segment fell by approximately 3% to 92.8, but excluding Caraustar operations would have been 95.6 and flat to the prior year quarter. Sustainability The Company continues to make strong strides towards enhancing its sustainability performance. During the first fiscal quarter 2020, the Company received the following recognitions related to sustainability leadership: MSCI upgraded the Company's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating to "A" from "BBB." The "A" rating reflects Greif's concerted efforts towards reducing its environmental impact and advancing responsible business practices. This is the highest rating achieved by the Company to date. Newsweek named Greif to its 2020 list of America's Most Responsible Companies for the first time. The list of 300 companies was compiled from a detailed analysis of more than 2,000 public companies, honoring businesses that give back to the communities in which they operate and excel in corporate social responsibility and citizenship efforts. In addition, in early February 2020, the non-profit organization CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) awarded Greif a Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) of "A" as a part of their annual climate change assessment of companies globally. This rating earned the Company a position on the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, which consists of the top 3% of 4,800 companies assessed by CDP for their actions and strategies to reduce emissions and manage climate risks in their supply chain. Accounting Standard Changes On November 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standard Update 2016-02 Leases (Topic 842) and related updates. The update included significant changes to the accounting treatment for leases including the required capitalization of certain operating leases on the balance sheet and expanded disclosures. As of January 31, 2020, the Company's right of use asset and corresponding lease liabilities related to the capitalized operating leases were $327.2 million and $331.7 million, respectively. The adoption had no impact to the Company's net financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Segment Results (all results compared to the first quarter of 2019 unless otherwise noted) Net sales are impacted mainly by the volume of primary products(5) sold, selling prices, product mix and the impact of changes in foreign currencies against the U.S. Dollar. The table below shows the percentage impact of each of these items on net sales for our primary products for the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the prior year quarter for the business segments with manufacturing operations. Net sales from Caraustar's primary products are not included in the table below, but will be included in the Paper Packaging & Services segment starting in the second quarter of fiscal 2020: Net Sales Impact - Primary Products Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services Paper Packaging & Services Flexible Products & Services % % % Currency Translation (1.5)% % (1.5)% Volume (1.3)% (8.6)% (14.2)% Selling Prices and Product Mix (1.8)% (7.0)% 1.8% Total Impact of Primary Products (4.6)% (15.6)% (13.9)% Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services Net sales decreased by $29.2 million to $568.7 million. Net sales excluding foreign currency translation decreased by $24.7 million primarily due to continued demand softness in the U.S. and APAC and lower average sale prices primarily due to contractual price adjustment mechanisms related to raw material price decreases, partially offset by strategic pricing actions. Gross profit increased by $9.2 million to $107.8 million. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to the timing of contractual pass through arrangements for raw material price decreases. Operating profit increased by $19.5 million to $42.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $13.8 million to $62.5 million primarily due to the same factors that impacted gross profit and a reduction in the segment's SG&A expense. Paper Packaging & Services Net sales increased by $256.4 million to $473.7 million. The increase in sales was primarily due to $288.2 million of contribution from the acquired Caraustar operations, partially offset by demand softness and lower published containerboard prices. The Company took approximately 21,000 tons of economic downtime across its containerboard operations during the quarter. Gross profit increased by $46.2 million to $100.1 million. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to $57.4 million of contribution from the acquired Caraustar operations and lower old corrugated container input costs, partially offset by the same factors that impacted net sales. Operating profit decreased by $2.8 million to $32.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $31.4 million to $77.9 million primarily due to $47.2 million of contribution from the acquired Caraustar operations, partially offset by the same factors that impacted gross profit and higher Caraustar related SG&A expense. Flexible Products & Services Net sales decreased by $12.1 million to $63.0 million. Net sales excluding foreign currency translation decreased by $11.0 million primarily due to continued demand softness in Western Europe. Gross profit decreased by $5.1 million to $12.3 million primarily due to the same factors that impact net sales. Operating profit decreased by $4.0 million to $2.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $3.8 million to $4.1 million primarily due to the same factors that impacted net sales, partially offset by a reduction in the segment's SG&A expense. Land Management Net sales increased by $0.3 million to $7.0 million. Operating profit decreased by $0.7 million to $1.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $0.3 million to $2.9 million. Tax Summary During the first quarter, the Company recorded an income tax rate of 24.1 percent and a tax rate excluding the impact of adjustments of 24.3 percent. As previously disclosed, the application of FIN 18 may cause fluctuations in our quarterly effective tax rates. For Fiscal 2020, the Company expects its tax rate to range between 28-32 percent and its tax rate excluding adjustments to range between 27-31 percent. Dividend Summary On February 25, 2020, the Board of Directors declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.44 per share of Class A Common Stock and $0.66 per share of Class B Common Stock. Dividends are payable on April 01, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 18, 2020. Company Outlook (in millions, except per share amounts) Fiscal 2020 Outlook Reported at Q4 Fiscal 2020 Outlook Reported at Q1 Class A earnings per share before adjustments $3.63 - $4.13 $3.55 - $3.91 Adjusted free cash flow $245 - $285 $265 - $305 Note: 2020 Class A earnings per share and tax rate guidance on a GAAP basis are not provided in this release due to the potential for one or more of the following, the timing and magnitude of which we are unable to reliably forecast: gains or losses on the disposal of businesses, timberland or properties, plants and equipment, net; non-cash asset impairment charges due to unanticipated changes in the business; restructuring-related activities; non-cash pension settlement (income) charges; or acquisition and integration costs, and the income tax effects of these items and other income tax-related events. No reconciliation of the fiscal year 2020 Class A earnings per share before adjustments guidance or tax rate excluding the impact of adjustments guidance, both non-GAAP financial measures which exclude gains and losses on the disposal of businesses, timberland and properties, plants and equipment, non-cash pension settlement (income) charges, acquisition and integration costs, restructuring and impairment charges, is included in this release because, due to the high variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections of some of the excluded information, together with some of the excluded information not being ascertainable or accessible, we are unable to quantify certain amounts that would be required to be included in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable efforts. A reconciliation of 2020 adjusted free cash flow guidance to forecasted net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, is included in this release. (4) Customer satisfaction index (CSI) tracks a variety of internal metrics designed to enhance the customer experience in dealing with Greif. (5) Primary products are manufactured steel, plastic and fibre drums; new and reconditioned intermediate bulk containers; linerboard, medium, corrugated sheets and corrugated containers; and 1&2 loop and 4 loop flexible intermediate bulk containers. Conference Call The Company will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter of 2020 results on February 27, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). To participate, domestic callers should call 833-231-8265. The Greif ID is 2086583. The number for international callers is +1-647-689-4110. Phone lines will open at 8:00 a.m. ET. The conference call will also be available through a live webcast, including slides, which can be accessed at http://investor.greif.com by clicking on the Events and Presentations tab and searching under the events calendar. A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company's website approximately two hours following the call. About Greif Greif is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services and is pursuing its vision: in industrial packaging, be the best performing customer service company in the world. The Company produces steel, plastic and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, flexible products, containerboard, uncoated recycled paperboard, coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores and a diverse mix of specialty products. The Company also manufactures packaging accessories and provides filling, packaging and other services for a wide range of industries. In addition, Greif manages timber properties in the southeastern United States. The Company is strategically positioned in over 40 countries to serve global as well as regional customers. Additional information is on the Company's website at www.greif.com. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "aspiration," "objective," "project," "believe," "continue," "on track" or "target" or the negative thereof and similar expressions, among others, identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, expectations and other information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those forecasted, projected or anticipated, whether expressed or implied. The most significant of these risks and uncertainties are described in Part I of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements have a reasonable basis, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those forecasted, projected or anticipated, whether expressed in or implied by the statements. Such risks and uncertainties that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) historically, our business has been sensitive to changes in general economic or business conditions, (ii) we may not successfully implement our business strategies, including achieving our growth objectives, (iii) our level of indebtedness could adversely affect our liquidity, limit our flexibility in responding to business opportunities, and increase our vulnerability to adverse changes in economic and industry conditions, (iv) our operations subject us to currency exchange and political risks that could adversely affect our results of operations, (v) the current and future challenging global economy and disruption and volatility of the financial and credit markets may adversely affect our business, (vi) the continuing consolidation of our customer base and suppliers may intensify pricing pressure, (vii) we operate in highly competitive industries, (viii) our business is sensitive to changes in industry demands, (ix) raw material and energy price fluctuations and shortages may adversely impact our manufacturing operations and costs, (x) changes in U.S. trade policies could impact the cost of imported goods into the U.S., which may materially impact our revenues or increase our operating costs, (xi) the results of the United Kingdom's referendum on withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on global economic conditions, financial markets and our business, (xii) geopolitical conditions, including direct or indirect acts of war or terrorism, could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results, (xiii) we may encounter difficulties arising from acquisitions, (xiv) in connection with acquisitions or divestitures, we may become subject to liabilities, (xv) the acquisition of Caraustar Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries subjects us to various risks and uncertainties, (xvi) we may incur additional restructuring costs and there is no guarantee that our efforts to reduce costs will be successful, (xvii) we could be subject to changes to our tax rates, the adoption of new U.S. or foreign tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities, (xviii) full realization of our deferred tax assets may be affected by a number of factors, (xix) several operations are conducted by joint ventures that we cannot operate solely for our benefit, (xx) certain of the agreements that govern our joint ventures provide our partners with put or call options, (xxi) our ability to attract, develop and retain talented and qualified employees, managers and executives is critical to our success, (xxii) our business may be adversely impacted by work stoppages and other labor relations matters, (xxiii) we may not successfully identify illegal immigrants in our workforce, (xxiv) our pension and postretirement plans are underfunded and will require future cash contributions and our required future cash contributions could be higher than we expect, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and liquidity, (xxv) we may be subject to losses that might not be covered in whole or in part by existing insurance reserves or insurance coverage, (xxvi) our business depends on the uninterrupted operations of our facilities, systems and business functions, including our information technology and other business systems, (xxvii) a security breach of customer, employee, supplier or Company information may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, (xxviii) legislation/regulation related to environmental and health and safety matters and corporate social responsibility could negatively impact our operations and financial performance, (xxix) product liability claims and other legal proceedings could adversely affect our operations and financial performance, (xxx) we may incur fines or penalties, damage to our reputation or other adverse consequences if our employees, agents or business partners violate, or are alleged to have violated, anti-bribery, competition or other laws, (xxxi) our global operations subject us to the public health epidemics affecting countries or regions in which we have operations or do business, such as the coronavirus first identified in China, which, if sustained, could impact our employees, customers, supply chain and production in affected regions, (xxxii) changing climate, climate change regulations and greenhouse gas effects may adversely affect our operations and financial performance, (xxxiii) the frequency and volume of our timber and timberland sales will impact our financial performance, (xxxiv) changes in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and SEC rules and regulations could materially impact our reported results, (xxxv) if we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, we may not be able to accurately report financial results or prevent fraud, and (xxxvi) we have a significant amount of goodwill and long-lived assets which, if impaired in the future, would adversely impact our results of operations. The risks described above are not all-inclusive, and given these and other possible risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. For a detailed discussion of the most significant risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those forecasted, projected or anticipated, see "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of our most recently filed Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to such risk factors. Except to the limited extent required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact: Matt Eichmann 740-549-6067 [email protected] GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions, except per share amounts) 2020 2019 Net sales $ 1,112.4 $ 897.0 Cost of products sold 889.8 724.2 Gross profit 222.6 172.8 Selling, general and administrative expenses 135.4 98.1 Restructuring charges 3.3 3.7 Acquisition and integration related costs 5.1 2.6 Non-cash asset impairment charges 0.1 2.1 Gain on disposal of properties, plants and equipment, net (0.5) (0.9) Operating profit 79.2 67.2 Interest expense, net 30.7 11.7 Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Other (income) expense, net 1.3 (0.2) Income before income tax expense and equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net 47.3 55.7 Income tax expense 11.4 20.0 Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of tax (0.2) (0.1) Net income 36.1 35.8 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (3.8) (6.1) Net income attributable to Greif, Inc. $ 32.3 $ 29.7 Basic earnings per share attributable to Greif, Inc. common shareholders: Class A common stock $ 0.55 $ 0.51 Class B common stock $ 0.81 $ 0.75 Diluted earnings per share attributable to Greif, Inc. common shareholders: Class A common stock $ 0.55 $ 0.51 Class B common stock $ 0.81 $ 0.75 Shares used to calculate basic earnings per share attributable to Greif, Inc. common shareholders: Class A common stock 26.3 26.0 Class B common stock 22.0 22.0 Shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share attributable to Greif, Inc. common shareholders: Class A common stock 26.4 26.0 Class B common stock 22.0 22.0 GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS UNAUDITED (in millions) January 31, 2020 October 31, 2019 ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 90.8 $ 77.3 Trade accounts receivable 641.7 664.2 Inventories 370.9 358.2 Assets held by special purpose entities 50.9 Other current assets 153.3 149.3 1,307.6 1,249.0 LONG-TERM ASSETS Goodwill 1,522.1 1,517.8 Intangible assets 758.9 776.5 Assets held by special purpose entities 50.9 Operating lease assets 327.2 Other long-term assets 140.9 142.2 2,749.1 2,487.4 PROPERTIES, PLANTS AND EQUIPMENT 1,664.8 1,690.3 $ 5,721.5 $ 5,426.7 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable $ 389.8 $ 435.2 Short-term borrowings 5.3 9.2 Current portion of long-term debt 83.8 83.7 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 60.3 Current portion of liabilities held by special purpose entities 43.3 Other current liabilities 241.7 297.3 824.2 825.4 LONG-TERM LIABILITIES Long-term debt 2,719.0 2,659.0 Liabilities held by special purpose entities 43.3 Operating lease liabilities 271.4 Other long-term liabilities 666.4 686.6 3,656.8 3,388.9 REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 17.8 21.3 EQUITY Total Greif, Inc. equity 1,163.8 1,133.1 Noncontrolling interests 58.9 58.0 1,222.7 1,191.1 $ 5,721.5 $ 5,426.7 GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Net income $ 36.1 $ 35.8 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 61.3 31.3 Asset impairments 0.1 2.1 Pension settlement income (0.1) Other non-cash adjustments to net income 7.6 (2.4) Operating working capital changes (27.7) (45.5) Deferred purchase price on sold receivables (6.9) Increase (decrease) in cash from changes in other assets and liabilities (57.8) (24.0) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 19.5 (9.6) CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Purchases of properties, plants and equipment (37.5) (26.0) Purchases of and investments in timber properties (1.6) (0.9) Proceeds from the sale of properties, plants and equipment, businesses, timberland and other assets 1.5 2.3 Proceeds on insurance recoveries 0.2 Net cash used in investing activities (37.6) (24.4) CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from (payments on) debt, net 58.5 61.0 Dividends paid to Greif, Inc. shareholders (25.9) (25.7) Other (0.8) (12.3) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 31.8 23.0 Reclassification of cash to assets held for sale (0.4) Effects of exchange rates on cash (0.2) 1.7 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 13.5 (9.7) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 77.3 94.2 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 90.8 $ 84.5 GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS BY SEGMENT UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 Net sales: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services $ 568.7 $ 597.9 Paper Packaging & Services 473.7 217.3 Flexible Products & Services 63.0 75.1 Land Management 7.0 6.7 Total net sales $ 1,112.4 $ 897.0 Gross profit: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services $ 107.8 $ 98.6 Paper Packaging & Services 100.1 53.9 Flexible Products & Services 12.3 17.4 Land Management 2.4 2.9 Total gross profit $ 222.6 $ 172.8 Operating profit: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services $ 42.8 $ 23.3 Paper Packaging & Services 32.5 35.3 Flexible Products & Services 2.0 6.0 Land Management 1.9 2.6 Total operating profit $ 79.2 $ 67.2 EBITDA(6): Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services $ 60.0 $ 43.2 Paper Packaging & Services 73.0 44.0 Flexible Products & Services 3.6 7.9 Land Management 2.9 3.7 Total EBITDA $ 139.5 $ 98.8 Adjusted EBITDA(7): Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services $ 62.5 $ 48.7 Paper Packaging & Services 77.9 46.5 Flexible Products & Services 4.1 7.9 Land Management 2.9 3.2 Total Adjusted EBITDA $ 147.4 $ 106.3 (6)EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization. However, because the Company does not calculate net income by segment, this table calculates EBITDA by segment with reference to operating profit by segment, which, as demonstrated in the table of Consolidated EBITDA, is another method to achieve the same result. See the reconciliations in the table of Segment EBITDA. (7)Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, plus restructuring charges, plus acquisition and integration related costs, plus non-cash impairment charges, plus non-cash pension settlement (income) charges, less (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net. GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION CONSOLIDATED ADJUSTED EBITDA(8) UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 Net income $ 36.1 $ 35.8 Plus: Interest expense, net 30.7 11.7 Plus: Income tax expense 11.4 20.0 Plus: Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense 61.3 31.3 EBITDA $ 139.5 $ 98.8 Net income $ 36.1 $ 35.8 Plus: Interest expense, net 30.7 11.7 Plus: Income tax expense 11.4 20.0 Plus: Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Plus: Other expense, net 1.3 (0.2) Plus: Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of tax (0.2) (0.1) Operating profit $ 79.2 $ 67.2 Less: Other expense, net 1.3 (0.2) Less: Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Less: Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of tax (0.2) (0.1) Plus: Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense 61.3 31.3 EBITDA $ 139.5 $ 98.8 Plus: Restructuring charges 3.3 3.7 Plus: Acquisition and integration related costs 5.1 2.6 Plus: Non-cash asset impairment charges 0.1 2.1 Plus: Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Less: Gain on disposal of properties, plants, equipment, and businesses, net (0.5) (0.9) Adjusted EBITDA $ 147.4 $ 106.3 (8) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, plus restructuring charges, plus acquisition and integration related costs, plus non-cash impairment charges, plus non-cash pension settlement (income) charges, less (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net. GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION SEGMENT ADJUSTED EBITDA(9) UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services Operating profit 42.8 23.3 Less: Other (income) expense, net 2.6 (0.1) Less: Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of tax (0.2) (0.1) Plus: Depreciation and amortization expense 19.6 19.7 EBITDA $ 60.0 $ 43.2 Plus: Restructuring charges 1.8 3.6 Plus: Acquisition and integration related costs 0.1 Plus: Non-cash asset impairment charges 0.1 2.1 Less: (Gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment, and businesses, net 0.6 (0.3) Adjusted EBITDA $ 62.5 $ 48.7 Paper Packaging & Services Operating profit 32.5 35.3 Less: Other (income) expense, net (1.2) 0.1 Less: Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Plus: Depreciation and amortization expense 39.2 8.8 EBITDA $ 73.0 $ 44.0 Plus: Restructuring charges 1.0 0.1 Plus: Acquisition and integration related costs 5.1 2.5 Plus: Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) Less: Gain on disposal of properties, plants, equipment, net (1.1) (0.1) Adjusted EBITDA $ 77.9 $ 46.5 Flexible Products & Services Operating profit 2.0 6.0 Less: Other income, net (0.1) (0.2) Plus: Depreciation and amortization expense 1.5 1.7 EBITDA $ 3.6 $ 7.9 Plus: Restructuring charges 0.5 Adjusted EBITDA $ 4.1 $ 7.9 Land Management Operating profit 1.9 2.6 Plus: Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense 1.0 1.1 EBITDA $ 2.9 $ 3.7 Less: Gain on disposal of properties, plants, equipment, net (0.5) Adjusted EBITDA $ 2.9 $ 3.2 Consolidated EBITDA $ 139.5 $ 98.8 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA $ 147.4 $ 106.3 (9) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, plus restructuring charges, plus acquisition and integration related costs, plus non-cash impairment charges, plus non-cash pension settlement (income) charges, less (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net. However, because the Company does not calculate net income by segment, this table calculates adjusted EBITDA by segment with reference to operating profit by segment, which, as demonstrated in the table of consolidated adjusted EBITDA, is another method to achieve the same result. GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION ADJUSTED FREE CASH FLOW(10) UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 19.5 $ (9.6) Cash paid for purchases of properties, plants and equipment (37.5) (26.0) Free cash flow $ (18.0) $ (35.6) Cash paid for acquisition and integration related costs 4.1 Cash paid for acquisition and integration related ERP systems $ 0.6 $ Adjusted free cash flow $ (13.3) $ (35.6) (10)Adjusted free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less cash paid for purchases of properties, plants and equipment, plus cash paid for acquisition and integration related costs, plus cash paid for acquisition and integration related ERP systems. GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION NET INCOME, CLASS A EARNINGS PER SHARE AND TAX RATE BEFORE ADJUSTMENTS UNAUDITED (in millions, except for per share amounts) Income before Income Tax (Benefit) Expense and Equity Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates, net Income Tax (Benefit) Expense Equity Earnings Non- Controlling Interest Net Income Attributable to Greif, Inc. Diluted Class A Earnings Per Share Tax Rate Three months ended January 31, 2020 $ 47.3 $ 11.4 $ (0.2) $ 3.8 $ 32.3 $ 0.55 24.1% Gain on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net (0.5) (0.1) (0.4) (0.01) Restructuring charges 3.3 0.9 0.3 2.1 0.04 Acquisition and integration related costs 5.1 1.2 3.9 0.06 Non-cash asset impairment charges 0.1 0.1 Non-cash pension settlement income (0.1) (0.1) Excluding Adjustments $ 55.2 $ 13.4 $ (0.2) $ 4.1 $ 37.9 $ 0.64 24.3% Three months ended January 31, 2019 $ 55.7 $ 20.0 $ (0.1) $ 6.1 $ 29.7 $ 0.51 35.9% Gain on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net (0.9) (0.2) (0.1) (0.6) (0.01) Restructuring charges 3.7 0.9 2.8 0.04 Acquisition and integration related costs 2.6 0.1 2.5 0.04 Non-cash asset impairment charges 2.1 2.1 0.04 Tax net benefit resulting from the Tax Reform Act (1.8) 1.8 0.03 Excluding Adjustments $ 63.2 $ 19.0 $ (0.1) $ 6.0 $ 38.3 $ 0.65 30.1% The impact of income tax expense and non-controlling interest on each adjustment is calculated based on tax rates and ownership percentages specific to each applicable entity. GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION NET SALES TO NET SALES EXCLUDING THE IMPACT OF CURRENCY TRANSLATION UNAUDITED Three months ended January 31, (in millions) 2020 2019 Increase in Net Sales ($) Increase in Net Sales (%) Consolidated Net Sales $ 1,112.4 $ 897.0 $ 215.4 24.0% Currency Translation 5.5 N/A Net Sales Excluding the Impact of Currency Translation $ 1,117.9 $ 897.0 $ 220.9 24.6% Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services Net Sales $ 568.7 $ 597.9 $ (29.2) (4.9)% Currency Translation 4.5 N/A Net Sales Excluding the Impact of Currency Translation $ 573.2 $ 597.9 $ (24.7) (4.1)% Flexible Products & Services Net Sales $ 63.0 $ 75.1 $ (12.1) (16.1)% Currency Translation 1.1 N/A Net Sales Excluding the Impact of Currency Translation $ 64.1 $ 75.1 $ (11.0) (14.6)% GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES PROJECTED 2020 GUIDANCE RECONCILIATION ADJUSTED FREE CASH FLOW UNAUDITED Fiscal 2020 Guidance Range (in millions) Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 415.0 $ 470.0 Cash paid for purchases of properties, plants and equipment (181.0) (201.0) Free cash flow $ 234.0 $ 269.0 Cash paid for acquisition and integration related costs 10.0 15.0 Cash paid for acquisition and integration related ERP systems 21.0 21.0 Adjusted free cash flow $ 265.0 $ 305.0 GREIF, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES PROJECTED 2020 MODELING ASSUMPTIONS UNAUDITED (in millions) Fiscal 2020 Modeling Assumptions Reported at Q1 Depreciation & amortization expense $247 - $257 Interest expense, net $119 - $124 Other expense, net $2.5 - $7.5 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest $17 - $22 Tax rate excluding the impact of adjustments 27% - 31% Capital expenditures excluding cash paid for acquisition and integration related ERP systems $160 - $180 SOURCE Greif, Inc. Related Links http://www.greif.com Bengaluru, Feb 26 : Karnataka Culture Minister C.T. Ravi here on Wednesday said the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests were a conspiracy not a movement. "A lot of Bangladeshi immigrants are working in the coffee estates of the state. Ensuring enumeration of all such people will help in identifying such labourers who can be then issued work visas," said Ravi. No Indian citizen should fear the CAA, he added. Anti-CAA protests were being conspired to create divisions in the country and accused the Congress of trying to take political advantage of the prevailing situation, he added. "It's a ploy to destabilise the Narendra Modi-led government," Ravi observed. He said the Supreme Court was aware of all the issues while executing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and had directed that errors be rectified. Ravi said the Delhi riots during US President Donald Trump's visit was aimed at attracting international attention. Noting that the CAA had led to calls for equality across the country, Ravi said it was high-time the uniform civil code (UCC) be implemented. "We (BJP) have been talking about the UCC for a long time. It was in the poll manifesto for the general elections in 2014 and 2019 as well," Ravi recalled. The UCC aims to replace scriptures and religious customs-based personal laws with one set of common laws for all citizens, which affect matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance and others. Saying her case is based on sheer speculation, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a drunken Pennsylvania college student who apparently fell from a balcony after making the rounds at multiple frat parties. Savannah Ruiz-Rivera herself doesnt remember what happened before she was discovered unconscious on the ground outside a York College residence hall on Sept. 22, 2017 with spinal injuries that sent her to the hospital, U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III noted in tossing the case. So, he found, Ruiz-Riveras suit lacks the evidence required to support her contentions that the college and the fraternities and sororities where she claims to have been drinking alcohol while underage are somehow responsible for the harm she suffered. She does not allege, for example, that any of the defendants or their agents coerced her into drinking or using drugs or that they manipulated her into jumping off the balcony, nor does she allege that any of the defendants or their agents pushed her, Jones wrote. Ruiz-Rivera presented no evidence that the balcony was defective, either, the judge added. He rejected her plea to allow the case to continue so she could gather more evidence about what happened by subpoenaing the college, the frats and the sororities. That would merely be a wild goose chase, Jones found. Ruiz-Rivera cannot discover her way into a lawsuit, he wrote. As it stands, Jones concluded, Ruiz-Rivera has failed entirely to make a legally sufficient argument that her injuries were caused by the college or the Greek groups rather than her own malfeasance or inadvertence. BJP leader and former Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Wednesday alleged that riots in Delhi during US President Donald Trump's visit was a conspiracy of "anti-India forces". He was speaking to reporters after visiting the temple town of Shirdi in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country's relations with the United States has reached new heights," Bhamre said. "When US President Donald Trump arrived in India, some anti-India forces, be it from within the country or across the border, did not want him to come here," he said. "The riots in Delhi were part of a pre-meditated conspiracy", he said, appealing people to maintain peace. Hate speeches by any leader were not acceptable, the BJP leader added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi riot is following the classic communal riot pattern. First, the Hindutva leaders try to provoke Muslims. Muslims react violently. Then the police descend on the scene, often helping the rioters. At the end of the riot, you have more Muslims killed, more Muslim properties destroyed, and more Muslims arrested than Hindus. The Delhi riot is following the classic communal riot pattern. First, the Hindutva leaders try to provoke Muslims. Muslims react violently. Then the police descend on the scene, often helping the rioters. At the end of the riot, you have more Muslims killed, more Muslim properties destroyed, and more Muslims arrested than Hindus. This has been the story of almost every communal riot. A top Shiv Sena lawyer explained this to me thus: "We never begin the violence; they do. But once we are attacked, we retaliate with our full might. Naturally, they end up the losers. We are in the majority, after all.'' What the lawyer left out was their role in provoking the violence. No policeman stops them: whether the provocation is by lingering outside a mosque and throwing gulal on it during a procession, or through a barrage of inflammatory speeches. These actions are offences but when has the police been known to act on every offence? Delhi police did nothing as Kapil Mishra threatened that he and his pro-CAA followers would clear out the anti-CAA protesters whether the police did so or not in the matter of three days. Nor did they stir when the slogan "goli maaro saalon ko" was raised during his speech. Hardly surprising considering no substantive action was taken when this slogan was raised by a minister in the capital less than a month ago. Who's going to take action when the man, that the Delhi Police report to, asked Hindus to send a current through those (Muslims) protesting at Shaheen Bagh? Delhi's communal temperature was raised during that election campaign. But, notwithstanding all the hate spewed at Shaheen Bagh then, it's worth noting that apart from one individual shooter, there was no mob attack on the protesters. That means that the large number of Hindus supporting the CAA aren't inclined to harm those opposing it. Even those who felt inconvenienced by the Shaheen Bagh protest or who felt that blocking the road was wrong, were not going to take their antagonism to a physical level. That's why this riot has to be seen for what it is: an organised attack, facilitated by police inaction. Significantly, the father of a Hindu who died blamed Kapil Mishra for his death. But why single out the Delhi Police? Which Hindutva leader has been arrested for hate speech? Bal Thackeray was in 2000, for what he wrote in 1993. But the Mumbai Police were acting on the orders of the then Maharashtra Home Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who had made Thackeray's arrest his personal agenda. To be fair, the police rarely arrest any leader for his hate speech, Hindu, Muslim or Dalit. Those with political clout get away with saying anything they want. It's only those with no such clout, such as Sharjeel Imam, who get hunted down. Akbaruddin Owaisi was arrested for his infamous speech at Nirmal in 2013 only after the AIMIM withdrew support to the Congress government in then Andhra Pradesh. Till then, the government had ignored his inflammatory utterances. It was Lalu Prasad Yadav who arrested L K Advani when his hate-spewing rath entered Bihar in 1990. In his long reign as the chief minister, Lalu sent the message to his police force that he would not tolerate Hindu Muslim violence. Who's going to send that message to the Delhi police? Given all this, the Delhi police force's conduct over the last two days fits the classic riot pattern. In this communal clash, a Hindutva leader provoked Hindus into attacking Muslims, and not only did the provoked Muslims retaliate, they even drew a gun at a cop. Three Muslims and two Hindus were killed, and one cop died of gunshot wounds, but it was a barrage of stones that felled him. Another was critically hurt by stones. Angry Muslims argue that the retaliation by their community members in Delhi were acts of extreme frustration or self-defence, and cannot be judged harshly. They probably were. But the ugly reality of our secular country is that in a Hindu-Muslim riot, any violence by Muslims, even in self-defence, invites a disproportionate reaction from the police. This was evident across Mumbai in January 1993, the second phase of the post-Babri demolition riots. If the violence is against the police, then heaven help them, for the entire force avenges it. Additionally, the stereotype of the "violent Muslim attacking the poor outnumbered police'' gets strengthened among the majority community at large. Let's not forget, in every communal riot, Hindus in the affected areas see the police as allies and vice versa. Police station themselves in the Hindu area, often in a temple; Hindus feed them. Muslims simply expect the police to do their duty, alas, in vain. The history of Hindu-Muslim riots points to just one guideline for one of the parties: howsoever grave the provocation, do not react with violence. That's a near-impossible task for anyone faced with aggression by a mob backed by the police. But there are people who've done this: Medha Patkar for instance. Police have dragged her from the street by her hair in Mumbai when she was demonstrating against slum demolitions; mobs have attacked her in Gujarat because of her anti-Narmada dam agitation. But neither she nor her supporters have ever reacted violently. Her slogan is: hamla chaahe jaisa hoga, haath hamara nahin uthega. Rare is the leader who succeeds in making non-violence a policy among followers, as Patkar has. But look at the women at Shaheen Bagh. They didn't react even when a gunman shot at them. And they were leaderless. That's one of the reasons the desperate attempts to instigate riots before the Delhi elections failed. Elections were not only held, but the BJP was trounced. Imagine the party's frustration. The Shaheen Bagh women can be an example to learn from. But besides this superhuman commitment to non-violence in the face of provocation, there's another way to force the police to change. The late social reformer Asghar Ali Engineer tried for years to rid the Mumbai Police of their anti-Muslim prejudice by holding workshops with them, breaking the stereotypes they held. This too needs to be done by citizens, since no government has ever done it. There is yet another way: making the police pay for their deliberate neglect of duty. They've never had to, that's why they keep repeating it. Take them to court. Today with videos being made at every step, it's not impossible to provide evidence of the way they protect rioters and torment victims. Only, we not only have to convince victims' families to take this courageous step, but also make sure to support them all the way till the end of the legal process. Again, it is citizens who'll have to do this, for no government will. Another near-impossible task. But is there a choice? The Class 12 English exam on Thursday has been postponed in the northeast and parts of east Delhi in view of the turbulent situation due to violence, according to officials. "Considering request of Delhi government and to avoid inconvenience to students, staff and parents, the board has decided to postpone the exam for class 12 in North East Part of Delhi," Secretary Anurag Tripathi said. The exam has been postponed at 73 centres in northeast Delhi and seven centres in east Delhi. "However, the exam in rest parts of Delhi shall be conducted as per scheduled. The next date of exam for affected students will be notified shortly," the official said. At least 22 people were killed and over 180 injured in communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi over the past three days. Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope arrived in court in Paris today for the start of a trial in which he is accused of embezzling public money by creating a fake job for his wife. The allegations ended Fillon's hopes for the French presidency when first published in January 2017 in the satirical and investigative weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaine. It emerged that Fillon's Welsh-born wife had been paid as his parliamentary assistant between 1998 and 2013 although there is little documentary evidence that she did any such work. Although she was paid up to 10,000 euros per month, she had no official access card to enter the French parliament. Fillon denies the allegations and maintains that his wife did real work for him in his rural constituency of Sarthe. Penelope Fillon, who is also charged in the case, had previously given interviews in which she professed not to have been involved in her husband's political life. Parliament could seek a million euros The Fillons and a third defendant, Marc Joulard, who stood in for Fillon in parliament when he was a cabinet minister and also hired Penelope Fillon as an assistant, all face up to ten years in prison. If found guilty, they may also face a hefty bill. France's National Assembly has joined the case as a civil party and could seek over one million euros in compensation. The Chinese Government is courting the support of all countries to help fight the deadly coronavirus. The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang says with support and understanding, a cure will be found for the virus also known as Covid-19. The virus which has killed over 8,000 people in China and hundreds across the world is causing fear and panic in many countries. Speaking at a tour of some Chinese funded projects in Accra, Shi Ting Wang was optimistic a solution to the epidemic will be found. A friend in need is a friend indeed. We support each other. We've supported each other before with the construction in the development of the economy and at this difficult time, we've also received support from Ghanaian friends. I believe that with the goodwill and support from Ghana and the international community, Chinese people united as one will triumph over coronavirus very soon, he noted. Chinese govt keep Ghanaians safe The Ambassador had earlier confirmed that the Chinese government is doing all it can to protect Ghanaian students currently studying in China. Ambassador Shi Ting Wang said Ghana's Foreign Affairs Ministry is in constant touch with the Chinese government to ensure that the students are safe. The Chinese Ambassador also denied media reports that claimed that Ghanaian students have been left stranded following the outbreak. Coronavirus outside china The death toll from the novel coronavirus is now more than 2,700 worldwide, with the majority being in mainland China. Italy has in recent days become Europe's worst-hit country, with more than 300 cases of the novel coronavirus and 11 deaths. The European nation has put some cities and towns on lockdown in this regard with 11 towns being in Lombardy and Veneto. Italy is one of three global hot-spots outside China alongside Iran and South Korea. In Iran, less than 100 people have officially been infected but it is feared that the numbers are more alarming. More than 1,000 people have been infected in South Korea with 10 deaths. The novel coronavirus has been declared a global health emergency. But the World Health Organization has warned that countries should prepare for a possible pandemic. There have been more than 80,000 global cases. citinewsroom Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have clashed sharply over Iraq and spending in a South Carolina debate, drawing a rebuke from rival John Edwards for their "squabbling". With tensions rising in the Democratic battle for the presidential nomination, Obama questioned the accuracy of Clinton's recent criticism of his spending plans to stimulate the economy and for his past statements in opposition to the Iraq war. "That is simply not true," he said of her criticism that he could not pay for his economic stimulus proposals. In a TV interview that aired earlier in the day, Obama criticised Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, for making untrue attacks on his record. He said the criticism was "troubling" but he was ready to fight back. When Obama mentioned an attack by Clinton's husband, she said: "Well, he's not here." The state may consider an independent legislation to curb the sale of scheduled drugs online, if the proposed law by the central government fails to deal with such cases adequately. The state has also announced strengthening of vigilance to ensure curbing of marketing of scheduled drugs online. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) minister Rajendra Shingane told the legislative Assembly on Wednesday: FDA is a Central act and the amendment to it comes under the purview of the Centre. We are expecting the amendment by the Centre in the next couple of months. After looking at the amended law, if need be, we will bring our own law to ensure no illegal sale takes place. The issue of illegal purchase of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits by young girls online was raised in the lower house by Amin Patel, Vikas Thakre, Bharti Lavekar and others. The minister said the medicines which are not allowed to be sold without a doctors prescription are banned for online sale. MTP kits, sleeping pills and heavy antibiotics are not allowed to be sold online. We have found large-scale operators from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar selling them to customers in Maharashtra. We have written to the respective state requesting them to regulate it. We have decided to upgrade the vigilance cell, he said. FDA, Maharashtra has registered 66 cases in the past five years, followed by cancellation of licences of 29 dealers and suspension of 15 such licences. Around 120 passengers including 30 foreign nationals from Indias friendly countries - including the US, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Maldives and South Africa onboard an Indian rescue flight from China will land in Delhi in the wee hours of Thursday, said officials. The passengers have been evacuated from coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan and will land around 4 am in Delhi on February 27, said the official, who didnt wish to be named. All the evacuees will be kept at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) quarantine facility at Chhawla, New Delhi, which has been kept ready for the purpose. The official quoted above said the passengers will go through thermal screening at the airport Isolation bay by a team of ITBP doctors. India had earlier this month evacuated seven Maldivian nationals from Wuhan along with Indian citizens and the foreign affairs ministry said that it had offered to evacuate citizens from other neighbouring countries as well. An Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft had departed for China on Wednesday to deliver 15 tonnes of medical assistance and to evacuate stranded Indians at Wuhan. Last week, India and China had a terse exchange over clearance for IAFs C-17 Globemaster aircraft with New Delhi saying the permission was being deliberately held up and Beijing accusing India of blocking trade and medical supplies in violation of the WHO guidelines. India had denied the allegations and said it was acting in accordance with the WHO guidelines. Finally, the plane carrying assistance was cleared and it landed in Wuhan on Wednesday evening, confirmed external affairs minister S Jaishankar. The flight was scheduled to reach Delhi airport from Wuhan around 4am on Thursday. This assistance has been provided in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China and the request by that country to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment, the ministry said. On their return, the fresh batch of evacuees is likely to remain in isolation for 14 days at the ITBP-run quarantine facility on the outskirts of Delhi. Earlier this month, two Air India aircraft evacuated 647 Indians from Wuhan. They were quarantined for 14-days and discharged by February 18 after found not infected. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8 to express the solidarity of the Indian government with its Chinese counterpart and offered assistance in the hour of need as a gift. Following a spike in the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in destinations outside of China, the Indian government on Wednesday issued a fresh travel advisory, cautioning people to avoid non-essential travel to South Korea, Iran and Italy. This is in addition to an advisory against travel to China, Hong Kong and Singapore, which are countries that have reported local transmissions of the infection. On Saturday, India expanded thermal screening of passengers to include people returning from six more countries--Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea -- at the countrys airports and major seaports. According to the earlier directive of January 17, passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore were being screened using thermal scanners. India has so far detected three confirmed COVID-19 cases, all in Kerala, and all have been discharged from hospital after being cured. Russia on Wednesday warned against travel to Italy, South Korea and Iran so as to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Noting the spike in cases in the three countries, consumer safety regulator Rospotrebnadzor urged Russians to avoid travel there "until the epidemiological situation stabilised". More than 1,100 people have been infected in South Korea -- the hardest-hit area outside of China -- and 11 people died. Iran has emerged as another hotspot, with 15 deaths out of nearly 100 reported infections. Italy has recorded 11 deaths and more than 300 coronavirus cases. The disease has now reached dozens of countries, with Austria, Croatia and Switzerland the latest to declare cases. The virus has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 78,000 in China where it originated. Russia repatriated eight passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, three of whom were infected. Two Chinese citizens in Russia were also infected and treated in Siberia. Moscow has imposed a near blanket ban on Chinese visitors over coronavirus fears and has recommended against travel to China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Strategic Long Range Cannon For strategic fires, the Army is investing in hypersonics research, along with experiments on a strategic long-range cannon, which conceivably could go upwards of 1,800 km. US Armys Strategic Long-Range Cannon (SLRC) is intended to shoot out to 1,000 miles or more. The limited literature on this gun is long on heavy breathing and short on details. The Strategic Long Range Cannon, a long-term development project for a gun with a range of over 1,500 kilometers or more, should not be confused with the unrelated Long Range Cannon, a near-term [in under three years] development project for a gun with a range of at least 70 kilometers. The Long Range Land Attack Projectile, a round specially designed for the Zumwalt destroyers and then promptly cancelled over cost concerns, had a range of about 85 miles. Even the 16-inch guns of the Iowa-class battleships had a range of only 23 miles. The artwork associated with this program is remarkably sparse. One artist's concept revealed in February 2020 suggested that the gun would resemble the 280mm M65 "Atomic Annie" Atomic Cannon. This artwork also indicated that the SLRC projectile would strongly resemble conventional artillery projectiles, which probably it would not, so there is no particular reason to give much credence to the depiction of the gun itself, though something is better than nothing. In any event, the Strategic Long Range Cannon would undoubtedly be by far the largest artillery piece in the American arsenal, and mobility [hence survivability] would have to be an important consideration in assessing the system's operational effectiveness. For the past two centuries, counter-battery fire - artillery shooting at artillery - has remained a fundamental battlefield tactic. In recent decades, highly-mobile self propelled artillery platforms have perfected "shoot and scoot" tactics in which the artillery platforms displace from the original firing location before counter-battery fire can home in on the original firing emplacement. Such displacement tactics would probably not be an option for the big SLRC platform, which might require other approaches, such as active defense, to maintain battlefield survivability. The greater mobility of artillery rocket launchers - not having heavy and expensive barrel and recoil mechanisms, is one reason that rockets have found favor over guns for longer range fires. Left unsaid is where such guns might be deployed, and the targets against which they might be employed. Presumably Poland, the Baltics, and South Korea would be candidate fielding sites, though Poland would probably be a much easer sell than South Korea. And it might be presumed that the targets would be in Russia and China, though it is far easier to describe operational objectives against Russian targets than against Chinese. Such strategic deep fires would see land-based artillery used against targets presently reserved for airstrikes and cruise missiles but the Army see this as synergy, not redundancy. The Strategic Long Range Cannon is an S&T program independent of the other listed programs that follow. The Strategic Long Range Cannon will provide a surface to surface strategic fires capability to complement a Long Range Hypersonic Weapon to deliver a projectile at strategic ranges. Initial ballistic testing began in FY19, with full technology demonstration in FY23 and first unit equipped occurring in FY25. The U.S. Army appears to have revealed the first image of the newest Strategic Long Range Cannon in a set of presentation material revealed during US-UK Modernization Demonstration Event. The Linkedin post was shared by the U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory, said that the U.S. Army hosted a US-UK Modernization Demonstration Event Feb. 20 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, to identify capability collaboration to the British Army. Officials from Army Futures Command, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, its centers and lab, briefed interoperability to minimize risks of #modernization divergence, said in the post. Also was posted some photos on which can replace the posters with information about the long-range cannon that can shoot a projectile 1,000 nautical miles. The FY20 Budget included funding for strategic long-range cannon with a range that will exceed 1,000 miles. The Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC) is comprised of a weapon, prime mover and trailer, projectile and propelling charge capable of delivering massed fires at strategic ranges for multi-domain operations. The SLRC field battery will be included 4 special platforms with cannons and heavy equipment transporters. Also added that the crew of super cannon is 8 personnel per platform. It should not be imagined that the SLRC is simply an enlarged version of a regular cannon. It should not be thought that this is a successor to the Paris Gun or Gerald Bull's big guns, in which a large cannon fires a passive projectile some great distance. Rather, the Strategic Long Range Cannon fires a self-propelled projectile, providing the initial boost needed to get the projectile up to multi-Mach speeds where the on-board propulsion system can initiate self-sustained flight. This booster function in other systems in typically performed by a solid-rocket motor booster. Whether the substitution of a large gun for a small rocket motor is a net gain has yet to be established. Boat tails , are a mechanical way to help reduce the aerodynamic drag at the projectile base. Cannons typically fire simple projectiles. The rear or base end of projectiles are usually either flat or tapered. When firing a projectile at a low angle and a low speed (i.e., short distances), the projectile needs base drag to fly correctly and to prevent it from tumbling out of control. Such a projectile might have a tapered base known as a boat tail. , are a mechanical way to help reduce the aerodynamic drag at the projectile base. Cannons typically fire simple projectiles. The rear or base end of projectiles are usually either flat or tapered. When firing a projectile at a low angle and a low speed (i.e., short distances), the projectile needs base drag to fly correctly and to prevent it from tumbling out of control. Such a projectile might have a tapered base known as a boat tail. A base bleed is another way to reduce base drag. A base bleed is a gas generator that operates similar to a rocket motor. The base bleed fills the aerodynamic void created behind the projectile with combustion gases, thereby reducing the base drag. The combustion gases of the base bleed produce, in effect, a very long boat tail. By reducing the base drag, the base bleed allows the projectile to fly further. For long distances, then, the base bleed is preferred. is another way to reduce base drag. A base bleed is a gas generator that operates similar to a rocket motor. The base bleed fills the aerodynamic void created behind the projectile with combustion gases, thereby reducing the base drag. The combustion gases of the base bleed produce, in effect, a very long boat tail. By reducing the base drag, the base bleed allows the projectile to fly further. For long distances, then, the base bleed is preferred. A rocket assisted projectile can considerably increase the range of a gun used to fire projectiles, or other ammunition rounds, by the use of a rocket motor to impart propulsive forces. Such a rocket motor is usually rigidly affixed to the projectile, and the gases evolved from the ignited propellant in the rocket motor provide augmenting propulsion efficiency. Ignition of the rocket motor can be accomplished after the missile leaves the gun barrel. The range and acceleration potential of these rocket assisted projectiles is rather limited due to the small amount of fuel which can be carried and the relatively low specific impulse which can be produced by a rocket motor in comparison to an air breathing ramjet or scramjet propulsion cycle. can considerably increase the range of a gun used to fire projectiles, or other ammunition rounds, by the use of a rocket motor to impart propulsive forces. Such a rocket motor is usually rigidly affixed to the projectile, and the gases evolved from the ignited propellant in the rocket motor provide augmenting propulsion efficiency. Ignition of the rocket motor can be accomplished after the missile leaves the gun barrel. The range and acceleration potential of these rocket assisted projectiles is rather limited due to the small amount of fuel which can be carried and the relatively low specific impulse which can be produced by a rocket motor in comparison to an air breathing ramjet or scramjet propulsion cycle. An ramjet projectile typically comprise a centralized tubular design with an internal mid-section constituting a combustion chamber annularly lined with solid fuel for effecting thrust augmentation, or with injectors for liquid propellant. The margin of superiority of ramjet missiles to rockets increases rapidly as missile speed increases. To provide equivalent performance to a Mach 7 supersonic combustion ramjet vehicle at sea level, a rocket would have to have roughly three times as much weight. Such solid fuel ramjet tubular projectiles are typically shot from a cannon, utilizing a sabot to prevent the exploding gases within the cannon's barrel from escaping through the bore of the ramjet tubular projectile. A cannon-fired missile typically operates in a series of steps. A first launching charge provides the pressure required to eject the missile from a gun barrel in a desired direction. After this discharge step, the missile initiates a propulsion system, such as a propulsion force comes from an engine contained in the missile body. After the missile is launched, the missile may travels for a distance as a ballistic projectile without any self-propelled force. At some time after firing, the missile may fire the engine to initiate self-propelled flight. Engines used in missile design include rocket engines, scram-jet [supersonic combustion ram jet], ram-jet, gas turbine engines, and pulse jet engines, among others. Operation of a gas turbine or other air-breathing engine may require that the missile provide those systems typical of scram-jet operation, including for example, an air flow system from the exterior region of the missile to an engine inlet. Thus, designs for cannon-fired missiles often call for openings in the missile body that allow air to be pulled from the exterior of the missile and into the turbine engine section. In typical turbine engine operation, the air (or a portion of the air) that is pulled into the scram-jet engine section is then compressed, mixed with fuel, ignited, and discharged through a nozzle section to propel the missile. A scramjet system launched from a light gas gun for scramjet propulsion testing and experiments in a closed test chamber was documented in 1968 by H. H. King and O. P. Prachar in the Air Force Aero Propulsion Laboratory Technical Report AFAPL-TR-68-9. This study represents the only known attempt to launch a scramjet-shaped projectile from a gun barrel, and was conducted to investigate issues pertaining to launch and acceptable free flight of an annular combustor scramjet model. The scramjet model was too small to include a fuel system, and was therefore limited to unfueled launches to verify structural integrity and aerodynamic stability. A missile structure, and particularly those missile structures associated with cannon-fired missiles, may be subjected to high G forces during launching, including set back and balloting forces. Additionally, post-launching actions, such as air guide deployment and engine start-up, may further stress the missile structure. During flight missiles may also encounter the general turbulence and stresses associated with projectile flight. However, openings in the missile skin, such as an opening to allow air flow from the exterior of the missile to the interior of the missile, may present points of weakness in the missile structure. Space and weight are often important factors in turbine engine design. This minimal engine weight then allows, among other advantages, for the range of the missile to be extended. For Mach numbers above 5, the main advantage of scramjet propulsion is that supersonic velocities within the combustion chamber are accompanied by lower static temperatures, pressures, and reduced total pressure losses. By reducing combustion product dissociation reduced temperatures increase combustion efficiency, reduced pressures decrease loads on engine structure, and reduced total pressure losses (entropy gains) increase the flow energy available for thrust production. Greater thrust and acceleration capability can be achieved by increasing missile diameter, whereas greater range can be achieved by increasing missile length and fuel capacity for a given diameter; trade-offs between length and diameter within a given weight or volume limitation can be made to satisfy the most important mission specification as required. The projectile includes a forebody having an air compression surface, an engine assembly disposed in a mid-region of the body and including an encompassing cowl disposed about the circumference of the body mid-region, and a nozzle section disposed to the rear of the engine assembly. The projectile assembly also preferably includes a sabot or container-like shell which encircles the rearward portion of the nozzle section, and protects that region of the projectile from the high pressure gases generated by the gun in which the projectile sits until it is fired from the gun. The cowl leading edge portion is configured to cooperate with the external surface of the projectile to capture the air which has been compressed by, and is leaving, the compression surface of the projectile body. The facing surfaces of the cowl and the body are configured to define the region between an internal inlet, isolator and combustor in which takes place further compression of the air, introduction of fuel, and expansion of the combusted air-and-fuel products. The rear end portion of the cowl is configured to direct the exiting combusted air-and-fuel mixture over the nozzle section of the projectile. A large number of parameters impact the specific impulse (Isp, or thrust per pound of propellant) performance of ramjet and scramjet systems. They include, but are not limited to, the forebody and inlet contraction ratios, the inlet efficiency, the fuel mixing efficiency, the combustion efficiency, and the nozzle efficiency. The purpose of the inlet is to capture a desired quantity of air flow and deliver it to the combustor at a desired pressure and Mach number with a minimum of entropy producing losses. The technology and parameters necessary to successfully design and operate an efficient supersonic inlet are well-known but difficult to capture in a single design. The mass flow captured by the inlet compared to the drag of the vehicle must be sufficiently large that a net thrust can be expected across the entire Mach number range of operation for achievable values of ramjet or scramjet Isp performance. The isolator (also known as a constant area diffuser) is located between the inlet and the combustor entrance, and is necessary to adjust flow static pressure from that of the inlet exit to the higher combustor pressure downstream during ramjet and early scramjet ("dual-mode") operation. When combustor pressure rise is large and inlet Mach numbers low, as in ramjet operation, boundary layer separation in the combustor can lead to inlet interaction and engine unstart. An isolator permits a shock train to develop between the inlet and combustor with a near normal shock static pressure rise without any upstream inlet interaction. The length of the isolator is a critical design consideration in carrying out this function. The combustor provides the physical domain for injecting a liquid or gaseous fuel into high velocity air and mixing the fuel and air for combustion. The fluid and chemical phenomena present in the combustor are extremely complex and include the effects of laminar and turbulent mixing of fuel injection jets with boundary layers and core flows, and the finite rate chemical kinetics of the exothermic combustion reactions. Fuel ignition and flameholding are also important issues. Some of the typical design parameters are the fuel injection geometry, the mixing enhancement devices, and the length of the combustor required to achieve the high mixing and combustion efficiencies necessary for high Isp performance across the Mach number range of interest. Fuel injection location and mixing rate (i.e., distribution of heat release) is also important for controlling if and where flow choking (Mach 1) occurs in the combustor. Fuel is generally injected aft in ramjet mode, both fore and aft in dual-mode (combined supersonic and subsonic combustion), and forward in scramjet mode. The nozzle or expansion system is critical to the performance of the projectile engine because it produces thrust by accelerating the high static pressure flow exiting the combustor to lower pressure and higher velocity (i.e., high momentum). Typically composed of internal and external nozzles, the objective is to expand the high pressure flow to the lowest pressure possible using a shape that minimizes the combination of friction losses, chemical recombination losses, and flow divergence (angularity) losses. The ratio of the nozzle expansion area to the inlet capture area and the ratio of inlet mass flow to nonflowpath drag are critical figures of merit in designing a system which produces a flowpath thrust that exceeds the nonflowpath drag and therefore produces acceleration. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Handwritten posters allegedly put up by Maoists, calling for a "revolt" against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), have surfaced in a village near here on Wednesday. The posters, which were found pasted at Ambayathod this morning, flayed the central and state governments over the amended Citizeship law and called for a "joint action" by the Dalit, Tribal and Maoist groups. The posters, in the name of Western Ghats Special Zone Committee of the CPI (Maoist), also cautioned against the "communal agenda" of "fundamentalist organisations" such as Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the backdrop of anti-CAA protests. "Resist the attempts of PFI and SDPI to implement their fundamentalist communal agenda by making use of the communist-Maoist and Dalit organisations," it read in Malayalam. The Special branch of Kerala police has started an investigation into the matter. The poster was found in the morning and we were informed by the locals. It's mainly against the CAA, police said adding investigation has begun. The poster also targeted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his stand on the UAPA cases and alleged he was hand-in- glove with the Centre. It further claimed the letter sent by Vijayan to the Centre seeking to transfer the case against the two students who were charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for the suspected Maoist links, back to the Kerala police was an attempt to hoodwink the people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) I want to send a message to all Republicans seeking to interfere with the Democratic presidential primary, Kimpson said as he introduced legislation that would force those who cast ballots in this years presidential primary to do so again for the same party in four years. If you vote in the Democratic primary, youre stuck with the Democratic Party until the next presidential election. Youll be with us for a while. A currach built by migrants and inscribed with the Ogham names of rivers in their native countries has been launched on the river Lee. The traditional Dunfanaghy-style currach was built at the Meitheil Mara community boat building yard in Cork city by a multicultural team of people drawn from Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Turkey and England. They have christened their craft Spider because they said it looks like a spider on the water. But also a spider moves well when all its legs move together, just like a rowing team, Meitheal Maras Bernadine Carroll said. The aim was to learn new skills, connect with Irish culture, and most importantly, connect with each other. This ties well with the legacy of Meitheal Mara, which has long been a welcoming and supportive place for personal wellbeing and recovery. Ahmed Usmanjidda and Busani Moyo at the launch of the Meitheal Mara currach, Spider funded by Community Foundation of Ireland and celebrating the migrant community at Lapps Quay, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan The boat is the latest migrant-built craft to join the Meitheal Mara fleet thanks to a programme funded by the Community Foundation of Ireland, which was set up to provide a safe intercultural space for migrants and refugees, with a focus on mental wellbeing. As this latest group were building Spider, they learned about the ancient Irish script, Ogham, and created a design for the boat using Ogham. The Ogham represent the names of rivers and bodies of water in each boat builders country of origin - including the Thames in London and the Zambezi and Kana rivers in Zimbabwe. One participant who grew up in northern Zimbabwe said the Kana river supplies water to his village. Its the place where we had adventures as boys and learned how to swim. It connects to the Shangan river, which goes into the Zambezi river, so the three rivers from Zimbabwe on the boat connect, he said. Ms Carroll said the inscriptions are more than just names - they represent stories and memories that will forever connect person and place. The place where one person learned to swim, the place where another person had to flee - but when the boat touches the water, and as each oar makes its stroke, those places will connect with the Lee, with Cork and to their new place, their new community, she said. Irina Kondratenko and cultural project manager, Bernardine Carroll of the Meitheal Mara at the launch of their currach, Spider funded by Community Foundation of Ireland and celebrating the migrant community at Lapps Quay, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan The boat will be used by the Badiireacht currach rowing club, which has members from all over the world, and which includes a special programme for young people living in direct provision here. We hope this boat sees lots of journeys, creates wonderful memories and continues to bring people together, Ms Carroll said. When you see our lovely Spider making its way upriver, think of all the places she represents, and how all those places and stories work together to create the diverse, multi-cultural Cork we know and love. The project was supported by The Lantern Project, Welcome English, the Cork Migrant Centre, Le Cheile Family Resource Centre and the Mallow St Vincent de Paul. 2019 Honda Insight Hybrid Sedan A sizeable concern for many modern drivers is the idea of fuel efficiency in considering how often they will have to refill their vehicles gas tank and the accompanying cost of that venture. To attract drivers sharing that concern, the Atlantic Honda dealership has created a Fuel Efficient section of their new vehicle inventory. The Atlantic Honda inventory considers a vehicle as Fuel Efficient if it has a combined fuel economy EPA rating of 25 MPG or higher. With that consideration and set standards, the following new Honda models in stock at Atlantic Honda are considered Fuel Efficient vehicles. A 2020 Honda Accord Touring 2.0T is available from a starting MSRP of $37,030 and can be leased for $434 a month or financed for $603 a month. A 2020 Honda CR-V EX is available from a starting MSRP of $30,180 and can be leased for $309 a month or financed for $510 a month. A 2020 Honda Fit EX is available from a starting MSRP of $19,990 and can be leased for $261 a month or financed for $338 a month. A 2020 Honda Insight EX is available from a starting MSRP of $25,265 and can be leased for $316 a month or financed for $427 a month. Many additional new Honda models can be found in the Fuel Efficient section of the Atlantic Honda inventory. For additional information on fuel-efficient Honda models available at the Atlantic Honda dealership, car-shoppers in Long Island can browse through the dealership inventory online or in-person. Drivers in the Long Island area of New York can also contact the Atlantic Honda staff to learn more about additional specification information on current Honda models. Atlantic Honda team members can be reached at the number 631-665-0005, through online messaging on the dealership website or with a visit to the store location. The Atlantic Honda dealership is located at 1375 Sunshine Hwy., Bay Shore, New York 11706. Achombang Paul, City Mayor of Bamenda Atia Azohnwi Achombang Tambeng Paul was Tuesday, February 25, 2020 elected City Mayor of the Bamenda City Council following a council session as of right that held at the MINEPAT Conference Hall Up-Station Bamenda. Achombang sailed through unopposed after the candidacy of Prince Tse Louis Angwafo of the Bamenda II Council was turned down by Mooh Simon Emile, Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam. The lone SDF-run council, the Bamenda III Council had its councillors behind Prince Tse Louis Angwafo. But the supervisory authority argued in favour of Achombang said to have received the blessing of Yaounde authorities. When the SDF councillors nominated Prince Tse Louis Angwafo, the SDO quickly objected stating that the SDF had no right to nominate a candidate within the CPDM and that nominating a candidate from the CPDM was an attempt by the opposition party to meddle in the internal affairs of the ruling party. After about two hours of disagreements, Prince Angwafo took the floor to ask where Achombang Paul was nominated as candidate and endorsed by Yaounde when they the councillors were not aware. His words: I do not know of any conclave where a CPDM candidate was chosen. With due respect sir, Yaounde cannot continue with this hierarchical dictatorship of imposing candidates on people. If he is the choice of the people, why are the people in disagreement? We are here to vote a city mayor for the city of Bamenda and the mayor is to be voted by councillors, not Yaounde, so why are we looking at it from partisan politics. The SDO should have invited political parties here if we must look at it in terms of partisan politics and not invite councillors. By the way, why are you so scared of the ballot box? Sir, I beg of you to allow the people; the councillors here present to give me a sanction vote through the ballot box. The SDF councillors would later stage a walkout, leaving councillors from the CPDM-run Bamenda I and Bamenda II Councils to elect Achombang who stood unopposed. When the SDF councillors returned, it was to participate in the election of the Deputy City Mayors. The CPDMs Ndoh David Chi, a native of Chomba in Bamenda II was elected first deputy City Mayor while SDFs Lucas Ngu Afong was chosen as second deputy City Mayor. Coronavirus cases on US soil have now risen to 63 after the second 'unknown origin' case to hit the US was confirmed in California on Friday. The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department confirmed that an older adult woman tested positive for coronavirus Thursday night in Santa Clara County, just 90 miles from the first unknown origin case confirmed in Solano County on Wednesday. The latest case is a woman who has chronic health conditions and who had initially been taken to hospital for a respiratory illness. She had not recently returned from a foreign country, and had not been in contact with another confirmed case. This followed the addition of two more Diamond Princess cruise evacuees and another American who tested positive on Wednesday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the positive test results of an additional six cruise evacuees, including four that had already been announced by local health departments. Sixty people in the US now have coronavirus, including 45 people evacuated from Wuhan or the Diamond Princess cruise ship At least five of the new patients were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship last week. They were then transported to three different quarantine sites: military bases in California and Texas and the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Global cases have now surged past 82,000, with well over 2,800 deaths - though the vast majority of fatalities have still occurred in China, where the outbreak began. The announcement comes after CDC officials warned Americans to prepare for the infection to spread, despite President Trump's reassurances that the virus is 'under control' in the US. On Wednesday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar dismissed claims that President Trump was considering appointing an epidemic czar to replace him and oversee the US's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. President Trump announced Wednesday morning that he would hold a press briefing about coronavirus at 6pm that evening, after lawmakers criticized his administration's response. Another two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed among American passengers of the Diamond Princess Cruise ship who were evacuated from Japan earlier this month (pictured) A total of 60 Americans now have coronavirus, but 45 of those cases are in people held in quarantines after evacuation from Wuhan or the cruise, while only a small number were detected in the US after traveling to China. The source of one infection remains unclear The CDC has reported 14 cases in the country and 45 cases among people evacuated from the cruise ship and the city of Wuhan in China. The agency's website does not yet reflect the 60th case, announced Wednesday by Secretary Azar. So far, only two cases of human-to-human transmission of coronavirus have occurred in the US, but CDC officials believe it's no longer a matter of 'if' but 'when' the virus will be active in US communities. The CDC's point person on the coronavirus outbreak, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases Dr Nancy Messonnier advised parents to talk to their kids' schools about 'teleschooling' in the event the event of quarantines or class cancellations amid an outbreak. She's already called her own children's schools. 'I told my children that they are not at risk now, but we as a family need to prepare for significant disruption in our lives,' Dr Messonnier told reporters in a Tuesday press briefing. CDC officials told Americans to expect US coronavirus cases to rise after the repatriation of the passengers of the cruise ship (pictured), which had the greatest number outside China It's somewhat reassuring, however, that the new cases for which details have been released are among the cruise ship evacuees. The number of people diagnosed in the US - without being repatriated - had held steady at 14 for weeks. Another two people who were among among the 800-some Americans repatriated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, have also tested positive for coronavirus. This week's additional cases among evacuees may have come to little surprise to the CDC, which advised against letting 14 American Diamond Princess passengers whose coronavirus tests came back positive as they were about to board the evacuation flights to the US continue on the cargo planes. State Department officials ultimately overrode the health officials on the ground in Japan, where the ship had been quarantined. Of the 328 evacuated people, 13 'high risk' passengers were taken on to Nebraska's high-grade quarantine. CDC officials previously said they expected to see additional cases among the cruise ship evacuees, and diagnoses have indeed rolled in. Meanwhile, LAX airport and travelers are on high alert after a flight attendant on a Korean Air flight there from South Korea, where cases have surged to over 1,200 in a matter of days and one US soldier on Camp Carroll military base has been diagnosed with coronavirus. The White House Tuesday requested an additional $2.5 billion in funding for the coronavirus response. Secretary Azar told the Senate Appropriations Subcomittee on Tuesday that the money would go to covering the costs of housing and quarantining Americans on military bases, improved surveillance, vaccine, treatment and diagnostic development, and ensuring that the government has a stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE). Azar estimated that about 300 million N95 face masks would be needed to protect American health care workers if the outbreak spreads in the US. Subcommittee slammed the HHS for having secret briefings with lawmakers and accused Azar and the White House of submitting a 'low-ball' budget request with precious little detail. Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. A stiff mid-foot is essential for withstanding excessive force when pushing off on the ground for walking and running The arch along the length of the foot was believed to be responsible for mid-foot stiffness. Now, a research collaboration between the University of Warwick and two other universities has illustrated the greater importance of a lesser studied foot arch - the transverse arch. Our research opens new ways to study the foot for future researchers on foot health. Even the definitions of flatfoot are based upon the longitudinal arch and do not consider the transverse arch. Our work throws these standard practices into question but more work is needed to know how to update them. Walking and running subjects our feet to forces in excess of body weight. The longitudinal arch of the feet was thought to be the reason the feet do not deform under such load. However, researchers from the University of Warwick, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Japan and Yale University have illustrated that the transverse arch may be more important for this stiffness. Past theories of the foot stiffness look at the longitudinal arch, however in the paper 'Stiffness of the human foot and evolution of the transverse arch' published today, the 26th of February in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of Warwick working in collaboration with Yale University and OIST Graduate University, propose the transverse arch may play an equally important role. The collaboration found that the transverse arch is a bigger source of foot stiffness than what was found due to the longitudinal arch in previous work. They also discovered that the transverse arched evolved to become almost human-like over 3.5 million years ago. This collaboration between Dr Shreyas Mandre, from the Department of Maths at the University of Warwick, Professor Mahesh Bandi, from the Nonlinear and Non-equilibrium Physics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Professor Madhusudhan Venkadesan, from Yale University was funded by a Young Investigator award by the Human Frontiers Science Program. VIDEO HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyiX0Fb-Lfw The authors say that this research motivates further work into the role of the transverse arches in the disciplines of podiatry and evolutionary anthropology. These insights could also inspire new designs for prosthetic and robotic feet. The role of the transverse arch may be understood in simpler terms by looking at a thin paper sheet. When the short edge is held flat, the sheet is floppy and droops under a little weight. But curl the edge a little and even 100 times as much weight is not excessive. "Flat thin objects like paper sheets bend easily, but are much difficult to stretch," Dr. Mandre explains. "The transverse curvature of the sheet engages its transverse stretching when attempting to bend it. This coupling of bending and stretching due to curvature is the principle underlying the stiffening role of the transverse arch." But because the foot serves multiple mechanical functions, its structure is more complicated than the paper sheet. Therefore, "flattening" the foot to test the hypothesis of curvature-induced stiffening may have unidentified confounding variables. To overcome this difficulty, the researchers ingeniously disrupted the underlying principle while keeping the transverse arch intact. "Understanding of the underlying principle enabled us to build mechanical mimics of the foot comprising springs that imitated the elastic tissue of the foot. Disrupting the transversely oriented springs in these mimics had the same effect as flattening them," explains Ali Yawar, a co-author of the study. VIDEO HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adt3sH9O_vE "We disrupted the underlying principle of curvature-induced stiffening in human cadaveric feet by transecting the transverse tissue, which reduced the mid-foot stiffness by nearly half," said Carolyn Eng, another co-author of the article. In comparison, experiments in the 1980's on disrupting the stiffening mechanism due to the longitudinal arch only showed a reduction in stiffness by about 25%. This research also injects new interpretation of the fossil record of human ancestral species, especially pertaining to the emergence of bipedalism. The researchers formulated a measure of the transverse arch to accounts for variations in the length and thickness of the feet. They used the measure to compare related species such as the great apes, human ancestral species and some distantly related primates. "Our evidence suggests that a human-like transverse arch may have evolved over 3.5 million years ago, a whole 1.5 million years before the emergence of the genus Homo and was a key step in the evolution of modern humans," explains Prof. Venkadesan. It also provides a hypothesis for how Australopithecus afarensis, the same species as the fossil Lucy, thought to not possess longitudinally arched feet, could generate footprints like humans that were discovered in Laetoli. ### Interested readers may find more information at archedfoot.warwick.ac.uk NOTES TO EDITORS DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2053-y Paper available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2053-y Images available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/february2020/researchers.jpg Caption: The three researchers from left: Professor Madhusudhan Venkadesan, Professor Mahesh Bandi and Professor Shreyas Mandre https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/february2020/footarchesload.png Caption: Schematic of the foot skeleton showing the arches and typical loading pattern during locomotion. Credit: Yale University https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/february2020/resultsummary.png Schematic of the foot skeleton showing the arches and typical loading pattern. (top right) A sheet of paper bending under a 5g weight. (bottom right) Same sheet as top but with a transverse arch supporting 500 g of weight https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/february2020/figure4_evolution.png Caption: Figure form the paper demonstrating the evolution of feet from monkeys to early hominins. Credit: Nature Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyiX0Fb-Lfw Caption: Video showing forces that cause slight bending of the foot during a run. Credit: Yale Biomechanics and Control Laboratory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adt3sH9O_vE Caption: Video demonstrating curvature-induced stiffness. Credit: Yale Biomechanics and Control Laboratory FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Alice Scott Media Relations Manager - Science University of Warwick Tel: +44 (0) 2476 574 255 or +44 (0) 7920 531 221 E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk By PTI NEW DELHI: The situation in the violence-hit northeast Delhi is under control and the police are doing their job, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said after he visited the affected areas and interacted with locals on Wednesday. He was greeted warmly at some places, but at a location two agitated locals complained about the violence. This is the NSA's second visit to the riot-hit areas in less than 24 hours. In Jaffrabad, a young girl walked up to him and said she does not feel safe in the area. ALSO READ: Never saw such violence, not even in 1984 or 1992, says Northeast Delhi resident She also blamed the police for "inaction" when rioters went on a rampage. To her, he said, "I give you my word. Everyone is safe here." Doval also asked police personnel to ensure that the girl reaches home safely. An agitated elderly man from the area said, "Terrorism is being bred in Yamuna Vihar. Muslims are being killed here. But we have ensured the safety of the area. We said we will not commit any atrocities against Hindus." The man was pushed away by police and security personnel as he continued to speak. ALSO READ: Rajinikanth condemns Centre over Delhi violence, says 'resign if you can't crush it with iron fist' His remarks drew cheers from some in the crowd. At some places, the NSA was also greeted with slogans of 'Delhi Police zindabad' and 'Ajit Doval zindabad' as he pacified locals and urged them to maintain peace and harmony. "People have a sense of unity among them, there is no enmity. A few criminals do things like this, people are trying to isolate them. Police is here and doing its work," he said. Doval said he is visiting the affected areas as per the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. "The situation is under control and people are satisfied. We have confidence in law enforcement agencies. Police is doing their job and is alert," he told reporters. ALSO READ: Delhi riots day four UPDATES "Police is working hard. Only some criminals were involved in this. One should try resolving issues and not increasing them. There were incidents earlier but today it is calm. Locals want peace. We have full faith there will be peace," he said. "If god wills, there will be peace and harmony here (Inshallah yahan par bilkul aman hoga)," he said. Earlier, Doval, who has been tasked with checking the violence, held a meeting with the top brass of the Delhi Police at the office of the deputy commissioner of police (northeast) in Seelampur. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, newly appointed special CP (Law and Order) S N Shrivastava, Special CP (Law and Order) Satish Golcha and DCP of northeast Delhi Ved Prakash Arya were among those present at the meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nutritional High International Inc. ("Nutritional High" or the "Company") (CSE: EAT, OTCQB: SPLIF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) to sell a controlling interest in Calyx Brands Inc (Calyx). As part of the purchase, a new strategic partner (Partner) will make an investment in Calyx as well as adding significant new business to the Calyx operations, (the Transaction). The Partner is a seasoned cannabis entrepreneur and private equity veteran who owns and operates a cannabis flower processing and supply chain management company based in California. Closing is expected in the second quarter of 2020. As part of the contemplated Transaction: The Partner is to fund all ongoing operating capital requirements of Calyx. The Partner is expected to integrate its existing flower processing and supply management business into Calyx, whereby adding flower products to the brands Calyx carries through its statewide distribution network. Calyx will become part of a new entity in which the Partner will have controlling interest and Nutritional High will retain a minority interest. Nutritional High will also receive additional contingent payouts based on operating milestones of Calyx over a period of time. The Transaction is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements as well as regulatory approval. Details of the terms of the definitive agreement will be disclosed once finalized. Current challenges in the capital markets have been especially acute for distributors, who require working capital to grow their business, commented Dakota Sullivan, CEO of Calyx. We see this as an opportunity to combine our distribution reach with our new Partners supply chain and flower business to form a powerful, end-to-end brand. Adam Szweras, CEO of Nutritional High commented We expect that access to capital and the addition of new lines of branded flower products will provide Calyx with the opportunity to grow its business under its new service model. We are very encouraged by this contemplated transaction and believe it will result in a strong and profitable distribution business. Once closed, this contemplated Transaction will complete the first stage of a strategic review process undertaken by Nutritional High in December, 2019. This allows Nutritional High to focus on its core manufacturing footprint and brand development capabilities and leverage these strengths to penetrate existing markets in multiple states and enter emerging opportunities internationally. In California, Nutritional High will be focused towards the manufacturing and commercialization of FLI and other brands whereby this Transaction will enable the Company to distribute these brands through Calyx. This sale, if completed will result in the Company no longer consolidating Calyx financials in its consolidated financial statements. We are extremely pleased to have secured this partnership, commented Robert Wilson, CFO of Nutritional High. While this transaction will reduce top line revenue for the Company, it will allow for our concentration on higher margin, lower working capital intensive, manufacturing. We believe that strength in manufacturing is essential to grow and develop our FLI brand in the market and achieve positive cash flow. About Nutritional High International Inc. Nutritional High is focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing products under recognized brands in the cannabis products industry, with a specific focus on edibles and oil extracts for medical and adult recreational use. The Company works exclusively with licensed facilities in jurisdictions where such activity is permitted and regulated by state law. The Company follows a vertically integrated model with a fully developed strategy for acquisitions in extraction, production, sales, and distribution sectors of the cannabis industry. Nutritional High has brought its flagship FLI edibles and extracts product line from production to market through its wholly owned subsidiaries in California and Oregon, as well as Colorado where its FLI products are manufactured by a third-party licensed producer. The Company is entering the Nevada market in the near future. For updates on the Company's activities and highlights of the Company's press releases and other media coverage, please follow Nutritional High on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram or visit www.nutritionalhigh.com . For further information, please contact: David Posner Chairman of the Board Nutritional High International Inc. 647-985-6727 Email: dposner@nutritionalhigh.com NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR OTC MARKETS GROUP INC., NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. The statements relate to general business environment expectations, completion or timing of the strategic review, the ability of Calyx to become cash flow positive and the success of expanding the Company's manufacturing and brand development. Risks that may have an impact on the ability for these events to be achieved include completion of due diligence, negotiation of definitive agreements and receipt of applicable approvals. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. We assume no responsibility to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The Company's securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act, absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking information expressed in this press release include, but are not limited to: obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals including acquiring and renewing U.S. state, local or other licenses, the uncertainty of existing protection from U.S. federal or other prosecution, regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. state-law legalization, market and general economic conditions of the cannabis sector or otherwise. The mother of missing baby Evelyn Boswell has been arrested, bringing another wild update to this developing case. NBC News reports that 18-year-old Megan Boswell has been charged with a single count of providing false reports, and is being held by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office. Missing baby's mother provided false statements Authorities say that Megan Boswell provided "a number of conflicting statements." They also allege that other adults involved with the missing child have given conflicting timelines. This implies that multiple people are not being truthful in regards to what happened to this missing baby, and that is never a good sign. The missing baby's mother claims that her mother was supposed to be babysitting when the child went missing, and the woman has indeed been arrested over the course of the search. In fact, Angela Boswell (the baby's grandmother) has a bit of a disturbing background. The woman was arrested as a felony fugitive in a stolen vehicle, and remains jailed while the search for her granddaughter continues. Knox News reports that due to the inconsistencies in the stories given by the Boswells, investigators are asking the public for assistance. Mother was arrested after bizarre polygraph statement The arrest of Megan Boswell comes on the heels of her bizarre refusal to take a polygraph test. Earlier on Tuesday, multiple media sources shared that the mother of the missing baby claims that she is pregnant and that she will be unable to take a lie detector test because of this. What's bizarre about Megan's comments on Tuesday, is that she hasn't been required to take a polygraph test. Neither the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have asked Megan Boswell to take a lie detector test, so she had no reason to make such a statement. As to be expected, public scrutiny and suspicion of the missing baby's mother have only intensified. Discuss this news on Eunomia Baby Evelyn is still missing The missing baby was technically last seen back in December 2019 but wasn't reported missing until recently. Throughout the course of the investigation and search for Evelyn Boswell, her mother has allegedly misled authorities with the SCSO as well as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. This has only served to hinder the search for the missing infant. Conflicting dates have been given on when she was last seen. Megan Boswell claims that she was last seen around the day after Christmas, but other family members have claimed that Evelyn Boswell hasn't been seen since around December 10 or 11. Regardless of whether or not any of these dates are accurate, the child hasn't been seen by anyone in her family in over two months. Over past 72 hours, Delhi Police has watched even as hundreds clashed in the North-east Delhi neighbourhoods such as Jafrabad, Yamuna Vihar, Babarpur, Khajoori Khas, torching vehicles and shops and houses, in the worst communal riots in the capital in at least two decades. At least 13 people died in the clashes. Once touted as the model police for all states, Delhi Police, experts say, has lately failed to handle law and order situations due to several reasons: inexperience of the top brass in dealing with violent clashes; lack of faith in the leadership; and departments repeated failure in assessing situations. HT spoke to several retired and serving officers who pointed out that the majority of Delhi Police DCPs (Deputy Commisioners of Police) currently serving in the districts have zero or little experience in handling riots as Delhi has not seen such large scale violent clashes since the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, sporadic incidents during Mandal Commission, tension during LK Advanis Rath Yatra, and the 1992 riots after demolition of Babri Masjid . Indeed, they add, most people directly handling the situation -- ACPs (Assistant Commisioners of Police), Inspectors -- have not handled any major riot in their lifetime. Among the senior leadership of Delhi Police, outgoing Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik (his extension ends at the end of the month) himself has spent most of his policing tenure in special units such as Crime Branch, vigilance or administration. For several months, his leadership skills have been severely tested. He has had to motivate his force after policemen were attacked by lawyers; defend it from charges that it overlooked attacks on Jawaharlal Nehru University students by masked goons; and had to explain why the police entered the library of Jamia University and attacked students during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. He now has to handle questions on how and why the force wrongly assessed the situation in North-east Delhi and, subsequently, struggled to restore peace. In all these incidents, it seems there was no planning, action, tactical deployment or understanding of the crowd and the area. Why hasnt Delhi Police imposed curfew in affected areas of North-east Delhi yet? It will reduce the loss of lives and property, said a retired IPS officer who handled multiple riot situations in Delhi including 1984 riots. A few hours after the officer spoke to HT, there were reports that curfew had indeed been imposed in some of the areas. Seeing whats happening today, I am ashamed I was part of this force. How can you (referring to police commissioner Amulya Patnaik) watch while students are being beaten up, your own men are being thrashed and not do anything? Delhi Police was the number 1 force in all of India but look where it has reached today, said this officer who asked not to be identified. Importantly, since the events of November 2019, when lawyers thrashed Delhi Police officers, there is a clear disconnect between the top brass and lower-level officers. The junior ranks are scared of taking impromptu decisions on the ground fearing their leader wont stand up for them. When the Delhi high court ordered the sacking of two senior officers after the clash with lawyers in November, Patnaik faced protests from his own men, the first time this has happened in the history of the department. However, a serving officer, who didnt wish to be named, said he (Commissioner) hasnt done anything to rebuild the trust of his men. Patnaik did not respond to calls seeking comment. Another reason for Delhi Polices struggles is weak human intelligence about protests. Local area DCPs, SHOs (station house officers) , ACPs and the special branch of Delhi Police are supposed to gather human intelligence by networking with the local community and religious leaders -- particularly in areas where there could be communal clashes. The deployment of forces was earlier done on the basis of this assessment but it appears that there is no preparation on Delhi Polices part (now), said the serving officer cited above. Over the years, Delhi Police has also become increasingly dependent on technical intelligence instead of its men doing the legwork. The intelligence bureau (IB), which, like Delhi Police, comes under the ministry of home affairs, too has repeatedly failed to analyse the situation in Delhi. Some of the retired officers also said it was surprising that the home ministry did not pull up Delhi Police after a series of lapses. Ashok Chand, who was in Delhi Police for around 35 years, said: It is the responsibility of Delhi Police to maintain law and order and it has failed. Delhi Police needs to introspect, analyse the reasons for its failure, and take remedial action so that it performs effectively in future. There seems to have been no planning on how to handle a riotous situation keeping in view the areas topography, composition of the population and local areas of flashpoint. The Bureau de change operator further told the Court that he has never seen Senator Sani in life when he was asked to identify him and to tell the Court if he ever changed foreign currencies to local currency for him. Chinas top legislature said it will immediately ban the trade and consumption of wild animals, in a fast-track decision it says will allow the country to win the battle against the coronavirus outbreak Chinas top legislature said it will immediately ban the trade and consumption of wild animals, in a fast-track decision it says will allow the country to win the battle against the coronavirus outbreakThe announcement according to the official Xinhua News Agency, comes after an initial suspension of the trade and consumption of wildlife in January. Scientists suspect, but have not proven, that the new coronavirus passed to humans from animals. The disease has spread to countries around the globe. Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in Hubeis provincial capital Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold. There has been a growing concern among people over the consumption of wild animals and the hidden dangers it brings to public health security since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, said Zhang Tiewei, a spokesman for the top legislatures Legislative Affairs Commission. Zhang said it was both urgent and necessary for the decision to be made at the critical moment for the epidemic prevention and control. The decision, made by the National Peoples Congress, stipulates the illegal consumption and trade of wildlife will be severely punished as will be hunting, trading or transporting wild animals for the purpose of consumption. The use of wild animals for non-edible purposes, including scientific research, medical use and display, will be subject to strict examination, approval and quarantine inspection. Prior to the announcement, traders legally selling donkey, dog, deer, crocodile and other meat told Reuters they planned to get back to business as soon as the markets reopen. Many academics, environmentalists and residents in China have joined international conservation groups in calling for a permanent ban. Online debate within China has also heavily favored a permanent ban. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 04:25:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday said it will increase resettlement places for refugees from Libya. "UNHCR will continue to try to increase the number of resettlement places and the number of countries admitting refugees on resettlement and other complementary pathways," UNHCR said. "Resettlement is one solution which many refugees hope for. Unfortunately, there are fewer places in the world available than ever and we can only prioritize the most vulnerable cases," the UNSMIL added. Amid the state of insecurity and chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Libya has become a preferred point of departure for many illegal immigrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward European shores. Shelters in Libya are currently overcrowded with thousands of immigrants rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan authorities, despite international calls to close them. "We call for the orderly release of all refugees, asylum seekers from indefinite detention in Libya," the UNHCR said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 16:53 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c05db 1 Food Starbucks,Starbucks-Indonesia,betawi,food,coffee,Indonesia Free A Starbucks Indonesia branch is now serving food and beverage inspired by Betawi cuisine. The launch of the new menu was held in conjunction with the opening of the Starbucks Community Store at Ruko Tanah Abang Blok B in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Friday. According to kompas.com, it is the first community store by Starbucks in Indonesia, third in Asia and 17th in the world. The Betawi-inspired menu, available only at the aforementioned location on Jl. KH Fachrudin No. 36, consists of Betawi latte, gambang cake, sarang semut cheesecake and selendang mayang pudding. Read also: Starbucks Indonesia to stop providing plastic straws in all outlets Betawi latte is said to come from the traditional Betawi drink of bir pletok, an herbs and spices-based beverages. The expected mix of coffee and milk comes with hints of ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Inspired by the butter and spice bread that goes by the name of gambang, the Starbucks variation differs slightly with its tender texture and a trace of cinnamon. 'Gambang' cake by Starbucks Indonesia. (Courtesy of/Starbucks Indonesia/Kompas.com) Meanwhile, the sarang semut cheesecake, inspired by ants nest cake, also known as honeycomb cake, has a dark caramel flavor and a layer of cream cheese. 'Sarang semut' cheesecake by Starbucks Indonesia. (Courtesy of/Starbucks Indonesia/Kompas.com) Also on the new menu is selendang mayang pudding, which was inspired by the local dessert es selendang mayang. 'Selendang mayang' pudding by Starbucks Indonesia. (Courtesy of/Starbucks Indonesia/Kompas.com) The pudding usually involves ice, palm sugar, coconut milk and rice flour cake. All elements are present in a more solid state at the Starbucks branch. (wng) The students of Jamia Millia Islamia staged a protest outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday to demand his action against the communal violence in northeast Delhi. The call to gherao the chief minister's residence post midnight was given by Jamia Coordination Committee, which comprises students and alumni from the varsity. The students said they were allegedly detained and taken to Civil Lines police station. They also accused the police of using water cannon and force against them. Police confirmed that they used water cannons to disperse the protesting students. The varsity students were also joined by a group of Delhi University students. A total of 41 students, including eight students of a Delhi University college were detained and taken to Civil Lines police station. Many of them have been released while others are in the process of being released. Communal violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi has claimed 17 lives so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bonaventure Equity and Entrepreneur Press today announced the launch of Cannabis Capital - the first book on cannabis venture capital. Dates and details for events in West Palm Beach, FL and New York, NY Written by Bonaventure Equity's CEO Ross O'Brien Cannabis Capital is the first book on cannabis venture capital - educating both startups and investors on how they should approach funding from a mutual, business-focused perspective. Blending Wall Street experience with cannabis industry expertise, O'Brien has a broad history of experience in operating high-growth businesses to numerous venture capital and private equity transactions. Launch events for Cannabis Capital, where O'Brien will sign copies of the book, will be held at the following locations: WEST PALM BEACH, FL When : Wednesday, Feb. 26 ( 5-8 p.m. ET ) : ( ) Where: Lake Pavilion - 101 S. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 NEW YORK, NY When: Thursday, March 12 ( 6-8 p.m. ET ) ( ) Where: Marcum LLP, 750 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10017 "I'm excited to share this book as a tool that teaches the fundamentals for building a company that'll attract investment, educates a new generation of cannabis entrepreneurs, and shows how to successfully raise capital," says Ross O'Brien, CEO of Bonaventure Equity. "We hope this knowledge plays a small part in bridging the disconnect hindering access to funding and helps unleash the cannabis economy's full potential." While the legal U.S. cannabis industry is booming - with sales expected to reach $30 billion by 2023 and a 76% increase in cannabis jobs in 2019 - a lack of access to investment capital has stifled growth and is impeding the cannabis economy to reach its full potential. In addition to regulatory and compliance hurdles, a lack of education is responsible for this scarcity. RSVPs for either event can be directed to Tara Waglow - [email protected]. Interact with Bonaventure Equity Visit our website: https://www.bvequity.com Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bvequity Explore with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bvequity Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonaventure-equity-llc About Bonaventure Equity Bonaventure Equity, LLC is a Cannabis Venture Capital fund committed to funding the next generation of innovative cannabis companies delivering economic, societal, cultural and healthcare benefits through leading technologies, services and science. We partner with exceptional entrepreneurial management teams built on a foundation of execution, collaborative leadership, and an unwavering drive to deliver positive global impact. The power of our investment platform delivers value beyond just capital through our operations back-office infrastructure. Our unparalleled access to global thought leaders, policymakers and advisors are all designed to accelerate growth for the companies we back. About Entrepreneur For 42 years, Entrepreneur Media Inc. has been serving the entrepreneurial community by providing comprehensive coverage of business and personal success through original content and events. Entrepreneur magazine, Entrepreneur.com, GreenEntrepreneur.com and publishing imprint Entrepreneur Press provide solutions, information, inspiration and education and are read by millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners worldwide. MEDIA CONTACT Mike Sanchez [email protected] 209.262.7458 Related Images cannabis-capital-book-launch.png Cannabis Capital - Book Launch Parties Dates and details for events in West Palm Beach, FL and New York, NY SOURCE Bonaventure Equity Related Links https://www.bvequity.com Full service carrier Vistara will cancel 54 international flights next month, including on routes connecting Delhi with Bangkok and Singapore, amid weak demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement on Wednesday, the airline said it has made temporary adjustments to selected services to/from Bangkok and Singapore for March. "20 flights between Delhi and Bangkok, 26 flights between Mumbai and Singapore and 8 flights between Delhi and Singapore will be cancelled in March 2020," it said. The airline said the adjustments have been made to the services in response to weak demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. "Vistara will continue to monitor the situation and progressively evaluate the need for any further adjustments to its schedule to meet changing demand patterns," it noted. With respect to the cancelled flights, customers can opt for a full refund or alternative travel dates free of cost. Such customers would not have to pay any cancellation or re-issuance fee. A joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, Vistara operates more than 200 flights daily. Over 2,700 people have died due to novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), while the number of those infected is around 80,000. In the wake of the virus outbreak, whose epicentre is China, many airlines, including Indian carriers, have cancelled some of their overseas flights. Air India has cancelled its flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong till June 30. An Air India spokesperson said the airline has reduced frequency of its flights on Delhi-Singapore route to five days from seven days. Further, the airline is now operating flights on four days on Mumbai-Chennai-Singapore route while it was daily earlier. A GoAir spokesperson said the airline has scaled down the number of flights operated to Phuket and Bangkok. These flights are being operated from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Specific details could not be immediately ascertained. Last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said there was a potential 13 per cent full-year loss of passenger demand for carriers in the Asia-Pacific region due to COVID-19. "Considering that growth for the region's airlines was forecast to be 4.8 per cent, the net impact will be an 8.2 per cent full-year contraction compared to 2019 demand levels," the grouping had said on the basis of an initial assessment. "In this scenario, that would translate into a USD 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 USD 12.8 billion lost in the China domestic market alone," it said. IATA is a global grouping of around 290 airlines, including Vistara and Air India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- iQSTEL Inc. (OTC: IQST) today announced the software blueprint for its blockchain-based Voice, SMS, and Data Wholesale Carrier Settlement and Payment Platform is complete. Blockchain technology is turning the payment processing world upside down. Rapid processing with fraud mitigation all in one forensic friendly system. It will drive the Telecom market out of the dark ages and into the 21st century. Mr. Iglesias, the Companys CEO, stated: We are very pleased with the speed at which this software blueprint has been completed by itsBchain. Final assembly of the payment solutions platform has begun with the anticipation of an early Q3 delivery for beta testing. We already anticipate beta testing to begin with some of our biggest carrier clients such as Telefonica (Spain and Latin America), Millicom (Tigo brand for Latin America), Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telecom. The demand for an efficient Tier-1 payment system is felt across the telecom industry as a whole. Currently, receivables time frames are 35-40 days. Our vision in itsBchain is to be the first blockchain solution for this market, dramatically reducing the receivables time frame to as little as a day. In addition, our blockchain-based solution will virtually eliminate fraud, currently an uncontrolled detriment to corporate bottom lines in the Telecom market. Today, the carrier interconnection market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year and our system will bring transparency, efficiency and increased profits to the carriers. This is one of the biggest opportunities currently in the telco industry worldwide, concluded Mr. Iglesias, the Companys CEO. About iQSTEL Inc.: iQSTEL (OTC: IQST) www.iQSTEL.com is a technology company offering a wide array of services to the Telecommunications Industry. These include services to International Long-Distance Telecommunications Operators (ILD Wholesale), Retail and Corporate markets (ILD Retail), Submarine Fiber Optic Network capacity, Satellite Communications services, Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, Internet of Things (IoT) technology solutions, Data Center facilities capacity leasing, and Blockchain solutions for the Telecommunications industry. About Etelix.com USA, LLC: Etelix.com USA LLC www.etelix.com is wholly owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. Etelix.com USA, LLC is a Miami, Florida-based international telecom carrier founded in 2008 that provides telecom and technology solutions worldwide, with commercial presence in North America, Latin America and Europe. Enabled by its 214-license granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Etelix provides International Long-Distance voice services for Telecommunications Operators (ILD Wholesale), and Submarine Fiber Optic Network capacity for internet (4G and 5G). Etelix was founded in 2008 and has been profitable since inception. About SwissLink Carrier AG: SwissLink Carrier AG www.swisslink-carrier.com is a 51% owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. SwissLink Carrier AG is a Switzerland based international Telecommunications Carrier founded in 2015 providing international VoIP connectivity worldwide, with commercial presence in Europe, CIS and Latin America. SwissLink Carrier AG is a Swiss licensed Operator, having a domestic Interconnect with Swisscom, allowing their international Carrier Customers direct terminations via SwissLink into all Switzerland Fix & Mobile Networks. Since the takeover from Swissphone in November 2018 and the rename into SwissLink, they operate on a profitable level. About QGlobal SMS LLC.: QGlobal SMS LLC www.qglobalsms.com is a 51% owned subsidiary of iQSTEL Inc. QGlobal SMS is a USA based company founded in 2020 specialized in international and domestic SMS termination, with emphasis on the Applications to Person (A2P) and Person to Person (P2P) for Wholesale Carrier Market and Corporate Market in US. QGlobal SMS has commercial presence in Europe, USA and Latin America. QGlobal SMS has robust international interconnection with Tier1 SMS Aggregators, guarantying its customers high quality and low termination rates, over more than 100 countries worldwide. Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this news release may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and iQSTEL Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release. iQSTEL Inc. IR US Phone: 646-740-0907, IR Email: investors@iqstel.com Source: iQSTEL Inc. www.iqstel.com ; www.swisslink-carrier.com ; www.etelix.com and www.qglobalsms.com Attachment BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) are negotiating on the new agreement, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on Feb.26. "On February 25, Minister Elmar Mammadyarov held a phone conversation with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. During the talks, the parties exchanged views on the current situation in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov brought to the attention of the EU High Representative the principled position of Azerbaijan on resolving the conflict on the basis of the norms and principles of international law and, in particular, within internationally recognized borders on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Minister expressed gratitude for the EUs position on the settlement of the conflict and its support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," she said. Abdullayeva noted that the parties also discussed the current status of negotiations on a new agreement, which will form the legal basis for bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the EU. "They also talked about holding the next meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council. Parties also discussed the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, which plays an important role in Europes energy supply, its future expansion, as well as transport and connectivity issues." Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Shutterstock Over the past four years, Facebook has made a big show of demonstrating how much it cares about democracy and how much its doing to combat election interference or fake news. It has assembled war rooms and published white papers. It has hired thousands of content moderators (as in, theyre looking at content; theyre actually miserable). And the company is constantly reminding people that its spending more on security now than the total of its revenue at the beginning of the decade. Big numbers! Facebook cares! Its too bad that all it took was one aspirational billionaire to reveal most of that effort as completely ineffective. Over the past couple of weeks, candidate Mike Bloomberg has rolled out an aggressive program of buying endorsements on social media. He isnt just asking celebrities and other mayors (of smaller cities) for their backing or posting weird tweets: Last week, a number of popular Instagram accounts with tens of millions of followers rolled out jokey sponcon for the former New York City mayor. Today, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bloombergs campaign will go one step further by paying regular social-media users to post about the candidate on the platforms. From the Journal: The campaign is hiring more than 500 deputy digital organizers to work 20 to 30 hours a week and receive $2,500 a month, the documents show. In exchange, those workers are expected to promote Mr. Bloomberg to everyone in their phones contacts by text each week and make social-media posts supporting him daily, the documents show. Thats more than $1.25 million Bloomberg is spending just to kinda shotgun his name all over social media and into group chats. This comes in addition to a reported program for microinfluencers, i.e., people with small follower counts, whom Bloomberg would pay $150 in exchange for their support. Thats a lot for any campaign, but its nothing for the former mayor, who seems more than willing to throw money at the wall and see what sticks. Bloombergs Instagram-sponcon and digital-organizer programs have laid bare the fact that Facebook, for all its work in protecting elections and democracy, etc., has absolutely no clue how to stop well-funded operations with endless resources from exploiting loopholes in Facebooks rules. Facebook has said it will not fact-check ads from politicians, but a politician buying an endorsement from an Instagram account is not necessarily, as Facebook would define it, an ad. As BuzzFeeds Ryan Broderick outlined last week, Facebook will tell third-party fact-checkers that if the speech in the sponcon is from the politician paying for the content, it wont be fact-checked. But if the speech is in the voice of the influencer who made it, it will be. In other words, an influencer who copy-pastes a press release will not be fact-checked; an influencer who just writes something nice about Bloomberg will be. In addition, Facebook maintains a public archive of political ads. To make it into the archive, the account in question has to pay Facebook to place a post into the feeds of more users. Bloombergs paying a popular account to endorse him is not technically a political ad on Facebook, because none of that money went to Facebook directly. That keeps it out of the archive and makes it subject to less public scrutiny. The campaign gets by on a technicality paying a Facebook account but not Facebook the company for a political ad. In paying Instagram influencers this way, Bloomberg has figured out how to do an end run around Facebooks election policies, skirting procedure on fact-checks, disclosure, and transparency. If all that sounds confusing, thats because it is. Bloomberg is executing the political-advertising equivalent of a corporate shell game, figuring out what he can get away with without technically violating platform policies and learning whom to pay for social-media traction without having to disclose that hes doing so. Consider the aforementioned digital-organizer program the Journal reported. By technically employing the people who post about the candidate on social media and messaging their phone contacts, the Bloomberg campaign doesnt have to disclose that the people are being paid. Again, from the Journal: A Facebook spokeswoman said posts by outside content creators would require labels if a campaign paid for them, but that posts by campaign employees wouldnt need to be labeled as ads. The company didnt address how it would categorize posts by employees paid to promote content to their personal social networks. Another way of thinking about this problem is that its as if Bloomberg were employing 500 press secretaries. Does a press secretary speaking on behalf of a politician constantly need to name the person they work for? Probably not. Five hundred of them being paid to text friends and post online should probably need to disclose it somewhere, however! The Facebook policies on campaign-employee disclosure apply to a world in which cash-strapped campaigns have a limited number of employees. Those policies cant rein in a billionaire with virtually limitless funds who can hire people on a whim. Further complicating this is Facebooks policy of removing what it calls coordinated authentic behavior. Facebook defines this as multiple accounts that misrepresent their owners working together to further an agenda (a Russian troll farm pretending to be a group of Americans who care about gun control, for instance). Facebook has never been able to fully explain what separates coordinated inauthentic behavior from, say, a PR agency surreptitiously planting stories on behalf of a client which Facebook admitted paying for in late 2018 and Mark Zuckerberg has described as typical. Bloomberg has managed to exploit loopholes and vagueness in various Facebook policies. That Facebooks rules for political ads and fact-checking are clearly toothless and that Facebook doesnt recognize how Bloombergs strategy may run afoul of its current rules on coordinated inauthentic behavior make it clear that Facebooks policies are not robust. Or maybe Facebook is just willing to bend the rules for certain clients like, I dunno, a billionaire named Mike whos spending exponentially more on Facebook ads than any other Democratic candidate is. Facebook has long given the excuse that its policies need to operate at scale, that it needs one-size-fits-all solutions instead of bespoke ones. It is ironic that Mike Bloomberg, thanks to his billions of dollars, is able to single-handedly test these policies at scale, crafting multiple social-media initiatives that prod and poke at Facebooks rules from many angles. And he has exposed them as labyrinthine and ineffective. Good thing weve still got uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh nine months until Election Day. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has in its determination to contribute it's qouta in alleviating the suferrings of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northeast donated food and non food items to IDPs in Borno state. The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakoku Peterside while handing over the items to the Chairperson of the Borno state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Hajiya Yabawa Kolo in Maiduguri for onward distribution to the IDPs yesterday said the items includes rice, millets, corn, beans, detergents, bottle water, pampers, spaghetti making Machines grinding machines, toiletries among others The DG who was represented by the Director, Internal Audit of the Agency., Mr. Victor Ike said we are here today as part of our cooperate social responsibility to present our widows might to the IDPs in the state . NIMASA is aware of the problems faced by the IDPs as a result of the insurgency in the northeast . This time around, we are here specifically to assist the displaced persons from the fringes of Lake chad region. "The other time we were at the Gubio camp, we saw some teachers who sacrifices to teach the children of IDPs. NIMASA is working out modalities to see how we can assist them with token allowances to encourage them Peterside said. In her remarks, the Chairperson of SEMA, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo said this assistance is timely and is coming at a time when we are trying to bring back over 120,000 refugees from Niger Republic, 95,000 from Cameroon Republic and 12,000 from Chad Republic. We also have IDPs in Kala Balge that are in dare need of assistance." "Out of the 1.8 million IDPs in the Northeast, 1.6 are from.Borno . Although Governor Babagana Zulum is always moving up and down to carter for the IDPs . But Borno State Government cannot do it alone. I therefore call on cooperate organisations, NGOs, agencies and individuals to emulate NIMASA, Yabawa said. While appreciating the gesture, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo assured that the items will be judiciously distributed to the IDPs, noting that the other time they were in remote town of Kala-Balge, they distributed cash of N15,000 and N10,000 to male and female IDPs respectively. It could be recalled that this is not the first time NIMASA is donating food and non food items for the IDPs in Borno state. They made similar donation to Gubio IDPs at Gubio Road IDPs Camp Maiduguri. The 10th debate of the 2020 primary season, sponsored by CBS and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, was just four days before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. The Democratic White House hopefuls will not stand side-by-side on the debate stage again until the middle of March. That made Tuesdays debate likely the last chance for some candidates to save themselves and alter the trajectory of the nomination fight. 3.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The Trump campaign announced that they are suing The New York Times for libel over an opinion piece that discussed a Trump deal with Russia for election help. The Trump campaign issued a statement on the lawsuit: Today, Team Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over a story falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia. Statement from @JennaEllisEsq, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. below. pic.twitter.com/qqjgSjtsGt Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) February 26, 2020 Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser to the Trump campaign said, Today the Presidents re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the campaign had an overarching deal with Vladimir Putins oligarchy to help the campaign against Hillary Clinton in exchange for a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from economic sanctions. Ellis continued, The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory, Ellis said. The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. The lawsuit in a series of cheap Trump stunts to attack the media and the credibility of the Russia scandal. In order for Trump to win the lawsuit, he will have to prove that The Times knew the statements were false at the time of publication. Being that the piece in question was a clearly labeled opinion piece and not presented as a news story, the odds of Trump winning anything are close to zero. Trumps lawsuit is an embarrassment. It is beneath the presidency and the behavior of a toddler who is throwing a tantrum over an opinion that he doesnt like. Just when one thinks that Trump cant go any lower, he finds a new level of self-humiliation. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Residents of Lesbos in Greece have taken to the streets to protest against the building of new migrant detention centres on the island. Footage captured on February 26 shows crowds of protesters outside a government office bearing flags and banners where they are heard singing the national anthem. The government has allegedly seized land from local farmers in order to build a new migrant camp on the island. The filmer said: "[The protest] is people from all backgrounds, students, elderly, monks, farmers, businessmen, the Communist Party, the far-right movements. "The protesters all stand against the plan to build a closed prison camp on Lesbos. "In the last weeks, the government has confiscated land from farmers in order to do so." Lesbos is a hotspot for migrants and refugees on their way to Europe due to its proximity - of six miles - to the Turkish coastline. UN chief Antonio Guterres is closely following the situation in New Delhi and stresses that demonstrators should be allowed to demonstrate peacefully and security forces should show restraint. Communal violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast Delhi has killed at least 17 people, including a police constable, and left over 150 people injured till Wednesday as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people. "I think it's very important that demonstrators be allowed to demonstrate peacefully and that security forces show restraint. This is the SG's constant position," Secretary General Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing Tuesday. When asked if the UN is monitoring the situation, Dujarric said "Yes, we're obviously following it closely. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Realty firm Lodha group's UK subsidiary plans to raise USD 225 million through issue of bonds to refinance part of its outstanding debt security. Lodha Developers International Ltd, a subsidiary of Mumbai-based Lodha group, proposes to offer USD 225 million aggregate principal of senior secured notes due 2023. The company would use the proceeds of the issue to refinance a part of its outstanding USD324 million senior notes due 2020. Lodha Developers has been renamed as Macrotech Developers Ltd. "Earlier this week, we raised 86 million pound (Rs 800 crore) in the UK. With these proceeds and additional cash flows from our UK and India businesses, we look forward to fully repaying our 2020 USD bonds in March 2020," said Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO, Macrotech Developers. In November 2019, Lodha had said it has arranged USD325 millionto repay bonds maturing in March 2020 through infusion of funds from promoters, sale of commercial properties and refinancing against unsold inventories in London projects. "Our USD325 million bond pertaining to London business is maturing in March next year. So we have arranged funds in advance to meet our obligations when bonds mature. About USD155 million has been arranged through financing against unsold inventories in a London project, while another USD110 million will be infused by promoters through family offices," Lodha had said. Lodha group had made a foray into the London market in 2013 with the acquisition of the landmark MacDonald House at 1 Grosvenor Square in prime Central London for over 300 million pounds (Rs 3,100 crore). The group acquired another site in prime Central London, New Court at 48 Carey Street for 90 million pounds in 2014. The first project Lincoln Square was launched in 2016 while the second project 'No. 1 Grosvenor Square' started in 2017. One project has already been delivered while the other is on the verge of completion. Lodha Group is India's largest residential real estate developer by sales and construction area. The company has clocked net new sales of over Rs 7,000 crore in 2018-19 with collections of over Rs 9,000 crore. It delivered over 10,000 offices and homes in FY 18-19. In the first nine months of 2019-20, sales have reached around Rs 5,000 crore, up 15 per cent from the corresponding period of the previous year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Residents of villages near the Line of Control say they are worried for their lives due to India-Pakistan tension. Jura, Pakistan-administered Kashmir Standing atop the rubble of his destroyed home in the village of Jura in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Muhammad Siddiq Mir said he has spent the last few months fearing he could be killed any moment. On Sunday, intense shelling by Indian forces hit this village which is located just four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border that divides Kashmir. Mirs house, as well as those of his brother and a cousin, were completely destroyed. The shells tore through the roof, destroyed walls and left the structures damaged beyond repair. What can we do? We pray to Allah to save us from this situation, Mir said. My father built this house with his own hands. Thats what gives me the most grief. Mir has no money to rebuild his house. Together with the 15 family members whose houses were destroyed, Mir is now living in a single room in a relatives house. Their plight illustrates the human cost of a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan since last year over the disputed territory of Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but administer separate portions of. Muhammad Siddiq Mir, 30, stands atop the rubble of his house that was destroyed by Indian shelling across the LoC. [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera] Since 2019, at least 60 civilians have been killed and more than 280 wounded due to Indian shelling into Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to Pakistani government data, which also revealed that the death toll rose by 114 percent compared with the year before. Several civilians have also been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir by Pakistani shelling, although the government did not share official data on those attacks. Conflict at the LoC spiked in February 2019 following a suicide attack that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in the Indian-administered town of Pulwama. India responded by increasing shelling across the LoC and then carried out air raids on Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 26. A day later, Pakistan retaliated by air raids of its own, shooting down an Indian fighter jet as the nuclear-armed neighbours came to the brink of all-out war. Reporting restrictions Jaba, a remote village located about 85km north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad and about 10km inside the boundary between Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was at the centre of a potential nuclear conflict last year. A year on from the air attack, on a sunny winters day, the villages adult residents were all out tending to their fields or gathering firewood in the mountainside hamlet. Two craters from where the Indian bombs landed are still visible, surrounded by rocky rubble. Nothing grows there any more, said nine-year-old Mubasher Mianwal, on whose familys farmland one of the bombs landed. We used to grow wheat and grass [for fodder] there. Mubasher Mianwal, 9, stands at the site of the Indian air attacks from last year. [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera] Further up the mountain lies the apparent target of the attack: A religious school run by the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) armed group. Last year, India claimed it had killed a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis at the school. A visit to the area a day after the attacks found little evidence of the claimed casualties, although Al Jazeera was not allowed to get to the school itself. On Monday, a caretaker at the seminary told Al Jazeera the school was shut down six months ago, with the 400 students relocated to other institutes. They were concerned that there could be another strike here, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pakistans military has claimed access to the school is open for journalists, and carried out a guided tour for international media in April 2019. On Monday, however, Al Jazeera was turned away at the gate, with the caretaker citing the countrys Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency as having barred access for reporters. We are always scared The military standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbours cooled after Pakistan returned the captured pilot of the downed Indian fighter jet days later, but at the LoC, shelling has remained almost constant, residents nearby say. On August 5, Indias government passed a constitutional amendment that revoked a special constitutional status for its administered portion of Kashmir, removing certain forms of governance autonomy and absorbing it into the countrys political and administrative mainstream. Pakistan protested the move. Residents of Indian-administered Kashmir decried it as an attempt to change the demography of Indias only Muslim-majority territory. An ensuing Indian security crackdown saw scores arrested, with a territory-wide curfew and communications blockade enforced to control protests. All services were shut down. Id try every day, but I could not get through, said Muhammad Sadiq Khan, 72, from the Indian-administered Kashmir district of Kupwara but living in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. He tried for months to get through to his family members in Kupwara but was unable to due to the communications restrictions imposed by Indian authorities. We were scared for them, he said, fearing his relatives were arrested by Indian security forces. We are always scared for them. In March, Indian authorities suspended a more-than-a-decade-long mechanism that allowed for trade and travel between the two sides of Kashmir [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera] Five months later, Khan finally got through to his nephews during a temporary lifting of the blockade. [They said] things are peaceful there, but that there are strict controls on leaving to go the city or coming and going [anywhere else], he said. In addition to increased restrictions on movement, in March last year, Indian authorities also suspended a more than decade-long mechanism that allowed for trade and travel between the two sides of Kashmir. In Muzaffarabad, the offices of the trade and travel authority bear a deserted look, having laid off more than 60 people. There has been a hugely adverse impact on the trader community, said Tahir Hameed, director-general of the authority. When the suspension happened so suddenly, all of their goods that had either gone there or they had gotten here, they could not be exchanged. Before the suspension, the two sides of Kashmir engaged in roughly 2.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($16.2m) in barter trade every year, according to government data. The suspension also saw the end to hundreds of residents seeking to travel to the other side of Kashmir. No way to live Back in Jura, at the LoC, residents said the fear of being killed has become a part of everyday life. The night before last, I was in the kitchen when the shelling started. I dont know how we survived, said Syeda Mir, 36, whose residence is located just metres from where Siddiq Mirs home was. Syeda Mirs house was partially destroyed by Indian shelling in October, and the familys four members have been living in the single undamaged room left as the rest of the structure is rebuilt. Even when the firing is 10km away, we cant leave the house. We cant go outside for work, said her son Saqib Aziz. His mother complained she was unable to send her daughters to school because of the risk. Even right now, sitting here talking to you, there is a fear that the shelling could start again any time, said Aziz. Nearby, a pit about 15 square feet (1.4sq metres) is being dug for the construction of a shell-proof bunker for the family to take shelter in. The bunker costs more than 150,000 rupees ($975). The family, Syeda Mir said, earns less than $150 in a month. Currently, they seek shelter in a makeshift bunker that is little more than a hole dug under a large rock in their back yard. This is no way to live, here in the Neelum Valley, said Atiq Sheikh, 32, Syeda Mirs nephew. Death is better than this. Zak Brown has ruled out a return to Formula 1 with McLaren for Fernando Alonso. That is despite the fact that Alonso will race a third McLaren entry in May's Indy 500, after Honda vetoed his first-choice deal with Andretti. "We've always said we're open to running Fernando in a third car for the 500, so we're delighted he's decided to join us," McLaren supremo Brown said. After leaving McLaren and F1 after 2018, 38-year-old Alonso has said he would consider a return to the sport for 2021. However, he recently split as a team ambassador, even though Alonso on Tuesday insisted that he maintains a "special relationship with McLaren". "It was important for me to explore my options for the Indy 500 but McLaren has always been at the top," he said. "I have a special relationship with McLaren - we've been through a lot together and that creates a bond, a loyalty that is strong." However, McLaren is not interested in reuniting with Alonso in F1, and appears to be racing towards re-signing Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris for 2021. Asked if Alonso is on McLaren's F1 wish-list, Brown said: "No. We are in a different place now. "That's not a reflection on him, we have two great young drivers who are really fast that are working well together. The fans like them and we have a rhythm now and would not want to disturb that," he added. (GMM) This morning I walked and decided that it is time to start stocking food. After seeing Italy and South Korea being stomped on by the virus scare and supplies running out. It is time to get ahead of the stampede.Russians will panic at some point and it is time to ease into stocking food for if and when we are told to stay inside and out of the public So I carried way too much, but.I stocked up on tuna, salmon and pasta today. I will do it again tomorrow. Globus has some very good prices on canned goods and pastas. These items will last forever literally and when you need food, a can of salmon with spaghetti noodles will sound pretty good. Sounds good anyway We will get to the Tiny Russian Village if it gets bad and all this food is able to be transported easily when we go. Perishables will not be stocked. If the SHTF and it might, we will ride it out in the village. Isolated and easy to protect from just about anything and anyone. I do not take things like this lightly. I survived Nam and plan on surviving this, because even if it is not an issue after all, the food will not go to waste It is Maslenitsa and that means pancake week I made pancakes for Svetochka last night and made them from whole wheat flour. I bought more and we will munch on pancakes this week as we are suppose to do.This is the start of spring. Just look at the link above to see what it is all about I have been watching several buildings being built as I walk. One is almost done and they used a neat way to help the handicap get into the stores and businesses at the building. Image above Maslenitsa sign also above. It is a drawing of what I basically explained in the Maslenitsa article linked above farther up. This is a serious and important time in Russia Regardless of what we are told: I have no doubt that the coronavirus we are dealing with is a man made version of the virus. The people who released it, either by accident and or on purpose need to suffer greatly. It does not matter if we make it in the end. It does not matter if it all finally blows over. The issue is that it is man himself that has built, sustained and nurtured this virus issue I find it interesting that after looking at what countries are saying that this issue is not man made MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Medical experts from Germany, the Netherlands, the US and other nations debunked rumors of unnatural origin of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to Xinhua report citing The Lancet journal. Source: Scientists debunk rumors of unnatural coronavirus origin Science & Space TASS I find that my feelings are then confirmed even more by such news above. You could have guessed which countries would say this and you would have guessed correctly for the most part. I do believe that the virus was a targeted virus and it will and or has started to jump the fence so to say. Lets wait and see I do believe that this is what happens when a dying Empire flails around striking at everything and everyone I despise having a foe that is so tiny you can not see it and do anything about it. I also despise the fact that this particular virus is something that does not have to be. We have labs all over the world creating crap like this and one day we will pay for it all. Is this the time we pay or is it the next time it happens? China and Russia both are very quiet about the virus origins, they do know something and that is leading to what they have been talking about the last few days, link below Russia and China have both declared that they are very close, like by the middle of March, 2020 to a vaccine I am reading that about 25,000 medical and scientist people from Russia have gone to China and are working with the Chinese to stop this virus from getting much worse. Again as I have been saying, we will see and cross your fingers and hope that China and Russia can get this vaccine workable and usable in time. Time is relentless, as I always say also Therefore, you should stock food, stock toilet paper, stock items that will get very hard to find if the SHTF.Italy has found out the hard way.South Korea is finding out right now also WtR PS: I just said above, this is what happens when a dying Empire flails around striking at everything and everyone, look at the link below and you will see the flailing and striking at countries The United States is sanctioning 13 foreign entities and individuals in China, Iraq, Russia, and Turkey pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). This action includes new sanctions against five entities/individuals in China and Turkey for supporting Irans missile program, the statement said. Source: US imposes sanctions on 13 entities and individuals in China, Iraq, Russia, Turkey World TASS Also: Time to stock up on some food. Just in case.you know? Nothing to see heremove along now! The Ministry of Transport in Oman has launched the National Aviation Strategy 2030, aimed at strengthening Omans economy by growing the aviation industry in the sultanate. The strategy aims to boost job creation, increase the local skill base, and coordinate different organisations in the aviation sector. It has a number of key projects: 1. The National Travel Operator (NTO) - an online platform to link Omani travel providers, such as transport services, hotels, and airlines, with customers in target markets. Launched by Oman Aviation Group, in cooperation with Omans Ministry of Tourism, the NTO aims to increase the number of inbound, high-value tourists from key commercial markets for Oman, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, India, and the Gulf countries, among others. 2. Oman Aviation Group is adopting a master plan to launch Muscat Airport City. This development district will have five main areas: Muscat Airport Free Zone, devoted to light industries like e-commerce; a logistics gate for air freight; a mixed-use business gate, including office units; an aviation gate for aviation, cultural and social activities, innovation centres and a specialised emergency hospital serving the sector; and a hospitality gate. 3. The strategy also expands on the restructuring of Oman Air to become a destination business model airline. The sultanates national carrier is now focused entirely on bringing high-value inbound tourists to Oman setting it apart from other airlines in the region. This means that it works in tandem with the countrys tourism bodies, coordinates loyalty programs with the local hospitality sector; and focuses on markets with a high number of incoming tourists already, with a strategic use of codeshare partners to expand the network. Oman Airs ambition is to link Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. 4. A comprehensive air freight strategy will help Oman maintain its air cargo market share and support key national industries, like fisheries, in global markets. A new services centre will help international companies looking to increase freight traffic through the Sultanates airports. Unveiled at an event in Muscat, the National Aviation Strategy marks a successful two-year anniversary for Oman Aviation Group. New figures show the economic impact the group is having on Oman, with losses in the countrys aviation sector falling from RO211 million ($546.4 million) to RO93 million ($240.8 million). Set up in 2018, Oman Aviation Group is the execution arm for the strategy. An umbrella company encompassing Oman Air, Oman Airports and Transom (until recently Oman Aviation Services), Oman Aviation Group is the first company in the world to represent a countrys entire aviation sector. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport, said: The strategy will enable the aviation sector in the sultanate to compete on a global level with an integrated organisation that aims to secure a bigger share in the international aviation market. He added: "The aviation, logistics and travel sectors play an important role in achieving Omans Vision 2040 main goals. - TradeArabia News Service A group of students of the city-based Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) held protests here on Wednesday condemning the violence in Delhi in which 22 people have died. The students took out a rally and gathered at the main gate ofthe varsity as part of a one-day university bandh call given by MANUU Students Union against the "attack on anti-CAA, NRC and NPR protesters." MANUU students union president Umar Faruq demanded that the Central government take strict action against those involved in the violence and also against BJP leader Kapil Mishra who, he alleged, provoked people. Late on Tuesday night, some students under the banner of University of Hyderabad organised a protest and rally on the varsity premises against what it termed "anti-Muslim" riots on the streets of Delhi and to condemn "police inactivity." Protests were also held by some people at a few places on Tuesday night in the city condemning the violence in Delhi but police intervened and whisked them away. On February 22, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar had said no Shaheen Bagh kind of protests would be allowed in Hyderabad city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] TEGNA and Gray Television Strike Strategic OTT Partnership TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) and Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN) today jointly announced a strategic partnership in which Gray will acquire a minority ownership interest in Premion, TEGNA's leading Connected TV (CTV)/over-the-top (OTT) advertising business. As part of this new partnership, Gray will serve as a reseller of Premion's services across all of Gray's 93 television markets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005675/en/ Premion is an industry-leading CTV/OTT advertising platform enabling local, regional and national advertisers to reach audiences through premium, long-form, live and on-demand video programming delivered across a broad array of streaming platforms and devices at scale. Premion has direct relationships with more than 125 premium branded networks ranging from major media networks to virtual MVPDs and direct OTT aggregators. "Since our launch of Premion in 2016, we've quickly scaled the product and business to capitalize on the dramatic shift of audiences to streaming television. The Premion business exceeded $100 million in revenue in 2019, and we expect double-digit growth rates going forward," said Dave Lougee, president and chief executive officer, TEGNA. "We're seeing tremendous growth opportunities in OTT, particularly at the local level. Our partnership with Gray will further accelerate Premion's already exceptional growth by expanding our local footprint and leveraging Gray's strong performing stations." p> "We have been impressed with how Premion has quickly established itself as the premier OTT advertising platform with an unrivaled, trusted brand among advertisers," explained Pat LaPlatney, Gray's President and Co-Chief Executive Officer. "We are equally excited to invest in Premion, and participate in the high growth OTT business, as well as the ability to resell Premion's services to local advertisers in our markets." Under the terms of the agreement, Gray will resell Premion in its local television markets, and TEGNA and Gray will each have the right to independently sell Premion in markets where they both operate a local television station. The sale of spot television advertising is not part of this agreement, and Gray and TEGNA will continue to sell spot advertising for their respective stations without any involvement from the other party. TEGNA will continue to oversee and control the Premion business. About TEGNA TEGNA Inc. is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. With 62 television stations in 51 markets, TEGNA is the largest owner of top 4 affiliates in the top 25 markets among independent station groups, reaching approximately 39 percent of all television households nationwide. TEGNA also owns leading multicast networks Justice Network and Quest. TEGNA Marketing Solutions (TMS) offers innovative solutions to help businesses reach consumers across television, email, social and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including Premion, TEGNA's OTT advertising service. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com. About Gray Television, Inc. Gray currently owns and/or operates television stations and leading digital properties in 93 television markets that collectively reach approximately 24 percent of US television households. Over calendar year 2019, Gray's stations were ranked first in 68 markets, and first or second in 86 markets, as calculated by Comscore's audience measurement service. Gray also owns video program production, marketing, and digital businesses including Raycom (News - Alert) Sports, Tupelo-Raycom, and RTM Studios, the producer of PowerNation programs and content. For further information, please visit www.gray.tv. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005675/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement via the country's state-run WAM news agency, just hours after Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, said there would be restrictions on flights there. "All passenger and cargo aircraft travelling to and from Iran will be suspended for a period of one week, and could be up for extension," the authority said. "The decision is a precautionary measure undertaken by the UAE to ensure strict monitoring and prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus." Loading Emirates, the government-owned carrier based in Dubai, flies daily to Tehran. Its low-cost sister airline, FlyDubai, flies to multiple Iranian cities, as does the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The announcement came after Bahrain said it would suspend all flights from Dubai and Sharjah, a neighbouring UAE emirate that is home to Air Arabia, for 48 hours. Bahrain's Health Ministry on Tuesday raised the number of infected cases from the new virus to eight, saying that all had travelled from Iran via Dubai. Four of them have been identified as Saudi nationals. The cases were confirmed upon arrival to Bahrain during screenings at the airport, and prior to the suspension on flights to Dubai and Sharjah, according to Bahrain's official news agency. Dubai has been screening passengers on incoming flights from China, where the outbreak began in December. Long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad are among the few international airlines still flying to Beijing. However, the outbreak in Iran only became public in recent days. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. The World Health Organisation has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. Iran's government said Tuesday that 15 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the centre of the virus in the country. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian government's transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. The new death toll came from Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour during an interview with Iranian state television. He said there were 95 confirmed cases of the virus in Iran, with many linked to Qom, a major Shiite religious centre where other cases have emerged. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sought to reassure the nation in a speech on Tuesday, calling the new coronavirus an "uninvited and inauspicious passenger." "We will get through corona," Rouhani said. "We will get through the virus." Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus on Monday and connected them to travel with Iran. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, has reported 13 cases of the new virus. Most of those were connected to Chinese travel. Also on Tuesday, Kuwait raised the number of its infected cases to eight, according to the state-run KUNA news agency, after earlier raising the number to five. It said the three latest cases involved Kuwaiti citizens just back from Iran, without giving more details. The five previously reported cases were passengers returning on a flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Iran's government has not yet announced a single case of the virus. Kuwait had halted transport links with Iran over the weekend and said it was evacuating its citizens from Iran. Meanwhile, Iraq's Health Ministry said four new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in the northern province of Kirkuk. It said the afflicted were members of an Iraqi family who had returned from a recent trip to Iran. Iraq announced the discovery of the first coronavirus case in the country on Monday in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf. Iraq had earlier closed its border with Iran to Iranian nationals but apparently Iraqis can still cross the boundary. Also Tuesday, a Turkish Airlines flight from Tehran to Istanbul landed in Ankara with 17 passengers suspected of having coronavirus, including some who had been to the Iranian city of Qom, Turkey's CNN-Turk broadcaster reported. The passengers were to be quarantined at an Ankara hospital that had previously quarantined Turks returning from China's Hubei province. Turkish Airlines has temporarily suspended most flights with Iran, apart from those with Tehran. : TravisBickle (Travis), : USANews : FL : BBS (Tue Feb 25 16:08:04 2020, ) FL08FLFL 60 2 Florida Democrats sue to keep Sanders off primary ballot TALLAHASSEE Two Florida Democrats are suing to block Bernie Sanders from running as a Democrat in the states March 17 presidential primary. In a lawsuit filed Monday in circuit court in Leon County, the plaintiffs ask that Sanders be disqualified from the Democratic primary because hes a declared independent. The complaint also seeks to prevent state election officials from counting any votes Sanders has already received. More than 244,000 Democrats have already voted by mail in Florida. Karen Gievers, a former circuit court judge representing Frank Bach and George Brown, both Tallahassee Democrats, said Sanders should not be allowed on the Democratic ballot. Sanders caucuses with Democrats in the Senate but lists himself as an independent and has raised money in his Senate campaign account as an independent, according to the lawsuit. Florida is a closed primary state, yet here we have someone who is an independent on the Democratic ballot, said Gievers. You cant be an independent and be a member of the party. Gievers described Bach and Brown as military veterans and registered Democrats. Florida law gives political parties leeway to decide which candidates can appear on a partys primary ballot, and the Florida Democratic Party last year chose to include major candidates with national attention and national reach. Sixteen candidates will be listed on the partys primary ballot, even though several have withdrawn from the race. -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 162.] Normalcy was returning to the Khambhat town in Gujarat's Anand district on Wednesday following communal clashes during the previous three days, the police said. As many as 84 persons have been arrested, officials said. Seven First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered since Sunday, including one against former BJP MLA Sanjay Patel, members of the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) and some local councillors, the police said. Patel has not been arrested. He and others were accused of breaching a notification issued by the district magistrate imposing probibitory orders restricting movement of groups. They had organised a rally on Tuesday. At the rally held near Gawara Tower, attended by over 6,000 people, they allegedly made provocative speeches, as per an FIR registered at Khambhat city police station under the Gujarat Police Act. Tensions flared up on Tuesday amid thebandh (shut- down) call given by some Hindu outfits, leading to incidents of arson. No untoward incident was reported on Wednesday. The people who had fled their homes fearing violence were returning and markets remained open, a senior police official said. "In all, 84 persons have been arrested in seven FIRs lodged in connection with communal clashes that followed the bandh call yesterday," Inspector General of Police (Ahmedabad range) A K Jadeja said. "The situation is returning to normal. We carried out patrolling last night and today. Sufficient police deployment has been made," Jadeja said. At least 20 houses and as many vehicles were torched during the violence which began on Sunday. What triggered the violence was not yet clear, with some reports saying that it was spill-over from clashes that had erupted during the Uttarayan festival in January. Director General of Police Shivanand Jha visited the town on Tuesday and met people from both Hindu and Muslim communities. Teams of Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police were deployed across the town. The Gujarat Government had announced on Tuesday that it will impose the Disturbed Areas Act in some parts of the town. The Act seeks to stop distress sale of property in communally-sensitive areas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hong Kongs latest budget marks its first deficit in 15 years as it includes cash handouts and tax breaks. Hong Kong unveiled a record-high budget deficit on Wednesday, as it boosted cash handouts to residents and tax concessions for companies to cushion the shock of often-violent protests and the outbreak of a coronavirus on the recession-hit economy. The measures are aimed at supporting households and businesses that have suffered the economic fallout of the coronavirus, but may not reverse the long-term slide in growth as the city struggles with anti-government protests, analysts said. People are worried to do shopping because of the coronavirus, and after the epidemic is gone there is a high chance that violent protests will return. These two factors will make the tax concessions and cash handouts ineffective to boost consumption, Iris Pang, economist for Greater China at ING, told Al Jazeera. But the tax concessions and other relief measures on paying wages to empire can stabilise the job market a bit, Pang said in an email. Finance Secretary Paul Chan announced relief measures worth 120 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.4bn) on Wednesday, which dragged Hong Kongs budget into its first budget deficit in 15 years at 37.8 billion Hong Kong dollars ($4.85bn), or about 1.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for the 2019-20 fiscal year. The relief measures were largely comprised of one-off payments, including handouts of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,284) to Hong Kong residents aged over 18, tax breaks for firms, and other subsidies. Chan said he expected deficits for the next five years. The 2019-2020 budget included more than 30 billion Hong Kong dollars ($3.85bn) to cushion the hit from the protests, which saw activists and police clashing in shopping malls and the financial district. It also included 30 billion Hong Kong dollars ($3.85bn) in recently announced handouts for health authorities, small and medium-sized firms and low-income residents. The economy has been in recession for at least three quarters and many companies in tourism and retail are struggling to survive as a partial closure of the border reduces visitors to a trickle and keeps residents away from public areas. Whether this stimulus will be sufficient to pull Hong Kong SAR out of the recession that commenced in 2019 will depend on the severity and duration of the COVID-19 epidemic, Rajiv Biswas, APAC Chief Economist at IHS Markit told Al Jazeera. For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Chan expected a budget deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP or 139.1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($17.86bn), a record value in nominal terms. In 2003 and 2004, when Hong Kong faced a recession caused by an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the budget deficit reached 5.3 percent of GDP, according to ANZ analysts. The shortfall, which was larger than most analyst forecasts, accounts for lower revenues and the relief measures. While the stimulus measures do provide a significant boost to ordinary households through substantial new grants and tax rebates, the collapse of Chinese tourism and new orders is a substantial external shock to the Hong Kong economy, Biswas said. Ample reserves Hong Kong usually runs balanced budgets or surpluses, since its pegged currency system commits it to fiscal prudence. Its ample fiscal reserves, however, allow it to run annual budget deficits during periods of economic headwinds. Chan said while public spending was large, current circumstances were unique and the payouts would not impose a long-term fiscal burden. Fiscal reserves are estimated at 937.1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($120.28bn) by the end of March 2025, down from 1.1 trillion Hong Kong dollars ($141.19bn) expected in March 2020, a drop that leaves economists relaxed about the peg system. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.6 percent, performing worse than mainland shares but outpacing much of Asia. The Hong Kong dollar firmed slightly to 7.7890 per US dollar. Chan forecast the 2020 GDP would range between a contraction of 1.5 percent and growth of 0.5 percent. For all of 2019, the economy contracted by 1.2 percent, its first annual decline since 2009. The first quarter of 2020, when Hong Kong recorded its first coronavirus patients, is expected to be even worse. Analysts predict the coronavirus will cut 1 or 2 percentage points off first-quarter growth while the contraction for 2020 may be larger than last years, depending on the intensity of the outbreak. Its quite unlikely that Hong Kong can get out of recession because of this budget, said Natixis economist Gary Ng, who predicts a 5 percent GDP contraction this quarter, and a 3 percent drop for the whole year. Because of the weak consumer sentiment, we are not expecting the handout to channel fully into GDP growth. With additional reporting by Samantha Ho in Kuala Lumpur The largest number of Ukrainian lawsuits against Russia were filed in 2014-2015 with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Ukraine has filed lawsuits with all international judicial instances in Europe over damage and casualties of war, in which Russia is the defendant. RFE/RL's radio Donbas.Realii has put together a review of Ukrainian state-level legal actions in this regard, EuromaidanPress reports. The largest number of Ukrainian lawsuits against Russia were filed in 2014-2015 with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). According to the official website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the country has lodged there two actions for human rights violations in Crimea, two more for those in eastern Ukraine, and another lawsuit for the abduction and trafficking to Russia of orphans and children with disabilities by representatives of Russia-controlled "LPR" and "DPR" groups. In late 2018, Ukraine filed another international claim against Russia for violating the rights of political prisoners, and in early 2019 for violating the rights of captured Ukrainian naval crews. All said cases are at different stages of consideration. Additionally, individual citizens file their claims with the ECHR. For example, to recover damages caused in the course of the armed conflict in Donbas. However, individual complaints will not be considered until the court makes a decision in Ukraine's international lawsuit against Russia and determines who exercises effective control over the territory of the ORDLO ("Certain Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the official designation of the occupied territories in the east of Ukraine), according to Oleh Tarasenko, a senior strategic lawyer at the Right to Defense charity. UNs International Court of Justice (ICJ) considers one more lawsuit against Russia. Its first claim concerns Russias failure to fulfill its international obligations to counter the financing of terrorism. The main premise of Ukraine is that Russia does nothing to terminate its supply of weapons to the "DPR" and "LPR" militants. In this way, the Russian Federation contributed to the attacks of the militants on the civilian population. In particular, to the rocket attack on a bus near Volnovakha, the bombardments of Mariupol and Kramatorsk, as well as the destruction of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Read alsoICC to be able to prosecute Russian army commanders over Ukraine mission Amnesty International The second claim concerns Russias discrimination of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea. In particular, it is about the banning of the ruling body of the Crimean Tatar community, the Mejlis, and about arrests of activists. Ukraine filed these claims in early 2017. And within a few months, the court imposed provisional measures regarding the second charge, ordering Russia to refrain from violations of rights of the Crimean Tatars and to secure local residents' right to study in the Ukrainian language. In 2018, Ukraine provided evidence on the claims. According to then Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, the documents were in 29 volumes and weighed more than 90 kilograms. Russian representatives denied the terrorism sponsorship charges saying that Russian weapons were not shipped to the Donbas and that what was in possession of the LDNR formations were Soviet-made weapons preserved in the mines of Bakhmut and the ones seized from the Ukrainian army. The clarifying question on where the militants acquired the pieces of the newest Russian types of weapons remained unanswered by the representatives of the Kremlin. However, Russia's key point was to challenge the very jurisdiction of the UNs International Court of Justice. In November 2019, the court has rejected all Russia's objections and is going to proceed to direct examination of the case on its merits. Ex-deputy foreign minister Olena Zerkal says Russia now has time until December 9, 2020, to file its counter-memorandum. Ms. Zerkal believes that Ukraine has a good chance of winning these cases and prove in the international judiciary instances that Russia has been violating international law. The only way for the Russian Federation to obstruct that is to withdraw from the case or somehow make Ukraine recall its claim. Read alsoMFA Ukraine: Russia didn't comply with ITLOS decision even after return of Ukrainian boats (Video) Another institution, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), shares the same building in The Hague with the UN Tribunal. And Ukraine also filed another lawsuit against Russia with the PCA. Kyiv is trying to prove in court that Russia has been illegally extracting natural resources in the waters of the Black and Azov seas. Among the named violations are the seizure of the Odesa gas field, as well as gas deposits near the Crimean peninsula. Other charges include blocking transit sea traffic in the Kerch Strait, constructing the bridge there, and seizing control over fishing in the area. As earlier in the ICJ, Russia tries to challenge the jurisdiction of the PCA. If the court rejects Russia's objections, the hearing on the merits may begin in 2021. Recently, the Prosecutor-General's Office of Ukraine said they had conveyed a report on the forced issuing of Donbas residents with unrecognized "DPR" and "LPR" passports in order to complement the existing claims filed with the International Criminal Court, the institution dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since 2014, the court has been examining the case "Situation in Ukraine," dealing with the killings amid the Revolution of Dignity, as well as the further developments in Crimea and Donbas. The lawsuit has been periodically complemented with new evidence. For example, in late 2019, the PGO submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court evidence on the extrajudicial executions of nine Ukrainian servicemen during the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve. Read alsoUkrnafta beats Russia in Swiss Supreme Court over Crimea assets Human rights organizations also provide evidence. For example in 2019, the Kharkiv Human Rights Group and the Myrnyi Bereh NGO passed to the ICC a report on violent crimes committed in 2014-2018 during the armed conflict in Donbas, including murders of civilians, torture, and extrajudicial killings. So far, the activities of the International Criminal Court are limited to annual reports on the situation in Ukraine. It is yet to be announced when the hearing on Ukraine would start and whether it will start at all since the court considers such cases with under 1,000 victims when it is proved that a state has no capacity or is not willing to investigate such crimes on its own. National case definition: Smallpox Date of last revision/review: May 2008 National notification Confirmed, probable and suspect cases of disease should be notified. Contact the Public Health Agency of Canada immediately using the 24-hour emergency line 1-800-545-7661 even in the event of a suspected case. Type of surveillance Routine case-by-case notification to the federal level Case classification Confirmed case Laboratory confirmation of infection: isolation of variola virus from an appropriate clinical specimen or detection of variola virus nucleic acid Probable case Clinical evidence of illness in a person who is epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case or to a probable case or Laboratory evidence of infection: negative stain electron microscopic identification of variola virus in an appropriate clinical specimen Suspect case Clinical evidence of illness in a person who is not epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case or to a probable case of smallpox or Atypical lesion known to be associated with the variola virus on a person who is epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed or probable case Laboratory Comments Any testing related to suspected smallpox should be carried out under level 4 containment facilities at NML. Contact the Public Health Agency of Canada immediately using the 24-hour emergency line (1-800-545-7661), even in the event of a suspected case, in order to activate the ERAP program. Clinical evidence Smallpox is characterized by a febrile prodrome consisting of fever > 38.3 C and systemic symptoms (prostration, headache, back pain, abdominal pain and/or vomiting), which generally lasts one to four days and is followed by the development of a characteristic rash. The rash consists of deep, firm, well-circumscribed pustules that are mostly all in the same stage of development. The lesions are characteristically umbilicated. The lesions initially appear as macules, evolving into papules, vesicles and then pustules in a matter of days. Finally, crusted scabs form; they then fall off several weeks after the initial appearance of the rash. Lesions initially appear in the oral mucosa/palate and then progress in a centrifugal pattern to involve the face, arms, legs, palms and soles. Atypical presentations include flat velvety lesions that do not evolve into pustules and more severe forms with confluent or hemorrhagic lesions. ICD code(s) ICD-10 code(s): B03 B03 ICD-9 code(s): 050 Type of international reporting Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), any event involving one or more cases of smallpox (as defined in WHO case definitionsFootnote 1) must be immediately notified to the World Health Organization (WHO), irrespective of the context in which they occur. Each State Party shall notify WHO by way of the IHR National Focal Point, Footnote 2 and within 24 hours of assessment of public health information, of all events which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern within its territory in accordance with the decision instrument (Annex 2 of the IHR Footnote 3 ), as well as any health measure implemented in response to those events. According to the algorithm in Annex 2 of the IHR, a case of smallpox is unusual or unexpected and may have serious public health impact and thus shall be notified to WHO. and within 24 hours of assessment of public health information, of all events which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern within its territory in accordance with the decision instrument (Annex 2 of the IHR ), as well as any health measure implemented in response to those events. Comments It should be noted that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Emergency Preparedness and Response, provides slightly different case definitions. The CDC case definitions can be found at Enhanced Surveillance and Case Reporting. References Health Canada. Case definitions for diseases under national surveillance. CCDR 2000;26(S3). http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/aspc-phac/HP3-1-26-S3-eng.pdf Communicable Diseases Network Australia. Australian national notifiable diseases case definitions Smallpox 2004:61. Retrieved July 2017 from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cda-surveil-nndss-casedefs-cd_smpox.html Damon I. Orthopoxviruses: vaccinia (smallpox vaccine), variola (smallpox), monkeypox and cowpox. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Vol 2. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone. Elsevier, 2006. World Health Organization. International Health Regulations (2005). 3rd ed. Geneva, 2016, from http://www.who.int/ihr/publications/9789241580496/en/ Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, has signed an agreement with NIUM, a leading company in cross-border digital payments, to expand the number of corridors for its popular QuickRemit service. With this new initiative, Mashreq has become the first bank in the UAE to offer instant and same day credit facility to more than 30 countries across the world including the UK, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh and most European countries. The partnership aims at leveraging the immediate payment capability of receive countries to deliver payments instantly. Mashreq can now deliver customer payments instantly to Europe through using SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, Singapore via FAST (Fast and Secure Transfer) and the UK using the Faster Payment Services. This is in addition to India and Pakistan where customers have enjoyed instant transfers since 2017. The expansion of the QuickRemit facility comes against the backdrop of a growing remittance market in the UAE, as well as a rising need for fast and instant payment service. According to information from the UAE Central Bank, the outward remittance market in the UAE is witnessing significant growth with a 3 per cent year-on-year increase from Dh164.4 billion in 2017, to Dh169.2 billion in 2018. During the first half of 2019, outward remittances from the UAE stood at Dh80.96 billion. Subroto Som, executive vice president Group Head of Retail Banking Group, Mashreq Bank, said: Mashreq is envisaging a digital customer journey that is intuitive to interact and seamless to process. Partnering with industry experts in a key enabler in this endeavour and this partnership with NIUM contributes to Mashreqs vision of seamless customer experience. NIUM has proven its cross border transaction processing capability and Mashreq is happy to work with them to deliver exceptional customer value and convenience to its customers. Rohit Garg, head of Business Banking, FX & Remittances, Mashreq Bank, said: With this partnership, Mashreq now offers the widest network of instant / same day account credits from the UAE. QuickRemit is a product that offers unprecedented convenience through secure digital channels supported with faster credit, and is economical. We continue our effort towards designing customer centric solutions which makes their lives easier. Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO, NIUM, said: Real-time payments are becoming a big draw for banks to expand their CASA reach and we are proud to partner with Mashreq Bank as they become the first bank in Middle East to offer RTP to their customers. Cross border payments to Europe and Asia will take minutes and not days as earlier. At NIUM we are very excited about the potential of this partnership. QuickRemit is part of Mashreqs overarching strategy to introduce innovative products and services that offer seamless digital banking to its customers. Mashreq customers can avail the service round-the-clock through Mashreqs online banking platform and mobile banking application, Mashreq Mobile. Mashreq customers will be able to make instant or same-day transfers 24/7 providing them the peace of mind that the funds will be delivered with the urgency they might require it to. To remit money, all customers need to do is to log in into their account, go to money transfer and select QuickRemit, select a destination country and a beneficiary, enter the amount and confirm, and the money is on its way. TradeArabia News Service Temple student Luisa Suarez has always dreamed of her first trip to the voting booth, but worries that her vote won't be properly counted. Read more As a young immigrant, I dreamed for years about the day I would enter the voting booth and press that large green button. When I was a little girl, my father would take me to the polls on Election Day, whether the midterms, local elections, or the general election he made sure I was there watching him do his civic duty. He would then take me to breakfast and passionately instill in me the American values he so strongly believes in. At my citizenship ceremony last October, with tears in my eyes, I finally registered to vote in Pennsylvania. Yet today, the right to have my vote counted is called into question. The Democratic primary elections stumbled from the start. The app unveiled during the Iowa caucuses was reportedly rushed, full of glitches, and used by untrained precinct chairs. During their caucus, the Nevada Democratic Party vowed not to use the same application in fear of repeating the Iowa disaster. The mobile app issues allegedly stemmed from a coding error that delayed the transmission of Iowa caucus results from the application to the Iowa Democratic Party. While there were no reports of cybersecurity breaches, the apps creator, Shadow Inc., attracted a slew of conspiracy theories. Shadow Inc., launched by a left-leaning nonprofit, was hired by the Iowa Democratic Party to develop the caucuses reporting app. However, Shadow Inc. has also developed text messaging software for Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden, causing some social media users to don their shiny tin foil hats and accuse Buttigieg of buying an Iowa victory. Election security has been a prominent concern since the 2016 presidential election cycle. On March 19, 2016, John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clintons campaign, clicked on a fake email that asked him to change his password. Months later, 20,000 DNC emails were leaked by WikiLeaks, days before the Democratic National Convention. Since then, election interference has been the subject of an FBI investigation, and federal officials announced that Russian hackers had targeted voting systems in 21 states during the 2016 election. READ MORE: How your vote will get cast and counted on Phillys new voting machines | Opinion The lack of outside vetting for the app the Department of Homeland Security claimed Iowa Democrats declined a DHS offer to test the Shadow application, which the Democrats have since denied is not only a glaring election security issue, its also a political issue. Employing a company with ties to multiple Democratic presidential candidates puts the apps legitimacy into question. How can we expect the American people to trust our processes when we take papier-mache strength precautions? At a time in American history when trust in our political process has a weak pulse, we cannot afford to be careless. As potential voters navigate modern politics, they should feel confident that when they enter the voting booth, their votes will be protected. In a country whose foundation is the power of the people, whose disenfranchised have waged civil rights movements for their right to vote, our voter security should be no question. The New York Times reported last week that intelligence officials have new information suggesting that Russia intends to interfere in both the current primaries and the general election. Are we as vulnerable now as we were in 2016? READ MORE: The Iowa caucus was chaotic garbage. Why not let Pennsylvanians vote first instead? | Opinion As primaries continue and general elections approach, we must enforce new restrictions on political technology. It should be a requirement, not an option, that apps be tested and approved by the Department of Homeland Security before being used by the public. Companies that develop this technology should also not have a partisan leaning, let alone ties to individual candidates. That gives the public more room to trust apps, after all the public scrutiny of Iowa. While there is no set procedure to resuscitate the American peoples trust, there are precautionary steps we can take not to weaken it further. Ensuring that our political technology is vetted and secure is unquestionably one of them. The Pennsylvania primary will be the first time I walk into the voting booth myself and press that large green button. While I am immensely excited to perform my civic duty, I am saddened to say that I will not be voting with confidence that my vote will be protected. I hope that America can wake up and change my feelings by the next election. Luisa Suarez is a sophomore journalism and political science student at Temple University. Several protesters, including students and alumni of Jamia Millia Islamia, who were detained at the Civil Lines police station late on Tuesday night for gheraoing Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals residence seeking action against those responsible for violence in the national capital and restoration of peace in the city were released on Wednesday morning. The call to gherao the CMs residence was given by Jamia Co-ordination Committee (JCC) and Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia. (AAJMI). At around 3.30am, water cannons were used to disperse the protesters, said the agitating students. Earlier, the JCC, in a statement, said that water cannons were fired upon the protesting students and they were beaten up. Watch | Delhi violence: Students protest outside CM Kejriwals residence, detained All detained protesters released. They are being taken to Aruna Asif Ali Hospital for treatment, the JCC said this morning. People gathered outside Kejriwals residence and raised slogans demanding action against those responsible for violence in Delhi. Appealing to Kejriwal to take action against the violence in affected areas in North-East Delhi, protesters, who called themselves concerned citizens, asked the chief minister to personally visit affected areas with local MLAs and organise peace marches to de-escalate tensions. They also urged the chief minister to inform citizens about steps taken by the Delhi government and allow all rescue operations to reach hospitals from the affected areas. Late on Tuesday, CM Kejriwal called an urgent meeting at his residence, of MLAs and officials of the violence-hit areas of Delhi, to take stock of the situation and issued instructions to take all necessary steps to restore peace. The same night, in the wake of violence in North East Delhi, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval reached Seelampur area to take stock of the situation and visited violence-hit areas. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with Delhi Police and Home Ministry officials in the wake of violence that has been raging in the national capital for the past two days. The Home Minister urged political parties leaders to exercise restraint, rise above party lines to tackle the situation, according to an official release. He also urged leaders to avoid giving provocative speeches and statements which could result in a flare-up of the situation. In a measure to control the escalating situation, the government immediately repatriated 1985 batch IPS officer S N Shrivastava, from the CRPF back to Delhi Police, and appointed him as special commissioner of police law and order At least 13 people have died so far and around 190 are injured in the violence that has been raging in North-East Delhi since Monday. Public health officials have asked roughly 175 people who have arrived in Ohio from China to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent the potential spread of the new coronavirus, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said. No one thus far in Ohio has tested positive for the new virus, but the department has chosen to ask for self-quarantining since COVID-19 is highly infectious, Acton said in a Monday telephone interview from Washington, where she was attending a conference to learn more about the virus. In Ohio, weve taken a very conservative approach, she said. The CDC has had varying levels of guidance, because its an evolving situation. New infections and deaths in China are falling, but they are rapidly increasing in South Korea, Italy and Iran. Oslo: Two environmental groups said on Monday they were taking the Norwegian state to the Supreme Court for granting oil licences in the Arctic. Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom (Nature and Youth) said oil drilling licences granted to companies in 2016 should be cancelled because they violate Norway's constitution, which includes a right to a healthy environment. They said that emissions from oil activities and fossil fuels jeopardise the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit warming from climate change to less than 2 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial temperatures. However, the organisations have already suffered two legal setbacks in both an Oslo district court and an appeals court, which ruled that their concerns were hypothetical as there was no certainty fossil fuels would be discovered. However, the appeals court judges said CO2 emissions from Norwegian oil should be taken as a whole -- meaning not only emissions from the production but also from the use of oil and petrol even outside the country. "Opening up the pristine areas in the Arctic for oil drilling in the time of climate emergency is not acceptable," Greenpeace Norway head Frode Pleym said in a statement. "The use of oil and gas produced in Norway and burned elsewhere contributes to 10 times the domestic emissions of Norway." As the largest producer of oil in Western Europe, Norway is struggling to break its dependence on hydrocarbons, which made the country rich and enabled it to amass a sovereign wealth fund of more than one trillion dollars. "The world has already found more oil, coal and gas than we can burn if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change," Therese Hugstmyr Woie, head of Natur og Ungdom, said in a statement. "Of course Norway has a responsibility not to produce more oil than the climate can support." The case concerns 10 licences issued for exploration drilling in the Barents Sea. The beneficiaries include the Norwegian Equinor (formerly Statoil), the Americans Chevron and ConocoPhillips and the Russian Lukoil. The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether or not to hear the case in the coming months. Walter Isaacson, Perella Weinberg Partners advisory partner, said Iger will act in a different capacity as executive chairman. "What's particularly interesting in this transition is Bob Iger saying he's going to spend the next year and a half or however long it is being an executive chairman focused mainly on creative. He came in not as the creative person. He came in as a business suit so to speak in the Hollywood jargon. I think Bob Iger has great taste, he has great fingertip feel for both television and stars but he's not one of these Hollywood people who is known as the creative product person so it'll be interesting to see that he decided to cast himself in that role for the next year and a half." President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump step off Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Feb. 26, 2020. Trump returned to Washington after a two-day official visit to India. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Trump to Hold Press Conference After Receiving Coronavirus Briefing President Donald Trump will be briefed on the new coronavirus at the White House on Feb. 26 before holding a press conference with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland around 2 a.m. Eastern Time. He and First Lady Melania Trump were in India for several days. Upon landing, Trump told supporters that his trip to India was very successful before adding that he was heading to the White House for meetings and calls. The CDC and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar were doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! the president wrote in a tweet. He said he would be briefed on the situation with the virus Wednesday afternoon. After accusing some media outlets of trying to make the new virus look as bad as possible, the president said hed have a press conference at the White House at 6 p.m. Eastern Time after being briefed. HHS Secretary Alex Azar speaks about the coronavirus while flanked by (L-R), Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and Commissioner of Food and Drugs Stephen Hahn during a press briefing on the administrations response to COVID-19 at the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington on Feb. 25, 2020. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) The announcements came after Democratic presidential candidates criticized the administrations and Trumps response to the virus at a debate on Tuesday night. Trump has told us that this coronavirus is going to end in two months. April is the magical day that this great scientist we have in the White House has determinedI wish I was kidding; that is what he said, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said. What I would do immediately is restore the funding. He cut the funding for CDC. He tried to cut the funding for NIH. He cut the funding for the entire effort, said former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump issued a statement in response, writing on Twitter: CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. The new virus, which causes an illness called COVID-19, has caused epidemics in a number of countries after emerging in China late last year. A top CDC official warned Americans on Tuesday to prepare for the virus spreading in communities. The warning was an escalation over previous advisories. The data over the last week and spread in other countries has certainly raised our level of concern, and raised our level of expectation that we are going to have community spread here, so that has changed our tone, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the official, told reporters in a phone call, referring to the rapid increases in other nations, especially Iran, South Korea, and Italy. Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Feb. 26, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Azar, who is leading Trumps coronavirus task force, told reporters at a briefing later in the day that community spread in other countries will make successful containment at our borders harder and harder. The World Health Organization this week declined to declare the multiple epidemics a pandemic, but Messonnier said that two of the three criteria for a pandemic have been met. The fact that this virus has caused illnessincluding illness that has resulted in deathand sustained person-to-person spread is concerning. These factors meet two of the criteria for a pandemic, she said. As community spread is detected in more and more countries, the world moves closer towards meeting the third criteria: worldwide spread of the new virus. Azar said that officials are attempting to be transparent about the response to the virus as task force members emphasized that no community spread of the virus has taken place yet in the United States and two weeks have passed with no new cases outside of those evacuated from Japan or China. There are 57 confirmed cases in America, with 40 of the patients among those evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked in Yokohama, or Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus. A bus believed to carry the U.S. passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess leave the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 17, 2020. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters) Pressed on the warning of possible community spread, Azar said Messonnier was previewing for the American people that we have public health tools of mitigation that we can and will use. Its important for people to know we arent helpless, we have tools, we have actually a defined playbook for taking steps to help if we do see community spread, he said. We hope those steps arent necessary. We hope that we dont face those kinds of eventualities. But transparency is being candid with people about what the continuum of potential steps are so that they can start processing in their own heads, thinking about in their own lives what that might involvemight, might involvenot will, we cannot make predictions with any degree of certainty. Officials said theyve been planning for years for a scenario that could play out with the new virus: spread in locales with no vaccine and no proven treatment. Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday about the virus: I think thats a problem thats going to go away. The patients in the United States, he said, are all getting better. A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei Province, China on Feb. 24, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters) Earlier Tuesday, he wrote on Twitter: The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me! The White House earlier in the week sent Congress a $2.5 billion supplemental budget request, asking for funds to combat the new virus. The money would be used for therapeutics and personal protective equipment such as masks, with some $1 billion or more to be directed toward vaccine development, the White House said. Some lawmakers have accused the administration of not being prepared if the number of infections rises. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that the administration is in total disarray when it comes to the crisis of the coronavirus. Schumer alleged that funding cuts to the CDC have led to the current situation. We need this administration to put together a comprehensive plan, he said. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation is giving a Grand Rapids Community College summer program more money to help high school students prepare for life after graduation. The $240,000 grant was awarded to the 2020 Summer Learning Academy. GRCC officials said this will allow the Cruisin to College program to grow to include 100 rising high school sophomores. GRCC Associate Dean of K-12 Enrollment David Selmon said the free program has been successful at growing a college-going culture. We want students to be inspired and realize the opportunities available to them," he said. "Theyll be able to experience college and careers and become familiar with the resources that can help them reach their goals. The program is designed for students to build academic skills, focusing on mathematics. Students work with professional tutors to build skills that will help them be successful when they return to the classroom in the fall. Organizers want students to be able to skip remedial classes once in college. The program isnt just about academics. It includes opportunities for career readiness and exploration - like meeting employers from different fields, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing, information technology, energy and finance. Students also get to learn about resume writing and interviewing skills. Cruisin to College offers students robust career exploration, rigorous work-based learning, and targeted math instruction," said Luis Lugo, director of Community Initiatives for the foundation. "We believe these are essential elements in helping our young people advance their learning and uncover how their interests can lead to rewarding careers. Last year, the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation awarded the program $160,000 to help with its expansion. In 2017, the foundation gave $60,000 to support expansion. Related: GRCC summer learning academies benefit Wyoming, Grand Rapids students Students in the program get to visit Michigan universities such as Ferris State and Grand Valley State University to get a better idea of other higher education opportunities. Teens in the program earn a $500 stipend for completing the program and get to go on free field trips. In order to be eligible, students must have a parent or guardian involved and be willing to commit to the entire summer program. The program runs from June 15 to Aug. 7. Student have to attend an information session and orientation with their parent or guardian and take a math assessment test. Students must also be enrolled in one of the high schools GRCC partners with for the initiative when they apply. Those include: GRPS Schools (All high schools) Kelloggsville High School Godfrey Lee High School Godwin Heights High School Wyoming High School East Kentwood High School If you have questions about the program or would like to learn more, you can call (616) 234-2478, or email Juan Cisneros at juancisneros@grcc.edu or Elino Cortes Figuereo at elinocortesfiguereo@grcc.edu. More From MLive: Grand Rapids reverses delay on marijuana applications hours after voting for it When a mental illness is fatal: Daughters suicide leads to new mission for mom Ex-offenders struggle to find housing in Grand Rapids hot market By Kim Bo-eun The corporate governance structure of Tongyang and ABL Life Insurance, owned by China's Dajia Insurance Group, will likely remain unchanged despite China's regulators' management of Dajia coming to an end last week. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said in a statement Saturday that it had ended a two-year takeover of Anbang Insurance Group, which the authority reestablished as Daija group last year. China's regulator took over the troubled Anbang group in February 2018 to improve its financial health, after the group fell into heavy debt following its excessive acquisition of overseas assets. Anbang's former chairman Wu Xiaohui was sentenced to 18 years in jail for financial fraud and embezzlement in May the same year. CBIRC established Dajia group in July 2019, with Anbang's healthy assets including its life insurance, pension and asset management businesses. The regulator's management of the insurance group was initially set to end in February 2019, but was extended by another year. CBIRC, which has sought to privatize Dajia group, said Dajia is now seeking to attract strategic investors. The regulator said it has "secured social investors" to establish an adequate shareholding structure for Dajia. Both Tongyang and ABL said they could not offer a precise explanation on what "social investors" referred to. Both insurers also said they had not received any notifications on Dajia's management plans since CBIRC's management of the group came to an end last week. Tongyang said in a statement released Monday that its governance structure would remain unchanged. Dajia Life Insurance holds 42.01 percent of Tongyang Life's shares and Dajia Life's affiliate Anbang Group Holdings holds 33.3 percent. Anbang Group Holdings owns 100 percent of ABL Life's shares. MADISON, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said Wednesday they have suspended study-abroad programs with South Korea and China amid fears of the coronavirus. State health officials, meanwhile, stressed during a conference call with reporters that the number of confirmed infections in Wisconsin remains at one and influenza poses a more serious threat to state residents right now. UW-Madison officials said five students enrolled at Yonsei University and Korea University in Seoul will be returning to the United States. University spokesman John Lucas said he didnt know their individual destinations. The university made the move after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised their warning levels to avoid non-essential travel to South Korea. Lucas said Wednesday that the university suspended its Chinese study-abroad program in late January. Seven students were not able to travel to the country as a result. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday that UW-Milwaukee has asked two students studying abroad in South Korea to return to the U.S. in light of the CDC warning. Theyre due to fly back on Friday. UW-Milwaukee doesnt have any students studying in China. State health officials told reporters during a conference call Wednesday afternoon that the state has still seen only one confirmed case. That person contracted the virus in China while on vacation to celebrate the Chinese New Year; the infection was confirmed in early February. Tests on another patient are still pending but the immediate risk to communities in Wisconsin has not changed, Ryan Westergaard, the states chief medical officer and state epidemiologist for communicable diseases, said. The state Department of Health Services is reviewing its plans for dealing with a large-scale outbreak, said .Jeff Phillips, DHS director of emergency preparedness The strategy includes conserving respirators, how to care for people through telehealth techniques and how to encourage social distancing by cancelling or postponing large gatherings, encouraging colleges to hold classes remotely and imposing quarantines, Phillips said. Still, Westergaard noted Wisconsin has seen 20,000 cases of influenza this flu season and DHS considers that a more serious threat to public health in the state than the coronavirus. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1 The sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre has said he has "lost confidence" in the inquest process. Alan Black and relatives of the ten Protestant men who were shot dead in their work van near the Co Armagh village in 1976 walked out of the inquest today. The walk-out was in protest over the refusal to name two IRA men suspected of involvement in the murders. The BBC reports that during the inquest today Coroner Brian Sherrard said naming the individuals was a "complicated" matter and said he would consider the arguments. Mr Black was the only man to survive the massacre. He was shot 18 times in the hail of bullets that killed his work colleagues. No one has ever been convicted over the murders. Mr Black told the Belfast Telegraph: "We were promised back in the day openness and transparency. It has become just the opposite. I am sick about it." Expand Close Kingsmill / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kingsmill Mr Black criticised the delays in the process and talked of the toll the process is having on the victims' relatives. "I have not walked away, I am still hoping that someone that was well placed back in the day will come forward as a whistleblower and blow this thing wide open." "But I have no confidence in the process." Mr Black expressed frustration that one suspect's name, which he says is known "all over Ireland", has not been named in court. "We have just had enough. I am sick to the pit of my stomach," he said. "I have a great loyalty to the boys that died and a great loyalty to their families that were left behind and to see some of them aged people in tears, it is just not fair." Expand Close The victims of the Kingsmill massacre (clockwise from top left): Robert Chambers; John Bryans; Joseph Lemmon; James McWhirter; Robert Freeburn; Robert Walker; Reginald Chapman; Kenneth Worton; John McConville and Walter Chapman / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The victims of the Kingsmill massacre (clockwise from top left): Robert Chambers; John Bryans; Joseph Lemmon; James McWhirter; Robert Freeburn; Robert Walker; Reginald Chapman; Kenneth Worton; John McConville and Walter Chapman The next inquest hearing is scheduled for the week beginning March 23 but Mr Black is not sure if he will attend. "I don't know if I will go or not," he said. "It has knocked the heart out of me. It is brave words I put up outside the court that I was not giving up, but there is no chance of us getting the truth." Mr Black appealed to anyone who has any information about the murders to contact his legal team. The ten workman were shot dead on January 5 1976 after gunmen stopped their van and asked who among them was a Catholic, and instructed that man to leave the scene. DUP MLA William Irwin said the search for justice for the families "must go on". He said: I will continue to support the families in any way possible and we must always explore any avenue available to secure justice for those who were so brutally murdered. "Many had hoped the inquest may have proved to be more fruitful in that process and it is disappointing that the families appear now to have lost confidence in that process. "We must look at how this disappointing situation has arisen and stand with those families as they continue in their long-standing search for justice. Wind power is set to become a major source of energy in South Africa, with big plans underway for the construction and activation of wind farms across the country. Cabinets approved 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlines increased allocations for wind power, which will result in the renewable generation technology forming a greater part of the countrys energy mix. The latest IRP states that by 2030, 14.4GW of South Africas energy mix will have been allocated to wind power. This is equal to 18% of the total energy in the country. South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli told MyBroadband that South Africa will have to add 1.6GW of wind energy to the grid each year until 2030 to reach this goal. On average, 640 steel towers and 1920 individual blades will need to be constructed and installed each year from 2022 until 2030 to meet the allocation of 1.6GW per year, Ntombifuthi said. This translates to a total of about 5,700 new turbines by 2030. Clean energy over coal In the short term, as load-shedding continues to cripple the economy, South Africans can expect 12 new wind farms to come online. Twelve wind farms are currently being constructed across the country and will begin coming on stream within the next few months, pushing much-needed power into the countrys national grid, Ntombifuthi said. However, the industry needs further procurement to ensure that the next round of wind farms can begin construction in order to deliver in line with the countrys resource plan. Ntombifuthi said that the Presidents State of the Nation (SONA) address did address the renewable sector, but it needed a clear timeline with support from the Minister. Most recently, the Presidents SONA address gave a clear nod to the sector, but in order to deliver, a clear timeline that includes a Ministerial Determination is needed to kick-start next round of wind farms, she said. It is also important to note that as these wind farms are built across the country, around 12GW of coal power plants will be decommissioned between 2020 and 2030. Ntombifuthi said this plan takes the opportunity to adopt a cleaner energy mix when replacing the generation capacity from these plants. Wind farms all over South Africa South Africa is in a prime position to take advantage of wind energy, Ntombifuthi said. South Africa offers exceptional wind resource potential throughout most of the country, but particularly along our extended 3,000 km coastline, she said. To date, wind farms have been developed across the southern part of the country, with the majority situated in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, and the Western Cape being the third in line. There are many wind farm projects which are currently under construction, with even more slated for the next eight years. Below is a list of South African wind farms currently being built, along with their generation capacity. Facility Power The Nxuba Wind Farm 148MW Oyster Bay Wind Farm 147.6MW The Karusa Wind Farm 147MW The Soetwater Wind Farm 147MW Roggeveld Wind Farm 147MW Garob Wind Farm 144.9MW Kangnas Wind Farm 140.3MW Golden Valley Wind 120MW Perdekraal East Wind Farm 110.4MW Copperton Wind Farm 107.1MW Excelsior Wind Energy Facility 32.5MW Wind Farm map A map of completed wind power facilities and projects under construction is shown below. The green map pins show projects under construction, while the other colours show completed wind farms. NCP MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah owning moral responsibility for the "huge security lapse" in connection with the violence in Delhi, which has so far killed 20 people. The Baramati MP also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct a "transparent" probe into the alleged security lapse. "The Centre should be held responsible for what has happened in Delhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah must resignowning moral responsibility," Sule told reporters outside the Vidhan Bhavan (Legislature Complex) here. "It is a huge security lapse during US President Donald Trump's visit. The home minister is responsible for it," she added. "There should be an impartial probe into it...It is my humble request that the PM carries out a transparent inquiry into the security lapse," the NCP leader said. At least 20 people have been killed since Sunday in the communal violence in Northeast Delhi, triggered after clashes between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters. Talking to reporters separately, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, "TheGodhra model has been replicated in Delhi." He was referring to the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat, in which over 1,000 people, mostly from the minority community, were killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Winnipeg man who faked his own kidnapping to pay off a gambling debt has been spared a criminal conviction that would have likely seen him deported to his native China. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Winnipeg man who faked his own kidnapping to pay off a gambling debt has been spared a criminal conviction that would have likely seen him deported to his native China. Yang Xi, 32, previously pleaded guilty to public mischief for the February 2018 incident and on Tuesday was granted a three year conditional discharge. "Im giving you a chance here, Mr. Xi," said provincial court Judge Kael Mckenzie. "This is not an opportunity I came to lightly." McKenzie sentenced Xi to three years supervised probation, during which time he is to complete 240 hours of community service work and abstain from all forms of gambling, even scratch-and-win tickets. Court has heard Xi, in Canada on a student visa, had disappeared for several hours when his wife received a video text message that had been sent to Xis mother in China showing him struggling on the ground, with his hands and feet bound by tape. A second message sent to Xis mother demanded $66,666 be paid within the next 10 hours, warning that if family members called police they would not see Xi again. Xis wife called Winnipeg police and, hours later, received another text message reporting "that if they had any final words for (Xi), this would be his last night," court heard. Police traced Xis cellphone to a St. Vital apartment and arrived to find Xis 2016 Volkswagen Jetta parked outside. Xi was found inside the apartment, unharmed, with two friends. 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. Interviewed by police, Xi quickly admitted his "big mistake," saying he had lost $40,000 to a gambling addiction and needed money from his parents to pay off his debts. According to a psychological report provided to court, Xi suggested his gambling problem started shortly after his arrival in Winnipeg in 2017, but in an interview with police, Xis wife alleged it was Xis gambling debts in China that spurred their move to Canada. At a hearing last year, Crown attorney Mark Kantor recommended Xi be sentenced to six months house arrest, arguing the premeditated nature of his crime -- which tied up the resources of the Winnipeg Police Services tactical support team and major crimes unit, as well as both the Canadian and Chinese embassies disentitled him from a conditional discharge. While his kidnapping plot was unsophisticated and motivated by greed, Xi has taken significant steps to rehabilitate himself since his arrest, Mckenzie said, including having himself banned from all Winnipeg gambling centres, and undergoing a psychological assessment and addictions counselling. "Mr. Xi has demonstrated that he has been deterred and he has learned from his mistakes," McKenzie said. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca London: Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski have combined to lead a devastating second-half attacking display by Bayern Munich in their 3-0 win at Chelsea in their Champions League last-16 first leg. Meanwhile, on a night when Lionel Messi was expected to put on a show in the Stadio San Paolo that was once Diego Maradona's home, the Barcelona forward did relatively little in a 1-1 draw with Napoli. From left: Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Alphonso Davies celebrate a big win over Chelsea. Credit:Getty Images In London, Chelsea were torn apart by the intensity of the German champions but held out until the 51st minute when Gnabry netted the opener after playing a one-two with Lewandowski. Former Arsenal winger Gnabry started the move that led to Bayern's second inside three minutes, releasing Lewandowski on the left flank again and racing forward to receive ball back in the penalty area and slotting into the net. For the first time, one commercial satellite has grabbed hold of another one in orbit around Earth, demonstrating a technology that could help reduce the proliferation of space debris around our planet by enabling the repair and refueling of dying spacecraft. This is the first time in history a docking has been performed with a satellite that was not pre-designed with docking in mind, Joe Anderson, a vice president at SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, said during a telephone news conference on Wednesday. The company built the robotic Mission Extension Vehicle-1, or MEV-1, which was launched in October on top of a Russian Proton rocket. Over the past few months, it has made its way to more than 22,000 miles above Earths surface, just above what is known as geosynchronous orbit. Its target was Intelsat 901, an 18-year-old communications satellite that is working fine but running low on fuel. Saudi Arabia has banned religious pilgrims from visiting Mecca or Medina to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Kingdom. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom stated that they had been following developments of the virus for some time. In order to support countries impacted by the virus it said the Kingdom would be implementing 'approved international standards' in the form of a temporary ban on pilgrimages. The measure will raise fears over this year's hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca which begins in July and attracts more than two million worshippers. Completing the hajj at least once in a lifetime is one of the five pillars of Islam, but there is no word on whether the restrictions will still be in place by July. In addition, the umrah pilgrimage - which can be made at any time of year - will be heavily affected, especially because many pilgrims choose to undertake it during Ramadan which starts in April. Saudi Arabia had temporarily banned religious pilgrims from visiting Mecca or Medina to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Kingdom (Muslim pilgrims pictured earlier this week) 'The kingdom's government has decided to take the following precautions: suspending entry to the kingdom for the purpose of umrah and visit to the Prophet's mosque temporarily,' the foreign ministry said in a statement. It has also suspended entry for those travelling into the Kingdom with a tourist visa, if they have come from countries where the virus has been spreading. The statement also revealed that the Kingdom would be suspending Saudi nationals and citizens of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council with national identity cards from travelling to and from the Kingdom, with the exception of Saudis who are abroad. 'The Kingdom affirms that these procedures are temporary, and is subject to continuous evaluation by the competent authorities. Since cases of the COVID-19 illness soared in Italy over the weekend they have spread around Europe, with mainland Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia today all declaring their first infected patients 'The Kingdom renews its support for all international measures taken to limit the spread of the virus. 'The Foreign Ministry calls on citizens not to travel to countries where the new Coronavirus (COVID) is spreading. We ask God Almighty to spare us all humanity, all harm.' The decision from the Kingdom comes as sports events across the globe has been postponed due to the outbreak. Ireland's rugby match against Italy on Saturday was postponed today amid fears Italian fans could bring the virus to Dublin but England's Six Nations fixture in Rome on March 14 is still going ahead. England's FA is holding urgent talks today about whether it is safe to host Italy's football team for a Wembley friendly on March 27. This is while several businesses today in the UK also sent staff home over fears that employees could be carrying the virus. History, its said, repeats itself first as tragedy, and then as f[LOUD CROSSTALK] [LOUD CROSSTALK] SENATOR, THAT IS [GARBLED] WHAT HE SAID IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE [SHOUTING] FIDEL CASTRO [BOOING] DENMARK!?!?! [CHEERING] CANDIDATES! CANDIDATES! PLEASE RESPECT THE RULES Sorry! Got carried away there in the manner of Tuesdays Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolinaa sequel to last Wednesdays eventful contest in Las Vegas that went a little too heavy on the originals much-praised fighting spirit. While the Las Vegas debates confrontations about high-stakes subjects were entertaining and informative for voters who might still be trying to differentiate between candidates, Charlestons could probably best be summarized by this heroically transcribed stretch during which Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders talked over each other about whether the latters comments about Castros Cuba betrayed an unacceptable sympathy for radicalism: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CBS MODERATOR MARGARET BRENNAN: Sen. Sanders, your response. SANDERS: Let us be clear, do we think health care for all, Pete, is some kind of radical communist idea? (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: Well, you brought this up, lets talk about that. (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: Do we think raising the minimum wage to a living wage (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: Im happy to respond to the question because this is really important (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: do we think building the millions of units of affordable housing that we need (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: If youre going to ask that rhetorical question, lets (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: do we think raising taxes on billionaires is a radical idea? (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: Lets talk about this. Lets talk about whats radical about that plan. (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: Do you think criminal justice reform is a radical idea? (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: The things you just named are things (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: Do you think immigration reform? The truth is, Pete (CROSSTALK) BRENNAN: One at a time. (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: the American people support my agenda. (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: The way youre talking about doing it is radical by (CROSSTALK) SANDERS: That is why I am beating Trump in virtually every poll that is done, and why I will defeat him. (CROSSTALK) BUTTIGIEG: Weve got to open this up. Universal health care, for example Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (At this point, Brennan moved on to Klobuchar, who got into her own fight with Sanders by calling him alienating.) Is candidates position on 1960s Cuba going to be a top-of-mind concern on Super Tuesday? Probably not. Should Sanders have judiciously dropped the subject instead of stubbornly insisting that you can praise Fidel Castros literacy programs while deploring his human rights record? Probably. Was Buttigiegs hippie/red-baiting disingenuous, and did he get so carried away with it that he accidentally ended up denouncing the civil rights movement? Definitely. But did that stop either of them from talking at the other peevishly? Nope! Advertisement Advertisement A large part of this was the fault of CBSs moderators, who seemed to be goading the candidates into arguing while being completely unprepared to deal with their argumentativeness. In the first hour of the debate they asked Joe Biden why his poll numbers are slipping with black voters, then brought up, for the nth time, the issue of whether Sanders can really pay for Medicare for Alltwo non-illuminating electability subjects that dont advance anyones understanding of racial inequities or medical costs but do provide a trigger for everyone onstage to butt in with a prepared sound bite about their own case for beating Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But just as big of a problem was the sheer number of Democrats trying to make their case, which was higher this week than last because self-funding progressive investor Tom Steyer, whod missed the cut for Las Vegas, qualified for Charleston at the last minute. Sanders is leading the field, but hes an unorthodox front-runner whose socialist self-labeling leads many in the party to fear a general election wipeout; hes followed by four other candidates who are within seven points of each other and two who have just enough support to convince themselves that they should hang around in case everyone else self-defenestrates. None of these people have an incentive to do the above-the-fray, confident thing; theyre all trying to convey as urgently as possible that they are the candidate who is forceful, compelling, reasonable, empathetic, and inspiring enough to deserve your vote. There is just no way for seven people to do that in two hours without repeatedly trying to shove everyone else out of the way, especially when they all come prepared, because of last weeks explosiveness, to do a lot of shoving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were some moments of usefully clear communication. Elizabeth Warren talked about her own life-disrupting early-20s pregnancy before bringing up the allegation, from an employee lawsuit, that Michael Bloomberg once recommended that a subordinate kill her own fetus. (He denies it, though the Washington Post found a corroborating witness.) Pete Buttigieg compared the filibuster-enabled blockade of gun legislation to South Carolina white supremacist Strom Thurmonds blockade of desegregation laws, gave an answer about supporting public education that was nicely tied to his husbands job as a teacher, and generally seemed less frantic than everyone else even when he was doing his interrupting. Joe Biden, who otherwise responded to every question by BARKING INDIGNANTLY ABOUT HOW HE GOT THINGS DONE WITH OBAMA, got Sanders to admit that hed cast a bad vote when he helped defeat a bill that would have allowed gun manufacturers to be held liable for harm caused by their products. Even Bloomberg, after his now-ritual humiliation by Warren, gave sensible-sounding answers about public health and marijuana. Advertisement Advertisement These moments happened during brief periods of calm that emerged in the tumult of the debates first hour or so. In the second hour, the moderators mostly got the crosstalk under control, but only by going from candidate to candidate asking perplexingly pointed gotcha questions about relatively minor issues, as if to help hypothetical opponents nail them with negative ads about their weakness and lack of patriotism. The looming threat of a coronavirus pandemic was barely mentioned, and when it was, it was brought up not to compare the details of the candidatess crisis-management plans, but in order to challenge Klobuchar to say whether shed close the border to prevent infected U.S. citizens from returning home. Warren was asked skeptically to explain how removing combat troops from the Middle East would protect Americas national security, and then time was for some reason spent asking three candidates separately whether they would allow Chinese firms to build critical U.S. infrastructure. Joe Biden got asked whether he would launch a retaliatory cyberattack against Russia if it continued interfering in U.S. elections, and three more candidates were surveyed on whether the U.S. should move its Israeli Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalema subject that squeezes one of the nations most long-running and vexing diplomatic problems, Israeli-Palestinian relations, down to a yes/no question about a single provocative decision by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With nobody in control of the debate, and with nobody able to take charge under the circumstances, the positive way to look at things is that voters in South Carolina and the Super Tuesday states will have to make their choice based on blind-flying determinations about who the best candidate would be rather than whose nomination seems most inevitable. Given the levels of indecision and self-second-guessing that the Democratic electorate has thus far demonstrated, though, it is not certain that this will actually help narrow the field by March 15, when the next debate is set to take place in Phoenix. In other words, theres still time for Hillary, Al Gore, and newly retired Disney CEO Bob Iger to jump in the race. Just kidding! Maybe! [February 25, 2020] Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024 | Growing Advances in NLP, ML, and AI Technologies to Boost Growth | Technavio Technavio has been monitoring the conversational systems market, and it is poised to grow by USD 12.06 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 29% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005796/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Growing advances in NLP, ML, and AI technologies has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Request a free sample report Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Conversational Systems Market is segmented as below: Type Text Voice Geographic segmentation APAC Europe MEA North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40129 Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our conversational systems market report covers the following areas: Conversational Systems Market size Conversational Systems Market trends Conversational Systems Market industry analysis This study identifies the demand for vernacular chatbots as one of the prime reasons driving the conversational systems market growth during the next few years. Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the conversational systems market, including some of the vendors such as Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Baidu Inc., Conversica Inc., Haptik Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nuance Communications (News - Alert) Inc., Oracle Corp., and SAP SE. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the conversational systems market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Conversational Systems Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist conversational systems market growth during the next five years Estimation of the conversational systems market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the conversational systems market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of conversational systems market vendors About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225005796/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Dougald McCaughey, Joseph McCaig and his brother John from the Royal Highland Fusiliers were killed by the IRA while off-duty A former IRA member linked to the murders of three off-duty Scottish soldiers in north Belfast almost 50 years ago is still on the run in the Republic of Ireland, a BBC Spotlight investigation has established. Dougald McCaughey (23) was killed alongside brothers John (17) and Joseph McCaig (18) on March 10, 1971. The 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers had been stationed at Girdwood barracks and were out socialising in Belfast city centre when they were lured to the remote White Brae on the Ligoniel Road by republicans and murdered. No one has ever been convicted over the killings. Police have long suspected IRA men Patrick McAdorey and Anthony 'Dutch' Doherty of being involved. McAdorey was shot dead by the security forces in August 1971 before he could be charged. Doherty escaped from Crumlin Road Gaol, where he had been interned, in December 1971 and went on the run in the Republic of Ireland. A BBC NI Spotlight documentary aired last night, The Killings of the Three Scottish Soldiers, revealed that despite some believing that Doherty was dead, he is alive and living in Dublin. Read More When approached by Spotlight, he "vehemently" denied being involved in the killings. The programme reported he was arrested in 1971 and confessed when questioned by Metropolitan Police detectives. But a judge later found the process of interrogation at the time meant admissions could not be regarded as voluntary. Paddy O'Kane, who had served seven years in the Parachute Regiment, was also named in the programme as being centrally involved in the killings. The former soldier, now deceased, is reported to have befriended the three Scots before they were led to their deaths. A former IRA member and members of O'Kane's family confirmed that he said he played a key role in the killings. O'Kane, who was from north Belfast, joined the Parachute Regiment in 1957 and served in Jordan and Cyprus. He left the Army in 1964 with a "very good" service record and joined the Provisional IRA at the outbreak of the Troubles in 1969. O'Kane was identified by police as a prime suspect in the killings almost immediately after they were carried out, although he evaded arrest and went on the run in the Republic. Former IRA intelligence officer Kieran Conway said O'Kane spoke openly about his involvement in the murders. Expand Close Kieran Conway / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kieran Conway "I believe any man that could execute three young Scottish soldiers in that manner must have been a psychopath," he said. The programme also reported that O'Kane was a lead suspect in the 1976 Kingsmills Massacre, in which 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead by the IRA. He was granted a controversial on-the-run letter in 2007, after previously being refused in 2003, which confirmed he was not wanted by police in connection with any crime. O'Kane died in March 2009 in Shannon, Co Clare, where he had lived since 1976. His sons told Spotlight he spoke "matter of factly" just once about what had happened. The programme linked a fourth republican, Harry Canavan, with the killings. He is now also deceased. The murders led to widespread revulsion across the UK, particularly because the soldiers were off-duty and in civilian clothes at the time. In response it was announced that security arrangements for off-duty soldiers would be reviewed. The bodies of the three soldiers were found by 14-year-old Brenda Kielty, who has only spoken publicly once about what she witnessed. Expand Close Brenda Kielty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brenda Kielty "They were just shot and dumped on top of each other. I didn't know whether it was three Protestants or three Catholics, but I never dreamt it was three soldiers," she said in 2017. "There was nothing to indicate that it was three soldiers." Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that he was ready to give up his life rather than give the state's scarce water resources to other states. Wrapping up the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's address to the Assembly, the Chief Minister said: "Punjab did not have surplus water and, in line with internationally accepted Riparian principles, we would not allow the transfer of water from the basin to non-basin areas." "We will protect the water rights of Punjab, to ensure the livelihood of millions of Punjabi farmers and landless farm labourers. The state's water was a top priority for the government, as per the 'Nawen Naroye Punjab Layee Captain De Naun Nukte' (nine points of Captain for rejuvenated Punjab) based on the party manifesto released during the 2017 Assembly polls," added Singh. Referring to the various measures taken by his government for saving the State's precious water resources, he said: "Apart from enactment of the Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Act 2020, the government had also piloted a unique project namely 'Pani Bachao Paisa Kamao', aimed at incentivising farmers to save water and earn money by consuming lesser groundwater." The project, under which agriculture consumers are given a fixed electricity entitlement for every month of the year and no bills are issued to the farmers, will be expanded under the Budget 2020-21. The Chief Minister further said his government would complete the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project in 2022-23 and would also make every possible effort to complete the Kandi Canal, along with attendant watercourses, by providing requisite finances during 2020-21. Chief Minister Singh also termed as insufficient the free housing for homeless families belonging to SC and other weaker sections and said his government was now working to restructure its policies and programmes to ensure not only that every houseless household in the State has a house, but he or she has a pucca house. Referring to the Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojna (MGSVY) to ensure that benefits of government's socio-economic programmes reach the deserving beneficiaries, the Chief Minister disclosed that so far 10.69 lakh people had benefitted, which was in sharp contrast to the previous SAD-BJP government, which had in fact misappropriated the benefits of poor to their party cadres. The Chief Minister listed various other unique initiatives of his government, including the Smart Village Campaign (SVC), under which Rs 818 crore of the Rs 1000 crore allocation had been spent on 16011 development works in the villages. The programme would be expanded further in the next two years, he said. On the critical issue of stubble burning, the Chief Minister said that his government had spent Rs 525 crore on 56,000 crop residue machines during the last three years for effective crop residue management. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Carl Bildt MELBOURNE By any reasonable standard, Australia is a long way off from most other countries. Sydney is closer to the South Pole than it is to Singapore. Direct flights from Washington, D.C., or Brussels to Canberra remain beyond our technical capabilities; there is always a layover somewhere. Still, for better and worse, geography is less important than it used to be. Australia may be remote, but it is very much of this world. In fact, it is already on the frontline of two global challenges that will shape the international agenda in the decades ahead. Spend a few days in the country and you will quickly realize that its politics are all about China and climate change and sometimes a combination of the two. Pretty soon, the same will hold true for many other countries around the world. Among the world's democracies, Australia is perhaps the most dependent on China economically. It is the world's largest net coal exporter, and its biggest customer is China. It is thus also more dependent on fossil-fuel exports than many other countries; and yet it stands to lose more than others as the real-world costs of climate change come due. Still, the Australian economy is unique among industrialized countries in that it has grown continuously for almost three decades without a recession. Australian governments implemented reforms to open up the economy just when China was embarking on its meteoric rise. For 30 years, Australia, with its abundant supply of energy and other resources, has been able to surf on a growing wave of Chinese demand. This arrangement was nothing if not convenient. Given the two countries' relative proximity, Chinese tourists and immigrants started to flock to Australia. Chinese students became mainstays at its universities. The money just kept rolling in, and Australian property prices duly rose. But then China became more assertive in its economic and foreign policies. Journalists started to expose what looked like attempts by Chinese actors to buy political influence in Australia. And these revelations led to questions over whether Australian university curricula are avoiding topics that could irritate China (and Chinese students). In any case, Australians suddenly realized that their close dependence on China had made their country vulnerable. Australian policymakers have since been addressing the threat. In August 2018, Australia became the first Western country to indicate that it will not allow Chinese vendors to supply its forthcoming 5G network (though the government's statement does not mention any country explicitly, its meaning is clear). The Chinese leadership was not amused. High-level bilateral contacts have since been frozen, though economic links have remained intact. Australians are becoming increasingly nervous about the future. Will Chinese money keep rolling in freely, or will the Chinese regime start to use Australia's economic dependence as a weapon, as it has done previously against Japan and South Korea? Confronted with these new pressures, Australia has become increasingly dependent on its security relationship with the United States. But with Sino-American relations deteriorating, it is unclear whether Australia can maneuver the gap between the 21st century's Scylla and Charybdis. Were it to incur the wrath of either power or of both at the same time its long economic honeymoon would probably come to an end. Complicating matters further is the climate-policy challenge. Whereas previous Australian prime ministers fell on their swords in an effort to develop a realistic energy and climate agenda, the current Australian government has been accused of dragging its feet on the issue. Indeed, Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously waved around a lump of coal in Parliament to show that it was nothing to be afraid of. After a long "Black Summer" of unprecedented bushfires, he is unlikely to repeat that stunt. Just as Australia must address its dangerous dependence on China, so must it start taking climate change seriously. Neither problem admits of easy policy solutions, and other Western democracies that depend on China economically will not be spared similar dilemmas. Australia's experience both good and bad offers valuable lessons for us all. It is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Policymakers and political leaders everywhere need to engage in an honest assessment of the risks posed by a rising China and a warming planet; and we all must start phasing out fossil fuels. Australia now finds itself on the frontline of these two major issues. The rest of us will join it there soon enough. Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden. His article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). The closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, on January 12. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images China's wildlife-farming industry, valued at $74 billion, has been permanently shut down. On Monday, the nation's legislature banned the buying, selling, and eating of wild animals in an effort to prevent zoonotic diseases from jumping from animals to people. The novel coronavirus, which has killed at least 2,700 people, is thought to have been transmitted to humans by pigs, civets, or pangolins at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. "There has been a growing concern among people over the consumption of wild animals and the hidden dangers it brings to public health security since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak," Zhang Tiewei, a legislative spokesman, told Reuters Monday. Zhang added that the decision came at a "critical moment for the epidemic prevention and control." No buying, selling, or eating wild animals in China A wet market in Dandong, Liaoning province, China. Philip Wen/Reuters Officials closed the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market on January 1, and Wuhan authorities banned the live-animal trade at all markets in the city soon thereafter. A few weeks later, Chinese authorities temporarily banned the buying, selling, and transportation of wild animals in markets, restaurants, and online marketplaces across the country. Farms that breed and transport wildlife were also quarantined and shut down. The ban was expected to stay in place until the coronavirus epidemic ended, Xinhua News reported. But now it's permanent. Story continues Much of China's wildlife trade, according to experts, was already illegal: China's Wildlife Protection Law bans the hunting and selling of endangered species but doesn't apply to all wild animals. But the practice persisted because of lax enforcement and legal loopholes, such as inconsistencies in species' names and online sales of exotic wildlife as pets. Before the new ban was instated, the Chinese Communist Party announced plans to crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade across the country, recognizing "shortcomings" in its response to the outbreak. A vendor sells bats at a market in Sulawesi, Indonesia, on February 8. Ronny Adolof Buol / AFP/ Getty The full list of species protected under the new ban is still unclear. It covers wildlife already protected by law, other terrestrial animals of "important ecological, scientific and social value," and terrestrial wild animals in breeding farms, according to China's People's Daily. It does not apply to aquatic animals, livestock, or poultry. Shuttering a multibillion-dollar industry China's wild-meat industry is valued at $7.1 billion and employs 1 million people, Nature reported. The value of the larger wildlife-farming industry is closer to $74 billion, according to a 2017 report by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "A total ban on trading wild animals would criminalize a substantial proportion of the Chinese population, and be untenable," Zhao-Min Zhou, a Chinese wildlife-policy researcher, told Nature. He added that shuttering animal markets would just move the trade to the black market. Since the outbreak began, Chinese authorities have shut down 20,000 farms raising peacocks, civet cats, porcupines, ostriches, and wild geese, The Guardian reported. A wet market in Hong Kong in August. Ann Wang/Reuters But many experts support this type of intervention to help prevent the spread of viruses. "The government has signaled that it wants to take immediate action to prevent any future outbreaks of diseases that spread from animals to humans," Li Zhang, a conservation biologist at Beijing Normal University, told Nature. He added that wildlife trade and consumption represented a direct threat to animals and a major public-health risk. A Chinese wet market. Felix Wong/South China Morning Post/Getty That's because the close proximity of shoppers and vendors to live and dead animals at wet markets creates a breeding ground for zoonotic diseases. "For cultural reasons in the region, people want to see the specific animals they're buying be slaughtered in front of them, so they know they're receiving the products they paid for," Emily Langdon, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Chicago, wrote in an article. "That means there's a lot of skinning of dead animals in front of shoppers and, as a result, aerosolizing of all sorts of things." 75% of emerging infectious diseases come from animals Three-quarters of new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bats harbor a significantly higher proportion of zoonotic viruses than other mammals. They pass them along in their poop: If a bat drops feces onto a piece of fruit that another animal then eats, that creature can become a carrier. Genetic evidence suggests that the new coronavirus almost certainly originated in bats, which passed it to another animal. The virus then jumped from that animal to people at a wildlife market. SARS (which is caused by a coronavirus) originated in bats too, then jumped to civets, which passed it to people in a Chinese wet market. The SARS coronavirus infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 between 2002 and 2003. Government officers seize civet cats in the Xinyuan wildlife market in Guangzhou, China, to prevent the spread of SARS in January 2004. Dustin Shum/South China Morning Post via Getty Experts still aren't sure which animal species served as the new coronavirus' intermediary between bats and people. Many possibilities have been floated, including snakes (which is unlikely), pigs, civets, and pangolins endangered mammals that are roasted and eaten in China, Vietnam, and parts of West Africa and whose scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. A pangolin at a wild-animal-rescue center in Cuc Phuong, Vietnam, in 2016. Kham/Reuters Pangolins were the most trafficked nonhuman species in the world in 2013, according to National Geographic. The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species declared pangolin trade illegal in 2016. The trade and consumption of pangolins was already illegal under China's Wildlife Protection Law. Read the original article on Business Insider A South Korean restaurant on Hanoi's Tran Van Lai Street has no customer at lunchtime on February 25, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Nga. South Korean stores and restaurants across HCMC and Hanoi stand deserted due to the Covid-19 scare. In the four years she has worked as a parking attendant in Korea Town, Hanois My Dinh District, Nguyen Phuong Anh has never seen the place so desolate. It is almost midday and she is seated on a plastic stool in the area famous for South Korean shops and restaurants. "In the past, whether in summer or winter, going back and forth to find a parking slot would exhaust me," the city transportation department employee says. The two-kilometer street would usually be packed with cars parked in front of restaurants, she says. Now, she hardly has to leave her seat to help anyone park. Earlier this month, when the coronavirus first hit Vietnam, the number of customers at Korean eateries began to shrink. Now, the street has gone quiet, as South Korea is making international headlines as one of the countries worst hit by the epidemic. A few taxis and motorbikes drop off passengers and leave. Not far from where Anh sits, a Korean owner rushes into her restaurant, telling her staff to buy alcohol and sanitize tables, chairs and doorknobs. But business at the restaurant with around 20 tables is at its "slowest ever." "It decreased by 30-40 percent during the Tet (Lunar New Year) break (from January 23-29), and is even worse these days," Tran Van Giap, 44, its manager says, adding Koreans are avoiding crowds while Vietnamese do not want to have contact with Koreans due to the fear of infection. Bich Trams traditional South Korean restaurant in an alley off Tran Van Lai Street faces a similar situation. Since the beginning of this week, Tram has closed her business during lunchtime. The only two "clients" are her daughter and niece, who have remained at home because schools are closed. Business has reduced by 70-80 percent in the evening, she says. "If the situation remains so bad, I may not have enough money to pay rent." Many other locations stand eerily quiet, with South Korean stores and restaurants closed. Nguyen Van Minh, manager of a restaurant on Hanoi's Hoang Dao Thuy Street, describes business as "catastrophic." Dozens of his staff have to work four hours less every night because they have no one to serve. "Our revenue used to be VND50 million ($2,155) [a day], now it is only VND4-5 million ($172.4-215.5)," Minh says. In Ho Chi Minh City, every afternoon cars and taxis with carrying South Koreans would fill Hau Giang Street in Tan Binh District, which is well known for its South Korean shops and restaurants, leaving little space for pedestrians. Since the epidemic hit South Koreas Deagu City, all Koreans in the area vanished as if someone cast a spell. "The street is empty and quiet, just like during Tet," Nguyen Thi Thanh, a senior living in the area, says. It makes it easier for her to go walking since she does not have to dodge motorbikes and cars. But it also means the over 40 restaurants and stores in the area have few customers. Both locals and South Koreans in Hanoi and HCMC are confident things are under control. On February 25, the roadside tea shop belonging to Nguyen Thi Be in My Dinh is packed with Vietnamese white-collar workers, a completely different scene from South Korean shops nearby. "South Koreans rarely sit and drink on the sidewalk like us and always wear masks while going out; so I do not worry," Be says. Min Keang, owner of a South Korean restaurant, says wearing a mask on the street apart, none of his other activities have changed. After living in Vietnam for five years, he knows Vietnam is doing well in containing the epidemic. "I live in Seoul, not Deagu, and the last time I went to my hometown was in November; so the possibility of getting infected is zero," he says, adding he is at ease because every coronavirus patient in Vietnam has fully recovered. At the end of Hau Giang Street in Saigon, Thanh Hais hotel welcomes South Korean guests as usual. Hai says he feels safe because all of them wear masks. "People from South Korea are being watched closely and so I do not worry. However, if the epidemic in their country worsens, I will consider not taking them in." Without naming Mr. Trump during Thursdays sentencing hearing, Judge Jackson cited entirely inappropriate comments by partisan onlookers. She amplified her warning on Tuesday, saying, I need to state this clearly, that any attempt to invade the privacy of the jury is completely antithetical to our entire system of justice. The case also exposed a rift between career prosecutors in the United States attorneys office for the District of Columbia and their superiors at Justice Department headquarters. Four prosecutors withdrew from the case this month after Mr. Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation and insisted the department request a less severe prison term than the seven to nine years the prosecutors sought. Tuesdays four-hour hearing was itself highly unusual. Last-ditch attempts by defense teams to keep their defendants out of prison are typical, but their motions rarely receive so much judicial attention. Legal experts said that Judge Jackson is probably both anticipating Mr. Stones appeal of his conviction and striving to defend the integrity of the proceedings in the face of attacks by the president and his allies. Three months after the jurors rendered their verdict, she summoned about a dozen of them back to the courthouse. Three of them, including the forewoman, were questioned on the stand, as was one of the prosecutors who withdrew from the case. Defense lawyers claim that the forewoman failed to disclose important information during the jury selection process that would have prompted them to move to exclude her from the panel. Tomeka Hart, a program officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, identified herself as the forewoman in a Facebook post this month. She voiced concerns in that post about Mr. Barrs decision to overrule the prosecutors, saying: It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity and respect for our system of justice. On Tuesday, Mr. Stones lawyers claimed that during jury selection, the forewoman concealed her level of knowledge about Mr. Stone and his relationship with the president, as well as animosity toward Mr. Trump. They said they only recently learned of her views by examining her posts on social media, even though they had hired consultants to help them identify potential jurors who could be biased. American Companies Struggling With Counterfeits Welcome Administrations Crackdown Loggerhead Tools is a manufacturer of unique, multi-size Bionic Wrenches in Pennsylvania. Dan Brown Jr.s father invented and patented those tools, but that hasnt stopped Chinese counterfeiters from flooding online marketplaces with knockoff wrenches. Browns company isnt large enough to pay for sophisticated software services to take down knockoffs on platforms such as Amazon and eBay. Instead, he hires a part-time employee to hunt for counterfeits and get the platforms to take them down. The effort results in 20 take-downs per week. Many more remain. While small, made-in-America companies like Loggerhead represent a tiny fraction of the businesses struggling against a flood of counterfeits online, they are the most vulnerable. The investment in inventing and manufacturing at home makes it difficult to compete with cheap sweatshop knockoffs, which can reach the United States from China at a fraction of the cost of domestic shipping. The administration of President Donald Trump began to take action on the issue in 2018 by initiating a one-year withdrawal process from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in a bid to force changes in rules that afforded China cheap international shipping rates. The pressure tactic succeeded, and the United States will begin to set its own rates in July. But the UPU loophole was only one in a complex system of shippers, warehouses, and online marketplaces exploited at all stages by counterfeiters. Trump moved to plug the gaps last year, ordering agencies to prepare a report on how to address the flood of counterfeits online. The Department of Homeland Security released its report and recommendations in January. The White House set some of the recommendations into action days later, drawing praise from business owners and industry groups. I am happy to see that the administration is taking this seriously and that theyre focused on this because this is a major issue for small businesses, said Brown. The report and the executive order feature an extensive array of tools designed to plug the loopholes currently exploited by counterfeiters and expand the responsibility to all parties who reap a profit from facilitating the journey of counterfeits to U.S. consumers. In addition to providing an action plan for the government, the DHS report calls on online marketplaces to ramp up their counterfeit enforcement and outlines immediate steps the platforms can take to stem the tide of knockoffs. These include tougher vetting of third-party sellers, limitations on high risk-products, and implementing rapid procedures for removing knockoffs and notifying all of the parties involved. Trumps executive order put several of the measures proposed in the DHS report into action, including calling for the creation of a metric to determine which international postal systems fail to adequately vet counterfeits. Systems that repeatedly fail to meet the metric would face increased scrutiny and may, if the noncompliance continues, be blocked from shipping to the United States entirely. I think they did an excellent job and I liked the pragmatic approach that they take to this, said Donald Dinan, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University specializing in international trade law and intellectual property law. Theres some real, concrete stuff in it, as opposed to a lot of these government reports in which they moan and groan and thats about it. One of Dinans clients, Jayme Smaldone, is the inventor of the Mighty Mug, a dual-patent mug that uses a suction cup to prevent accidental spills. The Mighty Mug is relentlessly knocked off by counterfeiters in China. Under current law, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can only seize goods that bear infringing trademarks, but not products that violate design patents. Dinan helped The Mighty Mug obtain an exclusion order from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The order enables CBP to seize counterfeits for infringing on a design patent. The design patent loophole can only be addressed through legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bill in December that would plug the gap. Smaldone thinks the latest actions by the administration will prompt the intermediaries involved to take action. I think its really interesting, particularly the fact that theyre looking to put more people in the line of fire, not just the importer of record, not just the shipper, Smaldone said. I like that idea. You have to be heavy-handed sometimes. Smaldones 14-person team doesnt have the manpower to tackle the volume of counterfeits. Instead, the company hired Red Points, a software service that tracks down counterfeits across multiple online marketplaces. Smaldone now spends 10 to 15 minutes per day reviewing the flagged listings and choosing which should be taken down. Red Points handles the rest. In the past 18 months, weve removed close to 5,000 knockoffs from the web, Smaldone said. Alibaba.com carries the largest number of Mighty Mug knockoffs, Smaldone said, followed by AliExpress, eBay, and Wish. While Alibaba is good at taking down counterfeits once notified, Amazon is a complete nightmare, Smaldone said. Red Points helps 650 brands find, track, and take down counterfeits from dozens of platforms. The companys software employs a combination of tools, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, image fingerprinting, natural language processing, logo recognition, and keyword mining. The attention brought by the administration to the issue is a boon for the private-sector companies that help brands protect against counterfeits, said Dan Shapiro, director of global strategic partnerships at Red Points. We think that more awareness is very positive for our industry, Shapiro said. The footwear and apparel industries topped the list of CBPs intellectual property rights annual seizure statistics in fiscal year 2018, making up 32 percent of all goods seized at ports of entry. Footwear counterfeiters are executing increasingly sophisticated schemes to smuggle the knockoffs into the United States. Some are shipping brand labels separately from shoes and attaching the labels when both shipments cross the border. According to Matt Priest, president of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the footwear companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars to counterfeits every year. In spite of all of our challenges on the trade side with the administration, this has been an area that theyve focused on and prioritize that weve been very happy about, Priest said. I think were at a stage whereby no means is any of this solved, but we have the administration focused on it, we have the agencies tasked to work on it. I think we have the attention of all the right people, most importantly, probably, the attention of the platforms themselves because a little bit of sunlight, a little bit of scrutiny from the federal government, is always a nice kind of elixir to help us try to combat the free flow of counterfeit goods on e-commerce websites in particular. The threat of counterfeits is wide-ranging. Knockoff semiconductors have made their way into Air Force weapons systems and U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. Counterfeit water filters fail to last as long as required by certification standards and add harmful compounds to clean water in excess of the total allowable concentration limits that are considered safe. Knockoff first-responder flashlights may fail at a critical time. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that the amount of counterfeits traded globally increased $200 billion in 2005 to $509 billion in 2016. The number of CBP seizures increased tenfold to 33,810 from 2000 to 2018. Any measures that we can take that specially help any of our companies in preventing counterfeit goods entering into the U.S. are a good thing, said Daniel Staudt, the president of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Everything thats been drafted has been very good. But the implementation is always going to be the key. The Department of Homeland Security didnt respond to questions about work being done to carry out the plan in the DHS report and Trumps executive order. Aggressive colorectal cancers set up an interactive network of checkpoints to keep the immune system at bay, scientists report. Immune checkpoints found throughout the body are intended to protect your body from being attacked by your immune system. But in the structural framework a tumor lays down, they instead protect the tumor, says Dr. Yan Cui, immunologist in the Georgia Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. In tumors, this structural framework is called cancer-associated fibroblasts, or CAFs, and Cui's lab has found that in some cancers with a lot of CAFs, like more aggressive colorectal cancer, this often large mass of cells expresses high levels of the enzyme CD73, a common immune checkpoint. CD73 works to silence the immune response by converting the cell fuel adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which activates the immune response, back to its constituent adenosine, which suppresses it. But that is just the beginning of the story of CAFs, which work both like a fence to keep immune cells out of a tumor and like a dictator to suppress those that make it in, says Cui, corresponding author of the study in Nature Communications. In what she calls a feedforward loop, the scientists have found that as the tumor and its CAFs grow, natural cell death occurs in the tumor. The high levels of CD73 present readily convert ATP released by those dying tumor cells to adenosine, which suppresses the immune response by activating the adenisone receptor A2A, which is highly expressed on immune cells. More importantly, through extensively collaborative work with AU and international researchers, they discovered that adenosine converted by CD73 also simultaneously activates another one of its receptors, A2B, which is highly expressed on CAFs and promotes the CAFs to make even more CD73. "CD73 expressed on CAFs functions in a self-serving process via the adenosine-A2B pathway to amplify their own CD73 expression and further suppress the immune response," Cui says. "CAFs are very immunosuppressive because they carry these checkpoints," she adds. High levels of CAFs can also mean low levels of T cells, drivers of the immune response, and while there may be a lot of immune cells on the scene, they don't appear to be attacking the tumor. Strategic, effective targeting of these synergistic pathways in tumors with a lot of CAFs could help improve their attack and treatment success, Cui and her colleagues suggest. While A2A and A2B are both adenosine receptors, they are not redundant, Cui notes, because they work differently to suppress the immune response. Rather, as they found in their studies in human colorectal cancer cells and animal models, simultaneously inhibiting A2A and A2B action while neutralizing CD73, should enable the immune system to better attack these tumors, the scientists say. Elevated CD73 levels in breast and ovarian as well as colorectal cancer already are associated with poor outcomes, and clinical trials of CD73 inhibitors and antibodies in combination with other treatments like immunotherapy as well as A2A antagonists are underway. However the crucial populations CD73 inhibitors target in the tumor microenvironment are not well defined and results are mixed, the scientists say. The source of CD73 in the microenvironment of a tumor also has remained a mystery. There is evidence that CD73 can come from the tumor cells themselves, especially in tumors with low numbers of CAFs, as well as from immune cells, like regulatory T cells and myeloid cells, which both normally suppress the immune response as part of the body's natural checks and balances. These cells also are known to have and to use CD73. Cui isn't disputing that these cells are contributing CD73, but at least with some tumors, CAFs are a lot better at it. "In some tumors, they are a major source," she says. Fibroblasts, a usual constituent of body tissues, are early recruits for tumors so they can grow and so they can educate them to become a connected network that does their bidding. "The tumors can educate them, can turn them into a bad guy," Cui says. Tumors also can secrete factors to recruit more fibroblasts through the blood circulation. After injecting tumor cells into a mouse, Cui has watched fibroblasts begin to move in and soon become efficient support machines. "That's how tumors get started. They have to have them to survive, to grow, to build up," Cui says. "We have observed during tumor expansion, the cancer-associated fibroblast network can really expand tremendously," she says. In fact, immunostaining of the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer with CAFs stained green looks like a lush forest. Cancer-associated fibroblasts appear to result from fibroblasts that already are part of a healthy tissue structure and from mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into many cell types, including bone and muscle, and can be adapted by the tumor microenvironment for its purposes. CAF levels can be determined if a tumor biopsy is available and some investigators have reported progress in measuring CAF biomarkers in the blood. ### The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Read the full study here. Jamie Grill/Getty Images En espanol | Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night, stumbled to the bathroom, hit the switch and yikes!? Your initial response to that burst of light was probably to squeeze your lids shut or squint until your eyes adjust to your surroundings. All of us have experienced light sensitivity at some time or other, but some people are extremely intolerant of light. It's known as photophobia, when normal light causes discomfort or pain in people, to the point where they want to avoid it, says Kathleen Digre, M.D., a professor of ophthalmology and neurology at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, in Salt Lake City. The source of discomfort might be a sunny day, a lighted computer screen, bright fluorescent lighting in a store, or oncoming headlights at night. Some people may even become disabled, says Stephen Silberstein, a Philadelphia-based neurologist affiliated with Jefferson Health-Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. I have seen patients who literally cannot leave their house without dark sunglasses because of an increased sensitivity to light." Possible causes Actually, photophobia isn't a condition, but a symptom of other conditions. Though the list of culprits is a long one, it's most often related to neurological or vision problems. Migraine is one the most common triggers. In fact, about 80 percent of people who have head bangers experience heightened sensitivity to light. Two-thirds of patients say photophobia is their most bothersome symptom during an attack, Silberstein says. But there are many who also have an increased sensitivity to light between attacks." apply the same law as the EPO. None-the-less, UK judges sometimes come to different conclusions to that of the EPO. As a consequence, a patent granted and maintained by the EPO may very well be revoked by the UK (England and Wales) court. Potential infringers may seek legal certainty that any patent granted by the EPO covering their product would not be valid by seeking an Arrow declaration . However, what if you have already knocked out a patent in the UK courts and the EPO then grants a virtually identical divisional patent? Does a patentee have the right to take two bites at the cherry? This was the question considered in Lilly v Genentech [2020] EWHC 261 (Pat) . The case relates to Taltz , Eli Lilly's biologic drug for psoriasis. Taltz is Eli Lilly's marketed anti-IL-17A/F monoclonal antibody ixekizumab. Genentech owns a family of European patents claiming IL-17A/F antibodies and their use for the treatment of psoriasis. Last year, in a dispute between Lilly and Genentech , Mr Justice Arnold (as then was) in the UK High Court found one of these patents ( EP1641822 ) invalid. In particular, the patent claim directed to the IL-17A/F antibody was found to be obvious. The use of the antibody to treat psoriasis was found to lack plausibility at the priority date, applying the principles of Warner-Lamber v Actavis ( [2018] UKSC 56 ) . The UK High Court decision has been appealed. However, the patent in question has also subsequently been revoked by the EPO Boards of Appeal by the EPO Boards of Appeal , with the effect that the EP(UK) patent is considered never to have existed. A second bite of the cherry? Genentech owns another granted patent in the family. This divisional patent ( EP2784084 ) has the same priority date and effective filing date as the parent patent disputed in the UK High Court. Genentech brought a second action against Eli Lilly, based on this divisional patent. Lilly counterclaimed that the divisional patent was invalid (Lilly v Genentech [2020] EWHC 261 (Pat) ). The parent and divisional patents are considered virtually identical (para. 44) [Why were multiple near-identical patents granted? See Appendix below] . Lilly therefore argued that the case contravened the legal principle of res judicata i.e. that the same case should not be heard twice. In other words, Lilly argued, that Genentech should not be given a second bite of the cherry and that this is the evil that issue estoppel is there to prevent. Lilly also cited the cost, length and complexity of the proceedings for the parent patent (the costs ran to over 11m). Second bite at the cherry? Would estoppel amount to an injustice to Genentech? Genentech argued that it would be an injustice to prevent them from pursuing the case that the divisional patent was valid and infringed. The appeal for the parent case lost all of its value following the decision of the EPO Board of Appeal to revoke the European patent. However, Genentech argued that the fact that they had been given leave to appeal the UK High Court decision demonstrated that they must have had a good prospect of success (para. 63). Notably, the ground on which the EPO had revoked the patent, added matter, was dismissed by Mr Justice Arnold in the UK High Court - a reminder that the EPO approach to added matter may not be fully aligned with that of the UK. Merpel: This is unlikely to be of any comfort to Genentech, given that the parent patent no longer exists following revocation by the EPO]. The judge therefore considered whether the criteria for estoppel (i.e. preventing the arguments from being heard again) were satisfied for each of the grounds under which validity was challenged. The judge had some sympathy with Genentechs argument that it would be injustice to prevent them pursuing the case. However, the judge also found that any potential for injustice was outweighed by the length and expensive of a re-run of the trial: [t]his cannot be in the public interest and would be an injustice to Lilly (para. 64). The judge also felt that it was in the hands of the Court of Appeal whether the appeal should continue []. The judge therefore considered whether the criteria for estoppel (i.e. preventing the arguments from being heard again) were satisfied for each of the grounds under which validity was challenged. When is an issue fundamental? A party is prevented from raising an issue again in a case if the issue was fundamental to a previous final decision between the same parties. Genentech argued that for an issue to be fundamental, the issue must have been legally indispensable to the conclusion (para. 55) of the previous decision. Thus, if the previous decision could have been reached by alternative grounds, there is no estoppel. The judge noted that, if accepted, such a submission would have far reaching consequences in the field of patents. Patents are usually challenged on multiple grounds. A patent may, for example, be found invalid for obviousness based on two different prior art documents. Genentech argued that if a patent was found invalid on more than one ground, neither ground could be considered fundamental to the decision. Thus, estoppel should not apply to either ground. A patent may, for example, be found invalid for obviousness based on two different prior art documents. Genentech argued that if a patent was found invalid on more than one ground, neither ground could be considered fundamental to the decision. Thus, estoppel should not apply to either ground. The judge was not convinced by Genentechs arguments. Particularly, the judge found that even if there were alternative grounds for invalidation, estoppel could apply to both grounds. In the present case, Lilly could be said to be relying on two grounds of attack that the claims were obvious. The judge concluded: I see no injustice in there being issue estoppel in respect of both issues and the issues fundamental to each of them (para. 61). The judge concluded that Genentech was estopped from arguing that the antibody claims of the parent case were valid. Fundamental but different? Genentech accepted that issue of plausibility was fundamental to the decision by the High Court that the treatment claims were invalid (para. 67). In the case relating to the parent patent, Lilly had successfully argued that these claims were invalid for lacking plausibility at the priority date. Genentech had attempted to argue in response that plausibility should be assessed on the filing date, not the priority date. Genentech had particularly tried to argue that the plausibility of the same subject matter may change because of, for example, advances in the common general knowledge. Genentech argued that if plausibility could be demonstrated for the filing date but not the priority date, this should result in a loss of priority, but not lack of sufficiency. However, the judge did not consider this argument because it was submitted too late in proceedings. Given that Genentechs argument on plausibility at the filing date had not been admitted to the proceedings relating to the parent patent, Genentech argued that they were not therefore estopped from bringing this issue with respect to the divisional. Lilly argued in response that the fact that the argument had not being submitted in time, was Genentechs own fault. Raising the issue in proceedings for the divisional patent, Lilly argued, was thus an abuse of process. The judge was sympathetic to Genentech: I do not believe that Genentech should be shut out from arguing plausibility at the filing data simply because they left it too late toinclude that argument. The judge thus concluded that Genentech was estopped from argued that the claims for the treatment of psoriasis were plausible on the priority date. However, the judge found that Genentech had a real prospect of defending the claims [] were plausible at the filing date [] on the basis that the common general knowledge had developed sufficiently between the priority date of the said patent and [the filing date]. The judge therefore refused to provide a judgement on these claims without a full trial (para. 94 and 95). The dispute can therefore be expected to continue. Lilly has succeeded in preventing Genentech from bringing the issue of infringement and validity of the the antibody claims to court again. However, the fight continues over the validity of the claims directed to the antibody for the treatment of psoriasis, and the issue of whether this claim was plausible at the filing date of the patent. Estoppel beyond divisionals Double-patenting The issue of estoppel in the UK may not be limited to divisional patents. Estoppel may also arise in cases of double-patenting, i.e. where the claims of two patents or patent applications are identical. There is a referral pending before the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the EPO on the issue of double-patenting (G 1/19). The EBA has been asked whether double-patenting should be prevented in cases of priority, e.g. where the priority claim is to a previous European patent application (See T 0015/01 , r. 26). If double-patenting is permitted in these circumstances, the principle of estoppel may apply to any attempted enforcement in the UK. Final thoughts An important feature of the European patent system is that there is no estoppel between the EPO and the national courts. Arguments raised during opposition at the EPO may be raised again in the national courts. The European patent system thus contrasts with that of the US. In the US, issues that were or could have been brought in inter-partes review or post-grant review may not be brought again in court. The mother of a missing toddler who was last seen in December in Tennessee has been arrested, according to reports. Megan "Maggie" Boswell was charged with one count of false reports. [February 26, 2020] With Cookie Questions Mounting, Media.net Hosted Town Hall on Contextual Targeting at 2020 IAB Annual Leadership Meeting PALM DESERT, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Media.net , the leading contextual advertising company, hosted a Town Hall discussion on the rise of contextual advertising at the 2020 IAB Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM). 2020 IAB ALM was held February 9-11 in Palm Desert, California. IABs flagship Annual Leadership Meeting brought together more than 1,200 senior advertisers, publishers, platforms, and agency executives to explore key issues shaping the future of digital advertising. Attendees from across the ecosystem considered changes in technology, regulation and consumer experiences that are poised to transform the industry and its practices. One of the central discussion points for this years IAB ALM was the rapid change in platform policies and regulatory policies around tracking cookies, including Googles decision to phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome within the next two years. This will have a major impact on advertisers, publishers and consumers. i While we applaud the goal to put user privacy first and understand how deadlines drive action, this forces us all to rethink vital targeting, optimization and measurement mechanisms in relative short order, said Vaibhav Arya, CEO of Media.net. The industry is entering a time of transition where collaboration and innovation are of the utmost importance. At Media.net, we look forward to being a key partner to publishers, platforms and advertisers as we come together to builda more privacy-friendly and effective advertising and media ecosystem. Media.nets Town Hall at 2020 IAB ALM, Making Content King Again: Contextual Data in a World Without Cookies, examined the value of contextual data and advertising in a cookie-less world. The session was moderated by Doug Lauretano, SVP & GM, Media.net, Deva Bronson, EVP of Digital Investment, Amplifi, Dentsu Aegis Network, and Sarah Rose, SVP, International Digital Operations, Kinesso, IPG. Provocateurs were Sara Badler, SVP, Programmatic Revenue, Dotdash, Lauren Silva, VP, Partnerships, CBS interactive, and Eden Gorcey, SVP, Enterprise Strategy, Conde Nast. Key takeaways from the discussion included: Contextual Advertising -- Contextual targeting has dominated advertising in every medium. In the online environment, contextual ads are cookie-less, appearing alongside content relevant to the end user, and can address gaps in the market brought on by the loss of cookie-based targeting. Contextual data used to power these campaigns can be a proxy for audiences, while being a valuable tool to reach readers when they are in a certain state of mind. -- Contextual targeting has dominated advertising in every medium. In the online environment, contextual ads are cookie-less, appearing alongside content relevant to the end user, and can address gaps in the market brought on by the loss of cookie-based targeting. Contextual data used to power these campaigns can be a proxy for audiences, while being a valuable tool to reach readers when they are in a certain state of mind. Publisher Participation -- As the IAB, ANA, 4As, and W3C develop post-cookie standards, publishers are demanding a seat at the table. Any alternative to cookies will have a major impact on publisher monetization and they have a rightful interest in guiding what comes next. In addition to Media.nets Town Hall, Media.nets CEO Vaibhav Arya provided remarks at IAB ALM, speaking to the value of contextual advertising in digital. As the industry moves beyond cookies, Media.net is poised to help its partners solve the challenge of privacy-friendly advertising. The company has a decade of success in contextual advertising and a history of driving marketing outcomes independent of cookies. Media.net has been a longtime leader with the IAB, sponsoring IAB ALM for three consecutive years. At the 2019 IAB ALM, Media.net introduced The Media.net Programmatic Platform, which embraces IAB Content Taxonomy 2.0 and OpenRTB 3.0. Media.net has also donated code to extend the IAB Tech Labs efforts to increase transparency and security in the digital advertising supply chain. The donation was announced in May 2019 at IAB Tech Lab Innovation Day: Transparency and a Secure Programmatic Supply Chain. About Media.net Media.net, a contextual-first advertising and publisher solutions company, emerging as a leader in programmatic, has one of the most comprehensive portfolios of advertising technology in the industry. Its platform and products are licensed by top publishers, platforms and marketers worldwide. Media.net is one of the largest contextual advertising businesses worldwide and has employees in key operation centers acrossNorth America, Europe and Asia. Media.nets US HQ is based in New York, and Global HQ in Dubai. For more on Media.net, visit www.media.net . iNetmarketshare, Market Share Statistics for Internet Technologies: Browser Market Share, 2019 PR Contact: Chris Harihar Crenshaw Communications for Media.net [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Gwyneth Paltrow took no chances on her trans-Atlantic flight, as the star posted a picture of herself wearing a 76 high tech hygiene mask from her flight amid coronavirus fears. Paltrow snapped a selfie of herself looking concerned with the black mask on and made a reference to her 2011 film Contagion, a thriller set in the midst of a global virus epidemic. Paltrow wrote, En route to Paris. Paranoid? Prudent? Panicked? Placid? Pandemic? Propaganda? Paltrows just going to go ahead and sleep with this thing on the plane. Ive already been in this movie, she said, referencing Contagion. She added some advice for those looking to protect themselves from the virus, saying, Stay safe. Dont shake hands. Wash hands frequently. The actor, who is also known for her infamous luxury wellness empire Goop, was seen wearing a 76 Airnum + Nemen mask. Tested in a Swedish laboratory, the water repellent mask features five layers (including two electro charged layers) which claims to filter air pollutants, pollen, bacteria and other germs, wildfire smoke and more. It also features two very Mad Max exhalation valves, 3D memory nose-foam to retain its shape and is made from a high tech Italian fabric which is nylon bonded. It is currently sold out. A 60 year old man became the first French national to die of coronavirus on Tuesday evening, after being brought to the Pile Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. Previously, a Chinese tourist died in France in February while two new French coronavirus cases were also reported today. Currently, over 2,700 people have died of the virus which originated in Wuhan, China. The All Progressive Congress Chairman in Kwara State, Bashir Bolarinwa, was attacked by suspected hoodlums Tuesday at Shao in Moro local government area of Kwara State. This paper learnt that the chairman was said to be going for a reconciliation meeting, as part of his tour across the 16 local government areas to resolve the internal crisis rocking the party, before the incident. A witness said that as the convoy approached the community, about 20 hoodlums chased and threw stones at Mr Bolarinwas vehicles. They were said to be clutching daggers and machetes, throwing pebbles at the convoy and shouting Bolarinwa Ole, Bolarinwa Ole meaning, Bolarinwa is a thief. The Kwara State governor, Abdulrasaq Abdulrahman, in a statement sent to this paper, condemned the alleged attack. We condemn in strongest terms possible the alleged attack on the state chairman of the APC Hon. Bashiru Omolaja Bolarinwa allegedly by some hoodlums in Moro local government, Mr Abdulrahman said in the statement issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaiye. This is very disturbing. The governor is very proud of the peaceful atmosphere in the state and seriously frowns at any action that might heat up the polity under whatever guise. He also called on the security agencies to not just fish out those behind the attack but to also make sure they face the full weight of the law. Contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Peter Okasanmi, said he is not aware of the attack. In a telephone interview, he promised to call this correspondent back when he gets the necessary information. However, he was yet to send a feedback as at the time of filing this report. The ruling party had been enmeshed in crisis since it took over power in the state after its outing in the last general elections. The party associates loyal to the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, are allegedly not involved in the day-to-day running of the state government by the governor, Mr Abdulrahman. Prominent South Carolina pastor criticizes outreach of some Democratic candidates to black voters Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Joe Darby, a prominent South Carolina pastor who leads the Nichols Chapel AME Zion church in Charleston, recently criticized the outreach of some Democratic presidential candidates in the state where six in 10 Democratic primary voters are black. The criticism came just days before voters go to the polls on Feb. 29 and a day before the candidates are expected to make their case to the nation in a Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina on Tuesday night. Darby, in an interview with The Washington Post, said while candidates like former mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar D-Minn., who are both struggling to attract black voters might blame their struggles on things like a lack of money or name recognition, he believes the disconnect is due to a lack of their investment in the state as well as their understanding of the issues in the community. I finally got a call from someone on behalf of Amy Klobuchar, who wanted to talk to me. But my first question is going to be where have you been? Darby told The Washington Post on Saturday. He was also critical of their advertising in the state. The basic message to me is Hello, Im Pete Buttigieg, and I like black people. Clearly, black people like me too because Im surrounded by them. Amy Klobuchars too, Darby said. Im waiting for dashikis and the Afro wigs to come out. Darby noted that he has told voters seeking advice on the candidates to vote their conscience and measure how much each candidate has invested in the state. They know whos been here and who hasnt been here, he said. They know whos alien and whos familiar. They know who fell in love with the state recently and who has history. And I think theyll respond accordingly. Last summer, Darby also told CBS News that even though Buttigieg has presented himself as a progressive Christian, part of the disconnect with him and the black community stems from their Christian conservatism. "Black church folks, particularly Southern black church folks, tend to be very progressive when it comes to issues of advocacy, equity, justice, that kind of thing, but tend to [be] socially conservative on issues of the flesh ... there's slight discomfort that I've learned, with someone simply being LGBT," Darby said. "It's unfortunate because he's got a good message ... and he does an excellent job in articulating his faith, so I think if folks look beyond the issue of [sexuality] and listened to what he said, they would probably be impressed [but] I don't know if a lot of folks are going to do that." Darby, who is also a vice president at the NAACPs Charleston Branch, also told CBS News that faith should be a critical factor in choosing the next president and he believes most of the Democratic candidates have articulated their faith very well. I think it should be critically important. I think its not a light decision to pick someone to lead the nation. You need someone who has the ability. You need someone who has the decency. You need someone who has the restraint and you need someone who has the foresight to do a good job. I think all of those are things that people of faith should pray about when they are thinking about who they want as president, he said. A new Morning Consult survey, conducted after Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermonts victory in Nevada Saturday, shows a plurality of Democratic voters now believe he has the best chance of beating President Donald Trump in November. Sanders has also overtaken former Vice President Joe Biden as the favored candidate among black voters nationally for the first time. The former vice president is still leading among African Americans in South Carolina, however, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll. Storyful A bear in South Lake Tahoe, California, beat the heat by crawling through a muddy pond, footage from a nearby trail cam shows.The trail cam, set up by local wildlife photographer Tooge Sielsch, captured the bear taking a dip last summer.Posting the footage to Instagram on December 28, Sielsch said that he was bored of everything being white as the area experienced record-breaking snowfall.Here is what was happening six months ago during the warmest summer on record here in Tahoe, he wrote.Sielsch regularly sets up trail cameras to film the antics of the local bear population and other native fauna. Credit: Toogee Sielsch via Storyful Given the various crises currently being faced by the regime on a domestic and international level, it is inevitable that this will happen sooner, rather than later. That is why well take a deep look at Rajavi and his leadership of the MEK in this short series. Rajavi was born in Tabas, northeastern Iran, in 1947. He studied for his political law degree at Tehran University, where he met the people who would form the MEK. Rajavi became a member of the groups leadership a couple of years later, where he led many of the MEKs discussions on history, philosophy, political theory, and religion, which culminated in the interpretation of Islam as inherently tolerant. In 1971, he was arrested by the Shahs secret police, SAVAK, along with other leaders of the MEK and sentenced to death. In the coming years, all MEK leaders were executed, but Rajavi was spared because of an international campaign led by his brother from Switzerland and supported by the later French President Francois Mitterrand and Amnesty International. Rajavis sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he was freed in January 1979, just four days after the Shah left Iran and ten days before regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini returned. Rajavi then spent his time organizing the MEK for the fight that lay ahead; for democracy and freedom for all Iranians. He gave weekly lectures at the Sharif University of Technology, which showed how different the MEK and the mullahs really were, and inspired tens of thousands of eager young Iranians to attend or listen to the recordings at home. Eric Rouleau wrote in Le Monde: One of the most important events not to be missed in Tehran is the course on comparative philosophy, taught every Friday afternoon by Mr. Massoud Rajavi. Some 10,000 people present their admission cards to listen for three hours to the lectures by the leader of the Peoples Mojahedin on Sharif Universitys lawn. Then came the 1980 presidential elections, where Rajavi stood as a candidate, before being blocked by Khomeini because hed opposed Irans new constitution that sought to institutionalize theocratic government. Rajavi then ran in the election for Irans new parliament, receiving over 500,000 votes, but the mullahs manipulated the vote tally to deny him (or any MEK candidate) a seat. However, this didnt deter MEK supporters and support for Khomeinis regime dropped. In June 1981, more than 500,000 people attended a peaceful MEK rally in Tehran to protest Khomeinis power grab and Khomeini, fearing losing control, ordered his guards to open fire. MEK members and supporters were summarily arrested, imprisoned, and executed. The MEK then changed tack and voted to send Rajavi abroad who, before leaving Iran, set up an international campaign against the regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). This is something that we will talk about in the next piece in this series. Read more: Iranian Youths Attack Iran Interior Ministry 'There is a communication between Rahul Mukerjea and Sheena Bora.' 'First on the 26th. And then on the 27th and then on the 28th.' 'See the messages wherein Rahul Mukerjea tells Sheena Bora "Baba I am in the car park. Come".' 'And Sheena Bora replies to Rahul Mukerjea: "Five min bas".' 'This explains why none of the bodies matched Sheena Bora...' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora Murder Trial. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Was Sheena Bora alive for at least five months after April 24, 2012, the terrible day she was supposedly murdered eight years ago? When did she really die? Did she not die on April 24, 2012, about two months after her 25th birthday? How long was she alive for after that date? Is she dead? Who killed Sheena Bora? A new set of stark, urgent questions. Similar questions have arisen before, at regular intervals in this case, where so little makes any sense, even after three years in court, and five years since the investigation -- a situation, I am told, repeatedly, cynically, is true of umpteen cases in court. These questions arose -- startingly -- again, after the bombshell revelations Indrani Mukerjea, Accused No 1 in the Sheena Bora murder case, made on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, in her rejoinder to the prosecution's reply to her bail application, at Courtroom 51, Mumbai city civil and sessions court, near the majestic Mumbai University, south Mumbai. As this case proceeds the questions seem to keep multiplying profusely. And the answers -- the truth -- get scarcer and scarcer. Indrani was on Tuesday wearing a snowy kurta and churidar, with dark yellow embroidered etching and a fluffy white chunni with brown mojris-like shoes. Her hair was parted sideways in a wispy ponytail. Indrani, who is rail-thin, looked extra waif-like and delicate, as she logically argued her case once again in the witness stand. Her frail appearance was, as always, in complete contrast to her Woman of Substance demeanour. She has the limitless capacity to climb up and out from behind the stacks of odds piled up toweringly, loftily, against her, like giant columns of Legos, to, with undiminished bravado, fight another day. Like her. Love her. Hate her. Feel what you must. But Indrani, like the meaning of her name, defines strength. Once again one can only apply some of the same kinds of adjectives to her outings in the box to argue her bail application, that very few do: Articulate. Courageous. Steely strong. Persistent. Moving. A few lawyers, not related to this case, who were waiting their turn for their own matters, across the two hours she spoke, listened to her transfixed. One of them, a senior man, nodded, almost in applause, every time she made a hard-hitting point. Clearly, she was quite good at it. He later said: "She looks like she has practiced (as a lawyer) for years!" Initially, Indrani rewound a few points she had made before about the circumstantial evidence against her, after she was "arrested obviously on grounds of conspiracy" touching once again on the various facts that together made the "the chain of circumstances in the prosecution's case." She ticked off, emphatically, one by one, the glaring non-links in the unperfect chain: "Hatching of conspiracy -- no evidence." "Car booking and collection -- there is no evidence. The reason I again keep emphasising on the car because if the allegation is that the murder happened in the car -- that is their story -- so the car is very crucial. If the car is not the same car or the car was not there, then the whole prosecution's story is over!" With a touch of humour: "Now purchase of all the items as claimed by the prosecution that I went and bought saris. I went and bought -- I can't even remember -- I went and bought gloves, ropes and all", had been proved false by the Call Data Records. "No evidence that I even I moved out of home (that day)." And she added there are calls to/from her at home at Worli, south central Mumbai. "So now the presence of Mekhail Bora (her son from her first relationship who alleged she had tried to kill him too) on April 24 -- not been established." "Presence of A2 (Sanjeev Khanna, her former husband) in Bandra again is not established (via CDRs)." While speaking about A2's alleged role in the crime Indrani made it a point to add, like she did last time, for both him and Peter Mukerjea, little facts showing their possible lack of connection to the crime too. Tuesday she added that the CDRs had shown that A2 was "constantly in Worli" in his Worli, south central Mumbai hotel from 6 pm April 24th, till the next morning. And had not ventured to Bandra to kill Sheena as per the prosecution's charge. Continuing with the lousy-chain-evidence argument: "Nobody saw me and Sheena Bora in Bandra on the 24." "No evidence that Sheena Bora herself was in Bandra on the 24th." "The CDRs of A1, A2 and, A3 (Shyamvar Pinturam Rai, approver and former Mukerjea driver), provided by prosecution, do not support their (prosecution) story." "No circumstantial evidence that Rahul Mukerjea was in Bandra at all on the 24th." Speaking about the body found in Pen, Raigad district, she said "cause of death not homicidal", as per the experts's views. She spoke about the two different bodies and how the first, after discovery and post mortem, was supposed to have been buried in a grave over five feet deep. In August 2015 the "second" body was found in a grave just 18 inches deep. "A body cannot come UP on its own." "So again the link (in the chain of circumstances) is broken. Again for the story they are trying to create there is no link." Most of these were old grounds, that she was covering again and re-stressing because that is Indrani's way, she likes to rub a point in thoroughly, meticulously, leaving no doubts or stones unturned. But she then made four brand-new points. They were astonishing. If not jaw-dropping. Point 1: "It is factually incorrect to say that Sheena Bora was not alive after 24th April 2012, as claimed by the prosecution. Because the prosecution's claims are not supported by the text-SMS records of Rahul Mukerjea, that they have provided, that Sheena Bora was not physically in the same place and not in contact with Rahul Mukerjea." There was silence in court and the sound of even a Rs 100 note, let alone a penny, dropping would have been deafening. She explained that the same SMS-text evidence the prosecution relied on to charge her with Sheena Bora's murder showed that Sheena Bora was alive after April 24. She elaborated that initially when she was going through Rahul Mukerjea's CDRs she was looking for evidence of Sheena's messages closer to April 2012 for the longest time. She then decided to plough through the 4,000 odd messages, some of them five-six months later and she found evidence of messages between Rahul and Sheena on September 26, 27 and 28, 2012. Drawing the judge's attention to the transcript of the messages that she had attached to her 141-page bail rejoinder (Please note: 141 pages), she said: "There is a communication between Rahul Mukerjea and Sheena Bora. First on the 26th. And then on the 27th and then on the 28th. But what is particular to this, see the messages wherein Rahul Mukerjea tells Sheena Bora 'Baba I am in the car park. Come'." "And Sheena Bora replies to Rahul Mukerjea: "Five min bas (only)'." "And then he says: 'Jaldi chalo (come quickly)'." "This explains why none of the bodies matched Sheena Bora... Nobody can say that Indrani Mukerjea sent these messages to Rahul Mukerjea because Indrani Mukerjea was in England at that time." Alluding to the nature of the messages where Rahul Mukerjea is sitting in a parking lot actually waiting for Sheena, if Indrani had sent the messages, if "Indrani Mukerjea walks down, it is not possible (instead of Sheena)!", her always mobile face a study of liveliness. She went on: "So there are only two explanations. Either Sheena Bora's phone was with Rahul Mukerjea in September 2012 or Sheena Bora was with Rahul Mukerjea in September 2012." CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale with a half smile: "You mean Rahul Mukerjea is the proper person to ask?" He said something to the effect that this argument would only come out after they had examined Rahul Mukerjea. Judge Jagdale, a man of infinite patience, listened to Indrani carefully, cautiously and keenly on Tuesday. His face did not react to her assertions, though at times some mixed feelings seemed to quietly tread across it. He often gently explained points to her and guided her arguments back on track. Further: Indrani had earlier spoken about how she was implicated for Sheena's murder because of the "last seen" angle. In the age of technology/electronics and cell phones, the physical last seen was no longer the most important entity. She had been implicated by a text message from Sheena to Rahul that she was staying with Indrani for the night and would return the next morning. But Rahul being with Sheena in September 2012 disproves her culpability as the person "last seen/last communicating" with Sheena and she did not think they could oppose her bail if she was not the person last seen/last in contact with Sheena Bora. Her arguing of this point brought some satisfaction to Indrani who looked pleased and happy with herself after concluding her arguments on it. Point 2: She coaxed the court clerks Ujjwala, and her assistant, to pull out the first supplementary charge sheet from 2016. They hunted about a bit looking for it. Finally, they pulled out a sheaf of papers and amazingly, from as far as the stand Indrani with a "Haa, woh hai (that's it), correct!" was able to identify it. Part of it seemed to be a December 2015 bill for the purchase of medicines from the Rakhangi Medical Stores near her home. But she told the judge more important than the date -- because she was in judicial custody at the time -- was to see the name and address on it. It was a bill for liquid Risdone, an antipsychotic medicine used for mood disorders. The name of the prescribing doctor was Mumbai psychiatrist Dr Y A Matcheswalla (Prosecution Witness 28 who appeared in the witness box last January) and had treated various members of the family including Mekhail, Sheena and Indrani). The name of the patient was Rahul from Worli. "I don't know any other Rahul from Worli, who is connected with this case, unless prosecution can bring someone else, who is a Rahul from Worli who went to Dr Matcheswalla and took a prescription and bought it! I was in judicial custody. They cannot blame me for it?!" She went on in excitement, her voice rising, underlining each word, "My point, Your Honour, is why would a Rahul from Worli go to Dr Matcheswalla? Get a prescription for liquid Risdone? While I was in judicial custody? Why a Rahul from Worli? Why liquid Risdone? From Rakhangi Medical Stores. If a Rahul from Worli can buy liquid Risdone, then that Rahul from Worli could buy Risdone from anywhere." Indrani wondered if the said Rahul from Worli was buying Risdone for the purpose of planting bottles of Risdone and "aiding and abetting the prosecution", possibly, she said, to cover his tracks. Taking off her reading glasses, she looked directly at Judge Jagdale and said she was not asking for bail on the basis of this, but was lining up certain facts for him. Risperdone sold under the brand name Risdone, as per the prosecution's case had been the drug Indrani was supposed to have used on Sheena and Mekhail to drug her or maybe calm her/arrest aggression on April 24, 2012. Point 3: There was e-mail back-and-forth between Peter and Rahul about the rental agreement that Rahul and Sheena had with the Machados, the landlords for the flat they were renting, together, in Andheri East, north west Mumbai, and its cancellation by sending a letter by courier. Earlier, as per other witnesses who have deposed already -- like Indrani's secretary Kajal Sharma and peon Pradeep Waghmare, it was indicated, Indrani pointed out, that Indrani had organised the cancellation of the leave and license agreement with Melanie and Domnic Machado. Not Peter. And the Machados testified that the courier with the cancellation letter came from Assam from Mekhail Bora! But in court on Tuesday, Indrani read out bits and pieces of this e-mail correspondence: "There is an e-mail which has gone from Rahul Mukerjea... On 6th of August Rahul Mukerjea writes to Peter Mukerjea: 'Above are the email IDs of the landlords. They require a letter from Sheena that she is no longer occupying the residence' and contract will be terminated. Please also mention that the security deposit is to be returned." Rahul goes onto to explain that this needs to be done because the landlords are worried that Sheena would "turn up" wanting her share of the deposit, but Rahul said he told them in the e-mail, Indrani read: "that won't be likely" Why? How does Rahul Mukerjea know she is not there?" In Peter's reply, he said, 'I am getting this matter sorted... It will done by tomorrow evening and you will get a call from Melanie confirming receipt of the letter... Blue Dart courier company has confirmed that the courier delivery will be made tomorrow'. Indrani declared these e-mails showed that Peter was "taking the onus" of having the leave and license agreement cancelled and that what the prosecution put on record about her activities vis a vis the flat are "completely contradictory." And this information was all suppressed in the bid to make a case against her. Point 4: Towards the end of her arguments Indrani again referred on Tuesday to her belief that she had been framed -- "this case was framed against me" -- and that she had evidence of that. After her arrest she said money had been transferred from her account: "Forget about the flat and forget about the jewellery. Over Rs 7 crores. Actually not Rs 7 crores, that's a lie. About Rs 6 crores was transferred from my account into the accounts of A4, Rabin Mukerjea (Peter's eldest son who lives in the UK) and Rahul Mukerjea." She said she and Peter had been married 16 years and they shared accounts and she had no reason not to trust him till this happened. Indrani explained she got to know about it when it came to the notice of the "IT people" and that this was the total sum transferred together from accounts in India, UK and New Zealand. "So there is a motive." In addition to these four points, Indrani spent time refuting many of the earlier case citations CBI Special Prosecutor Manoj Chaladan had used against her to counter her bail plea. Analysing each citation, Indrani showed how each one could not apply to her. Either the person had been a terrorist or a larger criminal. Indrani's reaction: "He was a threat to the well-being of the society at large. If I am released on bail, am I a threat to society? I am not. Not applicable to me." Judge Jagdale gave her a long, serious look, nothing more. Or the person got bail even though the investigation and chargesheet were not complete. Indrani implored: "Why is it not applicable to my bail application on merit? After four-and-a-half years (in judicial custody)?" In another citation, the person had fled the country. Indrani pointed out that "after the alleged crime in April 2012 I came back 19 times to India", even though she had enough assets to live abroad, without the need to return. "That itself proves my innocence." Indrani once again brought up the fact that there were hundreds of witnesses and not even 65 were through. Did she need to wait for the balance 189 to be done, after four-and-a-half years in custody, to get bail? The judge asked Chaladan how many witnesses were there and how many he intended to call. Chaladan: "253." And he planned to call: "30-40." Indrani: "Maybe even 100. We don't know. They keep saying that Rahul Mukerjea will be next." And use that grounds to deny her bail Indrani: "The previous prosecutor (Ejaz Khan) said Rahul Mukerjea is the next witness." Judge Jagdale: "The prosecutor has changed." Indrani: "How do I know he will not change!" The judge, implying the flux-like nature of the legal landscape: "I do not know if I am going to change or not." While closing her plea, Indrani said most of the prosecution's story was "gone", with respect to the different skulls and bodies. She solemnly announced she would never flee justice. In any case her passport was with the court. "I don't want to flee justice, Your Honour." She added in an emotion-laden, passionate tone, often placing her hand on her heart, "I personally believe I have given you enough grounds to grant me bail... Thank you so much." There it is: Indrani in her own words. As I close my nearly 160th report on this trial, after studying Indrani for 120 minutes on Tuesday, I know less than I knew when I filed the first report in February 2017. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel covers the Sheena Bora Murder Trial for Rediff.com. You can read her brilliant coverage here. Wuhan, capital of the hardest-hit province of Hubei, remains the main battlefield for prevention and control of the coronavirus epidemic in the country, a Chinese health official said Tuesday. Resolute efforts should be made to curb the rise in confirmed cases in the periphery of Hubei and other key provincial-level regions, said He Qinghua, an official with the National Health Commission at a press conference in Beijing, adding that imported cases, regional outbreaks and spread within these regions should be prevented. A joint prevention and control mechanism should be initiated between Hubei and its neighboring provinces to help prevent the spread of the epidemic to neighboring areas and provide materials, personnel and transportation support needed in Hubei, according to He. Other key areas including Beijing, Zhejiang and Guangdong should enhance coordination with Hubei in prevention work, such as information sharing, to contain further spread of the epidemic, he added. For lower-risk regions across the country, preventive measures should be adopted at the county level to avoid relapse of the epidemic situation while advancing resumption of work and production as soon as possible, He said, stressing efforts to step up disinfection and ventilation as well as passengers' temperature and health monitoring to reduce the risks of virus transmission amid people's return trips. China reported 508 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection on Monday, 499 of which were in Hubei. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday expressed grief over the deaths of 24 passengers of a bus carrying a wedding party that plunged into a river in Bundi district. "I am deeply saddened to learn about the tragic incident in Bundi in which 24 persons have lost lives after the bus fell into river Mej," Gehlot tweeted. He shared his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wished for speedy recovery of those who were injured in the incident. Deputy CM and state Congress president Sachin Pilot also condoled the deaths and prayed for the peace of departed souls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Trump: 'We're Pretty Close' to Afghan Peace Deal By Ayaz Gul, Steve Herman February 25, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration is moving closer to a peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan, saying a week-long nationwide "reduction in violence" truce with the insurgent group is holding up "so far, so good." Trump spoke to reporters in India at the conclusion of his two-day trip Tuesday, saying his Afghan peace initiative has received widespread backing and "everybody is happy about it," including New Delhi. "We're pretty close. We will see what's going on. We have got two days now under our belt without violence, or I guess a minimum of violence, and we'll see what happens," Trump said of the temporary truce and upcoming possible peace agreement with the Taliban. The mutually agreed seven-day reduced fighting deal went into effect last Saturday, with U.S.-backed Afghan forces and insurgents committing to not launching offensive operations. The truce is to culminate on Feb. 29 with the signing of a U.S.-Taliban agreement in the Gulf state of Qatar. If inked, the agreement would end America's longest war, now in its 19th year, and would lead to a phased withdrawal of roughly 13,000 American troops from the country. "After 19 years we would like to bring our young people back home," Trump noted. He said Washington is working hard to bring down the number of American troops to 8,600, and "from there we'll make a decision as to what the final outcome would." Qatar hosted the contentious off-and-on U.S.-Taliban negotiations that have been taking place over the past 18 months. The draft agreement provides a timetable for the withdrawal of American and coalition forces from Afghanistan, Taliban counterterrorism guarantees, and a dialogue process for political reconciliation between Afghan parties involved in the conflict. "The Taliban must respect the agreement, specifically regarding their promises of severing ties with terrorists. We're not required to leave unless they can demonstrate they're fulfilling every element of their end of the bargain," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday. Afghanistan is 'very dangerous' Trump defended his withdrawal plans, saying American troops in the country are no longer serving as a military force, but rather as a police force. "The area is a hot bed of problems and when we bring them [U.S. troops] home, we'll let them [Taliban] know that if something happens we will hit them so hard," he said in a bid to addresses concerns the Taliban could violate the agreement and try to grab power in the post-war Afghanistan. Trump once again said the United States easily could have won the Afghan war had he wanted to kill "millions of people, innocent people." He noted that U.S. intelligence and other military means, however, would remain in place to watch the post-agreement situation in Afghanistan, describing the country as a "very dangerous" part of the world. US anti-IS strikes Trump's remarks came on a day the U.S. military said it conducted two counterterrorism airstrikes in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, killing at least four Islamic State fighters there. "We continue to eliminate ISIS terrorists wherever they hide to protect Afghanistan while honoring the U.S.-Afghan-Taliban agreement to reduce the violence," stressed U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett in reference to the Middle Eastern terrorist group. The war in Afghanistan has cost Washington nearly $1 trillion and the lives of about 2,400 military personnel. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At least 700 people who returned to New York from trips throughout China have been placed under voluntary quarantines as the deadly Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread around the world, officials said on Wednesday. Jill Montag, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health, confirmed an estimated 700 travellers had voluntarily agreed to take part in the 14-day self isolation period after having returned from trips to China where the coronavirus was believed to have originated since 3 February. Though officials said none of the travellers under voluntary quarantine had displayed symptoms associated with the mysterious illness, Ms Montag stated: Voluntary self-isolation will help limit the potential spread of this virus. The news comes a day after US health officials warned the Wuhan coronavirus spreading throughout the country was all but inevitable, with at least 59 cases confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon. The majority of those cases all stem from an outbreak of the virus aboard a luxury cruise liner docked in Japan. While the American evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been quarantined in military bases across California, Colorado and Texas, the travellers under voluntary quarantine after returning to New York are under somewhat different protocols. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty The travellers under voluntary quarantine are monitored on a daily basis by local health officials, who oversee their food deliveries and monitor each person for potential symptoms associated with the virus, like respiratory difficulties, a fever or coughing. Health officials have also begun monitoring travellers under voluntary quarantine by video on their cellphones, according to USA Today. Recommended Flight attendant diagnosed with coronavirus sparks fears of outbreak The total figure of travellers under voluntary quarantine was subject to change throughout the days ahead, officials said, as some had already completed or were in the process of concluding the 14-day self-isolation period. Those under voluntary quarantine were following guidelines issued by the US Centre for Disease Control, which said this week that coronavirus spreading across the country was not a matter of if, but when. Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on Tuesday: "We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad." She added: "It's not so much a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen." The CDC also said "disruption to everyday life might be severe" as coronavirus potentially spreads across the country. The leaders of Pennsylvanias state-owned universities hope that an early retirement offer could help avert tougher measures to cut the size of the faculty. But the clock is ticking, according to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Aiming to cut costs, the state system has offered an early retirement incentive to the faculty of the 14 state-owned universities, which serve 96,000 students across Pennsylvania. The system wants to get 200 faculty members to sign up for its early retirement program by the deadline of March 2. So far, 165 faculty members have said theyd opt for early retirement. If there arent enough faculty willing to do so, the system could consider retrenchment and the possibility of cutting positions, said David Pidgeon, a spokesman for the state system. If we can get to 200, this could provide relief from possible retrenchment of faculty and staff, he said. Its a critical program. Its a critical time. The system could face tough choices on reducing the size of the faculty even if the early retirement target is met, Pidgeon said. Even if we get to at least 200, there are difficult decisions ahead of us, he said. Retrenchment remains a possibility even if we do reach 200. If the system doesnt get 200 people to choose early retirement by the March 2 deadline, the program would be scrapped. Ken Mash, the leader of the faculty union, said hes frustrated the state system is raising the possibility of reducing positions. I think its disappointing the system would be bringing up retrenchment to the press, said Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. Its a very serious thing and we should not be doing anything to discourage our students from attending these universities. The early retirement program would offer participating faculty the chance to get paid for more unused sick time. Those choosing early retirement would be paid for up to 125 unused sick days. Typically, faculty can be paid for a maximum of 50 unused sick days. Mash said he thinks its about 50-50 whether the goal of 200 choosing early retirement will be met. He said the system could have made a more generous offer to spur more people to take early retirement. He said the fact that 165 have already opted for early retirement is pretty good. Ken Mash, president of the faculty union, and Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education board Chairwoman Cynthia Shapira sign a four-year faculty contract. State System Chancellor Dan Greenstein (far right) looks on. The system and faculty are on better terms but the system is hoping 200 faculty members will opt for early retirement to cut costs. The system has been battling financial challenges and declining enrollment in recent years. The systems enrollment has dropped 20 percent since 2010. System leaders note that state aid has gone up under Gov. Tom Wolfs administration but remains at about the same level as it was a decade ago. State System Chancellor Dan Greenstein has called on lawmakers to put more money into the system. But Greenstein has said the state-owned universities must think differently if the system is going to survive. In a sweeping plan he unveiled earlier this month, he urged the university presidents to reduce the use of temporary faculty and avoid filling vacant posts. He also wants university presidents to take a hard look at their course offerings, including reducing courses with limited enrollment. The state systems governing board and faculty union reached an agreement on a new contract in December. The pact calls for a pay freeze this year but raises of at least 12% over the next three years. Mash said relations between the systems leadership and faculty have improved but the prospect of job cuts doesnt help. Weve been pretty vocal that we do appreciate what is a much better relationship with the state system overall, Mash said. But things are tense and I think that has an impact. He also said warnings of reducing faculty wont help reverse the trend of declining student enrollment. When you start talking like that, what you do is create a death spiral, Mash said. If you start closing programs or eliminating faculty, you are making the institution a less attractive place to attend. Pidgeon said the system values its faculty. But he said for the system to move forward, its costs need to be more closely aligned with revenue, including the possibility of reducing the size of the faculty. The chancellor has said this: Were at a pivotal point here, Pidgeon said. For many years, the can has been kicked down the road. There is no more road. Pidgeon urged faculty who are weighing early retirement to consider it seriously. He said system leaders acknowledge its a painful choice for some who have dedicated decades to their universities and who treasure the chance to teach. If the early retirement program is scrapped because there arent enough takers, those who indicated they wanted to retire can rescind their decision by April 10. But he stressed if the early retirement initiative doesnt reach its goal, there isnt likely to be another similar incentive. We wanted to create an incentive program that honored and respected the faculty, Pidgeon said. Its as much a lifestyle as a career. We understand how personal a decision that is. The system governs these state-owned universities: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester. 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. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- In Washington, high-level government meetings now start with the National Security Advisor passing around printed copies of President Trumps tweets, the better for cabinet officials to determine how to bring policy into line with the presidents views. Departmental heads and senior officials responsible for coordinating their activity dont shape policy or influence the president: Their function appears limited to figuring out the direction in which Trump has veered and getting themselves into his slipstream. If his cabinet struggles to keep up with the presidents frequent changes of direction, imagine how much harder it is for Americas friends to align common policies. A demonstration of this played out at the recent Munich Security Conference, where differences between the U.S. and its European allies were overshadowed by what seems to be yet another Trump u-turn. The U.S. team took an uncompromising position on Huawei Technologies Co., and pressure the Europeans to exclude the Chinese company from their information-technology networks. This, despite the announcement of waivers for U.S. firms to keep doing business with Huawei. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Huawei and other Chinese state-backed tech companies are Trojan horses for Chinese intelligence, while Secretary of Defense Mark Esper suggested that Europeans who disregarded American warnings would jeopardize our alliances. Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting Director of National Intelligence, weighed in for good measure, tweeting that Trump just called me from [Air Force One] and instructed me to make clear that any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardise our ability to share intelligence and information at the highest level. Yet within a day, the President had contradicted his cabinet, tweeting that the U.S. would not ban technology sales or let the always used National Security excuse prevent commerce with China. (Trump has used that excuse against Canada on steel imports and is threatening to use it against Germany on cars.) Story continues Barely had the Europeans finished scratching their heads over the presidents new position when, Mick Mulvaney, his Chief of Staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget Director, tacked back to the previous policy, warning the UK that, if it went ahead with plans to include Huawei in the British 5G network, there would be a direct and dramatic impact on our ability to share information with you. Period, end of story. The Trump administration seems to regard its unpredictability a negotiating asset, but the Europeans can be forgiven if theyre still not clear on what U.S. policy isand suffering from whiplash. But this is just one example of the difficulty confronting U.S. allies. There are no guiding principles they can use to anticipate decisions emanating from The White House. The message from Munich is that allies need not respond to demands from senior cabinet figures like the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, or National Security Advisor: the only person who represents the president is the president himself. The pattern was established early on: Pompeo persuaded Britain, France, and Germany to agree on modifications to the Iran nuclear agreement, but Trump abrogated it anyway; former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had just persuaded allies in the anti-Islamic State fight to commit to remaining in Syria and Iraq for two more years when Trump decided to withdraw U.S. troops; Special Representative (and now also Deputy Secretary of State) Steve Biegun has been unable to make conditions established for North Korean denuclearization stick because the president prematurely declared, we have peace. The reason predictability is a virtue for a strong state is that it allows friends to make their efforts additive to our own. Countries that would not send troops to fight under other auspices or flags will join a U.S.-led effort, or will enforce commonly agreed sanctions, or work in unison to a common diplomatic purposeif they support what were doing. But they resent being left on the battlefield, as France and other countries fighting with the U.S. against ISIS would have been if Trumps abrupt and unexpected withdrawal had been implemented. And it makes those countries less likely to join a common effort the next time we want help. The President doesnt have time to conduct the entirety of U.S. foreign and defense policy. If allies cant rely on the policy guidance from the presidents cabinet, and he keeps changing direction in unexpected ways, our friends will be unable or unwilling to help. Centralized systems like the one now operating in the White House are much more prone to single-point failure than an interagency process that vets potential decisions, mitigates negative consequences, maximizes benefits of opportunities, and effectively coordinates the means available. In the Trump administration, the President is policy. Nobodyand nothingelse matters. To contact the author of this story: Kori Schake at kori.schake@stanford.edu To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Kori Schake leads the foreign and defense policy team at the American Enterprise Institute. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said Filipino forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact. Duterte also said in a speech that he would stick to a decision made early in his presidency, when he was enraged by thenPresident Barack Obamas criticism of his deadly anti-drug crackdown, that he will not travel to the United States. The brash Philippine leader has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising China and Russia since taking office in mid-2016 for a six-year term. President Trump invited Duterte to join a meeting he will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Las Vegas next month. Duterte has better relations with Trump than with Obama, but his remarks Wednesday support an earlier statement that he would not attend the meeting. Do we need America to survive as a nation? Duterte asked. Do we need the might and power of the military of the United States to fight our rebellion here and the terrorists down south and control drugs? The military and police said, Sir, we can do it, he said. If we cant do it, we have no business being a republic, Duterte said. You might as well choose. We can be a territory of the Americans or we can be a province of China. The Philippine government notified the U.S. two weeks ago that it intends to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows American forces to train in large numbers in the Philippines, in the most serious threat under Duterte to the two nations 69-year treaty alliance. Jim Gomez is an Associated Press writer. Shares in mainland China led losses among major Asia Pacific markets on Wednesday as investors withdrew amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak beyond China. By the market close, the Shenzhen component dropped 3.02% to 11,497.55 and the Shenzhen composite fell 2.705% to about 1,890.60. The Shanghai composite shed 0.83% to around 2,987.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.9%, as of its final hour of trading. The city unveiled its budget on Wednesday with measures worth 120 billion Hong Kong dollars (approx. $15.4 billion), according to Reuters, as the Hong Kong economy has taken a hit from both the coronavirus outbreak as well as months of anti-government protests that have been at times violent. "They're certainly pulling out all the stops, this is absolutely above the high end of our expectations," J.P. Morgan's James Sullivan said, commenting on the Hong Kong budget. Still, he added that it will be some time before a recovery takes place in the city. "You're seeing a series of structural issues at play in Hong Kong, from the retail space really going back onshore to mainland China, over time significant changes in the overall outlook for property in Hong Kong, significant changes particularly in the manufacturing space," Sullivan, who is head of Asia ex-Japan equity research at J.P. Morgan, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Wednesday. "I don't think one budget will be enough to move the needle on the structural issues that the economy is facing but clearly from a short-term perspective it's a lot of incremental liquidity into the marketplace," he said. Burma Myanmars Ethnic Parties Fear Loss of Vote Share as Lower House Approves Eased Residency Rules A woman casts her vote during a by-election in 2017 in Chaungzon Township in Mon State. / The Irrawaddy Ethnic political parties in Myanmar have voiced opposition to the approval by the Lower House of a draft bylaw that would lower to 90 days the length of time migrant workers must reside in a location in order to be allowed to vote there. The change in the residency requirement, which was approved by the Lower House on Feb. 20, was proposed by the Union Election Commission (UEC), though it had initially sought a reduction to less than 90 days from the current laws 180 days. Fourteen political parties, including members of the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), issued a joint statement on Feb. 24 listing their objections to the draft law proposed by the UEC. Among these were the difficulty of proving that migrants have resided in an ethnic region for 90 days, and the dilution of ethnic peoples voting power in their home regions that would result from enabling more migrants to vote. The ethnic parties are particularly worried about the effect of allowing ethnic Burmese migrants who move to non-Burmese ethnic states to vote in their new locations. In the statement, they said the UEC did not need to amend the current law, as it caused no problems for voters. Amendment of the current law should not benefit a person or a party. It should give priority to the holding of free and fair elections, the statement reads. Ethnic parties first opposed the UECs move when it submitted its draft amendment to Parliament in October. Various ethnic parties wrote letters to the UEC saying the move would hurt ethnic voters. The Lower House debated the UECs draft amendment on Feb. 20, and approved a change in the UECs proposal to stipulate a residency requirement of at least 90 days. The UEC originally proposed a requirement of less than 90 days. The ethnic political parties urged the UEC to retain the current laws stipulation of a 180-day minimum, or else arrange for migrant workers to cast advance ballots or let them go back to their home constituencies to vote. The ethnic parties do not want migrant workers from other parts of Myanmar to vote in their regions, as they are worried their share of the vote will decrease. However, the ethnic parties said the UEC ignored them. Nai Lyi Tama, joint secretary of the Mon Unity Party and a member of the UNA, told The Irrawaddy today that the ethnic parties proposed the points they wanted to amend to the UEC in order to ensure free and fair elections. However, the Lower House approved a draft including a requirement of at least 90 days, despite the parties having carefully outlined the points it opposed, he said. [Ruling party] lawmakers need to understand the democratic system. They should not use their majority to silence the voice of the minority; instead they should carefully listen to the voice of the minority, he said. Democracy does not mean using the majority vote to defeat the minority. But, if we look at the action of the Lower House, they used their power to [silence] the minority, he said. The change in the requirement will become law if approved by the Upper House. Myanmars main political parties, the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), fielded candidates in ethnic regions during the most recent elections, winning in some constituencies. The ethnic parties worry the proposed amendment will make it harder for ethnic voters to elect their preferred ethnic candidates. They see the amendment as little more than an attempt to win more parliamentary seats in the ethnic statesespecially by the NLD, which currently holds power. According to the ethnic parties, migrants main reason for moving into ethnic states is to work, so they should return to their home constituencies to vote. U Ngwe Lin, a member of the executive committee of the Democratic Party for a New Society, a party considered friendly to the UNA, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that, More Burmese migrants are looking for work in the ethnic states. They come to the ethnic areas to seek jobs. They have no other reason for coming to the ethnic areas, and they go back to their hometowns after their work is done. If we let migrants vote in the ethnic states, it will make it harder for local ethnic people to elect the candidates they like. Therefore, our view is that it is dangerous for local minorities to let migrants vote in ethnic areas. The proposed amendment to the current law is good for the big political parties, as they will gain votes in ethnic areas, he said. The main problem is the UEC, according to U Ngwe Lin. The UEC did not listen to the voices of the ethnic parties. I dont believe the amended law will allow for free and fair elections, he said. You may also like these stories: Myanmars Wa Army Confirms It Has a Helicopter Myanmar Prisons to Educate Inmates on Coronavirus, Work on Prevention Angry Exchange Between Military MP, Speaker Mars First Day of Myanmar Charter Debate NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (the Company or ARI) (ARI) today announced Stuart Rothstein, the Companys Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present on the mortgage REIT panel at the Citi Global Property CEO Conference on March 2, 2020 at The Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 5:10 pm ET. The presentation and question and answer periods will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties through the Company's website at www.apolloreit.com in the Stockholders section. There will be a replay available following the presentation which will remain on the Company's website for thirty days. About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (ARI) is a real estate investment trust that primarily originates, acquires, invests in and manages performing commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. The Company is externally managed and advised by ACREFI Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, Inc., a leading global alternative investment manager with approximately $331 billion of assets under management at December 31, 2019. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.apolloreit.com . Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Forward-looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of the Company's business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When used in this release, the words believe, expect, anticipate, estimate, plan, continue, intend, should, may or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, may be forward-looking: the return on equity; the yield on investments; the ability to borrow to finance assets; the Companys ability to deploy the proceeds of its capital raises or acquire its target assets; and risks associated with investing in real estate assets, including changes in business conditions and the general economy. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements, and other risks, uncertainties and factors are based on the Company's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of its future performance, taking into account all information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. CONTACT: Hilary Ginsberg Investor Relations (212) 822-0767 New Disney CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC on Tuesday he will continue to steer the company down the path laid by its former leader, Bob Iger. "I suspect in the beginning it will be more of the same because essentially the strategies that Bob's put in place are really long lasting in terms of where the company is going to go in the short-term," Chapek said on "Fast Money." But just as Iger faced the rise of video streaming during his tenure, Chapek said he understands "disruption and transformation are just inevitable in this business." "It hits each one of our businesses a little bit differently, but it's inevitable that those business will be disrupted and it's recognizing at that time when we'll need to shift," Chapek said. "And that's, I think, the art of the job." Iger stepped down as Disney CEO on Tuesday, a surprise move as he had previously said he planned to retire in 2021. The 69-year-old media mogul will become executive chairman and stay on through the end of 2021. Iger has helped guide Disney through four major acquisitions of Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox and the launch of its streaming service, Disney+. In 2005, the year Iger became CEO, Disney reported net income of $2.5 billion. By last year, net profits had risen more than 300% to $10.4 billion. The company's stock rose more than 400% while Iger was at the helm, increasing from roughly $25 per share to its Tuesday close of $128. Shares of Disney fell 2.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, but have recovered some of those losses. Chapek, who has been at the company for 27 years, was most recently in charge of the Disney's parks, experiences and products. He helped Disney open its Shanghai resort in 2016, as well as the doubling of the Disney Cruise Line fleet and the expansion of Marvel-inspired attractions worldwide. Chapek said he is well-prepared to face the disruption happening around television and content distribution. He said direct-to-consumer initiatives are his "sweet spot." "That is something I could leverage now throughout all my experiences not only at Disney, but even before Disney, in terms of figuring how we take the data, the information, the technology, and once again our storytelling, right direct to the consumer," he said. Michael Nathanson, senior research analyst at MoffettNathanson, called Disney's parks business the only direct-to-consumer segment it had before Disney+ launched. "Bob is probably the best qualified person in the company to take this job," Nathanson said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" Tuesday. "His history in all the divisions that really matter really is very supportive of him taking on that role." - CNBC's Sarah Whitten contributed to this report. DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dialectic Therapeutics, Inc., a Texas-based biotechnology company focused on creating innovative new technologies to end cancer, today announced it has received a $3 million Seed Award for Product Development Research from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Dialectic will use the funding from the CPRIT Seed Award to further the development of its lead product candidate, DT2216, a unique compound built using its proprietary and novel A ntiapoptotic P rotein T argeted D egradation (APTaD) technology. In pre-clinical studies, DT2216 selectively induces cancer cells to degrade B-cell lymphoma extra large, or BCL-XL, stimulating the cells to commit suicide or become more susceptible to chemotherapy. DT2216 is currently in the IND-enabling phase for use as a single agent or as part of a combination therapy in hematologic cancers. "We are honored and delighted to have received this Seed Award from CPRIT and the state of Texas, and it significantly advances our effort to develop novel drug candidates that address a significant need in cancer treatment. This grant will give us the opportunity to reach clinical relevance faster," said Dr. David Genecov, Dialectic's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The CPRIT funding will support continued development of our lead candidate, DT2216, which we believe may be a first-in-class anticancer agent targeting BCL-XL, the most commonly over-expressed antiapoptotic protein in cancer." About Dialectic Therapeutics Dialectic Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on creating innovative new technologies to end cancer. Our goal is to relieve the suffering of patients with cancer and prolong their productive lives through targeted therapies with limited toxicities and complications. Based in Dallas, TX, Dialectic Therapeutics has research partners and facilities at UT Health San Antonio and University of Florida Health. Biotech venture investors John D. Harkey, Jr. and Dr. David Genecov capitalized the Company in 2018 and are co-founders along with Dr. Robert Hromas, Dean of the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Daohong Zhou at University of Florida Health Cancer Center, and Dr. Guangrong Zheng at University of Florida College of Pharmacy. For more information regarding Dialectic Therapeutics, please visit www.dtsciences.com. About the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas 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. CPRIT has recruited 200 distinguished researchers, supported the establishment, expansion or relocation of 40 companies to Texas, and generated over $4.7 billion in additional public and private investment. CPRIT funding has advanced scientific and clinical knowledge and provided 6.2 million life-saving cancer prevention and early detection services reaching Texans from all 254 counties. On November 5, 2019, Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to provide an additional $3 billion to CPRIT for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention. For more information regarding CPRIT, please visit www.cprit.texas.gov. Dialectic Therapeutics Contact: Josh Sills, VP of Operations email: [email protected] SOURCE Dialectic Therapeutics, Inc. Related Links http://www.dtsciences.com Seven Democratic presidential candidates met in South Carolina Tuesday night to try to convince voters there to support them, just days before the fourth primary or caucus in the nation. Billionaire Tom Steyer qualified for the debate after he missed last weeks event in Nevada. The 62-year-old businessman had supported early efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. He joined six candidates on stage: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 78; former Vice President Joe Biden, 77; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 70; and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59. Here were some highlights: Sanders Would Look Into Moving US Embassy Back to Tel Aviv Sanders says he would study the issue of relocating the American Embassy in Israel to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem but wouldnt commit to commanding the change. The Vermont senator said during Tuesday nights debate in Charleston, South Carolina, that he is very proud of being Jewish but also pressed that you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. In 2018, the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital and moved the American Embassy there. The move had been required under U.S. law since 1995 but was postponed repeatedly by presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The other Jewish candidate onstage, Bloomberg, said, You cant move the embassy back. Capping off the issue, Warren said moving the embassy is not a decision for the United States to make, adding, We should let the parties determine the capitals themselves. Sanders Defends Praise for Dictators Asked about his recent praise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Sanders continued saying he opposes authoritarians but again noted that Castro did some good things while in power. You got a real dictatorship there [in China]. Of course, you have a dictatorship in Cuba, Sanders said. But he again praised the literacy programs under dictator Fidel Castro, claiming he was repeating praise that emanated from former President Barack Obama. Sanders argued that he was just honest about U.S. foreign policy, adding that being honest includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world. And when dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good, you acknowledge that, he said. Biden challenged Sanders, telling him that Obama did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government. Buttigieg said Democrats are not going to win by reliving the Cold War. And Democrats will struggle in House and Senate races if they have to explain away praise for dictatorships, he added. Several current Democratic lawmakers, as well as the Florida Democratic Party, condemned Sanders remarks after he made them over the weekend. Bloomberg Wouldnt Remove Troops From Middle East Bloomberg said he would not remove all troops from the Middle East. You cut it back as much as you can, he said. But the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks showed that people plan things overseas and execute them here, he said. The United States has to have some troops where terrorists congregate, Bloomberg said. Not doing so, he alleged, is irresponsible. This is a dangerous world, he said, highlighting 9/11 again. Buttigieg said he disagreed. I dont think we need to have troops anywhere terrorists can gather because terrorists can gather anywhere in the world, he said. Instead, the U.S. needs intelligence capabilities, he added. The topic has arisen in previous debates. Warren and Buttigieg said at a debate last year that they support removing all troops from the Middle East. Buttigieg, Biden Join Attacks Against Sanders Nearly every rival on stage attacked Sanders in the opening hour of the debate in Charleston, with Buttigieg and Biden targeting the current front-runner on different fronts. Biden repeated criticism of Sanders views on gun manufacturers, claiming that the senators position on gun makers has caused carnage on our streets. In response, Sanders said he has cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote. The issue came up after an introductory question that included mention of the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Churchjust steps from the debate venuein which nine black Bible study participants were slain in a racist shooting. Sanders, in 2005, supported a proposal backed by the National Rifle Association granting gun manufacturers broad legal protections. He has repeatedly been put on the defensive during the 2020 campaign on his perceived support for the gun manufacturing industry. In a twist on the issue, Buttigieg also took on Sanders, saying his position on guns wasnt an old one but is a current bad position that Bernie Sanders holds. Buttigieg also alleged that the cost of Medicare for All, a plan endorsed by Sanders and Warren, adds up to four more years of Donald Trump. He called out Sanders for declining to support the elimination of the Senate rule known as the filibuster, which requires 60 out of 100 senators to approve most major bills. Despite that fact, the Democratic presidential front-runner is pitching an array of sweeping policy changes that are highly likely to fall short in Congress with the filibuster still in place. How are we going to lead a revolution if you cant support a rules change? Buttigieg challenged Sanders. Bloomberg Nearly Says He Bought Members of Congress Bloomberg nearly misspoke to say he bought new Democratic members of the U.S. House. Bloomberg was speaking at Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina about how he spent $100 million to help Democratic candidates flip U.S. House seats held by Republicans. He began to say I bought, before catching himself and saying I got them, noting their elections helped Nancy Pelosi become speaker of the House. Bloomberg is one of the worlds richest men and has funded numerous candidates and political causes. President Donald Trumps campaign spokesman and eldest son were among those on Twitter highlighting the flub. Wow!!! Hes admitting he BOUGHT those seats! Donald Trump Jr. tweeted. Bloomberg, Klobuchar Argue Against Selecting Socialist as Nominee Rivals tried to convince voters not to elect a socialist as the Democratic nominee. Sanders, a self-described socialist, currently leads the field in delegates after winning Nevada. Klobuchar noted that she was the only candidate to raise her hand during last weeks debate when candidates were asked if they were concerned with having a socialist as the nominee. I do not think that this is the best person to lead this ticket, she said of Sanders. She referred to Vanderbilt University research published last year that named Klobuchar as the most effective member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders and Warren, she noted, were near the bottom of the list. It matters if you can actually get things done, Klobuchar said. Alsotaking aim at Sanders, Bloomberg said: We just cannot afford some of the stuff that people talk about. We will elect Bernie. Bernie will lose to Donald Trump. The House, the Senate, and some of the state houses will all go red, he said. Bloombergs base of support is all billionaires, Sanders argued, telling the audience that he beat Trump in polls showing him going head-to-head with the president. The polls arent the election, Bloomberg said. Can anyone imagine moderate Republicans voting for him? Rivals Allege Bloomberg Was Racist Prompted by moderators, rivals said that Bloombergs stop-and-frisk policies while mayor of New York City was racist. Both Klobuchar and Buttigieg answered that they believe Bloombergs policies were racist. Buttigieg said he was mindful that there were seven white people on the stage. Bloomberg jumped in, saying he believed it would have been harder to amass his fortune if he was black, and that he knew black people who would have had an easier path to success if they were white. Klobuchar said that elements of the justice system should be reformed. I think what we need to do, instead of just reviewing everything from the past, is talk about where were gonna go forward, she said. Bloomberg has apologized for stop-and-frisk, arguing that the policy got out of control. Warren brought up how Bloomberg donated to Republican candidates and lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (D-S.C.), and said that Democrats would never trust him. Bloomberg pushed back, pointing to his record at the helm of New York. I have the experience, I have the resources, and I have the record, he said. Biden on Declining Poll Numbers After a host said that Bidens lead was slipping in polls, he said the last poll he saw had him with a 15 percent lead. Ive worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community, he said. South Carolina has a sizeable black population, and Biden has led polls there since he announced his bid for the presidency last year. I intend to win South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here, Biden said. Asked if he would end his bid if he didnt win the state, Biden repeated that he would win the state. The last poll, from NBC News and Marist, saw Biden with a four percent lead over Sanders, but the poll before that, from Public Policy Polling, had him with a 15 percent lead over Sanders. The third most recent poll had Biden with a five percent lead over Sanders. The average of the polls had Biden with 30.3 percent, Sanders with 22.3 percent, and Steyer with 13.3 percent. Warren Makes Electability Argument Warren argued that she and Sanders are both progressive but that shed make a better president than her fellow senator. Getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard, and its going to take someone who can dig into the details, Warren said. Warren listed some of her accomplishments while contrasting her plans with Sanders, noting that the senator has not released information on how hed pay for his Medicare for All plan. Progressives have one shot, she alleged, and should use it on a candidate who can get something done. Sanders and Warren have similar policy proposals but Warren has earned a reputation as a policy wonk, releasing plan after plan laying out what shed do and how shed do it if shes elected. But she began faltering after releasing a plan to fund Medicare for All, or government-run healthcare, and later said it would take years to introduce the program. Sanders has also argued for broad change but has at times dismissed questions of how his administration, if hes elected, would manage to pay for divisive proposals, including the government-run healthcare. He released a fact sheet on Monday that his campaign said showed how hed fund his major plans. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Gujarat government will bring a Bill during the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly that seeks to stop the misuse of fishing boats captured by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) off Gujarat coast. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani made this announcement in the House on Wednesday. Referring to the Gujarat-registered fishing boat 'MV Kuber', which was hijacked by Pakistani terrorists who carried out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008, Rupani said a law is required to stop such misuse of fishing boats once it was captured by Pakistan. The chief minister said this while taking part in a discussion on a recent incident wherein 63 fishermen on board 11 boats from Gujarat were captured by the PMSA between February 13 and 18 off Gujarat coast. The issue was raised by senior Congress MLA, Punja Vansh, as a matter of "urgent public importance" under rule 116 of the Gujarat Assembly on the first day of the Budget session here on Wednesday. Vansh said although fishermen are eventually handed over to the Indian authorities by Pakistan, their boats are never returned. "It is the Central government and the Ministry of External Affairs which deal with Pakistan on this matter. The Gujarat government regularly makes representation to the Centre about the issue of boats," Rupani said. He objected to the use of word 'abduction by Pakistan', as he told Vansh that fishermen from Gujarat are captured by the Pak agency mid-sea only after they cross the IMBL and go to the other side. The chief minister added that the PMSA does not enter the Indian side and abduct fishermen. "We are bringing a bill to stop the misuse of such boats. The state government is vigilant and want to make sure that boats in the custody of Pakistan are not misused, just like Kuber was misused," Rupani said. Responding to Vansh, state Fisheries Minister Jawahar Chavda said as against the 1,625 fishermen captured by Pakistan in the last five years, the Gujarat government was able to bring back 1,750 fishermen with the help of Centre, as some of the fishermen were captured before 2014-15. He added that the state government pays a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of fishermen, who die in a jail in the neighbouring country. Chavda added that till the fisherman does not return to India, his family gets Rs 300 daily allowance from the government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:08:28|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it has detained two teenagers on suspicion of plotting an armed attack on a school in the southwestern city of Saratov. The suspects, both born in 2005, are members of various online communities that spread ideas of mass killings and suicide, the FSB said in a statement. The teenagers were arrested in an abandoned bomb shelter, where they kept a sawn-off shotgun. They also found instructions for home-made incendiary bombs on the Internet. The Saratov division of the Russian Investigative Committee has instituted a criminal case against the detainees. Last week, the FSB said it had detained two teenagers in the Crimean city of Kerch who were suspected of plotting explosions in schools. Prominent law firm Maurice Blackburn is preparing a class action against NAB on behalf of superannuation clients, with plans to fund the case using controversial US-style fee arrangements that are not yet legal in Australia. The Victorian-based firm is looking for applicants for a class action against NAB MySuper triggered by revelations that emerged from the banking royal commission that customers were charged excessive fees. The law firm is banking on legislation waiting to be passed by the Victorian upper house, which will allow lawyers to recoup costs through a US-style "contingency fee" model. The new law, which is expected to pass in March, will allow judges to hand plaintiff lawyers a slice of the settlement or judgment amount, rather than a set fee. While lawyers stand to earn more out of multimillion-dollar judgments by charging contingency fees, they will only receive a cut if they indemnify the lead plaintiff for costs if the case is lost. In his first stint as chief minister, he proved to be disaster because of his reckless behaviour. Now, Yediyurappa seems to have mastered the art of being vigilant and restrained In July 2019, the BJP managed to form the government in Karnataka and BS Yediyurappa became chief minister for the fourth time. Yet, the party's central leadership was wary of endorsing the ascent of the party's poster boy from Karnataka. When the 14-month old Congress-JD(S) coalition government bit the dust, the BJP's central leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi feared a strong negative campaign by the Congress against the BJP's leaders. The result? The relationship between the central leaders and Yediyurappa turned tempestuous and the disdain towards the latter was deep and intense. On taking oath as chief minister, Yediyurappa had sought an appointment with then-BJP president Amit Shah. When he was not sure of getting an appointment, he had to use the influence of a party MP to fix an appointment with Shah. Fast-forward to February 2020 and faced with a string of defeat in the Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP national leadership seems to have turned practical. They have accepted Yediyurappa wholeheartedly and all of a sudden, the lone mass leader of the Karnataka BJP has become a 'face-saver' for Modi and Shah. When the party could not ensure the victory of turncoats contesting on BJP tickets in Maharashtra and elsewhere, Yediyurappa took a risk, if not a gamble, to ensure the victory of 12 of the 15 turncoats who contested on the BJP ticket in the Assembly by-election. The bypolls resulted in a clear majority for the BJP government in Karnataka. The bypoll gamble reflects the political prowess of Yediyurappa, who will turn 77 on 27 February. Now his clout has grown so strong in party circles that no leader can dare to ask him to give up the chief minister's post and join the elite club of the Margadarshak Mandal. No wonder then that the birthday celebration for the Karnataka chief minister will be a big affair this time: Four Union ministers including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, besides four former chief ministers of Karnataka SM Krishna, HD Kumaraswamy, DV Sadananda Gowda and Siddaramaiah are likely to attend the function to be held at Bengaluru Palace Grounds on Thursday. Many say Yediyurappa is still a rustic and short-tempered politician. But, he is liked by many more. Many leaders, on getting plum political posts, allow themselves to undergo an image makeover. Yediyurappa has not succumbed to this temptation. The leader who hardly shows any expression in public is frequently surrounded by motormouths. However, the Lingayat strongman does not indulge in making hate speeches to please the gallery. Despite having many political rivals who use personal details to run down their rivals, Yediyurappa rarely indulges in mudslinging. In his first stint as chief minister, he proved to be a disaster because of his reckless behaviour. Now, Yediyurappa seems to have mastered the art of being vigilant and restrained. He was not very considerate towards RSS/BJP workers when he was chief minister between 2008 and 2011. This time around, he is a changed man. Immediately after assuming power, he catered to the RSS and previously-taken decisions like banning Tipu Jayanti from government programmes. But, he has not shown much inclination to change the course of governance by bringing reforms into state administration. He unabashedly displays his Lingayat identity and the party secretly relishes it. It is no longer a secret that this helps the BJP and perhaps even the RSS too. With his birthday celebrations around the corner, Yediyurappa suddenly began hearing murmurs in the state party circles that his second son, BY Vijayendra (first son, BY Raghavendra is a party MP from Shivamogga) was controlling the government. This one must be a gratifying for Yediyurappa. At least, this can point to Vijayendra getting ready to take to the big stage. In the recent by-polls, Vijayendra proved his potential and achieved an impossible task: He along with Karnataka deputy chief minister, Dr CN Ashwathanarayana, had worked hard to win the KR Pete Assembly seat situated in the hardcore Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya district. Ever since, the party's central leaders have acknowledged his potential. Shah had called Vijayendra to Delhi to understand how the latter unlocked the Vokkaliga supremacy in south Karnataka something that had eluded the BJP all along. Party MLAs fear that Vijayendra may succeed Yediyurappa in the future. Incidentally, those who are worried about Vijayendra's rise are incidentally Lingayat leaders. Perhaps, these MLAs might have found a quality in Yediyurappa Jr that they themselves lacked. The BJP, as it stands, is desperate to find a successor to Yediyurappa. In the past, it had experimented with many including Jagadish Shettar and of late, Laxman Savadi, both Lingayats. But, none succeeded in electoral terms. To retain its Lingayat vote base, the BJP might have become pragmatic now. At the risk of attracting opprobrium from the Opposition and intellectuals as well, it may probably promote Vijayendra one day. Will the RSS approve of this move? Not only the RSS, but the BJP central leadership may also not endorse this plan, going by the mood in the RSS. When Yediyurappa formed the Karnataka Janata Party in 2013, he got only six seats in the Assembly elections held that year. This proves a point: Yediyurappa's charisma and the support base of BJP are mutually inclusive. Both Yediyurappa and his son know this very well. It is the chief minister's die-hard followers who want Vijayendra to succeed him in the near future. However, Yediyurappa has not hit the pause button on their desire as yet. The more the Yediyurappa followers go to Vijayendra seeking his covert intervention in government affairs, the more damage they would do to Vijayendra's political future. He understands this well. Now that the BJP national president JP Nadda cleared the air that the party will not disturb Yediyurappa in Karnataka for next three years, the latter can focus on good governance for the state leaving aside his succession plan, if at all he has one. It will befit Yediyurappa to announce a plan on his birthday: An aspiration to provide good governance blending empathy and ethics will help him leave a legacy for future. And if he comes out with a roadmap in this regard on that day, it may disappoint a few of his supporters awaiting his succession plan but it will certainly enthuse the citizenry at large. The author is a senior journalist and a political commentator Schitts Creek The Presidential Suite Season 6 Episode 8 Editors Rating 3 stars * * * Previous Next Photo: Pop It seemed pretty obvious from the moment Ted took his dream job in the Galapagos Islands that there was no way Alexis would be able to join him long-term and that especially became true once her career as a publicist took off. Still, that doesnt make Alexis and Ted officially ending this any easier. Its Alexis and Ted! Remember their huge rom-com moment during Singles Week? Someone hold me. It all starts out so nice, too. Alexis is alone at the motel and hears a knock at the door: Its Ted! Hes come to surprise her with a long-weekend visit. Sure, its already Sunday and hes late because his first flight was delayed and then on his second flight he got food poisoning because the guy just had to order airline milk when they started handing out cookies, but he finally made it to Schitts Creek. Like so many of us, I imagine, Alexis has several milk-related follow up questions, but she has no time to ask. They have the motel to themselves and very little time. I guess having sex is more important than getting the gory details of a rancid milk experience. FOR NOW. How happy! How blissful! These two love birds (love turtles?) have finally reconnected. And then Ted drops the bomb about why he really showed up this weekend: Hes been offered a permanent position on the Galapagos research team with a three-year contract. Alexis is both sweating and has a chill. It is an instant mood-killer. And Alexis needs some time to think this through. She ends up at Cafe Tropical, hoping for some wisdom from Twyla, but what advice can you hope to receive when there is really only one clear option? So Alexis and Ted meet for one final romantic dinner at the cafe, the place where they first met. Okay, well, the all-dairy menu Alexis has selected because its full of Teds cheat day favorite and she forgot about his current milk issue sort of kills the mood for a second, but mainly the evening is lovely. Its truly the most amicable breakup in history, with Alexis telling Ted that theres no way he can turn down the job of his dreams, and Ted telling Alexis that she has to stay because shes building something special here. Theyre proud of each other and they know the only reason theyve achieved so much success is because of one another. Its sweet and mature and sad, but there is no other way. Alexiss journey on this show has never really been about finding a guy, its always been about her learning to bet on herself. And thats exactly what shes doing here. Okay, someone get me a four-cheese lasagna to cry into. The Alexis and Ted storyline really carries the bulk of The Presidential Suite, as the rest of the Roses are relegated to some throwaway storylines that are fun but probably not very memorable in the grand scheme of the series. Actually, you know what? Ill forever treasure the image of Moira Rose halfheartedly hate-dusting the Presidential Suite at the new Rosebud Motel location. We should all treasure it. Shes doing so because when Johnny nixes Roland and Jocelyns idea to take a staycation in the fanciest suite in the new place you cant treat business assets as personal property Moira assumes it was simply to get rid of them so they could have the room for themselves. After making a big stink about how cold the water is in their actual room (she only has the cold tap on sorry shes not an alchemist!) and how small the doorways are (she just rolls over Johnny when hes standing near her), she tells her husband that she wanted that room as a permanent upgrade. Because they deserve it. At least until they get out of Schitts Creek. Moiras desire to get the hell out of this town is still strong, and Im still deciding what a real happy ending for Moira and Johnny looks like. Until then, well have to comfort ourselves with sweet sounds of Eugene Levys JFK impression, as Johnny and Roland have a JFK-off when Roland and Jocelyn sneak into the suite, only to find Johnny and Moira already there. They brought Roland Jr., and a sad story about renting out their spare bedroom in order to pay for the motel, and Johnny and Moira arent monsters, so of course they give it up. At least we got to see a few seconds of Johnny and Moira sipping on martinis and slow dancing together. Maybe thats everyones happy ending. The Wig Wall David forces Patrick to get a tan before their engagement photo shoot Im sorry, he gives him a pre-wedding day-of-pampering gift and Patrick comes back as a human cheese puff. Needless to say, their pictures turn out terribly. David tries to art direct the shoot in Rays studio I missed Ray so much! and explains what hes going for: I want us to look like two very rich people that have just woken up after fainting on a dusty old couch. You know, understated. Sometimes I wonder how in the hell Jocelyn ended up marrying Roland Schitt, but then we see things like the under the sea mouse pad she created with her photo on it for her schools computer lab and then I understand everything. What really gets Moira inspired to move into the Presidential Suite is that it reminds her of a place she and Johnny used to stay in their former life: Im reminded, John, of Shanghai, and our party secretary suite with its own aquarium. Id lay in our claw foot tub and watch the orcas. Another great credit to add to Moiras filmography: Her gritty, feminist police drama, Miranda Rights. Wow, so not only did Alexis dump Brian B-Rok Litrell during the Backstreet Boyss Millennium Tour, but she once had a very serious relationship with another famous boy band-er, as she reveals while trying to decide if she should move to the Galapagos: Do I leave everything behind and move to some random island to be with the love of my life? I did that with Harry Styles in England. It was, like, too rainy. Be careful John, lest you suffer vertigo from the dizzying heights of your moral ground. An Ode to Alexis and Davids Bickering on 'Schitts Creek' T he FTSE 100 index on Wednesday tumbled below the psychologically crucial 7000 mark for the first time in a year as coronavirus battered share prices for the third day running. Investors sold out of stocks amid fears the outbreak could spread across Europe, while the number of big companies warning of the impact grew. -Drinks giant Diageo said profits could be hit by as much as 200 million due to the closures of bars and restaurants across its core markets in Asia; -Mining group Rio Tinto flagged uncertainty over its revenues because half its minerals are sold to China; -SSP, owner of sandwich bars chain Upper Crust, warned of sharp declines in passenger numbers at Chinese airports; -Cathay Pacific put 25,000 staff on unpaid leave because of flight cancellations; -Food group Danone alerted that the virus was hurting its business; -Fears grew among property industry chiefs that the annual Mipim conference in Cannes could be cancelled, echoing the scrapping of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. Organisers said they were continually monitoring developments. However, while share prices did fall, the pace of the sell-offs eased, along with the flight to safe havens such as gold and the US dollar. Airline and travel stocks were among the biggest fallers, with easyJets decline this week topping 21% and Tuis 18% as investors reacted to news coverage of holidaymakers quarantined in a hotel in Tenerife heavily used by Tui guests. The FTSE 100 was down 73.36 points at 6944.52, a 1% slide, while German and Italian stock markets officially entered correction territory, defined by a fall of 10% or more from their recent peaks. The FTSE 100 is now down 9.3% since its January high point. Barclays European equity strategist Emmanuel Cau warned investors: Equities are coming back to earth fast. The global virus outbreak adds material downside risks to the macro outlook and could thus continue to fuel the flight to safety. While companies equity valuations have been hit hard, so too has confidence in their ability to repay their debts. Data from Markit showed the cost of European high-yield credit default swaps, which pay out in the event of a debt default, rose for a third day, to their highest since last August. Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast: T wo men and a dog have been stabbed after fight broke out in south-east London. Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene in Commerical Way, Peckham, to reports of a fight on Tuesday night. Two men, believed to be in their twenties, were found suffering knife wounds following the violent scenes which unfolded at about 11pm. A dog also received stab injuries in the attack. One of the injured men was rushed to hospital. His condition was not immediately known. The other was assessed at the scene and refused further medical treatment. His injuries were not deemed life-threatening, police said. A Met Police spokesman said that the injured dog had been taken to an animal hospital. "Two men have been arrested on suspicion of affray," he added. Jacqui Lambie has joked that a coronavirus outbreak affecting politicians in Canberra would be good for the country. The maverick Tasmanian senator appeared on the Today Show on Thursday morning to discuss the spread of the virus, which spawned in Wuhan, China in December. Host Karl Stefanovic asked her: 'Is it worse inside the corridors of powers in Canberra? Is it worse than it has been made out?' Senator Lambie, 49, replied: 'Maybe the country will get lucky mate and it will spread in here. It will have to be a good result for us all, wouldn't it?' The maverick Tasmanian senator (pictured) discussed the spread of the virus, which spawned in Wuhan, China in December, on the Today Show on Thursday morning Stefanovic asked: 'Jacqui. Are you OK this morning?' and she replied: 'You know, living the dream mate, living the dream.' Lambie revealed that she and her Scottish father have cancelled a holiday to the UK and would instead be taking a 10-day break in Queensland. 'I think that is the best...... Just play vigilant and do the smart thing,' she said. 'If you can see the point where we have to put masks on then we will just have to do it. It is a little scary to be honest with you what is going on out there. 'I would hate to see if it is spreading in these poorer communities, especially out in those Indigenous communities and things like that. Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Wednesday Senator Lambie then said she fears the government lacks an adequate plan to tackle the virus. 'I think, yeah, for me it is a little scary, it just seems to be spreading like wildfire now. Do we have the resources on the ground? 'Do they have a decent plan of attack, the Government? They don't have much plan for anything else, so that is worrying in itself.' The disease has a low death rate of around 2 per cent - only slightly more than flu - and the spread rate is already declining in China. However, governments around the world are bracing for a worst case scenario. On Wednesday experts said that schools would be closed and mass public gatherings would be banned if the coronavirus escalated into a pandemic. Instead of commuting, Australians would also be made to work from home. Hospitals would also struggle to cope with an influx of patients - with modelling predicting a massive shortfall of 'coronavirus beds'. In a worst-case scenario, Professor Raina MacIntyre - the head of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales's Kirby Institute - said that mass gatherings like sporting events and concerts would be banned as children stayed home from school. Health experts are bracing for a scenario where up to 50 per cent of Australians get infected with the disease. Schools would be closed and mass public gatherings would be banned if the coronavirus escalated into a pandemic, infectious diseases experts say Measures to deal with a coronavirus pandemic School closures Workplace closures Mass gatherings cancelled Voluntary quarantining Source: Federal Department of Heath's Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza, May 2019 Advertisement 'Closure of schools will be standard measures but may be implemented differently in different states,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has flagged the possible cancellation of sporting events like AFL and rugby league games. 'The possibility is always there, but that is a last resort,' he told reporters. Offices would also be empty, with the federal government's pandemic plan recommending workplace closures. 'Businesses should start planning working from home arrangements,' Professor MacIntyre said. The infectious diseases researcher also feared hospitals would be overwhelmed, forcing the postponement of elective surgery and an expansion of intensive care units. She has released modelling showing tens of thousands of intensive care beds would be needed to cope, going by the Chinese infection rate. Should 50 per cent of Australians be infected with coronavirus, in an extreme case scenario, 650,000 intensive care beds would be needed as 1.8million people required hospitalisation in one year. Professor Raina MacIntyre, the head of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute, said that in a worst-case scenario, mass gatherings like sporting events and concerts would be banned as children stayed home from school Professor Raina MacIntyre, the head of biosecurity at the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute has also released modelling showing a massive shortfall in 'coronavirus beds' 'The health system would need surge capacity, and fallback plans if needs cannot be met with existing beds and resources,' Professor MacIntyre said. 'If hospital beds run short, asking people with mild infection to stay home would be reasonable. 'We would likely see elective surgery delayed or rescheduled and reprioritisation of acute care.' Coronavirus in China has a fatality rate of 2.3 per cent. Health authorities in every Australian state are on high alert after the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned coronavirus was worse than first feared. 'Current global circumstances suggest it's likely this virus will cause a pandemic,' the government agency's principal deputy director Dr Anne Schuchat told reporters on Tuesday night. Should a pandemic occur, Australia's federal Department of Health warned hospitals were likely to be overrun. 'Demand on primary health care will also increase, exacerbated by the need to attend to patients affected by the changes in availability of services at hospitals,' it said last year in its Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza. A coronavirus pandemic would also require measures to prevent diseases outbreaks in aged care homes and prisons. Health Minister Greg Hunt has flagged the possible cancellation of sporting events, like AFL and rugby league games. Pictured are AFL Hawthorn Hawks supporters in Melbourne Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has infected 80,000 worldwide since it originated in December at an animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. This includes 23 people now in Australia, as of Wednesday. Then there are another seven Australians who were flown from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama in Japan to a quarantine centre near Darwin, where they tested positive. Coronavirus has killed more than 2,600 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure, particularly among the elderly or frail. Australia is still in the containment stage of coronavirus. Most contagion cases have occurred in China, with people also testing positive in South Korea, Japan and Italy. Professor Sharon Lewin, the director of the University of Melbourne's Doherty Institute, said a pandemic occurred when 'there's sustained human-to-human transmission in multiple countries'. The CPI(M) on Wednesday said that US President Donald Trump's visit to India was symbolic of "Modi's India" declaring its total allegiance to "Trump's America" -- ideologically, politically, strategically and militarily. The editorial in the latest edition of People's Democracy, the party mouthpiece, said that Trump's visit brought out the complete "hitching up" of India to the United States' geopolitical strategy, with Modi subordinating all of India's interests towards this goal which was reflected in the joint statement issued at the conclusion of the visit. "This is the way Modi's India is declaring its total allegiance to Trump's America ideologically, politically, strategically and militarily. "At no time has right wing and ideology been the glue of Indo-US relations, as it is today. It seems Modi designed 'Namaste Trump' to help his friend Trump's campaign for the November presidential election," it said. The editorial also alleged that with the three military agreements (two of which have already been signed) between the two nations, India's armed forces will become like the armed forces of US allies in Asia Japan and South Korea in terms of "interoperability" and joint activities. "The Modi government has no room left to negotiate on trade, e-commerce, digital localisation or any other matter vital to India's interests vis--vis the US. "The stage has been reached in India-US strategic relations wherein India's strategic autonomy and capacity for an independent foreign policy has become severely restricted," the editorial said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Diplomat Jawed Ashraf has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. Ashraf, a 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is currently serving as Indian High Commissioner to Singapore and is expected to take up the assignment shortly. A career diplomat, High Commissioner Ashraf joined the IFS in 1991. He served in Frankfurt and Berlin from 1993 to 1999 and he worked in the Americas Division of MEA in New Delhi from 1999 to 2004. Ashraf completed a three-year tenure as Counsellor at the Embassy in Kathmandu in 2007. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Counsellor and Minister for Political Affairs in Washington DC and then headed the Americas Division in the MEA in New Delhi from 2010 to 2012. Ashraf served as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office under former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and then Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His portfolio included External Affairs, Defence, National Security Council, Atomic Energy and Space. Ashraf returned to MEA in January 2016 and was Joint Secretary (Special Projects) until his appointment in Singapore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Loveth Oyiboka has been in direct provision for four years Friends of a Nigerian woman who is facing deportation have appealed to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to allow her to remain in Ireland. Almost 3,000 people have signed online petitions in support of Loveth Oyiboka (29), who has lived in Globe House direct provision centre in Co Sligo for four years. The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), which has co-ordinated the petition, said Loveth was the only survivor in her family following an attack by Boko Haram on her village in Borno State in 2015. "She would be in danger if she was sent back," said MASI spokesman Lucky Khambule. He said the case of Co Galway-based Brazilian man Lucivaldo Araujo da Silva (35), who was facing deportation this week until the minister intervened, showed Mr Flanagan had the power "to change lives". Loveth said she was frightened at the prospect of being deported to Nigeria and said: "My Mom and Dad are the people of Sligo." Artist Anna Spearman, who founded Sligo Global Kitchen, a project designed to help asylum seekers integrate with the wider community, said she has known Loveth since she arrived. "She came here with no friends and family but she has a lot of people looking out for her in Sligo," said Ms Spearman. "It is scary to think of a young Catholic woman being sent back to Nigeria. I think she is terrified." Actor Donal O'Kelly, another of Loveth's supporters, said it was "unthinkable" that she would be deported after all she had been through. "It is very worrying that it has got to this stage," he added. A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that, for reasons of confidentiality, he could not comment on individual cases immigration of asylum cases. He said applications for international protection were examined in detail and all available appeals processes exhausted before a deportation order was made. All decisions could be subject to review by the High Court and it was open to any person to make an application under the Immigration Act to have a deportation order revoked based on new information or changed circumstances, he added. FILE PHOTO: An oilfield worker walks next to drilling rigs at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas By Nidhi Verma and Aftab Ahmed NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to impose more sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, in an attempt to choke financing to President Nicolas Maduro's government. "You will be seeing something on that in the not too distant future," Trump told a news conference in Delhi when asked if Washington would impose more sanctions on Venezuela or on Indian firms that buy Venezuelan oil from third parties after imposing sanctions on a trading unit of Russian oil giant Rosneft. "There could be very serious sanctions," he said without giving details. "You are going to see in a little while. You are asking a question right in the middle of us doing something." The United States imposed sanctions last week on Rosneft Trading SA as it emerged as a key intermediary for the sale of Venezuelan oil. India and China are the important buyers of Venezuelan oil, with India importing about 342,000 barrels per day for Venezuela in 2019, according to tanker data obtained by Reuters. Reliance Industries Ltd , operator of the world's biggest refining complex, and Nayara Energy, part-owned by Rosneft, are the only Indian buyers of Venezuelan oil. The two firms had been purchasing Venezuelan oil from Rosneft. U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told Reuters on Monday that new sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector will be more aggressive in punishing people and companies that violate them. Trump said Venezuela had been "wealthy 15 years ago and very wealthy 20 years ago, the wealthiest in all of Latin America." "When you look today they don't have water, they don't have basic food, they have no medicines... We are watching Venezuela very closely. We don't like it, not at all," he said. Since the latest sanctions were announced, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has shifted several oil cargoes from Rosneft Trading to TNK, another Rosneft affiliate, Reuters reported on Monday, citing internal PDVSA documents. Story continues Rodent's units take Venezuelan oil as repayment for billions of dollars in loans extended to Venezuela in recent years. They also swap Venezuelan crude for imported fuel that the poverty-stricken South American country desperately needs. Other firms taking Venezuelan oil as repayment of loans or late dividends - including U.S. oil major Chevron Corp and Spain's Repsol SA - have not been sanctioned by Washington. (Editign by Timothy Heritage) Vivek Gumaste By The quality of public discourse in India has plummeted to rock bottom. It is a harangue of incredible ignorance exacerbated by malicious disinformation, a Goebbelsian exercise par excellence that would make even Goebbels flinch. Especially disconcerting is the role of supposed intellectuals, who instead of putting a brake on this canard, fish in troubled waters. Nothing illustrates this better than the recent high-decibel brouhaha over the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. In order to clear up the overwhelming atmosphere of misconception we need to objectively look at the CAA and NRC. The first question: Are we morally justified in granting accelerated citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan? To answer this, we need to define who a refugee is. Refugees are defined and protected under international law. The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion... Now let us examine the Constitutions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Article 2 of Pakistans Constitution states Islam will be the state religion. The Bangladesh Constitution has an Islamic invocation and Article 2A indicates state religion of the Republic is Islam. Similarly, Afghanistan has an explicitly Islamic preamble and Article 2 declares the sacred religion of Islam is the religion of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. A constitutionally sanctioned second-class status coupled with a history of repression makes these non-Muslim minorities fit the definition of refugees as defined by the 1951 Refugee Conventionelements that the CAA incorporates making it a justifiable proposition. Muslims from these nations do not fit the UNHCR definition of refugees. So, the CAA cannot be axiomatically viewed as discriminatory. The second question: Is the NRC necessary and does it discriminate against Muslims? A nation state is not a chaotic free-for-all with open access to anyone and everyone. It is a defined political entity stipulated by norms that guide its ideological character, demarcate its physical boundaries and define its citizenship, all clearly laid down in the Constitution. Articles 5-11 of the Constitution clearly lay down the criteria for citizenship. Several amendments have refined the criteria, notably the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2003 that defined an illegal immigrant and disallowed citizenship to their progeny. But these stipulations would be meaningless if there was no system to implement these requirements. So the CAA 2003 mandated the government to maintain a NRC. The NRC is not a new concept introduced by the BJP. In order to implement the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, an NRC (Assam) was prepared in 1951 after the Census. The recent NRC update of 2019 was sanctioned by the Supreme Court.The NRC is a constitutionally mandated decree. Opposing it means opposing the Constitution and despite claims of upholding it, these protestors are sullying the sacred document and misleading the public. More egregious than this violation, which can be attributed to ignorance, are the combative resolutions passed by several state Assemblies; these hit Centre-state ties, the bedrock of our federal democracy by transgressing the seventh schedule of the Constitution. This poses the greatest threat to the fundamental structure of our democracy and our Constitution after 1975. The charge that the CAA is a prelude to the NRC that will be used to disenfranchise Muslims is a myth of unmitigated proportions. No anti-CAA opponent has been able to explain how. The contention that only a poor illiterate Muslim because of his/her inability to obtain required documentation will be affected is not based on evidence; it is a provocative, incendiary political ploy. According to the 2011 Census, illiteracy rates among Hindus and Muslims were 36% and 42% respectively. When translated into actual numbers these figures amount to 30 crore Hindus and 7 crore Muslims. So, if illiteracy is the glitch more Hindus will be affected than Muslims.The NRC may not be foolproof and warrants further refinement to be more effective, but one thing it is not: an instrument that can be manipulated to discriminate against Muslims. By deliberate misinformation, an ideologically entrenched liberal lobby has wilfully fed into minority paranoia to stoke unwarranted concerns fuelling extremist elements. Liberals do not do the Muslims any good; they are creating an insecure, volatile and dangerous polity in the country. Opponents of the CAA and NRC have gone to town accusing the BJP of an ulterior motive (read disenfranchisement of Muslims). By the same token it can be alleged that some parties and radical Muslim elements have a nefarious agenda that would be scuttled by the NRC. It is common knowledge that there has been a dangerous demographic alteration going on in the states of West Bengal and Assam since the 1800s, which has persisted after 1947 in the form of illegal migration from Bangladesh.Even way back in 1991, T V Rajeswar, an ex-IPS officer and IB Chief who served as West Bengal governor warned: There is a distinct danger of another Muslim country ... emerging in the eastern part at a time when India might find itself weakened politically and militarily. So, is the current anti-CAA protest an attempt by radical Muslim elements to safeguard the advantage garnered by illegal migration, a ploy that has the blessings of some political parties? Finally, detention centres are not concentration camps and not unique to India. In fact, they are present in every sovereign nation including the US, UK and France. A compassionate law meant to provide succour to persecuted minorities from Indias neighbouring Islamic countries has been turned on its head. It has been craftily distorted by violence, misinformation and exploiting insecurity among Muslims to project it as a divisive instrument of hate. It is imperative that those at the forefront of this travesty of truth look at themselves in the mirror: They will be surprised to see a grotesque demon covered with vitriol staring back at them. The NRC may not be foolproof and warrants further refinement to be more effective, but one thing it is not: an instrument that can be manipulated to discriminate against Muslims. By deliberate misinformation, an ideologically entrenched liberal lobby has wilfully fed into minority paranoia to stoke unwarranted concerns fuelling extremist elements. Vivek Gumaste US-based academic and political commentator Email: gumastev@yahoo.com PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered a small, little known organization run by a rapper dissolved for alleged hate speech and defending terrorism. A statement from the Interior Ministry said the association called Killuminateam - soldiers on the path of Allah spread its message under the cover of helping the needy. Its main activity was organizing actions in public to make calls to hate and violence, the ministry statement said. It added that the association used the internet and videos laden with content reflecting a conspiratorial, anti-Semitic (and), anti-Christian nature and defending terrorism. Macron ordered via a decree that the association be dissolved. The group, based in the Val dOise region, north of Paris, had just 15 members, according to the ministry statement. However, its dissolution is a sign of the governments intention to fight what Macron calls Islamist separatism. The president announced last week his determination to counter Islamic extremism through diverse means, from giving the government more authority in the training of imams to beefing up police numbers in vulnerable neighbourhoods. The rapper who heads the group calls himself Killuminaty Masta Ex. He was convicted in November and given a six-month suspended sentence for defending terrorism, the French press wrote at the time. The conviction was linked to his song on YouTube called Terrorist in which he evokes the 2015 Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people. A woman describing herself as his wife said in a recent post on YouTube that her husband was jailed Jan. 5 on fraud charges. Castigating authorities and police, the woman who did not give her name said her husband never called for armed jihad, and instead devoted himself to helping youth in the name of Islam. First of all, the administration needs to fix this problem. They have the ability to do so, and I think they immediately should change this policy, Barickman said of Pritzkers administration. Were here to first of all call on the administration to reverse this reckless policy and ensure the public that theyre safe. The Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) the green lungs of Bengaluru as we know will be gone forever if the government goes ahead and reduces its eco-sensitive zone, this is the sentiment shared by activists and environmentalists fighting to save the delicate ecosystem. Namma Bengaluru Foundation's campaign United Bengaluru which is spearheading the citizen movement against the government's proposal to reduce the ESZ to 168.84 sq km, with distances varying from 100 metres to 1 km around the boundary said they will submit a fresh petition to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Activists said they were alarmed to know that the BJP government under Yediyurappa which was against the move when they were in the opposition is going ahead with a step that will alter the region forever. Earlier this week, Yediyurappa had written to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar asking him to notify the eco-sensitive zone of Bannerghatta. According to the State Government's recommendation, the ESZ around BNP will be reduced by 100 sq km. United Bengaluru is, however, urging the government to retain the original 268 sq km area marked as an ESZ zone as per a 2016 draft notification to remain so. This draft notification was passed based on 2011 guidelines issued by the Union Environment Ministry. They argue that the reduction of ESZ will result in more human-animal conflicts and will pose a threat to the wildlife and the natural flora and fauna of the area. "Earlier the BJP had given a representation in the upper house stating that the ESZ should not be reduced. Now after coming to power they have made a u-turn," Vijay Nishanth, a Bengaluru-based activist said. He has also launched an online petition to gather support for the cause. "ESZ is the protective layer of BNP without which BNP will get fragmented and disintegrate. The reduction of ESZ has direct negative consequences on the health and happiness of people of Bengaluru. This will obstruct wildlife corridor and result in man-animal conflicts. It will cut water streams feeding Cauvery and our taps will run dry sooner than later. We already have Asthma in 25% of children in Bengaluru, which is likely to go up with an increase in air pollution," Harish Kumar, the General Manager of Namma Bengaluru Foundation explained. "We have conveyed the message to the government through the media. It will be formally done with a collective representation. We are confident that the government will withdraw the proposal," Kumar said. English French OTTAWA and ANTWERP, Belgium, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NAV CANADA has entered into an agreement with Unifly, a strategic technology partner, in the deployment of a national system that provides digital services for safely operating and managing drones in Canadian airspace. The system has an intuitive user interface and will enable Canadian drone pilots to access web and mobile applications to identify safe and legal airspace, plan flights, manage operations, pilots and fleet of drones. This fully digitized system makes the process of requesting authorization to fly in controlled airspace easier and faster for qualified drone pilots. The app will also benefit airlines and general aviation pilots, as it reduces the risk of accidental drone incursions. As Canadas air navigation service provider, NAV CANADA has an essential role to play in developing an operating environment that supports the innovative potential of the drone industry and ensures safety across Canadian airspace. The system is designed to support current regulations for drone flights within visual line of sight. The website and mobile app will be available both in French and in English. Quotes After a thorough analysis of the market we selected Unifly based on their advanced technology and proven track record in numerous countries. The new app is a key component of our national drone strategy and will further our dedication to air traffic safety and technological innovation in Canadian airspace, said Mark Cooper, Senior Vice President, ANS Technology, NAV CANADA. As one of the most innovative and worlds safest Air Navigation Service Providers, NAV CANADA has a deep understanding of the challenges that developing and implementing complex traffic management systems bring, said Marc Kegelaers, CEO of Unifly. We are therefore very proud that NAV CANADA decided to partner with Unifly and strongly feel this agreement is a recognition of the value of our strategy. These past years we have not only developed our product but also organized our entire company to become the ideal partner for national Air Navigation Service Providers and Civil Aviation Authorities. About NAV CANADA NAV CANADA is a private, not-for-profit company, established in 1996, providing air traffic control, airport advisory services, weather briefings and aeronautical information services for more than 18 million square kilometres of Canadian domestic and international airspace. The Company is internationally recognized for its safety record, and technology innovation. Air traffic management systems developed by NAV CANADA are used by air navigation service providers in countries worldwide. About Unifly Uniflys mission is to create a digital environment that helps stimulate the drone market while safeguarding the safety of the airspace. Unifly is a leading supplier of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) solutions, connecting authorities and operators to safely integrate RPAS into the airspace. Founded by former Air Traffic Controllers, the company has operations worldwide and offices in Europe, North America, and South America. Unifly created a global ecosystem of partners composed of international, national, and local authorities, airports, technology providers, standard development organizations, research groups, and academic institutions. The Unifly UTM portfolio is designed as a highly scalable, cloud-based solution supporting all stakeholders. For further information, please contact: Brian Boudreau Manager, Media Relations 613-563-7303 Media Information Line: 1-888-562-8226 This is the shocking moment a transgender woman was killed in Puerto Rico early Monday, hours after a McDonald's customer called the police to complain that she was using a women's restroom. At least two male voices are heard in the video that was uploaded to social media after Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, 28, was shot on the side of a highway in Toa Baja, a town in northern Puerto Rico. A male could be heard mocking Ruiz, known to locals as Alexa. The young man shouts in Spanish, 'hey, give me that ass'. He subsequently threatened Alexa by yelling, 'hey, we are going to shoot you,' as she slowly walled away from a tent on a grass field. A second male in the video then interjected, shouting, 'hey, hey, let's spin the tires on this mother******. What's up'. A couple of seconds later, the first male is heard saying, 'I bet I go and shot that mother******. I bet you I will, mother******'. At least 10 shots were fired before the video ends. Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, a transgender woman who was known as Alexa, was murdered early Monday just hours after a customer called the police and said Alexa has used a women's bathroom at a local McDonald's in Puerto Rico and placed a mirror under a stall to look at his girlfriend's private parts Still image of a video recorded by a group of young males who mocked Alexa (circled) before a 17-year-old allegedly shot her dead near a road in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on Monday. The FBI questioned one of the suspects, an 18-year-old male, on Wednesday, just a day after he attempted to board a flight to Florida Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, who was also known as Alexa, was gunned down Monday in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico Police are investigating whether the video that was shared on social media is the actual footage of the killing. Authorities detained an 18-year-old, accompanied by his mother, who was attempting to board a Florida-bound flight at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan on Tuesday. Police officers investigate the scene where Alexa (pictured lying on the ground) was found dead after she was executed Monday Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero reported that the FBI interviewed the suspect Thursday morning. The suspect, who has not been named yet, lives with his mother at an apartment complex in Bayamon and previously lived in Deltona, Florida. Cops are searching for three more suspects, including a 17-year-old, who reportedly carried out the shooting and is suspected of having participated in a slew of other criminal acts. Cops are searching for at least three more suspects connected to the murder of Alexa. Among them is a 17-year-old who allegedly fired several shots at the transgender woman The killing of Alexa (pictured) has shocked and angered many in Puerto Rico and is likely a hate crime, Governor Wanda Vazquez said Tuesday The killing of Alexa has shocked and angered many in Puerto Rico is likely a hate crime, Governor Wanda Vazquez said Tuesday. 'Everything points to this being a hate crime, and thats how it will be treated,' she said. Alexa was questioned by a police officer inside a McDonald's on Sunday afternoon after a woman accused her of placing a mirror under the restroom stall to look at her private parts. The incident was shared on social media networks by the woman's boyfriend, identified as Carlos Javier Fret. Activist Pedro Julio Serrano said in a statement that he was outraged by the killing. 'Theres no doubt that transphobia and intolerance had much to do in this case,' he said. New Audio Technology Poised to Boost Audio Quality ENSCHEDE, Netherlands, Feb. 26, 2020, which specializes in audio controller components, today announced that it has received an equity investment from KBC Focus Fundas the lead investor, together with Innovation Industries and Oost NL . This investment round enables Axign to mass produce and launch their new audio devices worldwide. Additionally, the new funding will support the development and introduction of next-generation devices for cost-sensitive applications, such as active speakers and streaming audio systems. Axign B.V. has developed a digital feedback audio chip that provides dramatically improved audio quality. The device, the AX5689, is fully qualified and ramping into mass production. According to Jeroen Langevoort, Axign CTO and founder, "The AX5689 enables audio system designers to more easily implement high sound quality in traditional high-end systems, and now enables superior audio quality in mid-range and lower-end systems, sound bars, connected streaming and smart speakers, as well as multi-channel AV receivers and TVs. All are product targets for the AX5689." The company is excited to bring its audio controller chip into platform developments of world-renowned audio consumer brands and expects several of these brands to announce production programs later this year. Rudi Severijns, investment director at KBC Focus Fund, explains, "Axign's technology brings the best audio experience to consumers in the mainstream and high-performance audio segment, but also allows brands to optimize overall system costs. We are excited to support the Axign team to market and sell the AX5689 flagship solution." According to Hans van Leeuwen, Axign CEO, "The feedback we have received from highly knowledgeable customer engineering and management sources is fantastic. The device is configurable and is perfect to use in a company-wide audio solution platform. It is available now in volume shipments." Please visit http://www.axign.nl for more information. About Axign Axign is a fabless semiconductor company serving worldwide audio markets in professional, consumer and automotive audio. Its first flagship product is a breakthrough audio controller chip that combines the highest reference audio performance in the market today with a lower-cost bill of materials for audio system manufacturers. The chip is especially suited for active speaker systems in streaming audio devices. For more information, please visit http://www.axign.nl . About KBC Focus Fund The KBC Focus Fund is a 50 million venture capital fund that focuses on advanced technology with a particular focus on semiconductor, nanotechnology and IoT. We focus on Belgium and surrounding countries where well-known expertise centers are located. The KBC Focus Fund leverages on the network and expertise of KBC Group and is managed by KBC Securities , with solid knowledge of the tech ecosystem with experienced teams in M&A, Finance, R&D, and Sales. The KBC Focus Fund aims to be long-term partners for entrepreneurs. Contact: Rudi Severijns, Tel +32 2448 5279, Rudi.Severijns@kbcsecurities.be About Oost NL Oost NL is the development company of East-Netherlands. We are strengthening the regional economy by investing in entrepreneurs in the eastern part of the Netherlands. We allow entrepreneurs to innovate, invest and internationalize to accelerate their growth. Oost NL makes the necessary financing and its network, knowledge and expertise available to entrepreneurs. With funding from the central government and the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel and the Twente region, Oost NL invested in more than 220 companies with total fund assets under management of more than 330 million euros. The province of Overijssel has made 41.5 million available through the Innovatiefonds Overijssel to stimulate the regional economy and employment in the province and to promote innovation. Investments are made through loans and participations. Oost NL is fund manager. For more information, visit https://oostnl.com/en About Innovation Industries Innovation Industries1 is a leading venture capital firm that invests in high-tech, med-tech and agri-food-tech companies in The Netherlands. Innovation Industries maintains a hands-on management style, sharing its experience, knowledge and connections with entrepreneurs. Portfolio companies are actively supported in order to strengthen the value proposition, improve the time to market, identify and realize global strategic partnerships, and avoid the typical start-up pitfalls. With 250 million under management, Innovation Industries typically invests between 1-15 million in a single portfolio company but can provide follow-on funding of up to 25 million per company. Innovation Industries collaborates closely with the Dutch technology institutes. Contact: Sander Verbrugge, Investment Director, sv@innovationindustries.com , +31 6 2036 9419. www.innovationindustries.com . 1 The Innovation Industries is supported by InnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implement productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Sadraddin Agjayev Trend: The exhibitions have a positive effect on the development of alternative energy and attract new local and foreign investors in this sphere, Farid Mammadov, director of Iteca Caspian LLC, told Trend. "Of course, the exhibitions and conferences in the field of alternative energy have a positive impact on the development of the sphere, stimulate the growth of research and the influx of investments," Mammadov added. "Exhibitions are always at the forefront of the industry. Over 7,000 visitors attend these events every year. Participation in exhibitions gives the companies a chance to acquire new contacts and find investors. The exhibition also becomes the link between science and industry, developers and investors. This year the exhibition will be held on June 2-4." "During this period, Baku became the hub of the energy industry," Mammadov said. "The exhibition is supported by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy. We work very closely with Azerenergy company, which also officially supports the Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition." "We are interested in the current needs of the market, local companies and are trying to develop these spheres within the exhibition," the director said. "This year, Azerenergy representatives will take part in the exhibition by using a stand and will demonstrate innovations in the electric power industry." Mammadov also stressed that since the creation of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iteca Caspian company has established very good relations with it. "Throughout the past year, a joint stand of representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises with the support of the Agency has been presented at various exhibitions," the director said. "We have received many positive reviews and the Agency thinks that the exhibitions have a positive impact on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Azerbaijan." "This year we will continue to work in terms of attracting and stimulating participation on particularly favorable terms through the Agency at the exhibition in Azerbaijan," the director said. "The Agencys joint stand will also be organized at the Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition, to be held at the Baku Expo Center in June," Mammadov added. "Helping small and medium-sized enterprises to become part of such well-known international exhibitions as the Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition, the Agency gives an opportunity to demonstrate its developments, offers and services to a wide and professional audience of these big exhibitions," the director said. "Of course, now we are observing how small and medium-sized enterprises are actively participating in exhibitions, which testifies to the sustainable development of the economy," the director said. "Of course, representatives of medium and small enterprises may come to the exhibition as visitors and learn about current trends of the industry, but the main goal is to demonstrate the services at international exhibitions," Mammadov added. The Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition is held in Azerbaijan for the tenth consecutive year and another anniversary will be marked this year. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: agdzhaev Facebook has banned ads that 'attempt to create a sense of urgency' around coronavirus or promise to cure it in its latest attempt to reduce misinformation. Coronavirus properly known as COVID-19 has to date infected around 81,242 people across the globe and resulted in 2,771 deaths. Like many social media platforms, Facebook has ended up hosting much agitated conversation around the outbreak, alongside a slew of adverts for face masks. Scroll down for video Facebook has banned ads that 'attempt to create a sense of urgency' around coronavirus or promise to cure it in its latest attempt to reduce misinformation. Pictured, Mark Zuckerberg 'We recently implemented a policy to prohibit ads that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply, or guaranteeing a cure or prevention,' a spokesperson for Facebook told Business Insider. 'We also have policies for surfaces like Marketplace that prohibit similar behaviour.' The California-based social media firm employs fact checkers to validate suspect claims identified on its newsfeed and help suppress any misleading information within both Facebook and its stablemate, Instagram. The latest announcement builds on Facebook's commitment of late January 2020 to remove outright misinformation concerning the outbreak from its site. 'We will also start to remove content with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organisations and local health authorities that could cause harm to people who believe them,' the firm said. 'We are doing this as an extension of our existing policies to remove content that could cause physical harm. 'Were focusing on claims that are designed to discourage treatment or taking appropriate precautions. 'This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available.' Coronavirus properly known as COVID-19 has to date infected around 81,242 people across the globe and resulted in 2,771 deaths. Pictured, a face mask advert from Facebook Like many social media platforms, Facebook has ended up hosting much agitated conversation around the outbreak, alongside a slew of adverts for face masks, pictured At the same time, Business Insider has reported that Facebook users have been turning to groups on the social network in order to bulk-buy and sell medical face masks with panic buying fostering a shortage of the items where really needed. Coronavirus is also causing issues for other social media sites and online platforms. Amazon, for example, has been cracking down on retailers attempting to price-gouge their customers looking to purchase protective face masks with some vendors having quadrupled the cost of the items, Wired reported. The retail platform's 'Fair Pricing Policy' mandates that items not be listed with costs considerably more than 'recent prices offered on or off Amazon.' The announcement builds on Facebook's commitment to remove outright misinformation concerning the outbreak from its site. 'We will also start to remove content with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organisations and local health authorities that could cause harm to people who believe them,' the firm said 'We recently implemented a policy to prohibit ads that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply, or guaranteeing a cure or prevention,' a spokesperson for Facebook told Business Insider At the same time, Business Insider has reported that Facebook users have been turning to groups on the social network in order to bulk-buy and sell medical face masks with panic buying fostering a shortage of the items where really needed Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh took out a peace march in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency on Wednesday in a bid to ease tensions after three days of communal violence. Chants of 'Hindu-Muslim, Sikh-Issai Sab Hain Bhai-Bhai', 'Bhaichara Zindabad' and 'Humari Ekta Zindabad' were heard during the march. Singh said the march saw the participation of scores of people from all religions. Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has asked all its elected representatives to participate actively in peace marches and meetings. Party volunteers have also been asked to talk to people in the violence-hit areas. Twenty-four people were killed and over 200 injured in the communal clashes that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago after violence between anti and pro Citizenship (Amendment) Act groups spiralled out of control. Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at local residents and police personnel. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government is in the process of formulating a new Tourism Policy for the state which includes beach shacks in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Thackeray informed that a proposal is also under consideration for development of resorts and hotels in the coastal Konkan region. "Infrastructure in Konkan is also being upgraded with development of the Mumbai-Goa highway, an airport at Chipi in Sindhudurg and the Coastal Road," he said. He also said tourism is not on the priority list of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). To this, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the ADB gives funds for road development and infrastructure works, which can be used for the construction of the Coastal Road. Responding to Fadnavis, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the government is working in this direction. The Coastal Road is an under construction eight-lane, 29.2-km long freeway that would run along Mumbai's western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the south to Kandivali in the north. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he Duke and Duchess of Sussex have celebrated Harry's return to the UK with a fresh Instagram post. The Sussex Royal message features five iconic images of Scotland, hailing it as "one of the worlds fastest growing tourist destinations." The lengthy caption hails Harry's arrival in the country, saying he is there to hear what Scots are doing "to put sustainability at the forefront of holidays that protect the environment and support local communities." It came as he welcomed delegates to an event in the capital Edinburgh his first public event in Britain since announcing his plan to step back from royal duties. He and wife Meghan have been in Canada with their son Archie for several weeks but the duke touched down in the UK on Tuesday. Early photos from Wednesday's event showed Harry embracing attendees and taking to the stage to address the summit, organised by his sustainable tourism project Travalyst. The duke founded the eco-friendly travel coalition last autumn, along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa. Its aim, according to this morning's Instagram post, is "to transform travel and tourism globally so that every holiday people take, every trip they book, can have a positive impact on the destinations they visit." The Duke of Sussex at a sustainable tourism summit in Edinburgh 1 /9 The Duke of Sussex at a sustainable tourism summit in Edinburgh PA PA PA PA PA PA PA The Sussex Royal message reads: "The number of tourists globally is rapidly rising, and based on an increasing desire from travellers, The Dukes international partnership Travalyst is working to ensure the industry can better support communities that face increasing challenges of overcrowding, pollution, and the climate emergency. "Supporting these communities means preserving these destinations for everyone. "By harnessing the power of travel, which accounts for 1 in 10 jobs globally, generating newly $9 trillion annually, and is at the heart of connecting people and culture, tourism can lead the way in supporting communities and protecting the environment. "At a summit in Edinburgh, representatives from the Scottish tourism and travel sector will join event partners Visit Scotland the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) to help test and develop the latest work." The duke told delegates 'we have to work together' / PA Beginning his speech on Wednesday, the duke praised Scotland for being "at the forefront" of making the sector greener, saying it could set an example for the rest of the UK and world. He said: We have to work together to scale up the good practices already being used around the world. Scotland is a great example of what we mean. There is a holistic ambition to Scotlands intent that can be adopted across the UK and even around the world." Speaking on behalf of Travalyst, he added: We want to hear truths and perspectives from across the industry. We dont need to reinvent the wheel, a lot of great work has already been done. But our research again shows that many of these endeavours have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers. Prince Harry says he flies commercial for the safety of his family Harry launched Travalyst in Amsterdam last September. At the time he and Meghan faced mounting criticism for reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days during the summer in apparent contradiction with their commitment to supporting the environment. But Harry defended his use of private planes, saying he spent 99 per cent of my life using commercial flights but occasionally needed to ensure my family are safe. Ahead of Wednesday's summit, a spokesman for the organisation said: Our ambition is to transform travel and tourism so that every holiday people take, every trip they book, will have a positive impact and better protect the destinations and communities they visit. By Trend The visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Azerbaijan is extremely important from a strategic point of view, Head of the Turkish Media Association Ekrem Kiziltas told Trend. Reminding the well-known statement that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation, two states, Kiziltas emphasized that both countries are guided by this principle. At the same time, Turkey also became the first country that recognized Azerbaijans state independence, the association head said. After the restoration of independence, relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey were increasingly developing from year to year. In particular, in recent years, the relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have become rather more brotherly than friendly. The head of the media association added that Erdogans visit to Azerbaijan on Feb. 25 also plays an exceptional role in expanding cooperation between the two countries in the field of economy, politics, culture and others. The level of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan is a model for other countries, Kiziltas noted. The association head added that Turkey and Azerbaijan have always supported, and will continue to support each other in matters important for both countries. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Pawan Kalyan is all praise for the team of Bheeshma. Director Venky, actor Nithiin and producer Vamsi met Pawan Kalyan while he was shooting for the Dil Raju film. Pawan Kalyan spoke highly of the director and commended him for taking up organic farming as the subject of his film. Pawan Kalyan has always supported organic farming and thats one of the reasons why he liked the film very much, said a source. When the man, Powerstar @PawanKalyan garu congratulates for making Bheeshma, this is the high moment for our entire team and life time moment for me Star-struck (sic), says Venky on Twitter. A drama teacher groomed a 'besotted' schoolgirl into having sex, a court heard yesterday, taking her to restaurants and top London shows and even going on holiday together. The youngster was said to have been 'in thrall' to Kim Connor, 46, who began teaching her at stage school when she was aged just nine. When she was 14 and struggling with her sexuality, the schoolgirl allegedly went to her house for home tuition, only for Connor to kiss her 'chastely' on the mouth. The victim's parents considered Connor like 'a big sister' to their daughter. The youngster was said to have been 'in thrall' to Kim Connor, 46, pictured, who began teaching her at stage school when she was aged just nine. She claimed that when she was 15, her parents would let her stay the night with Connor, who she regarded as 'like a big sister'. But instead her affections progressed to kissing the schoolgirl 'open-mouthed' and touching her intimately over her clothing, a jury was told. They began sharing a bed, the court heard, and one night Connor opened a safe in her wardrobe which contained sex toys, encouraging them to use them on one another. She said they would go shopping together, with the teacher insisting that she hid if they spotted any other pupils or their parents. 'I adored her, I idolised her,' she told the jury. 'She made me feel special because I thought she had chosen me.' Minshull Street Crown Court, pictured, heard Kim Connor, 46, groomed the girl, who was aged 14 at the time in 2004 The accuser who cannot be named for legal reasons claims she was inspired to reveal the abuse which allegedly happened 15 years ago by the #MeToo movement. However the defence accuse her of being motivated by jealousy after Connor was appointed principal of another stage school, saying the relationship did not start until after the girl turned 18. Connor began teaching her drama at a private performing arts school in Salford, Greater Manchester, which she attended on Saturday mornings from the age of nine, the trial heard. She told Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester that the teacher first kissed her on the lips while they were sitting together on the floor in 2004, when she was 14 and Connor was aged 29. 'She leant over me and kissed me, and I kissed her back. I remember thinking 'I've just kissed my teacher'.' The ex-pupil said Connor became increasingly 'tactile' as she turned 15, stroking her when they greeted one another. 'I was quite bewildered,' she said. 'I went along with it because I had a lot of trust in Kim.' She told the jury that with her parents busy visiting a terminally relative at a hospice, she would sometimes spend the night at Connor's house, sharing a bed. 'She used to have a safe in her wardrobe which contained sex toys,' she said. Connor would ask her to use them on her, she said. 'I didn't enjoy it,' she added. She said Connor would take her to the Trafford Centre but would make her hide the fact they were a couple. 'If she saw any parents of any children she taught, I would have to hide,' she said. 'We never showed each other any affection, holding hands, in public. 'Had any parents seen her, they would probably have questioned why.' She said Connor would take her to shows including Cabaret in London during half-term, staying in hotels. When she was 'about 16' they went on holiday to Portugal. But after starting university she began to realise the relationship 'wasn't right', she said. She said she ended the relationship after learning Connor was secretly having fertility treatment, saying 'she wanted me to raise children with her'. The ex-pupil broke down as she told how Connor had won her parents' trust. 'She was there to help us all through it,' she sobbed. 'I viewed her at that time like a big sister.' The schoolgirl was 'in thrall' to her and 'besotted', prosecutor Darren Preston told the jury earlier. 'She thought they were partners, that they were in a relationship,' he added. But he said in reality Connor had 'exploited' the 'vulnerability' of a young girl. 'She knew what she was doing was wrong,' he added. Under cross-examination, she denied making up her account out of jealousy after Connor was appointed principal of another stage school. She insisted she had been inspired to come forward because of the #MeToo movement. 'You came forward because you wanted to damage her,' said Simon Gurney, defending. 'I came forward from my own strength, to make sure she never does this to anyone else,' she answered. The accuser denied she had been 'infatuated' with Connor and had 'bombarded' her with messages, saying it was 'false' to suggest the relationship only began after she turned 18. 'The first 15 years of my life were ruined by Kim Connor,' she said. 'I had to have counselling for depression and anxiety.' She also denied making up her account of having regular home tuition with Connor and fabricating the account of learning about the fertility treatment. When she was arrested, Connor admitted the pair had been in a sexual relationship but insisted it had not begun until the girl turned 18. Connor, from Manchester, denies six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child being a person in a position of trust and a further six of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity being a person in a position of trust. The trial continues. SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- APT Systems, Inc. (OTC Pink: APTY), a fintech company, introduces Spot of Gold created by its subsidiary, AUREX Trading and Recovery Inc. In an effort to create awareness of our gold recovery and environmental efforts, we launched an Indiegogo campaign and you can see it here: https://igg.me/at/spot-of-gold. A Spot of Gold is one-tenth of an ounce of pure .999 recovered gold, being a little smaller than a dime and buying one directly helps us keep eWaste out of our landfills. AUREX Trading enjoyed the first real operational revenues in the second half of 2019 and landed on its road to build future profits in 2020. One key element identified in our growth plan is to secure more capital to buy and refine larger quantities of eWaste and further, to expand upon in-roads made into the precious metal recovery business. We continue to engage with enterprise clients and advise on how we can supply and apply eco-gold for stunning high-end retail products, employing techniques similar to those used by the ancient Egyptians for encasing items with gold. CEO of APT Systems, Glenda Dowie, said, First, I would like thank everyone for your continued patience with, and your confidence in our commitment to APT Systems and its operational goals. I would also like to acknowledge that 2019 had been a tough year for the business with the effects being mainly felt by our shareholders. We are confident that the capital we need for the eWaste business can be provided by one of various ways that we have identified, and are actively exploring. We have also been working hard on the software side of operations and have narrowed down a potential partner, and continue to negotiate considerations. We remain fully committed to the success of the Company and are very encouraged by the discussions we are having with our industry partners and clients. We will continue to work diligently to build the business that was envisioned when this journey started, and hope that you will remain supportive and stay with us on this road. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SHARE OUR FUNDING CAMPAIGN LINK: https://igg.me/at/spot-of-gold TheRefiningCompany.com website continues to deliver daily inquiries for us to assist customers with collecting, processing and refining precious metal. We are also working with professionals to offer customers a Spot of Gold, as an alternative payment or as an investment in the future of our environment. APT Systems management continues to collaborate on its financial platforms including Verifundr, and the Spera stablecoin, and hope to talk more about our great partners in the near future. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @APTYsys and @AUREXandGold for updates. Visit www.therefiningcompany.com to learn more about the companys refinery and precious metal recovery business, and visit www.sperastablecoin.com to learn more about Spera, a stablecoin that we plan to partially back with recovered gold. Disclaimer - Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements; projected events in this press release may not occur due to unforeseen circumstances, various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K and other filings made by such company. APT Systems, Inc (APTY) may opt to also disseminate information about itself, including the results of its operations and financial information, via social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. On Twitter follow us @APTYsys and @AUREXandGold Email: info@aptsystemsinc.com Investor Information: http://www.APTsystemsinc.com/online-Investor-Kit-for-apt-systems-inc-APTY/ Photo: Glacier Media A hospice society in British Columbia is having its funding stopped because it will not comply with the province's policy on medical assistance in dying. The Health Ministry says Fraser Health stopped funding the Delta Hospice Society on Tuesday after giving the organization a required 365 days' notice to end its service agreement without cause. The ministry says the contract gave the hospice about $1.5 million annually, which covered 94 per cent of the cost to operate 10 beds at the Irene Thomas Hospice. The facility is on land owned by Fraser Health, and the ministry says the health authority will ensure people continue to have access to its 10 beds. B.C. developed its policy after the federal government made it legal in 2016 for patients to get medical assistance in dying under certain circumstances. The provincial policy requires a hospice to allow patients to access medical assistance in dying if its beds are more than 50 per cent publicly funded. In a statement, Health Minister Adrian Dix says the board of the society in Delta wouldn't comply with the policy. "We are taking this action reluctantly, and when the role of the Delta Hospice Society concludes, patients in publicly funded hospice care will again be able to fully access their medical rights," he said. Dix said a long-term solution is being explored for the hospice, which could include placing the Irene Thomas Hospice under public management. "Given the significant financial contributions Delta community members made to build the facility, this would be the most desirable option," he said. "Alternatively, we could pursue another Delta site. In either scenario, the 10 hospice beds represented by the existing facility will stay in Delta." Dix said patients make decisions about their medical care in consultation with their doctors and family, adding: "No organization can influence this decision or impose it. "I respect anyone's right to disagree, and no one has ever required hospice staff to deliver medical assistance in dying, but they must allow eligible residents who want the service to access it." The government says more than 3,000 people in B.C. have chosen medical assistance in dying in the past three years. Source: chinausfocus.com On Feb. 12, the government of the Philippines issued a notice to the United States embassy to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, or VFA. Under the agreement, the two countries can negotiate issues within 180 days. The agreement is important to the U.S.-Philippine military alliance, so the development has attracted great attention around the world. The military alliance was founded mainly on three legal documents: the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the 1998 VFA and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. The VFA is a key foundation for maintaining the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Terminating the agreement will directly impact the legitimacy of the that presence and will inevitably have a significant practical impact on the alliance. The VFA is a basic treaty that clarifies the status of the U.S. military in the Philippines. It lays out the conditions, scope and convenience for the temporary entry of U.S. military personnel and equipment into the country. The most important aspect of the agreement is that it explicitly provides that the U.S. government has extraterritorial jurisdiction in cases of crimes committed in the Philippines by American military personnel. It is a basic legal guarantee designed to protect the rights and interests of the United States military. In addition, the VFA clarifies the way the U.S. handles its military presence. The Constitution of the Philippines prohibits foreign troops from establishing military bases in Philippine territory, so the VFA actually makes it possible for the U.S. military to establish a presence in rotation based on the Mutual Defense Treaty and the pretext of hundreds of military exercises each year. The EDCA increases the scale of the military presence in rotation and allows the U.S. military to use and build related military facilities.The termination of the agreement by the Philippine government will actually render the MDT and the EDCA useless. As it stands now, the matter is escalating and will face both certainties and uncertainties in the future: First, the Philippine government is acting not on impulse but thoughtfully. After Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016, he adjusted the foreign policy that leaned toward the United States and had been in place since of the administration of Benigno S. Aquino III. Duterte refocused the policy on domestic economic development and social stability to keep his country from serving as cannon fodder for the United States' strategy of containing China in the Indo-Pacific region.Balancing the relationship with all parties without siding with any particular one of them has become a distinctive feature of the current foreign policy of the Duterte government. In this context, the Philippine government is no longer as enthusiastic about U.S.-Philippine diplomatic relations and frequent military exercises as it was before.It is of particular note that on the issue of drug control in the southern Philippines, Duterte and the United States have continued to confront one another. What triggered the dispute was the U.S. revocation of former national police chief Ronald de la Rosa's visa on the grounds of his alleged violations of human rights in anti-drug operations.Duterte then retaliated with the termination of the VFA to counter the outrageous interference by the U.S. in the internal affairs of the Philippines. The Philippine parliament currently has some objections to the president's decision to scrap the treaty, but as reported in the Philippine media the official opinion of government aligns with Duterte. Second, the United States may not let it go. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper called the move by the Philippines unfortunate and in the wrong direction and that the United States would carefully study and judge this and try to solve the problem in the next 180 days. This shows that the U.S. government had not taken the threat of the Philippines scrapping the agreement seriously and was surprised and frustrated by the decision.In addition, it demonstrates that Duterte's move represented more than a cool-down in the military relations between the two countries. Rather, it was a substantial retrogression. In view of the important role of the Philippines in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, as well as the Sino-U.S. strategic rivalry, the United States will strive to understand Philippine intentions during the negotiating period and take countermeasures to persuade or force it to keep the agreement going. Third, uncertainties remain on what effects abolition of the agreement will have. It is intriguing that the leaders of the United States and the Philippines are still struggling over this issue, remaining tough and trying to test each other's bottom lines.When U.S. President Donald Trump said dismissively, If they would like to do that, that's fine. We'll save a lot of money, Duterte shot back with rhetoric of his own. Terminating the VFA is a move in the right direction that should have been done a long time ago, he said. We must stand on our own and put a stop to being a parasite on another country in protecting our independence and sovereignty.It should be noted that the Philippines' defense strength is weak, and the country relies heavily on U.S. military aid, including funding and training. If the agreement is ultimately abolished, how to fill the gap in the defense needs of the Philippinwes will be a major practical issue facing the Duterte government.The statements of Philippine officials suggest there are currently two options. One is to enter similar military treaties with other countries to reduce dependence on the United States. (The Philippine military has acknowledged that it is engaging with many countries in this regard.) The other is to renegotiate the deal with the United States and reach a new agreement that is more in the interest of the Philippines and reflects the strategic value of the country to the United States. This point has received more support from officials and scholars. Whether it will be consultations within 180 days or renegotiation afterward, the focus of the U.S.-Philippine rivalry will be in three main areas: 1. Restrict or cancel the extraterritoriality of the U.S. military, which harms the sovereignty and interests of the Philippines. This is what most Filipinos think. 2. While U.S. military personnel do not need to apply for a passport or visa to enter the Philippines, the Philippine side hopes that visas for Philippine military personnel to visit the United States will be exempted. 3. Ensure that substantive support for Philippine security is provided by the United States. There is a voice in the Philippines that the United States has never sent troops in a meaningful way to support the Philippines at a critical time in the South China Sea. What the Philippines wants is not a side-by-side exercise but a practical response. Half of all Australian year 10 students do not meet the NAPLAN benchmark for scientific literacy. Results in Victoria and NSW are even less encouraging, where fewer than half of year 10 students tested meet the proficiency standard for science. There is no difference in the results of boys and girls and experts say the way science is taught in Australia does not reflect how scientific knowledge is actually used. More than 3000 year 10 students across the country sat the NAPLAN scientific proficiency test in 2018 the first time year 10s have been tested along with more than 5500 year 6 students. Manhattan Tech Support Logo The entire Manhattan Tech Support team is truly wonderful. They are professional, patient and excellent at providing solutions to all of our technical challenges. ManhattanTechSupport.com LLC,, an award-winning, full-service small business and enterprise technology partner, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company has named ManhattanTechSupport.com LLC to its 2020 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category. This popular list identifies North American solution providers that deliver operational efficiencies, IT system improvements, and a higher rate of return on investments for their customers. These accomplished MSPs work tirelessly to guide their customers and create solutions for complex IT issues. This annual list is divided into three categories: the MSP Pioneer 250 who are focused primarily on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, large data center-focused on- and off-premises; and the Managed Security 100 made up of off-premises-focused, cloud-based IT security services. Christian Ugolini, Co-Founder of ManhattanTechSupport.com LLC, had some insight into how his company made the cut. Year over year, our team strives to provide businesses with cutting-edge IT services, tools and thought leadership to help tackle the ever-changing technology challenges faced in todays ultra-competitive landscape. As a repeat recipient of this honor, we can rest assured that our efforts to leverage technology in streamlining client operations have not gone unnoticed. Thank you, CRN keep up the great work. MSPs are the critical bridge for customers looking to assess, implement and migrate their IT and cloud solutions to drive efficiencies, lower costs and secure your environment, said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. On behalf of our team at The Channel Company, I want to congratulate the accomplished companies on CRNs 2020 MSP 500 list and thank them for their commitment to finding innovative solutions that move the IT channel forward. The MSP500 list will be featured in the February 2020 issue of CRN and online at http://www.crn.com/msp500. About ManhattanTechSupport.com LLC ManhattanTechSupport.com LLC, an award-winning full-service technology partner for SMBs and enterprises in New York City, specializes in managed IT services including cutting-edge cybersecurity and digital transformation solutions to help businesses increase productivity, stay safe from cyberattacks and foster growth through the efficient use of technology. Distinguished in the industry for world-class customer service and 24/7 availability, we offer companies the full breadth and depth of a sophisticated IT department for one flat monthly fee with no contracts ever. Today, our innovative technology solutions and IT experts continue to create sustained value for our clients through various strategies and initiatives that are tailored to propel SMBs into the future. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end-users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com Copyright 2020. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact: Jennifer Hogan The Channel Company jhogan@thechannelcompany.com Cleveland, Ohio Slovenian Chef Grega Repovz spent Monday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse cooking up some his favorite dishes from his homeland. Its not the usual fare at the arena, but the visiting chef was inspired by the Cavaliers Monday opponent, Goran Dragic, the Slovenian star who plays for the Miami Heat. The meal was intended for those in the Huntington Legends and Ocho clubs. Mondays dinner was the first of three meals that Chef Repovz, who is visiting from restaurant Gostilna Repovz in Sentjanz with his mother Meta, will cook on a visit to America. This Friday, he will prepare a public meal at The Bistro at Bratenahl Place. It will feature several of the favorites his makes in his restaurant, including Essih Flajs (beef salad); beef or kohlrabi soup; buttered string beans; pork shoulder and pork loins with polenta or trout with polenta; and snowballs dessert. I think Slovenian food is good and tasty and comfortable; people will remember it, says Grega Repovz The chef is a part of a cultural exchange program run by Cleveland resident Jurcek Zmauc. He brings Slovenian chefs to Cleveland and Pennsylvania a couple of times a year, and has taken Chef Michael Husney (chef for Cleveland Cavaliers and Aramark), a Clevelander of Slovenian descent, to Slovenia to cook. Reservations for Fridays event, $55 for the four course meal and wine: 216-541-3900 or www.bratenahlbistro.com. 1 Bratenahl Place, Bratenahl Mondays editorial on New Mexicos worst-in-show system for doling out infrastructure cash, known as capital outlay, included several questionable projects. Once again, proposed legislation that would have reformed the system, prioritized projects or at least attached lawmakers names to their pet funding requests failed to make it through the Legislature. (Kudos to the House Republican caucus, which Tuesday asked that GOP lawmakers funded capital outlay expenditures and dollar amounts be posted on the Legislatures website.) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been an outspoken advocate of government transparency and of big thinking. Heres hoping shes a critic of piecemeal spending on partial projects, items that wont last the life of the 10-year bonds that finance them and things that bear no resemblance to infrastructure or state taxpayer responsibility especially considering the $3 billion in deferred maintenance on state roads and bridges, communities on boil-water advisories for years and areas that are literal dead zones for phone and internet connectivity. Here are a few more of many items in House Bill 349 the governor should seriously consider vetoing unless she gets a great explanation (we wish her luck getting those given the anonymous system): $222,000, Steinway model D concert piano, New Mexico Philharmonic $700,000, steel building in Raton no use listed $65,000, new flag retirement facility, Albuquerque $820,000, alpine toboggan slides, zip lines, mountain biking facilities and snow-making waterlines $199,500, new Smokey Bear balloon, cold air display balloons and a fifth-wheel equipment trailer $100,000, concession stand and lightning shelter, somewhere in Albuquerque $99,706, tandem vibratory roller, Ruidoso Downs And here a few items the governor should definitely veto, regardless of how deserving they appear to be, because our debt payment will last longer than they will: $300,000, Albuquerque police motorcycles $197,000, JROTC items including rifles and marksmanship target ranges, Albuquerque Public Schools $110,000, band uniforms and instruments, Espanola schools $48,000, instruments, costumes and recording equipment, Las Vegas Public Schools Mariachi Cardenal $40,000, mats, clocks, furniture and other equipment, junior wrestling program in Santa Fe. Taxpayers should join the governor in vetting HB 349s full list of justifiable, and questionable, projects at nm.legis.gov. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Mundoro Capital Inc. (TSXV: MUN) (www.mundoro.com) ("Mundoro" or the "Company") is pleased to report on exploration activity for the Company's partner funded exploration programs that are ongoing in Serbia and Bulgaria. The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis are expected to be filed by the end of April 2020 on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and posted on the Company's website at www.mundoro.com. EXPLORATION ACTIVITY DURING Q4-2019 Mundoro Generative Programs and Outlook for Projects Available for Option or Joint Venture Mundoro's exploration portfolio of targets, projects and partners is designed such that the success of the company is driven by the proven earn-in funding model. The Company has an ongoing target generation program where we evaluate both existing and new target areas in Serbia and Bulgaria. The Company has applications in Serbia and Bulgaria for further exploration areas. Mundoro continues to have discussions with interested third parties seeking options on our available projects, confirming the growing interest in exploring in Timok, Serbia as well as in Bulgaria. At December 31, 2019, Mundoro had a treasury position of $2.6 million which is a strong working capital position for new project generation, completing license maintenance exploration work while optioning our projects to third parties, and general administration. Freeport-Mundoro Projects At the Freeport-Mundoro Projects (see Figure 1 - Location Map of Projects in Serbia), drilling is ongoing and has been increased from an initial 3,500 meter program to 8,541 meters with the possibility it may increase further such that drilling is not expected to be completed until the end of Q1-2020 with results expected in Q2-2020 (see Figure 2 - Freeport-Mundoro Project - Drill Target Locations).A summary of the targets and exploration at each area is provided below: Tilva Rosh (Savinac License) This target is a large area of 2.5 km x 1 km of advanced argillic alteration containing epithermal gold mineralization cropping out at surface as observed through trench sampling by Mundoro in 2013 which returned 12 m of 30 g/t gold and 171 g/t silver . of advanced argillic alteration containing epithermal gold mineralization cropping out at surface as observed through trench sampling by Mundoro in 2013 which returned . Interpretation of prior drilling suggests the epithermal mineralization is proximal to a copper-gold porphyry system. Status: Interpretation models from both the IP-Resistivity and CSAMT/NSAMT were completed and combined with other layers of data to select targets for follow up drilling. Drilling commenced in October 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,980.5 meters over 4 drill holes. Markov Kamen (Savinac License) This is another epithermal target identified by several copper-gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies related to 4 km x 1.2 km zone of argillic and advanced argillic alteration. zone of argillic and advanced argillic alteration. Five holes drilled during a previous program at Markov Kamen which intersected hydrothermal breccia, and vuggy silica, suggesting high-sulphidation type epithermal mineralisation controlled by dominantly northwest structures. Status: Interpretation models from both the IP-Resistivity and CSAMT/NSAMT were completed and combined with other layers of data to select targets for follow up drilling. Drilling is expected to commence at the end of February 2020 with completion around the end of Q1-2020. Prekostenski (Bacevica License) This area is a copper-gold porphyry target identified by mapping and surface sampling which resulted in 55 m of 0.28 g/t gold and 0.21 % copper . The exploration work identified chalcopyrite-magnetite mineralisation hosted in potassic altered diorite. . The exploration work identified chalcopyrite-magnetite mineralisation hosted in potassic altered diorite. One drill hole from 2018 confirmed the extension of the surface mineralisation to a depth of 68.6 m. Quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins were observed hosted in potassic altered diorite porphyry and returned an intercept of 49.8 meters of 0.14 g/t gold and 0.13 % copper from surface. from surface. Detailed mapping was completed for an area of approximately 9 sq.km. and surface extension of the mineralised porphyry was identified further to the west. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,404.8 meters over 5 drill holes. Drilling is ongoing and expected to be completed in Q1-2020. Orlovo Brdo (Bacevica License) This target is a broad zone of phyllic alteration of 3 km x 700 m with gold and copper anomalism. with gold and copper anomalism. One drill hole from 2018, intersected a zone of quartz vein stockwork mineralization related to potassic altered diorite at depth of 458 m, returning 26 m of 0.10% Cu and 0.23 g/t Au , overlain by phyllic alteration from surface. , overlain by phyllic alteration from surface. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 2,325.4 meters over 4 drill holes. D-Vein (Bacevica License) This target represents an area containing several copper-gold quartz veins hosted in propylitic altered andesite. Mapping and rock sampling of the veins returned up to 2% Cu and 7.2 g/t Au in grab samples . The veins area is interpreted to be related to a porphyry Cu-Au system. Detailed alteration mapping of the area highlighted a zoned alteration pattern. . The veins area is interpreted to be related to a porphyry Cu-Au system. Detailed alteration mapping of the area highlighted a zoned alteration pattern. Status: Drilling commenced in November 2019 which has drilled a total of 542.0 meters over 1 drill hole. JOGMEC-Mundoro JV Project in Serbia Borsko is a 35 sq.km license area sole funded by Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") as part of the earn-in agreement entered into in 2016. Borsko is located near the central portion of the Timok Magmatic Complex (see Figure 1 - Location Map of Projects in Serbia). Borsko is directly adjacent and to the west of the producing Bor copper porphyry mine which is directly west of the Veliki Krivelj copper-gold porphyry mine. For further description of the Borkso geology see Mundoro's press release dated December 18, 2017 at www.mundoro.com. Borsko's exploration model for blind epithermal and related porphyry Cu-Au system was proven in the 2017 drill program which discovered advanced argillic alteration system ("Target 1") hosted in andesite under 570 m agglomerate volcanic cover. The hydrothermal alteration consists of semi-massive pyrite, pervasive silica, alunite and hydrothermal breccias. It correlates with resistivity-high, density low and high contacts, and magnetic low geophysical anomalies. This alteration system with related epithermal geochemical signature is an important discovery as it is approximately 4 km west of the Bor deposit. Q4-2019 Drilling Program Outcomes During Stage One (March 2016 - March 2019) of the Earn-in, exploration completed at Borsko identified a CSAMT geophysical anomaly over 1.6 km in areal extent which has been identified as Target 1 and has only been partially tested. Drilling identified this CSAMT geophysical anomaly appears to be related to advanced argillic alteration (" lithocap ") under cover. The Target 1 system contains elevated copper-gold-arsenic values indicative of high sulphidation type mineralisation, while the weak potassic alteration with elevated copper identified at the bottom of the lithocap suggests a porphyry source beyond the immediate area drill tested to date. ") under cover. The Target 1 system contains elevated copper-gold-arsenic values indicative of high sulphidation type mineralisation, while the weak potassic alteration with elevated copper identified at the bottom of the lithocap suggests a porphyry source beyond the immediate area drill tested to date. From April 2019 to date, which was part of the first year of the Stage Two Earn-in, exploration completed was focused on (i) filling in the geophysical gravity survey covering an area of 22 sq.km (63% of the license) with 2,163 measured stations at grid 100 m x 100 m and (ii) a drill program testing six new ranked CSAMT and gravity geophysical anomalies under cover which were tested with six diamond drill holes totaling 3899.8 m (see Figure 3 - Borkso Drill Target Locations ). ). Five of the six geophysical anomalies did not identify hydrothermal alteration related to the geophysical features. Targeting was carried out by estimation of the geophysical characteristics of the hydrothermal alteration based on results of Target 1. The last drill hole 19-BJ-26, however did intersect approximately 30m of argillic altered andesite which correlates with previously intersected argillic alteration containing pyrite in drill hole 18-BJ-19. Our exploration team has interpreted this alteration as a trend towards Target 1 to the north as an indication for extension of Target 1 hydrothermal system to south (see Figure 4 - Long Cross Section of Target 1 and Southwest Target ). ). The regional target testing drilling campaign from 2019 added significantly to the understanding of Borsko geology setting and structural control as well as refining the geophysical responses which are very important for under cover exploration. Intersected argillic alteration with pyrite and minor chalcopyrite in drill holes 19-BJ-26 and 18-BJ-19 suggest possible additional 2km extension to south of Target 1 connecting to the newly identified "Southwest Target". This coincides also with interpreted significant gravity low anomaly (see Figure 4). Next Steps: The latest phase of target testing proved that Target 1 is unique and remains open to the south, the north, the west and at depth (see Figure 4 ). The latest phase of target testing proved that Target 1 is unique and remains open to the south, the north, the west and at depth (see ). The results also demonstrated the need for further analysis of the geophysics data in order to create a 3D review of the geophysical results which can further refine the targeting and correlate it with the drill results to date. The JOGMEC-Mundoro exploration committee approved a complete geophysical review in January 2020 with a consulting geophysical team based in Australia with extensive experience in undercover systems. The interpretation and analysis is expected by the end of Q1-2020. The interpretation and analysis will be used to design the next stage of drilling to explore Target 1 and the Southwest Target for epithermal and source porphyry copper-gold mineralisation. JOGMEC-Mundoro Generative Alliance in Bulgaria In March 2019 Mundoro entered into a Generative Program Agreement (the "Generative Alliance") in the Republic of Bulgaria with JOGMEC to be sole-funded by JOGMEC. The purpose of the Generative Alliance is to establish a program between Mundoro and JOGMEC, whereby Mundoro will carry out mineral exploration activities in Bulgaria under the direction of a joint Technical Committee with the view to identifying areas of interests that merit additional exploration and/or development work. Upon JOGMEC determining that one or more properties merit additional exploration and/or development work, JOGMEC has the right to establish a joint venture on that property with Mundoro. Status: The generative program has been completed and JOGMEC has selected designated projects to proceed to the next stage of the agreement. Vale-Mundoro Projects For the Vale-Mundoro Projects, the Technical Committee is reviewing work programs in order to be in a position for exploration in the second half of 2020. On behalf of the Company, Teo Dechev, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director Qualified Person Technical information contained in this Press Release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. G. Magaranov, P. Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Drilling, Sampling, Analysis and Quality Assurance and Control The drilling technique was triple tubed diamond drilling from surface for PQ and HQ, while for NQ was double tubed. The drill holes were generally cased from surface progressing from PQ to HQ at 380m on average, however exact depths vary from hole to hole. Drill hole orientations were surveyed at approximately 30 meters intervals. Drill core was oriented using the Reflex EZ-Trac and Devico Pee Wee tools, the bottom of the core was marked by the drillers and this was used for marking the whole drill core with reference lines. Company personnel monitored the drilling, with drill core delivered daily to the Company's core storage facility where it was logged, cut and sampled. Core recovery was measured and recorded continuously from the top to the end of the hole for every drill hole. Each run of 3m length was marked by plastic core block which provided the depth drilled. Core recovery is recorded as 99.4-100% in most intervals. The drill core was sawn into two along drill core orientation line using a core-cutter and left half looking downhole was collected in bag and submitted for analysis, the other half is kept in tray and stored. Samples were collected at one or two-meter lengths from mineralised intervals and every fifteen meters one sample of two-meter lengths from non-mineralised intervals with brakes for major geological changes. The samples were submitted to SGS managed laboratory in Bor, Serbia for sample preparation and analysis. Drill core samples are assayed using 50-grams charge for fire assay with atomic absorption finish and multi-element method 4 acid digestion ICP-AES package IMS40B. In addition to the laboratory's internal QA/QC procedures, the Company conducted its own QA/QC with the systematic inclusion of certified reference materials every 20 samples, blank samples every 20 samples and field duplicates at every 25 samples. About Mundoro Capital Inc. Mundoro is a Canadian mineral exploration and development public company focused on building value for its shareholders through directly investing in mineral projects that have the ability to generate future returns for shareholders. The Company holds a portfolio of projects in Serbia and Bulgaria as well as an investment in a producing gold mine in Bulgaria. There are eight licenses in Serbia, four of which are optioned to JOGMEC, two licenses are optioned to Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation and two licenses are available for joint venture. In Bulgaria, Mundoro has formed a Generative Alliance with JOGMEC. Mundoro's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MUN". For further information please contact: Teo Dechev, CEO, President and Director of Mundoro Capital Inc. at +1-604-669-8055 Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe" or "continue" or similar words or the negative thereof, and include the following: completion of the earn-in expenditures and options by JOGMEC; and completion of a definitive joint venture agreement by the parties. The material assumptions that were applied in making the forward looking statements in this News Release include expectations as to the mineral potential of the Timok North Properties, the Company's future strategy and business plan and execution of the Company's existing plans. We caution readers of this News Release not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements contained in this News Release, as there can be no assurance that they will occur and they are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include general economic and market conditions, exploration results, commodity prices, changes in law, regulatory processes, the status of Mundoro's assets and financial condition, actions of competitors and the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this News Release are made as of the date of this News Release and the Board undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and for a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Figure 1 - Location Map of Projects in Serbia To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_1_Feb2020.jpg Figure 2 - Freeport-Mundoro Project - Drill Target Locations To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_2_Feb2020.jpg Figure 3 - Borkso Drill Target Locations To view an enhanced version of figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_3_Feb2020.jpg Figure 4 - Long Cross Section of Target 1 and Southwest Target To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2408/52794_Figure_4_Feb2020.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52794 She's no stranger to surprising with her off-duty sense of style. And Charlize Theron cut a casual figure on Tuesday as she exited the West LA Federal building in a cosy tangerine jumper. The actress, 44, teamed the off-duty look with blue cropped jeans and flat white sandals as she stepped out in the winter sunshine. Out and about: Charlize Theron, 44, cut a chic figure in a neon orange jumper on Tuesday as she exited the West Los Angeles Federal Building Charlize displayed her effortless sense of style as she opted for the bright orange chunky knit jumper to battle the chilly February climes. The Oscar winner teamed the jumper with pale blue washed Etica Denim jeans with a cropped finish, and thick-strapped white flat sandals. Carrying her essentials in a black cross-body handbag, Charlize shielded her eyes from the sun with heavy Gigi Studios glasses as she exited the Federal office with some paperwork in hand. Relaxed: The star teamed the jumper with light-washed cropped jeans and a black leather bag as she enjoyed the sunshine, adding a pair of Gigi Studios shades to complete the look Charlize has two new films on the horizon including F9, the ninth instalment in the Fast & Furious franchise, starring Vin Diesel, and many of the other familiar characters fans have gotten to know and love. The acclaimed actress is also playing the lead role of Andromache Of Scythia in the the upcoming action film The Old Guard, which is based on the comic book of the same name. Most recently she was also nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Megyn Kelly in biographical drama, Bombshell. Jaw-dropping: Charlize has two new films on the horizon including F9, the ninth instalment in the Fast & Furious franchise (pictured on the Academy Awards red carpet two weeks ago) Charlize first gained worldwide prominence with roles in The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998) and The Cider House Rules (1999). She shot to superstar status when she won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal as serial killer Aileen Wuormos in Monster (2003), which made her the first South African actor to win the honour. As a result, she became one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, commending more than $10 million a film, a figure that has continued to climb in subsequent years. Another Oscar nomination followed when she played a sexually abused woman seeking justice in the drama film North Country (2005). Theron has also had a number of lucrative endorsement deals that have included being the face of Christian Dior's perfume J'Adore and Raymond Weil watches. (Bloomberg) -- Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his wife will defend themselves at a trial this week against accusations they got more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) for a fake job she held as a parliamentary aide for about a decade. Penelope Fillon never set foot in the National Assembly despite being paid as a full-time aide, first to her husband when he was a member of parliament and then his replacement, according to the indictment. For a time, her salary averaged $140,000 a year. Investigators say that they found no trace of the kind of work that might be expected of an aide even though Fillon said his wife assisted him daily by providing memos and input on draft speeches. The Paris embezzlement trial was scheduled to start Monday, but was postponed until Wednesday due to a strike. It will run until March 11. Commonplace activities such as going to a concert or a play, attending a festival as a family, doing grocery shopping and taking the children to school, even if she could at times meet Francois Fillons voters, or gathering some information on the local life arent part of an aides job, French investigators said in the indictment. The Fillon revelations in early 2017 derailed his campaign to become Frances next president. Fillon was a clear favorite until then -- the governing Socialists candidate and a relatively-novice Emmanuel Macron lagged behind, while far-right leader Marine Le Pen had a very slim chance of winning the runoff. An article in the weekly Le Canard Enchaine prompted financial prosecutors at the Parquet National Financier to open a probe. Fillons lead in the polls melted but he refused to pull out of the race. He didnt make it to the second round and Macron went on to beat Le Pen. After his defeat, Fillon quit politics and within months was named senior partner at French money manager Tikehau Capital. Paris judges agreed Monday to postpone the start of the trial after the three defendants attorneys asked for a delay to lend their support to lawyers on strike against the countrys pensions reform, Agence France-Presse reported. The attorneys for for Fillon, his wife and his replacement at the National Assembly declined to comment on the substance of the case. Story continues The trial will focus on public money Penelope Fillon received between 1998 and 2007 and in 2012-2013. During that time, investigators say Fillons wife had no timetable, no work computer, mobile phone or email address linked to the job in Parliament. Between 2007 and 2012, Fillon was Frances prime minister. His wife also got a salary as a parliamentary aide between 1981 and 1990 but the payments werent included because they fell outside the countrys statute of limitations. When Fillon was in government between 2002 and 2007, his wife remained a parliamentary aide for his replacement, Marc Joulaud. Investigators say Penelope Fillons salary during those years was set by her husband and was larger than what Joulaud earned. During those five years, she made more than 645,000 euros. Penelope Fillon and her husband have said that her role was to mentor Joulaud and help him adjust to the office but investigators say the defendants werent able to cite specific examples of that work. The authorities said that Joulauds archives dont provide evidence of her work, and that she wasnt copied on emails Joulad sent at the time. At the time of the facts, the maximum sentence for embezzlement was 10 years in jail and a 150,000-euro fine. The National Assembly is also planning to seek about 1 million euros in damages -- the amount that may have unduly been paid out to Penelope Fillon, said Yves Claisse, a lawyer for the French parliament. (Updates with postponement of trial start until Wednesday in third paragraph) To contact the reporter on this story: Gaspard Sebag in Paris at gsebag@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Ben Sills 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. By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wall Street's main semiconductor benchmark tumbled into correction territory on Tuesday in its deepest four-day rout since the financial crisis, as the coronavirus spread further around the world and deepened fears about the global economy. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.2%, bringing the decline from its Feb 19 record high to almost 12%, the worst four-day drop for the index since 2008. Many investors consider a correction in a security or index to be a drop of 10% or more from its recent peak. Even after its recent slump, the chip index is up 27% over the past 12 months, a rally that was fueled by expectations that the industry would soon recover from a drop in global demand in recent years. That strong performance has left many investors concerned that chip stocks could be vulnerable to unexpected bad news. Nvidia dropped 3.7% after Nomura Instinet downgraded the graphics chipmaker to "reduce" from "neutral" due to concerns about the coronavirus' impact on demand. Nomura Instinet also cut its forecast for global chip industry sales in 2020 to $429 billion from $437 billion, representing 4% growth instead of 6% growth. "We think there may be risk to demand in most electronic end markets, though we believe the end markets associated with consumer purchases might have the most potential downside," Nomura Instinet analyst David Wong wrote in a research note. Following a slump on Monday, Wall Street on Tuesday fell again as investors focused on the potential economic impact of the outbreak as it spread to new countries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans should prepare for possible community spread of the coronavirus. Chipmakers rely more than most other U.S. companies on revenue from China, where the outbreak has badly disrupted factory production and crimped consumer demand. Smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm fell 3.1%. It and Nvidia provided the strongest downward pressure on the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Twenty-nine out of 30 stocks in the index fell, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co the only stock in positive territory, up 0.6%. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held talks with his counterpart from New Zealand and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in key sectors such as trade, defence and security. During their deliberations, Jaishankar and New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters emphasized the importance of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law including UNCLOS for peace and stability in the region, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Peters, accompanied by Trade Minister David Parker and a business delegation, is visiting India from February 25-28. Peters and Jaishankar reviewed the state of bilateral relations and discussed steps to intensify political, economic, defence, security and people to people relations, the statement said. The meeting was followed by a working dinner at Hyderabad House, which was joined by the trade minister, who also met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Parker also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. Peters will be meeting Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Thursday. The New Zealand delegation will also be visiting Mumbai and interacting with Indian industries. The New Zealand Deputy PM had released the New strategic paper "India 2025- Investing in the relationship", which is a continuation of the New Zealand Inc.India Strategy 2011, prior to his visit to India. Jaishankar stated that the paper is reflective of the desire to strengthen bilateral ties, a mutually shared objective. India thanked New Zealand for its support for Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and on the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to promote cooperation on solar energy and climate action, the MEA said. Both sides exchanged views on their respective approaches in the Indo-Pacific region, and agreed to work together in East Asia Summit and relevant forums. They also agreed that a stable international trading is essential and agreed to constructively engage in WTO, the MEA said. New Zealand conveyed support for India's permanent membership of UN Security Council, it said. The growing Indian diaspora and students in New Zealand form a strong link between the two nations, contributing positively to the close partnership between the two countries, the MEA said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo credit: MARK RALSTON - Getty Images From ELLE Photo credit: . Seven of the remaining Democratic candidates for president descend upon Charleston, South Carolina tonight to once again hash out their plans for America, to point out their ideological differences, and, most importantly, to fight each other in hand-to-hand combat, MMA-style. Or, perhaps it should be M4A-style. Either way, right now, Senator Elizabeth Warren is climbing one of those chainlink fence cages while crowing loudly in an empty auditorium while Senator Bernie Sanders is practicing deploying his new Adamantium claws. Democracy is a sacred institution but it's always full of surprises. Let's take a look at some of the things we can look forward to in this Cage Match for Liberty. Photo credit: MARK RALSTON - Getty Images Money No, don't adjust your TV Mx. and Mx. America; you're not seeing double. There will be two billionaires on stage at tonight's debate. Not only did Michael Bloomberg qualify for the debate but fellow rich man who thought this was a good idea for some reason Tom Steyer will also join in the fracas. Attempting to rebound from a widely-panned performance at the Nevada debate where Warren took him apart at the molecular level, Bloomberg will appeal to voters by hiding a bag of money under every seat in the theater. Earlier today, I caught him on my Nest cam throwing five dollar bills at my window. Just balling them up and tossing them. It was wild. Yesterday, Team Bloomberg took to Twitter to decry some vandalism some of their offices around the country had suffered, which is a strange way of saying "we're winning," but what do I know? I'm just a person who collected $45 from my front lawn. One such instance happened in Flint, Michigan where a presumably anti-Bloomberg Flint resident spray-painted "Eat the Rich" on a poster board and taped it to the front of the campaign office. Eat the Rich Our office in Flint, MI America deserves better. pic.twitter.com/ar5jKPmIJs Team Bloomberg (@Mike2020) February 24, 2020 While this isn't necessarily polite, I'm not sure that this qualifies as vandalism. At best, it's a misbegotten new direction in the Chick-Fil-A "cows who can write" ad campaign. At worst it's a negative Yelp review. I am concerned, however, that Bloomberg will take this as a hint and start opening up pop-up restaurants around the country with actual rich people on the menu. "Tonight the chef is recommending the Hot Pockets Heiress." Story continues Meanwhile, Tom Steyer will probably just show the trailer for the new Madame C.J. Walker movie and remind America "You liked this rich person so..." Midwest Manners Oh, honey, as we saw last week, Amy Klobuchar's knives are all the way out. She's going to Minnesota Nice Mayor Pete into the next county. One of the things that's so fascinating about Senator Klobuchar is that when she really gets going on Pete Buttigieg she starts to vibrate with incredulity. It's like Marianne Williamson is astral projecting into her and she's trying to keep a lock on herself so she can finish her sentence. If at any point tonight Klobuchar turns to Buttigieg and says "Girlfriend, you will not be getting a hot dish" you'll know that Marianne has entered the chat. Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images Gay America? Last night on CNN, Buttigieg repeated a line he's used a couple of times during his campaign, remarking that he's "not running to be president of the gay United States." While the spirit of this statement is meant to draw attention to his broader appeal, it does beg the question: where are these gay United States? Calgon, take me away. Some have suggested that the Gay United States includes a handful of large cities in which I do not live, which is frankly offensive to me. What am I doing sitting here being local with all these succulents then? The truth is the Gay United States is always in a state of flux and can appear and disappear at any moment. You could be in Gay America right now, if you're lucky! Some places that the Gay United States has recently been spotted: the break room at every tote bag factory; the parking lot of a Celine Dion concert; REI; any time someone looks for Google Image photos of an old-timey president when they were young, sepia-toned snacks; every time the book Red, White, and Royal Blue is opened; weirdly enough, the cereal aisle at Wegman's. Shambles Just straight up chaos. Like a Black Friday Sale at a Walmart in the late-1990s that is running low on Tickle Me Elmo dolls. But, for freedom. It all goes down tonight... and for the next nine months. Bring your most expensive appetite! You Might Also Like "Such diversity has drawn the attention of the world," he expressed. Mr. Duque emphasized that Colombia and Peru are linked by close bonds of brotherhood. "That brotherhood is reflected in the Andean Community , the Pacific Alliance , and the Pact of Leticia ," he stated. A Mumbai resident has filed a police complaint application seeking action against journalist Rana Ayyub for posting an "old" video purportedly of the Delhi violence, an official said on Wednesday. The complainant Ramesh Solanki claimed the video was two-years old, and it was posted by Ayyub "with an intention to spread hatred in the society and to add more fuel to the Delhi violence". In his complaint, which he filed online on Tuesday, Solanki, 50, also uploaded a photo of Rana's tweet and the Twitter handle "@ranaayyub". "Please take action against this hate-monger Rana Ayyub. The video shared by Rana Ayyub is two-year old and she is sharing it again in this situation trying to spread hatred in the society and to incite people and add more fuel to the Delhi violence. "Rana is regular at posting false rumours and defame India and government of India, it's very necessary to take action against her before she is successful in creating communal disharmony in the country, arrest her and take legal action against her (sic)," stated the complaint. A senior Mumbai Cyber Crime official said they will first verify facts before deciding to take any action, if needed. "If needed, we will transfer the complaint to police station concerned for further investigation," he said. A 45-second video clip posted on the Twitter handle @RanaAyyub on February 25 shows some men attempting to place a saffron flag and the National tricolour on what looks like a minaret, against the backdrop of billowing black smoke. "Re-posting this video after verifying its authenticity. It is from Delhi. Men marching on top of a mosque, vandalising it and placing a saffron flag over it," Ayyub tweeted. Ayyub had shared the video earlier as well, but deleted it after it was alleged to be fake. She then posted it again. Seventeen people have died so far and over hundred were injured in the violence that has gripped several parts of north east Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act since Sunday. (CNN) The novel coronavirus began in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province. Now, it's reached 40 other countries and territories, and is spreading in Europe and the Middle East. Take a look at how we got here: December 8: First patient develops symptoms of coronavirus in Wuhan. December 31: Earliest cases of virus reported to World Health Organization (WHO). January 1: Seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have originated, is closed for disinfection. January 7: Chinese authorities confirm they have identified the virus as a novel coronavirus. January 9: First person dies of the virus, though his death wasn't announced until January 11. January 13: Thailand reports its first case a Chinese national who had arrived from Wuhan. January 16: Japan confirms its first case. January 21: The United States confirms its first case. January 23: Wuhan and several other cities are placed on lockdown, and Lunar New Year celebrations are canceled across China. WHO says virus is not yet a public health emergency of international concern. January 28: Death toll tops 100. The number of confirmed cases in mainland China overtakes the deadly 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. January 30: WHO declares a public health emergency of international concern. February 2: A Chinese man dies in the Philippines the first coronavirus death outside China. February 4: The Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked under quarantine in Japan's Yokohama Bay with more than 3,700 people on board. February 6: Death toll tops 500 globally. February 7: Chinese whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who was targeted by Wuhan police, dies of the coronavirus. Chinese social media is flooded with grief, anger, and calls for freedom of speech. February 8: The US Embassy in Beijing confirms that a US national died in Wuhan on February 6, marking the first confirmed death of a non-Chinese national. February 11: Death toll tops 1,000 globally. The WHO names the coronavirus Covid-19. February 15: The first coronavirus death in Europe is confirmed. February 17: American passengers on the Diamond Princess are evacuated out of Japan. February 20: Death toll tops 2,000 globally. February 23: Cases in South Korea surge past 600 after several hundred new infections were reported in 48 hours, with more than half the cases linked to a branch of a religious group. Italy also sees a spike cases rise from three to 152 over the same weekend. This story was first published on CNN.com. "How the coronavirus went global in two months." Amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, North Korea has announced stricter inspection and quarantine measures for the imported goods to the nation on February 26. The North Korean state agency reported that the country's government has enhanced the roles and responsibilities of the State Commission of Quality Management officials. However, the immediate neighbour of South Korea has not publically confirmed a single case of COVID-19 while cases in the South have jumped to nearly 1,261. Meanwhile, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in also raised the alert level to 'highest' as the number of infected people in the nation soared. On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control. Read - WHO Confirms No Indications Of Coronavirus Cases In North Korea Read - North Korean Defectors Seek Political Representation With New Party In S Korea First US soldier infected The United States military in South Korea confirmed its first case among soldiers while the infected cases in the Asian country also jumped to more than 1,200 with more than a hundred new cases confirmed. As per South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports, most of the new cases were in Daegu and some were in neighbouring towns. Furthermore, the authorities are now tracing the soldier's contact to determine if other people may have been exposed. According to international media reports, the US military said that the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. He had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu. Around 28,500 US troops are currently stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. Death toll surpasses 2,700 Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,700 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 406 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 78,064. 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 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 coronavirus patients have by now been reportedly discharged from hospitals. Read - Masked North Koreans Mark Kim Jong Il's Birthday Read - UN Experts: North Korea Enhances Nukes And Illicit Trade (With AP inputs) PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 03:36:33 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 978 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2020 / Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. ("Blue Lagoon" or the "Company") (CSE:BLLG)(FSE:7BL)(OTCQB:BLAGF) is pleased to announce that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Metal Mountain Resources Inc. ("Metal Mountain"), a private British Columbia company. Metal Mountain holds a 50.84% interest in Gavin Mines Inc. ("Gavin Mines"), which in turn holds a 100% interest in the Dome Mountain Mine located near the town of Smithers in northwest British Columbia. Metal Mountain also holds a 100% interest in the Big Onion Property, also located near Smithers. Blue Lagoon has separately entered into a binding letter of intent with AGC Investments Inc. ("AGC"), a private company which holds a 27.44% interest in Gavin Mines, whereby Blue Lagoon may acquire AGC's interest on closing of the acquisition of Metal Mountain.With the acquisition of Metal Mountain's 50.84% interest and AGC's 27.44% interest, Blue Lagoon will hold a total of 78.28% interest in the Dome Mountain Mine.Pursuant to the letter of intent with Metal Mountain, the Company is proposing to issue approximately 12.15 million shares in exchange for the shares of Metal Mountain. Pursuant to the letter of intent with AGC, Blue Lagoon would issue a further 1,372,000 shares in exchange for AGC's interest in Gavin Mines, subject to certain terms and conditions being met as set forth in the letter of intent.THE DOME MOUNTAIN MINEThe Dome Mountain Mine includes a past producing mine on tenures consisting of 42 contiguous mining claims and one mining lease totaling 10,970 hectares, located approximately 38 kilometers east of the town of Smithers in northwest British Columbia. Expenditures on the mine by past operators, including Gavin Mines, Timmins and Noranda, have totaled in excess of $68 million, $28 Million of which was spent by Gavin in the past 12 years. Mine permitting and significant infrastructure construction and underground development was completed on the mine between 2010 and 2012, including about 75% of the planned underground development necessary for commencing production from the site. The Dome Mountain Project holds a Mining Permit and Environmental Management Act Permit (EMA) providing for up to 75,000 tonnes annually.The following provides a summary of the infrastructure and underground development completed during that period:Mine dry/office buildingElectrocoagulation water treatment plantWater and sewer for all surface facilitiesPipelines system for mine waterMechanics shopElectrical work into the mineFuel storage and distribution systemMajor earthwork projects completedUnderground developmentThe Dome Mountain area has a long history of exploration that resulted in the discovery of numerous gold bearing quartz-carbonate veins. Gold mineralization was first located on the property in the late 1800s and considerable surface and underground work was done in 1923-24. Resumption of exploration in the 1980s led to the discovery of the Boulder Vein system in 1985. Underground mining was initiated in August 1991 by Timmins Nickel Inc. and its joint venture partner, Habsburg Resources Inc. and ceased in May 1993. During this period 43,900 tonnes at an average grade of 12.0 grams per tonne gold were reportedly mined from shrinkage stopes accessed from trackless drift developments on the 1290 and 1370 levels.THE BIG ONION PROPERTYThe Big Onion is a porphyry copper project located 16 kilometres east of the town of Smithers and consists of 13 contiguous mineral claims comprising a total area of 4,493 hectares. Following a total of 218 drill holes totaling 41,010 meters a NI 43-101 resource report dated May 31, 2009 was prepared by Giroux Consultants Ltd.The Company will provide additional technical information on the Dome Mountain Mine and the Big Onion Project in a subsequent news release pending completion of the Company's technical review of the projects.LETTER OF INTENTPursuant to the letter of intent with Metal Mountain, the Company and Metal Mountain are proposing a business combination whereby the Company would acquire 100% of the issued shares of Metal Mountain in exchange for approximately 12.15 million shares of the Company. The shares will be subject to voluntary pooling for an initial 12 month period from closing, and thereafter will be released from pool in periodic installments over a further 18 months. Closing of the transaction is subject to various conditions, including any required stock exchange approvals, shareholder approval of Metal Mountain, and completion of due diligence investigations. The parties have agreed to work towards settlement of a definitive agreement.Pursuant to the letter of intent with AGC, the Company has the right to acquire AGC's interest in Gavin Mines in exchange for 1,372,000 common shares of Blue Lagoon and a $25,000 cash payment. Closing of the acquisition of AGC's interest in Gavin Mines is subject to stock exchange approval, Blue Lagoon completing legal and technical due diligence on Gavin Mines, as well as customary conditions.The scientific and technical data contained in this news release was prepared and reviewed by William Cronk, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101 and a consultant to the Company.For further information, please contact:Rana VigPresident and Chief Executive OfficerTelephone: 604-218-4766Email: rana@ ranavig.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information: This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Blue Lagoon Resources Inc. (the "Company") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions% 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 Dili: The Prime Minister of East Timor says he is prepared to stay in office until a solution can be found "to guarantee government activities in our country". Jose Maria de Vasconcelos, who goes by his nom de guerre Taur Matan Ruak, sent a letter of resignation to President Francisco Guterres, on Tuesday after the collapse of a coalition supporting him in parliament. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, left, and East Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak shake hands after a bilateral meeting in Dili, East Timor, last year. Credit:AAP Ruak has repeatedly failed to secure passage of a budget for 2020 after the largest party in his coalition, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party of independence hero Xanana Gusmao, withdrew support. "I have sent a [resignation] letter to the President," Ruak said. More than 30 people spoke up at Mondays public hearing, with all but two of the speakers objecting to the proposal. Several objectors cited concerns about increased truck traffic and its impact on local roads, pollution and other environmental concerns such as the projects impact on nearby Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Others argued the project and increased traffic would make it more difficult for local farmers to continue in the area. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry is intensifying cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, in particular, in protecting investors' intellectual property and counteracting fraud, the ministry's press service has reported. "The Ukrainian Interior Ministry is intensifying cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce. It is about protecting the intellectual property of investors, cooperation in the field of protecting telecommunication networks, the security of goods transportation and counteracting fraud. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce reached such an agreement at a meeting," the report reads. In particular, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Tetyana Prokopchuk recalled that the Ukrainian government had announced the goal of attracting $50 billion in investment and "companies are quite optimistic." "We have prepared ten steps that we believe can be a driver of economic growth. What is important to investors is the rule of law and the protection of their own investments, including intellectual property. Here we would like to deepen cooperation with the Interior Ministry so as to protect the intellectual work of scientists, the creative industry and companies engaged in scientific development," Prokopchuk said. Avakov, in turn, said that the police are only one of the components of business protection, along with the courts and the prosecutor's office. "We must clearly understand that there are no 'saints' among law enforcement officers or investors. Therefore, there must be a constructive dialogue and clear cooperation between us," he added. He said that the speedy creation of the Bureau of Financial Investigation is important in matters of investigating economic crimes. "In my opinion, this must be an analytical body with a pencil and a computer. If this is another law enforcement agency with its own special forces and operational units, then, in my opinion, the pressure on business will only increase. There are four bodies in Ukraine authorized to conduct operational activities. If necessary, the newly created service will be able to involve these specialists," the minister said. The sides also discussed the protection of information systems of private companies. Representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce noted a positive trend in cooperation with the cyber police. Avakov, in turn, said that in March this year, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry will present a new system of cyber security in Ukraine, including a platform for cooperation between business and the National Police. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko, Head of the National Police Ihor Klymenko, Deputy Chairman and Chief of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine Maksym Tsutskiridze, as well as representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. op The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved three MoUs for cooperation between India and Myanmar on combating timber trafficking, conservation of tigers and other wildlife and in the fields of petroleum products and communications. Briefing reporters about the Cabinet decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said Myanmar borders Mizoram and the MoU deals with the protection of animals as they do not move according to the borders. He said India will also provide training to Myanmar officials. Referring to the MoU on petroleum products, he said it entails setting up a joint working group. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 09:51:23|Editor: zyl Video Player Close ABUJA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military confirmed Tuesday that an unknown number of Boko Haram fighters were killed in airstrikes around the Sambisa forest, the base of the outlawed group in the northeast region. Most of the militants killed were those who carried out a recent deadly attack on the Garkida community in the country's northeastern state of Adamawa, said Ibikunle Daramola, spokesman for the Nigerian air force. The airstrikes were carried out between Sunday and Monday, destroying some of the Boko Haram's structures and logistics facilities in the Sambisa forest general area, Daramola said. The operations followed credible intelligence that the Boko Haram militants who carried out the attack in Adamawa were within the Sambisa forest, he added. A VOLUNTARY healthcare project, led by medical professionals at University of Limerick and the UL Hospitals Group, has been given official international recognition in its fourth year. Learning for Lives Ghana, set up in 2016, sees students and workers from both institutions provide life-saving skills and training for pre-hospital care to local healthcare workers. And last week, the programme was granted official accreditation by Esther Ireland, which supports partnerships between health institutions in Ireland and the developing world. Esther Ireland coordinator, Hala Ali, this week presented the accreditation plaques to UL Hospitals CEO, Prof Colette Cowan, and Prof Rachel Msetfi, the dean of education and health sciences at UL. Ms Ali also met with the 11-strong volunteer team. Read also: Limerick people advised not to travel to Italian regions affected by coronavirus UL Hospitals Group CEO Colette Cowan said she was delighted the project had received accreditation from ESTHER Ireland, which has also provided funding for the annual visits of the Learning for Lives Ghana team to the Upper West of Ghana. The project has surpassed our initial remit. It has created a more educated, competent and skilled staff group, enabling them to deliver the training independently, ensuring sustainability and continuity. It has been a great opportunity for our staff, and I have been hugely impressed by everyones dedication to the project. Democratic candidates seeking the partys nod to try to turn Pennsylvanias 10th Congressional District blue this fall opened the home stretch of their primary campaign Tuesday night with two distinct styles, but very similar objectives. State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale touted his experience and achievements in government, and argued that record makes him the best candidate to face-off against Perry - who is unopposed for the Republican Party nomination - in the fall and midstaters best bet for effective representation in Washington after that. Political newcomer Tom Brier flashed his youthful enthusiasm and idealism that he argues, beyond scoring style points, is exactly what the party needs to maximize voter turnout in the way it will be needed to beat incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and help deliver Pennsylvania as an electoral prize to the Democratic presidential nominee in November. The race in the 10th District is being listed by national analysts as one of the hottest Congressional contests in the country in the 2020 cycle, in part because of the spirited battle political newcomer George Scott gave Perry in 2018. Politically, both Democrats would mark a dramatic turn from Perry, a Republican who is seeking his fifth term and second in the present-day 10th, and theres not a great deal of daylight between their core policy positions. Both Brier and DePasquale, for example, are unabashed supporters of new gun control efforts, taking strong action against climate change and rewriting the federal tax code in a way to create more benefits for middle- and working class households. They are also both strong defenders of a womans right to have an abortion. But for those looking for contrast, it could be found in their respective cases for whos best positioned to fight for what Democratic voters want in Washington. DePasquale touted his independence from both parties as a two-term Auditor General who found problems in state government during both Republican and Democratic administrations, and his readiness - as demonstrated during six years in the Pennsylvania House before that - to work across the aisle to achieve his aims. But If someone wants someone to just sit in their idealogical corner and only talk to people that you agree with, thats not going to be me, DePasquale said. Weve got a member of Congress like that. Thats Scott Perry, who literally gets nothing done. DePasquale, 48, also related that independent streak to electability. My job, if Im your member of Congress, is to represent this district, not an ideology," he said. "Thats why I can win this primary, win this general election, and send Scott Perry packing. Brier seemed to focus less on a readiness to compromise, and more on raising an army that can win the battle of ideas in Washington D.C. A 28-year-old attorney from Hershey, he promised a different kind of politics to fix what he sees as a broken democracy under President Donald J. Trump that has led to problems like rising suicide rates, a falling life expectancy and a failure to act on existential threats like climate change. What happened to the country that won two world wars and sent man to the moon? Brier asked at one point, describing the malaise that he sees as infecting American politics. We can fix this. I believe that," Brier said. But we have to vote our values. We have to. It was from that platform that Brier reprised his main points of contrast with DePasquale throughout the early days of this primary battle; that he sees the North York political veteran as someone who has been a little too prone at various points during his career to waver from what Brier sees as current Democratic Party principles. Brier hit DePasquale hardest on the his rivals vote, as a state legislator in 2011, in favor of the Congressional redistricting plan that would give Pennsylvania one of the most-gerrymandered U.S. House District maps in the nation, and one that would ultimately be thrown out by a landmark Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. I would never deprive you (Democrats) of your right to vote for a decade. I promise that. I promise that Ill stand on principle at a very moment when my political career relies on it," Brier said in his closing statement Tuesday, leaving unspoken his implicit question about whether DePasquale would do the same. DePasquale countered that Briers criticism is a little unfair because he has always supported turning redistricting over to a non-partisan citizens commission. DePasquale did say he regretted, while in the state House of Representatives, not pushing harder for legislation he sponsored to make that change when House Democrats were in the majority from 2007 through 2010. Another point of contrast Tuesday was on gun control. DePasquale cited his past support for a Perry bill in the Pennsylvania House that extended a persons right to defend himself or herself with force to their car and property as opposed to just inside their home, as another example of his willingness to extend a hand across the aisle in a legislative setting. The bill passed in 2011 and was signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett. When Brier seemed to argue that that left DePasquale coming up a little short on his commitment to gun control - Im not going to support an NRA-backed) gun bill, Brier said at one point - DePasquale defended the vote as one that he still thinks makes sense for homeowners, but that is not inconsistent at all with a desire for universal background checks for all gun sales, or a ban on the sale of assault-style rifles. DePasquale also snapped back on Briers attempt to equate Perrys expansion of the states Castle Doctrine law to so-called stand-your-ground laws like that in Florida that were central to legal arguments in the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen who was killed in 2012 in a struggle with a neighborhood watch captain named George Zimmerman. He (Zimmerman) was acting outside of his own property, and under Pennsylvania law he would have been prosecuted for the murderer he is, DePasquale said. Brier proceeded to press the contrasts on the issue of campaign financing. Noting his blanket refusal to accept campaign contributions from corporate political actions committees, Brier argued You have no credibility if you want to change the systems, if youre taking money from special interests, and thats another difference between Eugene and me. Hes taken corporate money his whole career.... Starting (to work) for reform, especially in the Trump era, begins with getting money out of politics, and thats honestly why Im in this race, Brier said. DePasquale did not directly address his roster of campaign contributors, but he countered that his whole career has been about "fighting for what I believe is right, whether its rooting out waste and corruption; whether its taking on governors of either party; whether its taking on police departments to make sure that were clearing the backlog of untested rape kits... This is about the fights you take on, DePasquale said, adding that his terms in the state House representing York City and two terms as Auditor General provide all the evidence any voter needs to see that as a member of Congress, I will fight for you every single minute. The 10th District covers all of Dauphin County, the eastern half of Cumberland County, and the northern half of York County. The primary election will be held April 28. NEW YORK The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with U.S. immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island. The states and city sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Before the change, cities and states seeking grant money were required only to show they were not preventing local law enforcement from communicating with federal authorities about the immigration status of people who were detained. At the time, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said: So-called sanctuary policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes. In 2018, the Justice Department imposed additional conditions on the grant money, though challenges to those have not yet reached the appeals court in New York. The 2nd Circuit said the plain language of relevant laws make clear that the U.S. attorney general can impose conditions on states and municipalities receiving money. And it noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly observed that the federal government maintains broad power over states when it comes to immigration policies. In the past two years, federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions. While mindful of the respect owed to our sister circuits, we cannot agree that the federal government must be enjoined from imposing the challenged conditions on the federal grants here at issue, the 2nd Circuit three-judge panel said in a decision written by Judge Reena Raggi. These conditions help the federal government enforce national immigration laws and policies supported by successive Democratic and Republican administrations. But more to the authorization point, they ensure that applicants satisfy particular statutory grant requirements imposed by Congress and subject to Attorney General oversight, the appeals court said. The Justice Department praised the decision, issuing a statement calling it a major victory for Americans and saying it recognizes that the attorney general has authority to ensure that grant recipients are not thwarting federal law enforcement priorities. The department added that the rulings effect will be limited because other courts have ruled the other way, giving the plaintiffs in the New York case the opportunity to point to those as reasons to ignore the new conditions. Cody Wofsy, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, called the decision a real outlier, saying he believed the 2nd Circuit was the nations first court to side with the Trump administration on the issue. Over and over, courts have said the Department of Justice doesnt have authority under governing statutes to impose these conditions, he said. These conditions are part of the administrations attempts to bully, cajole and coerce state and local governments into participating in federal immigration enforcement activities. Under the Constitutions federalism principles and the 10th Amendment, Wofsy said, states and municipalities are entitled to decline to become part of the administrations deportation force. In a statement, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Trumps latest retaliation against his hometown takes away security funding from the number one terrorist target in America all because we refuse to play by his arbitrary rules. He added: Well see President Trump back in court and we will win. Bitta Mostofi, commissioner of the citys Office of Immigrant Affairs, said in a statement that the ruling was deeply troubling. New York City stands with our immigrant brothers and sisters and that will never change, Mostofi said. The appeals rulings pertain to the issuance of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. Created in 2006, it is the vehicle through which Congress annually dispenses over $250 million in federal funding for state and local criminal justice efforts. The Byrne Program was named for New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne, who at age 22 was shot to death while guarding the home of a Guyanese immigrant cooperating with authorities investigating drug trafficking. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report. High school-age culinary students (Left to Right) Nocqui Howard, Naomi Clement, Isiah Dorvil, Jose Pedraza, Malcolm Waugh, and Keith Pretlow, a Culinary Arts Teacher, and Teyanna Trice, study business lunch etiquette, at the Four Seasons in the Comcast Technology Center. The event was part of a program offered by the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association. Read more Fork on the left, knife on the right, water on the whichever seems closest? Theres so many times Im at a round table, but its set for 10, so youre sitting on top of one another, Ben Fileccia recounted at the Four Seasons on a recent afternoon. And its like, Whose plate is this? Or wheres my water glass? Read the table from left to right and think of BMW, proclaimed Fileccia, the director of operations and strategy for the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodgings Association. Bread, meal, water. Place-setting anatomy, good manners, and dining decorum were the order of the day inside this 59th-floor conference room, where Fileccia and Pyramid Club private events director Angie Gruver addressed high school students over the course of an impeccably presented three-course meal. The event was part of a PRLA program that partners with the Philadelphia School District to teach high school culinary students the etiquette of a business lunch. Nowadays, kids are so tied up in this, Gruver told me beforehand, gesturing to her smartphone. The reality is, you start getting into the business world or even culinary world and youre going to need to know these things. When invited to attend, I questioned whether I knew the principles of business-lunch etiquette. And so I found myself observing as 10 juniors and seniors from Ben Franklin High School filed into the taupe-on-taupe room that overlooks Logan Square and points north. Germantown over here? senior Massie Campfield asked, pointing into the distance. Gruver announced there would be a no-cellphone policy, so they should take photos now, then put them away. The students, in varying degrees of dressed-up, hung up their coats and took seats at the table, replete with salt-and-pepper shakers, oblong bread baskets, votive candles, and succulent-studded terrariums. Servers in white jackets circulated, taking orders for lemonade, iced tea, and Arnold Palmers. Menus were tucked into folded napkins, nested on top of each plate or what I had confused for a plate. This is a charger, so theyll probably come and take them away, Fileccia explained. But just take the napkin off and put it on your lap. As the kids smoothed the linens on their laps, Fileccia discoursed on napkins. Im fascinated with them. I did all these YouTube videos about how to fold a napkin. They came in and videotaped me for hours folding now do a peacock, now do a swan. The most frequent napkin question he gets, however, is what to do with it when you get up to go to the restroom. You just fold it and put it to the left of your plate. If you have arms on your chair, put it on the arm but a lot of places dont have arms on chairs because they want to get as many people as possible. With everyone settled, Gruver and Fileccia passed along the order to fire up lunch. They polled the room to see if any wanted to be chefs. One boy, Malcolm Waugh, shyly raised his hand. Any specialties, Gruver asked. Not yet, he replied, shaking his head. Culinary education specialist Michele Eagan chimed in to say the students had been displaced from their usual space this school year, due to asbestos. Were working on getting them back in there, in their kitchen, so they can get back to cooking. Servers glided into the room with bowls of wild mushroom soup enriched with an almond milk-chestnut veloute, setting them down in unison. The students longingly eyed up the bread baskets, precariously placed in the faraway center of the conference-room table. Would it be better to unceremoniously stretch across, or remain politely seated and hungry? They stayed put. Finally, Fileccia reached out and snagged one. Theres few things you can eat with your hands when you go out. Bread is definitely, obviously, one of them, he clarified, slicing into a pat of butter. When you eat bread in a professional setting, you would break off a little piece with your hand, put a little butter on it. The kids uncharacteristically quiet, according to teacher Keith Pretlow followed suit. The only sounds were of knives scraping butter plates and spoons clinking as they stirred iced tea. The beige soup was met with reluctance. (Its mild reception was validated later, when Gruver cautioned against attending a business event hungry. Eat a little something beforehand, she advised. Youre there to network and meet people.) When you get to the bottom, they say you can tilt your bowl to get all the soup, Fileccia said. Alas, the maneuver was unnecessary. The servers eventually took the cue to clear. As the bowls were whisked away, Fileccia seized the opportunity to ask banquet captain Richard Ffrench how servers intuit when diners are done. Is there any surefire way to tell? Fileccia asked. Ffrench explained his team serves the table, not the individual; no bowl is cleared before every diner is done. And just to verify, we will normally ask the guest Pardon me, are we still enjoying soup? But typically, just put your silverware like this, he added, leaning the spoon against the rim of the bowl. That led to a tangent on keeping silverware off the tablecloth once its been used, and then onto the acceptability of elbows on the table. No leaning into the food, but you can rest your forearms on the table, especially after dessert, he allowed. Imminently approachable grilled chicken was up next, to much delight. And perhaps it was the vivid color of the saffron couscous that came with it or the brief reprieve from the audiences shy silence, but Gruver relented on her no-cellphone policy. The kids obligingly took them out, snapped their food pics, then stowed them away again. They cut the chicken one bite at a time and ate, carefully, quietly, using their knives to coax pearls of couscous onto their forks. As etiquette talking points wore thin, the conversation veered off-topic: the best views in Philadelphia dining, Halloween at Eastern State Penitentiary, the merits of showing up early for meetings, social media. To pass time between courses, Fileccia and Gruver asked trivia questions to review their lessons, handing out culinary-themed prizes. Dessert drew near, and the fleet of servers reappeared to take orders for coffee and tea. (Tea was a huge hit once the students discovered it came in an individual pot and little jars of honey, several more orders were placed.) Fileccia and Gruver asked Pretlow to help them distribute the surprise business cards they had made up for the students. Rule of thumb, Fileccia said, if anybody ever gives you a business card, return by giving them a business card back. When fairy tale-esque lemon meringue tarts arrived, the custard obscured by bruleed meringue swirls adorned with blue and yellow flowers, the students eyes widened. Can I take a picture? Naomi Clement asked. Stunning as it was, I asked Gruver if I could photograph hers. Moments later, Ffrench reappeared with a tart just for me. I ate it, to be polite. EDITORS NOTE: On March 10, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts its first semi-annual, daylong industry conference, featuring leaders in the medical marijuana, hemp and legal cannabis industries. Tickets are now on sale. With roughly 2,000 people registering every month, New Jerseys briskly growing medicinal marijuana program needs more participation from doctors, more product options and more information about which strains actually work for patients. These are topics some of the experts serving on the medical cannabis panel, The Next Frontier will discuss at the March 10 New Jersey Cannabis Insider conference presented by Curaleaf NJ. Even though the number of doctors participating in the program has doubled since Gov. Phil Murphy took office in January 2018, the 1,105 licensed physicians who recommend patients to the program are spread too thin in a state with 9 million people, panelists agree. Attorney Sheila Mints of Capehart Scatchard in Mount Laurel said the physicians she counsels are interested yet reticent. The whole way it is set up in New Jersey is frustrating to doctors, Mints said. They are used to saying, Heres the medication, take it twice a day, its 20 milligrams. They understand how it interacts with other medicines. With cannabis, doctors they are saying, I am going to register you and you will go to a dispensary where hopefully they are educated, and know what to suggest, Mints said. The doctor cant really tell patients what they may feel. Some doctors have been waiting for the number of cultivators to expand and the products to improve to the point where pharmaceutical-grade cannabis is widely available, she added. Mints said one of the down-sides of incorporating cannabis into a medical practice is the challenge of finding insurance carriers and financial institutions that will likely remain skittish as long as marijuana is illegal under federal law. Its not the kiss of death it used to be but it can still be difficult," Mints said. Former Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal two years ago met with doctors and hospitals across the state to encourage them to demystify medical cannabis. More doctors signed up. Panelist David Nathan, founder of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, agrees physician education is very important to the programs success. The state should be doing more to lead the effort. The knowledge gap is most evident among general practitioners. Specialists like oncologists may fare better because cannabis is widely recognized for easing nausea and pain, Nathan said. But general practitioners who see a wider array of patients likely have the least experience working with cannabis. When asked why doctors dont participate, the most common answer is there is not enough research funded to determine the benefits versus the risks. While the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, there are other ways to learn from the experiences of patients, Nathan said. The Department of Health, perhaps in connection with a university, could be conducting patients surveys asking how cannabis helps them, which strains do they use, how much do they take and in what form do they ingest it, Nathan said. There is a lot that could be learned from the more than 70,000 registered patients in New Jersey, he said. National research is happening in some places. Nathan noted that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York obtained a $3.8 million research grant from that National Institutes of Health in 2017 to study whether medical marijuana reduces opioid use among patients with chronic pain. Nathan said he recommends doctors who want to do their own homework obtain a copy of the 2017 book by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which identified the accepted therapeutic use and effects of cannabis, based on 10,000 studies. Its a great work, Nathan said. Jackie Cornell, chief of Policy and Health Innovations at 1906, an edibles company, and the former principal deputy health commissioner, said she agreed that there should be an observational study of medical cannabis patients. There are a lot of patients who would be eager to do this. They want to have a better understanding of the benefits, said Cornell, also a panelist. Cornell suspects we will learn patients wants more non-smokable forms of cannabis, such as pressed tablets. Its the wave of the future. It is how we administer medicine, she said. The future Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which is supposed to be created this year and take control over the medicinal program, as well as the anticipated adult use market, should be spearheading this work. Theres been no word on when the governor or the Legislature will appoint the commissioners and launch the new office. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Are you interested in the cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider. Generic drugmaker Mallinckrodt has agreed to pay a tentative $1.6 billion settlement over its role in the US opioid crisis, the firm announced Tuesday. The payout is intended to end hundreds of lawsuits faced by the company over opioids. It comes as Mallinckrodt, based in Staines-Upon-Thames, England, was revealed to be one of the highest-volume opioid producers in the US at the height of the nation's prescription drug crisis. According to federal data, the company shipped 2.3 billion pills from 2006 to 2014. Generic drugmaker Mallinckrodt has agreed to pay a tentative $1.6 billion settlement over its role in the US opioid crisis, the firm announced Tuesday In 2010 alone, Mallinckrodt's SpecGX subsidiary, shipped 210 million doses of oxycodone to Florida, which was then the heart of the black market opioid trade. The company's potent 30 milligram pills were especially sought after by people with addiction. Documents gathered as the company prepared for trial showed that a Mallinckrodt sales manager told a distributor in 2009 of the pills: 'Just like Doritos; keep eating, we'll make more.' A company spokesman later called the statement 'outrageously callous.' The company announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with a key committee of lawyers representing thousands of local governments suing various drug industry players over opioids - and that the deal has the support of the attorneys general of 47 states and territories. The company had argued in court filings that unlike makers of brand-name drugs, it did not promote opioids to doctors or understate the addiction risks. Mallinckrodt, based in Staines-Upon-Thames, England, was revealed to be one of the highest-volume opioid producers in the US at the height of the nation's prescription drug crisis The opioid crisis has been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the US since 2000. Mallinckrodt's announcement of a deal comes weeks before a trial on the toll of opioids is scheduled to start in Central Islip, New York But plaintiffs in the cases said Mallinckrodt continued to ship suspicious orders without making sure the drugs weren't going to be diverted to the black market. Under its agreement, Mallinckrodt is filing for bankruptcy. The plan calls for it to make payments for eight years after the company emerges from the protections. That route is similar to one OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is taking to settle opioid claims against it. For Mallinckrodt, there are business concerns, beyond the potential liability in opioid cases, that contributed to its seeking bankruptcy protection. 'Reaching this agreement in principle for a global opioid resolution and the associated debt refinancing activities announced today are important steps toward resolving the uncertainties in our business,' Mark Trudeau, president and CEO of the company, said in a statement. Joe Rice, a lawyer on the executive committee of plaintiffs suing in federal court over opioids, said in an interview Tuesday that some details of the Mallinckrodt agreement still need to be ironed out. Most of the money contributed by Mallinckrodt would go to a trust to pay for addiction treatment and other costs related to an opioid crisis that has been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the US since 2000. Additionally, the trust would be able to buy Mallinckrodt stock at a fixed price; it could be sold to help the cause. State attorneys general have praised the deal. Joe Rice (pictured in October), a lawyer on the executive committee of plaintiffs suing in federal court over opioids, said in an interview Tuesday that some details of the Mallinckrodt agreement still need to be ironed out Most of the money contributed by Mallinckrodt would go to a trust to pay for addiction treatment and other costs related to an opioid crisis that has been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the US since 2000 'My focus is on not only accountability, but also obtaining the resources we need to get victims of this epidemic the help they deserve,' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a written statement. 'This agreement is a significant step in the right direction.' Mallinckrodt's announcement comes weeks before a trial on the toll of opioids is scheduled to start in Central Islip, New York. The looming trial has been a factor in a ramped-up push for other drugmakers and distributors to settle, as well. There have been increasingly public tensions between attorneys general and the private lawyers for local governments over the biggest of the proposed settlements, which would involve at least the three biggest US drug distribution companies. States have also been divided on whether to accept the deal, under which the distributors would pay a total of $18 billion over 18 years. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has proposed to delay the nationwide implementation of the China Emission standard, according to a local media outlet, citing Chen Shihua, assistant to the secretary-general of the association. However, the proposal still remains undisclosed, and whether it will be approved by authorities has been left unknown. The light-duty vehicles sold and registered from July 1, 2020 are required to meet the China 6a standard, according to the Stage Limits and Measurement Methods for Emissions from Light-Duty Vehicles (hereafter referred to as the China standard or China ) jointly issued by Chinas environmental protection department and the AQSIQ on December 23, 2016. The standard applies to light-duty vehicles (M1, M2, and N1 categories up to 3,500 kg of maximum mass per the European regulatory classification) powered primarily by gasoline or diesel. According to the document, there are two sets of emission limitsChina 6a (CN6 a) and 6b (CN6 b)--for air and climate pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), particle number (PN), and nitrous oxide. They are set to be implemented in two phases countrywideChina 6a in July 1, 2020 and China 6b in July 1, 2023. A number of cities and provinces who are struggling with severe air contamination have decided to conduct both phases much earlier than the state's schedule. Some cities or provinces like Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong opted to skip the China 6a and directly execute the China 6b standard from July 1, 2019. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, automakers are facing the strong headwinds from the cloudy market climate. The impending execution of the stricter emission standard is likely to exacerbate the pressure as they may not have enough time to digest the inventory of China vehicles. Thus, the proposal was offered as a possible solution to ease the burden on carmakers, automobile dealers and suppliers. Despite the ongoing anti-virus fight, both central and local governments are hampering out plans to boost vehicle transaction to promptly help the market get rebound. Foshan, a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, leads the country in launching substantial policies and incentives to encourage people to buy more cars. Local government announced that a consumer who buys vehicles that meet the China emission standard will be granted subsidy of RMB2,000-5,000 per vehicle. Guangdong provincial government will push eligible regions to launch the subsidy policies for promoting the scrapping and replacement of old and used motor vehicles, according to a governmental file issued on Feb. 21. Wang Bin, vice-director of the China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)'s Market Operation Department, said last week the ministry will make joint efforts with relevant authorities to draw up and promulgate the policies that help stabilize automobile consumption, so as to mitigate the impact from coronavirus outbreak. While the coronavirus has already claimed over 2,700 victims worldwide, and China, South Korea and other countries report over 80,000 cases, accusations, conspiracy theories and dubious facts about the virus are spreading fast as well. It is quite evident that the clerical regime is covering up the real scope of this disease in Iran and has deliberately misled the public and failed to take proper actions to deal with this growing threat that has become epidemic, writes the opposition Iranian group National Council of Resistance Iran (NCRI) on its website. Iran's regime, careless about the risks to the health of the Iranian people, did not take any precautionary measures, the post continues, pointing out that one airline, Mahan Air, not only continued its flights to China, but also engaged in the transportation of Chinese passengers, as a result of which the coronavirus spread to other cities. The resistance group, in exile in France, gives regular updates on the spread of the coronavirus in Iran, saying that the government is not doing enough to slow the epidemic. The regime has officially acknowledged 12 deaths and 64 infections among them the vice-Minister of Health - but local reports indicate that the figures are much higher and the NCRI is quick to cite a report by official ILNA news agency that was quickly altered - quoting member of parliament Ahmad Amirabiad Farahani as saying that, in the city of Qom alone, ten residents die per day as a result of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Iranian government-controlled press rejects criticism, but instead attacks neighboring Turkey, accusing Turkish media of hiding the fact that Turkish airliners continued transporting passengers from China and did not say a word about the necessity of closing borders to Chinese tourists nor the cancellation of flights originating from China. Falun Gong A New York-based Chinese meditation group, the Falun Gong, which is designated as an evil cult by Beijing and banned in China, publishes daily updates on the spread of the coronavirus within China, with sometimes very detailed, but not always verifiable reports. On 25 February, the Falun Gong's website carried the story about a neighborhood in Wuhan which was given up by the Communist Party, as there were too many cases of the deadly virus. Reporting them, the story goes, would get the authorities of the enclave into trouble with the Beijing authorities, so local officials abandoned the inhabitants without help. The meditation group also suggests that practicing Falun Gong may help to cure people from the illness, citing cases of infected people who recovered after reciting that Falun Dafa is good. Russia gets bats in the belfrey In January, Kremlin-sponsored tv-station Russia Today, came up with the story that the virus was spread among humans after they ate bat-soup. That story was taken over by western media such as the British Daily Mail and may have encouraged Chinese authorities to close down wet markets where exotic animals such as ant-eaters and owls were sold for consumption. Researchers say that, even if coronaviral sequences have been detected in bats, there is no insurmountable evidence that bats are the real source of the current outbreak. American bio-weapon Another theory launched in Russia was floated late in January by the leader of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who told a Moscow radio station that he thought coronavirus was an American bio-weapon or a big plot by pharmaceutical companies to get richer, adding that pharmacists will become billionaires in 2020. On the other side of the Atlantic, the gossipy Washington Times floated the theory that the coronavirus was the result of a Chinese bio-warfare program. The suspicions were fed by the fact that Wuhan is home to one of China's top-level bio-research facilities, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was part of a Sino-French cooperation project based on the Inserm Jean Merieux P4 facility in Lyon, but there is no clear link between the lab and the current coronavirus outbreak. Rightwing radio show host Rush Limbaugh even went as far as saying that the virus was a Chinese communist conspiracy causing mass hysteria and bringing down US President Donald Trump. Myth busters To fight misinformation, the World Health Organization has opened a webpage containing myth busters, for instance that hand dryers are not effective in killing the virus, nor is spraying alcohol or chlorine on the skin. Meanwhile, the site says, it is safe to receive a letter or a package from China, as the virus doesn't survive very long in the open. Garlic, says the site, which may be effective against vampires, is not useful against the coronavirus. Prof. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann, 62, is to become Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG. As decided at Supervisory Board meeting, Winkeljohann will succeed Werner Wenning, 73, who is to step down with effect from the end of the Annual Stockholders Meeting on April 28, 2020. Winkeljohann served as Chairman of the Board of Management of PricewaterhouseCoopers Europe SE until June 2018 and has been a member of Bayers Supervisory Board since May 2018. The shareholder representative seat on the Supervisory Board that would become vacant is set to be taken by former TUI Group CFO Horst Baier, 63. The Supervisory Board decided to make a proposal to this effect to the Annual Stockholders' Meeting. If elected, Baier is set to replace Winkeljohann as Chairman of the Audit Committee. Wenning has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2012 and had been elected to serve until 2022. I had originally been intending to step down last year when I reached the standard age limit set forth in the Supervisory Boards rules of procedure, Wenning said. However, in view of the companys situation at that time, the Supervisory Board had asked him to stay on, he explained. Given my long-standing affiliation with this company, I was happy to do so, Wenning said. Even before his recent decision to step down, the Nominations Committee had been dealing with the matter of succession planning for some time and had identified Winkeljohann as a candidate, he noted. Bayer is making great headway strategically and operationally the integration of the acquired agriculture business is going very well and good progress is being made with the announced efficiency, structural and portfolio measures, Wenning said. Also, we have made and continue to make progress in handling the legal issues in the U.S. Thats why now is a good time to hand over to my successor. I am pleased that in Mr. Winkeljohann, the Supervisory Board has chosen a leader who can guide Bayer into its next chapter as a leading and focused life science company. Mr. Wenning has helped shape Bayer for a great many years. We are very grateful to him not least because he was willing to extend his term of office again in 2019 to support the company, said Oliver Zuhlke, Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In Mr. Winkeljohann, we have appointed a new Chairman of the Supervisory Board who has acquired extraordinary expertise and extensive experience from his career in management, auditing and consulting. Since joining the Supervisory Board as Chairman of the Audit Committee, he has worked diligently to familiarize himself with the Bayer Groups structures and businesses. This also applies to the collaborative social partnership that has served Bayer so well, Zuhlke added. On behalf of the entire Board of Management, Id like to thank Mr. Wenning for his tremendous service to the company. During the years he spent as Chairman of the Board of Management, he oversaw the companys strategic realignment. And under his leadership, the Supervisory Board has closely supported the Board of Management and its efforts to transform Bayer into a life science company, said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management. We congratulate Mr. Winkeljohann on his appointment and look forward to working with him in his new role. Werner Wenning has been with Bayer for over 50 years. Born in Leverkusen-Opladen on October 21, 1946, he joined Bayer in April 1966 as a commercial trainee. After holding various positions in Germany, he was sent to Lima, Peru, between 1970 and 1975 to establish and head up the finance and accounting department at Bayer Industrial S. A. Wenning then spent three years at Corporate Auditing in Germany before returning to Peru in 1978 to take on the role of Managing Director. From 1983, he held various position of increasing responsibility in Bayers health care and plastics businesses. In 1991, he was seconded for a year to the Treuhandanstalt, the Berlin-based privatization agency that helped to rebuild the economy in eastern Germany following reunification. Wenning left Germany again in 1992 to become Managing Director of Bayer Hispania Industrial S.A., Barcelona, and Senior Bayer Representative for Spain. In 1996, he returned to Leverkusen and was appointed head of Corporate Planning and Controlling, before becoming Chief Financial Officer of Bayer AG in 1997. Wenning then assumed the role of Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG between April 2002 and September 2010. Since October 1, 2012, he has served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Prof. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann was born in Osnabruck on November 5, 1957. He studied business administration and economics at the University of Munster and completed his doctorate in economics at the University of Hagen. He went on to work in Dusseldorf, London, Osnabruck and Frankfurt. Winkeljohann passed the tax consultancy exam in 1988 and the accountancy exam in 1991. Between 2010 and 2018, he served as CEO for Europe and Germany at PwC, a consulting and auditing company with over 20,000 employees. He was also a member of the five-strong leadership team of the global PwC organization, which employs over 250,000 people in 160 countries. Furthermore, Winkeljohann served as audit partner for the global audits of Volkswagen AG and ThyssenKrupp AG until 2018. Winkeljohann is an Honorary Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt. Horst Baier was born in Hanover on October 20, 1956, and completed a dual training program in business administration (VWA) at Leibniz-Akademie and Continental AG. He started his career in 1979 as a consultant in the finance department of Continental AG. He then held further positions at General Tyre Inc. in the United States and the Schickedanz Group in Germany, where he headed up the finance department. In 1996, he joined TUI Group GmbH as Head of Finance and Accounting. Five years later, he was appointed Managing Director for Finance and Administration at TUI Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and subsequently became Head of Accounting and Reporting at TUI AG. In November 2007, Baier was appointed as a member of TUI AGs Executive Board with responsibility for Controlling. He then served as CFO of TUI AG between February 2010 and September 2018, and also assumed the role of HR Director from September 2012 until December 2014. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. "Our donation to the National Museum of African American History and Culture helps ensure people can continue to learn and enjoy the educational experience the museum offers," said Truist Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King. "Our collaboration with the museum fits perfectly with our company's purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities." With this donation, Truist becomes a member of the museum's Corporate Leadership Council, a group of corporate donors committed to contributing to the museum's success. Since opening in 2016, the museum has welcomed more than 7 million visitors. About Truist Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspire and build better lives and communities. With 275 years of combined BB&T and SunTrust history, Truist serves approximately 10 million households with leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country. The company offers a wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking; asset management; capital markets; commercial real estate; corporate and institutional banking; insurance; mortgage; payments; specialized lending and wealth management. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is the sixth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. with total assets of $473 billion as of December 31, 2019. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com. About the National Museum of African American History and Culture Since opening Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed over 7 million visitors. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum is the nation's largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu, follow @NMAAHC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000. SOURCE Truist Financial Corporation Related Links http://Truist.com Sahrawis, sequestered in the polisario-controlled Tindouf camps in southern Algeria, have resumed their mass protests against the separatist leaders who facilitated the escape of two killers of a member of the Ouled Tidrarine tribe, Ould Boukhari Bamba. The angry and frustrated protesters gathered in front of the polisario headquarters in Rabouni, to denounce the escape of the two assassins from the Dhaibia prison. They accuse the Polisario militiamen of having organized the escape of the killers. The demonstrators held out against the Polisario militias, chanting slogans hostile to the separatist leaders and condemning the escape of two defendants sentenced to death in connivance with the front leadership. One of the defendants is actually the nephew of Abdelkader Taleb Omar, the Polisario representative in Algeria, while the second is the cousin of a fronts leader Brahim Billa. Amnesty International has decried the polisarios brutal repression of the protesters, denouncing the use of tanks and armored vehicles to disperse sit-ins and peaceful demonstrations, organized against restrictions imposed on movement outside the camps. The protests and discontent against the corrupt and oppressive polisario leadership are gaining momentum, while Brahim Ghali, chief of the separatist group, was counting on the support of populist Nacho Alvarez of the far-left Podemos party to improve his image and make some political gains. But, Mr. Alvarez, who is also Spains Secretary of State for Social Rights, was rebuked by Spanish foreign ministry for posting a tweet on his meeting with the so-called minister of social affairs and promotion of Women of the Polisario, Souilma Birouk. After the strong reaction of Spanish Govt, Mr. Alvarez removed his supportive tweet for the Polisario, dealing a hard blow to the secessionists. They were also knocked out by the crystal-clear stand voiced by Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez. She said: Spain does not recognize the SADR, affirming that Alvarez tweets do not reflect the position of the government of Madrid, which maintains its stand on the Sahara. It is a State policy, underlined Mrs. Arancha Gonzalez. Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc (C, left) meets with USABC Chairman Alex Feldman (C, right) (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in the US) In a meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc on February 25, USABC Chairman Alex Feldman said the delegation will hold many activities to interact with officials from the Vietnamese Government, ministries and sectors, and work with local businesses and partners. It will also practically contribute to celebrating the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic ties, he added. In recent times, the Vietnamese Embassy in the US has increased economic diplomatic activities to promote investment, trade and tourism cooperation between the two nations. The embassy recently coordinated with a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh to work with officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Trade Representative of the US on how to promote bilateral trade and agriculture cooperation. Alongside discussing agreements to buy more US agricultural products, the Vietnamese delegation asked the US side to create more favorable conditions for Vietnams agricultural products such as grapefruit, mango and lychee to enter the US market, and recognise an irradiation facility in Vietnams northern region. During meetings and working sessions with US partners, representatives from the embassy also shared Vietnams determination, efforts and results in the fight against the acute respiratory disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19), and proposed forms of bilateral medical cooperation between the two countries. Meanwhile, US firms highly valued the investment and business environment in Vietnam, expressing their belief that the Southeast Asian nation will continue to effectively respond to challenges, including COVID-19. Professor Karthikeya Easwar, who is in charge of Georgetown University's MBA programmes, said that despite delaying a number of plans, the university would continue to organise a global business experience programme in Vietnam from March 2-6 for 35 postgraduates studying at the university. This article is part of the Debatable newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it Tuesdays and Thursdays. We can never regret breaking the silence. Thats how Annabella Sciorra, one of the six women who testified against Harvey Weinstein, reacted to his conviction for rape and felony sex crime charges on Monday. Mr. Weinstein, a titanic film producer who became Hollywoods unofficial mascot of sexual predation, was acquitted of the two most serious charges but could still serve up to 29 years in prison. The revelation of Mr. Weinsteins abuses helped propel the #MeToo movement more than two years ago, so the trial was for better and for worse seen not just as an adjudication of his guilt, but also as a referendum on that movement. Is his conviction the same thing as progress? Heres what people are saying. SHANGHAI, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- UNISOC, a leading global supplier of mobile communication and IoT chipsets, today officially launched its new-generation 5G SoC mobile platform - UNISOC T7520. Using cutting-edge process technology, T7520 enables an optimized 5G experience with substantially enhanced AI computing and multimedia imaging processing capabilities while lowering power consumption. T7520 is UNISOC's second-generation 5G smartphone platform. Built on a 6nm EUV process technology and empowered by some of the latest design techniques, it offers substantially enhanced performance at a lower level of power consumption than ever. T7520 has four Arm Cortex-A76 cores and four Arm Cortex-A55 cores with an Arm Mali-G57 based GPU, providing an incredible streaming and gaming experience at 5G speeds. T7520, developed on UNISOC's Makalu 5G platform, integrates the world's first 5G modem to support coverage enhancement for any application scenario(1). By allowing carriers to deploy 5G on their existing 4G spectrums, T7520 expands the application of UNISOC's patented large-bandwidth dynamic spectrum sharing technology, maximizing the utilization of existing resources to facilitate cooperation and sharing for a cheaper and faster deployment of 5G. In particular, T7520 is optimized for use on 500KM/h high-speed railway, providing passengers with a premium 5G experience. "T7520 is built upon some of the world's leading technologies, giving it comprehensively enhanced performance at a new low of power consumption," said Steve Chu, CEO of UNISOC. "Its open and innovative architecture demonstrates our commitment to joining hands with partners to provide users with a superior intelligent experiences." UNISOC T7520 has the following key features: Advanced 6nm EUV process technology : This process technology uses an extreme ultraviolet light with an extremely short wavelength of 13.5 nm which, with an accuracy close to X-ray, provides an extremely high lithographic resolution and achieves a better balance between cost, performance and power consumption. Compared to the previous 7nm process, the 6nm process has a 18% improvement in density of transistors, which allows more transistors to be integrated per unit area and reduces power consumption by 8%, allowing the battery to last longer. : This process technology uses an extreme ultraviolet light with an extremely short wavelength of 13.5 nm which, with an accuracy close to X-ray, provides an extremely high lithographic resolution and achieves a better balance between cost, performance and power consumption. Compared to the previous 7nm process, the 6nm process has a 18% improvement in density of transistors, which allows more transistors to be integrated per unit area and reduces power consumption by 8%, allowing the battery to last longer. New low of power consumption : T7520 adopts UNISOC's new-generation low-power consumption architecture and AI-based power regulation technology. Compared to mobile platforms which paired with a separate 5G modem, T7520 is the all-around leader in power consumption for both light-load and heavy-load scenarios and delivers a power consumption reduction of up to 35% for some data business scenarios. : T7520 adopts UNISOC's new-generation low-power consumption architecture and AI-based power regulation technology. Compared to mobile platforms which paired with a separate 5G modem, T7520 is the all-around leader in power consumption for both light-load and heavy-load scenarios and delivers a power consumption reduction of up to 35% for some data business scenarios. The world's first 5G modem to support coverage enhancement for all scenarios (1) : This modem supports 5G NR TDD+FDD carrier aggregation and uplink and downlink decoupling and can enhance coverage by more than 100%. UNISOC's innovative 5G super transmitter technology can increase the uplink speed by up to 60% and meet demanding scenarios such as VR and 4K / 8K ultra-high-resolution live streaming. T7520 supports the Sub-6GHz band, NSA/SA dual-mode networking, and 2G through 5G networks. Under the SA mode, it provides a peak uplink speed of more than 3.25Gbps. In addition, it supports dual-SIM dual-5G and EPS Fall-back and VoNR high-resolution audio and video calls. : This modem supports 5G NR TDD+FDD carrier aggregation and uplink and downlink decoupling and can enhance coverage by more than 100%. UNISOC's innovative 5G super transmitter technology can increase the uplink speed by up to 60% and meet demanding scenarios such as VR and / ultra-high-resolution live streaming. T7520 supports the Sub-6GHz band, NSA/SA dual-mode networking, and 2G through 5G networks. Under the SA mode, it provides a peak uplink speed of more than 3.25Gbps. In addition, it supports dual-SIM dual-5G and EPS Fall-back and VoNR high-resolution audio and video calls. Powerful AI capabilities and limitless development potential : T7520 integrates a new-generation NPU with greatly improved performance and excellent energy efficiency. The energy efficiency (TOPS/W) increase by more than 50% compared to the previous generation product. Innovative design can better support complex AI applications in high performance, low power consumption mode. : T7520 integrates a new-generation NPU with greatly improved performance and excellent energy efficiency. The energy efficiency (TOPS/W) increase by more than 50% compared to the previous generation product. Innovative design can better support complex AI applications in high performance, low power consumption mode. Comprehensively enhanced multimedia processing capabilities : T7520 carries UNISOC's proprietary sixth-generation Vivimagic solution and second-generation FDR (Full Dynamic Range) technology, a dedicated AI accelerator, and upgraded four-core ISP architecture to provide an ultra-high resolution of 100MP and multi-camera processing capability. These, together with leading image technologies from ACUTElogic, deliver exceptional image quality of photograph and unlimited video capture capabilities. T7520 adopts a new-generation multicore display architecture and supports up to 120Hz of refresh rate. With omni-channel and all-format HDR rendering capabilities, Multi-screen display can support up to 4K at HDR10+ quality. This allows it to substantially improve the user experience for high-frame-rate games, 5G UHD videos and VR/VR applications. : T7520 carries UNISOC's proprietary sixth-generation Vivimagic solution and second-generation FDR (Full Dynamic Range) technology, a dedicated AI accelerator, and upgraded four-core ISP architecture to provide an ultra-high resolution of 100MP and multi-camera processing capability. These, together with leading image technologies from ACUTElogic, deliver exceptional image quality of photograph and unlimited video capture capabilities. T7520 adopts a new-generation multicore display architecture and supports up to 120Hz of refresh rate. With omni-channel and all-format HDR rendering capabilities, Multi-screen display can support up to at HDR10+ quality. This allows it to substantially improve the user experience for high-frame-rate games, 5G UHD videos and VR/VR applications. Integrated financial-level security: T7520 adopts UNISOC's second-generation Integrated Secure Element solution. This solution integrates the financial level Secure Element into the SOC and provides higher security than embedded SE. It provides a 100% improvement in computing performance and supports computing-intensive security scenarios such as encrypted video calls. It also supports most of crypto algorithms and better scalability and offers a greater storage capacity capable of supporting more than 100 apps. Thanks to a high degree of integration, T7520 significantly reduces the difficulty of PCB design and also lowers the device design and manufacturing costs, providing customers with a more competitive solution. (Note 1) The industry's first 5G modem to at once support carrier aggregation, uplink and downlink decoupling and super uplink and achieve coverage enhancement for Sub-6GHz 5G network scenarios. About UNISOC As a core subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup, UNISOC is a leading fabless semiconductor company committed to R&D of core chipsets in mobile communications and IoT. Its products cover mobile chipset platforms supporting 2G/3G/4G/5G communication standards and various chipset solutions in fields including IoT, RFFE, wireless connection, AIoT, and TV. With 4,500 employees, 14 R&D centers and 7 customer support centers around the world, UNISOC is dedicated to becoming one of the world's top 3 mobile chipset suppliers in terms of global market share, the largest chipset provider for IoT and connectivity devices and the leading 5G company in China. For more information, please visit http://www.unisoc.com/ SOURCE UNISOC Hillary Clinton may be no fan of Bernie Sanders, but she says she will support him if Democrats choose him to run against Donald Trump later this year. "I have my own feelings about him and whether he can win or not," she said on Tuesday (AEST) in a sit-down interview at the Berlin Film Festival. "But if he is the nominee I will support him. Because I think any Democrat is better than Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy and to the world." Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton at a news conference for the film Hillary during the 70th International Film Festival Berlin. Credit:Getty Images Europe Clinton did 35 hours of sit-down interviews for a four-part documentary Hillary, directed by Nanette Burstein and including frank interviews with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, that is showing as part of the Berlin Festival's section devoted to long-form television. The only time she shows a flash of fury, as opposed to the measured arguments she uses to dismantle Trump, is talking about Sanders. "He was in Congress for years. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician," she snaps in one episode of the documentary. "Bernie drove me crazy." Jean Vanier, Catholic advocate for the disabled, sexually abused 6 women: internal report Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The founder of L'Arche and respected advocate for the intellectually disabled, Jean Vanier, who died last year at age 90, was sexually abusive to at least six women, an investigation has revealed. The investigation was conducted by the U.K. consultancy GCPS, which included first-hand accounts of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct from six adult women, none of whom were intellectually disabled. The abuse occurred often in the context of him giving spiritual guidance. Sincere and consistent testimonies spanning from 1970-2005 were received from six adult women without disabilities indicating that Jean Vanier initiated sexual relations with them, generally as part of spiritual accompaniment. Some of these women have suffered deep wounds, LArche said, without specifying the nature of the harm suffered. "These women reported similar facts associated with highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these behaviors," L'Arche said, which noted that his actions were "indicative of a deep psychological and spiritual hold" he had on the women. Vanier also asked the women he abused to keep the incident secret. The Canadian Catholic theologian died in May 2019 at age 90. He formed his organization in 1964 to minister to persons with intellectual disabilities. In response to the inquiry, Loren Treisman, CEO of LArche in the U.K., said the organization was "thoroughly shocked and saddened" by the news. "We unreservedly condemn Jean Vaniers actions. They are in total contradiction to the values that he claimed and are contrary to the fundamental principles of our organization, which affirm the unique value in every person," he said. "We want to acknowledge and thank the victims for their courage and express our heartfelt regret for the trauma they had to endure. We are devastated that our founder abused his position of power and caused deep hurt to some of his victims." The investigation found that Vanier did not abuse anyone with learning disabilities. "While we process this extremely upsetting news, we remain united in our mission to build a world where we celebrate the unique gifts of every individual," Treisman added. The organization Vanier founded takes its name from Noahs Ark, which grew to include 154 communities in 38 different countries. Faith and Light, another community-based support network for the disabled that Vanier founded, has 1,450 chapters in over 80 nations. In 2015, Vanier was awarded the Templeton Prize. Catholics who regarded him as a saint are expressing devastation at the report, particularly in light of another round of revelations about sex abuses and cover-ups from former leaders within the Church and its affiliated entities. "Part of me wonders now if I was foolish, if I should have known better than to valorize any Catholic this way after watching Theodore McCarricks precipitous fall from grace in 2018 or even watching St. John Paul IIs record on sexual abuse be called into serious question after hearing the crowds chant 'Santo Subito' in 2005," Colleen Dulle, an assistant producer at the Jesuit magazine America, wrote Saturday. "If such widely respected men could commit decades of abuse or turn a blind eye to allegations, why should I have believed Jean Vanier could not do the same?" Ed Rode Following MSNBC contributor Dr. Jason Johnsons inflammatory remarks about supporters and campaign staffers of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the academic has been temporarily benched by the network, sources confirmed to The Daily Beast. In recent months, Johnsona fixture of the networks Democratic primary analysishas drawn considerable heat for his relentlessly anti-Sanders commentary on MSNBC, which has also come under fire from the left for its skeptical and largely negative coverage of the democratic-socialist senator. During an interview last week on SiriusXMs The Karen Hunter Show, Johnson claimed racist white liberals support Sanders and that the senator has done nothing for intersectionality. The MSNBC contributor then took aim at the women of color who work for Sanders. I dont care how many people from the island of misfit black girls you throw out there to defend you, Johnson exclaimed. The remark prompted Sanders national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray to retort on Twitter: I hope we can have political disputes without engaging in open racism and sexism. This misogynoir is disappointing, but not surprising from @DrJasonJohnson. Johnsons over-the-top remarks also sparked wider calls for MSNBC to fire him, but the network has not officially responded. Johnsons temporary sidelining included him not being involved in coverage of last weekends Nevada caucuses or the post-game coverage of Tuesday evenings South Carolina debate, which aired on CBS. In an email to media outlets hyping its post-debate plans, Johnsons name was nowhere to be found. The punishment appears to have also cost Johnson his chance to be on-air during the networks coverage of this past Saturdays Nevada caucuses, which Sanders won in a landslide. Johnsons absence has been noticeable, as he has become a staple of MSNBCs Democratic primary analysis roster. Prior to his benching, he made nearly 40 appearances on the network in 2020 alone. Story continues Besides being regularly featured on high-profile programs like Morning Joe, Deadline: White House, The Beat with Ari Melber, and The 11th Hour, MSNBC turned to him to provide analysis during last months impeachment trial, the early-state primary votes, and several Democratic primary debates. In fact, during last weeks Nevada debate, Johnson was a fixture on the networks panels, beginning the day with an appearance on Morning Joe and staying on through MSNBCs post-debate analysis, which didnt wrap until after midnight. His most recent MSNBC appearance came during the Feb. 21 broadcast of The Last Word, which aired hours before his fateful radio interview that resulted in his benching. MSNBC declined to comment for this story. Seth Meyers Unloads on Chris Matthews for Deranged Bernie Sanders Attacks Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. The ground breaking ceremony for the Rs 110 crore ESI Hospital coming up at the Sambamurty Nagar here was performed on Wednesday. Union Minister of state for Labour and EmploymentSanthosh Kumar Gangwar took part in the "bhoomi pooja" for the 100-bed hospital to be set up in an area of six acres. Speaking on the occassion, he said the Centre was according top priority for the welfare of 3.5 crore workers covered under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme and their 12 crore family members. He complimented thatESI hospitalsin Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, especially the one in Hyderabad, for effective functioning. Assuring that the Central government would extend all assistance for the development of these hospitals, he said the ESI fortnight was being observed from February 24 to March 10 and advised the workers to make best use of the services rendered by the corporation. Andhra Pradesh Minister for Labour and Employment Gummanur Jayaram said Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy was focusing on health care and launched schemes, including eye testing and treatment programme "Kanti Velugu". Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Revenue Pilli Subhas Chandra Bose urged the Union Minister to develop the the proposed ESI hospital here as a super speciality hospital and research center for treatment of cancer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Washington: The deadly violence over the amended citizenship act in the Indian capital drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers, with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump. Reacting to the violence in New Delhi that has claimed at least 27 lives, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said its Chairman Eliot Engel was "deeply troubled by the deaths from the communal violence in India". It said the right to protest is a key aspect in democracy, but they must remain peaceful and police must ensure the safety of all. "I condemn attacks against Muslims in India, and reject violence, bigotry, and religious intolerance. The US State Department should too," Republican lawmaker Don Beyer said in a tweet. US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying". "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she said in a tweet, adding that the "world is watching". The Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. US Congressman Alan Lowenthal also termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership". "We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said. Democrat presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren said, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable." Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India." The violence in Delhi prominently featured in the mainstream media. "The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," The Washington Post reported. "As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighborhood," said The New York Times. In a tweet, US Commission for International Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi". It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities. Sri Lanka on Wednesday notified the UN that it was withdrawing from a United Nations resolution for investigating alleged war crimes committed during a decades-long conflict with Tamil separatists. "I wish to place on record Sri Lanka's decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of resolution 40/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights," Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told the Human Rights Council in Geneva. "Notwithstanding withdrawing from the co-sponsorship of this resolution, Sri Lanka remains committed to achieving the goals set by the people of Sri Lanka on accountability, human rights, towards sustainable peace and reconciliation," he said. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier this month had said Sri Lanka was withdrawing from the resolution that the country's previous government had endorsed. Rajapaksa was president when Sri Lankan troops defeated Tamil Tiger guerrillas in 2009, but rights groups accused the army of killing at least 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the conflict. His brother Gotabaya, who is now president, was defence secretary at the time. Gunawardena on Wednesday said the resolution was "a blot on the sovereignty and dignity of the people of Sri Lanka". The previous government had turned its back on "a homegrown reconciliation process", he added. "It made my country a pawn on the chessboard of global politics," he told delegates. But John Fisher, Geneva director of Human Rights Watch, described the announcement as "a slap in the face to victims and an act of contempt for the UN's top human rights body. "UN Human Rights Council members should not allow themselves to be fooled -- there is no prospect that the Rajapaksas, implicated in war crimes, will take meaningful steps towards accountability," he said. He argued that the government's move highlighted the need for the rights council to finally establish an international investigation into the war-era crimes -- something Colombo has long flatly rejected. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] Pacific Surf Designs Awarded Attorneys' Fees in "Exceptional" Win Against Whitewater West Industries' Subsidiaries Pacific Surf Designs, Inc. ("PSD") was awarded an "exceptional" victory when the honorable Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California (the "Court") granted PSD's motion for attorneys' fees under U.S.C. Section 285 in Flowrider Surf, Ltd; and Surf Waves, Ltd. v. Pacific Surf Designs, Inc. (Case No. 3:15-cv-01879-BEN-BLM). The issue before the Court was whether the litigation brought by Whitewater West Industries, Ltd. subsidiaries Flowrider Surf, Ltd. (amalgamated into Whitewater in February 2016) and Surf Waves, Ltd. (collectively, "Whitewater") was an "exceptional case" justifying an award of attorneys' fees, which could be determined either (i) with respect to the substantive strength, or lack thereof, of Whitewater's litigating position, or (ii) the unreasonable manner in which the case was litigated. The Court found that "based on the totality of circumstances, this case is 'exceptional' on both grounds." Substantive Strength of Whitewater's Litigating Position PSD argued that Whitewater's litigating position was exceptionally weak and the Court agreed by finding "this case exceptional because [Whitewater] knew or should have known that the '016 Patent was objectively unreasonable and frivolous." In refusing to drop the '016 Patent against PSD, PSD was forced to file an IPR action and incur substantial additional costs to invalidate the '016 Patent, which the PTABgranted, invalidating all of Whitewater's asserted claims. The Court stated, "the PTAB's Final Decision (affirmed by the Federal Circuit) confirmed that [Whitewater's] litigation positions were not only exceptionally weak, but were also frivolous in view of the prior art." The Court summed up the strength of Whitewater's arguments with: "[Whitewater] relied on nothing more than their own speculative aspirations, derived from weak circumstantial indicators - rather than clear language taken from controlling legal documents to reach the conclusions asserted in response to [PSD's] motion. As such, [Whitewater] have no reasonable basis for arguing that its claims are well grounded. Thus, this case stands out as 'exceptional' with respect to the substantive strength of [Whitewater's] litigating position." Manner in Which the Case was Litigated PSD also argued that Whitewater litigated the case to (i) exert significant financial pressure on PSD in order to settle, and (ii) to force PSD to hand over its financial records. Again, the Court sided with PSD and found: "In sum, [Whitewater] initiated this suit without adequately investigating the validity of the '016 Patent (and despite warning signs to the contrary), insisted on maintaining this suit despite mounting evidence regarding the validity of the '016 Patent, and obfuscated the fact that the '016 Patent had validity issues, the manner in which it litigated this case also makes this case stand out as 'exceptional.'" In a telling finding, the Court stated that "[Whitewater] stuck their head in the sand and proceeded to file this lawsuit." With this attorneys' fees award in favor of PSD, the Court is sending a clear message to Whitewater that their unreasonable litigious behavior will not be tolerated. PSD CEO Yong Yeh stated: "Whitewater's unreasonable and aggressive litigation tactics created a heavy burden for PSD for a number of years, and recovering our attorneys' fees is an important step to obtaining justice; however, PSD's total losses arising from Whitewater's improper litigation tactics are enormous and go well beyond its direct legal fees expenditures. Despite Whitewater's unmeritorious litigation attacks, PSD remains financially strong, and still makes the very best sheet wave machines in the industry. With this chapter behind us, we are poised to get even better." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005997/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) US Sanctions 13 Foreign Entities for Supporting Iran Missile Program The United States announced that it is imposing sanctions on 13 foreign entities and individuals in China, Iraq, Russia, and Turkey for supporting Irans missile program. According to a statement from the State Department, the measure includes new sanctions against three Chinese firms, a Chinese individual and a Turkish company. The three Chinese entities are Baoding Shimaotong Enterprises Services, Gaobeidian Kaituo Precise Instrument, and Wuhan Sanjiang Import and Export, and the Turkish company is called Eren Carbon Graphite Industrial Trading. The Chinese individual, whose name is Luo Dingwen, was also involved in supplying sensitive items to Pakistans weapons program. The statement did not disclose details about the Russian and Iraqi entities to face sanctions. We have imposed two-year discretionary sanctions on the 13 individuals/entities identified in this report, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in the statement. The sanctions include restrictions on U.S. government procurement, U.S. government assistance, and exports. Pompeo said in a separate statement that the United States will continue to use all available measures to prevent Iran from advancing its missile capabilities. The State Department said that the actions came about after a periodic review of sanctionable activity as required by the: Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). The act provides for sanctions for the transfer of equipment or technology having the potential to make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems to Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Tehran unveiled a new short-range ballistic Raad-500 missile in early February that is said to be half the weight of a previous missile model and has a longer range of up to 500 kma 200km range increase from a previous model. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday described the violence by anti-CAA activists in Delhi as premeditated, one that was aimed at maligning the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, the Union Minister asked: "Do you call it a protest if one holds the national flag in one hand and stones in the other to kill the policemen?" He said that the Centre was exercising extreme restraint in spite of provocations till now. "The Centre cannot remain patient anymore when protests are turning violent and anti-CAA activists are killing police," he said and wanted to know how the CAA was against Indians. "There is not a single word against either Pakistan or Bangladesh or any region or religion. Then why this violence?" he asked. In an oblique reference to MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, he said "those" who were organising meetings in various parts of Hyderabad and were speaking against the CAA and the Centre should explain how the CAA was against Indians. / -- SGO, a bearing manufacturer located in Incheon, Korea, announced that it has established a local subsidiary in India last year to meet the demand for its popular bearings in the Indian bearing market. SGO has already purchased 13,000m2 of land in Chennai, India and has decided to invest more than $4.5 million to set up bearing production facilities including foundry. By the second half of this year, SGO plans to produce and supply oilless bearings and bronze bars to Indian construction equipment companies, injection molding machine manufacturers, Korean auto parts manufacturers, as well as its worldwide customers. Product Oilless Bearing Image SGO explained Indian construction equipment and injection molding machine companies using SGO's bearings had been asking SGO to open a local subsidiary for a more stable supply of SGO's bearings. Founded in Korea in 2000, SGO has been specializing in design, development, and production of oilless bearings for use in industrial machines, molds, and automobile manufacturing. Oilless bearings allow machines to operate smoothly without lubricants. They are ideal for hydro-dam facilities and food manufacturing facilities, where the lubricants cannot be used. Branded as "Develon", SGO developed its patented multi-layer bearings that are a far more improved than the conventional bearings. The types of oilless bearings SGO manufactures are as follows. 1. Develon bearings With an even distribution of solid lubricant, Develon bearings may be used for any direction of motion. Owing to a lower heat expansion rate compared to general non-ferrous bearings, Develon bearings have a lower temperature change and a higher accuracy. Sintered bearing Layer: 1 ~ 1.2mm Backing steel: KS SS400 / SM45C 2. Graphite Plugged Bearings Ideal for high-load and low-speed motion conditions, without an application of lubrication. Ideal for conditions where tolerance is not precise or working condition is rough. Relatively resistant to inflow of foreign substances, corrosion and chemical environment. SGO will participate in an exhibition in India to promote various types of oilless bearings manufactured by SGO. The exhibition confirmed for participation this year is as follows. Bauma CONEXPO India 2020 (https://www.bcindia.com/en/) November 3-6, 2020 SGO said that SGO's promotion and marketing efforts for globalization of bearings manufactured by SGO would continue in the coming years. For more information on SGO and SGO's bearings, visit www.sgoilless.co.kr. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200130/2707019-1-a Photo - https://photos.prnasia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AICC general secretary and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday asked the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh to gear up for the coming elections to rural and urban local bodies and prepare plans in tune with the people's wishes. He asked the rank and file to take the local bodies elections as a challenge and revive the party's fortunes. "People still admire the Congress, we have to prepare plans according to their wishes and win back their support," Chandy said at a meeting where the new executive of the state party took charge. The AICC leader, in charge of state Congress affairs, asked the leadership to take all steps to revitalise in Andhra Pradesh. The new Congress state president Sake Sailajanath said they have prepared an action plan to strengthen the party from the village level. "We will launch the action plan from tomorrow and constitute all party committees up to the village level by March 20. Youth, women, SC, ST, BC and minority communities will get a lion's share of the party posts," Sailajanath said. The meeting discussed, among other things, the YSR Congress government's decision to have three capitals for the state. The Congress recalled that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as the then leader of opposition supported Amaravati as the state capital. "But now he is talking of three capitals in the name of decentralisation. Decentralisation (of administration) will not lead to any development," the Congress said. Briefing newsmen at the end of the day-long meeting, Congress state working presidents N Tulasi Reddy and SK Mastanvali said their party would contest all seats in the coming elections to local bodies. The meeting adopted a resolution asking the state government to pass a resolution in the Cabinet and the Legislative Assembly stating it would not implement the National Population Register in the state. Another resolution was passed expressing grief over the killing of over 20 people in violence in New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) * "Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , January 2022. * "Most Popular Copyright Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , January 2022. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground (Picture: Getty) Staff who are asked to self-isolate because of coronavirus are entitled to take sick leave, the Government has said. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons medical advice on self-isolation stated it should be considered sickness for employment purposes. He said: Its a very important message for employers and for those who can go home and self-isolate as if they were sick because its for medical reasons. It comes as staff around the country are being told to work from home, travel bans have been put in place and workplace policies are being checked or drawn up. Read more: UK schools close as coronavirus panic spreads across Europe Conciliation service Acas has also published new advice to help firms and their staff understand their rights. A workplaces normal sick pay policies apply if someone has coronavirus, said Acas, but if someone is told not to come into work, for example, if they have returned from China, they should get their usual pay, it was recommended. Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said: Our new advice aims to help them handle the impact of coronavirus at work. It includes guidance around sick leave, staff in quarantine and considerations for businesses in case they need to temporarily shut down. The infection continues to spread across Europe amid fears of a global pandemic (Picture: PA) The Rail, Maritime and Transport union had raised concerns at the lack of clear and consistent advice following an incident at Leeds railway station on Tuesday. In a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, RMT general secretary Mick Cash added: It is imperative that clear and consistent advice is provided by the Department for Transport as a matter of urgency given that our members are dealing with the health and wellbeing, not only of themselves but the travelling public. A TUC spokesman said: We strongly advise workers to follow the advice from Public Health England. Entitlement to sick pay will depend on your income and whether you are self-employed. Employers have a duty of care to ensure staff are able to take up health advice. Story continues Read more: In numbers: How coronavirus has spread around the world A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridge (Picture: Getty) As of Wednesday, a total of 7,132 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK. Of these, 13 have tested positive, eight of whom have since been discharged from hospital. The total number of cases of coronavirus in China is around 77,150, while the death toll is approximately 2,592. Outside mainland China, the outbreak has spread to some 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of around two dozen. Read more: Fewer Britons now think coronavirus is a 'major threat' Count to 39; a child just died from pneumonia somewhere in the world; that child is most likely a Nigerian! According to recent information released by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria is one of the countries still battling pneumonia. Thousands have died and more will continue to die of pneumonia if the health sector does not take immediate action. UNICEF brands the disease, a forgotten epidemic in Nigeria. This news of the impact of pneumonia comes despite the availability of preventive measures and existing treatments, a privilege we did not have in the past. Bacteria, viruses and fungi are the usual suspects for pneumonia. However, Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium is the most common cause of the respiratory disease; it affects the lungs and reduces oxygen intake. It is principally these respiratory and systemic complications associated with the disease that eventually leads to death, as is often the case in Nigeria. The World Health Organisation Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group estimates over 150.7 million new pneumonia incidences annually. While the evaluation appears troubling, it compares favourably, considering the history of the disease. As a matter of fact, since 2000, global pneumonia-associated deaths have reduced by 54 per cent. However, in all the advancements, Nigeria still lags, as evidenced by recent statements from UNICEF. Despite progress over the last two decades, children in poor communities have been left behind, UNICEF said. A child dies every 39 seconds from pneumonia. Pneumonia kills more children than any other infectious disease, says UNICEF. In examining the age group most affected by this infectious disease, children and especially children under five years are always disproportionately affected. Children under five are not only particularly at risk of contracting pneumonia but are also more at risk of dying from it. A child dies from pneumonia every 39 seconds; 2,200 children, every day and 800,00 children, every year in the world. Globally, evaluation for the causes of death for children under five places pneumonia at 15 per cent of the casualty rate. This estimation is especially significant as it is an indicator of the health and development of a nation. Generally, impoverished children are most at risk of this disease; the reason being that these children are often not vaccinated. Further, their environment also contributes to their chance of getting pneumonia; as many reside in unsanitary environments with unsafe drinking water and air pollution. Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that children under five are more at risk because of their low immune defences. It is also worth noting that developing African nations challenge of undernourishment also contribute to this ease of contraction. HIV is yet another reason a child could have a compromised immune system and thus be more susceptible to contracting pneumonia. Pneumonia kills more children in Nigeria than anywhere else In Nigeria, more children under the age of five died from pneumonia in 2018 than from any disease 443 deaths per day, UNICEF states. The state of the disease in Nigeria is particularly dire. Pneumonia is a leading childhood killer disease in Nigeria. In 2018 alone, 162,000 children died from pneumonia, making Nigeria the country with the highest number of pneumonia-related deaths in the world. Yet, these deaths were entirely preventable with vaccines and adequate treatments in the form of low-cost antibiotics such as Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablet. Preventing child deaths According to UNICEF, 71 million children around the world do not receive the life-saving and recommended vaccine for pneumonia pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). Also one in three children do not receive the necessary antibiotic treatment to ensure their survival. With regard to the former, data shows that not enough children are vaccinated in Nigeria, much less for pneumonia. Just recently, a publication entitled Nigeria Strategy for Immunisation and PHC System Strengthening [NSIPSS] 2018 2028 estimated that four million children were still unvaccinated in the country. The implications of this are evident in the number of preventable deaths occurring in Nigeria. Treatment for pneumonia and barriers The symptoms often present as classic cough and fever along with shortness of breath, chest pains, nausea or vomiting. Recognising these symptoms is essential to classifying the ailment appropriately regular or severe. Generally, lower level facilities ought to refer in cases of severe pneumonia (more than two weeks of pneumonia symptoms) for reasons of equipment and skill. According to the most recent WHO and UNICEF treatment guidelines, the broad-spectrum antibiotic amoxicillin DT (Dispersible Tablet) is recommended as the first line of treatment for a child with pneumonia. This suggestion was adopted by the Nigerian Government in 2016. These recommendations were made in light of findings that amoxicillin DT is easy to use for children and has proved to be more effective than existing antibiotic treatments. In Nigeria, data from an ongoing Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) project showed that factors which affected amoxicillin DT usage included supply and the training and knowledge of relevant authorities and clinicians on proper guidelines and treatment protocols. About 86 per cent of doctors in a pediatric ward in Niger State reported poor knowledge on treatment protocols. dRPCs findings further revealed that from the supply end, hospitals experienced delays in procuring amoxicillin DT. And in some PHCs, the medicine was completely unavailable altogether. Further, the organisation also found that children in Niger State consistently arrived too late when oral medication would not be appropriate as the first line of treatment. Moreover, the lack of amoxicillin DT usage might also be attributed to cost; as out-of-pocket payments are still how many Nigerians navigate the health systems of their country. Parents of the patients in Niger State, for example, demanded the cheapest alternative to amoxicillin DT even when offered this first-line treatment. It is important to note that this recommendation holds for treating children from home or admitting them into the clinic/hospital. The only exceptions we noted are in cases where there may be other causes of pneumonia; such as pneumonia of viral or fungal origin, and perhaps children exposed to HIV infection, the report stated. Future recommendations Before now, a much more focused policy was lacking. The WHO subsumed pneumonia management strategies into the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCHI) developed for low resource settings. However, following the high recommendation by global health authorities, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) together with partners of the Every Breath Counts Coalition (EBCC), presented Nigerias first National Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy and Implementation Plan at the first-ever global forum on pneumonia held in Spain, early this year. Advertisements Through the EBCC, it is hopeful that Nigeria would fulfil this goal of reducing childhood pneumonia by 2030 through its ambitious pneumonia control strategy, a call the coalition made to the governments of the 10 countries with the highest burden of pneumonia in children. Yet, despite health authorities recommendation of amoxicillin DT as a first-line treatment of childhood pneumonia, examples from Niger State show that many factors are restricting adherence to the new treatment protocol. Health authorities are seldom going to see improvements until they address existing shortfalls through advocacy, domestication of guidelines and capacity building of health care professionals. Where pneumonia is rampant, experts also observe a strong correlation with underdevelopment. It is, therefore, safe to say that recent news from UNICEF is indicative of a more significant issue linked to development and a consequence of an underperforming health system. Perhaps then, this news can serve as a glaring reminder for the need for an all-inclusive development plan by the government. It is also worth noting that the projections paint an even more grim picture. With the current trends in Nigeria, UNICEF says that 1.4 million children under five could die from pneumonia over the next decade. Who is debating? Seven Democratic presidential candidates qualified for the South Carolina debate: Former Vice President Joe Biden Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders Businessman Tom Steyer Who is moderating? CBS's Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett and Bill Whitaker. Who didn't make the cut? Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard did not qualify for the debate stage in South Carolina. How was the stage decided? Candidates could either qualify for the debate by meeting a delegate threshold or meeting a polling threshold. To meet the delegate threshold, candidates need to win at least one pledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention from either the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary or the Nevada caucuses. To meet the polling threshold for the debate, candidates needed to meet the four-poll threshold or the early state polling threshold. For the four-poll threshold, candidates needed to receive 10% or more support in at least four national or single-state polls of South Carolina. To meet the early state polling threshold, candidates needed to receive 12% or more support in two single-state polls in South Carolina. What happened at the last debate? In the most fiery and contentious Democratic primary debate yet, Warren led a non-stop barrage against Bloomberg, who was appearing on stage for the first time. She kicked it off by calling him an "arrogant billionaire" who "calls women fat broads and horse faced lesbians." Klobuchar accused Bloomberg of "hiding behind his TV ads," and Biden hammered him for opposing Obamacare. Sanders attacked Bloomberg's support for stop-and-frisk policing in his first answer of the night, and Buttigieg called Bloomberg "a billionaire who thinks that money ought to be the root of all power." The pile-on against Bloomberg came three days before the Nevada caucuses, as candidates trailing Sanders, and with nowhere near Bloomberg's money, were desperate to prove they deserve to remain in the race as it narrows. The Ministry of (MOH), Singapore has reiterated that people, who are not well, should stay at home, and not engage in social interactions, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This is what the MOH had been saying earlier, and it was strengthened by the search for the missing link between the COVID-19 clusters at The Life Church and Missions church and Grace Assembly of God church. The missing link is a married couple who went to a Chinese New Year gathering at Mei Hwan Drive. The couple, cases 83 and 91, went to the gathering on Jan 25. Case 91 was the only new case reported in Singapore on Tuesday according to CNA. The ministry determined on Tuesday that case 66 - a 28-year-old Singaporean man who works at the Grace Assembly of God and lives at Mei Hwan Drive - was the primary case of the church cluster. "To determine how case 66 had been infected, we investigated the locations he had visited and people he had close contact with, " said MOH in a press release. He had gone to work at the church while symptomatic and on Jan 29, became the first to report symptoms in the cluster. Sixteen cases in the church were subsequently infected with COVID-19, said MOH adding that some of these cases had been exposed to case 66. MOH said in a press release, "To determine how case 66 had been infected, we investigated the locations he had visited and people he had close contact with." He attended the Chinese New Year gathering at Mei Hwan Drive on Jan 25 with the married couple, cases 83 and 91. The married couple had earlier visited The Life Church and Missions on Jan 19, the same day as cases 8 and 9, investigations showed. Cases 8 and 9 are Chinese nationals from Wuhan who tested positive for COVID-19 in late January. Both Cases 83 and 91 had been well at the time of investigations. However, records showed that case 91 had gone to SengKang General Hospital a day after her Chinese New Year gathering with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Case 83 had also been unwell in end-January and had repeatedly sought treatment at a general practitioner (GP) clinic. Based on these records, the MOH said: "This meant that cases 83 and 91 likely got infected from case 8 and 9, and went on to pass the infection to case 66 at the Chinese New Year gathering." Case 91 recovered sometime between Jan 26 and Feb 18, without having been hospitalised for COVID-19, reported CNA. The MOH epidemiology team arranged for cases 83 and 91 to be tested at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases with the use of new serological tests developed by the Duke-NUS team. Serological tests are tests for the antibodies in a person's body. "The test results confirmed they had earlier been infected with COVID-19," MOH said. The link was established with the help of the Singapore Police Force. MOH's director of medical services Kenneth Mak said that the Chinese New Year gathering was an important event where someone was infected, unwell but then continuing to engage in social activities and therefore causing the spread of the coronavirus. "This, in fact, emphasises the reason why we have been advising that if you are not well, you should stay at home, you should not engage in social interactions, going out, because that risk of spread remains," Kenneth further added. COVID-19 has been spread to more than 30 countries and territories, including in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHICAGO (AP) - Former Gov. Pat Quinn and more than 80 other top Illinois Democrats are endorsing Joe Biden for president, as the former vice president looks ahead to a state that votes weeks after Super Tuesday's contests. Biden's campaign released the list of endorsements on Wednesday. Besides Quinn, who served as governor from 2009 to 2015, the list includes former Chicago Deputy Mayor Andrea Zopp, state Sen. and Assistant Majority Leader Iris Martinez and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering. Rotering previously endorsed California Sen. Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race last year. Zopp, who previously led the Chicago Urban League, said Biden knows first-hand the struggle working people go through to get out of poverty because of his own family's experience. "He's never forgotten where he comes from," she said. Biden is hoping to notch his first victory of the Democratic primary on Saturday in South Carolina and take that momentum into next week's Super Tuesday contests, when about one-third of all delegates will be awarded. Illinois holds its primary two weeks later, on March 17. Biden's campaign says the endorsers, who include Democrats from the party stronghold of Chicago and across the state, will help ramp up the campaign in Illinois. Biden was in South Carolina on Tuesday night for Democrats' 10th debate of the 2020 presidential primary season. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participates in a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, "Ground Game." Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Democratic presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, greets people after a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Pakistan on Wednesday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to protest against alleged ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the Line of Control in Kashmir. The Foreign Office claimed that a 40-year-old civilian sustained serious injuries in the ceasefire violations by Indian troops in Nezapir Sector on Tuesday. "This escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," it said, but did not identify the Indian diplomat. Pakistan urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit; and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary. India should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions, it said. India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the first anniversary of Balakot airstrikes, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria piloted MiG-21 fighter jet of 51 Squadron Commanding Officer Group Captain Nazeer at Srinagar airbase today. Along with two Mirage-2000s and two Sukhoi-30MKIs also flew to the airbase. The 51 Squadron was activated following the Balakot Airstrike in 2019, and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was a part of the 51 Squadron. Bhadauria will also address a seminar 'Indian Air Force: No war, no peace' at DRDO Bhawan on February 28. Bhadauria is expected to talk about the Balakot airstrikes and the air skirmish that took place on February 27, 2019. On February 26 last year, the IAF carried out the airstrikes on terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan. The airstrikes were carried out in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack that took place on February 14, 2019. Pulwama attack on CRPF convoy Forty CPRF Jawans lost their lives in the attack when an ED-laden SUV rammed into their convoy. The terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. The Balakot airstrikes were seen as a direct response to the Pulwama bombing. Operation Bandar The IAF's mission to bomb the terrorist hideout in Balakot, Pakistan, was given the codename 'Operation Bandar'. It was a rare operation in which the IAF crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and dropped bombs on targets in Pakistani territory. Balakot is a small town located in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. On February 26, 2019, Indian Air Force's Mirage-2000 fighter jets took off from airbases across India. The Indian Air Force jets crossed the LoC in J&K and bombed Jaish terror camps in Balakot with precision-guided missiles. Dogfight between Indian, Pakistani jets Pakistan retaliated a day after. The Pakistan Air Force attempted an airstrike on Indian soil. The Indian Air Force launched its fighter jets in response, leading to a rare dogfight between the Indian and Pakistani jets. In the skirmish, an IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter jet shot down a Pakistani F-16 during the conflict. Indian Mig-21, which was being flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was also shot down and he was captured by the Pakistani forces. After much deliberation, Wing Commander Abhinandan was released two days later from Pakistan's hold. This development calmed the tensions between the two nations after two weeks of heightened conflict. Also Read: Pulwama attack anniversary: India will never forget sacrifice of CRPF martyrs, says PM Modi Also Read: Pulwama attack anniversary: India pays homage to bravehearts; look back at terror attack that shook India China has banned people from selling, buying and eating wild animals amid the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus or COVID-19. On Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress backed a proposal "prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people." The move is an effort to combat the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, which is believed to have its origin at an animal and seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. According to Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this February, China must resolutely outlaw and harshly crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade because of the public health risks it poses. About 1.5 million markets and online operators throughout China have been inspected since the outbreak began, officials said. The COVID-19 epidemic has killed more than 2,500 people in China and spread overseas, infecting some 77,000 others and paralyzed the country's economy. The said root is linked to wild animals carrying a coronavirus and sold in markets for food. Two dozen other countries have been affected, killing nearly 30, and its rapid global spread has raised fears of a full-blown pandemic. There have been requests from wildlife organizations, activists, and the public to make the ban permanent to prevent further outbreaks. The virus is believed to have originated in a seafood market that sold wild animals in Wuhan, Hubei province. Nearly 20,000 wildlife farms raising species including peacocks, civet cats, porcupines, ostriches, wild geese, and boar have been closed across China. A few weeks ago, wildlife farming was still being endorsed by government agencies as an easy way for rural Chinese people to earn more money. Also read: Coronavirus Effects: How it Harms Human Body Organs Wild animal markets are also the surmised root of the 2002 SARS epidemic. China's top law-making body is expected to permanently tighten rules on trading wildlife in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, including a ban on eating some wild meat. The emergency measure will be lifted once the outbreak ends with the national government temporarily suspending the buying and selling of wild-animal products, which are commonly used for food, fur and traditional medicines in China. China's top law-making body approved a proposal "prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people." Conservationists have been accusing China of condoning an inhumane trade in wild animals as exotic menu items or as components in traditional medicines whose potency is not confirmed by science. Thought to originate from bats, the coronavirus may have been passed to an intermediary species and then passed to humans at a market in Wuhan, China. China's wildlife-farming industry is valued at $74 billion. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 70 percent of global disease-causing pathogens that were discovered in the past 50 years came from animals. Although the decision was acknowledged, other commentators said the government would need to provide financial aid to companies running breeding farms for such animals. Related article: Chinese Nurse Shares Heartbreaking Story on Coronavirus Healthcare Experience @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. MONTVILLE It started when two people heard the cries of a puppy Monday morning. Police said two amazing fishermen heard a dog crying and found a puppy in a well, about 15 feet down. The fishermen immediately called for help and Montville police and animal control responded. They then called in the fire department to help with the rescue because it was a confined space. Montville firefighters responded and called on the Mohegan Tribal Fire Departments confined space rescue team to help out. The puppy was very happy to have a friend down the hole with her and was loving getting Beggin strips and love when she was rescued, police said. The puppy was returned to her owner after the rescue. It was unclear how long the puppy was in the well, or for how long she was missing. She did not appear seriously injured in the videos of the rescue shared by police. Police said four officers were able to find a large rock to cover the hole so no other animals or people end up stuck in the well. Proposed legislation in the Ohio House would lift caps on pain-and-suffering awards in lawsuits brought by rape victims. The bill introduced this month by two Democratic lawmakers stems from a 2016 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $3.6 million jury award to a woman raped by her pastor at age 15. The court reduced the award to about $385,000 based on a 2005 law meant to limit awards in lawsuits, sometimes known as tort reform. This is a crucial piece of legislation that helps survivors of violent crimes receive the full measure of compensation awarded to them by the jury, said bill sponsor Rep. Allison Russo of suburban Columbus. Rep. Kristin Boggs, also of Columbus, co-sponsored the legislation. Its unclear what chances HB 518 will have in the GOP-controlled Legislature. A similar proposal to exempt rape victims from the caps that was introduced shortly after that 2016 court ruling went nowhere. In a similar case, a Cuyahoga County judge in January cut a portion of a $20 million jury verdict to $250,000 under the same 2005 law, in a case involving a woman repeatedly raped as a child. The womans attorney, John Fitch, also represented the woman whose case sparked the Supreme Courts 2016 ruling. Hes promised a challenge of the 2005 law. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Ohio Mr. Wallace, who said he honed his Supreme Court arguments over long walks, avoided the standard practice of prepping for cases through moot court sessions with stand-in justices. He didnt want to peak too soon, he said, and for the most part, his technique seemed to work. When Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. retired from the court in 1987, he wrote to Mr. Wallace saying that he will miss your arguments. They rank among the very best the court hears. The co-founder of Hotel Chocolat has demanded the Chancellor shake up the 'crazy' business rates system. Angus Thirlwell said 'a handful' of the 125 UK retailer's stores face a higher bill for the tax on property, than they for their rents. He praised landlords who have adapted to the crisis on the High Street by offering discounts of more than 50 per cent. Hotel Chocolat announced a strong set of interim results. Nine new stores contributed to a 14 per cent increase in sales to 91.7m for the 26 weeks ending December 29 But start-ups and retailers looking to grow are being put off by the tax 'burden', he says. Thirlwell said: 'We're in this crazy situation. The appetite to take risk would be hugely increased if there was a new way of collecting taxes rather than this archaic model which is past its use-by date.' Thirlwell suggested business rates could be replaced by a small increase in VAT. His comments came as Hotel Chocolat yesterday announced a strong set of interim results. Nine new stores contributed to a 14 per cent increase in sales to 91.7million for the 26 weeks ending December 29. Profits increased 7 per cent from 13.8million to 14.9million, allowing the dividend to remain at 0.6p per share. Coronavirus fear spreads across Europe At least four major European countries have announced their first coronavirus cases. Though it started last year as an Asian-based threat, coronavirus is casting a longer shadow over Europe every day. ITALY The death toll in Italy the worst-hit country rose to 12, according to the latest figures on Wednesday from the countrys head of civil protection. Some 374 people have been infected with COVID-19, with Lombardy the worst hit, a region where nine people have died and 240 people have been infected. Local media reported that three of the dead were in their eighties and most of the deaths occurred in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. With the number of coronavirus cases in Italy climbing to 323, the epidemic has started spreading to other regions. FRANCE France has reported the first death of a French citizen from coronavirus, as well as four new cases of the disease. A Frenchman age 60 died at a hospital in Paris, Jerome Salomon, France's director general of health, told reporters. AUSTRIA Landlocked Austria, which borders Italy to the south, has also confirmed two cases of the virus. The governor of the state of Tyrol in the Alps said two Italians in the region had contracted the disease but were not in life-threatening condition. Switzerland, also bordering Austria, confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Tuesday, and the Balkan nation of Croatia also reported two cases of coronavirus, one of whom had visited Milan, Italy as well as his brother. Nine people have been confirmed with the virus in Spain so far, but two of them have been discharged from hospital. The first coronavirus case in the capital Madrid was confirmed late Tuesday, local media reported. GERMANY Two new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Germany: a 47-year-old man in North Rhine-Westphalia who is in critical condition, and another man in the state of Baden-Wurttember. Some 18 cases have been confirmed in Germany so far, but to date no deaths, and several patients have now been discharged from hospital after treatment. GREECE Greece has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, in the port city of Thessaloniki. A 38-year-old woman who recently traveled to Italy has been diagnosed with the virus, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday. The woman's family will also be quarantined for 14 days, the ministry added. A man was arrested in Kolkata's Ultadanga area for allegedly duping a youth after promising him a job in the state government's health department, police said on Wednesday. Santosh Hazra (37), a resident of Berhampore in Murshidabad district, was arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly taking Rs 5 lakh from a youth promising him the job, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. "The accused person is part of a fake job racket. He had handed over a fake appointment letter to the complainant in exchange of Rs 5 lakh," he said. "During the investigation, we found that the accused had cheated other job seekers as well, promising them jobs in different state government departments," the officer said. Photocopies of admit cards of several candidates appearing for a recruitment examination of the West Bengal Police and fake appointment letters have been seized from him, he said. Three persons, suspected to be part of the same racket, were arrested earlier. They are in judicial custody till February 27. (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 Silvester Asa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 Very recently, the newly appointed head of the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIB), Yudian Wahyudi ,drew the ire of some elements of the Indonesian public for saying in an interview that religion was the enemy of the state ideology, Pancasila. Religion can indeed be death-dealing and used to perpetuate certain corrupt practices. In fact, Wilfred C. Smith reckoned that the current understanding of religion is insufficient, since it has failed to encapsulate immensely diverse, fluid and subtle data of religious life. Therefore, in The Meaning and End of Religion, Smith argues for a whole new concept of apparatus or theoretical framework of looking at religion, which is more rewardingly and more truly based on the historical cumulative tradition and the personal faith of men and women. 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 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) Over 440 Filipino crew and passengers from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan and the team that brought them home will be placed under stricter quarantine as compared to the Filipinos who came from Chinese city Wuhan the epicenter of the deadly virus. Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Wednesday different measures are in place this time at the Athlete's Village in New Clark City, Tarlac because the transmission rate is different inside the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan. The number of coronavirus cases on the cruise ship reached nearly 700. On Wednesday, 57 Americans who were evacuated after the mandatory 14-day quarantine tested positive for coronavirus, US health officials said. "This time it's going to be different from the previous repatriation because as we know the transmission dynamics in the ship was different from what we had when we had our Wuhan repatriates. So this time their movement will be limited," she told CNN Philippines. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, said 445 Filipinos were evacuated from the ship in Japan, including 440 crew members and 5 tourists. Meanwhile, the DOH and Department of Foreign Affairs had a 13-man repartriation team, bringing the number of people to be quaratined to 458. Vergeire said DOH has prepared psychosocial support to help them deal with the prolonged quarantine. All the passengers and crew who tested negative for the virus underwent the 14-day quarantine and underwent monitoring before flying back to the Philippines. "We have teams which are properly trained to do that and they have been deployed in the quarantine facility," she said. She said the new batch of repatriates in New Clark City will be monitored twice a day to see if any of them would develop flu-like symptoms. Once any of them would exhibit signs and symptoms, they would be immediately referred to designated hospitals, she added. The group from the cruise ship arrived in the country in two batches on Tuesday and early Wednesday morning. They were all checked for symptoms linked to the virus before they were allowed to enter the New Clark City. On the other hand, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Board of Trustees agreed that the Filipino seafarers of the cruise ship will be provided with 10,000 financial assistance, free transport from Manila to home region, and 20,000 livelihood grant if they decided to stay in the Philippines. The Capas government, who complained about the use of New Clark City as quarantine facility for the Wuhan repatriates, said they have already accepted that the sporting center is the only facility at the moment that can accomodate such a huge number of evacuees. They said they want assurance from the national government that nearby residents will be safe from any illnesses. "Dagdagan na lang ang tulong sa labas, kung ano man ang sa tingin nila pwede ibigay sa bayan ng Capas o serbisyo man o gamot upang maibsan ang kinatatakutan o agam-agam ng mga tao," Capas, Tarlac Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan said. Near the compound, there are health desks courtesy of the Department of Health and the local government. They distribute free medicine and administer check-ups to the locals. Meanwhile, 70 Filipino crew members of the Diamond Princess who tested positive for the coronavirus remain admitted in hospitals in Tokyo, Japan, while 10 have recovered and were discharged. Irish agri-services group Origin Enterprises has warned that its full-year profits will be significantly short of target. The companys latest profit warning essentially its second in three months sent its shares plummeting by more than 8%. Origins shares took a hit in late November when it said operating profits for the 12 months to the end of July would likely be negatively impacted by prolonged poor weather conditions, particularly in the UK. The company is active in Ireland, the UK, eastern Europe and South America. At that time, Origin estimated that higher-yielding winter crop in the UK would be down by 25%, year-on-year, due to heavy rainfall. However, now on the back of the wettest UK winter in 30 years Origin expects its winter crop to be down by 40%. It is expected that group operating profit and adjusted earnings per share, for the full year, will now be significantly below the current range of analysts estimates, Origin said. Davy said it will lower its full year operating profit and earnings per share forecasts for Origin by around 20%. Goodbody said it will reduce its earnings per share outlook for Origin from 49.5c to 39c on the back of the latest update from the company. Given the level of rainfall since the companys last update in November, the update is not entirely surprising, said Goodbody analyst Jason Molins. While noting the longer-term growth opportunity for the group and attractive valuation, we are cautious on Origin in the near term, reflecting the lack of visibility for earnings due to the extremely challenging weather conditions currently being experienced, he said. Origin is set to report half-year figures, for the six months to the end of January, next week. In its operations in continental Europe, the group said it anticipates operating profit to grow year-on-year, adding the Latin American division has seen a good start to the year. Operating profit in Latin America is expected to show growth for the full year. However, next weeks interim results wont include specific full-year guidance, which wont be forthcoming until Origins third quarter trading update in June. [February 25, 2020] Lineage Financial Network, Inc. Announces Agreements to Acquire Sumner Bank & Trust in Gallatin, Tenn. and Citizens Bank & Trust Company in Atwood, Tenn. Lineage Financial Network, Inc. (Lineage) announced today the concurrent signing of two separate merger agreements, resulting in Lineage owning and operating two community banks in middle Tennessee and west Tennessee under each bank's existing name and legacy reputation. The two banks being acquired are Sumner Bank & Trust, which was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Gallatin, Tenn., and Citizens Bank & Trust Company, founded in 1927 and headquartered in Atwood, Tenn. Lineage has also agreed to merge with Bumpushares, Inc., the parent company of Citizens Bank & Trust Company, with the intent of becoming a registered bank holding company. When the acquisitions are completed and closed, Sumner Bank & Trust and Citizens Bank & Trust Company will each be separately-operated, wholly-owned bank subsidiaries of Lineage. Lineage intends to preserve the legacies of both Citizens Bank & Trust Company and Sumner Bank & Trust as they continue to serve their communities. "We have been dedicated to serving our customers and community for more than 80 years," said Citizens Bank & Trust Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Moore, "and we look forward to growing in our capabilities with Lineage to continue to meet the expanding needs of our community and surrounding counties on the foundation of trust we've built for generations." Both banks will keep their local names and focus while enhancing their local financial leadership through the technology and capital of Lineage. This will enable them to grow their customer base and build on their solid reputations within their communities. "The mergers of Citizens Bank & Trust Company and Sumner Bank & Trust into Lineage are designed to deliver enhanced value to the stakeholders of both banks," said Keith Hatley, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sumner Bank & Trust. "We're receiving significant value for our shareholders, preserving our name, staff, and legacy, together with the opportunity to build on our reputation and increase our resources to offer additional support for our respected clients and customers." Some of the lager shareholders of the acquired institutions are expected to become shareholders of Lineage. "We believe the acquisition of these two financial institutions creates an exceptional opportunity for local banks to maintain their heritage and legacies as they serve their communities," said Lineage founder and Chief Executive Officer, Richard Herrington. "This is the start of a new chapter in innovation for the community banking industry and we look forward to pursuing growth at these two great institutions and exploring potential future acquisitions of other high-quality Tennessee banks." Herrington also mentioned earlier media reports about Lineage and its plans. "We have been clear from the outset that we are not starting a new bank. That's not our strategy. We believe that many of Tennessee's existing community banks not only can survive, but can thrive, in the 21st century if they can find a new partner to bring innovation and capital to build on their great legacies. Our team sees exciting opportunities ahead to make strong banks even stronger, while keeping their legacy names and good reputations intact." "Consolidating into a bigger bank and losing your name and history shouldn't be the only answer for banks looking for a change," added William "Bill" Lucado, one of Lineage's founding directors and a long-time banking industry leader and consultant. "We believe Lineage can be another alternative for banks that have reached an inflection point." Each of the merger agreements has been unanimously approved by each institution's board of directors, and the shareholders of Bumpushares, Inc. have already approved its merger transaction. The mergers are expected to close in the second quarter of 2020, subject to receiving the requisite approval of the Sumner Bank & Trust shareholders, receipt of all required regulatory approvals, and fulfillment of other closing conditions described in the merger agreements. Commerce Street Capital, LLC served as financial advisor to Lineage Financial Network, Inc., and Bone McAllester Norton PLLC and the Law Office of Alan D. Hall served as legal counsel. ProBank Austin served as financial advisor to Sumner Bank & Trust, and Thompson Burton PLLC served as legal counsel. Serving as legal counsel to Bumpushares, Inc. and Citizens Bank & Trust Company was the law firm of Henry, McCord, Bean, Miller, Gabriel & LaBar, PLLC. About Lineage Financial Network, Inc. Lineage Financial Network was founded in 2020 by Richard Herrington, Kevin Herrington and Bill Lucado. Lineage empowers community banks with the technology and capital customers desire while sustaining the relationships that define their history. The Lineage team will include local banking technologists with strong perspectives about creating a complete experience with each customer. Lineage's ownership is currently based in middle and west Tennessee investors. About Sumner Bank & Trust Founded in 2005, Sumner Bank & Trust is a full-service community bank operating three branch locations in Sumner County, Tennessee on West Broadway, Browns Lane and Indian Lake Boulevard. As of December 31, 2019, Sumner Bank & Trust had $196 million in assets, $124 million in loans, $177 million in deposits and $17 million in shareholders' equity. Sumner Bank & Trust was rated 5 stars by Bauer Financial in September 2019. About Citizens Bank & Trust Company and its holding company, Bumpushares, Inc. Citizens Bank & Trust Company has served the Atwood, Tennessee, and surrounding community counties for more than 80 years. As of December 31, 2019, Citizens Bank & Trust Company had $25 million in assets, $9 million in loans, $22 million in deposits and $3 million in shareholders' equity. The full-service bank operates mainly in West Carroll and East Gibson counties and is a member of the FDIC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006011/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Capitol Notebook by Spotlight PA provides updates on important news and notes from the halls of power in Harrisburg. Sign up for our weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG More than a hundred people rallied in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on Tuesday, a protest organizer says, calling on Attorney General Josh Shapiro to show mercy by supporting more commutations. The issue came to a head in December, when the Board of Pardons, charged with recommending commutations to Gov. Tom Wolf, voted in favor of just two cases out of more than a dozen. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who serves on the board with Shapiro, called it one of the most dismaying days of my life. It was an abrupt change in a record-breaking year: Wolf granted 14 commutations in 2019, up from only one the previous year. The protests outside Shapiros offices were organized by several reform organizations including the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration. These rallies are spotlighting Shapiro who has been a consistent person voting against commutations, said Lily Rorick, an organizer with the Philadelphia-based Amistad Law Project. While we are working on these legislative solutions, Shapiro needs to vote to commute. A spokesperson for Shapiro said his record is clear he is a firm believer in second chances. That is a proven fact. Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of prisoners serving life-without-parole sentences in the U.S., according to the reform organization FAMM. These sentences are mandatory for first- and second-degree murder convictions. For this population, commutation is often the only path to life outside of prison. A commutation can only be recommended to the governor after a unanimous vote by board, which is composed of five members. The bar was lower until 1997, when voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution to require a unanimous vote. The change was spurred by the boards 3-to-2 recommendation to commute the sentence of Reginald McFadden, who went on to kill two people and rape another. Between 1997 and today, the lifer population in state prisons has exploded. According to the state Department of Corrections, there were more than 3,000 inmates serving life sentences in 1997. Their typical age was 39. As of January 2020, there were more than 5,000 inmates serving life sentences, with an average age of 49. Theres bipartisan support in the legislature for rolling back the change. Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R., Washington) has introduced a measure to change the threshold to a 4-to-1 vote. Another proposal from Rep. Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) would reinstate the 3-to-2 majority in place before the 1997 change. Both would require an amendment to the state Constitution, a lengthy process. When people are no longer a threat to public safety and we are housing them, it is a waste of resources, McClinton said. Seeing people aging, in wheelchairs, in their 70s and 80s we need to have a process. Shapiro said in January he supports McClintons proposal. A review of Board of Pardons records shows her measure, as opposed to Bartolottas, could have the greatest impact. Since Wolf took office in 2015, no recommendations have been denied by a 4-to-1 majority. There were eight cases, however, denied by a 3-to-2 vote. Mark Singel, who voted to recommend commutation for McFadden as lieutenant governor in 1994, said the case has had a chilling effect. We basically slammed the door on folks and took away any reasonable hope they have of ever being free. Thats not fair, Singel said Tuesday. There are cases that cry out for mercy and justice. Fetterman and Shapiro are both Democrats who have adopted the progressive mantle. But their board records differ significantly. In 2019, Fetterman voted to recommend commutation 30 times, while Shapiro voted to do the same 17 times, a Pennsylvania Capital-Star analysis showed. During his campaign for lieutenant governor, Fetterman called for substantive changes on issues like pardons. Many of those condemned to die in prison committed their crimes as teens, but theyre now men and women in their 60s, Fetterman wrote in December. In many of these cases, the wardens of their prisons begged for their release during public hearings and pleaded that they represent zero risk to public safety. Shapiro has previously said he considers victim statements first and foremost when making a decision. His spokesperson, Jacklin Rhoads, said Tuesday several factors play a role, including victim statements, the applicants criminal history, and flaws and inequities in the criminal justice system. Each of his decisions is based solely on the facts and circumstances of each applicants case, Rhoads said. That doesnt satisfy Rorick of the Amistad Law Project. She supports legislative solutions but wants to see Shapiro vote for commutations when Fetterman is in favor. The decisions made by the Board of Pardons can have political consequences for elected members, Singel said, but that comes with the job. Its dangerous and it always has been, Singel said. But thats what leadership is about. When you assume the duties of being on the Board of Pardons, you take an oath. Youre supposed to dispense your duties according to the oath of office and the Constitution. If you resign to playing safe and voting no, in my opinion, youre violating your oath of office. Spotlight PA receives funding from nonprofit institutions and readers like you who are committed to investigative journalism that gets results. Give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate. A Brazilian man who travelled to Italy tests positive for the new coronavirus, the first case in Latin America. Brazils Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed the first case of a fast-spreading new coronavirus in Latin America, diagnosing a 61-year-old man in Sao Paulo who returned recently from Italy. The diagnosis comes during Brazils carnival holiday, a peak time for domestic travel when millions of revellers throng to major cities for raucous street celebrations. The patient, a Sao Paulo resident, had travelled to Lombardy, in northern Italy, from February 9 to February 21 and had symptoms compatible with the disease, the ministry said in a statement. Italy has been hardest hit by the outbreak in Europe, with more than 350 cases reported and 11 deaths. The first Brazilian patient remains in good health and will be monitored in isolation for the next 14 days, the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a written statement. Brazilian sanitary agency Anvisa said it had requested a list of the passengers on his same flight from Italy to Brazil. Brazils Health Ministry is tracking 20 suspected cases of the new coronavirus, officials said, as travellers return from Asia and Europe. The new coronavirus is believed to have originated in a market selling wildlife in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. In mainland China, 2,715 people have died from COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, while more than 78,064 infections have been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization. Concerns about the economic effects of the disease have wiped out more than three trillion dollars of value on tumbling stock markets over the past four trading sessions. Brazils stock market, which has been closed since last week due to the carnival holiday, is set to open at 1pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Brazilian shares in exchange-traded funds in New York have dropped nearly 6 percent this week. Close (Photo : 4 Tips for Making Medical School Easier to Afford) Getting into medical school is one of the greatest accomplishments that someone could possibly have. Becoming a doctor or other medical professional is a career that offers stability, growth, advancement and an incredibly solid income. However, many pre-med students are aware that getting into a medical university isn't just difficult, it's also very expensive. Thankfully, there are ways to cut the costs associated with continuing your education so that it isn't such a financial dilemma. Compare Universities Not all schools are alike, and some simply cost more than others. Some of the most expensive universities are those that are considered to be ivy league facilities. While these particular colleges look great on a resume, they can also be overly expensive for students on a budget. For this reason, it makes sense to continually compare different schools to see which one is better suited to your budgeting needs. Meet with several school representatives to find out more about all of the costs involved. Some colleges even have their fees published on their websites, making it easier for you to browse without having to meet with faculty staff. Have Any and All Prerequisites Before getting into a medical college, you will want to take several pre-med majors. There isn't necessarily one specific major that is ideal for those looking to go on to earn their doctorate degree. However, you may want to consider focusing on studies like biology, humanities, science and health. It's not uncommon for individuals wanting to enter medical school to start studying within the field by becoming nurses, physical therapists, dental hygienists, social workers and veterinarian assistants. By taking some solid prerequisites, you are less likely to need additional education in med school, thus lowering costs. Look for Financial Aid Options There are lots of different financial aid options available to students looking to further their careers. You might want to consider taking out a student loan, which will provide you with the money necessary for tuition, books and housing costs. Most of these loans won't need to be paid back until you actually graduate. You can also look into grant writing, which can be done to obtain money necessary to get into a good school. Grants are often given to students by investors and government agencies, so it's important to look at all of your options before applying and prior to giving up on ever receiving grant money. Research Repayment and Forgiveness Programs There are a number of repayment and forgiveness programs that are ideal for students of varying ages and needs. For example, parents can receive loan forgiveness after many years of paying back their lenders. Individuals who join the military can have past loans paid off before continuing their education. You might want to focus on completely paying off previous debts before taking more on when getting into school. This can help to prevent the small amount of debt that you have from getting larger, which can have an impact on how easy it is to afford once you graduate from the university that you are attending. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Boris Johnson last night warned he would rip up a post-Brexit trade deal which bound the UK to 'onerous commitments' insisted by Brussels. Downing Street accused the EU of trying to keep the UK shackled to its rule book, despite maintaining agreements with other countries that imposed no such conditions. The Prime Minister's official spokesperson also said the bloc was backtracking on the agreed Political Declaration setting out the vision for a deep UK-EU relationship. He said: 'The Political Declaration was agreed alongside the Withdrawal Agreement and sets out aspirations and parameters for the upcoming negotiations on the future relationship. 'The Political Declaration was clear that this would be based on an FTA [free trade agreement]. The EU's mandate itself moves away from what was set out in the Political Declaration.' The Government also pointed out that other trade deals between neighbours, such as the US, Canada and Mexico, did not include the kind of 'onerous commitments' sought by Brussels. The PM also warned Brussels he will never surrender Britain's fishing grounds to the EU. In its new 'negotiating mandate' yesterday, the EU made a series of demands which were immediately rejected by Downing Street. These included a requirement for the UK to continue following Brussels rules, a ban on the UK negotiating a US trade deal that allowed in chlorinated chicken, and an insistence that EU fishing boats should retain their existing quotas in British waters. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that without a deal on fish 'there won't be any agreement at all'. Boris Johnson last night warned Brussels he will never surrender Britain's fishing grounds to the EU, as talks on a post-Brexit trade deal got off to an acrimonious start (pictured at Downing Street on Tuesday) Launching the EU's demands in Brussels, Mr Barnier said: 'Fisheries is part of a package as regards our trade relations, which are to be discussed, and that package is one you can't break up. There will be no ambiguity at all around that. 'The trade agreement will be associated with a fisheries agreement and an agreement about a level playing field or there won't be any agreement at all.' But Downing Street said the Prime Minister would never sacrifice the UK's fishing grounds and suggested that access for EU trawlers would have to be negotiated separately from trade. The PM's official spokesman said: 'The UK did not vote twice to take back control of its fishing waters only to give that control up again. It doesn't matter what the EU puts in its negotiating mandate as we will become an independent coastal state at the end of this year. 'This does not need to be negotiated, nor will it be. Any access by non-UK vessels to fish in UK waters will be for us to determine.' No 10 also rejected the EU's demand that Britain signs up to a 'level playing field' in which the UK agrees to abide by EU rules on issues like state aid and workers' rights. The PM's spokesman said: 'We have been very clear on our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations, but we will not accept any demands for the UK to follow EU rules, just as we would not expect the EU to accept UK laws. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that without a deal on fish 'there won't be any agreement at all' (pictured: Mr Barnier speaking at a press conference yesterday) 'We do not agree that an open trading relationship based on a free-trade agreement requires extensive level playing field commitments.' Members of Mr Johnson's Brexit 'war cabinet' met yesterday to sign off the UK's own negotiating blueprint for talks that will begin in Brussels on Monday. Details will be published tomorrow, but sources said the document focuses on securing a Canada-style free trade agreement with no alignment with EU rules after the transition period finishes at the end of this year. No 10 said this week that the PM's 'priority' is to 'take back control' of the UK's borders and laws by the end of the year, even if this means there is no agreement on trade. Mr Barnier accused the UK of backtracking on parts of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland. He said he had been 'astonished' by statements from Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis suggesting there would be 'unfettered' trade across the Irish Sea. And he urged Mr Lewis to 'take time and read the Withdrawal Agreement' signed by the two sides last year. A fishing boat at work in the English Channel earlier this month Brussels has insisted that new checks will be needed on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as part of the deal. But No 10 sources yesterday said there were 'no plans' to create new infrastructure to conduct any checks. Mr Barnier yesterday insisted that the UK had agreed to compete on a 'level playing field' under the terms of a political declaration that accompanied the Brexit deal. But No 10 said countries like Canada and South Korea had not been expected to sign up to EU rules in return for trade deals. The spokesman also pointed out that Brussels has dropped parts of the joint political declaration. Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union yesterday warned the PM against signing a trade deal with the US that would lower animal welfare standards by allowing in products like chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef. NFU president Minette Batters said: 'To sign up to a trade deal which results in opening our shelves and fridges to food which would be illegal to produce here would not only be morally bankrupt, it would be the work of the insane.' Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that Guru Nanak Dev travelled extensively in all four directions even beyond the borders of India and suggested that academic research should be undertaken by scholars to verify and document incredible links of Sikhism and Guru Nanak with Nepal. Speaking at 'Sikh Heritage of Nepal' event here, Manmohan Singh said that Guru Nanak Dev does not belong only to Sikhs but to the world and the entire human race. He lauded Manjeev Puri, who till recently was India's Ambassador in Kathmandu and his colleagues at the embassy for the research in the book on Sikh heritage in the Himalayan nation. He said India-Nepal ties are about the richest links between nations anywhere in the world. "Indeed, it can be said that our two countries are bound by nature, God and the strongest possible links among the people. I am very happy that today we have heard of yet another facet of these rich civilisational ties, this time covering the Sikh Heritage of Nepal," he said. The former Prime Minister said that Sikhs were known throughout India and now even in other parts of the world, as champions of the transport business. "I am, therefore, happy, though not surprised, that they pioneered the commercialisation of the road links, as they developed, between India and Nepal," he said. Noting that the importance of both the Sikhs and the Gurkhas in the Indian Army is well known, he said there has not been the focus on the implication of bringing the two together. "It has been fascinating to learn of the origins of the connection and that even now Nepalese soldiers going overseas are known as 'Lahures', a reference to the Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore," he said. "Guru Nanak Devji travelled extensively, even beyond the limits of India, in all four directions. He went westwards beyond Indian borders to Mecca and Medina. He went as far east as Bangladesh and Assam and as far south as Sri Lanka. Today, we learnt that possibly during his 3rd Udasi, which famously covered Tibet, he had also visited Nepal. The connection with Nepal is thus rich and very auspicious for the Sikhs," he said. Noting that Puri had drawn attention to the shrines dedicated to Guru Nanak in Nepal, he said, "It would be good if there was academic research undertaken by scholars to verify and document these incredible links of Sikhism and Guru Nanak with Nepal". He noted that Nepal government issued three commemorative coins to mark the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak. "While this certainly symbolises the close ties that bind India and Nepal, this is also a tribute to the efforts of the Sikh community in the economic development of Nepal," he said. He said Puri had drawn attention to another remnant of history, the flight of Rani Jindan to Nepal "resulting in a small group of Sikhs who remained in Nepal but have kept up their faith over more than a century in trying circumstances". "I am aware of other such examples of 'lost' Sikh communities, most notably in the North East of India. I think these lost communities are also another subject fit for academic research, apart from extending to these communities the benefits of economic development," he said. "I must say that Guru Nanak Devji does not belong only to Sikhs. He belongs to the world, the entire human race," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] Sharp's John Sheehan Named 2020 CRN Channel Chief MONTVALE, N.J., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), announced today that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has named John Sheehan, Senior Vice President of Channel Sales, to its 2020 list of Channel Chiefs. This is the third consecutive year John has been named to the list, which recognizes the top vendor executives who continually demonstrate exemplary leadership, influence, innovation, and growth for the IT channel. Sheehan was named as one of the channel's most influential leaders based on his proven success in growing Sharp's B2B document channel business by strategically aligning teams for better market reach, and for his leadership in helping Sharp adapt to quickly changing market forces. He leads Sharp's document channel and professional AV B2B regional dealer sales teams, government account sales teams and channel service solutions training teams as the business continues to evolve to serve the integrated smart office. "We are proud that John Sheehan has once again been recognized by CRN as a Channel Chief," said Mike Marusic, CEO and President, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. "John's ability and eagerness to drive successful business results while supporting the channel is unmatched. He consistently provides profitable programs for our channel partners, growing our market share and our reseller base to lead us to continued success." CRN's 2020 Channel Chiefs list honors the distinguished leaders who have influenced the IT channel with cutting-edge strategies and partnerships. The 2020 Channel Chiefs have shown outstanding commitment, an ability to lead, and a passion for progress within the channel through their partner programs. The Channel Chief honorees were chosen by the CRN editorial staff for their dedication, industry prestige, and exceptional accomplishments in driving the channel agenda and evangelizing the importance of channel partnerships. "The IT channel is undergoing a constant evolution to meet customer demands and changing business environments," said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. "CRN's Channel Chiefs work tirelessly, leading the industry forward through superior partner pograms and strategies with a focus on helping solution providers transform and grow. Our team here at The Channel Company congratulates these outstanding individuals for their dedication to the channel." CRN's 2020 Channel Chiefs list is featured in the February 2020 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs. About Sharp Electronics Corporation Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation. Sharp is a worldwide developer of one-of-a-kind home appliances, networked multifunctional office solutions, professional displays and smart office systems. Sharp has been named to Fortune magazine's 2020 World's Most Admired Company List, a ranking of the world's most respected and reputable companies. About Sharp Imaging and Information Company Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, markets Sharp's business products, including its new Synappx family of collaboration applications that help address the workforce's increased expectation of secure accessibility, ease of use and mobility; its full line of multifunction printers (MFPs); and professional display products, including the AQUOS BOARD interactive display system. For more information on Sharp's business products, contact Sharp Electronics Corporation, 100 Paragon Drive, Montvale, N.J., 07645. For online product information, visit our website at business.sharpusa.com. Become a fan of Sharp business products on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram and watch us on YouTube . About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook 2020. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Peppercomm for Sharp Matt Luzuriaga 212.931.6187 [email protected] The Channel Company Contact: Jennifer Hogan The Channel Company [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sharps-john-sheehan-named-2020-crn-channel-chief-301011502.html SOURCE Sharp Electronics Corporation USA [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that the Conservative Party is once again having to provide its own opposition to the government, this time in the form of the recently ex-chancellor Sajid Javid, but well come on to that shortly. Watching what are technically the last days of Jeremy Corbyn but which have now lasted for longer than the dinosaurs walked the Earth, has come to remind me of the descent from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. No one really prepares you for the sheer psychological torture of the way down. By the fifth day, summit day, youve been going since midnight youre dizzy, you may well have thrown up, youve had your picture taken at sunrise at the top, and now its broad daylight and youve got a four-hour trudge down to the final campsite. For the entire 240 terrible minutes, its right there in front of you the toilets, the little tents, the boiling tea. The path is a direct descent, down a vicious wall of scree. It looks so terribly near. Hours pass that feel like years and yet its terrible outline doesnt shift. Its just there, right in front of your nose, a whole terrible world away. Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Show all 17 1 /17 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Sajid Javid Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javids departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Rishi Sunak Promoted from Chief Secretary to the Treasury to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the dramatic resignation of Sajid Javid Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Esther McVey Sacked as housing minister AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Andrea Leadsom Sacked as business secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Alok Sharma Appointed business secretary (previously international development secretary). He has also been put in charge of the UKs COP26 climate change summit PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Resigned as the government's most senior law officer AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Suella Braverman Appointed Attorney General and she will attend cabinet EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Theresa Villiers Sacked as environment secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: George Eustice Appointed environment, food and rural affairs secretary. He was a farming and fisheries minister Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed international development secretary (previously parliamentary under-secretary for defence) Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Julian Smith Sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Appointed Secretary of Northern Ireland Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Appointed chief secretary to the Treasury PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Oliver Dowden Appointed culture secretary, succeeding Nicky Morgan Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Skidmore Sacked as eucation minister Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Nus Ghani Sacked as transport minister Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/CC BY 3.0 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: George Freeman Sacked as transport minister Getty After a while, it starts to feel not merely possible but probable that you will in fact never reach it. That you will in fact die on this miserable hill of dirt. That Jeremy Corbyn will still still be leader of the Labour Party. It is now two months since the nation was forced to haul its way up the sad mountain of Electoral Common Sense. It conquered Jeremy Corbyn with great reluctance, like Gary Barlow doing his bit for Comic Relief. And yet Corbyn is still here, torturing us still. Will it ever, ever be over? Can anyone be sure? I am not altogether sure whether it behoves me actually to type out any of what happened at Prime Ministers Questions, other than to say that Jeremy Corbyn did his best to pretend to be angry that Boris Johnson didnt go and indulge in a pointless, counterproductive photo opportunity with flood victims. He called Boris Johnson a part-time prime minister. Is he more, or less, part-time than a leader of the opposition for whom 24 hours is not long enough notice to drum up a question on the utterly damning report, published yesterday, that shows life expectancy is actively going down in economically disadvantaged areas? That 10 years of Tory government has failed in the most damning way that, short of war, any governing party can possibly fail? Recommended Javid warns Johnson against spending splurge after shock resignation Usually, on these occasions, NHS discussions descend into a tedious tit for tat owing to the fact that Labour technically runs the NHS in Wales (even though, importantly, it doesnt set its budget), and it isnt exactly going great. And yet, this report was concerned only with England. It was as great a gift that any opposition could possibly ask for. And that is not to cheapen it either. The findings are horrific. Truly horrific. And the prime minister faced not a moments scrutiny on them. The only scrutiny he did face, at all, came after the questions came to an end, when Sajid Javid rose from the backbenches to give his customary post-resignation statement. Advisers advise, ministers decide, and ministers decide on their advisers, he told the prime minister, who looked visibly uncomfortable, very much for the first time. Javid resigned because he was told that to stay on, he would have to fire all his advisers. He refused. Mr Javid, speaking with the relaxed air of a man who knows he has done the right thing a rare sight in British politics these days breezily explained how the relationship between No 10 and No 11 must be one of mutual respect and trust that allows constructive, creative tension between teams. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events He was full of dutiful praise both for Johnson and his successor, Rishi Sunak, but he made it absolutely clear that, in his opinion, the merging of advisors between No 10 and the Treasury is not in the national interest. It was a firm and well placed shot to Dominic Cummings. It left the route open for his return, but certainly only after Mr Cummings has departed. Predictions are a mugs game in politics, but I stand by mine thatll happen sooner than you think. Quite possibly within these last 10,000 years of Jeremy Corbyn. Congratulations, alharaj.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Alharaj.com scored 96 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 23 Jun 2014, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. alharaj.com is very popular in Twitter and Facebook. It has 1132 twitter followers. Furthermore its facebook page has 958 likes. Add a widget like this on your site: click here This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the alharaj homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if alharaj has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the alharaj homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the alharaj homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the alharaj homepage on Twitter + the total number of alharaj followers (if alharaj has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the alharaj homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Home | Institute for Internet Safety | Student Inspector | IISafety.org DESCRIPTION College and job applications are rejected every day due to items posted online. The Institute for Internet Safety and Student Inspector helps protect our children from these critical mistakes. KEYWORDS Student Inspector, Institute for Internet Safety, iisafety, iisafety.org, reputation, PTA, PTO, fundraising, school, student, safety OTHER KEYWORDS student inspector, student, inspector, internet, children, our children, for internet safety 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 keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English UTF-8English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache/2.2.27 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.27 OpenSSL/1.0.1e-fips mod_bwlimited/1.4 (PHP/5.4.29) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of alharaj.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server. Character set and language of the site. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for alharaj.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/IISafety DESCRIPTION Trusted independent source of leadership for Internet Safety Policy. Protecting our Children with our Student Inspector program. https://www.IISafety.org LIKES 958 PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT 0 PAGE TYPE Company TIMELINE PAGE TIMELINE A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/IISafety DESCRIPTION The Institute for Internet Safety: Trusted independent source of leadership for Internet Safety Policy. Protecting our Children with Student Inspector. ACCOUNT CREATED ON 12 Mar 2014 LOCATION New York TWEETS 33 FOLLOWERS 1132 LISTED 0 The recently proposed data protection bill and the internet intermediary liability rules in India have put various internet companies in deep waters. Apart from tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, one of the biggest companies that are worried about these new rules is Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia. Wikipedia provides access to free knowledge and information online, but thanks to the new policies, it might have to change the way it operates in India. First, the new laws force the company to set up a local entity in India. The amended intermediary liability rules state that any intermediary having over 50 lakh users in India will have to be incorporated in India with a permanent registered office and address. It would also ask to filter its content that goes online and the government can also ask to takedown any specific content within 24 hours, and also request for information as necessary for cybersecurity reasons within 72 hours. This potentially means that the government can pull down almost any information that is being provided on Wikipedia and can even ask for information if and when required. Wikimedia along Mozilla, GitHub, Cloudflare, has written an open letter to the government regarding the internet intermediary liability rules. If the initial draft of the intermediary liability rules were passed, it would take a significant amount of effort and resources for the Wikimedia Foundation to comply with the draft requirements and keep Wikipedia in operation, Stephen LaPorte, legal director, Wikimedia. Does that mean Wikipedia is going to shut down in India? Well, the company says that it will try its best to keep its content free and accessible. It appears from recent statements by the government that it has taken the concerns outlined in the Open Letter into consideration. The foundation remains hopeful that the revised rules will allow non-profits platforms like Wikipedia to continue thriving in India, said LaPorte. Estonia's experience in e-governance and cybersecurity is very valuable for Ukraine. One of the main points of the election campaign of the incumbent President and the majority party was the creation of the State in a Smartphone project. Therefore, Estonia's positive experience in e-governance, digitization, and development of IT economy is very valuable for us, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov said at a meeting with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, the press service of the Ukrainian Parliament reports. Razumkov also praised Estonia's extensive practical experience in IT economy and cybersecurity. The Verkhovna Rada Speaker also underscored that Ukraines movement towards EU and NATO remained the priority. The Parliament and the President share views on this issue. We must continue to implement the European legal norms that will allow us taking fundamental steps on Ukraines path towards Europe, Razumkov stressed. Among the important reforms, the Verkhovna Rada Speaker mentioned the fight against corruption and economic liberalization. Razumkov began his official visit to Estonia on February 25. He was expected to meet with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Estonian Parliament Henn Polluaas, Estonian Minister of Defense Juri Luik, and Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu. ol WASHINGTON The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday that would make lynching a federal crime, a move supporters said is "long overdue" in a country whose history is stained with the atrocities. I cannot imagine our nation did not have any federal law against lynching when so many African Americans have been lynched, said Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., a lead sponsor of the bill. Lynching was the preferred method of the Ku Klux Klan, the preferred choice of torturing and murdering African Americans. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is named in memory of a 14-year-old black teenager who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955. His death was a catalyst for the civil rights movement. The lynching of 14-year-old African American Emmett Till in 1955 shocked the nation and served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Rush said he proposed the bill at the urging of Jesse Jackson, who called last year to ask whether he knew there wasnt such a law. I heard the alarm, Rush told USA TODAY. The House approved the bill 410 to 4. Voting against the measure were Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ted Yoho of Florida. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Mich., also voted no. 'What the hell is wrong with you?' Trump slammed by lawmakers after he called impeachment inquiry a 'lynching' During debate, Democrats and Republicans cited lynchings in their districts and states. "We cannot simply wash away the past," said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a co-sponsor last year on a bipartisan anti-lynching bill. Bacon said it's important to acknowledge "that evil did occur." Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the House GOP whip, said he and other Republicans will try to be added as co-sponsors. It shouldnt be partisan. Its not partisan, he said. I havent seen anybody who is against this bill. The family of Emmett Till welcomed passage of the anti-lynching bill. With this vote, it will finally be criminalized, and the importance of that cannot be overstated, said Deborah Watts, a cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation. Perhaps now the victims who have been crying out from their graves for centuries and their relatives still struggling today can now find some semblance of peace. Story continues Watts said her family will continue its fight for justice in Emmetts death. Rush said he was assured by Senate co-sponsors of a similar bill that if the measure passed in the House, it would quickly be brought up for a vote in the Senate. Supporters hope to have it signed into law by the end of February in honor of Black History Month. The Senate passed a similar bill last year but has to vote on the version approved by the House on Wednesday. The bipartisan Senate bill was proposed by Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. The bill would add language to the Civil Rights Act of 1968, making lynching a violation. Lynchings were horrendous, racist acts of violence,'' Harris said. "For far too long Congress has failed to take a moral stand and pass a bill to finally make lynching a federal crime. Democratic Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Karen Bass of California, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, urge their colleagues to support an anti-lynching bill named after Emmett Till on Feb. 26. 'I'm a black man in America' For Rush, the legislation is personal. He said he remembers when his mother gathered the family in their home in Chicago and showed the picture of Emmett Till on the cover of Jet Magazine. The teenager's mother, Mamie Till Mobley, had an open casket funeral in Chicago to show the world how Till, who had been visiting family in Mississippi, had been beaten and shot in the head. Witnesses said two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, kidnapped Till, whose body was found floating in the Tallahatchie River. It changed my life, recalled Rush, who was 8 years old. It made me much more aware of the impediments to my life, the racism that permeates in America. WATCH: Nation's first lynching memorial confronts legacy of racial terror Ashraf H.A. Rushdy, a professor at Wesleyan University and the author of American Lynching and The End of American Lynching, called it the original hate crime. "It should have its own law, its own section. ... Its the responsible thing to do and the historically accurate thing to do, he said. Supporters said its been more than 100 years since the House passed an anti-lynching bill that failed in the Senate. They said nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced during the first half of the 20th century. Its not for lack of trying, Rushdy said. The Senate for 150 years refused to do that. It stopped every single bill, including two that passed the House. ... It's the Senate that is the body that is failing us. He said the Senate was long controlled by Southern lawmakers, many of whom supported states' rights and were leery of backing a federal law. He said many states adopted anti-lynching bills. There were symbolic gestures in Congress, he said, including an apology in 2005 for inaction proposed by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and a joint resolution in 2017 condemning racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called the anti-lynching bill long overdue. Lynching is a blot on the history of America, he said. But its never too late to do the right thing." Rush called it a shame that such a law hasn't passed. To live in a nation where there is no federal statute was totally reprehensible and unjust, he said. It really was a failure of our nation and Congress to not eventually prohibit lynching. There were 4,743 lynchings from 1882 to 1968, according to the national NAACP. Of those, 3,446 were black. Most lynchings took place in the South. Make no mistake: Lynching is terrorism, said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rush, who was born in Georgia, said one of his uncles was lynched in a rural part of the state. Im a black man in America, he said. I just wanted to make sure that I utilize my vantage point as a member of Congress to enact legislation that, for the first time, will make lynching a violation of federal law. The history of lynching in the USA Some congressional lawmakers have pushed to make civil rights landmarks part of the National Park Service including the Tallahatchie County Courthouse where the two men accused of killing Till were acquitted by an all-white jury. The Equal Justice Initiative, founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, an Alabama attorney, opened the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to honor blacks who were lynched from 1877 to 1950. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emmett Till Antilynching Act: House passes 'long overdue' bill In first case of coronavirus related offences, Singapore will charge a couple from China under the Infectious Diseases Act on Friday for giving false information, while another man's permanent residence status is being stripped for breaching stay-home notice (SHN) to control the spread of the Wuhan-origin disease. Hu Jun, a 38-year-old Chinese national from Wuhan, and his wife Shi Sha, 36, would be charged on February 28 for giving false information to the officials of the Singapore's Ministry of Health and obstructing the conduct of contact tracing, which is vital in monitoring the contacts made with other people in relation to coronavirus outbreak, The Strait Times reported. Hu arrived in Singapore on January 22 and was confirmed to be infected on January 31. He has since recovered and was discharged from hospital on February 19. Shi was identified as a close contact with her husband Hu and was issued a quarantine order on February 1, after the Ministry of Health initiated contact tracing to identify those who may have been exposed to the infected person while he was symptomatic, the report said. The health ministry said the couple gave false information to its officials about their movements and whereabouts from January 22 to January 29 when they were contacted for the purposes of contact tracing. "Shi had also provided false information while under quarantine. However, the ministry said it was able to find out the couple's true movements through detailed investigations," the paper reported. Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province, is the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. It said the couple will be charged on Friday in view of the potentially serious repercussions of the false information given by the pair and the risk they could have posed to public health. Anyone convicted under the Infectious Diseases Act can be fined up to 10,000 Singapore dollars or jailed up to six months, or both, the paper reported. The ministry reminded the public that under the act, it is an offence for anyone to withhold or provide inaccurate information to its officials during contact tracing. Meanwhile, a 45-year-old Singapore permanent resident (PR) of Chinese-origin lost his PR status for having breached stay-home notice requirements while in Singapore from February 20 to 23. He has also been barred from re-entering Singapore, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Wednesday. ICA said the man was served with the notice on February 20 when he arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport as he had travel history to mainland China in the past 14 days. "These notices are issued to Singapore residents, long-term pass holders and foreign workers who have travelled to mainland China, outside of Hubei province, in the last 14 days," the report said. He was briefed on the requirements of the notice but failed to respond to phone calls and was not at his declared place of residence when ICA officers conducted enforcement checks in the days after his return to Singapore. On February 23, he was spotted attempting to leave Singapore, and was warned that he had breached the requirements of his notice and could face penalties. The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic on Wednesday climbed to 2,715 with 52 new fatalities while the confirmed cases rose to 78,064, according to Chinese authorities. In Singapore, two new cases of coronavirus were detected on Wednesday, taking the total number to 93, of which 62 have recovered, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence in northeast Delhi, in which 20 people were killed, and the force is responding to incidents involving anti-social elements. Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa said the situation in northeast Delhi is under control, even as several parts of the area continued to reel under violence. Over 20 persons have been detained and one person arrested till now, police said. Among the 20 dead was Delhi Police head constable Rattan Lal. Sources said he was shot in the left shoulder. Randhawa said 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence. He was also questioned whether action will be taken against BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who has been accused of instigating violence. "All these things are under investigation. We will investigate and take action against conspirators," he said, in response to the query. Sources also said Shahrukh, who had fired a few rounds in the air, after brandishing a gun at a policeman, has been arrested. He said the situation was such as these areas are congested and inhabited by mixed population. "We are responding to stray incidents of violence. Sufficient force has been deployed in northeast Delhi. RAF, SSB and CRPF have also been deployed." "The MHA has given us additional force and we are deploying it," he said. Police sources said that sixty-seven companies of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across the area. He also said senior officers are on the ground and even the Crime Branch and other units are working in close coordination to monitor the situation. Senior police officers are also monitoring the situation closely, he added. Randhawa said the police started receiving calls related to violent incidents from Monday. "We received calls from Gokalpuri, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, Karawal Nagar about such incidents and our force was deployed there." "We had deployed force on important points. Clashes happened between groups of protesters and we sent forces there to control the situation," he said. Randhawa said 56 police personnel sustained injuries, including two IPS officers. DCP (Shahdara) Amit Sharma sustained head injuries and is under medical observation. He also said 130 civilians have been injured and admitted to hospitals. He appealed to people to maintain peace, cooperate with police and not to pay heed to rumours. "Despite prohibitory orders being in place, incidents were reported and we took action. We are tackling incidents and taking strong action. All miscreants and anti-social elements will be dealt with severely," Randhawa said. Drones are also being used to monitor the situation and CCTV footage is being used to identify those who threw stones from their terraces. BRUSSELS The European Union on Tuesday gave its chief negotiator a robust mandate for free trade talks with ex-member Britain, setting up a likely clash over the U.K.s demand to export to the continent on its own terms without the need to necessarily respect the blocs rules and regulations. The 27 remaining EU nations are insisting that if Britain wants the best possible trade deal, it will have to adhere to many of its rules from state aid to environmental standards and to keep its waters open to EU fishing boats. The contrasting starting positions suggest the talks over the future trading relationship could be as frayed as the three-year negotiations related to issues around Britains actual departure from the bloc. After insults and backbiting, the discussions eventually yielded an agreement on the divorce terms. It will be very tough. But it has been very tough for the past three years, said the EUs negotiator Michel Barnier. Britain immediately accused the EU of backing away from its previous commitment to striking a free trade agreement. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman, James Slack, said the bloc was demanding onerous commitments from the U.K. We will not accept any demands for the U.K. to follow EU rules, just as we would not expect the EU to accept U.K. laws, he said. In London, the U.K. government announced that the trade deal negotiations will begin in Brussels next Monday, a month after Britains official departure from the bloc. The post-Brexit trade talks always carried the palpable threat of a chaotic split without any agreement which would make trade costly and unpredictable overnight. Under an agreed transition period, Britain has to abide by EU rules until Dec. 31. But without a trade deal, the threat of more chaos looms at the end of the year. It will be an enormous task. I am afraid we will not only be negotiating, but also preparing ourselves for the chance of a no-deal Brexit, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok warned. Britain has already rejected abiding by EU rules, arguing that the ability to diverge from EU rules is a key component of Brexit. Supporters of Britains departure from the bloc say the great dividend will lie in the repatriation of powers to London from Brussels for the benefit of the British economy. Another stumbling block is the timetable. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists that a deal needs to be done by the end of the year so Britain can leave the EUs frictionless single market and customs union. Britain remains within the EUs economic orbit until the end of 2020 to smooth its departure from the bloc. That transition period can be extended once for up to two years but Johnson has said he wont be doing so. That means the timetable to negotiate everything from fishing rights to access to EU markets is tight, as most trade deals take years to conclude. We need a good agreement rather than succumb to calendar pressure, said Frances Europe Minister Amelie de Montchalin, who insists the U.K. must align itself with EU rules even as they evolve in the future. The EU is fearful the U.K. could undercut EU firms if it is allowed to diverge too much from social, industrial and environmental standards that took years to build together. Given that Britain is an intrinsic part of the European economy following its 47 years of membership of the EU, thats a particular concern across EU capitals. The U.K.s negotiating mandate is due to be published on Thursday. Britain has said it would be seeking a deal similar to the EUs free trade agreement with Canada with no quotas or tariffs on goods. Britain has also promised it wont undercut the EU by lowering standards on environmental protection, food hygiene or workers rights. Johnson said earlier this month that we are not leaving the EU to undermine European standards. The challenge for negotiators will be to find a way to make that commitment binding that both sides can agree on. The first challenge will be fisheries, where the U.K. is set to clash with France. Johnson has insisted that reclaiming waters where local fisherman had to share catches with EU boats was an absolute priority. De Montchalin was just as insistent that those waters need to remain open to EU boats. Johnsons government strongly disagrees and says that when the transition period ends, Britain will have control of its waters just like other coastal states. It doesnt matter what the EU puts in its mandate as we become an independent coastal state on December 31, 2020, Slack said. Any access by non-U.K. vessels to fish in U.K. waters will be for us to determine. EU ministers have also warned that Britain must fully respect the commitment it made in the Withdrawal Agreement to keep the border between the U.K.s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland free of customs posts and other obstacles. That will be done by keeping Northern Ireland aligned to EU rules even if the rest of the U.K. diverges. Comments by Johnsons government seeming to downplay the significance of that agreement have set off alarm bells among EU leaders. Barnier said it was surprising to hear what was being said by some in Johnsons entourage. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that if Britain did not fully implement its border commitment, it will damage significantly the prospects of being able to get even a bare-bones trade agreement. From left, clockwise, Catalyst Twomey, Jamaal Henderson, Noble Henderson, and Billy Boyer lay down roses, which represent people in Philadelphia who died of drug overdose in 2018, outside the Federal Courthouse in Center City, Philadelphia on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. According to news reports, a supervised injection site, the nation's first, will open in South Philadelphia next week. Read more In 2012, we were tasked with trying to get our cousin Caitlin into rehab. Hers is a story that has been repeated thousands of times across the Delaware Valley. She was a 20-year-old daughter, sister, and mom. She was also profoundly addicted to heroin. Other family members had tried to intervene, and now it was our turn. We found her and spent 36 hours together in Center City. We ate pizza, and burritos, and Chinese food, and ice cream. We watched bad TV. We walked the streets of Philadelphia. We lost our tempers. We joked. We hugged. We talked about her daughters. And we fought, sometimes in tears, with insurance companies to try to get her a place in rehab. Two days after we dropped her off, Caitlin walked out the door of that rehab. We would never see her again. Instead, after searching for a ghost for five years, in Camden and in Philadelphia, her mom got the call that she was gone. So much has changed in our lives since then. New jobs, marriage, a family. Yet, living in South Philadelphia today, Caitlin is everywhere. At Broad and Snyder, where we walk past needles on the ground to get to our sons preschool a few blocks away. On our corners, where struggling people gather. In our playgrounds, where they sleep. And in our homes, where our neighbors inject, overdose, and die, in a ritual as familiar as it is tragic. Our neighborhood may not reach the heights of the problems in Kensington, but we lose a neighbor in our zip code at a rate of one a week, and that rate is growing faster than anywhere else. Into that silent, lonely carnage comes courage. With the support of Mayor Jim Kenney and his administration, nonprofit leaders have stepped forward to form an organization called Safehouse, which will open its first overdose prevention site in a medical office building in South Philly. Like the needle exchanges that helped slow the AIDS epidemic, and which virtually everyone now sees as a public good, Safehouse seeks to sever drug use from a death sentence the ultimate harm reduction. It is fitting that Safehouse will open in a medical office. It will connect our neighbors who are struggling with a fresh chance, every single use, to get help. It will connect them to services that they desperately need. It will keep the neighborhood safe, meaning less needles and baggies on our sidewalks. And if something goes wrong, it will keep those addicted alive. For one more day, at least. During the hearing about the legality of Safehouses plans, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, on a political crusade to keep an overdose prevention site from opening, asked whether human beings prevented from dying at such a site would even count as saved if they later overdose. The answer, of course, is yes. Even one more day matters. It matters because it is one more chance to seek treatment. It matters because it is one more day to kiss a loved one, or to create a memory, or to celebrate a birthday. But it is also more foundational than that. It matters because no amount of drugs in a persons body can steal their humanity. Human beings, no matter how much they are struggling, deserve to live. Even one more day. We saw it in those last hours with Caitlin. She had fallen hard, and fast. She was a person who lived a comfortable life, who was suddenly living on the streets, with the totality of her belongings in a plastic shopping bag. She was trying to keep her head above waves of sadness and addiction, and she was losing. You could see the toll. But something else was clear, too: that beneath it all, she was still the funny, feisty, determined, frustrating, wise, curious human being she had always been. Addiction had ruined her life, but it had never touched her soul. At its core, Safehouse is a commitment to the humanity of all of us, addicted or not. One day more, one step at a time. Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg and Jennifer Kates are public interest attorneys raising a family in South Philadelphia. Their cousin Caitlin would turn 28 years old this week. The coronavirus outbreak has become more than a health risk. Its also a contagion of fear, ineptitude and economic damage, the containment of which grows harder by the day. Such a crisis demands a firm, clear response, but this country is getting a mixed message. President Trump is dodging the danger by flippantly suggesting it will subside, calling it a problem that's going to go away Tuesday. Thats a lax and irresponsible reading. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered a more informed, convincing and eye-opening analysis. Its not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Messoniers get-ready stance is backed by other experts, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Oddly enough given the presidents shoulder-shrugging remarks, his administration is prepping a $2.5 billion package of measures to stem the spread of the virus that originated in Wuhan, China. Does the White House know whats happening? For now, this country is relatively safe, with just over 50 reported infections, but thats no cause for complacency. The fast-spreading virus is proving hard to contain here and elsewhere. A collection of countries, including South Korea, Italy and Iran, are reporting surges in coronavirus cases. Dubais airport, a travel hub for the Middle East, is blocking flights from Tehran. Even the Summer Olympics, scheduled to open in Tokyo in July, are raising concern. Two days of three-digit stock-market dips have underlined the worry for the global economy. In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency Tuesday to speed preparations. Santa Clara County did the same weeks ago after two cases were confirmed there. Predictions and containment are complicated by the lag between infection and diagnosis. Travelers who appear healthy can spread the virus, making isolation and treatment that much harder. The threat makes vigilance, preparation and precautions imperative. That could mean more disruptive closures and quarantines. Medical experts believe the world is at a tipping point between an epidemic that sickens a country or a region and a pandemic that would be far more dangerous and less controllable. The rate of the diseases spread and public confidence in the response are both important. Now is the time for full disclosure of the risks and forceful steps to curb the danger. That didnt happen in China, which squandered an opportunity to stop the outbreak. This country and others have another chance, and public trust in official information can only improve our odds. 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. Buba Galadima A video which has gone viral online captured moment officials of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) took over the Abuja home of Buba Galadima, a strong critic and former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari. Asides losing his houses at No. 15 Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja, and No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2 in the FCT following an order given by Justice A.I. Chikere, he also lost his company Bedko Nigeria Limited to AMCON over a chronic debt of N900million. It was gathered that Bedko Nigeria Limited and Buba Galadima owe AMCON about N900m through a loan purchased during the first phase of Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) from Unity Bank Plc in 2011. Commenting on the take over, spokesperson of AMCON Jude Nwauzor said; AMCON has offered the obligor a good measure of olive branches and explored all avenues to resolve the matter amicably. But the obligor, and his company, Bedko Nigeria Limited, have remained recalcitrant and unwilling to repay the huge debt to the Corporation. He further disclosed that AMCON would take all necessary actions, including asset take-over, liquidation, winding-up and garnishee proceedings against Bedko Nigeria Limited and its directors in line with the court judgment and relevant sections of the AMCON Act as amended. On his own part, Buba Galadima denied being indebted to the federal agency. He said; I went to a bank in 2003 to sign for a loan. A letter of credit was opened for me to import fertilizer at that time. But the goods never came. The head office of the bank in America refused to honour the invitation because the Bank in question was under investigation by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Intelligence). I didnt take one kobo from them. They didnt even credit my own account. He alleged that after AMCON sued him, he appealed against the federal high court judgement which he said he was not satisfied with. Galadima revealed that he won the appeal and was freed by the Court of Appeal. He added; All this is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. This is injustice and attempt to humiliate me. But, God will not let them. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in this apartment. We dont know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provides another place for us. They will surely pay for disgracing and humiliating me publicly. I am going back to court. Buba Galadima was one of the nine signatories that signed the merger agreement between some political parties that came together to form the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), which President Buhari used as a platform for his election in 2015. He is the former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency (NMA) (1996 1998), and was appointed the National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) formed in the run-up to the 2011 national elections. Here are videos from the scene below; PARK CITY, Utah, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Wealth Funds reports that two of its three hedge funds were included in the list of the Top Ten performing hedge funds in the world in 2019 by BarclayHedge, a leading independent alternative database vendor. The Insiders Fund was named the 4th best performing hedge fund in the long-short equity category. Theta Investments was named the 9th best performing fund in the options category. The Insiders Fund is based on a common-sense strategy. Portfolio manager and founder of Alpha Wealth Funds, Harvey Sax, explained his strategy: "If the very people that were running the company weren't willing to buy their own stock at or near prices the general public could buy it at, why should I? I wish more people would pay heed to what management is doing with their own money. Too many companies today use their stock as their own personal piggy bank, awarding themselves stock options and then announcing giant buy backs that they sell their stock into." Insider buying is just a first screen, Sax said. Further analysis is done to understand what management saw in the merits of buying their own stock. Cash flow, analyst reports, 10 Ks' and Qs', technical analysis, industry trends, market sentiment, catalysts that could move the stock, and more are all considered in the investment decision. Sax believes that significant outperformance, or alpha, is most likely found in emerging hedge fund managers. There are at least 14,000 thousand emerging hedge fund managers out there, most of them no one has ever heard of, but nonetheless, many smart, honest investment managers battling every day to make good on their investor's money and prove their value to themselves and their partners. "Amazingly enough," Sax stated, "Alpha Wealth Funds had two of those top performers last year. Theta Investments, managed by Russell Kellites, has had one of the best track records in its peer group for years. Alpha Wealth's third and newest fund, The Volatility Advantage fund, started in the 4th quarter of 2018, did not report for the full year as management wanted it to season before reporting. In hindsight, that was a really dumb idea; It was up over 71% and would have been the #1 performing long-short hedge fund in Barclay Hedge's database in 2019." Alpha Wealth Funds is a boutique investment advisory firm, based in Park City, Utah, with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their services range from financial planning, separately managed accounts to emerging hedge funds. Since 2010 they have been shredding the S&P 500 and the finest snow on earth. BarclayHedge is a leading independent alternative database vendor. Please note: BarclayHedge is not affiliated with Barclays Bank or any of its affiliated entities Media Contact: Harvey Sax 866-932-7439 [email protected] SOURCE Alpha Wealth Funds Related Links alphawealthfunds.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:21:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TAIPEI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The total number of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection cases in Taiwan has increased by one to 32, according to the island's epidemic monitoring agency Wednesday. The new patient was a care worker who took care of the 27th confirmed case on the island, a man in his 80s, in the hospital, the agency said in a statement. The woman in her 30s reported slight throat irritation when she was approached and took the infection test on Feb. 24 for being in close contact with the man, according to the statement. Health authorities preliminarily ruled out an infection outbreak within the hospital, after testing other patients that the care worker had taken care of and people having had contacts with her in the hospital, the statement said. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BLOK Technologies Inc. ("BLOK Tech" or the "Company") (CSE: BLK) (OTC: BLPFF) (FRANKFURT:2AD) announces today the appointment of David C. Greenway as President and CEO of the Company. The Company also announces the appointment of Mr. Philip Kwong to the Board of Directors. The Company wishes to announce the resignation of Mr. James Hyland as a Director and Interim President & Chief Executive Officer of BLOK Tech effective immediately. The Board and Management of BLOK Tech thank and express their gratitude to Mr. Hyland for his efforts and contributions to the Company and wish him well in his future endeavors. David C. Greenway Mr. Greenway brings more than two decades of experience in managing, financing, and developing growth strategies for various TSX Venture Exchange and CSE listed companies, including involvement in acquisitions, business valuations and investor relations. His key expertise lies in the management and development of junior public resource companies, especially in the mining, and oil and gas sector. He has held directorships, senior management and business development positions including his roles with Bam Bam Resources Corp., Stamper Oil & Gas Corp, Veritas Pharma Inc., Chief Consolidated Gold Mines, SNS Silver Corp, Moneta Resources Inc., Sterling Mining Company and his board position in Mountain View Conservation Centre. Mr. Greenway attended University in Bournemouth, England where he studied Accounting and Finance. Philip Kwong Philip Kwong has managed and founded numerous private enterprises since 2010. He has worked across a variety of emerging industries which include mobile technology and creating multi-vendor mobile digital marketplaces. A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in his early twenties subsequently launched his career in the cannabis sector. Mr. Kwong is founder and CEO of 3 Carbon Extractions Inc., a company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that has created an industry solution for compliant and safe extraction solutions. Through 3 Carbon, he has entered into an exclusive Canadian market agreement with US company, ExtractionTek Solutions, based in Denver, Colorado. About BLOK Technologies Inc. BLOK Technologies Inc. is a public company that invests in and develops companies in the blockchain and emerging technology sectors. The Companys approach is to provide capital, technology and management expertise to the companies it develops. BLOK Techs current portfolio includes Greenstream and VR Eyes Technology Corp. Greenstream is a technology platform designed to effectively manage value transfer, supply chain integrity and identity verification in complex and highly regulated industries. VR Eyes Technology Corp. is a new innovative company that is researching and developing technology for eye care and is focused on products that make detecting eye functions more convenient for the day to day user. The Company systematically identifies early-stage technologies with potential to disrupt and innovate within their industry and invests the necessary resources to ensure the success of their projects. For additional information regarding BLOK Technologies and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at BLOKTECHINC.COM The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wilson Su Interim CFO, Director For further information, please contact: Wilson Su Interim CFO, Director Tel: (604) 338-4488 Statements in this news release may be viewed as forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. There are no assurances the company can fulfill such forward-looking statements and the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing the company, some of which are beyond the companys control. Robert A. Iger attends the Television Academy's 25th Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2020.(Tommaso Boddi/WireImage,) Disneys Bob Iger Steps Down as CEO, Parks Head Bob Chapek to Take Reins Walt Disney Co.s Robert Iger will step down as chief executive officer, handing the reins to Disney Parks head Bob Chapek, the company said on Tuesday, ending years of speculation on who will take over Hollywoods most powerful studio. Iger is still keeping a significant role at the company. He will assume the post of executive chairman and direct the companys creative endeavors until his contract ends on Dec. 31, 2021, Disney said. The company has gotten larger and more complex just in the recent 12 months, Iger said on a conference call on Tuesday, citing its purchase of 21st Century Fox and launch of direct-to-consumer services such as Disney+ last year. I felt that with the asset bases in place and with our strategy deployed I should be spending as much time as possible on the creative side of our business. Shares of Disney, which ended the day down 3.6 percent, fell another 2.2 percent after the markets closed. Chapek, who will be the seventh CEO in the companys nearly 100-year history, has most recently served as the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Chapek will report to Iger. In Chapeks new role, the company said he will directly oversee all of Disneys business segments and corporate functions. As chairman of Disney theme parks division, Chapek oversaw Disneys largest business segment, including the opening of Disneys first theme park and resort in mainland China and the creation of the new Star Wars: Galaxys Edge lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He joined Disney in 1993. Iger, who has been CEO since 2005, has led the company through the development and launch of its Disney+ streaming service, which launched in November to demand that exceeded company expectations. Iger built up the Disney brand through a series of acquisitions, including animation studio Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, and Star Wars franchise owner Lucasfilm in 2012. His biggest bet was the purchase of 21st Century Fox, a deal that was instrumental in launching Disney+. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed Turkey would not take the "smallest step back" in an escalating stand-off with Damascus and Russia over the northern Syrian region of Idlib. Meanwhile, a meeting between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is expected to take place, the Turkish foreign minister, ahead of a possible summit including EU heavyweights Germany and France to find a political solution to the Idlib crisis. "We will not take a smallest step back in Idlib, we will certainly push the regime outside the borders we designated, and ensure the return of the people to their homes," Erdogan told ruling party's lawmakers in parliament in Ankara. As part of deals with Russia -- a key supporter of President Bashar al-Assad -- rebel backer Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib but several have come under fire from Assad forces. Ankara has confirmed as many as 17 Turkish security personnel have been killed this month alone. Erdogan bluntly warned the Syrian regime to "stop its attacks as soon as possible" and to pull back by the end of February. "The time we have given to those who besieged our observation towers is running out," Erdogan said. "We are planning to save those of our observation posts from the besiegers one way or another by the end of this month." Erdogan added that "the biggest problem we currently have is that we cannot use the air space" over Idlib which is controlled by Russia. "God willing, we will find a solution soon." In recent weeks, Damascus backed by Russian air strikes has pressed a major offensive against the remaining territory held by jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib. In a statement read on public television, the Syrian army on Wednesday announced it had "regained control" of a dozen of areas in recent days, including Kafranbel in the south of Idlib, a town known to have been among the first to rebel against Damascus. The army vowed to "liberate the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic from terrorism and its supporters." Idlib hosts more than three million people -- half of them already displaced by violence elsewhere and the United Nations has warned against an imminent "bloodbath" amid the continuing fighting. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying on state-run TRT tv, that as a first step, "what President Erdogan and Putin have agreed is to come together at a bilateral format." While backing opposite sides, Russia and Turkey have worked to end the conflict but strains have soared in recent weeks over Idlib. The tensions are seen as the biggest threat to Ankara-Moscow ties since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over Syria in November 2015. The Kremlin indicated Tuesday however, that an Erdogan-Putin meeting was not on the cards, also saying that a tripartite summit with another regime ally Iran could be planned instead of a multilateral one with France and Germany. A Russian delegation was due to hold another round of talks with Turkish officials in Ankara Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:34:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close As positive signs started emerging in China's battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, the country is meticulously expanding business operations with a precise approach that attaches different priorities to regions in light of their health risks. by Xinhua writers Cheng Lu, Lyu Qiuping and Li Xingwen BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- After fluctuating at a low level for two weeks, the "resumption power index" which can reflect the number of enterprises that have returned to work in east China's Jiangxi Province shows an upward trend. The index grew by 16 points from Feb. 13 to Feb. 24. "Based on the model calculation, every point of increase means that about 1,000 enterprises have resumed business," said Hu Zhiqiang from the State Grid Jiangxi Electric Power Co., Ltd. As the barometer of economic growth, the index shows Jiangxi's economy is accelerating to recover from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hu added. By Tuesday, 78,064 people on the Chinese mainland had been confirmed as being infected, and 2,715 had died. Meanwhile, the daily number of newly cured and discharged coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new infections for the eighth consecutive day. As positive signs started emerging in China's battle against the epidemic, the country is meticulously expanding business operations with a precise approach that attaches different priorities to regions in light of their health risks. Workers from Yunnan Province arrive at Jinjiang International Airport by a chartered flight in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) DIFFERENTIATED MEASURES Local authorities are ordered to take region-specific approaches when advancing resumption of work and production based on local health risks, according to decisions at a central authorities meeting. Regions with relatively low risks should focus on preventing imported cases and comprehensively restoring the order of production and life. Medium-risk regions should promote work and production resumption in an orderly manner based on local situations, while high-risk regions should continue to be fully committed to epidemic prevention and control. Jiangxi Province now places its counties and districts in three risk groups that correspond to different epidemic prevention measures to mitigate the impact on the economy. Four out of 100 counties and districts in the province were classified as high-risk areas, 18 as medium and the other 78 as low. The risk level can be dynamically adjusted based on epidemic situations. With no confirmed cases of infection or no new cases reported in 18 consecutive days, a total of 40 low-risk counties and districts, including Shanggao, have lowered their emergency response from Level I to Level II or III on Tuesday. Staff check the exterior of the buses for export at Jiangxi Kama Business Bus Co., Ltd. at Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang) To push for work resumption, Shanggao County has dispatched more than 170 cadres to help enterprises solve problems involving labor, raw materials, logistics and funds that hamper their business resumption. A total of 156 industrial enterprises above designated size, around 90.7 percent of the total, have returned to work in the county. Jiangxi is sending more cadres to assist its companies, striving to cover all epidemic control material producers and industrial enterprises above designated size, said Xin Qinghua, deputy head of the provincial department of industry and information technology. Meanwhile, the province gave business resumption priority to firms upstream of the supply chain, such as those produce basic raw materials. Nanchang Cemented Carbide LLC is a producer of milling cutters, which are key tools used for manufacturing medical equipment. During the epidemic, the company had difficulties to deliver goods due to transport restrictions. Nanchang economic and technological development zone, where the company is located, helped find logistics enterprises to deliver the milling cutters with lower transport costs. "With smooth logistics, we can now speed up our production," said Zhang Yuqi, deputy general manager of the company. An employee works on a production line to produce dry granulators, which will be supplied to drug manufacturers in Shanghai and other cities to help combat the coronavirus, at Wanshen Pharmaceutical Machinery Co., Ltd. in Yichun, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi) BACK ON TRACK WITH CAUTION Besides Jiangxi, many Chinese local governments have taken differentiated measures to ensure the resumption of normal economic activities on the premise of virus containment. On Feb. 20, Changchun, capital of northeastern Jilin Province, issued a circular requesting the related government departments to help companies solve problems such as labor, funds and gas supply shortages and encourage small hotels to work with employers to accommodate their workers. The districts with no confirmed COVID-19 cases or no new cases for 14 consecutive days may further relax the control on the operation resumption of the companies and the personnel flow, it said. Changchun is home to one of the country's largest automobile maker, FAW Group, as well as a slew of auto parts and components producers. At one FAW factory, work resumed on Feb. 22 on two shifts with some 300 vehicles rolling off the assembly line a day. To ensure workers' health, the government of Changchun's automobile economic and technological development zone, where the factory is located, allocated disinfectant to the workshops and helped rent hotels and college dormitory buildings to quarantine more than 7,200 returned workers. A worker takes temperature at a workshop of FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd. in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan) So far, over 90 percent of the enterprises in the development zone have resumed operation. 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. More Chinese provinces, including Liaoning, Gansu, Anhui and Guangdong, have lowered their emergency response level after reporting no new cases for several days. To facilitate work resumption, the country has loosened traffic controls and arranged buses, trains and flights to bring migrant workers back to factories. Tax and fees for industries heavily impacted by the epidemic have been lowered to alleviate social security burdens on the employers. The Ministry of Commerce has pledged to facilitate foreign-invested enterprises to resume production, especially to industry leaders, to keep the global supply chain stable. A stewardess introduces prevention and control measures of the novel coronavirus to passengers on a special train heading for east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Li An) In Dongguan, a manufacturing hub in Guangdong Province, a total of 5,791 foreign-funded enterprises had resumed work, including 60 percent of large and medium-sized ones as of Feb. 23. The Shanghai Association of Foreign Investment found, based on a survey over 697 key foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, that more than 90 percent of surveyed firms in the service sector and about 70 percent of those in the manufacturing industry have resumed operation. By Feb. 22, a total of 10,680 industrial enterprises above designated size in Jiangxi, around 83.9 percent of the total, have resumed business with more than 1 million people back to work, according to local authorities. "With a raft of supportive policies, the resumption power index in Jiangxi will maintain its upward trend. Work and production back on track will continue injecting vitality into economic growth," Hu said. (Xinhua correspondents Yu Xianhong, Guo Jiewen and Zhang Jian contributed to the report; Video reporters: Guo Jiewen, Bai Bin, Jiang Mingming, Pan Xu and Xu Wei; Video editor: Liu Yuting) Over the last few days, I have watched with keen interest, Kevin Taylor's expose on the Aker/Ghana government deal. Kevin on his Loud Silence Media program dubbed: "With All Due Respect" revealed clandestine changes in the upstream petroleum sector. For the benefit of readers, let me add my comments to what I call the most radical political attack on Ghana's upstream petroleum sector since the commencement of the FOURTH REPUBLIC. This attack has far-reaching consequences and serious implications for the future of Ghanas upstream petroleum industry way beyond AKER; affecting not only our economy but future generations to come! Government knew we would all be distracted over the Christmas festivities in December; So, guess what our Govt did??? Late one evening, precisely on Dec 23rd, whilst some were spending family time together, some of us grieving, and our youth "Detty Raving", "Blooming", "Afro Chelling", "Afro Nating" etc, our government led by President Nana Akuffo Addo, rushed amendments through Parliament, to approve significant changes to the upstream petroleum sector without following the due process! Let me refresh our memories a bit; you may all recall in October last year, I stood on a platform with the Minister of Energy, Hon Peter Amewu at an Oil and Gas Conference held at the University of East London in the United Kingdom. At this conference, I raised the alarm about the entire integrated Plan of Development (PoD) resubmitted by Aker Energy in relation to the Pecan oil field which would rob the nation of billions of United State Dollars both immediately and over the next 30 years. I hinted that government was preparing to pass amendments to the existing regulations and laws governing the upstream petroleum sector provided Aker Energy agreed to the NPP Governments demands. It is alleged that Government among other demands, asked Aker Energy to ensure the usage of only designated/chosen local partners (mainly controlled by people associated with the leadership of the NPP), even if these local partners are not qualified or even if these foreign oil services companies have already chosen their local partners. The Energy Minister assured Ghanaians at the conference that he would not approve the PoD if those were the conditions attached to it. He said and I quote the PoD that you are talking about is lying on my table and I insist I am not going to give them that opportunity. The changes that were rushed through Parliament, even made reference to an earlier amendment which Parliament had approved conditionally; the condition being that the Minister had to come back to Parliament, within 6 months or so, with some agreed revised clauses Parliament had insisted on, which related to increasing the People of Ghanas additional participating interest ( additional equity) from 3% to 10%, as well as ensuring that the original local content partners were not removed and their equity holding remained untouched. Guess what happened ?? The Minister in his submission of the recent amendment to parliament on Dec 22 did not even have the courtesy to address those preconditions that our legislative body (Parliament) had given for passing the previous amendment, but rather made mention in the new amendment laid on Dec 23, 2019 before Parliament that the previous conditional amendment that Parliament had given had been passed! Consequences The immediate impact of the amendments will; Strangle state policymaking, state regulation, and state commercial participation in the upstream oil and gas (O&G) sector. The collapse of local content development. Impose certain critical obligations on the Minister which are regulatory in nature. Compel the Minister to accept use of FPSO technology as the only option for producing the resources of the AGM Block - even before the appraisal of the field in which the technology must be deployed. Compel the Minister to accept the contractors delineation of the area to be included within a Development and Production Area in the Aker Block. Allow Aker within a year of its Final Investment Decision to unilaterally vary the approved development plan without reference to the Minister contrary to Section 27(12) of Act 919. Give Contractors unfettered discretion over oilfield procurement without recourse to the petroleum commission or any other governmental authority - also weakening the role of GNPC in Joint Management Committees. The direct beneficiary of these giveaways will be the Norwegian Multinational, AKER which owns and controls both the Aker Ghana and AGM operated Oil Blocks. The direct LOSER is Ghana The cumulative medium to long term effect of all these giveaways will be a loss of national control over our precious petroleum resources which will lead among other things to: a. billions of dollars lost to the nation; and b. loss of job creation Taxation and Other Imports Sadly, these amendments also provide sweeping tax exemption for Aker and AGM, its sub-contractors and sub-sub-contractors. No withholding taxes in the case of AGM itself, and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5% - instead of the 15% withholding tax - for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions. It is reckless to exempt Withholding tax for international transactions; this is akin to surrendering taxing rights to a foreign state because the foreign state will apply tax on its worldwide income and will result in permanent revenue loss for Ghana. Additionally, exempting Withholding tax on domestic transactions may lead to tax evasion as the trail is lost; eventually resulting in large scale tax loss due to avoidance. The non-resident companies having established a Permanent Establishment (PE) status for tax purposes would be liable for full corporate tax. Sadly, the amendments make it possible for non-residence Permanent Establishment (PE) to be exempted from the payment of tax at the domestic rate. This will cause a substantial tax loss as the tax exemption is for 7 years. Transactions between Sub-contractor to sub-contractor is also not subjected to Withholding tax in the case of AGM and a reduced withholding tax rate of 5% instead of the 15% withholding tax for any work or services or supply or use of goods, both to domestic and international transactions. The amendments to exempt transactions between Sub-contractor to sub-contractor are unacceptable as it would have similar consequences as said above. Aker and AGM will be exempted from import duty, VAT and all sorts of other taxes. However, the indirect taxes are not a cost to the Aker and AGM as it avails input credit. Conclusion This government has bestowed on all Ghanaians massive historical damage to our oil and gas sector and our economy for future generations damage that at least in financial terms far exceeds the damage of the PDS scandal. May God help us all as we embark on a mission to reset and rescue Ghana from corruption and state capture in 2020!!! Source: Alex Mould/ Former GNPC Boss 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 Coronavirus: Turkey advises against travelling to Italy Country urges to 'avoid affected regions unless necessary' (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 26 - Turkey has advised against travelling to Italian regions affected by an outbreak of coronavirus "unless necessary", the Turkish foreign ministry said. The ministry issued the same warning regarding Iraq. (ANSAmed). Further evaluation of Teslas Autopilot system is needed and phones should be disabled when driving, the NTSB says. The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday sharply criticised Tesla Incs lack of system safeguards in a fatal 2018 Autopilot crash in California and called US regulators approach in overseeing the driver assistance systems misguided. NTSB board members questioned Teslas design of its semi-automated driving assistance system and condemned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a hands-off approach to regulating the increasingly popular systems. The NHTSA has taken a nonregulatory approach to automated vehicle safety and should complete a further evaluation of the Tesla Autopilot system to ensure the deployed technology does not pose an unreasonable safety risk, the NTSB said. The board faulted Apple Inc and other smartphone makers for refusing to disable devices when users are driving. It also called on the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration to use its authority to take action against employers who fail to address the hazards of distracted driving. The boards criticism posed a direct challenge to the automotive industrys efforts to profit from partially automated vehicles and the smartphone industrys quest to keep user eyes on their devices. The NTSB can only make recommendations, while the NHTSA regulates US vehicles. The NHTSA has sent teams to investigate 14 Tesla crashes in which Autopilot is suspected of being in use, but taken no action against the company. Concerns have grown about systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches with little or no human intervention, but cannot completely replace human drivers. Its time to stop enabling drivers in any partially automated vehicle to pretend that they have driverless cars. Because they dont have driverless cars, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. The Mountain View, California crash involving a driver who was playing a game on his phone during the fatal trip illustrates semi-autonomous vehicles can lead drivers to be complacent and it also points out that smartphones manipulating them can be so addictive that people arent going to put them down, Sumwalt added. Walter Huang, a 38-year-old Apple software engineer, was driving his Tesla Model X in 2018 in Autopilot mode at about 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) when it crashed into a safety barrier. The NTSB said Huang had been using an iPhone and recovered logs showed a word-building game was active. The probable cause of Huangs crash was Autopilot steering the vehicle off the highway due to system limitations, and the drivers lack of response due to distraction likely from a mobile phone game application and overreliance on Autopilot, the NTSB said. Huang on prior trips had intervened when Autopilot steered the vehicle towards the same highway gore area. The NHTSA said it would carefully review the NTSBs recommendations. The agency added that commercial motor vehicles require the human driver to be in control at all times. Tesla drivers are able to avoid holding the steering wheel for extended periods while using Autopilot but Tesla advises keeping hands on the wheel and paying attention. Sumwalt said Tesla allowed drivers to remove their hands from the wheel for up to three minutes under certain conditions when using Autopilot. The NTSB said Tesla added safeguards to require quicker warnings at higher speeds for drivers without hands on the wheel. Regulators in Europe place limitations on Autopilot use and Tesla issues alerts there for hands-off driving within 15 seconds, the NTSB said. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg called Autopilot completely inadequate and noted Tesla vehicles have repeatedly crashed into large obstacles. Sumwalt said Tesla unlike five other auto manufacturers has ignored NTSB safety recommendations issued in 2017. Teslas Autopilot is tied to at least three deadly crashes since 2016 and suspected in others. The NTSB will in coming days release the probable cause of a third Tesla Autopilot fatal crash in March 2019 in Florida that showed no evidence the drivers hands were on the steering wheel in the final eight seconds before striking a semi-trailer truck. The NTSB also called on cellphone manufacturers to add more safeguards to prevent the misuse of devices by drivers. Sumwalt noted that Apple did not have a distracted driving policy but said it should have one. Apple says it expects its employees to follow the law. A 59-nine-year-old Scarborough man took responsibility for playing a key role in the importation of illegal firearms from the United States into Canada for distribution on Toronto streets by pleading guilty Wednesday to weapons smuggling and trafficking. The discovery of 60 handguns buried in bedding in the trunk of Harris Poysers rented vehicle on May 23, 2018, outside a home in Cornwall, on the U.S. border in eastern Ontario, was billed as the largest single seizure of illegal firearms in the history of the Toronto Police Service. Wearing a white-collared, blue button-down shirt and black jeans, Poysers voice was barely audible in the empty courtroom as he answered yes to Justice John McMahons questions meant to ensure an accused persons plea has not been coerced. McMahon said he was satisfied Poyser had made the decision to enter a guilty plea in consultation with his lawyer Michael Quigley rather than stand trial next month. Poyser pleaded guilty to six charges, including instructing the commission of an offence for the benefit of a criminal organization, importing firearms and possession of firearms for the purpose of trafficking. The judge told Poyser he faces a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years. A sentencing hearing is set for May 7, two weeks before Poysers 60th birthday. He remains in custody. On Wednesday, the prosecution read a synopsis of the crimes committed by Poyser and his alleged accomplices. During the spring of 2018, Poyser was working in association with Ernest Wilson, a man known as Biggs who was living in Florida. Poyser, Wilson, Kareem Lewis a co-accused who has since died and a man known as Apache worked together to bring illegal firearms north and other contraband south across the Canada-United States border for illegal sale in both countries, court heard. Wilson who is also now dead would buy handguns from various dealers in Florida and have them shipped north to the border near Cornwall. Apache would arrange for the handguns and other contraband Wilson was sending north to cross the border and be delivered to a house at 515 Oliver Lane in Cornwall. Poyser, or someone instructed and supervised by Poyser, would pick up the handguns and other contraband for transport to Toronto, where it would be sold on the black market, Crown attorney Sam Scratch said, reading from an agreed statement of facts. Poyser would also arrange for Canadian contraband to be exported illegally to the U.S. using Apache and Wilsons network, Scratch said. (He did not elaborate on the other contraband, nor which border crossing was used.) Poysers collaboration with his associates made up a criminal organization, which made his crimes more serious and subject to a stiffer penalty. The Crowns synopsis included summaries of several transactions in the illegal import-export scheme, which was active in April and May 2018. The smugglers were caught on wiretaps using the code name Irish for handguns. On May 7, Poyser instructed two associates to travel to Cornwall to pick up handguns that Wilson had sent north and Apache had shepherded across the border. Poyser was intercepted discussing with Wilson how to divide the handguns and, on this occasion, Poysers two associates one of them Lewis picked up a shipment of 29 handguns and delivered them to Poysers house in Scarborough. There, they divided the guns for each to sell in Toronto. On average, Wilson was receiving $2,500 per gun. Poysers two associates were seeking prices in the range of $4,000. In all, the trio made a profit of $1,500 per illegal gun sold, Scratch told court. On the day of his May 23, 2018, arrest, Poyser and Lewis drove separately from Toronto to the Oliver Lane house in Cornwall. There, an unidentified man loaded two large bags containing bedding and 60 handguns into the trunk of Poysers rented car. This entire exchange was captured on video by a police surveillance plane equipped with a long-range camera that followed Poyser. Wilson had indicated there was also to be another shipment of 40 guns. But that was not to be. A Toronto police surveillance team followed Poyser as he headed to Highway 401 toward Toronto. But before he reached the ramp, officers boxed his vehicle in and arrested him. They found 60 handguns and 108 magazines, 54 of them high-capacity and, therefore, themselves prohibited devices. Poyser was not licensed to possess a firearm at the time and had never registered a firearm. Lewis was also picked up by police after Poysers arrest. He died awaiting trial. Toronto police have long warned of the flow of illegal firearms over the Canada-U.S. border. Last month, police released statistics saying 82 per cent of the traceable handguns they seized in 2019 originated in the U.S., with the remainder coming from Canada. However, of the 453 handguns Toronto police seized, nearly a quarter 107 were not traced, according to the data. Trump administration announces a $2.5bn emergency fund to confront new coronavirus, but Democrats say it is not enough. Washington, DC President Donald Trump rejected accusations that his administration is not doing enough to address the coronavirus threat on Wednesday, after days of mixed messages from the White House and federal agencies on the response to the potential spread of the deadly disease in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday warned Americans to prepare for the possibility of an outbreak of the flu-like virus in the US. But Trump, who was on a two-day trip to India, said the coronavirus was very well under control in our country. On Monday, his administration called for a $2.5bn to fund the development of a vaccine, gather protective equipment, support for state and local programmes and to set up preparedness. But US legislators have said the measure falls short, and have called on the White House to appoint a czar who could coordinate a national response. Democrats on Wednesday unveiled an $8.5bn request to prepare for an outbreak. We will be dealing with this as quickly as possible, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. One of the problems that we see is people are flying all over the world almost every day, so that it is very difficult to protect yourself from a pandemic that exists either in Africa, or China or in Europe, Hoyer told reporters at the US Capitol on Wednesday. The Pentagon told Congress it was reviewing the possibility it may need additional funding to deal with the spread of the virus, hours after the US military reported a soldier in South Korea had become infected. It is spreading and we cant give you a definitive answer on whether well need additional resources or not, said Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressing a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. We owe you some answers. Fourteen cases of the virus have been recorded in the US, according to the CDC. Twelve of those cases were travel-related. The immediate risk to the American public remains low, but there is now community transmission in a number of countries, including outside Asia, which is deeply concerning, Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Alex Azar, who is leading a coronavirus taskforce told a House committee on Wednesday. We expect to see more cases here, Azar said. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on President Donald Trumps budget request for fiscal year 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo] Observers say the possibility of a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus in the US poses a political risk to Trump who faces re-election in November. Transportation shutdowns, closures of schools and businesses could hurt public perception of the presidents job performance. The disease, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 80,000 people globally. COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, has killed more than 2,700 people in China and dozens of others worldwide. The spread of the coronavirus also affected global stock markets, which have slumped in recent days due to worries over a prolonged disruption to supply chains and economies. Trump has been increasingly concerned by the drop in the stock market, which he considers a key barometer of the health of the economy and essential to his re-election prospects. It is all about the stock market, said Jim Manley, a former leadership aide in the US Senate. Trump believes, with some justification that if the economy fails or tanks, it is going to be difficult for him to be reelected, Manley told Al Jazeera. Which, in turn, is leaving a lot of people puzzled given the real problems that are potentially right around the corner when it comes to the virus itself. Trump again pushed back against critics on Wednesday and tweeted that the CDC and Azar are doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus. Just landed. India was great, trip very successful. Heading to the White House. Meetings and calls scheduled today. @CDCgov, @SecAzar and all doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! Briefing this afternoon. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020 He also announced that he will be addressing the issue in a news conference at the White House on Wednesday at 6:30pm (23:30GMT). Earlier, he criticised some media outlets for their coverage of coronavirus and accused them of panicking markets. Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape! @CDCgov.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020 Democrats have blasted the Trump administration for previous budget cuts in programmes designed to provide coordination and planning for a potential pandemic outbreak. Trumps newly submitted budget for fiscal year 2021 proposes $10bn in cuts to the HHS budget, about 11 percent of the agencys total funding. The proposed cuts would include a $700m slash in funding for CDC, one of the lead agencies at the forefront of managing the US response to the coronavirus. Peter Jay Hotez, professor and dean at the National School of Tropical Medicine, in Houston, Texas, said adequate funding and preparedness at the local level is key to confronting the spread of coronavirus, or any other pandemic in the US. The risk is that we will start seeing this virus in a foothold with a significant level of transmission like we are seeing in Italy or Iran, Hotez told Al Jazeera. That is the big concern and that is what we need to be ready for. Its a significant pathogen with a high level of transmissibility and a higher case fatality rate than the flu, so we have to take it very seriously, he said. With additional reporting by William Roberts in Washington, DC. LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Should travellers avoid parts of the world near coronavirus hotspots? Or go - but then tread carefully? The official advice they receive may depend on whether they live in Amsterdam, Helsinki, Madrid or Lagos. As the new coronavirus spreads from China, travel guidelines being issued by governments across the world all express notes of growing caution. But they contain subtle differences on where to avoid, how to behave and what to do after a trip. With few exceptions, the prevailing advice of national authorities is to avoid Hubei province - epicenter of an outbreak that has now infected 80,000 people worldwide - and to reduce Chinese travel to the bare minimum. Once inside China, Swiss travellers for example are urged by their government to avoid large gatherings and "cough or sneeze into a tissue, or use the crook of your arm". France tells its nationals not to eat raw meat or visit animal markets. The Spanish Foreign Ministry also urges against contact with animals in China and suggests making sure that you stay at least one metre away from the next person. For travellers to Italy - the country most badly hit by the virus in Europe - the Dutch government recommends that its citizens avoid areas already locked down by local authorities and only travel to parts of the wider Lombardy region around the closed-off towns if necessary. The Finnish Foreign Ministry advice on Italy is simply to "take special care". Differences also emerge in the advice to travellers on their return from an affected area. Germany's main authority for infectious diseases tells those returning with symptoms from outbreak regions in Italy to see a doctor and call prior to their visit. But France asks such people not to visit the doctor but to call emergency services. Britain urges its nationals to "self-isolate" at home if they have been to the areas quarantined by Italy whether or not they have symptoms. The Danish Health Authority currently stipulates no routine quarantine or isolation of people who have travelled to China or other places hit by the outbreak. Countries outside Europe take different stances. Turkey advises against all but essential travel to China but has not yet issued travel advice on Italy. Nigeria has a voluntary two-week self-quarantine in place for all passengers arriving from China or any country with "a major outbreak". Guidance for returning air passengers says "try to avoid" going out but wear a mask if you do. (Reporting by Reuters bureaus; compiled by Mark John Editing by Gareth Jones) A former neo-Nazi leader from Texas has been arrested and charged with allegedly making phony bomb threats that included as their target a onetime member of Donald Trumps cabinet. John Denton, 26, was detained in Virginia for his alleged role in a series of so-called swatting events. These involved making hoax calls to local law enforcement to summon a police response. Prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, said the targets of the bogus bomb threats included a predominantly African American church, former homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Denton has been identified as a former leader of a group called Atomwaffen Division, which has been linked to multiple killings. Authorities said the group is seeking to incite a race war. Mr Denton, from the Texas city of Montgomery, is one of several alleged Atomwaffen members to face federal charges in recent months and is the second person charged in Alexandria in relation to the swatting calls in Virginia. According to court documents that were made public on Wednesday, Mr Denton also chose two specific targets in the swatting scheme: the New York offices of ProPublica, an online investigative news organisation, and one of its journalists. Trump's lowering of the flag until 8 August shows 'ignorance' of White House towards neo-Nazis, former FBI chief says The affidavit said Mr Denton was angry at ProPublica and the journalist for exposing his role as an Atomwaffen leader. Mr Denton admitted to an undercover FBI agent that he participated in the swatting calls to ProPublica and the ProPublica journalist, and used a voice changer when he made calls, according to the affidavit. Members of the conspiracy conducted more than 100 swatting calls throughout the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, in 2018 and 2019, the court filings claimed. The affidavit said Mr Denton was a founding member of Atomwaffen Division who used the names Rape and Tormentor in online conversations while holding a day job as a mortuary worker. Earlier this year, former Old Dominion University student John William Kirby Kelley was charged in the swatting scheme. It it not known whether Mr Denton has yet to enter a plea. Additional reporting Associated Press Labour MP Chris Bryant today warned that the coronavirus outbreak is causing a shortage of wedding dresses in the UK. Bryant said many dresses sold by bridal retailers in the UK are imported from China and shops have found it really difficult because the factories have been closed. With so many engagements happening at Christmas, spring is peak season for wedding dress shopping, and therefore Bryant has called on the Government to make sure there is some kind of financial support offered to struggling companies. Responding to Bryant as he took questions on the impact of the viruss outbreak on supply chain issues, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he is working with the Treasury on the appropriate response. Many wedding dresses in this country are designed in this country but made in China, and wedding dress companies in the UK, including in my constituency, have found it really difficult because the factories have been closed in China and theyre now suffering. Having married many women in my time when I was a vicar, I am aware that this is very time sensitive, and there is a real danger to many of these businesses that they are going to suffer enormous financial loss, let alone to the families. Bryant requested that Hancock chase up replies from ministers in other departments to make sure there is some kind of financial support to these companies, who will certainly lose out on sales if their stock is affected in this crucial period. He raises an important point and through the medium of the wedding dress makes actually a much broader point, which is that a huge amount of things are made in China, replied Hancock. And this is true also of drugs and pharmaceuticals and right across the board, especially clothing. And this virus and the impact on China will have an impact here through those supply chain problems and I am working with the Treasury on the appropriate response to that. Containing the virus will obviously have health benefits but it will have economic benefits too. Food Donated to Chinese City Under COVID-19 Lockdown Is Wasted or Stolen by Authorities Food donated to a Chinese city under COVID-19 lockdown in Chinas Hubei Province is not being distributed to those who really need them, and many people have turned to social media to express their anger over the situation. After several weeks of lockdown due to the deadly coronavirus spreading, hospitals, quarantine centers, and households started to experience food shortages. But more than a thousand tons of vegetables donated by Guizhou Province to Ezhou City in Hubei Province, was stolen by authorities or left rotting in warehouses. Only a small amount of goods went to the markets, where theyre being sold to the public at high prices, according to various posts on Chinese social media. Police and Their Families Have More Than They Can Eat A family member of an employee of the Phoenix Police Station in Echeng District posted a video on social media on Feb. 18, in which she showed the donations her family received from the police station, including four boxes of fruits, lots of vegetables, and eggs. The woman said its more than they can eat, and so she took three boxes of goods to her parents home. Another Wechat user, who is an officials wife, posted a list of supplies gifted to her family, including six barrels of oil, a bag of cherry tomatoes, a bag of vegetables, four bags of rice, and hundreds of face masks. The cherry tomatoes came from an employee of the Phoenix Police Station. All the supplies came from the Guizhou donation. She wrote, Blame your husband for not being an official! Many Locals Go Hungry While Food Rots A large amount of food donations were seen rotting in warehouses, instead of being distributed to the many residents that desperately need them. The post vegetables donated by Guizhou to Ezhou rot in warehouses is trending on social media. Several photos taken by Ezhou residents show large amounts of vegetable donations from Guizhou rotting in a warehouse. There are also photos showing police moving dozens of boxes of vegetables into their vehicles. The news sparked outrage among Ezhou residents, with many sharing their experiences and observations online. Below are some of their posts: I live in Ezhou. Why didnt I see my share of vegetables from the donation? It turns out, here they are! My family spends nearly 200-300 yuan ($28.5-$42.7) a day to buy vegetables now. I live in the urban area of Ezhou. There are no free vegetables. The vegetable bag priced at 50 yuan ($7.10) only has a small amount. No fruits for sale in grocery stores at all. I know that Ezhou has received the materials donated by Guizhou, but our community did not even see a vegetable leaf. Two of my best friends are both from Ezhou. They cant buy any food at all and have been eating egg noodles for 20 days. Im from Ezhou. I havent had any vegetables for 6 days. Ezhou medical staff pay for their own food, and its all vegetables! Yet some family members (of the police) are able to take 4 boxes of produce at one time. Isnt this outrageous? Guizhou residents also expressed their anger on social media: We are so poor. Many impoverished counties have been squeezed to make donations. Do they have any conscience? So infuriating! Hezhang is designated as a state-level poverty-stricken county. We donated so much, yet the supplies were not distributed into the hands of citizens! According to arrangements by authorities, Guizhou is responsible for supporting Ezhou. Since Feb. 1, officials from Guizhou Province have transported thousands of tons of vegetables, meat, poultry, and other supplies to Ezhou City, Chinese state media reported. On Feb. 15, 14 trucks from Anshun City, Guizhou Province, arrived in Ezhou, according to Chinese state media. The trucks were loaded with 160 tons of farm goods, including cattle, pigs, chickens, eggs, mushrooms, cabbages, green radishes, leeks, and hotbed chives. A netizen tracked down the information of donated goods transported from Guizhou to Ezhou, based on media reports and public notices. At present, the whereabouts of about 1,500 tons of vegetables have not been accounted for by officials. Criminal justice advocacy groups on Wednesday protested the Harris County District Attorneys Office for using pro bono civil litigation attorneys to help prosecute misdemeanor cases in the Justice of the Peace courts. District Attorney Kim Ogg announced the program on Monday - months after its September start date - applauding its ability to give new law school graduates trial experience while lightening workloads for hired prosecutors on her staff. Advocates pounced, questioning the ethics of outsourcing public work to private company employees, and fearing that more people prosecuting cases would lead to more prosecutions of indigent people. Texas Organizing Project, a minority representation group which has been vocal in its opposition to Ogg over the past year, led the protest of about 20 people outside the DAs downtown office building. Along with members of Black Lives Matter Houston, Texas Advocates for Justice and Texas Civil Rights Project, they picketed the prosecutors office and chanted slogans such as We deserve better. Kim Ogg works for us, TOP organizer Gracie Armijo said. Were here to tell her that we do not approve of her privatizing a function that should only be performed by people who are paid by us. After the rally, district attorneys office spokesman Michael Kolenc provided a fact sheet about the program, which made clear that the class C misdemeanors tried in justice of the peace courts do not result in jail time. Class C misdemeanors carry a punishment range of $1 to $500, with the exception of passing a school bus, which is a $1,250 fine. DA Ogg has kept thousands out of the criminal justice system with initiatives like the misdemeanor marijuana and mental health diversion programs, so its disappointing to see political activists spread misinformation, Kolenc said in a statement. In fact no one can even be sentenced to jail in these low-level courts, as the punishment is a small fine. This type of pro bono program is so common, reformers in Chicago and Philadelphia have it. In a letter to Ogg, TOP leaders acknowledged that the private attorneys wouldnt be handling cases that would result in incarceration, but they would be handling cases that affect everyday people the most. Some of those cases include hot checks or traffic tickets. TOP intended to deliver the letter directly to Ogg, requesting an end to the program. They were told Ogg was not present and instead gave the letter to a chief investigator who met the group in the lobby of the district attorneys office. The program The program launched in September without any fanfare. Twelve lawyers are currently in the program, and they all work at the civil litigation firms of Baker Botts, Bracewell, Hunton Andrews Kurth and V&E. With their bosses approval, the newly graduated attorneys attended three daylong trainings before starting their posts in the countys 16 Justice of the Peace Courts. The participants are volunteering for free about one day a week for six months, the district attorneys office said Monday. They will try cases by themselves but are supervised by a prosecutor, Kolenc said. Oggs announcement about the program came much later just several weeks after she requested and was denied $12.5 million for 58 new prosecutors. She has said she is unashamed to admit that she wants more attorneys to work in her office, arguing that they are drowning in massive caseloads that slow down the prosecution of cases. But like her request earlier this month, Ogg hasnt been successful in getting the countys Commissioners Court to fully support the number of prosecutors she has asked them to fund. Last year, the court rejected her ask for 102 new prosecutors. She has had some success getting smaller budget requests approved, including four new attorneys to prosecute environmental crimes. Oggs requests for more prosecutors are part of the reason Texas Organizing Project rescinded their support for her. TOP endorsed Ogg in her 2016 election but has backed former prosecutor Audia Jones in the March 3 Democratic primary, saying they were disappointed Ogg didnt live up to her promises as a reformer. Advocates echoed those thoughts on Wednesday and urged Ogg to listen to her constituents. Criminal justice reformers advocate against systems that historically discriminate against minorities, not perpetuate them, said Monique Joseph, field organizer with Texas Advocates for Justice. We know that intervention with community-based resourcess is key, not finding a way around the communitys demands for oversight and accountability, she said. Rev. Henry Price, a TOP member, said he feels the program itself allows inexperienced attorneys to earn their stripes at the expense of the black and Hispanic community. This DA either doesnt get it or she just dont care, Price said. Im frankly disgusted that she calls herself progressive. samantha.ketterer@chron.com Sudley Rd., 8300 block, 8 p.m. Feb. 17. A verbal altercation escalated in a food court at a mall when three females threw food at a man and woman. A male juvenile with the females accosted the man and woman and threatened them with a firearm concealed in his waistband. The man and woman left and called police. The gunman fled and abandoned a puppy he was carrying as police approached. A 16-year-old Manassas male was arrested and charged with two counts of brandishing a firearm, possession of a firearm by person under 18 years of age, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of marijuana and animal cruelty. The three females in the food court were detained and charged with possession of marijuana. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday urged the central government to take immediate steps to restore normalcy in Delhi, which has been rocked by violence in the last few days over the Citizenship Amendment Act. He also expressed concern over the "attack" on journalists covering the riots in the national capital and alleged that the rule of law has collapsed there. "There is an active campaign of hatred going on. Even the journalists are attacked. The death toll is on the rise. It's a matter of concern that the BJP leader, who has made hate speech and instigated the riots, is going scot free," Vijayan said in a release. The fact that fanatic private forces were also involved in the riots indicated a serious collapse of the rule of law, he said. A large number of Keralites, living in Delhi, have expressed concern about losing their life and property, which was a testimony to the growing insecurity there, he said. "The union ministry should not hesitate to take stern action against the culprits," he added. State Congress Chief Mullappaly Ramachandran also lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the violence in parts of Delhi. He alleged that a state sponsored attack was being carried out in the national capital by those who orchestrated the Gujarat riots in 2002. "We must keep in mind that today's Prime Minister is someone who killed over 2000-3000 Muslim brothers. We know who Amit Shah is. They both are the two faces of fascism in India," Ramachandran said. He also said the Congress would ensure the safety of religious minorities in the country. Meanwhile, a Muslim League delegation led by P K Kunhalikutty MP would visit the riot-affected areas of Delhi and meet the victims. "The party has sought an appointment with home minister Amit Shah. We need to discuss the law and order situation with the home minister. We will also meet the victims at hospitals," Kunhalikutty said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accusing Congress president Sonia Gandhi of politicising the Delhi violence with her attack on the Union government, the BJP on Wednesday termed the opposition party's demand for Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation as "laughable". Senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters that Shah is continuously working with police to control the situation in the national capital. "Violence is ending. Investigation is on to find out the truth and identify culprits. No accused will be left out. At such a time, attacking government and politicising violence is dirty politics," he said, adding that it also demoralizes police. The BJP leader noted that Shah had called a meeting of all political parties, including the Congress, over the communal violence in Delhi and asserted that it is the responsibility of all parties to help maintain peace. He also raked up the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 when the Congress was in power to hit back at the opposition party. Sonia Gandhi had earlier said that the Centre and the Delhi government were responsible for the deadly communal violence in the city and demanded that Shah should resign taking responsibility for it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Synagogue in Vinnytsia, central Ukraine ujew.com.ua A man broke into the synagogue on Hrushevskogo street in Vinnytsia, central Ukraine, on February 25, the man was shouting Beat up the Yids." Eduard Dolinsky, the Director of Ukraine's Jewish Committee, reported that on his Facebook page. "The man attacked Igor Braverman, a famous journalist and a member of the community, trying to strangle him, wrang his hands, spit upon the portrait of Hafetz Haim and crushed it. The police arrived in twenty minutes... and released the attacker. While the police were coming, the drunk man was scoffing and mocking. The ambulance took Braverman to the hospital. It is also reported that the attacker, born in 1978 in a village in Yampilsky district, is 1.90m high. Later it was reported the Minister of the Interior set the case of the attack on the synagogue in Vinnytsia under his personal control. The criminal case initiated qualifies the offense as a violation of equality of citizens on racial and national identity or religious beliefs and falls under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Vinnytsia's synagogue, located on Hrushevskogo street, is a religious center of the Beis Menachem Lubavitch Vinnytsia Jewish religious community. All the Judaic holidays and sacraments are held there for the jews of Vinnytsia and the guests of the community. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 25, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) US Accuses China, Iran of Suppressing Vital Details Amid Coronavirus Outbreak U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Feb. 25 criticized China and Iran for allegedly covering up cases of the new coronavirus and warned that the possible suppression of information may hinder the global response to the outbreak. Had China permitted its ownand foreign journalists and medical personnelto speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge, Pompeo told reporters during State Department news conference on Tuesday. He accused the Chinese Communist Party of censorship and of hiding the severity of the deadly COVID-19 illness while condemning the governments decision to expel three Wall Street Journal reporters last week. Pompeo said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel. Read More Beijing to Expel Three Wall Street Journal Reporters Over Coronavirus Coverage Expelling our journalists exposes once again the governments issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences, Pompeo said. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been sickened by the virus, although outside medical experts have questioned the number of cases that are being reported by Chinese health authorities. Pompeo also said Iranian authorities must tell the truth about the virus amid signs the outbreak there may be far wider than officially acknowledged. Medical staff members treat a patient infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on Feb. 16, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) The virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, emerged in the city of Wuhan, China in late 2019 and has since spread to dozens of countries. There has been a rapid increase in the number of cases in Italy, Iran, and South Korea this week, among other nations. Dozens of people have died around the world outside of China from the virus, which causes a disease that brings similar symptoms to influenza, including fever, headache, and difficulty breathing. Iran currently has the second-highest number of deaths after China. Its government said Monday that 12 people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a death toll of 50 people by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country. The lawmaker, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, claims the death toll dates back to Feb. 13. Iran first officially reported cases of the virus and its first deaths on Feb. 19. The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian governments transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. Pompeo said the United States is deeply concerned by information indicating that the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks as State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus listens during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 25, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) The Secretary of States comments condemning the nations came as the head of an Iranian health minister, Iraj Harirchi, who had urged the public not to overreact about the spread of the virus tested positive for the illness himself. Harirchithe head of Irans task force to stop the spread of COVID-19confirmed he was infected in a video posted online by the state-run Fars News Agency. I wanted to tell you that I got corona, said Harirchi, according to a translation from The Guardian. I had a fever yesterday. The tests came back positive last night. I isolated myself. Just a few moments ago, I was told that the final test came. Ill start taking medicine. Generally, I feel fine. I just felt a bit tired, I had a fever, and it will drop. Harirchi was seen wiping his forehead during a press conference on Feb. 24 before he tested positive for the virus. The number of infections in Iran has risen to 61, according to its health ministry. First cases of the virus have also been reported in five neighboring countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, and Afghanistan, with all patients having links to Iran. Some infected by the virus traveled directly from a city in Iran where confirmed COVID-19 cases have not been reported by authorities. Iraqi students distribute leaflets about coronavirus prevention in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Feb. 25, 2020. (Hussein Faleh/AFP via Getty Images) In response to the outbreak in Iran, the UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority said it would cut off flights to and from the country. The UAE is home to international carriers Emirates and Ethiad, and reports noted that Iranians are heavily dependent on using its airports. Tehran Municipality workers clean a metro train to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 illness on Feb. 26, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) Take care of yourselves, said Harirchi. This virus is a democrat virus! It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor or official and nonofficial and anyone could get it. Pompeo added that the number one priority is to protect the United States from further spread of the virus after new cases were confirmed in a number of countries this week. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday said Americans should prepare for community spread of the disease. The Associated Press and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. Democratic presidential candidates former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg arrives on stage for the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. "The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago," Bloomberg said. "There's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing." The ad comes after he was the first candidate during the Tuesday debate in South Carolina to bring up the deadly coronavirus potentially spreading in the United States. He took direct aim at Trump when he discussed the possible hurdles ahead. The 30-second TV spot highlights how Bloomberg managed emergencies while mayor of New York, including his handling of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Bloomberg was elected mayor nearly two months after the attacks, and oversaw the city's rebuilding efforts after he took office in January 2002. Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has released an ad that rips President Donald Trump's response to the spread of the coronavirus. The ad, which will air nationally on broadcast and cable on Thursday, also is a demonstration of the brute force of Bloomberg's approximately $60 billion fortune. He has an essentially unlimited war chest that allow his campaign to produce rapid-response ads at will. Bloomberg's campaign has spent more than $500 million on TV and digital ads, according to Advertising Analytics. Bloomberg is ranked third in the Real Clear Politics national polling average. He is behind Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. The virus has come from regions of China and spread into other countries, including into the United States. There are nearly 60 cases confirmed in the U.S. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned for people to prepare for a potential pandemic. More than 81,000 people have been infected globally, while more than 2,700 have died worldwide. Trump has been accused by Democrats running for president and health experts of making key cuts to organizations that may need the help in defending the U.S. from the virus. Crystal Watson, an assistant professor at John Hopkins University, tweeted out recently that Trump had proposed cuts to CDC's Public Health Preparedness and Response program, along with the Hospital Preparedness Program of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. Watson also noted Trump's budget proposes an increase of $50 million for Global Health Security at the CDC. Tweet: Trump has defended his administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak. "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus," the president said in a tweet Tuesday night during the Democratic debate. Two trendy new properties are coming to the San Francisco lodging scene as makeovers of existing hotels, including the citys first 1 Hotel at the Embarcadero -- a growing luxury chain known for environmental sensitivity -- and a newly opened urban neighborhood inn near Union Square. The Hotel Vitale, a Joie de Vivre Hotels luxury boutique property at 8 Mission St., across from the Ferry Terminal, will be remade into the luxury 1 Hotel San Francisco by investors Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and SH Hotels and Resorts. It will open under the 1 Hotels brand in 2021 after a $25 million renovation and conversion, during which the hotel will remain open. The investors acquired the 15-year-old, 200-room property in 2018. SH Hotels and Resorts is a division of Starwood Capital Group, whose CEO Barry Sternlicht was the founder of Starwood Hotels, which has since merged into Marriott. Sternlicht and SH Hotels created the 1 Hotels concept in 2015, which focuses on channeling nature through design and culinary partnerships, while connecting with the local community and taking sustainable steps to make a big difference, the company said. It describes 1 Hotels as a luxury lifestyle hotel brand inspired by nature. SH Hotels will take over management of the hotel once the rebranding is complete. The first 1 Hotel locations opened in Manhattan and Miamis South Beach in 2015, followed by a Brooklyn property in 2017. Last year, the company converted the Jeremy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood into a 1 Hotel. It is in the process of doing the same to the former St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai currently called just The Princeville (rumored to be closing this summer for the big re-do), reopening as the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. It also has a resort on Chinas Hainan Island, and additional properties are under development in Sunnyvale, Nashville, Cabo San Lucas, Paris, Melbourne and Toronto. (See the slideshow at the top of this post for a look inside some 1 Hotels.) The 1 Hotel San Francisco will have a full-service spa and fitness center, and culinary offerings will be inspired by northern Californias abundance of fresh, organic ingredients, the company said. In addition, the renovated property will offer nature-inspired designs and environmentally-focused aesthetics throughout guestrooms and suites, public areas and meeting and event venues. Don't miss a shred of important travel news! Sign up for our FREE bi-weekly email alerts Meanwhile, a company called Palisociety has cut the ribbon on the new Palihotel San Francisco at 417 Stockton St., close to the Grand Hyatt and a block north of Union Square. It has 82 renovated rooms ranging from 150 to 400 square feet in a century-old building that was most recently the Mystic Hotel and long before that was the Hotel Navarre in the 1930s and the Colonial Hotel in the 1920s. The new San Francisco location is the latest among several recent Palihotels openings, including Los Angeles hotels in Silver Lake and Westwood Village, and others in Culver City, Miami Beach and Seattle. While the hotel's historic patina and details are still in abundance, it has been layered with a contemporary, California-centric sensibility highlighted by a soft, neutral color palette with natural wood accents and earth-toned tiles; a bright, minimal collection of art; and a mixed and matched assortment of patterns, textures and accessories that is a signature of Palisociety's irreverent, approachable take on modern-day hotel design, Palihotels said. On the hotels second floor is a 2,900 square foot restaurant/lounge/bar called Fisher Loft that serves up an all-day menu of classic comfort food. The hotel offers discounts of 15 to 25 percent for stays of three or more nights. Nightly rates during March range from $150 to $365 plus 15 percent tax and service charges. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates! SFGATE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. First published in The Sydney Morning Herald, 28th February 1976 The 1975 Archibald Prize has been taken away from John Bloomfield and awarded to the established Sydney painter Kevin Connor. John Bloomfield, seen here winning the 1975 Archibald Prize with his portrait of film director Tim Burstill, that was later disqualified. Credit:Robert Dallen, Sydney Morning Herald This decision was made yesterday by the board of trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW. Their reason was that Mr Bloomfield had painted his winning portrait from a photograph when the rule of the competition was that it should have been painted from life. The president of the board, Mr Walter Bunning, said yesterday: "In the opinion of the trustees and in the light ot legal advice received from a Queen's Counsel, it was decided that the entry did not comply either with the terms of the will (under which the award is made) or the conditions of the $3,000 prize that the portrait must have been painted from life. The family of a young boy who died after being left on a childcare centre bus in 36C heat say they have been left 'distressed' by the tragic incident. A day after the two childcare centre workers charged over the boy's death fronted a Queensland court, the three-year-old's family spoke out about their heartbreak. The young boy's uncle Nick declined to name the child for cultural reasons, but said his family were 'trying to come to terms' with the huge hole he has left in their lives. Scroll down for video The shattered family (pictured) of the young boy who died after being left in a daycare bus last Tuesday say they are 'distressed' by the shocking incident. They attended Cairns Magistrates Court this week in their bid to find 'answers' 'As you can imagine the sudden loss of our little boy has been distressing for the family,' his uncle said. 'It has left many of us with the difficult task of trying to come to terms with his loss. 'He was a three-year-old boy who was deeply connected to his siblings, his peers and older children and he played a big part in a really close-knitted family.' On Tuesday, Cairns Magistrate Court heard how the three-year-old was left strapped in a babyseat inside the bus for six hours last Tuesday, February 18. It was only when Edmonton Goodstart Early Learning Centre director Michael Glenn Lewis, 44, returned to the bus that afternoon that the boy's body was discovered. The court heard that in the moments that followed Lewis made a distressing call to triple-0 and told an operator: ''I've left a child on the bus... this kid is dead.' Lewis, 44, and his colleague Dionne Batrice Grills, 35, have both been charged with one count of manslaughter over the child's death. The boy's family were in court for the emotional hearing on Tuesday, saying they are in desperate need for 'answers' about the tragedy. The court heard the young boy had been put in a child restraint two seats away from the driver of the minibus (pictured) but child carers allegedly neglected to take him out when they exited the vehicle Edmonton Goodstart Early Learning Centre director Michael Glenn Lewis (left) 45, and worker Dionne Batrice Grills (right) 34, both faced court on Tuesday, each charged with manslaughter Moments after finding the young boy dead in the bus, Lewis (pictured) called triple-0 and told the operator: 'I've left a child on the bus... my life is over' 'At present, our families are working through a very difficult time in our lives by supporting and encouraging and looking out for each other,' the boy's uncle Nick said. 'For us as a family this is an unprecedented incident and consequently it's affected the lives of the community. 'That's been demonstrated by the support our families have received and we would like to thank everyone for their help, their love and their prayers so from our family we thank you.' I'm going to jail, this is all my fault... my life is over Michael Glenn Lewis During Tuesday's hearing, Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Maynard Marcum told harrowing details of how the boy had allegedly been put in a child restraint just two seats away from the driver and front door. Yet when the minibus being driven by Lewis arrived at the daycare centre, he and his colleague Grills allegedly left the vehicle - but did not take the boy with them. He allegedly spent the next six hours sweltering inside the bus as the mercury rose to 36C. At 2.45pm, Lewis returned to the bus to begin the afternoon drop off run, but the court heard it wasn't until 3pm that he discovered the lifeless boy. He then called Triple-0 and said: 'I've left a child on the bus... my life is over'. Ms Grills (pictured) is charged with manslaughter over the tragic death of a three-year-old boy at Edmonton Goodstart Early Learning Centre on February 18 The grim discovery was made on Stokes Street, Edmonton, in Far North Queensland, at 3.15pm on Tuesday. Police allege the boy had been in the bus since about 9.15am (Pictured: The scene of the daycare as police investigate last week) 'Oh my God, this kid is dead,' Mr Lewis could be heard saying on the recording. 'Oh my God, I'm the director of the childcare centre... the child was left on the bus all day. 'I've just opened up the bus and he's here, dead... I'm so sorry buddy. 'I'm going to jail, this is all my fault. Oh my God. My whole life is over.' THE TRAGIC TIMELINE OF THE BOY'S DEATH: 7.35am: Edmonton Goodstart Early Learning Centre manager Michael Glenn Lewis 'fraudulently' checks in the boy on the electric sign-in system. 8.30am: The boy's mother calls to ask if he can be picked up, as he was not collected on the initial morning run. 9.15am: Lewis and his colleague Dionne Batrice Grills collect the boy from his home on the minibus. 9.33am: The bus pulls into the daycare carpark, but the boy - who is strapped into a baby seat, two seats away from the front door - never gets off, despite being clearly visible. **During the day the temperature rises to 36C in the Cairns area. 2.45pm: The bus leaves for the afternoon run, with the boy still in his seat. 3pm: Lewis makes a desperate call to Triple-0, telling the operator: 'Oh my God, this kid is dead' Advertisement The court also heard allegations that Mr Lewis and Ms Grills had 'fraudulently' signed in the young boy more than two hours before the bus arrived at the daycare centre. Police allege that the boy had been signed in by Mr Lewis at 7.35am last Tuesday on the Goodstart Early Learning Centre's electronic sign-in system. However, the boy was not collected from his home by the bus until 9.15am, and CCTV footage showed the bus did not arrive at the daycare site until 9.33am. 'But the defendant and co-accused failed to remove the boy from the bus,' Police Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Maynard Marcum told the court, The Courier Mail reports. 'In a short trip it was forgotten that the three-and-a-half year old deceased child was strapped into a seat in the bus. 'There wasn't even a cursory glance.' Police will allege that Mr Lewis - who was granted bail by the Magistrates Court - was obtaining taxpayer-funded benefits as part of the 'fraudulent' sign-in process. Earlier on Tuesday his colleague Ms Grills - who had worked at the daycare centre for less than a month - also faced court. Police allege Ms Grills was on the bus with Mr Lewis for the morning run, before the centre manager made the grim discovery when he returned to the vehicle later that afternoon. The court heard that Ms Grills had been employed at the daycare centre for less than a month when the incident occurred. Ms Grills was granted strict conditional bail and is forbidden from contacting her ex- colleagues, her co-accused or the dead child's family, except through her lawyers. She was ordered to return to court on March 18. The boy was found in a bus outside Hambledon State School, parked 1.7km from his daycare, Goodstart Early Learning, in Edmonton (pictured) A relative of the boy told the ABC they were 'distraught' about what had happened and called the young victim a 'cheerful little boy'. He was just a cheerful little boy, that's what I remember of him Thomas Namok, a relative of the boy 'We're all distraught at the moment. We just can't believe this has happened. We just want answers,' Thomas Namok said. 'The last few days have just been terrible but everyone [in the family] will continue to support each other. 'He was just a cheerful little boy we would always laugh every time he's around. That's what I remember of him. It's going to be sad he's not going to be around anymore.' Queensland Police detective acting inspector Jason Smith said he hoped to provide some 'answers' for the family. Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the child's death 'Her position as an employee of Goodstart Early Learning puts an element of responsibility upon her, and that forms part of the circumstances before the court,' Det Act Insp Smith said. 'The family are suitably distressed and very upset about this, and hopefully now that the matter is before the court they will get the answers that they need.' A spokesman for Goodstart Early Learning, which operated the bus, previously told Daily Mail Australia the company was 'devastated' to learn of the child's death. 'We are working to support the entire centre team, our families and our children,' the spokesman said. 'The matter is now a police investigation and we will be working with the police, Department of Education (childhood education and care), and Workplace health and Safety. 'Our thoughts are very much with the family of the child at this time.' The centre was closed on the day after the tragedy, with an ominous sign in its car park reading 'do not leave babies and children in parked cars'. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday reiterated his demand for a CBI probe into an alleged paddy scam, claiming there was a mismatch in actual production and procurement registered by the government agencies. "For past so many months, we have been demanding that the government should have this paddy scam probed either by the CBI or a sitting high court judge, but they are not doing so," the Congress leader told reporters outside the Vidhan Sabha, on the sidelines of the ongoing budget session. He said his party had repeatedly pointed out that a thorough probe was necessary as there was a mismatch in the actual production of paddy and the procurement registered by the government agencies. "The total paddy production in the state was 67.74 lakh metric tonnes, out of which only 40 lakh metric tonnes of non-Basmati could be procured, but the state showed 64.34 lakh metric tonnes procurement. The government has no answer where this extra paddy had come from. This mismatch indicates towards a big scandal," Hooda alleged. He said no FIR has been filed in the alleged scam even after it came to light many months ago. The leader of opposition in the state Assembly claimed there was a mining scam as well in Haryana. "There is mining scam too, but it is surprising that the government is not paying any heed to such a serious matter," he said. Attacking the BJP-JJP coalition government, Hooda said corruption was rampant in all spheres under this dispensation. Referring to the address of the governor to the members on the inaugural day of the budget session on February 20, Hooda said, "It should have given details of the government's achievements, but it lacked vision and direction." He said the people had high hopes from the alliance government (of BJP-JJP) in Haryana, but they have been badly let down. Hooda claimed that the BJP and the JJP did not forge an alliance because their ideologies matched, "but both came together due to opportunism and formed a government". "They have not taken a single step towards fulfilling their promises. They are only making speeches, but the government does not run on speeches alone," he said. Hooda also took on the government over the "rising unemployment and deteriorating law and order situation". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Horrific footage showing pedestrians being poleaxed by cars and public buses on the streets of Sydney has been released. The video was shared by NSW Transport as part of its Bus Safety Week campaign to show people how easy it can be to get hit. One clip showed a man in a green hoodie run across the road in front of a bus, which hit him and sent him skidding across the asphalt. One clip showed a man in a green hoodie run across the road in front of a bus. The bus, which had a green light, hit the pedestrian sent him skidding across the tarmac Another video showed a schoolboy running across a road behind a bus and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. He was knocked to the ground and lay motionless in the middle of the road. A third clip showed a boy walking on to the road on what appeared to be a quiet suburban street. He was hit by oncoming traffic and rolled next to a parked car. Another confronting video showed a schoolboy running across the road behind a bus and into the path of an oncoming vehicle None of the pedestrians in the footage were seriously injured. Executive Director of the Centre for Road Safety, Bernard Carlon, said 35 people were killed and 394 seriously injured in bus crashes across NSW between 2014 and 2019. 'Of the 35 people killed, 14 were pedestrians, our most vulnerable road users. Eleven were drivers, seven were passengers and three were motorcyclists,' he told 9 News. 'This week is a reminder for pedestrians to find a safe place to cross the road, avoid walking in front of or behind a bus, obey traffic signals and don't get distracted by your mobile phone.' A third clip showed a boy walking on to the road on what appeared to be a quiet suburban street State Transit CEO Tony Eid said bus drivers are also affected when a pedestrian is hit. 'If you're driving don't cut in front of a bus, and if you're on foot don't run in front or behind one either because taking that risk could be life changing for everyone involved,' he said. Bus Safety Week ends on March 1. To avoid any trouble over office of profit violation, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray scrapped the appointments of Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP) Arvind Sawant and former minister Ravindra Waikar to the posts of the Maharashtra State Parliamentary Coordination Committee (MSPCC) chairman and chief coordinator in the chief ministers office (CMO), respectively. The orders, issued by the state general administration (GAD), which is headed by the chief minister, on February 20, stated both the leaders expressed unwillingness to take up the responsibility. Considering the inability to accept the position, the state is cancelling the order for appointment of Ravindra Waikar as chief coordinator in the CMO, stated one of the GRs. The Constitution bars any elected representative from holding an additional office that gives him or her monetary gains and other perks. Both Sawant and Waikar were elevated to the post of cabinet ministers. While Sawant, as per the appointment order on February 14, was offered office space, official vehicle and staff, Waikar was granted only office space, which also led to rumours about their resignations. Waikar is a Shiv Sena MLA. Sawant resigned from the position of Union minister of heavy industries from the Narendra Modi government in November last year, after a conflict between the Shiv Sena and BJP over sharing the chief ministers position in Maharashtra after the state Assembly elections. His appointment was seen as rehabilitation of the two-term MP from Mumbai South parliamentary constituency who defeated Congress bigwig Milind Deora. Waikar, a three-term MLA from Jogeshwari East Assembly constituency, is considered a loyalist of the Thackeray family. Despite that, he could not get a ministerial berth in the MVA government. His appointment as the chief coordinator in the CMO was also seen as his political rehabilitation. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Actor Rajinikanth, who was linked to the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, today targetted the Narendra Modi government over the violence in North East Delhi. He held the Centre responsible for not controlling the mob and asked the government to resign if they couldn't control or maintain law and order in the Capital. South superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday condemned the recent violence in North East Delhi. The actor, who is all set to enter active politics and announce his own political party anytime soon, slammed the Narendra Modi government stating that it if could not control law and order then it should resign. Rajinikanth said the government should have dealt with the riots with an iron fist. Reiterating his view that protests should be silent, not violent, the actor said he would stand tall with Muslims if they are affected by the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Talking to the media, Rajinikanth said it is the Central governments intelligence failure. Such violence shouldnt have taken place, said the actor while condemning the Modi government in Chennai. He also rued the fact that his name was being linked with the saffron party. Rajinikanth: It is an intelligence failure and hence Home Ministry also failed. Protests can happen peacefully but not in a violent manner. If violence breaks out, it should be dealt with iron hands. #NortheastDelhi pic.twitter.com/idRpHOtCEU ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 ALSO READ: Delhi Riots: Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar say Congress politicising violence Earlier, before the 2019 General Elections, reports had indicated that he might join hands with the BJP as he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the PMs Chennai visit. He had compared the Modi-Shah duo to Lord Krishna-Arjunas bond while applauding them for the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Rajinikanth had said that he doesnt know who is Krishna and who is Arjuna. Only they know, he said, referring to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, during a book launch in December. ALSO READ: Doval Effect! Delhi Police arrest 106 people named in 18 FIRs filed over violence in North East Delhi Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospitals Medical Superintendent Sunil Kumar told media on Wednesday that the toll has risen to 25 as 3 more critically injured people succumbed. Sunil Kumar, Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital: The death toll has risen to 25 as 3 more died during medical treatment. #NortheastDelhi pic.twitter.com/IsUTHIP0GV ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2020 For all the latest National News, download NewsX App TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES -- For years, Democrats running for president have given little thought to crimson-red Alabama, even in party-nominating contests. With only 52 pledged delegates to the Democratic convention a fraction of California's 415 this Deep South state is far from the biggest prize on Super Tuesday, March 3, when 14 states with about 40% of the total delegates are up for grabs. But Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, has been giving attention and money to Alabama. And the states receptivity illustrates a major reason why his big-spending bid for the nomination forges ahead despite his widely derided performance in last weeks debate, which caused a significant drop in his national standing in some polls. His investment has bought Bloomberg some favor here and in other under-the-radar Southern states, including Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, where local Democrats are unaccustomed to the attention. The media-company billionaire is focusing on Super Tuesday states, vastly outspending Democratic rivals without his riches who've been concentrating on the early-voting states that Bloomberg is sitting out. As of Monday, Bloomberg had spent more than $191 million on advertising in Super Tuesday states, according to Advertising Analytics. That compares with $36 million for the next-highest spender, billionaire Tom Steyer, $12 million for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and minimal amounts for other Democrats. In Alabama, he has poured more than $8 million into TV and radio ads in the last two months while Sanders has spent just $142,000 and two of his main competitors, former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind. have not advertised. Bloomberg has visited Montgomery twice, opened up four campaign offices and hired 30 people while most of his rivals have two paid staffers or fewer. Part of Bloomberg's pitch is that national Democrats have long neglected the South, essentially ceding states like Alabama to Republicans, and he'll change that. "I believe it's time for the national Democratic Party to stop ignoring Alabama," he said earlier this month to the Alabama Democratic Conference. "I've devoted a lot of my resources to those swing states from Michigan and Wisconsin to Florida and Arizona, but I'm also working to create what we call a new generation of swing states states like Alabama and Texas, which could very well turn blue if more people voted." One evening last week, dozens of people retired teachers and professors, small business owners and veterans showed up for the opening of Bloomberg's office in downtown Montgomery, opposite a statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and near the state Capitol. Passing a table loaded with "Mike for President 2020" buttons and yard signs, many signed up to volunteer. "Biden's not really doing good," said Grace Stewart, 68, a retired supervisor for General Motors. She said she liked Bloomberg's messages on TV about gun violence and climate change, as well as his investment in Democratic causes. "This is the first time I ever volunteered," she said softly, clutching a Bloomberg T-shirt. "I'm not really a volunteering type of person, but we've got to get Trump out of office. I think Bloomberg's a candidate that can win against Trump." Some of the other candidates are organizing here. Sanders has more than 1,000 volunteers contacting voters through phone banks and knocking on doors across the state. The Buttigieg campaign plans 100 events Saturday. Still, Bloomberg has likely amassed the largest Democratic presidential staff in Alabama history, Democrats say. "His presence is overwhelming," said Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, who was elected last fall as the first African American in the office. "It matters," Reed added. "It helps him gain some traction in communities that may not have been touched by a campaign." Reed has yet to endorse any candidate. But his father has. Joe Reed, the leader of the Alabama Democratic Conference, the party's primary black caucus, surprised many in this majority-black Southern city a few weeks ago when he endorsed Bloomberg. His group, which works to get blacks to vote, plans to put Bloomberg's name on more than a half-million sample ballots and distribute them in every county. "We'll take them door to door, from church to church, from barbershop to barbershop," Reed said. "We're going to try our level best to help him." As in other Southern states, Biden has long been favored among black voters who make up the majority of Alabama Democrats, given his strong association with former President Obama and past visits to Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery. "The fact is the people in Alabama really don't know Bloomberg unlike Joe Biden, who has been into Alabama for a long time," said Sen. Doug Jones, a Biden supporter. In 2017, Biden came to Birmingham to campaign for Jones. But while Biden has won the endorsement of Jones and some other party leaders, including Rep. Terri A. Sewell and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, his poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, and his distant second-place finish behind Sanders in Nevada on Saturday, did not help his case with undecided officials. With no clear front-runner nationally, and little competition here yet, Bloomberg has seized the opening to spread the message that he is experienced, well-funded and the candidate who can beat President Trump. "His strategy of skipping the first four states is incredibly risky," said Andra Gillespie, associate professor of political science at Emory University. "But with Joe Biden's campaign having faltered, and perhaps having stumbled irrevocably, his strategy doesn't seem to be as far-fetched or quixotic as it once did." A former Republican, Bloomberg faces challenges in courting black voters after strong criticism of his support as New York mayor of stop-and-frisk policing and his suggestion that the end of redlining contributed to the 2008 economic collapse. Yet locals say his wealth allows him to get noticed, especially among older, more moderate black Democrats uncertain whom to support. "Bloomberg has had a free hand in places like Alabama to be nothing but positive," said Glen Browder, a professor at Jacksonville State University and a former Democratic congressman. "When Bloomberg comes to town flush with cash, not asking for contributions and just saying, 'I'd like to have your support,' that's a pretty powerful introduction. Bloomberg's money is central to such calculations, as voters made clear. "He's the first person who can afford to spend money on his campaign with no reservation," said David Sadler, 46, the owner of a concierge company and former mayoral candidate, adding, "I don't think you should punish someone who has resources." Addressing those who turned out for Bloomberg's office opening here, Joe Reed won loud applause when he said that he considered Biden a good friend, but he wanted to beat Trump. "I've been around a good little while and this is one campaign we don't have to shoot marbles to raise money," he said. "We don't have to roll the dice or anything. We can win big!" Merika Coleman, assistant minority leader of the Alabama House, dismissed the talk about stop-and-frisk, noting favorably that Bloomberg supports Everytown for Gun Safety, the national nonprofit group that advocates for gun control. "He put money behind making sure that our children are safe," she said. "Mike Bloomberg has put his money where his mouth is." Whether they support Bloomberg or not, many Alabama Democrats are grateful for his investment in a state where no Democrat has held statewide office since 2012. "The infrastructure and the level of organization structure the Bloomberg campaign has in place has to get your attention," said Anthony Daniels, minority leader in the Alabama House, who has not yet endorsed a candidate. "Win or lose, he's going to be engaged in the long haul. For me, that speaks volumes." Whoever wins the Democratic nomination, no one here is unrealistic about the nominee's chances in November in Alabama, which favored Trump over Hillary Clinton by 28 percentage points. Yet local Democrats say that Bloomberg's investment he has vowed to keep his offices operating even if he's not the nominee could buoy endangered down-ballot Democrats, such as Jones, and help them capture two congressional seats. "All of this energy happens in battleground states every cycle, but we don't really see it here," said Leanne Townsend, Bloomberg's Alabama regional organizer, who spoke giddily of how he is spending to train volunteers on voter contacts, data management and canvassing. Not everyone is so enamored of Bloomberg's money. "It was stated that money can't buy elections, but it certainly buys you a VIP table," said Sean Champagne, a 27-year-old attorney and a democratic socialist who favors Sanders. Casting a withering look at the Bloomberg campaign office as he strode by, Champagne said he was troubled that Bloomberg could enter the race so late and gain momentum by opening his wallet. "He is emblematic of everything that's wrong with U.S. politics," Champagne said. 2020 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Mark Ruffalo said he broke his own rules for portraying a real, living person in Dark Waters, a story that is still very much ongoing. Ruffalo plays environmental lawyer Rob Bilott in the new film from Carol director Todd Haynes, which traces the litigation from its humble origins as the case of a single farmer through to the nationwide class action Bilott is currently pursuing through the US courts. In the past, Ruffalo says he would avoid contact with the real life person hes playing. The prevailing thought in my industry is to keep the [real] person off the set, the 52-year-old Avengers: Endgame star said. He added: I wanted Rob there as much as he was available because he was such a wealth of information. Read more: Most exciting movies of 2020 There's such a huge responsibility for the people who are fighting this now, who are living with it. This giant corporation would love to find any inconsistencies to poke holes into the veracity of the film. The level of responsibility is really high. Mark Ruffalo as lawyer Rob Bilott in 'Dark Waters'. (Credit: Mary Cybulski/Focus Features/eOne) Bilott, the real-life subject of the legal thriller has said he couldnt think of anybody better than Mark Ruffalo to portray him on the big screen. Bilott has been crusading for more than 20 years to hold the DuPont company to account for the accumulation of chemical compound PFOA in the water surrounding a factory in West Virginia. The chemical has been shown to be toxic to humans and linked to various illnesses, including kidney and testicular cancer. Read more: Ruffalo discusses weight gain for TV role The lawyer told Yahoo Movies UK that Ruffalo did an absolutely fantastic job in the film. He added: His talents and passion for the whole project were just really amazing. I couldn't think of anybody better. Rob Bilott and Mark Ruffalo attend the "Dark Waters" Photocall at White City House on February 06, 2020. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images) Bilott admitted it was strange to see himself depicted on the big screen, but said it was crucial that people are finally being able to see this story and understand the scale of the issue. He said: [I wanted] to really bring this information out to the rest of the world and to see folks finally seeing the scope of the contamination problem that goes way beyond West Virginia. Story continues It's affecting all of us. Read more: Ruffalo tackles Boris Johnsons Hulk metaphor In an investor call prior to the films US release in November, DuPont executive chairman Ed Breen said the companys legal folks were looking at the film, but no action has thus far been taken. As well as Ruffalo, the movie stars Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp and Bill Pullman. Dark Waters is released into UK cinemas on 28 February. This is unprecedented, as for decades it has been the policy of the Iranian regime to keep quiet about the MEK and its domestic and global impact. This change in behavior appears to stem from the MEKs increased presence in domestic affairs and popular support for their activities. The regime is unable to deny the MEKs strength and resilience anymore, so they are forced to show how scared they are about the MEKs further plans and defend the regimes crimes against the MEK. Mustafa Pourmohammadi, who served as the Interior Minister and the Minister of Justice and was a key figure in the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners (mainly MEK activists) in Iran, is one of the most vocal opponents of the MEK in the regime. He said he was proud of his role in the massacre of the MEK, and that the regime was currently at war with the MEK. Mehdi Hasheminejad, a senior official of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), said: The presence of 1500 people round the clock in three shifts indicates that they had planned the protests and this was done in service of the global arrogance. As our officials pointed out, the planning of the enemy played a key role in the unrest that took place in our country in 2018. So, our attitude must recognize the enemy and its targets, so that we will be able to counter them. While Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmanifazli said: The current situation should not make us negligent so as to ignore the protests, not see the disenchantment or prevent it, not provide proper response and assume that these do not exist. Any incident can lead to a major development. We have to be vigilant. This shows that the regimes officials are more than aware that the MEK is helping to organize the ongoing nationwide protests, which reveals a common regime claim to be a lie. The regime often says that the MEK has no serious presence in Iran, which cannot possibly be true. Mahmoud Shaeri, the commander of the 71st Division during the Iran-Iraq War, even admitted that the MEK is the most active and most powerful opposition group against the regime, stressing that the MEKs continuation of activity is related to its deep, calculated and judicious actions. He said: The MEK is still potential and current threat for the Islamic Republic. Their movement is alive. The MEK has been the basis for all of the sanctions against us. If the MEK was not around, the West still would have imposed sanctions on us; however, the MEK provides them with first-rate and accurate information. This refers to the MEKs numerous revelations about the regimes nuclear and ballistic missiles programs, as well as their terrorist activities in the region, and the violations of human rights at home. Read more: A Brief Look at the MEK: Part 2: Political Platform EDWARDSVILLE The family of an Edwardsville mother and businesswoman killed by a drunk driver said at his sentencing hearing Tuesday that they will pray for him. David S. Sterling II, 51, of Edwardsville was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday in Madison County court for the July 12, 2018, crash that killed Markia Ivy, of Edwardsville. Sterling will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. I pray that you will never inflict this type of pain upon anyone elses loved ones. Today, you are accepting a plea of six years in prison, after which you will return to your family and friends, but my daughter received from you a sentence in eternity, said the victims mother, Annie L. Jones of Edwardsville. We dont think six years is enough time, but we understand how these things work. Hopefully, he will have to think about these things in prison and change, Ivys aunt, Gloria Cotton, said after the sentencing hearing. The plea agreement was reached Tuesday between the Madison County States Attorneys office and lawyers for Sterling. The judge had no say in the matter, but accepted the plea. Authorities said Sterlings blood-alcohol level was 0.155 percent, compared with 0.08 percent for a legal presumption of intoxication. In exchange for his plea to driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more, resulting in death, Sterling had other charges against him dropped. According to court documents, Ivy was operating a motorcycle west on New Poag Road near Wanda Road in 2018 when Sterling struck her while driving a 2004 Buick Ranier. Ivy, 35, who had opened a boutique in Edwardsville called Euphoric Beauty Supply, just before the crash, was riding her motorcycle near the intersection of Wanda Road and New Poag when they were struck by a vehicle driven by Sterling, who was charged with reckless homicide, aggravated DUI and unlawful use of an electronic device. After the crash, a GoFundMe campaign to support Ivys son, Malik Allen, raised more than $28,800 from 445 total donors. Togo's opposition continues to refuse to recognise the results of the 2020 presidential election as announced by the country's electoral commission and is calling on people to take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the re-election of incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe for a fourth term. The victory of the people cannot be stolen, according to Philippe Kpodzro, a former archbishop of the capital Lome and one of the main supporters of opposition leader Agbeyome Kodjo. The clergyman says the provisional results announced on Sunday night by the electoral commission are a farce and comical. He calls on the Togolese people to hold a big demonstration. Don't be afraid of the guns, wake up and show our determination for change," Kpodzro told RFI, encouraging people to take to the streets on Friday. Togo's Civil Service Minister Gilbert Bawara said the elections of 22 February are finished, the provisional results have been announced and things are back to normal. All demonstrations in public places must scrupulously adhere to the system for peaceful, public protests," he said. Gnassingbe secured more than 72 per cent of the vote in the first round, according to the electoral commission, although the opposition complained of fraud. Election observers rubberstamp polls Observers from the West African regional bloc Ecowas described Togo's election as having taken place "without major incident". The election process was peaceful and conformed to electoral law", according to Francis Behanzin, Ecowas commissioner of political affairs and member of the election monitoring team led by Sierra Leone's former president Ernest Bai Koroma. Ecowas deployed 79 observers across the five regions of the country for voting that took place at more than 9,300 polling stations. The African Union election observation mission congratulated the people, the government the political actors and all the stakeholders for holding good polls". The mission did not note any serious incidents although it did make some recommendations to the electoral commission notably on the question of financing for candidate's election campaigns. Both the AU and Ecowas observation missions called on candidates to use the relevant legal avenues if contesting the results announced by the election commission. A man protesting over the death of his 16-year-old daughter, who allegedly committed suicide, was purportedly kicked by a policeman after he tried to stop police personnel from taking her body inside the mortuary of a state-run hospital near here, police said on Wednesday. Earlier, tension prevailed when some students and others forcibly took the teenager's body from the mortuary towards the private institute where she studied to hold a protest after her family members and relatives accused the college management of negligence for her death, sources said. Police, who managed to stop the group, brought the body that was kept inside a mortuary freezer box back to the hospital, even as a video purportedly showing a policeman kicking the girl's father, who attempted to stop police from shifting the body, has gone viral. The girl's parents had earlier blamed the college management of negligence leading to her death and had demanded compensation from them, police said. Following the incident, the Sangareddy district police "attached" the policeman to the headquarters and ordered a departmental inquiry. According to a senior police official,the girl, an Intermediate first-year student, had committed suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom of the institute's hostel on Tuesday afternoon after bolting the door from inside. She was taken to a nearby private hospital where she was declared brought dead and later her body was shifted from the private hospital to the state-run hospital at Patancheru for conducting post-mortem, the official said. Meanwhile, the parents of the girl accused the college management of negligence as according to them their daughter was ill for the past four days. The parents alleged that they did not inform them about her sickness and she was not given proper treatment by them nor was she sent home as exams were approaching forcing her to resort to the extreme step, the official said. Based on the complaint, a case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) was registered against the private college management on Tuesday. On Wednesday, about 10-15 students affiliated to a Left-wing students organisation and others barged into the hospital, police said. They pushed aside doctors and medical staff and allegedly broke the window panes of the hospital and brought out the freezer box containing the body and proceeded towards the institute but police stopped them. Police were proceeding to the mortuary when the girl's father fell down before the freezer box to stop the police from shifting the body inside the hospital when this unfortunate incident (of the man getting kicked by the policeman) happened, the official said. The official further said the police were trying to prevent the agitators from taking the law into their own hands at the mortuary. After examination of the video, action has been initiated against the "erring" policeman by attaching him to the headquarters, which is being followed up by departmental inquiry, he said. A case has been registered onchargesof unlawful assembly, obstructing public servant from discharge of his duty and vandalism under relevant IPC sections in connection with shifting of the body besides taking some protesters into preventive custody, the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Boko Haram members and their wives who recently surrendered to troops in Niger Republic have arrived Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. The former terrorists arrived at Maiduguri airport in a military aircraft in the company of soldiers led by Bamidele Shafa, a major general who is the coordinator of the Federal Government Safe Corridor programme. Mr Shafa said, We have just delivered 25 persons, comprising men, women, and children, he said. He said the ex-Boko Haram members laid down arms and surrendered to the Nigerien government, who contacted the Nigerian government to take them home. So we have brought them home safely and handed them to the Borno State government for onward rehabilitation as part of the Operation Safe Corridor de-radicalization programme, he said. We are using this opportunity to encourage those that are still in the bush come out because the president of the Federal Republic has given them an open arm to drop their weapons and embrace peace. The Borno State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Zuwaira Gambo, who received returnees said the state government will provide them with psychosocial support, feed them, clothe them, and give some form of education and skills acquisition. She said a centre had been equipped by the Borno governor, Babagana Zulum, with skills acquisition tools that will enable them to gain skills before they are reunited with their families. More details later Ive come to this view in publishing a small book of reflections on the last sayings of Jesus from the cross a devotional exercise, to be sure, but one thats brought to mind the motive force of a Christian message based not on Fox News but on what those first-century words meant then and can mean now. Father, forgive them; Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise; Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit these remarks from the Gospel accounts of the Passion form a kind of final sermon from Jesus, one about forbearance, duty, love and mercy. I am a Christian (a very poor one, but there we are), but I am also a historian, and contemplating the beginnings of the story of my ancestral faith has led me to think about the uses of Jesus down the eons. Yes, Christianity has been an instrument of repression, but in the living memory of Americans it has also been deployed as a means of liberation and progress which feeds the hope that it can become a force for good once more. The secular wish to banish religion from the public square is perennial but doomed; one might as well try to eliminate economic, geographic or partisan concerns. All men, Homer wrote, have need of the gods, and the more productive task is to manage and marshal the effects of religious feeling on the broader republic. In ages of faith the final aim of life is placed beyond life, Alexis de Tocqueville said in Democracy in America, written in the Age of Jackson. The men of these ages, he added, learn by insensible degrees to repress a multitude of petty, passing desires. Dont take my word for it. Take, instead, that of John Lewis and of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., men whose Christian belief brought America to account on the question of domestic apartheid just over a half century ago. Their words and actions can be traced directly from the words and actions of Jesus. Kings vision was grounded in both the Bible and in Gandhi. It was the Sermon on the Mount, rather than a doctrine of passive resistance, that initially inspired the Negroes of Montgomery to dignified social action, King recalled of the Montgomery bus boycott. It was Jesus of Nazareth that stirred the Negroes to protest with the creative weapon of love. King had been deeply influenced by the theologian Walter Rauschenbusch and his 1907 book Christianity and the Social Crisis, which argued that Jesus called the world not simply to contemplate but to act. The Gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well-being, but his material well-being, King wrote in a Rauschenbusch-inspired passage. Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With former MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford completing his last day on the job this past Friday, the agency has announced his temporary replacement. On Tuesday, the MTA announced that Sarah Feinberg, MTA Transit Committee chair and former Federal Railroad administrator, has been named interim president of New York City Transit. Feinberg boasts an abundance of experience, having served in various high-level federal transportation positions under former President Barack Obama, including head of the Federal Railroad Administration, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation and special assistant to the president. Were thrilled to have Chair Feinberg lead New York City Transit at this important time in the MTAs history, said MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye. I am confident she will carry forward the progress we have achieved to bring performance to record levels, modernize our system for customers and build on the success of the Subway Action Plan. Feinbergs first day as New York City Transit president will be Monday, March 9, as the agency begins its search for a permanent replacement. Im thrilled to be serving as president of New York City Transit as a transportation professional theres no greater impact on public service than working with the people responsible for the safe and efficient transportation of eight million New Yorkers every day, said Feinberg. I could not be happier and more proud to join this incredible team and look forward to jumping into the work right away. Feinberg will have big shoes to fill in her new role, with former president Byford adored by local elected officials and members of the riding public, in addition to being credited with quickly improving the citys struggling subway system in just two years time. This is a major blow. On a professional and a personal level I am bitterly disappointed. I think hes been the best thing to happen to the MTA in a long time. I think this is a major blow to the entire system, a blow to the city and a particular blow to us here on Staten Island, because he has gotten to know us. He has personally taken on the redesign challenge, even though it didnt start under his tenure, Borough President James Oddo said. Filippa Grisafi, founder of a Staten Island Express Bus Advocacy group on Facebook, said of Byfords resignation: It is truly a tremendous loss and a travesty for New York City, the MTA and especially Staten Island commuters. Andy was our ally. He was the first person, let alone the first president, Ive ever known at the MTA who was so open and willing to really listen to and work with the commuting public." Labor leader Anthony Albanese admitted during a radio interview he 'doesn't know' what happens in the Senate after being questioned over a motion being voted down. Speaking on FiveAA radio, Mr Albanese was asked why the Senate voted down a motion to keep submarine dock work - and hundreds of jobs - in South Australia. 'Mate, I don't know from time to time what happens in the Senate, I have got to say. People move motions,' he said. 'I know it is (an important issue), but also, what often happens in the Senate is that there is grandstanding for various reasons. 'I'm not aware of what happened in the Senate.' Federal Labor Leader Anthony Albanese (pictured) has said in a radio interview he doesn't know what goes on in the Senate after a controversial vote over a motion to save jobs in SA Mr Albanese claimed South Australian senators stood up for their state but was told they all voted against the motion. Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick tabled the motion to prevent moving submarine manufacturing and maintenance from South Australia to Western Australia. 'Disappointingly, South Australian Labor senators, led by Penny Wong, failed to stand up for South Australia. South Australian Liberal senators, led by Minister Anne Ruston, failed to stand up for South Australia,' he said. He said the move would cut 700 jobs from 800 businesses which provided $400 million to the economy. Senator Patrick said submarine availability would also suffer under the move and by extension 'damage national security'. Senator Patrick said it would undermine national security and take away hundreds of jobs is the manufacturing of the Collins Class submarines (pictured) was moved completely to WA Despite his plea Senator Patrick's motion was voted down. South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas threw his support behind Senator Patrick's motion and said he would help fight for jobs in the state. He said it was important to 'stand up to your friends' when you knew it was right and he will take the fight to the top if need be. 'I will always stand up for South Australia and South Australian jobs,' he said. 'I am willing to fight for (submarine jobs) every set of the way, including standing up to Federal Labor on its vote in the Senate, which I think was incredibly disappointing. 'Standing up to your enemies is one thing, but standing up to your friends is just as important.' Full service carrier will cancel 54 next month, including on routes connecting Delhi with Bangkok and Singapore, amid weak demand due to the outbreak. In a statement on Wednesday, the said it has made temporary adjustments to selected services to/ from Bangkok and Singapore for March. "20 flights between Delhi and Bangkok, 26 flights between Mumbai and Singapore and 8 flights between Delhi and Singapore will be cancelled in March 2020," it said. The said the adjustments have been made to the services in response to weak demand due to the outbreak. " will continue to monitor the situation and progressively evaluate the need for any further adjustments to its schedule to meet changing demand patterns," it noted. With respect to the cancelled flights, customers can opt for a full refund or alternative travel dates free of cost. Such customers would not have to pay any cancellation or re-issuance fee. A joint venture between and Singapore Airlines, operates more than 200 flights daily. Over 2,700 people have died due to Novel 2019 (COVID-19) while the number of those infected is around 80,000. In the wake of the virus outbreak, whose epicentre is China, many airlines, including Indian carriers, have cancelled some of their overseas flights. Air India has cancelled its flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong till June 30. An Air India spokesperson said the has reduced its frequency of flights on Delhi-Singapore route to five days from seven days. Further, the airline is now operating flights on four days on Mumbai-Chennai-Singapore route while it was daily earlier. Last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said there was a potential 13 per cent full-year loss of passenger demand for carriers in the Asia-Pacific region due to COVID-19. "Considering that growth for the region's airlines was forecast to be 4.8 per cent, 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 USD 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 USD 12.8 billion lost in the China domestic market alone," the grouping had said on the basis of an initial assessment. IATA is a global grouping of around 290 airlines, including Vistara and Air India. LAGOS, Nigeria, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- It has come to the attention of the management of the Reddington hospital that rumours are circulating on social media of a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Reddington hospital Ikeja. We would like to assure the public that there has been no confirmed case of coronavirus at any of the branches of the Reddington hospital as of today 26 February 2020. In the early hours of Wednesday 26 February, 2020, a Chinese national was presented to Ikeja branch of Reddington Hospital complaining of fever. Following standard protocol it was ascertained that he had arrived in Nigeria from China seven weeks ago and had not been in contact with anyone else who might have coronavirus. As a precautionary measure, staff immediately isolated him in accordance with the hospital's standard operating procedure for potential coronavirus patients. The state public health authorities were promptly informed and involved. Despite the risk being assessed to be relatively low according to the currently available science regarding incubation period, blood samples were taken using full prescribed precautions and sent to the Lagos State authorised virology laboratory for analysis and diagnosis. The results of the tests will be made available on or over the next 48 hours. The patient has since been transferred to Lagos State Infectious Disease Hospital at Yaba for further observation while results of tests are being awaited. It is to be emphasised that the risk is thought to be low and so far the patient has not been diagnosed with coronavirus disease. The Reddington team acted in a highly professional manner and in absolute compliance with international standards. We thank all staff for their diligence and professionalism in dealing with this case. We will continue to pursue strict surveillance of all patients and visitors in all our branches. Signed Dr Olutunde Lalude Group Medical Director Reddington Hospital Group Image: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1096104/Reddington_Hospital.jpg Indian market is likely to consolidate around 11,700 levels on February 26 tracking mixed trend seen in other Asian markets. Asian shares fell on Wednesday after a US government warned Americans to prepare for the possibility of a coronavirus pandemic. This pushed Wall Street stocks lower and yields on safe-haven Treasuries to record lows. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening in India, with a 94 points, or 0.8 percent, loss. The Nifty futures were trading around 11,724-level on the Singaporean Exchange. Indian markets consolidated and closed in the red for the third consecutive day in a row on Tuesday amid weak global cues. Tracking the weakness, more than 200 stocks hit a fresh 52-week low on the BSE. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show These include Gillette India, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, BASF India, LIC Housing Finance, HPCL, Canara Bank, DCB Bank, among others. Lets look at the final tally on D-Street the S&P BSE Sensex closed 82 points lower at 40,281 while the Nifty50 fell 31 points to close at 11,797. Sectorally, the action was seen in realty, telecom, IT and metal stocks while profit-taking was witnessed in energy, oil & gas, healthcare, consumer durables, and auto indices. The rupee on February 25 recovered 13 paise to close at 71.85 (provisional) against the US dollar amid easing crude oil prices and weakening of the American currency in the overseas market. On the provisional front, FPIs were net sellers in Indian markets for Rs 2315 cr while the DIIs were net buyer to the tune of Rs 1565 cr, provisional data showed. Big News: A big trade deal could be in the offing between the US and India: sources Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said increasing the bilateral defence and security cooperation is a very key aspect of this relationship. Modi said as far as bilateral trade is concerned, there have been positive talks between the two commerce ministers. India and the US on Tuesday finalised defense deals worth USD 3 billion and signed three MoUs, including one in the energy sector Technical View: Nifty formed a bearish candle on the daily charts for the 3rd consecutive day in a row Bulls have put in a tough fight around 11800 levels| Critical support is placed around 11783 11740 levels There seem to be multiple supports emerging on the downsides at every 50 point decline. In case if Nifty fails to hold 11749 then it can head to test its 200-Days Simple Moving Average (SMA) support placed around 11684 levels Strength is expected to come if Nifty manages a close above 11900 in the next couple of trading sessions which then can pave the way for sideways consolidation, suggest experts Traders are advised to remain neutral and focus on stock-specific opportunities. Three levels: 11779-11750, 11883, 11900 Max Call OI: 12000, 12200 Max Put OI: 11800, 11700 Stocks in the news: India Cements: Gopikishan S Damani, the brother of ace investor Radhakishan Damani, bought 2.75 percent stake in India Cements on February 25. Bank of Baroda: BoB said it has moved the Supreme Court against an order passed by the Calcutta High Court in a matter related to a bank guarantee issued on behalf of Simplex Projects Ltd. Vedanta: Anil Agarwal said he is open to selling a stake in Cairn India to make it valuable for investors. Agarwal said that the company is interested in buying a stake in BPCL. Technical Recommendations: We spoke to SMC Global Securities and heres what they have to recommend: Minda Corporation Ltd: Buy| LTP: Rs 115.25| Target: Rs 126| Stop Loss: Rs 105| Upside 9% IPCA Laboratories Ltd: Buy| LTP: Rs 1426| Target: Rs 1584| Stop Loss: Rs 1290| Upside 11% NIIT Technologies Ltd: Buy| LTP: Rs 1889| Target: Rs 2045| Stop Loss: Rs 1775| Upside 8% Disclaimer: 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. [February 26, 2020] R&M to Present Intelligent Buildings Webcast on March 5th and Host Open House at New U.S. East Coast Office on April 30th MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- R&M, an active developer and supplier of high-quality network infrastructures, today announced it will present "Twisted-Pair Cabling for Intelligent Buildings," in a March 5th "Intelligent Buildings" webcast produced and moderated by Cabling Installation & Maintenance, and will host an open house on April 30th celebrating its East Coast expansion and acquisition of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. in Elkridge, Maryland. The "Intelligent Buildings" webcast on March 5th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time examines multiple aspects of building and managing the infrastructure to support systems within an intelligent building. It will include a presentation, "Twisted-Pair Cabling for Intelligent Buildings," by R&M's LAN Cabling Market Manager Matthias Gerber. Gerber will present that LAN cabling trends are driven by the need for intelligent building infrastructure, in which a wide range of functionalities is managed and monitored over a converged network. This type of network must be capable of powering large numbers of remote devices such as sensors and peripheral equipment, all of which gather and process data. The connectivity landscape is becoming unified and standardized particularly in networks advantageous for data and power to be integrated, with IP as a common platform for previousdisparate systems. Gerber's presentation also will cover deployment of a united LAN and Ethernet/IP cabling system for an intelligent building. In the webcast Gerber also will introduce to the U.S. market R&M's PowerSafe quality seal, which R&M marks on its cabling products with insulation displacement contact (IDC) terminations optimized for continuous, high-power four-pair power over ethernet (4PPoE) transmission in intelligent buildings. The PowerSafe seal guides R&M customers to choose the correct R&M products for demanding 4PPoE applications. Register here for the "Intelligent Buildings" webcast on March 5th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. R&M's East Coast open house on April 30th at its new office in Elkridge, Maryland will celebrate R&M's expansion to the East Coast and its acquisition of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. The agenda will include: "R&M company presentation," by Michel Riva , CEO of R&M , CEO of R&M "Market trends outlook with a U.S. focus," by Andreas Ruesseler , CMO of R&M , CMO of R&M "Integration strategy for Optimum Fiberoptics and R&M's position in the U.S. market today," by Christopher Stratas, president of R&M USA "The capabilities of R&M's Elkridge site," with tours by Jay Megan , founder of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. and business manager at R&M site," with tours by , founder of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. and business manager at R&M R&M and business partner product presentations by Prysmian, Ilsintech and others in the Elkridge showroom showroom A barbeque between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Register here for the R&M East Coast Open House on April 30th at R&M USA EAST, 7195 Troy Hill Drive, Elkridge, Maryland. About R&M R&M (Reichle & De-Massari AG) is a leading global producer of future-proof products and systems for communication and data networks. The company's close collaboration with certified partners results in pioneering work in the sectors LAN, public and telecom networks, and data centers. The Swiss family company stands for innovation, quality, and proximity to customers. For more information visit www.rdm.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rm-to-present-intelligent-buildings-webcast-on-march-5th-and-host-open-house-at-new-us-east-coast-office-on-april-30th-301011372.html SOURCE R&M USA INC. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested a man who had threatened people protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi on social media. "The person was arrested by Agali police in Palakkad district for trying to instigate communal violence," the Police said. On Tuesday, Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera had said that strict action will be taken against those who try to create any communal divide. "Action will be taken against those who create or forward such messages that create communal tension through social media. All messages on social media are under police surveillance," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was pronounced guilty of sexual assault and rape in a New York court on Monday. He was acquitted of the most serious charges, capping one of the most closely watched trials of the #MeToo movement era. #MeToo movement inspired women to publicly accuse powerful men of misconduct. Weinstein, 67, was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in July 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a one-time aspiring actress, at a hotel in 2013. He was found guilty of sex crimes including rape by a jury in New York, in a verdict that activists declared a victory for women's rights. Weinstein was accompanied out of a courtroom in handcuffs on Monday and taken into custody after the verdict was announced. He will face up to 25 years in prison upon being sentenced on March 11. The sexual assault was the first conviction to emerge from the dozens of misconduct allegations against the former movie producer. The most severe charges, which he was acquitted from, was of predatory sexual assault, which would have acknowledged a pattern that included forcing sex on actress Annabella Sciorra in 1993 or 1994. Weinstein was convicted of a first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. Also read: Ted Nugent Compares Jewish Director Harvey Weinstein To Nazi Propagandist Over Gun Film At least 80 women had accused him of sexual misconduct extending back decades, including actresses Uma Thurman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Salma Hayek. Had he been acquitted on the most serious charges, the once-powerful Hollywood producer could have been sent to prison for the rest of his life. These charges include two counts of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape. The former Hollywood mogul once enjoyed remarkable success with Oscar winners such as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, The King's Speech and Shakespeare in Love. The 67-year-old was taken to New York's Bellevue Hospital suffering from chest pains after the verdict was announced. According to Weinstein's lawyer, he was expected to be taken to a medical facility at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex. A spokesman said he was to be diverted instead to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, which has a unit that provides medical care for jail inmates. The case was a milestone for the #MeToo movement and other survivors of sexual assault, with women and others calling the conviction a landmark verdict online. Weinstein often appeared unwell and entered the courthouse using a walker, sometimes leaning on his lead lawyer, Donna Rotunno, for support. He was declared to be moved to the Riker's Island prison. The jury of seven men and five women reached their verdict on the fifth day of deliberations on Monday. Spokesman Juda Engelmayer said he did not know the reason behind Weinstein going to Bellevue or how long he would be there. Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala quoted his client saying, "I'm innocent. I'm innocent. How can this happen in America?" Related article: Anne Hathaway Was Harvey Weinstein's First Choice For Jennifer Lawrence's Role in 'Silver Linings Playbook' @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor, has accused the government of plunging the country back into the dark days of power rationing, also known as dumsor. In a statement, he said the relapse into power rationing was due to the ineptitude and mismanagement of the energy sector by the governing New Patriotic Party. Today the Ministry of Energy having been exposed badly with the current dumsor the nation is witnessing is moving away from its earlier position that Power outages were solely a result of financial challenges. In view of this, the Yapei Kusawgu MP called on the government to immediately desist from the blatant deception and publish the Load Shedding Time Table to enable Ghanaians plan their daily schedules. The Minister of Energy is hereby put on notice that failure to comply within 24 hours will compel us to explore all available options under the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament not excluding a vote of censure on him. The recent power sector concerns are because some Ghanaians have been experiencing consistent power cuts in recent weeks. 'Dumsor finally resolved These concerns come amidst the governments insistence that it has solved the problems with dumsor in the power sector. President Nana Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation address cited stable power supply as the doing of his administration. It gives me great pleasure to be able to say that we have overcome the dumsor menace, the President declared. He, however, admitted that Ghana was not out of the woods yet. I cannot say we have resolved all our energy problems. It is still a work in progress. Further, the five years of energy crisis led to the signing of what can only be described as usurious contracts that have landed our country with a huge financial burden. The take or pay contracts resulted in the country being saddled with expensive excess power and our having to pay nearly US$1billion in 2018 and 2019 for power we do not need. Find below the full statement from Jinapor Publish Load Shedding Time Table Within 24 Hours Or Face Our Wrath The Minister for Energy, Mr. Peter Amewu must with immediate effect lift his unlawful gagging orders which he has imposed on the Power Sector SOEs preventing them from publishing an already prepared Load Shedding Time Table. It is instructive to note that GRIDCo has been clandestinely shedding about 200MW since the first week of February this year with no end in sight. Let me be clear, that the dreaded DUMSOR which the Mahama administration resolved is sadly back due to the ineptitude and mismanagement of the energy sector. Ironically, this Government has consistently maintained that the nation has too much power generation and does not even know what to do with the excess capacity. Today the Ministry of Energy having been exposed badly with the current DUMSOR the nation is witnessing is moving away from its earlier position that Power outages was solely a result of financial challenges. For the records, this Government has not procured a single drum of Light Crude Oil (LCO) since 2019. I therefore call on the Akuffo-Addo-led Government to immediately desist from the blatant deception and publish the Load Shedding Time Table to enable Ghanaians plan their daily schedules. The Minister of Energy is hereby put on notice that failure to comply within 24 hours will compel us to explore all available options under the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament not excluding a vote of censure on him. Enough of the deception and lack of transparency in Ghanas energy sector. Ghana deserves better. John Abdulai Jinapor Former Deputy Minister of Energy ---citinewsroom A Salem man was arrested Sunday after he repeatedly purchased Girl Scout cookies using counterfeit money, police said. Camden Ducharme, 36, was taken into custody and charged with forgery and theft, according to officials. Earlier this month, Tiffany Brown said a man visited the cookie booth she and her two daughters were running Sunday morning outside the Walmart Supercenter at 3025 Lancester Drive in Salem. The man asked a ton of questions, Brown recalled, and seemed fidgety." He paid for a $5 box of Tagalongs with a $20 bill and received $15 in change, but Browns 13-year-old daughter, Ava, immediately noticed the bill seemed odd. As soon as he was out of ear shot, she said I dont think this money is real, Brown said. At first glance, in a photo Brown shared on Facebook, the counterfeit money doesnt look all that suspicious. But the bill was slightly smaller than the other twenties in their till, it had a bluish tint, and the texture of the paper wasnt quite right. On the left is a real $20 bill. On the right is the bill that Tiffany Brown said was determined to be counterfeit when it was used at her daughter's cookie booth.Tiffany Brown We called the non-emergency police line and the police officer took (the bill) and said yes, this is a fake, Brown said. Its pretty unbelievable. Police said they responded to at least one other incident in which Ducharme used counterfeit bills to buy Girl Scout cookies. Using video surveillance, and with collaboration from Walmarts loss prevention team, police identified Ducharme and he was arrested when he returned to the store on Sunday. He was being held in Marion County Correctional Facility, officials said. Camden Ducharme, 36, was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit bills to purchase Girl Scout cookies in Salem, police said. -- Kale Williams kwilliams@oregonian.com 503-294-4048 @sfkale Creative Discovery Museum Executive Director Henry Schulson said Tuesday that the children's museum has raised enough funds to get going on its planned $10 million renovation. It has brought in $5.8 million thus far. However, he said it will be necessary to get the full $10 million in order to carry out all phases. Members of the City Council on Tuesday indicated they are ready to go along with a requested $500,000 gift - split into five $100,000 payments. The county is also expected to make the same contribution with that money perhaps coming from the hotel/motel tax collections. Councilman Jerry Mitchell said of the request, "I expect to hear something on this from the mayor's office soon." Mr. Schulson said it is hoped to have the full amount pledged by this spring when the museum celebrates its 25th anniversary. He said work should get going then on the new River Play section of the facility at Fourth and Market. Mr. Schulson said administrative offices will be moved across the street to the 401 Building to make room for more exhibit space. He said some staffers have already moved. He said during 2021 much of the second floor would be closed for construction. Later, portions of the ground floor would be roped off while work is underway. The last section would be revitalization of the plaza to make it "the most instagrammable site in Chattanooga." There is to be a national competition for a $500,000 piece of public art that will be a centerpiece. The contractor will be Stief Counts of Chattanooga, and the exhibit designer is Tom Kraemer, who has done work at the famed children's museum in Indianapolis. Mr. Schulson said it is hoped to involve local firms in the project, including Play Core and artists such as Terry Cannon. Councilman Chip Henderson said getting as many children as possible involved at the museum is one step in helping deter them from getting into a life of crime. He asked if the museum could work with the city's rec centers on a program in which low-income students would be transported to the museum and be able to enter at a reduced rate or for free. Mr. Schulson said the museum would work with the city. Andrew J. Pleviak, 42, of Topeka pleaded guilty in December to falsely claiming to be an officer of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations A former agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in prison for impersonating an immigration supervisor in a foiled attempt to free a Mexican immigrant from a Kansas jail, authorities said. Andrew J. Pleviak, 42, of Topeka pleaded guilty in December to falsely claiming to be an officer of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release. Pleviak identified himself as another man who is an actual ICE agent in an effort on September 3 to get an acquaintance out of the Kingman County jail. He provided a sheriff's deputy a memorandum on ICE letterhead falsely claiming the inmate was an important confidential informant and saying that ICE would drop the detainer on him. The man Pleviak tried to sneak out of the county jail, Juan Tapia, was indicted in November on federal charges of using another person's Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and unlawful possession of a firearm. Tapia is awaiting trial. Pleviak identified himself as another man who is an actual ICE agent in an effort on September 3 to get an acquaintance out of the Kingman County jail In May 2018, Pleviak was sentenced to six months in jail he had already served after he pleaded guilty in February to exceeding authorized access to a government computer. KAKE-TV anchor Deb Farris told police in 2017 that Pleviak was sending her law enforcement material and texting messages that were sexual in nature, according to a probable cause affidavit released in January. Farris was interviewed by the Wichita Police Department during which officers photographed about 185 screen shots of text messages between her and Pleviak. KAKE-TV anchor Deb Farris told police in 2017 that Pleviak was sending her law enforcement material and texting messages that were sexual in nature, according to a probable cause affidavit released in January Farris told The Associated Press that Pleviak first came to her asking to be her source, saying he had all kinds of information she would need for future stories. She has said the station never used anything that he gave her and that he started texting her things that made her uncomfortable and scared her. Homeland Security Investigations Agent Brian Beach wrote in his probable cause affidavit that Pleviak provided Farris in November 2016 with copies of computerized criminal history reports for suspects. Two days after Wichita police interviewed Farris, Pleviak's supervisor ordered him to immediately relinquish his government-issued iPhone, according to the affidavit. The affidavit also cited a September email in which Pleviak allegedly admitted remotely deleting information from the phone. Federal prosecutors initially indicted Pleviak in July 2017 on two counts of exceeding authorized access to a government computer for accessing information from the National Crime Information Center. But one of the counts and a count of destruction of records in a federal investigation were dismissed as part of the plea deal. Under sentencing guidelines, Pleviak had faced up to six months in prison. But he had already spent slightly more than six months in jail pending the outcome of his case because his bond was twice revoked for violating its conditions. US President Donald Trump assured Indian industry leaders on Tuesday that he would ease regulations to attract more investments as the two countries work towards a broader trade deal. Trump, on the last day of a two-day visit, met several Indian industrialists, including Reliance Industries Ltds Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla groups Kumar Mangalam Birla, Infosys Ltds chief executive officer Salil Parekh, Biocon Ltd chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Larsen & Toubro group chairman A.M. Naik, UPL Ltds chief Jai Shroff, Cipla Ltds Samina Vaziralli and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra. The industrialists detailed their businesses and investments in the US to Trump, who congratulated them for putting their money in the US and creating jobs. He said his administration was ready to help businesses grow and flourish in the US. We are going to cut a lot more regulations. Some have to go through the statutory process, Trump said. On his governments pro-business approach, the US president said the US stock markets would surge if he is re-elected in November. If I dont win, youre going to see a crash like youve never seen before, he said. Trump said his government planned to announce tax cuts soon for middle-class Americans. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries will soon commence negotiations for a big trade deal. India on Tuesday also agreed to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced US military equipment comprising Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters. The two countries have also been in talks on agricultural products and medical equipment as well, with the US also pressuring India to change its intellectual property laws, especially to allow patents for incremental innovation. These talks have not seemed to fructify and no details have surfaced on them during Trumps visit. Last year, The Dubliner Irish Whiskey shipped casks of its bourbon cask aged Irish whiskey all the way from Ireland to Central Massachusetts. Those casks were filled with Wachusett Brewing Companys Quinns Amber Ale, adding levels of depth and flavor to the craft beer. Now, that new collaboration is ready to be released across Massachusetts. The barrel-aged Quinns is the first edition of Wachusetts Beer Cask Series, the Westminster-based brewery announced in a news release. For The Dubliner, this partnership is its first collaboration on U.S. soil. This is a truly exciting collaboration for Dubliner Irish Whiskey, said Darryl McNally, the master distiller at the Dublin Liberties Distillery. Not only do we choose breweries whose beer casks add a unique taste to our whiskey, but partners like Wachusett Brewing, that have the same independent spirit as Dubliner, with a straight-up attitude and down to earth appreciation of great tasting brands." Quinns Amber Ale was aged in The Dubliners Kentucky bourbon oak casks for several months. The freshly disgorged casks are being sent back to Dublin to be used for a special release later this year, according to the news release. It is an honor to partner with The Dubliner for this exciting project, said Christian McMahan, the president of Wachusett Brewing Company. There is no shortage of Irish whiskey lovers in this part of the country and we think our Barrel Aged Quinns Amber is going to be the perfect way to celebrate the upcoming St. Patricks Day holiday. We are equally proud to see those casks go back to Ireland and look forward to seeing the essence of Wachusett used to make a spectacular Irish Whiskey. The barrel-aged Quinns Amber Ale is planned to release in late February on tap and in 16-ounce cans and will be available in bars, restaurants and retail stores. Related Content: More people than usual have attended Ash Wednesday Mass in Nigeria following an appeal by the Bishops to use the day as one of national mourning, prayer and reflection for Nigerians especially Christians, kidnapped or killed by terrorists or criminals in the country. Paul Samasumo Vatican City The record attendance was confirmed by Nigerias Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo Diocese who is also Africas Bishop-President for Social Communications under SECAM, the continental body of Bishops. Bishop Badejo told Vatican News that according to reports he had received, from across the country, many of the faithful have turned up in numbers for Ash Wednesday Masses. This was in response to a call by Nigerian Bishops in a Pastoral letter addressed to the faithful. Nigerian Bishops also recommended that the faithful turn up for Ash Wed Mass dressed in black an appropriate Nigerian expression for mourning. The Pastoral letter was to be read in in all Catholic Churches of Nigeria during Ash Wed Masses. With no prosecutions, Govt cannot claim to be protecting Christians I believe that the kind of language and gestures we speak now, (as a Church in Nigeria) must be direct to show that Nigeria simply cannot continue this way, Bishop Badejo said in a telephone interview. He added, The Bishops have declared their moral responsibility to stand up for the people, and we have directly told the Government it can no longer pretend to be protecting Christians when in fact not one single person has been prosecuted of all those who have been slaughtering people, simply because of their declaration as Christians. If the Government cannot protect the freedom of religion and the security of life and property, we have to ask what kind of Government is this? Bishop Badejo says twice the Bishops Conference of Nigeria has asked Nigerias President, Muhammadu Buhari, to resign for being ineffectual. Nigerias young people were in the majority at Ash Wed Masses Asked if Nigerias young people would draw strength from Pope Francis Lenten Message of 2020, not to see Jesus passion as a past event but one that gives hope, Bishop Badejo responded in the affirmative. He said young people in Nigeria still have faith that even if the State fails them, the Church will always be there for them. What happened this morning is that many young people still believe in Nigeria and in the Church. The evidence of this is that young people were in the majority among those who attended (Ash Wednesday) Mass across Nigeria, today, Bishop Badejo said. February 25, 2020 News By Jim Garamone Defense.gov Esper's Combatant Command Review to Finish by September Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper is reviewing the combatant commands' force posture to ensure the forces have the right mix of personnel and resources to meet the National Defense Strategy's priorities, a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon. Speaking on background, the official said the combatant command review is a prudent step as the department faces the return of great-power competition with China and Russia. U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Southern Command already have been through the process, officials said. The rest of the combatant commands will undergo the same scrutiny, with all reviews finished by September. Esper will personally oversee the reviews, the official said, just as he did the reviews of defense agencies in his review of Fourth Estate organizations late last year. Those are the organizations in the Defense Department that are not military services. Under that review, the secretary looked at defense agency budgets for efficiencies. Those reviews found $5 billion that can be applied to higher-priority needs in the department. "We need to take a look at our foundation and we need to do a 'zero based review,'" the official said. "That is what this is all about, and every [combatant command] has to go through this process." The official stressed that the process isn't just about cutting money or resources, but using the money and resources where they make the most sense and where they will do the most good with regard to the National Defense Strategy. "It's not about savings," he said. "But you can assume that large, high-performing organizations like combatant commands, over time will build up a certain amount of inefficiencies. So I think there will be some savings." The process is about aligning strategic guidance and priorities with resources, the official explained. He noted that U.S. Africa Command a relatively new combatant command still had thousands of tasks it was ordered to perform. Some of those tasks are outdated, but they are still on the books, the official said. This needs to change. The department's effort mirrors what any high-performing large organization does, the official said: It is taking stock of the crucial missions and making sure they are resourced correctly, and the National Defense Strategy is a good guiding document, he added. Competing with China and Russia is the strategy's priority, followed by countering Iran and North Korea. Overarching all this is the problem of violent extremist organizations. The U.S. military also needs to reset force readiness. This process does not mean combatant command winners and losers, the official said, noting that the United States needs to compete with China and Russia globally. "So we care about their activities in Africom, we care about their activities in Southcom and around the world," he said. "But we have to be judicious on how we apply our resources." The review will look at the full range of activities in the geographic and functional commands. These commands also bleed over, in some instances, into the area of other federal agencies. DOD officials must ask if a mission is core to the department or not, or if another agency should be footing the bill. "These are tough questions," the official said. "But they must be asked." Esper will chair these reviews, and the combatant commander will participate, along with DOD policy, Joint Staff, comptroller and evaluation personnel. The secretary goes back to basics, noting that combatant commands posture forces as a result of decades of operations that have evolved over time, the official said. He asks the commanders to imagine a blank slate and then given the situation today how the forces would be arrayed. The secretary will also ask what the ideal makeup of forces should be and what missions those forces should be performing, the official said. "Some of it may be aspirational, but you have to start looking at that in that regard and seeing where it makes sense," the official said. "So all of that comes into play." Some aspects of the review will be announced immediately, such as Esper announcing the deployment of an Army Security Force Assistance Brigade to Africa to train partner nations, rather than a regular infantry brigade. The security force brigade is designed to train local forces, and the infantry brigade would be better served getting ready for full-spectrum operations, the official explained. Other changes will have to wait until the full review is completed. The official said there will undoubtedly be capabilities in information technology, for example where there can be some economies of scale, but this cannot be known until the review is completed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Kano has arrested a former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Isiyaku Ali-Danja, for alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of constituency projects funds. The EFCC acting spokesperson, Tony Orilade, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. He said Mr Ali-Danja was arrested following a petition alleging the diversion of funds meant for payment of tax liabilities to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by Kano State Government. Mr Orilade said the fund, to the tune of over N1.5 billion, was diverted and misappropriated from the sub-treasury account of the state government. The arrest comes days after the anti-graft agency arrested the states Commissioner for Special Duties for alleged N86 million fraud. Several suspicious payments were allegedly traced to some beneficiaries, including some made to Allad Drilling Limited, a company in which Mr Ali-Danja is the sole signatory to its accounts, the statement said. Investigation by the EFCC further revealed that the funds were on several occasions personally withdrawn in cash by the suspect, while he was the only one who could officially state whether jobs were done before any payments could be made It would be recalled that the EFCC had earlier arrested the Commissioner for Special Duties in the State, Mukhtar Ishaq, for allegedly diverting funds meant for Kano Municipal Local Government while he was chairman of the said local government. Mukhtar was arrested by EFCC following a petition that alleged that while he was chairman of Kano Municipal, he diverted funds meant for projects, development and empowerment of the people, it added. The petitioner further alleged that Mr Mukhtar ordered the deduction of N30, 000 from the account of each council member without justification. The lawmaker was also accused to have allegedly converted property of Kofar Nassarawa Primary School, Kano, into shops and sold the same at N10 million per shop and diverted the money to his personal use. The EFCC said the accused would be charged to court on completion of investigations. Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting the coronavirus at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on February 20, 2020. West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via Reuters Iran says it won't quarantine towns and cities, despite recording the most deaths from the novel coronavirus outside China. "We have no plan to quarantine any district or any city. We only quarantine individuals," Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday. Nineteen people have died in Iran, with 139 recorded infections. Iran admitted finding the coronavirus seven days ago. The country has been accused of hiding the real number of cases. The World Health Organization says the situation there is "deeply concerning." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Iran has refused to quarantine any cities, towns, or villages, despite recording more coronavirus deaths than any country besides China. "We have no plan to quarantine any district or any city. We only quarantine individuals," Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, according to BBC Monitoring. "What is more important than the coronavirus is the virus of fear, anxiety and mistrust among the people. This virus is worse than that virus and we should not create doubts and make people fearful," he added. The total number of confirmed cases in Iran rose to 139 on Wednesday, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing Iran's health ministry. Nineteen people have died. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on February 16, 2020. Associated Press Criticism of Iran's handling of the crisis has been extremely strong, with some accusing the government of a cover-up. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said he was "deeply concerned" that Iran "may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak." "All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations," Pompeo said. On Tuesday, Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, revealed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. The day before, he was seen looking extremely unwell at a press conference. Story continues US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2020. Associated Press The number of confirmed cases inside Iran is suspected to be far higher than authorities there are revealing. The fatality rate in China, excluding Wuhan, is around 0.7%. Based on the ratio of confirmed cases to confirmed deaths, Iran likely has many hundreds more cases, Radio Farda reported. Researchers from the University of Toronto also said it's possible as many as 18,000 Iranians are infected. "Given the low volumes of air travel to countries with identified cases of COVID-19 with origin in Iran (such as Canada), it is likely that Iran is currently experiencing a COVID-19 epidemic of significant size for such exportations to be occurring," they said, referring to the official name for the coronavirus. Iran said it had found the virus last Wednesday, on February 19. That same day authorities revealed two people had died. The World Health Organization said on Monday the situation in Iran is "deeply concerning." A medic takes a the temperature of Iraqi at the Shalamjah border crossing between Iran and Iraq on February 21, 2020. Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Friday that the criticism is being used as "propaganda apparatus" against Iran. The ruling party also blamed a low turnout in Friday's parliamentary election on the virus. Iran has made some efforts to counter the outbreak, though. On Sunday, authorities closed schools and universities across 14 provinces and dedicated 230 hospitals to fight the outbreak. The coronavirus, which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, has killed at least 2,600 people, mostly in China. It has since spread to at least 34 other countries, some of which have reported deaths of the virus. Read the original article on Business Insider Regional Management (RM) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.90 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 27.78%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this financial services company would post earnings of $0.99 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.08, delivering a surprise of 9.09%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Regional Management, which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Consumer Loans industry, posted revenues of $97.98 million for the quarter ended December 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.16%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $83.75 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Regional Management shares have lost about 5.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -0.2%. What's Next for Regional Management? While Regional Management has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Story continues Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Regional Management was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.86 on $91.54 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.53 on $395.18 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Financial - Consumer Loans is currently in the bottom 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Regional Management Corp. (RM) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The lead editorial in Tuesdays edition of the New York Times carries a caricature of Harvey Weinstein, the film producer convicted Monday of felony sex crimes, with overtly antisemitic overtones. Weinstein is Jewish. The image of Weinstein published by the New York Times takes up one-quarter of the usable page space in the first page of the editorial section in the print edition of the newspaper. The editorial associated with the image is titled The Lessons of #MeToos Monster. The editorial celebrates the conviction of Weinstein despite substantial exculpatory evidence. Left: An October 1936 edition of Der Sturmer | Right: A screenshot of the New York Times lead editorial on Weinstein The caricature of Weinstein, drawn by Brian Stauffer, is strikingly similar to an infamous image appearing in an October 1936 issue of the Nazi propaganda magazine Der Sturmer. The anti-Semitic insinuations of the illustration are in keeping with an overt anti-Semitic subtext that has been one of the many ugly elements of the #MeToo campaign, which has also targetted Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. The black-and-white image in Der Sturmer is a hideous anti-Semitic caricature of a Jew, with two protruding fangs, dripping either saliva or blood. The monstrous visage depicted in the Sturmer image has a weak jaw, multiple chins and exaggerated ears. The Sturmer depicts this figure eating people, including a centrally located woman, under the title, Insatiable. The caption reads, Far be it from the Jews to enslave a single people. Their goal is to devour the entire world. Stauffers image appears to be a striking adaptation of the Nazi caricature. With a red-and-white casting couch forming his mouth, the New York Times illustration depicts Weinstein with a weak jawline, multiple chins and prominent ears. The legs of the casting couch point downward in the form of two fangs, and his mouth, depicted as the frame of the couch, is colored in dark red, giving the distinct impression that it is dripping with blood. The ghoulish illustrations bear so many common features that it is difficult to believe that Stauffer is unfamiliar with the Nazi caricature. But it does not follow from this that Stauffer is an anti-Semite, or that he consciously intended to draw an anti-Jewish caricature. And it happens to be the case that the publisher of the Times is Jewish, as is the editor of the papers editorial page, James Bennet. However, reactionary politics, when it seeks to express itself in a quasi-artistic pictorial form, is drawn to, and quite naturally employs, imagery of a socially backward and even bestial character. Intellectually impoverished, incapable of understanding and portraying contradiction, Stauffer works with the most simplistic and vacuous categories. Just as Nazi imagery, in keeping with its political inspiration, could portray the Jew only as a horrifying personification of all evil, Stauffer reduces Weinstein to a devil-monster, with fangs protruding from a mouth dripping with blood. He does not portray a real human being, riven by contradictions. The Nazi imaginary image of the "Eternal Jew" is morphed, without artistic originality, let alone a trace of psychological insight, into Weinstein as the "Eternal Monster." Inevitably, the presentation derives its inspiration from the well known tropes of anti-Semitism. This manifestation of cultural backwardness intersects with the reactionary political interests of the New York Times, and that is why Bennet plastered the image over one-quarter of the editorial page. T he first Budget of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's majority government is set to be unveiled at 12.30pm today. It is the country's first financial plan outside the European Union in more than four decades. After the Conservative Party's landslide election victory, Mr Johnson and his newly-appointed chancellor Rishi Sunak are in a position to push through their plans for the economy. But the spectre of coronavirus and trying to limit its impact on the economy loom over the budget, with the Bank of England slashing its rate on Wednesday morning ahead of the Chancellor's announcements. So when will the Budget take place and what will it likely include? Here's everything you need to know... Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, flanked by Rishi Sunak / POOL/AFP via Getty Images What time is the Budget 2020? The Budget will be read out in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak at 12:30pm today (GMT). Mr Sunak has stuck to the March 11 launch date set by his predecessor Sajid Javid. Mr Javid postponed the Budget in November to make way for the December general election that resulted in a landslide Conservative victory and Boris Johnson staying on as prime minister. This budget needs to satisfy the needs of several very different audiences. These range from traditional Labour voters in the Midlands and the north of England - who contributed towards the PM's 80-seat majority - to traditional Tory voters and financial markets. Chancellor of the Exchequer as new Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to be preparing to announce that parts of the Treasury will be moved to a location in the north of England / PA Who is the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak? Rishi Sunak was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Boris Johnson as recently as February 13. He was elected MP for Richmond (Yorks) in 2015 and his rapid rise saw him appointed chief secretary to the Treasury when Mr Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019. Mr Sunak is considered a Johnson loyalist and represented the PM during 2019 election debates. Britain's Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak arrives at 10 Downing Street / AFP via Getty Images Just six months later he is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, having moved through ranks like the under-secretary of state for local government. The 39-year-old took up the post after Sajid Javid resigned during a cabinet reshuffle. Mr Sunak is far less experienced than his predecessor and as chief Treasury secretary, he was not technically a full cabinet minister. In contrast, Mr Javid served as culture secretary, business secretary, housing secretary and home secretary before being appointed chancellor. Former Chancellor Sajid Javid departs following the weekly Cabinet Meeting within number 10, Downing Street on February 06 / Getty Images Mr Javid resigned after months of tensions between Downing Street and the Treasury. It came to a head when the PM's chief special adviser Dominic Cummings fired one of Mr Javid's aides, Sonia Khan, without his permission. Mr Johnson promised to keep Mr Javid as chancellor after the general election in December. However, in weeks leading up to the reshuffle, media reports suggested that a new rival finance ministry could be established with Mr Sunak at the lead to reduce the power and political influence of the Treasury. Mr Javid resigned as Chancellor on February 13, the day of a cabinet reshuffle. The owner of restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's has said it plans to close up to 90 restaurants by the end of next year. The decision by The Restaurant Group, which also owns Mexican chain Chiquito, comes after it closed 18 stores across the two brands in 2019. The closure plan comes amid a tough period for casual dining chains, with rivals such as Jamie's Italian collapsing over the past year and Pizza Express struggling. The owner of restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's has said it plans to close up to 90 restaurants by the end of next year The decision by The Restaurant Group, which also owns Mexican chain Chiquito, comes after it closed 18 stores across the two brands in 2019 TRG said at least 31 of its leisure sites will not see their contract renewed, with the number potentially rising depending on discussions with landlords. It added that it also expects to dispose of up to 35 further sites and sell another 12 freehold sites. It also plans to convert up to 12 current leisure restaurants into its more profitable Wagamama Japanese brand. The firm has not yet announced the locations of the outlets which will be closed. The move will take its leisure portfolio down to between 260 and 275 sites by the end of 2021, from 350. TRG confirmed the closure plans as it reported like-for-like sales growth of 2.7 per cent for the year to December. The group saw total sales soar 56.4 per cent to 1.07 billion as it was buoyed by its 559 million purchase of Wagamama in October 2018. It said Wagamama continues to drive growth in the business, with the pan-Asian chain reporting an 8.5 per cent increase in like-for-like sales over the period. Chief executive of The Restaurant Group Andy Hornby said he was 'acutely aware' of the challenges facing the firm's leisure chains The group, which has 650 sites in total, slipped to a pre-tax loss of 37.3 million for the year, from a 13.9 million loss in 2018, as it was weighed down by its unprofitable leisure restaurants. Andy Hornby, chief executive officer of TRG, said: 'Our three growth businesses of Wagamama, concessions and pubs are all out-performing their respective markets and have clear potential for further growth. 'I am also acutely aware of the challenges facing our leisure business and the wider casual dining sector. 'Following an extensive review we have defined three clear strategic priorities for the next two years: Grow our Wagamama, concessions and pubs businesses; rationalise our leisure business; and accelerate our deleveraging profile.' The move by the firm follows the closures of several high street chains last year, the most prominent being chef Jamie Oliver's brand Jamie's Italian, which collapsed in May. The chain had run up 71.5million in debt and moves by administrators saw 22 of its 25 sites closed, with the loss of around 1,000 jobs. The 44-year-old, who has netted 240 million during 20 years in the public eye, said he was 'devastated' and 'deeply saddened by the outcome'. Oliver said at the time of the collapse: 'I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected. It's been a real pleasure serving you.' TRG also plans to convert up to 12 current leisure restaurants into its more profitable Wagamama Japanese brand Last month, it emerged that much of the 80million-plus owed by the collapsed chain will probably never be paid back to creditors. Administrator KPMG has revealed that the majority of the 83million owed to secured and unsecured creditors such as food suppliers, councils and landlords will not be recovered. Auditors said that while three Jamie's Italian restaurants and delis at Gatwick Airport remain open, the people owed money for the past eight months are likely to be significantly out of pocket Which restaurants are closing amid the high street bloodbath? The move to close Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito's outlets comes amid a bloodbath which is sweeping Britain's high street. The most prominent collapse in 2019 was of TV chef Jamie Oliver's chain Jamie's Italian in May, which had run up 71.5million in debt. Its closure led to the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, prompting the chef to say he was 'devastated' and 'deeply saddened by the outcome'. The move to close Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito's outlets comes amid a bloodbath which is sweeping Britain's high street. Pictured: Jamie's Italian collapsed in May last year And in March last year,chains Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner revealed that their owner plans to close a third of the brand's sites. Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG) announced that a total of 27 out of its 87 restaurants would close. It bought Giraffe from Tesco in 2016 and combined it with Ed's Easy Diner after acquiring the chain that same year. Underlying losses of 1.6million that hit the combined entity were revealed in its most recently available annual accounts. Giraffe (pictured) is among the casualties of the bloodbath sweeping the British high street Last year, several casual dining brands closed sites amid rising costs and tougher competition. Prezzo, Byron, Carluccio's, Gaucho and Gourmet Burger Kitchen all shut branches. In November, creditors of Gourmet Burger Kitchen approved a plan to close 17 of the premium burger chain's restaurants, putting around 250 jobs at risk. South Africa's Famous Brands, which acquired GBK in 2016 for 120 million, has previously unveiled stinging losses at the burger chain. The firm said in October that it would take a pre-tax impairment charge of 874 million rand (47.2 million) due to the brand's sustained under-performance. Also in 2018, Prezzo announced that 94 of its 300 outlets will close. KPMG found the number of restaurants experiencing significant financial distress was 11,091 in March 2018, up 8 per cent on a year earlier. Advertisement And popular chain Pizza Express, which was founded in 1969, was faced with the threat of closure last year due to its debts of around 655million. The restaurant is thought to have struggled with rising costs and a tough UK trading environment, putting 14,000 jobs at risk. The brand has around 600 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, and if these close, hundreds of thousands of workers could be out of a job. Other chains to have been affected by the tough dining market include Prezzo, Byron, Carluccio's, Gaucho and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, all of which shut branches. The Supreme Court will hear a plea on Wednesday seeking protection for the women at Shaheen Bagh who have been protesting against the new citizenship law and a possible pan-India national register of citizens (NRC). On Tuesday, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad, former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and Shaheen Bagh resident Bahadur Abbas Naqvi approached the top court after threats were allegedly made against the women who have been protesting by staging a sit-in on a key Delhi-Noida road for well over two months. The plea was moved after violence erupted in North-east Delhis Jaffrabad area on Sunday, and spread to other neighbourhoods in the region on Monday and Tuesday. At least 13 people have died and over 250 injured in the communal clashes. Besides praying for directions to provide security to women at Shaheen Bagh, the petitioners also sought directions to register First Information Reports (FIRs) against the perpetrators of the violence in north-east Delhi. Advocate, Tasneem Ahmadi, mentioned the matter on Tuesday before the bench of justices, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph, and prayed for listing the plea on Wednesday which the apex court allowed. The plea will be heard along with the main case regarding the road blockade at Shaheen Bagh. The petitioners alleged that Delhi Police did not take any action, despite complaints being filed by people who have been affected by the violence. They also alleged that Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Kapil Mishra is responsible for inciting and orchestrating the riots in the north-east Delhi. Mishra had made provocative comments before violence erupted in Jaffrabad, over the weekend, although on Monday, he appealed for peace. They also referred to Mishras February 23 tweet which, they claimed, was sufficient evidence that he was responsible for inciting and orchestrating the attack. Mishra tweeted a video which had him giving a three-day ultimatum to Delhi Police to remove pro-CAA protestors staging a sit-in in Jaffrabad. We will wait till [US President Donald] Trump is here [in Delhi]. But after that, we wont even listen to you [the police] if the roads arent cleared. We are appealing you [police] to clear Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh till Trump leaves. If not, well have to take to the streets, Mishra had warned. Trump visited India on February 24 and 25. But after Mondays violence, Mishra appealed for peace. I appeal to everyone to stop violence as it will not lead to any solution. Whether it is people who are supporting the CAA or those who are against it, I appeal everyone to maintain peace. Delhis brotherhood should remain intact. Aazad, Habibullah and Naqvi are intervenors in the case filed before the SC by BJPs Nand Kishore Garg and advocate, Amit Sahni, who have sought lifting of road blockade at Shaheen Bagh. Sahni stated that the road closure is causing great inconvenience to the public. The road closure and the consequent traffic diversion have led to the wastage of precious time, energy and fuel besides overburdening the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, Akshardham and Ashram routes. Sahni has argued that while people have the right to protest, protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely. On February 17, the SC tasked senior advocate, Sanjay Hegde, and advocate, Sadhana Ramachandran, to act as interlocutors and mediate with the Shaheen Bagh protesters and come to am amicable solution to resolve the issue. Subsequently, the interlocutors visited Shaheen Bagh on four occasions to interact with the protestors and placed a report before the SC on Monday in a sealed cover. Habibullah separately filed an affidavit in the SC on Saturday stating that the protestors asked him to convey to the apex court that their dissent was out of desperation and compulsion as they see the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a death knell for their and future generations survival and existence. To be sure, the government has clarified that there are no immediate plans for a nation-wide NRC. The affidavit stated that the protestors wanted petitions pending before the SC challenging the CAA to be heard at the earliest since the central government is not engaging in any dialogue with them. Earlier, the SC remarked that while right to protest is a fundamental right, such demonstrations and protests cannot be held on public roads for an indefinite period. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) ("IMPACT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of a surface mapping and sampling program on the Chapanial area in the Royal Mines of Zacualpan District, Mexico. Highlights of reconnaissance sampling included the following results: Sample No Sample Type True Width (m) Gold g/t Silver g/t Lead % Zinc % E408128 Channel 0.80 97.50 97.9 0.25 0.10 E408140 Channel 0.20 18.25 75.4 0.31 0.08 E408143 Channel 0.30 8.98 105 5.43 0.13 E405376 Channel 0.40 8.53 498 0.14 0.04 E407745 Channel 0.50 5.06 183 0.91 0.08 E408022 Channel 0.50 4.79 4.6 0.03 0.04 E407737 Channel 0.20 4.68 175 0.33 0.09 E407748 Channel 0.50 3.52 58.8 0.82 0.03 Fred Davidson, CEO, stated, "Our Royal Mines of Zacualpan property covers a large mineral district with over 5,400 prospects and 88,000 rock and drill core samples all catalogued in our database, many of which we have yet to explore. This extensive data set has provided industry leading success rate in identifying and developing tonnages for small scale cashflow positive production. With rising gold and silver prices, our greenfield crews have turned their attention to the prospective Chapanial area which is providing some excellent initial results in gold as well as silver. We plan on continuing sampling at Chapanial toward generating targets for future drilling. With our producing Guadalupe processing plant in the area, the process of discovery to production is very streamlined." ABOUT CHAPANIAL GOLD-SILVER PROJECT The Chapanial area was selected for evaluation due to its' proximity to the historic Chapanial mine located 1.7 km to the north along the projection of the La Faly vein system. The Chapanial mine produced on three levels over 45m depth and along strike for 100m. The vein is hosted in interbedded shales and volcanics and is associated with a major fault structure which hosts a sulphide bearing polymictic breccia up to 8m in width. The Chapanial mapping area is located 7 km to the west of IMPACT's Guadalupe processing plant. A map of the Chapanial project in relation to IMPACT's Guadalupe production area is provided below and our website under exploration projects: http://www.impactsilver.com/s/Exploration.asp ABOUT IMPACT SILVER CORP IMPACT Silver Corp. is a successful silver explorer-producer with two processing plants on adjacent districts within its 100% owned mineral concessions covering 211km2 in central Mexico with excellent infrastructure and labor force. Over the past 15 years over 10 Moz of Silver has been produced, generating revenues of over $175 million, with no long-term debt. In the historic Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver District three underground silver mines feed the central 535 TPD Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, in the Mamatla District the Capire processing plant is currently rated at 200 tpd, but is expandable. It is adjacent to an open pit silver mine with a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant resource of over 4.5 Moz Silver, 48 million lbs Zinc and 21 million lbs Lead (see IMPACT news release dated January 18, 2016) that is awaiting higher silver prices to be restarted. Since acquiring the project, IMPACT has compiled an exhaustive database with over 5,000 old mine workings, assayed over 34,000 rock samples and over 54,000 drill core samples, analysed over 50,000 soil samples, and put six mines into production. Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com. Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure Wojtek Jakubowski, P.Geo. is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information disclosure contained in this press release. VETA NEGRA AND CHAPANIAL AREA With Underground Mines LOCATION MAP 1 To view an enhanced version of Location Map 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4729/52816_ad655089d4766abe_001full.jpg VETA NEGRA AND CHAPANIAL AREA With Underground Mines LOCATION MAP 2 To view an enhanced version of Location Map 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4729/52816_ad655089d4766abe_002full.jpg VETA NEGRA AND CHAPANIAL AREA LOCATION MAP 3 To view an enhanced version of Location Map 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4729/52816_ad655089d4766abe_003full.jpg On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp. "Frederick W. Davidson" President & CEO For more information, please contact: Jerry Huang CFO | Investor Relations (604) 681 0172 or inquiries@impactsilver.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expected use of proceeds of the Private Placement. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and assumptions, including with respect to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. The Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI 43-101 the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its production decisions on NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52816 DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division, Mobile District to deliver architect and engineering services for its Environmental Quality Program. The multiple award task order contract will support military, civil and federal agencies such as the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, Defense Logistics Agency and other Department of Defense installations within the Mobile District's Area of Responsibility (AOR) and South Atlantic Division's AOR. With small business partners Trinity Analysis and Development Corp. and Environmental Research Group, LLC, Jacobs will provide services for all products and studies associated with complex environmental compliance, planning, pollution prevention, conservation/National Environmental Policy Act, restoration/remediation design and miscellaneous sustainment projects. The scope of work includes strategy development and planning, data gathering and analysis, evaluations and studies, and design and permitting action support under the three-year contract period of performance. "Jacobs brings a 25-year history of continuous service to the USACE Mobile District on numerous environmental compliance and pollution prevention projects," said Jacobs People & Places Solutions Senior Vice President and Global Environmental Market Director Jan Walstrom. "Our team has the specific experience to provide timely, cost-effective, high-quality support that will benefit the Mobile District's DoD and civilian agency customers now and into the future." At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 52,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries: Kerrie Sparks 214.583.8433 SOURCE Jacobs Related Links http://www.jacobs.com Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory cautioning Indians against non-essential travel to South Korea, Iran and Italy. The advisory comes in view of the evolving coronavirus outbreak situation with deaths being reported from these countries. It also states that people coming from these three countries or having such travel history since February 10, are to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival to India. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which was first reported from Wuhan in China, has now spread to various countries with over 2,600 deaths reported from China alone while nearly a million have been infected. By Kyle Lovern In the Bible, the apostle Paul reminded those who would listen of[Read More] The Isle of Man Post Office's new "One Giant Leap, Exploring the Moon and Space" postage stamps celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission and the exploration that followed. (Image credit: Isle of Man Post Office) A former NASA manager who was in mission control on the night that Apollo 13 "had a problem" has worked with a small seabound kingdom's postal service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famed mission on a new set of postage stamps. George Abbey, who before becoming director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was a member of the Apollo 13 mission operations team in April 1970, collaborated with the Isle of Man Post Office to create "One Giant Leap, Exploring the Moon and Space," a limited edition set of eight stamps. The postage features a photo of the Apollo 13 mission control room and scenes from the four successful lunar landings that followed the ill-fated mission to the moon. "The history of human spaceflight remains an interesting topic to humankind and being able to share these fascinating images with the world fills us with pride," said Maxine Cannon, general manager of Isle of Man Stamps and Coins. "We are very grateful to George Abbey and NASA; their support was of vital importance in the creation of this captivating stamp collection." Related: Space Age Postage Stamps Through History (Photos) Veteran NASA director George Abbey poses with an enlargement of one of the Isle of Man's 2019 "One Small Step" postage stamps at the Mission Control Center in Houston. (Image credit: Isle of Man Post Office) Set for release on Wednesday (Feb. 26), the "One Giant Leap" set also includes stamps for the Skylab orbital workshop, space shuttle and International Space Station. The new set is a follow up to the Isle of Man's "One Small Step" stamps issued in April 2019 to honor Apollo 11 and the missions that led to the first moon landing in July 1969. "Many missions came before and came after Apollo 11," said Nicole Stott, a former space shuttle and space station astronaut. "Fifty years on, we are only just now beginning to take those very same steps again, but this time we stay for good and like before for the good of all." A quote from Stott is inscribed on the Skylab stamp's border: "You realize you're not from Florida or the United States. You're an Earthling." Additional astronauts' quotes are printed on the other seven stamps in the set, including the words of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, Apollo 14 lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 15 command module pilot Al Worden, Apollo 16 lunar module pilot Charlie Duke and Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan. STS-63 commander Jim Wetherbee is quoted on the shuttle issue and British astronaut Tim Peake is cited on the International Space Station release. The stamps also include the lunar landing site or orbital insertion coordinates of their respective missions or spacecraft and the names of their crew members. The Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 stamps are Isle of Man First Class mail value, the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 stamps are European Union value, the Apollo 17 and Skylab stamps are large letter value and the space shuttle and International Space Station stamps are "rest of the world" value. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The Isle of Man Post Office is offering the "One Giant Leap" stamps in sheets of 16 for 8.14 (about $11 US) or as a commemorative sheetlet of the eight stamps in a deluxe folder for 10.63 (about $14 US). The eight 1.5-inch-square (40-mm) stamps also come in a presentation pack with accompany text written by George Abbey for 8.89 (about $11.50 US). A first-day-of-issue cover a stamped envelope postmarked on the day of the set's release will be available for 8.84 (about $11.50 US). The Isle of Man Post Office is also planning to offer covers autographed by moonwalker Charlie Duke and by Stott (prices to be announced). The preceding 2019 "One Small Step" set of eight stamps is also still available through the Isle of Man Post Office website, including a cover signed by George Abbey (60 or about $80 US) and "space mail" flown to and postmarked on the International Space Station (399 or about $520 US). Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. The discovery of methamphetamine inside a 4-year-olds library book has prompted a state police investigation. In a release to media posted Monday, state police said the young student was returning the book to the library at the Shanksville-Stonycreek school campus when staff found the drug. Schoolteachers took possession of the substance and turned it over to authorities. Shanksville-Stonycreek Superintendent Sam Romesberg said the drug was contained within "packaging," adding that he was thankful no children or staff were harmed. "This was shocking to us," he said. "But unfortunately, it's one of those things you have to be prepared for these days." The district has a contract agreement with Indian Lake Police Department for regular coverage and once school officials discovered the drug, they contacted the department, Romesberg said. After consulting with state police, Indian Lake's department decided to let the regional barracks handle the case, he said. As of Monday evening, the investigation remained ongoing, according to state police Trooper Nathan Ellwood. By David Hurst | The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa. - Top 20 Companies Developing Commercial Electric Aircraft 2020 - Competitive Landscape Analysis by Major Developments and Research and Developments Spending in the Electric Aircraft and Electric Propulsion Technology LONDON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electric motors. Electric power may be supplied by a variety of methods including batteries, ground power cables, solar cells, ultra-capacitors, fuel cells and power beaming. Electrification of aircrafts not only offers the capability to reduce emissions but could also unlock the potential for more energy-efficient aircrafts and brand-new architectures and use cases. Electrification could also revolutionise the supply base in the aerospace industry, posing an existential threat to incumbent suppliers and facilitating access for new entrants. There are two concurrent technological trends in the electric aircraft developments, this includes More Electric Aircraft and Electrical Propulsion aircrafts. The More Electric Aircraft (MEA) is an evolutionary trend in which each successive generation of aircraft has typically employed more electrical equipment in place of systems that would previously have been mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic, and Electrical Propulsion, a potentially revolutionary new approach which has gained much recent publicity, and which, if adopted widely, would transform large segments of the aerospace industry, affecting not only propulsion, but also aircraft systems, and leading to radically new aircraft architectures. Despite advances in the electrification, electrical systems deployed in the aircrafts do come with the drawbacks of requiring advances in power electronics to handle the ever-increasing loads, and the need to dissipate, or put to use, excess heat created by losses within the electrical power chain. However, as a result of the advantages of increasing electrification in terms of reduced weight, greater reliability, lower maintenance costs and increased efficiency, it is expected that a continuation or even acceleration of the MEA trend as long as the current higher costs of some electrical systems can be restrained. As safety in aviation is of paramount importance, evolutionary changes are expected, implemented through step-by-step adoption of electrically powered equipment in additional aircraft systems. The major 20 players identified in the value chain which are currently developing commercial electric aircrafts and their necessary components includes Boeing, Airbus S.A., Wright Electric, Israel Aerospace Industries, Bye Aerospace, Dufour Aerospace, Electric Aircraft Corporation, Eviation Alice, Faradair, Longanair Ltd., Ampaire, Zunum Aero, Joby Aviation, Embraer SA, Pipistrel, Siemens, Rolls Royce, Magnix, GE Aviation, and Dixion Motors Inc. Leading 20 companies developing Commercial Electric Aircraft responds to your need for definitive market data. Read on to discover how you can exploit the future business opportunities emerging in this sector. Visiongain's new study tells you and tells you NOW. The 113-page report provides clear, detailed insight into the global Commercial Electric Aircraft companies. Discover the key drivers and challenges affecting the market. Also, in this report are project tables covering over 200 leading current and future projects By ordering and reading our brand-new report today, you stay better informed and ready to act. To request sample pages from this report please contact Sara Peerun at sara.peerun@visiongain.com or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-20-companies-developing-commercial-electric-aircraft-2020/download_sampe_div Report Scope The report delivers considerable added value by revealing: 249 tables, charts and graphs are analysing and revealing the growth prospects and outlook for the Commercial Electric Aircraft market. Leading 20 Companies developing commercial electric aircraft 2020 Commercial Electric Aircraft market provides CAPEX and CAPACITY forecasts and analysis from 2020-2030 for three submarkets: The report will answer questions such as: Who are the leading companies in the Commercial Electric Aircraft industry? What is their strategy? What is their existing processing capacity and where is it based? What are their core strengths and weaknesses? Do they have expansion plans, and if so where are they likely to go? What is driving and restraining the involvement of each leading company within the market? What is the total size of the Commercial Electric Aircraft market in 2015 and 2016? How much will it grow and why? What are the leading countries for the development of the Commercial Electric Aircraft market? Which individual technologies will prevail and how will these shifts be responded to? In what instances is Commercial Electric Aircraft a core part of a company strategy and, if so, why? Regional Commercial Electric Aircraft market forecasts from 2020-2030 with drivers and restraints for the countries including: Canada U.S. Brazil U.K. Norway Germany France Mexico Italy South Africa Egypt China Japan Malaysia Indonesia India Saudi Arabia Kuwait Company profiles for the leading Commercial Electric Aircraft companies Boeing Airbus Dufour Aerospace Eviation Alice Israel Aerospace Industries Faradair Roll-Royce Holdings Plc Wright Electric Zunum Aero Inc. GE Aviation Longanair Ltd. Bye Aerospace Siemens Pipistrel USA Ampaire Joby Aviation Electric Aircraft Corporation Magnix Embraer Duxon Motors Conclusions and recommendations which will aid decision-making How will you benefit from this report? Keep your knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind Reinforce your strategic decision-making with definitive and reliable market data Learn how to exploit new technological trends Realise your company's full potential within the market Understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships To request a report overview of this report please contact Sara Peerun at sara.peerun@visiongain.com or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-20-companies-developing-commercial-electric-aircraft-2020/ Did you know that we also offer a report add-on service? Email sara.peerun@visiongain.com to discuss any customized research needs you may have. Companies covered in the report include: AAR Aer Lingus Group Plc Aero Asahi Corporation AeroAsia AeroCentury Corp Aerolineas Argentinas Aeroman Aeromexico Air Astana Air Berlin Plc Air Canada Air China Air Dolomiti SpA Air France Air India Ltd Air Lease Corp. Air New Zealand Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) Airbus Airbus Asia Alaska Airlines Inc Delta TechOps Doric Nimrod Air Two Ltd. Dubai Aviation Corporation EASA easyJet Plc Egypt Air Holding Company Elite Aerospace Inc Embraer Emirates Airline Emirates Engineering Epi Europrop International Gmbh Era Helicopters LLC ERJ aircraft Esterline Technologies Corp. Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise Etihad Engineering EVA Airways FAA Garuda Indonesia GE Aviation GE Celma To see a report overview please e-mail Sara Peerun on sara.peerun@visiongain.com Related reports: Military Satellites Market Report 2018-2028 Governmental Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Solutions Market Report 2018-2028 Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Market Forecast 2020-2030 US Border Security Market Report 2019-2029 Border Security Market Report 2018-2028 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/523989/Visiongain_Logo.jpg Talking tough, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday issued an ultimatum to police chiefs to get on with the task of curbing crime as she pledged an additional 41.5 million pounds funding towards combating violence on the streets of Britain. Patel, one of the senior-most Indian-origin ministers in the UK Cabinet with overall charge for policing as home minister, warned that her approach to the task would be non-negotiable with no excuses permitted. You sit at the very top of policing and it is your job to work with us all to help drive crime down these outcomes will be non-negotiable, and I will be unapologetic about holding you to account, she said in a key speech to the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs' Council Partnership Summit 2020 in London. The minister said the success of the new methods and investment being put in place by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led government would be measured against a set of national policing outcomes, with priorities including reducing murders, serious violence and neighbourhood crime. Crime will not go away overnight, so we are making a long-term investment in our exceptional police. I'm still listening to what you need. So today I'm pleased to announce an additional 41.5 million pounds surge funding to help 18 forces drive down the scale of the violent crime we are seeing in our streets, she said. The tough-talking minister, however, stressed that the extra injection of UK taxpayers' money being put in by the government must deliver the crime cuts that are desperately needed. "In three years' time, when the 20,000 additional officers are through the door, the people will want to see a difference. Less crime. Safer streets. No excuses. The public won't accept excuses, and neither should we, she said. Patel, who announced plans for a new crime and policing performance board to set outcomes or targets, admitted that confidence in the country's criminal justice system had fallen as there were fewer police visible on the streets. Therefore on the operational side, she pledged lower levels of bureaucracy for officers to be able to get on with their jobs as visionary crime fighters, not pen pushers. As warranted officers your primary focus must be on pursuing and tackling offenders. Stopping serious violence, car crime and theft, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Coleen Rooney cut a casual figure as she stepped out for a takeaway coffee in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, on Wednesday. The WAG, 33, wore a lavish 1,180 Stella McCartney padded and branded jacket for her outing. Coleen teamed the item of clothing with a pair of black gym leggings and an oversized designer jumper. Casual: Coleen Rooney cut a casual figure as she stepped out for a takeaway coffee in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, on Wednesday The mother-of-four finished her look with a pair of black and white Nike trainers and dazzling diamond stud earrings. Coleen styled her brunette locks into a relaxed sweptback ponytail, she added a slick of make-up which included defined eyebrows and lashings of mascara. At one stage, the star was able to shelter from the rain as she wore the hood of her 1,180 jacket up to cover her head. Lavish: The WAG, 33, wore a lavish 1,180 Stella McCartney padded and branded jacket for her outing Details: Coleen teamed the item of clothing with a pair of black gym leggings and an oversized designer jumper Stepping out: Coleen styled her brunette locks into a relaxed sweptback ponytail, she added a slick of make-up which included defined eyebrows and lashings of mascara It comes after Coleen was spotted on a rare outing with husband Wayne earlier this month as they headed out to pick up some breakfast. With Wayne sharing a sweet photo of the two enjoying a lavish dinner on Valentine's Day with the caption: 'Happy Valentines Day @coleen_rooney #18years.' While the couple have taken to Instagram in recent months to mark birthdays and anniversaries, they haven't been seen out together since last August. Details: The mother-of-four finished her look with a pair of black and white Nike trainers and dazzling diamond stud earrings Busy: Coleen appeared busy as she ran errands in Alderley Edge February: It comes after Coleen was spotted on a rare outing with husband Wayne earlier this month as they headed out to pick up some breakfast Back in August, Wayne and Coleen were pictured together in Washington, before they moved back to the UK. Before that, they were seen holidaying together in Barbados, a month after his 'barmaid bender'. Wayne had a 10-hour booze bender in Florida in February 2019 and downed shots with bar girl Vickie Rosiek until 2.30am. Sighting: With Wayne sharing a sweet photo of the two enjoying a lavish dinner on Valentine's Day with the caption: 'Happy Valentines Day @coleen_rooney #18years.' Wayne and Coleen were pictured again on social media while on a double date with pals in November, just over three months on. Hinting at Wayne's absence from her social media in recent weeks, Coleen captioned the post: 'It's been a while... Great to be back to weekday date nights and meeting up with friends.' Meanwhile, Coleen's outing comes after she responded to Rebekah Vardy's emotional Loose Women appearance amid their public feud. Emotional: The sighting comes after Rebekah Vardy tearfully admitted she was hospitalised three times during the famous WAG war while she was pregnant with her daughter Olivia, one month Replying: A representative for Coleen tweeted a statement, which she retweeted minutes later Earlier this month, a representative for Coleen tweeted that she is 'confident in the legal process' and feels no need to comment further after Rebekah told how the WAG war 'was the worst thing she had been through since being abused by her stepdad'. MailOnline contacted representatives for Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy for further comment. In October last year, Rebekah was explosively accused by Coleen of leaking stories about her to The Sun newspaper - a claim she fiercely denies - leading to a WAG war which captivated the nation. The full statement: In October last year, Rebekah was explosively accused by Coleen of leaking stories about her to The Sun newspaper Coleen launched an incredible social media attack on Rebekah, revealing how she set up an elaborate sting on Instagram to 'catch' her leaking fake stories. Her dramatic revelation enthralled Britain and sparked an angry denial from a then pregnant Vardy who said 'I don't need the money' and pointed out other people have had access to her Instagram account. Fans praised Rooney for the sensational way in which she revealed Vardy was the alleged culprit by concluding her post with a thriller-worthy: 'It's......... Rebekah Vardy's account.' The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections to five seats in West Bengal on March 26 are set to be a litmus test for the CPI(M)-Congress ties in the state for the fifth seat. According to the distribution of seats in the present state assembly, the TMC will get four Rajya Sabha seats, whereas a joint candidate of either the CPI(M)-Congress or the TMC-Congress will have to win the fifth one. The BJP with just eight MLAs is not a contender. Since the Lok Sabha polls debacle, both the parties have been unitedly fighting against the TMC and the BJP in the state. "There is a question mark regarding the fifth seat. One will win either as a joint candidate of TMC-Congress or of CPI(M)-Congress. Let's see what happens, but we are keen on sending someone from our party to Rajya Sabha from Bengal," a senior CPI(M) leader said. "Earlier, on two occasions, we have seen the Congress took support of the TMC during the elections of their candidates Pradip Bhattacharya and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. This time, talks are on as we are already fighting together since the last Lok Sabha polls," the CPI(M) leader said. The state Congress leadership, however, has taken a "wait and watch" approach and is yet to commit anything. "The final decision whether we would put up our candidate and seek support of the Left and the TMC, or we would support the CPI(M) candidate is yet to be taken. The high command will take a final call on it," a senior state Congress leader said. The TMC leadership said the party is yet to take a call on putting up a candidate for the fifth seat. According to the CPI(M)'s West Bengal unit sources, the party is keen to nominate its general secretary Sitaram Yechury to Rajya Sabha from the state, with the help of the Congress. Yechury had an excellent track record as a member of the Upper House of Parliament between 2005 and 2017, and the party is "eager to nominate him" in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held next month, state CPI(M) sources said. In 2017, his name had cropped up for re-election. Even then Congress president Rahul Gandhi was keen on supporting his nomination from West Bengal. But the CPI(M) leadership had turned down the offer, citing party rules that no member would be nominated three times in a row for Rajya Sabha. The rule of not allowing anyone to be a member of Rajya Sabha, beyond two consecutive terms, will not apply now as Yechury has already got a break since 2017. A decision regarding this will be taken at party's next politburo meeting, sources said. "If Yechury is the candidate, we don't think that we would have any problem, given the kind of equation he shares with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," the Congress leader said. Of the five seats which will fall vacant, four are presently held by Jogen Chowdhury, Manish Gupta, Ahmed Hassan Imran and K D Singh of the TMC. The fifth seat is held by Ritabrata Bandopadhyay, who was earlier elected as a CPI(M) nominee in 2014, but was expelled from the party in 2017. Since his expulsion and post-2019 Lok Sabha polls, the CPI(M) West Bengal unit does not have any representation in either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. This has happened for the first time since the party's inception in 1964. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: According to information of the Georgian Infectious Diseases Hospital, 10 patients with symptoms of coronavirus have been isolated, Trend reports citing Georgian media. As reported, the patients include citizens of Georgia, Azerbaijan, China and Iran. The doctors will receive test results from the Lugar laboratory of Georgia, and the decision on patients discharge depends on the test results. The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. Since then over 2,760 people have died and over 81,000 people have been confirmed as infected. 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 other countries, including Japan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, France, Canada, the UAE, India, Italy, Russia, Philippines. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On your wedding day, you can have your cake and eat it too. For our next episode of Weddings 101, we visit two Central New York bakeries to learn whats trendy in the world of wedding cakes and desserts, what to expect at a cake tasting, and how much cakes cost. The Gingersnap Bakery in Phoenix, N.Y. is known for multi-tiered wedding cakes, elaborate fondant work and handmade sugar flowers. Owner Kelsie Mack started working in restaurants and bakeries when she was 15, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. When designing a wedding cake, Mack first schedules a meeting about six months before the wedding to hear the couples vision. Its a multi-step process. Even after the meetings, planning and sketching, it will still take a week to bake, assemble, frost and display the cake. Gingersnap Bakerys stacked cakes start at $4.95 per slice. Extras like fondant work and sugar florals take extra time (and cost extra money). Dessert displays vary widely, she said, ranging anywhere from $3 to $7 per person. 18 Wedding cakes and desserts Mack says big cakes (three to five tiers) are still the bulk of her business, but dessert displays are "more interactive and can look grander. People go crazy if you do a small-tiered cake, surrounded by cupcakes, cookies, dessert shooters, French macarons and brownies on different tiered stands, she said. Thats exactly what my fiance and I wanted: a small cake with mini desserts. We met up with our friends at the nearby bakery The Sweet Praxis Bake Lab for our custom tasting, and tried every flavor combination we could possibly handle (before the sugar crash hit). Swiss meringue buttercream and raspberry compote? A definite winner. Peanut butter and lemon? Well, we learned our lesson. Sweet Praxis cake tastings cost between $30 and $80, depending on the level of customization. The Sweet Praxis owner Jennifer Walls walked us through a number of cake design options, from chocolate/caramel drips to ornate gold leaf decor. We learned the difference between straight and billowy top edges, and floated ideas of decorating the cake with smudges of color and fresh fruit. Some people still use cake toppers, but right now, were seeing a big trend in topping wedding cakes with fresh flowers, said Walls. Walls also said one classic tradition -- freezing the top tier of your wedding cake to eat on your one-year anniversary -- isnt as popular as it used to be. Wed be happy to duplicate your cake in miniature form, so its fresh a year after the wedding," Walls said. "Then you can eat it on your anniversary and relive those memories, without freezer burn. A year-old cake is just not ideal. This two-tiered cake by The Sweet Praxis features a 6-inch 3-layer top tier on an 8-inch 4-layer base. It's a Champagne vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, billowy top edges and gold leaf decor. This cake serves up to 40 guests and costs $230. Photo by Greg Warner.Greg Warner Wedding cakes vary widely in price, based on tiers and customization. For example, a 8-inch multi-colored palette cake with raspberry compote/chocolate ganache filling and vanilla buttercream frosting would cost $90 at The Sweet Praxis and serve 28-40 guests. That said, a two-tiered Sweet Praxis cake with a 6-inch top and 8-inch base, would also serve up to 40 guests, but it would cost $230 because of decorative macarons, gold leaf and meringues. The Sweet Praxis offers a wide variety of miniature desserts, ranging from $1 to $2 each. Couples can order brioche doughnuts, cookies or cookie sandwiches, cream puffs, lemon drops, truffles, buckeyes, pie bites, tart-lettes, bundt-lettes, and macarons to surround their wedding cake display, or even replace it. Walls says its best to plan for 2-4 mini servings per guest. If youre expecting 150-200 guests, you can easily spend $1,000 to $2,000 on mini desserts alone. In the end, every baker says the same thing: pick the flavors and fillings you love, not what you think your guests will love. Youre taking the first bite, Walls said. The cake should be your thing, for you to enjoy eating together. Especially if youre doing mini desserts for everyone else. And as for the cake-cutting ceremony? Its a nice tradition, but by no means necessary. Few will notice whether you do it or not, and some may be relieved to dance the night away without interruptions. Next time on Weddings 101: Hair and makeup For our next episode (March 4), well focus on wedding hair and makeup trends. Just like in any marriage, were in this together. Happy wedding planning. Find new Weddings 101 videos every Wednesday on syracuse.com. Katrina Tulloch shoots videos for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook More from Weddings 101: Compare wedding dress prices, styles go big or affordable? Are wedding photographers, filmmakers worth the cost? Compare prices, amenities for CNY country venues Comparing prices, amenities, styles for downtown venues First steps to wedding planning (video) Two days after police cleared an indigenous blockade of a key Canadian rail artery east of Toronto, protesters were back Wednesday lighting fires on tracks and throwing rocks at passing trains. "It is extremely concerning to see people endangering their lives and the lives of others by trying to interfere with the trains, but we're working hard to resolve this," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In parliament he reiterated: "The blockades must come down and stay down." Meanwhile, new protests have popped up across the country since Monday, briefly disrupting commuter trains in Toronto as government and federal police offices, as well as a museum in Manitoba, were vandalized. And in Quebec, Premier Francois Legault said Mohawks in the Kahnawake community south of Montreal had armed themselves with assault rifles -- which a Mohawk leader denied. Protesters had mounted a crippling 18-day blockade on a Canadian National Railway line near Belleville, Ontario and elsewhere on February 6, in support of a small group of indigenous chiefs fighting construction of a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia. The disruptions to rail traffic -- the backbone of Canada's transportation system, moving more than Can$250 billion ($190 billion) in goods annually -- led to supply shortages and job layoffs. Police moved in on Monday to clear the blockades after the government's attempts to establish a dialogue with the Wet'suwet'en traditional hereditary chiefs -- who are at the center of the pipeline row -- went unanswered. - 'Extremely reckless' - But the demonstrations have now mushroomed into a broader fight for indigenous rights. "We will not allow your voices to be criminalized or marginalized," a protestor on the steps of the British Columbia legislature in Victoria told a crowd. Televised images, meanwhile, showed defiant Mohawk members throwing burning tires near their dismantled protest camp in Tyendinaga, Ontario. A few kilometers away, others poured gasoline on train tracks, and threw rocks, wooden planks and debris at passing trains. Transport Minister Marc Garneau called these acts "extremely reckless." "Lighting a fire under a moving train," he said, is especially dangerous if trains are transporting flammable materials. "It could have ignited." Canadian National Railway noted four blockades of its tracks in Ontario and British Columbia on its website, but said trains were still moving on three of the lines. Only one line west of Toronto was closed. It has also reached a deal with Canadian Pacific to reroute some trains on the competitor's tracks in order to sidestep protests. Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett said she was hoping to hear from Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs about possible talks. The chiefs have demanded that federal police leave their ancestral lands in northern British Columbia and construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline be halted as pre-conditions for negotiations. First Nations protestors walk on a bridge past their barricade on Highway 6 near Caledonia, Ontario which the protestors set up in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and the Tyendinaga Mohawks on February 26, 2020 A First Nations protester walk in front of a snow plow blade that has signatures from the Wet?suwet?en hereditary chiefs as part of a train blockade in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ontario, Canada on February 21, 2020 "Lighting a fire under a moving train," Canada Transport Minister Marc Garneau said, is especially dangerous if trains are transporting flammable materials. "It could have ignited." I really want to know what happened to Jennifer Kesse Reply Thread Link I just looked that up. That is crazy about the fence blocking him. So frustrating. Edited at 2020-02-26 04:47 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I live in Orlando and her missing posters are still up everywhere, it's so sad. Reply Parent Thread Link Me too! Reply Parent Thread Link Basically any of the unsolved crimes from the highway of tears scares me Reply Thread Link Do you remember how long ago that was? Reply Parent Thread Link Have you listened to Missing and Murdered, the Connie Walker podcast? Both seasons were great, and shes an Indigienous host herself. Sadly she left CBC so I dont think shell be making any more. Reply Parent Thread Link the Delphi murders creep me out, I dont understand how there have been 0 arrests with the audio/visual evidence the police have. I hope there is justice for Abby & Libby soon. Reply Thread Link that case hunts me i would have loved to explore a cool abandoned bridge with a friend when i was their age, you never expect something like that to happen Reply Parent Thread Link Ugh that case has stuck with me the most so far. I'm so heartbroken for their families. I really hope that the case is solved soon. Reply Parent Thread Link They were stupid to not release the video and audio right away Reply Parent Thread Link That one really stays with me because it feels like there's still such a chance for justice since it was relatively recent. It also really bothers me bc the police dept. mishandled it at the beginning and the girls could have been found sooner. Reply Parent Thread Link The sheriff gave a press conference last year and some FBI expert was speculating that it was for a purpose, like there were all these specifically included lines that he said that were meant to do something, like they might know who the killer is and they're trying to smoke him out. It's such a frustrating case though. Was it a trucker passing through? And if not and if it was a local how has no one figured out who it is yet? It's like a 3000 person town. Reply Parent Thread Link I have this weird, sinking feeling that the video is not showing an accurate representation of who he is. Like, they have confirmed that he was pretty far away and in the background so what we see is a pretty distorted "zoom" in on him. So, people's minds are filling in details that I don't think we can actually see. Reply Parent Thread Link That one is super creepy. I think part of what creeps me out is how fast it must have happened. They have audio and video, and yet nothing. Reply Parent Thread Link Disappearance stories really creep me out. The face that the person is somewhere, yet to be found, and that someone knows exactly where they are. It's just sad. Also, does everything have a "con" now? Reply Thread Link Ya its messy but the family took part of it, same with the detectives. And the convention says that's its not like others where there are thousands of people in attendance more like 300. Reply Parent Thread Link Oh okay. As long as the family supports it. That is good to know. Reply Parent Thread Link https://www.crimecon.com/in-his-own-words-kevin-sova-tells-the-story-of-life-without-his-brother-kurt this is a letter from the deceased's brother if anyone is interested. apparently this con brought him a lot of comfort. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this is that part of true crime that absolutely freaks me out Reply Thread Link Huh. Ive personally never been a true crime fan because it always seemed like treating someones death or misfortune as entertainment. Who is making money off this con? How would the deceased feel about his death being treated as a fun trip to Chicago? Reply Thread Link It really is fucked up. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah...these pics really look like they went on holiday and the "Oh! We went to CrimeCon" is written in the same tone one would write "Oh, I saw Sears Tower!" It....it's distasteful. Edited at 2020-02-26 05:45 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link i read that the family took part in it Reply Parent Thread Link I agree, true crime rubs me the wrong way. It cheapens ppls deaths imo. Reply Parent Thread Link I agree Reply Parent Thread Link there are vapid, callous assholes doing true crime makeup tutorials now, detailing horrific things that have happened to people while ineptly rubbing mac eyeshadow on with cheap brushes. i hate everything about this shit. Reply Parent Thread Link Ugh. Please tell me youre lying. I get taking an interest in certain cases, but seeing people excited over a new episode of a true crime podcast bums me out. Its like, someone was murdered!! Something to listen to on my commute home! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link same like the podcast "my favourite murders" has always made me cringe. that name... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Exactly this is really disturbing wtf Reply Parent Thread Link I was pissed at two posters in Reddit's JJ Vallow / Tylee Ryan threads, saying it was exciting and going to make a great future series. Reply Parent Thread Link Yup. The information on the crime mixed with the Instagram photos just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Is this what people are doing now? Reply Parent Thread Link im glad this comment is itp. people can like what they want, but this kind of shit is gross. making an event out of it for fun? omg this is repulsive ngl Reply Parent Thread Link who killed jonbenet WHO KILLED JONBENET Reply Thread Link Did they find out whether or not he was murdered? Sounds like he stumbled and fell. Reply Thread Link I'm not really into this stuff, but I just went to the Unsolved page and the replies - people are really trying to be helpful and figure it out. It's kinda nice to see... Reply Thread Link JonBenet Ramsey. Are we supposed to believe that the police really couldn't do better? We are talking about a rich white little girl's death and sexual abuse. Edited at 2020-02-26 04:59 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I thought it was pretty much established (not legally- public opinion) that the bro did it? Reply Parent Thread Link Uh no lol I really hate that theory. He was 8 years old and the blow to her head was so hard that is cracked her skull. Also, the idea that the parent's first thought is to make a garrote and choke her to death (it was one of the reasons she died) and also sexually abuse her is just insane. Edited at 2020-02-26 05:45 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was always under the impression that based on the evidence it almost literally had to have been someone in the family tbh but I also haven't followed the story that closely. I don't know how reliable hand writing experts are but I remember that at least two confirmed that they thought the "ransom" note was written by her mother. That, the fact that no one really seems to know how an intruder would have gotten in, and the fact that they were looking all over the house for their daughter but didn't think to go in the basement until the cops got there is really suspect to me. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah and the mom covered for him. That's the general consensus. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link the crime scene was messed with really early and from then on they couldn't do much Reply Parent Thread Link The St Louis Jane Doe I believe she's called. She's a younger preteen Black girl found in an abandoned house. I'll spare you all the details but due to the state of her body they weren't able to have any identification of her. :( Reply Thread Link I think about Sneha Phillips randomly at night sometimes... Reply Thread Link i think she was prob killed the night before Reply Parent Thread Link i just binged (the really good!) Your Own Backyard podcast about the Kristin Smart disappearance it's so frustrating when it is pretty clear who did it but they managed to get away with it Reply Thread Link Ill never forget Kyron Horman. Its so sad that picture of him smiling at a science fair, an hour later hes missing. Brandon Lawson is another I wonder about. Was he high or did he run into some bad people? Its freaky because I sometimes go on that highway. Reply Thread Link Grandfather of Toddler Who Died During Cruise Ship Fall to Plead Guilty The grandfather of a toddler who died on a cruise ship in Puerto Rico last year said he is planning to change his plea to guilty to allow his family to move on. I took a plea deal today to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family, if possible, Salvatore Anello said in a statement on Tuesday after a family attorney announced his intention, according to WSBT. Going forward, justice for Chloe must include attention being given to provide the safety measures so very needed on Freedom of the Sea. Anello was with his 18-month-old daughter Chloe Wiegand when they were on vacation in Puerto Rico on Royal Caribbeans Freedom of the Seas. He and his granddaughter were in a play area when he lifted her near an open window that he thought was closed, according to previously released court documents. But the 11th-floor window was open and when leaning forward, Wiegand fell out of the window to her death, according to court papers. As for that horrible day, I can only tell you what I experienced. I was focused on Chloe the whole time I was with her, Anellos statement continued. It was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before. I wasnt drinking and I wasnt dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before. I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings. With the plea deal, according to the station, Anello will avoid jail time and will serve out his probation in Indiana. 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand. (Courtesy of Wiegand Family) I was placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed. It will always be a constant nightmare every day and every night for the rest of my life, Anello wrote. The family is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Royal Caribbean over her death, accusing the cruise operator of negligence for allowing a window to be open in a childrens play area. Family attorney Michael Winkleman said that Anellos plea change wont have an impact on the suit. We still maintain this was a tragic, preventable accident that never would have occurred if Royal Caribbean followed the industry-standard window fall prevention codes that are designed for the singular purpose of preventing children from falling out of windows, he said in a statement. Royal Caribbean has denied the claims in the lawsuit and accused Anello of negligence. Wiegands parents, Kim and Alan Wiegand, said on Today following her death last summer that they hope her death will ensure that a similar accident wont befall another family. We obviously blame them for not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship, Kim Wiegand said at the time. There are a million things that couldve been done to make that safer. The Delhi High Court will on Thursday hear the plea seeking registration of FIR against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for allegedly making hate speeches. The hearing will be held before the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Harishankar. A division bench of Justice Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh had heard the matter on Wednesday. The Delhi High Court had expressed concern over the delay in action by the law enforcement agencies in containing violence in north-east Delhi, which claimed at least 25 lives and left around 200 injured. "How many more lives have to be lost? How many properties have to be destroyed," asked the High Court, while questioning the delay in action by the law enforcement agencies. The High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Police to examine the videos related to hate speeches by political leaders, which allegedly led to violence in northeast Delhi, and take a decision in the matter. The High Court directed the Special Commissioner of Police to sit with the Commissioner in view of all these clips and make a conscious decision and convey it to the court by 2:15 pm on Thursday. The court also enquired about the name of the police officer who is seen standing beside Kapil Mishra in the video. The videos of alleged hate speech by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, BJP MP Parvesh Verma, and Delhi BJP MLA Abhay Verma were also played in the courtroom. Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner Harsh Mander, argued that these people are the senior leaders of their political parties and said this is not just an opinion but the government policy. On the prayer of Army's deployment in the violence-affected area, the court said that it doesn't want to enter into the question of Army deployment and shifted the focus on the issue of registration of FIR. "How did they select just three clips out of thousands of clips being circulated on the line? What is this selective outrage?... Please do not allow demoralisation of the forces. What do they think the police are doing? Are they at the protest site for a picnic?" said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Mehta said that the petitioner is unable to define why this petition is focusing on particularly these three video clips. The Delhi Police informed the court that 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence and they will examine all aspects of the violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A long-running dispute in the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York took a dramatic new turn when a tribal leader sent bulldozers to demolish buildings belonging to his opponents. Among the buildings destroyed were a store, a schoolhouse and a daycare centre. A local official called it an act of domestic terrorism. According to an attorney representing a faction of Cayuga members who split with the leadership some 20 years ago, the incident involved direct violence against the buildings occupants. "They came in there with drawn handguns, put them to the heads of the security people who were in the buildings and told them if they moved they would be shot. And they destroyed these buildings," he said. The dispute in the Cayuga nation centres around the leadership of Clint Halftown, the federally recognised leader of the tribe, who has long faced dissent from Cayuga members who want to see the tribes traditional way of life preserved. Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Show all 16 1 /16 Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen US Representative Deb Haaland hugs fellow representative Sharice Davids after they were sworn in as the first two first Native American women in the House of Representatives Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland, wearing traditional Native American attire, rides in an Uber to the US Capitol to be sworn in Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland prays with her family in her office before being sworn in Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland talks to her mother Mary before being sworn in Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland takes the oath of office Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland is joined by fellow representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after they were sworn to the US House of Representatives Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland, her sister Zoe and their mother Mary, make their way through the underground passageways of the US Capitol after she was sworn in Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland and her family pose for a ceremonial photograph with Speaker Nancy Pelosi Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland laughs after the ceremony Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland works in her office Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland speaks at a reception hosted by the Congressional Native American Caucus after being sworn in Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland was joined by actor Mark Ruffalo at the reception Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids were honoured by Ho-Chunk tribal drummers at the reception hosted Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland resting at the end of a reception Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen US Representatives Deb Haaland and Hakeem Jeffries leave the reception Reuters Deb Haaland: one of the first two Native American congresswomen Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids wait in a car to go to back to Capitol Hill to vote after they became the first Native American women in the US House of Representatives Reuters In a statement, Halftowns leadership said that it demolished the buildings to recover land that certain members of the tribe who oppose his leadership seized six years ago. It also claimed that it demolished them to eliminate certain public safety issues, and that it does not want these buildings to become a target for any further friction in the community going forward. Local authorities say they are powerless to interfere in the sovereign nations domestic issues. However, the latest turn of events has seen others call for action to investigate the demolitions. New York senator Chuck Schumer demanded an investigation, saying that laws must have been broken: If they were violated, appropriate action should follow, and we need the same from New York State, he said. What happened was awful, and cannot go unpunished. The Seneca County Board of Supervisors has now passed resolutions to freeze all funds going to the Cayuga Nation and request that US prosecutors investigate the incidents. TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSX: PMN) (OTCQB: ARFXF), with Toronto Memory Program, Canadas largest and most experienced memory clinic and site for drug treatment trials in Alzheimers disease (AD) has initiated a pilot longitudinal study to assess the level of blood-based biomarkers in early AD with the support of Parexel, one of the worlds leading global clinical research organizations (CROs). ProMIS will leverage Parexels significant data management and central nervous system (CNS) expertise for the study, which it will use as the historical control arm for its anticipated Phase 1 study of PMN310, a novel antibody that selectively targets the toxic oligomeric species of amyloid beta, a root cause of AD. The dataset will help ProMIS detect a treatment signal as early as Phase 1, potentially allowing for rapid proof-of-concept at a fraction of the expense associated with traditional clinical trials. The dataset will be made available as a communal resource for Alzheimers researchers. Alzheimers patients and their families have endured far too many late-stage therapy failures, said Sharon Cohen, MD, FRCPC, Medical Director of Toronto Memory Program and Principal Investigator of the study. A new generation of blood-based biomarkers offers researchers the opportunity to measure treatment success much earlier than with traditional methods. As both a clinician and researcher, being able to detect a treatment signal in Phase 1 allows me to proceed with confidence knowing Im focused on a validated therapy candidate with credible potential for success with my patients. Parexel will support ProMIS on the assimilation and management of this large data set, aimed at helping the industry derive important insights to drive the development of future therapies. As a truly patient-focused CRO, its an incredibly exciting time to be involved in Alzheimers disease therapy research as we await FDAs decision regarding the first disease-modifying therapy, aducanumab, shared Sy Pretorius, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Parexel. Harnessing the power of biomarker data holds great potential in helping to reach the next generation of innovation with the ultimate goal of bringing more therapies to market for Alzheimers patients, their caregivers and their families. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated it will accelerate approval of potential Alzheimers disease therapies if researchers can demonstrate meaningful biomarker changes, said James Kupiec, MD, Chief Medical Officer for ProMIS Neurosciences, the study sponsor. The Alzheimers research community has desperately needed a reliable, reproducible way to measure a drugs effectiveness earlier than Phase 2 or 3 at which time so much money, patient hardship and time have been expended. The expected dataset could help facilitate the detection of a meaningful signal as early as Phase 1. This is really critical as it may enable us to advance only the best candidates with the highest potential for success. We look forward to using these data to advance PMN310 quickly. In addition, we will offer the biomarker dataset to the research community to help advance additional therapies. Several highly sensitive biomarkers are currently in development that could measure neuronal injury more accurately and/or more conveniently than current standards. Significantly, this new generation of blood-based biomarkers may afford drug developers a convenient means to measure the effectiveness of potential disease-modifying therapies as early as Phase 1, sparing patients, investors and researchers the time, expense and anguish associated with late-stage clinical trial failures. Toronto Memory Program will lead this non-interventional natural history study which will measure the concentrations of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and other blood-based biomarkers on a monthly basis for a period of six months in AD patients with early stage disease. Designed to support multiple centers and up to 100 patients, the study will evaluate the plasma concentration of these biomarkers over the course of the study as well as visit-to-visit variability. The monthly data collection mirrors the design of a Phase 1 interventional trial where monthly blood draws to evaluate plasma biomarker levels coincide with monthly treatments/infusions. The depth of the biomarker data from the natural history study will offer a powerful historical reference group with multiple monthly data points per patient. About ProMIS Neurosciences ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing antibody therapeutics selectively targeting toxic oligomers implicated in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimers disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinsons disease (PD). The Companys proprietary target discovery platform is based on the use of two complementary thermodynamic, computational discovery engines ProMIS and Collective Coordinates to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique precision approach, the Company is developing novel antibody therapeutics for AD, ALS and PD. ProMIS is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ProMIS is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PMN, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol ARFXF. Visit us at www.promisneurosciences.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn For media inquiries, please contact: Shanti Skiffington shanti.skiffington@gmail.com Tel. 617 921-0808 For Investor Relations please contact: Alpine Equity Advisors Nicholas Rigopulos, President nick@alpineequityadv.com Tel. 617 901-0785 The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release contains certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Government accused of being too submissive to China THAILAND: The opposition zeroed in on the governments economic submissiveness to China during the no-confidence debate yesterday (Feb 25). politics By Bangkok Post Wednesday 26 February 2020, 09:45AM Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai hold a press conference after their meeting as part of the 52nd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting 2019 at the Centara Grand in Bangkok. Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul Ekkapob Pianpiset, a Chiang Rai MP for the dissolved Future Forward Party, told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha the government has been submissive to China when it comes to trade and investment. He said some Chinese businesses have been allowed to dominate the lucrative fruit export sector, driving down prices. The price of longan, for example, has tumbled to 13 baht a kilo at farms, down almost threefold from its peak trading period last year. Also, the property market was hit by an influx of investors from China buying condominiums and leasing them to tourists and posing direct competition to small- and medium-sized hotels, he said. Mr Ekkapob added that the government had little negotiating power with China over the high-speed train project, which went ahead despite the Thai governments hesitation. The MP also said the government allegedly had to implore China, through informal exchanges, to release water into the Mekong River early this year to ease drought in Thai areas. The government, Mr Ekkapob said, should have opened formal and dignified diplomatic talks on the matter. The accusation prompted Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai to rebut the claim, saying the government was not in a pitiful state but had held the meetings with China as two friends to thrash out the Mekong River issue. Also, Sarassanan Annopporn, a Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen, said the government has welcomed Alibaba, the Chinese multinational technology giant, with open arms and given it a free run to operate its e-commerce business and make huge profits at the expense of local online businesses. Large foreign businesses are after profits, first and foremost. There is no way they would come in with the aim to revitalise Thailands economy. Press Release Slicing capability available for existing LTE and 5G NSA networks via software upgrade Solution developed in partnership with A1 Austria and Telia Finland Enables operators to offer new mobile connectivity services for enterprise, Internet of Things, private wireless and Fixed Wireless Access 25 February 2020 Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced the launch of new end-to-end slicing network functionality for 4G and 5G New Radio (NR) - the first vendor to offer this capability. The solution will support connectivity from 4G and 5G devices over the sliced network to applications running in private and public clouds and will be available this summer. Nokia's new solution enables operators to start building their network slicing business today with LTE and 5G NR. The slicing capability can be deployed via a software upgrade into existing LTE and 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks and subsequently 5G standalone (SA) networks. The slicing continuity between LTE and 5G NR allows operators to maximize their network coverage for new mobile connectivity services. The solution provides sliced mobile broadband connectivity from device to radio, transport, core, all the way to applications in private and public networks and the cloud. The user and service-aware slicing functionality has been introduced to Nokia radio access products for the first time and is also supported in Nokia transport and core products with control, management and assurance systems. Solution supports all 4G and 5G devices and works in a multi-vendor environment. Nokia's slicing solution is being developed in collaboration with leading operators A1 and Telia. It delivers new value and business opportunities for enterprises, as well as for the Internet of Things, Fixed Wireless Access, applications and content related services. It enables new mobile end-to-end services with logical connections, security, quality and traffic management with a seamless service continuity across 4G and 5G networks. Private wireless slicing also opens up new network functionalities for different applications, such as surveillance and automation. Nokia is already trialing live 4G/5G slicing use cases with customers powered by a unique Software Defined Network (SDN) radio slice controller as well as a transport slice controller. The trial includes a Nokia cloud packet core slice orchestrator to support network deployment automation as well as an SD-WAN software solution providing a managed 4G/5G network slice to private and public cloud services. Nokia assurance systems are used to verify per slice KPIs as a part of Nokia's E2E service orchestration. Alexander Kuchar, Director Technology & Future Services, A1 Telekom Austria Group, said: "We are proud to be among the first operators worldwide who successfully demonstrated end-to-end network slicing, spanning the core, transport and radio over our 4G as well as 5G networks. For our business customers, it will be a huge advantage to be able to benefit from dedicated mobile communication services, exclusive capacities, strong data security and transmission with high reliability and low latency by integrating A1's highly reliable and excellent infrastructure and services offering into their internal processes. Network slicing in 4G and extended in 5G will play a key role in allowing A1 to develop new market segments and revenue streams." Jari Collin, Chief Technology Officer, Telia Finland, said: "It has been really exciting to be the first operator to conduct a live test of Nokia's new network slicing feature. As a 5G frontrunner in business customer pilots and solutions, we know that this will be a key functionality that will deliver many of the promises our customers are waiting for. With slicing, we can efficiently use our spectrum to deliver seamless and reliable connectivity and also strengthen our leading IoT position with nationwide deployment of new technologies like LTE-M and NB-IoT." Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: "Working closely with our customers to develop new technologies and business opportunities is hugely important to Nokia. 4G/5G slicing enables multiple new use cases which operators can start building now to create new revenue streams." Resources: Web page: Nokia 5G (https://www.nokia.com/networks/5g/) Nokia 4G-5G Network Slicing Executive Summary (https://resources.nokia.com/asset/207108) About Nokia We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks. Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.1 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,000 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Media Inquiries: Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India, senior Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup said at the UNHRC meeting here on Wednesday, adding the situation in the region is "quite normal despite Pakistan's best efforts over decades to destabilise it through externally-instigated terror." "Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and shall forever remain an integral part of India. The transformative changes brought by our Parliament in last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the state, including to give full play to representative government from the grassroots level upward," said Swarup, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Swarup's remarks came a day after the Pakistani delegation at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) raised the Kashmir issue -- the subject of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan since the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that scrapped the region of its special status. He said: "It was intended to ensure the extension of all progressive legislation passed for the entire country to cover this region, and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir." "Indeed, these measures are already showing positive results, despite Pakistan's best efforts over decades to destabilise the state through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal," he added. Swarup noted that most temporary restrictions imposed "to ensure solely the safety of people from Pakistani-trained terrorist attacks" -- following the revocation of Article 370 -- have been removed. "Political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have largely been restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace, and there is access for all to education, and healthcare," he said. "These have been achieved despite Pakistan's attempts to promote, both, violence within our territory, with an 81 per cent increase in infiltration attempts since last August and disinformation outside," added Swarup. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement The funeral of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak took place in Cairo on Wednesday as his body was flown to a mosque in the city's east by helicopter before the casket was carried out by an honour guard. Dozens of Mubarak supporters, clad in black and carrying posters of the former president, watched the helicopter sweep in before the Republican Guard carried Mubarak's casket out wrapped in the Egyptian flag. Mubarak ruled Egypt for 30 years before he was ousted during the Arab Spring protests in 2011. He died Tuesday aged 91 from kidney and heart problems, having been admitted to hospital last month for intestinal surgery. Egypt held a funeral for former dictator Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday, a day after he died in hospital in hospital from heart and kidney problems aged 91 Egyptian honour guards carry the coffin of former president Hosni Mubarak during his funeral ceremony at Cairo's Mosheer Tantawy mosque in the eastern outskirts of Cairo Alaa, son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is kissed as he is consoled during his father's funeral east of Cairo Mubarak's casket was taken to Cairo's Mosheer Tantawy mosque via helicopter before being carried out by an honour guard of the Egyptian Republican Guard for the ceremony Mubarak, who commanded Egypt's air force during the October War against Israel before becoming the country's leader when his predecessor and mentor was shot, led the country for three decades Despite remaining popular among older Egyptians who honoured his war efforts, Mubarak was ousted during Arab Spring protests by mostly-young revolutionaries in 2011 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attends the funeral of former President Hosni Mubarak east of Cairo Former Egyptian parliament speaker Ahmad Fathi Sorour greets Omar Alaa Mubarak, the grandson of Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, near his father Alaa (second right) and uncle Gamal (second left), at Mubarak's funeral ceremony Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (second left) and sons and grandson of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Alaa (third right), Gamal (second right) and Omar Alaa (right) attend Mubarak's funeral at Mosheer Tantawy mosque Officers salute as the horse-drawn carriage transporting the flag-draped coffin former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak passes by during the funeral at Mosheer Tantawy mosque Perhaps ironically, his funeral took place at the Tantawi Mosque in eastern Cairo, named for now retired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the military council that ran Egypt following Mubarak's ouster and until the election of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2012. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi was expected to attend the service, to be followed by the burial at the cemetery in Cairo's Heliopolis, Mubarak's home district for most of his rule and where he lived until his death. Gulf Arab leaders were also expected to attend the service. 'Through his military and political career, Mubarak made undeniable achievements and sacrifices,' the state-run al-Aharm newspaper eulogized Mubarak in its editorial Wednesday. On Tuesday, el-Sissi offered condolences to Mubarak's family and praised his service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of his rule as president of the most populous Arab state. El-Sissy also announced three days of national mourning beginning, Wednesday. Pro-government media paid tribute to Mubarak, focusing on his role in the 1973 war with Israel when Mubarak, a pilot by training, commanded Egypt's air force. Born in May 1928, Mubarak was vice president on Oct. 6, 1981, when his mentor, President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by Islamic extremists while reviewing a military parade. Mubarak (pictured in court in 2018) ruled Egypt for three decades before being ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring protests. He was jailed for life in 2012, acquitted on a retrial in 2014, then jailed again for corruption - walking free from jail in 2017 Guards wait for the start of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's funeral at Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi Mosque east of Cairo People wave at a helicopter as it lands outside Mosheer Tantawy mosque where the funeral of late former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took place on Wednesday Supporters hold photos of late former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as they gather outside Mosheer Tantawy mosque ahead of Mubarak's funeral Mubarak ruled Egypt from October 1981 till January 2011, when he stepped down in the face of Arab Spring protests but remains popular among older Egyptians for his leadership during the 1973 October War People hold photos of late former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as they gather outside Mosheer Tantawy mosque ahead of Mubarak's funeral, in Cairo Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during the Arab Spring uprising, but was cleared on a retrial in 2014. He was jailed again for corruption, and walked free in 2017 People gather outside Mosheer Tantawy mosque where the funeral of late former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will take place, in Cairo, Egypt Seated next to Sadat, Mubarak escaped with a minor hand injury as gunmen sprayed the reviewing stand with bullets. Eight days later, the brawny former air force commander was sworn in as president, promising continuity and order. Mubarak's rule was marked by a close alliance with the U.S. in the fight against Islamic militancy and assisting regional peace efforts. Many older Egyptians, who had long considered him invincible, were stunned by the images of Mubarak on a gurney bed being taken to court for sessions of his trial in Cairo following his ouster. Mubarak's overthrow plunged Egypt into years of chaos and uncertainty, and set up a power struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood group that he had long outlawed. Some two and a half years after Mubarak's ouster, el-Sissi led the military overthrow of Egypt's first freely elected president, Morsi, and rolled back freedoms gained in the 2011 uprising. In June 2012, Mubarak and his security chief were sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising. Both appealed the verdict and a higher court later cleared them in 2014. The following year, Mubarak and his two sons - wealthy businessman Alaa and Mubarak's one-time heir apparent Gamal - were sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges during a retrial. The sons were released in 2015 for time served, while Mubarak walked free in 2017. A member of Egypt's Republican Guard holds medals awarded to Mubarak during his time in the air force during his funeral Supporters of ousted President Hosni Mubarak hold posters with his photograph near the cemetery where he will be buried, in the Heliopolis neighborhood of Cairo Social media is the most popular thing to give up for this Lent with a number of people announcing an end to their online activity for the next few weeks. This is according to Open Bible, a website that tracks what Twitter users say they're giving up for lent. Seven people are reportedly dead after a gunman opened fire at the Molson Coors Beverage Company corporate headquarters in Milwaukee. The seven fatalities include the shooter, according to local reports. It is unclear so far whether others were injured. Police responded at 2:11 p.m. and said they were investigating a critical incident, asking public to avoid the area. The active scene was still ongoing over two hours later at 3:49 p.m., according to police. There is no active threat; however, this scene is still an active, Milwaukee police wrote in a tweet just before 6 p.m., adding that the number of casualties has not yet been confirmed. Its a horrible, horrible day for the employees here, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. Its a very rough day for anybody whos close to this situation. Our top priority is our employees and well provide updates in conjunction with the police as we are able, Molson Coors wrote in a tweet. At least 600 people work at the headquarters. More from National Review Diana Serra Cary, an author, film historian and probably the last surviving child superstar of the silent film era nearly a century ago, who spent decades coming to terms with a bizarre childhood of triumphs, heartbreaks and parents who squandered her fortune, died Monday in Gustine (Merced County). She was 101. Her death was confirmed by the Niles Film Museum, which is devoted to the silent era in Fremont. In her Hollywood days, her name was Peggy-Jean Montgomery (she later changed her name to Diana Serra and added Cary through marriage), and she was a precocious 2-year-old in 1921 when Century Studio cast her as Baby Peggy, opposite Brownie the Wonder Dog. America soon fell in love with this chubby-cheeked little girl as she fled burning buildings, held thugs at bay with a pistol and clung to the underside of a train. A Century fire in 1926 and decaying celluloid have left only a few of her vintage films in museum archives, in the Library of Congress and on the internet, including Playmates (1921), Miles of Smiles (1923), Helens Babies (1924) and Captain January (1924). But silent film aficionados say she could evoke terror, joy, pity and sorrow with the best of them, and was a good mimic, too, satirizing adult stars of the day, including Rudolph Valentino and Pola Negri in Peg o the Movies (1923). By age 5 she had made more than 150 pictures, mostly short comedies and melodramas, for Century, Universal and Principal Pictures, and became a multimillionaire. Home was a Beverly Hills mansion near Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. A $30,000 chauffeur-driven limousine took her to work every day. Fan mail surpassed 1.7 million letters a year. She went on national tours, adorned magazine covers and endorsed Baby Peggy dolls, jewelry and sheet music. And she waved an American flag standing beside Franklin D. Roosevelt at the 1924 Democratic National Convention in New York. But she never got to play with other children, never went to school like her older sister, Louise. And with dire poverty, divorce and years of anonymity and psychological struggle over the horizon, she did not live happily ever after. Like Jackie Coogan and Baby Marie Osborne, the other major child stars of the silent era whose fortunes were dissipated by guardians, Baby Peggy and her financial affairs were controlled by her parents, Jack and Marian Montgomery, who spent lavishly and set nothing aside for her education or her future. She was exploited by three studios, which worked her eight hours a day, six days a week with no naps or lollipop breaks making two-reelers known as five-day wonders, as well as many full-length tear-jerkers and potboilers that enthralled moviegoers to the tune of tinkling pianos. In those days, expression was everything in movies, she told the Guardian in 2015. My father would snap his fingers and say, Cry! And I would cry. Laugh! And I would laugh. Be frightened! And Id be frightened. He called it obedience. In 1925, Baby Peggys career crumbled. A $1.5 million contract was canceled, and she was virtually blacklisted in Hollywood after her father, a cowboy stuntman and stand-in for the Western star Tom Mix, had a bitter falling-out with a studio boss over her salary. She made one last picture, April Fool, in 1926, and then found no more work in Hollywood. She was washed up, a 7-year-old has-been. Baby Peggy was apparently the last surviving major child star of the silent era. Mickey Rooney, whose film career began in the silents, died in 2014. Baby Marie Osborne, Americas little sweetheart of silent films during World War I, died in 2010. About a dozen other silent-era actors survive, but most were uncredited extras or ensemble players in series like the Our Gang pictures of the 1920s. For several years after her film career faded, Baby Peggy performed on a grueling vaudeville circuit to support her parents in the style to which they had become accustomed. They squandered much of her $2 million fortune on hotels, luxury cars and travel. The rest was lost or embezzled by a step-grandfather who absconded, or it evaporated in the stock market crash of 1929. The Beverly Hills home was sold, as were the cars, jewels and other luxuries. As the Depression deepened, the family moved to a ranch in Wyoming. Dirt poor and struggling, they pawned everything of value. A friend lent the family $300, and against Peggys wishes they returned to Hollywood and put her back to work, now as a teenager in the talkies. From 1932 to 1938, she appeared in eight films as an anonymous extra or in small roles credited to Peggy Montgomery. She hated it. Fighting for $3 a day in the world of extras it was dreadful, Cary told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. And it was also sort of shameful, because the people who were doing the extra work were the former silent stars, many of them that I knew, who were adults, and for them it was a very crushing blow. I thought of it as being a galley slave. The family resorted to food coupons from the Motion Picture Relief Fund. The Los Angeles School Board finally insisted that the girl attend classes, and she enrolled at Lawlor Professional School, which had flexible schedules for young actors, enabling her to continue working. Fellow students included Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Later, she went to Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. After graduating, she eloped in 1938 with her first boyfriend, Gordon Ayres, a movie extra. They were divorced in 1948. She was a switchboard operator and a bookstore clerk, and then managed a gift shop in Santa Barbara. She told no one of her past and took the name Diana Serra. In 1954, she married Bob Cary, an artist, and took his surname. He died in 2001. Her survivors include their son, Mark, and a granddaughter. The Carys settled in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he painted and she became a freelance journalist, writing magazine articles. In 1970, they moved to La Jolla (San Diego County) and she began a new career as a film historian. Her first book, The Hollywood Posse (1975), was a well-received account of stunt riders in film. Her second, Hollywoods Children (1978), recounted the often troubling stories of child actors. But it was the years of work on her memoir, Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy? The Autobiography of Hollywoods Pioneer Child Star (1996), that proved therapeutic and redemptive. She re-examined her life in silent films, her parents conduct in frittering away her fortune, the studios harsh working conditions and the fates of child stars who, like her, were left impoverished, emotionally scarred and largely forgotten. In Jackie Coogan: The Worlds Boy King: A Biography of Hollywoods Legendary Child Star (2003), she wrote about her old friend, who sued his mother and stepfather in 1938 for spending his more than $3 million in earnings on furs, diamonds, homes and expensive cars. Prodded by the stories of Coogan, Baby Marie Osborne and other children whose Hollywood fortunes were squandered by parents or guardians, California in 1939 passed the Coogan Act, a law to safeguard part of a child actors earnings in trust, and provided for time off, schooling and limits on working hours. For her 99th birthday in 2017, Cary self-published a first novel, The Drowning of the Moon, a historical tale set in the Mexican-American colonial empire of New Spain and featuring the noblewoman of a silver-mining dynasty facing civil war. Robert D. McFadden is a New York Times writer. Home Search ICH Soros links to European Court of Human Rights revealed By John Laughland February 25, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - A study by the European Center for Law and Justice in Strasbourg has revealed several conflicts of interest between judges at the European Court of Human Rights and NGOs funded by George Soros. The European Center for Law and Justice is an NGO which often appears at the court to campaign on social, family and religion-related issues. I am proud to be listed as a research fellow at the ECLJ but in reality I have written only one article for the centers website and I receive no salary from it. I had no role in writing the report. The study has found that, out of the 100 judges who have served on the bench of the European Court of Human Rights in the period 2009-2019, nearly a quarter (22) have strong links to George Soros Open Society Foundation or to NGOs like Amnesty International and others which are funded by it. Human Rights Watch, for instance, has received $100 million from the Open Society Foundation since 2010. Some of the NGOs receive so much of their budget from Soros that they are in effect wholly owned subsidiaries of his foundation. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The links between the judges and the NGOs are substantial. They include working for years as members of the board of directors or executive council of these NGOs; having teaching posts at institutes funded by them; being a salaried director of programs for the Open Society Foundation or associated NGOs; and undertaking other forms of paid work for them. The full list of these links can be found on pages seven and eight of the report. A good example is that of the Bulgarian Yonko Grozev who, as leader of the Open Society Justice Initiative, defended the Pussy Riot case against Russia in 2018 before being elected as a judge of the court shortly thereafter. The study does not include less formal forms of collaboration with NGOs, such as occasional work for them (see note 15 of the report). This means that the links are even greater than those specifically addressed in the study. The report also covers other human rights officers, such as the commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe from 2012-2018 (Nils Muiznieks), who does not sit as a judge but who was for years a salaried activist of the Open Society Foundation in Latvia and who has used his official position to campaign against the so-called anti-Soros legislation in Hungary. These NGOs are extremely active at the ECHR. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland filed 16 applications, and defended 32 cases, in 2017 alone. Very often the role played by the NGOs does not appear in the courts records but has to be discovered from the NGOs own reports instead. For instance, a case can be defended by lawyers from one NGO with pleas heard from other NGOs as third parties, even though the other organizations are in fact financed by the same source as the applicant, usually Soros. There would not be anything wrong with judges having exercised a salaried activity for an NGO prior to becoming a judge if these same organizations were not themselves active as parties who bring cases to the ECHR, either as applicants themselves, as lawyers for applicants, or as third parties giving supposedly expert evidence (but in reality lobbying for a cause), and if those judges did not then hear those cases. Indeed, the reports worst finding is that in 88 cases judges sat on the bench ruling on cases brought to the court by NGOs they had previously worked for, without declaring a conflict of interest and without withdrawing from hearing the cases (see page 15 of the report and annexes 1 and 2.) In one case, ruled on in 2018, 10 out of the 14 NGOs that had brought the case were funded by the Open Society Foundation, while six out of the 17 judges who heard the case themselves had links to the same Soros-funded group. The judges refusal to withdraw is a disgraceful professional failing which shows that Europes supreme human rights body is not, in fact, independent but is instead part of veritable human rights industry a pyramid of money and a tight network of professional relationships, at the top of which sits George Soros with his billions. NGOs are supposed to represent civil society independent of states; in reality, a very large number of them are the creation of actors with no democratic legitimacy, like the Open Society Foundation. The fact that this corrupt system has been able to flourish has several causes. The first is that Soros and the NGOs he finances dominate the human rights industry across the Balkans and in the Baltic states. His millions flood these small, poor countries (he has spent $131 million in Albania since 1992, for instance) and they in turn appoint judges to the ECHR which rules on human rights issues for the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. Indeed, the report finds that the total spending of the Open Society Foundation in Europe, $90 million a year, actually exceeds the annual budget of the European Court of Human Rights ($70 million). Second, new procedures introduced in 2012 specifically provide for NGOs to take part in the selection procedure for judges at the ECHR. These NGOs can propose candidates and they can lobby for their selection. They have done this on many occasions, as the report shows. In the case of Albania in 2018, for instance, two out of the three candidates were executives of the Open Society Foundation; one of them was elected. Finally, there is no requirement that people appointed to be judges at the ECHR have any judicial experience at all. Some 51 out of the 100 judges who have sat on the ECHR bench since 2009 had never been judges or magistrates before. Instead, they were very often human rights activists working for Soros or one of his front organisations. This is a structural weakness which also affects international war crimes tribunals. As I showed in my book, Travesty, it means that people can wield judicial power who are not, in fact, trained judges or magistrates or even necessarily lawyers, but instead political activists. In some very egregious cases, people have become judges on the benches of these tribunals without even having a law degree. The result is that the judges who sit on these bodies do not, in fact, behave as judges should. The role of the judge is to say what the law is, not to say what he or she thinks the law should be. Unfortunately, this is exactly what judges at the ECHR, and at the new international tribunals, do. In 1978, the ECHR proclaimed that the Convention was a living instrument which must be interpreted in the light of present-day conditions and that therefore its judges had the right to read new things into the Convention instead of agreeing to be bound by it. Such judicial activism is a travesty of the rule of law. It is a travesty because the areas in which ECHR judges exercise their judicial activism are precisely the most politically sensitive issues, which should properly be decided by politicians in elected parliaments, or by referenda, and not by an elite caste of unaccountable activists. Those areas include freedom of expression, asylum, LGBT rights, conditions of detention, minority rights, and so on. Using their freedom to make up the law, ECHR judges have over decades applied a new vision of man which is the opposite of the original intention of the Convention, which was to protect human beings and their families from abusive state power. Now the ECHR spends most of its time demanding more state power for this or that fashionable (woke) cause. George Soros has long been attacked for the excessive political power his gigantic fortune has bought, especially in post-communist Eastern Europe. This report by the European Center for Law and Justice is, however, one of the first occasions in which the corrupting effect of that power has been scrupulously identified and documented with respect to the supreme body charged with protecting human rights in Europe. To date, the ECHR has not denied any of the facts outlined in the report and, to the extent that these facts cannot be denied because they come from the ECHR itself, its credibility as an independent judicial body now lies in ruins. John Laughland, who has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford and who has taught at universities in Paris and Rome, is a historian and specialist in international affairs. " Source " Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:49:59|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LILONGWE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The ruling party in Malawi, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) have announced that they have settled for a working alliance ahead of the fresh presidential election scheduled for May 19. The agreement was signed on Tuesday by DPP leader Peter Mutharika, who is also the country's president, and UDF chief Atupele Muluzi at a ceremony in Lilongwe. Muluzi said he was grateful to be given an opportunity to work with President Peter Mutharika once again to serve Malawians. Mutharika, for his part, said the two parties have similar values and that the alliance will serve the purpose of developing Malawi. "I am particularly proud to welcome our UDF brothers and sisters back," he said. "We belong to one family although we are taking different paths." Mutharika said the party will also seek other alliances amid consideration of a possible coalition. Muluzi, who served as cabinet minister in the 2014-2019 Mutharika administration, also contested but lost in the May 2019 presidential poll. The constitutional court on Feb. 3 nullified the May 2019 presidential poll and ruled that the country should adopt a 50+1 electoral system in the fresh election and elections to come. Political experts say the only way parties can make it to the presidency is through an alliance. MONTREAL - Air Canada is extending its cancellation of all flights between Canada and China to April 10 due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, following the lead of its U.S. counterparts. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The tail of the newly revealed Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft is seen at a hangar at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ont., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch MONTREAL - Air Canada is extending its cancellation of all flights between Canada and China to April 10 due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, following the lead of its U.S. counterparts. The announcement comes nearly a month after the airline first halted direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. It extends the suspension by nearly six weeks, as the virus known as COVID-19 spreads from China to some three-dozen countries, infecting more than 80,000 people and causing at least 2,700 deaths. Air Canada says it is also scrubbing daily non-stop flights between Toronto and Hong Kong from its schedule until April 30 because of reduced market demand. The carrier says its ongoing daily flight to Hong Kong from Vancouver will accommodate customers originally booked on the Toronto-Hong Kong route. Air Canada said last week it was bracing for a rough first quarter as the effects of the viral outbreak and the continued grounding of its fleet of Boeing 737 Max jets bite into sales. It joins all American passenger airlines that typically fly to China in cancelling flights to the mainland into the spring, with U.S. carriers suspending routes until late April. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:AC) Half-Year Financial Report Melbourne, Feb 25, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The principal activity of Bluechiip Ltd ( ASX:BCT ) during the half year was the development and commercialisation of a wireless tracking solution for the healthcare and life science, security, defence and manufacturing industries which represents a generational change from current methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D) and microelectronic integrated circuit (IC)-based RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).Bluechiip's cash receipts are solid and we have made significant progress on our chip delivery. We are currently delivering tens of thousands of chips a month, progressing to 100,000 a month, then over 200,000 a month to deliver 3 to 5 million chips a year. We continue to invest in research & development on our chips, to improve both quality and efficiency of chip delivery. We experienced some delay in chip delivery towards the end of the calendar year, but our supply of chips is now strong to our existing customers including Labcon. We have 35 developer kids in the market place, and are well positioned to convert these into clients. We continue to work hard on our quality processes - including ISO 9001.To view Half Yearly Report, please visit:About Bluechiip Limited Bluechiip Ltd (ASX:BCT) understands that every sample - stem cells, blood, eggs, sperm and other biospecimens - is critical, so our objective is to manage each one with optimal quality in the most efficient way. Bluechiip's advanced management solution is the only one that provides sample temperature with ID in cryogenic environments to. Most importantly, this delivers confidence in every sample. Bluechiip's unique patented technology is a MEMS-based wireless tracking solution that contains no electronics. It represents a generational change from current tracking methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D), and Radio Frequency Identification. Bluechiip tags are either embedded or manufactured into storage products such as vials or bags. Each product can be easily identified, and critical information such as sample temperature, is detected by readers and stored in the Bluechiip software. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the Bluechiip(R) Advanced Sample management solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting. Bluechiip's technology has applications in healthcare, including in cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories), pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Other key markets include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation. Bluechiip: Delivering confidence in every sample. The cell culture consumables market is poised to grow by USD 5.78 billionduring 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005406/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Cell Culture Consumables Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 159-page report with TOC on "Cell Culture Consumables Market Analysis Report by Application (Biopharmaceutical production, Cancer research, and Other applications), Geographic segmentation (Asia, Europe, North America and ROW), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024". https://www.technavio.com/report/cell-culture-consumables-market-industry-analysis The market is driven by the growing demand for monoclonal antibodies. In addition, the rising demand for 3D cell culture is anticipated to boost the growth of the cell culture consumables market. The use of monoclonal antibodies as substitute antibodies is gaining traction in the market as it enhances, restores, and mimics a unique parent cell of the immune system. As a result, they are extensively used in research laboratories, immunotherapy, and diagnostic products and have become one of the fastest growing products in the pharmaceutical industry. However, the production of monoclonal antibodies requires animals, which is considered unethical. As a result, researchers are manufacturing monoclonal antibodies using batch, continuous, and perfusion culture methods. This involves multiple cell culture bioreactors and cell culture consumables such as media bags, media, sera, reagents, buffer solutions, and other bioreactor accessories. Thus, the growing demand for monoclonal antibodies is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Cell Culture Consumables Market Companies: Corning Inc. Corning Inc. is headquartered in the US and operates the business under various segments such as Display Technologies, Optical Communications, Environmental Technologies, Specialty Materials, Life Sciences, and All Other. The company offers Permeable Supports, Surfaces and ECMs, Media and Sera, Cryogenic Storage, Sample Cooling and Heating, Dishes, Flasks, Multiwell Plates, Filtration, and Scrapers, Lifters, Culture Slides. Danaher Corp. Danaher Corp. is headquartered in the US and offers products through the following business units: Life Sciences, Diagnostics, Dental, and Environmental Applied Solutions. The company offers Bioreactors, Media, and mPath Benchtop Bioreactor Control Towers. Eppendorf AG Eppendorf AG is headquartered in Germany and operates under various business segments, namely Liquid Handling, Cell Handling, Sample Handling, and epServices. The company offers a range of cell culture plates. FUJIFILM Holdings Corp. FUJIFILM Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Japan and offers products through the following business segments: Imaging Solutions, Healthcare Material Solutions, and Document Solutions. The company offers Chemically-Defined Media, Feeds and Supplements, and WFI Water. General Electric Co. General Electric Co. is headquartered in the US and offers products through the following business segments: Power, Renewable energy, Oil and gas, Aviation, Healthcare, Transportation, and Lighting. The company offers Buffers and process liquids, Media and feeds, Microbial fermenters, Microcarriers, Reagents and supplements, Rocking bioreactors, Sera, and Stirred-tank bioreactors. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Cell Culture Consumables Market Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) Biopharmaceutical production Cancer research Other applications Cell Culture Consumables Market Geographic Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) Asia Europe North America ROW Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Related Reports on Health Care Include: Clinical Reference Laboratory Services Market Global Clinical Reference Laboratory Services Market by application (clinical chemistry, human and tumor genetics, medical microbiology and cytology, and other esoteric tests), end-users (hospitals and private clinics, corporate offices and companies, and government entities), service (standalone reference laboratories, hospital-based reference laboratories, and clinic-based reference laboratories), and geography (Asia, Europe, North America, and ROW). Modular Laboratory Automation Market- Global Modular Laboratory Automation Market by geography (Asia, Europe, North America, and ROW) and end-user (hospitals and diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and other end-users). About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005406/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: https://www.technavio.com NEWLY elected Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan says the problems facing her constituents in Dublin Central are arguably the same as the ones she encountered in Limerick. Ms Hourigan, who grew up in Limericks North Circular Road, won a seat in Dublin Central, outpolling the Finance Minister Pascal Donohoe en route to Dail Eireann. She was joined at the gates of Dail Eireann by her father, the former mayor of Limerick Michaell Hourigan, his wife Pat and her husband Colin Dolan. Speaking to The Leader, Ms Hourigan said the issues she faced on the doorstep are similar to those in Limerick. "It's north inner city Dublin and I think some of the issues that I am aware of growing up in Limerick are things that affect Dublin Central too. There are housing issues, there is pressure on services. There's an understanding and empathy. We are not so far away from each other Limerick and Dublin, she said. Read also: Newly elected Limerick Green Party TD to play role in talks Mr Hourigan said: It's a very special day for us as a family, especially for Neasa. It's a huge thing to be a member of Dail Eireann. There are a huge number who try. It just shows what a job of work she has done. We are thrilled and over the moon for her today. Ms Hourigans father was in local politics for 20 years, being elected on four separate occasions before bowing out ahead of last summers local elections. Asked what advice hed give his daughter, the former Fine Gael man said: Politics is a difficult game enough. You have to work very hard with your communities in particular. If you take on board the issues of the day, both locally and nationally, that will see you do a good job at the end of the day. UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link Exercise caution: US embassy to its citizens in India on Delhi violence India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 26: The American embassy on Wednesday urged its citizens in India to exercise caution in the wake of violence in northeast Delhi. "Avoid all areas with demonstrations. It is important that you monitor local media outlets for updates on demonstrations, road and Metro closures, and possible curfews," the US embassy said in its advisory. The advisory came the day after US President Trump left for home following a two-day state visit to India. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 20:15 [IST] Religious people are less likely to fall or feel ill, an official report suggests. It found atheists were significantly less likely to think they are in good health than people of faith. Non-believers were twice as likely to be smokers than those who practice a religion, which may contribute to their overall worse condition. Roughly one in five atheists smokes compared to one in 10 Christians and Muslims, according to the report from the Office for National Statistics. And non-believers are more likely to drink alcohol than followers of certain religions, such as Islam which outright bans it, or Sikhism and Hinduism which discourage it. The ONS report said 68 per cent of Christians, 77 per cent of Jews, 72 per cent of Hindus, 69 per cent of Sikhs and 66 per cent of Muslims said they were satisfied about their health, pictured Roughly one in five atheists smokes compared to one in 10 Christians and Muslims, according to the report from the Office for National Statistics It wasn't just physical health that religious people scored better in - non-believers reported having a worse mental state than Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. The wide-ranging report quizzed roughly 100,000 people in England and Wales about the role of religion between 2016 and 2018. The ONS said 68 per cent of Christians, 77 per cent of Jews, 72 per cent of Hindus, 69 per cent of Sikhs and 66 per cent of Muslims said they were satisfied about their health. ARE SMOKING RATES FALLING FASTER THAN EVER? Smoking rates in the UK are falling faster than they have in more than a decade, according to official figures from the Government. Figures in September showed just 15 per cent of the population regularly smoked cigarettes at the end of July - down from 17.2 per cent in 2018. This meant 200 people quit the deadly habit every hour in 2019, cutting the number of smokers from 7.8million to 6.8million in a year. Statisticians said if the trend continued to the end of the year, it would be the biggest drop since 2008-2009 when it plummeted from 24.2 to 22 per cent. Around 7.4million people in the UK regularly smoke tobacco, along with about a billion people mostly men worldwide. Government initiatives to cut smoking rates have been introduced regularly over the past 15 years in the UK. Advertisement 'A significantly lower percentage of those with no religion - 64 per cent - were estimated to be satisfied with their overall health compared with those identifying as Christian, Hindu or Jewish,' it added. In a research project which ranked mental health between 0 and 100, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs all scored more than 49 per cent. Those with no religion scored 48 per cent. The report also stated that 18 per cent of religion-less people were smokers compared to 11 per cent of Christians and Muslims, five per cent of Hindus, four per cent of Jews, and two per cent of Sikhs. ONS statisticians use figures on religious grouping sourced from the national census in 2011. As per these official figures, 60 per cent of the population of England and Wales was Christian. The second biggest religious faith was Islam, with Muslims making up just under five per cent of the population. A rise in the numbers of Muslims was, however, suggested when the 2016 figures were used for an experimental count. These numbers show that Muslims now make up 5.6 of the population, and numbers of Muslims in England and Wales have gone up around 44,000 from 2.7 million to 3.14 million. An analysis of 1,000 obituaries published across the United States in 2018 found that church-goers appear to live up to four years longer than atheists. The Ohio State psychology researchers behind the study insist there is merit to the connection: people with religious affiliations often volunteer and engage in social activities throughout their lives - something routinely tied to longer lifespan. But they found that this socializing only appeared to boost longevity by a year at most - suggesting other elements of religious life, such as low alcohol intake, could contribute. The second study included 1,096 obituaries from 42 major cities in the US published on newspaper websites between August 2010 and August 2011. Israel's President Reuven Rivlin has told Australian MPs he will take up the extradition case of alleged child abuser Malka Leifer with his country's Chief Justice if no progress is made during court hearings this week. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor MP Josh Burns on Wednesday put the case directly to Mr Rivlin to extradite the the former principal of the Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne. President of Israel Reuvin Rivlin meets with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In what was described as a warm encounter in Canberra, Mr Morrison and the Israeli head of state discussed Australia's strong commitment to seeing justice in the case of Ms Leifer. Ms Leifer, 52, faces charges on 74 counts of sexual assault in Victoria related to accusations by three sisters who say they were abused while she was a teacher and principal at the school. YPSILANTI, MI An Ypsilanti man attacked by his partner with a samurai sword was stabbed multiple times for allegedly failing to buy marijuana for his attacker, according to the victims statements to police. Neil Patrick Wasinski, 28, was charged on Jan. 18 with assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assaulting or resisting police after being arrested for attacking her boyfriend Jan. 16 with a 21-inch samurai sword at the Arbor One Apartments in Ypsilanti, records show. Wasinski, or Nalla as she is known, is listed as a male in court documents but referred to as she in police records. A call made to Wasinskis attorney was not immediately returned. The intent to murder charge was dismissed at district court after Wasinski pleaded no contest to the remaining two charges during her preliminary examination, Feb. 13, records show. One arrested in stabbing reported at Ypsilanti apartment complex Police were called to the reported stabbing shortly after noon where they found the victim, a 23-year-old man, smoking a cigarette and pressing a bloody towel to his side, according to an Ypsilanti Police Department report obtained by MLive/The Ann Arbor News through a Freedom of Information Act request. The man, who identified himself as Wasinskis boyfriend of one-and-a-half years, told police he was attacked after he failed to buy marijuana for Wasinski, the report states. After repeatedly punching the victims ribcage, Wasinski grabbed the sword and started stabbing at the victim inside Wasinskis apartment, the report states. Still armed with the sword, Wasinski chased the victim outside into the parking lot before returning to his apartment after a neighbor took the victim into his residence across the lot, the report states. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds to his arm and torso near the armpit. He was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in critical condition where doctors discovered one of his lungs had collapsed in the attack, records show. The boyfriend has since recovered. Police found Wasinski in her apartment at the complex, but she refused open the door, telling officers she didnt want anything to do with police and to please go away, the report states. Officers obtained a master key to the apartment and entered, arresting Wasinski, records show. Wasinski struggled with police as they took her outside and later spit on one of the arresting officers, according to the report. Police found an unsheathed, blood-stained 21-inch katana on Wasinskis bedroom floor, which was collected as evidence, the report states. Wasinski would later tell officers she didnt remember much about the incident, as she was intoxicated, but said the victim threw her on the ground and then she blacked out, the report states. Wasinski had a few scratches on her neck and a small cut on her right eye, according to the report. Wasinski is scheduled for sentencing March 17 before Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke. She is currently lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail with bond set at $100,000. Assault with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to four years in prison. Donald Trump's administration has recruited a college senior to help the president's re-hired ex-'body man' lead a purge of anti-Trump government officials. Politico reported Tuesday that 23-year-old James Bacon has become the right-hand man to John McEntee, who the president put in charge of the Presidential Personnel Office. McEntee, who's 29, was fired from the White House in March 2018 after he couldn't get a security clearance due to an alleged gambling problem. He was rehired and is leading a purge of never-Trump government officials, according to reporting from Axios. James Bacon (right) has become the right-hand man of John McEntee, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, who President Trump (left) has tasked to lead a purge of 'anti-Trumpers' from the government John McEntee (center), walking to Marine One with Kellyanne Conway (left) and Stephen Miller (right) was originally fired in March 2018 due to an alleged gambling problem After surviving impeachment, President Trump has reportedly asked John McEntee to purge the government of anti-Trump officials James Bacon, photographed at his high school graduation, worked his way up from Trump campaign intern James Bacon's father Jim wrote an enthusiastic post on Facebook about his son's work, as the now-23-year-old worked his way up the chain from Trump 2016 campaign intern Bacon joins McEntee after having a long list of Trump-related jobs, starting with being an intern on the Trump campaign, according to his LinkedIn page. The GW senior also was a motorcade driver, during the year and five months Trump was running for president. He moved up the chain to being a congressional relations intern, doing advance work for the campaign and then had an operations job during the two-month transition. Since then, according to Politico, Bacon worked at the Department of Housing and Urban Development where he acted as Secretary Ben Carson's 'confidential assistant.' He was most recently at the Department of Transportation, Politico said, briefly working in the policy shop. Bacon's role will be that of PPO's director of operations, Politico said, where he'll work on the vetting of job candidates. Axios reported that on Thursday McEntee led a meeting of White House liaisons from cabinet agencies and asked them to identify potential 'never-Trumpers' who could be purged from the U.S. government. Three sources familiar with the Thursday meeting described to Axios what happened, including that McEntee suggested that some of the firings of 'bad people' and 'deep state' would have to take place after the November election. McEntee also explained how those individuals could be sabotaged in the meantime, saying at the meeting that employees deemed as anti-Trump would be shifted around, denying them promotions. An earlier report cited administration officials who said 'Trump feels hes surrounded by snakes and wants to clear out all the disloyal people.' Trump has already started purging individuals who testified before House committees, which led to his impeachment. He removed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman - and Vindman's twin brother Yevgeny. Both brothers did work for the National Security Council. Trump also ousted E.U. Amb. Gordon Sondland, who also testified. Sondland was a Trump political donor before being appointed to the European Union diplomatic post. Trump asked for the resignation - and got it - of John Rood, a top policy official at the Pentagon who had certified last year that Ukraine was making enough progress in anti-corruption measures to receive the around $400 million in American aid dollars authorized by Congress. Trump's impeachment saga revolved around a scheme to hold up the military aid in order to pressure Ukraine's president to announce investigations into Hunter and Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. Trump has been emboldened by the U.S. Senate's decision to acquit him on the two articles of impeachment approved by the House in December. McEntee was fired and removed from the White House in March 2018 with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the dismissal was due to the aide having financial problems related to online gamling and his tax filings. McEntee was being investigated by the Secret Service for these issues when he was let go, the Journal said. DailyMail.com reported that McEntee was gambling in real life too. As he would spend time at the MGM National Harbor casino, located just down the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., in Oxon Hill, Maryland. There, McEntee blew $250,000 on roulette. A Russian delegation headed by Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers is on a visit to India and held meetings with Indian businesses to deepen the bilateral economic partnership. Georgy Muradov, the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea to the President of the Russian Federation, is leading the delegation on a working visit to India. "Meetings with representatives of Indian business and public circles, students and Russian language teachers were held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere traditional for the two countries," a statement said. "Potential opportunities for the development of economic, trade and investment cooperation with the Peninsula were presented," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Many areas across Gauteng are expected to come to a standstill on Tuesday 25 February, with protestors demanding free electricity, housing and land. Residents of Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa, Ga-Rankuwa and other townships are expected to participate in the shutdown. The Gauteng Shutdown comes ahead of the State Of The Province address by Premier David Makhura which takes place on Tuesday. Metro Police Department spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said there will be a strong police presence to help control the protests. He added that the Metro Police will work with other law enforcement agencies to deal with the protests. Soweto residents fighting back against power cuts On Sunday, the Soweto electricity crisis committee said that it was planning to shut down the township during the State of the Province Address and the national Budget Speech this week. The group is challenging the townships R18 billion electricity bill from Eskom as well as electricity cut-offs. Eskom recently disconnected various areas in Soweto because of non-payment, which include Mapetla, Rockville, White City, Central Western Jabavu, and Dlamini. These disconnections form part of a drive by Eskom to cut power to households which fail to pay their electricity bills or that have illegal connections. Many residents have reconnected themselves to the grid. These illegal connections include wiring directly from streetlights and running wires directly from their homes to the distribution boxes. To ensure their illegal connections stay up, groups of residents are guarding electrical boxes to prevent Eskom employees from disconnecting them again. Open letter by Ramaphosa Households across South Africa owe Eskom around R40 billion in unpaid bills but its Soweto that accounts for the biggest chunk. Non-payment in Soweto is endemic and illegal connections a common feature in the township. In an open letter published at the end of October 2019, Ramaphosa said that Eskom is also owed huge amounts of money by individual users. The President bemoaned the culture of non-payment which exists in several parts of the country. Boycotting payment for services had a place in apartheid, South Africa. It was an effective tool to mobilise communities against an unjust system. But it has no place in present-day South Africa. If public utilities like Eskom are to survive, then all users need to pay for the services they receive, the president said. Soweto demanding free electricity Gauteng Shutdown flyer President Klaus Iohannis on February 26 2020 designated Florin Citu as Prime Minister. Florin-Vasile Citu was born on 1 April 1972, according to the senat.ro website.He graduated Grinnell College in the U.S., in 1996, has a Master in Economics within Iowa State University (2002), and since 2002 he has been attending doctoral studies at Iowa State University, according to alegeriparlamentare2016.ro.He worked as an economist with the National Bank of New Zealand (2001-2003) and the European Investment Bank (2003-2005).He worked as chief-economist with ING Bank (2006-2007) and head of financial markets department (2007-2011), and after, he worked as a consultant and economic analyst.He was elected Senator in No. 42 Bucharest Constituency, in the 11 December 2016 parliamentary elections. He was a member of the committee on labour, family and social protection (22-26 December 2016), a member and vice-president in the committee on budget, finance, banking activity and capital market (22 December 2016-31 January 2018), a member (27 December 2016 - 23 September 2018) and president (1 February 2018-16 September 2018) of the committee on economy, industries and services, according to senat.ro.He has been a member of the committee on budget, finance, banking activity and capital market (since 1 February 2018) and the committee on European affairs (24 September 2018).Moreover, he has been a member of the parliamentary friendship group with Georgia (since 26 April 2017) and a member and vice-president of the parliamentary friendship group with Australia (since 26 April 2017).On November 4 2019 he became a Minister of Public Finance in the Cabinet led by PM Ludovic Orban, who was dismissed by motion of censure on February 5 2020. Ukraine's National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting is preparing to inflict a penalty on the 112 Ukraine TV channel by the end of the month. On January 9, the regulator ordered an unscheduled on-site inspection of the broadcaster, explaining this by signs of violation of the norms of the law of Ukraine "On Television and Radio Broadcasting" and the law of Ukraine "On Information", reportedly captured on the air. The reason for the appointment of the audit was the statements of the guests of the TV channel, which allegedly contained the so-called hate speech. The act of the inspection has already been drawn up, and the indictment plot is known. After a warning or a fine is issued, 112 Ukraine TV channel will come under pressure - any repeated violation that has been invented will allow the National Broadcast Council to apply the most severe sanction - request the court to revoke the broadcasting license. According to our information, this is precisely what the regulator is seeking for. On January 22, authorized representatives of Ukraine's National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting drew up an act of unscheduled on-site inspection of the 112 Ukraine TV channel. Surprisingly, but the officials selectively checked out programs with the opposition politicians as guests. Actually, the entire inspection report is a set of quotes by Viktor Medvedchuk, Vadym Rabinovich, Olena Lukash, Natalya Korolevska, Renat Kuzmin, Oleh Voloshyn, Ilya Kyva, and others in the programs "Big Interview", "LIVE", "Voice of the People", "The Pulse", " The Dialogue with the country". It is interesting that the representatives of the pro-government political force were also among the guests of these talk shows, however, not a single statement by members of the Ze-team was of the interest of the Broadcast Council. Unlike criticisms of the opposition, they were tracked since the beginning of August 2019, that is, the National Council already had a selection of programs on 112 Ukraine TV channel for a 5-months period, and the appointment of an unscheduled inspection on January 9 seemed to be a pure formality. The act of an unscheduled on-site inspection of 112 Ukraine TV Channel 112.ua It is obvious, that the statements of the politicians in political talk shows are not the editorial policy of the broadcaster, but a personal opinion of each and every politician voiced live. 112 Ukraine TV channel invites representatives of all the political forces. It was exactly on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel when Yevhen Brahar, Ukrainian MP form the Servant of the People political party, advised Ukrainians to sell dogs to pay utility bills, or when Oleh Lyashko, leader of the radicals, came on the air with a dog, protesting against such kind of advice. Nevertheless, the National Council is only interested in the statements of the MPs from the Opposition Platform - For Life political party. Even if 112 Ukraine TV channel was engaged in censorship, it is unclear how the National Council imagines it should be done with bleeping the undesirable statements on the air. However, according to our information, the content of the channel does not matter in this case. One of the members of the National Council on condition of anonymity states that the Presidents Office demands that the regulator closes 112 Ukraine and ZIK channels. This demand came last year from the then head of the Presidents Office Andriy Bohdan. The Presidents Office started attacking 112 Ukraine since the fall. First, digital licenses were taken from the broadcaster. Then they demonstratively did not call it for a conversation with President Zelensky, out of record arguing about tough position towards the authorities. Law enforcement agencies under the new president did not even begin to investigate shooting at a channel building from a grenade launcher. Then the OP began an open confrontation with objectionable journalists. Draft laws On Media and On Disinformation have appeared, which experts assess as a fight against freedom of speech and independent media. In the National TV Council, Olha Herasymiuk agreed to realize Bohdans demand to destroy 112 Ukraine. Herasymiuk was appointed to the National TV Council on the quota of the 1+1 group. It is not a secret that regulator is a club in which leading media groups defend their interests and fight against competitors. Olha Herasymiuk is such a valuable shot for the pluses that the Ze-team even went against the law, ignoring the fact that the term of office of a member of the National Council has long expired. Olha is now 61 years old, and she will not be able to hold the position of a member of the National Council by age. Nevertheless, according to our information, Bohdan promised her to solve this question in case of a positive resolution of the 112 Ukraine issue. According to the documents, Serhiy Kostynsky is responsible for the checks on 112 Ukraine, and for the needed result he was promised closure of the criminal case for embezzlement of 4 million dollars for the purchase of monitoring equipment. Media is punished for political activity However, due to the lack of grounds to close the channel the National Council had an idea with the so-called hostility language. Judging by the monitoring activities, the hate speech in Ukraine is a criticism by the leaders of the Opposition Platform - For Life of the actions of the Ze-team. And to make the list of violations more impressive, the National Council decided to extend the monitoring period to another 5 (!) months. What did the National Council dig up over these 5 months and can this really be regarded as a hate language? For example, in the opinion of the National Council, such as the story about Viktor Medvedchuks visit to St. Petersburg and his meeting with Vladimir Putin. The story is about the creation of the inter-factional parliamentary association Inter-parliamentary dialogue for peace .... And now we read the explanation of the National Council about this story. Saying on the air of the TV channel of such statements: The main national priority, the priority of national security of Ukraine today is making peace and rapprochement between Ukraine and Russia; We need to become as strong as Russia, so as not to look back at anyone...Russia has beaten everyone today. It is already clear that the story of sanctions resulted in nothing, it only strengthened Russia; "Vladimir Putin, Minsk agreements, which have no alternative for us, and we have received such a mandate from the voters, what is the political part in it? In the adoption of laws: special election law, status law, amnesty law and amendments to the Constitution. Who will do it? The parliament. That is why there is a union in the framework of inter-parliamentary dialogue; ... it is a violation ... (it is not allowed to use TV and radio broadcasting organizations to voice calls for an aggressive war or its propaganda and inciting national, racial and religious hatred, it is not allowed to broadcast programs that popularize or promote the bodies of an aggressor country)." The act of an unscheduled on-site inspection of 112 Ukraine TV Channel 112.ua That is, three citations noted by the verifiers were considered by the National Council as incitement to war or propaganda of Russia. It is a question where they saw it. Here is a statement of Vadim Rabinovich in the LIVE News program: The freedom of speech today is systematically destroyed. Before our eyes, the orders voiced at Bankova to destroy NewsOne, 112 Ukraine and ZIK channels are being carried out. They say that they dont understand Russian, and Im telling them in Ukrainian, today and now they have destroyed the freedom of speech, they are worthy descendants of Goebbels. The inspectors have highlighted this with bold text. And the argument: Goebbels is an appellative name, it is an accusation of Nazism. Some other from quotes of Rabinovich highlighted with bold text: In 3 months, not a single hospital in Ukraine will receive any salaries, money, nothing. They bent in under a countrys narrow small group of nationalists, pseudo-patriots, those who are inciting war and cant do anything about them, they dont know how to deal with them ... Those are is not the authorities of our future, they will continue to kill its people. I want to tell you, Servants of the People, You are the servants of the devil. People who sell their land are servants of the devil ... Apparently, this also went under the incitement of hatred. But there are no calls here, there are evaluative judgments of the MP on the policy of the current government. Remember that some current MPs from Servants of the People Party wrote and spoke about the authorities of Petro Poroshenko. No one was punished for this. According to our information, there was a special order from the OP on Rabinovich and Medvedchuk. It is connected with the political activities of the leaders of the Opposition Platform For Life, aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas and reconciliation with Russia. Herasymiuk was asked to make Medvedchuk and Rabinovich the main culprits because they need to be knocked down and their activities must be stopped, our source said. That is why a neutral story about Medvedchuks visit to Russia got into the monitoring. At the same time, as our source says, the National Councils lawyers were initially opposed to such a buildup, since it would be very difficult to prove it legally, but Herasymiuk and Kostynsky insisted that Medvedchuk be included in the list of violations. In addition, the inclusion of Vadim Rabinovichs statements into monitoring is a different story, since a politician expresses such things even in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada, which means that, according to the logic, an inspection and a warning should be made to the Rada TV channel and all the channels that re-broadcast Rada TV channel. But, of course, we see nothing of the kind. Speak quite or you will be heard Among other statements of the politicians which became the pretext for inspection, note the words of Renat Kuzmin: It is obvious for me that Ukraine is today under exterior managementThey need Ukraine to rob it and use it against Russia. They fulfill orders and do what they are told and they are told to the following: to let them rob the country, steal everything that has not yet been stolen and most importantly to give them complete control over Ukrainian land. The act of an unscheduled on-site inspection of 112 Ukraine TV Channel 112.ua Or the words of Olena Lukash: Isnt it that we live in a system of myths how evil Berkut and monstrous previous authorities or was it the one before last, - killed peaceful protesters? Or the words of Illya Kiva: Our country is being turned into a colony. In the parliament, we have thieves, bummers, dropouts, swindlers, and these people today flush our country down the toilet. These people do not want peace. These people do not want to work for the prosperity of our state. Their task is to turn it into a colony. The act of an unscheduled on-site inspection of 112 Ukraine TV Channel 112.ua And so on. The channel even got blamed for the words of Anna Herman who said that setting the course for NATO harmed Ukraine. As we see, all these statements (one can agree with them or not, it is a matter of preferences) are their personal opinions about the happenings in the country. Imagine the situation that in France they try to close a channel because it showed on air an interview with Marine Le Pen who criticizes Emmanuel Macron and all the French authorities. Imagine that the same happens in the United Kingdom when opposition in media criticizes the Brexit course. Even in Russia, it is impossible though there are many public figures starting from Vladimir Zhirinovsky to Yuriy Dud who criticize Putin. And sometimes it is shown on the main channels of the country. But in Ukraine, after Ze-team came to power, the fighting against the media only increased. Today you cannot hear far-fetched harsh statements about the authorities. Only uncontrolled by the authorities and their satellite channels you can hear alternative points of view. At least for now, you can but the authorities do everything to wipe them out. More news, no ads 33-year-old from Grove Road admits attack A NEWBURY man has been convicted of racially aggravated assault. In the dock at Reading Magistrates Court on Tuesday, February 11, was 33-year-old Adrian Cornish of Grove Road. Mr Cornish admitted assaulting Klaudio Leku by beating him in Newbury on October 19, and that the offence was racially motivated. In addition he admitted assaulting Christopher Radcliffe by beating him at Mr Cornishs home in Grove Road on January 1. Magistrates ordered pre-sentence reports to be prepared on an all options basis, including custody, and Mr Cornish was meanwhile released on conditional bail. The company behind the fastest-growing web design platform also recently announced that they surpassed 4 million websites built with Elementor TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Elementor , the leading WordPress website builder platform, announced today that they raised $15 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners in their first round of institutional funding. This comes as Elementor's intuitive web building platform continues to rapidly extend its market share, with a significant portion of all WordPress sites built last year using its platform. Elementor was founded in 2016 by Yoni Luksenberg and Ariel Klikstein to enable professional web creators to easily and painlessly build stunning websites according to their specific needs. Elementor's open-source, drag-and-drop platform quickly struck a chord with design, development and marketing professionals frustrated with the existing convoluted options and within just two years the first million websites had been built using the no-code editing platform. Elementor's growth rate is only accelerating, now adding more than one million sites built every six months. Overall, over 4 million websites have been built using the platform which is available in 55 languages. The driving force behind Elementor's rapid and quickening rise has been their passionate and active community of dedicated users who have generated 70 percent of Elementor's nearly 300 features deployed over the past 12 months and fervently evangelize for the solution. "What we have achieved, thanks to our dedicated team and wonderful community, has been truly extraordinary," said Yoni Luksenberg, CEO of Elementor. "In addressing a very real need, we have claimed a growing stake in a $300 billion market. With this round of funding, we accelerate our goal of allowing every web creator to easily build professional websites." "Elementor's growth is a wonderful example of the power of community and open-source software," said Tal Morgenstern, Partner at Lightspeed. "The founders set out to solve their own problems as web professionals and ended up with a global, highly-involved fan base that kept pushing and shaping the product from the very onset. Every single metric we looked at indicated an exceptionally strong market fit and we're extremely happy to partner with this team for the next chapter of their journey." Elementor will use the funding to accelerate the expansion of its operation and its global community, with 500 meetups planned around the world for 2020. The company will also grow its team by 50% and is gearing up for major product launches which will change the way websites are built. About Elementor Elementor is the leading website builder platform on WordPress. Serving over 4 million websites, Elementor serves a rapidly growing customer base of web professionals including web developers, designers, and marketers in 152 markets, and boasts a new website created every 10 seconds on its open-source platform. Elementor's mission is to radically simplify web building, enabling web professionals and agencies to unleash their creative and business potential. For more information visit www.elementor.com or follow us on Facebook . About Lightspeed Venture Partners Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise and Consumer sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 350+ companies globally, including Snap, Nest, Nutanix, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, OYO, Guardant, StitchFix, and GrubHub. Lightspeed and its affiliates currently manage $7.9B across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in Silicon Valley, Israel, India, China, and Europe. www.lsvp.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1093272/Elementor_Tel_Aviv_Team.jpg Shares fell in Asia on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. was stepping up its efforts to combat the virus outbreak that began in China. Japans Nikkei 225 index lost 2.1% to 21,951.78, while in Australia, the S&P ASX/200 dropped 0.8% to 6,653.50. In South Korea, where 334 new cases of the virus were reported, the Kospi dropped 0.9% to 2,058.10. Hong Kongs Hang Seng lost 0.7% to 26,519.65. Shares also fell in Jakarta, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. Trump told reporters he was open to spending whatevers appropriate to fight the virus, after the Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York suggested $8.5 billion instead of the requested $2.5 billion. He put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the effort. But health officials standing beside Trump warned more infections are coming. And shortly after Trump spoke, the government announced that another person in the U.S. was infected someone in California who appears not to have the usual risk factors of having traveled abroad or being exposed to another patient. Major U.S. stock indexes gave up early gains, closing mostly lower Wednesday and extending the markets heavy losses for the week. The market is still digesting the full impact of what the coronavirus could mean for global GDP growth and, more importantly, on earnings growth for a lot of companies, said Nadia Lovell, U.S. equity strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. The S&P 500 index fell 0.4% to 3,116.39. Its on track for its biggest monthly decline since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 123.77 points, or 0.5%, to 26,957.59, for a three-day loss of 2,034 points. A modest rally in technology stocks helped nudge the Nasdaq composite to a 0.2% gain, to 8,980.77. Smaller company stocks fell the most. The Russell 2000 index lost 0.5% to 1,724.76. Bond yields headed lower for much of the day, but then recovered mostly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 1.34% from 1.33% late Tuesday. The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill edged up to 1.51%. The inversion in the yield between the 10-year and the 3-month Treasurys is a red flag for investors because it has preceded the last seven recessions. The bond market is sending us some warning signals that we should pay attention to and thats what you see playing out in the market today, Lovell said. Investors have been moving more money into bonds in the wake of the outbreak. Traders are concerned the global economy could slow down as the worlds second-largest economy struggles to contain the outbreak. A slowdown definitely is on the horizon, but its transitory, Lovell said. I would expect economic growth to reaccelerate in the back half of the year as China starts to come online. Energy companies led the selling Wednesday as the price of U.S. crude oil fell 2.3%. Cruise operators continued falling amid persistent virus fears. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 7.9%, Royal Caribbean Cruises dropped 8.1% and Carnival slid 7.5%. Other companies that depend on travelers also declined. Expedia lost 7.1%. Technology stocks eked out a modest gain. The tech sector was among the worst hit by sell-offs this week as many of the companies rely on global sales and supply chains that could be stifled by the spreading outbreak. Microsoft rose 1.2% and Adobe rose 1%. Benchmark crude oil fell 76 cents to $47.98 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday it lost $1.17 to settle at $48.73 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, shed 75 cents to $52.06 per barrel. It dropped $1.52 to close at $53.43 a barrel. Gold jumped $8.50 to $1,651.50 per ounce, silver rose 17 cents to $18.00 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.58 per pound. The dollar fell to 110.19 Japanese yen from 110.40 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0906 from $1.0884. ___ AP Business Writers Alex Veiga and Damian J. Troise contributed. What happened Shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) dropped 4.5% in Tuesday trading. While it's possible (even likely) that part of the drop was tied to general malaise in the markets, it's also possible there's something a bit more specific going on here. So what For the better part of a decade, Canada has been negotiating with a number of defense companies -- Lockheed, Boeing (NYSE:BA), and Airbus (OTC:EADSY) among them -- to buy a new kind of plane to replace its obsolete fleet of Boeing CF-18 fighter jets. Depending on when you checked in on the story, either Boeing was winning the competition, or Lockheed and its F-35 stealth fighter were. Today, though, it appears that both companies are in something of a losing position, as Reuters reports that Canada may delay its already long-delayed decision by another three months. Supposedly, Canada finally was going to accept preliminary proposals from the bidders (which by now have grown to include Saab, but shrunk to exclude Airbus) by the end of March. But according to Reuters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now postponed the bidding by a further three months "to give bidders more time to address security questions." Now what Supposedly, this delay was made at the request of industry, and some seem to think the move was calculated to actually help Lockheed's bid in some way. You'd think that would make Lockheed investors happy if it were true. But Reuters quoted Canadian House of Commons member James Bezan as placing the blame squarely on "Liberal dithering and delaying because of Trudeau's weak leadership." Which sounds like this is something Lockheed would not be happy with. In any case, Lockheed shareholders didn't seem to like the news, and the stock is down today -- partly because of the coronavirus, but also partly not. The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday ordered status quo on the construction work related to Bhopal Smart City project which involves cutting of more than 6,000 trees in Tatya Tope Nagar. A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore issued notices to the Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited, Director-cum-Chairman of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal Municipal Corporation. "It has been contended by the counsel for the applicant that in the map attached to the EIA (environmental impact assessment) project report shows that places like stadium and dussehra maidan have been included as area for development of green belt. In the meanwhile, we direct the parties to maintain the status quo as it exists today," the bench said. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Green and Green Lawyers contending that there will be significant air and noise pollution problems due to movement of traffic in the area due to cutting of 1,500 trees which were acting as a buffer and reducing noise and dust pollution. The plea alleged that there have been numerous violations of environmental obligations by the project proponent in respect of smart city project in Bhopal being undertaken by Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited and Bhopal Municipal Corporation. "There were 1,500 trees of various species and sizes planted by Forest Department during the year 1960-1970 which were cut without exploring the possibility of translocation in order to achieve the goal of Smart City Project, the respondents are seeking to destroy the entire green belt and to achieve the said purpose is removing the trees from the said plots of land and would thereby destroyed all trees on the said green belt which acts as a buffer against vehicular pollution," the plea said. The petition said the 10 per cent green belt area of the layout of Bhopal Smart City should have been mandatorily available for the compensatory plantation of the native species of trees in lieu of 6,000 trees proposed to be cut. However, it is doubtful as the TT Nagar Stadium and Dussehra Maidan are shown as green belt area in the smart city project where plantation is not possible and without looking at the availability of land for plantation the other project proponent, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, in "sheer abuse" of power simply granted permission for cutting down about 1500 trees and further 4500 trees are in line to be cut in near future, the plea said. Destination Africa (DA), a pan-African business investor group based in the United Kingdom has advised foreigners, especially Nigerians and other Africans against investing in Rwanda, warning that the government of the middle-east African country has in place, deliberate policies to defraud businesses that are not owned by indigenous Rwandans. In a statement released on Monday, DA said its investigative officials were deployed to Kigali, the Rwandan capital and some other key cities, as undercover agents, following complaints from many business owners that have had very ugly experiences in the country. DA therefore warned specifically that Rwandas campaign as a destination for business events is a serpentine, sugar-coated decor to lure unsuspecting international conference organizing agencies and companies across Africa into the country, where they have institutional local vendors that would take your money and disappear, leaving you with the taste of ash in your mouth. Titled The Ugly Side of Rwanda, and signed by Simpson Chiwaki, its operational Director, Destination Africa said it is true that the government of Rwanda, led by Paul Kagame has transformed the country and made it better habitable than many African countries, the people have been debriefed of their natural mental sense of freedom and re-briefed to behave like zombies, as their country has been turned into a police state, governed with draconian rules. We want to start by acknowledging that, yes, President Paul Kagame has done a lot in transforming Rwanda from an aid seeking country it was after the gruesome genocide of 1994 when over one million Tutsis were murdered to become the 3rd fastest growing economy in Africa as well as the 4th in the continent in terms of life expectancy, among other positive ratings. It is also true that Rwanda is now cleaner than many countries in Africa, especially Kigali, its capital. However, to the people of Rwanda, these come at great cost, especially the loss of their humanity and rights of expression as citizens. Rwanda is currently a police state. All agents and institutions operate as a mafia ring to satisfy the caprices of one man-Paul Kagame and members of his family, DA said, adding that Africans and other foreign investors have very terrifying experiences, after they have been tricked to Rwanda by the countrys international propaganda experts hired mainly from Europe. The government of Rwanda is a cartel with Paul Kagame as its head. But there are three individuals coordinating the racketeering ring, to the pleasure of the president. The name of the intimidator in chief is Richard Iyaremye. He is the Division Manager, Rwandan Investigation Bureau (RIB) which is under the countrys ministry of Justice. He works closely with two women; Nelly Mukazayir, the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwandan Convention Bureau (RCB), a division of the Rwandan Development Board (RDB). Earlier, the 38-year-old Nelly had served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the countrys presidency; and Janet Karemera who serves as Deputy Chief Executive Officer to Nelly, at the RCB. Together, these three Rwandans, constitute the biggest nightmare to investors and international event organisers, from when you enter the country until when you eventually leave, for most people, totally frustrated and with regrets, DA stated. Continuing, the investor monitoring group stated: Another major agency neck deep in the fraudulent and underbelly business tactics is the Rwandan Development Board (RDB), which they call a one-stop-shop for business, established by Paul Kagame ten years ago. Together with the Rwandan tourism agency, these government institutions work hand in gloves to bring you into their country and empty your pockets without achieving your business objectives and the system does not provide you any window to seek redress. Explaining further, DA said: How it works is this- They use the propaganda of come to beautiful Rwanda with its 1,000 rolling hills, saying the country is now the Singapore of Africa; and all that fancy talk. No contention here. But the World Bank rating that Rwanda is the 29th easiest place to do business globally does not align with the reality on ground because the country is like a rotten egg that shines outside but stinks inside. They lure you into Rwanda with these fancy talks to organise events or conferences; and as a matter of state policy, you are introduced to local vendors that you must deal with. You discuss and enter agreements with them and then pay. After collecting your money, these government-handpicked vendors would vanish and refuse to deliver services and whatever you have paid for. For you to execute your business plan, it means you have to start all over again since you are already in the country, probably running up and down yourself while paying again, for the services you had earlier paid for, now to a new vendor and it goes on that way. According to the group, once Rwandan local vendors take your money, nobody listens to you again. Once you indicate interest to do business in Rwanda, they begin to treat you as VIP. From embassy people to those at the immigration and at the airport, they pamper you, feeding you with information about Eldorado Rwanda until you part with your money, then trouble begins. When you are swindled, all the doors are shut against you. Everywhere and everyone you turn to would be against you. You cant report to police, you cant report to embassy people as everyone gives impression their hands are tied, it is a terrible situation doing business in Rwanda, DA concluded. Climate activist Greta Thunberg met Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at Britain's University of Oxford and posed for a photo together on Tuesday. Yousafzai, widely known by her first name, Malala, is a student at the University of Oxford. The 22-year-old posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Thunberg sitting on a bench with their arms around each other, with a caption "Thank you, @gretathunberg" and a heart emoji. Thunberg (17) also shared the images on her Instgram account, saying: "So... today I met my role model. What else can I say?" Thunberg is in the United Kingdom to join a school strike in Bristol on Friday. Both women shot to worldwide fame after standing up for major global issues: climate change and women's education. Thunberg became a household name after skipping school in Sweden to protest against climate change, while Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be allowed to go to school. In 2014, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of education. She became a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of oppression. Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020. The pair met to discuss their activism at Lady Margaret Hall, Malala's Oxford college. Thunberg also talked to some of the students about climate change and protest. The college's master, Alan Rusbridger, posted a photo of Thunberg on his own Instagram and Twitter, saying that he was honoured to host Thunberg and grateful that she found time to talk to the students. Malala also posted the photo on Twitter and commented: "She's the only friend I'd skip school for." I experienced deja vu watching the Democrats rule change to include Michael Bloomberg into their debates, despite their refusal to change those rules for other Democrats who hadnt met the qualifications for inclusion. For nearly twenty years Ive watched Democrats change the rules to suit their convenience of the moment. YouTube screen grab For example, those who are old enough will remember the case of Robert Torricelli, the Democrat senator from New Jersey who withdrew from his Senate race because questions about his campaign finance practices were causing him to lose popularity and threaten that his Republican opponent might actually defeat him. However, his withdrawal left the Democrats without a candidate in that race, which in turn endangered their bare 1 seat majority in the Senate. To further complicate matters for the Democrats, the legal deadline to put forward a new candidate had passed. Never fear. The Democrats went to the friendly New Jersey Supreme Court and got a decision that allowed them to call the venerable Frank Lautenberg out of retirement and run in Torricellis stead. And, of course, the seat was saved. For the second example we move to the Senate. Many readers will also remember the contretemps over George W. Bushs nomination of Miquel Estrada to the Washington DC district court in 2001. By all accounts, Estrada was supremely qualified to sit on that bench, but he spelled trouble for the Democrats. For one, he was conservative; for two, he was Latino; and for three, he may have been a White House choice for a future Supreme Court nomination. Thus, at the behest of liberal activists, Democrats, newly in the minority in 2002, would not let Estradas nomination come to a vote in the full Senate (a vote they would have lost.) For the first time in history a nominee to a sub-Supreme Court position had been effectively filibustered. Estrada was filibustered seven times until he finally gave up and went into private practice. The Democrats had again changed the rules. And this rule change continued to advantage them in future fights over Bushs judicial nominees. In 2005, they used it to block a number of excellent Bush nominees, including Bill Pryor, Priscilla Owen, and Janice Rogers Brown among others. Since, before the Estrada case just mentioned, filibusters had never been used to block lower court judicial nominees, Senate Republicans moved to change Senate rules to forbid the use of filibuster to block lower court nominees. However, a gang of fourteen senators brokered a deal that stated that the use of the filibuster to block judicial nominees would be saved for only extreme cases. Now in the minority in the Senate, the Democrats, in return for the Republican majority not eliminating the filibuster for lower court nominees, allowed the nominations of Owens, Pryor, Brown and the rest. Then the Democrats filibustered almost all of Bushs judicial nominees going forward. However, this rule change, during the Obama administration, advantaged the Republicans when they were in the Senate minority in 2013. Taking advantage of the earlier rules compromise in 2005, Republicans used the filibuster to block many of Obamas most radical nominees. But Harry Reed, since only a 51-seat majority is necessary to change Senate rules, changed the rules to allow judicial nominations to go forward with only 51 votes, thus doing what the gang of fourteen compromise had prevented in the Bush years. Ironically, this returned Senate practice to what it had been prior to the Democrats institution of the filibuster for lower court judges to stop Estradas confirmation in 2003. Of course, Majority Leader McConnell warned them how that would turn out and we now are close enough to the present to know how that change worked out for the Democrats when they tried to block Neil Gorsuchs nomination to the Supreme Court. McConnell simply followed the Democrats own precedent and changed the rules on them. But have they stopped? By no means. In the aftermath of Donald Trumps winning the presidency in the constitutional and time-honored manner of winning the majority of electoral votes, the Democrats now talk of eliminating the Electoral College. Failing that, they (accompanied by some naive Republicans) seek to have the Electoral College reflect the popular vote when the two votes differ. They seek to accomplish this by getting states to contribute their electoral votes to an electoral college majority even though the people in their state have voted differently. The purpose, of course, is to rob the Republicans of an electoral college victory in case the popular vote should favor the Democrats, as it did in 2000 and 2016. And this despite the fact that only 12 and 8 years ago , the Democrat candidate for president legitimately won decisive majorities in the electoral college. Its not that Democrats cant win in the present system. They just want to make sure that, given that the popular vote will almost certainly favor Democrats, Republicans will not be able to win at all. So, when it comes to changing rules to get Michael Bloomberg (a marginal Democrat at best) into their debates, when they denied such changes to more genuine Democrats, it should come as no surprise that Democrats are now using against their own the strategies they have long used against Republicans. To paraphrase one of the most famous movie lines ever Rules? We aint got no rules. We dont need no stinking rules. William Terrell may be reached at www.billterrellcopywriting.com KARNAL: Two years after an 18-year-old Class 12 student gunned down his school principal in Yamunanagar town of Haryana, he has been held guilty of murder. Additional sessions judge Payal Bansal on Tuesday held the youngster, who is 20 now, guilty of murdering the private school principal, Ritu Chhabra, 46, on January 20, 2018. The quantum of sentence will be announced on February 28. The youngsters father, a resident of Hamida Colony of Yamunanagar, has been acquitted. The father was an accused in the case as the boy had used his licensed .32-bore revolver to commit the crime. A student of Class 12 at that time, the boy entered the principals office during a parent-teacher meeting and shot her four times in the face and the chest. She was rushed to a private hospital, where she was declared brought dead. It was later learnt that the student wanted to teach her a lesson as she used to punish him in front of other students for his poor academic performance and low attendance. Police said the boy was a commerce stream student and had not been coming to the school for four days before the incident. His teachers were concerned about his performance and low attendance in the final year of school. An airplane of Korean Air is seen after landing in Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel Feb. 22, 2020 Reuters South Korean airlines are suspending more flights on international routes as people opt not to travel amid growing fears over the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, industry officials said Wednesday. With no end in sight to the COVID-19 outbreak, local airlines began to reduce the number of flights or stop them altogether on some mid- and long-haul routes in late January to minimize the impact of the virus on their earnings. Korean Air Lines Co., the country's biggest airline by sales, now plans to use smaller planes on routes to Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York next month to reflect declining travel demand. "The company may reorganize further flight schedules depending on coronavirus developments and its impact on the airline business," a company spokesman said over the phone. Korean Air said Tuesday it will extend flight suspensions to China by one month through April 25. It served 204 flights a week on 30 routes to China before the new coronavirus hit. The numbers have plunged to 57 flights on 10 routes and look set to fall further unless the virus is contained. Adding to the national flag carrier's woes, one of its flight attendants was diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus on Tuesday after serving on some international routes. "We are closely cooperating with the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (KCDC) to keep the virus from spreading further," the company said without elaborating on what steps will be taken following the first confirmed case among its employees. South Korea had reported a total of 1,146 confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths as of Wednesday. Asiana Airlines Inc., the country's second-biggest carrier, said it will halt more flights on Asian routes until mid-April. Its flights to China fell to 53 on 14 routes from 204 on 26 routes. In self-help measures to weather the fallout from the virus, Asiana has asked all 10,500 employees to take turns going on 10 days of unpaid leave starting Feb. 19 so the company can cut costs and avoid snowballing losses. The company also plans to cut the wages of executives and managers by up to 40 percent on a monthly basis until the virus outbreak slows down. Its bigger rival, Korean Air, also came up with a plan to improve its financial status. The company said it will sell non-core assets, such as an idle property in central Seoul and its 100 percent stake in a leisure affiliate. Korean Air's net losses deepened to 624.87 billion won (US$529 million) in 2019 from 185.65 billion won a year earlier. Asiana's net losses widened to 837.79 billion won from 195.86 billion won during the same period. Among low-cost carriers, all executives at Air Seoul Inc. on Tuesday expressed their intention to resign in a show of their commitment to overcoming difficulties sparked by the coronavirus. They also returned a portion of their salaries as much as 30 percent this month and won't accept salaries in March. "Employees will take paid leave for the whole of next month with a salary worth 70 percent of their regular wages," a company spokeswoman said. Air Seoul, a budget carrier unit of Asiana, said it will suspend all the flights on its 10 international routes from March 1-15, while continuing to serve on the Incheon-Takamatsu route, the only such route operated by a local airline. Jeju Air Co., the country's biggest low-cost carrier, entered an emergency management system last week to cut costs and stay afloat. It swung to a net loss of 34.1 billion won last year from a net profit of 70.88 billion won a year ago. Out of its 17 routes to mainland China, Jeju Air currently only operates the Incheon-Weihai route. Its flights to Hong Kong and Macao are not in service, and flights to Taiwan were suspended on Wednesday. Jin Air Co., a low-cost carrier unit of Korean Air, and Air Busan Co., another Asiana budget carrier unit, have suspended all of their flights to China until the end of March. Other low-cost carriers are taking similar steps to survive the repercussions of the virus outbreak. For instance, Eastar Jet has paid 40 percent of its normal salaries to executives and employees this month. South Korea has two full-service carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines and seven low-cost carriers Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet, T'way and Fly Gangwon. As multinational airlines have begun to take steps to avoid any impact from the operation of flights to South Korea on their bottom line, local airlines are expected to suffer a bigger blow to their earnings in the first half. United Airlines on Tuesday extended its window for travelers wishing to change their South Korea-bound flights without paying a fee, as the number of coronavirus cases in the country continued to climb. Lao Airlines, the national airline of Laos, said Wednesday it will suspend all of its flights to South Korea from March until the virus outbreak dies down. Airline stocks were mixed as of 2:10 p.m. Korean Air had risen 1.3 percent to 22,700 won, Asiana was down 1.1 percent at 4,360 won, Air Busan was up 0.1 percent at 4,385 won and Jeju Air had gained 0.3 percent to reach 20,150 won. The broader KOSPI had fallen 1.2 percent. (Yonhap) The huge threat facing global sales and supply chains of the worlds largest companies from the coronavirus outbreak took centre stage as Diageo owner of Guinness, Baileys, Smirnoff, and a host of other spirits and Danone, which also operates facilities in Ireland, said their sales and profits could take a large hit. Diageo, which sells its drinks and spirits across Asia, said the disruption in China and Asia could cost it as much as 325m (388m) in lost sales this year. It said that it would continue to monitor the situation closely but that it remained confident about the future of its key markets in China and the rest of Asia. In Greater China, bars and restaurants have largely been closed and there has been a substantial reduction in banqueting. As the majority of consumption is in the on-trade, we have seen significant disruption since the end of January which we expect to last at least into March, said Diageo. Danone warned the coronavirus outbreak would hurt its 2020 earnings and mean a 100m hit to first-quarter sales, mainly in its Mizone water business in China. Danone generates about 30% of its baby food nutrition products in China and 10% of its overall sales. Diageo and Danone are only the latest of the worlds largest companies to take count of the prolonged disruption caused by the outbreak as it spread into Italy. Apple last week warned about the effect of closed shops in China for sales of its products and disruption to its supply chain. Closer to home, Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux and a range of major US banks have banned employees travelling to Italy. Economists, meanwhile, are assessing whether the economic shock will tip Italy, which carries a huge debt, into another session. There were signs, however, that the shock this week to investors as the coronavirus leaped from Asia into Europe has eased somewhat as global stock markets for the first time this week stemmed heavy selling and turned higher for the first time this week. The price of oil a key measure of fears surrounding the world economy failed to rebound strongly, as economists continued to fear the fallout could tip Italy and other vulnerable European economies into recession. Business group Ibec said that the coronavirus outbreak could weigh on hopes for the recovery of the European economy this year. China has accounted for a third of global growth in the past decade and feedback from member companies suggests that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak is now being witnessed in global supply chains, Ibec said. The Ftse 100 in London and the Cac 40 index in Paris ended slightly higher, and the Dax in Frankfurt edged higher. Italy and other eurozone countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak are expected to benefit from waivers under EU fiscal rules that will allow them to spend more to tackle the emergency, the EUs economics commissioner said. Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at online broker IG, said a sense of relative clam had descended for global stock markets but there were ongoing concerns for SMEs. He said that the sharp declines for Londons small companies markets, AIM, showed a heightened risk of a UK-wide Wuhan-style coronavirus episode which could see partial shut-downs hit small and underfunded firms. He added: Shutdowns in Italy highlight the potential for the Wuhan experiences to be replicated globally, with crude demand likely to plummet if mobility becomes restricted throughout other parts of the world. Capital Economics in London warned that the recovery in China will take longer than looked likely just a few weeks ago. Chinas economy will contract outright in year-on-year terms this quarter, for the first time since at least the 1990s. The leadership appears to be readying significant stimulus which should restore employment and output by the third quarter, but the hit to output during the first half of the year will still result in much slower annual growth, it said. Additional reporting Reuters -with reporting by Sean ORiordan and Evelyn Ring The IRFU has sought an urgent meeting with Minister for Health Simon Harris after he and the National Public Health Emergency Team called for the cancellation of the upcoming Ireland v Italy Six Nations rugby match, due to the continuing worldwide spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). The emergency team has also established an expert sub-group to develop criteria for the risk assessment of other mass gatherings, such as the match which is scheduled for the Aviva stadium. Meanwhile, the emergency team is to immediately mount warning campaigns about the spread of the virus at ports, airports, schools, and public offices. So far, there have been 90 suspected cases in Ireland, but none of them have tested positive for the virus. The news came as around 80 students from three Waterford schools were identified as high risk for the coronavirus, having returned from affected areas in Italy. Meanwhile, a number of Irish people staying at the hotel at the centre of a virus outbreak on the Canary island of Tenerife have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs. They are among around 1,000 tourists staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel who have been placed in quarantine inside the building. The department and the Irish embassy in Madrid are closely monitoring the situation in Tenerife and are in touch with the local health and tourist authorities. Anyone with specific concerns about Irish citizens currently in the affected area can contact the department at 01 4082527. Three groups of students from three Waterford schools have returned to Ireland in recent days having spent time in the Trentino, Andalo, and Folgaria regions. The Irish Examiner has confirmed that one group arrived back on February 21, another on the 22, and the other the following day and are now under the watch of the Health Service Executive (HSE). They are likely to be placed in some form of isolation, sources have suggested, but it is not yet clear if they are to be quarantined. Parents of the students are currently being contacted by the school and the HSE to begin the process of screening to rule out the presence of the virus. Pictured at the publication of An Easyguide to Rare Diseases in Ireland and Consensus for Action by the Rare Disease Taskforce is Simon Harris TD, Minister for Health. The mother of one Waterford student returned recently from Italy was reportedly told by the HSE that students at St Pauls CBS were not being treated as being in immediate danger. This is because the students were in Andolo 240km from the nearest coronavirus death. As such, they are being categorised as low risk. The HSE has said it will keep parents informed if things change. Senior sources have said that a media blackout is being advised and the HSE, when contacted, offered no comment to our queries. A meeting of National Public Health Emergency Team took place where new protocols about preventing the spread of coronavirus were agreed. Meanwhile, pupils from three schools in the North were earlier sent home as a precaution against coronavirus after returning from ski trips to Italy. The pupils from schools in counties Antrim, Derry, and Down, were all on separate trips to Italy recently. Around 50 pupils and staff from Cambridge House Grammar School in Ballymena, Co Antrim, were in the Lombardy region in the north of Italy. Principal Elma Lutton said that, on guidance from the education authority, based on advice from the Public Health Authority, they have asked students to spend 14 days in self-isolation. She said it is a precautionary measure. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control rates the risk of the occurrence of similar clusters of cases in other EU countries as moderate to high. Appointment 26 February 2020 BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company, has appointed John Annicchiarico to the position of vice president, sales operations. Eric Gavin, chief sales officer, made the announcement. A hospitality industry veteran, this appointment marks a return to Benchmark for John Annicchiarico. Though he most recently held the position of vice president, sales for Salamander Hotels & Resorts, immediately prior to this Mr. Annicchiarico served as Benchmark's director of sales & marketing at Villas of Grand Cypress, the luxury resort located in Orlando, Florida. John Annicchiarico has held the title of director of marketing for Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, California, and held multiple sales positions with luxury properties in Florida and California. Near the beginning of his career, Mr. Annicchiarico was employed by Universal Orlando in guest services and sales & marketing positions. Annicchiarico graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. He holds memberships in many professional organizations, including MPI and ASAE. He and his family reside in Orlando. There are no registered cases of human-to-human transmission of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) within Bahrain, senior officials said at a press conference yesterday. Meanwhile, the total number of infected cases reached 26 in the kingdom after registering three new cases of Bahraini women arriving through indirect flights from Iran via Bahrain International Airport, said the Ministry of Health on its Twitter account. All COVID-19 cases are registered among individuals arriving from Iran, and were flagged at Bahrain International Airport, with the exception of patient zero, who was diagnosed after arrival to the kingdom and has not transmitted the infection to any individual as of yet, said officials of the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), said a Bahrain News Agency report. The officials highlighted steps taken by the authorities to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, and ways to safeguard the health of citizens and residents. All public and private schools, including kindergartens, and universities have been closed for two weeks in the kingdom, as a precautionary measure to ensure the containment of the virus. During the conference, the Infectious Diseases Consultant & Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital and Member of the taskforce, Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, said all passengers arriving from Iran and other countries experiencing cases of COVID-19 have been tested in a well-equipped, isolated area at the airport. All infected patients arriving from Iran have then been transferred to the Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo Community Health Center in Al Salmaniya, for isolation and treatment, and all individuals who have had contact with the infected patients are also under quarantine, as a precautionary measure. The kingdom is following a comprehensive medical protocol based on guidelines set out by the Gulf Health Council (GHG) and the World Health Organization (WHO), aimed to safeguard the health and safety of citizens and residents, officials said. Cooperation and collaboration between national institutions is critical to combat the spread of the COVID-19, as the health and safety of citizens remains the kingdoms top priority. Home quarantine mechanisms will be developed and put in place to limit the spread of the virus, and it is a joint national responsibility for the public and government to work together to ensure the success of the measures taken. Retired medical professionals will be deployed to intensify health care measures and provide the effective treatment of all infected individuals. Dr Al Qahtani concluded by calling upon all citizens and residents who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to isolate themselves, call 444 and follow the instructions given by the medical team, and avoid close contact with others. Republicans in both the House and the Senate are unhappy that attorney general William Barr wants a simple reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with sources telling National Review that GOP critics of FISA are adamant that serious reforms must be implemented before the reauthorization. Barr reportedly told GOP senators during a lunch Tuesday that they should move to reauthorize the expiring portions of FISAs surveillance powers as he continues to implement internal reforms. The intelligence community also supports a clean reauthorization prior to the implementation of significant reforms. Barrs position is also backed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), but other Republicans are more skeptical following inspector general Michael Horowitzs December report on at least 17 abuses in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which relied heavily on FISA warrants. House sources told National Review that a long list of Republicans support significant reforms to FISA before it is reauthorized. Given the tremendous abuses in 16-17, a clean reauthorization is totally unacceptable, one House aide said. Congressman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) added their concerns on Wednesday, tweeting within four minutes of each other about how a reauthorization without reform was a mistake. Comeys FBI misled the FISA Court 17 times. We cant simply reauthorize the system that allowed those lies and omissions to happen. Now is our chance to fix it. Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 26, 2020 Former FBI officials in 2016-17 gravely abused the FISA process and lied to the FISA court 17 times Now, some members of Congress want to do a clean reauthorization of FISA anyway Totally unacceptable. Should NEVER happen. Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 26, 2020 Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah), an outspoken advocate for FISA reform, tweeted after the lunch that he had made a long case against a simple reauthorization of the FISA program. Some are arguing the program needs no reform and that DOJ can put in place internal quality control mechanisms. Thats not good enough. Story continues Lees office told National Review in December that Republicans were planning new legislation with major reforms to be introduced and hopefully incorporated into the program before it expires in March. Reached for comment Wednesday, Lees communications director Conn Carroll confirmed that the Utah Republican had held conversations with other FISA critics among the GOP. Waiting to see how the House mark up finishes today before we strategize further, he told National Review in an email. The House Judiciary Committee postponed a meeting Wednesday to review markups to its FISA reform bill, after Representative Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) proposed last-minute amendments to strengthen reforms which senior House Democrats dismissed as poison pills that would doom the legislation due to a lack of bipartisan support. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) told CNN Wednesday before the delay that he would not support a clean reauthorization of FISA, as his committee reviews mark-ups to legislation to renew the surveillance powers by its deadline. A Senate Republican aide suggested to National Review that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) was behind the stalling on Nadlers bill. There was a decent reform bill that Nadler had that Schiff forced him to water down. No civil liberties group signed off on it. It is a Schiff wish list, the aide said. Lofgren has been perfectly transparent about wanting amendments, amendments that have strong bipartisan support. Which is why Schiff doesnt want to vote on them. Conservative-libertarian advocacy group FreedomWorks condemned the decision to delay the bills markup, saying in a statement that the very idea that the Judiciary Committee might produce a bill that would address some of these problems was apparently too much for Chairman Schiff today. Last week, Representatives Doug Collins (R., Ga.) and Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) ranking members of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, respectively sent a letter to Nadler urging serious reforms. The Democrats bill does not address the serious issues in our FISA system, as highlighted by Inspector General Horowitz. Im not at all surprised that all Republicans, and apparently even some Democrats, agree, Collins said in a statement after the news of the delay. The status quo is unacceptable. We cannot reauthorize these counterterrorism provisions without instituting critical safeguards that protect the civil liberties of all Americans. The Trump administration remains divided over how best to approach FISA, which the president often criticizes due to its use in the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation into his 2016 campaign. Over the weekend, reports broke that the White House Domestic Policy Council was pushing for a serious overhaul of FISA, but faced opposition from the National Security Council. A lot will happen between now and March 15. We may do a placeholder and take it past March 15. Weve got to get this right, Senator John Kennedy (R., La.) told Politico. More from National Review Secretary of State with the Health Ministry Horatiu Moldovan confirmed on Wednesday evening the first case of infection with coronavirus (COVID-19) in Romania, namely a patient from Gorj county, who is currently placed in quarantine. "Yes, we can confirm, there is a positive virological diagnosis made at the Matei Bals Institute, confirmed by Professor Streinu Cercel. It's about a patient from the Gorj group," Moldovan told Antena 3 private broadcaster.He added that the respective person is placed in quarantine and his hospitalisation is to be decided. Giulia Good Stefani, Sristi Kamal and Colleen Weiler Good Stefani is senior attorney of the Natural Resources Defense Council and lives in Mosier. Kamal is a senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife and lives in Portland. Weiler is the Jessica Rekos Fellow for Whale and Dolphin Conservation and lives inNewport. Gov. Kate Brown stepped forward earlier this month to offer Oregons help for orcas and everyone embroiled in the longstanding struggle for salmon restoration in the Columbia River Basin. Restoring salmon to the basin is essential for many reasons, including the fact that these salmon feed a critically endangered orca population. In a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Brown announced her commitment to finding a comprehensive solution to the logjam of dams versus salmonarguably one of the toughest ecological, economic, energy , and environmental justice challenges facing our region. Last year, Washington state made headlines for its orca and salmon legislation as well as its billion-dollar budget to save these two beloved endangered species. Partnership between our states is overdue. In her letter, Gov. Brown acknowledges that the critically endangered orcas, known as the southern residents, are Oregons orcas, too. Oregonians have an under-appreciated connection and responsibility to this magnificent family of whales. Thesouthern resident orcas are dying, with another adult nicknamed Mega gone just last month. With the loss of Mega, there are just 72 southern resident orcas left, and the scientists who know and love the whales can identify each one. If we lose these whales, we lose a highly complex culture, an astounding apex predator and a big piece of the magic and richness of the Pacific Northwest. 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 biggest threat to the whales is a severe shortage of their preferred food, chinook salmon. Like any other animal, the whales suffer without adequate nutrition. Reproductive-age females in particular experience high rates of pregnancy loss, reduced body condition and increased mortality. Nearly 70 percent of pregnancies detected in recent years have failed, a heartbreaking statistic that was starkly illustrated in the summer of 2018 by a grieving orca mother who refused to let her dead newborn calf go. The mighty Columbia was once among the greatest salmon-producing river systems on the planet, and the Snake Riverits largest tributaryhistorically produced about half the fish. Today, less than 1% of wild spring Snake River chinook return, a dramatic decline since the late 1960s when the lower Snake River dams were built. The collapse of salmon in the Columbia Basin has devastating implications far beyond the orca population. These fish are primary to Columbia Basin Native peoples identity, health, wealth , and culture. Salmon support a multi - million dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry, and they form the backbone of the entire Pacific Northwests ecology. If you live around here, you are living in salmon country with salmon people. Gov. Browns vision for salmon recovery, as stated in the letter, is a package of solutions choreographed to reach multiple objectives. Brown emphasizes the need for "an affordable, nimble and reliable power system that can help us to integrate renewables to meet our climate goals; continued water supplies for agriculture and municipalities; and efficient and affordable ways to get commodities to market." She also did not shy away from the fact that we must consider restoration of the lower Snake River by removing the four lower Snake River dams. No other action, she wrote, can simultaneously address both the orca and salmon recovery dilemma while providing certainty for the region, which has been deadlocked in conflict over the dams for decades. Its time to stop fighting and to start asking what we need to support communities and help salmon recoverand orcas, too. Oregon is a vital part of those discussions, and progress will require a serious investment in the collaborative, solutions-based discussions that the governor suggests. Our common ground is a shared understanding that the Oregon life offers an increasingly rare kind of wild abundance. Lets work together to keep it that way. Newsnight's Emily Maitlis was last night named Royal Television Society's news presenter of the year for her bombshell Prince Andrew interview. In a triumphant night for the BBC's flagship show, it also picked up daily news programme of the year and the Andrew interview was named scoop of the year. Maitlis defeated ITN's Tom Bradby, who secured the revealing interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, and Victoria Derbyshire, who was nominated despite her show being axed by the BBC. In announcing Maitlis as the winner of presenter of the year, judges said: 'In a year of political chaos, her nose for nonsense led to bruising encounters with politicians and her interview with a member of the Royal family will live on in history.' Stepping out: Victoria Derbyshire arrived at Park Lane's Hilton Hotel on Wednesday evening showcasing her quirky style in a pastel colour block dress The competition: Victoria's nomination for Victoria Derbyshire Programme will see her pit against [L-R] Tom Bradby of ITV News and Emily Maitlis of Newsnight Newsnight's bombshell interview with Andrew at Buckingham Palace made headlines around the world, was branded a 'car crash' for the prince and was followed by his withdrawal from public duties. Overall, the BBC won 10 of the 19 categories during the ceremony in London, followed by Sky News on five. For Sama, the Oscar-nominated documentary, won in the international current affairs category. Judges praised the Bafta-winning film as 'outstanding', adding that co-director and narrator Waad Al-Kateab old her story, combining the intimate with the macro, with breathtaking courage, stamina and determination. Already a winner of many awards, here is another'. Broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour won the outstanding contribution award. Quirky: She's nominated for Network Presenter of the Year at the 2020 RTS Television Journalism Awards Retaliation: Victoria hit back at BBC News' editorial director Kamal Ahmed earlier this month, after he hailed the corporation for its original journalism, despite her own programme being cancelled Low blow: Ahmed shared a post about a probe by the flagship current affairs programme that had resulted in the Government announcing measures to ban putting children under the age of 16 in unregulated accommodation Don't mess with Derbyshire: She retweeted Ahmed's tweet urging him to reconsider the BBC closing down her programme - which won a Bafta in 2017 and has been nominated for several awards The awards ceremony, which was hosted by Sky News presenter Anna Botting, seeks to recognise creative and excellent journalism by organisations whose broadcasts are transmitted on a UK-based platform, or who create online video content from a UK production base. Simon Bucks, Chair, RTS Television Journalism Awards, said, when the nominees were announced: 'The quality of entries this year has been better than ever. With such a high bar, competition to reach the short list was hotly contested and all the nominees in every category would be worthy winners.' Derbyshire hit back at BBC News' editorial director Kamal Ahmed earlier this month, after he hailed the corporation for its original journalism, despite her own programme being cancelled. The presenter told him to 'reconsider the decision to close our programme then' after he tweeted his praise for a Newsnight investigation. Arrival: The ensemble was designed in pink, purple and green, with puffed shoulders and sleeves and a black sash around the waist He had shared a post about a probe by the flagship current affairs programme that had resulted in the Government announcing measures to ban putting children under the age of 16 in unregulated accommodation. Ahmed wrote: 'Investigations matter. Original journalism matters.' Victoria discovered that her show was being axed as part of a string of cuts when it was reported in a newspaper before the official announcement was made last month. Nominated: The nomination comes after her show was axed by the BBC at the beginning of the year - surely making her appearance at the ceremony on Wednesday bittersweet She has since made her feelings known about her programme's cancellation, and has condemned the BBC's claims that it pulled the show off air because it had failed to grow its live audience. During a briefing to BBC staff about the cost-reduction cuts, she tweeted: 'We were NEVER asked to grow the linear TV audience. Ever. We were asked to grow our digital audience - we did - our digi figures are huge (our successful digital figures appear to be an inconvenience to those making the decisions).' Hitting back: The presenter told him to 'reconsider the decision to close our programme then' after he tweeted his praise for a Newsnight investigation Lauded: Newsnight was granted a rare audience with Prince Andrew in December, helmed by Emily Maitlis, about his links to Jeffrey Epstein Candid: Tom Bradby fronted Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which caused waves when it was broadcast in 2019 She added: 'Our remit when we were set up: 1. Original journalism 2. Reaching underserved audiences 3. Growing the digital figures We achieved all 3.' Her show began in 2015 and broadcasts live on BBC Two and the BBC News channel every weekday from 10AM. The programme won a Bafta in 2017 and has been nominated for several awards, including the RTS presenter prize for which she stepped out on Wednesday. No holds barred! Victoria, pictured on her show last month, had no qualms about confronting the chief of BBC News Taking no prisoners: She live tweeted from a briefing to BBC staff about the cuts to the news division as part of a cost-reduction drive Microsoft shares fell 2% in extended trading on Wednesday after the company said it doesn't expect to meet the quarterly revenue guidance it previously provided for the segment that includes Windows. The move comes during a week that has seen a market selloff amid fears about the virus. Last week Apple disclosed that it did not expect to reach its own quarterly revenue guidance as a result of impact from COVID-19. Earlier this week HP, one of the biggest sellers of Windows PCs, said that corporate updates to Windows 10 could slip into future quarters. "Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated at the time of our Q2 earnings call," Microsoft said in a statement. "As a result, for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, we do not expect to meet our More Personal Computing segment guidance as Windows OEM and Surface are more negatively impacted than previously anticipated." India and the United States on Tuesday pledged to deepen defence and security cooperation through greater maritime and space domain awareness and information sharing. The pledge came in a joint statement after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump here. "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump pledged to deepen defence and security cooperation, especially through greater maritime and space domain awareness and information sharing; joint cooperation; exchange of military liaison personnel; advanced training and expanded exercises between all services and special forces; and partnership between their defence industries," the statement read. Noting that a strong and capable Indian military supports peace, stability in the Indo-Pacific, and reaffirming his pledge to support transfer to India of advanced US military technology, President Trump welcomed India's recent decision to procure MH-60R naval and AH-64E Apache helicopters. As per the statement: "As India works to acquire new defence capabilities, President Trump reaffirmed India's status as a Major Defense Partner affording it the highest consideration for procurement and technology transfer purposes. The leaders looked forward to the early conclusion of defence cooperation enabling agreements including Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement." Modi and Trump also resolved to enhance the security of their homelands through cooperation and to jointly fight international crimes like human trafficking, terrorism and violent extremism, drug-trafficking and crimes in cyberspace. The two leaders further welcomed the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security and India's Ministry of Home Affairs to reinvigorate the Homeland Security Dialogue. "As a demonstration of their shared commitment to combatting the threat that illicit drugs pose to their citizens, they announced their intent to establish a new Counter-Narcotics Working Group between their respective law enforcement agencies," the statement further read. The US President concluded his maiden two-day official visit to India on Tuesday. During the visit, he had held both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It is not yet summer, but the political situation in Delhi has been moving towards boiling point as the Narendra Modi government had decided to sit out the two-month-long protest of Muslim women at Shaheen Bagh over the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act in one part of Delhi. The violence that erupted on Sunday and Monday (February 23-24) in Muslim-dominated areas of northeast Delhi is the result of clashes between anti-CAA (read Muslim) and pro-CAA (read Hindu) protesters. It is in effect a communal riot, the Hindu-Muslim one. There are enough reasons to argue that Delhi BJP member Kapil Mishra, who was formerly with the AAP, had issued an ultimatum that the Delhi police must free up the roads blocked by the anti-CAA protesters and that they supposedly those affected by the protests would hold their peace until US President Donald Trumps visit ends on Tuesday (February 25), and if the police fails to disperse the protesters, they (Mishras cohorts) will take to the streets and not heed the police. It was an open statement made at a pro-CAA rally led by Mr Mishra in the presence of the police on Saturday (February 22). After the violence broke out and arsonists from both sides went on the rampage, a police head constable and four other civilians were killed, more than 100 people injured and a police officer is in the ICU after sustaining injuries in stone-pelting, Mr Mishra appealed for peace and for maintaining communal harmony. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal confined himself to issuing an appeal for peace. He had an alibi for not doing anything about the violence as law and order in Delhi is the responsibility of the Union home ministry, headed by Amit Shah, who was busy with the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad. The police in Delhi was apparently restrained due to the American Presidents presence in the national capital, and they would not resort to using force to deal with protesters. Delhi and India and must appear democratic and decent while the US presidential visit lasts. There is the other conspiracy theory too, that the anti-CAA Muslim protesters in these parts of Delhi had decided to step up their protests in order to draw international attention. Clearly, Muslims in the affected northeastern parts of the city were not going to follow the example of the Muslim women of Shaheen Bagh. It was the proverbial tinderbox situation. It may be possible to identify the agent provocateurs, but that would not explain the situation where tempers are rising all around. The BJP and the RSS have over the past few years created enough of a gulf between Hindus and Muslims, helped largely by the electoral victories of 2014 and 2019. The women at Shaheen Bagh were both patient and obstinate, but the other anti-CAA protesters cannot be expected to do the same thing. What seemed a virtue with the Shaheen Bagh protests that it was spontaneous and there were no leaders seems to have become a problem with other anti-CAA protesters. The Union home ministry and other ardent pro-CAA supporters mostly Hindutva zealots suspect that the anti-CAA protests are being managed by someone like the Peoples Front of India (PFI) of Uttar Pradesh. No one is waiting to verify whether this is actually true or not. Its not necessary to talk in alarmist tones about the breakdown in law and order. The police can bring things back to normal by holding flag marches and posting men in large numbers in fragile and sensitive areas. The police had proved it could do this when a temple desecration took place near the Jama Masjid area over a year ago. The Hindutva zealots on the social media were only too eager to fan the communal flames, but the police kept the situation under control. But the police alone couldnt have done it. They were helped by the community leaders of Hindus and Muslims in the locality, who intervened and did not allow things to get out of hand. Its time then for community leaders to step out and ensure that the pro- and anti-CAA protests dont turn into Hindu-Muslim clashes, though there are enough people on both sides who would want it to turn into a communal conflagration. This is necessary as political leaders of the BJP, AAP and Congress have failed to do their job. The BJP leaders are keen that it turn into a communal clash because that is the only way they can justify the CAA to their core Hindutva constituency. The AAP is not a vocal supporter of inter-communal harmony and bonhomie because it knows that its support base is among the majority Hindus. The Congress would want to manage Hindu communalists as well as the Muslim vote. Amit Shah, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi will make their tactical moves at the right time. The people of Delhi should not be looking to them for any help. Mr Modi and Mr Shah have reiterated that there will be no climbdown on the CAA. They will remain inflexible because of their parliamentary majority. The CAA protests must continue, but the protesters will have to negotiate their way through the minefield of Hindu and Muslim communalism. The violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in the past few days will be the likely pattern of clashes over the CAA. Second, the Shaheen Bagh women need to form a committee of their own to steer the protests, and to prevent troublemakers from hijacking the peaceful movement. More important, it is necessary that majority Hindus must step out and take a position against the CAA that displays the unflattering colours of Hindutva. Hindus must recognise that discrimination against Muslims is discrimination against all Indians. The issue must be fought through democratic and peaceful means, and through constitutional channels like the courts and legislatures. Protests are wonderful expressions of the democratic spirit, but they have their limitations. The CAA challenges, and effectively subverts, the high ideal of equality, and it is the duty of all democratic Indians to argue against it. But there is also the need to respect the position of those who are in favour of the CAA. That is what democracy is all about arguing over our differences and respecting each others positions. That is the only way to keep the hoodlums out of the political process. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam Wed, February 26, 2020 17:51 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c564f 1 National coronavirus,COVID-19,SARS-CoV-2,Batam,Riau-Islands-Police,Riau-Islands,Singapore,WHO,novel-coronavirus,nCoV-19 Free A Singaporean man, identified only as AA, 61, who was suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, died in Batam on Feb. 22 in a coronavirus referral hospital. He had previously gone to an emergency unit of a private hospital with symptoms similar to the coronavirus infection. The Batam Health Agency said he died of another illness, not COVID-19, because the patients test results for the virus had come back negative. The man arrived at Awal Bros Hospital in Batam on Feb. 20 at noon, hospital spokesperson Cynthia Latuma told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. Cynthia said that after an emergency unit doctor examined the patient and found that he had a fever and was short of breath, Awal Bros referred AA to BP Batam Hospital, one of Indonesias referral hospitals for the novel coronavirus. Read also: Indonesia pressured to do more to detect coronavirus amid zero reported cases He had just returned from Singapore, and he had a fever. We thought that he might have the coronavirus infection, although we did not know for sure. To mitigate the risks, we sent him to BP Batam Hospital, which is the referral hospital for coronavirus, she said. As of Wednesday, Singapore has recorded more than 90 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of these, a total of 58 have recovered. An Indonesian migrant worker is among those 58. Medical staff walked into the isolation room of Mohammad Hoesin Hospital (RSMH) Palembang, South Sumatra, Tuesday (2/18/2020). (Antara/Nova Wahyudi ) Cynthia said the decision was made to follow the standard operating procedure, as agreed upon in a meeting with the Batam Health Agency, when hospitals dealt with patients suspected of having the coronavirus. The head of the Batam Health Agency, Didi Kusumajadi, however, said his office had sent a sample to the Health Ministry lab and that the test had come back negative. Batam Port Health Office (KKP) head Achmad Farchanny confirmed to the Post that samples obtained from the Singaporean citizen had been sent to Jakarta on Feb. 21 to be tested at the Health Ministry's laboratory. The patient, however, died on Feb. 22, before the lab returned the negative results. We knew from the start that the man was not a COVID-19 patient because he was a regular patient at Awal Bros because of his illness. The Health Ministry lab also showed that the result came back negative from the lab, he told the Post on Wednesday. Didi said the patient was not referred to BP Batam Hospital because he was suspected of having COVID-19. He was referred [to BP Batam Hospital] because of what we call risk management. This is a term that hospital staff already understand well. It means a patient is referred to another hospital that is more competent in that area, Didi said. Read also: It is not COVID-19: Indonesian health official mixes up disease and virus AA died two days after entering treatment at BP Batam Hospital. AA had an Indonesian wife living in Batam. Didi said the hospital had not yet released the body in accordance with Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) procedures in Singapore concerning the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, the PHEIC refers to an extraordinary event, which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease; and to potentially require a coordinated international response. This definition implies a situation that is serious, unusual or unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected states national border; and may require immediate international action, the WHO website says. This is a matter of global ethics in relation to Singapore, so the body is still in the morgue, said Didi. He said the Intelligence and Security Directorate at the Riau Islands Police would handle the body. AAs wife and their two daughters, who were waiting for the body to arrive at a funeral home, declined to comment. We are in mourning, his wife said. The family, however, had held a traditional Islamic funeral on Feb. 22. One of AAs neighbors said AA lived in Batam and had returned to Singapore to get a stamp in his passport. She said that to her knowledge he would be buried in Batam. Were wondering why [the hospital] has yet to return the body to his family. We are concerned, she told the Post. Editors note: This article has been updated with a confirmation from the Batam Port Health Office on the results of the patients test for the novel coronavirus. Teyne Crum of Mothers in Charge leads a session for female inmates at the Riverside Correctional Facility in Philadelphia in this Inquirer file photograph. Read more When Naomi Blount was sentenced to the State Correctional Institution Muncy in 1982, there were maybe 300 or 400 women there, and she had a cell to herself. Then as the years passed by and the population stated growing, thats when they started doubling us up and then quadrupling us up," said Blount, a former lifer who received commutation after 37 years and now works for the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. What she witnessed firsthand was a 600% increase in the female prison population in Pennsylvania a trend mirrored in many other parts of the country. A report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released Wednesday found that prisons around the country have failed to manage that growth in a way that protects female prisoners and serves their needs. Despite federal reforms, including the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), incarcerated women continue to experience physical and psychological safety harms while incarcerated and insufficient satisfaction of their constitutional rights, the commission noted. It found that women are subjected to disproportionately harsh punishments in prison, frequently lack access to the same programs and services available to men, and risk alienation from their families or even losing parental rights. And, the commission concluded, sexual abuse and rape remain prevalent against women in prison. It noted that PREA required the establishment of a prison-rape review panel that would hold annual public hearings; the panel has not met since 2014. The commission made 34 recommendations, from trauma-informed disciplinary policies, to stronger PREA enforcement, to providing free feminine-hygiene products. However, many of the problems facing women in prison require cultural as well as policy change, said Claire Shubik-Richards, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. In a review of three months of complaints by female prisoners to the Prison Society, she found nearly half were related to harassment by staff. The rest were connected to lack of access to health care or to conditions of confinement. Complaints about harassment from correctional staff are pretty rare from incarcerated men, but its the number-one reason why incarcerated women and their families are contacting us, she said. Particularly at Riverside Philadelphias county jail for women that is a frequent concern. The commissions findings, that prison systems designed for men are fundamentally ill-equipped to house and rehabilitate women, are underscored by a series of lawsuits that have been filed around Pennsylvania in recent years. Su Ming Yeh of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which has litigated many of those cases, said those shortcomings often arise around access to health care. For instance, county prisons often dont have the staffing to have a full-time OB-GYN on staff, and that affects womens health, she said. Along those lines, because there are fewer women incarcerated, they often suffer from the lack of equal treatment, equal conditions, and equal access to programs. One lawsuit, in Allegheny County, successfully stopped the jail from housing pregnant women in solitary confinement. Another, in Berks County, fought to give women on work release access to the same low-security housing men enjoyed. (A federal judge found the prisoners were facing illegal gender discrimination; the county responded to the lawsuit by shutting down the reentry housing for all prisoners, male and female.) In Lebanon County, a woman recently sued the jail for shackling her during childbirth, in violation of state law. Many of the issues the commission cited pertain to childbirth, and what follows. Reports from incarcerated women include prison officials ignoring early symptoms of potential miscarriage until too late to intervene, failing to transport laboring women to the hospital, and forcing them to give birth in their cells alone, the commission noted. And for mothers in prison, maintaining a relationship with kids can be fraught. About 15% of mothers in state prison have no contact with their children, according to the report; 58% never receive visits from their kids. Women in Pennsylvania state prisons are either at Muncy, about three hours drive from Philadelphia, or Cambridge Springs, close to seven hours away. The Prison Society runs buses but, Shubik-Richards said, one of the things that we find concerning is that our buses to Cambridge Springs and Muncy are some of our least popular. County jails are closer to home, but the visiting-room policies can be discouraging, either through limited hours, noncontact visits, or lengthy wait times. A survey of 50 Pennsylvania county jails recently conducted by an advocacy group, the Dads Resource Center, found that 28 of the jails did not permit contact visits for parents, and 22 more allowed them only under certain conditions. In Philadelphia, at a City Council hearing last year, Commissioner Blanche Carney detailed numerous reforms including a lactation program for new mothers, a Girl Scout troop for those with older children, and expanded visiting hours for mothers who give birth while in prison. Instead of the standard one hour per week of visits, the new mothers are permitted two hours per week with their children, she said. In January 2020, Tinders owners, Match Group, announced that their most profitable app would be introducing a suite of new safety features. Photo verification, a panic button and a system that flags potentially offensive in-app messages. Users who sign up for the panic button will display a blue badge on their profile. Mandy Ginsburg, the CEO of Match, has likened the new features to lawn signs that warn a potential thief that a home is protected by a burglar alarm. It is unfortunate that these changes have been so limited. Trying to deter criminals is great, but why not take steps to prevent them using the platform in the first place? Tinder has introduced some safety features but they do not go nearly far enough. Credit:AAP The changes fall short of bringing Tinder in line with the group's flagship app, Match.com, which has screened paid users for close to a decade. As someone familiar with Tinder, I would say millions of Australian users continue to be exposed to terrible risks; the app gathers so little data that it is not possible for known violent or sexual offenders to be screened. Acknowledging these limitations, a Match Group spokesperson said, There are definitely registered sex offenders on our free products. The Greek economy has been doing reasonably well for the better part of the twentieth century, with low public debt and a high growth rate. However, everything changed in 2008 when the country entered a period of a prolonged recession. After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, the Greek government found itself in a debt crisis. The crisis that began in 2009 forced the government to announce that it would default on all its loans, which threatened the stability of the Eurozone. The economy of Greece suffered the longest recession period than any capitalist government in history, overtaking the United States Great Depression. Causes Of The Economic Crisis The Great Recession The economic crisis in Greece was triggered by the havoc of the Great Recession, which affected numerous western nations. The recession caused the budget deficits of multiple countries to exceed 10% of their GDP. In Greece, the vast budget deficit (which was revealed to have reached 15.1% and 10.2% of their GDP in 2009 and 2008 respectively after numerous corrections) was coupled by high GDP to public debt ratio. The public-debt-to-GDP ratio of 2009 had reached 127% of its GDP. The controversies over their statistics, which saw their budget deficits being corrected, resulted in the markets increasing the borrowing rate, thus making it impossible for the Greek to finance its loans. Being a member of the Eurozone, the country lacked autonomous monetary-policy flexibility. Image credit: Theindustryspread.com Excessive Spending The Greek economy was ranked one of Eurozones fastest-growing economies from 2000 to 2007, averaging at 4.2% per year, due to the foreign capital that was flooding into the country. The high foreign capital inflow coincided with substantial budget deficits. The Greeks enjoyed budget surpluses between 1960 and 1973, followed by deficits of below 3% from 1974 to 1980. Greeces deficit exceeded 3% from 1981 to 2013. After the government removed the right-wing military-junta in Greece in 1974, it introduced the left-leaning Greeks into their economy. Therefore, they run considerable deficits to fund pensions, public-sector jobs, and military expenditure, among other social benefits. Greece had the highest military spending in the EU relative to its GDP in 2008. In 2013, the Greeks had the second-largest defense budget in NATO right behind the United States. Corruption And Tax Evasion According to the Transparency international, Greece had one of the worse Corruption-Perception-Index scores in Europe even before the crisis. During the crisis, Greece topped the list of the countries which scored high in the Corruption-Perceptions-Index. The ability of a government to repay its loans depends on the amount of tax they can collect. The collected tax in Greece was consistently low. The estimated tax evasion losses in 2010 amounted to more than $20billion. The data collected for 2012 showed that the shadow economy in Greece where the government collected little/no tax was 24.3% of GDP compared to Finland (13.7%), Belgium (17.1%), Germany (13.5%), and Italy (21.6%). The shortfall in collecting VAT was quite significant in 2014 when the government received 28% less than what it was owed. The deficit was twice the average for the EU. A study conducted by DiaNEOsis in 2017, indicated that over 3.5% of the countrys GDP was lost because of VAT frauds. Losses caused by smuggling of petrol, tobacco, and alcohol amounted to another 0.5% of GDP. You are here: World Flash South Africa continues to market in China which remains an important tourism market despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the Parliament said on Tuesday. "The Chinese market has become one of the significant markets for South Africa," Parliament said in a statement emailed to Xinhua. This came after Lin Jing, Chinese Consul General in Cape Town, briefed Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Tourism and Portfolio Committee on Health earlier in the day about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department of Tourism is training local tourist guides in Mandarin to effectively cater for the Chinese tourists, the parliamentary statement said. South Africa annually receives approximately 100,000 Chinese tourists who usually travel as groups and stay longer - and their stay contributes to GDP growth in the country, said the statement. With the increased number of tourists from China, the Portfolio Committee on Tourism previously had urged the tourism sector to develop a dedicated strategy to harness the tourists from China. Also on Tuesday, the committee commended China on its response to the COVID-19 outbreak. China has ensured that its response was effective and proactive in confining the COVID-19, Committee Chairperson Supra Mahumapelo said, adding that China's actions, including mobilizing medical personnel and building fully functional hospitals in a short space of time, should be commended. (This is stop No. 2 of my CNY fish fry tour, a search for a great fish dinner during Lent. Over these 40 days and 40 nights, Ill visit at least 15 places that serve the fried fish Central New Yorkers love but might not know about. These are places other than the heavyweights that everyone knows such as Dougs, Fish Cove, Atlantic Seafood and Jims Fish Fry. Each stop I make will be chosen by syracuse.com and Post-Standard readers. Send me your choice via email at cmiller@syracuse.com, text at 315-382-1984 or the form at the bottom of the story. If I pick your spot, Ill invite you along for a meal.) **** Cortland, N.Y. When it comes to fresh fish, Cortland Seafood does it all: They clean it, they package it, and they sell it. And if you want, owner Phil Niver Jr. will cook it just how you like. Im not a fish place; Im a seafood market, Phil said. But Ill make you some great fried fish. That much is true. Hell also make you some sweet onion rings, crispy fries and tasty pressure-fried chicken. The cinderblock building is a few blocks east of downtown Cortland. Phils father bought it 48 years ago, and its been in the family since. Cortland Seafood is a true family-run business, especially during the Lenten season. Youre not going to get more Mom & Pop than this, he said. Phil runs the store. His wife, daughter and cousin pull shifts here on busy Fridays. His 23-year-old son, Phil Niver III, opens and closes the store and cooks in between. Everyone turns Catholic on Good Friday, so were all here, Phil Jr. said. When its go time, its go time. This business is fast. Cortland Seafood on Pendleton Street.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com A truck from Boston delivers fresh Atlantic seafood to the store three times each week. Phil loads up on shrimp, clams and dry sea scallops to sell from his coolers. For Fridays, he orders hundreds of pounds of haddock. This week and on Good Friday, hell go through 800 pounds of haddock. Over the next six weeks, Cortland Seafood also will sell haddock wholesale to nearby civic organizations and volunteer fire departments that raise money through fish fries. The Cincinnatus Fire Department, just east of Cortland, is one of the bigger fish fries. Today (Ash Wednesday) and Friday will have customers lining up at Cortland Seafood to get their haddock fried on the spot at $9.69 per pound. Alan Smith, 29, of McGraw said he first came into this store with his father when he was two days old. Ive had fish all over the country, and nothing stacks up to this, he said. At a readers suggestion, I ordered a basic haddock fillet. So did my colleague, syracuse.com food writer Jacob Pucci. Both of our fillets weighed just under a pound, and we couldnt finish them. They were about an inch thick at the meatiest point, just before the taper. The youngest Phil left the fish in the oil for just a few minutes. Cooked until just done, we got fillets that broke off in healthy segments, not stringy dry flakes. Phil coats the fish in Golden Dipt, an all-purpose breading, and cooks it with the skin on in canola oil. Theres no secret recipe here; its just quality fish, Phil Jr. said. My standards are higher. Buying a fresh product carries a premium, but its worth it. It tastes better. His fish comes out of the fryer with a uniform light brown color because he filters his oil so frequently. Old oil, he said, makes the fillet darker. The store also sells a sandwich for $4.25. Thats about a third of fillet, which should be plenty of food if you get a salad or fries. The haddock at Cortland Seafood was more than a foot long and an inch thick at the meatiest part.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com Jake and I shared a few side dishes. The sweet batter-dipped onion rings ($3.75) came in a box and couldve been a meal on their own, but they served as a nice complement to the fish. Jake packed his leftover fish in the onion ring box to save to dinner. We also had seafood salad ($3.50 for a half pound) and macaroni salad ($2.10 for a half pound). Phil makes all the salads each morning. Both had just enough mayonnaise, unlike some store brands. The seafood salad (left) and macaroni salad at Cortland Seafood.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com You also might like ... Broasted (pressure-fried) chicken (starts at $3.05 for two pieces): Phil Niver III makes trays of this throughout the day. He coats each piece of chicken with a light breading and drops it into a pressure fryer. The chicken is submerged and sealed in the oil so it stays moist on the inside while maintaining a crispy coat. Since Cortland Seafood has no indoor seating, I suggest getting a couple drumsticks for the ride home. (We ate our meal in the car. Good thing the food wasnt greasy.) Phil Niver III puts out a fresh batch of broasted chicken at Cortland Seafood.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com The Details The restaurant: Cortland Seafood, 65 Pendleton St., Cortland, 607-756-5225 Hours: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Credit cards? Yes Access to disabled? Yes Inside seating: No Parking: On- and off-street. Loading CNY Fish Fry Tour Stop 1: CJs Seafoods has remained the same since 1963 Stop 3: Smittys takes fresh approach to fish in an Auburn strip mall Stop 4: Could the Village Burger haddock be the best Ive had so far? Stop 5: I went for fish at the Valley American Legion and found a neighborhood party CNY fish fry guide: 37 places offering fish this year with locations, times, prices Events: Add your fish fry to our calendar | Find a fish fry near you **** Charlie Miller finds the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact him at (315) 382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com. Subscribers only: Join an insider text group with Charlie Miller to get news and updates on the Best of Central New York. SIGN UP HERE 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. (Photo : VIDO-InterVac on Reuters) WHO Promotes This Medicine for Coronavirus Cure; Other Claims Will Be Banned by Facebook and Other Tech Giants (Photo : KYODO on Reuters) WHO Promotes This Medicine for Coronavirus Cure; Other Claims Will Be Banned by Facebook and Other Tech Giants World Health Organization (WHO) has finally seen a potential Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine that may cure a thousand numbers of confirmed victims of the said disease. With that, Facebook, Google, and other tech giants will be banning other misleading news that will mention different Coronavirus cure-- that are not WHO-approved. Don't look for other Coronavirus cure on Facebook; WHO already found one! As reported via ABC News, Nebraska in the United States of America has launched the first clinical trial of the country that used a possible Coronavirus vaccine. Led by Dr. Andre Kalil of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the team uses the WHO-approved antiviral medicine called remdesivir, made and developed by the American biotech firm Gilead Sciences. "There is only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy and that's remdesivir," Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a press conference in Beijing. As of now, WHO clarified that the medicine remdesivir is still unofficially identified as the leading Coronavirus vaccine. However, it was said by the agency that the medicine is currently the "most promising candidate" so far. According to CNN, Gilead Sciences found the cure since remdesivir had already shown success in treating other various viral diseases from before, like SARS, MERS, and even Ebola. ABC News also reported that remdesivir was already used by a small number of confirmed Coronavirus patients in Wuhan, China. After the patients took medicine, the patients were discharged out of the hospital-- thinking that remdesivir might be the COVID-19 solution, everyone has been waiting for. So far, the viral disease has already killed more than 2,000 people around the world, and an increasing number of over 80,000 people were previously diagnosed with COVID-19. Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other media websites will soon ban other fake claims of Coronavirus vaccine The world now panics with this viral disease, and social media contributed to this a lot. Tons of news was shared online in reference to the numbers of victims or even the Coronavirus vaccine itself. Some are trustworthy, but most of them bring fake news around the internet, which makes people more paranoid about COVID-19. Due to this, as reported via Tech Times, Facebook, Twitter, and even Google have now joined in one to curb the continuous rise of fake news being spread out in the internet about the viral disease. As said, the said social media websites will no longer entertain and allow various accounts to post anything about Coronavirus that may look like fake news or misleading ones. This counter-action must be implemented in order to protect users on reading and believing information that is not reliable and approved by experts. "We recently implemented a policy to prohibit ads that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply, or guaranteeing a cure or prevention," a Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider. "We also have policies for surfaces like Marketplace that prohibit similar behavior." Google, last month, also said that they'd be more careful about approving Coronavirus articles on their website using the SOS alert approved by WHO. Today we launched an SOS Alert w/ @WHO , to make resources about #coronavirus easily accessible. When people search for related info on @Google , theyll find the alert atop results page w/ direct access to safety tips, info, resources & Twitter updates from WHO. Google Communications (@Google_Comms) January 30, 2020 ALSO READ: Coronavirus isn't a Chinese bioweapon! Here Are The Most Popular Coronavirus Youtube Hoaxes, Rumors, and Lies You Should Ignore 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A federal judge in Philadelphia on Tuesday confirmed a ruling authorizing the opening of the first controlled drug injection site in the United States but a prosecutor quickly said he will appeal. The project -- a site where people struggling with drug addiction can safely inject under the supervision of health workers -- was launched by the non-profit association Safehouse and is supported by Mayor Jim Kenney and the city district attorney, Larry Krasner. But William McSwain, the US district attorney for the eastern Pennsylvania district who reports directly to the Justice Department, said he opposes the opening and will appeal. The location of the injection site has not yet been announced. McSwain, who compared the site to a crack house, said that federal law prohibits the opening of any place intended for manufacturing, trade or use of illegal drugs. In the first ruling on the case, federal judge Gerald McHugh said that the "ultimate goal of Safehouse's proposed operation is to reduce drug use, not facilitate it." On Tuesday, the same judge confirmed his ruling and dismissed a government appeal. "We respectfully disagree with the District Court's ruling and plan to appeal immediately," McSwain said in a statement. Mayor Kenney praised Tuesday's ruling and said the city intends to support private operators who would like to set up similar controlled injection rooms in his city. Several other US cities have expressed interest in opening controlled injection rooms, but are awaiting the final legal resolution of the Philadelphia case. These include Seattle and Denver, and most notably New York, where Mayor Bill de Blasio said in May 2018 that he hoped to open four such rooms based on a report from the city health authorities. But since then the project has halted. A bill to create six such rooms in San Francisco was approved by the California Assembly, but remains stalled in the state senate. Philadelphia plans to open a site where people struggling with drug addiction can safely inject under the supervision of health workers A mother of three was being questioned last night after a man was fatally stabbed as he tried to start his car in a Dublin housing estate. Detectives are probing whether the victim was stabbed in a row over a parking space. Gardai are not looking for anyone else in relation to the murder of 39-year-old Gareth Kelly - who is originally from Donomore Park in Killinarden, Tallaght. The only suspect in the case is a 38-year-old woman who was being detained in Clondalkin garda station last night. Expand Close Probe: Gardai at the scene of the fatal stabbing of Gareth Kelly in Brownsbarn Wood. Photos: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Probe: Gardai at the scene of the fatal stabbing of Gareth Kelly in Brownsbarn Wood. Photos: Gerry Mooney She was arrested shortly after the 7am knife attack in the Brownsbarn Estate in the Kingswood area of south Dublin. Mr Kelly is understood to have been stabbed at least three times after he tried to start his car in a space that may not have been his. It is understood he had left his partner's home to go to work yesterday morning but his car would not start and he was trying to jump-start the vehicle when he was attacked. The woman lives in a nearby house, which was the subject of a major Garda search operation yesterday. Neither the victim nor the arrested mother of young children were previously known to gardai for any involvement in criminality. They were not known to each other before yesterday morning's events. Mr Kelly's Skoda was examined at the scene - it still had the bonnet open and jump leads attached to the battery - before it was removed for further investigations. Expand Close Probe: Gardai at the scene of the fatal stabbing of Gareth Kelly in Brownsbarn Wood. Photos: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Probe: Gardai at the scene of the fatal stabbing of Gareth Kelly in Brownsbarn Wood. Photos: Gerry Mooney Read More Locals expressed their shock at the incident. One woman, who didn't want to be named, said her daughter was "very shaken up". "She's doing her best to help the guards in any way she can, but we can't get inside her house to see her," she said. "She lives close to where the incident happened so maybe she has information that can help them." Another woman said she used to live in the house that was being inspected by gardai and forensic investigators. "I moved out of there about four years ago and nearly fainted when I heard what had happened," she said. "I'm just so shocked that something so violent happened right outside my old house. "It's an awful tragedy and hopefully the person responsible is brought to justice." Another resident described Brownsbarn Wood as a quiet place to live. "I woke up by the sounds of guards knocking on my door to question me whether I had seen or heard anything. "I'm not sure what happened, but it was an awful thing to hear first thing in the morning. "The residents who live here usually leave for work or college quite early, so I'm sure someone is in a position to help the guards," he said. Gardai continued to assess the scene and conduct door-to-door enquiries throughout the afternoon. Mr Kelly is understood to have been stabbed to death near where a number of cars were parked. His body, which could not be seen from the entrance of the estate, was examined by a pathologist before being taken away by ambulance in the early afternoon. Gardai yesterday said they had launched a murder investigation and appealed for information in the case. "An Garda Siochana is investigating all the circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing as there is no known motive at this time," a Garda spokeswoman said. She said gardai were appealing to anyone who was in the Brownsbarn Estate and Kingswood area between the hours of 6am and 7am yesterday to contact them. "Gardai are particularly appealing to road users who may have camera footage," she added. Law enforcement in East Montgomery County gathered Monday night at a gala event to pay tribute to 11 of their finest. The East Montgomery County Improvement District hosted its 16th annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner at the EMCID complex in New Caney, awarding members of nine agencies serving the area. Among the honorees were those patrolling state highways, detectives on the beat and officers on school campuses. Sgt. Jeff Campbell of the Patton Village Police Department turned to his wife, Marie, and gave her a peck on the lips as his name was being called to pick up his award. Its not me, its the whole department. We work really well together, Campbell said. I cant take credit all by myself. Campbell, 50, is a 25-year law enforcement veteran who was only a year and a half ago was with the Humble Independent School District Police Department. He hit the ground running. Hes done so many things just to better the department, Patton Village Police Chief Shannon Sharp said. Im just very proud of the supervisor hes turned into. LEAD Honorees Deputy Zach Beaty, Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office Sgt. Jeff Campbell, Patton Village Police Department Officer Jakob Culver, Roman Forest Police Department Sgt. Willie Kendrick, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Det. Stephanie Lee, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Officer Taylor Lisk, Woodbranch Police Department Trooper Ethan McAdoo, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Tuan-Anh Nguyen, Lone Star College-Kingwood Police Department Officer Jason Potter, New Caney ISD Police Department Officer Daniel Santiago, Splendora Police Department Trooper John Silvia, Texas Department of Public Safety See More Collapse The evenings commendation came as a surprise to Montgomery County Sheriffs Det. Stephanie Lee who learned she would be a recipient only about a week before. Having served 9 years at the sheriffs office, Lee, 31, advised those looking to achieve similar recognition to remain diligent in their work. Guest speaker Joe Serio, an instructor at Sam Houston Universitys Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, shared a family anecdote to explain the evenings purpose. Serio said he contracted someone to craft a song by applying rhythm to lyrics his brother had written. Were here to celebrate 11 people who in 2019 said, You know what? I can contribute more and better to the rhythm of this department, Serio said. Before awards were handed out, attendees dined in the complexs lobby. Sharp said the feast is provided by EMCID to the families of the honorees for the supportive roles they play. The lobbys window view showcased a pond outside the building located at 21575 U.S. 59 North. From across the highway could be seen some of the retailers that have sprung up in recent years. Focusing on the economic development of the east county area, EMCID regularly furnishes many of the communitys law enforcement agencies with equipment such as body cameras through the allocation of grant money. EMCID President and CEO Frank McGrady presided over the ceremony as district board member Brenda Webb handed out the awards, which were bronze-like trophies of a uniformed policeman carrying a child donning the officers hat. Deputy Zach Beaty, who has served the Montgomery County Constables Office for 4 years, arrived at the gala already knowing where he would place his award. This past Christmas, the 29-year-olds mother gave him a miniature statue of a kneeling policeman in prayer. He will be setting the trophy next to it, he said. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 10:55:31|Editor: zyl Video Player Close ABUJA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai on Tuesday said troops fighting the Boko Haram militant group in the country's northeast region have made sustained efforts to end the 11-year-old military conflict. "I am glad to note that we are making giant strides against the ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) and Boko Haram in our bid to unpin the unholy union between them and the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists," Buratai said at a two-day seminar organized by the army in Abuja. He said that the army's renewed effort has yielded desired result toward rooting out the terrorists. Buratai further asked army commanders to ensure that their efforts against Boko Haram in the northeastern part of the country and other military operations across the country are sustained and consolidated. Boko Haram, a group of terrorists active in Nigeria, has posed enormous security, humanitarian challenges in the Lake Chad basin, including Chad, Cameroon, Benin, and Niger, besides Nigeria, according to the United Nations. People wear medical masks as a precaution against coronavirus, walking around the in the streets of New York, United States on January 30, 2020. Anadolu Agency Nassau County health officials said Wednesday that they have placed 83 Americans who recently returned to New York from China in self-quarantine due to concerns they were exposed to the new coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified local officials that a plane was carrying Nassau County residents with "potential exposure" to the virus, Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein told reporters. Potential exposure, in this case, means that they had traveled to China in the past 14 days. "It is our job to, within 24 hours of receiving this notice, reach out to them ... to let them know we are asking them to isolate themselves," Eisenstein said. He added that because "almost all" of the returnees are Nassau County residents, "in most cases" they are voluntarily quarantined at home. For 14 days, he said, "we expect them to remove themselves from other people including their family members." Since Jan. 31, when the Trump administration declared the outbreak a public health emergency in the U.S., Americans across the country who have returned from China have been asked to self-quarantine. This voluntary quarantine stands in contrast to federal mandatory quarantine orders, which have been issued to Americans returning from Hubei province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. Not so voluntary While the quarantine remains voluntary, Eisenstein added that, "If somebody were not compliant we would take next steps." Eisenstein said that health officials visit those in self-quarantine daily to check their temperature and monitor them for symptoms. However, no officials will enforce the quarantine or ensure that the subjected individuals are remaining in their homes. If those in quarantine exhibit any symptoms, including a cough or fever, Eisenstein said that local officials will test them for the virus. Of the 83 currently being monitored, Eisenstein said Nassau County has tested seven of them. Five tested negative, he said, and one is pending. One more was "disqualified," but Eisenstein did not explain why that test was disqualified. Testing delays in the U.S. China has made the National Action Plan to Contain Antimicrobial Resistance (2016-2020) to improve the scientific application and management level of antimicrobial agent. Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China released announcements in May and July 2019, requiring that veterinary drug (VD) manufacturers should further implement data traceability in a comprehensive and regulated manner, to strengthen VD risk control; and comprehensively implement "prohibited, restricted and no use of antibiotics" in China and prohibit antibiotics in feed to decrease the danger due to antibiotics abuse. China's animal health industry has become the second-largest market in the world after the U.S. However, to follow closely the VD industry's speed of change and achieve healthy, independent development, independent R&D, API innovation, process improvement and quality and safety levels of VD products are especially important. The exhibition will gather Chinese and overseas quality VD and feed enterprises like CAHIC (E7E22), Shandong Luxi Animal Medicine (E7E02), Hebei Veyong (E7D02), Shandong Shengli (W1E36), and Lifecome Biochemistry (E2B28), etc. They'll together showcase feedstuff and additives, veterinary APIs, biological products, formulations and diagnostic reagents, etc. Antibiotic prohibition is a challenge but an opportunity as well. Some enterprises that have prepared and possessing ideas have quietly risen to seize the industry's early opportunities: Shandong Longchang Animal Health Product (E7D16), a well-deserved "antibiotic substitution pioneer", sticks to developing green, safe and efficient feed additives, and its bile acid product can protect liver and gall health and promote fat digestion and absorption; Lifecome Biochemistry (E2B28) focuses on improving intestinal immunity of livestock, and its bacitracin zinc premix and bacitracin methylene disalicylate premix are mainly used for downstream animal husbandry and breeding industry as medical feed additives, with good effects on promoting livestock growth and preventing animal intestinal diseases...Over a hundred local and overseas VD & feed enterprises will showcase their innovation products and technology onsite. The Animal Health & Feed Zone will share 75,000+ visits of Chinese and overseas buyers from 140+ countries and regions with CPhI China in 2020. Upon the CPhI China's unique advantage of full industry chain coverage, the Animal Health & Feed Zone will join hands with the concurrent "Natural Extracts" Zone, to focus on reduction of veterinary antimicrobial agents and data traceability, etc. and promote the animal health industry to achieve healthy, sustainable development. Government regulators, professionals and decision-makers of Chinese VD, breeding stock and feed enterprises will also be present to interpret industry policies and regulations, explore how to integrate quality innovation and R&D resources and produce high-quality and differentiated animal health products and talk about the VD and feed industry's sustainable future. Visitor pre-registration is now on. Register now to save RMB100 onsite and join the grand industry gala. For more information, visit official website: https://www.cphi-china.cn/animal/en SOURCE CPhI China Blundering into the Kashmir plebiscite issue and compounding it by not abrogating Article 370, for the past so many years, was a result of misguided imperiousness. Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal has (in)famously called India a Soft State - a state that requires extraordinary little of its citizens. The same can be said, without loss of generality, about Indias foreign policy which has meandered, since Independence, under Nehruvian predilections of non-alignment, without anchoring itself firmly. Finally, after many years of neglect, Indias foreign policy is on the right track under the able stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. To understand how and why this has happened, we need to delve into a brief background of how international relations are structured before telescoping into Indias past and present foreign policy. The Law of the Nations It was Thomas Aquinas (the great medieval philosopher whose works could never escape the affliction of Aristotelian teleology) who cogently summarized in the 13th century how to escape chaotic and anarchic international relations. Aquinas distinguished between the laws of individual states and ius gentium (law of the nations) which all states have a moral and divine obligation to adhere to. However, Aquinas failed to delineate precisely what his ius gentium meant. In the late 16th century, Spanish Jesuit theologian Francisco de Vitoria defined ius gentium as a law that was created by the authority of the whole world - and not just pacts and agreements between individual nations. De Vitorias larger point is quite clear -- individual treaties rarely result in unblemished public good. For instance, the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) between Spain and Portugal opened the flood-gates of colonization across the world (including India), and the Treaty of Versailles (1919) is rightly famous for its punitive terms and the role it played in giving rise to the hydra-headed, malignant obverse of German nationalism. However, it was the Dutch jurist, Hugo Grotius, who, in 1625, worked out a system of managing international relations that prevailed till the 20th century. Grotius posited that by the natural law of sovereign equality, all nations were obliged to (a) respect each others complete autonomy on domestic matters; (b) not interfere in each others domestic matters (barring extenuating circumstances such as genocides, and massacres). Further, ius gentium meant that international relations would be regulated by a compact of mercantile and maritime laws that traditionally prevailed, and treaties made between individual nations that have been enforced either through contract or war. The system devised by Grotius did not need any ideological concurrence and worked perfectly well in maintaining peace in the 18th and 19th centuries, until the horrific World War 1 (WW1) of the 20th Century. And from the ashes of WW1, rose EH Carrs realism as opposed to the utopian view of foreign policy that prevailed till then. Carr believed that utopianism or idealism in foreign policy was nothing but a guise devised by the elite to hold onto their power. Instead of discarding what has been and what is in favour of a sceptre of wishful thinking of what could be or ought to be, we should instead focus on deducing from what has been and what is, what could be, not what ought to be. Carrs realist doctrine differed from realpolitik. Pure realpolitik (as in the case of Cesare Borgia, Richard Nixon, Indira Gandhi) results in naked and ungainly pursuit of power -- both as the means and the ends. However, realism is a perfectly proportioned concatenation of adequate amount realpolitik (which enables nations to realise that monetary power more often than not trumps other considerations) and utopianism (which enables one not to abandon the precepts of liberalism, religious ecumenism, and cultural pluralism). Indias foreign policy -- past and present Subhas Chandra Bose, the great patriot and son of India, described Nehrus stance on foreign affairs as nebulous. Frothy sentiments and pious platitudes, Bose said of Nehru, do not a foreign policy make. Like Nehru, Bose argued in favour of internationalism, but unlike Nehrus which was rooted in a doctrinaire version and was more derived from sonorous textbooks than actual practical considerations. Boses was a true internationalism, which did not ignore nationalism, but was rooted in it. As per Bose, an international society of nations could be created only on the basis of regional federations. First, the great flaw in Nehrus approach was that his pursuit of soft power was unrelated to any acquisition of hard power; and as the humiliation of 1962 demonstrated, soft power is an empty shell without the foundation of hard power. Instead of following, Theodore Roosevelts aphorism Speak softly but a carry a big stick behind the back, we instead chose the vagueness of Nehrus Panchsheel and Non-Alignment, the pusillanimity of IK Gujrals doctrines, and homilies such as Vasudev Kutambhakam which mean less than nothing in transactional international relations. Whether the possession of soft power resources actually produces favourable outcomes depends on the context. And the context more often than not is one of hard geopolitics. Second, Nehru and subsequently India for the past so many years has relied on the United Nations (UN) to broker and enforce peace, considering it as manna from heaven. Blundering into the Kashmir plebiscite issue and compounding it by not abrogating Article 370, for the past so many years, was a result of misguided imperiousness. Today, Indias foreign policy has two prongs. One, a strong domestic policy aimed at correcting historical wrongs - abrogation of Article 370; abolition of Triple Talaq; the Citizenship Amendment Act et al. Second, a vibrant, yet realist foreign policy based on, deals (trade, defence etc.) where both India and the other country benefit monetarily and which has helped India win allies even in the Muslim-dominated Middle East region (Pakistani prime minister Imran Khans chagrin at being rebuffed by Saudi Arabia on the issue of Kashmir explains it all). Prime Minister Modis personal conviviality with world leaders (most apparent in President Donald Trumps recent visit to India); a non-defensive and non-apologetic stance on domestic issues like Kashmir (as in Foreign Minister Jaishankars recent interaction with Senator Graham of the US); and an ability to fuse Indias rich civilizational ethos (soft power) with actual international gains (hard power). West-lessness is what the world stares at today - a world where the US which up until now enjoyed unbridled power on the basis of its immense monetary wealth is slowly, but surely, losing the ground to China; a world where the idea of a united Europe has turned out to be a chimerical pursuit and each nation-state is branching out on its own; a world where the hegemony of UN is on the downturn and it is no longer the global policeman. In such a world, Indias current foreign policy of multilateralism, engaging with countries which were traditionally not considered as allies (as in Israel), not engaging with countries which criticise Indias domestic decisions (as in Malaysia), and not bothering too much about the UN, makes it perfectly poised to emerge, if not as the front-runner, but surely as one of the premier nations which manage internationals relations just as EH Carr envisaged - perfectly, realistically, and peacefully. The author is an independent columnist. Canadian Police Clear Indigenous Rail Blockade, Make Arrests It has been reported that Canadas forest sector which includes lumber and pulp and paper after the first two weeks of the blockades, had seen a loss of $100 million. Feb 26, 2020 (Reuters) - Police on [Feb. 24] made multiple arrests and cleared a rail blockade by an indigenous group in eastern Canada that had been stopping freight and passenger traffic for 19 days on one of the country's busiest lines. Police secured the area near Belleville, Ontario, Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) said, and its technicians were inspecting the tracks and signals. "CN is pleased that the illegal blockade in Tyendinaga has come to an end," the company said in a statement without saying when rail service would resume. Tyendinaga Mohawk campaigners barricaded the line in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en from British Columbia, who are seeking to stop construction of a gas pipeline over their land. Dozens of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) descended on the site of the blockade a little after 8 a.m. ET and made several arrests, though they have not yet said how many. "Unfortunately, all avenues to successfully negotiate a peaceful resolution have been exhausted and a valid court injunction remains in effect," the OPP said in a statement. CN obtained an injunction on Feb. 7 against those preventing rail traffic from running along its trunk line near Belleville, but provincial police had been slow to act. In Ottawa, hundreds of protesters met in front of parliament and marched through downtown in support of the Wet'suwet'en. "We worked extremely hard to obtain a peaceful solution to this situation, but we couldn't allow these barricades to continue," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in parliament. SOURCE: Reuters Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:11:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PRAGUE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek met on Wednesday with his counterpart of North Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov to discuss bilateral cooperation and the accession of North Macedonia into the European Union (EU), the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "One of the priorities of Czech foreign policy is the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the EU," said Petricek, adding "The fact that the EU Member States did not find a consensus in last October to start accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania was a big disappointment for me." The two foreign ministers also discussed closer cooperation in trade, culture, education, and mutual support in the UN. According to the Czech foreign ministry, there is great potential for trade growth in the two countries. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Origin Gold Corporation (Origin Gold or the Company) (TSXV: OIC) is pleased to announce that Jaime Lalinde has been appointed as the chief executive officer and president of the Company and Algimantas Didziulis has been appointed to the Companys board of directors, each appointment to be effective immediately. Mr. Jaime Lalinde is a former vice president of private banking at Citibank N.A. Mr. Lalinde spent 20 years in the banking industry, working for Chase Bank and Citibank where he was team leader and country manager for the Mexican and Colombian jurisdictions. Mr. Lalinde received a B.A. at Bogota's University of Los Andes and obtained Masters Degrees in philosophy and political science at the University of Illinois. Mr. Lalinde was the founder and President of La Esperanza Mining and helped found Muisca Resources, Roble Energy and Fura Gems. Mr. Algimantas Didziulis is the former Colombian Country Manager for TransCanada Pipelines and Enbridge and he is currently active as an investor, board member and business advisor to various companies. The appointments of Mr. Lalinde and Mr. Didziulis follow Jean Depaties resignation as a director of the Company and Rejean Gosselins resignation as chief executive officer and president of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Gosselin remains a director of the Company and has agreed to remain with Origin Gold as a special advisor to the board and Mr. Lalinde. The board and management of the Company express their gratitude to Mr. Depatie for his efforts and extensive contributions and wish him well in his future endeavours. About Origin Gold Origin is a mineral exploration company with its exploration activities focused in Colombia. For additional information, please contact: Jaime Lalinde President and CEO jaimelalinde@gmail.com www.origingoldcorp.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the appointments and resignations of management and directors of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Whats The Point In Filing Another Case! Rakshit tweeted, "We have won the case in Civil court and the High court. What's the point in filing another case on the same issue? Also the second case was filed six months back but none of us, including our lawyers, were informed regarding the same. Why " This Is Going To Be Fun He further wrote, "I never spoke about it before for good reasons, but seems like there are many more beautiful experiences and new learnings coming our way. This time I will keep you all updated This is going to be fun." We Got To Learn New Things The actor tweeted, "A year later when we won that case, the whole team celebrated but we did not announce it in public for we dint want the losing party to be targeted again in any way. Infact we thanked them in solitude. Court, Kacheri was a new experience for us and we got to learn new things..." How Did This Start? Rakshit shared snapshot of copies of complaint and wrote, "All these online articles started once these two pics started floating on the whatssap groups. Who started it? Who ever did, sorry you dint do a smart job. I got these pics from the initial group where it started and you have left your foot prints there brother. A big one." (Social media posts are not edited) By Natalia Zinets and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signalled a potential reshuffle of his government on Wednesday that local media said could include axing Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk in favour of businessman and veteran politician Serhiy Tihipko. Confidence in Zelenskiy's government has slid since the actor and comedian scored a surprise landslide election victory last year promising to root out corruption and end the war with Russian-backed rebels in the eastern Donbass region. But progress on either front has been patchy, and while the 42-year-old Zelenskiy remains Ukraine's most electable politician, his public trust score has fallen from a high watermark of 79% in September to 51% in February, according to a survey by the Kiev-based Razumkov Centre think-tank. Honcharuk's position had already come into the spotlight in January after the leak of an embarrassing audio recording that suggested he had criticised the president in a closed meeting with the finance minister and central bank. Any reshuffle would come just as Ukraine is trying to secure the release of billions of dollars in loans from the International Monetary Fund, a move contingent on Kiev's progress in passing reforms and tackling graft. "I am conducting interviews with many people now," Zelenskiy said in a response to a question from reporters on whether he had met Tihipko about giving him a government post. "And I also met with Mr. Tihipko. It's true." Tihipko has not commented on media reports that he had been offered the prime minister's job. The president's office referred back to Zelenskiy's comments when asked whether Tihipko had been interviewed for the post of premier. A source familiar with the situation said work in the prime minister's office was carrying on as normal, adding that over the last three months there had been constant efforts to remove Honcharuk. Story continues Tihipko, 60, has been deputy prime minister twice, first under President Leonid Kuchma in a short-lived 1997 government, and then again in 2010 under President Viktor Yanukovich, who eventually fled to Russia after the 2014 Maidan street protests. He has also been central bank governor and co-founded PrivatBank, the former Soviet republic's largest lender. Zelenskiy has prioritised ending the war in Donbass but while he has implemented some confidence-building measures with Russia, including prisoner swaps, the conflict simmers on. In October, 48.2% of Ukrainians rated those in power as better than their predecessors, but that figure declined to 29.5% in February, according to the same Razumkov survey. (Additional reporting by Ilya Zhegulev; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich) By PTI WASHINGTON: The violence over the amended citizenship act in India's capital New Delhi drew sharp reactions from US lawmakers with the mainstream media prominently reporting it along with the just-concluded visit of President Donald Trump. Reacting to the violence that has claimed at least 20 lives in the past a couple of days, US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said the "deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying". "Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination or promote laws that undermine religious freedom," she said in a tweet, adding that the "world is watching". The Indian Parliament had passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last year, resulting in a series of protests across the country. Pramila Jayapal had last year introduced a Congressional resolution urging India to end the restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir and preserve religious freedom for all residents. Congressman Alan Lowenthal too termed the violence a "tragic failure of moral leadership". "We must speak out in the face of threats to human rights in India," he said. Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Elizabeth Warren also a swipe at the violence, saying, "It's important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India. But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression, and violence against peaceful protesters is never acceptable." Congresswoman Rashida Talib tweeted, "This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India." The violence in Delhi prominently featured in the mainstream media. The Washington Post reported, "The riots represent a serious escalation of tensions after months of protests in response to a controversial citizenship law and growing frictions between supporters and opponents of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." "As President Trump toured India's capital, at least 11 people were killed in communal clashes that have upended a working-class neighbourhood," The New York Times said. In a tweet, US Commission for International Religious Freedom said it is alarmed by reports of "deadly mob violence targeting Muslims in New Delhi". It urged the Modi government to rein in the mob and protect religious minorities. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday described the violence in Delhi as a colossal failure of Delhi Police. At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds injured in communal clashes in northeast Delhi over the last three days. "Whether the violence erupted in East Delhi (MOS-Home) or spontaneous (MHA), the government has a duty to end the violence. "The violence has continued since Monday and there are still incidents of violence. This shows the massive failure of Delhi Police," Chidambaram tweeted. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds a sniper rifle during a Philippine National Police ceremony in Quezon City, the Philippines, in April 2018. Read more MANILA, Philippines Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said Filipino forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact. Duterte also said in a speech that he would stick to a decision made early in his presidency, when he was enraged by then President Barack Obamas criticism of his deadly anti-drug crackdown, that he will not travel to the United States. The brash Philippine leader has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising China and Russia since taking office in mid-2016 for a six-year term. U.S. President Donald Trump invited Duterte to join a meeting he will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Las Vegas next month. Duterte has better relations with Trump than with Obama, but his remarks Wednesday support an earlier statement by his spokesman that he would not attend the Las Vegas meeting. Do we need America to survive as a nation?" Duterte asked. "Do we need ... the might and power of the military of the United States to fight our rebellion here and the terrorists down south and control drugs? The military and police said, `Sir, we can do it, he said. If we cant do it, we have no business being a republic, Duterte said. You might as well choose. We can be a territory of the Americans or we can be a province of China. The Philippine government notified the U.S. two weeks ago that it intends to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows American forces to train in large numbers in the Philippines, in the most serious threat under Duterte to the two nations' 69-year treaty alliance. The termination takes effect after 180 days unless both sides agree to keep the VFA. The waiting period allows the allies to renegotiate contentious terms of the 1998 agreement. The accord allows the entry and temporary stay of American forces along with U.S. military ships and aircraft for joint training with Filipino troops. The maneuvers include annual drills that Philippine security officials have credited with helping beat back communist insurgents nationwide and Islamic State group-aligned Muslim militants in the southern Philippines. The VFA specifies which country has jurisdiction over American soldiers who are accused of crimes while in the Philippines, a sensitive issue in the former American colony. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has called the decision by the Duterte administration unfortunate. Trump, however, reacted dismissively, saying, If they would like to do that, thats fine. Well save a lot of money." Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who signed the notice of termination at Dutertes direction, has proposed a review of the agreement to fix contentious issues instead of abrogating it. Duterte threatened to terminate the agreement after Washington reportedly canceled the U.S. visa of a loyal ally, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who was linked to human rights violations when he enforced the presidents deadly anti-drug crackdown as national police chief in 2016. Duterte gave the U.S. a month to restore dela Rosas visa, but U.S. officials have not publicly reacted to his demand. Thousands of mostly poor suspects have been killed under Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs, alarming the U.S. and other Western governments and human rights groups. Duterte rejected on Wednesday what he said was the portrayal by some U.S. officials of his administration as persecuting a detained opposition senator and being incapable of investigating extrajudicial killings. We were being portrayed as a republic incapable of administering simple justice, Duterte said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas, Esther Samboh and Nezar Patria (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 27 2020 Labors voice: Workers demonstrate in front of the Yogyakarta Legislative Council on Jl. Malioboro, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday. The protesters called for the rejection of the omnibus bill on job creation, which they said would negatively affect their welfare.(Antara/Hendra Nurdiyansyah) Indonesia will not yet implement a productivity-based minimum wage despite a recent study suggesting that the countrys manufacturing productivity is lower than that of its Southeast Asian peers. Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the country would need to create jobs for 7 million unemployed Indonesians and that investment in labor-intensive industries would be able to provide them. 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 During Lent, its a sure bet fish is on the menu if its a Friday. Weekly fish fry dinners are common in central Pennsylvania where diners gather for crispy batter fried and baked fish. Typical sides resemble a barbecue spread with coleslaw, baked macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes and rolls. The Catholic church requires members abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Fridays during the Lenten season. Many churches as well as fire companies and other organizations host the meals, which often include other non-meat options such as macaroni and cheese or pierogi. The fundraisers help non-profits and also give diners a chance to reel in a good meal. Heres a list of places offering fish dinners this year in central Pennsylvania. Cumberland County West Shore Bureau of Fire For Good Friday on April 10, the West Shore Bureau of Fire will hold an all-you-can-eat, event featuring Cajun, baked and fried fish, French fries, coleslaw, mac and cheese, coffee and iced tea. It runs 4-7 p.m. 18 E. Market St., Wormleysburg, 717-737-292 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church Baked fish, mac n cheese and pierogi dinners are held 4-7 p.m. Fridays during Lent from Feb. 28- April 3. Menu includes seasoned baked cod, church-made baked mac and cheese, church-made pierogis, veggie or stewed tomatoes, cole slaw, roll, dessert and coffee or punch. Prices range from $10-$12. Childrens meals are priced at $5. Eat in or take out. Acoustical dinner music provided by Nate & Friends. 225 Salt Road, Enola, 717-732-9642 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Fish dinners are held Fridays 4-6:30 p.m. Feb. 28-April 3. Cost is $12 for adults, $6 for special menu for children 11 and under. Weekly specials are offered for $14 and there is a selection of a la carte desserts and ice cream. Eat in or take out. Menu includes soup, fish, side dish, salad, roll and butter; fish sticks for childrens menu; drinks free with eat-in meals. Rotating weekly specials feature crab cakes, stuffed shrimp, salmon, and stuffed flounder. Stations of the cross and mass are held after the dinner. 310 Hertzler Road, Mechanicsburg, 717-697-2614 Good Shepherd Parish in Camp Hill Fish fry dinners are held 4-7 p.m. Fridays from Feb. 28-April 3. Fried or baked fish, pierogies, french fries, baked potatoes, mac-n-cheese, coleslaw, apple sauce, homemade desserts and beverages. Dinner packages and a la carte. Eat in or take out. Platters are priced at $10 and kids meals $6 (with toy prizes). Handicap accessible. Credit cards accepted. Visit www.thegoodshep.org. 3435 E. Trindle Road, Camp Hill, 717-761-1167 Knights of Columbus, St. Theresa Parish A fish fry will be held 5-7:30 p.m. March 6 in the school cafeteria. Prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Menu includes baked or beer battered cod fillets or pizza with baked potato, coleslaw and roll. Childrens menu is fish/fries or pizza. Free drinks include coffee, iced tea or lemonade. Milkshakes and desserts are a la carte. Tickets can be purchased at parish office. 1300 Bridge St., New Cumberland, 717-774-5918 Dauphin County Londonderry Fire Company Fish dinners will be held 5-8 p.m. on Fridays from Feb. 26-April 10. Menu includes all-you-can-eat fish and chips ($11.50), pierogies, baked lemon pepper haddock, battered fried fish, crab cakes and breaded shrimp, among other items. Sit-in or takeout. Prices are $3-$18.50. 2655 Foxianna Road, Middletown, 717-944-2175 St. Ann Byzantine Catholic Church Lenten dinners with broiled fish or perohi with homemade side dishes are hosted by Knights of Columbus and will be sold 4-6 p.m. Wednesdays during Lent at the church through April 1. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for children five and under. Takeout is available. In addition, you can buy frozen perohi to take home from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays during Lent in the parish hall. Fillings include choice of potato and cheese, cabbage, sauerkraut, prune, farmer cheese and apple. Price is $6 a dozen. They also sell smoked kielbasa rings and sticks for $7. 5408 Locust Lane, Lower Paxton Township, 717-652-0545 Chambers Hill Fire Company The annual all-you-can-eat fish dinner takes place 4:30-7 p.m. Fridays during Lent from February 28-April 10. The menu consists of baked fish, homemade mac and cheese, french fries, stewed tomatoes, cole slaw, salad bar, roll with butter, drinks and desserts. Cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 10 and under. Takeout is available. Proceeds benefit the all-volunteer fire company. 6400 Chambers Hill Road, Swatara Township, 717-564-8009. St. Lawrence Lodge 13 The dinners kick off Feb. 28 and run 5-8 p.m. on Fridays through April 10. The all-you-can-eat menu includes choice of baked or fried fish or shrimp fettuccine with sides such as stewed tomatoes, mac and cheese, red beets, french fries, cole slaw, rolls and salads. Price is $12. Live music starts at 7 p.m. 13 Highland St., Steelton, 717-939-4788 The 16th annual fish fry takes place every Friday from February 15-March 22 at Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Middletown. File photo by Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COM Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church The popular Friday fish fry dinners are held 5-8 p.m. Fridays Feb. 28-April 3 in the school cafeteria. Come early if you don't want to wait. The dinners draw big lines. The menu is extensive - crab cakes, baked sea scallop scampi and seafood chowder - but the most popular item is the all-you-can-eat fish and chips. The haddock is dipped in batter, fried and served with chips. They have brought back lobster mac and cheese and crabby cheese fries. As an extra bonus, the church also sells peanut butter, coconut, cream and peppermint eggs for $1 a piece. 360 E. Water St., Middletown, 717-944-5371 Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish The Lenten fish dinners run Fridays from 4:30-7 p.m. Feb. 28-April 3 in the social hall located in the churchs basement. They are hosted by Knights of Columbus Council #15137. Dinner choices are beer-battered haddock, baked cod and breaded shrimp. Dinners include sides of mac and cheese, fresh coleslaw, baked potato, or French fries, plus a beverage and dessert. Adult dinners are $10 per person and kids' meals are $5. Take-out is available. 2121 N. Third St., Harrisburg, 717-233-1014 Our Lady Help of Christians Parish The weekly Friday fish dinners run 4-7 p.m. Feb. 28-April 3 with a variety of seafood, both baked and fried. Look for desserts. Meals available for eat-in or carry-out. 732 E. Main St., Lykens, 717-453-9931 St. Bernadette Parish Fish dinners sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council #8151. will be held 4-7 p.m. Feb. 28, March 13 and March 27. Eat in or take out. Fried pollock or baked cod, mac and cheese, corn or green beans, stewed tomatoes, bread roll, beverage and dessert. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-10, free for children 3 and under. Eat in or take out. 901 N. High St., Duncannon, 717-957-2662 St. Catherine Laboure Fish fry dinners will be held 4:30-7 p.m. Fridays from Feb. 28-April 3 in Murray Hall. Menu includes baked or deep-fried fish dinners, fish fry bites, crab cake platters and fishermans sampler. Entrees come with choice of two sides including choice of baked potato, french fries or macaroni and cheese, plus coleslaw or applesauce and dessert. Homemade pierogis also available. Peanut butter and coconut eggs for sale. Eat-in or takeout. Prices range from $8 for fish fry bites up to $15 for the samplers and dinners. 4000 Derry St., Swatara Township, 717-564-1321 St Joan of Arc Catholic Church Knights of Columbus will host a fish fry in the school cafeteria from 5- 8 p.m. March 6 and 20 and April 3. Menu includes fried or baked fish, french fries, mac and cheese, coleslaw or applesauce. Drinks and deserts will be available. Proceeds benefits Knights of Columbus charities. 329 W Areba Ave., Hershey Holy Name of Jesus Fish dinners sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council #14081 are held 5-7 p.m. Fridays from Feb. 28-April 3. Baked or pub battered fish dinner with sides. Weekly special meals also offered. 6150 Allentown Blvd., Lower Paxton Township, 717-652-4211 Lebanon County Sacred Heart of Jesus Fish dinners will be held 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays from Feb. 26-April 1. Menu includes baked or fried fish, baked potato or fresh cut fries, applesauce or cole slaw, coffee or tea, and Bernies Bakers Homemade dessert for $10. 2596 Cornwall Road, Cornwall, 717-273-1574 Church of the Holy Spirit Fish dinners are held Fridays in the church social hall Feb. 28-April 3. Menu includes baked or fried North Atlantic haddock dinners and shrimp dinners. They also sell crab cake dinners, clam strips, pierogis, soup and mac and cheese. Prices range $6.50 to $12.50. The meals run 3-7 p.m. 300 W. Pine St., Palmyra, 717-838-3369 York County St. Rose of Lima Parish The annual seafood fundraiser during Lent covers several meal options on Fridays from Feb. 28-April 3. Lunches will be served 11:30 a.m.-1:30 pm. and include fried fish, fried butterfly shrimp, mac and cheese and baked fish along with crab cake and fish sandwiches. (Lunch also will be served Feb. 26 for Ash Wednesday.) Dinners will be available 4-7 p.m. with more entree options such as coconut shrimp, baked scallops and crab cakes as well as baked and fried fish. 950 W. Market St., York, 717-781-6694 Chad Daybell, cult mom Lori Vallow's husband, refused to answer questions on the whereabouts of her missing children as he was cornered at a gas station in Hawaii this week before going to visit her in jail. Vallow is currently being held in a cell in Kauai on charges of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. Her children JJ, seven, and Tylee, 17, have been missing since September in Idaho. Vallow and Daybell have refused to tell anyone where they are or if they are safe. The pair have been laying low in Hawaii, where they tied the knot in a beach ceremony on November 5. On Wednesday, she is expected to ask for her $5million bond to be reduced. Daybell was cornered by ABC reporter Marcus Moore at a gas station. He stood politely while Moore fired questions at him such as 'where are the children' and 'are they OK', but said nothing. Scroll down for video Chad Daybell refused to answer questions on Tuesday as he was cornered in Kauai 'I just can't comment. I just can't comment,' he said. Lori Vallow is being held on a $5million bond 'Just grateful for any support. We'll have to wait for the legal process to work through,' he said. Daybell then got in his car and drove to the Kauai Police Department, where Lori is being held. In recent days, it has emerged that the nanny Lori hired to care for JJ - who has autism - claimed in court documents that she lied about his whereabouts the day after he was last seen alive. Authorities say they plan to search Yellowstone National Park for the kids' bodies once the snow melts. In a probable cause affidavit for Vallow's arrest and why she should be denied bail, Detective Ron Ball said she and her new husband have significant 'resources' as a result of his first wife's death. 'Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell have significant financial resources. 'I am aware that Chad Daybell received at least $430,000 in life insurance proceeds upon the death of his wife Tammy. Lori failed to comply with a court order to produce her children before authorities on January 30 in Madison County. Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in Idaho in September in Rexburg, Idaho and authorities are still searching for them Daybell would not say where the kids were but said he was 'grateful for any support' Daybell then went to the jail where Lori is being held to visit her. She is expected to ask the judge to lower her bond on Wednesday Lori's brother Alex Cox died under mysterious circumstances on December 12 'As such Lori and Chad have resources sufficient to help them travel and hide from law enforcement and the court,' he said. Daybell's wife Tammy died in mysterious circumstances in October - two weeks before he married Vallow in a beach ceremony. At first, it was ruled that she had died of natural causes. But as suspicion encroached on Daybell and Vallow, authorities in Idaho decided to exhume Tammy's body to perform more tests. The results of that autopsy have not yet been released. It has also emerged that Lori had both Tylee and JJ's birth certificates with her along with Tylee's bank card and JJ's iPad when police searched their car. Lori also had her teenage daughter's cell phone with her. Lori's estranged husband Charles Vallow (pictured together) was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona on July 11, 2019 Chad and Tammy Daybell were married for 23 years before she died mysteriously in October. Her body has been exhumed but the results of that autopsy have not yet been released Timeline of JJ and Tylee's disappearance July 11: Lori Vallow's husband, Charles Vallow, is killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona August: Lori moves children JJ and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho September 23: The last time JJ was seen at his school in Idaho October 19: Chad Daybell's wife Tammy dies at their Idaho home October 25: A friend of Tylee receives a text from her phone November 5: Lori and Chad marry November 26: Out-of-state relatives ask Idaho police to perform a welfare check on JJ. Lori and Chad claim he is in Arizona with relatives. Police also learn Tylee has not been seen since September, either November 27: Police execute a search warrant at Lori and Chad's home, discovering the couple have fled Idaho December 11: Tammy Daybell's body is exhumed from the Utah cemetery December 12: Lori's brother, Alex Cox, believed to have died in Arizona December 21: Police issue a press release about JJ and Tylee, revealing they believe their disappearance is linked to Tammy's death December 24: Lori and Chad issue a statement through an attorney saying they love their son and daughter and look forward to addressing 'allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor' December 30: Police accuse Lori and Chad of lying to investigators and say they believe the couple know where the kids are or what happened to them January 26: Lori and Chad are seen for the first time in months as police serve two search warrants in Kaua'i January 30 Lori misses court deadline to produce the children to authorities February 21: Lori is arrested in Kauai Advertisement Tammy and Chad had been married for more than 20 years before she died suddenly. According to relatives of Lori's, she had become fascinated with his religious books about his near death experiences. Some say the pair were fascinated with the end of the world. Lori's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot dead by her brother in July. Charles had a life insurance policy too which would have given Lori $1million if he hadn't changed the beneficiary to his sister before his death. When Lori learned she would not get the money, she sent an angry text to the sister about it. In November - after the kids disappeared and both their ex-partners had died - Lori and Chad got married. The following month, the brother of hers who had killed her estranged husband died in similarly mysterious circumstances to Chad's wife. Since Lori's arrest, it has been claimed that her niece knows where Tylee and JJ are but that she is refusing to tell anyone. Melani Pawlowski was tied to the kids' disappearance when her ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, claimed that she'd followed her aunt into a dangerous doomsday cult and suggested their radical religious beliefs played a role in the case. Brandon and Melani have been embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their four young kids since the mother suddenly filed for divorce over the summer. In a new court filing, Brandon states: 'Melani is involved in a cult where numerous members, adults and children alike have been being killed off like flies. He further alleges that his ex-wife knows where JJ and Tylee are but is refusing to cooperate with the investigation. 'Melani's knowledge of the whereabouts of her aunt's two missing children and her unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement is daunting,' the filing read. The chilling moment a heroin dealer father admitted to knifing his daughter to death because he believed she was 'throwing her life away' partying has been revealed. Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj, 49, strangled and stabbed Sabrina Lekaj, 20, eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz on their way to Hungry Jack's in Adelaide last July. In a haunting police interview recorded in a mental health facility, Lekaj confessed to murdering his only daughter. When asked why Sabrina was found with stab wounds all over her torso, the father-of-two whispered: 'I did them.' Property developer Petrit Lekaj (left) murdered his 20-year-old daughter Sabrina (right) in Adelaide in July 'I started to do the first one, I was sitting in the first (driver's) seat,' he said in the interview. 'I just kept stabbing ... she was kicking, kicking the door and the window. And then I go to the back of the car ... and did the rest.' When asked how Sabrina got stab wounds all over her torso, the father-of-two whispered: 'I did them' When he finally dropped the knife, the father-of-two said he put his hand over her mouth and strangled her. After Sabrina stopped struggling, he turned the knife on himself. Lekaj was found next to his daughter with a serious stomach wound 250 metres from the family's suburban home in Kidman Park. He was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. 'I wish I wasn't... I wish I... I wish I wasn't here,' he stuttered. 'It's unspeakable to think what I did, I did it.' Lekaj pleaded guilty to murder at the South Australian Supreme Court in August and will be sentenced next week. At a hearing on Wednesday, his lawyer said the father could not explain his actions, The Advertiser reported. The court heard Sabrina had been partying the night before with friends at Hindley Street nightclub Dog and Duck where she took cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax. Lekaj, a well-known member of the city's Albanian community, was found next to his daughter (pictured) with a serious abdominal injury and was treated in the Royal Adelaide Hospital She told her parents she had consumed cocaine. Her mother Romina Lekaj told police Sabrina's behaviour had changed, she had lost weight, had no money and wouldn't comply with curfews. Prosecutors said police had visited the family home earlier that day to investigate driving complaints and found that her car had been damaged. Sabrina initially denied taking drugs, but police drove her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for tests after her father insisted she was 'off'. Officers told her parents 'everyone was OK and no one had been seriously hurt' in the driving offence, before her father took her to get fast food just before 7.30pm. Ms Lekaj (pictured) was remembered as a good friend and top student. She was accepted into the University of South Australia where she studied both classical piano performance and medical imaging Lekaj, a well-known member of Adelaide's Albanian community, took a 15-centimetre knife with him when he drove his daughter to get food, the court heard. While stationary in her car, which was a birthday present from him, he confronted her about her party lifestyle and recreational drug use. He claimed she was 'throwing her life away' and she replied that she 'didn't care' or 'give a s**t', the judge was told. Lekaj took the knife to 'scare' his daughter - but he pulled it from his trousers and stabbed her in the stomach while she was looking out the passenger window, the court was told. Mrs Lekaj woke up at 10pm and realised they were missing. After several failed attempts at contacting him, her husband of 24 years answered the phone in distress. 'Call the police, call the police, I'm sorry,' he said. 'I've done a terrible thing, I've done a terrible thing.' Pictured: Ms Lekaj (centre) on her 18th birthday with her father (left) and mother Romina (right) Romina Lekaj is pictured with her husband of 24 years, Petrit Lekaj. Romina didn't attend court on Wednesday Prosecutor Melissa Wilkinson told the sentencing submissions hearing: 'He told police he believed that his daughter was throwing her life away and the accused responded to that by violently taking her life from her. 'It's difficult to overstate how deeply troubling it is that a father would arm himself with a knife, even to scare his daughter, and then in such ordinary or commonplace circumstances his conduct escalates to murder.' Romina and her 12-year-old brother Pyrrhus did not attend court on Wednesday. Defence lawyer Ben Sale said the judge should take into account that Lekaj instantly admitted he had killed the 'apple of his eye'. In December, an antecedents report detailing Lekaj's criminal history was tendered by prosecutors and released to The Advertiser by Justice Trish Kelly. According to the publication, Lekaj's drug-related offending goes back to August 1996, when he was jailed for his involvement in the sale of a controlled substance. The previous year he was unanimously found guilty of selling heroin, district court records show. The 49-year-old spent at least two years in jail, after his minimum non-parole period of two-and-a-half years was cut by six months. The 20-year-old was found dead in her Mercedes-Benz sedan near the family's suburban Kidman Park property in Adelaide on July 21. Pictured: Sabrina Lekaj's funeral In 2007, Lekaj was convicted and fined $200 for possessing cannabis. He was also hit with a $100 fine for failing to store ammunition in a locked container, according to the antecedents report. Two years later, the father was fined $900 in September 2009 after he was found to have cultivated more than a prescribed number of cannabis plants, as well as possessing drugs equipment. Sabrina was remembered as a good friend and top student who had graduated high school with a score of 99.35. 'I can't believe I'm writing this. My beautiful Sabrina. Incredibly talented pianist, high achiever and queen of dark humour. I love you. Forever in our hearts,' one friend wrote after her death. Sabrina attended Nazareth Catholic College in Adelaide, graduating in 2016 with a leading score in biology and religious studies. She was accepted into the University of South Australia where she studied both classical piano performance and medical imaging. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:25:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is seeking to use Syrian airspace and will "hopefully" find a solution soon over the crisis in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. "Our biggest problem is that we could not use the airspace (in Idlib). Hopefully, we will soon find a solution to this too," Erdogan told his party's lawmakers. Turkey will not take any step back about Idlib, the president said, reiterating the end-of-February deadline he set for the retreat of Syrian government forces in Idlib. Erdogan called on Damascus to "stop its attacks as soon as possible"and withdraw from Turkey's observation posts in Idlib by the deadline. "We will not take the smallest step back in Idlib and we will certainly push the regime outside the borders we determined," he said. Erdogan's warning came on the day that Turkish and Russian delegations will hold a new round of talks in Turkey's capital Ankara aiming to find a solution in Idlib after the escalation in Syria's last rebel stronghold. Latest News Card transactions hit record in November With debt accruing interest up, can Australians afford the credit? 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 A non-bank mortgage provider has reported significantly above system home loan portfolio growth over the first half of FY20. Resimac Group announced a normalised net profit of $26.9m for the six months to 31 December 2019, up 85% on the previous corresponding period. CEO Scott McWilliam attributed the groups successful result in large part to its investment in process improvement and digital automation. Profit growth was driven by strong home loan portfolio growth of 20% to $11.3 billion, he said. The cost to income ratio decreased significantly to 42.1%, despite commencing investment in our digital and technology transformation project. McWilliam also linked the strong figures to the continued trend of consumers gravitating away from the big four Australian banks and pursuing loans elsewhere via the broker channel. Resimac originated a record $2.4b of home loans in 1H20. Over the period, the group strengthened its funding capabilities through diversification of banking and warehouse facilities and the expansion of its US investor base; it also issued three public RMBS deals totaling $2.5bn over the half. Looking ahead, Resimace plans to continue investing in its digital transformation in order to build a platform that will support long-term and sustainable growth. We expect to commence our core system upgrade in the second half, positively transforming the Resimac consumer and broker experience, said McWilliam. The CEO sees reason for the group's growth trajectory to hold strong. The Australian housing market remains resilient with a strong rebound over the last six months. While Resimac recorded its highest settlements in 1H20, we represent less than 2% of the home loan market, he said. A huge opportunity exists to grow market share via our third party and digital direct channels. How seriously can you take a man who styles himself a great champion of social justice yet makes his career not in his home city of New York, nor in his first adult home of Chicago, but in Vermont, one of the smallest and whitest states in America? How literally can take you a man who volunteers to reengineer the entire U.S. economy when his sole managerial experience is as mayor of a city too small to fill the seats at Yankee Stadium? Wuhan remains locked up amid 'strictest-ever' measures Global Times By Zhang Han and Chen Qingqing Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/25 20:38:40 Last Updated: 2020/2/25 21:58:40 Despite positive signs, China's health authorities announced Tuesday that epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19 in the epicenter Wuhan will continue the "strictest-ever" measures, while top officials of Hubei Province warned that the complex epidemic situation required that related authorities should be cautious rather than trust in luck. Down to community levels, urgent tasks such as screening of potential virus carriers and safeguarding medical and daily necessities supply still face difficulties in practice. The National Health Commission announced on Tuesday that the "strictest-ever" measures in Hubei will continue, and the outflow channels leaving Wuhan and Hubei will still be under tight control. On Monday, Wuhan authorities retracted a policy easing the city lockdown hours after its announcement. The previous release was reportedly signed by a deputy mayor of Wuhan before getting approved by senior officials of the city's epidemic prevention and control command center. Chinese experts take the move as a signal of loose management within the Wuhan government while the epidemic situation is still tough in the city, warning that it is too early for local governments to relax. As a quick reaction to the move and criticism from experts and netizens, Ying Yong, Party chief of Hubei Province, said at a working meeting on Monday afternoon that communities should continue dragnet-style screening of suspected infection and close contacts. Ying asked people to remain cautious and avoid trusting in luck or slackening vigilance. He stressed that key points lie in rescuing critical patients to reduce fatalities, increasing production of medical supplies in the province, and ensuring living necessities amid the strict lockdown. Ying's remark was followed by reports on Tuesday saying that Wang Zhonglin, Wuhan's new Party chief, investigated some communities in Wuhan, which should be implementing strict 24-hour closed-off management, in secret only to find many loopholes still existed in their management. For example, cars were able to get into communities without being investigated by community workers, and senior residents who live alone could only get living materials delivered to their homes once a week. Wang slammed such relaxed management and called for every individual to fulfill their responsibilities. "We have paid a lot in this war and come to a vital time when we have to persist, or we would fall short of success for lack of a final effort," Wang noted. Shortages of medical staff have been relatively eased while the hospitalization of patients and suspected cases is quicker, said a local doctor who required anonymity. Some Hubei residents outside Wuhan called for easing control policies after noticing decreasing infections over the past week. But Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, said the suggestion was "too early as the virus could be resurrected with a little bit of relaxation." Screening of potential virus carriers was not completed in Wuhan, and loosening the control measures outside Wuhan may lead to a virus resurgence in these places, Yang told the Global Times. "It is understandable that grassroots officials face great pressure in the long-term battle against the virus, but since it's a war, they should mobilize all possible resources to finish the work and try their best to win people's support," Ren Jianming, a Beijing-based professor of public management, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Some officials and residents may have thought the situation was getting better after seeing fewer infection cases and more hospitals with medical workers from across the country coming to offer support. But such positive signs can only be maintained based on successful control of communities, otherwise the situation may go back to one month ago with large-scale human-to-human transmissions, Ren said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kalamazoo, Michigan, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stryker (SYK) announced that Lisa Skeete Tatum has been nominated for election to the companys Board of Directors at Strykers 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be held on May 5, 2020. Ms. Skeete Tatum is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Landit, Inc., a technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women and diverse groups in the workplace. Her previous experience includes over a decade as an early stage venture capitalist focused on investments in healthcare technology. Ms. Skeete Tatum also worked for Procter & Gamble and has served on numerous private and public boards. We are excited about the potential to add Lisa to our board, said Kevin Lobo, Strykers Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She brings a strong background in healthcare investing and technology as well as deep insight on talent development that we believe will benefit our board and company. Stryker is one of the worlds leading medical technology companies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. More information is available at www.stryker.com. Important Additional Information and Where You Can Find It The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers may be deemed to be participants in a solicitation of proxies from the Companys shareholders at the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in connection with the director nomination disclosed above. Information regarding the Companys directors and executive officers and their respective interests in the Company, by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in the Companys Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 20, 2019 and reports filed by the Company and ownership forms filed by the directors and executive officers with the SEC. The Company urges its shareholders to carefully read the Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and any other relevant documents filed by the Company with the SEC, when available because they will contain important information. Shareholders may obtain free copies of the materials referenced above at www.sec.gov or www.stryker.com. Story continues For investor inquiries please contact: Katherine Owen, Vice President, Strategy & Investor Relations at 269-385-2600 or katherine.owen@stryker.com For media inquiries please contact: Yin Becker, Vice President, Communications, Public Affairs and Corporate Marketing at 269-385-2600 or yin.becker@stryker.com The leader of an anti-migrant party was nominated on Wednesday as prime minister of Slovenia, setting him on track for a return to high office after a nearly seven-year absence. "I hope our collaboration will be constructive and for the benefit of our state and our people," President Borut Pahor said after nominating Janez Jansa for premier. Parliament has yet to confirm Jansa as the premier, which is expected to happen next week. Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) party announced on Tuesday that it had agreed with three other parties to form a coalition government. The previous centre-left government fell in January when then premier Marjan Sarec stepped down amid infighting in his minority five-party coalition. A long-time leader of the anti-migrant SDS and ally of Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Jansa, 61, led two previous governments before being forced to step down in 2013 over a corruption scandal. He was given a two-year jail sentence for a bribery conviction, which was later overturned by the Constitutional Court. It ordered a retrial which could not take place as too much time had elapsed. Jansa is known for his crowd-pleasing rhetoric and combative presence on Twitter, where he attacks opponents and established media alike, echoing the tactics of rightwing populists abroad. The proposed coalition will see the SDS partnering up with centre-right Nova Slovenija (NSi) and outgoing junior coalition parties Modern Centre Party (SMC) and pensioners party DESUS, giving them a total of 48 out of the 90 seats in parliament. SDS won the most votes in the last election in 2018, but Jansa failed to win over sufficient allies at that time, paving the way for political newcomer Sarec, a 42-year-old former comedian, to become Slovenia's youngest-ever prime minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protestors hurl brick-bats during clashes between a group of anti-CAA protestors and supporters of the new citizenship act, at Jafrabad in north-east Delhi on Feb 24, 2020 (PTI) Coming on the heels of a massive Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) victory and in the middle of US Presidential Donald Trumps visit, the large scale communal violence in the national capital has shaken every section of Indians, be it the urban middle class or the rural countryside. In Delhi itself fear has gripped large parts of the city and scores of riot-vulnerable neighbourhoods have seen people stocking up on rations and scurrying for safer places. Amidst this crisis, the system the entire central and state administrative machinery, political parties and perhaps most critically, the mainstream media needs to take urgent collective actions putting stability and peace above narrow interests. After more than 48-hours of organised and targeted communal violence, which has left 13 people dead, the helplessness being felt by its large majority of peace-loving people is likely to turn into complete disillusionment with the system if immediate steps are not taken to restore peace, and law and order in the national capital. Instead of looking for who cast the first stone or the petrol bomb or struck the first blow, and who gains from the violence, the central and state political leadership needs to come out on the streets and send a message of peace. There will be a time to point lapses in intelligence, the laxity in taking preventive measures, and the inevitable blame-game, but now is the time to demand from the system to stop the communal inferno from spreading further. If the police cant do it or, and in fact, isnt trained to do it, then perhaps it is time that the Delhi government officially requests the Centre to send in the army that one institution that still enjoys the confidence of most Indians. The Delhi Police should, meanwhile, focus on making preventive arrests beginning with hate-mongers of the likes of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra. This is the least that the police can do after the mountain of evidence showing its personnel behave like the cavalry of the mobs. That the Delhi Police has for years been overburdened and understaffed is known to both the authorities and those who observe it closely. According to the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) 2018 data, Delhis north east district sees the highest share of heinous crimes and rioting, and yet its police remains the most understaffed with 25 percent vacancy. Trumps visit added to the Delhi Polices workload, which has been already stretched due to the ongoing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. Although deadly communal violence of this scale is inexcusable under any circumstance, what renders the Delhi Police irredeemable is the shocking incompetence it has shown by ignoring loud and visible signs of trouble. Had the police clamped down on the very first incident of stone-throwing a few days ago, it would have deterred the spread of similar incidents to other areas. However, what the police did was to treat it in a seemingly cavalier fashion and hope that the communal cauldron would simmer down on its own. It hasnt yet, and it wont till the authorities wake up and take action against organised rioting by extremists of all hues. The present rioting might seem distant and even abstract to the middle class of the megalopolis, but make no mistake, this ring of fire will soon be singeing the entire city if people dont demand peace and justice as a right from the government. The burning down of homes, businesses and places of worship, looting of shops, lynching of people affects everybody and everything because it spreads fear and uncertainty, it causes panic and instability. As citizens it is time to question the government on the cost-benefit analysis of increasing lawlessness and mob-violence. Social stability and rule of law are constitutional precepts without which there can be no economic growth. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, violence cost India about 9 percent of its GDP in 2017. That amounts to nearly $1.2 trillion (80.1 trillion), a humongous amount of the nations economic wealth lost to a broken justice delivery system. These are times when India is going through a economic slowdown, and more worryingly it is also a time that the country is going through its most divisive phase since Partition. The violence in Delhi is like a jagged rock thrown at democracy and peace itself. Our collective response to this violence will determine whether we hurtle down the path of chaos and instability or not, and whether we will let people kill each other in the name of religion, country or a piece of legislation, or not. Its time for President Trump to declare victory and end his trade wars. With the election just nine months away, it would help both the economy and his re-election prospects. Economies boom and slump for many reasons and politicians often get too much credit and too much blame for both. Still, an administrations policies can have a significant effect on the economys performance. And in Trumps case, his tax cuts and general easing of business regulation likely contributed to the economys strong performance during his first three years in office. However, the trade wars Trump has initiated have had the opposite effect: slowing the U.S. and global economies. Roughly half of all U.S. imports are raw materials or intermediate goods that are part of the production process for U.S.-based firms. Tariffs and restrictions put in place during trade wars increase business costs and slow economic growth. Similarly, when other countries retaliate against U.S. trade restrictions by erecting their own trade barriers, U.S. exporters are harmed. Those are the direct effects. But theres more. Trade wars also create uncertainty, which is anathema to business planning. This leads businesses to hold back on new investments in their global supply chains. This, too, retards growth. The United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) is one important step in the right direction. Canada and Mexico are the United States two largest trading partners. Although far from perfect, the agreement preserves most of the benefits provided by NAFTA, the earlier three-way trade agreement signed during the Clinton administration, and eliminates the uncertainty of a trade war with Canada and Mexico. However, the future of Trumps trade war with China, which had been Americas largest trading partner before the trade war began, remains uncertain. The so-called Phase One deal announced in December mostly just pauses the trade war, keeping it (at least temporarily) from escalating. While the agreement stops implementation of new trade restrictions, it also retains most of the duties imposed since the start of the trade war with two-thirds of all Chinese imports facing duties that are six times higher than when Trump took office. Furthermore, the agreement could break down if China fails to purchase an additional (above 2017 levels) $33 billion in U.S. manufactured goods, $12.5 billion in farm products, $18.5 billion in natural gas and crude oil, and $13 billion in services by the end of this year. These targets were a stretch to start with, but with the coronavirus epidemic creating a major slowdown in the Chinese economy they almost certainly will not be met and the trade war could resume. To make matters worse, the president has signaled the start of a new trade war with the European Union, which includes three more top U.S. trading partners: Germany, France and Italy. Pushing for new trade agreements can be a tool to create a freer global trading environment but, thus far, all of Trumps actions have taken the United States in the opposite direction. Ideally, the United States would have duty- and barrier-free trade agreements with all of its trading partners. But even in the absence of such agreements, if the United States practiced free trade unilaterally we still would benefit economically. Thats why Trump should declare victory in his trade wars, take pride in the concessions hes received from other countries, and unilaterally begin lowering U.S. trade barriers. This would give a boost to U.S.-based exporters and importers and encourage businesses that have been stymied by uncertainty to begin making new investments. Most voters understand little about the content or effects of trade agreements, but they know how they feel the economy is doing. If Trump declared victory in his trade wars, the vast majority of voters wont know or care much about the details, but theyll have more confidence in the future of the economy and the president will get the credit in November. Benjamin Powell is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, and executive director of the Free Market Institute and professor of economics at Texas Tech Universitys Rawls College of Business. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. Two and a half years after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas Gulf Coast, its surprising how quickly the Texas economy and households have recovered. The estimated $125 billion in losses made Harvey the second-costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, according to Gov. Greg Abbotts report on the storms impact. Hurricane Katrina, which lashed New Orleans in 2005, was the only costlier disaster. And yet the Texas comptrollers office estimated Harveys impact on state economic output at a three-year net gain of $800 million. A big temporary hit to state income in the year following the storm estimated at $3.8 billion is erased by the economic growth stemming from the rebuilding in years two and three, estimated at $2.1 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively. Its a stunning recovery from a major economic shock, though with a lot of variation across the state. Researchers have also studied Harveys effects on household finances, what we could think of as the microeconomic impact of the storm. A paper released in mid-February by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis explores bankruptcy rates and affected households access to federal financial assistance in Houston following Harvey. The economists studied household recoveries to see what variations existed. They found a few significant ones. They found that people who lived in a designated flood plain, and who were presumably forced to buy flood insurance, had lower rates of bankruptcy. They also found people who were in a strong financial position before the storm, regardless of where they lived in Houston, were able to access more small federal grants and larger loans. The authors found no overall change in the bankruptcy rates in Houston following Hurricane Harvey. Digging into specific city blocks, however, they did see relatively large jumps in bankruptcy among certain groups. A big increase in bankruptcy filings occurred in areas of high homeownership where a lot of folks had relatively low access to credit. That seems a bit counterintuitive at first, since we associate homeownership with wealth and renting with less wealth. The point here, I think, is that compared with homeowners, renters have less at stake between home equity and personal property when a severe flood hits. Homeowners with low home equity and low access to credit, however, can see their net worth reduced drastically. So bankruptcy rates spiked in high homeownership neighborhoods following this sudden drop in wealth. The biggest jump in bankruptcy numbers occurred in areas outside flood plains. The explanation is that few homeowners outside of a flood plain bought flood insurance prior to Harvey. Homeowners inside a flood plain, most of whom would have had to carry the insurance, recovered financially much more quickly. In fact, bankruptcy rates overall declined among homeowners in the flood plain whose blocks experienced the heaviest flooding. We can presume this is because flood insurance provided a big chunk of liquidity when it was needed most, lowering the probability of bankruptcy. The authors next studied who in Houston got access to federal assistance mostly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration in the months following the storm. Coming from a higher income area of Houston, the authors found, correlated with a higher likelihood of assistance. It also correlated with a higher dollar amount of assistance, even controlling for the amount of property damage reported. I think its obvious to say that after a disaster, federal assistance does not set out to reward people who were better off financially before the disaster. On the other hand, this result could be explained intuitively by one of the big rules of personal finance. Namely, it helps to have money to get money. In the case of grants and loans, we can imagine barriers that folks in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods face in applying, following up and qualifying for federal assistance. The fact that households that are worse off to begin with benefit less than the well-off after a financial shock suggests that policymakers have some program design to consider. Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates. By Craig Murray February 26, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - This afternoon Julians Spanish lawyer, Baltasar Garzon, left court to return to Madrid. On the way out he naturally stopped to shake hands with his client, proffering his fingers through the narrow slit in the bulletproof glass cage. Assange half stood to take his lawyers hand. The two security guards in the cage with Assange immediately sprang up, putting hands on Julian and forcing him to sit down, preventing the handshake. That was not by any means the worst thing today, but it is a striking image of the senseless brute force continually used against a man accused of publishing documents. That a man cannot even shake his lawyers hand goodbye is against the entire spirit in which the members of the legal system like to pretend the law is practised. I offer that startling moment as encapsulating yesterdays events in court. Day 2 proceedings had started with a statement from Edward Fitzgerald, Assanges QC, that shook us rudely into life. He stated that yesterday, on the first day of trial, Julian had twice been stripped naked and searched, eleven times been handcuffed, and five times been locked up in different holding cells. On top of this, all of his court documents had been taken from him by the prison authorities, including privileged communications between his lawyers and himself, and he had been left with no ability to prepare to participate in todays proceedings. Magistrate Baraitser looked at Fitzgerald and stated, in a voice laced with disdain, that he had raised such matters before and she had always replied that she had no jurisdiction over the prison estate. He should take it up with the prison authorities. Fitzgerald remained on his feet, which drew a very definite scowl from Baraitser, and replied that of course they would do that again, but this repeated behaviour by the prison authorities threatened the ability of the defence to prepare. He added that regardless of jurisdiction, in his experience it was common practice for magistrates and judges to pass on comments and requests to the prison service where the conduct of the trial was affected, and that jails normally listened to magistrates sympathetically. Baraitser flat-out denied any knowledge of such a practice, and stated that Fitzgerald should present her with written arguments setting out the case law on jurisdiction over prison conditions. This was too much even for prosecution counsel James Lewis, who stood up to say the prosecution would also want Assange to have a fair hearing, and that he could confirm that what the defence were suggesting was normal practice. Even then, Baraitser still refused to intervene with the prison. She stated that if the prison conditions were so bad as to reach the very high bar of making a fair hearing impossible, the defence should bring a motion to dismiss the charges on those grounds. Otherwise they should drop it. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Both prosecution and defence seemed surprised by Baraitsers claim that she had not heard of what they both referred to as common practice. Lewis may have been genuinely concerned at the shocking description of Assanges prison treatment yesterday; or he may have just had warning klaxons going off in his head screaming mistrial. But the net result is Baraitser will attempt to do nothing to prevent Julians physical and mental abuse in jail nor to try to give him the ability to participate in his defence. The only realistic explanation that occurs to me is that Baraitser has been warned off, because this continual mistreatment and confiscation of documents is on senior government authority. A last small incident for me to recount: having queued again from the early hours, I was at the final queue before the entrance to the public gallery, when the name was called out of Kristin Hrnafsson, editor of Wikileaks, with whom I was talking at the time. Kristin identified himself, and was told by the court official he was barred from the public gallery. Now I was with Kristin throughout the entire proceedings the previous day, and he had done absolutely nothing amiss he is rather a quiet gentleman. When he was called for, it was by name and by job description they were specifically banning the editor of Wikileaks from the trial. Kristin asked why and was told it was a decision of the Court. At this stage John Shipton, Julians father, announced that in this case the family members would all leave too, and they did so, walking out of the building. They and others then started tweeting the news of the family walkout. This appeared to cause some consternation among court officials, and fifteen minutes later Kristin was re-admitted. We still have no idea what lay behind this. Later in the day journalists were being briefed by officials it was simply over queue-jumping, but that seems improbable as he was removed by staff who called him by name and title, rather than had spotted him as a queue-jumper. None of the above goes to the official matter of the case. All of the above tells you more about the draconian nature of the political show-trial which is taking place than does the charade being enacted in the body of the court. There were moments today when I got drawn in to the court process and achieved the suspension of disbelief you might do in theatre, and began thinking Wow, this case is going well for Assange. Then an event such as those recounted above kicks in, a coldness grips your heart, and you recall there is no jury here to be convinced. I simply do not believe that anything said or proved in the courtroom can have an impact on the final verdict of this court. So to the actual proceedings in the case. For the defence, Mark Summers QC stated that the USA charges were entirely dependent on three factual accusations of Assange behviour: 1) Assange helped Manning to decode a hash key to access classified material. Summers stated this was a provably false allegation from the evidence of the Manning court-martial. 2) Assange solicited the material from Manning Summers stated this was provably wrong from information available to the public 3) Assange knowingly put lives at risk Summers stated this was provably wrong both from publicly available information and from specific involvement of the US government. In summary, Summers stated the US government knew that the allegations being made were false as to fact, and they were demonstrably made in bad faith. This was therefore an abuse of process which should lead to dismissal of the extradition request. He described the above three counts as rubbish, rubbish and rubbish. Summers then walked through the facts of the case. He said the charges from the USA divide the materials leaked by Manning to Wikileaks into three categories: a) Diplomatic Cables b) Guantanamo detainee assessment briefs c) Iraq War rules of engagement d) Afghan and Iraqi war logs Summers then methodically went through a), b), c) and d) relating each in turn to alleged behaviours 1), 2) and 3), making twelve counts of explanation and exposition in all. This comprehensive account took some four hours and I shall not attempt to capture it here. I will rather give highlights, but will relate occasionally to the alleged behaviour number and/or the alleged materials letter. I hope you follow that it took me some time to do so! On 1) Summers at great length demonstrated conclusively that Manning had access to each material a) b) c) d) provided to Wikileaks without needing any code from Assange, and had that access before ever contacting Assange. Nor had Manning needed a code to conceal her identity as the prosecution alleged the database for intelligence analysts Manning could access as could thousands of others did not require a username or password to access it from a work military computer. Summers quoted testimony of several officers from Mannings court-martial to confirm this. Nor would breaking the systems admin code on the system give Manning access to any additional classified databases. Summers quoted evidence from the Manning court-martial, where this had been accepted, that the reason Manning wanted to get in to systems admin was to allow soldiers to put their video-games and movies on their government laptops, which in fact happened frequently. Magistrate Baraitser twice made major interruptions. She observed that if Chelsea Manning did not know she could not be traced as the user who downloaded the databases, she might have sought Assanges assistance to crack a code to conceal her identity from ignorance she did not need to do that, and to assist would still be an offence by Assange. Summers pointed out that Manning knew that she did not need a username and password, because she actually accessed all the materials without one. Baraitser replied that this did not constitute proof she knew she could not be traced. Summers said in logic it made no sense to argue that she was seeking a code to conceal her user ID and password, where there was no user ID and password. Baraitser replied again he could not prove that. At this point Summers became somewhat testy and short with Baraitser, and took her through the court martial evidence again. Of which more Baraitser also made the point that even if Assange were helping Manning to crack an admin code, even if it did not enable Manning to access any more databases, that still was unauthorised use and would constitute the crime of aiding and abetting computer misuse, even if for an innocent purpose. After a brief break, Baraitser came back with a real zinger. She told Summers that he had presented the findings of the US court martial of Chelsea Manning as fact. But she did not agree that her court had to treat evidence at a US court martial, even agreed or uncontested evidence or prosecution evidence, as fact. Summers replied that agreed evidence or prosecution evidence at the US court martial clearly was agreed by the US government as fact, and what was at issue at the moment was whether the US government was charging contrary to the facts it knew. Baraitser said she would return to her point once witnesses were heard. Baraitser was no making no attempt to conceal a hostility to the defence argument, and seemed irritated they had the temerity to make it. This burst out when discussing c), the Iraq war rules of engagement. Summers argued that these had not been solicited from Manning, but had rather been provided by Manning in an accompanying file along with the Collateral Murder video that showed the murder of Reuters journalists and children. Mannings purpose, as she stated at her court martial, was to show that the Collateral Murder actions breached the rules of engagement, even though the Department of Defense claimed otherwise. Summers stated that by not including this context, the US extradition request was deliberately misleading as it did not even mention the Collateral Murder video at all. At this point Baraitser could not conceal her contempt. Try to imagine Lady Bracknell saying A Handbag or the Brighton line, or if your education didnt run that way try to imagine Pritti Patel spotting a disabled immigrant. This is a literal quote: Are you suggesting, Mr Summers, that the authorities, the Government, should have to provide context for its charges? An unfazed Summers replied in the affirmative and then went on to show where the Supreme Court had said so in other extradition cases. Baraitser was showing utter confusion that anybody could claim a significant distinction between the Government and God. The bulk of Summers argument went to refuting behaviour 3), putting lives at risk. This was only claimed in relation to materials a) and d). Summers described at great length the efforts of Wikileaks with media partners over more than a year to set up a massive redaction campaign on the cables. He explained that the unredacted cables only became available after Luke Harding and David Leigh of the Guardian published the password to the cache as the heading to Chapter XI of their book Wikileaks, published in February 2011. Nobody had put 2 and 2 together on this password until the German publication Die Freitag had done so and announced it had the unredacted cables in August 2011. Summers then gave the most powerful arguments of the day. The US government had been actively participating in the redaction exercise on the cables. They therefore knew the allegations of reckless publication to be untrue. Once Die Freitag announced they had the unredacted materials, Julian Assange and Sara Harrison instantly telephoned the White House, State Department and US Embassy to warn them named sources may be put at risk. Summers read from the transcripts of telephone conversations as Assange and Harrison attempted to convince US officials of the urgency of enabling source protection procedures and expressed their bafflement as officials stonewalled them. This evidence utterly undermined the US governments case and proved bad faith in omitting extremely relevant fact. It was a very striking moment. With relation to the same behaviour 3) on materials d), Summers showed that the Manning court martial had accepted these materials contained no endangered source names, but showed that Wikileaks had activated a redaction exercise anyway as a belt and braces approach. There was much more from the defence. For the prosecution, James Lewis indicated he would reply in depth later in proceedings, but wished to state that the prosecution does not accept the court martial evidence as fact, and particularly does not accept any of the self-serving testimony of Chelsea Manning, whom he portrayed as a convicted criminal falsely claiming noble motives. The prosecution generally rejected any notion that this court should consider the truth or otherwise of any of the facts; those could only be decided at trial in the USA. Then, to wrap up proceedings, Baraitser dropped a massive bombshell. She stated that although Article 4.1 of the US/UK Extradition Treaty forbade political extraditions, this was only in the Treaty. That exemption does not appear in the UK Extradition Act. On the face of it therefore political extradition is not illegal in the UK, as the Treaty has no legal force on the Court. She invited the defence to address this argument in the morning. It is now 06.35am and I am late to start queuing Craig's blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. Support Craig's work https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/support-this-website/ Irish guests "in lockdown" at a hotel in Tenerife were being tested for the coronavirus by a team of doctors last night. It emerged yesterday that an Italian doctor staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife had tested positive for the covid-19 virus. As a result, 1,000 guests and staff are currently in lockdown inside the hotel. It is understood there are around 20 Irish guests there. They were told to stay in their rooms in a note that was slipped under their doors yesterday morning. An Irishman on holiday with his partner and staying at the hotel - who did not wish to be named - spoke to the Herald yesterday and said a team of doctors were making their way through the hotel, taking guests' temperatures. Expand Close A Spanish police officer blocks access to the hotel / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Spanish police officer blocks access to the hotel Temperature "After they've taken your temperature they give you a mask and a thermometer and you can move about the grounds," he said. "You take your temperature again in the morning and if it's gone up you're supposed to notify them. "What we think is happening is that they're going to quarantine us here, but we don't know that, they haven't told us." Guests received a picnic meal yesterday evening and all cafes and bars in the resort remain closed. "It was all right - it would keep you alive," the guest added. The mood remained quiet yesterday evening as the main source of news for the guests was from the media and speaking to each other. "We're a little bit anxious to see what's going to happen because we don't know," the Irish guest said. "The official line is that this is precautionary, but the logical follow-on is that they're going to quarantine us. "But that means we'll be stuck here for two weeks minimum." Police are ensuring that no one enters or leaves the complex. Overnight staff from the Sunday to Monday shift are still in the hotel. "When we went downstairs yesterday morning we also saw that the police had cordoned off the streets around the hotel. We found out that staff who were turning up for work weren't being allowed in," the holidaymaker said. "The only staff that were around were the ones that have been here all night, so they were exhausted." The man and his partner were due to fly home tomorrow. "People aren't overly concerned about the virus. It kind of seems unlikely," he said. "Nobody is feeling unwell. There's no panic around the place. It's just a little bit surreal." His view was echoed by staff working in Irish bars in the area. Lucy Szatmairi, who manages Mullarkey's bar in Costa Adeje, said: "Nobody is panicked. Everything is working normally. It's just the hotel is closed. "Nobody is panicking around here." Also nearby is The Temple Bar, where staffer Peter said his place of work was close to the hospital where the Italian doctor was taken. "We're working business as usual here, but we're a bit worried if they will close the whole town," he said. "Especially for the people who are on holiday, it must be terrible for them." The Department of Foreign Affairs has opened a dedicated phone line for those with concerns regarding the virus due to a "high volume of calls". Safety "Anyone who has specific concerns regarding Irish citizens currently in any affected areas can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 01 613 1733," a spokesperson said. The Italian doctor, who had travelled with his wife, tested positive on Monday and is in isolation in hospital. A statement from the hotel said it had "implemented all health and operational recommendations from the health authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of customers and employees". "We are providing customers and hotel staff all the necessary care and attention so that, despite the inconveniences this situation may cause, they are taken care of in the best way possible," it added. Mastercard President and CEO Ajay Banga told CNBC Tuesday that he has led the company for more than a decade and that it is time to pass the baton. He will transition out of the roles next year, ceding the chief executive seat on Jan. 1 and the president title months later to current Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach. "When I joined I told everybody that I'd give it a 10-year crack. This is the 11th year and so it's fine," said Banga, joined by Miebach, in a "Mad Money" interview with Jim Cramer. "Knowing when to step aside is as important as knowing when to drive." Banga endorsed the incoming CEO for his understanding of the payments industry, geographies and the company culture. Under Banga's tutelage since the summer of 2010, Mastercard stock rose from about $20 per share to $302.89 as of Tuesday's close for a 1,470% return, according to FactSet. Miebach, who has been with the financial services company for a decade, is credited with building out its multi-rail strategy, including the $920 million acquisition of British payments technology firm Vocalink in 2016. He told Cramer about his plans to continue expanding Mastercard beyond card payments into mobile wallets, push payments, business-to-business transactions and more. Mastercard is a partner in the Goldman Sachs-backed Apple Card launched by Apple last year. "I believe there is huge opportunity to partner and drive the overall payment ecosystem ahead," Miebach said. One project that Mastercard is focused is launching a joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing Corporation to handle bank card clearing operations in China after receiving approval from the People's Bank of China earlier this month. "We're going to be the majority holder of that JV and we're going to work with them locally on the ground," Banga said. "I'm excited, but it's a year and a half away." Mastercard shares fell 6.7% in Tuesday's session, though, on news that the company said the coronavirus outbreak could negatively impact revenues this quarter by 2% to 3%. Wall Street is estimating Mastercard's sales to come in at $4.3 billion for the quarter. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tried to contact the White House and Hillary Clinton to warn them that the unredacted US diplomatic cables were about to be published online, his lawyer told the court during the extradition hearing on February 25. US authorities claim that publishing unredacted classified documents put informants, journalists and human rights activists at risk of torture, abuse or death. The lawyer representing the United States for Assanges extradition argued that the whistleblowers action put the lives of people from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, who helped the US, in danger. Assange, who is kept in a maximum-security prison in southeast London, is fighting an extradition request from the United States on the charges of violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to hack into classified government documents. Accused of helping Manning Assange was charged on a single count of computer intrusion but later 17 counts were added including charges of espionage for encouraging, receiving and publishing national defence information in cahoots with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Calling it lies, lies and more lies, Assanges defence lawyer Mark Summers dismissed the claims that his client knowingly put lives in danger by helping Manning to break password and encouraging the theft of classified documents. Read: US To Lay Out Case Against WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange At Extradition Hearing The whistleblower spent seven years in Ecuadors Embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations but was dragged out by the police in April last year following a request from the United States. After deteriorating health condition, he was moved out of the solitary confinement and his health has shown improvement since then, informed the whistleblowers spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson last week. Read: WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange To Seek Asylum In France Amid Extradition Case In January, Assanges lawyer had lamented that his client was not getting enough time with the legal team to discuss the case regarding extradition case. Assanges lawyer Gareth Peirce reportedly told a British court that the difficulty in getting time with the whistleblower is causing delays in the case. Read: Julian Assange's Health Improved After Moving Out Of Solitary Confinement: Spokesperson Read: Jeremy Corbyn Lauds Julian Assange, Asks UK President Boris Johnson To Halt Extradition (With inputs from agencies) As riots ravage parts of north-east Delhi , residents in and around Bhajanpura, Gautam Puri and parts of Maujpur are painting saffron marks on their outer walls and main doors and putting up saffron flags in balconies and rooftops to identify as Hindus. Every Hindu house and shop here has a saffron marking as protection against the rioters. Though this is Hindu-dominated area, there are a few shops owned by Muslims. All of these have been burnt and damaged. People, including neighbours, are looting items from these shops, a resident of Bhajanpura said on condition of anonymity. It isnt clear when the flags were put up. There are saffron flags put up on lane numbers eight, nine and ten (of Gautam Puri). There is no tension here yet but these could be a way of residents to protect themselves, said Idrees, a resident of the colony who gave only one name. He said that these flags were put up on Saturday, a day before violence broke out in the neighbouring areas. All the flags look alike, said a resident of Maujpur, suggesting that this could mean some level of organisation. We are not sure if people have put up these flags on their own or if any group has put these up in the houses that they have identified. But all these flags look alike, with a similar pattern, colour and design, said Prithvi Singh, a resident of Maujpur. One resident of Gautam Puri, a shop owner, said the flags were put up during the elections. It has nothing to do with the violence. This person asked not to be named. Still, it is a fact that many houses in Maujpur and Gautam Puri do have flags, as verified by HTs reporters. It is also a fact that many shops in Maujpur damaged in the rioting belonged to Muslims. I owned a tailoring shop in Maujpur. A group of 10-15 people entered my shop on Monday evening with iron rods and sticks, broke all windows, threw the machines out and looted the cloth. The board of my shop was damaged and they poured acid over it, said Mohammad Azhar, a shop owner in Maujpur. Many residents of Bhajanpura and New Seelampur said that the groups that have been rioting in these areas were not locals, but brought in on trucks from outside only to instigate violence. Residents also said that they saw trucks with bricks and stones being unloaded near Yamuna Vihar main road. Yesterday (Monday) evening I saw at least 10 trucks being parked in the service lane here carrying young men. All of these people had backpacks with them. Now who knows what they were carrying?, said Om Vir, a businessman in Bhajanpura. A group of residents in New Seelampur also said that those who were walking around the lanes with stones and guns were outsiders. We have lived here all our lives and recognise people who are locals and who are not, a resident said on the condition of anonymity. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A pastor at a Cleveland church has been indicted after a grand jury charged him with compelling prostitution of a minor as part of a human trafficking investigation, according to court records. Police took Rev. Randolph Randy Brown, 64, of Maple Heights into custody Tuesday following his indictment on two counts that accuse him of paying a minor for sex. He remains in the Cuyahoga County Jail. Joyce Richmond, 20, is charged with two counts of human trafficking and three counts of compelling prostitution alongside Brown. She was also arrested Tuesday. Both are scheduled to appear at arraignment hearings Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The Cuyahoga County Regional Human Trafficking Task Force handled the investigation, which Ohio Attorney General Dave Yosts office said in a Wednesday afternoon news release began with allegations that Richmond exploited three teenage girls who ran away from home. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalleys office will handle the prosecution. Indictments of coordinated operations like this dont happen accidently [sic], Yost said. Its the great work of our task force and partners in law enforcement, as well as Prosecutor OMalleys office who will now ensure that these traffickers stay behind bars. The Inner-City Missionary Baptist Church lists Brown as its pastor on its website. His date of birth is included in the biography. The allegations in this case are particularly troubling given Mr. Browns role as a spiritual leader in the community, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Vance Callander said in the release. This investigation should however make clear that traffickers will be held accountable, regardless of the positions they occupy. Brown previously worked as a family outreach manager at the City Mission, where he supervised the churchs after-school program family night, and as the chaplain for Hudson Youth Development Center. WJW Channel 8 featured him as part of its Hometown Heroes series in 2012 for his work at the City Mission. If I could just help one family at a time, thats all, turn one family around at a time, I felt thats what Gods called me to do, he said in the segment. Read recent stories Feds charge Strongsville priest, say he sexually exploited 15-year-old boy he met online Woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in Cleveland Heights church stabbing over faux-fur boots Parma school district settles with woman blocked by employee on Twitter Ohio troopers 100 mph chase through Strongsville, Brunswick ends in crash, arrests and is now under review Man who used van to kill 1, injure another sentenced to life in prison Eighty-three minutes had elapsed in Tuesday nights Democratic debate before the CBS News moderators got around to asking the candidates about coronavirus. Among the topics covered before then: a municipal ban on big sodas, the future of the filibuster, and the Naked Cowboy who performs for tourists in Times Square, a reference that may have flown over the heads of viewers west of the Hudson River. When Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, finally broached the issue of the virus pandemic during an unrelated answer, one of the moderators, the anchor Gayle King, cut him off. Well talk about that in the next segment, she told Mr. Bloomberg, before pivoting to a question about whether his mayoral policies had improved New Yorkers life expectancies. It was just one puzzling moment in a disjointed night of television. Over two hours, the CBS moderating team which featured Ms. King, the anchor Norah ODonnell, and three other network journalists struggled to keep control, calling for order as jawboning candidates talked over their questioners and each other. In a 2017 Climate Change study, Ekwurzel et al. used climate modeling to find that 90 companies were responsible for nearly two-thirds of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1880 to 2010. In its study, the research team wrote that the emissions traced to these 90 carbon producers contributed 57% of the observed rise in atmospheric CO2, 4250% of the rise in global mean surface temperature (GMST), and 2632% of global sea level (GSL) rise over the historical period, and 43% atmospheric CO2, 2935% GMST, and 1114% GSL since 1980. Coal, oil, and natural gas are produced by 83 of these companies. The remaining are cement and building material manufacturing companies. Unsurprisingly, the companies most responsible for climate change included Saudi Aramco, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Gazprom, and National Iranian Oil Companycompanies spread across the Middle East, Europe, Russia, and the United States. The top emitter was China's state-owned coal and cement production company. Half of these emissions were produced in the past 25 years, when globally, the awareness of climate change, GHGs, global warming, and rising sea levels has increased. During this period, while some noted oil giants and household names chose climate change denial and funded organizations that questioned climate scientists, others transitioned from being called an oil or coal producer to an energy company, projecting a cleaner profile. Under the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, 196 countries committed to taking steps to limit the rise in global temperature this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Four years later, global emissions still increased: by 1.7% in 2017, and a further 2.7% in 2018. In 2019, emissions declined in the United States and European Union but rose in India and China with an overall 0.6% rise worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.N.s climate-science body, said in its 2018 Climate Change Land Report that to keep temperatures from rising, nations needed to halve their GHG emissions by 2030 and aim for net-zero emissions by 2050. According to Climate Action Tracker, which covers data and tracks about 80% of the global population emissions, the countries on track to meet their self-set goals are Gambia, Morocco, and India. Those seen as barely trying are Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Russia. Stacker looked at the original study of the 90 companies released in September 2017 that mentioned the largest emitters between 1880 and 2010 and ranked them according to their atmospheric carbon dioxide contributions during that 130-year period. All values included in this story are taken from estimates using the best, or middle-scenario, the model described in Millar et al. 2016. Each slide also summarizes the best practices employed by the company and the country to reduce emissions and move toward a sustainable future. This article was first published on theStacker.com 5 Teens Charged With Capital Murder in Mississippi Over 16-Year-Old Girls Death Five Mississippi teens have now been charged in the death of a 16-year-old girl from Biloxi, said local officials. Police said the five Biloxi teens tried to rob 16-year-old Madison Harris at gunpoint at a home, according to WLOX. The teenagers are identified as Yakeshia L. Blackmon, 17; Willow O. Blackmon, 15; Jasmine Joy-Sade Kelley, 15; Jarvis Jermaine Cook, 17; and Jaquez Devonte Porter, 17, officials said. Biloxi police said five teens threatened her with a gun before a fight broke out, according to The Associated Press. Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said Harris was shot and was taken to the hospital, where she died in the operating room, AP reported. Yakeshia Blackmon; Willow Blackmon; and, Jasmine Kelley (Biloxi Police) Jaquez Porter, left, and Jarvis Cook (Biloxi Police Dept.) An autopsy is scheduled for this week in Jackson, the state capital, he said. According to the AP, one of the teens was out on bond for an aggravated assault charge in Gulfport. He is being held without bond, while the others are being held on $1 million bond each. After the shooting, the five juveniles fled the scene in several directions, leading to a neighborhood search. Witnesses and evidence led investigators to locate and arrest all five suspects shortly after the incident, officials told WLOX. An investigation into the case is ongoing. James Waldeck, who is engaged to the victims grandmother, said that Madison considered some of the suspects as her friends. They were in our house a number of different times, I thought as friends, yes, Waldeck told WLOX in another report. They just lived two or three houses down and across the street. Anyone with information can contact the Biloxi Police Department at 228-392-0641. Anonymous tips can also be made by calling the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898 or visiting them online. Officials didnt provide any other details about the case. The Hyderabad-born Nadella says its not the AI engine, but the teams that build it as well as the algorithms to make it intelligent have to be diverse and inclusive, so that the solutions they build do not show up any sort of unconscious bias that they may have. That artificial intelligence (AI) applications can sometimes be biased is no longer unusual, and when that happens, Microsoft - one of the biggest proponents of AI - has a lot to worry about. But Satya Nadella, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Redmond-headquartered tech giant, also has a simple solution to do away with such biases. The Hyderabad-born Nadella says its not the AI engine, but the teams that build it as well as the algorithms to make it intelligent have to be diverse and inclusive, so that the solutions they build do not show up any sort of unconscious bias that they may have. One of the best things you can do to have ethics around AI and to protect (it) from bias, would be to have diverse teams, said Nadella, speaking at the companys Future Decoded tech summit in Bengaluru on Tuesday. If there is one thing that is going to be the real currency for the next 10 years, is how diverse and inclusive your teams that are building these technologies are. "There is no protection against unconscious human bias, other than diversity, he added. The Microsoft CEO said the developers have to think about privacy as a human right and there is a need to have gender and ethnic diversity in the teams that are building these technologies. Speaking at the summit which was attended by the developer community and leaders from the information technology industry, Nadella said an economy like Indias needs to adopt digital technologies across sectors, such as retail, health care, and agritech, in the next 10 years. Reflecting on his visit to India at the start of a new decade, Nadella said the impact of digital technology has been tremendous in the last 10 years. It is just stunning. The entire mobile revolution came to fruition; the Cloud happened (and) a lot of consumer internet businesses got built. "The last 10 years has been amazing, but it has been narrow in some sense, said Nadella, dressed down in a checkered shirt, denims, and trainers. But in the next 10 years, can we dream even more? The good news is that the core technology fabric is getting embedded in the world in our homes, offices, stadia, and hospitals. "Whether it is a car or a refrigerator, you basically have computing in it. Nadella, who is slated to meet a group of students, developers, and entrepreneurs in New Delhi on Wednesday, said the companys goal is to help every organisation become a software company by adopting the latest technology. They can create their own digital innovations on top of it. The worst mistake anyone can make is reinventing the wheel. As technology becomes ubiquitous, he said there is a responsibility for developers and companies to think a lot more broadly about the impact on society. One such responsibility is building trust into the technology, like every bank which builds a mobile app and is doing transactions, will need to also foster privacy and provide cybersecurity for assets and customer data. He said, today some $1 trillion is lost in the world economy due to cyberattacks and crime. Breaking the world is not going to work in the next 10 years. "You have to think about that inclusive nature of economic growth, that trust in technology, and sustainability, said Nadella. Nadella also said that Indian businesses and start-ups are emerging as innovation leaders, signalling how technology can drive growth, enhance customer experience, and tackle some of the countrys most pressing societal and environmental issues. Giving examples of some top start-ups using Microsofts technology, he said Udaan, a business-to-business e-commerce platform, has scaled up very fast. He also highlighted firms such as Sun Mobility, which provides battery-as-a-service, and Bionic Yantra, which is aiming to restore mobility for severely injured people through wearable robotic exoskeleton aiding rehabilitation. It is fantastic to see these unicorns and (start-ups) coming out of India, building successful businesses and models and most importantly, having an impact, said Nadella. Nadella said there is unprecedented opportunity to apply technology to drive economic growth that is inclusive, trusted, and sustainable everywhere, including in India. Thats why we are partnering leaders in every industry across the country to help them build their own digital capability, transform their organisations, and achieve more in this new era. Photograph: Karma Sonam Bhutia/ANI Photo Christine Drazan Drazan, Oregon House minority leader, represents House District 39 in the Oregon Legislature. This is not the Oregon Legislature I remember. There was a time in the Legislature when members of both parties had respect for the legislative process and for the views of minority party members. When Senate President Peter Courtney served as House minority leader in the 1990s, his respectful relationship with Majority Leader Ray Baum showed every day how people with different perspectives, life experience and philosophies could work together. Sure, they disagreed from time to time - sometimes fiercely - but those two guys showed respect for each other, clearly and consistently. That has not been my experience this session. The 2020 session has been dominated by cap-and-trade politics - and regardless of the numbers game you may hear about the bipartisan passage of modest technical fixes, this session has been anything but bipartisan when it comes to cap and trade. Each and every amendment Republicans have offered on cap and trade has been rejected, our efforts to refer the measure to Oregon voters have been blocked and the bill ultimately advanced without comprehensive fiscal and revenue analyses. I remained optimistic up until Monday that a compromise could be reached. Cap-and-trade is a poorly-crafted bill. It is, in fact, so poorly-crafted that elements are expected to go before the Oregon Supreme Court for constitutional vetting before it can go into effect. The current proposal essentially taxes businesses and consumers more and more each year as the cap on overall emissions lowers and costs of compliance go up. The programs proponents concede that Oregon families could see as much as a $400 increase in costs in just the first year our estimates suggest more like $600 a year in gas, fuel and electricity. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools, small businesses, families and those on fixed incomes are facing rising costs they just cant afford. Cap-and-trade will devastate Oregonians from all corners of the state. 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. Left with few options for protecting our constituents from a rigged legislative process and a poorly crafted bill, Oregon House Republicans chose to take action. Like our colleagues in the Senate, we made the difficult decision to deny quorum only after engaging fully in the political process in support of our constituents. But the abuse of power continued unchecked. We will not be party to a legislative process that ignores minority voices, rejects opportunities for consensus and rushes bills through without key information from our nonpartisan policy staff. The process that produced this legislation has been a disaster for Oregonians, and the policy itself reflects that. Weve heard the rhetoric coming from our colleagues in Salem when they try to define what serving in Salem should look like. They use accusatory language about doing our jobs. Frankly, I couldnt disagree more about who is shirking responsibilities. Democrats have failed to schedule key legislation for hearings. They have failed to forward needed funding bills through the budget committee to the floor. And they have failed to work together on our shared priorities instead choosing to use them as political weapons. We have had three weeks to work together and move these bills that are unrelated to cap-and-trade to the floor. We remain committed to these priorities but will not take the blame for the Democrats decision to put their political agenda ahead of the needs of Oregonians. Across the state, we have heard overwhelmingly from Oregonians who support the actions we have taken to insist that this bill be referred to voters. Weve heard directly from them over the last 24 hours and the message they are sending to us is clear: Thank you, we support you, please continue to stand up for our right to vote on this bill. We will not be intimidated by the attacks from special interest groups who are in line for funding from the cap-and-trade cash cow-- because we know the working people of Oregon have our backs. These are not the days of Minority Leader Courtney and Majority Leader Baum jokingly conspiring about how they would fight fair and compromise for the sake of the institution and our state. Over the final two weeks of the session, we will continue to keep the lines of communication open with Gov. Kate Brown, House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Courtney. We remain hopeful that Democratic leaders will embrace the opportunity for compromise and a resolution to the 2020 session by choosing to refer cap-and-trade to the ballot. A new Partially Examined Life interview with Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley, discusses the ethics and psychology of nonviolence. This follows a three-part treatment on the podcast of her earlier work. For a first-hand account of her new book, you can watch two 2016 lectures that she gave at UC Berkeley on early versions of the text: Watch on YouTube. Watch the second lecture. Butler has been a tremendously influential (and controversial) figure in ongoing intellectual debates about gender and sexuality. Her 1990 book Gender Trouble argues that gender is a performance, i.e. a habitual group of behaviors that reflect and reinforce social gender norms. Practices such as dressing in drag satirize this performance, showing how even in normal situations, acting feminine is not a reflection of ones inner essence but is a matter of putting on a display of culturally expected mannerisms. The drag performer (on Butlers analysis) may convey an absurdity that deconstructs the expected accord of biological sex, sexual preference, and gender identity: Im dressing like a woman but am really a man; also, in my everyday life, I dress like a man but am really (in the way I actually feel about myself) am a woman. Most controversially, as a post-structuralist, Butler argues that its not the case that there is an uncontroversial biological fact of sex that then culture connects gender behaviors to. Instead, all of our understanding of the so-called biological fact comes through the cultural lens of gender; we literally cant understand any such raw, biological fact apart from its cultural associations. In other words, its not just gender thats a social construction, but biological sex itself. This position has been attacked both from the position of naive, common-sense scientism (of course biological differences resulting in babies isnt just a matter of what concepts a particular society has happened to develop) and as a moral hazard and existential threat: In 2017 while at a conference in Brazil, far-right Christian groups protested her presence and even burned her in effigy. It should also be noted that Butlers take on gender departs from current, intuitive explanations of the phenomena of transgenderism, i.e. that one might feel their true gender to be different from what society has assigned them. For Butler, there is no inner gender essence that may or may not be displayed authentically. Instead, the inner is a cultural construction, itself built out of our external performances and the dynamics of our psychic life, which she discusses within the psychoanalytic tradition. This use of psychoanalysis to explain our cultural life persists in newly released book, The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind. Though the theory of nonviolent political protest may seem a far-flung topic from gender studies, both involve the process of defining an identity. In the case of gender, one defines oneself as a particular gender or as being of a particular sexual orientation (as opposed to leaving these attributes ambiguous and fluid) by grasping onto a strict social division between the available sexual options and declaring that one of them is not me. In Butlers discussion of nonviolence, she instead focuses on what counts as self in the usually excused exception to nonviolence, self-defense. Shes criticizing a position where most of us claim to be nonviolent (and claim that our government is nonviolent) because we are not the aggressors: We will fight only when we are attacked or threatened. Its not that Butler is categorically against using violence to defend oneself, ones loved ones, ones country, or anyone else who is in danger of being seriously harmed. She is, however, arguing for an ethic of nonviolence that clearly understands our interrelatedness with everyone else in the world, even and especially those that we might think outside our circle of concern. Its too easy for us to define self as people like us, which then leaves out the rest of the populace (and the non-human population, and the environment more generally) from inclusion in our self-defense calculations of when violence might be justified. Butler analyzes the fear of immigrants, for instance, as a phantasmatic transmutation that projects the potential for violence that always exists within our immediate social relations (and even our own rage against ourselves) onto an invading Other. As in the case of gender, she wants us instead to understand the dynamics of these self-and-other attributions, to behave more rationally and humanely, and to channel our unavoidable rage constructively into forceful non-violence, or what Gandhi calls Satyagraha, polite insistence on the truth. The goal of this type of political action is conversion, not coercion, and its communication and respecting even a hated other as a grievable equal that provides a real contrast to violence. She wants us to recognize the potential for violence within each relationship, at each moment, and to choose otherwise. The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast began a discussion of the general concept of social construction back with in Ocotober with episode 227, following this up with applications of this concept to race (discussing Kwame Anthony Appiah and Charles Mills with in episode 228 with guest Coleman Hughes), to the development of science (considering Bruno Latour on episode 230 with guest Professor Lynda Olman), and to gender (considering Simone de Beauvoirs The Second Sex for episode 232 with Professor Jennifer Hansen. Professor Hansen then continued with hosts Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, and Dylan Casey to discuss Butlers Gender Trouble. For further explanation of The Force of Nonviolence, see episode 236 at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Mark Linsenmayer is the host of the Partially Examined Life, Pretty Much Pop, and Nakedly Examined Music podcasts. He is a writer and musician working out of Madison, Wisconsin. Read more Open Culture posts about The Partially Examined Life. Image by Solomon Grundy. Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi has dubbed the Duke of Sussex 'the artist formerly known as Prince'. Bon Jovi, 57, is to meet Harry, who is preparing to quit royal life and drop his HRH style in just a few weeks time, at Abbey Road Studios in London on Friday. The musician is recording a single in aid of the Invictus Games Foundation, which was set up by Harry and supports an international multi-sport event for injured or sick military personnel. Appearing on BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, the star, whose parents were both in the US Marine Corps, told how he sent Harry the song after writing it for a documentary on soldiers with PTSD. The title 'the artist formerly known as Prince' was used to refer to US music legend Prince after he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. The Duke of Sussex will visit Abbey Road Studios to meet Jon Bon Jovi and members of the Invictus Games Choir. Pictured, the star with Zoe Ball today Last week, Prince Harry, 35, took to the Sussex Royal Instagram account to share a witty exchange of messages with music legend Bon Jovi. The Duke of Sussex speaking during a sustainable tourism summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh today After Bon Jovi's comment, presenter Ball remarked: 'So true. He's yours now. 'He's gonna be a neighbour and be in your territory now.' Bon Jovi also made the joke in a conversation with Lorraine this morning. Harry and Meghan Markle will spend the majority of their time in North America after quitting royal duties for a life of personal and financial freedom on March 31. Bon Jovi described it as 'pretty special' that Harry was joining him in the famous studio in the wake of the Megxit crisis. 'In light of everything that's gone on in his life, for him to be coming back and this be the first thing on his docket I think was pretty special,' he said. The song, titled Unbroken, will be recorded with the Invictus choir in the same Abbey Road Studios room where The Beatles recorded many of their albums. In the amusing messages, Prince Harry can be seen making several references to the pop star's hit song, Living On a Prayer Last week, Harry's Instagram account released a mocked-up text exchange between the musician and the duke, discussing the project. The song aims to shine a light on veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder and will be on the band's album Bon Jovi 2020. The Invictus Games Choir, which is managed by the Help For Heroes charity, is made up of wounded and sick veterans and serving military personnel. Prince Harry has shared an amusing exchange of messages with music legend Jon Bon Jovi to confirm their attendance to an upcoming Invictus Games event on February 28. Taking to the Sussex Royal Instagram account, the Duke, 35, shared a short video showing the fake texts between himself and Bon Jovi, alongside the caption: 'Coming soon...*Disclaimer - this is not a real text conversation*' The conversation opens with Jon Bon Jovi asking Harry 'how's it going?' to which the father-of-one replies with a witty reference to one of the star's number one hits: 'I'm good! Just livin' on a prayer...' Jon Bon Jovi then proceeds to explain that he's in London on February 28 - the date the Duke of Sussex will visit Abbey Road Studios to meet him and members of the Invictus Games Choir. COLUMBUS, OhioEven as Ohio senators remain cool to legislation that would exempt the state from Daylight Saving Time, the Senate on Wednesday instead adopted a non-binding resolution urging Congress to take the opposite action: make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide. Senate Concurrent Resolution 8, adopted by a 31-1 vote, now heads to the Ohio House for consideration. State Sen. John Eklund, a Geauga County Republican, was the lone no vote. Daylight Saving Time, during which clocks are set ahead one hour from March until November, was initiated as an energy-saving measure in World War I and World War II. It took its current seasonal form in the mid-1970s, following the 1973 oil embargo. States can exempt themselves from Daylight Saving Time, as Hawaii and Arizona (except on Navajo tribal lands) have done, but federal law prohibits states from adhering to Daylight Savings Time the entire year. State Sen. Kristina Roegner, the Hudson Republican who filed the resolution, previously introduced full legislation that would exempt Ohio entirely from Daylight Saving Time. But that legislation, Senate Bill 119, has stalled. Roegner said in an interview Wednesday that the vast majority of people shes heard from would prefer being on permanent Daylight Saving Time rather than permanent Standard Time. People want to come home from work and school and still have some daylight left, Roegner said. On the Senate floor, Roegner said the twice-yearly switch to and from Standard Time causes confusion, traffic accidents and health problems. She called the switch biennial, government-induced jet lag. Eight other states have approved binding legislation or, in Californias case, a statewide ballot issue to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in their respective states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, such measures wont take effect unless Congress lifts its ban on states taking such action. President Donald Trump has also tweeted his support of observing Daylight Saving Time all the time. Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2019 Read more Ohio politics stories: If recreational marijuana became legal in Ohio, what would happen to the medical marijuana program? Federal judges orders require Ohio BMV to give drivers licenses to more refugees, teenage children of immigrants, attorneys say Rep. Marcia Fudge has doubts about Bernie Sanders getting the Democratic presidential nod Senate Democrats including Ohios Sherrod Brown block anti-abortion legislation Supreme Court rules against Ohio mom in international custody case Another Important Historic Nevada Mining District Consolidated by Ely Gold Royalties Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2020) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) (OTCQB: ELYGF) (FSE: A2JSL0) ("Ely Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a purchase option agreement with Blackrock Gold Corp (TSXV: BRC) ("Blackrock") for the Company's Tonopah West Project, located in Nevada, for total proceeds of US$3,000,000 (the "Option Agreement"), with Ely Gold retaining a 3% net smelter returns royalty. The Option Agreement is expected to close on or before April 1, 2020 and is subject to certain closing requirements* and approvals including TSX-V approval (the "Closing"). Jerry Baughman, President of Nevada Select commented, "Ely Gold's consolidation of four separate patented and unpatented claim groups in the Tonopah District represents the first time in history that this part of the district will be explored as a single project. This is exactly the kind of high-quality property we continue to generate and option to exceptional exploration partners. Blackrock intends to explore the high-quality target ready zones that have been identified at Tonopah West." Tonopah West The Tonopah West Project consists of 97 patented and 17 unpatented lode mining claims covering mineral rights on approximately 4.5 square kilometres (1,100 acres) located in Esmeralda and Nye Counties, Nevada. The project will now consolidate the historic West End, Victor, 76, Extension and a portion of the McNamara Mining Company holdings under a single ownership and will provide an opportunity for modern exploration on the western portion of this historic and storied district. Ely Gold's wholly owned subsidiary, Nevada Select Royalty, Inc ("Nevada Select") currently controls 23 patented and 17 unpatented lode mining claims. As part of the Option Agreement, Nevada Select will complete the purchase of Cliff ZZ LLC's 75 patented claims which will then be included in the Option Agreement. (See Ely Gold press release dated February 3, 2020). Story continues Tonopah is referred to as the "Queen of the Silver Camps" and has historically produced over 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold from approximately 7.5 million tons of high-grade silver-gold epithermal quartz veins (refer to: Ashley, R., USGS Bulletin 1852-H). The main mineralization hosts are volcanic rock of the Mizpah andesite and the West End Rhyolite. These host lithologies are present on the Tonopah West Project. Trey Wasser, President & CEO of Ely Gold stated, "Ely Gold continues to successfully execute its business plan with this key property consolidation and sale of an important and historic Nevada mining district. The Tonopah West Project will now constitute a cornerstone asset in our Royalty Sale Portfolio". The Option Agreement Blackrock Gold Corp.'s wholly owned US subsidiary is acquiring the Tonopah West Project under an option to purchase agreement. The 4-year option has payments as follows: US$325,000 on Closing; US$325,000 on the 1 st Anniversary of Closing; US$650,000 on the 2 nd Anniversary of Closing; US$700,000 on the 3 rd Anniversary of Closing; and US$1,000,000 on the 4th Anniversary of Closing (the "Final Payment"). After Blackrock makes the Final Payment, Nevada Select will retain a 3% net smelter returns royalty with no buydown and Blackrock will then pay Nevada Select an annual advance minimum royalty payment of US$50,000 commencing once the option is exercised. The Option Agreement also includes a one-mile area of interest. There are no work commitments associated with the Option Agreement or after the Final Payment. * As a condition of Closing, Nevada Select will complete the acquisition of the Cliff ZZ land package consisting of 75 patented lode mining claims on or before March 28, 2020. Qualified Person Stephen Kenwood, P. Geo, is a director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Kenwood has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Vancouver-based, emerging royalty company with development assets focused in Nevada and Quebec. Its current portfolio includes 36 Deeded Royalties and 22 properties optioned to third parties. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes producing royalties, fully permitted mines and development projects that are at or near producing mines. The Company is actively seeking opportunities to purchase existing third-party royalties for its portfolio and all the Company's option properties are expected to produce royalties, if exercised. The royalty and option portfolios are currently generating significant revenue. Ely Gold is well positioned with its current portfolio of over 20 available properties to generate additional operating revenue through option and sale agreements. The Company has a proven track record of maximizing the value of its properties through claim consolidation and advancement using its extensive, proprietary data base. All portfolio properties are sold or optioned on a 100% basis, while the Company retains royalty interests. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to generate third-party royalty agreements, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties, its equity portfolio and its current low valuation, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to the current price of gold and low-cost access to long-term mineral royalties. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Signed "Trey Wasser" Trey Wasser, President & CEO For further information, please contact: Trey Wasser, President & CEO trey@elygoldinc.com 972-803-3087 Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer jjobin@elygoldinc.com 647-964-0292 FORWARD-LOOKING CAUTIONS: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding its current assets, including future mineral production prospects and revenue gains, and Company acquisitions of additional royalty interests. These matters are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks of declining precious metals prices, failure of projects in which the Company has an interest may underperform current management forecasts, the Company may not be able to identify suitable new royalty acquisitions, and the political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effect. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52776 Editors Note: The following is another profile of a District 11 congressional candidate from the Texas Scorecard, which provided permission to run the article. Bursting onto the political scene in his first run for public office, August Pflugers well-funded congressional campaign took off quickly, statistically soaring to the top of the crowded field of contenders. From the San Angelo area, 42-year-old Pfluger is a seventh-generation Texan. He and his wife, Camille, have three daughters, ranging from 5 to 12. Pfluger is one of 10 candidates seeking to succeed retiring Congressman Mike Conaway (R-Midland) in Texas 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The vast district is considered one of the most solidly Republican seats in the nation, composed of all or in part of 29 counties that stretch from Granbury to Andrews County. Some of the main cities in the district are Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo. Pfluger told Texas Scorecard how, at the age of 18, he received a congressional appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and became an officer at age 22. Part of what inspired Pfluger to join the armed services and to give back came from some wisdom and guidance imparted on him at an early age by role models in his family. I had two grandfathers that served in World War II who inspired me at a young age not only to serve in the military but also to serve through charity, Pfluger said. Growing up with those influences in my life, listening to the greatest generation I can remember being inspired to serve from as early as 8. After serving nearly 20 years in the Air Force as a fighter pilot flying combat missions against ISIS, Pfluger transferred to the Air Force Reserve, where he recently was promoted to colonel. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://bit.ly/2utAcFK Amit Shah must resign: Congress lashes out at Union Home Minister for his 'colossal failure' India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Feb 26: The Indian National Congress has blamed the Centre and the Delhi government for the ongoing violence in the national capital. The party also demanded immediate resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for "colossal failure" to restore law and order. The Congress Working Committee also held Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal responsible as his government failed in the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. "It is the collective failure of the two governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day," the CWC said in a resolution. Death toll in Delhi violence rises to 20 NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the central government and particularly the home minister and we call upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," it said. The death toll in the violence in Northeast Delhi violence that began on Monday has risen to 20 that also includes a police head constable. Also, more than 250 people have been injured in violence. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 12:42 [IST] Russian law enforcers detained the woman in the occupied Crimea in November 2019; prosecutors charged her with the "state treason" Open source The current whereabouts of illegally detained Ukrainian Halyna Dovhopola remain unknown since February. Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian parliamentary envoy for human rights, posted that on Facebook. "Since the beginning of February 2020, there has been no official confirmation where actually the illegally detained Ukrainian citizen Halyna Dovhopola is held in the Russian Federation. Dovhopola was detained by the law enforcers of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea on November 27, 2019. Later, she was arrested for the alleged state treason. The last known place of detention of the Ukrainian citizen is the 2nd remand center of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service in Moscow," Denisova wrote. The ombudsman turned to Tatyana Moskalkova, her Russian counterpart, asking to take steps to confirm the whereabouts of Halyna Dovhopola and check if her rights are observed. Dovhopola's family and lawyers still have no updates on her health conditions, or whether she needed any medical or legal assistance. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is chair of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group The DUP's Westminster leader will chair a parliament briefing with a church minister who claimed education on LGBT issues in schools was "state-sponsored abuse" and compared the push to introduce topics into the classroom to Nazism. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is chair of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group, which is due to receive a briefing on Wednesday afternoon discussing relationship and sex education (RSE), which will become statutory in post-primary schools in England in September 2020. The new legislation will make LGBT-inclusive education compulsory, and will come into effect in Scotland in 2021 and Wales the following year. Primary school pupils will be taught the relationship element of RSE, learning about various family models, including same-sex families, while post-primary pupils will also learn about LGBT issues, as well as topics such as sexting and menstrual health. In Northern Ireland, grant-aided schools will receive guidance on the new RSE, however they will not be legally required to implement this guidance. The Reverend Lynda Rose, who is the director of anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage pressure group Voice for Justice UK, has been invited to speak at the event. Ms Rose previously branded LGBT-inclusive education as "state-sponsored abuse" and compared the push to include such topics in relationship and sex education to Nazism. Inclusive relationship and sex education is an important part of the curriculum. It should not be subject to the prejudices of anyone and should give representation to everyone Colum Eastwood In a society founded on Christian faith, believers should be free to manifest and express that belief," she wrote in a blog post. "To hold otherwise is to follow the totalitarian dictates of Communism or Nazi Germany as is the ideological demand that children only be taught LBGT values and behaviour, with the suppression of all else." A DUP spokesperson said: This event has not been organised by the DUP. It is a briefing to the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group and Sir Jeffrey Donaldsons role is to chair the event. "Those providing the briefing are obviously responsible for the content and they will provide any commentary at that time. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the DUP, and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, needed to clarify the motivations behind the event. Expand Close Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is chair of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is chair of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group Many will have concerns about the DUP interest in RSE given their historical opposition to LGBT+ equality and the decriminalisation of homosexuality. As the chairman of this group, Jeffrey Donaldson should make his objections to methods of RSE teaching public," he added. Inclusive relationship and sex education is an important part of the curriculum. It should not be subject to the prejudices of anyone and should give representation to everyone. I sincerely hope that this event is not designed to cause further damage to a community that has been the subject of political attack for far too long. Expand Close SDLP leader Colum Eastwood / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SDLP leader Colum Eastwood Angela Rayner, the UK shadow education secretary, told The Times: Its extremely concerning that this event is taking place in parliament. Relationships and sex education is of crucial importance, especially for LGBT+ pupils. The Reverend Lynda Rose hit back at criticism of the event, stating there will be "no specific attack" on the LGBT community, rather the meeting is about child protection and safeguarding. "We will be looking in particular at the rising rates of STIs among teenagers, rising rates of child-on-child sex abuse, the 4,500% increase in referrals for gender-reassignment surgery for children, 54% of which are under the age of 14," she told the Belfast Telegraph. There is no specific attack on the LGBT community at all, it's strictly child protection and safeguarding and child welfare. We are asking for this to become the priority of government Rev Lynda Rose "It's just basically reexamining the need for a reassessment of policies in order to tackle the rising STI rates." The Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group is a strong supporter of Section 28 of the Local Government Act, which came into force in 1988 and banned the "promotion of homosexuality". When asked whether the meeting will also be focusing on LGBT education in schools, Ms Rose replied: "Not directly, we are arguing that sex education, in the past few years, has prematurely sexualised children, so what we will be addressing is children's capacity to understand information so there is age appropriateness in all teaching," she added. "There is no specific attack on the LGBT community at all, it's strictly child protection and safeguarding and child welfare. We are asking for this to become the priority of government. "The teenage pregnancy rate is also extremely high - that needs urgent examination, we feel." Ms Rose also accused Angela Raynor of "putting forward her own version of things" because she "doesn't appear to want us to look at sexual relationships education". US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania enjoyed the "Trump platter" specially laid out for them at the famed Bukhara restaurant of ITC Maurya, where the couple stayed during their visit to Delhi. They relished the table-sized 'naan' and 'sikandari raan', a dish of roasted mutton leg for which the over four-decade-old restaurant is known for, according to the sources. The president's daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were also at the Bukhara. The Trumps were also gifted aprons, which have the trademark horse painted by M F Husian replicated on them, sources said. 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. On Monday, when the Trumps arrived at the hotel, they were accorded a traditional welcome, and when they left on Tuesday, they were given a special parting gift. Hotel authorities, however, remained tight-lipped. The entire hotel was booked for the US delegation accompanying Trump. The president stayed in the grand presidential suite of the five-star property, which has hosted his predecessor Barack Obama, and other US presidents like George W Bush and Bill Clinton. When Obama had stayed at the hotel, the Bukhara had laid out the "Obama platter" for him and had introduced the special "Clinton Platter" and "Chelsea Platter" at the time of Clinton's visit. Trump, who was on his maiden visit to India, landed in Delhi on Monday evening after attending the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad and visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. The hotel was under a three-tier security cover and the Indian security agencies were working in close coordination with the US Secret Service. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 99 years After the Soviet Occupation of Georgia - GeorgianJournal Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Thu, February 27 2020 Daniyar Sarekenov (JP/Donny Fernando) Six years after breaking away from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan made the risky decision of moving its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997. The ambitious development was completed three years after it started in 1995 when the nations economy was still at its nadir. In 2019, Astana was renamed Nur-Sultan to honor Kazakhstans first president and went on to become one of the most modern cities in all of Central Asia. The Jakarta Posts Apriza Pinandita met with Kazakhstan Ambassador to Indonesia Daniyar Sarekenov to talk about the countrys experience in moving its capital city. Below are excerpts from the interview: Question: Could you tell us the reason why your government decided to move the capital? to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The female body has been the subject of a lot of to-dos and not-to-dos for as long as it has existed. From telling us that we need to cover ourselves 'properly' from a young age to being told to 'act like a lady' when we grow up, patriarchy has gone out of its way to control our bodies. That said, there is a woman in Utah who tried challenging the law that, according to her, and much like the rest of the world, perceives male and female bodies differently. Tilli Buchanan, 28, had earlier filed a plea in court against the charges she was facing for having been caught 'topless' in front of her stepchildren. According to Fox News, the judge ruled in favour of prosecutors saying that lewdness extends to women and their breasts as well. Facebook What happened According to reports, it was late 2017 or early 2018 when Buchanan was working in the garage along with her husband and the couple decided to take off their shirts to avoid getting dust on them. Buchanan's 13-year-old and nine-year-old children then ran into the couple while they were topless. Reportedly, this incident did not go down well with the children's biological mother who contacted welfare officials and filed charges against the 28-year-old stepmother. After the complaint was lodged, Buchanan was sent to jail and no action was taken against her husband for participating in the same activity. According to her lawyer Randy Richards, if Buchanan had been found guilty, she'd have to register as a sex offender for a period of ten years. He had earlier said, "If we lose this, she's on the sex offender registry with child rapists and things of that nature. The magnitude of the penalty on this is enormous." Twitter Buchanan had earlier made statements about how her being charged for something like this--which her husband was also a part of--is a clear example of gender bias. She spoke about how female nipples are associated with 'lewdness' and when it comes to the male body, the same does not apply. Buchanan was facing three counts of lewdness involving a child. She entered a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of lewdness and the other two charges were dropped. If Buchanan does not commit any other crime for a whole year, this charge, too, will be dropped, reports Fox News. Facebook The conversation around how the female body should be placed in front of others is a never-ending fight for us because as long as patriarchy prevails, freedom to have an equal status in the society will remain a constant struggle. Inputs: AP, Fox News Workers from PECO, an Exelon Company, at the cross section of Fourth and Market Streets, where a manhole fire caused a power outage to a few buildings, including the National Museum of American Jewish History on Saturday, July 13, 2019. PECO workers are setting up generators to power up the buildings while they wait for the manhole to cool down to solve the problem. Read more If you believe that climate change is a crisis, then its hard to enjoy this pleasantly mild winter. Instead, you worry that its a sign of things to come. In the not-too-distant future, Philadelphia is going to suffer from deadly heat, an underwater airport, and all-around more extreme weather meaning more power outages and wear and tear on our electricity grid. Making matters worse, Pennsylvania is woefully behind on transitioning to renewable energy less than 5% of our states electricity comes from renewable sources. Philly needs to prepare for the climate crisis. Its time to kick out our for-profit power system and create a publicly owned utility. If the city owned our electrical system, we would have a say in the rates we pay and how the city uses the revenues. Since our gas utility, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), is already publicly owned, an electrical utility might be able to reduce costs through shared administrative costs or other economies of scale. Public power is hardly a far-out idea. Lots of big cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Jacksonville, Fla. run their own electrical systems. More than 49 million Americans in around 2,000 communities get their electricity from publicly owned utilities. Public power also has a long history: Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed that cities had an undeniable basic right to public power. As governor of New York and as president, he used public power projects like the New York Power Authority and the Tennessee Valley Authority to bring electricity into the homes of millions of working people for the first time. Investor-owned utilities are trying to turn a profit for their investors they want to keep their costs low and your bills high. But cutting corners can cost lives. Last years devastating wildfires in California, which left more than 100 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed, started with poorly maintained power lines owned by PG&E, one of Californias biggest investor-owned utilities. Activists across the country as well as presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders are calling for more publicly owned utilities. Activists in New York City launched a campaign for public power last summer after utility Consolidated Edison (Con Edison) intentionally cut off power in poor neighborhoods during a deadly heatwave. Lawmakers in Maine may create a statewide public power system because they are tired of a utility one state representative says cuts corners in customer service and has a stranglehold on state regulators. A coalition of groups called the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia is calling on our city leaders to pursue the same. Philadelphians might save money with a publicly owned utility, which generally charges lower rates because they dont have to turn a profit, pay federal taxes, or give big bonuses to CEOs, according to the American Public Power Association. We might also worry less about corruption: Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) which, like our local utility PECO, is owned by Exelon is under federal investigation in Illinois for allegedly hiring well-connected politicos for no-show jobs in exchange for higher rates on customers. When disaster strikes, public power is better prepared. Cities can lend one another a hand to rebuild after extreme weather. The federal government also picks up part of the tab: publicly owned utilities are eligible for disaster relief aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. By contrast, investor-owned utilities have to carry commercial insurance that you pay for in your electric bill insurance that is only getting more expensive as the climate crisis worsens. Public power is also greener publicly owned utilities reduced their carbon emissions by an estimated 33% between 2005 and 2017, while investor-owned utilities only cut emissions by 24%. A public power company in Philly could jump-start the wind and solar industry here, create jobs, and lower costs for city residents. Philly can learn from other cities. Austin, Texas, plans to source 65% of its energy from renewable sources by 2027. Through its GreenChoice energy program, Austin electricity customers can choose to direct their dollars to 100% wind energy. It gives surplus revenue back to customers or puts it into community improvement projects like streetlights, parks, and libraries. Why should Philly pay more for electricity just to stuff someones pocket? We should invest in our own community: Its time for Philly to embrace public power. Domenic Powell is a current JD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he is the chair of the Environmental Law Project and a Toll Public Interest fellow. Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow is in self-isolation over coronavirus fears. (Channel 4) Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow has placed himself in self-isolation after travelling to Iran amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak. The presenter visited Iran to cover the countrys election as the region was hit by a worsening outbreak of the disease, officially known as Covid-19. Snow is following Department of Health guidelines and will remain in isolation for the next two weeks. Jon Snow is tonight in self-isolation after his return from Iran, covering the country's elections. He's following government guidance for those recently returned from areas with high numbers of coronavirus infections - and will be staying at home for the next two weeks. pic.twitter.com/bVpCcFxU1m Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 25, 2020 He told Channel 4 News via a video link from his home that he does not have any symptoms of the new coronavirus, which has resulted in the deaths of over 2,700 people across the world. Snow said: "I woke up this morning feeling rather tired, but that was from the trip. Read more: These are the nine countries where coronavirus has become fatal "But we weren't actually anywhere near where the main virus outbreak has occurred. He said that he is "not really supposed to congregate with any crowds or go anywhere where there may be people", adding: "So that means I'm sitting at home. Iranian deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi wipes his sweat as he speaks about his positive test for the coronavirus. (Getty) Workers disinfect subway trains against the coronavirus in Tehran, Iran. (AP) "To be honest, the absolute enormity of the prospect of 14 days hasn't really hit me. He added: "Maybe if you call me again in 14 days you will have a headcase on your hands. Read more: Five European nations confirm new coronavirus cases Snow's producer and cameraman are also self-isolating after the trip to Iran. "None of the team are currently showing any symptoms of Covid-19 but the official advice is to self-isolate regardless," Channel 4 News tweeted. Thoughts go to all those on NHS frontline working to keep us safe from coronavirus. Thanks to staff at @WhitHealth who tested me last night on return from great holiday in Vietnam & Cambodia. Routine precautionary check on doctors advice. Hope for all clear within 48 hours Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) February 26, 2020 BBC journalist Nick Robinson has also revealed he has been tested for coronavirus after returning from a holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia. Story continues He revealed on Twitter that he was given a precautionary check and been told to self-isolate for 48 hours. A pharmacist works in a drugstore in downtown Tehran, Iran. (AP) Read more: Time running out to prevent global coronavirus pandemic, experts warn The head of Iran's virus task force, who just a day earlier gave a news conference in Tehran in which he tried to minimise the danger posed by the outbreak, tested positive for the illness on Tuesday. His diagnosis came amid a worsening outbreak of coronavirus in the country. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Schools across the UK have closed their doors to students at risk of coronavirus while all patients are to be routinely tested for the disease in a dramatic escalation of screening by health officials Cransley School in Cheshire and Trinity Catholic College in Teeside have both closed while Brine Leas School in Cheshire has shut its sixth form unit after pupils and staff returned from a ski trip in the Lombardy region of Italy, which has been badly hit by coronavirus. Elsewhere at least 10 schools in Cornwall, Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Guernsey, Co Antrim, Co Derry and Co Down have sent pupils home to self-quarantine after returning from similar trips. It comes as Englands top doctor warned the UK could be forced to quarantine families and reduce transport if the virus becomes a global pandemic. NHS bosses have also expressed concerns about the impact any surge in cases could have on an already under pressure health system. Public Health England said flu patients in intensive care units and respiratory wards at eight NHS hospitals would be tested for coronavirus as well as at 100 primary care centre such as GP surgeries. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty Up to now tests have only been carried out on those suspected of being infected but this new regime is designed to identify whether the virus, which originated in China, is spreading throughout the country without being detected. PHE said it did not believe this was currently happening but widening the testing would allow it to spot any circulation and act immediately to prevent it spreading further. Medical director Professor Yvonne Doyle said this was about taking a belt-and-braces approach, adding: There is no change in risk for the public but taking this preparatory step now will enable us to better detect and contain the spread of the virus. The UKs chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told journalists the governments contingency plans included restricting travel and closing schools. He said: Theres a variety of things you need to look at, you look at things like school closures, you look at things like reducing transport. The expectation is not that we will do all these things, the expectation is we will be looking systematically, using the science, at all the building blocks and balancing the effects against costs to society. He added: We might want to look at things like should people stay at home with their families in that situation. Its one of the things we would want to think about. But Prof Whitty said he was completely confident the NHS could manage current level of activity caused by the coronavirus, adding: This is still potentially containable. It comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned the virus was literally knocking at the door of countries around the globe, and said governments may need to activate their pandemic plans. In the US, officials warned businesses and schools to do what they could to prepare for an outbreak there. The number of cases in Spain has now reached five with the first cases reported on the mainland. Switzerland has also confirmed its first case of coronavirus, while France announced two additional cases. In Italy Europes worst-hit nation the death toll has increased to 11, while the number of people infected grew by 45 per cent to 322 100 more than the previous day. The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice, warning against all but essential travel to 11 quarantined towns in Italy. The government said anyone returning from those towns must self-isolate. In Tenerife, part of Spains Canary Islands, a hotel has been locked down after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus. Saffron Cordrey, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, told The Independent that while the NHS was well prepared and had plans in place for any surge in cases its staff would be affected. She said: Staff will be at the forefront of these efforts and are already working hard to keep people safe and to control the impact and spread of the virus. This has come at a very busy time for the NHS in the midst of a challenging winter, with services running at full stretch. These same staff are now under increasing pressure to prepare for and handle potential cases of coronavirus in order to help keep the public safe. The impact is felt beyond hospitals and A&E departments. For example, it takes up to eight hours for an ambulance to be fully disinfected after a potential case, and in some places staff will now be travelling to test people at home in order to limit the threat of the virus. It is vital that this additional effort is properly resourced, and does not impinge on the vital day to day work of NHS staff. Additional reporting by agencies. A 105-year-old who lives on her own in London, Ont., is wondering why her personal support worker's home care visits were cut back from three times a day to once a day. Salomeja Pargauskas was born in Lithuania in 1914. In 1949, she fled to Germany when Russians threatened to send her family to Siberia. In the early 1970s, she moved to Canada, eventually finding work on the province's tobacco farms. She's outlived two husbands and her children, but she wants to remain in her home in London's Westmount suburb. But she may not get her wish after the Local Integrated Health Network (LHIN) cut back her personal support workers' hours because, they say, she already has a caregiver to help her. Pargauskas' struggle is emblematic of a chronically underfunded home care system and a shortage of personal support workers which has made the situation even more dire, one politician says. "It's absolutely unacceptable and frankly, appalling, that this woman's services are being reduced just because she has a friend who is willing to come in and shoulder some of the burden of caregiving," said NDP MPP Peggy Sattler, who represents the riding of London West, where Pargauskas lives. Kate Dubinski/CBC News Pargauskas has survived cancer and has severe arthritis that have left it very difficult for her to use her hands for detailed tasks such as taking her medication. But she is able to get off her bed and chair, watch television, and eat her meals alone. Until this weekend, a personal support worker came to see her three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, to help her take her medication. The PSWs also sometimes helped Pargauskas heat up her meals. Those meals are prepared by a friend who used to be Pargauskas' PSW, but has since changed jobs. The two have remained close. The friend, who doesn't want her name used because she is worried it might affect her job prospects, buys Pargauskas' medicine, helps her get to the doctor, and checks in on her. She also prepares meals so the assigned PSW can just heat them up. Story continues She has learned to say "I love you" in Lithuanian, and the two share a comfortable rapport. "It's not fair that they say, 'You're coming to help Salomeja, so we are going to cut back her care. The reason why I am coming is because her care is so lacking and inconsistent in the first place," the friend said. Kate Dubinski/CBC News Pargauskas' grandson has been trying to get to the LHIN to reconsider his grandmother's level of care since it was clawed back on the weekend. CBC News reached out to the Ministry of Health and the LHIN about Pargauskas' care. A representative for the LHIN said care plans are developed "based on a standardized assessment tool that considers a person's functional needs and preferences, and the levels of support they already have in place." The LHIN said care coordinators work with patients and caregivers to develop care plans that "best meet ta patients needs." Sattler says it's not uncommon for home care patients to contact her office for help. "Home and community care have really been underfunded for years and the problem as recently been exacerbated by a shortage of PSWs, so we have a system that already was not funded to provide the support that people need to remain independent in their homes, and now we have a labour shortage," Sattler said. "I hear frequently from people who are concerned about cutbacks to the home care they are receiving, the lack of consistency regarding the staff of the people who come to their homes, and the number of services people are getting. If we don't fix this, this will mean more people in emergency, in the alternative level of care beds in the hospital because there are no long-term care beds for them to go to, and eventually in long-term care homes even though that is a much greater cost to the system." Sattler urged Pargauskas' grandson to reach out to her so she can see if she can help. The provincial government unveiled a plan Tuesday to change how publicly funded home care is provided across Ontario, aimed at making it easier to have home care needs assessed and resolve confusion. If passed, a key part of the legislation would allow 4,000 nursing staff known as "care coordinators" to work from hospitals or family doctors' offices. Membership of the European Union has contributed to the economic prosperity of the United Kingdom. Uncertainty about the outcome of the referendum has already started to weaken growth in the United Kingdom. A UK exit (Brexit) would be a major negative shock to the UK economy, with economic fallout in the rest of the OECD, particularly other European countries. In some respects, Brexit would be akin to a tax on GDP, imposing a persistent and rising cost on the economy that would not be incurred if the UK remained in the EU. Impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom through channels and over time Difference in real GDP relative to the UK staying in the EU Source: OECD Calculations By 2020, GDP would be over 3% smaller than otherwise (with continued EU membership), equivalent to a cost per household of GBP 2200 (in todays prices). In the longer term, structural impacts would take hold through the channels of capital, immigration and lower technical progress. In particular, labour productivity would be held back by a drop in foreign direct investment and a smaller pool of skills. The extent of foregone GDP would increase over time. By 2030, in a central scenario GDP would be over 5% lower than otherwise with the cost of Brexit equivalent to GBP 3200 per household (in todays prices). The effects would be even larger in a more pessimistic scenario and remain negative even in the optimistic scenario. Brexit would also hold back GDP in other European economies, particularly in the near term resulting from heightened uncertainty would create about the future of Europe. In contrast, continued UK membership in the European Union and further reforms of the Single Market would enhance living standards on both sides of the Channel. Related Material Economic Survey of the United Kingdom OECD Forecasts during and after the financial crisis Policy challenges for the next 50 years Economic Policy Papers OECD Economics Department Working Papers Iranian cyber police on Wednesday announced the arrests of 24 people accused of online rumour-mongering about the spread of a coronavirus outbreak that has claimed 19 lives in the country. The Islamic republic is scrambling to contain COVID-19 a week after announcing the first two deaths in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies that draws pilgrims and scholars from abroad. Schools, universities and cultural centres have been closed, sporting events cancelled and teams of sanitary workers deployed to disinfect buses, trains and public spaces. International health experts have expressed concern about Iran's handling of the outbreak -- the deadliest for any country other than China. Such worries mounted on Tuesday when the head of the taskforce combatting the virus, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, admitted he himself had been infected. But health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the situation was "improving", even as he announced four more deaths and 44 new infections, including in six previously unaffected provinces. The head of a newly established cyber police unit announced the arrest of 24 people accused of online rumour-mongering about the spread of the virus. They were handed over to the judiciary, while 118 other internet users were briefly detained and received warnings, Vahid Majid said, cited by semi-official agency ISNA. The arrests were carried out after the establishment of a special unit to "combat rumour-mongers regarding the 'spread of coronavirus in the country'", he was quoted as saying. "The police are monitoring all the published in the country's cyberspace." Majid said the unit would take action over news, pictures or videos that "contain rumours or fake meant to disturb the public and increase concern in society". Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday charged that Iran "seems to be concealing information about the epidemic". It condemned what it termed "Iran's persecution of media outlets and journalists publishing independent information". "Respect for the public's right to full, independent, diverse and quality news reporting... is the best way to protect the population and combat rumours," said Reza Moini, head of RSF's Iran desk. "Withholding information can kill." President Hassan Rouhani, for his part, accused Iran's arch foe the United States of trying to use propaganda about the virus to instil "fear" against his country. The Americans "themselves are struggling with coronavirus", Rouhani said in a weekly cabinet meeting. He added that "16,000 people have died of influenza there but they don't talk about their own (dead)". Rouhani's remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of concealing the full extent of the outbreak, saying "Tehran may have suppressed vital details". The virus has also infected Iranian officials. Deputy health minister Harirchi had coughed and repeatedly wiped sweat from his brow at a joint news conference Monday with government spokesman Ali Rabiei, who is now himself awaiting the results of a coronavirus test. Harirchi stirred controversy at the time by denying a lawmaker's claim that 50 people had died from the virus in Qom, the epicentre of Iran's outbreak. The latest health ministry figures show the virus has spread across the country. There were 15 new cases in Qom, nine in Gilan in the north, four in the capital Tehran and three in Fars in southern Iran, it said. The ministry added that Markazi, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Mazandaran and Semnan provinces each had one new case. Newly hit regions included southwestern Khuzestan, which reported three infections. The others were Lorestan in the west, Semnan in northern central Iran and Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, as well as in the southern provinces of Hormozgan and Sistan and Baluchistan, which all had two cases each. The health ministry's spokesman, Jahanpour, appeared optimistic about the situation in the worst-hit province of Qom, south of Tehran. "Every 24 hours, at least 10 per cent of those hospitalised or suspect cases are discharged with good general health," the official said. But in Gilan, "things are slightly concerning", he added, as it has had the second highest number of new cases, including people who had made trips to other provinces. The health minister has repeatedly called on Iranians to refrain from travelling to other provinces, especially those infected like Gilan. Iran is yet to quarantine any of the infected cities, including Qom, with authorities dismissing the method as outdated and ineffective. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) San Francisco -- As the new coronavirus spreads globally, the online battle to keep misinformation about the disease is also stepping up. Google, Facebook and other platforms are struggling to keep ahead of scammers, trolls, and others with ill intent who routinely use major tragedies or disasters as opportunities to swindle or manipulate people. "The public concern about coronavirus is being used as a vehicle to get people to transmit misinformation and disinformation," said University of Washington biology professor Carl Bergstrom. Internet companies took part in a meeting with the World Health Organization last week at Facebook offices in Silicon Valley to discuss tactics such as promoting reliable information and fact-checking dubious claims about the coronavirus referred to as COVID-19. "(We must) combat the spread of rumors and misinformation," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told AFP recently. "To that end, we have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results." Google search ranks authoritative sources higher when people are seeking information on health and labels results or news stories that have been fact-checked. Ghebreyesus said that social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok have also taken steps to limit spread of misinformation about coronavirus. Facebook said in a recent online post that it is focusing on claims which, if relied on, could increase the likelihood of someone getting sick or not getting proper treatment. "This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus - or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available," Facebook head of health Kang-Xing Jin said in the post. "We will also block or restrict hashtags used to spread misinformation on Instagram, and are conducting proactive sweeps to find and remove as much of this content as we can." Researchers say internet trolls and others often use a health crisis to spread false information or to sell snake oil remedies. Photo: AFP Selling snake oil Bergstrom said some virus misinformation is "people trying to sell snake oil products" such as bogus cures or treatments, while others use attention-grabbing deceptions to drive online traffic that yields money from advertising. Misinformation is also spread by "actors" out to fuel distrust for the establishment in China or foment societal instability overall, according to Bergstrom. "There's appetite for up-to-date, real-time information," said Jevin West, co-author of a book on misinformation with Bergstrom. "These actors can take advantage of that; things with crazier scenarios are more likely to be clicked on than the report from that doctor at WHO trying to calm down the fears." Facebook said that when users seek information related to the virus, the social network will show "educational pop-up" boxes with information considered credible. Facebook is also giving free advertising credits to organizations running coronavirus education campaigns. Google-owned video sharing platform YouTube has been modifying policies and products for several years to remove harmful content and give priority to authoritative content deemed trustworthy. "We currently do not allow content promoting dangerous remedies or cures, like videos which claim that harmful substances or treatments can have health benefits," YouTube said. YouTube last year began providing links to reliable information along with videos on "subjects prone to misinformation," and added coronavirus to that list. Google and Facebook say they are seeking to promote credible information while limiting the spread of hoaxes about the deadly coronavirus epidemic. Photo: AFP Fact-checks helping or not? Social media giants have also beefed up ranks of fact-checkers, hiring outside parties such as AFP News Wire, to sort truth from fiction, even if there are questions on their effectiveness. A recent study published in the journal Science Advances suggested fact-checking did little to stem the tide of misinformation about other epidemics such as Zika, Ebola and yellow fever. The researchers said that "current approaches to combating misinformation and conspiracy theories about disease epidemics and outbreaks may be ineffective or even counterproductive," and could even cause "collateral" damage by undermining trust in fact-based disease information. Bergstrom and West questioned whether social media giants optimized for virality could stem the tide of disinformation and deceit. "Social media company claiming it's active participant in the fight against misinformation is like (tobacco maker) Philip Morris saying they're active participant in the fight against lung cancer," Bergstrom said. The Bishop of Daejeon looks at the situation in South Korea which just had its largest one-day increase. For the Church, scaremongering is feeding fear. All 16 dioceses have suspended open Masses. A pseudo-Christian sect is one of the sources of the outbreak. Some of its members were in the epicentre of the outbreak in China. Daejeon (AsiaNews) Lent, a time pf prayer, fasting and charity, begins today. It is also a good time to question ourselves about God's plans for humanity shaken by the coronavirus emergency, said Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Daejeon. The almighty Lord is good and merciful, notes the prelate, who chairs the Social Affairs Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea (CBCK). He alone knows how much destruction this disease will bring. But it is He himself who has permitted it. I pray to understand what the Lord is asking humanity, the Church, the diocese and me. Everything that happens, even apparently terrible things, are signs of His infinite love. To understand, it is necessary to pray more, to do penance and make sacrifices. I asked my faithful to fast every Friday. The food they won't eat will be collected and distributed to people in need. Thus, we shall also help coronavirus victims in a practical way. On Friday, we shall recite the Rosary for the end of the epidemic. This morning, South Koreas health authorities announced 284 new Covid-19 cases, the largest one-day increase since the crisis began. So far, 12 people have died from the virus, whilst 1,261 cases have been reported so far; just a week ago, only 51 people were taken ill with it. In the last few days, we have seen an unbelievable increase. We thought that the emergency had been brought under control. Still, for most bishops there is too much scaremongering. The upcoming election on 15 April is contributing to this. In fact, proportionately there have been few casualties, almost all elderly and ill for years. To my knowledge, no one young or healthy has died. According to the government, about 80 per cent of confirmed cases have two sources, a religious sect based in Daegu, 300 kilometres southeast of the capital, and a hospital in Cheongdo County. The Shincheonji (New Heaven and New Earth) Church of Jesus has about 250,000 members in South Korea. The group is controversial because of its aggressive proselytising campaigns and the secrecy of its members who tend to hide their affiliation. The movement believes that the groups 88-year-old founder Lee Man-hee wore the cloak of Jesus Christ and will bring 144,000 people with him to heaven on Judgment Day. "The Church of Shincheonji is not a Christian sect, explains the bishop of Daejeon. It is an invented religion, with a lot of money involved. The leaders are not sincere and hide information from the authorities that could be useful, such as their travel and meetings. This morning the sect gave South Korean authorities a list with the names of 213,000 followers. Health authorities will examine anyone in the group with flu symptoms. However, critics doubt the reliability of the list, as it reportedly does not include "aspiring followers" who study the sacred texts in secret places. This sect has a community of about 200 people in Wuhan, China, the city where the virus originated, Bishop You said. At first, the leaders denied that they had been there. However, at a prayer meeting, a member said in a bombastic tone that his group came back from China without contracting the disease because of Gods will. So now we know that some sect members did go to Wuhan. It is almost certain that one of them brought the virus to Korea. Since the start of the crisis, the Catholic Church of Korea has called on people to stay calm and be socially responsible. "The situation is difficult but we will be able to overcome it, praying and trying to understand what God wants from and for us. For the first time in the countrys history, all 16 Korean dioceses have halted open Masses for two or three weeks. As a Church, we are following government orders and taking part in initiatives to fight the spread of the virus. In my opinion, the government is responding to the emergency in an appropriate manner. Following the example of Pope Francis, the Diocese of Daejeon has launched an initiative in favour of the people of China. The faithful raised about US,000 to buy masks, other protective gear, and personal care products to be sent to China. We want to help our Chinese brothers and sisters, but we couldnt deliver the shipment. Hence, today we sent it to Daegu. The Church has always led the fight against diseases that have threatened humanity throughout history. Christians must undertake other actions in addition to prayers. Even reciting the Rosary every day is enough, or other deeds of charity and penance. Recently, I was touched by the many doctors and nurses many of them Catholic who went to Daegu, which is short of medical staff. Some homeowners are also cutting rents to help people. These are signs of great solidarity, stories that move people's hearts. (PF) The "France Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Summary 'France: Country Intelligence Report,' a new Country Intelligence Report by the author, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in France today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2024. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile, and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends. Total telecom and pay-TV service revenues in France have reached US$38.9 billion in 2019 and will grow to US$47.0 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 3.8%, mainly driven by growth in the mobile data and fixed broadband segments. Mobile data revenue will increase at a CAGR of 8.6% over 2019-2024, rising from US$11.2 billion in 2019 to US$16.9 billion by 2024, driven by rising consumption of mobile data services as well as continuously increasing smartphone subscriptions over the forecast period. Pay-TV service revenues will drop from US$3.1 billion in 2019 to US$3.0 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 0.7%. The decline in pay-TV revenues in France is due to a decline in DTH subscriptions and total pay-TV ARPUs. The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following Demographic and macroeconomic context in France. The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation, and more. Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data, and pay-TV markets. The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments. Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets. Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook. Scope The overall telecom and pay-TV services revenue in France will grow at a CAGR of 3.8% during 2019-2024. Mobile revenue will account for 53.0% of the total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in 2024, driven by growing data ARPU, rising consumption of mobile data services as well as continuously increasing smartphone subscriptions over the forecast period. 4G will be the leading technology throughout the forecast period, however, its subscriptions share will decline from 58.6% in 2019 to 55.9% by 2024 due to subscriber migration from 4G to 5G services. We expect 5G to be commercially available in 2020. Reasons to buy This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of France's telecommunications markets, service providers, and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies. Accompanying Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in France's mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares. With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality. The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in France's telecommunications markets. The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors, and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in France. Key Topics Covered: Market Highlights Demographic, Macroeconomic, And Regulatory Context Demographic And Macroeconomic Context Regulatory Context Telecom And Pay-Tv Services Market Outlook Total Telecom Service Revenue Mobile Services Market Fixed Services Market Pay-Tv Services Market Competitive Landscape And Company Snapshots Competitive Landscape Orange France Sfr Bouygues Telecom Free Additional Resources Baseline Forecast Assumptions Data Tables Glossary Research Methodology Country Intelligence Report Coverage About Companies Mentioned Orange France SFR Free Bouygues Telecom La Poste Mobile CanalSat For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vld2yp View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005679/en/ Contacts: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 A fifth of Europeans believe that a secretive Jewish cabal controls world politics and economics, a damning report on anti-Semitism has found. The same number also believe that Jews 'exploit Holocaust victimhood for their own needs', a survey commissioned the Action and Protection League revealed. The figures were published as Jewish leaders called on European governments to take on a bigger role in curbing rising anti-Semitism on the continent. A fifth of Europeans believe a secret Jewish cabal influences politics and economics while the same number also believe Jew exploit Holocaust victimhood, a survey has found (file image) It comes just days after a far-right terror attack in Germany targeting Turkish people, by a killer who had also confessed his belief in various anti-Semitic conspiracies. The survey also found a quarter of respondents agreed with the statement: 'Israel's policies make me understand why some people hate Jews'. More than a third agreed with the assertion that 'during World War II, people from our nation suffered as much as Jews.' The survey also concluded that Holocaust revisionism and belief in classic anti-Semitic stereotypes was more common in the east, while anti-Israel sentiment including anti-Semitic beliefs were more common in the west. The Hungary-based Action and Protection League commissioned the survey, which was presented at the European Jewish Association's conference in Paris on Monday. Researchers interviewed 1,000 people in 16 European countries including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland between December last year and January this year. The European Jewish Association have now called on all European leaders to adopt its action plan to combat anti-Semitism. The plan includes adopting the the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances working definition of anti-Semitism, which saw Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticsed after he initially refused to adopt it in full. The same survey also found a quarter of respondents agreed with the statement: 'Israel's policies make me understand why some people hate Jews' Other elements of the plan include appointing a special envoy on combating anti-Semitism; mandating schools include lessons on anti-Semitism; and legislating bans on anti-Semitic symbols in public, including Nazi imagery. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the association, said: 'We as Jewish communities cannot eradicate anti-Semitism on our own. 'After 20 years dealing with this subject, Ive come to the understanding that no matter how many schools we visit, and no matter how many delegations we bring to Auschwitz, its all just a drop in the bucket. 'Therefore we realized that the way to fight anti-Semitism is to pass on the responsibility to European governments.' The survey comes against a backdrop of data which shows rising anti-Semitism across Europe. France, Germany and the UK all recorded dramatic rises in the number of anti-Semitic hate crimes recorded in 2018, as well as in increase in violent attacks. A study by the Anti-Defamation League also found rising anti-Semitism in Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Hungary between 2015 and 2019. Meanwhile a study by the EU found that 89 per cent of Jews living in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK feel anti-Semitism has increased over the past decade. Almost half worried about being insulted or harassed in public because they are Jewish, and more than a third feared being physically attacked. Those who are interested in bringing back the nostalgic days of the 1990s can start doing so when the first Micro Machines play sets arrive sometime in the fall at a cost of $50 each - that also includes three exclusive Micro Machines vehicles. One of the most popular toy car lines from the 1980s and 1990s is making a comeback. Its been a while since we last saw Micro Machines on toy shelves, but the once-popular line of toy cars and sets is returning for the first time in 12 years. The first play sets of the new Micro Machines are on display at the 2020 New York Toy Fair. What Happened to Micro Machines? Were all familiar with famous toy car brands like Hot Wheels and Matchbox, but there was a time in the 1990s when Micro Machines was the biggest-selling toy car brand in the U.S. It was so dominant that its sales volume exceeded the {combined} sales of its two aforementioned rivals and die-cast toy builder {Marjorette} . The play sets were a big part of what made Micro Machines so popular. It wasnt enough for the brand to release toy cars; it created entire environments for these cars to run around. Unfortunately, Micro Machines run at the top was short-lived. The company behind the product, Galoob, was eventually sold to Hasbro, which scrapped the brands basic toy line. There were efforts made in repackaging the toys but those attempts didnt catch on as well as the original play set concept. It is remarkable, though, to think of the success Micro Machines had when it was competing against far more established brands like Hot Wheels and Matchbox. In the face of going up against two heavyweights, Micro Machines proved, for a time at least, that it could not only go toe-to-toe with Hot Wheels and Matchbox, but it could beat them at their own game. Previous revivals stalled on the block Technically, Micro Machines hasnt been away from shelves long. A few years ago, Hasbro brought back a new set of themed Micro Machines as part of a marketing tie-up with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Its unclear if those lines did as well as Hasbro expected, but this recent revival lasted only a year before the toy maker decided to send Micro Machines back to the garage. Before that, Hasbro brought Micro Machines as a response to the surging popularity of the Speedeez brand. Fantasy-themed cars were primarily released, but that never caught on since most people who remembered the popularity of the OG Micro Machines remembered it for entirely different reasons. What Is Happening With Micro Machines Now? Its only been 12 years, but if you think about it, {Micro Machines} hasnt been a player in the toy car scene for more than two decades. The brands popularity surged in the early to mid-90s, but since then, it hasnt come close to recapturing the magic that spurred its popularity 20-something years ago. But todays a new day. The tiny toy cars are being resurrected with a new line that trails back to the formula that made Micro Machines so popular in the 90s. Those who werent born yet, or at least too young to remember, should know that a big reason for {Micro Machines} popularity in the 90s revolved around its transforming play set. One of the most popular playsets back in the day was the Super Van City that doubled as an entire metropolis once you pull out all of the vans panels. Other than the cars being smaller than Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, it was this kind of prepared environment that separated Micro Machines from its rivals. There was a home for all the tiny cars to run around, freeing you from the task of creating a make-shift city using cereal boxes, canned goods, and whatever item you could find scattered around your house. These play sets the Super Van City was the most popular were like homes within homes for the tiny toy cars. It comes as no surprise, then, that, in reviving Micro Machines, Hasbro, in collaboration with Wicked Cool Toys, is bringing back the classic Super Van City as one of its initial offerings. The same concept applies. You pull out the vans panels and a bustling city comes out of it, complete with a dirt track, a suspension bridge, drag strip, convenience store, a donut shop, a construction site, and yes, even an airport. The layout has changed from the original Super City Van, but the whole concept behind it remains the same. More play sets are expected to be announced in the future, but for now, it appears that the Micro Machines resurrection will use the Super Van City as its new face. The play set will be available later this year for $50. For that amount, youre not just getting the van itself, but you also stand to receive three exclusive Micro Machines that you can use in the pull-out metropolis. South Korea has seen a major surge in coronavirus infections over the past week. Most of the cases are near the southeastern city of Daegu. The countrys fourth-largest city is eerily quiet, as most residents heed calls by authorities to stay home. But as VOAs Bill Gallo reports from Daegu, many residents are worried the virus has begun to spread out of control. VOA Khmer's Sopheada Phy narrates. The global tally of people diagnosed with coronavirus passed 100,000 on Friday, while the number of cases in the UK saw its biggest jump to date. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, confirmed a second person with Covid-19 had now died in Britain, as the number of patients in the country rose to 164 up from 116 the day before. In other developments: More than 4,000 people have been placed in quarantine across New York state, where 33 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to governor Andrew Cuomo Italys death toll rose by nearly 50 on Friday to 197, while the number of confirmed cases surpassed 4,000 Boris Johnson announced 46m extra funding for research into developing a coronavirus vaccine, saying he hopes one would be ready to use in around a year Facebook shut its London offices over coronavirus after an employee tested positive Two teenagers were arrested over an attack on a Singaporean man in London, during which they allegedly shouted I dont want your coronavirus in my country At least 3,400 people have died across the world after being infected with Covid-19, figures showed on Friday. The US saw its death toll rise to 15, after another person who had tested positive for the virus died in Washington bringing the total number of fatalities in the state up to 12. Donald Trump has signed an $8.3bn (6.4bn) emergency funding bill to combat the disease - but also claimed erroneously that its spread had been "stopped" and that cases were "very few because we have been very strong at the borders". Two people have now died in the UK who were both suffering from underlying health conditions, according to the health secretary. An elderly man died at Milton Keynes Hospital on Thursday after testing positive, it was announced on Friday evening. Meanwhile, Downing Street said it was accelerating work on the next phase of its response to the virus, saying it was upping efforts to delay its spread. The decision followed warnings from the chief medical officer that it is highly likely that the infection will spread in a significant way, according to a No 10 spokesperson. Multiple countries announced their first confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Friday, including Colombia, Togo and Serbia. The Vatican also revealed its first positive diagnosis, saying that a patient was being treated within its walls after attending a three-day conference nearby. Pope Francis who has cancelled several public events in recent weeks after suffering from a slight cold tested negative for coronavirus on Tuesday. The Netherlands reported its first death from the infection on Friday, after a 86-year-old man died at Rotterdam hospital. The growing number of cases and deaths in new countries came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged nations to make containing the deadly virus their top priority. The UN agency stressed that slowing down the epidemic allowed hospitals to prepare and saves lives, while warning that there was no evidence that spread would wane as the northern hemisphere gets warmer. It is a false hope to say yes it will just disappear in summertime, like influenza virus, the executive director of WHOs emergencies programme, Dr Mike Ryan, said. There is no evidence right now to suggest that that will happen. Some countries announced stricter measures to combat the virus spread, with France saying it would close schools in badly-hit areas for two weeks. The country counted more than 600 cases of coronavirus on Friday, jumping by 190 compared to the day before, according to the head of the public health service, Jerome Salomon. Meanwhile in Italy the worst-hit European country cases soared to 4,636 compared to 3,858 on Thursday. Its death toll rose by 49 to reach 197, according to the Civil Protection Agency. Chinas Hubei province, where the outbreak started, reported zero new cases over 24 hours for the first time during the outbreak, excluding its capital Wuhan, where the first cases of Covid-19 were reported last year. Companies also announced infections among their staff, with Facebook shutting its London office for deep-cleaning after an employee was diagnosed with the virus and British Airways saying two baggage handlers had tested positive. The UN also took action amid Covid-19s spread, saying that key meetings in the run-up to its climate summit in Glasgow would be cancelled. The number of cases rose to 164 in the UK on the same day that the PM announced extra funding to develop a vaccine to fight the infection, saying he hoped a vaccine could be developed in about a year. The announcement followed the UKs chief scientific adviser telling BBC Radio 4s Today that he did not believe one will be discovered in time for the current outbreak. It is not unreasonable to assume that we will end up with a vaccine and we may do so in a year or 18 months, Sir Patrick Vallance said, which is remarkable when you consider just a few years ago it would have taken 20 years to do that. The UK government has attempted to reassure the public that they will continue to have necessary food and other supplies amid shortage fears driven by Covid-19. George Eustice, the environment secretary, held talks with supermarket and trade body bosses over food supply contingencies on Friday and said he was reassured retailers were taking all the necessary steps to keep shelves well-stocked. Meanwhile in the UK, two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a Singaporean student, allegedly shouting about coronavirus as they launched their attack. Additional reporting by agencies This is the hilarious moment the Good Morning Britain studios were turned upside down in a bid to find presenter Bill Turnbull's earpiece. Bill, 64, is standing in for regular host Piers Morgan this week while he takes a break. Viewers were delighted to see him return to their screens on Monday after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017. But this morning he had 'one of those Wednesdays', revealing he had also lost his contact lenses, before joking his false teeth had disappeared ahead of the programme. To make matters worse, he managed to lose his earpiece during one of the ad breaks, with the whole GMB crew forced to search for it before they came back on air. Bill Turnbull, 64, is standing in for regular host Piers Morgan this week while he takes a break. He is pictured centre with co-host Susanna Reid right and Ranvir Singh left His co-host Susanna, who previously worked with him on the BBC Breakfast show, told the audience: 'You know they call Wednesday hump day? 'Bill is really having one of those Wednesdays. You'd forgotten to put your teeth in and you were having trouble reading.' Bill chimed in: 'I hadn't got my contact lenses in, so I was having to wear glasses, then the earpiece popped out during the break.' The programme then re-played footage from during the advert break - with Benny Hill music as the backdrop - when dozens of crew members were drafted in to help find the earpiece. Susanna added: 'If you think we staged this, we absolutely did not. This is what just happened during the break.' During the clip, Bill joked to one producer: 'Keep your hands to yourself! Delving into my pockets like that.' He managed to lose his earpiece during one of the ad breaks, with the whole crew forced to look for it He then told viewers: 'People at home, please look around the back of the telly.' But suddenly an 'eagle-eyed' member of the team called Ian came rushing in saying: 'I've just seen it, it's under your script.' The small earpiece, the size of a 5p coin, had become lodged between two of Bill's scripts on his desk. He asked in amazement: 'How did it get there?', before adding: 'Here, have it back!' and pretending to throw it to the producer. Bill and Susanna launched the BBC Breakfast show when it moved to Media City in Salford and worked on it together until 2014 when she left for ITV. The pair hugged on screen this morning after being reunited after six years. This is the hilarious moment the Good Morning Britain studios were turned upside down in a bid to find presenter Bill Turnbull's earpiece He said on the programme: 'I can't believe this is really happening, it's so exciting. I feel like I'm coming home.' Ms Reid made jokes about his full head of hair before others piped up with their own quips. Viewers commenting on social media were delighted to see the pair back together. One person tweeted: 'Bill Turnbull on the sofa with Suzanne... just as it should be. No awkwardness... it's as if he's never been away. Welcome back.' Another person commented: 'Lovely to see @susannareid100 and Bill Turnbull on @GMB this morning. The dream team are back. YES!! XxX' Someone else wrote: 'How lovely to see Bill Turnbull back on our screens #GMB' In his first reaction on the Delhi violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for peace on Wednesday even as he held an "extensive review" on the prevailing situation that has become a cause of concern for law enforcement agencies. Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said: "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy." Appealing for calm to restore normalcy, Modi said peace and harmony are "central to our ethos". "I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest," he said. Modi's appeal came minutes after Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi held a rare press conference in New Delhi, flanked by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader P. Chidambaram where the party demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation for allegedly being unable to contain the violence. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 So far, 20 people have been killed in the Delhi violence which appears to be one of the worst in recent times. A constable too succumbed to injuries that sparked massive outrage. On Monday, a Delhi Police head constable was killed as pro- and anti-CAA groups battled each other even as Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony. On Wednesday morning, the body of an Intelligence Bureau employee was recovered from the affected area which was found dumped in a drain, sparking further outrage. The cause of the violence is believed to be a clash between pro- and anti-CAA protesters after those in support of the legislation blocked a road of northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad area, in a similar fashion to that of Shaheen Bagh, over the weekend. Several areas including Jaffrabad, Maujpur, and Gokulpuri remained tense on Wednesday. Police and paramilitary forces have also been deployed in parts of northeast Delhi that have been affected. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Amulya Leona, who was arrested for pro-Pakistan slogans, is being questioned by police officials of the Special Investigation Team, who took her into police custody on Tuesday night. As part of the investigation, the police took Amulya to a paying guest accommodation in Basaveshwara Nagar, where she was staying. The team has reportedly seized some articles from her room. ALSO READ| SIT scours Amulya Leonas social media accounts Meanwhile, it is learnt that both Amulya and Aridra Narayanan, who was arrested a day after Amulya's arrest, were staying in the same room for three months together. In January, Aridra had reportedly moved to another PG accommodation. Due to security reasons, the police are maintaining secrecy about the movement of Amulya. As it is feared that people may attack Amulya, the police didn't produce her before the court but took her to the residence of the magistrate in the night on Tuesday. Amulya has been remanded in police custody after the police submitted that her custodial requirement was necessary as part of the probe. Amulya was arrested by the Upparpet police on Thursday evening after she shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' during an anti-CAA protest event at Freedom Park. By ANI NEW DELHI: Former Air Chief BS Dhanoa said that there was no Pakistani aircraft within 150 km of IAF's strike package that bombed the terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 last year. He further said that Pakistan had no knowledge about the Indian air-strike. Exactly a year ago India carried out air-strike at a terror camp in Balakot. "The technical information that was put out in front of government confirmed that our strike has been successful," Dhanoa said in an exclusive interview to ANI. "As far as Pakistan is concerned, they need to answer some basic questions. Why will the Indian Aircraft run away? We were firing standoff weapons. Why will we go and hit a forest? They had no knowledge about the targets. They had no knowledge about the kind of weapons that we used, the kind of warheads we used, the fuse setting of that warheads. How much it will penetrate before exploding. They had no knowledge," said the former Air Chief. "When their first pictures came out, it became clear to me that they have no idea how they have been hit. There was no aircraft within 150 km of our strike package," he said. The former IAF Chief said PAF was not in the loop with ISI and national leadership. ALSO READ| Balakot airstrike marks paradigm shift in our operations: Former IAF chief Dhanoa "Bhawalpur is known as headquarters of JeM so they thought that IAF will go and hit there to send a message to JeM. As far as air defence alert of PAF goes, they were on a very high alert. After Pulwama happened they had no doubt that the Indian Government will respond. We had even responded after Uri," he said. Dhanoa stressed that three building at the Balakot terror camp was hit and people inside must have died. "We knew how many people were approximately in every building and the buildings that were targeted were the ones which were of importance. The highest priority was given to the building where people were undergoing their final stage of training before they are pushed inside Jammu and Kashmir," he said. "Three buildings were targeted and all three were hit. People inside must have died. They would not have survived that kind of weapon," he added. However, he refused to give the figure of casualties saying that it has already been reported by intelligence agencies. The former Air Chief underlined that political leadership was willing to take the risk. "Any mission has got a risk to pilots. It is a very big political risk also. What would have happened if we lost an aircraft across the border in trying to strike the JeM camp? There is no mission without risk. Political leadership was willing to take the risk," said Dhanoa. Speaking about the aerial dogfight of February 27, Dhanoa said, "PAF under air defence umbrella of F-16 had carried out attacks with stand-off weapons on our forward military installations. I have always maintained that these were a misses because they are the first-generation weapons and second they were all heavy weapons which were dropped fairly close. Were we expecting a response? Of course, we were. That is why our air defence was in a high state of alert." The former Air Chief pointed out that while the Pakistani Air Defence did not come within 150 km of Indian strike package on Feb 26, the next day, during the aerial skirmish IAF had 10 aircraft in the air to counter them. "Their Air Defence did not come within 150 km of us. And in our case, we had 10 aircraft in the air to counter them. One of them (bombs dropped by PAF) hit a tree. Why will they admit that they missed the target? They were using first-generation weapons. Some bombs missed by 500 m, some by 1.5 km," said Dhanoa. "They tried to send a message that if we can hit them, they can also. However, they failed because of two reasons - first, because of their errors that I don't know and secondly, our air defence had responded. We did a lot of tricks," he said. Jammu, Feb 26 : The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday announced the extension of amnesty for the settlement of unresolved issues in the old tax regime for the smooth implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The scheme would continue till June 30. The government expects the scheme to be availed by all dealers who could not avail of the benefit of the amnesty provided they pay the admitted/assessed/re-assessed principal tax by or before June 30. The scheme can also be availed by all those dealers, who had applied under the earlier scheme, but had either failed to deposit the payment in time or had missed any of the instalments. The scheme provides relief to the dealers having arrears on account of tax, interest and penalty by granting a full waiver of interest and penalty under Jammu and Kashmir Valued Added Tax Act, 2005(now repealed) and General Sales Tax Act, 1962. The objective of the scheme is to free a large segment of the taxpayers from the legacy taxes. The scheme is tailored to cover the period up to July 7, 2017. In less than a year in market, Prima has established itself as an industry leader, evidenced by its unwavering commitment to superior quality, consumer education, clinically tested efficacy, self-imposed health and safety standards and its strategic national partnership with Sephora. As the first CBD brand to be a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), MADE SAFE Certified and achieve B Corp status (pending), this launch for Prima reflects an elevated shift for the industry, as Sephora takes a leadership role to meticulously curate their CBD offering with select best-in-class brand partners who adhere to commitments on quality, sourcing, and safety. "At Prima, purity, performance, and transparency are our top priority," said Prima Founder & CEO Christopher Gavigan. "We are obsessively passionate about bringing an unparalleled level of trust, integrity, and expertise to consumers. It's incredibly validating to be selected by Sephora, who is not only the leading prestige beauty omni-retailer but also shares our health and safety values through the Clean at Sephora program and their newly articulated "CBD Standards." Our scientifically validated, sustainably sourced, and vegan / cruelty-free principles have led to a new, elevated paradigm in this CBD category and luxury skincare. It's outstanding to be acknowledged by Sephora for our approach, best-in-class botanical products, rigorous standards, and leadership to elevate the entire therapeutic wellness industry." The Clean at Sephora program launched in the Spring 2018, and indicates brands that are formulated without a list of over 50 ingredients, including parabens, formaldehydes, MIT, phthalates, nanoparticles, and more. "We're thrilled to launch Prima exclusively at Sephora, and to continue to grow our prestige CBD assortment," said Cindy Deily, Vice President of Merchandising at Sephora. "The Prima team is passionate about education and is committed to the purity and potency of their products. Their goals of embracing self-care and providing high quality products aligns with Sephora's own values and we can't wait to introduce Prima's collection to the Sephora community." Prima will also launch two new products, The Afterglow and Enlightenment Serum, with Sephora as the exclusive retail partner. In addition, Sephora will carry the brand's existing premium skincare offering: The Afterglow : clinically-tested, deeply restorative cream for youthful radiance with 500 MG of hemp cannabinoids with ayurvedic adaptogen complex + 4 types of hyaluronic acid ($96.00) clinically-tested, deeply restorative cream for youthful radiance with 500 MG of hemp cannabinoids with ayurvedic adaptogen complex + 4 types of hyaluronic acid Enlightenment Serum: concentrated boost for vital hydration and even skin tone with 100 MG of hemp cannabinoids with saccharide complex + niacinamide ($42.00) concentrated boost for vital hydration and even skin tone with 100 MG of hemp cannabinoids with saccharide complex + niacinamide Skin Therapy: ultra-rich body butter with 5 organic oils and butters and 275 mg CBD to soothe and replenish dry, dehydrated skin, ($38.00) ultra-rich body butter with 5 organic oils and butters and 275 mg CBD to soothe and replenish dry, dehydrated skin, Night Magic: luxurious, transformative facial oil for improved radiance, tone and balance, infused with 13 potent botanical oils and 300mg hemp cannabinoids with naturally occurring CBD, the first CBD product to be awarded the MadeSafe certification. Clinically proven to improve skin hydration by 33% and skin firmness by 16%. ($88.00) luxurious, transformative facial oil for improved radiance, tone and balance, infused with 13 potent botanical oils and 300mg hemp cannabinoids with naturally occurring CBD, the first CBD product to be awarded the MadeSafe certification. Clinically proven to improve skin hydration by 33% and skin firmness by 16%. R&R Cream : advanced recovery rub for soothing comfort, featuring 750 MG of hemp cannabinoids and a beneficial botanical blend of menthol, rosemary, lavender and tea tree to encourage total relaxation. ($55.00) : advanced recovery rub for soothing comfort, featuring 750 MG of hemp cannabinoids and a beneficial botanical blend of menthol, rosemary, lavender and tea tree to encourage total relaxation. Soak It In Bath Gem: effervescent mineral soak for relaxation and recovery made with pure, whole plant hemp extract with naturally occurring CBD and botanicals known to calm and ease. ($16.00) Prima launched 9 wellness products in the summer of 2019 at prima.co, and has been rapidly expanding its availability in specialty retail (Erewhon, Standard Dose, Pharmaca, Calmist, Knockout Beauty, Thrive Market, and more). ABOUT PRIMA Prima is the science-led, purpose-driven holistic wellness brand elevating hemp-based CBD and functionally innovative botanicals. Its core mission is to rise up against the modern day stress epidemic through education and products made with the highest standards of purity, potency and transparency. Prima is built on the essential principle that balance is a critical part of health, healing, and happiness and that we all deserve better. Prima is a privately held Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) based in Santa Monica California. ABOUT SEPHORA Since its debut in North America over 20 years ago, Sephora has been a leader in prestige omni-retail with the purpose of creating an inviting beauty shopping experience and inspiring fearlessness in our community. With the goal of delivering unbiased shopping support and a personalized experience, Sephora invites clients to touch and try 25,000 products from 400 carefully curated brands, enjoy services at the Beauty Studio and engage with expertly trained beauty advisors in more than 490 stores across the Americas, as well as over 660 locations inside JCPenney. Clients can also experience Sephora online and through our mobile app, access the free-to-join Beauty Insider program and digital community, which together enhance the experience of Sephora's passionate clients. Sephora has been an industry-leading champion of diversity, inclusivity, and empowerment, guided by our longstanding company values. In 2019, Sephora announced a new tagline and manifesto, "We Belong to Something Beautiful," to reinforce its dedication to fostering belonging amongst all clients and employees and to publicly strive for a more inclusive vision for retail in the Americas. Sephora continues to give back to our communities and advance inclusion in our industry through our Sephora Stands social impact programs. For more information, visit: Sephora and follow @Sephora on social media. For media inquiries, please visit our Sephora newsroom or email [email protected] @prima #liveprima prima.co MEDIA CONTACT Kate Alper Communite [email protected] SOURCE Prima She is fresh off the runway in Milan. But Irina Shayk quickly transitioned her role from catwalk queen to doting mother. The 34-year-old Russian supermodel was seen walking hand-in-hand with two-year-old daughter Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper in New York City on Wednesday. Scroll down for video Aww: Irina Shayk was seen walking hand-in-hand with two-year-old daughter Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper in New York City on Wednesday She looked stylish as always in a black leather biker jacket during the bonding outing with her daughter with Bradley Cooper. Irina also donned a white top along with matching trousers and black leather boots. Her brunette tresses cascaded down her shoulder as she let her natural looks show by wearing minimal make-up. Lea looked cute in a hot pink coat over patterned dress, and red beanie as she walked alongside her model mother. Going hell for leather: The 34-year-old Russian model donned a black leather biker jacket over a white top along with matching trousers and black leather boots Sweet: Lea looked cute in a hot pink coat over patterned dress, and red beanie as she walked alongside her model mother The stunner - full name Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova - split from Cooper, 45, in June 2019, after four years together. 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. Better days: The stunner - full name Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova - split from Cooper, 45, in June 2019, after four years together, they are seen together in January 2019 Just days ago Irina was seen rocking the runway as part of Milan Fashion Week. During the Missoni show on Saturday night, Irina strutted her stuff on the catwalk in a muted brown ensemble complete with white PVC knee-high boots. The Italian designer wasn't afraid to clash different patterns as Irina was seen wearing an array of different striped garments and checked pieces Earlier in the week, in-demand model Irina walked the runway for Moschino. The Spring season designed by Moschino's Jeremy Scott featured elaborate hoop skirts, waist cinching bodices and busty bustiers teamed with lace up boots. Fashion pack:Just days ago Irina was seen rocking the runway as part of Milan Fashion Week as she hit the catwalk during the Missoni show on Saturday night 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 (TNS) In the wake of escalating military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. defense and intelligence officials have warned of a potential onslaught of cyberattacks from Iranian hackers, and the Department of Homeland Security cited Iran's history in cybercrime and ability to target critical infrastructure, including energy grids.We have reason to worry.The U.S. electric power system is vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to its two-part infrastructure and the mismatched standards of protection imposed on those parts. The U.S. system of electric delivery includes both transmission for long distance, very large-scale power delivery; and distribution for local delivery within cities and towns. (The transmission system feeds power to distribution, and the distribution system feeds it to all of us.) The transmission system is required to meet robust, audited, enforced federal cyber protection standardsbut the distribution system is not. Instead, the distribution system is regulated by state bodies with little to no cyber protection standards, leaving it vulnerable.Legislation was recently passed to protect the nation's electric grid against cyberattacks, but the new law doesn't go far enough and doesn't move fast enough to protect us from imminent attacks. Threats from Iran illustrate that more urgent action is needed.The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (signed by President Trump in December), establishes a two-year program "to develop a national cyber-informed engineering strategy to isolate and defend covered entities from security vulnerabilities and exploits in the most critical systems of the covered entities to secure the grid against cyberattacks."Hackers are already taking advantage of the system's vulnerabilities. A recent news report described a targeted campaign aimed at distribution system utilities serving key facilities in 18 U.S. states. While these hackers' phishing attempts were not successful, the campaign serves as a clear example that cyber vulnerability is real.This is not the first time attackers have targeted critical electric distribution infrastructure. In 2015, 225,000 Ukrainian customers lost power for several hours when three regional distribution companies were attacked, presumably by Russia. Incident response teams subsequently reported that the attackers intended to disable the grid for a much longer period of time.To gain an appreciation of just how dire the threat is, here's what the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) said in their recent draft report: "Escalating cyber risks to America's critical infrastructures present an existential threat to continuity of government, economic stability, social order, and national security. U.S. companies find themselves on the front lines of a cyber war they are ill-equipped to win against nation-states intent on disrupting or destroying our critical infrastructure."The NIAC, made up of experts involved in critical infrastructure from industry as well as state and local governments, sounded the alarm loud and clear. "Bold action is needed to prevent the dire consequences of a catastrophic cyberattack on energy, communication, and financial infrastructures. The nation is not sufficiently organized to counter the aggressive tactics used by our adversaries to infiltrate, map, deny, disrupt, and destroy sensitive cyber systems in the private sector."The report adds: "It is not a matter of if, but when, an attack will happen. Our window of opportunity to thwart a cyber 9-11 attack before it happens is closing quickly."Threats from Iran underscore the validity of this report. In other words, waiting two years or longer for the proposed pilot program is not an option. We need to act immediately to extend federal cybersecurity standards to protect the entire power grid through each state, from the largest power generation and transmission facilities to the smallest municipal electric company. Nio Inc ADR (NYSE: NIO) shares are higher Tuesday morning after declining sharply in the previous two sessions. Nio Lands Another Financing Deal Nio signed an agreement a cooperation framework agreement with the Hefei City for raising 10 billion yuan, or $1.42 billion. The cash-strapped company recently signed multiple funding agreements that are expected to place at its disposal 0 million. Earlier this month, a Bloomberg report suggested Nio had to delay paychecks, stung by the coronavirus impact. The company's cash position is precarious, and according to its last reported numbers, cash position as of September 2019 stood at a measly $274.3 million. Nio Chinese Headquarters Moving to Hefei Nio has also agreed to shift its China headquarters to the Hefei City, the capital city of the Anhui Province in Eastern China. Apart from the headquarters, the company will build its base for R&D, sales and production, while also developing a national operational system with Hefei as the focus. On shifting to Hebei, Nio hopes to become a leading enterprise with a production value of 100 billion yuan in five years. Nio has an ongoing cooperation agreement with Hefei-based automaker JAC Motors, which was signed in 2016. The EV maker also kicked off mass production of its EC6 model at the JAC NIO Advanced Manufacturing Center in Hefei. Nio shares are skyrocketing 29.12% to $5.01 in Tuesday's pre-market session. Related Links: Nio Shares Retest Level After December, Q4 Deliveries Beat Guidance Nio Will Build 200 Brick-And-Mortar Stores This Year, Report Says See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) Cities and municipalities are now required to designate impounding areas for illegally parked vehicles in the effort to clear road obstructions. "Ang mga illegally parked vehicles ay kailangang i-tow at dalhin sa impounding area (Illegally parked vehicles should be towed and brought to impounding areas). It is, therefore, incumbent upon cities and municipalities to designate impounding areas for the safekeeping of towed vehicles, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said in a statement on Wednesday. He reminded local governments to comply with Memorandum Circular 2020-031, which he issued February 12. Under the circular, cities and municipalities should make sure there is a designated area for towed vehicles because of illegal parking and other violations, as well as road accidents or stalled vehicle due to breakdown. Interior Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said tricycles caught on national highways should also be impounded in designated areas. The Interior department has also ordered local governments to pass ordinances "prescribing clear guidelines on towing, impounding, and releasing of impounded vehicles, to provide certain penalties, as may be appropriate and necessary." These ordinances should be consistent with national laws and policies and "shall not be unreasonable or discriminatory," the department circular read. The agency earlier gave local government units 75 days, or until May 2 to clear road obstructions. This is a follow up to President Rodrigo Duterte's 60-day deadline last year, which the DILG said resulted in the clearing of 6,682 primary and secondary roads nationwide. It said 97 out of 1,245 local government units across the country failed to comply with the President's order, including ten now facing administrative charges. READ: Duterte orders officials to reclaim public roads used for private purposes The Local Government Code grants police powers to local governments to regulate use of streets, direct traffic, and prohibit and remove obstructions as needed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:00:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Bruce Aylward, an epidemiologist who led an advance team from the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks at a press briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 25, 2020. China has changed the course of COVID-19 outbreak, Bruce Aylward said on Tuesday, noting a rapidly escalating outbreak in China has plateaued and come down faster than previously expected. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A press conference was held on Monday in Beijing after the 25-member WHO-China joint mission team conducted a nine-day field study trip in China's Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hubei. Dr. Bruce Aylward, team lead of the special team on COVID-19, has made a speech and answered questions from international media. Twenty-two recommendations in five big areas were delivered by the joint mission to the WHO. Details to be disclosed, the recommendations were made for infected or uninfected countries, as well as for the general public, according to Aylward. We read through the press conference script, and summed up the following: A boy prepares to wash his hands at a community in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo) China's measures taken to fight the virus: -The national approach to hand-washing, the mask-wearing, the social distancing, the universal temperature monitoring; -Conduct exhaustive case identification and close contact tracing, quarantine, and basic hygiene measures, including constant emphasis on the importance of frequent hand washing to the public; -Different areas in China canceled public gathering activities, closed schools, suspended return to work and production, and then slowly progressed to more severe and powerful measures. Staff members arrange traditional Chinese medicines bound for Wuhan of central China's Hubei Province at Zhongchuan International Airport in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen) What should the international community learn from China's measures against the virus? -Speed up response with modern and technical methods, as well as classic ways -Develop each country's own approach in COVID-19 fight -Tailor and refine strategies as situations move forward -Prioritize medical personnel, resources -Clear leadership -Every individual's role -Social cohesion People wear masks as they walk in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 24, 2020. As of Tuesday, ten people have died and 322 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) nationwide in Italy. (Photo by Daniele Mascolo/Xinhua) "It's not to praise China, it's to open the door, and have the rest of the world realize there is something that can be done as people are starting to despair over what can we do," Aylward told the press on Monday. WHO's recommendations on the outbreak response in the coming days and months for the international community: -Speed is everything. As virus moves to other countries, rigorous approaches should be taken -Raise awareness of the virus' aggressiveness -Adapt and tailor fundamental strategies to different settings -Use non-pharmaceutical and basic hygiene measures, such as constant emphasis on the importance of frequent hand washing to the public -Prevent virus from getting into low-income countries with weaker capacity -Prioritize enrollment into research and studies to reduce morbidity and mortality A recovered patient (R) waves to medical staff of the temporary hospital, which applies traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment to patients, in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 26, 2020. TCM has been widely applied in treating infected patients as it has been proved effective in improving the cure rate. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) WHO's advice for China on next-step efforts: -Complacency is the single biggest risk -The virus is dangerous, cunning, tricky, may be around for months -As people, businesses are getting back, everyone should be prepared for the new normal -Prepare for possibility of virus coming back up Staff of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education arrange boxes of donated masks by China in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 25, 2020. China's Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua on Tuesday delivered 250,000 masks to Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education as a support to protect Iranians against the outbreak of novel coronavirus in the country. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) In a daily briefing held Wednesday in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all countries to share disaggregated data and detailed line lists, so that WHO could provide appropriate public health guidance. Tedros stressed that the current goal of every country in the world is to try to contain the virus. "We are in a fight that can be won if we do the right things." According to him, "every country needs to be ready to detect cases early, to isolate patients, trace contacts, provide quality clinical care, prevent hospital outbreaks, and prevent community transmission." Countries should prioritize protecting health workers, engage communities to protect most vulnerable people, and try to contain epidemics in countries with the capacity, according to Tedros. "For the moment, we are not witnessing sustained and intensive community transmission of this virus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death," he said. Six special envoys were appointed by WHO on COVID-19 to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world, while operational planning guidelines were also made by the organization to support country preparedness and response. CPI(M) politburo member Biman Bose said on Wednesday that the secular, democratic forces should defeat the "divisive forces" and not watch in silence. Leading a protest march in Kolkata against the violence in Delhi, the chairman of the Left Front in West Bengal blamed the BJP and Hindutva outfits for the riots in the national capital and said that the country is witnessing a "surge in fascism". He said that the CPI(M) has demanded Army deployment in the violence-hit areas of Delhi. "The secular and democratic forces should defeat the divisive forces and not watch in silence. The police force was deliberately kept inactive which aggravated the situation," Bose said. More than 1,000 CPI(M) activists took part in the two-kilometre-long march from Moulali to Park Circus. Members of the civil society took out another march from Moulali Crossing towards the BJP state office but were stopped by the police at Esplanade. The participants of the march, mostly students and youths who did not carry any flag, termed the violence as "pogrom" and blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre for it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, which hears cases from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, stands in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on Jan. 18, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Appeals Court Rules Trump Administration Can Withhold DOJ Grants to Sanctuary Cities A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration can withhold funding to states who do not assist with federal immigration policies, handing the Trump administration a victory in the sanctuary cities-related case. A three-panel judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 2nd Circuit overturned a lower court decision that ordered the Justice Department (DOJ) to release the funds held under department policy. The lower court ruled the department lacked the authority to impose several immigration-related conditions on a federal grant program, known as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (or the Byrne JAG). The Byrne JAG grant program, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), was created to provide states and local government funding to support a number of initiatives including law enforcement, prosecution, and court, prevention and education, and other related areas. In the fiscal year of 2018, there was $269 million available under the program, according to BJA (pdf). In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions took steps to clamp down on so-called sanctuary cities, jurisdictions that shield illegal aliens from federal immigration agents. The department imposed three conditions on the grant program that state and city applicants had to comply with. The conditions required states and cities to remove any restrictions on communication between state and local agencies and officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); give DHS access to detention facilities to interview inmates about their immigration status; and give DHS at notice when a wanted alien is scheduled to be released from a detention facility. Seven states including New York and New Jersey then sued the department in 2018 asking for injunctive relief from the three conditions. The district court ruled in favor of the states, blocking the department from enforcing the conditions on the challengers and ordering the department to release funds to them. Upon appeal to the 2nd Circuit, the judges reversed the decision, ruling that the plain language of the relevant statutes authorizes the Attorney General to impose the challenged conditions. We cannot agree that the federal government must be enjoined from imposing the challenged conditions on the federal grants here at issue, Justice Reena Raggi, a President George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the opinion (pdf). These conditions help the federal government enforce national immigration laws and policies supported by successive Democratic and Republican administrations. But more to the authorization point, they ensure that applicants satisfy particular statutory grant requirements imposed by Congress and subject to Attorney General oversight. Nor can we agree with the district court that the challenged conditions impermissibly intrude on powers reserved to the States, the judge said. The 2nd Circuit ruling goes against rulings from three other appeals courtsthe 9th Circuit, 7th Circuit, and 3rd Circuitthat have upheld injunctions blocking the enforcement of some or all of the DOJ conditions. The DOJ spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times that the decision rightfully recognizes the lawful authority of the Attorney General to ensure that Department of Justice grant recipients are not at the same time thwarting federal law enforcement priorities. The grant conditions here require states and cities that receive DOJ grants to share information about criminals in custody. The federal government uses this information to enforce national immigration lawspolicies supported by successive Democrat and Republican administrations. All Americans will benefit from increased public safety as this Administration is able to implement its lawful immigration and public safety policies. While todays ruling is a major victory for Americans, its full scope will not be realized until the practices of granting nationwide injunctions and associational injunctions are stopped, as certain cities that are parties to this judgment may nonetheless use rulings from other courts to evade these lawful conditions, the spokesperson said. The Epoch Times contacted the offices of the state attorneys general. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times that he was disappointed by the ruling. Even though todays court decision has no immediate impact, were nonetheless disappointed by the ruling, Grewal said. The Justice Department is holding hostage millions of dollars in grant funding that our state and local law enforcement partners rely on to carry out their public safety mission. Its unfortunate that the federal government has decided to weaponize the federal grant funding process in order to carry out the Presidents anti-immigrant agenda, but Im confident that we will ultimately prevail in the courts. Meanwhile, spokespeople from the Rhode Island attorney general office and New York State attorney general office told The Epoch Times that they were reviewing the decision to decide on options. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement following the decision that they were pleased by the Courts decision and remain committed to ensuring that no jurisdiction has license to nullify federal law or deprive American Citizens of their fundamental rights. Sanctuary jurisdictions deliberately imperil the safety of the American people by releasing criminal aliens onto city streetsinstead of handing them over to Federal authorities, Grisham said in the statement. Since taking office, President Trump has made clear that his administration would not allow these lawless jurisdictions to heartlessly inflict pain and suffering onto our communities. Todays unanimous decision by the Second Circuit upholds the Department of Justices lawful authority to require jurisdictions that receive federal grant money under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to obey the law and not impede the removal of criminal aliens, she added. Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report. This article was updated with statements from the White House and New York State attorney general office on Feb. 27. CASPERThe pillar of our family left for his forever fishing trip on February 20, 2020. Herschel LaVern Nickerson passed away quietly at home with his wife Sandy and dog Maggie close by, listening to his nephew share fishing stories. Herschel was born May 11, 1956, to Herschel Sr. and Loretta Nickerson in Nebraska. Soon after Herschel was born, the Nickersons moved to Casper. Herschels childhood was filled with many adventures and shenanigans with his five siblings: Kirby, Ron Umper, Pam, Rhonda and Teresa. Included in the shenanigans was his nother sister Sam. They all played together and fought together. They always had each others back. Each of them will carry special memories about their brother, too many to list. Herschels early days were also filled with hours of fishing on the North Platte River, not far from home. This began his lifetime love and passion for fishing. He never met a walleye that he didnt like (to catch). Herschel finally shared his secret recipe for fried fish to the delight of family and friends. He was quite familiar with Alcova Lake and Pathfinder Reservoir, making many trips with his friend Bob Stanley. Herschel made an annual trip to Lake Christina with family and friends and was a regular participant in the annual Hawg Ice Fishing Derby. Once in a lifetime fishing trips included deep sea fishing with Umper and Ed in California and salmon fishing in Alaska with his friend Joe Gormley. But fishing doesnt pay the bills. Herschels career as a welder and shop foreman spanned five decades. He had a talent for creating and building. He had a vision for what needed to be done and always saw that it was. Herschel met the love of his life, Sandy, through a mutual friend in 1985. He didnt hesitate to accept her children as his own. Ed, Debbie, Melissa and April each held a special place in his heart as their friend, as a confidant and as a second father. Herschel later welcomed their spouses with open arms Jordan, Woody and Aaron became his friends too. Their children became his grandchildren, a source of great pride for him. He was their Poppy and they loved him so. Herschel worked hard, played harder and always found time for his loved ones: taking care of his little sisters, answering the call from anyone who needed help, being the loyal friend to so many and gifting his grandkids, nieces and nephews with beautiful memories. He also took great pride in his home with Sandy, building a beautiful deck with Ed to watch the Wyoming sky and creating a comfortable space to relax. Herschel will be remembered most for his will to live and love of his family. He fought valiantly against cancer and its many complications for 12 years. His positive spirit and resiliency strengthened all of us. The humor he shared formed bonds with the many nurses and doctors who cared for him. Sandy, who loved him unconditionally and cared for him every day, made sure he had what he needed, took him to appointments and advocated for him. Between the two of them, Herschel and Sandy never quit fighting. There will never be enough words or time to express the gratitude for the countless ways that friends, family and neighbors showed their support and offered their help. For the sweets, food and meals, thank you for the nourishment. For shoveling and plowing of snow, thank you for taking the time. For the visits, words of encouragement and the laughter, thank you for strengthening his spirit. He will be greatly missed by his wife Sandy and their children, his siblings, 12 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, 41 nieces and nephews, numerous cousins and an abundance of friends. Please join us in a Celebration of Life on Saturday, February 29th at 11:00am at The Hall on Ash in Casper. Feel free to wear your gear from the University of Wyoming, Colorado Rockies or Denver Broncos. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Central Wyoming Hospice in Herschels name. The prominent civil Rights advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has alleged that both the senate president and the speaker of the federal House of Representatives may be afraid of possible prosecution over something only both of them know for rushing up a bill to grant themselves immunity from prosecution. HURIWA has at the same time showered encomiums on some of the Federal House of Representatives like the factional minority leader Mr. Ndudi Elelu for kicking against the obbiously bad piece of proposed legislation to confer undeserving immunity from prosecution to the proncipal officers of both the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly. The Rights group said the fact that some common sense has prevailed on the side of those who opposed the bill has shown that even amongst 'thieves' there are honourable men and women. Telling the hierarchy of the National Assembly that only the guilty are afraid, the Rights group totally condemns the bill seeking immunity for lawmakers from prosecution just as the Rights group asserted that constitutional democracy thrives when all citizens irrespective of status are equal before the law even as the Rights group said Nigerians even expect the National Assembly to strike out section 308(1) of the constitution to remove immunity for executive arm of government. HURIWA wonders whether the Nigerian parliament is located in the outer space for the members not to have known that even recently in Great Britain the Prime minister Boris Johnson was dragged to Court by some citizens over the ways and manner that he shut the House of commons so as to foist his own kind of BREXIT on that session of the parliament and the British Supreme Court o overturned the closing of the House of comons by the controversial premier. HURIWA also expressed shock that the Nigerian law makers are oblivious of the near impeachment of the President of the United States of America who was subjected to trial just after the Democrats dominated Congress had voted to impeach him just as the civil society group said the development in the USA from where we borrowed the Presidential system of government should serve as CONSTRUCTIVE lesson to demonstrate that nobody is above the law in civilised societies. In a media statement jointly authorized by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said the attempt by the National Assembly members to cloth themselves with immunity from prosecution is a testament to the fact that the recently kick-started amendments to the constitution under the headship of the Deputy Senate president Mr. OMO AGEGE is a total charade and at best would amount to political shadow chasing and smokescreen. We are shocked that at a time the entire civilized world is opening up the political spaces and making political leadership a much more transparent activity in which the actors must abide by the tenets of full disclosures and respect the twin virtues of transparency and accountability the Nigerian National Assembly is busy making evil law that would turn their job to that of secret cult. The attempt to do that offends section 15(5) of the constitution which forbids the abuse of power by political office holders. The FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT is also a binding law which is against such dubious immunity clauses." Awarding themselves immunity from prosecution is a clear message to Nigerians that the bunch of legislators at the National Assembly have committed outrageous crimes that they do not wish that people should know or they are afraid of their shadows and are preparing for post-retirement FREEDOM from the necessary legal demands for accountability. Nigerians must stoutly oppose this unconstitutional attempt to introduce the dictatorship of legislators. As human rights crusaders, we do not think that Nigeria should be drawn back to the medieval periods when kings and rulers are above the law and whereby tyranny was the order of the day. These National Assembly members had better been told to abolish section 308(1) instead of attempting to further cloth themselves with the capricious and wicked immunity from being tasked to give account of their stewardship. HURIWA recalled that a bill seeking to extend immunity to cover Presiding Officers of Legislative Institutions has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill which was sponsored by Representative Odebunmi Olusegun was supported by the majority of the lawmakers who say it is important to safeguard the sanctity of the National Assembly. In supporting the bill, Majority Leader, Ado-Doguwa said: It should be passed for the simple reason that it provides protection for leaders of the legislature considering the important work of the legislature. HURIWA applauded the few members who are opposed to this 'wicked parliamentary act of atrocious cover up " which the passage of such a satamic law would amount to. The self-proclaimed democratic socialist has called on Americans to help him change the face of US politics. Independent Bernie Sanders says he wants a political revolution in the United States to transform our country economically, politically, socially and environmentally. And if his popularity among young Democratic voters is any indication, so do they. The senator from Vermont has become the walking embodiment of Democratic disenchantment with the status quo. A self-proclaimed democratic socialist, the 78-year-old Sanders has railed against the countrys wealthy classes and called on millions of working Americans to help him change the face of the countrys politics. Issues once considered fringe universal healthcare and free university tuition among them have vaulted into the mainstream since he rose to the top of the Democratic field of candidates. He commands a solid group of supporters, but is up against a crowded field of Democratic candidates, many of whom, like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have also touted some of the same positions. Sanders who lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton in a bitterly contested 2016 primary is the oldest candidate running, and if elected would be the oldest president in US history. On the campaign trail in October, he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital. Three weeks later, he was back and promising supporters at a rally in New York City that his time in the spotlight is far from over. I am happy to report to you that I am more than ready, more ready than ever to carry on with you on the epic struggle that we face today, Sanders told a crowd of 25,000 admirers. I am more than ready to assume the office of president of the United States. To put it bluntly, he added, I am back. Medicare for All Sanderss signature issue is healthcare. In April, he introduced legislation that would transform the USs multi-faceted healthcare system into a single-payer, government-run system that provides insurance coverage to all Americans with no premiums, deductibles or co-payments. The plan would effectively eliminate private health insurance and ban employers from offering healthcare plans that compete with the government. The United States must join the rest of the industrialised world and recognise that healthcare is a right of all, and not a privilege, Sanders said. The bill was co-sponsored by 14 Democrats, including fellow presidential aspirant Warren. It was not as warmly received by others in the race, however, not to mention legions of legislators and pundits. Former Vice President Joe Biden, a frontrunner among the Democrats, called the plan unrealistic. How to pay for a plan that some have estimated would cost $34 trillion over 10 years has never been fully explained. Sanders has said only that he would finance the overhaul by taxing the wealthy and cutting payment rates to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and other health industry actors. Look, I am not denying that were going to spend a lot of money, Sanders said on PBS. But the average American will pay less for healthcare under Medicare for All, he promised. Rebel Codi, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, tries to draw supporters over to the Sanders area of the Maple Grove Methodist Church in West Des Moines, Iowa [Jim Bourg/Reuters] Middle class disappearing Born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish working-class family, Sanders has made wealth inequality another pillar of his campaign. He has denounced the countrys tax system, which he argues favours the super-rich and large corporations and enables them to accumulate wealth at the expense of middle-class and poor Americans. For 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in technology and productivity, Sanders said in a 2016 interview. And what we have seen during that period is a massive transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of America massive wealth and income inequality, he added. To address the issue, in October 2019 he proposed an Income Inequality Tax on companies with large pay disparities between executives and workers. The plan calls for increasing the corporate tax rate by half a percent on companies that pay their chief executives 50 times more than their median employee wage, and increasingly more for companies with wider pay gaps. The current corporate tax rate is 21 percent. Immigration Sanders, whose father was an immigrant from Poland, has said the US is a nation of immigrants and released an immigration plan that would overturn Trump policies intended to stem the flow of immigrants to the US. He pledged to push for programmes that would provide a path to citizenship to the roughly 11 million undocumented migrants in the US, with priority status for children and young people. Undocumented workers are doing the extremely difficult work of harvesting our crops, building our homes, cooking our meals, and caring for our children, he said in a 2015 speech. They are part of the fabric of America. Sanders also said he would overturn Trumps criminalisation of border crossings, reversing a zero tolerance crackdown that has led to thousands of migrants being detained, prosecuted and deported, and over 2,000 children separated from their parents on the US-Mexico border. Foreign Policy Sanders, the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress, has advanced the idea that domestic and foreign policies are inextricably linked, and has not shied away from criticising US foreign policy and military intervention abroad. In an op-ed in June 2019, he said that he would extricate the US from wars in the Middle East and reorient its foreign policy so that it prioritises diplomacy and working collectively with allies over military action. He has argued that his vision does not involve a US retreat from the world stage, but rather the use of diplomacy and cooperation instead of force to further US interests. We need to rethink the militaristic approach that has undermined the United States moral authority, caused allies to question our ability to lead, drained our tax coffers, and corroded our own democracy, he wrote. He has pledged to withdraw troops in Afghanistan, a war that has lasted 18 years, and blasted the so-called war on terror as staggeringly wasteful and leading to the proliferation of terrorism, not its destruction. American power should be measured not by our ability to blow things up, but by our ability to build on our common humanity, harnessing our technology and enormous wealth to create a better life for all people, Sanders wrote. Sanders has also been outspoken about Israel-Palestine, one of the most politically charged conflicts in the world. He has said that he supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, and has opposed the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. He also criticised statements by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that backed Israels right to build settlements in the occupied West Bank which the US had long maintained were an obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal. This is clear from international law and multiple United Nations resolutions, Sanders tweeted after Pompeos announcement. During the Democratic partys fifth presidential debate in November, Sanders added: It is no longer good enough for us to be pro-Israel. I am pro-Israel. But we must treat the Palestinians with the dignity they deserve. Climate Change On the campaign trail, Sanders has vowed to make climate change central to his presidency and backed a so-called Green New Deal put forth by Ocasio-Cortez and others which declared climate change a national emergency. Climate change cannot only be addressed by the United States. It is a global issue, Sanders said in Iowa at the time. But my promise to you is, instead of ignoring this issue as Trump does, I will help lead the world in bringing countries together to address the issue. Vietnams motorbike sales second highest in ASEAN Motorbike drivers seen in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. Though motorbike sales in Vietnam ranked second in ASEAN last year, domestic demand showed a decline against regional growth. The country recorded 3.27 million units sold, second to Indonesia at 6.53 million, according to Italy-based market research firm Motorcycles Data. Vietnams figure was almost twice that of third-ranking Thailand with 1.73 million units sold. Domestic sales dropped 3.7 percent from 2018 while ASEAN region grew 3.1 percent thanks to rising demand from Indonesia and Malaysia. While Honda sales recorded a new peak at 2.57 million units, up 0.2 percent, most major producers like Yamaha, Piaggio and Suzuki posted dwindling figures. Globally, Vietnam ranked fourth in motorbike consumption behind India, China and Indonesia, unchanged from 2018. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he has no regrets over his comments linking Sinn Fein to the Provisional Army Council. Last Friday, Mr Harris said he agrees with a 2015 PSNI assessment that Sinn Fein and the IRA are overseen by a Provisional Army Council. A report commissioned by the British government on the status of Irish terrorist groups in 2015, which was written by the PSNI and MI5, stated the Provisional Army Council still existed. Mr Harris said: We have contributed and continue to contribute to the IRC (Independent Reporting Commission) reporting on the status of various paramilitary groups, and we would hold then with their opinions on these matters. I would never engage in political interference and my comments require no clarificationDrew Harris I am also aware of the PSNI and the British security services assessment and we do not differ from that view. Speaking after a meeting of the Policing Authority in Dublin, he told Newstalk FM he rejected accusations the timing of his comments were politically motivated. He said: Ive no regrets and I think my comments were entirely clear so theres no need for a clarification. I would never engage in political interference and my comments require no clarification. I think its obvious that I do stand over those comments. Responding to his comments last week, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the IRA does not exist. She said: The reality is that we now live in a peaceful dispensation, the war is over, the IRA has gone away and democracy is the order of the day and theres no dispute around that. Everyone knows that republicans are absolutely committed to democracy and to the peace process. Drew Harris, the PSNI and others also know that Sinn Fein members including Michelle ONeill have actually been threatened by dangerous elements and by so-called dissident elements. Kootenai County Jail One frigid morning in February 2018, Larry Isenberg and his wife, Lori, woke up before dawn to watch the sunrise from their boat on the picturesque Lake Coeur dAlene in northern Idaho. But as the couple guided their boat along Sun Up Bay, their motor stalled, prompting Larry Isenberg to give it a look. Then, the unthinkable happened: the longtime forester fell overboardjust out of reach of his horrified wife. At least that was the story Lori Isenberg told authorities as she explained why her husbands body was floating somewhere in the vast lake stretching south for 25 miles. I cannot describe the pain I feel, Isenburg wrote in an email to friends obtained by The Spokesman-Review after the incident, explaining that she tried to grab for her husband but tripped on the heater and hit her head. It is like half of me is gone. For 18 Years, Cops Thought He Was Eaten by Alligators. Now His Wife Has Been Convicted of His Murder. For two years, the drowning was believed to be the result of a tragic accidentbut Idaho authorities now believe that his wife, a convicted embezzler, murdered Larry Isenberg, who was discovered in the lake with a lethal amount of Benadryl in his system. As far as we all knew, they had a great marriage, Dean Isenberg, her step-son, told KHQ on Tuesday. It was something you could model your own relationship off of. It seemed like everything was perfect. Dad was happy. No one knew what was going on behind the scenes. Isenburg, 66, was arrested Monday on a first-degree murder charge for allegedly planning her husbands February 2018 death at the popular vacation spot near Worley, Idaho, the Kootenai County Sheriffs Office told The Daily Beast. While the details of the slaying remain unknown, the 66-year-old is facing special charges tied to murders that may involve poison. I suspected, I didnt want to believe it, but I definitely suspected, the stepson said. The murder charges come over a year after Isenberg pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January 2019 for embezzling money from her former employer after going on the run for two months. She was sentenced to five years in federal prison and is currently being held on a $2 million bond at Kootenai County Jail, according to online jail records. Story continues On Feb. 13, 2018, Isenburg told police the pair had gotten up early to see the sunrise at Sun Up Bay, bringing along a space heater to keep warm. At some point, her husband of 14 years fell overboard while trying to check the motor that had stalled. Wife Kills Husband, Admits It in a Bar Bathroom Believing her husband possibly had a medical episode before falling into the water, Isenburg said she waited two hours to call authorities because she didnt want to leave the area where her husband had drownedand had left her phone at home, according to a search warrant filed in Spokane Superior Court. The Spokane County Medical Examiner, however, concluded at the time the 68-year-old showed no visible signs of stroke or evidence of drowning, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast. Even more ominously, the Kootenai County Coroner also found that Larry Isenberg had lethal levels of diphenhydraminean antihistamine found in Benadrylin his system when he died. As authorities were still desperately searching the lakes bottom for her husband, Isenberg was charged on Feb. 26 with 40 counts of forgery and a charge of grand theft for embezzling half-a-million dollars over an 18 months span from her former employer, the nonprofit North Idaho Housing Coalition (NIHC). Three days after her arrest, Larry Isenberg was found in Lake Coeur dAlene. But by that point Lori Isenberg had already fled town, missing her first arraignment on the forgery and grand theft charges, which prompted a $500,000 warrant for her arrest. The news came out with the embezzlement case on the exact same day, Dean Isenberg said. It was too coincidental for me. If it wouldnt have come out the way it did, we would have just thought [my dads death] was a horrible accident. St. Louis Woman Looked Up What to Do if Your Husband Is Upset You Are Pregnant Before Her Murder: Warrants The former NIHC executive director was on the run for two months before she eventually turned herself in to police in July 2018. Months later, four of her daughters pleaded guilty to taking money that their mom had embezzled. A search warrant for July 2018 also states that about a month before her husband died, handwritten changes were made to his will that left almost all of his estate to Loris six childrenonly leaving a small portion to Larrys two adult children from another marriage. Despite his stepmothers checkered past, Dean Isenberg said his family is completely shocked by the allegations against Lori. This blindsided us, he said. My dad was my world. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 08:00:23 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 976 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Noram Ventures Inc. ("Noram") (TSXV:NRM)(Frankfurt:N7R)(OTCPINK:NRVTF) is pleased to announce plans for Phase 5 drilling for the Zeus Lithium Project in Clayton Valley Nevada, following the successful Phase 4 drill program that significantly increased the resources. Phase 4 drilling and earlier results were used for a new resource estimate: 124 million tonnes at 1136 ppm lithium as Indicated Resources, and 77 million tonnes lithium at 1045 ppm lithium as Inferred Resources, for a total of 201 million tonnes at 1101 ppm lithium (900 ppm Li cut-off: 1.18 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent - "LCE" ; see Noram Ventures press release of February 5, 2020).The Phase 5 drill program is slated for 1440 meters, comprising 12 drill holes at 120 m depth each. The lithium claystone is known to extend to 120 m depth across much of the property. The drill program will have both infill and step-out drill collar locations, with the intent of upgrading Indicated and Inferred Resources into Measured and Indicated Resources; and to expand the deposit to the south and east of the current resource. An upgrade to the mineral resource from inferred to Indicated or Measured would reflect a greater level of confidence in the quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics of the deposit such that Modifying Factors can be applied in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit.Noram management is encouraged by significant recent advances in successful lithium recovery from other claystone deposits in Nevada. Lithium Americas Corp. has the Thacker Pass lithium claystone deposit in northern Nevada, and has built a pilot plant that has produced over 5000 kg of high quality lithium sulfate brine, and has engaged experienced crystallization vendors to make battery quality lithium hydroxide samples and provide process flow sheet and cost estimates. They plan on completing a feasibility study on Thacker Pass by mid-2020 (see Lithium Americas press release January 21, 2020). Ioneer Ltd. has the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron claystone deposit, just 20 miles west of Noram's Zeus property. In 2018, they hired Fluor Corporation to build a pilot plant, and have successfully produced a potentially marketable lithium carbonate (>99% pure) product, as well as marketable boric acid. Their Definitive Feasibility Study is due for completion in Q1 2020 (see November 8 and December 9, 2019 Ioneer Ltd. press releases).Adjacent to the Zeus property, Cypress Development Corp. has a similar lithium claystone deposit that is also within the Esmeralda Formation in Clayton Valley. All indications are that the Cypress' Dean-Glory deposit is nearly identical to Zeus in terms of mineralogy, and is very similar in terms of grade and tonnage. Cypress has conducted a Preliminary Economic Assessment, and announced successful lithium extraction from the claystone, and favorable economics, with all-in operating costs at less than $US 4/kg lithium carbonate produced. Lithium carbonate currently is $US 8.75/kg, so the operating margin is significant (see Cypress Development website). Noram management believes that the Zeus lithium claystone deposit is directly comparable to the Dean-Glory deposit.C. Tucker Barrie, President and CEO of Noram Ventures Inc., states that "we are encouraged by the continued expansion of the lithium claystone resource at Zeus, now with 1.18 million tonnes LCE in-situ (900 ppm cut-off, Indicated and Inferred Resources). Phase 5 drilling is likely to further increase the resources. The data will be used for initial mine engineering plans, and the core will provide sufficient sampling of the deposit for initial chemical engineering studies to be incorporated into a Preliminary Economic Assessment report later in 2020. With our location immediately adjacent to Albemarle's Silver Peak lithium operations in Clayton Valley, we are in an excellent position to move this project forward." The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Bradley C. Peek, MSc and Certified Professional Geologist who is a Qualified Person with respect to Noram's Clayton Valley Lithium Project as defined under National Instrument 43-101.About Noram Ventures Inc.Noram Ventures Inc. (TSX - Venture: NRM / Frankfurt: N7R / OTCPINK: NRVTF) is a Canadian based junior exploration company, with a goal of developing lithium deposits and becoming a low - cost supplier. The Company's primary business focus since formation has been the exploration of mineral projects. Noram's long term strategy is to build a multi-national lithium minerals company to produce and sell lithium into the markets of Europe, North America and Asia.Please visit our web site for further information: www.noramventures.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS/s/ "C. Tucker Barrie, Ph.D., P. Geo." President and CEOOffice: (604) 553-2279Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding, among other things, the completion transactions completed in the Agreement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, regulatory approval processes. Although Noram believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, including that all necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained in a timely manner, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Noram disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.SOURCE: Noram Ventures Inc. AKEYLESS, a cloud security startup, is proud to announce to have won the following awards from Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM), the industrys leading electronic information security magazine: Market Leader in Keys Management & Protection Next Gen Secrets Management Solution AKEYLESS secrets management solution is a unified solution for all secrets needs and types in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Its patent-pending, zero-knowledge technology - DFC (Distributed Fragments Cryptography) - revolutionizes encryption keys management on the cloud. Were thrilled to receive the prestigious cybersecurity awards from Cyber Defense Magazine, said Oded Hareven, CEO & Co-Founder of AKEYLESS. Our solution disrupts the secrets management market, enabling organizations to securely manage any secret in any environment, while truly supporting their scale needs. We couldnt be more pleased to be recognized as Infosec Innovators in the cloud security industry. AKEYLESS represents three major value propositions the judges look for to become winners: understanding tomorrows threats, today; providing a cost-effective solution and innovating in unexpected ways that can help stop the next breach, said Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine. The official list of winners: http://www.cyberdefenseawards.com/ To schedule a demo of AKEYLESS secrets management zero-knowledge SaaS platform, go to http://akeyless.io/product About AKEYLESS: Founded in 2018, managed by a highly experienced and seasoned team, and backed by industry-leading venture capital, AKEYLESS is an Israeli cloud security SaaS platform with a mission of enabling organizations to scale fast without compromising on security. AKEYLESSs solution provides organizations a single, all-inclusive, unified zero-knowledge secrets management for both machine and human secrets that works seamlessly in any hybrid, multi-cloud, and multi-region environments. About the Judging: The judges are CISSP, FMDHS, CEH, certified security professionals who voted based on their independent review of the company submitted materials on the website of each submission including but not limited to data sheets, white papers, product literature and other market variables. CDM has a flexible philosophy to find more innovative players with new and unique technologies, than the one with the most customers or money in the bank. CDM is always asking Whats Next? so we are looking for Next Generation InfoSec Solutions. About Cyber Defense Magazine: With over 5 Million monthly readers and growing, and over 17,000 pages of searchable online infosec content, Cyber Defense Magazine and our sister magazine being announced after the show is the premier source of IT Security information. We are managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Our mission is to share cutting-edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products and services in the information technology industry. We deliver electronic magazines every month online for free, and special editions exclusively for the RSA Conferences. CDM is a proud member of the Cyber Defense Media Group, a division of Ingersoll Lockwood. Learn more about us at http://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com and visit http://www.cyberdefensetv.com and http://www.cyberdefenseradio.com to see and hear some of the most informative interviews of many of these winning company executives. Rick Baldassin and his wife, Cindy provide the piano that accompanies performers on stage at Shen Yun Performing Arts in Salt Lake City, Utah. They attended Shen Yun at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, Feb. 25, 2020. (Sally Sun/The Epoch Times) SALT LAKE CITYUtahs Rick Baldassin is world-renowned among pianists, symphony directors, and piano makers for his innovations and contributions to the technical world of pianos. And for four years running, he and his wife, Cindy, co-founders of Baldassin Pianos, have provided the piano that appears on stage to accompany soloists in Shen Yun Performing Arts production in Salt Lake City. The couple is proud of this fact and couldnt say enough about their admiration for New York-based Shen Yun. To me, [Shen Yun] is thrilling, Cindy began. Its thrilling visually, artistically, musically. The choreography is staggering, but the talent, the talent of the dancers are very gifted. And they work very hard, but their gift just shines. The audience loves it. We sat by a man and as his wife tonight, and he just ooohed and aaaaahed all right through the concert. It was really fun to sit beside him. It was really thrilling to see the audience so involved. The Baldassins attended Shen Yun at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Feb. 25, 2020. Rick has enjoyed over four decades of piano expertise, being invited to conduct training seminars for the likes of Fazioli, Schimmel and other piano manufacturers in such locales as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, and in Italy. Rick was the Chief Concert Piano Technician for the Utah Symphony Orchestra & Opera, and for the University of Utah. He served as Technical Support Director for Fazioli in North America, received the Piano Technicians Guilds highest honor, the Golden Hammer, has penned publications and textbooks on the subject, and is now the Concert Technician at Brigham Young University. As well-recognized business owners in the community with a worldwide reputation, the Baldassins have their finger on the pulse of the community and know how well-loved Shen Yun is there. Its really an honor to have Shen Yun come year after year because I hear the public say, not during the performance, but the public talking. And they go: I want to go to that, I want to go, I havent been yet and I want to go. And thats exciting, Cindy said. [Shen Yun] is always spectacular, Rick said. I love the colors. I love the movements. The stories, the humor was good tonight. It was fabulous, Cindy chimed in. Were very lucky in Salt Lake City in Utah to have Shen Yun come. I think its very, very important, culturally, artistically, musically. Very, very important. Shen Yuns Crucial Mission Shen Yuns mission is to revive authentic Chinese culture through performing arts such as classical Chinese dance, bel canto vocal performances, classical music, and more. This ancient civilization was once almost lost due to a campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party to eradicate it. I think its crucial, Cindy said, about Shen Yuns mission. Its absolutely important. Business owner Cindy, also a visual artist, connects with Shen Yuns desire to see traditional Chinese culture thrive again because I read ancient Chinese poetry and I listen to Chinese music, especially the pipa and erhu. But for an audience to come year after year like this, and it is [often] sold out That tells you that the audience, the population, its crucial to them because they want to learn and they want to experience and they want to participate. Rick and Cindy agreed that the performance imbued a divinely-inspired feeling onto the audience. And their name is very appropriate. Divine movement. You can feel a spirit thats strong. Cindy said. Shen Yun translates into English as the beauty of divine beings dancing. Rick concurred. Absolutely, he said. Its very uplifting. I really enjoy it, he added. Traditional Chinese culture has always been, since time immemorial, a culture deeply connected to and inspired by heaven. In fact, China was once known as The Divine Land. Shen Yun carries on this tradition by incorporating spiritual practices like Buddhism, Taoism, and Falun Dafa into the 20 or so vignettes in the performance. Its a wonderful, beautiful, beautiful program. Cindy Baldassin Its a wonderful, beautiful, beautiful program, Cindy said. She said the program was full of humor, depth, and even the challenges we face in the day to day. I think the audience connects with the depth of it. The stories and they can connect that into their own lives, and their own histories, she said. So this program, the stories really touch home. Yes, we enjoy it every year, Rick said. With reporting by Sally Sun 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. Armed off-duty police officers protest over police pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Haiti's Carnival celebration in the country's capital of Port-au-Prince was disrupted for hours on Sunday as armed and masked, plain-clothed police officers protested their pay and poor working conditions. The officers didn't hold up placards with catchy phrases during their demonstration. Instead, they opened fire at the army. Some protesters had semi-automatic weapons, others carried machetes. One soldier was killed in the clash and several police officers were injured. The deadly protest brought an end to Carnival, the biggest celebration in Haiti. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A deadly gun battle erupted in Haiti over the weekend during a protest for better pay and working conditions. Masked plain-clothed police officers took to the streets on the first day of Haiti's carnival celebration in Port-au-Prince, the country's capital, and fired at the army as they tried to stop the armed protesters who timed their demonstration to the beginning of Carnival "to criticize the government's spending priorities." "No money for police officers but enough money for Carnival," protesters, officers of Haiti's National Police, shouted, The Guardian reported. "It was the final straw." The gun battle, which started around noon, went on for hours outside of the country's presidential palace, and left one soldier dead as well as at least three police officers wounded, according to the Guardian. Later that evening, the Haitian government announced Carnival, which gathers thousands of people for the three-day event, was canceled to "avoid a bloodbath," according to a government statement released Sunday. "Terror reigned in certain areas. Streets were obstructed and there was a war-like situation at the Champ de Mars (square), where heavy weapons fire was heard almost all day." Here's how a day marked for celebration turned violent. Story continues At about 12 p.m., on Sunday, February 23, a gun battle broke out in Haiti's capital Port-Au-Prince, as dozens of armed and masked men, who said they were police, protested for better work conditions. Armed off-duty police officers protest over pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Sources: Time, The Guardian Since the end of last year, Haitian police officers have been demonstrating against poor working conditions, better pay, and the ability to unionize. Matters escalated about a month ago when six officers were fired after they tried to join a union. Main roads through the city of Port au Prince are blocked after Sunday's clash between Haitian police and the army in Port au Prince, Haiti February 24, 2020. Estailove St-Val / AFP / Getty Sources: The New York Times, Time In recent months, Haiti, the poorest country in the Carribean, has experienced a break out in gang wars, a spike in kidnappings, and, according to The Guardian, 3.7 million residents are in need of urgent food assistance. A woman cries on the Haitian flag-draped coffin of a 16-year-old boy killed during a month of demonstrations aimed at ousting President Jovenel Moise, during a joint funeral for two victims at a public plaza near the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019. Rebecca Blackwell / AP Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times Haiti's president Jovenel Moise has been unable to improve the country's conditions, these protests weren't directly aimed at him. But they did stem from the country's sweeping unrest over Haiti's weak economy. In this Feb. 12, 2020 photo, a mural shows a child with a sign that says in Creole: Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Sources: The Guardian, Time Things escalated on Sunday afternoon as Carnival, a "three-day raucous event," according to Time, was due to begin. Carnival and its funding were the "final straw" for protestors. Protesters ride their motorcycles past burning barricades as off-duty police officers protest over pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Sources: The Guardian, Time As armed, plain-clothed officers, and their supporters took to the streets, they shouted, "No money for police officers but enough money for carnival." Armed off-duty police officers protest over police pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Source: The Guardian The procession headed towards the presidential palace but was interrupted outside the army's headquarters. The army was only recently reformed in 2017, after being disbanded in 1995, when Haiti's dictatorship fell. A boy gestures as a man in a Haitian National Police uniform aims a gun during a shooting in Champ de Mars, Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 23, 2020. Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters Sources: The Guardian, PBS It's not entirely clear, but reports said that the two factions started shooting at each other after officers fired into the sky. Armed off-duty police officers ride motorcycles and fire their weapons in the air during a protest over pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Source: The Guardian Gunfire was exchanged for hours. At one point, a drone was spotted taking photos of the battle. Officers followed the drone back to Radio Caraibes, a broadcaster, and opened fire on the building. There have been no reports of anyone being hurt there. Armed off-duty police officers take cover during and exchange of gunfire with army soldiers, as they protest over police pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Source: ABC News It wasn't just police and soldiers that were fighting. Protesters, armed with machetes, showed their support. Men on a motorcycle brandish machetes as off-duty police officers protest over pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Young people joined in, too. A boy chants anti-army slogans as off-duty police officers protest over pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP More officers, wielding semi-automatic weapons, joined the gun battle, which lasted until about 6 p.m. An armed police officer runs as soldiers fire in his direction during a protest over police pay and working conditions for the national police, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Sources: The Guardian, Time At least three police officers were injured, and one soldier was killed. An off-duty police officer has his wound taken care of during and exchange of gunfire with army soldiers during a protest over police pay and working conditions, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP By Sunday evening, the Haitian government announced Carnival was canceled to "avoid a bloodbath." A Haitian National Police officer gestures to calm down protesters during a shooting in Champ de Mars, Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 23, 2020. Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters Source: Time The Haitian government released a statement that said the attacks were an attack against freedom and democracy, according to The New York Times. A man in a Haitian National Police uniform aims a rifle as people take cover during a shooting in Champ de Mars, Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 23, 2020. Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters Source: The New York Times That wasn't how police officers saw their demonstration, though. A gunman in a black-and-white clown mask told a reporter they wanted their fired colleagues reinstated, and a pay rise for all police officers. He spoke anonymously, because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press. Protesters take cover during a shooting at a protest called by members of the police, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 23, 2020. Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters Sources: Time, Business Insider While Sunday's deadly gunfight eventually ended, the struggle continues between police and the Haitian government to meet the officers' demands. "Until this is done we will not sit and talk," a protestor said. "The president has proven that he does not care about our demands." An angry protester holds up a machete as he asks for the fate of a policeman that was rumored to have been detained at the police station of Petion-Ville, as armed off-duty police officers protest over pay and working conditions, in Haiti, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Dieu Nalio Chery / AP Sources: ABC News Read the original article on Business Insider Milan: A young woman who was told she had contracted coronavirus during a trip to Italy says she has been allowed to return home after a fresh set of tests found she was not infected. Zeynep Naz Birdal spent nearly two weeks in the country and was in Milan while the outbreak in northern Italy was in its infancy. She developed flu-like symptoms on Sunday and was told by Italian doctors in Sicily that she had the virus and needed to self quarantine for 14 days. The Turkish-born Birdal on Tuesday said she had undergone fresh tests from health authorities and was given the all-clear. She is returning to London where she studies at King's College. "I just want to express my gratitude to the Italian healthcare professionals, the Turkish authorities and my university Kings College London for all they have done for me in this very difficult past 24 hours," she said. "I hope no one has to go through what I did." New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has been praised across the world for acting on issues of climate change, social justice Jacinda Ardern could be ousted as New Zealand's prime minister after one term, according to recent poll results. The Labour leader has been praised across the world for acting on issues of climate change, social justice, equality and how she handled the Christchurch terror attack and White Island volcano tragedy last year. But Ms Ardern's support on home soil has appeared to take a hit as Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is facing increasing scrutiny. Ms Arden has not criticised or questioned the leader of Labour's coalition partner New Zealand First, who is currently wrapped up in a donations scandal. The Electoral Commission suggested donations received by the party's fundraising foundation should have been declared, and have taken the investigation to police. After revelations that several donors to the foundation - best understood as a legal loophole in New Zealand's electoral donation regime - were from the racing industry, Mr Peters - also minister for racing - stood accused of major conflict of interest perceptions. Ms Ardern's support on home soil has appeared to take a hit as Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters (left) is increasingly being called out for his political practices The rough-and-tumble is nothing new for Mr Peters, who was first elected to parliament in 1979, and is often described as a maverick. But his conduct is increasingly at odds with Ms Ardern's pledge for 'relentless positivity' and transparency. The chaos plays into the hands of opposition leader Simon Bridges, who has ruled out any post-election deals with NZ First in an attempt to win over Kiwis sick of Mr Peters' behaviour. Ms Ardern told Radio New Zealand she was not in charge of NZ First and the Greens, which form part of the coalition. 'These aren't matters that I have any responsibility for,' she said. 'I'm the leader of the Labour Party, I had nothing to do with this and I'm not going to stand here and explain it or defend it because it's not for me. 'I cannot run both a government and three political parties.' While Ms Ardern remains as preferred prime minister in the polls, a 1 News poll indicates growing support for a National-led coalition. New Zealand go to the polls on September 19. In the past 80 years, three of the original tiger subspecies have gone extinct, leaving only six, all because of poaching and loss of habitat. Of the remaining six subspecies, four are listed as critically endangered. If the trend is sustained, there will be no single tiger alive in the next 50 years. The remaining tiger subspecies are the Bengal tigers, whose population stands at around 2,967 and are mainly found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The Indochinese Tigers have had their population reduced by 70% within a decade, making them the most poached tiger. They are found in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Malayan Tigers number about 500 individuals and are only found in the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Siberian Tigers number around 300 and are found in Russia, China, and North Korea. South China Tigers are the smallest of all the subspecies and are estimated to be about 20 individuals left in the wild. Sumatran Tigers are found on the Sumatran Island of Indonesia, and about 600 individuals still exist. The three extinct tiger subspecies are the Bali Tiger, the Caspian Tiger, and the Javan Tiger. Attempts to save the tiger have led to the creation of Tiger reserves in India, and the most notable ones include the following. Bandipur Tiger Reserve A golden jackal family alongside the Kabini river in Bandipur National Park, Karnataka. Image credit: Vaidyanatha/Wikimedia.org Located in the Indian state of Karnataka, Bandipur National Park was established in 1974 and had the second-highest tiger population in India. The reserve sits on an area of 337 square miles and is home to more than just tigers. The park has deciduous forests and shrublands, and two rivers, Kabini and Moyar, flank the reserve. Bandipur is currently home to 109 tigers. Corbett Tiger Reserve A Bengal tiger in the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Image credit: Soumyajit Nandy /Wikimedia.org The Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest in India and was established in 1936 with the sole aim of providing refuge for the Bengali Tiger. Located in the state of Uttarakhand, the reserve was named in honor of Jim Corbett, who was a British hunter and tracker famous for taking down man-eating tigers and leopards. The Corbett Reserve sits on an area of 201 square miles and stands at an elevation of 1,300 feet to 4,000 feet above the sea level. The reserve is home to 215 tigers. Kanha Tiger Reserve Tiger in the Kanha Tiger Reserve. Image credit: Davidvraju/Wikimedia.org Located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Kanha Tiger Reserve was established in 1955 but was only turned into a full tiger reserve in 1973. It is divided into two sanctuaries that collectively span an area of 360 square miles. Bengal Tigers are the most common found in Kanha, and they number about 83 with 42 cubs by the last census conducted in 2018. Manas Tiger Reserve Barking deer in the Manas National Park. Image credit: Dibyendu Ash/Wikimedia.org Borrowing its name from the Manas River, the reserve was created in 1928 and upgraded to a full tiger sanctuary in 1973. Located in the state of Assam, Manas Tiger Reserve covers an area of 150 square miles. Manas is home to around 30 Tigers, although the number is believed to be higher than that. The reserve was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1985 by UNESCO. Melghat Tiger Reserve Forest owlet at the Melghat Tiger Reserve. Image credit: Dr. Raju Kasambe/Wikimedia.org Situated in the state of Maharashtra, the reserve was established in 1974 and covers an area of about 890 square miles. Melghat Reserve is hilly and full of rivers that are tributaries to the more massive Tapti River, which serves as the lifeline of the expansive reserve. As of 2016, Melghat was home to 60 tigers, and the number is probably higher currently. Palamau Tiger Reserve The Palamau reserve is found in the state of Jharkhand and is part of the greater Betia National Park. Sitting on an area of around 560 square miles, the reserve was formed in 1974 under the Indian Forests Act to stamp out overgrazing by livestock and illegal logging that had almost destroyed the whole forest. Tiger sighting in this reserve is very rare, with a recent report from 2016 putting the population to about three. The population is exceptionally low by normal standards. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve Tigress Noor with her cubs. Image credit: Zahirabbaswikiindia/Wikimedia.org When it was established in 1955, the reserve covered an area of 161 square miles, it has been expanding over the years and currently sits on an area of 1,334 square miles. Ranthambore, located in the state of Rajasthan, officially became a reserve in 1980 and is home to 62 tigers. Similipal Tiger Reserve The stunning landscape of Simplipal Tiger Park. Image credit: Wiki GSD/Wikimedia.org Found in the state of Odisha, Similipal Tiger Reserve covers an area of 1,062 square miles and is part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve. The reserve, the 7th largest in India, was established in 1980 and is home to 1,076 species of mammals. Similipal is home to 26 tigers and was listed as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1994. Sundarbans Tiger Reserve Tiger in the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve. Image credit: Soumyajit Nandy/Wikimedia.org The West Bengal tiger reserve was established in 1984 and covers an area of 513 square miles. Mangrove forests form a large part of the reserve, which also happens to be one of the wettest places in India. The Sundarbans forest area (both India and Bangladesh) is currently home to around 200 tigers. Periyar Tiger Reserve Gaur at Periyar Tiger reserve. Image credit: Anand2202/Wikimedia.org Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in the state of Kerala and sits on an area of about 357 square miles. It was set up in 1982 and is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Forests and Wildlife. Periyar is situated in a high-altitude area varying between 3,900 feet and 5,600 feet in the southernmost part of India. As of 2017, Periyar Tiger Reserve is home to 35 tigers. Others India has more than 50 Tiger Sanctuaries, and others worth mentioning are the Sariska Reserve in Rajasthan, Buxa Reserve in West Bengal, Indravati Reserve in Chhattisgarh, Namdapha Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, Dudhwa Reserve in Uttar Pradesh among many others. Challenges Facing Tiger Reserves A warning to poachers. Image credit: Tim Evanson/Wikimedia.org The increasing human population is the most significant conservation concern, and the more people increase, the more endangered the tigers are. Tigers are prowlers by nature and need vast territories for hunting and finding mates, with the human population in India approaching 1.5 billion, more forested areas are being turned into human settlements. Human-animal conflicts have resulted in a lot of casualties from both sides, with tigers taking the biggest hit. Another significant threat to tiger sanctuaries is understaffing. There are very few trained personnel with the expertise needed to maintain these reserves, and when that falls short, the tigers in the sanctuaries are turned into easy poaching targets. Pollution has also been another emerging headache that has led to the poisoning of rivers that sustain these reserves bringing diseases that wipe out vital species from the ecosystem. Lack of funds has also negatively impacted the reserves, and the ever-increasing costs of managing them put a strain on the government, leaving most of the reserves to rely on non-profit organizations who, at best, can only do the bare minimum. The inability of governments around the world to stamp out illegal trade of endangered animals also makes it hard for the reserves to achieve their goals. Poaching is a very lucrative business, and this endangers not just the lives of the people tasked with protecting the tigers but also the tigers themselves. What Can Be Done? The loss of three subspecies is already a big blow to the ecosystem. Fortunately, there is still a chance to ensure the same tragedy does not befall the remaining populations of tigers. Some of the steps that can be followed to achieve this include enforcing a worldwide ban on poaching, using sanctions if necessary, on the nations that refuse to comply. Logging in forests also needs to be brought under tight control, especially in indigenous forests that cannot be replaced. Once the market for rare animals is eliminated, then the need for poaching would also reduce significantly. It is also time for governments to include funds for sanctuaries in their annual budgets to reduce the burden on NGOs that are unable to run them entirely. By combining efforts, the goal of restoring tiger populations in the wild can be achieved faster than projected. To solve human-tiger conflicts, sanctuaries need to be fitted with barriers separating the two from each other. Construction of wildlife bridges is also another good move that can reduce animal road fatalities. Upgrading technologies is another important move that can increase the chances of survival. Reserve management can employ the use of accurate tracking methods and drones to both monitor the tiger movements and behaviors while at the same time keeping an eye out for poachers. Sensitization and Awareness campaigns in villages surrounding tiger reserves can also improve relations between humans and tigers. Most of the conflicts are usually borne out of ignorance from the human side. However, once people are educated on ways of handling these conflicts, they can be turned into tiger guardians, doubling protection. Foreign and Local tourists need to be made aware of the things they should not do, like polluting the environment or interfering too much with the tigers. As much as the revenue they bring is vital, they must understand that tigers, like any other wild animal, need their space. BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) The coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, has all chances to be officially recognized as a pandemic in the wake of the fast spreading rate and the current lack of a vaccine, creation of which could take more than a year. Scientists warn that the disease could be fatal not only for older people, as it was previously thought, while existing capabilities of health facilities could not be enough in case of the further spread of the virus. "Coronavirus kills people in good health at the age of 40, and not only more fragile people over 65 years old. The proportion is not high about 1 percent but it is a dangerous virus that could saturate hospital's response capabilities," Marius Gilbert, a virologist from the University of Brussels, told Sputnik. Experts also note that a longer incubation period than 14 days could have been seen in some patients, or that people apparently in good health could transmit the virus. Another concern is a possible mutation of the virus that could suddenly make it more deadly. And finally, there is a fear that the developing trade between China and Africa could bring the disease to very poor nations incapable of tackling the epidemic. "What could be much more worrying than the current development of the epidemic in Asia, Iran, the Gulf, Italy and Europe, is the scenario when the infection is observed in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Congo, Kinshasa in countries that do not have the human, economic or financial means to efficiently fight against the coronavirus disease," Etienne de Callatay, an economist at Orcadia Asset Management in Luxemburg, told Sputnik. The new coronavirus does not kill more people than the ordinary flu, while being much more contagious. The concerns over the coronavirus disease do not relate as much to the number of deaths, but rather to the impact on the health services which may be unprepared for the fast spread of the virus. Until last week, France could only produce a few hundreds of tests aimed at detecting the virus per day. The production capacities were ramped up to 1,000 items, but hundreds of thousands would be needed in case of a rapid spread of the virus. Moreover, the capacity of an already strained hospital network to cope with the growing number of cases is also questioned. Marc van Ranst, a virologist at Rega Institute for Medical Research in Belgium who is in a team working on a vaccine against COVID-19, told Sputnik that there was a high possibility that the infection would reach Belgium. "There is a big chance of a coronavirus outbreak in our country as well. The situation is completely different from one that was a month ago, when the virus only caused casualties in China. Now the virus is in Italy. Now our government needs to let the population know that there is a plan B and that it will do its best to ensure that there will be as few sick and dead as possible when the virus comes. But whatever the number of sick people, that is not the fault of the government," the expert stated. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a press conference in Geneva that "the outbreak of the new coronavirus has not yet reached the level of a pandemic," calling on the international community to contribute to the prevention of the pandemic. The WHO is particularly concerned about the new confirmed cases in Italy, Iran and South Korea. VACCINE IS MORE THAN A YEAR AWAY According to experts from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a COVID-19 vaccine is approximately 18 months away, so that it might be ready only after the epidemic will pass its peak. The number of new cases is decreasing across China, except Wuhan province, which is the epicenter of the epidemic. The UK multinational pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), for example, has entered into a research collaboration with China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals to develop a protein-based coronavirus vaccine candidate, COVID-19 S-Trimer. GSK has announced plans to provide Clover with its pandemic adjuvant system for further assessment of vaccine candidate during pre-clinical studies. According to GSK, China's Clover has one of the largest in-house bioproduction capacities and could potentially produce large quantities of a vaccine. Researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven are also working on a vaccine against the coronavirus disease. Professor Johan Neyts and his team of around 40 people have launched the research on January 12 after the Chinese authorities shared the complete coronavirus genome sequence. The team's work is based on a revolutionary DNA platform that uses the genetic code of viral proteins that elicit an immune response. However, tests on mice will only start in a few weeks. EU IS CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE SITUATION On Monday, the European Commission announced an additional 232 million Euros ($252.4 million) in aid to fight the epidemic of COVID-19. A spokesperson for the European Commission told Sputnik that this fund allocation was planned in advance, adding that there would be a series of meetings between health authorities in Brussels. "The decision to unblock more funds had been taken in anticipation, before the present outbreak in northern Italy. The EU's Health Security Committee has met on Monday with Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, and the Italian health authorities met this Tuesday with their counterparts in neighboring countries: France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, but also Germany and Croatia," the spokesperson said, adding that a joint mission of the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control was recently deployed in Italy. Brussels is also funding research on prevention, treatment and containment of the disease, and has reserved funds for repatriating EU citizens from Wuhan and other Chinese cities. Janez Lenarcic, the EU commissioner for crisis management, is also looking at plans to close borders and adjust the Schengen legislation in case of further appearance of COVID-19 outbreaks. Currently, the European Commission does not think that member states should suspend the Schengen free travel zone to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease. Such a decision must be based on credible risk analysis and scientific evidence, according to Lenarcic. The commissioner also stressed the importance of coordination between EU member states. According to de Callatay, the COVID-19 outbreak will definitely affect the global economy, as Beijing alone accounts for a large share of the world GDP, and disruption of production in China would affect businesses in many developed countries. "China is the first or second economy in the world, along with the United States, and accounts for about 15 percent of the world GDP. China is the workshop of the world. This means that all over the world assembly units for example automobiles or telephones receive components from China. If these components are not delivered, the whole production chain stops. In the current liberal economic model, we live in great interdependence. The companies have chosen to divide the economic activities and to delegate production to specialized subcontractors," the expert said. The crisis that would be possibly caused by the outbreak could also lead to a "rebalancing" of the world economy, de Callatay added. "It should also be noted that this crisis could become an occasion for a great rebalancing of the world economy, a kind of big 'reset.' The current model of hyper-concentration of activities could give way to a more decentralized, more resilient system," he said. At least 95 people in Iran have been infected with the virus, while the official death toll has risen to 15. The virus has now also been recorded in neighboring Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, but also in Iraq and Afghanistan where the health systems might not be ready to deal with the epidemic. In Europe, a COVID-19 cluster emerged in northern Italy. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that up to 1,000 people in a hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife were placed under quarantine after one of the guests an Italian doctor over the age of 60 was confirmed to be infected. The man is from Lombardy, the worst-affected area in Italy. Fears are growing that the virus would spread in the rest of Europe via tourists who had been traveling in Italy. Massachusetts Episcopal priest pleads guilty to child porn possession Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An Episcopal priest in Massachusetts who formerly taught kindergarten and had recently been suspended by his diocese has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. The Rev. Gregory Lisby of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts pleaded guilty to one count of child porn possession last week. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Last September, Lisby was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after authorities uncovered evidence that Lisby possessed approximately 180 images and 15 videos that likely depicted child pornography. The evidence was discovered during a search of Lisby's home, which he shared with his husband, the Rev. Timothy Burger of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Worcester, and their two daughters. Burger has not been implicated in any of the charges and has filed for divorce from Lisby. The diocese considers Burger to be in good standing. Bishop Douglas J. Fisher sent out a pastoral announcement in response to the news, stating that the diocese was undertaking an official disciplinary process to remove Lisby from the priesthood. In addition, even after he is released from prison, Lisby will not be permitted any contact with congregations in this diocese without my express permission, wrote Fisher last week. Please know that we take the safety of children very seriously in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, and our clergy and lay leaders participate in the safe church training programs mandated by the Episcopal Church. Fisher also explained that the diocese has recently received what he called devastating credible evidence that Lisby sexually abused a teenager years ago. I am deeply saddened to know that a priest is alleged to have committed such a grievous sin, and on behalf of the entire church, I offer my most heartfelt apology to the victim, the victims family and to everyone whose trust in the church has been violated, Fisher continued. I cannot undo this terrible situation, but I can commit our diocese to telling the truth and seeking healing and reconciliation for anyone who has been harmed by Lisby. Lisby previously served in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, in New Jersey. This included time at Christ Church of Ridgewood from June 2010 through May 2015. The Rt. Rev. Carlye J. Hughes, bishop of the Newark Diocese, said in a statement last September that there was no evidence that Lisby engaged in misconduct while serving at Christ Church. At this time, there is no indication of this behavior during the Rev. Lisbys tenure in this diocese. Still, we will monitor this investigation carefully and are ready to launch a diocesan investigation if deemed necessary, wrote Hughes at the time. We join the people of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts in praying for all children exploited by child pornography, and for the Reverends Burger, Lisby, and their family. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea by Iltija Mufti, daughter of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, challenging the detention of her mother under the Public Safety Act (PSA). A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked Iltija to give an undertaking to bring on record that she has not filed any other petition before any other judicial forum, including the high court, in connection with the detention of her mother. The top court has listed the matter for further hearing on March 18. Iltija had filed a habeas corpus, a writ petition seeking direction from court to the authorities to produce a person under illegal detention in the top court against the February 5 administrative order invoking the PSA provision against her mother, leading to her detention. The same bench had earlier issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory administration on a similar plea filed by Sara Abdullah Pilot challenging government notification invoking the PSA against her brother and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The bench, also comprising Justices Vineet Saran and M.R. Shah, asked Iltija's counsel Nitya Ramakrishnan why she did not move the High Court. The counsel contended that the apex court had already entertained a similar plea of another former chief minister of the erstwhile state, Omar Abdullah. "The impugned detention order is wholly based on the impugned dossier which is manifestly biased, slanderous and libelous against the detenu and which no reasonable person ought to rely on for depriving a citizen of her fundamental freedoms and person liberty", said Iltija's plea citing the dossier, which formed the basis for invocation of the PSA. The plea contended that the grounds for the detention are not only stale, "for they refer to utterances more than six months old and admittedly made with no adverse consequences to law and order, but are also vitiated for non-application of mind insofar as they fail to show as to why the said utterances pose a threat to public order", contended the plea. "The very fact that not even an FIR was registered at that time demonstrates that the utterances were and are unexceptional", said the plea urging the top court to quash the February 5 detention order. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) are among the few upstream companies that have adapted well in the new oil price environment. Though both are focused on increasing shareholder returns by growing dividends, their strategies to attain this objective differ. ConocoPhillips has trimmed higher-cost assets and achieved a much lower cost of supply while simultaneously reducing leverage. In comparison, EOG has achieved a much lower cost of supply while continuing to grow production. But which of the two is better? Production plans In the first nine months of 2019, EOG Resources' production rose 15% year over year. The company has also been adding to its proved reserves. Lower costs and increased well productivity have enabled EOG Resources to grow production even when other players are slowing down. The company expects its oil production to grow by 15% in the U.S. in 2020 if oil prices remain around $55 per barrel. In comparison, ConocoPhillips' oil equivalent production rose just 5% in 2019, after falling for consecutive three years. ConocoPhillips expects a 7% decline in its production in 2020, assuming no contribution from Libya. The company's reserve additions from exploration work was only enough to offset the sale of some U.K. assets. ConocoPhillips' lack of growth is in response to the current market supply and-demand dynamics. While ConocoPhillips' production numbers look bad on the surface, they aren't that bad. The fall in production largely relates either to asset divestitures or to assets with higher production costs. For example, the company's production in the "big three" unconventional regions -- the Eagle Ford Shale, the Permian Basin, and the Bakken Basin -- grew 22% in 2019. ConocoPhillips expects low single-digit production growth at very low capital investment rates in this decade. The company expects all of the production growth to come from its unconventional plays, while it just aims to keep production relatively flat from its conventional plays. A key positive for ConocoPhillips is that it has a lower base decline rate. As oil and gas are extracted, the production from wells fall. Over time, a stage comes when its is no longer profitable for the company to keep producing from that well. A lower base decline rate means less capital investments to keep a well profitable. Moreover, it means less exploration expenditures to look for newer resources. Leverage Another point that distinguishes ConocoPhillips from EOG Resources is the leverage of each company. On a comparative basis, EOG looks better placed than ConocoPhillips in terms of leverage. EOG Resources' debt-to-capital ratio stands at around 20% whereas that of ConocoPhillips is around 30%. However, ConocoPhillips has made considerable progress in reducing its debt levels since 2016, when the company was forced to slash its dividends. The company's long-term debt has come down from $26 billion at the end of 2016 to around $15 billion at the end of 2019. EOG Resources is also committed to continuing to reduce its debt. Shareholder returns It is ConocoPhillips' focus on shareholder returns that the investors find attractive. The stock has outperformed EOG Resources in the last three years, recovering losses from the fall after the dividend cut. Despite the dividend cut, ConocoPhillips' total returns exceed those of EOG Resources over most time frames. ConocoPhillips' focus on lower costs of supply has allowed it to generate high returns on capital employed. What's more, ConocoPhillips expects its ROCE to keep improving over the years due to low single-digit production growth at low capital investment rates. ConocoPhillips currently offers roughly one percentage point higher yield than EOG Resources. It has a $25 billion share repurchase program in place. EOG Resources also understands the importance of returning value to its shareholders. The company intends to boost its payouts to raise its yield to around 2% as quickly as possible. Both the companies look to be on solid ground for longer-term performance. However, ConocoPhillips looks better positioned from a total returns perspective in the coming few years. TEHRAN, Iran, Feb.26 Trend: Over $434 million is expected to be assigned for construction projects in West Azerbaijan Province, Head of the Management and Planning Organization of West Azerbaijan Nasser Hazrati said, Trend reports via IRNA. In the next year's (begins on March 21, 2020) budget bill, the budget of West Azerbaijan Province is 19 percent higher than in the current year (ends on March 21), Hazrati said at a provincial meeting. Meanwhile, Director General of Tax Affairs of West Azerbaijan Hassan Koumasi said that 96 percent of the projected tax in the province in the first six months of this year (started on March 21, 2019) has been collected. Tax collections have increased by 43 percent compared to same period last year, including 62 percent in direct taxes and 38 percent in value added tax, Koumasi said. Referring to the non-realization of $10 million of provincial tax revenues, he says that in cooperation with the judiciary and law enforcement agencies some of the arrears and demands will be collected soon. Next year's budget bill is under review in Iranian Parliament. As many as 1.1 million tons of various products worth $1.6 billion were exported via border markets and customs of Irans West Azerbaijan province for ten months of this Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 through Jan. 20, 2020), according to Gholamreza Babaei, chairman of the West Azerbaijan Province Industry, Mine and Trade Organization, Trend reported earlier. Babaei noted that the products were exported to neighboring countries in Asia and Europe, adding that 595,000 tons of products worth $888 million were exported via border markets, while 526,000 tons of products worth $712 million were exported via customs of the province. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The new General Micro Systems (GMS) VME120 single-board computer (SBC) family is form, fit, and functionally compatible with multiple generations of currently deployed VME boards. This enables Navy platforms to be easily upgraded to include the latest-and-greatest Intel processing and graphics performance while maintaining backward compatibility with long-running legacy programs. The Aegis combat system, DDGx and other Navy programs have relied on GMS VME SBCs for critical applications such as fire control, engine control, machinery control, and operator console displays. The Navy's evolving software requirements and program enhancements mandate performance higher than that provided by the original VME boards, which in turn requires the market's newest processors and features. The new VME120 versions maintain backward compatibility with legacy systems and add latest-generation Intel Kaby Lake Core i7 processors and modern graphics features. GMS VME SBCs are designed for technology refresh/insertion and easy pre-planned product improvement (P3I) using the same backplane, signal positions, and front panel connections. This enables naval customers to enjoy the performance benefits of Intel's newest processors by simply unplugging the older model, plugging in the new model, and loading the software. "We have supplied three different product families to the Navy, hundreds of boards, and three generations of Intel and Motorola processors," said Ben Sharfi, CEO and chief architect at GMS. "In every single case, it was a smooth upgrade for the Navy, which is why they keep coming back to us. No other VME vendor in the industry can claim this tech-refresh success rate." GMS has been building VME boards and systems since the VME standard's inception, over 30 years ago. The company's VME boards and systems use a modular "engine" containing the processor that can be evolved as technology changes over time. The engine plugs onto a VME base "carrier" board with system interfaces that change very slowly, if at all. The elegance of this design approach is that the processor and memory evolve with Moore's Law, while connections to the VME system remain constant and predictable. Early versions of the VME SBC family started with Motorola PowerPC and Intel Core Duo CPUs, while current versions, including the GMS VME120 "Royal Albatross," are based on Intel's four-core, 7th-generation Core i7 Kaby Lake CPU. Backward Compatible, Leading-Edge VME Feature Set The VME120 is available in three versions: a single-slot version that replaces fourth generation Intel "Haswell" processors, and two dual-slot versions. One of the dual-slot versions replaces an earlier fourth generation Intel processor and the other replaces an earlier Motorola PowerPC CPU. All told, the VME120 replaces either two or three earlier generations of previously deployed GMS Intel- or Motorola-based SBCs. Unique to the VME120 is the modular design that enables it to remain backward compatible with legacy versions while also providing the newest and fastest graphics and processing. In the single-slot version, a PMC or XMC I/O board, or a SATA SSD can be mounted on the board to provide both backplane and front-panel I/O. The dual-slot versions add a PCI Express Workstation I/O (WSIO) mezzanine carrier card that supports additional I/O mezzanines: MXM (1x), PMC or XMC (3x). Collectively, the VME120-WSIO reduces an entire chassis' worth of VME boards into a mere two slots. Thanks to the VME120's backward compatibility, the card can support VME32, VME64, 3- and 6-row VME connectors, and a center P0 connector, depending on the variant. The 3.0 MHz Kaby Lake Xeon E3-1505M CPU is mated to 64 GB of DDR4 DRAM with ECC for added reliability. I/O includes: 2x 10GbE to the front panel, 2x 1GbE to the backplane, 4x SATA ports, 4x serial ports, 1x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0, a super I/O Com port to the front panel, HDMI and VGA to the backplane, and 16 GPIO on P2. Used with operator consoles, it also includes line in and mic in, plus headphone audio output. The VME120 supports the user's choice of an XMC/PMC with front panel I/O or a SATA SSD mounted on the SBC itself. The dual-slot VME120-WSIO provides up to three additional XMC/PMC sites, or two sites with an add-on MXM. When equipped with an MXM, the SBC supports triple video outputs, with options for dual VGA and "sync on green" for legacy military consoles. Where: Booth #123 at the AFCEA West Premier Sea Services event in San Diego, Mar. 23, 2020. For interviews at the show, contact Kelly Wanlass at 801-602-4723 or [email protected], or GMS CTO Chris Ciufo at (360) 921-7556 or [email protected]. About General Micro Systems: General Micro Systems (GMS) is the rugged server company. The company is known as the industry expert in highest-density, modular, compute-intensive, and rugged small form-factor embedded computing systems, servers, and switches. These powerful systems are ideal for demanding C4ISR defense, aerospace, medical, industrial, and energy exploration applications. GMS is an IEC, ISO, AS9100, NIST-800-171, and MIL-SPEC supplier with infrastructure and operations for long-life, spec-controlled, and configuration-managed programs. Designed from the ground up to provide the highest performance and functionality in the harshest environments on the planet, the company's highly customizable products include GMS Rugged DNA with patented RuggedCool cooling technology. GMS is also the leader in deployable high-end Intel processors and a proud Intel partner since 1986. For more information, visit www.gms4sbc.com. General Micro Systems and the General Micro Systems logo are trademarks of General Micro Systems, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. 2020 General Micro Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved SOURCE General Micro Systems, Inc. Related Links http://www.gms4sbc.com Ashland police and firefighters responded to a state park after a dog and its owner fell through the ice Tuesday afternoon. Police say a dog, Blue, fell through the ice at Ashland State Park on Tuesday and his owner went into the water in an attempt to rescue the dog. When the Ashland Police Department, Fire Department and Animal Control responded, the owner was ashore while the dog remained in the water, authorities said. Wearing a survival suit, a member of the Ashland Fire Department swam out to rescue the dog from the cold water, police said. Blue and his owner are both safe and recovering from the incident police said. On Sunday, two fishermen fell through the ice in Spencer. One of the men had to be rescued by authorities. Both men refused medical attention. The Massachusetts State Police warned residents that as temperatures rise, it is unsafe to walk on ice covering bodies of water throughout the state. Police reminded residents to never go on the ice alone. If you falls through the ice, police said, turn toward the direction you came from, and place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface. Work forward by kicking your feet. Once the ice is solid enough to hold your weight, and you can pull yourself out, remain lying on the ice and do not stand. Lying down spreads your weight across a wider area, lessening your weight on any one spot. Crawl back the way to shore keeping your weight distributed, until you return to solid ice or ground. Lent is the time to turn off the television and open the Bible. It is the time to disconnect from smart phones and connect to the Gospel." "It is time to give up useless words, chatter, rumors, gossip, and give yourself to the Lord . It is the time to devote yourself to a healthy heart ecology. To clean. We live in an environment polluted by too much verbal violence, by many offensive and harmful words, which the network amplifies. Today insults are as commonplace as saying 'hello'. We are inundated with empty words, with advertisements, with subtle messages. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Pope is close to "the Coronavirus sick and the health workers who treat them, as well as the civil authorities and all those who are working to assist patients and stop the infection". A thought about the disease that is raging in many countries concluded today's general audience, which Francis dedicated to the beginning of Lent, with the Rite of Ashes this afternoon. Adressing the 15 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square, Francis spoke of the "desert" to which Jesus withdraws for 40 days at the beginning of his ministry. And the "spiritual meaning of the desert" was at the center of the Pope's catechesis. Desert as "a place of detachment from the noise that surrounds us. It is the absence of words to make room for another Word, the Word of God, which caresses our hearts like a light breeze (cf. 1 Kings 19:12). The desert is the place of the capitalised Word". Lent is the right time to make room for the Word of God. It is the time to turn off the television and open the Bible. It is the time to disconnect from smartphones and connect to the Gospel. When I was a child there was no television, but there was a habit of not listening to the radio in Lent. " "It is time to give up useless words, chatter, rumors, gossip, and give the Lord 'you'. It is the time to devote yourself to a healthy heart ecology. To clean. We live in an environment polluted by too much verbal violence, by many offensive and harmful words, which the network amplifies. Today insults are as commonplace as saying 'hello'. We are inundated with empty words, with advertisements, with subtle messages. We have become used to hearing everything about everyone and we risk slipping into a worldliness that atrophies our hearts. And there is no by pass to heal this. We struggle to distinguish the voice of the Lord who speaks to us, the voice of conscience, of good ". Jesus, calling us in the desert, invites us to listen to what matters. To the devil who tempted him, he replied: "Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Mt 4: 4). Like bread, more than bread we need the Word of God, we need to speak with God: to pray. Because only before God do the inclinations of the heart come to light and the duplicity of the soul fall. Here is the desert, a place of life, not of death, because dialogue in silence with the Lord gives us life again ". Let's try to think of a desert again. The desert is the place of the essential. Let's look at our lives: how many useless things surround us! We chase a thousand things that seem necessary and in reality are not. How good it would be for us to get rid of so many superfluous realities, to rediscover what matters, to find the faces of those around us! Jesus also sets an example on this, fasting. Fasting is knowing how to give up vain things, the superfluous, to go to the essentials. It is not just for weight loss. It is to seek the beauty of a simpler life . Finally, the desert is the place of solitude. Even today, near us, there are many deserts. They are lonely and abandoned people. How many poor and old people are among us and live in silence, without making a fuss, marginalized and discarded! Talking about them doesn't make audiences. But the desert leads us to them, to those who, silenced, silently ask for our help. Many silent glances that ask for our help ". The path in the Lenten desert is a path of charity towards the weaker. Prayer, fasting, works of mercy: here is the road in the Lenten desert. Dear brothers and sisters - Francis concluded - with the voice of the prophet Isaiah, God has made this promise: "Behold, I am doing a new thing, I will open a road in the desert" (Is 43,19). The road that leads us from death to life opens up in the desert. We enter the desert with Jesus, we will go out savoring Easter, the power of God's love that renews life. It will happen to us as to those deserts that bloom in the spring, making buds and plants suddenly sprout 'out of nowhere'. Take courage, let us enter this desert of Lent, let us follow Jesus into the desert: with him our deserts will flourish . Finally, a particular prayer was dedicated to Iraq, a "battlefield" country where, he said, his visit was scheduled for this year. "I pray for peace," he said. A second person suffering from coronavirus has died in France, and a Frenchman who travelled to Italys Lombardy region also tested positive, the countrys health authorities said on Wednesday. The death was one of three new cases in France this week, said Jerome Salomon, the countrys director-general of health, and an infectious disease specialist. There are now 17 confirmed cases in the country. A 60-year-old French national was taken to hospital in Paris in a serious condition and tested for the virus late on Tuesday. Unfortunately, [he] died during the night, Salomon said. France is on high alert after neighbouring Italy became a new front in the global fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which the head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called a rapidly escalating epidemic in multiple locations. So far it seems that people in France are taking a cautious approach to the rising number of coronavirus cases, said Al Jazeeras Natacha Butler, reporting from Paris. They are certainly watching developments but there is no sense of panic yet. Coronavirus cases in people who travelled recently to northern Italy have now been found in France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia and Algeria. Frances first coronavirus death was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who died in hospital in mid-February. The Frenchman who travelled to Lombardy was taken to hospital in Strasbourg and was not in a serious condition, Salomon said. The third new case involved a 55-year-old now on life support in the city of Amiens, in northern France. The French government has asked citizens returning from Lombardy and the neighbouring Veneto region to avoid all non-essential outings and keep their children home from school. The same advisory has been issued to people returning from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and South Korea. WASHINGTON The new acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, has asked an intelligence official who angered some lawmakers with a briefing about Russian interference in the 2020 election to stay on in her role. Mr. Grenells move is a peace offering to the 17 intelligence agencies he oversees and a potential sign that he will not be conducting a widespread purge, as some administration officials have feared. Mr. Grenell, a Trump loyalist who has little experience in intelligence, removed the No. 2 official in his office in his first day on the job last week. Whether Mr. Grenell, appointed to the post last week by President Trump, can win over members of Congress and the intelligence community will depend in part whether he can convince them that he will focus on protecting the elections from outside interference. Some administration officials feared that the official who briefed the lawmakers, Shelby Pierson, would be removed as well. As the intelligence communitys top election security official since last year, she was subjected to withering criticism after her briefing to a classified hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Feb. 13 touched off a fierce partisan debate over the nature of Russias interference in the 2020 election. SBI Cards, the credit card company of India's largest lender State Bank of India, is coming out with an IPO (initial public offering) at Rs 750 to 755 per share. SBI Cards' annualised EPS (earning per share) of Rs 15.58 apiece for 2019-20 puts the company's valuation at a price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 48 times, which is on the higher side. Kotak Mahindra Bank, though, valued on the basis of price to book like any other banks, gets P/E of 52 times its earnings. Kotak is the best in class in terms of returns. Similarly, the well-diversified Bajaj Finance enjoys P/E of 79 times because of consistent growth in its income and profits. The P/E of 48 times for SBI Cards, which is a single product company, looks to be on a higher side because of its high-risk high-return potential in the credit card business. In terms of price to book the method of valuation, SBI Cards is valued at 14.49 times. The banks in India do not get such kind of high price to book valuations. For instance, Kotak Bank enjoys the highest price to book of 6.97 times amongst the banks. Even HDFC Bank, which has consistently given returns despite its big size, has a price to book of just 4.22 times. Most banks are below 2 in terms of price to book. But the market always rewards a player who has the growth potential with high returns. In the last two years ending March 2019, SBI Cards' total income has grown by a compounded growth of 45 per cent to Rs 7,286 crore and net profits at a compounded rate of 52 per cent to Rs 862 crore. Such growth is very high, which also pushes the market price on the hope of higher returns in future. But will the company maintain its high growth momentum in future, given the dark clouds in the economy? SBI Cards IPO: This clause will open more revenue sources for SBI In terms of market share, SBI Cards is already next to HDFC Bank. SBI Cards has a market share of 18 per cent against HDFC Bank's 27 per cent. There are also no parallels in the market for valuing a credit card company as the card business is part of the overall banking business. In fact, SBI Cards will be the first company to be listed on the stock market. The banking business is the only business closer to it to in terms of valuations. For investors, there are risks too. SBI Cards is a single product company dealing in unsecured credit. There are no other products to de-risk the book in bad times. In a slowing economy, a rise in default could impact its portfolio quality. Currently, the company's gross NPAs are low at 2.33 per cent and net NPAs are at 0.78 per cent as on September 2019. SBI currently holds 74 per cent stake in the company and the balance 26 per cent is held by CA Rover Holdings, a Carlyle Group company. This company was started two decades ago with GE Capital. But SBI and Carlyle Group acquired GE Capital's stake in the company two years ago. The current offer comprises a fresh issue and a sale offer by the existing shareholders. The Rs 9,000 crore IPO will hit the market in March first week. SBI Cards is the second SBI subsidiary to be listed on bourses in the last few years. SBI Life Insurance Company, listed two years ago, offered shares at Rs 700 per share. Its stock value today is Rs 916 per share, and the market capitalisation is Rs 91,630 crore. Besides, the lender plans two more listings in the next one-two years, SBI Mutual Fund and SBI General Insurance. Also read: SBI Cards IPO: Issue to open on March 2; price band likely at Rs 745-775 A cruise ship from the Miami-based cruise line MSC Cruises has docked at Cozumel, Mexico after being denied entry to Cayman Islands and Jamaica amid fears of COVID-19. MSC Cruises said in a statement emailed to TIME Thursday morning that MSC Meraviglia is currently waiting for local health officials to board the ship to conduct customary checks provided for by maritime protocols. A passenger on board the ship, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to TIME that the vessel had docked in Cozumel and that those onboard are waiting for authorities to clear the ship. The ship is allowed to dock and passengers will be allowed to disembark, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday, the Associated Press reported. We cannot act with discrimination, Lopez Obrador said. Imagine if a ship arrived and it wasnt even allowed to dock, and they were told, Keep going on your way, see where you can dock. That is inhuman. MSC Cruises said in a previous statement on Wednesday afternoon that the Meraviglia had received formal and final authorization from local health authorities to dock in Cozumel, and that its arrival was anticipated later in the evening. The cruise line later said the ship had arrived off the West Coast of the island around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night but ,due to unfavorable weather including stormy conditions, the vessel had waited until Thursday morning for winds to decrease so they could safely enter port. During this time, conflicting reports emerged as to the ships status: both Reuters and the Mexican newspaper Milenio reported that port authority officials revoked permission for the vessel to dock. This back-and-forth was resolved by Thursday morning; the cruise line had also said they were in touch with local health authorities to ensure that their decision will be based on a factual review of the ships medical records, according to a statement. No coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Mexico. Story continues The MSC Meraviglia was earlier this week blocked from entering the port in Ochos Rios, Jamaica on Tuesday, health officials said. The ship, carrying more than 4,500 passengers and over 1,600 crew members on a 14-day cruise of the Caribbean, was denied entry after health officials found that one crew member, reporting flu-like symptoms, had been placed in isolation. The crew member had a cough, fever and associated muscle pains with a travel history to a country of interest relating to the COVID-19, read a statement from Jamaicas Ministry of Health and Wellness. After being blocked from docking in Jamaica, the ship was also denied a scheduled entry on Wednesday in Grand Cayman out of an abundance of caution, from the Cayman Islands health officials. In order to provide protection to the health and safety of the residents of the Cayman Islands, the Government denied permission for the cruise ship to call on Grand Cayman as previously scheduled, health minister Dwayne Seymour said in a statement. MSC Cruises criticized the decisions by both countries in a statement to TIME, saying authorities in Jamaica and Grand Cayman did not properly review medical records provided by the cruise line. In both instances, the ship was effectively turned away simply based on fears, the statement read. According to MSC Cruises, the ships medical records showed one case of influenza, which affected a crew member who had traveled to Miami from Manila, Philippines via Istanbul. The crew member tested positive for Type A influenza after visiting the ships medical center while already aboard. MSC Cruises said it is standard practice to report any illnesses on board to relevant local health authorities. According to the cruise line, the crew member embarked on the cruise after passing a mandatory health screening given to all passengers on the ship. He has no other symptoms, MSC Cruises said. The passenger aboard MSC Meraviglia, who asked not to be identified, told TIME on Wednesday that some people on the ship seem worried, but arent yet panicked. Passengers were trying to get more information about future stops and are continuing to gather in the ships common areas. Life is normal at the pool side, the passenger said. We have not been asked to stay in the rooms. In a note to passengers shared with TIME, the ships captain apologized for the voyages itinerary changes and any related inconvenience,. The note added that MSC would be providing refunds for missed excursions in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman, along with a $200 on board credit per stateroom. MSC Meraviglia is the latest cruise ship to get caught up in fears over the spread of the coronavirus, which has quickly surged in case numbers outside of mainland China, where the viral infection originated. Following rumors that a passenger on Holland America Lines Westerdam cruise ship had coronavirus, the ship was denied entry at five different ports earlier in February, before passengers were allowed to disembark in Cambodia. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Developers hoping to build on the former site of Mount Manresa ran into a roadblock Tuesday. Members of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals voted unanimously to deny the LLC that owns the property its application for a waiver to General City Law 36, which regulates whether new constructions can front on unmapped streets. Borough President James Oddo, a long-time opponent of the 163-home project who even used his discretion to bestow some of the developments private streets with names related to greed, applauded BSAs decision. Todays decision by the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) is a red-letter day in Staten Island history, Oddo said in an emailed statement. Tragically, there is (not) bringing back Mount Manresa. Sadly, houses will be built on this property. But now is the chance for everyone to come together, to respect the law and the will of Staten Islanders, and to do whats right so that the best can made of this heretofore ugly situation, he continued. Oddo is just one of myriad politicians and community activists that have opposed development of the site since the Society of Jesus put its former retreat house up for sale in 2012. State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore) and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore South Brooklyn) took multiple steps to preserve the property in both their districts suing to stop its sale, and appealing to the purchasers, Savo Brothers Inc. of Huguenot, to limit the sites development. We have tried every angle to stop this destructive development of Mount Manresa, Malliotakis said. Over the years, we have experienced ups and downs, wins and losses. Today was a win and we are thankful that the Board of Standards and Appeals listened to our testimony and denied the request to bypass the citys land use public hearing process, as the impact the development will have on schools, sewers, traffic and the environment must be considered, she added. The development has been fraught with controversy surrounding various issues, including tearing down trees, development density, and asbestos contamination. Plans for the housing development began several years ago when the Savo Brothers purchased the bucolic property for $15.5 million. In turn, they came up with a plan to develop the property with more than 150 homes, a mix of single-family residences and muti-unit dwellings. Unless the developer successfully appeals the decision, the project now would be significantly downsized, with construction only permitted on the adjoining mapped streets. That would limit the development to less than 20 properties or so. CITY MAP STREETS Private roads dont require the same environmental reviews as new streets on the City Map, but changes to the map require a review process that includes project analysis from multiple agencies. City Map revisions are also subject to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, known as ULURP. That seven-month process is public and includes input from several levels of city government, including the borough president and City Council. Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) also sent a letter to BSA in September asking that board deny the developers waiver application. While others wouldve given up, the Committee to Save Mt. Manresa kept fighting and today is their victory, Rose said. I also want to commend Borough President Jimmy Oddo for using every tool at his disposal to send the message that the days when irresponsible and greedy developers could operate in our borough with impunity are over. Representatives for the Savo-Brothers-owned LLC that bought the property in early 2014 for $15,000,000 did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. The owners still have a chance to file an Article 78 proceeding in New York Supreme Court to challenge the BSAs decision. OLDEST RETREAT IN AMERICA The 15-acre Mount Manresa site located at the end of West Fingerboard Road and above the Staten Island Expressway -- was purchased by the Society of Jesuits in 1911 and turned the sprawling grounds into their first retreat house. Mount Manresa was the oldest retreat in the United States. The water tower, one of many structures built, is the oldest on the property. Shealy Hall, Sacred Heart Chapel, Founders Hall, Bruno Building, and Fox Villa buildings are also located on the property, in addition to several gardens. A letter from The Rev. David Ciancimino, S.J., Provincial of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in 2012 announced that it would be closing the following year. Father Ciancimino said the move was made "in an effort to respond more effectively to contemporary needs. "Over the course of 100 years, so many have been so generous and have worked so hard on behalf of Mount Manresa and its ministries," Rich Nolan, chair of the Mount Manresa board of directors, said in his own letter to the Mount Manresa community at the time. Through such generosity and hard work, a great gift was provided to the Church and to our Staten Island community. At this challenging time, it is with profound gratitude that I reflect upon the selfless devotion of so many to Mount Manresa and its ministries. STAPLE OF THE COMMUNITY Between 2005 and 2001, Mount Manresa housed approximately 20 children -- some of whom were rescued from the earthquakes in Haiti and Pakistan, the tsunami in Indonesia and war-torn Iraq -- through the Global Medical Relief Fund. In the aftermath of 9/11, Mount Manresa lodged displaced tourists from 11 nations, housed the Red Cross Service Center for Staten Island and a DNA collection and counseling center for victims relatives. Juniors and seniors from St. Peters Boys High School retreated at Mount Manresa for many years and played a large role in the religious and spiritual life of Staten Islanders for decades. The is looking into issues related to payment of statutory dues by mobile telephony services providers, Nirmala said on Wednesday. In all, 15 telecom entities owe the government Rs 1.47 trillion in unpaid statutory dues -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. Airtel and Vodafone Idea account for about 60 per cent of the estimated dues, which include interest and penalty for late payments. Following the Supreme Court order on the (AGR) of telecom companies, industry honchos Sunil Bharti Mittal and Kumar Mangalam Birla had met the "Yes meetings have happened. The Department is taking a call so it won't be right on my part to talk about this at the moment. Wait for the Department to come up (with update on this)," she said in a response to the AGR issue. Top management of telecom have also met Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. 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 for extension in the payment schedule and asked to deposit their past dues for spectrum and licences. Since the February 14 tongue-lashing Supreme Court gave to telecom for missing its previous deadline of January 23 to pay past dues as well as the Department of Telecommunication for failing to enforce it, firms and Telecom Ministry are busy doing separate maths on the actual dues. Vodafone Idea, which is confronted with Rs 53,000 crore in statutory dues as per DoT's calculation, has so far paid only 7 per cent of those dues in two tranches. Airtel has paid Rs 10,000 crore out of its estimated liability of over Rs 35,000 crore. After Bloomberg charged that Russians were interfering in the primary on Sanderss behalf as a way of handing Trump his weakest opponent, Buttigieg chimed in: They want chaos, and chaos is what is coming our way. I mean, look, if you think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting, imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders vs. Donald Trump. Think about what that will be like for this country. He later told Sanders that his nomination would jeopardize Democrats hard-won control of the House, saying that the scores of Democrats whose victories in 2018 gave the party its majority are not running on your platform. They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can. Sanders, red-faced, shook his head. He did so much of that on Tuesday night it was as if he were a pioneer in neck aerobics. But he also kept his cool and stood his ground, so that a night devoted in large part to wounding him probably left him with little more than a nick or two. He was able to say, correctly, that he beats Trump in polls that posit a hypothetical matchup of the two. He was able to cite, accurately, his impressive favorability ratings. He was also able to step back during stretches of the debate when the ugliness didnt focus on him when the generally foul atmosphere pitted Biden against Steyer or Warren against Bloomberg, or Klobuchar against Biden. Nobody really looked good, and thats another big part of what spooked me. I was watching a political party devour itself. It was all so unpleasant and so unflattering that candidates took to commenting on how unpleasant and unflattering it was. I guess the only way you do this is to jump in and speak twice as long as you should, Biden groused, as he delivered yet another debate performance in which he was obsessed with the clock, the rules and whether he should follow them when others didnt. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nezar Patria, Esther Samboh, Adrian Wail Akhlas and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration submitted the controversial 1,028-page omnibus bill on job creation to the House of Representatives on Feb. 12, expecting the deliberations to conclude within 100 working days. The Jakarta Posts Nezar Patria, Esther Samboh, Adrian Wail Akhlas and Margareth S. Aritonang recently sat down with Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto to discuss how the omnibus bill on job creation will ease doing business, attract investors, create jobs and boost economic growth. With protests becoming increasingly virulent from labor unions to environmentalists and human rights groups to regional governments, Airlangga said that public objections could be delivered to the House, which is in charge of deliberating the bill. President Jokowi and the government will also tour regions across the country to raise awareness and public understanding of the bill. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation. 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 English Danish NNIT and Microsoft collaborate on cloud based standard solutions Two of the biggest players in the Danish IT-market connect to help Danish companies release their cloud potential. Copenhagen, February 25, 2019 - Two of the largest players in the Danish IT industry, NNIT A/S and Microsoft Denmark, enter into an intensified collaboration to help Danish companies realize their cloud potential and support digital transformation. The demand for cloud-based standard solutions continues to grow globally, as reflected in the double-digit growth rates in Microsoft's sales1. The sales growth leads to a growing demand for IT services and consulting services provided by NNIT when customers wish to realize the benefits of moving business in the cloud and strengthen innovation. NNIT helps its customers make the most of the products across Microsoft's three clouds, Azure, MS365, and Dynamics 365. Many companies sit on an unresolved potential, which NNIT will help the, release, explains Jacob Hahn Michelsen, Senior Vice President, Public & Private, NNIT: "Our customers are constantly demanding more cloud services, and with the help of our good people, they can quickly and safely get Microsoft's standard solutions clicked right into the business. NNIT wants to be Denmark's leading Microsoft house, so we are very pleased with the collaboration, which enables us to help more Danish companies make the most of buying cloud solutions." The ambitions lead NNIT to invest heavily in competencies and capacity building. Through the first half of 2020, cooperation focuses on further training when further 200 NNIT employees will be certified across the three clouds. In addition, the ambition is reflected in NNIT's recruitment and acquisitions. With the successful acquisition of SCALES in 2017, NNIT became a leading provider of Dynamics 365 solutions in Denmark. In January 2020, NNIT presented an adjusted strategy to provide Microsoft's standard solutions as an independent focus area. In addition, Microsoft products become crucial for many of the other focus areas of the strategy such as Data & AI, Cybersecurity and Digital workplace. Claus Jul Christiansen, Commercial Partner Lead, Microsoft Denmark says about the collaboration: "In Microsoft, we are evolving from a focus on sales through partners towards a thorough partner philosophy in which we develop and sell each other's technology and solutions. Our collaboration with NNIT fits perfectly into this strategy, where our partners build on our technology and work with other partners to build repeatable solutions that can create increased value for our customers." The collaboration concerns all three clouds but will focus in the first phase on managed services and security for Azure, security, enabling and end-user experience for M365, as well as Finance and Operations and Customer Engagement for Dynamics 365. ******** More information Helga Heyn, NNIT Communications, +45 30 77 81 41, hhey@nnit.com About NNIT NNIT is an international consultancy in the development, implementation, validation and operation of IT for the life sciences industry and the Danish private and public sector. We create value for our clients by treating their IT as if it was our own, and of course, we meet the industrys strictest regulatory requirements. We apply the latest advances in technology to make our clients software, business processes and communication more effective. NNIT A/S has more than 3,200 employees. For more information please visit www.nnit.com . 1 https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://c.s-microsoft.com/en-us/CMSFiles/SlidesFY20Q2.pptx?version=40be8d22-5719-ad18-1797-ee46fb9b3b47 Attachment BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.26 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen has paid his sincere tribute to all who lost their lives in Khojaly atrocity, Trend reports with reference to the OIC. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen has paid his tribute on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the mass atrocities that took place in Khojaly town of Azerbaijan. The OIC considers that the Khojaly atrocity was a result of the illegal occupation by Armenia of Azerbaijani territory, the OIC report said. The Secretary General referred to the Cairo Final Communique adopted by the 12th Session of the Islamic Summit held in Cairo in 2013 and the resolutions adopted by previous sessions of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), including the 46th Session of the CFM held in Abu Dhabi in 2019, which considered the actions perpetrated against civilian Azerbaijani population in the occupied Azerbaijani territories as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, the OIC said. The report said that the Secretary General reaffirmed the CFM resolutions calling for the earliest political settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, in accordance with the generally accepted norms and principals of international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. Southern Italy's first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in the Sicilian city of Palermo, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) Southern Italy's first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in the Sicilian city of Palermo, the ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday. According to ANSA, a female tourist visiting Sicily from the northern Italian city of Bergamo tested positive for the virus after being hospitalized with flu symptoms. Everyone that the patient may have been in contact with has been placed under quarantine, the news agency reported, citing the local authorities. Later in the day, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte accused one of the hospitals on the country's north of non-compliance with an established protocol that led to the disease outbreak in the country. "We do not behave thoughtlessly, otherwise we would not have taken extreme measures. We cannot predict the spread of the virus. It is clear that there was an outbreak, and, moreover, it was revealed that at the hospital structure's level, the control did not comply with protocols adopted in such cases. This definitely helped the spread," Conte told the Rai 1 broadcaster. The prime minister also called on other states to ensure the right to the unrestricted movement of all Italians despite the epidemic after several countries cautioned their citizens against making trips to the Apennines. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy has triggered spikes in prices for protective masks and disinfecting gels, a spokesman for the Italian consumer protection group Codacons, Stefano Zerbi, told Sputnik, adding that cases of price gouging were being investigated by prosecutors and police. "We are dealing with pure gouging due to the fears of citizens. These people benefit from the fear of infection: if previously one mask had cost a few euro cents, now the price reaches five or six Euros [$5.4-6.5] per piece," Zerbi added. Cases of the new coronavirus in Italy now numbering more than 270 were previously confirmed only in the northern and central Italian regions, including Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol, Piedmont, Tuscany and Lazio. Italy has confirmed that seven people have died from coronavirus-related complications in the country. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda will be on two-day visit to his home state Himachal Pradesh beginning Feburary 27, party's state unit chief Rajeev Bindal said on Wednesday. This will be Nadda's first visit to the state after he took over the party's reins from Union Home Minister Amit Shah last month. Nadda will visit Solan and Shimla on Thursday and his home district Bilaspur on Friday, Bindal told reporters in Solan district. The BJP chief will be accorded a civic reception in Solan's Thodo Ground at 11 am, followed by another in state capital Shimla at 4 pm, he said. According to Bindal, Nadda will also attend meetings of the core group of the BJP legislative body and state office bearers in Shimla. On Friday, the party chief will be accorded a civic reception in Bilaspur district's Jhandutta, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TOKYO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- East Japan Railway Company (JR East) announced today a partnership with Infarm - the world's most advanced and rapidly growing urban farming platform - to deliver a range of fresh produce grown and harvested at Kinokuniya retail stores starting summer 2020. The first such agreement in Asia, the JR East partnership includes a declaration of capital investment in Infarm that will introduce the company's produce to Japanese consumers, freshly-grown and harvested in Tokyo locations of JR East food retail arm, Kinokuniya Co. Ltd. An additional agreement with national food distributor Muroo Co. Ltd will support a phased expansion for the Berlin-based company across Japan in 2021. Together, the trio of agreements will drive Infarm's growth in Asia's most developed market, and will be supported by Infarm Japan, the company's new affiliate in the region. "Japan's densest cities represent both the challenge and the potential of distributed, modular urban farming for cities around the world. Our partnership with such strong allies as JR East, Kinokuniya and Muroo Co. not only mark Infarm's entry into a nation known globally for the care and quality of its food culture, but accelerates our ability to build an ecosystem of partners worldwide who together will be able to feed the 7 billion living in cities by 2050, with fresh, sustainable food," commented Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm. Infarm has developed the world's most advanced, easily scalable and rapidly deployable modular farms that can transform any retail space and fulfill any market demand. Each in-store farm offers a controlled environment with growing recipes that bring out the natural flavor and properties of each plant. The individual farms are connected and remotely controlled from a central farming platform that gathers up-to-the-minute information about each plant's growth and learns, adjusts and improves itself continuously, so each plant grows better than the one before. Infarm staff regularly visit the farms to harvest mature plants, place them at the point of sale, and plant new seedlings for the next cycle. Consumers have access to the plants at their freshest points, still alive with their roots, full of nutrients and flavor. "Infarm offers an innovative, consumer-centered approach to urban farming that can contribute to the dynamic conversation about how we think about the relationship between technology and sustainable food here in Japan. As one of Infarm's early stage investors and managing director of Infarm Japan, I'm excited about the opportunity we have to partner with others across our food industry, as we work together to build a better future," commented Ikuo C. Hiraishi, Managing Director, Infarm Japan. Founded in 2013, Infarm is one of the world's largest urban farming platforms harvesting and distributing more than 250,000 plants each month across its network. Infarm currently operates across Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland where it has deployed more than 600 farms in stores and distribution centers. Since 2013 the company has raised more than 100 million USD, most recently with a 2019 Series B funding round led by European venture capital firm, Atomico. About Infarm Founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm combines highly efficient vertical farms with IoT technologies and Machine Learning, to offer an alternative food system that is resilient, transparent, and affordable. The company distributes its smart modular farms throughout the urban environment to grow fresh produce for the city's inhabitants. With cutting edge R&D, patented technologies, and a leading multi-disciplinary team, Infarm was founded on a visionary mission: helping cities become self-sufficient in their food production while significantly improving the safety, quality, and environmental footprint of our food. SOURCE Infarm For many Christians around the world, Shrove Tuesday is often celebrated by eating rich, fatty foods in preparation for the first day of Lent. In countries like Ireland, Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Tuesday and is celebrated by eating you guessed it pancakes. Here in Windsor-Essex, however, Shrove Tuesday is more often thought of as Paczki Day, and residents celebrate by stuffing themselves with the Polish doughnut treat. Ron Szpak, for example, said Paczki Day has been a tradition since his youth. Bakeries across the region prepare for Paczki Day well in advance, with places like Lakeside Bakery in Leamington working round the clock for almost a week in anticipation of lines of hungry residents. "Believe it or not, we will sell up to 75,000 paczki," said bakery owner Danielle Tartaro, adding that staff began selling paczki last Wednesday. In Sarnia, Global Donut and Deli owner Gus Pantazis said selling packzi has allowed the store to transform February from what's normally the "slowest retail month" into its "busiest month of the year." "Last year was between 1,300 and 1,500 dozen. I'll say, this year, we're close to 1,800 dozen," said Pantazis. And for bakeries like Blak's Bakery in Windsor, Paczki Day is often the busiest day of the year. In fact, staff at Blak's Bakery expect to make more than 36,000 on Tuesday alone. Check out this CBC Windsor video from 2018 about the exercise equivalent of a paczek: Having been reported to be on course to take over the top seats on the Billboard 200 and the British Official Albums Chart, BTS has also topped Japan's Oricon album chart with its latest album. According to latest chart results by Oricon on Tuesday, BTS' latest album, "Map of the Soul: 7," came atop the Oricon daily album chart dated Monday after selling 227,204 copies in Japan. The result adds to the BTS album's chart victories on the U.S. and British charts. Earlier this week, Billboard and Official Charts said "Map of the Soul: 7" is on its way to top their main album charts. In South Korea, the album sold more than 3 million copies in less than a week since its release last Friday, record high first-week sales for any Korean album. (Yonhap) (CNN) Fashion tycoon Peter Nygard's New York office was raided Tuesday as the magnate faces allegations of sex trafficking in a civil lawsuit. The FBI and New York police executed the search warrant, said Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Biase declined to provide further details. While there are no publicly filed charges against Nygard, the fact that the FBI searched his office suggests the existence of a federal criminal investigation. Nygard's spokesman Ken Frydman said authorities executed search warrants on Nygard's offices in New York and California, and he said his client is "not surprised" by the raids. "Nygard welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared," Frydman said. "He has not been charged, is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation." Earlier this month, 10 women filed a civil suit against Nygard, claiming the fashion mogul sexually assaulted them. Some said they were minors at the time of the alleged assaults. The businessman allegedly used his ties to the fashion industry to entice young women with drugs, money and hopes of a successful modeling career. The suit also accuses Nygard of sex trafficking at Lyford Cay, a 150,000 square-foot compound in the Bahamas. It claims Nygard sexually assaulted most of the women when he lured them to the Cay for "pamper parties" attended by prominent political figures. The lawsuit says some of the young women were held at one of his properties, where they were not allowed to leave without his permission and were forced to perform sex acts. They were also forced to recruit new victims, the suit says. Nygard also kept a database of potential victims through his company's corporate server that had information on more than 7,500 underage girls and women, the lawsuit alleges. A spokesperson for Nygard has told CNN the lawsuit was "expected" and intended to damage Nygard's reputation through false statements. CNN has reached out to an attorney representing the victims. Nygard is chairman of Nygard International, a privately held company he founded in 1967. "Nygard created a standard of excellence for the Canadian women's fashion industry by having the #1 recognized label in the Canadian marketplace," the company's website says. Nygard's brands include SLIMS, Bianca Nygard and TanJay. With campaigning for MCD elections ending Friday, all eyes are now on 23 April for turnout and 25 April for the results. With campaigning for MCD elections ending Friday, all eyes are now on 23 April for turnout and 25 April for the results. MCD elections have never generated so much interest. An opinion poll carried out by a certain agency predicts a BJP victory: Its another matter that the agency got all five states wrong in their exit polls. Who will win MCD elections? That's the million dollar question. Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure. Caste and community-based identity politics is prevalent in India. In Delhi, while upper caste accounts for 40%, OBCs account for 24% of the population. Dalits account for 17% and Muslims 13% of the state population. Migrants make up 40% of Delhis population. Of these, Purvanchalis are the most numerous, accounting for one-fourth of the population. In elections, social coalitions of like-minded groups are formed who then vote as a block. However, this coalition is not fixed and changes with every election cycle. There is also an undercurrent of tension between locals and "outsiders". Upper caste has traditionally voted for BJP. Dalits and Muslims vote for Congress. AAP has made a dent into upper caste vote bank of BJP, mainly Khatris and Banias (Vaishya), and the Congress' Dalit-Muslim vote bank. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal belongs to the Bania community. Manoj Tiwari is a Purvanchali and Ajay Maken is a Punjabi Khatri. A perfect cocktail of sorts. Added to this is the layer of class and economic well-being. Upper class and upper middle class accounts for 31% of population. Poor and lower class make up 24% of the populous. Lower middle class voters, who are 45 percent of Delhi's population, could well decide the outcome. Upper class and upper middle class have historically voted for BJP while lower class and the poor for Congress. The Congress' vote somewhat shifted to BSP from 2000-2010 and completely shifted to AAP in 2015 polls. Owing to the caste-ridden nature of Indian society, the middle class had traditionally been dominated by upper class. However, over the years, due to economic upliftment of different castes through various welfare schemes of government, this no longer holds true. The new middle class is composed of various caste groups and that is why it doesnt vote en-bloc. Some upper caste members could fall under lower middle class category, while some Muslims-Dalits could be well off. Purvanchalis may not vote en-bloc for party based on identity politics. Purvanchalis living in slums may well consider which party can provide better roads, sanitation and water facilities, when voting. The three municipal corporations under MCD also have different caste, class, and community representation. South Delhi Municipal Corporation broadly includes south Delhi, west Delhi and New Delhi Lok Sabha seats, excluding Delhi Cantonment. While Jats and Gujjars hold keys to power in south Delhi, Jats and Sikhs dominate west Delhi, which has a sizeable Purvanchali population. South Delhi is also home to majority of posh colonies of the city, while New Delhi essentially is composed of government offices and societies. North Delhi Municipal Corporation broadly includes North West Delhi, Chandni Chowk and portion of North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Bulk of the Muslim, Dalits and Bania community reside in this area. East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which broadly includes regions of east Delhi and North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, is dominated by Purvanchalis. As per my research, Purvanchalis and lower class have a dominating influence in 105 MCD seats, Punjabis dominate in 62 seats while 105 seats have a mixed representation. In 2015, AAP was able to form an all-encompassing umbrella of poor, lower caste, lower class, class, lower middle class, minorities, Dalits and migrants through its social engineering efforts. The result: a plus 50% vote share and 95% seats. AAP had in place both targeted messaging for each segment of voters and also an over-arching message. A fifty percent cut in electricity tariff and free water for the poor. Corruption-free governance, which appealed to all voters. The aam aadmi tag managed to develop for the party an affinity within the common man who had lost all say in the corridors of power. It remains to be seen whether AAP can hold onto this coalition of voters. To sum up: The complex interplay of forces (caste, class, residential status, local, migrant) will impact voting preference, turnout and ultimately, determine the winner. Amitabh Tiwari is an independent political commentator. He runs a popular blog on Indian politics and elections www.politicalbaba.com and can be reached at @politicalbaaba. Follow all the live updates here Congressional Democrats are pressing the administrator of the District of Columbias private school voucher program for more information about how federal civil rights laws are enforced at private schools that enroll students through the program. The D.C. voucher program is authorized through a federal law called the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, or SOAR, which includes the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. It provides public funding that allows qualifying students to attend private schools in the district. Lawmakers concerns, expressed in a Feb. 25 letter to the organization that administers the voucher program, come as the Trump administration seeks to boost private school choice programs through a federal tax credit, and to support the expansion of state-level vouchers and tax-credit scholarships. It also comes as opponents of private school choice around the country question providing public funds for private schools, particularly religiously affiliated schools that may have policies that discriminate against LGBTQ students. In the letter, lawmakers told Serving Our Children that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos had provided insufficient responses to their previous requests for more information about the programs performance, federal oversight, and whether participating students are afforded the same civil rights as D.C. public school students, including protections in federal civil rights laws and safety regulations. In response, the Department identified only one federal civil rights law that applies to students in this programthe limited nondiscrimination provision in the SOAR Actand stated that the Department is not aware of any complaints filed or enforcement actions brought under that provision, said the letter from Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the House oversight committee; Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the chairman of the House education and labor committee; and Eleanor Holmes Norton, the congressional delegate for the District of Columbia. DeVos responses did not address other federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, sex, and disability status, the letter says. The lawmakers requested information about several topics, including: A description of federal civil rights laws that apply to participating students and schools Copies of all complaints and enforcement actions taken under civil rights provision An explanation of how non-discrimination laws included in the SOAR Act are interpreted and enforced The number of students participating, including English-language learners and students with disabilities How many voucher students left school without graduating What schools are participating and whether they are accredited Whether schools are complying with a local D.C. law governing the program Dates of site visits by Serving Our Children. This is not the first time skeptics have shared concerns about civil rights protections under the D.C. voucher program. In 2016, for example, in a letter to members of Congress, the National Education Association (which opposes vouchers) wrote that schools participating in the program are not subject to all the federal civil rights laws that public schools must meet. Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa . By Lai Yuhong and He Shujun WUHAN, Feb. 26 -- In coordination with relevant financial institutions, the Joint Logistic Support Force (JLSF) under Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC) will provide free life insurance for the military medical personnel fighting in the frontline of COVID-19 prevention and control. Based on the actual situation, the financial system of JLSF introduced an exclusive insurance program that fully covers all military medical personnel participating in the epidemic prevention and control, including active-duty officers and soldiers, civilian personnel and workers employed by the military. At present, the financial system of JLSF has aligned and negotiated with state-owned banks for the details of the program. The insured would enjoy high claims in the event that they die of an accident or of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Those who are hospitalized with COVID-19 would also enjoy daily hospitalization allowance and subsidies during treatment. A student at the University of Melbourne has blasted the school as a 'Chinese-driven money-making machine' after it offered students thousands of dollars in grants to help them get around the coronavirus ban. The university said on Wednesday it would give students who have been affected by the virus and its 'associated travel restrictions' support packages of up to $7,500. Eligible expenses include accommodation costs, fees from flight changes, costs associated with the 14-day quarantine period, and other financial losses. It comes after the Australian government extended the ban on those coming from mainland China until February 29, affecting an estimated 65,000 Chinese students. University Provost Professor Mark Considine said it has been a 'difficult time' for affected students and the financial support would help ensure they can complete their studies on time. People wearing face masks walk by Flinders Street Station after cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Melbourne The University of Melbourne said on Wednesday it would give students who have been affected by the disease and its 'associated travel restrictions' support packages of up to $7,500 'The student support grants are intended to help students with unanticipated expenses incurred as a result of the travel restrictions related to COVID-19 and to help students transition to or return to study at the University of Melbourne', he said. But the move has drawn criticism from a Melbourne student who said he was 'disappointed' to see the university shelling out cash to 'lure' Chinese students back into the country while Australian students are struggling to make ends meet. 'As an Australian citizen and student of the university I find it disgusting that the university is willing to offer such huge sums of money to those in China when I am struggling to catch public transport to university, pay for textbooks or even eat three meals per day,' the student told Daily Mail Australia. 'I feel as though the university is turning into a Chinese-driven money-making machine and I find this extremely disappointing and upsetting. The University of Adelaide is offering a care package and remote study to keep Chinese students enrolled as students become increasingly desperate to start term Western Sydney University (pictured) told its international students it would subside the cost of airfares and accommodation to allow them to reach Australia 'through a third country' The SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus which causes COVID-19. Because nobody is immune the highly infectious virus spreads quickly through the population. Latest studies show 14 per cent of those infected become seriously ill while 5 per cent go into critical condition 'It feels like a form of bribery or incentive to lure Chinese students back into the country due to the current global situation.' The deadly coronavirus outbreak has not only sparked fears of a national health crisis, but an economic one as well. Centre for Independent Studies Professor Salvatore Babones told The ABC an estimated 18 per cent of the University of Melbourne's revenue comes from Chinese students. 'No other universities in the world are as exposed to Chinese tuition money,' he said. 'That's why we see the very dangerous moral hazard that universities are aggressively lobbying the Australian Government to relax its China travel ban.' Australia's response to the virus with the travel ban on Chinese visitors and students is expected to have a major impact as Chinese students are reported to bring $40billion a year into the Australian economy. 'Our students and staff who remain in China are deeply stressed, and they are so keen to start or continue their studies,' Universities Australia chairwoman Deborah Terry told the National Press Club in Canberra. 'We will do all we can to ensure that your studies stay on track.' Travellers are pictured wearing protective face masks at Brisbane International Airport on January 29. Western Sydney University has announced it will subsidise its international students to get around the coronavirus travel ban The move comes after a Sydney university told its international students it would pay them $1,500 to stay outside mainland China for two weeks. Western Sydney University said it was willing to subside the cost of airfares and accommodation to allow them to reach Australia 'through a third country'. 'We consider the Australian Government's endorsement of entering Australia through a third country an important development, opening up the opportunity to arrive in time to commence study in Australia,' the e-mail said. Days later, The University of Adelaide said it was offering a care package worth about $5,000 to about 3,000 Chinese students. The package includes a 20 per cent discount on semester one tuition fees and up to $2000 towards airfares which they can access only once the travel ban is lifted. It also offered online study help including videos of lectures, peer networking support and library resources so Chinese students who cannot be on campus by the March 26 start date, so can keep up with their courses remotely. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 14:20:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong will step up efforts to develop a diversified economy and strive to seize opportunities from the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative, the financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said on Wednesday. While reinforcing traditional pillar industries, Hong Kong needs to identify new growth engines by actively developing emerging industries, Paul Chan said when delivering the annual budget for the Legislative Council. He promised greater support from the HKSAR government for innovation and technology, cultural and creative industries, and nurturing talents. "The Greater Bay Area, with a population of over 70 million and a GDP of 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars, presents an enormous market and ample room for development for Hong Kong," Chan said, highlighting opportunities in financial markets, innovation and technology. Chan said Hong Kong should also actively seize the opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative with its advantages in financial and professional services, and its links with overseas markets. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. "Harvey Weinstein jury has reached a verdict." Like so many others on Monday morning, I held my breath and hit refresh on Twitter, anxious to hear how the New York City jury found and, truthfully, steeled myself for an acquittal. (The opening paragraph from my column about the Jian Ghomeshi verdict in 2016: "Well, we all knew how this one would end. A court drama with a predictable ending.") And so, when Weinstein was convicted of criminal sexual act in the first degree and of third-degree rape, I was stunned. A man, held accountable. No longer is he Harvey Weinstein, disgraced film producer. He is officially Harvey Weinstein, convicted rapist. He faces a possible sentence of anywhere between five and 29 years. He is 67. Im far from the only woman who was floored by the guilty verdict. On social media and in my own text messages, women expressed incredulity, relief and gratitude. Of course, its not an outright victory. He was still acquitted of the two biggest charges, two counts of predatory sexual assault. But still, Harvey Weinstein is going to jail. Perhaps the reason the idea of a guilty verdict seemed like an unthinkable reach is because so often in sexual assault cases, it is. Even the Weinstein trial was, as Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, the New York Times reporters who broke the story about Weinsteins sexual assault allegations, put it, "a long shot. "Along the way, one accuser had to be dropped from the case amid allegations of police misconduct," they wrote. "The central victims acknowledged having had consensual sex with the Hollywood producer after being attacked by him, and one had an intimate relationship with him that stretched for several years. Prosecutors almost never try cases in those circumstances, deeming them too messy to win convictions." Harvey Weinsteins lawyers used victim-blaming tactics to discredit women who testified against the movie mogul. (John Minchillo / The Associated Press) Thats what made this case a landmark one: the prosecutors went for it anyway. Weinsteins lawyer, Donna Rotunno, followed the predictable playbook defence lawyers often rely on, painting his accusers as fame-hungry liars, pointing to previous consensual encounters and "friendly and flirtatious" emails. A former friend of Jessica Mann, one of the six accusers who testified at the Weinstein trial, said Mann appeared "normal" on the night Weinstein forced oral sex on her. Often, in sexual assault cases, the accusers credibility is put on trial; victim-blaming was also a tactic Ghomeshis lawyer Marie Henein deployed in the former CBC Radio hosts trial. The belief that a rape victim should dress, behave or be a certain way a "credible" way, a "believable" way is just one piece of a belief system that prevents survivors from pursuing justice, or even reporting assaults. And, for a long time, powerful men could use that silence as an assurance policy. They could count on it. If they were Weinstein, they could even try to buy it. Sure, there were open secrets and whisper networks, warnings repeated in hushed tones and prefaced with "you didnt hear this from me...," but it wasnt really until the fall of 2017 that women, tired of being harassed, threatened and abused, took back their voices and said "me too." Actor Louisette Geiss leads a news conference today by the "Silence Breakers," a group of women who spoke out about Hollywood producer Weinstein's sexual misconduct, at Los Angeles City Hall. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press files) Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The testimonies of Mann, Dawn Dunning, Miriam Haley, Annabella Sciorra, Tarale Wulff and Lauren Young were incredibly courageous, and done at great personal risk. As actress Ashley Judd, the first woman to go on the record about Weinsteins predation, tweeted: "For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you." Mondays verdict was also watershed because it showed us whats possible when you have a prosecution team willing to take a long shot, a "messy" rape case which describes many rape cases to trial in a way that recognizes there is no perfect victim, and a jury that wasnt persuaded by rape myths. Our culture is shifting. The women are talking. And perhaps, one day, justice served wont be so shocking. jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @JenZoratti A leading figure in the UK egg industry has warned that egg producers have been hit by 'hyper deflation' over recent years. Veli Moluluo, managing director of the consumer foods division at Noble Foods said that, whilst the industry was doing well overall, with demand and egg consumption increasing, the detail behind the headline statistics were less encouraging for egg producers. "What is really interesting is digging behind those numbers," said Moluluo during an address to a poultry commodity session at the NFU annual conference in Birmingham. "Yes, volume is growing and that is what is driving value growth, but what is really being hidden within those numbers is that there really is significant deflation. "I would almost term it hyper deflation. As we stand here today, six medium free range eggs are almost half the price they were 10 years ago. In certain retailers they are half the price they were 10 years ago," said the Noble chief. Latest full-year figures released by Defra show that average farm gate prices for free range eggs were down again in 2019. The average for a dozen free range eggs in 2019 was 80.3 pence in 2018 compared with 81.8 pence the previous year. In 2017 the average farm gate price was 82.6 pence and in 2016 it was 84.3 pence. Robert Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers' Association (BFREPA) said that many free range producers were struggling financially. "This real terms deflation in free range eggs has been happening for quite a while," he said. "While value has been going up, it has not been going up as much as volume. "Producers have for some time been producing more eggs for less money. That is, I am afraid, a symptom of the increasing growth of free range over the last few years. "Producers are struggling," he said, "A lot of producers are leaving packers at the moment." On a more optimistic note, he added: "I think it is likely we will see packers respond positively on price over the next nine months." Veli Moluluo told those attending the poultry session that there were positive signs for the egg industry. "We are a nation of egg lovers - almost a billion pound category from a retail perspective, which is 55 per cent of the eggs used within the UK. The rest are food manufacturing, food service and retail," he said. "There is significant growth - it's a great industry to be in - when you look at the numbers, from a volume perspective 3.5 per cent growth on an annualised basis, two per cent growth annualised from a value perspective. They are positive numbers," he said, although he added they did disguise the issue of deflation. Another positive sign was the growth in egg consumption in the UK: "It is fantastic. Since 2013 we have consistently grown egg consumption within the UK. "We currently stand at 199 eggs per capita. There is still significant room for growth. Continental Europe are in the mid-200s, 220s, so there is a significant opportunity for us to grow consumption and really supercharge our industry and grow." One issue that has plagued the industry over the last couple of years has been booming consumer and retailer demand for large eggs over other egg grades. Industry leaders have been calling on retailers to try to temper this unbalanced demand and, during the poultry session, Thomas Wornham, chairman of the NFU national poultry board reported that the union had had some small success with one retailer. He said that Aldi representatives had agreed to change all its recipes involving eggs to stipulating medium eggs rather than large ones. The question of white hens was raised during a question and answer session at the poultry break-out. Phil Crawley asked whether there was any prospect of persuading consumers to accept eggs from white birds. Veli Moluluo said he was a fan of white birds - they had many benefits. He said it was always possible to communicate with and educate consumers. "The crux of it is how long does it take and how much money are we going to invest in doing that? Fundamentally, the bigger question is who is going to invest?" He said that in the Netherlands over a period of time the industry had created a market that was now split 50-50 between brown and white eggs in what had historically been a brown egg market. "How much time and money and resource are we willing to invest as a nation?" He said: "We, as a business, have tried it and I know retailers in this room have tried it in their own label, own brand products. Where consumers are given the choice, where brown eggs have been converted to white at the same cost, we have seen same store sales drop anywhere between 18 and 40 per cent. "It is unsustainable at that level, and what you have always to go back to is the consumer will decide. "The worst thing we could do as an industry is flood the market with white egg that nobody wants and create an issue whereby there aren't enough brown eggs to fulfil consumer demand and we end up importing brown eggs. That would be a huge, huge disaster," he said. Jake Pickering from Waitrose said his company offered a white egg but it was not something that sold particularly well: "The job of a retailer is always to provide choice," he said, "and make sure consumers have that product availability." John Kirkpatrick said his company, Tesco, had spent a lot of time with Noble and Glenrath Farms looking at white birds: "The virtues of the birds are unarguable," he said. "The challenge keeps coming back to the customer. The customer will look at the product and assume that product has been adulterated in some shape, form or fashion. There is a huge piece of education with customers to get this over the line." He said the white bird's virtues as a bird with less aggression were an advantage with the threat of beak trimming ahead. And he said he saw potential for a white egg as an entry tier offering. "If I was a betting man, in 10 or 15 years' time I could see white birds in some of our barns producing, potentially, an entry tier egg. "That is where this bird fits the market really well and, if we look at out European counterparts, that is where they have got that bird producing really, really well." An artist's impression of the My Thuan 2 Bridge connecting the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Vinh Long. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transport. Construction of My Thuan 2 Bridge will commence Thursday and is expected to finish by 2023 to improve southern connectivity. The bridge, linking the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Vinh Long, costs VND5 trillion ($216 million) from state budget. It runs 6.6 km and is located 350 meters upstream from existing My Thuan Bridge on Tien River, one of two main Mekong branches in Vietnam. The bridge will have six lanes, allowing maximum speeds of 80 km per hour. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transport. With six lanes allowing maximum speeds of 80 km per hour, the bridge is expected to improve connection between Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta provinces. As one of 11 sections of North-South Expressway, the bridge will link Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway with My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway, construction of which will also begin this year. My Thuan 2 Bridge is the third and final state-funded section of North-South Expressway to commence construction. The Ministry of Transport is selecting investors for the remaining eight private-funded sections. Refozaran la seguridad y vigilancia en Machu Picchu. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The government is keeping a close watch on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the Indian economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said on Wednesday. The government is "closely monitoring" the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy, she said during a meeting of the heads of the PSU banks. Over 2,700 people have died due to novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), which broke out in China's Wuhan, while the number of those infected is around 80,000. Earlier, the Finance Ministry invoked Force Majure clause to address the issue of contractors going in default of contract obligations on account of delays in input shipments from China on account of coronavirus. "Coronavirus should be considered as a case of natural calamity and Force Majure clause (FMC) may be invoked wherever considered appropriate following due procedure," it had said. Ive had the distinct pleasure of reading some seriously smashing books in the past couple of months, several of which will be published next month. Im starting with the weirdest of my picks, a truly original satirical novel that is unlike anything Ive read before. Enter the Aardvark (March 24) presents us with a split narrative and two unforgettable characters. One part is told in the second person (You are running a re-election campaign for the 1st Congressional District in Virginia. Your opponents name is Nancy Beavers, and you have made up your mind that from here on out there will be no more days off.) Our antihero is a closeted gay Republican congressman who is obsessed with Ronald Reagan. Ill let you sit with that for a moment. Our second protagonistwhose story is told in the more common third-person omniscientis a taxidermist in 19th century England. Hes just been sent the first aardvark seen outside of Africa and is presented with his greatest challenge yet: how to make this hideous creature beautiful. These disparate characters have much more in common than is first apparent, as their stories weave and intersect. Many parts of this satire are laugh-out- loud funny, despite its serious themes of self-hatred, denial, societal expectation, and hypocrisy. I have no idea how Jessica Anthony managed to come up with this crazy book, and even less of an idea how she executed it so well in less than 200 pages, but Im certainly grateful she did. Moving from the truly weird to the slightly less weird, Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth (March 3) is a rollicking read through the unfortunate world of factory-farmed eggs. Funny, sassy, smart, and timely, this novel is a sheer joy to read, despite its macabre subject matter. Janey at 15 defiantly strikes out from the Manhattan apartment she shares with her mother upon the discovery that she was not, in fact, the product of sperm donation, but has a father living in Iowa. A disastrous series of circumstances strand her there, and the once vital teenager loses her lust for life for several years until she gets a job as an auditor of egg producers. Cleveland, the auditor who hires Janey, used to be babysat by Janeys mother, and is going through a crisis of conscience, though not precisely the one you think. The two start teaming up to rescue hens from factory farms with deplorable conditions, and eventually the effort snowballs into an immense undertaking: to free all 1 million chickens from a single farm in a single night. For this, they need backup, and were introduced to a thrilling, hilarious cast of characters. This novel will perhaps do what no secret activist spy video would be able to: make you think twice about where the food you eat is coming from, all while making you laugh out loud from the absurdity of it all. Rarely does a book grab you as viscerally as does Lily Kings Writers & Lovers. (March 3) Casey is a young woman living in Boston who has recently become untethered by the sudden death of her mother. Casey is subsumed by grief and has no one with whom to share it. Navigating the dating world has also presented its problems; she recently had a whirlwind romance with a fellow budding writer that ended abruptly. These losses, of a mother and a lover, have left Casey emotionally wracked and completely unable to write. Her time is spent serving at an upscale restaurant and futilely attempting to finish her first novel. Caseys grief and anxiety are palpable; she feels them deeply in her body and as a reader, I felt them too. The frustration of art creation and the promise of new love are such common themes, but are presented here in a light at once original and incredibly familiar. My heart quickened, my stomach clenched, I laughed, and at the end, I cried with joy. A few years ago, award-winning scientist Hope Jahren wrote a beautiful book called Lab Girl. In it, we learned about the wonders of plant biology and the difficulties of becoming a scientist as a woman afflicted with bipolar disorder; we also witnessed the birth of a powerful nonfiction literary talent. Jahrens second book, The Story of More, (March 3) is very different but no less beautifully written. Jahren, ever the scientist, has collected a huge amount of data about our global and national habits of consumption over the past 50 years since the year of her birth in rural Minnesota. The result is, as advertised, the story of more. More fuel consumed, more food grown, more cars driven, more species gone extinct. At the heart, this book is about climate change, but its also about how we can be better humans to other humans. Did you know that we currently throw out enough food to feed those people who go hungry every day? Jahren offers these stark data-driven observations alongside moving personal stories, all told in her trademark lyrical, rhythmic voice. An appendix offers a variety of ways in which we can all make small changes in our personal lives that will help ameliorate the damage we have done to our environment and better the lives of people all over the planet. The Story of More is also a story of hope: yes, things are bad right now, but were at a pivotal moment and if we just pay a little extra attention, we can all play a role in making the world a better place. Elayna Trucker is buyer at Napa Bookmine. Email her at elayna@napabookmine.com After a commanding performance in Nevada last weekend, the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination sure does seem to be swinging Bernie Sanders way. With South Carolina and Super Tuesday now beckoning, theres also a chance for the Independent senator from Vermont to further consolidate those gains. But some recent polling data suggests that both he and the Democratic primary pack still have a hill to climb in the three battleground states that will more than likely determine the election. The good news is Sanders topped his rivals in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, according to a recent University of Wisconsin poll. But the poll also shows the general election contest between President Donald Trump and the top-tier Democratic contenders including Sanders all within the margin of error. Trump carried Pennsylvania by a scant 44,000 votes in 2016, or less than a percentage point, by converting working class Democrats and former Obama voters in the blue-collar southwestern and northeastern section of the state. And if youve been to Trump rallies in those parts of the state in the intervening three years, and I have, then you know that the support remains as seemingly unshakable as ever. A Quinnipiac University poll of swing state voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin released late last week suggests Democrats once again may need to sweat the Keystone State in 2020. If its a political truism (and it is) that a strong economy makes it tough to defeat an incumbent president, then the Quinnipiac poll is replete with warning signs in Pennsylvania. Clear majorities of registered voter respondents said they approved of Trumps handling of the economy and believe the states economy is either improving or staying about the same. If GDP growth is positive above about a percentage point, the incumbent party is, more likely than not, going to win the election, Lynn Vavreck, a UCLA political science professor, told PBS NewHour earlier this month. Thats not great news for Democrats, but the new poll also offers three reasons why party loyalists should be encouraged they can swing the state back to their column this fall. On a more positive note for Sanders and his Democratic rivals, Trump remains deeply unpopular in the Keystone State, where a majority of voters (52-44 percent) disapprove of his job performance. Second, the poll also found that the White Houses ongoing trade wars with, well, everyone has eaten into Trumps popularity. While the economy tends to be Trumps wheelhouse, Pennsylvanians were equally split (47-49 percent approve) of Trumps handling of trade issues. And third, theres the mounting evidence suggesting that Trumps tax cuts and and his economic policies havent been the boon to blue-collar workers that the administration claims it has. As University of Maryland/Baltimore County economist David Salkever wrote in a Feb. 11 op-Ed total real compensation slipped 0.22 percent from the end of 2016 to September 2019. So the next time you read a story about a rise in pay, try to see if it reports the wage data in nominal or real terms, and if it includes fringe benefits too. If its only nominal wages, the numbers may mean a lot less than they seem, Salkever wrote. The trick for Democrats in Pennsylvania and the rest of the battleground states will be figuring out how to convince voters the prosperity they currently enjoy is not the result of Trumps stewardship, but rather the steady gains built during the Obama era. And there is clear and compelling evidence to prove that case. Sanders, with his own brand of blue-collar populism, has the opportunity to show that hes the logical steward of that legacy. But theres a good chance that cautious Keystone State voters could get turned off by some of his more radical proposals, such as one requiring large companies to surrender a 20 percent ownership share to their employees. It will fall to the centrist wing Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar to counter Sanders momentum and make the case for their economic bona fides. And Elizabeth Warren, the avowed capitalist who wants to reform the system from within, will have to make a similar argument. Whether thats enough to counter Trump is anyones guess. But the slender margins in Pennsylvania suggest that Democrats dont have to convince all voters, they just have to convince enough of them. An award-winning political journalist, John L. Micek is Editor-in-Chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg, Pa. Email him at jmicek@penncapital-star.com and follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dr. Iraj Harirchi, the Deputy Health Minister of Iran and the Head of the country's counter Coronavirus taskforce has tested positive for the deadly virus. The government authorities announced the developments on Tuesday. READ: South Korea Confirms 84 New Coronavirus Cases, Death Toll Reaches 10 Deputy Health Minister tests positive for Coronavirus Dr. Harirchi addressed a press conference to give an update on the way the country was handling the outbreak of the virus on Monday, with news on his illness being announced a day later. The novel Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people globally, causing around 2,700 deaths, mainly in China. The World Health Organisation has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the Coronavirus that causes it. The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sought to reassure the nation in a speech on Tuesday, calling the new Coronavirus an "uninvited and inauspicious passenger". Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman also announced their first cases of the virus on Monday and connected them to travel with Iran. READ: UAE Bans All Flights With Iran Over Coronavirus Outbreak During his stay in India, US President Donald Trump stated that the issue of deadly Coronavirus will be over soon as Beijing is getting it under control. Addressing India Inc CEOs in New Delhi, Trump said that the United States has planned to spend about $2.5 billion to fight the novel coronavirus COVID-19. READ: Italy Coronavirus Outbreak Spreads South As Cases Spike While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including Italy, Japan and the Philippines, have also reported deaths related to COVID-19. The epidemic has not been declared as pandemic yet and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General said that using the word pandemic does not fit the facts. This is not the time to focus on what word to use. That will not prevent a single infection today, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing on COVID-19. READ: Donald Trump Says Coronavirus To End Soon, Pledges $2.5 Bn To Fight The Epidemic (With Agency Inputs) Anxiety is increasing in Jewish communities around the United States, fueled in part by deadly attacks on synagogues in Poway, California, last April and in Pittsburgh in 2018. Anti-Semitic violence in the New York area has been more frequent lately than at any time in recent memory, with three people killed in a shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, and five injured in a knife attack at a rabbis home in Monsey, New York. There are four musicals being put on this weekend at local schools. Links below provide complete information on each show including times, dates and how to get tickets as well as lists of casts and crews. This weeks shows include: Kaley Richmond plays Rose Alvarez and Thomas Stamey plays Albert Peterson in Westhill Senior High School's 2020 musical, Bye Bye Birdie. More to come Heres a list of other schools putting on shows in the spring musical season. Complete information on these shows can be obtained by clicking on the link: Students of CNS present "Tuck Everlasting" as spring 2020 musical. (Front Row, L to R): Lily Thorne, Hailey Higgins, Derrick Clark, Cory Lane, Brigg Liberman, Mikey Mousaw. (Back Row, L to R): Lorelei Bodenbach, Jacob Garofalo, Alex Aldrich, Claire Francazal, Tyler Gibbens, Benji Hoffman, Jaden Orloff, Ciann Jackson, Olive Crawford. Photo courtesy of Mark V Photography Other upcoming spring 2020 shows Heres a list of other Central New York schools with plans for shows this season, and the musicals and dates they are planning to perform them: G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton ~ The Music Man, March 6-7 Fayetteville-Manlius High School ~ Les Miserables, March 6-7 12-14 LaFayette High School ~ Annie, March 6-7 Hamilton High School ~ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, March 6-7 Homer High School ~ Sound of Music ~ March 6-7 Cincinnatus High School ~ Roald Dahls Willy Wonka, March 13-14 Weedsport High School ~ Disneys Newsies, March 13-14 Dana L. West High School in Port Byron ~ Disneys Tarzan, March 12-14 New Hartford Senior High School ~ Mamma Mia, March 12-15 Fabius-Pompey High School ~ Disneys Beauty and the Beast, March 13-14 Henninger High School ~ Thoroughly Modern Millie, March 13-14 Gillette Road Middle School ~ "Frozen II", March 19-21 Jordan-Elbridge High School ~ The Hunchback of Notre Dame, March 20-21 Liverpool High School ~ Rent, March 26-28 Christian Brothers Academy ~ Mamma Mia, March 27-28 Oneida High School ~ Big Fish, March 27-28 Moravia High School ~ 9 to 5, March 27-29 Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler ~ Chicago, April 23-25 Rome Free Academy ~ Disneys "Newsies," April 23-25 If your school isnt included in this story but is planning a show, reach out to us by email to let us know. More on the 2020 spring season The Syracuse High School Theatre Awards will celebrate its sixth year May 31 at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. The Tony Awards inspired show highlights Central New York students and a variety of the best high school production numbers from this years spring musical season. For more information about supporting the awards program or for ticket information, visit www.shstas.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. Contact Brenda Duncan anytime: 315-470-2265 | Email | Twitter Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are on listen-only mode until our question and answer session. At that time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star then one. Please be advised todays conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Now I would like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Benjamin Haynes. Thank you. You may begin. Thank you. And thank you all for joining us for todays update on CDCs COVID-19 response. We are joined by the director of CDCs national center for immunization and respiratory diseases who will give opening remarks. I will now turn the call over. Thank you for joining us. The global novel coronavirus situation is rapidly evolving and expanding. There are still a lot of news coverage about community spread in a few countries since the last time we talked. This means that cases of COVID-19 are appearing without a known source of exposure. Communities include Hong Kong, Italy, Iran, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Community spread is often a trigger to begin implementing new strategies tailored to local circumstances that blunt the impact of disease and can slow the spread of virus. The fact this virus has caused illness including illness resulting in death, and sustained person-to-person spread is concerning. These factors meet two of the criteria of the pandemic. The world moves closer towards meeting the third criteria. Worldwide spread of the new virus. The U.S. has been implementing an aggressive containment strategy that requires detecting, tracking, and isolating all cases. As much as possible and preventing more introduction of disease notably at points of entry. Weve restricted travel into the United States while also issuing extensive travel advisories for countries currently experiencing community spread. Our travel notices are changing almost daily. Weve also enacted the first quarantine of this scale in the U.S. And are supporting the state department and HHS in repatriating citizens from high-risk areas. We are doing this with the goal of slowing the introduction of this new virus into the U.S. And buying us more time to prepare. To date, our containment strategies have been largely successful. As a result, we have very few cases in the United States and no spread in the community. But as more and more countries experience community spread, successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder. Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness. We will maintain for as long as practical a dual approach where we continue measures to contain this disease but also employ strategies to minimize the impact on our communities. At this time, theres no vaccine to protect against this new virus and no medications approved to treat it. Non-pharmaceutical interventions or NPIs will be the most important tools in our response to this virus. What these interventions look like at the community level will vary depending on local conditions. What is appropriate for one community seeing local transmission wont necessarily be appropriate for a community where no local transmission has occurred. This parallel, proactive approach of containment and mitigation will delay the emergence of community spread in the United States while simultaneously reducing its ultimate impact. To illustrate how this works, Id like to share with you some of the specific recommendations made in the document I mentioned last Friday including some of the steps we would take here if needed. This document is called Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza United States 2017. It draws from the findings of nearly 200 journal articles written between 1990 and 2016. This document looked at what can be done at the individual and community level during a pandemic when we dont have a vaccine or proven medical treatment for the disease. Were looking at data since 2016 and adjusting our recommendations to the specific circumstances of COVID-19. But this posted document provides a frame work for our response strategy. Based on what is known now, we would implement these NPI measures in a very aggressive, proactive way as he have been doing with our containment efforts. There are three categories of NPIs. Personal NPIs which include personal protective measures you can take every day and personal protective measures reserved for pandemics. Community NPIs which include social distancing measures designed to keep people who are sick away from others. And school closures and dismissals. And environmental NPIs which includes surface cleaning measures. NPIs routinely recommended for prevention of respiratory virus transmission include everyday personal protective measures. These are preventive measures we recommend during influenza season. These NPIs are recommended during a pandemic regardless of the severity level of the respiratory illness. Personal protective measures reserved for pandemics include voluntary home quarantine of household members who have been exposed to someone they live with who is sick. Now Id like to talk through some examples of what community NPIs look like. These are practical measures that can help limit exposure by reducing exposure in community settings. Students in smaller groups or in a severe pandemic, closing schools and using internet-based teleschooling to continue education. For adults, businesses can replace in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and increase teleworking options. On a larger scale, communities may need to modify, postpone, or cancel mass gatherings. Looking at how to increase telehealth services and delaying elective surgery. The implementation of environmental NPIs would require everyone to consistently clean frequently touched surfaces and objects at home, at school, at work, and at large gatherings. Local communities will need to look at which NPIs to implement and when based on how transmission and disease is and what can be done locally. This will require flexibility and adaptations as disease progresses and new information becomes available. Some of these measures are better than none. But the maximum benefit occurs when the elements are layered upon each other. Some community level interventions that may be most effective in reducing the spread of a new virus like school closures are also the most likely to be associated with unwanted consequences and further disruptions. Secondary consequences of some of these measures might include missed work and loss of income. I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and that disruption to everyday life may be severe. But these are things that people need to start thinking about now. I had a conversation with my family over breakfast this morning and I told my children that while I didnt think that they were at risk right now, we as a family need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives. You should ask your childrens school about their plans for school dismissals or school closures. If ask if there are plans for teleschool. I contacted my local school superintendent this morning with exactly those questions. You should think about what you would do for childcare if schools or day cares close. If teleworking is an option for you. All of these questions can help you be better prepared for what might happen. CDC and other federal agencies have been practicing for this since the 2019 influenza pandemic. In the last two years, CDC has engaged in two pandemic influenza exercises that have required us to prepare for a severe pandemic and just this past year we had a whole of government exercise practicing similarly around a pandemic of influenza. Right now CDC is operationalizing all of its pandemic response plans working on multiple fronts including specific measures to prepare communities to respond to local transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. Before I take questions, I want to address the issue of the test kits CDC is developing. I am frustrated like I know many of you are that we have had issues with our test. I want to assure you that we are working to modify the kit and hope to send out a new version to state and local jurisdictions soon. There are currently 12 states or localities around the U.S. That can test samples as well as we are testing at CDC 400 samples were tested overnight. There is no current backlog or delay for testing at CDC. Commercial labs will also be coming online soon with their own tests. This will allow the greatest number of tests to happen closer to where potential cases are. Last, I want to recognize that people are concerned about this situation. I would say rightfully so. Im concerned about the situation. CDC is concerned about the situation. But we are putting our concerns to work preparing. And now is the time for businesses, hospitals, community schools, and everyday people to begin preparing as well. Over the last few weeks, CDC has been on dozens of calls with different partners in the health, retail, education, and business sectors. In the hopes that employers begin to respond in a flexible way to differing levels of severity, to refine their business response plans as needed. I also want to acknowledge the importance of uncertainty. During an outbreak with a new virus, there is a lot of uncertainty. Our guidance and advice are likely to be fluid subject to change as we learn more. We will continue to keep you updated. Id be happy to take a few questions now. Brittany, were ready to take questions. Thank you. Well now begin our question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question over the phone, press star, then one and record your name clearly when prompted. If you need to withdraw your question, press star then two. One moment as we wait for the first question. Our first question comes from Lisa from PBS. Your line is now open. Good morning. Thank you for doing this. I have some more questions about the test kits. Thank you for what you gave us the update on, but can you go into more detail about how they work? Can any hospital now just kind of use a swab to get a sample and then send that to the CDC? And then how long do you estimate it will take to have the kits replaced so that more localities can actually do the analysis and do you have enough money for this kind of field work and test analysis right now? Okay. Im going to start from maybe the part of a patient perspective which is, you know, right now our focus is still on individuals with a travel history that would put them at risk for COVID-19. Or people who are close contacts of someone who has COVID-19. Those individuals when they are identified by a health care provider, the health care provider calls the health department. The health department helps them triage those patients to make and then the samples are worked with the health department. Now, as we move forward, though, if we are looking at the trajectory of expecting that there likely will be community spread of this virus in the united states, the case definition may change away from narrowly around people with travel. Again, thats what we would anticipate doing as there is community spread. If that happens, it will be more and more important that the clinicians have a full tool kit. Thats why the availability of commercial kits would be so helpful. So in the short-term, its the clinician calls the health department. And either the health department already has the test kit themselves or if they dont yet have it stood up, they send it to CDC. Our turnaround at CDC is within a day. There is a little bit of shipping time. But thats the process. In terms of timing, I think at this point what I would say is we are working as fast as we can. We understand the frustration of our partners in the health care sector, in health departments. You certainly can imagine we want to resolve this as quickly as possible. But we have to make sure that while resolving it, we keep to the highest level of quality assurance. Because as important as speed is, it is more important that we make sure that our results are correct. In terms of funding, theres already been funds available that are helping us with the activities that we have now that is the diagnostic testing at CDC. And well continue to proceed focused on our priorities which as Ive said are getting this test kit out to state health departments so they can be doing that themselves as an interim step to getting it commercially available would be a great advancement. Next question. Thank you. And our next question comes from Craig from KNX 1070 news radio Los Angeles. Your line is now open. Thank you, doctor. I appreciate your time. Couple of questions. Theres been a lot of talk about whats being done to prepare for possible people who would be quarantined. Id like to know what that is. And also is the Chinese government leveling with you? Are they telling you the truth? Have they given you the straight dope, so to speak, as to what you need to know about the coronavirus? So in answer to your first question, I would say generally we are working on a daily basis with state and local health departments across the country on exactly those issues. What are the local considerations for quarantine or isolation and how can they be resolved? And in each location in the united states, it may end up being a slightly different answer. Our focus is on the best health of the individual whom we are working with in terms of whether they need quarantine or isolation. In terms of the Chinese government, there has been a WHO team on the ground in China as well in Wuhan. There are data coming out from those efforts. We have a lot of information from china. Frankly, we have a lot of new information from all the other countries around the world now that are reporting community spread and we are as quickly as possible trying to synthesize that information. It is providing us more data in terms of making our own estimations in the U.S. Of what were going to see. Communities that are having community spread are certainly very informative in terms of what we might expect in the united states. And I think that whole body of evidence is frankly coming really quickly at us. Thats why we have a team of people here at CDC synthesizing it all. Next question, please. Thank you. And our next question comes from Megan from STAT. Your line is now open. Hi there. Thank you so much for taking my question. Im wondering if you could expand a little bit on whether you are reconsidering testing people with travel history to other countries now where they might be infected. And Im also wondering if you could say whether or not the agency has considered getting tests from another country thats supplying tests to other nations as well. So the answer to the first question is certainly, were considering what the spread of illness in other countries looks like and how it impacts the potential risk the Americans traveling abroad in those countries. Those conversations are going on as we speak. We obviously are working closely with the partners on those considerations. And when there is new information in terms of case definitions, well definitely publicize that broadly. You know, as I said, we are still at the stage of containment, but we are already starting to plan for mitigation. And part of the mitigation planning is the participation of community spread in the united states. And as that happens, it would certainly dramatically impact how were considering who is on the case. As you can imagine, the symptoms of novel coronavirus look a lot like other viral respiratory diseases that are circulating this time of year. So its going to be difficult for clinicians to differentiate fully on the basis of those solely on the basis of the symptoms. In terms of diagnostic tests, what I would say is were working closely with FDA on this. And obviously with the state and local health department partners. And I think that we are rapidly moving towards getting those kits more available in the U.S. In the systems that we have. Really I think were close. I just wouldnt want to give an estimate of when until were there. But I think were close. And remember, a dozen states now have the kit and are testing and theres tests available in the U.S. So I think were making forward progress. Thank you. And our next question comes from Lena Sun from Washington Post. Your line is now open. Thank you. I had a couple questions. One is if a dozen states have the kit, then do they still need to send those tests to CDC for confirmation? Which are the states that have the tests? And more broadly, your comments today seem to represent a significant escalation in the sort of severity and urgency of the now. At a briefing this morning for Congress, I believe some members were told that we now face a very strong chance of an extremely serious outbreak. Is that the CDCs feeling right now that we face an extremely strong chance of a serious outbreak? Okay. So lets see. The first question, its 12 state or local health departments. And so its not 12 states total. We are still as a point of part of how we roll out these tests, those tests that are positive still do come to CDC for confirmation. I think thats just part of a normal process to ensure we are keeping to the utmost quality control. I dont have a list of state or local health departments in front of me, but I think we can provide that. In terms of a change in tone, I guess what I would say is as I look back on the scripts of the telebriefings that weve given over the past month, we have for a long time been saying we have for many weeks been saying that while we hope this is not going to be severe, we are planning as if it is. The data over the last week and the spread in other countries has certainly raised our level of concern and raised our level of expectation that we are going to have community spread here. So I think that thats perhaps the change of tone youve seen. I think what we still dont know is what that will look like as many of you know. We can have community spread in the united states and have it be reasonably mild. We could have community spread in the united states and have it be very severe. And so that is what that is what we dont completely know yet. And we certainly also dont exactly know when its going to happen. I think it would be nice for everybody if we could say, you know, on this date is when its going to start. We dont know that yet. And so thats why were asking folks in every sector as well as people within their families to start planning for this because as weve seen from the recent countries that have had community spread when it is hit in those countries, it has moved quite rapidly. So we want to make sure that the American public is prepared. Thank you. And as a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one. Limit to one question and one follow-up. Our next question comes from Eben from Fox news. Your line is now open. Thank you very much for doing the call today. There has been some political back and forth now that democrats are accusing the president which essentially means the administration and everything that falls under that as being ill prepared for coronavirus, requesting too little of amount in terms of their request for $2.5 billion. Do you feel that we are ill prepared from a financial standpoint? I know you are a clinician and I dont want you to get too much into politics, but do you have what you need to do your job? I guess Ill answer that two ways. The first is HHS can provide information or answer questions about the funds that are available. What I can say from my perspective is Ive been at CDC for 25 years and that if you asked public health officials over the course of that time what they feared as an expectation, it was something exactly like this. And so the idea that we might have a pandemic of influenza or a pandemic of a respiratory viral infection is something that weve known about and have been planning and preparing for. Thats why we at CDC have been exercising with the state and local health departments. Thats why the whole of government exercise last year, thats why weve invested so much on the foundation we are now responding. But that being said, we are never going to ever be able to be so completely prepared that were prepared for any inevitability. We always are going to find that diseases surprise us and that there was some consideration that is slightly different from what we planned for. So have we made a lot of progress in the 25 years Ive been here? Yes. Are we better prepared today than we were 20 years ago? Yes. But are we completely prepared? You know, diseases surprise us and therefore we need to be reacting to the current situation even if it differs from what we planned for. You know, in general we are asking the American public to work with us to prepare in the expectation that this could be bad. I continue to hope that in the end well look back and feel like we are over-prepared, but that is a better place to be in than being under-prepared. And just like the preparedness for a pandemic influenza provides such a strong foundation for this response, any preparedness we do as a country, at schools, businesses, within our families will always be helpful for whatever the next event is. And so I dont think in general that preparedness will ever go to waste. Next question, please. Thank you. Our next question comes from Mike from A.P. Your line is now open. Hi. Thank you for taking my call. If I could ask a couple. One is just the latest case count, its been a little confusing for some of us just to sort out exactly how many U.S. Cases there are and how theyre being sorted out. Second, if you could speak to your best and latest understanding of the severity of the disease. Of course theres some news today about the WHO mission coming back and statements about not finding a lot of undetected cases. I was wondering if thats related to CDC gearing up for these NPIs. And lastly, talking about the exercising youve been doing, what was the weakness or weaknesses that kept coming up in the exercises that youre most concerned about and youre really trying to stay on top of now that we have a real time experience happening? Thank you. Okay. So let me so let me start by saying that I know the case counts can be confusing. I will try to sort out what the numbers are as of today and try to explain why it perhaps is a little confusing. There remain 14 confirmed U.S. Cases. We are separating out the cases among repatriated individuals. So those are 14 U.S. Cases. 12 of those are travelers who returned from an area where disease is circulating. Two of those are close contacts of another case. Thats 14. There are three novel coronavirus patients among people who are repatriated from Hubei that is in the repatriated flights. And our website says 36 because we updated this yesterday, but in fact as of this morning, there are 40 positives among individuals repatriated from the Diamond Princess. so these are Americans who were on board the Diamond Princess repatriated back to the United States. And thats 40. So that means just to go back that there are 14 confirmed cases picked up through the U.S. public health systems. And 40 plus 3 makes 43 among individuals repatriated into the United States. I do hope that helps. In terms of the severity, I think that there are a variety of reports that give information about severity. Weve looked at severity among people, among reported people from Hubei. Weve looked at reported people from elsewhere in china. And certainly the data coming out from Korea and Iran and Italy suggests also deaths which are concerning. In terms of our messaging today, I really would say that it is more driven by the community spread in other countries than it is specifically from data from china. And so I think it really is the spreading of COVID-19 through other countries that makes all of us feel that the risk of spread in the united states has is increasing. In terms of exercising, you know, there are always small and big things that we learn from exercising. Maybe two specific things Ill point out is that our exercising did show us that if we had a pandemic, there were going to be supply issues. And I think that we are now across the whole of government thinking through and working on those supply issues. One of them is enough protection for health care workers. This is clearly a priority. The health care workers put themselves on the front line caring for ill patients and has to be a priority to make sure they are protected. Another issue is the NPIs. The non-pharmaceutical interventions. We have worked across governmental sectors to get input into our planning guidance. But its one thing to plan for those NPIs. Its certainly another thing to be able to implement them at a large scale. And I think one of the reasons that were talking about this so proactively today is that we recognize that implementing NPIs at this level that we want to prepare the american people that their lives could be interrupted. Next. Thank you. Our next question comes from Eric of ABC news. Your line is open. Thanks, Benjamin. Thanks, Nancy for taking our questions. Im wondering like the chicken and the egg with the case definition and the testing. If youre telling us today its not a question of if but when therell be community spread and its very difficult to for clinicians to know the difference between flu and COVID-19, how come youre not widening the case definition to test more people? So let me answer that two ways. One is that we have more than one layer of surveillance. I think I talked about this in a previous call, but maybe just to talk about it a little more. There is a specific patient-under-investigation case definition that really does focus on travel because that is where the cases that are picked up through our public health systems are. But we are also aware and concerned about the possibility for broader spread in the U.S. Thats why the Secretary and we announced last week that we were going to be doing more community-based surveillance relying on the infrastructure of our influenza. So we have already started that surveillance system. Were rapidly working within the next couple weeks to expand that more broadly. As well, we have a variety of other more community-oriented surveillance systems that were working to stand up to be able to look for those cases in the community. So this is proceeding in stages with the one surveillance but community surveillance also rapidly starting. Brittany, we have time for two more questions, please. Thank you. And our next question comes from Lauren from San Antonio Express News. Your line is now open. Thank you for taking my call. I wanted to ask about the 14-day incubation period that has been reiterated by many public health officials including the quarantine of the evacuees. Weve seen some isolated reports coming from other countries suggesting that it is possible that the incubation period has been longer in some individuals in other countries who have been quarantined for more than 14 days. And I was wondering if you guys have any reason to suspect whether the incubation period may be longer than 14 days for those of Wuhan that have been released from their quarantine. Thank you. Thats actually a really important question. And something were looking at closely. Some of the reports that youve seen are reports in the media, not reports in peer reviewed literature. And it impacts our ability to fully scientifically evaluate them. As Ive said in previous meetings, there are a team of there are more than 50 modeling mathematical modeling groups in the United States all working with us to look at a variety of issues around this response to novel coronavirus. One of the things theyre certainly analyzing is all of the available data on the incubation period. And the data so far still supports using 14 days as the top window. In terms of isolated reports elsewhere, there are a variety of possibilities. One possibility is theres a variety of possibilities what well do is continue to synthesize and evaluate the available data trying to make a data-driven decision. And if more data becomes available that suggests a longer incubation period, we will certainly be visible and public about that. I think at this point, were still comfortable that 14 days is the appropriate top line for that. Last question, please. Thank you. And our final question comes from Ben from CNN. Your line is now open. Hi, thanks so much for taking my question. This morning while he was traveling in India, President Trump said that he thinks that the coronavirus is a problem that is going to go away. He seems very optimistic about this and were trying to figure out exactly why he believes so strongly that to be the case. And so my question for you is what information is your agency specifically giving the president and the White House about the current state of the coronavirus outbreak? As you imagine, we brief the Secretary daily and the Secretary is the lead of the White House task force. And Ddr. Redfield the CDC director is briefing them daily. In terms of the course of this illness, we have a again, a team of mathematical modelers working with us to try to predict the trajectory. One hypothesis is that we could be hopeful that this could potentially be seasonal. Other viral respiratory diseases are seasonal including influenza and therefore in many viral respiratory diseases, we do see a decrease in disease in spring and summer. And so we could certainly be optimistic that this disease will follow suit. But were not going to know that until time keeps ticking forward. Were going to be, again, preparing as if this is going to continue, preparing as if were going to see community spread in the near term. But Im always going to be hopeful that that disease will decline either for the summer or that, you know, well be over-prepared and we wont see the high levels of transmission here in the U.S. Thank you, doctor. And thank you, all, for joining us for todays briefing. Please visit CDCs 2019 novel coronavirus website for continued updates. And if you have further questions, please call the main media line at 404-639-3286 or email media@CDC.gov. Thank you. Thank you for your participation in todays conference. All participants may disconnect at this time. Bhopal, Feb 26 : Madhya Pradesh Congress is grappling with growing indiscipline ahead of elections to Rajya Sabha due on March 26 and byelections for Joura and Agar-Malwa Assembly constituencies likely in May this is a major cause of worry for the party. Deepak Babaria, General secretary in charge of the state had expressed concern over the issue among party colleagues recently. A notification on Tuesday from the Central Election Commission said nominations close for Rajya Sabha poll on March 13. Of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats from the state three are falling vacant in April. Tenure of BJP's Satyanarayan Jatia and Prabhat Jha and Congress' Digvijaya Singh is coming to end in April. On current strength in the Assembly Congress is favoured to win two and the BJP one seat. Digvijaya Singh and former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia are vying for the two seats while Prabhat Jha hopes the Bharatiya Janata Party would re-nominate him for a third term. Madhya Pradesh has joined the clamour for party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to be a contender from the state. That would be at the expense of Digvijaya Singh or Scindia. The Priyanka ploy has added a new facet to the ongoing bickering. Digvijaya and Scindia camps have been at loggerheads for many years now. It makes headlines when Digvijaya Singh and Scindia meet. And that is an indicator of chasm between the two. For almost a week the local media has been reporting a possible one to one interaction between two leaders. They did meet on Monday at Guna just to exchange pleasantries. The mutual distrust continues. Scindia has been sulking over denial of any major responsibility in the party. He became the first scion of the Scindia royalty to lose an election from the family bastion in Gwalior and Chambal region last year. The BJP fielded his own former ardent supporter to hand him a comprehensive defeat at Guna Lok Sabha seat. Scindia's followers have been rooting for him to be made the PCC chief. Chief Minister Kamal Nath who had offered to quit the post after the mauling of the party in Lok Sabha elections continues to hold the post. Kamal Nath and Scindia have not got along well and hostilities are spilling into public. Scindia has been vocal against the government's failure to fulfil promises in party manifesto. His supporters in the ministry have frequently complained of non-cooperation by bureaucrats while the Chief Minister looks the other way. This is eroding his base among the masses. The state electoral college has 228 voters after two seats fell vacant due to the demise of two MLAs. The Congress has 115 MLAs in the Assembly. The ministry includes an Independent and the party enjoys the support of three other Independent MLAs, 2 Bahujan Samaj Party and 1 from Samajwadi Party. The Congress will get two Rajya Sabha seats with the support of 115 MLAs and 6 Independents. With 107 MLAs the BJP can hope to win only one Rajya Sabha seat. Kamal Nath presided over a meeting on Friday to discuss preparations for Agar-Malwa that fell vacant due to the demise of Manohar Untwal of the BJP. The other constituency Joura will witness byelection due to the death of Banwarilal Sharma of the Congress. The party could again field student leader Vipin Wankhede who had lost the Assembly election to Untwal by a narrow margin of 2,490 votes in November 2018. Wankhede has been nursing the constituency even after his defeat. The Congress has won this seat only twice since the Independence. The party is yet to take a call on the Joura seat. Winning the two seats is important for the Congress as it will earn a simple majority in the Assembly with 116 out of 230 votes. The BJP is buoyant under the new state President V.D. Sharma who said his party has a strong united cadre and can snatch both seats from a divided Congress. Gov. Andrew Cuomo today said he will ask the state lawmakers to approve an emergency $40 million authorization as the state prepares to respond to the possibility of the spread of coronavirus in New York. As of today, there are no confirmed cases in New York, Cuomo said today in a news conference in Albany. Twenty-seven people have been tested; 26 of those samples have come back negative, according to the state. Yet Cuomo said state officials are working with hospitals and other healthcare officials to prepare for the appearance of the virus. "The threat you don't take seriously is the one that becomes serious, he said. It is highly probable that we will have people in New York state that test positive, Cuomo said. New York is the front door internationally. We have people coming here from across the world. We see how it is spreading and affecting different countries - Italy recently - and that will continue. Again, I think it is highly probable and no one should be surprised when we have positive cases in New York. The money will allow the New York State Department of Health to hire additional staff and procure equipment and any other resources necessary to respond to the virus. The Health Department in coming days will meet with county health departments and hospitals to review protocols and best practices. One of the goals, Cuomo said, is to set standards for defining quarantines going forward. To date, anyone in New York suspected of having the virus has been quarantined at home. Cuomo said legislative leaders had indicated they supported the request. The governor said hes also asked federal officials for permission to test samples at the states laboratory to expedite results. He said today federal officials have yet to respond. Cuomo added the states Health Department is also coordinating with ports of entry including airports and the MTA to help those transit operators better respond to threats and train staff. Symptoms include a cough, fever, pneumonia and/or shortness of breath. While there is currently no vaccine for the coronavirus, everyday preventative actions can help stop the spread of this and other respiratory viruses: Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Stay home when you are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms and may have traveled to areas of concern or have been in contact with somebody who has traveled to these areas should call ahead to their healthcare provider before presenting for treatment. New Yorkers can call the state hotline at 1-888-364-3065, where experts from the Department of Health can answer questions regarding the novel coronavirus. In addition, the department has a dedicated website which was created as a resource with updated information for New Yorkers. Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274. 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. - A customer of one of the collapsed Savings and Loans company, First Allied has confirmed that government has indeed started full payment of funds to depositors - Even though she has not received her money, she is hopeful of retrieving her GHc 7,000 Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in A customer of one of the collapsed Savings and Loans company, First Allied has confirmed that the government has indeed started full payment of funds to depositors of Finance House companies. Madam Georgina Offei said even though she has not received her money, she is hopeful of retrieving her seven thousand cedis(GHc 7,000) remaining at First Allied. She made it known while speaking in an interview on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie.' READ ALSO: Beautiful photos from Akwasi Agyemans funeral surface online Some of my friends have received fully their monies and others half payment; I havent received mine yet but still waiting to see my alert before I go for my money. I have been assured to receive my money back, she said. Management of Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has disclosed the banks readiness to commence full payment of funds to depositors of collapsed Microfinance, Microcredit, Savings and Loans as well as Finance House companies. The full payment of funds, which takes effect from Monday, February 24, 2020 was announced by the President in his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Thursday. In his address to Parliament, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, said his government has made arrangements to pay all depositors of failed financial institutions, including customers of defunct microfinance company, DKM. READ ALSO: Election 2020: Mahamas records are superior to Akufo-Addos - Sammy Gyamfi In other news, Ghana has initiated a process of restructuring expensive energy contracts as it seeks to reduce costs in that sector. In that respect, it is considering a plan to buy out debts of independent power producers in a bid to reduce its power bill. Ghana, regarded as West Africas second-biggest economy, pays about $500 million every year for power it does not consume. READ ALSO: GETFund scandal: Media wants to smear my reputation - Adwoa Safo Ghana News Today: Accra Beautification Project causes Ako-Adjei Interchange to sparkle | #Yencomgh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos. Source: YEN.com.gh Trump plans Southeast Asia summit in Las Vegas: Pompeo WORLD: US President Donald Trump has invited Southeast Asian leaders to meet next month in Las Vegas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday (Feb 25), after a summit last year was scrapped. By AFP Wednesday 26 February 2020, 08:45AM Diplomats said that the summit would involve Trump and is scheduled to take place on March 12 in the desert gambling haven of Las Vegas. Photo: AFP Pompeo confirmed the date when asked at a news conference whether fears over the coronavirus outbreak would delay the summit with members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Asean summit is still, were working our way through it for ... the second weekend in March in Las Vegas, Pompeo said. Diplomats said that the summit would involve Trump and is scheduled to take place on March 12 in the desert gambling haven. The United States began sounding out Southeast Asian leaders about visiting after Chile cancelled a Pacific Rim summit scheduled for November in the wake of major demonstrations. Trump had likewise skipped an Asean summit and parallel East Asia Summit last year in Bangkok. He instead sent his national security advisor, Robert OBrien, in the lowest-level participation ever by the United States in the East Asia Summit. Most Asean leaders snubbed a meeting with OBrien, sending junior officials who were of more parallel rank. The low-level presence in Bangkok came after years of US efforts to show that the United States is committed to Asia in the face of a rising China. In Bangkok, OBrien renewed the US call for freedom of navigation and accused China of using intimidation to stop Asean nations from exploiting resources in the South China Sea. 26 February 2020 Early Equity PLC ("Early Equity" or "the Company") Issued of Equity Early Equity Plc (NEX: EEQP), is pleased to announce that the Company has raised 396,649.86 by way of subscription for 61,023,056 new ordinary shares of 0.1p at a price of 0.65p per shares (the "Subscription Price"). The proceeds of the subscription will be used to provide the Company with additional working capital. The 61,023,056 new ordinary shares will be admitted to trading on NEX Exchange Growth Market, on 26 February 2020. Following the issue of the new shares above, Early Equity has a total of 897,859,904 ordinary shares of 0.1p in issue carrying voting rights. The above figure of 897,859,904 should be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The directors of Early Equity Plc accept responsibility for this announcement. For further information please contact: Greg Collier Tel: +44 7830 182501 NEX EXCHANGE CORPORATE ADVISER: Alexander David Securities Limited David Scott - Corporate Finance James Dewhurst - Corporate Broking Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7448 9820 http://www.ad-securities.com 49 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4SA Coronavirus claimed three more lives in Iran, taking the country's overall death toll to 15, as President Hassan Rouhani called for calm Tuesday and teams were deployed to disinfect public spaces. The Islamic republic has been hit by the deadliest coronavirus outbreak by far outside China. Its neighbours have imposed travel restrictions and strict quarantine measures after reporting their first cases in recent days -- mostly in people with links to Iran. The United Arab Emirates was the latest to clamp down on Tuesday, halting all passenger and cargo flights to and from Iran, a similar move to other surrounding countries including Armenia, Kuwait, Iraq and Turkey. Iran has been scrambling to contain COVID-19 since Wednesday last week when it announced the first two deaths in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies and pilgrims that attracts scholars from abroad. The government has pledged to be transparent after being accused of covering up the outbreak, dismissing a lawmaker's claim the toll could be as high as 50. The health ministry confirmed three new deaths and 34 new infections on Tuesday, bringing the overall tally to 15 deaths and 95 cases. Two of the newly reported deaths were of elderly women in the central province of Markazi, and the other was a patient in the northern province of Alborz, state news agency IRNA said. "One was an 87-year-old woman with a history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, liver and kidney diseases who passed away after being hospitalised for two days," Abbas Nikravesh, head of Saveh city's medical university, told IRNA. - Virus spreads - The other was an 82-year-old with "serious blood and cardiovascular diseases" and died after being hospitalised for a day, he added, noting that she had a history of visiting Qom as her children live there. According to the health ministry, most of the deaths and infections outside Qom are among people who have recently visited the holy city. Its spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 16 of the new cases were confirmed in Qom, while nine were in Tehran, and two each in Alborz, Gilan and Mazandaran. The virus appeared to be spreading to new parts of Iran, as one new case was also reported in each of the provinces of Fars and Khorasan Razavi, as well as Qeshm island. Despite being Iran's epicentre of the outbreak, Qom has yet to be quarantined. However, religious events at its main hotspot, the Masumeh shrine revered by Shiite Muslims, have been put on hold while teams were deployed to disinfect it. Photos published by local news agencies showed masked men in blue uniforms spraying disinfectant on walls and objects inside the shrine, while unprotected worshippers prayed and kissed the ornate structure enclosing a tomb. - Call for calm - In other provinces including Tehran, teams have been disinfecting underground train carriages and municipal buses at night, according to reports. Rouhani called for calm on Tuesday, saying the outbreak was no worse than other epidemics that Iran has weathered. "An uninvited and ominous guest can come anywhere, but we have to go past it," Rouhani said on state television. "We went past the tough type B influenza that has killed 16,000 in America this year and more than 100 in Iran," he added. "This coronavirus is no tougher than that." The sight of Iranians wearing masks and gloves is now common in much of the country. Sales of masks, disinfectant gels and disposable gloves have soared in Tehran and other cities, with officials vowing to prevent hoarding and shortages by boosting production. Iran has shut schools, universities and cultural centres until the end of the week in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus. The country has yet to find root causes of the infection, but its health minister has said that one person who died of coronavirus in Qom was a businessman who had made several trips to China. Saeed Namaki had unsuccessfully pleaded in January for Iran's government to order the suspension of all commercial flights between Iran and China. In his remarks, the minister said direct flights between Iran and China were now suspended, but the Qom businessman had travelled there "on a connecting flight". CHESTERTON The Dunes Learning Center hosts an open house from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. March 14. It's a chance for parents and children to hike, see the camp, make friends and explore the natural world around them, all in one of the most biologically diverse national parks in the country. Early spring is a great time to get outside, said Dunes Learning Center executive director, Geof Benson. This open house is a great chance to look for signs of spring after a long, gray winter. Take a hike, get pollinator seed bombs to plant at home or just enjoy the live music and cookies. A free shuttle bus will also be available for visitors to take a trip to the historic Chellberg Farm for its Maple Sugar Time event. "Experience maple sugaring throughout history at Maple Sugar Time, said Erin Crofton, education director at Dunes Learning Center. From Native Americans to Swedish settlers like the Chellberg family, local people have enjoyed the sweet taste of maple syrup for centuries. This is a great chance to meet the animals, explore the farm and take a hike." Dunes Learning Center is located at 700 Howe Road, Chesterton. Register for the free event at DunesLearningCenter.org/events. Egypt held a full-honours military funeral on Wednesday for the countrys former President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down amid a popular uprising during the 2011 Arab Spring that swept much of the region. A few dozen Mubarak supporters, clad in black and carrying posters of the former president, had gathered since morning at a mosque complex in an eastern New Cairo neighbourhood, where Mubaraks body was brought for the funeral service. The Republican Guard carried Mubaraks coffin wrapped in the Egyptian flag. The 91-year-old Mubarak died on Tuesday at a Cairo military hospital. He was admitted to hospital on January 21 with intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery, after which he was treated in intensive care. To the outside world, Mubarak symbolised so much of Egypts modern history but his rule of nearly 30 years ended after hundreds of thousands of young Egyptians rallied for 18 days of unprecedented street protests in Cairos Tahrir Square and elsewhere in 2011, forcing him to step down. Perhaps ironically, Mubaraks funeral service was held at the Tantawi Mosque in eastern Cairo, named for now-retired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the military council that ran Egypt following Mubaraks removal and until the election of President Mohamed Morsi in 2012. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attended the service, which was to be followed later in the day by burial at the cemetery in Heliopolis, an upscale Cairo district that was Mubaraks home for most of his rule and where he lived until his death. On Tuesday, el-Sisi extended condolences to the former presidents family, including his widow Suzanne and two sons, wealthy businessman Alaa and Mubaraks one-time heir apparent Gamal. In a statement, el-Sisi praised Mubaraks service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of his rule as president of the most populous Arab state. Three days of national mourning began on Wednesday. Pro-government media paid tribute to Mubarak, focusing on his role in the 1973 war with Israel when Mubarak, a pilot by training, commanded Egypts air force. Through his military and political career, Mubarak made undeniable achievements and sacrifices, the state-run al-Aharm newspaper eulogised Mubarak in its editorial on Wednesday. Born in May 1928, Mubarak was vice president on October 6, 1981, when his mentor, President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated while reviewing a military parade. Seated next to Sadat, Mubarak escaped with a minor hand injury as gunmen sprayed the reviewing stand with bullets. Eight days later, the brawny former air force commander was sworn in as president, promising continuity and order. Mubaraks rule was marked by a close alliance with the United States in the fight against armed groups and assisting regional peace efforts. Many older Egyptians, who had long considered him invincible, were stunned by the images of Mubarak on a gurney bed being taken to court for sessions of his trial in Cairo after he stepped down. Mubaraks resignation plunged Egypt into years of chaos and uncertainty and set up a power struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood group that he had long outlawed. Some two and a half years after Mubarak stepped down, el-Sisi led the military overthrow of Egypts first freely elected president, Morsi, and rolled back freedoms gained in the 2011 uprising. In June 2012, Mubarak and his security chief were sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising. Both appealed the verdict and a higher court later cleared them in 2014. The following year, Mubarak and his sons were sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges during a retrial. The sons were released in 2015 for time served, while Mubarak walked free in 2017. WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister hinted at a potential breakthrough with the federal government on a carbon tax Tuesday, and did not rule out introducing a tax in the upcoming provincial budget. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister speaks to reporters in Ottawa, on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is hinting at a potential breakthrough with the federal government on a carbon tax. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister hinted at a potential breakthrough with the federal government on a carbon tax Tuesday, and did not rule out introducing a tax in the upcoming provincial budget. "Ottawa and Manitoba officials, at the most senior levels, have been in contact rather constantly in the last number of weeks," Pallister said. Pallister would not reveal what price he is willing to agree to, but said the federal government has been told. "I'm willing to have that dialogue and we are having that dialogue. So we'll wait and see where the feds end up on this, hopefully in the not-too-distant future." The federal environment minister, however, said he had not seen any new pitch from the province. "We have not yet received a new pollution pricing proposal from the Manitoba government," Jonathan Wilkinson said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "When we receive it, we will assess their plan against the federal benchmark, as we do with all provinces and territories' plans on an annual basis." Pallister's Progressive Conservative government originally planned a $25-per-tonne carbon tax in 2017, but the federal government said that was not high enough and implemented its own in Manitoba and three other provinces. The federal levy is to rise each year until it hits $50 per tonne in 2022. Pallister wants a "flat" tax that does not rise and would give Manitoba credit for billions of dollars in debt it has taken on for development of clean hydro electricity. Pallister is fighting the federal tax in court both as an intervener in the Saskatchewan government's case before the Supreme Court of Canada next month and in Manitoba's own case in Federal Court. There is no date set for the Manitoba case yet. Pallister said his government will file its written arguments with the court on Friday. While the court battles continue, Pallister said he is open to reaching an agreement. In the meantime, he said, Manitoba will proceed with its own strategy to reduce carbon emissions, which includes plans to bolster wetlands and retrofit heavy diesel trucks. Pallister was coy when asked whether Manitobans might see a provincial carbon tax in the budget expected in March. "You may. That would be speculative and wrong on my part to speculate about an upcoming budget." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020 A puppy who lost her snout after being stomped on and shot at has found a forever home after undergoing life-changing surgery. Footage shows the one-year-old puppy, Millie, before she underwent life-changing surgery, with a long, floppy tongue hanging below her crushed snout. Clips show her bounding enthusiastically up to the vets who saved her life and bounding in a field in her adopted town of Brighton. The puppy, Millie (pictured above), has found a forever home in Brighton after being born as a stray in Russia and undergoing life-changing surgery Kasey Carlin (above), 25, made the negotiation via Google translate and with the help of her employers, the Wild At Heart Foundation , an animal rescue organisation Millie, or 'snot monster' as she's affectionately nicknamed by her rescuer, Kasey Carlin, 25, was subjected to the worst possible start in life. Born as a stray in Russia, Millie was found dying on the streets by animal activists. She had been shot in the face multiple times and her severe facial injuries were most likely from someone deliberately stamping on her. When Millie was rescued from the cold, she was attempting to claw the rotten mess of her snout away from her own face. Fortunately, Millie's horrendous journey came to the attention of Kasey. After weeks of fund-raising and sending emails to the Russian animal sanctuary Vyberimenya where Millie was based, Kasey was able to negotiate Millie's evacuation to the UK. She made the negotiation via Google translate and with the help of her employers, the Wild At Heart Foundation, an animal rescue organisation looking to tackle the world's 600 million stray dog population. Since arriving in the UK a little over a month ago, Millie has undergone further surgeries to help her lead a normal life. Her right eye was removed - as it was underdeveloped after bullet shrapnel became embedded during her painful formative months - and she had a new nose attached. Millie (left) with Bella (middle), who Ms Carlin is currently fostering, and her sister Maggie (right), who was found in horrific condition in her native home Lebanon Ms Carlin with Millie. After weeks of fund-raising and sending emails to the Russian animal sanctuary Vyberimenya, she negotiated the dog's evacuation to the UK An x-ray of Millie's head, with her entire face left 'shattered' following the attack, in which she was stomped on and shot in the face multiple times Kasey, who was born in Scotland, was delighted with the latest furry addition to her family. She said: 'When I saw her, I just fell in love with her instantaneously. She had no nose and a tube to help her breathe and smell but she was just so happy in her videos. My heart melted and I had to have her. 'My desire to give her a loving home only increased after I heard about her story. When she was picked up, her face was just totally shattered, a complete mess. She was trying to claw away the rotting mulch where her nose had been. 'It's possible that she was hit by a car but it's much more likely she was stamped on as her injuries are almost all on her face. There were several bullets in her too. We're not sure if she was used as target practice before or if someone tried and failed to euthanise her - it's more likely to be the former sadly. 'I found Millie's images on Instagram and then I posted in every one of her photos and sent multiple messages to get in contact and see if she's still available for adoption. I finally google translated my messages and Irina from the shelter Vyberimenya spoke with me. 'In less than three weeks her Russian shelter had raised the transport fees while in the UK I fundraised in the UK and in partnership with my charity Wild at Heart Foundation. In less than a week we had raised the funds to get her the specialist care she needed that would give her the life-changing surgery she desperately needed.' Millie's quality of life has since improved and she can eat and exercise like any other dog. Funds were raised to give her the life-changing surgery Millie with her older sister Maggie, a therapy dog and Instagram sensation that Ms Carlin, who is is currently looking after four dogs, rescued from Lebanon Kasey is currently looking after four dogs: three of her own, Mishka, Maggie, and Millie, and one foster, Bella. Millie's older sister Maggie melted the nation's heart last year when her story went viral. Five-year-old Maggie was found in horrific condition in her native home Lebanon: tied to a box with her eyes shot out, her ear cut off, her jaw broken and bullet wounds all over her body. Fortunately, after a hard-fought campaign to raise funds to rescue her, Maggie found a new home in Brighton with dog lover Kasey. Maggie is now a much sought-after therapy dog and has been nominated for a national bravery award. When Maggie's tragic origin story was first told, vets believed Maggie had been shot 17 times. New x-rays show she actually has well over 200 pellets riddled in her body, making her remarkable recovery practically miraculous. Kasey added: 'My dad always said that I'd bring home Bambi if I saw him at the side of the road. 'I've always loved animals and always wanted to be a vet or conservationist when I got older. Now I get to work as an animal rescuer and therapist and it's just the best work. I love it. 'I love all my pets equally and they're just normal dogs, none of them suffer at all. They eat, drink, and play like any other dog. They're super happy and they make everyone they meet happy too. 'Considering everything they've been through, their spirit just constantly overwhelms me. They have so much love to give and they just want to be around people making them happy. They're perfect.' SANTA ROSA (BCN) Members of immigration rights organizations rallied outside Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa Tuesday morning to protest the arrest of two immigrants at the courthouse last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The arrests on Feb. 18 illustrated the standoff between federal immigration officials and local cities, counties and the state of California that have declared themselves as sanctuaries for immigrants. "We heard (President Donald) Trump threaten more aggressive activity in the sanctuaries is very likely and it's why the raids were conducted here to send a message," Renee Saucedo, a program director with the Graton Day Labor Center, said at the Tuesday morning protest. "They don't care about state or local policies that protect undocumented immigrants," Saucedo said. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office and County Counsel's offices last week condemned the arrests, and Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said his office did not collaborate with Department of Homeland Security agents in the arrests. The arrests last week dissuade immigrants from accessing the services they are entitled to, Saucedo said. "Our alliance of organizations will follow the leadership of the immigrants themselves and we will work with local and state officials to make sure this never happens again," Saucedo said. Speakers at the protest called for an end of ICE's presence in the county, the separation of families and what they said was the terrorizing of community members. "We are dehumanized, mistreated and attacked, even hunted," one woman said. Supporters chanted, "Enough is Enough!" and "No More ICE in Sonoma County!" "I'm not mad, I'm sad about how ICE is destroying families," Eliseo Dominguez with the Graton Day Labor Center said. "We no longer want to feel like hunted animals. I live here to work and have a better life for me and my family. We are not criminals, we are a community of workers. We don't want ICE in our parks and in our cities," Dominguez said. Other immigrant rights organizations at the protest included the North Bay Rapid Response Network, ALMAS-Active Women's Labor Solidarity Alliance, North Bay Jobs With Justice and North Bay Organizing Project. ICE officials weren't immediately available to comment on the arrests or Tuesday's rally. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A special court here on Wednesday remanded sitting MLC Anil Bhosale, chairman of the Pune- headquartered Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank, and its three other officials in police custody for alleged fraud of over Rs 71 crore at the bank. Additional Sessions Judge (Special Judge) S S Gosavi remanded the four accused in police custody till March 6. Bhosale, an NCP leader who had reportedly developed proximity with the BJP in the last few years, is a sitting member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC). His wife Reshma Bhosale is also one of the accused in the case. She is a BJP-backed corporator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). In January, the police had registered a case against Anil Bhosale, his wife and 15-16 others, including the board of directors of the bank, for alleged forgery, misappropriation and cheating. Pune Police had arrested Anil Bhosale, one of directors of the bank Suryaji Jadhav, chief accountant Shailesh Bhosale and Chief Executive Officer at the Bank Tanaji Padwal were arrested by Pune police on Tuesday night. The case was registered under sections 406, 408, 468, 471 and 34 of IPC and relevant sections of Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID). Police said that on the directions of the Reserve Bank of India, the complainant, who is an auditor, had conducted a financial audit of the year 2018-19 and found Rs 71, 78, 87, 723 less in the 'cash in hand' segment of the bank. "All the accused colluded with each other and cheated the bank by forging records," police had said. In October last year, the cooperative department of the Maharashtra government dismissed the bank's board of directors and appointed an administrator. Special scrutiny conducted by the Reserve Bank of India in April 2019 revealed several "adverse" features and "serious irregularities" in the functioning of the bank, the office of Commissioner of Cooperation had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tacloban City (CNN Philippines, February 26) Eighty hospitals in Eastern Visayas are being investigated for alleged ghost claims, according to a regional official from the state health insurance firm. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation Acting Regional Vice President Michael Jibson C. Hernandez said the medical facilities are under probe for supposedly claiming payments for nonexistent treatments, without giving detailed information. Hernandez then warned that PhilHealth will temporarily stop paying the health care providers once they are found guilty of engaging in fraudulent activities. Aside from not releasing payments, PhilHealth may cancel their accreditation as well as face administrative and criminal charges. Citing humanitarian considerations, the official said they cannot impose the sanctions right away especially if there is only one PhilHealth-accredited health care provider in a specific area. We need to balance, kasi may mga provider na sila lang ang nanduduon. Kung masyado tayong strikto, wala nang mapupuntahan 'yung mga pasyente natin, kawawa naman, Hernandez said. [Translation: We need to balance because if we will be too strict, our patients will be left with no health care provider.] Meanwhile, a PhilHealth member who knowingly and deliberately cooperates or agrees to commit a wrongdoing with a hospital is at risk of having their insurance benefits suspended, being imprisoned from three to six months, and fined P50,000 for each count of fraud. In Eastern Visayas, PhilHealth has more than 4 million members as of 2019. Last year, PhilHealth has revoked the accreditation of dialysis center WellMed, which was alleged to have filed bogus claims with PhilHealth using names of dead dialysis patients. The alleged scam also involves PhilHealth officials who are facing graft complaints before the Justice Department. The owner of the WellMed and its former employees, who exposed the dialysis center, has profited from fraudulent claims from the state health insurer. They were charged with estafa before a Quezon City court. The court, however, dropped the charges against them, saying it has no jurisdiction over the case. Pakistan, the epicentre of global terrorism, shouldnt lecture others on human rights issues in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, a senior Indian diplomat told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday. Secretary (West) Vikas Swarup was responding to Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazaris allegations on Tuesday about rights abuses in Kashmir during a session of the UN body in Geneva. Delivering Indias national statement at the meeting, Swarup also called for decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, abet or shelter terrorists. Though the Indian statement didnt name Pakistan in this regard, it was clear which country it was referring to. Swarup said it was logical to respond to remarks by the delegation of Pakistan, which is the epicentre of global terrorism, on the situation in Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of India. The transformative changes wrought by our Parliament last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the state, including to give fullest play to representative government from the grassroots level upward, he said, referring to the Indian governments decision to scrap the erstwhile states special status. The change was also aimed at extending all progressive legislations to cover Kashmir and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the region, he said. It is more than a little ironical that a nation that has become the worlds leading exporter of terror and violence seeks to lecture others about human rights, Swarup said about Mazaris remarks on Kashmir. In her speech, Mazari had demanded an immediate end to restrictions in Kashmir and the release of all political leaders from detention. She had contended that India would be emboldened if the world community failed to act. Mazaris speech at the UN council was in line with Pakistans efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, which it has sought to raise at bodies such as the UN Security Council. India has responded to these efforts by saying the changes in Kashmir are an internal matter. Swarup also said the changes had resulted in positive results. Despite Pakistans best efforts over decades to destabilise this state through externally instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal. Most temporary restrictions imposed solely to ensure safety of the people from Pakistani trained terrorist attacks have already been removed, political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have been largely restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace and there is access for all to education and healthcare, he said. This was achieved despite Pakistans frenetic attempts to promote both violence within our territory with an 81% increase in infiltration attempts since last August and disinformation outside, he added. Noting that terrorism is the most pernicious violation of the fundamental right to life, Swarup said India is happy that the HRC advisory committee is working on a report on the matter. We remain ready to work with all partners to fully stop all support from reaching terrorists, denying terrorists access to safe havens, and extraditing and bringing to justice perpetrators of terrorism, and their supporters, he said. He also rejected Pakistans advice and warnings about the situation within India, saying that someone should give them the power to see themselves as others see them. Let me tell the delegation from Pakistan that India is a nation where democracy, including the right to protest, is vibrantly and noisily celebrated every day, where diversity has been a way of life since times immemorial and where dignity of every human is protected by a robust constitutional framework, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 06:13:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China is combating the COVID-19 outbreak professionally and effectively, Egyptian experts said during a forum held on Tuesday in Egyptian capital Cairo. Entitled "China and Management of Coronavirus Crisis," the forum is organized by the Cairo branch of Chinese mobile internet company OneMena, co-hosted by the Egyptian-Chinese Cultural Exchange Association (ECCEA) and attended by a number of Egyptian experts including diplomats, researchers, physicians and writers. Mohamed Noman Galal, Egypt's former ambassador to China and member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said that "China's reaction to the outbreak of the epidemic was so fast, responsible and professional." "The Chinese leadership and concerned authorities also communicated with the international community and the World Health Organization which led to massive cooperation and coordination," said the former ambassador. "The Chinese precautious measures were very important and they largely prevented the spread of the infection," said Mohamed Ezz el-Arab, renowned Egyptian physician and founder of the liver tumors unit at the National Liver Institute. China "managed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus so practically and the whole world supports China in this regard," the Egyptian physician and medicine professor added. There are two very good indications, namely the declining mortality rate and the rising cure rate, Ezz el-Arab told the forum. The attendees expressed their belief that China is able to overcome the ongoing crisis very soon because of its advanced medical control and prevention measures and scientific capabilities. Salah Abdullah, Egyptian former parliamentarian and former assistant chief of the Egyptian medical syndicate, said, "The way China managed to isolate Wuhan and limit the virus outbreak is undoubtedly appreciated and admired by the whole world." "China is fighting COVID-19 on behalf of the whole world. The world is lucky that China has such massive capabilities to deal with the crisis professionally," Abdullah said. Egypt sent tonnes of medical supplies to China as a sign of solidarity with the Asian country and its people in combating the new virus. EgyptAir, the national airline of Egypt, also announced that it will resume flights to and from China starting from Feb. 27. Wang Hu, head of the ECCEA and a main organizer of the forum, expressed appreciation of the solidarity of the Egyptian leadership and people with their Chinese counterparts in overcoming the coronavirus challenge. "We are hopeful that the virus will be overcome very soon and we're happy that EgyptAir will resume flights to and from China and looking forward to seeing more Chinese tourists and further economic projects with Egypt after the crisis is over," Wang told Xinhua. (CNN) The shock from the novel coronavirus is roiling global markets for yet another trading session. US shares moved higher by midday Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% and the Dow gaining nearly 70 points, or 0.3%. But European markets finished mixed, as corporate profit warnings added to fears about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany's DAX fell 0.1% after dropping as much as 2.5% earlier in the day. The CAC 40 gained 0.1% in Paris and the FTSE 100 rose 0.4% in London. In Brazil, which has confirmed its first coronavirus case, the country's benchmark index fell more than 5%. Losses piled up in Asia, too, where Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gave up 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8%. MSCI World, an index that includes 1,644 stocks from around the globe, is on track for its fifth consecutive decline. US stocks have plummeted in recent trading sessions on fears of coronavirus. Before Wednesday, the Dow had lost more than 2,000 points in total over the previous four trading sessions. Investors are concerned about how the coronavirus is weighing on consumer demand, manufacturing supply chains and major economies around the world. The spread of the virus could cost China, the world's second biggest economy, tens of billions of dollars in lost growth this quarter alone. Major outbreaks in Japan, South Korea and Italy underscore the risk posed to other big economies from the coronavirus. The death toll from the coronavirus is now more than 2,700 worldwide, with the vast majority in mainland China. There have been more than 80,000 global cases. World Health Organization officials said it's still too early to declare the novel coronavirus a pandemic but now is the time to prepare. The extent of the damage to several industries is becoming clearer. Virgin Australia, Danone and Diageo on Wednesday added their names to a growing list of companies that have warned about the impact that measures to contain the virus will have on their bottom lines. Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah said the company is experiencing weak demand, an increase in cancellations and a reduction in bookings because of the outbreak. He expects the airline to record a hit of as much as 75 million Australian dollars ($49 million) in the first half of this year because of the virus. Last week, the International Air Transport Authority warned that the hit to demand could cost airlines more than $29 billion. Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness and Captain Morgan, estimated that sales could take a 325 million ($421 million) hit in the 2020 fiscal year. Earnings could be dented by as much as 200 million ($259 million). The closure of bars and restaurants in China, as well as a "substantial reduction in banqueting" has caused "significant disruption" since the end of January, the drinks maker said. Food maker Danone said in an earnings report that it expects to take a sales hit of 100 million ($109 million) in the first quarter. The company, which owns Evian and Alpro, also cut its 2020 revenue and profit outlook. Other businesses are struggling to assess the damage. Online travel company Trip.com was due to report financial results on Wednesday, but it said in a statement last week that it would reschedule for March 18 in order to give itself "more time to observe business conditions and provide visibility for the first quarter of 2020." Oil prices also tumbled again Wednesday. US oil futures dropped 0.7% to $49.56 per barrel, while the global benchmark Brent crude dipped 1.3% lower at $54.13 a barrel. This story was first published on CNN.com "Global markets are slumping for a fifth straight day on coronavirus fears." Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that free power to farmers would not be withdrawn at any cost till his government is in power. In his concluding remarks to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's address in the House, Singh also urged the Government of India not to tinker with MSP-based procurement of food grains in any way as it will badly affect the livelihood of a large number of farmers. The Chief Minister said: "Debt relief of over Rs 4,603 crore had been given to 5.62 lakh eligible farmers and the remaining would also be given relief very soon, for which the necessary budgetary provisions will be announced by the Finance Minister on Friday." Pointing out that a hassle-free procurement had always been a priority of the government, he said that as a result of the non-interference in free and fair operations in the grain markets, farmers have been able to achieve higher remuneration for their produce. "In the last six years, farmers have received an additional remuneration of Rs 44,000 crore, which is an unprecedented achievement for our farmers," he said. "The Finance Minister, in his budget speech, will announce a comprehensive scheme to achieve diversification with greater thrust on maize cultivation," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TDT | Manama The Kingdom has registered 23 cases among individuals arriving from Iran to Bahrain International Airport, via Dubai and Sharjah, according to the National Task Force for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), at the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research. All passengers arriving from Iran and other countries experiencing cases of COVID-19 have been tested in a well-equipped, isolated area at the airport, task force member Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, said at a press conference yesterday. All infected patients arriving from Iran have then been transferred to the Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo Community Health Centre in Al Salmaniya, for isolation and treatment, and all individuals who have had contact with the infected patients are also under quarantine, as a precautionary measure, he added. The official highlighted that there were no registered cases of human to human transmission of the COVID-19 within the Kingdom. All COVID-19 cases are registered among individuals arriving from Iran, and were flagged at Bahrain International Airport, with the exception of patient zero, who was diagnosed after arrival to the Kingdom and has not transmitted the infection to any individual as of yet. The Kingdom is following a comprehensive medical protocol based on guidelines set out by the Gulf Health Council (GHG) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), aimed to safeguard the health and safety of citizens and residents, the official said. Co-operation and collaboration between national institutions is critical to combat the spread of the COVID-19, as the health and safety of citizens remains the Kingdoms top priority, he added. Retired medical professionals will be deployed to intensify health care measures and provide the effective treatment of all infected individuals. All public and private schools, including kindergartens, and universities as well as higher institutions are to be closed for two weeks, as a precautionary measure to ensure the containment of the virus. Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister yesterday chaired the 302nd meeting of the Executive Committee to take stock of the situation. During the meeting, His Royal Highness called for a united response to the serious challenge presented by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). HRH the Crown Prince stressed that multilateral co-operation across borders and collaboration between national institutions is critical in order to lay the foundations for controlling the spread of COVID-19 but added that co-ordination must go further than government. Thirty-five high school students from Montigny-les-Metz were confined to their homes when they returned from a school trip. In Strasbourg, one case has also been identified. Returning from a school trip to Australia last weekend, 35 students and three teachers from the Jean-XXIII school complex in Montigny-les-Metz have been confined to their homes. The group had a stopover in Singapore, and, according to Republican Lorrain, the students must remain confined for two weeks and their temperature must be continuously monitored as precautionary measures. No other specific instructions were issued to them apart from ensuring that they are washing their hands thoroughly. According to DNA tests, a case of coronavirus contamination was identified this Wednesday morning in Strasbourg, when a 36-year-old man was hospitalized. A pharmacist wearing a protective respiratory mask tends to a customer in Codogno, southeast of Milan, on Feb 22, 2020. (Photo: Miguel MEDINA / AFP) "At this point, we know that the way one hospital facility was managed was not entirely appropriate," Conte told Italian TV on Monday (Feb 24) evening. "That certainly contributed to the spread," he said, without naming the institution concerned. The main centre of infection has been the town of Codogno, around 60km to the south of Milan. Codogno and several other towns in northern Italy have been put under isolation measures in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. Italy has seen a huge jump in cases - from 6 to 229 since Friday - meaning it has the biggest number of confirmed infections in Europe. However, on Monday the rise in new cases stabilised, with only 10 further infections reported. Seven people in Italy have so far died after catching the virus, all of whom were either elderly or had pre-existing conditions. A 14-year-old girl died of severe burn injuries on Wednesday after she immolated herself, alleging rape and harassment by three persons in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district, police said. The police have arrested all three accused, an official said. The Class 8 student poured kerosene and immolated herself at her home in Devgaon village on Tuesday evening and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur, additional superintendent of police (ASP) Shraddha Joshi said. The girl suffered 90 per cent burns and was first taken to the district hospital, from where she was referred to a hospital in Maharashtra's Nagpur city, Joshi said. In her statement, the victim had named three persons accusing them of raping and harassing her, the senior official said. On the basis of girl's statement, the police arrested Sandeep Hisare (23) and Nitesh Nagle (21), while another accused identified as Ajay was nabbed from Kamla Nagar area of Bhopal, Joshi said. The trio has been booked under section 376D (gang rape) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, she said. The victim has also left a note in which she has held Hisare responsible for her death, the official said, adding that further probe is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 13:55:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHENYANG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- With a sign reading "Free ride for medical workers" pasted on his cab, taxi driver Yu Zhuo in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, often slows his car when passing hospitals. Fan Xianjiao, a doctor from the Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to the China Medical University, said she owes a debt of gratitude to Yu, who has eased her daily commute during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Yu exempted Fan's taxi fare when he found out she was a doctor on duty on the front line of the fight against the disease, when Fan took the ride on Feb. 17, and he decided to do his part to assist the medical staff's work. Instead of shunning medical workers to avoid the risk of infection, many taxi drivers across the country have voluntarily made the same pledge as Yu's to offer free rides to express their respect for the great sacrifice of medical workers in the country's anti-epidemic battle. "Medical staff have sacrificed a lot, and what I have done is trivial," said Yu. The outpouring of appreciation and admiration for medical workers has overwhelmed the shadow of some violent incidents between patients and medical workers that have repeatedly resulted in the deaths or serious injury of doctors and nurses. In the battle against the epidemic, the public has frequently witnessed the courageous and selfless dedication of doctors. So far, thousands of medical staff have been infected with the virus while at work. Chinese central leadership and local governments have rolled out a series of preferential policies and incentives to care, protect and encourage medical personnel, including raising the on-duty subsidy standard and salary level for medical workers on the front line. Nationwide, many major tourist attractions have exempted ticket charges for medical personnel. "These measures convey the common wish of the whole society for respecting medical personnel's work," said Zhang Sining, a researcher with the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences. He said the novel coronavirus epidemic has become a major public health emergency since 1949. In the hard-hit province of Hubei, more than 41,000 medical personnel from across the country are fighting against the epidemic. The unprecedented situation has created an atmosphere throughout Chinese society of respecting doctors: There are farmers sending fish and chicken raised at home to medical teams. A group of hotpot restaurants in Sichuan Province pledge to provide free meals for one year for medical personnel in the province who have joined the medical assistance teams in Wuhan. "I hope that through this anti-epidemic fight, there will be more understanding between medical staff and patients, and more mutual trust," said Luo Yuan, a nurse from Fengcheng Central Hospital in the city of Dandong, Liaoning. Luo's husband is currently with the medical team from Liaoning to assist the fight in Wuhan. "I look forward to his victorious return," she said. BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Microland, India's leading digital IT transformation company, today inaugurated its state-of-the-art Digital Hub in Birmingham, UK to serve its European customers. The Bourneville-based facility will become the firm's European Shared Services Headquarters, and when fully operational is expected to accommodate up to 200 Microlanders. It enables the consolidation of Microland's UK and European delivery functions as part of its ambitious, global growth strategy, with the West Midlands at its heart. The primary objective of the site is to support Microland's international client base with services that enable 'Making Digital Happen.' The range of services delivered through the Hub will include cloud and data center transformation, Software Defined Networks, cyber security, digital workplace and Industrial IoT. This is Microland's second Digital Hub in the West Midlands; the first opened in January 2018. The new site will operate alongside Microland's existing base in Longbridge, which will transition into a Customer Experience Centre that will offer Microland's customers a differentiated global delivery model. Pradeep Kar, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Microland, said: "Our West Midlands Digital Hub is an exciting new addition to Microland's network of hubs around the world and an important milestone for our Europe business. The centre will deliver innovative and modern enterprise solutions to our global customer base, with a specific focus on UK customers. "When assessing several locations for Microland's expansion, the West Midlands was an obvious choice for us. The area has become an epicentre for technology, with a vibrant ecosystem of major companies, access to technically skilled, digital talent and world-class infrastructure. This is essential for us in order to meet the ever-growing demands of our global customers." Microland's investment will create employment opportunities in both the technology and business operations fields, as the firm seeks to capitalise on the region's wider professional services skills base. The site has opened as the region looks to establish a dedicated West Midlands India Partnership - a programme operated by the West Midlands Growth Company* to build on the area's successful track record in attracting investment and visitors from the Indian market. Neil Rami, Chief Executive at the West Midlands Growth Company, said: "Rapid growth across a number of specialisms such as AI, cyber security, finTech and games has positioned the West Midlands as the UK's largest tech and digital sector outside the capital. The region's innovative talentpool is continuously acknowledged by investors as best in class, but remains affordable, relative to places like London, adding to its appeal. "Microland's investment is a major endorsement of the region's growing digital economy. It also exemplifies exactly why we're ramping up activity in the Indian market. India is the second highest creator of FDI jobs in the region - forging relationships with major success stories like Microland will be key to our region's economic success." The West Midlands is the UK's leading region outside London and the South East for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with tech and digital firms representing a major source of new projects. Prominent UK-based organisations investing in the region include The Economist Group, which recently opened a new Technology Innovation Unit in Birmingham - the company's first UK location outside of London. Transportation services company Genesee & Wyoming represents another, globally operating firm that has established a high-value shared services function in the region. The company, which operates Freightliner, initially invested 30million in the region, creating 100 new jobs. Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, added: "Microland is the latest in a string of major, global companies choosing to set up in Birmingham over other international locations. The city is investing heavily in creating the right environment for tech businesses - its 5G testbed is just one example of how the region is equipping itself to foster innovation. We look forward to supporting Microland in its growth journey to deliver cutting-edge digital solutions to a global client base." The new Digital Hub is compliant to stringent security standards, such as 'Official Sensitive', CES+ and ISO 27000. Additionally, the site will have employees with the highest level of employee clearance, including Home Office clearance, depending on customer requirements. About Microland Microland's delivery of digital and 'Making Digital Happen' allows technology to do more and intrude less. We make it easier for enterprises to adopt nextgen Digital infrastructure. We enable this using our expertise in Cloud and Data Centers, Networks, Digital Workplace, Cybersecurity and Industrial IoT. Ensuring the embrace of brilliance is predictable, reliable, and stable. Incorporated in 1989 and headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Microland has more than 4,500 digital specialists across offices and delivery centers in Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and North America. *West Midlands Growth Company The West Midlands Growth Company helps the region make its mark nationally and internationally. Its primary purpose is to attract investment, jobs, visitors and businesses to the West Midlands. The West Midlands Growth Company plays an important role in supporting the delivery of the West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Strategic Economic Plan. Its focus is on the WMCA geography of Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, and the Black Country. Read more here: https://wmgrowth.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/965328/Microland.jpg New Delhi/Geneva, Feb 26 : India at the human rights council on Wednesday tore into Pakistan's allegations on Kashmir, saying it was ironic that the world's leading exporter of terror and violence sought to lecture others about human rights. Aarti Tikoo Singh New Delhi/Geneva, Feb 26 (IANS) India at the human rights council on Wednesday tore into Pakistan's allegations on Kashmir, saying it was ironic that the world's leading exporter of terror and violence sought to lecture others about human rights. Strongly defending the government's decision to reorganize Jammu & Kashmir state and the temporary restrictions placed in Kashmir last year, India's representative Vikas Swarup in Geneva, said, "Despite Pakistan's best efforts -- over decades -- to destabilize the state through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal." Most temporary restrictions, he said, were imposed solely to ensure the safety of the people from Pakistani trained terrorist attacks and have already been removed. Reiterating India's position that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of India," Swarup said, the "transformative changes wrought by our Parliament" were meant to strengthen the integration of the state and "give fullest play to representative government from the grassroots level upward." He argued that the decision was "intended to ensure the extension of all progressive legislations passed for the entire country to cover this region, and to resume the pace of socio-economic development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir." Swarup asserted that the measures of the government are already showing positive results. Giving details about the situation in Kashmir, he said, political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have been largely restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace and educational institutions have reopened. Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies are well-stocked and staffing is at full capacity, he added. All of it has been achieved "despite Pakistan's frenetic attempts to promote both violence within our territory --with an 81% increase in infiltration attempts since last August-- and disinformation outside." Describing terrorism as a global challenge and Pakistan as an epicenter of global terrorism, Swarup said, "Terrorism is the most pernicious violation of a fundamental human right, that is, the right to life." As a nation that has suffered for decades from cross-border terrorism, India calls for decisive action against those who direct, control, fund, abet or shelter terrorists, he said. Taking a dig at Pakistan's necessity "to offer advice and warnings" about the violence in Delhi, Swarup paraphrased poet Robert Burns, saying, "someone should give them the power to see themselves as others see them. Pakistan would do well to look to its own house and introspect about the condition of its people, especially its minorities." India, he told the Pakistani delegation at the council, is a nation where democracy, including the right to protest, is vibrantly and noisily celebrated every day, where diversity has been a way of life since times immemorial and where the dignity of every human is protected by a robust constitutional framework. "We take pride in the fact that our Constitution begins by first of all safeguarding the rights of all -- citizen and foreigner alike. This is entirely in the spirit of our civilization and our democracy, where we do not distinguish between the divinity inherent in all humanity," he pointed out. New York, NY, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to welcome Craig B. Fields, Holly L. Hyans, Nicole L. Johnson, and Mitchell A. Newmark to the Firms New York office as Partners in the Tax, Benefits, and Private Client group. Craig, Nicole, and Mitchell joined on February 15 and Holly will join in early March. The Firm expects to continue expanding the team over the coming weeks. At Blank Rome, Craig serves as Co-Chair of the Tax, Benefits, and Private Client group and leads the national State and Local Tax practice. The prominent group regularly litigates state and local tax matters and counsels clients on state and local tax planning throughout the country. They join from Morrison & Foerster LLP where Craig served as co-chair of the tax department and chair of the firms state and local tax group, and Holly was a founding member of the group. We are very excited to welcome Craig, Holly, Nicole, and Mitchell to the Firm, said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Romes Managing Partner and CEO. Blank Romes New York office continues to grow with key lateral hires, including Stacy H. Louizos, who recently joined as co-chair of our Investment Management group. We are thrilled to keep the momentum going with the addition of this top-talent team, which will further bolster our national Tax group and expand upon our existing capabilities for serving our clients in this space. Blank Romes national platform is vast, and we look forward to tapping into the Firms deep bench of experienced attorneys to counsel clients through the complexity of state and local tax issues and proactively manage and control their tax concerns, added Craig. In addition to guiding our clients through their tax controversy matters, we are strategically focused on expanding upon our current services and offerings across industries and collaborating with the Firms highly ranked Tax group. Collectively, the group has decades of experience representing clients in state and local tax controversies before administrative tribunals and judicial courts in jurisdictions throughout the United States and has resolved hundreds of cases throughout the country. They have secured successful outcomes for clients in state general jurisdiction courts and tax courts as well as appellate courts for a multitude of clients spanning a wide range of industries, including retail, manufacturing, and financial services, among others. They also have significant experience advising clients on all state and local income, gross receipts, franchise, sales & use, excise, and miscellaneous taxes and fees and state unclaimed property obligations. Additionally, the group counsels clients on state and local aspects of sophisticated planning and transactional matters, such as acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings, and asset-based financing transactions. They also successfully counsel individuals and estates regarding residency, domicile, and multistate taxability in audits and appeals. The group frequently writes about and speaks on state and local tax issues with leading media outlets and organizations. Clients turn to Craig, Holly, Nicole, and Mitchell for their unmatched experience and deep technical and procedural knowledge, said Cory G. Jacobs, Partner and Co-Chair of the Tax, Benefits, and Private Client group. Whether representing corporations or high-net-worth individuals, the team is adept at successfully and efficiently counseling clients in any state or locality with any tax issue at any time. We are thrilled to have them join our team and look forward to continuing to expand the group to meet the needs of our clients. Craig was selected as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2019, and serves as an advisory board member for various professional organizations, publications, and centers, including the Georgetown Law Center, the National Multistate Tax Symposium, the Journal of State Taxation, Bloomberg BNA State Tax, and State Tax Notes. He received the NYU School of Professional Studies Paul H. Frankel Award for Outstanding Achievement in State and Local Taxation in 2017. Craig earned his LL.M. from New York University School of Law, his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, and his B.A. from Queens College. Holly serves on the advisory boards of the Hartman State and Local Tax Forum at Vanderbilt University Law School, the NYU Institute on State and Local Tax, and Bloomberg BNA State Tax. She earned her J.D., Order of the Coif, from New York University School of Law where she served as a staff member of the New York University Law Review, and her B.A. from Brooklyn College of the City of New York. She previously clerked for the Honorable Pierre N. Leval, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Nicole was appointed to the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal Advisory Panel in 2018 and serves as a member of the Law360 Tax Authority State & Local Editorial Advisory Board. She was named a Rising Star in Tax by Law360 in 2019. Nicole earned her J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law, and her B.S.B. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. In 2006, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Michael B. Thornton, U.S. Tax Court. Mitchell was named a Law360 Tax MVP in 2019. He serves as co-chair of the State Practice, Procedure, and Liaison Committee of the Tax Section of the New Jersey Bar Association, and is a member of the Tax Section of the New Jersey Bar Association Executive Committee and Executive Council, which he previously chaired. He was a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Tax Court for 11 years until he termed out in 2018. Earlier in his career, Mitchell spent six years as a deputy attorney general at the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office. From 1996 to 1997, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Irwin I. Kimmelman, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division. Mitchell earned his LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, his J.D. from Widener University School of Law, and his M.B.A. and B.A. from Rutgers University. Since January 1, Blank Rome has welcomed several lateral partners across its U.S. offices, enhancing the Firms services and capabilities throughout its various practices. About Blank Rome Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries, and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients, and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com. ### Attachment Guggenheim Partners Global CIO Scott Minerd said Wednesday that stocks could have further to fall as the markets came to grips with the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak. Minerd, appearing on CNBC's "Closing Bell," said the effects of the virus would soon begin to appear in corporate earnings and the global supply chain. Several major companies, including Microsoft, have warned that they will miss guidance due to the outbreak. "When you consider the scale of the epidemic at this point, it's hard to believe that we aren't going to start running into major supply chain interruptions and also start seeing more pressure on earnings and free cash flow for corporations," Minerd said. Those negative effects would be amplified if there is a significant outbreak in the United States, he said. "I think we've reached a tipping point here, and that is if we can't get this thing contained soon that is, probably sometime this week then it's going to come to America. And once it comes to America, then we have an even more severe problem on our hands in terms of earnings and employment," he said. Minerd said in a tweet during Tuesday's sell-off that it was not time to buy the dip. Markets dropped again Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.38%. Tweet Minerd, who has previously said he expected U.S. stocks to rise between 10% and 15% this year, said it was too early to revise that forecast. He also said investors looking to hedge should consider bonds and precious metals like silver in this environment. "The real signal to me will be the S&P breaks below 3,000, and then at that point ... I would probably start revising my outlook for the year," Minerd said. In a note to clients two weeks ago, Minerd said that "we are in the ludicrous season" because markets had not yet reacted strongly to the coronavirus outbreak. Disclaimer A woman has been charged and will appear in court this afternoon in relation to the fatal stabbing of a man in a residential area of south Dublin on Tuesday morning. Gareth Kelly, 39, from Tallaght, died after receiving knife wounds while attempting to start his car at Brownsbarn Estate in nearby Kingswood at around 7am. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL February 26, 2020 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT, Northrop Grumman Corporations NOC, Raytheon Company RTN and Boeing BA. Here are highlights from Tuesdays Analyst Blog: U.S. India Set to Strike Defense Deal: Stocks to Watch Crucial defense agreements have been the highlight of President Donald Trumps two-day state visit to India this week. The United States is expected to strike military deals worth $3 billion with the South Asian country on Feb 25, which would have the countrys top defense contractors contend for inclusion. Investors keen to consider defense stocks could watch these companies from an investment perspective as they strive for fitting into the much-awaited U.S.-India defense agreements. Lets delve deeper. Defense Stocks Look Forward to Indian Deals India, the worlds fourth biggest defense spender, is setting the stage for a string of defense contracts that could set the ball rolling for American defense firms. In fact, in the week ended Feb 22, the South Asian countrys cabinet cleared $2.6 billion worth of purchase from Lockheed Martin Corp. to the Indian navy. The purchases include 24 multi-role MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters, which are equipped with Hellfire missiles as Times of India reported. The Lockheed Martin helicopters will be procured via foreign military sales from the U.S. government. Shares of Lockheed Martin have risen 37.1%, outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs rally of 18.6% over a year. Northrop Grumman Corporations joint venture with Lockheed Martin (LONGBOW Limited Liability Company) received a five-year sustainment indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for up to $235.8 million to offer post-production support services for the AH-64 Apache helicopter AN/APG-78 LONGBOW Fire Control Radar to global customers. Story continues This is crucial since the Indian Army is set to acquire six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. Shares of Northrop Grumman have gained 25.2%, outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs gain of 18.5% over a year. Per the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, earlier in February, the State Department also gave green signal to a possible sale to the country for $1.87 billion worth of arms and ammunitions. This deal comprises a Raytheon Company Integrated Air Defense Weapon System, which includes radars and missiles. The deal also consists of Raytheon Stinger FIM-92L missiles, M4A1 rifles and communications equipment among other products. Earlier this month, Raytheon and Lockheed Martins Javelin Joint Venture signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian company Bharat Dynamics to co-produce the Javelin anti-tank missile system in the South Asian country. Shares of Raytheon have risen 18.9%, outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs gain of 16.5% over the past six months. Of course, these arent the only military deals that defense firms are banking on. Boeing and Lockheed Martin continue to compete for a huge fighter jet deal worth $15 billion. The contract is to deliver 114 combat planes to the Indian Air Force (IAF). Lockheed Martin even offered to shift its F-16 production line to India from the United States. The company plans to build an enhanced version of its F-21 aircraft as Reuters stated. In order to vie for Lockheed Martins bid to the IAF, Boeing offered its F/A-18 Super Hornet. Overseas defense companies, such as Frances Dassault, Swedens Saab and Russia's United Aircraft Corp. are other contenders for this massive deal. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early. See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Raytheon Company (RTN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) As cases of the novel coronavirus have spread worldwide, San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday declared a local emergency in order to be prepared should the city start seeing confirmed cases. Although no cases have been reported in San Francisco, Breed said the emergency declaration is a precautionary measure that mobilizes city resources, accelerates emergency planning, streamlines staffing and coordinates city agencies, as well as allows for future reimbursement by state and federal governments. So far, three people have been treated in the city for the virus, although those patients were from neighboring counties. Currently, there are 80,239 confirmed cases worldwide, the World Health Organization reported. The virus has killed more than 2,700 people since it first emerged in Wuhan, China, back in December 2019. Although the majority of those cases have been in China, the virus is rapidly spreading across the globe. "While I'm proud of the work that we've done, we're at a point where we will need to do more," Breed said. "With the continued rise of the coronavirus across the world, we need to allocate more resources to make sure that we are prepared. We need more help to do more outreach to the community and to put those resources to work. Today we need to take an official action," she said. "By declaring a state of emergency, we are prioritizing the safety of our community by being prepared," she said. "We want to be ready for what we anticipate may come our way." The San Francisco Department of Public Health's Director Dr. Grant Colfax said, "Given the high volume of travel between San Francisco and mainland China and the spread of the virus to other countries, there is a growing likelihood that we will see cases in San Francisco. We are absolutely committed to keeping the public informed if that happens." City public health officials have been working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the California Department of Public Health, to monitor the latest developments, Colfax said. Breed, along with San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, reminded residents to not discriminate against the city's Asian community out of fear of the virus. "This virus is not a race-based virus," she said, encouraging that "we all do our part to not promote xenophobia." Chu said while she can't quantify the impact the virus has had on the city's Asian, and particularly Chinese, community, she said, "I think many of us feel it and can see it when we go out. I think we've seen many of our restaurants, not only in Chinatown, but across our neighborhoods, sitting empty on days that they'd normally be filled to the brim with people "On Muni, or different locations, we see people who are looked at in a different way simply because they cough or are clearing their throat. We see that there are instances where children even at schools are being picked on or things are being said about their community or their culture," she said. She added, "We just hope that people remember the importance of separating the disease from our community." According to Breed's office, the emergency declaration is effective immediately for the next seven days. The city's Board of Supervisors will vote on the declaration next Tuesday at their regular meeting. Both Santa Clara and San Diego counties have issued similar emergency declarations. 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. VATICAN CITY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - During Lent, Catholics are called on to give up something, like sweets. On Wednesday, Pope Francis added a modern twist to the list of things to quit during the season and beyond: insulting people on social media. The pope made his appeal to tone things down while speaking to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his general audience on Ash Wednesday, the start of the 40-day season that leads up to Easter. Lent, he said in partially improvised remarks, "is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis," he said. "We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet," he said. "Today, people insult each other as if they were saying 'Good Day.'" In recent years, Francis himself has been the butt of insults from ultra-conservative Catholic websites and mostly anonymous anti-pope Twitter feeds. Twitter has also become a platform for sometimes pitched verbal battles between his supporters and detractors. Later on Wednesday, Francis was due to have ashes rubbed on his forehead at a traditional Ash Wednesday service that reminds Christians of mortality and that everyone will someday become dust. During Lent, which is marked by repentance, fasting and reflection, the faithful are also called on to practice more good deeds, such as alms giving, and to be particularly closer to the needy. (Reporting by Philip Pullella Editing by Alexandra Hudson) Convicted fraudster Claudia Gelonese pictured on her wedding day A pregnant childcare worker who stole from her employer has walked free from jail after just one month behind bars. Convicted fraudster Claudia Gelonese, 26, was sentenced to seven months jail in January after ripping off her bosses at Bright Bees Early Learning Centre in Canberra to fund her dream Sydney harbourside wedding. She has launched an appeal against her 'manifestly excessive' sentence handed down by Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston, which was suspended after four months. Gelonese's lawyers appeared in ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, where they successfully argued for Gelonese to be freed from jail to live with her mum in Canberra while waiting for her upcoming appeal to be heard. The disgraced childcare worker still faces the prospect of returning to jail and giving birth behind bars if she loses her appeal next month. Despite granting her bail, Justice David Mossop told the court there was an 'unfortunate absence' of material regarding the chances of Gelonese's appeal, the Canberra Star reported. Now three months pregnant, Gelonese was supported by her husband, mother and and other family members in court. She refused to comment and tried to shield her face from cameras when confronted by waiting media crews outside the court. 'Leave me alone. Goodness,' she was quoted as saying by the Canberra Times. In January, Gelonese wept in court after she pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of breaching a good behaviour order. Claudia Gelonese (pictured right) ripped off her childcare centre bosses to help pay for her elaborate wedding reception at Sydney's Luna Park On top of the jail sentence, she was also ordered to repay the $7,772 she stole to help fund her lavish wedding reception held at Sydney's Luna Park in 2018. Photos from the big day show the bride and her husband posing with a Rolls Royce at the entrance of the famous amusement park. Gelonese also used a work credit card to pay for a shopping spree on Etsy and to hire a graphic designer to make her wedding invitations. The court heard Gelonese's crime spree escalated when she gave her bank details to parents at the centre who paid their feeds directly to her rather than her employers. A victim impact statement from her former boss Amresh Kumar revealed the centre faced scrutiny from regulators under Gelonese's watch. Claudia Gelonese (pictured) has been released from jail but may still give birth behinds bars The centre was warned for breaching industry regulators, and Mr Kumar said Gelonese's record keeping could have had safety implications. 'She was so concerned by taking money she wasn't focusing on the job and was putting children at risk,' he said. Gelonese's lawyers requested a fully suspended sentence. But prosecutor Bridget Atkinson argued Gelonese would have do jail time because she had failed to keep up with community work she had been ordered to serve for a previous offence. 'What I see before me is someone who cannot be trusted, someone who is not reliable and someone who is very quick to impose upon an employer,' Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston. Her appeal is scheduled to return to court in March. [February 26, 2020] AbsenceSoft Announces Newly Promoted Chief Executive Officer and Senior Executive Additions to Its Leadership Team AbsenceSoft is the market leading cloud provider for Total Absence Management to help employers efficiently and cost-effectively manage FMLA, LOA, Disability, and ADA; maintaining full compliance with federal, state, and municipal leave laws. The company announced today it has added multiple executives to its leadership team: John Huettel, a 30 year software/SaaS (News - Alert) veteran has been promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer, and has been named to AbsenceSoft's Board of Directors. Additionally, Joe DiPaulo, a HCM veteran, has joined the company as Executive Vice President of SaaS Operations and Client Success leading professional Services, customer success, technical support operations, and product. Chris Seeger, a HCM SaaS revenue growth veteran, has been hired as Chief Sales Officer, reporting to Huettel. These executive officers with 70+ years of deep HCM and SaaS experience will be instrumental in partnering with leading SaaS growth equity investor, Bow River Capital, to solidify AbsenceSoft's unique and differentiated product vision and strategy. "John's pedigree as an engineer with deep competencies in technology and solutions strategies, along with a superb track recor of profitable growth made him an obvious choice to lead AbsenceSoft. His leadership team of proven C-level executives with outstanding track records delivering for major software firms including Oracle (News - Alert), Salesforce.com, IQNavigator, talentReef, ProfitLogic, PowerPlan, etc. are a perfect fit to lead and operationalize AbsenceSoft through its hyper-growth stage," stated John P. Raeder, Jr., Managing Director and Head of Software Investments for Bow River Capital. He adds, "We have worked closely together preparing the company to transition from start-up phase, and focusing on delivering sustainable customer value, market leading innovation, and record-breaking financial performance." "I strongly feel the AbsenceSoft commitment to client success, combined with our unique and robust platform positions the company to scale exponentially," stated John Huettel, CEO. "I'm passionate about our team we are assembling, our large clients, world class partners, and I am looking forward to leading the company and partnering with Bow River Capital." About AbsenceSoft AbsenceSoft is the market leading cloud-based Total Absence Management platform. The company has one simple goal, to create the best-in-class software to manage FMLA, ADA, and other forms of leave absence easily, efficiently, and cost effectively. AbsenceTracker, its core product, enables companies from major Fortune 500 firms to mid-enterprise organizations to increase compliance, reduce costs, and improve productivity. If you would like more information about AbsenceSoft please visit https://www.absencesoft.com/ or call us at (866) 211-5152. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005630/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Press Release 26 February 2020 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts unveils some of the most authentic ways to experience New York, London, Dubai, Paris, Mexico City, Sydney and Shanghai, inspiring and redefining travel in some of the world's most famous cities in 2020 The curated selection was voted for by the public then ranked by leading travel experts including National Geographic photographer Charlie Hamilton James The InterContinental ICons 2020 will inspire bookable experiences at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts allowing travellers to rediscover their favourite destinations in new and unexpected ways InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest luxury hotel brand, today reveals the most iconic sights, sounds, tastes, smells and sensations that travellers should experience in 2020 if they want to really get to know the city they are visiting. The first ever InterContinental ICons range from the smell of fresh bagels at a West Village shop in New York and the unique flavours of Karak Chai in Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, to enjoying the sight of contrasting old and new architecture in London. The list of experiences was determined through an online public vote and then ranked by a panel of worldly influencers and leading travel experts as the best additions to conventional tourist destinations. The InterContinental ICons will also inspire curated experiences that can be booked at some of the leading InterContinental Hotels and Resorts across the world. Top InterContinental ICons in each city: Advertisements Paris - Smell of oven-fresh bread from the boulangeries of Oberkampf London - The contrast of old and new architecture on the ever-changing London skyline New York - Fresh bagels at a West Village bagel shop Dubai - Tasting the many unique flavours of Karak Chai along Jumeirah Beach Road Sydney - The cool breeze on your face as you ride the Manly to Circular Quay ferry Mexico City - The smoky flavour of tacos al pastor Shanghai - The sound of old songs played on a vinyl record player The campaign was developed based on insight from an independent study by the brand. The research revealed that most locals (59%) feel visitors are missing out on the true spirit of a place, while 75% of luxury travellers want to experience cities like a well-informed local. Jane Mackie, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, IHG Luxury Portfolio, commented: "True to the InterContinental brand's heritage of pioneering luxury travel, we've spent the last few months working with leading experts and canvassing public opinion to uncover truly fascinating and meaningful details that showcase the best of global cities around the world. We are excited to reveal the first ever list of InterContinental ICons as well as curated itineraries to inspire travellers to go deeper." Charlie Hamilton James, Photographer, National Geographic and member of the judging panel commented: "I loved working on the InterContinental ICons campaign - it opened my eyes to the many undiscovered facets that I'd been missing in each of these well-visited cities. Each one holds an infinite number of secrets and experiencing the ICons is just the way to start uncovering them." For more details on InterContinental ICons visit life.intercontinental.com/icons Images, video, infographic, global and London specific statistics & spokespeople available on request Discover the InterContinental ICons New York 1. Fresh bagels at a West Village bagel shop 2. Sipping craft cocktails in a bar in an up-and-coming neighbourhood in Brooklyn 3. The sharp blue sky against the striking architecture of the city skyline seen from the Hudson River Ferry 4. Soaking up the sunshine on a lunchtime picnic in Central Park 5. The astonishing luminosity as you stand on the concourse of the Oculus Mexico City 1. The smoky flavour of tacos al pastor 2. The scent of mezcal just before taking the first sip 3. The surprising downtown museums, like the Palacio de Bellas Artes with its Diego Rivera paintings 4. The contrast of buildings in Zocala, from the plaza and National Palace to the Templo Mayor ruins 5. The view of Paseo de la Reforma in the early morning Paris 1. Smell of oven-fresh bread from the boulangeries of Oberkampf 2. The tickles of the blades of grass during a springtime picnic in the Buttes Chaumont 3. Sounds of laughter and glasses tinkling at apero hour on the terraces in Bastille 4. The washing sound of boats as your stroll along Seine near the haven of Ile Saint-Louis 5. Filling your basket with organic cheeses and prunes from the organic market in Les Batignolles London 1. The contrast of old and new architecture on the ever-changing London skyline 2. A Sunday roast enjoyed by the fireside in an historic, hidden London pub 3. Hearing the market traders and watching the eclectic mix of people on Portobello Road on a Friday morning 4. Spotting the stags emerge in Richmond Park on a misty, autumn morning 5. The thrill of seeing the twinkling lights of the capital as you cross the Thames in a cab at night Dubai 1. Tasting the many unique flavours of Karak Chai along Jumeirah Beach Road 2. The enchanting smell of burning bukhoor, transporting you back in time 3. Sound of water lapping an Abra as it glides along Dubai Creek 4. The crackle of a campfire breaking the silence on a night-time desert escape 5. The fascinating contrast of old and new under the glow of a warm Dubai sunset Sydney 1. The cool breeze on your face as you ride the Manly to Circular Quay ferry 2. The Sydney skyline viewed from a rooftop in Five Ways Paddington 3. The smell of sunblock and a barbeque cooking up on the North Bondi grassy knoll 4. Fish and chips enjoyed barefoot at Kutti Beach 5. The sun on your shoulders on the Hermitage Foreshore walk while you soak up the best views over Sydney Harbour Shanghai 1. The intersection of Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River at Waibaidu Bridge 2. The melodious bells of the clock tower on the Bund 3. The warm aroma of Xiaolongbao at the Temple of the City Gods 4. Brightly lit Lujiazui Financial Centre 5. Old songs played on a vinyl record player Bottles of British vodka brand Smirnoff displayed for sale at the Carrefour supermarket in Spain. (Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Here are the top business, market, and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad: Smirnoff-owner warns on 325m coronavirus hit Diageo (DGE.L), the drinks giant behind brands like Smirnoff vodka and Gordons gin, has warned investors to expect a sizeable impact from the coronavirus epidemic. Diageo, which also owns Guinness, said Wednesday sales in Asia would be up to 325m (423m) lower this year due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. Net sales are forecast to be between 225m and 325m lower due to COVID-19, which would leave operating profit 140m to 200m lower than forecast. Public health measures across impacted countries in Asia Pacific, principally in China, have resulted in: restrictions on public gatherings, the postponement of events and the closure of many hospitality and retail outlets, Diageo said in a statement. Several countries and many businesses have also imposed restrictions on travel. The situation is also dynamic and continues to evolve, meaning the eventual hit to the business may be even worse. Diageo stock was down 2.8%. European stocks fell yet again on Wednesday amid growing fears about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on the worlds major economies. Officials are now warning that an outbreak of COVID-19, as the novel coronavirus is officially known, is now likely in the US. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (^STOXX), which has already had two days of sharp losses, fell by more than 1.5% on Wednesday morning. The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was down by around 1.1% in London. Germanys DAX (^GDAXI) was down by more than 1.2%, while Frances CAC 40 (^FCHI) fell by almost 0.9%. The FTSE 100 closed at a 12-month low on Tuesday, and is now down more than 6% since the beginning of the week. European equities are deep in the red again after Wall Street capitulated on Tuesday on mounting [coronavirus] pandemic fears, and Asia once again took a dive overnight, said Neil Wilson, the chief markets analyst of Markets.com. Story continues William Hill's 10m credit card ban William Hill (WMH.L) has warned that an impending ban on using credit cards to gamble in the UK will cost it 10m. The warning came as the book maker reported better-than-expected results. Net revenue declined by 2% to 1.5bn and pre-tax losses narrowed to 37.6m, compared to a loss of 721.9m in 2018. 2019 was a year of transition during which we executed on our ambition to diversify internationally with the acquisition of Mr Green and the continued strong growth of our US business, said William Hill chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson. The group delivered a strong operating performance, ahead of our expectations and against a challenging regulatory backdrop. As well as the credit card ban, introduced in April, UK regulators have limited the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals as part of a broader gambling crackdown. Frankie & Benny's owner closes restaurants The Restaurant Group (RTN.L) is closing scores more outlets as the casual dining crunch continues. The company, which owns chains like Frankie & Bennys and Chiquito, said Wednesday it would shut 90 restaurants across the UK by the end of the year. It follows 18 closures in 2019. Following extensive review we have defined three clear strategic priorities for the next two years: Grow our Wagamama, concessions and pubs businesses; rationalise our leisure business; and accelerate our deleveraging profile, said chief executive Andy Hornby. Metro Bank (MTRO.L) swung to a huge loss last year as it battled a loan miscalculation fiasco that upended the business. Metro Bank said on Wednesday it made a loss of 130.8m ($170m) last year, compared with a profit of 40.6m in 2018. The bank blamed a 88m write-down of assets, including millions of costs linked to loan issues last year. However, Metro Bank fell to an 11.7m loss on an underlying basis when one-off costs are stripped out. That compared to an underlying profit of 50m in 2018. Revenue shrank by 1% to 400m in 2019 and customer deposits declined by 8% to 14.4bn. Demand for its retail savings account fell by 19% and deposits from commercial customers, not including small businesses, halved. Total assets fell by 1% to 21.4bn. Shares in Metro Bank slumped 6% on Wednesday morning. US oil giant Chevron (CVX) on Tuesday told around 300 staff based at its London office to work from home amid fears that one of its employees has contracted coronavirus. The move will raise fears about the spread of coronavirus in the UK, where only 13 people have been affected by the virus thus far. Chevrons office in the UK capital is located at Canary Wharf, the bustling and densely populated financial district. The employee, who is experiencing flu-like symptoms, recently returned from abroad, and has been sent for testing, according to the Financial Times. Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities, Chevron said in a statement, noting that it would not provide personal details about the employee. The second KWETB Workshop, to discuss how to set up the Villages Working Together Project, took place last night February 25 in Crookstown Education Centre at 7.30pm to 9pm. The project looks at ways to replace business that has been lost in the Villages of Moone, Timolin, Ballitore, Narraghmore, Calverstown and Kilmead following the closure of post offices, Garda Stations, hardware and grocery stores as well as local village creameries. According to organiser Sean Clearly these were the meeting places in the villages where business was transacted and news swapped the heartbeat of South Kildare. The first workshop touched on the creation of an Heritage Route that would guide visitors through all the villages and tell the story of some of the earliest inhabited parts of Ireland. Places are still available to residents interested in putting life and business back into our villages, We could even get our public transport back, he added. He said that a renewed village is still a lonely place but together South Kildare Villages can become a unique international heritage destination. For example Timolin was founded in the seventh century fourteen hundred years ago. The Villages Together Project has been joined by the KWETB to sponsor a series of workshops to see what can be done to replace the traditional businesses (and social outlets) of rural villages in South Kildare which have closed in recent years. This is in areas which have lost vital services and meet up areas even the lcoalgrocery stores as well as local dairies. These were social centres for rural isolated farmers and local people, said Sean Cleary. Bypasses and motorways are merely the final straw. It only remains for churches to close and that will be the final death knell. Real public transport has all but been lost. The first workshop took place in KWETB Education Centre two weeks ago and included representatives from Moone, Timolin, Ballitore, Narraghmore, Calverstown and Kilmead. They discussed the present state of affairs where community voluntary shops and cafes have opened to keep villages alive. However, new trade and attraction will have to be created to replace traditional business, according to Mr Cleary. A heritage trail is just one of the options that is under discussion to attract visitors and tourists and encourage new farm and local enterprise. 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. In 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. 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. 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. New York Times Sanders Leads California Polls, Orange County Hotly Contested, Analysts Say All eyes in California will be on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Orange County, and two particular congressional districts as voters head to the polls March 3 for the states presidential primary elections, political analysts say. While California-based political analysts Tony Quinn and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe differ in their perspectives on many issues, they can agree on one thing: barring any major upsets, Sanders is likely to win the states Democratic primary. Sanders is leading the Democratic field for presidential nominee nationally and in California, recent political polls show. A Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey released Feb. 20 shows Sanders with support at 32 percent among likely Democratic voters in the state, followed by Joe Biden with 14 percent, Elizabeth Warren with 13 percent, Michael Bloomberg with 12 percent, and Pete Buttigieg with 12 percent. Eight percent of voters are undecided, and no other candidate has more than 5 percent. Democratic presidential candidates (LR) former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tom Steyer walk on stage prior to the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 25, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Several other recent political polls show Sanders leading the California Democratic race, but with smaller leads. Nationally, recent general election polls show Sanders slightly ahead of President Donald Trump. Sanders was named the candidate most likely to defeat Trump by 34 percent of voters in the PPIC survey. Sanders is gaining traction among Latino and black voters in the state, said Jeffe, a retired professor of the practice of public policy communication at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California. I think hes taken a lot of that [support] from Biden, and thats important. But the younger voters have always basically been Bernies. Its ideological. Its change. His ideology is far more revolutionary, shall we say. And again, hes got an operation here. Hes got a presence here that other candidates dont, she said. The Democratic Party itself has changed, and the activists are more and more political, Jeffe said. Sanders has an incredible organization. He could hit the ground running because he still had that organization from 2016. It was not surprising that he is ahead. Bernie has been here, and his movement has sustained over the last four years. While Quinn agrees Sanders has the best chance of winning in California, he said Sanders still has a long way to go nationally. He has to win enough delegates in more than a dozen other states to win the nomination. And, even then, he has to defeat Trump to become president. He got 46 percent against [Hillary] Clinton [in 2016]. He has a strong following, and its not unlike Trump, who had a strong following when he first started out. So, it may very well be that Bernie is impossible to stop, and it could very well be that he gets the lions share of delegates on Super Tuesday, said Quinn, senior editor at California Target Book. But having Bernie as a nominee is going to be really hard for the Democrats. He is very far left, you know. The top concern on the minds of most Democratic primary voters is choosing a candidate who can beat Trump in the Nov. 3 general election, Jeffe said. And, their second priority is making sure they defeat any Republican candidates who support Trump. In the Feb. 25 Democratic debate, Sanders came under fire from other candidates for his self-declared socialist agenda. Though Sanders proudly bills himself as a democratic socialist, Jeffe said the term socialism no longer has the same negative connotation it did during the Cold War. For younger voters, socialism is seen more as government involvement, and they are OK with that, Jeffe said. If they are socialists, they are different from what socialists used to be. Socialism doesnt mean what it meant for old geezers like me, which is a synonym for communism. Socialism doesnt mean that anymore. But Quinn disagrees. It certainly does mean that, he said. Thats the problem. A lot of the liberals now are trying to pretend it means something else. There are three major socialist countries in our hemisphere: Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Bernie Sanders says his brand of socialism is more like Denmark and Sweden. But Denmark and Sweden are not socialist countries. The Nordic countries do not have the same government controls characteristic of socialismrather they have private market economies with high taxes to pay for government services. He says socialism means the same thing it always has, and that the 2020 presidential race is all about socialism. Nobody knows what socialism means, but traditionally it has meant control of all aspects of government by a group of reliable bureaucrats, Quinn said. In the Soviet Union, they were called nomenklatura, and these are the bureaucrats who made all the decisions and the five-year plans. There was no private property, no private ownership of anything. Thats what socialism is, and to pretend that its something else is kind of denying what history tells us. On the other hand, even though California is a decidedly blue, one-party state, the rest of America has no intention of electing a socialist to the White House, Quinn said. There is no sign that the people of California want a socialist government, but there is a sign a lot of people here like Bernie Sanders because he picks on the establishment, he said. Hotbed on the Hustings The most highly contested races this election season are mostly in Orange County, a typically red county that flipped to blue in 2018. Republicans lost six seats to Democratic contenders: Congressional races: 39th District: Ed Royce (R) retired. Gil Cisneros (D) defeated Young Kim (R). 45th District: Mimi Walters (R) was defeated by Katie Porter. 48th District: Dana Rohrabacher (R) was defeated by Harley Rouda (D). 49th District: Darrell Issa (R) retired. Mike Levin (D) defeated Diane Harkey (R). State Assembly: Assembly District 74: Cottie Petrie-Norris (D) defeated Matthew Harper (R). State Senate: State Senate District 34: Tom Umberg (D) defeated Janet Nguyen (R). Rob Pyers, research director at California Target Book, said via email that Republicans are fighting hard to claw back these seats from Democrats in 2020. In District 39, Young Kim is running against Gil Cisneros again. Shes benefited this time around from virtually no competition, which has enabled her to outraise Cisneros in a few reporting quarters, Pyers said. Republican candidate for U.S. Congress Young Kim, visits her campaign office in Yorba Linda, Calif., Oct. 6, 2018. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Democratic Party candidate Gil Cisneros campaigns for the United States House of Representatives to represent Californias 39th congressional district during the 2018 midterm elections, in Buena Park, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2018. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images) In District 45, There are a number of Republican candidates trying to unseat Katie Porter, but the fractured field has left things scrambled, Pyers said. There is no clear Republican front runner, and the candidates are burning through whatever cash theyre raising to try to make it out of the primary. Meanwhile, Porter has been a consistently strong fundraiser and has over $3 million on hand. District 48, Pyers said, is becoming bluer, but it still has a strong conservative lean, and Democrats were able to capitalize on running against Dana Rohrabacher in 2018. This time around, the GOP has lined up behind Orange County Supervisor Michelle Park Steel. Shes well-funded and looks poised to give [Harley] Rouda a serious challenge. In District 49, Mike Levin has been raising money at a brisk clip. The Republican in the race has been able to self-fund to a certain extent, but Im not expecting him to be able to mount a competitive effort, Pyers said. In District 74, There are two Republicans running against Cottie Petrie Norris. The most formidable appears to be Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon, Pyers said. While Republicans are trying to claw back these seats, Orange County Republican incumbents in AD55, AD68, AD72, AD73, and SD37 are all going to have targets on their backs, and its not impossible to think that Democrats could gain even more ground in the Legislature in 2020, Pyers said. Vacant Seats Two other races to watch are the 25th and 50th congressional districts. The District 25 seat was left vacant by Democrat Katie Hill, who resigned last November after reports of alleged sexual misconduct. She was accused of sexual indiscretions with a congressional staffer and also admitted to a relationship with a campaign aide in what has been described in the news media as a throuple relationship. Later, nude photos of Hill were published by a political blog, RedState, and the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. Hill served in Congress for less than a year, from Jan. 3Nov. 3, 2019. Democratic congressional candidate Katie Hill speaks to supporters in Stevenson Ranch, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2018. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Primary candidates include Democrats Robert Cooper, Getro Elize, Christopher Smith, Christy Smith, Cenk Uygur, Anibal Valdez-Ortega; Republicans Mike Garcia, Kenneth Jenks, Stephen Knight, David Lozano, Daniel Mercuri, George Papadopoulos; and independent Otis Lee Cooper. Democratic contender Christy Smith is dominating the race so far, Jeffe and Quinn said. Californias 25th congressional district is located in Southern California. It includes part of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. In District 50, former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter resigned his congressional seat after he and his wife, Margaret, pleaded guilty to corruption for using campaign funds for personal expenses. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) walks into federal courthouse in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2019. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) Federal prosecutors alleged that from 2009 to 2016, he spent campaign funds on extramarital affairs with five women, including lobbyists and congressional staff. Hunter resigned Jan. 13 after serving in Congress from 20092020. Competing for the seat are Republicans Darrell Issa, Brian Jones, Carl DeMaio, Nathan Wilkins; Democrats Ammar Campa-Najjar, Marisa Calderon; independents Helen Horvath, Lucinda Jahn, Henry Ota; and Peace and Freedom Party of California candidate Jose Cortes. Democrats have next to no chance of winning in the 50th District, Quinn said. It is the reddest district in the state, which Trump carried with a 58 percent majority in 2016. Its between two guys trying to be the most Trumpy, he said, referring to Issa and Jones. Rep. Darryll Issa (R-CA) is joined by more than a dozen Republican members of Congress as he speaks during a news conference about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program at the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 9, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) This district, numbered as Californias 52nd congressional district from 20092013, covers much of North San Diego County and part of Riverside County. It includes the cities of El Cajon, Escondido, San Marcos, Santee, and Temecula. The Issues The main issue is there are no issues, mainly because the primaries are being held three months earlier than usual, Quinn said. Only about 20 percent of the early ballots have been returned by mail, he said. Neither of Californias two U.S. senatorsDiane Feinstein and Kamala Harris, both Democratsare up for election, and no statewide offices are up for grabs. So all we have are congressional and legislative races. Basically, the only congressional races are Republicans trying to come up with candidates to take on the seven Democrats who were elected last time to Republican seats, said Quinn. Two years ago, I saw lots of yard signs for candidates. There seemed to be a lot of interest. That seems to be lacking right now. Nobody is really following it. The coverage has been very sparse. Homelessness and Housing Affordability In California, the homelessness crisis will most likely be on the minds of voters, especially after Gov. Gavin Newsoms State of the State Address on Feb. 19, in which he focused heavily on homelessness, lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, and mental illness. More than half of the electorate in Orange County believes homelessness is a significant problem, said Jeffe. Its a very serious problem in the big cities, driven by outrageously high housing costs, Quinn said. Homeless men and women sit out on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) Sixty-three percent of Californians say housing affordability is a big problem in their part of the state, and another 25 percent say its somewhat of a problem, the PPIC survey found. About four in ten Californians (44 percent of adults and 38 percent of likely voters) say the cost of living is making them seriously consider moving elsewhere in California or out of state. Younger Californians are more likely to consider moving55 percent of those aged 18 to 34, 45 percent 35 to 54, and 33 percent of those 55 and older. Fifty-four percent of renters are far more likely than homeowners (32 percent) to consider moving. Most who are considering moving say they would leave California rather than relocate within the state. The Economy Both political analysts say California needs more blue-collar jobs, which, along with more affordable housing, could help reduce the homeless population. The lack of jobs at the lower end of the economy is part of the problem, Jeffe said. Youre seeing more families, more people from the middle class who have been fired or laid off living in vans, living in cars. I dont remember it ever being so visible. We dont have the good blue-collar jobs anymore that gave people a start in life, that allowed them to get a nice house at a reasonable price. Thats all disappeared in California, Quinn said. Health Care With the electorate so focused on Trump and the presidential race, health care almost seems to have slipped off the radar, Jeffe said. Its surprising its not health care, she said. Covered California appears to be working well. Covered California allows people to purchase private health care at subsidized rates. Although Quinn agrees that health care is not a major election issue in California, he said it should be. Obamacare has worked relatively well for California, which is why its just crazy to see all these Democrats trashing it, Quinn said. I mean, it took 10 years to get Covered California going. Its an insurance plan. Thats all Obamacare ever was: an insurance plan subsidized by the state. But, it does seem to work, and it does seem to provide health care choice. The fact that Sanders and Warren want to throw the whole thing out, I think, is crazy. Although many middle-class Americans arent happy about the high costs of prescription drugs and soaring health insurance premiums, theyre not ready to dump their employer-based health care systems, he said. School Facilities Bond Proposition 13, known as the School Facilities Bond, is the only ballot measure on the primary election ballot. A Yes vote, supported by Governor Gavin Newsom, would approve a $15 billion state bond program to finance construction and modernization updates for educational facilities. Theres some confusion around it because it has the same designation as another Proposition 13, which capped increases on residential and commercial property taxes in 1978. The original Prop. 13, I call the real Prop. 13, Jeffe said. Partially repealing the real one will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. Meanwhile, last-minute legislation that Newsom signed into law on Feb. 13 could boost independent votes in the Democratic primary. Senate Bill 207, authored by Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), allows voters to submit a signed written request to county election officials to change their political party preference or address within 14 days of an election until the close of polls on Election Day. The registration of the voter will be immediately updated and voters will receive a ballot or provisional ballot. Indian Country remains united as the nation's highest court prepares to hear the only tribal law case on the docket. Oral arguments in McGirt v. Oklahoma are scheduled for April 21 , the U.S. Supreme Court announced on Friday. That's the second to the last possible week for hearings in what has otherwise been an uneventful session for tribes and their advocates. The current term has been a little bit slower, Joel Williams, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund told tribal leaders in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Despite the slow-down in activity, the stakes in McGirt are high. So much so that the leadership of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation , including newly-installed Principal Chief David Hill and Second Chief Del Beaver , came all the way from Oklahoma and visited the Supreme Court. as they filed their brief in the case. "The Nation files this brief to vindicate its core sovereign interests in its treaty-guaranteed Reservation": Big day for Muscogee (Creek) Nation as tribe takes stand in reservation boundary case at Supreme Court. Photo courtesy Jason Salsman/MCN #ThisLand https://t.co/DWaN4PXITy pic.twitter.com/44ikB9OyBA indianz.com (@indianz) February 11, 2020 "The Nation files this brief to vindicate its core sovereign interests in its treaty-guaranteed reservation," the document filed on February 11 stated. The outcome in McGirt will determine whether millions of acres promised to the Creek Nation by treaty remain protected under federal law, or free from state jurisdiction in certain situations. Judging by the response -- six briefs were filed on the same day as the tribe's -- Indian Country is paying close attention, and is drawing in some new allies in the process. "There was one that was a little bit of a surprise to us," Williams said at the National Congress of American Indians winter session in D.C., a day later on February 12. Besides the tribe's filing and NCAI's, which was coordinated with NARF, a number of Indian nations, the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center , several prominent politicians from Oklahoma, former federal prosecutors from both sides of the aisle, along with historians and legal scholars, all signed onto briefs supporting the continued existence of the Creek Reservation. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers -- whose positions aren't always supportive of sovereignty -- was the surprise addition. "NACDL has a particular interest in ensuring that Indian defendants are consistently afforded a federal forum when they are tried for crimes that are subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction," the association of criminal defense attorneys told the Supreme Court. Derrick Beetso (Navajo) of the National Congress of American Indians and Joel Williams (Cherokee) of the Native American Rights Fund are providing an update on US Supreme Court litigation. #ECWS2020 @NCAI1944 @NDNrights pic.twitter.com/wSM4fsvLYP indianz.com (@indianz) February 12, 2020 One Indian defendant whose rights are at issue is Jimcy McGirt, a 71-year-old citizen of the Seminole Nation . He's serving an unusually lengthy prison sentence -- one of his terms runs for 500 years -- for a crime that occurred within the Creek Reservation in Oklahoma. Another Indian defendant impacted is Patrick Dwayne Murphy, a Creek citizen who is on death row for a murder that also occurred within the Creek Reservation. Both he and McGirt were prosecuted by the state, instead of the federal government, as is typical in Indian Country cases. In fact, just two days after the Trump administration said it was going to oppose tribal interests in McGirt, a prominent federal prosecutor was touting the results of another case in which the state of Oklahoma had tried to assert jurisdiction over an Indian defendant. Only this time, official Washington was singing a different tune. "This United States Attorneys Office takes seriously its special trust responsibility to prosecute violent crimes in Indian Country, said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores , a citizen of the Choctaw Nation who was named to his position by President Donald Trump and serves as chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee at the Department of Justice , a body that develops and guides policy in Indian Country. The current term has been a little bit slower, Joel Williams (Cherokee) of Native American Rights Fund says of US Supreme Court. Only 2 cases both about reservation promised to Muscogee (Creek) Nation by treaty are on docket. #ECWS2020 @NDNrights @NCAI1944 #HonorTheTreaties pic.twitter.com/VOX8iHt8PU indianz.com (@indianz) February 12, 2020 Shores's colleagues have yet to file their brief in McGirt. But they have made it clear where they stand -- crimes committed by Indians within the Creek Nation should be prosecuted by the state of Oklahoma, trust and treaty responsibilities notwithstanding. That view also extends to the lands promised to the Cherokee Nation , the Chickasaw Nation , the Choctaw Nation and the Seminole Nation , who are collectively known as the Five Civilized Tribes "For the United States, the expansion of criminal jurisdiction would result in a great increase in the federal governments Indian-related law-enforcement responsibilities and the necessary expenditure of resources, and the reasoning underlying petitioners position could well extend to all of the Five Tribes in eastern Oklahoma," DOJ told the Supreme Court late last month. Collectively, the Five Civilized Tribes were promised about 19 million acres in their respective treaties. That amounts to nearly 40 percent of Oklahoma's land base -- such a large chunk of land is apparently too much for the federal government to handle, at least in the eyes of the current administration. "It is no answer to say, as Oklahoma does, that these crimes will be effectively prosecuted by the state," the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center said in its brief, countering the idea that Indian Country crimes are being properly handled by state authorities. "More often than not, state law enforcement fails even to investigatelet alone arrestthe perpetrators who murder Native women and children." Similar issues were raised when the Supreme Court, during its last term, considered a case known as Sharp v. Murphy . But the justices were unable to reach a decision -- they waited until the last day of their session to punt -- and Patrick Dwayne Murphy remains on death row in Oklahoma for the murder of a fellow Creek citizen. Murphy is once again on the high court's docket. But there will be no oral arguments -- the justices are only hearing McGirt on April 21. There has been no official explanation for the stalemate in Murphy. But tribes and their advocates speculate that the absence of Justice Neil Gorsuch from the case accounted for the inability of his colleagues to come to a consensus on the status of the Creek Reservation. McGirt is a different story. Gorsuch. whose extensive experience in Indian law is unprecedented on Supreme Court history, is participating in the case. There would appear to be no reason for the justices to punt this time around. "A little bit of speculation there," Williams of NARF said at NCAI's meeting this month. "But that's what we suspect is going on." With no other Indian law cases on the docket, April 21 effectively marks the last day of the current session for the Tribal Supreme Court Project , a joint initiative of NARF and NCAI. A decision in McGirt would presumably be issued sometime in May or June. The very last day of the Supreme Court's term falls on the last week of June, according to the calendar Join the Conversation Related Stories Mount Sinai Health System physicians--the first experts in the country to analyze chest computed tomography (CT) scans of patients from China with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)--have identified specific patterns in the lungs as markers of the disease as it develops over the course of a week and a half. The finding, published in the February issue of Radiology, could lead to quicker diagnosis in patients who come in with possible COVID-19 symptoms, and help keep patients isolated in early stages when the lung disease may not show up in initial scans. "This work augments our initial study, which was the first published research study on the imaging findings of COVID-19, and now we are able to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of how lung disease in coronavirus patients manifests and develops. If coronavirus should continue to spread and impact the United States or elsewhere more significantly, this study equips radiologists with the knowledge to recognize and more confidently suggest if a patient has COVID-19 or pneumonia due to another cause," said co-author Michael Chung, MD, Assistant Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This is necessary for prompt diagnosis for any individual patient (which will lead to more rapid and effective care), but also for patient isolation to prevent the spreading of the highly contagious disease." The study encompassed scans of 94 patients that Mount Sinai received from institutional collaborators at hospitals in China. The patients were admitted to four medical centers in four Chinese provinces between January 18 and February 2. Most either had recently traveled to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, or had contact with an infected COVID-19 patient. The cardiothoracic radiologists from Mount Sinai's BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute and its Department of Radiology evaluated each case, took notes of imaging findings, and correlated them with infection time course based on the number of days between symptom onset and the CT scan. Of the 36 patients scanned zero to two days after reporting symptoms, more than half showed no evidence of lung disease--an important finding suggesting that CT scans cannot reliably rule out COVID-19 early in the disease course. For the 33 patients scanned three to five days after symptoms developed, radiologists started to see more patterns of "ground glass opacities" (hazy findings in the lungs), and the abnormalities became more round in shape and more dense. In the 25 patients scanned six to 12 days after symptoms, the scans analysis showed fully involved lung disease. Patterns seen in these images are similar to patterns in related coronavirus outbreaks earlier this century, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). The conclusions from this study are crucial for prompt diagnosis of COVID-19 as well as for efficient patient isolation. When patients first report symptoms of possible COVID-19, they are nonspecific, often resembling a common cold, so it can be difficult to diagnose. A chest X-ray does not reveal lung disease as well as a CT scan does, and confirmatory tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can take several days. The study allows hospitals in the United States and worldwide to confirm or rule out COVID-19 based on CT images. Additionally, if lung scans for patients with early symptoms are inconclusive, doctors can consider holding the patient in isolation for a few days until the disease can be properly ruled in or ruled out. "Just as clinicians are evaluating more patients suspected of COVID-19, radiologists are similarly interpreting more chest CTs in those suspected of infection. Chest CT is a vital component in the diagnostic algorithm for patients with suspected infection, particularly given the limited availability and in some cases reliability of test kits," said lead author Adam Bernheim, MD, Assistant Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "These investigative efforts not only show patterns of imaging findings in a large number of patients, but they also demonstrate that frequency of CT findings is related to disease time course. Recognizing imaging patterns based on infection time course is paramount for not only understanding the disease process and natural history of COVID-19, but also for helping to predict patient progression and potential complication development." "Mount Sinai's imaging programs are leaders in the development and application of novel technologies to improve patients' diagnosis and treatment, and we hope the findings from this study will help advance care for coronavirus patients," added Zahi Fayad, PhD, Director of the BioMedical Imaging and Engineering Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. ### About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality care--from prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Pressed into a rocky cliff-face in the heart of Montenegro, the Ostrog monastery welcomes Orthodox pilgrims to its tranquil sanctuary above a vista of rolling hills and tiny villages. But the peaceful setting belies the religious turmoil that has divided the small Balkan state beneath. Priests and their followers have been taking to the streets for weeks, accusing the government of planning to steal their holy relics and handsome assets through a new law that could turn many of their churches, including Ostrog, into state property. The government, however, insists it is only trying to claim what is rightfully Montenegrin: the hundreds of monasteries that are still run by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), even though Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006. The controversy has brought sensitive debates about identity, nationality and religion to the surface in Montenegro, a tight-knit country of 620,000 wedged in between rugged mountains and the Adriatic sea. President Milo Djukanovic, who led Montenegro's separation from Serbia, says the Serbian church's lingering influence is undermining his country's 14-year independence. But the government's involvement in religious affairs has outraged clergy and many believers in a country where nearly three quarters follow the Orthodox faith. High up inside the halls of Ostrog, Father Jovan Radovic expresses fears that the government wants a cut of the cash left by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit the popular monastery for its purported healing powers. "We think it's something political, and something concerning the money that passes here," he said of the new law passed late December. - Two churches - Under the legislation, religious communities must prove ownership of properties from before 1918 in order to keep them. The rest will go to the state. A core fear of the SPC clergy is that the government plans to transfer their sacred sites to an independent Orthodox Church in Montenegro that would not answer to Belgrade. "The first problem with the law is that a president of a country who is not baptised is going to create a new church," Father Radovic said from Ostrog. "It's incredible". President Djukanovic is open about his desire to build an autonomous Orthodox Church in Montenegro -- similar to Ukraine's split from Russia. In reality, however, he has a long way to go. An independent Montenegrin church was declared in the 1990s but it still pales in comparison to its Serbian big brother. It has only 40 sites of worship and no more than 20 priests, compared to the SPC's 650 churches on Montenegrin land. The Montenegrin church has also not been recognised by the world's major Orthodox power centres, denting its credibility. But its 82-year-old leader, Bishop Mihajlo Dedeic, hopes the new law will be "positive" for his flock. Sporting long robes and wispy white beard, the affable Bishop works out of a modest house in the central town of Cetinje, where the SPC also bases its Montenegro branch in a sprawling stone monastery down the road. "By returning the monasteries and churches to the state of Montenegro, we will establish some other avenues for the two Orthodox churches to resolve the property issues," Dedeic told AFP, saying he hoped a "compromise" could be reached for both churches to share the houses of worship. - 'Fairly new concept' - Like many Balkan disputes, the church rivalry stretches far back into history. In this case, it is a disagreement about the status of the Orthodox faith a century ago. Was there an autonomous Montenegrin church before 1918, when the country fused with Serbia? Or was the church there always an extension of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as SPC clergy insist? "To be frank there is no way we can determine that," said Emil Hilton Saggau, a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen who has researched the topic extensively. "The concept of nationality and church independence is a fairly new one," he said. Today, however, debates about national identity are centre stage, carving sharp divides in a country where around a third of the population identifies as Serb. Tens of thousands have made their anger known in weekly church-led protests since the law was passed in December. But others feel that justice is finally being done. "All churches in Montenegro are Montenegrin," says an exasperated Ljubica Marinovic, a citizen in Cetinje. "We do not go to other countries and take over their churches." A 62-year-old man charged with the decades-old killing a wealthy Gold Coast inventor has appeared in a Brisbane court. Philip Michael Stearman, formerly of the Gold Coast, was extradited from Tasmania to Brisbane on Tuesday, where he was charged with one count of murder. Hugo Benscher, 89, was killed more than two decades ago. Credit:Queensland Police Service The Launceston man has been remanded in custody to appear in court again on March 23 after a brief appearance in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday. He was represented by the duty lawyer, who told the court Mr Stearman had been given a legal aid application form. In the days since Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders decisively won the Nevada caucuses, the political commentariat has been treating him not merely as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination but as the presumptive nominee with the socialist's supporters ecstatic and just about everyone else in a full-on panic. But Tuesday night's Charleston, South Carolina debate showed that this consensus formed prematurely. Sanders might be the frontrunner, but he's got a long way to go before he locks down the nomination. Which means that the just-slightly-less-panicked narrative that prevailed in the week leading up to the Nevada vote was the one rooted more firmly in the political reality of the present. The Democratic field remains deeply, chaotically divided. Sanders may be in the lead, but this is to a large extent a function of the inability of any other single candidate to consolidate support from those voters who aren't sold on making a left-wing non-Democrat into the party's standard-bearer and choice to take on, and hopefully take down, Donald Trump. On Tuesday night, that lack of unity in the party was on vivid display. Sanders had a fine night, but not a great one. He was placed on the defensive at various points, as pretty much everyone else on stage went after him on whether a man who's proposing trillions of dollars in spending and has a record of saying positive things about Fidel Castro's Cuba could beat Trump. No one managed to land a body blow, but Sanders did nothing much to help himself in South Carolina's primary this Saturday or in the numerous upcoming contests to be held on Super Tuesday. And in keeping with the shape of the race over the past several months, none of the alternatives distinguished themselves either at least not enough to change its dynamic. Former vice president Joe Biden is leading in most of the polls in South Carolina, largely because of strong support from African-American voters. He didn't do anything in the debate to alter that in a negative direction, but it's unlikely he did much to help himself either. Biden sounded like he always does in these settings: irritable, angry, often verbally and cognitively incoherent, overly eager to name-check Barack Obama, and prone to insisting he's sponsored bills to do everything his rivals propose. It was standard Biden, and it's hard to imagine anyone changing their mind about him on the basis of what happened in Charleston. Story continues Former New York City mayor and media mogul Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, had a much better night than he did last week in Las Vegas. He again sounded awkward and defensive when confronted about various issues in his past Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren again worked to eviscerate him about his use of non-disclosure agreements in settlements with female employees at his company but unlike in the last debate, he spent the bulk of the evening answering questions about policy, and sounded confident and competent doing so. This was especially true when he pivoted from a question about his mayoral efforts to combat obesity to a discussion of fighting the coronavirus the evening's first mention of of the pandemic or its negative impact on the stock market this week. Warren also had a solid night, displaying her toughness in going after both Bloomberg and Sanders, and speaking passionately and thoughtfully about her own agenda and presidential ambitions. But then former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg also did well, effectively skewering Sanders on the electability question and several of his many wildly ambitious policy proposals. Buttigieg also wisely avoided picking pointless and mutually diminishing fights with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, as he did in last week's debate. Klobuchar's performance was steady as well. She didn't have any breakout moments, but she was her usual self: proud of her Midwestern pedigree, slightly wonky in her comments on policy, and firmly committed to centrism and working pragmatically with (the very few) moderates who remain on the other side of the aisle. And there lies the problem. No one broke away from the pack. No one tanked. The frontrunner did fine but not great. Those who struggled last time did better. Everyone was very on brand. Where does that leave us as we head into a dense week of primaries that will end with more than a third of the delegates pledged to candidates? Quite possibly with Biden winning South Carolina and several states in the South, Sanders winning California and a handful of other contests, Bloomberg winning Florida and Virginia, Warren winning her home state of Massachusetts, Klobuchar winning her home state of Minnesota, and billionaire Tom Steyer (who also had a fine night) picking up a few delegates in South Carolina, where he's in double digits in some polls. Heck, maybe even Mayor Pete will eke out a win somewhere. In short, the race remains a scrum, with a contested convention a real possibility. On Tuesday night, the possibility of such an outcome increased quite a lot. Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Naming Mike Pence coronavirus czar with 'zero experience in the medical area' is 'a total joke,' says 2014 Trump Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears US President Donald Trump arrived with his wife Melania Trump and a team of a 12-member delegation along with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner in India on Monday. Twitter/Narendra Modi In their two-day visit to the country, US First Lady Melania Trump also attended the Happiness Class at the Sarvodaya Co-Educational Senior Secondary School in Delhi and interacted with the students. However, what stood out from her visit is a little boy who broke into an impromptu dance while watching a performance prepared for Melania. Everyone around was impressed by his incredible dance moves and Melania was seen smiling looking at the kid. Checkout the full video here- #WATCH Delhi: First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump watches a dance performance by students at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School in Nanakpura. pic.twitter.com/dBCuTzvymF ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020 In the video, posted by ANI, Melania can be seen turning towards the audience while the on-stage bhangra performance was on. As the camera zooms out, you can see few kids dancing to the song in the audience. Among them is the little boy who won Melania's heart with his incredible dance moves. Not just her, but the dance moves of the little boy also left the people on the internet impressed. The video has already garnered over 280K views and there have been more than 1.2K retweets. Heres what the people have to say about the little kids dance moves- Whoa! Go sardaarji IndianNationalists (@IndianN77560063) February 25, 2020 What say? Zaroorat naa hai happiness class ki, chahiye 1 sardar aur bangra bas kafi hai!!!! CA Parikshit Ghosh (@ParikshtGhosh17) February 25, 2020 Too cute. Melania meet that kid. pic.twitter.com/bsT4WxOA1m Anup Sayare (@sayareakd) February 25, 2020 Indeed. We agree!! There should be such government schools all over India. Kautilya Pandit( Google boy (@Kautilyapandit9) February 25, 2020 True This is happiness personified. Shashi Ranjan Prasad (@srprasad324) February 25, 2020 Lucknow, Feb 26 : The Samajwadi Party has come out in support of Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan and his family after the latter surrendered and were sent to jail in Rampur. SP state President Naresh Uttam told reporters that the cases against Azam Khan were a result of political vendetta by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. "He is a law-abiding citizen who has faith in the judiciary. This is the reason why he and his family have surrendered. We are confident that he will emerge victorious after this trial," Uttam said. The Samajwadi Party has supported Azam Khan ever since cases against him were registered by the Rampur administration. Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had even held a press conference a few months ago where he directed party workers to launch an agitation in support of Azam Khan. Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Chandra Mohan said that the arrest of Azam Khan was a result of the Yogi Adityanath government's zero tolerance policy against corruption. [February 26, 2020] Fee Free Trading on Biteeu, a Charity Oriented Cryptocurrency Exchange SYDNEY, Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Biteeu digital currency exchange launches in Australia this week with an unprecedented "good causes" campaign to rescue Australian forests and animals, affected by disasastrous fires that broke out in the country in 2019. Therefore Biteeu will be donating its 3 months revenue to Australia Wildfires Relief Fund by GlobalGiving. By doing so, Biteeu intends to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency communities and charitable organisations in Australia and around the world. In addition, during the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange in Australia, the first 20,000 clients will have a chance to trade fee-free until April 20, 2020. This will allow beginners and professional traders to benefit from the rapidy growing and volatile cryptocurrency market by trading with zero commission. Thanks to a partnership with Bittrex, Biteeu has the most liquid order book in Australia, which allows institutional investors to add Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their portfolios and start trading without experiencing a lack of liquidity or market depth. Biteeu lets you buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with Australian dollars. At the moment, exchange supports 70+ major cryptocurrencies from around the world and this list is constantly expanding. For your comfort, Biteeu gives you an opportunity to choose an interface that is most convenient for you, each of which includes all necessary tools that allow you to take profit or stop your losses, even when you are away from your computer. All these steps demonstrate the willingness of Biteeu from day one to contribute to the restoration of the environment, help those in needs and change the perception of the people about cryptocurrency exchanges by donating completely all revenues to charity and letting them benefit from zero fee trading. According to the management of an exchange, they plan to run similar "good cause" campaigns with charitable organisations on a regular basis both in Australia and around the world. It should be noted that Biteeu is registered with AUSTRAC, which means that it is fully compliant with local laws and regulations. SOURCE Biteeu [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Michigan church offers 'drive-thru ashes' on Ash Wednesday Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A church in the Detroit, Michigan area is offering drivers the ashen cross of Ash Wednesday, as well as prayers, in observance of the start of the liturgical season of Lent. St. Davids Episcopal Church of Southfield is holding a Drive-Thru Ashes event on Wednesday at their propertys driveway from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The Drive-Thru Ashes event is in addition to two worship services featuring both Communion and the imposition of ashes, at 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET, respectively. St. Davids Episcopal Rector Chris Yaw told The Christian Post on Thursday that the event was first observed a few years ago to minister to those too busy to attend an Ash Wednesday service. Episcopal churches have been doing what they call ashes on the go for a long time, explained Yaw, who credited the churchs music director with the idea. So we made up some signs, we put a half mile down the road one way, half mile down the road the other way, drive-thru ashes a half mile ahead. According to Yaw, the event has grown over the past few years. While dozens of drivers came in their inaugural Drive-Thru Ashes event, last year well over 500 people stopped by. When 500 people drive by and want ashes on Ash Wednesday, it tells you that people want to pray more than they are able to give time to do so, he said. In addition to the imposition of ashes on the forehead, participants in the drive-thru event will also hand out prayer cards and, if asked, will pray with motorists who come to their driveway. Yaw also told CP that in the past some people, without being asked, donated money. Last year, the church received around $800 from drivers, all of which was directed to charity. An important date for churches that observe the liturgical calendar, Ash Wednesday is observed with a worship service centered on a reminder that all people are destined to die. A key part of the service is ashes, often derived from burned branches from last years Palm Sunday, are placed on the forehead of a worshiper in the form of a cross. St. Davids Episcopal is not the only church in the United States offering drive-thru ashes. This year, Munholland United Methodist Church of Metairie, Louisiana, will be hosting a similar annual event. In a 2016 interview with CP, the Rev. Tim Smith of Munholland UMC explained that their event was about taking the church into the community and meeting people where they are. Many of the people who came through yesterday were on their way to or from work or unable to attend services at their church, said Smith at the time. "They wanted to 'start their day' with the observance of Lent and the marking of ashes. It's a reflection of the still strong spiritual hunger and desire still very much a part of people's lives." SAGINAW, MI An oil sheen on the Pine River in Midland County resulting from a spill in the St. Louis area is expected to flow downstream into Saginaw County and officials say the public should avoid contact with the Tittabawassee River until its contained. Cleanup efforts involving officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and first responders are underway. The public may observe a sheen on the Tittabawassee River over the next few days as waters flow downstream to the Tittabawassee River in Midland County and ultimately into Saginaw County, according to a Saginaw County Sheriffs Office news release issued late Tuesday night, Feb. 25. People should avoid contact with Tittabawassee River in Saginaw County until the substance has been contained and officials are sure the spill has not progressed downstream. On Tuesday, officials with the city of Midland were notified of the petroleum sheen approximately four to five miles in length located upstream of Midland. Following an on-site investigation, EGLE officials determined the sheen was caused by motor oil leaking from heavy equipment at a residence in St. Louis, according to a city of Midland press release. According to a Gratiot County Emergency Management news release issued Wednesday, Feb. 26, officials have traced the source of the spill to a rural property on East Jackson Road. The source appears to be a large industrial electrical transformer on the property, which the owner acquired from West Branch. The property owner drained some of the oil into drums on site, but the transformer was still leaking when EGLE officials arrived at the scene. The oil entered a county drain, which flows to Bush Creek, a tributary which flows north to the Pine River in Midland County, according to the release. Gratiot County Emergency Management officials, with cooperation from St. Louis Area Fire Department chief and the property owner, placed mitigation measures over the ground drain, taped the outlet of the drain to the ditch, and four chemical absorbent booms into the waterway, the release states. At the request of officials, the property owner contacted Bierlein Companies Inc., a licensed private environmental cleanup company, to respond. The company will conduct testing of the materials released as well as further mitigation and remediation. EGLE Incident Manager Eric VanRiper has requested the spill materials be tested for PCBs/PBBs, the release states. At this time in Gratiot County, there is no reason to believe there is concern of contamination to municipal or private well drinking water. Additional authorities that are advised and ready to assist include: Gratiot County Drain Commission, MidMichigan District Health Department, Gratiot County Sheriffs Department, and Michigan State Police/Emergency Management Homeland Security Division. Anyone who has questions or additional information about this incident may call the EGLE Pollution Emergency Alerting System Hotline at 800-292-4706. Related news: Petroleum sheen on Pine River is motor oil, Midland officials say Cleanup of Michigans largest Superfund site, begun in 1998, could take 7 more years Vote for the Best Burger in Bay City, Saginaw and Midland region COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT No. 52/2020 Tvis, 26 February 2020 Ole Lund Andersen steps down as CEO. Torben Paulin appointed new CEO of TCM Group TCM Group CEO Ole Lund Andersen has decided to step down as CEO to focus on board assignments. Torben Paulin, 54 years old, has been appointed as new CEO, and will take over on 1 March, 2020. Torben Paulin comes from a position as CEO/chairman of lighting company Frandsen Group. Previously, Torben Paulin was CEO of tyre and wheel firm Nordisk Dk Import and CEO of furniture group BoConcept. CEO Ole Lund Andersen: In 2019 we continued our growth journey and delivered an organic growth of almost 12%. I am extremely proud of the strong development the company has achieved during many years in a row. I have been the CEO for the past 12 years, and TCM Group is in a very good shape. I have therefore decided that now is the right time for me to step down and instead focusing entirely on board assignments. I am pleased to hand over to a strong successor, and I am convinced that TCM Group will continue its growth journey in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia. Chairman Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae: I want to thank Ole for his important contributions in making TCM Group a leading and the most innovative kitchen manufacturer in Scandinavia. The development of TCM Group over the past years has been outstanding. I respect Oles decision, and I am very pleased that we have been able to attract an experienced candidate in Torben Paulin, with a strong and international background from durable goods and the retail industry. New CEO Torben Paulin: I have followed TCM Group from the outside for many years, and the growth has been impressive. I look forward to join TCM Group and be part of this great company. I am confident that there is a significant potential in the different brands both in Denmark and in the rest of Scandinavia. Contact For further information, please contact: Chairman Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae +45 97435200 CEO Ole Lund Andersen +45 97435200 IR Contact - ir@tcmgroup.dk Story continues About TCM Group TCM Group is Scandinavias third largest manufacturer of kitchens and furniture for bathrooms and storage. The products are Danish design, produced in Denmark and rooted in a proud tradition of good quality and good craftsmanship. TCM Group pursues a multi-brand strategy, under which the main brand is Svane Kkkenet and the other brands are Tvis Kkkener, Nettoline and kitchn. Combined, the brands cater for the entire price spectrum, and are sold through c. 135 dealers in Denmark and the rest of the Scandinavia. In addition, TCM Group sells private label kitchens through DIY stores in Denmark and independent kitchen stores in Norway. See www.tcmgroup.dk for more information. Attachment CITY OF OSWEGO, NY. -- A man has been charged with raping a child he met on an app in Oswego County. The child was younger than 15 years old, the Oswego City Police Department said. Dwayne F. Arruza, 42, of 97 Center St., Apt. 1, Waterloo, was arrested Monday morning and charged with raping and sexually abusing a child. He met the child through MeetMe, free app that allows users to chat with others nearby app users, Lt. Damian Waters said. Arruza has also been accused sending graphic messages to child, police said. The Waterloo man has been charged with: Second-degree rape, a felony Second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony First-degree disseminating indecent material to minors, a felony Second-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor Endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor As of Wednesday morning, Arruza remained in the Oswego County Jail. Hes due to reappear in Oswego City Court on Feb. 27. The investigation remains open. Police have asked anyone with information about Arruza to call the police departments Criminal Investigation Division at (315) 342- 8201 or leave an anonymous tip on the departments tip line at (315)342-8131. 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, a story idea or a comment? You can reach me at shouse@syracuse.com | text/call (315) 466-4160 | Twitter | Facebook We now hear producer Sajid Nadiadwala is planning to cast Ranveer and Mahesh together in a feature film. Relax. Its not what you think, though it may soon happen. We are talking about Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu who is in Mumbai as you read this, shooting a Thums Up ad with Ranveer Singh. And the two superstars are killing it with their colaboration. A source very close to the project informs, Ranveer and Mahesh really get along well. They make for a contrasting companionship. Ranveer is outgoing, exuberant and talkative. Mahesh is reticent, shy and a man of few words. Whenever they meet to shoot their Thums Up ads, they get along really well. We now hear producer Sajid Nadiadwala is planning to cast Ranveer and Mahesh together in a feature film. This, we have to see. WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Wednesday declined to release the son of a fugitive Mexican drug kingpin pending the start of the sons narcotics trial. Federal prosecutors had argued last week that Ruben Oseguera was a obvious flight risk and should remain in custody. Oseguera, who was extradited overnight from Mexico before his initial court appearance on Friday, had requested extra time in order to hire a lawyer. The new defence lawyer, Danny Onorato, opted not to oppose the governments position, clearing the way for Osegueras trial to begin this Friday. Oseguera, 30, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine and meth, and use of a firearm in commission of a drug trafficking offence. If convicted, he faces at least 15 years in prison. His father is Nemesio Oseguera, also known as El Mencho, is the reputed head of a Jalisco New Generation drug cartel. Nemesio Oseguera remains a fugitive; the U.S. government offering $10 million for information leading to his arrest. The younger Oseguera, known as El Menchito, was arrested in 2015 and spent several years fighting extradition. Federal prosecutor Brett Reynolds told the court last week that Jalisco New Generation is considered by the United States to be one of the largest, most dangerous drug cartels and that Ruben Oseguera constituted a serious flight risk and should remain in government custody. To date, there are no confirmed cases of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in Ireland however the HSE has confirmed that 90 suspected cases of Coronavirus have been tested in Ireland thus far. The National Public Health Emergency Team met on Tuesday as part of its continuous assessment of Irelands response and preparedness to Covid-19. The National Public Health Emergency Team has stated the affected regions to include Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran, four regions in northern Italy (Lombardy, Veneto Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont) alongside mainland China. It has also recommended that the upcoming Ireland vs Italy rugby match on Saturday, 7 March not to go ahead on public health grounds. Speaking after the National Public Health Emergency Team meeting, Minister for Health Simon Harris, said: The National Public Health Emergency Team continues to monitor Ireland's preparedness in light of the evolving situation in Europe and globally. Todays recommendations reflect the continuous assessment and adaptation capability of Irelands response to COVID-19, which will be ongoing as the situation unfolds. I welcome the recommendation to cancel the Ireland v Italy rugby match, which was made in the interest of public safety." Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer in the Dept of Health, elaborated: Having assessed recent developments in Europe and globally, Ireland remains in a Containment Phase. However, based on European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) guidelines, the cancellation of mass gatherings in this phase is justified in exceptional circumstances, and todays recommendation to cancel the Ireland v Italy rugby match is based on the rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak in northern Italy, and the consequent risk of importation of cases into Ireland were the match to go ahead. Additionally, National Public Health Emergency Team has established a subgroup to develop criteria for the risk assessment of other mass gatherings. These criteria will be based on guidance from the European Centre for Disease Control and WHO." The National Public Health Emergency Team has identified a new case definition to include Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Iran & four regions in northern Italy (Lombardy, Veneto Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont) alongside mainland China. Therefore, Irelands public health advice is now updated to: Anyone who has been to an affected region (mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Iran & four regions in northern Italy) in the last 14 days AND is experiencing symptoms should self-isolate and call their GP Anyone who has been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days AND is experiencing symptoms should immediately self-isolate and call their GP. Anyone who has been to an affected region (China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Iran & four regions in northern Italy) in the last 14 days, and are well, should visit www.HSE.ie for advice In a pair of tweets from India on Monday, President Donald Trump called for the recusal of two Supreme Court justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in all Trump, or Trump related, matters! It was, in some sense, another piece of Donald Trumps lawless gibberish, spotlighting his trademark failure to understand the differences between judges and politicians, dissents and public speeches, bias and judicial opinion, law and, erm, life. But it also fell neatly into a long-standing pattern that is worth noting even if it is the result of his own incomprehension: The president is single-mindedly intent upon insulting judges and justices, demanding their silence, and destabilizing the judiciary itself. Advertisement His tweets tagged a TV segment about a Sotomayor dissent from last Friday, in which the justice accused the court majority of allowing the Justice Department to leapfrog over the lower courts to give premature wins to this administration. The decision resolved a dispute over a lower court ruling that had temporarily blocked Trumps public charge rule from going into effect, in Trumps favor. Sotomayors dissent never mentioned the president. Sotomayor accuses GOP appointed Justices of being biased in favor of Trump, he tweeted. Trying to shame some into voting her way? She never criticized Justice Ginsberg when she called me a faker. Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related matters! While elections have consequences, I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a lengthier rant in India later the same day, Trump said that Ginsburg should recuse because she went wild during the campaign when I was running, he said. I dont know who she was forperhaps she was for Hillary Clinton, if you can believe itbut she said some things that were obviously very inappropriate. He added that Justice Sotomayor said what she said yesterday. You know very well what she said yesterday. It was a big story. And I just dont know how they can not recuse themselves for anything having to do with Trump or Trump-related. Evidently, with Trumps financial records case about to be heard at the high court, its a good time to start accusing individual justices of bias. Besides, who really even notices anymore? Its hard to devote the time and brain space to being appalled; after all, the president was only just wrapping up his attacks on Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who oversaw the Roger Stone sentencing last week. Hed falsely accused her of being the Judge that put Paul Manafort in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure? He also went after the forewoman of the jury in the same case, in a move that should chill anyone from participating in jury service. Roger Stone similarly expended energy trying to have Jackson removed from his criminal case based on her oral statement at his sentencing that acknowledged that the jurors on his case had served with integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Jackson, unwilling to tolerate the comedy stylings of men who hate judges for fun and profit, speedily dismissed Stones motion by noting that it was garbage, and then stood up for the juror. At bottom, given the absence of any factual or legal support for the motion for disqualification, the pleading appears to be nothing more than an attempt to use the Courts docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words judge and biased in it, Jackson wrote Sunday. She added, perhaps presciently, that if parties could move to disqualify every judge who furrows his brow at one side or the other before ruling, the entire court system would come to a standstill. Of course that is precisely what this president seeks to do, both on the disqualifying end and also on the standstill end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No doubt Chief Justice John Roberts has given up trying to tame the president as well. We can certainly add Trumps attacks on the two justices, the judge, and the forewoman, to the pile of attacks on Nancy Pelosi, Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill, Pam Karlan, and all the other women who dare to speak against him. But almost buried in Saturdays bombshell report from Jonathan Swan at Axios about new Trump purges spearheaded by outside conservative activists (including Clarence Thomas wife, Ginni Thomas, and Republican Senate staffer Barbara Ledeen) is a creepy detail about former D.C. U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu, who was removed from that position and then had her nomination for a top Treasury role withdrawn last month. Among Lius acts of disloyalty, apparently, is her failure to indict former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and the fact that she held a leadership position in a womens organization that is pro-choice. The politicization of the DOJ, as reported this weekend by the New York Times, has a lingering odor of vengeance and retribution. Liu was by all accounts a good soldier. But she allegedly let the president down on his series of much-wanted prosecutions of Andrew McCabe, violent inauguration protesters who plotted to disrupt the inauguration, and, apparently, Brett Kavanaugh accusers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No doubt Attorney General Bill Barr, who complained last week that the presidents tweets were making it impossible to do his job, has worked through his qualms about direct attacks on sitting Supreme Court jurists and growing paranoia and despair at the DOJ. No doubt Chief Justice John Roberts, who last year took on Trumps claim that there are Bush judges and Obama judges, has given up trying to tame the president as well. After all, members of his own courtspecifically, Clarence Thomassay the same things, in print. So does Thomas wife, Ginni, who is paid to staff up the Trump administration with friends and cronies, even as her husband sits on cases that involve the president and the agencies she seeks to reshape. But no justice who supports Donald Trump, his policies, and his Justice Department would ever be asked to recuse based on a perception of a conflict of interest. That would be asinine. Advertisement Advertisement There should probably be a 21st century corollary to the oft-repeated aphorism that all tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. It should go something like this: All tyranny needs to cement that foothold is for people of good conscience to believe that speaking up once and believing youre done now is sufficient. The Justice Department, the independent judiciary, the intelligence services, and the State Department are under daily assault. The capitulation of those who spoke up and have gone silent speaks volumes, not only to the people looking over their shoulders instead of doing their jobs, but to the person who prides himself on quashing all dissent. By Ofeliya Afandiyeva French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that Azerbaijan and France must increase the trade turnover as the current volume of exports and imports do not reflect the full potential of the two countries. "I consider that the potential of trade between our two countries is not fully realized and we need to increase our exports and imports. In 2019, bilateral trade amounted to 750 million euros ($811,366,190.97), which 600 million of it ($649,366,615.83) accounted for oil imports, Jean-Yves Le Drian told local media. He stressed that it is necessary to improve trade balance between the countries by further developing cooperation in a number of sectors such as energy, including alternative energy sector, in which French companies offer real value for Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy has ambitious plans for new wind and solar power stations. I am disappointed that although French companies are world leaders in this sphere, they were not chosen for the pilot projects. However, I am confident that more will be done in the near future. Agriculture and environment are also other sectors in which our practice can help to strengthen our economic relations. As I just mentioned, energy is an important area for collaboration. The French company Total operates in the Azerbaijani market and will soon be able to participate in the export of gas from the country. We hope to sign new agreements, " the minister said. Speaking about the cooperation between Azerbaijan and France last year, Le Drian noted that 2019 was a fruitful year for the bilateral economic relations. "Our embassy organized the visit of an important business delegation of Medef (the major national business organization in France) led by its President Monsieur Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux. A delegation consisted of 43 French companies, both large and medium-sized. They were received met at the highest level of government and participated in a vast France-Azerbaijan Business Forum with Azpromo. Equally important is the fact that our Minister of Finance and Economy, Monsieur Bruno Le Maire, met with President Ilham Aliyev and with ministers in Baku last summer and discussed a number of issues relating to our economic partnership covering 5 priority sectors, i.e. environment, transport, energy, security and finance. Indeed a very active year which I hope will be followed by the implementation of many bilateral projects," he underlined. The conclusion of a trade agreement will be an important element in the development of trade and investment between our countries. I am sure of this and hope for a quick solution, the minister noted. As for the new partnership agreement, which is being negotiated between the European Union and Azerbaijan, Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed out that France and Azerbaijan will both benefit from the partnership agreement. Azerbaijan is Frances main economic and trade partner in the South Caucasus. In 2018, 2.4 percent of Frances total trade turnover with the three countries of the South Caucasus accounted for Azerbaijan. In 2019, France accounted for 3 percent of Azerbaijani exports and 2.1 percent of imports, the Executive Director of the Azerbaijani Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication Vusal Gasimly told local media recently. He offered expanding the export of the non-oil sector to France to include hazelnuts, fruits, vegetables, dates, wine and other agricultural products. Executive Director also mentioned that being the third largest economy in Western Europe (after Germany and the UK) France, has a number of large corporations that could participate in the Azerbaijani economy and help bring new technologies to the country, create new jobs and increase competitiveness and export opportunities. Azerbaijan-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry was established in 2016 and aims to develop mutually beneficial economic and friendly relations between the two countries. The Chamber's mission is to provide its members with unique networking opportunities. The Chamber organizes official events on pressing issues on a monthly basis, at which assistance is offered to the member-companies in developing the business through their platform. Presently, the Chamber has over 60 local and international member companies. Note that railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures have the biggest share in Frances exports to Azerbaijan. France, in turn, imports from Azerbaijan petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled are the trade main products. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz US Attorney General William Barr WASHINGTON Attorney General William Barr appointed a new director of the federal prison system Tuesday, continuing a leadership makeover following the August suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Michael Carvajal, a career Bureau of Prisons official who had been serving as an assistant director, was elevated to the top spot to succeed Kathleen Hawk Sawyer. Barr had appointed Hawk Sawyer to serve as director in the days after Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, prompting a bureau-wide shakeup of the nation's largest prison system. Hawk Sawyer served a previous term as director before being tapped again in August. Part of her short second tenure, Barr said, was to assist in identifying a "permanent director." "I am grateful for Kathys service and that she has agreed to stay on as a senior advisor to assist the bureau with this transition," Barr said. Carvajal began his career in 1992 as a corrections officer and has steadily risen in ranks since then, serving as a lieutenant, captain, associate warden and warden. He was promoted as director of the agency's Northeast Region in 2016. "Michaels nearly 30 years of experience with the bureau will serve him exceptionally well as he takes on these new responsibilities, and I am confident he will do an outstanding job as director," Barr said. Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial following last month's indictment on charges of sex trafficking and sex-trafficking conspiracy. Federal prosecutors alleged that he "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, and at other locations from 2002-2005. He was found unresponsive in his cell in August at the federal detention center in Manhattan and transported to nearby New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. After Epstein suicide: Bureau of Prisons tells guards: Stop surfing the web and watch inmates Story continues 'Coward': 'Robbed of our day in court': Accusers rip 'coward' Jeffrey Epstein in court hearing Tuesday The suicide launched three federal investigations, one resulting in the indictment of two officers who were charged with falsifying records, stating they had checked on disgraced financier in the hours before he hanged himself. Republican and Democrat lawmakers said the suicide underscored deeper problems within the vast prison system which has struggled with persistent staffing shortages. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the suicide a "profound indictment of the system," while Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the Epstein death exposed a "crisis of public trust" within the agency. Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy Palm Beach resident charged with having teenage girls give him sexual massages, was in court Monday morning to enter a plea after nearly two years, June 30, 2008. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AG Barr names new federal prison director in continuing make-over Myanmar President U Win Myint arrived in India on Wednesday on a four-day visit during which he will hold talks with the top leadership here to deepen bilateral ties. The Myanmarese president is also expected to visit Agra and Bodh Gaya following his official meetings in New Delhi. He is accompanied by First Lady Daw Cho Cho. "The relationship at the heart of our 'Neighbourhood First' & 'Act East' policy. President U Win Myint along with Daw Cho Cho arrived for his first state visit to India. Our ties with Myanmar have continued to steadily expand in all dimensions," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet approved signing of three agreements with Myanmar, including one on wildlife protection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alfred Kumi has declared his intention to contest in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries of the Adentan Constituency. To the prospective aspirant, the time has come for him to serve Adentan, having spent most of his life in the constituency. Kumi admitted that Adentan as one of the biggest constituencies in the country had developed at a very fast pace but noted that there were still some more issues begging to be fixed. His submissiveness, humility and amiable nature have endeared him to the people in and around Adentan. He is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vision Lob as well as the Managing Director of Internship Hub. As a result of these inherent qualities, Kumi believes strongly that he will make a complete and perfect legislator. He pointed out that his NPP activism and membership dated back to his senior high school days as well as the University of Ghana, where he was very active and influential within the NPP TESCON. He said, after picking his nomination form few days ago, While I was in TESCON at the time, I was also a member of the NPP Adentan Constituency and I was paying my dues and everything. I was always connected to the party grass roots because I knew that one day a time would come for me to rise up to serve my people. Kumi is seeking to wrest the seat from the incumbent, Lawyer Yaw Buabeng Asamoah. And responding to how ready he is for the challenge, he said, Officially I have been a member of the NPP for four years now but growing up my mother was a die-hard NPP member so it is in the blood. I was inspired and I have grown to love the NPP. I believe in the principles and the capitalism ideologies of the NPP. He said he had the vision to develop not just Ghana but the NPP as a party in order to make the NPP a world class political party. Touching on the pressing needs of the Adentan Constituency, he identified the decades long perennial water problem that had still not been addressed as a top thorny issue. ---Daily Guide By Express News Service Mohanlal has said that he will start shooting his directorial debut, Barroz, in June this year. The production was supposed to start earlier but had to be pushed to a later date due to the pre-production work. The actor had earlier announced that that American child actor Shayla McCaffrey will be playing the lead in the 3D fantasy adventure film whose concept was jointly developed by himself and My Dear Kuttichathan-fame Jijo Punnoose. International stars Raphael Amargo and Paz Vega are also expected to star in the film. Mohanlal will play the guardian of Vasco da Gamas priceless treasure while Raphael and Paz will essay the roles of Vasco da Gama and his wife. Child musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram has been announced as the music composer. Noted cinematographer KU Mohanan will be handling the camera for the ambitious project backed by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas. VANCOUVER - A legal challenge by the owner of a private clinic providing scheduled surgery for "affluent" patients should be denied because it is based on a flawed constitutional argument, a lawyer for the B.C. government says. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Dr. Brian Day, Medical Director of the Cambie Surgery Centre, sits for a photograph at his office in Vancouver on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.A lawyer for the British Columbia government says private clinics would increase wait lists for "ordinary" people in the public system and especially harm those who are most dependent on universal health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER - A legal challenge by the owner of a private clinic providing scheduled surgery for "affluent" patients should be denied because it is based on a flawed constitutional argument, a lawyer for the B.C. government says. Jonathan Penner said Tuesday that Dr. Brian Day's bid to have the province strike down provisions of the Medicare Protection Act prohibiting double billing amounts to an "unlawful business model." Penner told B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Steeves that Day's legal team has called the province's position shocking, adding that's based on a disregard for patients who can't afford private care at clinics, such as the Cambie Surgery Centre, opened by Day in 1996. "In my submission what truly is shocking is this complete and utter disregard for the situation of anyone who is not in a position to come up with the funds to pay them to provide rapid surgical services," he said. "They seek the privileged, those few privileged British Columbians who require scheduled surgery and have the resources to pay for private care," Penner said, adding "ordinary" people would have less access to care under a two-tier system Day has proposed. The frail and elderly, patients with complex conditions, and those with severe mental illness and/or substance-use issues would be particularly disadvantaged because regulating a public-private system that could invite American-style insurers would come at a high cost and take money away from public health care, he said. Wait lists for patients requiring palliative care as well as emergency and urgent services would also increase under such a system because doctors, anesthesiologists and nurses would be lured to clinics allowing them to earn money in both the public and private systems, he said. Penner suggested physicians should no longer be enrolled in the Medical Services Plan if they choose to work in for-profit clinics. Day, an orthopedic surgeon, has hinged his decade-long legal battle on arguments around patients having a right to pay for services if wait times in the public system are too long. He has maintained that four plaintiff patients have been deprived of life, liberty and security under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after suffering harms from waiting for surgery in the public system before they sought care at his clinic. Penner called that argument "political theatre" and said Day's legal team has failed to identify whether any harms the patients may have endured were related to wait times in the public system. Hanna Davis, a lawyer for the federal government, said Day's assertion that private health insurance could enable patients to access care at clinics like his would not apply to people who can't afford premiums, especially if they have pre-existing conditions. The same applies for employer-based insurance, which also would not be available to those who are retired, unemployed or not provided with such options at their workplace, she said. Regardless, the underlying principle of the Canada Health Act is based on access to care based on need, not ability to pay, Davis said. A two-tier scheme would weaken the public system, which would be left to deal with more complicated health-care cases while private clinics would take on easier surgeries as part of what is referred to as "cream skimming," she said. The Canada Health Act does not explicitly require provinces to prohibit duplicative private insurance as a condition of federal health funding, she said. "However, all Canadian provinces have either voluntarily prohibited or effectively restricted private health duplicative insurance as one of the main safeguards to protect the integrity of the public health-care system." Requiring people to have their own insurance would amount to discrimination against those who wouldn't be eligible for it, Davis said. When Day opened his clinic, he said surgeons who worked in hospitals were not getting enough operating-room time and profit was not his motive. However, the facility has been operating since 2003 in violation of unproclaimed provisions of the provincial Medicare Protection Act. Health Minister Adrian Dix announced in 2018 that the government would begin to fine doctors $10,000 for a first offence if they charged patients for publicly available services and that the "don't ask, don't tell" approach that allowed private-clinic surgeries and diagnostic tests to continue would no longer be permitted. Day won an injunction at the B.C. Supreme Court that ordered the government not to enforce that section of the act until his constitutional challenge is dealt with. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman was fatally shot by police in the neck and abdomen, an inquest was told today. Amman, 20, was wearing a hoax suicide vest when he was shot dead by armed cops after he stabbed two people in broad daylight on Streatham High Road, south London on February 2. Moments earlier he had stole a kitchen knife with a 20 centimetre blade from a discount hardware store. He was subsequently shot by surveillance officers, who were monitoring him, outside a Boots store, the inquest opening at Southwark Coroner's Court was told. Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman was killed after being shot in the neck and abdomen, an inquest has heard The officers approached Amman and saw what appeared to be a suicide belt strapped around him. Specialist officers were called in to examine the vest and it was later confirmed to be a hoax device. Amman had been released a week before after serving half of his sentence of a three years and four months jail sentece for terror offences. Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Gosling, of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'On Sunday February 2nd Mr Sudesh Amman was the subject of covert armed surveillance by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service. 'At 1.22pm he left his approved premises in Streatham and made his way on foot to Streatham High Road via Sunnyhill Road. 'At 1.56pm Amman entered the 'Low Price Store' a general household and hardware goods store situated at 238 Streatham High Rd, SW16. 'Approximately 60 seconds after entering the shop Amman grabbed a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade from a display and ran out of the shop pulling the knife from its packaging. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating how counter-terrorism officers came to shoot the Amman, 20, after he stabbed two bystanders on Streatham High Road on February 2 'As Amman ran north along Streatham High Rd he used the knife to stab two members of the public near the White Lion public house. 'Amman continued running in the same direction along Streatham High Road and was subsequently shot by armed surveillance officers at 1.58pm outside Boots the chemist situated at 206 208 Streatham High Road. 'The officers approached Amman and saw what appeared to be a suicide vest strapped around him. Because of this the officers withdrew and specialist officers were called in to examine the vest. 'The device was later confirmed to be a hoax device. At 3.24pm paramedics pronounced life extinct.' A post-mortem conducted a day later found Amman died of shock, plus haemorrage caused by gun-shot wounds to the neck and abdomen. DCI Gosling added: 'The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigative response to this terrorist incident and will be responsible for assisting any future Coronial investigation. 'It's a wide-ranging investigation with 200 witness statements and viewing hundreds of hours of CCTV. A graphic shows how the terror attack unfolded on the streets of south London on February 2 'So far the counter terrorism investigation has found nothing to indicate the involvement of any other person in this attack other than Amman. 'The Independent Office for Police Conduct, as per their statutory duty, are conducting an independent investigation into the fatal police shooting of Amman and the surrounding circumstances.' Amanda Spencer, from the IOPC, said the matter will investigate 'planning and risk assessment, actions of MPS officers regarding use of force, and the MPS response to the threat posed by Amman'. The investigation is likely to take six to nine months. Senior Coroner Andrew Harris, said: 'It seems to me as I'm not collecting any evidence at this point I wish to preserve any eyewitness evidence and give a direction that has already been given by the Met Police. 'Witnesses must not speak to third parties or give interviews to the press until the inquest has been concluded. 'Interested persons will include family, individual police officers, the Metropolitan Police Service, the probation service, MAPPA. I will consider whether interested persons should extend to the intelligence services. 'It may be useful to scope out at the inquest decisions made by the intelligence services but that would touch on matters of national security. 'In law, coroners are not licensed to access info of that nature. There may be a need for a High Court judge to hear the inquest.' The family was represented in court by Ferva Butt, who did not object to the inquest going forward once the report by the IOPC has been completed. In a previous court hearing, North West London College maths and science student Amman told his girlfriend and friend of his hatred for 'kuffars', or non-believers. He would post al-Qaeda propaganda on a family WhatsApp group, showing his siblings as young as 11 to the graphic material. In one message to his girlfriend, he even encouraged her to behead her own 'kuffar parents'. A Mississippi jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2017 shooting deaths of eight people, including some of his own relatives and a deputy sheriff who responded to a domestic disturbance call. Willie Cory Godbolt, 37, was found guilty on all charges against him after jurors heard nine days of testimony and a partial day of closing arguments, WLBT-TV reported. The trial enters a second phase Wednesday, with jurors deciding whether to impose the death penalty for four capital murder convictions. If they cannot reach unanimous agreement on that, the judge will sentence Godbolt to life in prison. Godbolt spoke to the jury during closing arguments Tuesday, saying he expected to be killed himself on the night of the slayings in Brookhaven. 'What came from that night was not the fruit of my heart, but of my perception,' Godbolt said. He denied that he tried to control his wife. 'To the end of my life I will always adore Sheena Fay Godbolt.' Godbolt was convicted of four counts of capital murder, four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. Defendant Willie Cory Godbolt was on Tuesday convicted in the 2017 shooting deaths of eight people, including some of his own relatives and a deputy sheriff Officers arrest suspect Willie Cory Godbolt on Sunday, May 28, 2017, following the shootings According to testimony during the trial, Godbolt went to his in-laws' home on May 27, 2017, and argued with his estranged wife about their children. Lincoln County deputy sheriff William Durr, who responded to the call, Godbolt's mother-in-law Barbara Mitchell, her daughter Toccara May and her sister Brenda May were shot to death at that home that night. Two more people - cousins 18-year-old Jordan Blackwell and 11-year-old Austin Edwards - were killed at a second home in the early hours of May 28, 2017. Jordan's mother, Tiffany, was friends with Godbolt's wife Sheena. Ferral Burage and Sheila Burage, a married couple who were also related to Sheena, were shot to death at a third home a few hours later. Godbolt was arrested near a business as he walked from the Burages house, investigators said. 'Of any case out there, this one is full of the defendants deliberate design,' assistant district attorney Rodney Tidwell said, adding that 'deliberate design' means 'intent to kill.' Lincoln County deputy sheriff William Durr, left, and Jordan Blackwell, 18, right, were among eight victims shot to death by Willie Cory Godbolt in 2017 Godbolt's mother-in-law Barbara Mitchell, left, her daughter Toccara May, right, and her sister Brenda May were shot to death Cousins 18-year-old Jordan Blackwell and 11-year-old Austin Edwards, left, were killed at a second home in the early hours of May 28, 2017. Victim Brenda May is right Ferral Burage and Sheila Burage, pictured, a married couple who were also related to Sheena, were shot to death at a third home a few hours later One of Godbolt's defense attorneys, Alison Steiner, told jurors during closing arguments that Godbolt felt 'genuine love' for his family. She also argued that Godbolts state of mind needed to be considered. 'No, he shouldnt have been shooting at a police officer,' Steiner said. ' He shouldnt have been there, he shouldnt have done that, but who would not become passionate if they thought everything they loved was about to be taken away?' Jurors on Sunday were shown video of Godbolt in the hours after he was accused of killing the eight people, the Daily Leader reported. In one of the videos, Godbolt said: 'Im completely sorry and heartbroken about that deputy.' Lincoln County sheriffs Deputy Chuck Francis testified that Godbolt spoke to him about Durr shortly after Godbolt's arrest. 'If the deputy had family, let them know Im sorry. He was not part of my plan,' Francis recalled Godbolt telling him. Jurors also saw cellphone video of Godbolt sitting in handcuffs, bleeding from a gunshot wound to his right arm. The first noodopvangplekken for people to come in, Leeuwarden, the netherlands, reported the Central agency for the reception of asylum seekers (COA) on Tuesday, following a decision by the board of mayor and aldermen. The solution is in the Friezenhal in the WTC Expo in Leeuwarden, the netherlands. These locations are necessary because of the regular asylum seekers ' centres are full. The municipality is local residents on Tuesday in a letter informed the reception, says a spokesman from the COA to the NU.nl. for The first, asylum-seekers can be expected to be from the 18th of march, ended up in the Friezenhal, where they are up to no later than October 1, 2020, may continue to be. The idea is that these people will be able to go to a regular school. at Five to six hundred asylum seekers can be accommodated in the Friezenhal. In order to ensure that the solution only has a limited need-to-be, the COA, together with the municipalities and the provinces, the search for a new opvangplekken. On each of the following locations, after the Friezenhal the COA will have nothing to say to you. if The COA is at the end of last year, looking for new locations, however, the interviews with the municipalities and the provinces are about to deliver in the short term, any new locations. Therefore, it will be a total of eighteen hundred and noodopvangplekken will be prepared. another issue is that, by 2020, and 2021 of the contracts for ten of the existing detention centres come to an end. The COA would like to extend it, but not all of the municipalities to sit down to wait. Thus, Weert, the netherlands, for example, that the contract for the agreed-upon five-year, in september, final end. Shelters are full due to high inflows, and for long waitingfor The asylum seeker centres in the Netherlands are filled for three main reasons: it has a slightly higher influx of asylum-seekers than expected, rising waiting times for the handling of asylum applications, and long waiting lists for the 'status athletes' in the allocation of housing. as to The COA, had to be at the end of last year, has already forced a group of Moldovans time in a gym, respectively. The last time that the organisation has a lot of noodopvangplekken need to take place during the vluchtelingencrisis in 2015 peaked. Updated Date: 25 February 2020, 20:00 Gwadar Port - Development China is building an ambitious $ 62 billion industrial and road netweork from western China to a strategic naval port located at Gwadar in Pakistans western state Sindh, close to Persian Gulf. India has consistently objected to Chinese investment in disputed region of Jammu & Kashmir and even snubbed Chinese overtures to join its one belt one road initiative. Both Karachi and PQA were considered for such development but were found unattractive to major shipping lines due to the remoteness from the main shipping routes, the limitations of draft for mother ships and large bulk oil carriers and the comparative long turn around times. The ADB studies, however considered Gwadar to have the most advantageous location for such an alternative port in the region, which could handle mother ships and large oil tankers in due course. Keeping that aspect in view as well as the inherent strategic and economic benefits that Gwadar Port offered, the transport plan of the 8th Five Year Plan (1993-94) of Pakistan included the development of Gwadar Port as an essential element of its aims and objectives. Technical and financial feasibilities therefore were under taken resulting in decisions for the development of Gwadar Port by the Govt. of Pakistan. The Project started on 22 March 2002, and was on fast track completed in scheduled time in March 2005. With initiative and calculated risk, the Port received merchant ships since January 2003 and had been able to off load hundreds of tones of cargo imported for the Project, thus saving precious time and money which otherwise is required for transportation of the same cargo by road from Karachi/PQA to Gwadar. Phase II of the project involved construction of more berths on BOT basis including two container berths, one bulk cargo terminal, one grain terminal with capacity handling vessels up to 100,000 DWT, one roll on/ roll off terminal, two oil piers for vessels up to 200,000 DWT and future expansion of two container berths. On completion of the project, Gwadar Deep-sea port would be on of the world's most strategically located port in this part of the world. Total amount equivalent to Rs 14.9 Billion (248 million US dollars) were approved by ECNEC for Phase-I of the project. The financial agreement for development of Phase-I was signed with the Govt. of China on 10 August 2001 under which the Chinese would provide US$. 198 Million and the Govt. of Pakistan would provide US$. 50 Million. On 20 March 2007 President Gen Pervez Musharraf officially opened, along with Chinese Minister of Communications Li Shenglin, the countrys third port at Gwadar and promised a fourth port to be built at Sonmiani in the Lasbela district. Once completed, the Gwadar port would rank among the world's largest deep-sea ports. The Gwadar port project would transform Pakistan's Navy into a force that can rival regional navies. The government of Pakistan has designated the port area as a "sensitive defense zone." The Gwadar port would rank among the world's largest deep-sea ports. The port provides China a strategic foothold in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. In December 2007 the Government of Pakistan approved a plan to establish two new large sized shipyards at Gwadar in Balochistan Province ("Gwadar Shipyard") and Port Qasim near Karachi in Sindh Province ("Qasim Shipyard") on a fast track basis. The Gwadar Shipyard is planned to be established at Gwadar East Bay (Shamba Ismail area), on an area of approximately 500 acres (2 sq. kilometers approx). Initially planned to carry out ship repairs, it shall lead to ship building of up to Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) and Ultra large Crude Carrier (ULCC) size and would have at least two dry docks of approximately 600,000 DWT. On 01 October 2008 Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Ports and Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira to finalise the sites for building shipyards at Karachi and Gwadar. Gilani expressed the government's resolve for the development of shipbuilding industry in the country, saying that setting up of two shipyards in Karachi and Gwadar would go a long way in catering to domestic as well as international needs. He stressed the need for making Pakistan a leading shipbuilding country of the region, thus contributing towards economic development and poverty alleviation. Two world class shipyards on joint venture basis were proposed to be built at Gwadar and Port Qasim. These projects would attract major investment from foreign sources. Pakistan announced 07 May 2011 that China had agreed to its request to take over operations at a major port, while hoping that Beijing can also help build a naval base there. "The Chinese government has acceded to Pakistan's request to take over operations at Gwadar port as soon as the terms of agreement with the Singapore Port Authority (SPA) expire," Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar as saying in a statement. According to APP, Mukhtar said Pakistan appreciated that the Chinese government agrees to run the port, but would be more grateful "if a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan." Gwadar has been run as a commercial port under the current deal between Pakistan and Singapore Port Authority (SPA). India's Defense Minister A.K. Antony last week voiced "serious concern" toward so-called growing defense ties between China and Pakistan and said New Delhi's only answer was to strengthen its military capabilities. Pakistan's Cabinet gave nod Oct 05, 2018 to the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia to set up a state-of-the-art oil refinery in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The proposed 500,000-barrel per day refinery is estimated to be completed with an investment of about 8 to 9 billion US dollars. The refinery will be set up at Gwadar, a coastal town on the Arabian Sea where China built a deep seaport under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Cabinet meeting was presided by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan briefed the Cabinet about a Saudi Arabia delegation which had visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities. Calling Pakistan an all-weather friend, official Chinese media reported that Beijing planned to step up its military cooperation with Islamabad to produce ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and a multi-role combat aircraft. The reports came 17 March 2017 amid Pakistans new army chief holding talks with top Chinese officials. On his first visit to China after he took over as Pakistans army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa yesterday held talks with General Fang Fenghui, chief of the Joint Staff Department under the Central Military Commission. The two sides vowed to ensure the safety of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an important part of Chinas One Belt and One Road initiative. Masood Khalid, Pakistans Ambassador to China, told the news conference that Pakistan has deployed more than 15,000 troops to protect the CPEC and the countrys navy has raised a special contingent for the protection of Gwadar Port. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has called for timely treatment of medical waste and close monitoring of air and water quality as the battle against the novel coronavirus continues. The watchdog pledged full coverage of environment supervision and services on medical institutions and facilities across the country, according to a statement released after a work conference. It also urged solid implementation of timely and effective disposal and treatment of medical waste. Monitoring of air and surface water should be further enhanced while the monitoring results should be made public, the statement added. Earlier information from the MEE showed that the ongoing epidemic has not contaminated China's environment as the quality of urban air, surface water and drinking water sources were all kept stable. Between Feb. 1 and 19, Chinese environmental authorities monitored the country's more than 6,900 drinking water sources and did not find any impact from the epidemic on the quality of the sources, the ministry said. New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Digital Communications Commission may meet on Thursday to discuss relief measures possible for the telcos in wake of huge AGR dues on them. The meeting will be chaired by DoT Secretary Anshu Prakash and Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant may be present among others. DEA Secretary Atanu Chakraborty, who is also a member of the Commission, may not attend it as he is travelling. Giving the telcos low interest loans could come for discussion, sources said adding that these could be from a 'stress fund' like the one for the realty sector. The USO Fund, which has a corpus of Rs 47,000 crore, is also being talked about for possible soft loans. Vodafone Idea has repeatedly urged the government to help it in paying its AGR dues. The government is endeavouring to bring out a package before the Supreme Court's next hearing on March 17. Ranjit Savarkar, the grandson of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, on Wednesday said that Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not allow passing the resolution to honour Savarkar as they wanted to "appease" the Congress party. "Savarkar's family never demanded anything including honours from the government. That's why we feel be it Bharat Ratna or this resolution in Assembly, this issue is being politicised. Memories of people like Savarkar should be cherished. They should not be dragged into political fights," Ranjit told ANI. The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress are part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. "Even NCP came in support of Savarkar. But my question now is NCP, Shiv Sena, MNS and BJP together they have 226 MLAs. I am told that this resolution was rejected on the grounds of technicality. But it can always be corrected if there is a will. If there were 226 MLAs in support of the resolution, why was it not passed by the Assembly? There must be some politics in it," he said. Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Assembly witnessed uproar over honouring Hindu Mahasabha leader VD Savarkar with the BJP demanding a resolution in the Assembly to honour Savarkar while the ruling Shiv Sena and NCP demanding Bharat Ratna for the leader. The BJP legislators created a noise after Speaker Nana Patole rejected the party's demand to have a discussion over the resolution to honour Savarkar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for three decades before he was ousted amid the Arab Spring protests in 2011, died Tuesday at age 91. The once burly autocrat with the trademark sunglasses, who became frail after multiple surgeries towards the end of his life, spent years in custody for his role in the deaths of protesters, but was freed in 2017 after the convictions were overturned. His son Alaa Mubarak wrote on Twitter: "This morning my father, president Mubarak, passed away". His death was confirmed by the presidency and on state television. Mubarak's brother-in-law, General Mounir Thabet, told AFP that the family was by Mubarak's side at the hospital. A military funeral was planned for Wednesday, to be followed by three days of mourning, said the office of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On Tuesday, at the cemetery in eastern Cairo where Mubarak will be buried, AFP reporters saw several military vehicles parked next to the family grave and plainclothes policemen patrolling the area. Mubarak had long battled illness and was recently admitted to a Cairo military hospital's intensive care unit, as media speculated on whether he suffered cancer, heart troubles or respiratory ailments. Tributes poured in from leaders in the Middle East, where Mubarak's Egypt, a key ally of the United States, had at times served as a mediator, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mubarak's commitment to "peace and security" when he ruled Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel and establish full diplomatic relations. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he mourned Mubarak's death "with great sorrow" and hailed his support of the Palestinian cause. - Dodged bullets - President Sisi's office offered condolences and lauded Mubarak as one of the "heroes of the October 1973 war against Israel". The long-time president started off as a military pilot and was commander of the air force in the 1973 war with Israel. He became vice president in 1975 before taking power in 1981, following the assassination of former president Anwar al-Sadat by Islamist militants. Mubarak was sitting near Sadat, but survived, going on to dodge bullets during several more attempts on his life, including one by Islamist militants in 1995 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. He remained head of state for three decades, but was overthrown in 2011 after three weeks of mass protests that started on January 25. His ouster came amid mounting popular anger triggered partly by rampant police brutality and by 2010 parliamentary elections which were widely slammed as rigged. Some reactions to his death online, in particular from staunch anti-Mubarak activists, recalled the anger with his rule that stoked the uprising. "He lived as a criminal and a tyrant and died a criminal and a thief," tweeted Rasha Azab, a prominent leftist writer who was at the forefront of the revolution. Mubarak faced multiple charges after his overthrow, including over the deaths of protesters in 2011 and for corruption. But in the years since, many Egyptians' aversion to Mubarak has gradually given way to indifference mixed with nostalgia, and many now remember his rule as a bygone period of stability. - 'History will decide' - Mubarak, a determined foe of Islamist radicalism, maintained a state of emergency for the entirety of his rule that gave sweeping powers to the country's feared security services. Internationally, he garnered respect as a regional power broker. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan described Mubarak as "an Arab leader who worked loyally for Arab unity and stability and stood firmly against extremism and terrorism". The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, who was a key opposition figure in Mubarak's waning years, paid his respects. "May God have mercy on the former president... and grant his family patience and comfort," he said on Twitter. Other opposition activists who played a critical role in the 2011 revolution, such as Wael Ghoneim, were also forgiving in their words on social media. "He was loyal and loving of Egypt... He took on a great responsibility towards the Egyptian people," Ghoneim wrote on Twitter. "He was right a lot of the time and also wrong a lot of the time... history will decide." Former presidential candidate Ayman Nour -- who ran against Mubarak in multi-candidate elections widely seen as fraudulent in 2005, lost and was subsequently jailed -- was also conciliatory in his tone. "I promise to God I personally forgive him," he said. PRESENTATION BY HON. ERIC OPOKU, MP FOR ASUNAFO SOUTH AND RANKING MEMBER FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGRIC, AT THE PUBLIC FORUM OF THE COALITION FOR RESTORATION (CFR), ON TUESDAY 25TH FEBRUARY, 2020 AT THE KAMA CONFERENCE CENTER. Friends of the media, Distinguished invited guest, Ladies and Gentlemen, Introduction I am exceedingly excited for the opportunity to join my colleague, Hon. Isaac Adongo, MP for Bolgatanga Central, in assessing the performance of the Akufo-Addo-led NPP Government. Ladies and Gentlemen, in reaction to the invitation by Dr. Bawumia for us to counter data with data, we have decided to use this forum to provide incontrovertible facts to correct the deliberate falsehoods peddled by both the President and his Vice Dr. Bawumia in the 2020 state of the Nation Address and Kumasi Town Hall meeting respectively. As the Ranking Member for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, I would like to start with the Agriculture sector. Declining Growth of the Agriculture sector Ladies and gentlemen, in 2017 the Agricultural sector grew by 6.1% which was largely driven by cocoa and food crops. In 2018, Government implemented an expanded version of the planting for food and jobs programme. 577,000 farmers participated in the programme and 183,000mt of subsidized fertilizer were distributed to farmers across the country. In spite of this huge investment, growth in the sector declined to 4.8% at the end of 2018 (paragraphs 500 and 502 of 2019 budget and 76 of 2020 budget). Also, in 2019, the NPP govt claimed that investment in the sector was further increased. 920,000 farmers were engaged and 292,242mt of subsidized fertilizer was deployed under the planting for food and jobs programme (paragraph 671 of 2020 Budget) They also claim that through the Canadian facility of 125 million Canadian dollars secured by the Mahama-led NDC government to boost Agriculture in Ghana, 216 Brand New Pick-ups were distributed to the departments of Agriculture of the District Assemblies. 3000 motorbikes were released to enhance Agriculture extension services. 2, 700 Agriculture extension officers were also deployed (paragraph 503 of 2019 Budget) Ladies and Gentlemen, in the face of this huge investment growth in the Agricultural sector for the first half of 2019 was 2.6% compared to 4.7% within the same period in 2018. The claim by the president in the recent state of the nations address that the Agricultural sector grew by 6.4% in the year 2020 is completely false and not borne out by the facts contained in governments own 2020 budget statement approved by Parliament. This paradoxical situation shows that contrary to the long cherished Agricultural principle that you plant a seed and reap a harvest, the Akufo-Addo Government has been planting a harvest and reaping a seed in the last three years. In short, the declining trend of growth for the Agric sector from 2017-2019 completely belies the Presidents claim that the Agric sector is doing well. Despite the political sloganeering and hollow rhetorics of President Akufo-Addo, the reality on the ground is that all is not well Ghanas Agric sector. The much-touted interventions of government in the Agric sector are not yielding the desired dividends and farmers are suffering as a result of that. Planting for food and jobs Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to subject the much-touted Planting for and Jobs program to a more detailed evaluation and assessment. Let me state for the records, that funding for the PF&J program was secured by the Mahama led NDC government in 2015 from Canada. The facility which was intended to implement a programme called Modernising Agriculture Productivity through the Local Economy (MAPLE) was delayed because of the Canadian election in October 2015 which ushered into office a new government. The Akufo-Addo government inherited this facility upon assumption of office in January 2016, together with a 50% fertilizer subsidy program and changed the name of the programme to Modernising Agriculture Ghana (MAG), upon which the planting for food and jobs programme is anchored. It is worthy of note, that the planting for food and jobs programme is solely for peasant farmers and does not include commercial farmers. Peasant farmers produce primarily to feed their families and only sell surpluses to enable them procure other basic needs. Commercial farmers on the other hand, produce in anticipation of market demand. Hence, the bumper harvest being trumpeted by the Akufo-Addo government is largely as a result of production by commercial farmers and cannot be attributed to the success of planting for food and jobs program. Ladies and Gentlemen, in the recent state of the nation Address, President Akuffo Addo stated that not a single grain of maize has been imported into Ghana over the last 2 years. This is palpably false. According to US department of Agriculture (USDA) Ghana in, 2016 imported 31,000mt 2017 imported 19,000mt 2018 imported 26,000mt 2019 imported 50,000mt The programme which was intended to reduce importation of maize among other things has landed Ghana into increasing import of maize from 31,000mt in 2016 to 50,000mt in 2019. The declining fortunes of the Planting for Food and Jobs program is largely as a result of the continuous smuggling of huge quantities of fertilizer meant for farmers outside, in most cases by NPP apparatchiks. Instead of admitting the failings and challenges confronting the program, the Akufo-Addo government has set up an office at the Ministry of food and Agriculture which has been cooking figures to mislead to nation on the true state of the Planting for Food and Jobs program. This propaganda department is different from the Statistics Research and Information Directorate of the Ministry of food and Agriculture which is officially recognized to provide statistics on the Agric sector. The following are few examples of deliberately cooked data which have been churned out by the newly created propaganda unit at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Example 1: At paragraph 789 of the 2018 budget, it is provided that in 2017, govt distributed 2,000,000 bags of subsidized fertilizer to farmers under the PFJ. 2,000,000 bags of fertilizer translate into 100,000 metric tonnes of Fertilizer. Also, at paragraph 502 of the 2019 Budget, they stated that they distributed 183,000mt of subsidized fertilizer. This means that for the 2 years, 2017 and 2018, they distributed a total of 100,000mt+183,000mt=283,000mt of fertilizer. Strangely, in paragraph 257 of the 2020 Budget, it is stated that in 2017 and 2018 they supplied a total of 551,000mt of fertilizer. Ladies and Gentlemen, a ton of fertilizer is 20 pieces of the 50kg bags. 551,000=11,020,000 bags of 50kg If the subsidy is GHC 75 per bag then subsidy paid to farmers =826,500,000 Actual distribution was 283,000 metric tonnes =5,660,000 bags of 50kg each. If the subsidy is GHC75 per a bags of 50kg then, the subsidy paid is GHC 424,500,000 From these conflicting figures reported by the ministry in governments own budget statements, it is clear that the amount of subsidy paid to farmers from 2017-2018 is bloated by a whopping GHC 404,000,000. Example 2: In paragraph 388 of the 2018 Budget, it is stated that 201,000 farmers participated in the PFJ programme in 2017 Again, in paragraph 500 of the 2019 budget, we are told that 577,000 farmers benefited from the programme in 2018. Surprisingly, in paragraph 257 of the 2020 Budget we are told that between 2017 and 2018, 880,000 farmers participated in the programme. Note that, this figure is cumulative and that those who benefitted in 2017 also participated in 2018 so total participation for 2017 and 2018 should have been 577,000 as per paragraph 500 of the 2019 Budget. This means that 303,000 farmers who never participated in the programme who been added to mischievously prop up the fortunes of the Planting for Food and Jobs program. Sadly, these conflicting cooked figures is what form the basis for governments claim that 1,541, 545 jobs have been created under the Planting for Food and Jobs program between 2017 and 2018. Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to expose another palpable falsehood which as been peddled repeatedly by the Akufo-Addo government relative to the number of jobs created under the Planting for Food and Jobs program. At paragraph 259 of the 2020 Budget, the minister of Finaceer reported that; Mr. Speaker, the intervention also created significant jobs along the commodity value chain. A total of 746,601 and 794,944 jobs were created in 2017 and 2018 respectively. About 94 percent of these jobs are linked to farm level employment, 4 percent to value addition and postharvest service provision and the remaining 2 percent to extension delivery and ICT. Out of these jobs created in 2017 and 2018, 1,449,052 representing 94% are linked to farm level employment. This is what we call By Day., note that in most Akan communities, peasant farmers do not hire labourers but rather engage in what is called Nnoboa. Under this arrangement, the number of farmers belonging to the nnoboa group will work on the farm of Mr A who is a member today, tomorrow they will work on the farm of Mr B who is also a member and this will continue until all members are served. In some cases, they solicit the assistance of neighbours and relatives to complete a specific task on their farms. How can these constitute job creation by the Nana Addos government? And what mechanism did government use to determine the farm level employment. Distinguish Ladies and Gentlemen, I strongly believe that, at this juncture, I have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the Government of Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo is executing a stratagem of deception in the governance of our nation. We cannot forget the 50,000mt of fertilizer worth $12million that disappeared to neighbouring countries in 2018. In 2019, we are told that 20,000mt worth over $5 million dollars could not be accounted for. When the parliamentary select committee of Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs inquired into the whereabouts of the fertilizer, the ministry responded that it has been smuggled to neighbouring countries. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the true state of the Planting for Food and jobs program. All is not well with our farmers as the President would have us believe. Our farmers are really suffering Declining growth of the fisheries sector Ladies and gentlemen, the decline in the Agriculture sector is reflected in fisheries sub-sector as well. The facts show that in the year 2016, the sector grew at 3.1% under the Mahama government. Sadly in 2017, the sector grew at -1.4%. In 2018, it further decline to -6.8% and for the first half of 2019, it grew at -2.2 % (Page 20 paragraph 76 of the 2020 budget). In other words, the Akufo-Addo government has supervised the continuous contraction and decline of the fisheries sector from a positive growth of 3.1% bequeathed to them by the Mahama-NDC government into negative growth for the past three (3) consecutive years. It is even sadder to note that this alarming decline is expected to worsen to as low as negative 10% at the end of 2019 due to gross mismanagement of the sector. The fisheries sector has been neglected by President Akufo-Addo and fisher folks are being subjected to excruciating hardships and penury. The 2020 Budget captures some of these problems. According to paragraph 720 of the 2020 Budget, in march 2019, fish farmers along the Volta Lake suffered declining production through the outbreak of infectious Spleen and kidney Virus Diseases(ISKVD) that devastated their fish farms resulting in huge financial loses. Even though the Ministry requested 12 million cedis to address this problem, government released out only 2 million cedis leaving a massive shortfall of 84% causing the problem to persist. We can only hope for the return of President John Mahama to rescue our hardworking fish farmers from the shackles and tentacles of abject poverty and neglect. This willful neglect of the fisheries sector is exacerbated by an increase in registration fees from 35 to $200 for fishing vesels.This vicious over 570% increase in registration fees is a death blow to an industry already on its knees. The NDC demands an immediate downward review of this registration fees to ameliorate the plight of suffering fishermen. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is sad to note that the fisheries college started under the NDC administration at Anomabo which was intended to qualitatively improve the fishing industry through research and academic engagement and was about 66% complete at the time we were leaving office, has been abandoned to rot by the Akufo-Addo government despite several assurances by government to ensure its completion. Again, and still in the Central Region, the Elmina Fish Processing facility has been reduced to processing of ice blocks. Due to the mismanagement of the fisheries sector by the Akufo-Addo government, importation of fish has been on the rise since the year 2017 For instance, From a total of $160million worth of fish imported in 2017, the Global Agricultural Information Network under the auspices of USDA Foreign Agricultural Service has revealed that Ghana imported $311 million in sea food and fish product in 2018 alone. Decline in Annual Cocoa Production Ladies and gentlemen, it is sad to note that the Akufo-Addo government is fast eroding all the gains we made in the cocoa sector under the Mahama regime. Annual production of cocoa has continuously decline in the past two cocoa seasons thereby dwindling the incomes of cocoa farmers. In the 2016/2017 cocoa season, Ghana produced a total of 969,000mt of coca which is the second highest production level in the history of Ghana. However, 2017/18 cocoa season the figure dropped to 904,000mt representing a 12% decline. Also, in the 2018/19, annual cocoa production further dropped to 811,125mt. Ladies and Gentlemen, what is baffling is that in 2017 government claimed to have recruited 10,000 youth for the artificial hand pollination programme intentioned to increase cocoa production by 189 %( source paragraph 413 and 414 of the 2018 Budget). However as I have already indicated, at the end of 2017, production did not increase but rather declined by 12%. Again in 2018, government claimed to have engaged 30,000 youth in the same Artificial Hand pollination with the aim of improving production. Here again, production declined by almost 100,000mt at the end of the 2018/2019 cocoa season. In 2019, Government claimed to have re engaged the 30,000 youth pollinators but the figures we are gathering from the LBCs indicate further decline in cocoa production. These indisputable facts show that the cocoa sector is fast retrogressing under the Akuffo-Addo Government as a result of their poor policy choices for the sector such as: Cancellation of the free cocoa fertilizer program Over-politicization of the mass spraying and the pollination works Non-increase of producer price of cocoa for 2017 and 2018 Discontinuation of over 200 cocoa road projects commenced by the Mahama-NDC government. Ladies and Gentlemen, the only way Ghana can see growth and progress in the cocoa sector if for President John Dramani Mahama to be re-elected on the 7th of December 2020 to rescue the sector from the clutches of the insensitive and inept Akufo-Addo government. Upon assumption of office on 7th January 2021, President Mahama will restore the distribution of free fertilizers and chemicals to cocoa farmers, complete all abandoned cocoa road projects, restore the payment of bonuses and premiums to cocoa farmers just to mention a few. Indeed, the trend of producer price of cocoa in the last 20 years I. Ghana is clear testament to Presidents Mahama has a superior record in the promotion of the welfare of cocoa farmers as captured below: Rawlings (2000/01) -20.17 (GH) Kufour (2001-2008) -102GH (80.3) GH increase in 8 years Mills (2009-2012) -212 GH (110 GH increase in 4 years) Mahama (2012-2016) - 475GH (263 GH increase in 4 years) Akuffo Addo (2017-2019) -515 GH (40 GH increase in 3 years) It is sad to note that rather than increase the producer price of cocoa and promote the welfare of cocoa farmers, the Akuffo Addo government has increased office expenditure significantly at the COCOBOD Head office to the detriment of hardworking cocoa farmers in the country. Indeed, cocoa farmers are suffocating under the clueless and insensitive Akufo-Addo government. The Lingering but Ignorant Question of NDC and Social Interventions In October 2018 the vice president, Dr. Bawumia asked the NDC to provide a single social intervention that reduce the hardships of Ghanaians. This challenge has been uncritically adopted by other NPP acolytes and re-echoed by Dr Bawumia during his town hall meeting in Kumasi two years later. This question will be answered by information from the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta. I refer you to paragraphs 781,783,574,696 and 785 of the 2017 budget where he recounts achievements of the NDC. Take note of the first four words in paragraph 781. Other social intervention expenditures in the sector for the period under review included an amount of GHC 71.91 million for the provision of subsidies to Senior High Schools (SHS);GH25.96 million for the implementation of the progressively free SHS; GH22.57 million for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) subsidies; GH25.03 million for capitation Grant; GH11.19 million for free exercise books; and GH50.53 million for feeding grants to colleges of Education, In addition, amounts of GH 10.11 million and GH 2.03 million went into the provision of free school uniforms and feeding grants of special schools, respectively. The Finance Minister lists 8 social interventions undertaken by the NDC government, and there are many more which do not need to be listed. As you can see, this so-called Challenge by the Vice President needs no commentary. We have noted that that beyond the failure of Dr. Bawumia to read basic information, other members of the NP were either ignorant or not bold enough to correct him. This question reflects how the NPP has reduced governance to jokes and uninformed questions. It again raises speculation as to why the Vice President and the Finance Minister, who is cousin to the President, seem to have figures that are at war with each other. Free SHS In his town hall speech, Dr Bawumia asked in paragraph 61 how to resolve the double track system, hundreds of thousands of students would not be able to access free SHS. Dr Bawumia conveniently forgets that President Mahama was building 123 community day senior high schools, out of which more than 40 were fully completed with the rest at various stages of completion by the time he and Akufo-Addo asummed office. If the NPP had not been as vindictive as to abandon these projects there would have been space for many of the children who are now suffering through an abject lack of quality education Akufo-Addo and Bawumia could have also undertaken the 350 SHS building that they promised to deliver within the 18 months in office. Beyond these, the NPP could have engaged creatively with the private SHS providers to find a way of having students attend their school. We have over 500 private SHS in Ghana. All their facilities were inspected and approved for SHS education by the Ministry of Education. Including them in the implementation of the free SHS could have prevented the emergence of the problematic double track. In other words, there were viable options that would have avoided the double track headache that the children are experiencing. Thus, the claims that Abolishing the double track system means abolishing free SHS as we know it is borne out of stubborn refusal to think innovatively about a self-inflicted problem. It also highlights the facts that Akufo-Addo and his government did not think through the implementation of free SHS. We have to remember that president Mills of blessed memory was faced with a bigger challenge when the 3year and 4years SHS programs clashed during his tenure. The numbers were more than the reported figures that led to double track and yet through innovative policies, parents and children never had to suffer through double track. The failure of Akuffo-Addo to complete Mahamas project, couple with a lack of planning, are the reasons why the double track nemesis is compromising the quality of education that our children are experiencing in SHS. The NDC birthed the 1992 Constitution in which free Education at all levels including SHS is provided for. The free SHS is therefore our baby which cannot be taken away from us. It is therefore strange that President Akufo-Addo who boycotted the consultative Assembly that drafted the Constitution and capture free Education now claims to be the father of the brain child of the NDC. NHIS In the 2019 state of the nation address, President Akufo-Addo claimed to have paid a phantom 1.2 billion-cedi NHIS debt left by the NDC government. Yet, I share with you a letter dated March 21, 2019 and signed by George Asamoah-Baah (Deputy Director, Budget and Management Accounting of the NHIS) addressed to the Deputy Minister for Health. This letter tells us that exactly a month after the claim, none of the 1.2 billion had been paid. The letter also clearly shows that claims arrears for 2016 were GH 844,020,614.22. Claims from January to March 2017 as well as money to be paid to suppliers, all of which happened under Akufo-Addos reign, were disingenuously added to an NDC debt. There have been multiple reports of different service providers threatening to stop working with NHIS. These incidents question the status of the president as an honest leader. They also suggest a return to cash and carry, which is not surprising due to some historical context. It was under the Busia administration, which incidentally had President Akufo-Addos father as head of state, that Ghana experienced cash and carry for the first time. These two gentlemen introduced the Hospital Fees Act in 1971 to set off decades of the cash and carry system. This system was something that the NDC was determined to end. Before exiting power in 2000, the NDC considered introducing the NHIS. This intention generated heated debate and opposition from the NPP. They held a press conference under Dr. Addo-Kufuor in 2000 to encourage private insurance schemes. Earlier in April 1997, this same NPP had said that money and energy had been wasted on the single NHIS and that it was not viable. The bone of contention between the NDC and NPP was that while the NPP wanted a mutual health insurance, the NDC advocated for a national health insurance. Under the scheme r are district based; again, employees were paid only at the same district that they registered. In other words, there was no crossover. When we returned to power, in 2012 we abolished the old regime and passed a new law in 2012 to make the scheme truly national. Today, Ghanaians can access healthcare from any district, while payment to employees is not limited to districts. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have made a breakthrough that may eventually lead to improved therapeutic options for people living with asthma. The researchers have uncovered a critical role for a protein (Caspase-11), which had previously never been implicated in the disease. They report their findings today [Wednesday 26th February 2020] in leading journal Nature Communications. Lead author Zbigniew Zaslona, working with a team led by Luke O'Neill, Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, has been exploring the role that inflammation plays in asthma - a very common and often serious disease of childhood. Ireland has one of the highest incidences of asthma in Europe, which in its most severe form remains difficult to treat and can be fatal. Caspase-11 is a protein with an important role in defending against bacteria, but the team in Trinity has found that when it is over-active it can provoke a damaging inflammatory reaction. When this happens, it is likely to be a key driver of allergic inflammation in the lungs of asthmatics. Dr Zaslona said: "Caspase-11 can cause cells to die, which is a very inflammatory event as the cells then release their contents, which can irritate tissues in our body. We have found that Caspase-11 is a key driver of inflammation in the airways in asthma. This causes the signs and symptoms of asthma which most notably involves difficulty breathing." Although symptoms of mild asthma can be managed with current therapies, severe asthma remains very difficult to treat and asthma rates are constantly on the rise. Dr Zaslona added: "A variety of irritants such as airborne pollutants, certain types of pollen and house dust mites can induce cell death in the lungs. Our work suggests that Caspase-11 is sensing these noxious things and causing disease." Professor O'Neill said: "Caspase-11 - or it's human equivalent, which is Caspase-4 - has never been implicated in asthma before so we think it holds great promise as a possible target for new drugs to treat this common, debilitating disease." ### The work was funded by the the Wellcome Trust and European Research Council. By Jeff Lewis HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb 25 (Reuters) - Gold miners have largely been boosting dividends to appease long-suffering shareholders rather than funding fresh exploration projects needed to grow production, a strategy that executives are warning may pose long-term risk to the industry. The tension comes as gold prices are at the highest in seven years, near $1,650 an ounce, a surge in part fueled by a flight to safe-haven assets amid rising global concern about the coronavirus. That has propelled earnings and prompted Newmont Corp , Barrick Gold and others to hike dividends and share repurchases, which shareholders have been demanding for years. But miners say a dearth of new exploration poses an existential risk to the industry as falling ore grades push production costs higher. "If you start moving out a number of years, it'll be a challenge" for supply to keep up with demand, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd CEO Kelvin Dushinsky said Tuesday on the sidelines of the BMO Global Metals and Mining Conference. Despite that worry, AngloGold Ashanti earlier this month approved a dividend of $1.65 per share, up from 95 cents in 2018. Dushinsky said he expects gold prices to be supported as the number of new discoveries dwindles. The trend is likely to continue and could force more consolidation in an industry that has already seen several multibillion-dollar deals in the past year, executives and industry analysts said. "The price of gold where it is now gives the companies an opportunity to invest," said Kirkland Lake Gold Chief Executive Tony Makuch. "The problem is that you're at a period of time where a lot of the shareholders suffered from not seeing returns." Paltry spending on exploration pushed the average life of a gold mine in 2018 to roughly 11 years, down from a global average of 16 years in 2012, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Barrick earlier this month hiked its dividend by 40%. Newmont has said it would raise its annual dividend 79% to $1. At least one miner is trying to balance both priorities, for now. Kirkland, which bought rival Detour Gold for C$4.3 billion, said it would double its annual dividend while boosting exploration spending. Still, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow warned this week that the industry is headed for a precipice and said he believes global gold production has peaked. "We, as an industry, haven't invested in our future," he said in an interview. (Reporting by Jeff Lewis; editing by Ernest Scheyder and Dan Grebler) One of the weapons in Mike Bloomberg's arsenal is the fact that Bernie Sanders has written and said some pretty bizarre things about sex over the years. Tim O'Brien, a former adviser to Mike Bloomberg, told CNN's Alisyn Camerota about an essay Bernie wrote in the 1970s claiming that capitalism promotes pornography. Bernie apparently asserted there that little children should be naked and touch each other to end the sexual frustration that drives the pornography market. O'Brien added, "He has written about women's rape fantasies[.]" Much as Bernie's embrace of socialism makes him a vile candidate, that last allegation isn't something to tag him with. Here's the real story. In 1972, Bernie wrote an essay entitled "man-and woman": The first paragraphs are the ones that got all the attention: A man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused. A woman enjoys intercourse with her man as she fantasizes being raped by 3 men simultaneously. The man and woman get dressed up on Sunday and go to Church, or maybe to their "revolutionary" political meeting. Read on, though, and you'll realize that Bernie, a terrible writer, was using shocking imagery to make a point that had nothing to do with rape fantasies. Instead, he was saying that both pornography and newspaper headlines push a worldview that says men should dominate women and women should enjoy being dominated. For paragraph after paragraph, Bernie awkwardly tries to explain that men and women should no longer be controlled by traditional dynamics that see women entirely dependent on men for food. He also notes that women resent men (something that feminism emphasizes) and that men, therefore, distrust women. He urges men and women to find a new method of communication for a better type of relationship. At worst, Bernie is an awful writer. At best, he was writing not about porn but about the way people can be better than mere consumers of porn. The important point is that this essay is not the battlefield on which Republicans should be fighting. Bernie has a defensible position here. Instead, conservatives should focus on the real problem with Bernie: he is a genuinely evil man. Yes, that sounds extreme, but keep in mind that despite knowing that socialism has caused 100,000,000 deaths and countless ruined lives over the past 104 years, Bernie still thinks it's the best game in town. Everyone says Bernie is honest, but he's not. No one can be honest when peddling the world's biggest lie, which is that socialism benefits people. What's become increasingly clear over the course of the last debates, and after studying Bernie's history, is that he has an affinity for totalitarian socialist dictatorships. He's traveled to Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Soviet Union. He's come back from each marveling at the wonders of places that support the NPR vision of a perfect world namely, free cultural events, free health care, and literacy. In each socialist dictatorship to which he traveled, Bernie was willfully blind to the costs of the free health care cultural initiatives he admired. He still is. He disavows the authoritarianism, the gulags, and the dead bodies but repeatedly states his admiration for the other things associated with hardcore socialism: socialized medicine (which means people get seen but not treated), gun control (which he opposed when he was a foot soldier and supports now that he's got power within his reach), the destruction of capitalism, wealth redistribution, total government education, and everything else that a true socialist dreams about. Bernie's a fool, but he's not stupid. He must know that these initiatives, by vesting all power in the government, inevitably require authoritarianism because the government is calling the shots. It's obvious that Bernie dreams of tyranny. He just tells himself he's going to be a nice tyrant. Bernie's support for despotism is a much better line of attack than focusing on a stupid, awkward essay saying men and women shouldn't have fantasies about rape. U.K. startup Babylon Health pulled app data on a critical user in order to create a press release in which it publicly attacks the UK doctor who has spent years raising patient safety concerns about the symptom triage chatbot service. In the press release released late Monday Babylon refers to Dr. David Watkins -- via his Twitter handle -- as a "troll" and claims he's "targeted members of our staff, partners, clients, regulators and journalists and tweeted defamatory content about us." It also writes that Watkins has clocked up "hundreds of hours" and 2,400 tests of its service in a bid to discredit his safety concerns -- saying he's raised "fewer than 100 test results which he considered concerning". Babylon's PR also claims that only in 20 instances did Watkins find "genuine errors in our AI," whereas other instances are couched as "misrepresentations" or "mistakes," per an unnamed "panel of senior clinicians," which the startup's PR says "investigated and re-validated every single one" -- suggesting the error rate Watkins identified was just 0.8%. Screengrab from Babylon's press release which refers to to Dr Watkins' "Twitter troll tests" Responding to the attack in a telephone interview with TechCrunch, Watkins described Babylon's claims as "absolute nonsense" -- saying, for example, he has not carried out anywhere near 2,400 tests of its service. "There are certainly not 2,400 completed triage assessments," he told us. "Absolutely not." When asked how many tests he thinks he did complete, Watkins suggested it's likely to be between 800 and 900 full runs through "complete triages" ("Many" of which, he said, would have been repeat tests to confirm an issue; record the issue for the purpose of posting it to Twitter or to check if the company had fixed issues hed previously noticed. In addition, Watkins mentioned that some of the triage runs would have been undertaken to demonstrate issues to journalists who wanted to check issues he was flagging for themselves.) Story continues He said he identified issues in about one in three instances of testing the bot -- though in 2018 says he was finding far more problems, claiming it was "one in one" at that stage for an earlier version of the app. Watkins suggests that to get to the 2,400 figure Babylon is likely counting instances where the chatbot was opened but a complete triage wasnt undertaken -- for a variety of reasons, such as lagging/glitching and errors in the responses made. "They've manipulated data to try and discredit someone raising patient safety concerns," he said. He said has has undertaken "relatively focused testing primarily focused on common presentations or red flag cases." "I know what I'm looking for because I've done this for the past three years, and I'm looking for the same issues which I've flagged before to see have they fixed them. So trying to suggest that my testing is actually any indication of the accuracy of the chatbot overall is absurd in itself," he added. In another pointed attack Babylon writes Watkins has "posted over 6,000 misleading attacks" -- without specifying exactly what kind of attacks it's referring to (or where they've been posted). Watkins told us he hasn't even tweeted 6,000 times in total since joining Twitter four years ago; however, he has spent three years using the platform to raise concerns about diagnosis issues with Babylon's chatbot. Such as this series of tweets where he shows a triage for a female patient failing to pick up a potential heart attack. The @babylonhealth Chatbot has descended to a whole new level of incompetence, with #DeathByChatbot #GenderBias. Classic #HeartAttack symptoms in a FEMALE, results in a diagnosis of #PanicAttack or #Depression. The Chatbot ONLY suggests the possibility of a #HeartAttack in MEN! pic.twitter.com/M8ohPDx0LX Dr Murphy (aka David Watkins) (@DrMurphy11) September 8, 2019 Watkins told us he has no idea what the 6,000 figure refers to, accusing Babylon of having a culture that is "trying to silence criticism" rather than engage with genuine clinician concerns. "Not once have Babylon actually approached me and said, 'Hey Dr Murph or Dr Watkins, what you've tweeted there is misleading'," he added. "Not once." Instead, he said the startup has consistently taken a "dismissive approach" to the safety concerns he's raised. "My overall concern with the way that they've approached this is that yet again they have taken a dismissive approach to criticism and again tried to smear and discredit the person raising concerns," he said. Watkins, a consultant oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust -- who has for several years gone by the online (Twitter) moniker of @DrMurphy11, tweeting videos of Babylon's chatbot triage he says illustrate the bot failing to correctly identify patient presentations -- made his identity public on Monday when he attended a debate at the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr Murphy unmasked. Now for his positional statement. His driving force - patient safety. Cant argue with that!! @DrMurphy11 #RSMDigiHealth @RoySocMed pic.twitter.com/hOC7kzlNz3 clive flashman (@cflashman) February 24, 2020 There he gave a presentation calling for less hype and more independent verification of claims being made by Babylon as such digital systems continue to elbow their way into the healthcare space. In the case of Babylon, the app has a major cheerleader in the current U.K. Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, who has revealed he's a personal user of the app. Simultaneously, Hancock is pushing the National Health Service to overhaul its infrastructure to enable the plugging in of "healthtech" apps and services, so you can spot the political synergies. Watkins argues the sector needs more of a focus on robust evidence gathering and independent testing vs mindless ministerial support and partnership "endorsements" as a stand in for due diligence. He points to the example of Theranos -- the disgraced blood testing startup whose co-founder is now facing charges of fraud -- saying this should provide a major red flag of the need for independent testing of 'novel' health product claims. "[Over hyping of products] is a tech industry issue which unfortunately seems to have infected healthcare in a couple of situations," he told us, referring to the startup 'fake it til you make it' playbook of hype marketing and scaling without waiting for external verification of heavily marketed claims. In the case of Babylon, he argues the company has failed to back up puffy marketing with robust evidence of the sort of extensive clinical testing and validation which he says should be necessary for a health app that's out in the wild being used by patients. (References to academic studies that have been made have not been stood up by providing outsiders with access to data-sets so they can independently verify the claims, is the suggestion.) "They've got backing from the founders of Google DeepMind, [partnerships with] Bupa, Samsung, Tencent... the Saudis have invested hundreds of millions and they're a [2] billion dollar company. They've got the [personal] backing of Matt Hancock...It all looks trustworthy," Watkins went on. "But there is no basis for that trustworthiness. You're basing the trustworthiness on the ability of a company to partner. And you're making the assumption that those partners have undertaken due diligence." Babylon has also recently inked a 10-year deal with the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust -- which includes remote access to GPs and hospital specialists, live monitoring of patients with chronic conditions and personalised care plans underpinned by its AI. For its part Babylon claims the opposite -- saying its app meets existing regulatory standards and pointing to high "patient satisfaction ratings" and a lack of reported harm by users as evidence of safety, writing in the same PR in which it lays into Watkins: Our track record speaks for itself: our AI has been used millions of times, and not one single patient has reported any harm (a far better safety record than any other health consultation in the world). Our technology meets robust regulatory standards across five different countries, and has been validated as a safe service by the NHS on ten different occasions. In fact, when the NHS reviewed our symptom checker, Healthcheck and clinical portal, they said our method for validating them has been completed using a robust assessment methodology to a high standard. Patient satisfaction ratings see over 85% of our patients giving us 5 stars (and 94% giving five and four stars), and the Care Quality Commission recently rated us Outstanding for our leadership. But proposing to judge the efficacy of a health-related service by a patient's ability to complain if something goes wrong seems, at the very least, an unorthodox approach -- flipping the Hippocratic oath principle of 'first do no harm' on its head. (Plus, speaking theoretically, someone who's dead would literally be unable to complain -- which could plug a rather large loophole in any 'safety bar' being claimed via such an assessment methodology.) On the regulatory point, Watkins argues that the current UK regime does not provide adequate assurances that a development like AI chatbots are as reliable and safe as advertised. He says complaints he's filed with the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) appear to result in it simply asking Babylon to look into issues. The responses have often been very slow with minimal feedback regarding any changes, he adds. While he notes that confidentiality clauses limit what can be disclosed by the regulator. (On that point, when TechCrunch contacted the MHRA in 2018 -- to ask about concerns being raised about the Babylon chatbot at that time -- we were told the regulator could not comment on the app because information concerning the compliance of medical devices with the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 and underlying European legislation is confidential between the MHRA and the company. It would only provide us with the following general statement: We regularly carry out post-market surveillance and maintain dialogue with manufacturers about their compliance with the Regulations -- this forms part of our routine work at MHRA. Patient safety is our highest priority and should anything be identified during our post-market surveillance we take action as appropriate to protect public health.) All of that might look like a plum opportunity for a certain kind of startup 'disruptor', of course. And Babylon's app is one of several now applying AI type technologies as a diagnostic aid in chatbot form, across several global markets. Users are typically asked to respond to questions about their symptoms and at the end of the triage process get information on what might be a possible cause. Though Babylon's PR materials are careful to include a footnote where it caveats that its AI tools "do not provide a medical diagnosis, nor are they a substitute for a doctor". Yet, says Watkins, if you read certain headlines and claims made for the company's product in the media you might be forgiven for coming away with a very different impression -- and it's this level of hype that has him worried. Other less hype-dispensing chatbots are available, he suggests -- name-checking Berlin-based Ada Health as taking a more thoughtful approach on that front. Asked whether there are specific tests he would like to see Babylon do to stand up its hype, Watkins told us: "The starting point is getting a technology which you feel is safe to actually be in the public domain." Notably, the European Commission is working on risk-based regulatory framework for AI applications -- including for use-cases in sectors such as healthcare -- which would require such systems to be transparent, traceable and guarantee human oversight", as well as to use unbiased data for training their AI models. "Because of Babylon's prior hyperbolic claims [with regard to the capabilities and safety of the chatbot] there's a big issue," Watkins suggested, raising concerns about what he said is misleading wording used in the app and about media coverage of the AI that's flowed from Babylon's hyped marketing. "How do they now roll back and make sure people understand the purpose of the chatbot?" Specifically he finds the disclaimer statement on the chatbot confusing, which says it's for 'information only', and notes: The service does not diagnose your own health condition or make treatment recommendations for you. Our triage and information service is not a substitute for a doctor or other healthcare professional. "The chatbot presents itself as giving patients suggested diagnosis and indicates what action they should consider. But at the same time they have a disclaimer saying this isn't giving you any healthcare information, it's just information -- it doesn't make sense. I don't know what a patient's meant to think of that," he added, suggesting different wording should be used to warn patients what the technology should be used for. "Babylon always present themselves as very patient-facing, very patient-focused, we listen to patients, we hear their feedback. If I was a patient and I've got a chatbot telling me what to do and giving me a suggested diagnosis -- at the same time it's telling me 'ignore this, don't use it' -- what is it?" he added. "What's its purpose? "There are other chatbots which I think have defined their purpose far more clearly [he also cites MayaMD] -- where they are very clear in their intent saying we're not here to provide you with healthcare advice; we will provide you with information which you can take to your healthcare provider to allow you to have a more informed discussion with them. And when you put it in that context, as a patient I think that makes perfect sense. This machine is going to give me information so I can have a more informed discussion with my doctor. Fantastic. So there's simple things which they just haven't done." Watkins also aired his frustration at feeling he has to raise these issues: "It drives me nuts. I'm an oncologist -- it shouldn't be me doing this." He suggested Babylon's response to his raising "good faith" patient safety concerns is a worrying sign, suggesting a deeper malaise within the culture of the company. "What they have done is utilize their chatbot app data to intimidate me as an identifiable individual," he said of the company's attack on him, adding that Babylon's use of the term "troll" is an inappropriate term for someone raising safety concerns and "constitutes a personal attack on me as an individual. "I'm concerned that there will be clinicians in that company who, if they see this happening, they're going to think twice about raising concerns -- because you'll just get discredited in the organization. And that's really dangerous in healthcare," Watkins added. "You have to be able to speak up when you see concerns because otherwise patients are at risk of harm and things don't change. You have to learn from error when you see it. You can't just carry on doing the same thing again and again and again." "It is disappointing that Babylon have chosen to attack me as an individual, instead of outlining their plans to address the dangerously flawed triage algorithms," he added. Others in the medical community have been quick to criticize Babylon for targeting Watkins in such a personal manner and for revealing details about his use of its (medical) service. As one Twitter user, Sam Gallivan -- also a doctor -- put it: "Can other high frequency Babylon Health users look forward to having their medical queries broadcast in a press release?" Can other high frequency @babylonhealth users look forward to having their private medical queries broadcast in a press release? Sam Gallivan (@samgal) February 25, 2020 The act certainly raises questions about Babylon's approach to sensitive health data, if it's accessing patient information for the purpose of trying to steamroller informed criticism. We've seen similarly ugly stuff in tech before, of course -- such as when Uber kept a 'god-view' of its ride-hailing service and used it to keep tabs on critical journalists. In that case the misuse of platform data pointed to a toxic culture problem that Uber has had to spend subsequent years sweating to turn around (including changing its CEO). Babylon's selective data dump on Watkins is also an illustrative example of a digital service's ability to access and shape individual data at will -- pointing to the underlining power asymmetries between these data-capturing technology platforms (which are gaining increasing agency over our decisions) and their users who only get highly mediated, hyper controlled access to the databases they help to feed. Watkins, for example, told us he is no longer able to access his query history in the Babylon app -- providing a screenshot of an error screen (below) that he says he now sees when he tries to access chat history in the app. He said he does not know why, over recent months, he has no longer been able to access his historical usage information -- barring access to a reference point that could help with further testing. If it's a bug it's a convenient one for Babylon PR... We contacted Babylon to ask it to respond to criticism of its attack on Watkins. The company defended its use of his app data to generate the press release -- arguing that the "volume" of queries he had run means the usual data protection rules don't apply, and further claiming it had only shared "non-personal statistical data", even though this was attached in the PR to his Twitter identity (and therefore, since Monday, to his real name). In a statement the Babylon spokesperson told us: If safety related claims are made about our technology, our medical professionals are required to look into these matters to ensure the accuracy and safety of our products. In the case of the recent use data that was shared publicly, it is clear given the volume of use that this was theoretical data (forming part of an accuracy test and experiment) rather than a genuine health concern from a patient. Given the use volume and the way data was presented publicly, we felt that we needed to address accuracy and use information to reassure our users. The data shared by us was non-personal statistical data, and Babylon has complied with its data protection obligations throughout. Babylon does not publish genuine individualised user health data. We also asked the UK's data protection watchdog about the episode and Babylon making Watkins' app usage public. The ICO told us: People have the right to expect that organisations will handle their personal information responsibly and securely. If anyone is concerned about how their data has been handled, they can contact the ICO and we will look into the details. Babylon's clinical innovation director, Dr Keith Grimes, attended the same Royal Society debate as Watkins this week -- which was entitled Recent developments in AI and digital health 2020 and billed as a conference that will "cut through the hype around AI". So it looks to be no accident that their attack press release was timed to follow hard on the heels of a presentation it would have known (since at least last December) was coming that day -- and in which Watkins argued where AI chatbots are concerned "validation is more important than valuation". A little challenge to one of our critics...#RSMDigiHealth https://t.co/XqvQpRYMLX Babylon (@babylonhealth) February 24, 2020 Last summer Babylon announced a $550M Series C raise, at a $2BN+ valuation. Investors in the company include Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, an unnamed U.S.-based health insurance company, Munich Res ERGO Fund, Kinnevik, Vostok New Ventures and DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, to name a few helping to fund its marketing. "They came with a narrative," said Watkins of Babylon's message to the Royal Society. "The debate wasn't particularly instructive or constructive. And I say that purely because Babylon came with a narrative and they were going to stick to that. The narrative was to avoid any discussion about any safety concerns or the fact that there were problems and just describe it as safe." The clinician's counter message to the event was to pose a question EU policymakers are just starting to consider -- calling for the AI maker to show data-sets that stand up its safety claims. This report was updated with additional comment The Supreme Court on Wednesday termed unfortunate the incidents of violence in Delhi but refused to entertain pleas on them. A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said it will not expand the scope of petitions filed in connection with the protests at Shaheen Bagh by looking into the pleas on violence. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the apex court that the Delhi High Court has heard pleas connected with the violence. After this, the bench disposed the applications saying it is for the high court to take note of the matter. The death toll in northeast Delhi communal violence rose to 17 on Wednesday from 13 the day earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The New Milford Youth Agency is offering two programs for middle and high school students. Students in grades six through eight are invited to attend Mindful Mondays, with the next meetings to be held March 2, April 6, May 4 and June 1 from 2:45 to 4 p.m. at the Youth Agency located at the John Pettibone Community Center at 2 Pickett District Road. The average New Years' resolution carries an expiration date of nineteen days. That means it is currently well into drought season for fitness regime goals. Is it possible to revive the excitement that comes with entering the gym on day one? Oregon based certified and experienced yoga instructor and personal trainer Jolene Cherry knows when building good fitness habits seem more like carrying a burden, turning to technology can help lighten the load. Cherry explores several different technology gizmos and gadgets to keep in mind when the initial burst of fitness motivation runs dry. Drink It What better way to solve a fitness drought than with water? A great and straightforward health habit of starting is drinking quality H20. Hydration aids the body even before the gym by improving cardiovascular health, increasing energy, cutting hunger, averting headaches, supporting the movement of joints, rinse out toxins, and also clearing skin. People are creatures of habit, and it is good to start with establishing small healthy practices such as drinking water so that later, larger fitness goals can be achievable. A new purchase to assist with frequent water drinking is a smart water bottle. The suggested water intake for the average human is eight glasses a day. Smart water bottles not only help keep count of the amount consumed, but they also provide a friendly and motivating reminder via light or vibration when the world becomes a distraction from water drinking goals. Download It There is an app for everything, and reviving and maintaining fitness habits are included in the mix. The app world knows that all humans' makeup is different, and fitness lifestyles are subject to that fact. That is why there are significant apps such as BodBot and Noom that identify with what workouts fit best with the uniqueness of an individual's body as well as offer one-on-one personal trainers. Social media apps such as Facebook are useful when looking for a motivating community to hold accountability. The extra needed push to make it another day on your fitness journey can come from encouraging words or shared tips on how not to give up from the support of peers working towards the same goal. Wear It Tell more than time with wearable technology such as a smartwatch. Time can fly during the day between work, friends, and family, and sometimes fitting a spin class in seems impossible. Smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and the Garmin Instinct can track your steps and heart health to make it easier not to give up on healthy fitness habits. With multiple helpful types of technology to turn to when fitness goals start to fade, choosing the right one for the job is essential. Before loading up an Amazon shopping cart or opening the app store, address the obstacles that make fitness habits come and go. Learning how to overcome barriers is primary for creating balance to sustain good fitness habits. As a passionate health advocate, Jolene Cherry believes that striking a balance in health goals, as well as in life, is the key to wellbeing. About Jolene Cherry: Jolene Cherry is a certified yoga instructor and personal trainer based in Oregon. She excels in a variety of yoga styles, especially Vinyasa Yoga, traditional Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga, as well as meditation-oriented Yin Yoga. While it's important to exercise your body, you must also exercise your mind to find harmony, and be careful about what you eat to fuel both your body and your mind - this is Jolene's guiding principle in everything she does. The three Democratic members of Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to replace the county budget officer, an abrupt change just two weeks after the court unanimously approved this years $5 billion spending plan. Budget Officer Bill Jackson agreed to remain in the position until the court appoints his successor following a national search. Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who placed the item to fire Jackson on Tuesdays agenda, said the budget office had not been transparent enough with court members. He also said he opposed the budget offices practice of allowing departments to roll over unspent funds into the next fiscal year. I want to thank Bill for his many years of service, Garcia said. Hes gotten us to a good point, but weve got a lot of uncertainties that are looming in the future, and we have to be ready for them, and have the best possible minds to help us get there. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who wants to make the county budgeting process more performance based, said new leadership in the budget office would help her more quickly realize her vision. I believe that a different budget director, obviously someone else who can maintain our bond rating, but in addition to that, can be very ambitious, creative and transparent in how we track our spending and allocate our resources will be better for the county, Hidalgo said. I am in a hurry to provide positive changes in our community. Jackson, 63, joined the county in 1996 and has served as budget director since 2011. He told the Houston Chronicle he was proud of maintaining Harris Countys stellar AAA bond rating and maintaining cash reserves sufficient to help the county weather a hurricane or economic downturn. The post is among the most important directly overseen by Commissioners Court. Jackson said he had planned to retire in two years. He also disagreed with Garcias characterization of his office as insufficiently transparent. Our team was always providing info to all internal and external requesters, as well as thousands of pages on the web, he said. The two Republican commissioners, Jack Cagle and Steve Radack, opposed Jacksons firing. Cagle objected to the last-minute addition of the item to Tuesdays agenda, and said the public deserved more ample notice. Radack said an abrupt replacement of a budget director could negatively impact the countys credit rating. He said he failed to understand why his Democratic colleagues wanted to replace Jackson just one session after the court unanimously had voted to approve the annual budget his office had prepared. This body is one of the best-run governments in the United States, Radack said. Yall go ahead and bicker over a man whos done an outstanding job. Radack and Cagle refused to participate in an executive session to decide Jacksons fate. The trio of Democrats conferred privately in a back room for more than an hour. Jackson sat alone at his seat in the court chamber, stone-faced. He was summoned to join the Democrats in the executive session, where he agreed to stay on until his replacement is hired. He told the Chronicle on Monday that a transition period is crucial, given the complexity of the role and sheer size of the countys $5 billion budget. He said Garcia had not previously raised concerns about his job performance. A committee composed of a representatives from each court members office will conduct the search. Hidalgo pledged a thorough process that would assure bond rating agencies the countys finances will continue to be well-managed. The court unanimously passed a resolution praising Jackson for his service, at the request of Cagle. zach.despart@chron.com The family conflict between Meghan Markle and his father Thomas Markle continues. In fact, it intensified even more after the Markle patriarch learned about his daughter's latest action. Thomas was said to be "very upset" with the Sussexes' official statement addressing the ongoing issue with the British monarchy. "I don't think they have the right to use the word royal. I don't think they have the right to speak to the Queen the way they've spoken to her," Thomas told TMZ. The 75-year-old father also mentioned to the news outlet that he thinks "it's an insult to the Queen and the British people" that her daughter and husband Prince Harry left them. "My daughter dumped me one day before she got married. She dumped my family. She's dumped Doria's family. She's dumped every family. And now she's dumping the British family," the Markle patriarch furthered. Meghan's Complicated Relationship With His Father Their father-daughter tandem strained relationship started two years ago when Meghan and Harry tied the knot in 2018. Meghan's father was MIA on her wedding day due to his health conditions, but it was followed by a staged paparazzi shoot he previously admitted ... which now he regrets. It did not help that Thomas reportedly revealed to the British Press the letter Meghan wrote to him, ruining the Duchess of Sussex's reputation. The Queen Wants "Megxit" to End Before Thomas' remarks about Prince Harry and Meghan's demeanor towards her majesty, the reigning monarch was reportedly said to be eager to move on from the issue. Queen Elizabeth II may publicly support the Sussexes' decision to step down from their royal duties, but she does not want to discuss matters regarding the issue. Her Majesty reportedly fears that the ongoing controversy might damage the image of the monarchy as an institution, which is the last thing the Queen wants to happen. This resulted in the Queen's firm decision to draw a line between her personal relationship within the family and protect her role as the head of the state. Meghan and Harry Officially Breaks Free Recently, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted a lengthy statement on their website disclosing their plans as they officially break free from the royal family on March 31. After their resignation as senior members of the royal family, the two are looking to be financially independent and will no longer receive any money from the Sovereign Grant. The transition also includes that they will not represent the Queen on her behalf, though both are allowed to maintain their patronages. Lastly, Prince Harry will still be able to keep his place as sixth in line to the throne. The Sussex "Unhappy" With the "Megxit" Deal Speaking to The Sun, royal expert and commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said he believes that the couple is "unhappy" with the terms set by the Queen after they were forbidden to use their "Sussex Royal" brand. While they accepted the decision, it was clear on their statement that they do not like it. "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". For Christians, today is not any Wednesday of the year, for it carries a prefix Ash, making it Ash Wednesday. It is an exclusive term used by Christians signifying, a) the importance of the day itself, b) marking the start of a special liturgical season of 40 days till Easter, and c) calling all Christians to dedicate this time of grace to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. With an external sign of ashes applied on the foreheads and the words: Thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return, we would be initiated into living an internally spiritual life. In this inner journey we Christians are advised to make concerted efforts to turn our attention from worldly affairs to matters concerning the soul. The Church helps the faithful live the spiritual life, asking us to perform inner conversion by offering especially prepared liturgical worship. For instance, the Bible passage of today would address us: Now, now it is the Lord who speaks come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping and mourning. Let your hearts be broken not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for He is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent. Again using St Pauls words, the Church would exhort: we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. One must not forget that though this season begins with a visible sign of the Cross marked with ashes on the forehead, the real focus is on the conversion of the heart and mind towards Gods commandments. Jesus taught that God cares less for external expressions and is far happier with inner disposition. He said, Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all rewards from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you He warned them similarly about not making any public show regarding fasting and prayer. Regardless of which religion we follow or how we address our god or goddess, Ash Wednesday can be a good reminder for all to turn our focus on the divine. Only such an attitude can facilitate our journey toward God, which basically is a call to change our earthly ways of living in falsehood, deception, allurement of wealth or maya. For, God abides in our innermost being. Finding Him there will automatically turn us towards other human beings in service. After all, we are dust and unto dust we shall return. And when we are on the inner journey, let us not restrict it to just 40 days of Lent but carry it on till we meet our Lord in heaven. Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of the Parliament of Religions, can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com Home Minister Amit Shah should resign in view of the widespread violence in several parts of northeast Delhi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Wednesday as she led a peace march in the heart of the national capital. Priyanka Gandhi was accompanied by several top leaders including K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Jitin Prasada, P L Punia, Randeep Surjewala, Rajeev Gowda, Shaktisinh Gohil, Ajay Singh Lallu (UP Congress chief), Mani Shankar Aiyar, Sushmita Dev, Krishna Tirath and Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence which broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. The march started from the party's main office on the 24, Akbar Road. However, the leaders were stopped by the police midway. The Congress leaders and workers sat on the barricaded road and sang Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" and raised slogans of unity. Addressing Congress workers at the place where they were stopped by the police barricades, Priyanka Gandhi urged them to visit affected areas and spread the message of peace and brotherhood. She also accused the government of having "destroyed" Delhi, where people from across the country come to seek employment. "This is our city. People come here to find work. Today, fire and hatred is being spread in this city. We are a party that has helped in the freedom struggle and it is our duty to bring peace and maintain harmony. I urge every one of you to spread the message of love and brotherhood," she told the workers. It is the duty of the government and the Home Minister to bring peace to the national capital, but they have failed, she said. Priyanka Gandhi said, "We wanted to walk till the home minister's house and demand his resignation, but police stopped us". "We want the government to take action and make every effort to ensure that peace prevails," the Congress general secretary said. She said the Congress demands help for people who have suffered losses in the violence, who are being hospitalised and whose houses have been burnt down, and mutual harmony should be restored. "This is my request to all of you that when you move out from here, visit those houses which are in pain and agony," Priyanka Gandhi told Congress workers. "You might remember that when riots had occurred at the time of independence, what Indira Ji did? She went from house to house, she visited Hindus' houses, she visited Muslims' houses and tried to initiate mutual dialogue among them and restore mutual harmony," she said. She also recounted how Indira Gandhi had visited Chandni Chowk where she had invited just 10 families over a cup of tea which included Hindu, Muslim and Christian families. "She (Indira Gandhi) initiated the process of dialogue among them and through such small steps, she restored love and harmony among them and the Congress party has always acted upon this principle," she said. "Therefore, I once again urge upon you that our religion is non-violence and service to people. Today, the country needs you, you should visit every household with a message of love and peace, all of us are with you and together we will make such efforts," she said. She also appealed to residents of Delhi to desist from indulging in violence as it will cause loss, pain and grief. "Such is dirty We have to come out of it; the country has to come out of it. Therefore, today we want that all of you who are present here and all the workers of the Congress all over the country should spread the message of non-violence espoused by Gandhi Ji and Nehru Ji," Priyanka Gandhi said. Giving the message of unity, the Congress members held posters reading "Aaj Hamara Ek Hi Naara, Nahin Bate Samaj Hamara". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Roger Stone arrives for his sentencing at a federal courthouse in Washington on Thursday. 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 WASHINGTON - U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday rebuked President Donald Trump and other media commentators for attacking the forewoman of the jury that convicted longtime Trump friend and confidante Roger Stone of lying to Congress, as she ordered a partially public hearing to weigh Stone's request for a new trial because of concerns about the jury. Citing the extreme risk of harassment and intimidation jurors might face, Jackson decided that observers should be able to only listen to an audio feed - rather than see in person - arguments over Stone's request for a new trial. She also barred the parties from naming jurors during the proceeding. Jackson noted the president himself had "used his Twitter platform to present his opinion about the foreperson" of the jury, and that Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson had displayed the foreperson's Twitter handle and called her an "anti-Trump zealot." Carlson's show reaches millions of viewers. A day before Stone requested the new trial, Trump suggested on Twitter the forewoman of the jury in Stone's case had "significant bias." He doubled down on those attacks while the hearing was ongoing Tuesday. "There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case," Trump wrote. "Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of 'Trump' and Stone. She was totally biased, as is the judge. Roger wasn't even working on my campaign. Miscarriage of justice. Sad to watch!" Jackson, Stone's trial judge, had earlier called out Trump and some media commentators for attacking the jury forewoman, and others whom she said sent intimidating comments to two jurors who spoke out publicly about the case after reaching their verdict. Jurors are allowed to talk publicly about their deliberations once they are concluded. "Any attempt to harass or intimidate jurors is completely antithetical to our system of justice," Jackson said. She added the comments could have a "chilling effect" on future jurors. "This is indisputably a highly publicized case in which the president himself shone a spotlight on the jury," Jackson said. "The risk of harassment and intimidation of any jurors who may testify in the hearing later today is extremely high, and individually who may be angry about Mr. Stone's conviction may chose to take it out on them personally." Jackson has signaled the likelihood of a swift ruling and could decide as early as Tuesday whether to toss out Stone's convictions and order a retrial, or finalize the jury's guilty verdicts for defense appeal. "I don't expect we're going to need a lot of argument," she said Tuesday. Stone filed his request for a new trial on Feb. 14 - the day after Trump repeatedly attacked the forewoman of the jury, who ran for Congress as a Democrat. "Now it looks like the fore person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias," Trump wrote on Twitter on Feb. 13, during a week in which his public comments triggered a crisis of confidence in the Justice Department. "Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the 'Justice' Department." Trump was referring to Tomeka Hart, a former president of the Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress. Hart had identified herself as the forewoman of the jury in a Facebook post, saying she couldn't "keep quiet any longer" in the wake of the Justice Department move to reduce its sentencing recommendation for Stone from the seven to nine years recommended by front-line prosecutors. The change came after Trump called the initial request "horrible and very unfair." "It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors," Hart said in the post. "They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and respect for our system of justice." Jackson barred the parties from naming jurors during Tuesday's hearing, but said in court the discussion involved the forewoman. Prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over her social media postings. Stone defense attorney Seth Ginsberg alleged that the forewoman answered falsely when she said on a jury questionnaire that she had no opinions about the FBI, Justice Department or special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election that would affect her impartiality, and that nothing about their involvement would affect her ability to be fair and base her decision solely on the evidence and the law. "Based on the social media posts, it appears to me they are misleading, intentionally," Ginsberg said. Prosecutors' contention seemed to be that Stone's defense attorneys had ample time to review her and other jurors questionnaires, which they were given on Sept. 13, and did not raise an objection in real time. Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said none of the postings made by the juror during the trial, from Nov. 6 through Nov. 15, were related to Stone's case when he and another prosecutor examined them two or three days after Stone's Feb. 14 filing. He added however, that some of links have subsequently been disabled. In an unusual twist, the government on Tuesday called as a witness one of the prosecutors who brought the case against Stone at trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Marando. Marando quit the case only in recent weeks, after Justice Department leadership intervened to reduce the sentencing recommendation he and the other career prosecutors on the team made for Stone. Marando testified that Stone's defense was given a list five days before jury selection began of about 80 potential jurors in the order they would be questioned, meaning those at the top would be likeliest to be selected. "It's coming back to me now. A lot has happened since then," Marando said. Although it was not discussed at Tuesday's hearing, the jury forewoman was among the first five prospective jurors questioned. Jackson said a transcript will be released after the hearing, though some information could be redacted from it. She suggested that at least two jurors and possibly more may be called as witnesses to investigate Stone's sealed allegation of juror misconduct. Witness testimony will be public, but some portions of questioning will be conducted under a white-noise husher or at the bench with audio turned off to avoid revealing identifying information about the jurors, Jackson said. Stone also made a separate, failed bid to disqualify Jackson after Thursday's sentencing hearing, asserting that she showed bias by referring to "the jurors who served with integrity under difficult circumstances." Jackson slapped down that claim as a baseless smear, saying no law required a postponement and that she had agreed to delay execution of Stone's sentence until his motion is resolved. "Given the absence of any factual or legal support for the motion for disqualification, the pleading appears to be nothing more than an attempt to use the Court's docket to disseminate a statement for public consumption that has the words 'judge' and 'biased' in it," Jackson wrote in a rare Sunday opinion. The record indicates that Stone's motion is his second attempt to argue for a new trial related to allegations of juror bias. Jackson denied his first such motion, filed after his November trial and decided Feb. 5, saying there was no evidence that a juror was biased merely because she was a lawyer with the Internal Revenue Service. A jury convicted Stone in November of lying during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 to conceal his central role in the Trump campaign's efforts to learn about Democratic computer files hacked by Russia and made public by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks to damage Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton. Stone also threatened a witness who was an associate of his in an attempt to prevent the man from cooperating with lawmakers The Supreme Court standard for juror qualification is that they need not "be totally ignorant of the facts and issues involved. . . . It is sufficient if the juror can lay aside his impression or opinion and render a verdict based on the evidence presented in court." The public docket does not state why Stones motion was filed under seal. However, courts typically avoid naming jurors before and after a verdict is entered, and the court in Stones case had cited concerns that extensive publicity could raise the chance that jurors would be exposed to intimidation or harassment. Italy has recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus crisis despite locking down the entire country The situation improves in China while the list of countries hit globally grows and the WHO warns the world is "simply not ready". Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis. - Some 40 countries hit - There are some 80,000 infections worldwide, including nearly 2,800 outside China and more than 2,700 deaths worldwide, according to the latest toll from the World Health Organization on Wednesday. The number of deaths in China has declined, with 52 deaths in the last 24 hours, the lowest count in more than three weeks. But the daily number of infections worldwide is higher than in China, the WHO said. In its latest count some 40 people had died outside mainland China since the start of the epidemic. Cases of the virus have appeared in five new countries: Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Greece and Switzerland, bringing the number of countries hit to around 40. South Korea announces more than 1,000 infections -- by far the largest outside China -- and 12 deaths. Italy, the hardest hit country in Europe, has more than 370 cases and 12 deaths. Iran announces a total of 19 deaths and 139 infections, including the country's deputy health minister. - World 'simply not ready' - Praising China's drastic quarantine and containment measures, Bruce Aylward, leader of a joint WHO-China mission of experts, also warns other nations are "simply not ready" to contain the outbreak. "You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale... and it has to be done fast". He warns the new coronavirus may be around "for months". Gulf countries announce new measures to cut links with Iran -- the major hotspot in the Middle East -- to stop the spread. In Europe, countries neighbouring Italy decide to keep their borders open despite the spread of the virus to Tuscany, Sicily and Liguria. But several governments encourage their nationals to postpone trips. In the United States, health authorities urge local governments, businesses and schools to develop plans such as cancelling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking. Story continues - Sports, markets disrupted - Ireland's health ministry recommends cancelling the country's Six Nations rugby match against Italy to be held in Dublin on March 7. Japan's sumo governing body announces it will hold an emergency meeting to decide whether to go ahead with a major tournament in Osaka scheduled to start on March 8. But organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics say preparations are "continuing as planned". Several major companies say their sales will be hit by the epidemic, including British drinks group Diageo, the maker of Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka, and French food giant Danone. German airline Lufthansa says it will freeze new hires and offer unpaid leave to employees. We hereby inform you that on the initiative and by the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta, legal entity code 110648893, registered address at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter - the Company), an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company was convened on 26 February 2020 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the registered office of the Company at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda. Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, held on 26 February 2020, adopted the following resolutions: Adopted decisions: Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to pledge current and future amounts receivable (the LNG terminal security component) by a subsequent pledge to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania for the state guarantee issued by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 1. To pledge these current and future amounts receivable (the Security Component) by a subsequent pledge to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania for the period until 31 December 2044 in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years. Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to mortgage the Subacius oil terminal by a subsequent mortgage for obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta according to the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 2. To mortgage the Subacius oil terminal at Kunciai village, Subacius local area, Kupiskis district municipality as a property complex to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania by a subsequent mortgage for the period until 31 December 2044, in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty- five) years. Story continues Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to mortgage the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit by a senior conditional mortgage for obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta according to the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania: To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: 3. To mortgage the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit as a property complex whose ownership rights will be acquired by AB Klaipedos nafta to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania by a senior conditional mortgage for the period until 31 December 2044, in order to secure the obligations of AB Klaipedos nafta under the state guarantee granted by the Republic of Lithuania issued to secure the agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank for granting of the loan, borrowing up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years. Regarding the approval of the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta to make an agreement for granting of a loan with the Nordic Investment Bank (hereinafter NIB), borrowing from the NIB up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years: 4.1. To approve of the following decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta: To make an agreement for granting of a loan with the Nordic Investment Bank (hereinafter - NIB) on behalf of AB Klaipedos nafta, borrowing from the NIB up to EUR 160 mln. (one hundred and sixty million euros) for a period of up to 25 (twenty-five) years (hereinafter - the Loan for Stage II) with the purpose to acquire the floating liquefied natural gas storage unit, and to approve the following main commercial terms of the agreement: 6 MEURIBOR + 50 bp (margin) or fixed interest; administrative fee of 10 bp; commitment fee of 7 bp; loan availability period until 31-12-2024; the loan is backed by a state guarantee. 4.2. To authorise (with the power to redelegate the authority) the General Manager of AB Klaipedos nafta to sign the agreement with the NIB according to the terms indicated in paragraph 4.1 of this decision and to decide on the conditions of the borrowing, which will be provided in the payment offers of NIB, including but not limited to: 4.2.1. to decide to borrow at fixed or variable interest; 4.2.2. to decide on the amount of credit requested to be disbursed. 4.3. To determine that the Loan for Stage II provided for in paragraph 4 can be taken and used after (i) the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania issues a permission to AB Klaipedos nafta to assume new obligations, as provided for in paragraph 13(7) of Article 3 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Debt and (ii) signature and coming into force of the state guarantee as a security for the Loan for Stage II. Jonas Lenksas, Chief Financial Officer, tel.: +370 694 80594 FEBRUARY 26, 2020 Editor's note: The following message was sent today on behalf of Dr. Lisa Montoya, vice provost for global initiatives and senior international officer, to all faculty and staff. You are probably aware of the ongoing news about the coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, Feb. 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 3 Warning, its highest alert, recommending travelers avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea. Under UTS 190 International Travel Policy, it is the responsibility of University of Texas System institutions to assess the health, safety and security risks of university-sponsored international travel, with special consideration for high-risk travel. This includes travel to locations where the CDC has issued a Level 3 Health Notice Warning. With that in mind, all proposed travel to South Korea by UTSA faculty, scholars, students and staff must be reviewed by the universitys International Oversight Committee prior to making travel arrangements. UTSA and UT System-sponsored travel is any educational or business travel that is sponsored, administered, organized or conducted as a UTSA or UT System representative, regardless of credit or funding. See UTSA's information page with regular updates on coronavirus monitoring. The CDC has also issued a Level 2 Health Notice Warning for Japan and Italy, recommending travelers take increased precautions when traveling to those countries. For this reason, all UTSA student travel to Japan and Italy must be approved by the IOC. Faculty and staff travel will require approval through the appropriate dean or vice president and submission to the IOC chairperson for review and final approval. UTSA faculty, scholars, students or staff who wish to travel to South Korea, Japan, Italy or any other country on the UTSA Restricted Regions List should submit their travel request a minimum of 30 days in advance of any travel purchase. If you have questions about the process, please refer to the UTSA International Travel Process page, call Global Initiatives at (210) 458-7211 or email global@utsa.edu. Also, anyone who has travel planned but not yet in progress to any country affected by the coronavirus outbreak should contact Global Initiatives because travel previously was approved by the IOC may be subject to additional review if there is potential for an increased health risk. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your support of the well-being and safety of our Roadrunner community. [February 26, 2020] Telos and BAI Announce Strategic Alliance to Enhance Critical Communications ASHBURN, Va., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telos Corporation , a leading provider of cyber, cloud and enterprise security solutions for the worlds most security-conscious organizations, today announced a Strategic Alliance Agreement between the company and Brandes Associates, Inc. (BAI). This agreement allows Telos and Brandes to pursue joint initiatives to provide secure organizational messaging solutions based on Telos Automated Message Handling System (AMHS), operating in conjunction with BAIs Syndeo Intelligent Gateway (SIG), to customers in the United States and in allied nations. We are excited to partner with BAI to aggressively pursue new opportunities while maintaining market leadership in web-based organizational messaging, said Ken Fagan, vice president of secure communications, Telos. BAI has a history of providing great value to the market, and we are proud to be able to extend that commitment to excellence with our growing customer base. Telos AMHS supports over 70 organizations around the world, including the Office of the Secretary of efense, Joint Staff, all Combatant Commands, the US Army, US Marine Corps, US Air Force, and multiple defense agencies, as well as the intelligence community (IC). Over the past several years, Brandes has established a great working relationship with Telos, which has been evident in key programs with the DoD and IC customers, said Aaron Anderson, president, Brandes Associates. Weve built our messaging products, capabilities and services to address customer needs, unique interfaces, and mission goals through which we have opened new markets and developed customers that were previously unknown. The Syndeo Intelligent Gateway is currently deployed around the world to support intelligence sharing and organizational messaging. About Telos Corporation Telos Corporation empowers and protects the worlds most security-conscious organizations with solutions for continuous security assurance of individuals, systems, and information. Telos offerings include cybersecurity solutions for IT risk management and information security; cloud security solutions to protect cloud-based assets and enable continuous compliance with industry and government security standards; and enterprise security solutions to ensure that personnel can work and collaborate securely and productively. The company serves military, intelligence and civilian agencies of the federal government, allied nations and commercial organizations around the world. The company is a recipient of the prestigious James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award from the Defense Security Service (DSS), awarded to less than .03% of eligible organizations. For more information, visit www.telos.com and follow the company on Twitter @TelosNews . Contact: Allison Phillipp Telos Corporation Email: [email protected] Phone: 703.724.3642 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga doesnt stand a chance of winning the General Election in 2022, Gladys Shollei has indicated. Speaking on Citizen TVs Daybreak yesterday, the Uasin Gishu Woman Rep said Railas history of losing in polls would continue in the next presidential elections. Raila has made his mark in history. He is a formidable politician but there is something wrong with his strategy. Im very sure in 2022, he will not win the election, period! she said. Shollei also claimed that Raila won the 2017 General Election but lacked the proper strategy to ascend to power. She further claimed that the AU envoy of Infrastructure won his first election with the backing of DP Ruto. It is my personal opinion that Raila Odinga did win the 2007 election and guess who was behind him, Dr. William Samoei Ruto and the whole of Rift Valley, thats how he won She said. Further, Shollei accused Raila of lying to Kenyans that the BBI is not about leadership positions. Raila Odinga has said it (BBI) is not about positions, he is lying, it is about positions. We have been talking about the Prime Minister position, we are creating positions instead of addressing pertinent issues, she stated. Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - A terrorist was shot dead Tuesday at Salloum Mount in the region of Kasserine, near the Algerian border in a joint operation carried out by a special unit of the national guard and the army, said Housemeddine Jbabli, spokesperson for the national guard, He said the Tunisian forces laid an ambush following information about the movements of suspected elements on the Kasserine mountains Kabul, Feb 26 : At least 10 people were injured when an explosive-fitted motorbike exploded on Wednesday afternoon in Police District 6 in the Afghan capital, police said. The source at the site, on the condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that "I saw 10 wounded persons" rolling in bloods on the street after the motorbike blast at 3.30 pm (local time). Ranking security officials have yet to make any comment on the report. The blast took place on the fifth day of the "seven-day reduction in violence" or a partial ceasefire observed by the Taliban outfit since early Saturday, which would be followed by a US-Taliban peace agreement on February 29 to pave the way for the withdrawal of US forces from the country. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Savo Brothers plans to develop the former Jesuit retreat Mount Manresa in Fort Wadsworth were snarled earlier this week, stalling the project indefinitely. A unanimous vote against the developers application for a waiver to General City Law 36 which regulates whether new construction can front on unmapped streets -- by the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) put a halt to the proposed construction of 163 single-family and multi-use dwellings. Had the waiver been granted, it would have allowed the Savo Brothers to bypass the citys land use public hearing process and would have allowed the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for a building that doesnt front on a city mapped street. Staten Islanders have been up in arms about the proposed development of the historical site since the property was quietly sold to the Savo Brothers in 2014. The planned development has been fraught with controversy since -- residents and borough elected officials have been trying to stop the development at every turn. 8/28/2001 Mt. Manresa in its prime. (Staten Island Advance) 2012: CLOSING ANNOUNCED A letter from The Rev. David Ciancimino, S.J., Provincial of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in 2012 announced that it would be closing the following year. Father Ciancimino said the move was made "in an effort to respond more effectively to contemporary needs. Over the course of 100 years, so many have been so generous and have worked so hard on behalf of Mount Manresa and its ministries, Rich Nolan, chair of the Mount Manresa board of directors, said in his own letter to the Mount Manresa community at the time. Through such generosity and hard work, a great gift was provided to the Church and to our Staten Island community. At this challenging time, it is with profound gratitude that I reflect upon the selfless devotion of so many to Mount Manresa and its ministries. 2013: CONTROVERSY OVER SALE The community was shocked by the sale of Mount Manresa, as no information about the sale other than the initial asking price, $15.9 million, was made public. Citing a confidentiality agreement, Michael Schneider of Massey Knakal Realty Services in Manhattan declined to identify the buyer and the selling price, as did the Rev. Vincent M. Cooke, S.J., a spokesman for the New York Province of the Society of Jesus. The Society owned the property. Massey Knakal had marketed Manresa as a "trophy development site" for $20 million under a bidding process. The public was only told it was in hard contract and left in the dark about what would potentially be done with the site. Rallies were held and petitions were signed but it wasnt enough to save the property and the sale was finalized in 2014. 2014: ASBESTOS DISCOVERY AND AN ARREST Inspectors found friable, or airborne, asbestos in piping insulation in one of the buildings, forcing the Department of Environmental Protection to issue a stop work order on the specific site, delaying demolition of the site and requiring the Savo Brothers to find an asbestos abatement company to remove the minerals. The finding came after it was initially reported that asbestos was abated from the site in 2010. It was later discovered that Paul Santoro and his father, Gaspare Santoro, engineers and asbestos investigators who did testing at the site, falsified abatement reports for the work they did at Mount Manresa. The two were arrested; Paul Santoro was charged with four counts of offering a flase instrument for filing and Gaspare was charged with three counts of offering a false instrument for filing. A grand jury later handed down a 36-count criminal indictment against the father-son engineer team. Demolition continues at the Mount Manresa site in 2015. 2015: DEMOLITION CONTINUES Demolition of the site continued, as nearby residents worried about asbestos getting into their homes from the dust and structural integrity of their houses. For the last two weeks, the foundation of my house has been shaking and glasses in the cabinets rattling, said Ms. Brown, the long-time Merle Place resident. Her home is built on the foundation of a 100-year-old country cottage that was enlarged in 1929. Of much concern to residents was the demolition of trees that were hundreds of years old, many stating that the Savo Brothers made no attempt to preserve any of the natural beauty that was at the site. Other residents were concerned over the lack of oversight of the demolition. Proposed street names. 2015: FIGHT OVER STREET NUMBERS AND NAMES After being sued by the Savo Brothers, Oddo was ordered to issue numbers for the planned houses; Oddo complied with the order, as the Topographical Unit is run by his office. Additionally, Oddo was tasked with choosing the proposed street names. Among his choices were: Cupidity Drive, another word for greed; Avidity Place, a derivative of the word avidita, a synonym of greed; and Fourberie Lane, meaning trickery and deception. The developers filed a motion in State Supreme Court in opposition of the names, however, the decision was upheld by the court. Their choices for street names were: Pearl View Lane, Silver Bridge Drive, Timber Lane, Lazy Bird Lane and Amber Heights Drive. In his decision, the Hon. Philip Minardo, wrote, "These provided names, which mean greed, trickery and deception, are not considered insensitive nor will they inflame controversy." "It is within Borough President James Oddo's discretion to decide if the street names of the residents of the Borough of Staten Island should reflect greed, a Lazy Bird or a fallen hero," Minardo wrote at the time of the verdict. Two years later, the Appellate Division, Second Department, unanimously ruled in favor of Oddo after the Savo Brothers appealed an earlier court decision upholding the street names. 2016: INCOMPLETE PERMITS; CITY STEPS IN In April 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped in, stating that his administration would reach out to the developers about purchasing the property. The Savo Brothers told the city they werent interested in selling. Months later, the city Department of Buildings (DOB) said it received 75 permit applications for the construction of two- and three-story houses, which it denied because they were incomplete at the time of a plan exam. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staff-Shot 2019: RESIDENTS URGE BSA FOR A DENIAL In September 2019, residents gathered outside of the BSAs office urging it to deny the waiver application. Jack Bolembach, who traveled to lower Manhattan and stood outside the office, said he and the other residents were looking for some kind of justice. The Savo Brothers are trying to get a waiver of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process which will put this community in great risk of overdevelopment, said opponent Barbara Sanchez. Were here to say no short cuts for Savo and lets go forward with the ULURP process the way its supposed to be done. Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray Wednesday described former chief minister Devenda Fadnavis comment that Shiv Saniks were wearing bangles for its silence on AIMIM leader Waris Pathans controversial remark recently, as disgraceful and demanded an apology. Shri @Dev_Fadnavis ji, normally I choose not to comment back. Kindly apologise abt bangles comment: bangles are worn by the strongest of all- the women. Politics can go on, but we need to change this discourse. Rather disgraceful coming from a fmr CM, Thackeray, who also heads the Senas youth wing, tweeted. Targetting Shiv Senas silence over the recent controversial remark by AIMIM leader Waris Pathan, Fadnavis on Tuesday said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party might be wearing bangles but the BJP was not and knew how to retaliate. Fadnavis comment came during an address at a protest by the BJP against Maharashtra government over issues related to farmers and women. At a rally against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Karnataka earlier this month, AIMIM national spokesman Pathan is reported to have said that 15 crore (Muslims) are enough for 100 crore (Hindus) in the country. Last Saturday, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said the state police was probing Pathans comments. Pathan is an ex-MLA from Mumbai. Deshmukh who is from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had also said that his department would take appropriate action, if necessary, against Pathan. [February 26, 2020] BrewBilt $3M Purchase Orders in Process, $9M Pending, $2M in Assets 2X On Expectations Sacramento, California, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- BrewBilt Manufacturing Inc. (OTC PINK:VTNL) (Formerly, Vet Online Supply), the Company, BrewBilt Manufacturing announces today that the audited financials are under final review with the auditor, and they indicate $2M+ in assets. The financials will be disclosed within an 8K filing, and again in a Form-10K filing for the period ending December 31, 2019. The company is processing $3M in Brewery and Cannabis purchase orders and 2 orders have been delivered in February-2020. There are 3 more orders that are scheduled to be delivered and installed in March and April-2020. The company has a contract to fulfill $7M in cannabis extraction orders for 2020 and 2 of the cannabis orders are in process, along with $2M in pending orders in Hong Kong and California. BrewBilt is bulging at the seams and will need to find additional manufacturing space to keep up with the purchase orders. At this rate the company will exceed its revenue expectations in June-2020 and possibly double its $12M expectations for 2020. BrewBilt Video Link: https://www.brewbilt.com/about-1 ABOT BREWBILT: (www.brewbilt.com) Located in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California, BrewBilt is one of the only California companies that custom designs, hand crafts, and integrates processing, fermentation and distillation processing systems for the craft beer, cannabis and hemp industries using Best in Class American made components integrated with stainless steel processing vessels using only American made steel. Founded in 2014, the company began in a backyard shop by Jef Lewis with a vision of creating a profitable company in Rural America. BrewBilt has built a solid foundation by having strong relationships with local suppliers of raw materials, equipment and services in California, an aggressive referral network of satisfied customers nationwide, and an Advisory Board consisting of successful business leaders that provide valuable product feedback and business expertise to management. The craft brewing & spirits industries continue to grow worldwide. California is where craft brewing began and now has over 900 operating breweries being centrally located in this booming market was a large draw for BrewBilt to locate its manufacturing facility in the Sierra foothills. All BrewBilt products are designed and fabricated as food grade quality which enables the company to build vessels for food & beverage processing. More important, the company has been building systems that are pharmaceutical grade for clients involved in distillation for the cannabis and hemp industries over the past 36 months, thus making the revenue potential much greater. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements. While these statements are made to convey to the public the company's progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true and accurate based on information and data available to the company at this time, actual results may differ materially from those described. The Company's operations and business prospects are always subject to risk and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ are and will be set forth in the company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: The Consulting Group 415-756-4057 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 In February 2018, Indonesia and Russia signed a US$1.14 billion purchase contract for 11 Sukhoi jet fighters. It has been two years since the deal was made under then-defense minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and still no shipments have arrived from Moscow. The billion-dollar deal is reportedly in limbo, with Moscow and analysts pointing to pressures from the United States as the primary reason why Jakarta is dragging its feet in finalizing the purchase. The State Palace stopped short of confirming the claim, but admitted that a non-technical issue had hampered the process. 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 In today's narrative of climate change, pollution, and diminishing resources, one fuel could be a game-changer within the energy industry: hydrogen. When burned in a combustion engine or in an electrical power-plant, hydrogen fuel produces only water-making it far cleaner than our current fossil fuels. With no toxic gas production, no contribution to climate change, and no smog, hydrogen may be the answer to a future of cleaner energy, so why is it not more widely used? There are two reasons for this. First, hydrogen is highly flammable and leaks very easily from storage tanks, causing potential explosion hazards during storage and transport. Second, although pure hydrogen occurs naturally on Earth, it is not found in quantities sufficient for cost-effective utilization. Hydrogen atoms must be extracted from molecules like methane or water, which requires a large amount of energy. Although several techniques exist to produce hydrogen fuel, scientists are yet to make this process "efficient" enough to make hydrogen a commercially competitive fuel on the energy market. Until this is achieved, fossil fuels will probably continue to dominate the industry. For decades, scientists have been working towards a cheap, efficient, and safe way to produce hydrogen fuel. One of the most promising methods to achieve this is through solar-driven processes, using light to speed up (or "catalyze") the reaction to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen gas. In the 1970s, two scientists described the Honda-Fujishima effect, which uses titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst in hydrogen production. Building on this research, a team of Japanese researchers led by Prof Ken-ichi Katsumata of Tokyo University of Science, sought to use a cheaper, more readily available semiconductor catalyst for this reaction, with the hope to increase its efficiency even further, reducing the production costs and safety of hydrogen fuel. Their study published in Chemistry: A European Journal indicates that, by using a form of rust called -FeOOH, hydrogen production under Hg-Xe lamp irradiation can be 25 times higher than titanium dioxide catalyst under the same light. The experiment conducted by Prof Katsumata and colleagues aimed to address common challenges encountered in using semiconductor catalysts in solar-driven hydrogen production. There are three major obstacles described by the authors. The first is the need for the catalyst material to be suitable for the use of light energy. The second is that most photocatalysts currently used require rare or "noble" metals as cocatalysts, which are expensive and difficult to obtain. The last problem arises from the actual production of hydrogen and oxygen gases. If not separated straight away, the mixture of these two gases can at best reduce the hydrogen fuel output, and at worst, cause an explosion. Therefore, they aimed to find a solution that can not only increase the reaction's efficiency, but also successfully prevent hydrogen and oxygen from re-coupling and creating a potential hazard. The team identified a promising candidate catalyst in -FeOOH (or rust) and set out an experiment to evaluate its efficiency for hydrogen production and the optimal experimental conditions for its activation. "We were really surprised at the generation of hydrogen using this catalyst," states Prof Katsumata, "because most of the iron oxides are not known to reduce to hydrogen. Subsequently, we searched for the condition for activating -FeOOH and found that oxygen was an indispensable factor, which was the second surprise because many studies showed that oxygen suppresses hydrogen production by capturing the excited electrons." The team confirmed the production mechanism of hydrogen from water-methanol solution using a 'gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry' method, showing that -FeOOH was 25 times more active than the titanium dioxide catalyst used in previous research, supporting stable hydrogen production for more than 400 hours! More research will be required to optimize this process. Prof Katsumata elaborates: "The specific function of the oxygen in activating light-induced -FeOOH has not been unveiled yet. Therefore, exploring the mechanism is the next challenge." For now, these findings of Katsumata and his colleagues represent new advancements in the production of a clean, zero-emissions energy source that will be central to the sustainable societies of the future! ### This study was made available online in November 2019 ahead of final publication in issue on February 21, 2020. About The Tokyo University of Science Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators. With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field. Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/ About Professor Katsumata from the Tokyo University of Science Dr Ken-ichi Katsumata is an Associate Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Technology of the Tokyo University of Science. He completed is undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and earned his doctorate in Engineering. His research focuses on inorganic industrial materials, particularly those with applications in environmental purification, photocatalysts, nanosheets and antibacterial materials. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards like the Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, the Editor-in-Chief Award of Distinguished Reviewer in 2017, and is the corresponding author for this scientific publication. Funding information This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A; 25708037) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (16H04498) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The Easter holiday plans of millions of Brits have been thrown into chaos as the killer coronavirus grips Europe. Cases have been recorded in Austria, Spain, Greece and France, as well as a host of European countries - while Italy has been particularly ravaged, with nearly 400 infected and 12 dead. Holidaymakers have been left in a panic over the spread of the virus, with many reluctant to go ahead with their bookings. British Airways is now offering a change of date to passengers heading to northern Italy in the next week. They will be able to rebook their flights to any date up till March 31. The airline also announced it is 'merging' some of its flights between Heathrow and the Italian city's Linate airport. Around 22 return flights over the next two weeks are affected. The rebooking applies to passengers heading to Milan, Turin, Bologna, Venice, Bergamo and Verona. A group of tourists wear protective face masks while walking through Milan's city centre The Foreign Office says it is still safe to travel to countries in Europe hit by the virus, with only travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy, Italy and one in Veneto restricted. This means that Brits will not be refunded if they cancel their holidays to several destinations. A British Airways spokesperson told Mail Online: 'We continue to operate to and from Italy, and are monitoring the situation closely. 'There is no change to travel advice to airlines, however, like all carriers we will continue to liaise closely with government and global health authority advice. 'Safety is at the heart of everything we do.' It later on added that it was taking precautionary measures due to the outbreak. 'To match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue, we are merging a small number of flights to and from Milan. 'We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options including alternative British Airways flights within two hours of their original departure time where possible, full refunds or booking for a later date of travel. 'We understand that some customers flying to/from northern Italy may wish to change their travel plans and have introduced flexible booking options.' It comes after passengers have hit out at BA, Ryanair and easyJet for refusing to refund flights to Italy. British Airways is now offering Brits the chance to rebook flights that are headed to northern Italy this week People due to fly to the country with the carriers this week were left furious after being told they cannot get a refund and will have to pay to change their flights as routes are 'operating as normal'. BA has now changed its advice. Several passengers took to Twitter to share their confusion and anger. One said: 'I've cancelled my flight to Venice because when I get there I'll be greeted with a mask and temperature check when I arrive off the plane.' Travellers at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands wear face masks amid growing coronavirus fears Revellers wear masks to protect themselves from COVID-19 as they attend the Nice carnival in the french riviera city A man wears a face mask as he walks along a street in Barcelona, Spain, which yesterday recorded its first case on the mainland More than 81,000 cases of the COVID-19 the disease caused by the coronavirus have been recorded across the world, with the death toll nearing 2,800 Another said: 'Help me out peeps. We've got our holiday booked to travel to Venice in two weeks and Italy seems to be riddled with Corona Virus. Holiday only cost about 350 for all of us but the company won't give us any money back unless the foreign office put travel restrictions on.' HOW MANY CASES OF THE CORONAVIRUS ARE THERE IN EUROPE? ITALY GERMANY FRANCE UK SPAIN AUSTRIA CROATIA GREECE SWITZERLAND BELGIUM FINLAND SWEDEN TOTAL 458 18 17 13 12 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 443 Advertisement While a third commented: 'We have booked Florence for Easter so we have a dilemma about whether to cancel or not..currently there is no government advice against travel there so our insurance would not pay out if we cancel but affected areas are not that far to the north.' Meanwhile, airline Jet2 has confirmed it will transfer passengers booked to head to a hotel in Tenerife affected by the coronavirus. Hundreds of guests will be locked in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace for 14 days to stop the spread of coronavirus, Spanish authorities confirmed today. The trapped tourists include around 160 Britons - with authorities now hunting for others who returned to the UK before the doors were locked. Guests were sunbathing in masks and enjoying free supplies of food and alcohol at the hotel poolside this afternoon after learning they would be staying well into March. A Jet2 spokeswoman told Mail Online: 'Following the reports that a non-Jet2holidays customer staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife has tested positive for coronavirus, the hotel continues to be placed under quarantine following advice from the Regional and the Spanish Government Authorities. Sunbathing in masks: Tourists lounge by the pool of H10 Costa Adeje Palace as they settle in for a two-week lockdown after Spanish authorities confirmed a quarantine Since cases of the COVID-19 illness soared in Italy over the weekend they have spread around Europe, with mainland Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia today all declaring their first infected patients Guests wearing masks lie on sun loungers and walk by the poolside at the Tenerife hotel today The hotel laid on free champagne for tourists today after guests were told they would have to stay put at the resort until mid-March 'We can confirm that around 100 Jet2holidays customers are staying in the hotel, and we are contacting them to check on their well-being and offer designated 24/7 telephone assistance. 'We have stopped all sales to the hotel, and customers who are due to travel to the hotel will be transferred to other accommodation. We are also contacting customers who have recently stayed at the hotel to refer them to advice from the UK government. 'We always follow the travel advice of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and their guidance shows that there are no travel restrictions in place to any of our destinations, so our flying programme remains unchanged. 'The health and safety of our customers is our absolute priority, and we will continue to release more information as it becomes available.' Roddy Alves returned to London on Wednesday - but not before undergoing a styling session at the hair salon. The reality star, 36, revealed she had transformed her blonde mane to a platinum bob, having felt the need to shake up her look. She previously rocked lengthy extensions, but filmed herself at the salon getting these removed and having her locks chopped back. There she is: Roddy Alves looked chic as she hit Kinghtsbridge in London on Wednesday On arrival in London, the ex-Celebrity Big Brother starlet filmed herself in a cab, driving under Tower Bridge, wig on, looking flawless in the sunshine. She then headed to a manicure appointment before being taken to swish store Harrods for a spot of shopping. The former-Human Ken Doll looked perfectly poised in her stylish ensemble as she stepped out in Knightsbridge. She slipped her frame into a plunging black top, and a feathered jacket. Pampered: She headed to a manicure appointment before being taken to swish store Harrods for a spot of shopping Out and a pout: The former-Human Ken Doll looked perfectly poised in her stylish ensemble as she stepped out in Knightsbridge Head-turning: Roddy added bright red flared trousers to the look and polished things off with black heels Chic chick: She slipped her frame into a plunging black top, and a feathered jacket. She matched this with a cute feathered clutch bag She matched this with a cute feathered clutch bag. Roddy added bright red flared trousers to the look and polished things off with black heels. Make-up was perfect - porcelain with a pop of rouge to her lips and a sweep of dark mascara to her lashes. She has been keeping her social media followers updated after undergoing Feminisation Surgery, as she continues to heal following the grueling process - which Roddy has described as the 'most painful' surgery she has had. Earlier images showing Roddy's progress highlighted her very bruised and bandaged face, however the initial swelling has reduced. Flawless: Make-up was perfect - porcelain with a pop of rouge to her lips and a sweep of dark mascara to her lashes Stepping out: She strutted herself along the sidewalk looking every bit the sartorial queen Bobbing along: Roddy returned to London on Wednesday - but not before undergoing a styling session at the hair salon Style and the city: The reality star, 36, revealed she had transformed her blonde mane to a platinum bob, having felt the need to shake up her look In the new image Roddy's eyes were still bruised and swollen however her new face shape appears to be taking shape following the treatment. The media personality was wearing a pink velvet robe with beaded detailing around the collar for the image, highlighting her flair and love of glamour. On Monday, Roddy filmed herself in the hairdresser's chair, having her golden locks styled as she indulged in some self-care following the surgery. As you were: She previously rocked lengthy extensions, but filmed herself at the salon getting these removed and having her locks chopped back Progress: Roddy has indulged in some self-care following the surgery Sipping champagne, Roddy looked in great spirits, determined to feel her best as she undergoes the gruelling surgery. Roddy - who came out as transgender recently - is in Belgium, previously telling MailOnline that the 25k surgery will 'make me look like a super model!' In a previous Instagram post, brave Roddy wore a white bandage around her head as she sported heavily bruised and swollen eyes and an puffy face while talking in a hotel room. Talking: Sipping champagne, Roddy looked in great spirits, determined to feel her best as she undergoes the gruelling surgery She told us earlier in the week: 'I can't speak very well because they removed my Adam's Apple so I have a sore throat. My eyes are very purple and swollen, I can't see anything. I can't see my new face. 'If I want to see anything I have to hold my phone up in order to read. 'My pain threshold from one to 10 is four, I look dreadful but my pain is very low. I just have discomfort.' Discussing the surgery she said: 'My hairline is much lower , my temples are much bigger as I have two titanium implants on my temples to make my face much more feminine. 'Hopefully I won't get mistaken for being a man anymore. My face will change a lot, will be smaller. This surgery has given me the diamond face that I always wanted. Roddy exclusively told MailOnline that she had jetted to Belgium to have her jawline, forehead and the bones around her eyes shaved in a bid to feminise her face. Supermodel: Roddy - who came out as transgender recently - is in Belgium, previously telling MailOnline that the 25k surgery will 'make me look like a super model!' Surgery: Talking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: 'I can't speak very well because they removed my Adam's Apple so I have a sore throat. My eyes are very purple and swollen, I can't see anything. I can't see my new face' The media personality was transformed by Dr Bart Van de Ven from 2pass clinic, who specialises in Facial Feminisation Surgery, in what she said would be her 'most painful surgery yet!' Praising the surgeon and aftercare, she said: 'This surgery was pretty intense, it was four hours. I couldn't be at a better place than here. I am being very well looked after.' Roddy looked glamorous in a crushed pink velvet dress adorned with jewels and a black top as she spoke to her fans. Roddy is now looking to the future and is excited about wearing bikinis on the beach in the summer and discovering her signature style as a woman. According to the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), Minette Batters: To sign up to a trade deal which results in opening our ports, shelves and fridges to food which would be illegal to produce here would not only be morally bankrupt, it would be the work of the insane. If so, then it has to be said that there are an awful lot of mad people in the world, including in advanced economies such as the United States where animal welfare standards can be, generally, lower than in Britain. The issue is now in focus because of Brexit, and the need to secure new trade deals with the EU, the US and others. There will be intense pressure from America for Britain to open up its domestic and industrial market for American produce. This would indeed include genetically-modified items, livestock reared with growth hormones and a liberal, prescribed, use of antibiotics, and the now-notorious chlorine-washed or lactic acid-washed chicken all not currently allowed in the UK. Some of these items might also be imported from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, for example, under any new trade relationships negotiated with these countries. Donna Shilling, interior design manager for Dranoff Properties, shows how to control bathroom lights using an iPad during a tour of the Arthaus show unit in Center City Philadelphia. Smart-home features are standard in the luxury condo building. Read more With a tap on a smartphone, more and more apartment renters are getting a taste of some of the conveniences once reserved for luxury homeowners. Home automation systems can remotely control temperature, lights, shades, and music; turn security systems on and off; open and close garage doors; and lock and unlock doors. It can even flush your toilets if you want. It can expand to that level, said Noah Ostroff, a developer, operator of the Keller Williams Philly brokerage, and board member of the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia. It used to be that smart-home technology a la The Jetsons was just for tech-savvy early adopters looking for convenience by using gadgets in their single-family houses. But as the technology has gotten cheaper and easier to use, more property owners and developers are putting it in apartments and condos to attract and retain residents. In the last 10 years, weve talked about the amenities arms race in multi-unit development, said George Hayward, a senior director of development for South Carolina-based Greystar, a global owner, operator, and developer of rental housing. That competition has transitioned from a cool club room or great pool to much more technology-focused. Because technology evolves quickly, Greystar focuses on its ability to be flexible with whatever comes next, which means being in tune with what matters most to residents and not basing construction or design on specific technology, Hayward said. We try to be forward-thinking, but were essentially trying to battle against obsolescence, as well, he said. Ostroff has put different versions of smart-home technology in his properties, including the Lombard Estates and Rittenhouse Estates on Lombard Street, for several years. In his latest project a four- and five-story mixed-use development at 24th and Washington in South Philadelphia, which will break ground this spring as Innovator Village all 82 units of apartments, condominiums, and townhouses will be equipped with smart-home technology. John Clarkson, managing director of development for Greystars Mid-Atlantic division, said smart technology is not only a nice-to-have; its a must-have to attract the tenants we want in our apartments. Wanted: Smart thermostats A July report by the National Apartment Association that surveyed 165 members and 745 residents showed large potential for growth for the industry. More than four out of five apartment residents surveyed who dont have smart-home technology said they want it. Residents were most interested in smart thermostats the kind that learn habits and automatically adjust a homes temperature, or that can be controlled remotely through an app followed by security cameras. They also wanted smart door locks and lighting. Owners and operators who have not yet dipped their digital toes in the silicon with smart-home technology will find themselves falling further behind at a faster pace, the NAA research report predicted. While not all communities are suitable for top-of-the-line technology, features now considered basic security cameras, smart thermostats, motion-sensing lighting, resident portals can go a long way toward attracting and retaining residents. One thing is certain: As residents become increasingly engaged with smart-home technology, it will be harder to break them of the efficiency, convenience, and control when theyre considering a move to another community. The term creepy did pop up a few times in the survey to describe some residents hesitance to adopt the technology. Its a feeling that property owners could help dispel with education, transparency, and data security, said Paula Munger, assistant vice president of research at the National Apartment Association. Elaborate smart-home systems have been integrated into purchased properties for more than a decade. But in the last couple of years, said Mike McNelis, chief executive officer of the rental brokerage Philly Apartment Co., the technology has become a focal point for new rental construction. As the real estate market continues to shift into a more renter-based market, you start to see renters ask for the same types of amenities, he said. A draw for millennials Millennials, who are more apt to want and use technology in their homes, make up 85% of his companys business, McNelis said. But renters of all ages are becoming more interested in the convenience that smart-home capabilities bring. Over the last few years, this type of technology has become both more desirable for renters and cheaper for builders to install kind of a perfect storm, he said. Ultimately, price and location are still the top motivators for both home buyers and renters, he said. But if all else is equal, he said, given the choice between a home with smart technology and one without it, people are choosing smart-home capabilities. In a city such as Philadelphia, which has a lot of older housing, landlords are trying to figure out what technology to offer and how to include it to compete with new apartment buildings, she said. Sean Edwards, founder and president of a technology integration firm that installs and maintains smart-home infrastructure for multi-unit buildings, said his clients in the region are pretty evenly split between retrofits and new construction. His company, Rittenhouse Communications Group, can update existing infrastructure in older buildings to support new technology or install new infrastructure during renovations. Building owners can install as much or little as they want or can afford, and add capabilities later. The infrastructure is designed to adapt to constantly evolving technology. Edwards founded his company in 2010, but business really picked up five years ago. A lot of the developers right now really seem to get it and realize its crucial to standing out in the market, he said. Most smart-home technology has been going into new, high-end construction. For example, at 2100 Hamilton, a 10-story, 29-unit building of multimillion-dollar condominiums planned off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, elevators will use facial recognition to take residents directly into their homes. Developer Carl Dranoff is partnering with lighting control company Lutron, and including as standard smart-home technology features such as remote lighting, temperature, and music control in his new multimillion-dollar, 108-unit Arthaus condominiums going up at Broad and Spruce, and scheduled for completion in spring 2022. Its a first for Dranoff Properties, said Julia Dranoff Gutstadt, managing director and chief operating officer. If residents of the 47-story building forget whether they left the lights on, for example, they can turn them off from wherever they are when they think about it. Extras include shades that residents can raise and lower remotely, and a programmable shower that residents can preset according to their water temperature and stream preferences. Also a first for Dranoff was the decision to include smart-home features in the projects showroom to acquaint potential residents with the technology. Five or 10 years ago, the condos target market wealthy empty nesters looking to move to the city werent asking for smart-home technology, Gutstadt said. But thats changed in the last couple of years as consumers become more educated about the technology. Stephanie Vaughan, a specification manager who represents Lutron, said that although smart-home technology has traditionally been a high-end feature, the company has reached into the mid-market in the last few years. In short, Munger of the National Apartment Association said, were going to see a lot more properties that have many of these types of features. Sweden: 1,500 percent documented rise in gender dysphoria in teens since 2008 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Mirroring other Western countries, the nation of Sweden has documented an astronomical rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses among teenagers in the past decade. Between 2008 and 2018, the rate of teen girls ages 13 to 17 being diagnosed with gender dysphoria grew by approximately 1,500 percent, a report from Sweden's Board of Health and Welfare said, according to The Guardian. The report follows backlash, which began in March, in the Scandinavian country after the government, heavily swayed by the Swedish LGBT group RFSL, proposed a new law in the fall of 2018 that would have lowered the age for medicalized gender treatments, scrapped parental consent, and permitted kids as young as 12 to change their gender on legal documents. In October, an investigative news program highlighted Stockholms Karolinska University hospital, which received criticism for performing double mastectomies on trans-identifying females as young as 14. As has been the case in other gender identity medical outfits around the world, the Karolinska Institute was accused of hurriedly steering young people through the experimental practices without giving due consideration to other contributing factors to gender dysphoria and relevant psychiatric comorbidities. The Swedish center pushed back, asserting it was carefully reviewing every case. Amid the allegations of the rushing of patients through the gender change process, including one from the father of a trans-identified person who died by suicide four years after surgery authorities ordered the Board of Health and Welfare to reassess the issue just before legislation that would lower the age for such treatments was about to be debated in parliament. In December, the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment reported that "there was very little research either into the reason for the increase or the risks or benefits of hormone treatment and surgery," The Guardian reported. "The recent report from the Board of Health and Welfare also found that 32.4 percent of 13 to 17-year-olds with gender dysphoria registered at birth as women also had diagnoses for anxiety disorder, 28.9 percent had depression, 19.4 percent had ADHD, and 15.2 percent had autism." Heightened state scrutiny to the medicalization of gender is presently appearing around the world. In the U.S., the state of South Dakota recently attempted to ban such practices for minors but the legislation died in a Senate committee. A handful of other states have either introduced or are presently considering such measures. Meanwhile, the lone gender clinic in the U.K., the Tavistock Centre, is facing a legal challenge as former psychological professionals from the National Health Service's Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) and a detransitioner assert the facility did not adequately explain the risks of the hormonal interventions to suffering people and that the drugs being used lack a robust evidence base. In June, the trans-critical website TransgenderTrend documented that "in 2009/10 there were 32 girls and 40 boys referred to Tavistock GIDS. In 2011/12 the sex ratio reversed and the gap between boys and girls has continued to widen year on year ever since. The total number of referrals for 2018/19 in England alone is 624 boys and 1,740 girls. In less than a decade there has been a 1,460% increase in referrals of boys and a staggering 5,337% increase in girls." The National Health Service announced earlier this month that it was both revisiting its rules around allowing children to take the experimental drugs without parental approval in addition to setting in motion a task force of doctors to scrutinize puberty-blocking agents being prescribed to gender-confused youth. New infections and deaths reported around the world, with Brazil confirming its first case in Latin America. The coronavirus is spreading in the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, as Brazil confirmed its first case in Latin America, while parts of China begin to lower their emergency response level as the number of new cases reported there continues to slow. More deaths have been reported in Iran and Italy, while South Korea on Wednesday said an 11th person had died of the disease there. Globally, at least 80,000 people have been diagnosed with the illness. Here are the latest updates: Wednesday, February 26 Coronavirus cases in Italy rise to 400 as regional official self-isolates The number of people infected with coronavirus in Italy has risen to 400, according to civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli, while the death toll remains at 12 people. Italy is struggling to contain the virus in its northern region; several European countries have reported their first cases in recent days, many of which stemmed from people who had visited Italy. Meanwhile, Attilio Fontana, president of Lombardia Region, has gone into self-isolation after one of his staff tested positive. He announced the news live on Facebook. Qatar orders evacuation of its citizens and Kuwaits from Iran Qatars ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani ordered the evacuation of Qatari and Kuwaiti citizens from Iran due to the spreading of the coronavirus and its associated disease COVID-19, state news agency reported on Twitter. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran had no plans to quarantine any cities and districts in response to the countrys coronavirus outbreak. The virus had killed 19 people in Iran until now and infected 139 others, the health ministry announced. Norway detects its first case Norways Public Health Agency said that one person had tested positive for coronavirus and was being kept isolated at home, in what was the countrys first confirmed case. The person had returned from China late last week, but did not appear ill and was unlikely to infect others, the agency said. Kuwait sends evacuation plane to Italy Kuwait Airways has said on its Twitter account it will send a plane to the city of Milan in northern Italy, where the countrys coronavirus outbreak is centred, to evacuate citizens. Italy has registered more than 400 coronavirus cases and 12 deaths. Iraq bans public gatherings and travel to 9 countries Iraq banned all public gatherings and banned travellers from Kuwait and Bahrain from entry, the health minister said, taking the total number of countries on the entry ban list to nine amid growing fears over the spread of the coronavirus. The nine countries are: China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Bahrain and Kuwait. The minister also ordered the suspension of schools and university and the closure of cinemas, cafes, clubs, and other public gathering spots nationwide from February 27 to March 7. Iran announces domestic travel curbs Iranian authorities announced that instead of quarantining cities, domestic travel restrictions will be implemented for people with confirmed or suspected cases of the coronavirus. Health Minister Saeed Namaki said at a news conference that teams would be located at the entrance of cities that see a lot of movement, without naming them, adding that such controls had already started. The teams will take peoples temperature and stop those who are infected or suspected of infection, Namaki said. All those suspected of being infected with coronavirus would be quarantined for 14 days. France reports new case, tally now at 18 One more person has been infected with the coronavirus in France, putting the tally at 18 in the country, the French health minister said. There is no epidemic in the country, just isolated cases, Olivier Veran said during a news conference, adding that 15 million protection masks would be made available. Health ministry director Jerome Salomon added that out of the 18 cases, two people had died, 12 were cured and four were still hospitalised. Pentagon says it may need additional funding to deal with coronavirus The Pentagon told Congress it was reviewing the possibility it may need additional funding to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, hours after the US military reported a soldier in South Korea had become infected. It is spreading and we cant give you a definitive answer on whether well need additional resources or not, said Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressing a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. We owe you some answers. Georgia reports first coronavirus in the country: health minister Georgia reported the first case of coronavirus in the country, the health minister said. Ekaterine Tikaradze said that a Georgian citizen, who was travelling from Iran, crossed the border from neighbouring Azerbaijan. He was immediately taken to hospital from the border checkpoint, Tikaradze said. Finland reports second case A second confirmed coronavirus case has been diagnosed in Finland, health authorities said. The female Finnish patient had recently visited the city of Milan in Italy. She is being treated at the Helsinki University Hospital. The woman had a fever but was reported to be doing well and had only been in contact with two other people since arriving back in Finland on the weekend, public broadcaster YLE reported. Pakistan confirms first two cases Pakistans Health Minister Zafar Mirza confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus in the country. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols and both of them are stable, Mirza wrote on Twitter. No need to panic, things are under control. I will hold press conference tomorrow on return from Taftan. 220/ I can confirm first two cases of corona virus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control. I will hold press conf tomorrow on return from Taftan. Zafar Mirza (@zfrmrza) February 26, 2020 Speaking at a press conference in the southwestern city of Quetta, Mirza said both patients one in the southern province of Sindh and the second in the capital Islamabad had travelled to Iran in the past two weeks. First case of coronavirus confirmed in North Macedonia A woman who recently arrived from Italy is North Macedonias first confirmed case, the countrys health minister said on Wednesday. The patient tested positive for coronavirus She is the first patient in North Macedonia to have tested positive for this pathogen, Health Minister Venko Filipce said. The woman, who sought medical help early on Wednesday, drove to North Macedonia from Italy in a van. All other passengers from the van are undergoing tests, Filipce said. Ireland vs Italy rugby fixture postponed The Irish Rugby Football Union said it has postponed the countrys Six Nations fixture against Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, following a recommendation from Irish health authorities. We will immediately begin to work with our Six Nations partners to look to reschedule. I would hope to have an update on that in the coming days, IRFU chief executive Philip Browne told reporters after a meeting with the health minister. The game was scheduled to take place in Dublin on March 7 with thousands of Italian supporters, many from the regions most affected by the outbreak, expected to make the trip. New cases confirmed in Germany Seven new cases were found in Germany across three states, bringing the countrys total to 19. Two cases were confirmed in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia of a man and his wife. The man, reported to be in his 40s and suffering from a pre-existing health problem, is being treated in an intensive care unit in Dusseldorf. His wife is a kindergarten teacher. State Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann said the children from the facility had been ordered to stay at home. The couple are believed to have had widespread social contacts over the past two weeks. Lebanon health ministry confirms second case of coronavirus Lebanons health ministry confirmed the countrys second case of coronavirus and said the patient was quarantined after returning from a religious trip to Iran. The woman arrived in Lebanon last week on the same flight as the first case and had been in quarantine at a Beirut hospital since showing symptoms on Monday, the ministry statement said. Brazil confirms first case in Latin America: health ministry Brazils government confirmed that a 61-year-old Brazilian man who travelled to Italy this month has Latin Americas first confirmed case of the contagious new coronavirus. We will now see how this virus behaves in a tropical country in the middle of summer, how its behaviour pattern will be, Brazils Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said in a news conference. The Brazilian man spent two weeks in northern Italys Lombardy region on a work trip, where he contracted the contagious virus, the health ministry said. Read more here. Airport employees wear masks as a precaution as they work at the Sao Paulo International Airport in Brazil [Andre Penner/AP] China to Russia: end discriminatory measures against Chinese Chinas embassy in Russia has demanded authorities in Moscow end what it said are discriminatory anti-coronavirus measures against Chinese nationals. The complaint, detailed in an embassy letter to the citys authorities, deplored what it called ubiquitous monitoring of Chinese nationals, including on public transport. Authorities in Moscow have also been carrying out raids on potential carriers of the virus individuals at their homes or hotels and using facial recognition technology to enforce quarantine measures. The letter followed unconfirmed local media reports that Mosgortrans, which runs Moscows vast bus, trolleybus and tram networks, had told drivers to try to identify Chinese passengers and inform police of their presence. Coronavirus cases emerging faster outside China: WHO There are now more new cases of the coronavirus reported each day outside China than inside the hardest-hit country, the World Health Organization said. Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a written version of his speech. The UN health agency put the number of new cases in China at 411 on Tuesday and those registered outside the country stood at 427. Japan to continue Olympics planning amid doubts Japan vowed to continue preparing to host this years Olympics after an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member suggested the Games could be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto dismissed the members comment, saying at a parliamentary session that was not the IOCs official view. All we can do is to prepare to host the Games with peace of mind and to be recognised by the IOC, she said. Pakistani medical staff stand at the Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan, which was closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus in neighbouring Iran [Arshad Butt/AP] UK conducts coronavirus testing as part of early warning plan The UK has started random tests for coronavirus on flu patients to have an early warning system in place in case the outbreak becomes more widespread, a senior health official said. Were heightening our vigilance because of the apparent spread of the virus in countries outside mainland China, Public Health Englands medical director, Paul Cosford, told BBC radio. In the UK, random tests for the virus will be carried out at 11 hospitals and 100 general medical offices on people who have flu symptoms including a cough, plus shortness of breath and a fever. Trump will hold White House news conference on Wednesday US President Donald Trump said he will hold a news conference on the coronavirus at 6pm (23:00 GMT) on Wednesday, as infections surge globally and US health officials urge Americans to prepare for it to spread in the US. Abu Dhabis Etihad suspends flights to Hong Kong on low demand Abu Dhabis Etihad Airways has suspended flights to Hong Kong until March 28, the airline said, citing a drop in demand. The UAE suspended all flights to mainland China, except Beijing, on February 5 amid the coronavirus outbreak there. Etihad has suspended flights to Hong Kong since February 21, it said. Japan reports one new death A man in his 80s died in Tokyo after catching the new coronavirus, Japans public broadcaster NHK said, citing a government source. This was Japans third fatality from the coronavirus, excluding those who were on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, NHK said. Guests in locked down Tenerife hotel to stay in isolation for 14 days Hundreds of guests who have been locked down in a hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife after Italian tourists staying there were diagnosed with coronavirus, will remain in isolation for 14 days, a senior regional government official said. Two more of the group of 10 Italian holidaymakers tested positive for the infection, but tests on the rest of the group have returned negative, the official, Maria Teresa Cruz Oval, told a news conference. Officials carry out disinfection works at subway trains in Tehran [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu] EU calls for coordinated European response to coronavirus European Union countries should coordinate their responses to the outbreak of the coronavirus to avoid diverging approaches, the EUs Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters. Speaking at a joint news conference in Rome with the health minister of Italy, Kyriakides said countries should not give in to panic and that the EU would issue information for travellers on the virus. All member states need to inform us of their preparedness plans, she said. Diverging approaches across the EU should be avoided, she said, adding the EU executive was ready to coordinate responses. Quarantine envelops contacts of Austrias first coronavirus case Austria quarantined 12 people in close contact with a couple who were the countrys first coronavirus cases, one of whom works as a hotel receptionist, the local government in the province of Tyrol said. Read more here. Greece confirms first coronavirus case Greece has confirmed its first coronavirus case, the health ministry said. The patient is a 38-year-old Greek woman who had travelled from an area of northern Italy, said Sotiris Tsiodras, a representative of the Ministry of Health. 12th person dies in northern Italy of coronavirus A 12th person has died in northern Italy of coronavirus, while the number of confirmed cases has risen to 374, an increase of more than 50 on the day before, the head of the Civil Protection agency said. Angelo Borrelli told reporters that the dead man was 69. All those who have died so far in the outbreak, which came to light on Friday, have been elderly and most had underlying health problems. A couple wearing face masks is seen in the subway in Duomo underground station in Milan [Yara Nardi/Reuters] Singapore charges man with coronavirus for lying A Chinese man infected with coronavirus and his wife have been charged in Singapore for lying to health authorities investigating whether they had passed the illness to others, officials said. The couple faces a fine of up to $7,150 and six-month imprisonment if convicted. Iran reports 19 new deaths Irans state television says 19 more people were killed by the coronavirus and the total number of confirmed cases rose to 139. The official cited in the report urged limiting nonessential travel. Kuwait says more coronavirus cases confirmed, tally now 25 Kuwaits health ministry said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the country rose to 25 after 13 more cases were confirmed, the state news agency reported. The ministry also confirmed in a statement that the new cases were all Kuwaiti citizens who are related to travel to Iran. France reports first French national death France reported three new infections, including one new death, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 17 and the death toll to two. The latest victim was a 60-year-old man, the first French national to die of the disease, the health ministry said. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who died in mid-February. Read more here. Bahrain reports three new cases Bahrains number of infections rose to 26 after three Bahraini women who arrived from Iran were confirmed to have the coronavirus, according to the health ministry. About 3,000 Hong Kong people seek help in Hubei The Hong Kong government says it has been contacted by about 3,000 Hong Kong people in mainland Chinas Hubei province, including 532 in Wuhan city, seeking help. It says those affected in Hubei need to register by February 28 in order to return to Hong Kong. Mongolia restricts travel from capital to curb risks Mongolia, Chinas landlocked northern neighbour, will restrict travel from its capital Ulaanbaatar to other provinces until March 3 in a bid to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, a minister said. Mongolia, which has not reported any infections, has suspended all flights from Japan, adding to previous restrictions on flights from China and South Korea. It will also take precautions with other flights from Europe, Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan, said Enkh-Amgalan Byambasuren, the countrys road and transportation minister, during a briefing. Algeria reports first coronavirus case A 61-year-old Italian, who arrived in Algeria on February 17 from Italy, tested positive for the coronavirus, Algerias health ministry said. He is being monitored in the southern Ouargla area, the ministry said. The country is not contemplating a suspension in flights, but will reinforce controls on planes from Italy, the ministry said. Egyptair postpones resumption of flights to China Egyptair said it would postpone the resumption of its flights to and from China because of the new coronavirus outbreak. The Egyptian national airliner first suspended its flights to China on February 1, and had said it would resume services from Thursday. South Korea reports 115 more cases South Korea has reported 115 new cases, bringing the total to 1,261, according to Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. KCDC said the 169 coronavirus cases announced earlier included a US soldier. Guatemala on maximum alert over coronavirus Guatemalas President Alejandro Giammattei has declared a maximum alert over the possible arrival of coronavirus to the country, saying medicinal supplies are fully available at local hospitals. Giammattei also confirmed that there are no infected cases at the moment, although he said a family was in quarantine after returning to Guatemala from South Korea. Better safe than sorry, Giammattei said. Philippines imposes travel ban on S Koreas North Gyeongsang The Philippines barred travellers from South Koreas coronavirus-impacted North Gyeongsang province from entering the country. Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing the government would also conduct a risk assessment within 48 hours to determine whether the travel ban should be expanded to other parts of South Korea. El Salvador to bar entry of foreign nationals from Italy, S Korea El Salvador will bar the entry of foreign nationals arriving from Italy and South Korea to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than two thousand people worldwide, President Nayib Bukele said. Salvadoran nationals and diplomats who arrive from these countries will have to spend 30 days in quarantine, Bukele wrote on his Twitter account. Iran: Virus could spread across the nation Irans Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told reporters in Tehran the outbreak was likely to spread to unaffected provinces soon. He said Iran hoped to contain the virus before the Persian new year, which starts on March 20. A more pessimistic prospect is that we will reach the containment phase by late April, Jahanpour added. Kazakhstan to suspend Iran flights Kazakhstan plans to suspend flights to and from Iran from March 1 because of the spread of coronavirus in the Gulf nation, Kazakhstans chief sanitary doctor, Zhandarbek Bekshin. Kazakhstan will also reduce the number of flights to and from South Korea, another country with a large number of coronavirus cases, he told a briefing. No coronavirus in Turkish citizens returning from Iran Turkish citizens returning from Iran amid coronavirus fears tested negative for infection, said the health minister. A total of 132 Turkish citizens arrived in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Tuesday after they were evacuated from Iran where 15 deaths from coronavirus were confirmed so far. The evacuees are in 14-day quarantine in a hospital. Addressing a news conference, Koca said there are no confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey so far, thanks to effective measures against the disease. UAE says it is equipped for worst-case scenarios The United Arab Emirates, which reported 13 cases, is well prepared and equipped for the worst-case scenarios as the coronavirus spreads in the Middle East, an official from the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority told Reuters news agency. The UAE has enough facilities to quarantine patients and relevant bodies have been instructed to undertake complete surveillance of all people entering the country, the official said. Pompeo: Iran may have suppressed vital COVID-19 details US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that Iran may have covered up information about the spread of coronavirus there, and accused China of mishandling the epidemic through its censorship of media and medical professionals. The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country, Pompeo told reporters as Irans coronavirus death toll rose to 16, all nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations. Qatar Airways lowers Iran flight frequency Qatar Airways said on Twitter that it has lowered the frequency of its flights to Iran. Brazil reports first possible case of coronavirus A 61-year-old man from Sao Paolo who recently returned from Italy is being tested for coronavirus, Brazils health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The man travelled to Lombardy the epicentre of the Italian outbreak from February 9 to 21- and had developed symptoms including a sore throat and fever, the ministry said. If the case is confirmed, it will be the first in South America. Thailand reports three new coronavirus cases Thailand reported three new cases of a coronavirus on Wednesday, taking total infections to 40, a health ministry official said. Two of the new patients, all Thai nationals, had returned from holidays in Japans northern island of Hokkaido and came into contact with the third, said Sukhum Kanchanapimai, permanent secretary at the ministry. Dozens allowed off Japan virus-hit ship have symptoms: minister Dozens of passengers who were allowed off the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have developed symptoms including fever and will be asked to take tests for the coronavirus, Japans health minister said on Wednesday. Some 970 passengers were allowed off the boat last week after testing negative for the virus, but several have subsequently been found to be carrying the disease. Passengers were allowed off the Diamond Princess, quarantined in Yokohama, last week. Some have now been found to have coronavirus symptoms [Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images] The ministry found 45 people had certain symptoms, health minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament. We asked all of them [who have symptoms] to see a doctor and to take tests, Kato said. Kuwait bans foreign ships except oil tankers to fight virus Kuwait has barred foreign ships, except those carrying oil, from several countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to a notice seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The notice, dated February 25, banned vessels from and to South Korea, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Iraq. US military reports South Korea virus case An American soldier stationed in South Korea has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, commanders said on Wednesday. The 23-year-old man is the first confirmed infection among the 28,500 US soldiers stationed in the south. Based at Camp Carroll, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Daegu, the serviceman is in self-quarantine at his home, US Forces Korea said, adding it was conducting contact tracing to determine whether other soldiers had been exposed. Japans Hokkaido prefecture seeks closure of schools The board of education in Japans northern Hokkaido prefecture will seek to close all public elementary and junior high schools for a few days starting Thursday, Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday. Hokkaido, Japans northernmost main island, has confirmed a total of 35 coronavirus cases the highest number outside Tokyo. A number of them have been discovered in people who have links to schools, including students, teachers, school bus drivers, and cafeteria workers. San Francisco declares emergency over coronavirus San Francisco declared a local emergency over the coronavirus on Tuesday, despite having no cases, as US officials urged Americans to prepare for the spread of infections within their communities. Volunteers in protective suits are sprayed with disinfectant in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak [China Daily via Reuters] Californias fourth-largest city said it made the move to boost its coronavirus preparedness and raise public awareness of risks the virus may spread to the city. Although there are still zero confirmed cases in San Francisco residents, the global picture is changing rapidly, and we need to step-up preparedness, Mayor London Breed said in a statement. Kuwait reports three new coronavirus cases, taking total to 12 Kuwait announced three new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with the infections occurring among people returning from Iran. The new cases bring the total number to 12 in Kuwait, according to a statement from the health ministry. Mainland China reports 406 new cases of coronavirus, 52 more deaths Mainland China had 406 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the countrys National Health Commission said on Wednesday. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 78,064. The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China rose to 2,715 as of the end of Tuesday, up by 52 from the previous day, the commission said. The central province of Hubei, epicentre of the outbreak, reported 401 new cases on February 25 compared with 499 cases a day earlier. South Korea-China flight quarantined: State media A flight from the South Korean capital of Seoul to the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing was quarantined on Wednesday after three passengers were found to have a fever, state media reported. The plane was carrying 94 passengers. South Koreas President Moon Jae-in visited the hard-hit city of Daegu on Tuesday, as infections in the country spread [Yonhap via Reuters] Three more Chinese regions lower emergency response level Chinas northwestern regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang and the southwestern province of Sichuan have lowered their emergency response level after assessing that health risks from the coronavirus outbreak have receded, state media reported. China has a four-tier response system for public health emergencies that determines what measures a region will implement, with Level I the most serious. Sichuan announced it would adjust its measures from Level I to II, while Inner Mongolia will change from Level I to III, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday. Xinjiang, home to Chinas Muslim Uighur population, also reduced its emergency response level from I to II after reporting no new cases for seven consecutive days, the official local news portal, the Tianshan Daily, said on Wednesday. Air Canada extends flight suspension to Chinese cities, citing virus Air Canada announced on Tuesday it was extending its suspension of flights between Canada and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai until April 10 because of the coronavirus. Flights from Canada to the two cities were temporarily suspended from January 30 until the end of February after the foreign ministry advised Canadians against non-essential travel to China. Air Canada usually offers direct flights from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai. The airline also extended the suspension of daily flights to Hong Kong from Toronto until April 30, citing reduced market demand. Flights to and from Taipei remain unaffected, according to the companys website. Malaysia brings home more citizens from Wuhan A second group of Malaysians arrived home on Wednesday morning after the country ran a second evacuation flight from Wuhan. The 66 Malaysians and their family members were met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and will remain in quarantine for 14 days. Read updates from Tuesday, February 25 here. HADDAM Heavy rain and high winds were not enough to deter 55 Brainerd Library supporters from attending a cabaret-style reception in their honor Jan. 25 at the library. The two-hour event was highlighted by a dulcimer-playing troubadour and an impressive spread of hors doeuvres and beer and wine supplied by volunteers and local businesses. The receptions purpose was to thank supporters for past service and to update them on the librarys $1.5 million renovation and expansion plan now under way. Peter and Mary Aduskevich were singled out for their long history of financial support to the library, along with other service. Between them, they helped restore the history room, manage the library trust fund, tutor children and work at book sales and the popular Taste of Haddam event. Ed and Judy Munster were similarly honored; Ed for his long service as a trustee and his successful efforts to secure state aid for the library and Judy for practically single handedly maintaining the lovely landscaped entry into the library, as Lynne Cooper, trustee, put it in her tribute. Library Director Tom Piezzo invites local residents to stop by and pick up a summary of the librarys five year strategic plan. Tom also thanked former CT State Troubadour and recording artist Thomasina Levy for providing festive dulcimer music, banter and song. Lesser applauds local grant recipients HARTFORD State Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) applauded local winners of the Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) fiscal year 2020 Connecticut Arts Endowment and Artist Fellowship grant. Four recipients are from Middletown and one from Cromwell. They are as followed: Artists Fellowship Grant ($3,000), Toto Kisaku, Middletown Endowment Winners: Artists for World Peace, Middletown ($27,442); Oddfellows Playhouse, Middletown ($1,368); The Greater Middletown Chorale, Cromwell ($769); Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center/North End Arts Rising, Middletown ($500). The senator congratulated the winners for their contributions to the arts and expressed his gratitude to the COA for funding this important part of our culture. Toto Kisaku joined 35 others as Artist Fellowship Grant winners thanks to his mastery of theatre, playwriting and social practice. Kisaku is an award-winning Congolese playwright, actor, director and producer, according to creativeground.org, New England's directory of creative enterprises and artists. Kisaku came to the United States in 2015 and resides in Middletown. Artists for World Peace is a collection of artists who promote peace by feeding, housing educating and providing healthcare to those in need, lifting communities to a place of hope, according to their website. The Oddfellows Playhouse has been serving the community since 1975 and provides accessible performing arts programming to build skills, encourage creativity and strengthen community, according to their mission statement. The Greater Middletown Chorale was founded in 1977 and is celebrated for its innovative symphonic choral presentations, and often performs with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles, per its website. Lastly, the Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center aims to support the creative endeavors of emerging artists, nurture personal development, educate, connect and enrich lives and uplift people of all ages through the arts, per their mission statement. The Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund (CAEF) was established by the Connecticut State Legislature to stimulate the development of private sector funding resources and to ensure the long-term stability of Connecticuts arts industry by providing funding to organizations. The Fund is managed by the Office of the State Treasurer and the program is administered by the COA. Interest earned on the fund's principal is distributed annually to eligible arts organizations. Applicants do not specify a grant request amount. Grant awards are calculated on a formula which compares the amount of private sector (non-governmental) contributions received by the applicant in its two (2) most recently completed fiscal years. Meanwhile, the Artist Fellowship Program provides competitive grants to encourage the continuing development of Connecticut artists. These grants provide support for artists to pursue new work and achieve specific creative and career goals. There are three grant designations awarded under this program based on reviewer assessment. Spring programs start soon at Epoch Arts EAST HAMPTON A variety of artistic classes are open for registration now at Epoch Arts at 27 Skinner St.. Students in grades pre-K-12 can sign up for classes such as animation, theater acting, improv; themed art classes such as the Art of Harry Potter, Recycle and Upcycle Art. The arts center also offers a daytime preschool class and an adult art class as well as an afterschool board game club. Find full class descriptions at www.epocharts.org or call 860-365-0337. Classes begin March 17, run for 8 weeks and end with a special share day. Epoch Arts also offers a Homeschool Co-op, which provides artistic and educational classes for homeschool children in a social, fun and safe environment. The program meets on Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for three eight-week sessions. Classes change each session and range in age for children ages 3-18. There is a $50 fee each semester that goes directly to Epoch Arts, due at registration. Parents are required to stay at Epoch Arts for the duration of their children's classes or have an appointed guardian there who is 18 years of age or older. To find out more about this program or to register for Homeschool Classes visit us at www.epocgarts.org. You thought the human body was too boring, didnt you? Or complicated? Think again. A woman in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in the US has become the first documented case of a human being urinating alcohol. The weird thing is, the woman doesnt drink alcohol at all. This is the first case of what is now being called the urinary auto-brewery syndrome. Doctors describe this as a rare medical condition in which intoxicating quantities of ethanol are produced by specific types of yeast or bacteria through endogenous fermentation in the digestive system. Basically, the 61-year old lady has yeast fermenting sugar in her bladder. Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre Presbyterian Hospital say that the woman was first presented as a case of cirrhosis and poorly controlled diabetes. But later, after tests, they referred her for alcohol abuse treatment. Doctors continually found high content of alcohol in the ladys urine while she denied having had any alcohol to drink. "Initially, our encounters were similar, leading our clinicians to believe that she was hiding an alcohol use disorder, say the doctors in report published by the Annals of Internal Medicine. These findings led us to test whether yeast colonising in the bladder could ferment sugar to produce ethanol, the doctors say. After running further tests on her urine, the reports confirmed that very high levels of ethanol were being produced. This indicated that yeast fermenting sugar in her bladder was the cause. It is fascinating that it can happen in the bladder as well, says Fahad Malik at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the New Scientist. The doctors report does say that the antifungal treatments have failed to control the yeast, and the lady has been put back on the list for liver transplant. The 61-year old woman has requested for anonymity. North Macedonia has reported its first coronavirus case after a woman who had returned from Italy was found to be infected. "The patient is a Macedonian woman who spent one month in Italy," Health Minister Venko Filipce told a news conference on February 26. Filipce said the woman began to feel unwell with flu symptoms two weeks ago and went to an Italian hospital, but was not tested for the virus. Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, speaking at the same conference, said the woman was identified at the border during a regular check of all passengers traveling from Italy. Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe with the coronavirus that causes the illness named COVID-19. The woman, born in 1970, is currently being treated in isolation in a hospital. "She is isolated and safe, please do not spread panic, the situation is under control," the head of the hospital, Zarko Karadzoski, said. North Macedonia is the second Balkan country to report a coronavirus case. A day earlier, Croatia also reported that a young man who developed mild symptoms had contracted the coronavirus during a stay in Milan from February 19 to February 21. Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting top health officials on February 26 that his country had so far reported no cases of coronavirus but that its health service was prepared respond to an outbreak. Based on Reporting by Reuters and AFP CDC_facial hair graphic CDC Sales of medical face masks are spiking around the world amid an outbreak of a new type of coronavirus, although experts say they're not the most effective form of protection. A graphic from the CDC helps explains which facial hairstyle allows the masks to be more effective and it's very thorough. The White House is considering guidance that Americans cover their faces when going out in public, in a reversal from the early days of the pandemic, when the US surgeon general urged Americans to stop buying masks. For the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak, see here. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The demand for face masks is skyrocketing amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that new recommendations about face masks from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be coming out "in the next several days." "I think they're going to be coming out with regulations on that," Trump told reporters at the daily press briefing. "I don't think they'll be mandatory, because some people don't want to do that. But, if people wanted, as an example on the masks, if people wanted to wear them, they can." But according to health experts, most members of the public use their medical masks wrong. Often, people will touch their facemask to adjust it or take it off, rendering its germ-blocking potential ineffective. "The fact is, to really wear these properly takes a bit of training," Dr. Robert Amler, former medical officer at the CDC and a dean at New York Medical College, previously told Business Insider. "Most people who wear them do not wear them properly." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there's another reason that these masks might not work: different kinds of facial hair that can prevent the necessary impenetrable seal from being formed. Story continues Face masks seen at a store in East Palo Alto, California, on January 26, 2020. Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images In 2017, the CDC shared a somewhat inadvertently entertaining graphic that explains style-by-style the types of facial hair work under a mask, and the ones that don't. It is relevant today as the public looks to take preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus. The best precautions are the standard, everyday ways to avoid all germs: wash your hands frequently, try not to touch your face, and avoid close contact with sick people. The CDC has, however, told US healthcare providers to wear surgical masks. That lowers the risk that a potentially infected person could spread the coronavirus to others via saliva or phlegm. If you are choosing to wear a mask and have facial hair, clean-shaven is preferable, of course. "In order for these to work and protect you against all the material that can be flying around you, down to about five microns in size, which is why they call them N-95s in order to get that level of protection, you, first of all, have to be an adult without a beard," Amler added. "I shaved during the anthrax response." What facial hairstyles will work Soul patches, side whiskers, pencils, toothbrushes, painter's brushes, zorros, zappas, walruses, chevrons, and handlebars will also all work because the hair can remain under the facemask. Goatees, anchors, balbos, horseshoes, and villains are all maybes. Those with these facial hairstyles will need to be "careful not to cross the seal," according to the graphic. What won't do? Stubble, french forks, ducktails, verdis, chin curtains, extended goatees, mutton chops, hulihees, fu manchus, englishes, dalis, imperials, van dykes, garibaldis, bandholzes, and circle beards. There is a disclaimer on the bottom of the explainer: "This graphic may not include all types of facial hairstyles. For any style, hair should not cross under the respirator sealing surface." A man being refused purchase of masks because he lost his registration ticket in Hong Kong on February 5. Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images For the most effective use of a medical face mask, you have to undergo something called a "fit test" to test the seal between your face and the facemask. "While you're wearing this mask, somebody sprays something really nasty around you it's a chemical that makes everybody cough their brains out if it gets in their mouth, and it's a test to see if that mask is really working," Amler said. "Believe me. I learned to shave when wearing one." The novel coronavirus pandemic An outbreak of a new form of coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than one million people around the world. It has killed nearly 57,000 people. (For the latest updates from Business Insider, go here.) Hilary Brueck contributed reporting to this article. Read the original article on Business Insider The Morning Rumble Listener Tim got hit by 3 cars on the motorway after pulling over to help someone In the Northeast, a coalition of state leaders has been working for several years to figure out a way to turn the corner and begin cutting transport emissions. The idea is to mandate that fuel wholesalers buy permits for the emissions that their products create, then establish a marketplace where those permits can be bought and sold. That market would set the price of permits, and the wholesalers would then have to decide how much of the increased cost of their operations to pass along at the pump. The gasoline price increase would depend on how ambitious the states decide to be with their emissions cuts, which is one aspect of the plan that has not been fully decided. But the likelihood is that they will start modestly, leading to a price increase of below 10 cents a gallon, less than gas prices typically vary over the course of a year. Americans burn so much gasoline that even a pass-along price increase that small would raise billions of dollars a year in the Northeast. It would likely give many of the states five times as much money as they have now to spend on clean transportation. The money would go to measures that directly cut emissions. Improvements in mass transit systems, to lure people out of their cars, would be a major goal. Another would be helping people who must drive switch to electric cars, through rebates and the installation of chargers along the highways. Some states even intend to invest in fast internet access for rural areas, on the logic that people could work from home some days, as many city dwellers already do, and stay off the roads. By design, the plan resembles a similar approach the Northeastern states took to cutting emissions from power plants. That plan, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, has been a big success. The new one, the Transportation and Climate Initiative, is meant to test whether this approach will work with vehicle emissions. In most states, legislatures would have to approve the proposal. The Koch networks disinformation campaign has already claimed one victory. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican with a poor record on climate initiatives, pulled his state out of the discussions, declaring as he did so: I will not force Granite Staters to pay more for their gas just to subsidize other states crumbling infrastructure. The premise of that statement is a lie. The governor surely knows that a core feature of the plan is that each state would get to keep the money it raises, deciding its own investment priorities. Will other governors reject this kind of demagogy to embrace a good-sense plan? CONCOR and Joint Stock Company, Russian Railways Logistics have executed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation and collaboration in promoting intermodal transportation of cargo over the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Pursuant to this MoU, both the organizations have signed the Service Agreement on 25 February 2020 at New Delhi. This Service Agreement gives the broader responsibilities for transporting the cargo from India to Russia and vice-versa under a single invoice. This seamless transportation of containerized cargo will benefit both exporters and importers in India and Russia. It will also facilitate reduction in transit time and cost of transportation compared to the existing transportation via Suez Canal. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Precision Farming Software Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global precision farming software market was valued at USD 993.24 million in 2019 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 16.7% during the forecast period (2020-2025). Increasing awareness about the benefits of precision agriculture, in optimizing agricultural production, has resulted in a great boom in the precision agriculture market. With the growing food demand, owing to the increasing population, the adoption of precision agriculture tools is inevitable for farmers. The advancements and innovations in technology are the major factors driving the precision agriculture market, helping the farmers maximize their yield and minimize losses with efficient use of resources. North America is the largest and mature market for precision agriculture, followed by Europe. Together, these two regions constitute more than 50% of the precision agriculture software market, globally. Key Market Trends Decreasing Skilled Labor in Agriculture Precision farming is a way of farming in which internet of things (IoT), softwares, and other technlologies are used to utilize farm inputs in an productive way to cut the cost. According to International Labor Organization, Globally, in 2016, 28.81% of human resource were engaged in agriculture are skilled. This has reduced to 28.40% in 2017 which further decreased to 28.26% in 2016. As precision agriculture needs skilled labor who are at acute shortage of availability, presicion farmers admire and tend to consume softwares that can be productive with the current challenge. This scenario is one of the major factors that pendulate the market forward. North America to Dominate the Global Precision Farming Software Market North America is one of the most important regions in the world for precision agriculture apart from Europe and Brazil. Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), a GNSS based solution, is the most popular technology in North America. The segment has 66% of market penetration. A large potential for satellite-based devices and equipment lies in the North American Market. The market growth is primarily accelerated by the increasing demand for Real-Time Kinetic technology, fertilizer and sprayer controllers, robotics, variable rate irrigation, networks and remotes sensing technologies.AgLeader, Agri-vision, Blue River Technologies, Crop Venture Incorporated, Farm Works, Holland Scientifics are some of the precision agriculture software-based companies based in the United States market. Competitive Landscape The results of the market share analysis indicate that the market is highly fragmented with various small and medium-sized companies and a few big players, resulting in stiff competition in the market. This is one of the major factors for the fragmented nature of the market. Key Topics Covered 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study Deliverables 1.2 Study Assumptions 1.3 Scope of the Study 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Introduction to Market Drivers and Restraints 4.3 Market Drivers 4.4 Market Restraints 4.5 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis 4.5.1 Threat of New Entrants 4.5.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers/Consumers 4.5.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.5.4 Threat of Substitute Products 4.5.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 Application 5.1.1 Crop Management 5.1.2 Financial Management 5.1.3 Farm Inventory Management 5.1.4 Personnel Management 5.1.5 Weather Tracking and Forecasting 5.1.6 Others 5.2 Type 5.2.1 Local/Web-based 5.2.2 Cloud-based 5.3 Geography 5.3.1 North America 5.3.1.1 United States 5.3.1.2 Canada 5.3.1.3 Mexico 5.3.1.4 Rest of North America 5.3.2 Europe 5.3.2.1 Germany 5.3.2.2 United Kingdom 5.3.2.3 France 5.3.2.4 Italy 5.3.2.5 Spain 5.3.2.6 Rest of Europe 5.3.3 Asia-Pacific 5.3.3.1 China 5.3.3.2 Japan 5.3.3.3 India 5.3.3.4 Australia 5.3.3.5 Rest of Asia-Pacific 5.3.4 South America 5.3.4.1 Brazil 5.3.4.2 Argentina 5.3.4.3 Rest of South America 5.3.5 Rest of the World 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Most Adopted Strategies 6.2 Market Share Analysis 6.3 Company Profiles 6.3.1 AG DNA 6.3.2 AG Junction 6.3.3 AG Leader Technology 6.3.4 AGCO Corporation 6.3.5 Agribotix 6.3.6 Bayer CropScience AG 6.3.7 Case IH Agriculture 6.3.8 ClearAg Operations 6.3.9 Conservis Corporation 6.3.10 Deere & Company 6.3.11 Fairport Farm Software 6.3.12 IBM 6.3.13 Mapshots Inc. 6.3.14 Raven Industries 6.3.15 Topcon Positioning Systems 6.3.16 Trimble Inc. 7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/yfdwk0 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com PUNE, India, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cryogenic equipment market is set to gain momentum from the expansion of the transportation and storage industry. Besides, the increasing investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based power plants, and higher spending capability of consumers would affect the market positively during the forecast period. Fortune Business Insights published this information in a recent report, titled, "Cryogenic Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (Tank, Valve, Vaporizer, Pump, and Others), By Cryogen Type (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Metallurgy, Power Generation, Chemical & Petrochemical, Marine, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026." The report further states that the cryogenic equipment market size is projected to reach USD 31.68 billion by 2026, thereby exhibiting a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period. However, it stood at USD 18.42 billion in 2018. Cryogenic Equipment Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Highlights of the Report: In-depth details about the cryogenic equipment market trends, opportunities, challenges, growth drivers, and obstacles. List of all the segments present in the market. Region-wise analysis of LNG exports and imports. Competitive landscape, including new product launches, investments, collaborations, contracts, agreements, and mergers and acquisitions. To gain more insights into the market with detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Drivers- Increasing Demand for LNG Fuel to Accelerate Growth The demand for LNG is increasing at a rapid rate on account of the growing trend of utilizing these fuels for marine transport and locomotives. Besides, there is a rise in the number of gas-based power plants worldwide. Coupled with this, the higher usage of refrigerators, pumps, vaporizers, valves, oil tankers, and similar other equipment in the oil and gas industry would contribute to the cryogenic equipment market growth in the coming years. Segment- Oil & Gas Segment to Show High Growth Fueled by Usage in Various Applications In terms of end-user, the market is segregated into marine, chemical & petrochemical, power generation, metallurgy, oil & gas, and others. Out of these, at present, the oil & gas segment holds the largest cryogenic equipment market share owing to its usage in a wide range of applications, such as regasification, LNG transportation, refueling, and refining. The chemical & petrochemical segment is set to grow considerably backed by higher adoption of cooling reactors, regenerating catalysts, Sulphur recovery units, coal gasification, and oxidation processes. The metallurgy segment would also exhibit stable growth stoked by the increasing usage of nitrogen and argon in this industry. Request a Sample Copy: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Regional Analysis- Asia Pacific to Remain at the Forefront Spurred by Increasing Building Infrastructure Geographically, the market is fragmented into the Middle East and Africa, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe. Amongst these, Asia Pacific generated a cryogenic equipment market revenue of USD 6.07 billion in 2018. It is considered to be one of the leading regions owing to the booming industrial sector as a result of rising building infrastructure and investments. The Middle East & Africa and North America, on the other hand, are likely to experience significant growth because of the increasing usage of cryogenic equipment and demand for LNG. In Europe, Spain, Italy, and France are set to contribute to the growth of the market on account of their possession of well-established oil & gas, petrochemicals, and metallurgy sector. Lastly, Brazil in Latin America would also exhibit steady growth on account of the rising investment in the chemical & petrochemical, as well as the oil & gas industry. Competitive Landscape- SHIVER Examines Cryogenic Storage Technologies; Nikkiso Acquires Cryogenic Industries, Inc. Cryogenic equipment manufacturers present in the market are persistently striving to gain a competitive edge by developing new products or acquiring other reputed organizations. These strategies are also aiding them in procuring more shares. Below are two of the key industry developments: February 2020 : NASA announced that its Structural Heat Intercept Insulation Vibration Evaluation Rig, also known as SHIVER, is currently being tested at Plum Brook Station. SHIVER is examining cryogenic storage technologies that would be used to extend the time propellants that remain liquid and can be adopted as fuels during long-duration missions. : NASA announced that its Structural Heat Intercept Insulation Vibration Evaluation Rig, also known as SHIVER, is currently being tested at Plum Brook Station. SHIVER is examining cryogenic storage technologies that would be used to extend the time propellants that remain liquid and can be adopted as fuels during long-duration missions. August 2017 : Nikkiso Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and seller of precision equipment headquartered in Japan , completed its acquisition of Cryogenic Industries, Inc., a provider of quality products and services. The company acquired its branches located in Temecula and Basel . Nikkiso's main aim is to deliver products and services to its focused market segments by introducing the latest technologies. List of the most prominent companies operating in the cryogenic equipment market. They are as follows: Inoxcva Cryofab, Inc. Linde Chart Industries, Inc. Cryo Pur Cryoquip The Weir Group PLC SHI Cryogenics Group Herose GMBH Armaturen und Metalle Nikkiso, Co. Ltd. PHPK Technologies Wessington Cryogenics Fives Flowserve Corporation Schlumberger Sulzer Other key market players Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Emerging Trends For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis Global Cryogenic Equipment Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Tank Valve Vaporizer Pump Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Cryogen Type Nitrogen Oxygen Argon Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End-User Oil & Gas Metallurgy Power Generation Chemical & Petrochemical Marine Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & Latin America Continued..!!! Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/cryogenic-equipment-market-100823 (Have a Look at Reports Trending in Energy & Power Industry) Browse Related Reports: Cryogenic Pump Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Positive Displacement Pump and Centrifugal Pump), By Cryogen Type (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Metallurgy, Power Generation, Chemical & Petrochemical, Marine, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Cryogenic Valve Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Type (Gate, Globe, Ball, Butterfly, Others), By Application (Transfer Lines, Manifolds & Gas Trains, Tanks & Cold Boxes, Others), By End-User (Oil & Gas, Chemical, Food and Beverage, Others) and Geography Forecast till 2026 Cryogenic Insulation Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Form (Foam, Multilayer, Bulk Fill), By Type (Fiberglass, Cellular Glass, Perlite Insulation, Polyurethane, Polyisocyanurate, Others), By End-Use Industry (Oil and Gas, Chemical and Fertilizer, Food and Beverage, Transportation, Electronics, Others) and Geography Forecast till 2026 Electric Submersible Pumps Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By End-User (Residential & Commercial, Water & Wastewater, Mining, Agriculture, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Construction, Others), By Operation (Single-Stage, Multi-Stage), By Capacity (Low, Medium, High), By Type (Open well, Borewell), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Direct Current (DC) Drives Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Voltage Rating (Up to 240 V, 240 - 600 V, and 600 V & Above), By Power Rating (Up to 250 kW, 251 - 500 kW, and 500 kW & Above), By End User (Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Food & Beverage, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Metal & Mining, Water & Wastewater, Building Automation, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Electric Motor Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Motor Type (AC Motors, DC Motors, Hermetic Motors), By Power Output (Fractional Horsepower (Up to 1HP), Integral Horsepower (Above 1HP)), By Voltage (Up to 1 kV, 1 kV-6.6 kV, Above 6.6 kV), By Application (Industrial Machinery, Motor Vehicles, Electrical Appliances, Others), By End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Residential, Agriculture) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 AC Drives Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Power Rating (Low Power Drives, Medium Power Drives, and High Power Drives), By Voltage (Low Voltage and Medium Voltage), By Application (Pumps, Conveyors, Compressors, Electric Fan), By End-User (Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Building Automation, Metal & Mining, Water & Wastewater, Chemical & Petrochemicals) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Variable Frequency Drive Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (AC Drive, DC Drive, Servo Drive), By Power Range (Micro, Low, Medium, High), By Application (Pumps, Conveyors, HVAC, Electric Fan, Extruders, Others), By End-User (Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Mining, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 District Heating Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Heat Source (Coal, Natural Gas, Renewables, Oil & Petroleum Products, and Others), By Plant Type (Boiler, CHP, Others), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019 2026 District Cooling Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By End User (Residential, Industrial, and Commercial), By Technology (Electric Chillers, Absorption Chillers, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019 2026 Well Intervention Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Type (Light Intervention, Medium Intervention, Heavy Intervention), Service (Logging & Bottom Hole Survey, Tubing/Packer Failure & Repair, Stimulation, Remedial Cementing, Zonal Isolation, Sand Control, Artificial Lift, Fishing, RE-Perforation), Application (Onshore, Offshore) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 About us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. 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Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1-424-253-0390 UK : +44-2071-939123 APAC : +91-744-740-1245 Email: [email protected] Fortune Business Insights LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs Press Release: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/cryogenic-equipment-market-9617 SOURCE Fortune Business Insights FILE PHOTO: A Tesco sign outside one of the group's supermarkets in Altrincham LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has completed its exit from China with the 275 million pound sale of its joint venture stake to state-run partner China Resources Holdings (CRH). Having struggled to crack the Chinese market, Tesco established the Gain Land venture with CRH in 2014, combining the British group's 131 stores in China with its partner's almost 3,000. The disposal of its 20% stake allows Tesco to further simplify and focus the business on core operations, it said on Tuesday, adding that the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. The deal is scheduled to complete on Feb. 28. Shares in Tesco were up 0.7% at 0816 GMT, extending its gains over the last year to 12.4%. "This extra 275 million pounds of 'forgotten value' should be accretive to most street valuations," said Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne. After costly exits from Japan and the United States and the sale of its South Korean business, Tesco signalled in December a further retreat from its once lofty global ambitions by starting a review of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia - its last remaining wholly owned businesses in Asia. A sale of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia would mean Tesco's only remaining overseas operations, apart from Ireland, would be its central European division, comprising stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The Asian exit could be one of the last acts of Tesco CEO Dave Lewis, who will be succeeded by Ken Murphy in October. Bernstein's Monteyne expects Tesco to start a 1 billion pound share buyback programme in its 2020-21 financial year. "With this transaction and the possible sale of Thailand and Malaysia, Tesco's biggest short-term concern could be how to efficiently return cash to shareholders," he said. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton and David Goodman) Chandigarh, Feb 26 : Criticising the Opposition for spreading lies, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here on Wednesday said free power to farmers would continue till his government was in power. Speaking on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address in the House, the Chief Minister also reiterated his commitment to the hassle-free procurement of grain and urged the Centre not to tinker with MSP-based purchases as that would affect the livelihood of a large number of farmers. Stating that the government was committed to improve farmers' socio-economic security through debt relief and other measures, the Chief Minister said Rs 4,603 crore debt relief had been provided to 5.62 lakh eligible farmers and the rest would get it soon. The necessary budgetary provisions would be announced by the Finance Minister on Friday, he added. Pointing out that hassle-free procurement had always been his government's priority, he said due to non-interference in mandis' operations, farmers were reaping higher returns for their produce. For the last six crops, farmers had received an additional Rs 44,000 crore, which was an unprecedented achievement for farmers, he added. Listing his government's efforts for crop diversification, he said they were not enough and the Finance Minister would announce in his budget speech a comprehensive scheme to achieve diversification with greater thrust on maize cultivation. To conserve groundwater through crop diversification, the area under paddy has been reduced by 2.50 lakh hectares, he said and added, it caused only 12 lakh tonnes output drop. The wheat output has increased by 7.30 lakh tonnes in the last three years. Basmati rice and cotton output increased by 2.10 lakh tonnes and 4.81 lakh bales, respectively, he added. Warning against the nefarious designs to disturb peace and harmony in the state, Singh said he would deal with Pakistan-based terrorists and gangsters with an iron hand. No one would be allowed to destroy the hard-earned peace, he added. The government, he said had worked hard to protect every section of society, including minorities, weaker sections and women, by ensuring all-round peace, without which there could be no investment or industrial development. "Nobody wants to invest in a disturbed place," Singh said and added, Punjab had emerged as the preferred investment destination due to the peaceful environment. Global technology major Honeywell has announced the launch of a cloud-based, closed-loop, machine learning solution that continuously studies a buildings energy consumption patterns and automatically adjusts to optimal energy saving settings without compromising occupant comfort levels. The Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, the first autonomous building solution focused on decreasing energy consumption, can deliver double-digit energy savings, decrease a buildings carbon footprint, and can be implemented without significant upfront capital expenses or changes to a buildings current operational processes, said a statement from the company. Energy consumption in commercial buildings is a significant issue: buildings account for more than 36% of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Additionally, HVAC often presents the largest opportunity for energy savings in a commercial building. Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization autonomously and continually optimizes a buildings internal set points across hundreds of assets every 15 minutes to evaluate whether a buildings HVAC system is running at peak efficiency. When it finds a need to make an adjustment, it analyzes factors such as time of day, weather, occupancy levels and dozens of other data points to determine the optimal settings per building and makes calculated decisions 96 times per 24-hour period for every building in a portfolio, 365 days-a-year across the system of assets. Repeated results have shown double-digit reductions of HVAC related consumption while not impacting customer comfort. Buildings arent static steel and concrete theyre dynamic ecosystems and their energy needs fluctuate based on ever-changing variables like weather and occupancy, remarked David Trice, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Buildings. With Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, were evolving building operations far beyond what would be possible even with a robust team of engineers and the rules they code in their building management system. By employing the latest self-learning algorithms coupled with autonomous control, we can help building portfolio owners fine-tune their energy expenditures to drive efficiencies and create more sustainable practices for our customers, he added. During a pilot at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) in Dubai, Honeywell said the Forge Energy Optimization demonstrated an initial 10% in energy savings, along with a reduction in complaints related to overcooling. HBMSU is the first accredited smart university in the UAE and is known for its technology and innovation programs. Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization was applied to HBMSUs existing building management system which uses competitor technology demonstrating the platforms open architecture and hardware agnostic capabilities, said the company in its statement. The additional energy savings are significant as HBMSU is regarded as a highly smart, energy efficient building with fully connected lighting, cooling, building management, power and efficiency control that is optimized based on real-time occupancy. The pilot also uncovered local control issues with the chiller plant and fresh air handling unit that were not adjusting to set points, it added. Honeywell pointed out that following the pilot, HBMSU selected the group as its preferred technology provider for energy optimization. The collaboration will leverage Honeywell Forge as the IoT platform to expand cutting-edge technology adoption such as advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and data analytics across the universitys campus. The platform will provide greater visibility into its building portfolio performance, lifecycle predictability and extension, said the statement. HBMSU will also benefit from early testing and rollout of new Honeywell IoT technologies, including enhancing the curriculum and learning experience of its students with the technology, furthering its goal of driving innovation in the region, it added.-TradeArabia News Service As the Lebanese government struggles to extricate itself from the financial and economic abyss it is currently facing, the question of whether or not to resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance, which would place the country under its guardianship, remains controversial. The differences over this issue are no longer restricted to opposing political camps, but have also divided allies within the same camp, namely Hezbollah and Amal. While the first fears direct interference by the IMF whose decisions would have not only major financial but also political repercussions, the Amal Movement, Hezbollahs privileged ally, is convinced that the only solution to stop the (financial and economic) collapse is through the assistance of the international institution. The terms of such assistance are yet to be defined. Several sources have pointed out the gap between Hezbollah, which refuses to give a free hand to an institution it considers highly suspicious, and the speaker of the parliament, Nabih Berri, who has recently supported the IMP option, advocated for some time by his former adviser and now Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni. Long before he became minister, Wazni had never hidden his preference - as an economist and researcher - to resort to the IMF; a conviction the Speaker of the Parliament ended up endorsing. "Mr. Berri has recently become convinced that the help this institution can provide has become unavoidable in the light of the collapse," a number of economists and analysts revealed. The Amal movement has still not made this stance public for it contradicts Hezbollahs point of view. According to a source close to Hezbollah circles, what the pro-Iranian party fears the most are "the conditions the IMF may impose if the government decides to give it the green light." Among these conditions, an increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and gasoline taxes and even the reduction of the civil servants' salaries. Such highly unpopular measures would hit the partys base particularly hard. But Hezbollahs real apprehensions lay elsewhere, in particular concerning certain decisions which would be necessary, but would directly affect the party and its resources. This would be the case if the IMF is to impose strict control over the ports and the airport, considered to be lifelines for the Shiite party, in order to crack down on smuggling. "For Hezbollah, which is already reeling from sanctions imposed by the United States, an intervention by the IMF in these sectors would help drying up completely its resources from outside the country and putting an end to smuggling operations at the port in particular, said economic analyst Violette Balaa. This, she said, would explain why Hezbollah has so far refused the suspension of air links with Tehran despite the fact that the first confirmed case of coronavirus involved a woman who had arrived from Iran; which is "the country where the Shiite party continues to receive all forms of support and cash it needs." Mohammad Obeid, a political analyst close to Hezbollah, argued that "it is not through the airport that the party receives its cash or weapons but rather through Syria ." "This border crossing route is undoubtedly a red line for the party which will, in no way, accept its closure," Obeid said, adding that Hezbollah has long ceased to use the airport, where people from diverse political affiliations work, making it almost impossible to "receive anything without it being known." Political agenda According to Hezbollah circles, the Shiite party accepts that Lebanon requests only technical assistance from the IMF provided that this does not in any way affect the country's sovereign decisions concerning its economy and finances. "What worries the party is the political agenda which could be hidden under the label of economic and financial reforms," said Obeid who noted that the Amal movement does not have as much to lose as Hezbollah in this case. On the contrary, by endorsing a more extensive intervention by the IMF, Berri would have the opportunity to present his credentials to the international community to which he is certainly closer than Hezbollah. He would also be able to pose as a savior of the Republic, especially since he is fiercely supporting the revision of the electricity plan and the inevitable reform of this sector, considered a top priority. "It will be a way for him to take revenge against the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil," said the analyst. However, it remains to be seen how far Berri would be willing to go in supporting the idea of IMF intervention, knowing that he will never risk jeopardizing his strategic partnership with Hezbollah. Analysts say that if Hezbollah insists on refusing a more substantial contribution than mere advice from the IMF, Berri will eventually let go and will certainly not go against his ally. On Tuesday, Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem made it clear that his group will not "accept submitting to the IMF to manage the crisis" but will not oppose consultations with the fund. "The whole question is what exactly the role of the IMF will be if the government decides to engage it and what would be the margin of manoeuvre to be granted," Obeid noted. (This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 25th of February) The Minnesota Department of Transportation recently released the Minnesota Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study. The study shows that public airports like Rochester International Airport (RST) are significant contributors to statewide and local economies. "We are excited to share the study results demonstrating Rochester International Airports substantial economic benefits to our region," said John Reed, executive director, in a press release. "RST is a strong economic cornerstone allowing the movement of people and commerce in and out of our community." Other findings of the study show RST has the following economic contributions: Generates $190 million in annual economic activity Supports more than 1,600 jobs and more than $63 million in annual payroll Generates $127 million in annual spending and $9.2 million in state and local tax revenue Supports air ambulances essential to medical services Provides essential infrastructure needed for air cargo and connecting regional companies to national and international markets or suppliers Provides economic efficiencies that bring competitive advantages that help businesses create jobs that support the regional economy The study was commissioned by MnDOT in 2019 to measure the annual economic impact provided by 126 of Minnesotas 133 public airports, most of them located in Greater Minnesota. The 2019 MnDOT study also includes data from two separate Metropolitan Airports Commission studies, which researched seven public airports located in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Together, the 133 airports make up Minnesotas public airport system. To learn more about the Minnesota Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study, download fact sheets for any of the 126 airports studied including Rochester International Airport, or get other information about Minnesota public airports, visit mndot.gov/airport-economic-study . I have always wondered why kids particularly like my company with them. I get the pulling of hair, the feet in my face, all that, without any qualms and I love it. In the company of kids, I can be 100% that what I see is what I get! And so as a mother, aunty, family friend, name it, I get to hear and see things that will make the everyday Ghanaian parent go deep blue. Sometimes I struggle between what I should let the mostly seemingly clueless parents know. Most of the time I tend to deal with issues myself and the parent who lives in the glass castle hopefully will never get a sniff of the storm that just went by. But most importantly, this is why I love kids; the innocence, the sponge-like template of their minds, the creative mind without boundaries and barriers, the innovative mindset. A kid can bend a spoon with their mind in seconds if they focus! Do you believe it? You too can, until life got to you. Children take me back to a childhood I never really got past. Recently I have been privileged to spend a little more time with children and as we all know, children are now wired to electronics like nobody's business and so we get to watch television. Sooner or later, one can not tell who is the child here. I am as much engrossed as they are in the cartons or live-action movie or series. This weekend, I noticed one of my kids turn away from a kissing scene. Pretending to pick something from under the table that lasted for exactly the same length of time as the action continued on the screen. I hid a smile in my cheek. We have all done this before. Before then, one of my kids had kissed me on the mouth and asked if I will be her valentine. 'I am your valentine forever my love' I responded. But she responded with, 'but I have a valentine at school, he is a boy in my class Anyways, I digress. 'This program isn't really meant for kids, let's find something more appropriate, shall we?' 'Netflix!' They all scream. One show after the other, it was either swearing or speaking about love or some other thing that still made me itch. I searched for something with black characters, I practically find none! Even the animals somehow look white. My own kids are grown now you see. I used to hustle over black dolls versus white dolls for my growing girls and messaging and self-worth and all that crap. They are now grown-up young women who carry their blackness with pride. Job done I thought. Not so fast! Let's go to Ghana television. The unison in the No! That followed my comment said it all. 'Hey, we are in Ghana and so we must watch Ghana, eat Ghana, wear Ghana!' I insist. For at least this weekend ok? 'Ok, Aunty! But there is nothing on Ghana TV!' I forced myself through Ghana television this weekend. The entire weekend, I searched for programming for kids. It is almost impossible to find. Where one can find, it is littered with things children shouldn't be hearing or seeing. What worries me the most though, is that in a Black country in Africa, I couldn't find even one cartoon or live-action programming made with a character who is black or has black hair thick hair or skin. Nothing on Ghana television is targeting Ghanaian kids that even teaches about our environments and who we are. The folklores, rich cultural themes! But perhaps I am old fashioned. So forget about heritage! Where are the programs that teach our kids that people that look like them can go into space? Can do well in technology and be the best creatives in the world? Can we not find anything locally to make good content from that inspires our young ones into the future? This month, Ghanaians have been happy about an American woman who attended the University of Ghana and who just returned from space! We have taken great pride in tagging ourselves to her. Have we asked ourselves what happens to the minds of all the black skin that also go to Legon such that they can't even manage earth? I get it that whiles paying US$100 to purchase a carton from the US, which business person, TV station or Ghanaian producer wants to spend US$20,000 on local content when they can get the programs that are even better packaged for less than US$500? Let me take the time to commend the few channels TRYING! Albeit, just trying! But I wonder if we have taken the time to look at the real cost of our decisions and inactions. What is the cost of this US$100 content in real terms to Ghana over time? Can you name some? I worry that parents stay away from this conversation. Is it that we feel that we are powerless and that our voices don't count? Or is it laziness on our part? Let's just let the TV business people decide for us what our children watch. Then we can blame them one day for whatever. We are too busy to do anything ourselves. Children are like sponges. Whatever you feed them, that is what they will grow to become. Every once in a while there is an outlier from the group, but the probability that what we will see tomorrow is children who continue to have very low self-image and crave to be something else with different skin and hair and who therefore can never see value in who they are or where they are and who will continue to look outside to solve internal problems is very high. This weekend at a funeral in the hot sun, some cool dudes were sitting by me. They both had bleached skin that was quarrelling with the sun. Tell me who you think is winning this quarrel? Skin or sun? Source: Juliet Asante 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 BRIDGEPORT Recently retired states attorney John Smriga has joined the local law firm of Robert Berke. The Law Office of Robert Berke in Bridgeport is pleased to announce that Attorney John Smirga has joined the firm, according to the statement released Wednesday. The Fairfield District handles complex criminal matters and has been one of the busiest courts in the state. Attorney Smirgas 40 years of experience in criminal law will be an invaluable asset to the firms clients. Johns practice will concentrate on Part A criminal matters and the investigation of civil rights cases. Smriga, 66, of Shelton, was appointed states attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District in 2009. As the states attorney, Smriga supervised about two dozen prosecutors in two courthouses and more than a dozen inspectors. He also oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all crimes committed within the judicial district, which includes Bridgeport, Fairfield, Trumbull, Easton, Monroe and Stratford. Smriga retired on Feb. 1. I look forward to putting my experience to use from a new perspective. I see it as an interesting challenge, Smriga said on Wednesday. Berkes office is on Clinton Avenue. He has an active criminal defense practice but is best known for the federal civil rights cases he has filed against police departments around the state on behalf of clients including a number of lawsuits against the Bridgeport Police Department. He currently represents five people who claim they were the victims of excessive force by nearly a dozen Bridgeport officers who raided a birthday party on Colorado Avenue in 2017. Although Smriga wouldnt comment on whether he will work on these cases he said he would be interested in helping people who claim they were injured by police officers. 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. Customers will not be affected by Decree 10, providing clear rules for ride-hailing apps. Photo: Le Toan Tran Bao Ngoc, director of the Transport Department under the Ministry of Transport said that the ministrys pilot programme on ride-hailing services will officially expire on April 1. Afterwards, services must comply with new regulations as stipulated in Decree No.10/2020/ND-CP issued on January 17 to replace Decree No.86/2014/ND-CP enacted in 2014 on business conditions for road transportation firms. The main difference in the new decree, according to ride-hailing leaders, is that some companies will have to separate the business that provides ride-hailing apps from those that offer actual transport services. The pilot for the application of sci-tech to support transport management on a contractual basis was issued in 2016, allowing ride-hailing services such as Grab to operate without being subject to regulations applied to other transport services. The new decree aims to align ride-hailing firms business operation with better standards and recognise their apps as legal businesses. After coming into effect on April 1, all firms operating in passenger transportation with cars or motorbikes with fewer than nine seats using ride-hailing applications are to be treated as taxi firms. The previous pilot programme will be suspended to avoid any conflict with Decree 10. All passenger cars with less than nine seats are being given a badge for transportation services before April 1. They will also have to feature signs that indicate the type of licence they are operating under, and complete installation of this before July 1, 2021. Commenting on the decision, a representative of Grab said that the halt of the pilot programme will not affect Grabs operations in Vietnam. Customers can use ride-hailing, food delivery, and express delivery services as usual, while the companys drivers will operate normally on Grabs platform. The representative added that Grab is studying the new decree to find the best option for its business model in Vietnam. The firm is actively working with regulatory bodies to learn more about the regulations for ride-hailing businesses. Last year, Grab announced investment of $500 million into Vietnam over a period of five years to tap into fintech opportunities, new mobility solutions and logistics, in order to spur development of the countrys digital economy. Go-Viet also stated that operations will not be affected. The company is offering multiple services such as motorbike hailing, food delivery, and consumer-to-consumer delivery in Vietnam. Unlike Grab, Go-Viet does not yet offer car hailing but is considering similar services. Ta Long Hy, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Taxi Drivers Association, said that Decree 10 is an important move in regulating the operations of taxis and contract-based vehicles. According to Hy, there are not so many differences between the new decree and the previous one, despite the separation of transport firms and ride-hailing providers. Therefore, the change will have little impact. On the other hand, he added that it will be more convenient for management and regulation when separating transport units from software providers. Specifically, software providers are in charge of the technological side without being involved in setting fare rates and promotions. They could only act as an intermediary providing the platform for transport businesses. Over the past few years, there has been fierce competition between traditional taxi companies and platforms such as Grab, Go-Viet, and FastGo. In 2017, Vinasun filed a lawsuit against Grab, claiming that the latters illegal activities have caused a slump in its earnings. The prolonged court case between Vinasun and Grab reflects the new competition between traditional taxi operators and ride-hailing firms in Vietnam. However, this kind of battle is not specific to Vietnam. Many other countries including the United States, where the model was developed first through Uber, have had to resolve the legislation ambiguity. According to industry insiders, the underlying trade-off behind the recent decision is to ensure that traditional taxi companies maintain a decent level of activity while allowing other companies to innovate in order to offer better value for money to the consumers. Thus, Decree 10 reflects Vietnams effort to solve the controversies between traditional taxi companies and ride-hailing apps. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 06:29:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close STOCKHOLM. Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A man in his 30s recently returning from Italy has been confirmed Wednesday as Sweden's second case of COVID-19 infection. The patient is being treated at Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Hospital after having contracted COVID-19 in Italy, Swedish news agency TT reported Wednesday. Swedish health authorities are now tracking down individuals to whom the man may have passed on the virus. "The patient is doing well, considering the circumstances," Lars Magnus Andersson, head of operations at the Sahlgrenska Hospital's clinic for infectious diseases, said at a press conference Wednesday evening. The patient had apparently not been traveling as part of a big group. To "respect the man's integrity," the Sahlgrenska hospital is withholding information about what part of Italy he has visited. Infectious disease doctor Thomas Wahlberg told the press conference that there was no risk of contamination on the plane by which the man traveled back to Sweden. In accordance with hospital routines, the patient has been isolated in a room with negative air pressure and staff members at the hospital are using protective equipment to avoid contamination. Anders Tegnell, an epidemiologist at Sweden's Public Health Agency, participating in the press conference via a video link, said the detection of a second COVID-19 case in Sweden will not lead to any changes to the national directives for handling the prevention and containment of the virus. "This is exactly what we've been prepared for. Nothing will change whatsoever," Tegnell said. Sweden's Public Health Agency conducts weekly prognoses with updates about COVID-19. Currently, the risk of "imported cases," where individuals who have contracted the virus abroad travel to Sweden, is deemed to be high. But at another press conference earlier on Wednesday, Tegnell said the spread of the virus will likely remain at a low level in Sweden in the near future. The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Sweden was a woman in her 20s who was isolated at a hospital in Jonkoping in southern Sweden after having visited Wuhan, China. She has been receiving treatment for over three weeks. Jay Leno enjoyed a laid-back date night with his wife of 40 years, Mavis Leno. The couple looked truly relaxed while grabbing dinner in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The TV host famous for his collection of cars seemed quite content to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the warm, wintry night. Date night: Jay Leno and his wife Mavis Leno enjoyed a date night in Los Angeles on Tuesday The late night icon ditched the suits for a denim jacket and jeans as he strolled through the quiet block. Hands shoved into his pockets, Jay led the way for his wife as she followed close behind, holding onto his arm. Jay kept it casual for their night on the town, teaming his all-denim look with a black T-shirt and sneakers. Mavis was looking stylish in a black scoop neck top, matching trousers, olive jacket with a brown scarf looped around her neck. Taking it easy: The TV host famous for his collection of cars seemed quite content to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the warm, wintry night She wore her black tote over her shoulder whilst carrying some more items inside a brown paper bag. Jay and Mavis have been married since 1980, years before he would go on to host his eponymous hit talk show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Recently the star was thrust back into the spotlight after it emerged Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough's America's Got Talents contracts were not renewed after complaining about alleged racist jokes and a toxic environment behind-the-scenes of the show, according to Variety. Love story: Jay and Mavis have been married since 1980, nearly 14 years before he would go on to host his eponymous hit talk show, the Jay Leno Show The conflict was reportedly sparked when Jay Leno made an anti-Korean slur during his guest appearance on the show back in April. Shortly after the controversy broke, Leno was asked to weigh in as he left his set at The Comedy & Magic Club. Though he managed to dodge most of the questions about the controversy, he did speak highly of Gabrielle. 'I love Gabrielle Union, she's a great girl. I really enjoyed working with her, she's really good.' President Donald Trump said he will discuss the coronavirus threat at a White House news conference on Wednesday, a day after he sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the US. Trump tweeted that representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, would join him at the late-afternoon appearance. Trump and members of the administration have been sending mixed messages about the virus. The CDC on Tuesday warned the American public to prepare for an outbreak of the disease, which has spawned more than 80,000 cases around the world but relatively few so far in the US. But before he flew home from India on Tuesday, Trump said the coronavirus situation is very well under control in our country. The administration has asked Congress for an additional USD 2.5 billion to speed development of a vaccine, support preparedness and response activities, and to gather needed equipment and supplies. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have questioned whether the request is sufficient. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, is preparing an emergency request for USD 8.5 billion to respond to the virus outbreak, according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the request had not yet been filed. Arriving back in the U.S. early Wednesday, Trump immediately began to push back against critics who say he should have acted sooner to bolster the federal response to the coronavirus. He tweeted that the CDC, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and others are doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus! and announced that he would be briefed later on Wednesday. I will be having a News Conference at the White House, on this subject, today at 6:00 P.M. CDC representatives, and others, will be there. Trump also criticised some news media coverage of the coronavirus, accusing news outlets of panicking markets. The president keeps close tabs on the stock market, seeing it as an indicator that his economic policies are working and frequently charting its growth on Twitter. Markets tumbled Monday by more than 1,000 points and again on Tuesday, and Trump noticed. In India, he said China, where the outbreak began, was getting the epidemic under control. They're getting it more and more under control so I think that's a problem that's going to go away," he said in India, while noting that we lost almost 1,000 points Monday on the stock market. In the tweet, the CDC advised people to take the usual precautions to avoid spreading the virus, such as staying home when sick and washing hands with soap and water. Workday has canceled its annual internal sales meeting over fears of the coronavirus outbreak and will be moving the program online. The Workday Sales Kickoff, or SKO, was scheduled for March 2 through March 4 in Orlando, Florida, and was supposed to draw around 3,000 people, a spokeswoman told CNBC. Workday provides cloud-based human resources and other software for enterprises, and like many other enterprise software companies, holds an annual event for sales and other employees to set goals and strategy for the coming year. "The wellbeing of our employees and communities is our top priority, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to make our global sales kickoff a virtual experience to ensure we rally our team in the safest way possible," Workday spokesperson Jeff Shadid confirmed in a statement to CNBC. The flu-like coronavirus, named COVID-19, has affected over 80,000 people globally and killed at least 2,700 since it was discovered Dec. 31 in China. Over the weekend, South Korea, Italy and Iran reported a sharp increase in cases, which led some health officials to fear the virus cannot be contained. Workday's leadership team cited their concerns over the increasing number of global cases, according to the memo. Workday's decision to make this year's conference digital is the latest among a slew of exhibition or conference cancellations worldwide over fears of a pandemic. Earlier this month, organizers of the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest trade show for the mobile phone industry, canceled the Barcelona, Spain-based event just two weeks before it was supposed to occur. Facebook canceled its San Francisco-based Global Marketing Summit, which was to expected draw 4,000 people in early March, "out of an abundance of caution." Facebook and Sony also pulled out of March's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday outlined how businesses should likely react if the coronavirus spreads throughout the United States. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a conference call that local communities and cities may need to "modify, postpone or cancel mass gatherings." "For adults, businesses can replace in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and increase teleworking options," Messonnier said. AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday attacked the Delhi Police for allegedly failing to contain the violence in northeast Delhi and asked why the borders areas were not sealed despite Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's requests. He claimed that law and order situation in the city has "deteriorated" after Amit Shah took over as the Union Home Minister. "People instigating violence have no religion. It was a failure of the Delhi police which failed to seal the border areas. Why were the border areas not sealed despite Arvind Kejriwal's requests?" the AAP leader said. "People are being killed, shops and homes are being burnt. The law and order is under the Home Ministry and since Amit Shah became the Home Minister things have deteriorated," he said in a press briefing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An award-winning television news cameraman, whose iconic footage of Bloody Sunday was seen around the world, has died at the age of 91. Cyril Cave passed away at Greenvale Nursing Home in Castlewellan yesterday. Born in Holywood, Co Down, Mr Cave began his career as a photographer with the Lurgan Mail. From there it was on to the Belfast Telegraph before the start of his distinguished career in the 1960s as a news cameraman with BBC Northern Ireland. Cave was to capture the abiding image of Bloody Sunday on January 30, 1972 of the then Fr Edward Daly waving a handkerchief as a dying civilian, Jackie Duddy, was carried away. Ten years later Daly, by now a bishop, saw to it that Cave was introduced to Pope John Paul II during his visit to Ireland. The film was to win a prestigious Royal Television Society award, one of many to come Cave's way. Cave was widely regarded as the man who gave visiting correspondents and fellow camera crews invaluable advice when covering the Troubles, including Martin Bell and Kate Aidie, who felt more at ease with him by their side. Paying tribute, Bell said: "It has been borne in on me over a long career in TV news that the important people tend to be behind the camera and the self important people in front of it. "Cyril was truly a hero of the Troubles. It was an honour to have worked with him." Former BBC NI controller Robin Walsh added: "Cyril was a trailblazer, taking no pleasure in seeing his community tear itself apart but playing a pivotal role in revealing the horror of it all to the public. He was an inspiration to many who have followed." Mr Cave is survived by his wife Freda, three daughters Judith, Claire, Suzanne, son Mark and six grandchildren. His funeral service will take place at Roselawn Crematorium on Friday at 5pm. Trump praises India's Modi for working to improve religious freedom as rampant persecution rages on Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment President Trump wrapped up his trip to India this week by praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, saying that they have worked hard to improve religious freedom conditions in the country. The presidents two-day trip comes as ongoing riots and clashes between Muslim and Hindu groups over a controversial citizenship amendment that Muslims say is unfair has led to the death of at least 13 people in Delhi in recent days. Although Trump did not take a position on the legislation, which has been criticized by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as a possible religious test for citizenship, he did seem to express optimism regarding the condition of religious freedom in India. Although Trump has vowed to promote religious freedom worldwide, his administration has not spoken out as boldly on the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in India as it has with other religious freedom violations across the globe, such as those in China. Many called on the president to bring the issue up during his meeting with Modi. Trump told reporters during a news conference that he and Modi did talk about religious freedom for a long time. Trump stressed that he really believes religious freedom is what Modi wants. "The prime minister was incredible on what he told me. He wants people to have religious freedom," Trump said at a news conference Tuesday. He said that, in India, they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom. And if you look back and you look at whats going on, relative to other places especially, they have really worked hard on religious freedom. Since Modi and the BJP came to power in 2014, rights groups have warned that Hindu nationalists have acted with relative impunity in attacking and persecuting Christians and other minorities that they view as non-Indian. ADF India reported last year that there have been over 1,000 reported incidents of Christian persecution in India since 2014. ADF India and its partners who facilitate a database of Christian persecution report there to have been over a dozen incidents of Christian persecution in India in February 2020 alone. Most recently, the database reported that police personnel raided Christians' homes in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh at around 11 p.m. on Feb. 19. The Christians were reportedly warned that their names would be removed from a ration register and they wouldnt be allowed to avail government facilities. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate threatened the Christians the very next day to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, the database notes. Trump was specifically asked about his stance on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which passed the Indian parliament in December. The act amends a 1955 law by providing a path to Indian citizenship for migrants of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religious minorities who fled persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before 2014. However, Muslims who fled those countries were not included on the list. Trump responded to the reporters question about the act by saying he did not want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India, Trump said. "And hopefully, theyre going to make the right decision for the people." Earlier in February, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to express their concerns with Modis policies in India. Their concerns were related to India revoking autonomy from the Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir and with the citizenship law. Senators who signed the joint letter include conservatives such as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and liberals like Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin. Koshy George, president of the Federation of Indian Christian Organizations in North America, praised Trump for bringing up the issue of religious freedom in his talks with Modi. Although we lack any substance from their discussions, we are encouraged to see that the President took the opportunity to include the issue of religious freedom as a priority item at these important bi-lateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi," George said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "We truly hope that the Modi administration would respond positively to the concerns expressed by the President that would be in the best interest of the country. Although the best efforts were made to showcase India in a positive light during Trumps visit, FIACONA Chairman John Prabhudoss said the world is also watching the ongoing violence as a result of policies enunciated by the current BJP regime. Political tranquility is fundamental to economic progress. And by promoting the policies that drive the country toward majoritarianism and intolerance, the Modi regime may be jeopardizing the prosperity of its ordinary citizens," Prabhudoss said in a statement. India is ranked as the 10th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. In an op-ed published by The Christian Post, Open Doors USA CEO David Curry stressed that India wanted Trump to look the other way when it comes to religious persecution. India, like the United States, is a vibrant democracy with constitutional protections for the religious freedom of its 1.3 billion citizens, Curry wrote. In recent years, those protections have started to look like empty promises. Worse still, Prime Minister Modis government appears determined to hide the facts on the ground. Curry noted that India is a geopolitical ally of the U.S. that is working to counter Chinas dominance in Asia. A new trade deal, which is reportedly on the table for the visit, might provide serious economic benefits to both countries, Curry wrote. Theres just one issue: Indias record on religious liberty shows it is not willing to comply with international laws on human rights, making any deal a risky one. Open Doors' research reveals at least 1,500 Indian Christians faced some kind of violence or threat do to their religious beliefs between November 2018 and October 2019, while as many as 295 Christians were detained for faith-related reasons. Tennessee missionary Bryan Nerren was detained on criminal charges in India last fall and has been denied his passport and the ability to return to the U.S. for months. The fact is, Indias record on religious freedom is a ticking time bomb at the heart of the U.S.-India relationship, Curry stressed. Indias Muslim community and other religious minorities likely face as much, if not worse, hostility and discrimination. Religious tensions are already spilling over into violence and bloodshed. Manchester United have been given a boost ahead of their Europa League second leg against Club Brugge at Old Trafford on Thursday after the Belgians' danger man Emmanuel Dennis was ruled out of the tie. Dennis was man of the match in the first leg in Bruges last week and stunned United with an early goal before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side came back to draw 1-1. The Nigerian was injured in Sunday's win over Charleroi along with captain Ruud Vormer who will also miss out. Club Brugge will be without Emmanuel Dennis against Manchester United this week Eder Balanta is suspended following his booking in the first leg while Senegal winger Krepin Diatta is again doubtful. The tie is in the balance going into the return clash this week after Anthony Martial's equaliser cancelled out Dennis' opener in Belgium. Dennis has scored nine goals in 31 appearances in all competitions for the Jupiler Pro League leaders. Ethiopia will release from jail 63 opposition activists and other high-ranking government critics by the end of the week, a spokesman for the attorney generals office said on Tuesday. The decision had been taken for the national good and investigations against them had been dropped, Zinabu Tubu was quoted as saying. The Ethiopian government hopes to widen the political and democratic space in the country with the freeing of these individuals, he added. Hundreds were arrested in the aftermath of the June violence in Ethiopias north that left five high-ranking officials dead and heaped pressure on a government struggling to cope with ethnic tensions. Among the individuals being freed are members of the National Movement of Amhara (Nama), an ethno-nationalist group that the government blamed for the attacks. Nama welcomed the announcement. It said its members should never have been detained. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who had been praised for loosening control in long-authoritarian Ethiopia, and was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, was accused at the time of using the violence as a pretext to jail critics. The government of Abiys predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn, detained around 30,000 people, often under harsh anti-terrorism laws, in response to three years of protests. Detainees included students, opposition leaders, journalists and bloggers. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Abiy is yet to commit to investigating torture of detainees, the killing of protestors by security forces and other serious abuses. Ireland has only made limited progress towards broadening its tax base, and dealing with aggressive tax planning by multinational companies, according to the European Commission. In its latest country report on Ireland, the Commission said that recent revenue measures are not meaningfully contributing to broadening the tax base. The United States voiced optimism Tuesday about reaching an accord to end the war in Afghanistan as a partial truce held with the Taliban, warning rival leaders in the Kabul government not to scuttle the "enormous opportunity." The United States plans to sign an agreement with the Taliban on Saturday in Qatar if the week-long truce holds. Four days in, the number of Taliban attacks has fallen dramatically. "So far the reduction in violence is working -- imperfect, but it's working," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference in Washington. "We're on the cusp of an enormous, enormous political opportunity," he said. The historic deal would see the US withdraw thousands of troops, winding down America's longest war which was launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks but has grown increasingly unpopular at home. The Taliban would then open negotiations with the internationally recognized government in Kabul, which the Islamist militants have refused to recognize. But the administration is in disarray, with President Ashraf Ghani last week declared the winner of a new term in elections but his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah, rejecting the results and vowing to form his own government. The United States has conspicuously not congratulated Ghani, in contrast to the European Union and the Kabul government's regional ally India. In a statement Tuesday, the State Department said only that it "notes" the election announcement. It said Ghani had agreed to postpone his inauguration which was scheduled on Thursday. Abdullah's spokesman, Fraidoon Khwazoon, told AFP that both Abdullah and Ghani were delaying swearing-in ceremonies planned for Thursday by two weeks. Asked about the election, Pompeo said the US wanted to make sure the results were "free and fair and accurate" and warned against "any one small group" blocking the peace process. "There are those with an enormous vested interest in the status quo," Pompeo said, characterizing the current situation as "bloodshed, tears, economic challenges." "We want to make sure that... all the people who have an interest -- whether that's because of corruption of because of some ideological view -- cannot spoil what it is that the Afghan people so richly deserve," he said. Ghani, while saying he hopes for peace with the Taliban, was critical as diplomacy gathered steam last year, especially over the militants' refusal to recognize the Kabul government. President Donald Trump has called the Afghan war a waste of blood and treasure and his administration has called the truce a test of whether the Taliban can make good on its promises. The key US demand remains the same from 2001 -- that the Taliban not allow Afghan territory to be used by Al-Qaeda, or now Islamic State extremists, to plan international attacks. Pompeo rejected a question on whether a US withdrawal would jeopardize the rights of women, who under the Taliban's ultra-austere 1996-2001 regime were forbidden from education and forced to wear all-encompassing burqas in public. "Our mission-set there has been much broader than that," Pompeo said. He voiced confidence that "voices all across the Afghan political spectrum" including women "will go into the ultimate solution." US General Scott Miller, the commander of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, also saw the partial truce succeeding. "We're seeing what we would call a downward trend in violence, which is great for the Afghan people. It's great for the country of Afghanistan," he said in a statement. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Afghan security source told AFP Taliban attacks had dropped from an average of 75 a day to about 15 since the truce began on February 22. But underscoring the fragility of the situation, the interior ministry said five security personnel were killed in three attacks in rural areas Tuesday. US forces also forces announced the deaths of four Islamic State members in two airstrikes in Kunar province. An early morning fire ripped through a home in Bergen County, sending firefighters from several communities racing to the scene. Six of the firefighters were hurt when part of the building collapsed. They were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, officials said. The fire was reported about 5 a.m. at the home on Oakland Avenue in Westwood, authorities said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was home when the fire started. Officials said the injuries occurred when part of the structure collapsed as the firefighters made entry. The porch roof collapsed, trapping 6 Hillsdale Firefighters, the borough fire department said in a statement. All were removed, with minor assistance, and transported to (a local hospital). These all appear to be minor injuries, we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Pat McKenna, a neighbor, said she awoke Wednesday morning to the smell of smoke and sirens. McKenna said the owners just bought the house and were not yet living there. They werent there, McKenna said, adding she believes the house was under renovation. Firefighters at the scene of a structure fire Wednesday on Oakland Avenue in Westwood, Bergen County.Pat McKenna The home on Oakland Avenue in Westwood was nearly demolished by fire early Wednesday.Pat McKenna Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Julian Assange tried to contact Hillary Clinton and the White House when he realised that unredacted US diplomatic cables given to WikiLeaks were about to be dumped on the internet, his lawyer told his London extradition hearing on Tuesday. Assange is being sought by the United States on 18 counts of hacking US government computers and an espionage offence, having allegedly conspired with Chelsea Manning, then a US soldier known as Bradley Manning, to leak hundreds of thousands of secret documents by WikiLeaks almost a decade ago. On Monday, the lawyer representing the United States told the hearing that Assange, 48, was wanted for crimes that had endangered people in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan who had helped the West, some of whom later disappeared. US authorities say his actions in recklessly publishing unredacted classified diplomatic cables put informants, dissidents, journalists and human rights activists at risk of torture, abuse or death. Outlining part of his defence, Assanges lawyer Mark Summers said allegations that he had helped Manning to break a government password, had encouraged the theft of secret data and knowingly put lives in danger were lies, lies and more lies. He told Londons Woolwich Crown Court that WikiLeaks had received documents from Manning in April 2010. He then made a deal with a number of newspapers, including the New York Times, Britains Guardian and Germanys Der Spiegel, to begin releasing redacted parts of the 250,000 cables in November that year. A witness from Der Spiegel said the US State Department had been involved in suggesting redactions in conference calls, Summers said. However, a password that allowed access to the full unredacted material was published in a book by Guardian reporters about WikiLeaks in February 2011. In August, another German newspaper reported it had discovered the password and it had access to the archive. A spokesman for The Guardian said the authors were told the password was temporary and the book contained no details about the whereabouts of the files. PEOPLES LIVES AT RISK Summers said Assange attempted to warn the US government, calling the White House and attempting to speak to then- Secretary of State Clinton, saying unless we do something, peoples lives are put at risk. Summers said the State Department had responded by suggesting that Assange call back in a couple of hours. The United States asked Britain to extradite Assange last year after he was pulled from the Ecuador embassy in London, where he had spent seven years holed up avoiding extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations which have since been dropped. Assange has served a prison sentence in Britain for skipping bail and remains jailed pending the US extradition request Supporters hail Assange as an anti-establishment hero who revealed governments abuses of power, and argue the action against him is a dangerous infringement of journalists rights. Critics cast him as a dangerous enemy of the state who has undermined Western security. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 04:29:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The League of Arab States renewed on Tuesday its call for a permanent cessation of military operations in Libya. In a statement, the pan-Arab organization appreciated the progress made during the second round of the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) talks concluded on Sunday in Geneva. The Arab League also welcomed the announcement by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) that the rival Libyan parties came up with a draft cease-fire agreement to facilitate the return of displaced people. It urged parties involved to urgently resume discussions on the draft in order to endorse it and agree on permanent and comprehensive arrangements to enforce and monitor the cease-fire. The UNSMIL announced on Monday that UN-backed government and the eastern-based army of Libya prepared a draft cease-fire agreement to facilitate the safe return of civilians to their areas with the implementation of a joint monitoring mechanism under the auspices of UNSMIL and the JMC. UNSMIL also renewed its call for the rival parties to fully abide by the current truce and the protection of the civilian population and properties and vital infrastructure. The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign since April 2019 in and around the capital Tripoli, attempting to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government. The fighting killed and injured thousands of people and forced more than 150,000 civilians to flee their homes. The rivals have agreed to cease fire on January 12. However, both parties exchanged accusations of breaching the truce. Sri Lanka on Wednesday notified the UN about its withdrawal from a UNHRC resolution that called for accountability to human rights abuses committed during the nation's civil war with the Tamil separatists and pledged to appoint a new committee to review the reports of the previous probes which investigated alleged war crimes. Sri Lanka co-sponsored the United Nations Human Rights Council's 2015 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 with the killing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran by the Lankan army. The resolution 30/1 on promotion on reconciliation in Sri Lanka was co-sponsored by the Lankan government headed by then President Maithripala Sirisena. Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lanka's foreign minister, in his address to the 43rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva announced the withdrawal while accusing the previous government in erring with co-sponsoring the resolution. He declared a commitment to achieve sustainable peace "through an inclusive, domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process, including through the appropriate adaptation of existing mechanisms". Gunawardena pledged to appoint a new Commission of Inquiry (COI), headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, to review the reports of the previous Sri Lankan probes which investigated alleged violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. "We will implement policies rooted in the Government's commitment to the people by advancing individual and collective rights and protections under the law, ensuring justice and reconciliation and addressing the concerns of vulnerable sections of society," he said. Gunawardena said Sri Lanka will continue to remain engaged with, and seek as required, the assistance of the UN and its agencies including the regular human rights mandates/bodies and mechanisms in capacity building and technical assistance, in keeping with domestic priorities and policies. Sri Lanka's decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring the resolution came 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. Silva, 55, was appointed as the Sri Lankan Army Commander last year and previously headed the Army's 58th Division in the final battle against the LTTE rebels of the civil war in 2009. His brigade was accused of attacking civilians, hospitals and stopping humanitarian supplies to trapped Tamil civilians. 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.) He's single, in his 30s, and stands to inherit a 19 billion fortune. But unlike many other mega-rich men about town, you've probably never even heard his name. Indeed such is the intrigue surrounding Jamie Reuben, son of Mumbai-born property magnate Simon, one half of the fabulously wealthy Rueben Brothers, that Tatler today dubbed the handsome 33-year-old 'one of London's most mysterious bachelors'. Jamie, whose friends include Princess Beatrice and music mogul Scooter Braun, is following the lead of his father and uncle David, who famously don't give interviews, preferring instead to allow their multi-million pound property deals to speak for themselves. The Reuben Brothers, as they are most commonly known, built their estimated 18.6billion fortune by buying up large parts of London's Mayfair, including the 200-year-old Burlington Arcade, of which Jamie is managing director. However last week Jamie broke cover and offered a peek behind the curtain when he gave a sit-down to Times Magazine, in which he discussed plans to transform the stuffy stomping ground of wealthy financiers into somewhere a little trendier. One of the centrepieces is the site of the former Naval and Military Club, popularly known as the In & Out club, which is being transformed into a hotel and seven luxury homes, described by Jamie as a 'contemporary British country house oasis'. Here, a look at what we know about the world of Jamie Reuben. HIS BILLIONAIRE FAMILY Runs in the family: Jamie Reuben, is the 33-year-old son of Simon Reuben, one half of the billionaire Reuben brothers. Pictured, Jamie with his father (left) and uncle David in 2013 The Reuben brothers' wealth is staggering. Their shared personal fortune, estimated at over 18.6billion, is large enough to place the family at second place on The Sunday Times Rich List, ahead of more high profile businessmen like Sir James Dyson and Roman Abramovich. This is largely due to their real estate holdings, which include Mayfairs Burlington Arcade and Westminsters Millbank Tower. They also own London Oxford Airport and London Heliport and the John Lewis headquarters at London Victoria. The Reuben Brothers continue to be one of the largest investors in luxury leisure group Belmond Ltd. Other holdings include Travelodge Hotels. However they started off with more modest business ventures. Simon and David were born in Mumbai, India, and came to Britain in the Fifties with their mother, Nancy. After starting his career at Mount Star Metals, a UK-based scrap-metals business, David joined Trans-Continental, a subsidiary of Metal Traders Inc. In 1977 he left that firm and formed Trans-World Group, and in 1986, along with his brother, Simon, he restructured the firm, bought out his partners, and took control of the business. In 2000 the brothers wound down Trans-Worlds operations to sharpen their focus on Reuben Brothers activities. Today Reuben Brothers is a leader in private equity, real estate investment and development, and debt financing. HIS FAMOUS FRIENDS Friends in high places: Reuben with Prime Minister Boris Johnson Showbiz: Another friend is American music mogul Scooter Braun, whose clients include Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Jamie and Justin looked like close friends as they posed for photos at the Vanity Fair party at the Cannes Film Festival last year, pictured Like many well-connected 30-somethings in London, Jamie counts a member of the royal family among his circle of friends. He and Princess Beatrice, 31, described in the press as an 'old friend' have been spotted together at a number of parties over the years and sat side-by-side at the US Open in 2013. They most recently rubbed shoulders at an event in November last year. It remains to be seen if he will be invited to Beatrice and Edo's wedding in May. Another friend is American music mogul Scooter Braun, whose clients include Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Jamie and Justin looked like close friends as they posed for photos at the Vanity Fair party at the Cannes Film Festival last year. He's also been pictured with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. According to The Times, Jamie has also become friends with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, whom he is said to have met through a friend. STAR-STUDDED PARTIES Star-studded: Jamie with Paris Hilton at a glittering Cannes Film Festival party in May 2016 Jamie was front and centre for a party hosted by his father and uncle at a party celebrating the 200th Christmas at the Burlington Arcade in November last year. Pictured, with Judi Dench While the Reubens prefer to stay out of the glare of the public eye, Jamie does occasionally make exceptions for star-studded parties. In 2013 Reuben showed his support for Schmidt by hosting a launch party for his book The New Digital Age, co-written by Jared Cohen. Among the guests at the event was Dasha Zhukova, the ex-wife of Roman Abramovich who recently tied the knot with Stavros Niarchos, Princess Beatrice's ex-boyfriend Dave Clark and Sir Richard Branson's daughter, Holly Branson. He brought out his phone book again last year to host a black tie bash at the Cannes Film Festival, where he posed with Bahamian model Chase Carter, 22. That same month Jamie was front and centre for a party hosted by his father and uncle at a party celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Burlington Arcade. Princess Beatrice, then newly engaged, looked elegant in a shift dress as she posed for photos with the likes of Sir Michael Caine and Lady Alice Manners. HIS GLAMOROUS EX Jamie Reuben enjoyed a long-term relationship with TV presenter and fashion designer, Marissa Montgomery. It is not known when their relationship came to an end but the couple were seen together as recently as May last year (right). Pictured left, at Cannes in 2014 Jamie Reuben enjoyed a long-term relationship with TV presenter and fashion designer, Marissa Montgomery. The couple, who share many of the same friends, were spotted attending parties as far back as 2008, with Jamie planting a kiss on his blonde date's cheek as they posed for photos at an Evening Standard event. It is not known when their relationship came to an end but the couple were seen together as recently as November, when they both attended the Burlington Arcade anniversary party. At the age of 21, Marissa founded lingerie line Pussy Glamore, following it up in 2014 with trendy t-shirt label Rotten Roach, now available to buy at Selfridges. HIS FUTURE PROJECTS Ongoing project: The Reubens have several projects in the pipeline but perhaps the one that has made most headlines is the old premises of the Naval and Military Club, pictured, which will now be turned into a hotel and seven luxury homes. It was bought in 2011 The Reubens have several projects in the pipeline but perhaps the one that has made most headlines is the old premises of the Naval and Military Club, popularly known as The In & Out after the prominent inscriptions at the entrance to its Piccadilly courtyard. Once one of London's most magnificent houses, the Reubens shelled out an estimated 100 million for the building in 2011, initially intending to convert it into Britain's most expensive private house, with an underground swimming pool, gym, 35,000-bottle cellar and a possible 200 million price tag. The brothers had a change of heart last year, deciding instead to turn the property into a 102-bedroom luxury hotel and seven high-end homes, on what they want to call the 'Piccadilly Estate'. 'It will be a contemporary British country house oasis in the middle of Mayfair,' Jamie said in his interview with Times Magazine. The businessman also spoke of wanting to breathe fresh life into Mayfair, saying he has the perspective to see beyond his father and uncle's 'safe' and 'traditional' ideas. He added: 'Because Im younger, I can see things changing and I can see different ideas probably being more relevant going forward.' Representative image Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI), which represents leading multinational medical technology companies said on February 26 that its member companies are ready to brace for any shortages in medical devices and equipment arising out of scarcity of raw materials from China. "The supply lines may not sustain as the geographies affected are spreading. The wide spectrum of medical devices and equipment that MTaI members have, remained unaffected as these companies do not depend on imports from China," MTaI said MTaI members will try and offset any supply gaps arising out of the import shortages from China," said Pavan Choudary, Chairman, MTaI and Managing Director, Vygon India said. "MTaI member companies products conform to the highest quality standards and are imported primarily from USA, Europe and Japan or manufactured under strict quality control in India, Choudary added. With the shortages of raw materials from China, it was anticipated that there may soon be a scarcity of commonly-used medical devices like digital thermometers, infrared thermometers, nebulizers, blood pressure monitors and glucometers manufactured in India. Indian government placed imposed restrictions on the 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. Advertisement Democratic presidential candidates got into a series of angry and personal exchanges at Tuesday night's debate in Charleston with Bernie Sanders attacking Mike Bloomberg for being a billionaire, Bloomberg labeling Sanders as Vladimir Putin's favorite and a trio of candidates blasting Bloomberg for his 'racist' stop-and-frisk policy. It was the kind of full-on circular firing squad that commentators had warned might be coming in South Carolina, with Joe Biden's 'firewall' claims on the line and Sanders having the potential to pad his delegate lead in the rush to Super Tuesday. The debate featured chaotic exchanges where multiple candidates sought to talk over each other, with CBS moderators Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate, either failing to referee or being completely ignored by the over-eager candidates. Candidates flouted 75-second response times, cut each other off, and yelled out retorts out of turn. 'Not true,' interjected Sanders when Amy Klobuchar questioned how he'll pay for his programs. 'Can I say something?' pleaded hedge funder Tom Steyer later in the heated exchange. 'Let me go,' he demanded. 'Excuse me, can I respond to the attack?' Sanders inquired when Pete Buttigieg went after him. 'Listen to the moderator, guys,' Sanders schooled the group. 'Hello?' chimed in Biden. Then the former vice president complained when he finally got called on. 'Whoa. Whoa. Whoa,' he said. 'I guess the only way you do this is jump in and speak twice as long as you should.' Later, he boiled over and announced he would defy the unenforced rules. 'I'm not out of time. You spoke over time and I'm going to talk,' Biden said. Sanders proved to be the Democrat to take down, as he joined his six primary rivals - including Biden, Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Steyer - onstage at Charleston's Gaillard Center. Democratic presidential candidates got into a series of angry and personal exchanges at Tuesday night's debate in Charleston with Bernie Sanders attacking Mike Bloomberg for being a billionaire The candidates repeatedly talked over each other with CBS moderators losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate Moderators Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell quickly lost control with the candidates shouting over another. Once the candidates wrapped up, O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely, but King had to quickly correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet Bloomberg quickly labeled Sanders as Vladimir Putin's favorite and a trio of candidates blasted Bloomberg for his 'racist' stop-and-frisk policy while he was mayor of New York City At various points, the crowd loudly booed the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer The debate in South Carolina on Tuesday night kicked off at 8pm, as candidates (l-r) Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer took the stage. It was the kind of full-on circular firing squad that commentators had warned might be coming, where Sanders' rise is being put to the test in a diverse state Warren attacked Sanders early, saying his plan doesn't show 'how to get' to universal health care like hers does. 'I dug in. I did the work. And then Bernie's team trashed me for it,' she vented. With South Carolina's primary just four days away, candidates who might have needed break-out performances didn't get them. Sanders avoided enduring an all-out pile-on, despite having a path to the nomination that would only accelerate with a strong showing here and on Super Tuesday. He was put on the defensive several times for his socialist background, the cost of his programs, and his statements about left-wing leaders. Sanders got to explain that the greatest misconception about him 'is that the ideas I'm talking about are radical.' Biden, who predicted a win in South Carolina, delivered forceful defenses of his record, tied himself to Barack Obama, and avoided serious stumbles. No longer the front-runner, he was forced to plead for time from the moderators. He won laughs when he was one of the few to honor a time limit. 'Why am I stopping? No one else stops. Catholic school training,' he quipped. Bloomberg performed better than when he got pummeled in Las Vegas, but some of his remarks fell flat, as when he took a stab at a self-deprecating joke. 'I really am surprised that all of these, my fellow contestants up here I guess would be the right word for it... I'm surprised they show up because I would've thought after I did such a good job in beating him last week that they'd be a little afraid to do that,' Bloomberg said, in a remark that didn't play in the room. Klobuchar was mostly on the sidelines, though she kept up her argument that she is 'Donald Trump's worst nightmare' and that the party doesn't want a nominee who proposes $60 trillion in new spending. Buttigieg kept his cool, but wasn't a major player in many of the most dramatic exchanges. He said he would raise taxes on billionaires, needled Bloomberg by saying he released his own tax returns, and made the case against Sanders' electability. Joe Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure, and referenced the Charleston church shootings Bloomberg drew fire for stop-and-frisk, a policy he has apologized for in stark terms despite thousands of arrests during his tenure as New York City mayor Since New Hampshire primary night, which Biden left the Granite State for to instead kick off campaigning in South Carolina, Biden has argued that the states that truly matter are the ones that have a more diverse population, which reflect the makeup of the Democratic Party Proving to be the night's punching bag, Sanders was slammed and accused of being backed by Putin, unelectable and divisive. Sanders got the first question in recognition of his new status as the favorite to become the party's candidate. He was asked by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell how he could justify being a socialist at a time of booming employment. The Vermont senator quickly pivoted and attacked Bloomberg, saying that the economy was only doing well for 'billionaires,' but the former New York mayor was ready with a dig of his own. Bloomberg said: 'I think that Donald Trump thinks it would be better if he's president. I do not think so. 'Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States. And that's why Russia is helping you get elected, so you will lose to him.' Sanders shot back: 'Oh, Mr. Bloomberg. Let me tell Mr. Putin, OK, I'm not a good friend of President Xi of China. I think President Xi is an authoritarian leader. 'And let me tell Mr. Putin, who interfered in the 2016 election, try to bring Americans against Americans, hey, Mr. Putin, if I'm president of the United States, trust me, you're not going to interfere in any more American elections.' A question to Bloomberg about his past comments that China's Xi Jinping wasn't a dictator provoked a vigorous exchange about authoritarianism and Sanders' past positive comments about Fidel Castro's Cuba and other left-leaning regimes. 'We have to deal with China if we're ever going to solve the climate crisis,' said Bloomberg, who made billions through his global media and financial company. 'He does serve at the behest of the Politburo,' Bloomberg said, defending Xi's political accountability. 'They must play by the rules, period, period, period,' said Biden, who Republicans immediately accused of being soft on China. 'I have opposed authoritarianism,' said Sanders, defending comments running through his career about Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Russia, and Venezuela. 'But who the hell is the Politburo responsive to?' Sanders continued. 'What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba,' Sanders insisted, defending his comments that Cuba had a 'massive literacy program' under Castro. At various points, the crowd loudly booed the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, with estimated personal fortunes of $60 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively There were angry exchanges early-on in the debate between Bloomberg and Warren, who brought up a woman who sued his media company, Bloomberg LP, and reached a settlement after claiming Bloomberg told her to 'kill it' after she informed him she was pregnant 'Never said that!' Bloomberg exclaimed. 'Oh, come on!' From there the conversation turned back to Bloomberg's company's previous use of non-disclosure agreements, something that Warren hammered him for on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas. It was 'probably wrong to make the jokes, I don't remember what they were, but if it bothered them, I was wrong and I apologize and I'm sorry for that' At various points, the crowd loudly booed at the notion of billionaires, which includes candidates Bloomberg and Tom Steyer 'Really? Really?' Biden responded, saying Obama had merely been acknowledging Cuban gains while speaking overseas. 'Authoritarianism of any stripe is bad,' said Sanders. 'But that is different than saying the governments occasionally do things that are good.' Buttigieg issued a warning about running a candidate with 'nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s.' The blows went in all directions. Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure and referenced the Charleston church shootings. The city is still grieving from the 2015 killings at Mother Emanuel AME Baptist Church when gunman Dylann Roof entered the church and gunned down nine members of the congregation. 'Bernie voted five times against the Brady bill ... I'm not saying he's responsible for the nine deaths, but... [Roof] would not have been able to get that weapon with the waiting period' of the Brady bill, Biden said. Biden is trying to gain back lost ground after coming in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire. He then came in a distant second to Sanders in Saturday's Nevada caucuses. Sanders later attacked former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg for accepting contributions from billionaires. 'I can't allow this to stand because it's just untrue,' the former South Bend mayor shot back. He said he got more money out of 2,000 small contributors in Charleston than he did from bigwigs. The early hits on Sanders, who has called himself the frontrunner, followed last week's Las Vegas debate, which featured a multi-candidate pile-on on Bloomberg. Asked directly by O'Donnell if Bloomberg's use of stop-and-frisk in New York was racist, Klobuchar answered: 'Yes'. Buttigieg, who has been criticized for failing to attract black supporters, agreed the policy was racist Joe Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure, and referenced the Charleston church shootings. 'Bernie voted five times against the Brady bill ... I'm not saying he's responsible for the nine deaths, but that would not have been able to get that weapon with the waiting period' of the Brady bill, Biden said Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders became an instant punching bag for his presidential rivals on Tuesday night as they lined up to slam him at the debate before the South Carolina primary accusing him of being backed by Vladimir Putin, unelectable and divisive There were angry exchanges early-on in Tuesday's debate between Bloomberg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who brought up a woman who sued his media company, Bloomberg LP, and reached a settlement after claiming Bloomberg told her to 'kill it' after she informed him she was pregnant. 'Never said that!' Bloomberg exclaimed. 'Oh, come on!' From there the conversation turned back to Bloomberg's company's previous use of non-disclosure agreements, something that Warren hammered him for on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas. On Friday, Bloomberg announced that he would release three female former employees from NDAs that were specifically about complaints made about Bloomberg, as he's been accused of making insensitive jokes. It was 'probably wrong to make the jokes, I don't remember what they were, but if it bothered them, I was wrong and I apologize and I'm sorry for that,' Bloomberg said on Tuesday night. Nevertheless, Warren persisted, continuing to go after Bloomberg for the NDAs. 'I don't know what else she wants us to do,' Bloomberg said. 'The trouble is with this senator, enough is never enough.' He added: 'I never said it, period, end of story. Categorically never said it. When I was accused of doing it, we couldn't figure out what she was talking about. 'But right now I'm sorry if she heard what she thought she heard, whatever happened, but I didn't take pleasure in any of that.' Bloomberg continued to draw fire for stop-and-frisk, a policy he has apologized for in stark terms despite thousands of arrests during his tenure. Asked directly by O'Donnell if Bloomberg's use of stop-and-frisk in New York was racist, Klobuchar answered: 'Yes.' Warren went straight for Sanders at the start of the debate, saying she would be a better president than him because she'll be able to get more progressive policies passed. She said she's 'dug in' when it comes to fighting big banks and actually explaining how she'd enact universal health care Biden said he would also go after those trying to gentrify neighborhoods traditionally occupied by minority residents. Following up on Biden's comments, Steyer said he would work toward trying to 'correct injustice' in the loan service industry. He then launched into his common campaign trail theme of arguing his support for a conversation on reparations The early hits on Sanders, who has called himself the frontrunner, followed last week's Las Vegas debate, which featured a multi-candidate pile-on on Bloomberg Buttigieg, who has been criticized for failing to attract black supporters, agreed the policy was racist. 'I am conscious of the fact that there's seven white people on this stage talking about racial justice,' he added, in the first primary state where African-Americans make up a big share of the electorate. Since the New Hampshire primary, which Biden left to instead kick off campaigning in South Carolina, Biden has argued that the states that truly matter are the ones that have a more diverse population, which reflect the makeup of the Democratic Party. But in Nevada, the Latino population propelled Sanders to an overwhelming victory, as he bested Biden by 26.6. points, with 100 percent reporting. Now Biden is looking to black voters in South Carolina to keep him in the race. On Tuesday, he declared that he's the candidate best situated to appeal to black voters, citing his commitment to equitable wealth creation and housing opportunities. Biden said he would also go after those trying to gentrify neighborhoods traditionally occupied by minority residents. It follows his Monday roll out of a $640 billion national housing policy, which would prevent mortgage servers from foreclosing during loan modification and set up a timely notification system for such changes. Following up on Biden's comments, Steyer said he would work toward trying to 'correct injustice' in the loan service industry. He then launched into his common campaign trail theme of arguing his support for a conversation on reparations and the creation of a commission to study race relations in America. As the debate clock wound down, the candidates were asked by CBS This Morning host Gayle King to name the biggest misconception about themselves - and to state their personal motto. Biden took the opportunity to pander more to black South Carolina voters. As the debate clock wound down, the candidates were asked by CBS This Morning host Gayle King to name the biggest misconception about themselves - and to state their personal motto Bloomberg used the opportunity to turn one of Trump's favorite insults against him - that he's short - into a joke. 'The misconception is that I'm six-feet tall,' the ex-mayor said. Given the same opportunity, Klobuchar argued that she wasn't boring Once the candidates wrapped up, moderator Norah O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely. 'That concludes our debate,' O'Donnell told the audience. King then had to correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet. 'No, we have time for one more break,' King said. 'Times flies when you're having fun,' she said, as the debate truly ended after the next commercial break 'I'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the Supreme Court,' he said, which was a segue from him talking about his embrace of equality. 'And no one is better than me and I'm not better than anybody else.' He cracked a joke about his receded hairline when asked what his biggest misconception is. 'I have more hair than I think I do,' he said. Given the same opportunity, Klobuchar argued that she wasn't boring, while Warren said she actually eats - a lot. 'In fact, I eat all the time,' Warren said, adding, 'because I get teased about this,' if the comment seemed to come out of thin air. Buttigieg used the opportunity to tell the audience he is indeed passionate. 'I get kind of level, some say I'm unflappable,' the 38-year-old said. 'I don't think you want a president who's flappable,' he added. Steyer volunteered that 'everyday I write a cross on my hand to remind myself to tell the truth and do what's right, no matter what,' explaining that's his 'motto.' Sanders stayed on brand. 'Misconception and you're hearing it here tonight is that ideas I'm talking about are radical. They're not. In one form or another they exist in countries all over the world,' the democratic socialist said. He then quoted Nelson Mandela, 'Everything is impossible until it happens,' Sanders said. Bloomberg used the opportunity to turn one of Trump's favorite insults against him - that he's short - into a joke. 'The misconception is that I'm six-feet tall,' the ex-mayor said. Once the candidates wrapped up, moderator Norah O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely. 'That concludes our debate,' O'Donnell told the audience. King then had to correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet. 'No, we have time for one more break,' King said. 'Times flies when you're having fun,' she said, as the debate truly ended after the next commercial break. Joe Biden says he WILL win in South Carolina with the African-American vote making Saturday's primary a do-or-die - then talks about his 'friend' former segregationist Fritz Hollings Joe Biden went all in on winning South Carolina on Tuesday night, saying he will secure victory there - then mentioned his friendship with one of the state's most infamous segregationists. The former vice-president was just four points ahead of Bernie Sanders in the latest poll in the Palmetto state ahead of Saturday's primary. He used the CBS News debate to say that he will win in South Carolina, by winning the African-American vote - meaning by extension that he will have to drop out if he loses. But then he offered a potentially spectacular gaffe, talking about his friendship with Fritz Hollings, who was a committed segregationist Dixiecrat until he shifted his positions. Joe Biden went all in on winning South Carolina on Tuesday night, saying he will secure victory there - then mentioned his friendship with one of the state's most infamous segregationists Friends: Fritz Hollings was a segregationist in the Dixiecrat moved who 'evolved,' his friend Biden said at his 2019 funeral Asked by moderator Gayle King about his ability to secure the black vote, which is critical in South Carolina, he said: 'I've earned the vote, I've worked like the devil to earn the vote of the African-American community, not just here but across the country. 'I've been coming here for years and years, creating jobs here, making sure that the port, for example, that employs one in 11 people, we put $500 million, in our administration, just into this county. 'We've created jobs for people. The people know me. My entire career has been wrapped up in dealing with civil rights and civil liberties. I don't expect anything. I plan to earn the vote. 'I'm here to ask. I'm here to earn it. But, folks, I intend to win in South Carolina, and I will win the African-American vote here in South Carolina.' King then asked: 'Mr. Biden, will you continue if you do not win South Carolina? You have said that South Carolina will determine the outcome of this presidential race. If you don't win South Carolina, will you continue in this race?' He replied: 'I will win South Carolina.' But later in the debate he raised Hollings' name - an echo of a string of gaffes in which he was hammered for speaking about his friendship with segregationist senators, Mississippi's James Eastland and Georgia's Herman Talmadge. Making an appearance ahead of the debate was Reverend's Jesse Jackson (left) and Al Sharpton (right). Remarking on the performances during Las Vegas' debate last week, Sharpton said it was overall lackluster and he couldn't see anyone beating Trump at the moment because no candidate was taking charge Biden has been counting on strong support among African-American voters in South Carolina to recharge his flagging campaign A climate change activist dressed as a polar bear demonstrates while Trump supporter in a MAGA hat is interviewed outside of the Charleston Gaillard Center 'Look, a guy who's a friend of mine down here named Fritz Hollings - he passed away - he said, you want to know what a woman will do, look what they have done. Look what they have done,' he said. Hollings' biography is more complicated than other Dixiecrats. He was South Carolina governor from 1959 to 1963 and a vocal backer of keeping segregation in place when he was a member of the state's House. He was elected to the Senate in 1966 and became a close friend of Biden when the 29-year-old ran for the upper chamber, helping him when he lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash. Biden eulogized Hollings at his funeral in April 2019, a week before his entry into the race, and said: 'People can change. 'We can learn from the past and build a better future.' The Holland America Westerdam is stranded close to Thailand over coronavirus fears (AP) A cruise ship carrying British nationals has been stranded off the coast of Thailand over coronavirus fears, despite no cases being confirmed on board. The Holland America Westerdam cruise ship, which has more than 2,000 people on board, has already been turned away by the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are in contact with the Thai authorities and operators of the Westerdam cruise ship, and are ready to support the British nationals on board if required. Thailands public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Facebook that he had instructed authorities to turn the boat away due to fears over the deadly disease. Prime minister Prayuth Chano-cha confirmed the ban but said Thailand was looking at a way to give humanitarian assistance, and will be able to provide the ship with necessities such as fuel and food. The liner said on Tuesday morning it was working to provide an update. A spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: We are aware of the reports regarding the status of Westerdams call to Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand. We are actively working this matter and will provide an update when we are able. We know this is confusing for our guests and their families and we greatly appreciate their patience. The Westerdam began its cruise in Singapore on 16 January. Read more from Yahoo News UK Coronavirus cases may ease in summer before re-emerging in winter, experts say Coronavirus: how to wash your hands to ward off infection North Korea sends 500 workers to patrol Chinese border over coronavirus fears A Holland America statement on Monday 10 February said: The ship is not in quarantine and we have no reason to believe there are any cases of coronavirus on board despite media reports. Another cruise ship, Carnivals Diamond Princess, is under quarantine in Japan after 135 cases of coronavirus were confirmed on board. Two people wave from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan (AP) A passenger waves from the cruise ship Diamond Princess (Kyodo News via AP) The ships 3,700 passengers and crew are expected to remain under quarantine until at least 19 February. Story continues A total of 78 UK passport holders including crew were among those who boarded the ship, sources told the PA news agency. The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has passed 1,000 people, health authorities announced early on Tuesday morning. Eight cases have been confirmed in the UK in total. Speaking on Tuesday, the businessman at the centre of a UK outbreak of coronavirus has thanked the NHS for his treatment and said he is fully recovered. Steve Walsh, 53, from Hove in East Sussex, who is still in quarantine at St Thomas Hospital in London, picked up coronavirus while at a conference in Singapore. On his way back to the UK, he stopped off for several days at a French ski chalet, where five Britons were subsequently infected with the virus. He is also linked to at least five further cases of coronavirus in the UK, including two doctors, one of whom worked at a Brighton surgery that has closed its doors. Mr Walsh is also linked to one male patient taken ill in Majorca. MISSOULA Daniel Leo Magone, 88, passed away in Missoula, Feb. 20, 2020, due to Parkinson's disease. He was the 11th child born to Hugh Paul and Margaret Perkins Magone. Born at home in Superior, he was delivered by Mrs. Jacob Krulatz, the neighbor midwife. He grew up there and attended school in Superior. He married Ruth Ann Graybill in 1950, and from that union Terry, Steve, Tom and Dana were born. Dan worked in sawmills and in the woods before driving logging trucks. When he applied to the Montana Highway Patrol, he was accepted, and attended the academy in Helena. After his first assignment in Great Falls, he transferred to Libby, where he worked for six years. On March 17, 1967, he married Betty Braaten Benedetti, and so her daughters, Gina, Teresa and Ann joined the family. They lived in Missoula and Butte, and after 20 years with the MHP, Dan retired in 1978 as a Lieutenant. During his time with the patrol, Dan was honored to attend the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. After retirement, Dan accepted the position of undersheriff of Missoula County. When his good friend, Sheriff Ray Froehlich, passed away, Dan was appointed to finish the term. He then ran for sheriff, won and held that office for four years. He retired in 1990, with over 32 years in law enforcement. He and Betty moved to their cabin in Sula and wintered a few years in Arizona. After moving back to Missoula, they decided to spend some of their golden years back at the family ranch on Trout Creek in Superior. They had some very memorable times there, but mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet and beauty at that setting. They then moved back to Missoula, closer to medical care. Betty was ill with cancer, which she battled valiantly for many years. She passed in 2015. Dan was a past member of the BPOE, the MHP Association, the Mineral County Hospital Foundation, and the Mineral County Hospital Board of Directors. He liked to camp, fish and hunt, as well as play cribbage. He was a master carpenter, building several homes and nice furniture. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, and his parents, as well as his brothers: Edward, James, Lawrence, Fred, Hugh, Raymond, and sisters: Marjorie and Margaret. He is survived by his children: Terry Magone (Barb), Steve Magone (Charlotte), Tom Magone (Ritchel), Dana Henry, Gina Ryan (Mike), Teresa Benedetti (Don Moore), and Ann Johnson (Mark). He also has 18 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren, and 11 great great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers, Lee Magone and Joe Magone of Superior, as well as many nieces and nephews. The Village Retirement Center took very good care of Dan in his final years, as well as and especially, his companion and friend, Kath Ann McKinley. A memorial service will be held March 17, 2020 at 2 p.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church in Missoula. In lieu of flowers, the family would request that donations be sent to Parkinsons research, at parkinsonhope.com, or to a charity of your choice. A few days ago, superstar Hrithik Roshan came out in support of a student who was being shamed in class during a presentation because he was stuttering. Please tell your cousin that that professor and his judgement both are irrelevant. Stuttering should never hold him back from dreaming BIG ! Tell him its NOT his fault and its NOT something he needs to be ashamed of. People who shame him are no better than brainless monkeys. https://t.co/BDQp9PArag Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) February 23, 2020 However, Hrithik's reference for calling these bullies as 'brainless monkeys' was not appreciated by writer and producer Pritish Nandy. Image credit: Pritish Nandy / Twitter. The veteran writer-producer disapproved of the choice of the term by stating that monkeys were more 'humane than humans' and more brainy too. He also urged the actor to choose another simile. To be honest , monkeys are more humane than humans, more brainy too. This is species arrogance, Hrithik. Choose another simile. https://t.co/7qzp3E36sd Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) February 25, 2020 For those who don't know, Hrithik Roshan had himself faced the problem of stuttering and has had to work very hard to overcome it in order to speak how flawlessly he speaks today. His story was also documented in the book Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different, which traced the story of those who were not heroes in the stereotypical standards. The same book also carries stories from famous personalities like Barack Obama. Image credit: Hrithik Roshan / Instagram. Well, we are just delighted to see Hrithik Roshan taking a stand and using his influence to address issues like bullying and shaming of children in school, with any term. Florence, SC, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DeGen Medical, Inc. an innovator in the design and manufacturing of spinal implant technology announced that Dr. Peter Derman became the first surgeon to implant the E3 MIS pedicle screw system at Texas Back Institute (TBI). The minimally invasive procedure was recently performed at Texas Health Center for Diagnostics and Surgery in Plano, Texas. Texas Back Institute is one of the largest freestanding multidisciplinary academic spine centers in the world. Minimally invasive spine surgery accomplishes the same goals as traditional spine surgery via smaller incisions and is friendlier to the soft tissues that help support the spine, said Dr. Peter Derman. As a result, patients typically experience less pain, shorter hospital stays, and a quicker recovery. The E3 MIS pedicle screw system is well suited for such minimally invasive techniques. It features a number of design elements that allow for efficient placement of posterior instrumentation via truly percutaneous means. These include an extremely low-profile screw tower and rod passing device as well as a counter torque that engages within rather than on the outside of the towers. About DeGen Medical DeGen Medical, Inc. is a medical-device development company dedicated to providing surgeons with innovative products engineered to improve quality of life for patients with complex spinal disorders. World-class implants, coupled with intuitively designed instrumentation, provide a complete package to promote superior surgical outcomes. Our passion to advance spine-care solutions is driven by clinical insights, sound research, and science-based design. DeGen Medical maintains the highest quality standards to provide reliable products and safeguard patient health. About Peter Derman, MD, MBA Dr. Peter Derman, a minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgeon at Texas Back Institute, graduated with honors from Stanford University, where he majored in Biological Sciences. He received his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and concurrently obtained a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business. Dr. Derman completed his residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and underwent further fellowship training in spine surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Outside of his clinical practice, Dr. Derman conducts research to better medicine for future generations. Attachment An aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki, Mr. Kaycee Osamwonyi, has been suspended from the ruling All Progressives Congress for allegedly engaging in acts of thuggery, hooliganism and causing factions within the party. Kaycee was suspended by APC leaders in Ward six Uhunmwode local government area. The motion for the suspension of Kaycee was moved by Hon. Harrison Orobor and adopted by party members present at the meeting. Other reasons adduced for the suspension of Kaycee were engaging in activities that have brought the APC to ridicule and opprobrium in Ward 06 and promoting subversion and breaches of the Constitution of the APC. A disciplinary committee was set up to look into the allegations against Kaycee and submit its report within two weeks. Members of the disciplinary committee were named as Hon. Clifford Igbineweka, Saturday Enaruerue, Stanley Onaghise, Lucky Onobun and Iziegbe Airhienbuwa. When contacted for comments, Kaycee promised to respond but he was yet to do so as at press time. Food giant Nestle delays all business trips over coronavirus (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images) "We have asked all of our employees worldwide not to travel for business purposes until March 15 2020. We will review this measure in light of external developments," a company spokesman told AFP, quoting an internal note. The spokesman said that the company was not calling back expatriate employees but added: "We monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of our employees." Nestle, which owns a range of household brands including also Nescafe, Maggi and Perrier, employs 291,000 people. The epidemic, which began in China at the end of 2019, has now spread to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people, killing more than 2,600. There has been no sustained community transmission of the coronavirus in the United States so far, and many Chinese churches such as Raleigh Chinese Christian Church (RCCC) are doing their best to keep it that way. Taped to the entrance of the churchs glass doors is a yellow notice with the word ATTENTION in capital letters. It warns parents not to bring their children to church if theyve traveled to Asia in the past 14 days. Churches such as RCCCa nondenominational congregation with services in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Englishhave taken it upon themselves to self-quarantine, in keeping with Centers for Disease Control guidance. Many others have taken additional precautionary measures, such as canceling small group gatherings, Sunday lunches, and other communal events. I think theres caution, said Jerry Miller, RCCCs youth pastor. There may be a little bit of fear mixed in with that too, which is understandable. The outbreak of the virus, which began in Wuhan, China, has sickened thousands and has killed more than 2,700 people. At least 35 people in the US are infected with the so-called COVID-19 virusall linked to overseas travel, including 18 people evacuated from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan. No Americans have died from the coronavirus thus far, and those infected have not spread it to the wider community. Still, it is the Chinese American community that has borne the brunt of the health scare and it has also been the one to implement wide-ranging safety precautions. The virus impeded communal celebrations of Chinese New Year, which fell on January 25. The lunar holiday is typically a time when hundreds of millions of people travel in China to reunite with family. Stateside, parties, get-togethers, and other holiday celebrations were nearly all called off. Attendance at US Chinese churches dropped as much as 50 percent beginning in late January. It is slowly beginning to pick up, according to half a dozen pastors interviewed for this story. Weve all been impacted in very similar ways, said Carter Tan, English ministries pastor at Grace Chinese Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. Tan, whose church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), said many US Chinese churches have members grieving the loss of family or friends who have died in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in central China. We have one woman whose father passed away because of the coronavirus last week, Tan said, adding that this isnt just affecting those in China. It has hit home pretty personally. The major airlinesDelta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlinessuspended service to mainland China on January 31, so any Chinese Americans headed to China for work, schoolor the funeral of a loved oneare unable to go. Chinese nationals who were visiting the US before the air travel restrictions were put in place cannot return home; so too, Americans who happened to be visiting China before the epidemic started. Image: Yonat Shimron / RNS Chinese Americans are mostly secular; 52 percent do not affiliate with a particular religion. But 31 percent consider themselves Christians and 15 percent are Buddhist, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Most Christian Chinese Americans are Protestant and describe themselves as evangelical. Nondenominational and Baptist churches dominate. There are between 200 and 250 Chinese churches affiliated with the SBC, said Amos Lee, executive director of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship of USA and Canada. Most are small with about 100 members, but there are larger ones, especially in the big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas. To avoid contagion, Lee said Southern Baptist Chinese churches have been advised to use individualized pre-filled and sealed Communion cups containing grape juice and a wafer. Many churches are used to pre-filled Communion elements and have been using them since the global SARS epidemic in 2003, Lee said. Chinese Baptist Church (CBC) in Raleigh set out a basket with face masks at the door, though Jane Pan, the pastor, said few have taken advantage of them. We did have some that wore face masks in the beginning, but not anymore, said Pan. The church, located a few blocks from North Carolina State University, has canceled its Chinese student fellowship meetings this month. The fellowship, which includes about 40 students, may resume meeting in March, though no decision has been made. Likewise, the church has called off Sundays communal lunch after services. Charlottes Chinese Baptist Church changed the way it serves Sunday lunch. Instead of having people line up buffet style, it now arranges plates heaped with food on a table and servers wearing face masks and gloves hand them to church members. Our church is on alert, said Kevin Fu, a lay leader. Thats not just our church. Its the whole Chinese community. Image: Yonat Shimron / RNS Chinese restaurants and grocery stores in the US and across the world have reported sharp sales declines. In response, Chinese American churches and nonprofits have also been fundraising for the people of Wuhan. Chinese Americans from across the Carolinas donated toward an effort to buy boxes of face masks. Other organizations have offered help, as well. Samaritans Purse, for example, donated 78 pallets of medical supplies and personal protective equipment through the US State Department, said Kaitlyn Lahm, a spokesperson for the North Carolina-based ministry. World Vision distributed masks to 50,000 people in the impacted province. The New York Timesreported that several donations from overseas faith-based groups have not been well received. Local officials have rejected some donations because they fear trouble for cooperating with what the centralized government considers to be illegal organizations. The government in China recognizes five faiths, but at the same time it co-opts state-sanctioned religious organizations. Cathy Kimball, a resident of Cary who attends CBC Raleigh, said that despite the difficulties, church members are not isolated. Social media has allowed Chinese Americans to stay in touch with friends and family in China, primarily through WeChat, the Chinese messaging and social media app. Everybody is involved discussing the topic, said Kimball, a 56-year-old permanent resident who has lived in the US since 2003 and manages a local Chinese news site. We dont feel alone. Just when things will return to normal is hard to say. Theres a lot of uncertainty as to what to expect, said Lee. We really dont know what the whole picture is like. So people are taking it cautiously. Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia got into the black (by a small amount) on its gross profit vs. fulfillment expenses, expanded financial services and still posted losses. The online sales company, with an operations center in China, also anticipates some negative impact on 2020 growth from the coronavirus outbreak, CEO Sacha Poigonnec said. These were highlights today for Jumia's fourth-quarter and full-year results 10 months after the company became the first vc-backed startup in Africa to go public on a major exchange. The results Jumia with online goods and services verticals in 11 countries posted 2019 revenues of 160 million, representing growth of 24% over 2018. The company increased its annual active customer base in the fourth-quarter by 54%, to 6.1 million, from 4.0 million for the same period last year. Jumias 2019 Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) the total amount of goods sold over the period contracted by 3% to 301 million in the fourth-quarter. Poignonnec attributed the decline to "business mix re-balancing", which entailed reducing expenditures on promotions. The company also saw a contraction in sales of phones and electronics, which impacted GMV. The online retailer had a 49% increase in orders from 5.5 million in Q4 2018 to 8.3 million in Q4 2019. Perhaps the brightest spot in Jumia's 2019 performance was the company's ability to reach a gross profit of 1.0 million after deducting fulfillment expenses in Q4. That obviously doesn't get them to profitability over all the company's other expenses, but fulfillment costs have been historically high for Jumia as an online-retailer in Africa. The overall pattern of growing revenues and customers YoY has been consistent for Jumia. But so too have the companys losses, which widened 34% in 2019 to 227.9 million, compared to 169.7 million in 2018. Negative EBITDA for Q4 increased 5% to 51.2 million from 48.6 over the same period in 2018. Story continues CEO Sacha Poignonnec pointed to Jumia's ability in Q4 to reach positive gross-profit over fulfillment expenses one of the company's largest costs as a sign it could eventually get into the black overall. "As we reach these milestones we'll bring new milestones. This year we were profitable after fulfillment expenses and one day we'll be profitable after marketing [expenses] and so on and so forth," he said. Whats new Jumia exited several countries in 2019 suspending e-commerce operations in Tanzania, Cameroon, and Rwanda. "We believe those countries have...potential in the long-term but decided to allocate our resources to the countries that best support our long-term growth and path to profitability," said Poignonnec. Jumia also saw lift in its JumiaPay digital finance product and notably is developing new financial services (including for SMEs) aided by its big financial investors, Mastercard and Axa. Jumia launched an Axa money market fund product in Nigeria in 2019 and some promotional programs on Mastercard's network, as noted in page 10 of its investor presentation. Total payment volume on JumiaPay increased 57% year-over-year to 45.6 million in 2019 and JumiaPay was used for 29% of Jumia e-commerce orders. This is significant, as the company has committed to generate more revenues from higher margin digital payment products and offer JumiaPay as a standalone service across Africa. Since its founding in 2012, Jumia has been forced to adapt to slower digital payments integration in its core market Nigeria and allow cash-on-delivery payments, which are costly and more problematic than digital processing. Poignonnec also acknowledged the company's 2020 revenues could be negatively impacted by the coronavirus. "The recent...outbreak in China is likely to affect growth over the coming quarters, and here we are starting to face some challenges to fulfill our cross-border sales," he said. Share price Surprisingly absent from Jumias earnings call (and the subsequent Q&A) was discussion of the companys share price, which spiked then plummeted after its April 2019 NYSE listing. The online retailer gained investor confidence out of the gate, more than doubling its $14.50 opening share price post IPO. That lasted until May, when Jumias stock came under attack from short-seller Andrew Left, whose firm Citron Research issued a report accusing the company of fraud which sent the companys share price plummeting from $49 to $26. Then on its second-quarter earnings call in August, Jumia offered greater detail on the fraud perpetrated by some employees and agents of its JForce sales program. The company declared the matter closed, but Jumias stock price plummeted more after the August earnings call (and sales-fraud disclosure), and has lingered in single-digit value for several months. Thats 50% below the companys IPO opening in April and 80% below its high. For the remainder of 2020, bringing back growth in GMV and building on positive metrics, such as attaining gross profit after fulfillment expenses, could revive investor confidence in Jumia and its share price. It could also put the company in a better position to match competition such as the Marketplace Africa e-commerce platform of MallforAfrica and DHL and possible expansion in Africa of China's Alibaba. Press Release February 26, 2020 Explanation of No Vote of Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Senate Bill No. 1083: ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2020 26 February 2020 Mr. President, distinguished colleagues: First, we thank Senator Ping Lacson for his diligence in shepherding this measure, and for his patience in answering all our questions with regard to it. We recognize the hours of reading, research, and interviews that went in the crafting, sponsorship, and finally defense of the measure. However, this representation fears that the amendments to the Human Security Act right before us may be abused as it will, among others, allow law enforcers or military personnel to place individuals and organizations under surveillance; compel telcos to divulge their calls and messages; arrest these people without warrant; and detain them for an extended period of 14 days. The measure also allows regional trial courts to outlaw an organization as terrorist at the requests of even foreign and supra-national jurisdictions. It likewise removes the compensation for persons wrongfully detained. And at a time when legitimate critics and democratic dissent are being attacked, the Human Security Act could be likened to a certain extent the anti-subversion law during martial law, and may be used against critics and opposition leaders. Certain questions now come to mind: Can the law be used against democratic opposition leaders? Can opposition political parties be outlawed and tagged as terrorist organizations? Some may say this is farfetched and most certainly some will say this is not the intent of the law. Allow me to bring us back in time during the martial law years to remind us of how the law was used to go after the democratic opposition leaders. The Administration then claimed that it had declared martial law in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly-founded Communist Party of the Philippines, and the sectarian "rebellion" of the Mindanao Independence Movement. Opposition figures of the time, including Senators Lorenzo Tanada, Jose W. Diokno, Jovito Salonga, Senator Ninoy Aquino, felt the administration was exaggerating these threats, using them as a convenient excuse to consolidate power and extend its tenure beyond the two presidential terms (allowed) by the 1935 Constitution. Allow us to further go back to a criminal case filed against opposition leader Senator Salonga, who at that time was executive vice president of the Liberal Party and eventually became its president, in the case of G.R. No. L-59524 dated February 18, 1985, against respondents presiding judges (in) Quezon City, its fiscal, and two officers of the Armed Forces. These key facts I am to cite, reinforce the well-founded fear of opposition leaders today of being persecuted under the Human Security Act. Given the current authoritarian climate, we face a well-grounded fear that it may be repeated. To cite some of the facts of that case: - A series of bombings occurred in Metro Manila from August to October 1980. After a bombing incident on September 6, 1980, military and police authorities charged Philippine-born American citizen Victor Burns Lovely Jr. with subversion, illegal possession of explosives, and damage to property. - Former Senator Salonga was implicated in these bombings because: Found in Mr. Lovely's possession were pictures taken in May 1980 at a party of former Congressman Raul Daza held at the latter's residence in Los Angeles, California, showing Sen. Salonga and his wife with other guests, including Mr. Lovely. After another bombing incident (on) September 12, 1980, the brother of Mr. Lovely, Romeo, was presented in a television press conference. In his interview, Romeo said that he had driven Mr. Lovely to Sen. Salonga's house twice in August 1980. - Arrest, search, and seizure orders (ASSOs) were issued against persons implicated by Mr. Lovely in the series of bombings. - On October 21, 1980, military officials went to Sen. Salonga's room at the Manila Medical Center to issue an ASSO, which however did not specify the charges or charge against him. Sen. Salonga's lawyers, for some time, were not permitted to visit him in the hospital room. On November 2, 1980, Sen. Salonga was transferred, against his objections, to an isolation room without windows in an army prison camp at Fort Bonifacio. Sen. Salonga was not informed why he was transferred and detained, nor was he ever investigated or questioned by any military or civil authority. On November 27, 1980, Sen. Salonga was released from military custody and placed under house arrest "still without the benefit of any investigation or charges." - After four months of being detained, charges for subversion, among others, were filed against Sen. Salonga. All these, while Sen. Salonga had serious health problems. - On March 6, 1981, and I quote the court records, Salonga was allowed to leave the country for, among other things, the possible removal of his left eye to save his right eye. - It must be recalled that Sen. Salonga almost died as one of the principal victims of the dastardly bombing of the Liberal Party rally at Plaza Miranda on August 20, 1971. - To quote further from the records and the ruling of the court, Sen. Salonga has limited use of his one remaining hand and arms, is completely blind in the left eye, and has scar-like formations in the remaining right eye. He is totally deaf in the right ear and partially deaf in the left ear. - Further quoting our court records, Sen. Salonga was arrested at the Manila Medical Center while hospitalized for bronchial asthma. When arrested, he was not informed of the nature of the charges against him. Neither was counsel allowed to talk to him until the Supreme Court intervened and issued an order directing that his lawyers be permitted to visit him (Ordonez v. Gen. Fabian Ver, et al., G.R. No. 55345, October 28, 1980). Only after four months of detention was Sen. Salonga informed for the first time of the nature of the charges against him. After the preliminary investigation, Sen. Salonga moved to dismiss the complaint but it was denied. Supreme Court records in the case of Salonga vs Cruz Pano again ruled in 1985, and I quote: - The respondents admit that no evidence was presented directly linking petitioner Salonga to actual acts of violence or terrorism. - Further quoting the court's ruling: "There is no proof of his direct participation in any overt acts of subversion." - "Guilt by visit or guilt by association" theory is too tenuous a basis to conclude that Senator Salonga was a leader or mastermind of the bombings. - He was indicted simply because some plotters, masquerading as visitors, have somehow met in his house. - And court records on the testimony of Victor Lovely against petitioner Salonga is full of inconsistencies, the court said. Senator Salonga and Atty. Renato Tanada could not have whispered to one another because the petitioner is almost totally deaf, quoting from the ruling. Lovely could not have met Senator Salonga at the Manglapus party in Washington D.C. in 1977 because Sen. Salonga left for the United States only on November of 1978. The pictures of Sen. Salonga and Mr. Lovely at Raul Daza's birthday, to quote again the court ruling, in Los Angeles is not proof of conspiracy. Politicians have their photos taken with many people. - Sen. Salonga "invoke[d] the constitutionally protected right to life and liberty guaranteed by the due process clause, alleging that no prima facie case has been established to warrant the filing of an information for subversion against him." The litany of lies and fabrications by the prosecution in that case revealed the extent of abuse of law enforcers inflicted upon an ailing opposition leader and former senator. Our fear with an Administration that has jailed an incumbent senator on a case whose key witnesses are convicted drugs lords, that has repeatedly warned about imposing martial law all over the country, that has in fact imposed martial law in Mindanao under what we continue to believe to be questionable constitutional grounds. These instances are more than simply deja vu, they are more like foreboding. The proposed new definition of terrorism is vague and encompassing, making it open to abuse in that the simplest mobilization or common crimes can be framed by errant law enforcers as acts of terrorism. The prolonged detention is an impingement of rights and liberty. Why 14 days? If security officials and law enforcers are doing their job, why will it take them long to file a case? Or, is the practice of arrest and detain now, produce or invent evidence later still prevalent, as it was when opposition leader Jovy Salonga was arrested, detained, and charged in 1981? The current law is not perfect, and we, in Congress, should be working continuously to make it work for the people. The amendments, however, are worrisome and could make the Human Security Act an even worse tool for repression, instead of an instrument for thwarting terrorists. In closing, ang batas, dapat proteksyon ng mamamayan. Proteksyon sa mga pagmamalabis at maling paggamit nito. Kaya kapag nagkamali sa pagpapatupad nito, dapat may managot, para hindi na maulit, para hindi na abusuhin ang batas, para hindi na pagmalabisan ang karaniwang tao. Dahil sa karaniwang taong walang poder at walang kapit, maaaring maging terror ang batas. Laws must be rights-based and must allow civil and political rights to flourish. Without respect for rights, there can never be security. Kung walang paggalang sa karapatan, walang seguridad. Respectfully, I vote no to the measure. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court is resolving an international child custody dispute in favor of the girls Italian father over her Ohio mother. The mother, Michelle Monasky of Concord Township, fled with her daughter from Italy to Ohio when the girl was two months old. Monasky said her husband had become abusive, so she left with her daughter and moved in with her parents in the United States. The Supreme Court agreed unanimously Tuesday that lower courts were correct in ordering that the now 5-year-old girl be returned to Italy. The childs father, Domenico Taglieri, had petitioned courts in the United States for the girls return and won. The child, who is referred to as A.M.T. in court documents, was actually returned to Italy when she was nearly 2 years old and put in her fathers care. An appeal of the case continued in the United States, however, and custody proceedings are still ongoing in Italy. An international treaty says that a child wrongfully removed from her country of "habitual residence" should usually be returned to that country. Monasky had argued to the Supreme Court that Italy was not the infant's habitual residence because she and Taglieri had not agreed to raise the girl there. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in an opinion that no agreement was necessary for Italy to be the girl's habitual residence. And the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found that the girl was born into "a marital home in Italy" and her parents had "no definitive plan to return to the United States." The couple initially lived together in Milan before Taglieri moved to Lugo for a job. An attorney for Taglieri, Andrew Pincus, said Tuesday that they were gratified by the ruling. An attorney for Monasky did not immediately return an email and phone message requesting comment. The Supreme Court said in resolving the dispute that determining a child's "habitual residence" will depend on the specific circumstances of each case. Common sense suggests that some cases will be straightforward: Where a child has lived in one place with her family indefinitely, that place is likely to be her habitual residence, Ginsburg wrote. " But suppose, for instance, that an infant lived in a country only because a caregiving parent had been coerced into remaining there. Those circumstances should figure in the calculus." If youre yearning to go back to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and check in with the disgruntled employees of Dunder Mifflin, youre not alone. Ever since The Office went off the air in 2013, fans have been clamoring for a reboot, while stars of the show have hemmed and hawed about whether such a show could ever get off the ground. In Esquire's March issue, John Krasinski talked about a potential reunion, throwing his support behind a future for The Office 2.0. The Office was absolutely everything to me, Krasinski said. I mean, it is my beginning and my end. I'm pretty sure at the end of my career I'll still be known for Jim. That was my first experience with Hollywood. It was the first creative family I've ever had. In many ways, they will always be the most important people in that most important experience in my career. So yeah, if they did a reunion, I would absolutely love to do it. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Yet another bank robbery was reported on Forest Avenue Wednesday afternoon, sparking a large NYPD response. A white male between the ages of 30 and 40 walked into the TD Bank branch at 1600 Forest Ave. in Port Richmond Center at around 4 p.m., passed a note to the teller and fled with approximately $4,500, according to a spokesman for the NYPDs Deputy Commission of Public Information. The robber, who got away on foot, was wearing a black jacket, black pants and sunglasses, police said. There is a police presence at several businesses in the area as cops investigate the heist. Staten Island -- and in particular Forest Avenue -- has seen an alarming wave of bank robberies this year, contributing to a spike in robberies in the borough. Between Jan. 21 and Wednesday, the NYPD responded to eight bank robberies and attempted bank heists on Staten Island. Five of the incidents during that time have occurred on Forest Avenue. While police have arrested and charged two individuals in connection with three incidents, five of them still remain unsolved, with the same man sought in at least three. INSIDE THE WAVE On Jan. 21 just before 2 p.m., a man with his face covered went through the drive-thru at Santander Bank, located at 1850 Victory Blvd. in Castleton Corners, and sent a note through the pneumatic tubing system demanding money, police said. The man allegedly wrote in the note that he had previously placed a bomb at the ATM located inside the building and that if he drives off with no bills, he will set it off in 15 seconds, according to police. The man did not receive any money and fled the scene driving a red Ford truck. Police released images of the vehicle later that week. No arrests have been made in connection to this incident. BANK ROBBERY IN GRASMERE Only four days after the first attempted robbery, on Jan. 25, a man wearing a camouflage jacket entered a Santander Bank located at 1320 Hylan Blvd. in Grasmere, approached a teller and passed a note demanding cash, police said. The man was able to walk away with $600 and fled the bank, according to police. On Feb. 3, police arrested Ivo Bogdamovic, 49, of 1st Place, Brooklyn, in connection to the heist and charged him with robbery. BIZARRE INCIDENT AT 2 BANKS, INSTAGRAM VIDEO On Jan. 30 a man entered a Northfield Bank at 519 Forest Ave. in West Brighton at around 1:30 p.m., announced it was a robbery and left without any money, police said. After only eight minutes, the same man entered the Victory State Bank located at 755 Forest Ave. and, after a brief conversation with a female employee screamed it was a robbery, according to police. I just want yall to know its a mother f-----g robbery, he shouts in a selfie-style video he allegedly posted on social media. Everybody put your hands on the floor. Get your hands on the f-----g ground right now. Nobody reacts to the man, who walks out of the bank, the video shows and police confirmed. Police arrested Augustin Nadreau, 25, of the 100 block of Treadwell Avenue, in connection to both incidents. Originally, Nadreau faced reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated harassment and disorderly conduct charges. District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, however, upgraded charges to include attempted robbery, affecting the status of a case where Nadreau allegedly threatened in 2018 to bomb a bank if he didnt receive $1 million in cash. NYPD LINKS 3 ROBBERIES; RELEASES IMAGES OF MAN SOUGHT 4 NYPD seeks same man for questioning in four separate bank robberies On Feb. 10, the NYPD released surveillance images of a man sought in connection with three bank robberies. The first robbery allegedly committed occurred on Jan. 29 at approximately 11:30 a.m. when an unknown man entered a Northfield Bank branch, located at 1481 Forest Ave. in Port Richmond, and handed a bank teller a note demanding money, according to police. In that incident, the man walked away with approximately $2,000, police said. Three days later, on Feb. 1, a man entered a Richmond County Savings Bank in Sunnyside, and handed a note demanding money, according to police. The man received over $7,000, police said. In the third incident, on Feb. 10, a man entered a Chase Bank location located at 666 Forest Ave. in West Brighton at approximately 1:36 p.m., and handed a bank teller a note demanding money, according to police. The teller complied and the individual fled the scene with approximately $7,500, according to the NYPD statement. Overall, the man received approximately $16,500. Its the end of an era -- at least, Seaside Heights hopes it is. In a month, Karma and the Bamboo Bar two of the towns party venues the Jersey Shore cast frequented for years will be auctioned off, just a year after the clubs parent company filed for bankruptcy. Those hoping to become the next owner will need to put up at least $1.2 million when the the two Boulevard venues begin accepting bids on March 26. Three vacant lots and a Seaside Heights liquor license are also up for grabs. The liquor license has a minimum $450,000 bid, according to the Asbury Park Press. While filing for bankruptcy in February 2019, the night clubs owner, Saddy Family LLC, said it owed more than $2 million to various entities, the APP reported. The money from the property sales will go toward paying back creditors, the news organization said. Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz told NJ Advance Media the auctioning of the clubs is another step toward swapping Seaside Heights bar atmosphere for a family-friendly image. Developers have suggested turning the properties into retail stores, coffee shops or condominiums, among other ideas, he said. The bottom line is were geared toward families an image thats going to make everyone feel safe and happy and enjoy the beauty of the beaches," the mayor said. Were driven to a different environment. The sale marks the end to a tenuous relationship between the nightclubs and the borough. In June, Seasides borough council voted for the second straight year to reject Karmas request for a liquor license. The club hasnt been open since the spring of 2018, when police made several underage drinking arrests at the venue. The Bamboo Bar was open in the summer and occasionally during the fall of 2019. The auction will take place at 1 p.m. on March 26 at The Bamboo Bar, at 201-203 Boulevard. Jenna Wise may be reached at jwise@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennaRWise. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Macaulay Culkin will make an unexpected acting comeback in the forthcoming 10th season of American Horror Story. It is currently unknown who the former child star will play in the series. Culkins involvement in the show was confirmed in an Instagram video posted by series co-creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy also confirmed a number of other stars who will return, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Kathy Bates, Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe and Angelica Ross. Paulson, a fan favourite, didnt appear in 2019s ninth season of the series marking the first season of the cult show to not feature the actor. 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Show all 37 1 /37 37 horror films that are genuinely scary 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Funny Games (1997) Directed by: Michael Haneke. Funny Games places the horror in the familiar setting of home. It follows two young men who hold a family hostage and torture them with sadistic games. The result is far scarier than anything featuring ghosts, witches or demons. Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Amityville Horror (1979) Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg. The Amityville Horror is based on the true story of the Lutzes, a family who were run out of their home after being terrorised by paranormal phenomena in 1975. Just one year before, Ronald DeFeo Jr shot and killed six members of his family in the same house. James Brolin and Margot Kidder lead this film, which became one of the biggest hits of 1979. American International Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Audition (1999) Directed by: Takashi Miike . Japanese horror Audition (1999) follows a widower who meets a woman named Ayoma after staging auditions to meet a potential new partner. Soon, though, her dark past begins to surface, which equates to a pretty disturbing climax. Omega Project 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Blair Witch Project (1999) Directed by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez . Although parodied to death, The Blair Witch Project popularised the found-footage format to terrifying degrees in 1999. People genuinely believed they were watching real clips of three student filmmakers being terrorised by a Maryland legend known as the Blair Witch. Artisan Entertainment 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) Directed by: Robert Wiene . Black-and-white silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) is considered the quintessential work of German Expressionism, but also one of the scariest films in cinema history. It follows a hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who uses a somnambulist to commit murders, and Wiene's shadowed sets and striking visual style combines to unsettle the viewer in ways most filmmakers only dream of managing. Decla-Bioscop 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Candyman (1992) Directed by: Bernard Rose. A contemporary classic of horror cinema, 1992 film Candyman which spawned two sequels and has a Jordan Peele-produced remake in the works follows a graduate student whose studies lead her to the legend of a ghost who appears when you say his name three times. TriStar Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Cannibal Holocaust (1980) Directed by: Ruggero Deodato. Extreme enough to warrant a ban in Italy and Australia, Cannibal Holocaust (1980) was one of the first films to embrace the found-footage format so much so that Deodato found himself charged with multiple counts of murder due to rumours that several of the film's death scenes were real. He was later cleared. United Artists Europa 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Descent (2005) Directed by: Neil Marshall. Released in 2005, The Descent follows six women who, upon exploring a cave, battle to survive against the creatures they find inside. It's these creatures that earn this British horror film's placement on this list. Pathe Distribution 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Exorcist (1973) Directed by: William Friedkin. One of the most controversial films of all time, The Exorcist which tells the story of the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl named Regan (Linda Blair) became the first horror to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars in 1974. Warner Bros 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Halloween (1978) Directed by: John Carpenter. Sure, it may be dated, but John Carpenter's original Halloween film released in 1978 remains the daddy of all horrors. It re-defined the rule book and has been emulated in everything from Scream (1996) to Trick 'r Treat (2007). The tension, as babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) attempts to evade masked murderer Michael Myers, only heightens with every new watch. Compass International Pictures[ 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Hereditary (2018) Directed by: Ari Aster. Proving that horror is a force to be reckoned with, Hereditary became independent distributor A24's highest-grossing film around the world upon its release in 2018. It tells the story of a family who find themselves haunted after the death of their secretive grandmother and features a final act that left many of its viewers with sleepless nights. A24 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The House of the Devil (2009) Directed by: Ti West. The House of the Devil (2009) follows a student named Samantha who is hired to guard an isolated house with one rule: don't go upstairs. For most of the film's runtime, not much happens, which is what makes the action-packed final third so terrifying. Spoiler: she goes upstairs. MPI Media Group 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Innocents (1961) Directed by: Jack Clayton. Based upon Henry James' chiller The Turn of the Screw, the plot of 1961 psychological horror film The Innocents concerns a governess who watches over two children and comes to fear that their large estate is haunted by ghosts and that the youngsters are being possessed. 20th Century Fox 37 horror films that are genuinely scary It (1986) Directed by: Tommy Lee Wallace. Forget the effects-laden remake this version of It, released as a miniseries in 1986, is the most terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's beloved novel to date. It follows a shapeshifting demon who takes the form of a sadistic child-killing clown named Pennywise (Tim Curry). Lorimar Productions 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) Directed by: Takashi Shimizu. Japanese horror maestro Takashi Shimizu who also directed the pretty scary 2005 remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar balances mystery with horror in Ju-On: The Grudge, a story based in a cursed house in Tokyo. Lions Gate Films 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Kill List (2011) Directed by: Ben Wheatley. To describe the horrors of Kill List is to ruin the film's surprises, but let's just say this: the final 20 minutes of Ben Wheatley's violent drama from 2011 features some of the most unsettling scenes in any film from this decade. Optimum Releasing 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Lake Mungo (2008) Directed by: Joel Anderson. Taking the form of a mockumentary, the little-seen Australian drama Lake Mungo may have received a limited release in 2008, but its story of a family attempting to come to terms with the drowning of their daughter stays with viewers long after. Arclight Films 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Martyrs (2008) Directed by: Pascal Laugier. The polarising 2008 film Martyrs, often associated with the New French Extremity movement, is the kind of horror that leaves you needing a shower once the credits roll. It follows a young woman's quest for revenge on the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child. Anchor Bay Films 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Night of the Living Dead (1968) Directed by: George A Romero. Younger viewers may be desensitised by the more extreme horror films to have been released in recent decades, but the scares featured in Romero's Night of the Living Dead including the young girl zombie reveal remain some of the most chilling committed to celluloid. Continental Distributing 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Nosferatu (1922) Directed by: FW Murnau. Alongside Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920), the character of vampire Count Orlok in 1922 film Nosferatu played by Mac Schreck remains one of the most spine-tingling in cinema history. Film Arts Guild 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Orphanage (2007) Directed by: JA Bayona. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, this acclaimed 2007 chiller follows the disappearance of a young boy in an orphanage, which brings many of the building's terrifying secrets to the fore. Warner Bros Pictures de Espana 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Others (2001) Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar. The Others (2001) is a towering achievement for Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar who wrote, directed and scored this Nicole Kidman-fronted tale about a woman trying to protect her children from supernatural forces. It's perhaps the scariest 12-certificate film of all time. Warner Sogefilms 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Paranormal Activity (2009) Directed by: Oren Peli. Could Paranormal Activity be the scariest film of all time? It's certainly one of them. Just when you thought found-footage had had its day, Oren Peli's small-budgeted festival favourite became one of 2009's biggest hits. Audiences lapped up the story of a couple who capture supernatural presences on a camera in their own home. Paramount Pictures[ 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. Paranormal Activity 3 earns its place on this list for its final 10 minutes. Set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films, we see the cause of the curse that follows characters Katie and Kristi for the rest of their lives and it's down to a coven of witches led by their grandmother. Paramount Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary [REC] (2007) Directed by: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza. Played out in real-time, the claustrophobic Spanish horror film [REC] is one of the better examples of found-footage cinema. Released in 2007, it follows a reporter and her cameraman who follow firefighters to a Barcelona building and soon find themselves locked inside with its occupants who are displaying murderous behaviour. Filmax International 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Ring (1998) Directed by: Hideo Nakata. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the story of Ring by now: viewers of a cursed videotape die seven days after watching it. While the inevitable Hollywood remake in 2002 was better than it had any right to be, Nakata's original is as terrifying as horror films come. Toho 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Rosemary's Baby (1968) Directed by: Roman Polanski. Released in 1968, Rosemary's Baby follows a pregnant woman who suspects that an evil cult want to take her baby for use in their rituals. Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes and Ruth Gordon's performances tip this psychological chiller into classic status. Paramount Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Shining (1980) Directed by: Stanley Kubrick. Forget the iconic "Heeeeere's Johnny" or that bath scene it's the smaller moments that make Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining a terrifying watch, notably the trippy final act that sees Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) lose his mind to the Overlook Hotel. Warner Bros 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Sinister (2012) Directed by: Scott Derrickson. Of all the Blumhouse horror films, 2012 release Sinister which features the demonic character Bughuul is the spookiest of them all. It stars Ethan Hawke as a true-crime writer who discovers a box of home movies depicting grisly murders in the attic of his new house. Momentum Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Sleep Tight (2011) Directed by: Jaume Balaguero. This little-seen Spanish horror follows a concierge who, believing he was born without the ability to feel happiness, decides to make life hell for everyone around him. Filmax 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Directed by: Tobe Hooper. The fictional Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), marketed as a true story, follows a group of cannibals including Leatherface who relentlessly hunt down a group of friends. Vortex 37 horror films that are genuinely scary 28 Days Later (2002) Directed by: Danny Boyle. Many might not reflect upon 28 Days Later (2002) as one of the world's scariest horror films, but its desolate depiction of a viral outbreak seems more real than any other. When merged with the fast-paced infected and the usage of John Murphy's song "In the House In A Heartbeat", it's hard to deny it such status. Fox Searchlight Pictures 37 horror films that are genuinely scary V/H/S (2012) Directed by: Various. Directed by six filmmakers, including Adam Wingard and Ti West, 2012 anthology film V/H/S is grimy horror of the tallest order. Look no further than David Bruckner's section "Amateur Night" following three friends who meet a mysterious girl who says nothing other than three small words: "I like you." Magnet Releasing 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Wailing (2016) Directed by: Na Hong-jin. Twist-filled horror drama The Wailing follows a policeman who investigates a series of mysterious killings and illness in the mountains of South Korea. If the journey fails to scare you, its destination will leave you lying awake at night. 20th Century Fox Korea 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Wicker Man (1973) Directed by: Robin Hardy. The Wicker Man is deemed the best British horror film of all time for a reason. It tells the story of a Police Sergeant who travels to an isolated island in search of a missing girl, only to find its inhabitants practising a form of Celtic paganism. British Lion Films 37 horror films that are genuinely scary The Witch (2015) Directed by: Robert Eggers. For the most part, it's not what you see in The Witch that terrifies, it's what you don't see. Eggers unsettlingly holds his camera a fraction too long in places as he retells the story of a Separatist family who encounter supernatural forces in the woods beyond their farm. A24 37 horror films that are genuinely scary Zero Day (2003) Directed by: Ben Coccio. The horrors are all too real in Zero Day, a film inspired by the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. The majority of the film is portrayed through the video diaries of two students who are planning to attack their high school. Avatar Films Murphys video depicts the waves of a beach, while Orville Pecks track Dead of Night plays over the top of it. Culkin recently revealed that he was actively looking for acting work again, while confessing that he had bombed his audition for Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It was a disaster. I wouldnt have hired me, he told Esquire. In the same interview, he also spoke about being good friends with Michael Jackson as a child. NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) France's defense minister said Tuesday that her country stands in solidarity with Cyprus amid tensions over a Turkish search for natural gas inside Cypriot waters. Florence Parly said France supports Cyprus, which finds itself under strong pressure. France is a friend of Cyprus," Parly told The Associated Press after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. And we also express our solidarity regarding, for instance, what's going on in the EEZ" Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. Turkey has sent warship-escorted vessels to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights, including areas where the Cypriot government has licensed energy companies Total of France and Italy's Eni to carry out exploratory drilling. European Union member Cyprus has denounced Turkey's actions as a flagrant violation of its sovereign rights and of international law. The EU has also rebuked Turkey over the drilling. Turkey, which doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state, says it's acting to protect its rights and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence that came after a 1974 Turkish invasion of the island following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 but only the south where the internationally recognized government is seated enjoys full membership benefits. Parly said France is grateful for Cyprus' assistance in French naval operations in the region by allowing French ships to resupply at Cypriot ports. The French defense minister said she would visit the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle that's sailing off Cyprus to conduct air strikes against Islamic State group targets in the region. Cypriot deputy government spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said Parly discussed with the Cypriot president ways of bolstering bilateral cooperation, especially in the defense sector. Cyprus said earlier this month that it has signed 240 million euros' ($260 million) worth of contracts with French companies to upgrade weapons systems. A Cypriot official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss military matters, said France is looking to station warplanes at an airbase on Cyprus' southwestern coast. Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on Wednesday visited Kashmir to review the prevailing security situation in the Valley. The Army chief who is on a two-day visit to Kashmir, visited the formations and units deployed along the Line of Control. Local Commanders briefed Naravane on the situation on the LoC, ceasefire violations, retaliation by India, counter-infiltration operations and operational preparedness. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Airlines are turning to some of the world's hardest-hitting disinfectants, capable of stopping everything from sexually transmitted diseases to the MRSA superbug, in the fight against the coronavirus. Qantas Airways, Korean Air Lines and Singapore Airlines's carrier Scoot are among airlines that helped evacuate people from the outbreak's epicentre, the Chinese city of Wuhan, and from a cruise ship off Japan. They've stepped up aircraft-cleaning efforts as a result, trying to ensure that planes used in rescue missions are safe to be put back into commercial use. Qantas used the same plane for all evacuation flights, and said it cleaned it for 36 hours after. Credit:Qantas The standard vacuum-and-wipe clean-up on board has turned into hospital-grade sterilisations. How was this done? And are there any risks for passengers using the planes when they return to service? Here are some answers: Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) and MRO Middle East, the co-located events bringing together the aerospace industrys key sectors to support the growth of airlines in the region, has opened at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chief Executive and Chairman of Emirates Airline & Group, was given a tour of the expo. Sheikh Ahmed toured the stands and interacted with many of the 330 exhibitors displaying the latest innovations in both aircraft interiors and MRO, including Sitaonair, Sanad Aerotech, Falcon Aviation and Anjou Aero. Among the products on display at this years event are IFEC technology, lighting and ultralight wheelchairs. Falcon Aviation, meanwhile, used the opportunity to announce that is has been awarded D1 approval for Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) by three authorities, including the EASA. This allows Falcon Aviation to identify latent issues in customer aircraft and attend to them to the highest safety degree. The approval means Falcon Aviation joins a small group of operators in the region capable of providing NDT testing and opens up a new line of support to clients that was previously closed. Over 70 airlines from 40 countries are represented at this years edition, making it the perfect platform for suppliers to interact with airline buyers in a dedicated environment. OEMs for cabin interiors linefit have secured a portion of the aftermarket, says Ioana Dragusin, Quality Assurance Manager at Anjou Aero. AIME offers other fully certified manufacturers to showcase their products and offer Airlines viable, fully-certified alternative equipment for the interiors upgrade. Several agreements were signed on the sidelines of the event, including a long-term agreement between Safran Nacelles with Sabena technics Go Team support services for a scope of nacelle repairs that bring the Go Teams resources directly on wing all over the world. In addition, Saudi Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI), a Honeywell certified service centre, announced completion of over 100 auxiliary power unit repairs from its Jet Propulsion Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With SAEI, Boeing B777 and Airbus A330 operations with Honeywell APUs receive MRO services in the Middle East. This capability strongly positions SAEI in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030, part of which aims to localise more than 50 per cent of military equipment spending by 2030 and includes covering MRO services for fixed and rotary-wing military aircraft. The IFEC Seminars taking place within the show also opened on the morning of February 25, with chair Rick Lundstrom, editor of PAX International, leading sessions featuring industry experts including Liyaqat-Ali, senior manager at South African Airways; Rana Kashif Altaf, senior fleet management, Engineering Technical Services Avionics & IFE at Emirates Airline; Philippe Combe, product manager, Sitaonair and Neale Faulkner, regional vice president - MEASA at Inmarsat, among others. Across two days, these free to attend seminars on the show floor add another dimension to attendees experience at AIME, with market leading speakers sharing knowledge and experience with the audience. The event has yet again attracted some of the industrys most exciting innovations, sais Caryn McConnachie, Aerospace director at show organisers Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East. We are proud to have been able to bring together the industrys key innovators with its airline customers in a dedicated event, providing the ideal platform for business. MRO Middle East really is the ideal platform for the industry in the region, said Lydia Janow, managing director/Events, Aviation Week Network. She added: Time and time again we hear from exhibitors that the facetime and networking opportunities are unrivalled, due to the focused nature. The business already done here on opening morning certainly demonstrates that. AIME and MRO Middle East continue on February at Dubai World Trade Centre from 10:00am 4:00pm. Visitors can still register on arrival at the venue. - TradeArabia News Service University of Maryland School of Medicine's (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) researchers have created the first catalog of genes that comprise the community of microbes, which inhabit the human vagina. The catalog, called human vaginal non-redundant gene catalog (VIRGO), was recently released as a public resource that can be used by researchers to facilitate a more in-depth understanding of the role of vaginal microorganisms in women's health and to potentially develop future treatments for certain gynecologic conditions. An IGS study describing the development of VIRGO and demonstrating its utility in research was published today in Nature Communications. "The value of VIRGO is that it functions as both a central repository and a highly scalable tool for fast, accurate characterization of vaginal microbiomes," said study lead author Bing Ma, PhD, Research Associate in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at UMSOM. "VIRGO is particularly useful for users with limited computational skills, who want to analyze a large volume of sequencing data and with access to limited computing infrastructure." The community of microbes (microbiota) that inhabit the human vagina play critical roles in health and diseases, but current knowledge of the genetic and functional diversity of microbiomes is still limited. Scientists know that optimal vaginal microbiomes are most often dominated by one or more species of Lactobacillus, including Lactobacillus crispatus, L. gasseri and L. jensenii. Research suggests that these beneficial bacteria produce large amounts of lactic acid leading to an acidic environment that protects against harmful infections. Researchers are aiming to learn more, however, about how these bacteria contribute to a woman's health and disease. VIRGO could facilitate that goal with close to 1 million genes in the catalogue, each annotated with the name of the bacterium that carries it and with its function, affording a composition and functional characterization of vaginal microbiomes. The researchers estimate that VIRGO contains over 95 percent of all the genes found in vaginal microbiomes. VIRGO is thus comprehensive and the study team showed it is applicable to populations from North America, Africa and Asia. Ultimately, VIRGO and its associated analytical framework will facilitate and standardize the analysis and interpretation of large meta-genomic and meta-transcriptomics datasets. VIRGO and its associated files are freely available for free at this website. The resource was constructed using a combination of metagenomes sequenced at IGS and urogenital bacterial isolate genomes in part downloaded from public repositories. Sequencing was performed through Maryland Genomics, which is part of the IGS and composed of the Genomic Resource Center (GRC), Informatic Resource Center (IRC) and the Microbiome Service Laboratory (MSL). Innovative analytical strategies were applied to develop VIRGO, leveraging the computational infrastructure and expertise of the IGS Microbiome group. "VIRGO will facilitate the analysis of data now common to microbiome studies and provide comprehensive insight into microbial membership, function, and ecological perspective of the vaginal microbiome," said Michael France, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at UMSOM, and co-author on the study. The team demonstrated the power of VIRGO in analyzing over 1,500 vaginal metagenomes. In doing so, the research team discovered that vaginal bacteria are more genetically diverse than originally thought, meaning that women each carry their own personalized version of these bacteria. More importantly, they found that optimal vaginal microbiota dominated by Lactobacillus species are actually made of several strains of the same species. Each strain brings a unique function to the community, and the combination of these strains is what define the strength of the protective properties of the optimal vaginal microbiota. "This finding is a paradigm changing discovery, as it moves the field away from the idea that a single strain of Lactobacillus is responsible for an optimal microbiome," said Jacques Ravel, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Associate Director and Senior Scientist at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at UMSOM. While the IGS researchers will continue to update and expand VIRGO, they will further their understanding of the role played by the vaginal microbiome in conditions such as bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted infections and adverse obstetrics outcomes including preterm birth. Their research is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR), National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "Important efforts are underway by UMSOM faculty to translate our growing understanding of human-associated microbial communities into clinical biomarkers and treatments," said UMSOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is also Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. "This groundbreaking research provides powerful, publicly available tools to researchers who are addressing key health issues for women." ### About the University of Maryland School of Medicine Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $540 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System ("University of Maryland Medicine") has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu About the Institute for Genome Sciences The Institute for Genome Sciences, founded in 2007, is an international research center within the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Comprised of an interdisciplinary, multi-department team of investigators, the Institute uses the powerful tools of genomics and bioinformatics to understand genome function in health and disease, to study molecular and cellular networks in a variety of model systems, and to generate data and bioinformatics resources of value to the international scientific community. Visit igs.umaryland.edu China's coronavirus crisis has sparked a thriving black market in fake medical supplies, forcing a crackdown from authorities who have seized 31 million counterfeit or substandard face masks. Fraudsters have begun producing illegal products to satisfy runaway demand as masks and disinfectant remain in short supply and manufacturers struggle to keep up. In one case this month, swindlers took customers' cash and gave them fake delivery notes for masks that didn't exist, Chinese security officials said. Du Hangwei, deputy minister of public security, told a press conference Wednesday that masks and other products worth 174 million yuan ($24 million) had been seized and police had dealt with 22,000 criminal cases related to the virus epidemic. The outbreak has killed more than 2,700 people in China and infected at least 78,000, sparking panic-buying of protective equipment as people seek to keep the virus at bay. As the country slowly returns to work after weeks ground to a halt, authorities are now stepping up support for companies that can convert their factories to produce bona fide supplies. Labour shortages and soaring demand, however, mean demand is unlikely to be met. Du promised that authorities would continue to crack down on price hikes and fakes. He also said 49 police or auxiliary officers had died on duty during the virus outbreak but did not offer details. Local governments across the nation have taken to China's Twitter-like platform Weibo to warn against criminal behaviour. Authorities in the western city of Chengdu said con artists have been spreading fake information in an effort to defraud people seeking supplies online. Officials urged people to "maintain rationality" and buy from legitimate companies. Sichuan provincial authorities meanwhile said selling substandard masks was a crime punishable by up to life in prison. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An ancient meteor site in Germany is being studied to help scientists develop a better understanding of how past life could have existed on Mars. An international research team analysed samples from Nordlinger Ries, a 15-mile-wide impact crater in southern Germany. The sites geology and chemistry bear similarities to the Martian surface in particular the Jezero crater north of the Martian equator. Both Jezero and Nordlinger Ries featured liquid water in their distant past, making their chemical compositions comparable. The Ries crater in which a whole city was built more than 1,000 years ago has layers of rock and minerals better preserved than almost anywhere on Earth. Specifically, nitrogen isotopes in rock samples from the Ries crater are estimating the pH of ancient waters on Mars. A sample of suevite rock formed nearly 15 million years ago by the Ries Crater meteorite impact. Similarly impact-generated rocks exist on the rims of ancient crater lakes on Mars The Mars 2020 rover will land in a similarly structured and well-preserved ancient crater on Mars next year, called the Jezero crater. Comparisons between the two will help scientists gain an understanding of how Mars once hosted oceans and life billions of years ago. WHAT IS THE NORDLINGEN RIES CRATER? Nordlingen Ries is an impact crater that formed on Earth about 14.8 million years ago from an asteroid that smashed into the surface of the Earth. The crater, which is 15 miles in diameter, is most commonly referred to simply as Ries crater or the Ries. The town of Nordlingen was built inside the crater in the 9th century at the very latest. The Ries is recognised as an analog for Martian craters. Ries was a rampart crater, which are almost exclusively found on Mars. Rampart craters exhibit a 'fluidized ejecta' flow after impact of the meteorite. Advertisement The question that drives our interests isn't whether there's life on present-day Mars, said Professor Timothy Lyons at the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. We are driven instead by asking whether there was life on Mars billions of years ago, which seems significantly more likely. Mars is currently too cold minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit to support life as we know it. NASA research already shows that Mars had a liquid water ocean around 4 billion years ago, but how that was possible is not completely certain. Mars is further from the Sun than Earth is, and billions of years ago the Sun generated less heat than it does today. To have made the planet warm enough for liquid surface water, its atmosphere would likely have needed an immense amount of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide specifically, said Chris Tino, co-author of the study, which has been published in Science Advances. Its unlikely that ancient Mars had enough oxygen to have been home to complex life forms such as humans and animals, although microorganisms may have survived in alkaline lakes. High-pH alkaline lakes are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth and are prime targets in the search for life on Mars. Alkaline lakes also suggest sufficient carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to warm the planet and make liquid water possible. The town of Nordlingen in Bavaria, Germany, which was built inside an impact crater known as Nordlinger Ries more than 1,100 years ago. The crater itself was formed by a meteorite around 15 million years ago The team believe that Nordlinger Ries which was formed around 15 million years ago after being struck by a meteorite could help fill in the gaps regarding Mars history. The German crater helps astrobiologists understand the alkalinity, pH and nitrogen content of ancient waters on Mars, which in turn suggests carbon dioxide composition, suggestive of life. 'Ries crater rock samples have ratios of nitrogen isotopes that can best be explained by high pH,' said co-author Eva Stueken at the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of St. Andrews. 'What's more, the minerals in the ancient sediments tell us that alkalinity was also very high.' Martian rock samples with mineral indicators for high alkalinity and nitrogen isotope data pointing to relatively low pH would demand extremely high levels of carbon dioxide in the past atmosphere. 'High alkalinity and neutral pH is a manifestation of really high CO2,' Professor Lyons told MailOnline. 'One, our method could help confirm how liquid water was possible, a requirement for life, and two, how high pH, high alkalinity waters represent extreme conditions that nonetheless can abound with microbial life.' The resulting carbon dioxide estimates could help solve the mystery of how an ancient Mars located so far from a faint early sun could have been warm enough for surface oceans and perhaps life. Jezero Crater, the landing site for the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission, which will touch down in February 2021 to seek signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past When samples from NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission are brought back to Earth, they could be analysed for their nitrogen isotope ratios. This data could confirm the team's suspicion that very high levels of carbon dioxide made liquid water possible and maybe even some forms of microbial life long ago. It could be 10-20 years before samples are brought back to Earth, Professor Lyons said. But I am delighted to know that we have perhaps helped to define one of the first questions to ask once these samples are distributed to labs in the US and throughout the world. Supply chain disruptions placing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shipping business in jeopardy, says official. Tanker charter rates have torpedoed more than 80 percent as the coronavirus outbreak continues to slam the brakes on large economies, costing the shipping sector hundreds of millions in lost business, an industry official told Reuters news agency. While some of the revenue is gone for good, a trade rebound could put the sector back into calmer waters later this year, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary-General Guy Platten said. The ICS is the main trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing more than 80 percent of the worlds merchant fleet. Platten called the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus hugely disruptive for the shipping sector, triggering a significant decrease of raw material imports in economic powerhouse China because factories had stopped and are only starting to recover. On the finished goods side of it youve got empty containers for example in China and youve got a shortage of containers in the [United] States because the manufactured goods are not getting out of China and being transported around the world. Its affecting all the supply chain throughout the shipping industry, he said. It was hard to estimate the overall cost to the sector, he said. All we know is that there has been an absolute plunge in rates for various classes of ship We know that container lines are doing empty sailings. It would be hundreds of hundreds of millions of dollars [that] would be in jeopardy now, he said. In the tanker sector, we know that rates have fallen by over 80 percent just in that one area alone, Platten added. Shipping giant Maersk warned last week the virus outbreak would hit its earnings this year. Platten was in Geneva to meet World Health Organization officials leading the international response to the outbreak that has infected approximately 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, mostly in China. He said cruise lines were acting responsibly, citing their medical teams on board and awareness of how to handle infectious diseases. Separately, the German shipowners association VDR told its annual news conference in Hamburg that terminal operations in Chinese ports were not going smoothly because truck drivers and port workers were missing. Container ships round trips through Chinese ports were being increasingly cancelled because of low load levels. Shipowners have asked staff to stay on board and wear face masks, VDR said. Crews were not being swapped in China, and ships were not receiving and loading food during Chinese port stays, it added. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.26 Trend: Khojaly genocide was a heinous crime against humanity, a Jakarta-based senior journalist, author of the book Azerbaijan Seen from Indonesia Veeramalla Anjaiah wrote, Trend reports with reference to the article published in Eurasia Review. Anjaiah wrote that many do not know what happened in Khojaly city (Azerbaijan) on the night of Feb. 25 to 26, 1992. A group of armed Armenian soldiers as well as militia attacked Khojaly on the wee hours of Feb. 26 , butchering unarmed residents of the town. It was a heinous crime against humanity. The brutal act of the Armenian soldiers against unarmed civilians was a black chapter in the history of mankind. It was a clear act of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Khojaly, Anjaiah wrote. Anjaiah added that the purpose of the attack was to occupy Khojaly and evict Azerbaijanis from the town. It was a part of Armenias well-planned strategy to annex Nagorno Karabakh, an internationally recognized region of Azerbaijan, with the help of the Soviet Unions 366th Infantry Regiment, the author wrote. He added that international media widely reported Armenian atrocities against Azerbaijani people during the war, the United Nations Security Council adopted various resolutions regarding the immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories and peaceful resolution of the conflict, the parliaments of 15 countries have recognized Armenian atrocities as massacres against the Azerbaijani people, legislative bodies of 22 US states also issued similar statements. Indonesia, Anjaiah said, being a home to the worlds biggest Muslim population, condemned Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan. Ignoring international condemnation, Armenia did not withdraw its forces from Azerbaijani territories. None of the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide were brought to justice, he wrote. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. JUNEAU, Alaska - A major Alaska public employees union has filed a grievance, saying the state is improperly seeking to outsource information technology jobs. The Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME Local 52 on Tuesday said a feasibility study should have been conducted under terms of a collective bargaining agreement. Earlier this month, the Department of Administration announced what it called a digital alliance with Microsoft and plans to work together on various initiatives, including efforts to modernize state information technology. The department also said Microsoft would support efforts to move data to the cloud, saying this would allow for greater data security and cost savings. The union said such a move could cost money and disrupt services. A message seeking comment was left for the department. The union said the grievance was filed Feb. 14. Several Democratic candidates will attend the 55th annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee this weekend to make their final appeals to Alabama voters and honor the anniversary of a violent attack on voting rights. Event organizers confirmed that former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plan to attend the celebration. According to CBS 42, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will also attend Sunday events. Alabama Sen. Hank Sanders (D-Selma) said two other candidates will also appear at the event, although he could not yet disclose their identities. The event commemorates the 55th anniversary of a brutal attack on civil rights activists as they crossed Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge, which was broadcast live on television. U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia was one of dozens of nonviolent protesters injured that day. In 1965, men and women, young and old, suffered and died for the right to vote, said Abina Billups, board chairman of Salute Selma. Fifty-five years later, extremists are doing everything they can to take away our hard-earned rights, liberties and power that we have in the vote. The annual reenactment has become a fixture of Democratic campaigns, an opportunity to reach out to the African-American voters who could determine the outcome of Tuesdays primary. Sundays march takes place just two days before Alabamians go to the polls, making it a key stop on the campaign trail. Voters in Alabama and 13 other states will go to the polls just a few days after the South Carolina primary. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won contests in Nevada and New Hampshire, and South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg prevailed in Iowa. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Warren have struggled in early primary states and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is looking to make a splash. Last years march included appearances by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J), Sanders and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Hillary Clinton also attended a unity breakfast. For the first time in the jubilees history, black women will lead the reenactment march to honor their activism and voting power, according to organizers. African-American voters in general, and women in particular, received much of the credit for Sen. Doug Jones victory in 2017. Organizers planned several events leading up to Sundays reenactment, including an education summit and voting rights panel. Activists who marched in 1965 demanded better access to the polls, leading to the Voting Rights Act, which was signed later that year. The reenactment is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, to be followed by a presidential candidates forum, according to the jubilee website. Updated at 6 p.m. with additional information Yves here. Even though this piece describes how Brexit is a useful tool for advancing neoliberal aims, the techniques need to become more widely known here as well. For instance, impact assessments are a particularly nasty bit of business. It also goes without saying that the Brexit deregulation push isnt going to endear the UK to the EU in trade talks. By Emily Scurrah, an Assistant Researcher at the New Economics Foundation and Christiane Heisse, a quantitative researcher at the New Economics Foundation. Originally published at openDemocracy Shortly before leaving office, the former Chancellor Sajid Javid announced a Brexit red tape challenge for the upcoming budget. For avid followers of the deregulation agenda, these are three words that have become all too familiar. Javid is merely the latest in a long line of ministers to use them. Despite Javids departure, this looks set to be a big year for cuts to regulations, as the UK and EU prepare to negotiate their new economic relationship. Today the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called on the government to minimise red tape through negotiations so companies can focus on jobs and growth. They wont be the last lobby group to do so. In this context, it is important to understand the ideology underlying the red tape agenda, and why big business embraces it so wholeheartedly. We urgently need better healthcare, large-scale environmental action, safe buildings and food, and well-defended labour rights. So why do those in power want to deregulate? And what exactly does deregulation entail? One In, Three Out Deregulation is when the government weakens, or removes rules on businesses in a particular market. It is based on the idea that markets, if left alone, produce the best outcomes economic thinking that can be traced back to Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek in the early 20th century. Together with privatisation, tax cuts for high earners and corporations and public funding cuts, deregulation is a central tenet of neoliberalism the economic and political philosophy that has dominated policy-making in Britain since the 1980s. The process of deregulation comes in many shapes and forms. Technocratic rule-cutting exercises such as the business impact target, or the one-in-three-out rule aim to cut the costs that laws impose on businesses. The one-in-three-out rule in Britain which stipulates that for every pound of new regulatory burden introduced, government departments must reduce burden elsewhere by at least three times that amount is indicative of the arbitrariness of this legislation. The drive to reduce regulation is based on ideology rather than evidence. Other deregulatory instruments include measures to prevent new regulations from being introduced, or deregulating by stealth by not enforcing existing regulation. What these methods all have in common is a narrative which sees laws as a burden to business and society, rather than tools to shape and protect the kind of society in which we want to live. Better Regulation This framing of laws as inherently burdensome has given big corporations seats at the policymaking table alongside democratically elected lawmakers. When this happens, the scale of state capture (where private companies are able to influence a states decision-making process to their own advantage) that results is mesmerising: big oil and tobacco firms even managed to initiate an ongoing EU-wide programme of deregulatory reform called Better Regulation. Better Regulation paints itself as providing more scrutiny and transparency in lawmaking, but in reality it creates fast tracks for firms to shape legislation in a way that serves them. Shrouded in technical reports, driven by revolving doors between regulators and industry and protected by huge lobbying budgets, the immediate effects of deregulation are often difficult to pin down, which is part of the reason why there has only been limited pushback against it. But a three-year research project by the New Economics Foundation has identified cases from the health and safety and the health sectors. One example of how the Better Regulation agenda has impacted peoples lives in the UK is through impact assessments. In principle, impact assessments impartially weigh up the financial cost of a particular regulation to businesses, against the benefits to business, society and the environment. The Better Regulation agenda has changed impact assessments so that the latter objective has become completely subsumed by the former. Estimating compliance costs to businesses is prioritised over analysing the benefits a regulation might bring to people, environment, and nature which can also be more complex and therefore more difficult to calculate. Whats more, bureaucrats have warned that impact assessments are often used retrospectively to justify policy decisions that have already been taken, as opposed to being used as part of the process through which policy is developed. In 2014, the former EU chief scientific advisor Anne Glover warned that civil servants preparing impact assessments may face political pressure to include evidence to support a predetermined conclusion. In this process, the views of social partners a term the EU uses to refer to employer organisations and trade unions are repeatedly ignored in favour of powerful business and expert stakeholders. Pregnant workers across Britain and the EU have already suffered the consequences of this. The European Commission launched a consultation with social partners in 2006 on revisions to the directive on pregnant workers. In 2009, a proposal to increase maternity leave to 20 weeks, with an allowance of 100% of the mothers salary, and the creation of adoption leave was put forward by the European Parliaments FEMM Committee. Business partners and employers organisations strongly opposed women receiving a full salary during maternity leave. Despite initial adoption by the European Parliament, the Commission surrendered to business opposition and withdrew the proposal. Civil society and trade unions widely challenged the withdrawal. Businesses claimed that pregnant workers were already adequately protected. Using the impact assessment as evidence, they claimed that, against the backdrop of economic crisis, there was no justification for proposals which would be costly for companies. The capitulation to business interests over the concerns of social partners is indicative of the way in which supposedly neutral tools for consultation are weighted in favour of business interests and frequently override the concerns of social partners. Womens rights across Britain and the EU were sacrificed in the name of a dominant economic culture, which prioritises minimising costs to business above all else, infecting processes which are purportedly neutral. Corporate Capture Technical impact assessments and the one-in-three-out rule are just one part of the equation. Health policy in the UK is brimming with deregulation by stealth and confusion. The UK is required by EU law to share results of all clinical trials in a public registry. In practice, however, the results from studies finding that drugs are unsuccessful or have harmful side effects rarely see the light of day because the British government fails to enforce this important rule. Keeping this evidence hidden away can make new drugs seem more effective than they are, as billions of public money spent on important medical research is used for the private gains of big pharma firms. In 2014, the NHS was found to pay 500 million for a flu drug that, as it turned out, was not even proven to work. There is a human cost to this system: one study found tens of thousands of people might have died from unrecognised side effects of a popular drug for heart conditions. Of course, none of this is isolated from other forms of deregulation. A recent report on state capture by lobby groups in the EU explains that revolving doors and seats on high-level advisory groups have historically given big pharma firms high-level access to policymaking. Similarly in the UK, industry groups were so strongly involved in the Drinkaware campaign that government consultations on alcohol legislation failed to even discuss minimum unit pricing in a fair way. Brexit: A New Dawn for Deregulation? For decades in Brussels, Britain has pushed harder for deregulation than any of its European counterparts. The Brexit campaign has been underpinned by a consistent argument that Europe enforces burdensome and costly regulations, ignoring how these regulations protect British people. As laws are redrawn in the aftermath of Brexit, it will come as no surprise to see the deregulation agenda pushed further. There are already grave concerns about possible financial deregulation, and about the type of trade deal that the government will seek with the EU. We are facing a climate emergency which will require much more regulation, so this agenda is a significant threat. Britain may face poor economic conditions following its exit from the EU, which have historically been exploited by multinational corporations who lobby for weaker working conditions, less corporate regulation, and lower environmental standards. In an economy like Britains, which prioritises deregulation as one of its core ideological tenets, this is a significant threat. As this deregulatory agenda threatens to inflict more harm on us, it is easy to feel powerless. But perhaps counterintuitively, the very instruments and functions which are repeatedly ignored, overridden, and bypassed through the Better Regulation agenda reveal the levers of power which are available to us. The groups that make up the social partners, whose interests stand separate to a myopic and harmful profit motive, are in desperate need of strengthening. Enhancing the power of these partners trades unions, campaigning organisations and civil society in relation to national and international policy can only be done through growing these institutions to increase their membership and put greater pressure on governments. Doing this means joining up social movements such as those struggling for workers rights and those campaigning for environmental justice in order to develop collective strength, as well as having greater readiness to take action. We can also establish a counter narrative to the prevailing calls to cut red tape. This narrative has led to the slashing of laws protecting our health and environment to increase the profits to business with the tacit approval of a public assailed by this narrative, which has dominated the British press for decades. It is only by revealing the deregulation narrative for what it really is, and highlighting the threat that it poses to our health and environment, that we can generate public and electoral pressure to halt this agenda. Gisat-1: On March 5, ISRO to launch new-age satellite that can scan India every 30 minutes India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bengaluru, Feb 26: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Tuesday said it is scheduled to launch its geo imaging satellite 'GISAT-1' onboard the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle 'GSLV-F10' on March 5. The cameras are capable of scanning the entire country every 30 minutes at a spatial resolution of 50 metres. The launch is tentatively scheduled at 5:43 pm on March 5, subject to weather conditions, from the second launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. Weighing about 2,275 kg, GISAT-1 is a state-of-the-art agile earth observation satellite which would be placed in a geosynchronous transfer orbit by GSLV-F10, ISRO said. It said that subsequently, the satellite would reach the final geostationary orbit using its onboard propulsion system. According to the space agency, operating from geostationary orbit, GISAT-1 would facilitate near real-time observation of the Indian sub-continent under cloud-free condition at frequent intervals. A 4-metre diameter Ogive-shaped payload fairing is being flown for the first time in this GSLV flight, ISRO said adding that this is the 14th flight of the GSLV. Meanwhile, ahead of the launch of India's maiden human spaceflight venture 'Gaganyaan' in December 2021, the ISRO will undertake two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021, its chairman K Sivan recently said. Addressing the inaugural session of a symposium on "Human Spaceflight and Exploration - Present Challenges and Future Trends," Sivan said the Gaganyaan mission not only aims at India's maiden human flight to space but also setting up a new space station for 'continuous space human presence.' ISRO readying low cost smaller rocket to carry satellites weighing 500 kg NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 "We are doing all this (Gaganyaan) on three points - short term plan of two unmanned mission in December 2020 and June 2021, followed by human space flight demonstration in December 2021. "We have the mid-term goal of sustaining the human space programme and continuous space human presence in space on a new space station", he said. In this regard, the ISRO has initiated a full-fledged astronaut training facility in close proximity to Bengaluru for meeting its future requirements. It is also in talks with NASA and other space agencies and industries on how it can collaborate on human space flight and learn from their experience. The Gaganyaan will also assist in ISRO's long term goal of inter-planetary mission. "Inter-planetary mission is also on the agenda in the long term," the ISRO chief said. ISRO to send lady robot 'Vyomamitra' in unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft ahead of human spaceflight On the Gaganyaan mission, Sivan said the space agency has already developed and demonstrated key technologies such as having an operational launcher with 10-tonne playload capability to lower orbit, demonstration of mission design and management and recovery system like space qualified parachutes. Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos has shaken up its transportation order. At the center are the West African country's motorcycle taxis referred to locally as okadas which face newly enforced regulatory restrictions on their movement. That's creating speedbumps for Nigeria's two-wheel ride-hail startups, operating in Africa's most populous nation with the continent's largest economy. Ventures Max .ng, ORide, and Gokada have received millions from American, Japanese, and Chinese investors to shift the continent's motorcycle-taxi markets to on-demand mobility. The three startups have been in a race for capital and market share with the streets of Lagos serving as a competition course for developing platforms that can scale in Africa. Gokada raised $5.3 million in May. Max.ng raised a $7 million Series A round in June 2019, with Yamaha on board, to pilot renewable energy powered e-motos in Africa. Motorcycle-taxi business ORide rattled competitors in Nigeria in 2019 when its Chinese owned parent Opera rallied $170 million in VC for Opera's digital service verticals in Nigeria, including ORide. Fueled by fresh capital, the bright colored helmets of these ride-hail startups buzzing through Lagos traffic have become a backdrop in the city of 21 million. That flow of motorcycle taxis (and traffic at large) slowed on February 1, when the municipality that governs Lagos Lagos State began enforcement of its 2018 Transit Sector Reform Law. Source: Google Maps The legislation is actually meant to improve multiple facets of transportation in Lagos, which is notorious for gridlock, but may have done the inverse particularly around okadas. TechCrunch reached out to Lagos State Government for clarification on the Transit Sector Reform Law, but hasn't heard back. The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, invoked safety and security concerns as a reason for the okada restrictions at an event to launch more water-boat taxis in Lagos on February 5. Story continues In a statement via email, ORide's Senior Director of Operations, Olalere Ridwan, said the rules entail "a ban on commercial motorcycles...in the citys core commercial and residential areas, including Victoria Island and Lagos Island." ORide posted a map of the restrictions on Twitter, with an explanation the company was complying with the rules and would cease operations in the designated areas. Reps from Max.ng and Gokada also confirmed they had followed suit. Per local news, and Nigerian reporting on Twitter, the motorcycle taxi limitations have thrown off some inherent order in Lagos's disorderly transit grid overloading other mobility modes (such as mini-buses) and forcing more people to pound pavement and red-dirt to get to work. For the country's ride-hail startups, the regulatory constraints are weighing on operations and revenues, according to Max.ng CFO Guy-Bertrand Njoya. "Are we highly concerned? Yes, we are," he told TechCrunch on a call from Lagos. "We haven't shut down operations, but because the drivers can't operate in the main commercial areas, their income generation ability is significantly reduced...and our business depends on the success of our drivers," said Bertrand. Gokada CEO Fahim Saleh confirmed the company is still operating passenger services, but may transition its business away from ride-hailing, depending on the outcome of the regulatory process. "If the transport option is no longer available to our drivers, we'll go full on to logistics," he said, noting shifting to more goods delivery has always been a part of Gokada's long-term strategy. Saleh recognized the concerns Lagos State regulators have for motorbike-taxi safety. "To the government's credit, the informal sector is pretty risky with their habits and there's no oversight," he said. But Gokada's CEO underscored ride-hail startups with mandatory driver training, new motorcycles, helmet requirements and an ability to track data are making motorcycle passenger taxis safer in Nigeria. "The government has good intentions, but they need the private sector to really bring in innovative ideas and technology to this market," Saleh said. The sudden regulatory enforcement and downturn in business has forced some unity among the Nigeria's ride-hail competitors. Max .NG, ORide, and Gokada have formed an industry association to engage Lagos State on motorcycle-taxi regulations. "We are hopeful that government remains supportive of companies like ours in a manner that addresses their key policy focus, while supporting entrepreneurs," said Max.ng CFO Guy-Bertrand Njoya. The situation between the Lagos State Government and motorcycle-taxis could have ramifications for Nigeria's tech sector beyond Lagos's ride-hail sector and transit grid. The affair could serve as a test for startups in the country on engaging government effectively toward their interests. It could also demonstrate the ability (or inability) of regulators in Nigeria to support fledgling digital markets. It's worth noting that Lagos State is Nigeria's largest commercial region, responsible for roughly a third of the country's GDP. A greater share of Nigeria's economy is being driven by tech-related industries with much of the country's startup activity occurring in Lagos and Nigeria becoming Africa's unofficial tech capital. Even with the recent upswing in VC to Nigeria's startups, founders still speak of the tough sell they face convincing global investors to back them. If Lagos State viewed as the most tech friendly region in Nigeria squashes the country's well-funded okada ride-hail sector, VC pitches for the country's founders could become more difficult. Two Bay Area teens accused in the murder of an Italian police officer in July 2019 are finally on trial. After spending seven months in a Rome jail, Finnegan Lee Elder, now 20, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, now 19, appeared in court Wednesday. The pair, who were vacationing in Italy last summer, are accused of stabbing Carabinieri Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega to death. Although prosecutors allege Elder was the one who stabbed Cerciello Rega 11 times, in Italy accomplices to murder are also charged with the murder itself. According to prosecutors, Natale-Hjorth fought with Cerciello Rega's partner, Andrea Varriale, preventing him from coming to Cerciello Rega's aid. On Wednesday, Elder and Natale-Hjorth appeared in court for a hearing primarily dealing with procedural issues. Elder's parents sat in the back while Cerciello Rega's widow sat in the second row; Cerciello Rega had just returned from his honeymoon when he was slain. As the legal proceedings kick off, here's what you need to know about the headline-grabbing trial. The night of the murder How the night of July 26, 2019 unfolded depends on who you talk to. Both prosecutors and the defendants do not dispute that Elder and Natale-Hjorth tried to buy cocaine from a local dealer in Trastevere, a nightlife district in Rome. According to police, Elder and Natale-Hjorth got upset when the man who showed up for the drug deal didn't give them the cocaine. In retaliation, they allegedly stole the man's backpack and demanded 100 euros and a gram of cocaine to get it back. Unbeknownst to them, the man was a Carabinieri informant; he then told police he'd been robbed. The informant arranged to meet back up with the Bay Area teens. At that meeting, around 2:30 a.m., two plainclothes police officers Cerciello Rega and Varriale arrived. Here is where the stories vastly deviate. Police and prosecutors say the officers identified themselves as law enforcement and showed their badges but were attacked "immediately" by the teens. Lawyers for Elder and Natale-Hjorth say the officers did not identify themselves as such, and the fatal scuffle was an act of self-defense by Elder. "We are absolutely certain that the two boys especially Finn, who doesnt speak a word of Italian had no idea that they were policemen," Renato Borzone, an Italian lawyer for Elder, told the New York Times. How were they caught? The pair were found in their hotel room several hours after the incident. Police say they found the murder weapon hidden above a ceiling panel in the room. They've been held at the Regina Coeli prison in Rome. How do Elder and Natale-Hjorth know each other? Although it was initially reported the pair were good friends they both graduated from Tamalpais High in Mill Valley in 2018 Gabriel's father Fabrizio Natale walked that back a bit in an interview last year. According to him, they were not close friends, but instead a pair of former classmates who happened to be in Italy at the same time. Natale-Hjorth was born in Italy and moved to the United States as a boy; he holds dual citizenship and took trips to Italy each summer. "He was there, he made a mistake, but he's not an assassin," Fabrizio Natale told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in August. What are they charged with? They are both charged with murder, as well as attempted extortion (because of the alleged drug deal gone south) and resisting public officials. Why have the police been criticized in the case? There have been several investigations within the Carabinieri in the aftermath of Cerciello Rega's death. Almost immediately after their arrest, photos surfaced of Natale-Hjorth blindfolded with a scarf and handcuffed. There is a criminal investigation for a possible violation of defendant's rights, as well as an internal disciplinary probe. In addition, Varriale was put under investigation for "failure to carry out his duties," military prosecutors said in September. The issue in question is why he did not bring his service pistol to the scene; both officers were unarmed that night, according to court documents. The investigation into Varriale is "a formality," according to Italian media, but it may form part of the defense of the Marin teens, whose lawyers are arguing they thought they were being attacked by two strangers. What's next? The evidence will be heard by an Italian jury. The Americans face a life sentence if convicted of murder. There is no death penalty in Italy. Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. Contact: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 15:06:03 New Audio Technology Poised to Boost Audio Quality ENSCHEDE, Netherlands, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fabless semiconductor company Axign B.V. , which specializes in audio controller components, today announced that it has received an equity investment from KBC Focus Fund as the lead investor, together with Innovation Industries and Oost NL . This investment round enables Axign to mass produce and launch their new audio devices worldwide. Additionally, the new funding will support the development and introduction of next-generation devices for cost-sensitive applications, such as active speakers and streaming audio systems. Axign B.V. has developed a digital feedback audio chip that provides dramatically improved audio quality. The device, the AX5689, is fully qualified and ramping into mass production. According to Jeroen Langevoort, Axign CTO and founder, The AX5689 enables audio system designers to more easily implement high sound quality in traditional high-end systems, and now enables superior audio quality in mid-range and lower-end systems, sound bars, connected streaming and smart speakers, as well as multi-channel AV receivers and TVs. All are product targets for the AX5689. The company is excited to bring its audio controller chip into platform developments of world-renowned audio consumer brands and expects several of these brands to announce production programs later this year. Rudi Severijns, investment director at KBC Focus Fund, explains, Axigns technology brings the best audio experience to consumers in the mainstream and high-performance audio segment, but also allows brands to optimize overall system costs. We are excited to support the Axign team to market and sell the AX5689 flagship solution. According to Hans van Leeuwen, Axign CEO, The feedback we have received from highly knowledgeable customer engineering and management sources is fantastic. The device is configurable and is perfect to use in a company-wide audio solution platform. It is available now in volume shipments. Please visit http://www.axign.nl for more information. About Axign Axign is a fabless semiconductor company serving worldwide audio markets in professional, consumer and automotive audio. Its first flagship product is a breakthrough audio controller chip that combines the highest reference audio performance in the market today with a lower-cost bill of materials for audio system manufacturers. The chip is especially suited for active speaker systems in streaming audio devices. For more information, please visit http://www.axign.nl . About KBC Focus Fund The KBC Focus Fund is a 50 million venture capital fund that focuses on advanced technology with a particular focus on semiconductor, nanotechnology and IoT. We focus on Belgium and surrounding countries where well-known expertise centers are located. The KBC Focus Fund leverages on the network and expertise of KBC Group and is managed by KBC Securities , with solid knowledge of the tech ecosystem with experienced teams in M&A, Finance, R&D, and Sales. The KBC Focus Fund aims to be long-term partners for entrepreneurs. Contact: Rudi Severijns, Tel +32 2448 5279, Rudi.Severijns@kbcsecurities.be About Oost NL Oost NL is the development company of East-Netherlands. We are strengthening the regional economy by investing in entrepreneurs in the eastern part of the Netherlands. We allow entrepreneurs to innovate, invest and internationalize to accelerate their growth. Oost NL makes the necessary financing and its network, knowledge and expertise available to entrepreneurs. With funding from the central government and the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel and the Twente region, Oost NL invested in more than 220 companies with total fund assets under management of more than 330 million euros. The province of Overijssel has made 41.5 million available through the Innovatiefonds Overijssel to stimulate the regional economy and employment in the province and to promote innovation. Investments are made through loans and participations. Oost NL is fund manager. For more information, visit https://oostnl.com/en About Innovation Industries Innovation Industries1 is a leading venture capital firm that invests in high-tech, med-tech and agri-food-tech companies in The Netherlands. Innovation Industries maintains a hands-on management style, sharing its experience, knowledge and connections with entrepreneurs. Portfolio companies are actively supported in order to strengthen the value proposition, improve the time to market, identify and realize global strategic partnerships, and avoid the typical start-up pitfalls. With 250 million under management, Innovation Industries typically invests between 1-15 million in a single portfolio company but can provide follow-on funding of up to 25 million per company. Innovation Industries collaborates closely with the Dutch technology institutes. Contact: Sander Verbrugge, Investment Director, sv@innovationindustries.com , +31 6 2036 9419. www.innovationindustries.com . 1 The Innovation Industries is supported by InnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implement productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing. Media Contact: Hans van Leeuwen CEO Axign B.V. hans.vanleeuwen@axign.nl +31 6 4615 2973 A man wearing a face mask passes by empty ticket counters at the Daegu Airport in Daegu, South Korea, on Feb. 24, 2020. (KimHyun-tae/Yonhap via AP) Russia Suspends Some South Korea Flights, Iranian Visas Over New Coronavirus Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday Moscow would suspend flights between Russia and South Korea from March 1 over coronavirus fears, except those operated by Aeroflot and Aurora. Golikova said Russia would also stop issuing visas to some Iranian citizens from Feb. 28 and was advising Russians against traveling to Italy. Flights arriving from South Korea and Iran would be received at a dedicated terminal at Moscows Sheremetyevo airport, she said. Other restrictions related to the outbreak which have been previously announced would be extended by one month to April 1, Golikova said. Both Iran and South Korea have reported spikes in cases of the new virus, which causes a disease the World Health Organization named COVID-19. The cases in South Korea eclipsed 1,200 on Wednesday, with hundreds of new cases confirmed in recent days. The Iranian government reported its first coronavirus cases last Wednesday, later saying both patients died. Since then, dozens of cases have been officially reported, along with 12 deaths as of Feb. 25. Thats the second-highest number of deaths in the world behind China, where the virus emerged in December 2019. Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Feb. 26, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Some experts believe Iran is suppressing details about the virus outbreak and many believe China has released numbers that underreport the true number of cases and deaths in the country. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the Chinese Communist Partys expulsion of three foreign journalists highlighted how the country is trying to censor information about the epidemic thats killed at least thousands in China. Pompeo also said Iranian authorities must tell the truth about the virus amid signs the outbreak there may be far wider than officially acknowledged. Russia earlier this month said it was banning all Chinese citizens from entering its territory as the country tried to stem the spread of the new virus. Russia previously closed its 2,500-mile border with China. It later said that there were some exceptions to the ban. Russia has had two confirmed cases of coronavirus so far. Both were Chinese nationals who have since recovered and been released from hospital. Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) On February 25, the municipal Peoples Committee required the Health Department to coordinate with the capital citys Military Command and police to carry out the quarantine work. Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens will be kept in quarantine for 14 days since arrival at the military school under the municipal Military Command in Son Tay, while foreign nationals will be staying at the Municipal Police Hospital in Ha Dong district. District administrations are told to look for people who arrived in Vietnam from the RoK within the past 14 days for monitoring and taking quarantine measures on those who came from or transited Daegu and North Gyeongsang. The municipal Health Department instructed tightening international medical quarantine at the Noi Bai international airport, including requiring all passengers coming from or transiting the RoK to fill in medical declaration forms. All those who are found to have symptoms such as fever, coughing and shortness of breath must be put under quarantine at medical facilities and tested for coronavirus. Ryan Phillippe was seen sporting tattooed arms while arriving to the set of his new movie Lady of the Manor. The 45-year-old actor looked like he was in work mode as he arrived to the St. Petersburg, Florida set of the film on Tuesday afternoon. Phillippe is part of an ensemble cast including Judy Greer and Melanie Lynskey, with the film also marking the feature directorial debut of Justin Long. On set: Ryan Phillippe was seen sporting tattooed arms while arriving to the set of his new movie Lady of the Manor Phillippe was spotted in a black t-shirt which has 'Follow Through' in white text with dark grey jeans. He was also seen wearing a Dewey Beach Surf Shop grey hat with grey and black Nike running shoes. As he went to work, the star carried his phone along with a black The North Face backpack and black glasses. Set look: Phillippe was spotted wearing a black t-shirt which has 'Follow Through' in white text with dark grey jeans Lady of the Manor is described as a, 'free-spirited, female-centered buddy comedy set in an antebellum estate.' Long makes his feature directorial debut on the project, while also writing the screenplay as well. Filming has been taking place in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, though no plans for release have been revealed at this time. New movie: Lady of the Manor is described as a, 'free-spirited, female-centered buddy comedy set in an antebellum estate' Phillippe has been more busy on the small screen in recent years, with his last movie being 2017's Wish Upon. He played Bob Lee Swagger in USA Network's series Shooter, based on the Stephen Hunter novels about Phillippe's character Bob Lee Swagger. The actor also played himself on an episode of NBC's Will & Grace, and he played Julius Caesar in Historical Roasts. Last movie: Phillippe has been more busy on the small screen in recent years, with his last movie being 2017's Wish Upon Phillippe returns to the big screen this year with The Sound of Philadelphia, starring alongside Joel Kinnaman and Maika Monroe, hitting theaters later this year. He also stars in 2nd, which is currently in post-production and slated for release in December, starring with Casper Van Dien and Samaire Armstrong. The actor is also attached to star in Tlatelolco68 with John Leguizamo. Bud Welchs 23-year-old daughter Julie was working as an interpreter at the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, OK when she was killed on April 19, 1995 during the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the U.S. Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator of the bombing, was executed for his crime on June 11, 2001. Despite the death and destruction, Bud Welch and McVeighs father Bill discovered more in common than they had driving them apart. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing this year, author Jeanne Bishop is highlighting their stories in Grace From the Rubble (Zondervan, Apr. 14), which demonstrates that "love will always have the last word," she tells PW. "This is what we have to learn from these two men and find healing from both of them." This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Where did you get the idea for Grace From the Rubble, and what inspired you to write it? I was really inspired by Bud Welch, and I got to meet him because of the murders in my own family. When my younger sister was killed by a juvenile in 1990 in Illinois, other states had the death penalty for juveniles, but Illinois didnt. So the first question the press asked us was, Are you disappointed he was sentenced to life instead of death? It was my first opportunity to say, No, I dont believe in shedding more blood and creating another grieving family like mine; its not going to bring my sister back or heal me. After that, other people reached out to me to speak out against the death penalty, and thats how I met Bud Welch. I got to hear him tell the story about Julie. I love that he is telling her story in service of mercy, in service of reconciliation. She was the launching point to his whole journeyof hating and wanting McVeigh dead, and a total change of heart toward reform and becoming a spokesperson against killing McVeigh and against the death penalty. How did you approach the two "main characters, the fathers, about the book? I knew Bud, and I knew the 25th anniversary of this horrific event was coming up, and I thought, I dont want to rehash the horror of the crime or pay a whole lot of attention to Timothy McVeigh and why he did it. I did want to talk about this amazing act of reconciliation and redemption. Bud said yes, and I asked him to talk to Bill and vouch for me. Bill only picked up because Bud vouched for me, and he calls me the last one hes speaking to. And Im so glad he did, I especially want the world to know about him. You share some of your own experiences with forgiving the murderer of your sister and two other family members. How did writing Grace From the Rubble impact what you already knew about forgiveness? I think what I learned is that when you follow that impetus to forgive, to reach out the way Bud did, to listen and follow and obey that call, it leads to the most wonderful things you never imagined. Why is Bud and Bills story so important now? Because this kind of evil keeps happening; we have to grapple with this. And killing McVeigh didnt do anything to heal us or move us forward, but what Bud and Bill did does. It shows a way out of the hate that led that guy to pick up the gun at the Tree of Life Synagogue, at Parkland, in Las Vegas, in Newtown. What we have to learn is: how do we heal these divisions? Healing that kind of hate in someones heartit sounds soft and squishy, but it is not. Love is the most powerful force on earth, the only thing more powerful than hate. What is the most important thing you want readers to take from the book? To not be afraid to reach out to the other, to the one whom you might consider your enemy, to know there could be great healing in mutual understanding, and courage and love. 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. Ross Douthat writes for the New York Times. His syndicated column appears on Wednesdays. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 A tenant lighting off fireworks in a rooming house in Atlantic City stabbed his 63-year-old landlord multiple times after being told to stop the pyrotechnics, authorities said. Roland Rymarz, 42, attacked the landlord around 3:10 p.m. Monday inside the building on the beach block of Ocean Avenue, according to Atlantic City police. The landlord was brought to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City with multiple stab wounds. Rymarz was charged with two weapons offenses and aggravated assault before being sent to the Atlantic County jail. Police said they found the knife used in the stabbing. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that it was surprised at the conduct of the police during the violence that ensued in North-East Delhi during protests over Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). A division bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh also asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, to advise Delhi Police Commissioner to register an FIR against the BJP leaders who made hate speeches. The High Court adjourned the matter and will continue hearing it after 2:30 pm. Justice Muralidhar said that we are surprised at the conduct of the police. "The situation out there is so unpleasant. We have all watched videos of some leaders are making hate speeches openly. It's on every news channel. There are videos that hundreds of people have watched. Do you still think it's not an urgent matter," the High Court said. We are sure the police commissioner has a television in his office. Please ask him to watch this clip, Delhi High court tells Solicitor general Tushar Mehta. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Delhi Police said that they have not watched the videos, following which a video of Kapil Mishra was played in the courtroom. Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for Delhi Police, said that only Delhi Police and Delhi Government are parties in the case and no one else should have a say, to which SG Mehta objected and said that the Centre has an equal stakeholder. The Solicitor General also made an oral application seeking to make the Union of India through Minister of Home Affairs a party to the petition. The Delhi High Court was hearing a petition seeking an independent judicial enquiry into the violence in northeast Delhi and lodging of FIR against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Varma for alleged hate speech. The petition claimed that provocative hate speeches were given by three prominent politicians linked to the assailants, the assailants carried out multiple brutal assaults on the unarmed persons who were protesting against the CAA. As many as 20 people have died while hundreds of others have been injured in the violence that ensued in northeast Delhi between two factions over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Monday and Tuesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It's almost Island Time! Get caught up on Galveston happenings for the coming weekends. And bookmark this space for a handy guide that takes you from the beach to The Strand and back: HoustonChronicle.com: Southwest is launching new direct flights from Houston to Cozumel Saturday, Feb. 29: Reserve seats for "An American in Paris," which will feature performances at 3 and 8pm at The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice Street. More info and tickets. Saturday, March 7: Now in its 25th year, the Galveston Arts Center's Artwalk will span eight Saturdays throughout the year, including March 7. The crawl invites guests to existing art galleries and makeshift exhibit halls (restaurants and cafes) to showcase rotating shows. The ArtWalk, hosted by the Galveston Arts Center, 2127 Strand, is free to attend. More info. Saturday, March 14: From 6 to 9 p.m., enjoy the sounds of Mike Stintson at Music Nite On The Strand at Saengerfest Park. The ongoing live-music series is planned for the second Saturday of each month, from March through October Also this Saturday, for a daytime event, head to the The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice Street at 2 p.m. for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," an award-winning production that follows King from "teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame." Tickets and more info. Saturday, March 21: Explore the dune/swale complex at natural and restored marshes on the island with "Artist Boat Kayak Adventure: Coastal Heritage Preserve," scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Artist Boat is an organization that aims acquire more 300 acres of the coastal prairies and wetlands on Settegast Road. They invite the public to visit these areas, which they hope to enrich through million dollar grants and community donations. More info. Saturday, March 28: Viva MOMIX! at The Grand 1894 Opera House brings Connecticut-based modern dancers to the island's stage. In addition to inventive dance routines, the performers' avant garde costumes are also sure to delight audiences. Tickets here. A blogger has seemingly found the solution to making laundry less of a chore: build yourself a laundry room that is so lavish, you never want to leave. Mother-of-two and influencer Rachel Parcell, 29, wowed her one million followers on Tuesday when she posted images of her incredibly luxurious laundry room, which boasts four washing machines and dryers, as well as marble counter tops, freshly-cut flowers, and a slew of storage. 'Dreaming of spring and my laundry room is giving me all the feels,' Rachel, who lives in Alpine, Utah, with her real estate developer husband Drew, 34, and their children, wrote alongside the five photos. Bliss! Blogger and mom Rachel Parcell has wowed Instagram with images of her luxurious laundry room, which she shared on Tuesday evening Envy: The 29-year-old, who lives in Utah with her husband Drew, 34, and their two children, said on Instagram that her laundry room makes her think of springtime Follow along: Rachel, who is currently expecting her third child, regularly shares glimpses inside her stunning home, which she and her husband built from the ground up She then added: 'So excited for blooms and sunshine!' The photos capture the room from every angle, with Rachel revealing a perfectly-designed room that features plenty of space for organizing, hanging, folding, and anything else you might need to do with your laundry. As well as the marble counter tops and numerous drawers, the space features a large table at its center, which holds two vases of freshly-cut flowers, as well as a big potted plant. There are several other flower-filled vases scattered elsewhere in the room - while a bunch of peonies are seen poking out of the side of a large farmhouse sink. Four modern-looking machines - believed to be two washers and two dryers - are seen fitted into the storage space, with a selection of handy baskets placed above them, as well as a small hanging rail on which several children's clothing items are dangling. In fact the only thing that looks in any way disorganized in the space is a wheelie laundry basket placed under the central table, out of which a few perfectly-white towels are seen hanging. Views: The laundry room features marble countertops, and boasts incredible views of the surrounding mountain scenery thanks to its many windows Flower power: Rachel's laundry space is also filled with fresh flowers and several potted plants Inspiration: Many people on Instagram joked that they could easily see themselves 'living inside' the laundry room - while others called out the four washing machines and dryers Two more of the baskets have been placed in specially-designed alcoves under the sink, while several wicker stools can be seen sitting to the side, presumably there in case Rachel or a member of her family wishes to rest, relax, or simply enjoy the space from another vantage point. The room is not entirely focused on laundry however; there are several pieces of art seen hanging, and in one corner Rachel - or perhaps an interior designer - has placed a framed pinboard on which there are several notes, photographs, and drawings. Rachel, who boasts her own eponymous fashion line, has also tacked up a couple of sketches of what look like her designs, and two glass jars filled with pencils and pens sit alongside it, suggesting that she uses the space to draw and plan out her new collections. What is perhaps most impressive of all however, are the incredible windows that seem to cover three of the room's four walls, providing plenty of natural light, and some impressive views of the surrounding Utah scenery. Although Rachel, who is currently expecting her third child with husband Drew, simply noted that her laundry room is giving her 'all the feels', her followers were much more vocal about the emotions that the space brought out in them. The Instagram post racked up close to 16,000 likes in a matter of hours, while hundreds of people shared comments on the post, with many expressing jealousy over the stunning space. Family: Rachel's husband Drew is a property developer and contractor, and the couple started building their home back in 2013 Sneak peek: As well as showcasing specific rooms on her blog, Rachel, seen with her daughter, also offers up glimpses inside her home through her daily posts on Instagram Lush life: The blogger, pictured with her son Bear, recently revealed the inside of her master bathroom, which boasts a huge silver tub 'Its incredible. Id do laundry all day if I had this set up!' one person commented. Another then chimed in: 'I think all of your laundry stress would go away if this was to laundry room. Beyond gorgeous!!!' Others confessed that they wouldn't mind actually living in Rachel's laundry room, with many remarking that it certainly looks big enough to compete with their current homes. 'When you suddenly feel like youd be totally okay with living inside this laundry room for the rest of your life,' one user wrote, while another added: 'This laundry room is nicer than any room in my house.' 'Her laundry room is nicer than my whole house,' a third person agreed. Some criticized Rachel for showing off such a lavish laundry space, with one person remarking: 'Could you tell me about your charitable donations? Im wondering if you ever feel guilty living like this when so many have so little.' However the critical commenter was quickly shut down by Rachel's most dedicated fans, with one insisting, 'It's not your business!' while another wrote: 'Shes explained several times and I think even earlier this week that 10% of her earnings she donates to charitable causes or to her church...but not that she owes anyone an explanation.' Dream: Rachel's pantry features similar decor to the laundry room, and even has a matching farmhouse sink filled with pink flowers Organized: The room is filled with built-in storage, however that hasn't stopped Rachel from decorating with a few pieces of art and several ornaments Handy! The pantry even features its own oven, and has a hidden chopping board that slides out of the wall Food favorites: The snacks and kitchen supplies in the pantry and perfectly organized in various tupperware and acrylic boxes Writing about her laundry room design on her blog, Rachel explained that she wanted to create 'an inspired space' both for herself and her children to enjoy. 'I wanted an inspired space to do laundry and work on art projects with my kids so I added a window on every possible square inch I could,' she wrote. 'Theres just something about natural light that completely changes my mood. When we were in the drawing phases, Drew and my architect thought I was crazy but they both have apologized and told me I was right about the windows haha. 'I love that light to pours into this space and we capture as much as our mountain view as possible.' She continued: 'I love the large island, it makes doing laundry more painless and its been so great for sorting colors and folding. My designers wanted the island to feel more like a vintage furniture piece rather than a massive built-in, its so much lighter in the space since its a table rather than a full block of drawers and wood. 'We went back and forth on whether or not we should double it up but Im so glad we did because we can get double the amount of laundry done and we dont need to wait around while a load finishes to start another. Rub a dub: Rachel's master bathroom features a free-standing bathtub, a pretty vanity, and even a feather-shaped chandelier Watch out: Much like the other rooms in her home, the bathroom also boasts plenty of windows, allowing for pretty views of the surrounding mountains Spacious: The bathroom also features a great deal of built-in storage, which Rachel has ensured she has decorated to perfection Sweet dreams: Even Rachel's daughter's room is an interior decor dream, with patterned wallpaper, a beautiful floral chandelier, and fresh-cut flowers on the bedside table We also did a nod to our blue windows in our last home in this space. It took us three different paint jobs to get it right. It was kind of a nightmare. It went from seafoam green, to purple blue to this icy blue. Luckily we finally got the color right!' Although it is the most recent interior post to take Rachel's Instagram by storm, the laundry room is not the only space in her home to wow her followers. The blogger and designer regularly shares images of her perfectly-arranged interiors, recently posting photos of her sprawling master bathroom, her incredibly organized pantry, and daughter Isla Rose's bedroom. Each one of the posts has proven incredibly popular with her followers, with each one racking up tens of thousands of likes and hundreds of comments. Rachel's most dedicated followers have been able to watch the blogger build the house quite literally from scratch after she began documenting the process back in November 2013, when the sprawling property was only just in the beginning stages of being built. Since then, the soon-to-be mother-of-three has delighted in sharing different aspects of the interior design process with her followers, revealing her tips and tricks for achieving similar results in their own homes, while even - in the case of the laundry room - sharing how to copy her style for less. The Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said on Wednesday the nation's President Hashim Thaci signed a secret deal with NATO and has called for him to be ousted. Kurti accused Thaci of violating the constitution in 2013 when, as prime minister, he signed an agreement with then-NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen which limited the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). Kurti said the deal stated the KSF would not undertake a mission in in Kosovo's northern Serb-dominated region "without prior agreement of NATO's Kosovo Force mission (KFOR)". He considered this to be a "flagrant violation" of the nation's constitution to limit the rights of its security forces. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence and their relations are tense. Robert Buggs, president of the districts citizen advisory board, said the changes caught him off guard. He criticized school officials for failing to announce the opening and he said it wasnt clear if anyone from Gary was interviewed for the job, which he said is required in the state takeover law. Haryana Police is extra-vigilant in the wake of the violence in northeast Delhi and an advisory has been issued to all commissioners and district superintendents of police in this regard, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Navdeep Singh Virk said on Wednesday. As per the advisory, Virk asked senior police officers in the field to mobilise the maximum force as preventive deployment. "The police force have been asked to be extra-vigilant and take all-out measures to prevent any occurrence of violence in their respective jurisdiction," he said. In view of the development in Delhi, police officers have been directed to take necessary precautions and mobilise all resources to maintain law and order across the state, especially in Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonipat and Nuh districts, Virk said. Police have increased patrolling across the state and intensified vigil along the borders with the national capital, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:43:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GAZA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Owners of car companies inaugurated a three-day car exhibition, the first of its kind in the Gaza City, organizers said on Wednesday. The exhibition, called "the Kingdom of Cars," includes items related to car industries, with the participation of about 40 companies, said the organizers. The participants include car companies owners, representatives of driving schools and owners of gas stations in the Gaza Strip. At the exhibition, opened on Tuesday, companies presented their international trademarks and explained to the public more information on advanced technology. Several participating companies showed in the exhibition cars spare parts, such as car doors, tires and various kinds of oils that are used for car engines. The exhibition also included portraits of car designs. Two domestically made cars were placed in the middle of the exhibition hall in the city. Ahmad Barhoum, executive director of the exhibition, told Xinhua that the main goal of the exhibition is to make the public know about car industry. "Although Gaza has been under the Israeli siege for more than 13 years, but we have so many international car trademarks," he said. Barhoum added that "it is very important for the people of Gaza to learn more about technological development in the world." He clarified that the exhibition is part of a series of activities that his company will carry out "in a bid to keep Gaza people updated on car industry development." Amir Doghmosh, owner of one of the companies that are joining the exhibition, said "it is the first time ever that such an exhibition is organized in Gaza." "As owners of companies specialized in cars and car spare parts, it is so useful for us to get the public involved and provide more knowledge on cars," he said, while explaining to a visitor the need to have a special kind of wheels for his car. He added that "it is so important for the people of the Gaza Strip to know more about cars, and necessary to hold such kind of exhibitions, as it helps boost the weak and deteriorated economy in Gaza." Hebba Ghalayeeni, a young woman in her mid-20s, visited the exhibition and was busy taking pictures with her friends inside a classic Mercedes Benz made in early 1970s. "We only see such old cars in classic movies, and it is the first time that I see them in my life," she said, adding that "I came here especially to take some photos." Ghalayeeni expressed her hope that more exhibitions will be held in Gaza, including themes on cars and arts, especially for the people who have never been out of Gaza. By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc , said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $73 million from a year-ago loss of $46 million as it reported its first results as a publicly traded company. By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc , said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $73 million from a year-ago loss of $46 million as it reported its first results as a publicly traded company. The quarterly results, which include one-time transaction and other related costs, come as the company is aiming for a first commercial flight later this year with Branson on board. "It will be a transformative moment for the company," Chief Executive George Whitesides told analysts on a conference call, adding that revenue and cash flow will ramp up in 2021. Shares of Virgin Galactic were volatile in after-hours trading and were last down 6.4%. Shares had rallied in recent days, driven by investor interest in the first space tourism company to hit public markets. Virgin Galactic competes with billionaire-backed ventures such as Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos, to be the first to offer suborbital flights to fare-paying thrill seekers, presaging a new era of civilian space travel that could kick off as soon as this year. Other players including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing Co have their sights set on higher altitudes like the International Space Station, the moon and eventually Mars. Some 600 people from 60 countries have paid or put down deposits to fly on one of Virgin's suborbital flights, worth about $80 million in total collected deposits and $120 million of potential revenue, the company said. A 90-minute flight, which allows passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, costs about $250,000. Now, Virgin plans to seize on a wave of more than 7,900 "registrations of interest" it has received since then from would-be astronauts by collecting $1,000 deposits to secure a place in line as seats become available, it said on Tuesday. Virgin Galactic has so far invested $1 billion in its reusable mid-air launch technology. Closer to Earth, Virgin also plans to develop hypersonic passenger air travel that could dramatically cut travel times across the world, the company said. For example, flying from New York to London would take about an hour, it said. The company, which went public last year, reported fourth-quarter revenue of $529,000, and $3.8 million for 2019, the first full year of results. Virgin Galactic went public through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp, a publicly traded shell company, or special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), led by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Tracy Rucinski and Matthew Lewis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON - Flush with cash, President Donald Trumps campaign is stepping up its outreach to black Americans as it tries to claw away support from the traditionally Democratic voting bloc ahead of Novembers general election. Trumps campaign is announcing Wednesday that it is opening 15 Black Voices for Trump Community Centers in the coming weeks in major cities in battleground states. While the other side is focused on beating up each other, were focused on growing the party, said Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner. Youre never going to get the votes you dont ask for. The offices will feature a line of campaign swag adopting the woke label, and videos of prominent Trump surrogates like Diamond and Silk explaining their support for the president and pamphlets outlining the presidents record. A spin on the traditional field office, the centres will help spread the world about Trumps efforts on criminal justice reform and support for historically black colleges and universities. They will also showcase the overall state of the economy under Trump. Unemployment for black Americans has hit record lows in recent months. The Republican campaign faces significant hurdles as it tries to curry favour with black voters. Approval of Trump among black Americans has been consistent at about 1 in 10 over the course of his presidency. A Pew Research Center analysis of people who participated in its polls and were confirmed to have voted showed Trump won just 6% of black voters in 2016. But the campaign claims it is seeing an uptick of support among black men in particular and notes that even a small shift in the electorate could decide close races. Last time it was What the hell do you have to lose? said Kushner, who is married to the presidents daughter Ivanka. Now you show them what theyve gained from President Trump and what more they can gain if they get four more years of President Trump. In Florida, the campaign is opening offices in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa. In Ohio, Cleveland and Columbus will be represented. In Pennsylvania, offices will open in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and in North Carolina they will open in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. Others will open in Milwaukee, Detroit and Atlanta. The retail spaces will be the campaigns first field offices targeted at a specific demographic group, but the campaign said offices aimed at Latino Americans may follow. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Flash U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that a possible U.S.-Taliban peace deal will include a timetable for conditions-based U.S. troop withdrawals and the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations. Washington will sign a deal with Afghan Taliban "on or about February 29th" only after a successful implementation of a week-long violence reduction beginning Saturday in Afghanistan, Pompeo told reporters at a State Department press conference. The agreement "includes a timeline for both a conditions-based and phased troop withdrawal, and for the commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations," the top U.S. diplomat noted. These negotiations, if taking place, will be "the first time that Afghans representing all sides of the conflict will sit down together and begin the hard work of reconciliation," Pompeo added. Under the plan, U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, which began in 2001 and has been called "ridiculous " by President Donald Trump, will be reduced to 8,600 troops from the current 12,000 to 13,000 over the course of 135 days, reported the CNN news channel citing two sources familiar with the deal. Washington announced last week that a deal with Taliban is expected to be signed on Feb. 29 without disclosing the location of the signing. Peace talks between the two sides began in 2018 but were interrupted at least twice due to Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel in September and December last year. Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, tweeted Friday that the finalized accord is expected to be signed in the presence of "senior representatives of numerous countries and organizations." Pak a leading exporter of terror, can''t lecture on rights: India India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 26: India at the human rights council on Wednesday slammed Pakistan''s allegations on Kashmir, saying it was ironic that the world''s leading exporter of terror and violence sought to lecture others about human rights. "Pakistan is the epicentre of global terrorism. It's more than a little ironical that the nation that has become the world's leading exporter of terror&violence seeks to lecture others about human rights," said Vikas Swarup, Secretary(West), Ministry of External Affairs at UNHRC in Geneva. Defending the government''s decision to reorganize Jammu and Kashmir, Swarup said, "Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of India. The transformative changes brought by our Parliament in last August were meant to strengthen the integration of the state." "Despite Pakistan's best efforts,over decades to destabilise the state through externally-instigated terror and a campaign of canards and untruth, the situation on the ground is quite normal," he further said. Giving details about the situation in Kashmir, he said, political processes have resumed, telecom facilities have been largely restored, developmental activities are being undertaken at a rapid pace and educational institutions have reopened. Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies are well-stocked and staffing is at full capacity, he added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 18:48 [IST] WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday its staff held five days of "very informative and productive" talks with Lebanese authorities on their plans to deal with debt and economic challenges and stand ready to provide further technical advice. In a statement issued after the Feb. 20-24 staff visit to Beirut, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said the IMF team met with Prime Minister Hassan Diab as well as the country's deputy prime minister, central bank governor, finance minister, and other officials. The IMF statement made no mention of debt restructuring or the possibility of IMF financial assistance to Lebanon. (Reporting by David Lawder) Patrick Thomas is a British graphic artist who has anxiously awaited the opportunity to attend Design Indaba. He stepped on stage enthusiastically greeting the audience with a "Goeie more!" and thanked Design Indaba founder, Ravi Naidoo for the invitation and for all the great work that the event does and inspires. He also thanked the collaborating schools and sponsors who assisted him during his time in South Africa. Patrick Thomas Background and 'Breaking News' The birth of Open_collab How to collaborate with Open_collab Kicking off his presentation, Thomas explained that Naidoo has always struck him as someone that likes to roll his sleeves up and get to work, and this is something that he admires. He went on to name the various schools that collaborated with him, namely Vega School in Pretoria and Johannesburg, Inscape in Durban, and Red & Yellow and Vega School in Cape Town.In 2011, Thomas published his first book,. The book was inspired by and comprises universal icons and symbols that people use, with the focus on icons of the 21st century, aiming to get people to be more active in using icons and visual ideas. He used the composition of this book as a way to collaborate with others to create protest graphics and show people his work.Next, Thomas introduced the Breaking News project, a real-time graphic response to live news, using processing and coding software. Referring to the current era of fake news, the project aims to bring truth back to news by compiling news from people in public spaces via an RSS feed. This is then scrambled amongst other news. Breaking News has encouraged members of the public to engage with how news is received, processed and understood. This ongoing project has since been realised in Manchester, London, Seoul, Novi Saad and Rome.During his time in Rome, while working on Breaking News, Thomas kept a journal of designs, icons, images and text. He explained the difficulty he faced in printing material in Rome, eventually only being able to print by way of a black and white laser printer. This led him to create layers of material from different eras and pooling them to create Open_collab, a free online info pack which was distributed virally throughout the world.Thomas believes that Open_collab shares the philosophy of Design Indaba, which is the idea of bringing people together to work together. Open_collab does this by encouraging and enabling collaborations between creatives through this free international workshop that allows participants to experiment in a collaborative environment.Open_collab essentially provides juxtapositions of content in order for creators to see their content from a different perspective, inspiring further creativity.Co-developer of Open_collab, Jonathan Auch, joined Thomas on stage to demonstrate the functions of the website as well as the live render of mixed type and image layers and how they are created.Auch talked through the menu items focusing on the Create function which incorporates topics that people have had on their mind, and offering a place for people to download and experiment with ideas and designs and/or re-upload different design layers for others to use. Auch jokes that the biggest challenge theyve faced regarding the platform is that people enjoy experimenting so much that they have trouble getting back to work.Demonstrating how the layers work, Auch described the process as combining visuals or layers of image and text/type to produce various patterns/designs. He explained that if there are 100 layers multiplied by another hundred layers, youll be able to produce 1,000 different combinations of designs. Since theyve been in South Africa, Auch and Thomas say local creatives have collectively submitted 242 images and 231 texts, which has equalled to 55,902 possible combinations, effectively mapping the South African creative landscape. MINNEAPOLIS - Having health issues such as smoking, high cholesterol or a high body mass index (BMI) in your 20s may make you more likely to have problems with thinking and memory skills and even the brain's ability to properly regulate its blood flow, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020. "These results indicate that people need to pay close attention to their health even in their early 20s," said study author Farzaneh A. Sorond, M.D., Ph.D., of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We've known that vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels are linked to cerebrovascular damage and problems with thinking skills in older people, but this study shows that these factors may be linked decades earlier and injury may start much earlier." The study involved 189 people with an average age of 24 who were followed for 30 years as part of a larger study. Of the group, 45% were black and 55% were white. The people were tested eight times over the course of the study. Each time, their cardiovascular health was assessed based on five factors: smoking, BMI, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose level. At their 30-year visit, the people's thinking and memory skills were tested, along with their brain's ability to regulate its blood flow. The researchers found that people with better cardiovascular health at the beginning of the study were more likely to have higher scores on the tests of thinking and memory skills 30 years later than those with worse cardiovascular health. For example, on a test of attention skills where scores ranged from seven to 103, each point higher on the cardiovascular health score was associated with a 2.2 points higher score in attention skills. The results were the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect thinking and memory skills, such as level of education. The people with better cardiovascular health at the beginning of the study and seven years into the study were more likely to have better cerebral autoregulation, or the body's ability to maintain stable blood flow in the brain. This means that during changes in blood pressure, the brain is able to maintain adequate blood flow. "More focus on a life course research approach is needed to help us better understand how these vascular risk factors affect brain health as we age," Sorond said. She noted that the study does not prove that better cardiovascular health results in better thinking and memory skills or better ability of the brain to regulate blood flow; it only shows an association. A limitation of the study was that researchers did not have cerebral autoregulation measures at each visit to better understand the relationship over time between cardiovascular health and brain blood flow regulation as they relate to midlife cognition. ### The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota and the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute. Learn more about brain health at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137 Michelle Uher, muher@aan.com, (612) 928-6120 Words have the ability to evoke specific emotions and sway an electorate. Politicians and members of the media use carefully chosen words to present ideas, and the disparities between how the days major issues are describedand how voters respondcouldnt be starker. Virtually every wedge issue in todays politics has its own set of words around it, co-opted by a specific political party with words that reframe debates around those issues. Whether tax relief, pro-choice, Socialism, Obamacare, or free college, the language we use to describe some of todays most pressing issues helps determine how those issues are understoodor prove to cloud their true meanings. Read the full article on Motorious Listed at $105,000, put those haggling skills to use on this Chevy-powered Italian exotic. When a Lamborghini Diablo comes to mind, a fierce V12 comes to mind stuffed inside its exotic aerodynamic body. The thing with a '95 Lambo Diablo is whether or not this Italian V12 is reliable considering its over 20 years old and prone to catching fire. That isn't a worry here since the engine has already been replaced due to that exact issue, but it isn't powered by what would be considered conventional. In fact, this retro Lamborghini is American powered in the form of a Chevrolet LS3 V8. Of course, this Diablo is listed for sale on Craigslist, a place full of gems when it comes to vehicle listings. The LS3 Chevy crate motor has an output of 430-horsepower in stock form, but the description in the ad says that this car has been modified to make 550-horsepower. As Road & Track states, that is the same as a 2001 Diablo VT 6.0. This Lambo is a bit of a mutt when it comes to its mechanicals. Not only is it powered by an American V8 engine, it was given some German bits from a Porsche 911 such as a G-50 gearbox, limited-slip differential, billet end plate, and cable side shifter. With these replacements, the car is much lighter than it was as a stock Diablo. Open the doors to an interior that has been updated with orange contrast stitching with Alcantara and leather heated seats. Even cupholders can be found inside which is not the norm when it comes to supercars from the '90s. To build a Lambo Diablo would cost more than the $105,000 asked, so this is a cheaper option if wanting to build an LS-swapped exotic. However, one would have to trust the seller's words about the car which can be easier said than done when it comes to Craigslist ads regarding vehicles, stock and modified alike. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. * Coronavirus cases in South Korea rise to 1,146 * Philippine sees biggest intraday fall in over 4 years * Utility, industrial stocks help Malaysia rise By Soumyajit Saha Feb 26 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday as the rapid spread of coronavirus outside China rattled investors, with Philippine shares dropping more than 4% in catch-up trade. The pace of virus infections in South Korea accelerated, bringing the total number of cases to 1,146 in the worst-hit country outside China. Overnight U.S. stocks and treasury yields plummeted after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should prepare for possible community spread of the virus. Leading losses in Southeast Asia, Philippine stocks marked their biggest intraday drop in more than four years and hit their lowest in over 15 months in "pent-up selling" as trading resumed after a holiday. Sentiment was also hurt by China's latest attempt to crack down on Manila-based online gambling firms (POGOs), said Rachelle Cruz, an analyst with AP Securities, adding that this would hit the real estate, banking, retail and construction sectors. "When POGOs entered the property sector in 2016 they forced a big increase in rental prices as well as driving demand for properties," she said. The Bureau of Immigration said mass deportations of Chinese nationals working at POGOs could be on the cards as China intensifies its crackdown, the Philippine Star reported https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/02/25/1995846/mass-deportation-looms-chinese-pogo-workers. Losses in banking and energy stocks dragged down the Thai benchmark index nearly 1.4%, ahead of January manufacturing production data later in the day. Lender Kasikornbank dropped 4.3%, while oil & gas explorer PTT PCL slipped 1.2%. Meanwhile, Malaysian shares rose on gains in utility and industrial stocks. Shipping and offshore services provider Misc Bhd advanced 3.5%, while electricity provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained 1.6%. The uptick was helped by attempts to find a resolution to the political situation, said Imran Yusof, a senior analyst with MIDF Research. Four Malaysian parties on Tuesday rejected Mahathir Mohamad's proposal for a unity government after his resignation as prime minister, calling instead for an election. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0344 GMT STOCK MARKETS Change on the day Market Current Previous Pct Move close Singapore 3127.92 3158.24 -0.96 Bangkok 1420.9 1439.1 -1.26 Manila 6953.98 7187.44 -3.25 Jakarta 5745.431 5787.138 -0.72 Kuala Lumpur 1503.48 1500.88 0.17 Ho Chi Minh 903.07 909.67 -0.73 Change so far in 2020 Market Current End 2019 Pct Move Singapore 3127.92 3222.83 -2.94 Bangkok 1420.9 1579.84 -10.06 Manila 6953.98 7,815.26 -11.02 Jakarta 5745.431 6,299.54 -8.80 Kuala Lumpur 1503.48 1588.76 -5.37 Ho Chi Minh 903.07 960.99 -6.03 (Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:33:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religion, according to a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wednesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press conference when responding to a question on the words of Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, slandering China's measures regarding Muslims. Certain people in the United States have repeatedly made wanton accusations and rumors, attempting to undermine China's ethnic harmony and interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom, Zhao said. "We firmly oppose that." "The Chinese government protects its citizens' freedom of religious belief and people of all ethnic groups in China enjoy full freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law," Zhao said. Currently there are about 24,400 mosques in Xinjiang, or one for every 530 Muslims, Zhao said. "The number of mosques in the United States is less than one-tenth of that in Xinjiang." According to poll results released by Gallup and Pew Research Center, about 42 percent of Americans say they are very concerned about race relations, and 75 percent of Muslims in the U.S. believe there is serious discrimination against them, Zhao said. "I advise this ambassador-at-large in charge of 'religious freedom' affairs to get more knowledge about truth and have more respect for others, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religion," said the spokesperson. By PTI PALGHAR: An associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim has been arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district, the police said on Wednesday. Akhtar Kasamali Merchant (56) was arrested from Nalasopara area on Tuesday, an official said. Inspector Mansing Patil of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said that Merchant was associated with Dawood Ibrahim. Later he set up his own gang and was wanted for several offences including extortion and kidnapping in Thane and Vasai-Virar belt, Patil said. ALSO READ: Chhota Rajan planned to kill Dawood in 1998, says Lakdawala reveals A case under IPC sections 364(A) (kidnapping for ransom) and 384 (extortion) and provisions of the Arms Act was registered against Merchant at Naya Nagar police station in Thane district in 2018. He was on the run since then, and was suspected to have fled to Nepal and Bangladesh, Patil said. Recently Merchant returned to Mumbai. After receiving a tip-off that he was back in Nalasopara area, a trap was laid and he was nabbed near Civic Centre Chowk on Tuesday, the officer said. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Izotropic Corporation (CSE: IZO) (OTC Pink: IZOZF) (FSE: 1R3) ("Izotropic" or the "Company") The Company is pleased to announce that it has extended the terms of its exclusive global License Agreement with The Regents of the University of California. The amendments under the revised exclusive global License Agreement relate to the formal Commercialization Plan of breast CT technology developed at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, CA. Due to unforeseen delays with patent prosecutions and completing important patent applications and filings, there was mutual desire by the parties to negotiate an extension. The Company now has until January 2027 to execute on the terms agreed to under the Commercialization Plan and expects to meet the terms of the Commercialization Plan under the Licensing Agreement well before this date. In consideration of this extension, a nominal payment of $20,000 per annum will be made until commercialization terms are completed. Extending the commercialization terms and timeline is a material development for the Company and we wish to acknowledge the support and cooperation provided by the Regents of the University of California and UC Davis. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Robert Thast Chief Executive Officer About Izotropic Corp. Izotropic Corporation (the Company) and its wholly owned U.S. operating subsidiary, Izotropic Imaging Corp. have been established to commercialize the next generation of breast imaging technology for early diagnosis of breast cancer. The Izotropic Breast CT Imaging System produces high resolution breast images in 3D. A single 10 second breast CT scan acquires approximately 500 images, without painful breast compression, providing radiologists with fully 3D viewing of the scanned breast. Mammography scanning requires compression of the breast between 2 imaging plates, resulting in 2D images. The Company has the exclusive license from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to commercialize the technology developed by principal founder and Company director Dr. John M. Boone and researchers at UC Davis. The license includes all intellectual property, trade secrets, patents and patent-pending applications that are the foundation of the Company's breast CT imaging platform. Approximately $20 million in research funding and over 15 years of research and development have been invested in developing this groundbreaking breast CT imaging technology. Research includes a current, fully funded $2.9M U.S. clinical trial at UC Davis Medical Center. The Company founders believe that this technology will be a disruptive entry to the market, overcoming many of the challenges faced by existing breast imaging modalities. Phone: 1-833-IZOCORP Email: info@izocorp.com Website: izocorp.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52817 MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gildan announced the launch of a multi-year partnership with the Beale Racing team, featuring Gildan as the primary sponsor while also providing visibility to the American Apparel, Comfort Colors and Prim + Preux brands. As part of the partnership, Beale Racing will advertise Gildans brands on cars, uniforms and all merchandise during 30 plus race events across the United States. We are excited to partner with Beale Racing once more to strengthen the visibility of our brands and continue to position our apparel as a preferred choice in the motorsports industry says Mike Hoffman, President, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, for Gildan. We are proud to be associated with a highly successful and respected team and I look forward to a winning partnership he added. For many years, Gildan has been a trusted supplier for our team said John J. Beale, owner and driver for Beale Racing. We are thrilled that Gildan chose to partner with us again to promote its brands to our fans he added. The sponsorship will support Gildans marketing and sales objectives of pursuing continued awareness and growth in the imprintables and retail apparel industries. About Gildan Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel which markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands, including Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, Gildan Hammer, Prim + Preux, Gold Toe, Anvil by Gildan, Alstyle, Secret, Silks, Kushyfoot, Secret Silky, Therapy Plus, Peds and MediPeds, and under the Under Armour brand through a sock licensing agreement providing exclusive distribution rights in the United States and Canada. Our product offering includes activewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and legwear products sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms, and to global lifestyle brand companies. Gildan owns and operates vertically-integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean Basin, North America, and Bangladesh. With approximately 53,000 employees worldwide Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour and environmental practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive Genuine Responsibility program embedded in the Company's long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its corporate citizenship practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com and www.genuineresponsibility.com, respectively. Media inquiries: Genevieve Gosselin Director, Corporate Marketing and Communications (514) 343-8814 ggosselin@gildan.com SafeSpeed has acknowledged it is the firm named in Sandovals federal plea deal, but company officials have said they did not know about or authorize any bribes paid by one company representative, who has been identified co-owner Omar Maani. SafeSpeed officials said the company has since cut ties with Maani, who is cooperating with the federal investigation, according to court records. "Since the start of the 116th Congress, more than 17,000 new warriors have registered for our programs and services, and we continue to register nearly 50 warriors each day," said Linnington. "This evidence strongly indicates a growing demand for a 360-degree model of care and support focused on connection, independence, and mental, physical, and financial wellness. We know this is a monumental effort that will take the combined efforts of the military and veteran community and our leaders in Congress and the White House." WWP also identified its top priorities for 2020, which it will work on with Congress and the VA: Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Toxic Exposure Women Veterans Brain Health Caregivers Employment and Education for Wounded Warriors "We have a moral obligation to ensure that veterans and their families get the support and care they have earned and the success they deserve," said Linnington. "We are confident that following these recommendations will help your committees deliver the biggest impact on the lives of our nation's wounded warriors, their families, their caregivers, and a generation of future service members who will benefit from the lessons we have learned and actions we have and will continue to take as a community." WWP serves wounded warriors and their families through free mental and physical health and wellness programs, career and benefits counseling, and by providing ongoing support for the most severely injured. To learn more about how WWP works with our nation's leaders to improve the lives of wounded veterans and their families, click here, or read WWP's full written testimony here. About Wounded Warrior Project Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more. SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project The Haryana Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes Wednesday after a Congress MLA used the 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan to take a swipe at the government, evoking a strong reaction from the BJP. The ruling party countered the jibe, asking Congress members if they are objecting because they are "Pakistanis". The ruckus played out during the Question Hour when Education Minister Kanwar Pal was replying to a query by BJP MLA Jagdish Nayar who had asked the government if it was considering opening a public college in his Hodal assembly constituency. As Pal replied, Nayar presumed that minister was giving details of Palwal constituency instead of Hodal and urged the Speaker's attention. As soon as Speaker Gian Chand Gupta asked the Minister to do so, Geeta Bhukkal took a swipe at the government. "Inse toh Bharat Mata ki Jai bulwa lo (they are just good enough to say Bharat Mata ki Jai)," said Bhukkal in Hindi, which BJP members took as a taunt on them. BJP leader and Home Minister Anil Vij also said in the Assembly that Bhukkal "taunted the Minister with her comment of Bharat Mata Ki Jai". BJP MLA from (Ambala City) Aseem Goel was the first one from the treasury benches to launch an attack on the Congress. "Is there anything wrong in saying 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'? Do you have an objection if anyone says Bharat Mata Ki Jai? Are you Pakistanis? Every Indian will say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," Goel said. While seeking an apology from Bhukkal for her comment, Goel, joined by other BJP members, repeatedly raised the slogan. Chief Minister M L Khattar arrived after the Question Hour ended, but former CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda walked in when the BJP and the opposition members were indulged in a verbal duel. As the din prevailed, Speaker told the members that "raising Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogan is no crime". Later, Congress members including Mohd Illyas and Kiran Choudhary, and some other opposition members too raised the 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogan to counter the BJP. "Are we Pakistanis? Why are the treasury benches dubbing us so?" Congress member Shamsher Singh Gogi said. As the uproar continued for nearly 20 minutes, Speaker warned Congress member Mohd Illyas, who was standing despite being told to take his seat, he will Name him after which he sat down. The matter ended after the next question was taken up. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Plans are in place to restructure Ghana's energy contracts which have been deemed to be overly expensive - The current power plan compels Ghana to pay power producers for energy given even if it is not consumed - Ghana currently pays about $500 million annually for power it does not consume Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Ghana has initiated a process of restructuring expensive energy contracts as it seeks to reduce costs in that sector. In that respect, it is considering a plan to buy out debts of independent power producers in a bid to reduce its power bill. Ghana, regarded as West Africas second biggest economy, pays about $500 million every year for power it does not consume. READ ALSO: Apple to release high-end headsets in 2020; details emerge online Per a Bloomberg report, talks are underway to ensure that the practice is halted as soon as possible. YEN.com.gh understands that such deals, in which the government pays for power whether or not supplies were needed, have left the country with almost double the generation capacity it requires to meet peak demand of 2,700 megawatts. Information available shows that the government intends to take over loans of companies from financial institutions. This would be done through the state-owned Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund at less challenging repayment terms. The government has also opened talks with multilateral lenders such as the African Development Bank and International Finance Corp. to join as investors. It has been estimated that a cheaper source of finance would reduce producers costs. In exchange, the government would demand would require that it only pays for powers it needs. Eventually, the plan would give Ghana the opportunity to retain its generation capacity and save on expenses incurred on infrastructure. In other news, the Bank of Ghana has announced the creation of an Enterprise Credit Scheme to provide support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). READ ALSO: Oil prices drop as global spread of coronavirus sparks fears The package is particularly for SMEs in the agricultural value chain, the Second Deputy Governor of the central bank, Elsie Addo Awadzi, said. This comes in the wake of challenges related to accessing credit by small businesses. Awadzi noted that the plan is spearheaded by the Ghana Incentive-based Risk System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) and assistance by the National Banking College (NBC). An amount of GHC 2 billion has been projected to implement the initiative, which will be accumulated from 2.0% of the primary reserve kept by the banks. Per a report by citibusinessnews.com, the plan is to give training to banks and related financial institutions with the requisite practical knowledge and skills. This is intended to enable them increase access to finances to agriculture and agribusiness organizations. The training programme is also intended to help the capacities of staff of the beneficiary institutions. This would help them appraise in an appropriate way the agricultural projects that need funding to reduce the issue of loans that dont perform. In other news, a Kenya-based B2B e-commerce startup, Sokowatch, is set to revolutionize the African supply-chain industry with a focus on informal retailers. READ ALSO: Sim Shagaya: Techpreneur launches startup to fix challenges in educational sector Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana "I don't believe there is a president in Ghana" - Frustrated taxi driver speaks | #Yencomgh Want to be featured on YEN.com.gh? Send us a message on our Facebook page or on Instagram with your stories, photos or videos Source: YEN.com.gh Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked public sector banks not to overlook the need of personal touch while dealing with customers despite increasing use of technology in banking operations. Unveiling the EASE 3.0, the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda 2020-21 for smart, tech-enabled banking, she said banks need to connect with their customers by leveraging technology but not exclusively only through the interface of technology. The finance minister asked the bankers to focus more at the grass-root level. "Banks customers do feel at the branch level that they need more access, they need more people to sit and talk to them. If bank branch is not competent to take a call, then the next level has to address the grievances. Sitharaman said branches are "now losing" personal touch which needs to be restored. "I'm going to say things which perhaps doesn't sound music to our ears, but I'm sure all of us have heard it and therefore want to repeat it, because ultimately we also have to introspect on those lines. "Even today, when people come to meet me, they've been voicing worries about how at branch level we can be a bit more friendlier," she said. She further asked the banks to devise a mechanism wherein customers would be given a "sure date" to meet officials to discuss issues. EASE 3.0 seeks to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences, using technology. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Upset at not being permitted to expand the scope of the question he had raised in the Assembly, INLD's lone legislator Abhay Singh Chautala on Wednesday indulged in an argument with the House Speaker, prompting the latter to advice him to keep control on his language. During the Question Hour, Chautala had sought to know from Home Minister Anil Vij the details of expenditure incurred in organising the "Anti-Corruption Day" function at Panchkula on December 9 last year as well as district wise number of cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the state during the period from January 1, 2015 till date. While the opposition member was raising some points concerning his question, he also tried to raise the "paddy scam" and some other alleged scams in the state during the BJP government. "Everyday there are newspaper reports about paddy scam," Chautala said. As soon as he had said this, Speaker Gian Chand Gupta asked him to limit himself to the question he had asked in the House. "Sir, the paddy scam is also related to corruption, which is my main question. The minister has to give his reply to it and no one should have any objection," Chautala said. To this, the Speaker told him that "all these issues cannot be discussed as part of your question during the Question Hour. Limit yourself to the question you have asked". When Chautala pointed out that he was raising the matter related to corruption, the Speaker told him, "No, this is not related to that question. Ask specific question." "Do you have objection if I ask such questions, which pertain to corruption?" Chautala asked. The Speaker replied by saying, "I have no objection, but ask specific question. Keep control on your language." Chautala then said, "When slogans like Gau Mata Ki Jai and Bharat Mata Ki Jai are raised, then time is the House is not wasted, but objection is raised when I raise corruption issues.""Does the minister have any objection, let him answer," Chautala told the Chair. At this, Minister Vij got up and referring to Abhay said, "The other questions you are raising pertain to separate departments." Replying to his main question, Vij said, "From 2015 to 2019, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 811 cases were registered." Vij said 107 cases were cancelled, 17 went untraced, 120 are under investigation, 112 ended in conviction. In 193 cases, there were acquittals, 262 are under trial and appeal has been filed in 80 cases, he added. The minister informed the House that the amount spent in organising the "Anti Corruption Day" function in Panchkula was Rs 5.53 lakh. After Vij had given his reply, Chautala said he wanted to seek more details from him. The Speaker asked him to take his seat, on which the Indian National Lok Dal legislator said in an angry tone, "Is this the way?" "Your way is not right, you have asked two supplementary questions. If you want more details, then you give in writing. The Question Hour is not only for one question, other members too have to ask their questions. You cannot infringe on their rights. You are deviating from issue," the Speaker told Chautala. Chautala insisted that he had not asked any supplementary question. The Speaker later asked Congress member Geeta Bhukkal to ask her question. Later in the day while participating in a debate on the Governor's Address, Chautala staged awalkout when the Deputy Speaker did not allow him more time to speak during the discussion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Why did the turkey cross the road? To take it to the man, of course! An Idaho deputy conducting a routine traffic stop found himself fleeing back to his patrol car after a rafter of turkeys determined they were not happy with law enforcement. Deputy Bryce Bienz with the Ada County Sheriff's Department had just finished giving a driver a warning on Eagle Road in Kuna on February 16, when he noticed the large birds. The trio approached the vehicle that Bienz had stopped before that car eventually was able to pull off. They then turned their sights on the deputy. Scroll down for video Deputy Bryce Bienz with the Ada County Sheriff's Department had just finished giving a driver a warning on Eagle Road in Kuna on February 16, when he noticed the large birds Hilarious footage shows the deputy walk up to the turkeys, initially trying to calmly get them off the road. Bienz tell the birds to 'go home' - wherever that is. But the brazen turkeys express no interest in getting off the road and start charging towards the deputy. Bienz pulls a baton out and starts getting louder, tapping the ground in an effort to scare the turkeys off. The birds ignore him, however, and continue accosting him with their loud gobbles. The trio approached the vehicle that Bienz had stopped before that car eventually was able to pull off Bienz pulls a baton out and starts getting louder, tapping the ground in an effort to scare the turkeys off A quick-thinking Bienz changes tactics, flapping his arms and screaming 'Ba, ba, baaaaa!' 'Can you guys get off of the road,' a worn-out Bienz shouts at the turkeys as he nears his patrol vehicle. At that moment, another driver makes it past Bienz and his assailants. The driver is confused by the visual. Bienz eventually gets back to his vehicle, tapping the ground a few more times before getting inside. The turkeys did eventually get off the road but no thanks to Bienz 'I stopped the car and they decided to trap them so now they are trying to give me cuddles,' he explains. As the other driver takes off, Bienz focuses back on the turkeys who keep coming at him. Bienz eventually gets back to his vehicle, tapping the ground a few more times before getting inside. '(Those) guys are angry,' Bienz said as the clip came to a close. The turkeys did eventually get off the road but no thanks to Bienz. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday demanded that Malaysia explain and take responsibility for the damage it had done to Cambodias reputation, again questioning the positive COVID-19 test for an American passenger aboard the Westerdam cruise ship. The government initially allowed passengers to disembark the Westerdam cruise ship on February 14, which had been denied entry by at least four other ports. However, one of the American passengers aboard the ship tested positive for the virus in Malaysia, raising concerns over Cambodias screening of passengers. Cambodia consistently questioned the positive COVID-19 result, with a representative for the U.S.s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seemingly backing Cambodias claims in a USA Today interview. It damaged our reputation and dignity. Some think that it is not a big deal, but Cambodian citizens dont think it is [a small issue], said Hun Sen during a meeting of the Supreme Consultative Council. While the Cambodia tested only 20 people aboard the cruise ship initially, the positive test in Malaysia prompted authorities to test all remaining passengers and crew members, totaling almost 2,000 people. Also, neighboring countries banned entry for Westerdam passengers questioning the quality of passenger screening. Last week, Malaysia said that the 83-year-old American woman had tested negative, five days after being diagnosed with the virus. The Cambodian Foreign Ministry challenged the initial positive test claiming the recovery period was too accelerated. Hun Sen said Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn had been asked to meet with the Malaysian ambassador in Phnom Penh to get clarification over the test results. VOA Khmer could not reach the Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh for comment. Hemp and cannabis symposium is set for March 28-CANCELED by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. A March symposium about organic hemp and cannabis will provide practical information and tools for new and experienced growers, producers and processers. The symposium is March 28 in the SIU Carbondale Student Center Old Main Room. The event will feature discussions about current research, rules and regulations, financial issues, insurance and security, as well as information about pre-season, in-season, and post-season production. Registration is limited The symposium will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration is limited to the first 100 people to sign up. Those who register by Tuesday, March 3, pay the early price of $50. The event will cost $65 after that date. Sign up online at conferenceservices.siu.edu to attend. The registration fee includes lunch. Learn the latest Experts from Illinois and Kentucky will provide the most up-to-date, relevant information on hemp and cannabis production. Discussions will include a look at hemp production in Illinois, SIU Carbondale research, rules and regulations, security, financial and insurance details, seed selection and propagation, seedbed preparation and weed control. Other topics will include: Disease and pest identification and control. Irrigation and fertilization practices. Flowering and photoperiod identification and manipulation. Harvesting, drying and storage techniques. The chemistry involved in processing and marketing. THC/CBD sampling, testing and interpretation. Exhibitors are welcome Exhibitors and event sponsors are welcome. The exhibitors cost is $100 for a 6-foot table spot and includes lunch for two. Exhibitors may also register online. Those interested in a sponsorship should contact Peggy Wilken at peggy@siu.edu to discuss arrangements and details. The luncheon will feature a vendor fair with a wide variety of vendors demonstrating equipment and products. There will also be door prizes and time for networking. For additional details SIUs Conference and Scheduling Services is coordinating the event. For more information, visit the website at conferenceservices.siu.edu. Contact Rebecca Dycus at rdycus@siu.edu with registration questions. Three persons were arrested by police for demanding money from banks in the state capital, using the name of the banned militant outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), an officer said. Superintendent of police, Imphal West, K Meghachandra, told reporters here on Tuesday evening that the three persons were arrested from Bengaluru and brought to Imphal on Tuesday. He said the three persons had demanded Rs 1 crore from some banks claiming that they were from the Angamba faction of KCP. During the investigation, it was found that one of the accused S Gyaneshwor had made the calls from Bengaluru. A state police team with the assistance of their Bengaluru counterparts arrested him and two of his associates L Manihar and Thangjam Nandakisho from Gorangute Palya area in Bengaluru. The SP said Gyaneshwor ran into financial problems a few months back. He developed the idea of floating a new faction of the KCP to extort money from people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The international community shouldnt turn a blind eye to the Khojaly tragedy in Azerbaijan, a source in the Turkish Presidential Administration told Trend on Feb. 26. The bloody massacre of Azerbaijani civilians is a black spot on the conscience of mankind, the Turkish Presidential Administration said. Commenting on the 28th anniversary of the genocide in Khojaly town, the administration emphasized that Turkey expects due assessment of the Khojaly tragedy by the international community. It was also noted that Turkey shares the pain of Azerbaijani brothers, remembers and will never forget about this tragedy. The administration reminded that Turkey, as before, urges Armenia to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and return these lands to their rightful owners. Turkey has always supported and will continue to support Azerbaijan in all directions, the source added. Turkey expresses sincere condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the terrible tragedy in Khojaly, the administration said. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu The Donald Trump administration is not considering reengaging militarily in the Syrian civil war amid stepped-up fighting in Idlib province, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told lawmakers today. Syrian President Bashar al-Assads efforts to reconsolidate the area that the State Department says has led more than a million people to take off for the Turkish border has led to American and United Nations calls for a cease-fire. But Esper, who oversaw the removal of US troops from northern Syria in October amid a Turkish incursion into Kurdish-held areas, said the limited American mission of 600 troops remains focused on defeating the remnants of the Islamic State. There has not been that discussion about reengaging in the civil war, the Pentagon chief said under questioning from Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday. At this point in time, I dont see any likelihood that we would be back along the border. Obviously the situation has become a lot more complicated in Idlib province right now given the confluence of many actors, Esper added. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States was working with Turkey to deal with the tensions, but did not provide specifics. Turkey has asked the United States for Patriot missile coverage to defend against a possible Syrian or Russian barrage along the border. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters he had learned that the United States did not have any of the batteries to give, but said he planned to raise the issue again with Trump. The Pentagon has already deployed three Patriot systems to Saudi Arabia since the Trump administration suspected Iran targeted oil installations in a September missile attack, but officials insist that Riyadh has already paid $500 million to offset US costs. Typically, Turkey would have to notify the Defense Department of its interest in purchasing or borrowing the system through a letter, but even a formal request could face challenges. Defense Department officials are still mulling the potential of deploying Patriots to Iraq after an Iranian ballistic missile attack in January left 112 US troops with mild traumatic brain injuries, though Esper said today that more than 70% of those service members have returned to duty. Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced a $200 million request for the upcoming year to support vetted Syrian opposition fighters taking on IS, including the Syrian Democratic Forces. Thats $100 million less than last years request, following an appropriations reduction of the same amount. The FY 2021 budget planning process began as early as June 2019, when the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve identified needs and requirements to accomplish its mission to ensure a lasting defeat to [IS], said Chris Sherwood, a Pentagon spokesman. For Syria, these requirements included a request for funds to train and equip the [vetted Syrian opposition] totaling $200 million. It is probable there will be a confirmed case of the coronavirus in Ireland but that will not be a sign of failure by the public health authorities, according to Health Minister, Simon Harris. "Containment is not about being able to prevent all cases, it about trying to reduce the risk of the virus spreading," he said during a media briefing. "I can assure the Irish people that everything that can be done from a public health point of view is being done. That we have our best minds working on this and they are working extremely hard." If a situation is reached where there are a number of cases the HSE has planned to have an isolation facility in every hospital. But that will be kept under review as the situation evolves. He has told the HSE that whatever resources are required to deal with an outbreak of Covid-19 will be provided. The advice he is getting from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is that the risk clusters of the virus breaking out in other parts of the EU is moderate to high. On the issue of travel bans, Mr Harris said free movement of people is very much at the core of the entire purpose of the EU. Even if individual countries ban flights it simply will not work so Europe needs to act together on all decisions. Ireland will always work in unison with the European Commission and with the World Health Organisation on all of the issues. Our responses have to be proportionate, he stressed. "We can't avoid people travelling around but we can look at specific high-risk events and give recommendations. But it would be up to organisers on how to respond to that." Mr Harris said there is no medical reason why there should be medical screening at airports - the World Health Organisation was not recommending it and public health experts are not recommending it. "What we are doing at airports and stepping up today is the availability of more literature and leaflets and more personnel on the ground to give advice to people who are travelling back from affected regions which is a sensible thing to do." Mr Harris said the HSE Live service will also be open on Sundays for people who want advice. Worried parents whose children may have been in an affected region during the mid-term break should contact their GP by phone or go to the HSE website where information is available. "Your GP knows the pathway to go which could include testing but that a matter for the GP to do a risk assessment. If your child is not showing symptoms the medical advice is they do not need to self-isolate." Some nations, such as Singapore, have valiantly limited the spread while others, such as Korea, Italy and Japan, have seen rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. Of concern to the Middle East was the unseen spread in Iran, first identified through deaths. Because death lags illness onset by weeks and represents only a small portion of all SARS-CoV-2 infections, there are likely many cases already there. From there it hitched a ride in infected travellers to more than 30 other regions. It's spreading quickly because no one has any immunity to this new and distinct virus. The illness it causes, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is on every news and social media platform in a hyperlinked world. In China, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from each infected person to about three new people launched an epidemic across a nation of modern megacities. The virus is so globally widespread that its unlikely well ever see it eradicated. The SARS virus in 2002-04 was different; it spread and shed differently and so good public health measures contained it. But SARS-CoV-2 may be with us for good a new addition to the rogue's gallery of four human coronaviruses we live with all the time. At some point you and I will likely be infected by SARS-CoV-2. But the important point is that we can live with it. Australia has done well. Since February, 15 expertly managed COVID-19 cases and 30,000 self-isolated people have resulted in no outbreaks or spread, and no deaths. However, were suffering a daily economic impact on our tourism, education and export sectors and this may not be sustainable for much longer. At some point, travel will resume, and we should expect new COVID-19 cases. This is inevitable. The discussion should turn to the use of a perfectly normal English-language word: pandemic. That needs to be done with care, subtlety and extra words. But the word pandemic doesnt change anything about the virus already with us. Its nature, spread, genetic sequence and its human impact remain unchanged by saying it is about to cause a pandemic. But because of the way the word has been previously used, or rather not used, it is held in fearful regard. Whether we call what likely will come next an epidemic in many countries, a multi-country outbreak or a pandemic doesnt change what it will be. So instead of holding certain terms in reserve, let's define and use them early on. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: We are very pleased to secure this strategic partnership with American Airlines an agreement between two successful and ambitious airlines with a shared common purpose to enhance the customer experience. The deal will bring together two of the worlds largest airline networks, increasing choices for millions of passengers and providing seamless connectivity to a significant number of new destinations, in line with Qatar Airways successful growth strategy. We have moved on from past issues and look forward to working closely with American Airlines to build a world-leading partnership for all our customers. This agreement will harness our complementary strengths and resources and enable more customers to experience Qatar Airways award-winning product quality. Our goal is to continue to expand and deepen global partnerships to complement Americans network and create more choice for our customers, said Americans Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. The issues that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been addressed and we believe resuming our codeshare agreement will allow us to provide service to markets that our customers, team members and shareholders value, including new growth opportunities for American Airlines. We look forward to the renewed cooperation between our airlines and hope to build an even stronger relationship with Qatar Airways over time. The codeshare agreement with American Airlines (AA) will allow Qatar Airways passengers to travel on AA domestic flights departing Boston (BOS), Dallas (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Philadelphia (PHL), and as well as on AA international flights to and from Europe, the Carribean, Central and South America.* American Airlines passengers will be able to book travel on all Qatar Airways flights between the U.S and Qatar and beyond to a range of destinations in the Middle-East, East Africa, South Asia, the Indian Ocean and South East Asia. Two to three times a year across the country, California Sunday, Inc., the publisher of the California Sunday Magazine, publishes a very different kind of magazine: a live one. Pop-Up Magazine is an experiment in forma magazine performed live on stage, with editors emceeing the show, writers performing their stories, videos illustrating those stories, and live music underscoring them. Earlier this month, New Yorker staff cartoonist Liana Finckthe author of A Bintel Brief, Passing for Human, and Excuse Mebrought her cartoons to the stage with Pop-Up as part of its winter issue, translating a static form into a performative one. Finck sat down with Publishers Weekly to discuss her cartoons, how Pop-Up Magazine works, her books,and more. How did you get involved in Pop-Up Magazine? They courted me a couple years ago and then I didn't get in. But I liked the idea of it, so I asked my publisher to reach out to them again with this book because apparently it's good for that. I don't really do publicity things except when I have a book out. And this time it worked out. I sent them two pitches, which my publicist helped me with, and they chose a piece called "What We Mean vs. What We Say. And I'll give a kind of explanation of why what we mean versus what we say is a relevant topic, which isn't normal for me. That's more friendly than I usually am, I wouldn't usually explain. Then I give some examples of things we say in conversation when we mean the opposite. It's all illustrations. It's about trying to figure out why it's polite to lie. So, this really is a magazine. You have to pitch them. I don't usually pitch magazines, so it's new for me. At the New Yorker I'm as close as a cartoonist can get to staff. You don't have an office, you usually get invited to the Christmas party, they don't owe you anything but they pay you very well when they do buy something, and you owe them first refusal. And I love it. I love being a satellite, as opposed to being super in or super out. The life of a cartoonist. I often get asked to pitch places, which is a little annoying. It's kind of like bad flirting in a way. "Oh, we like you so much, come hither" and then "ew." How did you adapt your form, cartoons, to Pop-Up Magazine's format? I think you have to see Pop-Up to know how it works. I didn't understand how it would work when I was pitching it, actually. Mid-pitch, they sent me videos of what they look like, and I was pleasantly surprised. And I thought it'd be cool but weird, but actually, it really works. It's scripted but it feels emotionally honest, as opposed to high school thespian, which I was worried about. It reminds me of This American Life somehow. It's very scripted, but it also feels so honest and kind of simple and not overly produced, even though it is very produced. There's a screen, there's a band, the reader reads off of a script, but it sounds like good stand-up in that they seemed memorized but they didn't come off as like reading a list in front of an audience. For my performance, I'm reading off of my script, and I drew cartoons for the screen, which the art director of California Sunday Magazine animated. You drew these cartoons specifically for Pop-Up, but they're similar to the ones in your latest book, Excuse Me. Can you talk about that book a little? I post on Instagram several times per day. I took the cartoons from Instagram for the book. It was a long process, winnowing them down. My editor helped a lot. At first, I wanted them to be in chronological order from my Instagram feed, but he wanted them to be in chapters, and I'm glad he did. A lot of the things I post have a lot to do with dating because I was really hardcore dating when I started my Instagram and on and off after. I was having a feminist awakening at the same time, not unrelated, and I think I found a way to channel anger through my cartoons on Instagram. So a lot of them are feminist and political, and as a result, a bunch of the chapters focus on dating, then there's gender and politics. There's also a chapter on animals, which I think is related. Your initial pitch for Pop-Up was about female loneliness, and it didn't get accepted. Do you feel, even as feminism continues its rise in the context of pop culture, that it's harder for women artists to break out? Have you felt pigeonholed yourself? I think in some very high circles there's still a lot of sexism and even some backlash after #MeTooa lot of very highly funded big prizes seem to go to men. I don't have experience not being a woman, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I have noticed that people super-relate to me and get really excited about me, but then when I do something that people don't relate to, I feel extra punished also. I think I rose up high in the New Yorker faster than I would have if I had been just another suave Harvard guy. But I might fall faster. I also notice that people very much in my demographic relate to me a lot, but people a bit outside don't necessarily. When A Bintel Brief, [which adapted stories from the Yiddish advice column of the same name from the Forward] came out, I gave a lot of talks to communities of much older Jewish people, and they really didn't relate to me. I feel like I have a very specific voice, and that might have to do with being female. I think I'm highbrowand by highbrow I mean abstract, an ideas personand I'm hiding in this kind of low-brow format of Instagram. I love not quite fitting into a "brow." I think that's the way to be. Can you tell me anything about your next book? The next book I'm working on is called Let There Be Light. It's a version of the Book of Genesis, but with a female god. I love working on it. It's really fun, because I don't have to make up the story and get to just have fun with it. When a Hunterdon County firefighter returned home on Saturday after being hospitalized for 75 days, he did not expect anything significant to happen. Nonetheless, firefighters from approximately 22 departments from across New Jersey and Pennsylvania were expecting him. The homecoming of Don Vanfossen, president of the Pattenburg Volunteer Fire Company, was honored on Saturday with a parade of fire trucks and EMS vehicles of first responding units from Hunterdon and Warren counties, as well as from Pennsylvania. With sirens blaring and lights flashing, the vehicles traveled from Frontage Road in Hampton over to his home at Bellwood Avenue in Union Township. As Vanfossen sat at the end of the curb in front of his residence surrounded by family and friends, volunteers exited each of their vehicles one by one to shake the hand of the 73-year-old firefighter and welcome him home. I was just coming home from rehab, from being injured ... and it was really overwhelming," Vanfossen said. I think there were 30 or 40 vehicles in it altogether. Fire companies all the way from Phillipsburg down to Lebanon and out of Pennsylvania and over by Warren County. It was hard to believe that all of those fire companies came. There was just so many. The homecoming celebration was orchestrated by Vanfossens son and current chief of the Pattenburg Volunteer Fire Company, Dan Vanfossen, who described his father as his hero." Hes built so much respect in this county ... and the fire services have really gotten back to being a brotherhood, like it was 30 years ago," Dan said. A lot of people in the parade knew him, and a lot of people didnt know him. Don Vanfossen was hospitalized in late December after falling during one of the fire departments holiday events, for which he had volunteered to dress up as Santa Claus. He sustained two broken bones in his leg, as well as an open wound. I didnt want him riding out there in the first place, but he insisted on it. He loves making the kids happy," Dan Vanfossen said. Don Vanfossen was transported to St. Lukes University Hospital in Bethlehem, and then after several weeks began rehabilitation sessions at the Kessler Rehabilitation Center in Chester. He has started walking again, and will continue his rehabilitation outpatient sessions in Hunterdon County. Despite the fact that Don is his father, Dan emphasized that he would have orchestrated Saturdays celebration for any volunteer of his fire company. No matter what guy it would have been ... if he got hurt, hes one of our family members, as a fire company," Dan Vanfossen said. "Hopefully it never happens again, but I would do it for any of the guys, no matter who was picked to be Santa that night. Despite this acknowledgement, Dan emphasized that his father in particular is probably the hardest working man Ive ever known or met. He still works twelve hour days, and he comes out to calls in the middle of the night," Dan Vanfossen said. He comes out -- if I need something, if the truck breaks down, because he was a mechanic before he was a truck driver. So if I need something done at the firehouse, hes the first one to help me. So put aside that hes my dad; if we had ten members like that, wed be in good shape. Don Vanfossen has served as a volunteer firefighter in Hunterdon County since 1968, initially volunteering for the Frenchtown Borough Fire Department prior to moving to Union Township and joining the Pattenburg Volunteer Fire Company. He credited his over 50 years of service to his passion for helping people. I never went into (public office), so I figured this is a way to give back to people," Don Vanfossen said. I just enjoy going and helping out at fires, or saving peoples properties, or saving people -- whatever I got to do. Dan Vanfossen expressed his admiration for the fact that, despite his age, his father continues to pass each annual certification test to remain active in the department. This year we had a couple of kids that didnt make it; they couldnt pass their test because they smoke. And heres this 73 year old who went right through it. He gets certified every year," Dan said. And, according to Don Vanfossen, thats not likely change. Hopefully I can get back to where I was before. Thats what Im working towards," Don said. Caroline Fassett can be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips The story of one of New Jerseys most prolific serial killers - dubbed the Angel of Death - could be featured in a Netflix film that chronicles his career as a nurse who murdered patients with lethal injections at multiple hospitals before he was caught, reports say. According to Deadline.com, Netflix is preparing to pay $25 million for the rights to a movie adaptation of Charles Graebers The Good Nurse, a non-fiction book about Charles Cullen, now 60, a night nurse who pleaded guilty during multiple hearings in 2004 and 2005 to killing 29 people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The film follows Cullens murderous path across two states and the investigation to take him down, Deadline reported. The movie is set to star British actor Eddie Redmayne as Cullen and American actor Jessica Chastain as a nurse who helped bring Cullen to justice, Deadline reported. Danish director-screenwriter Tobias Lindholm is set to direct. No release date for the film has yet been announced, the report says. The upcoming film will likely be a polished and stylized account of one of the darkest chapters in New Jersey crime history, when Cullen, a West Orange native, admitted to killing 29 people in 10 medical facilities across two states. Over his 16-year-career as a registered nurse, Cullen killed as many as 40 people in hospitals in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania with lethal injections, according to an interview between Cullen and Somerset County detectives. Cullen was arrested in December 2003 after killing a patient at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville. It was the end of a clandestine killing spree that left families grieving and mourning, only to find out years later their loved ones were murdered. Charles Cullen listens to questions from during a court hearing in Hunterdon County in 2005. Express-Times After Cullen admitted to killing as many as 40 people, a massive investigation was launched to identify his victims, many of whom he couldnt remember. As part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, Cullen confessed to killing 29 people, 22 in New Jersey and seven in Pennsylvania. At his 2006 sentencing, Cullen faced the families of many of his victims. One by one, each person remembered those theyd lost and asked for answers from the man who killed them. They called Cullen evil, a monster and a demon from the lowest depths of hell." Cullen, who had refused to make any statements, even after additional prompting from the sentencing judge, said nothing, barely acknowledging the people who mourned his victims. Cullen is serving 11 consecutive life sentences in New Jersey State Prison for the New Jersey murders. He faces another six life sentences for the murders in Pennsylvania. His earliest possible parole date from state custody in New Jersey is June 10, 2388, according to the Department of Corrections. Cullen appeared on screen in 2013, when he conducted his first television interview for 60 Minutes. During the interview, Cullen said he felt his murders were mercy killings. I thought that people werent suffering anymore," said Cullen. "So in a sense, I thought I was helping. The planned Netflix movie about Cullen joins a string of films that center on New Jersey murderers and killers. In 2012, the film The Iceman was released about the life of Richard Kuklinski, of Dumont, a mob hitman who was convicted of killing five people in the late 1980s, but boasted of killing more than 100. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The U.S. Air Force has made the first move to potentially bring non-traditional "flying car"-type aircraft into its inventory. In a presolicitation notice posted Tuesday on the government's acquisition and awards website, beta.sam.gov, the service said it is seeking prototypes that include "emerging electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing technologies (eVTOL) and urban/advanced air mobility (UAM/AAM) aircraft," as well as other alternatives for its Agility Prime program. Agility Prime, under the purview of the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, aims to leverage commercial advancements in this field. "As these systems mature toward certified commercial operations, the government will identify opportunities for early adoption, with the potential for procurement and fielding in the next three years," the solicitation reads. Related: After Successful Data Transfer Between F-35 and F-22, Air Force Plans New Tests Officials at Air Force Materiel Command refer to the vehicles as "ORBs," or organic resupply buses. ORBs are not necessarily "drones, cars, helicopters, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, or SUVs, but might support similar missions," or encompass a mix of these roles, the notice states. "Given their flexibility, an ORB could act as an organic resupply bus for disaster relief teams, an operational readiness bus for improved aircraft availability, and an open requirements bus for a growing diversity of missions," according to the notice. The solicitation follows years of interest from the U.S. military, with the potential to someday replace the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for transport and resupply to the battlefield. For example, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) embarked on a similar effort, known as Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) in 2014, according to Scientific American magazine. The special operations community discussed a tailored concept in 2016. SOF units spoke with Uber executive Mark Moore, director of engineering for aviation at the ride-sharing company and a former NASA engineer, about "an ultra-low noise insertion" vehicle to get troops safely in and out of war zones, according to DefenseOne. During the annual Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber conference in September 2019, Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Agility Prime gives the Air Force an opportunity to "look into where commercial innovation is going in flying cars." "The task I gave the team was to prepare a series of challenges from things that would involve smaller vehicles, maybe moving a couple of special aviators around; to things involving smaller logistics sets -- ammo, meals, that kind of thing -- out of harm's way; up to moving heavy logistics, like weapons to reload on an aircraft; all the way to a bigger system," Roper said at the time, as reported by DefenseOne. "Every flight hour we are flying in the Air Force is worth millions, if not billions, to those private companies that are wanting to take over this domestic urban mobility boom that's been predicted. It's a wonderful way to think about using the defense market as a partnership opportunity," he said. Before the presolicitation announcement, Roper told reporters Feb. 21 that it also opens the door for the Air Force to be a leader in this space alongside big-tech companies. Agility Prime officials are "looking at commercial markets, in this case the electric vertical and takeoff and landing, flying car market that view the Air Force as a potential influencer of that market," he said, as reported by Breaking Defense. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read more: Were WWI 'Tinpot' Helmets Really Better at Preventing TBI? The Army Says No FALLS CHURCH, Va. A former neo-Nazi leader in Texas was arrested Wednesday and charged with a series phony bomb threats made in Virginia and across multiple countries. John C. Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, faces federal conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court in Alexandria related to his alleged role in a series of swatting events. He faces an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Houston. Prosecutors in Alexandria say the targets of the bogus bomb threats included a predominantly African American church in Alexandria, an unidentified Cabinet official living in northern Virginia, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Denton has been identified as a former leader of a group called Atomwaffen Division, which has been linked to multiple killings. Authorities say the group is seeking to incite a race war. He is one of several alleged Atomwaffen members to face federal charges in recent months and is the second person charged in Alexandria in relation to the swatting calls in Virginia. According to an affidavit unsealed Wednesday, Denton specifically chose two targets in the swatting scheme: the New York offices of ProPublica, an online investigative news outlet, and a ProPublica journalist. The affidavit states Denton was angry at ProPublica and the journalist for exposing his role as an Atomwaffen leader. Denton admitted to an undercover FBI agent that he participated in the swatting calls to ProPublica and the ProPublica journalist, and used a voice changer when he made calls, according to the affidavit. The swatting calls occurred in 2018 and 2019. Members of the conspiracy conducted more than 100 swatting calls throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, according to the affidavit. The affidavit describes Denton as a founding member of Atomwaffen Division who used the names Rape and Tormentor in online conversations while holding a day job as a mortuary worker. Earlier this year, former Old Dominion University student John William Kirby Kelley was charged in the swatting scheme. The affidavit unsealed Wednesday indicates Denton became concerned that Kelley had too easily drawn law-enforcement attention when he called in a swatting call to his own school. On Friday, another alleged Atomwaffen member, Andrew Thomasberg, faces sentencing in Alexandria for unrelated weapons crimes. Eastern Europe keeps its promise. The region, where aspirations in Europe have been concentrated for several decades, has fulfilled the expectations of the fashion sector. With a renewed industry, the territory has become one of the main supply hubs in the vicinity and one of the largest exporting giants in Europe. In fact, Poland and the Czech Republic have doubled their fashion exports in the last ten years, becoming part of the main powers of the continent. The rapid industrial development of the country has led Poland to become one of the fastest-growing markets for fashion in Europe, as one of the main regions for sourcing in Europe and as a consumer market. Poland has doubled its fashion exports in the last ten years, from selling goods worth 7,685 euros (8,345 dollars) to 15.7 billion euros (17 billion dollars). Between 2018 and 2019, the country saw an increase of 1.23% in fashion exports. This increase is due to the results of the modernization plan of the industrial fabric of the country, which began ten years ago and which has led it to become one of the new supply hubs in the vicinity of the major European fashion operators, boosted mainly by the price and geographical position. The transformation of the countrys textile industry began in 2010 when the European Regional Development Fund (Feder) allocated around sixty million euros (65 million dollars) for the modernization of the sector. Currently, Poland has an industrial fabric made up of around 15,000 companies that employ around 175,000 employees. In addition to the industry, the country is also another of the main emerging countries in terms of consumption, registering one of the largest growth in sales of fashion and footwear in recent years. According to Eurostat, fashion retail in the country registered a year-on-year increase of 2.8% in 2019. Poland has gone from selling goods worth 7,685 euros (8,345 dollars) to 15.7 billion euros (17 billion dollars) Although the country has a small supply of local fashion, in recent months the sector has been revitalized following the creation of Moda Polska, an association promoted by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology of the country, in cooperation with the Polish Development Fund. Despite the positive outlook for the fashion industry in the country, the forecasts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Polish economy are in line with the global context of a slowdown. According to the agency, the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow from 4% in 2019 to 3.1% in 2020. In the last year, the Czech Republic exported goods of the sector worth 8 billion euros (8.7 billion dollars) The Czech Republic is another country that pulls the growth of fashion exports in Europe. In the last year, the region exported goods of the sector worth 8 billion euros (8.7 billion dollars), 7.53% more than the previous year. This progress indicated that the country doubled its fashion exports in the last ten years, registering a 99% growth. In 2010, Czech fashion sales abroad stood at 4 billion euros (4.4 billion dollars). The fashion and clothing industry play an important role in the Czech market, being the fifth most important sector in the country. In recent years, the sector has experienced a revival boosted by the commitment of the giants of the sector to procured in proximity. In 2019, the sales of the sector reached 53 billion CZK (2.3 billion dollars), 1.2% more than the previous year, mainly boosted by clothing, according to the Asociace textileniho-odevniho-kozedelneho prumyslu. The sector employs 20,100 people. In 2019, sales in the sector reached 2.3 billion dollars in the Czech Republic Fashion sales in the Eastern European country have also gained ground in recent years. In fact, fashion retail was one of the most beneficial in 2019. At the end of the year, the sector had increased its sales by 6.1% in the country, compared to the 5.2% increase in 2018, according to Eurostat The Czech Republic is also one of those saved from the global slowdown. According to the latest IMF forecasts, the countrys economy will grow from 2.5% in 2019 to record a 2.6% rise in 2020. The Netherlands was also one of the countries that increased its export share in the last year In addition to Poland and the Czech Republic, Holland was one of the countries that most increased its export share in the last year. The Netherlands sold fashion goods abroad for 23.2 billion euros (25 billion dollars) in 2019, 98% more than in 2010. The country is also the logistic heart of fashion in Europe due to its strategic location since its radius of influence covers cities such as Paris, London, Berlin, Milan or Dusseldorf. Inditex or Tommy Hilfiger are some of the heavyweights of the sector that chose the country to market their products for the entire region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. On the other hand, Spain has been one of the countries to have gained more export share in recent years. Fashion sales abroad have grown by 90.3% since 2010, to 26.3 billion euros (28.6 billion dollars). Compared to 2018, the sector has increased its sales abroad by 5.8%. Mature markets are also on the rise All European Union countries exported fashion goods (including clothing, footwear, and accessories) worth 348 billion euros (378.9 billion dollars) last year, which meant an increase of 1.1% over a year ago and an increase of 48.4% compared to 2010. The top five main exporters are still occupied by the main economic powers. Italy continues to be the main European export power. The country sold fashion goods abroad worth 67 billion euros (73.1 billion dollars) in 2019, 46.9% more than ten years ago and 2% more than in 2018. All European Union countries exported fashion goods worth 378.9 billion dollars France also maintains its leadership as the second leading fashion exporter in Europe. In 2019, the French country sold fashion products abroad worth 51.6 million euros (59.3 billion dollars), 8.7% more than the previous year and 78.2% more than ten years ago. This evolution has earned France to position itself as the second-largest fashion exporter in Europe, taking the place from Germany. On the other hand, German fashion sales abroad stood at 51 billion euros (59.2 billion dollars) at the end of 2019, a 36.9% increase over ten years ago. However, the countrys fashion exports have slowed in recent years and registered a year-on-year decrease of 2.6% in the last year, which has meant a fall to third place. Belgium is the fourth largest fashion exporter in Europe. The country, which is one of the main logistics hubs in the region, sold in 2019 fashion goods abroad worth 29.1 billion euros (31.6 billion dollars), 9.1% more than in 2010. Belgium is the fourth largest fashion exporter in Europe. In the last year, the United Kingdom has won positions as one of the largest fashion exporters in Europe. Despite the uncertainty generated by the negotiation of Brexit, the British country has gained a position in the table, advancing to Spain and positioning itself as the fifth largest fashion exporter in Europe. In Spain, on the other hand, it has been one of the countries that have gained more export muscle in recent years. Fashion sales abroad have grown by 90.3% since 2010, to 26 billion euros (28 billion dollars). Compared to 2018, the sector has increased its sales abroad by 5.8%. [February 26, 2020] Global Automotive Parking Sensors Market 2020-2024 | Growing Demand for Assisted-Parking Systems to Boost Market Growth | Technavio The automotive parking sensors market is expected to grow by USD 14.47 billion during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005483/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive Parking Sensors Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Parking sensors are the most extensively used assisted-parking systems. The sensors mounted on bumpers sense the distance of the obstacles from the range of the car and provide an audio or visual alert to the driver. Reverse parking systems are now combined with a digital graphics display screen that displays the part of the car closest to an obstacle and allows for a better, safer, and more accurate maneuver. Some of the luxury and mid-level cars, such as BMW X5, also feature a 360 view of the car. These cars have numerous dotted cameras around the car, making driving much easier. The new Range Rover Evoque also offers an optional system that allows the driver to switch between each camera individually. As a result of these factors, the demand for assisted-parking systems is increasing, which will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41292 As per Technavo, the emergence of smart parking systems will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Automotive Parking Sensors Market: Emergence of Smart Parking Systems The automotive industry is increasingly focusing on integrating various systems that are beyond car maneuvering. The number of sensors used for parking in automobiles has increased significantly. This has led to the emergence of smart parking systems, which provide semi-automatic or automatic parking and inform the drivers about the free parking spaces. The drivers collect information about the surrounding environment, traffic congestion, and the available parking spots and share it with the other drivers to make the roads traffic-free and safer. Moreover, OEMs are concentrating on refining the park assist system by integrating it with the cloud-based technologies. Thus, the emergence of smart parking systems is expected to drive the growth of the market. "Factors such as the increasing adoption of reverse cameras along with parking sensors, and the integration with other automotive technologies will have a positive impact on the growth of the automotive parking sensors market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Automotive Parking Sensors Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the automotive parking sensors market by product (ultrasonic sensors and electromagnetic sensors), application (passenger cars and commercial vehicles), end-user (OEM and aftermarket), and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America). The North American region led the automotive parking sensors market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America and MEA. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the increased demand for luxury cars by baby boomers in the region. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Product Ultrasonic sensors Electromagnetic sensors Application Passenger cars Commercial vehicles End-user OEM Aftermarket Geographic Segmentation APAC Europe MEA North America South America Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005483/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ahead of its release, the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday declared Taapsee Pannu-starrer 'Thappad' tax-free in the state. Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday shared on Twitter that the film based on domestic violence is exempted from State Goods and Services Tax (SGST). "The Hindi film 'Thappad', to be released from 28 February in Madhya Pradesh, whose screenplay is based on a social message, is exempted from the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST)," the Chief Minister tweeted in Hindi. Kamal Nath also threw light on the plot of the film and described why it is an important film in another tweet. "The script of this film based on gender-based violence prominently features a woman's struggle for change, equal rights and self-respect," read a follow-up tweet from the CM. The Anubhav Sinha-directorial features Taapsee as the protagonist who refuses to tolerate domestic violence in the name of love and relationships. A power-packed trailer of the film was released on January 31 and has garnered as many as 18 million views to date. Coming from the makers of cinematic marvels like 'Article 15' and 'Mulk', the film features Ratna Pathak Shah, Manav Kaul, Dia Mirza, Tanvi Azmi, and Ram Kapoor in pivotal roles. The film will hit the theatres on February 28 this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With an eye on the upcoming municipal polls in the state, the TMC has decided to launch a new mass outreach programme on March 2, after the success of "Didi ke Bolo" initiative. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has convened a meeting of all the councillors, chairmen, vice chairmen and senior leadership of the party-controlled municipalities on March 2 at Netaji Indoor stadium to prepare the strategy for the upcoming municipal polls in the state, a senior party leader said. The elections to 107 municipalities and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), to be held this year, are being dubbed as "mini assembly elections" ahead of the 2021 state polls. "Apart from spelling out the strategy for the upcoming municipal polls in the state, a new mass outreach programme would be launched to cater the civic areas which will go to the polls in April-May," the leader said. It will be different from the "Didi Ke Bolo" initiative, he added. The new programme is also a brain child of poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his team I-PAC, the TMC leader said. According to TMC sources, the decision was taken following a massive response of the three-phased 'Didi ke Bolo' (Tell Didi) initiative, which provides a platform to the people to directly report their complaints to Banerjee. The BJP leadership which has emerged as a prime contender of the TMC in Bengal, mocked the Bengal's ruling party and called it a "sinking ship". Banerjee in July last year had launched a helpline number and a website didikebolo.com as part of the outreach programme on the advise of poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who was appointed by the TMC after its Lok Sabha poll reverses. The outreach programme had received a huge response in its first month with more that 10 lakh people registering their grievances, the party sources said. As part of the first phase of the initiative, close to 500 senior TMC leaders and MLAs have conducted outreach programmes in 1,022 villages. The TMC, for the March 2 programme, has sent personalised invitation cards with names of councillors and political leaders printed on them along with bar codes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A tussle for space between the locals and India's antiquities is unfolding at the ASI protected area here where the construction of Rakhigarhi museum, touted to be the world's largest museum on Harappan culture, is underway. The 5.5 acre museum, situated 58 km away from Hisar, is one of the five on-site museums which were announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech. The other iconic sites are Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Shivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu). According to the budget documents, Rs 109 crore has been earmarked for setting up the five museums this year. While the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been struggling to vacate the land around the excavation site for years, the cow-dung laden lanes and bylanes of the village have almost taken over a site that can be dated back to the Indus Valley Civilisation that had flourished in the subcontinent between 2600-1900 BCE. "Why should I move? The houses being provided to us are much smaller than the homes we currently have. Also, where do we keep our animals? Only those living in smaller houses will agree to this," said Sewa Singh, a farmer and resident of the village. There are nine mounds at the site of which the mound numbers 1 to 6 are residential localities of pre-formation age early Harappan settlement, while mound number 7 is a cemetery where four human skeletons were recovered by the excavators. The ASI has erected metal fences all around the four 'protected' mounds where once the excavations were completed and the soil cover replaced to protect the antiquities beneath. But both animals and men roam free on them -- boys on two-wheelers and cycles can be seen driving through the gaps and many use the mounds as a thoroughfare. In fact, cow dungs are kept on them for drying and plastic bottles and other garbage litter the area, making one of India's oldest links to ancient civilization look like a 'garbage dump'. "There are around 10,000 families here. We are constructing flats nearby to relocate the families. We will soon have 160 new houses. We are in discussion with them and we will ensure that they have adequate space to live," Hisar deputy commissioner Priyanka Soni said. Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel had on Sunday visited the village to check the progress of work and interact with the administration and locals. He said while protecting the site was a priority, the concerns of the villagers will also be addressed. "The Archeological Survey of India and Pune's Deccan University conducted excavations at this site and even got skeletons from the mound, which tells the history of ancient people. The problems of the villagers too will be addressed. I am sure that the state government will resolve their problems. Our motive is to create this site as the biggest tourist hub," Patel said. In May 2018, the local administration following direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had demolished 20 houses constructed on mound number 4. "While we stay in 500 square yard homes, they are giving us 100 square yard flats. How can we agree? Even our families are big, how can we stay in two rooms?" said Anoop Singh, another villager. Undaunted by these grievances, the construction of the museum which will house the artefacts unearthed from the site, is underway, with its major attraction being the main gate which will replicate the gates of the ancient town of Mohaenjo-daro. Other highlights include replicas of Harappan idols showcasing the lifestyle of the people who lived in this largest habitation of the Harappan era through 7D technology, a 2,000 square feet computer aided library, a souvenir shop, among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ajay Banga, who took charge of the company just after the 2008-09 financial crisis, has seen the payment processors revenue triple during his tenure as online shopping gained prominence around the world. Mastercard said on Tuesday CEO Ajay Banga will step down at the start of the next year and be replaced by Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach. Banga, who took charge of the company just after the 2008-09 financial crisis, has seen the payment processors revenue triple during his tenure as online shopping gained prominence around the world. Mastercard names product chief Michael Miebach as CEO, Ajay Banga moves to executive chairman pic.twitter.com/uD5lj3SpBf CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 25, 2020 India-born Banga will take on the role of executive chairman, while Miebach will become the companys president on 1 March. Chairman Richard Haythornthwaite will retire after more than a decade when Banga assumes his new role, the company said in a statement. Before joining Mastercard as president of Middle East and Africa in 2010, Miebach served as managing director at Barclays Bank and general manager at Citibank. In connection with Miebachs appointment as president, Mastercard has entered into a new compensation agreement that adds $750,000 to his annual base salary, the payment processor said in a filing. Miebach will also receive an equity grant with a target value of $6.25 million. His compensation as chief executive officer will be determined later, the company added. Mastercard on Monday warned its first-quarter net revenue would take a hit if coronavirus outbreak persists through the quarter. Shares of the company were down nearly 2 percent at $319 in the premarket trade. The Delhi High Court Wednesday lauded the police for promptly evacuating the injured from north-east Delhi area where communal violence has erupted over the amended citizenship law, and suggested that highest constitutional functionaries reach out to the affected people. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani also cautioned the authorities to remain alert so that the carnage caused during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is not repeated. "No, no we should never allow another 1984... especially under the watch of the court and under your (Delhi Police) watch... We have to be very, very alert," the bench said. It also termed as "extremely unfortunate" the killing of Intelligence Bureau officer in the ongoing violence in which 22 people have died and around 200 injured. "While order was being dictated mid-night, police was implementing it right there and rescuing injured persons," the bench said during the day's hearing. The court said it was "confident that police will continue to respond in such a manner". It added that the highest constitutional functionaries who move with Z-security should reach out to the affected people to give them confidence that law is functioning. The court appointed advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae to coordinate between the victims and various agencies. It further asked the director of Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to provide sufficient number of qualified professionals to cater to the victims suffering from post trauma stress. The court has put up the matter for further hearing on February 28. The court was hearing a plea in which it conducted a special hearing, which first took place at 12:30 am at the residence of Justice Muralidhar, after receiving a call from advocate Suroor Mander explaining the dire circumstances wherein it was not possible to move the victims from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital. It had then directed the police to ensure safe passage for the injured to government hospitals and providing emergency treatment for them. It had also directed the police to deploy all resources at command and on the strength of the order as well as to make sure the injured receive immediate emergency treatment, if not at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital then at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) or Maulana Azad or any other hospital. During the day hearing, the bench asked the police to ensure safe passage for fire tenders and ambulances to reach the spot. It said the police will ensure requisition of private ambulances and steps be taken in coordination with secretary (health) and fire services head and basic amenities including blankets, food, sanitation and clean drinking water shall be ensured in the shelter homes for victims displaced in the violence. Delhi police counsel Rahul Mehra pointed out that the response time to call helpline 112 has to improve considerably and the response time was more as they are receiving lots of calls. Special commissioner of police also assured the bench that he will look into this aspect and there is adequate number of helpline or help desks, the court said and added that adequate publicity about the helplines and help desks be given in print and electronic media. The court was suggested by an advocate that in order to access duty magistrate, the possibility of appointing night magistrate from sunset to the sunrise be examined. The police will make a formal application to the district judges of all the districts here for designated a magistrate initially for the period of two weeks from tomorrow, it said. The court asked the director of Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to provide sufficient number of qualified professionals to cater to the riot victims suffering from post trauma stress. The bench, in its order passed midnight, had also called for a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them. It had said the order be communicated to the medical superintendents of the GTB and the LNJP Hospitals. The urgent hearing was conducted after advocate Suroor Mander called the judge and sought urgent orders for safe passage of ambulances for the injured. During the hearing, the bench spoke over phone to a doctor identified as Anwar of the Al-hind Hospital in New Mustafabad who told the court that there were two bodies and 22 injured persons there and he had been trying to seek police assistance since 4 pm on Tuesday without success. The court then directed the senior officials to reach to the hospital forthwith, following which they started the process of evacuating the injured to the nearest hospitals. It also said this order be brought to the knowledge of the police commissioner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Cigna Corporation and Most Subsidiaries; Upgrades Credit Ratings of Medco Containment and Cigna HealthSpring Subsidiaries AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "a" of the key U.S. life/health subsidiaries, health maintenance organizations and Europe-based insurance companies of Cigna Corporation (Cigna) (headquartered in Bloomfield, CT) [NYSE: CI]. Concurrently, AM Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs to "a" from "a-" of Medco Containment Life Insurance Company (Warrendale, PA) and Medco Containment Insurance Company of New York (Troy, NY) (collectively referred to as Medco Containment Group). Additionally, AM Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs to "a" from "a-" of the Cigna HealthSpring Companies (HealthSpring). AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "bbb" and the Short-Term Issue Credit Rating (Short-Term IR) of AMB-2 of Cigna. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Furthermore, AM Best has withdrawn the Long-Term ICR of "bbb" and the Short-Term IR of AMB-2 on the intermediate holding company, Cigna Holding Company (Delaware). Lastly, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Ratings (Long-Term IR) of Cigna Holding Company. The outlook of these ratings is stable. (Please see link below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The majority of Cigna's U.S. operating entities are collectively referred to as Cigna Life & Health Group. The ratings of Cigna Life & Health Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings of Cigna Life & Health Group also reflect high financial leverage of approximately 46% and the high level of goodwill at Cigna, the ultimate parent. In addition, execution risk related to the Cigna-Express Scripts merger remains, given the transaction's complexity. However, Cigna has moderated its leverage post transaction, which was over 50%, and has indicated that it remains committed to an accelerated de-leveraging during 2020, which is expected to leave financial leverage closer to 40% by the end of the year. AM Best expects the lower financial leverage to be driven by the strong earnings and dividends from Cigna's insurance entities, solid non-regulated earnings from its Health Services segment and additional one-time capital sources, such as a portion of the proceeds from the pending sale of its group employee benefits business, which is expected to help reduce outstanding debt. Cigna Life & Health Group's balance sheet strength assessment of strong is supported by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), along with excellent sources of liquidity supported by strong metrics and operating cash flows across its diverse businesses. The insurance entities have access to cash from the parent in the event any cash flow or capital is needed. Additionally, Cigna's insurance subsidiaries have consistently provided cash flow upstream in the form of dividends, generally in excess of $1 billion a year. The dividend payments were higher for full-year 2019, given favorable operating results. Cigna Life & Health Group reported strong earnings again in 2019, with consistently strong profitability ratios. The earnings and profit margins have been driven by Cigna Life & Health Group's core commercial and Medicare-related operations. Furthermore, earnings improved across its core lines of business in 2019. AM Best also notesthat Cigna Life & Health Group continues to have a majority of its commercial business in self-funded/administrative services only (ASO) employer groups. Premium growth has been increasing and is expected to continue into 2020. AM Best views Cigna Life & Health Group's business profile as favorable, driven by the group's market presence in the United States, with its wide array of products and a solid market share in the medical insurance space. In addition, Cigna Life & Health Group continues to grow its government segment, primarily Medicare-related business, which includes Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage (MA) and MA-Part D, along with its other ancillary/supplemental businesses. The acquisition of Express Scripts will provide Cigna cross-selling opportunities, and the aforementioned premium growth, due to the expansion of its customer base. The ratings of Medco Containment Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. Additionally, the rating upgrades reflect AM Best's view of the strategic position Medco plays as a core part of Cigna's Medicare Part D offerings. Medco Containment Group has maintained the strongest level of risk-adjusted capital despite a slight decline from the prior year due to dividend payments. The group also has sustained solid overall liquidity and strong premium leverage. Given the nature of this business, the balance sheet positives are offset somewhat by cash-flow uncertainty, due to potential payment delays from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) reconciliation process; however, this is mitigated by implicit capital support from its ultimate parent. Medco Containment Group's earnings remained positive on an annual basis, although they have declined, driven by increased management fees paid to the parent. Medco Containment Group has a limited business profile due to its focus on a single line of business, Medicare Part D, a highly regulated business in a very competitive market. The ratings of HealthSpring reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Additionally, the rating upgrades reflect AM Best's view of the strategic position HealthSpring plays as a core part of Cigna's MA offerings. HealthSpring's BCAR is considered weak, but the implicit support of its intermediate holding company, NewQuest, LLC, and ultimate parent, Cigna, for any capital infusions should the entities encounter cash-flow uncertainty, supports the balance sheet assessment. Cigna is committed to growing its MA line of business and has demonstrated this through reduced dividend activity and allowing capital to remain in NewQuest, LLC, to support HealthSpring. Earnings have been favorable and grown in each of the past two years. The HealthSpring MA products provide strategic business diversification to Cigna's commercial group and specialty products. The ratings of Cigna Life Insurance Company of Europe S.A.-N.V. (CLICE) (Belgium) reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. Furthermore, the ratings of CLICE factor in rating enhancement from the Cigna organization. CLICE, together with its sister company, CIGNA Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V. (CEIC) (Belgium), form the European arm of the Cigna group, and both companies have received capital injections and operational support from their U.S. parent in recent years. The ratings of CEIC reflect its strong level of integration and strategic importance to Cigna's European operations as the carrier with a nonlife license in Europe. A complete listing of Cigna Corporation and its subsidiaries' FSRs, Long-Term ICRs and Long- and Short-Term IRs also is available. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005581/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Michel Barnier has told the City of London that its financial services companies must accept being rule-takers observing EU regulations if they want continued access to continental markets after Brexit. In a hardline message just days before the opening of UK/EU trade negotiations on Monday, Mr Barnier said that the granting of equivalence status allowing firms to operate with the 27-nation bloc will remain a unilateral decision for the EU taken in the interests of its own economies. And he said that the EU was not willing to take on risks from banks operating under UK rules, when the profits for their activities remain in Britain. His comments set the scene for a frosty start to four days of talks next week in Brussels, which kick off a breakneck sequence of negotiations intended to deliver a free trade deal by the end of 2020. Cabinet minister Michael Gove is expected to set out the UKs negotiating position in a statement to parliament on Thursday which will expose deep divisions with Brussels over the issues of regulation, fisheries and border controls. Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Show all 20 1 /20 Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Britain votes to leave the European Union - 23 June 2016 A referendum is held on Britain's membership of the European Union. Fifty-two per cent of the country votes in favour of leaving AFP via Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? David Cameron resigns - 24 June 2016 David Cameron resigns on the morning of the result after leading the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Theresa May takes the reins - 13 July 2016 Theresa May becomes leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, winning the leadership contest unopposed after Andrea Leadsom drops out Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? High Court rules parliament must vote on Brexit - November 2016 - 3 November 2016 The High Court rules that parliament must vote on triggering Article 50, which would begin the Brexit process Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Article 50 triggered - 28 March 2017 The prime minister triggers Article 50 after parliament endorses the result of the referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May calls snap election - 18 April 2018 Seeking a mandate for her Brexit plan, May goes to the country Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May loses majority as Labour makes surprise gain - 8 June 2017 After a disastrous campaign, Theresa May loses her majority in the commons and turns to the DUP for support. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party makes gains after being predicted to lose heavily AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Negotiations begin - 19 June 2017 David Davis and Michel Barnier, chief negotiators for the UK and EU respectively, hold a press conference on the first day of Brexit negotiations. Soon after the beginning of negotiations, it becomes clear that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will prove a major sticking point AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? MPs vote that withdrawal deal must be ratified by parliament - 13 December 2017 The government suffers a defeat in parliament over the EU withdrawal agreement, guaranteeing that MPs are given a 'meaningful vote' on the deal Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary - 11 July 2018 Following a summit at Chequers where the prime minister claimed to have gained cabinet support for her deal, Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary along with David Davis, the Brexit secretary Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Draft withdrawal agreement - 15 November 2018 The draft withdrawal agreement settles Britain's divorce bill, secures the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa and includes a political declaration commiting both parties to frictionless trade in goods and cooperation on security matters. The deal also includes the backstop, which is anathema to many brexiteers and Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resign from the cabinet in protest Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May resigns - 24 May 2019 After several failed attempts to pass her withdrawal agreement through the commons, Theresa May resigns Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson takes over - 24 July 2019 Boris Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative party in a landslide victory. He later heads to Buckingham Palace where the Queen invites him to form a government Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Parliament prorogued - 28 August 2019 Boris Johnson prorogues parliament for five weeks in the lead up to the UK's agreed departure date of 31 October. Stephen Morgan MP Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Prorogation ruled unlawful - 24 September 2019 The High Court rules that Johnson's prorogation of parliament is 'unlawful' after a legal challenge brought by businesswoman Gina Miller Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson agrees deal with Varadkar - October Following a summit in Merseyside, Johnson agrees a compromise to the backstop with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar - making the withdrawal agreement more palatable to Brexiteers Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Final Say march demands second referendum - 19 October 2019 As parliament passes the Letwin amendment requiring the prime minister to request a further delay to Brexit, protesters take to the streets in the final show of force for a Final Say referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson wins 80 seat majority - 12 December 2019 The Conservatives win the December election in a landslide, granting Boris Johnson a large majority to pass through his brexit deal and pursue his domestic agenda Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Withdrawal deal passes parliament - 20 December 2019 The withdrawal agreement passes through the commons with a majority of 124 Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? EU parliament backs UK withdrawal deal - 29 January 2020 Members of the European parliament overwhelmingly back the ratification of Britain's departure, clearing the way for Brexit two days later on 31 January. Following the vote, members join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne AFP/Getty It is thought Boris Johnson now believes his mandate for negotiations now derives from the Conservative manifesto, rather than the political declaration he agreed with the EU in the autumn, which committed him to a "level playing field" on regulations. In a speech to the ESCP business school in Brussels, Mr Barnier voiced concern at ministers in Mr Johnsons government distancing themselves from last years withdrawal agreement and political declaration, which he said had to be properly respected and implemented to the letter, particularly in relation to the checks required for goods passing between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain. And he confirmed that even if a free trade agreement is reached by the deadline of 31 December, all goods arriving in the single market from the UK will be subject to checks and controls at the border from the start of 2021. Mr Barnier said that the EU was ready to offer the UK super-preferential access to the single market, but only if London signed up to level playing field regulations which would prevent it watering down environmental protections and workplace rights to gain an unfair competitive advantage. In a swipe at Mr Johnson, he said it would not be credible for the EU to turn up to the COP26 climate change summit hosted by the prime minister in Glasgow in November if it had agreed to a deal which allowed environmental corners to be cut. On the key issue of financial services, Mr Barnier said: I read in the Financial Times recently that London must retain its primacy as a hub for wholesale financial markets without becoming a rule-taker of the EU and European regulation. As a former commissioner in charge of financial services, allow me to question that. Why should we accept the profits stay in London while the EU carries the risks? The UK may not want to be a rule-taker. OK, but we dont want to be the risk-taker. When the next financial crisis strikes, who will foot the bill? I doubt the UK will foot it for the EU. Thats why the EU must take responsibility for its financial regulation, supervision and financial stability. The City of London's financial companies may have to become 'rule-takers' to operate in the EU (Getty) Mr Barniers comments came a day after the EU published its official negotiating mandate for the upcoming talks, which dropped a provision demanded by the UK for the completion of mutual assessments of each others financial regulations by the end of June. He appeared to confirm that Brussels will not accept Londons call for a permanent equivalence deal under which each side would accept the others regulatory system as compliant with its requirements for decades to come. From 1 January next year, UK-based companies will have to establish themselves in one of the 27 EU member states in order to benefit from passporting rights to sell financial services across the single market, he said. And he said that firms like credit rating agencies which wish to operate with the 27-nation bloc will have to apply for Brussels to grant them equivalence status. We will do so when it is in the interests of the EU, our financial stability, our investors and our consumers, said Mr Barnier. Those equivalences will never be global or permanent, nor will they be subject to joint management with the UK. They are and will remain unilateral. After the New Year, the UK will no longer be able to grant marketing authorisation for products like pharmaceuticals or cars for the European market, he said. And, in a mark of the friction to be introduced into the UKs export trade as a result of trade, he said that British goods will not escape checks and controls even if there is a free trade agreement - and could be subject to tariffs and quotas if there is not. Checks will focus particularly on rules of origin in order to avoid the risk of the UK becoming a kind of assembly hub for goods from all over the world allowing them to enter the market as British goods, he said. We need to prepare ourselves for what will happen on 31 December, said Mr Barnier. Because regardless of whether we agree between now and then, there will be definitive changes. All goods coming from the UK - just as they do from China and the US - will need to be checked at the border of the single market to protect consumers and protect businesses. Those checks will be put in place. The Netherlands have recruited some 700 customs officials, France a similar number, Belgium 400. Mr Barnier said Brussels respects British sovereignty and is ready to believe UK assurances that it will maintain equivalent or better standards than the EU after Brexit. I dont believe that the UK will become some sort of Singapore-on-Thames, he said. But he added: That means it should not be a problem for the UK to agree on a number of ground rules Every preferential trade agreement sets terms and conditions for opening up markets. The logic is simple. Only by agreeing a level playing field can the EU and UK ensure that neither side will use unfair subsidies or grant derogations on industrial emissions or labour standards to win industry from the other, he said. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered a decomposing corpse of a middle-aged woman suspected to be a rape victim behind United Primary School, Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. The NSCDC spokesperson, Mr Edwin Okadigbo said the corpse was found half-naked on Tuesday morning behind the primary building by indigenes of the community who alerted the cops in the area. He said the body of the lady whose identity was yet to be ascertained suspected to have been raped to death. Okadigbo said: On the 25/2/2020 at about 07:30am, at United Primary School, Oba before Igwes palace in Idemili South a dead body (female) suspected to be victim of rape was seen lying half naked behind one of the primary school buildings. The Divisional officer of NSCDC Idemili South, SC Ochie Paul with his officers visited the scene, confirmed and discovered that the body had started decomposing and could cause epidemic outbreak among the school children. Okadigbo said photographs of the body has been taken and the Divisional officer, the Igwes representative, and the chairman of the Local Government have all been alerted. He added that investigation has also been opened into the matter to ascertain the circumstances that led to the ladys death and to unravel her identity. This is coming barely one week after NSCDC discovered a large farm of Indian hemp inside Lake City Secondary School, Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State. Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice Diana Morar, deputy chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL)'s Arbitration Court, argues that Ludovic Orban can again be proposed by President Klaus Iohannis for the position of prime minister and that early parliamentary elections are still possible. Diana Morar posted on her social page a decalogue entitled "10 steps to early elections". "The CCR [Constitutional Court of Romania] has not ruled that Orban cannot be nominated again as prime minister because he was dismissed by censure motion. The CCR has shown that the person who will be nominated as prime minister must show that he/she can coalesce a parliamentary majority. Ludovic Orban did not resign from his capacity as prime minister, but renounced his capacity as prime minister-designate. (...) It is up to the president to consult the political parties again to make the second nomination, which may again be Ludovic Orban or another person who can win a parliamentary majority to gain access to power," the secretary of state wrote on Facebook. Diana Morar states that, since the first proposal to appoint Ludovic Orban, after the censure motion, did not pass Parliament?s vote, it can be considered that the first part of the procedure for triggering the early parliamentary elections has been completed. "In order to trigger early elections, there are two cumulative conditions stipulated by the Constitution: 60 days from the first designation of a prime minister and two proposals for prime minister to fail the investiture vote. Then, the president can dissolve Parliament and trigger early elections. The first condition is fulfilled: we are within the 60-day period that runs from February 10, when the first proposal of prime minister was made in the person of Ludovic Orban. Exactly 15 days have passed, there are 45 more. The first nomination proposal of Ludovic Orban as prime minister did not pass the investiture vote in Parliament as Parliament did not convene and the maximum term of 15 days has expired. Thus, Ludovic Orban renounced the first designation, so the first proposal did not pass," says Diana Morar. According to her, after the second nomination, Parliament has 15 days to hear the proposed ministers and cast the investiture vote, otherwise "we have early elections". "After the second nomination, Parliament has 15 days to hear the proposed ministers in the Cabinet and cast the investiture vote. If the Government clears Parliament, we have legitimacy in the act of government, and measures in the governing programme by the adoption of laws can be implemented. If the Government formed around the second nomination does not pass Parliament's vote, we have early general elections, the term of 60 days expiring on April 10," explained Diana Morar. No long-term trade agreement was signed between US and India during President Trumps India visit. However, during three MoUs and a defense deal was signed between the two countries. Talks for a free trade agreement between US and India are expected to start in the next few months. US President Donald Trump concluded his official two-day visit to India without signing a long-term trade deal between the two countries, but signaled start of negotiations with India for a free trade agreement (FTA). The US-India trade deal was already in limbo as Trump complained about Indias high tariffs before and during his visit, and expressed concerns about US trade interests. In a statement, the White House said that both the leaders have agreed to promptly conclude the ongoing negotiations, which they hope can become phase one of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that reflects the true ambition and full potential of the bilateral commercial relations. During a press conference in New Delhi, Trump said that there was progress in trade negotiations between the two countries, and that a trade deal could be signed by the end of this year. The countries focused on increased defense and economic cooperation and reiterated their commitment to combating terror. As a part of ongoing trade talks, India and the US signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) as well as a US$3 billion military helicopter deal. Further discussions on the trade agreement are expected to start in the next few months. US$3 billion defense deal While a trade agreement was not in sight during Trumps visit, an important defense deal was signed between the two countries. India agreed to purchase more than US$3 billion worth of advanced military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters. According to media reports, officials have said, deliveries will commence in three years and several Indian private sector companies, including the Tata group, will benefit from the offset work that would come in the wake of them becoming part of the global supply chain of US companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin. MoUs for medical products, mental health, and liquefied natural gas The MoU on the safety of medical products was signed between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and the US Food and Drug Administration. Through this bilateral pact, the countries seek to promote access to high quality, safe, effective, and affordable medications for American and Indian consumers. India will strengthen its food and drug protocols, while ensuring high standards of generic drug standard compliance. In a bid to improve mental and emotional well-being, the second MoU will focus on creating innovative strategies and therapies to tackle mental health issues in both the countries. Discussions on the opioid crisis, nacro-smuggling, and threat of drugs like fentanyl were also held during the meeting. A letter of cooperation was signed between Indian Oil Corporation Limited, ExxonMobil, and Chart Energy and Chemicals to create infrastructure to expand gas access in India. The purpose is to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) by road, rail, and waterways through virtual pipeline systems to areas that are not connected by physical pipelines. Further, through the strategic energy partnership between India and the US, the countries are seeking to enhance energy security and expand energy and innovation linkages across the sectors. Should we be optimistic about a trade deal? In the next few months, it is expected that both the countries will start negotiations for a free trade agreement, and topics of discussion will include goods and services, investment, and intellectual property rights. Access to each others markets for agricultural products will also be on the table. Further, officials have said that while automobiles and e-commerce are not expected to be a part of the discussion, unconditional access to the Indian dairy market for US products will continue to be a part of discussions. Meanwhile, Indias priority will be to restore its developing country status under the generalized system of preferences (GSP), so that zero tariffs are levied on Indian exports to the US. India will also focus on issues related to work visas for Indian in the US. The FTA will not be limited to these concerns. More details are awaited. However, this process might take a few months as the US Trade Promotion Authority requires the administration to notify Congress 90 days prior to entering a trade agreement. Most US-India market analysts are skeptical of much progress being made in the near term as Trump is up for re-election in November. His latest visit to India, in itself peculiar in the absence of concrete objectives, could very well have been directed towards bolstering his image at home. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sunghee Hwang (Agence France-Presse) Seoul, South Korea Wed, February 26, 2020 16:06 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066bda34 2 World North-Korea,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,outbreak,prevention,pandemic,health Free Loudspeakers blaring hygiene messages, foreign ambassadors locked in their compounds and state media demanding "absolute obedience" to health authorities -- North Korea is taking what diplomats call "unprecedented" measures as it seeks to prevent a crippling coronavirus outbreak. The authoritarian state, led by the ruling Kim family since its foundation in 1948, maintains extensive control over the lives of its citizens and is pulling out all the stops to try to protect itself from the virus that first emerged in neighboring China, long its key diplomatic ally and trade partner. After the virus emerged it quickly closed its borders, cutting itself off from the outside world in a move diplomats and analysts say is its best method of self-protection given the weakness of its health infrastructure. Arrivals are subject to 30 days' isolation and it has stepped up its efforts internally, with the official KCNA describing an intensifying "anti-virus campaign", including door-to-door health check-ups and loudspeaker vans instructing citizens on hygiene practices around the country. Foreigners are facing tough restrictions: all of those resident in the country have been subjected to quarantine at their premises since the beginning of February. Diplomats in Pyongyang have unable even to walk around the city in what the Russian ambassador described as a "morally crushing" situation. The embassy had been "left without diplomatic mail... we did not manage to get medicines and supplies for our first-aid post", Alexander Matsegora told Russia's TASS news agency. Staff could only leave the premises -- which have a prime location in Pyongyang close to the Workers' Party leadership compound -- to take rubbish to a landfill, when "Korean specialists immediately disinfect our truck at the gates of the embassy". The city's Orthodox church, taekwondo gym, skating rink and swimming pool were all off-limits, as were Korean and painting classes. "They may seem trifles, but everyday life is made of them." Diplomatic work had been virtually suspended, he added, with no meetings, conversations or negotiations with North Korean officials or other embassies, while contact with the authorities was limited to phone calls or official notes dropped into a special mailbox. Only a country as "unique" as the North could take such a decision to address "a problem of national importance" and implement it, he said, describing the situation as "extraordinary". "In material terms, self-isolation is of course very expensive for the Korean state," he added. But it would always be willing to pay that price, he went on: "It is very important to understand that the issues of state security, the ideology and dignity of the country -- in its North Korean understanding, of course -- always and definitely prevail over economic considerations." Those who expect sanctions to force the North to make concessions over its nuclear arsenal -- negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington are currently deadlocked -- should recognize that reality, he added. 'Irreversible catastrophic consequences' The novel coronavirus now known as COVID-19 originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has since spread around the world, killing more than 2,700 people. South Korea has seen a rapid surge of cases in recent days, to well over 1,100, giving it the largest national tally outside China. But Pyongyang insists that it remains the only one of China's neighbors not to have had a single case. Observers doubt that, but the Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the Workers' Party, urged citizens to show "absolute obedience" to instructions from health authorities and the state. "We should bear in mind that any moment of complacency could result in irreversible catastrophic consequences and should maintain a high state of alert," it said. Earlier this week it warned of "devastating consequences" if the country suffers even one case of coronavirus, recommending people avoid gathering in public places -- even restaurants. "Sitting down and dining together and talking with each other can itself become the main spreading ground of the infectious disease," it said. But state duties do not appear to be subject to such restrictions: on Wednesday it carried pictures of scores of Supreme People's Assembly officials lining up to visit the supposed birthplace of Kim Jong Il, the father and predecessor of the current leader Kim Jong Un, at Mount Paektu. All of them wore masks. Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, has died aged 91. He died yesterday after undergoing surgery, state television said. Mr Mubarak never sought the role, but when a very public assassination thrust the former bomber pilot into the job, he made it his mission to never give it up. His story became Egypt's for the next 30 years until, finally, his people found they could write it themselves, in a 2011 Arab Spring revolution that consigned him to history. An unremarked vice-president to Anwar Sadat, he was a stopgap in the anxious days of 1981 after Mr Sadat was gunned down beside him at a military parade. Few thought he would last. Yet slowly, surviving attempts on his own life, he presided over decades of stagnation and oppression and offering his people a choice: Mr Mubarak or mayhem. Expand Close Allegiance: Hosni Mubarak was rewarded with American aid in return for peace with Israel. Photo: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Allegiance: Hosni Mubarak was rewarded with American aid in return for peace with Israel. Photo: Reuters Many believed him, not just in Egypt. US administrations showered him and his army with billions of dollars for his loyalty to Mr Sadat's Cold War switch of allegiance and peace with Israel. But it was his struggles with the Islamists - who by killing Mr Sadat handed power to a man who would spend 30 years suppressing them - which defined his politics. Yet to the question of how Egyptians should be governed in the future, he never had an answer beyond "Mubarak" and always refused to indicate a successor. Washington expected him to go on rigging elections until he died, when his son Gamal might take over. "Nobody imagines that we can press a button and freedoms will arrive. Otherwise it would lead the country to chaos and that would be a danger to people," Mr Mubarak once said. Mr Mubarak was a 24-year-old air force pilot when the military overthrew King Farouk in 1952. The son of a government clerk, he was born Muhammed Hosni El Sayed Mubarak in the village of Kafr Musailha on May 4, 1928, when Egypt was still heavily supervised by Britain, which controlled the Suez Canal. Details of his early life are sketchy. He qualified as a pilot in 1950 and spent more than two years in the Soviet Union a decade later, training to fly bombers. When much of the air force was wiped out by Israeli military planes in the Six-Day War of 1967, he was made head of the air force academy, charged with rebuilding air power to hit back. As head of the air force from 1972, he did just that, attacking Israel in 1973. Mr Sadat, who succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970, saw in Mr Mubarak a loyal subordinate and made him vice president in 1975. That office would lie vacant under Mr Mubarak, who guarded his power jealously. As president, Mr Mubarak sent the army in to quell mutineers in the 1980s, and also repaired relations with Arab states after Mr Sadat's peace with Israel. In 1989, Egypt was readmitted to the Arab League, which moved its headquarters back to Cairo. American money made sure that Egypt never wavered from an arms-length civility toward the Jewish state, and Mr Mubarak played mediator between Israel and the Palestinians down the years. His policies irritated many in the Middle East. After Hamas Islamists took control in the Gaza Strip in 2007, Mr Mubarak backed the Israeli blockade of the territory. Violence by Islamists at home, including attacks on tourist sites and Red Sea resorts, remained a justification for the police state. In 1995, Mr Mubarak survived one of several assassination attempts when Islamist gunmen fired on his car during a visit to Ethiopia. A command economy fashioned under the Arab socialist Nasser lagged behind countries Egypt was once compared to, such as Turkey or South Korea. Egypt's population almost doubled under Mr Mubarak, but many remained mired in deep poverty. A spurt of growth in his final decade, fuelled by market reforms overseen by his son Gamal, made some rich, but corruption ensured the wealth stuck to the elite around the head of state, the military and those who found favour in the National Democratic Party (NDP). Politically, there was talk of reform, not least when former US president George W Bush was pushing the idea. After winning a series of single-candidate referendums that provided the legal basis of his rule, Mr Mubarak agreed to contest a presidential election in 2005. But the defeat of Ayman Nour, a liberal lawyer who dared challenge him, was no surprise. By 2010, the NDP felt confident enough of its impunity to claim 90pc of the seats in a parliamentary poll that saw the Muslim Brotherhood eliminated from the legislature. The resulting public outrage might have subsided, as it had before, had it not been for the sudden success of an uprising in Tunisia just a few weeks later which also prompted protests against Egypt's ruler. At first, Mr Mubarak gave little ground to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, comforted by hesitation in Western capitals to cut loose an ally. Only when his generals began to desert him, fearful their own privileges might be swept away, and the Americans sided with the popular will, did he relent - at first insisting he would retire later, before he was finally flown off to his Red Sea retreat. "Egypt and I shall not be parted until I am buried in her soil," he said. He was arrested two months later. A trial began in August 2011, the sight of Mr Mubarak in a courtroom cage captivating viewers. On June 2, 2012, just before Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi won the presidency, Mr Mubarak was jailed for life for conspiring to murder protesters, sent to Cairo's Tora Prison, though occasionally moved to the smart Maadi military hospital nearby due to claims of failing health. Prison time would be short, as another military man, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, overthrew Mr Mursi the following year. As Mr Sisi launched a crackdown on the Brotherhood that critics said was more severe than anything under Mr Mubarak, the case against the former president was dropped in 2014. Spring break begins arriving this weekend for the Lehigh Valleys colleges and universities, amid an expanding international outbreak of a new and deadly respiratory disease. Named coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID-19, its caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. It originated in bats and caused a disease outbreak last year in Wuhan, China, with person-to-person spread now reported in 37 countries, including the United States. It has infected nearly 80,000 people and caused at least 2,600 deaths, The New York Times says in live updates on the outbreak. The risk of contracting the coronavirus remains low, Penn State University said this week in a news post urging spring break travelers to nevertheless take precautions. Those measures begin with keeping abreast of travel warnings, according to Penn State and Lehigh Valley higher-education institutions. "Check into any travel restrictions, travel advisories or any other recommendations being offered," the dean of students and health center executive director at Muhlenberg College in Allentown said in emails last week and again Tuesday to the campus community. "Many of these have now been extended to parts of Italy and other locations." Moravian College in Bethlehem has been sharing with students the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus travel guidelines and notes as of now only those people returning from China need to be screened, but they may change as the situation evolves around the world, a Moravian spokesman said Tuesday. "We currently have no college-affiliated trips planned for China over spring break and we're communicating with all students, no matter where they plan to travel, that they should be aware of the affected areas and follow CDC recommendations for travel," said the spokesman, Michael Corr. "The College will closely monitor the coronavirus situation around the world and plans to follow CDC guidelines for screening students coming from affected countries, in the event they're necessary," he continued. Lehigh University has suspended summer programs in China but made no further decisions about any additional programs, said spokeswoman Lori Friedman. "We continue to monitor the spread of the virus in other countries and remain in direct communication with our students currently abroad, as well as their families, regarding current guidance," she said Tuesday. "In addition, we will continue to follow CDC recommendations to keep the campus healthy." Lehigh students should keep in mind, Friedman said, that although they may be able to leave the U.S. and go to other countries they may have difficulty returning depending on how this situation evolves. The CDC had declared a Warning Level 3 to avoid nonessential travel to China and South Korea because of the outbreak; Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan do not fall under that warning. The U.S. Department of State lists its China advisory as a Level 4: Do Not Travel. Other coronavirus advisories from the CDC include an Alert Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precaution for Iran, Italy and Japan. A CDC Watch Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions is in place for Hong Kong due to the virus. At Lafayette College, officials announced a student tested negative for the coronavirus earlier this month after coming down with a respiratory infection. Students at the Easton school had recently returned from winter break in Chinas Hubei Province, the original epicenter of the outbreak. We are monitoring developments with the coronavirus, Lafayette spokesman Mark Eyerly said in a response to lehighvalleylive.com questions Tuesday. As of now, we have not issued travel advice for the break. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The CDC believes they may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Local college and university spring breaks are scheduled Feb. 29-March 8 at Muhlenberg; March 1-8 at Moravian; March 2-6 at Cedar Crest College in Allentown; March 9-13 at Lehigh, DeSales University in Upper Saucon Township and Centenary University in Hackettstown; March 9-14 at Lehigh Carbon and Northampton community colleges; and March 16-20 at Lafayette and Warren County Community College. At Penn State, where spring break runs March 8-14, university officials urge a common-sense approach for steering clear of the coronavirus or any ailment, including influenza: Wash your hands. "The best way to prevent illness is to wash your hands with soap and water frequently, says Dr. Robin Oliver-Veronesi, senior director of University Health Services. If soap and water are not available, then use hand sanitizer. Dont share drinks. Many of the gastrointestinal illnesses and respiratory illnesses can be shared through drinks, so avoid sharing drinks, and use bottled water when possible, particularly in developing countries, she said. Maintain good habits. Oliver-Veronesi said getting good sleep and exercise are preventive measures to help the body stave off potential illness. RELATED NEWS Coronavirus outbreak is coming to U.S. and it 'could be bad, CDC says Stocks sink, bonds soar on fears virus will stunt economy Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. US President Donald Trump holds up a document showing "countries best and worst prepared for an epidemic" during a news conference on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on February 26, 2020 Donald Trump said Wednesday he was considering travel restrictions on Italy and South Korea over coronavirus fears, as he sought to reassure Americans worried about the epidemic. But a short while after an upbeat press conference by the US president, health authorities said they had detected the first case of unknown origin in the country, signaling that the virus may be spreading within communities. "I think that there's a chance that it could get worse, a chance it could get fairly substantially worse, but nothing's inevitable," Trump told reporters at the White House. He appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the response to the disease. Trump's messaging was a step back from a senior health official who a day earlier had urged Americans to be prepared to cancel mass gatherings and said schools and businesses should look at developing teleworking plans. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen," the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Nancy Messonnier said on Tuesday, citing the global spread of the virus that has now infected 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, mostly in China. As of Wednesday, there were 60 cases in the United States -- 15 detected through the public health system and 45 repatriated from abroad, either from a cruise ship off Japan or from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the first cases were identified. The CDC said the latest case in California "did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient" -- meaning it could represent the first instance of "community spread" in the US, though this was not yet confirmed. Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of the infection is unknown. - 'We may do it' - Trump's briefing came after US lawmakers accused the administration of downplaying the crisis and underfunding the response Foreign nationals traveling from China within the past two weeks are currently banned from entering the US, and Trump said more countries could be added to the list. "At the right time we may do it, right now it's not the right time," he said in response to a reporter's question about South Korea and Italy. South Korea has almost 1,600 cases, the highest outside China, while Italy has 400. Both countries have reported 12 deaths. "Italy is, you know, a deeper problem, and we're checking people coming in very, very strongly from those and at some point we may cut that off," Trump added. On Wednesday night the State Department raised its travel advisory caution level for South Korea to the second-highest, now urging Americans to reconsider traveling there. Trump added that Vice President Mike Pence had been assigned to lead coordination of the government's response and would report back to him, taking over the role from Health Secretary Alex Azar. - Extra funding - The president's briefing came after US lawmakers accused the administration of downplaying the crisis and underfunding the response. On Monday, the White House asked Congress to make at least $2.5 billion available for preparedness and response, including developing treatments and vaccines and buying equipment for a strategic national stockpile. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the figure was "too little and too late," proposing $8.5 billion instead. Trump later told reporters he would be happy to accept more money. The president also took to Twitter earlier in the day to insist his administration is "doing a GREAT job," blaming the media for trying to stoke fear in a tweet in which he spelled the name of the virus incorrectly. "Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible," he wrote, using a derogatory acronym for the MSNBC network. Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower Wednesday, stabilizing somewhat after a two-session rout, with worries growing worries over the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic. US officials have also voiced fears for the supply of drugs because a high proportion of ingredients used to make medicine comes from China. In addition, personal protective equipment, such as face masks, respirators and gowns, have been identified as being among products at risk of shortages because of potential panic buying. US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. The first family of the United States, who visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday, laid a wreath and paid floral tributes at the memorial located on the banks of the Yamuna river in the national capital. The American people stand strongly with a sovereign and wonderful INDIA The vision of the great Mahatma Gandhi This is a Tremendous Honour, Donald Trump wrote in the visitors book at the memorial during the visit. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who accompanied the Trumps to Rajghat, gifted them a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. The Trumps also planted a tree at Rajghat. On Monday, Trump had referred to the proposed visit to Rajghat in his speech at Ahmedabads Motera stadium that sought to underscore the deep partnership between the two countries. The First Lady and I have just had a pleasure of visiting Mahatma Gandhis Ashram, a few miles from here, where he launched the famous Salt March.And tomorrow in Delhi, we will lay a wreath, plant a tree at Raj Ghat in honor of this leader who is revered all around the world, he told the 1 lakh-strong audience in Gujarat. The Trumps reached Rajghat after a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where Donald Trump was welcomed with a gun salute. The welcome ceremony included hundreds of military officials, marching with instruments and swords. Clashes have broken out on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios between local law enforcement officials and local residents preventing the arrival of refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. According to local sources, not only the islanders took part on clashes, but also Greek citizens from the mainland and other islands who arrived to express protest. Vestnik Kavkaza was told that the clashes have spontaneously started a few days ago protesting the construction of new migrant camps. Strictly speaking, the protesters slightly confused cause and effect, believing that if there were no camps, there would not be so much refugees. In this light, it is worth noting the poor communication of local authorities with society. The fact is that building new camps is Greece's obligation under the EU laws. The previous camps caused a lot of complaints - the refugees lacked water, sanitation and hygiene conditions were bad. Speaking about the camps, human rights activists did not shy away to use the word 'detention camp', which, of course, was an exaggeration to characterize the living conditions of refugees. At first, the local authorities were "snapped" with a reminder that the refugees didnt have even half of the camp conditions in their homeland, which was not far from the truth, but later retreated under the fire of powerful criticism and possible financial revenues - they had to build new, more comfortable camps with improved conditions. But money and social construction mean corruption - there are few new camps, the agreement on which was reached in the autumn-winter of last year. Now they had to "remember" about it and start construction work. At the same time, the authorities "forgot" to explain to local residents that the new camps will replace the old ones, their number will not increase. With such an "information blockade," the locals decided there would be more camps, respectively, more refugees, which pretty much disturbed quiet life of Chios and Lesbos residents. And in general, the news of refugee camps, or the influx of refugees into the Greek islands, could not but negatively affect tourism. And it's not just stealing a bucket from the yard or cereals from the store, it's much more serious. After all, tourism is almost the main, or even the only sphere of income for islanders: fewer tourists mean less money. It seems that representatives of Hellas' nationalist circles decided to take advantage of the islands' protest mood. The "thematic" protests were also held in major cities of continental Greece, after which some of the participants went to Lesbos and Chios - in any case, local residents mention their compatriots' participation in clashes with police. The protesters gathered early in the morning on Tuesday to block the passage of construction equipment. On Lesbos, they even tried to completely block the port with garbage trucks, and also set fire to the garbage cans. Riot police arrived in the crowded places, which were mostly territories selected for the construction of new refugee camps. After a series of warnings, the security forces had to use tear gas and sound grenades. As a result, about ten people were injured. Some of them were hospitalized. Local sources told Vestnik Kavkaza that the protests were arranged by the most radical opponents of hosting illegal immigrants. No one likes hosting refugees in general, but the majority treat them with sympathy and understanding. This part of the Greek population tends to blame their own local authorities for problems, which do not take these problems seriously. Others blame the central government of Greece, which does not facilitate the rapid transport of refugees from the islands to the mainland. Some go further and blame the EU leadership for the crisis, which forced a refugee program on Athens and the islands, being in no hurry to carry out its part of the program to resettle these refugees in more prosperous European countries than Greece, which need the influx of people much more than Greece. Finally, the outbreak of coronavirus arrigavated the situation - the entire global population is agitated, and the Greeks are no exception. And these refugees are not from prosperous countries. The authorities guarantee that none of the new arrivals escapes strict medical supervision. But it's hard to imagine how they will do this in crowded camps. After the clashes, government officials finally unveiled their plan of action. Crowded camps in Lesbos, Chios, Kos and other islands will be closed. But only after almost 40 thousand inhabitants of the camps will be transported from there to the mainland. Instead of the liquidated ones, new closed camps will be built, which will be able to host 20 thousand people for a maximum of three months. The locals don't happy with the government plan, but the fact that the new camps will be closed, that is, under guard, somewhat de-escalated the protest mood. Meanwhile, the situation with illegal immigrants in Greece is really difficult, and you cannot attribute it to the negative emotions of the islanders alone. In reports submitted to the European Union and the Council of Europe, the word "catastrophic" in relation to the situation with illegal immigrants has been used repeatedly. A year ago, the Council of Europe demanded that emergency measures be taken in connection with the terrible conditions in which thousands of people live. According to open data, last year 75 thousand people crossed illegally the border between Turkey and Greece - almost twice as many as in 2018. And this year, it is expected that another 100 thousand illegal migrants from Africa and Asia will arrive in Greece. And as crisis worsens, it will become clear whether the Greeks will cope with the new influx of illegal immigrants. Bishop Kee Sloan preached his final annual Ash Wednesday service before he retires as head of the Episcopal Diocese at the end of the year, calling for openness to God. The purpose of Lent is to sit down, be quiet, listen and invite the voice of God to lead us, Sloan said during the noon service Wednesday at Cathedral Church of the Advent. The bishops address kicks off the weekday Lenten preaching series, Monday through Friday during Lent, at 12:05 p.m. at the Advent. Its the 113th year of the Lenten preaching series at Advent. Daily lunches are served in the parish hall from 12:05 to 1 p.m. Ash Wednesday marks the start of the 40-day penitential season of Lent, a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter on April 12. The church puts ashes on our forehead as a symbol of our own mortality and in recognition of our sinfulness, Sloan said. Yes, we are sinful, but we are beloved, redeemed and forgiven. It seems like we have a hard time accepting the infinite love of God. During the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, the minister says, 'Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,' or a variation on that quote from Genesis. We are broken, incomplete, selfish, cowardly people, and I dont think Im speaking only for myself, Sloan said. We are sinful. Yes, we are sinful dust. But we are beloved and cherished. Like in medieval times when people wore sackcloth and ashes, the ash mark is a call to repentance. Part of the purpose of Lent is to see ourselves as God sees us, Sloan said. We are saints, we are sinners and we are the children of God. The God who loves us, loves us without condition, without fail, no matter what, forever and ever. Sloans successor, Bishop-elect Glenda Curry, will be consecrated as a bishop in a service on June 27 at the cathedral, taking the assistant position of bishop coadjutor, then will take over as head of the diocese at the end of the year. As he preached during the noon service, Sloan wore ashes on his forehead in the shape of a cross. Curry did the imposition of ashes on Sloan during a morning service on Ash Wednesday. A 17-year-old boy is facing first degree murder and attempted murder charges after a stabbing during an altercation that began in a massage parlour Monday afternoon. Police and paramedics responded to a call for a stabbing at Crown Spa on Dufferin Street, south of Wilson Avenue, shortly after 12:30 p.m. Ashley Noell Arzaga, 24, of Toronto, was pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics transported two people to hospital, including a man in life-threatening condition. A woman was also rushed to hospital with serious injuries, paramedics confirmed. The 17-year-old boy, who cant be identified because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in court Tuesday. Noell Arzaga is Torontos 12th homicide victim of 2020, and the first who died in a stabbing. Including her, eight men and four women have been killed in Toronto so far this year. They are: Ahmed Yakot, 21, was shot near River and Oak streets in Regent Park at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 1. He died the next day in hospital. Paul Anthony DeSouza, 25, was shot in a residence at 367 Military Trail in Scarborough around 2 a.m. on Jan. 11 and pronounced dead at hospital. Maryna Kudzianiuk, 49, was found seriously injured in an apartment building at 25 Bay Mills Boulevard, near Sheppard Avenue East and Warden Avenue, after a fire at 3 a.m. on Jan. 13. She was pronounced dead at hospital. On Jan. 18, police charged 37-year-old Ricardo Mirabelles of Toronto with first-degree murder. He was shot dead by police near Scarborough Town Centre on that day. Safiullah Khosrawi, a 15-year-old Woburn C.I. student, was shot at Markham and Ellesmere Roads on Jan. 20. He died in hospital. Police said he was completely innocent. Another 15-year-old Woburn student has been charged with second-degree murder. Giulia Matthews, 54, was found dead inside a home in the St. Clair Avenue West and Atlas Avenue area on Jan. 20. Police found Matthews after they were called to conduct a wellness check. A boy has been charged with second degree murder. His identity cannot be released under the Youth and Criminal Justice Act. Stephon Kelly, 28, was shot near Markham and Kingston roads at around 9 p.m. on Jan. 25. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s were also shot, and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Jalen Colley, 21, of Brampton, and Tyronne Noseworthy, 19, of Toronto, and Joshua Gibson-Skeir, 20, of Brampton were shot in an Airbnb at 85 Queens Wharf Road, just south of Fort York Boulevard, at around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 31. Police say the shooting took place within a condo unit, and the adjacent hallway on the 32nd floor. Police say evidence suggests this was a murder-suicide. They have not clarified who the two homicide victims were. Thomas Michael Alcott, 29, was found unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the area of Danforth Avenue and Greenwood Avenue at around 3 a.m. on Feb. 5. he was pronounced dead in hospital. Deandre Campbell-Kelly, 29, was found suffering from gun shot wounds after a shooting in front of 546 The West Mall, near Rathburn Road and The East Mall on Feb. 7. He was pronounced dead in hospital. Police arrested Alyshia Smith, 19, and Anthony Johnson, 23, both of Toronto, on Feb. 10 and charged each with first-degree murder. Hang-Kam Annie Chiu, 64, was pronounced dead after a man attacked her with a hammer in the area of Sheppard Avenue East near Markham Road on Feb. 21. Saad Akhtar, 30, turned himself in on the same day and charged with first-degree murder. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has had a string of meetings in the past three days and is closely monitoring the situation in the violence-hit areas of the national capital, official sources said on Wednesday. After violence erupted in northeast Delhi, Shah called a high-level meeting at his residence on Monday afternoon and it was attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Arvind Kumar, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and other senior officers. In the meeting that continued for over three hours, Shah was briefed about the situation and he directed the Delhi Police to take strict action to quell the violence, the sources said. Till late in the evening that day, he again reviewed the situation and the meeting went on past midnight. On Tuesday, Shah held a review meeting at 9 am with home ministry officials and in the noon, he met leaders of main political parties and officials of Delhi on the law and order situation in the capital. The home minister appealed to all parties to send their MPs, MLAs, counsellors and party cadres along with senior police officials to the affected areas to help eliminate the atmosphere of fear and rumours among the general public. Shah held another meeting with the home secretary and the director of IB at his North Block office to evaluate the situation. In the evening, Shah initiated the process of appointing senior IPS officer S N Shrivastava as Special Commissioner of Police in Delhi, the sources said. At 6.30 pm, Shah held yet another long meeting with the home secretary, director IB, the Deputy NSA, Delhi Police Commissioner, Shrivastava and other officials at his residence. Even after this meeting, the home minister reviewed the situation till 2 o'clock in the night and gave necessary instructions to the police, the sources said. On Wednesday, Shah again reviewed the security situation and was in constant touch with senior officials of the home ministry and the Delhi Police. He was also given a briefing on the prevailing situation by NSA Ajit Doval after the latter's visit to the violence-hit areas. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The prices of cars imported from customs-exempt countries rival those of cars assembled locally Egypt has signed a number of international economic agreements which have created free trade opportunities, with the aim of increasing exports; yet these agreements have had a number of negative effects on the countrys car manufacturing industry. Local business experts say that the prices of cars imported from customs-exempt countries rival those of cars assembled locally, creating problems for the country's car manufacturers. Egypt signed the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) in 1997, which was approved by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to establish a free trade area among Arab countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreement was signed in 1998 by Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Mauritius, Zambia, Djibouti, Malawi, Madagascar, Rwanda and Burundi. In 2001, Egypt signed the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, which includes 15 European countries. In 2005, a free trade agreement between Egypt and Turkey was signed, and the following year, the European Union-Mercosur free trade agreement was signed, including Egypt and Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The main purpose of all the aforementioned agreements was to help Egypt improve its national economy by increasing the export volume of Egyptian products compared to imports, and strengthening diplomatic ties with these countries. Some of those agreements have been put into action, including the Agadir Agreement, the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, and the Egypt-Turkey free trade agreement, resulting in the lifting of customs tariffs on some of the goods imported from these countries, including cars. But those customs tax exemptions have had an effect on the automotive industry and trade in Egypt, considering that the country is encouraging automotive agents and dealers to manufacture locally using local components, which in return could enable them to export to these countries. Khaled Saad, secretary-general of the Egyptian car manufacturers chamber, confirms that these agreements have a negative effect on locally produced cars, as the prices of the cars imported from customs-exempt countries have become very similar to those which are assembled locally, and this is due to customs on imported components which are used in assembling and manufacturing processes of up to 6 percent on passenger cars and 8 percent on commercial cars. There are also taxes imposed on locally assembled cars. They are deducted, but only after the car is sold, leading them to be considered an extra cost and ultimately raising the price of locally assembled cars. Over time, this has led to an increase in the sales volume of imported cars which benefit from customs exemption; for example, the sales volume of European-origin cars increased from 11 percent in 2018 to almost 20 percent in 2019. Other countries which Egypt hasnt signed international agreements with have been affected negatively due to its deprivation of the tax exemption advantage, like cars of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese origin. The agents and dealers in Egypt have addressed this issue by urging the mother companies to lower their prices, decrease their profit margins, or minimise the accessories and extra options so that they can decrease the prices and face this pricing gap. Saad also added that the government needs to abolish customs on the imported components used for local assembly and exempt them from taxes upon entry and not after sale of the finished car. It should also hold specialised committees upon the signing of new agreements, which would be responsible for studying the effect of these agreements on different goods available in the local market. Tarek Mostafa, an automotive expert, said that the customs exemptions seriously affect the sales of locally assembled cars, as well as those imported cars which do not benefit from these exemptions. He noted that some brands which had gained the trust of consumers have exited the market recently, including both locally produced and fully imported. Another category of cars which has been deeply affected are sedans, due to a consumer trend and preference for buying SUVs, the prices of have become close to the price of sedans, even those locally assembled. Mostafa believes that Egypt needs to provide a bundle of customs and tax incentives linked to the production volume of local assembly, so that the agents can address pricing gaps, and to achieve the principle of price justice. On the other hand, Amgad El Feky, deputy general manager of El Kasrawy Group, a Citroen agent in Egypt, said that, in recent years, Egyptian car manufacturers have not exploited these agreements for their main purpose, i.e. exporting, instead only taking advantage of them for commercial sales purposes inside Egypt. He said that they didnt make the necessary developments to provide higher quality levels of their products to enable them to compete and export, taking into consideration that the manufacturers of other locally produced products took great advantage of these agreements in terms of exporting abroad, especially as those agreements were not meant solely for the automotive industry. He added that the government has to interfere during this critical stage to save the automotive industry by providing some solutions. One solution would be working on marketing locally assembled cars abroad i.e. using the commercial offices in Egyptian embassies abroad to promote and market these products, and cooperating with manufacturers on that aspect through continuous communication. Another solution would be providing training technical manpower to enhance the quality of locally assembled products. Another would be addressing the development of car components industries, and working on raising their quality to increase the percentage and quality level of local components used in the car industry. Another would be imposing strict quality control policies on products exported abroad. Providing tax exemptions for manufacturers to give them a competitive pricing edge, which could help them export their products outside Egypt, is also suggested. The government plays a vital role in supporting the car industry, and not only gaining from the financial revenue of taxes. Hence, signing international agreements is very important for the economy and for raising the quality levels of locally assembled products, besides creating new job opportunities and providing trained and skilled manpower. But prior to signing such agreements, the government needs to study their potential, prospects, capabilities, and resources in order not to be the losing party, and to ensure they establish a successful and balanced commercial exchange relationship between the parties included. Search Keywords: Short link: Checkout.com, a leading global payment solutions provider, announces today that it has acquired French payment company ProcessOut. This is the first acquisition by Checkout.com, which raised a record-breaking Series A of $230 million in 2019. - ProcessOut marks the first acquisition by Checkout.com - In the past 12 months, over $20bn transactions were analysed by the ProcessOut platform - More than 10% of all online transactions in France were touched by ProcessOut's technology in 2019 - ProcessOut's team of 14 will join Checkout.com's global team of 600 employees - The acquisition will enable Checkout.com to offer its enterprise customers more tools to optimize and streamline payment routing LONDON, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkout.com, a leading global payment solutions provider, today announces the acquisition of technology startup ProcessOut. This represents the first acquisition for the London-based financial technology firm and follows their 2019 announcement of a record-breaking $230 million Series A funding round. This valued the company at nearly $2 billion, in Europe's largest fintech Series A round ever. ProcessOut, an alumnus of Techstars NY and 50 Partners accelerator programs, works with a number of leading businesses, including Glovo, Dashlane, Rakuten, Veepee and OUI.sncf to optimize their international payment processing. ProcessOut's technology provides a dashboard for businesses to monitor and benchmark payment processing capabilities. Meanwhile, a smart router optimizes payment processing in real-time to improve performance and reduce costs. Guillaume Pousaz, Founder and CEO of Checkout.com said, "Whilst we always believe in organic growth, we respect businesses who have built great tech and managed to generate momentum. With over $20bn worth of transactions analyzed in 2019, ProcessOut fits in this category and as such we are delighted to make them our first acquisition. Combining their expertise and features with our platform will allow us to offer our global merchants a deeper set of actionable insights to improve their acceptance rates and maximize the cost efficiency of their payments." "Furthermore it was clear from day one that their team closely aligned with our values to create a fairer and higher-performing payment ecosystem for businesses - with increased transparency and greater control. Given that we believe unconditionally that a business is only as good as its people, we are really excited to bring the ProcessOut team onboard to contribute to our mission of building the future of banking." Manuel Huez, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder of ProcessOut said: "We are excited to be joining Checkout.com at such a pivotal moment. I'd like to thank the dedicated team behind ProcessOut and our investors and mentors who have helped and supported us throughout the journey to make the business what it is today. We are looking forward to the next chapter of this journey and to continue working with some of the largest merchants to optimize their payments." Launched in 2015, ProcessOut was co-founded by Manuel Huez - CPO, Louis-Paul Dareau - CTO, Jeremy Lejoux - Lead Customer Success, Guillaume Merindol - Head of Data, Cyril Chemla - CEO and Gregoire Delpit - COO. The proprietary ProcessOut platform empowers merchants by providing actionable insights through greater access to processing performance data. ProcessOut will join the broader Checkout.com business to expand its service offering for enterprise merchants processing payments globally. Together, this will offer global merchants better performance and more options to manage their ever-evolving payments needs, whilst retaining the convenience of a single integration and unified reporting. The ProcessOut team of 14 will join Checkout.com's growing Paris and London offices. In September 2019, Checkout.com announced that it had been awarded an Electronic Money Institution license by French regulators. Checkout.com, which has eleven offices globally, also announced plans to scale the company from 600+ employees to 1000 over the next year. About Checkout.com Checkout.com helps companies accept more payments around the world through one integration. The company works with global businesses to optimize their payments, with real-time data. Checkout.com's unified global payment processing platform features in-country acquiring, relevant payment methods, feature parity across geographies, fraud filters and reporting features, all via one API. It helps businesses in Europe, the US, APAC and the Middle East to achieve faster, more reliable processing in more than 150 currencies, with direct access to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, all major international cards, as well as popular alternative and local payment methods. For more see: www.checkout.com About ProcessOut ProcessOut offers a smart router that facilitates international payment solutions and services. It enables its users to find and connect with payment providers and is able to analyze and control its customers' payment data. ProcessOut was founded in 2015 and has offices in Paris and New York. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/753490/Checkout_com_Logo.jpg Media contact: PR@Checkout.com A political clash over a cap-and-trade proposal that prompted Oregon Republicans to walk out could tie up $12 million in Umatilla flood recovery funds introduced by Gov. Kate Brown last week. The majority of House and Senate Republicans exited the 2020 legislative short session in protest of the contentious bill, stalling the legislative session and potentially waylaying a multitude of bills until the 2021 session. The delay could have serious impacts in Umatilla County, which is still recovering from severe flooding in early February. Communities along the Umatilla River were thrown into turmoil Feb. 6 when rapid flooding consumed hundreds of homes, damaged businesses and infrastructure, and killed one woman. The governor declared a state of emergency Feb. 7, in the expectation that it would spur the Legislature to award recovery funds for Umatilla, Wallowa and Union counties and clear the way for the eventual release of federal funds. The proposed funding bill would funnel $11.65 million to affected communities, including aid in much-needed housing recovery efforts. In light of the walkout, Brown facilitated a $1.8 million loan from Business Oregon to the city of Pendleton to offset costly levee repairs needed after the flood -- the only relief money that can be fast-tracked. The city is not expected to repay the loan or pay any interest, Browns office said. Rather, she will ask the 2021 Legislature to come up with the funds. This levee funding is a stopgap measure to make sure that residents in the Umatilla Basin don't have to worry that the coming spring will add insult to injury," Brown said in a news release. This new release of funds followed previous statements from Browns office that she needed legislative approval to release funds for flood victims. Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger criticized the delay in providing funds in a statement. Im not sure why the governor withheld this funding for two weeks. But no matter what the politics are in the building, its the right thing to do. The remaining $9.85 million would have to come from general fund or lottery dollars, which require legislative approval. The next issue is housing relief, and we dont have a solution for that, said Pendleton Mayor John Turner who doesnt know how the city will address the hundreds of displaced flood evacuees. The walkout could leave the city in difficulty while it waits for Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, funds unlikely to come soon. Relying on FEMA funding is not an immediate solution, Turner said. Were still waiting on FEMA funds for expenses from the flood of April of last year, so it could be at least a year. If walkouts continue through the rest of the session remaining bills will likely be stalled until the 2021 legislative session. Brown reiterated her commitment to provide aid to flood victims and heaved blame on Republicans for their role in delaying funds. "That commitment doesn't change with Republican lawmakers' decision to walk away from their jobs and from the needs of this community, which is struggling to move forward after a devastating disaster, Brown said in a news release. In a repeat of a walkout last year, Republicans are protesting Senate Bill 1530 over concerns the bill would harm businesses and drive up fuel costs. The bill would impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and require emissions allowances for heavy polluters such as the transportation, fuels, utility and industrial sectors. In a statement decrying the bill as a cap-and-trade scam," the Oregon Republican Party came out in support of Republican senators. Ultimately, if the Salem elitists believe so strongly in how wonderful and necessary their so-called emergency cap and trade legislation is, they should enthusiastically permit the voters of Oregon to decide its fate, the GOP said in a news release. -- Piper McDaniel; amcdaniel@oregonian.com; 503-221-4307; @piperamcdaniel Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. They were once referred to as the Fab Four but following reports of a rift and a decision to step away from royal life, the moments well see the Sussexes and Cambridges together will now be far and few between. On Jan. 8, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced their plans to step down as senior roles and work to become financially independent. Their choice though wasnt well-received by too many royals and initially met with pushback from the Palace as Harrys father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William, were reportedly blindsided by the announcement. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton, and Prince William | CHRIS JACKSON/AFP via Getty Images The Sussexes eventually got Queen Elizabeths approval and retreated to Canada, but now that they are set to return to England many are wondering what kind of homecoming theyll get. What we do know is that Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wont be a part of it. So are they are intentionally avoiding Harry and Meghan? Why Harry and Meghan are returning to England The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the U.K. for their first time together since there bombshell announcement, but they have a handful of separate appearances while they are there. The prince will be sitting in on a special recording session with rocker Jon Bon Jovi on Feb. 28 to support of the Invictus Games and Meghan will be at an event in honor of International Womens Day on March 8. But they will both be present at the Endeavor Fund Awards on March 5. Why William and Kate are going to Ireland While Harry and Meghan are scheduled to attend different engagements in the U.K., Prince William and his wife will be attending royal events more than 350 miles away. Kensington Palace announced that from March 3 to March 5, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be in Dublin, County Meath, County Kildare, and Galway to highlight the many strong links between the U.K. and Ireland. The royal familys website states, The Duke and Duchess [of Cambridge] will learn about local organizations working to support and empower young people and projects which provide opportunities to help them develop important life skills. Their Royal Highnesses will also hear more about Irelands conservation initiatives and efforts to protect its environment, with a particular focus on sustainable farming and marine conservation. Are they avoiding Harry and Meghan? Of course, some royal fans began speculating that William and Kate decided to get out of dodge in order to avoid the Sussexes, especially after it was reported that the Cambridges wont be in attendance at the Invictus Games in May either. However, that doesnt appear to be the case as the couples trip to Ireland is at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and not going to the Invictus Games had been decided long before the Sussexes chose to step down. William had not been expected to attend even before the news broke about Harry and Meghans decision to step away from public life, a royal source told The Sun. So it is highly unlikely that he and Kate will be a part of the event in any way. But it isnt a snub. The entire royal family remain hugely supportive and very proud of Harrys work on Invictus and think it is a wonderful event. As for the Sussexes return to England, Will and Kate wouldnt be able to avoid Harry and Meghan even if they wanted to. They will appear together before the Sussexes officially step down Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry | PAUL GROVER/AFP via Getty Images Both couples are set to make an appearance for Commonwealth Day on March 9. The event will be held at Westminster Abbey where the dukes and duchesses will join the queen. Harry and Meghan will officially step down from their royal duties on March 30. A spokesperson for the pair told People, Starting April 1, Harry and Meghan will no longer hold an office at Buckingham Palace and will instead be represented by their U.K. charity foundation team. Read more: The Couple Joining Prince William and Kate as New Fab Four After Harry and Meghans Exit Could Be a PR Nightmare The Trends report predominantly covers land value activity for the prior year. Janie Gatzman, ARA, who with Tiffany Holmes, ARA, Co-Chairs the publication, stated "The 2020 edition of Trends highlights how anticipated SGMA groundwater regulations impacted land values throughout the past year, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley. It holds some surprisingly divergent value trends for wine grape vineyards, and perhaps not-so-surprising continued strength in value for nut crop orchards throughout the state." Gatzman added, "As Groundwater Sustainability Plans are implemented in much of the San Joaquin Valley this year, we expect the value trends from 2019-2020 to continue to show a starkly changing market due solely to regulatory intervention." Trends in Agricultural Land & Lease Values includes nine regions, covering California and Nevada. Each region features an editorial overview, Land and Lease Value charts organized by geographic area and land use, and Historical Value charts and graphs. Trends is a widely used resource tool in both the agricultural and real estate arenas and is the only report of its kind that provides this type of comprehensive data. Trends in Agricultural Land and Lease Values is published annually by the California Chapter, ASFMRA and is available in both hard copy and PDF formats. Orders may be placed through the California Chapter web site at www.calasfmra.com. The Outlook Agribusiness Conference is a full day event which will also feature commodity updates, an ag economy forecast and a water issues panel. The conference is open to the public and registration information can be found on the Chapter's web site. SOURCE California Chapter, ASFMRA Related Links http://www.calasfmra.com For my tenth birthday, mom arranged a sleepover party. Dad was charged with renting the movie Id watch that night with my friends. He went with Klute. And thats how Jane Fonda taught me about the life of a high-end prostitute. One day, about a year later, Mom and Dad told me and my older brother, Asher, they had something to speak with us about after dinner. By the time we all arranged ourselves on the khaki leather couch (this was the early 1980s), I knew what was happening. First Dad moved out, into an apartment near the creaky, suburban Baltimore house I grew up in, a home Moms parents had helped buy. He had Asher and me over, occasionally cooking the only can-free meal I remember him makinga wine-soaked stew he called Peasant Chicken. Then Mom moved outto attend a New Hampshire school that trained Waldorf teachersand Dad moved back in. Soon his girlfriend moved in too. B. was Dads twentysomething former psychiatric patient. She wore her hair in a wavy bob reminiscent of Elizabeth McGovern and knew all the words to Brian Eno songs. My brother and I developed acute crushes on her almost immediately. Eventually, Mom moved back to the house and Dad moved to Northern California. I dont remember much about saying goodbye to him, but every winter Im reminded of one important detail: He gave me his beautiful, long tweed Burberry overcoat. He wouldnt need it where he was going. He wouldnt be back for it. Courtesy of Maccabee Montandon For years after he gave it to me, the coat remained, barely touched, in the back of whatever closet in whatever apartment Id just moved to. I struggled to find myself after high school and thus found myself in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, where I met a few incredible people I remain friends with to this day, two inspiring teachers, and Catherine Crawford, to whom Ive now been married for 20 years. Story continues Through all those moves, all that time, the coat didnt interest me muchin part, I suspect, because my dad didnt interest me much. He felt more like a fictional character than a flesh-and-blood father. He was intensely smart, had a lively, absurdist mind, and was capable of great charisma. As a kid, I attended a poetry reading and saw Dad perform his work in an abandoned train station. (This was about when he made his own business cards: Poet & Alchemist.) But until my mid-20s, he was inscrutable. Moody, aloof, estranged from his sister. Cut off from his family, who remained in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Dad grew up in cold climates, and despite the fact that he never had any money, I understood why one day hed want to buy a nice, warm coat. Eventually, it also helped me understand why hed want to head West. The summer after I graduated from UC Santa Cruz, Catherine and I crisscrossed Europe by train, staying wherever friends would let us crash. It was the most exhilarating three months of my life to that pointand the most expensive. We came home broke and had little choice but to move into the Little House in the backyard of the Walnut Creek cottage where Dad lived with my stepmom. (This was before hed constructed an authentic, to-scale Sioux-style teepee in the yard, so there was still enough space back there.) The Little House had been built for my step-siblings when they were kids. It was meant for playingthe ceiling couldnt have been more than three and a half feet tallnot living. Nonetheless, Catherine and I slept there for many months while we figured out what to do with our lives. During that time, my relationship with my dad shifted. Now, when Dad started down one of his favorite, knotty, rhetorical trailson the work of Richard Feynman, say, or the being of Charlize TheronI actually paid attention. Had something to say, could further the dialogue. As a kid I was unable to deconstruct Klute, but now, after having studied some postmodern lit, I could hold my own. In Dads eyes, Id become a person he recognized. Intellectually, at least, if not sartorially: I was now in an awkward Rude Boyprivate eye phase, all tapered pants and thrift-store rain slickers. I had not yet seen the beauty of Dads coat. We kept it up after Catherine and I moved to Berkeley. Dad was curious about my life, my first awkward steps as a professional writer, the quasi-bohemian existence Catherine and I had stumbled into. I wanted to hear about his work with poor, often schizophrenic patients in an Oakland psychiatric clinic. I was especially interested in one of Dads then patients, a painter named Richard, and he and I began to hang out a little. Richards paintings were mysterious, soulful, unlike anything Id ever seen. I thought he had the potential to be a great outsider artist, and so I wrote a profile about him for a local weekly newspaper. Suddenly, my life and my dads were merging in meaningful ways. If Id still lived back East, I probably wouldve worn his coat in winter. In May of 2000, Catherine and I moved to Brooklyn to see about our uncertain literary ambitions. The plan was to give it five years and then head back to the Bay Area to start a family. Without meaning to, wed become New Yorkers. We raised our two daughters 3,000 miles from Dad. Surprisingly, he took an interest in grandparenthood. Courtesy of Daphne Montandon Several years ago, Dad flew in from California for the last time. His fine, vaguely Fonda-like features had rounded with age, his sawdust curls replaced by grey wisps. Where he once loomed over me, he appeared to have shrunk a few inches, closer to my size. His deep independent streak had darkened slightly into a non-menacing survivalism. Hed begun wearing all black and arrived with a cane hed fashioned into a long knife with a hidden blade. And so, once more, I found myself delivering a sentence out loud to my father I never wanted to say: Dad, you cant bring weapons into our home. (When hed first met Catherine, wed played pick-up basketballhis game was as elbow-y as Kurt Rambis's, but way spazzierand I had to firmly admonish: Dad, you cant wipe your blood on my girlfriend!) It was a few days before Thanksgiving in 2015 when my stepbrother, Abe, called from Walnut Creek. I was just leaving a morning dentist appointmentthe moment I saw Abes number on my phone, I instinctively accounted for the time change and knew it couldnt be good news at that hour. It wasnt: Dads melanoma had returned, aggressively, destructively. Hed been complaining about a lack of energy for a few months, but had chalked it up to the changing seasons. Hed been in denial. Or hed known what was happening and didnt want to alarm me. He was 69 years old. This winter, Dads Burberry coat is the first one I take from the closet on cold days. Im sure a shrink could have a field day with all the metaphors: Its missing buttons, the collar is unspooling, revealing split seams, and the lining is undone in a way that requires a jerky, un-sensual dance every time I put my left arm through the sleeve. But its also warm and comfortable. One day in December, while waiting for a train, I slipped my hand into the left pocket of the coat. I felt a familiar but forgotten object: a notebook, about the size of a deck of playing cards, which Id found in my dads room after he died. I flipped it open, landed on the last page, and saw his blocky, all-caps handwriting: DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE ARE LARGELY A MATTER OF EMBELLISHED LIES. I put the notebook back and stepped onto the train. Originally Appeared on GQ 11.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Donald Trump is fuming about the spread of the coronavirus, but not because of the human impact of the outbreak. No, the president is deeply concerned about the looming global pandemic because he thinks it could hurt the stock market and impact his 2020 reelection campaign. According to The Washington Post, Trump is highly concerned about the market and has encouraged aides not to give predictions that might cause further tremors. He is expected to talk to officials on Wednesday, said aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The report added, Privately, Trump has become furious about the stock markets slide, according to two people familiar with the presidents thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal details. In other words, for Donald Trump to care about this crisis, the stock market needed to tank and his political fortunes needed to be threatened in some way. As White House Brian Karem noted on Twitter, Not worried about the sick people. Worried about his greatest talking point in getting re-elected. More via The Washington Post: While he has spent the past two days traveling in India, Trump has watched the stock markets fall closely and believes extreme warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have spooked investors, the aides said. Some White House officials have been unhappy with how Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has handled the situation, they said. In January, during his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump dismissed questions about the coronaviruss impact in the United States. We have it totally under control, Trump told CNBC at the time. Pressed about the confirmed case in Washington state, Trump said: Its one person coming in from China. We have it under control. Its going to be just fine. Now there are more than 50 people in the United States with coronavirus, and health officials believe the number will continue to grow. Trump only sees in dollar signs and poll numbers Donald Trump has called himself the most pro-life president in American history, but its clear that he only sees the world in dollar signs and poll numbers. The truth is that if the coronavirus was not impacting the stock market something that threatens his favorite political argument he likely wouldnt have even known or cared about it. The fact that lives are at risk simply doesnt register to him since its not affecting his personal life. Now, as a global health pandemic looks inevitable and the stock market tumbles, Donald Trumps is pretending to be concerned about the deadly virus. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Opposition is growing to the Defense Department's transfer of nearly $1.7 billion from this year's National Guard and Reserve budget allocation to fund the U.S.-Mexico border wall. On Monday, the National Governors Association (NGA) joined the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) in urging President Donald Trump not to redirect, among other funds, about $1.3 billion from the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA) to border wall construction. "Time and time again, with increasing frequency, the National Guard must answer the call to protect us from wildfires and hurricanes; flooding and landslides; and threats against our global and homeland security," NGA said in a news release Monday. "Governors are united in urging the Administration to reverse course on the planned reprogramming and restore these critical funds." Trump frequently campaigned on extending and improving the border wall in 2016, and his financial requests to Congress, except for $1.4 billion to end a government shutdown last year, have largely gone unanswered. Related: Air Force Reservist Picked to Lead Wisconsin National Guard in Wake of Sexual Assault Scandal So the president declared a state of emergency at the border and tried to divert $3.6 billion, according to a Washington Post story last month. The Trump administration's latest plan would transfer $3.8 billion from the Defense Department's fiscal year 2020 budget allocation, according to a Politico article published Feb. 13. Congress has historically fully funded the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account and increased investment to procure National Guard vehicles and aircraft, NGA staff noted. "NGREA is critically important to ensuring the great reliability of our National Guard's dual use equipment and protecting the safety of our service members," NGA staff wrote in a news release. The governors' support comes about a week after Michael McGuire, NGAUS chairman, and J. Roy Robinson, NGAUS president, wrote a joint letter to Trump asking him to take "swift action" to restore the funds to avoid "severe and long-term damage." "All of these funds are essential to maintain National Guard interoperability, lethality, and readiness in support of the National Defense Strategy," they wrote Feb. 18. "We have concerns regarding the targeting of these specific accounts, making the National Guard disproportionally shoulder the burden as bill payer." NGAUS also wants Trump to restore $100 million to the Army National Guard's High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) modernization program and $196 million for the Air National Guard's C-130J aircraft. The administration's reprogramming also pulled all appropriated funds to support the National Guard's counter-narcotics operations, according to the letter. Meanwhile, the Adjutants General Association of the United States has expressed concern over redirecting these funds away from equipment. "Our airmen in Montana and elsewhere are flying the oldest model aircraft with technology that no longer meets the demands of our warfighter mission, yet production of newer model aircraft is cut by our DoD," Matt Quinn, Montana adjutant general and Adjutants General Association of the United States president, said in a statement. "The safety and readiness of our service members must be our first priority." McGuire and Robinson reminded Trump of his campaign promise in 2016 when he addressed the NGAUS conference: "The National Guard will always have a direct line to the Oval Office," he told them. "We responded to your call to action and deployed to the southern border utilizing the very same systems and equipment funded by these accounts," they wrote. "For that reason, we felt it was important to bring this urgent matter to your personal attention." -- Dorothy Mills-Gregg can be reached at dorothy.mills-gregg@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DMillsGregg. Read More: US Soldier in Korea Has Active Duty Military's First Case of Coronavirus H istory teaches us to consider the counter-factual: what if the jury in the Harvey Weinstein trial in Manhattan had acquitted him of all charges? True, the disgraced movie producer would still be facing a separate prosecution in Los Angeles. But we would already be reading well-sourced accounts of Weinsteins ordeal, his smug relief that justice had been served and his plans for the future. Worse still, a signal would have been sent around the world; a greenlight to every workplace sexual harasser, every rapist who knows his victim (which is most of them), every sex pest in a position of power. Imagine if Weinstein a man against whom scores of women had the courage to testify, the personification of everything the #MeToo campaign has been fighting had walked free from the New York courtroom. Truly, it would have been a disastrous moment in this global quest for justice and social progress. It would also have been a dreadful blow for public confidence in the legal system. In this case, two-and-a-half years after the Weinstein revelations triggered an online uprising, the rule of law itself was on trial. And let us be candid these are not happy times for that indispensable prop of the social order. The populist Right regards the rule of law as an optional extra. Witness President Trumps promises of pardons to his cronies and, during his impeachment, to himself. Witness, in this country, Priti Patels reportedly rough treatment of officials who have the temerity to remind her of legal constraints. Matthew d'Ancona At the same time, the rise of identity politics has encouraged the belief that the legal system is yet another expression of power and privilege masquerading as a bulwark of equal rights. Weinsteins acquittal across the board would have accelerated this collapse of confidence. The movie mogul was, indeed, found not guilty of two counts of predatory sexual assault and one of first-degree rape. But he was convicted of the third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, and a count of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, a former production assistant. He is now a convicted rapist, behind bars, awaiting a sentence of five to 25 years. This is not all that might have been hoped for justice prevailed selectively, and by the skin of its teeth but it is so much more than nothing. Every successful social justice movement has had a powerful legal strand: black civil rights in the Sixties, the original womens equality movement, the many campaigns for LGBTQ+ people. The engine of change is cultural conspicuously so in the case of #MeToo. But there must also be visibly effective legal guardrails so that those who violate the rights that have been secured, in often lengthy struggles, face the full weight of criminal sanction. To quote the principle often attributed to Robert F Kennedy when he was US Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964: Secure convictions. What he meant was: Ensure that the legal system is seen to protect the vulnerable, to uphold social decency, and (perhaps above all) to stand up to power. The Weinstein case has tested that principle to its limits. Posing preposterously as the true victim, leaning improbably on a walking frame during the trial, this vicious man has ensured for decades that the women he preyed upon faced public humiliation, career failure and a future of solitude and surveillance. The prosecuting authorities dithered for far too long. Small wonder that the jurys verdict was awaited in a spirit of pessimism by so many habituated to a system that was stacked in favour of powerful men. Those who speak of the post-MeToo era reveal only their ignorance of how much remains to be done Weinsteins conviction, therefore, should be a cause of relief but not of complacency. On both sides of the Atlantic, the hurdles that stand between a woman who has been sexually assaulted or raped and the successful prosecution of her assailant are still dauntingly numerous. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network in the US, three out of four women who are assaulted do not report the crime. In this country, over the past five years, rape offences reported to the police have risen by about 65 per cent. Yet the proportion making it to court has more than halved. Demands for victims to hand over mobile phones and medical records have certainly encouraged many to withdraw from investigations. The Crown Prosecution Service in the UK has been accused of cherry picking cases, giving greater weight to conviction targets than to the imperatives of natural justice. In an especially damning phrase, Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Womens Justice in the UK, has spoken of the virtual decriminalisation of rape. All of which shows that we are still in the foothills of necessary change. Those who speak of the post-#MeToo era reveal only their ignorance of how much remains to be done. The Governments review of rape cases is welcome, but only as a recognition that there is a huge structural problem which needs to be addressed, not only by investigation but by radical action. It is possible both to welcome the Weinstein verdict, and to recognise that it is only a first, tentative step on the path towards justice. We are light years away from the legal reforms and cultural consensus that are required to deal with the systemic inequities disclosed by the #MeToo uprising. Nicola Liverani has many years of experience in business development, sales and project management and has an extensive international network. Most recently, Liverani was Country Manager at customer intelligence provider Webtrekk, which merged with Mapp in 2019. He was responsible for managing the Italian market. His other roles have been with, Nielsen, the measurement and data analysis provider, Nielsen and Red Sheriff, the market research company. As Senior Director, Partner Global, Nicola Liverani will lead the new partner team from Italy. His key responsibilities include maintaining existing partner relationships and developing new ones with Mapp. At the same time, cooperation with management consulting, technology and outsourcing service providers plus technical partners will be expanded. Nicola Liverani will also be responsible for defining and improving Mapp's global approach to partnerships, ensuring consistency in messaging, pricing, recruitment, documentation and partner certification. Maurizio Alberti, VP Global Sales at Mapp, comments: "Nicola is the perfect choice for the position of Senior Director, Partner Global. His extensive experience in the marketing and digital industry and his excellent network will be instrumental in raising awareness of Mapp products among our partners around the world." Steve Warren, CEO of Mapp, adds: "Technological expertise and collaborative exchange are extremely important for successful customer activation in digital marketing. Our partner program, led by Nicola, combines both components with the goal of developing best practices for sustainable customer engagement, involving a variety of stakeholders." Mapp's partners have access to a wide range of products and services providing insight-led customer engagement. Mapp allows to generate continuous cross-channel marketing interactions. Its technology helps partners transform data into valuable, actionable insights. Mapp's portfolio is designed holistically and covers analytics, customer insights, data management and cross-channel marketing. About Mapp Marketers and data specialists should be able to focus on what will make a difference for their business, instead of spending all their time taming the technology behind it. With the insight-led customer engagement platform Mapp Cloud, they can focus on what really counts and the exciting insights that come with it. Thanks to customer intelligence and marketing analytics, companies can easily and effectively gain data-driven customer insights across all channels in order to trigger highly personalized marketing activities. Customers benefit from AI-supported forecasting models that enable targeted and self-optimizing cross-channel campaigns. Automated messages are sent via the most suitable marketing channel, at the right time, with the optimal contact frequency. Thanks to advanced one-to-one personalization, the highest levels of engagement and long-term customer loyalty are achieved. Mapp has global offices in eight countries. Mapp's digital marketing platform helps more than 2,500 companies break away from the pack by uncovering missed opportunities, including Xerox, PepsiCo, LG, Qantas, Infinity, and Lloyds Banking Group. Press contacts: PR Agency: The PR Network Matt Cartmell +44 (0)7930 485 333 [email protected] https://www.thepr.network Mapp Digital Europe Harald Oberhofer +49 30 755 415 120 [email protected] www.mapp.com Mapp Digital US Christine Paulson +1 415-705-9250 [email protected] www.mapp.com SOURCE Mapp Related Links http://www.mapp.com Child care centers across South Korea will close for 10 days as part of the government's latest efforts to limit COVID-19 infections among the country's younger population, the government said Wednesday. "To prevent COVID-19 infections among infants, the government will close child care centers across the nation from Feb. 27 to March 8," Vice Health and Welfare Minister Kim Gang-lip told reporters. "We hope that people will refrain from using child care centers if children can be taken care of at home to minimize infections among children," Kim said, adding the temporary measure is aimed at minimizing infections. The government will still run emergency child care for children whose guardians cannot take time off. The government estimated around 10 to 20 percent of children use such programs. Around 75 percent of the country's child care centers have already temporarily closed until March as the new coronavirus shows no sign of abating. South Korea has so far reported 1,146 infections since reporting its first case on Jan. 20. On Sunday, the government announced that all kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools will start their new school year a week later than planned on March 9 as part of the anti-virus measures. It has also advised universities to postpone the new school term that starts in March by up to four weeks. (Yonhap) Photo credit: Jumbostay From House Beautiful If you've ever tried to catch some shuteye during a flight, let's be realit probably wasn't your best night's sleep ever. Even with a super comfy travel Ostrichpillow , you probably were still incredibly groggy come morning. So why, would anyone want to sleep on a plane, if it wasn't necessary? Well, this plane is different. Jumbostay is a hostel located in Stockholm-Arlanda, Sweden, with rich views... of the Stockholm Arlanda Airport. If you were wondering what sets Jumbostay apart from all the other hostels of the world, I'll clue you in: it's a decommissioned jet. Yup, this Boeing 747 jet, originally built in 1976, has been out of service since 2002. After a two-year renovation project, it was transformed into a hostel with 33 rooms, and then towed over to Stockholm-Arlanda in 2009, where it lives on the tarmac surrounding the airport. While some of the original seats, controls, and windows remain the same, this plane has been revamped to treat guests to a comfortable stay in a unique vessel. The jet has a total of 76 beds and offers a variety of rooms, including dorm rooms with multiple beds, single rooms, and even suites, such as: The Cockpit Suite and The Black Box Suite, both equipped with double beds. These luxe suites will cost you just below $200 USD, while the dorm rooms, the cheapest lodging option available, will cost around $46 USD and some change. Rooms come equipped with flatscreen TVs, free wireless internet, and cleaning services. Depending on which room youve booked will also determine whether or not you have a private bathroom, and if breakfast will be included. Insider recorded a video taking viewers through a stay at Jumbostay, and overall, it seemed like a positive experience. "Really they've stripped the entire plane out, and it feels like a hotel," says Insider's Charlie Floyd, who stayed in a single room. He admitted that he was surprised by how spacious his room was, and how much headspace he had from his bed. He also mentioned that his room had "plugs in the walls" and "new carpet down" Floyd explains that during his stay, it was -5 celsius degrees outside. However, the entire plane was heated and toasty." For closet space/storage, he showed how the jet had re-installed the overhead compartments for travelers to store their belongings. Story continues The video also introduces Insider's Ju Shardlow, who stayed in The Cockpit Suite. Many of the original controls remain intact here, and guests are invited to touch and play with them. Shardlow also notes how surprisingly quiet it was in the space, despite the fact that The Cockpit Suite had a window view of the airport in the distance, where planes could be seen taking off on the runway. She even mentions that the private bathroom in her suite had a ceramic sink and proper shower. Also, because she booked a suite, she had private access to the plane's VIP lounge. Still intact with all the original seats, this special chamber allows guests to soak up some history with their martinis. Other perks of choosing to stay in this decommissioned jet include being able to walk across the wings (which in the summer, allegedly, make a great spot to drink). Plus, the hotel staff is uniformed in flight attendant attire to really make guests feel like they're flying. But if you're not looking to stay over, Jumbostay wants travelers to know that everyone is welcome to visit its cafe, not just hostel guests. Breakfast, coffee, cookies, ice cream, sandwiches and warm meals, can be purchased in the cafe, according to the website. Photo credit: Jumbostay Interested in staying in a jet that wont take you anywhere per se, but will deliver you a one-of-a-kind stay? You can book a room here. You can also check out this Airbnb in France that lets you sleep on an actual airplane , if Sweden isnt on your travel bucket list right now. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram. You Might Also Like When scholars will write the history of modern China, one landmark will certainly be the day Mao Zedong founded the Peoples Republic of China from the rostrum on Tiananmen Square in October 1949; another milestone will be when the students revolution was brutally interrupted on the same Square on June 4,1989. The appearance of the CoViD-19 virus in Hubei in December 2019 seems destined to be another turning point in the life of the Communist Dynasty. As I write this, more than 2,700 casualties have already been officially declared and 80,000 patients would have been infected; these figures are, no doubt, on the lower side of the reality. Soon after the arrival in Wuhan of Chen Yixin, a Xi Jinping protege, as new deputy chief of the Central Guiding Group on the virus, the National Health Commission decided to readjust the number of infected cases by reclassifying them; in one day, there was an increase of 14,840 new cases in Hebei province alone. Bill Bishop, the author of the well-informed Sinocism Newsletter, commented: The situation remains very grim in Hubei and more cities in the province are going into quarantine lockdown. Do not be surprised for significantly higher case numbers to come. The announcement of the surge in new cases happened as the Hubei provincial and Wuhan municipal party secretaries were shown the door. Ying Yong, the mayor of Shanghai replaced Jiang Chaoliang as Hebeis party secretary, while Wang Zhonglin from Jinan province took Ma Guoqiangs seat as Wuhan party secretary. Incidentally, on the same day, Xia Baolong was appointed to replace Zhang Xiaoming as head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. All this shows that the Middle Kingdom is in turmoil, a word frequently synonymous of great disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes or epidemic. Often in the past, the emperor lost the mandate of heaven to rule when this occurred. It is during these days that President Xi Jinping chose to disappear for several days from TV screens and the Chinese media (two of his colleagues of the politburos standing committee, Wang Yang and Zhao Leji have not been publically seen since January 25). On February 10, a masked Xi finally reappeared in a hospital in Beijing, where he talked to workers of three hospitals in Wuhan via videoconference: Wuhan is a heroic city, and people of Hubei and Wuhan are heroic people who have never been crushed by any difficulty and danger in history. On the occasion of his well-orchestrated return, Xi was pompously named commander of the Peoples War against the epidemic. Despite many laudible efforts such as building a 1,000-bed hospital in one week, the people of China are angry. Dr Li Wenliang, one of the first doctors who sounded the alarm in December, was, in the first place, severely reprimanded by the local authorities. When he passed away, the Wuhan Central Hospital chose to deny his death, triggering a deeper anger among the Chinese public. The regimes hesitations to announce Dr Lis death show the dilemma of the Communist Party. But there are others collaterals with perhaps far more serious implications for Chinas future. Following the death of Dr Li Wenliang, a letter signed by hundreds of intellectuals asserted that he was a victim of speech suppression: For thirty years the Chinese have been made to surrender their freedom in exchange for safety, and now they fall prey to a public health crisis and are less safe than ever. A humanitarian disaster is upon us. The signatories have five demands; first, February 6, the day Dr Li died, should be declared National Freedom of Speech Day; second, the National Peoples Congress should implement the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution; third, the State must immediately cease censoring social media and deleting or blocking accounts. The intellectuals also asked that all citizens across the country should be treated equally and receive timely, proper, and effective medical care and finally beginning from today, [the State should] implement the [Chinese] Constitution! Quite an indictment! That is not all: Xu Zhangrun, a law professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, who has been under suspension, blamed Communist Party leaders for putting politics ahead of the people in a strongly worded piece published on overseas Chinese-language websites: The political system has collapsed under the tyranny, and a governance system [made up] of bureaucrats, which has taken [the party] more than 30 years to build has floundered, he said. Xu also affirmed: The level of popular fury is volcanic and a people thus enraged may, in the end, also cast aside their fear. Herein I offer my understanding of these developments in the broader context of the global system. Being mindful also of the cyclical nature of the political zeitgeist, and with a steady eye on what has been happening here in China since 2018 [when Xu published his famous critic of the regime, accusing Xi Jinping to have granted to himself an unlimited tenure]. At the same time, some Chinese websites quoted Wen Jiabao, the former Chinese premier, saying: Without the success in reforms of the political system, a historical tragedy such as the Cultural Revolution may be reborn. Wen elaborated: Now that the reform has reached a certain stage, without the introduction of political reforms, it is impossible to carry out the economic reform to their end, and the achievements already made may be lost. With the development of the economy, problems such as unfair distribution, lack of integrity, corruption, etc. have arisen. we must not only reform the economic system, but also reform the political system. To make things worse, it appears that there is some unhappiness within the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). On February 10, the Central Military Commission (CMC) issued stricter regulations for the relationship between the PLA and the civil regional governments; this was directly linked with the PLAs role in the fight against the virus. The political work department, the logistics support department and the discipline inspection commission jointly issued a notice which listed 13 strictly forbidden items, for example, [barring] PLA units to accept visits and donations from local civil units, enterprises, and individuals, in the form of money, marketable securities, and other payment vouchers. On the Chinese social media, commentaries said that the CMC did this to prevent the military units and local governments from colluding. At the same time, the State has increased its monitoring of the common man; many netizens recently received a notice from Douban, the popular Chinese social network, the news you posted has been removed as it contains radical political or ideological content. It referred to the lyrics of the Chinese national anthem that starts with: Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves! The words are indeed dangerous for the ruling party in the present context. All this does not augur well for the future of the Middle Kingdom; one can only hope that the peak of the epidemic will soon be reached; once the epidemic is under control, the leadership in Beijing will have to seriously think of the future of the present authoritarian system. After teasers yesterday realme today confirmed that the realme 6 and realme 6 Pro smartphones will be launched in India on March 5th on Flipkart. The company announced Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand ambassador. It has also revealed some specifications of the smartphone. The realme 6 will feature a single punch-hole screen and the realme 6 Pro will have dual punch-hole screen that will house an additional ultra-wide camera in addition to the normal camera. The realme 6 Pro will feature a 90Hz Ultra Smooth FHD+ Display. Regarding the cameras, both the phones will feature 64MP AI quad cameras, and the realme 6 Pro will feature ultra-wide lens, telephoto lens for 20x zoom and an ultra-macro lens. The realme 6 Pro will also come with 30W Flash Charge that promises 40% charge in 15 minutes. It also shows side-mounted fingerprint scanner, so the phone will have an LCD screen. As far as the realme 6, the live images from the FCC certification revealed rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, 5000mAh battery with 18W USB Type-C fast charging. It measures 164.4 x 75.x 9.0mm and weighs 195g. It will likely feature HD+ screen, runs Android 10 with realme UI. The company also announced blind order sale for Rs. 1000 and will go on sale from March 15th. realme will also sell launch event tickets at Rs. 599 starting from February 28th. This will include goodies worth Rs. 2500 and complimentary snacks, in addition to entry, says the company. The event takes place at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. Source 1, 2 GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is hoping to renew interest in an unsolved 1964 murder of Garfield Heights teenager Beverly Jarosz. Yost featured a photo of the slain 16-year-old on his offices Facebook page which regularly highlights unsolved murders and major crimes throughout the state. The strangulation and stabbing of the girl continues to baffle investigators after more than 55 years. Her body was discovered Dec. 28, 1964 in the bedroom of her Thornton Avenue home near Turney Road. Beverly was a junior at Marymount High School, a Catholic girls school, and was home with her sister on Christmas break when she was killed. Then-Cuyahoga County Coroner Samuel Gerber said it was as vicious a crime as I have seen in my 29 years as coroner. Investigators, who said during a re-visitation of the case in a 2014 story in The Plain Dealer, that the speed of the killing convinced them that the killing was planned. Family members also recalled that the teenage girl had a stalker, and detailed several hang-up phone calls and mysterious gifts left for the girl. Police chased down tip after tip but never developed enough evidence to make an arrest in the case. Yosts office did not say whether his office chose to spotlight the case for any specific reason, or whether investigators have developed any serious tips about the case in recent years. Anybody with information about the case is asked to call Garfield Heights police at 216-475-5686. Read more related stories and other crime stories on cleveland.com: Beverly Jarosz murder, 50 years later, getting new attention Man who used van to kill 1, injure another sentenced to life in prison Akron man gets life sentence for killing Massillon woman, burning body Man killed, another hurt in shooting in Clevelands Central neighborhood, police say Man attacked Cleveland woman by throwing unknown chemical in her face, police say Ohio Auditor orders former Bedford clerks to repay $80,000 stolen from water department If youd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesdays crime and courts comments section. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 N, a woman from Depok, West Java, was left shocked after a motorcyclist flashed his genitals as she closed the front gate to her home after returning from a nearby store. At that time, my neighborhood was very quiet, nobody else was around. I was carrying my child at that time. If I was not carrying my child, I would have screamed at him, I would have chased and hit him, N told kompas.com on last week. A month prior, a 21-year-old identified as CA witnessed a man conducting a similar act from his car on the sidewalk of Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, one of the busiest roads in the capital. 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 6. Fatima Goss Graves, the president of the National Womens Law Center said that the verdict provided hope that we can have a criminal justice system that reflects the reality of sexual violence. What does Ms. Graves mean by that? What does Mr. Weinsteins case reveal about sexual violence? Going Further Following the verdict, The New York Times asked some of Mr. Weinsteins accusers, legal experts and stakeholders in the #MeToo movement for their reactions. Those responses are compiled in the article Finally: Ashley Judd and Other Weinstein Accusers Respond to Verdict. Here are excerpts: Ashley Judd was the first actress to publicly accuse Mr. Weinstein of sexual misconduct. The story of #MeToo, of what the movement is about, is that men no longer have tacit permission to use their power or prestige to sexually access girls and womens bodies. Their power and position cannot be used in secret or in the open to exploit asymmetry of power. There will be consequences in the courtroom, in employment and in society. I would love for Harvey to have a restorative justice process in which he could come emotionally to terms with his wrongs. The criminal justice system is a distant second to a more humane kind of process. This is what he has created for himself: prison, lack of remorse, lack of accountability. The man is going to prison for sex crimes. Fatima Goss Graves is the president of the National Womens Law Center. What defense attorneys do is create a narrative that only one type of person could experience sexual violence, and that there is only one type of response. They discount behaviors that are actually really typical in an effort to blame victims. This moment we are in is an opportunity to disrupt the story of a typical survivor, and to disrupt the story of a typical response. Chanel Miller wrote a memoir, Know My Name, about her experience as the victim in a high-profile sexual assault case. Today we locked one man in one cell. We made progress because survivors keep speaking. Still, this was a case where many others looked away for decades. It was not just power that made him untouchable, people did. We cannot be afforded the neatness of closure. We should confront the question on our collective conscience: The next time you are aware of violence, will you be silent or speak? Zelda Perkins is a former Miramax assistant who was the first woman to break a nondisclosure agreement with Mr. Weinstein. Harvey going down for five years, 10 years, is not the end of this. This does not solve the problem. We cant all just turn our eyes back to normal life and think everything is OK. The fight absolutely doesnt stop here. I think Harvey has become the ogre and the figurehead of this awful situation, but he is not the only one. And I think we have to remember that #MeToo was not about Harvey Weinstein. Tarana Burke did not start #MeToo because of Weinstein. #MeToo has not been finished by him going to jail. And I hope this is the beginning of judges and juries understanding and taking the nuances of abuses of power more seriously. If you have more time, read the entire article. Then, engage in a Big Paper discussion in response to the questions: What is your reaction to the Harvey Weinstein verdict? Do you think the verdict will change how sexual harassment and assault are viewed and prosecuted? How do you think this will shift how teenagers talk about consent, sex and harassment? What do you think the verdict means for the #MeToo movement at large? Guidance for assessing the impact of ammonia from agricultural planning applications on designated sites have been withdrawn after widespread criticism from farmers. Northern Irish farming groups criticised the guidance imposed by Shared Environmental Services (SES), a body which advises councils. Opponents of the regulations said they were 'much stricter' than the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's rules. The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) applied to take a judicial review on the matter of guidance, issued last year, receiving support from the industry. The new policy was imposed 'without consultation or proper consideration', the union said, and 'thousands of jobs were put at risk' by the body's decision to implement the guidance. UFU president Ivor Ferguson said farmers were 'outraged' when the planning rules for assessing ammonia from farm applications were changed 'without warning or discussion with industry'. He said changes to the original policy made it 'virtually impossible' for most farm businesses to meet the SES thresholds. "Many of our members had already applied for planning or were preparing applications before the guidance was put in place," he said. "They had made financial commitments and, in some cases, spent thousands of pounds only to be left high and dry. "The roll out of this would have resulted in the vast majority of farmers across Northern Ireland being unable to build and develop their business had they remained in place." The UFU initially launched a legal challenge, but SES changed position and decided to withdraw the guidance. The farming union described this as a 'positive development and good news for farmers'. Ammonia levels have risen by 22% in Northern Ireland since 2010, compared to 5% in the rest of the UK. Australia's residential building industry is inching closer to the light at the end of a dark tunnel, with the downturn in construction poised to wind up this year, according to the latest forecast by the Housing Industry Association (HIA). The industry felt its sharpest decline in commencements last year when building starts fell from 225,061 to 174,770. This slowdown was one of the reasons behind the stalling in the overall economy, said Tim Reardon, chief economist at HIA. "Despite this whopping contraction, we believe that the cycle had just about run its course and the overall housing market reached a turning point at the end of 2019, buoyed by interest-rate cuts and house price growth," he said. However, Reardon said it is unlikely for the next upturn in home-building activity to reach the highs recorded during the boom years from 2014 to 2018. There are a few reasons why the upswing might not be as stellar as the one seen a few years back: First is the rate at which the population is growing. While the population is growing steadily at less than 400,000 per annum, recent gains pulled back from previous highs. "This steadier rate of population growth along with much of the underbuild, now largely worked down, means the pressure for new builds won't reach the same fever pitch," Reardon said. Also read: Growth "30 years ahead" of prediction Another reason was the credit squeeze. While regulators have since loosened some restrictions, tighter lending standards are still affecting homeownership rates. "Typically, any drop in owner-occupier demand for new homes would likely be filled by investors, except this time round we wouldn't count on the same wave of foreign investment, given the barriers they now face with punitive rates of stamp duty when entering the domestic housing market. As a consequence, we expect upward pressure on rents," Reardon said. Given these factors, Reardon projects the growth in construction to be a "very modest affair". HIA figures expect the current dynamics to affect the construction of multi-units. During the boom years, multi-unit starts were, on average, hitting 105,000 per annum. For this year, 75,750 multi-unit homes are expected to commence, followed by 77,390 next year, and 80,980 by 2022. In terms of detached housing, commencements are slated to hit 101,390 this year, 102,750 by 2021, and 104,350 in 2022. These figures are lower than the average 117,000 per annum detached-housing starts during the 2014-2018 boom period. Reardon said the home-building system needs a strong national economy to continue to grow. "Unfortunately, international factors are likely to impact on the volume of home building in Australia over the medium term. The effects of trade and tourism restrictions with China pose a material downside risk to our forecasts. As these effects are still emerging we have not factored them into our forecasts," he said. A separate report from Master Builders Australia said new home building starts will likely bottom out during 2020/21 at around 159,000. Dwelling commencements are expected to hit above the 200,000 mark by 2024/25. Australia needs around 200,000 new homes to be built each year to meet future population growth. Our latest forecasts indicate that we are set to fall considerably short of this requirement for a few years yet, said Shane Garrett, chief economist at Master Builders Australia. For many flyers a luxury lie flat bed on long-haul flights has been out of reach, but economy passengers might soon have another option. Air New Zealand has developed a sleeping pod prototype that could help passengers cope with near-18 hour flights. The Economy Skynest concept unveiled on Wednesday (February 26) features six bunks, much like those on sleeper trains. The opportunity to stretch out would come at a cost in addition to their regular seat, but one the airline believes people would be willing to pay, especially as demand rises for non-stop services. Turning the pods into reality won't be easy. Analysts say the airline faces a stiff hurdle in making the economics of the new product work, and in meeting safety requirements. The airline said it would make a final decision on the Skynest next year, after it assessed the performance of its new Auckland to New York route, due to take flight in October. HARTFORD High school students testified for a second day in favor of legislation that would require menstrual products be available in all middle and high school bathrooms across the state, including gender-neutral bathrooms. The goal is to fight period poverty to prevent girls and others who menstruate from missing school due to an inability to afford period products as well as destigmatize a natural biological phenomenon that affects more than half the population. When young menstruaters cant afford period products and have to miss out on school, that doesnt sit well with us, said Amy Barratt, a senior at Greenwich High School who has been working with state Sen. Alex Bergstein, D-Greenwich, on the legislation. Most of the time those products are only provided in the nurses office, she added. We think this is extremely stigmatizing. You go to the nurse if youre sick and menstruation is not that. You wouldnt go to the nurses office if you needed toilet paper. Thats why its so important that menstrual products go into bathrooms, because it sends the message that menstruation is not an illness, its a natural bodily function. Barratt and Charlotte Hallisey, also a senior at Greenwich High School, worked with Greenwich Public Schools to get period products in all bathrooms in the local system, but didnt want to stop there. They are now part of a statewide coalition of students working to end period poverty in the state, many of whom have testified in front of legislative committees at the state Capitol this week in favor of the bill. State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, a vice-chair of the Public Health Committee and the Committee on Children, heard testimony from the girls and said he is shocked this is a conversation being had in 2020. This is a physiologic need, said Anwar, a medical doctor. We have to wake up and its about time. It amazes me that we are having this conversation in 2020 and that people are looking at this from the perspective of dollars and cents. When people are going to be speaking about the cost issue, it would be good to understand they are putting a dollar value to a physiologic need, a human need. By doing that youre saying some people are more important than others, and that should be unacceptable to us as a society. Bergstein said initial cost estimates for the first year would be about $400,000, which includes the installation of dispensers in bathrooms that dont already have them. After that, it is estimated the annual cost would be roughly $250,000 for supplies. She said the student group has applied to the Partnership for Connecticut, a public-private partnership created with the Dalio Foundation to help disengaged middle and high school students stay in school. This seems to be aligned with their mission to keep students engaged in school in Connecticut, Bergstein said. It is actually a low cost, high impact solution to keeping young people in school. Some cities like New York and Boston have already begun offering free menstrual products in school bathrooms. Illinois and California has passed legislation to make feminine hygiene products available in schools with high numbers of low-income students, and New Hampshire passed a bill in 2019 requiring public schools to provide free feminine products. In 2016, Connecticut passed legislation to add a tax exemption for feminine hygiene products that went into effect in 2018. A 2019 study conducted by Harris Insights & Analytics found 20 percent of girls aged 13 to 19 reported being unable to afford to purchase menstrual hygiene products, and the same percentage reported they have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to period products. Mariam Khan, a Hamden High School senior and lead organizer of the Connecticut chapter of PERIOD, a national advocacy group pushing menstrual equity, said she worked to get rid of a 25 cent fee on the products in Hamden schools, and has taken on other iniatatives to help make period products available in schools, but pleaded with legislators to take that burden off her hands. This is not something we should have to fight for, we should not have to fight for a right, Khan said Its the job of you all as public servants to take this on ... women should not ever have to decide between food or supplies. No student should have to decide between school or periods and no menstruator should have to decide between their body or humanity. kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt Qualcomm is looking to drive forward the development of AR and VR hardware with a powerful new XR reference design. The company designed the recently announced hardware in collaboration with Goertek. Specifically, its partner built the headset on Qualcomms Snapdragon XR2 5G platform, with the goal of assisting OEMs to develop AR, VR and MR devices for both consumers and enterprises in 2020. Dubbed the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform Reference Design, this is not a consumer product. Its intended to act more like a white label product, to a certain extent. More directly, its a design that Qualcomm expects third-parties to copy. Those companies could copy it outright or simply reference its build to develop their own, more finely-tuned solutions. Those may or may not have all of the same technology inside or features. Instead, theyd be individually built out to serve whatever purpose the given OEM has in mind. Advertisement Qualcomms new reference AR, VR design is its highest-tech solution to date The Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform at the center of the new reference design follows on the companys XR1 platform. The new design in question is technically the companys fourth-generation reference design for VR, MR, and AR. So it shouldnt be too surprising that its far more powerful than previous generations. Qualcomm claims that, compared to its present Snapdragon XR platform, the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform Reference Design delivers two-times the CPU and GPU performance. Thats on top of four-times more video bandwidth, six-times higher resolution, and eleven-times improvements to AI. Aside from the improvements internally, the design supports as many as seven cameras. Thats four cameras on the outside with two RGB cameras designated for MR and two more for head-tracking and depth mapping. A fifth camera is also allowed for facial and lip tracking or controller tracking. Advertisement Internally, there are two cameras for individually tracking eye movement. The embedded eye-tracking features compatibility with Tobii Spotlight Technology. That allows for foveated rendering via the up to 2K-by-2K resolution LCD panels. Other features included are an IR emitter for hand and head tracking with simultaneous localization and mapping. That stacks on top of 3D audio and voice command support as well as electromagnetic tracking for low-latency 6DoF controller and peripheral tracking. That tracking means that no line-of-sight restrictions exist with those latter features. Finally, the headset is 5G enabled via the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem with support for mmWave and sub-6.0GHz networks and dual-mode 5G networking. Advertisement When will this arrive and when will products release based on the design Qualcomm says that its new AR, VR design is expected to be available in the coming months for select partners. As noted above, this is not a consumer-ready device that will become available at retail. Now, Qualcomms intent is to encourage new virtual, augmented, and mixed reality headsets from third-party manufacturers for this year. Thats expressly highlighted in its announcement. That goal should be achievable since most of the groundwork has been laid out by the reference design. So developers dont need to build the solution from scratch. But that doesnt necessarily mean that new headsets based on the design in 2020. It will ultimately be down to individual OEMs to determine when final products are announced or released. The Supreme Court Wednesday sought response of the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea challenging former J-K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's detention under the Public Safety Act. Mufti was arrested moments after the Rajya Sabha passed the law to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs) in August last year following the abrogation of Article 370 which had granted special status to the erstwhile state. The UT authorities on February 5 invoked the PSA provision against Mufti to keep her in detention which has been challenged by her daughter Iltija Mufti before the top court. Issuing notice to the UT administration, a bench headed by Justice also asked Iltija to give an undertaking stating that she has not filed any other petition before other judicial forum, including the high court, challenging the detention of her mother. Iltija had filed a habeas corpus petition in the apex court challenging the government's order for invoking the PSA provision against the PDP chief. Habeas corpus is a writ seeking production of a person, who has allegedly been in illegal detention, before a court. The bench, also comprising Justices Vineet Saran and M R Shah, asked Iltija's counsel Nitya Ramakrishnan as to why she did not move to the high court with the plea. Referring to an order of the high court, the lawyer said that it cannot hear such a plea and moreover, the apex court has already entertained a similar petition filed against the detention of another former chief minister of the erstwhile state Omar Abdullah. The bench has now posted the plea for hearing on March 18. During the brief hearing, the lawyer for Iltija said the impugned dossier, which formed the basis for invocation of the PSA, was "manifestly biased slanderous, libellous" against Mufti. She also said that a person cannot be deprived of fundamental freedom and personal liberty on these grounds. The bench asked the lawyer to give an affidavit as to whether Iltija or somebody else has filed any other petition in the high court against the detention order. The lawyer replied in negative and undertook to file an affidavit in this regard in a day or two. She also said that Mufti has been accused of creating fear among majority of the population and playing "cheap politics". She said that not a single incident of incitement has been referred in the dossier by the administration and the PDP chief has been wrongly put under detention under the PSA. The same bench had earlier issued notice to the UT's administration on a similar plea filed against the government notification invoking the PSA against Abdullah. Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political leaders from the National Conference and its arch-rival PDP were booked under the PSA by the administration in February, barely hours before their six-month-long "preventive detention" was to come to an end. The grounds of detention against Abdullah claim that on the eve of reorganisation of the state, he had allegedly made attempts to provoke general masses against the revocation of provisions of Articles 370 and Article 35A. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There's not been so much build-up for a Bollywood movie in a long time as much as there has been for Brahmastra. We know almost nothing about the movie, but there's so much hype that people are already eager for its release, even though that's months away. Dharma Productions Actually, it's understandable, I mean, just look at the star-cast! Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt - that alone would be enough to make a hit movie and on top of that, the idea of a trilogy is exciting in itself. [More Pictures] Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt on sets of #Brahmastra. pic.twitter.com/50O4cRxwqi Ranbir Kapoor Universe (@RanbirKUniverse) June 4, 2019 Now, Big B has increased the anticipation even more by sharing a few pictures from the set, with a great caption. Talking about how hard everyone is working for this movie, he even had the best compliment for Ranbir Kapoor. T 3452 - .. work starts early .. like 6 am .. rehearsing, blocking and then shooting it .. with one of my favourites .. I need 4 of thoses to keep up with his enormous talent .. !! pic.twitter.com/7m3Noaa7pT Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 25, 2020 "I need 4 of those chairs to keep up with his enormous talent" - what a hilarious yet flattering thing to hear, but it gets a thousand times better coming from none other than the legendary Amitabh Bachchan himself. What a day to be Ranbir Kapoor, right? image1 (Amitabh Bachchan/Twitter) Well, this was enough to get everyone excited to see these two stars on the big screen together. "I need 4 of those to keep up with his enormous talent" Can't wait to see you both on screen https://t.co/OOt7Bx5TYu Jatin (@Kabir_thapar08) February 25, 2020 Calm down, man, you don't need to put everyone else down like that. And we compare him to what ?? Non actors, over acting idiots .. this guy is the Best actor by far .. #RanbirKapoor whenever you perform on screen whether it's an add or a movie you just lit the scene and screen... We are blessed to see an actor of your calibre https://t.co/Nz20QutRTZ Nitesh_RK (@NSMalvatkar) February 25, 2020 What is with all the hate? Wow , what a compliment !! And some Loser #RanveerSingh fans were calling him talentless lol In your face , thank you Mr. Bachchan , #RanbirKapoor is best actor of his generation, period! https://t.co/orq5gYDffy Sweety (@Sweety_speaks) February 26, 2020 For sure. For me #Brahmastra is THE movie of 2020! Ayan Mukerji + BigB/Ranbir/Alia + mammoth cast + fantastic story = BLOCKBUSTER! https://t.co/mTW54lqbuw Upala KBR (@upalakbr999) February 25, 2020 Hmm. You see him at it-for more than 5 decades & then there are new/upcoming/stars who in their head think they have arrived & start throwing their weight around! It takes a life of discipline & complete devotion to art....thats why there will always be only one @SrBachchan! https://t.co/CiG2I2srfZ Lada Guruden Singh (@ladasingh) February 26, 2020 Oops. sitting on those chairs as if its kader khan sahab's money https://t.co/cFNT4s8p9M expert analyst (@The_Sleigher) February 25, 2020 He's a fan. Amit ji has always been so supportive towards Rks work! He is truly a fan of Ranbirs craft. Cant wait for #Brahmastra https://t.co/DihxpBLBr8 Urvi (@yadav_urvi) February 26, 2020 Very dedicated. Sir your dedication towards work is ultimate and inspiration to generations to come always Take care, Love you https://t.co/jZ8sCulIlq Aashish Palod (@aspalod) February 25, 2020 So much love. Thanks for the shares during your busy schedule. Lots of love and respect for you @SrBachchan Ji https://t.co/yImjnTpOm3 Jasmine Jani EF (@JaniJasmine) February 25, 2020 Of course! That's a compliment #RanbirKapoor can put in his CV! And a worthy one. Sir @chintskap, you would agree. https://t.co/vCndnudsQo Noyon Jyoti Parasara | (@NoyonSENSE) February 25, 2020 Jugaad, yes. Look at the legs of chairs, we called it #jugaad right sir @SrBachchan ??? https://t.co/D2e4z3Rb95 Umesh Yadav (@UmeshYa41662078) February 26, 2020 So polite. Would love to see more pics of its OK https://t.co/yImjnTpOm3 Jasmine Jani EF (@JaniJasmine) February 25, 2020 Always. People should learn from this legend priority is always work @SrBachchan https://t.co/3pZtMd2BQs Kamal Jain (@kamaljain2015) February 26, 2020 While weighted blankets have been all the rage in the 'wellness' world over the past 12 months, a new calming creation is quickly gaining momentum online. The 'therapy pod', a bean bag inspired piece of furniture described as a 'dream like experience', has been designed to calm the mind and help to boost the mood of children and adults of all ages. Launched by Australian company Therapy, the pods contain crumbed polyurethane 'sensory foam' instead of polystyrene beans that provide support while still delivering the 'sinking' feeling like bean bags do. The 'therapy pod', a bean bag inspired piece of furniture described as a 'dream like experience', has been designed to calm the mind and help to boost the mood of children and adults of all ages Launched by Australian company Therapy , the pods contain crumbed polyurethane 'sensory foam' instead of polystyrene beans that provide support while still delivering the 'sinking' feeling like bean bags do How does the pod differ from a traditional bean bag? * Conforms to your body shape, giving you the perfect amount of cushioning and support without making you sore * Never needs to be topped up * Quiet, and doesn't make any "crunching" noises * Super durable and doesn't put any strain on your body Advertisement The foam is also proven to deliver proprioceptive sensory output - sensations provided by the joints, muscles and tissues - which aids in regulating mood, especially in children. Dubbed 'Australia's comfiest cloud', the pod has 81 five-star reviews and ranges in price from $649 for the solo pod (20kg and 115cm long) to $849 (30kg and 170cm long) for the family pod. They are often used in occupational therapy clinics and schools to aid in relaxation and mood-boosting and the foam comes with a 10-year warranty. 'Don't be fooled. Therapy Pod is NOT a bean bag. We use a super durable inner lining and washable cover to ensure there's no spills or mess,' the company writes on its website. Dubbed 'Australia's comfiest cloud', the pod has 81 five-star reviews and ranges in price from $649 for the solo pod (20kg and 115cm long) to $849 (30kg and 170cm long) for the family pod They are often used in occupational therapy clinics and schools to aid in relaxation and mood-boosting and the foam comes with a 10-year warranty 'Our Sensory Foam is manufactured right here in Australia and will never go flat.' Customers have raved about the comfy buy online, with some describing it as their 'best buy in years'. 'My son has sensory issues and had not been able to sleep alone in his own bed for years so we tried a weighted blanket, and instant fix - sleepy happy and independent,' one woman wrote. 'It was such an instant and dramatic improvement, I decided to try the Therapy Pod (family size) and OMG, he loves it. We all now want one, they are impossibly comfortable and relaxing.' 'Don't be fooled. Therapy Pod is NOT a bean bag. We use a super durable inner lining and washable cover to ensure there's no spills or mess,' the company writes on its website How do foam bean bags work to calm you? The filling provides proprioceptive (deep pressure) sensory input, to calm the nervous system, help self-regulate emotions, curve challenging behaviours and have an organising effect for many individuals. The foam filled therapy stimulates deep touch pressure on the body's joints and muscles which provides sensory input to calm individuals who experience stress and anxiety. Source: Kloudsac Advertisement An adult woman with sensory issues said it's a 'dream to sit and lie in' and she was surprised by how comfortable it was. 'The cover suede feels soft and nice without that 'slimy' feel that these textures sometimes give me, and after letting the pod air for a day I have had no issues at all with the foam or any smells,' she wrote. 'I'm really really pleased with this purchase. I know I sound like ad copy but really, I'm just so excited that it delivers on the promise. I've had it for a month and I'm just thrilled.' Other companies that sell similar pods include Kloudsac, Noomi and Bliss Beanbags. Customers have raved about the comfy buy online, with some describing it as their 'best buy in years' Sensory aids have been growing in popularity of late, with weighted blankets one of the most popular calming buys on the market. Donna Emery, an occupational therapist in Queensland, told the ABC that they're one of the tools she uses to help kids feel calmer as the pressure 'helps them feel their bodies better' which makes them 'calmer and more relaxed'. 'Some of these children have low muscle tone and they're not really feeling where their body is in space,' she said.' The pressure can also feel like a 'hug' and is known to ease anxiety and stress in men and women of all ages by boosting serotonin and dopamine. I am so excited to celebrate another annual Lobster Fest at Coco Plum Island Resort, because we make the occasion grander, more fun and more delicious with every passing year. Our chefs look forward to unleashing their creativity and year five is no exception. When a popular destination like Coco Plum Island Resort announces the dates of its 2020 Lobster Fest celebration, tourists listen up. With summer on the horizon and rates for lodgings on the island more affordable, the excuse to attend a nationwide party celebrating the humble lobster is truly irresistible. Our lobster industry has gone from a fleet of small fishing boats manned by lobster trappers to a sophisticated operation that has become one of the nations biggest revenue generators, Coco Plum Island Resort Marketing Director Kimberly Castillo explains. Lobster Fest is more than just an excuse to put on a big show and serve a wide variety of lobster dishes. Its also a great excuse for a nationwide party that celebrates summer. Whats unique about Coco Plums Lobster Fest experience? This luxurious private island will morph into a vacationers paradise during these dates: July 29th, August 12th, August 19th and August 26th. Thats when the resort will roll out the red carpet in honor of these delicious crustaceans by scheduling exciting activities to keep islanders blissfully content at times and wild with excitement at others. We invite guests to snorkel the barrier reef and environs and then encourage them to dry off so they can visit famous Maya ruins during their stay. Guests get their cultural fix by spending time amid Belizes friendliest peoplethe Garifunanobody leaves their company without being asked if they would like to bust some moves on a dance floor and learn enough drumming techniques to enhance their sojourn, says Castillo. I am so excited to celebrate another annual Lobster Fest at Coco Plum Island Resort, Castillo adds, because we make the occasion grander, more fun and more delicious with every passing year. Our chefs look forward to unleashing their creativity and year five is no exception. Not only will tourists enjoy amazing recipes, but they will also be invited to sway to the sounds of live drumming, sing their hearts out at karaoke and participate in friendly lobster-themed games." I would encourage anyone who has never had a private island experience to come for Lobster Fest because Coco Plum celebrates this occasion in such a special way. It may be my job to promote this island and Lobster Fest, but even if it wasnt, I couldn't help myself from sharing details about the island and the upcoming celebration! she adds. Coco Plum Island Resort is a 16-acre, adults-only award winning private island resort hosting guests age 18 and up. This full-service, all inclusive destination is a self-sustaining resort accessed by boat from Dangriga, located approximately nine miles off the Belize mainland. For more information about Coco Plum Island Resort and the 2020 Lobster Fest, contact call 1-800-763-7360 (toll free), 011-501-522-2611 (local in Belize) or email contact@cocoplumcay.com. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Wednesday (February 26) opened entry and exit gates at all stations. Normal services have resumed at all the metro stations. Notably, the entry and exit gates of Mandi House, ITO and Delhi Gate remained open on Tuesday late evening to facilitate normal services. Jaffrabad, Maujpur-Babarpur, Gokulpuri, Johri Enclave and Shiv Vihar remain closed on Tuesday in the wake of violence in North-East Delhi region. The metro trains were terminated at Welcome metro station. Security Update Entry & exit gates at all stations have been opened. Normal services have resumed in all stations. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) February 26, 2020 On the intervening night of 25-26 February, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval along with Delhi Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police North-East visited Seelampur to review the security situation in different parts of North-East Delhi. At least 13 deaths have been reported since Monday in violence that erupted in parts of north-east Delhi between protesters in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those who opposed it. Around 190 have suffered injuries in the violence so far. This development comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Delhi Police and officials of his ministry, and he appreciated the participation of all parties and urged them to exercise restraint, rise above party lines to tackle the situation. Amit Shah also urged leaders to avoid giving provocative speeches and statements which could result in a flare-up of the situation. Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Crime) Satish Golcha late on Tuesday night reportedly said that protesters have cleared out at Jaffrabad Metro station and Maujpur Chowk is clear as well and that the situation is under control. The police, however, put barricades and sealed all the roads that lead to Ghaziabad from northeast Delhi. Meanwhile, all the schools in violence-affected north-east Delhi will remain closed on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday. Members of Rapid Action Force move past smoldering debris after it was set on fire by demonstrators in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Danish Siddiqui/Reuters) Indias Modi Appeals for Calm as Riot Toll Rises to 20 NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Wednesday, after days of clashes between Hindus and minority Muslims over a controversial citizenship law in some of the worst sectarian violence in the capital in decades. Twenty people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in the violence, a doctor said, with many suffering gunshot wounds amid looting and arson attacks that coincided with a visit to India by President Donald Trump. Police and paramilitary forces patrolled the streets in far greater numbers on Wednesday. Parts of the riot-hit areas were deserted. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times, Modi said in a tweet. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 Modis appeal came after a storm of criticism from opposition parties of the governments failure to control the violence, despite the use of tear gas, pellets, and smoke grenades. Sonia Gandhi, president of the opposition Congress party, called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, who is directly responsible for law and order in the capital. The violence erupted between thousands demonstrating for and against the new citizenship law introduced by Modis Hindu nationalist government. The Citizenship Amendment Act makes it easier for non-Muslims from some neighboring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship. Critics say the law is biased against Muslims and undermines Indias secular constitution. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party has denied it has any bias against Indias more than 180 million Muslims. Paramilitary troops patrol in a riot-affected area after clashes erupted between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Danish Siddiqui/Reuters) A firefighter walks past damaged shops at a tire market after they were set on fire by a mob in a riot-affected area in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters) Reuters witnesses saw mobs wielding sticks and pipes walking down streets in parts of northeast Delhi on Tuesday, amid arson attacks and looting. Thick clouds of black smoke billowed from a tire market that was set ablaze. Many of the wounded had suffered gunshot injuries, hospital officials said. At least two mosques in northeast Delhi were set on fire. On Wednesday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a tweet that it was alarmed by the violence and it urged the Indian government to rein in mobs and protect religious minorities and others who have been targeted. By Devjyot Ghoshal and Manoj Kumar Reggaeton music dominated the Latin American hit charts in 2019 and few years before that. That is why it is surprising that a lawmaker pushes for reggaeton censorship in Colombia. Reggaeton, now a widely enjoyed music genre around the world, has its roots in Puerto Rico during the late 1990s, evolving from dancehall and has the American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music influences. According to an article by Remezcla, Colombian senator Jonatan Tamayo Perez last week proposed that the country partially censor reggaeton. As per the lawmaker, the partial censorship will involve a process of approval that would involve the police or an otherwise hand-selected committee tasked with the apparently vital mission. The politician has reportedly submitted the proposal with the welfare of children and women in mind. "There are song lyrics that are ruining the mental health status of our children," he said. How he came up with the conclusion so decidedly is unclear, but, he proposes a public ban of "lyrics that attempt against the good name and dignity of women and minors" in response. Manguito said he is fine with folks listening to reggaeton from the comfort of their homes, but not if said music is played or performed in public. As indicated in the proposal, penalties will be imposed to those who refuse to abide. Implementation and enforcement of the rule may prove difficult in a country of 50 million people but Manguito suggests local authorities and parents, or people who are otherwise passionate about this, report those who don't follow suit. This is not the first time the government would infringe upon the process of urbano artists or address reggaeton's often preferred, vulgar themes at the height of its popularity at the local level. In the 1990s, the Puerto Rico Drug and Vice Control Bureau of the Police Department raided record stores to confiscate underground music. In the early 2000s, then Puerto Rico Governor Velda Gonzalez called the genre a "triggering factor for criminal acts," and held anti-reggaeton hearings. In 2012, Cuba banned reggaeton in public spaces, buses and more. Meanwhile in Colombia, Attorney Joaquin Torres attempted to ban the sale and distribution of reggaeton in 2011. Colombian reggaeton sound developed in Medellin in the past decade, evolving from copy-and-paste versions of the popular Puerto Rican reggaeton of the time into a more dancehall-derived sound with producers like Sky and Ovy On The Drums leading the charge. In stark contrast to the reggaeton of the early 90s whose lyrics promote violence, rampant sexuality, and drug use, the new brand of reggaeton traded is characterized as velvety and more toned down in its lyrical content by focusing on romantic lyrics. "Our audience is so broad that we have to make videos where women look beautiful and conservative and are treated with respect, because the videos are seen by kids and adults. Other reggaetoneros who do what they do are targeting one audience. They don't have the same responsibility we do," said J Balvin in his 2017 interview with Billboard. Reggaeton is part of the vibrant culture of Latin America. As Latin Americans are music and party afficionados, its hard to imagine Colombia with Reggaeton censorship. By Trend The international community shouldnt turn a blind eye to the Khojaly tragedy in Azerbaijan, a source in the Turkish Presidential Administration told Trend on Feb. 26. The bloody massacre of Azerbaijani civilians is a black spot on the conscience of mankind, the Turkish Presidential Administration said. Commenting on the 28th anniversary of the genocide in Khojaly town, the administration emphasized that Turkey expects due assessment of the Khojaly tragedy by the international community. It was also noted that Turkey shares the pain of Azerbaijani brothers, remembers and will never forget about this tragedy. The administration reminded that Turkey, as before, urges Armenia to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and return these lands to their rightful owners. Turkey has always supported and will continue to support Azerbaijan in all directions, the source added. Turkey expresses sincere condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the terrible tragedy in Khojaly, the administration said. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz CARLINVILLE The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal Arson Division and Macoupin County Sheriffs Office are seeking information about multiple barn fires over the past month in Macoupin County. Fires have been reported around the Carlinville, Gillespie and Northwestern Fire Protection District areas. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III MANILA, Philippines The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has warned the public against bogus job offers abroad following reports received by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office about a fraudulent scheme that lures Filipinos to work in Yukon Territory in Canada. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that based on information they received, the scammer uses the name of a website of a legitimate Yukon Human Resources practitioner to dupe their unsuspecting victims. The victims are then asked to pay US$440 in exchange for non-existent jobs. The Labor chief said the scammers took advantage of DOLEs announcement in September 2019 on the employment opportunities in various industries in Yukon. It was in August last year when Bello and Minister Ranj Pillai signed a joint Communique to establish cooperation on the recruitment of Filipino workers to Yukon. After the signing, a proposed memorandum of understanding was forwarded to Yukon, which aims to establish a system for the recruitment process in the deployment of Filipinos through a Nominee program under a government-to-government arrangement. This government to government agreement shall validate the existence of guaranteed employment offers. Hence, we are warning the public to be very cautious of this scam that seemingly capitalizes on the still-to-be finalized labor agreement between the Philippines and Yukon, Bello said. He, however, clarified that a bilateral labor pact has yet to be signed between the two parties. Based on the report by our POLO Vancouver, the Yukon government is still studying the memorandum of understanding, and DOLE will provide an update on this undertaking, Bello said. DOLE reiterated its advise to the public to visit the website of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (poea.gov.ph) to validate the authenticity of any job offers they receive. He also urged jobseekers to report to the POEA via info@poea.gov.ph any suspicious job-related activities they encountered. The post DOLE warns vs fake job offers in Yukon, Canada appeared first on UNTV News. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 22:11:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The private sector is the engine of growth and developing countries need to focus more on enhancing private-run enterprises if they are to grow economically, an economic and business analyst said on Tuesday. Michael Nyirenda pointed out that much of the cooperation has been government to government with very minimal private sector engagement despite the huge role the sector plays in the realization of economic goals. Nyirenda, who is former Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), noted that the role of governments the world over is to facilitate development and that including the creation of job opportunities and enhancing private sector growth is one sure way of doing so. He said more needs to be done to harness the potential of the private sector so that there is less dependence on government and more economic activities. The Zambia-China relations for instance have yielded good economic outcomes as evidenced by the infrastructure and other things, he said. According to him, private-to-private arrangements will encourage greater participation of local people in business ventures and this will lead to the creation of the many employment opportunities along with other economic benefits. "A number of Chinese business people are interested in partnering with Zambian businesses. There is need to build the capacity of Zambians to manage international business partnerships. One way of doing this is encouraging networking so that the right people with the right skills are involved," Nyirenda said. Bengaluru: City-based social enterprise Three Wheels United (TWU) on Tuesday launched an auto rickshaw buy back scheme to promote electric auto rickshaw adoption in India. "A programme like this gives the right push towards the government's green mobility initiatives. This scheme provides a great opportunity for auto rickshaw drivers to increase their income and positively impact the environment," TWU chief executive Cedrick Tandong said in a statement. Two key objectives of the scheme are to speed up electric vehicle adoption in the country to guide people towards the eco-friendly option and improve income for drivers who choose an EV over a fossil fuel burning internal combustion engine powered vehicle. The social enterprise has committed to finance 10,000 electric vehicles in the next one year and one lakh by 2024. According to TWU, electric three-wheelers are more attractive to drivers due to the lower cost of ownership and better profitability. However, the social enterprise has observed that 50 per cent of auto rickshaw drivers in India rent three-wheelers owing to lack of financing options, thwarting converting to electric vehicles. TWU will deploy a community approach and tailored financial products in its buy back scheme. "The current government schemes aimed at removing older vehicles have their challenges, mainly that it is very difficult for a vehicle to qualify. This means older and highly pollutive vehicles continue to ply the roads," said TWU. Mahindra Electric has also joined hands with TWU to promote the scheme. "The buy back scheme will definitely make it easier for auto drivers to switch to sustainable and more economically viable products," said Mahindra Electric chief executive Mahesh Babu. In intussusception, usually a part of the small intestine invaginates (folds into) into another section of intestine. It is like part of a collapsible tubular telescope of a camera that retract into one another. Intussusception is a medical emergency as it can often cause acute obstruction due to the swelling and inflammation of the intestines. The leading part that invaginates into the other is called the intussusceptum, and the part that receives the leading part of the intestine is called the intussuscepiens. Intussusception can occur in both children and adults, but it is more common in infants above 5 months of age and below one year. Also, boys are more commonly affected in comparison to girls. The exact cause for intussusception is not known. In the pediatric population 90 % of the cases the cause is unknown (or Idiopathic - a spontaneously occurring condition for which the cause is unknown). However, in some cases, it is thought to happen due to viral infections, tumor or polyps in the intestine. Intestinal developmental defects present at birth increase the chances of developing intussusception. The most common site for intussusception is the area where small intestine meets the large intestine (ileo-colic region). Specifically it occurs because the ileum invaginates into the cecum through the ileo-cecal valve. With intussusception, blood supply to the affected part of the intestine is reduced or disrupted. This leads to swelling in that area and intestinal obstruction. This reduction in blood supply can lead to chances of tissue necrosis, bleeding or rupture of the intestine. This in turn can cause infection in the abdominal cavity and lead to sepsis and shock. Intussusception is a medical emergency and requires immediate medical assistance to prevent major complications like gangrene (death of intestinal tissue with infection) of the intestine, peritonitis, sepsis and shock. Usually, if treatment is taken up within 24 hours or even sooner the chances of developing complication is less. Symptoms of Intussusception in a Child: Sudden severe colicky abdominal pain alternating with periods of no pain As the condition progresses, further pain only more pronounced and intense. The baby pulls up the knees to the chest during episodes of such pain and cries out loud Vomiting with bile Blood and mucus in the stools - the stools are described as currant jelly stools stools Lethargy Signs of Intussusception in a Child: Swelling in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen Fever Dehydration Gangrene due to Necrosis and infection of the associated intestinal tissue Severe bleeding in the abdomen Severe bleeding in the abdomen Peritonitis - inflammation of the peritoneum (the membrane lining the abdominal cavity) Sepsis Shock (cold, clammy skin with a weak and rapid pulse) The mean incidence of intussusception was 74 per 100,000 among children, 1 year of age. Peak incidences is usually between 5 and 7 months (Incidence of intussusception is from 82 studies that were analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA. The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam and the University of Melbourne, Australia and published in PLOS in 2013.) Fatal cases were higher in Africa (9%) compared to other regions (1%). A study published in 2014 in the Journal of Pediatrics quotes that the rate of intussusception among children greater than 15 weeks is substantially higher in Vietnam than in other parts of the world.. quotes that the rate of intussusception among children greater than 15 weeks is substantially higher in Vietnam than in other parts of the world.. Intussusception peaks seasonally that coincides with viral gastroenteritis in some populations Only 30% of intussusception cases are reported in children over 2 years of age. Age - occurs mostly in infants between 5 months to one year Gender - Boys are more affected than girls Intestinal Malrotation where the intestine does not rotate properly Having had an intussusception once makes the child more prone to a recurrence of the intussusceptions There maybe a genetic factor based on anatomical factors of development of the intestines Among children, 90% of the intussusception cases are idiopathic. In other words, it is a spontaneously occurring condition with no known cause. However, in some cases the following factors might be the cause: A lead point or an underlying cause like a polyp or a benign tumor like a fat tissue lipoma. or an underlying cause like a like a fat tissue lipoma. Meckel's diverticulum , a congenital bulge or an abnormality in the small intestine , a congenital bulge or an abnormality in the small intestine Intestinal Mal-rotation like in a condition called Waugh's syndrome like in a condition called Anatomical features of the gastrointestinal tract of the gastrointestinal tract Hypertrophy or enlargement of Peyers patches (lymphoid tissues in the walls of the small intestine) and lymph nodes. The enlargement could be caused due to infections by Adenovirus and Rotavirus and by non-infectious factors like intestinal allergies, celiac sprue, and Crohns disease. Intussusception in a child is diagnosed based on the symptoms described by the parents like severe abdominal pain, bilious vomiting, stools with blood, mucus and radiographic investigations. Quick non-invasive, cost-effective diagnostic methods are used to treat intussusception in children as the causes are mostly idiopathic. Common tests done to confirm the presence of intussusception in children include: Abdominal X-ray - This is the first and basic investigation that is performed routinely. It might show multiple fluid levels with dilated proximal segment filled with gas. It might not be useful in the early stages of intussusception for confirmation of diagnosis. X-ray - This is the first and basic investigation that is performed routinely. It might show multiple fluid levels with dilated proximal segment filled with gas. It might not be useful in the early stages of intussusception for confirmation of diagnosis. Bowel Enema - This may serve both as investigation and treatment for intussuception. Two types of enema are used - namely air and barium enema. Barium enema serves as the gold standard method (crescent sign) for diagnosing intussusception. The enema may itself reduce the intussusception and therefore serve as treatment for the condition. Two types of enema are used - namely air and barium enema. Barium enema serves as the gold standard method for diagnosing intussusception. CT / MRI Abdomen - These tests are used more often for diagnosing intussusception in adults than in children. These tests are used more often for diagnosing intussusception in adults than in children. Serum Electrolytes - Serum electrolytes are useful in assessing dehydration. Serum electrolytes are useful in assessing dehydration. Abdominal Ultrasound - This is the investigation of choice as it is very effective in concluding the diagnosis. A target, doughnut or a bulls eye sign on the transverse view is the classical finding in case of intussusception. A. Conservative Initial treatment includes management of dehydration due to vomiting with intravenous fluids such as normal saline. A tube is put through the child's nose and into the stomach (nasogastric tube) to decompress the intestines Conservative methods like air or bowel enema can be employed for treating bowel intussusception and reducing the obstruction without rupture of bowel. and reducing the obstruction without rupture of bowel. Barium (liquid mixture) is passed through a soft, tube placed into the rectum of the baby / child. This reveals the presence of the intussusception when the bowels are viewed through an X-ray. The pressure produced by barium unfolds the bowel and clears the blockage. In case of rupture of bowel, peritonitis, sepsis or shock and failed treatment with enema, surgical intervention becomes an emergency. B. Surgical Approach In case the enema fails to reduce the intussusception surgery is undertaken with an incision into the belly under anesthesia to save the affected part of the bowel. surgery is undertaken with an incision into the belly under anesthesia to save the affected part of the bowel. In case of death of tissue (affected bowel), surgical removal of the affected segment of intestine is considered. The two parts of the healthy intestine are sewn back together to keep the continuity. In extreme cases, the damaged intestinal portion might be so large that surgery cannot link the healthy parts together. Ileostomy is done in case of complications such as gangrene, sepsis or peritonitis and it can be a life-saving procedure for a sick child. In ileostomy a healthy intestinal end is brought out on the abdominal surface. The digested food in the form of stool passes out through this and gets collected in a bag that is fitted to the abdomen. This procedure is usually temporary. The intravenous fluids continue till the normal bowel functions returns. The doctors monitor the child to make sure the intussusception does not return. Antibiotics may be given to prevent infection. Intussusceptions return within 72 hours in 1 out of 10 kids who have undergone barium enema treatment. Probability of recurrence of intussusception was 100% after the fourth episode. Therefore surgical intervention is a must after the third episode of intussusception. Prognosis or outcome is good with early treatment. In case of complications, it could be fatal in infants and young children if not treated immediately. WASHINGTON When House Republicans band together or line up behind President Donald Trump, Rep. Chris Smith often finds himself on the outside. Only one other House GOP lawmaker backed Trump less or dissented from his party more than Smith did last year, according to Congressional Quarterlys annual vote studies. Smith, R-4th Dist., supported Trump 56 percent of the time and backed his party against a majority of Democrats 64 percent of the time. In both cases, his scores were the lowest among Republicans except for Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. I first and foremost remain committed to the people I serve my district and believe that my votes reflect those interests and values and are consistent with my record on issues including protection of workers and the environment, emergency relief aid, and a tax policy that is fair for New Jersey, Smith told NJ Advance Media. Smith, for example, was one of only five Republicans in December to support House Democratic efforts to restore the full federal deduction for state and local taxes. He also was among only five Republicans who voted in January 2019 to reopen the federal government after Trump refused to approve a spending bill that didnt include money for a southern border wall that he had promised Mexico would pay for. And he joined just seven other House GOP members in voting to expand background checks for gun purchases. A spokeswoman for one of Smiths Democratic challengers, Stephanie Schmid, pointed out that the lawmaker sought for years to repeal the Affordable Care Act, opposed renewing the Violence Against Women Act, and voted against legislation to lower prescription drug prices. After nearly 40 years in Congress, his absentee leadership and record of voting against the interests of his constituents shows that he is out of touch with New Jerseys 4th District and it is time for new representation, the spokeswoman, Kristen Foca, said. Smith had been the only Republican member of the states congressional delegation until 2nd District Rep. Van Drew announced in December that he was switching parties. Both lawmakers voted against impeaching Trump. As a Democrat, Van Drew backed Trump 13.1% of the time, fourth highest among his House colleagues and behind only Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Ben McAdams of Utah and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Van Drew deviated from the Democratic Party line 18.3% of the time, third most behind Peterson and McAdams. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., voted against a majority of his own party and with a majority of Republicans 12.4% of the time, seventh highest among House Democrats. While Gottheimer supported Trump more often than any other House Democrat in 2018, he backed the president only 5% of the time last year. He faces a primary challenge in 2020 from Glen Rock Councilwoman Arati Kreibich. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman voted against the presidents position 98.4% of the time, one of 15 House Democrats opposing Trump the most. She opposed the president 93.3% percent of the time in 2018, second only to then-Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. I have always stood for values, for working families, for fair economic growth, for access to health care, for the kinds of things that make sure no one gets left behind in this country," said Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist. This president has made it clear hes not for any of those things, so I am completely unsurprised that my votes illustrate that contrast." U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., opposed Trump 89.8% of the time, behind only two other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. They were followed by three others who also sought the partys presidential nomination, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Kamala Harris of California. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A court in eastern China has sentenced a Swedish seller of books that took a skeptical look at the ruling Communist Party to 10 years in prison for illegally providing intelligence overseas," in a further sign of Beijing's hard line toward its critics. Gui Minhai first disappeared in 2015, when he was believed to have been abducted by Chinese agents from his seaside home in Thailand. He and four others who worked for the same Hong Kong publishing company all went missing at around the same time, only to turn up months later in police custody in mainland China. The Ningbo Intermediate People's Court announced Tuesday that it gave Gui, a naturalized Swedish citizen, a 10-year prison sentence. Gui admitted to his crime, agreed with the sentence and will not appeal, the court said. Human rights groups have repeatedly accused China of extracting forced confessions from individuals it perceives to be opponents of the Communist Party's rule. For years, Gui sold gossipy books about Chinese leaders in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. His was among a spate of high-profile disappearances that stirred unease over the central government's growing reach in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has been promised greater democratic rights than are afforded the mainland. China maintains tight control over all information and brooks no criticism of its ruling Communist Party. It has detained scores of lawyers, writers and public intellectuals. In recent months, police have reprimanded medical workers who warned about the ongoing outbreak of a new virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The court claims that Gui, who was born in Ningbo, applied to reinstate his Chinese citizenship in 2018. That would mean renouncing his Swedish citizenship, as China does not officially allow dual citizenship. He was initially released into house arrest in Ningbo, then police detained him once again while he and two Swedish diplomats were on a train together bound for Beijing. We have noted the reports and are now seeking official confirmation about the case," the Swedish Foreign Ministry said in an email to The Associated Press. We have consistently made it clear that we demand Gui Minhai be released so that he can be reunited with his daughter and family." The Foreign Ministry said Sweden was not given access to the trial, and that officials there were unable to review the indictment or offer Gui access to legal counsel. We demand once again that we immediately be given consular access," the ministry said. Gui's arrest has been a source of friction between Beijing and Stockholm as well as between China and the European Union, which said in a statement that it has raised the case with Chinese authorities on numerous occasions, both in private and publicly, including at the highest level, and will continue to do so." We demand Gui Minhai's release," Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Sweden's public broadcaster SVT. She stressed that Sweden will use all diplomatic tools" to protest. We have the right to gain access to Swedish citizens," Linde told SVT. We have demanded it, but didn't get it. She later told a conference in Berlin that the Chinese ambassador to Sweden had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to reiterate our demand that Gui Minhai be immediately released and that we immediately are getting consular access and also the possibility for a Swedish doctor to see Gui Minhai." Repeating an assertion often made by Beijing when its judicial system faces scrutiny, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing, China is a country ruled by law." Gui Minhai's legal rights and interests have been fully protected," Zhao said, adding that China opposes outside interference into its internal affairs. Amnesty International's China researcher Patrick Poon said the verdict demonstrated that the Chinese authorities are not letting the coronavirus crisis distract them from repressing dissidents." Despite the authorities' claim that Gui has somehow handed over 'intelligence' while in their custody, the reason for his targeting almost certainly relates to his attempted trip to Beijing with two Swedish diplomats in 2018," Poon said in an emailed statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra cabinet minister and Congress leader Aslam Shaikh on Wednesday said that former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis made an irresponsible statement regarding the Shiv Sena-led state government's 'silence' on AIMIM leader Waris Pathan's remark. He added that as the incident took place in Karnataka, Fadnavis should ask Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa about the matter. "This is an irresponsible statement given by Devendra Fadnavis. He should ask the same question to the Chief Minister of Karnataka where the statement was given," Shaikh said. "Fadnavis should ask the same question to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah that why has he not been able to control the violence going on in Delhi," he added. Earlier, on Tuesday, targeting Shiv Sena's silence over the recent controversial remark by Waris Pathan, Fadnavis said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party might be "wearing bangles" but the BJP was not and knew how to retaliate in the same manner. "Shiv Sena might be wearing bangles but we are not. If someone says something then he will be given an answer in the same way. BJP has this much power," said Fadnavis while launching a scathing attack on ruling-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra for not taking strict action against Pathan. On February 20, while addressing an anti-CAA rally, at Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Pathan had said, "Time has now come for us to unite and achieve freedom. Remember we are 15 crores but can dominate over 100 crores. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels asking them to be cautious about content that may incite violence or promote anti-national attitudes. Fresh violence tore through northeast Delhi on Tuesday, taking the death toll in the communal clashes over the amended citizenship law to 13. It is hereby reiterated that all TV channels are advised to be particularly cautious with regard to any content which is likely to encourage or incite violence, or contains anything against the maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national attitudes, the advisory said The advisory also impressed upon private channels to be cautious of content that contains attack on religious or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religions groups or which promote communal attitudes. It also cautioned against content that may carry defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths. The advisory asked channels to ensure that no content is telecast which is violative of the Programme and Advertising Codes as prescribed in the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995. All private satellite TV channels are requested to ensure strict compliance, the advisory added. The Passy-Muir Valve is a medical device invented by a patient named David A. Muir that provides tracheostomized and mechanically ventilated patients the ability to speak. Because the Passy-Muir Valves also improves swallowing ability, various pulmonary functions, and assists patients with wearing from the ventilator, it decreases recovery time, reduces hospital costs, and enhances the quality of life for patients. "It is the mission of the CareOne LTACH to never stop asking how we can better our patient outcomes and quality of life. When you have so much uncertainty in your loved ones health, hearing their voice again, is truly the ultimate gift. The Passy-Muir Valve offers the gift of speech and confidence for the future" said Sharon Bready, CareOne's LTACH Executive Director. While the Passy-Muir Valve is commonly used in facilities around the nation, CareOne's LTACH has met a set of high standards which facilitate the early and successful use of the valve with their patients. THe keys to success include the development of a multidisciplinary team approach to caring for these patients and advanced education and skills training in the use of this technology. "It was an honor to learn that CareOne's LTACH at Trinitas Regional Medical Center is the first hospital in New Jersey to be distinguished with this award and the 13th overall in the nation," stated Gary Horan, FACHE, President & CEO of Trinitas, adding, "It is a testament to the innovation that CareOne is dedicated to giving to its patients." CareOne's LTACH at Trinitas Regional Medical Center became the first hospital in New Jersey to be distinguished with this honor and the 13th overall in the nation. It is a testament to the innovation and care CareOne is dedicated to giving their patients. About CareOne A family owned and operated healthcare organization with more than 45 years of service; that include post-hospital care, rehabilitation, assisted living, memory care, long-term care and a variety of clinical specialty programs. CareOne offers compassionate care in gracious, professionally managed centers and communities and serves thousands of patients every day. CareOne's outstanding programs and services are conveniently located across more than 55 centers throughout New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Maryland. Interested parties can engage with CareOne on social media by following @CareOneMgt on Twitter,@careonemgt on Instagram, and @CareOneManagement on Facebook. About Passy-Muir Founded in 1985, Passy-Muir, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distribution of communication devices for tracheostomized and ventilator dependent patients, including the Passy-Muir Tracheostomy and Ventilator Swallowing and Speaking Valve, the only patented bias closed position "no leak" valve designed to fit adult and pediatric tracheostomy tubes. Passy Muir, Inc. is committed to improving the quality of life of tracheostomized and ventilator-dependent patients. One approach is through clinical education of patients and clinicians. To learn more about the Passy-Muir Valve and free clinical education opportunities visit the Passy-Muir website passy-muir.com or call 800-634-5397 to speak to a Passy-Muir Clinical Specialist. About Trinitas Trinitas Regional Medical Center (TRMC), a major center for comprehensive health services for those who live and work in Central New Jersey, is a Catholic teaching medical center sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in partnership with Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation. With 12 Centers of Excellence across the continuum of care, Trinitas has distinguished itself in cardiology, cancer care, behavioral health, renal care, nursing education, diabetes management, wound healing and sleep medicine. For more information on Trinitas Regional Medical Center, visit: www.TrinitasRMC.org or call (908) 994-5138. SOURCE CareOne Management DIY investors should pay close attention to the picks featured on favourite fund lists, as not all of them will be the star performers they appear to be. In the worst-case scenario, investors have a nearly one-in-three chance of picking a poorly performing fund, which could continue to make sub-par returns, research shows. 'Investors think funds on the lists are recommendations and will deliver the best prospects. Gamble: In the worst-case scenario, investors have a nearly one-in-three chance of picking a poorly performing fund, which could continue to make sub-par returns, research shows But there is no guarantee they will perform better than funds which aren't on the list,' says Patrick Connolly, a chartered financial planner at Chase de Vere. The investment tip lists have faced scrutiny after investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown backed Neil Woodford's doomed fund on its Wealth 50 list. The five largest platforms for DIY investors are Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), Interactive Investor, Fidelity, Halifax and Barclays, according to analyst Platforum. Money Mail asked Chase de Vere to analyse returns from funds on its recommended lists and compare them to the average for each fund's peer group. Barclays Fund List had the worst hit rate, possibly because its selection is so narrow. Out of 35 funds, ten had below-average returns. The list also includes four funds Invesco European Equity, Janus Henderson Global Equity Income, JPM U.S. Equity Income and Man GLG Japan Core Alpha featured in the Spot the Dog survey from Bestinvest, another platform. This flags up funds that have lagged on a three-year basis. A quarter of the funds in the Hargreaves Lansdown Wealth 50, and almost a fifth on the Halifax Select list, have below-average returns, says Chase. HL has two of Bestinvest's 'dogs' and Halifax one. Halifax's list is the only one compiled by an independent researcher, Morningstar. The rest are created in-house. Fidelity had nine sub-par funds out of 48 and two 'dogs', while Interactive Investor's Super 60 had a cleaner sheet, with ten sub-par funds out of 60 and one 'dog'. Mr Connolly said that many under-performing funds had done so because they specifically invest in 'value' stocks, such as banks and retailers. These have been out of favour for a long time. Value funds Man GLG Japan Core Alpha and Artemis Global Income have suffered consequently, as have tracker funds following the FTSE-100 index, which contains more value than currently popular 'growth' stocks. Man GLG Japan features on four of the five lists, despite being a serial under-performer. About its laggards, Barclays says: 'Past performance is no guide to future returns. We think that these remain well-managed funds that will show better performance when market conditions are more conducive to their investment approach.' At Hargreaves Lansdown, head of investment analysis Emma Wall agrees. She says: 'We address performance for the funds on the list in our regular research notes'. However, at least for the Man GLG Japan fund, the accompanying online HL commentary states only that there is a 'risk' of underperformance. Past returns are shown compared to the benchmark index, not the peer group. Another case is the Jupiter Absolute Return which has lost money over the past five years. Nonetheless, this fund sits on the Fidelity Select 50. Investment director Tom Stevenson was unable to confirm if it was under review, but says 'all of our funds are under review all of the time'. He added that he would be concerned if the list was full of top-performing funds, as this would indicate they were concentrated in an area which may have peaked and be likely to decline. Halifax says: 'Morningstar monitors how the funds are doing each quarter and may make suggestions to us for changes.' Meanwhile, Interactive Investor says its year-old Super 60 list is screened monthly, but it is keen to increase transparency. Dzmitry Lipski, head of its funds research, says investors are informed 'when questions arise' via the Fund Spotlight updates, while tags on each fund suggest how it should be used in a portfolio. Consistent poor performance can be a warning sign that a fund is in trouble. An illustration is the suite of Woodford funds, some of which ended up in suspension. While all the platforms detail their reasons online for removing a fund, they seem coy about flagging long-term under-performance. All the platforms state that they receive no benefit from putting funds on their lists. To ascertain whether a fund is best in class or a dunce, investors could also check independent resources such as newspapers or investment blogs, Mr Connolly says. moneymail@dailymail.co.uk "The SM-2 is in high demand because of its advanced capabilities and history of more than 2,700 successful flight tests from U.S. Navy and international ships," said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems vice president. "Navies worldwide have relied on this missile and it will continue to provide fleet protection for decades to come." Raytheon has delivered over 11,000 SM-2 missiles to customers worldwide. In 2020, the company will begin to provide Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands with more than 280 missiles from its latest production batch. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Doug Shores +1.256.527.5196 [email protected] SOURCE Raytheon Company Related Links http://www.raytheon.com President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed Turkey would not take the "smallest step back" in an escalating stand-off with Damascus and Russia over the northern Syrian region of Idlib. Meanwhile, a meeting between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is expected to take place, the Turkish foreign minister said, ahead of a possible summit including EU heavyweights Germany and France to find a political solution to the Idlib crisis. "We will not take the smallest step back in Idlib," Erdogan told the ruling party's lawmakers in parliament in Ankara. "We will certainly push the regime outside the borders we designated and ensure the return of the people to their homes." Now the epicentre of the nearly nine-year long conflict in Syria, Idlib has in recent weeks become the theatre of conflict between Turkey, which supports rebel groups in the area, and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is backed by Russia. Ankara has confirmed as many as 17 Turkish security personnel have been killed this month alone. Erdogan bluntly warned the Syrian regime to "stop its attacks as soon as possible" and to pull back by the end of February. As part of its deal with Russia, Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib but several have come under fire from Assad forces. "The time we have given to those who besieged our observation towers is running out," Erdogan said. "We are planning to save our observation posts from the besiegers one way or another by the end of this month." Advance Of Assad Forces Erdogan added that "the biggest problem we currently have is that we cannot use the air space" over Idlib which is controlled by Russia. "God willing, we will find a solution soon." Shortly after he was speaking, Russian diplomats and military officials arrived in Ankara for talks with their Turkish counterparts. The talks began in the afternoon, according to media reports. Similar contacts last week ended with no concrete results. In recent weeks Damascus, backed by Russian air strikes, has pressed a major offensive against the remaining territory held by jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib. In a statement read on public television, the Syrian army on Wednesday announced it had "regained control" of a dozen areas in recent days, including Kafranbel in the south of Idlib, a town known to have been among the first to rebel against Damascus. The army vowed to "liberate the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic from terrorism and its supporters". The parts of Idlib still held by jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels has shrunk to an area roughly the size of Majorca, hosting more than three million people -- half of them already displaced by violence elsewhere. The United Nations has warned against an imminent "bloodbath" amid the continuing fighting. Putin, Erdogan Meeting? While Western capitals have been criticised for failing to exert any influence on the Idlib situation, the foreign ministers of 14 European nations -- including Germany, France, Spain and Ireland -- issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on Moscow and Ankara to "de-escalate" the situation. Erdogan also said that Turkey has not received "promised" aid from the United States, repeating that Ankara hopes to acquire the US-made Patriot systems -- high performance radars and interceptor missiles capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles in flight. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying on state-run TRT TV, that as a first step "President Erdogan and Putin have agreed to come together at a bilateral meeting." While backing opposite sides, Russia and Turkey have worked to end the conflict but strains have soared in recent weeks over Idlib. Russia, on Tuesday, rejected the idea of a ceasefire in Idlib. The tensions are seen as the biggest threat to Ankara-Moscow ties since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over Syria in November 2015. The Kremlin indicated Tuesday however, that an Erdogan-Putin meeting was not on the cards, also saying that a tripartite summit with another regime ally Iran could be planned instead of a multilateral one with France and Germany. A Russian delegation was due to hold another round of talks with Turkish officials in Ankara Wednesday. Search Keywords: Short link: NUR-SULTAN -- Dozens of protesters have gathered in front of a central detention center in the Kazakh capital to demand detailed information about the mysterious death of a prominent civil rights activist while in custody and immediate release of dozens of other activists detained before and during anti-government rallies over the last weekend. People at the February 26 protest said there was no guarantee that activists and supporters of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement and unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, who were detained on February 21-22, are safe in the detention center after what happened to Dulat Aghadil. Nur-Sultan city police said on February 25 that Aghadil died in the detention center hours after he was detained for failing to meet a court order to report to local police. According to police, Aghadil was intoxicated at the time of his arrest late on February 24 and died of heart problems hours later. Aghadil's relatives and colleagues insist that Aghadil did not drink alcohol due to his health problems and had never complained about his heart. Also on February 26, dozens of protesters rallied in the Central Asian nation's largest city, Almaty, demanding "truth" about Aghadil's death. In the central city of Qaraghandy, at least one local activist was detained by police on February 26 after a group of protesters rallied in the city center demanding justice for Aghadil. The unrest follows a similar rally the previous day when a crowd gathered in front of the Interior Ministry in Nur-Sultan on February 25 demanding ministry officials give them detailed information about Aghadil' death. After nobody came out of the building, the activists blocked a central street near the ministry, but were quickly dispersed by police and more than 20 demonstrators were detained. On the same day in the cities of Almaty, Shymkent and Aqtobe, dozens rallied on that day, demanding dissolution of the government over the activist's death and the resignation of ex-President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who is now the life-time chairman of the Security Council and his daughter Darigha Nazarbaeva, who is the speaker of the parliament's upper chamber, Senate. Kazakh Ombudswoman Elvira Azimova promised on February 25 to thoroughly investigate Aghadil's death. "Because Aghadil was a civil rights activist, society has doubts [about his death]. All sides, including representatives of civil society must be allowed to take part in the investigation," Azimova said. Meanwhile, campaigners told RFE/RL that at least six activists who intended to attend Aghadil's funeral, scheduled for February 27, were prevented from travelling to Nur-Sultan from the cities of Oskemen, Semei, and Shymkent. Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina, the head of Almaty-based human rights foundation Ar.Rukh.Khaq (Dignity, Spirit, Truth), told RFE/RL on February 25 that official statements from Kazakh authorities were "often misleading." "Surely, a thorough autopsy by independent experts is necessary to find the truth and exclude possible foul play," Toreghozhina said. Aghadil was widely known for his civil rights activities. He was sentenced to several days in jail many times for taking part in unsanctioned rallies and resisting arrest. Since August last year, he had spent at least 60 days in jail. In November, Aghadil made headlines after he escaped from jail just one day before his expected release. He later explained that he made the move "to protest my illegal arrest." With reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service A doctor at a quarantine area of a hospital in Da Nang. (Photo: VNA) Deputy director of the citys health department Nguyen Tien Hong confirmed the report to Vietnam News on February 24, stating that all foreign tourists were being quarantined at the hospital and monitored for signs of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hong said the tourists would be kept at the site for 14 days, and they would leave the hospital after receiving health checks and having samples tested for the virus. Doctor Phung Dinh Thanh from the hospital also said the Korean and Thai tourists would be staying at the hospital under the instructions of the citys steering committee. They are all healthy, he said. The Korean and Thai tourists were on a flight from Daegu, the Republic of Korea (RoK), with 58 other Vietnamese students. They landed at Da Nang International Airport on February 24. The Vietnamese passengers were taken to quarantine sites in Da Nang following a decision from the Government on quarantining all passengers on flights from COVID-19-affected areas. One of them who is having fever was sent to Da Nangs Lung Disease Hospital. Quarantine and sterilisation were strictly implemented by teams and medical staff at the airport and hospitals. The city said 3,000 passengers had entered through the airport and seaport of Da Nang on February 24. Of which, 1,315 passengers had to fill in health declarations. The citys health department said 38 people are being monitored at home, and they were all healthy. It said 116 samples out of 165 cases from January to February negative tested for COVID-19. Hospitals have released 155 people, including 33 foreigners. Both Vietnamese and Korean airlines have been operating daily flights connecting Korean cities and Da Nang since 2014. Tourists from the RoK account for the second largest segment of foreign tourist arrivals in Da Nang at 1 million last year. As the Korean government has risen the COVID-19 warning level to the highest, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health on February 25 instructed local people's committees to quarantine people entering Vietnam from the RoK. Localities have to ask those entering Vietnam from the RoK or going through the RoK before entering Vietnam to fill in health declaration forms. The health ministry asked all people found to have signs of fever, coughing and shortness of breath at border gates to be immediately quarantined at medical facilities and tested for the virus. Travellers from or going through Daegu City and North Gyeongsang province must be put under quarantine within 14 days of immigration. Relevant agencies must report to local authorities people who entered Vietnam from the RoK, especially COVID-19 affected areas, from February 9. People returning from other Korean areas which are not Daegu and North Gyeongsang are advised to monitor their health and go to healthcare facilities in case of symptoms. The Ministry of Health also urged localities nationwide which are carrying out health check-ups to send interpreters to support border regions in the face of the acute respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2. All cities and provinces have been instructed to issue health declaration forms for people entering Vietnam from or transited in China or the RoK, the ministry said in a dispatch, as COVID-19 cases surge in the two countries and are likely to spread to other countries and territories, including Vietnam. The form is available in English, Chinese and Korean. However, most border gates face a shortage of staff capable of reading these languages, making it difficult for officials to screen cases coming from countries with COVID-19 outbreaks. Departments and offices of external affairs in all provinces and cities have been asked to join local steering boards in the prevention and control of the disease. Additionally, local authorities have been tasked with working with relevant agencies to send interpreters to border gates to support health examinations. Health officials in border regions are requested to create optimal conditions for the interpreters to work there. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 18:23:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has taken multiple countermeasures to ease the financial pressure of the catering and accommodation sectors amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). As the epidemic has had a great impact on the sectors, the value-added tax will be waived from their revenues, Xian Guoyi, an official with the MOC told a press conference Wednesday. In the meantime, enterprises in the hardest-hit Hubei Province will be exempted from pension, unemployment and work-related injury insurance premiums from February to June this year with a 5-percent electricity price cut, while the payment of the housing accumulation fund will be deferred, Xian said. Small and medium-sized enterprises outside Hubei will also be exempt from the fees above from February to April, and large enterprises' fees will be halved, according to Xian. Localities have also carried out preferential measures including rent relief for catering and accommodation enterprises, insurance and subsidies. Xian also noted that 22 percent of the enterprises had benefitted from the policies by Tuesday, and some large accommodation and catering firms had received loan support from banks. The sectors are expected to see rapid recovery after the epidemic as the MOC will introduce more policies to support them, Xian said. He also has to forfeit 25 properties in Oregon and California and more than $16 million in Tesla stock. Here's how much time he'll serve. A meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) has started at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace to tackle the novel coronavirus. The CSAT meeting, chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, is attended by acting Prime Minister Ludovic Orban; acting Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca; acting Interior Minister Marcel Vela; acting Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu; acting Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu; acting Trade Minister Virgil Popescu; acting Finance Minister Florin Citu; head of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Eduard Hellvig; Chief of the Defence Staff Daniel Petrescu; presidential adviser Ion Oprisor, and CSAT Secretary Mihai Somordolea. Also present will be Health Minister Victor Costache and presidential adviser on public health Loreta Paun, while head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) will be deputised for. President Klaus Iohannis announced Monday having decided to convene the CSAT for information on measures in cases of infection with the novel coronavirus and the strategy to combat a potential national epidemics. "There no case of the novel coronavirus registered in Romania so far, but we will have to be prepared if things evolve negatively," said Iohannis. He added that the Romanian authorities have taken the necessary measures to prevent contamination with this virus, but must insist on the measures of effective communication and appropriate information of the population. Private legal practitioner Ace Ankomah has won a defamation suit against social media commentator, Kevin Taylor. The court fined Kevin Taylor to pay GHS2.95 million in damages to lawyer Ace Ankomah but latest comments by the social commentator show he is not willing to pay a pesewa of that money to the private lawyer. Mr Ankomah sued Mr Taylor and his Loud Silence Media for GHS10 million for alleging that he had a hand in the ordeals of embattled Menzgold CEO Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM1). Speaking on his programme 'With All Due Respect' following the judgement, Mr Taylor stated, I have a silver bullet for Ace Ankomah and Im going to release it, adding: Im not done with Ace Ankomah. If anybody is listening, tell Ace Ankomah I said: Im not done with you, Mr Taylor said. He blasted some Ghanaian media houses for splashing his pictures on their front pages. All these newspapers, when you put their capital together, it will not even reach GHS100,000. You are zombies, youre licking a dirty old ass, so, you dont want to speak truth to power. He revealed: Only one media house called me when they heard that Ace Ankomah sued some Kevin Taylor, adding: The basis of Ace Ankomahs case is weak like some old mans balls and further described the various media houses that reported on the matter as idiots. I want people to understand that Ace Ankomah isnt suing me Kevin. The name on that thing is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, I can confidently tell you guys that that is not my official name and I can confidently tell you guys that the address on that thing for Loud Silence Media isnt that address [at which] Loud Silence Media was registered, so, Ace Ankomah is actually suing a different person and Ghanaians are so excited; when I say Ghanaians, the newspapers, the media houses, the ignorant media house guys, the ignorant media, the hungry, butt-licking media guys, you guys are hungry. All the papers that put my face as front [page], I just have a simple message for you: with all due respect, you guys are very very ignorant Im bigger than the President today, yea, my fellow journalists who are hungry, they cant even sell 100 papers in a day but they take the time to put Kevin Taylors picture on their front page; put something better [there] that is going to sell your paper. Youre an idiot; my US$1 is your GHS6.70 and you are following me around. Are you stupid? Mr Taylor also said no one served him any writ of summons over any matter for a court to pronounce judgement against him. I saw it on peoples Facebook pages and this morning I realised that I was on every newspaper in Ghana: Kevin Taylor has been sued by Ace Ankomah, hes gotten judgement and that he has won GHS2.95 million. A judge said: Ace Ankomah, go after Kevin Taylor and take GHS2.95 million. I think the equivalent of that in dollars is about $500,000; nice, I think we can use that money to build toilets in our courts I didnt receive anything from Ace Ankomah; honestly, I never knew about this, I just got to know it, because, nobody has approached me with any summons, no bailiffs came to my house, to my office to present anything to me and say: Kevin, somebody has sued you in Ghana and you have to be in court or bring a rep in court, nobody. After I saw the judgement on other peoples platforms, Im choosing my words well because nobody has sent anything, even to me on Facebook that this is a judgement, no. I saw it on social media, people flying it on social media that Ace Ankomah has won a case against me. If you watch the document very well, you realise that the name on it is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, so, my question to Ace Ankomah is simple: he should just try and call the USCIS and ask them that do they have anybody by name Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor in their system? That is the first question. The passport office, the US Embassy in Ghana, they can go check if theres anybody by name Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor in the US; that is the first one. I also saw there was an address on Loud Silence Media on the suit, it was a New York address. Ill like Ace Ankomah, again, to try and call the State Revenue Agency and ask them that Loud Silence Media, which address or where was it registered. Was it registered in New York or in any other country? There are two things on the judgment that you have to understand that Ace Ankomah is actually not after me because if you go into the USCIS, you can go find my full name there; the name Ace Ankomah sued is Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, so, Im just giving him clues, Im not going to tell him what to do. And, also, Ace Ankomah should ask himself that: Did Kevin ever receive any summons from the court to represent, to be represented or to come to court? Also, what date was Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor served and where, in which state was he served? If Ace Ankomah answers all these questions, then he has a case but for now, all I can tell you is that I dont know anything about the guy Ghanaians are reporting in their newspapers or whatever. I dont have any idea. My name is not Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor. ---with files from classfmonline In a single day this week, bloody Monday, the 500 richest people in the world lost nearly $140 billion because of the coronavirus panic that shaved almost 1,000 points off the Dow after a weekend of updated infection numbers and a rising death toll. For a different perspective, the worlds 10 richest lost a collective $30 billion, according to Forbes. Global markets lost $1.7 trillion Monday. Tuesday wasnt faring any better. By 12:35pm EST, the Dow had lost around 357 points on the day, and the worlds wealthy were adding multiple billions more to their collective losses. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, lost nearly $5 billion on Monday. Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods tycoon, lost a similar amount, and Inditex fashion group CEO Amancio Ortego lost $4 billion. Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg also shed $3.4 billion when FB lost 4.5% on Monday. Bill Gates got away with a smaller hit than some of the others, losing $1.5 billion. Tesla--which has been surging phenomenally--lost 7.5% on Monday, shaving $2.4 billion from Elon Musks wealth. Based on Bloombergs Billionaires Index, this is the biggest loss in wealth for the worlds top 500 billionaires since the index launched in Q3 2016. Related: Is This The Biggest Threat To The Global Economy? Luxury goods tycoons are getting hit hard because China accounts for some 40% of the market for these goods. The tourism market is also being bludgeoned, with cruise-line operators also among the biggest losers as the coronavirus continues to spread. Key cruise-line operators lost around 9% on Monday, and Carnival Chairman MIcky Arison saw his net wealth drop by over $400 million. The last time the market saw a sizable loss for the worlds wealthiest 500 was on August 4th, 2019, when markets floundered over a sudden perceived uptick in tensions between the U.S. and China. On that day, the wealthiest 500 lost 2.1% of the collective net worth, or a total of $117 billion, again with Bezos losing $3.4 billion as Amazon shares plunged. The loss was less dramatic, and the cause was less tangible and based more on sentiment than fundamentals. The coronavirus combines both in equal parts, with a shutdown in demand from China fundamentally hitting multiple industries. With the wealth pouring out of the richest coffers, is it time to panic sell stocks? Depends who you ask. If you ask Warren Buffett, its time for neither. Its all about holding. But hes never been one for doing business on headlines. The real question is: Has the 10-year or 20-year outlook for American businesses changed in the last 24 or 48 hours? Buffet told CNBC. You dont buy and sell businesses such as Coca-Cola or American Express based on the days headlines, Buffet suggested. The only exception is if the days news gives you a chance to buy one of those even cheaper, ...then its good luck. By Fred Dunkley for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: First coronavirus case in Greece - woman visited Italy 38-year-old in good condition (ANSAmed) - ATHENS, FEBRUARY 26 - A Greek health ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that the country has registered its first case of the coronavirus after a woman who recently travelled to northern Italy tested positive. The spokesperson said the woman, 38, was in good condition in hospital in Thessaloniki. (ANSAmed). Tripadvisor has revealed its top 25 emerging travel destinations and beautiful Saranda in Albania came in second (Getty) Grab your passport because the Worlds top emerging destinations for 2020 have been revealed, and you might be surprised at some of them. Choosing where to go on holiday is a tricky decision. Tempting as those Insta-famous destinations may seem, sometimes it is nice to go somewhere thats a little less discovered. Thankfully, the experts at Tripadvisor have totted up the trip reviews to reveal its annual ranking of the up-and-coming destinations that could put you ahead of the travel curve. Emerging destinations were defined as up-and-coming places with a year-on-year increase in positive TripAdvisor review ratings, which had also seen an increase in saves in travellers trips. And you wont even have to leave the UK to visit one of them. Yep, Britains most on-trend travel hotspot is Ipswich in Suffolk, coming in at number 14 in top emerging destinations list, making it the only UK destination on the 2020 Travellers Choice Destination list. Apparently travellers were impressed the towns picturesque waterfront and historical charm with some claiming it provided a cultural hub of activity. Tourist highlights include Christchurch Park, Regent Theatre and Christchurch Mansion. With superb transport links, an excellent range of accommodation options and ever-growing list of theatres, dance houses and things to, Ipswich is attracting some well-deserved traveller attention, Tripadvisor added. Read more: Bhutan travel guide: where to stay, how to get there and why to go Ipswich was the only UK destination to make the top 25 (Getty) If youre looking for something slightly more, er, exotic, the Russian province of Kaliningrad came top of the list, followed by Saranda in Albania and Beirut in Lebanon. Kaliningrad was described in the poll as a tiny sliver of Russia between the Baltic Sea, Poland and Lithuania The simplified e-visa process introduced by Russia in 2019 was cited by TripAdvisor as making it easier to visit Kaliningrad. Travellers are taking full advantage, exploring a stunning city that blends the culture and architecture of eastern Europe and Russia together like nowhere else, Tripadvisor said. Story continues Commenting on the emerging destination list TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma Shaw said: Based on TripAdvisor reviews, ratings, and opinions from millions of travellers around the world, the winners highlight the destinations that should be on your travel radar now. Read more: Forbes Travel Guide reveals 2020 Star Awards Kaliningrad was voted the top emerging travel destination in the world (Getty) The awards also highlighted the top 25 trending destinations that were already getting their fair share of attention. Kochi in India, Luzon in the Philippines and Porto in Portugal were first, second and third respectively. Of Kochi the travel experts said: This Indian port city has earned its bucket list status, seeing the biggest spike in top reviews, ratings and traveller interest on Tripadvisor over the last year. A blending of small villages on the southwestern coast created the current incarnation of Kochi (or Cochin), where sunset strolls, sampling fresh fish from seaside vendors and boat rides through the islands just offshore are all part of the charm. The only UK trending destination was Edinburgh, which scraped into the list at number 23, and was praised for its heritage, culture and festivals. The top 25 emerging destinations in the world, according to Tripadvisor: Kaliningrad, Russia Saranda, Albania Beirut, Lebanon Luxor, Egypt Naoussa, Greece Rugen Island, Germany Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam Monopoli, Italy La Paz, Mexico Curacao, Caribbean Ile dOleron, France Guayaquil, Ecuador Tulsa, United States Ipswich, United Kingdom Franschhoek, South Africa Tangier, Morocco Takamatsu, Japan Cala dOr, Spain Petropolis, Brazil Antwerp, Belgium Mirissa, Sri Lanka Alvor, Portugal Winnipeg, Canada Darwin, Australia Agra, India Read more: Disneyland Paris new Frozen Land is all kinds of magical Beirut came second on the list (Getty) Top 25 trending destinations according to Tripadvisor: Four pupils at Prince George and Princess Charlotte's school are in self-isolation over fears they may have contracted the coronavirus. The children, who attend the Thomas's Battersea school in southwest London have been sent home and are awaiting test results, it was reported this evening. It comes as at least 13 schools across the UK closed their doors over fears of the virus spreading. A number of schools have told staff and pupils to stay at home after returning from ski trips to northern Italy, where several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions remain on lockdown. Sports fixtures have also come under threat with Ireland's rugby match against Italy on Saturday being postponed today amid fears Italian fans could bring the virus to Dublin but England's Six Nations fixture in Rome on March 14 is still going ahead. England's FA is holding urgent talks today about whether it is safe to host Italy's football team for a Wembley friendly on March 27. This is while several businesses today also sent staff home over fears that employees could be carrying the virus. Princess Charlotte and Prince George are pictured being collected from school by their parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge A general view showing Thomas's Battersea school in London where Prince George and Princess Charlotte attend Since cases of the COVID-19 illness soared in Italy over the weekend they have spread around Europe, with mainland Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia today all declaring their first infected patients Children at the school in southwest London had recently been on a trip to northern Italy. Two children returned from the trip after displaying flu-like symptoms and there is no suggestion that the royal children have been exposed to the virus. The school's website says that it runs a trip to Italy every two years. This evening, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial published a statement from the school. 'Like all schools, we are taking very seriously the potential risks related to the spread of Covid-19 and to this end we are following the Government's instructions to the letter on infection prevention and case management in which it is suspected that some staff member or students exposed to the virus or showing any symptoms. 'We currently have a very small number of students who have been evaluated and these individuals currently remain in their homes waiting to receive the results of their exams'. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough is one of more than a dozen schools which have been completely closed after students and staff returned from Italian ski trips. The Health Secretary has urged them to stay open Cransley School, a private school in Northwich, Cheshire (pictured) announced it will be closed for the rest of the week because of coronavirus fears. It will also undergo a deep clean, in a precautionary move to prevent any cases WHERE ARE THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN GRIPPED BY CORONAVIRUS FEARS AFTER SKI TRIPS TO NORTHERN ITALY? Closed Lutton St Nicholas primary school in Lincolnshire Gedney Church End primary school St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire The Brine Leas Academy sixth form in Cheshire William Martin Junior and Infant School in Essex Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst, Birmingham The ContinU Plus Academy in Kidderminster Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough Shepeau Stow Primary School, in Spalding St Peter's Church of England Middle School, Old Windsor Archbishop Temple School, Preston Pupils sent home Salendine Nook High School, Huddersfield Newquay Tretherras The Holt School, Wokingham Cambridge House Grammar School, County Antrim Penair School, Truro Torquay Boys' Grammar School Haverfordwest High School, Pembrokeshire Hall Cross Academy, Doncaster Sandbach High School, Cheshire The Crispin School, Somerset Cleeve Park School, London (Sidcup) Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in West Derby Woodrush High School in Wythall, Birmingham Guernsey Grammar School Sydney Russel School in Dagenham Ysgol Friars School in Bangor, Wales Banbridge Academy in Northern Ireland Limavady Grammar School in Northern Ireland Ely College in Cambridgeshire Advertisement It added that all parents had been informed and that information was being circulated regularly. The school also said that it would 'preserve the confidentiality of staff and students and would not comment on specific cases'. More than 30 schools around the country have been caught up in panic and confusion after children returned home from ski trips to Italy. But a school in Swansea is ignoring pleas from parents to shut down after a class returned from a ski trip to Italy with pupils told that they still have to come in unless they have the flu. Secondary school Cleeve Park, in Sidcup, south-east London also remained open today despite some of its pupils and staff reporting 'feeling unwell' after returning from a school ski trip to Bormio, in northern Italy on Saturday. The school has announced today that it has advised an unspecified number of pupils and staff to isolate themselves at home, but allowed others from the trip attend. It said it decided not to close after following advice from Public Health England that the school should remain open and all students should attend if they are well. However, some parents are against the headmaster's decision. One father has chosen to keep his son at home until results come back negative. Headteachers have the final say on when schools close for health and safety reasons such as illnesses or bad weather. The latest to shut their doors are Lime Academy Watergall in Bretton, Peterborough and Shepeau Stow Primary in Spalding. Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire also closed 'because of a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual within the school'. St Christopher's C of E High School in Accrington told parents it had to shut. A member of staff at William Martin Junior and Infant School came back from a half-term holiday in Italy so is shut as a precaution today. Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough and Cransley School in Northwich, Cheshire, shut completely on Tuesday so they can be deep cleaned. The Brine Leas Academy, also in Cheshire, shut its sixth form yesterday. Three pupils at Torquay Boys' Grammar School in Devon (left) tested negative for the virus after being sent home feeling ill after a school trip to Italy, and Cambridge House Grammar School (right) in County Atrim, Northern Ireland, sent home around 50 staff and pupils St Peter's Church of England Middle School in Windsor closed today for a 'precautionary clean' after a pupil returned home from a trip to Italy during half-term. Archbishop Temple School in Preston closed and said in a notice on its website that it had an 'unavoidable closure' because a ski trip had recently returned from Pila, Italy. And pupils and staff at 18 schools in Cornwall, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Berkshire, Pembrokeshire, Liverpool, London, Birmingham and Northern Ireland were sent home to quarantine themselves. Professor Paul Cosford, medical director for Public Health England, today admitted the Government does not know how many Brits have come back from skiing trips to the north of Italy but said it was a 'significant number'. Hundreds of cases of the virus have been diagnosed in northern Italy since Friday as dozens of school trips made their way home after half-term trips. Some headteachers have taken evasive action and shut down schools after staff and students came down with 'mild flu-like symptoms' after returning from the Alps. Others have sent home the pupils and staff who went on the trips to Italy, where 11 towns are now in government lockdown. While many have decided to stay open, telling pupils they must come in unless they have clear symptoms of the killer virus a move which has angered some parents. Public Health England is not advising schools to close and Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs today: 'If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited. 'There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home. Once the results arrive, those who test negative will be advised individually about returning to education. 'In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary, but this will be a local decision based on various factors including professional advice. 'Our goal here is to try to keep schools open wherever we can so long as that protects the public. In fact, our wider goal is to have the minimum disruption, social and economic and indeed to the NHS subject to keeping the public safe.' Some schools also reported that they closed immediately for a deep clean following Department of Health and PHE advice. Contradictory messages from the government have led to widespread confusion and caused individual headteachers to take matters into their own hands. In terms of sporting events Ireland's Six Nations clash with Italy in Dublin has been called off amid fears over the coronavirus. The deadly epidemic has swept through northern parts of Italy, and in a bid to prevent the disease reaching their shores, the Irish government have taken the step to postpone the game on March 7. Both the women's Six Nations and Under 20s clashes have also been cancelled. IRFU chief Philip Browne revealed they are working with the Six Nations in an attempt to find a date to reschedule the fixtures, but there are no details on when that may be. In his statement, Browne said: 'We had a very positive meeting with [Irish health minister] Mr [Simon] Harris and his advisors where we requested an instruction as to the staging of the Ireland. England's Six Nations match in Rome in a fortnight is still scheduled to go ahead. The FA will today hold urgent talks over the impact of the coronavirus on England's Wembley friendly with Italy next month. Senior staff will sit down at the national stadium to talk through the problems associated with the fixture after the outbreak increased in northern Italy. The European Commission, which enforces the rule book for the open-border Schengen Area, encouraged countries to adopt measures based on scientific evidence and 'in coordination and not in a fragmented way', a spokeswoman said. Symptoms include a cough, fever and shortness of breath. MailOnline has contacted the school and Kensington Palace was unavailable for comment this evening. She's been focusing on self-care since quitting Dancing On Ice earlier this month. And Caprice Bourret was seen looking as glam as ever as she attended the launch of Nutrition expert Scott Harrison's book Eat Your Way to a Six Pack at the Devonshire Club, Spitalfields, London. The 48-year-old model wore a 70s style sequined high-necked lime green mini-dress with an elegant slit in the front revealing a hint of cleavage. Glam girl: Caprice Bourret looked sensational as she attended the launch of Nutrition expert Scott Harrison's book Eat Your Way to a Six Pack at the Devonshire Club, London Caprice completed her look with a pair of black platform heels, putting on a very leggy display. The star wore her platinum tresses sleek and straight while a rich palette of make-up enhanced her youthful features. Also at the event was former The Only Way Is Essex star Jess Wright, who looked striking in a Balmain blazer and black flares which also added a touch of the vintage to her outfit. The reality TV star, 34, looked chic in all black, a look she paired with a small chained bag and a bronzed make-up look. Later in the night the pair were joined for photos by the book's author Scott Harrison and TV presenter Kate Thornton. Vintage theme: Also at the event was former The Only Way Is Essex star Jess Wright, who looked striking in a Balmain blazer and black flares, adding a touch of the 70s to her outfit Model looks: The 48-year-old model wore a 70s style sequined high-necked lime green mini-dress with an elegant slit in the front revealing a hint of cleavage Kate wore a monochrome block skirt with a black top, adding a pop of colour with a red jacket over her look. While Scott looked suave as he opted for a sharp black suit and jeans as he promoted his book that holds the slogan 'six packs are made in the kitchen!' The outing comes after Caprice announced that she had quit Dancing On Ice on Feb 2 and hit back at her former pro partner Hamish Gaman after she made allegations of bullying behaviour against him. Eat Your Way To A Six Pack: Scott looked suave as he opted for a sharp black suit and jeans as he promoted his book that holds the slogan 'six packs are made in the kitchen!' The model's rep told MailOnline at the time: 'Its true that Caprice is no longer participating in Dancing On Ice. Its been a hard few months and shes had to keep silent for contractual reasons. 'Her mental wellbeing has been affected over the last two months and recent stories leaked to the press are not only salacious but extremely hurtful. 'Now shes taking some time to recover and look after herself and her family.' Friendly crowd: Later in the night the pair were joined for photos by the book's author Scott Harrison and TV presenter Kate Thornton On Sunday Hamish Gaman made his first appearance on Dancing On Ice since quitting the show the week before. The dancer declared that he was having the worst time of his life following the aftermath of Caprice's departure from the show. He said in a statement just a week before: 'The past three-and-a-half months have been the worst of my life, and I'm struggling. It might look like things have been calming down, but they aren't' Tweeting on Sunday the dancer wrote: 'Hi everyone. Im excited to be returning to @dancingonice tonight. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me when I was really struggling. In the Delhi High Court, the police came in for severe criticism as a division bench questioned the delay in registering an FIR against BJP leaders who allegedly made inflammatory speeches. After two days of communal clashes, an uneasy calm settled over Delhi on Wednesday, even as the toll in the deadly violence rose to 27. However, in the Delhi High Court, the police came in for severe criticism as a division bench questioned the delay in registering FIRs against three BJP leaders who allegedly made inflammatory speeches, leading up to the violence. While the clashes have largely subsided, there was violence in some other places with shops set ablaze and the body of an Intelligence Bureau staffer found in a drain. The CBSE Class 12 English exam scheduled for Thursday has been postponed in the northeast and parts of east Delhi in view of the turbulent situation, according to officials. As unease prevailed in the violence-battered localities of the northeast Delhi, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed for peace and harmony. Modi tweeted: Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2020 Kejriwal, on his part, said in the Delhi Assembly, "There are two options before Delhiites. One is that we should stand together and make prosperous future of Delhi, and second is to get involved in violence. Modern Delhi cannot be built on a pile of dead bodies. We have to make Delhi a developed city through good schools and hospitals." National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited some riot-hit areas. "What has happened has happened. Inshallah, there will be complete peace here," he said as he walked through the mostly mixed neighbourhoods and congested lanes of northeast Delhi and met locals. On Tuesday, he undertook a late night tour with Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and newly-appointed Special Commissioner SN Shrivastava. According to reports, the MHA has brought in Doval to bring normalcy to the violence-affected areas in Delhi. Toll rises to 27; 106 arrested Sunil Kumar, Medical Superintendent of the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital was quoted by ANI as saying that the toll in the spate of violence that hit northeast Delhi this week has risen to 27. He said, "The toll has risen to 27 as three more died during medical treatment." In the evening, the police said that 106 "miscreants" have been arrested in connection with the violence. Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa said that the police had taken action using CCTV footage and other evidence. "Till now Delhi Police has registered 18 FIRs so far and 106 people have been arrested in connection with the incidents in northeast Delhi. Miscreants are being identified. We have the CCTV footage and strong evidence," he said. 'Don't want repeat of 1984 riots': Delhi HC Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court slammed the police, observing that the police does not need the court's direction to take action in relation to the violence and that the police should take suo motu action as "this is very important". "This is time to reach out and do confidence by building. We can't let another 1984 scenario happen in this city; not under the watch of this court," a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh observed, according to NDTV. The court was hearing a PIL filed by activist Harsh Mandar, seeking FIR against three BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for making hate speeches. Justice S Muralidhar said, "When you have multiple clips of inflammatory speeches, what are you waiting for? Why aren't you registering the FIR?... You (police) showed alacrity in lodging FIRs for arson; why aren't you showing the same for registering FIR for these speeches?...When you've registered FIRs for damages to property, why aren't you registering it for these speeches? Don't you want to even acknowledge the presence of a crime?" The court made the remarks after Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Rajesh Deo told the bench that he had not seen the clip where BJP leader Mishra allegedly made a speech instigating violence in northeast Delhi. During the hearing, the court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared at the court on behalf of the Union government and represented the police, if they had seen the video clip of Mishra making alleged hate speeches. While Mehta maintained that he does not watch television and has not seen those clips, Deo said he has watched the video of BJP leaders Thakur and Verma, but has not of Mishra. On the submission made by the police officer, Justice Muralidhar remarked, "I am really amazed at the state of affairs of the Delhi Police", and asked the court staff to play Mishra's video clip in the courtroom. After te day long hearing on Wednesday on the PIL, the court directed to police to take a "conscious decision" on filing FIR over hate speeches and inform the court by Thursday. Kejriwal blames 'outsiders,' says Hindus and Muslims want peace Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Wednesday that rioters from outside and some political and anti-social elements were involved in the northeast Delhi violence. Speaking in the Delhi Assembly, the chief minister appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that if required, the Army should be called in to control the situation in the riot-affected areas. Kejriwal said the common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence and asserted that a modern Delhi cannot be built on a pile of dead bodies. He said everyone has suffered losses and that politics of hatred and violence will not be tolerated. On Wednesday evening, Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited some riot-hit areas to take stock of the situation and interacted with locals. He sought to know why such incidents took place and who were behind the violence in parts of northeast Delhi. "The common man of Delhi did not indulge in violence. Some outsiders, some political elements and some anti-social elements indulged in violence. Hindus and Muslims do not fight and they want to live peacefully," he said in th Assembly. In his earlier tweet, the chief minister said the situation has become "alarming", adding that he is writing to the Union home minister. I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately Am writing to Honble HM to this effect Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 26, 2020 CBSE postpones examinations in northeast, east Delhi The CBSE has postponed English language examinations across 80 centers of northeast and east Delhi in light of the violence that has gripped the area since Sunday. "Considering request of Delhi government and to avoid inconvenience to students, staff and parents, the board has decided to postpone the exam for Class 12 in North East Part of Delhi," PTI quoted CBSE secretary Anurag Tripathi as saying. "However, the exam in rest of the Delhi shall be conducted as per schedule. The next date of exam for affected students will be notified shortly," the official said. With inputs from PTI New Delhi, Feb 26 : After maintaining a stony silence peppered with tweets appealing for calm, the Aam Aadmi Party not only spoke on the Delhi riots but politicised it at a crucial time. Accusing "outsiders" for the mayhem that Delhi has been through, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday put pointed questions towards Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "If Amit Shah and his police force can't stop the riots then why is he not sending the Army? The Army should be sent immediately to Delhi and action should be taken against those who incited riots," said AAP leader Sanjay Singh at a press conference. Making a direct political charge, he alleged that so far, Shah has not even made an appeal for peace. He asked, "Does Amit Shah not have any responsibility?" Hitting out at the Delhi Police, whose role has come under the scanner, Gopal Rai, another senior AAP leader alleged that "not once in the last three days" did the Delhi Police Commissioner pick phone calls from AAP leaders. "Delhi is burning and the police commissioner has not even responded," Rai claimed. He further added, "Delhi government has given instructions to the fire department and all hospital authorities to be vigilant and help the citizens in this difficult time. We are closely monitoring the situation in Delhi." This charge at the BJP's former President and Home Minister came a day after Kejriwal co-chaired a meeting on Delhi violence along with Shah. Kejriwal's alleged silence or perceived non-criticism came under sharp attack both online and offline with JNU students marching to his residence on Tuesday night demanding he make his position on the continuous violence clear. So far, 20 people are reported killed in the Delhi violence which appears to be one of the worst in recent times. A constable too succumbed to injuries that sparked massive outrage. The cause of the violence is believed to be a clash between pro- and anti-CAA protesters after those in support of the legislation blocked a road in northeast Delhi's Jafrabad area, in a similar fashion to that of Shaheen Bagh, over the weekend. Solidarity protests in support of Wetsuweten pipeline opponents continue to block the Highway 6 Caledonia bypass but are no longer blocking roads in Hagersville. Haudenosaunee Confederacy members and supporters blocked the busy Highway 6 bypass around Caledonia on Monday and settled in the next day with a growing barricade of pallets, a trailer and barrel fire for heat. The Highway 6 bypass was still closed between Argyle Street South and Greens Road as of early Wednesday afternoon. Late Tuesday, a separate solidarity demonstration had blocked Highway 6 further south at First Line in Hagersville. It lasted about five hours until demonstrators left, said OPP Const. Rodney LeClair. Six Nations members set up barricade in support of Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs Ontario Provincial Police continue to warn of delays and appealing for motorists to be patient. Hello, Canada; wake up. Were not going away, said Rhonda Martin, a member of the Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan, who spoke to reporters at the Caledonia bypass barricade Tuesday. I dont know why the Government of Canada cant see that. Were not going away, so deal with us. Protesters also blocked a CN rail line in Hamilton late Monday and into Tuesday, prompting police to close access to the rail junction and GO Transit to cancel trains out of Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Hamiltons West Harbour station. It was abadoned late Tuesday evening. The blockades in Hamilton, Caledonia and Hagersville popped up after the OPP dismantled a long-running rail blockade in Tyendinaga on the weekend. On Tuesday, Martin described the actions as solidarity protests in support of Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs opposing construction of a contentious natural gas pipeline through unceded territory in B.C. Martin said the group will remain blocking Highway 6 between Argyle Street South and Greens Road until Wetsuweten demands are met, particularly that the RCMP and pipeline workers leave the traditional lands of the First Nations band in B.C. When we get word from them, well go home, said Martin. Critics of the blockades have argued Wetsuweten elected band councils support the planned B.C. natural gas line and that the rail blockade is causing problems like propane shortages for people across Canada. Colleen Davis, a member of the Mohawk Nations Bear Clan, said Tuesday the elected band councils in B.C. and locally in Six Nations are part of a colonial imposed system of government that does not reflect the traditional hereditary system of chiefs and clan mothers. Regardless, she said the band councils are not responsible for the unceded Wetsuweten lands that pipeline opponents are striving to protect. Martin also dismissed complaints about the impact of the Caledonia blockade. Dont talk to me about inconvenience. We have an entire history of inconvenience to tell you about. Ontario Provincial Police cars surrounded both ends of the bypass Tuesday and a helicopter could be seen patrolling overhead. Martin said she hopes police will not try to forcibly evict the group, but if it happens we are going to resist, she said. For me, anyway, I am going to stand my ground. In Hamilton, CN has served a court injunction on rail-blocking protesters. But LeClair said Tuesday he is not aware of any injunctions related to the road blockades. LeClair added Tuesday the demonstration has been peaceful and that the primary focus of police is to preserve the peace and maintain a safe environment for everyone involved. He said police are asking the public to be patient if impacted by traffic delays. Motorists can check in advance for road advisory information and the latest updates on Twitter @OPP_WR. Photo: Tim Reckmann/Flickr Two North Vancouver residents have avoided hard time but will face fines after pleading guilty to importing and selling off-brand erectile dysfunction drugs. Mohamad Fejvai Nejad, 31, and Marissa Tettamanti, 23, pleaded guilty to selling prescription drugs without a prescription and dealing with a drug in a manner that deceives between the spring of 2017 and the summer of 2018 when they were arrested. According to an agreed statement of facts by the Crown and defence lawyers submitted in North Vancouver provincial court Friday, the two imported generic drugs with the same medicinal ingredients as Viagra and Cialis from Tehran and then sold them to local buyers online for upwards of $30 per pill. Health Canada staff noticed the ads on Craigslist and hired private investigators to make undercover purchases. At times, Fejvai Nejad also offered medical advice to his clients, warning them to start with low doses. Fejvai Nejad and Tettamanti advertised the pills as always real, guaranteed and even warned that cheap knock-offs could result in health risks. But, without proper medical oversight, Fejvai Nejad and Tettamanti were supplying plenty of risk on their own, Judge Patricia Bond concluded, noting the drugs would have significant effects on individuals including the possibility of heart attack and death, she said. The victims who bought the drugs were typically older men, dressed in suits, Crown lawyer Michelle Ball said. The very health issues that caused the men to have erectile dysfunction may put them, without proper supervision by a physician, at higher risk of side effects. Health Canada also had to divert its resources from regulation and administration, to investigate Fejvai Nejad and Tettamanti, Ball added. The pair were also originally charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking because they also had supplied a product called THC Climax, but those charges were stayed by the Crown. Through their lawyers, both of the accused expressed remorse for their actions. For his role, Fejvai Nejad was fined $6,000 per charge for a total of $12,000. Tettamanti was fined $3,000 for each count, totalling $6,000. Those fines are at the low end of what would be available for the courts to apply, Ball said, but she agreed to a softer sentence on the basis that neither Fejvai Nejad nor Tettamanti would likely be able to pay much more. Fejvai Nejad filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and both are now reliant on their parents for income while they try to turn their lives around. Fejvai Nejads lawyer told the court his client only turned to selling the drugs after an autoimmune disease made it impossible for him to maintain his career working in sales and human resources. They were also sentenced to two years of probation. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:37:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Hu Bo carries his packages in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. Hu is a deliveryman, who continues to work during the outbreak, delivering foods to citizens. China is engaged in a war against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. When medical staff save lives in the hospitals, many ordinary people rise to the occasion and contribute to this battle in their own way. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi) Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with those hit by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, praising those working to battle the virus. Italy has suffered the worst outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Europe, with 374 cases of the disease and 12 deaths. "I would like to express my closeness to the coronavirus patients and to the health workers who are treating them, as well as to the civil authorities," the pope said at his weekly audience at the Vatican. Only a few of the 12,000 or so faithful who turned out to see him on Saint Peter's Square were wearing face masks. However at the end of the audience, 83-year-old Francis did not leave on his "popemobile" as usual but instead took the time to shake hands with tens of the congregation and kissed some of the children present, an AFP photographer reported. Pope Francis is known for not shying away from hugging the faithful or accepting kisses on his cheek or forehead. However, a year ago he explained his reticence for allowing people to kiss his ring, explaining the practice could spread germs. In his Ash Wednesday homily marking the beginning of Lent, the pope exhorted the world's 1.3 billion Catholics to "switch off the television and open the Bible". "It's the time to switch off from your mobile phone and to connect to the Gospel," he said, deploring what he called the recent trend towards a world "polluted by too much verbal violence, by so many offensive and harmful words, amplified by (social) networks". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JERUSALEM - Israel on Wednesday advised its citizens to reconsider all foreign travel amid the global spread of the new coronavirus that was first reported in China. The Health Ministry also ordered people to avoid travel to Italy and said anyone returning from there would be required to enter home quarantine for 14 days. That rule will take effect on Sunday. In a statement, the ministry said people should consider the necessity of travelling abroad in general, in addition to the requirement for people to go into isolation (quarantine) when returning from certain countries. It also urged people to avoid international conferences. Israel has already cancelled all flights to and from China and mandated 14 days of home quarantine for travellers from a number of Asian countries. Israel has reported two infections of the coronavirus, which causes a potentially fatal illness known as COVID-19. Both were passengers who were flown home and immediately placed in isolation after being on a cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan. The outbreak has infected more than 80,000 people globally and killed more than 2,700. As North-East Delhi has been engulfed by communal riots since February 23, residents of the national capital worked hard to not fall prey to those dividing communities on religious lines. These, perhaps, are the worst riots, Delhi has witnessed in recent years with close to 20 people losing their lives and more than 150 being injured in clashes between anti and pro CAA groups, which soon took a communal colour. Residents of Yamuna Vihar said they have never seen such violence and they have vowed to leave no stone unturned to defeat communal forces together. AFP Residents of the area drew away miscreants who had come to the market area and tried to create disturbance in the region. In such trying times, people are standing in unity against the dividing forces. Many took to Twitter to share the heartwarming stories of people extending support to each other and offering help in whichever capacity they can. A Twitter user said he has received warm details from riot-infested Delhi areas where one community is patrolling with their neighbours of another community to ensure that no one from the outside attacks homes of the minorities. A Gurdwara has given shelter to Muslim families fleeing Hindutva mob in NE Delhi. (Not giving exact location as it may endanger Sikhs as well. Will inform over DM if people may need to go there)#DelhiBurning Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) February 25, 2020 In one part of Delhi, a gurdwara opens its doors to Muslims and anyone who needs shelter. In Seelampur, Dalits blocked the roads against mobs, sheltered their Muslim neighbours. Police and politicians have forgotten their duty; but the people have courage and heart.#DelhiRiots Nilanjana Roy (@nilanjanaroy) February 25, 2020 Gurudwaras in North Delhi including in Majnoo ka Tila will look after people who need help tonight, Delhi GPC leaders said. People in North and Northeast Delhi please be informed . . Kallol Bhattacherjee (@janusmyth) February 24, 2020 Novelist Nilanjana Roy also shared that she has come across news from one part of Delhi wherein a gurdwara has opened its door to anyone who needs shelter. She also shared that In Seelampur, Dalits blocked the roads against mobs and sheltered their neighbours belonging to another community. "Gurudwaras in North Delhi including in Majnoo ka Tila will look after people who need help tonight," said a tweet. There are several accounts on social media explaining how people are extending support to each other in this need of the hour. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The headlines about a pandemic sound dire. But if the COVID-19 coronavirus hits Ohio, patients might not need to crowd emergency rooms and urgent cares. Instead, doctors say, patients may be told to stay home to rest and drink water and electrolytes. A recent paper from the Chinese Centers of Disease Control and Prevention analyzed more than 70,000 cases of the coronavirus in China and showed that about 81 percent of cases were mild. The analysis found a death rate of 2.3 percent. The great majority of people would not need urgent medical care from a hospital or an ER, said Dr. Keith Armitage, medical director for the University Hospitals Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine. It would be medicine for fever, like Tylenol, fluids to make sure youre hydrated and only a small minority of people would need hospital care, particularly for shortness of breath that might need oxygen. Worldwide, 2,628 people have died and 25,215 have recovered, according to live updates from Johns Hopkins University. There are no confirmed or suspected cases in Ohio. State health professionals asked 175 people who have arrived from China to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent the potential spread of the new coronavirus, cleveland.coms Laura Hancock reported on Monday. Most symptoms are flu-like, with cough, fever and sneezing. The disease is highly contagious, spread by droplets from coughing, sneezing or anything that aerosolizes the virus. And there is no cure, though more than 80 clinical trials recently launched to test treatments, according to Nature. Overall, the coronavirus strikes a parallel to the flu, where if a patient is otherwise healthy, its best to stay hydrated and wait it out. Theres no equivalent to Tamiflu for coronavirus. Armitage said respiratory illnesses, like the coronavirus, can aggravate existing lung and heart conditions. A patient would then need to go to the doctor or emergency room. The elderly also are at greater risk to suffer from more intense symptoms, much like the flu. Though coronaviruss mild symptoms could make it easier for patients to recover, the nature of the illness could also make it harder to track, the Washington Post reports. This looks to be a bad, heightened cold I think thats a rational way of thinking about it, said Matthew Frieman, a virologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told the Post. Not to diminish its importance its in the middle between SARS and the common cold. The most severe cases are generally reported first, but as time goes on, milder case reports will roll in, which could lower the death rate. One problem that could emerge if the coronavirus spreads in Ohio is people heading to hospitals or emergency rooms to get tested, Armitage said. That could lead to further spread. The current U.S. CDC recommendation is to call a doctor or emergency room before going in to get tested. Thats if a patient is showing symptoms and has a relevant travel history. If the situation calls for it, health professionals will then likely recommend the patient stay at home and monitor his or her temperature. There are still many aspects of the coronavirus that health officials do not know about, so its best to stay in the loop. Its a rapidly evolving situation, Armitage said. Slough has been named the best place to work in the UK for the third year running in an annual report. Each year, employment website Glassdoor lists the countrys best towns or cities to find jobs, based on the number of available opportunities, the cost of living, average wages and job satisfaction. The Berkshire town was chosen thanks to its large number of job vacancies and above-average wages. Figures compiled by the website reveal that Slough had 23,387 job openings in the last year with an average job satisfaction rating of 3.4 out of 5 Meanwhile, the median average salary was 30,139 per annum. Several multinational companies, including Telefonica, AkzoNobel and Reckitt Benckiser, have offices in the town. It is also the setting for mockumentary sitcom The Office and the subject of an excoriating poem by John Betjeman. Cambridge, Gloucester, Guildford and Reading took places two to five on the list, all praised for the number of job vacancies and the average cost of living. 8 best hikes in the UK Show all 8 1 /8 8 best hikes in the UK 8 best hikes in the UK Ben Macdui, Cairngorms National Park Swap busy Ben Nevis for the scarcely-smaller Ben Macdui, Scotlands second highest peak at 4,295ft, and scale CairnGorm which ranks sixth for good measure. Twelve miles long and likely to take eight to nine hours, a rollercoaster of a hike bagging both begins from the Cairngorm Ski Centre car park. Youll shadow a run down Cairn Gorm, cross heathery moors and flank the small Coire an Lochain water (walkhighlands.co.uk). Getty Images/iStockphoto 8 best hikes in the UK Sandwood Bay Loop, Sutherland One of Britains great beaches, Sandwood Bays wind-blasted white sand is inaccessible by road; you must walk a four-mile track from Blairmore in remotest northwestern Scotland past small lochs. Its lagoon, supposedly-haunted bothy, crashing waves and spindly sea stack look even better from above. So zigzag up the southern cliff before taking the faint coast path and then crossing bumpy, boggy peat moorland back to the main track (ramblers.org.uk). Getty/iStock 8 best hikes in the UK Bochlwyd Horseshoe, Snowdonia Snowdon is Wales most famous bluff, but nearby Tryfan is more eye-catching thanks to a shark-fin shape. It forms part of the Bochlwyd Horseshoe, which involves much scrambling over scree fields and due to some wispy ridges a head for heights. Veteran hikers are rewarded with scintillating, panoramic Snowdonia vistas and photo-ops on the overhanging Cantilever stone. The slow-going route is only eight miles, but will feel longer (mudandroutes.com). Getty/iStock 8 best hikes in the UK Scafell Pike via Corridor Route, Lake District The ways up Englands highest mountain vary in popularity. Leaving the Lakeland hordes to follow an easy path from Wasdale, use instead the Corridor Route to steeply approach Scafell Pikes quieter north side. After attaining its boulder-strewn, 3,209ft summit, loop back to start-point Seathwaite via burly Broad Crag. Almost ten miles long, this tough circular promises riversides, ravines, a waterfall and four Hewitts hills over 2,000 feet (mudandroutes.com). Getty Images for PCA 8 best hikes in the UK Slieve Binnian Trail, County Down A challenging circular through Northern Irelands Mourne Mountains which starts off gently before plunging up alongside the attractive Mourne Wall: an early 20th-century dry-stone dyke built to separate cattle from a reservoir below. Though some scrambling is required to reach Slieve Binnians 2,449-foot crest, its views to the Isle of Man on clear days easily merit the effort, as does a diverse descent past the Blue Lough and Annalong Wood (walkni.com). Getty Images/iStockphoto 8 best hikes in the UK Byrness to Kirk Yetholm, Northumberland, Scottish Borders It can take 16 days to complete the 268-mile Pennine Way, but if you only have one to spare then combine the last (and usually least-crowded, due to a lack of accommodation) two stages for a real wilderness walk. Traversing the wild Cheviot Hills and hugging the Scottish border, its a lonely 27-mile trudge characterised by bog-hopping boardwalks and slab paths (nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way). Getty Images/iStockphoto 8 best hikes in the UK The Broomway, Essex Its only six miles long, yet the Broomway is reckoned to have killed 100 people. From Great Wakering, it heads straight out to sea at low tide, eventually reaching the marshy island of Foulness. Why so perilous? Because the path is mostly unmarked, the tide returns faster than humans can and there is a lot of quicksand on the route. But in good weather, and traversed safely, this can be one of the most bracing beach walks Britain has on offer (broomway.org.uk). Getty 8 best hikes in the UK Yorkshire Three Peaks What do Pen y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough have in common? Well, theyre Yorkshires highest mountains, they each offer fine views and all three are surmountable during a gruelling 24-mile trek. Along with over 5,000 feet worth of ascent, youre promised the Ribblehead viaduct, picturesque Dales High Way sections and, of interest to geologists, distinct limestone-gritstone overlaps. Begin and end at Horton in Ribblesdale, where pubs are happily on standby (threepeakschallenge.uk). Getty Images/iStockphoto Glassdoor's economic research analyst Amanda Stansell said: Our latest report shows that companies are continuing to look outside of the big cities to set up offices and recruit local talent, in part driven by ever-improving access, favourable rents and salaries. The growth in flexible working also means employees are no longer spending every day, 9-5, in the office, meaning the location of the company is less important than it once was. Companies can get away with not having offices in the larger, expensive cities like London as employees are prioritising flexibility and convenience over the prestige of an office address. As the US President Donald Trump, along with the First Lady Melania, landed in India on Monday for a historic visit, the Congress mouthpiece, National Herald, published an article calling India a shit hole country. The article's headline was, India is the only poor and shit-hole country that Donald Trump has ever visited. The article was written by Aakar Patel. The article seemingly sought to taunt Trump: "Donald Trump since becoming president has visited 20 countries of which the majority are in Europe. He has been to France four times. He dislikes the developing world and doesnt want immigrants from what he calls a shit-hole country, in which list he presumably includes India, the article went on. US President Donald Trump (R) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet the crowd during 'Namaste Trump' rally at Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on February 24, 2020. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP) (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images) Apart from brazenly denigrating India, the article also had factual inaccuracies. The US president has visited countries such as Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Singapore which are not in Europe. In fact, Trump has been to Vietnam and South Korea twice, as the president. The article also took swipes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that such a visit won't yield much for India.The rancid headline drew sharp criticism on social media with Netizens ridiculing the Congress and the author for deriding their own country to score petty political points. After the outrage, the newspaper has changed the headline. The Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiative, Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, and Justice and Empowerment Initiative have condemned the Wednesday arrest of some persons living with disabilities during a protest in Lagos. In a statement Wednesday, the groups called for the frivolous charges against the arrested persons to be dropped and for the governor to respond to the petition of the protesters. Those arrested include Mohammed Zanna, Abubakar Umaru, Shehu Daiyanu, Mustapha Bello, and Yunusa Mohammed. Still in shock, we condemn in no uncertain terms the attacks on peaceful protesters and the arrest and frivolous prosecution of leaders of the PLWD community in Lagos, who are meant to enjoy the highest forms of protection in line with the Lagos State Special Peoples Law, 2011, the groups said. By contrast, they have now suffered violations of their rights to freedom of assembly, to freedom of expression, to physical integrity, and to liberty, on top of the other rights already violated by the blanket Keke ban. The state government, on February 1, began the enforcement of its decision to restrict the activities of commercial motorcycles and tricycles from major roads and bridges in the state. Although the decision resulted in untold hardship to citizens, the government has refused to back down from its decision. On Tuesday, hundreds of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) stormed the Lagos State government house to protest the restriction of tricycles in some parts of the state. The protesters vowed to remain there until they get an audience with the governor. They said they had been ignored in an earlier protest to the governors office. Not aware When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Lagos State police spokesperson, Bala Elkana, on Wednesday afternoon about the arrest of some of the protesters, he said he is unaware of any arrest. He would make efforts to confirm if there was any. Gboyega Akosile, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also told this newspaper that the state government did not order the arrest of any of the protesters. Im not aware that anybody was arrested, Mr Akosile told PREMIUM TIMES. The state government did not order the arrest of anybody. We saw them at the gate yesterday, hundreds of them, but we are law-abiding citizens, nobody touched them. Our government does not discriminate against people, protesters are entitled to peaceful protest. Nobody was arrested on the order of the state government, nobody, Mr Akosile said. #OccupyAlausa During Tuesdays peaceful protest, the Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiative (PCEI), a network of persons with disabilities, said its members are in a desperate situation as a result of the restriction. Expressing the effects of the ban of tricycles on their livelihoods, the group vowed to remain at the government house until they are given an audience by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state. They tagged their protest #OccupyAlausa. Mr Zanna, the spokesperson of PCEI, said the sufferings of persons with disabilities have increased since the enforcement of the restriction. We condemn the blanket ban; the latest anti-poor policy in Lagos, and call for an immediate repeal while suitable, pro-people regulations are developed. Mr Zanna said many of PCEI members were formerly street beggars whom they have supported to enter into Keke driving business as a dignified and legal alternative to street begging. He said the implementation of a blanket ban on Keke and Okada across Lagos State, with ruthless and illegal enforcement activities, has created more problems for the group as many of the riders had their motorcycles impounded even while they were not moving on the restricted routes. The ban has witnessed several of their Kekes seized on 1 February 2020 from within a taxi park where they were parked respecting the ban. Mr Zanna added that the impacts of the restriction have been worse on PCEI members since many of them are practically trampled in the rush for buses and have been unable to either move themselves using their networks Keke fleet or move long distances self-propelled. This amounts to a severe assault on their right to mobility and, more so, their right to dignity, he said. Advertisements The group had earlier held a peaceful protest and delivered a petition to the Lagos State governor on February 7, but no response was received. In a fresh petition written to the state governor on Tuesday, PCEI said that despite that persons living with disabilities registered en masse with the Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs (LASODA), they enjoy no protection, support or benefits. PCEI said the enforcement of the restriction has unleashed untold hardships to persons living with disabilities who are hardworking and find means to fends for themselves. The group demanded that the government repeals the restriction or find alternative means of livelihoods for PLWDs. We are ready to work with the government to find workable alternatives through appropriate regulation of Keke, special permits for PLWDs to use our Keke for the transportation of our members, or real and immediate support for alternative livelihoods through skills training and support for PLWDs to start new businesses, the group said. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allen MacInnis has announced that he will step down as Artistic Director of Torontos Young Peoples Theatre (YPT) at the end of the 2020.21 season, after 19 outstanding years. He is the longest-serving Artistic Director in the theatres 54-year history as North Americas oldest and Canadas largest professional producer and presenter of theatre for young audiences. YPTs staff, board, and patrons will miss Allens passionate and compassionate leadership of this company. He has truly inspired and motivated everyone with his vision for theatre and education. Thankfully, a long good-bye will allow for a smooth transition into the companys next chapter with a new artist at the helm, said Executive Director Nancy Webster. Since joining YPT in 2002, Mr. MacInniss artistic vision has focused on the emotional, social, and intellectual development of young people a mission that has influenced all of his artistic choices, as well as the companys core values. YPT has such a clear purpose and audience. And thats a gift for someone in my position, Mr. MacInnis said. It has taught me that my job is all about maintaining an authentic relationship with young people and the people who care about them. Together with Ms. Webster, Mr. MacInnis established YPTs innovative Education & Participation Department (E&P), connecting every element of YPTs educational work with the companys professional productions. This wide range of programming includes YPTs Drama School, community workshops with newcomer agencies and SickKids Hospital, Indigenous programming, in-depth work in school classrooms, professional development programs for arts educators, as well as volunteer and internship opportunities. During his tenure, YPT has presented more than 30 world premieres, collaborated with international theatre companies, artists, and arts educators from Great Britain to Australia to Nigeria, and received over 40 Dora Mavor Moore Awards. His outstanding direction for individual productions has also been recognized, including a directing award for one of his personal favourites, Seussical. I am endlessly inspired by Seusss phrase a persons a person, no matter how small, said Mr. MacInnis. I think those are words to live by. The importance that Mr. MacInnis has placed on the experiences of theatres youngest audience members, including babies, has influenced the theatre beyond measure. YPT is at the forefront of Canadian theatres exploration of stage work for infants, and now serves ages 3 months to 18 years. Mr. MacInnis will program YPTs 2020.21 season, as well as direct. The Board of Directors search for his successor commences Feb. 28, 2020, with the intention of securing an incoming Artistic Director by late Fall. During this transitional season, the Artistic Director Designate will program the 2021.22 season. Says Mr. MacInnis: I have loved every minute, but I have felt for a couple of years that it isnt enough anymore for me to make space for emerging artists or to share power its time for someone like me to get out of the way for a new generation, especially those who face barriers to accessing leadership roles. While stepping away from YPT, he looks forward to future work as a director, performer, and educator. The full press release can be found here . About Young Peoples Theatre Young Peoples Theatre (YPT) is North Americas oldest and Canadas largest professional producer and presenter of theatre for young audiences. Over the past 54 years, YPT has staged many of the most important plays that form the canon of work for youth in our country. YPT continues to develop new work and create partnerships with theatre companies across the country and around the world. The enriched learning experiences of YPTs Education & Participation Department provide young people with opportunities to develop their whole being. Through Drama School programs in four locations throughout the city, workshops in community shelters and agencies, educational initiatives in Toronto classrooms, and training and apprenticeship opportunities, we place learning at the centre of everything we do. Visit youngpeoplestheatre.org to learn more. NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- illycaffe S.p.A., an Italian coffee company frontrunner in sustainable quality, has been recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies. illycaffe is committed to the highest ethical standards in continuously improving the quality of life for all its stakeholders. 2020 marks the eighth consecutive year illycaffe has earned this recognition, and furthermore, is one of only six companies that received the honor this year in the Food, Beverage & Agriculture category. In 2020, 132 honorees were recognized spanning 21 countries and 51 industries. "Upholding the highest ethics under a rigorous sustainable framework is essential not only to develop our company and our industry, but also to do our best for global society, the planet's health and well-being of generations to come," said Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffe S.p.A. "These tenets are shared by Ethisphere, and we are proud to be recognized among its 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies. It's a further demonstration of the consistency of our business model and of our managers' capability to create an ethical context within the company, which is the base to develop a sustainable business model that will generate value for stakeholders". "Congratulations to everyone at illycaffe for earning this recognition for the eighth consecutive year," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. "Today, ethics and values are among the most important drivers to stakeholders, and companies that uphold and deliver on their promises year-after-year are who will continue to grow within their industry." To extend its long-demonstrated commitment to the global coffee community, illycaffe recently launched Circolo illy, a digital platform for stakeholders within the coffee supply chain, such as producers, growers, exporters, agronomists, among others, who can now gain access, at no cost, to knowledge and dialogue that will stimulate sustainable growing practices helping to work toward a goal of spreading a culture of sustainable quality, virtuous collaboration and growth. Methodology & Scoring Grounded in Ethisphere's proprietary Ethics Quotient, the World's Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe. Best practices and insights from the 2020 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year. All companies that participate in the assessment process receive an Analytical Scorecard providing them a holistic assessment of where their programs stand against the demanding standards of leading companies. Honorees The full list of the 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees. About illycaffe illycaffe is an Italian family-owned company founded in Trieste in 1933, which has always pursued the mission of offering the best coffee in the world. illycaffe produces a unique blend of 100% Arabica coffee, combining 9 of the best qualities in the world according to illy. Every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are enjoyed around the globe in over 140 countries, in the finest coffee shops, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafes and shops, and of course at home. The company's many innovations have contributed to important technological developments in the world of coffee. In 1991 the company founded the "Ernesto Illy Award for quality espresso coffee" in Brazil, promoting the sharing of expertise and recognising the efforts of coffee growers by offering a higher price for what illy believes to be the best quality coffee. This has grown into a partnership based on the principles of sustainable development. The company also founded the Universita del Caffe, an educational institution which strives to promote coffee culture at all levels, offering complete and practical training for growers, baristas and coffee lovers, and seeking to deepen the knowledge about every aspect of the product. Everything that is 'made in illy' is also enriched with beauty and art. These are fundamental values for the brand, from the logo designed by the artist James Rosenquist, to the cups of the illy Art Collection which have been decorated by over 100 international artists. In 2018 the company employed 1294 people and had a consolidated turnover of 483 million. There are around 259 illy stores and single-brand stores around the world in 43 countries. About the Ethisphere Institute The Ethisphere Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com. SOURCE illycaffe S.p.A. The Senate on Wednesday eulogised Ignatius Longjan as the lawmakers dedicated the whole day to a valedictory session for the late senator. Mr Longjan died on February 9. He was 75. He represented Plateau South Senatorial District under the platform of the All Progressives Congress. Until his death, he was the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism. His coffin was laid outside the chamber, surrounded by well-wishers. During the valedictory session, many lawmakers took turns to talk about the late lawmaker as they recalled the fun moments they had with him. The Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the Senate has lost another good man. This is even as he wondered why the good ones are dying. All the wicked people are in this country they dont die. It is the good ones that go. And so today, we commiserate with the wife and children and the people that he represents and of course the diplomatic community from where he came and Nigerians in general. Those of us from the South-east, the Igbos we say death doesnt know how to make choices on those that he wants to take otherwise he wouldnt take a nice, humble, very unassuming person like Longjan. He said death will not take away the name of Mr Longjan because he had done well. He also described him as a peace builder, a good person and urged his family to remember him for those things for which he stood for. The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, who said he barely knew the senator, described him as humble, loyal and a man of integrity. He also said Mr Longjan was a consummate senator and a diplomatic politician, having occupied several offices and risen to become a senator. I want the family to be consoled. Take pride in the fact that your husband rose to the rank of a senator, he said. On his part, Ibikunle Amosun noted that 21 senators have died between 2007 and 2020. He also wondered why good men die. It tells us how ephemeral this life is. We pray that we do not keep experiencing things like this. I have a different view about good men dying early. I think God himself knows, when good men die, they dont die. They will be remembered in the life of those that were left behind and the bad ones, he leaves them to live and eventually when they die, nobody remembers them and when they do, they will be remembered for the wrong reasons, he said. The lawmakers held a minute silence for Mr Longjan after which they all stepped out to pay their last respect to him. Prior to his election as senator, Mr Longjan was a former deputy governor of Plateau State between 2011 and 2015. He replaced Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party who ran for the governorship seat in 2019. He says "coercion by force into fraternal relations" is a main effective method in relations with Ukraine. Prominent Kremlin ideologue Vladislav Surkov, a former aide to the president of Russia in charge of the policy of the Russian Federation in occupied Donbas, has shared his vision of the future of Ukraine, its prospects and future relations with Russia. "There is no Ukraine. There is a Ukrainian national project. That is, a specific disorder of minds. A passion for ethnography that has surprisingly been driven to extremes. Such local lore full of blood. A mess instead of statehood. Borscht, Bandera [leader and ideologist of Ukrainian nationalists Stepan Bandera], there is also a bandura [a folk musical instrument]. But there is no nation. There is the brochure titled 'Independent Ukraine,' but there is no Ukraine. The only question is whether Ukraine doesn't exist any longer or yet?" Surkov said in an interview for Russia's Actual Comments media outlet. Read alsoZelensky's aide Yermak comments on meeting with Russian supervisor of puppet "republics" Yet, he said Ukraine, will nevertheless reveal itself as a state thanks to "the Ukies' stubbornness." The only question, according to Surkov, is how many parts Ukraine will be divided into. Therefore, Russia "will have to participate" in the process of its formation. "Strangely enough, I'm an Ukroptimist. That is, I think that Ukraine doesn't exist yet. But over time, it will come into existence. 'The Ukies' are stubborn guys, they will do this. However, what kind of Ukraine it will be, in what borders it will exist, and maybe even how many 'Ukraines' will appear are open questions. And one way or another, Russia will have to participate in resolving these issues," Surkov noted. He also says he is sure that "coercion by force into fraternal relations" is a main effective method in relations with Ukraine. "Relations with Ukraine have never been easy, even when Ukraine was part of Russia. Ukraine has always been troublesome for the imperial and Soviet bureaucracy. Either Hetman [Pavlo] Polubotok let down, or 'zapadentsi' [residents of the western part of Ukraine] joined Hitler. Coercion by force into fraternal relations is the only method that has historically proven effectiveness in the policy towards Ukraine. I don't think that any other method will be invented," he said. Five IPS officers of the Delhi Police on Wednesday were given different responsibilities amid violence, which has rocked the North East district of the city, claiming 22 lives. Shank Dhar Mishra, Additional CP, Rohini, has been given the posting of Additional CP Traffic, Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Additional CP (Central District) will take over as Additional CP (Crime), and DCP (Economic Offences Wing) Pramod K Mishra has been given the responsibility of DCP, Rohini district. DCP, IGI Airport, Sanjay Bhatia will take over as DCP (Central District) while Staff Officer to Commissioner of Police (CP) Rajeev Ranjan has been posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), IGI Airport. All these officers will take over their new responsibilities with immediate effect, as per the Home Department order. (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 Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 09:00 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066a498e 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,outbreak,nCoV-19,Terawan-Agus-Putranto,Muhadjir-Effendy,Diamond-Princess,cruise-ship Free The government is apparently in no rush to evacuate 69 Indonesian crew members from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who are reported healthy, arguing they might cause a new epicenter after nine others on the cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19. Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said the government would take one step at a time and prioritize citizens on the World Dream cruise ship who were in a more threatening position than those on the Diamond Princess. According to World Dream operator Dream Cruises, the cruise ship is currently in international waters close to Bintan Island in Riau Islands. Those on World Dream were rejected everywhere. We, the government, must pay attention to those rejected. What will happen if they run out of logistics and so on? They are clearly in a more threatening position, Terawan told journalists at the State Palace on Tuesday. He added that Indonesian citizens aboard the British-American-owned Diamond Princess had been receiving proper care from the Japanese government and were being supplied sufficient logistics. Any suspect carrier will be taken to the hospital and receive treatment according to Japanese standards, which means good standards, he said. Read also: Number of Indonesians with coronavirus on Diamond Princess rises to nine As of Tuesday, the Health Ministry confirmed nine Indonesian crew members on the Diamond Princess had tested positive for COVID-19. Five of them had been taken to hospitals for observation, while the remaining four were still on board the ship. Nine of them only have a fever. To me, they are being well cared for and not in bad condition. The minister claimed that the possibility that those deemed healthy could become was around 20 percent; meaning that 12 people were at risk of carrying the coronavirus into the archipelago if the government took at least 60 people home. Thats why we need special methods and negotiations with Japan to make an appropriate decision. If we rush the process, we could emulate what happened in the United States, Korea and Australia, creating a new epicenter, he added. Read also: 13 US citizens at 'high risk' of coronavirus being treated in Nebraska Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the government was still negotiating with the Japanese government regarding the evacuations. He went on to say that several pickup options had been submitted to President Joko Jokowi Widodo. The President should weigh and consider this with great care, not carelessly and not gratuitously because the fate of 264 million Indonesians depends on it, Muhadjir said. The government was not able to evacuate people from the cruise ships as it did in Wuhan the epicenter of COVID-19 because, Muhadjir argued, the Wuhan evacuations had a different set of conditions with a lack of infected Indonesian citizens. Everyone was still clean. [...] Meanwhile, nine [tested positive for COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess]. Thats why we consider the Diamond Princess an epicenter, while Dream World has not reached that level yet, he said. Japanese authorities quarantined Diamond Princess and its 3,711 passengers and crew for two weeks from Feb. 5. By the time the quarantine was over 14 days later, 634 of those aboard had tested positive for COVID-19. The crew members have expressed their hope that the government will airlift them from the Diamond Princess for fear of getting infected, saying that the evacuation of their coworkers from the United States, Canada, South Korea and several European countries was to take place soon. Editors note: The earlier version of the article mentioned the World Dream cruise ship is currently in Hong Kong. We have corrected the ships current position. We apologize for the mistake. The latest image published February 20, 2020 from the international Gemini Observatory showcases the striking planetary nebula CVMP 1. This object is the result of the death throes of a giant star and is a glorious but relatively short-lived astronomical spectacle. As the progenitor star of this planetary nebula slowly cools, this celestial hourglass will run out of time and will slowly fade from view over many thousands of years. Located roughly 6500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Circinus (The Compass) this astronomical beauty formed during the final death throes of a massive star. CVMP 1 is a planetary nebula; it emerged when an old red giant star blew off its outer layers in the form of a tempestuous stellar wind [1]. As this cast-aside stellar atmosphere sped outwards into interstellar space, the hot, exposed core of the progenitor star began to energize the ejected gases and cause them to glow. This formed the beautiful hourglass shape captured in this observation from the international Gemini Observatory, a facility of NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. Planetary nebulae like CVMP 1 are formed by only certain stars -- those with a mass somewhere between 0.8 and 8 times that of our own Sun [2]. Less massive stars will gently fizzle out, transitioning into white dwarfs at the end of their long lives, whereas more massive stars live fast and die young, ending their lives in gargantuan explosions known as supernovae. For stars lying between these extremes, however, the final stretch of their lives results in a striking astronomical display such as the one seen in this image. Unfortunately, the spectacle provided by a planetary nebula is as brief as it is glorious; these objects typically persist for only 10,000 years -- a tiny stretch of time compared to the lifespan of most stars, which lasts billions of years. These short-lived planetary nebulae come in myriad shapes and sizes, and several particularly striking forms are well known, such as the Helix Nebula which is captured in this image from 2003 which combined OIR Lab facilities at Kitt Peak National Observatory with the Hubble Space Telescope. The great diversity of shapes stems from the diversity of progenitor star systems, whose characteristics can greatly influence the ensuing planetary nebula. The presence of companion stars, orbiting planets, or even the rotation of the original red giant star can help determine the shape of a planetary nebula, but we don't yet have a detailed understanding of the processes sculpting these beautiful astronomical fireworks displays. But CVMP 1 is intriguing for more than just its aesthetic value. Astronomers have found that the gases making up the hourglass are highly enriched with helium and nitrogen, and that CVMP 1 is one of the largest planetary nebulae known. These clues together suggest that CVMP 1 is highly evolved, making it an ideal object to help astronomers understand the later lives of planetary nebulae. Astronomical measurements have revealed the characteristics of CVMP 1's central star. By measuring the light emitted from the gas in the planetary nebula, astronomers infer that the temperature of the central star is at least 130,000 degrees C (230,000 degrees F). Despite this scorching temperature, the star is doomed to steadily cool over thousands of years. Eventually, the light it emits will have too little energy to ionize gas in the planetary nebula, causing the striking hourglass shown in this image to fade from view. The international Gemini Observatory, comprises telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres, which together can access the entire night sky. Similar to many large observatories, a small fraction of the observing time of the Gemini telescopes is set aside for the creation of color images that can share the beauty of the Universe with the public. Objects are chosen for their aesthetic appeal -- such as this striking celestial hourglass. ### Notes [1] Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. This misnomer originates from the round, planet-like appearance of these objects when viewed through early telescopes. As telescopes improved, the striking beauty and stellar origin of planetary nebulae became more obvious, but their original name has persisted. [2] Which in turn implies that our own Sun will form a planetary nebula after burning through its hydrogen fuel, around 5 billion years from now. More information NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, CONICYT-Chile, MCTI-Brazil, MCTIP-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai'i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively. Contacts Peter Michaud NewsTeam Manager NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI Desk: +1 808-974-2510 Cell: +1 808-936-6643 Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Institutes of Health's All of Us Journey is visiting Albuquerque, N.M. throughout the next two weeks to educate communities about the opportunity to participate in a historic medical research effort. The All of Us Journey is an interactive mobile exhibit designed to share information about the All of Us Research Program, which aims to collect health data from one million or more people living in the United Stateswith the goal of accelerating precision medicine. An individual's personal health can be affected by factors such as geographical location, occupation, ethnicity, genetic health history and more. By gathering health data from one million or more participants, from all walks of life, All of Us hopes to build a data resource rich with diversityparticularly from groups who have historically been underrepresented in biomedical researchin order to give researchers a more complete picture of factors that impact health and disease. Since the tour's launch in the summer of 2017, the Journey has traveled to more than 40 states and 150 communities across the country, helping enroll more than 7,000 participants in the All of Us Research Program. Currently, 260 people in New Mexico are among the more than 335,000 people who have already enrolled in the program. February 28, 8AM to 1PM Jewish Community Center 5520 Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 March 1, 12PM to 6PM National Alliance for Hispanic Health & Community Wellness Council 2226 Sun Ranch Village Loop Los Lunas, NM 87031 March 2 & 3, 9AM to 5PM National Alliance for Hispanic Health & University of New Mexico Student Union Building - Plaza Level 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131 March 5, 4PM to 8PM Jewish Community Center 5520 Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 March 6, 2PM to 7PM March 7, 10AM to 4PM National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th St SW Albuquerque, NM 87102 March 10 & 11, 10AM to 4PM National Alliance for Hispanic Health & New Mexico State University Corbett Center Student Union 1600 International Mall Las Cruces, NM 88003 For more information about All of Us Journey exhibits and schedule updates, please visit https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events/all-us-journey. About the All of Us Research Program: The mission of the All of Us Research Program is to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention, treatment, and care for all of us. The program will partner with one million or more people across the United States to build the most diverse biomedical data resource of its kind, to help researchers gain better insights into the biological, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence health. For more information, visit www.JoinAllofUs.org/tour and www.allofus.nih.gov. SOURCE National Institutes of Health Related Links http://www.allofus.nih.gov An airline that briefly touched down in the Lowcountry five years ago is on its return leg. South Florida-based Silver Airways announced Wednesday it will launch nonstop service to four destinations from Charleston International starting May 21. The carrier will offer daily flights to Orlando before continuing on to Key West, as well as routes to Tampa three days a week and Fort Lauderdale four days a week. The Charleston-Tampa service will be offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday with return legs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Silver Airways' flight schedule Charleston-Orlando route (daily, continues to Key West) Depart Charleston: 11:55 a.m. Arrive Orlando: 1:30 p.m. Depart Orlando: 6:20 p.m. Arrive Charleston: 7:55 p.m. Charleston-Fort Lauderdale route (4 days/week) Depart Charleston: 8:35 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday Arrive Fort Lauderdale: 10:45 p.m. Depart Fort Lauderdale: 8:45 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday Arrive Charleston: 10:55 a.m. Charleston-Tampa route (3 days/week) Depart Charleston: 8:35 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday Arrive Tampa: 10:20 p.m. Depart Tampa: 9:10 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Arrive Charleston: 10:55 a.m. Source: Silver Airways Flights from the Lowcountry to Fort Lauderdale will be on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Return flights will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Introductory fares will start at $69 one way for a limited time for travel through Sept. 30. Tickets must be purchased by March 18. Silver Airways senior vice president Pedro Motta said the airline was excited "to introduce low fares and nonstop service between South Carolinas most iconic city" and several Sunshine State destinations. The airline served Charleston in 2015 with daily flights to Orlando and Tampa that continued on to its home base in Fort Lauderdale, but it discontinued service after nine months, citing weak bookings. Silver's arrival five years ago came shortly before JetBlue Airways added flights to Fort Lauderdale from Charleston, cutting into its service. It will now compete with JetBlue for that market. When the airline left in 2015, Silver said it was pausing service, and airport CEO Paul Campbell mentioned it might be back one day. Campbell called Silvers return "a milestone" for Charleston International since it brings the number of carriers serving the Lowcountry to 10. "Silver is a strong regional airline with an extensive network," he said. "Their new service will not only expand our options to Fort Lauderdale, they are also opening the door to new markets in Tampa, Orlando and beyond." Silver operates from hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa and offers the most routes within Florida and between the Sunshine State and the Bahamas, according to a company statement. The airline has been transitioning to a new aircraft model and will offer flights on a 70-seat ATR 72-600, an aircraft twice as large as the one that previously served the Lowcountry five years ago. It is specifically designed for short-haul routes but will offer the same amenities of jetliners, according to the company. Charleston's chief tourism official called the carrier's return "a win-win" for residents of Florida and Charleston. "It is also further evidence of our communitys economic strength and the airports positive momentum," said Helen Hill, CEO of Explore Charleston and chairwoman of Charleston County Aviation Authority. The airline operates about 100 daily flights between gateways in Florida and The Bahamas and has a maintenance facility at Orlando International Airport. It is owned by Versa Capital Management LLC, a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm. In the summer of 2018, Silver completed the acquisition of Seaborne Airlines, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based carrier serving destinations throughout Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other countries in the Caribbean. The company also has codeshare partnerships with several airlines. The new service comes at a time of rapid growth at Charleston International, where a new 3,005-space parking deck is being built, work on an expanded ticket counter for more airlines could begin later this year and a third wing is set to be added over the next few years. The airport's passenger levels continue to climb along with revenue, both up 7 percent during the final six months of 2019. "It's nothing but blue skies and green lights," airport Finance Director Doug Boston said of the airport's strong bottom line. The continued upward climb of passenger numbers follows a 12 percent increase in the 12 months from July 2018 to June 2019. Charleston International is currently served by Alaska, Allegiant, American, British Airways, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United. Last year, a record 4.87 million ticket holders came and went through the terminal, a growth rate of nearly 150 percent since 2 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2010. From left to top right: Interior of Malaysia-registered car, heroin and Ice seized, and cash found on Malaysian male suspect (Photo: Central Narcotics Bureau) SINGAPORE Three persons were arrested during seizures of more than 2kg of heroin and 299g of Ice worth a total of about $171,000 by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers. In the late hours of Tuesday (25 February), CNB officers arrested a 62-year-old Singaporean man for alleged drug trafficking in Toa Payoh East. He was found with 1.504kg of heroin and 299g of Ice, or methamphetamine, the agency said in a media release. At around the same time, CNB intercepted a Malaysia-registered car along Lorong 6 Toa Payoh and arrested its 38-year-old driver. The Malaysian man had refused to comply with orders given by CNB officers, who then broke the car windows to arrest him. Up to $11,200 in cash was found on him. Officers had earlier observed the Singaporean man entering the Malaysian mans car and exiting it a short while later. The older man was later escorted to his residential unit in Toa Payoh East, and a Singaporean woman, also 62, was arrested there. Some 508g of heroin and various drug paraphernalia were seized from the unit. CNB estimated that the heroin and Ice seized are sufficient to feed the addiction of 960 abusers and 170 abusers respectively for a week. Investigations into the drug activities of the suspects are ongoing. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore Other Singapore stories NTUC to tap 4,000 companies to better match retrenched workers and PMEs to new jobs Man appeared in garbage truck's blind spot mirror for 1 second before being struck: Coroner With a Taliban takeover, what is the JeM demanding in Afghanistan What does the meeting between Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad mean for India India's armed forces now do not hesitate to cross border to protect country, says Rakshya Mantri India oi-Mousumi Dash New Delhi, Feb 26: On the first anniversary of the Balakot air strike Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India's approach in dealing with terrorism has undergone a major change as its armed forces now do not hesitate to cross the border to protect the country against the menace. On February 26, 2019, a fleet of Indian Air Force aircraft had bombed a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan to avenge the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. Explained: This day that year, when India hit Pakistan at Balakot NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Singh took on to Twitter ad wrote, "I salute the @IAF_MCC for its unmatched bravery and courage exhibited during Balakote air strikes. Our government led by PM Shri @narendramodi has adopted a different approach from earlier governments. Now we do not hesitate to cross the border to protect India against terrorism." India today celebrates the first anniversary of Balakote airstrikes. It was a successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless @IAF_MCC air warriors. With the success of Balakote air strikes India has clearly demonstrated its strong will against terrorism. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 26, 2020 "I thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for bringing change in India's approach against terrorism & our ways to counter terror," said the Rakshya Mantri. "The Surgical Strikes of 2016 and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. This is certainly a New and Confident India in making," Singh said in a series of tweets. While the Congress claims there is a precedence of inviting the Opposition party chief to such occasions, it is difficult to find one. A common quality among extinct species has been their steadfast refusal to change in the face of irrelevance. The Indian National Congress may still be a good distance from being extinct, but one cannot accuse it of not trying. In spite of resounding electoral defeats, it shows the great aversion in putting party above the Family, merit above surname, opportunity above sycophancy, and a larger vision over pusillanimity. The latest is prominent Congress leaders decision to boycott the banquet for US President Donald Trump hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury all declined the invitation. Why? Because Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not invited. Is it mandatory to invite an Opposition party leader at government-level events of two nations? Certainly not. Congress schoolboy petulance points to its four grave and growing weaknesses. First, despite growing irrelevance latest instance being the party getting wiped out from Delhi in the recent elections despite ruling it for years Congress still puts the Gandhi-Nehru family above the party. While it claims there is a precedence of inviting the Opposition party chief to such occasions, it is difficult to find one. During both George Bushs 2006 and Barrack Obamas 2010 visits, chairperson of the then principal Opposition, NDA, was not invited to the banquet. Second, such puerile behaviour on occasions of national significance reflects very poorly on the Congress domestically but also sends out a frayed image of the party and its culture in international diplomatic circles. Third, at a time when Indias Opposition space is seeing the slow maturing of politicians like Aam Aadmi Partys Arvind Kejriwal and the downplaying of antics by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, Congress is further ceding ground by such leaps of immaturity. The presence of a former prime minister and an ex-CM from the Congress at the event would have increased its gravitas, made it look like the grand old party it is and not a johnny-come-lately. The party has been getting wiped out from states it had ruled for decades. More than being thumped by Modis BJP at the Centre, the Congress existential threat comes from being gradually outplayed by regional parties in the Opposition space. And fourth, while the sycophantic DNA of the Nehru-Gandhis Congress has not mutated, murmurs of dissent over leadership are rising, especially after seniors like P Chidambaram were found celebrating AAPs victory despite his own party getting routed in Delhi. Younger leaders like Milind Deora and Sandeep Dikshit have spoken out openly. At this hour, a leadership seen as selfishly obsessed about family entitlements is only going to hasten the process of atrophy. If there was one urgent time for the Congress to throw away that remote, it is now. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Over objections from all but a few New Mexico county sheriffs, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed into law a red flag gun bill that will allow firearms to be temporarily taken away from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others. The Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act, which takes effect in mid-May, will make New Mexico the 18th state to enact such a law. If we can make a difference for one person, thats the right difference to make, Lujan Grisham said during a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol. The Democratic governor made the red flag gun bill one of her top initiatives during the 30-day legislative session that ended last week and predicted the new law would reduce New Mexicos high rates of firearm-related deaths, including suicides. We know this is a meaningful tool to address gun violence, Lujan Grisham said Tuesday. However, the red flag gun measure, Senate Bill 5, was fiercely opposed by Republican lawmakers during this years session, and several New Mexico counties have passed resolutions opposing it. Some sheriffs have indicated they might not enforce the bill, citing concerns over constitutional due process issues. Theyve made this bill so horrible that we cant (enforce it), Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace told the Journal. Somebody hasnt even committed a crime, and youre taking their personal property. Mace, chairman of the New Mexico Sheriffs Association, said a court challenge will be filed before the law takes effect in an attempt to block it from being implemented. Asked Tuesday about the sheriffs resistance, Lujan Grisham said the elected law enforcement officials should resign if theyre not willing to enforce the states laws. They have to enforce the law. They take an oath to do that, she said. You dont get to make those decisions. However, she suggested her administration would not retaliate by withholding funding from any counties that do not enforce the law, while adding that she believes law enforcement officers will ultimately decide to do so. The governor also said she believes the new law will be upheld if challenged in the courts. Concerns for students Although 30 of the states 33 county sheriffs opposed this years bill, some law enforcement officials backed it, including State Police Chief Tim Johnson, a Lujan Grisham appointee, and top Albuquerque Police Department officials. Aztec Police Chief Mike Heal spoke in support of the legislation Tuesday, invoking a December 2017 school shooting in Aztec that left two students dead, as well as the 21-year-old shooter, a former student at the school. I will never stop pushing for the safety of our children, Heal said. And Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, one of the bills sponsors, described the legislation as a response to concerns raised over a spate of school shootings, lockdowns and threats nationwide. The students across the country have really asked for this, said Garratt, a teacher at Jimmy Carter Middle School on Albuquerques West Side. This years bill passed just months after a mass shooting in neighboring El Paso in which a gunman killed 22 people, allegedly targeting those of Mexican descent. Several backers of the bill cited the incident in pushing for the measures passage. However, the legislation passed in the Senate 22-20, before winning approval in the House on a 39-31 vote. A similar bill failed to pass the Senate during last years session. Under the final version of the bill, law enforcement officials could be held liable for failing to enforce the new statute. Attorney General Hector Balderas has previously warned sheriffs and police chiefs about enforcing New Mexico gun laws, and a spokesman said Tuesday there will be similar vigilance with the new red flag law. As with our prior guidance, law enforcement officials must follow the rule of law in a fair manner that considers the safety, peace and the rights of all families in our state, AGs Office spokesman Matt Baca said. Previous gun laws New Mexicos adoption of the red flag gun law comes one year after two separate firearm-related laws were enacted one dealing with expanded background check requirements and the other with gun possession by domestic abusers. National groups on both sides of the debate have made hefty campaign contributions, including nearly $400,000 given by Everytown for Gun Safety, a national group affiliated with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to New Mexico Democrats and Democratic-leading political committees during the 2018 election cycle. The state Republican Party cited those special interests in a Tuesday news release, claiming this years bill infringes on New Mexicans rights. This bill was rammed through the Legislature with a total disregard of New Mexicans rights, said Anissa Tinnin, the state GOPs executive director. There were many constitutional and legal questions surrounding this legislation, and progressive Democrats ignored those from the beginning. However, Democrats have cited the National Rifle Associations opposition to the gun-related legislation, and Lujan Grisham suggested Tuesday that the NRA organized local opposition to this years bill. The governor did not directly say whether she would push for additional gun-related legislation but said top officials in her administration will continue to hold monthly meetings on public safety issues. Lujan Grisham also said its unclear how often the New Mexico red flag law might be used. In Florida, which enacted a similar law after the February 2018 shooting in Parkland that left 17 dead, the law was used more than 2,200 times from March 2018, when it was enacted, to July 2019. Judges in that state granted nearly 97% of the temporary risk orders and about 99% of final orders, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. New Mexicos new law will take effect May 20, which is 90 days after the sessions end date. About the law Understanding New Mexicos red flag law: A law enforcement officer, or a prosecutor in cases involving a law enforcement officer, will be able to file a petition in state court for an order to prohibit someone from possessing firearms. The petitions could be filed upon request from a spouse, ex-spouse, parent, child, grandparent, school administrator or employer. If a law enforcement officer declines to file a petition upon request, the officer will have to file a notice of the decision with the county sheriff. A judge can enter an emergency 10-day risk protection order if probable cause is found that an individual poses a danger of causing imminent injury to themselves or others. The individual is then required to surrender all their firearms within 48 hours of a judges order or sooner. A one-year order can then be imposed after a court hearing, although such an order requires a higher evidence threshold. One-year risk protection orders are subject to appeal. All firearms are required to be returned to their owner within 10 days after an orders expiration. CPM writes letter to home minister, says protests in Delhi were led by women, peaceful. The CPI(M) wrote a letter to the home minister saying that till now the anti-CAA protests in Delhi were led by women and were peaceful. (PTI) New Delhi: As violence continued unabated in parts of Delhi, the Opposition led by the Congress, asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to step in urgently and rest-ore peace in the capital. Leave aside your political views and become not leaders of your party, but leaders of the country so that harmony, peace and non-violence prevail, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala urged the PM, home minister and the Delhi CM asserting that the nation looked up to them to provide leadership. Do not fail this country because you belong to different political parties, he said adding that this was a sincere appeal on behalf of people of Delhi and the country. Let us make it an example of peace, cohabitation and mutual respect bet-ween communities, betw-een religions and between our entire society, he said. He said that the Congress party and its leaders will stand in unison and, if necessary, stand behind you to ensure that the society and our love and affection and mutual respect for each other and that the principles of non-violence and that the principles of mutual brotherhood and cohabitation that is centuries old, that is pre-independence in this country. The CPI(M) wrote a letter to the home minister saying that till now the anti-CAA protests in Delhi were led by women and were peaceful. However, there must have been a failure of intelligence agencies and their reports were ignores about the recent spurt of violence. The CPI too condemned the violence even as it blamed the BJP/RSS for it. MORE than one million people are to benefit from price cuts announced by Electric Ireland. The move is set to put huge pressure on its rivals to also reduce their tariffs. There are 12 energy suppliers in the residential market. State-owned Electric Ireland is cutting its residential electricity prices by 2.5pc, and its gas prices by 11.5pc. The move will save the average electricity customer around 22 a year, while the average gas customer will save around 78 on their annual bill. Dual-fuel customers of Electric Ireland will save 100 a year. The changes come into effect on April 1, which is a year after the supplier increased its prices last. Electric Ireland currently has over 1.1 million electricity customers and almost 140,000 gas customers, according to recent figures from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Other suppliers are expected to follow with price cuts. There are 12 suppliers in the residential energy market. It comes as wholesale energy prices have fallen by 50pc in the past few months. Demand for energy is down sharply due to the Coronavirus reducing demand in China. Head of comparison site Switcher.ie Eoin Clarke said: Wholesale energy costs have been falling for sometime, we expect other suppliers to follow Electric Ireland and announce similar price cuts. Daragh Cassidy of product comparison site Bonkers.ie said this was the first energy price decrease in the Irish market since Bord Gais decreased its gas prices by 4pc in October. However, it also increased its electricity prices by 2.5pc at the same time. He said the outlook for energy prices is muted, as a lacklustre world economy and the coronavirus have helped dampen energy demand. This meant further price decreases from Electric Ireland cant be ruled out in the coming months, with its rivals responding in kind. (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) vice chairman and co-founder Barbara Novick will step down from her day-to-day duties at the asset manager, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Novick, 59, will continue in her current role until her successor is chosen, after which, she will serve as a senior adviser to the company, according to the memo. She will also assist in conducting internal and external searches to find her successor. "Much of the post-financial crisis policy work that Barbara led is largely implemented, and she has greatly enhanced our stewardship practices, including our commitment to transparency", Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in the memo. Less than half of BlackRock's original slate of eight co-founders will remain at the firm once Novick leaves. She has been vocal on issues, including CEOs serving on other companies' boards. "It sounds fine to sit on multiple boards, but what happens when something goes wrong at a company?" she said in an interview last year. The news of Novick's departure comes months after BlackRock announced the exit of Mark Wiseman, global head of active equities, following a violation of the company's "relationships at work policy". WASHINGTON - Scientists cant tell yet how deadly the new virus thats spreading around the globe really is and deepening the mystery, the fatality rate differs even within China. As infections of the virus that causes COVID-19 surge in other countries, even a low fatality rate can add up to lots of victims, and understanding why one place fares better than another becomes critical to unravel. You could have bad outcomes with this initially until you really get the hang of how to manage it, Dr. Bruce Aylward, the World Health Organization envoy who led a team of scientists just back from China, warned Tuesday. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE DEATH RATE? In the central China city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus first exploded, 2% to 4% of patients have died, according to WHO. But in the rest of hard-hit China, the death rate was strikingly lower, 0.7%. Theres nothing different about the virus from one place to another. Instead, the never-before-seen strain of coronavirus struck Wuhan fast before anyone knew what the illness was and overwhelmed health facilities. As is usual at the beginning of an outbreak, the first patients were severely ill before they sought care, Aylward said. By the time people were getting sick in other parts of China, authorities were better able to spot milder cases meaning there were more known infections for each death counted. And while there are no specific treatments for COVID-19, earlier supportive care may help, too. China went from about 15 days between onset of symptoms and hospitalization early in the outbreak, to about three days more recently. Still, Aylward expressed frustration at people saying: Oh, the mortality rates not so bad because theres way more mild cases. Sorry, the same number of people that were dying, still die. WHAT ABOUT DEATHS OUTSIDE OF CHINA? Until the past week, most people diagnosed outside of China had become infected while travelling there. People who travel generally are healthier and thus may be better able to recover, noted Johns Hopkins University outbreak specialist Lauren Sauer. And countries began screening returning travellers, spotting infections far earlier in places where the medical system wasnt already strained. Thats now changing, with clusters of cases in Japan, Italy and Iran, and the death toll outside of China growing. Aylward cautioned that authorities should be careful of artificially high death rates early on: Some of those countries likely are seeing the sickest patients at first and missing milder cases, just like Wuhan did. HOW DOES COVID-19 COMPARE TO OTHER DISEASES? A cousin of this new virus caused the far deadlier severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, and about 10% of SARS patients died. Flu is a different virus family, and some strains are deadlier than others. On average, the death rate from seasonal flu is about 0.1%, said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Thats far lower than what has been calculated so far for COVID-19. But millions of people get the flu every year around the world, leading to an annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands. WHOS MOST AT RISK FROM COVID-19? Older people, especially those with chronic illnesses such as heart or lung diseases, are more at risk. Among younger people, deaths are rarer, Aylward said. But some young deaths have made headlines, such as the 34-year-old doctor in China who was reprimanded by communist authorities for sounding an early alarm about the virus only to later succumb to it. In China, 80% of patients are mildly ill when the virus is detected, compared with 13% who already are severely ill. While the sickest to start with are at highest risk of death, Aylward said, a fraction of the mildly ill do go on to die for unknown reasons. On average, however, WHO says people with mild cases recover in about two weeks, while those who are sicker can take anywhere from three to six weeks. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Open source Ukraine has enough testing systems for the diagnosis of coronavirus. Moreover, extra tests are purchased as Interfax-Ukraine reported citing Head of the parliamentary committee on the nation's health, medical aid, and health insurance Mykhailo Radutsky. There are enough testing systems. As for today, there are test systems, passed by the World Health Organization. More test systems are purchased. Even more, two Ukrainian test systems are registered, he said. According to Radutsky, the Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Wuhan to Novi Sanzhry passed Ukrainian tests. The results are negative. If at least one test was positive, we would check with German tests for the purity of the experiment, he said. Radutsky has also stated that people in observation feel good; they do not have symptoms of a flue. Moreover, representative of the Public Health Center of the Healthcare Ministry Ihor Kuzin reported that not every region possesses the equipment for work with testing systems. There is no distribution among the regions. The testing systems can work only with particular equipment. Such equipment, unfortunately, is not present in all regions of the country. Most likely, the redistribution will take place in two-three days and we expect that the majority of the regional labs will get such consumables and will be able to hold analysis at the level of the regions, he said. Ihor Kuzin noted that regions, which would not fall under such redistribution, would get free possibility to hold analysis at the national level or closest regional lab. Earlier, Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk stated about the readiness of over 2,000 hospitals to accept people infected with coronavirus in case, the virus enters the territory of the country. Mumbai: Actress Shamita Shetty is on cloud nine as her sister Shilpa Shetty Kundra welcomed a baby girl a few days ago. "I'm so excited to become maasi once again. Samisha is a bundle of joy and has brought in so much happiness in the family. Shilpa always wanted a daughter and I cannot be happier for the couple," Shamita said. On the occasion of Maha Shivratri last week, Shilpa had announced that she and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have become parents to the baby girl, through surrogacy. They named the daughter Samisha. "Samisha Shetty Kundra... Born:15th February 2020 ... Junior SSK in the house.... 'Sa' in Sanskrit is 'to have' and 'Misha' is Russian stands for 'someone like God'...You personify this name, our Goddess Laxmi and complete our family," Shilpa wrote alongside a glimpse Samisha on social media. The couple also has a son, Viaan, born in May 2012. The funds will be available for all ADB developing member countries in updating and implementing their pandemic response plans, including buying emergency supplies and equipment; assessing health system and economic impacts to improve future resilience; and coordinating better regionally to prevent, detect, and respond to animal and human disease outbreaks. The work will be conducted in close collaboration with the World Health Organization. The severity of the COVID-19 outbreak is escalating, and past disease outbreaks have had large impacts on social and economic development, said ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono. ADBs funding will help countries catalyze efforts to mitigate further damage to the health of families and economies and position them to better respond to the current and future outbreaks. Earlier in February, ADB provided USD2 million in funds to strengthen the immediate response capacity in Cambodia, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Over the longer term, this can be scaled up to focus on supporting pandemic preparedness and building resilience. ADB also provided a private sector loan of up to CNY130 million (USD18.6 million) to Wuhan, PRC-based Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. to enhance the distribution and supply of essential medicines and protective equipment. Past epidemics have shown that impacts can rapidly extend to all areas of a countrys economy, triggering fiscal shocks with long-term negative consequences that threaten stability and economic growth. Countries and businesses that rely on tourism are particularly vulnerable. Trade and supply chains also suffer./. Miki House, a Japanese brand of children's clothing, officially set foot in Vietnam Located at Akuruhi trade centre in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1, the store offers a variety of high-quality childrenswear from 0 to 6 years. Senda Hiroshi, international business manager of Miki House, said Vietnam's high-income class has a strong preference for Japanese brands. Many Vietnamese tourists to Japan have shopped at Miki House's outlets. After five years of market research, the kidswear brand decided to penetrate Vietnam's fast-growing market. He added that Miki House has tied up with its exclusive distributor Vi Bien Akuhushi Trading and Service Co., Ltd. to expand its presence in Vietnam. The local distributor has been selling "Made in Japan" products to a large number of Japanese and Vietnamese customers for 20 years now. If the first store is successful, Miki House is planning to open two more stores in Ho Chi Minh City and expand its chain in Hanoi and Danang. Established in Japan in 1971, kidswear brand Miki House puts childrens needs firmly at the heart of everything they do. Designed to be soft, safe, and comfortable, their beautiful collections are crafted with meticulous attention to detail, from their carefully sourced fabrics and ergonomic footwear to their zero-twist yarns and thoughtful stitching. Miki House spent five years of market research before making its entrance to Vietnam By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Foreign investors from Mauritius will continue to be eligible for FPI registration with increased monitoring as per global norms, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) clarified on Tuesday. The move comes days after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that sets anti-money laundering standards, on Friday placed Mauritius in the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, or grey list. Mauritius is the second-largest country after the US that pumps in capital into Indian markets. In 2019, FPI inflows from Mauritius stood at Rs4.3 lakh crore. A greylist indicates loose ends in regulatory practices to prevent money-laundering or combating terror-financing. But according to SEBI, when jurisdiction is placed under increased monitoring, it construes that the country, in this case, Mauritius, has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic eficiencies within agreed timeframes and subjects itself to increased monitoring. Additionally, FATF identifies jurisdictions that have significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money-laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation. For all such countries, the FATF calls on all members and urges all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence and in the most serious cases, countries are called upon to apply countermeasures to protect the international financial system. This list is often referred to as the blacklist, SEBI stated. Quashing fears, it added that market participants from Mauritius wont have registration restrictions in India despite the island nation coming under the FATFs grey list. But market participants are apprehensive that funds from Mauritius will be subject to stringent compliance and regulatory scrutiny. As per estimates, about 15 per cent of FPIs invest in India via Mauritius, while over 25 per cent of the total inflows is via structures set up in Mauritius. It may be noted that early this month, Mauritius made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and ESAAMLG to strengthen the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering regime. Mauritius will work to implement its action plan, including implementing risk-based supervision, ensuring access to accurate basic and beneficial ownership information by competent authorities. Significant contributor The FPI inflows from Mauritius stood at Rs4.3 lakh crore in 2019. According to estimates, 15% of FPIs invest in India through Mauritius Boldface names on the Houston dining scene including Justin Yu, Anita Jaisinghani, Manabu Horiuchi and beloved restaurants such as Hugos and the Original Ninfas on Navigation, are on the prestigious semifinals list for the 2020 James Beard Foundation restaurant and chef awards. The foundation announced its preliminary list on Wednesday, which will be narrowed to a finalist list to be announced March 25 for the awards considered the countrys most coveted culinary honor that will be presented in May. This years semifinalist list marked the first year that Texas was established as its own regional category for the awards recognizing regional cooking accomplishments. Houston chefs scored five places in the Best Chef Texas semifinals list, including Dawn Burrell of Kulture, Horiuchi of Kata Robata, Jaisinghani of Pondicheri, Trong Nguyen of Crawfish & Noodles and Jason Vaughan of Nancys Hustle. On HoustonChronicle.com: See how these restaurants fared on Alison Cook's best restaurants list But it was a crop of newcomers that made the list interesting. The Blind Goat, the new Vietnamese restaurant by chef Christine Ha at Bravery Chef Hall was listed among the Best New Restaurant category, along with Squable, the new restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu and bartender extraordinaire Bobby Heugel. Heugels Anvil Bar & Refuge was the only Houston bar on the Outstanding Bar Program long list. Other newbies: Rosie Cannonball, the Italian charmer in Montrose run by chef Felipe Riccio, pastry chef Shawn Gawle and sommeliers David Keck and June Rodil, was the sole Houston restaurant on the list of restaurants recognized for Outstanding Wine Program. Kaitlin Steets, chef de cuisine at Theodore Rex, made the cut for Rising Star Chef, recognizing the talents of chefs 30 or younger across the nation. Yu, whose efforts at Oxheart have been previously recognized by the Beard judges, found himself included among the best chefs in the United States in the Outstanding Chef category. His work at Theodore Rex landed him on the long list for one of the top prizes. The H-Town Restaurant Group put in a great showing, too. Hugos made the list for Outstanding Hospitality, and Tracy Vaught again represented the best of Houston hospitality as a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur. H-Town group owns Hugos, Xochi, Caracol and other restaurants. And the lone Houston restaurant on the list for the countrys Outstanding Restaurant? That distinction went to the Original Ninfas on Navigation. Those who knew and loved Sabine Labarriere werent surprised that she went back into her burning house to try to save her mother. Marie Dorcena, 79, had Alzheimers, and for Labarriere the role of caring for mom was her priority, according to friend Rachelle Lobban. She was her mothers advocate, Lobban said. She felt like her mother already did her part and now its her turn to help her mom. Tragically, in those moments, Labarriere was unable to escape the home in the 3100 block of Marietta Avenue, West Hempfield Township. She was 40. In what friend Holly Richmond said was a testament to Labarrieres character, her oldest daughter went back into the home in a rescue attempt. But while the daughter survived, her mom and grandmother did not. Labarrieres husband and two younger children, 12-year-old twins, escaped the house as well. The fire had broken out just before midnight on Feb. 22 and officials deemed the house a total loss. In speaking with Labarrieres closest friends, her death is still fresh. Lobban is helping take care of the younger children but said she has had trouble focusing and cant quite think about her friend in the past tense. Shes an amazing person. Shes there for you. If I called her and I tell her something, shed take my side, Lobban said. Shes ready to jump in. She just loved my kids. She loved me. We had that unbreakable bond. Lobban, like Richmond and their other friend Malena Weidman, met Labarriere while working at Moravian Manor in Lititz. All three talked about how Labarriere was outgoing, strong and drew people in, making them feel instantly comfortable. But more than that, all three women shared many times when Labarriere went out of her way to support them, her family and everyone else important to her in ways that seemed almost superhuman. You felt lucky that she was your friend, Richmond said. The two worked the same shift at work for years, seeing each other every day, which made Sunday her hardest workday yet. Everybody was crying, everybody was hugging me, Richardson said. It was a tough day. These reactions speak to the impact she had on the people around her. We were always laughing and joking around with each other, Weidman said. She brought joy to peoples lives. And fun." Labarriere also was honest with people, telling them the truth while providing advice. And she did it in a way that was so this was how it is,' but said it with kindness and love, Richmond said. While there was a group of women who were friends with each other and Labarriere, Richmond said that it didnt mean their friendships were diluted at all. We got along really well, but she also made it so that each individual relationship to her was important, Richmond said. She took time for just us specifically. But more important than all of that, her friends remember her as the best mother. Richmond and Weidman called her a role model. She really directed me in motherhood, Richmond said, saying she looked up to Labarriere and bonded with her over their kids, even though Richmond is younger. She was superwoman, Richmond said, thinking back on everything Labarriere did for her kids, all with a smile. The priority will shift now to Labarrieres family and helping them through this tragedy. My heart is broken for them. They lost an amazing woman, an amazing wife, mother, Weidman said. I just want them to know that were here for them no matter what. Lobban said the oldest daughter is recovering from injuries at a burn center in Delaware County, according to the familys fundraising page, and their father is out there with her. Lobban remembered a conversation she had with Labarriere once, where they agreed if something ever happened to either of them that they would be there to support each others children. As soon as I heard about the fire, I didnt want anything else but to take the kids and make sure theyre comfortable, Lobban said. Labarrieres kids were everything to her; she wanted them to be somebody important in life and worked every day to help them achieve that. As for Labarrieres husband, Lobban said she loved him to pieces. They were together for more than 25 years, married for 18 and they wanted to retire in Haiti where their families are from. That wont be the case for them anymore, but the family has already seen a huge outpouring of love and support from their community, who have donated on the familys GoFundMe page. The familys neighbor Kim Stephens said they have received enough clothing donations to last them for a lifetime, but the family still needs help financially. Two funerals and a new home was never going to be something they were prepared for. As Labarrieres loved ones take their next steps in grieving and healing from the loss, its actually a memory of Weidmans that is helping her through this. Weidman went to a lantern festival with Labarriere and her family, which she said is how shes remembering her friend. When we set off the lanterns, I remember her looking up and saying how peaceful it was, Weidman said. Looking up with her, thats how I want to picture her. At peace. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. -- Read more on Pennlive: Flights out of Sydney could be cancelled due to thunderstorms set to hit the east coast on Wednesday afternoon. Airlines have warned customers they could be affected by delays caused by hail, wild wind gusts of up to 90km/h and heavy rain. 'Our team of expert meteorologists has let us know thunderstorms are forecast around Sydney which may impact your flight,' Virgin emailed passengers. 'We know changes to flights can be frustrating but safety comes first and we're doing everything we can to have you on your way as soon as it is safe to do so.' Airlines have warned customers they could be affected by delays caused by hail, wild wind gusts and heavy rain at Sydney airport on Wednesday A severe weather warning has been issued for the state's east, with vigorous winds expected as a southerly change moves up the coast this evening Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara told Daily Mail Australia the thunderstorm will start in southwest Sydney from around two o'clock onward There is a 50 per cent chance of showers and 'gusty thunderstorms' in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon and evening. A severe weather warning has been issued for the state's east, with vigorous winds expected as a southerly change moves up the coast this evening. The coastal fringe between Jervis Bay and the Central Coast is expected to see the strongest wind gusts. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara told Daily Mail Australia the thunderstorm will start in southwest Sydney from around two o'clock onward. 'Storms will most likely be hitting the city and airport from 3pm,' he said. 'The Illawarra and Central Tablelands currently have storms that will be moving to Sydney this afternoon.' Mr Notara urged Sydney residents to keep an eye out for damaging wind warnings later this afternoon. Sydneysiders will be hit by a 'sharp couple of hours' of strong winds around 8pm, before dying off 'We have a severe weather warning for a southerly wind change moving through Sydney at 8pm,' he said. 'It will be a sharp shift from westerly winds to a strong southerly wind. These winds will potentially see an average of 60km/h.' He predicted Wednesday night's gusts will be a 'sharp couple of hours,' before dying off. 'It will be fast moving through before going north to the Hunter in the later part of the evening,' he said. With South Carolina's primary on Saturday, and Super Tuesday coming up next week, Tuesday's Democratic Presidential Debate seemed especially significant. And in one of the debate's most dramatic moments, pregnancy discrimination became the focus when Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren recounted her own experience being dismissed as an expectant mother. Then she accused former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg of asking an employee to "kill it" upon learning she was pregnant. Warren had skewered Bloomberg during last week's debate in Las Vegas, challenging him to release all women who have signed non-disclosure agreements with his company or with him personally from those agreements, something he subsequently did for just three of them. This time, in response to a comment that her criticisms of him were "side shows," Warren said: "This is personal for me. When I was 21 years old, I got my first job as a special education teacher. I loved that job and by the end of the first year I was visibly pregnant. The principal wished me luck and gave my job to someone else." [This was before the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.] Then Warren went for the jugular. "At least I didn't have a boss who said to me, 'Kill it,' as Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his employees." The debate's moderators did a strikingly amateurish job all evening long. In one such example, CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King responded by asking Warren, "What evidence do you have of that?" "Her own words," Warren shot back. Producers in the newsroom are supposed to provide advice and information to newscasters via an earpiece during broadcasts. But apparently no one backstage informed King that in 1998, a former Bloomberg LP employee named Sekiko Sakai Garrison sued the company, alleging that Bloomberg had said those words when she told him she was pregnant. She also said he added, "Great! Number 16!" which was a reference to the fact that 16 of his employees were either pregnant or on maternity leave. Bloomberg denied making the comment at the time and did so again at Tuesday night's debate. But earlier this month, a second former Bloomberg employee who was present for the conversation confirmed Garrison's account of it to the Washington Post. You can't always control the conversation. Bloomberg's intentions may be good but, like many people who've grown too accustomed to being everyone else's boss and having their every wish fulfilled, his arrogance shows through whether he means it to or not. When Warren criticized his treatment of women during last week's debate, he grandiosely rolled his eyes as she spoke. This time, he complained that she was still criticizing him after he'd done everything she asked. (He hadn't -- she'd asked for a blanket release of all NDAs related to sexual harassment or discrimination complaints, not just three of them.) As a result of Warren's criticisms, he continued, Bloomberg LP would never again ask complaining employees to sign NDAs. "We probably made the world better because of it," he said. "And by my company renouncing using these, we probably changed, hopefully, the corporate landscape all across America." That doesn't sound too arrogant, does it? Then he declared himself done with the whole topic, saying, "We just cannot continue to relitigate this every time." That drew an amused response from former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, who noted that if Bloomberg were to win the nomination, he'd be relitigating it all year. Note to Bloomberg and anyone else who's grown too accustomed to being the boss: If you stay within the walls of your own company and speak only to your company's employees, then you can decide which conversations you want to have and which you don't. But once you step out the door into the real world and start talking with people who don't count on you for their paychecks, you may have to answer questions or respond to criticisms you don't feel like talking about anymore. BRUSSELS - Last year, asylum requests submitted in EU countries plus Norway and Switzerland rose for the first time since 2015. There was a 13% rise on 2018, reported the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), noting that the increase is not so much due to an increase in undocumented migrants arriving in Europe as it is an increase in requests filed by citizens of countries for which a visa for the Schengen area is not required. EASO noted that the number of requests filed by Venezuelans had doubled (about 45,000 compared with 22,000 in 2018). Venezuela has thus jumped to third place in the EASO rankings of countries with the highest number of citizens seeking asylum, behind Syria with 72,000 requests and Afghanistan with 60,000. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 23:56:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday announced the formation of the South African Sovereign Wealth Fund, which will serve as a counter-cyclical fiscal tool. "This will ensure that we continue to invest in the future generations of this country in a fiscally-prudent manner," the minister said in his Budget Speech in Parliament. The fund has a target capital amount of about 30 billion rand (about 2 billion U.S. dollars), Mboweni said. This came as South Africa is struggling to contain rising debt amid sluggish economic growth and a budget deficit projected to widen to a near three-decade high of 6.8 percent in the coming fiscal year. "A Sovereign Wealth Fund is an important long-term tool for saving and investment for future generations," Mboweni said. It can also contribute to strengthening the fiscal framework, he said. "We must learn to save during the good times, and a fund can play an important role as a counter-cyclical fiscal tool," said the minister. There are a variety of possible funding sources, such as the proceeds of spectrum allocation, petroleum, gas or minerals rights royalties, the sale of non-core state assets, future fiscal surpluses and money the government sets aside, according to Mboweni. Given the legal, administrative and procedural issues involved, a relevant bill will be submitted for consideration in parliament, the minister said. Preferred options for the establishment of a state bank are now ready, Mboweni told lawmakers. The architecture will be that of a retail bank operating on commercial principles, he said. Last year, Parliament passed legislation which will allow state-owned enterprises to apply for banking licences. The proposed state bank will be subject to the Banks Act, and will have an appropriate capital structure and performance parameters on investments and loan impairments, said Mboweni. It will be regulated by the Prudential Authority on its own merits, he said. "We will also consolidate the currently fragmented system of national and provincial Development Finance Institutions," Mboweni said. Flash China on Tuesday urged the U.S. side to discard its outdated Cold War mentality and zero-sum game concept, correctly view and safeguard China-U.S. exchanges and cooperation in science, technology and culture, and do more to enhance mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to claims by U.S. defense and health officials that China used the expertise of American universities to enhance its military and technological competitiveness. "China's scientific and technological achievements have been achieved through the hard work and wisdom of the Chinese people, including the vast number of intellectuals, rather than through theft or robbery," Zhao said, adding that statistics show from 2009 to 2019, Chinese scientists published 2.6 million international papers, ranking second in the world. "It is in the common interest of both sides to strengthen scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation," Zhao said, noting a few U.S. officials, in the name of national security, have fabricated the so-called China's "theft" of U.S. scientific research achievements with ulterior motives. Some U.S. university directors also believe that U.S. officials' concerns about national security are exaggerated and discriminatory, and say that cooperation with China is in fact crucial to promoting the development of science and technology, Zhao noted. Transnational talent flow has promoted the world's scientific and technological progress. All countries including the United States are actively carrying out international talent exchanges and cooperation, the spokesperson said. The relevant measures taken by China, similar to the common practices of other countries in the world, are aimed at promoting the flow of talent between China and other countries, and encouraging and promoting international scientific and technological cooperation, he added. The Tribune story was excellent, about the victims of policy who are too often forgotten, said Rafael Mangual, crime policy analyst for the Manhattan Institute and columnist for outlets including the New York Post. There is room for reform at the margins. But when you upend the system, someone is going to bear the downside cost. And the downside risk is never evenly distributed. It is imposed upon the people who live in neighborhoods like Englewood and East Garfield Park. The " Intelligent Buildings " webcast on March 5 th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time examines multiple aspects of building and managing the infrastructure to support systems within an intelligent building. It will include a presentation, "Twisted-Pair Cabling for Intelligent Buildings," by R&M's LAN Cabling Market Manager Matthias Gerber. Gerber will present that LAN cabling trends are driven by the need for intelligent building infrastructure, in which a wide range of functionalities is managed and monitored over a converged network. This type of network must be capable of powering large numbers of remote devices such as sensors and peripheral equipment, all of which gather and process data. The connectivity landscape is becoming unified and standardized particularly in networks advantageous for data and power to be integrated, with IP as a common platform for previous disparate systems. Gerber's presentation also will cover deployment of a united LAN and Ethernet/IP cabling system for an intelligent building. In the webcast Gerber also will introduce to the U.S. market R&M's PowerSafe quality seal, which R&M marks on its cabling products with insulation displacement contact (IDC) terminations optimized for continuous, high-power four-pair power over ethernet (4PPoE) transmission in intelligent buildings. The PowerSafe seal guides R&M customers to choose the correct R&M products for demanding 4PPoE applications. Register here for the "Intelligent Buildings" webcast on March 5th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. R&M's East Coast open house on April 30th at its new office in Elkridge, Maryland will celebrate R&M's expansion to the East Coast and its acquisition of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. The agenda will include: "R&M company presentation," by Michel Riva , CEO of R&M , CEO of R&M "Market trends outlook with a U.S. focus," by Andreas Ruesseler , CMO of R&M , CMO of R&M "Integration strategy for Optimum Fiberoptics and R&M's position in the U.S. market today," by Christopher Stratas, president of R&M USA "The capabilities of R&M's Elkridge site," with tours by Jay Megan , founder of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. and business manager at R&M site," with tours by , founder of Optimum Fiberoptics Inc. and business manager at R&M R&M and business partner product presentations by Prysmian, Ilsintech and others in the Elkridge showroom showroom A barbeque between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Register here for the R&M East Coast Open House on April 30th at R&M USA EAST, 7195 Troy Hill Drive, Elkridge, Maryland. About R&M R&M (Reichle & De-Massari AG) is a leading global producer of future-proof products and systems for communication and data networks. The company's close collaboration with certified partners results in pioneering work in the sectors LAN, public and telecom networks, and data centers. The Swiss family company stands for innovation, quality, and proximity to customers. For more information visit www.rdm.com SOURCE R&M USA INC. Related Links http://www.rdm.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 14:35:53|Editor: zyl Video Player Close CANBERRA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iconic Australian brands will be offered to India's booming middle class through an online store. Simon Birmingham, Australia's minister for trade, tourism and investment, on Wednesday joined business leaders in Mumbai to launch a store on Amazon India offering thousands of Australian products. The announcement came during an Australia-India Business Exchange delegation to India aimed at marketing premium Australian brands to Indian consumers. Birmingham said in a press release that the Australian store on Amazon India would be a game-changer for Australian brands in India. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), India was Australia's eighth-largest trading partner in financial year 2018-29. "Thousands of Australian food, health and lifestyle brands will now be available at the click of a button in the world's fastest-growing consumer market, thanks to this partnership," Birmingham said. "Having a dedicated one-stop-shop for Australian brands on one of the largest online marketplaces in India is a huge win for Australian businesses. Amazon has the highest share of customers across all marketplaces in a country of 1.3 billion people. That represents eye-watering potential for many Australian businesses." "Australia enjoys a brand synonymous with quality and safety. This partnership will help Indian consumers seeking our safe and high-quality products to connect with those who are proudly making them in Australia." Prior to embarking on the five-day trade mission with more than 100 business representatives, Birmingham said Australia was well-placed to benefit from India's economic boom. "This partnership will make it easier and more cost-effective for Australian brands looking to expand into India and give Australian brands more exposure in one of the fastest-growing economies," he said. "This is a major win for Australian brands and an exciting step in building ... a commercial profile in the booming Indian economy." As the death toll in the riots in northeast Delhi rose to 22 on Wednesday, the police which had come under fire for its failure to stop the clashes from spreading, tried to get its act together to restore some semblance of order in the riot-hit areas where supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those opposing it, clashed. The police also came under fire in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court. Here are 10 major developments in the last 24 hours: 1.In an urgent midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday orders police to ensure safe passage and emergency treatment to injured people stuck in north east Delhis Al Hind hospital. 2.Delhi police and paramilitary troops stage flag marches in Maujpur and Babarpur, two of the areas hit by the riots. 3.The Congress describes the riots as a colossal failure of the government and demands the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 4.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asks Union Home Minister Amit Shah to call in the army to instill confidence in people after violence erupted in two east Delhi localities. Kejriwal says the police have been unable to control the situation. 5.The body of a 26-year-old Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma is found in a drain in Chand Bagh. 6.The Delhi High Court while hearing a plea filed by retired bureaucrat Harsh Mander says that the police should not wait for courts direction and should take action on its own. 7.The Delhi High Court reprimands Delhi Police for not booking people making provocative speeches, says it sent wrong message. 8.The Delhi High Court says authorities should reach out and show that there is security is for everyone in the national capital and that it cant let another 1984 scenario happen in the under its watch. 9.The Supreme Court rebukes Delhi Police for lack of professionalism in controlling the violence in the Northeast district of the national capital, questions why it waits for somebodys nod to act in accordance with law. 10.Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets an appeal to remain calm and maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. Kaia Gerber stunned on the catwalk at the YSL fashion show in Paris on Tuesday. And a day after the show, the 18-year-old took to Instagram to share a backstage moment alongside friend and fellow model Mica Arganaraz, 27. Kaia and Mica wore identical latex bras from the fashion house's latest collection and cheekily cupped their assets for a snap. Spot the difference: Kaia Gerber (left) and Mica Arganaraz shared a picture of themselves cupping their assets in a latex bra at the YSL fashion show in Paris on Instagram on Wednesday Flashing plenty of skin, they also wore matching form-fitting skirts which cinched in at the waist with giant metal belts. The lovely ladies were also wearing chunky gold necklaces and Kaia also wore giant earrings. Kaia was sure to turn heads as she stormed the runway for Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter show for Paris Fashion Week earlier on in the day. Stunning: Kaia had put on a VERY busty display in the latex ensemble as she stormed the runway for Saint Laurent show the day before Stylish: Adding a pop of colour to her look, Kaia donned a mustard-yellow coat over her revealing ensemble, while she accessorised with a yellow-and-green scarf While walking the runway, she looked sensational as she put on a very busty display in the latex bra, which she paired with matching high-waisted skirt and boots. Adding a pop of colour to her look, Kaia donned a mustard-yellow coat over her revealing ensemble, while she accessorised with a yellow-and-green scarf. Meanwhile, earlier in the week, Kaia's ex, Pete Davidson, 26, spoke about his short romance with Kaia. He said: 'We were dating for a few months. Shes very young, and Im f***ing going through a lot and it was before I went to rehab. 'Its just like, she should be having fun. She shouldnt have to worry about some dude that just has issues and s***. She should be enjoying her work.' He also spoke of Kaia's parents, former models Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, saying, 'Her parents were really helpful and stuff, so theyre cool.' An open book: Kaia's ex Pete Davidson recently spoke about their short-lived romance and it seems as though there are no hard feelings No one was injured when a jet slid off the runway at Monmouth Jet Center in Wall after landing late Tuesday, officials said. The Learjet 55 had five people board when it continued off the end of the runway and down an embankment into the grass after touching down at around 11:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a emailed statement. Neither the two pilots or the three passengers were hurt, Wall police said. Im here at Monmouth County Airport (Jet Center) in Wall Township where a Lear 55 jet coming in from Richmond, VA skidded off the runway at 11:56 p.m. Tuesday evening. There were no injuries to the five people on the plane.- Per Rita Spader, a director at the Jet Center. pic.twitter.com/vZyYXwSMIE Keith Schubert (@keithsch94) February 26, 2020 The multi-engine plane came to a stop at the end of the runway onto a downward sloping hill, according to Wall police. All five people aboard then safely exited. The FAA will investigate and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the accident. Wall EMS, the Glendola Fire Department and Monmouth County Hazardous Materials Unit assisted at the scene. A spokeswoman for the Monmouth Jet Center didnt immediately return a message from NJ Advance Media on Wednesday morning. News 12 New Jersey reported the airport was closed during the investigation. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. These 40 shoes look a lot like a 795 designer pair (Getty Images) Yahoo Lifestyle is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. If you ever wanted to channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and The City - and lets face it, who hasnt? - then youll know theres one thing you need to complete the look: a pair of Manolo Blahniks. The cult designer footwear brand is a firm favourite of a whole host of celebrities from Vogues US editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour and Meghan Markle to our very own Kate Moss. Nicole Kidman wore them to the Premier of Big Little Lies back in May 2019 with a sequin suit, Victoria Beckham is known to love her pairs from the brand while Kim Kardashian wears here pair(s) out and about on a daily basis (she must have feet of steel). However, with a price tag of around 800 and upwards its little wonder that we hardly ever see them except for on the perfectly-manicured feet of the rich and famous. Dont worry though, your glamorous fashionista dreams are not over yet, because weve found an almost identical pair of shoes on the high street for 40. The Lotus Alyssa Womens Black Heeled Court Shoes from bargain footwear store ShoeZone are crafted in the same point-toe shape and feature similar crystal leaf embellishments across the top. So, without further ado, heres the original: Buy it: Manolo Blahnik Nadira satin courts | 795 from Selfridges And here are the 39.99 version we found: Buy it: Lotus Alyssa Womens Black Heeled Court Shoes | 39.99 from ShoeZone Pretty similar, right? The only difference is theyre suedette, not satin, but whose focusing on that? The only question now is, what will we do with the 755 weve spared ourselves? We could buy 53 bumper boxes of 43 Creme Eggs (thats 2,279 chocolate eggs, by the way). Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Style UK: The Ombudsperson has filed a constitutionality challenge with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) related to the Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) regarding the modification of some normative acts impacting the public procurement system. "The Ombudsperson has filed a constitutionality challenge with the Constitutional Court of Romania regarding the provisions of article IV item 26 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 23/2020 regarding the modification and supplementation of some normative acts impacting the public procurement system. The Ombudsman has noticed, among other things, that the above-mentioned article of the GEO No. 23/2020 introduces a new disciplinary misconduct only for the judges participating in the panels specialized in public procurements, which discriminates them against the other judges," reads a press release of the Ombudsperson.The Ombudsperson also mentioned that she doesn't doubt the need of adopting an urgent measures meant to improve and make more flexible the public procurement system, including by introducing shorter terms to allow the solving with celerity of the claims, but she believes that introducing such additional disciplinary misconduct only for the judges in public procurement panels cannot be reasonably justified.Moreover, the Ombudsperson believes that there is no reasonable reasoning for having judges' misconduct cases regulated by a different law than the one regarding the status of judges."The status of judges and prosecutors is treated in the special laws, enacted in the concretisation of the constitutional norms that provide the magistrates with a special position within the various professional categories, defined by guarantees meant to ensure their independence and impartiality, which is needed in carrying out the act of justice, as a fundamental activity of the rule of law," reads the release.On the other hand, the Ombudsperson found that the request for the approval of the Supreme Council of Magistrates was missing from the procedure of adoption of GEO No. 23/2020, which approval was necessary in observing the Constitution."In the end, considering the results of the national referendum of May 26 2019, even if it was just a consultative one, the Ombudsperson said the Government should refrain from adopting an emergency ordinance in the judiciary organisation field, since following the loyal consultation of the citizens with a right to vote, most of the participants with valid options (86.18 per cent) showed their agreement in this respect," added the Ombudsperson. Agerpres Dehradun, Feb 26 : Actor Harshvardhan Rane is currently busy shooting for his upcoming film "Haseen Dillruba" in Uttarakhand, and he is trying his best to explore the local culture of the mountain state as much as possible. He even ditched his five-star hotel stay to move into a basic accommodation here. According to a source, the hotel was 45 minutes away from the shoot location and Harshvardhan, who will be seen essaying the role of a river rafter in the film, wanted to save travel time, and rather use it to work out in the gym . "This is true. While shooting I'd rather spend the limited time that we get in the gym, than travelling in a car to a five-star hotel," Harshvardhan said. A video is also doing the rounds on the Internet in which Harshvardhan can be seen working out at a gym along with a slew of local people. Directed by Vinil Mathew, "Haseen Dillruba" is a murder mystery. It features actors Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey in the lead roles. Also, it is presented by Colour Yellow Productions, Eros International and T Series. Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma are producing the project. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text ST PAUL One week before Minnesotans select their preferred presidential nominees on Super Tuesday , they had the opportunity for what party leaders call the ultimate form of grassroots democracy : caucusing. 2020 is the first general election year since Minnesota became a primary state , but voters across the state still turned out albeit in smaller numbers for this years caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Even without previous years presidential delegate assignment process, this years caucuses were an opportunity for Minnesotans to suggest changes to the major parties platforms, as well as elect delegates for the state conventions. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz made an appearance at his St. Paul precinct at Central High School to vouch for the caucusing process. Its at events like caucuses that everyday citizens can "cut the turf" and build momentum for candidates and movements, he said maybe even boosting morale and voter turnout come election time. "These are the door-knockers. These are the phone-callers. These are the folks who get it done," he said. "I think its about organizing and its about party platform. It still matters." At St. Paul's Central High School, 44 voters turned out for Ward 2s Democratic caucus (there were 16 total wards in the precinct, divided throughout the high schools classrooms). Sitting in a lab in the high school basement, Ward 2 Democrats passed resolutions urging the state party to back universal child care, seek sanctuary state status for immigrants in Minnesota, pursue a Green New Deal and more. ADVERTISEMENT Two hundred-forty miles northwest in Moorhead , Democrats took on resolutions on recreational marijuana, health care and criminal justice reform. In East Grand Forks, they pushed for community translation services for non-English speakers. In Duluth , they opposed copper/nickel mining near the Boundary Waters and the proposed Enbridge Line 3 pipeline. In Crow Wing County, they sought greater union support and boosts to minimum wage. And on the other side of the aisle, at a Wadena Pizza Ranch, Republicans discussed resolutions opposing comprehensive sex education, drag queen story hours and social justice indoctrination in school literature. In Baxter, red "Make America Great Again" hats and shirts dotted the room as roughly 150 Crow Wing County Republican caucus-goers discussed Second Amendment rights, anti-abortion efforts, fair election processes for military voters and the Fair Tax Act. Prior to the evening festivities, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin and Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan said at a St. Paul news conference that they werent sure how much turnout at partisan caucus meetings would be affected by upcoming presidential primary elections, set for March 3 ( early voting has already begun ). But both encouraged attendance to allow voters at the local level to influence each partys platform and potentially put themselves on the radar to become candidates or volunteers in the future. "Even though youre not voting in the presidential preference poll. Its a way to pass resolutions. Its a way to get involved. Its a way to have your voice heard. Its a way to figure out how to become engaged in the party," Carnahan said. Grace Clark, a 22-year-old student at Macalester College and member of the Caucus for Climate group, proposed a resolution in support of the Green New Deal at her St. Paul precinct. She said she has voted in previous elections, but this was her first year caucusing. In what she called an important election year, she said caucusing was a way for her to "hold them (Democrats) accountable." "Even candidates that are good, Democratic candidates, need to be pushed to be bold," she said. "This is a super exciting and direct way to do that." Christopher Haas, the site coordinator at St. Paul Central High School, didnt have an official turnout number on Tuesday night, but said anecdotally that turnout was "surprisingly lower than (he) was expecting." He estimated less than 1,000 showed up to the high school far less than 2016s 7,000 at the same location. ADVERTISEMENT He thought part of the reason for that was because of presidential campaigns lack of mobilization in the area. In 2016, he said campaigns worked to boost their caucus night numbers for a shot at higher delegation allotments. This year, only Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former- New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg had campaign tables stationed in the hallway, which Haas said was a surprise considering St. Paul is "one of the hotbeds of progressivism in the state." Early voting has already begun in the state, and primary election day in Minnesota is March 3. Theresa Bourke, Joe Bowen, Kelly Busche, Dana Ferguson, Christopher Hagen, Gabe Lagarde and Rebecca Mitchell contributed to this report. Rick Wright said he feels perfectly fine. Thats despite the fact he tested positive for the coronavirus after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and has been in a hospital room for the past week with his vitals checked by medical professionals in hazmat suits. His wife is quarantined at Travis Air Force Base. My wife and I, we remain positive and were not bitching and moaning, were accepting it and we have got to get through it, thats how we approach it. Were survivalists. Were fine, he said on the phone from his hospital room Tuesday. Other than being cooped up with an uncomfortable bed, Wright has few complaints: He eats three good meals a day, exercises, reads, watches the news and communicates constantly with family. Wright, a 62-year-old Redwood City resident who works for an insurance brokerage firm, is one of 59 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. as of Wednesday. He said he hasnt felt any symptoms of the virus like fever, coughing and shortness of breath described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as appearing within as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. Hundreds on his cruise ship contracted the virus; four elderly Japanese patients have died. After evacuating with other American citizens, Wright and his wife were sent to Travis Air Force Base for a two-week quarantine on Feb. 17. Two days into their stay, three CDC staffers in hazmat suits showed up at the door of their apartment: Wrights test results had come back positive from a swab in Japan. I was never anticipating anybody coming to my door to say Im positive, Wright said. The news came, we cried a little bit, and then I got a little upset. I was more upset at leaving her alone. I was pacing and mad, he added. I was mad because I didnt want to be positive, and I didnt think I was because I felt fine. After the initial shock around 9 a.m. on Feb. 19, Wright stayed in his apartment with his wife until an ambulance came to take him to the hospital around 6:30 p.m. CDC spokesman Scott Pauley said Wright had been transferred to UCSF, although he did not say which hospital. UCSF is not confirming or providing information on individual coronavirus patients, according to spokeswoman Kristen Bole. San Francisco Public Health Department spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said a patient from Travis who tested positive for the coronavirus in Japan was hospitalized in San Francisco, although the person was not a city resident. Pauley said it takes time for logistics to be worked out with local hospitals, and the CDC considers how long someone needs to pack up their belongings and say goodbye before being hospitalized. Every different scenario is different for each different person, Pauley said, but added that Wright waiting nine hours sounds significantly longer from most of the cases that Im hearing. For his journey, Wright said he was strapped to a gurney even though he said he felt fine and could walk. On the way, the ambulance overheated and pulled over for about 20 minutes, he said. He made it to the hospital around 8 p.m. For the past week, Wright said he has few complaints other than being cooped up. He said although the bed is thin, he has plenty of pillows and blankets to try and make it as comfortable as possible. His daily routine starts with getting dressed (he has enough clothes for one week) and making his bed. Medical personnel with goggles and full-body hazmat suits come in to take his vitals in the morning. A doctor meets with him once or twice a day, sitting down to talk and answer questions. He said the staff have been wonderful. Wright eats three meals a day, which he said are good, usually with his tray pulled over to the window. On the couch, he exercises with orange elastic straps provided by hospital staff. He is reading a murder mystery on his Kindle. He watches TV for the evening news. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Wright constantly FaceTimes with his wife, Kathy, and with his son at college. His two stepdaughters call him as they stand in the hospital hallway and wave through the window on his door. After testing positive in Japan, Wright said he has undergone four more tests, which involve what he described as a toothpick with a swab on the end put inside his nostril and throat, that were sent to CDC headquarters in Atlanta for results. He tested negative last Thursday, positive last Friday. He took two more tests on Sunday and Monday and is awaiting results by the end of this week. Pauley said if someone tested positive from Japan, CDC counts that as a positive case unless otherwise negated by two negative tests in the U.S. Depending on Wrights test results, he said he may be able to be transferred to San Mateo County under home quarantine joining as many as 8,400 others in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health. Wright said hes never been in a hospital before and doesnt even have a family physician because I never get sick. I feel great, he said, ready to go on a real vacation. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench Bernie Sanders, the socialist from Vermont from Brooklyn, has stepped in it and stepped in deep with his praise of Fidel Castros brutal dictatorship in Cuba and its fictitious advances in, among other things, literacy. Republicans must be looking forward to watching him defend that in Florida in front of audiences composed of the friends, family, and survivors of those whom the Castro regime murdered, imprisoned, tortured, disfigured, repressed, and terrorized which, it bears remembering, it continues to do, to this day, under Raul Castro. The Cuban people desperately need our help, not Senator Sanders making excuses for the men who murder and oppress them. The analogous cases are, as a rhetorical matter, obvious enough: Mussolini had a really strong public-works program. Hitler was a patron of the arts. Franco was . . . pretty fashion-forward, even for a generalissimo. Etc. Conservatives are as vulnerable to flights of ideological fancy and political passion as anybody. Even the great F. A. Hayek (who rejected the label conservative even though he plainly was a conservative as Americans use the word) found himself hostage to excessive enthusiasm, in his case for the repressive rightist government of Augusto Pinochet. Pinochets government did make critical reforms to economic policy in Chile. It also committed horrendous atrocities. Yes, but what about his entitlement-reform program? is at the very least morally and intellectually insufficient. And the attraction to the strongman form of government always must be resisted, because there is, finally, no such thing as a benevolent dictator. Hayek was gently chided by Margaret Thatcher for his excessive affection for the Chilean regime. Her advice to him is wise counsel for conservatives today: Our reform must be in line with our traditions and our Constitution. At times the process may seem painfully slow. But I am certain we shall achieve our reforms in our own way and in our own time. Then they will endure. Story continues It is not true that the American Left has no interest in our traditions and our Constitution. The Left is very interested in our traditions and our Constitution it hates these and wishes to see them destroyed. The Lefts war on the Constitution goes back to the foundation of American progressivism under Woodrow Wilson, who considered the Constitution outmoded and a hindrance to intelligent administration. The line of thinking extends straight into modern progressivism: Harry Reids attempt to gut the First Amendment in order to put political speech under government control, a proposal endorsed by every Democrat in the Senate; other related progressive attempts to destroy the Bill of Rights, beginning with the First and Second Amendments but by no means limited to these; the contention by progressives, typified by Ryan Cooper, that the American Constitution is an outdated, malfunctioning piece of junk; Senator Sanderss call for revolution; etc. The Democrats may shed a few crocodile tears over President Donald Trumps supposed assault on the Constitution (Trumps assault mainly has been on American manners, the importance of which is generally overlooked and misunderstood), but assaulting the Constitution is the foundation of their politics and their jurisprudence: Assaulting the Constitution reshaping it to better fit progressive political preferences is what Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were put on the Supreme Court to do. The intellectual and constitutional position that this is impermissible that the Constitution must be treated as though it says what it actually says rather than as though it said what people invested with transient political power wish it said, which is all the textualism of Clarence Thomas et al. actually amounts to is denounced as dangerous extremism. Whatever it is the American Left is on about, it is not the Constitution not the actual one that has been written down, in any case. Rather, the Left advocates a new constitutional covenant, one in which the law is written on our hearts or at least on the hearts of a cabal of left-wing law professors. Senator Sanders is not an intellectual. He is not a scholar of law or economics or intersectionality studies, and he is not a member of the new administrative class that the American Left has been building since Woodrow Wilson. He is only their John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness and announcing the coming of the new kingdom. What kind of kingdom is it to be? There is some indication in history, because Senator Sanderss parroting Castroite propaganda about Communist Cubas supposed successes in literacy and health care are hardly without precedent. The New York Timess infamous Walter Duranty reportage was straight-up Soviet propaganda. Lincoln Steffenss celebration of Soviet life I have seen the future, and it works! required a measure of willful blindness. The New Republic at times functioned as a gentle apologist for Stalin and Stalinism. Noam Chomsky and Pol Pot, the American Left and Ho Chi Minh, the American Left and Chairman Mao, the American Left and Castro, the American Left and Hugo Chavez, the European Left and the Ayatollah Khomeini, knucklehead campus dopes and Che Guevara, etc. the pattern repeats itself. There is a streak of Leninism that runs from the Soviet enterprise through Maos China and into the ayatollahs Iran. But what Lenins revolution really has in common with Maos and with Khomeinis is that each of those ultimately was directed at the same enemy: us. The American Left believes, and always has believed, that American society is fundamentally corrupt, that American power is a cancer, that American prosperity is a sham enjoyed only by the undeserving, that American business is great barrier to happiness at home and abroad, that the American way is dangerous hypocrisy, that the American foundation is not the story of liberty but the story of slavery and genocide, and that the shortest way to utopia is making common cause with those who oppose this stockpile of wickedness. And so the American Left has found something to love about every monster it can go abroad to find: Lenin and Stalin, the Khmer Rouge, Mao, the Castros, the ayatollahs, the Sandinistas (Greetings, Mayor de Blasio!), every tinpot tyrant and posturing revolutionary from Mussolini to Che. Even when it comes to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, the Left feels compelled to reinterpret history so that the crimes of Osama bin Laden et al. ultimately can be laid on the Pentagon, Wall Street, Main Streetif Americans are dying in Benghazi, it must be because some crazy American Christian stirred up the locals. If there are crack addicts in Los Angeles, it must be that the CIA was behind it. That is really what Senator Sanderss weird little rape-fantasy literary uvre is about the unshakeable conviction of the Left that American society is fundamentally corrupt, an abomination that only can be saved if it can be saved at all by means of revolution. By revolution Senator Sanders means investing a great deal of political power including extraconstitutional power in him as president. Power to what end? He already has told us, if only we would listen. He hasnt spent his public career as an aspiring Thorvald Stauning but as an apologist for the likes of Fidel Castro and the Soviet party bosses who kept the gulags stocked with fresh souls. Does Senator Sanders bear in his heart some secret love for Fidel Castro or the Bolsheviks? Possibly. But that is not the relevant question. Senator Sanders has come to this point not because of what he loves but because of what he hates. He is naturally sympathetic to the Soviets and the chavistas and the Castros because they hate what he hates: American power, American prosperity, the American way of life. Common causes are made by a common enemy. In this case, us. More from National Review The Herald reports: Opposition leader Simon Bridges says a National government would look at amending the law to allow Australians convicted of serious crimes in New Zealand to be deported. Bridges said, if elected, National would explore a policy based on amendments to Australias Migration Act in 2014 which now allows for Kiwis living on that side of the Tasman to have their visas cancelled on character grounds. He said, legally, the Australia government can deport Kiwi criminals and New Zealand needs to look into a reciprocal policy. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Wed, February 26, 2020 16:46 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c023e 2 SE Asia #Malaysia,#politics,Prime-Minister,Mahathir-Mohamad,resignation Free Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday proposed forming a unity government in his first public comments since his shock resignation as prime minister plunged the country into turmoil. Political factions have been jockeying for position after a bloc of ruling coalition lawmakers and opposition parties attempted to form a new government and stop the rise of Mahathir's designated successor Anwar Ibrahim. There were also reports that lawmakers from the collapsed "Pact of Hope" coalition, which stormed to a shock victory in 2018, had unexpectedly thrown their support behind Anwar to become leader. "Party politics must be put aside for now," said Mahathir, who quit Monday after the failed bid to form a new government, in a televised address to the nation. "If allowed, I will try to form an inclusive government, not siding with any political parties." Mahathir, at 94 the world's oldest leader, said he resigned because he was not ready to work with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the party of disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak. Najib is now standing trial accused of plundering billions of dollars from state fund 1MDB. Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, is likely to fly with MiG-21 pilots to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, February 27, to mark the first anniversary of the Balakot airstrike. As per reports, the IAF chief Bhadauria is expected to himself fly a MiG-21 Bison aircraft with the 51 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The base in Srinagar was used to launch fighter planes last February to engage Pakistan Air Force aircraft a day after Indian Mirage-2000s struck targets in Pakistans Balakot and Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was a part of the mission. According to reports, Mirage 2000 fighters may also be part of the display tomorrow. Besides this, IAF chief RKS Bhadauria will also address a seminar titled 'Indian Air Force: No War, No Peace' at the DRDO Bhawan on Friday, February 28. As per reports, he is likely to in the seminar about the Balakot airstrikes and the air skirmish on the following day. READ | 2019 Highlights Part 1: From IAF's Balakot Blitz To 'Howdy, Modi', Here's A Look Back Balakot Air Strikes Days after the Pulwama terror attack that shook our nation, India on February 26, 2019, pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at Balakot in Pakistan by carrying out coordinated airstrikes. In a pinpointed and swift airstrike that lasted less than two minutes, officials stated that the IAF targeted 350 terrorists and trainers. The "preemptive and non-military" action by India was seen as a result of strong leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who on February 15, 2019, had said 'those responsible will pay a very heavy price' and 'security forces will be given a free hand to deal with terrorists.' The braveheart of the Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also spent a few days in Pakistani custody after he shoot down a modern Pakistani F16 jet, following which his MiG-21 was shot down in a dogfight the with Pakistan Air Force just a day after the February 26 Balakot airstrike. READ | Balakot Airstrikes Featured In Indian Air Force's Calendar For The Year 2020 Pulwama Terror Attack On February 14, 2019, an explosives-laden truck rammed into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama outside Srinagar, killing 40 soldiers in one of the biggest terror attacks in recent years. PM Modi in his speech after the Pulwama terror attack had said, "Security forces have been given complete freedom, the blood of the people is boiling... Our neighboring country, which has been isolated internationally, thinks such terror attacks can destabilize us, but their plans will not materialize." READ | IAF Chief BS Dhanoa Flies His Final MiG Sortie, With Wg Cdr Abhinandan READ | Wing Commander Abhinandan To Fly MIG Over IAF Day Parade In Hindon Top management at global companies are clueless on the full extent of the coronavirus impact and how it will affect their companies in the coming months, a portfolio manager told CNBC Wednesday. Many firms have highlighted that their operations will suffer as a result of the virus and some have taken precautionary measures. But Pieter Taselaar, founding partner at Lucerne Capital Management, an investment firm focused on continental Europe, said the world was only "in the midst" of the outbreak. "I think all the statements by management are backward looking. All the earnings releases and outlooks are sort of incorporating maybe one month of coronavirus and we are really in the midst of it maybe it may last another six months. And even management have no clue of what is going to happen," he told CNBC's "Street Signs" Wednesday. Company bosses have warned about the impact of outbreak in recent earnings reports but have many have sounded an optimistic tone. Ilham Kadri, chief executive officer of Solvay, an international chemicals company based in Belgium, told CNBC Wednesday that "we expect impact only in quarter one by 4% (in revenues)." Carlos Tavares, chief executive of the carmaker PSA, also told CNBC that "our situation, so far, is good." Meanwhile, the largest German airline Lufthansa announced Wednesday that it's implementing a number of measures to reduce the impact of the virus, including allowing employees to take unpaid leave. Lufthansa also said that it's too early to estimate the full impact of the virus. European airlines were trading down by about 3% in Wednesday's trading session. Taselaar, from Lucerne Capital Management, said that he is not hopeful on 2020 in terms of company earnings. "You're probably looking at a lost earnings year for a lot of companies," he told CNBC. Douglas Ellimans planned acquisition of John Daugherty Realtors, a legacy brand in Houstons luxury housing market, has fallen through amid what Elliman called a legal technicality. The local real estate brokerage, however, will still combine with the Houston office of New York-based Elliman, just under a different structure. John Daugherty Jr., who founded the residential property firm in 1967, still plans to move over to Elliman, but his companys name will not follow him as was originally planned. Daugherty could not be reached for comment, and Elliman declined to elaborate on how and why the terms changed. The sudden shift is just the latest in a string of developments that have upended the Houston real estate industry. This one, though, is of particular interest as Daugherty was one of the pioneers of luxury real estate sales in Houston and his company was a stalwart in the industry. Listen on HoustonChronicle.com: The Loopies reveal the best and worst of Houston real estate The real estate climate has drastically shifted and I think the merger was a great opportunity for John Daugherty. Its unfortunate, if this is the case, that it didnt happen because its such an established firm, Mike Mahlstedt, an agent with Compass, said. He has been an icon in Houston Elliman, a flashy East Coast firm known for its luxury listings and celebrity agents, helped launch Houston into an elite group of high-end housing markets when it opened an office here last year. The company expanded into Houston over the summer through a partnership with Houston-based Sudhoff Cos., which specializes in the high-end condominium market. The company rebranded as Douglas Elliman Texas. When the deal to acquire Daugherty was announced in December, the firm had approximately 125 agents, many of whom have already joined Elliman. Others have opted to go elsewhere, including Compass and Martha Turner Sothebys International Realty. Elliman operates 120 offices in the countrys largest luxury housing markets, including Beverly Hills, Calif., Aspen, Colo., and the Hamptons. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff The United Arab Emirates, a major air transit center, is ready for worst case scenarios as the coronavirus spreads in the Middle East, a government official said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Three Gulf Arab states recorded their first new coronavirus cases this week, all in people coming from Iran, the UAEs neighbor across the Gulf which on Wednesday reported a total of 19 virus-related deaths, the most outside China, and 139 cases. Authorities in the UAE, which has reported 13 cases since Jan. 28, have enough facilities to quarantine patients and will be carrying out surveillance on people entering the country, said the official from the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority. It was too early to ban public gatherings in the business, trade and tourism hub, added the official. Dubai is due to host the Expo 2020 world fair in October for six months. We are quite satisfied that we have taken all the necessary steps needed to preempt the spread of the virus at all levels, without pushing the country into a state of unwarranted panic, the UAE official said. The disease, which originated in China late last year, has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, the vast majority in China. Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes said this week it had decided to cancel its annual One on One investment conference in Dubai, which was due to take place from March 2-5. The spread of the virus over the past three days to multiple countries from which we expect guests has underscored the importance of guaranteeing the health and safety of all our employees, clients and guests, it said in an email to clients. Kuwait, which last week evacuated 700 people from Iran, reported another case on Wednesday, bringing the total there to 26. Bahrain, which has suspended flights to Dubai, said 26 people had been diagnosed with the virus, some of whom had traveled through the UAE. Oman has recorded four cases. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joined The Late Show With Stephen Colbert live following the Democratic debate Tuesday night where the former Republican presidential candidate weighed in on President Trumps refusal to accept that Russia meddled in the 2016 election on his behalf, despite the entire intelligence community agreeing thats what occurred. When asked if he thinks Trump calling Russian tampering a hoax is dangerous, Christie replied, Its dangerous because hes wrong about it. And Christie got into why he believes Trump refuses to believe his own intelligence agencies. Hes sensitive about the fact that he thinks that makes his election less valid, and he wants to push back against that, Christie said. So thats why he does it. In my opinion, thats why he does it. Christie then walked back his earlier assertion that Trump calling Russian meddling a hoax is dangerous, though his reasoning is up for debate. I dont think its dangerous, Christie said, because I dont think anybody takes that seriously. Intelligence officials recently warned that Russia is meddling in the 2020 election in an effort to help Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and though Trump is once again refuting the information, calling it a Democrat hoax, it sounds like Christie will be on the side of intelligence. Listen, Christie said, I believe the 17 different intelligence agencies that say that it actually happened. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Watch Chris Matthews apologize to Bernie Sanders for making a Nazi comparison: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter. A prisoner killed at HMP Belmarsh has been named as convicted arsonist Sundeep Ghuman. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports of an assault at the south east London prison at 8pm on February 18. Ghuman, 36, was found by officers suffering from head injuries and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He died in hospital the following day. Two male inmates - both aged 28 - were arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder, and have sinced been bailed. HMP Belmarsh is one of only three high-security core local prisons in England and Wales / PA A post-mortem examination of Ghuman, which took place at Greenwich Mortuary on February 21, gave the cause of death as a head injury. Police said his next of kin have been notified. Ghuman was jailed for five years and four months in 2011 for a series of arson attacks in the south east London borough of Bexley, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed. The Bexley Times reported at the time that Ghuman broke into a Kwik Fit store on May 7 2011 while armed with a blow torch and a propane gas canister, and set fire to a tyre stack and a fence. Later that night, residents had to be evacuated from their homes after he damaged a pipe, causing a build-up of gas. He was found guilty of two counts of arson and three counts of being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, the paper reported. At the end of his prison sentence, Ghuman was to remain on licence for a further five years. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard from the Metropolitan Police said: We are working to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident with the support of the prison and local officers. At this stage I am open minded concerning motive, but expect this to become clear as the investigation progresses. Belmarsh is one of only three high-security core local prisons in England and Wales and has housed some of Britains most high-profile prisoners, including Michael Adebolajo, one of the men who killed Lee Rigby. Chinese companies specialising in facial recognition have upgraded the technology to identify people wearing masks in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese company SenseTime, described as 'the most valuable AI startup in the world' and worth at least $4.5billion, is one of several firms improving its facial recognition to ensure a person cna be identified without them taking off their mask. Instead of relying on having to see a person's mouth, the system is able to learn a person's identify from just their eyes and upper nose region of their face. People around the world are increasingly opting to wear medical masks and even respirators to prevent catching the potentially fatal COVID-19. The disease has claimed the lives of more than 2,700 people around the world and infected a total of around 80,000. Chinese companies specialising in facial recognition have upgraded the technology to identify people wearing masks in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. People around the world are increasingly opting to wear medical masks to prevent catching the potentially fatal COVID-19 SenseTime announced earlier this month that it was incorporating new features to its already omniscient system to combat masks and coronavirus. These include thermal imaging cameras (pictured) to identify people with a fever, a key indicator of coronavirus A picture from SenseTimes website shows the system identifying an employee who is wearing a mask. Such systems are in place in offices throughout China Researchers have been working on expanding facial recognition's capabilities for several years, making it possible to identify people in glasses, wearing makeup, and with facial hair. But the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, which has now spread around the world and is thought by medical experts to be on the brink of a pandemic, has accelerated the technology's roll-out. SenseTime announced earlier this month that it was incorporating new features to its already omniscient system to combat masks and coronavirus. These include thermal imaging cameras to identify people with a fever, a key indicator of coronavirus. SenseTime told Quartz this was currently live in three public locations. It has now also added the mask-proof algorithm to tighten its vice-like grip on the personal privacy of civilians. The system is widely used by Chinese authorities and can be used to keep tabs on people disobeying strict instructions that mandate residents must wear masks to halt the disease's spread. 'With these methods, management personnel are provided with a full range of epidemic prevention information such as body temperature, mask-wearing status, and employee identity,' the company said in a statement. But the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan (pictured, people sorting out food in Wuhan), which has now spread throughout the world and is thought by medical experts to be on the brink of a pandemic, has accelerated the technology's roll-out Detection efforts have been ratcheted up to prevent an outbreak on the scale of Italy, where at least 11 people have died and 322 have been diagnosed in Europe's first major coronavirus crisis The disease has claimed the lives of more than 2,700 people around the world and infected a total of around 80,000 Stanford University postdoctoral fellow Amarjot Singh works on developing facial recognition using AI. He told the South China Morning Post: 'Face recognition identifies a person by locating several key points on the face and connecting them together to form a unique person-specific signature.' Traditionally, these include myriad markers around the eyes, nose and mouth. But recent developments have meant a match can be made from just markers placed around the eyes and nose. SenseTime's algorithm is designed to use 240 facial feature key points but can make a match using just the parts of the face that are visible outside a mask. The company claims offices that use the system to identify and admit staff into the building will work without needing staff to take off their mask. 'The system that applies for office building entrances reads the facial characteristics that are not covered, including eyes, eyebrows and parts of the nasal bridge to identify employees,' the company told Quartz. 'So that the employees can keep their masks on at all times while still gaining access to their offices.' In the early hours of February 26, 2019, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets, made by Dassault Aviation, the French company who also manufactures the Rafale Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircrafts, entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control. The Balakot Strike was done to avenge the attack on the CRPF convoy on February 14 in Pulwama, J&K. While India has many new-age fighter jets like the Sukhoi Su-30MKI and MiG 29, apart from the indigenously developed Tejas LCA in its arsenal, it was again the Mirage-2000 jet, which was used in the Kargil war, that was used for the unprecedented cross-border strike, which targeted the biggest JeM hideout in Balakot in a counter-terrorism operation. Heres all you need to know about this Dassault Mirage-2000 fighter jet- History The Mirage-2000 is undoubtedly one of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) most versatile and deadliest aircraft and it was first commissioned in 1985. Soon after inducting the Mirage, IAF gave it the name Vajra meaning lightening thunderbolt in Sanskrit. It was developed by Dassault Aviation and took its first flight in 1978 and was inducted in the French Air Force in 1984. India had placed an initial order of 36 single-seater Mirage-2000 and 4 twin-seater Mirage 2000 in 1982 as an answer to Pakistan buying US-made F-16 fighter jets by Lockheed Martin. The Mirage-2000 played a decisive role in the 1999 war of Kargil and turned it in Indias favour. Seeing the success of the jets, the government placed an additional order of 10 Mirage-2000 planes in 2004, taking the total tally to 50 jets. Then in 2011 a contract was signed to upgrade the existing Mirage-2000 jets to Mirage 2000-5 Mk, increasing the life of the jets that are now ready to serve till 2030. Dassault built an estimated 580 Mirage-2000s over a course of 30 years before replacing it with the Rafale MMC jets. Specifications The Mirage-2000 uses a single shaft engine that is light and simple as compared to other fighter jet engines and is called SNECMA M53. The engine was first tested in 1970 and was not made initially for the Mirage jets. In 1974, Dassault Aviation conducted flight tests of the M53-2 version using its Mirage F1E testbeds. The majority of the Mirage 2000 is powered by the SNECMA M53-P2 engine. The Mirage is ideally designed to seat a single fighter pilot, but can be made into a twin-seat jet depending on the armed forces' requirements. It has a length of 14.36 metre and a wingspan of 91.3 metre. The plane weighs 7500 kg (dry) and has a total takeoff weight of 17000 kg. The Mirage 2000 has a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 (2336 kmph) and can travel 1550 km with drop tanks. The flight height is capped at 59000 ft (17km). In comparison, Indi'as other fighter and more advanced fighter jet - the Russia made Sukhoi Su30MKI has a speed of 2120 kmph (Mach 2), slower than the Mirage-2000 and is heavier too. This gives the Mirage-2000 an advantage in quick operations. The Mirage 2000 has a fly-by-wire flight control system and has a Sextant VE-130 HUD, which displays data related to flight control, navigation, target engagement, and weapon firing. In terms of the armament, the Mirage 2000 can carry laser guided bombs, air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and has a Thomson-CSF RDY (Radar Doppler Multi-target) radar on board. File photo of Mirage air crafts. (Image: AFP PHOTO) Countries using Mirage 2000 Apart from India, Dassault sold the Mirage 2000 to 8 other countries, including the home country of France, Egypt, UAE, Peru, Taiwan, Peru, Greece and Brazil. While Brazil has retired the Mirage 2000, other counties are still using this jet. A total of 583 Mirage-2000 fighter jets were built over a course of 30 years and its successor Rafael has already been ordered by the IAF. Not only was Mirage-2000 a trusted partner in India's previous success in Kargil, it is also immensely capable to carry out Surgical Strikes and attacks whenever possible, thanks to its load-carrying capacity, precision, Laser Guided Bombs and latest technology updates. SACRAMENTO, Calif. Amid mounting cries of California homeowners being denied wildfire insurance in high-risk areas, lawmakers want to require insurance companies to cover all existing homes, as long as they meet new safety standards. The measure, coming after years of deadly fires causing insurers to turn down more customers, would also require insurance companies to give homeowners financial incentives for fire safety upgrades. Existing homes that meet a new state standard for fire-hardening would not be denied coverage under the law. The industry has resisted previous action to force companies to insure homeowners in high risk areas. Insurers say that devastating and more frequent blazes have jeopardized their profitability and capability to provide coverage. Californias insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, and two lawmakers in the state Assembly introduced the legislation after concerns that companies dropping coverage is triggering a domino effect in communities, driving down home prices and shrinking county tax bases. They likened their proposal to current state law requiring car insurance companies to cover drivers who meet safety criteria. Homeowners and communities that invest in fire resistant buildings ought to be guaranteed coverage, they said. The insurance crisis is real, said Lara. A state panel including the state fire marshal will set new fire-hardening standards under the bill. That will provide guidance for homes and communities on how to make their buildings more fire resistant, and incentives may include tax breaks or loans. Homes that meet the criteria would then be guaranteed coverage or renewal of their insurance policy. The American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Personal Insurance Federation of California said in a statement that they want to work on long-term solutions but that we need to avoid legislation that limits consumers choices or results in unintended consequences that harm Californians. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who introduced the bill with colleague Monique Limon, said at a news conference she expects opposition from insurance companies. But she believes there is a broad base of support, both urban and rural, and suburban. Data released last year showed that insurance companies did not renew nearly 350,000 home insurance policies since 2015, when the state began tracking numbers. We have residents in our community who have lived there for generations. Today theyre being pushed out by the lack of insurance, said Heidi Hall, a supervisor from Nevada County, which has seen a 38% increase in non-renewals between 2017 and 2018, according to the California Department of Insurance. Seven other counties have also seen at least a 10% increase in non-renewals over those years. As a last resort, homeowners who cant acquire fire coverage in the private sector can turn to the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, a state-mandated program funded by private insurance companies that does not turn away customers. But the plan can be more pricey and only provides fire coverage. Lara has ordered the FAIR Plan to offer comprehensive home coverage including policies against thefts and flooding by July 2020, but the FAIR Plan Association sued him last December, arguing the order goes beyond what state law requires from the plan. In December 2019, Lara temporarily banned companies from dropping 800,000 insurance policies in fire-stricken portions of Los Angeles and Riverside counties in Southern California and Sonoma County in the north. The moratorium only lasts for a year. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. City leaders will spend $1.5 million in overtime to fight increases in violent crime and seek an additional $8.5 million in public-private partnership funding for new technology, including cameras and analytics equipment. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday he expects the combination of those two initiatives to help quell moderate fluctuations in violent crime, which Chief Art Acevedo said mirrors a nationwide trend. The uptick in crime is a concern to everyone, and I want for us to get on top of it now, Turner said, during a lengthy news conference at Houston Police headquarters in which HPD also kicked off its annual March on Crime. Crime data provided by Houston police to the FBI show that while overall crime has followed a decades-long downturn, violent crime has increased 6 percent over the last four years, driven by higher instances of aggravated assaults and rapes. And crime is up substantially over the first 50 days of the year compared to the same time period last year, with violent crime increasing about 18 percent and property crime rising about 10 percent, according to police data. We dont want to wait until we get to a situation where it becomes really a crisis so to speak, Turner said. We want to check things where they are. Quite frankly, we need those technology enhancements and we need them right now. Turner and Acevedo laid out a plan that called for $1.5 million in overtime for additional patrols; the technology upgrades include a network of surveillance cameras that homeowners could opt into and a pilot project using a gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter that would cover 5 square miles in south Houston. Acevedo also said his officers would be paying specific attention to felons caught with firearms. Those efforts are meant to help target all violent crime, with a focus on murders, aggravated assaults, aggravated robbery, as well as dismantling and disrupting gangs. When you combine the technology enhancements with the additional overtime of $1.5 million, I think you can see some significant improvements in public safety throughout our entire city, Turner said. The mayor said the city is still about 600 officers short of what the department needs, despite personnel increases over the last four years. He called on the private sector to help the cash-strapped city pay for the $8.5 million technology effort when it is ready. The mayor said he has already contacted potnetial partners about the plan and hopes to be able to announce funding partnerships soon. He said the proposed technology enhancements are important because criminals have grown more sophisticated and are often masked when they commit robberies making it more difficult to identify them. The overtime payments are effective immediately and will get more officers on patrol over the next six months. The economic vibrancy of a city starts with a safe city, Acevedo said about asking philanthropy for help. Theres a lot of people and companies in the city that can write a check, and its an accounting error to their bottom line. And so if you want to give a gift to the people of Houston, that will be here and paying dividends long after youre gone, write that check. The department is deploying a system provided by ShotSpotter that helps locate the site of gunfire. Acevedo said there are other programs, including analytics equipment, that would help police search through and digest a large amount of information much more quickly. We want to know about the gun violence that is going on and the gun fights going on that were not being called on, Acevedo said, suggesting that if successful, the program could expand to become a citywide system. Many specifics of the proposed enhancements remain unclear. Acevedo said the $8.5 million would go toward a public safety camera system that will be spread out throughout the city, which business owners and homeowners will both be able to opt into. The department would then be able to access videos and hold it for up to five days. Acevedo said that some of the cameras might come from Ring, a controversial home surveillance doorbell company with which the city entered into a partnership last year. We need that virtual watch, that virtual capability and thanks to the mayor, hopefully well get it, Acevedo said. Its unclear how the departments partnership with Ring has benefited its efforts to fight crime, and opponents of the partnership say such surveillance arrangements potentially infringe on civil liberties and the privacy rights of individual citizens while ratchets up community fears needlessly. Acevedo dismissed those concerns, saying homeowners and businesses will be able to opt into the program and that there is no presumption of privacy on public streets. When I tried bring private safety cameras and the Austin, the ACLU there was against it. So I told them, okay, well, here's the deal. You demanded that we have cameras on public streets and police cars to keep an eye on the on the cops. Well, if its good enough to keep an eye on the cops, we need a camera to keep an eye on the crooks. st.john.smith@chron.com twitter.com/stjbs US and Indian officials held discussions on 5G telecom technology, the next-generation wireless technology that is set to catapult data speeds, during US President Donalds Trumps two-day visit to India. Trump, whose administration has pressured India and others to shun equipment made by Huawei Technologies Company Limited of China, said: During our visit we discussed the importance of a secure 5G wireless network and the need for this emerging technology to be a tool for freedom, progress, prosperity, not to do anything with where it could be even conceived as a conduit for suppression and censorship. The US has throughout the past year pressed its allies not to use Huwaeis 5G equipment, alleging that it could be used by China to spy on other countries. Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegation, and India decided eventually to give the Chinese company a go-ahead to participate in 5G network trials .In India, Huawei is teaming up with Bharti Airtel Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited for 5G trials. 5G is the next generation of wireless technology and will boost data speeds and propel the Internet of Things, with the potential to bring radical changes in agriculture, manufacturing, health care and education. Australia and Japan have barred Huawei, while Canada and New Zealand are likely to follow suit. Many countries in Europe are yet to take a decision, while Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have welcomed Huawei. On Monday, US Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai held a bilateral meetings with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman R.S. Sharma and telecom secretary Anshu Prakash where the officials discussed telecom spectrum issues including 5G. Pai, who is in India as part of the US delegation, said: We have an existing MoU with TRAI and I met chairman Sharma today and emphasized to them that our cooperative relationship has been very fruitful over the last three years and we expect it to be so. Pai also met Prakash at the department of telecommunications. We talked about how teledensity is progressing, what is their fiberization, which spectrum bands are they using, what they intend to do, what is the auction process, etc, Prakash said. We also informed them about LMLC (low mobility large cell) which we have developed for 5G technology, this can also be used by the US, as this has a very large cell area. We are very proactive in useful discussions which we will continue, he said on Monday. To avoid the threat of snap elections, Tunisias fragmented parliament is set on approving prime minister-designate Elyes Fakhfakhs new government As Al-Ahram Weekly went to press on Tuesday evening, Tunisias designate Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh had secured the support of four parliamentary blocs to form a new government. The Tunisian parliaments vote of confidence session on Wednesday was expected to confirm him as prime minister after weeks of intense negotiations that had almost fallen apart. Fakhfakh has the support of 125 MPs, or 57 per cent of the assembly. Having secured the support of four parliamentary blocs, the moderate Islamic Ennahda Party with 54 seats, the Democratic bloc with 41, Tahya Tounes with 14 and National Reform with 15, comfortably exceeding the minimum required of 110 votes, the designated prime minister seemed sure to win the vote of confidence on Wednesday. Tunisias November legislative elections resulted in a fragmented parliament, which predictably failed to agree a previous government proposed by earlier prime minister-designate and Ennahda candidate Habib Jemli in January. Jemlis list of 43 ministers was rejected by 140 votes out of 219. Tunisian President Kais Saied then appointed Fakhfakh, 48, a former minister of finance who signed the first agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) overseeing the implementation of unpopular economic reforms in Tunisia, as the new prime minister. Fakhfakhs deal has been seen as an effort to end the countrys political crisis, which has lasted four months. Last week, Saied said he would dissolve the parliament and call for early elections if the new government failed to win a vote of confidence. Saieds warning followed statements by parliaments biggest blocs Ennahda and the Qalb Tunis Party that they would reject Fakhfakhs programme. In response, the president summoned Ennahda leader and Parliamentary Speaker Rachid Al-Ghannouchi to the presidential palace where he explained, as TV cameras broadcast the meeting, his intention to dissolve parliament and call for early elections in the event that the legislative assembly refused to vote in favour of the new government. Early elections could mean that already small blocs could shrink in size, losing to other parties and prolonging the countrys political crisis. This would be particularly risky for Ennahda, which according to a survey published by polling company Sigma Conseil on 25 January, would gain 15.9 per cent of the vote in snap elections compared to 16.6 per cent for Tunisian politician Abir Moussis Free Destourian Party. Fakhfakh hopes to avoid such early elections as a result of the proposed government being approved by parliament. He had promised to name a government that would draw only from parties aligned with the goals of the countrys 2011 Revolution and would be committed to ending corruption. He proposed the line-up of the new government on Saturday and then said negotiations would continue after Ennahda had sought some changes. Fakhfakh submitted a list of cabinet nominees to Saied, with Nizar Yaich as finance minister, Noureddine Erray as foreign minister and Imed Hazgui as defence minister. Among the other proposed ministers are Mongi Marzouk as energy minister, Mohamed Ali Toumi as tourism minister and Thouraya Jribi as justice minister. The cabinet includes the Ennahda, Tahya Tounes, Achaab, Attayar and El-Badil parties and independents, leaving out the second-biggest bloc of Qalb Tunis whose controversial leader and former presidential frontrunner Nabil Karoui faces charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Since the 2011 Revolution in Tunisia, the country has been struggling with high unemployment and low growth. Government debt has increased, with foreign lenders demanding that budget deficits are brought under control. Tunisia needs to borrow about $3 billion internationally in 2020 to meet its spending commitments. The Tunisian authorities have said the IMF was waiting for the new government to form in order to start talks over a sixth review of the loan programme it began in 2016. However, the fragmented parliament suffers from significant ideological differences, suggesting future divisions that could jeopardise the stability of the new government. Sharan Grewal, a North Africa expert with the Brookings Institutions Centre for Middle East Policy in Washington, predicted internal divisions in the future Fakhfakh government, with disagreements already underway about whether to allow the privatisation of state-owned enterprises between Tahya Tounis in favour and Echaab against. *A version of this article appears in print in the 27 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Click here to read the full article. Spring is almost here, and so too are a first glimpse at some of the years biggest exhibitions. The first stop for a Yoshitomo Nara retrospective set to travel to three continents will be at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the first major survey ever devoted to Artemisia Gentileschi will make its debut at Londons National Gallery of Art. And thats not all: this years Venice Architecture Biennale and Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art are both set for May, and major exhibitions of the work of Donald Judd, An-My Le, Judy Chicago, Otobong Nkanga, and others are also in the offing. These highlights and more are below, in ARTnewss guide to the springs essential shows. Spotlight More from Robb Report 1. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Paris!; Centre Pompidou, Paris; March 18June 15 The artist known as Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, are the worlds most ambitious wrappers. Theyve wrapped the Reichstag, the Pont Neuf bridge, and the coast of Little Bay, in Sydney, Australia, making enormous sculptures out of landmarks. In April Christo will continue his conquest of the worlds monuments by wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in 270,000 square feet of fabric and 23,000 feet of rope. Such wrappings often take decades of bureaucratic wrangling, but Christo got his start doing more low-profile work in the French capital, and this exhibition surveys documentation related to sculptural works made by the couple in Paris between 1958 and 1964. The show culminates in a history of Christo and Jeanne-Claudes 1985 wrapping of the Pont Neuf, one of their most iconic artworks. It is hard to imagine this show wont earn the exclamation point in its title. Story continues March 2. Judd; Museum of Modern Art, New York; March 1July 11 Writing recently about her early years at MoMA in the 1970s, curator Barbara London recalls that Donald Judds Minimalist sculptures distinguished the museums aesthetic. That aesthetic synergy between the work of Judd, who died in 1994, and MoMA brings a certain piquancy to the museums current Judd retrospective, the first anywhere in more than 30 years. The museum has changedthere have been three renovations and expansions since the 70sand perhaps so, too, has our understanding of Judds steely, boxy objects. 3. Cao Fei: Blueprints; Serpentine Galleries, London; March 4May 17 For Cao Fei, the online virtual world Second Life became a tool for art. Within it, she created her sprawling RMB City, its name a reference to Chinese currency. Dealing with fantasy worlds and their opposition to real-life ugliness, her work made her one of Chinas most closely watched artists before she turned 30. In her largest-ever exhibition in the United Kingdom, Cao will bring out some of her classic worksincluding Whose Utopia?, a 2006 video in which a group of Chinese factory workers briefly stop laboring and start dancingand place them alongside a new VR project and her latest feature-length film. 4. Gerhard Richter: Painting After All; Met Breuer, New York; March 4July 5 There are (at least) two Gerhard Richters. There is the Richter of the gorgeous, multilayered abstractions made by pulling paint across a canvas with a squeegee, and there is Richter the exacting figurative painter who references photographs. Some of those figurative paintings, such as his 1988 series about a radical left-wing terrorist group, have taken as their subject German politics. On view for the first time in the United States in this 100-work survey at the Met Breuerthe largest presentation of Richters work since his MoMA retrospective in 2002are works from Richters 2014 Birkenau series, which brought the two Richters together, with the artist alluding to a World War II concentration camp through abstraction. The Met is showing these works alongside pieces from the 1960s that made the artist a sensation in his home country. Richter fans can be assured his work is in good hands: Met curator Sheena Wagstaff has organized the show in close collaboration with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, an art historian who has written prolifically on Richter. 5. Remedios Varo: Constellations; Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires; March 6June 15 For years, the work of Remedios Varo, who died in 1963, languished in obscurity, not unlike that of other female Surrealists. But lately, it has been making a comeback. Last year, Varos bizarre tableaux featuring floating figures and fantastical creatures showed up in MoMAs permanent collection rehang, and Eduardo F. Costantini, who founded MALBA and is one of Latin Americas biggest collectors, snapped up one of her paintings at a Christies auction for $3.1 million. This showamong the biggest ever devoted to the artist in Argentina, where she worked for much of her lifemay very well cement her fame. 6. Franz Erhard Walther: Shifting Perspectives; Haus der Kunst, Munich; March 6August 2 Long before participatory art became widespread in museums and galleries, Franz Erhard Walther was engineering pieces that made use of the viewer, often by having people hold large pieces of fabric together. A pioneer of Conceptual art and a winner of the top prize at the Venice Biennale, Walther is now being given the retrospective treatment with this 250-work show. 7. Mark Bradford: End Papers; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; March 8August 9 A little over two decades ago, Mark Bradford began making a series called End Papers, employing the paper strips used to keep hair from overheating that he first came across in his mothers South Los Angeles beauty shop. Made before Bradford became one of todays most celebrated painters, the resulting paintingswhich are surveyed in this show delicately allude to his family history, transposing grids of end papers over detritus. 8. Studio 54: Night Magic; Brooklyn Museum, New York; March 13July 5 In 1977 Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell cofounded Studio 54, the famed New York watering hole known for its wild parties. In a recent documentary, Schrager said, when I look back now, it is so preposterous. What were we thinking? Is there a Studio 54 aesthetic? Find out in this exhibition, which surveys the clubs impact on New Yorks 1970s social scene and art world through photography, paraphernalia, and more. 9. An-My Le: On Contested Terrain; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; March 14July 26 Having grown up in Vietnam during the American war there, An-My Le went on to produce documentary photographs covering war, its impact on the landscape, and the way conflict is represented in mass media. For a few memorable images, she shot on the set of a Hollywood film about the Civil War, leaving it largely unclear to viewers who didnt read the adjacent wall texts that the explosions depicted were faked. At last, this season brings her first major mid-career survey, which includes 125 photographs. 10. Biennale of Sydney; Various venues, Sydney; March 14June 8 Australia may be one of the few countries in the world where it is common to acknowledge historical violence against Indigenous peoples, but its art institutions have not yet adequately recognized the art of Indigenous communities. It is therefore momentous for Brook Andrew to be the first Indigenous curator of the 47-year-old Biennale of Sydney. A member of the Wiradjuri people, Andrew has included a significant quotient of Indigenous artists, among them Nogirra Marawili (Darrpirra/Yirrkala), S.J Norman (Wiradjuri), and Demian DineYazhi (Navajo). 11. Helio Oiticica: Dance in My Experience; Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo; March 20June 7 Helio Oiticica died in 1980 at just 42 years old; his impact on art has long outlasted him. Oiticica changed the way artists in his native Braziland far beyondthink about the relationship between art and life, and made them recognize in a new way the possibilities of utopian societies. This year, two of Brazils biggest museumsMASP and the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeirowill pay homage to Oiticicas enduring art, with his early experiments with geometrical abstraction, his performances, and his interactive works all represented. 12. Art in the Age of Anxiety; Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates; March 21June 21 A recent poll by the American Psychological Association suggests that peoples anxiety levels are risinga fact that no doubt has to do with a tense political climate around the world, the introduction of new technologies, and the increasingly fast pace of daily life. Curator Omar Kholeif addresses that phenomenon with this survey exhibition, featuring work by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Simon Denny, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Guan Xiao, and many more. 13. Henri Cartier-Bresson: Le Grand Jeu; Palazzo Grassi, Venice; March 22January 10 We know what youre thinking: Another Cartier-Bresson show? Luckily, this one has a twist: people of noteincluding artist Annie Leibovitz, filmmaker Wim Wenders, and collector Francois Pinault, founder of the Palazzo Grassihave been brought on to curate their own selections from Cartier-Bressons 385-work Master Collection. Their results could very well change the way the French photographers work is seen in the years to come. April 14. Christina Quarles; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; April 4August 23 Christina Quarles practices a slippery kind of figuration. As one body of one color merges into another of a different hue, we are forced to confront difficult questions about gender, race, and sexuality. Whose parts belong to whom? Her works have tapped into todays shifting social mores, and not surprisingly, museums have responded with an unusual degree of excitement for a young artist. Not yet 40 years old, the Los Angelesbased Quarles has already appeared in the Hammer Museums lauded Made in L.A. biennial in 2018 and a major New Museum show about gender and sexuality in 2017. In this, her largest museum show to date, she will present paintings made over the course of the last four years. 15. Artemisia; National Gallery, London; April 4July 26 In a landmark 1971 essay for ARTnews titled Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, art historian Linda Nochlin wondered why we didnt hear more about the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, daughter of painter Orazio Gentileschi. Nochlin attributed this to art-world misogyny, and since then Gentileschis 1610 masterpiece Judith Slaying Holofernes has made its way into survey courses the world over, with scholars seeing in its graphic sexual violence a kind of feminism avant la lettre. This show at the National Gallery is the first major one devoted to her work in the United Kingdom. 16. Hilma af Klint: Artist, Researcher, Medium; Moderna Museet, Malmo, Sweden; April 4September 27 What are the chances that the best-attended show ever at the Guggenheim Museum in New York would be that of an early 20th-century abstract painter interested in spiritualism? No, we are not talking about Wassily Kandinsky. An exhibition of Hilma af Klint, a far lesser-known female contemporary of Kandinsky, brought a whopping 600,000 visitors to the museum. Now, another af Klint show is coming to the Moderna Museet, wherewho knowsit may make an even bigger splash. The expansive survey features the first complete showing of one of af Klints most famous series, The Ten Largest (1907). 17. Yoshitomo Nara; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; April 5August 23 When the Japanese painter and sculptor had his first New York gallery show 20 years ago, New York Times critic Roberta Smith wrote a memorable description of the characters that would make him famous. Looking at his cast of cute but demonic cartoon toddlers, Smith wrote, might put you in mind of the scathingly arch, big-eyed infant of Family Guy crossed with a Kenneth Noland target painting or an Yves Klein International Blue monochrome. For an artist whose reputation is based on something of a punk aesthetic, Nara has awfully high prices: last fall, one of his paintings made $25 million at auction. LACMAs survey, staged in partnership with collector Budi Teks Yuz Museum in Shanghai, will travel to the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. 18. Niki de Saint Phalle; MoMA PS1, New York; April 5September 7 Niki de Saint Phalles bright, colorful, curvaceous figural sculptures were out of sync with her time, but they are looking more and more relevant to our own. The self-taught artist brought the female figure to a monumental scale and made it exuberant during a period when the avant-garde was more focused on stern minimalism, but since her death in 2002 (and especially in the past few years) there has been a surge of interest in new ways of defining and celebrating women in art. This will be the first-ever museum survey devoted to Saint Phalle, and it will feature 100 objects ranging from paintings to sculpture and jewelry. Included will be works that attest to Saint Phalles activist spirit, which led her to create feminist works during the 1960s and drawings about the AIDS crisis during the 80s. 19. Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch; Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; April 8September 6 Asked in 2018 by the New Yorker what he hopes to achieve with his work, which often involves sculptural installations alluding to Black history, Sanford Biggers said, to have there be layers of history and politics, along with a good dose of humor. He said that, with his works, he wants to flip through different timelines and localesto code-switch, as he put it, using the word that forms the title of this show, which includes 60 works by the Harlem-based artist that are constructed from quilts, in an homage to the history of the Underground Railroad. 20. Chen Zhen; Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan; April 9July 26 Throughout the course of his relatively short career, Chen Zhen, who died in 2000 at age 45, repeatedly pondered the changes Western values and globalism had wrought on his native China. For one of his most famous works, he constructed a 65-foot-long dragon out of bicycle inner tubes and wheelsan allusion to both industry and Chinese history. Little more than a year after that work hovered over a major Chinese art survey at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Pirelli HangarBicocca is staging a retrospective of the late artists large-scale installations. 21. The Paradox of Stillness: Art, Object, and Performance; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; April 18July 26 Performance art typically calls to mind bodies in motion, but this show proposes that this need not always be the casethe most cutting-edge works being made in the medium these days are making art out of stillness. For this enterprising survey, the Walker Art Center has brought together 100 works by 65 artists, among them Maria Hassabi, Senga Nengudi, Pope.L, and Jordan Wolfson, in an exploration of how performance relates to aesthetic concerns more often found in painting and sculpture. Included will be Anne Imhofs lauded 2019 performance Sex, which in past iterations involved performers slowly enacting complex choreographies amid strobing lights. 22. Betye Saar; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; April 22July 26 The 93-year-old artist has long grappled with racism and its legacy in such works as The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972), a sculpture in which a mammy figure appears armed with a broom and a rifle. Having won the Museum Ludwigs $110,000 Wolfgang Hahn Prize earlier this year, shes being honored with a solo show. 23. STARS: Six Contemporary Artists from Japan to the World; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; April 23September 6 Takashi Murakamis iconoclastic anime-inspired work has gained a foothold in popular culture worldwide through, among other things, his collaborations with Kanye West. Along the way, the works relationship with Japan has been somewhat lost. This presentation brings Murakamis work home, along with that of five other world-renowned Japanese artists: Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ufan, Tatsuo Miyajima, Yoshitomo Nara, and Hiroshi Sugimoto. 24. Otobong Nkanga; Gropius Bau, Berlin; April 30August 2 For a 200708 piece called Baggage, Otobong Nkanga shipped bags of sand from Antwerp, where shes now based, to Nigeria, where she was born, and then had people in the African country send similar objects back to Belgium. She was alluding to the way our globalist world impacts the environment, broaching all sorts of heavy issues about colonialism and the flow of ideas in the process. Such a heady blend of ideas has made Nkanga an artist beloved by curators, with her work celebrated at last years Venice Biennale, as well as at the Sharjah Biennial. In 2019 she was also the recipient of the inaugural $100,000 Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award. Her show at the Gropius Bau comes on the heels of a yearlong residency there. May 25. Judy Chicago: A Retrospective; De Young Museum, San Francisco; May 9September 6 Judy Chicago is far more than her iconic Dinner Party (197479), an installation that imagines a table set for a feast for female pioneers throughout history, and has become a cornerstone of feminist art history. Chicago has long hoped that the public would embrace the whole of her outputI used to say [I hoped Id live] long enough to come out from behind the shadow of The Dinner Party, she told ARTnews in 2019and with this retrospective she gets her wish. (The Dinner Party, on permanent display in the Brooklyn Museum, wont travel for it.) Including 100 pieces, the show will turn the spotlight on some of Chicagos more recent works, which deal with climate change and the rise of fascism. 26. Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art; Various venues, Riga, Latvia; May 16October 11 At last years Venice Biennale, the Golden Lion award for national participation went to Lithuania, one sign that the Baltic region has moved to center stage. For its second edition, the organizers of this biennial, which is dedicated to showcasing homegrown artists, have tapped Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, a former curator at the Palais de Tokyo museum in Paris. Around 85 percent of the work included is being produced specifically for the show. Among the artists on tap are Pawe Althamer, Nina Beier, Dora Budor, Lina Lapelyte, Hanne Lippard, and Augustas Serapinas. 27. Kara Walker: Drawings 19932020; Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland; May 16August 23 Kara Walker has recently been associated with her sculptures recalling the horrors of slavery, such as her 75-foot-tall sugar sculpture of a mammy figure-cum-sphinx, which was installed in 2014 in a former Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This show is a welcome reminder that she is also a master of works on paper. With hundreds of pieces, including some new ones debuting here, Walkers first major survey in Switzerland will pinpoint how she so intelligently synthesizes her disturbing images of racism and misogyny with art-historical traditions. 28. Goya; Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland; May 17August 16 Alongside the modern and contemporary offerings trotted out by the worlds biggest galleries at this years Art Basel fair in Switzerland will be an unusual presentation: Francisco de Goyas painting Witches Sabbath (179798), which is traveling from the Museo Lazaro Galdiano in Madrid to hang in Fondation Beyelers booth at the fair. The occasion for such a loan is the Beyelers major show devoted to the Spanish Romantic artist, who is known for his bizarre paintings about dreams and states of irrationalityand the horrors of war. Organized in collaboration with the Prado in Madrid, this is one of the biggest Goya shows ever mounted outside Spain. 29. Jennifer Packer; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; May 17November 30 Among the stars of last years Whitney Biennial were Packers beguiling paintings in which Black sitters melt into their backgrounds. Though not yet 40 years old, Packer has established herself as one of the most important figurative painters working in New York today. This is her first West Coast survey. 30. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye; Tate Britain, London; May 20August 23 Lynette Yiadom-Boakye has spoken of her paintings of Black men and women rendered in muted tones as being like what Zadie Smith once called character studies of people who dont exist. Her alluring pictures have captured the attention of critics, curators, and young artists alike, and now Tate is mounting the first major survey of her work, with 80 pieces representing her output from the past 17 years. 31. To Tame a Wild Tongue: Art After Chicanismo; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; May 21August 23 During the 1960s and 70s, a group of Chicano artists used their work to radically redefine Mexican-American identity, presenting it as something far more complex than previously acknowledged. This survey, which takes its name from an essay by scholar Gloria Anzaldua, explores the aftermath, during which artists delved deeper into that complexity. Some 30 artists are represented, including John Valadez and Ester Hernandez. 32. Venice Architecture Biennale; Various venues, Venice, Italy; May 23November 29 Considering the worlds current refugee crisiswhich often boils down to the question of who will share space with those who have become placelessthe theme architect Hashim Sarkis has chosen for this edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale is an apt one. He looked for work that deals with the spatial contract, the means by which people agree to live together. The offerings here are sure to range from the hippy-dippy to the academic, and all will likely point a way forward. 33. Somewhere Downtown; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; May 30August 30 There are few moments in art history more iconic than the 1980s New York art scene, which witnessed the rise of stars like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and then saw many of them fall during the AIDS crisis later that same decade. That vibrant culture will be transported halfway around the world this season for Somewhere Downtown, a survey curated by critic Carlo McCormick, who has worked on some of the most important exhibitions and scholarship concerning the 80s art world. The material in this show is relatively new to China, with some Haring and Basquiat works making their way to the country for the first time. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Rita Ora, 29, and Rafferty Law, 23, has reportedly drifted apart after just three months of dating. The pair sent tongues wagging when they were spotted leaving the British Fashion Awards after-party holding hands at the end of last year, with sources claiming they were 'loved-up' after falling for each other on set of Sky Cinema's Oliver! remake Twist. But according to The Sun, the romance is done and dusted. Done? Rita Ora, 29, and Rafferty Law, 23, has reportedly drifted apart after just three months of dating A source told the publication: 'Rita really got on with Raff on set and they had great chemistry. They grew close while they were both working in London, although they were just taking each day as it came and weren't in a rush to label anything or move too quickly. 'But Rita has spent so long out of the country now and they're not talking as much as they were, let alone doing the things couples do when they're together. Things are on ice until they're back in the same country. 'They might pick up again then, but at the moment they are more like friends.' It's also reported that the pair missed spending Valentine's Day together and that Rita has been uninterested in romance while she recovers from having her tonsils out. Making a connection: The pair sent tongues wagging when they reportedly fell for each other on set of Sky Cinema's Oliver! remake Twist [pictured in December] She also shared a post on her Instagram page on Saturday with the caption: 'Full blown wifey material. Any takers?' MailOnline has contacted Rita and Rafferty's representatives for comment. Filming for Twist started at the end of last year. The duo appear alongside Hollywood heavyweights including Michael Caine, who plays the crafty Fagin, and Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey, who plays Sikes. Rita- who is six year's older than Jude Law and Sadie Frost's son Rafferty - plays the Artful Dodger, while Rafferty portrays the titular character Oliver. It is Rafferty's big break as an actor. He has previously modelled for a number of high fashion labels on the catwalk. Fizzled out? A source said that 'Rita really got on with Raff on set and they had great chemistry' but that 'Rita has spent so long out of the country now and they're not talking as much as they were, let alone doing the things couples do when they're together' Rita, meanwhile, has previously dipped her feet into the acting world having starred as Mia Grey in the Fifty Shades franchise. A source told MailOnline: 'Twist is a modern interpretation of Charles Dickens' Oliver in which the title character has been reinvented as a streetwise artist living on the streets of modern-day London... 'Rafferty impressed with his screen presence and his edginess brings a whole new dimension to the role of Oliver. It's an all-star cast with David in the mix after arriving at today's first rehearsal not to mention Rita and Sir Michael Caine.' In the new production, Oliver and Dodge get caught up in a heist to steal a priceless painting for master thief, Fagin. Starry: Twist features Sir Michael Caine, Lena Headey, Rita Ora, Franz Drameh, Sophie Simnett and Raff Law On playing the villain, Sir Michael Caine said: 'Fagin is such an infamous character, it's going to be great fun playing him. 'I'm really looking forward to working with Lena, Raff and the rest of the cast in London when we start shooting.' Rafferty added: 'I'm excited to play such a well-loved literary character. I'm looking forward to working with Martin Owen to bring to life his new take on the character in modern-day London.' Twist will be released on Sky Cinema and in theatres across the United Kingdom in 2020. A coronavirus outbreak is likely coming to the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday morning. The number of cases here is up to 57, with health officials saying they are just trying to buy time before it starts spreading within communities. Globally, the virus is in more than 30 countries, and though the World Health Organization isnt yet calling it a pandemic, it seems like its only a matter of time. You probably have a lot of questions and concerns right about now. Were here to help. Advertisement I thought the coronavirus was sort of under control. What happened? Its just hard to tell how a new virus is going to behave at first. It did look like the number of new cases in China was going down, and in fact, it still looks like that, according to the World Health Organization. But in recent days, there have been more and more cases reported around the world, and more in the U.S., pushing the chance that the virus will be contained lower and lower. The cats out of the bag, says Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UCDavis Health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Should I panic? Hm. On the one hand: We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad, Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a press conference Tuesday. On the other hand, its easier to prepare for a worst-case scenario when youre calm, and also, most people who get the coronavirus end up being just fine. Panicking still wont help, but you should continue to take precautions like hand-washing, and you should also listen to public health officials advice. Advertisement Advertisement What can I actually do? If things reach pandemic status, you might be spending more time at home. But that will really depend on whats happening where you live. Messomier advised that people come up with the same plans they might if they knew they were going to be stuck at home with a fever for a while: ask your employer about working from home, ask your school about a plan for closure and tele-schooling, and check if your doctor or insurance plan offers a way to chat with a doctor virtually. My friend is stocking up on canned food, should I stock up on canned food? Advertisement Thats not something Im recommending, says Blumberg, who suggests most routines wont come to a halt (with the caveat that he cant predict the future). People who are sick will hopefully stay home. Keeping up with regular grocery shopping seems like precaution enough here. Advertisement Am I likely to get the new coronavirus? Researchers are still figuring that out. One epidemiologist estimated that 4070 percent of people will get the disease, according to a piece in the Atlantic helpfully titled Youre Likely to Get the Coronavirus. At Stat, reporter Sharon Begley lays out two scenarios based on interviews with epidemiologists if the virus isnt contained: In one, COVID-19 becomes one of the mundane coronaviruses thats always floating around in the world (there are currently four; they cause about a fourth of all colds). In another, its less mundane and more like the flu, which causes a lot of havoc every year. Advertisement Advertisement So I am going to die of coronavirus? Advertisement Advertisement No, almost certainly not! The death rate outside of Wuhan, China, is 0.7 percent, according to the WHO. In Wuhan, where hospitals are overwhelmed, its 24 percent. Those numbers might be high because they dont account for people who experienced the virus without any major symptoms and werent screened for it, essentially artificially reducing the denominator. The virus is also mostly a concern for older people, and people who are otherwise immunocompromised; it damages the lungs, potentially leading to pneumonia and in severe cases, organ failure. Typically, severe symptoms from viruses are also a concern for babies, but so far, the symptoms in babies have been mild. Advertisement Advertisement Wait, then why did the coronavirus kill a 29-year-old doctor? Advertisement Because he was a doctor. Its a dosage thing, explains Anna Yeung-Cheung, a virologist at Manhattanville College. Health care workers are exposed to far more people, often pretty sick people, than the average person, and therefore stand to come in contact with higher levels of the virus. A lot of virus can still overwhelm a healthy immune system. What about global travel, should I avoid airports and stay put? This might not be the ideal time for the cautious among us to plan a nonrefundable international trip months down the line, as its hard to predict what summer will hold, but you also dont need to cancel anything, probably? Honestly, its hard to say. Our travel notices are changing almost daily, the CDCs Messonnier said. The CDC has a handy page where they post travel advisories, and where you can search for the particular country youre traveling to. So far, theyre only recommending avoiding all non-essential travel to China (excluding Hong Kong) and South Korea on account of the coronavirus. For Italy, where the virus has made plenty of headlines by colliding with Fashion Week, the CDC recommends extra precautions, like washing your hands a lot, or perhaps staying home if you have a chronic illness and dont absolutely have to go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blumberg thinks that trying to restrict travel is reactionary but notes that this tendency itself might be a reason to avoid getting on a plane: My worry is if you travel somewhere, will you be able to return home?, he says. We saw what happened with the Diamond Princess. Or take the man in Miami who traveled to China and developed flulike symptoms upon returning home: He got a test to make sure it wasnt coronavirus and even with insurance is stuck with a $1,400 bill. That seems like a reason to panic. Yes. Getting basic medical care, staying home from an hourly wage job, and caring for kids that cant be in school are expensive. If coronavirus spreads within the United States, its these kinds of financial burdens on folks who dont have money to spare that stand to hit as hard as the illness itself. That burden will certainly be far more widespread than severe medical complications. Nick Robinson revealed today he is in coronavirus self-quarantine after returning from a holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia with a cough - joining Channel 4's Jon Snow who has just come back from Iran. The BBC Today host revealed how he drove to hospital to be met by a nurse in full protective gear for a test through his car window, and is now spending 48 hours at home to wait for the results. Robinson used his experience of the 'precautionary' test to make a joke at the expense of Boris Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings, quipping that he would like to 'quarantine us all'. The BBC Today host revealed how he drove to hospital to be met by a nurse in full protective gear for a test through his car window, and is now spending 48 hours at home to wait for the results Robinson praised NHS staff for their work in fighting the virus after he was tested in a hospital car park The broadcaster, who spoke to Channel 4 tonight via videolink, will remain in quarantine for the next two weeks after visiting the country to cover its election Robinson told Today when asked about his experience: 'I'm fine actually, I've just had a fantastic three-week holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia. As you maybe can hear I'm a little bit croaky. 'I've got a little bit of a cough but I did before I went on holiday. Still, my doctor said as a precaution - and frankly to be considerate - I should report myself as Vietnam and Cambodia were added to the list yesterday of places where you should get a test after returning.' When does the NHS advise people to go into self-quarantine? If you have recently returned from the following areas the NHS says you should stay indoors and call 111. They are: Iran Specific lockdown areas in northern Italy as designated by the Government of Italy 'Special care zones in South Korea as designated by the Government of the Republic of South Korea Hubei province ( if you've returned in the past 14 days). You should take the same action if you've returned from any of the following countries in the last 14 days and develop symptoms of a cough, fever or shortness of breath: China Thailand Japan Republic of Korea Hong Kong Taiwan Singapore Malaysia Macau Advertisement Robinson phoned 111 and was told to drive himself to hospital to avoid infecting others. He continued: 'A nurse came out into the car park fully protected with a plastic face visor, rubber gloves, disposable aprons, then carried out the kind of the routine test you would have in hospital but through the car window. 'So your blood pressure, your temperature, oxygen saturation levels, then they'll put a cotton swab in your nose so they can do a test. Then you go home for 48 hours for results and when they say as expected that you haven't got the virus you can leave home.' Asked about whether the system could struggle with more people, Robinson added: 'I was there for two and a half hours, it is hugely time-consuming for what in my case was merely a precaution. Although I would suspect Dominic Cummings would like to quarantine us all.' It comes as Channel 4 presenter Jon Snow has announced he is self-isolating after travelling to Iran, which is firefighting one of the largest coronavirus crises outside China. The broadcaster, 72, will remain in quarantine for the next two weeks after visiting the country to cover its election. Snow said that he does not have any symptoms of the virus and was not near the epicentre of the outbreak, which has infected 95 and killed 16. He told Channel 4 News via a videolink from his home: 'I woke up this morning feeling rather tired, but that was from the trip. 'But we weren't actually anywhere near where the main virus outbreak has occurred.' Snow said that he is 'not really supposed to congregate with any crowds or go anywhere where there may be people', adding: 'So that means I'm sitting at home. 'To be honest, the absolute enormity of the prospect of 14 days hasn't really hit me.' He added: 'Maybe if you call me again in 14 days you will have a headcase on your hands.' Snow, his producer and cameraman are all self-isolating in accordance with government guidance. People who have returned from Iran, 11 towns in northern Italy, areas of South Korea and Hubei province, China, since February 19 are all advised to 'call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms,' according to the Department of Health. 'None of the team are currently showing any symptoms of Covid-19 but the official advice is to self-isolate regardless,' Channel 4 News tweeted. The Foreign Office tonight updated its travel advice to Iran and urges Britons to steer clear unless absolutely necessary. Snow said that he does not have any symptoms of the virus and was not near the epicentre of the outbreak, which has infected 95 and killed 16 Channel 4 said Snow was following Department of Health guidance Iraj Harirchi, Iran's deputy health minister, has been diagnosed with coronavirus just a day after he appeared at a press conference sweating profusely while insisting the country had its outbreak under control The head of Iran's virus task force today tested positive for the infection just a day after he gave a press conference playing down the risk posed by the country's outbreak. Only China, South Korea, Italy and Japan have a greater volume of infections than Iran - but dozens of countries are now scrambling to get a grip of their outbreaks. Ministers in Rome have locked down 11 towns in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which have been slapped with travel bans and had public events axed. The drastic action as Italy suffered its eleventh death and the number of cases jumped to 322. Police checkpoints have been enforced to prevent the virus spilling across Italian soil, but cases have already sprouted up in the south. The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the worst-hit regions. OTTAWA - Independent senators want to suspend Sen. Lynn Beyak a second time, even though she has apologized for posting derogatory letters about Indigenous Peoples on her website. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2020 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Senator Lynn Beyak waits for the Speech from the Throne to being in the Senate in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Independent senators want to suspend Sen. Lynn Beyak a second time, even though she has apologized for posting derogatory letters about Indigenous Peoples on her website. After months of digging in her heels, Beyak apologized "unreservedly" Tuesday to her fellow senators and promised to take a training course on racism towards Indigenous Peoples. But Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, leader of the Independent Senators Group, says that's not enough for Beyak to avoid another suspension. "It is normal practice in professional bodies for a suspension to take effect during a period of remedial training, even after an apology has been offered," he said in a statement issued by his office Wednesday. Woo said members of his group, the largest caucus in the upper house, are frustrated with the procedural games that were played Tuesday to prevent the Senate from voting on the ethics committee report that recommended Beyak be suspended once again. Beyak was kicked out of the Conservative caucus and eventually suspended without pay last May after refusing to remove the offensive letters from her website a suspension that ended automatically when Parliament dissolved for last fall's federal election. The Senate's ethics committee recommended last month that Beyak be suspended again because she had not met the conditions laid down by the Senate for returning to the upper house in good standing, including offering a full apology, removing the letters and taking an anti-racism course. The Senate's administration removed the letters from Beyak's website after she refused to do so herself. The ethics committee deemed her apology to be perfunctory and her cultural sensitivity training a fiasco. The training was provided by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, which cut it short after concluding Beyak had no interest in confronting her opinions about Indigenous Peoples. However, after Beyak's contrite apology Tuesday, some of her former Conservative colleagues wanted the ethics committee to reconsider the matter. A motion to that effect was defeated by a vote of 49-24. Conservative senators and former Conservatives who now sit with the Canadian Senators Group which is separate from the Independent Senators Group largely supported the motion. But members of the Independent Senators Group and senators affiliated with no caucus were largely opposed. The Senate is to vote Thursday on the ethics committee recommendation to re-suspend Beyak, provided that there are no further delaying tactics such as those used Tuesday, when Conservatives and former Conservatives moved to adjourn debate and to adjourn the Senate altogether to avoid a vote on the matter. Independent Sen. Tony Dean noted Wednesday that the matter has dragged on for more than a year. He said the Senate has taken a "very reasonable approach" with Beyak and further delays are "at the expense of its reputation." "I'm embarrassed," he said in an interview of the failure to resolve the matter. Dean said the logical approach, particularly given Beyak's failure to complete the anti-racism training the first time, is to suspend her again, have the ethics committee devise an appropriate training program for her and then see how that works out before considering whether the suspension should eventually be lifted. The offending letters on Beyak's website were posted in response to a 2018 speech in which she argued that Indian residential schools did a lot of good for Indigenous children, although many suffered physical and sexual abuse and thousands died of disease and malnutrition. The Senate's ethics officer, Pierre Legault, concluded last March that five of the letters in particular contained racist content, suggesting that Indigenous people are lazy, chronic whiners who are milking the residential-schools issue to get government handouts. In refusing to remove the letters or apologize for them, Beyak cast herself as a defender of free speech and a victim of political correctness. However, on Tuesday she changed her tune, telling the Senate she now realizes the letters were "disrespectful, divisive and unacceptable" and that her refusal to remove them wrong. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020. Subscriber content preview There have been missteps along the way, especially when there is no consensus on what crosses the line into exploitation and trivialization. By ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK From shoes and T-shirts to dolls and tote bags, more companies and brands are getting into the business of Black History Month but trying not to leave the impression that African American consumers are important just once a year. Some businesses are using February to show off the diversity of their year-round product lines or to draw attention to the creative talent of their African American employees. . . . Erdogan urges Assad regime on Syria attacks President Erdogan said that Turkey would not retreat on Syria, where troops were trying to stop the regime attacks against civilians. In its efforts to protect civilians and stop attacks in Idlib, northwestern Syria, Turkey is looking for a way it can use the regions airspace, said Turkeys president on Wednesday. "Our biggest problem is that we could not use the airspace [over Idlib]," just south of Turkey's border, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his party's lawmakers in the capital Ankara. "TURKEY WILL NOT RETREAT ON IDLIB" Hopefully, we will figure out something soon for this. "We will definitely take the [Assad] regime out of the borders which we have defined before," Erdogan said. "We will also provide for the Syrians to return their homes." Since Turkey and Russia reached a deal in 2018 under which acts of aggression are supposed to be prohibited in Idlib, over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the de-escalation zone. Following intense attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, over a million Syrians have flocked towards the Turkish border. FirstHealth of the Carolinas Honored with United Way Spirit of North Carolina Award The Windsors Rating: Back In Time For The Corner Shop Rating: As she gives the footmen a night off and parks herself in front of the telly at Buckingham Palace, how the Queen must wish her family were as easy to manage as their comedy doubles in The Windsors (C4). If only the real reason for the estrangement between William and Harry were toxic gossip spread by their evil stepmother Camilla. And life would be so much simpler, surely, if Meghan could be coaxed back into the Firm with a promise from Kate to take the messages she writes on bananas a little more seriously in future. The Windsors returned for a third series, and the writers guessed correctly that the Sussexes would be demanding more time for their woke campaigns The creators of The Windsors have shown an almost psychic insight into the woes of the Royal Family. As the half-hour sitcom returned for a third series, writers George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore guessed correctly that the Sussexes would be demanding more time for their virtue-signalling woke campaigns ('Speak out against avocados!') and threatening to decamp to North America. Spitting Image, the only previous comedy to josh the royals with such biting affection, used to write and record sketches as late as possible, often on the day of transmission. That guaranteed freshness but made rehearsals and rewrites impossible. The Windsors is more polished, crammed with well-honed gags and hilarious performances, and recorded weeks in advance. That risks making false predictions. Wisely, the writers didn't try to second-guess the result of the General Election . . . except that Prince Charles (Harry Enfield) was leading the older royals on a strike for more money from the Civil List. Charles, Andy and the rest were wearing donkey jackets and waving placards around a brazier a gag that might have worked better if Jeremy Corbyn were now Prime Minister. But laugh-out-loud lines made up for that. Newlywed Princess Eugenie (Celeste Dring) had her fluffy slippers up in front of daytime telly, watching Storage Hunters. Strange THEFT of the week: Imelda Staunton, wonderful as nosey Mary in Flesh And Blood (ITV), sneaked into next-door's bathroom and stole Viagra pills. She ate them while watching TV. Why do such a thing? Mary must be a hardened criminal. Advertisement Prince Harry (new hire Tom Durant-Pritchard) had 'never felt better' after Meghan made him give up his heroic booze intake, and was furiously denying any suggestion of an alcoholic's delirium tremens. 'I'm certainly not seeing bats in my peripheral vision,' he protested. Miriam Margolyes had a cameo as a talking portrait of Queen Victoria, but the real scene-stealer was Haydn Gwynne as Camilla back early from her holiday on Mustique because she'd run out of fags, and turning up at Frogmore Cottage in a hooded cape like the evil queen from Snow White. A less fraught family firm was open for business on Back In Time For The Corner Shop (BBC2), as Dave Ardern, his wife Jo and their three children recreated an Edwardian grocer's in Meersbrook, Sheffield. These shows have social history down to a fine art, with their blend of British traditions, forgotten recipes and close- knit families willing to learn old skills. Dave struggled to chip flakes off a sugar cone, Ben and Olivia battled to push the delivery cart and everyone was baffled by shillings and pence. Some of the produce didn't look so exotically ancient you will still find jars of pickled eggs in today's convenience stores. And though jugs of draught beer might seem primitive, it's little different from a six-pack of lager . . . except there's less packaging and the booze probably tastes better. The night's star was Aramis the dray horse. If he could bring my weekly delivery to the door, I'd never buy goods from anywhere else. Its impossible to pinpoint the exact start of American environmentalism, but the movement grew its roots in the writings of 19th-century naturalists. Many, however, place the modern start date around 1970, with the first celebration of Earth Day. Since then, the grassroots campaign has grown to the political and often radical actions of today, such as the 2019 Global Climate Strike. Some date the modern environmental movement back to Rachel Carsons publication of Silent Spring in 1962. Others cite the Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969 as a major influence. Regardless, the movement has grown and transformed in the past several decades; Earth Day, for example, started in the U.S. with millions of people and has grown to a worldwide event with over 1 billion participants each year. ADEJE, Spain Hundreds of guests at a resort on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, were told Wednesday that they would be confined to their hotel for 14 days as the authorities tried to prevent the coronavirus from spreading after infections were discovered there this week. News of a quarantine at the resort, the H10 Costa Adeje Palace, came as officials in Europe scrambled to contain an outbreak that has spread to at least seven nations on the Continent. Spain, of which the Canary Islands are a part, disclosed additional infections on Wednesday, and France reported its second death. The Costa Adeje Palace, a four-star resort with a restaurant, pools and over 450 rooms, is one of at least two hotels to be locked down in Europe. Officials in Innsbruck, an Austrian ski town, sealed off a 108-room hotel after an employee tested positive for the virus. By Kim Se-jeong The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 virus infections here has surpassed 1,000, 37 days after the first case was reported. The figure reached 1,261 as of 5 p.m., up 284 from a day earlier, with the number of deaths rising to 12 from 10. A 73-year-old man from Daegu and a member of the Shincheonji Church, a Christian sect at the center of a spike in the new coronavirus cases, was the 12th person to die. The 11th was a Mongolian national, the first foreign patient to die of the virus in Korea. The KCDC said more deaths are expected, as five patients remain in very serious condition. Among the new confirmed patients was a U.S. soldier. The United States Forces Korea said the soldier was stationed in Chilgok Camp Carroll, but visited Camp Henry in Daegu, Monday. In addition, a nursing home in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province saw one of its staff members confirmed to have the infection. The nurse is reportedly also a member of the Shincheonji Church, which has raised concerns among the health authorities that the home may become another infection hub as have Daenam Hospital and a facility for the disabled in Yecheon, both in North Gyeongsang Province. Daenam Hospital has more than 110 confirmed patients and the Yecheon facility more than 20. The nursing home has six patients and five staff including the confirmed patient. Meanwhile, quarantine officials had to debate Wednesday whether President Moon Jae-in should go into isolation. On Tuesday, Moon visited Daegu and held an emergency meeting with Vice Mayor Lee Seung-ho, whose secretary later tested positive for COVID-19. However, Cheong Wa Dae said the vice mayor had tested negative. The government received a full list of Shincheonji members from the church and began to share the information with local governments. The quarantine authorities want to test all church members for the coronavirus to prevent any further spread. From today, people can purchase masks from post offices and agriculture banks. The government is now overseeing the entire production and will supply 3.5 million additional masks per day through these outlets. A shortage of masks has seen price-gouging. Also, the government released a list of 91 hospitals and clinics in the country where patients with chronic respiratory diseases can get treatment in isolation from other patients. People express fear of becoming infected during hospital visits. The list of hospitals and clinics is available on ncov.mohw.go.kr, and but only in Korean. Meanwhile, 144 Koreans evacuated from Wuhan and quarantined at the National Defense Language Institute left for home Thursday after completing their 14-day isolation. All 144 were negative in a final round of virus testing. Three were kept behind for another test after unclear results. The Conservative Party tends to be as secretive as possible about candidate selections. Shortlists are not usually disclosed. This is rather helpful for this site. Often the names leak out and we then publish them. Mark Wallace did a huge amount of work on this last year in the run-up to the General Election. The machinations might be complicated in some cases. Somebody might be on an initial list, but then withdraw, as they are chosen elsewhere, then another name is chosen. Or a constituency association might rebel about the timetable or being restricted in the choices available. We do our best to follow such twists and turns though we are limited by the information provided to us. Enthralling as this sport might be, surely it would be more sensible for the Conservative Party to adopt a policy of transparency a principle that is generally favoured when it comes to Government policy. I can see there are disadvantages. It takes a certain degree of courage to put your name forward for selection. To then be rebuffed is a wounding experience all the more so if the process is made public. So some might be put off from standing if the level of exposure increased. But should not suitable candidates be robust enough to cope with such an ordeal? The advantage of disclosing the names in advance is not only that vetting is crowdsourced and thus any past scandal more likely to be spotted. It also has a positive aspect. There is a chance to discover more about the different views and experience of the candidates. Scrolling down someones tweets gives a reasonable feel for their interests and their outlook on life. On Friday, a meeting is taking place to choose the Conservative candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. All Conservative members in the area will be allowed to attend and choose a final choice from a shortlist of three. But the names will not be disclosed in advance. Phones will not be banned at the meeting so once there, people can start trawling the internet, assuming they can get a connection. I suppose they can try and find out about the candidates, while listening to the speeches in the background. All pretty rushed and haphazard. Chris Howell, a Conservative activist in Cambridge, says: The partys current system of selecting candidates for important and high profile elected positions is unfit for purpose. I dont understand why the party thinks it is sensible to try keeping candidates names secret prior to a selection meeting we saw in the last parliament how important is is for members to know what candidates really stand for, which requires more scrutiny than is possible in one carefully curated selection meeting. In the age of social media, candidates names may leak out, and their entire backgrounds will be carefully scrutinised surely it would be better for this to happen in a controlled way before the selection. Members should know how candidates portray themselves in public, how they communicate their messages publicly and how they respond to criticism. An example of why this matters was provided earlier this month with the Extinction Rebellion vandalism at Trinity College, Cambridge. The police refused to intervene to stop the lawn being ripped up and the response from the acting Police and Crime Commissioner was very weak. It is not for the PCC to be involved in operational policing in the sense of ordering the police to arrest particular individuals. But it is for the PCC to set police policy. That policy should be to uphold the law rather than stand passively and watch property being destroyed. I hope whoever is chosen as the Conservative candidate will ensure that is the policy if they are elected as the PCC on May 7th. Typically those Conservative members sufficiently motivated to attend a selection meeting will be the same people that are relied upon to knock on doors, deliver leaflets, and display posters. It is foolish to antagonise such people by constraining their ability to make a well-informed choice. If we discover the shortlist before Fridays meeting we will update this post with that information. The BJP on Wednesday accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of playing "dirty politics" by targeting the Modi government over violence in Delhi and rejected the demand for Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation as "laughable", saying he has been working continuously with police to bring peace in the capital. Union minister Prakash Javadekar said Gandhi is politicising the violence, which has so far killed 22 persons, at a time when violent incidents are abating and investigation is on to find out culprits. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said those whose hands are "tainted with the bloods of innocent Sikhs" are now talking about checking violence, a reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The BJP's attack came after Gandhi at a press conference held the Centre and the Delhi government responsible for the violence and demanded Shah's resignation. Slamming Gandhi, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said her statement was full of and dubbed it unfortunate and irresponsible. "The need of the hour is for everybody to talk about restoring peace. The home minister had called a meeting of all parties. Enquiry will find out the culprits," he said. Javadekar said all parties should cooperate and work for peace at a time when violence is abating. "Playing a blame-game at this time is wrong. Politicising such violence is wrong way," he said, while asserting that culprits will be identified and no one responsible for the violence will be spared. "At such a time, attacking the government and politicising violence is a dirty politics," he said, adding that it also demoralises police. He also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the Congress was in power to hit back at the opposition party. "Those whose hands are tainted with the bloods of innocent sikhs in 1984 are now talking about checking the violence...they themselves had supported the violence," Javadekar alleged. He said Shah is continuously working with the police to control the situation in the national capital and demanding his resignation was "laughable". "The Home Minister is continuously working with the police, helping their morale and directing them. Such comments and from the Congress will not help the morale of the police. We appeal to them to not do on the issue," Javadekar told a press conference. "Playing a blame-game at this time is wrong. Politicising such violence is a wrong way always used by the Congress," he said, while asserting that culprits will be identified and no one responsible will be spared. "At such a time, attacking the government and politicising violence is a dirty politics," he said, adding that it also demoralises police. BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member G V L Narasimha Rao said, "Home Minister has given orders for strictest action against rioters. Sonia Gandhi, what about your late husband Rajiv Gandhi who allowed Congress goons to kill 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi & later justified violence, promoted rioters. Would you consider returning Bharat Ratna awarded to him?" Javadekar, however, parried questions about the "provocative" statements made by BJP leader Kapil Mishra which allegedly led to the escalation of violence in the national capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Central Criminal Court jury has convicted a 22-year-old woman of disguising herself as her dead grandmother, who had been bludgeoned to death by her mother's partner, in order to conceal her murder. Father-of-three Kieran Greene (aged 35) was yesterday found guilty of murdering retired hospital worker Patricia O'Connor (aged 61) and inflicting "catastrophic injuries" on her in a sustained attack, which lasted up to 20 minutes and took place in the bathroom of her Rathfarnham home. The deceased's granddaughter Stephanie O'Connor was today found guilty of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Greene, knowing or believing him to have murdered Mrs O'Connor on May 29, 2017. The jury accepted the State's case that, in order to cover up the murder, Stephanie O'Connor had dressed up as her grandmother as "a ruse" to pretend that Mrs O'Connor had stormed out of the house on the night. Stephanie O'Connor had pleaded not guilty to disguising herself as Mrs O'Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 at a point in time after her murder on May 29, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that she was already dead. The seven-week trial heard that the body of Mrs OConnor, of Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 was dismembered into 15 separate parts that were found at nine different locations over a 30km range in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains between June 10 and 14, 2017. Former Depute State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, gave evidence that Mrs O'Connor's head was struck a minimum of three blows with a solid implement and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Stephanie O'Connor, of Millmount Court, Dundrum Road, Dublin 14 was charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Kieran Greene, knowing or believing him to have committed an arrestable offence, to wit the murder of Mrs O'Connor on May 29, 2017. The jury will continue their deliberations tomorrow in relation to the two other accused, Louise O'Connor and Keith Johnston. Mother-of-five Louise O'Connor has pleaded not guilty to agreeing to or acquiescing in her daughter Stephanie O'Connor disguising herself as Mrs O'Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on May 29, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that Patricia O'Connor was dead. Keith Johnston has pleaded not guilty to assisting Mr Greene in the purchase of various implements at Woodie's, Mr Price, B&Q and Shoe Zone, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on June 9, 2017, which were to be deployed in the concealment of the remains of Mrs O'Connor. More to follow The situation arising out of coronavirus epidemic in Hubei province remained "complex" and there was no "deliberate delay" in grant of permission to an Indian flight to bring back more Indians from Wuhan city, Chinese sources familiar with the issue said on Wednesday. They said Chinese authorities provided necessary support and assistance to the Indian aircraft. On Wednesday, an Indian Air Force aircraft carrying around 15 tonnes of medical supplies landed in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The C-17 military aircraft will bring back over Indians and around 40 citizens from neighbouring countries. Last week, India accused China of deliberately delaying permission to send the aircraft while allowing other countries to operate flight from Wuhan to evacuate their citizens. The communication channels between competent departments between India and China are operating in a smooth way, said the sources, adding there was no deliberate delay in giving permission to the flight. They said the epidemic situation in Hubei remained complex. China has been reeling under coronavirus outbreak with the death toll due to it climbing to 2,715 while the number of confirmed cases rose to 78,064. It is imperative for China to carefully assess the ground situation and coordinate departures of foreign nationals in Hubei by airplanes in a responsible manner to avoid adding new complicating factor to the epidemic situation in Hubei province, the sources said. The sources said the China considers health and safety of the foreign nationals like its own citizens including Indian students in China. They said Chinese authorities have taken various measures to ensure safety of Indian students studying in universities and other institutes. "It is better for them to follow recommendations of the WHO and instructions of local authorities as epidemic prevention and control work requires," said a source adding there was no need for panic and anxiety. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An up-and-down night on global markets has the ASX set up for more losses this morning, as fresh warnings on the coronavirus kept investors on edge, with Wall Street's early gains wiped out. At 7.35am AEDT, futures are pointing to a loss of 14 points, or 0.2 per cent, for the ASX at the open. Wall Street edged lower after a rocky session. Credit:AP 1. Coronavirus risks still priority number one: Some semblance of calm returned to stock markets overnight, as US and European indices reversed, or at least staunched, several days of heavy losses. The coronavirus situation remains fraught with danger, as the number of new cases of the coronavirus outside of China begins to exceed those within China, while New York officials said they were monitoring 83 people who visited China. That dynamic is keeping traders on edge, with markets pricing-in the potential for a sustained economic slowdown. 2. Stock markets settle, VIX remains high: That high-level of uncertainty is keeping implied volatility very elevated in equity markets. The VIX swung around the 27-to-28 level last night well above any level that may suggest risk appetite is on in the market. Its meant that trade in stock markets last night has proven choppy and highly active. European shares edged higher, with the FTSE100 up 0.35 per cent, though the DAX dipped by a narrow 0.1 per cent. And in US trade, the S&P500 pared early gains to trade practically flat. ISTANBUL President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that time is running out for the Syrian government to withdraw its troops from areas around Turkish military outposts in Syrias northwest province of Idlib or risk escalating a confrontation with Turkey as hundreds of thousands flee Russian and Syrian bombardment for the border. The threat came as a Russian delegation held another round of talks in Ankara Wednesday on averting an all-out clash as President Bashar al-Assads forces, supported by Russian firepower, continue to snatch territory in the Turkish-backed oppositions last stronghold of Idlib. At least 16 Turkish military personnel have been killed in Idlib since January. Turkish troops are in the border province manning a dozen observation posts set up under a deconfliction agreement with Russia that has all but collapsed since December. Some of those posts are now behind enemy lines. More than 900,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom are women and children, have fled the fighting and another million people are in harms way, the United Nations has said. Those displaced are hemmed in by a closed Turkish border and exposed to harsh winter weather. Russia refuses to accept that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding, Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling party that was broadcast live. Turkey cannot accept more than a million new refugees because it already hosts 3.7 million Syrians who have fled the war, he said. We want an immediate halt in the regimes attacks and for it to withdraw past our observation posts. This way we can ensure that the masses moving toward our border can return to their homes, he said and reiterated that Assad faces a deadline at the end of this month before Turkey considers all options, including an active intervention. On Wednesday European foreign ministers urged Russia and Syria to end the assault on Idlib and follow the terms of the de-escalation agreement President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan reached in 2018. On Tuesday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a permanent cease-fire in Idlib and for UN-led talks for a resolution and said US President Donald Trump wants to work with Turkey to reduce tensions. But Russia appears loath to engage international mediation, dismissing a proposal from Turkey for a four-way summit next week with Germany and France and instead wants a meeting with Turkey and Iran, Assads other sponsor. Erdogan was quoted on Wednesday as telling reporters he and Putin may meet next week in Istanbul. Russia has argued Turkey has not met the terms set out in the 2018 deal, accusing it of failing to rein in terrorists it says make up the Syrian opposition in Idlib. Erdogan said the main obstacle in Turkeys path to a large-scale operation is that it does not have control over the airspace above Idlib, which is dominated by Russia. He added he was hopeful this issue would soon be resolved, without elaborating. Ankara has repeatedly said it wants to avoid a confrontation with Russia. Turkey may say it does not want to face Russia, but this crisis is not just with Syria," said Galip Dalay, a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford and a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. "The Syrian government is not an actor thats independent of Russia, which is not only approving all of the operations there but is likely involved in their strategic planning. Turkey wants Russia to agree to a buffer zone, but the Kremlin is reluctant to allow enough space for it, prepared only to concede a narrow strip for refugees, Dalay said in an interview. Turkey hopes to find a middle way on the dimensions for the [buffer zone] it wants. While it may be at a disadvantage, Turkey wants to increase the costs for Russia and it wants to internationalize this dispute, rather than experience it as a bilateral crisis with Russia. Turkeys Western partners may see an opportunity to capitalize on the tensions brewing between Russia and Turkey, which have worked closely on Syria despite supporting opposite sides in the conflict and expanded that cooperation to areas like weapons sales. In years past, Ankara refused the United States terms for acquiring its Patriot system and instead purchased Russias S-400 missile system, designed to shoot down NATO aircraft, harming Turkeys relations with the alliance and risking US sanctions. A US Congressional delegation was in Turkey this month but did not meet officials in Ankara, reported Gazete Duvar. It was not clear if the lawmakers, who included Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Richard Burr, did not ask for such a meeting or did and were rebuffed, according to the website. Unable to persuade Russia to halt the Syrian attacks, Turkey asked Washington last week to supply it with Patriot missiles. Erdogan told reporters the United States has informed him it does not have Patriots for Turkey and that he would speak with Trump again, who so far has failed to support Turkey. Dalay said that in recent weeks Turkey has deployed thousands of troops and arms to Idlib that serve more as a deterrence, rather than a military purpose, to force Russia into an agreement. At this point, it does not appear that it has deterred Russia, but I still see an agreement as more likely than not. Meanwhile, Syrian forces reportedly shelled a Turkish military convoy in Idlib on Wednesday. The Syrian military claims it has captured scores of villages and other strategic areas. Syrian artillery and airstrikes killed at least three people after targeting civilian areas, including schools and medical centers. Aid groups estimate 50,000 people are forced to flee the violence each day. We are now confronted with the undeniable reality that the regime isnt trying to save its own territory but that its calculations are to wipe out its own people and to leave the region to sectarian fanatics, many of whom are brought from outside, Erdogan said in his speech, likely referring to Iranian militia support for Assads forces. Erdogan promised to continue to pursue diplomatic channels to resolve the crisis. But the ratcheting rhetoric may soon force his hand, said Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat who now works as an analyst, on the online channel Medyascope. Theres no indication President Erdogan is going to take a step back, and theres no chance the other side will accept what Turkey has said, Selcen said. The risk now is that war may be inevitable, and while thats what diplomacy is there to avoid, it seems we have reached the point where a limited war but one that may not remain limited is inescapable. A section of smart motorway suffered lane closures for 39 days in just two years following breakdowns. The M3 between Farnborough and the M25 had more than 2,200 incidents involving vehicles that failed to reach an emergency refuge area. This caused the inside lane to be closed because it had been converted from a hard shoulder. Obstructions and collisions caused a further 15 days of closures between August 2017 and October 2019. Refuge areas on smart motorways can be up to two-and-a-half miles apart and broken-down cars that do not reach them are left stranded in the path of fast-moving traffic. Refuge areas on smart motorways can be up to two-and-a-half miles apart and broken-down cars that do not reach them are left stranded in the path of fast-moving traffic (stock image, vehicles on the M3) John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, has previously described the motorways as death traps. In response to the figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, AA president Edmund King reissued a call for the number of refuge areas to be doubled. He added: One of the main selling points of smart motorways was to ease congestion but the number of live lane stops and lane closures is undermining its effectiveness. While some lane closures are inevitable, many of the 2,200 breakdowns could have found a safer place to stop if there were more emergency lay-bys. Tailbacks build at a mile a minute, so lengthy lane closures mean unnecessary jams are created which adds to congestion. This further highlights the need for more emergency refuge areas. The AA said stranded motorists may have been waiting for long periods because research has shown it takes Highways England on average 17 minutes to spot a broken-down vehicle in a live lane. John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, has previously described the motorways as death traps (file image) Smart motorways are supposed to ease congestion by allowing cars to drive on the hard shoulder at least some of the time. Last month Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that their 6billion national expansion was being halted while a safety review was completed. Announcing the Governments stock-take of the roads scheme, Mr Shapps said it could not continue unless Highways England proves they are as safe, if not safer than conventional motorways. Smart motorways that were due to open this spring include stretches of the M6, M20, M23 and M62. The AA said it hoped the official review would increase the number of staff monitoring motorways. A Highways England spokesperson said: 'This stretch of smart motorway opened in 2017 and has increased capacity by a third on one of the busiest roads in the country. The number of delayed journeys has now dropped significantly, improving reliability overall. 'Smart motorways include a range of protection measures, such as sensors to detect the flow and speed of traffic, electronic signs to close lanes, display warning messages and slow down approaching traffic and 100% CCTV coverage. 'In addition, across our network, in 2018-19 we exceeded our annual targets for keeping lanes open to traffic and the clearance of incidents within an hour.' A mysterious set of carvings on a rock face in France has finally been revealed as a description of a tragic death at sea. The inscription on rock in Plougastel-Daoulas, North West France, refers to a dying sailor, called Serge, more than 230 years ago. A competition to translate the carvings, which date from about 230 years ago, was launched by local authorities back in May. Now the inscription, which is marked with the dates 1786 and 1787, has finally been unscrambled thanks to the competition. Two winning teams have split the 2,000 (1,684) prize money for partially deciphering the code, which features French and Scandinavian letters. Frenchmen Noel Rene Toudic (left) and Robert Saligot (right) pose on February 24, 2020 near the rock in Plougastel-Daaoulas, France This picture taken on February 24, 2020 shows the inscription on a rock in Plougastel-Daoulas, western France The mysterious inscription engraved almost 250 years ago on a rock in Plougastel-Daoulas (Finistere) was finally able to be unscrambled thanks to the competition Parts of the inscription have been translated by the two teams one as Serge died when with no skill at rowing, his boat was tipped over by the wind. This inscription was translated by English teacher Noel Rene Toudic, a Frenchman who believes Serge was a soldier who was forced to row out to sea on a stormy day. Toudic concluded that the inscription would have been engraved by another person in honour of the dying soldier, according to the Jerusalem Post. The other part of the inscription, translated by historian Roger Faligot and artist Alain Robet, says: He was the incarnation of courage and joie de vivre [zest for life]. 'Somewhere on the island he was struck and he is dead. The rock on which the carvings were made is located in a remote cove that is only accessible when the tide goes out, near Plougastel-Daoulas, in Brittany. The rock, found about five years ago, stands at about 3 feet (1 metre) high and bears 20 lines of writing. One part of the carving is thought to read: 'ROC AR B DRE AR GRIO SE EVELOH AR VIRIONES BAOAVEL'. Another section has been recorded as: 'OBBIIE, BRISBVILAR ... FROIK AL'. The competition to decipher the mixture of letters and symbols was relayed by the media from around the world and launched by the small town last May The mysteriously-inscribed rock is located in remote cove near the commune of Plougastel-Daoulas, in north west France's administrative region of Brittany Some of the characters carved into the rock are normal French letters depicted in reverse or upside down, while others appear to be '' a vowel in Scandinavian languages including Danish and Norwegian. The individual who wrote the engraving, it has also been suggested, may have been only semi-literate. Therefore the intended words may have been poorly transcribed and the letters may related more to the sounds of the words as the author heard them. The rock also features the image of a ship, complete with sails and a rudder, and what appears to be a heart covered by a cross. The dates that accompany the unusual markings 1786 and 1787 are just a couple of years before the start of the French Revolution in May 1789, suggesting this event may be linked. A boat engraved on the rock in Plougastel-Daoulas shows a pair of sails and a rudder. A nearby date marks the inscription as 1786 and 1787 Even local experts were perplexed by the carvings ever since they were found about five years ago, which is why the small town decided to put them out to the wider public in an attempt to translate them. 'We've asked historians and archaeologists from around here, but no-one has been able to work out the story behind the rock', said Plougastel mayor Dominique Cap last year. 'So we thought maybe out there in the world there are people who've got the kind of expert knowledge that we need. 'Rather than stay in ignorance, we said: let's launch a competition.' The competition received thousands of submissions but only 61 were complete translations. French local councillor in charge of small heritage Michel Paugam poses last May with the inscriptions Most of the entries were from France, but others came from as far afield as the US and Thailand. The two winning theories were the most plausible translations and appeared to support each others interpretation. The competition was dubbed 'The Champollion Mystery at Plougastel-Daoulas' in reference to the French scholar and hieroglyphics expert Jean-Francois Champollion. Mayor Cap said there was still work to be done to completely solve the mystery of the inscriptions, but the winning competition entries mark a big step forward. NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PIMCO, one of the worlds premier fixed income investment managers, has chosen Nomi Network, Women for Women International and Girls Who Invest as its key gender equality partners for 2020. The enhanced partnerships reflect PIMCOs continued commitment to gender equality within the investment management industry and throughout communities worldwide. PIMCO has worked with each of these gender equality focused organizations in various capacities over the years1, alongside many others, but will expand its partnerships with all three organizations to increase impact and reach in 2020. The enhanced partnerships with Nomi Network and Women for Women International will support the economic empowerment of vulnerable women and girls. PIMCOs partnership with Girls Who Invest will continue to help further build a talent pipeline of women investors in the asset management industry. Our focus on gender equality reflects our belief that everybody, regardless of gender, deserves equal access to opportunities, prospects and economic security, said Emmanuel Roman, CEO of PIMCO. We champion gender equality and diversity right here at PIMCO, throughout the investment management industry and in communities worldwide, not only because we believe it is right, but because we believe diversity in any industry and any community, makes us all stronger. The partnerships are part of PIMCOs broader gender equality initiatives, driven in part by PIMCOs Women & Investing platform which consists of three main focus areas Women in Investing, Women as Investors and Investing in Women. These expanded partnerships reinforce PIMCOs commitment to these focus areas. About PIMCO PIMCO is one of the worlds premier fixed income investment managers. With our launch in 1971 in Newport Beach, California, PIMCO introduced investors to a total return approach to fixed income investing. In the 45+ years since, we have continued to bring innovation and expertise to our partnership with clients seeking the best investment solutions. Today we have offices across the globe and 2,150+ professionals united by a single purpose: creating opportunities for investors in every environment. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider. About Girls Who Invest Girls Who Invest is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing gender diversity and inclusion in investment management with a focus on growing the pipeline of women entering the industry in frontline investing positions. They accomplish this through education, mentoring, internships, and a supportive community. The organizations on-campus program enables college students to explore investment management careers through four weeks of education at top universities followed by a six-week paid internship at one of more than 100 leading investment management firms. Scholars unable to commit 10 weeks to the on-campus program can apply for Girls Who Invests four-month, fully subsidized, self-directed Online Intensive Program. In addition, all scholars receive support and career guidance from a network of partners, mentors, and alumni. Girls Who Invests vision is for 30% of the worlds investable capital to be managed by women by 2030. For more information, visit girlswhoinvest.org . About Nomi Network Nomi Network's vision is a world without slavery where every woman can know her full potential. We create economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk of human trafficking by equipping them with leadership, entrepreneurship, and technical skills to become financially independent. Nomi Network believes that by providing safe and sustainable economic opportunities, we protect women from trafficking and empower them to rewrite the futures of generations to come. Learn more at nominetwork.org . About Women for Women International Women for Women International works in some of the toughest places to be a woman. Since 1993, we have helped nearly 500,000 women survivors of war and conflict rebuild their lives. Weve given them the tools and support to earn a living, save money, improve their health and wellbeing, influence decisions in their home, and build connections. In Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Rwanda Women for Women International provides women with a 12-month social and economic training program and responds to the needs of refugees in Jordan, South Sudan, and Northern Uganda. Women for Women International also engages men locally to become allies in the promotion of womens advancement and works with community leaders to advocate for womens rights, health, and education. Together, these programs not only help women survive today, but also create sustainable change for the world tomorrow. Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements. Contact: Laura Batty PIMCO Media Relations Ph. 949-720-6374 Email: Laura.Batty@pimco.com 1 Directly or through the PIMCO Foundation Aurobindo Pharma said its Unit VIII, API manufacturing facility at Hyderabad received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) with Voluntary Action Initiated (VAI) status from US drug regulator. The scrip was currently up 0.71% at Rs 507.70. It traded in the range of Rs 504 and Rs 520 so far during the day. In a regulatory filing made on 6 November 2019, the company had informed about the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspection at its Unit VIII, API manufacturing facility at Gaddapotharam, Hyderabad conducted between 21 and 25 of October 2019. At the end of the inspections, the drug maker was issued a 'Form 483' with 4 observations for the said facility. Aurobindo Pharma is engaged in producing oral and injectable generic formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Its product portfolio is spread over seven therapeutic/product areas, including antibiotics, anti-retrovirals, cardiovascular, central nervous system, gastroenterologicals, anti-allergies and anti-diabetics. On a consolidated basis, the drug maker's net profit declined 1% to Rs 705.45 crore despite 12.1% rise in net sales to Rs 5799.44 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The development of a commodity exchange in Vietnam is expected to provide an alternative for investors when they find difficulties investing in risky assets such as stock and real estate. A pepper farm at Binh Ba Commune in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province's Chau Duc District. Pepper, among other agricultural produce, is now tradable on the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam. The number of active investors on the Vietnamese commodity exchange is still small compared to stock and real estate markets. The legal framework and the concept of commodity exchanging are reportedly the reasons that have restrained investors from taking part in this market. Agricultural products traded on the global commodity exchanges include corn, wheat, coffee, sugar, lumber and rubber. Those products are also Viet Nams key agriculture produce. Viet Nam is among the worlds top agricultural exporting countries, which accounts for a large-part of all exports. Last year, total export value was up 3.2 per cent to US$41.3 billion compared to 2018. Of the total figure, key agriculture exports including rice, pepper and coffee were down 5.3 per cent to $18.5 billion in 2019. Those products are also found on international commodities exchange platforms such as the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). The agriculture sector is more vulnerable this year because of a volatile global economy and international trade, which are also weighing on the stock market. This has made investors look for alternatives with agriculture futures seen as a key opportunity. According to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV), trading of Vietnamese agricultural products is similar to the derivatives market as investors will sell and buy futures contracts to earn profits from the price discount and premium. Coffee is one of Viet Nams key exports but local exporters often suffer as their selling prices are normally fixed and can be lower than the global prices on the delivery day. The commodity exchange would help local firms overcome such difficulty and hedge the changes of the prices on the delivery, MXV deputy director Duong Duc Quang told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn. An investor could either open or close his short/long options to sell products at expected prices and diminish the risk of a lower price on the delivery date, Quang said. Then the seller would no longer have to worry about the price changes as profits had already been made, he said. Futures prices were always transparent and it was difficult to manipulate trading, Quang said. According to MXV, the trading liquidity of the Vietnamese commodity market is rising. Since mid-2019, the number of new accounts on the market has increased by 20-30 per cent. The futures of agricultural products put up for trading on the MXVs platform are also linked to global prices. But the trading of Vietnamese agriculture commodities is still physical, individual investor Tran Hoai Nam told Viet Nam News. It meant the commodity was only transferred once a deal was reached between the buyer and seller and the price was fixed by the delivery date, he said. Unlike Viet Nam, global investors would trade the future price of the commodity, which varies from the date the deal is signed to the delivery date, he said. To promote the market in Viet Nam, MXV planned to organise training programmes for local investors, producers and exporters, Quang said. The Vietnamese commodity market regulator had also worked with international financial institutions to provide tools to help trading become easy, convenient and simple as much as possible for investors, he said. Once the account was activated, investors could participate in the market immediately and even make margin loans from financial firms to execute their deals, he added. VNS Vietnam exempts import tax on five commodity groups to fight coronavirus Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has announced a tax exemption on the import of five commodity groups needed to fight the novel coronavirus in Vietnam. US President Donald Trump has reiterated United States' support for India's permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump committed to working together to strengthen and reform the United Nations and other international organisations and ensure their integrity. President Trump reaffirmed the support of the United States for India's permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council," said a joint statement by the two sides following the bilateral talks between the two leaders. Several countries have backed India to be a permanent member of the UNSC. The body has five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US. Trump was on a two-day visit to India on February 24 and February 25, at the invitation of Modi. "Taking note of their countries' shared commitment to advancing effective development solutions in the Indo-Pacific and globally, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump look forward to a new partnership between USAID and India's Development Partnership Administration for cooperation in third countries," the joint statement read. In a veiled reference to China, the statement said that the two countries also took note of efforts towards a meaningful Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and solemnly urged that "it not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of all nations according to international law". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 26, 2020] Global Rail Logistics Market 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Deutsche Bahn AG | Technavio The rail logistics market is poised to grow by USD 39.55 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period. Request free sample pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005442/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Rail Logistics Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Rail Logistics Market Analysis Report by Type (intermodals, tank wagons and freight cars), and Geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024". https://www.technavio.com/report/rail-logistics-market-industry-analysis The market is driven by the increased demand for rail logistics due to rising trade. In addition, the integration of Internet of Things in rail logistics is anticipated to boost the growth of the rail logistics market. Free trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), facilitate international trade, resulting in greater access to a variety of goods at a lower cost. Global trade not only benefits a company but also improves the economy of a country as these businesses rely on rail transportation to deliver goods and services to customers. Moreoer, the increased efficiency of rail transport over road transportation, and the growth of intermodal transportation are the major factors driving global trade through rail. Rail freight transportation is 4.5 to 6 times more fuel-efficient compared with road transportation. Thus, the increased demand for rail logistics due to rising trade will drive the growth of the market. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Rail Logistics Companies: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has business operations under various segments, such as asset management, real estate, renewable power, infrastructure, and private equity. The company provides freight services with multiple Class I carriers, allowing choices for long-haul routing and service. Deutsche Bahn AG Deutsche Bahn AG operates its business through various divisions, such as DB Long-Distance, DB Cargo, DB Netze Track, DB Regional, and DB Schenker. The company provides services of transshipment for wagons to trucks and a door-to-door delivery or pick up of goods by truck followed by moving the goods in wagons. Deutsche Post AG Deutsche Post AG has business operations under various segments, such as post-ecommerce - parcel, express, global forwarding, freight, and supply chain. The company offers freight rail services for transportation of goods. FedEx Corp. FedEx Corp. operates its business through four segments, which include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services. The company provides rail services, including intermodal, TOFC (trailer-on-flatcar) and COFC (container-on-flatcar). Kuehne + Nagel International AG Kuehne + Nagel International AG has business operations under four segments, namely sea freight, air freight, overland, and contract logistics. The company's key offerings include KN Eurasia Express, which optimizes supply chain by offering reduced transit times and reliable schedules for logistic services. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Rail Logistics Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) Intermodals Tank wagons Freight cars Rail Logistics Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2020-2024) APAC Europe MEA North America South America Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005442/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Bangladesh will invite former president Pranab Mukherjee to address a special Parliament session on March 22 and 23 to mark the Mujib Year, coinciding with its founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary. Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will also be invited along with Mukherjee. "The President (Abdul Hamid) is set to send the invitation letters to the two dignitaries to address the special parliament session on March 22 and 23 to mark the Mujib Year," a presidential palace spokesman told newsmen. The announcement came after parliamentary speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury called on the president this evening. A parliament secretariat spokesman said this would be the third such instance when foreign dignitaries would address Bangladesh's parliament. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman served as the first President of Bangladesh and later as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from April 17, 1971 until his assassination on August 15, 1975. He is considered to be the driving force behind the independence of Bangladesh. He is popularly dubbed with the title of "Bangabandhu" (Friend of Bengal) by the people of Bangladesh. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 23:45:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Military medical staff airlifted by eight large transport planes of the air force of the People's Liberation Army arrive at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China is in a national mobilization to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Here are the latest developments: -- A patient was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus in the city of Ziyang, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, after testing negative for the virus eight times previously, authorities said Tuesday. -- Authorities in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have rolled out a variety of measures to help local companies resume work. So far, more than 610,000 workers have returned to work in big industrial companies in Chongqing, said Li Yong, with Chongqing's Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. -- Beijing health authorities have given 10 suggestions to the public as more people shop in supermarkets. The suggestions include wearing masks, avoiding crowds, taking temperatures and keeping personal distances, according to Liu Xiaofeng, with the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control. The center also asked Beijing's supermarkets to take a variety of measures to prevent virus transmission. -- Parks in Beijing have imposed limits to the number of visitors as an anti-epidemic measure, the municipal park authorities said Tuesday. Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks said the move aims to avoid gatherings, while more epidemic prevention and control measures have also been introduced since citizens recently made more visits to parks across the city. -- China has offered clear guidelines for procurators to enforce the law in handling illegal cases related to the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Tougher punishment will be inflicted on COVID-19 patients and carriers of the pathogen if they intentionally spread the virus by refusing or escaping from isolation and treatment, entering public venues or using public transport, on charges of the crime against public security in a dangerous manner, the guideline said. -- More Chinese provinces have decided to lower their coronavirus emergency response after reporting no new cases for days. South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are among the latest to lower the local emergency response from first-level to third-level. Anhui in east China also switched to second-level response, but added that top-level response still applies to one high-risk area -- the Yaohai District of its provincial capital Hefei. Workers construct a designated hospital to treat novel coronavirus pneumonia patients in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 8, 2020. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Guangxi has taken various measures, including enhancing the virus prevention publicity and expanding medical supplies production, to better fight against the epidemic. (Xinhua/Lu Boan) Authorities in Sichuan said they will lower the province's emergency response from first-level to second-level starting on Wednesday, while north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will lower its emergency response from first-level to third-level starting on Wednesday. Since late January, all provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland have activated top-level emergency responses to the COVID-19, canceling mass events, closing scenic attractions and suspending long-distance buses. -- The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved two antibody test kits for the rapid detection of novel coronavirus infections. According to the NMPA official website, it has fast-tracked three test kits for novel coronavirus infections, including two antibody test kits and one nucleic acid kit. -- China has opened hotlines and online platforms to provide psychological aid in Hubei Province to better support the control of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE) Tuesday. The psychological aid is available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., offering services for medical staff, infected patients and their families, police and security personnel on the front line of the epidemic fight in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, the MOE said on its website. -- Medical waste from hospitals that are fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic in hard-hit Hubei Province has been burned in cement kilns as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the disease. Huaxin cement company in Yangxin County said it has disposed of 55 tonnes of medical waste from designated hospitals fighting the epidemic in Hubei. The medical waste would eventually be turned into cement after thorough burning. -- Chinese health authority said Tuesday it received reports of 508 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 71 deaths on Monday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the end of Monday, bringing overall confirmed cases and total deaths on the mainland to 77,658 and 2,663, respectively. -- Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 499 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 68 new deaths on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday. Medical workers wear protective suit at the First Hospital of Wuhan City in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) -- China's daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside Hubei Province, epicenter of the outbreak, dropped to nine on Monday, according to the National Health Commission. -- China's daily number of newly cured and discharged novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new infections for the seventh consecutive day, according to the National Health Commission Tuesday. Monday saw 2,589 people walk out of hospital after recovery, the National Health Commission said in its daily report. A total of 27,323 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Monday, Chinese health authority said Tuesday. -- China's unprecedented public health responses to the COVID-19 outbreak have yielded notable results in blocking human-to-human transmission of the virus, preventing or at least delaying hundreds of thousands of cases, said a joint expert team consisting of experts from China and the World Health Organization. The assessment was given at a press conference on Monday in Beijing after the 25-member team conducted a nine-day field study trip in China. UN panel to rally global political will to tackle internal displacement crisis 25 February 2020 - Forty-one million people around the world are internally displaced and hundreds of thousands more have been forced from their homes since the beginning of the year an "unacceptable" situation for which solutions can be found, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a delegation established to address this global challenge. Opening the inaugural session of the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement in Geneva on Tuesday, Mr. Guterres spoke of the acute and relentless crisis of people forced from their homes by conflict and human rights violations alone. Many have been living in limbo stranded for years after their initial displacement without secure housing, jobs, education or other needs and opportunities. He appealed to the Panel and its members from government, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and countries especially affected by displacement to draw attention to the issue. The UN chief urged its members to bring fresh ideas to prevent forced displacement, better protect and assist displaced people and identify swifter solutions to displacement. "It is unacceptable that millions of people are so brutally dislocated from their home and then linger without solutions for years", Mr. Guterres said. "Being displaced should not be an interminable problem". Timely work "Our work is timely", said Panel co-chair Federica Mogherini, the European Union's former foreign policy chief. "Since the beginning of the year, close to a million people have been displaced as Idlib in Syria is under attack". Noting reports that the majority of the displaced are women and children, now living in desperate conditions, she said: "This is a stark reminder that throughout our work, it is essential to pay specific attention to gender considerations, and to the way displacement affects different groups based on age, gender and other aspects". And while displacement continues in the Horn of Africa, it is also prevalent in countries such as Afghanistan, Cameroon, the Democratic People's Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Yemen. The co-chair maintained the importance of managing the process carefully," to ensure transparency and continued support, while allowing us to think and act independently". Noting the "challenging task ahead", she pointed out that "as Panelists, we all have different backgrounds and experiences which can help us apprehend the issue of internal displacement through new perspectives and approaches." "My commitment to you fellow Panel members is to strive to provide leadershipwhile ensuring that we all have a strong voice and the space to propose new ideas to deal with internal displacement", concluded Ms. Mogherini. Tight timeframe Acknowledging the tight timeframe for tackling such an enormous and complex subject, co-chair Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank and current head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, stressed that the Panel will have to undertake the broadest consultations possible. "It is ultimately about political commitment especially by national Governments to tackle this problem in all its multifaceted dimensions supported by solid regional and international partnership, solidarity and responsibility sharing", he said. "It is also crucial to hear directly from all those who have been impacted by internal displacement, including the internally displaced themselves, so that we are able to grasp properly the priority issues on which to focus our attention". Recognizing that efforts have been made over time to address the humanitarian aspects of internal displacement, the co-chair underscored the need for more comprehensive efforts. "We need to examine the underlying social and economic causes of displacement including poverty, inequality, marginalization and exclusion, environmental fragilities, governance challenges and the impact of displacement on societies and countries to be able to propose the correct solutions", he stressed. The panel The Panel, tasked with raising global awareness and finding concrete long-term solutions to the dire issue, is expected to meet four times over the next 12 months and consult with countries and relevant organizations before submitting its recommendations to the Secretary-General by February 2021. It was created last October and is constituted by representatives from government, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and countries particularly affected by displacement to improve UN efforts and those of its Member States to help all those affected, including the displaced and their host communities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Was A Russian Diplomat In Geneva An Agent Overseeing A Secret Hit Squad? Bellingcat Says Yes By Mike Eckel February 25, 2020 A Russian man who had diplomatic credentials in Geneva was in fact a military intelligence officer linked to a secret hit squad accused of a spate of poisonings in Europe, according to a new report by the open-source investigative organization Bellingcat. The report, released on February 25, was the latest to examine the operations of Russian security agencies, highlighting what experts warn are aggressive and far-reaching efforts by Moscow to conduct surveillance, sabotage, and even assassinations abroad. President Vladimir Putin, who previously headed Russia's main intelligence agency, has made the country's military and spy agencies a priority during his tenure in office. In March 2018, former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, along with his daughter, nearly died after being poisoned with what British experts said was a sophisticated military-grade nerve agent. Bellingcat, along with other outlets, later identified a military intelligence unit -- known as Unit 29155 -- that was behind the incident, and two of the agents involved. Bellingcat later published a report accusing Russia's military intelligence agency, unofficially known as the GRU, of also being responsible for the poisoning of a Bulgarian arms dealer in Sofia in 2015. In December, Bulgarian officials said their investigation of the case focused on five alleged GRU agents, including a Russian general. Last month, Bulgarian prosecutors announced charges against three Russians, and an Interpol arrest warrant was issued. In its new report, released in conjunction with the Russian news site The Insider and the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Bellingcat said one of the three Russians who was charged by the Bulgarians and who went by the name Georgy Gorshkov was in fact a Russian named Yegor Gordienko. The report said Gordienko had official diplomatic status at Russia's mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, and was first posted there in January 2017, with an expected assignment of three years. But he was abruptly recalled from Switzerland in October 2018 after Bellingcat and The Insider published a report identifying the existence of a GRU team operating in Europe. Bellingcat said Gordienko was also in regular contact with two other GRU agents who have been charged in Britain for their role in the Skripal poisoning. Bellingcat said they confirmed Gordinenko's presence in Geneva based on official diplomatic lists provided by the WTO and the Swiss Foreign Ministry. And they published what they said was an online record of a road race that Gordienko apparently ran in 2018. But Bellingcat said that, when their Swiss partner publication contacted the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva, they were told no such diplomat named Gordienko had ever existed. Russia's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking further comment from RFE/RL. Bellingcat said that Gordienko left Geneva late on October 25, 2018, and arrived in Moscow early the next month. Electronic metadata for Gordienko's cell phone showed that he called his boss, the commander of Unit 29155, Major General Andrei Averyanov. Averyanov wasn't widely known publicly until last year, when his name first surfaced in a New York Times report that examined the operations of Unit 29155. A joint investigation by RFE/RL and Bellingcat later determined Averyanov attended the wedding of his daughter in July 2017 at a Moscow region country club. Among those in attendance was one of the two Russian agents who were charged with the Skripal poisoning almost a year later. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/was-a- russian-diplomat-in-geneva-an-agent- overseeing-a-secret-hit-squad- bellingcat-says-yes/30453439.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The acquisition of John Daugherty Realtors, a legacy brand in Houstons luxury housing market, by New York-based Douglas Elliman Real Estate has fallen through as a result of what Elliman called a legal technicality. The end of the deal, however, may nevertheless mark the end of the Daugherty brand. A spokesman for New York-based Elliman said it would still absorb the local real estate brokerages remaining team, and that John Daugherty Jr., who founded the residential property firm in 1967, still plans to move over to Elliman. His companys name will not follow him as was originally planned, the spokesman said. Daugherty declined to comment, and the Elliman representative would not elaborate on how and why the terms changed. The collapse of the acquisition comes a few weeks after the owner of the Galleria-area office building where Daugherty Realtors has been leasing space sued the firm, Douglas Elliman of Texas, its local partner Jacob Sudhoff and Sudhoff Cos. Griffin Partners alleged that Daughertys firm was intentionally induced to break its lease so it could consolidate into Elliman space, and that the acquisition of Daugherty Realtors was conditioned on rejecting the lease. They have all denied the allegations. The lease in 520 Post Oak Blvd. runs through May 31, 2027, according to the petition, filed in state district court. On HoustonChronicle.com: Sudhoff, Douglas Elliman join forces in Houston real estate brokerage The revised agreement between Elliman and Daugherty, originally reached in December, is the latest in a string of developments that have upended the Houston real estate industry. This one, though, is of particular interest as Daugherty was one of the pioneers of luxury real estate sales in Houston and his company was a stalwart in the industry. The real estate climate has drastically shifted and I think the merger was a great opportunity for John Daugherty. Its unfortunate, if this is the case, that it didnt happen because its such an established firm, Mike Mahlstedt, an agent with Compass, said. He has been an icon in Houston. Elliman, a flashy East Coast firm known for its luxury listings and celebrity agents, helped launch Houston into an elite group of housing markets when it opened an office here last year. The company expanded into Houston over the summer through a partnership with Houston-based Sudhoff Cos., which was known for high-end condominium sales. Sudhoff became CEO of Douglas Elliman, Texas. When the deal to acquire Daugherty was announced, the firm had approximately 125 agents, many of whom have already joined Elliman. Others have opted to go elsewhere, including Compass and Martha Turner Sothebys International Realty. It was not clear how many remain at Daugherty Realtors today. Listen on HoustonChronicle.com: The Loopies reveal the best and worst of Houston real estate A pair of top agents from Daugherty who were responsible for more than $210 million in sales, left the firm to join Compass just before the deal with Elliman was announced. Laura Sweeney, the No. 1 agent in the city, and Lisa Kornhauser left Daugherty after each spent some 20 years with the agency. Elliman operates 120 offices in the countrys largest luxury housing markets, including Beverly Hills, Calif., Aspen, Colo., and the Hamptons. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff Since Gov. Greg Abbott announced a new program offering pardons to human trafficking and domestic violence victims charged with crimes related to their abuse, the phones at the nonprofit Lone Star Justice Alliance are ringing off the hook. Elizabeth Henneke, executive director of the nonprofit group focused on criminal justice reform, said she has received thousands of calls from interested applicants, so many that the office had to turn off the phones temporarily at one point. Other advocacy groups said theyd also seen intense interest in the days since Abbott announced the program. This is more than an application for clemency, Henneke said. This tells people that they can hope again. That their communities arent throwing them away behind prison gates to be labeled with a scarlet letter of a felony or misdemeanor for the rest of their lives. Human trafficking and domestic violence victims always had the opportunity to apply for a pardon, but advocacy groups say the governors new initiative sends a clear message that this is a priority and that he understands the complexity of their situations. For subscribers: A sex trafficking survivor from Katy visited the White House. Heres her story. Trafficking survivors often face prostitution charges, which become felonies after three convictions, and both types of survivors may face drug or weapons charges related to situations they were forced into by their traffickers or abusers. Texas is committed to empowering the survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking, and one of the surest signals of that goal is laying out a true path to redemption and restoration, Abbott said in a statement. The gubernatorial pardon plays an important role in this redemption process because it offers a second chance to survivors with criminal convictions resulting from their abuse or exploitation. Abbott has made combating human trafficking one of his offices top priorities, but in the past year he has also vetoed two bills backed by advocacy groups that he said would limit the discretion of law enforcement or create an additional layer of bureaucracy. The government doesnt track how many trafficking or abuse victims are charged with crimes, but a 1999 report from the U.S. Department of Justice found that almost half of the women in jails and prisons at the time said they had been physically or sexually abused before they were imprisoned. The Track: Houstons Bissonnet Track has international reputation for street trafficking The clemency application, which Abbott announced last week, will allow people who meet certain criteria to make a case to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles for why they should be pardoned and explain what theyve done since their conviction to rehabilitate. The board then sends a recommendation to the governor, who has the ultimate say. Between fiscal years 2015 and 2019, the board received nine applications from survivors of human trafficking and 34 from survivors of domestic violence; four were granted by the governor. Henneke said there could be thousands of others who will step forward using the specialized application as a public awareness campaign spreads word of it. Still, pardons are rare. In fiscal year 2018, the board considered 171 clemency applications and of those, recommended that the governor grant 21, or 12 percent. In 2019, Abbott granted eight. If granted, a pardon restores a persons right to vote, receive licensing for certain jobs, hold public office, serve on a jury or as executor or administrator of an estate. It does not clear the persons criminal record; expunctions can only be granted by a judge. Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, authored a bill that would have done nearly the same thing; House Bill 3078 would have required the board to consider the recommendation of an expert panel, including survivors, their advocates and health professionals. For subscribers: Three national hotel chains in Houston sued for promoting sex trafficking Thompson and advocacy groups said they were surprised when Abbott vetoed that bill last summer especially after working with his office and lawmakers on the bill during session. We thought we had a consensus, Thompson said. I thought it added a plus to the bill because you had a group of persons who were professionals in various fields to be able to look at it from their perspective. I thought it gave a broader opportunity to be able to make an assessment. Abbott said in his veto proclamation that while he applauded the effort, the bill would have added a thick layer of bureaucracy to the clemency process. After the initial shock, Henneke said she and other advocates stressed to the governors office the importance of finding another way to bring the idea to fruition. No matter how it was accomplished, Thompson said she supports the programs underlying goal. There are two benefits: First is you give the person a second chance, Thompson said. Secondly, its a benefit to society because society benefits from that persons potential. We benefit from people being a good citizen, paying taxes, participating in different facets of our lives. The governor last year signed several bills addressing human trafficking, including one that expanded access to court orders that prohibit courts and police departments from disclosing a persons criminal record and created new offenses for use of the internet to promote prostitution. But he also shocked lawmakers and advocates last summer when he vetoed a bill that would have prohibited children under 17 years old from being charged with prostitution. While well-intentioned, he said, the legislation could bring unintended consequences by removing an option law enforcement and prosecutors can use to separate victims from sex traffickers. He said he also feared it could inadvertently give traffickers a perverse incentive for traffickers to use underage prostitutes, knowing they cannot be arrested for engaging in prostitution. Some advocates said reducing or ending prosecution is still their ultimate goal, but they said the clemency application was a step in the right direction. Were not where we need to be, but its a start, said Allison Franklin, director of CARES, a program through the nonprofit SAFE Alliance that provides resources for survivors. Its a huge start. Franklin, who herself is a survivor and faced eight felonies related to her trafficking, said her criminal record was extremely limiting as she tried to reclaim her life. As she looked for housing, for example, she recalled she was forced to buy because no one would rent to me. This is a really big deal in my opinion because were starting to view these individuals as victims and not criminals, and were recognizing the role of trauma and what it plays in these cases, Franklin said. WASHINGTON (AP) A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences for an Arizona inmate who was convicted of killing two people in home burglaries nearly 30 years ago and now wants a jury to consider abuse he suffered as a child. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the court's conservative justices, rejected the arguments of James Erin McKinney that he deserved a new sentencing hearing so a jury could decide whether he should face death or life in prison. He was first sentenced to death by a judge. McKinney also argued that courts have not fully considered the horrific physical abuse he suffered as a child. The court's four liberal justices dissented. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that she would hold McKinney's death sentences unconstitutional. The high court ruled in 2002 that juries, not judges, must impose death sentences. The court has also ruled that mitigating factors, including childhood deprivations, must be factored into sentencing decisions. The justices had to decide whether McKinney should be able to take advantage of the ruling, even though the court has said it does not typically apply to older cases. They also had to determine whether the issue of McKinney's past must be handled in a trial court or could be dealt with by the Arizona Supreme Court, which upheld his sentence in 2018 after it said it gave some weight to his childhood deprivations. McKinneys attorneys say the state Supreme Court erred in upholding his sentences, arguing their client had a horrific childhood in which he was physically abused, frequently deprived of food and water and locked outside the home with little clothing. Prosecutors said McKinney shouldnt get a sentencing retrial, arguing his case was considered officially closed years before the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that required death penalty decisions to be made by juries, not judges. Prosecutors also said McKinney's evidence of post-traumatic stress was considered by Arizona courts and that the review of his sentences didn't lead to his cases being reopened. Story continues Kavanaugh said McKinney was not entitled to re-sentencing by a jury and that the Arizona high court review was sufficient. Sharmila Roy, one of McKinneys attorneys, said she suspected from the questions posed by the justices that it would be a 5-4 decision against her client. I had hoped Chief Justice (John) Roberts would have weighed in on our side, Roy said. Roy said other inmates sentenced to death by judges will have to ask the Arizona Supreme Court to conduct an independent review of lower-court findings on aggravating and mitigating factors, rather than seek a sentencing retrial. McKinney's half brother, Charles Michael Hedlund, also was convicted of murder in the deaths of Christine Mertens and Jim McClain during a series of burglaries in the Phoenix area. Hedlund also has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his death sentence on similar grounds. If McKinney had won the appeal, it could have affected as many as 15 of Arizona's 117 death row inmates. "We have an obligation to the victims, their families and our communities to uphold the rule of law and to see that death sentences of convicted murderers are carried out," said state Attorney General Mark Brnovich. ___ This story has been corrected to say the number of death row inmates in Arizona is 117, not 104. Mumbai, Feb 26 : Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he has to put four of himself into action to keep up with his "favourite" actor Ranbir Kapoor's talent on the sets of "Brahmastra". Amitabh on Tuesday night took to Twitter to share a few pictures from the sets of "Brahmastra". One picture shows Ranbir sitting on two chairs while Amitabh is seen sitting on four. Big B's tweet suggests he needs for of himself to keep up with Ranbir's talent. "T 3452 - .. work starts early .. like 6 am .. rehearsing, blocking and then shooting it .. with one of my favourites .. I need 4 of those chair emoji (chairs) to keep up with his enormous talent...!" Amitabh captioned the image. The megastar took to his blog and wrote: "A day of early starts .. 5 am .. on set to block by 7 am .. shoot it by 9 am .. and just got back .... with the favourite Ranbir... more later .. its at 5 am again tomorrow .." he wrote. "Brahmastra: Part One" is set to release in five Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Produced by Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios, the film also stars Alia Bhatt, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy. The condition of seven Russian tourists evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama and quarantined in Russia's Primorye region is satisfactory, head of the epidemiological department of the regional branch of Russia's consumer rights watchdog Rosportebnadzor Elena Abbasova said. "The condition of those [who arrived in Russia's Primorye region] is satisfactory. No clinical signs of infectious diseases have been registered. Their body temperature is normal. Their condition is good," TASS cited her as saying. Among those quaratined are six residents of the Primorye region and one resident of the Omsk region. They arrived in Vladivostok on February 23 on a regular flight as they have not exhibited any symptoms of the new coronavirus. The cruise ship with around 3,700 passengers and crewmembers on board has been quarantined since February 5 after one passenger, a Chinese citizen, was confirmed to have been infected with the new coronavirus. A total of 691 people on board the cruise ship had contracted the coronavirus, and four people died. Ask a child what they think of homelessness and they sum it up. "Homelessness is heart-breaking. It makes me feel upset. It's scary, devastating, dark and lonely, and the Government doesn't care." These are the words of Conor Carey, a nine-year-old third class pupil from Clonburris National School in Clondalkin, Dublin. Just before the mid-term break, Conor and his classmates discussed the issue. Their responses, particularly those about what a home is supposed to be, are poignant and profound, and also sad in light of the fact that another homeless person was found dead on the streets of the capital recently. As part of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO)'s Global Citizenship School initiative, schools were asked to designate a day to talk to primary school children about homelessness. A Global Citizenship School is a school that promotes a more just, equitable and sustainable world. While not all schools are affected by homelessness directly, images of people sleeping rough and the scale of the homelessness problem, particularly in our cities, mean that most primary school pupils know that not everyone has a place to call home. INTO is so concerned about homelessness that last September the teachers' organisation and the homeless charity, Focus Ireland, produced a guidance document for primary school teachers who are supporting students and families experiencing homelessness. Because of the glaring lack of resources from Government, the two organisations collaborated on the 'Homelessness in the Classroom' resource, which is full of practical supports for teachers. Among the challenges for teachers is trying to meet the educational needs of children who are experiencing homelessness when their basic needs are not being met. "It's a crying shame that external organisations had to provide this. There was nothing from Government on it. The teachers need resources in schools to deal with this," says INTO Director of Communications David Geary. St Mary's National School in Dublin's Dorset Street was one of the schools that participated in the recent INTO initiative to look into the issue of homelessness with its pupils. It directly affects some children at the school. Teacher Fiona Nolan, who teaches a mix of fourth and fifth-class pupils, says while nobody in her class is directly affected, they are well aware of the problem. Even before she began discussing the issue of homelessness at length with her class, Ms Nolan says it was evident the children knew quite a lot about it already. "They might know people who are affected by it. They were emotionally involved in it and were able to get into the mindset of how it might feel to be homeless," she says. When she broached some of the statistics around homelessness, pointing out that there are almost 4,000 homeless children in the State, her pupils tried to get their heads around the numbers. The school has 240 pupils and this figure was almost 17 times that. "They just couldn't believe this is happening," she says. She says she has done a lot of work with her pupils on the UN Global Goals for children, which focus on the rights of children, and broadened the conversation on homelessness to look at it from the global perspective, and that everyone has the right to a home. And while they may only be 10 and 11 years old, the views of the children are, at once, sad and illuminating on how much homelessness affects them even if they are not directly experiencing it themselves. As part of the discussion, friends Tony Keyes and Lohane Jeangros talked about love and special memories shared within a home and also how everything has a place in a home. "A home is where you store all your memories. If my sister found a shell on the beach, I'd pick it up and put it on a shelf to remember that time," says Tony, a fifth-class pupil. Fellow fifth-class pupil Kaycee Malig believes children would feel uncomfortable if they had no home and she was also worried children would have nowhere to do their homework or play if they're staying in a hotel room with their brothers and sisters. For Rakibul Hossain MD, in fourth class, living in a hotel might mean being less active as a kid because you have less space in which to play. It might make it harder to make friends because some people might judge you. At Clonburris National School, the voices of the children also ring clear and true. And while they may only be in third class and nine years old, their views are straight to the point. Adam Cummins says a home is where you relax and labels homelessness a disgrace. "If I were homeless, I would feel disrespected, unsafe, cold, thirsty and hungry. If I had one wish, it would be to end poverty," he says. Cadhla Friery is anxious to know what the Government is doing to end the crisis. "People are living on the street. If they (the Government) were homeless, how would they like it?" she asks. Her friend Alexa Goucher Kavanagh simply describes home as a place to get cosy and make wonderful memories. "A home is a place to lay your head in and a place to sleep in, but while we're cosy and rosy in our beds, there are people homeless outside in whatever the weather." Their teacher Paula Galvan says the children are all too aware of homelessness. "We would talk a lot about social justice issues and they are very articulate in voicing their concerns about things. They feel very empowered to do things about various issues," she says. "The way I teach, I would try and get them to think critically about issues and how the whole system needs to change. They see that inequality in the world," she says. A young asylum-seeking girl from Afghanistan walks on a makeshift bridge inside what is known as the Olive Grove, an improvised camp adjacent to the Moria Reception and Identification centre on the Greek island of Lesvos. UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis UNHCRs Representation for Northern Europe welcomes Finlands gesture of solidarity and offer to receive 175 vulnerable asylum-seekers from Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta. The priority will be to relocate unaccompanied and separated children from the alarmingly overcrowded and precarious conditions on the Greek Islands. Finlands generous decision will not only provide much needed help for vulnerable children, women and men, currently suffering in desperate conditions, it will also send a strong message of solidarity to EU member states on EUs external borders. We hope that Finlands act of solidarity can inspire others to follow, says Henrik M. Nordentoft, UNHCRs Representative for Northern Europe. Mediterranean arrivals into Europe have decreased significantly since 2015 but in the last year arrivals to Greece have risen and made the already overcrowded conditions worse. More than 36,000 asylum-seekers are now staying in reception centres, originally designed for 5,400 people. A third of the population are children, most below the age of twelve, and nearly 2,000 children without parents or relatives in Greece are at risk at island reception centres. UNHCR has appealed to the Greek government to speed up the transfer of asylum-seekers to appropriate accommodation on the mainland. UNHCR has also sent appeals to EU and European states to act, including by relocating asylum-seekers, by allowing for family reunification and by continuing the work to establish an effective solidarity mechanism as part of a fair and better managed European asylum system. See also: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter After a three-year legal battle south of the border that ignited a major controversy in evangelical circles, the charity Gospel for Asia has now become the focus of a class-action lawsuit filed in Canada. Plaintiff Greg Zentner of Woodburn, N.S., alleges the charity "defrauded or made negligent misstatements" to him and other donors. The statement of claim also said the "defendants civilly conspired to misrepresent the nature of donations collected." In other words, Zentner alleges the money raised didn't go where it was supposed to. He is seeking damages for the "misuse of donor funds in excess of $100 million." The statement of claim was filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Tuesday. Gospel for Asia (GFA) settled a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. with similar allegations last year for $37 million. CBC GFA has been operating in Canada since 1980. It continues to have strong support and raises about $9 million through donations each year on average, $25,000 a day. The proceeds are intended to go to the poor in India and surrounding countries. Some of the most popular gift items include farm animals, bicycles, blankets and drinking wells. Donors also give monthly to support child and missionary sponsorships. Zentner and his wife donated thousands to GFA between 2006 and 2014. He learned about alleged financial discrepancies through his pastor, Bruce Morrison, who meticulously researched GFA's money trail after hearing from former GFA staff members in the U.S. As part of a recent CBC News investigation, Morrison and 28 former staff and board members disclosed concerns of how they believe donations have been misused over the years. Some ex-staff, along with Morrison, uncovered that tens of millions were allegedly sitting in foreign bank accounts and millions more were being held in reserve funds. Angela MacIvor/CBC Morrison also found that between 2007 and 2014, Gospel for Asia reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that it had sent nearly $94 million to India. Meanwhile, financial records submitted to the Indian government showed the charity received no funds from Canada during that time period. Story continues "I suppose the greatest impact I've had, or the greatest thing that has impacted me, is the denial that comes from Gospel for Asia that 'we've done nothing wrong,' when there is so much evidence to the contrary," said Morrison. Charity disputes allegations GFA litigation spokesperson Johnnie Moore told CBC in a recent interview the charity is "misunderstood." "Not only [was GFA] not required to make an admission of guilt when they settled the [U.S.] lawsuit, but had the lawsuit actually continued in the court, they either would have won in court or certainly won on the appeal," Moore said in a recent interview with CBC. Angela MacIvor/CBC Moore said the allegations made in the U.S. lawsuit were "absolutely false" and the legal settlement proves it. "It explicitly states that all the funds that were designated to go to the field went to the field," said Moore. GFA has not yet responded to the Canadian lawsuit filed on Tuesday. $20M 'anonymous' donation Morrison said the U.S. lawsuit provided him with new information about how Canadian money was being spent. In court, lawyers representing Gospel for Asia confirmed that $20 million was taken from Canadian donations to help pay for construction of the charity's $45-million headquarters in Wills Point, Tex. "They said in the financial statements that were issued in the U.S. [that] the money had come from an anonymous donor," said Morrison. "And then we find out through court hearings in the United States that this money was Canadian money and donors here had no idea that had happened." Gospel for Asia confirmed to CBC the money did come from Canadian donations, but said it was later paid back. Angela MacIvor/CBC In the Canadian court filing, Zentner is seeking the "return of $20 million in funds misdirected to GFA USA." "The plaintiff states that the transfers were made in order to hide the actual source of the funds and to mislead class members and the Canadian and Indian tax authorities," the document said. Marc Stanley, the lawyer who represented the plaintiff in the U.S. class-action lawsuit, is named as legal counsel on the statement of claim along with Halifax lawyer John McKiggan. MORE TOP STORIES BRUSSELS For Europe, the coronavirus could not have arrived at a worse time. This was the year with Britain out, terrorism waning and the migrant crisis at an ebb that the European Union had hoped to repair and revive its cherished goal of open internal borders. But cases of the virus have emerged nearly daily in new European countries in Spain, Greece, Croatia, France, Switzerland and, on Wednesday, in Germany. Many of them can be traced back to Europes largest outbreak, in Italy, where more than 300 people are now infected. [Update: Nigeria records Sub-Saharan Africas first case of coronavirus.] As the cases spread and multiply, calls for closing borders have grown louder, most predictably from the far right and populists who were never fans of the blocs open border policy So far no country has taken that drastic step, but privately European officials warned that this could change quickly. On Wednesday, the blocs top official for communicable diseases said that Europe needed to prepare more broadly for the kind of crisis that has hit northern Italy. Swiss food giant Nestle, owner of KitKat and Nespresso, on Tuesday said it was postponing all business trips until March 15 at the earliest because of the new coronavirus epidemic. "We have asked all of our employees worldwide not to travel for business purposes until March 15 2020. We will review this measure in light of external developments," a company spokesman told AFP, quoting an internal note. The spokesman said that the company was not calling back expatriate employees but added: "We monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of our employees." Nestle, which owns a range of household brands including also Nescafe, Maggi and Perrier, employs 291,000 people. The epidemic, which began in China at the end of 2019, has now spread to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people, killing more than 2,600. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) According to a preliminary assessment from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the prohibited use of synthetic cannabinoids in e-liquids can be assumed with high likelihood as reason for the observed symptoms. According to media reports, the patients admitted to have consumed cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is a weakly psychoactive cannabinoid. Already a year ago, the use of CBD liquids manipulated with psychoactive cannabinoids has been reported on from the USA. The users suffered from neurological symptoms as the youths in Bremerhaven. Thus, both case series share similar symptoms - including the fact that no respiratory symptoms appeared - and the absence of fatal cases in contrast to earlier reports from the USA. The cases of poisoning in Bremerhaven can only be assessed to a limited extent by BfR due to the lack of sufficient available information. Further data, particularly regarding the products, additives, and devices used, are required for a toxicological risk assessment. At the moment, there are no hints that indicate the cause or enhancement of the symptoms of poisoning by e-cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes in general, with nicotine or nicotine free, compromise health. ### After two days of communal clashes that claimed 22 lives, a brittle quiet settled over parts of riot-hit northeast Delhi on Wednesday but there was violence in some other places with shops set ablaze and the body of an IB staffer found in a drain. As police conducted flag marches and security personnel spread out across the northeastern edge of India's national capital in a bid to quell the violence raging since Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first reaction appealed for peace and brotherhood. Asserting that it was important calm was restored at the earliest, Modi said on Twitter, "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy." The task of bringing the situation under control was given to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. "What has happened has happened. Inshallah, there will be complete peace here," Doval said as he walked through the mostly mixed neighbourhoods of northeast Delhi and met locals. On Tuesday, he undertook a late night tour with Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and newly-appointed Special Commissioner S N Shrivastava. Shrivastava is believed to have been handpicked by Doval after Patnaik faced flak for failing to curb the spiralling violence in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's visit, sources said. On day three of the trouble, the death toll rose from 13 on Tuesday to 22 on Wednesday. "The death toll has risen to 22," GTB Hospital Medical Superintendent Sunil Kumar said. Unusually, the estimate of the more than 200 injured and the dead has come not from the police but hospital authorities. Calling the situation in northeast Delhi alarming, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Army should be called in as police is "unable" to establish control. Away from 'leader-speak', fear hung like a heavy cloud over the area, littered with the detritus of a riot -- mangled and charred vehicles, bricks, stones and jagged glass. An Intelligence Bureau staffer, identified as Ankit Sharma, was found dead in a drain in Chand Bagh where he stayed. Sharma may have been killed in stone pelting, officials said. Shops and schools were closed and many streets deserted with police making announcements that no one should come out of their homes. There was heavy deployment of force in Chand Bagh with security personnel not allowing anyone to come out. The blackened walls of a 'mazaar' in the locality spoke volumes of the violence the day before. After two days of mobs roaming unchecked through the streets, looting shops and setting property on fire, the uneasy quiet was a respite. But not everywhere. In Gokulpuri, for instance, smoke darkened the skies with rioters setting on fire shops. Their livelihoods lost with their shops looted and their children in a state of panic after witnessing the bloodshed, many people were seen leaving their homes. Among them was a family that promised to be back, but said they did not know when. Of the 22 killed since Monday, four were brought to the hospital from the LNJP Hospital earlier in the day, a senior GTB Hospital official said Asked if the victims have been identified, he said, "Many people have been identified, some are yet to be."The "gush" of injured patients had reduced to a trickle. Patients have several kinds of injuries, including from gunshots, stones and other weapons and many were hurt while jumping from rooftops to escape the rioters, hospital authorities said. Holding the Centre and the Delhi government responsible for the violence -- perhaps the first time since 1984 that the city has seen such scenes of communal mayhem -- Congress president Sonia Gandhi called for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah. "The conspiracy was witnessed during Delhi polls and BJP leaders gave hate speeches creating atmosphere of fear and hatred," she said. Shah must take responsibility for the violence in Delhi and resign, she said. The slugfest continued with the BJP, in turn, accusing Gandhi of politicising the violence. "Violence is ending. Investigation is on to find out the truth and identify culprits... At such a time, attacking government and politicising violence is dirty politics," said Union minister Prakash Javadekar, adding that it also demoralises police. That was also a concern of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who asked a Supreme Court bench not to make any adverse observations relating to the violence as it will demoralise the police force. An apex court bench of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph lashed out at law enforcing agencies for allowing the "instigators of violence" to get away and said they should act as per law without waiting for somebody's nod. "If somebody makes an inflammatory remark, police has to take action," it said. The Delhi High Court also reprimanded Delhi Police. "... we should never allow another 1984... especially under the watch of the court and under your (Delhi Police) watch... We have to be very, very alert," a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani said. In a midnight hearing, the Delhi High Court directed police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured in the communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sen. Bernie Sanderson Wednesday repeatedly pledged that he would defeat President Trump after rivals raised doubts about his electability and have begun warning his socialist label could imperil the ticket. 'I know sometimes you can turn on the TV, you can hear some of these guys say Bernie cant beat Trump, he said in a possible reference to rivals Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, and Pete Buttigieg who have highlighted the risks of him as Democratic presidential nominee. 'Well, let me say something to then. Take a look at the last 50 five-zero polls. We beat Trump 47 of them,' Sanders said to loud cheers. 'Take a look at the polls in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania we are beating Trump.' Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 26, 2020 'We are beating Trump because our agenda is the agenda of the working families of this country who are sick and tired of working longer hours for lower wages and seeing all this new income go to the top 1 per cent,' said Sanders, who spoke at a convention center in Myrtle Beach. We're going to win this election, we're going to win the primary, we're going to defeat Trump because the American people want an economy and a government that works for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors,' he said. His remarks came hours after he sustained attacks from several presidential rivals on the debate stage in Charleston drawing criticism for the cost of his plans, a lack of detail about how to fund his initiatives, and shouldering the socialist label against President Trump. His cheering supporters on hand in Myrtle beach cheered at each platform of his agenda, declaring 'We will win this election.' The Sanders camp put the crowd count at just under 3,000, citing the venue manager. Sanders cited polls that show him beating Trump head to head Sanders stopped short of declaring victory in South Carolina where two new polls Wednesday showed him trailing Joe Biden, who picked up the coveted endorsement of Rep. James C. Clyburn on Wednesday. He called it an 'enormously important primary' but also pointed to the upcoming Super Tuesday states. 'We started out in this case 30 points behind. We ain't 30 points behind today!' he said to cheers. 'We have closed that gap. And I believe that if there is a large voter turnout on Saturday, all of you come out and vote we can win here on Saturday,' he said. Sanders took on the electability issue as Democratic leader vowed to back the nominee and predicated any Democrat would prevail. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would be comfortable with Sanders at the top of the ticket, even amid warnings from other Democrats that Sanders could cost seats down the ticket or even lose to Donald Trump. 'I would hope that everyone would say, no matter who the nominee is for president, we wholeheartedly embrace that person,' she told her caucus. 'We cannot show any division. This has to be about unity, unity, unity,' she said, according to a Democratic aide who attended the session. The aide was not authorized to discuss the private meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity,' she said, the Associated Press reported. She told reporters: 'I think whoever our nominee is, we will enthusiastically embrace and we will win the White House, the Senate and the House.' 'Today people are talking about a revolution. What the countrys looking for are results,' said Biden Biden was leading Sanders 31 to 23 in a new poll from East South Carolina University. Biden led him 35 to 13 in a new Clemson University poll, with Tom Steyer at 17 per cent. Biden swiped at Sanders earlier while picking up Clyburn's endorsement. 'Today people are talking about a revolution. What the countrys looking for are results. What theyre looking for is security. What theyre looking for is to be able to sustain and maintain their dignity,' Biden said. Before Sanders took the stage, an introducer mocked the labels that some of his rivals are throwing at him. 'He's crazy! He's wild. He's a socialist! He's a madman!' she said, mocking doubters. Sanders kept to his stump speech, with polls showing he has a path to the nomination with a strong showing on Super Tuesday. 'No matter what your political point of view may be, I think you und that the United States cannot continue to have a president who is a pathological liar, a president who is running a corrupt administration, a president who has apparently never read the Constitution of the United States. A president who is a racist. A sexist. A homophobe. A xenophobe. And a religious bigot. And those are his good qualities,' he said. 'We are going to defeat Donald Trump because he is also a fraud,' he said. More than 1.8 million hospital beds could be needed to treat people in an Australian coronavirus outbreak, with the country's ageing population meaning the virus could hit harder here than it has overseas. In a worst-case scenario, at least 650,000 beds would need to be in the intensive care units of hospitals, according to Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Program at UNSW's Kirby Institute. Australian scientists are searching for a breakthrough in the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Credit:AAP Professor MacIntyre warned the impact on Australia of a coronavirus outbreak could be worse than it had been in China because older people, who are more susceptible to the virus, make up a greater proportion of the population. In China, about 9 per cent of the population are over the age of 65, compared with Australia where it is about 16 per cent. As part of a review of the proposed N52 Ardee Bypass a public consultation will take place in Ardee Parish Centre, Hale Street, Ardee on March 5 from 4pm to 8pm. The purpose of this public consultation is to invite submissions from the public and interested stakeholders regarding the junction strategy, so that this information may be used to assist the design team in the development of the scheme. Louth County Council, with the support of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, are conducting the review, which includes considering alternative junction strategies and undertaking an appraisal of the options to deliver the optimal solution. The existing section of the N52 between the R165 crossroads and Ardee town, has a number of constraints including a sub-standard cross section, horizontal geometry and over 110 direct accesses onto the N52 outside of the 50km/h speed restricted zone. The N52 terminates at the junction with the N2 in the centre of Ardee town, where the congested high street can cause significant delays for through traffic wishing to continue onward towards Dundalk and the north of the country. The need for a bypass of Ardee along the N52 is outlined in National, Regional and Local policy and has been progressed by Louth County Council over a number of years. The N52 Ardee Bypass was approved under a Part 8 planning application by Louth County Council in June 2005 but wasnt progressed further due to funding constraints. Following the reactivation of the scheme in 2018, detailed design was undertaken and fencing was erected in advance of the main construction contract. Subsequently, a number of submissions were received by LCC/TII from local residents raising concerns about the junction arrangements and the potential impacts that these arrangements would have on local traffic movements and communities. LCC, in conjunction with TII, have therefore decided to conduct a detailed review of the scheme, considering alternative junction strategies and undertaking an appraisal of the options to deliver the optimal solution. After Mike Bloomberg took a beating in his first appearance on a Democratic debate stage for alleged harassment and non-disclosure agreements at Bloomberg LP, the company he founded is ramping up its sexual harassment training. In a memo sent to employees on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of Bloomberg's second debate appearance, the company underlined its "zero tolerance" policy for harassment, while announcing a new mandatory program to prevent harassment. "I want to underscore our long-standing commitment at Bloomberg LP to creating a culture that makes all employees feel safe, supported and empowered to thrive in their careers," Ken Cooper, head of human resources, wrote in the memo, which was obtained by CNBC. "Today, I want to highlight an important step that we're taking to ensure we have best-in-class workplace policies and procedures." The program comes on top of existing harassment training has been mandatory for more than a decade, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC. The memo did not mention that the new program comes in addition to a previously existing mandatory program, although it did emphasize the company's policy against harassment and discrimination. Cooper, who said that "Bloomberg has long had a zero tolerance policy when it comes to harassment and discrimination," said the company last year partnered with the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire to create a program called Bringing in the Bystander. Bringing in the Bystander is a form of harassment training that helps employees "understand how to respond if they witness inappropriate behavior," he said. The course was introduced as optional training in June 2019. Bloomberg LP will now make the program mandatory for all to take by April 3, due to the "highly positive feedback" it has received from the more than 1,200 participants that have taken it, Cooper said. Cooper in 2018 read research showing "bystander training"s effectiveness in the military and asked his Talent & Leadership Development team to bring it to Bloomberg, the person familiar with the situation said. Bloomberg later partnered with the University of New Hampshire to develop a course tailored for Bloomberg, based on a program that UNH is taking to other companies. The memo comes as Bloomberg has had to answer to a barrage of criticism for past offensive comments he has made and allegations of mistreatment of females at Bloomberg LP. A number of women have signed NDAs with the company. He took heat again over NDAs on Tuesday night in the early stages of the South Carolina debate. During last week's debate in Nevada, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts brought those criticisms to the stage. She railed against Bloomberg for having called women "fat broads" and "horse-faced lesbians." She also took him to task for not releasing the women who had signed non-disclosure agreements from their bounds of confidentiality. Later that week, Bloomberg announced he will release women from three non-disclosure agreements with his media company if they wanted. He also said the company will no longer offer NDAs "to resolve claims of sexual harassment or misconduct going forward." Bloomberg board chairman, Peter Grauer, later that day wrote an email to employees reiterating the ban against further NDAs. He also told employees, "we will continue to partner with our Human Resources team to ensure that our workplace policies are at the forefront of industry." While Bloomberg is running for president, he has relinquished leadership of the company over to a management committee. Here's the memo: To the Bloomberg team: To echo Peter's message sent on Friday, I want to underscore our longstanding commitment at Bloomberg LP to creating a culture that makes all employees feel safe, supported and empowered to thrive in their careers. Today, I want to highlight an important step that we're taking to ensure we have best-in-class workplace policies and procedures. Bloomberg has long had a zero tolerance policy when it comes to harassment and discrimination. This means that all of us have an obligation to report instances of unethical or unlawful conduct. Last year, we partnered with the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire to create "Bringing in the Bystander." Bystander intervention is among the most proven measures of harassment prevention, and this unique, evidence-based training was designed to help our employees understand how to respond if they witness inappropriate conduct. This course has been available as optional training since June 2019, and 1200+ participants have already taken it. Given the highly positive feedback we've received, we've decided that all employees should complete the course. Please do so by Friday, April 3. Click here to take the course if you haven't yet: BU 16739 . While we always encourage employees to raise concerns to their manager, HR or Compliance directly, there is also EthicsPoint. This is a way for employees to report issues through a secure and confidential third-party portal, an option that we've had in place for several years. To view our full anti-harassment policy, visit POLY ID:3609170 . We are proud to have been recognized recently as a leading company for personal and professional growth, as well as inclusion. We will continue to innovate and lead the way in enhancing workplace policies and programs for our people around the world. Ken WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, an East Texas Republican, was the lone Texan and one of just four members of Congress to vote against a bill making lynching a federal hate crime, legislation that sailed through the House on Wednesday. The so-called Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act drew broad bipartisan support, including from nearly every member from Texas, where 468 people were lynched between 1885 and 1942 the third most in the nation, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Gohmert, of Tyler, said he has trouble with the federal nexus of lynching and argued the bill sends entirely the wrong message about how serious this is, because it only allows for a 10-year maximum prison sentence. Under Texas law, the defendants could have gotten the death penalty, he said. I regret needing to vote no, but I just felt like this is too serious to be handled at such a low level. Gohmert has in the past opposed hate crime legislation, including in 2009 when he deemed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act another great leap forward on the gay rights agenda that intrudes on First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion. Congress has tried and failed for more than 100 years to pass legislation adding lynching to the books as a hate crime. The bill is named after Till, a 14 year old who was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi after a white woman accused him of whistling at her and grabbing her. The Senate earlier this year unanimously passed similar legislation and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill. For subscribers: On Juneteenth, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee makes case for reparations for descendants of slaves The House bill was co-sponsored by six Texas Democrats: U.S. Reps. Filemon Vela of Brownsville, Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth. This piece of legislation is more than 100 years in the making, Green said on the House floor. This is the unfinished business of this House and we have much more unfinished business Its time, in fact it is past time. Jackson Lee, who is pushing legislation to establish a commission to consider reparations for slavery, said on the House floor that this bill is an important standard and statement that also hopes to bring about the debate and passage of her bill. Lynching was the most heinous act of intimidation and violence against slaves and those that came after, she said. ben.wermund@chron.com Press Release February 25, 2020 Gatchalian on profiling of Muslim students: no place for discrimination in our education system Discrimination of learners on the basis of their background or religion has no place in the country's education system. This is Senator Win Gatchalian's reminder to the Philippine National Police (PNP) amidst uproar on a Manila Police District (MPD) memorandum, which called for the creation of a database of Muslim students in high schools, colleges, and universities as part of efforts to counter violent extremism and strengthen peacebuilding. While the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has already ordered the MPD to scrap the memorandum, Gatchalian denounced the move as discriminatory and insensitive. Gatchalian said that the order is tantamount to assuming that Muslim students are likely to be involved in violence, which only reinforces stigma against Muslim communities. The lawmaker added that any existing similar orders nationwide should be recalled immediately. "Hindi natin pwedeng palagpasin ang ano mang uri ng diskriminasyon sa ating mga mag-aaral," said Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture. Gatchalian instead urged the PNP to implement its community relations programs in schools using the framework of the Department of Education's (DepEd) Order No. 032 series of 2019, which promotes the concept of Schools and Learners as Zones of Peace. The Department Order emphasizes recognition and respect for the human rights of learners, their contribution to creating peace nationwide, and the role of schools in fostering peace education. It also guarantees the protection of learners from inhumane, cruel, and degrading treatment. "Sa pagpapanatili ng kapayaan sa ating bansa, dapat tandaan ng PNP na kailangan nitong i-respeto ang relihiyon at kultura ng bawat komunidad. Kailangang matutunan ng bawat hanay ng PNP kung paano mapanatili ang kaayusan sa bansa nang hindi nagpapakita ng diskriminasyon sa anumang komunidad," Gatchalian added. Gatchalian also urged both the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to protect students from any acts that make them a target of any profiling activities. Under the direction of MPD chief Brig. Gen. Bernabe Mendoza Alba, the District Community Affairs and Development Division issued the memorandum on January 31. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines shared the memorandum in a Facebook post on February 20 and sparked outrage from Muslim groups and other sectors. The Bangsamoro Parliament, for its part, passed a resolution condemning the listing, which it described as prejudicial against Muslims. ### Gatchalian: diskriminasyon sa mga mag-aaral walang lugar sa sistema ng edukasyon ng bansa Walang lugar sa sistema ng edukasyon ng bansa ang diskriminasyon sa mga mag-aaral ano man ang kanilang relihiyon o pinagmulan. Ito ang mariing paalala ni Senador Win Gatchalian sa Philippine National Police (PNP) matapos kumalat sa social media ang isang memorandum, kung saan ipinag-utos ng Manila Police District (MPD) ang pagkakaroon ng database ng mga mag-aaral na Muslim sa mga high school, kolehiyo, at mga pamantasan. Ayon sa naturang memo, isinasagawa ang paglilista upang pigilin ang karahasan at panatilihin ang kapayapaan, bagay na binatikos ng mga Muslim groups at ibang mga sektor. Bagama't ipinag-utos na ng National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) na itigil na ang paglista sa mga mag-aaral na Muslim, binatikos ni Gatchalian ang memo dahil ito ay isang uri ng diskriminasyon. Ayon kay Gatchalian, iniuugnay ng memo ang mga Muslim sa karahasan at pinalalala lamang ang stigma na kanilang pinagdaraanan. Ayon pa sa mambabatas, dapat ipatigil ng PNP sa buong bansa ang pagpapatupad ng ganitong klaseng mga kautusan. Inilabas ang memo noong Enero 31 sa direksyon ni MPD chief Brig. Gen. Bernabe Mendoza Alba. Nag-viral ang memo matapos itong ibahagi ng Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines sa kanilang Facebook page noong Pebrero 20. Dipensa ni PNP Chief Police General Archie Gamboa, bahagi ang paglilista sa mga community affairs development programs ng pulisya. Dagdag pa niya, ang datos ay gagamitin ng mga Salaam Centers ng PNP na tungkuling makipag-ugnayan sa mga Muslim communities. Sa isang resolusyong inihain ng Bangsamoro parliament, kinundena rin nito ang paglilista bilang diskriminasyon laban sa mga Muslim. "Sa pagpapanatili ng kapayaan sa ating bansa, dapat tandaan ng PNP na kailangan nitong i-respeto ang relihiyon at kultura ng bawat komunidad. Kailangang matutuhan ng bawat hanay ng PNP kung paano magpanatili ng kaayusan sa bansa nang hindi nagpapakita ng diskriminasyon sa anumang komunidad," pahayag ni Gatchalian, Chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture. "Hindi natin pwedeng palagpasin ang ano mang uri ng diskriminasyon sa ating mga mag-aaral," dagdag ng senador. Hinimok ni Gatchalian ang PNP na ipatupad ang kanilang mga programa sa mga paaralan nang naaayon sa Department of Education Order No. 032, series of 2019, kung saan nakasaad ang konsepto ng Schools and Learners as Zones of Peace. Binibigyang diin ng Department Order ang kahalagahan ng pag-respeto sa mga human rights ng mga mag-aaral, ang kanilang kontribusyon sa pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan, at ang tungkulin ng mga paaralan sa pagpapalaganap ng peace education. Binibigyang proteksyon din ng Department Order ang mag-aaral laban sa malupit at hindi maka-taong pag-trato. Hinimok din ni Gatchalian and DepEd at ang Commission on Higher Education na protektahan ang mga mag-aaral sa ano mang uri ng profiling. ### The harrowing details of pregnant teenager Tiffany Anna Taylor's life as a call girl have been laid bare at a Queensland murder trial. Queensland girl Tiffany Taylor, 16, was presumed murdered. Her body has never been located. Credit:Facebook The 16-year-old disappeared on July 12, 2015, after allegedly meeting Rodney Wayne Williams, 65, for a paid sexual liaison via the Oasis website. Her body has never been found. Williams has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to murdering Tiffany after allegedly picking her up from the Waterford Motor Inn, south of Brisbane, about midday. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Delhi Police and paramilitary forces have started flag marches in violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi from Wednesday morning. Armed security personnel have been deployed in violence-prone areas here. Apart from this, fire extinguishers, police anti-riot Vajra vehicles and ambulances have been kept ready for medical emergency. The main roads of areas like Maujpur, Jaffrabad, Kabir Nagar, and Vijay Park are deserted, and the local people are still seen in groups. There have been incidents of continuous violence in the Kabir Nagar area near Maujpur for the last two days. Glasses of hospitals and homes were also broken. A fire incident was reported in the area. Rapid Action Force and paramilitary forces have now been deployed. So far 20 people have been reported dead in incidents of violence, including a policeman. Kabir Nagar area was wracked by intense violence on Tuesday as miscreants fired multiple gunshots. Around 250 people have been injured in the unrest. In view of the violence on Tuesday, police patrolling has been increased in these areas since Wednesday morning. Senior police officers also arrived here and paramilitary forces have also conducted flag marches to restore peace in the area. According to Gopal Rai, local MLA and Environment Minister in the Delhi government, there were several clashes in Ghonda, Noor-e-Ilahi, Bhajanpura, Momin Chowk areas. Rai has demanded the Delhi Police immediately deploy additional police forces in these areas. On Wednesday too, several incidents of violent clashes took place in Gokulpuri area where miscreants also set fire to a tyre godown. A meeting of MLAs and senior officials of all parties was held on Tuesday at the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the violence in northeast Delhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also held a meeting with senior officials, including the Chief Minister, on the situation. Open source In the Donetsk region, the National Guard employees detained a man, suspected of the assistance of the pro-Russian militants, as the HQ of the Joint Forces Operation reported on Facebook. The suspect was detained at the checkpoint near Volnovakha during the check of the Novotroitske-Mariupol bus. It turned out that a passenger, who was on the international wanted list, stayed in the bus. During the check-up of the citizens and establishment of the personal information, it was found out that one of the passengers was on the wanted list, and he was suspected in the cooperation with the illegal armed formations, the message reads. He was detained and passed to law enforcers. Earlier, in Dortmund, a citizen of Germany faced trial as he is suspected in the participation in the combat actions in Donbas at the side of the militants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR). As we reported, the Czech Republic investigates the participation of its 20 citizens in the combat actions in Donbas at the Russian side. Five people were killed Wednesday after a gunman opened fire on the campus of Miller brewing in Milwaukee. In a statement to employees, Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said the shooter "was an active brewery employee." It is a horrible, horrible day for the employees here. A very rough day for anyone who is close to this situation, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said, calling the incident "horrific." "There were five individuals who went to work today, just like everybody goes to work, and they thought they were going to go to work, finish their day and return to their families," Barrett added. "They didnt and tragically they never will." Authorities offered no immediate motive for the attack. President Donald Trump addressed the shooting before speaking at the White House with reporters about steps his administration is taking to combat the coronavirus. Our hearts break for them and their loved ones, the president said. "We send our condolences. Well be with them, and its a terrible thing, a terrible thing. Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said the suspect was a 51-year-old man. The gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The five victims of the shooting were also employees. There are no other injuries. The identities of the gunman and the five victims are not being released at this time. Morales said further information would be given the following day. Police said there is no longer an active threat, but that the scene of the shooting remains active as the investigation continues. Police said they first responded to the scene just after 2 p.m. The incident occurred at a sprawling complex that includes a mix of corporate offices and brewing facilities. Miller brewing has about 1,400 employees in Milwaukee. Hours after the shooting, employees were still sheltering in place. Police said they are working to identify the employees on lockdown before they can be released. The Associated Press contributed to this report. OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Quincy Data was named "Best Overall Market Data Provider" at the 2020 TradingTech Insight Awards Europe ceremony last night in London. Stephane Tyc, co-founder of Quincy Data: "We are delighted to be recognized as the Best Overall Market Data Provider by A-Team Insight. Financial firms are seeing greater value from low latency market data on their risk management practices and P&L. Low latency market data is now used across the spectrum of banks and hedge funds that trade electronically." Quincy Data is the industry-leading distributor of extremely low latency market data, utilizing the microwave networks of its sister company McKay Brothers. Together, they are leveling the playing field for access to the most up to date market data. Quincy Data distributes more market data from key exchanges globally than any wireless market data provider. The company offers discounts to small and emerging firms, short-term contracts and a dedicated client service team. During 2019, Quincy Data significantly improved its normalized market data feed, the Quincy Extreme Data (QED) service, by making numerous changes to lower its latency further. The company has plans to again reduce QED's latency to ensure it will remain the lowest latency service. Quincy began to redistribute QED in Hong Kong, Dubai and Mumbai in 2019, in addition to existing locations in the US, Europe and Asia. Last year, Quincy launched the Quincy Raw Data (QRD) service distributing US equity market data in the native exchange formats from the three largest exchange groups on the New Jersey Equity Triangle. The QRD service distributes the raw equity market feeds from one exchange at the data centers of the other two at the lowest latency. The Quincy Protected Data (QPD) service offers the same exchange data feeds as QRD, combining the lowest latency wireless with fiber to ensure reliability. McKay Brothers offers private bandwidth on these routes. The company expects to offer similar services on its Illinois metro route soon. Bob Meade, co-founder of Quincy Data: "It's an honor to be acknowledged as the Best Overall Market Data Provider. We are still hard at work to squeeze every bit of latency from our service. And we'll continue to work with our clients to provide the most important market data at the trading centers that matter the most to them." About Quincy Data, LLC Quincy Data distributes more wireless financial market data globally than any provider. The Quincy Extreme Data service is an integrated and normalized feed of select market data sourced from financial exchanges globally and delivered at extremely low latency to twenty-one major trading centers in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Quincy Raw Data and Quincy Protected Data services offer equity data feeds in the native exchange format on the New Jersey Equity Triangle. QRD is the lowest latency market data service for the three largest US equity exchanges. QPD is faster, cheaper and more reliable than incumbent services. Learn more at www.quincy-data.com About McKay Brothers, LLC McKay Brothers is the acknowledged leader in providing low latency wireless networks for firms trading in financial markets. Many of the world's most sophisticated trading operations utilize the low latency microwave networks that McKay designs, engineers, builds and operates. McKay's global wireless footprint is unrivaled by any provider serving the electronic trading community. McKay opened long-haul microwave networks in the US in 2012, Europe in 2014, and Asia in 2016. The company operates metro networks between key financial exchanges in Illinois, New Jersey and the UK. Learn more at: www.mckay-brothers.com SOURCE Quincy Data Related Links http://www.quincy-data.com A state appeals court Tuesday upheld a 2018 ruling that the state Department of Ecology did not violate the state Public Records Act in a case involving the proponent of a giant Longview coal export dock. Millennium Bulk Terminals sued Ecology in 2017, arguing that the department failed to properly release records related to its environmental impact study of Millenniums proposed coal export dock. A Thurston County Superior Court Judge disagreed in 2018, finding that Ecology searched adequately for those records. The state appellate court agreed with that decision Tuesday. We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the Department of Ecology, Ecology spokesman Jeff Zenk said. Millennium officials declined comment, saying the ruling speaks for itself. So it was not clear whether the company will appeal. It is just one more in a steady stream of court losses for the $680 million coal terminal project, which has been fought by environmentalists and some members of the medical community for about a decade. Tuesdays decision is relatively minor to the proposed coal terminals fate. It follows a January ruling by the state Supreme Court, which denied Millennium an aquatic lands sublease for the project. The terminal would employ about 130 workers and take up to 1,000 construction workers to build, according to Millennium. The terminal would be located at the old Reynolds Metals Co. aluminum plant site. Ecology and Cowlitz County released their final environmental impact study on the proposed terminal in April 2017. Citing that study, Ecology in September 2017 denied a water quality permit for the terminal. In July that same year, Millennium requested records explaining the data and assumptions used to prepare the study. Millennium sued Ecology that December, arguing that the agency had withheld records. Ecology sent its ninth and final installment of the records in March 2018. The department sent a total of 377,000 documents over four different records requests made by Millennium, according to the appellate courts findings. Millennium then filed a new motion, arguing that Ecology failed to produce 26 documents. It also explained in further detail its request for data and assumptions, which it argued were necessary to validate the impact study. A Thurston County Superior Court Judge denied Millenniums motion and dismissed its complaint, finding that Ecology searched its files adequately and gave Millennium all the documents it requested. Millennium appealed that decision. We conclude that (Ecology) performed an adequate search, the appellate court found Tuesday in upholding the lower courts decision. In reaching that decision, the judges pointed out that Ecology spent nearly 800 hours in an attempt to comply with Millenniums document requests. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. More than half of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) particles suspended in Kolkatas air are cancer and genetic-mutation causing in nature, according to a new study by researchers from the Bose Institute in Kolkata. PAHs are a class of organic pollutants created from vehicular emissions, garbage burning and biomass burning. They are among the top 10 of 275 hazardous chemicals because they can lead to cancer (carcinogenic) and mutation in genes (mutagenic), according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry, a US public health agency. Our study quantified 5065% carcinogenic and mutagenic PAHs in the particulate matter including chemicals like benzo(a)pyryene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, chrysene and indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene among others. At least 17 kinds of PAHs have been found in Kolkatas air, said Debajyoti Ray, research associate of environmental sciences section at Bose Institute. The total PAH concentration in Kolkatas air is around 94 nanograms per cubic metre, found the study, which also compared it with PAH levels in other cities found in previous studies. The comparison showed Delhi air had 288 nanograms per metre cube of PAHs, which is three times higher than Kolkata. Bose Institute researchers found that these PAH particles are not just locally generated, but also coming from transboundary sources, including from northwest India and areas along the eastern coast. During the post-monsoon period and winter months, PAH over Kolkata was found to be coming from as far as Haryana and Punjab where crop burning takes place. During the summer, smoke billowing out from biomass burning (Jhum cultivation) over Eastern Ghat regions (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) significantly contributes to PAH loading in the atmosphere of Kolkata. said Abhinandan Ghosh, a senior research fellow of environmental sciences section of Bose Institute. Abhijit Chatterjee, associate professor of environmental sciences at Bose Institute says higher temperature, solar radiation and wind speed help in dispersing the pollutants, in summer, but lower temperature, low-speed wind and low radiation in the post-monsoon and winter season help in PAH accumulation. The research led by Chatterjee and Ray has been published recently in Aerosol and Air Quality Research, an international peer-reviewed journal. An environmental expert said phasing out of diesel and coal as fuels is one of the measures needed. Smoke from burning coal and diesel contribute the maximum to PAH particles. The solution is to gradually phase out these fuels. Delhi has already banned coal. Kolkata also needs to make similar efforts to get rid of these deadly pollutants, said Vivek Chattopadhyay, senior programme manager (Clean Air Program) at the Centre for Science and Environment. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joydeep Thakur Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues. ...view detail PASCAGOULA, Miss., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has successfully completed the second builders sea trials of guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119). The Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer spent more than three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ships main propulsion, combat and other ship systems. It truly takes a team to accomplish what we did during this set of trials, said George Nungesser, Ingalls DDG 51 program manager. Our shipbuilders, test and trials personnel, and the Supervisor of Shipbuilding team showed tremendous dedication to the program while at sea. Our team will continue to prepare DDG 119 for the next set of trials and its future as a state-of-the-art Navy destroyer. DDG 119 is the first ship named in honor of Navy veteran Delbert D. Black, who served as a gunners mate and was aboard the battleship USS Maryland (BB 46) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A photo accompanying this release is available at: https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/file/delbert-black-ddg119-builders-trials Ingalls has delivered 31 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy. The shipyard currently has four DDGs under construction, including Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) and Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) the first Flight III ship, which started fabrication in May 2018. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States military strategy. The guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. Huntington Ingalls Industries is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HIIs Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HIIs Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defense and federal solutions, nuclear and environmental services, and fleet sustainment. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 42,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit: HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries HII on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hiindustries Contact: Teckie Hinkebein Teckie.Hinkebein@hii-co.com (228) 935-1323 Visitors, come to Pennsylvania hungry. The Keystone State has earned 15 spots in the semi-finals for the 2020 James Beard Awards, the Oscars of the culinary world. Like the Oscars, the awards are voted on by industry professionals, although in this case its restaurateurs and chefs rather than actors and directors. The actual nominees of the awards will be announced on March 25 in Philadelphia, while the award ceremony itself will be held on May 4 in Chicago. The semifinalists came from throughout the state, with the majority coming from Philadelphia (which had eight spots). Pittsburgh claimed three, Lancaster netted two and Ardmore and Bethlehem each had one. READ MORE: The best secret menu items in Philadelphia The state laid claim to semi-finalists in the awards big four categories: Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Restaurant and Rising Star Chef of the Year. Kalaya Thai Kitchen in Philadelphia is a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant. Marc Vetri of Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia is up for Outstanding Chef. Bolete in Bethlehem is a semi-finalists for Outstanding Restaurant. As for the Rising Star Chef of the Year, Jesse Ito of Royal Izakaya in Philadelphia is once again up for the award (he was nominated for the first time back in 2019). For those who loved baked goods, Tova du Plessis of Essen Bakery in Philadelphia is a semi-finalist for Outstanding Baker, while Neil Blazin of Driftwood Oven in Pittsburgh is a semi-finalist for the Outstanding Pastry Chef award. The James Beard Awards also recognize the partner of all great food -- great drink. Ardmores Jean Broillet IV of Tired Hands Brewing Company got a nod for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer. Horse Inn in Lancaster is a semi-finalist for the Outstanding Bar Program, while Le Caveau in Philadelphia is a semi-finalist for Outstanding Wine Program. The majority of the Pennsylvania semi-finalists come from the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category, which recognizes chefs who work in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Nicholas Elmi of Laurel, Rich Landau of Vedge and Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa all represent Philadelphia in that category. Christian Frangiadis of Spork and Wei Zhu of Chengdu Gourmet honor Pittsburgh, while Taylor Mason of Luca represents the best of Lancaster. You can learn more about the James Beard Awards and see the full list of semi-finalists at jamesbeard.org. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The chief information officer (CIO) in Asia Pacific self-identifies as a transformational leader, tasked with creating new revenue-generating initiatives and with responsibilities expanding into cyber security and customer experience. Thats according to 2020 State of the CIO research from IDG, helping define the CIO agenda for the upcoming year while outlining the responsibilities and challenges facing senior IT leaders. Results are based on 679 qualified IT respondents at a global level, with findings in Asia Pacific representing the views of 99 technology executives. In Asia Pacific, four core themes are emerging in 2020: 1 Change agents Specific to this region, the majority of CIOs (64 per cent) are assuming transformational roles within an organisation, ahead of functional (19 per cent) and business strategist (17 per cent) positions. This suggests growing recognition of the value that CIOs are providing as champions of change within businesses across Asia Pacific, differing slightly from the more strategic priorities of technology executives globally. Such a focus is supported by the recent transformational efforts of technology leaders at Grab, Amos Group and Star Media in ASEAN, alongside Coles Group in Australia, Mercury in New Zealand and H-Energy in India among others. During the next three years, 33 per cent of Asian CIOs will increase efforts to cultivate IT and business partnerships, alongside leading change efforts (28 per cent); aligning IT initiatives with business goals (28 per cent); implementing new systems and architecture (26 per cent) and redesigning business processes (25 per cent). In addition to executing on the transformational aspirations of the organisation, CIOs will also home in on driving business innovation (53 per cent), developing and refining business strategy (42 per cent) and developing new go-to-market strategies and technologies (35 per cent). 2 Revenue generators Since the commonest reporting line for Asian CIOs is to the CEO (47 per cent), its perhaps unsurprising that key responsibilities now include the creation of new revenue generating initiatives such as the development of new products or services. Currently, this applies to 57 per cent of technology executives in the region, either through managing (19 per cent) or forming part of a team (37 per cent) holding these specific requirements. To achieve such aims, the common approach is centred around creating business case scenarios with defined costs and benefits (52 per cent), ahead of facilitating direct customer interaction (49 per cent) and establishing innovation teams (47 per cent). A recent case in point is the work of Ken Soh as CIO of BH Global, who built out a cyber strategy for the Singapore-based organisation through the creation of a dedicated startup business, Athena Dynamics. Speaking to CIO.com, Soh said of his dual, I am an end-user in the morning and a vendor in the afternoon. Today, CIOs in Asia Pacific are moving beyond being custodians of the IT department, instead embracing entrepreneurial mindsets (30 per cent), building test labs and spaces to spearhead the creation of new ideas (30 per cent), and leveraging the expertise of startups to change internal mindsets (30 per cent). Take DBS Bank as an example: it launched its first data platform-as-a-service under the banner of Ada named after the worlds first computer programmer. Ada stands for Advancing DBS with AI, said Soh Siew Choo, Managing Director and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Big Data, AI Technology, at DBS, speaking at IBM Think 2019 in Singapore in August 2019. That is our ambition for this platform, we want this to be truly self-service so we can empower every employee of DBS to use data and AI. 3 Security strategists When it comes to technology priorities, cyber security (70 per cent) stands tall as the leading responsibility for CIOs in Asia Pacific, beyond traditional IT considerations. Key focus areas include increasing cyber protections (30 per cent) and meeting compliance requirements such as GDPR (12 per cent), counterbalanced by wider business priorities of enhancing customer experience (48 per cent) and driving operational efficiency (45 per cent). Security prioritisation is not translating into huge investment dollars, however, with CIOs on average setting aside 10 per cent of current budget to strengthening internal defences. Delving deeper, only 23 per cent of organisations across the region have a CSO or CISO in place, with 19 per cent employing a top security executive. Therefore, with 60 per cent of businesses lacking a dedicated resource at executive level, the security baton is subsequently being passed onto CIOs in the region. Lack of skills in-market is also a contributing factor, with risk and security management talent in short supply according to 35 per cent of executives surveyed. Encouragingly however, 30 per cent of CEOs have identified upgrading IT and data security to boost corporate resiliency as crucial to business growth in 2020, suggesting that security will continue to climb up the corporate priority ladder in Asia Pacific. According to Chin Kiat Chim (CK), global CISO of Dyson, enterprise security is dependent on rolling out multiple layers of defence to ensure adequate protection, which consists of identifying, preventing, detecting, responding and recovering. As highlighted by CIO.com, CK advises organisations to avoid spending too much money or effort on one single layer and instead to spread investment across detection and response so that attacks can be dealt with quickly and damage can be minimised. Its also important to not forget business continuity management, which is crucial in ensuring that during the worst-case situation, mission-critical business processes are still up and running even when the organisation is in the middle of cyber attack, he added. While not highly ranked on the original findings, business continuity is emerging as a leading priority for CIOs in Asia during the opening months of 2020 due to the outbreak of coronavirus 2019-nCoV. 4 Customer-centric CIOs Aligned to transformational ambitions, customer experience (61 per cent) ranks as the second leading responsibility for CIOs, spearheaded by a desire to develop new customer journeys in market (45 per cent). For 48 per cent of CIOs, this will translate into organisational investment in 2020 with a specific focus on the deployment of technologies such as chatbots and mobile applications (39 per cent) to drive engagement. Complementing this will be increased dollar spend for more than a quarter (27 per cent) of technology executives on machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotic process automation (RPA) offerings. Meanwhile, 41 per cent of CIOs are expected to prioritise investments in data and business analytics to support such initiatives. More so than security, this approach aligns to the priorities of over half (54 per cent) of CEOs in the region, who are tasking CIOs to lead digital transformation initiatives during the next 12 months. The embracing of customer experience as a strategic CIO priority has been most evident in aviation, with a host of ASEAN airlines leveraging technology to boost user loyalty. IDG As reported in CIO.com, carriers in Southeast Asia are building out new technology strategies with customer experience as an anchor point, spearheaded by brands such as Singapore Airlines, AirAsia, Vietnam Airlines and Philippine Airlines, among others. Customer experience has become a key differentiator for businesses worldwide, said Craig Simpson, research manager, IDC. New innovation accelerator technologies like artificial intelligence and data analytics are at the forefront in driving the differentiation for businesses to succeed in their customer experience strategic initiatives. Likewise, customer experience also ranks highly in the media sector within Asia, emphasised by the audience-first data approaches of Star Media and Singapore Press Holdings. This is also the case at National Gallery Singapore, iCar Asia and Canopy, a Singapore-based fintech startup. Forza pro-style gas ranges are offered in stainless steel and the new cool color palette options. Shown left to right: 36-inch Pro-Style Gas Range in Audace Black, Dinamico Blue and Valoroso White. With our new cool color palette, there are even more possibilities to expand contemporary kitchen design. Our ranges embody radical design and powerful performance, and our bold colors transform any kitchen into trend-forward and timeless spaces. Forza, Italian manufacturer of ultra-premium pro-style cooking appliances, adds a new, cool color palette for its pro-style ranges, including three contemporary color kit options: Dinamico Blue, Audace Black and Valoroso White. Each kit is available as a custom veneer making it possible for consumers to return to the original stainless steel or purchase new color kits to complement any decor. With an even larger selection of colors, Forzas Pro-Style Gas Ranges further elevate kitchen design with their sleek racecar lines and distinctive, daring hues. With our new cool color palette, there are even more possibilities to expand contemporary kitchen design, said Marco Guerzoni, Forza Director of Marketing and Product Development. Our ranges embody radical design and powerful performance, and our bold colors transform any kitchen into trend-forward and timeless spaces. TWEET THIS: Italian ultra-premium pro-style cooking #appliances brand @ForzaCucina introduces new cool color palette, Dinamico Blue, Audace Black and Valoroso White, for its pro-style gas ranges. http://bit.ly/FOCoolColors #DifferentByDesign Forzas new color palette names further emphasize the companys distinct identity: dinamico translates to dynamic, and audace and valoroso are bold and valiant, respectively. In addition to their bold design and vivid color palettes, Forza ranges feature the proprietary MassimoBlu Double Broiler. MassimoBlu outperforms traditional infrared broilers with a powerful 18,000 BTU blue flame that evenly distributes heat for maximum convection performance and consistent results. Both the 36- and 30-inch models feature the industry's widest oven cavity at their respective sizes, with up to 6 cubic feet of usable oven space to fit commercial-sized cooking trays. Ranges include a fully extendable, telescopic glide rack to easily slide dishes in and out (ideal for roasting heavy items), a convenient soft-closing door system, and double halogen lamps for enhanced viewing through its uniquely shaped oven window. Forza features the only oven window in the industry where the glass can be easily removed within seconds for convenient cleaning. The exclusive Infinito Grate System utilizes edge-to-edge cast iron grates and integrated bullnose to deliver the largest continuous, usable cooking surface on the market. For precise simmer-to-sear heat control, the 36-inch model features three 20,000 BTU dual-flame sealed burners and three 12,000 BTU single burners, whereas the 30-inch range offers two burners of each. For more information about Forza appliances and its three new color kit options, visit forzacucina.com. About Forza Forza delivers dynamic Italian design with ultra-premium, pro-style cooking appliances. Designed and built in the heart of the famed Emilia-Romagna region in Modena, Italy, Forza appliances include pro-style gas ranges, high-performance ventilation hoods and a powerful, energy-efficient dishwasher. Forza is the American brand of parent company, Glem Gas, which has been producing high-performing appliances that embody the spirit of Italian craftsmanship for more than 60 years. For more information about Forza, visit forzacucina.com. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The University of Alaska Anchorage plans to delete, suspend or revise more than two dozen programs to reduce spending and shrink budget gaps, the school said. The university published the proposed list of courses to be removed or changed on its website Tuesday, Alaska Public Radio reported. University leaders chose from among more than 100 degree and certificate programs to recommend nine for deletion, 10 for suspension, 11 for revision, and about 30 for continued review. The programs proposed for deletion include undergraduate degrees in environment and society, theatre and sociology. Masters degree programs in early childhood special education and creative writing are also on the list. None of us wants to do this, UAA Chancellor Cathy Sandeen said. But this is the situation were in. Faced with three years of budget cuts, the University of Alaska Board of Regents oredered its three universities to begin fast-tracked program reviews last fall. The University of Alaska system includes UAA, University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast. UAA planned to gather community feedback before Sandeen sends her recommendations to the regents, who are expected to make final decisions in June. The university expected to meet with students and employees about the proposed cuts this week, Sandeen said. It is quite dramatic for a university to cut academic programs at this scale, Sandeen said. So it really comes as a shock and people react with anxiety and sadness because what they know as UAA is definitely changing. University leaders weighed factors including enrolment and workforce demand during the review, Sandeen said. 5 1 of 5 Katy Independent School District / Katy Independent School District Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Photo by Peter McElwain Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Courtesy by Katy ISD Show More Show Less 5 of 5 During his time as Katy Independent School District architect, Peter McElwain led teams to design and build 25 elementary schools, nine junior highs and six high schools. Now, Elementary No. 43 will bear his name. The new school is in the Elyson neighborhood in the northeast part of the district and is slated to open just before the 2020-2021 school year. McElwain designed the prototype for the school, so it is fitting that the campus will be named after him. NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of Tupperware Brands Corporation ("Tupperware" or the "Company") (NYSE: TUP). Such investors are encouraged to obtain additional information and assist the investigation by visiting the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/tup. The investigation concerns whether Tupperware and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated federal securities laws. On February 24, 2020, post-market, Tupperware issued a press release announcing that the Company will be unable to timely file its annual report for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019. Tupperware also announced that it expects 2019 net earnings per share ("EPS") "in the range of breakeven to $0.34 versus $3.11 in the prior year[,]" and adjusted EPS of $1.35 to $1.70. Tupperware stated that its financial results were affected by "financial reporting issues" concerning the Company's Fuller Mexico beauty brand and that the Company is "conducting an investigation primarily into the accounting for accounts payable and accrued liabilities" at Fuller Mexico. Additionally, Tupperware announced that it "is forecasting a need for relief concerning its existing leverage ratio covenant in its $650 million Credit Agreement dated March 29, 2019 [], to avoid a potential acceleration of the debt, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company." On this news, Tupperware's stock price fell sharply during intraday trading on February 25, 2020. If you are aware of any facts relating to this investigation, or purchased Tupperware shares, you can assist this investigation by visiting the firm's site: www.bgandg.com/tup. You can also contact Peretz Bronstein or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC: 212-697-6484. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firm's expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contact: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz 212-697-6484 | [email protected] SOURCE Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC Related Links https://www.bgandg.com/ Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Fjordland Exploration Inc. (TSXV: FEX) ("FEX") has executed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (CanAlaska) whereby Fjordland has been granted the option to acquire up to an 80% interest in CanAlaska's wholly owned Hunter and Strong properties, part of CanAlaska's North Thompson Nickel project. This large 18,685 ha. claim group is located 25 km north of the Thompson mine operated by Vale S.A. Canada Ltd. and 285 km north of Winnipeg Manitoba. CanAlaska has been exploring the Thompson Nickel Belt ("TNB") for the past several years and in 2017 commissioned Condor Geophysical Consulting to reprocess historic (2007) VTEM airborne surveys. This review demonstrated several potential Ni-Cu-PGE exploration targets, 14 in total of which 6 are considered a priority and that had never been drilled by the former tenure holder, Falconbridge Nickel. Due diligence carried out in collaboration with Fjordland's significant shareholder High Power Exploration ("HPX") confirmed the presence of several robust, near surface exploration targets as well as identifying additional geophysical targets that require further investigation. Richard Atkinson, President states, "The North Thompson Nickel Belt project meets Fjordland's long-standing exploration criteria in that the high-quality work done to date clearly demonstrates large scale, drill ready targets in a well-documented geologic setting". He notes that since the commencement of production in 1961, the Thompson, Birchtree and Pipe deposits have produced more than 150Mt of nickel sulphide ore grading 2.32% Ni,0.16% Cu,0.046% Co and 0.83 g/t platinum group elements (PGE) ) (Manitoba Government Publications). Vale's success in brownfield mine exploration, as exemplified by the recent extension of the Thompson deposit (T3-1D), demonstrates the exceptional potential of the TNB." Under the terms of the agreement, Fjordland can earn its interest by incurring the following exploration expenditure and share issuances: Additional Interests Work Commitments Shares Issuances Cash payments Additional Time On signing 1,000,000 $25,000 Upon TSX approval First Option 49% $1,500,000 18 months Second Option 21% $2,500,000 1,500,000 $50,000 24 months Third Option 10% $5,000,000 6,000,000 $75,000 24 months TOTAL 80% $9,000,000 8,500,000 $150,000 66 months Upon completion of a positive feasibility study Fjordland is obligated to issue a further 10,000,000 shares to CanAlaska. The initial Operator will be CanAlaska with Fjordland possessing the option to become Operator upon completion of the second option. It is currently contemplated that a Joint Technical Operating Committee consisting of geologists from HPX, CanAlaska and Fjordland, will be formed to plan and oversee exploration activities. Fjordland will retain a majority vote on all expenditure issues. The LOI is conditional upon the approvals of Fjordland's and CanAlaska's Boards of Directors, the execution by March 31st of a definitive Option/Joint Venture agreement and the conventional regulatory approvals. About the Thompson Nickel Belt: The TNB has been documented as one of the largest nickel camps in the world both in geographic dimension (approximately 180 km X 30 km) and in terms of historic production coupled with current reserves/ resources. Situated along the northwest margin of the Archean Superior province it contains several major sulphide nickel deposits. The world-class Thompson deposit is associated with Paleoproterozoic (1.88 Ga) ultramafic intrusions and lava flows within platformal sedimentary rocks along the rifted margin of the Archean carton. High grade massive to semi massive nickel sulphide deposits occur in ultramafic and adjacent sulphidic sedimentary rocks. These rocks have been subjected to amphibolite-facies metamorphism and multiphase folding during the Trans-Hudson orogeny, resulting in extensive modification of primary textures and in ore/host relationships. The Thompson Nickel Belt is the host of over 18 nickel deposits and is estimated to have produced over 5 billion lbs of nickel since 1959. The nickel deposits are hosted in the Opswagan Group, a sulphide-rich metasedimentary package intruded by ultramafic intrusions. The nickel deposits are located within the ultramafic sills or in the metasediments proximal to the sills. Previous exploration on the Strong and Hunter claims was carried out prior to a robust understanding of the TNB magmatic sulphide system, which Vale/Inco earth scientists have since demonstrated is strongly stratigraphically and structurally controlled and constrained to the Pipe fm. with Ni-tenor upgrading via sulphide kinesis. Application of these concepts at Hunter & Strong represents considerable discovery opportunity. Robert Cameron, P. Geo., a technical consultant to the Company, is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has read and takes responsibility for the technical aspects of this release. About Fjordland Exploration Inc. Fjordland Exploration Inc. is a mineral exploration company that is focused on the discovery of large scale potentially economic deposits located in Canada. Fjordland has been actively exploring the Pants Lake Intrusive in collaboration with HPX and Commander Resources. The target is a Ni-Cu-Co deposit analogous to the nearby Voiseys Bay deposit some 80 km to the north. The scope and cost of the 2020 program will be contingent on the results derived from a sophisticated geophysical inversion designed to enhance drill target selection which has been underway for several months. For further information visit Fjordland's website at www.fjordlandex.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Richard C. Atkinson" Richard C. Atkinson, P.Eng. President & CEO For further information, please call: FJORDLAND EXPLORATION INC. Richard C. Atkinson, President and CEO 1-604-805-3232 info@fjordlandex.com www.fjordlandex.com The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include without limitation the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs on schedule and the success of exploration programs. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52829 On Wednesday, veteran diplomat Javed Ashraf has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France. Ashraf is a 1991 batch Indian Foreign Service officer. He is currently the High Commissioner of India to Singapore. The Foreign Ministry said, 'He is expected to take up the post soon.' Ashraf will replace Vinay Mohan Quatra. This is an important position in view of the growing strategic relations between the two countries. Quatra has been appointed as India's ambassador to Nepal. Kejriwal on Delhi violence, "Army should be deployed to manage the situation" Javed Ashraf was appointed High Commissioner of India to Singapore in November 2016. Ashraf joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1991. He was also stationed at the Indian Embassy in Frankfurt and Berlin from 1993 to 1999. From 1999 to 2004, Javed Ashraf worked in the US Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. In 2004, he was appointed High Commissioner of Nepal where he remained posted till 2007. Pakistan is happy with President Trump's statement Javed Ashraf served as a Counselor and Minister for Political Affairs in Washington DC from 2007 to 2010 and then headed the US Division in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi from 2010 to 2012. Javed Ashraf, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the then During the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he served as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) till 2016. His portfolio in the PMO included the Ministry of External Affairs, Defense, National Security Council, Atomic Energy, and Space. Attack in Syria again, 20 people died By Online Desk The death toll in northeast Delhi communal violence over the amended citizenship law continued to rise on Wednesday, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged that the situation has become "alarming" and the Army should be called in as police are "unable to control it". Communal violence over the amended citizenship law had escalated in northeast Delhi on Tuesday as police struggled to check the rioters who ran amok on streets, burning and looting shops, pelting stones and thrashing people. The PM has stressed that calm and normalcy must be restored at the earliest, while Supreme Court Justice KM Joseph pulled up the Delhi police for "lack of professionalism". Officials, quoted by the Press Trust of India, say National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has been given the mandate to restore normalcy by the Prime Minister. Doval went on a tour of the affected areas and said that the situation was under control. Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Wednesday unveiled here 'Toyota New Vellfire', its new luxurious self-charging hybrid electric vehicle in India. The New Vellfire delivers a powerful driving experience while ensuring low fuel consumption and carbon footprints, Toyota said. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder Gasoline Hybrid Engine offers 86 kW (115 BHP) power and a max torque of 198 Nm @ 2800-4000 rpm, a Toyota release said. The New Vellfire engine which is also coupled with two electric motors and a hybrid battery ensures low emissions while delivering a delightful driving experience, it said. The New Vellfire is priced at Rs 79.5 lakh (all India) and about 180 units have been booked so far, according to Naveen Soni, Senio Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A year since Frances oldest couture house hired previously unknown name Bruno Sialelli to renew its relevance and rescue plummeting profits, it appears the gamble has paid off. This morning in Paris, the 32-year-old designer, who was plucked from the menswear division of luxury leather house Loewe to take creative command of Lanvin, unveiled his third collection which was undoubtably his most promising to date. Recruiting a starry cast of models to showcase his vision, from Londoner Jourdan Dunn to Gigi and Bella Hadid, Sialelli sought to stay sensitive to the brands 131 year history, while ushering in a new era tailor made for a modern luxury market. Founder Jeanne Lanvins legacy was paramount, particularly in accessories which serve as a crucial category for the house. Patent leather knee-high boots featured a vertiginous heel with curved into a J. The perfume and beauty lines of which she was a pioneer were woven into the clothes on the catwalk both literally, in form of evening bags shaped like oversized lipstick and rouge compacts, and figuratively in the colour palette of powder blue and bush-pink. AFP via Getty Images Animal motifs were also lifted from her apartment on rue Barbet du Jouy, designed by renowned furniture maker Armand-Albert Rateau, and informed jewellery on the catwalk including parrot shaped cuff bracelets and monkey brooches on lapels. Frenchness was also a key word for the designer. This abstract notion was interpreted through classic couture shapes from coats cut with generously structured shoulders to cascading froufrou frilled skirts, as well as the gesture of leather gloves matching shoes and handbags. Getty Images But whilst typically Parisian in its sensibility, it was clear this collection was also executed with a global mindset. A set of handbags, crafted to resemble a patisseries box, served as a playful French fancy for an Instagram-obsessed generation. Of course, this is no accident. A report published yesterday by the Business of Fashion revealed that the brands number of social media followers had increased by 50,000 per month for the last four months to reach 4.1 million, with half of new followers under 34 years old. Getty Images Since the departure of its long-serving and well loved designer Alber Elbaz in 2013, Lanvins trajectory been on a downward spiral. But signs of recovery are beginning to show. While still currently operating at a loss, sales are slowly starting to climb for the first time in years. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Wednesday said the Chandigarh bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the scheme of amalgamation for the merger of the company and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH). On November 6, 2019, the Mumbai Bench of the had sanctioned the scheme and the order was subject to sanction of the Chandigarh Bench of "In this regard, we wish to inform you that the scheme has now received the sanction of the Chandigarh NCLT," HUL said in a regulatory filing. The effective date of the scheme will be communicated upon being finalised in accordance with the procedure specified by the Mumbai and Chandigarh NCLT, it added. On December 3, 2018, Anglo-Dutch FMCG giant Unilever had announced the acquisition of health food portfolio, including popular brands Horlicks and Boost, from GlaxoSmithKline in India and over 20 other markets for 3.1 billion pounds (about 27,750 crore). Under the deal, Unilever's Indian arm, HUL is acquiring GSKCH India via an all-equity merger, valuing the total business of the latter at Rs 31,700 crore. RSA Conference 2020: News Recap through February 25 RSA (News - Alert) Conference 2020 is currently underway at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The event runs through February 28. Business Wire is the official news wire partner for RSA Conference 2020. Listed below is the news recap through February 25.* 02/25/2020 - 12:35 PM Protegrity Announces Jumpstart Subscription Program at RSA Conference 2020 02/25/2020 - 12:12 PM Medigate Honored by Cyber Defense Magazine with Two 2020 InfoSec Awards 02/25/2020 - 09:30 AM Cymatic Wins Three 2020 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards 02/25/2020 - 09:30 AM RSA Conference 2020 Announces Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award 02/25/2020 - 09:00 AM Exabeam Launches Cloud Platform at RSAC 2020 to Extend Its SIEM Solution With New Applications, Tools and Content 02/25/2020 - 08:40 AM Infosec named a security awareness and training Leader by Independent Research Firm 02/25/2020 - 08:05 AM Global Partners Recognized for Advancing Customer Value and Improving Enterprise Network Security Operations with FireMon 02/25/2020 - 08:02 AM Attivo Networks Named Grand Trophy Winner in Info Security PG's 2020 Global Excellence Awards 02/25/2020 - 08:00 AM FireMon Enhances Industry Leading API, Announces Deep Integrations With ServiceNow, Cisco ACI and Swimlane 02/25/2020 - 08:00 AM Keysight's New Security Operations Platform Enables Organizations to Measure and Improve Effectiveness of Operational Security 02/25/2020 - 08:00 AM Trustwave Spearheads New Threat Detection and Response Innovation 02/25/2020 - 07:14 AM Attivo Networks Marketing Team Wins 2020 Cybersecurity Marketers of the Year Award 02/25/2020 - 06:00 AM Threat Stack Wins Cloud Security Category in Annual InfoSec Awards at RSA Conference 2020 02/25/2020 - 06:00 AM LogRhythm Breaks Sales Records, Leading to Most Successful Quarter in Company History 02/25/2020 - 06:00 AM Imperva Unveils Fully Integrated Advanced Bot Protection Solution 02/25/2020 - 06:00 AM Code42 Advances its Insider Threat Detection Capabilities 02/25/2020 - 05:30 AM SECURITI.ai Named "Most Innovative Startup" at RSA Conference Innovation Sandbox Contest 2020 02/25/2020 - 05:13 AM Venafi Media Alert: The Five Key Trends Driving the Machine Identity Crisis 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM Latest Research Shows 87% Of Respondents Believe Natural Language Understanding (NLU) Can Stop Targeted Email Attacks 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM CrowdStrike Enhances Vulnerability Management for ServiceNow Customers, Helps Streamline Security Operations 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM Media Alert: New Report from Absolute Underscores Windows 10 as Dominant Enterprise OS, But Reveals 80 Percent of Windows 10 Devices Running on Version More than One Year Old 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM CybelAngel Introduces New Data Leak Detection Perimeters and Professional Remediation Services 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM VMware Makes Comprehensive Workload and Network Security More Economical and Easier to Operate Inside Data Centers and Clouds 02/25/2020 - 05:00 AM CrowdStrike Delivers Its Ever-Growing Partner Ecosystem Powerful Tools to Increase Development of Innovative Solutions In the Battle Against Advanced Threats 02/25/2020 - 04:16 AM IT Complexity, Insider Threats, and an Abundance of Privileged Users Plague Public Sector Cyber Readiness 02/25/2020 - 04:00 AM Treble Announces Formation of Cybersecurity Practice Group 02/25/2020 - 03:00 AM TOYO Corporation Unveils Hardware-Accelerated Cybersecurity Solution 02/25/2020 - 03:00 AM CyberSaint Named ISPG 2020 Silver Winner for Innovative Approach to IT and Cybersecurity Risk, Compliance, and Governance 02/25/2020 - 03:00 AM Hillstone Networks Named Winner of Security Company of the Year During RSA Conference 2020 02/24/2020 - 07:06 PM RSA Conference 2020: News Recap through February 24 02/24/2020 - 05:00 AM Global Cloud Tipping Point: the 2020 Thales Data Threat Report-global Edition Shows Organizations Struggle With Security Post Digital Transformation *Recap composed of RSAC 2020 related news releases and multimedia issued over Business Wire's network. Please note the following important information: RSA Conference Exhibitor News http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/rsa-conference-2020/ Exhibitor Profiles http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200221005366/en/RSA-Conference-2020-Exhibitor-Profiles Online Press Kits: Secure Channels Inc. http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/rsa-conference-2020/secure-channels-inc/ The MITRE Corporation (News - Alert) http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/rsa-conference-2020/MITRE/ Titan IC http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/rsa-conference-2020/Titan-IC/ Venafi http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/rsa-conference-2020/Venafi/ Additional Information for Press https://www.rsaconference.com/usa/press-registration About Business Wire Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in news release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Investor relations, public relations, public policy and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire for secure and accurate distribution of market-moving news and multimedia. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals, and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented NX Network. Business Wire has 18 newsrooms worldwide to meet the needs of communications professionals and news media. Learn more at www.businesswire.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @businesswire. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200225006121/en/ The recent comments made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about Cuba and its former leader Fidel Castro were bound to come up during Tuesday's Democratic primary debate in Charleston, South Carolina. When the topic eventually made its way into the chaos, Sanders' fellow candidates zeroed in on his past praise for certain aspects of the Cuban government, such as its literary program and health care system. Sanders once again clarified he was merely pointing a few good things about the Castro regime, which he describes as otherwise authoritarian. But that wasn't good enough for his competitors. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, for example, said such comments could have consequences for Democrats down the line, suggesting the party could lose House and Senate races because of them. "We're not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime," Buttigieg said. Sanders once again argued he has routinely condemned authoritarianism before pointing out that the U.S. government supports Saudi Arabia despite its human rights violations. More stories from theweek.com Watch Elizabeth Warren tell a Sanders supporter that Bernie helped write the delegate rules he now opposes Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears A lawyer for Julian Assange complained Tuesday that the WikiLeaks founder was handcuffed 11 times, stripped naked twice and had court papers taken away on the first day of a hearing on his extradition to the United States. Attorney Edward Fitzgerald told a judge that the treatment of Assange at Londons Belmarsh Prison could be a contempt of this court. The extradition hearing opened on Monday at Woolwich Crown Court, which is located next to the prison. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who is hearing the case, said she had no power to act unless Assange became unable to participate in the proceedings, which are expected to last several months. If it comes to that, please let me know, the judge said. Another lawyer for Assange, Gareth Peirce, told the judge on Tuesday that Assange was struggling and finding it hard to concentrate. Assange, 48, is wanted in the U.S. on espionage charges over the leaking of classified government documents a decade ago. U.S. prosecutors accuse Assange of conspiring with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password, hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They allege that WikiLeaks publication of the unedited documents put U.S. intelligence sources who were mentioned in them at risk of torture of death. Assange says he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection. His lawyers argue that the U.S. charges which carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison are a politically motivated abuse of power. Defense lawyers also deny that Assange put lives at risk. Attorney Mark Summers said that in 2010 WikiLeaks worked with international news organizations to publish the trove of files in edited form. He said that the following year Assange phoned the White House to warn that a password published in a book about WikiLeaks by journalists from The Guardian newspaper one of WikiLeaks then-media partners could allow people to view the full unredacted cache of documents. Summers said Assange had warned that unless we do something, then peoples lives are put at risk. WikiLeaks relationship with its media partners, which included The Guardian and The New York Times, soon soured, and in 2011 WikiLeaks began releasing large numbers of the uncensored documents. The Guardian said it was entirely wrong to say the Guardians 2011 WikiLeaks book led to the publication of unredacted U.S. government files. The book contained a password which the authors had been told by Julian Assange was temporary and would expire and be deleted in a matter of hours, the newspaper said in a statement. The book also contained no details about the whereabouts of the files. Assange has been jailed in England since April 2019, when he was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He took refuge in the embassy seven years earlier to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault. A British court handed him a 50-week sentence for jumping bail in 2012. The extradition hearing is expected to continue for the rest of the week, then take a break before resuming in May. The Kosciuszko Foundation New England Chapter will host an Awards Gala at which the recipients of Kosciuszko Foundation scholarships and grants will be recognized and the Distinguished Polish American award will be presented. The event will take place March 29 at 11:30 a.m. at Willets-Hallowell Center at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. This year we there are 27 recipients of scholarships and grants. Dr. Witold Kawecki, of New Britain, Connecticut, a native of Tarnow, Poland, is the Distinguished Polish American award recipient. Dr. Kawecki is one of the few remaining people who knows what life was like during World War II. He was about 10 when his family escaped to Romania in the first weeks of (the war), said Carolyn C. Topor, president of the New England Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation and chairman of the gala. Kawecki went to France where he attended high school and joined the Polish underground as a courier. He graduated from medical school in Ireland and came to the United States on an internship then entered private practice as a psychiatrist in New Britain, Connecticut. For many years he lobbied to bring more Polish-speaking mental health professionals to Connecticut, Topor said. Hes been involved with the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City for many years and as a director of the New England Chapter. It is time that the New England chapter acknowledges all that Dr. Kawecki has done to bring Polonians together to promote and enrich the Polish-American community. She said that once upon a time Polonians gathered as a community in their church. Now through their various organizations they gather as a community. The KF/NE gala brings these various organizations together to acknowledge young Polish-American scholars who are pursuing their graduate studies at universities and colleges in New England. This year there are 22 students who have received Kosciuszko Foundation scholarships; there are five grantees from Poland doing research at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The gala is an opportunity for the Polish-American community to support and encourage these young people, Topor said. Following the luncheon gala, there will be a concert featuring Magdalena Adamek at the piano and Emmanuel Feldman on cello. They will perform a rarely heard work by Chopin, Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, opus 65, in Abbey Chapel on the Mount Holyoke campus. This rarely heard work was premiered by cellist Auguste Franchomme, accompanied by Chopin at the composers last public performance in Paris in 1848, one year before his death. The Sonata, written in 1846, is one of only nine works of Chopin published during his lifetime that were written for instruments other than piano. Topor called this a rare opportunity to hear this music. The concert will begin at 3 p.m. The cost for the luncheon and concert is $60 per person; luncheon only, $50; concert only, $15. RSVP by March 20. For reservations call 413-433-9014. A devastated mother has revealed that her little girl has just weeks to live after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour. Sadie Parmar, 33, from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, was preparing to wave goodbye to her daughter Georgia, 4, for her first day of school just before her diagnosis. Yet instead of playing with friends and enjoying classes, the youngster is in a hospice with only weeks to live. Georgia was diagnosed with stage three medulloblastoma - a brain tumour which had spread to her spine - just days before she was due to start primary school. Sadie Parmar, 33, from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, has revealed that her little girl (pictured) has just weeks to live after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour Georgia (above, with her mother), 4, was diagnosed with stage three medulloblastoma - a brain tumour - just days before she was due to start primary school The little girl (pictured enjoying an ice cream, recently) had started suffering from severe headaches during her summer holidays The little girl had started suffering from severe headaches during her summer holidays and was also sick throughout the nights. Worried mother Sadie took her daughter to the doctors, where she was told it was 'probably a viral infection' and to give the youngster some Calpol. 'She had sickness in the morning with headaches. They would go quickly and she'd be fine afterwards. 'But then over the weeks it got worse and she was rolling around in pain and couldn't keep anything down,' Sadie told FEMAIL. Worried mother Sadie (seen with her daughter) took Georgia to the doctors, where she was told it was 'probably a viral infection' and to give the youngster some Calpol. Yet her condition worsened and she was rushed to hospital A couple of days later, scans revealed Georgia (pictured) had stage three medulloblastoma and that it had spread to her spine In September, she was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital in the middle of the night after her condition quickly worsened. WHAT IS MEDULLOBLASTOMA? Medulloblastoma is a fast-growing, high-grade tumor. Approximately 70 percent of all cases occur in children under age 10. Signs and symptoms include: Appetite changes Increased pressure on the brain symptoms of headaches, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness, as well as problems with coordination Unusual eye movements Feeling extremely tired Treatment consists of surgical removal of the tumor followed by radiation, and then chemotherapy. Advertisement Medics discovered a blockage on her brain and she underwent surgery to relieve the pressure. A couple of days later, scans revealed Georgia had stage three medulloblastoma and that it had spread to her spine. She had a nine-hour operation to remove the mass, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy to hopefully shrink the tumour. Mother-of-two Sadie said: 'When we were told the diagnosis, my first thought was to comfort everyone else. But then I walked out of the room and went into shock. Then I had to tell her sister the devastating news.' Earlier this month, her family were left heartbroken when doctors revealed that the treatments had failed and that the tumours had got worse. Sadie said: 'The last meeting we had with doctors, we were told, "Theres nothing we can do". We were told she only has weeks left to live rather than months.' Georgia (pictured visiting a donkey) had a nine-hour operation to remove the mass, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy to hopefully shrink the tumour. Yet earlier this month, her family were given the devastating news that the treatment's had failed and that the tumour had got worse Georgia (who had animals come to visit her recently) is now in a hospice where she will spend her final days A fundraising page has been set up to help raise money for the family so they can 'make memories' during Georgia's last few weeks. Pictured: Georgia during treatment Georgia is now in a hospice where she will spend her final days. Sadie, a supervisor at House of Fraser, hasn't been able to work since her daughter's condition was discovered. She was forced to move out of her home because she was unfortunately unable to carry on paying the rent and has moved into the Acorns Children's Hospice to be close to Georgia. Sadie, a supervisor at House of Fraser, hasn't been able to work since her daughter's condition was discovered. Pictured: Georgia in hospital Sadie (pictured with her daughter) was forced to move out of her home because she was unfortunately unable to carry on paying the rent and has moved into the Acorns Children's Hospice to be close to Georgia Her older daughter has moved in with her grandparents and Georgia's dad, who has separated from Sadie but remains a close friend, is also staying at the charity-funded accommodation. A fundraising page has been set up to help raise money for the family so they can 'make memories' during Georgia's last few weeks. Sadie said: 'We are trying to make memories with Georgia. She's had animals come to see her so far. And we're having a little party. Then they'll be funeral costs.' Craig Moran, holding August the ferruginous hawk, shows LR student Reece Johnson, on his arm, where August had gripped Moran with her talons the day before. Moran said she'd shifted her talons off his protective glove and that the talons felt like needles piercing him. - Jacob Wagner photo Craig Moran held up a 30-year-old hawk to a room full of young students at the Vets Hall in Electric City during a two-day event to educate them about birds of prey. Moran, of RaptorLife, a company that teaches people about the raptor category of birds, was showing them August, a 30-year-old ferruginous hawk, that was taken from a nest in Wyoming in 1990. Moran spoke to a mixture of fourth- th... Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 14:40:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A train loaded with 660 tonnes of cargo left the city of Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, and headed for Uzbekistan on Wednesday, marking the first cargo train between Shijiazhuang and Central Asia since the novel coronavirus outbreak. The 42 containers of goods include auto parts, mechanical equipment, building materials and other commodities with a total value of around 30 million yuan (about 4.3 million U.S. dollars). They will arrive in Tashkent in about 12 days. The resumption of freight trains provided strong support for the resumption of production for trade enterprises in the province. The operations of cargo trains between Chinese cities and countries along the Belt and Road are gradually resuming amid the epidemic. Earlier this month, the city of Jinhua in east China's Zhejiang Province resumed its cargo train service to Central Asian countries. Authorities in Shijiazhuang said they will launch more freight trains to Russia, Belarus and Central Asian countries in March. At least 23 people in a wedding party were killed when their bus fell into a river in Indias northern state of Rajasthan on Wednesday, police said. Five passengers were injured in the accident that occurred after the bus plunged into the Mej river while traversing a bridge in the Bundi district. The driver lost control of the bus after one of the vehicles tyres burst. The bus fell some 10 metres into the river. Most victims, that include two children died on the spot, police officer Suresh Gurjar said. The others injured were hospitalised and reported to be stable, Gurjar said. India has the highest number of traffic fatalities in the world, mostly blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicles along with negligent driving. Nearly 149,000 people died in road accidents in India in 2018, according to government data. (dpa/NAN) AKRON, Ohio A Summit County judge sentenced an Akron man to life in prison Tuesday for the 2018 slaying of a Massillon woman whose body was found in a wooded area after being set on fire. Daniel Lee Jones, 47, will be eligible for parole in 19 years, according to the Summit County Prosecutors Office. A jury on Feb. 11 convicted Jones of two counts of murder, felonious assault, two counts of tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse, all felonies. During the trial, Jones admitted during testimony to killing Blondheim and burning her body, prosecutors say. Jones got into an argument with Kerri Blondheim, 44, of Massillon, on Sept. 23, 2018, at Jones apartment in Akron. Jones strangled Blondheim with such force that he broke every bone in her throat, prosecutors say. Jones took Blondheims body to a wooded area on Van Buren Road near the New Franklin-Barberton border, prosecutors say. He covered her body with a mattress and set both on fire. Kerri Blondheim was loved by family and friends and leaves behind a heartbroken community. No one should suffer the way Kerri did at the hands of Daniel Lee Jones, County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement. Daniel Lee Jones is a cold-blooded killer who did everything he could to cover up the crime. My office will work hard to ensure he spends the rest of his life behind bars. To comment on this story, visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Body found following Barberton fire identified as Massillon woman Man attacked Cleveland woman by throwing unknown chemical in her face, police say Cleveland woman seriously hurt when man pushed her into traffic during panhandling dispute, records say Man charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Portage County VFW post Ohio troopers 100 mph chase through Strongsville, Brunswick ends in crash, arrests and is now under review A grandfather who was holding his toddler granddaughter before she plunged to her death from a cruise ship window has agreed to plead guilty to help end part of this nightmare. Salvatore Anello, from Indiana in the US, has filed documents in a Puerto Rico court to change his plea to guilty to a charge of negligent homicide over the death of 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand. Family lawyer Michael Winkleman said Mr Anello is not expected to face prison and will serve his probation in Indiana. In a statement released through lawyers, Mr Anello said: I took a plea deal to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family, if possible. "The support they continue to give me has been beyond overwhelming and I cant tell you how grateful I am for them. The incident took place in July when the family were on the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship / AP Speaking about the incident, he added in the statement: "It was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before. "I was placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed. It will always be a constant nightmare every day and every night for the rest of my life." Mr Anello was on vacation with his family last July aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas when he dropped Chloe out of a window of the ship while it was docked in San Juan. Royal Caribbean Cruises has claimed surveillance video shows Mr Anello leaned out an 11th-floor window in a childrens play area on the ship for about eight seconds before he lifted his granddaughter to the window. Investigators say the girl slipped from his hands and plummeted to her death. The girls family, though, claim in legal action filed in January against the cruise line that it would have been physically impossible for Mr Anello to lean out of the window. In the statement, Mr Anello added that he was "focused on Chloe the whole time I was with her". "As I walked with her, I also saw that the ship deck was surrounded by a wall of glass. In my experience, any elevated public place I've been with that much glass has always been a protective barrier. "From my point of view, at the moment the accident happened, it was as if this wall of protective glass disappeared. I was in complete disbelief." He added: "I wasn't drinking and I wasn't dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before. I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings." Mr Anello also expressed his "deepest gratitude" to the "kind people" who have "embraced me and prayed for me and my family". "They have really been a crucial source for all of us to draw strength from and it has been a blessing," he said. Mr Winkleman said the deal is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe. She's been on a promotional trail for her new film, scheduled to premiere in the US on March 13. And Elle Fanning was the picture of sophistication as she attended the premiere for The Roads Not Taken alongside co-star Salma Hayek at the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival in Germany's Berlinale Palace on Wednesday evening. The Maleficent star, 21, exuded sophistication in a dramatic velvet gown, while legendary thespian Salma, 53, turned heads in an elegant cocktail dress. Leading ladies: Elle Fanning (L) attended the premiere for The Roads Not Taken alongside co-star Salma Hayek (R) at the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival in Germany's Berlinale Palace on Wednesday Commanding attention, actress Elle looked sensational as she slipped into the custom Armani Prive strapless number, which featured a quirky bow detail along the bodice and a frilly hemline. The blonde beauty ensured focus remained on her outfit as she opted for minimal accessories by just sporting a silver watch. The Teen Spirit star appeared to take hair inspiration from the 1920s as she styled her tresses in a flapper-style 'do, complemented with a diamond-encrusted clip. Injecting a hint of colour to her porcelain complexion, Elle accentuated her features with pink-tinted blush, dewy foundation and winged eyeliner. Commanding attention: The Maleficent star, 21, exuded sophistication in a dramatic velvet gown Commanding attention: The actress looked sensational as she slipped into a custom Armani Prive strapless number, which featured a quirky bow detail along the bodice and a frilly hemline Radiant: The Teen Spirit star was in great spirits as she hit the event with her stunning co-star Retro glamour: She appeared to take hair inspiration from the 1920s as she styled her tresses in a flapper-style 'do, complemented with a diamond-encrusted clip All in the details: Injecting a hint of colour to her porcelain complexion, the Georgia native accentuated her features with pink-tinted blush, dewy foundation and winged eyeliner Mexican actress and producer Salma opted for an equally striking appearance as she was dressed in a sleeveless floor-length garment, complete with a bejeweled neckline. Carrying her essentials in a classic box clutch, the Dogma star - who has been married to billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault since 2009 - paired her sparkling wedding band with a chunky purple ring by Pomellato. The Grown Ups actress framed her matte make-up look with a chic low bun, complete with curly twin bangs. Star-studded: Elle was also joined by Javier Bardem, who plays her on-screen father Wow: Mexican actress and producer Salma, 53, opted for an equally striking appearance as she was dressed in a sleeveless floor-length garment, complete with a bejeweled neckline Sensational: The Grown Ups actress framed her matte make-up look with a chic low bun, complete with curly twin bangs (also pictured with director Sally Potter) Stars galore: German actress Milena Tscharntke displayed her sartorial flair in a quirky blouse and leather culottes This year's festival, which showcases the best films of international cinema, kicked off on February 20 and is due to conclude on March 1. The Roads Not Taken tells the story of a day in the life of dementia sufferer Leo (Javier Bardem), who is cared for by his daughter Molly (Elle) as he floats through alternative lives of his past, including with his first wife Dolores (Salma). Directed by Sally Potter, the movie was shot in just four days, and is inspired by the filmmaker's brother. At a conference earlier in the day, screenwriter Sally explained: 'There is a lot of focus these days on identity, but I tend to think there is a crowd in everyone and we pick one and tend to perform it as 'me'. Impressive: Directed by filmmaker Sally, the movie was shot in just four days, and is inspired by the filmmaker's brother Working it: The cast took centre stage as they continued to pose for images 'Now I'm back in Berlin with a film...in which Javier and I also talk in Spanish. It was never a challenge to speak poetry in Spanish.' Salma's outing at the film festival comes after she opened up about 'how big of a risk it was to come to the United States in the first place and start again as an actress.' In an interview with InStyle, the actress said she was 'doing really well' on the soap circuit in Mexico before she came to the States to start a career in film. Plot: The film tells the story of a day in the life of dementia sufferer Leo (Javier), who is cared for by his daughter Molly (Elle) as he floats through alternative lives of his past She discussed her struggle to launch Frida, a film that she produced and was later nominated for at the Oscars. The brunette shared: 'I had to fight for eight years to get Frida off the ground. Nobody wanted to make a story about a Mexican Communist artist with one eyebrow. 'It was really hard. But I had a vision for it. And Im proud that I produced it too. There was no Oh, can I please have a credit? No, no, no. I made that s*** happen.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 05:31:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Adele Jarrar, art critic and exhibition curator, displays a Palestinian political poster during an exhibition held at the Palestinian Museum in the West Bank town of Birzeit, Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) by Fatima AbdulKarim BIRZEIT, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Museum, in the West Bank town of Birzeit, on Tuesday unraveled parts of its large collection of political posters produced by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and political factions under it. Palestinians used posters as a means of communication and a tool to raise awareness from the mid 1960s till the early 1990s. During that time, posters, as well as the Palestinian flag, were outlawed by Israeli authorities and many of them were created and disseminated abroad and under cover. The Palestinian posters held political messages, motivational messages and mobilization calls addressing both Palestinians and non-Palestinians around the world, amid their struggle for freedom. The posters were filled with imagery and icons like natural landscape, orange or olive orchids, women, children and guerilla fighters. In its exhibition titled "Glimmer of a Grove Beyond," the Palestinian Museum offered a glimpse into its collection of 540 posters by displaying 32 posters that followed through the theme of landscape and how it was depicted throughout the years. Adele Jarrar, art critic and exhibition curator, told Xinhua that those posters were from Australia, which were donated by art collector and former PLO ambassador Ali Kazak. "The aim of the exhibition is to provide audience with a new way to experience the landscape. In previous exhibitions, the medium was art works, but in this show, the medium is the poster," the curator explained. The posters collection is being preserved under special conditions inside the museum's conservation room. Baraa Bawatneh, the museum's registrar assistant, explained that the large collection has been in a good condition and only a few require restoration. The Palestinian Museum has been collecting works, documents and visual materials to offer researchers and artists a unique opportunity to get a hold of Palestinian history that has been suffering losses amid years of war and struggle. Haneen Saleh, the museum's information officer, said that the museum's permanent collection has reached 7,000 archival pieces, most of which have been copied and digitalized, while the originals were returned to their owners. The title of the exhibition "Glimmer of a Grove Beyond" was inspired by the memoirs of French author Jean Genet, who used the term to describe the lights of the Galilee as he saw them from beyond the Jordanian border, where he was encamped with Palestinian guerilla groups during the early 1970s. The Palestinian Museum is the first museum in Palestine that offers artistic and educational programs to boost the Palestinian cultural sector. https://www.aish.com/sh/t/Three-Benefits-of-Celebrating-Shabbat.html Three benefits of celebrating Shabbat. Shabbat offers us an amazing opportunity to live on a different plane for one day each week, as we focus on our spiritual side and spend time with family and friends. Here are three ways that we emerge strengthened and reinvigorated from this beautiful day. A Day to Unplug One major study of adolescents found that cellphones and other screen-based activities are addictive, in much the same way that pharmaceutical drugs spark addictive behavior: Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is currently becoming a serious mental health issue around the globe researchers observed. Using electronics stimulates our brains in much the same way that narcotics do. While the causes and treatments of internet addiction are complex, unplugging one day a week can help break the hold that electronics have over us, allowing us to experience the world without the filter of smartphones and other devices. Dr. Mary Gomes, a professor at Sonoma State University and an expert in technology use, typically asks her students to stop using their cellphones for a day or so, then asks them about their experiences. Most students report savoring the world in a way that they never did when they were glued to their phones: As children of the smartphone age, some of them were experiencing long periods of uninterrupted attention for the first time in years. Shabbat offers the perfect opportunity to turn off electronics for 24 hours straight. Shabbat offers the perfect opportunity to turn off electronics for 24 hours straight, allowing all of us to experience life in real time, without the technology that distracts us so much of the time. Family Dinners Anne Fishel, Ph.D. is the founder and director of the Family Dinner Project at Harvard University. As a family therapist, she notes, I often have the impulse to tell families to go home and have dinner together rather than spending an hour with me. And 20 years of research in North America, Europe, and Australia back up my enthusiasm for family dinners. It turns out that sitting down for a nightly meal is great for the brain, the body, and the spirit. Its not always easy to find the time in everyones schedules to sit down together for a meal, but eating together brings surprising benefits. For young children, eating together with their families boosted their vocabulary even more than being read aloud to. For older children, eating with family was associated with getting markedly better grades in school. Adolescents who engage in family meals are more positive, more resilient, have lower rates of depression, and report feeling more optimistic about the future. Shabbat meals: Friday night dinner, Shabbat afternoon lunch, and a meal eaten late on Saturday afternoon before sunset (called Third Meal), give us time to eat together with family and friends and reconnect over good food and conversation. Shabbat meals give us time to eat together with family and friends and reconnect over good food and conversation. In my own home, I see the power of eating together on Shabbat in bringing us all together. During the week, we do try to eat family meals together, but our busy schedules often get in the way. Even when we do manage to sit down for a meal as a family, I find were lucky if it lasts twenty minutes. It seems like weve barely begun before everyone heads in their separate ways. On Shabbat, our meals feel very different than our quick family dinners during the week. On Shabbat we sit down to a beautifully set table and enjoy more elaborate and relaxing meals. Instead of getting up as soon as were done eating, everyone wants to linger and shmooze. Creating Jewish Memories Years ago, a friend and I discussed ways we could ensure our children loved being Jewish. My friend wasnt religiously observant, yet being Jewish was important to her. We agreed that celebrating Shabbat - lighting candles on Friday nights and having a meal afterwards with kiddush and saying a blessing over bread - was an important family ritual to adopt. My friend hasnt always managed to live up to her goals of celebrating Shabbat each week, but most of the time she has, and her family often enjoys a beautiful Shabbat dinner together. Her oldest daughter is preparing to go off to college now and surprised her mother by announcing that shes only going to consider colleges with a strong Jewish life. I have to be able to have Shabbat dinners like we do at home, her daughter explained. Even though he considered himself a non-religious Jew, Ahad HaAm (Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg) realized that Jewish life without Shabbat was unthinkable. He famously wrote, More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews. State Bank of India will hold electronic sale or e-auction of its commercial and residential properties today. The bank is selling properties of defaulters to recover bank dues. The bank also ran several advertisements of the sale on different social media platforms. "We at SBI are very transparent when putting immovable properties, mortgaged with the Bank / attached by Court order to auction, by furnishing all the relevant details that can make it an attractive proposition for bidders to participate in the auctions," the SBI said in a statement. The advertisement contains details of websites where the prospective bidders can access the location and other details of the properties. It also guides the prospective bidders on the pre-requirements for participating in the e-auction. The SBI also said, "We also incorporate all relevant details and state whether the same is freehold or leasehold, give its measurement, location etc., including other relevant details in the public notices issued for auctioning." SBI has listed the following requirements: EMD for the particular property as mentioned in the e-Auction notice. KYC Documents - to be submitted to the concerned Branch. Valid Digital Signature -Bidders may approach e-auctioneers or any other authorised agency to obtain digital signature. Login Id and Password- Will be sent to the email id of the bidders by e-auctioneers after the deposit of EMD and submission of KYC documents to the concerned branch Bidders to login and bid during the auction hours on the date of e-Auction as per auction rules. Here's how to participate: Login on the portal by filling in your user ID and password. There's also password recovery option in case someone loses their password. After accepting the Terms and Conditions, click on Participate button. Next, upload of KYC Documents, EMD Details and FRQ (First Rate Quote - Quote Price) etc. in the Participation stage. Click on the link "Pay / Update" And "Upload Doc" to submit all required documents. After that, submit the Quote Price. Quote Price can be equal or greater than the reserved value of the property/asset. Then click on Submit and then Final Submit. Once done, no changes can be made to uploaded documents or the quote price after the final submission. Those who don't click on the Final Submit button on time won't be able to participate in the auction. The SBI website provides several links containing more information on properties and the bidding website. C1 INDIA Pvt. Ltd. : www.bankeauctions.com/Sbi E-Procurement Technologies Limited: sbi.auctiontiger.net/EPROC/ For displaying of the properties: ibapi.in For auction platform: www.mstcecommerce.com/auctionhome/ibapi/index.jsp [February 26, 2020] Sogou Introduces Top-Notch AI-Powered Smart Recorders BEIJING, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) ("Sogou" or "the Company"), an innovator in search and a leader in China's internet industry, today unveiled its latest AI-powered smart recorders S1 and E1 at an online launch event. The new devices are designed to help users communicate and get information more accurately and efficiently in various scenarios, offering advanced features including noise cancellation, voice recognition, simultaneous translation, and multi-lingual transcription. S1, Sogou's latest premium smart recorder, carries an eight-microphone array that can capture sound within 10 meters. Driven by Sogou's industry-leading AI technologies, S1 features a noise-canceling function that can eliminate up to 40,000 types of unwanted noises to ensure the quality of recording. Sogou's smart recognition technology allows S1 to convert audio to text at high speed with an accuracy rate of 98%, making the transcription process quicker and easier than ever. To assist cross-language communications, the S1 and E1 models can translate between 63 languages and transcribe audio content in 10 Chinese dialects and 10 languages including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and Thai. With transcription simultaneously displayed on a touch screen, S1 and E1 help users understand speakers of different languages in real-time and avoid tedious translation tasks. Both models support offline translation and high-quality transcription. Today's event also saw the release of the Forbidden City edition of Sogou's C1 Pro, meticulously designed in partnership with the prestigious Palace Museum in Beijing. Launched in December 2019, Sogou Smart Recorder C1 Pro supports simultaneous interpretation, data transfer via Wi-Fi, and speech-to-text transcription with a 97% accuracy rate in real-time. The new S1 model also comes in a Forbidden City edition. "S1 and E1 mark the next generation of voice recording devices," said Yang Hongtao, Chief Technology Officer of Sogou. "Packed with advanced AI capabilities that provide an unparalleled user experience, they demonsrate how Sogou is leading the AI revolution in voice recording by making access to information and communication easier with our language-centric AI technologies. Our smart recorders have had great success in the market, and we are committed to producing more easy-to-use smart devices for users." Frant Gwo, the director of the Chinese science-fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth, shared at the event how Sogou smart recorders had made it easier for his team to communicate with visual effects artists overseas. "By acting as an interpreter and a transcriber at our meetings, S1 freed us from drudgery and allowed us to focus on producing better work," said Gwo. "S1 also came in very handy when I wanted to record ideas and inspirations in my spare time." Sogou's first-generation AI-powered recorder C1 was launched in March 2019 and has topped the best-selling list on various e-commerce platforms ever since. Sogou has also built an eco-system to empower the voice recording industry. In August 2019, Sogou opened its Dictation Service to third-party voice recorder companies. Driven by Sogou's advanced voice recognition technology, its Dictation Service allows users to transcribe, store, and edit recordings on mobile devices and computers. In addition, Sogou founded the Voice Recorder AI Innovation Alliance together with Sony Voice Recorder, AIGO, Newmine, and MSC Group, seeking to revitalize and transform the industry by integrating hardware devices with transcription services based on Sogou's language-centric AI technologies. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections, which involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, intense competition in the market for search and search-related services; our need to continually innovate and adapt in order to grow our business; our reliance on Tencent platforms for a significant portion of our user traffic; and uncertainty regarding the extent and reach of PRC governmental regulation of sponsored search. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Sogou's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2019, and other documents Sogou files with or submits to the Securities and Exchange Commission. About Sogou Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) is an innovator in search and a leader in China's internet industry. With a mission to make it easy to communicate and get information, Sogou has grown to become the second-largest search engine by mobile queries and the fourth largest internet company by MAU in China. Sogou has a wide range of innovative products and services, including the Sogou Input Method, which is the largest Chinese language input software for both mobile and PC. Sogou is also at the forefront of AI development and has made significant breakthroughs in voice and image technologies, machine translation, and Q&A, which have been successfully integrated into our products and services. For media enquiries, please contact: Yadan Ouyang Brunswick Group Tel: +86 10 5960-8600 Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sogou-introduces-top-notch-ai-powered-smart-recorders-301011509.html SOURCE Sogou Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (Newser) Worried that an earthquake could collapse a big dam south of San Francisco, officials have ordered its reservoir to be completely drained. The 240-foot-high earthen Anderson Dam, built in 1950 between San Jose and the community of Morgan Hill, poses too great a risk of collapse and must be fully drained by Oct. 1, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates dams. Since 2009, the dam's water level has been kept at a maximum of 74% of capacity because of an assessment that it could fail in a 7.2 quake and send floodwaters into Silicon Valley, reports the AP. The Anderson Reservoir, which is built along the Calaveras Fault, was 29% full as of Monday. A seismic retrofit project has been underway because of its state classification in 2017 as being an "extremely high" downstream hazard. story continues below The Santa Clara Valley Water District said in a statement Monday that officials agree with the commission's assessment that the reservoir should be drained ahead of the retrofit project, which is "complicated and time consuming." If the dam collapsed, runoff could damage cities and rural areas from the San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the south, including much of Silicon Valley. Complicating the issue: California may be heading into a new drought, and stored water is an important part of the south San Francisco Bay Area's supply. "While residents have done an excellent job of conserving water since 2013, another drought during this time frame could require everyone to significantly decrease their water use," Valley Water CEO Norma Camacho said. (Read more dam stories.) LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) - The Hon. Otis Wright II ruled yesterday that plaintiff Michael Terpin can proceed with statutory, contract, and tort damages claims against AT&T Mobility for $24 million resulting from the theft of cryptocurrency that he contends was directly caused by an AT&T agent bribed by a criminal gang. The Court ruled in Terpins favor, denying AT&Ts motion to dismiss and finding that Terpin had adequately alleged both proximate cause between AT&Ts conduct and the theft as well as the requisite special relationship to invoke the economic loss doctrine to pursue certain non-contract claims. The decision was entered on Monday, February 24, 2020. Terpin was a longtime AT&T Mobility cell phone customer when he was hacked in January 2018 by a cyber gang. In a matter of hours, the thieves stole $24 million of cryptocurrency while Terpin desperately tried to call the telephone giants fraud hotline. One of the ringleaders was recently indicted in federal court in New York. Terpin plans to file a second amended complaint within 21 days to supplement his request for punitive damages by demonstrating how AT&T was both knowledgeable of, and responsible for, an ongoing sequence of cryptocurrency thefts due to SIM swaps dating back to well before Terpins hack. The Federal Judge, sitting in Los Angeles, had previously ruled that Terpin could proceed to trial under two other claims: (1) unauthorized access in violation of the Federal Communications Act; and (2) declaratory relief seeking to invalidate AT&Ts contract with its users as unconscionable, void against public policy, and unenforceable in its entirety In its latest order, the Court rejected AT&Ts argument on proximate cause, where the phone company alleged that Terpin had not proven that he owned any cryptocurrency or the precise method in which it was stolen. At this stage, Mr. Terpin is not required to reconstruct the precise sequence of the hack, wrote the Court, but rather, merely establish a natural and continuous sequence of plausible events connecting the hackers access to his phone number to the theft of his cryptocurrency. The Court also upheld Terpins argument that he may sue under the economic loss doctrine because a special relationship existed between AT&T and Terpin once it linked his telephone number to personal data. Moreover, the Court wrote: "Mr. Terpins damages were allegedly suffered precisely because AT&T provided inadequate security measures to protect his SIM card...," and that "AT&T is morally culpable because Mr. Terpin alleges it is [a]ware of the vulnerability of its customers in having their [p]ersonal [i]nformation stolen through SIM swapping but AT&T has done nothing to prevent that practice, including enforcing its own privacy policy and adhering to its promises to provide special or additional protection to its customers accounts. I am grateful that despite the delays and AT&Ts attempts to obfuscate the facts, the Court was able to wisely ascertain that we had indeed met all the conditions to demonstrate a sufficient connection between AT&Ts behavior and the theft of my cryptocurrency to proceed to trial on those claims, said Terpin. We look forward to demonstrating with compelling evidence the advance knowledge and conscious disregard threshold by AT&T in its prior knowledge and ratification of ongoing SIM swaps causing economic loss. AT&Ts latest abortive attempt to disconnect Michaels landmark lawsuit is a measure of its desperation to avoid the inevitable day of reckoning before a federal jury of cell phone consumers, observed Terpins lead attorney Pierce ODonnell, a senior partner with Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger in Los Angeles. AT&T should spend its money on fixing its global security problem and protecting its vulnerable customers like my client. About Michael Terpin Michael Terpin is one of the highest-profile thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors in the blockchain sector. He co-founded the first angel group for bitcoin investors, BitAngels, in early 2013, and the first-ever digital currency fund, the BitAngels/Dapps Fund, in March 2014. He is currently a senior advisor to Alphabit Fund, one of the worlds largest digital currency hedge funds. Terpins work with more than 100 token crowdsales, including Augur, Ethereum, MaidSafe, Neo and Qtum, led to CNBC calling Terpin the godfather of crypto. He is founder and CEO of Transform Group, the leading PR and advisory company for the public blockchain industry, and he organizes the long-running CoinAgenda global investor conference series and monthly BitAngels investor events in more than a dozen cities. Prior to his involvement in the blockchain, Terpin founded and sold Marketwire, the first Internet-based press release distribution company, now owned by the Intrado division of Apollo Global Management and his first PR firm, The Terpin Group, now part of FTI Consulting. Terpin is on the board of Syracuse Universitys prestigious Newhouse School of Communications, and he is a popular speaker on global blockchain circuit. For a copy of the original complaint and corresponding exhibits, please visit the following links: Complaint: https://www.greenbergglusker.com/content/uploads/2018/08/Complaint-as-Filed-3063362-1.pdf Exhibits: https://www.greenbergglusker.com/content/uploads/2018/08/Exhibits-A-D-Filed-3063361-1.pdf Media contact: attlawsuit@transformgroup.com Legal spokespersons and attorneys for plaintiff Michael Terpin: PIERCE ODONNELL (SBN 081298) PODonnell@GreenbergGlusker.com TIMOTHY J. TOOHEY (SBN 140117) TToohey@GreenbergGlusker.com PAUL BLECHNER (SBN159514) PBlechner@GreenbergGlusker.com GREENBERG GLUSKER FIELDS CLAMAN & MACHTINGER LLP 1900 Avenue of the Stars, 21st Floor Los Angeles, California 90067-4590 Telephone: 310.553.3610 Fax: 310.553.0687 The Ministry of Food and Agriculture says it is in talks with the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to deal with aflatoxins in the country. Aflatoxins have led to the rejection of the country's grain exported to European countries. Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize, rice, peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts. Reports indicate that the country received 46 notifications of Aflatoxins in food commodities from the European Union between 2018 and 2019. The Director of Crops at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Seth Osei Akoto said the Ministry is among other things, embarking on some exercises to tackle the issue. As we speak, the Ministry is aware and we are partnering with the Ghana Standards Authority to come out with standards to guide our various stakeholders on how to handle the grains and I have an officer who is part of that committee trying to educate the farmers and extension officers on how to handle the grains so that moving forward the country will not be involved in that particular issue they are raising. First of all, we need standards to guide all those exporters of grains outside the country. And that is the mandate of the Ghana Standards Authority but they cannot do it alone because they don't have the background to some of the things we do at the ministry level. What we thought we could do is to partner as a team. We will also go round educating farmers and our special assistants at the district levels on how to handle the grains after harvesting so that those who are interested in export will not have that challenge again, he said. Gov't places ban on export of leafy vegetables, others This is not the first time the European Union is raising concerns with products from Ghana. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 2019 placed an indefinite ban on the export of all leafy vegetables to the international market following concerns from the EU. Capsicum (green/bell pepper), Solanum and luffa were also included in the ban which took effect on June 1, 2019. In a statement signed by the Director of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate, the ministry said the suspension was due to the high level of local interceptions at the exit points. It also noted that the alarming rate of external notifications, and the new EU directives to all countries to re-provide dossiers to the EU on the management of harmful organisms on some of the above vegetables. Ghana has had to contend with bans on vegetable exports imposed by the European Union. ---citinewsroom SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Unlocking Time , an impact project produced by Abl , with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , today published the results of a national survey which examines challenges and opportunities faced by schools when making changes to the traditional school day. "Changes to traditional structures of time in school remain underutilized as a strategy for meeting the evolving needs of our students," said John Murray, principal of Medway High School in Medway, MA. "If education leaders are serious about improving equitable outcomes, time and its impact on instruction and learning must be recognized as an innovative and strategic lever for success." The report, based on a survey of teachers and leaders in more than 4,000 U.S. schools found that while school and district leaders view changes to bell schedules, and traditional time structures as a lever for change, they often lack community support, and adequate resources, to rethink and implement changes. Schools' use of time has remained largely unchanged despite vast innovations in education and research driving leaders' interests in tailored learning environments. 99% of schools are still on a traditional summers off schedule, 63% still follow the same 5-8 period bell schedule, and 74% create schedules with classes lasting less than an hour. 99% of schools are still on a traditional summers off schedule, 63% still follow the same 5-8 period bell schedule, and 74% create schedules with classes lasting less than an hour. Teachers don't feel equipped by schools and leaders to best serve their students due to a lack of collaboration time with their peers. The majority of teachers report spending 5 hours or less collaborating with other teachers each week. The majority of teachers report spending 5 hours or less collaborating with other teachers each week. School master schedules fail to reflect intentional decisions to offer equitable access to rigorous courses. Satisfying parents' requests and ensuring balanced class sizes stood out as top priorities from school leaders who were surveyed when creating student schedules. Both the research and report were led by Unlocking Time, a coalition of educators, policy leaders, and researchers who view time as a critical lever for school improvement. The coalition is facilitated by Abl, which works with schools and districts to translate their values, and mission, into practice through the master schedule. "Given the strong traditions in place, schools and districts often overlook the restructuring of time as a strategy for improving outcomes," said Adam Pisoni, founder and CEO of Abl. "What we've learned at Abl, through both research and practice, is that time can serve as an innovative, data-driven tool to closing gaps in access and opportunities that better support both students and the educators serving them." This report, and a suite of additional resources and tools created by Unlocking Time, are available for free to benefit the K12 community at UnlockingTime.org . About Unlocking Time Unlocking Time is an impact project produced by Abl that helps K12 schools adopt time strategies that fuel student-centered learning. Through support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Unlocking Time website serves as a hub for everything related to time in schools, including a visual encyclopedia of bell schedules, practical time strategies for schools to try, and a library of supporting tools and resources. The site features a free survey tool to help school leaders understand what their staff thinks about their calendars, bell schedule, academic programming, and staff time. Access free tools and resources at UnlockingTime.org . About Abl Abl is an education software and services company that is passionate about equity. Abl takes an operations-first approach, understanding access to courses, student equity, and teacher equity through the lens of the master schedule. Abl works with school district leaders to not only evaluate equitable opportunities, but use the results to take action through the school schedule to create systemic change. Learn more at Ablschools.com . SOURCE Unlocking Time Related Links http://UnlockingTime.org The Delhi High Court Wednesday applauded the police for prompt action in evacuating the injured in north-east Delhi where communal violence erupted over the amended citizenship law. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani, termed as "extremely unfortunate" the killing of IB officer in the ongoing violence in which 20 people have died and over 180 injured. "While order was being dictated mid night, police was implementing it right there and rescuing injured persons," the bench said during the day's hearing. It added that the highest constitutional functionaries who move with Z-security should reach out to the affected people to give them confidence that law is functioning. The court had held a midnight hearing after receiving a call from an advocate explaining the dire circumstances under which the victims were unable to be removed from a small hospital to the GTB Hospital wherein it directed the police to ensure safe passage to government hospitals and emergency treatment for those injured. The court held a special hearing, which started at 12:30 am, at the residence of Justice S Muralidhar. The bench had also called for a status report of compliance, including information about the injured victims and the treatment offered to them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gareth Kelly, 38, from Dublin, was stabbed to death by supposedly mother-of-three in a car parking row A married stay-at-home mother has been arrested after allegedly stabbing to death a 38-year-old man who took her parking spot. The man was attacked as he attempted to jump-start his car and go to work, having stayed overnight at his girlfriend's house in Kingswood, Clondalkin, southwest Dublin. The victim was named locally as Gareth Kelly, 38, from Donomore Park in Tallaght, south Dublin. His suspected attacker is a 38-year-old married stay-at-home mother, and it is believed she is suffering from mental health problems. It is understood she stabbed him at least three times in the chest at 7am as he attempted to jump start his car. The pair are not known to one another, and the suspect was arrested near the scene a short time later. Detectives suspect the attack stemmed from the 'minor infraction' of Mr Kelly parking his car in the wrong space. The man was attacked as he attempted to jump-start his car and go to work, having stayed overnight at his girlfriend's house in Kingswood, Clondalkin, southwest Dublin The man had been staying with his partner in the Browns Barnwood estate, which is a small cul-de-sac. It is understood he stayed in the estate a couple of nights a week. The victim's car would not start when he came out to go to work at 7am. He had opened the bonnet and was trying to start the vehicle when he was attacked and stabbed by the woman a number of times. She is believed to have used a kitchen knife in the unprompted attack. Mr Kelly collapsed between two cars and died on the street. His body was removed from the scene and a post-mortem was under way yesterday. Pictured: The scene of the fatal stabbing incident at Brownsbarn Estate, Kingswood,south west Dublin The suspect was undergoing psychiatric evaluation following her arrest on suspicion of murder. It is understood there is evidence that the woman is suffering from mental health problems and she was judged to be not medically fit for interview for several hours after her arrest. The woman has previously contacted gardai complaining about children causing disturbances in the estate. A source said: 'This attack possibly stems from a car parking issue. 'But, of course, stabbing someone to death over a car parking space is by no means a sane thing to do. Mental health issues are at play with this woman.' Detectives are not looking for anyone else in what they describe as a 'bizarre and shocking' murder. Gardai have appealed for anyone who was in the Browns Barnwood estate between 6am and 7am yesterday, or who might have dashcam footage or information, to contact them. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trevali Mining Corporation (Trevali or the Company) (TSX: TV, BVL: TV; OTCQX: TREVF, Frankfurt: 4TI) announces results from the 2019 exploration program at Rosh Pinah with a high grade extension to WF3 identified to the South. We are encouraged by the results from the exploration program at Rosh Pinah and the ability to keep intersecting high grade zones at the Western Orefield and extending the deposit further North, commented Yan Bourassa, Vice-President of Exploration and Mineral Resources at Trevali Mining. The continued ability to increase the Mineral Resource base at Rosh Pinah and extending the deposit indicates the quality of the orebody and demonstrates the teams ability to support Trevalis long term strategy of growth at Rosh Pinah. Highlights Exploration hole U3373 intersected 19.99 metres at 7.2% Zn, 1.8% Pb including 3 metres at 14.2% Zn & 57.81m at 9.2% Zn 3.3% Pb 43.4g/t Ag including 30.44 metres at 12.7% Zn, 5% Pb & 72.6g/t Ag . . Exploration hole U3372 intersected 38.77 metres at 9.5% Zn, 2.3% Pb, 12.8g/t Ag including 9.15 metres at 15.4% Zn, 5.2% Pb, 28.2g/t Ag (exploration). (exploration). Infill hole U3351 intersected 32.05 metres at 8.9% Zn, 0.7% Pb, 10.65g/t Ag including 6 metres at 15.9% Zn, 0.6% Pb, 10.8g/t Ag & 44.75 metres at 11.19% Zn, 0.46% Pb, 1% Cu, 14.7g/t Ag including 15.5m at 14.51% Zn, 0.9% Pb, 17g/t Ag & 43.85 metres at 9.95% Zn, 0.9% Pb, 8.2g/t Ag including 7.45 metres at 20.62% Zn, 0.3% Pb, 11.8g/t Ag. 2019 Exploration Strategy During 2019, the exploration team has focused on fully exploiting the wealth of historic data accumulated over 50 years of continuous mining, including by identifying in-mine targets that were previously sporadically explored. Continued system analysis and structural reinterpretation is helping to improve the understanding of the Rosh Pinah mineralizing system and assist with targeting. The Rosh Pinah mineralisation was long thought to be hosted exclusively along a single horizon; however by challenging these perceptions, new opportunities are being identified. In-Mine Exploration The Western Orefield 3 (WF3), the largest single zone within the Rosh Pinah mine, was previously considered closed along strike to the South East. Following structural reinterpretation, drillholes U3372 & U3373 were drilled to the SE of existing resources, intersecting multiple zones of polymetallic mineralisation. U3373 returned 57.81m at 9.2% Zn 3.3% Pb 43.4g/t Ag including 30.44 metres at 12.7% Zn, 5% Pb & 72.6g/t Ag. This broad zone of high grade mineralisation was hosted within barite and carbonated ore, a favorable mineralization style for the plant characterized by high recoveries. This zone is located at the contact between an arkose and a limestone horizon with significant barite and carbonate replacement. The Zn mineralisation is characterized by white-yellow colored Sphalerite generally observed at the high grade Eastern and Southern Orefields, the highest-grade mineralized zones within the Rosh Pinah mine, but rarely observed within the Western Orefield orebodies. Exploration hole U3372 intersected 38.77 metres at 9.5% Zn, 2.3% Pb, 12.8g/t Ag including 9.15 metres at 15.4% Zn, 5.2% Pb, 28.2g/t Ag. These holes are thought to have intersected mineralisation within the hinge portion of a synform fold. Structural remobilization is an important control on the Rosh Pinah mineralization with folds noses and hinges being associated with high grade zones. Figure 1: Showing a long section of WF3 and the location of recent intersects which have potential to extend the resources is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6887092c-ee26-4f7a-b4ea-c318daf8fff2 These holes demonstrate that there is great potential for new high grade, polymetallic tonnes at Rosh Pinah. This newly identified high grade zone remains open to the South East and North West and will be the major target for 2020 Q1. During 2019, several priority in-mine exploration targets were identified which are being reassessed by relogging and structural analysis. This Southern extension to WF3 was the first of the in-mine targets to be tested. Indicated Infill Drilling Ongoing indicated drilling targeting the center of the WF3 has also continued to intersect good mineralisation. U3351 multiple zones of broad mineralisation; 32.05 metres at 8.9% Zn, 0.7% Pb, 10.65g/t Ag including 6 metres at 15.9% Zn, 0.6% Pb, 10.8g/t Ag & 44.75 metres at 11.19% Zn, 0.46% Pb, 1% Cu, 14.7g/t Ag including 15.5m at 14.51% Zn, 0.9% Pb, 17g/t Ag & 43.85 metres at 9.95% Zn, 0.9% Pb, 8.2g/t Ag including 7.45 metres at 20.62% Zn, 0.3% Pb, 11.8g/t Ag. The mineralisation in this hole was hosted within argillite with the presence of massive barite and carbonate replacement, locally developing into massive sulphide. Although infill drilling, these intersects were broader than the previous resource model predicted and are expected to result in increased tonnages. Regional Exploration Regional exploration has focused on the corridor between the Western Orefield and the Gergarub deposit which is located 10km to the North West of Rosh Pinah. The Western Orefield is open along strike to the NW and eight exploration holes have been completed from surface targeting this extension, seven of which intersected the mineralized horizon. MGD159, intersected 6.5m at 5.6% Zn+Pb & 6.1m at 5.9% Zn along the main argillite host horizon. This intersection is located 200m away from the last fully defined resources. The same argillite hosted mineralized horizon was intersected 400m further North of MGD159, however the grade is weakening. Nevertheless, MGD164 intersected a 125m thick rhyolite dome, with strong sericite-chlorite alteration with low grade stringer style Sphalerite mineralisation throughout the dome. This rhyolite is located to the East of the main Western Orefield corridor. The identification of a new highly altered rhyolite dome cross cut by sphalerite feeder veins in an area of limited drilling, represents another strong exploration target for 2020. Figure 2: Showing a Plan View of the regional exploration covering the prospective trend between Rosh Pinah and Gergarub is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/10366927-0397-4dcc-9d6f-e6631f978a36 Along with drilling, several Fluxgate electro-magnetic (EM) surveys were conducted in 2019 and are currently ongoing covering the prospective Rosh Pinah - Gergarub corridor. There has been no historic drilling between the Rosh Pinah mine and Gergarub deposit, which share geological features, and this ground is considered highly prospective. During 2019, 50% of this corridor was covered with ground EM surveys. These surveys have identified 4 new conductors in favorable geological settings along strike from anomalous surface geochemistry. These discrete conductive targets will be drill tested in 2020 and the ground EM surveys will continue towards Gergarub. Table 1: Summary of Length and SG weighted drill hole assay results from Rosh Pinah during 2019. Hole ID Azimuth Dip From-To (metres) Interval (metres) True Width Zn% Pb% Cu% Ag ppm Zone u3263 222.1 -41.3 158.96-172.35 13.39 13.25 5.25 0.07 0.22 2.38 WF3 Incl. 164.96-170.85 5.89 5.82 7.68 0.07 0.14 2.39 u3264 234.3 -59.5 156.30-159.30 3 2.88 7.22 0.1 0.23 1.19 WF3 169.15-173.65 4.5 4.34 4.86 0.13 0.13 1.88 u3297 244.1 -64.5 No significant intercept WF3 u3301 217.6 -83.8 236.15-244.70 8.55 8.43 5.36 0.14 0.18 4.25 WF3 u3304 228.1 -42.3 175.26-184.26 9 8.12 6.94 1.89 0.04 28.45 WF3 u3306 235.0 -68.0 No significant intercept WF3 u3307 229.1 -75.0 No significant intercept WF3 u3308 55.0 -63.0 No significant intercept AAB u3309 54.6 -48.1 No significant intercept AAB u3310 55.0 -25.0 No significant intercept AAB u3329 58.1 -69.6 39.30-42.30 3 1.85 6.74 3.58 0.62 16.48 AAB 78.70-81.30 2.6 1.57 4.6 0.8 0.37 7.38 u3333 235.6 -25.2 88.00-98.70 10.7 Not available 7.28 3.77 0.29 86.44 AAB Incl. 89.30-94.84 5.54 Not available 11 5.67 0.44 123.08 u3334 220.8 -51.9 37.44-39.38 1.94 1.53 8.51 0.12 0.28 9.32 AAB u3336 117.7 -86.0 170.40-173.50 3.1 Not available 6.61 0.48 0.16 16.35 AAB u3372 57.2 -55.6 80.40-86.40 6 5.73 3.94 0.03 0.06 1.19 WF3 89.40-92.40 3 2.86 4.27 0.03 0.08 1.19 161.70-200.47 38.77 36.68 9.45 2.32 0.08 12.84 Incl. 172.45-181.6 9.15 8.66 15.35 5.18 0.09 28.23 Incl. 194.71- 197.47 2.76 2.61 22.1 0.06 0.24 8.28 209.21-228.10 18.89 17.79 7.87 1.82 0.05 10.89 Incl. 212.21-219.16 6.95 6.54 11.49 1.66 0.05 13.48 u3373 64.0 -69.5 1.50-6.00 4.5 3.74 4.77 0.03 0.08 1.19 WF3 66.67-68.57 1.9 1.57 9.77 0.03 0.06 1.19 161.50-181.49 19.99 16.24 7.17 1.84 0.1 8.83 Incl. 163.00-166.00 3 2.44 14.24 0.13 0.16 1.19 215.84-273.65 57.81 46.51 9.17 3.28 0.25 43.37 Incl. 219.56-250.00 30.44 24.54 12.66 4.95 0.39 72.62 279.08-285.08 6 4.78 4.52 0.37 0.04 3.89 MGD159 351.7 -80.4 416.50-422.00 5.5 4.63 3.91 1.72 0 37.35 WF3 Northern Extension 434.90-441.00 6.1 5.13 5.65 0.24 0.1 9.11 Incl. 434.90-437.00 2.1 1.77 11.37 0.19 0 12.96 MGD160 5.3 -59.4 No significant intercept MGD161 26.8 -54.4 No significant intercept MGD162 13.2 -66.5 392.00-418.00 26 19.48 2.42 0.72 0.02 17.53 Incl. 396.00-400.00 4 3 3.12 0.99 0.02 25 u3291 56.8 -76.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3293 58.2 -25.8 No significant intercept WF3 u3294 59.8 -4.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3302 56.2 -74.8 309.76-310.68 0.92 0.82 10.21 0.5 1.09 19.24 WF3 u3312 169.7 -84.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3313 226.0 -51.2 No significant intercept WF3 u3315 238.0 -73.8 175.70-183.52 7.82 5.99 4.58 0.1 0.17 1.67 WF3 u3316 233.2 -61.6 178.70-181.70 3 2.91 4.43 0.53 0.05 1.79 WF3 u3317 234.0 -69.4 No significant intercept WF3 u3318 233.2 -52.3 162.95-167.45 4.5 4.47 6.22 0.07 0.3 4.06 WF3 u3319 232.6 -59.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3320 226.6 -51.9 194.05-207.55 13.5 12.74 5.19 0.07 0.03 2.56 WF3 Incl. 201.55-206.05 4.5 4.2 7.51 0.1 0.04 3.26 u3322 233.0 -60.3 No significant intercept WF3 u3323 236.2 -68.7 No significant intercept WF3 u3324 53.8 -26.5 158.70-167.70 9 Not available 8.26 3.12 0.25 33.28 WF3 u3325 237.0 -76.5 No significant intercept WF3 u3326 233.6 -43.5 166.90-169.90 3 2.93 5.12 0.03 0.18 4.58 WF3 178.00-199.00 21 19.98 3.54 1.3 0.05 33.07 212.50-218.50 6 5.71 3.97 1.34 0.04 12.33 241.00-250.50 9.5 9.09 8.06 0.06 0.08 2.46 u3327 231.7 -66.1 No significant intercept WF3 u3328 52.1 -64.1 136.40-140.90 4.5 2.89 4.8 0.03 0.06 1.19 WF3 u3340 233.3 -53.2 51.77-54.77 3 1.95 4.62 0.03 0.07 5.32 WF3 170.30-194.03 23.73 15.62 3.89 1.73 0.05 37.7 220.45-223.45 3 1.98 3.97 0.97 0.02 14.69 236.75-241.25 4.5 3 4.37 0.68 0.09 11.04 251.20-257.75 6.55 4.38 3.88 0.42 0.03 8.63 u3341 247.2 -71.0 104.13-108.63 4.5 4.39 4.65 0.06 0.03 3.17 WF3 u3342 243.4 -86.2 1.50-4.50 3 0.28 4.99 0.18 0.05 5.6 WF3 34.80-39.30 4.5 0.61 5.12 0.24 0.02 6.43 203.40-209.40 6 4.96 4.78 0.03 0.11 1.33 212.40-216.65 4.25 3.51 4.65 0.03 0.14 3.36 221.15-230.15 9 7.43 4.21 0.04 0.11 2.34 254.65-257.65 3 2.47 5.61 0.56 0.15 12.77 260.65-274.15 13.5 11.1 5.22 0.11 0.14 2.66 u3343 72.4 -82.9 119.74-122.74 3 2.69 7.83 0.03 0.14 7.96 WF3 149.70-155.70 6.04 5.42 3.96 0.03 0.12 7.04 184.00-190.00 6 5.41 4.13 0.03 0.04 6.95 u3345 45.7 -73.2 No significant intercept WF3 u3346 233.8 -63.8 135.25-144.25 9 8.64 5.11 0.03 0.11 1.31 WF3 196.20-246.20 50 30.52 5.59 1.8 0.04 25.34 236.06-241.70 5.64 3.45 13.96 3.28 0.15 91.76 249.20-262.80 13.6 8.37 5.06 1.15 0.06 7.73 255.20-262.00 6.8 4.23 6.48 0.71 0.09 6.79 299.40-302.40 3 1.88 4.41 0.05 0.03 1.19 u3347 57.0 -72.0 12.20-15.50 3.3 2.81 10.51 0.03 0.1 1.57 WF3 46.60-51.60 5 4.32 15.05 0.06 0.08 4.12 96.15-100.65 4.5 3.94 4.38 0.08 0.02 4.43 u3348 238.2 -82.7 56.28-59.28 3 2.98 4.34 0.29 0.11 8.2 WF3 154.51-165.01 10.5 9.18 5.12 0.07 0.13 3.15 168.01-171.01 3 2.62 3.75 0.07 0.13 1.94 275.45-282.10 6.65 6.61 6.06 0.03 0.09 1.63 u3349 236.8 -64.3 72.10-85.60 13.5 12.76 5.63 0.53 0.08 4.86 WF3 104.35-126.15 21.8 20.58 4.98 0.15 0.4 3.16 122.00-126.15 4.15 3.93 10.29 0.17 0.62 4.88 147.00-153.50 6.5 4.33 8.34 0.86 0.06 9.41 157.00-170.50 13.5 9.06 8.04 2.59 0.08 61.98 163.85-166.60 2.75 1.85 20.33 5.8 0.15 127.01 u3350 225.1 -71.7 115.70-118.70 3 2.95 4.76 0.08 0.16 1.58 WF3 139.30-143.10 3.8 3.58 3.62 0.17 0.81 11.26 181.10-187.10 6 5.85 3.44 0.84 0.04 15.34 224.40-228.10 3.7 3.61 6.56 3.61 0.02 138.21 u3351 218.9 -83.2 107.90-139.95 32.05 30.56 8.94 0.73 0.26 10.65 WF3 127.85-133.85 6 5.72 15.89 0.6 0.47 10.81 145.95-190.70 44.75 42.75 11.19 0.46 1.02 14.66 156.50-172.00 15.5 14.81 14.51 0.89 0.56 17 201.25-245.10 43.85 40.43 9.95 0.91 0.24 8.17 204.25-211.70 7.45 6.86 20.62 0.3 0.5 11.83 u3352 55.0 -77.0 282.50-288.50 6 Not available 5.51 1.17 0.07 14.41 WF3 u3353 226.1 -47.5 143.24-152.24 9 Not available 5.78 0.03 0.35 2.75 WF3 u3354 230.7 -59.4 No significant intercept WF3 u3356 52.9 -58.2 No significant intercept WF3 u3361 241.0 25.5 43.70-46.65 2.95 2.95 13.73 0.14 0.47 4.93 WF3 67.48-74.39 6.91 6.69 7.96 0.26 0.08 5.86 78.89-84.44 5.55 5.37 16.43 8.33 0.22 37.99 u3362 242.4 0.7 67.64-70.45 2.81 2.76 4 0.38 0.2 8.2 WF3 u3363 238.0 -27.0 62.17-67.61 5.44 5.42 4.44 0.03 0.14 1.19 WF3 105.68-108.68 3 2.98 7.95 0.04 0.06 1.19 u3366A 234.7 25.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3366 234.7 25.9 66.10-68.60 2.5 Not available 11.03 0.1 0.07 1.19 WF3 u3368 233.9 -47.7 No significant intercept WF3 u3369 238.0 29.3 69.80-80.30 10.5 Not available 6.2 0.49 0.13 5.38 WF3 u3370 323.5 -0.9 No significant intercept WF3 u3371 231.9 8.4 62.60-71.50 8.9 1.21 4.81 0.07 0.09 1.19 WF3 Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance Yan Bourassa, P.Geo, Trevalis Vice-President Exploration and Mineral Resources, is a qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Bourassa supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the contents of this news release. Mr. Bourassa is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance programs. Regional exploration surface drillholes are drilled using HQ-sized core (63.5-millimetre diameter core) for overburden and weathered zones and NQ-sized core (47.6-millimetre diameter core) in bedrocks. Surface exploration and any inferred classification underground exploration drilling is performed by contractors. The indicated and measured classification underground exploration drilling is carried out by Rosh Pinah owner drill rigs. Underground exploration drill holes are drilled at NQ-sized core with core recovery above 95%. Logging, sampling and analysis procedures comply with current QA/QC procedures and NI 43-101 requirements. Logging and sampling methodologies and procedures are documented, routinely updated, and maintained by the exploration department. Drill core is logged on site by a geologist for lithological, structural, and geotechnical (core recovery, rock quality designation (RQD), and rock mass rating) information. A geo-data geologist supervises the database, which has set validation specifications for populated data. Drill core is cut and sampled onsite at Rosh Pinah. Half-core samples are prepared using a specialized core saw utilizing fresh water. One half of the core is stored with the rest of the core and the other half is sent to the laboratory for analysis. Tertiary/production drill core is wholly sampled. Samples are packaged at the core shed and registered into the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) by assistants in the Mineral Resource Management Department, then dispatched daily to the Rosh Pinah Mine Laboratory (RPML) located on the mine site. On arrival, samples are checked, sorted, bar coded, and activated in the LIMS. Although the internal RPML is not internationally certified, QA/QC procedures have been performed systematically at Rosh Pinah Mine since 2009 and 5% of samples are sent to an independent accredited facility. Standard procedures developed and followed include the submission of blanks, duplicate samples, and certified reference material, typically at every 18th sample interval, to measure precision, accuracy, and bias in the sampling and analytical process. Duplicates are taken every 14 samples with the duplicate retrieved by the assaying laboratory personnel after the sample has been crushed, basically representing a separate split. Duplicates are taken to quantify precision and any bias introduced after the parent sample was duplicated (i.e., during milling, digestion and analysis). Sample duplication is also conducted to ensure and demonstrate analytical repeatability. Check assays of pulverized pulps are performed by a second lab and generally represent 5 to 10% of the entire sample database. Comparisons and reconciliation between original and check assays are done routinely during drilling, and systematically before any resource estimation exercise. Sample custody is ensured on-site by continuous inventorying and monitoring of drill core. Once samples are prepared, using the methodologies described above, they are inventoried, individually bagged, tagged, and sealed in larger bags for transport to the assay lab. Audits of the assaying labs are performed occasionally. About Trevali Mining Corporation Trevali is a global base-metals mining company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The bulk of Trevalis revenue is generated from base-metals mining at its four operational assets: the 90%-owned Perkoa Mine in Burkina Faso, the 90%-owned Rosh Pinah Mine in Namibia, the wholly-owned Caribou Mine in northern New Brunswick, Canada and the wholly-owned Santander Mine in Peru. In addition, Trevali owns the Halfmile and Stratmat Properties and the Restigouche Deposit in New Brunswick, Canada, and the past-producing Ruttan Mine in northern Manitoba, Canada. Trevali also owns an effective 44%- interest in the Gergarub Project in Namibia, as well as an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Heath Steele deposit located in New Brunswick, Canada. The shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Companys website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Investor Relations Contact: Brendan Creaney Vice President, Investor Relations Email: bcreaney@trevali.com Phone: +1 (604) 638-5623 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements The negotiations over the new collective agreement are still underway. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The employees of U.S. Steel Kosice (USSK) will continue working for shortened working hours in March. This stems from an agreement between the companys representatives and the trade unions organisation. The conditions should be the same as in February, the SITA newswire reported. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement We will continue in March in the regime for not assigning work, as agreed in February, Juraj Varga, head of the trade unions in USSK, told SITA. Related article Related article Steel production in Kosice steelworks dropped last year Read more This means that work will not be assigned for one working shift to the employees who work 12 hours, and for two shifts for employees who work on shifts for less than 10 hours. For the day of absence from work, employees will be paid compensation at 60 percent of their average earnings. The regime with shorter working time was introduced in April 2019, and continued until the end of August. It was then reintroduced in November. The representatives of USSK and trade unionists continue bargaining on a new collective agreement. It is hard to tell how long the negotiations will take place, but they want to sign a new deal before March 31, when the old one expires, Varga added for SITA. How do you figure out exactly what's living in these Antarctic waters? Cold, remote and dangerous, it's not an easy place to work. Ecologist Kirsten Thompson from the UK's Exeter University leads a team that's working to find a solution: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DOCTOR KIRSTEN THOMPSON, ECOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER SAYING: "It's very difficult to sample these waters because as you can see the conditions are fairly harsh at times. So if we were to try and do for instance a fish survey here it would take us a long time and it would probably be quite expensive." Her team takes photographs of the tails of humpack whales and analyzes them to establish individuals. The research allows them to say where an animal breeds and feeds over the course of a year. The team also looks for smaller signs of life -- drawing DNA from the water to estimate the number of other species in the area. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DOCTOR KIRSTEN THOMPSON, ECOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER SAYING: "We were lucky in that one of the animals that we photographed in Paradise Harbour was spotted previously in Panama so it's like direct evidence for a linkage between those whales that are feeding there and some of the breeding grounds off Central America." Thompson and her team traveled with a Greenpeace ship, which is calling on global governments to protect 30% of the world's oceans. Such hopes are about to face their moment of truth. The U.N. will meet from March 23 to try to agree a global ocean treaty. Chandigarh, Feb 26 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he was ready to give up his life rather than give the state's scarce water resources to the other states. Wrapping up the debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor's address, the Chief Minister said Punjab did not have surplus water and, in line with internationally accepted riparian principles, would not allow transfer of water from basin to non-basin areas. His government had made every possible effort to achieve this and shall continue to work in for protecting the water rights of Punjab, to ensure the livelihood of millions of Punjabi farmers and landless farm labourers, said the Chief Minister, pointing out that protecting the state's water was a top priority for his government. Referring to measures taken by his government for saving water resources, the Chief Minister said apart from enactment of the Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Act of 2020, the government had also piloted a unique project namely 'Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao' aimed at incentivising farmers to save water and earn money by consuming lesser ground water. The project, under which agriculture consumers are given a fixed electricity entitlement for every month of the year and no bills are issued to the farmers, will be expanded under the Budget 2020-21, he said. The Chief Minister said the government would complete the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project in 2022-23 and would also make every possible effort to complete the Kandi Canal, along with attendant water courses, by providing requisite finances during 2020-21. A new understanding of Mars is beginning to emerge, thanks to the first year of NASA's InSight lander mission. Findings described in a set of six papers published today reveal a planet alive with quakes, dust devils and strange magnetic pulses. Five of the papers were published in Nature. An additional paper in Nature Communications details the InSight spacecraft's landing site, a shallow crater nicknamed "Homestead hollow" in a region called Elysium Planitia. InSight is the first mission dedicated to looking deep beneath the Martian surface. Among its science tools are a seismometer for detecting quakes, sensors for gauging wind and air pressure, a magnetometer, and a heat flow probe designed to take the planet's temperature. While the team continues to work on getting the probe into the Martian surface as intended, the ultra-sensitive seismometer, called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), has enabled scientists to "hear" multiple trembling events from hundreds to thousands of miles away. Seismic waves are affected by the materials they move through, giving scientists a way to study the composition of the planet's inner structure. Mars can help the team better understand how all rocky planets, including Earth, first formed. Underground Mars trembles more often -- but also more mildly -- than expected. SEIS has found more than 450 seismic signals to date, the vast majority of which are probably quakes (as opposed to data noise created by environmental factors, like wind). The largest quake was about magnitude 4.0 in size -- not quite large enough to travel down below the crust into the planet's lower mantle and core. Those are "the juiciest parts of the apple" when it comes to studying the planet's inner structure, said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL. Scientists are ready for more: It took months after InSight's landing in November 2018 before they recorded the first seismic event. By the end of 2019, SEIS was detecting about two seismic signals a day, suggesting that InSight just happened to touch down at a particularly quiet time. Scientists still have their fingers crossed for "the Big One." Mars doesn't have tectonic plates like Earth, but it does have volcanically active regions that can cause rumbles. A pair of quakes was strongly linked to one such region, Cerberus Fossae, where scientists see boulders that may have been shaken down cliffsides. Ancient floods there carved channels nearly 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) long. Lava flows then seeped into those channels within the past 10 million years -- the blink of an eye in geologic time. Some of these young lava flows show signs of having been fractured by quakes less than 2 million years ago. "It's just about the youngest tectonic feature on the planet," said planetary geologist Matt Golombek of JPL. "The fact that we're seeing evidence of shaking in this region isn't a surprise, but it's very cool." At the Surface Billions of years ago, Mars had a magnetic field. It is no longer present, but it left ghosts behind, magnetizing ancient rocks that are now between 200 feet (61 meters) to several miles below ground. InSight is equipped with a magnetometer -- the first on the surface of Mars to detect magnetic signals. The magnetometer has found that the signals at Homestead hollow are 10 times stronger than what was predicted based on data from orbiting spacecraft that study the area. The measurements of these orbiters are averaged over a couple of hundred miles, whereas InSight's measurements are more local. Because most surface rocks at InSight's location are too young to have been magnetized by the planet's former field, "this magnetism must be coming from ancient rocks underground," said Catherine Johnson, a planetary scientist at the University of British Columbia and the Planetary Science Institute. "We're combining these data with what we know from seismology and geology to understand the magnetized layers below InSight. How strong or deep would they have to be for us to detect this field?" In addition, scientists are intrigued by how these signals change over time. The measurements vary by day and night; they also tend to pulse around midnight. Theories are still being formed as to what causes such changes, but one possibility is that they're related to the solar wind interacting with the Martian atmosphere. In the Wind InSight measures wind speed, direction and air pressure nearly continuously, offering more data than previous landed missions. The spacecraft's weather sensors have detected thousands of passing whirlwinds, which are called dust devils when they pick up grit and become visible. "This site has more whirlwinds than any other place we've landed on Mars while carrying weather sensors," said Aymeric Spiga, an atmospheric scientist at Sorbonne University in Paris. Despite all that activity and frequent imaging, InSight's cameras have yet to see dust devils. But SEIS can feel these whirlwinds pulling on the surface like a giant vacuum cleaner. "Whirlwinds are perfect for subsurface seismic exploration," said Philippe Lognonne of Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), principal investigator of SEIS. Still to Come: The Core InSight has two radios: one for regularly sending and receiving data, and a more powerful radio designed to measure the "wobble" of Mars as it spins. This X-band radio, also known as the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), can eventually reveal whether the planet's core is solid or liquid. A solid core would cause Mars to wobble less than a liquid one would. This first year of data is just a start. Watching over a full Martian year (two Earth years) will give scientists a much better idea of the size and speed of the planet's wobble. About InSight A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission. A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB) supplied the temperature and wind sensors. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), left, and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, right, stand before the primary debate on Feb. 25, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images; Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images) Sanders Defends Praise for Cuban Regime, Bloomberg Addresses Chinese Communist Party Top Democratic presidential candidates Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) addressed past comments about authoritarian governments during the debate on Tuesday night in South Carolina. Sanders, 78, has been under fire since praising the regime of Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator who imprisoned and killed dissidents during his decades in office. Sanders said during a recent interview with CBSs 60 Minutes that it was unfair to simply say everything is bad about Castros regime. When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it? Sanders said. In response to criticism of his commentsincluding from some Democratsthe current leader of the Democratic field told the audience at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, Of course you have a dictatorship in Cuba. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo) Sanders said that he was only conveying what former President Barack Obama said previously about Cuba, that the country made progress on its education and literacy rate. He argued that candidates should be honest about American foreign policy. When dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good, you acknowledge that. But you dont have to trade love letters with them, he said. Bloomberg, 78, has praised the Chinese Communist Party, which is responsible for tens of millions of deaths. On Tuesday night, he said the Chinese regime does not have freedom of press and called its human rights record abominable. But America has to deal with China because our economies are inextricably linked, he said. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Bloomberg said, serves at the behest of the Politboro, of their group of people, and theres no question he has an enormous amount of power. But he does play to his constituency, he claimed. You can negotiate with him. Thats exactly what we have to do. The Chinese Communist Party removed presidential term limits in 2018, paving the way for Xi to serve indefinitely. Democratic presidential candidate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo) Former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, told the audience that Xi is a thug, who in fact has a million Uyghurs in reconstruction camps, meaning concentration camps. Sanders also knocked Bloomberg for his remarks about China: He said that the Chinese government is responsive to the politburo, but who the hell is the politburo responsive to? Who elects the politburo? You have got a real dictatorship there. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, a frequent Sanders critic, used the situation to promote his argument that the senator shouldnt be the Democratic nominee. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump, with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s, and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, Buttigieg said. This is not about what coups were happening in the 1970s or 80s, this is about the future. This is about 2020. We are not going to survive or succeed, and were certainly not going to win by reliving the Cold War. And were not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime. Weve got to be a lot smarter about this and look to the future. Video PlayerClose Teacher Chen Weiwen interacts with her students during a trial online class in Shanghai, east China, February 25, 2020. Students in Shanghai attended a trial online class on Tuesday, a rehearsal for the online tuition scheduled to start on March 2. [Xinhua/Liu Ying] Teacher Chen Weiwen interacts with her students during a trial online class in Shanghai, east China, February 25, 2020. Students in Shanghai attended a trial online class on Tuesday, a rehearsal for the online tuition scheduled to start on March 2. [Xinhua/Liu Ying] Teacher Chen Weiwen interacts with her students during a trial online class in Shanghai, east China, February 25, 2020. Students in Shanghai attended a trial online class on Tuesday, a rehearsal for the online tuition scheduled to start on March 2. [Xinhua/Liu Ying] Teacher Chen Weiwen interacts with her students during a trial online class in Shanghai, east China, February 25, 2020. Students in Shanghai attended a trial online class on Tuesday, a rehearsal for the online tuition scheduled to start on March 2. [Xinhua/Liu Ying] (Source: Xinhua) I think a key will be this increased checks and balances and transparency, Taliaferro said. Under the proposal I saw, you would be able to fill out an application, for lack of a better word, to find out if your name is in the database. And if it is, you would be able to appeal to have it removed. Anwar Ibrahim, president of the Peoples Justice Party, speaks to reporters at party headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Feb. 26, 2020. Two days after Malaysias government collapsed, the pair of politicians at the center of the drama addressed the public Wednesday, with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and one-time heir-apparent Anwar Ibrahim both offering themselves up as the nations next leader. Mahathir, who resigned on Monday but returned a day later to serve as interim prime minister at the kings request, spoke first, reiterating his call for a so-called unity government. In my opinion, right or wrong, politics and political parties should be set aside for now. If I am allowed, I will try to form a government that does not side with any parties but will focus only on the national interest, Mahathir said in a nationally televised address, the 94-year-old statesmans first public remarks since his stunning resignation. Later, Anwar said that he and members of the Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition who support him would not betray the nations trust. Today, the PH members from [PKR], DAP [the Democratic Action Party] and Amanah have nominated Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister candidate for the PH government, said Anwar, president of the Peoples Justice Party, the linchpin party in the Pakatan alliance, referring to himself in the third person. Pakatan remains committed to receiving the peoples trust and aspirations to bring the country to a better future be it through the economy, politics or social issues. We will not betray that trust, said Anwar who leads PKR. Malaysians are closely watching him and Mahathir as they maneuver for the 112 parliamentary seats needed to hold a majority and lead the country, said Yvonne Tew, an associate professor of law at Georgetown University who has focused on the Malaysian constitution. [I]t appears to be a struggle between the current interim prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim as to who actually command the numbers for the majority of parliament, she told BenarNews. At this point, anything can happen, but over the next few days it will probably be determined by political negotiations between the different stakeholders, [or] the role of the king potentially. Addressing what led to his resignation, Mahathir said that while he had promised to step down and let parliament choose his replacement, in my opinion, because I was still supported by both sides, the time for me to resign had not yet arrived. Mahathir said he had asked for time, but because his Bersatu party and some of its allies decided to leave the governing coalition, the Pakatan government was no longer viable. Apart from that, there were also allegations that I did not intend to resign and was power crazy, he said while apologizing to the Malaysian people for the political havoc and worry that his resignation had caused. During the 1990s Mahathir, as prime minister, and Anwar, as his deputy, were members of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the party that dominated Malaysian politics. The two fell out then and Mahathir removed Anwar from the deputys post. But in the run-up to the 2018 general election, they joined forces to lead Pakatan in an effort to remove the UMNO-anchored Barisan Nasional bloc, led by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, from power. Ahead of the polls two years ago, the Pakatan manifesto stated that Mahathir would hand power to Anwar after two years in office, and it was this arrangement that voters had endorsed in handing the opposition bloc its historic victory. The interim prime minister said he feared what would happen if his Bersatu party were to join forces with UMNO and the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), in trying to form a new government. Mahathir quit as the party's chairman when he resigned as PM. This government would be dominated by UMNO as the biggest party, Mahathir said, adding he did not want the party that led Malaysias government during the nations first six decades to be in charge of the unity government he had offered to lead. I am willing to accept UMNO members who quit UMNO and joined other parties. But it wants to join the unity government as UMNO. This I cannot accept, he said. Malaysian media has named Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, an UMNO MP from Kelantan who has been described as a friend of Mahathir, as a third potential candidate to lead the government. Journalists in Kuala Lumpur use their mobile phones to watch interim Prime Minister address the nation, Feb. 26, 2020. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews] About an hour after Mahathirs televised address, Anwar told reporters that he had the support of remaining Pakatan members to lead Malaysia. He said the coalitions presidential council met Tuesday night and invited Mahathir to chair the meeting, but Mahathir did not attend. And because of that, the presidential council has determined that Pakatans prime minister candidate is Anwar Ibrahim, Anwar said. While Pakatan members believe they have enough support to back Anwars bid to become prime minister, he said they would abide by the kings decision. An official who requested anonymity told BenarNews on Wednesday that King Al-Sultan Abdullah Riayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah had finished interviewing MPs. The official said the king had interviewed all but one lawmaker MP Nazri Aziz was in London. On Tuesday, the monarch said he would interview all MPs to gauge who they support for prime minister before announcing his pick to lead the Malaysian government. Uncertain and unstable In Penang, a University Science of Malaysia political analyst said the king had the power to appoint the nations next leader. I believe His Majesty will put the countrys needs first, Professor Sivamurugan Pandian told BenarNews, adding, most importantly is to recover the confidence, trust and government stability. A vote of confidence [in parliament] happens only if there is a motion, he said Sivamurugan called the political situation uncertain and unstable. There is too much speculation and Malaysia is in a leadership crisis. Political turmoil has taken us here and we are facing a situation where no one knows whats happening. In Washington, Georgetowns Tew said any one of a series of scenarios leading to a new prime minister taking power could play out. As she explained it, those scenarios include Anwar leading a majority or minority government; Mahathir continuing as interim prime minister until someone else is able to form a majority government; or the king dissolving parliament and calling for a snap election. In 2018, Malaysia was hailed as one of the outliers to the global rise of illiberal populism and nationalism worldwide, with its 2018 unprecedented national elections seen as a democratic breakthrough, Tew told BenarNews. In some ways, this is why we are watching this particularly closely, to see how that story of that democratic triumph is going to end. It could continue along that triumphant vein or there could be a somewhat tragic end to that post-2018 narrative. Kate Beddall in Washington contributed to this report. What happened Mastercard (NYSE:MA) stock is down again Tuesday, its shares off 6% as of 2 p.m. EST -- and it's not just because of the coronavirus scare this time. This morning, Mastercard announced that its current CEO, Ajay Banga, will step down from his post at the end of this year, to be replaced by a relative unknown from within the company -- Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach. Unnerved already by the spread of coronavirus across the globe, investors aren't responding to the news well. So what So why are they worried? Don't management changes happen all the time? Well yes, it sometimes seems that way -- but this time may be different. Over the past nearly 10 years, Banga has overseen a titanic surge in Mastercard's stock price that took shares of this blue chip stock from $21 to $304. That's about a 1,350% growth in stock price -- better than 100% gains per year he's been in charge. Over the same period, from 2010 to 2019, Mastercard's revenue has tripled, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, and its profits have more than quadrupled. Per-share profits are up nearly five times. Simply put, investors have profited mightily from Banga's tenure. It's only logical that they'd be a bit nervous to see him go. Now what On Jan. 1, 2021, Banga will step down from his post as chief executive officer and become the company's executive chairman of the board, a whole step removed from running the company directly. And into his shoes will step Miebach. Banga praised his replacement highly, saying Miebach "has a proven track record of building products and running businesses globally" and "has been a key architect of our multi-rail strategy." But no matter how good he is, he's going to be hard pressed to prove he's as good as the CEO he's replacing. Until he does, expect Mastercard investors to remain skeptical. Do you want to get ashes on Wednesday but dont have the time to commit to a full mass to get them? Many churches in Connecticut are offering other flexible options for this Ash Wednesday. In Stratford, Peter Adamski the paster of Saint James Roman Catholic Church was at the Stratford train station platform from 4:30 a.m. to around 7:30 a.m. to distribute ashes to commuters. He also offered out his cellphone number to commuters passing through who dont take the train so he could run down and give them ashes as well. Adamski celebrated an 8 a.m. mass at St. James and distributed ashes after. After the morning mass, he went to the Stratford police station, fire houses and EMT location to distribute ashes to those who wanted them. There will be a 6 p.m. mass with ashes at St. James as well. Great Hill United Methodist Church at 225 Great Hill Road in Seymour offered drive-thru ashes in the church parking lot from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. They will also be available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. St. Matthew Church at 216 Scribner Ave. in Norwalk offers ashes throughout the day, as well as masses with ashes. The church also offered ashes on-the-move with a bus schedule Wednesday morning through 3 p.m. There will be a 4 p.m. mass with ashes at the Norwalk church and a 7:30 p.m. mass with ashes, as well as ashes only options at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Those who show up for walk-in ashes are asked to come during the first 15 minutes at the beginning of the hour. Derrek Stefanovsky, assistant rector at Saint Lukes Episcopal Church in Darien, offered ashes to commuters at the Noroton train station. Rev. Patrik Collins offered ashes-to-go in the parking lot at First Congregational Church of Greenwich in Old Greenwich. Russian President Vladimir Putin has advised the opposition to address potential voters with a positive program, and not just endlessly play the blame game by nitpicking the current authorities. "It is not enough to just blame the authorities in order to convince the electorate that those who do the blaming are exactly those people needed. It is necessary to provide a positive program," the head of state noted. According to him, criticism was necessary, but it was not enough to develop the country effectively, TASS reported. Putin added that todays means of communication has made it possible to let any point of view be known to the public, so it is utterly unnecessary to stage unauthorized demonstrations. "Get permission, go and express your opinion," he noted. "After all, you see the Internet, the mass media, including the opposition media, they will come wherever you are, just anywhere you are, wherever you go, wherever you gather to express your discontent with the ruling authorities," the president stressed. SUNBURY The Northumberland County chief probation officer fired in 2016 due to financial discrepancies in the office has been sentenced to 3 to 23 months in prison followed by two years probation. Jimmie Jason Cortelyou, 41, of Herndon, has repaid the $31,530 he admitted stealing along with the $25,000 spent to conduct a forensic audit of the office. Lycoming County Senior Judge Dudley N. Anderson accepted the guilty plea in October and imposed the sentence Tuesday because the Northumberland County judges had recused themselves. Full restitution was part of the agreement that Cortelyou reached with the state attorney generals office before pleading guilty to a charge of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. He admitted from June 2014 until February 2016 he logged $152,009 into the offices receipt book but only $120,478 made it into its treasury account. Cortelyou changed the way Northumberland County counted and deposited house arrest funds in the attempt to pad his personal funds, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. Public corruption like this has no place in Pennsylvania, and we work hard every day to stop it. Investigators said they learned Cortelyou changed the procedures so he counted and had sole control over the money received from those on house arrest. Two staff members who reverted to the old dual control system while Cortelyou was on vacation in August 2015 discovered two pages of receipts were missing along with irregularities in deposits. President Judge Charles H. Saylor fired Cortelyou in February 2016 after being presented evidence of the missing money. He had been chief probation officer since May 2014 Cortelyou was the second former Northumberland County public official to be charged with theft. Former Prothonotary Justin R. Dunkelberger, 41, admitted last June he stole $30,000 by writing two checks to himself in 2015 while in office. He was placed on four years probation and fined $300. He has repaid the $30,000. 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. Donald Trump's closest 'advisors' consist of a 'clown car' of incompetents, a new book claims, rather than the best and brightest who should be advising the president. 'It was tough to hire the best people while ensuring that no one would overshadow the president himself', write authors and Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng in their new book Sinking in the Swamp: How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington. They claim that Trump came into office with little understanding of the complex problems the country faced and 'he seemed to have little interest in understanding them.' So he surrounds himself with third-rate talent because he mistrusted anyone he considers smarter than himself. Without the top advisors on board, Trump gets his political advice from Fox News hosts, conspiracy theorists and con artists, who all have the ear of a president with notoriously slim attention span. A new book claims that President Trump surrounds himself with incompetent advisors because he distrusts anyone he considers smarter than himself Authors and Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng claim Trump routinely fired the brightest and most qualified in his administration The number one rule for Donald Trump: 'Do not f*ck with his tweets not if you want to survive', the authors claim. When David Bossie, Trump's deputy campaign manager and longtime friend, told Trump to dial back on the chronic rage-tweeting - the only one brave enough to step up and say something -Trump blew up at him. Bossie persisted because he thought the tweets were crude and not presidential. He lectured Trump to at least tone it down to a six instead of eleven. New book Sinking in the Swamp, How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington, gives an inside look of the president's rocky administration Trump told him to shut up and then shouted, 'GET HIM THE F**K OUT OF HERE!!! GET HIM THE F**K AWAY FROM ME'. When he doesn't listen to his aides, Trump turns on Fox News. Trump reportedly has Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs dialed in on speakerphone during Oval Office meetings with senior counselors so Dobbs can offer his analysis. He tunes in to his old friend Tucker Carlson nightly and recently tweeted a clip of the Fox News pundit calling on him to pardon their longtime pal, dirty trickster Roger Stone of charges of lying to Congress. According to the authors, President Trump came into office terrified that he would be assassinated because his concept of the job was based on action movies and cinematic violence. Once in the White House, he inquired numerous times about the individual Secret Service agents assigned to protect him, asking if they were 'tough' enough. He wanted to know how many threats had been made against his life since defeating Hillary and if that number was more than Barack Obama received. He also needed to know if the agents protecting him had voted for him. 'He would ask if the windows in the White House were, in fact, bulletproof, as he had heard about in the movies. 'For a president who so prolifically bragged about how much the American people supposedly adored him, he was privately fairly up-front about his crippling fears of one of them trying to take a shot at him and self-aware about the intense hatreds he had inspired', write the authors, investigative reporters for The Daily Beast. Trump comforted himself by calling friends back in New York, including Democratic minority leader, Chuck Schumer, not to talk about legislation but changing the subject to gossip about what he had read in the newspapers and whether or not someone was actually getting a divorce. He always wants to gossip and wants all the dish about what was going on behind the scenes at Fox News, details of the personal lives of top-on-air talent. David Bossie, Trump's deputy campaign manager and longtime buddy, once told Trump to dial back on the chronic rage-tweeting, Trump blew up at him, the book claims Trump reportedly has Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs dialed in on speakerphone during Oval Office meetings with senior counselors and often gives Sean Hannity exclusive interview and calls into shows The authors claim that Trump tunes in to his old friend Tucker Carlson nightly and uses his views as his own Trump's practice of surrounding himself with third-rate talent because of his distrust of anyone 'smarter' than him was something he employed at the Trump Organization. He wasn't interested in reading intel briefings and professional intelligence analysts were urged to keep their Daily Brief on national security threats around the world as simple as possible. 'This was done to accommodate President Trump's notoriously slim attention span and his penchant for fidgeting and rebelling at the image of throngs of nameless lanyard nerds lining up to lecture him on foreign affairs,' the authors write. Instead, he loved interrupting his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, when he was being briefed on a possible troop surge in Afghanistan or if the government was going to strip Americans of their health care coverage. Trump had more important questions for Priebus, like 'What's the skinny on badgers the Wisconsin State animal?', 'Did Priebus have any pictures of badgers to show him, what did they like to eat, were they aggressive?' Another fascination of the president's is with outer space specifically space junk and debris. 'What's with all the garbage up there in space?' Trump reportedly asked while pointing to the White House ceiling. 'Where does it go, what creates all this space garbage and is it a national threat?' This was a dysfunctional White House that made 'a coherent policy strategy difficult and a coherent communications strategy out of the question,' the authors write. Leaking in the administration started on day one, with former advisor Hope Hicks admitting to leaking and 'white lies' The book claims that Trump loved interrupting his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, when he was being briefed national security threats, to ask about badgers and space Leaking in the administration started on day one. Everyone leaked about everything including Trump himself, a master at leaking from the days he called the New York newspapers, tried to disguise his voice and offered up some salacious gossip or just an item embellishing his achievements, according to the book. Leaks were standard operating procedure as well as a way to embarrass reporters by leaking false information. Even Hope Hicks, who resigned as a close aide to Trump two years ago and is now returning to the fold, admitted to leaking and 'white lies'. When Trump felt intellectual heat from his advisors, who knew policy he didn't and that he should, he publicly threatened them with the revolving door. Notorious clashes ensued between Trump and highly accomplished aides like former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, chief executive of the Exxon, the country's largest oil company and 'someone whose accomplishments and intellect could in the president's eyes, rival his own'. Trump ignored Tillerson's counsel as well as that of now former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. Notorious clashes ensued between Trump and highly accomplished aides like former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Trump ignored Tillerson's counsel as well as that of now former Secretary of Defense James Mattis (left) and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster (right) Steve Bannon, long gone Former White House Chief Strategist, made it through only seven months. Trump watched Saturday Night Live and hated the show's portrayal of him and called Alec Baldwin a 'sh*thead'. He seethed when the show depicted Bannon as the brains of the operation and a sketch where Bannon tells Trump to give him back his Oval Office chair. Trump routinely fired the brightest and those that stayed quickly learned that they would have to lobby officials with no actual expertise but who had the ear and trust of the president. Enter Jared Kushner who had been named lead point of contact for NATO allies. The big problem was, 'he didn't seem to know what NATO actually did'. Before a high-profile trip Trump was making in May 2017, Kushner convened journalists for a briefing on what to expect from the visit. He delivered 'a word salad reminiscent of the president's own rambling when it came to issues and minutiae', write the authors. 'Senior officials in the room started wondering what the hell the thirty something senior advisor to the president was talking about'. As the group exited the meeting, Kushner was asked about what he had just said -about Article 5. 'Oh, Article 5. What's that again'? Kushner replied. Trump officials knowledgeable of policy matters that they were hired to advise on quickly learned 'they were working for a man for whom such matters were at best irrelevant and an active impediment to his narcissistic governing style'. Steve Bannon, long gone Former White House Chief Strategist, made it through only seven months in the administration Trump watched Saturday Night Live and hated the show's portrayal of him and seethed when the show depicted Bannon as the brains of the operation Mick Mulvaney, a conservative budget hawk and Director of the Office of Management and Budget, met with the president to discuss the burgeoning national debt that would reach a critical mass in the late 2020s and this was 'a very tight timeline '. 'Yeah,' Trump responded with a complete disregard for the country's future. 'But I won't be here'. Another appalling disregard for the country and its people occurred in March 2017 when Rick Weidman, co-founder of Vietnam Veterans of America, requested health benefits for Vietnam War vets were still suffering from poisoning by Agent Orange. 'That's taken care of,' Trump replied, but no one knew what he was taking about. 'That stuff from that movie', he said, referring to the 1979 war epic, Apocalypse Now where a napalm strike was ordered not Agent Orange. But Trump wouldn't accept that he had gotten it wrong and wouldn't let it go arguing that it was Agent Orange until it was time to move on to a different subject. Before a high-profile trip Trump was making in May 2017, advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner delivered 'a word salad reminiscent of the president's own rambling when it came to issues and minutiae', write the authors Instead of top advisors, it's back to Fox News for advice. News host, Sean Hannity who is gifted with numerous 'exclusive' interviews, will even take a call from Trump when he's in the middle of a live broadcast. But this devotion doesn't stop Trump from trash-talking Hannity behind his back and his 'ultra-sycophantic method of interviewing', the laziness of his questions that lack 'thrill or tension' and are just 'dumb'. A joke in political media circles is how someone can have that much access to the president 'without breaking a single morsel of news'. 'Not everyone on cable television is a genius', write the authors, 'so a president who takes his emotional, personnel, and policy cues from the little box is his living room is inevitably giving two-bit loudmouths an unofficial but no less impactful role in the policy-making process'. The authors wanted to title their book: Another Sh*tstorm in F*cktown: The Donald J. Trump Odyssey but the publisher and their agent voted that down. Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC Let the Shaheen Bagh matter cool down, first: SC adjourns hearing till 23 March India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on pleas challenging the ongoing protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 at New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh till 23 March and said the bench will examine the report submitted by its mediators in the meantime. The apex court also pulled up Delhi police for not being able to handle the violence in northeast Delhi. The bench headed by Justice Kishan Kaul said, "Let the matter cool down, first." When the issue relating to the Jafrabad violence was brought up, the court said that unfortunate things have happened. It should not have happened. But we will not expand the scope of the petition as it would look as though we are trying to take over. To this solicitor general, Tushar Mehta said, " please do not say such things. It will legitimise the incidents. There are why's, whats and how's." The court then said that the environment is not conducive to hear the matter. Equanimity needs to be maintained. Now if you are saying that the Delhi High Court is looking into the issue, then let it go ahead. Mehta then said that let it not mean that this environment be continued. Justice K M Joseph who is on the Bench with Justice Sanjay Kaul said that unless you get the police, it will not work. Look at how the police acts in the UK. Do they require somebody's nod? If somebody makes an inflammatory statement, they swing into action, the judge also said. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 On Monday, the court-appointed interlocutors filed their report in a sealed cover in the Supreme Court on the ongoing protests at Shaheen Bagh. Advocate Sadhna Ramachandran, who was appointed an interlocutor along with senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, placed the report before a bench of justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. It made it clear that the report of interlocutors will not be shared with the petitioners and counsels representing the Centre and Delhi Police at this stage. At the outset, Ramachandran told the court that she is grateful for the opportunity given to her and the interlocutors had a learning experience which was positive also. When the counsel for one of the petitioners said the report be shared with them also, the bench said, "We are here. Everyone is here. Let us have the benefit of the report first. The copy of the report is for the court only." Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had earlier told the top court that the protest 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 Supreme Court in the matter. Habibullah, Azad and Naqvi have jointly filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court which is seized of the matter. The 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". 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". Habibullah, in his affidavit, has also stated that the protestors have asked him to convey to the Supreme 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. 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. Separately, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking directions to authorities to remove protestors from Shaheen Bagh. The town of Garkida in northeastern Nigeria was attacked by Boko Haram the night of Feb. 21-22. A number of buildings were burned, including the church building for Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYNthe Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). The EYN womens fellowship of Garkida district was having its annual conference at the church that was attacked. None of the women were killed, reported Markus Gamache, EYN staff liaison. We grieve the attack on Garkida, said David Steele, general secretary of the Church of the Brethren in the US. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. We pray for this violence to end. Courtesy of Joel Billi Gamache said that several houses, market, and three churches were burned, according to eyewitnesses who described the attack via WhatsApp messages and phone calls. He said the rural health center and two ambulances were also burned and two other ambulances were taken by the insurgents. Two soldiers were killed, and the police station and barracks were burned. Whether there were civilian casualties is not yet known. According to several sources within Garkida, said Gamache, the insurgents entered in about nine trucks and more than 50 motorcycles. The saddest part, he said, 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. The attack was devastating. This attack was mainly targeted on Christian and government property, and this seems to be the major destruction they did in Garkida since they attacked the town in 2014, said Gamache. Some of the eyewitnesses said the effort by the military was not much seen. . . . The insurgents stayed for some hours without any help from anywhere. Gamache said that people from towns and villages in Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno states are relocating out of fear. After receiving four families last week at Gurku interfaith camp, we still have some that are coming. Yesterday evening, we received one family from Adamawa North. More prayers, more support are needed to enable us accommodate the present pressing needs at the interfaith community, said Gamache. The biggest part is that more widows are orphans who are helpless is on the increase. If the government did not see what is coming, then we are in bigger trouble than the past five years since the attack started. There is a divide across the faiths, across the government, across the regions. Gamache pointed out that Garkida, the town where EYN was first started in 1923 under a tamarind tree, is a historic place for church work not only for EYN but for both Muslims and Christians because it brought a great deal of community development. When Church of the Brethren missionaries arrived, health, education, agriculture, and water were the primary aim, not religion. People who benefited from such facilities were not forced to be a Christian. Across the region we have had mixed families of Christians and Muslims living together for a long time, but in recent years there have a been a big divide based on wrong teaching from some religious clerics, said Gamache. Because of such teachings, political interests, and brain washing, we lost our traditional and cultural values and family ties. Contributions to assist EYN may be sent to the Nigeria Crisis Fund at www.brethren.org/nigeriacrisisfund . The first thing that every traveler always consider before visiting a place is security in the place. They always make sure that the place is a tourist-friendly and will not put their lives at risk. The United States State Department issued a security alert in October last year for Mexico and travel advisory that includes color-coded maps that reveal the most dangerous cities in Mexico where Americans were not advised to visit. However, despite this, the number of Americans who visit Mexico spike every year. It is estimated that there are more than 28 million Americans who travel in Mexico every year. I Moreover, it is also assumed that bad thing can even happen in the safest place. Though there are places in Mexico that are considered safe, it is still recommended that travelers need to make sure that they have to book a local who will guide them in the place, drink moderately, getting a cab instead of wandering especially at night, and leave valuables at a rented place according to Smart Travel. Here are some of the safest places in Mexico that are recommended for travelers: 1. Mexico City The place has a long-standing reputation as a dangerous city. However, despite this, the downtown core of the city is quite safe and there are numerous attractions in the city that includes street arts, colorful markets, more than 100 museums that you can visit. 2. Puebla This is considered one of the safest places in Mexico. Puebla is just about two hours from Mexico City and the place is an emerging primary destination of the travelers. The place is the fourth largest city in the country and has the best Spanish colonial architecture. 3. San Miguel de Allende This is also considered one of the safest places in Mexico according to the ex-pat. This place is recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers cobblestone streets, Spanish colonial churches, and plenty of great restaurants. Another World Heritage Site which is just around 10 miles away from the place is the Sanctuary of Atotonilco which is the best destination for Mexicans and tourists who are practicing penitence. 4. Tulum Tulum sounds not friendly for some tourists, but the coastal town of the place to the south is safer. The place offers historical tourist attractions like the remains of the well-preserved ruins of the Mayan city walls and other historic structures. Moreover, the U.S. State Department did not release a travel restriction in Tulum. 5. Huatulco This is the best place in Mexico for scuba divers and those who love activities like surfing and snorkeling. There are surf spots in the place and this is also considered as one of the safest places to travel to in Mexico. These are only a few of the places that are recommended for travelers. There are also cities and places that are not on the list. However, we assure you that you will never regret it if you visit the places listed above. Again, just always remember that anything can happen anytime and the best way to be safe in this place is to have a local to guide you, drink in moderation, and don't wander especially in the dark. Dakarpeople.tk scored 43 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 4 Apr 2014, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the dakarpeople homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if dakarpeople has a Facebook fan page). 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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 Some people have made some outrageous comments on how they think women can get pregnant. Needless to say, these comments are downright bizarre. What's equally terrifying is the fact that all those Science classes in school were forgotten in a second just to forward a personal opinion and bias. The commissioner for health, narcotics and addictive substances at the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), Sitti Hikmawatty, has joined that list. She reportedly claimed that women can become pregnant by swimming in pools with men with 'strong sperm' who for some reason ejaculate into the water. All this, she claims, can happen 'even without penetration.' 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, Independent quotes her as saying. Asiawire According to a Daily Mail report, these claims were made during an interview with Tribun Jakarta last week. In English, Ms Hikmawattys last name translates to 'wisdom'. Right. She later reportedly apologised for her comments, after she faced backlash and added said they were made in a 'personal capacity'. There is an especially strong type of male sperm that may cause pregnancy in a swimming pool. Even without penetration, men may become sexually excited (by women in the pool) and ejaculate, therefore causing a pregnancy, Daily Mail quoted her as saying. Usplash Responding to the ridiculous claim Indonesian blogger doctor, called Blog Dokter, said, Once again, I remind you, if you do not understand health problems, it's better to be quiet. Instead of your comments causing anxiety and panic. I will emphasise here, swimming with the opposite sex will not cause pregnancy. Not all men who swim ejaculate and sperm cannot live in chlorinated pool water, let alone swim into the vagina. Meanwhile, Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) executive Nazar told Jakarta Post, The water in swimming pools contain chlorine and other chemicals. Sperm cannot survive in these conditions." Basic Science, y'all. Ms Hikmawatty issued an apology. I apologise to the public for giving an incorrect statement. it was a personal statement and not from KPAI. I hereby revoke the statement. I plead with all parties not to disseminate it further or even make it available, she added. Maybe it's time for her to go back to her biology lessons. BEIJING - Factories that make the worlds smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled Chinas economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (687 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, workers wearing masks move fabric rolls at a textile printing and dyeing plant in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Factories that make the world's smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled China's economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT BEIJING - Factories that make the worlds smartphones, toys and other goods are struggling to reopen after a virus outbreak idled Chinas economy. But even with the ruling Communist Party promising help, companies and economists say it may be months before production is back to normal. The problem is supply chains the thousands of companies that provide components, from auto parts to zippers to microchips. Chinas are famously nimble and resourceful, but they lack raw materials and workers after the most intensive anti-disease measures ever imposed closed factories, cut off most access to cities with more than 60 million people and imposed travel curbs. In smartphones, an industry that relies on China to assemble almost all its handsets, some components suppliers say production is as low as 10% of normal levels, according to Nicole Peng of Canalys, a research firm. The bad news is that there will be further impact, and the impact is worse than a lot of people initially expected, said Peng. Travel and retail businesses that need Chinese customers have suffered the most so far from the partial shutdown of the second largest economy. But brands including Apple Inc. say it is starting to disrupt their supplies. Analysts warn the longer that disruption lasts, the more damage will spread to wider industries and other economies. Global brands have used low-cost Chinese labour to assemble goods for three decades. Now, they increasingly depend on China to supply auto, computer and other components. Disruptions can make this country a bottleneck, choking off their sales. The most optimistic forecasts call for bringing the virus under control by March, allowing manufacturing to rebound. Gloomier outlooks say the outbreak might last until mid-May or later. Or, as the World Health Organization warned this week, authorities might fail to stop its global spread. Automakers and other factories are reopening, but analysts say they wont restore normal production until at least mid-March. If factory work does not spike in the coming weeks, a global parts shortage would likely emerge, Taimur Baig and Samuel Tse of DBS said in a report. There is no indication yet of an impact on consumers abroad, but retailers are starting to warn some products might be late or unavailable. China also is a major supplier of chemicals for the global pharmaceutical industry. The outbreak has prompted concern supplies might be disrupted but there is no indication that drug production has been affected. President Xi Jinping has put his personal authority behind reviving industry. Beijing is promising tax cuts, though economists say financial help will have limited impact when anti-disease controls still in effect are still keeping workers away from factories and disrupting the movement of goods. On Sunday, Xi said low-risk areas should change disease-control measures to fully restore production while high-risk areas focus on fighting the epidemic, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Manufacturers face a shortage of workers after millions who visited their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday were stranded there by the suspension of plane, train and bus services. Officials must unblock transportation channels, Xinhua cited Xi as saying. The government of Yiwu, a southeastern city known for its thousands of suppliers of buttons, doorknobs and other components to export manufacturers, says it arranged planes and trains to help their employees get back to work. China accounts for about one-quarter of global manufacturing when measured by the value added in its factories. But it is the final assembly point for more than 80% of the world's smartphones, more than half of TVs and a big share of other consumer goods. Apple, which has most of its iPhones and other products assembled by contractors in China, rattled stock markets when it warned Feb. 17 that revenue would suffer due to supply disruptions. We would certainly expect to see more news like that, said Simon Weston of AXA Investment Managers in Hong Kong. Other global companies that need Chinese plastics, chemicals, steel and high-tech components also face reduced production, according to Kaho Yu of Verisk Maplecroft, a consulting firm. Yu said that is likely to last through the quarter ending in September. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said last week half of the 109 companies that responded to a survey reported their global operations already are affected. It said 78% reported they lacked sufficient staff to run production lines. Some companies including Ralph Lauren Corp. already were moving out of China due to rising costs and U.S. tariff hikes in a fight over Beijings technology ambitions and trade surplus. But many still depend on China for components or some stages of manufacturing. Samsung is feeling the heat because it shifted smartphone assembly to Vietnam but needs experienced Chinese managers to run those factories, Peng said. She said they visited China for the Lunar New Year and are blocked from returning to their jobs. Other companies including global automakers that rely increasingly on the Chinese market are restarting production but say the pace depends on whether they can get components. China accounts for about one-quarter of global auto production and according to UBS provides 8% of global exports of auto components. Many use just in time manufacturing, delivering components when needed. Those factories have limited stockpiles to ride out disruptions. Volkswagen, the countrys biggest-selling auto brand, said Monday its challenges include slow national supply chain and logistics ramp-up. In China, factory production in export-oriented coastal provinces is back above 70% of normal levels, according to Cong Liang, the general secretary of the Cabinets planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission. Companies are working overtime, Cong said at a news conference. He insisted the epidemics impact is short-term and generally controllable. Private sector forecasters are less upbeat. Economic activity is likely 45% back on track, said a Citigroup report. Coal consumption, one way to measure industrial activity, is 60% of the average level in the same period during 2017-19, according to UBS. It said real estate sales are 10% of normal. Haier Group, one of the world's biggest home appliance manufacturers, said its suppliers are back to about 80% of normal production. The company said its own factories will be operating normally by the end of February. Some smaller companies that lack the resources of global industrial giants but might be the only source of a critical component are struggling to reopen. In the southern city of Shenzhen, a computer monitor maker is closed because some of its managers are in Hubei and cannot get back to work, according to Global Sources, a company that links buyers to Chinese suppliers. Others manufacturers are looking for alternative suppliers but say foreign sources cant match Chinese prices or service, according to Global Sources. Elon Musk's private aerospace company, spacex, won final approval to build a research and manufacturing plant aimed at developing its deep-space Starship project on a plot of vacant land in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council granted a permit for the facility by a unanimous 12-0 vote, paving the way for Musk, also the founder of Tesla, his electric car company, to proceed with an accelerated development of a new spacecraft and rocket system designed to carry humans to the moon and Mars. The L.A. Board of Harbor Commissioners gave its go-ahead to the 10-year permit last week. Starship (pictured) has made leaps throughout the past year after successful test of its precursor, Starhopper. The company hopes to conduct a 12-mile-high test flight later this year Operations at the facility will be confined to research, design and fabrication of aerospace components and space vehicles built there are not permitted for launch but will be transported out of the port complex by barge or ship. The Los Angeles Port site will bring further Starship development closer to SpaceX's headquarters in the L.A. suburb of Hawthorne, where it has manufactured its workhorse Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon crew capsules. The future facility, which may incorporate renovations to abandoned warehouse and workshop structures on the site, is expected to provide 130 new jobs, according to Musk. SpaceX has conducted test launches out of a facility on Boca Chica, Texas and has use Florida's Cape Canaveral launch site for formal rocket launches. In 2018, SpaceX secured a similar permit in Los Angeles but canceled it and moved its initial phase of the Starship project to Texas, where the company has developed and tested an early prototype dubbed Starhopper. Earlier this month, evidence began circulating that SpaceX executives were inquiring about buying swaths of land near its Boca Chica facility. Construction has continued at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas (pictured) where the company has conducted other critical test flights Some residents in the area, however, refused to bite on SpaceX's offers which proposed purchasing homes for more than three times the base appraisal rate. Some residents reportedly sought non-profit legal counsel on the matter. With its new facility approved, SpaceX will come one step closer to bringing Starship to fruition. As designed, the Starship itself is actually the top half of a colossal interplanetary rocket system that will stand 387 feet (118 meters) tall and be capable of ferrying dozens of humans to the moon and Mars in a single launch. Musk has said that he hopes the Starship will be ready for its first orbital test flight later this year. In a formal request in September, SpaceX requested permission to fly Starship more than 12 miles into orbit and then land the craft back down in the same spot. The feat would mark a significant leap for the company, which recently completed a successful series of tests on Starship prototype, Starhopper, and gives new insight into just how close the company is to completing the vehicle. The American blamed his stoppage defeat by Fury on the weight of his outfit Deontay Wilder has promised to use the same designers behind his elaborate ring-walk outfit again despite claiming their latest suit was 'too heavy' and cost him in the biggest fight of his career against Tyson Fury in Las Vegas. Wilder surrendered his WBC world heavyweight title when his corner threw in the towel after seven rounds of heavy punishment from Fury, who had dropped his rival twice during Saturday night's rematch. The American has since blamed the first loss of his professional career on the weight of the mask, crown and body armour he wore to the ring, claiming that it left him with 'no legs'. Deontay Wilder blamed his defeat against Tyson Fury on his elaborate ring-walk outfit Wilder was noticeably on unsteady legs after taking some heavy shots from Fury on Saturday However, according to The Sun, Wilder will still work with Donato Cowley and Cosmo Lombino - who were the inspirations behind his 31,000 ring-entrance outfit - after having an emotional conversation with the former on Tuesday night. The 34-year-old is as well known for his outlandish costumes as he is for his knockout artistry, and has worked with Cosmo + Donato since his first fight with Fury in December 2018, after his reality TV fiancee Telli Swift discovered their shop in West Hollywood. And Cosmo has confirmed that their relationship with the heavyweight boxer has not been tarnished despite his recent claims - with the Street-couture boutique even already planning a new design for a potential third fight between Wilder and Fury. 'Deontay Wilder called me at home last night,' Donato revealed to The Sun. 'We had an extensive honest conversation that put confusion and rumours to rest, reiterating that he considers us family. Fury was crowned the new WBC heavyweight world champion after stopping Wilder in seven Wilder had an emotional chat with the designers of his latest outfit following his claims 'Deontay was very clear that he looks forward to future collaborations.' Cosmo added: 'The subject of the call then turned to Wilder v Fury III' 'All of us consider it a privilege to contribute to the cultural and professional legacy of the iconic Deontay Wilder. 'As a fashion organisation, I see no greater honour or responsibility that our team could be entrusted with.' Wilder's outfit on Saturday night was inspired by 60s movie The Devil Rides Out and paid tribute to Black History Month. The Bronze Bomber claimed after his convincing defeat by Fury that it affected his performance. Donato Cowley (R) and Cosmo Lombino (L) have designed Wilder's costumes since 2018 Cowley (R) is seen placing a crown on Wilder's head to complete the outfit he wore last year He told Yahoo Sport: 'He didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is ... that my uniform was way too heavy for me. 'I didn't have no legs from the beginning of the fight. In the third round, my legs were just shot all the way through. 'It could easily be told that I didn't have legs or anything. A lot of people were telling me, 'It looked like something was wrong with you.' 'Something was, but when you're in the ring, you have to bluff a lot of things. 'I tried my best to do so. I knew I didn't have the legs because of my uniform. Wilder wore this outfit designed by Cosmo + Donato when he fought Luis Ortiz in November 'I was only able to put it on [for the first time] the night before but I didn't think it was going to be that heavy. 'It weighed 40, 40-some pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. 'I wanted my tribute to be great for Black History Month. I wanted it to be good and I guess I put that before anything.' Wilder has the right to exercise a rematch clause and has confirmed he will be taking up that option which could potentially scupper an all-British showdown between Fury and Anthony Joshua this summer. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Delhi Police on the violence in the Northeast district of the national capital and asked senior officials to remain present in the court at 12:30 pm. The court was hearing a plea filed by retired bureaucrat Harsh Mander on violence in which 20 people have been killed. The court said that the matter is very important and hence it should be heard today itself. It also said that the police should not wait for courts direction and should take action on its own. The petitioner has sought judicial enquiry into the incidents of violence, deployment of army and compensation for the victims. Make sure a senior level police officer is here, Justice Muralidhar told the counsel for Delhi Police. The protest started in Jafrabad, Maujpur and other areas of Northeast Delhi on Saturday, but flared up on Monday. The groups protesting for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) act or CAA were seen roaming on streets with swords and pistols. Houses and vehicles in the area were torched and more than 250 injured in two days of violence. Though the protesters shifted from the main road under the Jafrabad Metro station on Wednesday morning, there are reports of a fresh round of violence in two Northeast Delhi pockets of Chand Bagh and Gokulpuri. Some protesters started pelting stones, which led to a crackdown by cops in these areas. The Centre has been continuously reviewing the situation - Home Minister Amit Shah held three meeting in 24 hours and National Securoty Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval visited the violence hit areas on Tuesday night. He was accompanied by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. Doval has been tasked with overseeing the Delhi Polie efforts to maintain peace in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile, asked Home Minister Amit Shah to call the army to instil confidence in people. Kejriwal said the police, despite all its efforts, had been unable to control the situation. I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence. Army shud be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. Am writing to Honble HM to this effect, he tweeted on Wednesday. The Chief Minister held emergency meeting over the situation on Tuesday and instructed city officials to coordinate with central agencies in restoring peace in the violence-hit areas. State Department Named 5 Chinese Media Outlets as Foreign Missions, but Not CCTV The U.S. State Department recently required five Chinese state-owned media outlets in the United States to be registered as foreign missions. However, it did not require China Central Television (CCTV) to do so. CCTV is a Chinese state-owned media outlet and official propaganda mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). CCTV has 50 channels, and its Channel 9 (CCTV-9) was rebranded as CGTN (China Global Television Network) in 2015. CGTN is owned and operated by CCTV. While the U.S. State Department required CGTN to be registered as a foreign mission, CCTV itself has not had to undergo this registration. CCTV Channel 4 (CCTV-4) has been operating in the United States and providing Chinese-language broadcasting directly to Chinese-American communities. Other CCTV channels have an online presence for Chinese-speaking communities in the United States. The Chinese communist regime has long been known for imposing media censorship. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in 2019 ranked China 177 out of 180 in the RSF World Press Freedom Index. The CCP has been making rigorous efforts to expand its propaganda to international society in recent years. In March 2019, RSF published a report titled Chinas Pursuit of a New World Media Order. The report states: China has been going to great lengths for the last decade to establish a new world media order under its control, with the aim of deterring and preventing any criticism of itself. The report adds that this expansion poses a threat to press freedom throughout the world. Chinese state TV channels have broadcast at least 83 forced confessions since 201319 of them involving journalists or bloggers, the report states. RSF is a leading international nonprofit and nongovernmental organization with the mission to safeguard the right to freedom of information. In January 2020, Freedom House (FH) published a report titled Beijings Global Megaphone: The Expansion of Chinese Communist Party Media Influence Since 2017. The report states that as the Chinese regime expands its influence on overseas media, the regime performs activities that undermine democratic norms, reduce national sovereignty, weaken the financial sustainability of independent media, and violate the laws of some countries. Founded in 1941, FH is a U.S. government-funded nongovernmental organization that advocates human rights, democracy, and political freedom. The FH report outlines three goals of the CCPs global media influence: 1) to promote a positive view of China and of the CCPs authoritarian regime; 2) to encourage foreign investment in China and openness to Chinese investment and strategic engagement abroad; and 3) to marginalize, demonize, or entirely suppress anti-CCP voices, incisive political commentary, and exposes that present the Chinese government and its leaders in a negative light. Examples of CCTV Reporting Through a brief online search, The Epoch Times found several examples of CCTVs broadcasting work. On Jan. 1, CCTV reported that the Wuhan police department was taking action to stop rumors about an undiagnosed pneumonia, and eight gossipers who had spread the rumor were facing legal consequences. One of these eight whistleblowers was Dr. Li Wenlian, who later became known as a hero because he tried to give an early warning to the public about the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Li died in February after being infected by the virus. Before he died, he posted on social media a picture of himself on his deathbed, holding the paper that the police had forced him to sign to admit to spreading rumors. CCTV has played a major role in covering up the seriousness of the COVID-19 epidemic in the city of Wuhan and the rest of China. To prevent factual reports about the virus from becoming available to the international community, the regime has used a number of tactics, including recently expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters. In another example, on Dec. 30, CCTV broadcast a program that showed how a reeducation camp in Chinas Xinjiang Province converted a Uyghur Muslim extremist. The program called the reeducation camp a Vocational Education and Training Center. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group living mainly in Xinjiang. Reeducation camps in Xinjiang have reportedly operated outside the legal system since 2017 for the purpose of indoctrinating Uyghurs. Local authorities have been holding hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs captive for the purpose of countering extremism and terrorism and promoting sinicization. On Aug. 9, CCTV published a news report that accused U.S. CIA agents of providing training for Hong Kong protesters to engage in violence against the local authorities. On April 15, CCTV uploaded to YouTube a two-episode documentary program called Tibets New Life in Prosperity (translated from Chinese). The program, originally produced by Beijing TV (BTV), describes how the Dalai Lama lied to Chinese military officials in order to flee China, and openly betrayed his motherland in 1959. The Dalai Lama was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the U.S. Congress Gold Medal in 2006. He is one of the spiritual leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, and he fled to India in 1959 to escape from the CCPs political and religious persecution. On July 15, CCTV broadcast news defending the regimes efforts to build new islands in the South China Sea. The news report stated that the U.S. Defense Secretarys criticism of Chinas island-building effort was a smear attack on China. CCTV also broadcast a six-episode documentary titled South China Sea in July 2019, aiming to prove Chinas sovereignty in the region. China had built at least seven artificial islands by filling up reefs in the South China Sea by mid-2015. The total size of these man-made islands is about 2,000 acres. One of the islands has a runway for the possible use of military aircraft. In 2016 an international tribunal in the Hague ruled against Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea. On Nov. 22, CCTV reported that the Chinese navy had expelled American navy ships from Chinas territorial waters in the South China Sea. Since October 2015, U.S. Navy warships have conducted freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea. The U.S. government has stated that these operations only challenge excessive maritime entitlement claims and not territorial claims. The Epoch Times emailed and made phone calls to the U.S. State Department, asking why CCTV is not required to be registered as a foreign mission, but had received no response by press time. CCTV-4 has been selected by the U.S. Census Bureau as one of its media partners and has received U.S. taxpayers money from the 2020 Census outreach program. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - While reporting financial results for the third quarter on Wednesday, J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) reaffirmed its adjusted earnings and net sales growth guidance for the full-year 2020. For fiscal 2020, the company reaffirmed its guidance for adjusted earnings in the range of $8.10 to $8.30 per share on net sales decline of 3 percent. Net sales outlook incorporates the loss of $105.9 million of sales in the first four months of fiscal 2019 related to the divested U.S. baking business and $25.4 million of incremental noncomparable sales for Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, LLC. On a comparable basis, net sales are expected to be down 2 percent. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $8.15 per share on a sales decline of 3.1 percent to $7.60 billion for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. I was enchanted by Claudia Rankines smile. Even though this was our second interview together (the first was by phone), and we have several friends in common, I was still surprised by her welcoming hug and warmth when we met at a conference room in the Shed three weeks before the world premiere of her play Help there on March 10. Forty minutes later, I realized that after years of teaching her poetry, especially Citizen, her book-length poem on American race relations, my mind somehow had constructed Rankine as reserved, scolding and confrontational. I left our conversation even more out of sorts as I asked myself: If I, as a black woman, could so easily misread Claudia Rankine, what hope is there for any white man not to do the same? This dilemma between the racial and gender stereotypes that our society projects onto black women and how they have to reject those roles in order to assert their own identities is the central conflict of Help. Commissioned by the Shed, New York Citys new $475 million arts center that is now in its second season at Hudson Yards, the play is partly based on Rankines New York Times Magazine article from last July, I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About Their Privilege. So I Asked. The head of an Iranian task force to tackle the coronavirus, who had urged the public not to overreact, has tested positive for the illness himself. New cases originating in Iran have rapidly emerged across the Middle East. On Monday, a coughing and heavily-sweating Iraj Harirchi said at a news conference in Tehran that "the situation is almost stable in the country". Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed yesterday that Mr Harirchi, who is deputy health minister, had the virus. Mr Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he had it and he had quarantined himself at home. He promised authorities would bring the virus under control. "I wanted to tell you that, rest assured that with efforts of your servants at the health ministry... and backed by you people, the government and all elements of the establishment, we will be victorious in our combat against this virus within the next few weeks," said Mr Harirchi. On Monday, however, he had offered a far different assessment while repeatedly wiping his brow while standing beside government spokesman Ali Rabiei. "Currently, the situation is almost stable in the country and we could manage to minimise the problem," said Mr Harirchi. He also said that "quarantines belong to the Stone Age". That optimism was also played down by Mr Jahanpour himself yesterday. The health ministry spokesman suggested it may take at least until late March for Iran to reach a point where the virus was contained. He added that a more "pessimistic" assessment suggested Iran would contain it by late April. "We don't expect a miracle in the short term," Mr Jahanpour said. A prominent member of parliament, Mamoud Sadeghi of Tehran, also said in a tweet that he tested positive for the virus. Mr Jahanpour said 15 people had died in Iran so far amid 95 confirmed cases. However, experts remain concerned Iran may be under-reporting cases and deaths, given the rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. A hard-line MP in Iran alleged on Monday there had been 50 deaths in the Iranian city of Qom alone, which was denied by authorities. "What do you have to say about those buried in Qom cemetery?" tweeted lawmaker Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani. "Practitioners in hospitals write 'respiratory problems' as the cause of death. But you know that they are from those quarantined for corona." OTSEGO, MI The cause of an early January fire that claimed the lives of 300,000 cage-free hens at an Allegan County egg farm has been officially ruled as undetermined, according to an incident report from the Otsego Fire Department. The report, obtained by MLive through a Freedom of Information Act request, listed the area of fire origin, item first ignited, factor contributing to ignition and heat source all as undetermined in the fire. The fire, which began at 11:01 a.m. Jan. 3 at Konos Inc., burned for approximately two hours before being completely contained, Otsego Fire Chief Brandon Weber told MLive in January. According to the report, which was concluded Feb. 10, firefighters were on scene by 11:12 a.m. at the farm, located on 110th Avenue about five miles northwest of Otsego. The scene, according to the report, was cleared by 11:20 p.m., just over 12 hours from when the fire began. All employees at the facility, which staffs about 50, were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported. The fire itself was contained to one of two barns at the farm. The barn, just four years old, was deemed a total loss; however, according to company spokeswoman Erin Cataldo. Cataldo told MLive Wednesday morning that demolition has begun on the barn and the company plans to start rebuilding in the coming weeks. More than 250,000 hens, all located in the second barn, survived the blaze, she said. The Otsego farm is one of two cage-free farms in the companys portfolio. The other cage-free farm, home to 350,000 hens, is located in Grant Park, Illinois. About 50,000 hens died in a Dec. 4, 2018 two-barn fire at the Grant Park site, which is located about 40 miles south of Chicago. The cause of the Grant Park fire was also ruled as undetermined, Cataldo told Mlive Wednesday. The company, a distributor of Vande Bunte Eggs, also has a third egg farm in Martin, Michigan. Prior to the January fire, the Otsego farm supplied more than 13 million cage-free eggs per year to grocery stores and restaurants across Michigan, Cataldo told MLive in January. The company said at the time it did not anticipate supply interruptions to any of its customers or changes to the price of eggs while it prepared to rebuild. The company announced in 2015 that the Otsego property, both barns included, was going to cost $8.2 million to build. No information has been released in regard to total estimated loss as a result of the fire. Firefighters from Otsego and more than a dozen surrounding communities worked in unison throughout the day on Jan. 3 to contain the fire. Also on MLive: Michigan farm continues operation after fire that killed 300K hens Estimated 300K hens die in Michigan egg farm fire 50K chickens die in fire at egg facility owned by Michigan company An Indiana dentist and his wife who were accused of locking their disabled daughter in a cage and denying her food, water and clean facilities have been spared prison time. Alan and Aimee Friz pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a dependent in Crawford Circuit Court in exchange for two years of probation and the dismissal of their criminal confinement charges. Several charges of sexual misconduct with a minor levied against Alan were also dismissed. Both were originally charged in Dubois County, but the case was moved to Crawford County after they argued that they wouldn't get a fair trial there. Indiana dentist, Alan Friz (left), and his wife, Aimee Friz (right), who were accused of locking their disabled daughter in a cage and denying her food, water and clean facilities, have been spared prison time Several charges of sexual misconduct with a minor levied against Alan were also dismissed. Alan, who ran his own dental office in the town, was accused of groping the girl when he hugged her. He is pictured with a different child The Huntingburg couple was arrested in October 2017 after deputies responded to their Dubois County home on a report of a 'juvenile that was out of control'. When police arrived, they learned she had had another fight with someone else inside the home and that that man struck her with a cane. Upon questioning, Aimee told detectives that the child was mentally disabled and that they had diagnosed her online without ever seeking the advice of a doctor, the affidavit claims. Aimee claimed the child had threatened to murder her and her unborn baby and that the family was investigating how to treat her unspecified mental health problems. Police subsequently obtained a search warrant for the home and discovered the cage. Authorities said the couple kept the teenager in a 4ft x 8ft cage, which they fashioned out of an old closet. Later, when police questioned the teenager, she described the cage she was confined to a nightly basis. She was locked in at night and anytime Aimee was not in the home with nothing but a pan to urinate into, according to disturbing court documents obtained by DailyMail.com. Alan and Aimee Friz (pictured together) pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a dependent in Crawford Circuit Court in exchange for two years of probation and the dismissal of their criminal confinement charges Initially, Alan (left) faced 26 charges including sexual misconduct with a minor, criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent while Aimee (right) faced 22 charges of neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement It was boarded up with wooden planks and was locked with a chain and a combination lock, according to detectives who searched the home. The closet door even had a sign on the front which stated it was the girl's 'cage', he wrote. Aimee's father told police the girl was locked up for her own safety because she had threatened to run away in the past. Dubois County Sheriff's Deputy Jesus Monarrez wrote in his probable cause arrest affidavit at the time: 'The cage appeared to be an old closet. It appeared that they converted the old closet into a cage. The opening of the cell was enclosed with 2x4s and wood sheets. 'They gave [her] a pan so she could use it to go to the bathroom. It was 4x8 in size with a mattress.' 'She is locked in at night and let back out in the morning'. Alan ran his own dental office in the town During interviews, the teenager told how she was allowed to 'roam the property' when Aimee was at home but that she had to go 'back to her cage' if she was not. She also described in how Alan Friz allegedly 'rubbed' her breasts and groped them every time he hugged her. One one occasion, she said he joined her in the shower to touch them and 'rub her back' while asking her how her day was. The girl said the abuse began when she was 13 and started her period, which she said was when she began developing breasts. 'Every time Alan hugs her, he touches her breasts. [She] motioned with her hands that Alan goes in from her neck line, down into underneath her shirt, and touches her breast skin to skin,' Monarrez wrote at the time. Both Aimee and Alan were arrested after the child's interviews. Alan faced 26 charges including sexual misconduct with a minor, criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent while Aimee faced 22 charges of neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement. Aimee initially fled with her children before she could be arrested but she was taken into custody when she showed up to her husband's court appearance. The other children who were living at the couple's home have been taken into the care of Child Protection Services. Iraq's designated Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi announced Feb. 26 that the Iraqi parliament will vote to approve his Cabinet Feb. 27, saying the government will consist of independent, efficient and impartial ministers. "Tomorrow, together as people, as representatives, as candidates and as national political forces we will turn the page on the quota system and look forward to a free, strong and proud Iraq," he tweeted, referring to the system implemented in 2004 that distributes political power on a sectarian basis. Allawi had complained Feb. 24 that he was facing pressure from different political parties regarding his Cabinet selections. Both Kurdish parties have expressed their objections to Allawi's Cabinet, threatening to boycott the session during which the Cabinet will be voted on. Some Sunni parties, such as the Iraqi Forces Alliance, also threatened to boycott the vote. Those objecting want to have their own members represented in Allawi's Cabinet. This is while Allawi is under pressure from protesters to form a nonpartisan Cabinet. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Allawi in a phone call Feb. 24 to refrain from forming his Cabinet without making a deal with both the Kurds and the Sunnis. Allawi has been nominated by Muqtada al-Sadrs Sairoun Alliance and Hadi al-Amiris Fatah Alliance, which consist of PMU factions. He was a compromise candidate generally accepted by all political parties, but he was rejected by the protesters from the beginning. In fact, the only objection among the political class against him is that he had not given them a role in forming his Cabinet. For a parliament session to obtain a quorum, half plus one of its members must show up to vote which is 168 members. Half plus one of the attendees must vote for the Cabinet to approve it. This means Shiite parties can hold the parliament session tomorrow as scheduled and vote for Allawi and his Cabinet. This happened before when parliament voted in January to end the presence of US troops in Iraq. However, this would bring more division to the already fragmented country. In all cases, whether Allawi receives votes of confidence Feb. 27, it does not seem that he would be able to form a strong government as he is under pressure from all sides, which makes the situation difficult for him in terms of dealing with corruption, arms outside of state control and other main issues he promised to tackle in his first speech after his nomination. BERLIN - Three Irish soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb attack on a multinational convoy of United Nations peacekeepers in Mali, the German military said Wednesday. The Bundeswehr said the attack came Tuesday afternoon on the German-led convoy in northern Mali, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of the city of Gao. The roadside bomb hit a German vehicle being driven by Irish troops, injuring three lightly. No German soldiers were injured. The Irish soldiers were evacuated by Romanian helicopters to Gao to be treated in a German hospital, the Bundeswehr said. The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali was established in 2013 to help stabilize the northwestern African nation. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China will roll out a set of strong financial policies, including encouraging financial institutions to provisionally defer loan payments and increasing lending at concessional rates for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as part of effort to help them overcome temporary difficulties. These decisions were made on Tuesday at the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. "Statistics show that only a small percentage of micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses have restarted operation. As these firms are major job providers, we must give them greater support to facilitate their early restart of work and tide them over the tough time. Such support can be further intensified for businesses in Hubei Province," Li said. The meeting decided on additional financial measures in line with market principles and the law to support micro-, small- and medium-sized companies in restarting operation. For eligible micro-, small- and medium-sized firms, including household businesses, with temporary liquidity difficulty, financial institutions will be encouraged to provisionally defer their loan principal repayments. Their interest payments can be deferred to June 30, with penalty interest payments exempted. This policy shall apply to all types of businesses in Hubei Province. "The provisional deferment policy for both principal repayment and interest payment is no small step. Execution of this policy must fully comply with the law and be subject to adequate oversight. This policy should also work in tandem with the fiscal support and banks' re-lending to form synergy and produce holistic effects," Li said. It was decided at the meeting that the re-lending and re-discount quota will be increased by 500 billion yuan (about 71.2 billion U.S. dollars), with the bulk channeled to small and medium-sized banks to increase their credit support to micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses. The re-lending rate targeting rural areas, agriculture, farmers and smaller businesses will be lowered by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent. Before the end of June, local banks (namely, urban and rural commercial banks and rural credit cooperatives) that issue new inclusive loans to micro and small businesses at a rate no higher than 50 basis points above the loan prime rate (LPR) will be able to apply for re-lending funds to the full amount of the loan extended. It was decided at the meeting that national commercial banks will be encouraged to offer more loans to micro and small firms, and work toward meaningfully lowering the lending rates for such firms from last year's level. State-owned large banks are urged to increase the balance of their inclusive loans to micro and small businesses by no less than 30 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Policy banks will add a 350-billion-yuan special credit quota to be issued to micro-, small- and medium-sized firms at preferential rates. Guidance will be given to financial institutions to issue more low-interest loans targeting household businesses. "Household businesses, large in number and covering extensive sectors, employ over 200 million people, and are hence vital to the livelihood of tens of millions of families and to the stability of the whole society. They have been hit hard in this outbreak. The central and local governments must act in concert to provide them with support and see all supporting measures targeting these businesses be delivered to the full extent," Li said. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- The U.S. Army awarded grants to eight academic teams from diverse scientific fields to develop disruptive solutions to some of the most promising challenges important to Army modernization. The teams will study topics including adversarial machine learning, quantum state engineering, plasma driven solution electrochemistry and mechanical adaptive topologies. The awards are a part of the Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, known as MURI. Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory, represents the Army's portion of the MURI program. The awards are typically funded at $1.25 million per year for three years with an option for two additional years and supports research teams whose efforts intersect more than one traditional scientific and engineering discipline. "MURI's provide an opportunity for experts from across disciplines to come together to solve significant scientific challenges," said Dr. Barton H. Halpern, Army Research Office director. "These research efforts enable the development of defense technologies critical to national defense that also have commercial applications." Since its inception in 1985, the tri-service MURI program has successfully convened teams of investigators to combine insights from multiple disciplines to both facilitate the growth of newly emerging technologies and address DOD's unique problem sets. The highly competitive MURI program complements the department's single-investigator basic research grants and has made immense contributions to both defense and society at large. For example, a MURI led to the development of optical materials that can be designed to have properties not possible with conventional optics, called transformative optics. The potential long-term applications are extensive, and may one day rival the impact of the laser. Future DOD applications include ultra-thin and lightweight optical elements replacing heavy, bulky glass optics for technologies such as gun sights, satellites, and other imaging systems, as well as more efficient energy harvesting, or enhanced detector sensitivity. This year, the eight projects funded through the Army Research Office include: Robust Concept Learning and Lifelong Adaptation against Adversarial Attacks, Dr. Insup Lee, University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Implementation of axion electrodynamics in topological films and devices, Dr. Norman Peter Armitage, Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; North Carolina State University; Rutgers; The State University of New Jersey; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of Pennsylvania Endosymbiont Control and Enhancement of Leafhopper Brochosomes, Dr. Jeffrey Barrick, University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University; and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign A Multimodal Approach to Network Information Dynamics, Dr. Cedric Langbort, University of Illinois in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University Toward Mathematical Intelligence and Certifiable Automated Reasoning: From Theoretical Foundations to Experimental Realization, Dr. Arthur Jaffe, Harvard University in collaboration with researchers at University of California at Santa Barbara and Johns Hopkins University Robust Entanglement-Enhanced Metrology with Atoms and Solid-State Spins, Dr. Monika Schleier-Smith, Stanford University in collaboration with researchers at California Institute of Technology; University of California Santa Barbara; University of Chicago and University of California Berkeley Plasma Driven Solution Electrochemistry, Dr. Peter Bruggeman, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in collaboration with researchers at University of Michigan and Northwestern University Triggering Outstanding Properties via Mechanical Adaptive Topologies (TOPMAT): Towards Dynamically Self-Amplifying Omniphoric Multiscale Metamaterials, Dr. Nicholas Boechler, University of California-San Diego in collaboration with researchers at University of Wisconsin -- Madison; Duke University; University of Chicago and University of Michigan For the fiscal 2020 competition, the Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research solicited proposals in 26 areas important to DOD and the military services. From a merit-based review of the 365 proposals received, a panel of experts narrowed the proposals to a subset from which the 26 final awards were selected. The awards will be provided to these teams located across 52 U.S. academic institutions, subject to satisfactory research progress and the availability of funds. ### CCDC Army Research Laboratory is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation's wars and come home safely. is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. An Indian Air Force (IAF) special flight carrying around 15 tonnes of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment, landed in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said. "Consignment (15 tonnes) of Indian medical relief for #COVID19 lands in Wuhan. Strong expression of our solidarity with the Chinese people at this difficult time. Thank you @IAF_MCC and @EOIBeijing for your efforts," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted. The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has claimed more than 2700 lives in the country and has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the Health Organisation (WHO). "This assistance has been provided in the wake the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment," the MEA said in an earlier statement. The IAF flight will also bring back Indian and foreign nationals from some of the neighbouring countries, who had sought assistance in travelling to India, in keeping with New Delhi's neighbourhood first policy. The development comes more than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping, offering assistance to China amid the outbreak of the disease. "The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year," the statement read. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The role played by humans in the extinction of close to 500 animal species since 1900s is often underplayed. Whether it is the destruction of their habitat through deforestation or hunting them into oblivion for their fur and tusks, humans always find new ways of inflicting damage to the ecosystem without any regard to the impact of their actions. Another unfortunate practice that has been driving animals towards their total wipeout is hunting for food. Humans have been hunting for ages, purposely for sustenance. But it has now reached a point where some animal species are being eaten out of existence. Here are the ten animals that the world is eating into extinction. Pangolins Pangolin prepared for cooking in Cameroon. Image credit: Eric Freyssinge/Wikimedia.org Pangolins are the world's most trafficked animals, and more than a million of them are believed to have been killed for food in the last 20 years alone. A delicacy in Asian countries like China, Malaysia, and Vietnam, pangolins are also hunted for their fresh blood and scales. There is an unfounded belief in most of the Asian nations that ground pangolin scales cure asthma and cancer, a misconception that has driven up their hunt. Of the eight pangolin species in the wild, four are listed as Vulnerable, two are listed as Endangered, and another two have been declared Critically Endangered. Red River Turtle Turtle meat is eaten in many parts of the world pushing these animals to the brink. Image credit: Educateinspirechange.org Locally known as the Yangtze giant softshell turtle. The animal was once found in all the major rivers passing through Vietnam and most of China. Only four living individuals are left, and the hopes of saving the turtle are getting dimmer and dimmer every day. The red river turtle has been hunted for its meat and eggs. Their bones are also on high demand and are used in medicine. Their skulls are kept as trophies by their hunters. Of the four individuals left, only one is a female, and efforts to breed them in captivity have not yet been successful. Red Colobus Red colobus monkey. Image credit: Olivier Lejade/Wikimedia.org Red colobus monkeys are mostly in Eastern and Central Africa. It is a monkey that has had the misfortune of being hunted by both humans and chimpanzees. Chimpanzees live off fruits, insects, and vegetation, but when an opportunity to eat meat appears, it usually involves the hunting of red colobus monkeys. Humans have hunted the red colobus for their meat and beautiful coats. Bluefin Tuna Bluefin tuna is a heavily exploited fish species. Image credit: mainepublic.org Bluefin tuna is one of the fastest fish species in the ocean with speeds that can hit 40mph. They can grow up to 14 feet long and weigh around 1,800 pounds, making them the perfect fish for the perfect meal. High demand for sushi and sashimi has pushed bluefin tuna populations to the brink of extinction with their status switching between Vulnerable and Critically Endangered from time to time. Lack of International laws to protect the bluefin tuna and the fact that they take too long to grow in fish farms has led to overfishing. Soon the Atlantic Ocean will no longer have them. Chinese Giant Salamander Chinese giant salamander for sale in a restaurant in Hongqiao, China. Image credit: Micromesistius/Wikimedia.org With a length of almost six feet and a weight of approximately 140 pounds, the Chinese giant salamander is the largest amphibian on the planet. Unfortunately, the salamander is a considerable delicacy in China, and this has pushed their numbers to the limit. The large amphibian is now listed as Critically Endangered. There are nearly 50,000 individuals left in the wild and about 2.6 million in different breeding farms run by big restaurants. The downside to keeping the salamanders in restricted spaces is that diseases are spreading faster and are passed on to the populations in the wild, further endangering them. Sturgeons Sturgeon at a fish market in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan. Image credit: Flydime/Wikimedia.org Sturgeons have been around for over 200 million years, and they have survived countless mass extinction events only for them to be driven to the brink of a total wipeout by humans. Sturgeons are aggressively hunted for their eggs, which make caviar, one of the most expensive dishes in the world that usually fetch an impressive $4,500 per pound. The caviar rush of the 1800s almost pushed sturgeons to extinction until intervention saved them. They have steadily raised their numbers but are still being hunted for their meat and eggs. Eastern Lowland Gorilla Eastern lowland gorilla infant in Kahuzi Biega National Park. Image credit: Joe McKenna/Wikimedia.org It is a cousin of the mountain gorilla. The eastern lowland gorilla is being hunted in the Democratic Republic of Congo for its meat. With no other predator, the gorilla was once spread out across the Central African jungles but has seen its population reduced by about 77% in a single generation. There are roughly 3,800 individuals left in the wild. Consumption of bushmeat in DRC is considered a wealthy indulgence. The demand has encouraged poaching. Similarly, instability in the region has hampered conservation efforts. Sharks Shark fin soup. Image credit: Joe McKenna/Wikimedia.org The indiscriminate killing of sharks to obtain their fins before tossing the rest of their carcass back into the water has to be the most despicable human acts against nature. The practice of eating shark fin soup dates back to the Ming Dynasty in the 1300s, where it was viewed as a symbol of status and power. The worst-hit is the shortfin Mako shark. Driving this hunt for sharks is China, where shark fin soup is seen as an elite dish for the wealthy with a bowl going for more than $100. More than 73 million sharks are killed annually just for their fins. Green Sea Turtles Green turtle swimming over coral reefs in Kona. Image credit: Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia.org Even before humans started hunting them in large numbers for their meat, shells, and eggs, green sea turtles were already grappling with pollution, being caught in fishing nets meant for others and habitat loss. They have been hunted for the illegal trade, particularly in Asia, where their body parts fetch high prices, and their meat and eggs are a coveted delicacy. Their shells are believed to have medicinal powers in some African cultures. Although they were accorded protection in 1977, they are still being hunted in large numbers in Africa and South Asia. Muskox Muskox. Image credit: Quartl/Wikimedia.org The muskox weighs over 900 pounds, and at one time they were widespread in North America and Siberia, and together with the bison, provided food for the Native Americans. However, the situation changed with the arrival of Europeans who had deadlier hunting weapons. Between 1900 and 1930, the muskox was almost driven to extinction by excessive hunting for their meat and hides. There are 80,000 muskoxen left in the wild now. Others Other animals that are barely holding on to their existence in the face of hunting include the Great white shark, the largest predatory fish on earth, which is facing a threat called finning. The flying fox is the largest bat species on earth with a wingspan of up to 6 feet, and is being hunted for its meat and sport. The Whale shark, the largest fish in the ocean, has been on the Critically Endangered list for about three years now because of excessive hunting. They are hunted for their meat, fins, and other body parts used for medicinal purposes. The Indri, a Madagascan lemur, is currently facing wipeout thanks to the increase in poaching, which is driven by starvation in the country. The European eel is being overfished in the oceans and has seen their stocks dwindle by half in the last 50 years. Critical Statistics The human culinary habits are a direct threat to the survival of a staggering 301 land mammals. Of these, primate species facing extinction as a result of our eating habits are 168 primates, 26 species of marsupials, 21 species of rodents, and 73 species of hoofed animals. Bushmeat is so vital in Congo that it accounts for almost 80% of the protein intake in the region. It is estimated that over 6 million tons of bushmeat are sourced from the Congo Basin despite the international ban on their trade. The Red List now has an estimated 1,414 species of fish listed as endangered because of overfishing. According to the World-Wide Fund for Nature, the modern-day human eats 42 pounds of fish on average in a year, which is two times more than what he consumed 50 years ago. As things stand at the moment, over 60% of fish stocks in all the five oceans have been fully exploited. Another 30% is already over-exploited. Fish numbers will not be able to hold on for long, and if this continues, oceans will be empty in the next 50 years. What Can Be Done? Harsh penalties need to be devised to deal with the illegal poaching and trafficking of endangered animals. Humans need to find other sources of nutrition so that they can allow the depleted numbers of animals in the wild to be restored. Fishing regulations need to become tighter and stricter to protect fish populations in the ocean. New ways of enforcing bans on practices like finning need to be implemented to stamp them out permanently. Communities living near the endangered species have to be sensitized on the impact of their actions and what could happen if they continue hunting the animals. Poverty is one of the many reasons that push people into poaching. Once they are aware and empowered with new sources of income, then the animals can be spared. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 19:00:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Deng Anqing, a Beijing-based writer, is spending an unexpectedly prolonged holiday at his parents' home in Wuxue, a small city in Hubei Province, with only three surgical masks purposedly saved for an undated trip back to the capital. Just over one month ago, face masks were by no means the most sought-after commodity in China. Few people realized a looming epidemic caused by a new, highly contagious and lethal coronavirus would soon cause severe scarcity of personal protective items ranging from masks to disinfectant. "Almost no people wore masks at the railway station or on the train," Deng, 35, recalled his departure from Beijing on Jan. 19, when hundreds of millions of passengers hit the road for the Lunar New Year holiday, a year's most important time for family gathering. Then, the festival turned into a massive battle of 1.4 billion people against the invisible enemy, which was previously unknown to mankind. By Tuesday, 78,064 people on the Chinese mainland had been confirmed as being infected, among whom 2,715 had died. Deng heard of the outbreak from his friends in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei. Vigilantly, he asked his parents to wear masks soon after he arrived home. But his mother shrugged off: "Wear a mask in the countryside? You'll have people laugh at us!" Most people were not aware that the danger was so imminent that an infected person could spread the virus simply through cough and sneeze. At that time, a great number of people had already traveled from Wuhan, the center of the epidemic, to other parts of Hubei and beyond, even outside China. On Dec. 31, Wuhan municipal health commission announced the city discovered 27 pneumonia cases with unknown causes. That brief statement hardly served as a wake-up call for the public until on Jan. 20, when renowned respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan in a media interview confirmed human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus and infections among medical personnels. In an unprecedented move, China locked down Wuhan on Jan. 23 to curb the spreading of the virus, suspending urban public transport and outbound channels at the airport and railway stations. Confirmed infection cases surged drastically, hospitals were overwhelmed, doctors and nurses across the country rushed to Hubei, and a people's war against the epidemic was soon officially announced. BATTLEFIELD ONE: HOSPITALS STRUGGLING TO SAVE MORE The air in Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan is a mixture of the odor of disinfectant and undercurrent of uneasiness. Zhang Dingyu, the hospital head, usually slept no more than two hours after the first batch of seven infected patients were transferred to his hospital in late December. "We try to outrun death to treat and save more patients," said Zhang, knowing his clock is ticking. Due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, his legs have recently been rendered powerless. He has to clutch at the handrail as he makes his way up and down stairs. Doctors and nurses fought on the frontline round the clock when swarms of patients flocked in to seek help. Since the outbreak, more than 30,000 medical professionals, including those from the military, have joined the epidemic control battle in Wuhan. One in 10 intensive care medical staff in China is working in the city. Medical supplies fell severely short, especially at the early stage of the outbreak, making many medics give up eating or drinking on their shifts in order to wear protective suits a little longer. Some use diapers to avoid going to the toilet, which means they have to put on new protective suits. Some medics were infected and even sacrificed their lives while saving others'. More than 1,700 Chinese medical workers had been infected with the coronavirus, and among them, at least ten had died. In a bid to significantly increase hospital beds, two makeshift hospitals were built from scratch at lightning speed and more temporary hospitals were converted from gyms and exhibition centers. Top scientists have been working hard to develop vaccines and drugs and applied traditional Chinese medicine to the treatment of infected patients to help with recovery. Illegal trade of wildlife has drawn extensive criticism as researchers believe the virus highly likely came from wild animals. China's top legislature on Monday decided to impose a full ban on illegal wildlife trade. BATTLEFIELD TWO: COMMUNITIES, VILLAGES ON HIGH ALERT On the very day when the human-to-human transmission was confirmed, Beijing reported its first two COVID-19 cases, triggering the cancelation of traditional New Year temple fairs and the suspension of all inter-provincial highway passenger bus services. Similar measures were taken nationwide. Gone was the city hustle and bustle. Heeding urgent calls from experts and governments, people canceled trips and visits, and stayed at home to avoid cross-infection. Streets were empty. Restaurants, malls, cinemas, museums and tourist resorts were closed all around the country, with outbound group tours canceled and quarantine measures adopted. Tibet Autonomous Region became the last plagued provincial-level region on the Chinese mainland by reporting its first confirmed case on Jan. 30. On the same day, the World Health Organization announced the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Nevertheless, Yamazaki Yumiko, who first heard about the virus outbreak when she was spending a holiday in Japan, returned to Changchun city in northeast China's Jilin Province, where she teaches Japanese. Both her son in Japan and her husband in China asked her not to return, but she insisted. "Although I cannot come to the frontline like Chinese medics to treat the infected patients, at least I could be with my students," she said. Besides teaching her students online, she signed up as a volunteer of the neighborhood where she lives with her husband, joining others to do disinfecting work and take temperature of residents entering the closed-off neighborhood. Across the country, a large number of community workers and volunteers did the same as Yamazaki: making sure people coming in and out of the neighborhoods wear masks, fever patients are attended to promptly and people who had traveled to Hubei are placed in quarantine. In vast rural areas, loudspeakers, slogans and around-the-clock checkpoints were used to keep every village on high alert, for sake of safety. Villagers were advised to offer New Year greetings via video chats instead of door-to-door visits. BATTLEFIELD THREE: FACTORIES AT FULL CAPACITY The roaring sound of machinery surrounds workers as they are busy sewing masks and packing products at a workshop of SPRO Medical Products (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. in east China's Fujian Province. "Due to shortage of staff (who were stranded at hometowns due to transportation cut-off), our workers toiled more than 11 hours a day over two shifts," said Wang Hui, who oversees the company's workshop, with a daily production capacity restored to 200,000 masks by early February. In the wake of the epidemic outbreak, the virus had emptied the inventories of all brick-and-mortar drug stores and online retailers nearly overnight. China produces about half of the world's masks with a daily output of 20 million, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. But that is still insufficient to meet the exploding demand. Local Chinese authorities encouraged enterprises to produce more medical supplies such as protective gear, by providing preferential policies including fund subsidies, fast approval, financing and manpower support. Some companies that have nothing to do with medical supplies have revamped their factories to churn out masks. A Foxconn plant began trial-producing masks on Feb. 5, while on the next day, the Liuzhou-based auto maker SGMW decided to revamp production lines to produce N95 respirators and other surgical masks. Beijing had activated three mask factories that have been obsolete for years and is converting an industrial building into a new mask factory to make 250,000 masks a day. A garment factory in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region also built a production line to make protective suits. The daily production capacity of masks nationwide may exceed 100 million as additional production lines will become operational in the near future, authorities said. BATTLEFIELD FOUR: SMALL OFFICE HOME OFFICE Although the coronavirus outbreak may have taken a temporary hit on the world's second-largest economy, China has ramped up measures including promoting telework to push for business resumption and shore up the economy. Either required or encouraged, those who stayed at home during and after the prolonged Spring Festival holiday have played their part in containing the spread of the virus. Their living rooms and bedrooms have been turned into offices and classrooms. Mobile tech firms such as Tencent, Alibaba's DingTalk and China Mobile have all raced to provide technical support, most of which free of charge. The number of online meetings supported by Tencent Meeting on Feb. 10, when most enterprises started resuming operations, was 100 times that of its previous average daily use as many are working at home. The surge in data traffic also prompted DingTalk to add more than 100,000 additional cloud servers. Millions of students resort to online learning at home as the spring semester started in late February. In southern China's metropolitan of Guangzhou, the curriculum of online school classes cover physical exercise, reading, anti-epidemic education, aesthetic education as well as math, science and English. "Although these changes are an exploration in a special period, they also reflect the development trend of online production and life in the future," said Zhang Ying, associate dean of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. It seems to be the largest physical isolation in history but Chinese people were more connected than ever as homebodies made full use of social media to seek joy amid hardship. Kuaishou, a popular short-video sharing platform, said in the latest report that its daily active users had exceeded 300 million in early 2020. People livestream whatever they do at home from cooking, cosplay to haircutting and doing fitness. "I yearn for the day when I can take off my mask. I want to go to the cinema, order a hot-pot meal, meet my parents, hike with my kids and soak in the sunshine," a netizen posted on microblog Sina Weibo. Enditem Day of Crimea's resistance to Russian occupation is marked annually on February 26. Six years ago, on 26 February 2014, a several thousand strong rally of pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and against holding an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea took place in Simferopol. About 12,000 Crimean Tatars gathered near the building of the Crimean parliament on the initiative of the Mejlis. They were holding their national flags and the flags of Ukraine. Protesters chanted: "Glory to Ukraine - Glory to the Heroes!", "Crimea is Ukraine!" To oppose them, a rally of the Russian Union party, led by a henchman of Russian occupants, Sergei Aksyonov, was organized. On February 20, Russian troops began to occupy Crimea. The trucks without number plates and the so-called "green men" [masked soldiers in unmarked green army uniforms and carrying modern Russian military weapons and equipment] appeared on the peninsula. At the same time, the irregular armed formations of mercenaries from among the local residents, led by officers of the special services and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, were created and provided with weapons. On February 26, two people were killed and several dozen people were injured in clashes. Subsequently, after Crimea had been illegally annexed, the Russian investigation committee instituted a criminal case over the clashes (the so-called "case of February 26") and arranged a political trial of Akhtem Chiygoz, Mustafa Degermendzhi, Ali Asanov, and other Crimean Tatar activists. Already the next day, February 27, the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Federation seized the premises of the Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Ministers of Crimea. At the same time, the parliament of Crimea, upon the demand of the invaders, announced holding a referendum on Crimeas accession to Russia. It was planned to be held on May 25, but then it was decided to hold a referendum on March 16. Over the next few days, the streets of the towns and main roads of the peninsula were filled with Russian troops. The so-called green men seized the administrative buildings, besieged the garrisons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, seaports, and airports. The leadership of Russia repeatedly argued that those armed people were not Russian servicemen. However, after the peninsula had been occupied and the fake "referendum on the status of Crimea" had been held, Russians admitted that the "green men" were the soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. March 1, 2014, the Federation Council of Russia supported president Putin's appeal on permission for using the Russian Armed Forces in the territory of Ukraine. In turn, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine gave the order to put the Armed Forces of Ukraine on full combat alert in response to the Russian aggression. The international organizations recognized the occupation and annexation of the Crimean peninsula illegal and condemned Russia's actions. In particular, during this period, three UN resolutions on Crimea have been adopted. At the same time, a number of Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Six years have passed, the situation in the annexed Ukrainian peninsula remains tense. The occupying power has chosen the tactics of intimidation and terror of the local population. Currently, the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People are banned in Crimea. The repressions, raids on homes and illegal detentions take place on a regular basis. The aggressor state cynically disregards the fundamental human rights and freedoms and international law. ol That Puri Jagannadh is directing Vijay Deverakonda in his upcoming directorial venture Fighter is known to all. Co-starring Ananya Pandey, the action entertainer went on floors last month and is being jointly produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Charmme Kaur. Since Vijay's latest release World Famous Lover has turned out to be a big dud, a lot is riding on this Pan-India film which will mark the actor's big debut in Bollywood. As for Puri Jagannadh, the noted filmmaker tasted commercial success with his last outing iSmart Shankar which came out in July 2019. But he is yet to prove his mettle in Bollywood. Till now, Puri has helmed two Hindi films - Shart: The Challenge and Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap. However, both the projects failed to impress the audience and the critics alike. So now we hear the director is being extra careful about his next as he wants to score big in Bollywood. Puri usually wraps up his films in three months but as per a report in greatandhra.com, this time the talented filmmaker will take extra long to complete his movie with Vijay. Instead of 90 days, the 53-year-old director has allotted 120 days to shoot Fighter which is a personal record for Puri himself. Before this, the longest time that Puri Jagannadh had spent on-set making a movie was for Mahesh Babu starrer Pokiri that released way back in 2006. Coming back to Fighter, apparently, Puri has not only worked extra hard on getting the script right but he even sent Vijay to Thailand so that he could prep for his role as a martial artist. And now he has decided to take his own sweet time to finish the shooting of Vijay starrer. Since stakes are very high for both Puri and Vijay, we are glad that the Dynamic Director is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that he comes up with a blockbuster film. IT'S OFFICIAL! Karan Johar To Present Vijay Deverakonda's VD10 With Puri Jagannadh; Read Deets Ananya Pandey Has THIS To Say About Her Fighter Co-star Vijay Deverakonda! The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday fined Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case 10,000 for filing frivolous applications and wasting the courts time. Chaturvedis lawyer on Wednesday moved an application seeking direction to the investigating agencies to deposit the case diary maintained by investigating officer in the court. Special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal objected to the plea saying that the accused was not allowed access to these documents. He submitted that only the judge could see them and accordingly, whenever the court has asked for the diary, the prosecution had produced it. The accused had moved a similar application in 2016, which was rejected by the then special judge in the case, Rasal argued. The court after hearing both sides held that the accused was delaying the trial by filing such applications and directed him to pay the fine of 10,000 within three days. Chaturvedis lawyer had also sought a report of the narcotics test allegedly conducted on his client by the investigating officer after his arrest. The court has partly allowed the plea. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Charul Shah Charul Shah is senior reporter covering the legal beat for Hindustan Times. She has spent over a decade in the industry covering criminal investigations and judiciary from Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. ...view detail The BJP on Wednesday retained its hold over the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation near Mumbai by winning the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. BJP candidate for mayor's post Jyotsana Jasnale defeated her only rival Shiv Sena's Anant Shirke by polling 55 votes against the latter's 36. Hasmukh Gehlot of the BJP became the deputy mayor by defeating Shiv Sena's Marlin D'Sa. Gehlot received 56 votes, while D'Sa polled 35. Four corporators remained absent during the polls in the 95-member house in which the BJP has 62 corporators, Congress 10, Shiv Sena 22 and one Independent. The Sena candidates were backed by the Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A delegation of Amadeus, headed by Bruno Spada, Head of Airport IT at Amadeus, paid a working visit to Baku. In the framework of the working visit, a meeting was held with AZAL President Jahangir Asgarov to discuss application of new technologies at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Jahangir Asgarov stressed that last year the capital's airport became the first airport in the world to fully switch to cloud technologies. Thanks to new Amadeus technologies Heydar Aliyev International Airport got the ability to manage a new database, resource management, flight information display systems and others. One of our priorities is to increase passenger traffic at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Partnership with Amadeus and application of modern technologies allow us to improve the efficiency of work, and, most importantly, to increase the level of services provided to passengers," Jahangir Asgarov said. "The airport of the capital of Azerbaijan demonstrates the benefits of using the state of art technologies in the modern aviation industry. One of the benefits of Amadeus cloud solutions also include the possibility of cost optimization. I would like to emphasize that Heydar Aliyev International Airport is the only airport in the world that has fully switched to cloud technologies", Bruno Spada said. Heydar Aliyev International Airport is the largest airport in Azerbaijan and the region in terms of passenger and freight traffic, takeoff and landing operations, the airport terminal area and capacity of the cargo complex. Amadeus is one of the world's largest providers of IT services in the airline industry and global distribution systems. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Sky News Deep in the North Sea, 150 miles directly east of Aberdeen, lies an enormous and as yet undrilled gas field called Jackdaw. Its owner Shell has described the field as "critical" to its North Sea strategy. In October 2021 the government's environmental regulator for the offshore fossil fuel industry rejected Shell's plans to drill on as-yet unspecified environmental grounds. The Syrian Democratic Forces have launched an arrest campaign, targeting Islamic State cells in the Deir ez-Zor countryside writes Deirezzor 24. This morning, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a security campaign in a number of neighborhoods in al-Hawayej village in the eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside, Deir Ezzor 24s network correspondent said. According to our correspondent, the campaign was launched after cells, believed to belong to the Islamic State (ISIS), erected roadblocks on the main streets of al-Hawayej village after midnight. The security force searched some houses, whose owners are suspected of being associated with the ISIS cells, but no one was arrested, according to the correspondent. It is noteworthy that al-Hawayej village in the eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside has recently witnessed increased activity of cells believed to belong to ISIS. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. A Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr William Owuraku Aidoo, says the erratic power supply currently being experienced in some parts of Ghana should stabilise in a few days. According to him, the intermittent power outages was because of major repair work on the gas pipeline from Nigeria Unfortunately some of the generation plants that we planned with have encountered some unexpected challenges, he said in a radio interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Wednesday. Mr Owuraku-Aidoo noted however that the state was looking at just a matter of days to bring this whole problem to an end, adding that the pigging exercise had been completed ahead of schedule and would be followed by some analysis. The analysis will hopefully come to an end by tomorrow [Thursday] and gas will be introduced somewhere in the beginning of March [2020]... until we get the full complement of gas supply to the Tema enclave, Mr. Owuraku Aidoo said. Call for dumsor timetable Meanwhile, a former Deputy Minister of Power, Mr John Jinapor, has accused the government of re-starting the rationing of power, last seen during the power crisis in 2016. In a statement, he said the relapse into power rationing was due to the ineptitude and mismanagement of the energy sector by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP). He thus called on the government to publish a load shedding time table to enable Ghanaians plan their daily schedules. Despite the concerns with power sector, the government insists that it has solved the problems with dumsor. Source: Daily Graphic 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 Don justifies Afghan withdrawal, says US is not a police force. New Delhi: India has received an invitation from Qatar to attend the historic signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Afghan Taliban on Saturday in Doha (Qatar), sources said on Tuesday, even as US President Donald Trump said that India (too) would like to see it happen. The US President said he had discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital during talks on Tuesday. Indian government sources confirmed that New Delhi had received the invite from Qatar. New Delhi is considering whether to send an official delegation or else a non-official delegation amid indications that the choice may be in favour of sending an official delegation. Meanwhile, justifying the exercise to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, President Trump told reporters that the US is not a police force and they (Afghans) have to police it themselves. He said the US wanted to bring our young people back home, claiming, the US can win it (conflict in Afghanistan) easily but that I dont want to kill millions of people. Meanwhile, at a separate briefing, Indias foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the situation in Afghanistan had been discussed between President Trump and PM Modi and that both sides took note of the developments including the issue of an (US-Taliban) agreement there. He said India believed there should be cessation of violence and also referred to the US stand that there should be no support for Islamic radical terrorism. He said India backed a peace-process that is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. It may be recalled that New Delhi has been strongly backing the Afghan Government led by President Ashraf Ghani. India has also earned considerable goodwill in Afghanistan due to several development projects completed there. The Afghan Taliban, on the other hand, is considered to be an organisation that survives on Pakistani cross-border support. The N26 app and a UK passport. (N26) German challenger bank N26 is quitting the UK less than two years after launching here, blaming Britains exit from the EU. N26 said on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon: With the UK having left the EU, we will in due course be unable to operate in the UK with our EU banking licence, so we will be leaving the UK and closing all accounts. A spokesperson said the bank had several hundred thousand UK customers. All UK accounts will close on 15 April 2020. N26 is the first bank to announce it is withdrawing from the UK due to Brexit. Britain officially left the EU on 31 January and is now in an 11-month transition period. Read more: N26 is second banking 'unicorn' to face regulator's questions The withdrawal from the UK comes less than two years after N26 came to Britain. The Berlin-headquartered lender launched here in October 2018, over two years after Brits first voted for Brexit and six months before Britain was initially due to leave the EU. N26 has a German banking licence and EU rules allow it to be passported into Britain. Passporting rights will end at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, meaning N26 would have to get a UK banking license to continue to operate here. A spokesperson confirmed N26 had not applied for a UK banking license and said to do so would have required significant operational processes and costs. We would need to undertake complex regulatory measures and product updates to continue operating in the UK, the spokesperson said. Valentin Stalf, founder and managing director of N26, speaks on stage at the Digital Life Design (DLD) innovation conference. (Lino Mirgeler/picture alliance via Getty Images) N26 mounted an eye-catching marketing campaign on the London Underground last year as it pushed to acquire customers. The Telegraph reported last April N26 British customers had opened 200,000 accounts in the UK, and the bank was signing up 1,000 new customers each day. However, it faced stiff competition from home-grown competitors such as Monzo, Starling Bank, and Revolut. Sarah Kocianski, head of research at consultancy 11:FS, told Yahoo Finance UK that N26s exit was not a surprise in the industry. Story continues Read more: German bank backed by Peter Thiel launches in US Why bother to get and try to maintain a license in a country where youve struggled to gain traction and youre up against serious competition? Kocianski said. Makes sense for N26 to cut its losses and focus on other, easier market in Europe. N26 is one of a number of app-only banks that have launched across the world in the last decade. Launched in 2013, it has expanded across Europe rapidly and now has over 5m customers across 26 countries. The startup was valued at $3.5bn (2.7bn) last year and backers include Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. Will Sorby, general manager of N26 in the UK, said in a statement provided to Yahoo Finance UK: We would like to thank all N26 customers for their support. Weve planned the next steps carefully to ensure this process is as smooth as possible for every customer in the UK. Read more: Digital bank N26 bigger than HSBC in France with 1 million customers N26 has around 80 people across the UK and Germany working on the UK market. The company said most would be re-deployed to other projects within the business. Thomas Grosse, chief banking officer at N26, said: Although we will be leaving the UK, we will continue our mission to radically transform the global banking industry through innovation and the power of technology and design to build a bank the world loves to use. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary as an active standards development organization. The IEEE 802 LMSC was created in March of 1980 to bring together forward-thinking technology leaders to develop interoperable network standards for computers and office equipment. The most widely used standards are for Ethernet, Bridging and Virtual Bridged LANs Wireless LAN, Wireless PAN, Wireless MAN, Wireless Coexistence, Media Independent Handover Services, and Wireless RAN. The major purpose behind the creation of the IEEE 802 was forming a Local Area Network standard for shared local communications among multiple vendor devices. Inspired by the creation of the High-level Data Link Control Standard and the Xerox Ethernet product, the IEEE 802 committee went on to create a family of network standards based on a common architecture and supporting multiple access methods across a variety of physical media. The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee develops and maintains networking standards and recommended practices for local, metropolitan, and other area networks, using an open and accredited process, and advocates them on a global basis. From the smartphone to the e-book reader and maybe even the car, these are just a few of the things containing interfaces compliant with the suite of network interoperability standards developed by the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee. Based on the committees continuing work, the 802 portfolio has expanded to more than 100 innovative standards encompassing a wide variety of existing and emerging technologies and applications. On this occasion, Paul Nikolich, IEEE Fellow and IEEE 802 Chair said There have been a number of individuals who have participated and contributed to the IEEE 802 family of networking standards over the years. The efforts of those in India who have contributed to the development of these standards support our efforts to deliver a technical standard that has enabled component, system and services providers to develop robust, interoperable, low cost networking products to the market, thereby enabling explosive growth in connectivity connecting the world. We invite those in the Indian region to be a part of the next generation of change during one of our plenary sessions 3 times a year in March, July and November; and 3 times a year in interim sessions in January, May and September all over the world. Today, in 4 decades of the IEEE 802 standards it has paved the way for innovation in connectivity and influenced our lives in ways large and small. From 802.1 to latest generation of IEEE 802.11ax standard used in (Wi-Fi 6) that supports four times higher network bandwidth and user concurrency compared to Wi-Fi 5, it is enabling increased capacity and faster speed. Hence, IEEE 802 is helping in advancing future technology of wireless communication. From utilities such as smart homes to chipsets for energy grids, everything is being standardized as per the latest IEEE 802 standards. In 2014, Soso emailed both Berman and Vrdolyak to vent his frustration that Vrdolyak had been withholding money he was owed. He also threatened to sue Vrdolyak, warning that the legal action would make front page news and most definitely open a can of worms that I would rather stay closed, according to a copy of the email quoted in Bhachus sentencing filing. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is on good terms with some Democratic exes. While she can't claim to have raised thousands of dollars from ex-boyfriends, like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) can, Warren has remained quite friendly with several ex-Democratic presidential candidates. In an interview with NBC News, Warren said she's texted nature photos with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) shortly after he dropped out of the race, talked math with Andrew Yang, and kept in touch with former Housing Secretary JuliAn Castro, who has endorsed her run. But she says Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have particular insight into what NBC News calls the "loneliness" of the campaign trail, something Warren described as like "living in a movie that is running at high speed with everything coming so quickly." "Kamala and Kirsten, in particular, ask me am I getting rest? Am I eating? And am I having some fun out there?," said Warren of her fellow women candidates. "It's a very personal experience to run. Running for president can be thrilling but also very lonely," she said. "The candidate stands alone." Warren even got back in good graces with former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) after taking him down a few pegs in one of the first debates. Delaney said her call to wish him well after he dropped out was "quite lengthy and quite in-depth" and showed "she's not entirely self-absorbed. She actually listens." Read more about Warren's relationship with her ex-competitors at NBC News. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Donald Trump tells biographer he's the same now as he was in first grade Is Bernie Sanders the Democrats' Goldwater, Reagan, or Trump? As many as 50 security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, committed suicide in in Chhattisgarh in the last two years, the state Assembly was informed on Wednesday. In a written reply to a question by BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar, Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu said two incidents of 'fratricide' also took place during this period, claiming eight lives. "Fifty police personnel, including those from state and paramilitary forces, have committed suicide so far since 2018. "Besides, eight security personnel, including six from Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), were killed in two incidents of fratricide during this period," the reply said. Twenty-two security personnel committed suicide in 2018, 26 in 2019 and two this year. Of these, 18 cases were reported from the six districts of naxal-affected Bastar division. In most cases, the reasons for the extreme step were family issues or health problems, the home minister said. In two separate incidents of fratricide -- a security personnel attacking his colleagues -- six ITBP personnel were killed in Narayanpur on December 4 while two Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans were killed at Mingahcal village of Bijapur district on June 19 last year. Necessary directives have been issued to all units of security forces to keep the morale of personnel high, the minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DHAHRAN - Saudi Arabia, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Energy Services Reunited Corp. (NESR or the Company) (NESR) (NESRW), a national, industry-leading provider of integrated energy services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia Pacific regions, today announced that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for NESR Oilfield Research and Innovation (NORI) Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Once completed, NORI will create an open platform that will host international innovators to develop oilfield research and innovative technologies in Saudi Arabia. The agreement to establish NORI was signed in September 2018 between NESR and Dhahran Techno Valley Company ("DTVC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals ("KFUPM"). NORI is aligned with Saudi Aramcos IKTVA program and will enhance NESRs local content while also adding significant value to Dhahran Techno Valley and the Saudi oil and gas industry. Dr. Muhammad M. Al-Saggaf, President of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), stated, Dhahran Techno Valley brings together a large number of national and international energy and technology companies in one place, and is poised to be a hub of innovations and startups that is world-scale. Dhahran Techno Valley provides the necessary infrastructure, services, and the appropriate climate to incubate the development of new technologies as part of the implementation of the Saudi Vision 2030. The Saudi Vision 2030 emphasizes the importance of strengthening the technology sector in general, and energy technologies in particular, in order to support the knowledge-based economy, and maximize the creation of startups. The start of construction of NORI is a significant milestone in this regard and it is heartening to see a local company like NESR taking such giant strides in such a short period. I wish them all the best for the success of NORI." Dr. Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco's Senior Vice President for Upstream, commented, "We are very pleased to see the progress of NORI. NORIs model, akin to the larger technological changes we are seeing globally, will create an open platform for innovative technology companies in the upstream space to come to the Kingdom and will benefit the Saudi oil and gas industry. Rapid commercialization of innovative technologies will stimulate innovation, create jobs, drive growth in new industrial sectors, and help to further diversify the Kingdoms economy. Moreover, Dhahran Techno Valley plays a crucial role in enabling the creation of start-ups from early stage or mature technologies. Through NORI, the DTV ecosystem will benefit from the excellent opportunities resulting from these levels of technologies and translate them into a dynamic environment where ideas happen and young Saudi entrepreneurs can find the support, technology, tools and enablers they need to take their businesses to the next level bringing new ideas to market in energy related domains. This is a first of a kind approach in the industry and I look forward to the completion of NORI and wish NESR a bright future." Story continues Sherif Foda, NESR CEO and Chairman of the Board, commented, "We are very excited about the progress of NORI, which will allow NESR to develop fit-for-purpose techniques and technologies for Saudi Arabia and the whole region. We plan to bring our technical partners from North America and the rest of the world to NORI, which will allow them to customize and develop technologies in Saudi Arabia for the local industry. This will also be a great opportunity to provide employment opportunities for Saudi engineers and researchers and an important vehicle for partnership between Saudi Aramco and Saudi academic and industrial sectors. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Al-Saggaf and Dr. Al-Qahtani and the management of Saudi Aramco, KFUPM and DTVC for their continued support. About National Energy Services Reunited Corp. Founded in 2017, NESR is one of the largest national oilfield services providers in the MENA and Asia Pacific regions. With over 4,000 employees, representing more than 40 nationalities in over 15 countries, the Company helps its customers unlock the full potential of their reservoirs by providing Production Services such as Cementing, Coiled Tubing, Filtration, Completions, Stimulation, Pumping and Nitrogen Services. The Company also helps its customers to access their reservoirs in a smarter and faster manner by providing Drilling and Evaluation Services such as Drilling Downhole Tools, Directional Drilling, Fishing Tools, Testing Services, Wireline, Slickline, Fluids and Rig Services. About Dhahran Techno Valley Holding Company The Dhahran Techno Valley Holding Company (DTVC) a wholly owned subsidiary of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a key driver of the Dhahran Techno Valley Ecosystem, which was created to promote a knowledge-based economy in Dhahran and in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This ecosystem includes KFUPM, national champions such as Saudi Aramco, SABIC and SEC, technology partners and small to medium size enterprises. DTVC is composed of a holding structure that includes a holding company (Dhahran Techno Valley Holding Company) and five subsidiaries and branches (Dhahran Valley Technology Development Company, Dhahran Valley Knowledge Company, Business Park Complex Company, Dhahran Valley Business Services Company and University Schools Company). Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Any and all statements contained in this communication that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Terms such as may, might, would, should, could, project, estimate, predict, potential, strategy, anticipate, attempt, develop, plan, help, believe, continue, intend, expect, future, and terms of similar import (including the negative of any of these terms) may identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements may contain one or more of these identifying terms. Forward-looking statements in this communication may include, without limitation, statements regarding the benefits resulting from the Companys recent business combination transaction, the plans and objectives of management for future operations, projections of income or loss, earnings or loss per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, the Companys future financial performance, expansion plans and opportunities, and the assumptions underlying or relating to any such statement. The forward-looking statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results, performance, events or circumstances and may not be realized because they are based upon the Companys current projections, plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other influences, many of which the Company has no control over. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors that may influence or contribute to the accuracy of the forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ materially from expected or desired results may include, without limitation: estimates of the Companys future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and the Companys need for financing; the risk of legal complaints and proceedings and government investigations; the Companys financial performance; success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, the Companys officers, key employees or directors; current and future government regulations; developments relating to the Companys competitors; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic and market conditions, political disturbances, war, terrorist acts, international currency fluctuations, business and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because of the risks and uncertainties related to them and to the risk factors. The Company disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this communication to reflect any new information or future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. You should read this communication in conjunction with other documents which the Company may file or furnish from time to time with the SEC. For inquiries regarding NESR, please contact: Christopher Boone or Dhiraj Dudeja National Energy Services Reunited Corp. 832-925-3777 The Indian spy agencys former chief, AS Dulat, flew to Srinagar in early February on a hush-hush mission for the government a quiet, top secret meeting with detained National Conference (NC) leader and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, multiple senior officials said on condition of anonymity. The brief for Dulats secret mission was simple: to suss out Abdullahs mood in accepting the new reality of Jammu & Kashmir after the nullification of Article 370, according to one of the officials. The government effectively revoked the states special status on August 5 last year and detained several leaders including Farooq, his son Omar Abdullah, and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party. Mr Dulat had been wanting to meet the former chief minister for several months, a member of the family said, adding on condition of anonymity that the former Research & Analysis Wing chief was finally given the go-ahead earlier this month. When contacted, Dulat said: No comments. If the officials and family have told you so, I have nothing more to say. Abdullah was detained and placed under house arrest soon after Article 370 was nullified. Since mid-September, the 82-year-old leader has been held under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Subsequently, his son Omar and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti too were detained under the same law, which allows for detention without trial for a period of two years. A second official familiar with what transpired in the meeting between Dulat and Abdullah said, Farooq Abdullah was furious and refused to yield any ground. This person added that the J&K administration has been trying to get Omar Abdullah to sign a bond giving an undertaking that he would not criticise the nullification of Article 370, but that he has refused. The senior Abdullah is angry and hurt at being detained and painted as an anti-national when he has openly and publicly raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai. He has, in fact, often said that he was a soldier of the country, not an enemy of the nation, the person said. New Delhi has been trying to restart political activity in the new Union Territory and has silently backed former ministers Altaf Bukhari and Muzaffar Baig to announce the formation of a new party. HT reported a chance meeting between Bukhari and the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav in Gulmarg last week. The government does not seem to be clear on how to move ahead and break the security logjam and, as the second official quoted above said, They are trying various options. Letting Dulat meet Farooq was one such experiment. Keeping leaders locked up under PSA is not a long-term possibility. Many foreign envoys who visited the UT have (also) asked for their release. Since January, two groups of foreign envoys, 40 in total, have visited the Valley. The relationship between Dulat and Abdullah is an old one, and this is the third time that the former intelligence official has been chosen to meet the former chief minister and calm him down. In 1989, Abdullah was the chief minister when Rubaiya Saeed, daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohammad Saeed, was kidnapped and released in exchange for five militants. Dulat, then an Intelligence Bureau official posted in Srinagar, was by the side of an angry Abdullah, who did not want the militants released. The tougher task assigned to Dulat was in December 1999, when, as RAW chief, he went to Srinagar to convince Abdullah to release terrorists in exchange for passengers aboard Indian Airlines Flight 814, hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Abdullah argued against their release, saying it would be the last nail in Indias coffin. He even threatened to resign as chief minister and took Dulat along with him to Raj Bhawan, where then governor GC Saxena persuaded him not to resign. The outcome of the latest meeting remains unclear. It isnt known if the NC will now contest the deferred panchayat body polls or if the PSA against Farooq Abdullah will be revoked. The NC recently said it would participate in the elections only if its leaders were released from detention. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ALBANY Albany High School students as young as 16 will this week have the chance to pre-register to vote during their lunch periods, taking advantage of a new law that went into effect on Jan. 1. New York is among 14 states that now allow 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, although they must be 18 before they can cast a ballot. The legislation, part of an extensive electoral reform package signed into law last spring, also requires local boards of education to adopt policies promoting student voter registration and pre-registration. Volunteers from the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Albany County will team up with Albany High social studies teachers on Thursday in the school's library and register students to vote throughout the day. During their class periods, students from 20 upper-level government classes will gather in the library to hear about the importance of voting and how to do so from the LWVs Andrea Lee. Representatives from Mayor Kathy Sheehan's office will also be on hand to inform students about the 2020 Census and the importance of getting a complete Albany count. Census Day is officially April 1, but Census forms can be filed online to beginning March 12. I really appreciate the League and Mayors office in their willingness to help us empower our students. I truly believe that this is one of the most important things we can to do to help make a positive change for Albany and beyond," Albany High social studies teacher Sean Fitzsimons said. The LMV has in the past organized high school voter registration drives in late spring to register the crop of seniors turning 18 that year. With the registration extended to younger high schoolers, the electoral reform group will be conducting outreach in the fall in order to pre-register as many juniors and seniors as possible. Marggie Skinner, director of advocacy at the Albany LWV, said this week's focus is on 12th graders who will have three opportunities to vote before November's 2020 presidential election. Students who are 18 will be able to vote in the presidential primary on April 28, school board elections and budget vote on May 19, and the primary for state legislative offices, among others, on June 23. "Last year, we connected with every single high school in Albany County and we hope to do that again," Skinner said. During 2019's effort, the Albany LMV collected close to 1,000 registration forms from 12 public and private schools in Albany County. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Fewer resources target younger students because they tend to change addresses in high schools and their forms will likely "sit in a box" for two years, Skinner said. According to United States Census data, less than 20 percent of young people voted in 2014s midterm elections, compared to about 40 percent of the general population. In Florida, a similar law opening registration to 16- and 17-year-olds helped improve youth voting participation 4.7 percentage points, according to the bill's sponsor, Sen. David Carlucci, D-Rockland. The new voter pre-registration law will engage young voters and increase voter turnout not just short term but long term. When young people are engaged from an early age they stay engaged. By eliminating barriers to register and increasing education, we are strengthening our democracy. Right now, young people are demanding political change, and New York will empower all voters early to make their voices heard, Carlucci said in a statement. When pre-registered young adults turn 18, they will not have to make a trip to the Board of Elections (BOE) or a state agency to register. They will be automatically registered by their local BOE, according to LWV Executive Director Lara Bierman. Students headed to college will know how to file an absentee ballot, or if they are attending an in-state school, they will be informed of their option to register where they live. "Typically, in the freshman and sophomore years of college ... they'll file absentee ballots," Bierman said. "By junior or senior year, they are registering where they live because they are starting to get involved in the community around them." Other districts said they are taking steps to inform students of their right to register by making registration forms available to juniors and seniors in the guidance office. Students, when they turn 18, are also encouraged to vote on their school budget. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 22:48:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has vowed to intensify punishment on illegal activities undermining the country's efforts to protect natural resources. The Ministry of Natural Resources will distribute satellite remote sensing data of land resources to local governments every quarter as the basis for supervision and law enforcement, the ministry said in a notice Wednesday. The notice demanded provincial natural resources authorities to start setting up blacklists of illegal activities on natural resources and strengthen punishment. Efforts will focus on the condition and changing status of nature reserves, ecologically sensitive areas along the Yellow River and Yangtze River, permanent basic farmland and important minerals to find whether their land status is consistent with those on the satellite images, according to the notice. PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 14:37:48 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 960 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Sarama Resources Ltd. ("Sarama" or the "Company") (TSX-V:SWA) advises that an updated mineral resource estimate has been compiled on the Karankasso Project (the "Project"), located in south-west Burkina Faso (refer Figure 1). The Project is a joint venture between Sarama and Semafo Inc ("Semafo"), with the parties holding approximate interests of 20% and 80% respectively.The updated mineral resource estimate of 12.74Mt @ 1.73g/t for 709koz Au(4) (reported using a US$1,500/oz gold price assumption) was fully compiled by, or under the supervision of, Semafo in its capacity as operator of the joint venture. The previous mineral resource estimate of 12.3Mt @ 2.03g/t Au for 805koz Au(3) was compiled by Savary Gold Corp ("Savary") and published in November 2017 (reported using a US$1,250/oz gold price assumption). Savary was acquired by Semafo in April 2019 and was the operator of the joint venture and fully compiled, or supervised, the compilation of the November 2017 mineral resource estimate.In the interests of clarity, Sarama notes that in conjunction with the updated mineral resource estimate for the Karankasso Project, Semafo also reported(7) an update of the mineral resource estimate on its adjacent, 100%-owned Bantou Property of 38.37Mt @ 1.24g/t Au for 1.535Moz Au.In conjunction with the updates to the mineral resource estimates, Semafo reported(7) selected recent exploration results from satellite prospects within the joint venture project area, including 21m @ 14.63g/t Au from 63m (KARC19-0127) at the Tiebi Zone, situated at the northern extremities of the Karankasso Project. Sarama notes Semafo's commentary on the 2020 exploration program which indicates that the Tiebi Zone will be a key focus for the Project exploration.Sarama's President and CEO, Andrew Dinning, commented:"Sarama is pleased that the Karankasso Project's mineral resource estimate has been reviewed and revised. The recent high-grade drill results at the Tiebi Zone and other areas within the joint venture between Sarama and Semafo are encouraging and we look forward to further exploration success. The higher grades being realised should result in feed from the Karankasso Project being brought to account earlier in a potential regional development scenario." For further information on the Company's activities, please contact:Andrew Dinning or Paul Schmiedee: info@ saramaresources.com t: +61 (0) 8 9363 7600Figure 1 - Sarama's Principal Property Interests(1,2,4,5) in the Southern Hounde BeltABOUT SARAMA RESOURCES LTDSarama Resources Ltd (TSX-V: SWA) is a West African focused gold explorer and developer with substantial landholdings in south-west Burkina Faso. Sarama is focused on maximising the value of its strategic assets and advancing its key projects towards development.Sarama's South Hounde and ThreeBee Projects, in which the Company holds a 100% interest(5) , are located within the prolific Hounde Greenstone Belt in south-west Burkina Faso and are the exploration and development focus of the Company. Its exploration programs have successfully discovered an inferred mineral resource of 2.1Moz gold(1) at the South Hounde Project which is complemented by the ThreeBee Project's Bondi Deposit(5) (historical estimate of mineral resources of 0.3Moz Au measured and indicated and 0.1Moz Au inferred(2).Together, the projects form a cluster of advanced gold deposits, within trucking distance of one another, which potentially offers a development option for a central processing facility fed from multiple sources in the southern Hounde Belt region of Burkina Faso.Sarama has built further optionality into its portfolio including a 600km exploration position in the highly prospective Banfora Belt in south-western Burkina Faso. The Koumandara Project hosts several regional-scale structural features and trends of gold-in-soil anomalism extending for over 40km along strike.Sarama holds approximately 20% participating interest in the Karankasso Project Joint Venture ("JV") which is situated adjacent to the Company's South Hounde Project in Burkina Faso and is a JV between Sarama and Semafo Inc ("Semafo") in which Semafo is the operator of the JV. In February 2020, Semafo declared an updated inferred mineral resource estimate of 709koz gold(4) for the Karankasso Project JV.The Company's Board and management team have a proven track record in Africa and a strong history in the discovery and development of large-scale gold deposits. Sarama is well positioned to build on its current success with a sound strategy to surface and maximise the value of its property portfolio.FOOTNOTES1. South Hounde Project - 43.0Mt @ 1.5g/t Au (reported above cut-off grades ranging 0.3-2.2g/t Au, reflecting the mining methods and processing flowsheets assumed to assess the likelihood of the inferred mineral resources having reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction). This mineral resource contains an oxide and transition component of 16.0Mt @ 1.2g/t Au for 611koz Au (reported at a cut-off grade of 0.3g/t Au for oxide and 0.8g/t Au for transition material). The effective date of the Company's inferred mineral resource estimate is February 4, 2016. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate please refer to the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report South Hounde Project Update, Bougouriba and Ioba Provinces, Burkina Faso", dated March 31, 2016 and prepared by Adrian Shepherd. Adrian Shepherd is an employee of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and is independent of Sarama. The technical report is available under Sarama's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com 2. Bondi Deposit - 4.1Mt @ 2.1g/t Au for 282,000oz Au (measured and indicated) and 2.5Mt @ 1.8g/t Au for 149,700oz Au (inferred), reported at a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off.i. The historical estimate of the Bondi Deposit reflects a mineral resource estimate compiled by Orezone Gold Corporation ("Orezone") which has an effective date of February 20, 2009. The historical estimate is contained in a technical report titled "Technical Report on the Mineral Resource of the Bondigui Gold Project", dated date of February 20, 2009 and prepared by Yves Buro (the "Bondi Technical Re Married At First Sight fans were confused with Mishel Karen, after she defended Hayley Vernon. The Brisbane-based teacher, 48, was previously very vocal about not supporting cheaters on the reality show. Fans took to Twitter to point out her change of heart after calling Hayley 'her girl' and greeting Michael Goonan on Wednesday's episode. 'Stop with the girl code': Married At First Sight fans were baffled when Mishel Karen (left) defends Hayley Vernon (right)... after being cheated on by seven partners 'Mishel made a big deal of her past. Cheaters, yet "hi, Michael". Weirdos,' wrote one Married At First Sight fan. Another added: 'Mishel calling Hayley her girl, yet she said she can't stand cheaters.' 'Connie [Crayden] and Mishel defending Hayley. Imagine if its their husbands who are cheating with Hayley they might brush her teeth with [a] toilet brush,' a third added. Change of heart? The Brisbane-based teacher, 48, was previously very vocal about not supporting cheaters on the reality show 'I'm gonna call out Mishel. She's enabling Hayley's behaviour by comforting her and she cheated on her husband. Stop with the girl code when it comes to cheating,' another said. Some fans even found Mishell 'hypocritical' after she ran out of her own 'wedding' after she discovered her 'husband' Steve Burley had cheated on somebody 17 years earlier. At the time, Mishel attributed the dramatic exit to her past failed relationships, after enduring seven out of the eight men she had ever dated cheating on her. 'She radiates big supportive aunt energy': However, other fans loved her supportive nature, seeing newly united couple Mishel (R) and Steve Burley (L) as the figureheads of the 'family' However, other fans loved her supportive nature, seeing newly united couple Mishel and Steve as the figureheads of the MAFS 'family'. 'I love how Mishel and Steve are the mum and dad of everyone and they always take care of everyone. It's like a big f****d up family,' one fan praised. Another said: 'Mishel radiates big supportive aunt energy and I love it.' 'Mishel is right. Us women need to stop putting all the blame on the other woman. Stop being so forgiving of the cheating partner,' a third pointed out. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine A 60-year-old man has become the first French citizen to die after being infected with coronavirus, authorities have confirmed. The first coronavirus death in Europe was a Chinese tourist who died in France on February 15. But the man's death marks the first of a French citizen. In a televised statement, senior health director Jerome Salomon said the man had been in a very serious condition was tested at Paris' Pitie-Salpetriere hospital late on Tuesday. "Unfortunately (he) died during the night," Mr Salomon added. WHO confirms over 80,000 people now have Covid-19 / AFP via Getty Images The man was one of three new cases in France, bringing the total number of people infected with Covid-19 in France to 17. As the virus is continuing to spread across Europe, Britain is stepping up its preparations for a severe outbreak. Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures 1 /61 Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures A man wearing a protective mask travels on the underground tube Reuters A woman wearing a protective face mask Jeremy Selwyn A man and woman wearing protective face masks on a bus PA A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A woman shopper wears a protective mask as she walks down an aisle in a supermarket in London AFP via Getty Images A man wearing a face mask waits to board an underground train on the Central Line at Bank station in London AP A woman with a plastic box over her head on the London Underground. PA A woman wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street in London PA A woman wearing a mask walks by the Emirates Stadium Action Images via Reuters A man is seen wearing a protective face mask at Waterloo station Reuters A woman wears a surgical mask as she walks through Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport Reuters A fan in the stands wears a mask during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridg PA A man wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A person wears a mask in a display of street style outside the BFC Show Space show in London PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A commuter on the tube wearing a face mask Jeremy Selwyn A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridge Getty Images People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A man wearing a face mask walks past an entrance sign for Bank underground train station AP The coronavirus outbreak will unlikely lead to a Tube ban PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground. PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A man wears a mask as he takes a photograph in China Town AP A man in a hazmat suit and face mask cleans the Ritchie Street Health Centre, Islington PA A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man arrives at Euston Underground wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn St Pancras Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Staff in suits at St Thomas's Hospital today Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man wears a face mask as he stands near an electronic arrivals board at Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport AFP via Getty Images A man wears a face mask as he walks along the Thames embankment AFP via Getty Images A woman wearing a protective face mask is seen on London Bridg Reuters A Government document from the National Security Communications Team, seen by The Sun suggests 80 per cent of people could be contaminated with Covid-19, meaning more than 50 million cases. All but essential travel to Italy's 11 locked-down towns has been advised against. And GP surgeries and hospitals are now being used as a surveillance system to monitor whether the virus is spreading in the UK. Holidaymakers have been quarantined in a hotel in Tenerife / AP On Wednesday morning, figures released by the World Health Organization show that more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, and that at least 2,700 people have died. Meanwhile, a hotel in Tenerife, Spain, has been quarantined as the number of tourists who have fallen in doubled on Tuesday night. Romania confirmed its first case of coronavirus yesterday identifying him only as a man who returned three weeks ago from Italy. Another 115 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in South Korea, bringing the total number there to 1,261, with 11 deaths so far. This makes it the country with the second-highest number of cases after China. Among the infected, there is a US soldier based in the region. Zurich American Insurance Co. concluded that heart disease killed Joseph Arruda, not the spine fracture he suffered after his vehicle careened across opposite lanes of traffic and collided with an oncoming vehicle. Zurich denied an accidental death claim filed by Arrudas widow, asserting that the sales executives death was caused or contributed to by a long list of pre-existing health conditions. A federal district court found that the denial was arbitrary and capricious. But a split panel of the First District Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Zurich acted within its rights. While the district court had found that the carriers decision was not supported by substantial evidence, the 2-1 opinion written by Judge Sandra L. Lynch found that medical records assembled by Zurichs claims administrator clearly showed Arrudas medical problems contributed to his death. The panels opinion noted that its holding may not square with decisions by other circuits that determined pre-existing conditions shouldnt bar coverage unless they were a substantial factor in causing death. Addura met his end on May 22, 2014 while driving on Route 9 toward Amherst, Mass. to attend a work event at the University of Massachusetts. His car crossed the median into the opposing lane, struck another vehicle, hit a curb and rolled several times before coming to rest upright. A state trooper who responded to the scene ruled out any environmental or mechanical reasons for the crash. He reported that Arruda had suffered a catastrophic medical event that caused him to lose control of his car. Witnesses said Arruda was alive briefly after the crash, but lost consciousness before paramedics arrived. An autopsy revealed a fracture to his spine. Arruda was 57 at the time. Medical records assembled by CS Claims Service revealed that he suffered from numerous health problems, including obesity, hypertension, an enlarged heart, a sedentary lifestyle, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, bronchitis, kidney stones, and fainting spells. Whats more, a toxicology report showed he had marijuana in his system at the time of the crash. Arrudas widow Denise settled a workers compensation claim with her husbands employer, NSTAR Electric and Gas. She also filed a claim with Zurich under the employer-provided accidental death insurance policy. Mrs. Arruda sued after Zurich denied the claim. She argued that the fact that her husbands employer had settled his workers compensation claim shows that his death was not caused by heart disease. U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in Boston found that Zurichs argument as to Arrudas cause of death was speculative and conclusory. He also rejected the carriers argument that Arrudas consumption of marijuana had contributed to the crash. Woodlock granted summary judgment in favor of Mrs. Arruda and also ordered Zurich to pay her attorney fees and court costs. The 5th Circuit majority saw the facts differently. The court said substantial evidence supported the carriers conclusion. The decision to deny the claim was not arbitrary or capricious. While Zurichs medical expert did not state precisely which medical condition killed Arruda, the majority said the doctor did reach a firm conclusion to a reasonable degree of forensic medical certainty that some manifestation(s) of Mr. Arrudas pre-existing conditions caused him to have the accident that killed him. The opinion also noted that the Supreme Court had admonished lower courts, when ruling on cases involving insurance plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, not to create a system that is not so complex that administrative costs, or litigation expenses, unduly discourage employers from offering ERISA plans in the first place. The court did not address Zurichs argument that marijuana was a factor in the crash. Justice Kermit V. Lipez issued a dissenting opinion. He said while Arruda clearly suffered several ailments, there was no evidence that anything other than the blunt impact that fractured his spine caused his death. It makes a speculative leap from the proposition that because Mr. Arruda suffered from heart disease over the course of years, the blunt trauma accident which killed him was caused by that pre-existing condition, Lipez said. Presaging the hospice movement, she insisted wounded soldiers not die alone. Focused on patient outcomes, she practiced evidence-based medicine more than a century before the term was coined. Promoting good hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition, she pioneered public health. Given Florence Nightingales dedication to patient-focused care, Cindy Munro, dean of the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, has little doubt the founder of modern nursing would recognize her profession in 2020the 200th anniversary of her birth. Designated by the World Health Organization as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the school is celebrating 2020 with an ambitious array of events, initiatives, and lectures, the first of which takes place Friday, February 28, on a subject dear to Nightingales heart: data-powered health. Cindy Munro, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies Could she have predicted the changes in nursing? Munro said of the legendary social reformer whose initiatives slashed the mortality rate of British soldiers during the Crimean War. I am not sure, but she did say nursing would be entirely different in 150 years. So, she had this vision of nursing progressing and evolving. I think she would recognize what we are doing as rooted in the foundation that she laid. She definitely set the course and the standards we follow today. To honor Nightingales legacy and the critical contributions of 20 million nurses around the world, Munro pledged the schools support for Nursing Now, a three-year campaign dedicated to improving health by raising the profile and status of nurses everywhere. As part of that campaign, the school developed its own Nursing Now lecture series, which Patricia Flatley Brennan, the director of the National Library of Medicine, will kick off at 11 a.m. on Friday, during the schools annual Simulation Symposium. But the school also accepted Nursing Nows 2020 Nightingale Challenge to help equip and empower the next generation of nurses to become health leaders, practitioners, and advocates. So Brennans talk, and two more by two other nursing leaders, will be open not only to the UM and South Florida communities, but to 60 early-career nurses from South Florida, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and the Bahamas who have been identified by the schools clinical partners as potential nursing leaders. Following the lectures, challenge participants from South Florida will attend networking luncheons with the speakers and engage in discussions on nursing leadership roles. Underscoring the schools hemispheric reach, most of the challenge participants are from Latin America and the Caribbean and will attend the lectures remotely. Afterward, they will also participate in their own interpreted discussions, led by Johis Ortega, associate dean for hemispheric and global initiatives. Nightingalewho founded Londons Training School for Nurses in 1860 and published more than 200 books, reports, and pamphlets, including the seminal Notes on Nursingwould certainly recognize the value of such mentorship activities. As Munro noted in an editorial for the American Journal of Critical Care, She understood, as we do today, that mentoring others is an important aspect of improving the workplace and a potent force for improving patient care. But Nightingale probably would be astounded both by how modern nursing students learn at the schools Simulation Hospital for Advancing Research and Education (SHARE) and by its daylong symposium, which also will feature a talk by UM alumnus Rony Abovitz, the founder of Magic Leap, who will discuss the applications of mixed reality in the health sector. Afterward, SONHS faculty will demonstrate the projects theyve developed with Magic Leaps new spatial computing technology, which enables users to move computing from the 2D screen into the 3D world, and create scenarios limited only by imagination. For example, Juan E. Gonzalez and Greta Mitzova-Vladinov, the director and associate director of the nurse anesthesia program, respectively, are using Magic Leaps platform to ignite oxygen-fueled fires in the operating roombut without real smoke or any real danger to the doctoral students learning how to prevent or extinguish them. But Nightingale, who rebelled against the Victorian expectation that women of her privileged status should become wives and mothers, would hardly be surprised that the school is training nurses to administer anesthesia. After all, as Munro noted, Nightingale spent her lifetime challenging the status quo and transforming the role and perception of what nurses do. Yet, in 2018, with the world facing a nursing shortage and the rising burden of chronic diseases, Nursing Now was compelled to launch its three-year campaign to elevate the profile and status of nursing worldwide. Operated in collaboration with the WHO and the International Council of Nurses, Nursing Now seeks to ensure that nurses and midwives have a more prominent voice in health policy-making and to encourage greater investment in the nursing workforce and leadership development. Barbara Stilwell, the executive director of Nursing Nows global campaign, will present the schools second Nursing Now lecture on March 16. Nearly 200 years after Nightingales birth on May 12, 1820, Munro said, its necessary to raise the profile of nurses because many people still dont understand that they are at the heart of health care, playing critical roles in health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment. Instead of thinking about it as a very patient-focused, scientific discipline, many people still think of nurses as handmaidens, Munro said. But nursing is a very independent profession and, while we do work collaboratively with other health sciences professions, we have our own disciplinary knowledge. We are on the frontlines. It is the nurse who does the day-to-day care and the discharge planning or end-of-life planning or whatever the next phase is. But theres this perception that we work at the direction of the physician, which is not true. That certainly wasnt true for Nightingale, who became a national hero in England for her work at the onset of Britains involvement in the Crimean War in 1854. Over the objections of male military physicians, she led and trained 38 female nurses to care for wounded soldiers at a military field hospital in Turkey. Through her observations and extensive record-keeping, she realized more soldiers died from infections than from their injuries and pressed for measures to reduce overcrowding and improve hygiene, sanitation, ventilation, and natural light. After her initiatives were implemented, the mortality rate plummeted from 42.7 percent to 2.7 percent. She was not working for any physician, Munro said. She was working for the good of the soldiers in the Crimean War, and all the sanitation and environmental control measures she implemented came right out of her sense of nursing. They were not anything she was directed to do. She did not have a guidebook. She wrote our guidebook, and it has withstood the test of time. For more information about the schools celebration of Nightingales legacy, including the third lecture by Elizabeth Madigan, chief executive officer of the Sigma Theta Tau International Society of Nursing, on April 24, visit Nursing Now USA. Another relative confirmed in Taiwan's latest familial cluster of COVID-19 infection People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 16:57, February 25, 2020 TAIPEI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Another relative of the 27th COVID-19 patient in Taiwan was confirmed to be infected Tuesday, raising the total number of COVID-19 cases to 31 on the island, according to the island's epidemic monitoring agency. The new patient is the grandson of the elderly man who was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Sunday, the agency said in a press release. The patient had visited his grandfather in the hospital on Feb. 11 and Feb. 19 and took the infection test for being in close contact, though he has shown no symptoms of the illness, the statement said. It raised the number of family members infected to five in this familial cluster of infection. The other three were the elderly man's wife and two sons. Authorities are still investigating the infection source of this case. A total of 580 people were identified to have had close contacts with the five people, 122 of whom have been cleared. As of Monday, the island had 24 suspected cases under quarantine, according to the agency. Five of the confirmed cases recovered while one died. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that there has been no confirmed novel coronavirus case in Romania so far, indicating that it has been decided to supplement the control measures in addition to the measures already taken. "As I speak, there is no confirmed case of infection with the virus in Romania. Right now we have received the results from Gorj, but the mobilisation level must remain high. (...) The Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) analysis has found that the relevant organisations have taken timely measures to prevent contamination," Iohannis said after a CSAT meeting.He mentioned some decisions made by the CSAT meeting, including additional control measures. AGERPRES File Image Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari appealed to all the party leaders on February 25 to work towards establishing peace in the national capital and not to do anything that causes "confusion" and sends a "wrong message" to people. Tiwari, who attended an all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier in the day, also said everyone should refrain from making "inflammatory" statements. BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who led a pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rally at the Maujpur Chowk on Sunday, has been accused of delivering a "provocative" speech at the event. "Shri Tiwari appealed to all the BJP leaders to do everything possible to establish peace in Delhi. No leader should do such a thing that causes confusion and portrays a wrong message among the people. Everyone should refrain from making inflammatory statements. Intentionally some people are trying to mislead the common people of Delhi," a statement issued by the Delhi BJP said. Strongly condemning the violence that has claimed 11 lives in the national capital since Monday, the statement said all political parties should rise above party politics to restore peace in Delhi as soon as possible. "The violent incidents taking place during the protests are disturbing. All the people in the country have the right to speak and hold peaceful protests but not to disturb the public in the name of demonstration," it added. Accompanied by Union minister Harsh Vardhan, Tiwari also met the family members of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal, who was killed in the violence on February 24. He expressed grief over Lal's death, saying attacks on policemen and common people were extremely unfortunate. Later in the night, Tiwari and Harsh Vardhan met those who were injured in the violence at different hospitals in the city. Former Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra, who also attended the all-party meeting called by Shah, said he recommended formation of peace committees and strict action against those making "provocative" statements. Chopra hit out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who offered prayers at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat along with other AAP MLAs on Tuesday, saying he should make "solid" efforts to restore peace in the city. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin James Oliphant (Reuters) Washington, United States Wed, February 26, 2020 14:19 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066b5bbf 2 World US-presidential-election,US-presidential-race,campaign Free The stakes could not have been higher at the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, with the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday contests looming in the week ahead. Most candidates on the stage in Charleston, South Carolina, shared a common goal: stalling Senator Bernie Sanders march toward the nomination. As they battled to emerge as the alternative to Sanders, the rivals appeared to have a collective sense that, for at least some of them, time was running out. Heres a look at how the seven candidates on stage fared: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst). Usage: 0 (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Bernie Sanders Sanders was the object of much of the evenings hand-wringing. Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar tried to sound the alarm, arguing that with the self-avowed democratic socialist Sanders as the nominee, the party had little hope of unseating President Donald Trump in November. Sometimes the senator from Vermont, who leads the delegate count in the primary, took the pounding in stride. Sometimes he didnt, such as when he sparred with a member of the audience who booed one of his answers, or engaged in a lengthy shouting match with Buttigieg. Sanders also seemed to acknowledge that parts of his record are potential liabilities. He called his past support for legislation protecting gun manufacturers from lawsuits "a bad vote" but pushed back on accusations that he would be sympathetic to authoritarian regimes in places such as China and Iran. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks with members of the audience at the conclusion of the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst ) Joe Biden The debate was crucially important for Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina on Saturday to re-assert his claim as the best chance to counter Sanders. For the most part, the former vice president delivered a steady performance, playing up his long record in politics and talking about his work on guns and passing the Violence Against Women Act. Progressive, he said, is getting things done. The free-wheeling debate format, in which candidates routinely exceeded their time and talked out of turn, sometimes kept Biden on the sidelines for long periods of time, leaving him increasingly exasperated. Even so, Biden likely accomplished the goal of trying to assure South Carolina voters he remains a leading option. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks at the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst). Usage: 0 (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Elizabeth Warren After disappointing finishes in the first three early voting states, the senator from Massachusetts was looking to build on her assertive debate performance a week ago in Las Vegas. The results in Charleston were more mixed. Warren finally took the fight directly to Sanders, as many of her supporters have urged. I would make a better president than Bernie, she said. But she again aimed most of her fire at Bloomberg, to the point where at times it seemed she was more intent on making sure the billionaire New Yorker and former Republican does not end up the nominee than making the case for herself. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him," said Warren, herself a former Republican. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Michael Bloomberg It was a comeback of sorts for Bloomberg, who received blistering reviews for his debut presidential debate performance a week ago. The attention on Sanders gave Bloomberg more room to discuss his record as mayor of New York and try to establish himself as his moderate foil ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3, when the billionaire businessman's name will appear on ballots for the first time. Bloomberg also emphasized the millions he has spent on behalf of Democratic congressional candidates and gun control. At one point, under attack from Warren for his past support of Republicans, Bloomberg finally seemed to give up trying to assert his liberal bona fides. Instead, he turned pragmatic. I'm the one choice that makes some sense, he said. I have the experience. I have the resources. And I have the record. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg smiles during and interview in the spin room after the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Randall Hill) Pete Buttigieg No candidate on stage appeared more intent on drawing a contrast with Sanders than Buttigieg, who time and again re-stated what he called the stakes for the Democratic Party. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, worried aloud about the cost of Sanders domestic agenda and warned that Russia was trying to sow chaos. He said a Sanders-Trump matchup would divide and exhaust the nation. African Americans make up two-thirds of the Democratic electorate in South Carolina, and with his low support from those voters leaving little hope of scoring high in the state, Buttigieg must hope his steady debate performance translates into an infusion of quick cash to keep his campaign afloat past Super Tuesday. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar participates in the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota, and Steyer, a California billionaire, largely appeared to be afterthoughts for most of the evening. Almost a half hour passed at the start of the debate before Klobuchar spoke. Steyer often had to battle to grab the moderators' attention. Both tried to present themselves as reasonable alternatives to Sanders. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate billionaire activist Tom Steyer speaks during the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 25, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Like Buttigieg, Klobuchar draws little support from black voters, and she is already looking past South Carolina to Super Tuesday with the hopes that winning her home state will keep her alive. Steyer is looking for a top-three finish in South Carolina, though he said after the debate he had the resources to stay in the race longer. Bar Council of India Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra on Wednesday termed as "myopic mindset" the criticism of Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra by the SCBA for his remarks praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 'International Judicial Conference' held last week. The criticism of Justice Mishra by the SCBA did not go down well with the apex bar body, BCI. "Dushyant Dave (SCBA President) by publishing an article about Justice Mishra, tried to drag Justice Mishra in an undesirable and unsavory controversy over his speech at the international judicial conference 2020, held recently at the Supreme Court," the BCI chairperson said in a statement. Terming the criticism of Justice Mishra as an act of "miopic mindset", he said that "Mishra's speech was in the capacity of a host and he used best of words for all the guests who graced the occasion. He was not holding a court at that time". The SCBA President knows that "a conscientious sitting judge of Supreme Court would never enter into a war of words with him on his overreaction to the speech delivered at the conference", the BCI chairperson said. He said that Justice Mishra had proposed a vote of thanks at the conference inaugurated by the Prime Minister and attended by a host of Judges and jurists from India and other countries. "Dave has looked at Justice Mishra's speech with a narrow and myopic mindset to scandalise it knowing fully well that Justice Mishra being a sitting judge of Supreme Court and bound by norms of discipline a judge is required to follow, can not join issue with him over his statement," he said. On February 22, Justice Mishra was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally". The BCI chairperson also condemned "the violent acts in some parts of Delhi." "The Lawyers are in full support of the government in the steps taken for maintaining Law and order. The violence should be curbed anyhow without any delay. These criminal arsenic activities are being instigated and committed by anti national and criminal elements. "The country will never forgive those who are provoking such violence and unruly protests for their political gain. Delhi Police machinery has to deal with the situation with iron hands. No Lawyer and no Peace loving Prudent citizen will tolerate such incidents of violence in the country," he said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tigerair will close its Brisbane base as the the global outbreak of coronavirus wreaks millions of dollars worth of havoc on Queensland's tourism industry. Tigerair, the budget arm of Virgin Australia, announced it would close it Brisbane base on Wednesday as the parent company braces for the COVID-19 outbreak to deliver a blow of up to $75 million in the second half. Tigerair will close its Brisbane base. When Tigerair launched its Brisbane base in 2014, it hired 100 new staff including 50 cabin crew and 40 pilots. Their jobs are now on the chopping block. Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah said the collapse in travel demand was "allowing us to accelerate some decisions that were already in the pipeline and bring forward the cost benefits that come with it. Kiely will have to pay fees and associated court costs as part of the deal, as well as perform 15 hours of community service. He also will have to write an apology to the city and donate $1,000 to an undetermined charity. A rise in chroming-related incidents on Brisbane buses has prompted lord mayor Adrian Schrinner to call for a ban on the practice across Queensland's public transport network to protect drivers from dangerous fumes. Chroming, where chemical products including glues, aerosols and paints are inhaled to produce a brief high, has become an issue in recent years with multiple reports of teenagers involved in the practice. Chroming, or inhaling vapours to create a high, is a problem for Brisbane's bus network. Credit:Bradley Kanaris More than 60 incidents were reported across Brisbane's bus network in 2019, with documents released under right to information detailing some of them. "Under state Labor, its illegal to take a coffee on a bus, but you can take propellants and chrome. It is bizarre that common sense is out the window," Cr Schrinner said. Turkey plans to push Syrian government forces away from its military observation posts in northwest Syria's Idlib region this week, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, despite continued advances by Damascus's Russian-backed military. Nearly a million Syrians have been displaced in the last three months by fighting between Turkish-backed rebels and Syrian forces trying to recapture the last major insurgent-held region in Syria after nine years of war. Ankara has sent thousands of troops and truckloads of equipment into the region, in Syria's northwest corner bordering Turkey, to support the rebels and Erdogan has vowed to push back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. "We are planning to liberate our observation posts from the surrounding (Syrian government forces) by the end of this month, one way or another," Erdogan told his party's lawmakers in a speech. But Assad's forces made fresh gains in southern Idlib province where they took a number of villages on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, and a military news outlet run by Assad's Lebanese ally Hezbollah. The pro-government forces' immediate objective is to reach the town of Kafar Aweed, the capture of which would force rebels to withdraw from a wider tract of territory including their last remaining foothold in Hama province, Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said. The Syrian army said it had seized numerous villages and towns in the last few days in the south of Idlib province, describing the captured territory as an important crossroads between rebel-held territories. Erdogan first demanded on Feb. 5 that Assad's forces pull back behind a line of Turkish observation posts by end-February, or Turkey would drive them back. Turkey set up 12 observation posts up around a "de-escalation zone" in Idlib under a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran, but several now find themselves behind Syrian government front lines. Syrian insurgents backed by the Turkish military seized the town of Nairab in Idlib this week, according to rebel and Turkish sources, the first area to be taken back from advancing Syrian government forces. Wave of migrants Ankara is increasingly concerned about the build-up of displaced people south of its frontier with Syria. Turkey, which has already taken in 3.6 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot handle another influx and has closed the border. Syrian government forces are advancing closer to the camps for uprooted people near the Turkish border, where the migrants fear being engulfed in the fighting. Turkish and Russian officials were due to hold a third round of talks in Ankara on Wednesday aimed at reducing tensions in the region. Two previous rounds in Ankara and Moscow have failed to yield any tangible progress. Russia's Foreign Ministry expected positive results, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying, but a Turkish official was not optimistic. "At the moment, solely military diplomacy is being carried out and it is not possible to solve the problem on the ground like this," the Turkish official told Reuters. He said clear results were unlikely until a planned Turkey-Russia-Iran summit on March 6. A summit a day earlier between Russia, Turkey, France and Germany had been proposed, but Moscow has not sounded receptive to the idea. Erdogan said in Wednesday's speech that he hoped the issue of using the air space over Idlib will be resolved soon. Russia controls the region's air space and has been bombing Turkish-supported rebels on a daily basis in support of the offensive by Syrian government forces. Search Keywords: Short link: A 50-year-old man was killed and 17 others were injured after an LPG cylinder exploded in one of the shanties near Sonia Gandhi Camp in west Delhi's Naraina area on Wednesday morning, a Delhi Fire Service Official said. A call about the blast was received at 6.04 am after which two fire tenders were rushed to the spot, he said. Four shanties collapsed due to the explosion, a senior fire official said. Seventeen people sustained injuries and were taken to the DDU Hospital, where one of them was declared brought dead by doctors, he said. Out of the 17 injured, two of them have received minor burn injuries, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) U S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has slammed Donald Trumps response to the coronavirus outbreak as anaemic and too late. It comes ahead of a press conference on Wednesday after the president is briefed by officials in the health department and the federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Mr Trump has previously said not to worry about the spread of Covid-19 because it is going to go away soon, probably by April. But Ms Pelosi, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, condemned this outlook, saying: This is shameful. He puts forth a proposal now that is meagre, anaemic in terms of addressing this. Ebola, we did $5 billion. And now theyre trying to take the Ebola money and spend it here. What hes doing is late, too late, anemic, she added. Hopefully we can make up for the loss of time but we have to have professionals in place, resources that are adequate and not use scare tactics about people coming back to our country. According to NBC, the Trump administration is requesting $1.25 billion in new funding and wants to transfer $535 million more from an Ebola preparedness account. The White House anticipates shifting money from other Department of Health and Human Services accounts and other agencies to complete a $2.5 billion response plan. On Tuesday, the CDC warned that the spread of coronavirus in the US was a question of when, not if, and urged communities to prepare. The only cases of Covid-19 to be identified in the US are from 12 travellers returning from abroad, and two patients who had contact with those returning travellers. University bans student from handing out Christian pamphlets to LGBT studies class Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The University of Louisville in Kentucky is barring an unnamed Christian student who passed out literature about the Bibles teachings on homosexuality from having any more contact with students or a professor associated with an LGBT studies course. A spokesperson for the university confirmed to The Courrier-Journal last week that the institution issued a no-contact order to a student who passed out pamphlets to students in Professor Kaila Storys Introduction to LGBT Studies course earlier this year. The student was not enrolled in the class and reportedly lurked outside the classroom after handing out the pamphlets. According to the university's Title IX resource guide, a no-contact order is "a university directive to cease and desist from any intentional contact, direct or indirect, with a designated person(s)." The student in question is banned from having any contact with students of the LGBT studies class or Story. It is not clear how long the no-contact order is valid. Professor Story had complained to leaders within the Pan-African Studies Department, who then raised the incident further with university administration. University spokesperson John Karman told the newspaper that officials met with the student, who assured that his intention was only to inform, not to intimidate. The no-contact order represents a course reversal by the university. Initially, after the complaint was raised by Story, The Courier-Journal reported on Feb. 4 that the Office of Student Affairs told the student he was allowed to return to the class only if he gave 48 hours notice. "While the students actions caused concern among the students and faculty in the classroom, he apparently followed the law and university policy when distributing the literature, Karman stated at the time. But Karman stressed that the university would continue to monitor the situation. Story and leaders in her department continued to push for the university to take action. In an interview with the newspaper, Story accused the Dean of Students Office of showing disregard and dismissive attitude when it comes to the concern of student and faculty safety. Some students complained that the incident made them feel unsafe and some planned a protest on campus. Ricky Jones, the chair of the universitys Pan-African Studies Department accused the university of administrative incongruity and equated the situation to a student passing out racial slurs or Nazi propaganda. All this on the same day of yet another campus shooting, Jones argued. Sorry, but I cant be a team player on this one. This is problematic and shameful. He further contended that there is a difference between free speech and hate speech. The 30-page pamphlet in question God and Sexuality was written by Christian evangelist Ray Comfort and published in 2015. The pamphlet argues why homosexuality is sinful. Perhaps you believe you are gay, or maybe you are sympathetic toward homosexuality and you think that what people do sexually is their own business, the pamphlet reads. Whatever the case, I want to convince you that you are sitting in a car on a railroad track with a train coming, and you dont know it. After the backlash to the pamphlets, university President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement that the university has much work to do to make sure that all students (and faculty and staff) feel welcome and supported. However, Bendapudi stated at the time that the university must uphold the ideals of free speech to prepare students for ideas rather than protect them from ideas. In 2019, Gov. Matt Bevin signed into law a bill that supposedly protects the rights of free speech on college campuses. The bill requires universities to adopt policies protecting the free expression of students and faculty. The bill is designed to ensure that students and faculty do not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject. The socially conservative Kentucky Family Foundation criticized the schools decision to issue a no-contact order. In a Facebook post, the organization said it cant wait to see a court get involved in the matter. A spokesperson for the Kentucky Family Foundation told Inside Higher Ed that administrators cracked under the pressure of a particular privileged ideological group on campus. Martin Cothran argued that it is not a safety risk for a student with a differing opinion to show up at a class. Our concern here is that the university might be considering alternative ideas as safety threats, Cothran argued. That itself is a threat to the free exchange of ideas. February 7, 1949- February 24, 2020 NEW BOSTON David Garner Sr., 71, of New Boston, Ill., died unexpectedly on Monday, February 24, 2020, at Genesis Medical Center, Aledo, Ill. Cremation rites have been accorded. A Celebration of Life graveside will be held this spring in Greenmound Cemetery, Keithsburg, Ill. Dennison Funeral Home, Aledo, is assisting the family. David E. Garner was born February 7, 1949, in Aledo, a son of John and Nell Ware Garner. David was drafted into the Army, then re-enlisted he served two tours in Vietnam. He married Nancy Jackson; she passed away at the age of 26 on March 30, 1987. He worked construction and as an over-the-road truck driver. David then went to work for Heinz in Muscatine, retiring after 36 years. In his younger years, he enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing. He enjoyed auctions and buying cars, and he loved to ride motorcycles. David and his long-time companion, Lois Current, loved to dance and play cards. Around 400 exhibitors from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) segment from 30 countries are expected to participate in the Acrex India 2020 which will be held at Greater Noida from February 27-29, organisers said on Wednesday. The three-day event, which showcases new concepts in the HVAC segment, is expected to see a footfall of 30,000 people. "This year we are focusing on indoor air quality. We were expecting participating on around 500 exhibitors but now due to coronavirus outbreak, Chinese entities have pulled out of the event. So it is going to be around 400 participants this time around from around 30 countries," Acrex India 2020 Chairman Sushil K Choudhury said. The event, which is touted as the largest exhibition of HVAC segment, is being organised by Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) in partnership with NurnbergMesse India. The highlight of the show would be a live exhibit focusiing on advanced techniques of designing new homes featuring mechanical systems that support and accentuate natural ventilation, Choudhury said. "As we showcase this exhibit to architects, builders, home-owners and policy makers in the government sector, we can help improve the lives and health of our fellow citizens by advocating for formulation of suitable policies and guidelines," he added. Commenting on the opportunities that ACREX India offers, NuernbergMesse India Chairperson of the Board and Managing Director Sonia Prashar said: "The Indian HVAC market is quickly racing to surpass the USD 6 billion mark in the next five years making it imperative for every manufacturer in the international market to vie for a space in the Indian sub-continent." ACREX India 2020 creates a valuable platform for all connected to the HVAC & R industry to reach relevant stakeholders and decision makers, she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite differing views from the province, Manitoba educators continue to advocate for the ability to study English as an Additional Language as a core component in teachers college. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Despite differing views from the province, Manitoba educators continue to advocate for the ability to study English as an Additional Language as a core component in teachers college. Teachers-in-training have to obtain a certain number of credits towards a minor and major teachable subjects they plan to teach in the classroom after they graduate in order to earn a bachelor of education. Their options range from biology to German, but EAL isnt on the list. Kathleen Vyrauen said its important it be deemed a teachable, so educators who want to work directly with newcomers are prepared and have the appropriate trauma-informed training. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) That means B.Ed candidates cannot officially specialize in teaching students whose mother tongue is something other than English, oftentimes because the students are refugees or newcomers who speak multiple other languages. Up until recently, there were little to no options for future teachers to specialize in EAL post-bachelor degree either. "What that means is EAL departments are made up of teachers that do not specialize in that subject area," said Kathleen Vyrauen, director of the Newcomer Education Coalition. An ever-growing population of newcomer students is being taught without specialized instructors and a draft EAL curriculum that hasn't been finalized since its 2011 creation, Vyrauen said. Several years ago, a since-disbanded provincial advisory committee for teacher education and certification concluded EAL should not be added to the list of acceptable teachables because it "is not an academic discipline." "We have very diverse people coming from Syria, Iraq, all over the world, and if we want to provide proper education, we need workshops to keep us up to date." Paul Kambaja "It is an approach or strategy, used by classroom and EAL teachers, for assisting students in becoming fluent in English by developing programming that focuses on key competencies, as well as on the language demands of all subject areas across the curriculum," a provincial spokesperson wrote, adding further consideration isnt currently underway. While Vyrauen agrees successful EAL lessons requires teachers to take a holistic method, she said its important it be deemed a teachable, so educators who want to work directly with newcomers are prepared and have the appropriate trauma-informed training. "Our student population is changing, its not the same type of students we used to have 10 years ago. We have very diverse people coming from Syria, Iraq, all over the world, and if we want to provide proper education, we need workshops to keep us up to date," said Paul Kambaja, an EAL teacher at Grant Park High School in Winnipeg. Paul Kambaja (right) speaks during a presentation about educational approaches for older refugee youth with interrupted schooling at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall at the University of Winnipeg earlier this month. (Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press) Kambaja completed his B.Ed at Brandon University after he moved to Manitoba from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. He was interested in EAL at the time, but it wasnt a teachable, let alone were there any EAL-specific courses. He studied French, so he had some grounding in how to teach students another language, but Kambaja has relied on his lived experience to connect with students. Many EAL colleagues, he added, have had to learn on the job due to minimal formal training. "Im advocating for knowledge and capacitybuilding and for teachers to understand more about what it means to have come from a refugee background or not to have English as your first language. That needs to be infused into every course we teach." Jan Stewart As of September 2019, upwards of 15,000 students received EAL funding "And its going to keep coming up," said Francine Morin, associate dean at the University of Manitobas faculty of education. Morin penned a letter to the province in 2018, asking EAL be recognized as a professional area of expertise due to unique research and theories that underpin it. Almost one year later, in the summertime, she received a disappointing response. "We dont have enough teachers who really feel confident in meeting the needs of those students," she said, adding U of M recently introduced EAL-related courses and post-bachelor and PhD opportunities for B.Ed graduates who want to specialize. "EAL departments are made up of teachers that do not specialize in that subject area," Vyrauen said. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The University of Winnipeg has long had optional education courses on strategies for teaching refugee students. Jan Stewart, an academic who has authored three books on refugee learning, said U of W also incorporates inclusive teaching practices in several mandatory classes for teachers college candidates. "Sometimes, its not a course thats going to be the answer. Sometimes, its just a different way of thinking about teaching," Stewart said, arguing making EAL a teachable isnt whats needed, but rather training so all teachers are receptive to diverse student needs. "Im advocating for knowledge- and capacity-building and for teachers to understand more about what it means to have come from a refugee background or not to have English as your first language. That needs to be infused into every course we teach." maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Payment for Matt Saincomes first writing giga freelance piece for a local music blog, for which he was paid $12took months to arrive. And then it cost him $35 when his bank rejected the sloppily made-out check. Great, Saincome, the 28-year-old chief executive of OutVoice, a new digital payment system, remembers thinking. Ive waited 90 days, and I ended up paying $23 to write this post. Such horror stories are endemic in freelance journalism. Writers and photographers are sometimes prohibited from invoicing until a piece is published, which may come many months after they complete their work. An overworked accountant on a small staff might make a simple mistake, or an editor with a tight freelance budget might nudge a writers invoice into the next months lineup to allow for greater flexibility. For freelancers, its often difficult to get a sense of when a check might finally come throughor if it ever will. In 2018, the National Writers Union, which goes to bat for mistreated members, collected more than $200,000 for unpaid freelancers, according to NWU president Larry Goldbetter. OutVoice, which launched in August 2018, is meant to ameliorate such slights by integrating with a sites content management system and initiating direct deposits to contributors at the click of the publish button. It immediately notifies the recipient that payment is processing, which takes two to three days once a bank account is linked. Unlike digital invoicing platforms such as Kalo and Wave, OutVoice doesnt generate invoices to be approved; instead, it cuts to the chase and pays contributors directly. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM PIECE BY PIECE, CJRS FREELANCING SERIES Saincome, a musician and former SF Weekly editor who freelanced for outlets such as Rolling Stone and Vice, envisioned OutVoice after he started The Hard Times, a satirical punk-news site. Channeling punks DIY ethos, Saincome recruited Issa Diao, a fellow musician, to do the coding. If you can organize four of your least organized friends to travel around the country and be on time at 30 different shows for under, like, $2,000total costyou can pretty much do anything, he jokes. Launched on The Hard Times and its spinoff, Hard Noise, OutVoice has since netted its first investor, the content-monetization startup Coil. (Saincome wont disclose investment figures but says hes working on a seed round of funding.) The four-person OutVoice team includes one full-time employee who was hired to court big-name publications. In September, Saincome wrote on Twitter that he planned to step away from his own work at The Hard Times to focus on bringing OutVoice to as many pubs as possible. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Freelancers have greeted OutVoice as a welcome change, calling it a breakthrough and one of the best things happening in publishing right now and a step in the right direction towards solving a systemic problem. I was kind of shocked when they said itd process in two to three days, Victoria Rose, a Brooklyn-based freelancer who was paid with OutVoice for her writing on the gaming site Fanbyte, says. She adds, OutVoice definitely takes the cake for simplicity. (Disclosure: Im not an objective reporter here. This summer, I wrote a short piece for the website Hard Noise and was paid promptly via OutVoice. It was unprecedented in my experience as a freelance writer.) But revolutionizing the status quo isnt as simple as creating a shiny plug-in. There are hurdles to implementing platforms such as OutVoice, including the cost of transitioning to a new system and a general sense of inertia. Why would publishers change something thats not troublesome for them? There are logistical sticking points too. Anna Codrea-Rado, a freelance writer and activist for media freelancers, points out that many publishers dont like to rely on third-party software for security reasons. And while OutVoice might reduce costs in the long run, magazine consultant Mary Hogarth says, it also might be seen by smaller, independent publishers as another slice from an already strained budget, especially if they still need at least one accountant to look over charges. Then there are entrenched attitudes. Addressing unfair payment practices cant be led by the technology, says Codrea-Rado. It has to be led by cultural change. Hervey Evans, chief executive of the magazine consultancy Erazmus, Inc., attributes such problems to power, rather than logistics. Frankly, the convenience is not the issue, he says. Publishers can send checks or other payments out promptly if they are so inclined. To Saincome, OutVoice is a bargaining chip. As the field of freelancers grows and full-time staff positions in traditional media companies shrink, a reliable and immediate payment model could help publishers woo writers who have their pick of outlets to work for. So far, the most well known publication to try OutVoice is Rolling Stone Australia. (Prices start from $29 per month; Saincome says hes shooting for a very small percent of your total monthly spend, in the range of a cheaper Shutterstock subscription, for small companies.) But OutVoice has wedged its foot in the door exactly where its needed most: these are the places where nascent journalists start building their careers, especially as local newsrooms waste away. OutVoice is beginning to erode the barrier to entry for working-class journalistspeople whose voices are sorely needed, but who cant afford to do work that doesnt pay promptly. This post has been updated for clarity. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Alison Van Houten is a freelance journalist. Her writing has appeared in print in National Magazine Award-winning publications including Outside, San Francisco, and Sunset. Follow her on Twitter at @notvanhooten. It's unlikely that Bernie's performance in the South Carolina debate affected him in any way. Those who support him will continue to do so; those who fear him will also continue to do so. First, some global observations about Bernie's debate performance. Bernie is very good at demagoguing. No matter the question, he goes off on his shtick about the need for socialized medicine so everyone can have the "right" to health care. What he consistently ignores is that America has the best outcomes in the world. All the other countries offer is the boast that people can see doctors, not the boast that they can get treated. This is just one of Bernie's many subtle lies, where he makes ideological statements that are not borne out by the facts. Bernie also constantly repeats his riff about 500,000 homeless people, ignoring the fact that those homeless people are the result of Democrat policies. They're the result of Democrats doing away with institutionalizing the mentally ill; they're the result of Democrats failing to crack down on drug use and sales; they're the result of Democrats making marijuana, a gateway drug, socially acceptable; and they're the result of blue-city policies that are a Petri dish for homelessness, insofar as offering free food, free shelter, free needles, and freedom from consequences for the antisocial behaviors that accompany drug use. Finally, Bernie endlessly repeats his promise for free college education and student loan forgiveness. The reality is that America doesn't need more people with sociology and queer studies degrees. It needs more people who can do useful things fix cars, fix plumbing, rewire a house, and build a house. It needs fewer institutions of indoctrination that teach less than ever but have burgeoning administrations serving identity politics while driving costs ever upward. The vast number of Americans who opted to pay for college or to skip four years of extended adolescence in favor of work also should not have to pay for adults who willingly took on debt they had no reasonable belief they could ever pay. All of Bernie's demagoguery, which he repeated endlessly during the debate in South Carolina, should be acknowledged as fraudulent and dismissed. More specifically, these were the highlights and lowlights of Bernie's debate: Bernie repeatedly attacked billionaires. Now that he's a millionaire, he has nothing to say against them. Those who support class warfare forgive him for his hypocrisy, and those who don't support class warfare laugh at him. Bernie continued to be opaque about his spending and how he intends to pay for it. He won't admit that his plans will cost close to $100 trillion over ten years. He promises that socializing medicine will bring costs down because we have too many insurance companies (just as we have too many deodorant brands). On guns, Sanders conceded he was wrong when he refused to vote yes on a law imposing liability on gun manufacturers and then boasted about his current D- from the NRA. On a stage of people fanatically opposed to the Second Amendment, though, he looked weak. Republicans should point out that when Bernie was a low-level Marxist revolutionary, he wanted guns; now that he has power within his grasp, he wants to disarm the American people. When asked about making health care more affordable to people in rural areas, Bernie said he worked with Sen. Clyburn (D-S.C.) to increasing funding for rural programs under Obamacare. Like the rest of the people on the stage, he shied away from the fact that Obamacare killed rural hospitals. He also assured voters that his Medicare for All (AKA socialized medicine) would solve the rural care problem. Presumably, once doctors have no profit incentive, he plans to force many of them to work in areas they would otherwise prefer to avoid. The moderators and the other candidates attacked Bernie for praising policies in China, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Bernie responded that while he opposes authoritarianism, he just loves what the authoritarians get done (literacy, socialized medicine, etc.). And no, he didn't use those precise words, but that's the gist of what he said. Bernie's most shocking statement was calling Bibi Netanyahu a "reactionary racist." Clearly, Bernie has found his happy place with the rising crowd of anti-Semites in the Democrat Party. Aside from being more open about his hatred for Netanyahu, Bernie didn't say anything unexpected. He spoke in his usual hectoring monotone; he showed his continued disdain for America; and he made clear his desperate desire to mold America into another Cuba, Nicaragua, or Soviet Union, only with himself in power instead of some mean foreign authoritarian dictatorship. It enables the consolidation of Microland's UK and European delivery functions as part of its ambitious, global growth strategy, with the West Midlands at its heart. The primary objective of the site is to support Microland's international client base with services that enable 'Making Digital Happen.' The range of services delivered through the Hub will include cloud and data center transformation, Software Defined Networks, cyber security, digital workplace and Industrial IoT. This is Microland's second Digital Hub in the West Midlands; the first opened in January 2018. The new site will operate alongside Microland's existing base in Longbridge, which will transition into a Customer Experience Centre that will offer Microland's customers a differentiated global delivery model. Pradeep Kar, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Microland, said: "Our West Midlands Digital Hub is an exciting new addition to Microland's network of hubs around the world and an important milestone for our Europe business. The centre will deliver innovative and modern enterprise solutions to our global customer base, with a specific focus on UK customers. "When assessing several locations for Microland's expansion, the West Midlands was an obvious choice for us. The area has become an epicentre for technology, with a vibrant ecosystem of major companies, access to technically skilled, digital talent and world-class infrastructure. This is essential for us in order to meet the ever-growing demands of our global customers." Microland's investment will create employment opportunities in both the technology and business operations fields, as the firm seeks to capitalise on the region's wider professional services skills base. The site has opened as the region looks to establish a dedicated West Midlands India Partnership a programme operated by the West Midlands Growth Company* to build on the area's successful track record in attracting investment and visitors from the Indian market. Neil Rami, Chief Executive at the West Midlands Growth Company, said: "Rapid growth across a number of specialisms such as AI, cyber security, finTech and games has positioned the West Midlands as the UK's largest tech and digital sector outside the capital. The region's innovative talentpool is continuously acknowledged by investors as best in class, but remains affordable, relative to places like London, adding to its appeal. "Microland's investment is a major endorsement of the region's growing digital economy. It also exemplifies exactly why we're ramping up activity in the Indian market. India is the second highest creator of FDI jobs in the region forging relationships with major success stories like Microland will be key to our region's economic success." The West Midlands is the UK's leading region outside London and the South East for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with tech and digital firms representing a major source of new projects. Prominent UK-based organisations investing in the region include The Economist Group, which recently opened a new Technology Innovation Unit in Birmingham the company's first UK location outside of London. Transportation services company Genesee & Wyoming represents another, globally operating firm that has established a high-value shared services function in the region. The company, which operates Freightliner, initially invested 30million in the region, creating 100 new jobs. Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, added: "Microland is the latest in a string of major, global companies choosing to set up in Birmingham over other international locations. The city is investing heavily in creating the right environment for tech businesses its 5G testbed is just one example of how the region is equipping itself to foster innovation. We look forward to supporting Microland in its growth journey to deliver cutting-edge digital solutions to a global client base." The new Digital Hub is compliant to stringent security standards, such as 'Official Sensitive', CES+ and ISO 27000. Additionally, the site will have employees with the highest level of employee clearance, including Home Office clearance, depending on customer requirements. About Microland Microland's delivery of digital and 'Making Digital Happen' allows technology to do more and intrude less. We make it easier for enterprises to adopt nextgen Digital infrastructure. We enable this using our expertise in Cloud and Data Centers, Networks, Digital Workplace, Cybersecurity and Industrial IoT. Ensuring the embrace of brilliance is predictable, reliable, and stable. Incorporated in 1989 and headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Microland has more than 4,500 digital specialists across offices and delivery centers in Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and North America. *West Midlands Growth Company The West Midlands Growth Company helps the region make its mark nationally and internationally. Its primary purpose is to attract investment, jobs, visitors and businesses to the West Midlands. The West Midlands Growth Company plays an important role in supporting the delivery of the West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Strategic Economic Plan. Its focus is on the WMCA geography of Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, and the Black Country. Read more here: https://wmgrowth.com/ SOURCE Microland Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more The American Civil Liberties Union earlier this week criticized facial recognition tool developer Clearview for making misleading claims about the accuracy of its product. Clearview apparently has been telling law enforcement agencies that its technology underwent accuracy testing modeled on the ACLUs 2018 test of Amazons Rekognition facial recognition tool. For that test, the ACLU simulated the way law enforcement used Rekognition in the field, matching photos of all 535 members of the United States Congress against a database it built of 25,000 publicly available mugshots of arrestees. Rekognition incorrectly matched 28 lawmakers with arrestees photos. The false matches disproportionately featured lawmakers of color. Clearviews Test Examined Clearviews accuracy test reportedly compared headshots from all 535 members of Congress, all 119 members of the California State Legislature, and 180 members of the Texas State Legislature against its database. Clearview has a database of about 2.8 billion faces scraped from various social media and other public Internet websites. Clearviews test couldnt be more different from the ACLUs work, and leaves crucial questions unanswered, wrote Jacob Snow, a technology and civil liberties attorney at the ACLU. Rather than searching for lawmakers against a database of arrest photos, Clearview apparently searched its own shadily assembled database of photos. The companys accuracy test report, dated October 2019, was signed by three people: Jonathan Lippmann, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 2009-2015; Nicholas Cassimatis, formerly head of the Intelligence Innovation Lab at Samsung Research America; and Aaron Renn, an urban policy analyst who formerly was a partner at Accenture. The three rated Clearview 100 percent accurate. However, none of them has expertise in facial recognition. There is no indication that Clearview submitted its product to rigorous testing, the ACLUs Snow maintained. An algorithms accuracy is likely to be reduced in the real world because of photo quality, lighting, user bias and other factors. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but this is flattery we can do without, Snow wrote.If Clearview is so desperate to begin salvaging its reputation, it should stop manufacturing endorsements and start deleting the billions of photos that make up its database, switch off its servers, and get out of the surveillance business altogether. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Bad Buzz Clearview has generated considerable controversy with its ad campaigns and claims: It claims to have helped the New York Police Department arrest suspects in at least two cases, which the NYPD denies; Clearviews claims to have a thousand or so police forces using its application have not been substantiated; Twitter, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Venmo and LinkedIn have written the company demanding it stop scraping photos from their platforms; Concerns about Clearviews technology led EPIC and other organizations to write the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board demanding the suspension of facial recognition systems pending further review; The Electronic Frontier Foundation has called for comprehensive federal privacy legislation around data collection; Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has written Clearview demanding information about its marketing to law enforcement agencies considering its technology; and A lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in an Illinois court alleging Clearviews product breaches the states Biometric Information. Privacy Act (BISA). Breaching BISA cost Facebook a US$550 million fine, a record for any privacy lawsuit. Clearview appears to be extremely dishonest with their claims and, as a company, they are untrusted, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Given that, you cant really trust how good the tool is, he told TechNewsWorld. So youll take a lot of heat deploying it and then, if it doesnt work, youll look like an idiot. That could be a career ender for those involved. Appropriate Use of Tech The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has ruled that its Next Generation Identification System (NGI) is exempt from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. That is one of the reasons facial recognition raises concerns. Another is that some schools have begun using facial recognition systems. Everybodys concerned that the unrestricted use of facial recognition could be detrimental to personal freedom, said Mike Jude, research director at IDC. Clearview is currently not regulated and, obviously, has a powerful incentive to promote the use of facial recognition, he told TechNewsWorld. False positives are always an issue, Jude noted. Facial recognition is not foolproof. Its simply a case of garbage photos in, garbage identifications out. However, the technology can be a very valuable tool in various areas, including retail, depending on how it is used, he said. A D V E R T I S E M E N T It would be unfortunate if we tossed the baby out with the bath water, said Jude. There will probably be laws that seek to control the use of facial recognition. The European Union, which initially considered a five-year ban on facial recognition in public places, instead decided to let member states deal with the issue. French and Swedish data protection authorities have ruled out using facial recognition software in schools. In the UK, police use the technology, which they have deployed in London. In China, registering for a mobile phone service requires a face scan. Meanwhile, India is preparing to install a nationwide facial recognition system. In the U.S., Oregon, New Hampshire and California have banned the technology, but only in police bodycams. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland, ban it altogether. Facial recognition is coming whether we like it or not, Enderle predicted. This means there needs to be more focus on improving the training sets, and putting in place rules about where and when these tools can be used. Dr Michael McBride (Chief Medical Officer) at previous media briefing on preparedness in Northern Ireland to respond to Coronavirus at the Department of Health in Stormont on Wednesday Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker An isolation ward is on standby at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast should there be a confirmed coronavirus case in Northern Ireland, health officials have said. The Public Health Agency has said there is no cases of the virus in Northern Ireland after tests on 52 people. It also confirmed there had been no testing of children sent home by the schools as a precaution after taking ski trips to Italy. It comes as First Minister Arlene Foster said the Northern Ireland Executive was closely monitoring developments around the outbreak. Read More The DUP leader said the risk to Northern Ireland was low and urged the public to follow the advice of the Public Health Agency. "We have been keeping in touch with the health minister [who is] giving us regular updates in relation to these issues and indeed yesterday with the education minister because of what happened in relation to the number of schools that had come back from Italy from their ski trips," she told the BBC. "So we are keeping a very close eye in relation to the matter, the risk is still low and there had been very clear advice given to schools and indeed to everyone to wash their hands and take necessary precautions." She said concern was "understandable" but people in NI should "stay calm". Asked about should happen with Ireland's Six Nation tie against Italy which will see thousands of Italians descend on Dublin, Mrs Foster said "it was a matter for that jurisdiction" as to how the matter was handled. "I know the IRFU will be very concerned at the loss of revenue, but of course public health has to take priorit," she added. Read More So far five schools are known to have initiated precautionary measures after half-term ski trips to parts of Italy. Some have sent pupils home. There are so far no confirmed cases in Northern Ireland. The Education Department said it was not aware how many schools were affected and referred us to the Public Health Agency (PHA), which referred us on to the Education Authority, which in turn refused to comment, referring us back to the PHA. The World Health Organisation has expressed concern as fears intensify over the spread of coronavirus in Europe. A second death has been reported in France and the number of people in Italy with the virus continues to climb. Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or up 45% in 24 hours, and 11 people have now died. Austria, Croatia and Switzerland also reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy. Holiday makers in Tenerife - including people from the UK and Ireland - are being held in a hotel for two weeks after an outbreak of the virus. Four cases have been confirmed at the Costa Adeje Palace. Read More In rugby, Ulster's tie with Benetton Treviso at the weekend has been postponed and Ireland's Six Nations tie in Dublin against Italy will not go ahead. The Cheltenham horse racing festival is also under threat. Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak ruled with an iron fist for 30 years before being deposed amid street protests, defending his chequered reign to the end. He died Tuesday aged 91. Once dubbed "the Pharaoh" for his long, autocratic rule, he was swept from power, like other regional potentates, by the popular uprisings of the 2011 Arab Spring. His mixed legacy is that of a strongman who employed emergency powers, led a police state and rigged elections, and of a guarantor of stability who battled jihadists, maintained close ties with the West and kept peace with Israel. A former air force chief, he became Egyptian vice president and then, in 1981, head of state after Islamist militants assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat during a military parade. Mubarak was also wounded, having sat next to Sadat in the attack by jihadists who had infiltrated the army. He would survive several more attempts on his life, most dramatically in 1995 when militants sprayed his motorcade with bullets at a roadblock in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mubarak was the fourth president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, which was founded in 1952 when the military overthrew the monarchy. He was considered neither an inspirational revolutionary like Gamal Abdel Nasser, who ruled from 1956 to 1970, nor a charismatic politician like Sadat, who succeeded Nasser and led Egypt until 1981. But his diplomatic prowess showed on the international stage where he proved to be a deft statesman. He maintained Egypt's peace treaty with Israel -- the reason Sadat was assassinated by militants -- and became a main player in the US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace process more than a decade later. - 'Laughing cow' - Born on May 4, 1928 in the Nile Delta village of Menufiyah, Mubarak went on to rise through the air force ranks before becoming vice president and then Egypt's leader. Seen as a somewhat bland politician, he earned the moniker "The Laughing Cow", after the mascot of a processed cheese brand, an image that would be sprayed on Cairo walls during the Arab Spring protests. Critics say that during the Mubarak years the government and economy were hobbled by rampant corruption, bureaucratic mediocrity and rights abuses. Mubarak did not introduce Egypt's police state, but under him the secret police, known to torture and disappear opponents, came to control almost every aspect of daily life. "We knew everything about everyone," said one senior secret police official after Mubarak's overthrow. The stifling police state impacted society and culture. Even as Egypt's population boomed during the Mubarak era, the Arab world's one-time intellectual and cultural centre faded as a regional power. - Street protests - On the plus side, Mubarak has been credited with bringing economic reforms in the 2000s. Under the direction of his unpopular son Gamal, who was groomed to take over the presidency, the government began a programme of economic liberalisation. At the same time, and largely in response to US pressure, Mubarak in later years began to ease his grip of political life. An independent and often critical press flourished, and protests were largely tolerated, despite police occasionally beating up and arresting demonstrators at Cairo rallies. In 2005, Mubarak emerged the winner of what observers said was Egypt's latest rigged election. His principal opponent, Ayman Nour, was later jailed. In the last years of Mubarak's reign, it was unclear whether he was truly in charge or had devolved many of his responsibilities to his son Gamal, then a senior party figure. Mubarak's ouster came in the heady Arab Spring days, soon after Tunisians overthrew their leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Egyptian activists took to the streets on January 25 and quickly hundreds of thousands demanded Mubarak's departure. Within three days Mubarak had sacked his cabinet in a gesture to the protesters, presenting them with a tough choice: either he stayed or chaos would follow. Later, the military decided that Mubarak could not remain in power any longer. On February 11, he was flown to a Red Sea resort far from Cairo, leaving his hastily appointed vice president to announce his resignation and the onset of military rule. That announcement on national television sparked jubilation by millions in Egypt. - Final days - Mubarak was later arrested and put on trial over the deaths of protesters during the 18-day revolt as well as for corruption. Once a robust man and a keen squash player, Mubarak was wheeled into court on a stretcher, his sunglasses barely disguising his look of disgust as lawyers and prosecutors demanded he be hanged. He was condemned to life in jail in 2012, but an appeals court ordered a retrial. During his detention, Mubarak denied wrongdoing. "When I heard the first verdict I laughed. I said: 'Ha!'," Mubarak told a private broadcaster after his 2012 sentencing. "I did nothing wrong at all," he said. By 2017, he was cleared of all charges brought against him and released. His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also sentenced in a graft case, but were released after time served. Mubarak spent his final days in a military hospital, leaving only occasionally. Pictures of him appeared from time to time online in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, a town which he had developed as a tourist hub. Many Egyptians, fatigued by a revolution that failed to bring tangible democratic and economic change, have increasingly begun to pine for Mubarak's days. He is survived by Alaa and Gamal and by his half-Welsh wife Suzanne. In a criminal move caught on video, an Israeli military bulldozer scooped up and moved the body of a young Palestinian demonstrating near Gazas fence with Israel on Sunday. To compound the crime, troops fired on Palestinians trying to retrieve his body, wounding two. Benjamin Netanyahu [Photo: Office of the Israeli Prime Minister] Twenty-seven-year-old Mohammed Ali al-Naim, a member of Islamic Jihad, had been shot by Israeli forces who lyingly claimed he was laying a bomb near the fence. This war crime, one of countless such criminal acts, and the image of al-Naims corpse hanging from the teeth of the bulldozer, caused outrage among the Palestinian citizens of Gaza who have suffered a 13-year-long blockade at the hands of Israel and latterly Egypt and the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel followed this up with dozens of air strikes throughout the besieged entity as tensions escalated and Palestinian groups retaliated by firing rockets into Israel. The army said it was closing roads, schools and a train line near the Gaza Strip. Fighter jets simultaneously launched air strikes on Islamic Jihad positionsIsrael views the group as an Iranian proxynear the Syrian capital Damascus, killing two of its fighters and four pro-Iranian fighters. This stepped-up aggression, launched by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a desperate bid to boost his position as Mr. Security, takes place in the run up to the election on March 2, the third in less than a year. The result is the deepening paralysis of a government that has almost ceased to function amid the stench of a corrupt and decaying political system that is careening towards fascism and militarism. Like their counterparts all over the world Israeli voters have no substantive choice, despite an array of political parties, as Israels democracy has withered under the twin pressures of the decades-long military suppression of the Palestinian people and rising social inequality, among the highest in the world. This latest ballot follows two inconclusive elections in April and September, when neither caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, were able to secure a coalition that could command a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The first bloc is led by Netanyahus right-wing Likud Party and his coalition of religious and fascistic parties. The second bloc, the supposedly centrist Blue and White party named after the colours of Israels flag, is led by Gantz. Gantzs potential coalition partners include the Labor-Gesher-Meretz bloc, formed out of a bunch of former generals, and the remnants of the once dominant Labor Party and peace movement. Last month, they merged to prevent electoral oblivion in the face of the official burial of the so-called two-state solutiontheir original raison detre. Meretzs liquidation into Gesher is particularly significant. Not only has it jettisoned its pro-peace stance but also its appeal to Israels Arab voters. For years, it was the only Zionist party that claimed to represent both Jews and Arabs, with Arab candidates holding two of the top five slots on the slate in last Aprils election. Now its Arab candidate holds the 11th slot on its slate. Geshers leader, Orly Levi-Abekasis, is a former member of Avigdor Liebermans Yisrael Beiteinu, who sponsored the original bill paving the way for the nation-state law sanctioning Jewish supremacy over Israels Arab citizens. The latest election, like its two predecessors, focuses on one issue only: Netanyahus fitness for office and his sordid political manoeuvres, with the opposition forces campaigning for anyone but Bibi. Just two weeks after the election, Netanyahu will attend court for the start of his trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in corruption cases that have dragged on for years. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. He has denied the charges, urging his supporters to defend him against a judiciary that has succumbed to a left-wing plot and an attempted coup against him. Netanyahu has been able to stay in office firstly because the law does not require an indicted prime minister, as opposed to ministers, to resignthanks to a legal oversight in its draftingand secondly because the opposition bloc shares his foreign and domestic policy agendas. Both are committed to Israels expansion into the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu has carried out one political manoeuvre after another aimed at avoiding prosecution and maintaining his blocs domination of the Knesset via concessions to his far-right coalition partners. He is prepared to hold as many elections as necessary to achieve this. If successful in forming a government, he intends to radically transform the states legal system to ensure his trial cannot go ahead. He has sought to position himself as a world statesman indispensable to Israels national interests, leveraging US President Donald Trumps support to appeal to the fascistic layers of the settlers and religious nationalists within his support base. He has brandished Trumps farcical deal of the century, which recognizes the facts on the ground established by relentless Israeli aggression and land grabs in the occupied territories, as a green light for the formal annexation of these territories and the consolidation of an apartheid regime. Netanyahu has made much of his visit to President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that secured the release of Naama Issachar, a young Israeli woman jailed on drug charges, and his meeting in Uganda with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military chief of Sudans Sovereignty Council, to secure the normalization of relations with a state backed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. He has escalated his incitement against Israels Arab citizens, smearing a Blue and White-led coalition dependent on the support of the Arab List, a coalition of four Israeli Arab parties, as illegitimate. Netanyahu said that such a government would be celebrated in Tehran, Ramallah and Gaza, the way they celebrate after every attack. This would be a historic national attack on the state of Israel. He named and attacked members of the Knesset, Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, who have since received death threats. Gantz has gone along with this racist slur, ruling out any coalition with the Joint List. Netanyahu has stepped up efforts to exert Israels control over Palestinian land through the establishment of national parks, building in east Jerusalem, increased settlement expansion and continued Palestinian home demolitions. The Defense Ministry has approved the creation of seven new Israeli nature reserves in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under Israels military rule, and the expansion of 12 existing nature reserves in the West Bank. The announcement followed Defense Minister Naftali Bennetts declaration at a forum of right-wing activists and academics in Jerusalem that Area C belongs to Israel. The authorities have given approval for nearly 7,000 new homes for Jewish Israelis in predominantly Palestinian eastern Jerusalem, in the Givat Hamatos neighbourhood, Har Homa and Gilo, as part of a plan to Judaicise east Jerusalem by connecting Jerusalem and cutting the territorial contiguity between east Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. Last month, the government approved the construction of 1,936 homes in the West Bank, with a further 786 receiving the final endorsement, including 258 to be built in Haresha, an illegal outpost west of Ramallah. The Israeli authorities have demolished nearly 700 Palestinian buildings in the West Bank in 2019, with 300 demolitions in Jerusalem alone. The settlers have been given carte blanche to attack the Palestinians. On Friday, 4,000 thugs arrived in chartered buses and raided the villages of Laqba and Al Burj in the north of the Jordan Valley, under the full protection of the Israeli army. Singapore Airlines has reduced the number of flights to Korea following the outbreak of the new coronavirus. / Korea Times file By Jun Ji-hye An increasing number of foreign air carriers are either halting flights or reducing the number of flights to Korea as the country has continued to report a surge in cases of COVID-19 from last week, airline industry officials said Monday. Philippine Airlines informed passengers, Feb. 21, of the suspension of its Manila-Incheon route and a reduction in the number of flights on the Manila-Busan route from March 1 to 31 "due to operational issues". The company said passengers can rebook their flights or change the route without incurring fees, or receive a full refund without any additional fee. Prior to this, the company announced, Feb. 11 that it would cancel flights on its Cebu-Incheon route from Feb. 16 to March 28. Mumbai, Feb 26 : The Shah Rukh Khan La Trobe University PhD Scholarship, which was named after the superstar last year, has been awarded to a young female researcher from Kerala. The actor says he is a staunch believer in education. It has gone to researcher Gopika Kottantharayil Bhasi from Thrissur (Kerala), working on farming practices through animal science, ecology and molecular studies. Chosen from over 800 Indian women, she was awarded the four-year scholarship at a ceremony here on Wednesday. "I'm a staunch believer in education and I would like to congratulate Gopika. Way forward for everyone is educate and there's never an end to education," Shah Rukh said. "Empowering and educating women is key and the world goes forward with educating women. I think education in India or anywhere else in the world is a step forward." He feels that Gopika is lucky as she's soon going to be studying at La Trobe which is a "fantastic university and I'm glad she's getting this opportunity to do this PhD on her research". "I admire Gopika's dedication and determination. This scholarship will enable her to travel to La Trobe in Melbourne, Australia where she will pursue her dreams of helping to improve India's agriculture sector," he added. This comes before the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will enter its eleventh year. The team had organised a prelude event in Mumbai before their main event in Melbourne. "It has been an overwhelming journey that has gathered strength from all quarters in the past 10 years. The content landscape has changed and it's heartening to see lines between commercial and independent cinema blurring. It's the celebration of great stories now," said festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange. "IFFM continues its dedicated work towards supporting diverse voices and cinema. I am ecstatic about the initiatives we have taken, especially our association with La Trobe University, which takes us beyond what is covered under the purview of a standard film festival. We are looking at the growth of a community and taking the spirit of cinema to the masses. Having Mr Khan support a young researcher's dream is a step towards us collectively furthering our social responsibilities." "We are also really excited to launch our Inclusive Film making workshops that further advocates true inclusive film making both behind and in front of camera," she added. India has issued a travel advisory to avoid non-essential travel to Korea, Iran and Italy due to incidences of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in those countries. The new travel advisory, issued on 26 February will be applicable along with the existing advisories against travel to China. In addition, people coming from Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy or having such travel history since 10 February may be quarantined for 14 days on arrival to India, the advisory said. The update comes in view of the evolving situation related to COVID-19 being reported from these countries, a Health Ministry communique said. Also read: Corona beer becomes victim to coronavirus outbreak It should be noted that WHO has declared the recent COVID-19 epidemic affecting 30 countries as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Meanwhile, some Indian airports have begun universal screening of all passengers coming in flights directly from countries like Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal besides the flights from China and Hong Kong as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of infection. Also Read: Greta Thunberg meets 'role model' Malala Yousufzai; pictures go viral Also Read: Trump's fresh 'high tariffs on Harley' jibe at India; he's right and wrong! Also Read: 'We'll offer them a deal they can't refuse': Piyush Goyal on India-US trade pact Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday lashed out at the Central government over the violence in Delhi that left 24 people dead, saying the riots should have been dealt with an iron fist. In a rare sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre, Rajinikanth also asked those in power to resign and go if the violence could not be crushed with an iron fist. However, he did not name anyone. His contemporary and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan hailed Rajinikanths remarks, saying this was the right path.Definitely it is Central governments intelligence failure. I strongly condemn the Central government, he told reporters here when asked about the violence in northeast Delhi that killed 24 people, including a policeman and an IB official. They should have been so careful when the US President (Donald) Trump had visited (the country). The intelligence didnt do its job properly. It (violence) should have been completely crushed with an iron fist. We expect them to be careful at least from now on, he added. To a question, he said intelligence failure meant failure of the Union Home Ministry. With iron fist this should be crushed, else (they) should resign and go..what is this..it is becoming too much, he said. The violence should have been nipped in the bud and it was the job of both the Centre and the state government, he said, apparently referring to the AAP government. Asked if he wanted the protests to be crushed, Rajinikanth said he didnt refer to the anti-CAA agitations but asserted that such protests should not give way to violence. The actor, who recalled his earlier statement that he will stand by Muslims if they were affected by the amended citizenship law, said he did not see CAA being withdrawn since it was adopted by both houses of Parliament, before being given the Presidential assent. Therefore, the protests may not yield any results, he said responding to the ongoing anti-CAA agitation here, besides the occasional ones across the state. Immediately I am being branded as the BJPs mouthpiece, that the BJP is behind me, especially some senior journalists and political observers, he regretted. However, he reiterated he will definitely stand by those who are affected by the CAA. The actor, who has announced he will face next years Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, also wanted the media to play a constructive role during such times. He further lashed out at politicians and individuals instigating people by making provocative statements using religion, saying this also should be dealt with firmly, else it will be difficult in the future.Kamal Haasan in a tweet in Tamil, said the path chosen by Rajinikanth is the right one and welcomed him. Sabash friend @rajinikanth. This path is the right path (it is) not a separate path..., he said in an apparent reference to the actors famous dialogue in a film that my path is separate path. Read what is in the news today: Politics -- U.S. President Donald Trump has invited ASEAN leaders to meet next month in Las Vegas, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, after a summit last year was scrapped. Society -- A group of 20 South Korean tourists who refused to be quarantined as a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) precaution after arriving in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on Monday were sent back to their country on a Vietjet flight from Da Nang to Incheon at 11:55 pm on Tuesday. -- Six people died after a wherry carrying ten capsized on the Vu Gia River in the central province of Quang Nam Province on Tuesday afternoon. -- Measures to control the COVID-19 epidemic must go in tandem with completing national socio-economic targets set by the lawmaking National Assembly, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Tuesday as he chaired a meeting of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council in Hanoi. -- About 30 laboratories across Vietnam are capable of testing for the novel coronavirus at present, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday. The facilities are based in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Thua Thien - Hue, Dak Lak, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Ha Tinh, and Lao Cai. -- Police in Ba Thuoc District in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Wednesday morning launched legal proceedings against and arrested a local man, 50-year-old Truong Van Ly, for stockpiling and trading wild, rare animals. Officers previously found the carcasses of a loris and 16 striped hog-nosed skunks at his residence in Ba Thuoc. Business -- The Vietnam Tourism Association said on Tuesday it has asked travel firms to stop receiving tourists from countries hit by COVID-19 in the face of new complicated developments of the disease in South Korea and Japan. -- Vietnams wood exports to the European Union is likely to reach US$1 billion after the recently ratified EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, which will see 90 percent of Vietnamese wood products shipped to the EU being subjected to a zero percent import tax, according to market watchers quoted by the Vietnam News Agency. Education -- The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City has proposed that all middle and high school students in the city be back to school from March 16, with the exception of those in grades 9 and 12, who will resume school from March 2. The department also suggested that students in their final years of kindergarten and elementary school go back to class from March 16 as the rest continue to enjoy the weeks-long COVID-19 break until further announcement. World News -- Over 80,500 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 2,711 killed globally as of Monday morning, according to the South China Morning Post. The number of confirmed cases in South Korea has reached 1,146, with 11 deaths. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The City regulator has reported itself to Britain's data watchdog after accidentally publishing personal details of people to have complained to it. In a humiliating gaffe, the Financial Conduct Authority posted on its website the names, addresses and phone numbers of hundreds of people who had made accusations against it. The blunder is highly embarrassing for the FCA's chief executive Andrew Bailey who is set to become the Bank of England Governor on March 16. Watchdog gaffe: The Financial Conduct Authority posted on its website the names, addresses and phone numbers of hundreds of people who had made accusations against it This cache of data a treasure trove of information for fraudsters was published in November and left on its website for around three months. It was only taken down in early February, when the regulator was alerted. Around 1,600 people were affected, many of whom had accused the watchdog of failing to take action or spot problems. Names and details were published and in hundreds of cases information such as addresses and phone numbers were disclosed. The FCA said it is contacting these people to apologise and tell them what information it has published. Even the most basic personal data can be exploited by fraudsters to cold call people with scams. The FCA said no financial, payment card, passport details or other sensitive information was disclosed. But the regulator, set up to protect consumers from conmen, faces a fine for being careless with personal details. It has reported itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which has been given powers to impose swingeing fines of up to 17million, or 4 per cent of global turnover, for the worst offences. The blunder is highly embarrassing for the FCA's chief executive Andrew Bailey who is set to become the Bank of England Governor It is not the first time this year the FCA has landed in hot water with a fellow watchdog. Last month it was fined by The Pensions Regulator for failing to provide sufficient information to workers about its pension scheme. Big firms including British Airways, Dixons Carphone and Marriott hotels have been penalised by the ICO for failing to protect customers' details from hackers. The data was published by mistake in response to a freedom of information request on how many complaints were lodged about the FCA in 2018 and 2019, and what people were complaining about. It received 1,739 complaints between January 2, 2018 and July 17, 2019, containing 2,539 allegations against the FCA. Of these, 780 accused it of 'failure to act on information' or 'spot a problem'. The majority 610 were about one firm which collapsed into administration. This is believed to be London Capital & Finance, which went bust in March last year, leaving more than 11,400 investors facing losses of 230million. The FCA had been warned three years before the firm's demise about the speculative investments offering high returns, and has been widely condemned for failing to step in to protect investors. It is facing a Treasury-led probe into its handling of the collapse. The ICO said: 'People have the right to expect that organisations will handle their personal information securely and responsibly. 'Where that doesn't happen, people can come to the ICO and we will look into the details.' The FCA said: 'As soon as we became aware of this, we removed the relevant data from our website. 'We have undertaken a full review to identify the extent of any information that may have been accessible. Our primary concern is to ensure the protection and safeguarding of individuals who may be identifiable.' MILWAUKEE Seven people were killed including a gunman during a shooting rampage on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors on Wednesday afternoon, according to multiple sources who spoke to the Journal Sentinel. Employees were notified by email that an active shooter was in or near the second-floor stairwell of the sprawling factorys Building 4. Police responded at 2:11 p.m. Molson Coors Beverage Co. was formerly known as MillerCoors, before a 2019 name change. It is part of a beer-brewing empire that is one of the largest in the world. Milwaukee police said in a tweet at 3:49 p.m. that the situation was still an "active scene." The scene was chaotic two hours after the initial report. Live video showed an officer in body armor getting an assault rifle out of a car. Canines were on the scene. Helicopters hovered near the sprawling complex, which includes corporate offices and brewing facilities. This is still an active scene. Please use an alternative route such as Highland BLVD and or N. 27th St at this time. Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) February 26, 2020 James Boyles spoke with the Journal Sentinel. He said his wife, Lasonya Ragdales, works at Molson Coors in the claims department. She has been told that there is an active shooter and she is locked in a room with co-workers. She was texting him from inside the building. Paramedic units from Milwaukee and West Allis were dispatched to the scene along with officers from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Marquette University Police Department and the U.S. Marshals. Officials with the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett arrived on the scene at 3:30 p.m. Multiple nearby schools were locked down. Nearby Marquette University shared a statement on Twitter saying that there was no threat to the campus. Story continues At Woodlands School Andre Kimbrough said his son was still inside the building. Kimbrough said he, along with many other parents, went to pick up their children at the end of school around 3:15 p.m. but got a call from school officials about the lockdown. Many parents were circling the block waiting for an all-clear. Kimbrough said he could see a "stream of police cars," ambulances and fire trucks. He felt good that the kids were safe inside. "I'm more worried about how they feel," Kimbrough said. "They must be kind of freaking out." Molson Coors Beverage Co., which operates MillerCoors, on Oct. 30 announced plans to close a Denver office and relocate hundreds of corporate support jobs to the Milwaukee office, 3939 W. Highland Blvd. The brewer now has 610 jobs at the Milwaukee office. Corporate functions based there include human resources, financing and information technology. Also, the main brewery on West State Street and a smaller, recently expanded brewery together have 750 jobs. The company also runs tours nearby that take people to underground caves where beer was once stored. The restructuring announced last fall is designed to cut costs, with 400 to 500 jobs being eliminated throughout Molson Coors. The consolidation also will bring together employees in central locations so they can better work together. Molson Coors has seen continuing sales declines as it faces steadily increasing competition from craft brewers, as well as other makers of alcoholic drinks. Its recent name change, from Molson Coors Brewing Co., reflects increased investment in cider, seltzer and other alcoholic drinks. Joe Taschler, Tom Daykin, Jordyn Noennig, Ricardo Torres, Sarah Hauer, John Steppe and Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff. Grace Hauck and Joel Shannon reported for USA TODAY. MPD is investigating a critical incident in the 4000 block of W. State Street. Please stay clear of the area at this time. Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) February 26, 2020 This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee shooting at Miller brewery: 7 dead at Molson Coors Winbond Electronics and Secure-IC in Partnership for Embedded Cybersecurity The partnership will be inclusive of major key provisioning, trusted storage of credentials and lifecyle management through Winbond TrustME Secure Flash Memory combined with Secure-ICs SecuryzrTM product for accelerated cybersecurity on connected platforms for secure boot, root of trust, executed with highest standards of resilience & protection. RENNES, France February 26th, 2020 Secure-IC , a world-leading provider of embedded cybersecurity for best in class protection technologies, integrated secure elements and security platforms, with security evaluation tools for certification readiness and assurance and consulting expertise and security assessment services, today announced a collaboration with Winbond Electronics , a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory solutions and a pioneer in certified secure memories, to enhance embedded software security in automotive and other connected industries. Under the partnership, Secure-IC will offer an enhanced security platform that supports the whole security lifecycle in complementary fashion with the use of Winbond TrustME Secure Flash Memory. Secure-IC and Winbonds collaboration will provide cybersecurity offerings that leverage Winbonds TrustME Secure Flash Memory with Secure-ICs SecuryzrTM integrated security service platform. Secure-ICs secure element is an integrated security service platform to provide security from chip to edge and cloud, composed of 1) (ISE) Integrated secure element, 2)Associated service stack, (Firmware including secure connectivity libraries, 3) Server security lifecyles such as key management). SecuryzrTM is a major enabler for complete customer ownership of security. The family of Winbonds TrustME Secure Flash Memory combines its leading edge NOR flash manufacturing process and state-of-the-art hardware security technology. The companys offerings range from the worlds first and most secured EAL5+ Common Criteria certified flash memory device to cost-effective EAL2 memory devices that address the security challenges and requirements in different application scenarios. Secure-ICs integrated secure element, combined with Winbond's TrustME Secure Flash Memory offers the host system various services all along the life of the system: Key provisioning and management, Secure Boot and Firmware update, Lifecycle management, memory access management, etc. The combined solution is compliant with the highest levels of security certification and performance requirements. Teaming with a world class pioneer in certified memories enables us to improve security while maintaining the high-performance characteristics required in a number of markets, said Yan-Taro Clochard, North Asia Sales Director & Corporate Marketing Director. Our offering brings key provisioning and full lifecycle security credentials management. Partnering with Winbond, with its certified secure memories, strengthens our commitment to offer state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions and increases customer trust by reducing its amount of work for certification Providing a proven and certifiable solution to customers significantly reduces product time to market as privacy and cybersecurity regulations are becoming mandatory. said Hung-Wei Chen, Marketing Director at Winbond. As a certified and scalable secure memory subsystem, Winbonds TrustME Secure Flash Memory is complementary to Secure-ICs SecuryzrTM architecture as a complete system to serve a wide range of embedded applications. In an increasingly connected world, a significant amount of sensitive data shall be securely managed by a number of applications and across several devices. Secure-IC in this partnership offers access to an integrated design for secure provisioning of cryptographic keys and subsequent security assets management. Security is everyones business, and every layer must take part in securing the overall system, so memory with built-in security is becoming indispensable. Winbonds Common Criteria certified production site guarantees secured production, software programming, and key provisioning for connected systems. Partnering with Secure-IC complements the security offers and leverages the trusted firmware that comes as essential part of the solution. You can learn more by visiting Secure-IC at Embedded World 2020 in Nuremberg from 25th-27th February where demonstrations of SecuryzrTM will be available. About Secure-IC Secure-IC recently achieved ten years in business of growth and progression, during which time, the company has expanded globally. With presence in 20 countries across 5 continents, Secure-IC has established a thought leadership position in the security world. Secure-IC sets itself apart by accompanying customers along the IC design process by providing best in class protection technologies, integrated secure elements and security platforms to reach the best available certification required for different markets. Combining a full set of analysis platforms with best of breed set of security technologies & backed by almost 40 families of international patents, Secure-IC is considered a leader in cyberspace security embedded systems. Secure-IC protects companies against attacks and guarantees at each stage of the design process that the absolute optimal security level is reached. The best of breed technologies that are provided stem from the companys commitment to the research community in order to foresee future major threats, tackle problems with innovative solutions & empower the intricate work of the industry standardization bodies. The company provides Silicon proven technology, pioneering in AI for embedded security, post quantum & hybrid, and state-of-the-art synthesis of attacks/ countermeasures. The embedded security system lines can be better recognized as SecuryzrTM, Laboryzr, TM and Expertyzr TM with the latter offering analysis tools and guaranteeing certification readiness and security assurance. More information is available on request, please visit us at www.secure-ic.com or reach us at the following; Twitter @SecureIC. Linked In; @Secure-IC. About Winbond Winbond Electronics Corporation is a total memory solution provider. The Company provides customer-driven memory solutions backed by the expert capabilities of product design, R&D, manufacturing, and sales services. Winbonds product portfolio, consisting of Specialty DRAM, Mobile DRAM and Code Storage Flash, is widely used by tier-1 customers in communication, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial, and computer peripheral markets. Winbonds headquarters is in Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) and it has subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, Israel, China and Hong Kong. Based in Taichung and new Kaohsiung 12-inch fabs in Taiwan, Winbond keeps pace to develop in-house technologies to provide high-quality memory IC products. Secure-IC Communication Contact Lee Anderson, Marketing & Comms Manager E-mail: Lee.anderson@secure-ic.com TEL: +33 2 99 12 18 72 Secure-IC Communication Contact Yan-Taro Clochard, North Asia Director & Strategic Marketing E-mail: yan-taro.clochard@secure-ic.com TEL: +_81 80-9456-3535 Winbond Contacts Product Contact Hung-Wei Chen Secure Flash Memory Marketing Director TEL: +886-3-5678168 Ext. 75310 E-mail: hwchen8@winbond.com News Contact Yulia Lee Digital Marketing Manager TEL: +886-3-5678168 Ext.75395 E-mail: ylli5@winbond.com Spokesperson Jessica Chiou-Jii Huang Vice President & Chief Financial Officer TEL: +886-3-5678168/886-987-365682 Canada's Government Breaks The Rules Federal departments and agencies in Canada have mishandled personal information belonging to 144,000 Canadians over the past two years, according to new figures tabled in the Ottowa House of Commons, and not everyone who was swept up in a privacy breach was told about it. The new figures were included in the federal government's answer to an order paper question filed by an MP. The 800-page response didn't offer an explanation for the errors, which range from minor issues to serious breaches involving sensitive personal information. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was guilty of the most breaches, with more than 3,005 separate incidents affecting close to 60,000 Canadians between Jan. 1, 2018 and Dec. 10, 2019 and the errors concerned included problms with misdirected mail, security incidents and employee misconduct. The Parliament statement says that two-thirds of the total individuals affected were as a result of three separate and unrealted incidents. Health Canada responsible for 122 breaches, affecting 23,894 individuals. The the agency said in its "most serious" breach, a government employee mistakenly received an email containing personal information. That person immediately notified the appropriate officials at Health Canada and deleted the email, the report said. Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was responsible for the third-highest number of casualties, with 17 breaches affecting 20,129 individuals, all of whem were employees. CBC reported one major that saw the theft of IT equipment containing confidential information as the most serious. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) was responsible for seven breaches that affected 3,725 individuals; similarly, Environment was responsible for seven breaches, seeing 6,028 affected. Public Services and Procurement experienced 164 breaches, with 5,149 affected; Employment and Social Development Canada suffered 1,421 breaches, affecting 3,586 individuals. Department of National Defence (DND) was responsible for 170 breaches, with 2,273 individuals affected; Immigration saw 3,005 breaches, affecting 4,268 individuals; and affecting 5,130 individuals was the 59 breaches Canada Post was responsible for. The report also quotes Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien, saying the commissioner has been pushing for changes to the Privacy Act to make breach reporting mandatory, like it is elsewhere, such as Australia. At presnet, federal departments only have to alert affected individuals in the event of 'material' breaches, cases involving sensitive personal information which might cause serious injury to an individual, or those affecting large numbers of people. A History of Canadian Surveillance The Canadian spay agency, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) also has a history of abusing privacy. A national security measure to track patterns of suspicious activity, the Canadian metadata surveillance program was implemented in 2005 by secret decree. This included the illegal monitoring of free airport Wi-Fi services to gather the communications of all travellers using the service and their subsequent tracking. It was then suspended for a year in 2008, amid concerns that the program could amount to unwarranted surveillance of innocent Canadians. However, the program was renewed in 2011 via ministerial directive from then-Defence Minister Peter MacKay. The program was broadly approved by the CSE Commissioner at the time, although he number of Canadians affected by this surveillance is unknown. CBC: Parliamnt of Canada: ZDNet: Wikipedia: You Might Also Read: What is The Canadian Institute For Cybersecurity & Why Does It Matter?: U.S President Donald Trump has prolonged sanctions for one year on Russia imposed in March, 2014 over Crimea. "The actions and policies addressed in these Executive Orders continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," the U.S. president noted in a statement posted on the White House website. "Therefore, I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660," the document reads. The order 13660 was signed on March 6, 2014, by U.S. President Barack Obama. It was followed by several other orders. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has begun a public consultation on allocation limits for telcos that seek to snap up spectrum in the first mmWave band to be auctioned for use with 5G services. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is preparing to auction off spectrum in the 26GHz band in early 2021. The ACMA intends for the 24.25-27.5GHz frequency range to be used for 5G services, greatly expanding the spectrum on offer for Australian telcos. The first 5G services being offered by Telstra and Optus have been based on the 3.6GHz band (Vodafone is also preparing to launch 5G services using the band). Communications minister Paul Fletcher In December approached the ACCC seeking advice on competition limits for planned auctions of both the 26GHz and 28GHz bands. For the 28GHz band, the ACMA is proposing apparatus licences that will be allocated administratively rather than through auction. One of the points that the minister has sought ACCC input on is whether apparatus-licensed spectrum holdings in the two bands are taken into account when it comes to allocation limits. The ACCC is due to reply to Fletcher by 15 May. The 26 GHz band is the first high-band spectrum earmarked internationally for 5G deployment to be allocated in Australia, an ACCC discussion paper released today notes. One competition issue flagged by the ACCC is the potential for a significant concentration in the ownership of high-band spectrum holdings as a result of this allocation. The ACCC says there is a risk that asymmetric spectrum holdings could hamper competition, and a risk of efforts towards spectrum monopolisation as well as strategic bidding to block competitors from acquiring spectrum. We would be concerned if, for example, as a result of this allocation it was possible for one operator to obtain the majority of spectrum available, or if an operator was precluded by the allocation of spectrum, from being able to offer its desired services and compete effectively in the short or long term, the paper states. By the time of the auction, the merger of Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) and TPG is expected to be complete. The post-merger TPG Telecom Limited as well as Telstra and Optus will all seek significant amounts of spectrum in the auction. In the 3.6GHz auction, Telstra outspent its rival mobile network operators (MNOs). A joint venture established by TPG and VHA after the pair announced their intention to merge was the second highest bidder. Although the Federal Court decision allowing the VHA-TPG merger to proceed has cruelled the ACCCs ambition for Australia to have a fourth MNO, the 3.6GHz auction also saw some spectrum picked up UK-based Dense Air, which intends to launch a carrier-neutral 5G network that can deliver coverage infill and private 5G networks. mmWave spectrum is expected to help deliver 5G use cases involving enterprise and industrial applications that rely on high bandwidth and/or low latency. The enterprise market for 5G is nascent but evolving as 5G deployments progress, the ACCC paper notes. At this early stage, it is difficult to assess the current state of competition in this market. However, the market is likely to be one of enormous diversity. The ACCC adds: A key aspect of the enterprise market is the ability to provide connectivity to industry verticals for delivery of a range of services and applications. There is an opportunity for existing MNOs and satellite operators to play a significant role in this market, but also an opportunity for a number of new entrants, including industry verticals that deploy a private network and existing private network operators. President Moon Jae-in, right, during a visit to Daegu on Feb. 25, 2020 Yonhap By Do Je-hae The national health emergency unleashed by COVID-19 has dealt a crushing blow to President Moon Jae-in, with public criticism on his poor crisis management capacity and leadership growing as the epidemic is far from being contained. A huge part of the criticism is about the government's decision to ban the entry of foreigners only from China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the new coronavirus, instead of the entire country. Many believe that the government's failure to do so, despite calls for the complete entry ban in the early stages of the epidemic, was one of the biggest reasons for the rapid spread of COVID-19 here. Korea now has the largest number of infections after China. A petition posted on Cheong Wa Dae's website calling for President Moon's impeachment has gained tens of thousands of signatures. Posted on Feb. 4 when the country had less than 20 confirmed cases before seeing a sudden hike in infections, the petitioner said the government only banned the entry of people from Hubei, belatedly, after 62 countries had placed an entry ban on people from all of China. The person said Moon acted like "the president of China, not Korea." "The number of confirmed patients is increasing here, and even New Zealand, which has no confirmed cases, has a strong entry ban in place," the petitioner wrote. "To the President of Korea, protecting Koreans is the most important thing. If he thought so, he should have placed an entry ban on people from all areas of China." Korea's coronavirus cases may peak at 10,000 in mid-March: JP Morgan Moon OUT: Over 800,000 Koreans call for President's impeachment Laws revised to better prevent COVID-19 spread The person continued that while the price of facial masks was rising and they were being sold out, the President provided 3 million masks to China. More than 600,000 people had signed on to the petition as of Wednesday afternoon Cheong Wa Dae is required to answer a petition that garners more than 200,000 signatures in a month. As to the Moon administration's continued stance that the current restriction on people from Hubei Province is enough, many especially among the opposition bloc said Moon has put a priority on realizing a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at an earliest date rather than implementing stringent measures to protect public safety by implementing the ban. On Feb. 20, Moon called Xi and reaffirmed his support for China in dealing with the virus, saying "China's difficulties are our difficulties." The main opposition United Future Party floor leader Rep. Shim Jae-cheol said China's difficulties have indeed become Korea's difficulties. "Now Korea has the second-largest number of patients following China, the source of the virus, and Koreans are now banned from or quarantined in 25 countries even without prior notice," he said at a party meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday. "Now even China is restricting Koreans' entry." Moon is also being criticized for misjudging the epidemic. During a meeting Feb. 13, Moon said that the epidemic would be stopped by the end of the month. But a few days later, infections erupted in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, bringing the seriousness of the situation to a new level. Regarding the remark, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday Moon's comment was made before the new situation took place, and it was aimed at providing the people with relief from their anxiety by emphasizing the government's containment efforts. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has added fuel to the negative public sentiment on the ruling bloc, after party spokesman Hong Il-pyo, while talking about quarantine measures, said Tuesday that the government would lock down the Daegu-North Geyongsang Province area as a preventative measure. "The government did not place an entry ban on Chinese nationals to curry favor with Beijing, while saying Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province could be locked down as if the virus originated in that region. It insulted all Koreans and the region," Rep. Shim said. Only hours after Hong's remark, the DPK, relevant ministries and even the President said the lockdown comment was wrong. But it was not enough to soothe the anger of people in the affected regions. Abdulla Al Haidan, an Emirati senior project engineer working at DP World has been appointed to the Board of the Federal Transport Authority - Land & Maritime. He works at Group Planning & Project Management at the company that has an interconnected global network of more than 150 operations in over 50 countries across six continents. Al Haidan is one of 33 young Emiratis selected as members on the boards of key federal government entities. The selection followed a process in which more than 3,000 applications were thoroughly evaluated. The move followed the approval of the mandatory Cabinet Resolution for engaging youth to become members of boards of federal government companies. The resolution was earlier approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. It called for the participation of at least one young Emirati who is not over 30 years of age on the boards. An e-portal was also launched for the registration and application to these boards. "I am indebted to the UAE government for their trust and the investment in young Emiratis to engage in national work", said 30-year-old Al Haidan, who holds a Masters degree in Engineering Management from the University of Wollongong Dubai and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He joined DP World in 2012 after graduating from Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai with BSc in Civil Engineering. "I will be serving as a board member in the Federal Transport Authority Land & Maritime, in addition to my current role in DP World that has given me the opportunity to be selected. It will be a great experience and a challenge. It is also a great opportunity to represent DP World on the board", explained Al Haidan. He added: "My field of work will have a maritime focus, which I believe requires concentrated efforts to further improve services and standards. I will also focus on creating awareness on the role played by DP World in the UAE's national economy". Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: ''We congratulate Abdulla on his appointment to the high-level government board. We also congratulate ourselves at DP World on this selection, which carries a big responsibility that Abdulla will shoulder in the service of the homeland". "DP World will extend all support to Abdulla in his new duties, which will contribute towards the enhancement of the UAE's competitiveness globally", Bin Sulayem added. HH Sheikh Mohammed had instructed the Federal Government to create the appropriate environment for the youth to innovate and excel and unleash their potential and harness their energies and abilities to modernise government work. The young board members, who will serve a term of between two and three years, are expected to provide creative solutions over a set of national issues so as to better serve the country and the people. TradeArabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:24:20|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- As the death toll in the communal violence in the Indian capital city on Wednesday rose to 20, the country's main opposition party demanded that the federal home minister should resign. The demand came from Congress party President Sonia Gandhi while briefing media in the wake of deadly violence. "The centre (federal government) and the union (federal) home minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The union home minister should resign," Gandhi told media. Gandhi blamed both the federal government and the local Delhi government for the violence. Top Congress party leaders including Manmohan Singh, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad were present alongside Gandhi during the briefing. "Where was the home minister and what was he doing since last Sunday?" Gandhi said. "What were the reports given by the intelligence agencies in the days immediately after the conclusion of the Delhi elections and leading up to today?" Gandhi asked why were additional security forces not called immediately when it was clear that the situation was beyond the control of the Delhi police. "Where was the chief minister of Delhi and what was he doing since last Sunday?" she questioned. According to health officials, nearly 200 people were injured in the violence. Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for the communal violence. "On one side the home minister holds a security meeting and on the other hand his own MLAs (lawmakers) are taking out a procession to provoke riots. Why this double character of Bharatiya Janata Party?, " Sanjay Singh, AAP spokesman told media. "Ever since the riots started, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah did not even make an appeal to keep the peace. Does Amit Shah have no responsibility?" The police department of Delhi comes directly under India's home minister and not under the chief minister. Earlier in the day Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said curfew should be imposed and army called in to contain the violence. According to Kejriwal, police was unable to control the situation. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter and urged people to maintain calm. "Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest," Modi wrote on twitter, adding he has reviewed the situation. Local media reports pouring in said an Intelligence Bureau officer was found dead in Chand Bagh in northeast Delhi that was hit by violence. Police said they were trying to ascertain the reason behind his death. Unrelenting communal violence broke out in the northeastern part of the city following which mobs armed with sticks and rods resorted to arson, looting and vandalism. Reports said many people especially Muslims are leaving their homes in the affected areas and taking shelter in other safer locations. The clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) groups in the northeastern part of the city on Sunday and took an ugly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Protests against the controversial new citizenship law was triggered on Dec. 11 last year, the day India's upper house of parliament passed the law. Since then there has been no let-up in the protests. The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions - Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it has kept out Muslim immigrants from applying for citizenship. A worker wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the novel coronavirus at a railway station in Daegu, South Korea, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images) South Korea Sees Increase of Nearly 300 New Coronavirus Cases South Korea on Feb. 26 reported 284 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the largest tally in a day since the country reported its first confirmed case last month. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced 115 new cases late on Feb. 26. Earlier in the morning, the government reported an increase of 169 new cases from the previous day. South Korea now has at least 1,261 known cases of coronavirus and 12 fatalities. Among them, 24 have fully recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospital. Feb. 26 also marks six consecutive days that South Korea reported triple digits in new cases, starting with 100 cases reported on Friday, 229 cases on Saturday, 169 cases on Sunday, 231 cases on Monday, and 144 cases on Tuesday. Of the 284 new cases reported on Wednesday, 167 are in Daegu and 68 are in the broader North Gyeongsang province. Daegu and North Gyeongsang province have seen the majority of the confirmed cases in South Korea, with 710 and 317, respectively. The majority of known infection cases in South Korea are connected either to Shincheonji Church in Daegu or Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, a county in North Gyeongsang province. At least seven of the 12 deaths are connected to the hospital. There has been a large spike in cases in Daegu and nearby areas, after a 61-year-old female follower of the church tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18 as the countrys 31st confirmed case. The South Korean government has begun testing about 210,000 followers of the church in an effort to contain the outbreak. Also on Feb. 26, a U.S. military soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea tested positive for coronavirusthe first U.S. soldier to be infected by the virus. Camp Carroll is located in the village of Waegwan, which is about 12 miles from the city of Daegu. Local outlet Yonhap News Agency reported late on Wednesday afternoon that the infected U.S. solider had been transferred from his off-base residence to a hospital at U.S. Army garrison Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, which is about 43 miles south of the capital Seoul. According to Yonhap, 16 countries have imposed entry restrictions against travelers from South Korea. Among them, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore have banned entry to travelers who have been to Daegu or Cheongdo in the past 14 days. The Philippines has imposed an entry ban on travelers from North Gyeongsang province, local newspaper Manila Bulletin reported on Wednesday. Climbing mountains is a perilous task. Its also one that abounds with contradictions, some of which are literal matters of life and death. In a 2019 article for The New York Times Magazine, writer Heidi Julavits discussed her experience in avalanche school. There were many paradoxes, including one massive one: By entering the storefront two hours earlier, by taking an avalanche-safety course, we had statistically increased our chances of being killed in an avalanche. We were more likely to die now than we were at 8 a.m. If that applies to people in the (relatively) controlled environment of a safety course, what does that mean for people who climb mountains on a regular basis? At The New Yorker, Nick Paumgarten explores the ways mental health and climbing can converge. At the center of his article is Tim Tate, a psychotherapist who works in Bozeman, Montana. Tate worked with Conrad Anker, who is known for his impressive climbs (and for surviving a heart attack in the midst of one of them). Anker had also been dealing with the deaths of several climbers with whom he was close, including Alex Lowe. Tate had helped him and the Lowes work through some dark periods, often marked by the reverberations of what Anker had come to identify as his survivors guiltthe nagging feeling that he was living someone elses life. Anker, in turn, introduced Tate to North Faces team of climbers; Tate began working with some of them. As Paumgarten writes, its part of a much larger dialogue about mental health and depression within the climbing world an industry where, for instance, team sponsors might not offer climbers health insurance. Its a complex issue, and one made more serious by the high stakes of climbing. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter. The post Why the Best Mountain Climbers Are Starting to Seek Therapy appeared first on InsideHook. An adventurer who had a shotgun shoved into his mouth while on a 5,330km outback charity run gave the stranger a bizarre compliment to get himself out of the dangerous situation. Richard Bowles, a Melbourne-based awarded speaker, was trekking along the Bicentennial National Trail for charity in 2012. Mr Bowles was about three quarters of the way through his journey when he stumbled across a stranger near the Queensland and New South Wales border who threatened to blow his head off. 'At this particular stage I hadn't seen my team or anyone in the wilderness for almost two weeks,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Richard Bowles, a Melbourne-based awarded speaker, had a shotgun shoved into his mouth while on a 5,330-kilometre outback charity run 'I came across this shack in the wilderness and thought ''that's cool, there's somebody out here, I can speak to somebody''.' 'But then it dawned on me the fact that, the type of people that live in the wilderness are probably doomsday preparers, axe-murders, goblins, that kind of thing.' The 41-year-old said an aggressive dog ran at him and as he attempted to fight off the wild beast, he noticed a man chopping wood with an axe. 'He looked and he dropped that axe and obviously picked something else up and came running towards me,' Mr Bowles said. 'He pointed the shotgun at me and said: ''Who are you?'' The multi-record adventurer tried to explain that he was passing through the area for charity but the stranger wouldn't accept his story. 'He rammed that shotgun into my mouth and said: ''Who are you, what are you doing here?'',' Mr Bowles said. 'I said: ''I'm doing it for charity, perhaps you'd like to donate?''' Mr Bowles (pictured) was trekking along the Bicentennial National Trail for charity in 2012 He was about three quarters of the way through his journey when he stumbled across a stranger near the Queensland and NSW border who threatened to blow his head off. Mr Bowles is pictured running in the desert 'Well clearly not, because that's when he said: ''I'm going to blow your f***ing brains out''.' Unable to yell for help, Mr Bowles happened to notice an orchard tree growing behind the shack and tried to use it to his advantage. He told the stranger: 'Hey man, I like your fruit tree.' The man took the gun out of Mr Bowles' mouth and said: 'You know what pal, I've been trying to grow those mandarins for a while. Would you like to try one?' Mr Bowles said the man went on to speak about growing the fruit before he was sent on his way. When Mr Bowles left, the man shouted: 'Anyway, it's not me you need to be scared of, it's my neighbour.' Mr Bowles, an educator who focuses on subject areas change, resilience and high-performance, puts himself in extreme experiences as a 'giant life experiment' to explore success in chaos Looking back to the incident, the adventurer said he simply 'moved on' with his run. 'I spent a lot of time alone [on the run]... A lot of crazy situations where I had to figure out my s**t or I'm going to die,' he said. 'By that point [the gun incident], I was probably more prepared for that situation.' Mr Bowles, an educator who focuses on subject areas change, resilience and high-performance, puts himself in extreme experiences as a 'giant life experiment' to explore success in chaos. While a crisis situation can not be predicted, Mr Bowles said he is often well-equipped to deal with what is thrown at him by being able to control his emotions. 'As much as I can't predict what's going to happen, I can predict how I'm going to feel when I go through an adventure,' he said. Mr Bowles is pictured with a serious foot infection in Jerusalem 'There are always going to be times when I'm scared, times where I doubt myself, when I'm in fear, when I lack motivation, the list goes on. 'What I do actually, is I mentally prepare for those things. 'If I get my emotions under control in those situations then I don't make a rushed decision or run away... I'm able to step forward.' Mr Bowles said once an individual is able to look after their emotions in the face of a crisis, they 'gain the control'. 'When you have control of your emotions, it gives you mass amounts of clarity to a situation which otherwise would be clouded by your own emotions,' he said. Originally from England, Mr Bowles transforms his real-life experiences and accomplishments into business success. ABINGDON, Va. Abingdon Town Council decided to drop the Meade Meadows project during its work session last week. That project would have upgraded a rest stop on the Virginia Creeper Trail and installed 10 parking spaces in the Winterham and Glenrochie Country Club neighborhoods. But the project drew a lot of opposition at a public meeting earlier this month at the Glenrochie Clubhouse, with residents saying parking spaces would affect property values and increase traffic in the neighborhood. Everyone was of the same opinion, said John Dew, the towns director of public services. Now, given the overwhelming opposition, Dew recommended that the project be scrapped. Still, Town Manager Jimmy Morani noted that the town is installing public restrooms along the Virginia Creeper Trail at Watauga not too far from the Meade Meadows site. Also concerning the Virginia Creeper Trail, the council heard news from Dew about a future project to widen U.S. Highway 58. That plan would use 1.09 acres in a maintenance easement on the trail at Drowning Ford with the construction of two bridges to widen U.S. 58 from two lanes to four lanes with a new alignment near Damascus, Dew said. Construction would likely not start until 2021, Dew said, and would include building bridges about 65 feet above the trail. In other business, council members discussed flooding on East Main Street within the past couple of weeks. This is not a new issue, Dew said. It certainly has an impact on Main Street/Route 11 traffic. Morani said the town needs to study the flooding issue with the help of a hydrologist. But, he joked that the town could also simply use a giant sponge. A federal court on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration could withhold grants to New York City, as well as seven states, due to their refusal to cooperate with the federal immigration enforcement efforts. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the federal government could withhold funds from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island, over the states sanctuary laws. The states currently contain a number of cities, including New York City, with laws preventing local authorities from notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when an illegal immigrant is about to be released from jail. The seven states and New York City sued the Trump administration in 2017 after federal immigration authorities demanded access to jails and the creation of a system to notify agents of the impending release of an illegal immigrant. The 2nd Circuit courts decision reverses lower court rulings in favor of the states. So-called sanctuary policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes, then-attorney general Jeff Sessions said in 2017 when the suit was filed. Earlier this month current Attorney General William Barr announced the Justice Department would initiate a series of lawsuits against localities with sanctuary laws. Let us state the reality upfront and as clearly as possible, Barr said at an event in Washington, D.C. When we are talking about sanctuary cities, we are talking about policies that are designed to allow criminal aliens to escape. These policies are not about people who came to our country illegally but have otherwise been peaceful and productive members of society. Their express purpose is to shelter aliens whom local law enforcement has already arrested for other crimes. This is neither lawful nor sensible. More from National Review Neighbors say they were blindsided by Riverfront parking restrictions KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- New parking restrictions in Berkley Riverfront Park have upset those who live nearby. Tenants at the Union Berkley Apartments fear they now may face a big unexpected expense and hassle. For more than a year, tenants who moved into this new riverfront housing complex have enjoyed plenty of free parking. To be fair, the hipsters and people living in vans not so far away often endure the same kind of scrutiny . . . Checkit: Arlene Foster has urged Boris Johnson to make compensating victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism a priority for his government. The DUP leader was speaking after a meeting at Stormont with William Shawcross, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office special representative on the matter. She told him that victims wanted action from the Government and not just sympathy. Mrs Foster said that the Treasury had collected 17m in taxes from 12bn of Libyan assets linked to Colonel Gaddafi. The funds, which are frozen in the UK, must be used to help victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA attacks, she said. "The people who lost their lives did not deserve to die or be injured and their loved ones certainly do not deserve the subsequent inaction by successive governments," Mrs Foster added. "This pot of taxes is a source of revenue from which compensation could be drawn while attempts are made to progress a proper compensation scheme with Libya. "During the Troubles, Gaddafi armed the IRA with Semtex. He supplied weapons that undoubtedly contributed to the lengthening of the terrorist campaign." Victims of the IRA Docklands bombing have been told to launch individual claims themselves rather than rely on the government , despite the US, France and Germany having secured compensation for their affected citizens. The First Minister said the Government inaction was unacceptable. "While justice has been denied to British victims, US victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism have already been compensated, under the US-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement of 2008. "In 2004, Libya agreed to pay $1m compensation to the families of each of the 170 people killed in the bombing of UTA flight 772 in 1989. The German government secured $35 million for those killed in the 1986 bombing of the La Belle discotheque in Berlin," she said. "Yet no such deal has been reached for British victims following the failures of the Blair government to pursue our case properly. UK victims have been let down." Mrs Foster described the appointment of Mr Shawcross last year as "a great step forward for victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism and something that the DUP had been pressing the Government to move forward with". She added: "I was delighted to welcome William to Stormont for a detailed discussion about the nature of Libyan-sponsored terrorism and the ethical and moral imperative that the Government stands up for innocent victims throughout the UK. "William's work is really focused at the moment on establishing who was impacted, but he is in a race against time because so many victims are getting older. I will be continuing to press the Government to make this a priority and deliver more than warm words for victims. "Progress towards a proper outcome for innocent people, such as those killed or injured in the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bomb, would be a truly lasting legacy." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 20:02:45|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SYDNEY, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following a violent breakout earlier in the week, 72 prisoners remained on the run in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Wednesday, almost all of whom were remand detainees awaiting trial. The prisoners broke out of Baisu Jail in PNG's Western Highlands province at around midday local time on Monday, lifting up a fence and attacking two guards before fleeing. Correctional Service Commissioner Stephen Pokanis told Xinhua on Wednesday that eight detainees were shot and killed during the escape, around 28 were recaptured, and 72 remained at large. Pokanis said that the detainees armed themselves with stones, sharp metals, and pieces of wood which they used to threaten officers. An additional eight prisoners were shot and injured during the incident and were transferred to the nearby Mount Hagen Hospital for treatment. Pokanis said that on Monday evening, several of the wounded detainee's family members stormed the hospital armed with weapons and removed them from custody. "Police officers were taking relief when this force-full escape took place," Pokanis said. "Health officers could not do anything out of fear thus allowing the relatives to take the detainees out." The fact that almost all of those involved in the escape were remand detainees, many of whom had spent up to four years awaiting trial, was considered to be a major factor behind the event. "While there would be other factors contributing to such a very high number of remand detainees escaping from lawful custody, there is a very, very strong case pointing to the delay by the National Court in Mount Hagen to dispense the cases of each detainee," Pokanis said. He added that it was known that the prisoners were becoming agitated and angry with the National Court for the delay. "The issue is more complex within the justice system than we can imagine. There are other factors too, contributing to delay in processing and completing the cases of each detainee on time such as less judges, limited court reports, etc, that may not assist the Judges to make right decisions," Pokanis said. Additional police have been brought to the facility. A Russian channel is broadcasting the names of more than 12 million Soviet soldiers killed during World War II, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in May. The unprecedented move by the state-controlled Rossiya 24 channel reflects the Kremlin's efforts to use the conflict to stir national pride. The initiative was launched on "Defender of the Fatherland Day" -- February 23 -- and is timed to end May 8. The next day is Victory Day in Russia when tanks roll and infantry march through Red Square to mark the end of the war in Europe. Russia is set to hold large-scale celebrations this year, 75 years after the Allied victory over the Nazis. The USSR suffered particularly heavy losses of some 27 million people, according to official figures. Rossiya 24 said its aim was to commemorate Soviet heroes "regardless of rank". It said the project would "create a factual basis to counter attempts to falsify the history of the war". Russia has frequently accused Western countries of downplaying its contribution to defeating the Nazis despite the huge Soviet losses. Tensions with some countries have risen ahead of the May 9 anniversary, in particular with Poland, which President Vladimir Putin recently accused of collaborating with Hitler. Warsaw has in turn accused Moscow of "renewing Stalinist propaganda". The names of 12,677,857 soldiers killed and missing from the war are being aired on Rossiya 24 around the clock in black and orange, colours associated with the Russian military. The names are listed on the right hand side of the screen, scrolling from top to bottom under the heading "Remember Each One," with 6,070 appearing per hour. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More people survived one of the worlds largest volcanic eruptions than previously thought, new research suggests. The super-eruption 74,000 years ago on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, was 5,000 times bigger than the Mount St Helens eruption in 1980 that killed 57 people and was the most destructive in US history. There had been a theory that the eruption of Toba in Indonesia was followed by a volcanic winter of up to 10 years, leading to a 1,000-year cooling of the Earth, with the near-extinction of our own species. But archaeologists have found man-made tools dating from before and after the super-eruption, suggesting it was not as apocalyptic as first believed. Archaeologists have found man-made tools dating from before and after the super-eruption (PA) Tobas eruption was believed to have decimated Asian populations of mammals and hominins members of the human family tree more closely related to one another than to apes. Of those, only Homo sapiens, to which everyone on Earth belongs, remains today. Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Show all 44 1 /44 Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes as a column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano as it erupts in Tagaytay, Philippines Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Local authorities have begun evacuating residents near Taal Volcano as it began spewing ash up to a kilometer high Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos People take photos of a phreatic explosion from the Taal volcano as seen from the town of Tagaytay in Cavite province, southwest of Manila AFP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Billows of smoke with lightning is seen from the eruption Pacific Press via Zuma Wire/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents stand lakeside as the volcano erupts behind them Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A family rides their motorcycle through clouds of ash as they evacuate to safer grounds AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning streak over Batangas Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos The tiny volcano near the Philippine capital draws many tourists for its picturesque setting, however as it belched steam, ash and rocks in a huge plume thousands were forced to flee and officials to temporarily suspend flights AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Ashfall after the eruption of the Taal volcano Jerome Austria Abuan via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Villagers evacuate EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning flashes as Taal Volcano erupts The Philippine Institute of of Volcanology and Seismology has raised the alert level to four out of five, warning that a hazardous eruption could take place anytime AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A dog left in a garage covered with ashes barks nearby the erupting Taal Volcano Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A volcanic lightning caused by eruption @DERRICKQUIBAEL via REUTERS Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Ash from the Taal volcano in the air, with a church in the foreground Renz Lejarso Guevara/AFP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents stand lakeside as the volcano erupts behind them Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents walk along a road covered in ash mixed with rainwater Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Villagers take shelter inside a church during the eruption EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A volcanic lightning caused by eruption @DERRICKQUIBAEL via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A policeman walks past a police vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A fishing boat sails along a lake as Taal Volcano erupts Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos An ash column from erupting Taal Volcano looms over Tagaytay city EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A resident splashes water on a vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano spews ash and smoke AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A person on a canoe while the volcano spews ash AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents walk along a road covered in ash mixed with rainwater Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts JPL YEN via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A worker hoses down plants covered with mud and ash AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents evacuate Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal Volcano erupts with a massive plume of ash and steam Xinhua/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents fleeing wait for a ride on the side of a highway Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos People travel along a road covered in ash EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A massive plume of ash and steam erupts AP The few surviving Homo sapiens in Africa had been thought to have survived by developing sophisticated social, symbolic and economic strategies that enabled them to eventually re-expand and populate Asia 60,000 years ago. The new study, published in Nature Communications, also suggests Homo sapiens were present in Asia earlier than expected. Scientists looked at records of rocks up to 80,000 years old at Dhaba in the Son Valley in northern India. Recommended Man survives a week lost on mountain by eating bees Stone tools uncovered in the rocks indicate that Middle Palaeolithic tool-using populations were there before and after 74,000 years ago. The researchers say their findings also support fossil evidence that humans migrated out of Africa and expanded across Eurasia before 60,000 years ago. And the evidence supports genetic findings that humans interbred with archaic species of hominins, such as Neanderthals. Lead author Chris Clarkson, of the University of Queensland, said: Populations at Dhaba were using stone tools that were similar to the toolkits being used by Homo sapiens in Africa at the same time. The fact that these toolkits did not disappear at the time of the Toba super-eruption or change dramatically soon after indicates that human populations survived the so-called catastrophe and continued to create tools to modify their environments. Jagannath Pal, principal investigator from the University of Allahabad in India, said: Although Toba ash was first identified in the Son Valley back in the 1980s, until now we did not have associated archaeological evidence, so the Dhaba site fills in a major chronological gap. Additional reporting by PA Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 02:00:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is committed to the course of negotiations sponsored by the United States and the World Bank regarding on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) despite Ethiopia's announced non-participation, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "Egypt's two ministers of foreign affairs and water resources and irrigation will take part in the ministerial meeting invited by the U.S. administration," said Egypt's Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Hafez in a statement. Hafez said that his remarks came in reply to a reporter's question about the recently announced non-participation of the Ethiopian side. A ministerial meeting between the water and foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan is scheduled to be held in Washington on Feb. 27-28 to crystalize a final agreement on the rules of filling and operating the GERD built by Ethiopia on their shared Nile River. The Ethiopian ministry of water, irrigation and energy said on Wednesday that Ethiopia will not take part in the dam talks in Washington "due to unfinished consultation with national stakeholders," according to state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). "Ethiopia's negotiation team will not come to the table without coherent consultations as it has not yet completed discussion with domestic experts and stakeholders," ENA quoted the Ethiopian ministry as saying. The Egyptian foreign ministry said Egypt will still participate in the ministerial meeting "in appreciation of the constructive role played by the U.S. administration over the past few months to help the three countries reach a desired agreement." Hailemariam Desalegn, the special envoy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has recently visited Egypt and Sudan and held talks with their leaders over the dam issue but nothing was announced about Ethiopian non-participation. 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 was expected to be concluded in late February. Filling the reservoir, whose total capacity is 74 billion cubic meters, may take several years. Egypt seeks to prolong the period to avoid the negative effects of water shortage, which is a main point of their talks. The GERD is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa's largest hydropower dam upon completion. New Delhi, Feb 26 : National Human Rights Commission Chairman and former Chief Justice of India, H.L. Dattu, on Wednesday said the spurt of violence in the capital, which left over 20 people dead and nearly 200 injured, could not be referred as communal, but was an "aberration". But, facts at ground zero suggest the contrary. The clashes first broke out on Sunday between opponents and supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act, and acquired communal overtones, with members of two communities involved in extremely violent activities including arson and destruction of public property. Several photographs, videos and personal accounts on social media paint a chilling picture of violent events which unfolded in the past few days - where groups of men were seen beating unarmed men, including journalists, and destroying property and groups of men with sticks, iron rods and stones wandered undeterred on the streets. The clashes depicted a grim picture of a communal face-off. Two security personnel - a Delhi Police head constable and an IB operative - have also been killed in the violence that has swept in many areas in northeast Delhi in the past four days. Yet, the former Chief Justice said this is an aberration. Dattu, who was in Bengaluru to attend an event, had said the spate of violence could not be cited as a movement where people hate each other, adding that these "small aberrations are an integral part of a democratic country". He opined that violence is not the answer, if people were to have opposing opinions, they should sit together and peacefully sort their issues. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed anguish at the violence which consumed the lives of many people. "What happened is very unfortunate and it should not have happened....we do not to expand the ambit of Shaheen Bagh case and people can seek remedy by filing a separate petition on the matter," said a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet on Wednesday, also appealed for peace, adding that he had reviewed the situation and police have been working to restore normalcy in the disturbed areas. The Delhi High Court has also taken a serious note of violence in the capital and remarked that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should go for confidence building among people. Hearing petitions on the violence, it made a strong observation stating that it cannot let "another 1984" happen on its "watch", referring to anti-Sikh riots of 1984, when more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the capital. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, again visited the violence-hit areas for the second time in 24 hours, before going to meet Home Minister Amit Shah. My manic, psychotic break from the rest of the worlds notion of reality was clinical and terrifying, but it started out soulful and electrifying. For a brief moment before the hallucinations, delusions, restraints, seclusion and hospitalization that ensued, an intense calm washed over me. Standing on my Atlanta balcony watching the sun rise over Stone Mountain, I felt a deep connection to every atom back to Adam and before, and to the divine spirit within each one of those atoms. However clumsily, I had stumbled into the land of mystics, the land of my father, the land of Rumi. At long last, I was beginning to understand this poetry that had spoken to my father since he was a child in Shiraz. For what modern medicine lacked by way of explanation, Rumi provided through my fathers voice, visiting me on the locked psychiatric unit of the same hospital where he had performed thousands of surgeries and delivered hundreds of babies: In love with insanity, Im fed up with wisdom and rationality. While Rumi considers insanity a mark of divine favor, he distinguishes between types. The madness he promotes is rooted in ecstatic love; the one he condemns, in petty fear. The former creates a mystic, the latter a lunatic. When I first began studying Rumi with my father in late 2014, years after that psychiatric hospitalization, properly diagnosed and medicated for bipolar disorder and in recovery, I never expected that within a few short years my extended family in Iran would be barred from visiting us in the United States. Nor did I ever expect that our country would become so deeply divided. But here we are, more isolated than ever, and as an Iranian-American Muslim feminist living with a mental health condition, I feel the weight of this isolation every day. Heavy with fears warped wisdom and rationality, crazier than anything mania ever induced in me, this weight is a reminder that clinical psychosis, even absent any mystical tendency, seems sensible compared with our current political reality. Thankfully, as a student of my father and Rumi, I have learned how to counter the toll of this weight. In Rumis words: Become the sky and the clouds that create the rain, not the gutter that carries it to the drain. Of course its easier to be the gutter than the sky, to imitate rather than to create, but imitation builds cults, not communities. It may seem counterintuitive, but true community demands originality, not conformity. I know this firsthand, because every time I write something new it helps me feel less alone, reminding me that we are all inextricably linked to and through a sacred spark within each of us. It seems so obvious, but its also painfully easy to forget how deeply connected we are. More than any other factor, its ego that makes us forget, filling us with a sense of superiority. This false feeling of being somehow better than our fellow human beings allows us to forget the common source of our humanity and thus to disconnect from the divinity within ourselves and one another. This is why, for Rumi, ego is not only the worst of our natural and inescapable human afflictions but also the root of them all. His solution? The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah with immediate effect over violence in Delhi. "After reviewing the situation, the CWC is of the firm opinion that what has happened in Delhi is a colossal failure of duty for which the entire responsibility must be borne by the Central Government and particularly the Home Minister and we call upon the Home Minister to tender his resignation immediately," read CWC resolution. "The Chief Minister and the Delhi Government are equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. It is the collective failure of the two governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city which threatens to become worse by the day," it added. It stated that the tragic events since last Sunday have a "history, design and a pattern." "It was evident even during the Delhi elections. Several leaders of the BJP made inflammatory statements clearly intended to create an atmosphere of fear and hate. The last of these statements was made on Sunday, when a BJP leader gave an ultimatum of three days to the Delhi police and warned that 'after three days don't tell us anything'," read the resolution. It went on to say that the Delhi Police has remained "paralysed in the last 72 hours - 18 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries." "Violence continues unabated on the streets of North East Delhi. The CWC expresses its deep regret and offers its sincere condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and earnestly wishes that the injured persons will recover swiftly and be restored to good health," the CWC resolution read. It said that the situation is "grave and requires urgent action." "Adequate security forces must be deployed immediately to bring the situation under control. Peace committees must be formed in every mohalla consisting of members of all communities to ensure that there are no untoward incidents. Senior civil servants must be deployed in each district to take charge of the administration to ensure that the administrative machinery responds to the evolving situation," CWC resolution stated. "The CWC appeals to the people of Delhi to reject the of hate and do their best in healing the rifts caused by these shameful events, to help rebuild all that has been lost and to ensure that such events do not take place ever again," CWC stated. It also called upon all Congress workers and leaders to visit the affected areas, to extend all possible support to the families of those who have suffered as a consequence of the violence and to help build bridges between communities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NEW YORK - The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to co-operate with U.S. immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island. The states and city sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Before the change, cities and states seeking grant money were required only to show they were not preventing local law enforcement from communicating with federal authorities about the immigration status of people who were detained. At the time, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said: So-called sanctuary policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes. In 2018, the Justice Department imposed additional conditions on the grant money, though challenges to those have not yet reached the appeals court in New York. The 2nd Circuit said the plain language of relevant laws make clear that the U.S. attorney general can impose conditions on states and municipalities receiving money. And it noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly observed that the federal government maintains broad power over states when it comes to immigration policies. In the past two years, federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions. While mindful of the respect owed to our sister circuits, we cannot agree that the federal government must be enjoined from imposing the challenged conditions on the federal grants here at issue, the 2nd Circuit three-judge panel said in a decision written by Judge Reena Raggi. These conditions help the federal government enforce national immigration laws and policies supported by successive Democratic and Republican administrations. But more to the authorization point, they ensure that applicants satisfy particular statutory grant requirements imposed by Congress and subject to Attorney General oversight, the appeals court said. The Justice Department praised the decision, issuing a statement calling it a major victory for Americans and saying it recognizes that the attorney general has authority to ensure that grant recipients are not thwarting federal law enforcement priorities. The department added that the rulings effect will be limited because other courts have ruled the other way, giving the plaintiffs in the New York case the opportunity to point to those as reasons to ignore the new conditions. Cody Wofsy, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, called the decision a real outlier, saying he believed the 2nd Circuit was the nations first court to side with the Trump administration on the issue. Over and over, courts have said the Department of Justice doesnt have authority under governing statutes to impose these conditions, he said. These conditions are part of the administrations attempts to bully, cajole and coerce state and local governments into participating in federal immigration enforcement activities. Under the Constitutions federalism principles and the 10th Amendment, Wofsy said, states and municipalities are entitled to decline to become part of the administrations deportation force. In a statement, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Trumps latest retaliation against his hometown takes away security funding from the number one terrorist target in America all because we refuse to play by his arbitrary rules. He added: Well see President Trump back in court and we will win. Bitta Mostofi, commissioner of the citys Office of Immigrant Affairs, said in a statement that the ruling was deeply troubling. New York City stands with our immigrant brothers and sisters and that will never change, Mostofi said. The appeals rulings pertain to the issuance of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. Created in 2006, it is the vehicle through which Congress annually dispenses over $250 million in federal funding for state and local criminal justice efforts. The Byrne Program was named for New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne, who at age 22 was shot to death while guarding the home of a Guyanese immigrant co-operating with authorities investigating drug trafficking. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus a "global health emergency". The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) has been closely monitoring the development of the outbreak in Asia in consideration of the Annual IFALPA Conference to be held in Singapore at the beginning of April. The IFALPA Executive Board has thoroughly assessed the situation, considering the latest information from the WHO, the Ministry of Health Singapore (MOH), and several other sources. In consultation with ALPA-Singapore, we have made the decision to abstain from holding this year's IFALPA Annual Conference in Singapore as earlier planned, out of caution for our Conference participants. Instead, in 2020, IFALPA will hold a Special Conference in Amsterdam, which will be shortened to two days, concentrating Conference business on the constitutional requirements, pending decisions, and elections. The IFALPA Annual Conference in Singapore will now be held in 2022. IFALPA extends sincere appreciation and thanks to ALPA-Singapore and the Singapore authorities for their strong support in planning the Conference. We are confident that the aviation industry will overcome the challenges from COVID-19 and look forward to Singapore hosting the global community of pilot associations leadership in 2022. For information please contact Emily Bitting, IFALPA Senior Communications Specialist, emilybitting@ifalpa.org, +1 514 419 1191 ext. 228 Note to Editors: The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations represents more than 100,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries around the globe. The mission of IFALPA is to promote the highest level of aviation safety worldwide and to be the global advocate of the piloting profession; providing representation, services and support to both our members 2020The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations. This publication is for information purposes only. This publication may not be offered for sale or used commercially. All reprints must credit IFALPA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005701/en/ Contacts: Emily Bitting, IFALPA Senior Communications Specialist emilybitting@ifalpa.org +1 514 419 1191 ext. 228 This is not for the first time has US president Donald Trump has delivered a mixed message on Kashmir. In many ways, Donald Trumps maiden visit to India as the US president has been a fascinating experience. On the one hand, it showed the extent to which personal bond and public diplomacy can be used as tools to reinforce bilateral ties, on the other, it showed the limits of such manoeuvres when it comes to delivering concrete agreements. The US president was clearly bowled over by the reception that he got in India. He frequently burst into flowing rhetoric (unusual for him) and piled on the adjectives while describing the relationship with his great friend Narendra Modi. A head of state for whom personal is political, the over-the-top pomp and ostentation accorded by India to him was not just a validation of Trumps obvious greatness, but also the starting point for a much deeper engagement between two nations. Indication of this personal blending into political came out when Trump spoke at the packed and lusty Motera Stadium on Tuesday, telling the prime minister You have done a great honor to the American people. Melania and my family, we will always remember this remarkable hospitality. We will remember it forever. From this day on, India will always hold a very special place in our hearts. And later on, at the dinner table of the banquet hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday, a visibly moved Trump declared in his impromptu speech that he loves India and both nations are better friends now than we ever were in the history of our countries. He also promised to be back, hopefully many more times. If that shows the effectiveness of Indias decision to massage Trumps ego with a bigly spectacle for a closer engagement with the US, worth noting that it is one part of the story. Amid all the conviviality, the hard-nosed businessman that refuses to be taken in by flattery did surface when Trump referred to high tariffs that he claimed India still has in place, and how that must go for any trade deal to take place. We are being charged large amounts of tariffs. They cannot do that, Trump said during an unscheduled news conference, repeating his charge that India is probably the highest tariff nation and mentioning again his pet peeve Harley-Davidson has to pay tremendous tariffs when they send motorcycles here and when India sends to us, there is virtually no tariff. Thats unfair and we are working it out. This contrast between Trump the showman who is vulnerable to flattery and Trump the businessman who drives a hard bargain remained the consistent motif through the visit. Beyond that, however, five quick takeaways are immediately apparent. 1. Mixed messaging on mediation, Pakistan Not for the first time has Trump delivered a mixed message on Kashmir. He has previously offered to mediate, only to subsequently back down and utter that both India and Pakistan are capable enough to sort out their differences. The template was repeated again during the unscheduled presser on Wednesday when Trump first dropped the M bomb, claiming that he has a very good relationship with Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and that he will do whatever possible to help. Anything I can do to mediate. Within minutes, he contradicted himself. Within minutes, when he was asked in Kashmir mediation: I didn't say anything about that (being mediator). Kashmir obviously is a big problem between India and Pakistan, they are going to work out their problem. They have been doing it for a long time. Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) February 25, 2020 The inconsistency is likely manifestation of an inside battle within Trump. While he wants to cement his legacy as the mediator who can manifestly solve an unsolvable issue in line with his self-projected image of a man who succeeds where others fail Trumps enthusiasm frequently bruises itself against the hard realities of realpolitik. On Pakistan, the message was only slightly more consistent. Trump had mentioned his good relationship with Pakistan on Tuesday at the Motera, claiming that due to his efforts, we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan. And we are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability, and the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia. On Wednesday during the joint briefing after delegation-level talks, however, Trump appeared a little more circumspect. He picked up Pakistans reference when Modi, the previous speaker, didnt. And he made a clear reference to radical Islamic terrorism and Pakistans role in it. In our discussions, Prime Minister Modi and I affirmed our two countries commitment to protecting our citizens from radical Islamic terrorism. In this effort, the United States is also working productively with Pakistan to confront terrorists who operate on its soil. 2. Dont expect the US to sort out your terrorism issues Trump declared that no one has done more to counter radical Islamic terrorism than him, but he drew a line on Pakistan sponsored cross-border terrorism and gave a clear indication that while the US will cooperate with India on the menace, it expects India to fight its own fight. Trump on terror in Pakistan : US is 8000 miles away from Pakistan, so others should do something about it. We've killed thousands of ISIS soldiers Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) February 25, 2020 This is in line with Trumps stated position that the US is tired of playing the global cop and expects regional powers to solve their own problems instead of outsourcing it to Washington. This obviously has repercussions on how the US-led global order is perceived, but Trump has never shown enthusiasm for the long strategic game. 3. Divergence on threat perception posed by China While Trump never mentioned China by name, it remains the biggest driver of a closer strategic embrace between the US and India that Prime Minister Modi called the 21st centurys most important partnership. It is one of the chief reasons why Trump flew from halfway across the globe, and the POTUS made at least two oblique references to the challenge posed by the emerging superpower to the post-Cold War world order. During the joint briefing, it was Trump again who picked up the reference to the Quad, the Indo-Pacific initiative between the democracies of India, US, Japan and Australia the very mention of which makes China hot under the collar. Together, the Prime Minister and I are revitalizing the Quad Initiative with the United States, India, Australia, and Japan. Since I took office, we have held the first Quad ministerial meeting -- I guess you would call it a meeting, but it seems like so much more than that -- and expanded cooperation on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and maritime security to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. The optics of US president referring to the Quad from such a high-profile public platform in India wont be lost on the Chinese who already seem edgy about the ongoing visit. The symbolic mention assumes a strategic impact given the platform and the context. Trumps next set of comments on the 5G network and Blue Dot initiative during the joint briefing makes it clear that China remains at the front and centre of India-US strategic partnership. It is also equally evident that both nations have divergence on the threat perception posed by China. During our visit, we discussed the importance of a secure 5G wireless network and the need for this emerging technology to be a tool for freedom, progress, prosperity -- not to do anything where it could be even conceived as a conduit for suppression and censorship, said Trump. His comments go at the heart of the issue between 5G network and Huawei, the Chinese network giant that the US accuses of snooping and acting as the conduit of the Chinese government. India has allowed Huawei to participate in trials and the Trump administration would ideally like New Delhi to shun it as a service provider. The interplay between the US and India on this issue was interesting. Trump reiterated that the infrastructure of the future is built in a safe, transparent, and accountable manner and mentioned the Blue Dot Network, a major initiative to ensure countries around the world to have access to private sector-led, sustainable, and trustworthy options for high-quality infrastructure development in this context. India, however, refrained from mentioning the Quad and sounded extremely cautious on the Blue Dot initiative when Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was asked about it at the presser. He merely said that India needs more time to deliberate on it. The hedging strategy is clear. 4. Trade deal remains the albatross around the neck The elusive trade deal remains the albatross around the neck of both the US and India. Trump and Modi both raised the issue, and both mentioned that a big, comprehensive trade deal is around the corner. The language used by both leaders was worth noting, however. As the partner which suffers a trade deficit, Trump was expected to pick up the topic and he did. He called Indias high tariffs unacceptable, and vowed that he will make sure India brings those down and does a reciprocal deal. Interestingly, as the partner that enjoys a trade surplus with the US, Modi also referred to as fair and balanced trade. India and the United States are committed to openness and fair and balanced trade in the economic sector. Over the last three years, our bilateral trade has witnessed double-digit growth and it has also become more balanced, he said at the joint briefing. It would seem that while a concrete agreement remained elusive India was careful in its messaging on trade, perhaps Trumps obsession with numbers. Both sides predictably played up the $3 billion defence deals for Apache and Romeo choppers and a Letter of Cooperation between Indian Oil Corporation and ExxonMobil India for a deal in the energy sector. 5. Trump didnt take the CAA, Delhi riots baits The opening remarks of the US president during the unscheduled press conference indicated the distrust that he has towards the media. Trump said that even one little comment may blow up a wonderful visit and locked horns with a CNN correspondent during the presser. It was evident that he was determined not to say anything even remotely controversial and he doggedly (and uncharacteristically) stuck to the script. He stonewalled questions on CAA, mentioning that though the subject of religious freedom came up during a long conversation with Modi on this subject, he was more than satisfied with the prime ministers response and believes that Modi is working hard to ensure that 200 million Indian Muslims or Christians in India have religious freedom. On the Delhi riots, Trump had just one line to say: The subject never came up for discussion and its up to India. Quite clearly, the bond between Modi and Trump extends beyond coherence on political views to distrust of the media. Trump showed once again that while the US-led western media remains critical of Modi, the US executive is firmly on his side. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden were crowned the winners of the Democratic debate in Charleston by a poll taken of party-voting viewers. The CBS News poll said he had made 'the best case to beat Donald Trump,' with 26 per cent naming him compared to to 21 per cent for Joe Biden. The poll - and a similar online poll by The Drudge Report - suggested Sanders, who is now favorite to become the party's candidate, kept the momentum up as he was attacked on all fronts by the six other presidential hopefuls on Tuesday night in Charleston before voters cast their ballots in the South Carolina primary. Several pundits said Sanders, although hit with hard questions about his record on gun control, why he praised authoritarian socialist regimes and how he would pay for his expensive policies, was able to maintain a lead. Biden was also praised for bouncing back, as he put his stakes on winning the African-American vote in diverse South Carolina. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have been hailed as the winners of the Democratic debate in Charleston, while Elizabeth Warren and the night's moderators were deemed the losers Popularity contests: Bernie Sanders secured victory by three different measures, with Mike Bloomberg in second place each time Both men came top of the most tweeted about list, with social media engagement now seen as a crucial way of measuring impact on voters. And despite a previous fiery performance in Charleston from Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator didn't do enough to put her on top, although she went after Mike Bloomberg over his NDAs with employees, accusing him of telling a staffer to 'kill it' when she told the former New York City mayor she was pregnant. Also earning the loser status were the CBS moderators, including Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King, who struggled to rein in the candidates from shouting over one another and ignoring time limits. O'Donnell even tried to end the debate prematurely, forgetting they would come back after a commercial break. BERNIE SANDERS: TOOK A BASH BUT WASN'T ENOUGH TO TAKE HIM OUT (WINNER) Sanders took lots of the blows but also held his own when he got into shouting matches. When asked by a CBS moderator how he planned play for his plans, he responded coolly, 'How many hours do you have?' CNN's political analyst Chris Cillizza said that if nothing changed during the debate, Sanders will 'emerge on March 4 with a very clear delegate lead', adding that 'nothing fundamental changed tonight'. Politico's David Siders added: 'Sanders may have had the best night, functionally, since nobody hit him in a way that is likely to damage him. 'If Sanders had been bruised or Biden faltered, the trajectory of the race might have changed. Instead, Sanders and Biden head into the South Carolina primary largely where they were before, with the rest of the field falling in behind them.' Vox said it would state the obvious and declare Sanders as the frontrunner, pointing out Sanders' double-digit lead in national polling. Reporter Dylan Matthews added: 'So to win on Tuesday night, Sanders just needed to hold his own. And he did. Despite candidates lobbing both familiar (abolishing private insurance, past anti-gun control votes) and new (praising left-leaning dictators' social programs) attacks on him, Sanders didn't lose his cool, and his opponents were never able to really dig into him.' JOE BIDEN: BOUNCED BACK (WINNER) Joe Biden, who said he intends to win in South Carolina, blasted Sanders for voting against the Brady bill gun control measure, and referenced the Charleston church shootings Although Biden only placed fourth in Drudge's report, earning 11.4 percent of the votes, many pundits are also hailing him as a winner. Biden has called South Carolina his 'firewall,' even before his dismal finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire - putting all his hope on the diverse state. And on Tuesday, Biden emphasized his affinity for issues dear to black voters and reminded them of his decades-long advocacy. Overall, Biden's performance was steady when he most needed it and he expressed some confidence. The Washington Post noted that Biden is currently 'the leading candidate in South Carolina' but did touch on his complaining about not getting enough time during the debate. 'Best debate performance yet from @JoeBiden he's best when his back is against the wall,' wrote Jennifer Palmieri, former spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. MIKE BLOOMBERG: COULDN'T BOUNCE BACK (LOSER) The good news for Bloomberg is this debate didn't go as badly as Las Vegas. The bad news is no one is grading on the curve. He ceded prime target status to Sanders, but took his share of criticism. He still got scratched and occasionally came off as brittle. Warren continued to be his nemesis, slamming him for funding Republican senators and for accusations that women at his company were mistreated. She brought up an allegation that Bloomberg had told a pregnant woman in his employ to 'kill it' - which Bloomberg heatedly denied. Later, he tried to make a joke about how everyone else onstage should have been scared to show up 'after I did such a good job of beating them last week,' which fell flat. CNN pundit Chris Cilizza offered a different version, suggesting it was Pete Buttigieg who was the best performer Warren had to make a difficult straddle at the debate - she wanted to spotlight her liberal positions to pry voters from front-runner Sanders, but she also had to make a pitch for why they should back her rather than him ELIZABETH WARREN: SENATOR TARGETED SANDERS AND BLOOMBERG (LOSER) Warren had to make a difficult straddle at the debate - she wanted to spotlight her liberal positions to pry voters from Sanders, but she also had to make a pitch for why they should back her rather than him. She has been hesitant to fully voice her criticism of Sanders but leaned into it Tuesday night. 'Bernie's winning right now because the Democratic Party is a progressive party and progressive ideas are popular ideas,' she said. Vox wrote: 'With the exception of a few minutes at the start of the debate, Warren failed to draw a distinction from Sanders. 'She attempted to make the point that she was just like Bernie, only better, because she could actually make her policies become reality. But she didnt hammer home this argument or make it strenuously enough that it created a lasting effect.' Warren also reprised her attacks on Bloomberg, which might not help her win votes, but clearly helps her raise money. The debate featured chaotic exchanges where multiple candidates sought to talk over each other, with CBS moderators Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King losing all control of the discussion THE MODERATORS: COULDN'T CONTROL THE CANDIDATES (LOSER) The debate featured chaotic exchanges where multiple candidates sought to talk over each other, with CBS moderators Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate, either failing to referee or being completely ignored by the over-eager candidates. CNN's Van Jones tweeted: 'Wayyyy too much time was wasted at tonight's #DemDebates on a bunch of guys yelling at each other over and over and over and over again. Do you agree? Once the candidates wrapped up, O'Donnell tried to shut down the debate prematurely, but King had to quickly correct her, saying it wasn't quite over yet. Vox compared the CBS team to substitute teachers, quipping: 'Did you ever have a substitute teacher who was so mild-mannered, and commanded so little natural respect and authority, that you and the rest of your middle school class quickly realized you could just shout him out until he agreed to just crawl behind his desk and read a book while you did whatever you wanted for 45 minutes? 'Thats basically what Tuesday nights debate felt like, except for two full hours.' MELBOURNE, Fla., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery Senior Living, owner/operator of Discovery Village At Melbourne, proudly presented a check for $28,632 to the Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation, following Sunday's sixth annual Cycle4ALZ event. The funds were raised by way of donations, sponsorships and generous support and participation from Team Members, families and corporate partners. Discovery Senior Living presents Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation with a check for $28,632 following the Cycle4ALZ event on February 23. Pictured left to right: Kevin Cherrington and Diana Ferrante Thies (Discovery Senior Living), Tiffani Anderson and Tim Timmermann (Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation) and Bill Sciortino (Discovery Senior Living). A unified team of 20 ridersseven of whom rode the full, 101-mile course, and the remainder the 63-mile courseplus seven volunteers represented Discovery Senior Living in the event, with many traveling more than 200 miles from Discovery Senior Living's corporate headquarters in Bonita Springs, FL to participate in Cycle4ALZ. Through its Discovery Makes a Difference charitable initiative, Discovery Senior Living also sponsored this year's Cycle4ALZ event. "Our company and Team Members rallied hard behind this event and its worthy cause," said Kevin Cherrington, Project Manager at Discovery Development Group, a division of Discovery Senior Living. An avid cyclist, Cherrington spearheaded the coordination of the partnership. He also captained the Discovery Senior Living team, which cycled in the event wearing custom-designed jerseys bearing the initials "JRC," a tribute to Cherrington's father, James, who has been battling Alzheimer's Disease for more than five years. "For me, this was very personal," Cherrington said, "But the response from our organization, Team Members and corporate partners was overwhelming. So many jumped at the chance to join in the fight against Alzheimer's and to make a meaningful difference for seniors and families in Melbourne and the surrounding areas." "The generous contributions from Discovery Senior Living alone will enable our organization to deliver more than 4,000 hours of care to local seniors," said Tim Timmermann, Executive Director of Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation, which hosted the Cycle4ALZ event. "We're extremely proud and grateful to say that this has been, by far, the biggest and best Cycle4ALZ event in our history." In addition to Supervised Independent, and Assisted Living lifestyle options, Discovery Village At Melbourne is among the first communities nationwide to offer exclusive SHINESM Memory Care, which uses science and deeper personalization to provide exemplary care to seniors living with Alzheimer's or dementia. Cycle4ALZ was held in and around Melbourne on Sunday, February 23. Bolstered by the Discovery Senior Living team, Cycle4ALZ raised more than $34,000 in individual and corporate contributions, with all funds going to support the fight against Alzheimer's Disease. About Discovery Senior Living Discovery Senior Living is a family of companies which includes: Discovery Management Group, Discovery Development Group, Discovery Design Concepts, Discovery Marketing Group, and Discovery At Home, a Medicare-certified home healthcare company. With almost three decades of experience, the award-winning management group has been developing, building, marketing, and operating upscale, luxury senior-living communities across the United States. By integrating the company's highly innovative and successful "Experiential Living" philosophy across its flourishing portfolio of almost 10,000 existing homes or homes under development, Discovery Senior Living has become a recognized industry leader in creating world-class, resort-style communities. Media Inquiries: Nick Mango, Marketing Copywriter [email protected] | 239.908.2934 x1013 Related Images discovery-senior-living-execs.jpg Discovery Senior Living Execs Present a Check for $28,632 to the Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation at Cycle4ALZ Discovery Senior Living presents Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation with a check for $28,632 following the Cycle4ALZ event on February 23. Pictured left to right: Kevin Cherrington and Diana Ferrante Thies (Discovery Senior Living), Tiffani Anderson and Tim Timmermann (Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation) and Bill Sciortino (Discovery Senior Living). SOURCE Discovery Senior Living Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 Political archrivals Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are likely to face each other in the 2024 presidential race but this time they are prepping their children to go head-to-head. Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani, who is the current House speaker, may potentially run for president in the 2024 race, following in the footsteps of her mother, the countrys fifth president. Meanwhile, Yudhoyonos son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, has declared his intention to run in 2024, even though he has not confirmed whether he will run as president or vice president. Yudhoyono is the nations sixth president. 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 WASHINGTON -- Studies have correlated a relationship between smoking or vaping nicotine with misuse of other substances, such as alcohol and prescription drugs. Lately, misuse of prescription benzodiazepines (such as alprazolam or Xanax, and diazepam or Valium) has also been linked to nicotine use. These connections have all been statistically derived -- researchers did not directly study human interaction with these drugs. Now, however, evidence of how nicotine "sets up" a craving for benzodiazepines -- often called "benzos" -- in animal laboratory studies has been published in the open access journal eNeuro. Georgetown University Medical Center investigator Alexey Ostroumov, PhD, led the study, which he conducted with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania before joining Georgetown where he continues this research focus. "Our findings in rats show that nicotine increases the use of another drug," says Ostroumov, an assistant professor in the department of pharmacology & physiology. "Rats exposed to nicotine drank more of a solution that contained benzodiazepine. Rats without nicotine exposure were less interested in the benzodiazepine solution." Benzodiazepines, prescribed for severe anxiety and other conditions, also include the tradenames Ativan, Klonopin, Tranxene, Versed, among many others. To investigate the mechanisms of increased benzodiazepine consumption, the research team focused on the brain pathway that is critical for use of all addictive substances, including nicotine and benzodiazepines. This pathway originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which sends dopaminergic neurons throughout the brain. VTA is considered an integral part of the brain's rewards system that is involved in reinforcing behavior, thus, the VTA is thought to play the major role in motivation, reward and addiction behaviors. Ostroumov emphasizes that this pathway is probably most important in establishing addiction to other substances in nicotine users, but not in maintaining ongoing addiction. "We believe that nicotine-induced adaptations in this brain pathway increase the risk for future misuse of other addictive substances, including benzodiazepines," he says. In their experiments, investigators observed that nicotine-treated rats had reduced dopamine neuron activity in response to benzodiazepine. Similar results have frequently been observed in humans, where blunted dopamine signaling reliably predicts elevated use of various addictive substances. "This association between blunted dopamine responses and nicotine-induced benzo intake supports the idea that when the brain doesn't sense enough gratification from a substance, people may take more of it to compensate," Ostroumov explains. By looking into mechanisms of this VTA modification, researchers found a protein, KCC2, that is downregulated by nicotine. Thus, upregulating KCC2 appears as a potential remedy to mitigate the effect of nicotine on benzodiazepine consumption. Researchers boosted KCC2 in the brain with a synthesized chemical (CLP290). They found that, indeed, CLP290 restored normal functioning of VTA neurons. In rats treated with nicotine, CLP290 decreased consumption of the benzo solution to pre-nicotine levels. Ostroumov says there is much more research to do to define therapeutic potential of KCC2 in substance misuse. "But rat studies provide evidence that human smoking and vaping can likely contribute to the misuse of drugs, including benzodiazepines." ### This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (DA009411, NS021229, AA026267, DA048134, AA026766). Additional support was provided by the Chernowitz Medical Research Foundation. In addition to Ostroumov, authors include Ruthie E. Wittenberg, Blake A. Kimmey, Madison B. Taormina, William M. Holden, Albert T. McHugh, and John A. Dani. Ostroumov and his co-authors report having no personal financial interests related to the study. About Georgetown University Medical Center As a top academic health and science center, Georgetown University Medical Center provides, in a synergistic fashion, excellence in education -- training physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, as well as biomedical scientists -- and cutting-edge interdisciplinary research collaboration, enhancing our basic science and translational biomedical research capacity in order to improve human health. Patient care and clinical research is conducted with our clinical partner, MedStar Health. GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on social justice and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." GUMC comprises the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing & Health Studies, Biomedical Graduate Education, and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Designated by the Carnegie Foundation as a "very high research activity university," Georgetown is home to a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health, and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate) and on Twitter (@gumedcenter). Editor's Note: In this series, we look at three major changes made to Missouri's legal system and their profound effects on local law enforcement and the court system. These recent rulings from the Missouri Supreme Court changed the hearing and bail bond process after an arrest, how state-issued traffic citations are processed and how municipal courts are conducted. The articles do not cover other changes that are happening, but are limited to the direct causes of dramatic changes in the local legal system. Although this series is restricted to local interviews, the effects ripple throughout the state of Missouri. To a greater or lesser extent, every county, circuit court and municipality will be affected by some or all of these measures, as these are statewide rulings and changes in law. A Missouri Supreme Court ruling modified Rules 37 and 38 and Court Operating Rule 21 with the changes having taken effect May 1, 2019. These rules determine how state-issued citations are processed through the court system. Previously, when the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) issued tickets regarding traffic violations, the offense could be settled by pleading guilty and sending the fine to the fine collection center (FCC) located in Jefferson City. Only if a motorist wished to contest the ticket would the offense be handled at the circuit court level. With the en banc ruling by the court, the practical effect was to close down the FCC and process all tickets through the local prosecuting attorneys office and circuit court. Circuit Court Judge Wendy Wexler Horn stressed this will also increase the workload for local officials. With the FCC closing, that is going to add significantly more work on the part of our local prosecutor and circuit clerk, she said. Youll see a much greater caseload with respect to the traffic tickets, because we are getting all of them. The judge who handles the traffic dockets, theres no doubt that we are going to see significantly increased numbers through traffic tickets. Any changes to the circuit court system directly affects the circuit clerks office. St. Francois County Circuit Clerk Vicki Weible noted that all of these tickets must be processed through her office. The only tickets that didnt go there were the ones where people didnt plead guilty and pay, she said. Now all of those tickets are coming here, and they have to be electronically filed by our prosecutor, making our traffic dockets much bigger. (Associate Circuit Judge Joseph) Goff gets assigned to all of the criminal cases, hes the associate judge, thats normally who does the preliminary criminal cases. He is busy, he has court everyday. St. Francois County Prosecutor Melissa Gilliam explained the reason behind the change in ticket processing. At the beginning of this year, they figured out that for any criminal case or infraction to be filed, it has to be signed by the prosecuting attorney, she said. That was not happening with the FCC. Every ticket that used to go through them, now comes to us. That is a significant increase. Were averaging about 400 a month. Previously, people would get a ticket, they would go online and pay it and get it taken care of before it would ever come to the prosecutors office. Now, everything comes to us and we have to submit it to the court. It requires a prosecutor to charge somebody with a crime. In addition, the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) changed some of the rules on how some of those tickets are filed. Now, on no-insurance cases, speeding over 25 mph, driving without a valid license, those all have to be filed as a criminal case Gilliam said. That has increased our dockets exponentially. Its increased our court time, the amount of time getting the cases filed, we get them physically in here. I have an assistant that goes through them on a weekly basis to make sure that were keeping up. Then of course, its just the court time, too. You have like a 500-traffic-ticket court docket and shockingly about four people show up. Associate Circuit Judge Joseph Goff handles the caseload on the traffic infractions from the MSHP. He noted a side effect of citizens paying traffic fines online that can cause extra work for the court system. When paying online you have to enter the number for the case, he said. People will make mistakes entering that number and without noticing, will pay the fine and plead guilty to someone elses ticket. The results of the error is that someone may want to contest their ticket to prevent losing their license or for other reasons. They then may get notices from the state before they or their lawyer can act upon it. The second result is that the person who paid the fine will still have an outstanding unpaid ticket and risk a failure to appear in court when they have assumed the problem has been resolved. Our clerks have to track down credit card numbers on the payment and do other investigation and correct all of the records, Goff said. Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 2 Sad 0 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. An IAF C17 transport aircraft evacuated a group of 112 Indians and foreign nationals from the coronavirus outbreak epicentre, Wuhan, early on Thursday ending a week-long wait for their anxious families back home and putting a close to a terse exchange between New Delhi and Beijing over delaying this flight. Besides the Indians, the US-made IAF relief aircraft also evacuated more than dozen nationals from four countries - Bangladesh, South Africa, Madagascar and Maldives. The majority among the foreigners were Bangladeshi students. A group of OCI card-holding Chinese citizens were also on the flight. However, around 25-30 Indians remain in Hubei and Wuhan of their own volition. 76 Indian nationals are returning home on this flight, which also has on board 23 nationals from Bangladesh, 6 from China, 2 each from Myanmar and Maldives and one each from South Africa, USA and Madagascar , Indian ambassador to China Vikram Misri said. The flight was delayed on Wednesday night after a group of passengers had to be repeatedly tested after they exhibited fever syndromes, following which all registered passengers were finally allowed to board the flight. All the evacuees are likely to go through mandatory 14-day quarantine at facilities set up in New Delhi. India has already evacuated 647 nationals and seven Maldivians in two Air India flights in the first week of February. Earlier in the day, the Indian flight came in with 15 tonnes of medical supplies to aid China in its fight against covid-19 outbreak, which has so far killed 2718 people and infected 78196 more in mainland China. The relief flight was expected a week ago but had to be postponed because India received the clearance for the aircraft to land in Wuhan today only on Monday. An Indian government statement said the medical assistance comprised masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment. This assistance has been provided in the wake the Corona virus (Covid 19) outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment, it added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to President Xi Jinping on February 8, 2020 expressing Indias solidarity with the people and Government of China and also offered assistance to China in this hour of need as a gift. The medical supplies will help augment the Chinas efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation, the statement added. It was also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year, the statement said. On February 14, the Chinese foreign ministry released the 57-country list comprising 33 countries that had given medical supplies, 17, which had offered to provide the same and seven more that had offered money and material aid. A man was arrested this week in the double slaying of an 85-year-old woman and her son -- and authorities say they found the suspect through DNA and genealogy databases. Patricia Wilson, 85, and her son Robert Wilson, 64, were found dead in their home in Sycamore, Illinois, in August 2016, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office. MORE: Man arrested in intern's 1980 cold case rape, murder thanks to DNA match The Wilsons were killed from blunt force trauma in a "horrific and unprovoked act of violence," DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Andy Sullivan said at a news conference on Tuesday. The arrested suspect, 51-year-old Jonathan Hurst, had no known connection the Wilsons or the Sycamore area, Sullivan said. Authorities believe Hurst acted alone to commit the "random act of violence," Sullivan said. When authorities began to investigate and search for a suspect, they discovered "a significant amount of physical evidence," Sullivan said. A DNA profile was obtained from the crime scene, which helped eliminate several persons of interest, Sullivan said. MORE: Man dead for years identified as suspect in 1984 murder of 15-year-old girl Then Sullivan said investigators turned to Parabon NanoLabs, a company that's cracked dozens of cold cases by using genetic genealogy. Through genetic genealogy, an unknown killer's DNA from a crime scene can be identified through his or her family members, who voluntarily submit their DNA to a genealogy database. This allows police to create a much larger family tree than using law enforcement databases like the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). PHOTO: Jonathan Hurst in a police booking photo. (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office) To crack the Wilson case, investigators and Parabon analysts took the DNA from the crime scene and entered it to public genealogy databases to try to narrow down possible suspects. The analysts built a family tree based on that DNA, which led to Hurst, Sullivan said. Cell phone records and other evidence confirmed Hurst was near the victims' home on the day of the crime, Sullivan said. Story continues MORE: Possible serial killer was behind teen's 1976 rape, murder: Police A car was stolen from the victims' home and later recovered in Chicago, near where Hurst lived, Sullivan said. Hurst, who formerly lived in Chicago and now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, was arrested at his home on Monday, Sullivan said. Hurst is awaiting extradition to Illinois to face two counts of first-degree murder, Sullivan said. If convicted on both counts, Hurst faces a mandatory life sentence, DeKalb County State's Attorney Rick Amato said. Suspect in mother, son double murder identified through genealogy databases originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Zelensky says today he signs decree to mark Day of Crimea's Resistance to Russian Occupation on Feb 26 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that on Wednesday he will sign a decree to mark Day of Crimea's Resistance to Russian Occupation annually on February 26. "Today I am signing a decree on Day of Resistance to Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. This day will be marked annually on February 26," he said during the "Age of Crimea 2020" forum in Kyiv on Wednesday. Not For Distribution To United States Newswire Services Or For Dissemination In The United States TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corporation (the Company) (CSE:BNKR) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche (the First Tranche) of the non-brokered private placement of common shares of the Company (Common Shares) at $0.56 per Common Share for gross proceeds of up to C$4,000,000, subject to the Companys over-allotment option (the Offering) that was previously announced in the Companys January 31, 2020 news release. The First Tranche consisted of the sale of 3,687,501 Common Shares for gross proceeds of $2,065,000. 696,428 Common Shares were issued under the First Tranche in satisfaction of indebtedness owed to a creditor of the Company in respect of a loan made previously to the Company. The Company expects to close subsequent tranches of the Offering in the coming weeks. The net proceeds from the Offering shall be primarily used for lease and other payments required to keep the Companys option interest in Bunker Hill Mine in good standing, for further development of the Bunker Hill Mine, and for general corporate and working capital purposes. The securities issued in connection with the First Tranche will be subject to a customary four month and a day hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws and to a concurrent six month hold period in accordance with applicable U.S. securities laws. Related Party Transaction In connection with the First Tranche, the Company as compensation for his services in relation to the First Tranche, has issued 239,284 finders warrants (Finders Warrants) to Sebastian Marr, who by virtue of holding over 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares prior to the closing of the First Tranche is an insider of the Company, as such term is defined in Canadian securities legislation. Each Finders Warrants can be exercised into a Common Share at $0.70 per Common Share for 24 months following the issuance of Finders Warrants. The issuance of Finders Warrants to Mr. Marr constitutes a "related party transaction" as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under MI 61-101 on the basis that the value of the Finders Warrants issued to Mr. Marr in connection with the closing of the First Tranche does not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. About Bunker Hill Mining Corp. Bunker Hill Mining Corp has the exclusive option to acquire 100% of the marketable assets of the Bunker Hill Mine. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or within the SEDAR and EDGAR databases. For additional information contact: John Ryan, Interim Chief Executive Officer (201) 509-3797 Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase forward-looking information in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations. The forward looking statements made herein are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations or assumptions with respect to, among other things, the ability of the Company to successfully complete the Offering on the terms as announce, the ability of the Company to complete payments pursuant to the terms of the agreement to acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex, the Companys present and future financial condition, the Companys ability to secure financing, and the state of financial markets. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan, and may include statements regarding, among other things, the terms of the Offering and funding of the acquisition. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, and the Companys financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: the inability of the Company to successfully complete the Offering; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing, the inability of the Company to successfully acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex on the terms as announced or other satisfactory terms or at all; the inability of the Company to develop or sustain an active public market for its securities; development of changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for precious metals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Companys forward-looking statements. These and other factors made in public disclosures and filings by the Company should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Grown Rogue Medford, Oregon-based cannabis company Grown Rogue International said Jacques Habra, its chief strategy officer, has resigned. Habra was with the company for three years, helping with early growth, fundraising and corporate development. Minority members from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament yesterday came to the chamber in their numbers but ironically refused to participate in the debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by the President Akufo-Addo last Thursday. The NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) caused a stir when they boycotted the SONA, sparking heated debate on the legality and propriety of their action. When Parliament sat yesterday to start debating the SONA, the NDC MPs once again boycotted the process. This prompted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Effutu in the Central Region, Alex Afenyo-Markin, to describe the NDC MPs as 'irresponsible' MPs. After the motion for the debate had been moved by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who is the NPP MP for Ofoase Ayirebi, the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, asked the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, whether any of the Minority members was ready to second the motion as the rules of the House demand. Mohammed Muntaka said the Minority members were not ready to participate in the debate after the boycott of SONA, stressing that it is the 'principled' position of the Minority to abstain from the debate having boycotted the address itself. NDC Desires From an unimpeachable source, contrary to the decision by Minority members in Parliament, their party, NDC, wanted them to participate in the debate but the Minority Chief Whip in speaking to the parliamentary press later on said that they took the decision as an independent wing of the party to continue to register their protest against the compilation of a new voters' register and suppression of freedom of speech in the country. Mr. Afenyo-Markin, in his contribution to the debate, described the position of the Minority as very 'irresponsible' having been voted by their constituents to speak for them in Parliament. According to the Effutu MP, for the Minority to come to the chamber and not to participate in the activities there in relation to the SONA for the benefit of their constituent is even most 'irresponsible.' Mr. Afenyo-Markin continued to lambast the Minority members for shirking their constitutional duty, stressing that Ghanaians should not make the mistake to give power back to the NDC to roll back the progressive achievements made by the NPP government under President Akufo-Addo which had significantly improved socio-economic status of the poor in the society. He challenged any of the Minority members to speak on the floor and tell the whole nation anyone of them who had not benefitted from the numerous social intervention programmes implemented by the Akufo-Addo government. Concession In the heat, the Minority Chief Whip spoke to the media on the sidelines, saying that they might reconsider their position and if there is the need to participate in the debate because it is only the wise that change his or her mind. He said that for the time being, members would be speaking to the media on some important points in the debate while they would round it up with a press conference on the true state of the nation under President Akufo-Addo. ---Daily Guide Bexar Countys crime lab may soon become the first in Texas accredited to test the difference between hemp and marijuana months after a new state law legalizing hemp inadvertently made it difficult to press charges in some marijuana cases. The Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory, which conducts forensic testing for many local law enforcement agencies, has submitted its new procedures to the American National Standards Institute, the agency that oversees national accreditation for forensic testing. The goal is to be the first in Texas to go online, said Brian Cho, a forensic scientist who helped develop the new procedures. An individual has been assigned to go over our documentation to verify our procedures and our data. The need for new equipment comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation last year that made industrial hemp legal and ushered in a new definition of whats pot and whats hemp, both of which come from the same plant. But to tell the two apart, district attorneys need to rely on more technically advanced testing equipment that they say wasnt readily available until now. On ExpressNews.com: New Texas law legalizing hemp presents challenges for prosecutors In July, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced that his office wouldnt press charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana at least not until the testing problem was solved. Four other Texas prosecutors, including Kim Ogg in Harris County, announced similar plans. He said felony marijuana charges, which includes possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana, would be considered on a case-by-case basis. Since June 10, marijuana has been defined as having more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives users a high. It remains illegal. Anything under that amount is considered hemp and now is legal. The distinction follows a definition adopted by the federal government in the 2018 U.S. farm bill, which legalized hemp at the federal level and sparked interest from state lawmakers who wanted to do the same in Texas. The new law is good news for the hemp industry and aspiring farmers who want to cash in, but it failed to anticipate the problem of crime labs including at the Texas Department of Public Safety lacking the pricey equipment needed to determine THC levels. In the past, to tell whether a sample had any THC, labs have done quick chemical tests for cannabinoids and looked for characteristic hairs that should be present on any pot plant. That only took a few minutes, experts say. But with the hemp law, labs now have to extract THC from the sample and determine the exact amount present in the substance, which requires new testing procedures that have to be approved by the accreditation agency. In September, Bexar Commissioners Court approved about $100,000 to purchase the new equipment. The county bypassed typical bidding procedures to expedite the purchase, citing the need to protect public health. Otherwise, it could have taken another several months to get the funding approved. On ExpressNews.com: With new equipment, Bexar County could begin prosecuting pot cases again DPS also has been testing new procedures. The agency plans to roll out its long-awaited method in the next month or so, according to the Texas Tribune. Cho, who helped test the new procedures in Bexar County, said he began researching new methods over a year ago in anticipation that the law might change. With nearly 38 years of experience, Cho has established testing protocols for several new drugs over the years, including synthetic marijuana. He said establishing the new tests was tricky. Traditionally, in order to determine the concentration of a substance, scientists used a machine that would expose the drugs to a high level of heat. But that couldnt work with THCA, the raw, non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp, because THCA converts to THC when its dried and heated. Cho researched the different types of machines available. He decided Bexar County should invest in a machine that could be set at a certain temperature, meaning the THCA would not convert. Cho said the new mechanisms work with a very low margin of error. The equipment will be able to test all forms of marijuana, including oils, waxes and edibles. It can also test methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs. If the new procedures are approved, the Bexar County District Attorneys Office has indicated it will focus on prosecuting the backlog of felony marijuana cases that have piled up since the new law went into effect. The office also could prosecute misdemeanors in those rare instances where the cases dont qualify for cite-and-release. His office does not prosecute any possession cases that involve less than 1 ounce. Under cite-and-release, law officers have the discretion to either arrest or simply cite give a ticket to the individual if he or she is caught with less than 4 ounces of marijuana and no other serious crime has been committed. That program is expected to continue, even with the new equipment. But Orin Dym, the laboratory director who oversees the crime lab, pointed out its often necessary to test small amounts of marijuana when person with the drug is involved in a more serious crime. For example: A police officer could suspect someone of possessing a small amount of marijuana and in the course of that investigation, determine that a burglary occurred. To pursue the more serious charge, prosecutors need to prove that the officer had probable cause to begin the investigation, so the lab has to show that the original substance was illegal marijuana. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who toured the crime lab Tuesday morning, said he was impressed by the new testing and excited for Bexar County to be among the first labs in the state to be accredited in the new procedures. We take pride at being first, he said with a chuckle. Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton Air Canada announced Tuesday it is extending its suspension of flights between Canada and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai until April 10 due to the new coronavirus epidemic. Flights from Canada to the two cities had been temporarily suspended from January 30 to the end of February after the foreign ministry advised Canadians against non-essential travel to China in light of the virus's rapid spread there. The Air Canada website says the company and health authorities "will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely" and "will adjust its schedule as appropriate." The airline usually offers direct flights from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to Beijing and Shanghai. And the company also extended the suspension of daily flights to Hong Kong from Toronto until April 30, citing "reduced market demand." Flights to and from Taipei "remain unaffected," according to the company's website. Air Canada estimated that its first quarter net profit would be approximately Can$200 million (138 million euros) less than in the same period the previous year, thanks to coronavirus travel restrictions and the recall of Boeing 737MAX planes. COVID-19 -- the disease caused by the novel coronavirus infection -- has killed more than 2,600 people and infected almost 80,000 others, mainly in China, according to the World Health Organization. There have been 11 cases confirmed in Canada. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syria: Russia must stop regime's attacks in Idlib, Turkey Armed clashes in Idlib, Russian air raids continue (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 26 - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said "we expect attacks in Idlib to be stopped permanently", talking about the arrival Wednesday in Turkey of a Russian delegation for a new round of talks to find an agreement on the crisis in northwestern Syria after the first two already held for several days in Ankara and Moscow. "The regime needs to withdraw within the established borders", added Cavusoglu. The meetings between delegations will continue with a possible bilateral meeting next week between presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. In the meantime intense armed clashes are ongoing in northwestern Syria between government forces backed by Russia and anti-regime militias supported by Turkey, with Russian and Syrian air raids against areas still controlled by fighters from armed opposition groups, sources on the ground reported on Wednesday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, loyalist forces have targeted with surface-to-surface missiles a Turkish military convoy in the area of Jabal Zawiya, damaging a few vehicles. On Wednesday night talks are scheduled between Turkish and Russian representatives to try to reach a diplomatic solution to intensified fighting that has been going on for weeks and which has displaced some 900,000 people according to the UN. (ANSAmed). Toronto has once again shattered its record for annual tourist visits but travel restrictions related to the coronavirus are casting a shadow over the lucrative China market this year. Toronto Tourism is on Wednesday releasing figures showing 28.1 million visitors came to the city last year, besting the record 27.5 million tourists in 2018. Visitors last year spent $6.7 billion on hotels, restaurants, attractions, retail and more, Andrew Weir, the tourism agencys executive vice-president, told the Star. The growth caps a five-year total tourism boost of 11.5 per cent, driven by Torontos emergence as a global city, a booming tech sector helping drive business travel, and an increase in five-star hotels luring well-heeled visitors. The news underscores the economic importance of the visitor economy overall to Torontos economy, Weir said. The visitor economy is an export business this is money that didnt start in our economy in the morning but, by the end of the day, is circulating through and growing it in a profound way. Visits from the U.S., Torontos biggest international market, continued to rise with almost 2 million visitors a 3 percent increase over the previous year and part of a 15 percent jump over five years. Americans pumped $1.35 billion into Toronto last year, also a record and multi-year trend. China remained Torontos biggest overseas market with 222,000 visitors. That was down 5.4 per cent over the previous year but part of a five-year, 24 percent boost. China has strict travel restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Weir said thats hurting Toronto visits from a market with big-spending travellers, many of whom also visit Niagara Falls, Ottawa and Gravenhurst, former home of Dr. Norman Bethune who was a hero in China. Its impossible to say now how much of an impact the outbreak will have on Toronto tourism in 2020, Weir said, adding that in the past when visitors from one market have dropped, boosts in other markets and segments have helped fill the gap. Right now, much of the outbound travel from China has slowed and some has stopped entirely. Were certainly seeing a significant reduction in air bookings from China to Toronto, Weir said. Once international travel from China opens up again we think travel will return very quickly. Were lucky to have a diversified market that is not wholly dependent on one country or one type of traveller. Following the U.S. and China, Torontos biggest tourist sources last year were the U.K. (187,923); India (117,958); South Korea (75,254) and Germany (67,344). The next biggest source, Mexico, saw the biggest annual gain, with a 146 percent boost to 63,923 visitors in a market that has surged since Canada lifted a visa requirement in 2016. The Toronto region as a whole saw 45.4 million visitors and $10.9 billion in visitor spending, both new records. Weir said winter tourism to Toronto, especially on weekends, remains a soft spot with an opportunity to grow through events such as the Toronto Spotlight promotion. David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider Read more about: by Books continue to be written about what it was like to live in Germany under Hitler. I wonder if any of the authors have auditioned Wilhelm Furtwanglers wartime broadcasts with the Berlin Philharmonic. They should. About a year ago, the Berlin Philharmonic issued a $250 box containing 22 CDs and a 180-page booklet. The contents comprise the complete surviving Furtwangler wartime broadcasts (1939-1945) in the best possible sound. Since most of these performances were recorded with magnetic tape (unprecedented at the time), the dynamic range and general fidelity are superior to the broadcast concerts Americans were (once) accustomed to hearing. A specimen: the finale of Brahms Symphony No. 1 the final work on Furtwanglers final wartime broadcast (January 1945). This astounding document opens an audio window on life in Berlin when the city lay in rubbles. Since the orchestras historic home had been destroyed one year before, the venue was a faded operetta theater making do as a concert hall. The program had begun with Mozarts Symphony No 40 interrupted midway through when the lights went out. The audience stayed. An hour later, the concert resumed. Rather than returning to Mozart, Furtwangler skipped to the concerts final scheduled work: the Brahms. What was it like performing and hearing Brahms First under such dire circumstances? It becomes quite possible to find out. It was my privilege to audition this singular performance with my longtime radio colleagues Bill McGlaughlin and Angel Gil-Ordonez on the most recent PostClassical webcast via the WWFM Classical Network. Brahms would not have recognized Furtwanglers 1945 reading as Brahmsian. With its radical extremes of tempo and mood, it is not true to the score. Rather, it is true to the moment. What I glean is something I could not have predicted: not terror, but pride and defiance. Brahmss clarion C major horn call, banishing the dark, here becomes an iteration of the real Germany, stalwart in the face of barbarism and insanity. We should stop presuming to judge Furtwanglers decision to stay rather than emigrate. His conviction that in doing so he was preserving a precious legacy is here made wholly tangible and intelligible. Richard Taruskin, in one of three valuable essays in the Berlin Phil booklet, ponders Expressivo in Tempore Belli: Considering the Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler the most empathetic writing I can recall from this prolific music historian. Taruskin writes of Furtwangler: His definition of Deutschtum (Germanness) was elastic enough to encompass his Jewish countrymen. In an address commemorating Mendelssohns centenary in 1947, which was coincidentally the year of his denazification, Furtwangler ended with the explicit declaration that Mendelssohn, Joachim, Schenker, Mahler they are both Jews and German, and then added heartbreakingly: They testify that we German have every reason to see ourselves as a great and noble people. How tragic that this has to be emphasized today. As Taruskin stresses, Furtwanglers notion of Werktreue textual fidelity was not Toscaninis or Stravinskys. Rather, it was Wagners: not literal adherence to the composers notated instructions, but an act of extrapolation discovering the idea of the piece. And, I would add, that idea could prove malleable accordingly to time and place: conditions Furtwangler channelled with uncanny sensitivity and communicative force. As I mentioned on the PostClassical webcast, I once had occasion to share with my wife, Agnes, a 1951 Furtwangler performance of Tchaikovskys Pathetique Symphony. This justly famous Radio Cairo broadcast does and does not resemble Furtwanglers 1938 studio recording. The difference is the memory of war. Tchaikovskys symphony seems as Agnes remarked about World War II. The composers autobiographical heart-ache and Weltschmerz are here transformed into a dire existential statement transcending the personal. Shostakovich is not irrelevant. He, too, possessed a genius for channeling the moment. The legendary first Leningrad performance of Shostakovichs Seventh Symphony, in the midst of a murderous Nazi siege, was cathartically empowering for a great city facing extinction. Shostakovichs Seventh was a direct product of those circumstances. Brahms had never intended his First Symphony as a survival strategy. But that is what Furtwangler made it become. The other discovery of our webcast was a Schubert passage. His Great C major Symphony was a Furtwangler specialty. The work itself is polyvalent, both gemutlich and demonic. Its second movement, marked Andante con moto, is and is not a slow movement. Rather, it is a march with trumpet tattoos in alternation with intimations of the sublime. Furtwanglers wartime broadcast, in December 1942, is never gemutlich. Bill McGlaughlin, in the WWFM studio, memorably characterized its massive climax as a firestorm. Here Schuberts march is a juggernaut hurtling toward an abyss. The abyss is a silence of three beats. In Furtwanglers reading, the silence lasts eight seconds: an eternity. Reacting in the moment, Bills voice quavered when he said: This time we really broke it; we really broke civilization. And he characterized the music finally lifting the silence the tenuous pizzicatos, the tender cello song as an act of dazed consolation. Something awful is conveyed in this Furtwangler reading of Schuberts climax. It is, I suppose, something Schubert a seer may have distantly or subliminally glimpsed. But it is Furtwangler, channeling the moment, who has uncovered it. This reading no more conforms to our notions of Schubert than those Brahms and Tchaikovsky performances support received wisdom. They instead affirm that music has no fixed meaning, that great works of art are so profoundly imagined that their intent and expression forever mold to changing human circumstances. For more on Furtwangler, see my blogs of Aug. 4 and 8, 2018. A LISTENING GUIDE FOR THE WEBCAST: PART ONE: 10:18 Brahms Symphony No. 1: finale (January 1945) 39:40 Bruckner Symphony No. 9: first movement (October 1944) PART TWO: 00:00 Beethoven Symphony No. 5: first movement (September 1939) 7:09 Beethoven Symphony No. 5: movements three and four (September 1939) 21:38: Schubert: Symphony No. 9: second movement (December 1942); to hear the silence, go to 32:00 45:08 Schubert: Symphony No. 9: fourth movement (December 1942) LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / HighKey Clout Inc. (@highkeyclout on Instagram) is an influencer marketing company that specializes in celebrity giveaway growth campaigns, with the primary objective of growing their ever-expanding list of clients social media followings on Instagram. HighKey Clout Inc. reached becoming a 7 figure company, just within 6 months of its creation. Jordan Lintz and his younger brother Luke Lintz started their online business careers over three years ago and have built a variety of connections with big influencers and high achieving clients to make this company a fast success. Jordan and Luke have created three companies under the "HighKey" name. Their first being an e-commerce company, HighKey Technology Inc. (@highkeyco on Instagram), and their second company to follow is named HighKey Agency Inc. (@highkeyagency on Instagram), a full-service social media branding agency. As influencer marketing was the main source of advertising to begin with in their e-commerce company, the two began developing relationships with large influencers right at the start. The social media agency began a relationship with high success clients. The Lintz brothers leveraged these two assets that were built over the course of three years and began constructing the giveaway model under HighKey Clout to take advantage of these relationships. To break down the entire process, HighKey Clout runs celebrity influencer giveaway campaigns on Instagram to grow their client's social media following. It's a very simple operation and that's why it works so effectively. They sign large USA influencers to run a campaign on their Instagram. These campaigns consist of video and/or photo posts where they announce exactly what they will be giving away to their fans. In order to enter the giveaway, the fans must follow everyone @highkeyclout is following. HighKey's clients sponsor the giveaway to be one of the people followed by @highkeyclout. The instructions to enter the giveaway are simple and effective. This results in large growth for all of HighKey's clients. The definition of Clout is influence and power specifically in business and politics. With social media being a dominating marketing force of the new decade, it's essential to have a constantly growing following on platforms- especially Instagram. High success individuals are willing to trade their hard-earned money for the chance to grow and develop their social media following, as personal branding leads to plentiful opportunities. This trust in social media fortifies the statement, "Clout is the new currency". To date, HighKey Clout has given away $10k - $20k in cash and prizes during each campaign. This amount of money is a very large incentive for the celebrity's fans to participate. This large amount being given away fortifies the reputation of the HighKey Clout brand. All prizes are documented and recorded for proof of a legitimate campaign. As HighKey Clout expands, they continue to work with larger celebrity influencers. The Lintz brothers have signed platinum recording artists, Lil Yachty (@lilyachty) and Danielle Bregoli (@bhadbhabie) on giveaway contracts to fulfill campaigns throughout 2020. Some other notable influencers HighKey Clout has partnered with on Instagram include; @danbilzerean, @hammy_tv, @therealtarzann, @supremepatty, @kristenhanby, @woodyandkleiny, @jackson_odoherty and many more. The two have no intention of slowing down, with plans to collaborate with some of the biggest names in current culture. In the beginning months of operation, HighKey Clout started with managing campaigns of smaller influencers (1-3M following) and didn't find as much success for the amount of time put in. This issue was quickly overcome by investing more money behind the quality and level of each campaign, which in turn led to better results. There are a handful of giveaway campaigns being run across Instagram, including big names like the Kardashians and Jenners! HighKey Clout is able to stand out and differentiate themselves from the competition because it is the first truly branded Instagram giveaway growth company. "The great thing about the giveaway model is that everyone is pleased! The three groups that are involved in the giveaway campaigns are influencers, fans, and clients. The Influencers are paid very well, the fans want to win all the great prizes, and the clients are very happy to grow and gain social exposure like never possible before," states Jordan. Both Jordan and Luke Lintz have a very large vision of conducting the largest giveaway campaigns for in the coming three to five years. Be sure to keep an eye out, because it's likely your favourite influencer or celebrity will be next! To keep up with the future HighKey Clout, check their Instagram CONTACT: Trenten Huss tjh@highkeyagency.com (204) 698-6281 SOURCE: HighKey Agency View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/578007/Clout-is-the-New-Currency-HighKey-Clout-is-Running-Large-Celebrity-Campaigns A grandfather charged with negligent homicide after his 18-month-old granddaughter fell to her death from an 11th-floor window of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico last year is accepting a plea deal. Salvatore Anello changed his plea to guilty Tuesday "to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family," he said in a statement. "I was placed in charge of keeping my beautiful granddaughter safe and I failed. It will always be a constant nightmare every day and every night for the rest of my life," Anello continued. MORE: Grandfather charged in 1-year-old granddaughter's cruise ship death faces prosecutors in court It was back in July 2019 when Anello lifted his granddaughter Chloe Wiegand, from Indiana, onto a wood railing in front of a wall of glass windows on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, according to Anello's family attorney Michael Winkleman. Anello thought Chloe would bang on the glass, however the window was open and she was "gone," Winkleman had previously said. Anello opened up about the tragic day in his statement, saying he was "focused on Chloe the whole time" and thought because of his previous experiences in elevated public places, there would be a glass protective barrier. "I wasn't drinking and I wasn't dangling her out of a window. I just wanted to knock on the glass with her as we did together so many times before," Anello said, referring to their time at hockey rinks. "I was just so horribly wrong about our surroundings." PHOTO: Chloe Wiegand, 18 months, from South Bend, Ind., is pictured in an undated family photo. (Family Photo via Atty Michael Winkleman) He said the incident "was a nightmare of the likes I could never have imagined before." The plea deal comes a week after his defense attorney, Jose Perez, told ABC News that Anello didn't want to change his plea because "he is firm that he is innocent." Winkleman said Anello's decision to take change his plea "was an incredibly difficult one ... but because the plea agreement includes no jail time and no admission of facts, it was decided the plea deal is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe and fighting for cruise passenger safety." Story continues MORE: Grandfather of child who plunged to death from cruise ship doesn't want plea deal The family wants to raise awareness of the need for all common carriers to adhere to window fall prevention laws to prevent similar falls. "Going forward, justice for Chloe must include attention being given to provide the safety measures so very needed on Freedom of the Sea," Anello said. "We need to make sure nothing like this will ever happen to another precious baby, or anyone else for that matter, ever again." He ended his statement with a message for Chloe: "I love you and miss you, Chloe, beyond measure." A hearing date for Anello has not yet been set. ABC News' Scott Withers contributed to this report. Grandfather charged in granddaughter's cruise ship death accepts plea deal originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The steep sell-off in stocks related to the coronavirus has intensified focus on the financial implications of the outbreak. Much of the narrative, especially when it comes to economists and market pundits as opposed to companies, has yet to internalise the significant uncertainties concerning both the known knowns and the known unknowns. As the virus has spread into several countries - particularly Iran, Italy and South Korea - and brought with it more sudden economic stops, it has become even harder for companies and economists to ignore the mounting damage to supply-and-demand conditions on the ground, let alone the funding challenges that lie ahead for some of the more financially stressed companies in China. Yes, stocks are cheaper now after the rout of the past few days. That doesn't mean it's time to dive in again just yet. Credit:Bloomberg With that, more companies have warned about the immediate outlook for their earnings, and several economists have revised downward their growth projections for the quarter, particularly when it comes to Asia. Meanwhile, doctors are busily collecting data, investigating, consulting and working on vaccines. Yet most seem to feel that they have yet to comfortably get their arms around some of the most important basic elements about this new virus such as transmission rates and incubation periods. No wonder when I look at the year as a whole I find it hard to predict not only how and when demand will recover but also how well-functioning supply chains will be restored. I am also concerned about the financial outlook of highly leveraged companies and countries, as well as the big overhang of triple-B rated companies over the high-yield market. AKRON, Ohio A man who admitted to using his van to intentionally strike and kill one man and injure another has been sentenced to life in prison, according to Summit County prosecutors. Daniel Shmigal, 28, of Akron, was sentenced Tuesday by Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands. He pleaded guilty last week to charges of murder and aggravated vehicular assault. Shmigal will be eligible for parole in 15 years. Police responded just after 4 a.m. on March 17, 2019, to a crash near Virginia and Barbara avenues in the Firestone Park neighborhood, authorities say. When officers arrived they found Derek Smith, 29, of Akron, and Charles Holden, 34, of Wooster, one on the sidewalk and one in the street. The two men were walking on the sidewalk when they were intentionally struck by a minivan driven by Shmigal, prosecutors say. Holden died of his injuries about a month after the incident. Smith suffered serious injuries. Prosecutors say that prior to the incident, Shmigal had been arguing with his estranged wife about Smith, who is a friend of Shmigals wife. Officers arrested Shmigal at his wifes apartment on Eller Avenue. Police say Shmigal told officers he was on a three-day meth bender." The death of Charles Holden leaves a hole his family will have to deal with the rest of their lives," Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh says in a statement. "Charles was a husband, son, friend, and mentor who worked hard to provide for his family. The pain of his loss will be felt for years. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Akron man gets life sentence for killing Massillon woman, burning body Body found following Barberton fire identified as Massillon woman Man attacked Cleveland woman by throwing unknown chemical in her face, police say Cleveland woman seriously hurt when man pushed her into traffic during panhandling dispute, records say Man charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Portage County VFW post Ohio troopers 100 mph chase through Strongsville, Brunswick ends in crash, arrests and is now under review A married NHS scientist has been struck off after he groped junior female colleagues and made 'disgusting' sexual comments to one about 'dreaming of her breasts'. Oyewumi Aderibigbe shocked his lab colleague after she returned from maternity leave by telling her he 'wanted to suck on your boobs to see if any milk came out'. The biomedical scientist repeatedly pestered the married woman with questions about having milk in her breasts - and groped her breasts and bottom. Oyewumi Aderibigbe was senior to the woman at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust (file picture) A tribunal heard Aderibigbe, found to be 'sexually motivated', also fondled a lab assistant colleague in the basement of a hospital and made lewd comments to her. Aderibigbe, who was senior to the woman at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in Greater Manchester, has now been struck off after a Health and Care Professions tribunal. The hearing was told father-of-one Aderibigbe groped Colleague A's breasts and bottom and asked her 'are you sure you have no milk in your boobs?' Earlier in the day the woman, who had only just returned from maternity leave, was also told by the scientist that 'he had dreams of sucking on her boobs to see if any milk came out'. He also asked for her number and said he would like to come to her house and see her newborn baby when her husband wasn't around. The woman said the comments made her feel 'uncomfortable' and her colleagues said after she was 'shocked and shook up' and kept repeating 'why would he do that to me?' A few days later Aderibigbe ran downstairs and told the woman he wanted to show her something upstairs - when she followed him into a room he turned to her and said: 'I wanted to suck your boobs and see if milk came out.' After confiding in friends at the hospital the Colleague A reported the perverted scientist to her superiors the next day. The incident in February 2018 turned out to be only the latest in a series of unwanted advances made by Aderibigbe towards female staff. Colleague B told the tribunal that in December 2017 she had her breasts, bottom and waist touched by Aderibigbe. She was in the basement of the hospital at the time when Aderibigbe tried to 'grope her bottom' and lift her shirt up before she pushed him off and told him to leave her alone. On another occasion the lab assistant accidentally bumped into Aderibigbe with a trolley and he responded by asking her if she was 'going to rub it for him'. When asked why she did not report her concerns either to the Trust or to the police, Colleague B said that she was scared and that 'it was his word against mine'. 'Remorseless' Aderibigbe told the tribunal the allegations were lies and the result of a conspiracy between management at the Trust and Colleagues A and B to get rid of him and that this was a case of 'people conniving against him.' The tribunal found Aderibigbe's comments 'must have been done with a view to sexual gratification'. It concluded: 'There was no evidence of understanding from the Registrant about what he did wrong or evidence of any attempt to address the wrongdoing. 'He has not shown any remorse or acknowledged the impact of his behaviour on Colleagues A and B. 'The conduct included repeated and prolonged sexually motivated conduct towards two junior colleagues, indicative of an attitudinal issue. 'The Registrant's conduct towards Colleague A was a premeditated course of behaviour.' Aderibigbe was struck off with immediate effect. US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has thanked the people of India who came out in support of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania during their visit to the country, saying they have friends in America and the White House. The president was accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising senior Trump administration officials including NSA O'Brien during his maiden official visit to India from February 24 to 25. They visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi before leaving for Washington on Tuesday. The US NSA, on his way back to the US, thanked the people of India for their support. "Thanks to all the people of India that came out to support President Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, and the US delegation, affirming their friendship and partnership far into the future," O'Brien said in a tweet. "You have friends in the USA and in the White House," the NSA said. Separately, the White House in a tweet thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India for their incredible hospitality. The White House in a tweet said that President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked at length about the IndiaPakistan relationship. The Foreign Policy magazine said that Trump left New Delhi without delivering on an "incredible" trade deal despite years of high-level negotiations. "As Washington is discovering, it is not easy dealing with a country led by a populist leader with a strong mandate and a proclivity towards protectionism. Despite those hurdles, the broader trendlines in the US-India relationship continue to seem robust, as shown by the visit itself," the magazine said. Major American newspapers prominently reported about the visit. "As he completed his two-day stay, Mr Trump focused only on the positive, offering validation of Mr Modi as a champion of religious liberty even as the Indian government has adopted Hindu-first policies targeting Muslims," The New York Times said. "The president publicly accepted Mr Modi's word that he treats the 1.3 billion people in his diverse country fairly without regard to faith and made no mention of the months of protests by those who think otherwise. "The president stressed the strength of his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in meetings long on symbolism and short on concrete agreements," the NYT reported. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's diplomatic drop-in was as intense as it was brief, with his hosts providing expansive red-carpet treatment that the president used to celebrate the most politically favourable stretch of his presidency. The daily said Trump's momentum was greeted in India on Monday by a splashy, two-day display that combined Prime Minister Modi's political power with the vibrant sights, sounds and spices of his nation's culture. In an op-ed on Fox News, James Jay Carafano said that there is a bipartisan character to US-India relations in both countries. This is more than just two charismatic leaders and the offer of free hats pulling in a crowd. "The US and India have forged something new and unprecedented. We are not old-fashioned treaty allies, but we are way more than just friends. This is a vital strategic partnership. We know that from the most distant Pacific Island to the Middle East we have each other's back. This is a new geostrategic reality in the world," he wrote. In a report, USA Today said that Trump defended Modi's government, saying it "worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom," though critics say the law discriminates against Muslims. Trump used the visit to highlight accomplishments on defence cooperation and strengthening ties between the two countries, The Hill Newspaper said. "He celebrated US-India relations and his bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as the Indian leader's Hindu nationalist party came under further scrutiny for its controversial citizenship law during Trump's visit," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim has been arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district, the police said on Wednesday. Akhtar Kasamali Merchant (56) was arrested from Nalasopara area on Tuesday, an official said. Inspector Mansing Patil of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said that Merchant was associated with Dawood Ibrahim. Later he set up his own gang and was wanted for several offences including extortion and kidnapping in Thane and Vasai-Virar belt, Patil said. A case under IPC sections 364(A) (kidnapping for ransom) and 384 (extortion) and provisions of the Arms Act was registered against Merchant at Naya Nagar police station in Thane district in 2018. He was on the run since then, and was suspected to have fled to Nepal and Bangladesh, Patil said. Recently Merchant returned to Mumbai. After receiving a tip-off that he was back in Nalasopara area, a trap was laid and he was nabbed near Civic Centre Chowk on Tuesday, the officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday signalled scepticism toward a federal law that made it a felony to encourage illegal immigrants to come or stay in the United States as they heard a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to revive the measure after it was struck down by a lower court. By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday signalled scepticism toward a federal law that made it a felony to encourage illegal immigrants to come or stay in the United States as they heard a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to revive the measure after it was struck down by a lower court. The nine justices heard arguments in the administration's appeal after the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 invalidated the law as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Conservative and liberal justices alike expressed concern that the decades-old law may be too broad, repeatedly pressing the administration about what kind of speech could be criminalised. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, asked whether it would be illegal for a grandmother to tell a grandchild who was in the United States unlawfully, "I encourage you to stay." Other justices wondered about the work of lawyers or charities and whether their speech could be impaired. The law bars inducing or encouraging an illegal immigrant to "come to, enter or reside" in the United States, including for financial gain. The case involves Evelyn Sineneng-Smith, a U.S. citizen who ran an immigration consultancy in San Jose, California, and was convicted of violating the law. It is one of a number of immigration-related appeals the Supreme Court is handling during its term that ends in June. The justices in November heard Trump's bid to rescind a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of young people known as "Dreamers" who were brought to the United States illegally as children. Trump has made restricting both legal and illegal immigration a centrepiece of his presidency and his re-election bid this year. Sineneng-Smith, convicted of violating this law as well as mail fraud, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. She was accused of profiting by duping illegal migrants into paying her to file frivolous visa applications while remaining in the country indefinitely. Her business primarily served Filipinos who worked as home healthcare providers. The Trump administration said the law is not meant to criminalize protected speech, but rather to stop people who would facilitate or solicit illegal immigration and enrich themselves by doing so. Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer wondered whether the law could be limited rather than struck down entirely. Some of his colleagues seemed to doubt its viability given the threat to even simple speech, pushing back against the administration's attorney who suggested that a person urging a relative to stay in the United States would not be prosecuted under the law. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan asked what would happen if the person gave 10 reasons to stay "and repeats that and repeats that, and it's very definitely encouraging and inducing a person to stay in this country - does that count?" (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry recently announced that the most awaited Friends reunion is happening and fans haven't been able to keep calm since then. Reports now suggest, the one-hour unscripted special, scheduled to air on HBO Max, will cost the studio up to $2.5 million for each cast member. The special starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer will be available, alongside all 10 seasons of the comedy with HBO Max, which launches in May 2020, in the US. According to Variety and Hollywood Reporter, each cast member is said to receive about $2.5 and $3 million to appear on the shows' special. Another report in Deadline said some actors could receive up to $4 million, which is four times more than what Jennifer Aniston receives for each episode of Apple's The Morning Show. The reunion special is all set to be shot on the iconic Stage 24, where the original show Friends was filmed at Warner Bros' studios. HBO Max will also showcase hit shows and films like, Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as part of their catalogue. Friends Reunion Is Happening, Jennifer Aniston And Mathew Perry Announce The Good News Friends: Joke's On You Chandler Bing, Baby Emma Just Woke Up From The Best Nap Ever! UMAPINE Two law enforcement officers shot a person in eastern Oregon near the Washington state border, police said. A Umatilla County sheriffs deputy and a Milton Freewater police officer responded to a call at 11:44 p.m. Monday about a gun fired in the Umapine area, The Union-Bulletin in Walla Walla, Washington, reported. They confronted an armed person outside a home and used force during the confrontation," Oregon State police said in a statement. The person was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries, police said. The two officers have been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is completed. Their names were not released. Oregon State Police are leading the investigation with help from Pendleton police and the Umatilla County District Attorneys Office. -- The Associated Press 'The most important thing is that medical aid reaches people whenever required.' IMAGE: A woman opposing the new citizenship law is assisted by a policeman after she was beaten by people supporting the law at a protest site in New Delhi. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters In the wee hours of Wednesday, February 26, the Delhi high court directed the police to immediately escort some 20 individuals injured in the ongoing riots in Mustafabad, north east Delhi, to the Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital for treatment. Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Anup J Bhambhani convened at Justice Muralidhar's residence around 12.30 am on Wednesday to hear the plea filed by Advocate Suroor Mander. Mander explained the dire circumstances of victims trapped at the Al Hind hospital to Justice Muralidhar over the telephone. She also arranged for Dr Anwar at the Al Hind hospital to speak to the judges via speaker mode. Dr Anwar explained there were two dead individuals and around 22 injured persons at the Al Hind hospital and that he had been trying to seek police help from around 4 pm on February 25 without success. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, Mander says, "The police has no excuse for what they have done." Why did you approach the Delhi high court in the middle of the night? We were getting calls from desperate people at the Al Hind hospital in Mustabfabad. It is in the heart of the current riots taking place and a lot of injured people have been taken there. Over time, the number of injured taken to the hospital were too many. Despite repeated requests, we were not allowed to open the police barricades and allow the passage of ambulances. In our time of desperation, we approached the high court and the bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Anup J Bhambhani passed the order directing the cops to ensure safe passage of the injured. We also requested the setting up of a help desk to which the court said they would meet us at 2.15 pm today. How serious is the situation in Delhi as of now? It is very serious as ambulances can't move in that area. Misinformation is being spread and violence is spreading. The police is not allowing access to ambulances, either private or government, and therefore the situation has become very difficult for residents of Mustafabad. What is the reason for the police not allowing ambulances? The police says they have not been able to secure safe passage. But that is nonsensical as there are people who are injured. The police is not allowing ambulances as they feel the ambulances will be used by rioters to move around. Private ambulances could be a problem, but they should have still allowed public ambulances. The police has no excuse for what they have done. What are the human rights violations that are taking place? The Delhi police has been extremely high-handed in its response. Apart from stories and videos, actual accounts of their partisan behaviour is also in the open. There is a serious issue of high-handedness. We have called and called the police for assistance, but did not get any response. Till the time we approached the court we did not get anything that was favourable. Now the communication lines have opened and it is too little too late. What do you want from the court, if according to you, it is already a little too late? The court has to ensure that we protect the rights of the most marginalised, especially people in distress like women and children. The most important thing is that medical aid reaches people whenever required and the police takes it on priority. Can you tell us the geography of that area? Why has it become so volatile all of a sudden? It is the poorer part of Delhi city. It is largely made up of migrants who have come from other parts of the country and are settled there. They do low income jobs. There are a lot of small-income traders from the (Muslim and Hindu) communities. There are pockets where one religious group is in the majority. Then there is the mixed population. It is basically all bordering Uttar Pradesh, Loni and Ghaziabad areas. It is north east Delhi. Five children aged six to 17 and two adults were injured in a school bus accident Thursday about 60 miles northwest of New York City, according to state police. Troopers said a pick-up truck apparently rear-ended the eastbound bus on Route 17, pushing into the guide rail, which caused it to flip on its side. The mini-bus was traveling from Fallsburg to a BOCES facility in neighboring Orange County when it was struck around 7:45 a.m. in the town of Mamakating. Police described the injuries to the children and two bus monitors as minor. The children were treated and released at a local hospital. Neither driver was injured. The unidentified 57-year-old driver of the pick-up truck was issued a traffic violation for following too closely. Route 17 east was closed between exits 112 and 113 as the investigation continued. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics New York Education Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks to supporters at a rally on February 20, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has stalled in national polls ahead of Super Tuesday. The slowed momentum comes after a dismal performance Feb. 19 on the Nevada debate stage, the first time he faced his rivals and their attacks. While Bloomberg has positioned himself as the "cool" candidate on social media, reaching out to so-called influencers to post endorsements of his candidacy, the effort may be falling flat. Support for Bloomberg began to stagnate around two weeks ago, according to national polls. He's hovered around the 15% mark since a week before the Nevada debate, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average. He had been rising in national support thanks to massive spending on campaign ads. He's plowed more than $500 million of his own personal fortune into those messages since he entered the race in November. He is worth around $62 billion. The former New York mayor has also either stalled or lost support in Super Tuesday states, according to an analysis from FiveThirtyEight. Super Tuesday is March 3. Tweet from Nate In California, the state with the largest delegate pool at 415, Bloomberg fell to 11% in FiveThirtyEight's polling average, down from the 12% he garnered on Feb. 18. He trails Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has 34%, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has 13%, according to the most recent poll conducted from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25. Here are some other Super Tuesday states where support for Bloomberg has plateaued: Minnesota : Bloomberg's support has decreased from 9% to 3% in the span of a few days after his first debate. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in the lead in Minnesota, her home state, with 29%, according to the latest poll conducted between Feb. 17 and Feb. 20. : Bloomberg's support has decreased from 9% to 3% in the span of a few days after his first debate. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in the lead in Minnesota, her home state, with 29%, according to the latest poll conducted between Feb. 17 and Feb. 20. Texas : Bloomberg in the most recent poll is in third place with 17%, down from the 18% that he garnered in a poll conducted from Feb. 12 to Feb. 18. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders are tied for first place, with 24% each, according to the latest poll from Public Policy Polling conducted between Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. : Bloomberg in the most recent poll is in third place with 17%, down from the 18% that he garnered in a poll conducted from Feb. 12 to Feb. 18. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders are tied for first place, with 24% each, according to the latest poll from Public Policy Polling conducted between Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. North Carolina : Bloomberg remains in third place with 17%, up slightly from 16% in a poll conducted between Feb. 12 and Feb. 18. He trails Biden, who has 23%, and Sanders, who has 20%, according to the most recent poll conducted from Feb. 23 to Feb. 24. : Bloomberg remains in third place with 17%, up slightly from 16% in a poll conducted between Feb. 12 and Feb. 18. He trails Biden, who has 23%, and Sanders, who has 20%, according to the most recent poll conducted from Feb. 23 to Feb. 24. Oklahoma: Bloomberg remained at 20%, but fell from first place to second behind Biden, who has 21%, according to the most recent poll conducted between Feb. 17 and Feb. 21. Last week was his first time on the debate stage and it showed. Bloomberg appeared unprepared to respond to jabs from his Democratic rivals, who dug into his record as New York City mayor and his attitudes toward women he has been accused by former employees of inappropriate comments in the workplace. By Tuesday's debate in Charleston, South Carolina, Bloomberg appeared steadier, responding to criticism about his record on policing, alleged sexual harassment and donating to Republican political candidates with what seemed like better prepared remarks. At the most recent debate, he unleashed attacks on the front-runner, Sanders of Vermont, criticizing him for his record on gun control policy and his democratic socialist agenda. But Bloomberg's presence in the race might have only aided Sanders by stealing support from Biden, a fellow moderate, one state poll shows. The Texas poll from Public Policy Polling conducted earlier this week showed that with Bloomberg in consideration, voters are split between Biden and Sanders. But in the same poll, when Bloomberg is excluded from the survey, Biden leads with 31%, while Sanders trails at 25%. Texas tweet After two days of rampant violence in northeast Delhi, a shoot-at-sight order has been issued in the affected areas, police sources said on Tuesday. According to sources in Delhi Police's north-east district department, the shoot-at-sight order was announced in Yamuna Vihar area. Several localities, including Chand Bagh, Bhajanpura, Maujpur-Babarpur, and Jafrabad witnessed violence as pro- and anti-CAA protesters clashed. Several incidents of firing by protestors as well as security forces were reported on Monday and Tuesday, as well as frequent instances of stone pelting and vandalism. At least 13 have lost their lives during the clashes, while over a 186 others have incurred injuries during the riots. Earlier in the day, the Union Home Ministry appointed senior IPS officer S.N. Srivastava the Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) to contain the law and order crisis in the national capital as it found that the serving officers were unable to control the situation which was deteriorating by the day. On the first anniversary of the Balakot air strike on camps of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), former chief of the Indian Air Force Air Marshal BS Dhanoa on Wednesday described it as a paradigm shift in Indian military operations. Basically, its a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out a terror training camp that we successfully carried out, he told ANI. One year has gone past and we look back with satisfaction. We have learnt a lot of lessons, a lot of things have been implemented after Balakot operations. Watch | Ghus Kar Maarenge...: Former IAF chief on first anniversary of Balakot air strike The IAF carried out the air strikes 12 days after a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosive laden car into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pulwama, killing 40 troopers. Air Marshal Dhanoa who retired last September, said the Balakot air strike also acted as a deterrent against any possible terror attacks during the general elections in April and May. After Balakot air strike, there was no major terrorist attack throughout the Indian elections because they were scared that we will respond again in the same manner or even more devastatingly, the former IAF chief said. The day after the Balakot air strikes, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter aircraft breached Indian air space over Jammu and Kashmir, prompting the IAF to scramble its own warplanes to repulse the raiders. In that operation, Wing Commander who was flying a MiG 21 Bison shot down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft before his own place was hit and forced him to bail out. The IAF pilot who was captured by Pakistan troops was released on March 2. Wing Commander Abhinandan who was conferred the Vir Chakra, resumed flying in August last year. State Police say they hope the public can help them find a man wanted for rape in Columbia County. Brendan J. Ryder, 25, is targeted by State Police in Livingston on a charge of first-degree rape. Troopers say they are searching for Ryder, who is know the frequent Austerlitz, Chatham and Watervliet. Details on the alleged crime were not shared by the troopers who included Ryder in their list of suspect wanted in their Warrant Wednesday effort that attempts to enlist the public in efforts to find wanted people. Troopers say they are searching for: Ebony Barber, 38, is wanted by State Police in Kingston on a felony drug charge that accuses her of having Ecstacy during a traffic stop in the town of Ulster. Emilie R. Diamond, 36, is wanted by State Police in Wilton on a charges of misdemeanor drug possession and driving while ability impaired by drugs. State Police said she was arrested after a traffic stop in Wilton. Troopers said they caught her with heroin. Richard Castro, 50, is wanted by State Police in Yonkers on after a 2015 arrest in which he was accused of possessing a forged social security card and state driving documents. Jacob Briones, 27, is wanted by State Police in Geneseo on a charge of promotion of prison contraband. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Edwin Escobar, 41, is wanted by State Police in Farmingdale on charges of drunken driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle that stems from a 2014 arrest on Long Island. Richard L. Castle, 50, is wanted by State Police in Syracuse on a charge of drunken driving and criminal possession of marijuana that stems from a June 27, 2007 traffic stop on the Thruway. Supreme Court Rules Child to Stay in Italy in Fathers Custody WASHINGTONA young child born in Italy to an American mother and an Italian father who split up soon after her birth should remain in her fathers custody in that country because its considered her habitual residence, the Supreme Court decided. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was released Feb. 25, in a case cited as Monasky v. Taglieri, the nations highest court interpreted an international treaty and upheld lower court rulings determining she was a resident of Italy based on the totality of the circumstances specific to the case. Even though the child had only lived in Italy for two months at the time the mother brought her to the United States, that brief period was sufficient to establish her habitual residence, the Supreme Court found. This finding was consistent with the approach taken by authorities in other countries that abide by the terms of the treaty, the court noted. During oral arguments Dec. 11, 2019, both justices and lawyers complained that the treaty offers no definition of habitual residence nor guidance on how to determine an infants habitual residence, which is generally understood to refer to the place where a child has acclimatized and feels comfortable. In the decision, the court held it was important to consider that during the earliest period in the newborns life, the parents never formulated any specific plans to leave Italy and lived their lives as if they intended to continue residing there with the child. The Supreme Court had to examine the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which is a multilateral treaty that entered into force on Dec. 1, 1983. There are 101 signatory countries, including the United States and Italy. The treaty exists to provide a speedy method to return children under the age of 16 internationally abducted by a parent from their country of habitual residence or wrongfully kept in a signatory country that isnt their country of habitual residence. A goal of the treaty is to preserve the child custody arrangement that was in place immediately before the abduction, on the theory that doing so deters parents from crossing international boundaries to seek out more sympathetic courts. The case involves anesthesiologist Domenico Taglieri, an Italian citizen, and research biologist Michelle Monasky, a U.S. citizen, who were married in the United States in 2011. In 2013, they relocated to Italy. In 2015, Monasky, who claims to be the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Taglieri, began considering moving back to the United States and told her then-husband she wanted a divorce. Two days later, she delivered a baby girl identified in court papers as A.M.T. Monasky returned to the United States with the 2-month-old baby, who, by that point in her life, had already lived in six places. Both Italian and U.S. district courts ruled in favor of the father. The mother complied with court orders and returned A.M.T. to Italy. In Ohio, U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. noted that various factors, such as the parents finding full-time employment in Italy, looking for an au pair there, and scheduling doctor visits for A.M.T. suggested the parents intended to raise their daughter in Italy. The fact that the parents relationship deteriorated doesnt necessarily disestablish the childs habitual residence, Solomon held. Monasky appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel ruled against her. The mother appealed to the full circuit, which also ruled against her. In his majority opinion, Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote, quoting another decision, that the trial courts ruling shouldnt be disturbed unless the fact findings strike us as wrong with the force of a five-week-old, unrefrigerated dead fish. The Supreme Court adopted similar reasoning as it refused to interfere with the findings of the lower tribunals. In accord with decisions of the courts of other countries party to the Convention, we hold that a childs habitual residence depends on the totality of the circumstances specific to the case. The high court found that an actual agreement between the parents is not necessary to establish an infants habitual residence. Although the Convention recognizes certain exceptions to the return obligation when a child has been wrongfully removed or retained away from the country in which she habitually resides, the court was not convinced that returning the child to Italy would place her at grave risk of harm. The District Court acknowledged Monaskys allegations that Taglieri physically abused her but found no evidence he ever abused A.M.T. or otherwise disregarded her well-being, Ginsburg wrote in the opinion. By Trend An international conference entitled TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) - a gas pipeline of peace and cooperation took place in Dubai (UAE) as part of the oil and gas road show of Turkmenistan on Feb. 24-25, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen foreign ministry. The event was attended by Adviser to Turkmen President on Oil and Gas Issues Yagshigeldy Kakayev, Director of TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd Muhammetmyrat Amanov, Afghan Minister of Industry and Trade Ajmal Ahmadi, Head of Turkmen Vnesheconombank (Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs) Rahimberdi Jepbarov, Chairman of the Board of Dragon Oil (UAE) Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer and other officials. About 100 companies from more than 40 countries attended in the forum. During the presentation, information was provided on progress in the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline and its impact on the socio-economic development of the region. On the sidelines of the conference, negotiations were held between the managers of the Turkmen fuel and energy complex and the management of interested foreign companies. A seminar was also held on the legal and tax aspects of investing in the Turkmen oil and gas sector. The construction of the Turkmen section of the TAPI pipeline was launched in December 2015. The design capacity of the pipeline may reach 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The pipeline will pass through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar (816 kilometers), through the cities of Quetta and Multan across Pakistani territory (819 kilometers), and reach the city of Fazilka in India. The construction of the Afghan section of the pipeline was initiated in February 2018, while the construction of the Pakistani section is planned to be launched in 2020. The Turkmengas State Concern is the leader of the TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd. international consortium. It acts as the main financier and manager of the project. The consortium also includes Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistans Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited Company and Indias GAIL Company. Turkmenistan exports gas to China and Russia. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Kwadwo Nkansah 'Lilwin' is set to drop a new song titled "Funny" a diss track to Funny Face following their beef. The two Ghanaian celebrities have been in the media spotlight in recent times, having taken massive swipes at each other especially after Funny Face was adjudged the Favourite Actor at the 2019 Ghana Movie Awards. But according to 'Lilwin', he had no issue with Funny Face, but was just expressing his viewpoint on the 2019 Favourite Actor award. "I still maintain that Funny Face didn't deserve the award especially with the likes of Dumelo, Akrobeto, Kalybos among others who were competing for the same accolade. "I'm surprised his rebuttal saying all sort of things about me but am not perturbed and I don't have any hatred for my fellow colleague," he told the Ghana News Agency. The diss track produced by Tubhani Musik. would be released on Friday, February 28, 2020. 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 Bigg Boss 13: Asim Riaz, who rose to fame with his impressive stint in Bigg Boss 13, is enjoying massive fame and popularity. He recently found himself in a tricky situation after two youngsters chased his car to get a selfie. Here's what he did next: Bigg Boss 13: Asim Riaz is on cloud 9 after his blockbuster stint in Bigg Boss 13. While Asim entered the show as a lesser-known celebrity, he came out as not only the runner up but also as a youth sensation. Be it his fights with friend turned foe Sidharth Shukla, romance with lady love Himanshi Khurana to his rap style, Asim gave his all to the show and it all eventually paid off. Ever since Bigg Boss 13 has wrapped up, Asim has now been flooded with exciting offers and experiencing a new kind of fan frenzy. This fan frenzy turned quite cinematic after 2 individuals chased Asim Riazs car on a highway to get a selfie clicked. Soon after Asim noticed the two fans, he asked his driver to stop the car and interact with them. He rolled his window panes down and treat his fans with adorable selfies. The video of the same is now going viral on social media with social media users applauding Asims sweet gesture. It is not the first time that fans have gone out of the way to get one glimpse of their favourite BB 13 contestant. Previously, Asim Riaz was mobbed in Ahmedabad where he had reached for the inauguration of a store. Several photos and videos of the same incident are surfacing on Asims fan pages. Also Read: Mujhse Shaadi Karoge: Shehnaaz Gill, Sidharth Shukla aka Sidnaaz reunite, treat fans with latest photos Also Read: Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum February 26, 2020 Written Update: Sonakshi gets worried of her disease On the work front, Asim Riaz has announced that he will feature in an upcoming album with Bohemia. Reports are rife that Asim will share the screen space with Jacqueline Fernandez in the song. Also Read: Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Preview February 26, 2020: Kartik, Naira to find proof against Luv-Kush For all the latest Entertainment News, download NewsX App Bay Area residents have poured more than $28 million into the top Democratic presidential campaigns, with much of the money coming from the young, politically progressive neighborhoods of San Francisco, a Chronicle survey finds. A look at the contributions coming from each of the regions 400-plus ZIP codes from 2017 through 2019 found that places supporting progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren look very different from those backing more moderate candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Pete Buttigieg, a centrist and the first openly gay candidate to make a serious run for president, showed strength in a variety of neighborhoods, while billionaire businessman Tom Steyer found only limited support, despite having roots in the Bay Area. The numbers reinforced the regions well-earned reputation as a financial desert for Republicans. While President Trump raised $211 million nationally for his campaign through the end of 2019, only $554,605 came from the Bay Area. Look no farther than the 94301 ZIP code of Palo Alto. Residents there donated freely their $451,749 total was 10th-highest in the Bay Area. And it hardly tilts left, with Buttigieg and Biden topping the contribution list, and Klobuchar and even businessman Andrew Yang finishing ahead of Sanders. Trumps take there? Zero. Overall, Sanders collected $7.2 million from the Bay Area, Buttigieg $6.6 million, Warren $6.2 million, Biden $3.3 million, Yang $3.2 million, Klobuchar $1.6 million and Steyer just over $500,000. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg reported no contributions the billionaire is paying for his campaign. Its no surprise that the Bay Area is a cash cow for Democrats from across the country. For years, Northern California has been a regular stop for national and statewide candidates looking to finance their political ambitions, said Dan Newman, a veteran Democratic consultant. The Bay Area is a disproportionate source of Democratic money in every election, he said. Its always more politically engaged, both with the donor class and the voters, which is why so many state and national officeholders are from here. Big money from surprising neighborhoods: What has changed is where that money is coming from. According to The Chronicles ZIP code review, a big chunk of that cash is from San Francisco but not from upscale areas like Sea Cliff, St. Francis Woods and Nob Hill. Instead, its from neighborhoods such as the Mission, the Castro and Haight-Ashbury, where plenty of liberal, politically active young people are donating. The four Bay Area ZIP codes with the most political contributions were in San Francisco, and six of the top 10. Leading the donor list was the 94110 area, which covers the Mission and Bernal Heights, with $813,453. It was followed by areas that include the Castro (94114), Haight-Ashbury (94117) and the Western Addition and Japantown (94115). How we crunched the numbers Reported dollar amounts are sums of campaign contributions reported to the Federal Election Commission from 2017 through the end of 2019. This analysis combined contributions that individuals gave directly to campaigns and contributions that went through the conduits ActBlue and WinRed. Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg is self-funding his campaign, and election commission records show he received no contributions from anyone but himself. See More Collapse This is absolutely different and something you wouldnt have seen even a few years ago, said Newman, a veteran of California campaigns. This isnt wealthy white people, but shows the power of progressive, grassroots, politically active young peoples neighborhoods. According to 2010 census data, the average age in Haight-Ashbury is 33.8, the youngest in the city, while the Mission-Bernal Heights area isnt much older at 36.2. In both places the politics are progressive. S.F.s cash sources: The money flowed freely in the Mission, and much of it went to Warren. The $261,066 total for the Massachusetts senator was her highest in any Bay Area ZIP code. But Sanders wasnt far behind with, $213,470, and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., collected $202,416. Even Yang, who ended his campaign in February, did well, with $82,791. The other moderates were well back, with Biden taking in a meager $22,411. Buttigieg showed his fundraising strength in Haight-Ashbury, a neighborhood that hasnt traditionally been kind to moderate candidates. His $176,778 put him ahead of both Warren ($165,265) and Sanders ($154,991). All three were far beyond Bidens $37,371 and Klobuchars $22,134. Not surprisingly, Buttigieg scored big in the Castro, heart of the citys LGBT community. He collected $350,723, his highest Bay Area total. But the area also was big for Warren, with $173,871. While Buttigieg might not be as far to the left as Sanders or Warren, there are still plenty of store windows in San Francisco that have a sign for Buttigieg next to one for Chesa Boudin, the citys very progressive newly elected district attorney, said Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University. The 38-year-old Buttigieg strikes a chord with many of the young, college-educated residents of those districts because in a lot of ways, he seems like them, McDaniel said. And in a field filled with veteran politicians, most age 70 and older, Buttigieg brings the prospect of change, the idea of being an outsider. Making small donations add up: Those progressive strongholds have received a huge boost from ActBlue, an online platform that makes it easy and convenient to instantly make digital donations to Democratic candidates and causes. At virtually no cost, campaigns can make email pitches for amounts as small as $3 (Buttigieg), $2.70 (Sanders) or $2 (Warren). By contrast, the moderate candidates received far more large donations. Bay Area donors gave 425 individual contributions to Buttigieg of the maximum allowed by law, $2,800 for the primary and $5,600 for the primary and general election combined. Biden took in 390. For Warren, that number was 95. And for Sanders, it was only 31. But the sheer number of donations was a different story. Sanders collected his Bay Area money from 293,762 individual contributions, compared with 177,915 for Warren, 103,805 for Buttigieg and 52,986 for Biden. Although the average donation to Sanders was just $26, instead of the $34 for Warren and the $63 or so for both Buttigieg and Biden, the volume of donations coming in for Sanders pushed his take to the top. Small donations are the jet fuel that propelled Bernie, Newman said. It helps the campaign build a list of people it can go back to for money, volunteers, votes and whatever they need. And as the Bay Area numbers show, those contributions add up. In 2019, ActBlue collected more than $1 billion from 6 million people, including more than 3 million first-time donors, with 40% of them giving more than once, the company said in a January blog post. Nora Cody of Oaklands Laurel district (94619) is one of those donors. A Sanders supporter, the 58-year-old artist and consultant used ActBlue to send a contribution to the Vermont senators campaign. I just did it on my phone, and it is really easy, she said. I use it when I organize fundraisers. Codys district shows the progressive reach of those small contributions. Sanders collected $44,423 in the neighborhood, closely followed by Warrens $38,967. From there, its a long way to Buttigieg with $11,279, Yang ($10,383), Klobuchar ($5,362) and Biden ($3,007). Where the moderates collect: There are still plenty of wealthy Bay Area communities where the moderates get the money. Belvedere and Tiburon (94920), where the average age is 49 and the typical average household income is $159,423, backed Biden ($128,186), followed by Buttigieg ($105,509) and Warren ($32,016). Sanders ($19,235) finished ahead of only Yang and Steyer. Warrens lead on Sanders there was no anomaly. Throughout the Bay Area, the Massachusetts senator consistently raised more money than Sanders in the ZIP codes that backed moderates over progressives. The Burlingame and Hillsborough area (94010) isnt a home for progressives. Buttigieg collected $212,540, and Biden pulled in $128,869, his second-best Bay Area showing. Even Yang finished ahead of Sanders and Warren. And Trump? With $14,590, Hillsborough was his Bay Area stronghold. Klobuchar showed her strength in the wealthy Peninsula community of Atherton (94027), pulling in $53,840, her top local draw. She finished behind Buttigieg ($95,195) and ahead of everyone else. Sanders didnt crack $9,000. Its not GOP territory, though. Trump barely raised $2,000. Poorer areas tilt left: Progressives have the fundraising power in many of the Bay Areas younger and poorer communities. In Oaklands Fruitvale district (94601), where the average household income is $44,666 and the average age a tick below 31, Sanders collected $35,184 and Warren $18,669. Buttigieg led the moderates with $3,450, with Biden ($977) and Klobuchar ($480) at the rear. It was a similar story in San Pablo (94806), where the income is $56,605 and the age 33.2. Sanders had $17,055, Warren collected $7,893, Yang took in $6,169, and no one else reached $1,600. San Francisco Chronicle newsroom developer Eric Blom contributed to this report. John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth A fast track court in Chhattisgarh's Durg district sentenced a man to imprisonment for life for raping a 10-year-old girl. Special judge Subhra Pachouri on Tuesday sentenced Sanju Kumar Singh (26) to life imprisonment till natural death and imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 6,000 on him, additional public prosecutor Kamal Kishore Verma said. The judge convicted Singh under sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said. In her order the judge observed, " perpetrators of sexual offences on innocent children are psychosocial deviants, who cannot lay any claim to leniency." According to the prosecution, on January 10, 2017, Singh barged into the victim's house in Purani Bhilai area of Durg when she was alone and raped and sodomised her. The victim's two siblings reached home from school at the time and tried to catch the accused, but he escaped, Verma said. Based on the complaint by the victim's sister, an FIR was lodged in this connection and Singh was arrested, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RANDALIA -- A Northeast Iowa farmer and father of three announced he would campaign for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives. Chad Ingels, 51, of Randalia, announced Tuesday he would be running for the Republican nomination in Iowa House District 64, which covers most of Buchanan County and the southern half of Fayette County. The seat is currently held by Bruce Bearinger, a Democrat who was first elected to the seat in 2012. Bearinger ran unopposed for the seat in the last election in 2018. The district has been held by a Democrat since 2002. "Now just seems like the right time," Ingels told The Courier. "I am running because I can offer some unique perspectives." He said his big priorities are water quality improvement efforts, pre-K-12 education and the state's handling of Medicaid. "My wife and I have two children who have Down syndrome who are served by Medicaid," he said. "I believe my experience as a parent can be beneficial to making it even better in the future." In a release Tuesday, Ingels noted his bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture from Iowa State University, as well as his work as a watershed specialist with Iowa State University Extension from 1999 to 2016. He also founded ClearWater Ag Strategies, a company that helps farmers comply with manure management regulations. Ingels was on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission from 2013 to 2018, the last two years as its chairman. In 2018, he ran for Iowa secretary of agriculture, losing to Mike Naig in the primary. During his run for ag secretary, Ingels said the state's "current, voluntary approach" to improving water quality "is the right one," rather than more regulation. He expanded on that in Tuesday's release. "Northeast Iowa farmers have demonstrated that they can work together to create community water quality improvement projects, and then cost-effectively do things on their own farms that get results," Ingels said in the release. Ingels has served on the West Central Community School Board since 1997, serving as its president since 2011. He noted the school board "worked to kick-start post-secondary school opportunities for every student," noting that the district's charter high school graduates a third of its high school seniors with their high school diploma and an associate's degree. "In the Legislature, I will work to increase flexibility for local districts to innovate for the benefit of every student and family, seek ways to reduce the red tape that school administrators and teachers deal with on a daily basis, and protect taxpayers by always considering the impacts on family, school and state budgets," Ingels said in the release. Ingels was past president of the Fayette County Farm Bureau from 2008 to 2010, and noted in his release he raises corn, soybeans and hogs on the Randalia farm with his wife, Tammy, a teacher. His Twitter bio noted he has two adult children and a young son, and he also coaches youth sports in Maynard and Oelwein and is a lector and usher at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Fayette, he said in the release. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 2 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. New Delhi, Feb 26 : Former East Delhi Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit on Wednesday took out a peace march in the troubled areas of North-East Delhi along with his party workers. When they reached the Maujpur locality, they saw one of the participants of the peace march being attacked by another man. Seeing this, Yamini Dikshit, the daughter of Sandeep Dikshit, caught hold of the assailant who reportedly had a pistol on him. An eyewitness said that after the man was confronted by Yamini Dikshit, they quickly whisked the person who was targeted away from the spot in a car to save his life. When asked about the incident, Sandeep Dikshit said, "These types of cases are surfacing in that area only. The situation is still tense in Maujpur while the other areas are limping to normalcy." He also attacked AAP workers and leaders who were not to be seen anywhere and asserted that Congress workers were on the ground helping people. The former MP said that harmony meetings are the need of the hour to reduce the tension in North-East Delhi. A total of 23 persons have lost their lives so far while nearly 200 others have been injured since Monday after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters turned violent in North-East Delhi. Out of the 23 victims, nine died of gun shots, five were hit by blunt objects, one died due to burn injuries, three were stabbed while the rest of the cases are yet to be analysed. The deceased include one Delhi Police head constable and one official of the Intelligence Bureau. Whitaker Point Hawksbill Crag in Arkansas Arkansas does not have a state inheritance or estate tax. However, like any state, Arkansas has its own rules and laws surrounding inheritance, including what happens if the decedent dies without a valid will. This article covers probate, how to successfully create a valid will in Arkansas, and what happens to your estate if you die without a will. If you want professional guidance for your estate planning after reading this article, the SmartAsset matching tool will pair you with capable financial advisors in your area who will assist you throughout this process. Does Arkansas Have an Inheritance Tax or an Estate Tax? Arkansas does not collect an estate tax or an inheritance tax. However, if you are inheriting property from another state, that state may have an estate tax that applies. You will also likely have to file some taxes on behalf of the deceased. Other Necessary Tax Filings When you die, there are many federal and estate tax situations that need to become a priority for those who survive you. Besides the state estate tax, you need to look out for the following: Final individual federal and state income tax returns the federal and state tax returns are due by Tax Day of the year following the individuals death. Federal estate/trust income tax return due by April 15 of the year following the individuals death Federal estate tax return due nine months after the individuals death, though an automatic six-month extension is available if asked for prior to the conclusion of the nine-month period This is required only of individual estates that exceed a gross asset and prior taxable gift value of $11.58 million in 2020 To file any of these estate-based returns, youll need to apply for an employer identification number (EIN) with the IRS. You can do this online, by fax or via mail. Dying With a Will in Arkansas In order for your will to be legitimate in Arkansas, you must state that the document is your will and sign it in front of two witnesses. If you have already signed your will, you can acknowledge to your witnesses the signature you previously signed. If you cannot sign your own name, you can direct someone else to sign your name while you witness the signature. Your witnesses must sign your will in front of you. Your witnesses must be disinterested, which means that they are not inheriting anything in the will. If an heir signs the will, they may lose their inheritance. You do not have to notarize your will in order to make it legal. However, you can make your will self-proving, which helps to speed up the probate process. In order to do that you will need to go to a notary. A self-proving will speeds up the probate process because the court can accept the will without contacting the signing witnesses. You can make your will self-proving if you and your witnesses go to a notary and sign an affidavit that states who you are and that each of you knew you were signing the will. Story continues Once the will is determined to be valid, the next step is the probate process. Probate proceedings are usually only required if the deceased person owned any assets in their name only. Other assets, also known as non-probate property, can generally be transferred to the other owner without probate. Arkansas has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code. However, the state does offer a simplified probate procedure for small estates. An estate can qualify if the personal property in the estate is not worth more than what the surviving spouse, if any, or minor children, if any, are entitled to free of debt through dower and curtesy and statutory allowances. An estate can also qualify if the value of the estate after encumbrances, the homestead, and any statutory allowances for the benefit of a spouse or minor children are subtracted is $100,000 or less. In order to use the simplified probate process, the executor files a written request with the local probate court asking to use the simplified procedure. The court can then allow the executor to distribute the property. The executors request must have a list of the decedents personal property and its value, a legal description and value of any real property including the homestead, the names and addresses of anyone who has the deceased persons personal property and anyone who is residing at the real property, and the names, addresses and relationship of the inheritors to the deceased person. The request must also state that there are no unpaid claims against the estate, and that if the decedent received federal or state benefits the estate has already reimbursed the Department of Human Services. The executor must also attach a copy of the will and pay a $25 fee to file the affidavit. The executor must have also published a notice of the death and the filing within 30 days of filing the affidavit that states that any creditors must make claims against the estate within three months from the date of publishing the notice. Dying Without a Will in Arkansas Woman helping a man complete his will If you die without a valid will, you end up losing control over what happens to your assets after your death. Alaska inheritance laws label these types of estates intestate, which means there is no will, or no valid will. The court will then follow intestate succession laws to determine who inherits your assets, and how much they get. If there isnt a will, the court will appoint someone, usually an adult child or surviving spouse, to be the executor or personal representative. The executor or personal representative takes care of the estate of the decedent. Although there are usually extenuating factors when someone dies intestate, it is best to avoid putting your loved ones through that kind of stress. If youre not sure what kind of estate plan you want to make, you can seek the help of a financial advisor specializing in legacy planning. Spouses in Arkansas Inheritance Law Whether or not you have a will when you die, your spouse will inherit your property through a doctrine known as dower and curtesy. If you have no children or descendants, your spouse automatically inherits half of your real estate and half of your personal property. If you have children or other descendants, your spouse has the right to a third of your real estate for life. After your death, your children or descendants will inherit the property outright, except for the third that your spouse is entitled to. Your spouse will then inherit a third of your personal property. After the rules of dower and curtesy are adhered to, the rest of the property is your intestate property, since it is the only property that would have passed under a will if you had made one, and not in any other way. The amount of intestate property your spouse inherits depends on how long you were married and whether or not you have living descendants. If you were married for three or more years and have no descendants, your spouse inherits everything, If you were married less than three years, your spouse inherits half of your intestate property. The rest then goes to other surviving relatives, laid out in the chart below. Children in Arkansas Inheritance Law If you have descendants, such as children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren, but no surviving spouse, they will inherit all of your intestate property. If you have a surviving spouse, they will inherit all of your intestate property, which is what remains after dower and curtesy. Intestate Succession: Spouses and Children Inheritance Situation Who Inherits Your Property Descendants but no spouse Descendants inherit everything Spouse of at least three years, no children Spouse inherits everything Spouse of less than three years, no children Spouse inherits half of intestate property Parents, siblings, or other relatives inherit half of intestate property Spouse and children Spouse inherits 1/3 of personal property and inherits 1/3 of real property in the form of a life estate Children inherit 2/3 of personal property and all real property except for the life estate Under Arkansas law, adopted children have just as much right to their share of intestate inheritance as biological children do. In addition, if the decedent placed their child up for adoption and that child was adopted by another family other than your spouse they are not legally eligible to receive intestate inheritance from the decedent. However, foster children and stepchildren who were never legally adopted by the decedent are not eligible to receive a share as the decedents child. Children born outside of marriage still receive their share if you later marry the childs mother, a court establishes your paternity, you acknowledge in writing that you are the childs father, your name appears with your written consent on the childs birth certificate, or you are obligated to support the child by court order or under a written voluntary promise. Any child born to the decedents wife during their marriage is assumed to be his child and will receive a share of the estate. If you had a child during an attempted marriage that was later declared void, that child is still considered your legitimate child. Any children conceived after a married woman is artificial inseminated with the consent of her husband is considered a legitimate child. Consent of the husband is assumed unless proven otherwise. The decedents children can still receive their share if they are born after the decedents death. Grandchildren will receive a share only if their parent is not alive to inherit. Unmarried Individuals Without Children in Arkansas Inheritance Law Intestate succession in Arkansas if there is no surviving child or spouse is arranged as in the chart below: Intestate Succession: Extended Family Inheritance Situation Who Inherits Your Property Parents Parents inherit everything Siblings but no parents Siblings inherit everything Although theres an intestate process designed to make sure your family inherits, it is generally best to write your own will to ensure that all of your property ends up in the hands you want it in. If no eligible relatives can be found, your property will end up owned by Arkansas. Non-Probate Arkansas Inheritances A couple with their dog in a canoe floating down an Arkansas river. Because the probate process can be difficult and expensive, youll want to know what your options are when it comes to avoiding probate in Arkansas. Listed below are some of the assets that will not have to go through probate and instead go directly to the beneficiaries. Any property in a living trust Life insurance policies 401(k)s, IRAs, other retirement accounts Securities in transfer-on-death accounts Pay-on-death bank accounts Real estate held by a transfer-on-death deed or beneficiary deed Joint tenancy real property Property owned in tenancy by the entirety Property that passes to a surviving spouse by dower and curtesy Vehicles held by transfer-on-death registration Other Situations in Arkansas Inheritance Law Arkansas has a survivorship period. In order to inherit under Arkansass intestate succession statutes, the heir in question must survive you by at least five days. In addition, relatives conceived before you die but born after you die, known as posthumous relatives, are eligible to inherit as if they had been born while you were alive. Posthumous relatives are only eligible to inherit if they are your descendants. Descendants are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on, not siblings, aunts, or other types of relatives. Immigration status is irrelevant when it comes to inheritance. If a relative of yours is entitled to a share of your assets, they can inherit no matter what their citizenship status is. Half-relatives inherit as much as whole relatives. For example, your half-sibling would get the same share as any other sibling. Resources for Estate Planning Managing your own estate, or figuring out how to manage an inheritance, can get complicated. Thats why many people choose to work with a financial professional. The SmartAsset financial advisor matching tool will pair you with as many as three local financial advisors. If youre ready to work with a financial advisor in your area, get started now. Photo credit: iStock.com/Mitchell Wessels, iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages, iStock.com/FatCamera, iStock.com/dlewis33 The post Arkansas Inheritance Laws: What You Should Know appeared first on SmartAsset Blog. India and the US on Tuesday extended their support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in a sovereign, democratic and inclusive Afghanistan. The support came in a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, who was on a two-day official visit to India. "India and the United States share an interest in a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. They support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process that results in sustainable peace; cessation of violence; elimination of terrorist safe havens and preservation of the gains of the last 18 years," the joint statement said. US President Trump welcomed India's role in continuing to provide development and security assistance to help stabilize and provide connectivity in Afghanistan. The two leaders also noted the importance of women empowerment in the economy, in line with US' Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and India's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme. "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump noted the importance of advancing education, economic empowerment and entrepreneurship of women and girls through finance, training, and mentorship initiatives, as well as measures to promote their full and free participation in the economy, in line with the United States' Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and the Government of India's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme," the statement read. On Tuesday, US President concluded his 36 hours official visit to India, during which he held both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BBC's Bafta-winning rural mockumentary This Country is set for an American makeover. The hit show, which is based on the experiences of siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper growing up in rural Cirencester, in the Cotswolds, will be adapted to US television by Fox. The siblings, who wrote and star in the original, have signed up as executive producers for the remake. However, Daisy May revealed that her and her brother will only earn 4,000 between them for the US remake of their hit show. Their characters, cousins Kerry and Lee 'Kurtan' Mucklowe, will be adapted for US audiences as Kelly and Shrub Mallet, two midwesterners whose lives in the fictional town of Flatch in rural Ohio are recorded in a documentary. American Pie actor Seann William Scott, who played Steve Stifler in the cult movie series, has been confirmed as they first cast member of the upcoming show. This Country, starring siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper and showing them growing up in rural Cirencester, in the Cotswolds, will be adapted to US television by Fox He will play the role of Father Joe, who becomes a father figure to the cousins. The pilot of the Fox production has been written by Jenny Bicks, previously of Sex and the City, while it will be directed by Paul Feig, who was behind Bridesmaids. BBC Studios is also set to play a role in the production of the show. It is not the first time a popular British show has been adapted for US television. The Office, another successful BBC mockumentary, only ran for two series in the UK but its US version spawned more than 200 episodes in nine series, becoming a cultural phenomenon. Channel 4's Shameless was another huge success, replicating its cult status in the UK with 12 seasons and 122 episodes. Series 13 is set to air later this year. The siblings, who wrote and star in the hit BBC show, have signed up as executive producers for the remake The Office US was a hit and it spawned more than 200 episodes in nine series, becoming a cultural phenomenon On the other hand, Cold Feet, ITV's romantic comedy, was a complete flop in the US, with only four of eight filmed episodes airing before it was cancelled But not all US adaptations have proved to be so successful. Cold Feet, ITV's romantic comedy, was a complete flop, with only four of eight filmed episodes airing before it was cancelled. The US version of Channel 4 comedy The Inbetweeners also failed, being cancelled after just one season. UK shows and their US adaptations: Hit or Miss? The Office - HIT Shameless - HIT House of Cards - HIT American Idol - HIT Whose line is it anyway? - HIT Cold Feet - MISS The Inbetweeners - MISS Men Behaving Badly - MISS Fawlty Towers - MISS Skins - MISS Life on Mars - MISS Advertisement The corporation's Men Behaving Badly sitcom was cancelled halfway through its second season, while three separate adaptations of British classic Fawlty Towers all bombed. The Coopers will be hoping for better success with the remake of their comedy show. The BBC series follows hapless cousins Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe during their day-to-day life in Cirencester, Cotswolds, in a mockumentary style. The third and final series of the show debuted on iPlayer last week. In a recent issue of Radio Times, Daisy May Cooper said that the show was ending in part because their fame. 'The difficult thing now is that we can't be anonymous anymore,' she said. 'We can't go to the pub like we used to and just watch or listen to people, and writing the third series we definitely didn't have so many of those unique bits.' Five local Gordmans department stores are set to close, leaving just one in the St. Louis area. Stage Stores, the Houston-based buyer of bankrupt Gordmans assets, said in an email to the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday that only the Crystal City store will remain open. These Gordmans are set to close: 1355 South Fifth Street in St. Charles, 687 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard in Gravois Bluffs Plaza in Fenton, 81 Ludwig Drive in Fairview Heights, 2259 Missouri Highway K in OFallon, Missouri, and 235 Arnold Crossroads Center in Arnold. The stores had survived a previous round of cuts by Stage in 2017, the year Gordmans filed for bankruptcy and the Gordmans in Chesterfield was shuttered. As is common practice in the retail industry, Stage Stores reviews its store fleet on a regular basis to ensure we remain competitive and best positioned to provide options to our guests, the company said in its email about the latest closures. The decision to close the five metro area stores came as a result of its latest review. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:25:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Stephane Michel, Total's head of exploration and production in MENA, vowed on Wednesday to start oil and gas exploration in Block 4 in the best and most professional way to ensure safety for people and the environment. "This is a complicated procedure but it is at the core of our work. Our priority is to do this work in the best possible way for Lebanon and our company because we will invest a lot of money into these operations, believing in the results of our work," Michel was quoted in a statement issued by the Presidency following his meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace. Michel added that he has witnessed the procedures that were adopted to reach the drilling step and they were done in a transparent and effective manner. Meanwhile, Walid Nasr, chairman of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA), said that the logistic base at Beirut Port and helicopters at Beirut's airport have become ready to start the drilling operations and all the required environmental licenses have been secured at the necessary time. In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production contracts for two energy blocks 4 and 9 with a consortium of France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek. In April 2019, Boustani announced the launch of Lebanon's second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration in five other blocks. Lebanon hopes to give a big boost to its economy through offshore energy discovery. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / InvestmentNews, the trusted resource for financial professionals and investment advisers, now has a bold new look and a better user experience that is intentionally aligned to educate, inform and engage an ever-growing and more sophisticated audience of financial services firms. This is the first major rebrand since the publication was founded in 1998. "The new design elevates the user experience," said Christine Shaw, CEO, InvestmentNews. "The financial services industry is evolving and so are we. InvestmentNews is, as always, committed to excellence and bringing not only breaking news but fair and accurate reporting to our editorial content." In early 2020, InvestmentNews pivoted to a premium magazine size, and revamped the user experience on its website. The enhanced technology stack will provide improved insights and better engagement. The editorial focus will continue to be on core topics for financial professionals: top news, industry coverage, financial planning, practice management, compliance and regulation, investments including ESG, diversity and inclusion, philanthropic initiatives, and more. NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM In addition to the changes across the brand, InvestmentNews is now in the process of introducing new members to its management team in addition to Josh Brous, VP, Events, George Ortiz, Director, Audience Engagement, and Matt Ackermann, Director, Multimedia: Christine Shaw, Chief Executive Officer George Moriarty, Chief Content Officer Scott Miller, Chief Revenue Officer Katie Downey, Marketing Director, Brand & Products Sasha Burgansky, Marketing Director, Events InvestmentNews has also added new members across the organization in sales, research, audience and editorial, including Paul Curcio, Managing Editor, and Sean Allocca, Deputy Managing Editor. To view the entire masthead, click here. "The InvestmentNews brand and reputation stand out in the field, and I look forward to continuing the great work that's been done," wrote George Moriarty, Chief Content Officer, in his editor's note in the January premium magazine issue. As "The Trusted Resource for Financial Advisers," InvestmentNews will continue to evolve the brand throughout 2020 across all platforms - including additional site enhancements to demonstrate a deep understanding of the financial services industry. InvestmentNews will also soon be announcing a growing suite of events and groundbreaking research. About InvestmentNews InvestmentNews is the leading source for news, analysis and information essential to the financial advisory community. Since 1998, their standard of editorial excellence and deep industry knowledge has allowed InvestmentNews to educate, inform and engage the most influential financial advisers. Through their weekly newspaper, website, newsletters, research, events, videos and webcasts, InvestmentNews provides exclusive and up-to-the-minute news, as well as actionable intelligence, that empowers financial advisers to serve their clients and run their businesses more effectively whenever, however and wherever they need it. 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Media Contact: Katie Downey? ?kdowney@investmentnews.com ? 404-558-4482 SOURCE: InvestmentNews View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577936/InvestmentNews-Introduces-Innovative-New-Design-User-Experience-and-Management-Team Nepal's opposition parties have demanded a parliamentary probe into allegations of graft involving Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Gokul Baskota who recently resigned as Communication Minister. The lawmakers during Tuesday's parliamentary meeting raised issue demanding clarification from Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. "Parliament's Public Account Committee had ordered not to take actions forward about security printing press after it was reported about wrongdoings while contract award was being handed over to two companies. The graft case has crossed its limit and has become an issue of shame, one who can offer more than 700 million bribe, billions or more than that would be awarded the contract," said Nepali Congress leader Minendra Rijal. "This sort of situation has created a shameful situation and can't go worse than this. Honourable Prime Minister you have said, I won't be involved in corruption and won't let anyone take bribe, what can be shameful than this?" he added. This comes in the backdrop of a leaked audiotape of Baskota where he can be heard talking about a commission of NPR 700 Million with a Swiss Company agent regarding a security printing press. Soon after the audio surfaced he resigned from the ministerial post and he is now being investigated on projects which were carried under his supervision. Last month, the Nepali House Panel had started a probe into the complaints registered at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) alleging that billions of rupees had been embezzled in the process of establishing the security printing press and procuring necessary equipment and machinery. Nepal is preparing to bring in security press worth NPR 35 billion as per government-to-government modality from France and Germany as per its plan to print secured documents, certificates and stickers including passports, excise-duty stickers, and vehicle driving licences on its own. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lenten season, a period of 40-some days focused on spiritual purification and repentance. It is a day of fasting for several denominations of Christian churches. Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of the distribution of ashes upon the foreheads of Christians. These ashes are generally created from the palms that were used at the previous years Palm Sunday. They are blessed before the service. The ashes are meant to remind Christians about human mortality, while also showing the individuals desire for repentance and mourning of their own sins. As the priest or minister puts the ash on the body they say Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return (Genesis 3:19) or Repent, and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Christians are encouraged to wear the ashes, which can be distributed on either their forehead or hand, until the ashes wear off as a public declaration of their faith. When is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is February 26 this year. It is always the day after Fat Tuesday (also known as Shrove Tuesday). Do you have to fast? According to Catholic doctrine, believers between 18 and 59 in good health can choose to consume just one full meal on that day, or two smaller meals. Fasting as depicted in the Bible is to be done discreetly, so as not to draw attention to the person fasting. Fasting is not about showing off, instead it is a deeply personal endeavor and is to be between God and the person fasting only. Do I have to be Catholic? No. Many churches have their own Ash Wednesday service, which involves the imposition of the ashes, including Episcopalian, Methodist and Lutheran churches. Typically this is found in high churches, or more traditional churches (the kinds with incense and a strictly followed liturgy), as opposed to the more contemporary churches. This story has been adapted from a 2014 article. It has been corrected to reflect changing attitudes on the celebration of Lent in Anabaptist and Baptist communities. OTTAWA - The experts overseeing the massive restoration of Canada's largest Parliament building have to find out a way to cram more than 100 additional MPs into the House of Commons without compromising its architectural heritage. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 25/2/2020 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A construction sign hangs on the Queen's Gates on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday January 27, 2020. The experts overseeing the massive restoration of Canada's largest Parliament building have to find out a way to cram more than 100 additional MPs into the House of Commons without compromising its architectural heritage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - The experts overseeing the massive restoration of Canada's largest Parliament building have to find out a way to cram more than 100 additional MPs into the House of Commons without compromising its architectural heritage. A House of Commons committee Tuesday heard updates on the ongoing overhaul of Centre Block, which began more than a year ago and could last until well into the 2030s. The building that ordinarily holds the House of Commons and Senate and boasts the iconic Peace Tower, is 93 years old. It's being modernized for 21st-century technology and security needs and requires significant repairs after facing nearly a century of Ottawa weather. It also needs to take into account that by 2060, the number of MPs Canada will require for its population will grow from 338 today to more than 460, if each one is to represent roughly the same number of people. Officials have said the 30 seats added in 2015 filled up the available space, given the desks and seats MPs now get. There are three options for renovating the chamber. Two would keep it in its existing space but use different furniture and configurations; one would require expanding the room inside the historic building. Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said the current chamber could hold about 420 MPs, but would likely mean the heritage wooden desks that seat MPs in pairs would have to be done away with in exchange for smaller seats, and maybe no desks at all. British MPs sit on long benches with no desks. Expanding the chamber could increase capacity to more than 500 seats, using the existing heritage furniture, but would also cost a lot, he said. Many MPs listening to the report were frustrated by a lack of detail about potential expenses. More than $770 million in contracts have already been awarded for the building, but there is no overall cost estimate yet. "I find it kind of bizarre," said Conservative Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, comparing it to a homeowner being offered options for fixing their house but not being told what any of them will cost. Wright, said there are a number of things holding back the cost estimates, including the fact that decisions about how Centre Block will be repaired have to be approved by multiple bodies, including both the House of Commons and the Senate. That was not the case for the two dozen projects already completed as part of the overall renovations to the entire parliamentary district, said Wright. About $3 billion has already been spent on Parliament Hill renovations over the last two decades, including $863 million for West Block, $425 million for the Wellington Building, and $269 million to build a temporary Senate chamber in an old railway station. Parliament has approved $4.2 billion thus far for the complete overhaul of the district. Wright also said while all the buildings on Parliament Hill have some heritage components, none of them are to the scale of Centre Block's. "The House of Commons chamber is perhaps one of the highest heritage places in Canada," he said. There is also "a tension" between the heritage of the building and its need to be functional and accessible, said Wright. Wright said once the officials have met with the Senate and House of Commons committees and heard what parliamentarians want, it will be easier to come up with better cost estimates for approval. The MPs on the committee received a tour of the construction underway last week. Most of the first year of work involved assessing the building to figure out exactly what work was needed and what kind of updates would be possible. That assessment, which included logging more than 20,000 "heritage assets" like floorboards, chandeliers and plaster frescoes, is now complete. Pulling apart stones and taking down walls and ceilings led workers to find hidden gems like an order paper from April 6, 1920, as well as some old garbage like candy wrappers, trapped inside. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020. Wednesday, February 26, 2020 The Herman Trend Alert February 26, 2020 Wellness Tourism's Meteoric Rise In the past, I have covered different types of specialized tourism. Unlike medical tourism, wellness tourism focuses on the prevention of disease, not its treatment. This type of tourism emphasizes a healthy lifestyle and improved quality of life and is associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one's personal wellbeing. Size of the Market According to Statistica.com, in 2018, the size of the global wellness tourism market was valued at USD $683.3 billion and is expected to be USD $919 billion by 2022---that is almost 35 percent growth in only 4 years. A Recent Report Explains Global Growth Recently the Expedia Group sponsored a new business strategy report for the global wellness tourism industry. Conducted by HFT Market Intelligence, this study is now being marketed to the industry. Global Wellness Tourism Market Overview As consumers have tried to prevent chronic disease and deteriorating mental health associated with an increasingly sedentary, unhealthy, digitized, and stressful lifestyle, they have increasingly embraced the idea of wellness tourism. Travelers who enjoy wellness vacations are often repeat customers because it satisfies them in a way that no other holiday does. A Wealthy Market Segment Wellness travelers tend to be high-spenders and prefer experiences that are authentic and unique. Thus, there is less pressure for destinations to engage in a strategy that competes on price and quantity. Within the meta category of wellness tourism, spa tourism remains a significant and high-growth segment. Market Drivers There are two principal market drivers to this fast growth: One is the increased affordability of flights and travel options, including Basic Economy travel and the easy access to competitive car rental rates through disintermediation. And the other is a growing consumer desire to adopt a wellness lifestyle. Challenges to Growth A major challenge to growth of the industry is the lack of trained and certified manpower. The industry would do well to support the development of the people they need now and will continue to need as we move into the future. The Competitive Landscape Some of the key players profiled in the report are the Expedia Group (US), Booking Holdings (US), Travel Leaders Group (US), Ayurva Traveller (Sri Lanka), Spa Wellness Travel (Australia), Spirit Tours (US), Bamba Experience (Mexico), Well Traveled (United States), Spirit Journeys (United Kingdom) and Odyssey Tours & Travels (India). An analyst at AdvanceMarketAnalytics sees US vendors as retaining a maximum share of Global Wellness Tourism market by 2024. Big Opportunities for the Wellness Tourism Industry The industry is a perfectly positioned to capitalize on the consumer evolution and the rising focus on holistic health and prevention. In addition, changing lifestyle trends are driving an exponential growth of consumer interest in everything related to wellness. A Rosy Future Forecast for this Industry Given our virtual obsession with looking good and living longer, travel that can help us do both will become increasingly popular in the years ahead. I also forecast a new segment of less expensive wellness vacations to satisfy the needs and wants of the middle class who cannot afford top-drawer destinations, but still want to stay healthy. Special thanks to Travel Mole for highlighting the UK statistics in this valuable report. To access the full abstract, visit Global Wellness Tourism Market Insights by Application, Product Type, Competitive Landscape & Regional Forecast 2025. ********* Read this Herman Trend Alert on the web: http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive 2-26-2020.h tml ********* The first case of coronavirus or COVID-19 among the US armed forces has been registered in South Korea, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK). "A USFK soldier stationed at Camp Carroll tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first time a US service member has tested positive for the virus. We're implementing all appropriate control measures to protect the force," USFK said in a tweet. According to the latest data, there are 1146 cases of COVID-19 in South Korea, along with 11 fatalities, reported Sputnik. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had earlier warned Americans not to travel to South Korea. Earlier on Tuesday, the federal health officials also warned that the coronavirus will certainly spread in the United States. Meanwhile, Russia has also advised its citizens to avoid visiting South Korea, Italy and Iran due to the virus outbreak. Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people in 37 countries, causing more than 2,600 deaths in the past few months. (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 News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Jaipur, India Wed, February 26, 2020 16:12 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066be229 2 World India,traffic-accident Free A bus carrying a wedding party crashed into a river Wednesday in India's western state of Rajasthan killing 24 passengers, including 10 women, police said. The driver lost control as the bus, with 28 people on board, was crossing a bridge, according to Bundi district police superintendent Shrivaj Meena. "The bus was carrying a marriage party from Kota. The bus fell off a bridge," Meena told AFP. Villagers and rescue workers were seen in images broadcast from the scene trying to retrieve bodies from the river as the bus lay upside down in the water. India records more than 150,000 road deaths each year which are widely blamed on badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. Last month, 26 people were killed when a bus collided with an autorickshaw and fell into a well in western India. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will lead an all-party delegation from Punjab to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a waiver of Passport and further simplification of the process for visiting Sri Kartarpur Sahib. During the visit, the Punjab CM will also urge the Prime Minister to pressurize Pakistan to slash the $20 fee on Indian pilgrims. A resolution to this effect was passed unanimously in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. The Chief Minister, while intervening on MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadalas suggestion that the state government should take up these issues with the Centre, asked him to simultaneously take up this issue with Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to prepare the ground for early resolution in the larger interests of the devotees. Meanwhile, moving the resolution, Punjab Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that after the Kartarpur Corridor had opened on November 9, 2019, after decades of Ardas by the Nanak Naam Leva Sangat. The Corridors history would be written in Golden letters, he said. READ | Punjab CM Amarinder says Kartarpur Corridor to remain open despite security concerns Devotees facing hardships Pointing out that at present, any Nanak Naam Leva devotee, who intends to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib for Darshan-Didar, requires passport identification, besides paying a fee of 20 US Dollars, the resolution points out that many of Punjabs residents are such who do not possess passports and are deprived of visiting Sri Kartarpur Sahib despite being desirous of Darshan. Apart from this, devotees are facing a lot of hardships due to the difficult process of online registration, which is a major hurdle for devotees, as a result of which many devotees are not going for Darshan, the resolution, which is Punjabi, further reads on translation. READ | Waive passport condition for Kartarpur Corridor: Punjab Assembly resolution Through the resolution, the House strongly recommended to Punjab Government to take up these issues with the Union Government so that the latter could impress upon the Pakistan Government to remove the condition of passport and, in lieu of it, other documents like Aadhar card should be permitted for identification. The resolution also urges the Centre to take up with Pakistan the issue of slashing the $20 fee, besides simplifying the cumbersome procedure for registration by the devotees on the website of the Government of India. READ | DGP Dinkar Gupta says Kartarpur Corridor remark 'misconstructed' and 'misinterpreted' READ | Nearly 45,000 pilgrims visited Kartarpur Sahib since Nov 2019 A community tip from 2017 fueled a long narcotics investigation that culminated Wednesday morning with the arrest of a 30-year-old Bethlehem man, city police report. The departments Emergency Response Team and city detectives served a search warrant in the 500 block of Montclair Avenue on the Southside and police recovered significant quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana with a conservatively estimated total street value of more than $10,000, Capt. Benjamin Hackett said in a news release. Investigators also found nearly $11,000 in cash and a loaded handgun, Hackett said. Joesyan Miranda Nieves is being charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance as well as other narcotics counts and with being a person ineligible to possess a firearm, Hackett said. Miranda Nieves was arraigned at 1 p.m. before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez and housed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail, records show. His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. March 11 in the South Bethlehem court. This case is a great example of how the community and the police department can work together to combat crime, Hackett wrote in the release. Although this particular case took quite some time to develop, it shows that community tips are taken seriously and eventually, with cooperation, arrests are made and drugs and guns taken off the street. The Bethlehem Police Department would like to thank the members of the community who provided the critical information that led to this arrest and seizure. Tips about crimes can be called in to the departments tip line at 610-691-6660 and callers may remain anonymous, Hackett said. This post was updated to correct Miranda Nieves gender. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. If you see typos or other errors in this post, please email him. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Kochi, Feb 26 : The Kerala High Court on Wednesday banned all forms of strikes and protests in educational campuses in the state. The court gave this order after going through 25 petitions filed by various educational institutions in the state which highlighted that numerous working days are being lost to protests and strikes by the students. The court made it clear that it's a right of a student to study and hence other students cannot forcefully do anything that prevents this by unleashing protests which disrupt studies. But the court said there is no problem to hold discussions on various topics but under this pretext, no student should be forced to take part in strikes or protests. The court also pointed out that the authorities can take the help of the police to see that these rules are not broken and can take legal steps against those who violate these directions. The Washington D.C. metropolitan region has long been a bustling hub for entrepreneurs. The federal government is a trusted customer for many, and the array of educational institutions serves as a capable incubator of startups and top talent. Yet these days, all anyone seems to want to talk about is Amazon. After the e-commerce giant announced plans in November 2018 to build its massive second headquarters, or HQ2, in Northern Virginia's Crystal City, entrepreneurs have been grappling with how to coexist with a new neighbor whose presence could both help generate new business and make everything from hiring to finding funding harder. Indeed, once Amazon comes to town and potentially sucks up all the available talent and drives up real estate costs, it could be harder for entrepreneurs to make bold moves, says Dawn Myers, the city director of the D.C.-based Vinetta Project, a collective that connects investors with female founders. Myers is encouraging entrepreneurs to push ahead expansion plans and fundraising. "Right now is the time to build your network. It's when you can more easily get facetime with the biggest names in D.C.'s ecosystem." While Amazon says it plans to build out a 2.1-million-square-foot development with two 22-story buildings and hire 25,000 workers in the area over the next 10 years, the ripple effects of its presence are expected to be far more vast, says Jeff Reid, the founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative. "The announcement put D.C. on the map within the tech scene," adds Reid, who expects Amazon will attract more tech companies to startup in the area. "It illustrated that the region is poised for growth and going to be a major hub." Business owners, as a result, may face heightened competition for workers--and that could push labor costs higher, suggests Tien Wong, founder of Connectpreneur, a Tysons Corner, Virginia-based community for founders, VCs, and CEOs. Founders might also need to get creative with their benefit offerings to better accommodate in-demand workers, he adds. An even bigger shift facing startups is the likely cost-of-living surge bound for the area. The D.C. area is already starting to see an uptick in real estate prices. The typical home value is currently $628,914, an increase of $21,190 from October 2018, the month before Amazon made its announcement, according to Zillow. Home values in the area are expected to increase another $12,578 in the next year, Zillow predicts. "That's definitely a huge issue for early-stage founders who are trying to operate as leanly as possible," says Myers, adding that, as affordable housing dwindles, installing telecommuting policies could be an enticement for prospective hires. Of course, gaining such a prominent neighbor could also benefit local founders. Amazon's arrival to the region may present more chances for founders to build strategic relationships and partnerships with the tech behemoth, says Reid. This could include landing Amazon as a client or even getting retail or restaurant space in the tech behemoth's new campus. What's more, as the region's reputation as a vibrant business hub grows, increased investment is likely, says Reid. Last year, D.C. area companies raised about $1.9 billion in venture capital funding, according to PitchBook. That's a slight increase from the $1.7 billion raised in 2018. The area was also ranked No. 2 for high-growth company density and No. 11 for early-stage funding on Inc.'s second annual list of the best places for starting a business. And with local educational institutions like Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland, and George Mason University all building innovation campuses nearby, a thriving talent pipeline is all but assured. Several Wisconsin universities have suspended some study abroad programs amid increasing concerns about the global spread of the new coronavirus, while state health officials outlined Wednesday what steps they would take if the situation gets worse in Wisconsin. UW-Madison suspended exchange programs at two South Korea institutions, university spokesman John Lucas said Wednesday. The five students affected by the suspension were informed Tuesday. UW-Milwaukee, UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh also suspended study abroad programs in South Korea, officials said this week. The suspensions affected a dozen students among the three schools, though five of the students had not yet left for their program. South Korea has one of the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, outside of China, where the outbreak began late last year. UW-Madison suspended student programs in China last month, which affected seven students. The Milwaukee, Stout and Oshkosh campuses do not have students studying in China. More than 81,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, including more than 2,700 deaths, mostly in China but also in three dozen other countries. As the year 2010 drew to a close, the unprecedented happened: mass anti-government protests began in Tunisia soon lighting the spark for a series of revolts in countries across the Middle East and North Africa, notable among them Egypt. On January 25, 2011, marches, demonstrations and civil resistance began in Cairos Tahrir Square, and continued for 18 days until Hosni Mubarak who had been in power for 30 years finally succumbed to mass pressure and stepped down. Almost 10 years since the Arab Spring began, the wave of protests that toppled veteran leaders across the region has led to a more complicated political reality than the first demonstrators anticipated. From Libya to a still continuing war in Syria, there have been countless losses. But in the early days of Egypts revolution, the period between January 25 and February 11 still stands as a testament to the power of common people. As the country says its final goodbye to Mubarak, who died in Cairo on February 25, at the age of 91, Egyptians who protested in 2011 reflect on his rule and the protests that led to his political demise. Omar*, 26 You could feel the anger when Mubarak insisted on remaining in power It was January 25 on the streets of Cairo. You could see the protest getting bigger and bigger. We did not know where the protest began and where it ended. It was not planned it just kept growing. Wed walk, and people on the streets would join in. Others would call out, ya ahaleena endamo leena! (our families, come join us). People looked at us some hesitantly then they would get up, leave the coffee shop, and join us. It was the biggest protest I had ever been to in my life, the chants shook the ground. You could hear the protesters at the front with different chants to the ones behind you, yet they did not interfere with each other. Then, suddenly, we looked up and all we saw were rocks, glass bottles, filled plastic bottles, raining down on us. Thugs began attacking the protesters with sticks and swords, and people started to disperse. Everyone retreated, but one man suddenly ran all the way to the front. People tried to hold him back, but he ran up to the thugs while holding an Egyptian flag and raised it to the thugs face. The thug raised his baton (to strike the flag) and at that moment, you saw everyone go crazy. We all charged forward. A lot of the people we were close to were killed, exiled, imprisoned. The only positive thing that happened during the revolution was Tahrir. Everything that came after that was mistake after mistake. Tahrir remains the purest moment of my life the sense of security, unity, bond, brotherhood, sisterhood, the way people helped each other regardless of faith or politics. Everyone was on the same page for once, nothing else mattered. We all wanted Egypt to be its best, we knew the potential was there. We saw that potential on January 29 the night that police forces completely disappeared from the streets, yet the city never felt safer. Tahrir resembles a perfect moment in Egyptian history that showed all the good Egypt has to offer. Systems were put in place by common people to keep their neighbourhoods safe; I had to pass 20-30 checkpoints to get home. People took it upon themselves, someone from the first committee would walk you to the second search point. They used secret code words to communicate with each other and confirm they had come from the first checkpoint, they verified where you lived before giving you access the framework was so elaborate and secure, yet astonishingly, organic. Tahrir resembles a perfect moment in Egyptian history that showed all the good Egypt has to offer. In Tahrir, people picked you up, pushed you out of the way when tear gas was fired, handed you rocks, motivated you you couldnt possibly feel alone. You could feel the anger in the square on February 10, when Mubarak gave his speech and insisted on remaining in power. At that moment, everyones response was the same they held up their shoe. The announcement of his resignation came the next day while people were in the middle of prayer, and you could just hear the shouting, the screaming people even broke out of prayer. The military had sent a mass text message to our phones, and Tahrir just exploded. The celebrations were electric. I had been queueing with my sister to use the toilet when the announcement came, and when it happened we all broke out in celebration. I did not use the toilet again until the next day. I remember waking up the next day, and half the people had already packed, others were packing to leave. Every time I go back to that moment, I hate myself for leaving. I yell at myself to stay. I go through different phases of love and hate for Egypt. I love Egypt so much. The moment the coup happened, every beautiful thing about Egypt was countered by something terrible that made you hate it equally. Yet, deep down, no matter how much you hate it when you are exposed to the dark and ugly face, you have already been exposed to its beauty to the purity you saw in Tahrir. I keep reminding myself of that of how there is no way that could not have been genuine and if it was there then, we can get it back. The million-dollar question that remains is how. A protester burns a picture of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on December 23, 2011 [File: Reuters] Mohammed*, 34 Mubarak died without being held accountable I was always active in the student scene and the civil one, but I strongly believed that for January 25, we should not go down as individuals. We needed to come together, so a group of active youth leaders got together and planned how the day would go. We publicly announced certain gathering points, while the actual gathering point was in one of the low-income areas in Giza. We knew security officers would surround those areas, so we planned accordingly; the actual meeting point was only spread by word-of-mouth to trusted individuals. Of course, we also had to plan for some strong-hearted volunteers to turn up at the formally announced gathering point, in case there were people who were first-time protesters and heeded the January 25 calls. We were about 400 youths who walked around the neighbourhood shouting, come out, were going to get your rights. We left Nahya the actual gathering point with 15,000 people. I was standing by the bridge, looking at the sheer magnitude of people. We had said before that 5,000 protesters would have been a historic moment, but suddenly there was a sea of people. People were hugging each other, falling to their knees in gratitude. We soon got word that the other protest people who had gathered at the formally announced point were joining us. It was indescribable. We started walking towards Tahrir Square, making sure that we took the busiest, most crowded streets and as we walked, people kept coming and joining. We entered Tahrir with more than 50,000 people. It was a historic day. Call it Intifada, call it a revolution, call it whatever you want, but that day was truly revolutionary and will go down in the history books. I knew things had changed. This was the revolution. Mubarak was over. It is a reality that no one can take away from us. We brought down a regime. There was an officer who had interrogated me before. He suddenly crossed paths with me, and I will never forget the moment when I was able to order him to get out of the way. He warned me that this will not pass, but I retorted that their days were over. People in the square started demanding, the people want the fall of the regime. It was no longer us setting plans, the people had set their demands. When police tried to empty Tahrir Square and fired endless rounds of tear gas, people simply split into hundreds of protests. Forces tried to fire into the streets to clear the protesters, but the only thing they did was send gas into peoples homes, forcing them out on to the streets to join us. When I saw other people simply sidestep the tear gas canisters thrown at them, or bend and throw it back at the officers and continue marching forward, that was the moment I knew the barrier of fear was well and truly broken, and I knew things had changed. This was the revolution. Mubarak was over. It is a reality that no one can take away from us. We brought down a regime. I was on stage when Mubarak was giving his speech, and I noticed two men had taken off their shoes. Everyone was expecting him to resign and when he did not, I lifted my shoe up on stage and everyone took their shoe and held it up. I made a statement then I do not know if I should have I called on the Egyptian army to make a decision: either to side with the people, or the police. At that moment, I believed this message needed to be delivered to the army. They needed to make a choice. I felt everything at that moment. Mubarak was gone, we were victorious. It was a dream. We used to chant in 2004, tomorrow the revolution will remove you all. I had been protesting for years and years. We used to chant it while laughing, not really knowing if it would ever happen. And then it happened. We did it. But at the same time, at that moment, I remembered every single person that fell. Everyone that was killed. It was bittersweet this was the moment people had died for, and this was their right. In a way, it felt like their lives had not gone in vain, we had continued the fight. The only sadness I feel now is that Mubarak died without being held accountable for the hell he put people through. The horrors that people have lived through in the past seven years have made some forget Mubaraks 30 years of atrocities, but the unprecedented crackdowns in Egypt today are only possible because of what Mubarak created. Can you imagine where Egypt could have been in 30 years, and where he left it instead with arrests, torture, killings, a state of emergency, poverty, poor education and crumbling infrastructure? Nadia*, 55 My birthday became the day Mubarakism died Growing up under Mubarak, it was very much keep your head down. We did not criticise too loudly, and kept our opinions to ourselves. This feeling was amplified only after my brother was arrested and imprisoned when security forces scanned university campuses for active students. He was never charged, but imprisoned under precautionary measures under the emergency law Mubarak imposed a law which remained in place for the next 30 years with Mubarak. My brothers wife was pregnant when he was arrested and he stayed in prison for 16 long years, seeing his family only during visitation. The experience definitely made us a family very cautious, and after leaving to live in the United States, I began to see freedom of speech as something that exists outside Egypt. The status quo when I was visiting Egypt was to stay quiet, to not criticise; outside, I could talk again. I clearly remember the night before the revolution. We were all gathered around a TV, anxiously watching, wondering if anyone would heed the protest calls, if people would actually take to the streets. When they did, there was a sense of bewilderment, shock, excitement and nervousness all at the same time. I remember I kept repeating they did it, they did it the people had actually rejected oppression, they had actually gone out, despite the stronghold, despite everything, they did it. Before, February 11 was my birthday. From that moment on, it became the day Mubarakism died ... It was the day fear broke. It was then that the thought crossed my mind, that we could actually, potentially, one day be free as Egyptians. My birthday was coming up (February 11) and my husband and children kept asking me what we were going to do to celebrate. Reports of the deaths of protesters in Cairo were filtering through, and I could not possibly imagine doing anything for my birthday. I kept telling them that I could not celebrate, that the only true celebration was when Egypt was free. Then it happened. Before, February 11 was my birthday. From that moment on, however, it became the day Mubarakism died. I turned to my family and said, now I can celebrate. It was the day fear broke, the day the barrier of fear was broken down. That was the phrase that stayed on our lips as we repeated it: The fear has broken. There was no more fear. Now every year on my birthday, I do not think of my birthday. It is a day where I remember and believe that freedom can exist in Egypt one day. A painting depicts the Supreme Council of the Military as puppets of Mubarak, during a sit-in at Tahrir Square in Cairo, July 20, 2011 [File: Reuters] Abdelrahman*, 37 When Mubarak resigned, the only thing I could think about were the people that were killed I was walking with a friend on the night of January 24, when a police officer stopped me and asked if we were going to a meeting. I told him, No, we were returning from one. He asked me if something was happening tomorrow, and I responded: I hope so. The police officer replied, Nothing will happen, the regime is strong. He was an officer who recognised us, one who was always around during protests. He said, good luck to us all tomorrow and I joked back, asking are you one of the good ones that will have a good position when we change the regime. The movement did not start in 2011. We had been talking about it, protesting, for years. The only difference was in 2011 we wanted to do something different, something bigger. Different groups came together to put forward what they wanted but nobody had any expectation of anything happening. No one dared to dream, yet at the same time, there was a feeling that something big could potentially happen. I told my employer two days before that I was not able to come in to work during that period, and we took the necessary and usual precautions, leaving our houses the night before, staying with someone else in case security forces tried to prevent us from mobilising. No one dared to dream, yet at the same time, there was a feeling that something big could potentially happen. I was in a cafe on the morning of January 25 when a group of boys and girls entered excitedly. It was as though they were going on a school trip they had pens, posters, and were getting ready to join the protests. I quickly left the cafe. The entire group was arrested. So many times I have wished that I could draw, just to capture the scene of the protesters from Nahya, swelling towards us, joining together to become bigger than we thought we could be. Up until the moment of gathering, I expected it to be like any other protest we had organised, maybe a little bigger 5,000 would be a victory. But it was a scene I will never forget, like the earth itself was pushing out more and more people. It was like a dream coming true. Before, we used to go down and protest in tens, get arrested, beaten up. That day, it was like people were rising from the earth, they just kept coming, the protest kept swelling. We started crying, hugging each other, shouting weve won, weve won, there was a sense of victory in the air, based just on the number of people. While, at the same time, there was complete shock and uncertainty about what we were victorious over. The best moment during that time was seeing police officers retreating and stripping in the streets on January 28, discarding their uniforms in a hurry, knowing that the balance of power had shifted, it was no longer with them, it now belonged to the people. But the hardest thing was the responsibility. We took people to the streets. We were used to protests, we were used to being roughed up, arrested, attacked by thugs, but what about the people that we convinced to come and protest with us? There were ugly moments, like when security forces opened fire during a funeral. People started dying. They came out for a funeral, and they were killed. When Mubarak finally resigned on February 11, the only thing I could think about were all the people that had been killed. During the 2011 protests, it was the first time I made peace with the idea of dying. Suddenly, there was something so much bigger. All you can see is the brutality of the system police, bullets, tear gas but they all melt, and you have a goal. Your life finally has a meaning. You think to yourself clearly, I could die. And suddenly, it does not matter. In front of your eyes flash all the moments of injustice: the beatings, the torture, the humiliation, the anger, the pain, the prison. Your entire existence rebels against you. You do not think of consequences then; you have chains and, suddenly, your only objective is to break those shackles free. *Last names have been omitted for security reasons Editors note: These accounts have been edited for clarity. Chicago Forward: Young Lives in the Balance, a solutions-based panel featuring Chicago Mayor Loti Lightfoot and Chicago Tribune Publisher and Editor Bruce Dold, took place on Feb. 24, 2020, at Venue Six10. Press Release February 26, 2020 'Centenarians Law' a unique preservation of Filipino elderly care- Revilla Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. called on his colleagues to support the passage of S. No. 1319 which seeks to amend the Centenarians Law seeking the early availment of the benefits for Filipino elderlies. The proposed measure, submitted jointly by the Committees on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, and Finance, provides a staggered amount of monetary gifts for our elderlies before they reach the age of 100. If passed into law, the measure will entitle Filipino elders P 10,000 when they reach 80 years old, another P 10,000 when they reach 90 years old, and P 100,000 when they reach 100 years old. Revilla originally proposed to give P 25,000 to octogenarians, another P 25,000 to nonagenarians, and P 50,000 to centenarians, but funds would not permit such scheme. The Senator stated that due to declining health conditions, centenarians who previously received P 100,000 can no longer understand and appreciate the benefits of this cash gift. If amended, cash gifts will be given in time when they are still able to enjoy it for themselves and use it for their food, medical care and other needs. "Ang panukalang ito ay ating isinusulong upang mas ma-enjoy ng ating elderlies ang magagandang benepisyo na binibigay sa kanila. Kinikilala natin ang makabuluhang layunin ng umiiral na batas at gusto lamang natin na mapakinabangan ng mas nakararami ang mga benepisyo mula dito," Revilla said. Bong Revilla also emphasized that this measure is in line with the Constitution which recognizes the duty of the family to take care of its elderly members. "This is how highly we value our culture of taking care of our elderly. This proposed measure, therefore, is another legislative effort in testimony of this unique Filipino culture," Revilla ended. Listen to the latest episode at this link, or on your favorite app including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. Episodes are available every morning on PennLive. Subscribe/Follow and rate the podcast via your favorite app. Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | Feb. 26, 2020 A federal court gave the green light to a Philadelphia supervised drug injection site. Meanwhile, a Pa. inmate has been in solitary for more than a year over refusing to cut his hair. A woman has been accused of starving her teenage son so much that he weighed under 30 pounds. In happier news, Ellen DeGeneres surprised a Pennsylvania couple who want to adopt. Those are the stories we are covering in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Julia Hatmaker. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories in the state. Todays episode refers to the following articles: Special thanks to Apple Podcast listener Marykatespring for leaving Today in Pa. a review back in September. Heres what Marykatespring wrote: Love it! Perfect voice for a podcast! A great listen while on the go. If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, we like to know what you think of the program. 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. Antofagasta, Chile The campaign period for and against a new constitution in Chile officially began on Wednesday, two months before the countrys scheduled plebiscite. Chileans will vote on April 26 on whether they want a new constitution, and whether they would prefer a mixed citizen-legislator convention or an all-citizen convention to write it. A constitutional assembly to replace the dictatorship-era constitution written during the 1973-1990 rule of General Augusto Pinochet has been a key demand at mass protests against structural inequality that have rocked the country since mid-October. Roughly 70 percent of Chileans want a new constitution, according to recent polls, and an all-citizen convention is the favoured option. It opens up a possibility, said Roberto Cortes, a primary school music teacher in Antofagasta, 1,335km (830 miles) north of Santiago. Cortes wants an overhaul of the countrys education, health and pension systems, the top three issues of concern among Chileans. We need to vote for everything coming up in April to try to change things in Chile, he told Al Jazeera. Election officials said on Tuesday that 2,915 public spaces throughout the country were designated for plebiscite campaign materials, now permitted under strict conditions. Wednesday also kicked off the period for radio and print advertisements, while regulated television airtime is set to begin on March 27. A band energises protesters marching Monday in Antofagasta, in northern Chile [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera] At ongoing protests, however, signs, banners and graffiti calling for a constitutional assembly have been around for months. Small rallies and graffiti in opposition to a new constitution have also been popping up recently. Mass demonstrations sparked by secondary school protests in October waned in frequency and size over the summer holidays in the southern hemisphere, but summer break is coming to an end. Between renewed student marches, feminist actions for womens day, and other plans, protests are expected to intensify next month. More than half of Chileans believe protests should continue, according to a recent poll by CADEM, a respected polling firm. Chilean President Sebastian Pineras approval rating is at 12 percent and his disapproval rating is at 83 percent. Restoring public order is our number one priority, Pinera announced on Monday. The country urgently needs a grand national agreement against violence and in defence of democracy, he said. The president urged the congress to move forward on the security bills his government presented, including one that would permit military deployment without a state of emergency, in order to safeguard critical infrastructure. Episodes of arson, looting and vandalism in recent months have caused billions of dollars of property damage. The dividing line here is not between the government and the opposition. It is much more significant and deep. The dividing line is between those who believe in democracy and who want to live in peace and those who practice violence and want to destroy our democracy, Pinera said. The government also recently published official regulations concerning military use of force during states of emergency. The potential for renewed militarisation has raised alarm among human rights advocates. Twenty-three people were killed, including several by security forces, during a nine-day state of emergency in late October. About a dozen others have been killed in the four months since then. Thousands of protesters and bystanders have been hospitalised for injuries sustained during crackdowns on protests by the Carabineros police force. The National Human Rights Institute, a public entity, has documented 445 cases of eye injuries, mostly from police buckshot projectiles, 197 cases of sexual violence by authorities, and 520 cases of torture or other cruel treatment. High school students march in Antofagasta, in northern Chile [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera] We have seen that repression has been very intense, Ayalen Salgado, an 18-year-old national spokeswoman for the Coordinating Assembly of High School Students, ACES, told Al Jazeera. Salgado and 25 other high school students in Santiago who disrupted contested standardised university admissions exams in January were among the more than 500 protesters now facing charges under a previously seldom-used state security law. The school year began on Monday in many high schools, and will begin next week in others, along with universities. But for some students, the date marked a return to protests in the streets, not to classes. Students from several of the dozens of high schools back in session in Antofagasta have engaged in walkouts and protests this week. Broader local marches are also picking up again in advance of March, as are nighttime confrontations between protesters and Carabineros special forces. We are many sectors that have united in the struggle for dignity, said Salgado. There is no return to normality in this country. Sir Keir Starmer is on course for a crushing victory in the Labour leadership contest, according to a new YouGov poll of party members. The shadow Brexit secretary is predicted to get 53 per cent of votes in the first round of counting which would be enough for him to surpass the 50 per cent threshold needed to win the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn. His rivals Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy are on 31 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. The leadership battle will use an alternative vote system with activists asked to rank the candidates in order of preference, which can lead to multiple rounds of voting. But the new survey, conducted by YouGov for Sky News, shows that Sir Keir could canter to victory in the first round, meaning second preference votes would not need to be allocated. A YouGov poll for Sky News suggests Sir Keir Starmer is cruising to victory in the Labour leadership race The poll shows Sir Keir, pictured at a leadership hustings in Durham on February 23, could win 53 per cent of the vote in the first round of counting The numbers represent a massive boost to Sir Keir's campaign but they are likely to spark warnings from his allies against complacency. He was ahead of Ms Long-Bailey among most groups polled, including men, women, the young, old, trade unionists and Remain supporters. Ms Long-Bailey - the Corbynista candidate - was only ahead among Labour Brexiteers and supporters of hard Left organisation Momentum. The publication of the poll numbers comes after Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, formally announced he is backing Sir Keir. Mr Khan tweeted this morning: 'I will be voting for Keir Starmer to be the next Labour leader. I've known Keir for decades. He's the best person to unite our party, take the fight to the Tories and put Labour in government.' Sir Keir is viewed as the prohibitive favourite in the Labour leadership race with Ms Long-Bailey seen as the candidate most likely to challenge him. But the poll numbers suggest the shadow business secretary, as well as Ms Nandy, are facing a massive battle if they are to make the race into a real contest. Voting started on Monday this week but does not close until April 2, giving all three candidates plenty of time to make up ground - or lose it. The YouGov poll puts Rebecca Long-Bailey in second place on 31 per cent with Lisa Nandy in third on 16 per cent The winner of the race will be announced at a special event on April 4. The YouGov poll of 1,323 Labour members, affiliates and supporters also looked at the deputy leadership contest. It suggests that Angela Rayner is the clear front runner in the race but that she would not win in the first round of vote counting. The survey puts her on 47 per cent, Richard Burgon on 19 per cent, Rosena Allin-Khan on 13 per cent, Dawn Butler on 12 per cent and Ian Murray on nine per cent. The numbers suggest that Ms Rayner would win the contest in the second round of vote counting after the last finishing candidate is eliminated and their second preference votes are reallocated. KMIP 2.1 brings a suite of new security object management features Members of the OASIS international consortium are collaborating to provide live multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations featuring one of the industrys most widely-adopted security standards, the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP). "The OASIS KMIP Technical Committee is continuing to develop and release well tested versions of the standard to cater for new and changing requirements and this years demonstration event again showcases that effort," said Tony Cox of Cryptsoft, co-chair of the OASIS KMIP Technical Committee and Lead for the KMIP Interop event. "2019 saw the publication of KMIP v2.0, which provided a major update to KMIP capabilities, and the definition and the development of KMIP 2.1. Tested as part of this KMIP interop event, KMIP 2.1 brings a suite of new security object management features including many focused on enhancing administration of cloud and IoT security deployments," said Judy Furlong of Dell, co-chair of the OASIS KMIP Technical Committee. This year, five members of the OASIS KMIP TC are providing demonstrations of KMIP v2.0 and KMIP v2.1 during the RSA Conference 2020 Expo. This demonstration allows RSA visitors to the OASIS booth to interact with multiple vendors demonstrating interchange of security objects as well as provision of encryption keys and cryptographic services across a common interface. OASIS KMIP Technical Committee members, Cryptsoft, Fortanix, PrimeKey, QuintessenceLabs and Utimaco are demonstrating the full key management lifecycle including creating, registering, locating, retrieving, deleting, and transferring symmetric and asymmetric keys and certificates among vendor systems. Support for KMIP Cryptsoft CTO, Tim Hudson, said, "This year's KMIP Interoperability Event has enabled demonstration of the latest capabilities added to the latest version of the standard. As a major OEM technology supplier, supplying standards-based solutions ensures interoperability is a reality for our customers and this event is the proof each year. KMIP 2.0 and KMIP 2.1 allow solutions for unified key management and hardware security modules that meet the demands of enterprise, financials, cloud and IoT deployments." IBM Product Management, Encryption and Key Management, Rick Robinson, said, "The development and adoption of standards, especially KMIP, are critical to customer success in pursuit of their data protection and security strategy. On behalf of our customers, IBM continues to bring our leadership in data protection and cryptography to the development of this important, global standard." Fortanix CTO, Anand Kashyap, said, "Digital business transformation is built on a foundation of digital trust. Cryptography and key management are critical to securing sensitive data in a world where data moves between cloud environments. Fortanix believes that open interoperability standards and REST APIs are critical to make data security pervasive. KMIP is a foundational standard that is essential to expanding the use of encryption and key management. Fortanix is proud to support and integrate with the OASIS KMIP standard." QuintessenceLabs CTO, John Leiseboer, said, "Interoperability greatly benefits our customers and empowers them in controlling their organizations security. QuintessenceLabs has been involved with OASIS and the KMIP Technical Committee since the start, and we are proud to ensure that each of our products is fully compliant via rigorous testing." About OASIS One of the most respected, member-driven standards bodies in the world, OASIS offers projects a path to standardization and de jure approval for reference in international policy and procurement. OASIS has a broad technical agenda encompassing cryptography, cybersecurity, privacy, cloud computing, IoT, blockchain, and other areas. OASIS members can be found in 100+ countries on virtually every continent. Major multinational companies, SMEs, government agencies, universities, research institutions, consulting groups, and individuals are represented. Elizabeth Warren went after Michael Bloomberg again on the Democratic debate stage - this time bringing up an allegation that he had reacted badly when a female employee told him she was pregnant. 'At least I didn't hgave a boss who said to me, "Kill it!"' she declared, telling the audience how pregnancy discrimination was personal for her, and floating that Bloomberg was previously guilty of it. Bloomberg pushed back against the accusation vehemently and complained that he had already given in to Warren's demands, only to have the senator prey on him again. 'The trouble is with this senator, enough is never enough,' he said. Elizabeth Warren again went after Mike Bloomberg, but this time on the debate stage she accused him of pregnancy discrimination - claiming that he once told a pregnant employee to 'Kill it!' Mike Bloomberg vehemently pushed back against allegations that he once told an employee she should get an abortion Elizabeth Warren (center) spent more time attacking Mike Bloomberg than any other Democrat including Pete Buttigieg (left) and Bernie Sanders (right) Debate spat 2.0 began with Warren being asked by the moderators why she believed that Bloomberg would be the riskiest Democrat to nominate. 'Let's think of it this way, we're here in Charleston and you know who's going to be in Charleston later this week is Donald Trump? He's going to be here to raise money for his buddy, Senator Lindsey Graham. Who funded Lindsey Graham's campaign for re-election last time?' Warren asked. 'It was Mayor Bloomberg. She also lambasted Bloomberg for giving money to Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, when a female Democratic candidate lost the race by 1 point. 'In 2012, he scooped in to defend another Republican senator against a woman challenger,' she said. 'That was me,' she revealed. 'It didn't work, but he tried hard,' she said. Warren said that no matter how much Bloomberg now funds Democratic causes, she said the core of the party will never support him. 'He has not earned their trust. I will,' she said. 'And the fact that he cannot earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party meabns he is the riskiest candidate on this stage.' Bloomberg pushed back, by making a bold claim. 'I have been training for this job since I stepped on the pile that was still smoldering on 9/11,' the New York City mayor said. 'I am the one choice that makes some sense.' 'And all those sideshows that the senator wants to bring up have nothing to do with that,' he added. Warren took issue with Bloomberg calling her points a 'sideshow.' 'You know, this is personal for me. When I was 21 years old, I got my first job as a special education teacher. I loved that job. And by the end of the first year, I was visibly pregnant,' she recalled. 'The principal wished me luck and gave my job to someone else.' Warren, then, went in for the 'kill it.' 'The way that Mayor Bloomberg said to one of his pregnant employees,' she said. Bloomberg said he never said that. The accusation was made in a 1997 lawsuit. 'And for the record if she was a teacher in New York City she would never have that problem, we treated our teachers the right way,' he said. From there the conversation turned back to Bloomberg's company's previous use of non-disclosure agreements, something that Warren hammered her for on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas. On Friday, Bloomberg announced that he would release three female former employees from NDAs that were specifically about complaints made about Bloomberg, as he's been accused of making insensitive jokes. It was 'probably wrong to make the jokes, I don't remember what they were, but if it bothered them, I was wrong and I apologize and I'm sorry for that,' Bloomberg said Tuesday night. Nevertheless, Warren persisted, in continuing to go after Bloomberg for the NDAs. 'I don't know what else she wants us to do,' Bloomberg said. 'The trouble is with this senator, enough is never enough.' 'I'm going to going to start focusing on some of these other things. We can't relitigate this every time,' Bloomberg continued. 'We did what she asked and thank you, we probably made the world better because of it, and by my company renouncing using these we probably changed the corporate landscape all across America.' With that, Pete Buttigieg chimed in. 'If you get nominated, we'll be relitigating ths all year,' he said in frustration. Warren was then asked where she got her information that a woman had been told to 'Kill it!' by Bloomberg. 'Her own words,' Warren said, as the claim had been previously reported. 'I never said it, period, end of story. Categorically never said it,' Bloomberg responded. 'When it I was accused of doing it, we couldn't figure out what she was talking about.' 'But right now I'm sorry if she heard what she thought she heard, whatever happened, but I didn't take pleasure in any of that,' the ex-mayor added. CHARLESTON, S.C. Democrats unleashed a roaring assault against Bernie Sanders and seized on Mike Bloombergs past with women in the workplace during a contentious debate Tuesday night that tested the strength of the two men at the center of the partys presidential nomination fight. As the undeniable Democratic front-runner, Sanders faced the brunt of the attacks for much of the night, and for one of the few times, fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren was among the critics. The Massachusetts senator pressed the case that she could execute ideas that the Vermont senator could only talk about. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things, she said. But I think I would make a better president than Bernie. A group of moderates, meanwhile, fought to emerge as the chief Sanders alternative. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking a strong win in South Carolina to keep his campaign afloat, argued only he has the experience to lead in the world. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota repeatedly contended that she alone could win the votes of battleground state moderates. And Pete Buttigieg pointed to Sanders self-described democratic socialism and his recent comments expressing admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castros push for education. I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., declared. But the moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited the Vermont senator. Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating the Republican president and noting all the recent attention hes gotten: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why? The intensity of Tuesdays forum, with candidates repeatedly shouting over each other, reflected the reality that the Democrats establishment wing is quickly running out of time to stop Sanders rise. Even some critics, Bloomberg among them, conceded that Sanders could build an insurmountable delegate lead as soon as next week. The 10th debate of the 2020 primary season was just four days before South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. The Democratic White House hopefuls will not stand side-by-side on the debate stage again until the middle of March. That made Tuesdays debate likely the last chance for some candidates to save themselves and alter the trajectory of the nomination fight. 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. Bloomberg also faced sustained attacks that gave him an opportunity to redeem himself after a bad debate debut one week earlier. Warren cut hard at his record as a businessman, bringing up reports of one particular allegation that he told a pregnant employee to kill it, a reference to the womans unborn child. Bloomberg fiercely denied the allegation, but acknowledged he sometimes made comments that were inappropriate. The South Carolina contest offers the first real look at the influence African American voters play in the Democrats presidential nomination process. Biden is trying to make a big impression in the state, where he was long viewed as the unquestioned front-runner because of his support from black voters. But heading into Saturdays primary after three consecutive underwhelming finishes, there were signs that the former vice presidents African American support may be slipping. Steve Peoples, Meg Kinnard and Aamer Madhani are Associated Press writers. French lab scientists in hazmat gear inserting liquid in test tube manipulate potentially infected patient samples at Pasteur Institute in Paris on Feb. 6, 2020. (Francois Mori/AP Photo) France Reports Second Death From Coronavirus, First Among French Nationals A patient with the new coronavirus died in Paris overnight, the second death in France and the first among French nationals. The 60-year-old man died at Pitie Salpetriere hospital, Jerome Salomon, Director General of the French health authority, said at a press conference on Wednesday. The man, a teacher, didnt recently travel to any areas where the virus is spreading, Salomon said, according to The Local. After showing symptoms of the flu when being admitted to his local hospital in Creil, he was transferred to the hospital in Paris. Tests confirmed that the patient had COVID-19, the disease the new virus causes. Medical staff from the IHU (Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire) Mediterranee Infection Institute work in the laboratory to analyze samples on the possible presence of the COVID-19 in Marseille, France, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images) French authorities have reported five new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours, including a Chinese woman in Paris who recently returned from China, and a French man in the southeast-central region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes who recently traveled to Italy. There are 17 total cases in the country, including the most recent death and an 80-year-old tourist from China who died in Paris on Feb. 14. Eleven other patients have recovered from the virus and are out of hospitals, according to The Local. Salomon said on Wednesday that authorities wouldnt shut down the border with Italy. It doesnt make much sense, he said. Not to mention that you can travel by land, sea, and air, or go through Italy and Austria. The number of cases in Italy has exploded this week to 370, including 12 deaths. Towns and cities across northern regions were locked down as authorities tried to stem the spread of the disease. Italy has the third-highest number of cases in the world, behind China and South Korea. Soldiers in a military truck spray disinfectant as a precaution against the COVID-19 on the street in Gwangju, South Korea, on Feb. 11, 2020. (Shin Dae-hee/Newsis via AP) Authorities still arent sure of how the virus arrived in northern Italy. The origin of the virus, which emerged in China in December 2019, hasnt been confirmed by international experts. The French government on its website said that people returning from Italy or China should stay at home for two weeks and avoid so-called non-essential gatherings such as eating out in restaurants. They should also keep their children at home during the time period. The new virus has infected over 80,000 around the world, killing over 2,700. Many experts believe the figures are higher because of underreporting by countries like China and Iran. The best ways to avoid the virus, health officials say, is to frequently wash hands, avoid sick people, and not touch ones hands, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. People who are showing flu-like symptoms should stay home and contact public health authorities or healthcare providers. Here are some of todays top headlines. Coronavirus news and live updates: Global cases surge past 80,000 CNN South Korea has reported a ninth death among confirmed novel coronavirus cases, according to the countrys Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The latest fatality is a 60-year-old woman who had made contact with a confirmed member of the Shincheonji religious group, the KCDC said. 21 of the worlds 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India India has once again topped an annual list of cities with the worst air quality in the world, according to a new report, while Chinese cities have continued to show improvements from the previous year. Gilead Sciences drug may help treat coronavirus symptoms, according to WHO Shares of American biotech firm Gilead Sciences rose nearly 5% Monday after an official from the World Health Organization said that Gileads drug remdesivir is showing signs that it may be able to help treat the deadly coronavirus. Harvey Weinsteins sexual assault and rape convictions marked a major #MeToo moment Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of committing a criminal sex act in the first degree involving one woman and rape in the third degree involving another woman. Trump wants to make an example of WikiLeaks Julian Assange, court told US President Donald Trump is trying to make an example of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founders defense team argued in a London court Monday at the start of his extradition hearing. Cheetah-cubs-born-columbus-zoo-in-vitro-fertilization-mh-orig cnn A pair of cheetah cubs at Columbus Zoo were the first in history born via in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer to a surrogate mother. Remembering Kobe Bryant: Michael Jordan and Beyonce share tributes to Lakers legend Many people have a little brother or sister who messes with their stuff, asks too many questions and makes a nuisance of themselves. For many years, Kobe Bryant was Michael Jordans, the Chicago Bulls legend told a packed Staples Center on Monday. Car intentionally plows into carnival crowd in Germany Police in the German town of Volkmarsen have arrested a 29-year old man, after a car plowed into a crowd of people at a parade on Monday and left at least 30 injured. 62-year-old former Marine sets Guinness World Record by holding plank for over 8 hours Its an incredible feat at any age. But George Hood, who set the male world record for longest time in the abdominal plank position, is 62 and says hes in the greatest shape of his life. Warren Buffett finally traded in his flip phone for an iPhone Warren Buffett, one of Apples largest shareholders, finally owns one of the companys most popular products. Measures to contain coronavirus stepped up The worst-hit countries are intensifying their efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus as the number of cases globally surpassed 80,000. In South Korea, infections have risen again, taking the total to 977. Americans have been warned against all but essential travel to the nation. Italy and Iran are both battling to contain outbreaks of the virus. Africa grapples with clean energy conundrum Africa is both the worlds least electrified continent and the most vulnerable to climate change. And as the continent with the worlds fastest growing population, the decisions that African politicians make to boost power supplies could have an impact both locally and globally. Harvey Weinstein accusers welcome rape conviction Accusers of Harvey Weinstein have welcomed the guilty verdicts in the rape and sexual assault case against the former Hollywood mogul. Actress Rose McGowan told the BBC this is a great day, while others said the ruling brought hope to victims that their voices would be heard. Nobody has the right to call me on a Friday For Marc Nohr, being a part-time boss means he can spend more time with his family and on charity work. He is one of about a million people in senior or manager-level jobs who work part time, a number which is growing, according to official figures. Michael Jordan joked about the crying Jordan meme during powerful eulogy for Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan delivered a powerful speech honoring Kobe Bryant at a public event on Monday celebrating the lives of the late Laker, his daughter Gianna, and the seven others who died in a tragic helicopter crash last month. Huge news: Warren Buffett got an iPhone Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! The unthinkable has happened: After years of using a bargain bin flip phone, billionaire and famous Apple investor Warren Buffett acquired an iPhone. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO made the stunning admission on CNBCs Squawk Box on Monday morning, reversing one of his most old-school lifestyle choices. TikTok now banned for TSA employees Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are the latest government workers banned from using TikTok. The ban came after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) narced on the app over security concerns regarding its Chinese background. Asia North Koreans Told to Avoid Group Meals to Prevent Virus Spread -- TOKYONorth Koreas most influential newspaper on Tuesday urged citizens to refrain from gathering at restaurants for meals together to prevent infection of a new pneumonia-causing coronavirus raging in China. Talking while eating would become a major route of infection, the Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, said in an article, adding, People should be strictly prohibited from gathering in public places including restaurants. Read more. You may also like these stories: Japan Scrambles to Contain Coronavirus as Evacuees Return Coronavirus Deaths in China Top 2,600 as Hubei Records More Infections Lebanon's former prime minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday urged India to help in bring peace, growth and prosperity in the Arab region and Iran, and reap benefits from it. He was addressing the fourth West Asia conference here on the theme 'Ten years of political and economic transformation in West Asia: challenges, lessons and future trends', under the auspices of Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. Siniora said there were plenty of common interests and benefits which needed to be enhanced between the Arab region and Iran. They were beneficial to generate growth and prosperity in West Asia and to all the neighbouring countries. "India has a great chance to participate in the efforts of building peace, growth and prosperity" in the region besides getting benefitted too, he said. The Arab region was "still in pursuit of justice, growth and stability", he said. "Nevertheless, I believe that based on its strategic position, extensive natural resources and vibrant population it (Arab region) will overcome its troubles, so that its future prospects will become very attractive for cooperating with many of its neighbouring countries, most noteworthy India, and with the rest of the world," he added. Siniora, who is also the leader of the Lebanese political party "Future Movement", charged Iran with meddling in the internal affairs of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. The Arab world should make its position clear and firm in standing up to the "Iranian interventionist policy in the region as well as to the threats of its branches in the region like Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hashd-Al-Shaabi of Iraq". Besides opposing "Iranian threats", the Arab world should "simultaneously and sincerely" extend a friendly hand "to every serious and positive gesture or friendly position expressed by Iran", the former PM said. He described the agreement signed between US President Donald Trump and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on the complex Palestine issue as "disgraceful deal of the century as it does not offer any reasonable solution that guarantees the sovereignty and dignity of millions of Palestinians". Egypt's former foreign affairs minister Nabil Fahmy said the present problems in the Middle East were due to the interference of foreign countries in their affairs, inefficient governance, poor development despite having capacity and lack of employment opportunities for the educated Arab population, with 70 per cent of them being less than 35 years of age. "The best way to safeguard yourself is to bring development in West Asia and be more proactive", Fahmy said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two US students appeared in an Italian court on Wednesday on the first day of their trial over the fatal stabbing last year of a policeman during a botched drugs bust. Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth are charged with killing newlywed Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times last July. The Californians, who had been on holiday in Rome and were teenagers at the time, face life sentences if convicted. In Italy, the slaying aroused an outpouring of public sympathy for Cerciello, who had just returned from his honeymoon when he was killed. Huge crowds attended his funeral -- which was broadcast live on television -- where he was hailed as a hero. "His murder cannot and must not go unpunished," his wife, Maria Rosaria Esilio, said in a statement on the eve of the trial. "My family has ended with Mario's death because our unborn children and dreams were buried with him," she said. But the case has also been marked by major blunders -- especially the blindfolding of Natale-Hjorth during his police interrogation -- and contradictory statements made by the key prosecution witness, Cerciello's police partner Andrea Varriale. In the aftermath, Varriale said he and Cerciello had been attacked by men of North African descent. He also initially claimed he had been armed. Both officers were in fact unarmed and acted without backup, in violation of police procedure. Amid the intense media focus in the case, comparisons have been made to the high-profile trial of Amanda Knox, a US student convicted and later acquitted of a 2007 murder in Italy. - 32-second attack - The pair appeared in a packed courtroom Wednesday as the judge read trial procedures to the men, who listened expressionless. As Elder was led out during a break he looked at his parents and held up crossed fingers. Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello with a 7-inch (18 cm) serrated-edge combat knife he had stashed in his sweatshirt but told investigators he thought he and his friend were being set upon by drug dealers. The young men and Varriale have given opposing versions of what happened during the 32-second attack in the early hours of the morning, which followed a botched drug deal. Hours earlier, the young men from the San Francisco Bay Area had gone looking for cocaine in the popular night-life area of Trastevere. Intermediary Sergio Brugiatelli introduced them to a dealer who sold them aspirin instead. In retaliation, the teens stole Brugiatelli's bag, before demanding money and drugs to return it. Cerciello and Varriale went in Brugiatelli's place to the designated exchange point in an upscale neighbourhood near the teenagers' hotel but the handover never took place. Elder, now age 20, told police they were jumped from behind by the officers and believed they were thugs sent by Brugiatelli. Varriale has said he and Cerciello, both in plain clothes, told the young men they were police, but that Elder pulled out a knife and attacked Cerciello, while Natale-Hjorth wrestled with Varriale. The teens then fled to their nearby hotel, where police later found the military knife hidden behind a ceiling panel. Under Italian law, Natale-Hjorth, who was 18 years old last July, faces the same charge of "voluntary homicide" with a special circumstance of killing a police officer, even though he did not stab Cerciello. Both young men are also charged with attempted extortion. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment in isolation. A man has been acquitted of raping a 18-year-old girl in a Dublin city park when he was a teenager three years ago. The five-day trial at the Central Criminal Court heard that the defendant and the complainant met in October 2016 when he was aged 16 and she was 18. They began a relationship the next month and had consensual sex a number of times from December to January 2017. A legal issue arose during the woman's testimony and Justice Tara Burns had to inform the woman that it is an offence to have sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17 and that she had a right not to say anything in evidence that might incriminate her. A Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) doctor gave evidence that while taking a medical history from the complainant, she told him that she had never previously had sex with the defendant. She also told him that they had kissed that night before the teenager raped her. In her evidence during the trial the woman told the jury that they had not kissed that evening. The complainant said that she met the man, then aged 17, in a local park at around teatime and they were sitting on a bench and talking. They began arguing and the accused grabbed her and dragged her around the bench and held her down before raping her. The jury heard that after the alleged rape, the defendant texted a friend of the complainant and said to her can you get her to not go to the guards? and said he had 400 to give her not to go to the gardai. During cross-examination, Shane Costello SC, defending, put it to the complainant that she had fallen out with the defendant in the weeks before the alleged rape and she wanted to get back into a relationship with him. He put it to her that they had consensual sex in the park but that they then had a row when the defendant saw her reading a text message from another boy. Mr Costello said that after this row his client walked off. He put it to the complainant that she was left devastated by this turn of events. The complainant said this version of events was untrue. The jury heard that on the night of the incident the defendant rang a friend of the complainant and told her I rode [complainant's first name] and left her in the park before he hung up. A friend of the complainant testified that the complainant had told her on the night of the incident that the other boy had been really off with her because the defendant had also texted this boy to say he had sex with the girl. In texts to another friend, the complainant said that the defendant had basically raped me but asked her not to tell anyone. The accused had denied rape in a park in Dublin city on a date in February 2017. After a little under two hours, a jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Text messages from Snapchat and Facebook messenger were disclosed to the defence as a normal part of the trial process and many of these were put to the complainant in cross-examination. In texts sent after the alleged rape a female friend told the defendant he was just using the complainant to get your hole. He replied to her: She could have stopped me if she wanted to. She's only trying to make me look bad because I made a show of her. This witness told the accused Youse are acting childish, yous either like each other or you don't and told him, if you like her, be honest and treat her with respect. She agreed with Mr Costello that these texts showed she was concerned about giving out to him for treating her friend poorly and using her for sex but not about a rape allegation. VENTURE capital (VC) deals in Ireland more than doubled last year, led by a 28m investment for Galway medtech firm Atlantic Therapeutics. The number of deals rose by 64pc to 46, a six-year high and the fifth-highest number among European nations, according to Refinitiv. They raised 331.6m, down from 2018's total of 418.9m, the London-based financial data firm said. "The increase in volume demonstrates that VC firms are preferring to spread their investments across a wider number of businesses," said Refinitiv's country manager for Ireland, Bebhinn Dunne. "This is a fantastic sign of confidence for the Irish startup economy." VC investors provide finance to early-stage companies in exchange for equity, often selling as the business grows. The most active VC investor here last year was Enterprise Ireland, which committed 10.4m to 14 deals. Atlantic Bridge invested 25.8m in eight deals; Act Venture Capital 19.7m in five deals. Across Europe, VC investment doubled in value to 23.5bn involving 1,408 deals. The biggest was a 262m round for Munich-based Celonis, which valued the business software maker at 2.3bn. Enterprise Ireland, meanwhile, hosted startup firms and potential investors at a Croke Park conference yesterday. The agency said it injected 24m into 127 startups last year via multiple programmes. "A strong startup economy is vital to the future of Ireland," said Jennifer Melia, manager of Enterprise Ireland's high-potential startup division. "Startups are a powerful driver of economic growth, new talent and innovation." Delhi HC asks Centre, Google to respond to mans plea to remove articles on his conviction in criminal case Who is Saurabh Kirpal? Indias likely to get its first openly gay judge of Delhi high court Delhi HC dismisses plea to stop publication, sale of Salman Khurshid's book : 'Ask people not to buy it' Delhi Violence: Delhi High Court directs Police to file FIR against BJP leader Kapil Mishra India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Feb 26: Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the police officials to file an FIR against BJP leader Kapil Mishra and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to convey this message to the Police Commissioner. The court, while hearing a plea said that the police "must act against hate speeches". The court was adjourned and the next hearing will be held on Thursday. We cannot let another 1984 scenario happen in this city Delhi High Court Earlier, Justice S Muralidhar during the hearing played a video clip of BJP leader Kapil Mishra after police officials said that they watched several footage of violence in Delhi but did not watch the BJP leader's hate speech. Justice S Muralishar said, "This is really concerning. There are so many TVs in your office, how can police officer say that he hasn't watched the videos. I'm really appalled by the state of affairs of Delhi Police." Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the Union Home Ministry to call in the Indian Army to restore law and order in the national capital. On the other side, Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and demanded his immediate resignation for his "colossal failure". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 17:01 [IST] U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn ended months of speculation Wednesday morning by endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden, providing a valuable boost to the South Carolina front-runner just three days before the state's Democratic primary voters head to the polls. As South Carolina's most influential Democrat and the highest-ranking black member of Congress, Clyburn's support for Biden could hold far more significance than a typical presidential endorsement. It boosts him as he seeks to stave off two surging rivals in U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and businessman Tom Steyer in a state where about two-thirds of the Democratic electorate is African American. Some political observers even dub Clyburn the South Carolina Democrats' "kingmaker." Clyburn endorsed Hillary Clinton at a similar stage in the 2016 primary. He endorsed Barack Obama months after South Carolina's 2008 primary. "I know Joe, we know Joe, but most importantly Joe knows us," Clyburn told reporters at Trident Technical College in North Charleston, flanked by Biden and top S.C. supporters. A visibly emotional Clyburn said his late wife Emily, who died just a few months ago, loved Biden more than any other political leader and talked about him often. Clyburn said he has never been more fearful about the countrys future under Republican President Donald Trump and views Biden as the candidate who can restore the countrys dignity and respect. The congressman also has taped an ad for Bidens campaign to air in South Carolina over the next few days before Saturdays primary, an aide said. South Carolina chooses presidents, Biden said. You launched my buddy Barack Obama to the White House, and I firmly believe on Saturday you hold in your hands the power to choose the next president of the United States. Clyburn has represented a wide swath of South Carolina, including parts of Charleston, Columbia and many rural communities in the southern half of the state, since 1993 and has risen to the House's third-ranking role as majority whip. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! While Clyburn was expected to endorse Biden given his longstanding relationship with him, Clyburn continued to dangle the possibility throughout the race that he might choose someone else, even telling The Post and Courier as late as Sunday that he could still change his mind. He pointed to U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren as other alluring possibilities, praising Klobuchar for her legislative productivity and Warren for working with him to try to reduce student loan debt. But the announcement Wednesday morning put to rest any doubt, and it puts Clyburn in company with many of his black congressional colleagues who have also backed Biden. Clyburn's endorsement came just hours after a cantankerous presidential debate in which Biden and most of his opponents struggled to create much distance between each other, instead spending much of the evening talking over each other and the CBS moderators. With just three days until South Carolina's "First in the South" primary, all the candidates have been clamoring for any last momentum they can find in the Palmetto State, none more so than Biden, who is depending on a commanding performance here to revive his third presidential campaign. Biden has stumbled in early races in Iowa and New Hampshire before coming in second in Nevada on Saturday. South Carolina has become his so-called "firewall." With his deep ties in the state, Biden has led South Carolina polls for the past year. But Sanders and Steyer have closed the gap over the past two months, with Steyer in particular siphoning the African American voter support that has made Biden the leader in the state. The conventional wisdom is that Biden needs to win South Carolina handily, perhaps by double digits, to show strength heading into next week's Super Tuesday races, when 14 states hold primaries. The city Police Commissioner Chiranjeev Prasad on Wednesday urged the people to maintain peace in and harmony. In view of the violence in the capital, Prasad, in a statement said the people must not share any video that entices or attempts to entice any form of violence. "It is punishable by law and you can be charged under Section 153A and 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," he said. "Aurangabad is your own city. Come, let's promise ourselves that under any circumstance, we will not allow the image of our city to get tarnished," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Without raising slogans or holding up a single placard, students here are protesting in a unique way the government order of levying additional taxes on imported books. Students gather at the Patan Durbar Square here every evening to hold discussions over various topics related to books whose supplies have been halted following the government order. Last year, the Nepal government passed the order of levying an additional 10 per cent additional tax on books imported from outside the country. Following the order, the supply of books has halted and students say they face hardships in their studies. Disgruntled students have resorted to protest by discussing topics related to books. "We thought to design a creative protest against the government and we did not want to shout and curse the government. We thought of a creative way and a result we came to the concept like book discussions, reciting poems and so on," said Nabin Tiwari, who came up with the idea of new kind of protest. Kshitij Chaurel is a student who arrives at the Square on daily basis to take part in the protest against the government's decision which has compelled booksellers to halt the import of books from India and other countries. "I am a student at Tribhuwan University, currently doing my master's thesis. When I needed a book to carry out the research and went to a bookshop to buy it I was told that it is unavailable due to a hike of tax and its supply has been stopped," said Chaurel. Nepal has been importing over 80 per cent of its books from India. The new order by the government is affecting about 400,000 students who are pursuing higher education in the country under various streams. The government brought the rule on May 29. "The Government of Nepal has imposed 10 per cent customs duty on all books imported from India and other foreign countries. This has rapidly raised the price of the books and we are just fighting against this. We will not step down till the time government doesn't take back its decision," Nabin added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (CNN) A US airstrike in Somalia killed an al-Shabaab leader who had a role in "planning and directing terrorist operations," including a January attack on Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed three Americans, the US military said Tuesday. "Post-strike assessments confirm the two terrorists killed in the Feb. 22 precision airstrikes were an individual associated with the attack on Manda Bay and his wife, who was also a known al-Shabaab member," US Africa Command said in a statement Tuesday. "The two terrorists were identified as a senior al-Shabaab leader, who was in charge of planning and directing terrorist operations on the Kenya border region, including the recent attack on Manda Bay, and his wife, who also was a witting and active member of al-Shabaab responsible for facilitating a wide range of terrorist activities," the statement added. The airstrike occurred in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia, which is located approximately 320 kilometers west of Mogadishu. An earlier statement from Africa Command said the strike had targeted an al Shabaab compound, killing "two terrorists" and wounding another. The high-profile al Shabaab attack on a military airfield in Manda Bay resulted in the death of a US soldier and two American defense contractors as well as the destruction of multiple Defense Department aircraft. During the attack, al Shabaab fighters fired mortars on Kenyan military installations while simultaneously assaulting the airfield. US and Kenyan troops responded to the attack, killing five al-Shabaab members. Initial US military estimates said that "several dozen al-Shabaab fighters" were involved in the assault. The attack raised questions about the security of US personnel in neighboring Kenya and underscored al Shabaab's ability to mount complex attacks in the region despite suffering setbacks in Somalia. "Since January 5, U.S. Africa Command and our partners have pursued those responsible for the attack on U.S. and Kenyan forces at Manda Bay," said U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. Africa Command said in the statement released Tuesday. "This strike demonstrates that we will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for Manda Bay and those wishing to do harm to Americans and our African partners," Townsend added. Al Shabaab is considered to be al Qaeda's largest affiliate, commanding some 5,000 fighters according to US military assessments. There are approximately 600 Department of Defense personnel in Somalia where they primarily work with local Somali National Army forces to battle the al Qaeda affiliate. US military officials say they have trained some 1,000 light infantry troops known as the Danab which are seen as key to taking on al Shabaab. While al Shabaab has lost control of much of the territory it once held in Somalia it maintains the ability to conduct high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. The group is not seen as capable of attacking the US homeland but is considered a major threat to US forces and partners in the region. This story was first published on CNN.com "US military says it killed terrorist leader who planned attack that killed Americans in Kenya" Delhi is burning. Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued to police and a curfew imposed in Muslim-majority neighbourhoods close to the Indian capital on the third day of violence that has killed at least 13 people and wounded 180. Hidden behind the bright flowers and colourful dancers at U.S. President Donald Trumps highly choreographed two-day visit to India are graphic images of violence. Of a bloodied man being beaten up with thick wooden sticks and iron bars curled on the ground, crying for help. Of frenzied mobs roaming the streets. Of men firing pistols and throwing rocks. Of cars burning. Also: police helplines besieged with calls from women frantically pleading for help, describing Molotov cocktails being lobbed into their homes, their fear of being raped by men trying to enter their homes. Reports of police supporting right-wing goons, of journalists attacked and hospitalized, their phones snatched and incriminating videos deleted. Then the footage that symbolizes what is going horribly wrong in India: A mob of men shouting slogans in Hindi such as Hindustan is for Hindus damaging the minaret of a burning mosque and hoisting a flag with a Hindu deity on it, plumes of black smoke shooting into the background sky. People around the world fall in love with myths they make about themselves; some of which are rooted in a grain of truth. An enduring one among the Hindus of India is one of being imposed upon for centuries by invader after invader, their (our) fabled tolerance and patience repeatedly taken advantage of, their ingrained shunning of materialism exploited. In the context of this historical animosity against central Asian Muslims who traded, invaded and settled on the land in the course of a millennium, the contemporary rise in global Islamophobia acts like a torch thrown into a smouldering pyre, feeding it by rationalizing the hate. While much of the distrust is mutual, Indias social, political and financial muscle lies with the Hindus, the far-right among whom see themselves as avengers of historical wrongdoing. Theres a difference between naming the hate or oppression and exploiting it. It takes particular vileness to fan those flames, but the emergence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done exactly that. Modi is an astute politician with a history of violence against Muslims around whom the Islamophobes have coalesced. It is therefore hardly surprising that Trump gets along with him. For months now, India has been struggling with its own peaceful blockades. One protest, largely led by Muslim women, has continuously blocked an arterial road in Delhi since December. Indians around the country are protesting a new citizenship law that discriminates against Muslims. In conjunction with a national register of citizens the government wants to revive, the law has the potential to render millions of Muslims and other marginalized people stateless. More protests have sprung up around the city, but communal clashes this violent are not normal. This round of trouble shows why its important for elected leaders to respond to blockades with restraint. It began Sunday when a local leader of the nations ruling far-right BJP, known for highly communal speeches and tweets, issued an ultimatum to Delhi Police against a blockade erected on Saturday. Well be quiet while Trump is here. If the streets arent empty by the time hes gone, then all bets are off, he said in Hindi. His words incited Hindu mobs, sparked rumours that Muslims were destroying Hindu icons and led to a clash with Hindus and Muslims pelting stones at each other. Not that the violence bothered Trump. What does he care; he has no sympathy for Muslims. Instead, Trump heaped praise for Modis tolerant leadership of India in a speech and told reporters Modi was incredible on the subject of religious freedom. Trump, like American presidents before him, only made the time to visit India in the final year of his term. These visits are usually a mutual back-scratchers. For the American leader, images abroad make him look statesman-like with voters at home. The Indian leader swallows his or her pride for the potential for a trade deal with the economic superpower, offering up its hundreds of millions of citizens as markets. Modi, who is struggling to stem the countrys economic decline and joblessness, knows Trump likes lavish flattery, and sycophantically pulled out all stops to welcome Trump, and even agreed to buying $3 billion (U.S.) worth of American military equipment, including maritime helicopters ostensibly to counter the growing might of China, but surely, also in hopes of establishing a bilateral trade deal. None was announced after the trip. For Indias sake, I hope there is one coming. Meanwhile, if Modi is looking to distract his citizens from his own shortcomings, theres always the Muslims. Read more about: One of the incompetent CBS debate moderators someone should interview them to ask how they feel to have done such a poor job gave the Democratic presidential candidates a chance to sign off last night by providing their personal motto. Does everyone have a personal motto? What a stupid question. My own, thanks to my grandfather S. Paul Johnson, is Courtesy is cheap and pays big dividends. Nobody asked me, however, and it holds no sway in that crowd anyway. That said, I want to offer a few notes on last nights event. Watching it was a most unpleasant experience. The interruptions, the shouting, the shrieking, the talking over each other and the questions almost without exception from the relentless left of the Democratic Partys media adjunct. On the candidates individually: Michael Bloomberg: Bloomberg puts the efficacy of money in politics to its ultimate test. The results are not in, but we will not be surprised to discover that the power of money is limited in this case, this time around. Elizabeth Warren: What an unpleasant woman. Her mission seems to be to test the requisite of likability in small-d democratic politics. How far can she go without it, shrieking all the way? Pete Buttigieg: A guy with a personality so synthetic it must have been cooked up in a laboratory. Who taught him how to talk over somebody else at high volume and maintain his concentration? Bernie Sanders: Why is he so angry? Why is he waving his arms? Why is he slouching? Has age withered his ability to stand up straight? We know his type. He is an old-fashioned Comsymp. Now he embodies the beating heart of the Democratic Party. Joe Biden: At his best last night, he still looks like he escaped from Madam Tussauds and we still need to see the medical records on his neurological issues. Last night the neurological issues manifested in the moment when he added 10 million dead Americans to the nations mortuaries. He wanted to hit Bernie Sanders for voting to give gun manufacturers immunity from tort suits and said that because of Bernies vote, 150 million Americans had been killed by guns. Thats about 12 million Americans killed by guns every year. Ummm . . . Only 2.8 million people die in America every yearof all causes. It reminds one that Biden said while campaigning earlier in the day that he was running . . . for the US Senate. Amy Klobuchar: She is running for vice president. If selected, she promises to quit using the word receipts to mean votes. Tom Steyer: Who am I? What am I doing here? KAWTAR KHANI, Afghanistan -- A shallow river separates a remote Afghan police post from Taliban positions in a rural province in southern Afghanistan. Surrounded by massive sandbags to absorb incoming Taliban fire, soldiers inside the rough mud compound in Kawatar Khani, near Tarin Kot, the provincial capital of the southern province of Uruzgan, have seen a remarkable turnaround this week. Their lives have changed for the better since a weeklong partial truce came into effect on February 22. Hazrat Shah, an Afghan police soldier serving at the outpost, says they have not fired on the Taliban since the insurgents began observing the armistice with Afghan government forces and U.S. troops in which all sides agreed to reduce attacks. Before that, he says, they were frequently responding to Taliban fire. During a February 25 visit to the outpost, Shah pointed out that since the cease-fire went into effect they regularly communicate with the Taliban by waving or shouting. He discovered something remarkable when he met them face to face the previous day. They are as happy as us [about the armistice] because the Taliban are as tired of fighting as we are, Shah told Radio Free Afghanistan. Gulab Shah, another policeman, says they had previously talked to the Taliban through the barrel of a gun. Before the truce, we and the Taliban constantly waited to kill each other, he said. If we dared to raise our heads above our trenches, they attempted to shoot us. And we responded in kind, he added. Now we see each other and talk to each other, and we have sensed that we can co-exist. Gulab says they have reminded the Taliban not to break the truce by shooting at them. They tell us the same, he said. For now, all of us are happy. Rafiullah, an Afghan police soldier wielding a Kalashnikov, says they and the Taliban fighters are equally delighted by the sense of peace. People unhappy over the truce are either very stupid or they are the enemies of Afghanistan, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. All of us -- be they Taliban fighters or government soldiers -- would like this cease-fire to extend. Radio Free Afghanistan attempted to talk to the Taliban fighters, but it was not immediately possible. Insurgents fighters only talk to journalists when allowed by senior leaders. Civilians in the region say the truce has shown them what life in peacetime could look like. Our life is peaceful during the truce, but it was hell before because we couldnt venture out and our honor and properties were not safe, Muhammad Hanif, 50, a local resident, told Radio Free Afghanistan. Only a few individuals may not like peace, but it will make everyone else happy, he noted. Abubakar Siddique wrote this story based on Sharifullah Sharafats reporting from Kawtar Khani, Afghanistan. More than 8,000 miles separate Houston from Taoyuan City, Taiwan. But for those dedicated to upholding the law, the two cities are closer than ever. Each spring, cadets from Taoyuan Citys Central Police University (CPU) venture to the University of Houston-Downtown for a two-week immersion in American policing. Their journey is made possible by UHDs Bayou Connection, an outreach program that connects the University with CPU. The initiatives name has two meanings. Of course, the American Bayou reference is relevant to UHDs proximity to both Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou. In Chinese, however, Bui translates to 100 and Yu means outstanding. The initial concept was to bring 100 outstanding Taiwanese students to learn at UHD. Since its inception, nearly 400 CPU students have traveled to Houston for this academic exchange. This year, 40 CPU cadets learned forensics investigations from the Houston Fire Departments Fire Arson Bureau; enforcement of international smuggling from the U.S. Coast Guard; and peace officer training from the Houston Police Department. Cadets also toured Harris County Jail. Cadets also receive training from instructors at UHDs Criminal Justice Training Center (the institutions on-campus police academy). UHDs proximity to institutions such as the Harris County Jail and its partnerships with law enforcement agencies make it a perfect host for these students. This partnership with Central Police University is one of UHDs largest global projects and continues to make an impact on students seeking to broaden their understanding of both the English language and policing techniques. In addition to welcoming CPU cadets to Houston, UHD students take trips to Taiwan to continue Bayou Connections cultural exchange. But the trips to Houston and Taiwan arent just beneficial for cadets and students. The lessons learned on these trips will enhance international law enforcement and ultimately, help protect citizens around the globe. Technological advances are enhancing the capacity of criminals to work across borders. International cooperation in criminal justice is both inevitable and essential. The Bayou Connection has definitely exposed both criminal justice students at UHD and in Taiwan to cultural exchanges that will lay a beneficial foundation for future collaborations. Lyft will raise the prices of its popular street rental e-bikes next month, using a complex system thats baffled users and prompted a revolt on social media. Beginning March 2, customers of Bay Wheels, the bike rental company operated by Lyft, will have to pay 15 cents a minute to ride the black-and-magenta two-wheelers a sharp jump for people who used to get unlimited rides with their $15 monthly or $149 annual membership fee. Those without a membership will still pay $2 to unlock an e-bike, but under the new pricing scheme, they will also pay 20 cents a minute to ride. Additionally, Bay Wheels will charge $2 to anyone who parks a rental e-bike at a rack that isnt an official company dock, with a few exceptions. The company will waive that fee in the San Franciscos outlying areas, including the southeast neighborhoods and the Outer Richmond, where bike rental docks are scarce. It wont charge people who park next to a dock if the dock is full. Prices for classic pedal bikes remain the same. Lyft defended the changes in a written statement Wednesday. We worked with the SFMTA and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to make sure our pricing ensures that the system remains accessible for everyone, takes into account the ways people ride, and encourages parking behavior that helps ensure bikes are available when and where riders need them, the company said. The new prices will help minimize losses for a recently public company that has invested heavily in e-bike infrastructure and is under pressure on Wall Street to show improving financial results. Electric models are far more expensive to manufacture and maintain than regular pedal bicycles. The company pays for workers and equipment to collect and redistribute all the e-bikes that people leave at random locations. On top of that, Lyft coughs up fines when people stash e-bikes improperly on streets or public sidewalks. This is a money-losing business that theyre involved in, said Randy Rentschler, legislative director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which signed a contract with Lyft to build a regional bike network at no cost to taxpayers. Lyft provides that service through its classic pedal bikes, and the company has spent millions installing docks at curbs and outside transit hubs. Theyre adhering to many policies they agreed to on the pedal bikes, Rentschler said. But the e-bikes are a premium service, he noted, adding that its more than reasonable for Lyft to charge more money to ride them. Still, Bay Wheels users balked at the price hikes. Some said the new system is complex and intimidating, and will discourage people from trying a healthy, eco-friendly form of transportation. Others were angry that the prices for low-income users also went up, via Bay Wheels Bike Share for All program. Those who qualify will continue paying $5 for their first year and $5 per month thereafter. Starting March 2, however, they will also pay 5 cents a minute for each e-bike ride, with the fare capped at $1. When you put all this together, its overwhelming for the consumer, Bay Wheels member Brad Williford said. He regularly rents an e-bike to get from his home in the Mission to a friends house in the Marina District a journey that used to be free with the membership. Next week it will cost $5, he calculated: $3 for the time spent zipping across town, and $2 if he doesnt feel like circling the block to find a station. Several people announced on Twitter this week that they had canceled their memberships in protest. Among them is Andy Thornley, a senior analyst for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. He lives in the world of transportation pricing, but said that even he was confused by Bay Wheels new method. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The new Bay Wheels pricing scheme would take me from casually jumping on a (street-rented) bike, to stopping and thinking about the cost, Thornley tweeted on Tuesday. Regardless of the price, that pause is deadly for widespread, routine use. South of Market resident Parker Day echoed that sentiment. He took 56 Bay Wheels rides in February mostly on e-bikes but canceled his membership when the company announced its new rates last week. I looked at the cost, and its just insane, Day said. Ill have to take Muni or find some other way of getting around. The hikes coincide with the exit of Lyfts only bike rental competitor, Jump, which is run by rival company Uber. It will pull its bright red electric bikes off San Francisco streets when its permit expires on March 1. In an email, Uber spokesman Nick Smith expressed hope that Jump would eventually reach an agreement with the Municipal Transportation Agency, allowing San Francisco residents to have more than one bike rental operator. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan Two-time Golden Globe winner Elisabeth Moss showed a little leg for her bright and early appearance on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America in Manhattan. The 37-year-old LA native - clutching her Starbucks beverage - wore a white frilly long-sleeved frock with black $295 Schutz 'Magalli' high-heeled boots selected by stylist Karla Welch. Hairstylist Sunnie Brook coiffed Elisabeth's short blonde bob and make-up artist Kayleen McAdams brought out her baby blues with brown eye shadow. Kinky boots: Two-time Golden Globe winner Elisabeth Moss showed a little leg for her bright and early appearance on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America in Manhattan Clutching her Starbucks beverage: The 37-year-old LA native wore a white frilly long-sleeved frock with black $295 Schutz 'Magalli' high-heeled boots selected by stylist Karla Welch Moss revealed on the ABC morning talk show that she begins shooting the fourth season of Hulu's dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale on Monday. 'I'm really, really excited and it's a very big season. I can say that,' the Mad Men alum - who produces and stars as June Osborne/Offred - teased. 'We're definitely stretching the limits of what we can do and we're pushing ourselves. I'm very excited to show it to everybody.' Elisabeth also discussed the stunts she had to endure playing a seemingly crazy heiress called Cecilia Kass in The Invisible Man, which hits US/UK theaters this Friday. Ready for her close-up! Hairstylist Sunnie Brook coiffed Elisabeth's short blonde bob and make-up artist Kayleen McAdams brought out her baby blues with brown eye shadow 'It's a very big season': Moss revealed on the ABC morning talk show that she begins shooting the fourth season of Hulu's dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale on Monday The Mad Men alum - who produces and stars as June Osborne/Offred - teased: 'We're definitely stretching the limits of what we can do and we're pushing ourselves. I'm very excited to show it to everybody' In it, Cecilia's abusive ex-boyfriend - scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) - terrorizes her after faking his own death and making himself invisible in a lab. '[It's] challenging. I'm not the most physical person in the world. I'm not a big fan of the gym necessarily. I like napping. Sometimes I walk,' Moss shrugged. 'That's about it, and I had to do a lot of stunts and a lot of running. So much running in horror movies - just running all the time! It's a lot.' When the two-time Emmy winner was on set she fought a stunt double wearing a motion-capture suit, which she joked resembled 'a giant green condom coming at you' while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday. Hitting US/UK theaters this Friday! Elisabeth also discussed the stunts she had to endure playing a seemingly crazy heiress called Cecilia Kass in The Invisible Man Moss said: ''[It's] challenging. I'm not the most physical person in the world...I had to do a lot of running. So much running in horror movies - just running all the time! It's a lot' 91% on Rotten Tomatoes! In it, Cecilia's abusive ex-boyfriend - scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) - terrorizes her after faking his own death and making himself invisible in a lab 'I would go to Disneyland!' The two-time Emmy winner also revealed what she'd do if she was invisible while promoting Leigh Whannell's remake Elisabeth also revealed what she'd do if she was invisible while promoting Leigh Whannell's remake, which already boasts a 91% Rotten Tomatoes critic approval rating. 'I have the nerdiest answer ever, which is I would go to Disneyland and just ride all the rides for free and not wait in line!' Moss laughed, not considering how she'd get strapped into rides. The homeschooled Scientologist later emerged from GMA wearing an entirely different ensemble. Elisabeth slipped her curvaceous 5ft3in figure into a navy-blue sweater, silk coral midi-skirt, and brown $295 Schutz 'Analeah' boots. Quick change! Elisabeth later emerged from GMA wearing an entirely different ensemble Land at the Downsview Airport set currently aside for employment will more than likely be redeveloped to include residential uses says Mayor John Tory a reversal of his previous position that the site be protected for jobs. Future redevelopment of the 150-hectare site currently operated by Bombardier is now being overseen by Torys former chief of staff, Chris Eby. Eby is executive vice-president of the company set up to develop the land for PSP Investments, the investment arm of the pension plan for federal public servants, which bought the land from Bombardier in 2018. We have always expected and anticipated that the redevelopment of this Downsview site will result in it being the location of thousands of jobs, Torys spokesperson Don Peat said in an emailed statement. It will also, more than likely, include a significant number of residential units, including affordable housing. Torys recent comments, first reported by the Globe and Mail, seems to contradict what the mayor himself said about the site in March 2018. They also appear at odds with council, as the city is actively fighting appeals by PSP Investments and others over the citys policy of protecting employment lands. That is employment land and I hope it will continue to be, Tory told reporters in 2018. I dont accept the notion that every single piece of land without exception should just be allocated because we decide were going to have condo towers and apartment buildings everywhere. We need places for people to work. The conversion of land designated for employment to allow the building of more lucrative residential developments as the city grows at an unprecedented pace has been a contentious issue since council approved updated policies to protect sites like Downsview in 2013. Share your thoughts: The process for converting employment lands for other uses is a lengthy and difficult process, subject to a comprehensive review by the city. In May 2018, PSP Investments announced it had entered into an agreement to buy the Bombardier lands sandwiched in the northwest elbow of where Allen Rd. meets Wilson Ave. just north of Hwy 401 and accessible by Line 1 with options to continue operations at the manufacturing facility for several years. In December, Bombardier said it planned to open its new plant at Pearson Airport in 2023. Canada Lands Company, a Crown corporation that manages properties on behalf of the federal government, owns 230 additional hectares, including Downsview Park, and is responsible for plans to develop pockets for new residential, commercial and park space. Eby, now executive vice-president of PSPs Northcrest Developments, told the Star it believes that with the aerospace uses being vacated and recent transit improvements to the area there is an opportunity to revisit the land use framework in this area. As we explore this opportunity and to be perfectly clear, we are at the beginning stages we will be working closely with the local community and other stakeholders, including the City of Toronto, he said in a statement, adding those discussions will be about how PSP can support important public policy priorities, including economic development and also increasing the supply of affordable Peat, Torys spokesperson, said any formal application would go through all the regular city processes. City planning staff are working with PSP to determine the right mix for this site, consistent with city policy and other developments elsewhere, he said. Torontos chief planner Gregg Lintern told the Star that it remains the citys goal to protect and maintain employment areas. But with an active appeal over the future of the Downsview site, he said consideration of other land uses does occur. Coun. James Pasternak, who represents the area in his Ward 6 (York Centre) and is a member of Torys executive committee, said residential development is not in the cards. We already have enormous residential intensification under the Downsview Secondary Plan with neighbourhoods built in Stanley Green, and planned for William Baker and Allen District, he said referring to the Canada Lands development plans. That is all that is on the table right now. These lands have great potential as a transformational employment and light industrial zone. He said while he looks forward to public consultations and working with the owners, the local community has been assured there would be no further intensification. Maria Augimeri, who previously represented the area, had warned that the land was being privately shopped around as having potential for housing, despite the employment area designation. She has advocated for increased park space. Im very disappointed and suspicious of what the mayors office is really up to, she told the Star Tuesday. He should tell Downsview residents what hes planning. Since 2013, when council approved policies by city planning staff to protect various employment lands, including at Downsview, developers have launched dozens of appeals of that decision at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal the quasi-judicial body made up of provincial appointees who have the final say on land planning disputes. Earlier this year, tribunal adjudicator Gerald Swinkin agreed with key tenets of the citys position on the broader policy issues and knocked down a common argument from developers. There is no evidence to support the view that there is a need to convert employment lands to non-employment uses to meet the land supply necessary to create the dwelling units that are necessary to accommodate the citys forecast population growth, he said. That decision concluded just one phase of the appeals. Site-specific concerns, like those at the Downsview site, have yet to be adjudicated. Read more about: There is no alternative to reformed multilateralism and issue-based cooperation to find fair and equitable solutions that will ensure that no-one is left behind, India said on Wednesday, as it expressed its commitment to achieving the UN's 17 sustainable development goals. At the high-level segment during the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council here, Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West)), said that India believes in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas (Inclusive development for all and with the trust of all). "This is the core principle that inspires the robust socio-economic policies that we have adopted to address complex and inter-related needs of our people," he said. Swarup highlighted several initiatives by the Indian government like financial inclusion scheme, free health insurance for 500 million people; providing 150 million homes for the underprivileged over the next 5 years to achieve development goals. He also mention schemes like free cooking gas connections for women from rural households in the poorest strata of society; construction of over 110 million sanitary units in five years, in the world's biggest sanitary services project, for achieving the 2030 agenda. "Each of these initiatives mirrors the targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, for achieving the 2030 agenda. Each one allows us to ensure that no one is left behind," Swarup said. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth all while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. Remembering Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th anniversary year, Swarup said the wisdom, humanism and keen sense of justice of this apostle of peace and non violence must guide us as we seek to achieve the ideals enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights and the 2030 agenda. "We live today in difficult, yet hopeful times. We are beset as never before by borderless challenges of climate change, terrorism, pandemics and rising inequality, including of access to the digital domain," he said. "Both old and new challenges impact upon the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. There is no alternative to reformed multilateralism and issue-based cooperation to find fair and equitable solutions that will ensure that no-one is left behind," he added. Even as the country cater to the growing needs of its people within the constraints of our limited resources, India is in the forefront in sharing with our partners in the developing world our experiences and expertise, including through grant assistance and demand-driven low-interest loans, as well as through capacity-building. "Every year we are training more than 10,000 participants from across the world and the numbers are growing. These partnerships are rooted in mutual understanding and solidarity and provide a template for global cooperation," he said. "The need for global cooperation is nowhere more evident than in preserving Mother Earth. Respect for the is a part of India's civilisational inheritance. "We do believe, however, that combating climate change requires concerted global action and there is no 'equality' of suffering especially for the most vulnerable on our planet. That is why we have always advocated 'Climate Justice' and 'Equity'," Swarup said. This is also the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed at the UN General Assembly last year a Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure, to jointly mitigate some of the socio-economic consequences of natural disasters, he said. "At the same time, we have increased efforts to prioritize renewable energy including by making it more affordable. One such initiative is the International Solar Alliance, for which membership is now open to all UN States," he said. Prime Minister Modi has also called for more sustainable lifestyles. As part of this he has called for doing away with single use plastics in India by 2022, Swarup said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Now that we have major coronavirus outbreaks in countries such as South Korea, Iran and Italy, is our government going to send planes to bring back any Australian citizens who happen to be there? Victoria Heffernan, Walcha It's not only hygiene but also manners, friendliness and security (Letters, February 26). For example, in airport terminals immigration fingerprinting devices should be wiped after each use. Instead of handshakes, gentle knuckle-knocks, and how about a photo-badge worn near ones face mask so we recognise each other? Let's have more friendly greetings and expressions of gratitude - and eat out at Chinese restaurants. Margaret Hogge, North Curl Curl For those you have pushed for a one world - this is what you get with globalisation: spread of infectious disease, an economy that responds to international markets, reliance on overseas students to prop up universities, foreign ownership. Brexit anyone? Jenny Greenwood, Hunters Hill Free of politics, Turnbull can speak climate truth It is such a pity that citizen Malcolm Turnbull was not able to convince his colleagues of the virtues of a net emissions target by 2050 when he was in office (''Turnbull shows zero patience with former party emissions'', February 26). It is now easy to make speeches and statements that are clearly, not only sensible and correct, with respect to climate change. Unfortunately ex-PM Turnbull lacked the political muscle to win over in the Canberra bubble. Michael Blissenden, Dural Turnbull has pulled Scott Morrisons knife out of his own back and retaliated with a masterly jab. Keep it coming, Malcolm. Julius Timmerman, Lawson Whenever the Labor Party and others want to aim for zero emissions, the Coalition comes out with loss of jobs as the reason against doing anything (Letters, February 26). We have lost thousands of jobs over the years and the government allowed it to happen. Why should it be any different with the coal mining industry? Like all the others who were made redundant, they will have to find alternative employment. Perhaps the renewable energy sector could become a new major employer. What's better, saving jobs and destroying our environment or losing some jobs and saving it? Sandy Mackenzie, Bundanoon Your correspondent is right when she asks what it will cost to do nothing. The onus always seems to be put on those advocating ambitious targets to provide the cost, not only of their own plans, but also the more difficult to cost economic and environmental price of a business-as-usual approach. Instead of just letting them bleat about how expensive action is going to be, its time to put the heavies on the do-nothings to tell us the comparative economic and environmental cost of their business-as-usual alternative. Fact-checked, of course. Mark Fraser, Randwick The decision by the Norwegian energy company Equinor to abandon plans to explore the Great Australian Bight for oil reserves is good news indeed (''Dumped: plan to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight'', February 26). It is now patent that raising subterranean substances to the earths surface and then burning them has never been safe. In fact we have ample evidence now that the continuation of this activity is becoming dangerous. Julian Bowditch, Croydon Frank Jotzo points out that the new investment is invariably in wind and solar plants (The end of coal can be managed or messy, February 26). These are well suited to regional areas, which can provide an immediate energy cost advantage over Sydney. Providing regional areas with direct rail access to a container port is a profound stimulus to regional economic development. Greg Cameron, Wamboin Wealthy nation where the poor suffer Ross Gittins provides the evidence that for all our woes Australians live in a wealthy country (''The bright side of our economy'', February 26). Why then are we so reluctant to share that wealth? Why is there so little political will to pay those struggling on Newstart an allowance that would allow them to live with dignity? Why are there so many cases before the courts of workers fighting for wage justice? Is it simply greed that allows so many of us who are well off to ignore the plight of those locked in poverty? Surely sharing the wealth of our country would improve the wellbeing of all Australians and it could provide the stimulus our economy needs. Ray Morgan, Maroubra Finally someone has acknowledged that Australians are better off than previous generations. Gittins article should be essential reading for every university student, school child, millennial and Gen Z person. For that matter, it it should be read twice by every journalist, academic, teacher and social justice warrior who regularly indulge in the group think fake news that things have never been tougher. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach In reading Gittins' paean to the economy one has to wonder if he is damning with faint praise or has fallen for the common notion that if most of us are better off, we all prosper. On the Central Coast, many people don't have a safe place to live, can't find a job and have lost hope for a better life. Early in the morning you can see them wandering around, lost and wondering what is going to happen next. It is heart-breaking and no amount of pie in the sky economics is going to help them. The only solution is concerted action by local, state and federal governments to provide the basic necessities of life for all of us. It is not happening now. Chris Moe, Bensville On the right track Before Infrastructure Australia even considers building a new rail line to Canberra it should prioritise the upgrade of the Sydney to Melbourne route, which is much more highly patronised and has been neglected for many years ("Agency targets faster Canberra rail", February 26). Peter Mahoney, Oatley Going underground How good is infrastructure ( Fires show infrastructure needs bolstering, February 26)? Instead of favouring driverless trains and private toll roads with unfiltered exhaust stacks, how about making a priority of putting underground the overhead power and telecom cables? The arboreal and aesthetic benefits, fewer poles for cars to crash into, and the improved safety during extreme weather conditions mean that a progressive implementation of under-grounding would be a good use of infrastructure spending. Evan Bailey, Glebe End this gong show When Bettina Arndt barged in to exploit the Brisbane family slaughter, she went too far (''Senate condemns men's advocate Arndt amid calls to strip her of AM'', February 26). Even Kerrie-Anne Kennerley is appalled. Im confident Arndt will lose the gong. Its meant to be for outstanding service" to the community not yourself. But how did we get to here ? Who found it politically amusing to nominate an out-and-proud career apologist for female deference and male violence? How could that nomination get past a council including our former Sex Discrimination Commissioner? Why would the council chair pass the nomination to the governor-general? Why was it endorsed? These two men should come clean about what they were thinking and what they think now. Stephen Saunders, OConnor ACT Arndts comments were injudicious to say the least but attempts to strip her of the Australia Day honour is beyond the pale and goes a long way to explaining why liberal democracy is under threat. George Fishman, Vaucluse TAFE's time is here Are we expected to have such short memories ("Private sector to play bigger role in TAFE, February 26)? The last experiment in letting private providers compete with TAFE ended in disaster for many students and harm to TAFE. Chilling words from the Premier if industry also wants to be involved in new courses, we would be open to that. Now is the time for TAFE to flourish, not be sidelined. Much of Australia needs re-building and re-planting and many young people in country areas need work. Surely re-invigorating TAFE in rural areas would mean the skills needed for renewal could be developed and young people find a secure future. Better than stop-gap measures of using back-packers. Judy Sherrington, Kensington Victims of war The editorial gives an honest and balanced picture of what needs to be achieved (''War crimes report needs to bring closure to veterans", February 26). The nature of the war was ill defined and outcomes vague. Many of our soldiers involved in the conflict have mental scars which will never heal. Their families and partners have a lifetime burden. Life and death decisions had to be made under difficult circumstances. Hopefully we can assist this healing process by skilful counselling and adequate financial support. Bill McMahon, Lennox Head Older and wiser Caitlin Fitzsimmons article should really be titled: The experience (in older workers) employers dont know they have (The rights older workers dont know they have, February 26). The valuable, untapped resource of experience and corporate knowledge, which can be shared with younger employees who can benefit from and also build upon that accumulated wisdom and experience is often overlooked by supervisors/employers who cannot see that self-evident fact, beguiled and blinded, as they are, by the shimmering, but empty promises of perception. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga Winning ways The erstwhile founder, captain/coach of the renowned Gallaghers Internationals, Mick Gallagher would be disheartened by correspondent Col Shephards news of "chalking up a lot more losses than wins. Mick led his team to the finals in 1968 and 1969 for his Page College, Armidale, team (Letters, February 26). Bob Warren, Forster The great escape Please, please, no puns about the three baboons on the loose around RPA Hospital being mistaken for a bunch of politicians arriving to make some health announcement (Baboon break: giving the slip to avoid the snip, February 26). Joan Brown, Orange If baboons could read, Im sure they would be offended by the NSW Health Ministers statement that ''they were behaving far better than we would expect of baboons. Bruce Maiden, Castle Hill So they hung out in a "quiet location". It is quite obvious then, without the need of too much research, that buffoons can learn a lot from these baboons; common sense being one. Bernadette Scadden, Earlwood Mrs M: "Any last requests before the operation dear?" Me: "Yes, two females, just to keep me calm." Mrs M: "Oh, don't be such a baboon." George Manojlovic, Mangerton A slip in time saves mine. Geoffrey Williamson, Woollahra More baboon stories please. They take our minds off the antics of so-called homo sapiens. John Flint, St Leonards Alive and kicking First Retail Media Platform Awarded Platinum Certification by the Trustworthy Accountability Group for Securing TAG Seals to Improve Transparency and Prevent Fraud, Malware, Piracy CINCINNATI, OHIO / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE:KR) media advertising business, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), announces it has achieved TAG Platinum Certification from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). TAG Platinum status recognizes KPM as a digital marketing leader for achieving TAG's rigorous certifications in all four program areas, including: eliminating ad fraud, combatting malware, fighting Internet piracy, and promoting transparency. KPM is the first retail media platform to reach this milestone. Kroger Precision Marketing launched just over two years ago. Powered by Kroger's popular loyalty program, it connects customers to brands through engaging moments that inspire purchase online or in-store. KPM closes the loop between media exposure and store sales to make brand advertising more addressable, actionable, and accountable. "We launched KPM to push the entire media supply chain to become more effective for brands. Our TAG Platinum Certification is another sign of our commitment to transform digital media through transparency and accountability," said Cara Pratt, Vice President, Commercial and Product Strategy for Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51. "We work with the most valuable brand names in consumer packaged goods, and we have a responsibility to lead the industry by keeping the highest standards in our media ecosystem." TAG was created through a collaboration of organizations representing advertisers and media suppliers to fight criminal activity and increase trust in the digital advertising industry. Companies earn certifications by setting best practices and achieving industry-recognized standards across each of TAG's four program areas: TAG Certified Against Fraud, TAG Certified Against Malware, TAG Certified Against Piracy, and TAG Inventory Quality Guidelines. Benchmark studies have shown that using TAG Certified distribution channels reduces invalid traffic rates by 88 percent over industry averages. "We are excited to have Kroger Precision Marketing join an elite group of TAG Platinum Certified companies. By reaching this milestone, KPM is leading the retail media industry in transparency and the eradication of digital advertising fraud, malware, and ad-supported piracy," said Mike Zaneis, President and CEO of TAG. "KPM's dedicated efforts to set high standards will result in a better user experience for consumers and a safer digital investment for brands doing business with TAG Certified companies like KPM." About Kroger Precision Marketing Kroger Precision Marketing is a leading retail media advertising solution. Powered by Kroger's popular loyalty card program, we connect customers to brands through engaging moments that inspire purchasing online or in-store. Kroger Precision Marketing closes the loop between media exposure and store sales to make brand advertising more addressable, actionable, and accountable. Learn more at KrogerPrecisionMarketing.com. CONTACT: Lisa Dyson O'Keeffe PR Lisa@Okeeffepr.com (513) 404.6302 SOURCE: The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR) media advertising business, Kroger Precision Marketing View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577989/Kroger-Precision-Marketing-Achieves-Tag-Platinum-Certification-For-Digital-Advertising-Trust-And-Transparency-Practices A memorial to the Russian soldiers who were killed fighting has been erected in Deir ez-Zor province, with an event attended by the Baath Party and a number of security and military officers reports Jesr. Regime loyalists in Deir ez-Zor province are setting up a memorial in the city for some of the Russians killed fighting during the ongoing battles in Syria. Major General Ghassan Salem Mohamed, head of the Security and Military Council in Deir ez-Zor, took part in the inauguration, praising what he called the, major role of the Russian army who stood alongside the Syrian Arab Army in fighting terrorism. The event was also attended by the secretary of the Deir ez-Zor Baath Party and a number of security and military officers and commanders and the head of the Deir ez-Zor governorate council. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. [February 26, 2020] Ultimaker Cura prepares 2.000.000 print jobs per week UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultimaker, the global leader in desktop 3D printing, today launched a web-based Ultimaker Marketplace and additional features with the release of Ultimaker Cura 4.5. Introduced in 2012, the open-source slicing software that prepares 3D models for printing currently has more than 600.000 active users per month, preparing 2.000.000 print jobs per week at the end of 2019 twice as much compared to 2018. The Ultimaker Marketplace offers users access to plugins for industry-standard software platforms, adding functionality such as a direct integration of several CAD software solutions into Ultimaker Cura, and more than 110 optimized printing profiles for third-party materials. The release of Ultimaker Cura 4.5 now offers an improved user experience and seamlessly connects the Ultimaker Marketplace with Cura. New cloud functionality associates the selected plugins and optimized printing profiles directly with the user account after logging in online. This means that now all settings remain available and synhronized regardless which workstation is used, without needing to open Ultimaker Cura beforehand. Other new features contributed by smartavionics, in Ultimaker Cura 4.5 include: Fuzzy skin outside only . When enabled, this option prevents fuzzy skin from being printed inside holes, allowing printed parts to fit easily over objects useful for printing grips or similar applications. . When enabled, this option prevents fuzzy skin from being printed inside holes, allowing printed parts to fit easily over objects useful for printing grips or similar applications. Brim distance. This setting allows users to define a gap between the brim and the model, resulting in easier brim removal and reducing chances of leaving blemishes or damage to finished prints. This setting allows users to define a gap between the brim and the model, resulting in easier brim removal and reducing chances of leaving blemishes or damage to finished prints. Skin edge support. Two settings that make it possible to add an extra line inside the infill that better supports the edge of a print's skin. Dick Moerkens, CTO at Ultimaker: "Ultimaker Cura is continuously powered by its open source community and dedicated in-house software team. We see our user database is rapidly expanding every day with new students, makers and professional users. Where one user is more eager to manually tweak and test every setting available, others want to fully integrate 3D printing into existing workflows. I am proud of our open approach and agile development strategy, which allows us to fully streamline and simplify the 3D printing workflow now and in the future." Read more in our blog post on Ultimaker.com. About Ultimaker Since 2011, Ultimaker has built an open and easy-to-use solution of 3D printers, software and materials that enable professional designers and engineers to innovate every day. Today, Ultimaker is the market leader in desktop 3D printing. From offices in the Netherlands, New York, Boston, and Singapore plus production facilities in Europa and the US its global team of over 400 employees work together to accelerate the world's transition to digital distribution and local manufacturing. Ultimaker.com Media Contact Global Moniek Jansink +31 (0)6 153 862 37 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ultimaker-cura-prepares-2-000-000-print-jobs-per-week-301011742.html SOURCE Ultimaker [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Duke of Sussex has been introduced at an event in Edinburgh without any of his official titles. On Wednesday, Prince Harry spoke on stage at the sustainable tourism conference. But prior to walking on, host Ayesha Hazarika, a former Labour adviser and broadcaster, told the crowd: Hes made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry, so ladies and gentlemen, lets give a big warm Scottish welcome... to Harry. The event marks Prince Harrys final round of official engagements as a working member of the royal family. During his speech, the 35-year-old discussed his sustainable tourism project, Travalyst. Read more Thomas Markle accuses Meghan and Prince Harry of insulting the Queen We want to hear truths and perspectives from across the industry, he told the crowd. We dont need to reinvent the wheel, a lot of great work has already been done. But our research again shows that many of these endeavours have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers. We have to work together... to scale up the good practices already being used around the world. Scotland is a great example of what we mean. Prince Harry founded the Travalyst coalition last autumn along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa. Last week, it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will formally stand down as senior royals on 31 March. World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Show all 24 1 /24 World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Italy World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Argentina World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down US World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Brazil World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Chile World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Belgiam World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down Canada World reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan stepping down UK On their website, Meghan and Prince Harry state that a 12-month review will be undertaken when they commence their revised role at the end of March. They explain that the royal family respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life, and that they 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 also made it clear that while they will formally be known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, their HRH titles will not actively be used. Mumbai, Feb 26 : In a shocker, a man was killed at a CNG refill station after he demanded change of Five rupees (Rs 05 Only), police said here on Wednesday. The incident occurred late on Tuesday evening when the victim, Ramdular Singh Yadav, 68, refilled CNG in his vehicle at the Magathane Gas Station, Borivali East. After making the payment, he demanded return of the balance Rs 5 from the attendant. Irked by this, five persons there surrounded him, started abusing and brutally assaulting Yadav and then dumped him in a critical state before escaping from the spot. Early on Wednesday, the victim's son Santosh Yadav lodged a complaint with Kasturba Road Police Station after his father succumbed to his grave injuries. The deceased was a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar district and was reportedly proceeding home on Tuesday evening when he was attacked and killed for just Rs 5. Police swung into action and have nabbed all the accused and further investigation is underway. A discussion in Hanoi on February 25 called for smarter energy choices, given the impacts of coal power generation on air quality and air pollutions influence on human health. Smog covers downtown Hanoi on February 11 At the event, held on the occasion of the air quality awareness week, US Charge dAffaires to Vietnam Caryn McClelland said coal power affects not only the environment but also peoples livelihoods and social order around the plants, noting that the surrounding areas of coal-fired power plants are impacted the most. Statistics from the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID) show that emissions in the life cycle of a 1,200MW coal-fired power plant include about 17 tonnes of lead, 1.66 tonnes of mercury, 117,818 tonnes of NO2, 139,636 tonnes of SO2, and 26,182 tonnes of dust. The most dangerous is particulate matter that is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5), equivalent to only one-thirtieth of a human hair. GreenID Director Nguy Thi Khanh said a survey of residents near the Duyen Hai, Vung Ang and Hai Phong thermal power plants shows that coal power generation has seriously affected their health. Giving further details about air pollutions influence on public health, Nguyen Thi Trang Nhung, a researcher at the Hanoi University of Public Health, said the research team focused on childrens health and collected data from the National Cancer Hospital and air monitoring stations from 2008 to 2014. Results showed that most pollutants caused respiratory diseases in children; the possibility of disease contraction in summer is higher than in winter; the older children are, the greater they are affected by air pollution; and boys are more vulnerable to air pollution than girls. For people aged 16 and above, the team studied hospitalised cardiovascular cases in Hanoi and Quang Ninh and Phu Tho provinces, finding that PM1 and PM2.5 are linked with cardiovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lead to asthma and strokes in people over 64 years old. However, the studies were limited since they did not assess long-term impacts and the number of air monitoring stations remained low, Nhung noted. At the discussion, Khanh recommended that relevant ministries and sectors issue policies on air environment protection such as aligning domestic emission standards with international norms, prioritising renewable energy development, and promoting the use of public transport and electric vehicles. Representatives from other non-governmental organisations urged the reduction of coal and fossil fuel power, the development of renewable energy, and efficient energy use. They also called on Vietnam to be prudent in its electricity sector development strategy until 2030, or the country could face consequences in terms of the environment and human health./. VNA Deeper look into ecological costs of coal-fired power in Mekong Delta needed: expert Ecological expert Nguyen Huu Thien speaks on the need for clearer environmental regulations for thermopower plants in the Mekong Delta to reduce risks to the regions aquatic resources. Risque business dominated the Paris catwalk last night as Saint Laurent staged a showcase which combined the sensible with the sensual to create power dressing at its most perverse. In a collection which offered infallible proof that sex still sells - just as a well cut suit jacket does Anthony Vaccarello presented all the essentials for any modern workwear wardrobe, from pussy bow blouses to sharp pencil skirts and immaculately tailored coats, while simultaneously satisfying a serious fetish for latex. I wanted to find the balance between control and abandonment, the tension between discipline and pleasure that defines the modernity of Saint Laurent, explained the designer. Accordingly, every one of the 66 looks to take to the catwalk yesterday incorporated a wipe-clean component, from glistening skin-tight trousers to seriously kinky boots. As for the more demure side of Saint Laurents new season muse, Vaccarello looked back to the well-behaved and overly bourgeoise elegance of the YSL house during the Nineties. It was here that houndstooth blazers, waterfall ruffle dresses and fluid silk shirts found their footing, along with panther prints, polka dots and a colour pop palette. Saint Laurent AW20 show, Paris Fashion Week / Imaxtree Vaccarellos vision worked best when the scales were stopped from tipping too far in one direction. Think more vamp than vulgar; less conventional than corporate. A sheer georgette blouse and tailored grey city shorts would have appeared mundane if paired with a plain nude court shoe, but not with Saint Laurents thigh-high PVC boots. Just a hint of a latex corset was also just enough to turn a heavy tweed overcoat from traditional to titillating. Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren joined calls to shut down a controversial oil pipeline running across Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac. With less than two weeks before Michigan holds its March 10 primary, Warren said the pipeline is a threat to millions who rely on the Great Lakes for clean water and a healthy economy in a statement on Twitter. Warren voiced her opposition the day after Democratic opponent Pete Buttigieg made a similar statement, while Bernie Sanders called for the pipeline to be shut down last summer. Warren also touted her Green New Deal agenda to address climate change and create a new clean energy economy. The Massachusetts senator seeks to transition the United States to 100% clean energy within a decade while spurring new investments in renewable energy technology to create new jobs and alleviate fossil fuel dependence. Enbridge Energys Line 5 pipeline spans 645 miles between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, carrying 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids per day. Environmentalists are particularly concerned about the impact of an oil spill in a four-mile segment divided into dual pipes that extend across the Straits of Mackinac, linking Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Enbridge reached a deal in 2018 with then-Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to decommission the twin underwater pipes and replace them with a single pipe housed in a tunnel built in bedrock beneath the straits. The idea remains controversial for environmentalists and some Democrats in the state Legislature, who would prefer no oil be transported across the straits at all. Republican lawmakers say there is no other alternative to satisfy the demand for energy, and closing the pipeline would cost thousands of jobs. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has tried to block the Snyder-Enbridge deal, but the Michigan courts have backed Enbridge so far, the latest being a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling last month. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called the pipeline and a proposed replacement tunnel a clear and present threat to the environment last year while he was running for president. Inslee since suspended his campaign. In his statement last July, Sanders called the pipeline and a proposed replacement tunnel a clear and present threat to the environment earlier this month. Sanders recognized the 9-year-anniversary of Enbridges oil spill on the Kalamazoo River, the largest and most expensive inland oil spill in American history. More than 1 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the river in 2010 after an Enbridge pipeline broke near Marshall. Sanders said the pipeline should close, and all new fossil fuel infrastructure should be banned. Buttigieg agreed in a statement posted to Twitter this week. The former South Bend, Ind., mayor said Michigan cant afford to keep the pipeline in operation due to the risk of an oil spill. "In every community, we need new clean energy solutions to meet our climate crisis, Buttigieg said on Twitter. American media personality Paris Hilton is loving her single life and isn't feeling too sad after ending her engagement to actor Chris Zylka. In an interview with the Cosmopolitan U.K., Paris was vocal about her relationship that ended in November 2018, and how she's feeling about it lately, reported E! News. The businesswoman mentioned that her decision to walk away from the engagement was not a difficult one. As Paris said: "It was the best decision I've ever made in my life. I just don't think [he] was the right person and I feel like I'm an incredible woman and I deserve someone so amazing. It just didn't feel right." "I've worked way too hard to just give my life to someone. They have to be perfect," she added. Back in November 2018, Hilton and Zylka parted ways after he proposed and gave her a $2 million engagement ring. As per E! News, in the recent months, Paris has been romantically linked to entrepreneur Carter Reum, who she was spotted packing on PDA with at a 2020 Golden Globes after-party last month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PARIS Anyone walking into the Christian Dior show on Tuesday morning the day after a New York jury delivered a landmark verdict in the sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein that was also a landmark moment in the #MeToo reckoning would have been forgiven for thinking they were about to experience one of those magical moments when fashion and reality collide in the best possible way. A way that can redefine identity and womens reality, and how both are expressed through what we put on our bodies. After all, hanging over a floor paved in newsprint pages from the last few weeks was neon sign after neon sign proclaiming When Women Strike the World Stops, Womens Love is Unpaid Labor and a blinking series: Consent, Consent, Consent. And sitting in the front row, a whole series of Hollywood actresses: Andie MacDowell, Sigourney Weaver, Demi Moore. Yes, Ms. Chiuri is an Italian designer at a French house; Mr. Weinsteins trial may not have resonated quite so far. It is possible the collision of scene setting and current events was really just a coincidence. But if so, a lucky one, right? She's set to debut as an 'intruder bride' on the current season of Married At First Sight. And Elizabeth Sobinoff looked ready for her close-up as she attended the United Cinemas Opera Quays opening night in Sydney on Wednesday. Joined by former MAFS New Zealand star Samuel Levi, the 28-year-old showed off her slender figure in a blue latex crop top and black pencil skirt. Social rounds: Elizabeth Sobinoff, 28, showed off her slender figure in a latex crop top and mingled with influencer Samuel Levi, 26, at a Sydney launch party on Wednesday, ahead of her return to Married At First Sight. Both pictured Elizabeth added beige slip-on shoes and carried her essential items in a black handbag with the text 'BIG MAC' emblazoned on the front. The brunette styled her straight extensions out, and her makeup included defined brows, a metallic smoky eye, a false set of lashes and a matte nude lip. Elizabeth happily posed for photos with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the backdrop, and embraced former MAFS star Samuel. Samuel, 26, cut a smart casual figure in a black sweater, tucked into beige slim-fit pants. Trim: Elizabeth showed off her slender figure in a blue latex crop top and a black pencil skirt Ready for her close-up: The brunette styled her straight extensions out, and her makeup included defined brows, a metallic smoky eye, a false set of lashes and a matte nude lip He added a tan leather belt and coordinating ankle boots to the look. The countdown is on as fans eagerly await Elizabeth's highly anticipated return to Married At First Sight. Viewers may remember the unlucky-in-love star failed to find love with husband Sam Ball last season after he fat-shamed her then pursued an affair with fellow bride Ines Basic. After appearing on MAFS last year, Elizabeth slimmed down dramatically, having previously attributed her weight loss to a series of health conditions. Return: The countdown is on as fans eagerly await Elizabeth's highly anticipated return to Married At First Sight Headlines: Viewers may remember the unlucky-in-love star failed to find love with husband Sam Ball last season after he fat-shamed her then pursued an affair with fellow bride Ines Basic Initially, fans praised her for shedding the kilos, with Elizabeth addressing their comments in an editorial for 9Honey in May last year. 'You will never see me talk about my supposed "glamorous weight loss secrets", but I will put myself out there to help defeat the belief that says you should be defined as a whole based entirely on your dress size...' she wrote. 'I have been quite candid about how when I'm unwell I fluctuate in my weight.' Losing it: Following her appearance on MAFS last year, Elizabeth slimmed down after being body-shamed by Sam. Pictured left on MAFS 2019, right in February 2020 Also speaking to 9Honey in March last year, Elizabeth revealed she suffers from two chronic health conditions, Porphyria, a blood disorder, and an autoimmune disease, which is a mild form of Lupus. And she said she 'was at one of my heaviest weights I have ever been at' while filming MAFS. Posing on Instagram in November last year, Elizabeth once again addressed her weight loss amid growing concerns for her health. 'I know there is a lot of comments thrown about saying sometimes I look sick, well, yes I struggle on a daily [basis]. I do the best I can,' she explained. The ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Committee (ACJCC) held its 8th meeting at the ASEAN Secretariats headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 25. Delegates at the event The ASEAN appreciated Canadas commitments to the region, and asked Canada to continue supporting the ASEANs central role in the regional structure, as well as in bolstering economic integration and implementing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan third phase. The bloc also called for ASEANs help in building quality infrastructure, promoting the ASEANs Smart Cities Network, granting scholarships, developing human resources, managing natural disasters, providing humanitarian aid, enhancing womens role in peacekeeping and security, and people-to-people exchange. The Canadian side affirmed that it attaches importance to cooperation with the ASEAN, which it considers a priority in external policy. Canada pledged to continue support ASEAN in building the ASEAN Community, implementing the MPAC and IAI, while noting the wish to upgrade its partnership with the bloc, build an ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement, and participate in and contribute to such mechanisms as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus), East Asia Summit (EAS), Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), for peace, security and prosperity in the region. Canada also announced a plan to establish the ASEAN-Canada Cooperation Fund to carry out projects and cooperation activities in the time ahead. On the direction for their partnership, the two sides agreed to work together on all three pillars of politics-security, economics and culture-society, with focus on fighting cross-border terrorism and crime; trade-investment; micro, small and medium enterprises; science-technology; cyber security; connectivity; smart city; climate change and natural disaster control; disease prevention; education; promotion and protection of the rights of women, children and migrant workers. The two sides also concurred to coordinate to finalise the ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action for 2021-2025 to submit to the ASEAN-Canada Ministerial Meeting slated for early August this year for approval./.VNA Global momentum is growing to ban so-called gay "conversion therapy, with bills drawn up in nine countries, a rights group said on Wednesday. The United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Germany are among countries seeking to outlaw the treatment, which includes practices from electric shocks to "praying away the gay" and is based on the belief that being gay or transgender is a mental illness that can be "cured", Ilga, an LGBT+ advocacy group, said. Worldwide, only Brazil, Ecuador and Malta have national bans on conversion therapy, condemned as ineffective and harmful to mental health by more than 60 associations of doctors, psychologists or counsellors globally, the Ilga study said. The main driving force [for reform] is survivors with their testimonies coming forwards, Lucas Ramon Mendos, author of the Ilga report, which said 2020 could be a turning point in the fight against "therapies" that have ruined many lives. A lot of awareness is being created through their testimony, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russias antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT propaganda allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this crime since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty LGBT+ people, including some children, have undergone abuses like lobotomies, castration and masturbatory reconditioning in the past, under the legitimising cloak of medicine in a bid to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, Ilga said. Global moves against attempts to "cure" LGBT+ people are gathering pace, with the state of Queensland considering Australia's first conversion therapy ban, with jail sentences of up to 18 months for doctors and social workers. Data on the global extent of conversion therapy is scarce, but people in 80 countries told advocacy group OutRight Action International in 2019 that it took place in their country. In the United States, some 700,000 people have been forced to undergo conversion therapy, according to the University of California's Williams Institute. US suicide-prevention group The Trevor Project said 42 per cent of LGBT+ 13 to 24-year-olds who underwent conversion therapy reported a suicide attempt in the last year - more than twice the rate of those who did not have the treatment. Existing bans in 19 US states are limited - for example to outlawing doctors carrying out conversion therapy on children - because of stringent federal constitutional protections on freedom of expression and religion, said Mr Ramon Mendos. Britain and Ireland have drawn up bills to outlaw conversion therapy but they have stalled, he said, while Taiwan's government responded to a proposed ban by saying that practitioners could be punished under existing laws. Other proposals will struggle to win political support, such as a US bill which was introduced the House of Representatives in 2019 and if passed would face a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. Reuters TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cann-Is Capital Corp. (the Corporation) (TSX-V: NIS.P), a capital pool company under Policy 2.4 of the TSX Venture Exchange (CPC Policy), announces that it will not be proceeding with the proposed Qualifying Transaction with CWE European Holdings Ltd. (CWE) and that the letter agreement dated October 4, 2019 between the Corporation and CWE has been terminated. No cash or deposit advance was made by Cann-Is to CWE in connection with the proposed Qualifying Transaction. The Corporation is now evaluating other acquisition opportunities with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction. About Cann-Is Capital Corp. The Corporation has not commenced commercial operations and has no assets other than a minimum amount of cash. Except as specifically contemplated in the CPC Policy, as defined in the final prospectus, until Completion of the Qualifying Transaction, the Corporation will not carry on any business other than the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a proposed Qualifying Transaction. For more information please contact: Jonathan Graff, Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (416) 862-3558 Email: jonathan@graffcapital.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about the Corporation's future plans and intentions and completion of a Qualifying Transaction. Wherever possible, words such as may, will, should, could, expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict or potential or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof. Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Corporation cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Corporation assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Dressed in his regular white safari suit, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa shook hands with United States President Donald Trump in New Delhi on Tuesday. Yediyurappa joined many union ministers, BJP senior leaders and his counterparts from other states to take part in a banquet hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind in honour of Trump at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. A reluctant Yediyurappa, who till late Monday afternoon, was unsure of attending the event, decided to fly to Delhi for the dinner. Yediyurappa, who generally travels with an entourage of officials and his son B Y Vijayendra, chose to ignore them all on Tuesday and went with just one Officer of Special Duty (OSD). Even if we did go, we would have had to wait at Karnataka Bhavan. Why waste taxpayers money to fly to and from Delhi? We are saving money, joked one of Yediyurappas personal staff. British politicians turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children and actively covered up allegations over decades, an independent inquiry into historical sex offences in Westminster found yesterday. The inquiry did not find evidence of an organised paedophile network in its examination of the period, covering the 1960s through until the 1990s. But the report found there "have been significant failures by Westminster institutions in their responses to allegations of child sexual abuse". "This included failure to recognise it, turning a blind eye to it, actively shielding and protecting child sexual abusers and covering up allegations," the report said. The 173-page report found that several members of parliament in the 1970s and 1980s, including Peter Morrison and Cyril Smith, were "known or rumoured to be active in their sexual interest in children and were protected from prosecution in a number of ways" by police, prosecutors and political parties. Peter Morrison was the private secretary to Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister at the time. Both Morrison and Smith received knighthoods - a British honours system which awards the title 'Sir'. The inquiry found about 30 instances of people's honours being forfeited after they were convicted for crimes involving sexual abuse. The inquiry also discussed the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), which campaigned for the public acceptance of paedophilia and for changes in the law to allow adults to have sex with children. It was accepted by some charities as the voice of an oppressed sexual minority and took part in London's gay pride march in 1983. "PIE's aims were given foolish and misguided support for several years by people and organisations who should have known better. "There was a fundamental failure to see the problem and a lack of moral courage to confront it," the report said. The inquiry found no evidence that the Home Office funded the campaign group. No matter how well we do, however, the Democrats talking point is that we are doing badly. If the virus disappeared tomorrow, they would say we did a really poor, and even incompetent, job. Not fair, but it is what it is. So far, by the way, we have not had one death. Lets keep it that way! GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- City officials are agreeing to the vacation of a street in Northeast Grand Rapids for the purpose of a proposed expansion of Grand Valley State Universitys campus. On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the city commission consented to the vacation of Prospect Avenue from Hastings Street to Trowbridge Street. The request was made by GVSU, which owns all of the adjacent property. Grand Valley State will cover the costs associated with the street vacation, which is estimated to be about $49,500. As of Feb. 25, the street provides access to residences on the ease side of the street and provides access to Hastings Street and Trowbridge Street. The houses in the area belong to the university. Vacationing the street means removing it as a public right-of-way. It will turn the road into a limited access pedestrian street and enable the development laid out in the GVSU Belknap Master Plan. After the vacation is complete, Grand Valley would need to rework the north and south entrances of the street to a driveway configuration. The GVSU Belknap Master Plan was developed through the partnership of GVSU, the city of Grand Rapids, and the Neighbors of Belknap Lookout association. Grand Valleys Raleigh Finkelstein Hall opened at 500 Lafayette Ave. in 2018. The five-story facility, which includes classroom, laboratory and office space to support the College of Health Professions and Kirkhof College of Nursing, sits at the southwestern portion of the road to be vacated. In July 2018, the university began moving forward with a project to develop affordable housing in the area of the Belknap Lookout neighborhood near its health campus. University leadership wanted to provide housing to the neighborhood after it tore down homes to pave the way for the expansion of the health campus. On Tuesday, the commission passed the vacation request during its community development committee meeting. Its expected to be passed through a sweeping consent agenda vote Tuesday evening. Read more: Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen among Broadway Grand Rapids shows for 2020-21 Paczki burger pays homage to Fat Tuesday in West Michigan National program aims to teach tennis, fix courts in Grand Rapids By Trend Azerbaijan has held a minute of silence at 17:00 (GMT +4) to pay tribute to the Khojaly genocide victims, Trend reports on Feb.26. The movement of traffic and pedestrians in Azerbaijan was stopped for a minute to honor the tragedy victims. The minute of silence was accompanied by horns of vehicles, metro cars and ships in the Bay of Baku. State flags were lowered in Azerbaijani cities and regions, as well as in the countrys diplomatic missions abroad. 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, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Rahul riles Where is Rahul Gandhi? This question has popped up once again after he skipped key party meetings in the aftermath of the violence in Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. In fact, he was conspicuous by his absence from a Wednesday meeting of the party, which was called specifically to discuss the prevailing situation in Delhi, for which all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs were summoned. Party sources defended him saying the Gandhi scion was away on a tour, but as a party veteran pointed out, Gandhi was missed as he was still the party's best bet if for ... Zelensky promised the government "will do everything so that the Ukrainian flag could fly over Crimea again." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Crimea, which was occupied by Russia in 2014, will not become a "price for peace" in Donbas and in Ukraine in general. Read alsoUkraine marks Day of Crimean Resistance to Russian Occupation on Feb 26 "We are doing everything possible to put an end to the war in Donbas and not to lose the best Ukrainians every day. All efforts are directed at this. But this does not mean that Crimea is being removed from the agenda or may become a price for peace in Donbas and peace in Ukraine," he said during Age Of Crimea Forum 2020 in Kyiv, the Novosti Donbassa media outlet reported. Zelensky promised the government "will do everything so that the Ukrainian flag could fly over Crimea again." "Yes, this is a very difficult task that cannot be solved, unfortunately, tomorrow. But there are things that we can do today," the president said. According to him, such things include support for residents of the peninsula and internally displaced persons. 26.02.2020 LISTEN "My presence is to instigate and incite the people for any change they want, and for not having a change that they don't wish to do." -Muammar Al Gaddafi "They are talking about revolution" "Don't you know They're talkin' 'bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper Don't you know They're talkin' about a revolution It sounds like a whisper While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment lines Sitting around waiting for a promotion Don't you know They're talkin' 'bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper Poor people gonna rise up And get their share Poor people gonna rise up And take what's theirs Don't you know You better run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run Oh I said you better Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run 'Cause finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment lines Sitting around waiting for a promotion Don't you know They're talkin' 'bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no - Tracy Chapman Omoyele Sowore is not beloved by the establishment. The establishment hates him because he has called for revolution to change the system and overthrow those deemed as agents of misery to and for the ordinary people. Even, for the people he is fighting for, many of them hate him with passion because they are beholden to those who are making their lives miserable. The establishment understands him. They know what he stands for. They are scared of him and the kind of seismic change he could wrought if allowed to prosper and fester with his philosophy of revolution. Majority of the people he is fighting for, have no understanding of what he is about. Many of them are indifferent. Many of them condemn him. Few appreciate him. But those few even do so with subdued monotones. Sowore, for all the accusations of impudence; for all the allegations of brashness; for all the charges of incitement; for all the imputations of different kinds of human frailties, founded and or unfounded, is a courageous man. A courageous man who has a clear idea of what path he wants the society to tread. He is determined, dedicated focused and persevering. He is a courageous man because he was and he is still risking all. He is risking his investment. He is risking his name. He is risking his life. He is risking all. As a result of this, his family's stability is on the line. His family's happiness is on the line. His mother's joy is on the line. With all this, he has not been bothered as he continued to face risks and following his visions. Those who are criticizing him fall into different categories. Category one consists of the actors and the stakeholders of this travesty called a country. They are the corrupt elements, the kleptomaniacs, the official thieves, who are doing everything in their power to foreclose the future of this generation and the next. If they foreclosed the future of Nigeria, that is all well and good. But they are also trying their best to ensure that when the country breaks up, it would be difficult for the new Nations rising from its ashes to stabilize and move on. Those in this category are inflicted with chronic myopia. Their myopia informs their belted thinking process also circumscribed and permeated by their girdled greed. They are chained to their avidity and rapacity. They are aproned to their cupidity and craving. Yes, because of their esurience, they have become irredeemable. They are irrevocably committed to this path of banditry, brigandage and looting. They have eyes but could not see. They have ears but could not hear. They have noses but are terribly unable to smell. They are in a very unimpregnable, thick cocoon of edacity. Another category of Sowore haters, are the faith and hope peddlers. They are the ones who refuse to believe anything bad is happening out there. They are the ones who become highly discomforted by any news of negative events happening in the Country called Nigeria. They are the ostrichists. They have their heads buried in the sand while tears are wetting the streets. They are the ones who are unaware that their fellow human beings are being murdered. They are the ones who would deny that farms were being invaded, women are being raped, arson were being committed and that if at all, these are happening, they are not committed by the Fulani herdsmen and their accomplices in the law enforcement agencies as well as the Armed Forces. This category consists of those who marinate in what Benjamin Franklin described as "comfortable inaction" or "temporary safety." They have a sense that their liberty is withering away, but they are still able to assure themselves to the contrary. So, when they encounter someone trying to make them confront the reality, they become hostile, combative, unduly defensive and adversarial. Their visceral reaction becomes communicated cacophonously. They are edgy, perpetually nervous, whiny, and would sulk without being conscious of it. They engage in undue transference of aggressive behaviors and demonize those they regard as "unpatriotic" for not sharing their passivity, inactions and denials. Another category of Sowore haters are the sentries of sorrow. The messengers of misery. The couriers of catastrophe. The prophets of tribulation. The agents of anguish. The bearers of blues. The envoys of grieve. The peddlers of pain. They are marketers of melancholy. They are the one who would call white, black and swear to the heavens that they are telling the truth. They are the ones who would sermonize that we should give up our lands or face death. They are the ones who expect us to be grateful for being beheaded, after all, bombs are no more exploding. Their likes are not found in just Aso Rock, they are found on the social media. They are found in the crannies and corners of the land, defending the indefensible. They make excuses for the most despicable acts of incompetence. They cry on the rooftops about corruption while their principals are stealing Nigeria blind. They are the hypocrites. They are the ones who see evil only in those not card - carrying members of the ruling party. They are, more often, very dishonest, shameless, gutless and valueless. They are basically propagandists who are impervious to truth and facts. Another category of Sowore haters are the unfortunate victims of the oppressors themselves. Those that Sowore is actually fighting for. They are the ones who are in chains but think that they are free. They are the ones who are blind but think they could see very clearly. They are the ones who are deaf but think that they could hear very clearly. They are the ones whose nostrils are evidently blocked but think they could smell everything. They marinate in disgusting ignorance with garish gusto and putrid pride. They are the ones that have been povertized and squalorized. This category consists of the happy slaves, joyful in their misfortunes, happy in their miseries. Their hopelessness has been solidified into revelry. It has become a way of life for them. They are inflicted with pathological monomania and are unable to see and think clearly. Their horizons have been shortened. They are very vociferous in the defence of their oppressors. They would happily accept to fight on behalf of their oppressors for crumbs and at times, for nothing. They suffer from concentrated low self-esteem. They have been psychological conditioned to believe that their lives could not be bettered. They have accepted their fate. When you come to them that their lots could be improved, they see you as a rabble rouser, a disrupter of a sort and instantaneously turn against you. They see you as an enemy instead of joining you to overthrow their yokes. They carry their burdens around with curious satisfaction in grinding poverty, squalor, want and diseases. It is because of this category of people that some have been saying that there could and would never be a REVOLUTION in Nigeria. This school of thought believes that the docility of this class of people is irreversible. That they would always be served with tokenism and that would not just divide their ranks, it would make them easily satisfied and keep them loyal. They theorize on the nature of man, how man is intrinsically selfish and self-centered; how self-preservation would always trumped any plan for revolt. This is why Sowore is a danger to the establishment. He is a serious threat to the status quo. He is trying to anchor an organized resistance. He is trying to kindle the fire of defiance. He is trying to stoke the fire of hope and new possibilities. He is calling for a revolution which was seen as more sincere than the kind of revolution that a Bola Ahmed Tinubu or a Mohammadu Buhari would call for, as records showed that they have done before now. The beautiful thing is History. History has a lot of lessons for those who have the aptitude to learn from it. History is a very stubborn guide and lead. It could not be twisted to suit any form of whims and caprices. History is very recalcitrant. Its instructions are always very clear and unambiguous. This is the relevance of the lines at the beginning of this piece by Tracy Chapman, especially the following: "They are talking about a revolution It sounds like a whisper Poor people gonna rise up And get their share Poor people gonna rise up And take what's theirs..." In spite of all the hurdles, all the challenges of the moment, all the difficulties of the present, Sowore's message would resonate. The appropriate conditions are being created by the status quo. The conducive atmosphere is being engendered by the protagonists of this criminal entity. It is being fermented by all their acts of commission and omission. This is why they are jittery. That is why they are trying to lock him up. That is why they are trying to frustrate him with court cases. But at the end, we know what the result would be. Sowore is fighting a system led by criminals. Criminals in the garb of government officials, who share and display more affinities with murderers, rapists and arsonists. They "rehabilitate" them and recruit them into the armed forces and the law enforcement agents. They give these reprobates more comfort than the rest of the citizens. This government cater to the welfare of crooks, bandits and marauders than they would for the citizens. Yet, they are determined to lock up Sowore. They are determined to frustrate him with fatuous charges. They are determined to engage him in endless court cases to distract him. Or stop him altogether. It is an uphill task for Omoyele Sowore. But it is a task that could be and would be accomplished in time. "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility I welcome it. - John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address on January 20, 1960, By Remi Oyeyemi The Army Corps of Engineers study investigating potential coastal flooding protections around New York City, despite being incomplete, came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday. The Corps New York office said that the project is indefinitely postponed due to an interruption in federal funding. One senior administration official told The New York Times that the study came to an end because it was costly and lacked a clear focus. The studys unexpected disruption, much like the Department of Homeland Securitys recent decision to block New Yorkers from applying to Trusted Traveller programs, could be interpreted as a retaliative act on the part of President Donald Trump, who has developed an increasinglycombative attitude toward his home state. On Jan. 18, Trump fired off a tweet mocking the states plans to build a sea wall proposed by the Corps study to protect it from future storms, calling the plans, costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly. Now, a little over a month since Trump criticized the states plans, the study has been postponed. A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably wont work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, youll just have to get your mops & buckets ready! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2020 However, the president does not have the power to end a Corps project on his own. Funding for Corps projects are determined by Congress and the Corps, Department of Defense and the White House Office of Management and Budget collectively determine the projects work plan. In early February, the DHS decided to barr the states residents from applying to the Trusted Traveller programs that allow travelers to use expedited security lanes at airports. The department explained that the states passage of the Green Light Bill which allows undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses was why New Yorkers were no longer eligible for the program. The DHS justified its decision by saying that it needs to have access to the states Department of Motor Vehicles records to ensure applicants meet the programs eligibility requirements but the new legislation prevents federal authorities from accessing them. Critics of this measure, however, pointed out that proof of legal status such as a passport or a green card is required to apply for these programs, so its unlikely that an undocumented immigrant would apply. The move was immediately seen as a retaliative act by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, considering the Trump administration had openly opposed the bill before it went into effect and has frequently chastised sanctuary cities like New York. Regardless, Cuomo said that the DHS would be granted access to the DMV records of applicants provided it lifted the ban. The governor even met with the president to discuss the issue, though nothing immediately came of their get-together. Ahead of his meeting with Cuomo, Trump implied that New Yorkers would gain access to the Trusted Traveller programs again if the state dropped its lawsuits against him. New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harassment, start cleaning itself up, and lowering taxes. Build relationships, but dont bring Fredo! Trump said, referring to the governors brother, who hosts a CNN show, by a derogatory nickname that the Cuomos consider an anti-Italian slur. Im seeing Governor Cuomo today at The White House. He must understand that National Security far exceeds politics. New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harrassment, start cleaning itself up, and lowering taxes. Build relationships, but dont bring Fredo! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020 In 2018, it was reported that Trump encouraged Republicans to withdraw funding for the citys Gateway Tunnel project, which would create a new railway beneath the Hudson River connecting the city to Newark, New Jersey. The presidents efforts to thwart funding for the project demonstrated his proclivity for tampering with federal finances based on his own political grievances. But even the presidents fiercest supporters took issue with his plans to hold up the projects finances. If the news reports are accurate that he wants to kill it or hold it because hes mad at Chuck Schumer, that makes no sense, Republican Rep. Peter King told the Times in 2018. This is essential to the national economy as well as the regional economy. As the state plans to move forward with the implementation of its historic congestion pricing plan in the city next year, there are growing concerns that Trump could effectively prevent it from happening. The plan requires approval from the Federal Highway Administration before it can go into effect next year. Given the Trump administrations penchant for punitively barring the state from programs and funding, its possible the plan could be held up. The federal approval, frankly, we just assumed it was going to be almost pro forma, Cuomo said during a news conference last week. Theyre now using that opportunity to stop congestion pricing. And on Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that the Department of Justice can withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities that do not provide information regarding undocumented immigrants or jail access to them. The new ruling could spell even more trouble for the state, which has aggressively pushed back against the Trump administrations immigration policies, in the future. Court says Trump can withhold law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with immigration authorities. The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with US immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts. The decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island. The states and city sued the United States government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when an undocumented individual was about to be released. Before the change, cities and states seeking grant money were required only to show they were not preventing local law enforcement from communicating with federal authorities about the immigration status of people who were detained. At the time, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said: So-called sanctuary policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes. The 2nd Circuit said the plain language of relevant laws make clear that the US attorney general can impose conditions on states and municipalities receiving money. And it noted that the US Supreme Court has repeatedly observed that the federal government maintains broad power over states when it comes to immigration policies. In the past two years, federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions. The appeals rulings pertain to the issuance of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. Created in 2006, it is the vehicle through which Congress annually dispenses over $250m in federal funding for state and local criminal justice efforts. The Byrne Program was named for New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne, who at age 22 was shot dead while guarding the home of a Guyanese immigrant cooperating with authorities investigating drug trafficking. Hyatt Hotels Corporation has entered into a franchise agreement with Orjin Konaklama Yonetim Hizmetleri A.S. for the first Hyatt branded hotel in Izmir, Turkey. Expected to open in 2021, the 161-room hotel marks the seventh Hyatt branded property in Turkey and the brands entry into Izmir, the countrys third-largest and one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean. Hyatt Regency Izmir Istinye Park will be part of a new major development, Istinye Park Izmir, slated to become a local landmark comprising of a high-end shopping mall and an impressive 860,000-sq-ft (80,000-sq-m) park. Located 12 miles (20 kilometres) from the airport, the hotel will be in close proximity to the metro, tram and bus stations, providing direct access to downtown Izmir. Turkey continues to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, and we have long sought to expand our brand footprint outside of Istanbul, said Takuya Aoyama, vice president development, Hyatt. We are very pleased to be working with Orjin Group who has an excellent track record of developing and operating premium real estate in the country. The property, which will overlook the Gulf of Izmir, will be designed with business and leisure travellers in mind, offering seamless and personalised experiences for any occasion. Hyatt Regency Izmir Istinye Park will feature a restaurant and bar, as well as a spa and a fitness centre. Additionally, with more than 21,500-sq-ft (2,000-sq-m) of flexible event space, the hotel will also offer a premium venue for corporate meetings and social gatherings alike. We are thrilled to be working alongside Hyatt as it expands its brand presence in Turkey, said Zafer Kursun, chairman of Orjin Group. Hyatt Regency is a globally recognised brand and our extensive knowledge of the Turkish market and the city of Izmir will allow us to develop a premium property. Hyatt Regency Izmir Istinye Park will be joining Hyatts growing portfolio across Turkey, alongside Park Hyatt Istanbul Macka Palas, Hyatt Regency Istanbul Atakoy, Grand Hyatt Istanbul, Nish Palas Istanbul, Hyatt Centric Levent Istanbul and Hyatt House Gebze. - TradeArabia News Service "Our report highlights the growing commitment by individuals, organizations, and communities to reverse and end the systemic root causes of health inequities," said Barbara J. Petee , Executive Director of The Root Cause Coalition. "At all levels, communities are prioritizing social determinants and finding ways to create a more cost-effective healthcare delivery framework that addresses localities' unique populations. Yet there is still a great deal of work to be done. The important findings and recommendations of this report will help create a roadmap for meaningful change." The Coalition's Status of Health Equity Report, which examines both the progress and the gaps in addressing the health disparities and socioeconomic factors impacting the health and well-being of individuals and communities, was rolled out at a Washington, D.C. event that featured a discussion of the recommended strategies to improve health equity. Based on dozens of interviews with Coalition members across the country and a national online survey of primary health care providers (including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants), the Status of Health Equity Report outlined eight steps designed to ensure all sectors prioritize health equity in their operations: Reform payment processes Payment reform should include methods and processes to ensure payment to care providers for demonstrated value related to addressing health inequity as a result of social determinants of health. Develop reimbursement models from Medicare and Medicaid. Create a standardized integrated health benefits technology platform Connect patients, providers, payors, and community organizations through this platform to consolidate fragmented programs and services into an integrated network. Increase health plans/systems that focus on health inequity Increase by 50 percent the number of commercial health plans and health systems nationally that embed social determinants of health and health inequities goals into their strategic plans, programs, and services. Strengthen education and training of providers In all medical and clinical education programs nationwide, create a more robust system of educating and training providers about health equity, the role health care providers play in addressing these issues, and how to effectively integrate that role into their current practice. Establish a national target for healthcare expenditures Set a target percentage of the GDP. Develop a plan to address health care deficits Develop a comprehensive plan to address the nation's deficits in infant mortality, mental health services, and substance abuse disorders. Strengthen education at health care organizations and corporations On a national basis, encourage the need to change ongoing education among board members, leaders, and employees related to racial equity and cultural competency issues within the workplace. Improve metrics for measuring outcomes Establish clearer, standardized metrics for measuring health outcomes related to racial disparities and the social determinants of health. "In its examination of the underlying socioeconomic factors that influence health and well-being, today's report also reminds us of a very simple reality: where you live what we call your zip code DNA or 'ZNA' matters," says Randy Oostra, President and CEO of ProMedica and Chair of The Root Cause Coalition Board. "As national health care costs continue to rise, we've outlined a bold Call to Action to improve our nation's health care delivery model through addressing social determinants, engaging in community partnerships and striving for greater cultural competency. "Factors such as the lack of low-cost housing, access to affordable, nutritious food and transportation, as well as isolation and economic instability, all hinder health and well-being along with economic mobility," he said. "The solution to creating a healthier society does not rest on the shoulders of one sector, but requires all sectors business, social services, health care, government, education and more to work collaboratively." Cross-sector industry leaders attending the event for a discussion of the report and its recommendations included Randy Oostra, President and CEO of ProMedica; Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President of AARP Foundation; Leigh Caswell, Vice President of Community Health for Presbyterian Healthcare Services; Julia Ryan, Vice President of Health Initiatives for Local Initiatives Support Corporation; and Barbara Petee, Executive Director of The Root Cause Coalition. The Root Cause Coalition is a non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of 77 leading health systems, hospital associations, foundations, businesses, national and community nonprofits, health insurers, academic institutions, and policy centers. The Coalition works to achieve health equity through cross-sector collaboration in advocacy, education, and research. In support of this mission, the Coalition seeks to uphold its four core values: Focusing on Community Change, Advancing Authentic Collaboration, Scaling Innovative Solutions, and Engaging and Learning from Communities. Learn more at www.RootCauseCoalition.org and @RootCauseCo Press Contact: Ryan Shucard, [email protected] SOURCE The Root Cause Coalition Related Links http://www.RootCauseCoalition.org Panaji, Feb 26 : There was a time when Indian MPs were falling over each other to touch the then US President Bill Clinton, but today Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents US President Donald Trump to his own American audience, BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said on Wednesday. Patra, who was in Goa to interact with the civil society at a function organised by BJP's Goa unit, also said that during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regimes, there were two persons functioning as Prime Ministers which impeded the economic progress of the country. "Many years ago Bill Clinton had come (to India). MPs were falling over each other, as they all wanted to touch him. We have travelled a long distance (from that)," Patra said. "We have come from that day to 'Howdy Modi'. Modi goes to America and tells the audience and introduces their president (as) 'I present Trump to you'. These (things) look small, but they affect psychologically. Today we feel America is a friend," Patra said. The BJP national spokesperson also said that in order to attain the goal of making India a $5 trillion economy, one needed to dream big and shed the "chalta hai" attitude of the UPA years. "First, we have to dream big. We had a 'chalta hai' (attitude). The UPA PM also had this attitude. Even his cabinet didn't recognise (him). Even 10 Janpath didn't recognise him and his ordinance was torn by his own 'yuvraj' (referring to Rahul Gandhi)," Patra said. "Sadly, I would say that he was a shadow Prime Minister. There were two Prime Ministers and sadly the country doesn't work (like that)," Patra said. VANCOUVER, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Awale Resources Limited ("Awale" or the "Company") (TSXV: ARIC) is pleased to report results from the last 2 holes of the maiden drilling program at the Empire high grade gold discovery (Figures 1 and 2). The final step back diamond hole has intercepted target geology, alteration and mineralization to a vertical depth of greater than 200m (Figure 3). Visible gold has been observed at the same mineralized intervals reported in Table 1, with grades of mineralization being atypical of these observations and the hole has fallen outside the plunge of the higher grade mineralization intercepted in previously reported holes on sections 2A (Figure 4) and 2(Figure 5). Hole OERC 0022 was drilled down dip of mineralization intercepted in OEDD0009 and OERC0021 is of lower tenor than intercepts in these holes, also suggesting this hole is outside the plunge of high-grade mineralization and therefore warrants follow up. These new results further extend the mineralized envelope down dip as well as confirm the internal continuity of mineralization at Empire. This successful gold discovery from the maiden drill program at Odienne has covered a fraction of the of the 3km long soil anomaly (Figure 6) which extends toward the southeast. This anomaly is a primary target for further exploration this field season. Visible gold in fresh rock has been noted in every diamond hole that has intersected the mineralized diorite. HIGHLIGHTS Best intercepts from this batch of results include (see full list in table 1): OEDD0015 Deep step back hole between drill lines 2 and 2A (Figure 2 and 3) 17 meters ('m') at 0.7 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") from 254m downhole downhole including 7.1m at 1.2g/t Au from 261.9m downhole. at 1.2g/t Au from downhole. OERC0022 Twin and extension of OEDD0010 (Figure 2 and 3) 29m at 0.8 g/t Au from 140m downhole. at 0.8 g/t Au from downhole. Including 8m at 1.9g/t Au from 148m downhole. These results compliment the following previously reported results (see releases dated 19th Nov. 2019, 23rd Dec. 2019 and the 29th Jan 2020): OEDD0001 (Figure 2 and 5) 18.15m at 4.9 g/t Au from 40 m downhole , , including 10.4 m at 7.9 g/t Au from 40m downhole 10.4 m at 7.9 g/t Au from downhole OEDD0002 (Figure 2 and 5) 27 m at 3.1 g/t Au from 43.2 m downhole from downhole including 9 m at 5.3 g/t Au from 43.2 m downhole. from downhole. OEDD0003 (Figure 2 and 5) 19m at 0.9 g/t Au from 151m downhole from downhole including 1m at 4.54 g/t Au from 152 m downhole. from downhole. OEDD0009 (Figure 2 and 4) 17m at 2.6 g/t Au from 40 m downhole , , including 2.65m at 15.4 g/t Au from 40m , at 15.4 g/t Au from , 16.74m at 1.9 g/t Au from 74.26m downhole, at 1.9 g/t Au from downhole, including 9.28m at 2.7g/t Au from 80.72m and, at 2.7g/t Au from and, 16m at 1.8 g/t Au from 98m downhole, at 1.8 g/t Au from downhole, including 3m at 7.6 g/t Au from 111m downhole at 7.6 g/t Au from downhole OERC0008 Step-back hole to Discovery Hole OEDD0001 (Figures 2 and 5) 16m at 1.3 g/t gold ("Au") from 81m downhole, at 1.3 g/t gold ("Au") from downhole, including 1m at 11.3 g/t Au from 94m downhole at 11.3 g/t Au from downhole 10m at 2.3 g/t Au from 109m , at 2.3 g/t Au from , including 5m at 3.9 g/t Au from 109m downhole at 3.9 g/t Au from downhole OERC0021 Step-out hole 200m along strike from Discovery Section (Figures 2 and 4) along strike from Discovery Section (Figures 2 and 4) 32m at 0.9g/t Au from 32 m downhole, at 0.9g/t Au from downhole, including 2m at 4.8g/t Au from 53m downhole at 4.8g/t Au from downhole 34m at 1.9 g/t Au from 96m downhole, at 1.9 g/t Au from downhole, including 18m at 3g/t Au from 97m downhole and 2m at 15.5 g/t Au from 111m downhole at 3g/t Au from downhole and at 15.5 g/t Au from downhole 29m at 1.2g/t Au from 134m downhole, at 1.2g/t Au from downhole, including 11m at 2.5g/t Au from 140m downhole and 2m at 5.6g/t Au from 140m downhole at 2.5g/t Au from downhole and at 5.6g/t Au from downhole OEDD0003 extension (hole re-entered and extended Figure 2 and 6) 3m at 4.5 g/t Au from 193m downhole at 4.5 g/t Au from downhole OERC0005 twin of OEDD0001 (Figure 2 and 5) 22m at 1.5g/t Au from 22m downhole at 1.5g/t Au from downhole Including 1m intervals of 4.4 g/t Au, 6g/t Au and 16.6g/t Au, from 27, 41 and 46 m downhole respectively Note; True width Intercepts are approximately 75 to 90% of the reported downhole interval downhole. The Broad intercepts above are calculated at a 0.2g/t Au trigger with included intercepts calculated at a 1 g/t Au trigger. All calculated intercepts include 3m of internal waste. Plans and Sections for these holes are shown in figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. The Empire discovery and significant extent of mineralization remains open along strike and down dip with demonstrated high grade zones with 2nd phase drilling planned for late March. Now that final results have been returned the company can complete studies on geometry of the mineralisation ready to test plunging mineralisation in the next drill program as well as step out along the current 3 kilometre geochemical anomaly that follows the Empire shear zone. To note a 3,000meter Auger in fill program has already been completed over this 3km anomaly to further define drill targets at the Empire Prospect. LINK: SEE FIGURES 1 TO 7: http://awaleresources.com/_resources/maps/2020_02_24_OdienneDrilling_figuresfinal.pdf Company CEO Glen Parsons commented today: "These last results from the maiden drill program at the Empire prospect confirm continuity of mineralization within the main drill zone and we now have a robust 200m long and greater than 200m deep mineralized envelope. This forms the initial core of the system which remains open down dip and along strike, within the current 3km soil anomaly still to be tested. Despite the deeper diamond hole falling outside the plunge of high grade mineralization, it has demonstrated continuity of alteration and mineralization style and intercepted the target geology from 153 to 300 meters downhole, extending the current dimensions of the system to greater than 200m vertical and 200m long and the width of the mineralized envelope ranges from 30 to 80m. The company now has consistent target geology to chase in future drilling and has recently completed a 100x25metre Auger program to tighten the 3km soil anomaly for drill testing. Results from this program are expected in mid-March, after which a phase 2 drill program will commence at Empire. Awale looks forward to news that will continue to flow from drilling at our exciting Empire prospect at Odienne as well as continued exploration results from Bondoukou, in the north east, where we continue to develop and progress multiple exploration targets for drill testing later this year." Concluding Remarks on a Successful Maiden Drilling Program Empire is a high priority prospect that was discovered and systematically explored by Awale, resulting in a coincident geology, gold/arsenic geochemistry, and ground geophysics (Induced Polarization, or "IP") anomaly. The high order soil anomalism coincides with a mapped mylonite-bearing structure that has been intruded by a later diorite body. This diorite is the host of mineralization now drilled at the Empire prospect and is the primary target for future exploration programs. The soil sampling completed by the company forms a 3km long > 18ppb Au anomaly which includes a 500m long >109 ppb Au core (Figure 6), artisanal mining activity commenced some months after the completion and reporting of the soil program. The high order core anomaly has formed that focus of phase 1 drilling and has delivered robust and continuous gold mineralization within this zone. Drill fences in this core zone are 100m apart and, and currently there is demonstrated gold mineralization to a vertical depth of 150m on the discovery section (OEDD003 returned 3m at 4.6 g/t Au from 196m) and in section 2A to a depth of 125m with OERC21 intercepting 11m at 2.5g/t Au from 140m. The mineralized envelope on section 2A is some 80 metres wide and 30 meters wide on section 2 (Figures 4 and 5). Hole OEDD0015 (Figure 3) intercepted the target diorite from 155m to 300m downhole with brittle ductile deformation evident from 190m to the footwall contact at 300m. Visible Gold has been observed in brittle ductile zones between 230 and 300 meters down hole, assay grades returned are atypical, and the hole is interpreted to lie outside the plunge of better mineralization intercepted in OEDD009 and OERC0021, hole OERC0022 intercepted lower tenor mineralization down dip of OERC0021 and is interpreted to lie at the margins of the plunging mineralization. The recently completed drilling program has confirmed the mineralization model developed by the company where gold is hosted in a brittle ductile orogenic shear zone setting at the margin of the diorite intrusion. The footwall contact of the diorite is strongly potassic altered (almost complete fine grained replacement of the protolith by biotite) and represents the main fluid pathway into the mineralized system. Gold mineralization appears to weaken distal from the footwall structure but persists up to 80m into the hanging wall. All drill holes that have intercepted diorite have exhibited brittle ductile deformation and are mineralized. Further to this all diamond holes that have intercepted the brittle ductile deformation have contained free gold, with the first 2 holes returning very high grade intercepts(OEDD0001 returned 10.4m at 7.9 g/t Au, including 1m at 73.1 g/t Au and OEDD0002 returned 9m at 5.3 g/t Au), follow up drilling has also returned high grades with 1m at 11.3 g/t Au in OERC0008, 1m at 16.8 g/t Au in OERC0005, 2m at 15.5 g/t Au in OERC0021 and 2.65m at 15.4 g/t Au in OEDD0009. Potassic alteration is overprinted by a later phase of silica-sulfide alteration is associated with free gold and minor tellurides, there is also significant, early, calc-silicate alteration present in the system (epidote/pyroxene), carbonate alteration is also present. The sulfide mineralogy is dominated by pyrite with subordinate chalcopyrite and galena. Disseminated mineralization is present, but at low tenor (0.2 to 1 g/t Au) within the brittle ductile zone. Follow - Up Exploration Plan at Odienne The company plans to undertake a 5000m phase 2 RC/DD program in late March/early April, this program will both test the 3km soil anomaly as well as plunge test and define extents of mineralization in the recently completed phase 1 program. To better target the extension drilling component of phase 2 drilling Awale has recently completed a c. 3000m Power Auger program on a 100x25m spacing to tighten geochemical targets for the Phase 2 RC/DD drill program. The auger results are expected in the ensuing weeks. Further to this an orientation ground magnetic survey is also underway over the Phase 1 drill area. Data from this survey as well as the IP completed over the same area is also being assessed against the Phase 1 drilling to determine if these geophysical methods would be effective in delineation of the target diorite unit in conjunction with the auger geochemistry program. Once this assessment is complete the geophysics surveys will be extended. The company also plans to fly a permit wide aerial magnetic survey in late March or early April depending on timing of permitting and the selected contractor availability to complete the survey. Table 1: List of Significant intercepts for the Empire Prospect Hole East North RL Total Depth (m) Inclination Azimuth From (m) To (m) Length (m) g/t Au Gram Metres OEDD0001 647381 1030237 465 108.16 -55 20 40 58.15 18.15 4.9 88.9 Including 40 50.4 10.4 7.9 and 46 47 1 73.1 OEDD0002 647403 1030294 467 84.06 -55 200 43.2 70.2 27 3.1 83.7 Including 43.2 52.2 9 5.3 and 48.2 49.2 1 34.9 and 61.2 62.2 1 19.3 OEDD0003 647419 1030332 469 210.06 -56.17 204 110.49 121 10.51 0.3 3.6 124.7 130 5.3 0.4 1.9 151 170 19 0.9 17.3 Including 152 157 5 1.8 and 152 153 1 4.5 OEDD0003 181 182 1 2.2 2.2 Extension 193 196 3 4.6 13.8 OEDD0009 647490 1030215 467 156 -55 20 0 8.8 8.8 0.4 3.8 40 57 17 2.6 44.5 Including 40 42.65 2.65 15.4 64 70 6 0.5 3.2 74.26 91 16.74 1.9 31.3 Including 80.72 90 9.28 2.7 and 82 83 1 6.8 and 85 86 1 7.2 and 86 87 1 3.8 and 89 90 1 3.6 98 114 16 1.8 28.2 103 104 1 3.5 3.5 111 114 3 7.6 22.9 128 137.67 9.67 0.2 2.0 OEDD0010 647465 1030167 467 138 -55 20 61 67 6 0.3 1.9 92 97.9 5.9 0.3 1.5 108.05 111 2.95 1.1 3.2 Including 110 111 1 3.0 121 127 6 0.4 2.6 Hole East North RL Total Depth (m) Inclination Azimuth From (m) To (m) Length (m) g/t Au Gram Metres OEDD0015 647387 1030084 475 345.4 -55 20 137 138 1 2.9 2.9 156 159 3 0.4 1.2 208 210 2 0.5 1.0 216 218 2 0.8 1.7 222 237 15 0.5 7.4 Including 228 229 1 2.8 241 247 6 0.3 2.0 254 271 17 0.7 11.6 Including 261.9 269 7.1 1.2 8.3 and 265 266 1 2.8 and 268 269 1 3.4 274 275 1 0.5 0.5 280 282 2 0.8 1.6 282 283 1 0.2 0.2 287 290 3 0.4 1.1 298 307 9 0.3 2.3 317 318 1 1.4 1.4 OERC0003/OEDD0006 647556 1030108 467 57.9/84.4 -55 24 1 3 2 0.6 1.2 OERC0003/OEDD0006 9 27 18 0.2 4.3 OERC0005 647389 1030234 465 110 -55 28 27 49 22 1.5 33.0 Including 27 28 1 4.4 and 41 42 1 6.0 and 46 47 1 16.8 55 66 11 0.6 6.6 OERC0006 647350 1030154 465 120 -55 20 109 113 4 0.9 3.6 OERC0008 647367 1030196 465 170 -55 22 62 64 2 1.0 2.0 81 97 16 1.3 20.8 Including 88 89 1 4.0 and 94 95 1 11.3 109 119 10 2.3 23.0 Including 109 114 5 3.9 123 126 3 1.7 5.1 131 141 10 0.7 7.0 Including 137 138 1 4.8 157 158 1 0.6 0.6 OERC0015 647462 1030127 474.2 180 20 -55 126 138 12 0.5 6.0 145 146 1 0.9 0.9 161 172 11 0.2 2.3 177 178 1 1.5 0.0 Hole East North RL Total Depth (m) Inclination Azimuth From (m) To (m) Length (m) g/t Au Gram Metres OERC0016 647541 1030064 477.2 115 20 -55 66 75 9 0.3 2.9 87 88 1 0.6 0.6 OERC0018 647860 1030009 475.8 93 20 -55 27 28 1 0.5 0.5 OERC0019 647846 1029971 476.1 80 20 -55 50 51 1 1.1 1.1 11 12 1 2.9 2.9 31 32 1 0.5 0.5 OERC0020 647832 1029934 475.9 82 20 -55 44 46 2 0.7 1.4 67 68 1 0.3 0.3 OERC0021 647513 1030311 476.3 165 200 -52 32 64 32 0.9 29.4 Including 43 45 2 3.3 and 53 55 2 4.8 96 130 34 1.9 64.6 Including 97 115 18 3.0 and 111 113 2 15.5 134 163 29 1.2 34.8 Including 140 151 11 2.5 and 140 144 4 3.7 OERC0022 647475 1030173 474.5 180 20 -55 29 30 1 0.6 0.6 38 40 2 0.8 1.5 54 55 1 0.6 0.6 110 111 1 0.6 0.6 120 121 1 0.5 0.5 126 133 7 0.8 5.8 Including 129 130 1 4.0 140 169 29 0.8 22.6 Including 148 156 8 1.9 and 148 149 1 4.2 and 151 152 1 5.2 Note: All intervals calculated using a 0.2 g/t Au trigger value and include 3 metres of internal waste. Included intervals calculated at a 1 g/t Au trigger with 3m of internal waste except where individual assays are reported. Note on Screen Fire Assays and Grade Variability Assays above 1 g/t Au are now routinely assayed by the Company using the Screen Fire Assay analytical technique (see description below). Where a Screen fire Assay has been completed these results supersede Fire Assay results for reported intercepts. Grade variability is evident from results received from the twin of OEDD0001 (OERC0005). OEDD0001 returned 18.15m at 4.9 g/t Au from 40m while OERC0005 returned 22m at 1.5 g/t Au from 27m. The main difference being a maximum value of 73.2 g/t Au in OEDD001 and only 16.8 g/t Au in OERC0005. Other intercepts are similar. Quarter NQ core duplicate samples taken within mineralized zones have also returned variable results, this is viewed as an example of the grade variability within the mineralization. For reporting purposes screen fire assays have been used rather than the fire assay results, screen fire assays have been systematically made for any sample over 1 g/t Au within the brittle ductile zones. The table below depicts this nugget gold variability in field duplicate samples. Table 2: Selection of duplicate fire assay results within mineralized zones, Empire drilling. Hole ID Primary Fire Assay Duplicate Fire Assay OEDD0001 34.11 20.73 OEDD0002 2.45 1.84 OEDD0009 21.1 1.73 OEDD0009 0.8 4.62 Company geologists are also re-visiting the IP data collected over the area to see if the data can be 'trained' on the now know host rock geology and the footwall contact, if this is successful, further IP surveys may also be used a targeting tool in conjunction with the auger geochemistry. Quality Control and Assurance Analytical work for drill core and RC percussion samples is being carried out at the independent Intertek Laboratories Ghana Ltd. an ISO 17025 Certified Laboratory. Samples are stored at the company's field camps and put into sealed bags; they are stored securely until collected by Intertek for transportation to Ghana. Samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and finely crushed to better than 70%, passing a 2 mm screen. A split of up to 1,000 g is taken and pulverized to better than 85%, passing a 75-micron screen, and a 50-gram split is analyzed by Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are being used to monitor laboratory performance during the analysis. Due to the presence of free gold the lab was requested to run a quartz wash between each sample during preparation. Samples that have returned more than 1g/t Au have been Screen Fire Assayed. Screen Fire Assay involves screening a nominal 1kg sample and firing the entire coarse fraction, including the screen cloth. Duplicate assays are carried out on the undersize fraction which is more reproducible due to the smaller gold particle sizes. The total gold content is calculated as a weighted mean of the measured grades of the two screen fractions. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AWALE RESOURCES LIMITED. "Glen Parsons" Glen Parsons, President and CEO Qualified Person The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Andrew Chubb, the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr Chubb is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and holds an Economic Geology degree, is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and is a Member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr Chubb has 18 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by such information. The statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Cautionary Statement NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE SOURCE Awale Resources Looks like people in Ahmedabad will be united with impounded stray dogs and cattle, now that Donald Trump has flown back to the United States of America. To see cattle and stray wandering the streets is a common sight in cities across India, but officials tried to contain this 'menace' for a brief period for the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad. Facebook According to a TOI report, Municipal workers in Ahmedabad caught 48 cows and buffaloes, and 55 dogs from the Motera Stadium area before Trump's visit. The temporary arrangement was to ensure that the 'eyesores' were completely out of the picture on the VVIP route. Prior to Trump visit, the Cattle and Dog Nuisance Control Department (CDNCD) of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) constituted a team to capture dogs within at least 2.75-km radius of the VIP route. There'a reason why officials took the decision to impound cattle this time - according to reports, in 2015, when US secretary of state John Kerry was on his way back to the airport after attending the inaugural function of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Business Summit in Gandhinagar, his cavalcade had hit a mongrel. Reuters To avoid any such embarrassing incident during the Trump visit officials caught as many dogs and cows as they could. The airport area and the 1-km radius around Motera stadium towards Koteshwar and Bhatt village is known for nilgai (blue bull) intrusions. But now the cattle and strays will be released and the Municipal officials will make sure that the dogs are neutered and sterilized before releasing, as they tend to get aggressive when pushed into a new locality. Twitter As for the cattle, the owners have to pay a fine and to get it back. In May last year, a court of additional sessions judge, M K Chauhan, convicted cattle-owners, Alpesh Rabari and Hitesh Rabari, and also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on two cattle-rearers; they were also sentenced to three months in jail for letting their bovines roam free on public roads, posing a danger to commuters. Cattle-rearers can be detained under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) or for violation of police notification, if their cattle is found straying on road. With the onset of monsoon every year, the bovine menace on city roads increases. In the past, more than 10 citizens have been gored by cattle. Around four cows too have died and two injured in accidents earlier. Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential rivals warn that nominating the self-described democratic socialist will ensure President Donald Trump's re-election, but a growing number of the party's voters see the senator as their best chance of winning in November. Sanders' dominating performance in last week's Nevada caucuses, powered by growing support across age, race and ideology, has set off alarm bells among Democratic Party officials who believe putting the progressive stalwart at the top of the ticket will harm the party's chances up and down the ballot. Sanders' electability was a prime topic at Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina. Rivals contended his ambitious liberal policy ideas, such as Medicare for All, which would replace private health insurance, would be an electoral 'catastrophe,' costing the party the White House and control of Congress. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Sanders' rising momentum in the race - a near win in Iowa, a narrow victory in New Hampshire and a decisive win in Nevada - has given him more credibility with Democratic voters. On the trail: Bernie Sanders campaigned in North Charleston, South Carolina, with his campaign's national co-chair Nina Turner. South Carolina's Democratic primary has a 60% black electorate Some 26% of Democrats and independents polled Feb. 17-25 said they believed Sanders was the strongest Democrat in a head-to-head matchup with Trump, compared with 20% who picked billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg and 17% who named former Vice President Joe Biden. That was a big change from a month earlier, when 27% of respondents gave Biden the edge, and just 17% thought Sanders could beat Trump. In the Nevada caucuses, Sanders won the support of a majority of Latino voters and led among most demographic groups broken out by gender, income and political leanings in Nevada. Notable exceptions were those aged 65 years and older, as well as black voters, more of whom supported Biden. That too could be changing. The same Reuters/Ipsos polling showed that Sanders had overtaken Biden in support among black voters nationally for the first time. Saturday's South Carolina primary will be the first major test of Sanders' appeal among African-American voters, who represent about 60% of that state's Democratic electorate. Three days later, 14 states will cast ballots on Super Tuesday, when Sanders could build an overwhelming advantage if he captures the lion's share of the available delegates. His path has been smoothed by the fragmentation among the moderate candidates. Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar - all of whom say Sanders' policies are too radical to win in November, have each recorded at least one top-three finish thus far, while Bloomberg's name will appear on ballots for the first time on Super Tuesday. Sanders argues the enthusiasm powering his campaign will lead to record turnout in November, particularly among young and infrequent voters, making up for any deficiency among swing voters or Republicans. 'A large voter turnout would mean that down-ballot Democrats will ... do better than they have in the past,' Sanders told Reuters on Saturday in El Paso, Texas. 'Our campaign is the campaign to do that: We have the energy, we have the excitement, we have the grassroots movement.' At Tuesday's debate, he said the biggest misconception about him, 'and you're hearing it here tonight, is that the ideas I'm talking about are radical.' 'They're not. In one form or another, they exist in countries all over the world,' he added. 'Healthcare is a human right. We have the necessity, the moral imperative, to address the existential threat of climate change. Other countries are doing that.' The results in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada have not provided evidence of a massive turnout surge, but Sanders' fortunes have improved with each succeeding state contest. 'If you want to win in red and purple places, the most important thing you need is people who like you or who are willing to fight for you,' Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who ended her own presidential bid last year, told MSNBC on Tuesday. 'You need passion, and what Bernie showed so far is that he's got a lot of passion in his campaign.' After gaining a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, dozens of Democrats will be defending seats in Republican-leaning areas. In recent weeks, several moderate Democrats openly fretted that Sanders at the top of the ticket would risk flipping those seats. Democratic presidential candidates got into a series of angry and personal exchanges at Tuesday night's debate in Charleston with Bernie Sanders attacking Mike Bloomberg for being a billionaire The candidates repeatedly talked over each other with CBS moderators losing all control of the discussion about 40 minutes into the debate 'I hear from constituents that they are afraid they are going to have a make a choice between a self-described socialist and an aspiring dictator,' said U.S. Representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida, co-chair of the congressional Blue Dog Coalition of moderate Democrats, referring to Sanders and Trump. 'That's not a choice any American should make.' Polling released by Bloomberg's campaign on Tuesday showed voters in 42 of the most vulnerable House Democrats' districts preferring Trump to Sanders. Guy Cecil, chairman of Democratic super PAC Priorities USA, said Sanders 'has some capacity to expand the Democratic vote among younger voters,' adding: 'At the same time, he'll need to make sure he's doing more to reach out, in particular to those women - suburban women - that were really the benchmark of us taking over the House in 2018.' Cameron Brand, 24, a patient care adviser at a medicinal dispensary in Plymouth, New Hampshire, said he knew people who voted for Trump in 2016 because they disliked mainstream Democrats, but would vote for Sanders. 'Although he is being labeled as this radical leftist or whatever, he actually does have a lot of policies that the majority of Americans agree on that cross party lines,' Brand said. Entrance polls of Nevada caucus-goers from Edison Research showed more than 60% favored replacing private insurance with a government-run plan. 'He tells it like it is,' Brand said of Sanders. 'He tells the truth.' ALBANY, N.Y. Reacting to concerns about the quickening spread of coronavirus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Wednesday that the state would set aside some $40 million to fight the virus, as well as plan for possible quarantines at homes, hotels and hospitals. In a briefing in the Capitol, the governor and his health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, stressed that New York still had no confirmed cases of the virus, but warned that its spread to the state was inevitable. The scope of the viruss spread and the importance of New York as a center of global commerce and transportation led Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, to ask for additional funding for fighting the disease. It is highly probable that we will have people in New York State who test positive, said Mr. Cuomo, noting that New York City is the front door internationally for many travelers. No one should be surprised when we have positive cases. Senate Democrats block bills against late-term abortion, infanticide Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The United States Senate failed to get the necessary 60 votes to advance two pro-life bills, one of which was aimed at banning abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy while another required medical care for babies that survive the procedure. On a vote taken Tuesday, the Senate voted 56-41 on Senate Bill 311, known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Introduced by Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, S. 311 mandated that a healthcare practitioner must provide medical attention to a baby that survives an attempted abortion. Also on Tuesday, the Senate voted 53-44 on Senate Bill 3275, also called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, S. 3275 banned most abortions performed 20 weeks or later into a pregnancy. Both measures failed to get the necessary three-fifths majority, with nearly all Democrats voting against both bills and nearly all Republicans voting in favor of both. Notable exceptions included Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who voted in favor of both measures, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Also, Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama voted in favor of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Pro-life groups like the Susan B. Anthony List denounced the results, arguing that the votes will have influence on the election. We believe this will provide President Trump and the pro-life Senate majority the margin of victory come November, stated SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. Given the popularity of these bills and the heavy political losses Democrats will continue to suffer by opposing them, it is only a matter of time until they become law. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York denounced both bills as fake, dishonest, and extreme legislation that has nothing to do with improving the lives of ordinary Americans. I say fake because these bills pretend as if we dont already have laws on the book that protect infants. Additional legislation is completely unnecessary and irrational, stated Sen. Schumer on the Senate floor on Tuesday. These bills are not intended to fix real problems faced by real Americans; they are intended to provoke fear and misunderstanding about a very difficult issue so Republicans can score political points with their far-right base. Prominent evangelical leader Russell Moore, who heads the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, argued that the measures are "basic and common-sense bills that would protect human life. He called the Senate vote a "national scandal." WASHINGTONWhos afraid of a brokered convention? Its a fantasy scenario for many pundits and journalists, who would welcome the excitement of a dramatic finish to the Democratic Partys nomination process. But plenty of Democrats are afraid it could damage their chances against President Donald Trump, and they have good reasons. It appears increasingly likely that Bernie Sanders will win the most votes and the most delegates during the presidential primary contests now underway. This will make a substantial portion of the partys members happy: hes winning because of their votes, after all, and polls suggest Sanders is perceived as the most electable in a race against Trump. But more than any other candidate, Sanders also prompts an anybody but reaction from the party establishment, who fear his self-proclaimed democratic socialism will doom him to defeat in the general election. Take that opposition, and add another factor: Sanders supporters are the most likely to say they will not vote for any Democratic candidate other than him. This is not a script that ensures a round of Kumbaya at the Democratic convention in Milwaukee this summer, especially if the nominee is ultimately chosen by delegates there. And a brokered convention in which no candidate arrives with a majority of the pledged delegates is among the most likely outcomes of primary season, according to the election projection website FiveThirtyEight.com. So what should happen if no one has enough votes to win on the first ballot? Should the party hold a series of run-off votes, with the lowest performers dropped from each round, until one candidate finally gets a majority? Or should the candidate who came to the convention with the most votes become the nominee? When the six candidates onstage at last weeks debate in Nevada were asked that question, five of them said the run-off votes should be held to select a consensus nominee. But Sanders argued for a first-past-the-post process where the candidate who gets the most votes wins, even if he or she does not earn a clear majority. The will of the people should prevail, he said. The person who has the most votes should become the nominee. This raises the prospect of a Democratic Party coming out of its convention bitterly divided. If Sanders has the most delegates going into the convention but another candidate winds up winning, theres a strong chance that his supporters cheered on by Trump will cry that the nomination was stolen. At first glance, a runoff-ballot contest would seem like a useful tool for landing on a consensus candidate it allows like-minded voters to coalesce behind the strongest standard-bearer for their ideas, and prevents the ascension of one who is actively disliked by an outright majority of the voters. But theres a wrinkle. In addition to the pledged delegates, who are chosen through the primary process by voters, there are also superdelegates elected officials and party brass, basically the party establishment who get to vote on the second and subsequent ballots. (In the past, they got to vote from the beginning, but beginning this year, they only get to vote after the first-ballot is concluded. At the Democrats 2016 convention, when superdelegates were allowed to vote from the first ballot, Sanders lobbied for their support, even though Hillary Clinton had won a majority of pledged delegates. He has changed his position on what seems fair now that he is the one likely to arrive at this years convention with the most votes. It all raises two unwelcome possibilities for the Democrats: that a plurality of voters who chose Sanders could be overruled by the party establishment, or that Sanders could be chosen contrary to the wishes of a majority of the partys members. The first scenario could leave Sanders and his supporters less likely to support the partys nominee if they come away from the convention feeling the nomination has been stolen by the hacks and fixers of the Washington establishment. (It would also feed into a Trump narrative about the swamp that the president claims often contrary to all evidence to be draining.) The second scenario raises the possibility of centrist Democrats feeling alienated from their own partys candidate. While the prospect of a second Trump administration may bring many of them onside during the general election, theres no certainty about anything in politics, and anti-Sanders Democrats are warning about what could happen when the Republicans anti-socialist campaign gets into gear. No option appears ideal for the Democrats. Perhaps their best outcome would be a Sanders victory on the second or third ballot, demonstrating that enough delegates liked him as their second choice. And there remains the possibility that Sanders or another candidate could win a majority on the first ballot. But the Democrats fears of what could be a bitter finish are not unfounded. In addition to fighting a president with an unshakable base in a strong economy, they could go into the general election still fighting themselves. Read more about: The North Dakota Watchdog Network has rightfully shifted its priorities in the 2020 election. Its focus will now be on defeating a legislative proposal that would change how constitutional initiatives are approved. The Tribune editorial board has been a strong supporter of the initiative and referral processes. It gives the public an avenue for reversing action it doesnt agree with or taking action when nothing has been done. The Tribune doesnt agree with all initiatives, but we like the ability of the public to be involved. The North Dakota Watchdog Network launched an initiative effort last year to counter the legislative proposal. However, Dustin Gawrylow, the networks managing director, said its unlikely the network will gather enough signatures to get on the ballot. They need to collect 26,904 signatures by June 8 to submit to the secretary of state. It might be less confusing to have just one measure on the ballot related to initiative measures. Informing voters about the legislative proposal will be crucial and will probably take more than just an effort by the network. Under the legislative proposal, any initiated constitutional measures approved by voters would go to the Legislature for approval. If legislators rejected a measure, it would go back to voters and be enacted if they approved it again. It would give the Legislature temporary veto power over measures and force supporters to get public approval twice. If a measure is rejected, it would lengthen the process and probably make it more difficult. Its an attempt to make the process more difficult, something legislators have tried to do over the years. Theres a feeling by some lawmakers that the public is intruding on their turf. They imply the public doesnt have the knowledge to enact measures. Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, a driving force behind the ballot measure, argues that groups outside of the state are misusing the initiative process. He points to Marsys Law, passed by voters in 2016, as an example. The measure was solely funded by California billionaire Henry Nicholas, who poured more than $2.3 million into the initiative. Marsys Law guarantees crime victims and their families the right to participate in judicial proceedings and expands their privacy rights. Marsys Law has been interpreted differently across the state, and issues surrounding it still havent been resolved. The Tribune opposed Marsys Law, but voters liked the idea and easily approved it. Local supporters worked hard to get it approved. While North Dakotans may not like outside money and influence on our elections, if they agree with a measure they will support it. Nicholas' involvement in Marsys Law was well-publicized, so its doubtful many voters were deceived. While the Tribune believes Marsys Law is a terrible law, we still support the initiative process. We dont think the process should be diluted. The public doesnt always agree with laws passed by the Legislature, so legislators shouldnt expect to like all ballot measures. Gawrylow hopes to build a coalition to oppose the legislative measure. We hope hes successful, because we dont want to see the public lose its ability to make a difference. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OTTAWASome trailers locked behind a fence on a remote British Columbia logging road may be the key to ending the dispute over a pipeline project that has spurred protests and closed rail lines across the country. The federal government is hoping talks between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in B.C. and Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs can cool down the crisis. Key to that discussion are the trailers that house the RCMPs satellite detachment Wetsuweten territory in northern B.C., which was shut down last Friday but remains in place under lock and key. Chiefs opposing a natural gas pipeline at the heart of the nationwide dispute have called for the detachment to be dismantled, among other demands, and federal ministers are now pinning their hopes for a resolution on talks about its place on Wetsuweten territory. On Tuesday, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said negotiations between the RCMP and the chiefs are focused on a step-plan to de-escalation, while Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said a day earlier that discussions had zeroed in on a deconstruction schedule for the detachment. The hope is that if the Wetsuweten chiefs declare they are satisfied with the police withdrawal, the blockades and protests that have crippled rail traffic and shaken the Trudeau governments reconciliation agenda will finally come down. Over the last few days there has been some back and forth that has been modestly positive, Miller said after Tuesdays federal cabinet meeting, referring to the status of the detachment at the heart of the dispute and how to de-escalate to the satisfaction of the hereditary chiefs. There is a path toward resolving this in a peaceful way, he said. The Star was unable to reach Wetsuweten hereditary clan chiefs on Tuesday, but wing chief Dinize Ste ohn tsiy confirmed meetings were being held. So far, the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs have refused an offer to sit down with federal and B.C. government ministers until two key demands are met: They have said they want the RCMP to dismantle the trailers and equipment set up at a outpost on the Morice West Forest Service Road, west of Houston, B.C., and to stop patrolling the area. They have also called on the company building the Coastal GasLink pipeline to halt its activity and pull out of Wetsuweten territory. At this stage, it appears the status of the police detachment is the only thing up for negotiation. Sgt. Janelle Shoihet confirmed there have been discussions about the police presence in Wetsuweten territory and the future of the detachment. The RCMP temporarily closed the detachment on Friday, leaving the buildings locked and secured behind a fence, but officers are still conducting patrols from a station in Houston to ensure the road remains open and free of obstructions, according to the court order obtained by Coastal GasLink, Shoihet said. Share your thoughts: The RCMP decision to enforce that order this month, and to arrest 28 people in the area over several days, sparked solidarity demonstrations that have blocked rail traffic and major thoroughfares across Canada and plunged the federal government into a political crisis. Coastal GasLink, meanwhile, has shown no sign it is willing to pull out of Wetsuweten territory. The company told the Star by email that construction of the pipeline is ongoing and that it supports the RCMP decision to pull back from the logging road detachment, so long as Coastal GasLink contractors and staff continue to have safe and secure access to work sites. Pending further consultations for sections of the pipeline near the Wetsuweten Unistoten camp on the service road, Coastal GasLink is already approved under provincial jurisdiction, and B.C. Premier John Horgan has said cancelling the project is not an option. While the federal government has stuck to its calls for the situation to be resolved through peaceful negotiations, Ottawa says it is leaving the management of blockades to the discretion of local police across the country, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pointedly ruled out sending in the army. In the meantime, as CBC News first reported, Transport Minister Marc Garneau confirmed Tuesday that Ottawa suggested to major rail companies that they use each others lines to bypass blockades and deliver essential goods. This is not something that is done very, very often, but in this particular case I think that it is an example of something that is two railways that normally compete against each other, working constructively together to help Canadians, Garneau told reporters. In the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer continued to attack the governments handling of the blockades, accusing Trudeau of doing absolutely nothing while protesters to bring our economy to its knees. Does the prime minister realize that his weakness has caused the situation to spiral out of control? Scheer asked. The New Democrats continued to press the government to appoint a mediator and for Trudeau to meet directly with the Wetsuweten chiefs. The latter call was echoed by Canadian Pacific Rail on Tuesday, as the company obtained a court injunction to clear a Mohawk blockade in Kahnawake, Que., that was set up more than two weeks ago to support the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair rejected Scheers accusation of weakness, and said there are important discussions going on to resolve the situation, but called on the solidarity demonstrators to obey the law and dismantle their blockades. We have to recognize and acknowledge the impact these barricades are having on Canadians across the country, Blair said. It is the responsibility of the police of jurisdiction where the law is not being obeyed to uphold that law. We have confidence in their ability to do so. With files from the Canadian Press HCM City authorities have released a document allowing students to stay off school until the end of February because of Covid-19. They also have proposed the government prolong the vacation period until the end of March. Schools have told students to study at home, with e-learning lessons. The HCM City Education and Training Department released a document on enhancing the use of Smartschool software and providing accounts to parents to guide students learning at home during the vacation period. Smarthome is an e-learning software developed by Smartschool JSC. The company has committed to provide free accounts to the parents whose children are students of the schools that register to use the software. Companies sell products they develop based on the materials in textbooks, rebuild the content and commercialize them. Once a company gets business license, this is understood that its content products have been censored. The software comprises illustrated lectures, videos, materials, electronic materials and detailed instructions to organize learning activities of the subjects of history, geography and ethics - citizenship education. The education and training department also introduced other software products provided by partners under the request of the department, such as the online learning social network VietStudy, which won a gold prize at the 2019 ASEAN ICT Awards (AICTA), and VNPTs e-learning system. VNPT promised to provide free accounts on its e-learning system until July 2020. An education expert commented that e-learning is a growing trend in the world and it needs to be developed as an orthodox teaching method, not just an alternative teaching method in the epidemic time. However, the e-learning software products available in the market are not under control by state management agencies. There is no standard process to examine the content of the software. Companies sell products they develop based on the materials in textbooks, rebuild the content and commercialize them. Once a company gets business license, this is understood that its content products have been censored. This means that parents and students have to choose e-learning software based on their experience and understanding about software. According to Nguyen Quoc Chinh, director of Testing and Training Quality Evaluation Center, it is very difficult to manage content and teaching materials, and even more difficult to assess which products are better and more suitable to learners. There are still no official criteria to assess the products. In principle, parents and students should choose software with good images, suitable language learning materials and good pedagogical skills. Tran Hoang Cam Tu, head of the E-learning Institute under Nguyen Tat Thanh University, thinks that local education and training departments should open a data store for free share and provide multimedia lecture samples for teachers reference. Linh Ha Hanoi student wins scholarships to five US high schools A Vietnamese student has just won scholarships to five high schools in the US. Founded in 2015, Rupeek is currently disbursing gold loans at an annual run rate of more than $200 million Mumbai: Online gold loan brand Rupeek on 26 February said it has raised $60 million (about Rs 430 crore) from GGV Capital, Binny Bansal and others. The amountraised in two separate roundssaw participation from Bertelsmann India Investments, KB Investments Co (KBIC), Tanglin Venture Partners, Sequoia India and Accel Partners as well, a statement said. Founded in 2015, Rupeek is currently disbursing gold loans at an annual run rate of more than $200 million, it added. Our plan is to scale existing and newer channels for gold monetisation. We will use the fresh funds to invest in technology, customer acquisition and work towards improving the accessibility of credit in the country, Rupeek Fintech Chief Executive Officer Sumit Maniyar said. Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital will join Rupeek's board of directors. Rupeek has a presence in 10 cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Coimbatore and Pune. Its goal is to increase its customer base from 1 lakh to 1 million and provide accessibility of credit to a billion Indians by 2022 across 100 cities through its asset-based offerings, the statement said. ALBANY, New York, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Major opportunities for players in the edible packaging market lie in fresh food packaging. It is largely driven by rising awareness about healthy lifestyle, and the trend will likely continue in the same trajectory over the foreseeable future beyond the forecast period. North America will also likely retain its dominant position in total revenue share during the forecast period. The region accounted for 36% total market share in 2016. Recent legalization of marijuana, several new product launches, and growing demand for healthy lifestyle will drive growth in the North America region. According to TMR analysts, the growing awareness about various feature of edible packaging, their ease of handling, and essential need of many edible food products to have a longer shelf life will create new opportunities for growth. According to TMR analysts, the high costs of packaging remains a major concern for end-players. Additionally, the atmospheric packaging remains a bright horizon of opportunities for players in the edible packaging market. Key Findings in the Edible Packaging Market Study Biodegradable packaging is emerging as an attractive alternative to conventional packaging in the edible packaging market. The packaging remains attractive from environmental sustainability, and safer options for packaging children's food products. The trend has quickly gained prominence over the last few years, with increased demand for healthy, and natural varieties of food. Varieties of mushrooms, candies and sweets for children, and growing demand for biodegradable packaging by retail outlets will drive more growth for the edible packaging market. Asia Pacific will likely emerge as a key opportunity for growth during the forecast period. The region is witnessing a considerable rise in disposable income. Additionally, the region is also home to several countries like China , Vietnam , and Japan , wherein popular food products like mushrooms have been popular traditionally. The growing demand for ready-made food varieties of these, especially in urban areas remains a key opportunity. will likely emerge as a key opportunity for growth during the forecast period. The region is witnessing a considerable rise in disposable income. Additionally, the region is also home to several countries like , , and , wherein popular food products like mushrooms have been popular traditionally. The growing demand for ready-made food varieties of these, especially in urban areas remains a key opportunity. Packaging mimicking natural foods is also a popular trend in the edible packaging market. For example, recently Wikifoods launched its line of fruit casings, which appear similar to the skin of fruits. The packaging is a novel technique for packaging edible foods, which can help allay concerns of safety, and provide a new way to engage consumers in the edible packaging market. High consumption of processed foods, rising awareness about hygiene, and growing use of synthetic polymers remains integral to drive growth in the edible packaging market. Explore 170 pages of top-notch research, incisive insights, and detailed country-level projections. Gain business intelligence on Edible Packaging Market (Material Type - Polysaccharides Lipid, Surfactant, Protein Films, and Composite Films; End User - F&B Manufacturing (Fresh Food, Cakes and Confectionery, Baby Food, and Dairy Products) and Pharmaceuticals)- Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 -2024 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/edible-packaging-market.html Major Challenges in the Edible Packaging Market Limited legalization of edible products like cannabis and high costs of packaging due to high-quality remains a concern in the edible packaging market. Products like Cannabis have been recently legalized in some states in United States. However, the legalization still remains a far prospect in regions like Europe, and Asia Pacific. The growing demand for legalization in the European region, and legalization in places like Amsterdam can pave way for road forward to new opportunities for growth. Download PDF Brochure https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=12899 Edible Packaging Market: Region-wise Analysis The global edible packaging market report will cover all regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Among these, the North America will likely accelerate growth significantly over the forecast period, thanks to rising demand for food products, and other important edible packaging products like surfactants, composite films, among others. The growth in Asia Pacific will also be notable, thanks to growing awareness about edible packaging among consumers. View Detailed Table of Contents at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/12899 Global Edible Packaging Market: Competitive Landscape The global edible packaging market remains a fragmented, and competitive landscape. Relatively low costs of entering the market, and opportunities for innovation keep the market competitive, with low bars of entry. Some key players in the market like JRF Technology LLC, MonoSol, WikiCell Designs Inc, and Tate and Lyle Plc remain engaged in global partnerships to drive growth. The opportunities for global expansion in new regions, and several new product launches remains the highlight of competitiveness in the edible packaging market. Analyze Edible Packaging market growth in 30+ countries including US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, GCC countries, India, China, and Japan. Request a sample of the study. The edible packaging market is segmented as follows; By Material Type Polysaccharides Lipid Surfactant Protein Films Composite Films By End User F&B Manufacturing Fresh Food Cakes & Confectionery Baby Food Dairy Products Other Food Products Pharmaceuticals Others By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific (APAC) (APAC) Middle East & Africa (MEA) Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the Global Packaging Industry: Edible Wraps Market Developed with materials that are decomposable as well as microwave-friendly in nature, the demand for edible wraps is mounting high as more and more processed food brand owners are getting acquainted with the benefits of these wraps. Baby Food Packaging Market The increasing demand for stand-up pouches and thin wall containers owing to their hygienic, lightweight, safe, reusable, and easy to carry nature are some of the primary factors driving the global baby food packaging market. Pet Food Packaging Market The plastics segment represented 40.8% of the global pet food packaging market in 2017 and was valued at US$3,391.8 mn. The segment is likely to exhibit a strong 6.3% CAGR over the 2017-2022 forecast period to emerge with a market share of 43% by 2022. Self-heating Food Packaging Market Significant development in packaging technologies and growing adoption of intelligent packaging devices, including time-temperature indicators, sensors, self-cooling, and self-heating containers wherein electronic displays are embedded, are likely to boost the growth of the self-heating food packaging market during the forecast period. Gain access to Market Ngage, an AI-powered, real-time business intelligence that goes beyond the archaic research solutions to solve the complex strategy challenges that organizations face today. With over 15,000+ global and country-wise reports across 50,000+ application areas, Market Ngage is your tool for research on-the-go. From tracking new investment avenues to keeping a track of your competitor's moves, Market Ngage provides you with all the essential information to up your strategic game. Power your business with Market Ngage's actionable insights and remove the guesswork in making colossal decisions. About Transparency Market Research Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports. Contact Transparency Market Research State Tower, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY - 12207 United States USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com SOURCE Transparency Market Research On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court ruled that Jesus Hernandez and Maria Guadalupe Guereca, the parents of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, who was murdered by a US Border Patrol agent in 2010, do not have legal standing to sue the agent responsible for his death. The 5-4 ruling effectively gives border police a green light to kill, allowing them to use whatever force they deem necessary while enforcing US anti-immigration laws. In the ruling, the court split between the Republican-appointed right-wing majority and the Democratic-appointed liberal bloc. On June 7, 2010, US Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa Jr., while standing on US territory, murdered 15-year-old Sergio, who was unarmed and playing with a group of friends in a concrete culvert that rests on the invisible line that separates El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico. The agent justified the shooting at the time by claiming he feared for his life after having been surrounded and pelted with rocks by the youths. Cell phone video released following an investigation proved that the agent was lying. His life was never in danger and no rocks struck him. The video confirmed that nearly 60 yards separated the border cop from young Sergio, who was running in the opposite direction of Mesa when the agent fired at least two rounds into the 15-year-old, including one that struck him in the face, killing him. Subsequent internal investigations by the Border Patrol cleared Mesa of any wrongdoing. He was never charged with a crime and several US courts ruled against Mesas extradition to Mexico to face justice. For the past three years, Jesus Hernandez and Maria Guadalupe Guereca, who, like their deceased son, are Mexican nationals, have sought legal standing in the US to sue Mesa for damages, arguing that the agent violated their sons Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, which protect a person from unreasonable search and seizure and assure due process. Lower courts rejected their standing to sue and the parents took the case to the Supreme Court. The majority opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito denies Jesus and Maria their legal rights, using the fact that the victim was on the Mexican side of the border when he was shot to claim that allowing the parents to sue for damages would compromise executive authority in foreign relations, as well as national security interests in policing the border. Tuesdays decision followed a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last Friday removing the last hurdle to implementing openly class-based immigration restrictions. The so-called wealth test or public charge rules were first revealed by the Trump administration in August of 2019. They allow the government to deny admission or permanent legal status to documented immigrants unless they can show that they would not require public assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing subsidies. In Fridays ruling, the court lifted a lower court decision blocking implementation of the Trump executive order in the state of Illinois. Last month, the court, again by a 5-4 margin, vacated an injunction imposed by a judge in New York blocking the regressive policy elsewhere in the country. Both court rulings are examples of the Trump administration usurping the appellate court process by seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court, relying on the right-wing majority to quickly lift injunctions imposed by lower courts. In a recent paper, University of Texas law Professor Stephen Vladeck noted that Trump has used the office of the Solicitor General to file at least 21 such applications with the Supreme Court, compared to the eight applications filed during the combined 16 years of the Bush and Obama administrations. Trumps use of the Supreme Court in this fashion has allowed the administration to achieve its desired result in about 65 percent of the cases where it asked the court to intervene, according to Vladeck. By these means, Trump has overcome lower court injunctions against policies such as his travel ban on majority-Muslim countries. In a widely reported dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said of the Trump administrations use of emergency relief, It is hard to say what is more troubling: that the Government would seek this extraordinary relief seemingly as a matter of course, or that the Court would grant it. Implying that the Republican majority was serving as a rubber stamp for the president, Sotomayor warned that the court was setting a dangerous precedent, which upend[s] the normal appellate process, putting a thumb on the scale in favor of the party that won a stay. These Supreme Court rulings follow two developments in California that exemplify the concerted effort by all levels of the state to enact the Trump administrations sweeping anti-immigrant measures. In San Francisco, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents brazenly violated a recently enacted state law that prohibits ICE agents from executing immigration arrests at a courthouse without a signature from a judge, as opposed to an immigration magistrate. Two immigrants were arrested by plainclothes ICE agents while they were on their way to the Sonoma County Superior Court. The first, an unnamed 37-year-old man, was actually in the hallway on the second floor of the courthouse when he was confronted by the agents. A second man, whose case was not related to that of the first individual, was confronted in the parking lot outside the courthouse by an agent who at first appeared to offer the man a handshake before seizing him by the elbow and revealing his federal badge. The two men were whisked away in unmarked vehicles and quickly driven to an unknown detention facility. The second development involves the San Diego Sheriff's department, which became the first local law agency in a group of five statesincluding California, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut and New Yorkto agree to share records of people who were arrested with the immigration police, including ICE and Customs and Border Protection. In previous weeks, ICE officials, not judges, had issued subpoenas to local police departments in each state demanding information on suspected criminal aliens. These specific states were targeted by the Trump administration because of their support for sanctuary cities, where local and state police are restricted in sharing information or coordinating with federal immigration agencies. Tuesday night was round two between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose heated exchanges highlighted last weeks debate in Nevada and helped spark a fundraising boost for Warren. Warren doubled down on her recent claim that Bloomberg was the riskiest candidate on the debate stage in Charleston, South Carolina. She cited Bloombergs fundraising for Republican lawmakers over the last decade, including diehard Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham. In 2012 he swooped in to a senate race to fend off a woman challenger ... that was me. It didnt work, but he tried hard, Warren said. I dont care how much money Mayor Bloomberg has. The core of Democratic Party will never trust him. He has not earned their trust. I will, and the fact that he cannot earn the trust of core of the Democratic party means hes the riskiest candidate on this stage. Bloomberg focused on his experience as chief executive in a city thats bigger than most countries in the world. I have been training for this job since I stepped on pile of still smoldering 9/11, he said. I have the experience. I have the resources. I have the record. All the sideshows the senator wants to bring up have nothing to do with that. Three times in an overwhelming Democratic progressive city elected me time and time again. Warren reasserted that Bloomberg should release all employees from confidentiality agreements after they sued his company for discrimination. The former mayor last week offered to release three women from such agreements after pressure and accusations of sexual harassment from Warren. I was wrong to make the jokes. I apologize and Im sorry for that, Bloomberg said. We went back 40 years and only found three cases of women who felt uncomfortable with statements he had made. Bloomberg noted his company would no longer use nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases, a move that probably made the world better and could change, hopefully, a corporate landscape. But enough is never enough for Warren, Bloomberg added. We cannot continue to re-litigate this every time. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg chimed in that if Bloomberg were the nominee, the matter would be re-litigated until November. People want a chance to hear from the women, Warren said, arguing she wont be satisfied until the businessman released all people who have discrimination claims against his company. Reuters Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would partner with Apple Inc on a study to use an iPhone app and the Apple Watch to study how earlier detection of atrial fibrillation impacts stroke in people aged 65 or older. Last year, Apple's Heart Study found that the watch could accurately detect atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat, according to a study that explored the role of wearable devices in identifying potential heart problems. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke more than fivefold, according to the American Heart Association. Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, said the initial study proved the Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation with a low rate of false alarms, which helped Apple gain clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for a watch app that takes an electrocardiogram, or EKG, measurement. The study with J&J aims to show if early detection leads to better health outcomes. "We want to follow the science all the way to the end, no matter what the outcomes are, and run this longitudinal study," Williams told Reuters in an interview. "It's not something that we have to do, but it's the right thing to do." The joint effort, called "Heartline," is significant because J&J is one of the world's largest medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies. "What we bring is clinical study capability on a very large scale," said Paul Stoffels, J&J's chief scientific officer, who said the study aims to track 150,000 participants with long-term follow-ups over two years. (Also read: Apple Watch Series 5 review: Barring the always-on display, there's little else to talk about) The study could also reach a different population than Apple's original heart study, which included 400,000 participants but faced questions from medical experts because more than half of the people who signed up were under 40, a group already at low risk for atrial fibrillation. J&J targeted the study at population with a higher risk. Paul Burton, vice president of medical affairs at the J&J subsidiary running the study, said 70 percent of patients experiencing the condition are over 65. "What we're trying to do here is definitively answer that question: If you take wearable technology and couple it with an app, can you reduce the risk of a stroke or death?" Burton said. The J&J study will be open to the more than 40 million people enrolled in traditional Medicare plans, which cover people aged 65 and older as well as the disabled. Study participants will be randomly assigned to either use only an iPhone app or use the app in conjunction with a watch capable of taking an EKG. If patients who enroll are assigned to the arm of the study using the Apple Watch, they will be prompted to acquire one of the devices, which study officials said the participants can either purchase on their own for personal use for $49 or borrow free of charge for the study. The latest Apple Watch model starts at list price of $399. Burton said J&J and Apple were sharing the cost of subsidizing the watches. The study will pay participants, who must agree to share their Medicare claims data. Apple and J&J officials said that was key to proving whether the use of the app and watch lead to reduced stroke risk. "With tens of millions of watches on people's wrists and us delivering this early detection, we have a huge responsibility to make sure that early detection is effective and really helping people with their health in the long haul," Apple's Williams told Reuters. (Also read: Apple Watch Series 4's fall detection feature saves yet another life in the US) Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, who has been given the charge of bringing violence in North-East Delhi under control, will attend the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on Wednesday, government sources said. "He is going to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet about the situation," sources said. Last night, Doval visited Jaffrabad, Seelampur and other parts of North-East Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities. The sources said that Doval has made it clear that lawlessness would not be allowed in the capital and adequate number of police forces and paramilitary forces have been deployed. The police have been given a free hand to bring the situation under control, sources added. As many as 20 people have lost their lives and around 190 are injured in the violence that has been raging in parts of North-East Delhi for over 48 hours. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) EVART -- The Evart Area Joint Fire Board met with city officials, township officials and members of the public Feb. 21 to discuss possible avenues for additional fire department funding. Evart Fire Chief Shane Helmer said having to replace equipment was inevitable, and right now there are no funds to do that, so that leaves them with one option -- to borrow the funds. "Because the department has been underfunded for many years, there is no money set aside to replace equipment, and we have at least two truck replacements coming," said Dan Elliott, city of Evart representative to the fire board. "The issue with that is that the decision to borrow could be vetoed by one member entity that decided they didn't want to borrow the funds," he said. "At some point we will have to close the doors if we can't solve the equipment problem." The fire board has been in discussions for more than two years regarding the need for additional fire department funding. The meeting Friday gave city and township officials, as well as members of the fire board, an opportunity to hear from Michael Homier, a lawyer with FosterSwift attorneys in Grand Rapids, regarding avenues for additional funding available to them as a joint fire department. The fire department is currently funded through a joint agreement between the city of Evart, and the townships of Orient, Sylvan, Osceola and Evart. Each member entity contributes an amount equal to 1 mill in property tax values to the fire department fund. In addition, the fire department receives grant funds from a variety of sources, for a total annual revenue of around $200,000. "Our operating budget can be sustained at this level, with the grants we continue to receive, but what concerns me is we have no money to buy equipment," Helmer said. According to Helmer, the department would need an additional $155,000 in annual revenues to fund equipment and capital expenditures going forward. An additional 1 mill would bring in around $200,000 in additional funds annually. If we get that along with the 1 mill already being received, 1.17 mills would then go into departmental operations and .83 mills would go into a fund for equipment and capital expenditures, he said. Funding options under consideration The fire board is looking at two possible avenues for additional revenues -- a special assessment for fire department funding or establishing a fire authority with the ability to levy its own millage to fund operations. According to Michigan Act 33, a township or township board acting jointly may establish a special assessment district to defray the expenses of police and fire protection. In doing so, they must determine the boundaries of the special assessment district by resolution and determine the amount of the special assessment. The assessment is then collected at the same time as other taxes are levied and collected. Michigan Act 57 allows a township or township board acting jointly to establish an authority for the purpose of providing emergency services. The authority's jurisdiction would be comprised of the total territory within the cooperating municipalities. Once established, the authority is allowed to levy a tax on all taxable property within the jurisdiction to fund the operations of the authority, with the approval of the voters within that jurisdiction. "The advantage of an authority is that they have the right to propose their own millage so they become their own funding mechanism separate from the member entities," Homier said. "They would define their district, levy their own mileage, collect their owns funds and operate within the approved budget." Orient Township representative and chairman of the fire board Brad Morgan said the concern with establishing an authority was that the townships would lose all control and influence in how the department is run because the authority would be an autonomous organization. Homier told the board that because the existing agreement between the member entities seems to be working well, his recommendation would be to set up a special assessment district for each member municipality to fund their obligation to the fire department that would include some reserve capacity for future purchases and capital expenditures. A special assessment district can last for an indeterminate length of time with the member entities deciding the amount of the assessment on an annual basis according to the budget needs at that time, he said. Sylvan Township Supervisor Angela Moore said it was her opinion that they should go to the public and let them decide. "In all fairness, we need to leave it to the people that voted us into our positions and ask them what they want for the future of the fire department," she said. "It has to be what the people want and not what five people on five different boards is deciding for them. It's their money." The fire board decided to put the option of a special assessment for the fire department funding before the people to get feedback on the plan. They will have a joint public meeting for residents of each of the member townships and the city of Evart to hear what the fire department funding needs are, learn about the special assessment option, and express their opinions as to whether they approve of that option or not. A date for the public meeting has not yet been set. NEW DELHI At least 24 people were killed and 189 injured in three days of clashes in New Delhi that coincided with U.S. President Donald Trumps first state visit to India, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals continue to take in the wounded, authorities said Wednesday. Shops, Muslim shrines and public vehicles were left smoldering from violence between Hindu mobs and Muslims protesting a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for foreign-born religious minorities of all major faiths in South Asia except Islam. Twenty-four deaths were reported at two hospitals in New Delhi, officials said. The clashes were the worst communal riots in the Indian capital in decades. The laws passage in December earlier spurred massive protests across India that left 23 dead, many of them killed by police. The dead in this weeks violence included a policeman and an intelligence bureau officer, and the government has banned public assembly in the affected areas. Police spokesman M.S. Randhawa said 106 people were arrested for alleged involvement in the rioting. Officials reported no new violence Wednesday as large police reinforcements patrolled the areas, where an uneasy calm prevailed. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval toured the northeastern neighborhoods of Delhi where the rioting occurred, seeking to assure fear-stricken residents including a female student who complained that police had not protected them from mobs who vandalized the area and set shops and vehicles on fire. While clashes wracked parts of the capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a lavish reception for Trump, including a rally in his home state of Gujarat attended by more than 100,000 people and the signing of an agreement to purchase more than $3 billion of American military hardware. On Wednesday, Modi broke his silence on the violence, tweeting that peace and harmony are central to (Indias) ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. New Delhis top elected official, Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal, called for Modis home minister, Amit Shah, to send the army to ensure peace. Police characterized the situation as tense but under control. Schools remained closed. Sonia Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, Indias main opposition group, called for Shah to resign. She accused Modis Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of creating an environment of hatred and its leaders of inciting violence with provocative speeches that sought to paint Muslim protesters against the citizenship law as anti-nationalists funded by Pakistan. New Delhis High Court ordered the police to review videos of hate speeches allegedly made by three leaders of Modis party and decide whether to prosecute them, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The clashes escalated Tuesday, according to Rouf Khan, a resident of Mustafabad, an area in the capitals northeast. Khan said mobs with iron rods, bricks and bamboo sticks attacked the homes of Muslims while chanting Jai Shri Ram, or Victory to Lord Ram, the popular Hindu god of the religious epic Ramayana. As Air Force One flew Trump and his delegation out of New Delhi late Tuesday, Muslim families huddled in a mosque in the citys northeast, praying that Hindu mobs wouldnt burn it down. After forcing their way inside the homes, they went on a rampage and started beating people and breaking household items, Khan said of the mobs, adding that he and his family had to run and take shelter inside a mosque that he said was guarded by thousands of Muslim men. I dont know if our house was burned or not, but when we were running away we heard them asking people to pour kerosene and burn everything down, Khan said. Some of the dead had bullet wounds, according to Dr. Sunil Kumar, medical director of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Others came to the hospital with gunshot and stab wounds and head injuries. Among them was Mohammad Sameer, 17, who was being treated for a gunshot wound to his chest Wednesday at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Speaking to The Associated Press after having an operation, Sameer said he was standing on his familys apartment terrace watching Hindu mobs enter Mustafabad when he was shot in the chest. When Sameer was shot, I took him on my shoulders and ran downstairs, said the boys father, Mohammad Akram. But when the mob saw us, they beat me and my injured son. He was bleeding very badly. While they were beating with sticks, they kept on chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans and threatened to barge inside our homes. Akram said he managed to get his son into a vehicle, but they were stopped several times by Hindus demanding they pull their pants down to show whether they were circumcised before they managed to escape from the area and reach the emergency room. Muslims are generally circumcised, while Hindus are not. In Kardampura, a Muslim-majority area where a youth was shot and killed on Monday, hundreds of police personnel in riot gear patrolled the area and asked people to stay indoors, while residents said they were living in fear. We are scared and dont know where to go, said one resident, Dr. Jeevan Ali Khan. If the government wanted, they could have stopped these riots. Close by, black smoke still rose on Wednesday afternoon from a market that sold tires and second-hand car parts in Gokalpuri as fireman tried to douse the smoldering fire. The violence drew sharp reactions from U.S. lawmakers, with Rep. Rashida Talib, a Democrat from Michigan, tweeting, This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killing of Muslims, saying: Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now. Trump told reporters Tuesday that he had heard about the violence but had not discussed it with Modi. Instead, Trump gloated about his reception in India. India has been rocked by violence since Parliament approved the citizenship law in December. Opponents have said the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test, but Trump declined to comment on it. I dont want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India and hopefully theyre going to make the right decision for the people, he said. It was the worst religiously motivated violence in New Delhi since 1984, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, triggering a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 Sikhs in the capital and more than 8,000 nationwide. In 1992, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists razed a 16th-century mosque in northern India, claiming that it stood on the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama. Nearly 2,000 people were killed across the country in the riots that followed. The religious polarization that followed saw the right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party emerge as the single largest party in Indias Parliament. The Congress party and regional parties courted Muslim votes by portraying themselves as defenders of minority rights. In 2002, the western Indian state of Gujarat erupted in violence when a train filled with Hindu pilgrims was attacked by a Muslim mob in a small town. A fire erupted it remains unclear whether it was arson and 60 Hindus burned to death. In retaliation, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the state. Modi was Gujarats chief minister at the time. He was accused of tacit support for the rampage against Muslims, but a court ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing. Still, for several years the U.S. included him on a travel ban. Hosting Trump in Gujarat was important symbolically for Modi. Violent large-scale clashes between Hindus and Muslims last took place in New Delhi in 2014, months after Modis party came to power, in a largely poor neighborhood close to where this weeks rioting occurred. A Muslim-owned shop was set on fire, Hindus pelted a mosque with stones, and dozens of angry Muslim men attacked Hindu homes. About three dozen people were injured. ___ Associated Press journalists Ashok Sharma and Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report. After a wide-ranging public hearing that lasted nearly five hours, the Santa Fe Historic Districts Review Board affirmed a decision by the city of Santa Fe ordering a homeowner to remove pro-Palestinian murals from an adobe wall outside his home. The artwork went up Jan. 5 on a wall surrounding a home owned by Guthrie Miller, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist. Although he didnt authorize the artwork, Guthrie agreed to its installation. Guthrie and his lawyer, Jeffrey Haas, appeared Tuesday at the H-Board meeting in Santa Fe to defend posters that were pasted to the wall outside his home. The mural that must be removed attempted to make a connection between Native Americans and Palestinians that live in camps in Israel. Speaking against Israel doesnt make me anti-Semitic, said Tanya Maxwell, a speaker at the H-board hearing. The H-board hearing turned into a forum for airing the wrongs of Natives, who repeatedly shouted You are on Indian Land. But in the end, the four members of the H-board who were present took a narrow view of their mandate. The vote was 3 to 1 that the posters placed on Millers wall did not conform to the citys laws regarding adobe walls and materials, but acknowledged that the publics concerns exceeded their mandate. The H-board members who voted to get rid of the murals were Frank Katz, Jennifer Beidschied and Cervantes Buddy Roybal. Anthony Guida did not support a finding by the citys land use department that the murals violated the law. Members of the public attending the meeting questioned whether the four had a quorum to make their decision. But Katz told the group of about 100 that they did. The murals that the H-board was voting on were not the only art on the publics mind. Raymond Herrera spoke against the elimination of a mural on the side of a building on the corner of Guadalupe and Montezuma streets that is being transformed into the new Vladem Contemporary art museum. The representatives from the city land office, who had previously denied Millers right to display murals on his wall, and the H-board members acknowledged that many of the publics concerns were beyond the scope of the hearing. Maybe this should go to the Supreme Court, said one speaker. BBC Studios Natural History Unit is to make The Last Unicorn, a one hour documentary following the search to discover a previously unknown population of northern white rhinos, a species officially declared extinct in 2018. The NHU will follow charity Saving the Survivors as they travel to South Sudan in the hope of discovering the animals. Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two, says: Natural World on BBC Two has always covered the most urgent and important stories in conservation and this project could not be more timely. Vianet Djenguet, wildlife cameraman, says: I am extremely excited to be involved in this search for this majestic and beautiful species if we succeed it gives us a second chance to save the northern white rhino, a win in the war against reckless poaching, and fresh hope for the people of South Sudan. Doug Hope, Executive Producer for BBC Studios Natural History Unit, says: It is a long shot, there is no denying that, but there are rumours of them out there, and in a place that is so remote, so unexplored. Yet, from what our sources are telling us, it remains prime rhino habitat, so surely there is still a chance? And until this search is carried out we cant close the book on the northern white rhino. South Sudan has seen conflict and civil war for the past 20 years and no film crew has been allowed access for nearly ten years. It is a country with no infrastructure, no permanent roads, no electricity, no power grid, no phone networks and no internet. No access to wildlife NGOs means no survey or comprehensive search of any of South Sudans wildlife has been undertaken in over a decade but reports from local people suggest there could be an undiscovered population of northern white rhino. A team of experts led by Paul Naden (expedition leader Saving the Survivors), accompanied by wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet, vet Johan Marais and high security expert Aldo Kane are heading into this vast and unknown world. In addition to searching for the northern white rhino, the team from BBC Studios Natural History Unit will use camera traps and brand new drone technology which has never been used in the field before, which uses software to recognise different animals, to also film elephants, giraffe, leopards, honey badgers, antelope, warthogs and baboons. The Last Unicorn, a 160 for BBC Two, is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Science. The Executive Producer is Doug Hope. Share this story HOUSTON - Prosecutors announced Wednesday they believe 69 additional people might have been convicted on false evidence from a former Houston police officer whose cases are being reviewed following a deadly drug raid. The announcement comes after judges earlier this month declared innocent two brothers who had been convicted based on testimony from former officer Gerald Goines. Goines work with the Houston Police Departments narcotics unit has come under scrutiny following the January 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed. Prosecutors allege Goines, 55, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couples home by claiming that a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said there was no informant and that he had bought the drugs himself, they allege. Five officers, including Goines, were injured in the raid. We need to clear people convicted solely on the word of a police officer whom we can no longer trust, said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Nicole DeBorde, Goines attorney, said the announcement by Oggs office was a way to poison potential jurors in Goines case and for Ogg to promote herself ahead of a hotly contested Democratic primary on Tuesday for her office. But because these unfounded and unsupported allegations conveniently align with her very public use of the case in her campaign and offer an end run around the rules prohibiting her from discussing the facts of the pending case, she issues press release after press release, the latest in her last push before Super Tuesday, DeBorde said. Earlier this month, Otis Mallet and his brother Steven were declared innocent by judges after their attorneys and prosecutors agreed that Goines had lied during their trials about buying drugs from the siblings in 2008. Otis Mallet was sentenced to eight years in prison and later paroled while his brother pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in jail. A final ruling on the Mallet brothers cases is pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Prosecutors on Wednesday filed motions asking judges to appoint attorneys for the 69 individuals so that their cases can be reviewed to see if their convictions should be overturned. Most of the 69 cases are related to drug charges in which individuals received sentences ranging from a few months in the county jail to four years in state prison. Goines was the only witness to the drug offence in all these cases, prosecutors said. None of the 69 individuals are still imprisoned. Since the raid, prosecutors have been reviewing thousands of cases handled by the Houston Police Departments narcotics division, Goines and another ex-officer, Steven Bryant. Ogg said Wednesday that defendants in cases from 2008 to 2019 in which Goines played a substantial role are entitled to a presumption that he provided false evidence to secure their convictions. Goines is facing two counts of felony murder in state court for the deaths of Tuttle and Nicholas and is facing seven counts in federal court over allegedly providing false information in the raid. Bryant is also facing state and federal charges in the deadly raid. Both men were relieved of duty after the shooting and later retired. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 Negotiations with Tigipko are still underway. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is mulling over the appointment of Ukrainian banker and politician Sergiy Tigipko as prime minister. Three sources in the Ukrainian government have told The Kyiv Post, Ukraine's English language newspaper, that negotiations with Tigipko are still underway. It is noted, Yulia Mendel, spokeswoman for the President's Office, did not respond to a request for comment. The Kyiv Post reached out to the press service of Tigipko's company, Group TAS, for comment, but has not received a response. The information that the issue of appointing Tigipko is 99% resolved has been confirmed by sources of the Ukrainian media outlet lb.ua. Read alsoTigipko buys Kyiv's Arena City from Firtash media "This is a resolved issue. [Incumbent Prime Minister Oleksiy] Honcharuk is protected by immunity, so he will voluntarily resign. After that, an extraordinary session will be convened and the appointment will be supported by votes," a source said. "The IMF [International Monetary Fund] mission is completing work [in Kyiv] today and the announcement will follow after it," another source said. Tigipko is one of the veterans of Ukrainian politics. Since the 1990s, he has maneuvered between the business sector, politics and public service. Tigipko entered public service as deputy prime minister under Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko in 1997 and stayed for two years, working for Lazarenko's successor Valeriy Pustovoytenko. In 1999-2000, he was economy minister in the government of the then Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who would go on to become Ukraine's third president in 2005. Tigipko himself ran for president in 2010, winning third place. He joined forces with President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions for the 2012 parliamentary election, and served as deputy prime minister under Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. Washington DC: American media personality Paris Hilton is loving her single life and isn`t feeling too sad after ending her engagement to actor Chris Zylka. In an interview with the Cosmopolitan UK, Paris was vocal about her relationship that ended in November 2018, and how she`s feeling about it lately, reported E! News. The businesswoman mentioned that her decision to walk away from the engagement was not a difficult one. As Paris said: "It was the best decision I`ve ever made in my life. I just don`t think [he] was the right person and I feel like I`m an incredible woman and I deserve someone so amazing. It just didn`t feel right." "I`ve worked way too hard to just give my life to someone. They have to be perfect," she added. Back in November 2018, Hilton and Zylka parted ways after he proposed and gave her a $2 million engagement ring. As per E! News, in the recent months, Paris has been romantically linked to entrepreneur Carter Reum, who she was spotted packing on PDA with at a 2020 Golden Globes after-party last month. If you're one of President Trump's former national security advisers, you're doing a lot of waiting these days either for your book to be published or for your prison sentence to be decided. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster was Trump's second national security adviser, serving from March 2017 to April 2018. He came on board after Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned; Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his interactions with the former Russian ambassador to the United States. McMaster has written a book, Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World, set to be published on April 28. HarperCollins says it is a "groundbreaking reassessment of America's place in the world, drawing from McMaster's long engagement with these issues, including 34 years of service in the U.S. Army with multiple tours of duty in battlegrounds overseas." It will also include information on McMaster's "13 months as national security adviser in the Trump White House." Unlike other former members of the administration, McMaster, now a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, has not given many interviews about his experience with Trump. One of his aides was quoted in the book A Very Stable Genius as saying, "The president doesn't fire people. He just tortures them until they're willing to quit." Trump's third national security adviser, John Bolton, finished writing his book, The Room Where It Happened, last year. It is supposed to come out in March, but the White House is reportedly trying to block its release. Bolton, who served from April 2018 to September 2019, is said to have included damaging information in the book, including that Trump attempted to get him to engage in a quid pro quo with Ukraine. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Hot Pockets heiress receives 5 months in prison for role in college admissions scandal How to watch the South Carolina Democratic debate The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Dr Prince Hamid Armah, has indicated that the Common Core Programme (CCP) which is in its second phase of implementation will address the challenges in the country's educational system. Speaking to journalists ahead of the national stakeholders' consultation to discuss the CCP to be held on Friday, February 28, 2019 in Accra, he said the new curriculum has been carefully designed to meet the needs of the 21st Century learner. He added that the CCP seeks to address the shortfalls in the current school system in relation to learning and assessment and promote better high school education that meets the varied learning needs of the young people in the country. We need a curriculum that will be responsive to the needs of the 21st century. We are no longer looking for graduates who will write and pass but graduates who are team players, problem solvers, critical thinkers, innovative and can communicate effectively to help solve many of our national problems, he said. According to him, children are no more believed to be tabula rasa, adding, Science shows that even in the belly of their parent, babies are able to develop early language learning if their parents start reading to them during pregnancy. He said the government has therefore decided to reform the country's curriculum from KG to SHS which is now the new definition of basic school within the context of the free SHS programme. The Standard Based Curriculum for the KG to P6 is now being implemented with the emphasis on the learners, not the teachers. We are not looking at the teachers setting objectives and they trying to achieve their own objectives. But we rather setting standards that we want the children, not the teacher to be able to know and demonstrate, he noted. That curriculum is anchored on activity learning, problem solving and investigations to develop curious minds with critical thinking skills, he added. He said for purposes of consistency, the children who are going through the KG-P6 curriculum must be made to go through a similar curriculum which focuses more on doing and activity based, hence the Common Core Programme. According to Dr Armah, the Common Core Programme which is expected to begin this academic year will see JHS 1 students studying only core subjects till end of SHS1. In all nine subjects, include Religious and Moral Education, Creative Arts and Design, Social Studies, Sciences, Computing, Career Technology, Physical and Health Education, he added. Dr Armah said the new curriculum is expected to build character and nurture values, in addition to ensuring a seamless progression for all learners from JHS to SHS and create clear pathways for academic and career related programmes from Basic 11 (SHS2) to Basic 12 (SHS3). ---Daily Guide Developers need to be more inclusive with AI and robot design, researchers say In a new short paper in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, Roger A. Sraa from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and co-authors Eduard Fosch-Villaronga from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Adam Poulsen from Charles Sturt University in Australia discuss what a queering of robots might entail. "It is imperative that we construct mechanisms and policies that acknowledge the importance of inclusivity, diversity, and non-discrimination, also for the LGBTQ+ community in the development and use of robots and AI," the researchers wrote. They point out that technology is not developed in a vacuum, but instead reflects biases and reproduces societal values and beliefs. Sraa is active in robot and cyborg research through the newly started Immersive Technology and Social Robots Lab at NTNU, and has been active in queer and gender debates, including starting the NTNU LGBTQ+ networks for employees. Sraa and his co-authors highlight the lack in the inclusion of queer perspectives on robots and machines. This, they argue, should be better recognized in both the research and design of the robots of the future, and should prod developers and designers to be more inclusive in how they build and create the machines that increasingly walk, talk and act among us. ### Gardai have had to fall back on more resource-intensive investigative techniques as a result of killer Graham Dwyer's challenge to Ireland's data retention laws. Officers have had to increasingly rely on surveillance and monitoring after the High Court found legislation used by gardai to access communications data contravened EU law, a senior garda told the Irish Independent. Hundreds of cases have been affected since the December 2018 decision, which was essentially upheld by the Supreme Court on Monday. But new laws to introduce independent oversight and bring Ireland in line with EU court rulings could be delayed by two years or more after the Supreme Court referred certain issues to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The senior garda said it was impossible to say how many cases had not proceeded to a prosecution as a result of the December 2018 ruling. In some instances, communications data would not have been the primary evidence in a case, but would have been sought to corroborate other evidence already gathered, the senior officer said. But one area that has been disproportionately affected has been investigations into the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Hundreds of investigations are said to have been stifled as Garda headquarters has been unwilling to sanction warrants due to fears any evidence gathered would later be open to legal challenge. Under the law criticised by the courts, gardai of chief superintendent rank and above could request user data from providers, who are required to store internet data for one year and telephone and location data for two. UCD associate law professor TJ McIntyre laid the blame for the current situation firmly at the door of the Department of Justice, saying successive justice ministers had failed to act on warnings. He said the problems were obvious even before the CJEU found general and indiscriminate data retention laws were contrary to EU law in decisions in 2014 and 2016. In October 2017, a report by retired Chief Justice John Murray recommended the Irish system no longer be used. "It is deeply irresponsible to still have legislation which the Supreme Court has flagged as being almost certainly invalid and which a former chief justice found to be an illegal system of mass surveillance," said Dr McIntyre. "The State has been kicking the can down the road, but now it has run out of road." The heads of a bill were produced by the department when the Murray report was published, but new legislation did not materialise. In a statement on Monday, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the drafting of new legislation was "well advanced". A similar assurance was given by him in December 2018. Any new bill will now have to take into account the findings of the CJEU, whenever they are made. Dwyer challenged Ireland's data retention laws to assist a separate appeal he is taking against his conviction for the murder of childcare worker Elaine O'Hara. Sources in the Midlands Prison, where Dwyer is serving his life sentence, said he appeared "quietly pleased" the Supreme Court had referred issues raised by his case to the CJEU. By PTI NEW DELHI: In a strong message, India and the US on Tuesday asked Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terror attacks and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. A joint statement covering various key aspects of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump said the two leaders called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. The two leaders also called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, D-Company, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. "Prime Minister Modi and President Trump denounced any use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms," the joint statement said. HIGHLIGHTS| Trump wraps up two-day India visit after banquet at Rashtrapati Bhawan "They called on Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot," it said. At a packed press conference, the US president also said that ways to deal with terrorism figured prominently in his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, Trump stressed, is determined to check the menace. Trump said the challenge of terrorism was discussed "at great length", and that Modi has very strong views on it. "Modi is a very religious man, he is a very calm man, but actually he is a very, very strong person, and very tough, actually. I have seen him in action. He has got that foremost on his mind (to deal with) terrorism. He will take care of it," Trump said. ALSO READ| Significance of Trump's statement on Pakistan can't be denied: Shah Mehmood Qureshi After talks with Trump, Modi, in his media statement, said both sides have taken a decision to further increase efforts to hold supporters of terrorism responsible. On his part, Trump said both the countries affirmed their commitment to protect their citizens from radical Islamic terrorism. In his media statement earlier, Trump said the United States is working productively with Pakistan to confront terrorists who operate on its soil. Hai Phong City in northern Vietnam will screen South Korean cargo vessels docking at its port for coronavirus infection. As decided by the citys chairman Tuesday, Hai Phong Port, the biggest in the north and second biggest in Vietnam after Saigon Port in Ho Chi Minh City, will hold all ships arriving from South Korea at Dau Islet for medical screening. The islet is already operating as a mooring bay. Before each ship enters port, the entire vessel will be checked by staff from Hai Phong International Health Quarantine Center, with all crew members to remain on board. Vietnamese crew who want to disembark will be quarantined for 14 days. Hai Phong authorities requested operators, owners and captains of South Korean cargo vessels to keep track of their crews health. The port city previously applied the same routine to cargo ships from China, epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. In the past 20 days, Hai Phong Port screened 245 ships carrying 4,814 crew members, all testing negative for the virus. Its new policy follows South Korea becoming one of the worst-hit countries and territories by the coronavirus epidemic, recording 1,146 infections by Wednesday, just after China. Vietnam on Tuesday announced it would suspend entries from all areas affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including those in South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Iran. All arrivals from countries stricken by the coronavirus, even from areas free of the epidemic, will have to submit a health declaration and submit to further procedures deemed necessary when entering Vietnam. The last of Vietnams 16 coronavirus patients was discharged from hospital Wednesday morning. Over the past two weeks, no new infections have been reported here. Covid-19 caused by the new coronavirus has affected 39 countries and territories. Fatalities have surpassed 2,700, mostly in China, followed by Iran with 16, South Korea with 12 and Italy with 11. Three men who were arrested in Longford on Friday morning, February 21, and charged in connection with a violent disorder incident at a funeral home in Galway last year have been denied bail. Denis Hannafin, Curry, Longford, Robbie Hannafin, Corboy, Edgeworthstown, Longford, and Tommy Hannafin, Dublin Road, Longford, were all charged with violent disorder and assault, while Denis Hannafin was also charged with possession of a handgun on January 13, 2019. Detective Garda Ronan Leonard told Longford District Court last Friday morning that CCTV footage showed a number of members of the Hannafin family waiting outside the funeral home at approximately 3.15pm when members of the McGinley family arrived to pay their respects to the late Winnie Stokes. An altercation ensued, which resulted in the injury of three members of the McGinley family. Johnny McGinley suffered a gunshot wound, while Paddy McGinley received stab wounds to the back, and Denis McGinley had acid thrown at him, the court heard. Johnny McGinley attended UHG and had surgery, where a 25mm bullet was taken from his thigh, which was from a handgun of the same calibre, Detective Leonard explained. Paddy McGinley was stabbed twice in the back and had two wounds attended. Denis McGinley had acid thrown at him at the beginning of the attack. Clothing was taken from the McGinleys and sent for laboratory testing and tested positive for hydrochloric acid, he added. On the CCTV footage, one of the Hannafins can be seen carrying a bottle. I conducted a search of the area and found a plastic bottle with clear liquid, which was analysed and came back as hydrochloric acid. Detective Leonard expressed concern that if the three accused were granted bail, they would commit further offences or intimidate the McGinley family. I think theyll intimidate witnesses, he said. The McGinley family are living in fear. This is a feud that began in Longford in 2018 when there was an altercation between juveniles from the two families at a pool hall. I believe there will be revenge attacks and additional attacks on the McGinley family if theyre given bail. The incident in Mervue occurred just over a month after another incident of feuding between the two families, the court heard. On December 7, 2018, at Longford Shopping Centre, Denis McGinley - a nephew of Johnny McGinley, the man who was shot - was stabbed. Denis Hannafin was arrested and charged and was on bail when the incident outside the Mervue funeral home occurred. Tommy Hannafin was also on bail for a section 3 assault the court heard. Robbie Hannafin was not on bail for any previous offences at the time of the incident. Detective Leonard also voiced fears that the three accused would up sticks and move to the UK if given bail, as Denis Hannafin is known to have property there. Johnny McGinley, the man who received a gunshot wound in January 2019, was called to give evidence and explained that there have been a number of occasions where his family has been intimidated. Last May, I travelled to Fatima with my family and, while I was gone, the windows of my house were broken, Mr McGinley explained. Ive no evidence but I know who done it because they were talking to people about it and word got back to me. I reported it to gardai in Athlone. Another incident occurred just two months ago when his wife drove to Dublin, he said. On the motorway, some of them drove behind her and spotted it was her. They didnt do anything. They just followed her and intimidated her. When she stopped into a shop, theyd stop into the same shop. This is the intimidation I fear. Its constant. Id fear retaliation, now that theyve been charged, that my home or my family will come under attack. Mr McGinley added that his uncles in Athlone are also uncles of the Hannafins, so they would have plenty of reason to be in Athlone. Does your family commonly talk about this feud? asked Judge Hughes. We dont count this as a feud. This is bullying. My family has never retaliated, said Mr McGinley. Counsel for the defence, Patrick Carthy, when cross-examining the witness, chose to focus on the two intimidation incidents Mr McGinley mentioned. In May 2019, when you travelled to Fatima, was there CCTV footage of your windows being broken? he asked, to which Mr McGinley responded yes. Did you make a complaint? he asked. Mr McGinley again responded yes. Did you identify Denis Hannafin Junior? Mr Carthy asked. Yes, but the CCTV was of very poor quality, said Mr McGinley. Mr Carthy explained that Denis Hannafin, in fact, had an alibi for the night in question. The CCTV was extremely poor. I said I thought it was him but I couldnt see his face, said Mr McGinley, adding that the CCTV footage was from his own home cameras. However, the incident with his wife on the motorway wasnt reported to gardai because it was taking so long for them to be charged for this, he added, referring to the Galway incident. I was losing faith but my faith is being restored today in the gardai. I didnt report the intimidation because I didnt want to put any more heat on the fire by bringing up more charges, he said. Mr Carthy explained to the judge that he would be seeking bail and that the three accused were willing to put forward a cash sum of 3,650, which was being held by Denis Hannafins wife for all three defendants. He added that the three would be willing to abide by any court conditions, including a stipulation that would bar them from visiting Athlone town or Moate, where members of the McGinley family reside. These three men are innocent in the eyes of the law until they are tried and proven guilty, Judge Seamus Hughes remarked. However, these are very serious charges because they include the discharge of a firearm, a bullet recovered from a limb, a stabbing, and acid. I cant lose sight of the fact that this is grounded in a feud that has extended to outer members of the families, with the stabbing of Denis McGinley taking place a few weeks before. I have to respect Garda Leonard that hes satisfied with the quality of the CCTV footage and also the intimidation feared by Mr McGinley. With that, Judge Seamus Hughes denied bail and remanded all three of the accused in custody to Harristown District Court, where they will appear this coming Friday, February 28. Read also: Three on feud charges denied bail at Longford District Court CHARLESTON, S.C. - Everyone knew that Bernie Sanders would be the principal target in Tuesday's Democratic debate. But the stop-Sanders movement, as represented by the six other candidates on the stage, sputtered and struggled to keep the focus on the candidate who leads the race for the party's nomination. The tone of the debate ultimately became a metaphor for the Democratic race itself, as it was marred repeatedly by candidates interrupting one another, talking over each other and constantly ignoring the moderators' efforts to bring some order to the unruly evening. The event did little to raise the confidence level of the Democratic voters who will be selecting a nominee to go up against President Donald Trump. What the evening highlighted was the degree to which Sanders stands apart from the field, with the other candidates divided and sparring with one another as much as with the senator from Vermont. Sanders has his base, and it has served him well enough so far. The others are trying to find theirs. None of Sanders' rivals rose significantly above the others. For Sanders, that was probably a satisfactory outcome. Sanders' rivals landed blows throughout the debate, on issues litigated in past forums and on some newly raised, and Sanders' performance was not his finest. He was on the defensive at many points during the evening, whether on the cost of his Medicare-for-all plan, his record on gun issues or, more recently, about his comments praising Fidel Castro's Cuba and its literacy programs. He took fire from former vice president Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., businessman Tom Steyer and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. He even took criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who defended their shared progressive values and agendas but accused him of being a politician who doesn't get things done. Sanders acknowledged at least one mistake, a vote to exempt gun manufactures from being sued. "I have cast thousands of votes, including bad votes," he said. "That was a bad vote." But in almost every other exchange, he stood his ground. He repeatedly returned to his foundational message, the message he has sounded consistently since 2016. What is different, he argued, is that ideas once described as on the fringes of the Democratic Party are now part of the mainstream of the Democratic Party. Some rivals disagree, but it is their task to attract enough support to prove Sanders wrong. Whether the collective attacks on Sanders will blunt his momentum won't be known immediately. But what's even more difficult to assess is what might have happened if the other candidates had taken Sanders more seriously earlier and subjected him to sustained cross-examination over a period of months. Sanders has escaped that kind of scrutiny, just as he managed to avoid a worse pummeling on Tuesday night, as his rivals had other battles to fight in their effort to demonstrate to Democratic voters that each should become the sole and singular alternative to Sanders. That was supposed to be Biden. Instead, he faces a crossroads here this Saturday. He long has marked the primary in South Carolina as the most critical test of his candidacy, and it has become all the more so as a result of his performances in the first three contests. Asked about slipping poll numbers and the future of his candidacy, Biden said defiantly, "I will win South Carolina." He has now put down the marker that will define the rest of his candidacy. But others face similar crossroads. Buttigieg and Klobuchar are not anticipating strong finishes in South Carolina, adding to the pressure on their candidacies. Warren, who was again the most aggressive candidate on the stage, has similar pressures on her. But while she nominally criticized Sanders, her main target for the second debate in a row was Bloomberg. The former New York mayor rebounded somewhat from his poor performance in Las Vegas, sounding more composed and more vigorous in his rebuttals to Warren and others. But Warren sought to disqualify him in another way, arguing that his record of funding Republicans in past years should make him unwelcome to the Democratic Party of 2020. "The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him," she said. "He has not earned their trust." That is still a question facing the former mayor, and whether he did enough to erase the damage from last week is another question. But he isn't on the ballot here Saturday, having skipped the first four contests to concentrate on Super Tuesday next week. Though the location of Tuesday's debate may have been South Carolina, for all the candidates, this was as much an opportunity to appeal to the audience of voters who will cast ballots on Super Tuesday as it was to speak to Democrats in the Palmetto State. With 14 states and two other locations holding contests next week, the Democratic race suddenly morphs into a nationalized contest where winning delegates becomes the most important priority. Among the biggest prizes are California and Texas, which together will award 643 delegates. Roughly one-third of the pledged delegates at stake in the nominating contest will be selected next Tuesday. With the opposition to Sanders still fighting among themselves as much as with him, the coming contests provide Sanders an opportunity to amass enough delegates that he would be likely to go into the national convention in Milwaukee this summer as the leader, even if short of a majority. Sanders has been the target of criticism at other debates, but no rival previously mounted the kind of sustained attack he underwent Tuesday from all the others on the stage. After he cruised through the first three contests - winning New Hampshire and Nevada and in a virtual tie with Buttigieg in Iowa - his rivals finally woke up in an effort to blunt his early momentum. A week ago in Las Vegas, Sanders escaped serious scrutiny from the other candidates, though his position at the head of the pack was no less obvious then than it was Tuesday night. He escaped because others were more interested in putting down Bloomberg, who was making his first appearance on the debate stage. Sanders' rivals succeeded in that mission, with considerable help from the mayor's shaky performance. But with Bloomberg under attack throughout the debate, Sanders skated through the evening with only a scratch or two. He got more than scratched Tuesday night, and at a moment or two, he seemed temporarily hesitant, particularly on the issue of guns. But those moments generally passed quickly as the shouting and the interruptions overwhelmed the stage. Biden, inexplicably, was the lone candidate who often held back, questioning his own judgment repeatedly as others plowed ahead past their allotted times and the moderators' pleadings for them to stop talking. For President Trump, this was one more debate that served his purposes. A divided Democratic Party and a nomination battle that often seems to do as much to diminish the candidates as to elevate them is what he enjoys seeing. Only rarely did the candidates make a case against the president, particularly the president who since impeachment has been wielding his power against whoever he deems disloyal or hostile. Only rarely did they raise their visions and speak more affirmatively to the electorate that will decide the outcome in November. For now, they are focused on one another, for all the obvious reasons. There is a nomination to be won, and right now, Sanders has an advantage. The debate did little to change that trajectory, and it will be left to the voters to sort things out. Democratic powerbroker Rep. James C. Clyburn threw his political muscle behind former Vice President Joe Biden in South Carolina Wednesday, in what he arranged as a dramatic gesture three days before the primary. Clyburn, the longest serving member of the South Carolina delegation and a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, plugged the announcement days in advance for maximum impact. Clyburn spoke emotionally about his own background and his late wife, Emily, as well as his reason to 'break my silence.' 'I am fearful for the future of this country,' he told reporters and a bank of TV cameras in North Charleston, before voicing his support for 'My good friend my late wifes great friend, Joe Biden.' He said he could think of no one 'better suited, better prepared I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is,' than Biden. Clyburn said he decided to reveal his plans after speaking to an elderly constituent at a funeral. Rep. James C. Clyburn, the longest-serving South Carolina lawmaker in Congress, gave his endorsement to Joe Biden Wednesday 'Ive been saying to many, Ive known for a long time who I would vote for. But I had not decided whether or not to share it with the public,' he said. 'But I want the public to know that I am voting for Joe Biden, South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden.' He spoke hours after Democrats clashed in a free-for-all on the debate stage in Charleston, where Biden had several forceful moments in a pile-up where moderators struggled to keep control of the conversation. The move comes as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has been rising in the state and nationally, following his strong performances in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Clyburn, at times on the verge of tears, spoke about his work in the civil rights movement, and about the affection his late wife had for Biden. 'Its hard to know what to say. For real,' said Biden. Clyburn recalled that his late wife told him to always use billboards when he campaigned. 'Its hard to know what to say. For real,' said Biden after Clyburn made emotional remarks about him Clyburn said his late wife was a strong Biden supporter House Majority Whip, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., greets Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, as he endorses him in North Charleston, S.C., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 Biden thanked Clyburn for his endorsement and made comparisons between their two careers. He pledged diversity in Supreme Court and cabinet picks if elected Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 25, 2020 The endorsement comes after Biden landed a few blows, and committed a flub, at Tuesday's debate in Charleston Accepting the endorsement, Biden said his own late wife had asked him to put up billboards. 'Wanted to have billboards, for real,' he said. 'A billboard that she came up with, one saying: 'For all our families.' Then Biden pivoted to a slam on Sanders. 'Today people are talking about a revolution. What the countrys looking for are results. What theyre looking for is security. 'What theyre looking for is to be able to sustain and maintain their dignity,' Biden said. He also blasted gun manufacturers in a community still scarred by gun violence and the shootings at the Mother Emanuel AME church. He repeated a slam at those who have opposed gun control measures and those who backed a law immunizing gun manufacturers. It was another dig at Sanders, this time without a flub he committed at Tuesday's debate. He told gun makers: 'Im coming for you. Its got to stop.' 'South Carolina chooses presidents. It decided Bill Clinton to the WH. And up to that time it didnt look like he was going very far,' said Biden. 'You launched by buddy Barack Obama to the White House. And I firmly believe, once again on Saturday you hold in your hands in South Carolina the power to choose the next president of the united States.' He added: 'And I am here, heart and soul, with everything Ive got to earn the support of the people of South Carolina. Nothing is expected or guaranteed,' he said ... If you send me out of South Carolina with a victory, there will be no stopping us. We will win the nomination, we will win the presidency, and most importantly we will eliminate the fear so many have int this country of a second term of Donald Trump. Biden made an expansive pledge on diversity, vowing to show it in his appointments. 'That includes the White House. That includes the staff there. That includes the cabinet that includes the Supreme Court and the Congress,' he said. 'As president Id be honored, honored to appoint the first African American woman to the court,' he said. ;It should look like the country. Its long past time.' Sanders' camp wasn't optimistic Tuesday night. 'No, you know, there's been a lot of reporting of who it's going to be and I suspect it's not us,' said Jeff Weaver, a senior campaign adviser to Sanders. The event was attended by Clyburn family members and former South Carolina mayor Joe Riley. 'I know Joe Biden. I know his character, his heart, and his record, Clyburn tweeted. Clyburn's annual fish fry is a major political event in the state. In Congress, he serves as the House majority whip, the No. 3 Democratic leadership post. He staged the event at Trident Technical College inside his districts. Biden has been counting on South Carolina to boost his campaign after some halting early performances. He got some laughs and drove home some points at Tuesday night's debate, while also committing one of his signature gaffes. He left viewers confused when he said 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007 hugely exaggerating the deaths from firearms in the US since the law was passed giving gun manufacturers immunity from liability for gun violence. 'Imagine if I stood here and said we give immunity to drug companies, we give immunity to tobacco companies. That has caused carnage on our streets,' Biden said Tuesday. '150 million people have been killed since 2007 when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability, more than all the wars, including Vietnam from that point on,' he said. According to the Center for American Progress, the number of firearm deaths in the US between 2007 to 2017 was 373,663 Biden has been banking on strong support from African American voters in South Carolina to help stem Bernie Sanders' rise Bernie Sanders took fire in Tuesday night's debate. On Wednesday, he was holding an 18-point lead in a new California poll Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., threw his weight into the 2020 Democratic presidential Friday by announcing his endorsement Wednesday, three days before the state's primary State Demoratic Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, who was there for the event Wednesday, told DailyMail.com that Clyburn's endorsement could make the difference in pushing Biden over the top. 'I think the timing couldn't have been better,' he said. 'I had always felt like he was in a strong position... But if there was any doubt, he erased all that doubt last night. And this endorsement only further cements that.' Clyburn, he said: 'He's the most powerful African American elected official in the entire country. He has a huge following and huge influence in South Carolina.' 'People are waiting to hear from Jim Clyburn, and heard from him to say,' Pendarvis said. Commentary By Ken Coates Waves of blockades and protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline have knotted up the country. Trains have been stopped. Access to the British Columbia Legislature has been impeded. Construction work is being affected along the pipeline corridor. Intersections have been blocked in major cities. And as Indigenous people figure prominently in all the events, with signs supporting the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs who are central to the conflict, Canadians are struggling to make sense of it all. That is understandable. It seems like a classic conflict between Indigenous peoples and resource developers, or at least, Canadians might understandably make connections to the Idle No More movement that was launched seven years ago. But thats not what this is. The differences are much greater than the similarities. The Wetsuweten situation has proven to be complex, reflecting legal and political uncertainty about the nature of decision-making in the region. While a group of hereditary chiefs oppose the pipeline project, the chief and council of Witset First Nation the largest band, elected through the Indian Act, within Wetsuweten Nation support the project, as do what appears to be a large majority of First Nations members along the pipelines route. Hereditary chiefs played a vital role in the campaign for the recognition of Indigenous land rights, and they have reason to expect active involvement in local political affairs. Other northern British Columbia First Nations incorporate hereditary chiefs into their formal decision-making processes. That has not been done, as yet, among the Wetsuweten. But this situation over Indigenous rights has been complicated by some anti-pipeline activists looking to advance their cause. Idle No More, in contrast, was a loosely managed movement that called on Indigenous peoples across Canada to champion local issues, to express their dissatisfaction with Canadian policy, and to celebrate Indigenous resilience. Hundreds of pop-up events happened across Canada, marked by their dancing, drumming and singing, their optimism, and the determination to ensure that Indigenous voices were heard by government, politicians and the public at large. The Idle No More events were also overwhelmingly peaceful and legal. It was a matter of pride for supporters that they posed minimal disruption: There were some short-term road and rail blockades, but the vast majority of the events formed and dissipated quickly. They represented the largest, most sustained and most impressive declaration of Indigenous confidence, revitalization and determination in Canadian history, as Indigenous people mostly young, and with many women involved asserted their right to speak. Supporters around the world gathered, sang and danced in solidarity. As a movement, Idle No More had no specific policy objectives and no clearly defined political mandate, and therein lay its success and authority. The current protests, however, focus on civil disobedience, deliberately working to inconvenience non-Indigenous peoples. And as the disruptions and costs mount, they risk giving Canadians the wrong impression about Indigenous peoples distinctive relationships with the natural-resource economy and pipelines. In the age of national commitment to reconciliation, the resource sector has emerged as the front line of national renewal and transformation. Indigenous communities have capitalized on a long series of court decisions in their favour to forge a new role in the energy industry. Indigenous employment and business activity have expanded dramatically. The impression given by these protests that Indigenous peoples are uniformly opposed to the pipeline or energy development is simply wrong. There are certainly committed and energetic Indigenous backers of the protests, but they do not represent all Indigenous peoples and communities. Idle No More sparked a surge in Indigenous assertiveness, and it ushered in an era of Indigenous activism. There are aspects of Idle No More that made some non-Indigenous peoples uneasy; pressure on governments has certainly increased, as has the insistence that attempts at reconciliation be real and substantial. But since that time, Canadians have become much more comfortable with the idea of Indigenous peoples playing a strong and expanding role within the country. These protests around Coastal GasLink, on the other hand, threaten to broadly subsume Indigenous rights in a campaign against Canadian oil and gas, contrary to the expressed preferences of many Indigenous governments and community members. The Coastal GasLink activities run the risk of alienating public support for Indigenous rights and aspirations. What a bitter and destructive irony it would be if the willingness of the environmental movement to engage selectively in the politics of Indigenous rights ends up weakening the people they claim to be supporting. Ken Coates is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the author of #IdleNoMore and the Remaking of Canada. Nationwide said it is beefing up its coverage of homeowners with connected devices through a new partnership with Notion. Bold Penguin, a commercial insurance technology provider, has added commercial auto insurance to its platform. Neptune Flood said it is now approved to do business in Louisiana. *** Nationwide said it launched a new smart home product designed to give homeowners with connected devices an extra layer of production. The insurer said its new partnership with Notion will enable this extra production, via Notions smart home monitoring system, which monitors the home for opening doors and windows, the sound of smoke/carbon dioxide alarms, and water leaks, all from a personal device. If customers opt into the program, they can purchase the Notion Wi-Fi enabled smart home kit at a discounted rate and save on their homeowners insurance policy, Nationwide said. Smart home is available in Alabama, Arizona and Illinois, with additional states to be added in the months ahead. Nationwide Private Client members across the country can also access smart home products where Nationwide Private Client is available. *** Bold Penguin, a commercial insurance technology provider, has added commercial auto insurance to its platform. By doing so, business-use auto insurance can be quoted alongside the other types of coverage in a bundled fashion through a single application. Ilya Bodner, founder and CEO of Bold Penguin, said that his company plans to expand its commercial auto options next and continue its expansion into E&S. Bold Penguin said the addition of commercial auto to the platform streamlines the quoting experience for general liability, business owners policy (BOP), professional liability and workers compensation. *** Neptune Flood, an all-digital online flood insurance company, said it is now approved to do business in Louisiana. The company now does business in 39 states, though it noted Louisiana is the second-largest market for flood insurance in the United States due to its unique geography and history of catastrophic flooding. Neptunes flood insurance policies are sold by agents and directly online at neptuneflood.com. Neptune said its flood policy meets the requirements to be accepted by all banks and has many optional enhancements to the standard NFIP policy, such as coverage for temporary living expenses, unattached structures, and pool repair and refill. Neptune launched in 2017. Sources: Nationwide, Bold Penguin, Neptune Flood Rome, Feb 26 : Italy's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday decried a "worrying proliferation of inaccurate and alarmist news" on the coronavirus epidemic in the country and claimed the government had moved swiftly to contain the outbreak. "We are witnessing a worrying proliferation of inaccurate and alarmist news on the health situation in our country that does not reflect the reality of a contagion phenomenon that remains significantly limited to some small areas restricted to a few regions," said a statement. "The Italian government's response to the Covid-19 emergency was timely, as recognized by the World Health Organisation and the European Union," it added. The statement said that the Foreign Ministry began on Tuesday to send a daily coronavirus report to embassies and consulates around the world. "This is to give accurate and transparent information on the true impact of the coronavirus in Italy including precise data and the clearly defined areas that we continue to monitor," the statement said. The coronavirus outbreak in Italy -- one of the world's most popular tourist destinations -- has killed 12 people and infected over 370 people. After South Korea, Italy has the highest number of coronavirus infections outside China. Almost all the Italian cases have been in the most industrialised northern Lombardy and Veneto regions. Some 70 per cent of trips to Italy have been cancelled over coronavirus fears, the Italian Federation of Travel Companies and Tourism (Fiavet) said on Wednesday. It urged Italy's Foreign, Culture and Transport Ministries to rapidly adopt emergency measures to help the sector. The government's ban in late January on all commercial flights to and from China - epicentre of the coronavirus - and a ban this week on school trips were hitting the travel sector hard, Fiavet said. Feb 25 (Reuters) - Venture Global LNG Inc said on Tuesday it has entered a 20 year agreement with Electricite de France S.A. (EDF) to supply one million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas from its Plaquemines LNG facility in Louisiana. EDF will buy the super chilled fuel from the Plaquemines facility, effective its commercial operation date. Venture Global is expected to make a final investment decision on the facility early in 2020 and has targeted start up in late 2022. Plaquemines had previously sold 2.5 MTPA of LNG under a 20-year agreement to Polish Oil and Gas Co. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) GREENVILLE, S.C. White men dominated campaign staffs for presidential candidates in 1988 when Jonathan Metcalf got his first job in politics with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who made a serious bid for the White House. That is no longer the case for Democrats in South Carolina. Metcalf joined political directors for seven other campaigns during a panel discussion at the Greenville Convention Center in December, and each of the panelists was black. They're part of an evolving strategy to tap into the most important voting block in the state's presidential primary. "It didn't just happen," said Metcalf, who is leading Tom Steyer's South Carolina campaign. "I'm fortunate to have worked with and mentored half of the people on this panel." Black voters make up majority of Democratic electorate Black voters accounted for 55% and 61% of the ballots in 2008 and 2016, respectively, and are expected to cast up to two-thirds of all ballots in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Feb. 29. For candidates, it is an opportunity to seize valuable momentum heading into the high-stakes Super Tuesday primaries in 14 states three days later on March 3. "We will be the springboard into Super Tuesday, and the majority of those Super Tuesday states have significant populations of color and diverse communities much like we do," said South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson. Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden pose for cell phone photos with him following his town hall event at the Staunton Bridge Community Center Thursday, August 29, 2019. Candidates like Steyer, former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former mayor Pete Buttigieg have crisscrossed the state in the months leading up to the South Carolina primary. They've pledged to address climate change, economic injustice and health care inequities, and increase funding for historically black colleges and universities. Trump-era one of 'ugliest' in history But some say the biggest issue may be Trump, himself, and finding a candidate capable of keeping him from a second term. Story continues Greenville's Mary Duckett is one such voter, telling the Greenville News her primary concern is putting an end to what she called one of the "ugliest" presidential administrations in American history. "I'm 70-plus and I've been through the good, the bad and the ugly," the community activist said. "This is the ugliest other than segregation. If segregation wasn't enough, this was the straw that broke the camel's back." For a large share of black voters, Biden has the best chance. "I think that group is particularly looking at electability," said Danielle Vinson, a professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University in Greenville. "African American voters would just like someone who is going to win." Variety of candidates: 4 decades separate 2020's presidential candidates. Here's what that looks like. Biden receives key endorsements Paige Hill, communications director for Biden's campaign in South Carolina, said he has forged deep connections with black voters. "What we are hearing on the ground is that African American voters just know Joe Biden, especially here in South Carolina. They know his heart. They know his character. They know his track record," Hill said. "South Carolina voters saw him stand faithfully as President (Barack) Obama's vice president for eight years, and that has really resonated here." Fresh Start: Before the New Hampshire primary ended, Joe Biden comes to South Carolina Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a town hall at the Cleveland Park Event Center in Spartanburg Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. That experience counts for Helen Nixon, a Greenville resident of 40 years who, like Mary Duckett, said she's looking for someone who can win. "He has experience and I feel like he is the best one to beat Trump," Nixon said. "I feel like on day one he can come with an entourage of people who can help straighten out the mess that we've gone through the past three years." 'Torn between two lovers' In the weeks leading up to the state's Democratic presidential primary, some voters had not yet made up their minds. Duckett, for example, is torn between Biden and Steyer. "I'm torn between two lovers," Duckett laughed. Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer campaigns at the Freedom Center in Rock Hill, SC on Feb. 10, 2020. Duckett likes Biden because she's known him for years as vice president and thinks he can pull the country together, rather than further divide it. But Steyer, she said, "kinda came out of nowhere." "He has a great message and the fact that he won't take any money from anyone, he doesn't owe any favors." For USC-Upstate student and 25-year-old black voter Ciera Edwards, the challenge is finding a stand-out candidate in a crowded field. "It's gonna be tough because so far what I'm seeing is all are saying a lot of the same things as far as what they want to do if they get in office and so it's gonna take a little bit more time to decide who that vote should go towards," Edwards said. Time will tell, said longtime Greenville City Council member Lillian Brock Flemming, for her and many of her constituents who are paying close attention to issues like affordable housing, health care, social justice and stabilizing Social Security. Lillian Brock Flemming "The stock market is fine," she said. "But the stock market is not an issue for 80 or 90% of the people." Flemming also said she wants to see the field of candidates solidify. "They come, and they go," she said. "I want to be working on somebody who is going to be stable, who is in for the long haul. I don't know who that is going to be, but hopefully we will get to that particular point pretty soon." Steyer trailing Biden, Sanders A Fox News poll conducted in early January showed Steyer running a distant second in South Carolina among all Democratic voters and black voters. He is now sitting in third place, according to the RealClearPolitics rolling average of South Carolina polls. Steyer, who became a billionaire as a successful hedge-fund manager before entering politics and pledging with his wife to give away the majority of their wealth, went on his own four-day "People Over Profits" bus tour through the Carolinas to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. State Rep. Leola Robinson-Simpson, a Democrat from Greenville who previously backed Sen. Cory Booker, endorsed Steyer in December. Democratic activist and billionaire investor Tom Steyer speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on August 11, 2019. Steyer announced he was seeking Democratic nomination on July 9, 2019. "I am confident that he will be the people's president, a president that South Carolinians and African Americans can count on," she said. "Tom's focus on improving our failing education system and prioritizing Medicaid expansion is the type of bold action we need." Steyer's wife, Kat Taylor, stumped for him at four predominantly black churches in the Greenville area earlier in January. His son Sam Steyer also campaigned for him in South Carolina. 'South Carolina is critical': While Democratic opponents work NH, Tom Steyer stumps in SC Pointing out Steyer's creation of a progressive nonprofit called NextGen America and the bank that he and his wife founded to help low-income communities, Robertson said "people have underestimated the fact that he's had relationships (with black voters) prior to him running for president." Sanders, Buttigieg fight to gain ground Sanders, who was soundly beaten by Hillary Clinton in South Carolina's 2016 Democratic primary, is hoping to do better with the state's black voters this time. He has been endorsed by several black legislators in the state. Nina Turner, the national co-chairwoman of Sanders' campaign, wrote an op-ed piece for The State newspaper in Columbia that harshly criticized Biden. Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont, held a rally at the Peace Center in Greenville to promote his 2020 presidential campaign, Friday, Apr. 19, 2019. "Will our community side with former Vice President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly betrayed black voters to side with Republican lawmakers and undermine our progress?" wrote Turner. "Sanders, by contrast, began his work in politics by organizing civil rights protests." Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was among the top finishers in Iowa, came in second in New Hampshire and came in third in Nevada, which all come before South Carolina on the Democratic calendar. But he has failed to gain traction thus far among black voters in South Carolina, and he's acknowledged as much. "It is so important to me to earn the support of black voters," Buttigieg said during a December campaign stop in Allendale County, which has the highest percentage of black residents in South Carolina. "As somebody who is new on the scene, I have to earn that trust. We've got to have those conversations." South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced he was running for president on Jan. 23, 2019. Buttigieg's campaign began airing a radio ad in South Carolina in January featuring Walter Clyburn Reed, the grandson of U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, the state's longest-serving congressman. "Now, Grandpa hasnt weighed in on the presidential race. But I want to tell you why Im knocking doors and organizing supporters for my choice, Democrat Pete Buttigieg," Reed says in the ad. "Mayor Pete represents more than just a voice for my generation. Hes a leader of uncommon decency, honor and dedication to the disenfranchised." Buttigieg also picked up an endorsement from Anderson's first-ever black mayor, Terence Roberts, on Jan. 27. Rep. James Clyburn's endorsement is expected to come Wednesday, with wide speculation he will throw his support behind Biden. 'I'm so proud of the people on this stage' The political directors who took part in December's panel discussion each spoke about the merits of their candidate. Jarvis Houston said Buttigieg reached out to him when his 11-year-old cousin died after being struck by a stray bullet. He also said campaign staffers helped pay for the child's funeral. "I want a president that cares about me. That means he cares about the community," Houston said. "And I want a compassionate president like Pete Buttigieg, and that is why I joined the campaign." Jessica Bright-Matthews said she supported Clinton in 2016 but chose to work for Sanders this time because he supports Medicare for all, increasing pay for teachers and providing workers with a living wage. She said her personal experience factored into her decision. "I did the right thing. I went to college, went to grad school, came back home and no opportunities," Bright-Matthews said. Metcalf talked about how Steyer has invested $150,000 in the state Democratic Party and $41,000 in county parties across the state. "Our idea is to serve the communities that we're in and then at least have the ability to ask for their support but first serve those communities," he said. Metcalf and others on the panel said whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be a better choice than Trump. "I'm so proud of the people on this stage," Metcalf said. "And I'm so proud of the people they represent because any of them will better than the failure and fraud that we have." Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown Follow Genna Contino on Twitter @GennaContino This article originally appeared on The Greenville News: Democratic presidential hopefuls need support from black voters in SC Katherine Johnson, the groundbreaking NASA mathematician portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the 2016 Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, has died at the age of 101. Long before she helped develop the mathematical formulas that got Americans into space, she was born Katherine Coleman in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her brilliance with math allowed her to skip some grades, putting her in high school by age 13 and college by age 18. In 1939, West Virginia decided to quietly start integrating its graduate schools, and West Virginia State College president John W. Davis invited Johnson and two male students to be the first black students at West Virginia University. Johnson didnt stay in the program for long, eventually leaving to have kids with husband James Goble, but in 1952 she heard about the all-black computing division at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (or NACA, as NASA was then known) headed by Dorothy Vaughan (portrayed by Octavia Spencer in Hidden Figures). Eddy Chen/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images In 1956 Goble died of cancer, and in 1957 the Soviet Union made history by launching the satellite Sputnik into space. Johnsons math helped analyze early American attempts to match the Soviets, and she provided trajectory analysis for Alan Shepherds Freedom 7 mission in 1961, Americas first manned spaceflight. But her most famous contribution to NASA came in 1962, during John Glenns spaceflight. NASA computers had been programmed with calculations, but Glenn didnt trust the machines. He asked the engineers to have Johnson double-check the equations. If she says theyre good, then Im ready to go, Johnson recalled Glenn saying. She did, and he was. NASA is deeply saddened by the loss of a leader from our pioneering days, and we sent our deepest condolences to the family of Katherine Johnson, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. Ms. Johnson helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space even as she made human strides that also opened doors for women and people of color in the universal human quest to explore space. Story continues The @NASA family will never forget Katherine Johnson's courage and the milestones we could not have reached without her. Her story and her grace continue to inspire the world. https://t.co/UPOqo0sLfb pic.twitter.com/xwnRX9oZoi Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) February 24, 2020 Johnsons story was not one of the most well-known narratives from the Space Age until Hidden Figures introduced her, Vaughan, and Mary Jackson (the mathematician portrayed by Janelle Monae) to mainstream awareness. Henson told EW in 2015 that she and director Theodore Melfi visited Johnson before they started filming: We sat and talked and went through photo albums. Her children were there, and her grandchildren. I really felt a responsibility when her children met me. They were like, We couldnt think of a better actress to play our mom. I was like, No pressure! She said multiple times, I dont know why youre making a movie about me. I just did my work, he says. Shes just so humble and doesnt understand what shes done to pave the way for other women or women of color. Hidden Figures was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture. Though it didnt win any, Henson, Monae, and Spencer did bring Johnson up on stage with them to celebrate the real-life women behind the film. Thank you QUEEN #KatherineJohnson for sharing your intelligence, poise, grace and beauty with the world! Because of your hard work little girls EVERYWHERE can dream as big as the MOON!!! Henson wrote on Instagram after news of Johnsons death. Your legacy will live on FORVER AND EVER!!! You ran so we could fly!!! I will forever be honored to have been apart of bringing your story to life. You/your story was hidden and thank GOD you are #hiddennomore God bless your beautiful family. I am so honored to have sat and broke bread with you all. Related content: New Delhi, Feb 26 : India opener Rohit Sharma on Wednesday termed the Delhi violence as a sight which is not "great" and said that he hopes normalcy is restored soon. "Not such a great sight in Delhi. Hope everything neutralises soon," India's limited overs vice-captain Rohit said in a tweet. For the second time in less than 24 hours, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval landed up in the riot-affected areas of northeast Delhi to personally review the situation and allay the security concerns of the local people. The situation is slowly limping back to normal after violence since Sunday. 22 persons have died so far and around 200 people have been injured in the violence between supporters and opponents of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. Rohit is not part of the Indian team playing in New Zealand as he is recovering from a calf muscle injury he picked up while playing in the T20 series which India won 5-0. Without the ace batsman, India have been drubbed 0-3 in the one dayers and trail the ongoing two-match Test series 0-1. India take on the Kiwis in the second Test at Christchurch from Saturday. A man who kissed a reporter during a live TV broadcast in Spain has been ordered to pay his victim more than 2,000 after admitting sexual assault. Raquel Guillan was reporting live on TV channel 'Radio Television Canarias' about the sand storm that engulfed the Spanish island of Lanzarote when the incident took place. The man, whose name has not been reported, admitted in court that he kissed the reporter before trying to run away. Reporter Raquel Guillan (left and right) was kissed by a stranger during a live broadcast from the Spanish island of Lanzarote In the video, the man could be seen approaching the broadcaster from behind and kissing her as she carried out a live broadcast. He then tried to flee but reportedly dropped his wallet in the process which allowed him to be identified. The suspect later pulled the reporter's hair and pushed her when she bravely stood her ground and refused to give him his wallet back. He was found guilty of sexual assault and aggression and was banned by the court from trying to and contact Guillan by any means. The man was also ordered to pay the victim compensation of 2,024 (2,410) and he has been forbidden to come any closer than 984 feet of the victim's home or place of work. A man who kissed reporter Raquel Guillan during a live TV broadcast in Spain admitted sexual assault and was ordered to pay his victim 2,024 Guillan reportedly filed a complaint after the incident and received the support of the TV channel where she works. The attacker was located on Monday by the Spanish National Police, after the complaint was filed by the victim. The suspect was summoned to appear at the Courthouse of Arrecife, Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, on Tuesday where he was convicted. Mayor Astrid Perez reportedly spoke personally with Guillan to show solidarity with the journalist. The councilor also signed a press release issued to local media saying she 'rejected this type of sexist behavior towards women' and also regretted that 'still persists in a part of society, including many young people's, attitudes of gender violence'. Winter Session: Opposition to take out march protest against suspension of 12 MPs today Opposition MPs in both Houses march in protest from Gandhi statue to Vijay Chowk Opposition leaders seek time from President to discuss Delhi violence India pti-PTI New Delhi, Feb 26: Opposition leaders including Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja and those from DMK and NCP have sought time from President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the violence that has engulfed parts of northeast Delhi. CPI(M) general secretary Yechury has written a letter to the President seeking appointment for the group of leaders. "I am writing to you seeking an appointment to hear the views of leaders of various political parties represented in the Indian Parliament, on the very disturbing situation prevailing in the country's capital, Delhi. "I, along with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, D Raja, President of the Loktanthrik Janata Dal, Sharad Yadav, President of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav and prominent leaders of political parties like the DMK, NCP and others wish to seek an appointment with you at the earliest, preferably the 28th of February, 2020," the letter stated. At least 22 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 09:30 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066a775b 1 Business Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,tourism,China,coronavirus,COVID-19,loss,Wuhan-coronavirus Free Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has said the outbreak of a novel coronavirus around the globe has affected Indonesian tourism, with estimated losses of around US$500 million. [According to] data from Bank Indonesia, [our] tourism has lost US$500 million in a month, he told the press on Tuesday as quoted by antaranews.com. Luhut went on to say the government had created tourism packages in an effort to cut the losses. Some 173 million Chinese tourists travel around the world annually, generating a global income that is worth a total of $270 billion, said the minister. Of these, Indonesia only welcomes 2 million Chinese tourists. Meanwhile, Singapore and Japan welcome about 6 million Chinese tourists, respectively. Luhut said Indonesia was on a campaign to boost Chinese tourist numbers to up to 10 million people in the future. Chinese tourists spend more money per person now than American tourists, he said. Two Chinese tourists take a shoot during a prewedding in Bajra Sandi monument tour, Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday, January 29. 2020. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono) The coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, has spread to nearly 30 countries since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December. As of Monday, more than 2,500 deaths from the virus had been confirmed in mainland China, while nearly 30 people outside mainland China have died after contracting the virus. More than 77,000 infections have been recorded worldwide, AFP reports. Indonesia imposed a travel ban to and from mainland China on Feb. 5, however, many Chinese nationals have extended their stays in Indonesia, securing emergency stay permits that enable them to remain in the country for another 30 days after their visas expire. (gis) Julian Assange 26.02.2020 LISTEN The second day of extradition hearings against Julian Assange and by virtue of that, WikiLeaks, saw Mark Summers QC deliver a formidable serve for the defence at Woolwich Crown Court. Its difficult to conceive of a clearer example of an extradition request that boldly and blatantly misstates the facts as they are known to be to the US government. The targets were, respectively, allegations by the US Department of Justice that Assange attempted to conceal Chelsea Mannings identity for nefarious purposes and second, that WikiLeaks was reckless as to the potential consequences of harm in releasing unredacted State Department cables in 2011. The position WikiLeaks has taken on the latter position goes back to the problematic, rocky relationship it has had with The Guardian over the years. In November last year, the paper took the position that Assange had to be defended against extradition to the United States in a case that digs at the foundations of freedom of democracy in both Britain and the US, and could see him sentenced to a total of 175 years. History, however, shows a more fair-weather friend disposition, especially amongst a few of the papers journalists. The Guardian was one of a select number of international outlets WikiLeaks had partnered with in what was intended to be, according to Summers, a harm minimisation process of release. Initial cable publications in November 2010 heeded the principle of redaction, so much so that John Goetz of Der Spiegel considered them extreme. Goetzs statement was duly read by Summers: These were more extreme measures than I had ever previously observed as a journalist to secure the data and ensure they could not be accessed by anyone who was not a journalist. To the claim of reckless publication, it was submitted that journalists Luke Harding and David Leigh revealed the relevant password in their book WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assanges War on Secrecy that led inexorably to the indiscriminate release of the cables. The password granted access to the encrypted file with the full trove of unredacted cables, though this fact was only picked up by the German publication Der Freitag in August 2011. James Lewis QC, representing the Crown Prosecution Service, scoffed at the notion, leading to the defence referencing the index of Harding and Leighs work. The account submitted by Summers did not lack thriller appeal. On August 25, the day Der Freitag started getting busy, Assange and Sarah Harrison, his WikiLeaks counterpart, got on the phone to both the US State Department and the US ambassador in the UK. An emergency regarding the publication of unredacted State Department files, they warned, was imminent. WikiLeaks, they stressed, would not be responsible for it. The picture presented about Assange was one of concern. We dont understand, he claimed at the time, why you dont see the urgency of this. Unless we do something about it, peoples lives are being put at risk. The 18th count of the indictment charging that Assange aided and abetted Mannings 2010 disclosures as part of a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion was given similar, withering treatment. Underpinning the argument is the claim that Assange assisted Manning adopt an anonymous identity via a cracked US military password. That identity, argue the prosecution, would have permitted the obtaining and dissemination of classified material without her exposure. This, countered Summers, lay in the realm of gross misunderstanding. The US military would hardly have concerned itself with login details initiated by an anonymous user. Far better to focus on the relevant IP address, a true sign of a users individuality. Again, the stress by the defence has been on Mannings individual conscience and initiative, making her a more traditional whistleblower than a malicious co-conspirator in computer hacking. In her 2013 court martial, Manning insisted that no one associated with the WLO [WikiLeaks] pressured me into giving me more information. The decisions I made to send documents and information to the WLO and the website were my own decisions, and I take full responsibility for my actions. Nor could her motives for disclosing such documents be impugned; she had disclosed the US Armys 2007 Rules of Engagement to enable those viewing the Collateral Murder video to contextualise the attack by the Apache helicopter that killed over a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff, in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad. Also worth nothing here is the level of discrimination shown: Manning did not provide the rules of engagement files from Afghanistan, despite having access to them. The superseding indictment would have you think otherwise, alleging that, Between in or around January 2010 and May 2010, consistent with WikiLeakss Most Wanted Leaks solicitation of bulk databases and military and intelligence categories, Manning downloaded four nearly complete databases from departments and agencies of the United States. The demolition by Summers was impressively devastating. While the Most Wanted Leaks list did seek bulk databases, the diplomatic cables did not form part of them. Evidence that Manning had ever seen the list was also scant, a point that could be adduced from material cited in her court martial. Lewis weakly contended that the Most Wanted Leaks list was a general allegation, and more attention should be paid to the WikiLeaks website itself, which had the solicitation posted on it. Sloppiness is often the metier of the desperate. Lewis was also far from convinced about Mannings motives, following a crude syllogistic line of reasoning that proved clumsy and laboured. The statement made by Manning to show her wounded moral compass was self-serving in nature; but it was merely self-serving because it was made by a conspirator. Conspirators, it followed, have no morals. You cant rely on a self-serving statement without qualification whatsoever. Its the self-serving statement of a co-conspirator. What the defence had shown on the second day of extradition hearings was the increasingly hollow nature of much in the prosecutions case, one increasingly reliant on what Summers described as lies, lies, and more lies. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] The current federal income tax brackets range from 10% to 37%, but you can get away with paying less in taxes if you're smart about claiming deductions and credits. "There's more opportunities, in general, for self-employed workers and business owners," says Luke Sotir, a financial professional with Equitable Advisors in the greater Boston area. However, there are still a number of ways for wage earners to lower their tax liability. Tax credits and deductions can change regularly though, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated some popular deductions and limited others. "Certainly, it's a moving target," says David Snider, founder and CEO of New York City-based Harness Wealth. As of right now, here are 15 ways to reduce how much you owe for the 2019 tax year: Contribute to a Retirement Account Retirement account contributions are a top tax-reduction tool, as they serve two purposes. Contributions to traditional 401(k) and IRA accounts can be deducted from your taxable income and, as a result, reduce the amount of federal tax you owe. These funds also grow tax-free until retirement. If you start early, saving money in these accounts can help secure your retirement. "Even if you haven't executed that plan by the end of the year, you still have time," says John Maceovsky, managing director for accounting firm CBIZ MHM in Tampa Bay, Florida. While contributions to workplace 401(k) accounts must be made by the end of the calendar year, tax-deductible contributions can be made to traditional IRAs up until the July 15 filing deadline for taxes filed in 2020. [See: 10 Ways to Reduce Taxes on Your Retirement Savings.] Open a Health Savings Account If you have an eligible high-deductible medical plan, contribute to a health savings account. Contributions to these accounts offer an immediate tax deduction, grow tax-deferred and can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified medical expenses. Any balance left at the end of the year can roll over indefinitely, similar to the assets in a retirement account. Story continues Use Your Side Hustle to Claim Business Deductions Self-employed individuals (full time or part time) are eligible for scores of tax deductions. That means your freelance projects or side gig as a ride-share driver could land you considerable tax savings. A few of the business deductions available include business-related vehicle mileage, shipping, advertising, website fees, percentage of home internet charges used for business, professional publications, dues, memberships, business-related travel, office supplies and any expenses incurred to run your business. If you pay for your own health, dental or long-term care insurance, those premiums may be deductible too. Just be sure to maintain proper records, says Robbin E. Caruso, a CPA and partner at accounting firm Prager Metis in Cranbury, New Jersey. She has seen many people lose their deductions for that reason. "They are disallowed because taxpayers didn't keep the right documentation," she says. Be sure to keep receipts, mileage logs or other records that you can produce in the event of an audit. Claim a Home Office Deduction If you work for yourself or have a side business, don't be afraid to take the home office deduction. This allows you to deduct a percent of your home expenses using Schedule C. To qualify for the deduction, the space must be used regularly and exclusively for business purposes. For instance, if an extra bedroom is used exclusively as a home office and it constitutes one-fifth of your apartment's living space, you can deduct one-fifth of rent and utility fees. Write Off Business Travel Expenses, Even While on Vacation Combine a vacation with a business trip, and you could reduce vacation costs by deducting the percent of the expenses spent for business purposes. This could include airfare and part of your hotel bill, proportionate to the time spent on business activities. Talk to a tax professional about how to make this calculation correctly. Deduct Half Your Self-Employment Taxes The government assesses a 15.3% Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax on all earnings to pay for the Social Security and Medicare programs. While employers split the cost with their workers, self-employed individuals are responsible for paying the entire amount themselves. To compensate for the extra expense, the government will let you deduct 50% of the amount paid from your income taxes. You don't even need to itemize to claim this tax deduction. Get a Credit for Higher Education The government offers valuable tax credits to offset the cost of higher education. The American Opportunity Tax Credit can be claimed for the first four years of college and provides a maximum credit of $2,500 per student per year. Since it's a credit, that amount is deducted from whatever tax you might owe the government. If it exceeds the amount of taxes you owe, up to $1,000 may be refundable to you. Meanwhile, the Lifetime Learning Credit is great for adults boosting their education and training. This credit is worth up to $2,000 per year and helps pay for college and educational expenses that improve your job skills. See if You Qualify for an Earned Income Tax Credit Even if you aren't required to pay federal income taxes, you could get a refund from the government. The EITC is a refundable tax credit of up to $6,557 for tax year 2019. The credit is calculated with a formula that takes into consideration income and family size. The income limits for the credit range from $15,570 for single taxpayers with no children to $55,952 for married couples filing jointly who have three or more children. [See: 10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud. ] Itemize State Sales Tax Taxpayers who itemize their deductions can include either their state income tax or state sales tax on their Schedule A form. The state sales tax break is a great option if you live in a state without income taxes. While taxpayers can use a table provided by the IRS to easily claim their sales tax deduction, Maceovsky says people should remember to add on the sales tax from any major purchase such as a car or boat. The federal tax deduction for state and local taxes is capped at $10,000 from all sources. Deduct Private Mortgage Insurance Premiums If you have less than 20% equity in your home, chances are you pay private mortgage insurance. This coverage is required by lenders as a way to protect them in the event you stop making payments. Until 2017, taxpayers could deduct the cost of private mortgage insurance on their itemized deductions. "That was taken away by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Caruso says. While the tax reform law eliminated the deduction, it was reinstated at the end of 2019 and was made retroactive for 2018 as well. That means you could amend your 2018 tax return to claim it, but Caruso advises checking whether it would result in any significant refund first. "Whenever you open an older return, you put yourself at some risk of being looked at closer (by the IRS)," she says. Make Charitable Donations Charitable deductions made with payroll deductions, checks, cash and donations of goods and clothing are all deductible. These deductions add up and are often overlooked. "People might forget about their non-cash contributions," Maceovsky says. However, to claim the deduction, be sure to get receipts for all donations. The 2017 tax reform law nearly doubled the standard deduction, which means taxpayers will need a significant amount of expenses in order to itemize. For the 2019 tax year, the standard deduction for single taxpayers is $12,200 while married couples filing jointly can deduct $24,400. That means many people won't have enough deductions to itemize every year. "You try to squeeze some of your itemized deductions in one year," Sotir says. For instance, taxpayers might want to double up on charitable donations in one year instead of spreading gifts over two years. This strategy could help boost the total of someone's itemized deductions over the threshold of the standard deduction. Adjust Your Basis for Capital Gains Tax Investors: When calculating the cost basis after selling a financial asset, make sure to add in all of the reinvested dividends. That increases the cost basis and reduces your capital gain when you sell the investment. If you sell your house, you may end up paying capital gains tax as well, particularly if your property's value has risen significantly. Single taxpayers can exempt up to $250,000 of their home's appreciation from capital gains tax while married couples get a $500,000 exemption. The IRS only allows the exemption to be claimed once every two years. However, you can reduce how much you owe if you've made home renovations or improvements. "Any investment you make can be deducted from the capital gains," Snider says. Avoid Capital Gains Tax by Donating Stock Another way to avoid capital gains is by using stocks to make charitable gifts. "You can move stocks that had big gains directly into a donor-advised fund," Snider says. Money moved into a donor-advised fund is not only exempt from capital gains tax but can also be deducted by those who itemize. Donor-advised funds can be started with as little as $5,000, according to Snider. Claim Deductions for Military Members Are you in the military reserves, such as the National Guard? If you travel more than 100 miles from home and need to be away overnight, you can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses such as transportation, meals and lodging. If you're an active duty service member, you can deduct any costs associated with moving for a permanent change of station. Don't Forget State and Local Tax Breaks State and local taxes can add up, so don't forget to look for ways to reduce your tax burden there as well. While the federal tax reform law eliminated miscellaneous deductions, many states still allow them, Caruso says. Or they may have a lower threshold for claiming them. [See: 9 Year-End Tax Tips for Investors.] For instance, in New Jersey, taxpayers can deduct the cost of medical expenses exceeding 2% of their adjusted gross income. On federal tax forms, only medical expenses more than 7.5% of a person's income are deductible. Tax savings aren't limited to income taxes either. In New York City, there is a parking tax for some rented spaces, but Snider says residents can effectively waive almost half the fee by requesting an exemption. Regardless of where you live, check with your local and state taxing authorities to see what deductions might be available to you. More From US News & World Report Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 The State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry has emphasized that a capital injection into state-owned PT Asuransi Jiwasraya would be a last resort in the government's efforts to rescue the ailing insurance company. The ministry and House of Representatives were discussing several other scenarios to save the insurer from bankruptcy and help it pay its policyholders claims, Arya Sinulingga, an aide to SOE Minister Erick Thohir, said on Tuesday. 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 A media advertising firm in London has become the second office in the capital to its send staff home over coronavirus fears. OMD UK said it has temporarily shut down its Fitzrovia office when an employee reported flu-like symptoms after returning from a trip to Australia via Singapore. A spokesman from Omnicom Media Group UK, OMD's parent company, told the Standard: "Earlier today, we became aware of an employee showing flu-like symptoms, who had returned a few days ago from a trip to Australia with a flight connection through Singapore. "As a precautionary measure, and until definitive results of the employees coronavirus test are confirmed, we are asking OMD employees at our Fitzrovia offices to immediately work from home. "OMD UK employees have been informed that, whilst the risk of the test being positive is minimal, every precaution is being taken to protect their health and wellbeing. "We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidance provided from the Government and expect to reopen these offices on Monday pending the results." OMD UK is based in Minerva House / Google It comes after energy firm Chevron asked around 300 employees to work temporarily from home after an employee in its Canary Wharf office reported a flu-like illness. A statement from the firm added: Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities. Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures 1 /61 Londoners wear Coronavirus masks - In pictures A man wearing a protective mask travels on the underground tube Reuters A woman wearing a protective face mask Jeremy Selwyn A man and woman wearing protective face masks on a bus PA A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A woman shopper wears a protective mask as she walks down an aisle in a supermarket in London AFP via Getty Images A man wearing a face mask waits to board an underground train on the Central Line at Bank station in London AP A woman with a plastic box over her head on the London Underground. PA A woman wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street in London PA A woman wearing a mask walks by the Emirates Stadium Action Images via Reuters A man is seen wearing a protective face mask at Waterloo station Reuters A woman wears a surgical mask as she walks through Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport Reuters A fan in the stands wears a mask during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridg PA A man wearing a protective face mask walking down Oxford Street PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A person wears a mask in a display of street style outside the BFC Show Space show in London PA Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn Commuters with masks on during the Coronavirus outbreak Jeremy Selwyn A commuter on the tube wearing a face mask Jeremy Selwyn A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridge Getty Images People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A man wearing a face mask walks past an entrance sign for Bank underground train station AP The coronavirus outbreak will unlikely lead to a Tube ban PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground. PA People wear masks at Holborn underground Station Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A pedestrian wears a face mask whilst walking along High Holborn PA A man wears a mask as he takes a photograph in China Town AP A man in a hazmat suit and face mask cleans the Ritchie Street Health Centre, Islington PA A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter at Euston wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man arrives at Euston Underground wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn St Pancras Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn Jeremy Selwyn Staff in suits at St Thomas's Hospital today Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A commuter arrives at St Pancras wearing a mask Jeremy Selwyn A man wears a face mask as he stands near an electronic arrivals board at Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport AFP via Getty Images A man wears a face mask as he walks along the Thames embankment AFP via Getty Images A woman wearing a protective face mask is seen on London Bridg Reuters The potentially-infected worker has been sent for an assessment and the result will come in over the next few days. Employment lawyer Martha McKinley, of Stephensons Solicitors, said asking staff to work from home was a practical option, adding: It is sensible for UK businesses to consider the impact an outbreak of coronavirus might have on its staff and operations more generally and have a response plan in place. If managers are faced with staff who are unwell or concerned about possible infection, a well-prepared company policy will mean they feel confident in offering the correct response and are seen to remain calm. An official government document seen on Wednesday revealed the Government is preparing for the possible worst-case scenario that 80 per cent of Brits could be infected by coronavirus. It means 50 million could catch the virus and with a mortality rate of one per cent 500,000 people could die. Covid-19: Which worldwide events have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak? Pictures emerged today of Londoners wearing protective masks to commute while authorities confirmed they were ramping up its plans to combat the encroaching disease. It comes as it emerged around 160 Britons at a coronavirus-hit hotel in Tenerife will stay in lockdown until March 10. The Foreign Office is in touch with Britons in the hotel, who have been told they will have to stay put for 14 days in total. It is understood that guests without symptoms are able to move around the hotel grounds, although some said they are still being told to remain in their rooms. In France, a second death has been reported since the outbreak. The country was the location of the first Covid-19 death in Europe, who was a Chinese tourist who died on February 15. The latest death is a 60-year-old French national. Italy has become another epicentre of the outbreak and authorities said the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or up 45 per cent in 24 hours, and 11 people have now died. South Korean authorities have reported a rise of 169 more cases of the coronavirus known as Covid-19, bringing the countrys total number of infections to 1,146. George Calombaris' restaurant empire went into administration on February 10 George Calombaris' failed restaurant empire had a pitiful $389 in the bank when it collapsed, with a staggering $22 million in debt. The former Masterchef star's once-successful business was ruined after a wage theft scandal, and went into administration on February 10. It owed $9 million to the Commonwealth Bank alone, with most of that unlikely to be repaid. Bosses desperately tried to prop up the business, which had 12 restaurants, with a dizzying series of intercompany loans - which allow businesses to shift cash around in case of a shortfall. In a disastrous turn for Calombaris' hospitality empire, it was hit by scandal in July 2019, when it emerged it had underpaid staff to the tune of $7.8 million. Less than two years later, the business went into voluntary administration, marking the immediate closure of its 12 venues - with up to 500 staff set to lose their jobs. Hellenic Republic in Brunswick, Melbourne, (pictured) closed immediately after the company went under The Melbourne-based restaurant empire, founded by Calombaris, operated 12 venues including the Press Club, Gazi and Jimmy Grants (pictured) Five have now been sold to new owners, leaving little hope for the remaining seven. The business had a complex web of debts to more than 200 small creditors, which included food suppliers and tradesmen, according to documents seen by the Australian. The TV star's business partner, millionaire Radek Sali, claims to be owed $13.7m. The Melbourne-based restaurant empire, founded by Calombaris, included the Press Club, Gazi and Hellenic Republic. Former MasterChef host Calombaris said he was 'devastated' by the decision, which was made on February 10. Calombaris (pictured, centre) was a judge and host on the hit Network Ten show MasterChef from 2009 until 2019 The Jimmy Grants venues in Melbourne (pictured) have since been sold, after MAdE Establishment went into administration 'It is with deep sadness and regret that today MAdE Establishment has been placed into voluntary administration,' he wrote on social media. 'To all my team, I truly regret it has come to this. On a personal note, the last few months have been the most challenging I have ever faced. 'At this time, while personally devastated, I remain thankful to my family, friends, the MAdE team, our loyal and regular customers. 'I am so sorry all our collective efforts have not provided to be enough. I'm gutted that it's come to this.' The announcement came on the same day Calombaris flagged the sale of his mansion in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Toorak. The home boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a pool, in-home gym and a cinema room. The announcement comes on the same day the former MasterChef judge flagged the sale of his mansion (pictured) in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Toorak The exclusive home (pictured) boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a pool, in-home gym and a cinema room Just weeks earlier on Australia Day, Calombaris and his wife Natalie Tricarico sold their holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula for $1.01million at auction. Calombaris' hospitality empire was revealed in July 2019 to have underpaid staff to the tune of $7.8 million. The wages scandal was uncovered and reported by staff of Mr Sali, who was brought into the business in 2016. The $7.8 million in wages and superannuation owed to staff by MAdE Establishment was backpaid in 2019, but it devastated the company's reputation. The Fair Work Ombudsman also hit the company with a $200,000 fine. At the time, Calombaris told the ABC's 7.30 program: 'We aren't closing our restaurants, we're here. 'And it's my job as their leader to keep pushing forward and keep speaking this message, not shying away from the mistake we made, but also acknowledging that we fixed it.' 'I won't forget that afternoon in 2017 when we sat there with my new business partners after we'd done a full audit for the business and discovered the underpayments.' Bosses said employees would be paid all outstanding wages when the company went under. The management of MAdE, which is backed by former Swisse CEO Radek Sali, met with creditors before the announcement was made. George Calombaris (pictured) admitted he was 'devastated' after his restaurant empire went into voluntary administration 'Craig Shepard and Leanne Chesser of KordaMentha restructuring were today appointed Voluntary Administrators of 22 companies in the MAdE Establishment Group,' the advisory and investment firm said in a statement. 'The appointment excludes the [smaller offshoot, yoghurt store] Yo-Chi operations which will continue to trade as usual. All other venues have stopped trading immediately. 'Employees have been paid all outstanding wages and superannuation up to the date of the appointment.' A school principal said she was erring on the side of caution in asking 28 students and two teachers to stay at home after their return from a mid-term ski trip to northern Italy. The group, from Milford Community School, Co Donegal came back home in the early hours of yesterday morning as concerns were mounting about the outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy and its spread from there to other areas. Principal Margaret OConnor said in contacts with the HSE yesterday, she was advised there was no cause for concern and to carry on as normal. However, the situation took a turn later in the day when one of the students in the group was hospitalised and, last night, she advised that the group on the trip should stay at home for the coming days. Ms OConnor said the parents of the hospitalised student have since advised her that the students illness is unrelated to the virus. With events unfolding at a rapid pace, the principal was in constant touch with the board of management and the email was sent out at 10pm. She said the school had 800 pupils, including some with a compromised immune system, about which they had to be mindful. It was a simple decision, and it was common sense to err on the side of caution. And we are also very aware of, and listening to the public mood. It was the best decision we would take in the interests of all students, she said. Read More She said it was an evolving situation and they would be in touch with the group with further information. With a number of schools dealing with concerns about students and staff returning from ski-trips in northern Italy, the Department of Education has said public health doctors are available to liaise with them and advise on precautions. The general advice from the Department is that anyone who has been to affected regions in the last 14 days and has a cough, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties or fever should self-isolate and phone their GP immediately, while anyone who has travelled from the affected regions and has no symptoms is advised to visit www.HSE.ie for advice. The most important action we can take to protect ourselves from Covid-19 is regular hand-washing and good respiratory hygiene, the Department stated. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 26 February 2020: The Report U.S. Depyrogenated Sterile Empty Vials Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (2 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, 20 ml), By End Use (Clinical Labs, Componding Pharmacies), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025 The U.S. Dehydrogenated Sterile Empty Vials Market size is likely to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period. Technological advancements in pharmaceutical packaging process, growing funding by government organizations, and flourishing biologics market in the U.S. are some of the key trends escalating market growth. Stringent regulations laid by the government for parenteral are also poised to augment the market. Rising number of clinical labs in the country is resulting in an increased number of medical and diagnostic tests. This, in turn, is fueling the demand for depyrogenated sterile empty vials. Increasing number of compounding laboratories and research institutes in the U.S. is boosting the demand for these vials in the market. Moreover, continual growth in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is further projected to drive the market. Increasing number of collaborations in order to achieve innovative packaging technology is also providing an upthrust to the market. Rising incidence of infectious & non-infectious diseases and growing number of clinical studies are translating into a greater demand for these vials. Besides this, the government is backing the promotion of pharmaceutical, medical, and biotechnological researches, which is anticipated to work in favor of the market. Access Research Report of U.S. Depyrogenated Sterile Empty VialsMarket @ www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/us-depyrogenated-sterile-empty-vials-market Further key findings from the report suggest: More than 20 ml depyrogenated sterile empty vials emerged as the largest segment in terms of revenue in 2017 owing to rising incidence of infectious & non-infectious diseases and increasing investments in the biopharmaceutical sector Others, which include pharmaceutical manufacturers and academic & research institutes, formed the most prominent end-use segment in 2017. The growth of the segment can be attributed to expanding base of medical & biotech research institutes and upswing in pharmaceutical manufacturing Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.; Gerresheimer AG; SCHOTT AG; and DWK Life Sciences are the major players operating in the market. This market is considerably fragmented and market entry barrier is high. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/medical-devices Grand View Research has segmented the U.S. depyrogenated sterile empty vials market on the basis of product and end-use: Depyrogenated Sterile Empty Vials Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) 2 ml 5 ml 10 ml 20 ml More than 20 ml Depyrogenated Sterile Empty Vials End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Clinical Labs Compounding Labs Others Access Press Release of U.S. Depyrogenated Sterile Empty VialsMarket @ www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/us-depyrogenated-sterile-empty-vials-market-analysis About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For More Information: www.grandviewresearch.com Flipkart-owned digital payments company PhonePe has received about Rs 427.25 crore from its parent firm in another round of funding, according to regulatory filings. PhonePe Pvt Ltd, Singapore (formerly Flipkart Payments Pvt Ltd) was allotted 10,07,670 shares and the total amount paid was Rs 427,25,20,800, according to documents sourced by Paper.vc. The resolution was passed on February 12, it added. The company declined to comment on fund infusion. In July last year, PhonePe had received fund infusion of about Rs 698 crore from its parent firm, while another Rs 585.66 crore was pumped into the company in December. The latest fund infusion is expected to provide PhonePe more muscle to compete in the burgeoning payments segment in India. It competes against the likes of Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and others in this space. "PhonePe has received the lion's share of its funding since Walmart's acquisition of Flipkart in 2018. During 2018 and 2019, PhonePe received about USD 700 million in funding as the ever-expanding digital payments space heats up in India," Nikhil Kanekal, Analyst at Paper.vc, said. Digital payments have seen significant growth in India after the government's demonetisation drive in 2016. Players like PhonePe and Paytm have witnessed strong growth in user base as well as transaction value and volumes. PhonePe has seen its losses mount to Rs 1,904.72 crore in 2018-19 from a loss of Rs 791.03 crore in the year ended March 2018. However, its revenue from operations rose manifold to Rs 184.22 crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 42.79 crore a year ago. Previously, PhonePe had stated that saw 550 million transactions on its platform in January 2020 and has about 76 million monthly active users. There have also been reports that Flipkart is looking at hiving off PhonePe into a separate entity, a move that would help the payments company raise funds independently. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prague, Feb 27 : A group of Members of the European Parliament has arrived in the Czech Republic for a fact-finding mission related to conflict of interest allegations against Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The delegation, led by Chairwoman of the Committee on Budgetary Control Monika Hohlmeier, plans to meet with representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, and Regional Development, and the Supreme Audit Office, Xinhua news agency reported. Working meetings will take place on Thursday and Friday to find out how Czech authorities manage money from European funds, the Czech News Agency (CTK) reported. In addition, they will meet with the temporary commission of the Czech Senate set up for investigating audit reports by the European Commission (EC) that examined Babis's alleged conflict of interest. They will also meet with non-governmental organisations, the Association of Private Agriculture of the Czech Republic, and investigative journalists who have been looking into the matter. The MEPs also wanted to meet with the prime minister, but the prime minister never confirmed the meeting, according to CTK report. Last year, the European Commission's audit report found the Czech prime minister in conflict of interest. The case centers around Agrofert, Babis's business conglomerate, that was transformed into trust funds in 2017, but the EC believes Babis still maintains effective control of the company, which had received subsidies from the European Union for projects which the EC believes personally benefited Babis. The full report has not yet been released to the public and Babis denies the allegations. By Online Desk The Centre on Wednesday night notified the transfer of Justice S Muralidhar from Delhi HC to Punjab and Haryana HC. The notification of the transfer comes just hours after Justice S Muralidhar grilled the centre, the state government and the Delhi Police over the ongoing communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consulation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to transfer Shri Justice S Muralidhar, Judge of the Delhi High Court, as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and to direct him to assume charge of his office in the Punjab and Haryana High Court," the government notification read. The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the transfer of three high court judges, including the third in seniority in the Delhi High Court, Justice S Muralidhar on 12th February. Earlier, the proposed transfer of Justice Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana High Court drew strong reactions from the Delhi High Court Bar Association, which expressed shock and decided to abstain from work the very next day. Such transfers are not only detrimental to our noble institution but also tend to erode and dislodge the faith of the common litigant in the justice dispensation system, a resolution adopted by the Bar body read. The Delhi High Court Bar Association also requested for the revisit of the issue and to recall the move to transfer Muralidhar. On Wednesday a division bench of Justice Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh, while hearing a plea seeking a judicial enquiry into the violence and registration of FIR against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for allegedly making hate speeches, adjourned the matter till Thursday. The bench on Wednesday afternoon also directed the Delhi Police to examine the videos related to hate speeches by political leaders, which allegedly led to violence in northeast Delhi, and take a decision in the matter. Justice S Muralidhar along with Justice Anup J. Bhambhani also heard a matter related to Delhi violence on Tuesday midnight. They heard a plea seeking safe passage of injured victims of violence in New Delhi to medical institutions with adequate facilities. The Bench had then directed the Delhi Police to ensure the safe passage of the injured victims by deploying all resources, as well as to make sure they receive immediate emergency treatment. Justice Muralidhar is set to retire in 2023 and is known for his bold decisions. After completing his law practice, he shifted to the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court in 1987. He was appointed judge of Delhi High Court in 2006. He is also among the few judges who have done away with the convention of being addressed as My Lord or Your Lordship. According to sources, his transfer was discussed within the collegium twice earlier but not ordered as several top court judges spoke against it. Congress leader Manish Tewari on Thursday said that the whole move was done for "opaque reasons". "Judge Muralidhar was under transfer to Chandigarh for entirely opaque reasons but to abruptly ask him to leave the day after a midnight hearing at his residence in Delhi that must have saved many lives," he tweeted. "Every lawyer and judge in India who believes law and justice are higher callings than just a career must strongly protest and condemn crude attempt to intimidate Judiciary by arbitrary transfer of Justice S Muralidhar in the middle of the Delhi riot hearings," Tewari said. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday tweeted that it is sad and shameful that the Centre is attempting to muzzle justice. "The midnight transfer of Justice Muralidhar isn't shocking given the current dispensation, but it is certainly sad and shameful," Gandhi tweeted. She also said, "Millions of Indians have faith in a resilient and upright judiciary, the government's attempts to muzzle justice and break their faith are deplorable." (With inputs from ENS and Agencies) This is the moment a bungling burglar has to be rescued by firefighters after getting stuck on a third-floor window ledge. Video shows construction worker Suhant B, 28, being helped down a ladder by two men in Bangalore, India. Police sources say he probably climbed to the ledge to try and break in through the window on the early hours of February 23. A bungling burglar had to be rescued by firefighters after he got stuck on a third-floor window ledge in Bagalore, India Video filmed by someone on the ground shows the Suhant B crouching down and clinging to the side of the window as he looks towards the street for help. Another clip shows two firefighters slowly assisting him down a ladder as a large crowd gather on the street to watch what is happening. Suhant B appears to have a rope tied around him as he leaves the window-ledge but quickly slips it off after making it to floor-level. After having a sip of water and a quick sit down, Suhant B is back on his feet and surrounded by the intrigued crowd. The man, identified as Suhant B, is seen clinging to the window frame before being rescued Firefighters help the Suhant down the ladder and he takes a swig of water (left) once reaching the floor where lots of people have gathered to see (right) what is going on Firefighters were alerted to the scene after walkers spotted Suhat B and told the family who live inside the house. They called the police and fire brigade. It is thought that he was unable to get into the home as the window was secured with a grill. He then lost the nerve to climb down and called for help when he spotted people walking along the street below. 'He is claiming he climbed to the third floor while fleeing from a drunken fight with his colleagues. We are probing all angles,' said a police officer. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-27 01:01:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Wednesday called on refugees in neighboring countries and those displaced inside the world's youngest state to return home. The government will do its utmost to ensure the returnees are supported to resettle in their homes areas, said Kiir, who chaired a meeting attended by his five deputies. "The presidency calls on our people in the protection of civilians sites to come out and those refugees in neighboring countries to return home and resettle," Kiir said in a statement issued after the meeting in Juba. "The government will do its utmost best to ensure they are supported to resettle in their homes areas." Kiir recently swore in Riek Machar, leader of the main opposition group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In-Opposition who had been fighting Kiir's administration since a civil war broke out in December 2013. Other sworn-in vice presidents were James Wani Igga, Taban Deng Gai, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior and Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, in accordance with a September 2018 revitalized peace agreement. The leaders called on the citizens to forgive them for the conflict that has ravaged the east African nation for more than six years, as they embark on reconciliation, forgiveness and healing the country's broken social fabrics. South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013 and the conflict created one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world, displacing 4 million South Sudanese internally and externally. They are the stars of CBS' high-intensity war drama SEAL Team. And actors Jessica Pare and David Boreanaz were dressed to the nines when they joined their castmates at the show's mid-season premiere party in Hollywood on Tuesday evening. SEAL Team, currently its third season, returns to the screen on Wednesday following its Winter hiatus. Scroll down for video We are back! David Boreanaz and Jessica Pare attended the mid-season three premiere party for their CBS drama SEAL Team held in Hollywood on Tuesday evening Yessir: David Boreanaz cut a casual, but sharp figure in a black blazer and dark wash denim jeans Elegant: Jessica Pare showed some skin in a strapless white cupcake style dress for the show's big night Pare turned heads in a white strapless dress reminiscent of her days as the chic 1960s knockout Megan Draper on AMC's Mad Men. As she turned to pose for shutterbugs, the 39-year-old stunner showed off her evening wear's unique bodice complete with gold zipper and peak-a-boo cutouts. Pare kept her accessories to a minimum, but did opt for silver safety pin earrings that coordinated with the hardware on her black stilettos. The Canadian actress twisted her lengthy raven locks into an elegant up-do that featured braided detailing along the base. The full effect: As Pare twirled for shutterbugs, she revealed her dress' unique back complete with gold zipper and peak-a-boo cutouts Girl hang: Pare was joined by SEAL Team castmates Rachel Boston (left) and Toni Trucks (middle) Mad Men: Pare gave shutterbugs a bit on nostalgia with her vintage inspired get-up Proud: Cast members (L-R) Justin Melnik, Neil Brown Jr., Toni Trucks, A.J. Buckley, David Boreanaz, Jessica Pare, Max Thieriot, and Judd Lormand gathered around for a photo at the appropriately camo-themed event Jessica let her stellar bone structure steal the focus by keeping her makeup light and fresh. She played up her piercing blue peepers with a few coats of mascara and a few swipes of charcoal toned eye shadow. Boreanaz made his presence known on the evening's black carpet in a sharp black blazer paired with dark wash denim jeans. The Bones alum rounded out his look with a casual blue polo and suede dress shoes. In for the long haul: Boreanaz and Pare have been part of the show since its prime time premiere in 2017 Leading lady: Pare plays the role of Mandy Ellis, a demoted CIA agent Brotherly love: David Boreanaz cozied up to co-star Neil Brown Jr (right) who plays Ray Perry in the CBS drama Boreanaz and Pare were joined by the show's entire cast of characters for SEAL Team's big mid-season comeback at the Arclight Cinemas. Justin Melnik, Neil Brown Jr., Toni Trucks, A.J. Buckley, David Boreanaz, Jessica Pare, Max Thieriot, and Judd Lormand gathered around for a photo right in front of the event's camo-themed step-and-repeat before heading inside. The mid-season finale of SEAL Team premiered on December 11th. The show, which premiered in 2017, follows 'the lives of the elite Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous, high-stakes missions our country can ask.' Cincinnati, Ohio Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard was arrested on Tuesday on charges of corruption that could see her face up to 50 years in prison. The councilwoman is accused of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion, according to a federal affidavit detailed by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Dennard allegedly agreed to a land swap sought by a developer to build a music venue on the Cincinnati waterfront, in exchange for money from the developer. Dennard engaged in a scheme to defraud the citizens of Cincinnati of her honest services as a council member, FBI agent Nathan Holbrook said in the affidavit. She engaged in acts and attempted acts of bribery and extortion, attempting to exchange her votes for money. In text messages to an unnamed source from a law firm connected with the developer, Dennard repeatedly asked for thousands of dollars. The source originally refused, but when Dennard persisted the source went to the FBI with the information, and agreed to wear a wire to help with an investigation into the councilwoman. In September 2019, Dennard asked for $10,000-$15,000 for personal expenses. Its more of like trying to get a car and, like I said, money for a new place to live and then just a little bit of breathing room, the councilwoman wrote in a text message. The source, acting in conjunction with the FBI, asked Dennard if she would support the music venue project. Do you think, you know, can we count on your support with what were talking about here? the source asked in a conversation recorded by wire. Sure, mm-hm. Yeah, Dennard responded. Later in the day, Dennard texted the source asking if $15K is doable, writing further, It would be awesome if this were initiated today. The Cincinnati charter has no law saying whether a councilman can continue to serve if charged with a crime, leaving open the possibility that Dennard will stay on while her case unfolds. If convicted, she would be forced by Ohio law to step down. More from National Review Was reference to Meghan's real-life visit to a sex worker charity in Bristol in 2019 New series of satirical royal soap The Windsors aired on Channel 4 on Tuesday The Windsors viewers were left 'rolling on the floor laughing' after Meghan Markle's character, played by Kathryn Drysdale, decided to cheer up the nation post-Brexit by writing empowering messages on bananas. In last night's episode of Channel 4's satirical royal soap, the country was divided and so the government asked the royal family to bring some positivity to Britain. As a result, Meghan's character decided to go on a speaking tour telling people not to eat avocados due to the way they are unsustainably produced, before attempting to empower the public with positive messages handwritten on bananas. And viewers were left in hysterics with the scene - which was a reference to the Duchess of Sussex's real-life visit to a sex worker charity in Bristol in February 2019, where she wrote empowering notes on the fruit. 'When you get home, make sure you watch The Windsors on C4 catch up, then youll know what I mean when I say "Bananas & Avocados." Rolling on the floor laughing,' wrote one, while a second joked: 'I want a free banana with a slogan on it.' In last night's episode of Channel 4's satirical soap comedy The Windsors, Meghan Markle's character was seen trying to cheer up the country by writing positive messages on bananas (pictured) With Charles, Anne, Edward and Andrew on strike, Camilla's character wanted the 'Fab Four' to join them, and hatched a plan to make Meghan think Kate was mocking her banana idea. Pictured, showing the duchess a supposed banana from Kate Viewers were quick to take to Twitter, with one joking: 'I want a free banana with a slogan on it' (pictured) At the beginning of the episode, which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the lives of the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Prince William and Kate Middleton, played by Hugh Skinner and Louise Ford, and brainstormed ways to perk up the country. 'I could go on a speaking tour telling people not to eat avocados,' suggested Meghan. 'This may be a super food but the way this food is produced is anything but super.' And when Kate questioned whether it was really a good idea, Meghan replied: 'Do you think I want to speak out against avocados?' 'Can you imagine what a bitter blow it was for me personally to find out the food I love filled with omega 3 oils, proteins and vitamins is unsustainably produced?' Meghan Markle, Prince William and Kate Middleton (pictured, as the characters in the satirical soap) sat down and brainstormed ideas to try and cheer up the country following Brexit In the next scene, Meghan can be seen speaking at a press conference with a banana in hand, with the logo 'go for it!' written on the front in a black marker pen. 'If you know someone who is struggling, why don't you give them a banana with a validating logo up the side?' she said. 'What's the worst that could happen? They get a free banana! But now, I'd like to say a little something about avocados...' After watching the broadcast, and with Charles, Anne, Edward and Andrew on strike - and wanting the 'Fab Four' to join them - Camilla, played by Haydn Gwynne, came up with a plan to drive a wedge between them. Dressed as a witch in a black cape, she paid Meghan a visit at Frogmore Cottage, and made her believe Kate Middleton's character had mocked her banana messages. 'I wanted to congratulate you in person on your recent addresses on fruit and veg,' Camilla said, to which Meghan replied: 'Bananas and avocados are something I feel passionate about. You really get me, don't you?' Camilla then revealed she had noticed Kate being less supportive and showed her a video of the Duchess of Cambridge's character signing her own bananas - before handing her an actual banana she had supposedly written on. 'That nosy Yank should shut her gob,' it read on the front of the fruit. And those who tuned in were left both amused and full of praise for Haydn Gwynne, who played Camilla. 'Camilla is on top form again,' wrote one, while a second added: 'Camilla is a work of art.' A third commented: 'The Windsors...the gift that just keeps on giving.' Meghan Markle, played by Kathryn Drysdale (pictured), was made to believe Kate had been mocking her banana messages Former president Barack Obama on Wednesday called on South Carolina television stations to stop running an ad from a super PAC supporting President Donald Trump that uses Obama's words out of context in a misleading attack on former vice president Joe Biden. The Committee to Defend the President, a pro-Trump group, circulated an ad that falsely suggests that words Obama spoke in the narration of his own 1995 book were meant to describe Biden. The group, which placed a similar amount of anti-Biden advertising in Nevada earlier this month, reported to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday spending more than $250,000 in South Carolina to oppose Biden. "This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and it's clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obama's voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers," said Katie Hill, Obama's communications director, in a statement. "In the interest of truth in advertising, we are calling on TV stations to take this ad down and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate." Hill said Obama has "several friends" in the Democratic presidential primary, "including, of course, his own esteemed Vice President." She also said Obama still has "no plans to endorse in the primary." Late Wednesday, Patchen Haggerty, an attorney representing Obama, wrote the pro-Trump group's executive director, Chad Banghart, to say the ad's unauthorized use of Obama's "name, image, likeness, voice and book passage is clearly intended to mislead the target audience of the ad into believing that the passage from the audiobook is a statement that was made by President Obama during his presidency." The letter demanded that the group "immediately remove" the ad from public view. An attempt to sway black voters in the state, the ad begins with a narrator saying "Joe Biden promised to help our community. It was a lie. Here's President Obama." The ad then runs audio of a tape of Obama reading an unrelated passage from his 1995 book, "Dreams from My Father," about a conversation he had with a barber in Chicago when he was a community organizer. The Obama passage, which describes the mistreatment of black voters by politicians, refers to complaints about "plantation politics" and the history in Chicago of Democratic politicians expecting black votes despite poor housing, poor job opportunities and police brutality. The ad repurposes a similar attack the Committee to Defend the President ran last year in several states with many black politicians, including Georgia, Michigan and Louisiana, according to PolitiFact. Similar tactics, aimed at decreasing black turnout for Democrats, were used in a radio ad by another pro-Trump super PAC, Great America Alliance, in the 2017 special House election in Georgia. "Donald Trump and his allies are absolutely terrified that Joe Biden will defeat him in November. Trump even got himself impeached by trying to force another country to lie about the vice president," said Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign. "This latest intervention in the Democratic primary is one of the most desperate yet, a despicable torrent of misinformation by the president's lackeys." Separately, Republican activists in South Carolina have boasted about a plan called Operation Chaos to encourage Trump backers to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in Saturday's primary. The South Carolina GOP has canceled the state's Republican primary this year. The Committee to Defend the President, which grew out of a group called Stop Hillary PAC, traditionally raises its money in increments of $5,000 or less, according to FEC records. The group has reported spending $655,285 on television advertising, $279,800 on voter phone contact, and $144,657 on online voter contact since the beginning of 2020. The group spent about $250,000 on a Spanish-language ad before the Nevada caucuses attacking Obama and Biden on immigration reform. "They separated families and put children in cages," says the narrator in Spanish in that spot, appropriating a Democratic critique of Trump's immigration actions. Ted Harvey, the chairman of the Committee to Defend the President, defended the ad in a statement Wednesday. "It took President Trump to lower black unemployment and create jobs for the African-American community, in addition to passing criminal justice reform," Harvey said in the statement. "Joe Biden, on the other hand, is simply giving lip-service for votes. That's the point President Obama made in his book, and we have every right to use his own words in his own voice in the political forum." Two bank officials brought to testify in the ongoing trial of a former senator, Shehu Sani, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, have said they do not have any record that money was paid to Mr Sani. The witnesses, Beckley Ojo and Elizabeth Nwoka, who are compliance officers with the Guaranty Trust Bank, were presented by the anti-graft agency (EFCC) as prosecution witnesses against Mr Sani, before Justice Inyang Ekwo, the Punch Newspaper reports. According to the report, the prosecution witnesses presented bank documents of how monies were transferred from ASD motors accounts to those of others. They, however, did not mention Mr Sani as one of the recipients. ASD motors is a company owned by a Kaduna State businessman, Sani Dauda. The EFCC is accusing Mr Sani of collecting $25,000 from Mr Dauda in the name of the EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu. The EFCC is charging Mr Sani on two counts including to have fraudulently received money as a bribe for the Chief Justice of Nigeria Muhammad Tanko and Mr Magu. The commission said his offences are punishable under section 1(1) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006. He was arrested in December last year by operatives of the EFCC. He has since denied the allegation and described his detention as unfair, unjust, prearranged and politically motivated. The EFCC on January 2 obtained a court order to detain the former senator for 14 days without trial. He was later granted bail last month by Justice Ekwo after spending several days in detention at the commissions custody. The judge asked the former senator to pay a sum of N10 million with one surety in like sum as conditions to his bail. He has since met the bail conditions and has been released. Court Session At the resumed trial, the prosecuting counsel, Abba Mohammed, presented both Ms Ojo and Ms Muka, as the first two prosecution witnesses. The first witness told the court that N3 million was credited into the account of a businessman Sheriff Shanonos from the ASD Motors Nigeria Limiteds GTB account on December 2, 2019. Documents relating to the ASD Motors account were tendered by the prosecution and admitted as exhibits. While Mr Sanis lawyer, Abdul Ibrahim, during a cross examination section asked the witness if Mr Shanono was Shehu Sani, Ms Ojo said, I wouldnt know. Testifying as second prosecution, Ms Nwoka informed the court that she had been one of the banks compliance officers for about eight months. She, however, explained that there was a debit transaction of N5 million on ASD Motors account on November 20, 2019 in favour of the Zenith Bank account of Abubakar Ahmad. She also acknowledged a debit transaction of N3, 590, 000 on A.S.D. Motors Nigeria Ltd. on December 2, 2019 in favour of the GTB account of Sheriff Shanono. According to the report, the prosecution witness said, I dont know the defendant. The two witnesses were discharged and the judge subsequently adjourned the trial till Wednesday. Burma Myanmar Launches Online Project Bank for Development Projects A user tries to access the Myanmar Project Bank website. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy YANGONThe Myanmar government has launched a centralized, publicly-accessible online platform to provide information on major investment projects that fall under the countrys sustainable development plan. The newly-launched Myanmar Project Bank aims to establish a predictable and transparent system and provides key data such as project descriptions, status, total project cost, financing plans and project timelines. It also notes the implementing government agency, project contact details and how each project aligns with the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP). MSDP launched in 2018 and aims to align the countrys policies and institutions to achieve inclusive and transformational economic growth. The Myanmar government said the Project Bank will help identify, screen, appraise and prioritize investment projects based on social, environmental, economic and risk indicators. The online platform will help increase public-private partnerships and opportunities for the private sector to invest in national development objectives. Some projects listed may still call for additional financing. A total of 58 projects are currently listed in the Project Bank, having been screened by the National Economic Coordination Committee (NECC) to ensure that they align with the goals of the MSDP. The platform so far includes 36 projects in progress, seven at the feasibility study stage, five under contract negotiation, five marked new, four under concept development and one at the inception stage. This is very first step. Many projects are now in the screening process that were submitted by the related government departments, Daw Thway Thway Chit, director general of the Planning Department, told The Irrawaddy. The listed projects are prioritized projects that have secured financing, she said. They are fully supported by the government. The Myanmar Project Bank was first introduced at the countrys first-ever investment forum last January in Naypyitaw. The two-day event showcased 120 projects worth US$3 billion (4.5 trillion kyats) in 10 states and regions and aimed to attract major investment from East Asian countries. The projects included economic zones, industrial parks, power plants, city development, mines, upgrades to airports and ecotourism. You may also like these stories: Thailand Scraps China-Led Project to Blast Open Mekong River World Bank: Myanmar Must Push Deeper Reform for Inclusive Economic Growth Suu Kyi Economic Adviser: National Interest Must Come First When Deciding Large Chinese Investments in Myanmar The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has insisted that the raging Corona virus is caused by corruption. He alleged that some lab scientists many have also created the Lassa fever and Ebola viruses with an intention to destroy other peoples lives. It is created by a corrupt mind, he said. The acting EFCC boss said this on Tuesday at the Commissions headquarters in Abuja. Yes, I insist (on) what I said before. Honestly speaking, this virus must have been created by somebody with a corrupt mind, Mr Magu said. Even the Ebola virus was caused by somebody who is wicked enough to create problems for another country. There is no better corrupt mind than a person who would just sit down in a laboratory and create a virus that would kill a fellow human being. The EFCC boss had earlier said he believed that the virus was caused by corruption during the passing out parade of 281 cadets of the EFCC Detective Inspector Course-5, at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, on Tuesday. His statement elicited widespread criticisms from Nigerians who questioned the intelligence of such a comment, forcing the EFCC to issue a disclaimer on social media which it immediately deleted. It later posted a clarification of what its acting chairman said. EFCC PRESS RELEASES Covid 19: Understanding What Magu Said The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, wishes to note the spirited attempts by a section of the media to take the shine off its glorious outing on the occasion of the Passing Out Parade, POP 1/ pic.twitter.com/ax4insmCu4 EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) February 23, 2020 Coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, broke out in Wuhan in Hubei province of China in December. Over 80,000 people have been infected in China since the outbreak began in an illegal wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan in December. The disease has infected over 1716 medical workers in China alone and other persons in about 25 countries, whilst causing no less than 1,875 deaths. Majority of the deaths are in Wuhan. A cure has not been found. Ebola Virus was first detected in Nigeria, on July 20, 2014, after a Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who flew from Liberia to Nigerias most populous state, Lagos, ended up exposing 20 people to the deadly virus that led to eight deaths. 42 days later, the World Health Organization, on October 20, 2014, officially declared Nigeria Ebola-Free, after the last confirmed case of the virus was discharged from the hospital, giving sufficient confidence to declare the outbreak over. The Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire, had said the federal government is making progress on developing a vaccine, in partnership with a German research firm, against the Lassa Fever virus. A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 80,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. The latest figures reported by each governments health authority as of Wednesday in Beijing: Mainland China: 2,715 deaths among 78,064 cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei Hong Kong: 81 cases, 2 deaths Macao: 10 cases South Korea: 1,146 cases, 11 deaths Japan: 860 cases, including 691 from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, 4 deaths Italy: 323 cases, 11 deaths Iran: 95 cases, 15 deaths Singapore: 91 cases Thailand: 37 cases United States: 57 cases Taiwan: 31 cases, 1 death Australia: 23 cases Malaysia: 22 Bahrain: 17 Vietnam: 16 cases Germany: 17 United Arab Emirates: 13 cases United Kingdom: 13 France: 14 cases, 1 death Canada: 11 Kuwait: 11 Iraq: 5 Philippines: 3 cases, 1 death India: 3 Spain: 6 Russia: 2 Israel: 2 Oman: 2 Austria: 2 Lebanon: 1 Belgium: 1 Nepal: 1 Sri Lanka: 1 Sweden: 1 Cambodia: 1 Finland: 1 Egypt: 1 Algeria: 1 Afghanistan: 1 Croatia: 1 Switzerland: 1 China Chinas massive travel restrictions, house-to-house checks, huge isolation wards and lockdowns of entire cities bought the world valuable time to prepare for the global spread of the new virus. It reported another 406 cases of the new virus, along with 52 additional deaths, all of them in hard-hit Hubei province and all but 10 in the epicenter of the city of Wuhan. South Korea South Korea, the country with the biggest coronavirus outbreak outside mainland China said the total case of the virus had jumped to almost 1,150. The U.S. military says one of its soldiers based in South Korea tested positive for a new virus, the first U.S. service member being infected. Japan Japan has recorded the third highest number of coronavirus cases globally, being at 860. These 860 cases include 691 passengers and crew from the Diamond Princess. Four former passengers on the ship have died and more than a dozen people who were evacuated by their home countries later tested positive for the virus. Six government officials involved in the quarantine effort also became sick. Amid the coronavirus outbreak , A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat. Europe In Italy, Civil protection officials in Italy say the number of virus cases in the country increased by 100, or 45%, in a 24-hour period and there now have been a total of 10 deaths. Other European Switzerland, Austria and Croatia have confirmed their first COVID-19 cases in their countries involving people who had recently traveled from virus-hit parts of neighbouring Italy. Portable pods have been set up at United Kingdom hospitals that will be used to assess people suspected of infection while keeping them apart from others. France developed a quick test for the virus and has shared it with poorer nations. German authorities are stressing sneezing etiquette and Russia is screening people at airports, railway stations and those riding public transportation. United States President Donald Trump and chief economic adviser said Tuesday that the new coronavirus is under control in the U.S., even as the governments top disease fighters warned Americans to prepare for an outbreak here. The mixed messages came as the stock market tumbled for a second straight day and lawmakers of both political parties questioned whether the White Houses request for $2.5 billion in virus response funding will be enough to prepare the nation India Indias health ministry has been framing step-by-step instructions to deal with sustained transmissions that will be circulated to the 250,000 village councils that are the most basic unit of the countrys sprawling administration. Iran The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread has tested positive for the illness himself. Only a day earlier, a coughing and heavily sweating Iraj Harirchi said at a televised news conference in Tehran that the situation is almost stable in the country. Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he was infected with coronavirus and had quarantined himself at home. He promised that authorities would bring the virus under control. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Terror business as usual at Balakot a year after it was hit India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: India is keeping a close watch on the Balakot terror facility, where nearly 40 jihadis are being imparted training by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. It may be recalled that the terror facility that was hit by the Indian Air Force exactly a year ago was recently opened up. The information that is based on Intelligence gathering suggests that these 40 jihadis are being trained to strike at Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country. In the past few weeks, the Intelligence has indicated that Pakistan would up the ante and strike at various locations that include, Maharashtra, Gujarat and some of the southern states. After the IAF strikes, the Balakot facility had been shut down. However, it was activated in September 2019. In March 2019, the IAF had hit the terror facility and also managed to destroy four intended targets. Sources tell OneIndia that the targets that were hit included the training complex, a seminary and two halls that accommodated the terrorists. While the Research and Analysis Wing had mapped the entire Balakot facility several years back, the IAF went in for a precision strike. The intent was to hit the selected four targets, the source added. Explained: This day that year, when India hit Pakistan at Balakot By March 2, 2019, India had gathered sufficient evidence that suggested the targets identified at the Balakot facility had been hit as intended. Evidence in the form of satellite imagery had been collected, which clearly suggested that the buildings that were identified had been hit. Further, it was said that the buildings were hit by 5 S-2000 precision-guided munition that were fired from the Mirage 2000. The evidence that was collected is under the classified category and it was entirely up to the government whether or not to release the information. India collected evidence in the form of Synthetic Aperture Radar, which suggested that the four buildings that were selected as targets were hit. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Pakistan is on over-drive mode, following the abrogation of Article 370. Apart from planning a blood bath in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has also deployed over 100 Special Service Group commandos along the Line of Control (LoC). There have been ceasefire violations that have been reported and the SSC Commandos have been involved in the same. The intelligence has stated that Pakistan would be on over-drive mode and would not only look to raise tensions along the border but also launch terrorists into the Valley. With the government easing restrictions in a phased manner, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has advised that the forces remain on a very high state of alert. Pakistan is trying to push at least 100 terrorists in Kashmir from Afghanistan. With there being a lockdown in the Valley following the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan would look for the curbs to ease out, before it tried and implements its larger design to push 100 terrorists into the Valley in a bid to cause havoc. In addition, around 15 Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists are already waiting at the terror launch-pads in Lipa valley along the Line of Control (LoC) on the Pakistani side to infiltrate in Kashmir, Intelligence reports suggest. JeM moves fresh recruits to Balakot for intensive radicalisation programme: Intelligence According to intelligence inputs, Pakistan-based terror groups may target vital installations in several key Indian cities in the next few weeks, sources said. Pakistan's plan is to trigger series of terror attacks in Kashmir to project to the international community that situation in the Valley is fast deteriorating following India's decision to withdraw special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories, they said. "We have credible intelligence that Pakistan is bringing over 100 hardcore terrorists from Afghanistan and they will be pushed into Kashmir in the next few weeks," said a military source. Mufti Rauf Asghar, brother of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, held meetings with top commanders of the terror outfit at its Bahawalpur headquarters on August 19 and 20 with a primary agenda of pushing hardcore terrorists into Kashmir, sources claimed. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been making provocative statements targeting India following its decisions on Kashmir and even suggested recently that a Pulwama-like terror attack may take place again. According to Pakistan's assessment, the local terrorists in Kashmir are not properly trained, have low shelf-life and there was a leadership crisis among them in the Valley because of vigorous anti-terror operations, the sources said. Jaya Beemon, 18, was struck in the neck while apparently shopping inside the store. She taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. She lived in the 7300 block of South Indiana Avenue, about 2 1/2 miles away. JBS previously stated that it was constructing new pens to keep them in but neither denied the allegations nor pledged to make any immediate changes to avoid such delays, such as by better scheduling trucks arrivals, says the PETA press release. According to reports, deliveries of cattle are overbooked in an effort to maintain a high kill ratio. According to disturbing firsthand accounts, JBS knowingly lets cows languish in transport trucks for hours in the heat and cold, increasing its bottom line at the expense of the animals, PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch says in the release. PETA wants immediate assurance that JBS will end the backups which is the absolute least it can do for animals headed for slaughter. PETA called on JBS USA to take immediate action to end the wait time. The organization has also requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigate JBS. I should be celebrating the news that odious Harvey Weinstein has swapped fancy linen sheets and a posh New York apartment for a prison cell, but his downfall is far from complete. He's planning an appeal, and there are more trials to come - in Los Angeles, and possibly London. Weinstein shows no contrition, he will fight and use every low trick he can to avoid a lengthy jail sentence, exactly like that other disgraced abuser, Jeffrey Epstein, who continued to hang out with the rich and famous - and British Royalty - after he'd been convicted on sex offences. Money buys you the best legal advice - and high profile female lawyers are increasingly being used in the courtroom battles to prove sexual misconduct. They will fight on either side, for the right fees and a big cut of any compensation. Last December it emerged that Elizabeth Fegan, lead attorney for 30 of Weinstein's victims, could be awarded up to 25 per cent of the millions in compensation offered by Weinstein's former company after two years of negotiation. So there are winners in this sorry saga, but they tend to be members of the legal profession. The victims have to endure innuendo and bad publicity and see their careers suffer. Some have attempted suicide and had years of counselling. Harvey Weinstein is pictured arriving in court in New York during his sexual assault and rape trial Will the conviction of Harvey Weistein be a tipping point, a marker which says to male bullies and predators 'your time is up' and they subsequently change their behaviour? I say - dream on. Power will always seek to protect itself and hide its dirty secrets. It has taken literally hundreds and hundreds of accusations to bring down one man. To reach the point where this once all-powerful bully finally stood in court and faced his victims took decades, thousands of posts on social media and the birth of a world-wide movement. From the moment in 2016 Rose McGowan tweeted she had been raped by a Hollywood producer, slowly, but inevitably, women gathered confidence, using the hashtag #MeToo to reveal their stories. Weinstein shows no contrition, he will fight and use every low trick he can to avoid a lengthy jail sentence, exactly like that other disgraced abuser, Jeffrey Epstein (mugshot pictured), who continued to hang out with the rich and famous - and British Royalty- after he'd been convicted on sex offences, writes JANET STREET-PORTER Following exposes in the New York Times and by Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker in 2017, gradually, the sick world of Harvey Weinstein was laid bare. The man who always picked on women smaller, less important, females many decades younger. He homed in on women desperate for a good job, women who wanted success on their terms - and he always ensured that any advancement came at a price. In the end, 80 brave women came forward and alleged they had been mistreated, abused and raped by Harvey Weinstein - and still he showed no remorse. I can't celebrate because the former Hollywood producer was found guilty on just two out of five charges of rape and sexual assault, following a trial in which eight of his victims were subjected to hours of distressing cross examination - and still they weren't believed. Sopranos star Annabella Sciorra had alleged that following dinner one night in the late 1990's, Weinstein had returned to her home, forced himself inside, and raped her. But the jury were deadlocked and eventually the charge was not proved. Two other charges of rape and sexual assault were also not proved. Weinstein - obviously used to being in charge, and clearly (in spite of the rehab) not ready to take advice - was said to be impossible to work with, and by the time the case came to court he was on his third legal team, led by glamorous Donna Rotunno. He obviously calculated that the right female lawyer would be able to manipulate the jury to dismiss the victims' testimonies as fantasy and that a woman would be able to achieve the best results cross examining the victims, by pointing out that many had continued to stay in contact with their attacker, texting and messaging for years. Pictured: Lisa Bloom, attorney for five victims of Jeffrey Epstein is pictured earlier this month in New York In fact, a psychologist explained, that is all too common when someone is seriously assaulted. Weinstein proved he would go to any lengths to wriggle out of justice, employing detectives to dig up dirt and plant stories about his accusers. In 2017, he had retained Lisa Bloom, the daughter of Gloria Allred - who represented several of the victims in his eventual trial. In 2016, Bloom claimed she was advising Weinstein on what kind of behaviour was 'appropriate' in the workplace - in reality, she was trying to cleanse his reputation, offering to place an article in the media alleging Rose McGowan was unstable - in other words, creating fake news. A memo emerged in which she told Weinstein that Rose 'comes across as a disturbed, pathological liarwho must be stopped'. She also suggested a media blitz of 'friendly' pictures of Weinstein with his alleged accusers to sanitise his reputation and imply the women were liars. As the number of victims grew, Lisa Bloom ended her association with Weinstein in October 2017 and now represents five women who claim they were sexually abused by the late Jeffrey Epstein, including one who claims she saw Prince Andrew in Tramp nightclub with Virginia Guiffre, the woman who says she had sex with the Prince as a teenager. Lisa's mother Gloria Allred is no shrinking violet either - she represents Lauren Marie Young, who will testify against Weinstein when he appears in court in Los Angeles charged with rape and sexual assault. Pictured: Lawyer Gloria Allred (right) who will represent Lauren Marie Young in the Los Angeles case against Weinstein is seen alongside victim Mimi Haley At the end of Epstein's trial this week, Gloria grabbed the microphone outside the court and made a speech on behalf of the victims, pushing Donna Rotunno and her team out of the way. Gloria Allred had the number of her website splashed across the yellow school bus which drove around the streets surrounding Buckingham Palace last weekend, with a big picture of Prince Andrew and the message - if you see this man, phone the FBI. Her latest publicity stunt to try and get the Prince to be interviewed about his relationship with Guiffre. If I was Prince Andrew, I would be very worried about these latest developments, because (as the Harvey Weinstein trial shows) the new brand of female attorney will stop at nothing to get maximum publicity for her clients. In the meantime, I fully expect the office groper to continue to apologise for that 'hand slippage' at the photocopier. I had that experience at a Christmas party, and it's still giving me nightmares because the bloke was so blatant. We haven't heard the end of sexual misconduct, certainly not in the 90 per cent of the world outside the rarified confines of the media and the movies. One man down, plenty more to target. NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) between January 30, 2019 and February 24, 2020, inclusive (the Class Period). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Tupperware investors under the federal securities laws. To join the Tupperware class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1787.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. AN INVESTORS ABILITY TO SHARE IN ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE RECOVERY IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON SERVING AS LEAD PLAINTIFF. According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Tupperware lacked effective internal controls; (2) as a result, Tupperware would need to investigate Fuller Mexicos accounting and liabilities; (3) consequently, Tupperware would be unable to timely file its annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year 2019; (4) Tupperware did not properly account for its accounts payable and accrued liabilities at Fuller Mexico; (5) Tupperware provided overvalued earnings per share guidance; (6) Tupperware would need relief from its $650 million Credit Agreement; and (7) as a result, defendants statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 27, 2020. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-1787.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim, Esq. of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com . Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm . Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 3 each year since 2013. Rosen Law Firm has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Violence over CAA in Northeast Delhi: The national capital has been on the edge since violent clashes broke out over CAA on February 23 in the Northeast Delhi district. The death toll due to the ongoing violent clashes in Northeast Delhi has reached 22. In an urgent hearing on Tuesday night, the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Police to ensure safe passage and proper medical assistance to all those who are injured in the violent clashes over CAA. Here are the top 10 developments on the big story: Last rites of the martyred Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal are being held at his hometown in Sikar, Rajasthan. Delhi High Court said, "We cannot let another 1984 happen in this country; not under the watch of this court." The High Court, further directed setting up helplines for the victims and providing private ambulances for safe passage. Court also directed setting up of shelters with basic facilities for rehabilitation. Delhi Police has given out contact details of the officers to contact for victims and their families at various government hospitals such as Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital, Maulana Azad hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, and Al-Hind hospital. 22 deaths have been reported till now. 21 deaths in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and 1 death in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. PM Modi is monitoring the security situation in various parts of Delhi. Modi said that it was important that calm and normalcy was restored in Delhi at the earliest. In his tweet, PM also mentioned that the Delhi Police was working on ground to ensure peace and normalcy. Congress President Sonia Gandhi held Amit Shah directly responsible for the violent clashes in Delhi and also sought his resignation. She also alleged that there is a conspiracy behind the violence. All party meet was called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at 12 pm today. The Lieutant Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were present at this meeting. Shah urged all political parties to exercise restraint and not spread rumours. Apart from this, Shah appealed to all political parties present at the meeting to help in dispelling any kind of rumours and fear among people. News agency ANI quoted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as saying, "The situation in Delhi is alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, is unable to control the situation and instill confidence. Army should be called in and curfew should be imposed in rest of the affected areas immediately. I am writing to the Home Minister to this effect." Also read: 'Never felt so scared': AAP, Congress, DMK, CPI(M) leaders express concern over Delhi violence Also read: Delhi violence: PM Modi reviews security situation; calls for peace, harmony Also read: Delhi Violence Updates: PM Modi reviews security situation; says 'peace, harmony central to our ethos' Six armed men who boarded an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast killed the captain and injured a sergeant from the coast guard that was guarding the tanker, media reported, citing the local port authority. Reuters noted in its report that crime in Venezuela has thrived amid the economic crisis, with criminals regularly stealing oilfield equipment from wells in western Venezuela. Earlier reports said the foreign companies to which PDVSA has more or less handed control over oil production were hiring private security forces to guard the fields. This is a demonstration of the insecurity we face, which is also present in the oil fields and undoubtedly impacted production, a union leader for oil workers, Jose Bodas, told Reuters in an interview. Bodas also said the tanker had been en route to the Jose port where it was due to load crude oil and added this was the first attack of this sort in eastern Venezuela. Venezuela produced around 733,000 bpd last month, according to OPECs secondary sources, almost unchanged on December. This is down from an average of 793,000 bpd for 2019 and from more than 1.35 million bpd in 2018 before the U.S. launched its sanction offensive against Caracas. Earlier this month President Nicolas Maduro declared what he called an energy emergency, saying the government will take urgent steps to fight the crisis although he was short on the details. I declare an emergency situation in the oil industry by constitutional and presidential decree in order to take urgent and necessary measures to ensure the country's energy security and protect the industry from imperialist aggression, Maduro said. The Venezuelan president went on to blame the situation on the U.S. saying, The sanctions, the blockade - I will not accept any more excuses. I am signing a decree to declare an energy emergency in the hydrocarbons industry in order to adapt necessary and urgent measures to guarantee national energy security and protect the industry from imperialist aggression. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: [February 26, 2020] Flexport Launches Trade Advisory SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexport , the modern freight forwarder, today announced the launch of Trade Advisory , a service to help its U.S. clients identify cost saving opportunities, explore tariff mitigation strategies, minimize operational risk, and implement best practices for trade compliance amid unprecedented global complexity. Where most traditional trade law and consulting firms specialize in reactive guidance, Flexport Trade Advisory provides proactive, tailored solutions based on SKU-level data analysis powered by the Flexport Platform. Because Flexport clients use the Platform to manage and track the shipment of their goods, Trade Advisory experts can examine supply chains down to the SKU-level and deliver data-powered analysis and recommendations. The US-China trade war caught many shippers off guard as they aced unforeseen duty amounts, customs audits, and penalties. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also increased enforcement efforts across all products and industries. From 2018 to 2019, Flexport found that, on average, the percentage of customs duties (relative to freight and commercial invoice value) paid by its clients on US-bound import shipments from China increased by 84%. "Customs has always been high stakes: it is one of the more data-intensive functions within logistics, with penalties for small errors and the potential to disrupt a company's supply chain," said Adam Dambrov, Director of Flexport's Trade Advisory Services. "Our team brings decades of deep customs and global trade experience to help clients proactively uncover what's possible and build resilient supply chains, rather than just mitigating Customs-related costs and issues." Flexport is already providing its U.S. clients with Trade Advisory services including duty drawback, compliance assessments, tariff classification, customs valuation, protests, prior disclosures, antidumping and countervailing duty assistance, training, and assistance with Section 301 tariffs. The company plans to expand Trade Advisory Services into Canada, Europe and Asia. About Flexport Flexport is the modern freight forwarder. Companies use Flexport to move, finance and make better decisions about freight - all on one digital platform powered by a unique combination of technology, logistics infrastructure and expertise. Today Flexport connects almost 10,000 clients and suppliers across 116 countries, including established global brands as well as emerging innovators. Flexport offers a full range of services, including ocean, air, truck and rail freight, drayage and cartage, warehousing, customs and trade advisory, financing, and insurance. Contact: Cate DeBenedictis, Flexport (415) 497-2603 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flexport-launches-trade-advisory-301011752.html SOURCE Flexport [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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 Didn't discuss Delhi violence with Modi, it's up to India: Donald Trump backs Modi over CAA India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 26: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he did not discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the new citizenship law when the capital witnessed fresh violence during his visit. When asked at a press conference about the violence in Delhi over the new law, which critics claim discriminates against the Muslim community, President Trump said it was "up to India" to deal with it. "As far as individual attacks are concerned, I have heard about them. I didn't discuss that with him. It is up to India," the US president said hours after he held restricted and delegation level talks with Modi. Death toll in Delhi violence rises to 17 Fresh bouts of violence broke out in northeast Delhi since Sunday over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in which 10 people were killed and over 150 injured. "We did talk about religious freedom and I would say that the Prime Minister was incredible on what he said. He wants people to have religious freedom, and very strongly said that in India they have worked very hard to have great and open religious freedom," the US president said. "If you look back and look at what is going on relatively to other places, specially, they (India) have really worked hard on religious freedom," Trump said at the press conference. On his views on the CAA, Trump said: "I don''t want to discuss that, I want to leave that to India. I hope they will do the right thing for the people of India." Asked specifically about allegations that Muslims are being subjected to discrimination and there have been rising cases of hate crime in India, Trump said: "We did discuss that and specifically Muslims. We also discussed Christians." NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 "I had a very powerful answer from the prime minister. We talked about religious liberty for a long period of time in front of lot of people. I had a very very powerful answer I think," he said. Trump said Modi told him that "they are working closely with the Muslim community". World is watching: US lawmakers express concern over Delhi violence India has witnessed massive protests over the new citizenship law and National Population Register with opposition parties and several rights groups alleging that the measures are aimed at marginalising the Muslim community. The national capital witnessed massive violence in the midst of Trump''s high-profile visit. The government on Monday said the violence was triggered to tarnish India''s image. In a media statement after his talks with PM Modi earlier, Trump said both the countries have always been united by shared traditions of democracy and constitutions that protect freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law. Delhi violence: Shoot-at-sight order issued in North East district "As we deepen our partnership with India, we remember that our two countries have always been united by shared traditions of democracy and constitutions that protect freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law," he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 9:51 [IST] Worburn, MA, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volly, an industry-leading provider of SaaS-based technology and marketing solutions for banks, credit unions and mortgage companies, is proud to announce an integration partnership with Fast Forward Stories, a premier provider of branded educational videos for key business verticals. Thanks to this strategic partnership, loan officers will offer customers full access to hundreds of fully hosted educational videos through Vollys platform. Videos will be embedded into websites, email campaigns, e-newsletters and social media content as well as personalized at the front (thumbnails) and back ends (calls to action) with a company logo and contact information. With a focus on real estate and mortgage related topics, the videos are designed to educate borrowers on the home-buying and home financing processes. Our industry is in the midst of a profound shift in how we communicate with customers, said Volly CEO Jerry Halbrook. Video is proving to be an incredibly effective way to convey essential information. This exciting partnership with Fast Forward Stories will allow loan officers to boost engagement, leading to increased sales. Meanwhile, customers will become more knowledgeable about important next steps in the mortgage process. About Volly Volly is powering the dream of home ownership through industry-leading technology and dynamic marketing that drives the customer journey. The Volly Platform is a fully integrated, cloud-based Software-as-a-Service platform that combines Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Point of Sale (POS), Marketing Automation and Custom Websites, all integrated with digital and print marketing capabilities and industry-leading creative marketing services. For more information, visit www.MyVolly.com or call (866) 435-7050. About Fast Forward Stories Fast Forward Stories revolutionized business video content with the introduction of branded-for-you explainer videos in 2013. Today, Fast Forward delivers tens of thousands of educational videos on mortgage, real estate, law and insurance concepts through a network of technology partners, powering up their customers websites, email and social media marketing. For more information, visit www.FastForwardStories.com or call (888) 618-9088. About New Capital Partners New Capital Partners (NCP) is a private equity firm headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. NCP partners with niche, tech-enabled services companies in the healthcare, financial and business services industries. Leveraging its extensive operational experience, NCP helps create significant value in portfolio companies by focusing on one core goal: building great companies. For more information, please visit www.newcapitalpartners.com. Story continues Attachment Michelle Woodall Volly 801-707-4855 mwoodall@myvolly.com The Shiv Sena on Wednesday hit out at the Centre for failing to control the violence that erupted in Delhi between the supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those opposing the new law. In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, the Sena opined that the scenes in the national capital were reminder of the gruesome anti-Sikh riots of 1984. It also said that violence erupted as US President Donald Trump was on a State visit to India and that Delhi was never defamed so much before. Violence has broken out in several areas in Northeast Delhi such as Jafrabad and Maujpur. Eighteen people have been killed in the clashes so far. Even as US President Donald Trumps India visit is going on, there is a riot in Delhi. Even as PM Modi and Donald Trump were conducting talks, the city was burning. Whatever may be the reasons behind the riots, the contention that the Centre has failed to maintain law and order can arise. Congress is accused of the 1984 riots against the Sikhs even today. The current horror film of Delhi is a reminder of the horrors of the 1984 riots. It has to be made clear who is responsible for this violence. It is strange that the violence erupted after the Delhi election concluded. In this election the BJP lost and then Delhi has been reduced to this, the editorial said. The Sena targeted the Union Home Ministrys inability to gather information about the planning of the communal violence said that this was dangerous for national security. The Sena said that the courage shown during the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A was not seen when it came to curbing the violence. The Home Ministry is saying that the riots are a conspiracy to malign the image of Delhi during Trumps visit. But the fact that such a conspiracy was hatched without the Home Ministrys knowledge is dangerous for national security. It would have been good if the Delhi riots could have been curbed with the same courage which was displayed while abrogating Article 370 and 35A. Trump came to Delhi with the message of love but what unfolded before him. Delhi was never defamed like this before, the Sena said. The Sena questioned who are the men who were deployed in the affected areas. Men in army uniforms were deployed in Jafrabad, but the army spokesperson made an official statement that these not our jawans. Then who are these people who are deployed in riot-affected areas? Earlier, one BJP worker wore a burqa and entered the protesters at Shaheen Baug. Therefore, it is impossible to know who is roaming in what clothes and wearing a mask, the Saamana editorial said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Two Top Former Uzbek Officials Convicted On Corruption Charges By RFE/RL's Uzbek Service February 25, 2020 TASHKENT -- Two top former Uzbek officials have been convicted of corruption in a case involving more than a dozen defendants from the public sector. Uzbekistan's Supreme Court announced on February 25 that Ikhtyor Abdullaev, the former chief of Uzbekistan's State Security Service, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of organizing a criminal group, bribe-taking, abuse of office, extortion, the theft of private property, violating customs regulations, and other crimes. It added in a statement that former Prosecutor-General Otabek Murodov was found guilty of bribe-taking and sentenced to five years of freedom limitation -- a sentence with parole-like restrictions. Seven other defendants in the case, including former subordinates of Murodov and Abdullaev, were sentenced to prison terms of between 5 years and 17 years, while more than a dozen other defendants received sentences that did not include jail time. President Shavkat Mirziyoev dismissed Murodov from his post in June, less than four months after removing Abdullaev as security chief. Abdullaev was appointed as head of the State Security Service in January 2018 after Mirziyoev sacked Rustam Inoyatov, the long-serving security chief who had turned the service into a powerful and feared agency under the late President Islam Karimov. The Prosecutor-General's Office has been a focus of particular intrigue. Prior to becoming head of the State Security Service, Abdullaev served as prosecutor-general. In 2017, Mirziyoev excoriated the prosecutor-general's office, calling officials there "the biggest thieves." Then-Prosecutor-General Rashidjon Qodirov was sacked in February 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in June last year. Uzbekistan became isolated and economically stagnant under Mirziyoev's predecessor Karimov, who ruled Central Asia's most-populous country of 32 million with an iron first after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since Karimov's death in 2016, Mirziyoev has publicly criticized government agencies and has taken steps to fire or remove many officials who had held power dating back to Karimov's rule. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/two-top- ex-uzbek-officials-convicted- corruption/30453695.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Armenian Ex-President Sarkisian Stands Trial On Graft Charges By RFE/RL's Armenian Service February 25, 2020 YEREVAN -- Former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian is on trial facing large-scale corruption charges he rejects as politically motivated. The trial of the 65-year-old Sarkisian and four other defendants at the Yerevan Court of First Instance on February 25 comes nearly two years after he was ousted from power by mass protests following a decade in office. Sarkisian was charged in December with coordinating an "embezzlement" scheme worth 489 million drams (more than $1 million) in government funds allocated in 2013 for the provision of subsidized diesel fuel to farmers. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison. Addressing a group of supporters who had gathered outside the court building, Sarkisian expressed confidence that "there are still judges in Armenia for whom justice is above everything." Hours before the start of the court proceedings, Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK) demanded a fair trial and dismissed the charges against him as "fabricated" and "absurd." The Special Investigative Service alleges that Sarkisian rigged a government tender for the fuel supplier in favor of a company belonging to his longtime friend, businessman Barsegh Beglarian, rather than another fuel importer that offered a lower price. It also indicted Barseghian, former Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetian, his former deputy, Samvel Galstian, and another former government official. All five suspects deny wrongdoing. None of them have been held in pretrial detention. Sarkisian and his HHK say he is being prosecuted in retaliation for his public criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Sarkisian, who ruled Armenia between 2008 and 2018, had kept a low profile since resigning in April 2018 amid mass protests against his continued rule led by Pashinian. Pashinian has repeatedly accused Sarkisian, his family, and his political entourage of corruption both before and after coming to power in 2018. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/armenian-ex- president-sarkisian-stands-trial- on-graft-charges/30452939.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A Birmingham 25-year-old who died in a hail of gunfire at an apartment complex had only left his home minutes earlier to try to get his mind off the death of his best friend who was fatally shot just four hours earlier. His mother, Catrina Carey, pleaded with her son Derrick Marks - to stay home because he was so upset, but he thought it would help to get together with other friends to game on their PlayStations. He went up to the scene (of his friends slaying) and then I came home, and I said, Just dont go back out. I dont know whats going on. Please just stay in the house. Careys fears became a reality 30 minutes later when she received a call telling her Marks had been shot. She rushed to Hunter Ridge Apartments, where paramedics were performing CPR on her son. They were planning to take him to UAB Hospital but changed plans mid-transport and decided to take him to St. Vincents East because it was closer. We never got a chance to see him, Carey said. Im devastated. I havent eaten. I havent slept. I havent put my eyes on him. It all began earlier in the day when one of Marks closest friends 21-year-old Delquan McNeily was shot to death outside Coreys Barber Shop in Center Point. Authorities said McNeily and another man got into an argument outside the shop when a third person emerged from the business and fired multiple shots, striking McNeily. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:50 p.m. Dozens of McNeilys friends and family members gathered outside the crime scene tape, visibly and audibly emotional. Among the mourners was Marks. They were best friends, Carey said. He (McNeily) used to be at my home all the time. They were very close. He was very sweet. He was the one in the bunch that never talked. He was on the timid side. Derrick Marks, 25, and Delquan McNeily, 21, were close friends. They were shot to death hours apartment in seemingly unrelated incidents on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (Contributed) When Marks returned from Center Point crime scene, he and his mother met up again at their home. That is when Carey suggested he stay in. But Marks got a call and quickly began to load up his PlayStation, headed to Hunter Ridge where he and his friends would meet and play for money. Carey said she believes her son was then ambushed, and said she thinks the friends deaths just hours apart was coincidence. In my heart, I dont feel like one had anything to do with the other, she said. Whoever called him knew he was bringing money and I feel like it was a setup. Marks left their home about 6 p.m. and was gravely wounded just 15 minutes later. At least 30 shell casings were marked as evidence in the apartment complex parking lot. Though Marks was found sitting in a vehicle, investigators dont believe he was in that vehicle when he was shot. Carey said a bullet struck her son in the leg and traveled upward internally to his heart. He was pronounced dead at St. Vincents East at 7:13 p.m. Irondale police Sgt. Mark Meadows on Wednesday said the investigation is ongoing and more information is expected to be released Thursday. No arrests have been announced, but several people were being questioned. Marks graduated from Huffman High School. Though he worked with a family friend in the refrigeration business, his mother said his heart was set on making it in the music industry. He was a local rapper, an up and coming artist, Carey said. He had several big videos and did shows. He was diligent in hopes of being discovered. He was very serious when it came to his music, she said. And he loved the ladies. Carey said her son loved his friends and his family, and was particularly close to his nephews, ages 3 and 12. Theyre going to miss him dearly, she said. He spent a lot of time with them, and with family. She said she hasnt yet been able to wrap her head around his death, or the death of McNeily. Im in disbelief. I want to wake up from a dream, she said. Theres so much violence in the neighborhood. We trying to talk to the kids, and the teens, and the young men, but the violence has just taken over. Carey said she wants her son remembered for his artistry. He was a happy person that was really into his music, she said. A faithful woman, Carey said she finds some comfort knowing that the two slain friends are together again. The same funeral home is even handling arrangements for both. Marks funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at Refresh Family Church. Marks sister is planning a vigil Friday, March 6, at Railroad Park. Arrangements for McNeily have not yet been announced. As for the person or persons who ended her sons life, Carey said, Whoever did it, especially if it was a friend, turn yourself in. You really hurt a lot of people. I forgive you and I hope God blesses you, but I want justice served." New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 26) will hear pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. The matter was adjourned on Monday after the interlocutors appointed by the apex court submitted their report in a sealed cover. A division bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul along with Justice KM Joseph will hear the matter today after going through the report. "We will go through the report," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had said. Last week, the Supreme Court-appointed mediators -- senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran -- had engaged with the anti-CAA protestors for shifting the venue from Shaheen Bagh. Former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah submitted an affidavit in the top court saying that the protest in Shahen Bagh is largely peaceful and blamed the police for the "unnecessarily blocking the roads". He also submitted that the police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh and that if these police blockades are removed then traffic will become normal. Wajahat Habibullah also recommended that the government should speak to the protestors regarding CAA, NPR and NRC. Since mid-December last year, thousands of people, including a large number of Muslim women, have been staging a sit-in protest at Delhi`s Shaheen Bagh area against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter, filed by Nand Kishore Garg and Amit Sahni through their lawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi, sought appropriate directions to the Centre and others concerned for removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh near Kalindi Kunj. The plea sought an appropriate direction to the respondents for laying down "detailed, comprehensive and exhaustive guidelines relating to outright restrictions for holding protest/agitation" leading to obstruction of the public space. At least 13 deaths have been reported since Monday in violence that erupted in parts of north-east Delhi between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters. In the violence so far, around 190 have suffered injuries. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Mota Ventures Corp. (CSE:MOTA) (OTC:PEMTF) (FRANKFURT:1WZGR) ("Mota") and Stillcanna Inc. (CSE:STIL) (OTC PINK:SCNNF) (FRANKFURT:A2PEWA) ("Stillcanna") are pleased to announce that they have entered into a letter of intent (the "Letter of Intent"), dated effective February 25, 2020, pursuant to which Mota proposes to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Stillcanna (the "Proposed Transaction"). Strategic Merger Mota is a globally-focused CBD product development and marketing company with established online retail brands in both the U.S. and Europe. Through its acquisition of First Class CBD, Mota has become a significant direct-to-consumer retail brand in the United States. In 2019, First Class CBD (then, a division of Unified Funding, LLC) realized approximately C$28.7 million in revenue with an EBITDA of approximately 12.5%.[1] Mota's successful e-commerce platform currently serves over 140,000 online customers and has generated over 400,000 leads in the United States. With the roll-out of First Class CBD's proven e-marketing strategy throughout Europe, Mota believes that a merger with a high-quality CBD producer is of paramount importance in order to capture the large margins in the CBD-product supply chain. Stillcanna is a vertically integrated, European-based company with a focus on industrial-scale manufacturing of the highest quality CBD extracts. Using proprietary extraction techniques and purpose-built equipment, Stillcanna looks to become one of the largest producers of THC-free CBD extracts in Europe. Stillcanna's Polish extraction facility, NEXUS, features industrial-scale centrifugal chromatography equipment that allows for the production of bulk THC-free CBD distillate as well as custom Cannabinoid profiles. In February 2020, Stillcanna's Romanian extraction facility, ORIGIN, which operates pursuant to a joint venture between Stillcanna and Dragonfly Biosciences Ltd., received approval from the Ministry of Health and the Anti-Drug Agency to become the first government recognized extraction facility in the country. To date C$23,000,000 has been invested by Stillcanna in the cultivation and extraction operations, with current cash on hand in Stillcanna of approximately C$7,000,000. Stillcanna's CBD extracts are key to unlocking additional value in Mota's retail offerings in Europe. Through Stillcanna, Mota hopes to guarantee the supply of high-quality CBD for its expanding product line in Europe, while the large production capacity of NEXUS and ORIGIN will allow Mota to be a key supplier of legal CBD products in Europe. "We are very excited to pursue a transaction with Stillcanna. The merger of this large-scale, high-quality CBD producer will fit brilliantly with Mota's strategic expansion plan to vertically integrate operations in Europe while increasing profit margins in product offerings. Product awareness and availability are still quite limited in Europe, which presents an opportunity for Mota to further establish its brands in a market that is expected to experience rapid growth in the near term. With the Stillcanna merger, we're putting together a team that can create, market and sell consumer CBD products to European customers," stated Ryan Hoggan, CEO of Mota. "Combining a company that has established brands and direct-to-consumer sales channels with one that has proven CBD extraction expertise makes perfect sense to us," commented Jason Dussault, CEO of Stillcanna. "The wholesale landscape for CBD has changed dramatically in the past year, and the creation of a seed-to-consumer CBD company in the growing European market creates a direct path to profitability. This merger completes the circle for Stillcanna, evolving from a seed to CBD concentrate company to a seed to retail sales company." Merger Details Under the terms of the Proposed Transaction, Mota would acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Stillcanna by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act of British Columbia Canada. Shareholders of Stillcanna (the "Stillcanna Shareholders") would receive one common share of Mota for every 1.8 common shares of Stillcanna held at the time of exchange (the "Exchange Ratio"). Based on the current outstanding common share capital of Stillcanna, it is anticipated that Mota would issue approximately 61,597,082 Mota shares to complete the Proposed Transaction. Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction: (i) all outstanding incentive stock options of Stillcanna will be exchanged for options to purchase Mota shares on the basis of the Exchange Ratio and will thereafter be subject to the incentive stock option plan of Mota; and (ii) all unexercised share purchase warrants of Stillcanna will be exchanged for warrants to purchase Mota shares on the basis of the Exchange Ratio and will expire in accordance with their current expiry dates. Mota and Stillcanna are at arms-length. The Proposed Transaction does not constitute a reverse-takeover of Mota, nor is it expected to result in a change of control of Mota within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, there will be no changes to the management or the board of directors of Mota and it is expected that members of management and the board of Stillcanna will continue to assist in relation to the management of Stillcanna's business. Completion of the Proposed Transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including, but not limited to: (i) satisfactory completion of due diligence; (ii) negotiation of definitive, legally-binding documentation; (iii) receipt of any required regulatory approvals, including the court; (iv) the approval of the Stillcanna Shareholders; (v) receipt of a satisfactory fairness opinion in respect of the Proposed Transaction; (vi) Stillcanna having arranged to amend the terms of certain existing employment and consulting engagements; (vii) shareholders of Stillcanna holding at least 40,000,000 of the outstanding share capital of Stillcanna having agreed to the terms of a pooling arrangement restricting their ability to trade one-half of the Mota shares they receive for a period of six months following completion of the Proposed Transaction; (viii) Stillcanna having positive working capital of not less than C$6,000,000, after taking into account all expenses associated with the Proposed Transaction; and (ix) Mota completing a private placement of units to raise gross proceeds of not less than C$5,000,000 (the "Mota Financing"). The Proposed Transaction cannot be completed until these conditions are satisfied. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. The proposed Mota Financing will consist of units at a price of C$0.45 per unit, with each unit comprised of one Mota common share and one share purchase warrant of Mota. Each such warrant will be exercisable to purchase one common share of Mota at a price of C$0.60 for a period of two years. All securities to be issued in connection with the Mota Financing will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. Mota anticipates paying finders fees to certain eligible parties who have introduced subscribers to the Mota Financing. The board of directors of each of Mota, and Stillcanna, have unanimously approved the Letter of Intent. Further information about the Proposed Transaction will be included in subsequent press releases when available. 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. About Stillcanna Inc. Stillcanna is a Canadian early-stage life sciences company focused on the large-scale manufacturing of CBD in Europe using its proprietary intellectual property. Stillcanna has signed an initial extraction contract in Europe to be the exclusive extractor for Dragonfly Biosciences LLC, a United Kingdom-based supplier of CBD. Stillcanna also recently completed the acquisition of Olimax NT SP.Z.O.O., a multi-generational hemp agricultural firm that is expected to increase market share in the European CBD industry. On behalf of Mota Ventures Corp. Ryan Hoggan Chief Executive Officer For more information visit www.motaventuresco.com or contact: Investor Relations ir@motaventuresco.com +1.604.423.4733 On behalf of Stillcanna Inc. Jason Dussault Chief Executive Officer For more information visit www.stillcanna.com or contact: Mauricio Inzunza mauricio@stillcanna.com +1.844.442.7845 The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction, and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Mota, and Stillcanna, within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including with respect to completion of the Proposed Transaction, the planned business activities of each of Mota and Stillcanna, and the anticipated. [1] 2019 revenue was earned in United States dollars and based on financial data prepared by management of Unified Funding, LLC. Figures for revenue and margin of First Class CBD have not been audited. Actual results may differ from those reported in this release once these figures have been audited. The revenue reported in Canadian dollars is based on the 2019 average Bank of Canada exchange rate of 1.3269 Canadian dollars for every United States dollar. SOURCE: Stillcanna Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/578071/Mota-Ventures-Signs-Letter-of-Intent-for-Merger-with-Stillcanna VANCOUVERThe man who attempted to steal a float plane from Vancouvers harbour got as far as starting the plane and attempting to take off, according to police. But he instead crashed the plane into several other docked Harbour Air planes in Vancouvers harbour. Vancouver police have released a video of the suspect in seaplane theft. For more on this story, visit the Toronto Star. Police are now asking the public for help identifying their suspect, who is described as white, in his 40s, about five-foot-10, with short brown hair, a slight receding hairline and a pronounced brow ridge. At the time he was clean shaven and wearing a red long-sleeved zip-up sweater, dark pants and dress shoes, according to a Vancouver police news release. Police released surveillance images on Tuesday. They say the suspect likely has a working knowledge of planes and is asking the aviation community and public to keep an eye out for him. This was a very unique scenario and one our members dont see every day, said Const. Tania Visintin. This was a very dangerous situation and we are thankful that no one was injured. Anyone with information can call the Vancouver Police Department at 604-717-0610, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Read more about: In a replay of last year's drama over climate change legislation, Republicans in the Oregon Senate staged a walkout Monday morning to slow a Democratic bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions, OregonLive reported. Under the state Constitution, a two-thirds majority of the Senate must be present for a vote to take place. So while Democrats have a supermajority, they need at least two Republicans present to conduct business. But only one Republican, Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend, showed up for an 11 a.m. floor session Monday, according to OregonLive. The boycott took place after the bill passed through the Joint Ways and Means Committee earlier in the morning. The debate over the Oregon climate legislation, known as Senate Bill 1530, mirrors a bitter fight that took place last year, when Senate Republicans fled the capital, effectively killing a controversial plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Although the new bill made concessions to some of the groups that opposed last year's bill, the trucking industry continues to rally against the legislation. Two weeks ago, more than a thousand truck drivers and loggers participated in convoy and rally in protest of the proposed policy. In an interview earlier this winter, Jana Jarvis, chief of the Oregon Truck Association, told FreightWaves that her association supports referring the cap-and-trade bill to voters in the form of a ballot measure. "If Oregonians really want this bill, it needs to go to them," she said. Earlier Monday, Democrats voted down a proposal to refer the climate plan to voters. This is a developing story. Image by JDPhotography from Pixabay See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. The Democratic presidential debates in South Carolina featured a night of disorganised chaos, as leading candidates once again took the gloves off and fought each other ahead of the states crucial vote and Super Tuesday. Former Vice President Joe Biden, whose team views winning the state on Saturday as fundamental to its survival on the campaign trail, leaned into his record throughout the night and attacked Bernie Sanders for his record on gun control. Mr Sanders' past support for gun makers to receive certain legal protections has caused carnage on our streets, the former vice president said, while issuing a warning to manufacturers of firearms: Im coming for you, and Im taking you down. Mr Sanders acknowledged his vote in support of the protections in 2005 was a bad vote while noting he has "cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. Pete Buttigieg also took on Mr Sanders, saying his position on guns wasn't an old one but "is a current bad position that Bernie Sanders holds. 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 The Vermont senator wasnt the only candidate who faced sharp attacks on Tuesday night. Elizabeth Warren slammed Mr Bloomberg over a news report that he told a female employee to "kill it" when she became pregnant. The former New York City mayor denied the allegations, causing Ms Warren to once again call on the billionaire presidential hopeful to release women accusing him of sexual harassment and discrimination from nondisclosure agreements. "Never said it, period, Mr Bloomberg said about the allegations. He was also forced to apologise for off-colour remarks he was reported to have made to female employees, while declining to address Ms Warren's call that he issue a more wide-ranging blanket release from nondisclosure agreements than the three women he has recently released. Biden, who is relying heavily on his support among African-American Democratic voters in South Carolina, said he was looking forward to putting the first black woman on the US Supreme Court during a closing portion of the debate. The former vice president, who acknowledged his campaign took a gut punch after weak performances in the first-in-the-nation votes, also noted that he aimed to live by the following motto: When you get knocked down, you get up, and everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity." The debate was at times particularly disorganised as candidates struggled to talk over each other and moderators failed to control the flow of the conversation. The crowd cheered at one point as Mr Biden demanded he be allowed to continue speaking, while other moments offered awkward confrontations between him and Amy Klobuchar, who waited for the former vice president to be finished interrupting her before finishing her answer to a question. Recent controversies over Mr Sanders statements about the education programme in Cuba and Mr Bloombergs tax returns were also addressed, as both candidates once again went on the defence. Mr Sanders said it's possible to oppose authoritarianism and still acknowledge good things such governments have done, while Mr Bloomberg said he was working on readying his returns for release "as fast as we can. In last week's debate in Las Vegas, Mr Bloomberg said that it takes "a long time" to compile his tax returns because he makes a lot of money and "can't go to TurboTax. Mr Bloomberg runs a financial data and media company. He is worth an estimated $60bn. All the other contenders on stage have released their tax returns. The other billionaire in the debate, California climate activist Tom Steyer, noted that he had released a decade's worth of tax returns. The former New York City mayor also opened himself up to attacks when he discussed spending $100m to help Democratic candidates flip US House seats held by Republicans. He began to say "I bought, before catching himself and saying "I got them, noting their elections helped Nancy Pelosi become speaker of the House. Donald Trump's campaign spokesman and eldest son were among those on Twitter highlighting the flub. Donald Trump Jr tweeted: "Wow!!! He's admitting he BOUGHT those seats!" Meanwhile, Bloomberg advertisements were featured during the first two commercial breaks of the debate ahead of Saturday's primary. The Bloomberg ads highlighted his experience in the business community and as mayor, and they outline some of his key policy proposals. They also featured reporting that claimed Mr Trump was wary of Mr Bloomberg's rise in Democratic polls. Mr Bloomberg has spent more than $500m of his own money on his presidential campaign in the last three months. Additional reporting by AP A Mexican man with a pending immigration case locked himself inside his car for three hours and refused to respond to a warrant being issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Octavio Martinez was set to head off to work Tuesday when ICE agents intercepted him in the middle of a street in Santa Ana, California. The married father-of-four then used his cellphone to record the confrontation while the agents threatened to use a Taser on him. 'I looked at my doors and raised the windows, and they began to aggressively hit my glass and my windows when they saw that,' Martinez told Univision 34. An ICE agent instructed Martinez to 'shut off the car' while he pointed a flashlight at him. Octavio Martinez was on his way to work when ICE agents cornered him outside his home in Santa Ana, California, in an attempt to issue a warrant for his deportation Tuesday. He spent three hours inside the car before the agents abandoned the operation Octavio Martinez said he rolled up his window and locked all of the doors as an ICE agent (pictured) stood outside his car for almost three hours Tuesday. He said the agents showed him two documents, which his lawyer told him were not valid during a text message exchange Martinez contacted his lawyer and forward him two notices that were presented by the ICE agents, who he alleged initially identified themselves as members of the FBI before his wife and children showed up at the scene crying. One of the legal notices presented by the ICE agent was a Department of Homeland Security document dated August 14, 2019, which indicated there was a cause for his removal but did not provide a reason, according to KABC. The second document was dated November 2017 and included an immigration judge's ruling to have Martinez deported to Mexico. He told Telemundo 62 that ICE agents said that they would remain on-site all day if they needed to until he turned himself in. An ICE agent (left) paces around outside the home of Octavio Martinez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, who avoided being arrested by the federal immigration officers ICE agents stand outside a Mexican immigrant's vehicle while they tried to arrest him 'My lawyer then returned the message and told me that it was not a valid [deportation] order, and that it was a trick,' Martinez said. The standoff lasted about three hours until the federal agents left. Martinez admitted having an open immigration judgment but did not specify what it was about. 'If my lawyer tells me your options are over, I will surrender. I have no problem with that. I am an honest man,' he said. KABC reported that Martinez's alleged asylum petition was denied. ICE agents detained him in 2015 during a home visit. He was reportedly mistaken for another person the federal immigration agents were seeking to arrest. Martinez was held for three months until he was released. Owner/Strategic-Partner Randy Pedretti honored with PrideStaff's 5 Star Award. The Lehigh Valley is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country; PrideStaff's business model allows us to capitalize on this thriving economy, while serving the staffing and employment needs of businesses and individuals in our market. After taking over the existing Lehigh Valley office less than a year ago, Owner/Strategic-Partner Randy Pedretti is proud to announce that his office is one of only three in the nation to receive the 5 Star Award for outstanding revenue growth in 2019 from PrideStaff, a national, franchised staffing organization. This annual award, which honors offices with exceptional top-line growth during their first six months of operation, was presented at the PrideStaff Annual Conference in San Antonio. Each year, PrideStaffs Strategic-Partners from across the country meet at this conference to review results, exchange best practices, learn from world-renowned speakers, and improve their proficiency at owning and operating a full-service staffing firm. "I'm thankful and humbled to accept this award on behalf of my entire staff, who has been instrumental in creating our early success," said Pedretti. "The Lehigh Valley is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country; PrideStaff's business model allows us to capitalize on this thriving economy, while serving the staffing and employment needs of businesses and individuals in our market. The future is bright, and our team is excited to build on our success by living PrideStaff's mission: 'Consistently deliver client experiences focused on what they value most'." "PrideStaff provides Strategic-Partners with the infrastructure, processes and support to lay a solid foundation for success in our industry," said PrideStaff COO, Tammi Heaton. "Randy Pedretti has done an amazing job leveraging those resources, as well as his executive management experience, to exceed his revenue targets during his first six months with our organization. We are thrilled to present this award in recognition of his accomplishments." With extensive experience both in the military and as an executive in the private sector, Pedretti is passionate about connecting leading employers with qualified talent throughout the Lehigh Valley. His attention to taking care of existing customers, driving new revenue and training his team will continue fueling his success in a booming market. For more information about PrideStaff Lehigh Valley and its services, contact Randy Pedretti at 484.550.7610. About PrideStaff PrideStaff was founded in the 1970s as 100% company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 80 offices in North America to serve over 5,000 clients and are headquartered in Fresno, CA. With over 40 years in the staffing business, PrideStaff offers the resources and expertise of a national firm with the spirit, dedication and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. PrideStaff is the only nationwide, commercial staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn ClearlyRateds prestigious Best of Staffing Diamond Award seven years in a row highlighting exceptional client and talent service quality. For more information on our services or for staffing franchise information, visit http://www.pridestaff.com. More coronavirus cases are now being reported outside China than inside, according to the World Health Organization. And two countries in particular -- Italy and Iran -- are seeing more cases from their own outbreaks spread to neighbors. Italy, the epicenter of the virus in Europe, now says it has at least 350 cases. At least 12 have died there. Its so-called 'red zones' -- quarantined towns -- in the north remained on lockdown on Wednesday, with troops and police checking vehicles. Fear spreading across the country -- as many worshippers wore masks to watch Pope Francis express his support for coronavirus sufferers and health workers. European countries have reported new infections linked to the Italian outbreak. In Spain, guests will be holed up in a Canary Islands hotel for two weeks after an Italian doctor staying there was diagnosed -- though at least they're now allowed to use the pool. And Greece confirmed its first case on Wednesday, while France reported its second death from the virus. The United States is warning of an inevitable global pandemic and urging its citizens to prepare. But the World Health Organization disagrees -- saying using the term could amplify fear and stigma, lead to paralysis and suggest that the virus can no longer be contained which, it says, isn't true. Hundreds of new cases were reported across Asia. While in the Middle East, cases linked to Iran are still spreading, with Kuwait and Bahrain reporting new infections. Iran's deputy health minister - seen here mopping his brow at a televised news conference - was among its hundreds of coronavirus infections. Why it matters: Google plans to invest more than $10 billion in data centers and offices across the US in 2020, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed on Wednesday. The expenditure will further deepen Google's roots in America and lead to the creation of more jobs, too. Pichai said Google has a presence in more than half of the states in the US but will focus its new investments in 11 states including Georgia, Colorado, Nebraska, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington, Texas and California. Collectively, the investments will create thousands of jobs including gigs for construction workers, new opportunities for local businesses and roles within Google. In Atlanta, for example, Google aims to bring in new engineering teams and in Ohio, a new data center will open. Googles Hudson Square campus is also expected to open this year in New York City, allowing the company to double its local workforce by 2028. Parent company Alphabet said in its most recent earnings report that it had 118,899 employees at the end of 2019. Expenses for the quarter checked in at $36.81 billion. Google previously announced plans to open a new office in Rochester, Minnesota, and an operations center in northwest Mississippi. The contribution builds on the $13 billion the search giant pumped into local communities last year. According to a report from Progressive Policy Institute, Alphabet was the largest investor in the US in 2019. Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi of India in Joint Press Statement February 25, 2020 Hyderabad House New Delhi, India 1:23 P.M. IST PRIME MINISTER MODI: My friend and President of the United States, Donald Trump; respected members of the American delegation; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Once again, a very warm welcome to President Trump and his delegation in India. I am especially really happy that he has brought his family with him on this visit. In the last eight months, this is the fifth meeting between President Trump and myself. Yesterday, the unprecedented and historic welcome for President Trump yesterday in Motera will always be remembered. Yesterday, it became clear once again that the relations between the United States and India are not just limited to the relations between two governments; they are people-driven and they are people-centric. This relationship is the most important partnership of the 21st century. And therefore, today, President Trump and I have taken a decision to raise our partnership to the level of a comprehensive global strategic partnership. President Trump's contribution in raising our relations to this level have been invaluable. Friends, during our discussions today, we had a productive exchange on every important aspect of our partnership, whether it is defense and security, our strategic energy partnership, technology cooperation, global connectivity, trade relations, or people-to-people ties. The increasing defense and security cooperation between India and the United States is a very important aspect of our strategic partnership. Cooperation in ultra-modern defense equipment and platforms will enhance India's defense capabilities. Our defense manufacturers are becoming a part of each other's supply chains. Indian forces are today doing the maximum training exercises with U.S. forces. In the last few years, there has been an unprecedented increase in interoperability between our armies, friends. In the same way, we are also increasing our cooperation in the area of homeland security and in fighting international crime. Today, the decision taken on homeland security will further strengthen this cooperation. We have also taken a decision today to further increase our efforts in order to hold supporters of terrorism responsible. President Trump has given priority to the fight against the drugs and opioid crisis. Today, we have also agreed on a new mechanism to fight serious problems, such as drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, and organized crime. Friends, the recently established strategic energy partnership has become even stronger and, in this area, our mutual investment has grown. The U.S. has indeed become a very important oil and gas source for India. Over the last four years, our total energy trade volume is about $20 billion. Whether it is renewable energy or nuclear energy, indeed our cooperation finds itself instilled with new energy, friends. Similarly, in the area of new emerging technologies, India and U.S. partnership has attained new levels, in terms of innovation and enterprise. In the fields of Industry 4.0 and of the new technologies of the 21st century, the talent of Indian professionals have reinforced U.S.'s companies' technological leadership. Friends, India and the United States are committed to openness and fair and balanced trade in the economic sector. Over the last three years, our bilateral trade has witnessed double-digit growth and it has also become more balanced. Whether it is energy, civil aircraft, defense, or a higher education, over the last four or five years, just these four sectors has contributed $70 billion to the relationship between India and the U.S. A lot of this is due to the policies and the willingness of President Trump, and I'm fully confident that, in the years to come, this will further grow. As far as bilateral trade is concerned, our commerce ministers have had very positive discussions. President Trump and I, we have both agreed that the understanding reached by our commerce ministers will take it forward to give it a legal shape. We have also agreed to initiate negotiations for a bigger deal. We are confident that this will yield good results that will be in our mutual interest. Friends, cooperation between India and the U.S. at the global level is founded on our common democratic values and objectives, especially in the Indo-Pacific region and other global commons. Both of our countries agree on the importance of sustainable and transparent financing in the development of connectivity infrastructure across the world. This mutual understanding and synergy between us is in the interest of not just our countries, but also in the interests of the world at large. Friends: Indeed, the cornerstone of this special friendship between India and the United States is our people-to-people relations. Whether it is as professionals or students, the Indian diaspora in the U.S. has contributed the most to furthering these relations. These ambassadors of India are not only contributing to the U.S. economy with their talent and hard work, they're also energing [sic] the American society with their democratic values and rich culture. I have requested President Trump that the contribution of our professionals, in terms of social security, should be discussed further within the framework of a totalization agreement. This will be of mutual interest to both of us. President Trump's visit has played a historic role in further strengthening our relationship in all its dimensions. Once again, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to President Trump for coming to India and for taking Indo-U.S. relations to new heights. Thank you. (Applause.) PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. And, Prime Minister Modi, this has been a very special visit unforgettable, extraordinary. What can you say? Very, very wonderful to be with you. Thank you very much. And Melania and I have been awed by the majesty of India and the exceptional kindness and generosity of the Indian people. We'll always remember the magnificent welcome the citizens of your home state showed us upon arrival. It was a profound expression of strength and of of real love. Really, it was love. And I think everybody saw that; everybody witnessed that for themselves. The First Lady and I also reflected on the memory of Mahatma Gandhi at his ashram. And this morning, in Delhi, we laid a wreath in his honor. We visited one of your nation's most stunning cultural treasures: the world-famous Taj Mahal. And we look forward to continuing our visit tonight, doing a wonderful state banquet with President Kovind at the Presidential Palace. I know Prime Minister Modi will agree that this has been a very productive visit for both of our countries. Earlier today, we expanded our defense cooperation with agreements for India to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters the finest in the world. These deals will enhance our joint defense capabilities as our militaries continue to train and operate side-by-side. In our discussions, Prime Minister Modi and I affirmed our two countries' commitment to protecting our citizens from radical Islamic terrorism. In this effort, the United States is also working productively with Pakistan to confront terrorists who operate on its soil. Together, the Prime Minister and I are revitalizing the Quad Initiative with the United States, India, Australia, and Japan. Since I took office, we have held the first Quad ministerial meeting I guess you would call it a meeting, but it seems like so much more than that and expanded cooperation on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and maritime security to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. As we deepen our partnership with India, we remember that our two countries have always been united by shared traditions of democracy and constitutions that protect freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law. During our visit, we discussed the importance of a secure 5G wireless network and the need for this emerging technology to be a tool for freedom, progress, prosperity not to do anything where it could be even conceived as a conduit for suppression and censorship. To guarantee that the infrastructure of the future is built in a safe, transparent, and accountable manner, the United States is working with a range of partners, including Australia and Japan, to create the Blue Dot Network, a major initiative to ensure countries around the world to have access to private sector-led, sustainable, and trustworthy options for high-quality infrastructure development, and that's what's happening. Another major focus of my discussions with Prime Minister Modi is forging bilateral economic relationships that is fair and reciprocal. Our teams have made tremendous progress on a comprehensive trade agreement and I'm optimistic we can reach a deal that will be of great importance to both countries. Since I took office, U.S. exports to India are up nearly 60 percent and exports of high-quality American energy have grown by thank you very much 500 percent. That's great. As India grows, so do its energy needs. Yesterday, ExxonMobil signed a deal to improve India's natural gas distribution network so that the U.S. can export even more LNG to India. We are pleased to be joined by the Chairman of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development, Alex Volkov. Thank you, Alex, wherever you may be. Where is Alex? He's here someplace. Alex, thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much, Alex. And the CEO of Chart Energy and Chemicals Jillian Evanko. Thank you very much. Thank you both. Thank you, Jillian. (Applause.) Thank you very much. That's a big deal, Alex, right? Can you handle it? I think so, right? It's great. To further strengthen our economic ties, the United States is pleased to announce that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will be establishing a permanent presence right here. America is especially committed to working with India to improve development and empower women entrepreneurs. That is why my daughter Ivanka attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad to highlight women's economic empowerment. Ivanka, please great job you've done. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. We have since launched the W-GDP initiative, which is now spearheading projects supporting women in the economy from New Delhi to Kolkata. In our meetings with the Prime Minister, we discussed and agreed to create a counter-narcotics working group to confront the growing threat of illicit fentanyl and opioid production. We must rid our societies of these lethal, horrible poisons. We will rid our societies of these bad drugs that are pouring in. Prime Minister Modi, we have made tremendous advances for our people over the past two days. And, working together, I know that our two nations will continue to achieve new breakthroughs, unlock new potential, and forge even brighter futures in the years ahead. We think we're at a point where our relationship is so special with India. It has never been as good as it is right now and I think that's because the two leaders of each country really, we feel very strongly about each other. And we have we have done something that's very unique and we've made some wonderful deals for each of our countries. Once again, we want to thank you and the entire nation of India for honoring the United States with its outstanding welcome. And I'm pleased to say that the U.S.-Indian partnership is now truly stronger than ever before. This was a great visit with a tremendous friend and a tremendous leader, Prime Minister Modi. We won't be taking questions now; I'll be having a news conference at 5 o'clock and we'll take plenty of questions. Thank you all very much. Thank you. (Applause.) END 1:42 P.M. IST NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A WOMAN has appeared in court charged with the murder of a father-of-three in west Dublin. Christina Anderson (38), a mother-of-three, was remanded in custody after being brought before Dublin District Court on Wednesday afternoon. She is accused of the murder of Gareth Kelly (39) at Browns Barn Wood, Kingswood, Dublin 24, on Tuesday morning. Detective Sergeant Dara Kenny gave evidence of arresting Ms Anderson for the purpose of charging her at 2.10pm on Wednesday. Expand Close Garreth Kelly (39) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Garreth Kelly (39) When the charge was put to her she made no reply, the court heard. Ms Anderson, wearing a navy top and blue bottoms, did not speak during the brief hearing and held her head in her hands. She was brought to court by five prison officers. Her solicitor Michael Kelleher made an application for her to be psychiatrically and medically assessed while in custody. Judge Colin Daly acceded to the requests and also made an application for her to be psychiatrically examined for the court. Ms Anderson, with an address at Browns Barn Wood, was remanded in custody to appear before the court again next Wednesday, March 4. Gareth Kelly, a father-of-three, died after being stabbed outside a property yesterday morning. Mr Kelly left his partners home to go to work, but his car would not start and he was trying to jump-start the vehicle when he was attacked. His Skoda was examined at the scene before it was removed for further investigations. A Garda spokeswoman said: "An Garda Siochana is investigating all the circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing as there is no known motive at this time," a Garda spokeswoman said. She said gardai were appealing to anyone who was in the Brownsbarn Estate and Kingswood area between the hours of 6am and 7am yesterday to contact them. "Gardai are particularly appealing to road users who may have camera footage," she added. DOAR continued to be involved in the most complex, high profile white collar criminal cases in New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey. These include cases alleging spoofing, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering, political corruption and accounting fraud. Growth was also attributed to DOAR's representation of a number of parties in litigation involving the opioid crisis as well as multi-billion dollar business disputes and intellectual property cases. DOAR's president and trial consulting practice leader, Scott Allen, states, "Just when I think we have reached the pinnacle of high profile cases, our clients turn to us for ever bigger, more complex cases. I am proud to say that our work has been instrumental in both successful criminal defense verdicts and on behalf of large corporate clients in significant commercial disputes. 2020 has already started off stronger than 2019." The expansion of DOAR's intellectual property consulting practice has also been a key to DOAR's growth. The company's involvement as consulting and testifying experts in patent licensing, infringement, invalidity and valuation, particularly relating to emerging technologies has resulted in a growth of the practice by 50%. These technologies include wireless communications, autonomous vehicles, audio/video streaming, wearable devices and payment systems. Michael Connelly, DOAR's Director of Intellectual Property Litigation, adds, "The reliance on DOAR as consulting and testifying experts in patent disputes by our clients has been astounding. Our consultants and affiliates are among the most experienced, knowledgeable and prominent individuals in the relevant areas of technology and industry. This past year has been amazing." DOAR expects continued growth in these areas of litigation as well as significant growth in its employment litigation practice where the company is actively involved in several high profile civil and criminal cases involving allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, pay disparity and discrimination. DOAR has expanded its footprint to include ten new hires across the organization and a new office location in Dallas, TX. This year, the firm intends to announce additional practice areas and build on its reputation for helping top attorneys meet the new challenges that they face. Paul Neale, DOAR's CEO, states, "DOAR's success is constantly driven by our amazing employees and the hard work and dedication they give our clients year in and year out. I could not be more proud of the work that we do and the fact that the country's most prominent lawyers turn to us for our insight, expertise and advice." About DOAR, Inc. DOAR is the leading global consulting firm advising lawyers at top tier law firms and major corporations. We leverage our more than 30 years of experience to provide the insight, expertise, and support required to handle the most complex, high-stakes legal disputes. We stay at the forefront of the most impactful trends and technologies affecting the legal community and deliver valuable insight that informs and advances our clients' litigation strategies. For more information about DOAR, visit DOAR.com and follow us at @DOARlitigation. Media Inquiries: Cindy Siegel Director of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE DOAR Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment On Wednesday, Feb. 26 Ash Wednesday many members of the global church will enter the Lenten season. Lent, which dates back to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., is a 40-day period dedicated to prayer and fasting. During this time, Christians reflect on the mission and suffering of the Messiah, leading up to his passion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Lent culminates on April 9, Holy Thursday, the night Jesus shared his Last Supper with his disciples before he went to the cross. In his farewell discourse during the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples they would suffer. He said, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33, ESVUK). When Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation, he was referring to more than just suffering because of the faith. Suffering is one of the great realities of human life. Consider the tens of thousands of people who in the past few weeks have been infected and have died because of the new coronavirus from China. Or the millions of people who suffer hunger and starvation on a daily basis in developing nations across the world. Or the victims of persecution such as the Uighur Muslims in China, a million who are imprisoned in reeducation camps, or the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who have been the victims of genocide at the hands of the government. Likewise, Christians around the world continue to be persecuted and killed for their faith. Open Doors, a nonprofit that aids persecuted Christians, estimates that 260 million people in 50 countries experience high levels of persecution. North Korea, Afghanistan and Somalia were identified as the top three most dangerous countries for Christians in 2020, according to the organizations World Watch List. As the leader of an Anglican church movement in India, I am intimately acquainted with human suffering. A couple of years ago, a group of radical extremists hacked one of our pastors with axes and left him to die. I vividly remember the images of the attack. Through the power of prayer and reconstructive bone surgery, his ribs, hips and legs were put back together. One of his legs is now three inches shorter than the other and we had to have special shoes made for him. It took him a year to learn how to walk with a crutch. When we gave this pastor the opportunity to lead a church in a safer area, he insisted on returning to the same community where he had been attacked. His motivation was the suffering and victory of Jesus on the cross. How could he stay back, he said, when his Master did not flinch from suffering so that we could experience the love and salvation of God? So he is back in his field, serving his own people with joy. He embodies the words of the author of Hebrews: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1b-2). We must remember the paradoxical meaning of Jesuss suffering and death. It was through suffering and death that Jesus destroyed suffering and death once and for all and brought resurrected life to all. He endured the cross with joy because he saw his reward. Therefore, we should not be surprised by suffering and hardship but learn how to suffer well. We must also work hard to end the human suffering that sin and evil have unleashed in this world. This Lent season, lets remember to face suffering the same way Jesus did. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday asserted that no one could restrict Haryana from getting its share of water through the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Khattar's comments came hours after his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh said his state will not share the river water "even if we have to sacrifice our lives". "No one can restrict Haryana from getting its share of water through the SYL as the Supreme Court has already given its decision in favour of Haryana that the state has its legitimate share in the canal water," Khattar said. Winding up the discussion on the Governor's address in the ongoing budget session on Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the state does not have surplus water and, in line with internationally accepted riparian principles, will not allow transfer of water from the basin to non-basin areas. "We have said that we do not have water," Singh told the House. When asked to comment on Singh's remarks, Khattar said, "I don't know who will sacrifice his life, but no one can stop SYL water to Haryana. It is not in Punjab hand's to decide Haryana's share of water. "Whether any Central agency will construct the SYL canal or some other mechanism would be devised to carry water to Haryana from Punjab will be decided by the Supreme Court." The Haryana chief minister, who was interacting with reporters Wednesday evening on the sidelines of the state Assembly session, said the only issue which is pending before the apex court was regarding the construction of the SYL canal for getting water to Haryana. He said an all-party delegation led by him had also met then Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and requested him for early completion of the canal. Punjab has been demanding reassessment of the water volume of the Ravi-Beas river, while Haryana is seeking completion of the SYL canal to get its share of the river water. The Supreme Court in September last year had given four months to the Centre, Punjab and Haryana to find an amicable solution to the SYL canal issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gulf shrimp landings in 2019 decline; lowest since 2000 Shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico, which contributes over 70% of the US' total, were lower for all of 2019 than the previous year's. As per data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 80.8 million pounds of shrimp were landed across the Gulf last year, down from 98.3 million pounds in 2018 and over 35% below the prior 20-year historic average (124.6 million pounds), the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) reports. Last year's landings are the lowest annual shrimp harvest reported by NOAA since at least 2000. Compared with 2018, landings were down in every single reporting area of the Gulf: * off the west coast of Florida (3.5 million pounds as against 3.9 million pounds in 2018); * in Mississippi (4.3 million pounds as against 4.9 million pounds); * in Alabama (13 million pounds as against 14.1 million pounds); * in Louisiana (29.6 million pounds as against 35.4 million pounds); and * in Texas (30.4 million pounds as against 40 million pounds). In December 2019 alone, landings of shrimp in the Gulf were the lowest reported for any December since 2000, at 5.5 million pounds. Although landings for the month in Louisiana were considerably higher than in December 2018 (1.8 million pounds as against 1.1 million pounds), a steep drop in reported landings in Texas compared with 2018 (2.1 million pounds as against 4.2 million pounds) negated that increase. Their bond is tested when Laura meets a sweet, floppy-haired pianist (Fra Fee) who prefers quiet nights at home and has her contemplating a more settled domestic lifestyle one that Tyler bluntly dismisses to her friends face every chance she gets. Beware the non-sound of the suburbs, Tyler warns just minutes after hilariously, drunkenly going to sit on the arm of a chair and missing entirely. (Someone cast Shawkat in a screwball comedy!) Both women are lost, together or apart, and one of the strengths of director Sophie Hydes film is that it captures the way friendships between women can be so meaningfully intense and fraught. Sometimes a friendship only works because were at a certain phase in life, and Laura seems the first to really realize that might be the case with Tyler. Ive been coming here for 15 years, she surly informs a bartender at the pairs regular haunt while Alphavilles Forever Young from 1984 plays ironically in the background. The look on Lauras face as she looks around the room suggests she knows this moment is just borrowed time. Id of course heard of Jean Vanier before I came to Canada from Britain in 1987, but had no idea until then of his enormous influence in and on this country. In the following years his name was ubiquitous. As a Catholic and someone who had worked with the physically and mentally challenged, I was repeatedly told that Vanier was the model and the master, and there was certainly some truth in that. It was the latter, however, that I found to be especially disturbing. So when last weekends hideous revelations about Vaniers abuse of vulnerable women became public, I was disappointed rather than entirely shocked. Not because I thought him malicious, but because I assumed that if he was so, he could get away with it. The internal report by the LArche charity has caused devastation far beyond organized religion, precisely because of Vaniers prestige. It concluded that he had manipulative sexual relationships with at least six women between 1970 and 1995, and had used his power over them to take advantage of them through different kinds of sexual behaviours. These women were often searching for spiritual help, yet Vanier, who died in 2019, told one victim that, This is not us, this is Mary and Jesus. You are chosen, you are special, this is secret. The investigation followed earlier revelations of abuse by Father Thomas Philippe, whom Vanier had described as his spiritual father, but then went on to say that he was overwhelmed and shocked, absolutely unable to understand how this could have happened. Grotesquely, the new reports claims that Vanier had actually replicated some of Father Thomas Philippes deviant theories and practices. Vanier founded LArche in 1964, and there are 154 communities in 38 countries, based on the magnificent idea of community rather than institution regarding people with disabilities. Thus its crucial to distinguish the magnificent work that LArche performs from the repugnant actions of its founder. But honest questions have to be asked about what happened. Over the years, when cynics like myself questioned Vanier-worship, a virtual cult at times, we were not simply criticized but treated as if wed broken an unwritten code. It was as if wed rejected Christ. Its significant that the report emphasized that due to Vaniers almost legendary status, the abused women found it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to complain about his abuse. We see this ugly syndrome in churches in particular, because its all the more dangerous when the culprit is considered especially holy or pious the priest, the beloved pastor, or the Jean Vanier. This doesnt mean that we doubt everyone, but should mean that we refuse to elevate or consider someone as infallible. As for Vanier himself, the division between the indisputably noble and the undeniably evil is difficult to explain. Yet the living paradox, the almost bipolar contradiction, is hardly unique. Here was a man who evinced love for the most profoundly challenged members of society, and then used and exploited needy women for his sexual gratification. It wont do to use platitudes here, and its even worse to try to excuse the man because of the good that he did. That good, those works, created a reputation that then enabled him to hurt and to get away with it. The truth about the pedestal is that those placed upon it do not make the climb on their own but are lifted by those around them. In Vaniers case, there may well have been a concerted effort by the man to develop a certain ethereal persona, but none of us will ever know. What we can be sure of is that there were far too many eager acolytes, anxiously waiting for human icons of certainty. Problem is, certainty is dangerous, and God is as much a question as an answer. Mother Teresa praised dictators and saw pain as desirable, Catholic priests raped children, in my own church Anglican the Church of England is even now dealing with cases of long-term abuse. Praise greatness and respect wisdom by all means, but also grasp the brokenness of humanity, and never regard anybody as beyond suspicion or above doubt. That path leads to agony, confusion, and Jean Vanier. President Erdogan says Ankara will not take a smallest step back in Idlib against Syrian forces. Turkey plans to push Syrian government forces away from its military observation posts in northwest Syrias Idlib region by the end of February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, despite advances by the Russian-backed military. We are planning to liberate our observation posts from the surrounding [Syrian government forces] by the end of this month, one way or another, Erdogan told his partys parliamentarians in a speech on Wednesday. Russia controls the regions airspace and has been bombing Turkey-backed rebels on a daily basis in support of a months-long offensive by Syrian government forces which has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced nearly one million people amid bitter winter cold. Syrian fighters, backed by the Turkish military, seized the town of Nairab in Idlib this week, according to rebel and Turkish sources, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assads troops continue to make advances elsewhere in the province. The time we have given to those who besieged our observation towers is running out, Erdogan said. We are planning to save those of our observation posts from the besiegers one way or another by the end of this month. Erdogan said on February 5 that al-Assads forces must pull back behind a line of Turkish observation posts by the end of February or Turkey would drive them back militarily. He added: The biggest problem we have is that we cannot use the airspace over Idlib, which is controlled by Russia. Hopefully, we will find a solution soon, he said. The president also said Turkey was adamant to help Syrians displaced from Idlib because of the heavy fighting. We will not take a smallest step back in Idlib, we will certainly push the regime outside the borders we designated, and ensure the return of the people to their homes, Erdogan said. No Patriots Turkey set up 12 observation posts up around a de-escalation zone in Idlib under a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran, but several are now behind Syrian government front lines after it launched a major offensive to seize the last rebel stronghold, home to more than three million people. Ankara has confirmed as many as 17 Turkish security personnel have been killed, which prompted officials to turn to Russia. Erdogan said the United States had not yet provided support to Turkey in Idlib and he would need to speak to US President Donald Trump about the issue again, broadcaster CNN Turk reported on Wednesday. He said he was told Washington did not have any Patriot missile defence systems to give Turkey for now. Turkey-Russia talks Meanwhile, Turkish and Russian officials began a third round of talks in Ankara on Wednesday aimed at reducing tensions in the region. Turkeys state-owned Anadolu news agency said the talks would continue on Thursday. Two previous rounds in Ankara and Moscow have failed to yield any tangible progress. Russias Foreign Ministry expected positive results, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying, but a Turkish official was not optimistic. At the moment, solely military diplomacy is being carried out and it is not possible to solve the problem on the ground like this, the Turkish official told Reuters news agency. Erdogan also said his proposed summit with the leaders of Germany, Russia and France next week was uncertain, but he would likely meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on March 5 to discuss Idlib. Vaping could alter the mouth's microbiome and raise the risk of oral infections, a new study suggests. Researchers found e-cigarette users were at 1.5 times greater risks of gum disease or infection that non-smokers. What's more, vapers had higher levels of bacteria implicated in oral diseases as well as biomarkers in their blood that indicate inflammation, which, in turn, can damage all manner of tissues and raise risks for chronic diseases. 'The technical message [of our study] is just don't vape,' co-senior author Dr Xin Li, an associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology at New York University College of Dentistry, told DailyMail.com. 'From the data, we can clearly see e-cigarettes change the microbiome and this is associated with bad oral health, periodontal disease and inflammation, which can affect the whole body.' A new study from NYU College of Dentistry has found that more than 42 percent of e-cigarette users had gum infection or disease compared to 28 percent of non-smokers (file image) Proponents of e-cigarettes have touted them as less-harmful alternatives to traditional cigarettes, but no research exists to back these claims. Rates of vaping have increased in recent years, particularly among high schoolers, with 27.5 percent of teens saying they vaped in 2019, up from 20.8 percent in 2018. Dr Lin and her co-senior author Dr Deepak Saxena, also a professor of basic science and craniofacial biology, both had sons in middle school in the early 2010s and were worried they could become hooked on vaping. 'We were concerned and [e-cigarettes] were very close to our school,' said Dr Lin. 'You can easily get e-cigarettes at the corner store. They were advertising without any information [about the risks].' While it is well established that smoking traditional cigarettes raises the risk of gum disease and infection by changing the oral microbiome, few studies have examined whether or not e-cigarettes cause similar changes. For the new study, published in iScience, a Cell Press journal, the team performed oral exams on - and got saliva samples from - 119 participants. The adults were split into three groups: e-cigarette users, regular cigarette smokers, and people who had never smoked. Results showed that gum disease and infection was highest among cigarette smokers at 72.5 percent. However, e-cigarette users were 1.5 times more likely to suffer from diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis than non-smokers. More than 42 percent of vapers had gum infection or disease compared to 28 percent of people who had never smoked. 'It indicates [vapers are] compromising their oral health, which will soon be similar to that of smokers,' Dr Saxena told DailyMail.com 'We know smoking is a bigger health concern, but this indicates e-cigarettes could be just as serious.' Researchers found that the saliva of cigarette smokers, vapers and non-smokers contained different microorganisms. For example, e-cigarette users had high levels of a bacteria called Porphyromonas gingivalis in their saliva, which is implicated in gum disease and is even resistant to some antibiotics. Additionally, vapers has high levels of two substances - interleukin 6 (IL-6) and Interleukin 1 beta (IL1) - which are produced when inflammation occurs. Previous studies have shown higher production of IL-6 after cells are exposed to e-cigarette aerosols. '[Inflammation] can trigger metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even in the brain - neuroinflammation and dementia,' said Dr Li. For future research, the team plans to see if e-cigarettes are causing similar effects in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. In the meantime, the authors say the take-home message is to not vape, 'Especially to the younger generation, these e-cigarettes are increasing oral infection in the mouth,' said Dr Saxena. 'The best thing is If you haven't started, don't start anything. If you're using disposable cigarette and want to quit, do it under the supervision of a doctor. Don't become a Juul user.' Some kind of "2002 Gujarat model" is unfolding in Delhi, the NCP said on Wednesday as it attacked the Centre over the violence in the national capital. NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik also accused the Delhi police of being silent spectators when the violence broke out. In Delhi, law and order is handled by the Union home ministry and the city government has no role in it. "There is violence in the capital city since the last two days. Police have become a silent spectator. "Why are these things happening in the capital city? There's some kind of 2002 Gujarat model in Delhi," Malik tweeted, apparently referring to the communal riots which broke in the western state 18 years ago. The violence in Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has claimed 22 lives so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 32-year-old woman, Hassan Bala, of Usuba area of Kontagora in Niger State has been arrested by the Niger State Police Command following a failed attempt to kidnap one Umar Sarkin Turaku of Kawo village in Kontagora Local Government Area of the state. Findings have it that the mother of two, who had separated from her husband before joining kidnapping business, was apprehended by the police detectives attached to B Division Kontagora folliwing a tip-off. The suspect had planned to abduct her victim on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 but was arrested after Turaku reported the matter to the police. Investigations have it that the victim (Turaku) had received threats from the suspect through phone compelling him to pay a ransom of N5million or risk being kidnapped. Responding to questions, she told reporters that it was her new lover who introduced her into kidnapping, adding that her people are not aware she is into the business. According to her: After separating from my husband, I got a man friend who introduced me to this business and that was how I started ruining my life because of money. I am a disgrace to womanhood. Since I left my husband, my life has changed for the worse; everything I do is littered with trouble. Life is not fair to me in all standards, it is unfortunate. I regret my action; my family, children and friends will definitely desert me, but I pray they find a small place in their hearts to forgive me. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates If at first you dont succeed, go back to the Legislature and try again. If there was a theme to Gov. Phil Murphys third state budget address on Tuesday it was the Democrat yet again proposing policy the state lawmakers already shot down once. In some cases, twice. Raise taxes on millionaires. Establish a special tax on opioid manufactures and distributors. Raise gun permit fees and bear hunting fees. Penalize companies that dont offer their employees health insurance. Undeterred by prior rejections from his own party, the governor came back to the podium and pitched his progressive vision with the same zeal as 2019 and 2018. We are making progress not despite our progressive and forward-leaning policies, but because of them. I stand here today with a vision for how our state can work for everyone, with a proposed budget built to see it to fruition, and with our progress as a prologue, Murphy said in his speech at the Statehouse in Trenton. Now comes the hard part. Murphy delivered the Democratic-controlled state Legislature a $40.9 billion budget that makes installments on promises of a healthier NJ Transit, tuition-free college and fully funded public schools and public-employee pensions. Paying for it will cost taxpayers and businesses. Murphy wants a $1.65 increase in taxes on every pack of cigarettes sold, 2 cents more on every dollar from millionaires, up to $725 per head from businesses whose workers are on Medicaid and up to $5 million from big opioid distributors. He also wants $48 more for every handgun purchase permit, $95 more for every firearms identification card, $350 for each handgun carry permit, $450 for each retail gun dealer license and $1,350 for every wholesaler license. Reaction Tuesday was mixed. Business lobbyists accused Murphy of overburdening taxpayers and businesses. Progressive advocates praised its support for working families or said his tax hikes should go further. But he continues to clash with Democrats who control the Legislature over those plans to raise more revenue. Whether that that turns into another knock-down, drag-out fight a few months from now remains to be seen. Were all about love, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Tuesday immediately after Murphys address. See my tie? Im wearing pink. This is like a mood ring. TAXES Key to Murphys proposed budget, like the two that came before it, is an increase in the income tax on people with income between $1 million and $5 million. This tax alone would generate half the billion dollars in revenue from new and increased taxes and fees in Murphys spending plan. The Legislature rejected the millionaires tax twice already, even though lawmakers passed it five times under former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who vetoed it. But Murphy is already closer to getting this than at any time during his term. Noticeably missing in the last few weeks leading up to Murphys budget address was any opposition messaging from Sweeney, who the last two years was adamant he wouldnt go along. And then just days before the budget address he made Murphy a surprise offer, saying he would support the tax hike if Murphy put an extra $1 billion into the beleaguered pension system, for a total of $5.6 billion next year. Its an interesting offer but far from a done deal, as it would require Murphy to cut $1 billion in spending elsewhere. A senior administration official on Tuesday called it an important pivot from the Senate president. But the governor still has to make sure the math makes sense, the official said. The millionaires tax, an increase in the top tax rate from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent on income between $1 million and $5 million would generate $494 million for Murphys spending plan. As part of a deal struck on his first budget, income over $5 million is already taxed at 10.75 percent. The state would get another $218 million from a big tax increase on cigarettes, which is a new proposal from Murphy. At $2.70 a pack, New Jerseys cigarette tax is already among the highest in the nation. At $4.35, it will be at the top with New York and Connecticut, though such cities as Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago are higher. The cigarette tax is a big problem, Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said. I said I was open to the millionaires tax if theres a billion dollars in new funding for the pension, he said. I dont think we really need the other taxes, period. State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, though less colorful, signaled he isnt on board to any across-the-board tax. The Assembly ... will continue to look for more government inefficiencies and cost savings, as we do each year," he said in a statement. I remain cautious of increasing broad-based taxes. Those other taxes include per-head fee that businesses have to pay if their employees are on Medicaid because they dont offer employer-sponsored health insurance. State Treasury officials said 200,000 New Jerseyans and another 250,000 spouses and dependents tap public benefits because they cant get insurance through their employer. Making employers pay a portion of the states cost of providing health insurance is a popular progressive idea that grew out of anger at large companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon that pay low wages while workers often receive welfare, Medicaid and SNAP food assistance benefits. Exactly how much businesses pay would depend on how many of their employees are on Medicaid, but penalties range from $325 to $725 per person. Democratic lawmakers last year rejected a version that had lower penalties. SCHOOL FUNDING Murphys counting on the $1 billion from new and higher taxes plus growth in existing taxes to fund big increases in spending on perennial priorities, like pensions and K-12 education, and also to underwrite new ones. The most significant new proposal would fund two years at a state college or university for students whose family income is below $65,000. The initiative builds on his tuition-free community college program, which will get $30 million under this spending plan. State help kicks in after students have exhausted all other aid and grants. It was unclear Tuesday how much the state expects it to cost to send students to Rutgers or other in-state public universities. Murphy set aside $50 million in his budget. Hes also created a $50 million pot of emergency aid for school districts that are losing money under a shakeup of the school funding formula. The state is in the midst of a gradual redistribution of school funding from districts that are considered over funded under the school funding formula to districts considered underfunded. In the end, every district should get 100 percent of what is owed. Districts losing cash have decried the cuts, saying theyll be forced to cut staff and programs. Earlier this year, he killed a bill pushed by Sweeney that would have allowed 40 of these districts to exceed a 2-percent cap on property tax hikes and raise more cash locally. The governor said asking property taxpayers to pay more wasnt the answer. Senior administration officials said districts can only tap the emergency funds if they can show theyre trying to wean off state aid. At the same time, the state is putting more money into the school funding formula, as Murphy tries to make good on a promise to close a $1.1 billion funding gap. If the Legislature goes along with his plans to increase funding by more than $300 million, hell have boosted funding by about $900 million over three years, Murphy said in his speech Tuesday. The governor took great pains in his budget to frame these new dollars as property tax relief "School funding is an investment in our future, Murphy said. But, just as important, school funding is property tax relief. Lets be absolutely clear every new dollar in school funding is a new dollar of property tax relief. Every new dollar we provide is a dollar that doesnt have to come out of the pockets of property taxpayers. NJ Advance Media staff writers Matt Arco, Brent Johnson, Susan K. Livio, and Sophie Nieto-Munoz contributed to this report. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Evi Mariani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 10:45 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066ac3f7 1 National Kendeng-farmers,Kendeng-karst-mountains,Kendeng,Gunretno,environment Free A farmer pushing back against cement factories carrying out activities on the Kendeng Karst Mountains in Central Java has shown off his succulent chili to defy the perception that Kendeng is an arid place and needs factories to provide welfare to locals. Joko Prianto, a farmer in Rembang, shared pictures of his chili plants to his friends and later, one of them, Dandhy Laksono shared the pictures on his Twitter account, gaining more than 15,000 retweets and more than 21,000 likes as of Feb. 25. Joko Prianto, petani Rembang yang menolak PT Semen Indonesia dan dikriminalisasi, hari ini memamerkan tanaman cabainya (organik). Ada dua hal yang ia bantah: (1)Tidak benar pegunungan Kendeng itu tandus (layak ditambang). (2) Tidak benar ia butuh investor dan lapangan kerja. pic.twitter.com/qrpaH9r2vb Dandhy Laksono (@Dandhy_Laksono) February 19, 2020 Some people say Kendeng is arid. In fact, during the dry season, some land looks dry but we have been farming here for generations and the land is sufficient, Joko told The Jakarta Post recently. Joko Prianto in 2015. (Tempo/Budi Purwanto) This is Kendeng. It gives us all a life, he said. Joko, along with hundreds of farmers in the Kendeng Karst Mountains, have fought against cement factories for about seven years. They insist that farming has given them enough wealth and they do not need industrial jobs. In the Kendeng area in Rembang, there is a natural aquifer called Watu Putih, and they want the aquifer to be protected. Read also: Hundreds of Rembang people march 150 kilometers to protest cement factory Gunretno, who lives in Pati, in a community called Sedulur Sikep, said he and his neighbors, about 200 other families, supported themselves through farming, which was enough. Along with his sister, Gunarti, Gunretno has pioneered the movement to reject factories and defend the environment. In 2018, Sedulur Sikep received the prestigious Yap Thiam Thien human rights award. Gunretno, coordinator of the Kendeng Mountain Community Network (JMPPK), along with farmers from the Kendeng Mountains, stage a protest in front of the State Palace in Jakarta in 2016. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan) The Karst area in Pati is a water sponge. This is a place where water lives and it is for farming and tourism, he told the Post. I have done organic farming for 20 years. I plant vegetables, rice, chili, tomatoes and squash. He said the bounty from nature was enough and that they had extra that could be sold. Since our grandparents were farmers, [the land] has been enough for us, Gunretno, who cultivates about 9,000 square meters of farmland, said. Joko said he expected to have the first harvest of his thousands of new chili plants in about 30 days. Planted on 2,500 sq m, he hoped to have 500 to 700 kilograms sold at Rp 45,000 per kg. He recently adopted organic farming methods and said he could save a lot of money from replacing chemical fertilizer with cattle urine that he got for free from his neighbors. Plenty of cattle urine here, he said. He plans to phase out chemical fertilizer and pesticides completely next year. Why the shift to organic? Well, we have to love our earth that feeds us, he said. Read also: Kendeng farmers demand govt take action Despite the wealth they harvest through farming, however, the farmers have yet to live in peace. Threats of industrialization loom large, especially in Rembang, where mining activities for a cement factory are ongoing. I can hear the mining sounds at night, Joko said. In Pati there has been no activity but Gunretno said he would not stop fighting until the government changed the status of the Kendeng Karst Mountains to that of a protected area because water in the mountain area was essential for their livelihood as farmers. For Joko and Gunretno, protecting the Kendeng Karst Mountains is not just for their sake. Kendeng is not just ours but it belongs to the world. We're supposed to believe that it is a wonderful thing in communist countries, where the leaders care so much for their people. They teach them to read. They have free education and health care. Cubans have very strict gun control. Abortion is available on demand in Cuba, and in 2019, they raised the mandatory minimum wage. These are all things the Democrats running for president support. It looks like an ideal Democrat platform. After 60 years of Castro Brothers control, they have raised the minimum wage to $16 (per month, not per hour). The average wage will shoot up from $24 to $42 per month. Thank goodness Cuba doesn't have the problem with wealth and income inequality that the United States does because that would cause division and strife. Higher education professors will now receive $56 to $68 per month, very similar to the fake Indian running for president, who wants to move toward socialism, who is worth millions and got paid $400,000 for the tough task of teaching one course. I wonder why the cost of education is so high in the U.S. and why student debt is so high when Warren got only $400,000 plus benefits for such a tough schedule. The Cuban journalists pushing government propaganda will go from an average salary of $15.50 per month to $50 per month, which is very competitive with the millions that our talking heads receive as they push the Democrat talking points. Actually, I am having trouble justifying $50 per month for Maddow, Joe & Mika, Acosta, and Tapper. A copier and leaflets would be a much cheaper way to push the Democrat talking points. We clearly need a millionaire with three houses who has fed off the public trough to lead our country in order to get rid of wealth and income inequality. We have to get to a place where all the wealthy people around D.C. get more of the money from the greedy people throughout the rest of the country. We need to pay their fair share. We need leaders like Castro, who cared so much about the common folk. He was very smart and obviously a good investor and saver. Like the common man in Cuba, he earned only an estimated $150 million per year and was worth in excess of $900 million when he died. Thank goodness he cared so much, just like the Clintons, Obama, Pelosi, and others who have lined their pockets very successfully as they claimed they cared about the poor and middle class. There never will be enough for greedy politicians. There are no moderate Democrats running. They all want more power and money. It is they who strive for a much more powerful, dictatorial government. There is only one reasonable choice for president, and it is the person who is trying to give the power and purse back to the people as fast as possible while most journalists, bureaucrats, and other Democrats seek to destroy him and anyone surrounding him or supporting him. Cuba Raises Minimum Wage to $16 USD a Month There's a widely used saying in Cuba that state workers pretend to work, and the government pretends to pay them. Few people believe the announcement of minor wage increases on Friday will alter that relationship. Under the plan announced by President Miguel Diaz Canel, the government will step up controls to keep consumer prices from rising both for products and services in the state and private sectors, noted the Communist Party's Cubadebate website. The new minimum monthly wage was set at 400 pesos (US $16.00), said the president. He further noted that an average salary would go up from $24 a month to $42 a month. Pensions below $20 will also get an undisclosed boost, he said. The president noted that a top-level University Professor would now receive 1,700 pesos (US $68 a month and the lowest level university educator would receive the equivalent of $56 dollars a month. He added that government journalists, whose basic salary was only $15.50 a month, will now receive in the neighborhood of $50 a month. Throughout 2019, Cuba has been suffering growing shortages for many basic products due to slumping national production and a lack of money in the government coffers for imports. Diaz Canel and the Council of Ministers hope the wage hike will stimulate the nation's economy "at a time of increased hostility from the United States against Cuba." Fidel Castro's Net Worth One estimate suggests he had an annual income of $150 million, allowing Fidel Castro's net worth to grow over the course of his adult life. Plus, he likely had a range of other assets, like vehicles, boats, and valuables, which are part of the total. Before his death in November 2016, Fidel Castro's net worth was estimated at $900 million. However, as certain information about the infamous Cuban leader is hard to come by, it could have been higher. Image credit: Ghenghis Gary. By Akbar Mammadov Head of the Nagorno-Karabakhs Azerbaijani community Tural Ganjaliyev has said that the community will step up its efforts towards raising awareness about Khojaly among the international community and its recognition as genocide. He also said that perpetrators of the massacre must be brought to justice. "All necessary measures will be taken for the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by the rest of the world. We will make every effort to ensure that the former leadership of Armenia responsible for the committing of this genocide - Serzh Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan, and their henchman Arthur Lukasyan - are held accountable. We will demand that each of them are held responsible before the Azerbaijani people, and this, will happen soon," Ganjaliyev said. Ganjaliyev made the remarks while addressing the event to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide hosted by Baku Music Academy (BMA) and organized by The Academy and the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region. The purpose of this massacre committed by Armenia was to exterminate Azerbaijanis, commit an act of genocide against them. Executioners such as Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, who are representatives of the Karabakh regime, repeatedly acknowledged that they committed this crime - one of the bloodiest acts of genocide in the 20th century. We will do everything possible to ensure that those who committed this crime against civilians are duly punished. For this we must use all possible ways. More efforts in bringing Sargsyan and Kocharyan to justice within the international law are needed. Commemorating the anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, we once again tell the world community that we havent forgotten our past, Ganjaliyev noted. Ganjaliyev also said that large-scale work is underway towards recognizing the Khojaly tragedy at the international level as genocide, adding that 10 countries have already recognized the Khojaly genocide. As part of the Justice for Khojaly! campaign, raising public awareness is being carried out in many countries Already 10 countries have recognized this tragedy as genocide. We will continue our efforts. On February 26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, ambushed and killed as many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people fleeing strategic Khojaly town. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. The conflict between the two countries started in 1988 with Armenias territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war that lasted till 1994, Armenian armed forces occupied around 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz In the wake of the violence in Delhi, the US and Russia on Wednesday issued advisories to their citizens, asking them to exercise caution and avoid violence-hit areas. The US Embassy in India issued a security alert, advising American citizens that it is important to monitor local media outlets for updates on demonstrations, road and Metro closures, and possible curfews. "US citizens in India should exercise caution in light of violent demonstrations in Northeast Delhi and avoid all areas with demonstrations," the embassy advisory said. "The Government of India-imposed law that prohibits political gatherings of four or more people -- known as Section 144 remains in effect in certain areas," it said. Advising Americans on actions they should take, the embassy urged citizens to avoid locations where heavy traffic or road closures or protests are expected. "Keep a low profile. Be aware of your surroundings. Monitor local media for updates. Follow the instructions of local authorities," the advisory read. Russia asked its citizens to be careful, avoid large gatherings and violence-hit areas -- Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Bhajanpura. At least 24 people have been killed and over 200 injured in communal violence which broke out in northeast Delhi three days ago. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Libyan families have filed a US civil lawsuit against Haftar and his sons for torturing and killing their relatives. Washington, DC Before commanding an army entrenched in Libyas civil war, Khalifa Haftar lived in the US state of Virginia with two of his sons, Khaled and Mustafa. Lawyers say the military strongman and his sons will now have to answer to US courts, after two Libyan families last week filed a civil lawsuit accusing Haftars forces of torturing and killing their relatives. The lawsuit relies on a law enacted back in 1991, the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows family members of victims of torture and extrajudicial killing to sue those responsible. Lawyers say most suits previously filed under the act failed to gain traction, as the majority of those accused had little or no assets in the US which would enable compensation. But Haftar and his sons are American citizens who own 17 properties in Virginia worth a total of $8m, according to the lawsuit. Unlike other people who engaged in torture and extrajudicial killing oversees, Khalifa Haftar and his sons are American citizens and own significant amounts of property here, said Kevin Carroll, a lawyer who represents the families. They can and will face American justice, Carroll said during a news conference on Monday. The lawsuit alleges that in October 2014, forces loyal to Haftar launched an operation entitled Operation Dignity in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, during which they attacked the homes and killed six members of two families, the al-Suyids and the al-Krshinys. Ibrahim al-Krshiny, one of the plaintiffs, was taken into custody, stripped, bound and beaten with fists, pipes and cables, Carroll said, adding that he sustained a serious eye injury, and was beaten a second time with a broomstick and a plastic hose. He was forced to stand in water and be painfully electrocuted for five minutes at a time for seven and a half hours. Then he underwent what was essentially a mock execution, Carroll added. Six brothers from the family were taken prisoner and accused of being members of the Islamic State, the suit alleges. Two were killed. Al-Krshiny was released but lost his eye. The lawsuit accuses Haftar and his sons of using the Libyan National Army to wage an indiscriminate war against the Libyan people and of killing and torturing hundreds without any judicial process whatsoever. Libyan protesters waving flags and signs during a demonstration in the capital to demand an end to Khalifa Haftars offensive against Tripoli [Ismail Zitouny/Reuters] Haftar was once a lieutenant under former Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi. He defected in 1987 and moved to the US, where became a citizen and is widely believed to have worked for the CIA. He lived in northern Virginia for more than two decades. In 2011, after Gaddafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising, the North African country was plunged into civil war. Haftar returned to Libya where he became the chief of the self-styled LNA and his sons became military officials under his command. Haftar and his allies have since set up an administration in the eastern part of the country that has been at war with the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), established in a political process in 2015. In April, Haftar, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, moved to capture Tripoli, Libyas capital and the seat of the UN-backed government. UN-sponsored ceasefire talks between Libyas warring sides resumed last week after renewed violence on the ground threatened to derail the effort which aims to end the fighting. More than 1,000 people have been killed during 10 months of conflict with some 140,000 forced from their homes, according to UN figures. A Libyan woman carries pictures of Khalifa Haftar during a demonstration to support the Libyan National Army offensive against Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya [Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters] Experts say the conflict has left the country deeply fractured. Haftars supporters believe he has helped restore security in Benghazi, is working to defeat Islamist groups and rebuild a stable Libya, while his opponents say he is a war criminal and an autocrat who wants to consolidate power over Libya. His critics believe they have found an opportunity in suing him in US courts given that he is a US citizen, said Ibrahim Hiba, a Libyan national and a teaching assistant of comparative politics and international relations at the University of North Texas. It is highly unlikely that Haftar intends on returning to the United States any time soon. This lawsuit, however, could put political pressure on Haftar and is a source of political and financial embarrassment as it sheds light on his sons, their properties and questions their legality. According to the lawsuit, Haftars sons purchased the 17 properties with cash between 2014 and 2017. Lawyers say Haftar has not responded to the complaint, which seeks more than $75,000 in total compensation. Fighters loyal to Libyas UN-backed government (GNA) firing weapons during a clash with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar on the outskirts of Tripoli [File: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters] Rights groups say armed groups and security forces loyal to the GNA and LNA have both been responsible for the deaths, injury and displacement of civilians in Libya since the conflict broke out. Thousands have also been detained, and human rights groups say torture and ill-treatment in prisons and detention centres are widespread. We have been advocating strongly for accountability and we have been working to come up with a framework that would enable some kind of mechanism to be put in place given the current challenges by the Libyan legal system, Ken Mayers, Chair of the North Africa Coordination Group for Amnesty told Al Jazeera. Amnesty says impunity in Libya is rampant and are calling for the creation of an international investigation mechanism that would document violations and abuses, identify those responsible for them, preserve evidence for use in future criminal proceedings, and publicly report on the human rights situation in Libya. The program, one of the countys problem-solving courts, gives those charged with drug offenses the chance to turn their lives around and have felony charges against them dismissed. Participants average one year in the program, Chidester said. Helping them through drug court, he added, is an alternative to locking them up at a cost of $27 to $54 a day, so thats what weve saved. Rome of Sublime with Rome and Duddy of Dirty Heads will be making a stop at Sister on February 26th with support from Dylan Holland! Rome & Duddy Friends & Family is a special project from Rome Ramirez of Sublime with Rome and Duddy of Dirty Heads. Both artists collaborated on 2008s Lay Me Down, which would go on to be the first song in history from an independent label to reach #1 on Billboards rock songs chart. The song would remain on Billboards alternative chart for 11 weeks. The Friends & Family Tour will be a stripped down and intimate version of the Sublime and Dirty Heads live experience fans know and love each concert will include separate acoustic sets by Rome and Duddy, and both artists will perform together to close the show. Micah Brown of Iration will open on select dates, making it an all-star night with some of the scenes favorite artists. Sublime with Rome made its debut in 2009 at Cypress Hills Smokeout Festival in San Bernardino, California. They recently finished recording their 3rd full length album, Blessings, released on May 27th. Dirty Heads Released their 7th album, Super Moon, on August 9th. The album was recorded at the legendary RCA Studio A on Music Row in Nashville. Dylan Holland bio: From defying all odds, creating amazing covers on YouTube to becoming a fast rising sensation in the music industry. The breathtaking Dylan Holland is set to win the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans and music lovers across the world and he is hoping to become a household name for the effortless delivery of amazing urban R&B, Pop dexterity and notes that constantly melt the hearts of his listeners worldwide. The Cincinnati, Ohio based R&B and pop sensation is well known for his sizzling performances that grabs attention in moments the audience cannot comprehend,as he has toured with everyone from Rae Sremmurd, SK8, Jacob White sides, Sammy Wilk, Austin Mahone, Jonah Marais and many more. Complimenting his passion to bring something fresh to the table,his unique voice perfectly blended with flexibility and quick transition of incredible notes leaves you stunned every time he grabs the microphone to perform. As a multi-faceted R&B artist, through the fusion of urban-pop, Dylan has been making heads turn as he has filled the gap that his inspirations like Craig Davids, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Aerosmith, Nas, Garth Brooks, Tracy Lawrence, Travis Tritt use to be. He is about releasing a new single self-titled album Dylan Valentines Day of 2020 via Fresh Goods Music / Sony Music produced by Rome. He is set to embark on a national tour promoting the album. Which will be available on all digital platforms worldwide. This young motivating force Signed to new deal to Fresh Goods / Sony is definitely bringing the heat and without an iota of doubt, he has shown us that he has come to stay. The announcement comes after judges declared innocent two brothers who had been convicted based on testimony from former officer Gerald Goines Prosecutors announced Wednesday they believe 69 additional people might have been convicted on false evidence from a former Houston police officer whose cases are being reviewed following a deadly drug raid. The announcement comes after judges earlier this month declared innocent two brothers who had been convicted based on testimony from former officer Gerald Goines. Goines' work with the Houston Police Department's narcotics unit has come under scrutiny following the January 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed. Prosecutors allege Goines, 55, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couple's home by claiming that a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said there was no informant and that he had bought the drugs himself, they allege. Five officers, including Goines, were injured in the raid. 'We need to clear people convicted solely on the word of a police officer whom we can no longer trust,' said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Goines' work with the Houston Police Department's narcotics unit has come under scrutiny following the January 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed Prosecutors allege Goines, 55, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couple's home by claiming that a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said there was no informant and that he had bought the drugs himself, they allege. Five officers, including Goines, were injured in the raid Nicole DeBorde, Goines attorney, said the announcement by Oggs office was a way to 'poison' potential jurors in Goines case and for Ogg to promote herself ahead of a hotly contested Democratic primary on Tuesday for her office. 'But because these unfounded and unsupported allegations conveniently align with her very public use of the case in her campaign and offer an end run around the rules prohibiting her from discussing the facts of the pending case, she issues press release after press release, the latest in her last push before Super Tuesday,' DeBorde said. Earlier this month, Otis Mallet and his brother Steven were declared innocent by judges after their attorneys and prosecutors agreed that Goines had lied during their trials about buying drugs from the siblings in 2008. Otis Mallet was sentenced to eight years in prison and later paroled while his brother pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in jail. A final ruling on the Mallet brothers cases is pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Earlier this month, Otis Mallet and his brother Steven were declared innocent by judges after their attorneys and prosecutors agreed that Goines had lied during their trials about buying drugs from the siblings in 2008 Prosecutors on Wednesday filed motions asking judges to appoint attorneys for the 69 individuals so that their cases can be reviewed to see if their convictions should be overturned. Since the raid, prosecutors have been reviewing thousands of cases handled by the Houston Police Department's narcotics division, Goines and another ex-officer, Steven Bryant Most of the 69 cases are related to drug charges in which individuals received sentences ranging from a few months in the county jail to four years in state prison. Goines was the only witness to the drug offense in all these cases, prosecutors said. None of the 69 individuals are still imprisoned. Since the raid, prosecutors have been reviewing thousands of cases handled by the Houston Police Department's narcotics division, Goines and another ex-officer, Steven Bryant. Ogg said Wednesday that defendants in cases from 2008 to 2019 in which Goines played a substantial role are entitled to a presumption that he provided false evidence to secure their convictions. Goines is facing two counts of felony murder in state court for the deaths of Tuttle and Nicholas and is facing seven counts in federal court over allegedly providing false information in the raid. Bryant is also facing state and federal charges in the deadly raid. Both men were relieved of duty after the shooting and later retired. French politicians have voiced concerns around fans of Italian side Juventus travelling to Lyon for Wednesday's Champions League tie due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal, far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and National Assembly member Eric Ciotti have all expressed opposition to the decision to allow the visit of the Serie A champions to the central city. "It seems illogical and the public don't understand," Royal told France 2 TV. "The government might have some information the public don't have, but I think to avoid sparking panic we have to consider that the French public are mature, and they have the capacity to understand it," she added. Le Pen, who called for borders between France and Italy to be re-established, was also against the decision to allow fans of Turin-based Juventus to travel to France for the last 16 first leg tie. "I believe it's not reasonable to welcome them and we are once again confronted by the inconsistency of the government," Le Pen told France Inter radio. Ciotti, from the main opposition Republicans party, said he failed to understand why children returning to France from Italy had been put in quarantine but "3,000 people are coming from a high-risk zone." The French secretary of state for education and youth Gabriel Attal defended the decision saying "today, public health experts say it's not necessary" to stop the arrival of the supporters. "Is the virus actively spreading in the Turin region? No," he told broadcasters BFM. On Wednesday, a 60-year-old man became the first French victim of the coronavirus in the country, the health ministry announced. France has reported four other new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including two people returning from Italy, bringing the total number of infections to 17. Eleven other people have recovered from the disease which has killed more than 2,600 people worldwide and infected almost 80,000 others, mainly in China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities have shut down construction of a waterfront mansion at Seaforth as they investigate whether an illegal third storey has been added under the watch of a private certifier who regulators unsuccessfully attempted to ban last year. Workers were forced to down their tools last Thursday at the building site, perched on a cliff face at Seaforth and boasting views over Middle Harbour. The half-constructed home at Seaforth. The owner says the finished product will only have two storeys. Credit:James Brickwood At the centre of the fracas is landowner Peter Prasad, who told The Sydney Morning Herald he was very shocked and surprised at Northern Beaches Councils stop-work order and that the third storey that has been the subject of multiple complaints is actually an under-house. Overseeing the build is private certifier Stanly Spyrou of Dix Gardner, who regulators have reprimanded in connection to 20 developments across Sydney since 2016, including a unit block at Alexandria that was the subject of demolition orders. 'Nirmalaji's Budget announcements have long-term implications and are not backed by enough money when the short-term outlook looks bleak', notes T N C Rajagopalan. In her Budget speech, the finance minister announced a number of initiatives to help exporters in the medium to long term. Exporters could see these in the context of allocations and steps taken just before the Budget presentation. The minister announced a new scheme, NIRVIK, to provide for higher insurance coverage, lesser premium for small exporters and simpler procedures for claim settlements. She proposed to digitally refund to exporters, duties and taxes levied at central, state and local levels, such as electricity duties and value added tax on fuel used for transportation, which are not getting exempted or refunded under any other existing mechanism. She said institutional mechanisms were being created to develop each district as an export hub. She talked of schemes to encourage manufacture of mobile phones, electronic equipment, semi-conductor packaging, technical textiles and medical devices and a new logistics policy. Also, fishery export and time-bound adoption of mandatory technical standards, their effective enforcement and issue of quality standards by various ministries. She announced the provision of Rs 27,300 crore for development and promotion of industry and commerce for 2020-2021. The allocation of Rs 12,824 crore in FY21 for the ministry of commerce and industry, net of receipts, shows a reduction of Rs 875 crore from the revised estimates for FY20. At Rs 6,219 crore, the department of commerce gets about 14 per cent less. The NIRVIK scheme gets Rs 95 crore, whereas there is a cut of Rs 568 crore under the interest equalisation scheme. Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation gets Rs 650 crore (against Rs 1,700 crore announced last September). On the National Export Insurance Account, the entire allocation is withdrawn. There are also some issues of arithmetic and presentation in these expenditure statements. A better explanation from the government will help. Only three days before the Budget, the finance ministry notified the new duty drawback All Industry Rates for export made from February 4 onward. These show a reduction for many items. For example, on many chemical items (chapters 28 to 39), the rate has gone down from 1.5 to 1.3 per cent. A similar 0.2 per cent reduction is seen for a number of engineering items. The reasons for these are not clear, but it appears, the drawback rates have been cut by 0.2 per cent on many items with a view to save on revenue. The ministry should clarify the reasons. On January 29, two days before the Budget, the directorate general of foreign trade issued Public Notice 58/2015-20, withdrawing benefits under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme for items in the apparel and garment sector, with retrospective effect from March 7, 2019. The notice prescribes a revised procedure for claiming benefits under the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme, and a procedure for recovering any excess/undue claims paid under RoSCTL or MEIS. The finance minister's statement that a scheme for 'Reversion of duties and taxes on exported products' will be launched this year is a repeat of her statement last September about the RoDTEP scheme. That was to replace the MEIS scheme by December but might now happen by April this year. Overall, it is difficult to get enthused by announcements that have long-term implications and are not backed by enough money, when the short-term outlook looks bleak. [February 26, 2020] Tupl Launches SaaS-Based Network Operations Automation Tools to Reach More Carriers Worldwide Tupl, a pioneer in AI-powered network operations automation, today announced SaaS (News - Alert)-based versions of its popular applications for Automatic Customer Care Resolution (ACCR), NOC Automation, Network Advisor, and Proactive Care. Tupl was first to market with AI-managed network operations automation and is the first to bring those same capabilities to a SaaS offering. The SaaS-based tools make the technology accessible to more wireless carriers worldwide. "The new versions of our popular network operations automation tools not only eliminate capex costs, but also remove the technical overhead and long term commitment of traditional licensing models," said Petri Hautakangas, Tupl CEO. "This approach to network automation allows customers to only commit to what they need and have the confidence that they are always running the latest version." SaaS-based network operations automation tools eliminate the common telco industry problem of shelfware (owning or licensing software that is not needed or used). The tools let wireless carriers get started immediately with software that's always the latest, most up-to-date version. "Telecom network companies are under pressure to digitize their networks and deliver 5G capabilities," said Manish Mangal, CTO Networ services, Tech Mahindra. "Tupl's telecom network operations automation SaaS offering is the perfect value proposition for our customers because it delivers engineering automation faster, at a lower cost, and with greater scalability." "Tupl works with many of the leading tier-1 operators," said Hautakangas. "These new versions of our tools will let us meet the needs of hundreds of tier-2 operators who weren't benefiting from AI-based network operations automation. SaaS-based tools let customers start quickly, experiment quickly, and modify quickly." Gartner (News - Alert), the world's leading research and advisory company, recently interviewed vendors and reported on the substantial benefits of SaaS applications over perpetual license applications. According to the Gartner report, "in all of the interviews, the need for training direct and channel partner sales teams on the inherent value of a subscription model for the end user was critical to the success of the program." The consistent customer benefits articulated included: lower upfront costs, pay only for use; in other words, no "shelfware," ability to spread investment over an extended period, flexibility to cancel without a feeling of "sunk cost." "The new Tupl SaaS portfolio expands the reach of Deloitte (News - Alert) and Tupl in delivering network operations automation using artificial intelligence," said Pedro Tavares, Partner, Deloitte. "Tupl's SaaS-based offering, which we deliver with transformation services for tailored use cases, brings the automation of network operations engineering to a larger market of customers." About Tupl Founded in 2014 by telecom, big data and AI veterans, Tupl is a pioneer in digital transformation in the telecom industry through AI-powered automation of network operations. Its AI engine, TuplOS, utilizes machine learning and other features to enable faster innovation cycles for network and customer care operations with wireless operators across the US, Japan, Mexico, and Europe. Tupl is headquartered in the U.S. in Bellevue, Washington with offices in Spain, Mexico and Japan. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005291/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Press Release February 26, 2020 Angara: It is time to transform the Philippines from a consuming economy to one that produces Government was told to urgently craft a "resilience plan" that will allow the economy "to deftly evade" the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown of plants and back offices of Honda, Wells Fargo and other multinationals in the country. The call was made by Sen. Sonny Angara as the Senate finance committee opens a series of hearings that will draw a roadmap to create world-class products and services that will proudly bear the "Tatak Pinoy" brand. "Yes, there is no vaccine yet against the virus. But in terms of protecting our economy, in increasing its defenses, I believe that government must have a contingency plan," Angara said. Angara said the virus can put "some vulnerable sectors of the economy like tourism in the ICU if we do not mount measures that will cushion its impact. " Angara's committee had scheduled "all hands on deck" workshops on how "to evolve a consuming economy to one that produces and invests" long before the global crisis incubated in Wuhan, China. "So in addition to the agenda of creating more jobs within the next decade, we are now faced with the challenge of protecting jobs within the next weeks or months," Angara said. Angara said that while the government cannot fully control global events, providing a conducive environment for investments is one it can shape. Angara described as "the nation's number one project this decade" the fast transformation of the economy, "preferably within our generation so that more well-paying jobs are created, especially in the countryside." He said the Senate finance committee has decided to conduct an inventory of the "patchwork of government programs" to better "leverage the P4.1 trillion national budget into achieving the most important bottom line in spending - jobs for our people." "We have to map out all our underutilized assets and use this as a springboard in prioritizing sectors, places and industries that can create wealth using Filipino talent," he said. On this, Angara said there is no shortage of Filipino "exemplars" whose products have captured global acclaim and markets. "Some of these Tatak Pinoy exemplars are well-known - like furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue, or the Puentespina family and their award-winning Malagos Chocolate from Davao. Then we have big brands like Jollibee, Oishi, and Bench that are known throughout the world," he said. "But then there are other successes worth noting, like the ceramics company CSM Philippines of the Manrique family who have been exporting handmade fine bone china plates, bowls, tea cups and pots to the world," Angara said. Other niches carved by Filipinos are in the creative sector of the knowledge economy, Angara said. He cited Ubisoft, which developed the videogame franchise Assassin's Creed from its Laguna studio and the Makati-based SG Interactive, which prepares audiovisual presentations of Fortune 500 companies. Angara believes that "talent is here, as well as the other ingredients, that can create great products and services that can not only compete, but win in the global market," he said. A 50-year-old Vietnamese man, the last patient being treated for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Vietnam, has been discharged from the hospital after a 15-day course of treatment. The Quang Ha General Medical Clinic in the northern province of Vinh Phuc discharged Nguyen Van Vinh, from Son Loi Commune of Binh Xuyen District, on Wednesday morning. Vinh, the father of recovered COVID-19 patient N.T.D., was hospitalized on February 12 with mild symptoms including a cough and runny nose. Four members of the family, including Vinh, his wife, D., and another daughter, all contracted COVID-19 after D. returned home from a vocational training program in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the viral outbreak. The 23-year-old woman also allegedly spread the disease to a cousin, a neighbor, and the neighbors grandchild. Fifteen days into treatment, Vinh was clear of all COVID-19 symptoms and tested negative for the virus three times on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Doctors congratulate Nguyen Van Vinh, the last patient being treated for COVID-19 in Vietnam, upon his discharge from the Quang Ha General Medical Clinic in Vinh Phuc Province, February 26, 2020. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre As per treatment guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, a COVID-19 patient is allowed to be discharged from the hospital only after their fever has ceased for at least three days and at least two samples, taken one day apart, test negative for the virus. Vinh is now out of the hospital after meeting all of the above requirements. His wife and two daughters had also recovered and been discharged from the hospital earlier. Upon Vinhs walking out of the hospital, his wife, P.T.T., sent her apology to those who were infected by her family. There was little information about the disease back then My daughter unintentionally spread the disease to other people, T. said. The COVID-19 has killed 2,763 people and infected over 81,000 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 reported 16 cases of the viral infection, including 13 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese. With Wednesday mornings release of Vinh, all patients in Vietnam have been successfully treated and are out of the hospital. The country has recorded no new infection since February 13. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! UAE-based Modon Properties has awarded three major infrastructure contracts worth Dh2.37 billion ($645 million) for the development of Phases Two and Five of Abu Dhabi-based residential development Riyadh City South. A development company mandated by the Abu Dhabi government to build vibrant and sustainable communities and develop strategic mixed-use projects in the emirate, Modon said upon completion, it will include more than 6,000 residential plots, a university, five schools, two nurseries, four health centres and mosques. Riyadh City, located 30 km from the UAE capital, will also boast 61 commercial plots, three civil defence centres, five fuel stations, four government facilities plots and three social services centres. It will have easy access to major urban and industrial venues across Abu Dhabi. The project is also close to a number of major landmarks and attractions in the capital city. Announcing the new contracts, Modon said as per the agreement, the National Projects and Construction, The Nael & Bin Harmal Hydroexport Establishment and Saif Bin Darwish Company will be responsible for the development of infrastructure works for the Phases Two and Five. The scope of works include the construction of internal and external roads, lighting, potable water network, rainwater drainage systems, sewerage systems, fire-fighting systems, traffic control systems, irrigation networks, electricity grids and Pubic Realm. Modon said it had begun preliminary works on the project in June last year, followed by the awarding of infrastructure works worth Dh1.53 billion for Phase One of the project in September and now the deal for Phase Two and Five. The contracts for Phases Three and Four would likely be inked during the second half. The Abu Dhabi developer said with all the key phases awarded, it was aiming to complete the entire infrastructure work for Riyadh City South by the end of 2023. ADHA acting director general Basheer Khalfan Al Mehairbi said the project's goal is to provide high quality housing which guarantees an excellent standard of life for citizens and residents. Riyadh City, he stated, was one of the most significant residential projects in Abu Dhabi today that will help tackle emirates rising housing needs and also meet citizens current aspirations. "By selecting the services of Modon, the Abu Dhabi government is working with international specialists in the housing sector, to ensure an excellent quality of public infrastructure and providing residents with sustainable housing, in line with the future vision of Abu Dhabi," he said. Al Mehairbi said these directives are aligned with the goals of Abu Dhabi Plan, which seeks to provide members of the community with housing that guarantees a high quality of life. In addition to residential facilities, the project will include community facilities such as parks, schools, stores, mosques, medical centres and community centres, he added. Modon Deputy CEO Sulaiman Al Siksek said: "By implementing this project in Riyadh City South, we are enhancing our participation in the development of Abu Dhabis housing sector." "This project will provide integrated housing communities for our citizens, offering modernity, which confirms to global best practices. Through this, we will be able to provide high quality and stable lives to those who chose to reside within our communities. Modons housing projects will transform the housing sector and ensure that it keeps pace with the future vision of Abu Dhabi," he added. Al Siksek pointed out that the awarding of these contracts have taken Modon another step closer to the completion of Riyadh City South, and its vision of welcoming new home-owners into unique and vibrant communities. "This is the second round of infrastructure contracts to have been awarded by Modon, with the first phase of contracts awarded in September 2019. These are in line with the Abu Dhabi Governments plan to build integrated and sustainable residential communities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Bryan Agnello gave up driving an automobile two years ago, but in 2020, he found himself detailing to the police his involvement in a rear-end collision. Agnello was reportedly riding his bicycle in Rochester, New York, on a rainy January evening when he was struck by a trailing motorist, according to CITY Newspaper. Agnello walked away from the accident without any major injuries and had moved on before the driver re-entered his life with a $700 lawsuit. Twenty-two-year-old Jovonte Cook, who allegedly hit Agnello that night, submitted a $700 claim to the Rochester City Court against Agnello for the damages done to the vehicle. In the claim, Cook made claims drastically different to those written on the police report seemingly to glean support in his favor. Agnello says he was riding a custom Pake touring bike, which had a blinking red light and reflective pieces attached to it. Agnello was also wearing a reflective rain suit and a helmet for additional protection. None of that stopped Cook from allegedly running into the bike while Agnello was trying to make a left-hand turn. According to the police report, the front left corner of Cook's 2012 Ford Fusion clipped Agnello, who took a knock to the dome before ending up on the hood of the car. No citation or charge was issued. Cook paints the incident very differently. In the claim, Cook says Agnello was riding his bicycle about 60 mph on Interstate 490 (he is said to have later claimed 80 mph in a conversation with a reporter) and said he did not see Agnello due to the weather. This recollection was automatically dubious due to the fact that 99.9999999% of humans are nowhere near capable of pedaling a bicycle up to 60 mph, and if a crash were to occur at those speeds, the cyclist would likely still be in the hospital or worse. Story continues This is just another one of those situations where I just feel like people in this country look at bicycles as second-class forms of transportation, and that is sad, Agnello said. It is really, really sad. It shouldnt be that way. There needs to be education from the drivers ed stage all the way through the license acquiring stage. Defending his position, Agnello submitted a counterclaim for $2,500. Read more about the wildly annoying and confusing story on RochesterCityNewspaper.com. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of India, a top Indian diplomat said at the UN Human Rights Council's meeting here on Wednesday, a day after Pakistan sought the international community's intervention on the Kashmir issue. Speaking at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council which is being held here in Switzerland from February 24 to March 20, Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West), the Ministry of External Affairs, described Pakistan as the epicentre of global terrorism. He called for decisive action against states who direct, control, fund and shelter terrorists, in an obvious reference to Pakistan, which is accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terror groups. His remarks came a day after Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Tuesday alleged that India continues to violate the human rights of the Kashmiri people and demanded the immediate repeal of all actions by India on August 5 last year. India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5 and bifurcated it into two Union territories. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) B lackstone on Wednesday made a 4.7 billion bet on the UKs university population booming after buying a student digs company from Goldman Sachs. The financial giant has agreed to buy London-focused iQ Student Accommodation, which has 67 sites across the country targeting students in Russell Group cities like Birmingham and Edinburgh. It is the UKs largest-ever private real-estate transaction. Blackstone is buying iQ due to an expected surge in the student population over the next few years. Student numbers are at an all-time high and are expected to climb. IQ Student Accommodation was backed by the Wellcome Trust 14 years ago. The firm got more investment from Goldman Sachs merchant banking division in 2016. Residents are treated to private rooms, onsite gyms and trendy open-plan communal areas. Room costs for London Bankside are 370 per week, equivalent to 1480 per month. A room in Wembley costs 245 per week. The shouts of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the screeches of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and the shrieks of former Vice President Joe Biden ricocheted around the stage during Tuesday night's Democratic debate in South Carolina. Right from the start, it was a raucous affair, with the candidates consistently and loudly interrupting each other and ignoring the time limits to respond. At one cacophonous point, it sounded like all of the candidates were trying to answer a question, but no one could understand what they were saying. When things settled down a bit, billionaire investor Tom Steyer tried to get a word in, but was scolded by Sanders; later, an annoyed Sanders tried to get former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg to stop talking by saying, "Hellllooo!" It didn't work. Biden cracked the code about 30 minutes into the debate, saying, "I guess the only way to do this is jump in and speak twice as long as you should." He then attacked Steyer for once investing in private prisons, said Sanders hasn't passed "much of anything" during his time in the Senate, and refused to yield any of his time to the other candidates. "I'm gonna talk," he snapped, which got the crowd cheering. Expect none of these people to have a voice tomorrow. More stories from theweek.com Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity CDC: California coronavirus case may be 1st in U.S. without link to traveling abroad Egypt condemned on Wednesday the decision by the Israeli government to allow the construction of 3,500 new settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. "This violates international law as represented in the resolutions of the UN Security Council related to the Palestinian issue, and it also undermines the opportunities for peace based on a two-state solution," the statement said. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would move forward with the long-dormant project to build 3,500 homes for Jewish settlers in one of the most sensitive areas of the occupied West Bank. Egypt has long stood behind a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti and Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 26, 2020 18:07 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066c761b 1 National bappenas,capital-relocation,North-Penajam-Paser,Kutai-Kartanegara,East-Kalimantan Free A soft groundbreaking and early construction on Indonesias new capital city in East Kalimantan may take place in July, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) announced on Wednesday. The central government is expediting the establishment of regulations and a master plan for the new capital, which will be built in North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies, East Kalimantan. The soft groundbreaking will take place as soon as the regulations are established, according to Bappenas capital relocation secretary Hayu Prasasti. A soft groundbreaking means the [start of] developing road access to the new capital city, she said. The event would be line with President Joko Jokowi Widodos expectation for construction of the new capital to begin this year, she added. Responding to concerns over the potentially harmful impacts the major project would have on the regions lush forests, Hayu said the new capital would only occupy 56,000 hectares of the available 256,000 ha of land. The rest of the region will remain populated with lush vegetation in order to avoid any negative effects on the environment, she added. The forest city, open space concept is an integral part [of the new capitals development]. Construction on Indonesias new capital city is expected to cost Rp 466 trillion (US$33.6 billion), according to Bappenas, with the government footing about half of the bill. The rest is to be sourced from the private sector. (rfa) Women wearing masks to prevent contracting the coronavirus walk at Dongseong-ro shopping street in central Daegu, South Korea February 21, 2020. Photo by Reuters. With South Korea on high alert as the number of Covid-19 infections spiral, thousands of Vietnamese students seek means to return home. Thuy Trang, 22, a second-year student at Keimyung University in Daegu City, center of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea, faces 14 days quarantine upon arrival in Vietnam. Trang and her husband, another second-year student at the university, have posted Covid-19 updates via their Facebook accounts since February 18. South Korea recently made international headlines as one of the worst-hit by the coronavirus, recording 60 new cases on Tuesday alone to take the total number to 893, many in Daegu. The spike was linked to so-called "Patient 31", a 61-year-old woman who attended services at Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, infecting dozens of people, reports stated. The outbreak has forced Trang and her husband to don face masks, stockpile food and limit excursions. In a group chat for Vietnamese students in Daegu, many of Trangs peers confirmed they planned to return home before the situation grew worse, postponing their studies for one year. Trang followed suit, booking tickets to her hometown in Phu Tho, around 100 kilometers to the northwest of Hanoi. "Returning to Vietnam means a year away from my husband. But if I still stay in Daegu, I don't know what will happen," Trang commented. Trangs husband has lost his part-time job at a restaurant that closed as a preventive measure to contain the epidemic, affecting their income and tuition repayments. The couple plan to have a baby in 2020, when her husband will drop out of school and look for work, after two years at university. "My parents cannot move to South Korea to take care of my child.". Studying Korean at Keimyung University for 6 months, Nguyen Hong Ngoc, 26, a native of Phu Tho, cannot postpone her course and return home. "If I return to Vietnam I may not be able to return to South Korea, losing the VND200 million ($8,620) fee I had paid the school," Ngoc said. The deserted street near Keimyung University in Daegu City. Photo courteys of Nguyen Hong Ngoc. Ngoc and his roommate are stockpiling rice, vegetables, eggs, and shrimp noodles, staying abreast of the situation, while adhering to strict hygiene measures. They hope the school and Vietnamese government would support students to return home while continuing their studies in future. About 70 km from Daegu, Nguyen Quang Huy, 21, from Hanoi, a second-year student at Ui Deok University in Gyeongju City of North Gyeongsang Province, also plans to return home though he only recently traveled back to South Korea after the Lunar New Year break. The student is worried as cases of nearby infection continue to grow, with a 40-year-old man the latest casualty. "Spring semester only starts in March, though I came to South Korea in February to apply for a visa extension," Huy revealed. Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 infections, the South Korean education ministry has delayed the spring semester to March 9. The pub where Huy works has been closed for two weeks, meaning he is both "absent from class and unemployed". "If the situation gets worse, and the school guarantees we can return to study, I will go home," he commented. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam said about 200,000 Vietnamese citizens are studying and working in South Korea, with 8,285 living in Daegu City, and 18,502 in North Gyeongsang Province. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Clare Lovell (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Wed, February 26, 2020 07:15 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20669df74 2 Sports bayern-munich,Chelsea,soccer,champions-league Free Two second-half goals in less than three minutes from Serge Gnabry and another from prolific Pole Robert Lewandowski earned Bayern Munich a thumping 3-0 victory at Chelsea in their Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday. The German champions, sharper and livelier than their hosts, piled on the pressure from the start of the match and the stats showed they enjoyed 63% possession. It was a bad night for Chelsea, whose home form under Frank Lampard has been suspect all season, and their misery was complete in the 83rd minute when wing back Marcos Alonso was sent off for violent conduct after he caught Lewandowski in the face with his arm. For former Arsenal forward Gnabry they were the fifth and sixth goals in London in the Champions League this season after he scored four in Bayern's 7-2 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages. The first against Chelsea in the 51st minute involved a one-two between Gnabry and Lewandowsi, who cut back from the edge of the area when Chelsea's retreating defense expected him to shoot, leaving Gnabry with an easy finish from less than 10 meters. Chelsea, run ragged most of the evening, had barely got their breath back when Lewandowski and Gnabry exchanged passes halfway down the pitch before Gnabry raced away to score. Lewandowsi, clearly enjoying himself, got among the scorers in the 76th minute after a stirring run from Canadian full back Alphonso Davies. The Germans had also wasted a series of chances in the first half. Thomas Mueller, one of three players who figured in Chelsea's 2012 Champions League final victory over Bayern in Munich, went closest in the 35th minute when he thumped the bar with a header from another Lewandowski cross. Tuesday's win proved a measure of revenge for that unlikely Chelsea victory and the Germans will feel fully confident of progressing when they welcome the London side for the second leg on March 18. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Having had to deal with the first Taiwan Strait crisis in 1954, the Eisenhower administration would not have described the Chinese leadership as accommodating. In September, China started shelling Taiwan- held offshore islands. Eisenhower and Dulles had been concerned that Jiang would try to force their hand with an attempt to make a move onto the mainland. But for reasons of credibility, as well as domestic politics, the Eisenhower administration felt it could not jettison the GMD leader. Thus, following intensifying Chinese shelling, it expanded the presence of the Seventh Fleet in the Taiwan Strait. It also sped up discussions between Taiwan and the US on a mutual defense treaty (MDT), which they saw as a way to simultaneously support and control Jiang. It was eventually signed in December 1954 despite concerns on the part of some, including Dulles. In a related exchange of letters, the US also got Taipei to commit not to unilaterally attack China. While the US had been considering the MDT, the State Departments Near Eastern and South Asia bureau had expressed concern that it would drive India closer to China. India would see the MDT as provocative and indicative of the lack of desire on the part of the US to reach a settlement with China. An intelligence assessment had added that India would see it as further evidence of US imperialistic interference in Asian affairs. But Nehrus reaction was more nuanced. He believed that earlier in his administration, Eisenhower had altered Trumans stance of restraining Taiwan from attacking China. This had heightened Chinese insecurities and destabilized the situation. Nehru told the British high commissioner that, if an MDT indicated that the US would restrain Taiwan from attacking the mainland, it would be commend[able] and useful in the long term even if Beijing was not immediately convinced of US sincerity. On his visit to Beijing, as the crisis continued, Nehru stressed the importance of diplomacy to his Chinese interlocutors. He emphasized that negotiations were the best method to solve issues related to Taiwan and Southeast Asia, instead of using armed force as [China did] now. Nehru emphasized that a diplomatic approach would pave the way toward easing Chinas isolation. That was important because Beijings lack of engagement meant it did not really understand countries outside the communist bloc. As the Taiwan Strait crisis escalated, toward the end of January 1955, Eisenhower sought and received congressional authorization to use force to protect Taiwan. The president and Dulles saw this action as brinkmanship to deter China; Nehru saw it as provocative. The prime minister thought it would prove ineffective and counterproductive to Eisenhower and Dulless stated goal of stabilizing the region.160 Believing that China was [l]ogically entitled to take possession of the offshore islands,161 he saw Dulless subsequent speech on providing a shield for the offshore islands as just making things worse. Nehru told his daughter the situation was dangerous, with two great countries with high ideas of their own prestige and face and with a good deal of passion [being] at logger- heads. He instructed his ambassador in the Soviet Union to urge Moscow to find a way to reduce the tension.Nehru did not want to make any public statements that would add to the problem. Otherwise quick to participate in multilateral efforts, he declined the Burmese premiers suggestion of a multilateral declaration.Extracted from Fateful Triangle: A view of Chinas impact on the US-India relationship by Tanvi Madan, with permission from Penguin Random House India. Dumpster fire, train wreck, meltdown pick your unflattering metaphor and odds are that someone is using it right now to describe Tuesday nights Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, S.C. It was not a pretty scene. Anyone tuning in hoping to gain clarity about the field was instead treated to a two-hour collective panic attack. There was too much yelling and cross talk for a coherent discussion to emerge, and the moderators seemed helpless to impose order. The more punches that were thrown and the more blood spilled, the harder it was to tell who was getting the better of whom. As a result, its unlikely much damage was done to any particular candidate as opposed to the field overall, which wound up looking frantic and fractured. And there was precious little fire focused on the current president. The whole fractious spectacle was like a scene out of Vladimir Putins anti-American fantasies. Or a Trump campaign commercial. This is how democracy works. Its messy, and it rarely runs like most people think it should especially when the stakes are as high as they are in this race. But even in the midst of Tuesdays brawl, there were a few illuminating, even hopeful, moments to be extracted, even if the effort left you with a headache. Unlike last weeks debate in Las Vegas, which focused on taking down Michael Bloomberg, this showdown made clear that all of the candidates not named Bernie Sanders realize that time is running out to emerge as the alternative to the inspiring yet divisive senator and that they are freaking out. After strong showings in the first three voting states, Mr. Sanders has emerged as the presumptive front-runner. This is a delight for the passionate plurality of Democrats who see him as the inspirational revolutionary who will save this nation. For the rest of the party, many of whom fear that Mr. Sanders is so far outside the mainstream that he would damage down-ballot candidates in the general elections, this development is unsettling if not outright terrifying. Tuesdays melee provided little solace, as the rest of the field struggled to distinguish themselves as the Bernie alternative. A Virginia Tech statistician has co-authored a timely new book that touches on the recent novel coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19 that has rattled many nations, particularly China. Ron Fricker, a professor in the Department of Statistics, wrote the 200-page book "Monitoring the Health of Populations by Tracking Disease Outbreaks: Saving Humanity from the Next Plague," with Steve Rigdon, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Saint Louis University. Using historical and contemporary examples, it describes how epidemiologists and biostatisticians track, identify, and monitor disease outbreaks, preventing global pandemics like the 1918 Spanish flu that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. "We were motivated to write the book because the work of public health officials often critically depends on the use of statistical methods to help discern whether an outbreak may be occurring and, if there is sufficient evidence of an outbreak, then to locate and track it," said Fricker, who also serves as associate dean for faculty affairs and administration in the Virginia Tech College of Science. "With the recent outbreaks of diseases such as swine and bird flu, Ebola, and COVID-19, the role that epidemiologists and biostatisticians play is more important than ever." So timely is the book with the COVID-19 outbreak -- centered in China, but present in numerous other countries, including the United States -- publication was briefly halted for numerical updates of those infected. As this story was being edited on Feb. 24, the number of worldwide confirmed cases stood at 79,000, with deaths topping 2,600. When publication of the book was paused mere weeks ago, the number of infected was only 700, Fricker said. He added, "Key to combatting and containing the virus is understanding how it affects people, including its morbidity and mortality; how it spreads between people; and tracking those who may be infected so that we can control and hopefully eliminate the outbreak. All of those tasks, and more, depend on the appropriate use of statistical methods." As described in the preface, "This book is the story of the application of statistics for disease detection and tracking. It is the story of how medical and public health professionals use statistics to separate critical disease information from all the noise of our modern world so that they can most effectively intervene and mitigate the effects of the disease." Fricker added that he saw first-hand public-health mobilization in response to COVID-19 during a recent trip to Switzerland. "When I landed in Milan airport, I saw airport workers wearing masks and had to go through a line, along with all the passengers from my plane, and have my temperature taken," he said. The book is part of the American Statistical Association and CRC Press' series on statistical reasoning in science and society. The series' goal is "to highlight the importance of statistical reasoning in our data-rich world and across many different aspects of everyday life," Fricker said. In addition to well-known contemporary communicable diseases, such as the Ebola virus, the book also has historical examples such as cholera, and yellow fever. Prior to joining Virginia Tech in 2015, Fricker was a professor in the Operations Research Department at the Naval Postgraduate School in California. He also has served as associate director of the National Security Research Division and a senior statistician at the RAND Corp. In his 20-year-plus career, Fricker has conducted statistical research on Gulf War illnesses, disease detection and surveillance, and body armor testing. ### Andhra Pradesh techie Annem Jyothy is all set to return home on Thursday after having spent nearly four weeks in virtual solitary confinement at her dormitory room in coronavirus hit Chinese town of Wuhan. 22-year old Jyothy from Andhra Pradeshs Kurnool district will be one among 80 Indians on the special flight returning from China after dropping relief material. We have received a message to this effect from the Indian embassy in China today, Jyothys fiance Amarnath Reddy, a chartered accountant working in Bengaluru, told Hindustan Times. Reddy said the Chinese authorities, who had not been responding to Jyothys repeated requests to send her back to India, finally gave the nod a couple of days ago. The embassy representatives got in touch with her and conveyed that she would be flown back to India, tentatively on Thursday morning, he said. The embassy authorities told her that they would inform her of the exact time of pick up. We are making arrangements for your pick up and onward movement to Wuhan airport by vehicles hired by the Embassy. You are requested to prepare for departure tomorrow morning, they conveyed to her in a message, which she had forwarded to her family members. Reddy said the exact timing of the arrival of the flight to India was not known yet. As per the message, the arrangements are still tentative and subject to change, he said. However, even after landing in India, Jyothy would not be able to meet her family members immediately. As we understand, she would land in Delhi first and then taken to a hospital for various tests to ensure that she doesnt carry the virus. Probably, she might have to stay in Delhi for a few days. We dont know when exactly, she would be able to come back to Kurnool, Reddy said. Jyothy and Reddy are scheduled to get married on March 15, but the family members are prepared to postpone it if needed. We are awaiting the arrival of Jyothy and only after that shall we take a call on the marriage. In all probability, we are prepared to postpone it to a later date, her mother Prameela told reporters in Kurnool. Prameela is happy that her daughter is returning safely after undergoing a harrowing experience in Wuhan. My prayers have borne fruit. I thank God for the safe return of my daughter, Prameela said. Reddy also said Jyothys safe return was more important than marrying as per the schedule. It is not a priority at all. I will be happy to see her back in the country and wait till she overcomes the trauma, he said. Jyothy, who hails from Bheemunipadu village in Koilakuntla Mandal of Kurnool district, was part of a 58-member team from TCL Corporation which went to Wuhan in November last for training. After the breakout of dreaded Coronavirus, all of them were flown back to India, barring Jyothy and her colleague Satya Sai Krishna, who were stopped at the immigration counter after a medical check-up revealed the had slightly higher body temperature than normal. Jyothy was sent back to the womens hostel, where she had been staying alone since February 1. She was found to be not infected and healthy but her requests to be sent back to India proved futile. After appeals from her family the Indian government convinced the Chinese authorities to send her back. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON But many of the people who cause problems are likely the ones who could benefit from a long-term city partnership with a mental health service provider. March 29th last year was, of course, the date that Brexit was supposed to take place. A delay was agreed but March 29th still saw a significant event take place. MPs voted, for a third time, on the Withdrawal Agreement that Theresa May had negotiated. It was voted down by a majority of 58 a clear margin but much closer than earlier votes. Those who are usually credited or blamed according to taste for that Government defeat are the Spartans, those Conservative MPs in the European Research Group who refused to back down. There were 34 Conservative MPs who voted against the Government on that occasion so the simple maths are that had they voted the other way the Agreement would have passed by ten votes. However, not all those 34 MPs were Spartans. They included six uncompromising Remainers Guto Bebb, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve, Sam Gyimah, Jo Johnson and Phillip Lee. So even if only the Spartans had switched then the Government would have still lost. However, the implications of the Spartan resistance went beyond the Parliamentary arithmetic. It was a very difficult time for Brexiteers. Those who voted with the Government included Boris Johnson (who had previously said the deal was vassal state stuff), Jacob Rees-Mogg (who said it was not so much a vassal state but a slave state), David Davis (a terrible deal) and Iain Duncan Smith (who had said Mays deal was the final deceit). Some of them had argued that a Brexit In Name Only would be worse than no Brexit at all. The logic was that as EU members there was a mechanism for leaving, while with Mays deal we would have been permanently trapped following EU rules. But they changed their minds., they folded. The decision they reached was that, after all, any Brexit was better than no Brexit. It was very painful for them. It wasnt easy for the Spartans either. Some of their friends and allies not merely disagreed but did so in emphatic even abusive terms. A constant refrain was: Could they not say how stupid they were being? The warning was not only that they would scupper Brexit but usher in a Corbyn Government. Yet they held firm including Priti Patel and Suella Braverman. Some, such as Mark Francois were pretty gung-ho about it. Most of the others agonised. Among them was Steve Baker, the MP for Wycombe and Chairman of the ERG. He says: Was the path clear? No. It was a huge gamble but we knew it was a huge gamble. Dominic Cummings told us we were Remains useful idiots and we knew we werent. We knew we needed a new Prime Minister and a new mandate but we just were not clear how we would achieve it. I had to watch David Davis, Boris Johnson both of whom Id resigned over Chequers with Jacob and Dom Raab some of my closest allies and friends fold and vote for the deal. It was awful. Just bringing it back I feel sick thinking about it. When Baker spoke to an ERG meeting his passion had great impact. What is our liberty for if not to govern ourselves? he asked. Most Brexiteers would now conclude that Baker and his allies were vindicated. Some in the DUP may regret not backing Mays deal, with the concern that Johnsons alternative will mean a regulatory border down the Irish Sea. Others may feel that just because a gamble paid off doesnt mean it was right to take it. It is true that the past year would have been hard to predict. The rise of the Brexit Party helped to nudge the Conservatives to replace May with Johnson. Then the fall of the Brexit Party allowed Johnson to defeat Corbyn. The EU agreed to allow Johnson a better deal despite repeated claims that to do so would be impossible. Then the Remainer MPs cause the public to lose patience by refusing to accept the deal and then, for some weeks, blocking a General Election. Baker could not have known all this would happen. Yet while his Ministerial office has been brief and at a junior level, he has had a greater impact on events than many of his more senior. Now he has put down his spear. His letter of resignation as Chairman of the ERG is below. We wish him well in his future challenges. What he has already accomplished is of great significance. Two years ago, thousands of protesters gathered in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and other cities across New Mexico to demand change after the Parkland massacre. I want to see Congress passing more gun laws, a 16-year-old high school student told the Albuquerque Journal. This year, the protesters showing up in Santa Fe are fewer in number and have one major difference: theyre carrying guns. The calls this year are against government overreach on their right to bear arms, part of the so-called Second Amendment sanctuary movement thats spreading lies and endangering public safety in states across the country. These gun-toting protesters are attempting to drown out the voices of thousands of New Mexicans who marched for change two years ago, who voted gun-safety champion Michelle Lujan Grisham into office, and who support common-sense gun laws. They failed. For a long time, enacting stronger gun laws was an afterthought. Lawmakers in states like New Mexico failed to take action. Now thats changing. Since the Parkland massacre, a sea change has rippled out across the country, with 137 gun safety bills signed into law in 32 states. Look at this state capitol. Lujan Grisham vowed to take action on gun safety if elected as governor and shes kept her promise. In 2019, New Mexico boosted its grade from an F to a C on Giffords Law Centers Annual Gun Law Scorecard by passing a package of bills to strengthen background checks and disarm domestic abusers, much-needed progress for a state with a gun-death rate higher than the national average. This year, legislators across the state are taking the next step in the fight to save lives: passing an extreme risk protection order law. New Mexico will become the 18th state to enact such a law, which enables a court to temporarily remove firearm access from people who threaten violence against themselves or others. It should be noted that both Republican and Democratic governors have signed them into law. Popular with the vast majority of Americans, extreme risk laws have been used to safely and effectively disarm individuals who have threatened mass shootings, firearm suicide and domestic violence. Earlier this month, Giffords published a report that looked at usage of extreme risk protection orders in Broward County, Florida, home of the deadly Parkland massacre. The data showed that time after time, law enforcement relied on this useful tool in moments of crisis while ensuring robust due process protections through the court system. The Second Amendment sanctuary movement has arisen largely in response to the rising popularity of extreme risk laws, most of which were enacted after Parkland. Some Americans have taken to the streets in armed protest; some sheriffs have claimed these laws violate constitutional freedoms and have refused to enforce them. But these sheriffs who are attempting to overrule the courts are not only wrong, theyre also endangering the lives of the people theyve sworn to protect. Extreme risk laws have been shown to reduce suicides in states like Connecticut and Indiana. The particularly tragic irony of New Mexico is that many of the counties quickest to declare themselves gun sanctuaries suffer from suicide rates higher than the state average. Gov. Lujan Grisham, Reps. Daymon Ely and Joy Garratt, both D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, are not letting an armed and vocal minority stop them. They are listening to their constituents and acting with courage. New Mexicans will be safer because these elected officials care more about the people they represent than special interests like the gun lobby. Progress is happening in New Mexico. Gun rights activists might try to use their guns to silence and intimidate us, but we wont let them have the last word. Giffords is the gun safety group started by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 assassination attempt. Roy Lewis Norris, one of the Tool Box Killers who preyed on teenage girls in Southern California more than 40 years ago, has died, state corrections officials said Tuesday. Norris and Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered five girls in 1979. Their nickname came from the tools like a screwdriver, pliers and an ice pick that they used on their victims. Norris, 72, died Monday at California Medical Facility, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement. He was transferred from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County to the hospital in Northern California last week and died of natural causes, officials said. His death came just weeks after that of Bittaker, who died of natural causes December 13, 2019 while on death row at San Quentin State Prison. He was 79. Roy Lewis Norris, 72, has died of natural causes at a California Medical Facility. Norris had been serving a 45-years-to-life sentence from Los Angeles County for four counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, two counts of forcible rape, and robbery that took place in 1979. He is pictured in his 30s, right and at the age of 70, left, in 2018 Norris' accomplice Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered five girls in 1979. Their nickname came from the tools like a screwdriver, pliers and an ice pick that they used to torture and kill their victims. Bittaker is pictured in his 30s, right, and at the age of 77, left in 2018 The killings began in June 1979, with the death of Lucinda Lynn Schaefer, 16. She was followed by Andrea Joy Hall, 18; Jacqueline Doris Gilliam, 15; Jacqueline Leah Lamp, 13, and Shirley Lynette Ledford, 16. Norris testified against Bittaker after pleading guilty to all charges in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty against him. He was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. The killings began in June 1979, with the death of Lucinda Lynn Schaefer (left), 16. The men also killed Jackie Doris Gilliam, 15 (right) Shirley Ledford, 16 (left), and Andrea Joy Hall, 18 (right) were both killed by the two men Jacqueline Leah Lamp, 13, was also murdered A Los Angeles jury convicted Bittaker of five counts of murder, five counts of kidnapping as well as other charges including criminal conspiracy, rape and sodomy. Bittaker was sentenced to death in 1981. He died of natural causes in December while still on death row. Norris and Bittaker drove around California in their silver 1977 GMC cargo van, which they nicknamed 'Murder Mac,' and abducted, raped and killed the teens. They admitted to kidnapping and raping their first victim, Schaefer, was abducted from Torrance, California, on June 24, 1979. Norris and Bittaker drove around California in their silver 1977 GMC cargo van The pair nicknamed the vehicle 'Murder Mac'. Inside, pictured, was where they rape, abducted and killed the teens Both men said they dumped Schaefer's body in a remote gorge, but each man blamed the other one for strangling her. Schaefer's body was never found. Hall, another victim, moved to Los Angeles, California in February 1978. She had no job at the time of her disappearance and was last seen hitchhiking along the Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach on July 8, 1979. She was picked up by Bittaker and Norris, who both admitted to killing Hall and dumping her body over a cliff. Her body was never found. Norris is pictures here complete with a handgun on the table and pornographic magazines A Los Angeles County jury convicted Bittaker (pictured) of five counts of murder, five counts of kidnapping as well as other charges including criminal conspiracy, rape, oral copulation, sodomy and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm Bittaker, pictured left, was sentenced to death in 1981 but remained on death row until his own death last December. Norris was sentenced to a term of 45 years to life and remained in prison Due to various legal challenges and court decisions, California has not executed anyone in years, and earlier this year Democratic Gov Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on executions for as long as he is in office. According to corrections statistics, 82 condemned California inmates have died from natural causes since 1978, when capital punishment was reinstated after a period in which the state Supreme Court ruled it to be cruel and unusual punishment. In that span, another 27 inmates have died by suicide, 13 have been executed in California, two have been executed in other states, and 14 have died from other causes. Determinations of the causes of death for four others are pending. There are now 729 inmates on the state's death row. WASHINGTON, D.C. - In television interviews before Tuesday nights debate between the Democratic Partys presidential candidates, Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge expressed doubts about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ability to clinch the partys nomination. He is starting out very much as he did in 2016, Fudge told Elaine Quijano of CBS News. Hes won two caucuses which ... are the most undemocratic process we have. And then hes won a state that is almost 90 percent white. I dont think he has shown me that he has the ability to take it all the way. She said former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has blown chance after chance to appeal to African American voters because hes not addressed the issues. When issues are raised about what happens about a black shooting in your city, he doesnt answer, said Fudge. Theyll say, Oh, well learn from our mistakes. What are you going to do when we say gentrification is destroying black peoples homes and businesses in your community ... Do you ever say Im sorry, I blew it, I made a mistake and Im going to fix it? He hasnt done that and hes been running for months and months." Fudge, who endorsed California Sen. Kamala Harris before she dropped out of the race, also said shed like to endorse a new candidate before Ohios March 17 primary and and hopes to do so before the Super Tuesday primaries. I think I owe it to the people I represent to make a decision, said Fudge. In a separate interview on Bloomberg TV, Fudge said she believes the United States is a center left country, not left left and that she believes the Democratic party must chose a center left candidate to bring into place the kind of coalition that it takes to beat Donald Trump. She noted that although Nevada is a diverse state, less than 5 percent of its electorate votes in a caucus. I do not think it is a good representation of the people in the state, she said. It is difficult. It is undemocratic. She said she believes polls that show former Vice President Joe Biden ahead in South Carolina, a state with a high proportion of African American voters. The vice president has a long history with people in South Carolina, she said. He used to vacation here. He was here an awful lot during the presidency of Barack Obama. I think that it is important that people know him and thats what helps him. Certainly, most of us vote for people that we either like or we believe in their policies, and I think for South Carolina, Joe Biden probably hits both of those. Read more coverage: Senate Democrats including Ohios Sherrod Brown block anti-abortion legislation Sen. Sherrod Brown says Trump is working with Russia to help his re-election Ohio Congress members want government action on coronavirus Meet Rep. Marcy Kaptur and the people who want to replace her in Congress Ohio Attorney General tosses out GOP voting complaint against Democratic congressional candidate Rep. Jim Jordan visits Israel and tours Temple Mount with former Knesset member who is later arrested Meet the three Democrats vying to take on Rep. Jim Jordan Former OSU wrestler Adam DiSabato calls out Rep. Jim Jordan on MSNBC Heres who says Jim Jordan knew - or didnt know - about sex abuse on OSUs wrestling team Retired carpenter challenges Rep. Dave Joyce in GOP primary Democratic congressional candidate did not illegally vote twice in same election, Lake County elections board says Trump budget proposes spending more than $100 million on federal buildings in Cleveland Port of Cleveland gets $11 million federal grant Two Democrats want to oust Rep. Anthony Gonzalez Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Anil Bhosale and three others were on Wednesday sent to police custody till March 6 by a Pune court in connection with the alleged Shivajirao Bhosale cooperative bank fraud case. Pune Police had on Tuesday arrested Bhosale along with three others in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 71.78 crore in Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank. Besides Bhosale, who is also the director of the cooperative bank, CEO Tanhaji Padval and S V Jadhav and chief accountant Shailesh Bhosale have also been arrested, Pune Police had said. Earlier in the month of January, Pune Police had registered a case against Bhosale, his wife, and around 15 others, including the board of directors, for alleged forgery, misappropriation and cheating. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reports of a young boy in Hubei province who watched his grandfather die and then remained at home alone for a number of days due to a coronavirus lockdown, has sparked outrage within China. Community workers in Shiyan reportedly found the body of a 70-year-old man who had been dead for two or three days at his home in the citys Zhangwan district. His grandson, aged five or six, was also present, Guo Ruibing, vice deputy director of the publicity department for Zhangwan district, told local media. Users on Weibo, Chinas main social media platform, have claimed that the boy survived on biscuits and, when asked why he had not left the home, told health workers: Grandpa said not to leave. There is a virus outside. Officials in China have denied reports that the man, discovered on Monday, had been dead for three days. With Shiyan on lockdown as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, health officials have been paying daily visits on residents to check their temperature and food supplies. Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Show all 10 1 /10 Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A man wearing a face mask crosses a road in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of the empty entrance to the UniversitA Cattolica (Catholic University) in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Empty streets in Daegu, South Korea, on 23 February 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone sanitation worker sits near the closed Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on February 24, 2020. Reuters Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A view of a deserted street in Codogno, northern Italy, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty Italian police officers set a road block in Codogno, Northern Italy, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A supermarket closed in Codogno, one the northern Italian towns placed under lockdown, on February 23, 2020. EPA Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty A lone cyclist wearing sanitary masks pedals in the center of Codogno, Northern Italy. LaPresse via AP Coronavirus: Streets around world left empty An empty road at the entrance of the small Italian town of Codogno on February 23, 2020. AFP via Getty The specific time and cause of the mans death are still under further investigation and will be announced by the Zhangwan district party committee. According to local media reports, the grandson has since been taken into care by the district and is in good health. The childs father is reportedly in Guangxi province, to the south of Hubei, and cannot return due to the lockdown measures. News of the boys ordeal has triggered widespread outrage online, with the Chinese government facing continuing criticism of its handling of Covid-19. It has also been accused of supressing information regarding the full scale of the outbreak. This thing made me so sad and distressed that I couldnt live my life at ease, wrote one user on Weibo. Recommended Coronavirus outbreak sweeps Europe as US fears pandemic This is not the first time an old man has died, leaving only one child at home, another said. You are the victims of the National Peoples home confinement. In an attack on the government and the spreading of mistrust and misinformation, one individual wrote: The reason why rumours are so common among the people is because they are so en vogue among the government. Zhangwan district in Shiyan was the first to enforce what have been described as wartime quarantine measures. Mainland China has recorded more than 81,000 cases of coronavirus and 2,769 deaths since the first outbreak in Wuhan 270 miles south of Shiyan late last year. Outside of China, Covid-19 has spread to more than 30 countries worldwide, with fears rising that the virus is rapidly approaching a pandemic scale. Regulatory News: Charging your electric or plug-in hybrid car at home is no longer a problem. With the Easy Wallbox, created by ENGIE Eps (Paris:EPS) exclusively for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, you can immediately recharge the new car as you drive out of a dealership, with no changes to your electrical system. The new ENGIE Eps charging device is plug-and-play just like any household appliance and is immediately functional: an essential requirement for the spreading of vehicle electrification at home. To showcase the new device and its no-fuss installation and use, FCA and ENGIE Eps have taken a Jeep Renegade 4xe and an Easy Wallbox to a location where one would not expect to see an electric car and its charging system: the beautiful alpine scenery of the Piana di Vigezzo (in the Vigezzo Valley, Northern Italy) at an altitude of almost 1.800 meters. This is the arrival station of Europe's longest continuous cable car, which will soon be powered by 'green energy', thanks to ENGIE Eps. After an effortless climb and descent of a steep snow-clad slope in electric mode, the Jeep Renegade 4xe was connected to an Easy Wallbox, installed for the event next to the ski lift station, with a breathtaking panorama of the Alps. Carlalberto Guglielminotti, CEO of ENGIE Eps, said during a press conference to present the device: "We want to demonstrate that no obstacle is too much for the Jeep and that it can be fully recharged using the Easy Wallbox technology, even at high altitude, in a mountain refuge and at sub-zero temperatures". Easy Wallbox can operate plug-and-play via a standard Schuko socket up to 2.2 kW. Moreover, with a dedicated power line the Easy Wallbox can operate at up to 7.4 kW: to recharge your car faster without the need to purchase another device. The Easy Wallbox is installed with two wall plugs, easily connects to the electricity grid and means you can recharge the car's batteries without exceeding your power contract or regulatory limits. In addition, with an electrician only needing to perform a non-invasive intervention, the device uses only the power available in your home in real-time, avoiding any risk of blackouts. "Easy Wallbox continued Guglielminotti has been patented by ENGIE Eps, exclusively for FCA. The product was designed and is manufactured entirely in Italy. It is the only wallbox that up to 2.2kW does not need to be set up by an installer or electrician. It is the result of the work of around 100 engineers and researchers at ENGIE Eps, who, together with the Polytechnics of Turin and Milan, have for over 15 years been helping Italian technology achieve excellence that is renowned around the world. Dating back to 2017, the partnership between ENGIE Eps and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles whose e-Mobility strategy has always been underway in the EMEA region for several months- is aimed at managing the changes in the best possible way and at coordinating all work related to electric mobility. Roberto Di Stefano, Head of e-Mobility: "The journey we have embarked on does not consist only of vehicle electrification, but is a completely different way of looking at car use and mobility in general." A number of electric and hybrid models are coming soon: from the Fiat Panda and 500 Hybrid already on sale to the Jeep Renegade and Compass PHEV within the first half of the year, to the new 500 and the all-electric Ducato, which will come later. They are the first, fundamental move in a comprehensive, developed strategy, a new way of conceiving mobility that puts the environment at the center without losing sight of customers' requirements. "FCA has therefore begun Di Stefano continued to compose a true "ecosystem" of products and services, to meet the expectations of those who will use electric and electrified cars, so that the use of these cars becomes a widespread and well-established habit." The partnership with ENGIE Eps emblematic of this new way of operating includes the construction at the FCA Mirafiori plant in Turin of both the largest experimental Vehicle to Grid (V2G) project in the world, as well as the "Solar Power Production Unit", in collaboration ENGIE Italy. "Thanks to V2G project concluded Distefano we are creating an asset which when completed will be comprised of 700 vehicles and which will be able to produce 25 MW of electric power and provide stabilization services to the electrical grid when the vehicles are not utilized. While the solar panels of the second project (installed over the 120 thousand square meters of roofs and covering 1,750 parking spaces of 30 thousands square meters) will produce 15 MW of electric power, contributing to the reduction for more than 5 thousand tons of CO2 per year and supplying sustainable energy for the charging of the electrical vehicles produced at Mirafiori". About ENGIE EPS ENGIE EPS is an industrial player within the ENGIE group that develops technologies to revolutionize the paradigm shift in the global energy system towards renewable energy sources and electric mobility. Listed on Euronext Paris (EPS:FP), ENGIE EPS is listed in the CAC Mid Small and the CAC All-Tradable financial indices. Its registered office is in Paris and conducts its research, development and manufacturing in Italy. For more information: www.engie-eps.com Follow us on LinkedIn About FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automaker that designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of exciting brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people around the globe. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005487/en/ Contacts: ENGIE EPS Press and Media: eps@imagebuilding.it Investor Relations: ir@engie-eps.com (TNS) A Lincoln company that offers performance measurement and management services for health care companies is the latest victim of cybercriminals.NRC Health recently disclosed that it was the victim of a ransomware attack Feb. 11.In a statement, Paul Cooper, the company's chief information officer, said it immediately shut down its system in an effort to contain the attack, launched its own investigation and notified the FBI.Cooper said in the statement that NRC Health "has made significant progress in restoration to our systems and services to our customers and we anticipate full restoration in the coming days. At this time, there is still no evidence of unauthorized access to or acquisition of any data from our systems, including protected health information or other confidential information as a result of this incident."Despite the company's assurances that there was no evidence of patient data being compromised, CNBC reported last week that some of NRC Health's clients were worried that it might eventually be discovered that there was a breach, which would require them by law to notify their patients.Other clients also reported to CNBC that they were worried about confidential business information being stolen.Ransomware attacks involve a type of malware that essentially overrides the encryption of files. Perpetrators of the attack then demand money either to restore access to the files or to prevent sensitive data from being made public.According to a report from Comparitech, a website that reviews computer products and services, there have been 172 ransomware attacks just on health care organizations since 2016, including four others in Nebraska.Doug Rausch, an assistant professor and program director for cybersecurity at Bellevue University, said ransomware use is on the rise, "and one of the reasons is because it works."Rausch said organizations often just pay the ransom because it can take weeks to restore data if they even can restore the data.He said paying the ransom is risky, because there is no guarantee the perpetrator will restore access to the data, and even if it does, there's no guarantee it won't leave behind malware in the system or steal data.Ransomware is just one kind of cyberattack that businesses, government agencies and nonprofits are faced with.Among the most common are "phishing" attacks, in which perpetrators try to get someone to click on a link in an email; hacking into systems and stealing passwords or data; and overwhelming a company or organization's servers to prevent them from being able to conduct their normal business.According to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center, there was a 17% increase in reported cyberattacks in 2019, compared with a year earlier.And that's only actual breaches that are reported. CPO Magazine reported last year that only about 10% of cybercrimes are reported to authorities.There have been several high-profile cyberattacks in the past couple of years that either targeted Nebraska-based entities or affected a significant number of state residents.Among them were:* A data breach reported by Ameritas in July, in which several of its employees fell victim to a phishing scam. The company said an undisclosed number of customers may have had data exposed, including names, Social Security numbers and policy numbers.* Malware installed on point-of-sale devices at some Hy-Vee fuel pumps, drive-thru coffee shops and restaurants allowed scammers to steal credit and debit card information.* In July 2018, Boys Town National Research Hospital reported a data breach that potentially exposed the personal health information of more than 105,000 people.Government agencies are often targets of cyberattacks, and just last week, the city of Wayne reported a ransomware attack that crippled all of its Internet-based systems.The town said on its Facebook page that it didn't believe any personal information was compromised.Utilities are another frequent target of cyberattacks.The New York Times reported last year that Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville had been targeted by Russian hackers in 2017.Nebraska Public Power District, which owns the plant, denied the report, but a spokesman did tell the Journal Star that attempted foreign-based cyberattacks against Nebraska power plants are not unusual.Lincoln Electric System for the first time last year started providing its board with a tally of potential cybersecurity issues.A report given at the January board meeting listed 1,766 suspicious emails and 274 cyber "events" in 2019.LES spokeswoman Kelley Porter said the events included everything from multiple failed log-in attempts by a user to servers not responding anything that could point to a cyberintrusion."Our cyberteam is overly cautious on these events to make sure we look at all of them," she said. "We are trying to identify suspicious activity in our network before something happens like ransomware or a data breach."Experts say the best defense against cyberattacks is to practice cybersafety. That includes things such as not clicking on links in email, not opening unknown attachments, changing passwords often and not sharing them with others, and keeping operating systems and anti-virus protection up to date.Rausch said prevention is vital, but organizations also need to be prepared to respond to an attack and have a restoration plan in place."You need to believe you are going to get attacked," he said. Bernie Sanders has claimed he can win the Democratic primary in Texas and then go on to defeat Donald Trump in the historically Republican stronghold in November. On the back of wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, the Vermont senator has held rallies in the cities of El Paso, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. We have won the popular vote in Iowa, we won the New Hampshire primary, we won the Nevada caucus, and dont tell anybody because these folks get very, very agitated and nervous, he said in Houston. Were gonna win here in Texas, and in November were gonna defeat Trump here in Texas. The confidence of the Sanders campaign comes as his rivals have stepped up their attacks on him, arguing he is too left wing to beat Mr Trump in a general election. At the partys 10th primary debate on Tuesday in South Carolina, the Vermont senator came under fire for everything from his healthcare plan, to a trip to Moscow shortly after he got married, and comments made many years ago praising the results secured by Fidel Castros education system. 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 I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing, Mr Sanders later told CNN. That is a fact. End of discussion. Supporters of the Vermont senator, a self-described democratic socialist for more than 40 years, point to polls putting him ahead in next Tuesdays Texas primary, one of more than a dozen states that will be voting on what has come to be known as Super Tuesday. An average of polls collated by RealClearPolitics puts him on 22 points, ahead of Joe Biden, 20, and Elizabeth Warren on 15 points. Meanwhile, another poll, conducted for the Texas Lyceum, a non-profit group, suggested Mr Sanders was the strongest Democrat in hypothetical match-ups with Mr Trump, falling just three points short of him on 50-47. This compared to 51-46 for Mr Biden, 52-44 for Ms Warren and 51-43 for Pete Buttigieg. A victory in Texas next Tuesday would mark a major milestone and potential tipping point for the Sanders campaign, as it seeks to collect delegates and tie up the nomination ahead of the partys summer convention. Yet a win in November would be little short of staggering. Texas is a major prize, with the highest number of electoral college votes, 38, other than California, where Mr Sanders also looks strong. For more than a century, Texas was a Democratic stronghold but since the 1970s it has become solidly Republican. The last Democrat to hold a statewide office was in the 1990s, and the partys last presidential candidate to win here was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Recommended Meet the Democratic women looking to turn Texas blue in 2020 Demographic changes in places such as Houston have given Democrats cause to hope. The 2018 midterms saw the party pick up a handful of seats in the House of Representatives, and Beto ORourkes long-shot challenge to Ted Cruz in the Senate race shocked both parties, even though Mr Cruz held on 51-48. Last year saw at least six Republicans from the House announce they were standing down, amid a so-called Texodus. Among them was Will Hurd, the only African American Republican congressman. The Independent previously reported on efforts to turn red Texas blue, driven in large part by large numbers of women candidates challenging for House seats, Senate races, and control of the state assembly, something considered a priority. Yet longtime Texan political strategists from both parties believe while Mr Sanders could win the primary, it would very difficult to beat Mr Trump there. Matt Mackowiak, president of the Potomac Strategy Group, told The Independent: I think Bernie could win the primary. But if hes the candidate in November, I think Trump will increase the nine point advantage he had in 2016. He added: I think Bernie Sanders will be radioactive in the suburbs, and that he will also impact down ticket races. Bernie Sanders calls Benjamin Netanyahu a 'reactionary racist' Matt Angle, a Democratic strategist and founder of the Lone Star Project, a political action committee that funds Texas candidates, said last year that he believes the party could win the state if it had the correct candidate and was willing to spend up tp $100m on political advertising. He said the best candidates would be Mr Biden or Texan Beto ORourke, who has since dropped out. Mr Angle said this week his assessment had not changed, and that he believed it would be hard for the likes of Mr Sanders or Ms Warren to win in Texas. I think Bernie Sanders has a ceiling in Texas, he said. Ive been doing Texas politics a long time and Ive seen how you win here, and how you lose. You dont win by thinking youre suddenly going to have this mass of new voters. He added: We have been plagued by people from outside of Texas, coming here and telling us how to win, even though they have never ran a campaign here. Yet Mr Sanders appeared unconcerned. This is the most consequential election in the modern history or our country. We are not only going to win in Texas on Super Tuesday, we are going to beat em in November. We are not going to have Trump for another term, he told supporters at the Vic Mathias Shores park in Austin. According to the Statesman, he added: The pundits tell us Texas is conservative state. I dont believe that for a minute. And I believe that if the working people of Texas, black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American stand up and come out to vote, youre gonna make this one of the most progressive states in America. He said: The limitations of our imagination are the crisis we face today. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders invoked Barack Obama during Tuesday evenings Democratic debate as part of the Vermont senators defense of his previous remarks praising aspects of the regime of late Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro. What Barack Obama said was they made great progress on education and health care, Sanders said from the debate stage. That was Barack Obama. Fellow 2020 contender Joe Biden, attempted to push back on Sanderss characterization of Obamas remarks. He did not in any way suggest that there was anything positive about the Cuban government acknowledge that they did increase life expectancy, but he went on to condemn the dictatorship, the former vice president interjected. Occasionally, it might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy, and that includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world in Chile, in Guatemala, in Iran, and when dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good, you acknowledge that, but you dont have to trade love letters with them, Sanders continued. Sanders has doubled down on his praise of elements of the Castro regime since Sunday, when CBS aired comments Sanders made during the 1980s. In the decades-old clip, the Vermont senator claimed that part of the reason the Cuban people did not help the U.S. overthrow Castros regime was because the authoritarian leader provided them with health care and education. Were very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but, you know, its unfair to simply say everything is bad, Sanders said Sunday on 60 Minutes when confronted with those older comments. He went on to praise Castros massive literacy program, saying, Is that a bad thing even though Fidel Castro did it? He was, however, careful to clarify that he denounces Castros practice of imprisoning political opponents. In March, 2016, Obama visited Cuba and called the countrys education system an extraordinary resource a system of education that values every boy and every girl. Story continues Look, youve made great progress in educating young people, Obama said he told Castro, speaking days afterwards at a town hall. Every child in Cuba gets a basic education. Thats a huge improvement from where it was. Medical care. The life expectancy of Cubans is equivalent to the United States despite it being a very poor country because they have access to healthcare. Thats a huge achievement.They should be congratulated. But you drive around Havana and, this economy is not working. It looks like it did in the 1950s. More from National Review Less than 24 hours after Delhi Chief Minister said that police was doing its job well and there was no need to seek added support, Arvind Kejriwal did a U-turn on Wednesday and sought the Army's help and curfew imposed in the northeast districts as the toll rose to 18 in the last four days of violence between pro- and anti-CAA supporters. "I have been in touch wid large no of people whole nite. Situation alarming. Police, despite all its efforts, unable to control situation and instil confidence," Kejriwal tweeted. Earlier on TUesday after his meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, Kejriwal had expressed confidence in the police when the toll stood at nine. "Army should be called in and curfew imposed in rest of affected areas immediately. Am writing to Hon'ble HM (Shah) to this effect," he said. Taking account of the rampant violence, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik reached Seelampur area at midnight. Shah will brief the Union Cabinet later in the day. Rome prepares for potential Coronavirus emergency. Lazio regional health authorities are setting up pre-triage tents outside 31 hospitals in Rome and the Lazio region, in preparation for a potential outbreak of Coronavirus, as the number of cases around Italy reaches 322, with 11 Coronavirus-related deaths. The first of the medical tents has been erected at the Spallanzani in Rome, a specialist centre for the treatment of infectious diseases where a Chinese couple - Italy's first two cases of Coronavirus - are being treated. The other structures, described by Lazio regional health councillor Alessio D'Amato as "pre-triage marquees", will be set up in 30 hospitals around the Lazio region in the coming days. The 700-sqm inflatable tents will act as "reception areas to filter" patients, said D'Amato, where medics can detect possible Coronavirus cases before patients are transferred elsewhere. READ ALSO D'Amato said that the Lazio region must be prepared for a situation "that we do not wish for but one which we are ready to face." The councillor also stressed that the Lazio region has had no idigenous Coronavirus infections and that the patients being treated in Rome are making good progress. Coronavirus information For information on the Coronavirus, and precautions you can take, see Italy's health ministry website. Cover photo Il Tempo Will the chanting of protesters drown out one of Latin Americas biggest music festivals? The opening of Chiles Vina del Mar music festival has been marred by violence as protesters make their voices heard. It is the latest show of anger over economic inequality in four months of unrest. Despite a huge deployment of security forces, more trouble is expected throughout the week. Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman reports from Vina del Mar. The Indian republic is passing through bizarre times. Bizarre, because the republic has come to such a pass that democratic rights and practices are under serious threat. And the threat is felt more by those citizens who seek to exercise their right to dissent, the essence of democracy. Anyone who opposes a government act, anyone who talks of universalism or anyone who denounces ubernationalism is now being painted a traitor. Those who seek to critique the powers-that-be are pounced upon by the executive and put behind bars. Independent media reporting events truthfully has long become a rare activity. The worst casualty of all these authoritarian and majoritarian actions is the right to dissent. Its in this context that we should cheer the refreshing, if rare voices coming out of the benches. Justice Deepak Gupta of the Supreme Court has categorically stated that just because you hold a contrary view does not mean you are going against the country. It may be towards the government, but not towards the country. If some party gets 51 per cent votes, it doesnt mean that the other 49 per cent should accept whatever is done by the majority without protest, Justice Gupta said, delivering a lecture on democracy and dissent organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association last week. On Wednesday, a division bench of Justice S. Muraleedhar and Anup Bhambhani of the Delhi high court made it plain to the Delhi police that the court will not allow another 1984... especially under the watch of the court and under the police. While welcoming the courageous stand of some of the members of the bench, democracy lovers must remember that they are now reduced to celebrating something which must be taken for granted. This is sad. We need our institutions to champion the spirit of democracy and dissent, always and everytime. Such judges must be the rule, not the exception. The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States will be discussing the Trump administration's destruction of sacred sites during construction of a wall along the border with Mexico. The legislative panel invited Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney to testify at the hearing on Wednesday afternoon . Just two weeks ago, she was told about the destruction of burial grounds in Arizona by Tohono Oodham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. "You have an obligation to protect sacred sites, sacred areas and religious areas for Native American people," Norris, whose nation was divided by the imposition of the border through the tribe's homelands, told Sweeney. "You have failed to protect those areas." EARLIER: You have an obligation to protect sacred sites and sacred areas. You have failed: Tohono Oodham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr blasts Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney for letting Trump administration desecrate sacred places for wall along US border. pic.twitter.com/yrEzEgetBJ indianz.com (@indianz) February 11, 2020 "I call on you to exercise your responsibility and stop the destruction of sacred sites within Native American communities," Norris said to applause at the winter meeting of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C., on February 11. But Sweeney, who is the Trump administration official with the most responsibilities in Indian Country, will not be appearing at the hearing alongside Norris. The Department of the Interior is instead sending Scott Cameron, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget, to testify. "The department remains committed to meaningfully consulting with tribes on a government- to-government basis with regard to each plan and action the department takes that has tribal implications," Cameron says in written testimony that describes the discovery of human remains at border construction sites. The hearing takes place at 2pm Eastern in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building. The witness list follows: The Honorable Ned Norris, Jr. Chairman The Tohono Oodham Nation Sells, AZ Panel IThe Honorable Ned Norris, Jr.Chairman The Tohono Oodham NationSells, AZ Ms. Sarah Krakoff Moses Lasky Professor of Law University of Colorado Law School Boulder, CO Ms. Sarah KrakoffMoses Lasky Professor of LawUniversity of Colorado Law SchoolBoulder, CO Ms. Shannon Keller OLoughlin Executive Director Association on American Indian Affairs Rockville, MD Ms. Shannon Keller OLoughlinExecutive DirectorAssociation on American Indian AffairsRockville, MD Mr. Steve Hodapp Retired Independent Contractor & Environmental Specialist Lexington, VA Mr. Steve HodappRetired Independent Contractor & Environmental SpecialistLexington, VA Panel II Dr. Anna Maria Ortiz Director, Natural Resources and Environment U.S. Government Accountability Office Washington, D.C. Panel II Dr. Anna Maria OrtizDirector, Natural Resources and EnvironmentU.S. Government Accountability OfficeWashington, D.C. Mr. Scott Cameron Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. Mr. Scott CameronPrincipal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and BudgetU.S. Department of the InteriorWashington, D.C. The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States is part of the House Committee on Natural Resources House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States Notice Join the Conversation Related Stories Just 10 days after Jeremy Christian jabbed a knife into the necks of three fellow passengers on a MAX train, authorities learned he sought to profit from his crimes by trying to orchestrate the sale of a book he owned. Christian tried to get the book, about Jehovahs Witnesses, featured on a website that auctions off memorabilia belonging to murderers. Prosecutor Don Rees highlighted the story of Christians profit-making scheme to jurors Tuesday -- just one example of why he said jurors should find Christian lacks remorse for the carnage he caused on the crowded train May 26, 2017, as it pulled into the Hollywood Transit Center in Northeast Portland. After 15 days of trial, jurors found Christian guilty last week of 12 crimes, including first-degree murder for the deaths of Taliesin Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best, attempted first-degree murder for the serious wounding of Micah Fletcher and hate crimes against two teenage girls, one who was wearing a hijab. Jurors returned to the courtroom this week to answer six questions that will help Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht decide what sentence Christian should receive. Among the questions: Were Christians crimes fueled by his unreasonable racial and religious bias? Did he show a callous disregard for the value of human life? Is he likely to be violent in the future? Has he failed to show remorse? Prosecutors are asking the 12-person jury to answer yes to each of those questions. Jurors will return Wednesday to hear more evidence before deciding on their answers. No sentencing date has been scheduled yet -- and it could be as far off as late March or April, based on preliminary discussions between the lawyers. Oregons new first-degree murder law, which took effect Sept. 29, empowers the judge with two sentencing options: Life in prison with a 30-year minimum and whats known as true life, which is life in prison with no possibility of release. Christians defense attorneys, however, are arguing that the new law, passed as Senate Bill 1013 last summer, is constitutionally flawed and as a result leaves the judge with only one option: sentencing Christian to life with a 30-year minimum. Prosecutor Jeff Howes said his office hadnt had enough time to research the defenses contention. The two sides will argue that at a later date. On Tuesday, prosecutors focused on painting a picture for jurors of Christian as self-absorbed, angry, hateful, pro-criminal and violent. Rees said Christian has stated that he wanted to write a song about the MAX murders. The prosecution called on the testimony of Multnomah County corrections deputies who have interacted with Christian in jail since his arrest more than 2 1/2 years ago. Deputy Ivan Lopez-Mendoza said Christian three days after the stabbings paced back and forth and yelled that he was a true Viking and a patriot. Lopez-Mendoza said Christian warned that anyone who does not believe in freedom shall be killed. Deputy Ryan Cook said he heard Christian refer to a black jail sergeant using a racist slur for African Americans and that Christian referred to Cook by using a slur for gay people. He said Christian then told him to perform a sex act on the sergeant. When Cook said he told Christian to use respectful language, Christian responded by swearing at him and exclaiming, You have no power over me. An investigator for the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office, Steve Ober, offered the most extensive testimony about Christian. Ober quoted from a letter written by Christian that appeared to mock his victims, using such language as idiots and stupid. In another letter written within 10 days of the stabbings, Christian tried to orchestrate the selling of his Jehovahs Witnesses book. Christian boasted about the value of the item because he claimed it had been signed by a rapist priest and previously been owned by convicted murderer Christian Longo, who killed his wife and three children along the Oregon coast in 2001. That, Christian wrote, makes the book a triple threat!!! ... ALL HAIL MAX MURDER MACABRE!!! On Wednesday, a defense-hired psychologist is expected to testify about who Christian is as a person and his unusual psychological profile. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Keep up with key trial events and takeaways by signing up for The Oregonian/OregonLives Jeremy Christian trial newsletter at oregonlive.com/newsletters. Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to require the city's Police Department to regularly report data on victims of hate crimes, among other crimes. Supervisor Gordon Mar initially called for the data back in July 2019, amid what he said were growing incidents in hate motivated crimes, particularly property crimes targeting Chinese residents and businesses. The passing of Mar's Crime Victim Data Disclosure Ordinance comes just a day after police said they were investigating a viral video shot in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, in which suspects appear to rob an elderly Asian man of the recyclables he was collecting, as a crowd of onlookers laugh and taunt the victim. "The shocking and racially-fueled attack of an older Chinese man collecting recyclables is the latest in a continual series of high-profile crime incidents targeting older Chinese community members in Chinatown, Southeast neighborhoods and the Sunset District," he said. Mar's legislation will require police to issue quarterly reports on the aggregated demographic data of crime victims, like their age, race and gender. Police would also be required to report motivating factors for 15 different types of serious crimes, including hate crimes. The legislation does not require police to gather any additional data, but simply to report available data that is already being collected. During their meeting, the Board of Supervisors also unanimously passed Supervisor Catherine Stefani's ordinance to amend the city's police code, requiring officers to obtain gun violence restraining orders for individuals in certain circumstances, barring them access to firearms. Referring to the October 2019 shooting death of 21-year-old Maria Villagomez in the city's Merced Manor area, at the hands of her boyfriend, Stefani said, "The people around this individual knew he was unstable and dangerous, but they did not have any tool to successfully intervene. This ordinance would give them that tool." Supervisors also approved the city's lease of 888 Post St., the future site of a 75-bed Navigation Center for young people between 18 and 24 years old experiencing homelessness. The site would be the city's first Navigation Center for that age group, providing shelter for people while allowing partners, pets and possessions, with 24/7 access, along with services. "There are far too many young people sleeping on our streets every night, and this proposed shelter at 888 Post will help us provide much needed shelter and services to those who need it," Mayor London Breed said in a statement. Also Tuesday, Supervisor Hillary Ronen introduced legislation to allow nonprofit agencies providing arts, cultural, philanthropic or social services to operate out of vacant storefront properties via a temporary-use permit option. "By creating a streamlined process for nonprofit activities in vacant properties, this new low-barrier, temporary-use permit will help mitigate the presence of neighborhood blight, promote art and cultural activities, and encourage greater economic activity along our commercial corridors that are deeply struggling with vacancies," she said. Lastly, Supervisor Ahsha Safai introduced legislation, which he said was in response to the rise in vehicle sideshows on city streets. "Through social media, and through organizing we've seen a major increase in sideshows," he said. "In particular, we'd like to see something that talks about naming these acts as a public nuisance." If sideshows are deemed a public nuisance, Safai said, "the drivers, the spectators, everyone involved, we can not only seize their vehicles, but we can auction them and the city can take full ownership of the vehicles. I know it sounds extreme. "Police in many ways are somewhat helpless; they can come and contain the area; they have the ability to take video. But the first and foremost concern is safety," he said. "This is a dangerous act. Spectators can die, people driving the car can die. And by the way, the only people who should be doing these types of acts in a car are full on stunt people, with the proper safety equipment and years and years of training." On Sunday, police said they were seeking people involved in at least four separate sideshows throughout the city on Saturday night. According to police, each sideshow attracted 50 to 100 vehicles, along with numerous spectators and bystanders. No injuries or collisions were reported in connection with the shows. 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. NEW DELHI As the death toll from sectarian violence that has convulsed Indias capital passed 20 on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a quick restoration of calm and normalcy. Peace and harmony are central to our ethos, Mr. Modi said via Twitter, a day after hosting President Trump. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. Streets that had been a battle zone were much quieter on Wednesday, with a few sporadic attacks reported but no large-scale mayhem. [February 25, 2020] General Micro Systems' (GMS) VME120 Brings Latest Intel CPUs and Tech Refresh to Naval Combat and Control Systems RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The new General Micro Systems (GMS) VME120 single-board computer (SBC) family is form, fit, and functionally compatible with multiple generations of currently deployed VME boards. This enables Navy platforms to be easily upgraded to include the latest-and-greatest Intel processing and graphics performance while maintaining backward compatibility with long-running legacy programs. The Aegis combat system, DDGx and other Navy programs have relied on GMS VME SBCs for critical applications such as fire control, engine control, machinery control, and operator console displays. The Navy's evolving software requirements and program enhancements mandate performance higher than that provided by the original VME boards, which in turn requires the market's newest processors and features. The new VME120 versions maintain backward compatibility with legacy systems and add latest-generation Intel Kaby Lake Core i7 processors and modern graphics features. GMS VME SBCs are designed for technology refresh/insertion and easy pre-planned product improvement (P3I) using the same backplane, signal positions, and front panel connections. This enables naval customers to enjoy the performance benefits of Intel's newest processors by simply unplugging the older model, plugging in the new model, and loading the software. "We have supplied three different product families to the Navy, hundreds of boards, and three generations of Intel and Motorola processors," said Ben Sharfi, CEO and chief architect at GMS. "In every single case, it was a smooth upgrade for the Navy, which is why they keep coming back to us. No other VME vendor in the industry can claim this tech-refresh success rate." GMS has been building VME boards and systems since the VME standard's inception, over 30 years ago. The company's VME boards and systems use a modular "engine" containing the processor that can be evolved as technology changes over time. The engine plugs onto a VME base "carrier" board with system interfaces that change very slowly, if at all. The elegance of this design approach is that the processor and memory evolve with Moore's Law, while connections to the VME system remain constant and predictable. Early versions of the VME SBC family started with Motorola PowerPC and Intel Core Duo CPUs, while current versions, including the GMS VME120 "Royal Albatross," are based on Intel's four-core, 7th-generation Core i7 Kaby Lake CPU. Backward Compatible, Leading-Edge VME Feature Set The VME120 is available in three versions: a single-slot version that replaces fourth generation Intel "Haswell" processors, and two dual-slot versions. One of the dual-slot versions replaces an earlier fourth generation Intel processor and the other replaces an erlier Motorola PowerPC CPU. All told, the VME120 replaces either two or three earlier generations of previously deployed GMS Intel- or Motorola-based SBCs. Unique to the VME120 is the modular design that enables it to remain backward compatible with legacy versions while also providing the newest and fastest graphics and processing. In the single-slot version, a PMC or XMC I/O board, or a SATA SSD can be mounted on the board to provide both backplane and front-panel I/O. The dual-slot versions add a PCI Express Workstation I/O (WSIO) mezzanine carrier card that supports additional I/O mezzanines: MXM (1x), PMC or XMC (3x). Collectively, the VME120-WSIO reduces an entire chassis' worth of VME boards into a mere two slots. Thanks to the VME120's backward compatibility, the card can support VME32, VME64, 3- and 6-row VME connectors, and a center P0 connector, depending on the variant. The 3.0 MHz Kaby Lake Xeon E3-1505M CPU is mated to 64 GB of DDR4 DRAM with ECC for added reliability. I/O includes: 2x 10GbE to the front panel, 2x 1GbE to the backplane, 4x SATA ports, 4x serial ports, 1x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0, a super I/O Com port to the front panel, HDMI and VGA to the backplane, and 16 GPIO on P2. Used with operator consoles, it also includes line in and mic in, plus headphone audio output. The VME120 supports the user's choice of an XMC/PMC with front panel I/O or a SATA SSD mounted on the SBC itself. The dual-slot VME120-WSIO provides up to three additional XMC/PMC sites, or two sites with an add-on MXM. When equipped with an MXM, the SBC supports triple video outputs, with options for dual VGA and "sync on green" for legacy military consoles. High-resolution images VME120 High-resolution images VME120-WSIO Datasheet VME120 Datasheet VME120-WSIO Datasheet VME120-WSIO Press release VME120 "Tech Refresh" Where: Booth #123 at the AFCEA West Premier Sea Services event in San Diego, Mar. 23, 2020. For interviews at the show, contact Kelly Wanlass at 801-602-4723 or [email protected], or GMS CTO Chris Ciufo at (360) 921-7556 or [email protected]. About General Micro Systems: General Micro Systems (GMS) is the rugged server company. The company is known as the industry expert in highest-density, modular, compute-intensive, and rugged small form-factor embedded computing systems, servers, and switches. These powerful systems are ideal for demanding C4ISR defense, aerospace, medical, industrial, and energy exploration applications. GMS is an IEC, ISO, AS9100, NIST-800-171, and MIL-SPEC supplier with infrastructure and operations for long-life, spec-controlled, and configuration-managed programs. Designed from the ground up to provide the highest performance and functionality in the harshest environments on the planet, the company's highly customizable products include GMS Rugged DNA with patented RuggedCool cooling technology. GMS is also the leader in deployable high-end Intel processors and a proud Intel partner since 1986. For more information, visit www.gms4sbc.com. General Micro Systems and the General Micro Systems logo are trademarks of General Micro Systems, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. 2020 General Micro Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-micro-systems-gms-vme120-brings-latest-intel-cpus-and-tech-refresh-to-naval-combat-and-control-systems-301011285.html SOURCE General Micro Systems, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WASHINGTON Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today called for a permanent cease-fire in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, warning that a Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive that has driven a million civilians to flee toward the Turkish border could grow to imperil 3 million people. Aid groups also pleaded for a halt to the violence that has fueled the largest wave of displacement in the nine-year Syrian war as some former US diplomats and experts called for consideration of a Syria safe zone. The Assad regimes brutal new aggression there, cynically backed by Moscow and Tehran, imperils now more than 3 million displaced persons, including, as weve tragically seen, young people, Pompeo told journalists at the State Department today. As weve said many times before, the regime will not be able to obtain military victory. The answer is a permanent cease-fire and UN-led negotiations, Pompeo said. As President [Donald] Trump said on Tuesday [Feb. 18], we are working together with Turkey on seeing what we can do together. This is the worst wave of displacement weve seen during the Syrian conflict, Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross director for the Near and Middle East, said in a statement from the group today. We urge the parties involved to allow civilians to move to safety, either within the areas they control or across the front lines. The State Department, in an emailed response to questions from Al-Monitor, reiterated Pompeos call for a cease-fire, and condemnation of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its Russian and Iranian backers, and expressed solidarity with the Turkish government. But the United States has not yet announced additional pledges of support to address the staggering humanitarian crisis. The UN humanitarian affairs office last week said it was increasing its appeal to $500 million from $336 million to try to provide assistance to over a million people from northwest Syria over the next six months. We initially sought to help 800,000 displaced people over the next six months; we are now planning to address the needs of 1.1 million people, Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told journalists in Geneva on Friday. We join the UN in calling for an immediate cease-fire and for indiscriminate violence against the people of northwest Syria by the Assad regime, Russian, and Iranian forces to stop, a State Department spokesperson told Al-Monitor by email. The Syrian people are bearing the burden of Assad's push for victory and paying a terrible and deadly price, the spokesman continued, noting that more than 80% of the almost million people who have fled to date are women and children. Babies and small children are dying from the cold. More people are dying from attacks on settlements for the displaced. While the Assad regime and Russia continue to indiscriminately attack and kill civilians, the US government is providing humanitarian assistance to those in need in northwest Syria, the State Department spokesperson continued. Despite ongoing safety and security challenges for humanitarian agencies in northwest Syria, State and USAID partners continue to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable populations. US government partners are distributing essential relief items, food, and winterization support to internally displaced persons (IDPs); supporting hospitals and mobile clinics serving conflict-affected populations; and providing shelter and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance to IDPs in camps and informal settlements across the region. Turkey alone cannot handle the humanitarian fallout caused by Russia and the Assad regime's continued attacks on the people of northwest Syria, the State Department spokesperson said. We stand by our NATO ally Turkey against these actions. President Trump, in his call with Turkish President Erdogan on Saturday, reiterated our call for Russia to end its support for the Assad regime's atrocities and for a political resolution to the Syrian conflict. The massive exodus from Idlib province will not stop unless the people think their towns are secure from regime advance, said Syria researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. When I speak to people in Idlib, the level of desperation, and general belief that they are about to die en masse is very troubling, Tsurkov told a panel on Idlib hosted by the Middle East Institute on Friday. The US is providing intelligence support to Turkey, and top US Syria envoy James Jeffrey has intensively consulted with the Turks and has reached out to try to reenergize channels with the Russians, Syria expert Charles Lister said. But US presidential leadership is likely required for the US to mobilize a diplomatic coalition to try to address the Idlib crisis, Lister said. You need the president to lead what would inevitably be primarily a diplomatic campaign a diplomatic coalition of the willing that significantly escalated the matter on the diplomatic stage, Lister, with the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor. It would not be a total game changer, but it may give the Turks the confidence they currently lack to do what they are capable of in terms of significant pushback. ... They feel they are alone. If we were to generate a diplomatic coalition, the ask would likely be for a safe zone which stretches 35 kilometers [22 miles] into Idlib, until the M4 highway, he said. That is where Turkey has created a string of observation posts. Al-Monitor's Feb. 21 Week in Review noted that in light of the deadlock at the UN Security Council to address Idlib progress could come through engagement with Moscow. "US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin probably need to talk and see if some common ground can be found." Former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford also called in an article Monday for a Syria safe zone, but a smaller one (about 10 miles deep) than Lister thinks is required. The best option that eschews direct US military intervention is a safe zone located on the Syrian side of the Turkish border that is defended by Turkish artillery, missile, and antiaircraft systems located on the Turkish side of the border, Ford wrote in Foreign Affairs. If Syrian aircraft approach the safe zone, Turkey-based air defenses could hit them in Syrian airspace. This might be enough to deter the Syrian military . If it is not, Turkey could counter with artillery and rocket fire, coordinating with Syrian opposition fighters. The safe zone could be less than ten miles deep only as far as the Turkish military could reliably cover from its side of the border. But Ford told Al-Monitor he doubted that the US administration would back the safe zone idea, in part because of lingering anger at Turkey in parts of the US administration, particularly the Pentagon. I would be amazed if Washington does anything, Ford said. While Jeffrey and the State Department have expressed solidary with Ankara, he said, other parts of the US administration, particularly the Pentagon, are furious at the Turks. Ford was also pessimistic that US engagement could secure Russian backing for an Idlib de-escalation. We have been trying to get sincere and meaningful Russian cooperation since the Syrian uprising started in 2011, Ford, now with the Middle East Institute, said. And the Russians have consistently on every occasion defended the Syrian government and declined to put hard-hitting pressure on Damascus. The Russian goal is not to promote an American role in Syria or the Middle East, Ford continued. The Russian goal is to reduce the American role in the Middle East. They have no incentive to restrain their Syrian ally because of an American diplomatic effort. The Russians decided, the longer the war goes on, the harder it is for the Syrian government to stabilize. and they want the Europeans, and the Gulf states, to help rebuild Syria, Ford said, an objective he said Moscow thinks will be advanced the sooner people forget about Idlib. Afghanistan has averted a full-blown political crisis after the two main contenders in a bitterly disputed presidential election -- each claiming victory -- agreed to back down from their escalating feud. Incumbent President Ashraf Ghani -- who was officially declared the winner -- agreed to postpone his inauguration, while his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, pledged to halt his attempts to set up a parallel government. The postponement could allow the U.S. and Afghan power brokers to mediate a solution to the standoff, which threatens to spill over into violence and derail the signing of a historic U.S.-Taliban peace deal on February 29. The agreement would pave the way for direct peace talks between the Taliban and a delegation consisting of government, opposition, and civil society members. The negotiations are scheduled to start in March. But observers said the election dispute could further complicate the government's naming of a delegation to negotiate with the Taliban, a process already mired in delays and disputes. 'Destabilizing Actions' Election authorities last week declared Ghani the winner of the September 28 presidential election -- with some 51 percent of the vote -- narrowly giving him an outright win over Abdullah, who was named runner-up with around 40 percent. The vote was marred by allegations of vote-rigging, technical problems with biometric devices used for voting, and militant attacks. Local election watchdogs also criticized the transparency of the vote. Abdullah -- who also lost the two previous presidential elections and currently serves as Afghanistan's chief executive officer -- slammed the result announced on February 18 as a "coup" and vowed to form "an all-inclusive government." Since then he has named his own governors in two northern provinces while his supporters have held rallies in three other provinces and in the capital, Kabul, in the past week. Abdullah and Ghani both planned to take separate oaths of office this week. Ghani agreed to postpone his inauguration by two weeks. Abdullah's team said they had also postponed their parallel swearing-in ceremony for a fortnight. The United States has stopped short of recognizing either man's claim of victory, urging them to resolve the dispute through "constitutional and legal procedures." U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus urged the sides on February 25 to refrain from "the use or threat of violence" and form an "inclusive" government. In remarks aimed at Abdullah, Ortagus said Afghan leaders should "desist from taking destabilizing actions," including establishing unconstitutional "parallel government structures." Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "we're on the cusp of an enormous, enormous political opportunity," referring to the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, adding that Washington would not let any group "spoil it." The remarks came after the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, spent a week shuttling between Ghani and Abdullah's offices and meeting with their key backers in an attempt to mediate a solution. 'Acts Of Violence' "The worst-case scenario would be if the crisis, which has remained largely rhetorical and political up to this point, progressed toward civil unrest or open acts of violence," said Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group. "As much as Abdullah's camp may continue to show signs of pressing forward with a 'parallel government,' there are not many visible signs that these moves are progressing toward open, violent contest," added Watkins. The best-case scenario, analysts said, would be a de-escalation between the two sides that would allow the government to function and the peace process to continue. "Without a compromise, it would be difficult to break the current stalemate which might take a turn for the worst," said Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. "No one can afford such a scenario given the current opportunity for the signing of a peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban as well as the start of an intra-Afghan negotiation process," he added. By PTI BEIJING: An Indian Air Force special aircraft on Wednesday brought 15 tonnes of medical supplies from India to the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan and later left with 112 Indians and foreign nationals stranded in the city. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the consignment of relief material as a strong expression of India's solidarity with the Chinese people in their "difficult time". ALSO READ: Coronavirus outbreak - Relief material to China expression of India's solidarity with them, says EAM Jaishankar The C-17 Globemaster military aircraft brought around 15 tonnes of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment sent by India. The Indian Embassy, which coordinated the operations, said that after unloading the relief supplies, the flight carried 112 Indians and foreign nationals to Delhi. 76 Indian nationals are returning home on this flight, which also has on board 23 nationals from Bangladesh, 6 from China, 2 each from Myanmar and Maldives and one each from South Africa, USA and Madagascar. Wish them all a safe journey and good health, Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri tweeted. 76 Indian nationals are returning home on this flight, which also has on board 23 nationals from Bangladesh, 6 from China, 2 each from Myanmar and Maldives and one each from South Africa, USA and Madagascar. Wish them all a safe journey and good health. @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/vceibwQ3GS Vikram Misri (@VikramMisri) February 26, 2020 The six Chinese were stated to be the spouses and family members of the Indians. They were expected to undergo a 14-day quarantine in India like their previous batches to ensure that they are cleared of the COVID-19 virus. India operated two special Air India flights on February 1 and 2 and airlifted 647 Indian nationals, mostly students, and seven Maldivian nationals. ALSO READ: Pakistan confirms its first two cases of coronavirus Wednesday's flight was cleared by China after allegations of delay by Indian officials. China's worst-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan have been under complete lockdown since January 23. The death toll from coronavirus in China has reached 2,715 while the number of confirmed cases jumped to 78,064, officials said on Wednesday. "This assistance has been provided in the wake the Corona virus outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment," a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. In a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed India's solidarity with the people and government of China and also offered assistance in this "hour of need as a gift". "The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation," it said. "The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year," it said. Social workers visited a Londonderry care home hundreds of times while it struggled to meet standards, it can be revealed. Owen Mor Care Centre was closed to admissions last May after critical inspections by the health watchdog. Western Trust social workers visited the scandal-hit home 263 times in the four months prior to this, it has emerged. According to figures released by the trust, care managers visited 141 times between January and April last year. Learning disability care managers carried out 122 visits over the same period. In contrast, social workers visited Ashbrooke Care Home 189 times in the 10 months before it was closed by inspectors in August 2017 over serious concerns for the safety of residents. Owen Mor is an 81-bed home that provides care to people with dementia, learning disability and mental disorders. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) issued four failure to comply notices to the home on May 15 last year. The watchdog took the step after identifying failings in the management of falls, bed rails, tube feeding, weight and nutrition of residents, residents not receiving medication as prescribed, and the management of ulcers and wound care during a number of inspections in May last year and November 2018. When the home failed to address concerns to an acceptable standard by August last year, the RQIA took urgent action to impose five conditions of registration. This included halting new admissions to the home until the RQIA deemed that it was safe and the appointment of a suitably qualified and experienced manager. An inspection on November 19 last year resulted in the conditions of registration bei ng removed after the RQIA deemed that the home had sufficiently addressed all of its concerns. In November, the Western Trust apologised to families of residents at the home who have had "bad experiences" there. It came after the Commissioner of Older People in Northern Ireland, Eddie Lynch, said he could give no assurances that residents at the home were safe. Eddie Lynch made the comments just days before it emerged that the latest inspection of the home had found that it was meeting safety standards. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 15:04:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A new type of high polymer fiber material for mask filtering layers with better protective effect has gone into mass production in China, with daily output of 8 tonnes. One ton of the fiber, developed by researchers from Nanjing Tech University, can be made into filtering layers for 200,000 N95 masks or 800,000 regular medical masks, according to a report by the Science and Technology Daily Wednesday. A dense filtering layer that can effectively isolate viruses is the key technology of N95 masks, Chen Su, a professor at the university, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The new material can produce a superfine fiber with an average diameter of 65 nanometers to better filter viruses, while the fibers produced by traditional spinning technologies are generally several hundred nanometers in diameter, Chen said. Julian Assanges lawyer reportedly complained that WikiLeaks founder was stripped naked twice and handcuffed 11 times on the first day of hearing on extradition case. Attorney Edward Fitzgerald told a judge at the Woolwich Crown Court that court papers were taken away from Assange and the treatment of his client at the Belmarsh Prison could be a contempt of this court. "Yesterday, Mr Assange was handcuffed 11 times, stripped naked twice at Belmarsh and put in five separate holding cells," said Fitzgerald on February 25. While the attorney urged judge Vanessa Baraitser to give an indication to prison authorities, Baraitser said that she didnt have the authority to direct prison officials on how to treat detainees. The judge added that she can instruct in case Assange becomes unable to participate in the proceedings. If it comes to that, please let me know, said Baraitser. Health concerns During an interview to BBC, the whistleblowers father John Shipton had said that the Assange's long solitary confinement damaged his health. He said that the ceaseless anxiety that Julian's been under for now 10 years has had a profoundly deleterious effect. Last week, the whistleblowers spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson said that Assanges health has shown improvement since he has been moved out of the solitary confinement. Speaking in a news conference, Hrafnsson said that acknowledged the pressure from his legal team, public, and other inmates to get him out of isolation. Read: Jeremy Corbyn Lauds Julian Assange, Asks UK President Boris Johnson To Halt Extradition Assange, who is kept in a maximum-security prison in southeast London, is fighting an extradition request from the United States on the charges of violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to hack into classified government documents. WikiLeaks founder is charged on 18 counts including computer intrusion, espionage for encouraging, receiving and publishing national defence information in cahoots with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Read: US To Lay Out Case Against WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange At Extradition Hearing US authorities claim that publishing unredacted classified documents put informants, journalists and human rights activists at risk of torture, abuse or death. The lawyer representing the United States for Assanges extradition argued that the whistleblowers action endangered the lives of people from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, who helped the US. Read: WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange To Seek Asylum In France Amid Extradition Case Read: Julian Assange's Health Improved After Moving Out Of Solitary Confinement: Spokesperson (With AP inputs) Project Coordinator - Data Must Speak, Florence, Italy Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Childrens Fund Country: Italy City: Florence, Italy Office: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence Closing date: Sunday, 1 March 2020 Project Coordinator - Data Must Speak - Temporary Appointment (364 days) P3 - Florence, Italy Job no: 529737 Position type: Temporary Appointment Location: Italy Division/Equivalent: Partnerships School/Unit: Florence, Italy Department/Office: Office of Research Categories: Private Fundraising and Partnerships UNICEF works in some of the worlds toughest places, to reach the worlds most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up. For every child, Data Organizational Context and Purpose for the job Job organizational context: The Office of Research-Innocenti (OoR-Innocenti) is the dedicated research office of UNICEF. It undertakes and commissions research on emerging or current issues of relevance for children in order to inform the strategic directions, policies and programmes of UNICEF, Governments and their partners. The Office identifies research gaps, brings together existing researchers, and supports or undertakes research and data collection to address critical questions at country and global levels. Every Child has the right to learn. However, 53 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story by the end of primary school-age. In poor countries, the learning poverty rate is as high as 80 percent. UNICEF vision for education is that every child learns, articulated in the 2019-2030 Education Strategy across three inter-related goals: (i) equitable access to learning opportunities; (ii) improved learning and skills for all; (iii) improved learning and protection for children in emergencies and transitions. The generation and use of robust research are key for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Education Strategy and the UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2018-2021 as reflected in the Priorities for research and data in support of UNICEFs Strategic Plan - Using the power of evidence to drive change for children. Data Must Speak (DMS), a programme led by UNICEF headquarters and implemented with Governments and UNICEF Regional Offices and Country offices since 2014, provides country-specific technical support and capacity strengthening to Ministries of Education and school communities for more effective and transparent data use at school and system levels. DMS also includes a research component whose new phase -led by OoR-Innocenti - has been approved for funding as part of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)/International Development Research Center (IDRC) global programme for Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX). Despite the learning crisis, even in the most difficult contexts, there are some diamonds, the positive deviant schools, those that are outperforming (in terms of learning, gender and equity) other schools in the same context and with the same resources. Unfortunately, most of the time, the positive deviant schools are not identified and very little is known about the positive deviant practices and behaviours active in those schools (or around) that make them performing better than the others. And even less is known about the implementation gap in service delivery: how to incentivize and scale up these positive deviant practices and behaviours in the less performing schools. The DMS new research component has been designed to address these gaps in evidence generation and use at country level for policy and implementation changes, using mixed-methods including quantitative research, behavioral and scaling science and implementation research. Purpose of the post: The Office aims to strengthen its capacity and resources to deliver the production and use of high-quality research within the DMS global programme. The post holder will coordinate and manage the implementation of the DMS research component in the eight participating countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Nepal, Niger, Togo and Zambia). The post-holder will work with Governments counterparts, DMS partners (GPE, IDRC and others) and UNICEF colleagues in the Office of Research, Headquarters, Regional and Country offices to build on the existing research and to develop new ones. The role will also involve mobilizing additional resources for the generation of DMS research and data and their utilization by decision and policy makers at country level. The position will report to the Chief, Education, Office of Research, Florence Italy Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks: Coordination and management of the DMS research component (60%) Plan, implement and coordinate DMS research in the participating countries. Plan and implement research design -including ethical implications- through co-creation with Government counterparts, implementing partners and other potential beneficiaries of the research. Supervise and coordinate research field work in the participating countries. Manage researcher consultants to deliver research in a timely and efficient manner, including through quality assurance of concept notes, research proposals and deliverables. Resource mobilization and partnerships for DMS research (20%) Develop proposals and mobilize resources to support DMS research and its use. Establish and maintain partnerships and participate in networks of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in the areas supported by DMS (education management information systems/administrative education data; learning assessment; education sector analysis; education sector planning; school typologies). Prepare inputs and participate in relevant conferences, workshops and meetings, including through effective dissemination of key research outcomes for effective use at country level. Technical guidance and support to Governments and UNICEF Regional and Country Offices and (15%) Strengthen the capacity of Government counterparts and UNICEF field offices for co-creation design and implementation of research in the areas supported by DMS. Provide guidance and quality assurance of DMS research to Governments and UNICEF field offices. Tags child rights data collection development research fundraising information systems interdisciplinary research management information systems oral communication qualitative research resource mobilization social policy social sciences sustainable development sustainable development goals transparency Strengthen and support the use of DMS research for policy dialogue and capacity strengthening of Government and Implementing partners at country level. Contribution to the Office of Research work programme and support to the cross-cutting research agenda (5%) Contribute to the overall research activities of the Office and to the use of their findings by policy and decision makers at country level. Participate in and/facilitate interdisciplinary research through involvement in selected cross functional teams and consultations, including Annual Results report and participation in office seminars. Contribute to the development of joint proposals and contribute to fundraising for research and evidence. Act as a resource person for key UNICEF meetings and advocacy activities as requested by the supervisor. Impact of Results: Evidence is used to inform Governments, Implementing Partners and UNICEFs education policies and programmes. The post holder will ensure that research findings are reliable and can be used to inform the achievement of UNICEF and UN mandates related to child rights in all settings. The incumbent will contribute to expanding the evidence base around the design of effective DMS programmes and policies. This rigorous evidence will inform governments, the international community in general, and UNICEF in particular, on how to strengthen education systems and improve their impact on learning and other development outcomes. Recruitment Qualifications: Education: Advanced university degree in education, economics, social policy or other social sciences. Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national or international levels in education, with low/middle-income country level experience essential; Demonstrated experience in management and coordination of complex programmes; Demonstrated experience and knowledge of some of the education areas related to DMS research: education management information systems/administrative education data; learning assessment; education sector analysis; education sector planning; school typologies; Experience in statistics, quantitative and qualitative research design (incl. behavioral and scaling science, and/or implementation research) an asset; Demonstrated experience in fundraising and resource mobilization; Demonstrated ability to work well as part of a team and to forge and manage partnerships; Excellent written and oral communication skills; Commitment to UNICEFs core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency and accountability; Ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment. Experience working in the UN or other international development organization an asset. Language Requirements: Fluency in English required; Fluency in French highly desirable as four out of the eight countries are francophone. UNICEFs values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. Competencies and level of proficiency required: Drive for results (2) Working with people (2) Communication (2) Leading and supervising (2) Formulating strategies/concepts (2) Analyzing (3) Relating and networking (2) Deciding and initiating action (2) Applying Technical Expertise (3) Planning and Organizing (2) View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. Advertised: Feb 07 2020 W. Europe Standard Time Application close: Mar 01 2020 W. Europe Standard Time SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) The chief executive officer of PG&E testified at a California Public Utilities Commission hearing in San Francisco Tuesday that "I'm going to do everything I can to make this right" for wildfire victims. CEO Bill Johnson spoke on the first day of a seven-day evidentiary hearing before the commission on the utility's proposed financial reorganization plan for exiting its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In order to be eligible for a wildfire insurance fund established by a state law last year, PG&E must have its plan approved by the CPUC as well as by a federal bankruptcy judge by June 30. Johnson, who took the helm of the utility last year, was questioned during the hearing by wildfire survivor Will Abrams of Santa Rosa about how he could assure fire victims that the utility's managers had compassion for them. "I've been to Paradise five times," Johnson answered, referring to the Butte County town that was destroyed by the deadly Camp Fire of 2018, in which a total of 85 people died. "We watched videos and listened to 911 tapes. If you think I'm not affected by this, you are wrong. This has affected me deeply. I'm going to do everything I can to make this right," he told Abrams. Abrams, a management consultant whose house was destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in 2017, has been allowed to be an official participant in the CPUC proceeding. PG&E filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, thereby obtaining a temporary freeze on its debts, last year in the face of billions of dollars of liability for wildfires sparked by failures in the utility's electrical power lines and equipment. Its financial reorganization proposal would include settlements of $13.5 billion for wildfire victims with uninsured losses, $11 billion for insurance companies that have paid claims and $1 billion to cities, counties and other public entities for wildfire costs. The evidentiary hearing is scheduled to continue through March 4. The commission is considering hearing additional testimony in mid-March on a proposal by Commission President Marybel Batjer to require more governance and operational reforms as conditions of approval for the plan. The wildfire insurance fund established by the Legislature in AB 1054 last year would contain $21 billion, half to be paid by utilities and the other half by their customers. PG&E and the state's other two largest utilities - Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. - have opted to participate. 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. T his is the first picture of a woman who was stabbed to death at a home in east London. Li Qing Wang was found with multiple stab injuries at an address on Magnolia Close on Tuesday. Police and paramedics scrambled to the scene at around 11.50am, but were unable to save her. A spokesman for Met Police said that they are confident the victim is Mrs Wang, although a formal identification is yet to take place. A post-mortem is scheduled for later this week. A man, aged 54, who was also inside the property, was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine has now made an appeal to Mrs Wangs family, friends and members of her local community to come forward with information. DCI Considine said: To understand why this tragic incident occurred I would urge anyone that knew the victim well and had insight into her domestic situation to contact my team. At this time we are not looking for any further suspects, and are working hard to piece the evidence together - I believe Mrs Wangs friends can help us achieve that." He added: For those who would like to speak to us but whose first language is not English, we will arrange an interpreter. We would like to thank everyone who has so far spoken with officers and assisted the investigation in its early stages. This is the worst of times for Mrs Wangs family and loved ones and we will continue to provide specialist support. VANCOUVER, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Harvest One Cannabis Inc. ("Harvest One" or the "Company") (TSX-V: HVT;OTCQX: HRVOF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into definitive agreements to sell its interest in Burb Cannabis Corp. ("Burb"), a cannabis retailer located in British Columbia (the "Burb Transaction"), as well as its interest in the 398-acre site (the "Lillooet Property") in Lillooet, British Columbia (the "Lillooet Transaction"). Pursuant to the Burb Transaction, Harvest One has sold its 19.9% equity stake in Burb back to the founders of Burb and has forgiven a shareholder loan with a face value of $250,000 in exchange for total cash consideration of $1,512,600. In addition, Burb and Harvest One have concurrently agreed to terminate Harvest One's option to purchase a majority equity interest in Burb as well as outstanding warrants in the capital of Burb held by Harvest One. The Burb Transaction closed on February 25, 2020. Upon the closing of the Burb Transaction, Grant Froese, CEO of Harvest One has resigned from the Board of Directors of Burb. Pursuant to the Lillooet Transaction, Harvest One has entered into a contract to sell the Lillooet Property for cash consideration of $770,000. The transaction is scheduled to close on March 31, 2020. "The sales of our equity interest in Burb and the Lillooet Property are part of our ongoing review of non-core assets, which we initiated as part of a broader enhanced strategic plan announced in November 2019," said Mr. Froese. "Cash proceeds from these transactions will have an immediate positive impact on our financial position and will support our continued branding and distribution efforts related to Cannabis 2.0." About Harvest One Harvest One is a global cannabis company that develops and provides innovative lifestyle and wellness products to consumers and patients in regulated markets around the world. The Company's range of lifestyle solutions is designed to enhance quality of life. Shareholders have significant exposure to the entire cannabis value chain through its wholly-owned subsidiaries: United Greeneries, a Licensed Producer; Satipharm (medical and nutraceutical); Dream Water Global, and Delivra (consumer); as well as a controlling interest in Greenbelt Greenhouse (greenhouse cultivation and extraction). For more information, please visit www.harvestone.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Harvest One Cannabis Inc. Related Links https://www.harvestone.com/ PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-26 15:03:04 London, United Kingdom, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SNOMED International is pleased to announce a recent partnership with the University of Eastern Finland to deliver SNOMED CT education as an approved delivery agent in Finland. The University of Eastern Finland and SNOMED International have struck an agreement to deliver mutually agreed upon SNOMED CT educational content including the organization's professionally curated Foundation course, with the potential to also offer the Implementation Course and suite of Authoring courses. As a result of this agreement, the University of Eastern Finland will serve as an extension of the SNOMED International Education Program within parts of Finland and be empowered to issue course completion certificates and certifications as applicable. One of the largest universities in Finland, the University of Eastern Finland seeks solutions to global challenges through multidisciplinary research and education, of which ageing, lifestyles and health as well as learning in a digitized society are challenges shared by SNOMED International. SNOMED International began delivery of its education program to support understanding, use and implementation of SNOMED CT in 2015. With demonstrated growth of the organizations Member base and affiliates, SNOMED International has been exploring ways to broaden its ability to educate audiences interested in clinical terminology. Finland has been a Member since November 2018 and in that time has consistently and actively engaged in SNOMED CTs Community of Practice Don Sweete, SNOMED International CEO, offered. Sweete went on to state that by delivering SNOMED CT courses in Finnish, the University of Eastern Finland will open SNOMED CT education to the countrys clinical, research and terminology communities. For more information on how to access SNOMED CT education, visit https://www.snomed.org/snomed-ct/education. Contact info@snomed.org with any additional inquiries. About SNOMED International SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization that owns and develops SNOMED CT, the world's most comprehensive healthcare terminology product. We play an essential role in improving the health of humankind by determining standards for a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. This enables healthcare information to be exchanged globally for the benefit of patients and other stakeholders. We are committed to the rigorous evolution of our products and services, to deliver continuous innovation for the global healthcare community. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. www.snomed.org ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NYSE American:ZOM) (Zomedica or Company), a veterinary diagnostic company, announced consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019. Amounts, unless specified otherwise, are expressed in U.S. dollars and presented under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). During 2019 we made significant progress in the development of TRUFORMA, our point-of-care biosensor platform. We are focused on completing our development work and commencing commercialization of TRUFORMA by the end of 2020, said Shameze Rampertab, CFO and Interim CEO. Summary Year End 2019 Results Zomedica recorded net loss and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2019 of $19,784,054 or $0.19 per share, compared to a loss of $16,647,687 or $0.18 per share for the year ended December 31, 2018. Zomedica, which is in the development stage, recorded no revenues in 2019. The 2019 net loss resulted from research and development (R&D) expenses of $10,345,291, general and administrative (G&A) expenses of $7,114,777, and professional fees of $1,536,646. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the loss was attributed to R&D expenses of $10,317,153, G&A expenses of $4,521,349, and professional fees of $1,534,977. Research and development expense for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $10,345,291 compared to $10,317,153 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $28,138 or less than 1%. The increase was primarily due to an increase in third-party expenses relating to the development of our product candidate developments and the addition of full-time employees. Contracted expenditures increased $1,098,987 and salaries increased $96,934. These costs were partially offset by a reduction in licensing fees. In 2019, we paid licensing fees of $5,000,000 related to the development of our development of TRUFORMA platform, and licensing fees of $736,841 related to the development of our liquid biopsy platform. In 2018, we paid licensing fees of $5,413,158 related to the development of our TRUFORMA platform and $1,738,513 related to the development of our diagnostic platform. General and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $7,114,777, compared to $4,521,349 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $2,593,428 or 57%. The increase was due to an increase in salaries, bonus and benefits of $2,853,769, which included share-based compensation expense of $2,539,092 resulting from the granting of options to purchase an aggregate of 7,495,000 common shares, all of which vested upon the dates of grant. Other increases in salaries, bonus and benefits were due to increases in sales, marketing and other administrative salaries and benefits. Marketing and investor relations expense increased by $245,997, and travel and accommodation expense increased by $169,383, which were partially offset by a reduction in regulatory costs of $329,666 and a decrease in rent of $263,279 which was reclassified to amortization of right-of-use asset Professional fees for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $1,536,646 compared to $1,534,977 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $1,669 or less than 1%. The increase was primarily due to increased expenses resulting from an increase in our SEC reporting and registration activities. Liquidity and Outstanding Share Capital Zomedica had cash and cash equivalents of $510,586 as of December 31, 2019, compared to $1,940,265 as of December 31, 2018. The decrease in cash during the year ended December 31, 2019 is mainly a result of cash flows used in operating activities partially offset by cash flows provided by finance activities as discussed below. Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $15,634,064, compared to $11,147,528 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $4,486,536 or 40%. The increase in net cash used in operating activities resulted primarily from the increase in our net loss, as well as a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $288,994, partially offset by an increase in non-cash expenses including stock-based compensation of $2,539,092, amortization of right-of-use asset of $509,381, utilization of deposits and prepaid expenses of $332,826 and depreciation of $277,150. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $14,891,317, compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $10,258,643 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $4,632,674 or 45%. The increase in cash from financing activities resulted from $12,000,000 in proceeds from the private sale of preferred shares, $3,000,000 in proceeds from our underwritten public offering of common stock, net of financing costs, and $600,000 in proceeds from the exercise of stock options, partially offset by $4,002,496 from the private sale of our common shares, proceeds of $2,034,307 from the exercise of stock options and common stock subscriptions of $4,280,000, partially offset by stock issuance costs of $58 in 2018. Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $686,932, compared to $618,997 for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $67,935 or 11%. The increase in net cash used in investing activities resulted primarily from costs associated with the digital data platform, the construction of marketing assets, and the capitalization of integration costs associated with the implementation of an ERP system, partially offset by investments in additional leasehold improvements, equipment and furniture for additional office and lab space in Ann Arbor during 2018.. At December 31, 2019, Zomedica had 108,038,398 common shares issued and outstanding. At February 26, 2020, Zomedica had 128,871,732 common shares issued and outstanding as a result of its previously announced February 2020 offering. As of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, Zomedica had shareholders equity of $2,059,459 and $3,657,000, respectively. After giving effect to the February 2020 offering, Zomedicas pro forma shareholders equity at December 31, 2019 was $4,285,309. As disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Zomedicas audited financial statements contained an unqualified audit opinion from its independent registered public accounting firm that included a going concern explanatory paragraph. For complete financial results, please see Zomedicas filings on EDGAR and SEDAR or visit the Zomedica website at www.ZOMEDICA.com . About Zomedica Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zomedica (NYSE American:ZOM) is a veterinary diagnostic company creating products for companion animals (canine, feline and equine) by focusing on the unmet needs of clinical veterinarians. Zomedicas product portfolio will include novel diagnostics and innovative therapeutics that emphasize patient health and practice health. With a team that includes clinical veterinary professionals, it is Zomedicas mission to give veterinarians the opportunity to lower costs, increase productivity, and grow revenue while better serving the animals in their care. For more information, visit www.ZOMEDICA.com . Follow Zomedica Reader Advisory Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" or forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; uncertainty as to the timing and results of development work and pilot and pivotal studies, uncertainty as to the likelihood and timing of regulatory approvals, availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; veterinary acceptance of our products; competition from related products; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships; risks pertaining to permits and licensing, intellectual property infringement risks, risks relating to future clinical trials, regulatory approvals, safety and efficacy of our products, the use of our product, intellectual property protection and the other risk factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Investor Relations Contacts Shameze Rampertab, CPA, CA, Interim CEO and CFO srampertab@zomedica.com +1 647.283.3630 PCG Advisory Group Kirin Smith, COO ksmith@pcgadvisory.com +1 646.863.6519 www.pcgadvisory.com Media Contact Meredith Newman mnewman@zomedica.com +1 734.369.2555 Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, right, greets House Majority Whip James Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, during Jim Clyburn's World Famous Fish Fry event in Columbia, South Carolina, June 21, 2019. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Joe Biden just got a boost in the state that will shape the fate of his presidential bid. Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and the top ranking African American in the House, endorsed the former vice president on Wednesday. White House hopefuls have sought the support of the House majority whip, who holds major sway in the Palmetto State, where blacks represent a powerful voting bloc. "I want the public to know that I'm voting for Joe Biden. South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden," he said in remarks from North Charleston. "I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us," he added. The endorsement gives Biden a bump just days before Saturday's South Carolina primary. Biden, following a string of disappointing finishes in the first three primary nominating contests, sees winning the state as pivotal to reviving his once-promising push for the Democratic nomination. At Tuesday night's debate, he predicted he would win Saturday's primary. The former vice president, who served under President Barack Obama, has enjoyed strong support among African American voters. They make up a majority of South Carolina's Democratic primary electorate. His support in the state has waned, as he had only a narrow lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the latest NBC News/Marist poll of South Carolina. The endorsement came minutes after Clyburn and Biden shared a stage at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina for the National Action Network Ministers Breakfast. Biden said in a brief speech in front of a nearly entirely black audience that Clyburn was among the best people he knew in either private or public life. He also played up his connections to Obama, at one point apologizing for calling him "Barack." He noted that Obama was a friend. In later remarks following Clyburn's endorsement, Biden took apparent shots at Sanders, who has called for a "political revolution." The former vice president has contended most Americans will not embrace the Vermont senator's proposals such as a single-payer "Medicare for All" system. "Today, people are talking about a revolution," Biden said. "What the country's looking for are results. What they're looking for is security." Interviews with voters at the breakfast suggested many had not made up their minds Wednesday. One woman, who asked not to be named because she said she was not "seeking celebrity," said she is definitely voting Saturday. She added her choice would be based on "only what I hear from the Spirit." She said she was deciding between Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Biden. She also likes former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who will not appear on the ballot Saturday. Another black woman, Evett Simmons, who supports Sen. Amy Klobuchar, brushed off the idea that moderates should rally around one candidate to take on Sanders. "In two weeks I may have a different opinion," she said. CNBC's Tucker Higgins reported from North Charleston, S.C., and Jacob Pramuk reported from Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: Azerbaijan will continue acquiring modern weaponry from Turkey, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while making press statement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trend reports. An exchange of views took place on further cooperation in the field of defense, Ilham Aliyev noted. Last year alone, 13 joint military exercises were conducted. There will be even more this year. Azerbaijan will continue acquiring modern weaponry from Turkey, and we also talked about organizing joint production today. With regard to the economic sphere, my dear brother and esteemed President has recently set the goal of bringing our trade to $15 billion, the Azerbaijani president added. I believe that this is possible because last year our turnover increased by 33 percent to reach $4.5 billion. I am sure that the documents signed today, including the agreement on preferential trade, will give a great impetus to the increase in our trade. Currently, about 4,000 Turkish companies work in Azerbaijan, they have done work worth $16 billion in more than 300 projects, said Ilham Aliyev. According to these parameters, Turkey ranks first. I believe that mutual investment is also at a very high level. To date, Azerbaijan has invested $18 billion in the Turkish economy and Turkey $12.5 billion in the Azerbaijani economy. Such a scale of investments once again confirms our brotherhood because such amounts may be invested only in a brotherly country. Of course, we had a broad exchange of views on further cooperation today, the Azerbaijani president noted. Last November, we celebrated the completion of TANAP in Turkey. This is the main component of the Southern Gas Corridor. I am sure that the Southern Gas Corridor will be fully commissioned by the end of this year because the implementation of its latest project, TAP, has reached 92 percent. Other issues related to energy have also been discussed. There are great achievements in the transport sector, Ilham Aliyev added. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway we built together operates successfully. Today we talked about the further functioning of this road, and an important document was signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of the Kars-Nakhchivan railway. This issue is of particular importance because Nakhchivan has been living in the condition of the blockade for many years because of Armenias occupying policy. The delivery of products manufactured in Nakhchivan to foreign markets is a major problem, said the Azerbaijani president. The construction of the Kars-Igdir-Nakhchivan railway would eliminate this problem, and this will contribute to the development and well-being of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic where the only land border between Azerbaijan and Turkey passes. Thank you for this agreement. An exchange of views was also held on further activities and the successful development of Nakhchivan. Three years ago, we prepared a list of goods that can be exported from Nakhchivan to Turkey. We are grateful for that too and I am sure that the number of export operations from Nakhchivan to Turkey will increase in the future. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:09:09|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close YANGON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar President U Win Myint left capital city Nay Pyi Taw for India on Wednesday morning to pay a four-day state visit, according to the Information Ministry. The first presidential visit of this year by the Myanmar president to the neighbouring country at the invitation of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind will last until Saturday. During his visit, six memoranda of understanding (MoUs) will be signed for bilateral cooperation, Spokesperson Zaw Htay of Myanmar President's Office told the recent press conference at the Presidential Palace. The MoUs will cover cooperation in tiger conservation in Myanmar's Hukaung valley, grants to be issued by India for quick impact projects, Indian assistance for the development of Mrauk-U and Gwa townships of Rakhine state, provision of solar electrification in five townships of Rakhine state as well as road construction in Buthidaung township in the state and cooperation on medical research. The Myanmar president previously paid a visit to India to attend swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2019. Kovind paid a state visit to Myanmar in December 2018, the first to the country by an Indian top leader in over a decade. UPSC Recruitment 2022: One day left to apply for several vacancies at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link Delhi violence: Centre deploys 45 companies of paramilitary forces to restore law and order India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Feb 26: The Centre, on Wednesday decided to deploy 45 companies of paramilitary forces to restore law and order in the national capital after several violence erupted in Delhi. This decision, by the Centre, came two days after the continued violence in Delhi where riots broke out in Muajpur and Jafrabad areas. According to reports, as many as 20 people lost their lives and more than 180 injured so far. The paramilitary forces that deployed in Delhi include those from the ITBP, the BSF and the CRPF. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 26th, 2020 Delhi violence: Autopsy report claims Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal died of bullet injury Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter and said that despite police officials' continous efforts to control situation and instil confidence, the riots have not reduced in Delhi and hence urged the Union Home Ministry to call in the Indian Army and impose curfew in the riot areas. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 12:37 [IST] Amid coronavirus outbreak, the United States and South Korea reportedly said that they are considering scaling back military command post-training for this spring. While speaking at a news conference, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the commander of US forces in South Korea, General Robert Abrams and the head of joint chiefs of staff, General Park Han-ki, are looking at scaling back the military exercise due to the concerns about the deadly coronavirus outbreak. According to international media reports, it is also believed that the two countries have scaled back traditional joint military exercises so as to facilitate US nuclear talks with North Korea. However, Esper's South Korea counterpart, Jeong Kyeong-doo, reportedly said that 13 servicemen from his country have become infected with the virus. He further added that all leave for the military has also been cancelled nationwide so as to limit soldier's movement. READ: Australia Issues Travel Warning To Japan Amid Coronavirus Outbreak South Korea's President Moon Jae-in also raised the alert level to 'highest' as the number of infected people in the nation soared to 833, with eight people dead. It also became the second-highest country with the most confirmed cases outside China. On the other hand, China's President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is communist China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control. READ: China Calls Coronavirus Outbreak largest Public Health Crisis Since Its Founding Death toll surpasses 2,600 Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,600 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 508 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 77,000. 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 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 Coronavirus patients have by now been reportedly discharged from hospitals. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also 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. Furthermore, the organisation has also called on the world to pledge $675 million in support of the most vulnerable countries. READ: Coronavirus: Third Chartered Plane Carrying Diamond Princess Evacuees Lands In Hong Kong READ: Coronavirus Outbreak: S Korea Raises Alert Level To 'highest' After 556 Confirmed Cases SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bishop Fox , the largest private professional services firm focused on offensive security testing, today announced that it has won three InfoSec awards Security Company of the Year, Chief Executive Officer of the Year, and Cybersecurity Research from Cyber Defense Magazine. The awards were announced at the RSA Conference 2020 on Feb. 24. Bishop Fox was named a "Security Company of the Year" for its impressive work for clients in 2019, including partnering with a Fortune 100 technology giant to design their third-party security assessment program. This program has been rolled out to over 1,000 partners, making it the largest, publicly known third-party ecosystem testing program in the world. Vinnie Liu, co-founder and CEO of Bishop Fox, was selected as a "Chief Executive Officer of the Year" for his forward-thinking leadership and dedication to advancing the practice of offensive security. He has overseen the firm's growth to over 200 employees, including many of the world's leading security testers; built a talented senior management team; fostered a loyal, dedicated workforce; and maintained strong, long-term client relationships. Bishop Fox was also recognized in the "Cybersecurity Research" category for its innovative research that has garnered the company speaking engagements at regional and national conferences, including Black Hat and DEF CON. Recent open-source tools shared on GitHub include: Eyeballer, GitGot, Dufflebag, and ZigDiggity. Bishop Fox continues to lead the industry with the recent launch of its Continuous Attack Surface Testing (CAST) managed security service, which is changing the way companies approach their offensive security testing. "Bishop Fox embodies three major features the judges look for to become winners: understanding tomorrow's threats today, providing a cost-effective solution and innovating in unexpected ways that can help stop the next breach," said Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine. About Cyber Defense Magazine and the InfoSec Awards With over five million monthly readers and growing, Cyber Defense Magazine is the premier source of IT Security information. This is Cyber Defense Magazine's eighth year of honoring InfoSec innovators. About Bishop Fox Bishop Fox is the largest private professional services firm focused on offensive security testing. Since 2005, the firm has provided security consulting services to the world's leading organizations working with over 25% of the Fortune 100 to help secure their products, applications, networks, and cloud resources with penetration testing and security assessments. In February 2019, Bishop Fox closed $25 million in Series A funding from ForgePoint Capital, which will allow the company to continue to grow its research capabilities and develop next generation offensive security technologies like CAST. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and has offices in Atlanta, GA; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; and Barcelona, Spain. Contact: Amy Blumenthal 617-879-1511 [email protected] SOURCE Bishop Fox Related Links http://www.bishopfox.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The Philippines imposed a travel ban on Filipino tourists going to South Korea due to a spike in coronavirus cases, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Wednesday. When asked if Filipino tourists are not allowed to travel to any part of South Korea, he answered, "Yes, for their own safety."South Korea is a popular destination for Filipino travelers, espcially fans of Korean drama and Kpop. Panelo said there are exceptions to the travel ban to South Korea, which was decided during the meeting of the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases. South Korea has the second most number of confirmed cases after China, with 1,146 coronavirus cases. "Any travel to South Korea will be temporarily suspended," the task force said in a statement. "Only permanent residents of South Korea, Filipinos leaving for study, and (overseas Filipino workers) returing to work will be allowed provided that they sign a written declaraton acknowledging the risks involved which will be complemented with a health advisory pamphlet." "The IATF has authorized Filipinos to travel to South Korea, provided that they are permanent residents thereof, leaving for study, or are overseas Filipino workers therein. They are to execute and sign a declaration, signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved, prior to their travel," he said in a media briefing. Panelo said those coming from North Gyeongsang Province or Gyeongbuk, including Daegu and Cheongdo County, are not allowed to enter the Philippines. However, the IATF-EID noted that Filipinos and their foreign spouses or children, and holders of permanent resident and diplomatic visas will be allowed entry subject to existing screening and quarantine protocols. The inter-agency task force will assess the situation within 48 hours if it's necessary for the government to expand the entry ban to other parts of South Korea, he added. The highest number of tourist in the Philippines in 2018 were South Koreans. "Kung medyo nagkaroon ng infection, isasama na rin sila," he said. [Translation: Areas which will have infection will be included (in the ban).] On the other hand, the Cebu Task Force is also on the hunt on the 26 Korean nationals who arrived Tuesday evening from Daegu City, where the outbreak in the country began. Bureau of Quarantine Region 7 chief Terrence Anthony Bermejo said the Korean passengers will be traced using the health declaration card they submitted upon arrival at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The health cards indicate the places they will be going and the place they will be staying in Cebu. Once found, they will be asked to be confined in their hotel rooms and be subjected to mandatory 14-day quarantine. There are now 1,146 confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths in South Korea from 51 infections last week. The outbreak began in the southern city of Daegu and was centered around the Shincheonji religious group. The Philippines also has an existing travel ban on China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau. This is a developing story. Pope Francis today urged followers to give up trolling people on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook for Lent. He said there was too much 'verbal violence' in the world which was 'amplified by the internet'. Francis added that Lent was 'a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis.' Pope Francis today urged followers to give up trolling people on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook for Lent. He is pictured greeting followers in Rome today In recent years, Francis himself has been the butt of insults from ultra-conservative Catholic websites and mostly anonymous anti-pope Twitter feeds Pope Francis addressed thousands of followers in St Peter's Square today. He is pictured here meeting workers from Air Italy and Meridiana He was addressing tens of thousands of worshipers in St Peter's Square, Rome, on Ash Wednesday - the start of the 40-day season of Lent leading up to Easter. Francis said: 'We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet. 'Today, people insult each other as if they were saying good day.' During Lent, Catholics are usually called on to give up treats or indulgences like chocolate or alcohol. In recent years, Francis himself has been the butt of insults from ultra-conservative Catholic websites and mostly anonymous anti-pope Twitter feeds. Twitter has also become a platform for sometimes pitched verbal battles between his supporters and detractors. Later on Wednesday, Francis was due to have ashes rubbed on his forehead at a traditional Ash Wednesday service that reminds Christians of mortality and that everyone will someday become dust. During Lent, which is marked by repentance, fasting and reflection, the faithful are also called on to practice more good deeds, such as alms giving, and to be particularly closer to the needy. Pope Francis addressed tens of thousands of worshipers in St Peter's Square, Rome, on Ash Wednesday - the start of the 40-day season of Lent leading up to Easter. A former Microsoft engineer has been declared guilty for stealing more than $10 million in digital currency. Volodymyr Kvashuk, a 25-year-old Ukrainian citizen living in Washington, has been convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and other offenses, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Kvashuk was employed at Microsoft, where he helped test the companys online retail sales platform. He was accused of stealing digital currency such as gift cards, then reselling them on the internet and using the proceeds to buy a $1.7 million lakefront home and a $160,000 Tesla vehicle. He was also accused of using a bitcoin mixing service in an attempt to hide the source of his funds. Around $2.8 million in bitcoin was transferred into his bank accounts. Kvashuk then filed fake tax return forms, claiming the bitcoin had been a gift from a relative, said the department. In addition to stealing from Microsoft, Volodymyr Kvashuk also stole from the government by concealing his fraudulent income and filing false tax returns," said Ryan L. Korner, special agent in charge at Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation's Cyber Crimes Unit. Criminals who think they can avoid detection by using cryptocurrency and laundering through mixers are put on noticeyou will be caught and you will be held accountable, Korner added. Kvashuk faces up to 20 years in jail when he is sentenced in June. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have been praised for their 'gold standard' work ethic after it was revealed they will carry out 51 engagements in nine days on their royal tour next month. Prince Charles, 71, and Camilla, 72, will visit a combined three countries in little over a week - stopping off in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Jordan between March 17-25. Broad details of the itinerary were revealed yesterday by Clarence House, but exact timings and engagements are being kept under wraps until nearer the time. However MailOnline understands there will be a total of 51 outings over the course of the nine-day tour, or an average of more than five a day. The pace being set by the couple at an age when many are considering retirement has been widely praised by royal supporters on Twitter, who said it was tiring just thinking about the extraordinary workload. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were hailed as the 'gold standard' of royals after it was revealed they will carry out 51 engagements in nine days on their royal tour next month. Pictured, a photograph yesterday in a Clarence House post announcing the royal tour Daily Mail Royal Editor Rebecca English revealed today the couple will carry out a total of 51 engagements on the three stops of their tour, or an average of more than five day. The post prompted praise from fans, pictured, who said they are the 'gold standard' One posted: 'My goodness, what an incredible workload. As usual though, they will do it all with cheerfulness and good humour. Again, a credit to the Queen and UK.' Another tweeted: 'That is amazing, i am feeling tired just at the thought of it.' A third added: 'They are, as usual, the gold standard.' And it is unlikely to get any easier for them with the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who would have helped to shoulder the burden of their trips abroad on behalf of the Queen and the British government, particularly in the Commonwealth. Scott Furssedonn-Wood, Charles and Camillas deputy private secretary, said the couple were well known for packing in as many engagements as possible, both on overseas visits and in UK. He said: 'Thats the way they operate overseas, and then thats the way with operate here in the UK as well, with over 600 engagements over the last year, 20 countries visited on behalf of the United Kingdom. Its an impressive work rate.' Clarence House announced yesterday that Charles, 71, will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a two-day visit on March 17 before being joined by his wife Camilla, 72, in Cyprus from March 18-21 and ending in Jordan on March 21-25. Pictured, the couple in London this month The tour of Cyprus - the first since the Queen's visit in 1993 - comes in the year marking the 60th anniversary of the island's independence from British colonial rule. The Queen's trip was met with protests amid objections to the monarch receiving the golden key to the capital, Nicosia. Cypriot nationalists held the Queen personally responsible for the executions in 1955 of nine Eoka guerrilla fighters arrested during the violent independence struggle, saying she could have commuted their death sentences. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went to RAF Akrotiri in December 2018, but the military base is in the Western Sovereign Base area, a British Overseas Territory. Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 after a failed coup by supporters of union with Greece. The packed schedule left royal fans in awe, with many tweeting to say they are 'tired at the thought' of the workload. Pictured, a selection of the tweets shared in support of the couple The island joined the EU in 2004, but only the southern part enjoys full membership benefits. The royal visit is aimed at celebrating ties between the island and the UK, and the programme will include a trip to the UN Buffer Zone to acknowledge the peacekeeping work being undertaken by the UN, and highlight initiatives aimed at building links between the communities of Cyprus, with the couple meeting both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot community members. Charles will also make a solo visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina to pay his respects in the 25th anniversary year of the Srebrenica genocide, carrying out engagements in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. He will visit the memorial at Srebrenica and pay his respects to the victims of the mass slaughter, accompanied by survivors and mothers who are still looking for their missing family members. More than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered by Bosnian Serb troops in the town in July 1995 in the worst atrocity in Europe since the Second World War. Charles has previously met families of the missing, and has a long-standing commitment to post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans. In Jordan, Charles and Camilla will also hear how the country is supporting its large influx of refugees. There are more than a million refugees in the Middle Eastern kingdom, the majority from war-torn Syria. Charles will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 17 and 18, be joined by Camilla in Cyprus from March 18 to 21, and they will be in Jordan together until March 25. I cant say for sure wed live in the Dundee area if we didnt have Immanuel," Schroeder said. What happens when you start losing other families from your community? If we lived elsewhere, our business would be elsewhere. The risks might be slight, we dont know. But we make decisions on risk vs. reward. All Ive heard is risk. I havent heard a reward. The entire area deserves better than taking a risk without a reward. As South Korea and Japan continue to report two of the largest national totals of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections outside of China, several Vietnamese living in the countries told Tuoi Tre News how local peoples daily lives have been affected by the epidemic. The COVID-19, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 81,000 people and killed 2,763 globally as of Wednesday morning, according to the South China Morning Post. South Korea has confirmed 1,146 infections so far, with the majority of them in Daegu, its fourth-largest city, according to Reuters. Movement restrictions are in place in Daegu as the South Korean government has put the larger Daegu-Gyeongbuk area under special monitoring in a bid to contain the diseases spread. Growing concerns Tran Non Nuoc, a PhD student of New Biology at the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in Daegu, told Tuoi Tre News streets in the city have become deserted as people refrain from going outside over COVID-19 concerns. Schools have delayed their spring semester until March, according to a Ministry of Education announcement. All people living in this area [Daegu] are restricted from getting out, and those from the outside wanting to get in are also monitored, Nuoc said. People queue to buy face masks at a supermarket in Daegu, South Korea in this undated photo. Photo: Tran Non Nuoc / Tuoi Tre News Contributor DGIST is located some 40 kilometers from the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has been linked to the outbreak in Daegu. As a result, the institute has taken measures to protect its students from the epidemic, he said. The institute has five Vietnamese enrollees. Four of them, including Nuoc, are staying at the schools dormitory while the other lives off the premises. Students like Nuoc have been actively staying indoors, avoiding going outside unless absolutely necessary. Nuoc reckoned the popularity of public transport in South Korea has contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country. Metros and buses are usually overcrowded during rush hours, creating a high risk of the virus spreading via close contact, he explained. Furthermore, developed transport infrastructure has allowed trips between cities as far as 200 kilometers apart to take only around 2-3 hours, making controlling the epidemic a challenging task, the PhD student added. Cold weather in Daegu and South Korea is also a concern, he said, as temperatures can drop to 2-5 degrees Celsius at night and are not expected to warm up until late March. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is not yet known whether weather and temperature impact the spread of COVID-19. People queue to buy face masks at a supermarket in Daegu, South Korea in this undated photo. Photo: Tran Non Nuoc / Tuoi Tre News Contributor Shincheonji Church under investigation Trinh Van Ngu from the SoonChunHyang Institute of Medi-Bio Science in Cheonan City told Tuoi Tre News the Shincheonji Church of Jesus has been reported in Korean media as a secretive sect whose members believe they can be healed by faith of illnesses. As a result, church members who are sick have refused to go to the hospital while still going about their daily lives, which might have contributed to spreading COVID-19, Ngu explained. Its members reportedly held meetings in Wuhan in December, only stopping when they realized that their community had been hit by COVID-19, according to a South China Morning Post report on Wednesday. Authorities in South Korea have launched an investigation into possible links between the sect and the Chinese city at the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in China, Ngu said. The city of Cheonan where Ngu lives is around 90km from Seoul and 200km from Daegu. According to Ngu, these days people in Cheonan have avoided going out or visiting restaurants and eateries. Whenever they are outside, face masks are a must. His institute started to monitor the body temperature of students and staff three weeks ago and has advised against assembling in large numbers. Those who have been to Daegu in the past two months are required to declare their detailed itinerary to those in charge. Calmness in Japan In Japan, 171 cases of COVID-19 infections have been reported so far, with only one death, according to the South China Morning Post. No official threat alert has been issued by the Japanese government regarding the disease. Nguyen Truong Duc Hoang from the Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Science in Hiroshima said public opinion about the disease where he lives is generally calm as no infections have been reported in the city. In contrast, people in Tokyo and Osaka where COVID-19 patients have been confirmed have started to adopt personal protective measures while going out in public. With background and experience in biomedicine, Hoang admitted the way Japanese media have been reporting on the epidemic has had him worried, as new cases in Japan are geographically spread out with little to no information on how the patients have contracted the disease. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday ordered a government task force to prepare for a potential surge in the number of people infected with the new coronavirus as the situation has entered a crucial phase after cases with unknown infection routes were reported in multiple regions of the country, the national broadcaster NHK reported. While Japan has not announced any specific region as a high-risk area where movement should be restricted, Hoang said he is concerned the epidemic might have spread further than reflected in official reports by looking at how confirmed infections are few and far between. Even in Hiroshima, where no COVID-19 patients have been confirmed, face masks and hand sanitizer are difficult to find in supermarkets and convenience stores, reflecting a nationwide shortage, he said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a pair of Republican bills that would ban most late-term abortions and threaten prison for doctors who don't try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions. The measures have been defeated multiple times in recent years, but Senate Republicans pushed for renewed votes to allow GOP lawmakers to make an election-year appeal to conservative voters. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of bowing to 'the radical demands of the far left' to 'drown out common sense' and the views of millions of Americans. 'It almost defies belief that an entire political party could find cause to object to this basic protection for babies,' the Kentucky Republican said. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer blasted McConnell for taking up the Senate's time on what he called 'fake, dishonest and extreme legislation that has nothing to do with improving the lives of ordinary Americans.' Noting that existing laws protect infants, Schumer said the GOP bills would, in effect, 'criminalize' women's reproductive care and intimidate health care providers. Culture warrior: Mitch McConnell brought up two abortion bills in a bid to force Democrats in marginal Senate seats into awkward votes on the divisive issue Waste of time: Chuck Schumer said the Republican move was 'a show vote is not a good faith attempt to improve the lives of ... American women' 'Putting these already defeated bills up for a show vote is not a good faith attempt to improve the lives of ... American women,' the New York Democrat said. 'Every single Senate Republican knows that these bills cannot and will not pass. But theyre putting them on the floor anyway to pander to the hard right. And to cover up the fact that they wont provide good health care for women.' Senators voted 56-41 for the born-alive bill, and 53-44 for a separate measure banning most abortions after 20 weeks. Both tallies were short of the 60 votes needed to end Democratic delaying tactics and force a Senate vote. Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Doug Jones of Alabama and Joe Manchin from West Virginia were the only lawmakers to cross party lines on the born-alive bill. Jones and GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed the late-term abortion ban. Three senators seeking the Democratic nomination for president - Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota - did not cast votes. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the Senate debate was not about passing laws or even health care. 'It is really about Republicans' crass political calculation that they can fire up their far-right base with an all-out war against the constitutionally protected right to safe, legal abortion,' she said. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the bill he sponsored was not about limiting access to abortion at all. Instead, the bill is intended to make sure that every newborn baby 'has a fighting chance - whether she's born in a labor and delivery ward or whether she's born in an abortion clinic.' Sasse's bill would make it a crime to deny care to a baby that's survived an abortion. 'Are we a country that protects babies that are alive, born outside the womb after having survived a botched abortion?' he asked. Or is the United States a country 'that says it's okay to just sit back and allow that baby to die? It's a plain and simple question and we all know what the right answer is,' Sasse said. 'This isn't a hard call.' A separate bill sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would essentially ban abortion after 20 weeks, the point at which many scientists say an unborn child can feel pain. Graham said he believe a majority of Americans oppose allowing abortion in the fifth month of pregnancy. The United States is currently one of seven countries in the world that permit elective abortion after 20 weeks. 'I intend to keep pushing for this legislation to become law so the United States can get out of that club,' Graham said. The two votes marked the latest instance in which Republicans have tried to go on offense on the issue of abortion and put Democratic lawmakers who support abortion rights in an uncomfortable position. Abortion plan: Lindsey Graham proposed an effective ban on abortion after 20 weeks. Graham said he believe a majority of Americans oppose allowing abortion in the fifth month of pregnancy. The United States is currently one of seven countries in the world that permit elective abortion after 20 weeks Opposition: Democrat Patty Murray, from Washington, told the Senate: 'Families across the country have actually faced these decisions, have spoken out to make clear politicians should have no part in them.' 'It's hard to believe that, in 21st century America, the life of a baby more than halfway through pregnancy is considered up for debate, but it's true,' said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that works to elect anti-abortion candidates. Opponents, noting the rarity of such births and citing laws making it a crime to kill newborn babies, said the GOP bills were unnecessary. They called the proposals part of a push by abortion opponents to curb access to the procedure and intimidate doctors who perform it, and said late-term abortions generally occur when the infant is considered incapable of surviving after birth. Only 1% of all abortions occur after 21 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Abortions during the final weeks are rarer still. Doctors' and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions, which they say usually occur when the baby is extremely deformed or deemed unable to survive after birth. In such cases, families sometimes decide they want to induce labor so they can spend time with the infant before it dies. 'Families across the country have actually faced these decisions, have spoken out to make clear politicians should have no part in them,' Murray said. 'Pressing for these awful bills year after year may be nothing more than a cynical political tactic for Republicans, but passing them would be an unconscionable exercise in cruelty.' Web Toolbar by Wibiya Today, I would like to talk about what appears to be ongoing and systematized violations of human rights which apparently has the backing of the Office of Prosecutor in the City of Gatineau. Under the auspices of Gatineau Prosecutor Mathieu Cloutier black men, First Nations people and poor people are all being subjected to terrorizing through the Gatineau Police. The results of state terrorism by the City of Gatineau against ordinary Canadians who happen to be black men, of First Nations background or financially poor, is apparent. Do you know that since I have worked in the mid-1980's in Place du Portage in the heart of "secteur Hull" which is now referred to as 'downtown Gatineau', I have never seen one homeless person or panhandler? You might have noticed this too if you have ever ventured into Gatineau; and I can tell you the reason for this is not that Gatineau has become a "Socialist Utopia". Just ask Mathieu Cloutier who apparently supports Gatineau's Police creating fear and panic among black men, First Nations people and the poor. The apparent lack of signs of poor people in Gatineau's downtown core can be attributed to the terrorizing of poor people who flee to the bousum of Ottawa for "safety", where they will be less likely beaten-up and thrown in jail simply for being poor, a black man or aboriginal. Whatever harassment that the poor experience in Ottawa at the hands of the Ottawa Police, indeed, in no way compares to the concerted efforts of the Gatineau Police to totally rid the city of its poor and to target certain visible minority populations through state terrorism. I have heard of multiple incidents in which innocent black people walking from Ottawa across the bridge into Gatineau have been systematically targeted by Gatineau Police. Wikpedia defines state terrorism as "acts of terrorism" which a state conducts against another state or acts of terrorism which a state conducts against its own citizens. Indeed, outside of the Gatineau's downtown core I have personally witnessed multiple incidents of the Gatineau Police interrogating poor people minding-their-own-business and not bothering anyone. Indeed, many black men and First Nations people have found out that in Gatineau, the Police don't have to have any bona fide reason to stop you and demand your driver's license as one black man found out who was ticketed $48 for walking beside rather than on the sidewalk. One First Nations woman who was staying in a local hotel in Gatineau told me about one of her accounts of being subjected to bodily assault. When she complained, nothing was done about it. Instead, she was subjected to further harassment by the police which has involved following her at night when driving to the point of almost running her off the road; then taunting her with a peace sign and then parking in front of her place of residence for no reason other than to make her fearful. In downtown Gatineau, where Cloutier endorses police harassment, the same black man who was stopped by police because they said he was "walking funny" was stopped two hours later for alleged jay walking. This black man had been interrogated by police for 20 minutes for walking funny when he was simply looking for a place to use a public washroom. When this black man was driving a rented vehicle, he noticed a Gatineau Police cruiser making a left turn into the same street he was making a right turn from to go into Boul Maloney. The first thing this black man thought when he saw this Gatineau police cruiser was here we go again. Indeed, this Gatineau cop proceeded to make a U-turn, then followed this black man for five minutes before putting on his sirens. Gatineau Police officer badge #5708 told this black man that the reason for his stop was not because he committed an infraction but simply because he was driving a rented vehicle and he, as a Police Officer had the right so stop and demand to see the drivers license of anyone he sees fit for any reason he dreams-up. There you have it folks! Gatineau under Cloutier is apparently a Police State in which civilians shall be subjected to indiscriminate search, harassment and seizure. Having been stopped by police for "walking funny" this police, Officer Bergeron once again demanded that this black man show then his driver's license. This is the kind of bullsh-t terrorism going on in the City of Gatineau under Cloutier's watch. It is no wonder why so many people in Ottawa dread the thought of going into Gatineau. Can you blame them and especially so if they are a black man, First Nations individual or financially less affluent person simply minding their own business? Does Mr Cloutier have any shame for the climate of fear and panic which he has apparently sought to support in which innocent civilians are being subjugated to humiliation and a variety of unspeakable human rights abuses which include beatings and assault. Montreal is not the only city in Quebec where the police and their prosecutor ought to be held responsible for systematic human rights abuses. If Mr Cloutier has an ounce of contrition for having supported a systematized environment of human rights abuses by Dirty Cops terrorizing innocent civilians, he should resign from his Office and allow for the appointment of a prosecutor who has far greater respect for the Quebec Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Grey Advertising appoints Devashnie Singh as chief people officer Devashnie Singh has been appointed as the chief people officer for Grey Advertising Africa's South African operations. Singh will work with her HR counterparts in the Grey Global network and the WPP Group as she aims to attract and retain the best talent in the creative industry. Her career in HR started 15 years ago in the telecommunications industry. She was recently employed as human capital executive at Primedia Broadcasting and group HR manager at TBWA SA and its agencies. Five people have been hospitalised, two with breathing difficulties, after a suspected chemical leak forced the evacuation of Centrelink building south of Brisbane. Emergency services were called to the Browns Plains service centre on Grand Plaza Drive about 12.20pm after receiving reports of the potential leak. Witnesses had heard the response may have been the result of a small electrical fire at the Browns Plains Centrelink building on Grand Plaza Drive. Credit:Google Street View Paramedics initially reported 13 patients had been assessed for irritation symptoms. This number was later revised to 14. Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Chris Perera said crews had taken five of those people to hospitals after responding to the reports of a "gaseous substance". According to a company statement, the branch applies a contemporary layout that is in line with its one-Zurich approach. It caters to both conventional insurance and takaful customers in the state of Sarawak, which accounts for around 9% of Zurich Malaysias 2.4 million customers. In late 2018, the insurer relocated its head office in Kuala Lumpur, moving the headquarters for all its Malaysian entities under one roof. The branch has a total area of 22,471 square feet and houses a servicing front office, discussion and consultation areas, training rooms, as well as working areas and kiosks for agents. A cafe-style pantry complete with coffee machine is also available for customers use. A total of 19 employees are based in the branch, supporting more than 500 life insurance and family takaful agents, as well as 100 general insurance and takaful distributors in Sarawak. Zurich Malaysia is continuously evolving to serve and meet the needs of our customers better, said Zurich Malaysia country head Stephen Clark. This new Kuching office emphasises our focus on providing customers with improved experience and greater convenience through customer-friendly services and facilities based on our one-Zurich approach. We strive to make protection more attainable, approachable and simple for customers, to enhance their Malaysian lifestyle. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Bolivia may face logistical challenges as it rushes to prepare for the upcoming presidential election that is about two months away, a senior State Department official told reporters. "As the president at the TSE [Tribunal Superior Electoral] says, one way or the other they'll be ready, but it's a challenge," the official said on Tuesday when asked if the biggest red flag right now is that Bolivia may not be logistically capable of holding elections. The State Department official said Bolivia has had an "immense amount" of technical assistance from the United Nations and other forms of support from the United States and the European Union. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales stepped down from his position last November after being pressed by the military and left the country after the opposition challenged the results of the October 20 election. His government then resigned, with opposition senator Jeanine Anez becoming the interim leader of the country. The TSE of Bolivia scheduled the new general elections for May 3. Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been declared an "absconder" by the government for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report from his doctors in London, according to a media report on Wednesday. Sharif, 70, left for London in November last for treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to go abroad on medical grounds for four weeks. According to Sharif's physician, the three-time prime minister is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery. The government on Tuesday decided not to extend the bail of Sharif and declared him an absconder for violating the bail requirements by not presenting his medical report before a board formed on the order of the Islamabad High Court, Dawn Newspaper reported. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan. "After Nawaz Sharif failed to submit his medical report of any hospital in London, the medical board rejected a medical certificate sent by him and [the government] declared him an absconder," Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said at a post-Cabinet meeting press conference. "From today Nawaz Sharif is an absconder according to the law of land and if he does not return to the country he will be declared a proclaimed offender, Awan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A convicted heroin trafficker stabbed his glamorous daughter eight times in a fit of rage because he thought she was 'throwing her life away' by taking drugs, a court heard today. Property developer Petrit Lekaj murdered his 20-year-old daughter Sabrina on their way to Hungry Jack's in Adelaide in July. She was found dead in her white Mercedes-Benz sedan 250m from the family's suburban home in Kidman Park. Lekaj pleaded guilty to murder at the South Australian Supreme Court in August and will be sentenced next week. Property developer Petrit Lekaj (left) murdered his 20-year-old daughter Sabrina (right) in Adelaide in July The 20-year-old was found dead in her Mercedes-Benz sedan near the family's suburban Kidman Park property in Adelaide on July 21. Pictured: Sabrina Lekaj's funeral At a hearing today, his lawyer said the father could not explain his actions, the Advertiser reported. Lekaj, a well-known member of Adelaide's Albanian community, took a 15-centimetre knife with him when he drove his daughter to get food, the court heard. While stationary in her car, which was birthday present from him, he confronted her about her party lifestyle and recreational drug use. He claimed she was 'throwing her life away' and she replied that she 'didn't care', the judge was told. Lekaj took the knife to 'scare' his daughter - but he pulled it from his trousers and stabbed her in the stomach while she was looking out the passenger window, the court was told. As she screamed for help, he then got into the back seat, strangled her and stabbed her seven more times, the court heard. Ms Lekaj (pictured) was remembered as a good friend and top student After the murder, Lekaj was found next to his daughter with a serious stomach wound and was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Prosecutor Melissa Wilkinson told the sentencing submissions hearing: 'He told police he believed that his daughter was throwing her life away and the accused responded to that by violently taking her life from her.' Defence lawyer Ben Sale said the judge should take into account that Lekaj instantly admitted he had killed the 'apple of his eye'. In December, an antecedents report detailing Lekaj's criminal history was tendered by prosecutors and released to The Advertiser by Justice Trish Kelly. According to the publication, Lekaj's drug-related offending goes back to August 1996, when he was jailed for his involvement in the sale of a controlled substance. The previous year he was unanimously found guilty of selling heroin, district court records show. The 49-year-old spent at least two years in jail, after his minimum non-parole period of two-and-a-half years was cut by six months. In 2007, Lekaj was convicted and fined $200 for possessing cannabis. He was also hit with a $100 fine for failing to store ammunition in a locked container, according to the antecedents report. Two years later, the father was fined $900 in September 2009 after he was found to have cultivated more than a prescribed number of cannabis plants, as well as possessing drugs equipment. Ms Lekaj was remembered as a good friend and top student who had graduated high school with a score of 99.35. 'I can't believe I'm writing this. My beautiful Sabrina. Incredibly talented pianist, high achiever and queen of dark humour. I love you. Forever in our hearts,' one friend wrote after her death. Ms Lekaj attended Nazareth Catholic College in Adelaide, graduating in 2016 with a leading score in biology and religious studies. She was accepted into the University of South Australia where she studied both classical piano performance and medical imaging. Lekaj, a well-known member of the city's Albanian community, was found next to his daughter (pictured) with a serious abdominal injury and was treated in the Royal Adelaide Hospital New Delhi: Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday (February 26) demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation for failure to control the violence in Delhi while addressing a press conference. She said, "The Centre and the Union Home Minister is responsible for the present situation in Delhi. The Union Home Minister should resign." Sonia Gandhi said, "Chief Minister and Delhi government is equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony. It is the collective failure of both governments that have resulted in a great tragedy in the capital city." The Congress Interim President said, "There is a conspiracy behind the violence, the country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." "Delhi Police has remained paralysed in the last 72 hours, around 18 lives have been lost so far, including a head constable, and hundreds are in hospital, many with gunshot injuries. Violence continues unabated on the streets of North East Delhi," she said. Sonia Gandhi said that "Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred." Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Congress was to hold a march and give a memorandum to President today, but he communicated that he is unavailable and has given us time tomorrow. Upholding the respect for his high office, we have deferred the march for tomorrow." Earlier, Congress working committee meeting passed a resolution to hold the march to Rashtrapati Bhavan and submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today described the violence in Delhi as a colossal failure of Delhi Police. "Whether the violence erupted in East Delhi (MOS-Home) or spontaneous (MHA), the government has a duty to end the violence," he tweeted. In another tweet, he said, "The violence has continued since Monday and there are still incidents of violence. This shows the massive failure of the Delhi Police." Were proud to join forces with a strong partner like Generali, combining our trusted customer-focused protection with their existing multinational footprint, said Mark Berven, president & COO, Nationwide Property and Casualty. This partnership between two insurance powerhouses will elevate the solutions we can offer to commercial members to help them protect their business across the globe with extraordinary care. The new firm, which will be based in New Jersey, will be led by Bill Skapof, who joined Generali in 2015 as head of GC&C US, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer. He brings over 30 years of P&C underwriting sales experience to the role and has developed highly successful product, distribution and sales strategies in support of global commercial markets. This partnership is part of our strategic plan 2021 to be a Life-Time Partner to our customers, offering them innovative and personalized solutions, commented Marco Sesana (pictured), country manager Italy & CEO of Generali Italia and Global Business Lines Generali. Today were proud to announce this joint venture that brings together Nationwides brand recognition and distribution with Generali Global Corporate & Commercials extensive global network and local knowledge in over 160 countries around the world. N2G will be fully equipped to offer a comprehensive and seamless multinational program to its customers. N2G is due to open for business in the second quarter of 2020. With a Taliban takeover, what is the JeM demanding in Afghanistan What does the meeting between Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad mean for India Explained: This day that year, when India hit Pakistan at Balakot India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 26: Indian Air Force Chief, R K S Bhadauria, will today visit a front line base in Kashmir that launched fighter planes to engaged the Pakistan Air Force a day after India hit a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror facility at Balakot. The visit by the Air Chief is aimed at commemorating the Balakot strikes and also the air action the following day. A seminar will also be organised in Delhi and the same would be themed, IAF's role in No war, No Peace. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack. The pre-dawn operation, described as "non-military" and "preemptive", struck a five-star resort style camp on a hilltop forest that provided Indian forces with a "sitting duck target" and caught the terrorists in their sleep, sources said. Explained: The link between Indian citizenship and the voter identification card I want to assure the people that the country is in safe hands. There is nothing above the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a public rally in Churu, Rajasthan, in his first remarks after the strike. The then Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told the media the "intelligence-led operation" on the Pakistan-based terror group's biggest training camp in Balakot became "absolutely necessary" as it was planning more suicide attacks in India, after the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed. The JeM claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. Gokhale said the camp was located in Balakot but did not elaborate further. Sources said the reference was to the town in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80 km from the Line of Control and near Abbotabad where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in hiding by covert US forces. This was the first time since the 1971 war that India has used air power against Pakistan. India received intelligence that the JeM had shifted many in-training terrorists and hardcore operatives, along with their trainers, to the camp, about 20 km from Balakot town, which has facilities for 500 to 700 people and even a swimming pool, sources said. In a synchronised operation, fighter and other aircraft took off from several air bases in Western and Central commands at about the same time, leaving Pakistani defence officials confused about where they were heading, they said. A small group of aircraft broke away from the swarm and headed to Balakot where "the sleeping terrorists were sitting ducks for the Indian bombing", said one source. The entire operation, it is learnt, was over in 20 minutes, starting at 3.45 am and ending at 4.05 am. "Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose," Gokhale had told the media. Explained: Why Pakistan remained in the grey list "In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated," he said, stressing that care was taken to avoid civilian casualties. At least 325 terrorists and 25 to 27 trainers were at the camp. The facility at Balakot, located in a thick forest on a hilltop far from civilian presence, was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, he said, reading out from a statement. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 21:49:59|Editor: zh Video Player Close Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hold pictures of him in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 26, 2020. Egypt held a military funeral on Wednesday for the country's former president Hosni Mubarak who died on Tuesday at the age of 91. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt held a military funeral on Wednesday for the country's former president Hosni Mubarak who died on Tuesday at the age of 91. The body of the former president was airlifted to a mosque complex in an eastern New Cairo neighborhood, where the funeral service took place. Mubarak died in hospital after undergoing treatment in an intensive care unit. Mubarak had served as Egyptian president for nearly 30 years until he resigned as a result of mass protests that erupted in the country in 2011. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and other Egyptian and Arab dignitaries attended the funeral, which will be followed later in the day by burial at the cemetery in Heliopolis. Mubarak's sons were in the helicopter that carried the body to the funeral service site. Wrapped in the Egyptian flag, Egyptian honor guards carried the coffin in the ceremony. On Tuesday, the presidency extended condolences to the former president's family for his services to the homeland as "a hero of October 1973 war." It announced three days of nationwide mourning. Born in 1928 in Munofiya province in the Nile River Delta, Mubarak graduated from the Air Force Academy and worked as its director for three years. He was appointed as Air Force Commander in 1972. Later, he was awarded by the late president for his accomplishments during the Arab-Israeli war. In 1975, Mubarak was appointed as vice-president. Dozens of Mubarak supporters gathered outside the mosque where the funeral took place. Some gathered in cafes to watch the funeral on big screens. "Holding a military funeral restored Mubarak dignity after his image was distorted for years," said Adel Mahmoud, 65-year-old, who was standing outside a cafe in Maadi district south of Cairo. Mubarak is a hero of war who spent 30 years in serving the country, and his farewell should be honored, the man told Xinhua. However, Karim al-Sayed, an 18-year-old student, said Egypt encountered economic problems and high rate of poverty during Mubarak's rule, which caused the difficulties the country faces now. He added that "it's not easy for the young people to also forget the innocent Egyptians who were shot dead during the 2011 protests." In 2012, Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for complicity in the murder of some of the demonstrators who took part in the wave of protests. He was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of most charges. A two-year-old boy was rushed to hospital in a critical condition overnight after he fell from a second-storey balcony on the Gold Coast. Paramedics, including trauma specialists, rushed to a private residence in Ormeau just after 6pm on Wednesday and took the toddler to the Queensland Children's Hospital. Police said the toddler was knocked unconscious after he fell and suffered a serious head injury, but it was not considered to be life-threatening. The investigation was being led by detectives from the child protection investigation unit. I havent left home in the last three days. I am safe. Are you? Allahnu, 60, ended the phone conversation with his Hindu friend who lives about a kilometre away. He was scared, just like most residents of Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh and other surrounding areas of the capital citys north-east region. Itd been three days of living in fear of violence and death. The nearly one-kilometre stretch of road that connects Muslim-dominated Jaffrabad to Maujpur, where a majority of the residents are Hindu, was empty, dotted with shuttered shops, some of them visibly ransacked and burnt. On any other day, a visitor wouldnt be able to tell the difference between Hindus and Muslims here. Now, the contrast was stark. Last time there was a Hindu-Muslim fight here was in 1992, after the Babri Masjid demolition. This feels very similar, Allahnu said. A night after the entire neighbourhood stayed up both Hindus and Muslims keeping vigil of their homes and families, the violence hadn't ended.. On Tuesday morning, hundreds of women continued sitting under the Jaffrabad metro station, their heads covered, silently reading from the paara (Quran). They had been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act since Saturday night. Meanwhile, in Maujpur, women sat in protest tooagainst the protesters. The anti-CAA demonstration site was removed by Delhi Police later in the evening. Streets were littered with scraps of bricks; black smoke from fires had filled up the sky. Every couple of minutes, there was a cry from somewhere. Stones were hurled and, often, people emerged out of crowds with an injured, bleeding head. Throughout all of this, men and women patrolled, with sticks in their hands, threatening to beat up journalists, outsiders, and anyone who dared to shoot a photograph or a video. Outnumbered, the stick-wielding, helmet-wearing police stood on one side of the road. Syed Suhail, who owns a shop on that stretch of road, had not dared to open the shutters. I have never seen this kind of hatred. This used to be a peaceful neighborhood, he said. Syed is hopeful that peace will soon arrive. Hindu customers have been calling me to ask about my safety, he said. The haunting memories of 1992 engulfed the Seelampur assembly constituency, as residents said a rally by Bharatiya Janata Partys Kapil Mishra to counter the anti-CAA protests in the area was followed by waves of stone-pelting. Mishra then posted a tweet inviting those who supported the CAA to Maujpur Chowk at 3 pm as an answer to the blockade at Jaffrabad. Three days ultimatum to Delhi Police, Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh roads should get cleared, or dont try to convince us, we would not even listen to you, just three days, the tweet read. Less than two hours later, a scuffle broke out in the neighborhood that soon escalated into confrontations between Hindus and Muslims, who pelted each other with rocks, leading to injuries and deaths. The police had to fire teargas shells to bring the situation under control. The BJP leader also tweeted a video where he was seen next to deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ved Prakash, while issuing the warning that his supporters were only waiting till United States President Donald Trump's visit and after that they would not listen to even the Delhi Police and would ensure that all roads blocked by anti-CAA protesters were cleared. Mishra was nowhere in sight. But, three days after his tweet, the violence continued. Its just like that time in 1992 for us. After the demolition of Babri Masjid the constituency was under curfew. There were a few deaths and the police attacked us, said Aslam Khan, who drives a rickshaw. Khan, who has been living in Seelampur for nearly 40 years, vividly remembers the face of Iqbal, the young boy who died in his arms twenty-seven years ago. He fell into my arms and breathed his last in my embrace. I cant forget his death my entire life. Now, this upheaval is scratching those old wounds, he said. The death toll has now risen to 20. A police officer, too, was bashed in the head with a rock. Mohammad Javed, a manufacturer, sitting with a crowd of men in Jafferbad area, kept repeating the words, We have to maintain peace. If we are violent, we will lose our humanity, he said. Javed is a BJP party worker whose entry into politics happened back in 1997, with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in his college campus. He said he was glad that he didnt invite Manoj Tiwari, city BJP president and Member of Parliament from the North-East Delhi constituency, in the neighbourhood, ahead of the Delhi elections. My friends in the locality are taunting me for even thinking about sending an invite to Manoj Tiwari. They are telling me that I would have made a big mistake by calling him here, especially at this time. Javed was in class XII when the 1992 incident happened. When the Babri Masjid was demolished, community members had gathered at this same road to condemn the demolition. The police tried to stop us, the situation turned violent and some even died. But, Javed said, This time its worse than what it was back then. This is new-age politics, he said. Indian politicians, together, want to break the country." The Seelampur constituency, which includes some of these neighbourhoods, recorded the highest voter turnout (71.4 per cent, as per Election Data data). The people voted against the CAA politics, they wanted to use their voting rights to keep divisive politics out but here we are now... there is more aggression in today,s politics, Javed said. At Maujpur, 53-year-old Rajesh Bhasin had just returned from the hospital after getting his head injury bandaged. Bhasin, who runs a confectionery business, said that they were tired of the protests and the road blockades across Delhiin Shaheen Bagh, Jaffrabad, and other areasand decided to protest against them. We were chanting Jai Shri Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai slogans when a mob came with swords and attacked us, he said. Residents of both the neighbourhoods had been awake all night. We have been guarding our homes, said a resident of Maujpur. Meanwhile, an old woman raised a flag and shouted a slogan to "Shoot the traitors". Simultaneously, a mob from there ran towards Kabir Nagar, just across the street of Maujpur, with stones in hands. One of them returned with a bleeding forehead. Amid the palpable anger on both sides, the fear among most residents was starkly visible. Tayaab Ansari, a native of Bihar, who lives in the Gonda Chowk area of Delhi, hasnt gone back home in the last three days. On Sunday, he left home to get his eyes tested at Shastri Hospital in north-west Delhi. When he came back, the violence had escalated so much that, he said, there was no way he could cross the Hindu-dominated neighbourhood of Maujpur to get back home. I need medicines, I am in pain. I need to go home, he said. Neither Tayaab nor his family, who had been in touch with him only through phone calls, had got any sleep. However, the situation, despite the calls from peace by politicians, had only worsened. The intermittent "maaro, maaro" combined with stone-pelting continued as anxiety and fear gripped the neighbourhood localities. They are forcing people to take off their pants to check a resident of Jaffrabad said, expressing the kind of fear the neighbourhood was dealing with. Another immediately intervened:It may not be true. Lets keep our peace. The sleepless protesters at Jaffrabad were disappointed at the media for branding them "rioters". One of them scrolled down his phone gallery to show video footage from that area. "Look, the police is with them! They helped them bring those bricks." One of the protesters then got a call from a Muslim friend who stays in the Hindu neighbourhood. A mob has surrounded his house. How do we help him get out of there? Another resident responded, We can't do anything. We can't even go there. They will beat us up." Another assured, "The Hindus in the neighbourhood will save him. He is a good man. On Monday, several vehicles were set ablaze, and foam warehouses, shops and homes were ransacked by a crowd, which hurled petrol bombs at these establishments. The colours of some the buildings on the street were not visible anymore they had blackened due to fire, ashes in front of them. Shattered glass from the window of a mosque, about 500 metres away from the Jaffrabad protest site, lay across the street. The Imam of the mosque said that he didn't believe those people at the pro-CAA gathering were from the neighbourhood. We live in peace and harmony here, we are each others friends. They are outsiders. They cannot be from this area, he said. Mohammad Ayyub, too, was unable to come to terms with the fact that the entire lane that has people from both faiths, living together, was burning with mistrust and suspicion. Hindu landlords have Muslims tenants. Hindus here hire Muslim workers as employees. We go to each others weddings, we share food. Bhasin from Maujpur, was angry about, what he called, the tukde tukde gang who, he said, has no understanding of the CAA. Javed, meanwhile, explained why theres a fear of the National Register of Citizens among the Muslim community. They must understand our fears we have seen the situation in Assam and how some become citizens while others are sent to detention centres. Is it going to be any different? Why doesnt the government explain to us what the difference will be? he added. The older residents of the Jaffrabad neighbourhood kept talking about their haunting memories of 1992. And, that they didn't want history to repeat. How can a politician come and destroy our years of friendship? asked Mohammad Ayyub, a tailor in the locality. There are Hindus living in Muslim-dominated areas and there are Muslims living in Hindu-dominated areas. We want our brothers to be safe there, so we wont attack any Hindu here. One wrong action will endanger the life of our brothers in the other localities with Hindu majority. Iranian authorities on Wednesday announced domestic travel restrictions for people with confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus, which has claimed 19 lives in the country -- the highest tally outside China where the disease originated. The authorities also slapped curbs on visits to major Muslim pilgrimage sites. "Instead of quarantining cities, we are going to implement movement restrictions for those suspected of infection or those infected," Health Minister Saeed Namaki said at a news conference. He said teams of inspectors had already been placed at the entrance of cities "that see a lot of movement", without naming them. The teams will take people's temperatures and stop those who are infected or suspected of infection, who will be quarantined for 14 days. Namaki said access to several Shiite holy sites would be restricted, including the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom. Iran last week announced its first two deaths from the coronavirus in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies and pilgrims from abroad. According to official figures, the virus has killed a further 17 people out of 139 confirmed cases of infection. Visitors to the shrines will be allowed to visit on condition they are provided "with hand-washing liquids, proper (health) information, masks", the minister said. They must "not gather together in groups but just pray and leave", he said. In affected areas, school closures will be extended for three days, and universities for another week starting from Saturday, he said. Also in these regions, weekly Friday prayers will be suspended, Namaki said. "All of these decisions are temporary and if the situation changes, we might intensify or ease them," Namaki added. Apart from school closures, sporting events have been cancelled and teams of sanitary workers deployed to disinfect buses, trains and public spaces. International health experts have expressed concern about Iran's handling of the outbreak. Such worries mounted on Tuesday when the head of the taskforce combatting the virus, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, admitted he himself had been infected. But health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said Wednesday that the situation was "improving", even as he announced four more deaths and 44 new infections including in six previously unaffected provinces. - 'Concealing information' - The head of a newly established cyber police unit, meanwhile, announced the arrest of 24 people accused of online rumour-mongering about the spread of the virus. They were handed over to the judiciary, while 118 other internet users were briefly detained and received warnings, Vahid Majid said, cited by semi-official news agency ISNA. The arrests were carried out after the establishment of a special unit to "combat rumour-mongers regarding the 'spread of coronavirus in the country'", he was quoted as saying. Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) charged that Iran "seems to be concealing information about the epidemic". It condemned what it termed "Iran's persecution of media outlets and journalists publishing independent information". "Respect for the public's right to full, independent, diverse and quality news reporting... is the best way to protect the population and combat rumours," said Reza Moini, head of the group's Iran desk. Going on the offensive, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Iran's arch foe the United States of trying to use propaganda about the virus to instil "fear" against his country. The Americans "themselves are struggling with coronavirus", Rouhani said in a weekly cabinet meeting. He added that "16,000 people have died of influenza there but they don't talk about their own (dead)". His remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of concealing the full extent of the outbreak, saying "Tehran may have suppressed vital details". The latest health ministry figures show the virus has spread across the country. There were 15 new cases in Qom, central Iran, nine in Gilan in the north, four in the capital Tehran and three in Fars in the south, it said. - 'Slightly concerning' - The ministry added that Markazi, Kermanshah, Ardebil, Mazandaran and Semnan provinces each had one new case. Newly hit regions included Khuzestan in the southwest. The health ministry's spokesman, Jahanpour, appeared optimistic about the situation in the worst-hit province of Qom, south of Tehran. "Every 24 hours, at least 10 percent of those hospitalised or suspect cases are discharged with good general health," the official said. But in Gilan, "things are slightly concerning", he added. The province has had the second highest number of new cases, including people who had visited other provinces. Iran has not quarantined any of the infected cities such as Qom, a method authorities dismissed as outdated and ineffective. A Tehran municipality worker cleans a bus to avoid the spread of COVID-19 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was "deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak" Iranian sanitary workers disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus It's hard enough beef farming at the best of times. Try doing it in Co Roscommon with your fields flooded. In their farmyard in Nure, Michael McManus lifts a round bale of silage across a huge puddle into the cowshed using the forks on his tractor. His mother Nancy splits the plastic off it using a Stanley knife. While the rest of the cows are in feeding stiles, a cheeky calf eats direct from the bale. "If you don't have buckets, you're no use here," Nancy greets the visitors to the yard with a commentary on the flooding. The flooding is likely to worsen over the coming days as the weather deteriorates. Fifty yards behind the cow shed, there's a lake stretching all around. Except it's not a lake, it's a series of flooded fields, taking in several farms. A bitter chill comes in off the water. Michael is worried the problem will get worse in time as urban areas are protected. "Our concern is the flood defences will push it up to us," he says. He ironically points out slurry couldn't be spread last November as it was banned at that time of year. Now they can't spread slurry because the land is under water. His 50 cows will be staying in the shed for another while yet. The McManus farm is not on the banks of the Shannon. The river is a mile away. But the fields are flooded nonetheless. The townland has an historic monument to the 'Caoinne Marbh' - an ancient wake house used for mourning the dead prior to burial. Families would sometimes transport the dead across the river to Clonmacnoise, the ancient monastic settlement situated on the bank of the Shannon. The land between the monument and the river is all water now. Farmers in the west feel the flooding is man-made, pointing to the activities of semi-State bodies and the inactivities of other State bodies not doing anything to alleviate the issue. Michael points to legislation drafted by Fianna Fail TD Anne Rabbitte to force the ESB to manage the flow of the river, by releasing more water down river at Parteen Weir. The law hasn't passed through the Dail though. "This is a recurring problem. But none of the State agencies has recognised it," he says. Beyond the McManus's farm, the road suddenly ends as it goes below the water. At the far side of the 'lake' on the skyline is Drumlosh, where farmers Mossie Walsh and Larry Shine have flooded fields in front of and behind their farms. Dykes built to carry the water away are overflowing. A sudden hail storm lashes down on Mossie's cow shed where he too is feeding his cattle. "You can't let the cattle out and any grass that's there will be destroyed from the flooding," he says. The road beyond the farms in Drumlosh is cut off too as the flooded fields overflow up to the entrances to a house. The whooper swans are enjoying the newly created areas for swimming. Once the snow melts on the mountains, it will cause even more flooding. There's worse to come in the floodlands of the midlands. Severe problems are emerging across the west, particularly in parts of Galway and Clare. A yellow wind warning came into effect from yesterday afternoon until last night as north-west winds at speeds of 50 to 60kmh and gusts of 90 to 100kmh moved towards Clare and Kerry. Today, weather forecasters have warned of a cold day with a possible snow spell after a mix of rain, hail and sleet showers. The weathermen and women have predicted the rest of the week will be bitter with persistent rain showers across the country this Friday, after days of snow, sleet and hail showers. A flurry of wintry showers is expected to continue throughout the week following the nationwide snow and ice warning issued on Monday. Met Eireann has warned of frost and icy patches developing, as temperatures drop to -2C, with the warning remaining in place until 9am today. Met Eireann forecaster Liz Gavin said the wintry showers of sleet, hail and snow will be met with persistent rainfall this Friday. "The next few days it's going to be cold with showery conditions. The showers will be wintry in nature so we can expect to see some hail, sleet and snow showers at times," she said. "Later in the week as we go into Friday, a more persistent spell of rain is likely to affect the country. We have a snow ice warning in operation until tomorrow morning, that's really for the wintry showers we're expecting for the coming day into tomorrow." The flooding also knocked out the train line between Galway and Limerick after water levels rose above the rail line at Kiltartan in Co Galway. Iarnrod Eireann said bus transfers will operate on the route for a number of days. In Athlone, the Shannon tips the top of the walls but the flood defences are largely keeping the river at bay. Inside Custume Barracks, the Defence Forces are on standby by help out - if asked to do so. The Army was asked by the local council to fill sandbags and be ready to help. A group of 20 soldiers from the 6th Infantry Battalion and 2nd Artillery Regiment had their makeshift sandbag filler in action. The contraption involves sticking two upturned traffic cones through a ladder balanced on two metal stands. It works a treat. The sandbags are then left on pallets for collection. Commandant Shane Hickey, the second in command of the 6th Infantry Battalion, points out they can only respond to requests for assistance from the local authority, which is in charge of the flood response. "As part of the inter-agency approach to flooding, we have been asked by Westmeath County Council to assist in the preparation and provision of sandbags and to be prepared for possible deployment," he says. Additional reporting by Aoife Walsh Seoul BioHub, opened in October 2017, is leading the country's biomedical science industry./Courtesy of Seoul BioHub By Kim Se-jeong In the 1960s and 70s, Korea's high-end science and technology industry was led by the Hongneung region of northeastern Seoul. The area housed universities Korea University, Kyunghee University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) as well as engineers and scholars, who together led innovations in the developing country. Half a century later, the area is rebranding itself as the nation's center for biomedical science. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the force behind the movement, with a vision to make the country's capital a biomedical cluster both for the nation, and for Asia. To begin, Seoul city purchased property from the Korea Rural Economic Institute the institute relocated itself to Naju, South Jeolla Province, in 2015 and transformed it into the Seoul BioHub. Upon its official launch in October 2017, the city joined hands with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) to oversee management and operation. Seoul BioHub is currently home to 68 startup companies across the biomedical industry. The startup Bioway develops pancreatic and hepatocellular tumor drugs, while Ilias Biologics conducts research into the treatment of sepsis. LABnPEOPLE develops microneedles and other bio-absorbable materials, and HUINNO creates wearable electrocardiograms for arrhythmia patients. Seoul BioHub offers office and lab space to the resident companies at below-market prices, while providing workshops across areas such as accounting, patents, trademark applications and biopharmaceutical R&D. _ workshops are also open to non-resident companies which need help. Resident companies can stay in the BioHub for maximum four years. "We welcome startups with strong ideas and technologies," Kang Dae-wook, Seoul BioHub's general director told The Korea Times. But, one important pre-requisite is that the company's product contributes to improving human health. "Seoul BioHub's support is geared toward improving human lives. Any company in the biotechnology, medical technology and health technology can apply." The hub boasts an optimal location, with nine universities, six medical centers and nine research institutes within the vicinity. "Hongneung is an area of major research centers, universities and hospitals," said Kang. "It's the perfect site for Seoul BioHub." Seoul BioHub is part of the Hongneung Biomedical Cluster spearheaded by the city government. This year, Center for Integrating BT-IT will open close to the BioHub. "Seoul City is supporting and nurturing the biomedical industry in the city," Kang said. The city's campaign to support biomedical companies is in line with global developments in the healthcare sector, driven in part by a growing and aging population. Focus on chronic diseases is shifting towards prevention, and early detection. In Korea, the healthcare sector is viewed by many as a pillar that will drive Korea's economic prosperity. With this in mind, the government undertook policy reform and granting increased financial support to the private healthcare sector. The central government also runs Osong Biovalley in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province and Wonju Medical Industry Technovalley in Wonju, Gangwon Province to support promising young companies. Last year, the central government also introduced strategies aimed at nurturing healthcare industries and, earlier this month, it announced the decision to remove certain key regulations in order to establish a more level playing field for related companies. "The world's pharmaceutical market has grown by 6 percent every year since 2005, reaching $1.14 trillion in 2017. In 2020, the figure is expected to reach $1.43 trillion, which is higher than the semi-conductor and aerospace sectors combined," Kang said. He also pointed out that the biomedical industry creates two times as many jobs as the manufacturing industry, and the quality of its employment is also high. Johnson & Johnson an international corporation developing medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods is Seoul BioHub's business partner. Johnson & Johnson helps discover startups deemed to have potential and sometimes purchase a company developing promising technology. 'Seoul Innovation QuickFire Challenge' is an annual contest organized by Johnson & Johnson, together with the city government and the KHIDI, which awards companies with the promising medical technologies. This year will see the fourth round of the contest in Korea. In addition to Johnson & Johnson, the Swiss healthcare company Novartis, and American pharmaceutical company MSD, are also partners of Seoul BioHub. 'We want to stay here as long as possible' LABnPEOPLE CEO Cho Sung-youn Founded in 2016, LABnPEOPLE develops microneedles and bioabsorbable materials, and was one of the first groups to reside in Seoul BioHub. CEO Cho Sung-youn praised Seoul BioHub's convenient location. "It's right in the middle of the city," said Cho. Prior to Seoul BioHub, LABnPEOPLE was headquartered in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and so Cho knows well the benefits of having a central office. "I need to hire quality researchers, but that's difficult when the office is located outside of Seoul. I also have to meet with investors and research partners who are mostly based in the city. Having an office in the city is important for businesses," Cho said. LABnPEOPLE works with research partners at both Korea University and KIST. The company also develops minimally invasive devices used to treat spinal stenosis, and microneedles in patch-form with anti-acne and anti-wrinkle properties. The anti-acne patch will soon go on sale at Olive Young - a major health and beauty store - and the anti-wrinkle patch is currently distributed in Japan. Last year, LABnPEOPLE saw sales of approximately 100 million won. "Despite the ongoing coronavirus concerns, we project bigger profits this year," Cho said. LABnPEOPLE CEO hailed Seoul BioHub's "All-in-One designated consulting," a service customized to individual companies for its quality. "We were introduced to a consulting company via Seoul BioHub which is working to find potential buyers in Singapore. When the consulting was over, we signed a contract with them. We are now in contact with three potential buyers in Singapore." Cho now needs a bigger space. "My colleagues and I want to stay here as long as possible, but as this building is already at full capacity, we are having to move to another building next year." InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of low-cost carrier IndiGo, on Wednesday once again refuted all charges of corporate governance and listing disclosure norms in certain related party transactions. IndiGo Whole Time Director and CEO Ronojoy Dutta said it has not received any communication from Sebi regarding any outcome of any preliminary enquiry by the regulator. "Further, IndiGo strongly denies any allegations of wrongdoing or avoidance of processes. It reiterates that it has strong processes for ensuring arm's length dealings with related parties and that such transactions were entered into in the ordinary course of business and were in the best interests of IndiGo," he said in a statement. "If and when Sebi conveys to IndiGo any outcome of an enquiry, IndiGo being confident of its compliance record, will deal with it appropriately," he added. The comment from Dutta came a day after the company informed the exchanges that it has not received any communication from SEBI in case pertaining to corporate governance lapse. The stock exchanges have sought clarification from the company in this regard. Also Read: Sebi finds prima facie violations of corporate governance at IndiGo On Tuesday, reports claimed that a preliminary probe by Sebi has suggested prima-facie violations of corporate governance and listing disclosure norms in certain related party transactions involving InterGlobe Aviation. "We would like to state that the news item published in "CNBC TV 18" is factually incorrect and the Company has not received any communication from SEBI in this regard," InterGlobe Aviation told stock exchanges on Tuesday. Also Read: Air India sale: Bidders can raise additional queries till March 6 IndiGo has been facing a probe by the Sebi ever since a public spat came to light between two co-founders and co-promoters -- Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia -- in July 2019, including over certain related party transactions involving one of the warring promoters. Meanwhile, shares of IndiGo closed Wednesday's trade at Rs 1,394.05 apiece, up 1.26 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. By Chitranjan Kumar The Department of State Services (DSS) has allegedly given an anti-kidnapping manual to Very Important Personalities (VIPs). According to Daily Trust the manual which provided tips against kidnapping, was conveyed to the Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele through a letter dated January 17, 2020, and acknowledged on January 20, 2020. The handbook titled: Kidnapping, why me and my family, was also reportedly sent to top government functionaries, including heads of government agencies, departments, boards and parastatals. The Forward of the anti-kidnapping book which was signed by Ahmed Salisu on behalf of the Director-General of DSS, partly reads: Following in-depth assessment of kidnapping trend across the states of the federation in recent years, and the seeming lack of awareness of basic preventive tips and guidelines among the populace, the Service as part of its proactive measure against the crime has produced a handbook, aimed at sensitizing Very Important Personalities (VIPs) The introductory note in the 19-page handbook reads; Given the pecuniary motive driving kidnapping activities, the affluent in the society become easy targets of attack. However, with the appropriate application of relevant security tips and guidelines, the vulnerability of Very Important Personalities (VIPs) to attacks can be reduced to its barest minimum. This handbook is therefore designed to specifically acquaint VIPs of important tips that would enhance their personal security and that of their family members. Some of the tips given in the book include; The following if not well managed could expose you to dangers of kidnapping: Your appearance and disposition; your level of popularity; occupying sensitive and important positions in the society; raving flippant and unguided aides; engaging inadequately vetted household employees; inordinate business transactions involving ones bank accounts without adequate knowledge about intentions; entrusting confidential and personal matters into others; inappropriate disclosure of ones itinerary, and living a flamboyant lifestyle and inappropriate display of wealth. Recognize your self-worth; assess the threat level of your environment, and the perception of others about you in any given location. Your security aides are there to secure you and your household. They are also to educate you and your household on security-related issues. Ensure you obtain intelligence relating to the security situation of places you intend visiting for public functions or personal purposes. Be humble enough to see things from your security aides perspective when you are advised not to visit an area. Your aides are your buffer against danger, take care of them. Vigilance keeps you at alert when others are not. It entails being conscious of every activity/happening around you and your family VIPs who got the book were also advised to install Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV), maintain a moderate lifestyle and also avoid phone calls that discuss financial issues in the public among others. The handbook has however generated concern as some Nigerians accused the DSS of neglecting ordinary citizens who are most vulnerable to the crime. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Toh Ting Wei (The Straits Times/Asia News Network) Wed, February 26, 2020 14:32 686 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2066b6105 2 News Singapore,Singapore-Airlines,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Singapore Airlines (SIA) has frozen hiring and is considering other measures, including asking staff to go on voluntary no-pay leave, The Straits Times has learnt. Three rounds of flight cuts mean fewer flying hours, leaving the airline with excess manpower of more than 500 cabin crew members and around 50 pilots, ST understands. In response to queries yesterday, SIA said: "In response to Covid-19, a general recruitment freeze has been implemented for all ground positions, and non-essential duty travel has been suspended. "We are closely monitoring the situation and will be decisive in implementing any additional measures that may be needed. We will not do anything, however, that compromises SIA Group's long-term competitiveness." In a note to all SIA staff yesterday, chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong said the coronavirus outbreak had caused a significant drop in demand, with passenger traffic and load factors rapidly declining in all markets. He said the group - made up of SIA, SilkAir and budget carrier Scoot - has temporarily suspended more than 3,000 return flights from this month to end-May following the outbreak, in order to mitigate the impact of the significant drop in demand. This accounts for 9.9 per cent of the group's scheduled flights until end-May. SIA had on Monday announced additional cuts to its flights between this month and May, following its decision last Tuesday to cancel more than 700 flights. Said Mr Goh: "We will continue to be nimble and flexible in adjusting our capacity to match the changing demand patterns in the market." He added that other preventive measures to conserve cash and reduce costs have been taken. Read also: Singapore Airlines temporarily halts some flights to Indonesian cities On the revenue side, Mr Goh said the group's commercial teams are working with tourism agencies and travel partners around the world to "aggressively drive sales, and jointly promote air travel to and through Singapore". He also told staff that SIA is tackling the challenges posed by the outbreak from a position of strength due to a three-year turnaround plan introduced in 2017, which had sought to review work processes and operations amid fierce competition that has eroded profits. Mr Goh said the plan has strengthened SIA's revenue-generating capabilities and driven operational efficiencies. He also thanked staff for ensuring the safety of all customers and other staff despite the tough challenges. Aviation analyst Brendan Sobie of Sobie Aviation told ST that it was inevitable that airlines had to resort to cost-cutting measures, and expects SIA and other airlines to implement unpaid leave schemes soon, given that demand is likely to remain weak for some time. "Cost cutting is an option for all airlines but it is somewhat limited as most airline costs are fixed," he added. "Virtually all of Asia's main airline groups will be unprofitable the first half of this year." Changi Airport Group (CAG) said yesterday that total passenger traffic at the airport fell by more than 25 per cent in the first two weeks of this month compared with the same period last year. Traffic between China and Singapore alone dropped by more than 85 per cent, CAG said. The outbreak has reversed a promising start to the year. The airport handled 5.95 million passengers last month, an increase of 5.2 per cent compared with the same period last year. Topics : This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Brooklyn Beckham and girlfriend Nicola Peltz appear to be getting pretty serious. The aspiring photographer, 20, and his actress girlfriend, 25, attended Paris Fashion Week hand-in-hand on February 25. Brooklyn and Nicola were first linked in October 2019, but they waited until January 2020 to make things Instagram official. Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz in an Instagram story from February 25, 2020 / Instagram Since then, the couple has regularly shared photos together and can be seen commenting on each others posts even more frequently. / SplashNews.com Their most recent social media post came via Brooklyns Instagram story on February 25, where he shared a photo of them cozied up together with the caption, Love of my life. / New Media Images / SplashNews.com He and Nicola were photographed that same day at the Saint Laurent show, holding hands and posing together in head-to-toe black. WireImage In his Instagram story, Brooklyn also shared a video of himself having a casual meal with his mom. While Nicola couldnt be seen in the quick clip, a source told Heat that she reportedly approves of Brooklyns relationship with the Instagram model. (Bloomberg) -- Moderate Democrats are racing to distance themselves from 2020 front-runner Bernie Sanders in an attempt to protect their House majority and the dozens of swing districts the party won in 2018. The Vermont senator, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, has embraced policies that are unpopular in Republican-leaning districts. As Sanders collects delegates ahead of South Carolinas Saturday primary vote, his positive statements about communist Cuba and criticism of Israel has forced centrist Democrats to publicly oppose the person who could be their partys nominee. Some House Democrats are promising to block his most progressive proposals, such as abolishing private health insurance, banning natural gas fracking, and ending enforcement of border controls. Florida Representative Stephanie Murphy said the Democratic presidential candidate also needs to be aware how comments and policies will play in the parts of the country that will determine which party controls Congress. You cannot condemn Israel and compliment Castro and win in Florida, she said. I think that there would be a lot of people in swing districts, that instead of being able to run a campaign that is a referendum on Trump, would have to be running a defensive campaign explaining what socialism is. Sanderss rise has been facilitated by strong grassroots support and moderate primary votes split among several Democrats who used Wednesdays debate in South Carolina to warn about the political risk of running on the same ticket as a socialist. If you want to keep the House in Democratic hands, you might want to check with the people who actually turned the House blue, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg said to Sanders in the debate. They are running away from your platform as fast as they possibly can. Buttigieg is currently second in the delegate count to Sanders, but hes sharing his centrist pitch to voters with other candidates. Many of the House Democrats who express concern about Sanders have endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden or former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Sanders adviser Jeff Weaver said Tuesday that Sanders would work with moderates if elected. He disputed the idea that Sanders cant carry more conservative districts. He won an election in a seat that was been Republican for decades. So he understands the need to be able to win over broad cross section of voters, both Democrats, independents and even some Republicans, Weaver said. Lawmakers concede they would have little choice but to back Sanders in a match-up against President Donald Trump, but they said explaining that vote to their constituents will be difficult. Tough Floor Votes If Bernie Sanders is our nominee, most Democrats will vote for him because we would like to beat Donald Trump and get rid of Donald Trump, California Representative Ami Bera said in an interview. But if he wants to be an effective president he would have to moderate his positions and work with a Democratic House as well as a Republican Senate. Centrist Democrats began drawing early contrasts to Sanders, emphasizing House bills that take a more incremental approach to health care, climate change, immigration and improving middle class incomes. Many moderate House Democrats also oppose Sanders proposals to cut military spending and federal jobs guarantee. New Jersey Democrat Tom Malinowski said nominating Sanders would be a squandered opportunity to unite the country. He said he is counting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to continue developing a pragmatic agenda that will appeal to voters. That is what we should run on and that is what we will run on, Malinowski said. House Republican leaders plan to tie vulnerable Democrats to Sanders, seeking to regain the House majority. The minority party can force floor votes on motions related to Sanders policies, putting Democrats in a tough position. Given the positions that House Democrats have taken, its fitting that Bernie Sanders will be their likely nominee, Steve Scalise, the second-ranking House Republican, said in an emailed response to questions. Democrats will pay a price for aligning themselves with him. Moderate Democrats say they already had a dress rehearsal last year, responding to questions about progressive colleagues like New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who drew attention for their policies and statements. In response, Democrats from swing states managed to keep Medicare-for-All and a sweeping climate resolution known as the Green New Deal bottled up in committee. They also forced floor votes to support Israel and successfully pushed for a rule requiring new spending be paid for. Budget Discipline Murphy, a leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition who endorsed Bloomberg, said she plans to highlight budget deficits that have ballooned to $1 trillion under Trump. She and other members of the Democrats Blue Dog caucus will insist that big initiatives be paid for by either revenue increases or spending cuts. Sanderss proposals are projected to cost $53 trillion over the next decade. Regardless of who is in the White House, we always fight for fiscal responsibility, Murphy said. The debt is actually a huge threat to our national security. South Carolina Representative Joe Cunningham, one of the most vulnerable House Democrats, told constituents last week he would oppose Sanders on deficit spending. This all goes back if you have a plan, show us how you are going to pay for it, he said at a College of Charleston event. He said bucking others in his party are badges of honor for me. Cunningham, along with 30 of his partys 40 House freshmen, is part of the 103-member New Democrat Coalition, a pro-business faction of the party. Pelosi often refers to these members as the majority makers since their 2018 wins in Republican-leaning districts are the most important seats for defending Democratic control of the House. Bera, the California representative who advises the Democratic campaign committee, said running with Sanders at the top of the ticket puts these Democrats at risk in November when all House members will be up for re-election. We are already advising our front-line members that they should keep their races local, regardless of who our nominee is, he said, acknowledging that it wont be easy. It is hard to run away from your presidential nominee, Bera said, adding that Republicans are looking to use Sanders against Cunningham in South Carolina, Kendra Horn in Oklahoma and Ben McAdams in Utah. We know they are already trying to tag someone like Ben McAdams as a socialist, Bera said. He is not a socialist. He is a pragmatist and a free market Democrat. Politically Dangerous Bera endorsed Biden, and says he worries about Sanders embracing the socialist label. That is going to make a lot of the races very difficult, he said. California Democrat Scott Peters, who endorsed Bloomberg for president, said Sanderss plans for a federal jobs guarantee and free college dont make sense and are politically dangerous for his party. But he said he would vote for Sanders to get rid of Trump. This presidential election is going to be decided in six to eight states that arent going to vote for someone who goes by the label socialist, Peters said. I think it is going to have some serious down ballot consequences as well. Peters said hell campaign on plans to reduce the federal deficit and pay for new programs. He said nominating Sanders would complicate everything that moderate Democrats say they stand for. This makes it so much harder, Peters said. You are going to asked in a town hall who you are voting for. Bernie Sanders. And once you say that you are explaining and when you are explaining, youre losing. --With assistance from Tyler Pager. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. STATEN ISLAND -- After President Donald Trump warned New Yorkers to get their mops & buckets ready as he criticized climate resilience proposals to protect the region from the next storm, now his administration has retreated from the project indefinitely. The Army Corps of Engineers had been studying five proposals to protect the region from future storm flooding, but on Tuesday said the study had been postponed indefinitely. The Corps had estimated the seawall wall would cost about $119 billion to build, however it was unclear whether the city, state, New Jersey or Congress would jointly fund the project that it anticipated would take 25 years to build, The New York Times reported. Corps spokesman Michael Embrich said funding for the study was not included in Trump administrations latest budget and does not yet know whether the study will ever resume. Last year, the Corps paid a visit to the borough to talk to local residents about its five conceptual storm resiliency plans. However, two of the five options it was considering could have resulted in a build-up of floodwaters on Staten Island. Earlier this year, Trump took to Twitter to mock the project. A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably wont work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, youll just have to get your mops & buckets ready! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2020 The sudden pause on the project raised suspicion that politics played a role in the administration postponing the study. In recent weeks the Trump administration has banned New Yorkers from trusted traveler programs like the Global Entry Program. Trumps Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said the ban was prompted by the state governments passage of the Green Light Law. REP ROSE: POSTPONED PROJECT SEPARATE FROM EAST SHORE SEAWALL Rep. Max Rose assured New Yorkers that indefinite pause on the storm surge study would not hamper the Islands plans for its East Shore Seawall. I want to be very clear that this does not impact the construction of the East Shore Seawall, Rose said. However, the administrations decision to cancel this study is no different than telling New York City to go ahead and drown. Despite what the President thinks, superstorms cannot be wished away by denying the existence of climate change. These are complicated challenges and every second we arent researching a solution, is a second we can never get back and our city will pay the price whether through more severe flooding, higher insurance premiums, and even lives. This study must be reinstated, Rose continued. City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who had condemned the administrations plan and wanted more localized floodwalls, dune and wetland restoration, living shorelines, reefs, and levee, slammed the administration for its sudden decision. The Federal Governments decision to abandon the Army Corps storm surge study is reckless, and it exposes our region to the ravages of the next superstorm. Climate change is real and New Yorkers cant afford to have the federal government pretend otherwise. Nothing less than the future of our city is on the line. The Army Corps must conclude its study, put shovels in the ground, and begin the build-out of an integrated and feasible shorefront resiliency system that includes floodwalls, dunes, wetlands, and levees projects that will actually protect our city," Stringer said. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHWIAGI ON TWITTER. Protesters in Iraq have changed the venue of their protests from Baghdad to Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province, 360 kilometers (223 miles) south of the Iraqi capital. Decisions on the revolution will now be made in Nasiriyah. Protests are held almost in all Iraqi southern cities, but Baghdad was the center of the protests movement, where all other protests follow its direction and guidance. Following the decision to move the center from Baghdad to Nasiriyah, hundreds of protesters from the Shiite holy city of Najaf visited Nasiriyah on Feb. 22, joining the protesters there, in order to express support to Nasiriyah as the center of protests. Protesters from other cities are visiting Nasiriyah as well. On Feb. 2, protesters in the famous Tahrir Square located in the middle of Baghdad called for the center of protests to be moved to Nasiriyah. Tahrir Square was the center of protests in Iraq, and all protesters in other cities would follow events there. Now, after Muqtada al-Sadr's Blue Hats overtook Tahrir forcibly, protesters are following the events in Al-Haboubi Square in Nasiriyah instead. Dhi Qar province is second after Baghdad in the highest number of abuses against protesters since the protests began Oct. 1, 2019. Protesters there have been subject to violence by security forces. The only difference between it and Baghdad is that armed groups have not intervened. One of the factors that made Nasiriyah an ideal protest capital is the support shown by tribal and popular forces as well as the strength of its people in standing against violence. The two most prominent figures of the protests in Nasiriyah are pharmacist Alaa al-Rikabi, who presented his candidacy for the transitional government in Iraq, and Asaad al-Nasiri, a leader in Sadr's movement who was blocked by Sadr Jan. 25. Nasiri tweeted, There are many causes behind decentralizing the protests and moving them to Nasiriyah. One of the main reasons is the weak situation of protesters in Baghdad compared to the authorities and armed groups. We observed how the Blue Hats of Sadrs movement took over the streets. He added, The popular movement in Nasiriyah, the ban on the intervention of armed groups, the improvement of the relationship between protesters and security forces, and the coverage the issue is receiving in local and international media are positive signs. They reveal our strength and our great responsibility to defend human rights. On Feb. 2, protesters from Tahrir Square sent a signed letter to those in Nasiriyah that said, Nasiriyah is the capital of protests in Iraq. They justified this move by saying they were pressured by parties they couldnt name after their refusal to assign Mohammed Tawfik Allawi as prime minister. Protesters in Tahrir Square have faced ongoing attacks over the past weeks; some of those attacks like the burning of their tents were perpetrated by Sadrs Blue Hats. For this reason, protesters in Baghdad and Tahrir Square made Nasiriyah the new focal point of the protests in order to take some pressure off of the ones in Baghdad. Dhi Qar, the third poorest province in Iraq with a 44% poverty rate according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, played an important role in promoting protests and their momentum in Iraq. The cooperation between tribes and activists in the protests has played an important role in pressuring former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi into firing the head of the crisis unit, Maj. Jaleel al-Shammari. The latter was sent to Nasiriyah last November and given instructions to fire live bullets at protesters. Huda al-Bahadli, a consultant with the National Wisdom Movement, told Al-Monitor, I dont think that moving protests to Nasiriyah was a surprise. It emanated from protesters search for a safe haven that guarantees the continuity of protests and their momentum as long as the government and political parties did not fulfill their demands. He added, Nasiriyah has greater operational power than other regions where clear leadership has not formed. It has previously made proposals that have been accepted by all provinces. Dhi Qar province has remained the most prominent since the start of protests. There, the houses of politicians have been burned and the headquarters of parties have been destroyed, even those related to the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). Last January, the international road connecting Basra to Baghdad and the north of Iraq was blocked. An activist in the Nasiriyah protests, Hussein al-Gharabi, told Al-Monitor, I think that what Nasiriyah went through during the November revolution was different from other locations. The voices of its youth were strong; so was their oppression. It thus became a symbol of protests. Al-Haboubi Square was also a space for independent youth. Unlike in Bagdad, Sadrs movement and the Blue Hats were not there. He added, The fact that political parties did not participate is what made it special and different from all provinces. In other provinces, the tents of protesters are being attacked and burned down. Protesters in Al-Haboubi Square built brick or wooden rooms to protect themselves from attacks. This escalation was a response to the governments and Sadr's violence against protesters. Naming Nasiriyah the capital of the protests in Iraq is a smart move. What the armed troops are doing in Baghdad, they cannot do in Dhi Qar province, where tribes are very present and cohesive. Moreover, most troops of the PMU who fought the Islamic State are from this city. Now that Nasiriyah is the pillar of protests in Iraq, the momentum of protests will increase and create anxiety for authorities and parties. The province is known for its strength in fighting the government, and it is one of the areas where the popular movement against Saddam Hussein started in 1991. Would it be wrong for a major Canadian gathering of conservatives to host an American radio host who thinks its idiotic that he cannot say the N-word? Or that free speech should apply to hate speech, too? Or that Western news media pose a far greater danger to Western civilization than Russia does? These arent rhetorical questions. Next month, the Manning Networking Conference will be taking place in Ottawa. It dubs itself as the largest national gathering of Canadians in support of limited government, free enterprise, and personal responsibility. This year, one of the featured speakers is Dennis Prager, a syndicated radio host who earlier this month told a caller that [ ... ] the left has made it impossible to say the N-word any longer. That's disgusting, it's a farce. It's the only word that you can't say in the English language." The radio host is the founder of PragerU. The online platform hosts short videos from a coterie of right-wing commentators. One video, viewed 17 million times, features an internet talk show host claiming that racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, and Islamophobia are meaningless buzzwords. The Southern Law Poverty Centre says PragerUs content at times function as dog whistles to the extreme right. Back to the Manning Centre. Its events typically attract the whos who of conservative movers and shakers, including federal and provincial party leaders. Last year, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer took the stage and its likely he, and current leadership hopefuls, will be attending this year. Considering the partys various efforts to insist it supports diversity, do Scheer and the candidates vying to succeed him as leader have any qualms about associating themselves with Prager? If so, lets hear from them. Besides, hasnt the Manning Centre itself come to the realization that if this countrys conservative movement is to build any kind of momentum, it must unequivocally distance itself from those peddling in hatred and division? Especially considering that a December 2019 poll by Abacus Data found that the Conservative brand was often publicly associated as being old, close-minded, racist and bigoted. One is left to conclude that the party and perhaps the Manning Centre as well, have failed to learn from the partys past. In 2015, former Conservative leader Stephen Harper did his level best to stir up xenophobia with discriminatory policies around face veils, barbaric cultural practices and relentless stigmatization of Canadian Muslims. And he lost that election. Post Harper, a Conservative party member and writer Angela Wright argued Scheer would need to be at the forefront of rebuilding trust between the Conservative Party and racial and religious minorities. That didnt happen. Instead, he presided over his partys toxic efforts to block Motion 103 a bill to condemn Islamophobia and religious discrimination even after the deadly shootings at a Quebec City mosque in 2017. Scheer also appeared last year at a Yellow Vest rally, which included Faith Goldy, a figure with ties to white supremacists. That, along with his partys minimal efforts to address issues impacting racialized communities, hasnt much endeared the party to many recent voters. It seems Ontarios Progressive Conservatives are slightly warier of optics. The provinces Attorney General Doug Downey was advertised as a speaker at an upcoming conference organized by a group calling itself Canadians for the Rule of Law. On the guestlist, long-time anti-Muslim agitator Daniel Pipes, (whose organization bankrolled a 2018 rally during which protesters made Nazi salutes), and Christine Douglass-Williams, former board member of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, who was fired by the federal government for her Islamophobic writings. A spokeswoman for the attorney general confirmed in an email last week that Downey will in fact not be speaking and that his office has requested his profile be removed. It remains unclear why he would have accepted in the first place. Nevertheless, its good his office took appropriate steps, presumably once concerns were raised. Both the Manning Centre and the Conservative Party should take note. They dont have to cut ties with Prager if they dont want to. But Canadians should know where they stand. Amira Elghawaby is an Ottawa-based human rights advocate and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: is an Ottawa-based human rights advocate and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @AmiraElghawaby Read more about: Malaysia was plunged into a bitter power struggle Wednesday as Mahathir Mohamad sought to form a unity government following his shock resignation, but old foe Anwar Ibrahim also pushed to become premier. The developments deepened a crisis that began when the ruling coalition -- which included both men when it stormed to a historic poll victory in 2018 -- fell apart after a failed bid to establish a new government without Anwar. Anwar was Mahathir's designated successor, but he would likely have been pushed out and blocked from becoming leader if the weekend bid had succeeded. Their notoriously stormy relationship has shaped Malaysian politics ever since Mahathir -- during a first stint in office in the 1990s -- sacked Anwar as his deputy, and he was jailed on dubious sodomy and corruption charges. They reconciled ahead of the 2018 polls to oust a corruption-plagued coalition led by Najib Razak, but many were sceptical Mahathir -- at 94, the world's oldest leader -- would stick to a vow to hand power to Anwar. Mahathir quit Monday as premier but it remains unclear whether he had a hand in the plot to topple the government, although analysts suspect he at least gave it his blessing. He has been named interim leader and initially appeared to have strong support to remain as premier. But backing fell away early Wednesday and rumours swirled Anwar had garnered enough support from MPs for the top job, fuelling expectations that Mahathir might finally cede power. The elderly leader, however, announced in a televised address to the nation that he wished to establish a unity government, and was willing to return as premier. "Party politics must be put aside for now," said Mahathir. "If allowed, I will try to form an inclusive government, not siding with any political parties." "If I still have the support I will return. If not I will accept whoever is chosen," he added. - Jockeying for support - Moments later at a press conference at his party headquarters, Anwar said he had received backing from three parties in the "Pact of Hope" coalition -- the grouping in power until Mahathir quit -- to become premier. Anwar, 72, said the coalition had invited Mahathir to a meeting on Tuesday evening aimed at reviving the coalition, but after he failed to show they decided to put him forward as their candidate. "Since the attempt to topple the government last week we have remained steadfast in defending the mandate of the Malaysian people," he said. After reading a statement, he added: "We leave it to the palace to decide". Officially the king appoints the prime minister, and he has been interviewing all the country's MPs since Monday to work out who they support. A candidate must have the backing of at least 112 MPs -- but it was not clear whether Anwar or Mahathir would achieve that, and there are likely to be days of political horse-trading ahead. Reports say that Mahathir had already proposed a unity government to leaders across the political spectrum Tuesday, but they rejected the idea. James Chin, a Malaysia expert from the University of Tasmania, said he believed Mahathir, who had a first stint as premier from 1981 to 2003, would likely prevail in the power struggle. "The best thing is to hold a general election, but both sides don't want it -- they are afraid people will punish them," he added. The victory of the "Pact of Hope" alliance in 2018 was initially greeted with euphoria as it ended the six-decade rule of the notoriously corrupt Barisan Nasional coalition and prime minister Najib. Najib was accused of involvement in stealing billions of dollars from state fund 1MDB, and is now on trial. But the alliance's popularity quickly fell amid bitter infighting over who would succeed Mahathir, and it faced accusations of failing to protect the rights of the multi-ethnic country's Muslim majority. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:28:20|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KAMPALA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Public debt managers from 19 African countries, bilateral and multilateral creditors on Wednesday started a three-day meeting here. The meeting aimed at ensuring that external borrowing is used to foster sustainable economic growth. Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said at the opening of the meeting 40 percent of African countries are in debt distress. Rugunda said an increasingly stabilizing Africa has led to increased external borrowing in a bid to meet the need of fast track development. Elliot Harris, UN chief economist and assistant secretary-general for economic development, said external financing is increasingly changing shape from concessional financing to private financing. Harris said that while the changing landscape presents challenges, borrowers need to adjust and look at the opportunities. He said there is need to increase domestic resource mobilization and also have an effective debt management. He noted that the terms and conditions under which a debt is acquired must be clear from the onset. According to the World Bank, over the period 2010-18, the average public debt increased by half from 40 to 59 percent of Gross Domestic Product, making sub-Saharan Africa the fast-growing debt accumulation continent. In June 2019, the World Bank Global Economic Prospect showed that unsustainable accumulation of public debt has become gradually troublesome in the past years. Veena Mani By Express News Service CHENNAI: Would you think twice about the fact that a 44-year-old woman is Chennais own sari-wizard and does magic with the nine-yard at many a Brahmin wedding? What if I were to tell you that she is from Nepal and can barely speak Tamil? Was that enough to make you pause? Meet Meera Kumari, the madisaru fairy. From handing out safety pins and staying put with a pleated pallu as someone else did the sari draping, Meera now handles the whole nine yards - fixing the make-up, arranging accessories and offering styling suggestions. And it all started, as it always does, with a humble job at a neighbourhood beauty parlour far from home. It was 25 years ago that Meera moved to Chennai in search of a livelihood. The burgeoning beauty industry provided many like her a chance to begin life anew in this quiet city. Relegated to handling manicures, pedicures and basic make-up, the art of sari draping caught Meeras attention soon enough. For even back then, there were women seeking assistance for the nine-yard affair. Initially, I used to watch senior beauticians at the parlour drape the sari. I was made to do the odd jobs - pinning the sari, holding the pallu. I observed and learned, she narrates. Interacting with the clients during these sessions gave her a glimpse into the fascinating world of south Indian weddings. She was soon picking up details like jewellery staples (like the chandran and suryan), make-up choices, various wedding events (nalangu, nischayathartham, etc.,) and much more. Not wanting to limit her work to make-up jobs, she decided to master the madisaru. While the internet did come in handy, it was her next-door mami, in Mandaveli, who inducted her into the draping circle. I bought a nine-yard sari for Rs 1,200 and tried draping it on myself. It was a mess. Then, my neighbour stepped in to teach me that the pleats should be proportional to the womans body - the thinner the person, the more the number of pleats, Meera recounts. These tips and tricks seem to have done it, for now Meera can drape even a regular six-yard sari in the style of the nine-yard. Meera is fascinated by the south Indian culture and she took to it after she saw some of her cousins in Andhra Pradesh dress up in traditional attires. She would also observe people and feel there was some sophistication to the nine-yards. Now, her days are filled with appointments. Her client-base has expanded to every district in Tamil Nadu. She continues to manage all this, while still holding on to her day job at the beauty parlour. In these many years, she has nailed nearly every detail of the job but still struggles with the language. I only know a few words; Im still learning. I get my clients at the parlour to translate whatever they say. That is how I learn, she says. Perhaps, given a few more years, she may master this hurdle too. For details, call: 8754568637 SPRINGFIELD A judge dismissed an assault charge against convicted mafia hit man Anthony Arillotta in Springfield District Court Wednesday. Arillotta, released from prison in 2017 after an eight-year stint for murder and racketeering, said the July incident that erupted among him and some relatives was all a big misunderstanding. Its over now, he said after the court hearing. Arillotta, 50, of Springfield, was arrested July 29 after he allegedly hurled a carton of lemonade at a female family member. An argument began over a dog, which the family member left at Arillottas home, according to court records. The onetime local boss of the New York-based Genovese crime family was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. His attorney, Kevin Riva, said the case against his client languished when the alleged victim and other witnesses were uncooperative. The judge allowed our motion to dismiss the case. There were several factors the weakness of the case being factor one, Riva said. Police records said the situation became heated because Arillotta is allergic to dogs and wanted the dog removed. Arillotta and the victim got into an argument, both screaming and calling each other various names, a report said. Arillotta picked up a full carton of lemonade and threw it at the woman, striking her in the leg, it added. She did not suffer any visible injuries and refused medical treatment. At the time of the arrest, Arrillotta was still on federal probation but his release never appeared to be in jeopardy, according to a lack of filings in U.S. District Court. Arillotta pleaded guilty to his role in the 2003 murder of his onetime mob mentor, Adolfo Big Al Bruno, and the murder just weeks earlier of his brother-in-law, low-level player Gary D. Westerman. He testified against his co-defendants in two separate trials in federal court in Manhattan in exchange for a lighter sentence. Comment on the story on MassLives Facebook page Wright, 56, is one of ABCs most seasoned and versatile correspondents, having joined the network nearly 20 years ago. He has covered the White House and was Nightlines lead political reporter during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has also periodically reported from the Middle East and Europe, including covering the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris last year. He shared a 2004 Emmy Award for his reporting from Iraq and shared a Peabody Award for reporting in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has reconstituted the Board of Technical which would be headed by K K Sharma, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, as its chairman, an official spokesman said on Wednesday. "In pursuance of Section-5 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of Technical Act, 2002 and in supersession of all previous government orders on the subject, sanction is hereby accorded to the re-constitution of J&K Board of Technical Education," an official spokesman said quoting an order issued by General Administration Department here. Sharma, advisor to the Lt Governor G C Murmu, will be the chairman of the 24-member reconstituted board, the spokesman said. The members of the board included Financial Commissioner (Finance department), Principal Secretaries Technical department and Planning, Development and Monitoring department and Commissioner Secretaries Industries and Commerce and Public Works (Roads and Buildings Department). Director, Industries and Commerce from both divisions of Jammu and Kashmir, Director Technical Education, Chief Engineers (Roads and Buildings) Jammu as well as Kashmir, Secretary Board of School Education were some of the other members, the spokesman said. He said Secretary, J&K Board of Technical Education will be the member secretary, the spokesman said adding that the reconstituted board also included heads of various educational institutions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Closed bars and pubs are seen in the Naviglio area of Milan, as the country is hit by the coronavirus outbreak, in Italy on Feb. 25, 2020. (Yara Nardi/Reuters) Coronavirus Cases Rise in Italy, With Children Among New Cases An outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy worsened on Feb. 26, with more than 30 new cases confirmed in the two worst-hit regions and children found to have the illness for the first time. Officials in Lombardy, which includes Italys financial capital Milan, said cases had risen overnight to 259 from 240 on Tuesday, with four children, including a 4-year-old girl, infected in the first such cases in the country. In neighboring Veneto, the number of people confirmed to have caught the flu-like virus was 58, an increase of 13 on the previous tally given on Tuesday. An Italian Army soldier checks transit to and from the cordoned areas near Turano Lodigiano, northern Italy, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Claudio Furlan/Lapresse via AP) The death toll from the contagion, which came to light on Friday, remained unchanged at 11. All those who have died so far have been elderly and most had underlying health problems. After first emerging in Italy in Lombardy and Veneto, the countrys economic powerhouse, the illness has now spread to seven other regions, including Sicily in the far south, with the total number of cases nationwide climbing above 350. Italians or people who had recently visited the north of the country have tested positive in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, and France since the weekend, showing how far and fast the illnesswhich was first identified in China last monthcould spread. A psychologist talks to a group of workers outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in La Caleta, Italy, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Desiree Martin/AFP via Getty Images) In a bid to halt the outbreak, authorities have shut schools, universities, museums, cinemas, and theaters across much of the north. Many countries have advised their nationals not to visit the north of Italy and hoteliers have reported a wave of cancellations, putting the local tourism industry at threat. We should stay calm, there is no reason to be particularly afraid, said Elisabetta Jacona, a Milan resident and doctor. The only advice I can give, as a doctor, is telling people who are more at risk, elderly people or people with previous pathologies to avoid going out. Analysts have warned that the outbreak could shunt Italys fragile economy into its fourth recession in 12 years. By Elvira Pollina and Riccardo Bastianello Advertisement Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman is putting his collection of memorabilia that spans the five decades he spent with the band up for auction for 3million. The collection of 1,000 items includes guitars, keyboards, amps, awards and outfits the band wore on stage throughout his 50-year career playing bass for the rock 'n roll legends. Wyman, 83, who played with the band from 1962 to 1993, says he will donate some of the proceeds to a group of his favourite charities. Among the highlights are some incredibly valuable bass guitars, some of which are worth up to 400,000 each. The most expensive instrument is a 1969 Fender Mustang bass in a 'Competition Orange' finish designed by Leo Fender himself. It was played by Wyman during the Stones' concerts and recordings in 1969 and 1970 and was exhibited at the O2 Arena Rock Exhibition in London in 2010. It is expected to sell for 385,000. They are all going under the hammer at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles in late May. Music producer Bill Wyman is putting his 3million collection of Rolling Stones memorabilia that spans five decade up for auction for 3million. Pictured left: A 1978 Travis Bean custom short scale bass hand built for Bill Wyman. Right: Early 1960s Framus Star Bass model 5/150 used by Wyman between 1963 and 1965 This guitar case used by Wyman during his time playing bass for the Stones will also be up for grabs in May's auction This guitar case is among 1,000 items being put up for auction by Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, now 83, at an auctioneers in Los Angeles, USA Pictured: The 1962 VOX 'Normal' model amplifier used by Bill Wyman at his audition for the Rolling Stones. It was used regularly in the Stones' early days and Richards later admitted it played a part in Wyman joining the group This poster advertises the auction, which begins at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles, USA, on May 29, and will see 1,000 of Bill Wyman's possessions from his time with the Rolling Stones go under the hammer A 1978 custom-built Travis Bean short scale bass used by Wyman on the band's recordings, videos and tours in 1978 is tipped to make 230,000. A Dan Armstrong prototype bass that once appeared on Top of the Pops with Wyman is also valued at 155,000. One of the most stand-out lots is an old amplifier Wyman used for his audition to join the fledgling band in 1962. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones were suitably impressed by Wyman's musical skills and his VOX AC-30 amp that they hired him. The amp was used regularly in the Stones' early days and Richards later admitted it played a part in Wyman joining the group. Richards, 76, said: 'Bill had amplifiers! Bill came fully equipped. A Vox AC-30 amplifier, which was beyond our means to possess. 'We used to worship it. We used to look at it and get on our knees. To have an amplifier was crucial.' This bright orange outfit worn by Bill Wyman with an ice cream cone embroidered on the back is going under the hammer for several thousand pounds in Los Angeles in May Also going under the hammer is this Mellotron MKII Model Keyboard, which was delivered to Wyman's house in December 1966. At the time the American instrument cost him 830 but it is now expected to sell for 45,000 There is also a Mellotron MKII Model Keyboard going under the hammer, which was delivered to Wyman's house in December 1966. At the time the instrument cost him 830 but it is now expected to sell for 45,000. The wooden piece was incredibly advanced for its day as it included built-in recording equipment that could capture everything that was played. There are a number of personal artefacts in the collection that document some of the Stones' earliest days as a group. There is an early BBC radio contract dated July 15, 1964 for an appearance The Rhythm and Blues Show, recorded on October 8 1964. The show aired on October 31 that year and the contract is now predicted to fetch 2,000. Other items from the early years of the group include an early press release from April 1964 worth 2,000. There is also a bar bill made out to hellraiser Brian Jones for drinks and food at the Scotch of St James nightclub in London dated April 1966. The venue was a popular hangout for celebrities in the swinging sixties. The bill is also valued at 2,000. Pictured: The 1969 Ampeg Portaflex bass amp used by Bill Wyman in 1971 with the Rolling Stones while recording Exhile on Main Street A 'silver' record presented by DISC magazine to the Rolling Stones while Wyman played bass for them One poignant lot is a bi-fold pamphlet containing a poem by Jim Morrison titled, 'Ode to L.A. while thinking of Brian Jones, Deceased'. This is one of only 500 copies of this poem printed by Wetern Lithograph Co. in July 1969. The work reflects on the death of Jones who died in a swimming pool on July 3, 1969. Morrison distributed the pamphlet during two performances by The Doors at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood on July 21 1969. Very few survived as many concert goers failed to save them. It has an estimate of 4,000. Speaking about the sale, Wyman said: 'Collecting and archiving has been one of the great pleasures of my life and will undoubtedly be one of my legacies. The most valuable instrument in the lot is a 1969 Fender Mustang bass in a 'Competition Orange' finish designed by Leo Fender himself (left). There is also the famous 'Wyman bass' made by Vox (right) up for grabs Among the many hundreds of items going on sale is this programme for an NME-sponsored gig at Wembley in April 1965 'It feels like the right time to share my archive with the world and I hope people will get as much joy from my collections as I have. 'It is easier to let these items go knowing that a portion of the proceeds from this sale will support three causes that are close to my heart.' Some of the proceeds will be split between The Prince's Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Central Caribbean Marine Institute. Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, added: 'This sale features nearly all of the important instruments, equipment and wardrobe in Wyman's archive, offering fans a singular opportunity to own these historic pieces. 'The remaining categories of items represented in the auction are by contrast just a sample taken from Wyman's vast archive of documents, awards, records and memorabilia.' Laura Woolley, a consulting sale specialist for Julien's Auctions, said: 'In my more than 20 years of working with memorabilia and celebrity archives I have never seen an archive as comprehensive as Bill Wyman's archive. 'It is unprecedented to find an artist who is as passionate about documenting and preserving history as he was about making history with the world's greatest rock 'n roll band, the Rolling Stones.' The sale will take place between May 29 and May 31. Wyman recalled paying 830 for this keyboard in the 1960s, but it now has an estimated value of 46,400 Pictured is a very early Decca Records promotional handout of a Rolling Stones LP from April 1964 Herantis Pharma Plc Announces Topline Results of Phase 1-2 CDNF Trial Details Category: Proteins and Peptides Published on Wednesday, 26 February 2020 09:36 Hits: 4037 Topline analysis confirms positive safety and tolerability of CDNF in advanced-stage Parkinson's disease patients, with encouraging biological responses as measured by PET imaging in some patients. Results from the second part of trial, in which all patients will receive CDNF for an additional six months, are expected in Q3 2020. HELSINKI, Finland I February 25, 2020 I Herantis Pharma Plc ("Herantis" or "Company") announced today the topline results from the ongoing Phase 1-2 clinical trial examining Herantis' proprietary neuroprotective factor and novel drug candidate, CDNF, in patients with Parkinson's disease. Herantis is developing CDNF as a disease-modifying treatment with the objective of introducing a significant breakthrough to current standard-of-care therapies for Parkinson's disease. As a novel neuroprotective and neurorestorative factor, CDNF acts on several mechanisms relevant to Parkinson's disease and has been shown to protect neurons from degeneration and to restore the function of already degenerating neurons in preclinical studies. The first part of the Phase 1-2 study, in which patients first received a surgically implanted dose delivery system provided by Renishaw plc, and then repeated and increased CDNF or placebo dosing for 6 months, met its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability. The recorded Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) were considered unlikely by the treating physicians to be related to CDNF and the affected patients fully recovered. Certain SAEs were considered to be probably related to device surgery and the drug administration process. The surgical and infusion procedures were improved to avoid any such incidents in the future. The secondary and exploratory endpoints of the study evaluate initial signs of efficacy, including assessments based on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), dopamine transporter PET imaging, actigraphy measurements and alpha-synuclein levels. At this early stage of data review, the Company observed promising signals in some patients, for instance in dopamine transporter PET imaging, which is an indirect measure of the dopaminergic function. As the trial is a first-in-human study involving a small number of patients at an advanced disease stage, this is an encouraging initial outcome. The Company will continue to assess the results through the extension part of the study which will last six months. All patients who completed the first part of the trial volunteered to participate in the extension study in which every patient, including those previously randomly assigned to the placebo group, will receive one of the two dose levels of CDNF on a monthly basis. Herantis expects to announce the next set of results, including details on the exploratory endpoints, in Q3/2020. "This first set of topline data provides a solid basis for the next part of the study and confirms the positive safety and tolerability profile of CDNF," commented Pekka Simula, CEO of Herantis. "Building on the established safety profile and encouraging observations, we have initiated the planning for a Phase 2 study with a longer treatment period that will assess the efficacy of CDNF in earlier-stage, well-characterized Parkinson's patients. We currently expect to initiate patient enrolment in 2021. We extend our thanks to the clinical study sites and the patients who contributed to the advancement of this very important and challenging trial." The Company will hold a webcast to discuss the results and take questions in a live forum on 28 February 2020 at 10:00 AM CET. To submit questions prior to the start of the webcast, please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To participate, please register beforehand for "CDNF webinar Feb 2020" on the website https://www.gotostage.com/channel/herantis. Study Design The randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1-2 trial is a first-in-human study that evaluates the safety and tolerability of CDNF, a novel experimental therapy, in a total of 17 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. In the main study, the patients received an implant of the Renishaw plc investigational drug delivery system. The patients were then randomized to receive either six monthly doses of placebo, or six increasing doses of CDNF, in a blinded manner. All patients who completed the main study volunteered to continue in an extension study, in which all patients, including those who previously received placebo doses, receive either lower or higher CDNF doses for another six months. After the extension study, which is expected to be completed in Q2/2020, the Phase 1-2 trial continues with a long-term follow-up study. Study Objectives The primary endpoints of the study will evaluate safety and tolerability of CDNF as well as of the drug delivery device, and accuracy of surgical placement of the device in the study patients. Secondary and exploratory endpoints include initial signs of efficacy of CDNF treatment, e.g. Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), motor score evaluation, patient diary, dopamine transporter PET imaging, and the levels of different forms of alpha synuclein in serum and CSF. Further information: Herantis Pharma Plc, Pekka Simula, CEO, +358-40-7300-445 Company web site: www.herantis.com Certified Advisor: UB Securities Ltd, Finland: +358-9-25-380-225, Sweden: +46-72-888-43-83 About CDNF CDNF is a novel neuroprotective and neurorestorative factor highly distinct from conventional neurotrophic factors. An innovative drug candidate for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, CDNF, is patented internationally by Herantis. Supported by a strong preclinical proof-of-concept Herantis launched a first-in-human, randomized Phase 1-2 clinical study with CDNF in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). The clinical study has received funding from the European Union's research and innovation program Horizon 2020 under the grant agreement number 732386. CDNF has been safe in preclinical studies and in the completed parts of the ongoing Phase 1-2 clinical study. In disease models, CDNF has protected and regenerated dopamine-generating cells in the midbrain suggesting potential for disease modification of PD. It has also shown efficacy in non-motor symptoms of PD. About Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressing, incurable neurodegenerative disease caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Common first symptoms of the disease include tremors, rigidity, and slowness of movement. While the motor symptoms can be treated with medication, the progression of the disease cannot be prevented. The benefits of medication may be lost with disease progression or their side effects can become unmanageable. The progressing disease is also associated with non-motor symptoms such as sleep problems, depression, and anxiety, which are not alleviated by current Parkinson's drugs. It is estimated that 7-10 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson's disease. About Herantis Pharma Plc Herantis Pharma Plc is an innovative drug development company breaking the boundaries of standard therapeutic approaches. Our regenerative medicine drug candidates, CDNF and Lymfactin, aim to revolutionize the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, and of secondary lymphedema. The shares of Herantis are listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland and Nasdaq First North Growth Market Sweden. SOURCE: Herantis Pharma Oyj The Missouri City Council voted this week to terminate the contract of City Manager Anthony Snipes, citing concerns over his management style and questions about the allocation of city funds. Mayor Yolanda Ford joined three other council members in backing the move Tuesday night. Three other council members opposed the firing, which they argued was politically motivated. The termination of Snipes contract followed an intense debate that lasted more than two hours. Snipes had requested that the discussion be held publicly, not in closed session, according to a news release from the city. For me, personally, this decision isnt based on race, gender, personal beliefs or popularity, its based on the facts and fact alone, Council member Vashaundra Edwards said. One reason Ford said she supported terminating the city managers contract centered around a $2.5 million internal accounting error discovered last year. Snipes responded, What the mayor failed to say is that the city has responded numerous times and made it clear that there was no $2.5 million in missing monies or $2.5 million that was mysteriously missing. Ford said, Lets be clear that it was never said by me that the funds were stolen. The funds had been moved out of the wrong fund account and the number had been changed. Council member Floyd Emery criticized the firing. They want to get rid of our city manager and the reason is they want to get somebody in here that is a yes man, Emery said. The remark drew cheers and applause from many in the room. Related: Yolanda Ford unseats 24-year incumbent Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen Many residents at the standing-room-only meeting agreed. Im disappointed in you, Chris Preston, Gloria Lucas, one of the residents, yelled across the room at a council member who voted for the firing. I supported your campaign, and youre not representing the people tonight. Ford, Preston and other council members who supported the firing left shortly after the meeting ended, leaving behind a crowd of more than 100 people who surrounded Snipes in a show of support. Ive enjoyed the support of the community, and Ive had a wonderful four and a half years, Snipes said after the meeting, Sometimes leadership decides to go in another direction and in the end, I have to respect that. I choose to focus my attention on the great work weve done in the community, and I think the best is yet to come. I wish Missouri City well. According to the terms of Snipes employment contract, he is to be paid 12 months salary ($213,200) in the event of early termination. Council member Cheryl Starling also voted to fire Snipes. In addition to Emery, Council members Jeffrey L. Boney and Anthony G. Maroulis voted against firing the city manager. Bill Atkinson and Glen Martel, assistant city managers, will continue in their roles, according to the news release. The council will meet Monday to discuss the appointment of an interim city manager for the city of 75,000, which is mostly in Fort Bend County with a silver in Harris County. Snipes took the helm of the Missouri City government in 2016, when he became its first African-American city manager. I understand that individuals like me stand on the shoulders of giants, he told the Houston Chronicle after his hiring. Snipes had stepped down from his post as assistant city manager in Austin after misogynistic remarks were reportedly made at a conference he organized on how to work with that citys newly formed majority council. He told the Chronicle then that he did not attend the meeting other than to give an introduction and found the remarks offensive. He previously worked in Dayton, Ohio; and Fort Worth. Emily Foxhall contributed to this report. knix@hcnonline.com The context of tragic wildfires arising from PG&Es deliberate failure to maintain and replace its equipment that has given rise to a second bankruptcy in less than 20 years allows one to take the measure of those making decisions literally threatening the lives and welfare of millions of Californians 2017-2018-2019: wildfires of more than 1,000 acres in PG&Es service area; only a minority have been documented as being caused by PG&E. 2017 wildfires: Oakwood, Highway, Schaeffer, Simon August Complex, Winters, Wall, Parkfield, Garza, Long Valley, Detwiler, Modoc July Complex, Orleans Complex, Empire, Parker 2, Young, South Fork, Eclipse Complex, Pier, Redwood, Ponderosa, Mill, Slinkhard, Helena Mission, Buck, Lion, Cherokee, Atlas, Tubbs, Nuns, Redwood Valley Complex, La Porte, Cascade, Sulphur, 37, Pocket, Lobo, and Bear. 2018 wildfires: Pleasant, Moffet, Nees, Panoche, Airline, Apple, Chrome, Lions, Planada, Lane, Pawnee, Creek, Waverly, County, Klamathon, Georges, Ferguson, Eagle, Natchez, Mendocino Complex, Whaleback, Butte, Donnell, Tarewa, Turkey, Hirz, Hat, Nelson, Mill Creek, North, Boot, Kerlin, Delta, Snell, Alder, Eden, Branscombe, Sun, Mountaineer, Camp, and Nurse (Wikipedia). 2019 wildfires: Refuge, Sand, West Butte, Lonoak, Rock, Cow, Springs, Tucker, W-1 McDonald, Gaines, Mountain, Long Valley, R-1 Ranch, Walker, Taboose, Lime, Middle, Red Bank, South, Lone, Springs, Briceberg, Caples, Kincade, and Ranch. PG&Es electric lines, after years of deferred maintenance, were threatening drought-parched California. When the Camp Fire started to burn in late 2018, eventually killing 85, it was the first of four fires PG&E sparked that day. It was the 408th of 2018, and the 1,961st since mid-year. State regulators (2014) required PG&E to begin reporting on how many fires were started by its equipment. The numbers garnered little attention, but they were eye-popping in retrospect: PG&E equipment was starting more than one fire a day. (Wall Street Journal). If electric wire replacement proposed (by PG&E), customers should expect a doubling of sustained power outages in the next fifteen years and a four-fold increase in thirty years. PG&E would have to replace 1,200 circuit miles of its oldest lines each year. The current level of replacement about 100 miles annually would take PG&E 260 years. Over the last three years, California wildfires have destroyed 25,000 buildings and homes, and killed some 141 people. (Wall Street Journal). About 9,000 total California wildfires in 2017; 7,571 in 2018; 7,860 in 2019. Californias wildfires are projected to increase by 77 percent by the end of the century (California Energy Strike Force Report). Given that the PG&E bankruptcy filing was caused by the consequences of decision-making skewed towards shareholders rather than ratepayers, PG&Es January 2019 bankruptcy filing astonishingly included among other metrics a $16 million bonus pool for five PG&E executives allegedly for safety performance exceeding safety goals. The federal bankruptcy judge in San Francisco excluded the $16 million from the filing saying that executive bonuses shouldnt be needed to realize safety goals. Every year between 2012 and 2017 (except for 2016), PG&E executive pay was boosted by safety performance that exceeded its goals. Executives received bonuses even in 2015 when two people died in a wildfire tied to its equipment. Safety allegedly achieved accounted for half of the bonus calculation that generated $4.5 million for five PG&E executives. PG&E financial performance affects executive bonuses, but instead of docking their pay for the San Bruno pipe explosion (eight dead, 35 homes destroyed in 2010), the company removed $1 billion of those costs from its earnings. The company had paid $578 million in fines, but also excluded that from the bonus arithmetic. (Gretchen Morgenson, NBC). Also in 2019, PG&E sought an increase in compensation to its board members from $271,000 to $400,000 along with $130 million in bonuses to hundreds of workers (salary.com). There is something manifestly wrong with the mentality of PG&E decision-makers in great part arising from the fact that 90-some percent of its institutional shareholders are largely domiciled outside California. The continued effects of mostly unconstrained climate change giving rise to droughts and yearly increases in temperature together with PG&Es high-tension power lines located in forested areas with millions of dead trees, and moisture wicked from the soil, absolutely demands that the inherent dangers imposed by aging and decrepit equipment be physically addressed. Anything less than burying the lines and/or encasement leaves all ratepayers in peril either by rampant wildfires and/or power shut downs. The California Legislature and Gov. Newsom must act now to compel PG&E to repair, replace, bury, or otherwise enclose all its high tension power lines. John D. Murphy Sang-Froid Vineyards St. Helena Universities and colleges may soon have to provide drug and alcohol free spaces. It is part of a Government initiative aimed at tacking alcohol abuse on campus. This move comes following concerns over drug use among students and after a number of deaths from suspected overdoses in recent years. The Minister for State Mary Mitchell O'Connor convened a rapid response group to device an action plan to deal with substance use on campuses. It is recommending that colleges should provide drug and alcohol free student accommodation and social spaces. It also suggests allocating space for support groups for those working with people who are struggling with alcohol and drug abuse. It also recommends thinking about safety issues around alcohol when planning large events and also providing counselling services for students on abuse issues. Colleges and universities are also being asked to gather long term data on drug use to look at the scale of the problem. The Bauchi State Police Command has uncovered 43 rifles and 1,117 ammunition hidden at the Lame/Burra forest in Ningi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. Governor Bala Mohammad disclosed this when the weapons were displayed at the Government House, Bauchi, on Wednesday. Mr Mohammad said the weapons were recovered in collaboration with a renowned hunter, Ali Kwara and his team. The weapons were recovered at Burra/Lame forest by the police in collaboration with the Ali Kwara team. They confiscated them from bandits who are now at large. There are informants within and outside Bauchi that are helping us to do this, he said. The governor said that the feat was achieved following collaboration between the state government, Ali Kwara and the police. He also said the state would encourage community policing in order to identify bandits and armed robbers who migrated from other states to Bauchi, looking for safe haven. Mr Mohammed, however, vowed that there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state. We will now surrender the arms and ammunition to the Nigeria Police Force for custody. We urge the military to collaborate with the Ali Kwara team, we are ready to support them in terms of mobility and logistics, he said. Earlier, Mr Kwara said the recovered guns were buried underground at the forest by bandits. There is an armed robber we have been trailing for long, he is involved in kidnapping in this area and he also operates in Taraba, Benue and Plateau. He usually comes from Zamfara. The guns that you are seeing today, I got information from a boy that some strangers have smuggled arms into the state and that he took part in burying the guns underground. He took us to the forest, where we recovered the arms, he said. (NAN) Netiquette Die Kommentare auf weltwoche.ch dienen als Diskussionsplattform und sollen den offenen Meinungsaustausch unter den Lesern ermoglichen. Es ist uns ein wichtiges Anliegen, dass in allen Kommentarspalten fair und sachlich debattiert wird. Scharfe, sachbezogene Kritik am Inhalt des Artikels oder wo angebracht an Beitragen anderer Forumsteilnehmer ist erwunscht, solange sie hoflich vorgetragen wird. 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Unzulassig sind Wortmeldungen, die Nichts mit dem Thema des Artikels zu tun haben Kommerzieller Natur sind andere Forumsteilnehmer personlich beleidigen einzelne Personen oder Gruppen aufgrund von Rasse, Ethnie oder Religion herabsetzen in Rechtschreibung und Interpunktion mangelhaft sind verachtliche Abanderungen von Namen oder Umschreibungen von Personen enthalten mehr als einen externen Link enthalten einen Link zu dubiosen Seiten enthalten Nur einen Link enthalten ohne beschreibenden Kontext dazu Als Medium, das der freien Meinungsausserung verpflichtet ist, handhabt die Weltwoche Verlags AG die Veroffentlichung von Kommentaren liberal. Die Online-Redaktion behalt sich jedoch vor, Kommentare nach eigenem Gutdunken und ohne Angabe von Grunden nicht freizugeben. Es besteht grundsatzlich kein Recht darauf, dass ein Kommentar veroffentlich wird. Weiter behalt sich die Redaktion das Recht vor, Kurzungen vorzunehmen. The risk of COVID-19, a disease caused by coronavirus, remains low in Massachusetts, public health officials said Wednesday, a day after federal officials said an outbreak of the respiratory illness was likely in the United States. While the risk of COVID-19 is low in the state, the risk of flu remains high, said Dr. Monica Bharel, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. We want you to know that Massachusetts is prepared for this potential outbreak, said Bharel, noting that state officials are in daily contact with the CDC and other agencies. Health providers in the state are constantly preparing for a possible outbreak, she said. In Massachusetts, there has been one confirmed case of coronavirus, a person who had traveled in China. That patient is doing well and thankfully continues to recover in self-quarantine in the commonwealth and at this time, the risk in Massachusetts remains low, Bharel said. The respiratory disease first detected last year in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. It was initially believed to be spread from animal-to-person. Now, the virus has since spread person-to-person. There has been no person-to-person spread of the virus in any Massachusetts communities, Bharel said. In the state, there are currently 231 people who traveled in China during the time of concern and are now under self-quarantine at their homes and being monitored, Bharel said. A total of 608 individuals have been under quarantine and 377 have completed that monitoring. The state has instituted an incident command system to handle decision-making and responses during a potential outbreak, Bharel said. Federal health officials this week warned that a virus outbreak in the United States was likely following a growing number of cases in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Its not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, on Tuesday. Bharel said the state is prepared to address whatever comes to Massachusetts but would not speculate on how much the virus could spread. We are prepared to address what comes our way," Bharel said. "People should live their lives normally and go about their normal activity. Bharel noted that of the more than 75,000 cases that occurred in China, more than 80% had mild cases, somewhat similar to a cold. Symptoms of coronavirus can include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Those symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as two weeks after exposure, the CDC said. Of confirmed cases, illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death. As of late February, the virus has reached more than three dozen countries and 80,000 people. The majority of cases - 77,658 diagnoses, including 2,663 deaths - have been reported in China. The risk for contracting coronavirus is much, much lower than the risk to contract influenza, Bharel said. Bharel recommended that Massachusetts residents take measures like they would to prevent the flu or a cold, like washing their hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home if they feel sick. It is not too late to get the flu shot, the commissioner said. At this time, it is safe for children in Massachusetts to go to school," said Bharel, noting that the state has sent guidance to Massachusetts schools on how to approach the virus. Residents can find information about coronavirus on a DPH webpage. There have been some spot shortages of medical supplies like face masks, Bharel said, but in general, there is an adequate amount of supplies. Face masks can be helpful for people who are sick and want to prevent spreading illness and are helpful for to those working in a healthcare setting, but there is no good evidence that face masks are helpful for members of the general public going about their daily activities, said Dr. Larry Madoff, the medical director for the DPH Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Science. As of Jan. 21, a total of 445 people have been tested for coronavirus in the United States, with 14 confirmed cases, according to the CDC. Of the confirmed cases, 12 had been traveling and two contracted the virus from person-to-person spread. Several Massachusetts colleges have students studying in Rome, where the virus has spread rapidly in the last few days. Assumption College in Worcester, which has 14 students studying on its campus in Rome, is suspending all school-related travel to northern Italy. Endicott College in Beverly and Northeastern University in Boston are communicating with students studying in northern Italy who want to make arrangements to return home. Related Content: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 26) said it will not examine the interlocutors report as the atmosphere is not conducive while hearing the pleas seeking removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area. The apex court fixes the matter for further hearing to March 23. The court also termed incidents of violence in Delhi as unfortunate but refused to entertain pleas on them. The SC division bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul along with Justice KM Joseph heard the matter today. The division bench made the following observations: 1. Justice Joseph said that people should be allowed to stage protest, adding that "We are not talking about CAA" but people should have the right to protest. 2. The Court also questioned if the public area can be used for dharna or not. 3. Demonstrations should be done in such a way that the road is not blocked, said the top court, adding "Our concern is that if roads or public places are being blocked this way it will create a problem. 4. The court said "no matter how valid the reason for protest, blockade of roads should not take place this way. 5. Democracy operates through the expression of people but it has a limit. If all the roads are closed then there will be trouble. Traffic should not stop, said the Supreme Court. 6. The SC said that our concern is that people will take an idea from here and close the road in other areas too. 7. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that protesters can not be permitted to hold the city hostage, the way rad is completely blocked, adding "We are meeting them as well as trying to convince them that they cannot take the entire city hostage." 8. Supreme Court asked senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde, present in the courtroom, to talk to protesters and try to convince them. The court asked him why is he not going there to persuade the protesting people. 9. The Solicitor General said that a message should not go that the institution (apex court) is bowing before protestors. 10. "We have made our wish clear. Hopefully, things will change but if it doesn't happen then the authority concerned will be free to take action," said the SC. 11. The court also rapped Delhi police for not taking action against people who made inflammatory remarks before communal violence broke out in North East Delhi. 12. It also questioned the Centre for not taking steps to allow Delhi Police to work professionally and as per law without taking instructions from anyone. 13. The Supreme Court said that an unfortunate incident took place in Delhi, and this should not have happened. "We cannot extend the scope of this petition beyond the Shaheen Bagh jam case. 14. Justice KM Joseph said, The problem is lack of professionalism of police. If this had been done before, this situation would not have risen." "Lack of professionalisation of police is the main problem. If you allow people to getaway. If you allow the way law requires, there will be a difference. Do that! If this is done all these things would not have happened," he added. 15. Solicitor General said that we are not aware of the ground realities in which the police officials function, adding that the DCP is on the ventilator as he was virtually lynched. 16. "Unless you do not get the police to act. Look at how police acts in UK. Do they require somebody's nod? If someone makes an inflammatory remark, police swings into action," Justice Joseph added. The top court-appointed interlocutors had submitted their report in a sealed cover on Monday. Senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran had last week engaged with the anti-CAA protestors for shifting the venue from Shaheen Bagh. Former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah had also submitted an affidavit in the apex court saying that the Shahen Bagh protest is largely peaceful and blamed the police for the "unnecessarily blocking the roads". He also recommended that the government should speak to the protestors on CAA, NPR and NRC to sort out the issue. Notably, a large number of people including Muslim women have been staging a protest at Delhi`s Shaheen Bagh area against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) since mid-December last year. Public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Nand Kishore Garg and Amit Sahni through their lawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi, seeking appropriate directions to the Centre and others concerned for removal of protestors from the Shaheen Bagh. At least 20 deaths have been reported in the violence that erupted in parts of north-east Delhi between protesters in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those who opposed it. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. To paraphrase Thorndike's Law of Effect, rewarded behavior is likely to increase runescape gold in frequency and unrewarded behavior is likely to decrease in frequency. Take Miss Puss. Each morning, she taps you on the face at four o'clock, letting you know that she'd like a can of kitty morsels. She seems in dire need of a meal, so you do her bidding and unwittingly reward her behavior. You can bet she'll be back the next morning! She has learned that tapping yields tasty treats. However, if you had turned a cold shoulder to her early morning pleas, Puss would have had no reward and no reason to try that tactic again. This finding is as clear as it is unequivocal: the southwestern border of the United States is now the site of a genuine humanitarian emergency, and many seeking refuge are children lacking the protection not only of their parents, but of their state. Refugee Convention, which prohibits forcibly returning refugees to their country of origin. Such efforts should be founded upon and not merely substitute for successfully passing comprehensive immigration reform founded upon the human dignity of the migrant. Many of the people he was friends with when they were kids came to his defense. The 2005 accusing family was a pack of lying grifters who tried getting money out of other celebs, too. 1993 was all about a jealous dad who didn like that Michael was more of a father figure in his son life, and when he decided he wanted to get something out of his son freindship with Michael and didn get what he wanted, he decided to try and destroy Michael. I kind of feel bad for her. The truth of the matter is that when you write about religion like I do, you writing about something that people take very seriously, he explained. lot of people, whether it Muslims or Christians or Jews or what have you, feel sometimes that academics like myself are attacking their faith, attacking their very identity. As of 2006, Texas had 23 dams producing hydroelectric power. During operation, the six dams can generate up to 292 megawatts (MW) of energy, or 2 percent of LCRA's annual need. According to theState Energy Conservation Office (SECO), most of the good hydropower generation sites in the state have already been developed. Department of Energy estimated that Texas has potential to generate 18,000,000 MW/yr of hydropower but that only 2,900,000 MW could be feasibly generated. Environmental and economic restraints prohibit the full exploitation of this resource. The Celebration for OSRS Birthday is Active Now! Come to RSorder to enjoy up to $18 coupons for Runescape Gold, OSRS Gold and other products til Feb.27, 2020! Four cash coupon codes available: $3 off code "CBR3" for $50+ orders. $7 off code "CBR7" for $100+ orders. $12 off code "CBR12" for $150+ orders. $18 off code "CBR18" for $200+ orders. Besides, 5% off code "RSYK5" is also offered for Runescape 3 Gold / Osrs gold and all other products. Buy from https://www.rsorder.com/rs-gold at anytime. CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / CANEX Metals Inc. (TSXV:CANX) ("CANEX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary CANEXCO Inc. has entered into a formal Option Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in a single lode mining claim located adjacent to the Company's Pit Zone target on the Gold Range Property, Arizona. Dr. Shane Ebert, President of the Company stated, "The acquisition of this key claim will enable CANEX to systematically explore the entire area around the Pit Zone, including projections of the mineralized trends. The optioned claim contains a portion of a quartz vein system that has seen considerable historic underground mining and contains multiple workings and adits. Multiple parallel veins have been observed along the zone, the largest quartz vein ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 metres wide and has been traced intermittently for 500 metres along strike to the southwest of the Pit Zone. Seven grab and chip samples from this vein have returned gold grades ranging from 0.17 to 28.90 g/t, averaging 12.85 g/t. The optioned claim also covers a sizable reclaimed leach pad composed of crushed material sourced from the adjacent open pit." Terms of the Option The Option Agreement gives CANEXCO Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CANEX Metals, the exclusive right, at its election, to acquire a 100% interest in the "Never Get Left" lode mining claim from the Vendor by making staged cash payments over 4 years totaling US$90,000. The Vendor will retain a 2% net smelter royalty, half of which can be bought back by CANEX for US$500,000, and the remaining half can be bought back for an additional US$500,000. In addition, the Vendor is entitled to 10% of any profits realized from the processing and recovery of metals from the existing leach pad material located within the Vendors claim. About the Pit Zone The Pit Zone contains a 150-metre-long by 40-metre wide open pit and adjacent leach pad that was mined in the 1980's by Houston Kingman Mining Company, along with deeper underground workings below and adjacent to the pit that were mined between the 1880's and early 1900's. The Pit Zone represents a complex structural setting where northeast, north-south, and east-west trending zones of mineralization intersect along an antiformal structure in the host metamorphic rocks. Mineralization has been traced for 500 metres in a northeast direction and 190 metres in a north-south direction and remains open along strike. New airborne magnetic data show a 450 metre long by 130 metre wide magnetic low associated with known mineralization and extending to the north, suggesting considerable untested exploration potential. A single reconnaissance soil line 70 metres north of the Pit Zone encountered a 60 metre wide gold in soil anomaly further supporting a possible extension of the zone in that direction. In total 69 chip and grab samples have now been taken from the Pit Zone returning an average grade of 8 g/t gold (previously released see February 4, 2020 news release). Geologic mapping of the Pit Zone and surrounding area has recently been completed. Financing The Company is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 2,500,000 shares ("Common Shares") at a price of $0.20 per Common Share for gross proceeds of up to $500,000. The shares will be offered on a non-brokered basis by way of private placement to accredited investors and any securities issued will be subject to a hold period of four months plus one day from the date of closing. This financing is subject to TSX Venture Exchange and regulatory approval. Proceeds of the financing will be used to drill test and further explore the Gold Range Property, to evaluate additional exploration opportunities, and for general working capital. Exploration Update Soil sampling and geologic mapping programs have recently been completed at Gold Range. All samples from these programs have been submitted for assay. A surface program include trenching, additional sampling, and final drill target selection will commence shortly in preparation for a drill program consisting of up to 35 drill holes testing multiple targets across the property. About the Gold Range Property The Gold Range Property is located in Northern Arizona within an area that has seen historic lode and placer gold production but limited systematic modern lode gold exploration. Fieldwork by the Company has identified numerous gold exploration targets on the property with grab samples from outcropping quartz veins returning multiple values in the 20 to 40 g/t gold range, and chip sampling returning values of 31.7 g/t gold over 1 metre, 24.3 g/t gold over 1.5 metres, 28.1 g/t gold over 1 metre, 17.2 g/t over 1.1 metres, and 8.47 g/t gold over 5.6 metres. Please visit our website at www.canexmetals.ca for additionnel information. Dr. Shane Ebert P.Geo., is the Qualified Person for CANEX Metals and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. "Shane Ebert" Shane Ebert President/Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward-looking information that represents management of CANEX Metals Inc. internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of CANEX. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause CANEX's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in CANEX's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of CANEX shares and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. CANEX disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements. For Further Information Contact: Shane Ebert at 1.250.964.2699 or Jean Pierre Jutras at 1.403.233.2636 Web: http://www.canexmetals.ca SOURCE: CANEX Metals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/578072/CANEX-Consolidates-Land-at-the-High-Grade-Pit-Zone-at-Gold-Range-and-Announces-500000-Financing A health ministry panel approved Wednesday the production and sale of a gene therapy for treating spinal muscular atrophy, a rare incurable disease that destroys muscle function through a decrease in motor neuron cells. The health minister is expected to formally approve the drug, Zolgensma, by the end of March, with public health insurance coverage seen starting this summer. The one-time-only gene therapy, developed by Swiss drug giant Novartis AG, will cover patients below 2 years old with abnormalities in their genes to make proteins necessary for maintaining motor nerves. Novartis estimates 15 to 20 children a year are likely to receive treatment using the drug in Japan. In the therapy, proteins are created after the genes, carried by adeno-associated viruses, are delivered to motor nerves through intravenous drips. In an overseas clinical trial, all of the 15 severe SMA patients who used the therapy were able to live without an artificial ventilator. If no treatment is offered, about 75 percent of such patients are expected to die or need an artificial ventilator before they reach the age of 13.6 months. In theory, all approaches to business interruption claims are merely methodologies to try and put policyholders back in the position they would have been if a claim hadnt happened. For classic property perils like fire and flood, business interruption claims remain fairly straightforward. Where things get much more complex is in the world of contingent business interruption when an event off-premises causes interruption with the supply chain. Typical triggers for contingent business interruption would be: power outages causing power failure at a premises, damage at a suppliers premises, or damage in the vicinity that restricts or blocks access to the premises. In the context of coronavirus, a trigger for contingent business interruption could be whats known as notifiable disease coverage. This is what many companies around the world, with suppliers or subsidiaries in China, are focusing on right now, according to Damian Glynn (pictured), head of financial risks at Sedgwick. But he added that many notifiable disease claims will be difficult to quantify, and referred back to the SARS epidemic in 2003 to illustrate his point. In February 2003, SARS spread from Southern China to Hong Kong, and the economy of Hong Kong was quite badly affected, he said. In early March 2003, the government of Hong Kong asked hospitals on a voluntary basis to let them know if you had instances of SARS. It wasnt until March 27 that the government made it compulsory for hospitals to confirm SARS cases, thus making it a legally notifiable disease. Following SARS, there was a legal case involving a hotel leisure complex in Hong Kong, in which the judgment is directly relevant to the coronavirus situation today. The court decided that if an insured has cover for notifiable disease, that will only cover the additional loss suffered by virtue of something becoming notifiable. So, the claim is based on the impact of the notifiable disease compared with the impact the business felt from the disease before it became notifiable. Its not a claim for SARS versus no SARS, or coronavirus versus no coronavirus. Its a claim for legally notifiable disease versus non-legally notifiable disease. While notifiable disease coverage is the first business interruption trigger that many brokers and corporate risks managers are thinking about, its not the contingent business interruption that might apply. This is where individual policy wording becomes absolutely crucial, according to Glynn. In the supply chain business, its routine to have cover for damage at a suppliers premises triggering cover as if it was damage at the premises of the insured person, he told Insurance Business. Then you stumble into the question of: how does the policy define damage? Insurance is predicated on damage to property. If you have a supplier and half the workforce falls ill, insurance historically is not going to pick up any economic impact of that. But insurance will provide coverage if there is damage to property. If you had a scenario where a lot of the workforce falls ill, and the advice is that the insured needs to do a deep clean and decontaminate its premises, that could potentially provide a route for coverage as a result of damage to property. Another trigger to look at is competent authority or non-damage denial of access. This is when the police or another civil authority stop access to your premises. Again, these coverages are far from straightforward. Theres an interesting peccadillo where most policies tend not to say you can claim if the authorities wont let you in. Many policies have a slightly wider definition, where they talk about restriction of use of the premises, without requiring an actual ban on access for the coverage to trigger. Most policies Ive studied require the restriction of use of the premises to be because of a thing and that thing varies in different policies. Some will talk about a disturbance in the vicinity. Some will talk about a danger in the vicinity. Its all about the policy wording. Glynn was given a policy to review in which the insured had cover if they couldnt use the premises due to food poisoning or contamination. In the context of coronavirus, this wording was interesting. The coronavirus appears to have originated from a food market in Wuhan, China. If a policyholder is located close to that food market, or has a supplier or subsidiary close by, and that policyholder has coverage for food contamination or poisoning, they may have grounds to make a claim. Under the contingent business interruption extensions, there are a wide variety of wordings in use, Glynn added. In such challenging times, its worthwhile for brokers and corporate risk managers to reach out to experts. Even well-versed insurance professionals can make the wrong interpretation in the complex world of business interruption. One man was killed and another was injured in a shooting in Florence late Tuesday, the authorities said. Officers were called to the Cypress Pointe area of the city just before midnight and found that a man had been shot to death near 1430 Carver Court. The man was identified by police as 45-year-old Reginald Jackie Watkins II of Florence. His body will be autopsied by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. A second man was treated for gunshot wounds at a local hospital, said Florence police Capt. Brad Holmes. The motive of the shooting is unclear at this time, Holmes said in a news release, however, it is believed that the parties involved were acquaintances. We hope that evidence from the autopsy and evidence collected at the scene will assist in providing a clearer picture of the circumstances that led (to) Mr. Watkins death and the injuries to a second male in this case, Holmes added. Detectives are interviewing witnesses an gathering evidence, Holmes said. But police are asking the community for help identifying suspects or potential witnesses. Anyone with information about this case can contact Florence police at 256-768-2728 or text a tip to 274637 using keyword FPDTIP plus the message. The state-owned Russian Railways has pulled out from a $ 1.3 billion project for electrification of a railway line between Garmsar, in Iran and Ince Burun (Narrow Cape) in Turkey. The Russain company has given up the project under the pressure of U.S. sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Interfax reported on Tuesday, February 25. The project envisaged the electrification of 495 km, including 203 km through mountainous terrainthe line, with 31 stations, expected to pass through 95 tunnels. Furthermore, the railway line was designed to connect Turkey via Iran to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. On July 2, 2018, local news outlets in Iran had reported that Russian Railways began the 1.2 billion-euro electrification of the Garmsar-Ince Burun railway line in Iran. According to the contract signed by Russian Railways CEO, Oleg Belozerov, and Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Akhoundi, the Russian government had undertaken to provide 85% of the funding. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, had permitted the remaining 15% of the credit needed in the project to come from the National Development Fund of Iran, Akhoundi said on July 2, 2018. The Russian Construction engineering company RZD International LLC, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, was named as the main contractor in the project. As the Russian side has pulled out of the project under pressure of U.S. sanctions, the Islamic Republic cannot sue its Russian counterpart, Interfax reported. Belozerov said at the time that the project would double the maximum speed on the link to 120 km (about 75 miles) per hour and raise its haulage capacity fourfold to ten million tons a year. Iran and Russia have signed multiple contracts in recent years, but none of them have materialized so far. After a meeting with (then) Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mahmoud Vaezi, the Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, announced on March 13, 2017, that Tehran and Moscow had discussed a plethora of contracts worth $10 billion. Still, the discussions faded in oblivion. The girls all appeared at detention hearings in juvenile court Wednesday and were released to the custody of their parents, prosecutors said. They all face charges of mob action. Three are facing additional counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and one girl is facing a count of aggravated battery of a teacher, prosecutors said. (Reuters) - Microsoft Inc said on Wednesday it does not expect to meet its quarterly revenue forecast for its Windows and personal computing business as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, sending its shares down more than 1% in after-market trading. The company said the remaining elements of its fiscal third-quarter outlook were unchanged. "Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated," the company said in a statement. (https://prn.to/2VlmHTI) Broad swaths of the Chinese economy have shut down or slowed because of the virus. Microsoft is the second company in the trillion dollar club to withdraw outlook. Earlier this month, Apple said that it may not be able to meet its March-quarter sales forecast. The software maker had previously expected the More Personal Computing unit, which houses Windows, to post third-quarter revenue between $10.75 billion and $11.15 billion. Its Windows and Surface computers had been more negatively impacted than expected, Microsoft said in a statement. The coronavirus outbreak, believed to have originated in a market selling wildlife in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, the vast majority in China. (Reporting by Trisha Roy and Neha Malara in Bengaluru; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) When a Monday night pop-car car meet brought hundreds of attendees to Ocean Avenue in Belmar to the surprise and dismay of many residents local police officers were waiting for them after spotting a social media call for the meet in the Jersey Shore town. Twenty-five tickets were written, mostly for parking and motor vehicle violations. But other than minor infractions, the car owners and their legions of fans did nothing wrong, according to Edward D. Kirschenbaum Sr., the boroughs business administrator. People have a right to go wherever they want to go, Kirschenbaum told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. They dont have a right to violate noise, parking or motor-vehicle laws. But people can gather wherever they want. The social-media driven meets, which have occurred across New Jersey, typically cause congestion and result in annoyed residents calling police to break up the events. Mondays car meet was the second impromptu event in two months in Belmar. In January, a similar car meet drew a large police presence and tickets were written for violations of local and motor-vehicle laws. The Borough of Belmar and the Police Department were not aware of the event, police said in a statement at the time. Belmar police officers had been monitoring the social media accounts of those known to publicize the meets and were aware that Mondays event was going to take place, Kirschenbaum said. There was information out there that this was going to happen. Police increased patrols Monday night, Kirschenbaum said. Kirschenbaum said the meet began about 8 p.m. and lasted until about 10:45 p.m. He did not know the number of people in attendance or how many cars were there. Videos showed hundreds of attendees and dozens of cars crowded around the 7-Eleven on Ocean Avenue at the beach. Police officers did not break up the meet, but simply wrote tickets when they observed violations of motor vehicle laws or local ordinances, Kirschenbaum said. This is something thats been happening all across the state its social media driven and its not sanctioned by the town, he said. Kirschenbaum said he would not compare pop-up meets to events organized by leaders in the community, such as last summers Belmar Cruise Nights sponsored by the boroughs business partnership. Car shows apply for a special events permits and the organizers plan these ahead carefully ahead of time, Kirschenbaum said. Kirschenbaum said he suspects this winters warmer weather may have led to the two meets Belmar experienced within a month of each other, but hes not sure. I dont know why they pick the locations they pick, he said. But they can go wherever they want. Its a free country. Cars line up Monday night on Ocean Avenue in Belmar for the meet.Bill McKim Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Thirteen witnesses in the MH17 crash case will remain anonymous as their life may be at significant risk. "According to an investigating judge, witnesses have the right to protection because their health and safety can be compromised. According to the prosecutor's office data, the witnesses are at significant risk," Nos.nl reports. As noted, this stems from the documents available to the media outlet. The trial of suspects in downing MH17 flight will start on March 9, 2020. On June 19, 2019, the international Joint Investigation Team named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin, retired officer of the Russian Armed Forces, and former colonel of Russias Federal Security Service; Sergey Dubinskiy, colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Russian Airborne Forces Reserve. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic. Oleg Pulatov expressed a desire to join the legal proceedings and will be represented in court by a Dutch law firm. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over conflict-hit Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The JIT reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk. ol The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an application filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) asking it to reverse a judgement that sacked David Lyon as governor-elect of Bayelsa State. In a unanimous judgement, a seven-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta held that the application by the APC and Mr Lyon lacked merit and that it (court) lacked the jurisdiction to review its own judgement. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how a five-member panel of the apex court led by Mary Odili, had on February 13, nullified the election of Mr Lyon on the grounds that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in aid of his qualification for the November 16 governorship election in the state. The apex court, in the judgement delivered by Ejembi Eko, consequently ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Messrs Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo. The court also ordered that INEC should immediately declare the party with the highest number of lawful votes and geographical spread the winner of the election. The PDP and its governorship candidate, Mr Diri, had filed a suit against Messrs Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo, and INEC, seeking the disqualification of the APC deputy governorship candidate. They had claimed that Mr Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in his CF 0001 form submitted to INEC. Heading back to court Not satisfied with the apex courts judgement, APC, through their lawyers, Wole Olanipekun and Lateef Fagbemi, respectively, on February 20, filed their application. In the application, the lawyers claimed that the judgement of the Federal High Court was misinterpreted by the apex court and thus it disqualified Mr Lyon wrongly. They further argued that the trial court, in its judgement delivered on November 12, 2019, found out that Mr Degi-Eremienyo was guilty of submitting forged certificates but that the judge, Inyang Ekwo, refused to grant the PDPs request, which asked for Mr Lyons disqualification. But its judgement on Wednesday, the apex court said, No force on earth can force the court to change its decision. Reading the lead judgement, Justice Amina Augie said that The court shall not review any judgement once given and delivered by it. According to Mrs Augie, A judgement or order shall not be varied when the correct ruling presents what the court decided. Having considered the prayers sought vis-a-vis the positions of the law and the arguments and submissions made by all the parties, it is clear that the two applications lack merit and constitute an abuse of court process. Howsoever the prayers sought are crafted, there is no question whatsoever that the two sets of applicants are asking to review its judgment delivered on the 13th of February 2020 in appeal number SC/1/2020. This court is not authorised and lacks jurisdiction to review its judgment except on the circumstances spelt out in order 8 rule 16 of the rules of this court. It is settled that the decision of this court is final, she said, This is final court and its decisions are final for all ages. According to Justice Augie, it is only legislation that can alter the decision of the apex court once a matter has been fully heard and an order made. The two applications brought before us today lacked merit and constituted an abuse of this court and they are liable to dismissal and are hereby dismissed, the court held. Emotional judge The judge, with tears in her eyes, said she regretted that very senior lawyers were responsible for filing the applications. The apex court awarded the costs of N10 million to be personally paid by Mr Lyons lawyer, Afe Babalola, and APCs lawyer, Wole Olanipekun. It also ordered that each of the lawyers must pay the N10 million to each of the three respondents the PDP, Governor Diri, and the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo. WATCH: Seriake Dickson and camp rejoicing over todays Supreme Courts verdict Advertisements CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bachelor's Degree Center ( https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/ ), a free guide to traditional and online bachelor's degree programs in all disciplines, has released four 2020 rankings of the best Health Information Management bachelor's degree programs in the US: 25 Best Bachelor's in Health Information Management Degree Programs for 2020 ( https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/best-health-information-management/ ) 15 Best Online Health Information Management Bachelor's Degree Programs for 2020 ( https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/online-health-information-management/ ) 10 Fastest Online Health Information Management Bachelor's Degree Programs for 2020 ( https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/accelerated-health-information-management/ ) 10 Most Affordable Online Health Information Management Bachelor's Degree Programs for 2020 ( https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/affordable-health-information-management/ ) The Top 3 Best Health Information Management Bachelor's Programs for 2020 are: 1) University of Washington; 2) LeTourneau University; 3) Ohio State University. The Top 3 Online Health Information Management Bachelor's Programs for 2020 are: 1) University of Wisconsin; 2) Rutgers University; 3) Indiana University. A complete list of all institutions ranked is included at the end of this release. "A Health Information Management bachelor's degree program is one of the most popular paths for people who are eager to make a difference in patient care," BDC editors explain, "particularly at a time when the mandates of the Affordable Care Act and data-driven healthcare are more complicated." With our health care system more complex than ever, driven by data, health information management is one of the fastest-growing occupations. As the editors explain, a good HIM degree "prepares students with technical skills in coding, electronic health record (HER) systems, and classification software as well as a range of leadership, analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills." For working adults in the healthcare system, already working in some area of administration or management, "Often further advancement is not possible without additional credentials in an academic framework." As BDC editors explain, an online program "offers students the flexibility to complete the coursework where and when it's most convenient to accommodate current work-and-family needs and scheduling requirements." The higher salary and greater chance for promotion leads working professionals in healthcare to complete their bachelor's online: "With the continually aging state of the population and longevity projections, the HIM degree salary outlook will improve." Bachelor's Degree Center's rankings are built to lead health information management students to the programs that will make a difference for their careers and income. Bachelor's Degree Center has been providing advice, resources, and rankings on the best traditional and online bachelor's degree programs since 2014. 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All Institutions in the Bachelor's Degree Center Health Information Management Degree Rankings (in alphabetical order) Alabama State University Arkansas Tech University Augusta University Chicago State University Clarkson College College of St Scholastica Colorado Technical University Coppin State University CUNY School of Professional Studies East Carolina University Ferris State University Florida A&M University Franklin University Grand Canyon University Grand Valley State University Granite State College Herzing University Illinois State University Indiana University Indiana University Northwest King University LeTourneau University Liberty University Loma Linda University Louisiana Tech University Missouri Western University Ohio State University Oregon Institute of Technology Peirce College Purdue University Regis University Resurrection University Rutgers University Saint Louis University Southern University at New Orleans Temple University Tennessee State University Texas Southern University Texas State University University of Central Florida University of Cincinnati University of Detroit Mercy University of Illinois at Chicago University of Kansas Medical Center University of Louisiana University of Mississippi Medical Center University of Pittsburgh University of South Alabama University of South Carolina University of Toledo University of Washington University of Wisconsin Weber State University Western Governors University Western Kentucky University Ava Ellis Media Manager, Bachelor's Degree Center [email protected] https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/ 864-502-2906 SOURCE Bachelors Degree Center Related Links https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/ Michelle was stabbed to death in her car outside a mall in Cedar Rapids in 1979 The family of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko have spoken out following the conviction of her killer, 40 years after the teen was stabbed to death in a mall parking lot. It took jurors on Monday about three hours to convict Jerry Burns, 66, of first-degree murder in the December 19, 1979, murder of Michelle inside her family's car at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa shopping mall. 'As the years passed, that hope was pretty much extinguished from all of us. We thought it would never be solved. We thought it was some random over the road trucker or something,' said John Stonebraker, the husband of Michelle's older sister Janelle. 'Hope diminished year after year after year, until suddenly, there was hope as a result of genetic genealogy,' he said. Jerry Burns of Manchester is handcuffed after being found guilty of murder at his trial at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa on Monday Michelle's sister Janelle Stonebraker and her husband John (together above) spoke out in a new interview expressing their relief that her killer had been convicted Janelle said that early on, Michelle's family had suspected a disgruntled ex-boyfriend, but after he was cleared beyond any doubt the case went cold for nearly 40 years. Investigators first linked Burns a complete stranger to the family to the crime by testing blood from the killer that was left at the scene against a public database of family DNA. The family DNA pointed to one of three brothers, and cold case cops zeroed in on Burns by surreptitiously collecting a drinking straw he threw away. DNA on Burn's straw produced a confirmed match to the crime scene DNA from the killer. Once police told Michelle's family of the new evidence, they felt certain the killer had been caught. 'We didn't have any doubt from the get-go that it was Jerry Burns,' said John. 'Luckily we got a great jury who understood all the way along.' Janelle said that her and Michelle's parents, who are now deceased, would have been relieved to learn that her killer was not anyone they knew, or a friend of Michelle's. John added: 'We can take comfort in the fact that if it wasn't Michelle that night, it would have been some other young woman, now in her late 50s, probably with grandchildren, and she has a life today because Michelle does not.' Michelle's family were relieved to learn that she was not killed by someone they knew It took the jury less than three hours of deliberations to return a guilty verdict in the case on Monday. Burns is seen above listening while his attorney delivers closing arguments Family and friends of Michelle Martinko react at the guilty verdict in the trial on Monday At trial, Burns didn't testify, and his defense called only one witness. The trial was moved to Scott County District Court in Davenport because of pretrial publicity in Cedar Rapids. Sentencing will be held later. In Iowa, first-degree murder carries a mandatory term of life in prison. 'The murder of 18-year old Michelle Martinko in December 1979 had a profound impact on the community and Michelles family,' Wayne Jerman, Cedar Rapids Police Chief, said, in a statement. 'For nearly 40 years, police officers and investigators showed tenacity and dedication to finding the person accountable for this tragic death. 'With the assistance and direction of the Linn County Attorneys Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department was able to make an arrest, and now the verdict today helps bring closure to a case that has haunted our community for decades. 'For Michelles family and friends, we know that the pain of losing a daughter, sister, or friend will never go away. 'You and Michelle will forever be in our thoughts and we are eternally grateful for your support, trust, and confidence over the many years.' Burns professed his innocence after his arrest in 2018 but was unable to offer a 'plausible explanation' for why his DNA was found at the crime scene. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. After his arrest, it was reported that Burns owned a powder-coating company - Advanced Coating Concepts - and used to co-own a truck stop, the Des Moines Register reported. During his trial, prosecutors outlined the crime in vivid detail, describing how Michelle was stabbed 11 times and bled to death. She had lost about a third of her blood before police found her body the following morning, prosecutor Nick Maybanks said. The Buick sedan Martinko was murdered in is seen parked outside the mall where police found her body the morning after she was killed An investigator who worked the case in 1979 described finding Michelle's body slumped in the passenger seat of the car (pictured) Several people who knew Michelle took the stand this week and recounted their final interactions with her. They described the victim as 'sweet, friendly, outgoing, upbeat' Michelle's slaying was so brutal that she lost about a third of her blood, according to witnesses Blood found on Michelle's dress showed that her killer had been cut as well. Investigators recently submitted the DNA for testing and used genetic genealogical research to identify a pool of suspects, which included Burns. Burns was arrested in 2018 after DNA found on a straw he discarded at a restaurant was matched to the crime scene DNA. Defense attorney Leon Spies raised doubts about the accuracy of the investigation in his opening statement, arguing that DNA doesn't tell the whole story. He told jurors that evidence will show Burns isn't guilty of first-degree murder. Several people who knew the victim took the stand and recounted their final interactions with her. On the night Michelle was killed, she attended a choir banquet at Kennedy High School before going to the mall to pick up a coat her mother had on layaway. Cedar Rapids resident Tracy Price, who had known Michelle since elementary school, told the court that he and his friends ran into her at the mall at around 7pm. Price and other witnesses described Michelle as a 'sweet, friendly, outgoing, upbeat' girl who didn't have issues or problems with anyone. Retired Cedar Rapids police officer James Kinkead, who found Michelle's body, also took the stand during the trial. He had been sent out to search for Michelle's vehicle on the morning after the murder and found it parked in the mall lot. Kinkead said he looked through the car's frosted windows and saw a person who initially thought was intoxicated slumped in the passenger seat. Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover looks through the verdict form before reading the jury's verdict on Monday When he opened the car door he found Michelle covered in stab wounds with blood all over her. She was fully clothed but her black dress appeared to be pulled up. The court was shown a disturbing photo of her body during Kinkead's testimony. Richard White, a since-retired officer who processed the crime scene, took the stand next. He said he vividly remembers the day Michelle was found because it was his birthday. He noted that Michelle's Buick was awkwardly parked, as if the driver had been in a hurry. Patterns in blood spatter at the scene suggested that the killer had been wearing gloves, he said. Dr Richard Fiester, a since-retired pathologist who performed the autopsy on Michelle the day her body was recovered, went through photos of the corpse and described the different wounds on her body. He said she had 29 surface cuts, many of them to her face and neck, along with 11 stab wounds and a severe head injury indicating that she'd be struck in the skull. Wounds on her hands indicated that she had fought off her attacker. There were no signs of sexual assault, Fiester said. A few other law enforcement officials who helped process the scene were also called to the stand to testify about how the evidence was handled. In his cross-examination, Spies focused most of his questions on chain of custody in an effort to shed doubt on the integrity of the evidence. Even international pop stars have to eat, but its not every day that one does so at the Philadelphia areas favorite convenience store chain. Former One Direction member Harry Styles was spotted grabbing a bite at a Wawa in Bear, Del., on Tuesday afternoon, as one ecstatic employee at the store posted to Twitter: The Watermelon Sugar hitmaker even signed a Wawa burrito bag for his fan, Natali, and included his Treat People With Kindness slogan as well: Styles, 26, appears to have kept his Wawa order fairly simple, judging from a receipt purportedly from the visit floating around social media. The order included an egg omelette burrito, a toasted tuna salad sandwich, an oven-roasted turkey hoagie (with extra meat), plus some bottles of water and Starbucks drinks: What brought Styles to Delaware this week is not clear, but the pop star performed on NBCs Today show Wednesday. He recorded a Tiny Desk performance at NPR in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Fox 5 reports. Philly paparazzo HughE Dillon, meanwhile, indicated that Styles was also spotted this week on the Main Line, where friend Xander Ritz lives. While Styles visit to the Philadelphia area this time was brief, it isnt the last well be seeing him. Hes scheduled to return to Philly for a performance at the Wells Fargo Center on June 26 as part of his 2020 Love On Tour series of dates. Working group member proposes to take vote on Constitution amending on April 22 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 17:14 26/02/2020 MOSCOW, February 26 (RAPSI) A co-chairman of the working group on drafting amendments to the Constitution, chair of the Federation Councils Committee for Legislation and State Building Andrey Klishas on Wednesday proposed to schedule the All-Russia voting on the issue for April 22. On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin met with the working group on drafting proposals for amendments to the Constitution. According to the President, the number of submitted proposals about amendments to the Russian Constitution has nearly reached 900. President Vladimir Putin brought the bill to amend the Constitution before the parliament on January 20. He clarified the essence of the amendments proposed to the Constitution at a meeting with members of a working group established to elaborate the respective suggestions on January 16. According to the President, the amendments are aimed to further the development of Russia as a social welfare state governed by the rule of law, as well as to achieve higher efficiency of its national institutions, strengthen the role played by its civil society, political parties, and Russias regions in working out most important decisions concerning the development of the state. Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was to remain a Presidential republic, but a more open one, where the significance of its Parliament was to grow, whereas interrelations of lawmakers with the government were to be strengthened. The President was to retain serious powers to dismiss from their posts those violating the law and those failing to be scrupulous about their duties on the basis of loss of trust, Putin said. The Head of the State believes that these powers were imperative due to the complex state structure of Russia, its multi-confessional and multi-ethnic nature, and vast territory. The working group on preparation of proposals concerning amendments to the Constitution was approved by the President on January 15. Among its members are representatives of the Federation Council, State Duma and other public figures. Right now the US democratic primaries are well underway with the first three states having voted. Citizens of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada have already cast their ballots to select the next democratic candidate for president. Bernie Sanders is the current front runner having won both New Hampshire and Nevada, while Pete Buttigieg narrowly beat him in the Iowa caucus. The hopeful few must achieve 1,991 delegates out of a possible 3,979 before the Democratic National Convention in July. Those left in the race are; Joe Biden Michael Bloomberg Pete Buttigieg Tulsi Gabbard Amy Klobuchar Bernie Sanders Tom Steyer Elizabeth Warren South Carolina is the next stop along the path for the Democrats with voting to take place on Saturday, February 29. However, on Tuesday, March 3 the quest for a presidential nominee goes national when 16 states and overseas territories vote for their candidate in primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday. With 1,357, over one-third (34%) of all delegates up for grabs, this will be the first major test of the candidates' profile on a national scale. Alabama - 52 *American Samoa - 6 Arkansas - 31 California - 415 Colorado - 67 Maine - 24 Massachusetts - 91 Minnesota - 75 North Carolina - 110 Oklahoma - 37 Tennessee - 64 Texas - 228 Utah - 29 Vermont - 16 Virginia - 99 With Texas and California both on the Super Tuesday ballot, the two most populace states will go to the polls on the same day. Both states have large Hispanic populations, a vote candidates will be eager to secure. The already heated race between the candidates is sure to get even hotter through the weekend in South Carolina and into early next week. Last night, the rivals rounded on Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the latest televised debate of the campaign. Mr Sanders fought back throughout the night, pointing to polls that showed him beating Donald Trump and noting all the recent attention hes received, saying: Im hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. I wonder why? Super Tuesday will also be a big test of billionaire Michael Bloomberg's campaign as he has not appeared on the ballot in previous states. Mr Bloomberg also came in for criticism about the treatment of women in the workplace. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr Bloomberg has spent $124m on ads in the Super Tuesday states, with nearly $40m in California alone. Super Tuesday could see a number of weaker candidates withdraw from the race. Former Vice-President Joe Biden is seeking a strong win in South Carolina to keep his campaign afloat, while Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren might also fall by the wayside after Tuesday's vote. For Biden's campaign to continue on he will be hoping his popularity with Black and Hispanic voters gives him a win in the southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. *American Samora is an overseas territory of the US and not a state. Additional reporting by Press Association Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Wednesday said aspects like an Assembly resolution against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) were "under the consideration" of the government. The chief minister also said the Centre has made optional furnishing of information like parents' place of birth in the National Population Register and therefore "there is no issue" with NPR. "All that is under the government's consideration," Palaniswami said when reporters sought to know if Tamil Nadu will pass an assembly resolution on the lines of Bihar, which had on Tuesday resolved in the House unanimously that there is no need for NRC in that state. Palaniswami did not elaborate on the matter. The chief minister, who had earlier said nobody in Tamil Nadu will be affected by the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), against which protests are still on in Chennai, said the census exercise was being conducted once in 10 years in the country. He recalled the NPR was "brought" in in 2003 during the BJP-led NDA rule while it was implemented across the country by the Congress in 2010, pointing out that his party's arch-rival, the DMK, was a constituent in both coalitions. The then DMK government had in 2011 implemented NPR across Tamil Nadu, he said. "Now the Centre has included three additional aspects--language, parents' place of birth, and (furnishing) of documents like Aadhaar, ration card and Voter ID...now centre has made these optional and that there are not compulsory. So, there is no issue in NPR," Palaniswami added. To a question on Karnataka's proposal to construct a dam across river Cauvery at Mekedatu, he said as per the final verdict of the Supreme Court, this was not possible. He pointed out that the state has moved the apex court against Karnataka in this connection. Incidentally, Tamil Nadu had on Tuesday claimed it prevented Karnataka from discussing the contentious issue at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting in Delhi by pointing to the pending petitions in the Supreme Court. The chief minister also took a jibe at the DMK roping in political strategist Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) to face next year's Assembly polls, saying "voters cannot be purchased" using an agency. "We go to the people. Have we faced polls like that so far. Party men, its functionaries and people determine the electoral result. It is not something like hiring an agency for a product...you can't purchase voters using an agency," he said. Asked if this can be assumed as "DMK's weakness," the chief minister shot back, saying "you have said so." "Let it be your opinion," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 2 1 of 2 Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Show More Show Less San Francisco police are investigating text messages that several Aptos Middle School students received Tuesday afternoon that prompted a temporary lockout at the school, district officials said. Officials placed the school on a 45-minute lockout Tuesday in an abundance of caution after multiple students received text messages, said Laura Dudnick, a spokeswoman with the San Francisco Unified School District. A lockout means the schools perimeter is secured when there is a threat or hazard outside of the school. This differs from a lockdown, which refers to a threat inside of the school, according to the Standard Response Protocol that the school district follows. How Barrage of Antitrust Probes Could Impact Big Tech: Experts As a handful of antitrust probes into Big Tech continue, there is much debate on whether such platforms would actually be broken up, face a less impactful restriction remedy, or see no repercussions at all. The possibility of one or more of the Big Four splitting apart is widely contested. Among a handful of antitrust and IT experts, some told The Epoch Times the likelihood of this happening was next to nonewhile others were adamant that at least one company would face some form of divestiture. The present, intense scrutiny against titan platforms Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple is something not seen before as Congress investigates all four, while the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission are reportedly reviewing one or more of the companies. The probes extend down to the state level as well, with dozens of state attorneys general probing the practices of Facebook and Google in separate cases. The barrage of investigations, which appear to still be in the beginning stages, comes amid broad concerns about the effects the companies have on competition and consumers. Splitting Apart? Doug Melamed, a law professor at Stanford University with expertise in antitrust law and intellectual property, said the probes could result in a wide range of theoretical outcomes, from new legislation to no litigation at all. As a practical matter, I think the most likely outcomes are somewhere in the middle, some kind of litigation that will probably result in a settlement with restrictions on the conduct of one or more of the platforms, Melamed told The Epoch Times via email. The chances of one of the platforms being broken up is close to zero, according to Melamed, who said other forms of less impactful structural relief, or a conduct remedy that might restrict future acquisitions, are more likely. While a litigated victory for the defendants is possible, I think the more likely outcome is some kind of conduct remedy that restricts the defendant from using its dominant platform to give it an inappropriate advantage in complementary markets, he said. Sally Hubbard, former assistant attorney general at the Antitrust Bureau of New York State, told The Epoch Times that some of the possible outcomes include lawsuits by enforcers over conduct that violates antitrust laws, the unwinding of mergers deemed to have been anticompetitive, and new laws or regulatory rules governing Big Tech. Hubbard, who is now director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institute, said a breakup of a company is only one type of antitrust remedy and relatively rare. In her work, Hubbard engages with state attorneys general who have significant authority over monopoly power. Big Tech should either run their platforms or compete on their platforms, but not both, she said. Splitting apart a company could start to address some of the existing conflicts of interests, but it would not solve the competitive issues in the industry. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to complete a final report on its findings by the first part of this year, the committees chairman, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), told reporters last year. Its unclear what the exact date would be. Leaders of the committee and its sub-committee on antitrust have demanded the four companies turn over a wide range of documents, including sensitive internal emails from the companies top executives as well as detailed financial information, among other company records. In my view, well see at least one company breakup as a result of the current investigations, but it will come in the form of a settlement as opposed to forceful breakup by the DOJ, Sean Herman, founder and CEO of Kinzoo, a private messenger app, told The Epoch Times via email. I think the most likely action will be Amazon splitting off Amazon Web Services, its cloud computing division, into a separate entity, Herman said. There should be strong arguments for breaking YouTube apart from Google, and Instagram from Facebook as well, as long as consumer welfare isnt the deciding factor. Any potential actions against these companies hinges greatly on the role consumer welfare plays in the probes, Herman said. At an early hearing of the antitrust panel in July, executives of the four companies pushed back against lawmakers accusations that they operate as monopolies, laying out ways in which they say they compete fairly, yet vigorously, against rivals in the marketplace. Cicilline said he was not convinced by answers the executives gave, calling their testimony evasive. John E. Lopatka, antitrust scholar and distinguished professor of law at Pennsylvania State Universitys Dickinson School of Law, told The Epoch Times the probes could involve claims alleging monopolization, agreements in restraint of trade, illegal acquisitions, and corresponding claims under the Federal Trade Commission Act for unfair methods of competition. Lopatka said via email that he fully expects some antitrust claims to be brought by some public plaintiffs against at least some of the big tech firms. The odds of a public enforcer forcing at least a few big tech companies to divest something is excellent he said, with Facebook and Google being the most likely. These firms are in the crosshairs, he said. The congressional investigation could lead to new legislation. That legislation might define certain practices of big tech firms to be anticompetitive, or it might impose some kind of government regulation of these firms. The scope of potential legislation is broad. But whether the plaintiffs succeed in their case in court is another matter, he said. In July 2019, the DOJ announced that its antitrust division is reviewing whether and how market-leading online platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers. At this stage, it appears big tech companies would prefer to get ahead of getting embroiled in any possible antitrust cases and attempt to placate the concerns of regulators and make certain concessions on their own terms, Attila Tomaschek, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy.com, told The Epoch Times via email. Microsoft Comparison The last time both state and federal levels were part of a major antitrust case was during 2001 in the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case involving the latters alleged monopoly on the PC market. Those probes, however, were only focused on one company, in contrast to todays climate. In November 2001, the DOJ reached a settlement agreement with Microsoft that imposed a broad range of restrictions on the company. The court didnt end up ordering any divestiture. Those restrictions included creating the chance for independent software vendors to develop products that will be competitive with Microsofts middleware products and giving computer manufacturers the flexibility to contract with competing software developers and place their middleware products on Microsofts operating system. The Microsoft case sets an important precedent, since it shows how antitrust laws can be used to address anticompetitive conduct by major platforms as well as for establishing the principle that a monopolist can injure competition just by raising entry barriers to new competition against its monopoly position, according to Melamed. In 2012, the U.S. government permitted Facebooks acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and Whatsapp in 2014. Lopatka said courts are wary of undoing mergers several years after the fact and that Facebook, for example, would strive to maintain that any merger challenge now would be unfair. I dont know what the chances are this kind of a challenge will succeed, but if any firm is going to be broken up, the reason will almost certainly be that the firm illegally acquired competitors, Lopatka said. Lopatka said similar arguments in the Microsoft case could be leveled against Facebook and Google in particular, in that Microsoft maintained a monopoly of the PC operating system market by squashing the web browser Navigator, and Java technologies. Meanwhile, Hubbard said there are similarities to the current probes and the United States v. Microsoft case. Just like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple are engaging in conduct that, in my opinion, amounts to illegal monopolization, she said. Illegal monopolization requires both 1) monopoly power and 2) that the firm acquired, enhanced, or maintained that power by excluding competition. There are also different ways companies can be split up. During the Microsoft case, some observers advocated for vertical divestiture that would have separated Microsofts operating system business from its applications business, Lopatka said. Others pushed for horizontal divestiture, which would have involved divulging proprietary code to create several operating system competitors. The Microsoft example is merely intended to give a sense of the broad range of divestitures that might be proposed, he said. But Microsoft was a monopoly maintenance case, not a case based on illegal acquisitions. According to Melamed, the facts and theories in the Microsoft case are very different from what the current probes are likely to develop into. Microsoft was about using monopoly power in PC operating systems to protect that monopoly from new competition. Its not clear if the current probes will consist of allegations of that same conduct. Lopatka said if the theory on antitrust violations are anticompetitive acquisitions, the easiest remedy is to require the offender to divest the businesses it illegally acquired, though he noted it would be problematic if the the acquisitions took place years earlier. As a general matter in tech markets, attempting to create effective competition through structural remedies is exceptionally difficult, he said. And structural remedies are a drastic remedy and are disfavored when a firm acquires monopoly power through exclusionary conduct. In this handout photo released by Department of Foreign Affairs, members of the DFA and Department of Health wear protective suits as they assist Filipinos from the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship as they arrive at the Clark airbase, Pampanga, northern Philippines early Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. AP The Philippines on Wednesday barred travellers from South Korea's coronavirus-impacted North Gyeongsang province from entering the country in an effort to contain the spread of the pathogen. Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing the government will also conduct a risk assessment within 48 hours to determine if the travel ban needs to be expanded to other parts of South Korea. Akron fire medic Paul Drouhard shows a box containing Naloxone that is carried in all their departments emergency response vehicles. Pennsylvania school nurses stock the product in numbers that surprised Penn researchers. Read more A new survey of Pennsylvania school nurses has found that while many schools do keep a supply of naloxone on hand, barriers like education officials reluctance are still keeping the opioid overdose reversal medication out of some schools. The study conducted by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing researchers found that more than half nearly 54% of the 362 school nurses included in the results reported having naloxone at their schools. Of the nurses who said their schools kept naloxone on hand, over 5% reported having had to administer it at their school or at a school-sponsored activity. The survey didnt collect details on the recipients of the lifesaving drug, like their ages and whether they were students, staff, or parents. According to the study article, which was published Monday in the journal Public Health Nursing, 2016 federal data found that 3.6% of students ages 12 to 17 reported having misused opioids in the last year. The Penn researchers, who intended their study as a first look at the presence of naloxone in the commonwealths schools, noted some unexpected findings. I think the data showing that over half the nurses are reporting having naloxone was a little surprising to us, said lead study investigator Catherine C. McDonald, Penn assistant professor of nursing. I didnt anticipate it would be that high, although it also indicates we could do better to get to a higher number. The results of the online survey represent schools in 56 of Pennsylvanias 67 counties. There was at least one school nurse from all 19 urban counties, and 37 of the 48 rural counties. The survey was posted to the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners websites. Participation was voluntary. READ MORE: Overdose reversal is just the start in fighting the opioid epidemic The studys result also shed light on some of the barriers to having naloxone available in the schools. Of the nurses who reported not having a supply of the overdose reversal medication in their schools, the two biggest reasons were lack of school board support at nearly 27% and lack of administration support, close to 25%. Not believing it was needed and lack of funds were also noted. Among the least-cited barriers were lack of support by staff, parent, or the community. Our survey results show that barriers, particularly those related to lack of support or beliefs that naloxone is not needed in a community, need to be addressed, McDonald said. School nurses are in a position as both health educators and emergency responders regarding opioid overdose and may be an untapped resource to spread the adoption of community access to naloxone through normative behavior. READ MORE: There's a black market of addiction treatment medication Pennsylvania has one of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the United States, and Philadelphia has the highest rate of the nations large cities. The National Association of School Nurses has endorsed naloxone in schools as a safe and effective means of opioid overdose reversal. The Penn study notes that school nurses are equipped for medical emergencies with lifesaving tools like automated external defibrillators and epinephrine pens for anaphylaxis. Maintaining a supply of naloxone is another form of emergency preparedness, the study article states. In her 2015 autobiography, The Senator Next Door: A Memoir from the Heartland, Ms. Klobuchar wrote that she would usually decide who to charge and what sentences to seek in her offices biggest and trickiest cases. But her campaign did not respond to questions this week about what role she played in the Burrell case. It did not come up in Tuesday nights debate in South Carolina. On Monday, Mike Freeman, who succeeded Ms. Klobuchar as Hennepin County attorney and won a conviction at Mr. Burrells second trial, defended the case as a solid police investigation and prosecution. He said that he believed it was inappropriate and unfair that the case had become an issue in Ms. Klobuchars campaign. Some of her rivals for the Democratic nomination have also come under sharp criticism for their records on criminal justice, including Michael Bloomberg, who apologized earlier this month for supporting the widely derided stop-and-frisk policy while he was mayor of New York. Civil rights leaders in Minneapolis say the Burrell case was just one example of how Ms. Klobuchars office focused disproportionately on prosecuting African-Americans while declining to bring charges in more than two dozen shootings and other civilian fatalities that occurred during encounters with police officers. There is an entire community that suffered under her leadership, and she has refused to accept accountability for the harm that she caused, said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and former president of the Minneapolis N.A.A.C.P. In a statement, Ms. Klobuchars campaign said that as a prosecutor she had also focused on reducing gun violence, including backing measures opposed by the N.R.A.; prosecuting white-collar crimes, including tax evasion and the financial exploitation of older people; and working with the Innocence Project to improve interrogations and eyewitness identifications. Her agenda while in office was similar to many other tough-on-crime prosecutors of the era who also embraced the broken windows theory of policing. That theory, now widely criticized for packing jails with people of color, held that cracking down on vandalism and other visible signs of minor crimes would lead to a reduction in more serious offenses. DETROIT -- A man charged in connection with two Detroit-area murders and who is a suspect in four additional killings was working as a federal informant prior to the murders, according to the Associated Press. The bombshell announcement came during a press conference Wednesday held by Detroit police Chief James Craig. During the press conference, Craig revealed the suspect, Kenyel Brown, 40, was working with the ATF as an informant while under supervised release from prison. Brown was then signed up in Detroit as an informant on Oct. 29, 2019 through a DEA and Detroit PD task force. That same day, he was released from federal supervision. Less than two months later, on Dec. 7, 2019, Loren Harrington was gunned down outside her home in River Rouge. Brown has been named a suspect in that case, but has not been charged. During his press conference, Craig said the federal agencies pushed for Brown to be freed and signed up as an informant and that a miscommunication led to his department agreeing to help the feds. Once DPD was aware that Brown was a suspect in the murders, they deactivated him as an informant. Still, Craig blasted the federal agencies for using Brown as an informant. You want to talk about crime prevention? With (Browns) criminal history, it looks like six murders could have been prevented, Craig said. This is one example of where the criminal justice system is broken. Craig also said that it appears the federal agencies did not look into Browns background before suggesting him as an informant and had his department been aware of Browns history, Craig says DPD would not have worked with Brown. Brown has been previously convicted on several different charges, including manslaughter and possession of a stolen handgun. The AP also reports Brown was arrested at least twice last year and violated the terms of his probation multiple times while under federal supervision. Brown is currently listed in critical condition at a Detroit hospital after he shot himself in the head Monday following a short chase involving Detroit police. U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said he will issue a statement on the matter later Wednesday. However, Craig said both he and Schneider have agreed an investigation must take place to determine how Brown was selected to be an informant, given his history. Two counts of first-degree murder were brought against Brown earlier this month for a River Rouge shooting that killed Dorian Patterson, 48, and Kimberly Green, 52. Along with Harringtons death, Brown is also a suspect in three other murders in the Detroit area, but again charges have yet to be filed in those cases. Brown has also been connected to a pair of carjackings in Detroit. Craig said that in each case it appears drugs and/or money are involved and that a clear pattern has emerged regarding Browns possible involvement in the killings. It was clear he had a significant drug problem, he spiraled out of control and began to use violence, Craig said. READ MORE: U.S. Marshals, Detroit area police search for man linked to 6 homicides Man linked to 6 Metro Detroit homicides shoots self in head as police close in Mumbai, Feb 26 : Actor Riteish Deshmukh and "Sairat" director Nagraj Manjule's ambitious multilingual trilogy on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should start shooting by the end of the year, and the first of the three films will release in 2021. Riteish added the project, which he first spoke of about a week back, would be in multiple languages. He is backing the project through his banner Mumbai Film Company and will also play the starring role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Music composers Ajay-Atul, who have been a constant in all of Manjule's films, will also score the music for the trilogy. "As of now, only three people who are associated with the project -- Nagraj Manjule, (composer duo) Ajay-Atul and myself. We felt all of us are in sync to make this film. We all want to do something exciting and something different, so fingers are crossed," said Ritiesh, while interacting with the media at a promotion event for his upcoming film, "Baaghi 3". Asked when shooting of the film would start, the actor said: "We hope to go on floors before the year ends." "Ideally, we would like to make it in Hindi and Marathi but at the same time we are definitely open to explore other languages. Once we make the film and if people think that we can take this film to other states, we will definitely try to do that. Because Shivaji Maharaj's father (Shahaji Bhosle) used to live in Karnataka of the current times. And a lot of forts over there and a lot of the Telugu area was also under him," said Riteish. Reportedly, first part named "Shivaji", will depict the early years of Chhatrapti Shivaji Maharaj's life, while the second part "Raja Shivaji" will depict the period when he founded the Maratha Empire. The third part "Chhatrapati Shivaji" will depict his overall dominance on India. Asked if he is keen to collaborate with a studio to release and distribute his film, he said: "We will figure that out. When you are releasing a film in Maharashtra, you can still figure out where you want to release your film. But if we want to go pan-India, we need to do that (collaborate with a studio). I feel that if you have certain strength then you have to concentrate on that. If you want to work on other things, get the best person from that field, so we are looking forward to collaborating with someone because that's the best way forward." live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 25 has greenlit Bandhan Bank's branch network expansion plans. The decision was made after considering the lender's efforts to comply with the licensing conditions. Bandhan Bank was barred from expanding its network in September 2018 as it had failed to reduce the promoters' stake, which stood at 82 percent, against the permitted 40 percent, within the RBI's stipulated three-year time frame of commencing operations. The bank commenced operations on August 23, 2015, and was thus required to comply by 2018. Current promoters' stake in the bank is still over the licensing condition on dilution at 62 percent, but it in a regulatory filing said that "considering efforts made" RBI has lifted the regulatory restriction on branch opening. This is, however, subject to the condition that the bank ensures at least 25 per cent of the total number of banking outlets opened during a financial year are opened in unbanked rural centres. According to RBI's bank licence norms, a private sector bank's promoter will need to pare holding to 40 per cent within three years, 20 per cent within 10 years and to 15 per cent within 15 years. Bandhan Bank currently has 4,288 banking outlets, including branches. Bandhan Bank shares closed at Rs 403.85 on BSE, down 1.15 per cent from the previous close. The co-owner of a now-closed Union City pharmacy pleaded guilty Tuesday to a kickback scheme that netted him between $3.5 and $9.5 million, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Igor Fleyshmakher, 58, of Holmdel, also admitted to evading taxes on $33.9 million in income when he appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court. He faces maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 22, 2020. Overall, authorities have said the scheme, which involved bribing health care professionals to steer expensive prescriptions to pharmacies operated by Fleyshmakher and his cohorts, earned the group some $99 million. Fleyshmakher conspired to violate the anti-kickback statute with seven other individuals, including Samuel Sam Khaimov of Glen Head, New York; Ruben Sevumyants of Marlboro; Alex Fleyshmakher of Morganville; and Eduard Eddy Shtindler of Paramus. Shtindler has pleaded guilty for his role in a related kickback conspiracy and is pending sentencing. The others already have been charged. Kickback schemes like this not only illegally enrich defendants like Fleyshmakher, they take needed resources from our health care system, Carpenito said. And after stealing millions of dollars in this way, the defendant stole again, by failing to report this income or pay taxes on it." Fleyshmakher and Khaimov were co-owners of Prime Aid pharmacies in Union City and the Bronx, New York, which operated as specialty pharmacies. The pharmacies processed expensive medications for conditions such as Hepatitis C, Crohns disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Starting in 2010, Fleyshmakher, Khaimov and the others, who were employees, paid bribes to doctors and doctors employees to steer prescriptions to the Prime Aid pharmacies. The bribes included expensive meals, designer bags, and payments by cash, check, and wire transfers, authorities said. This fraudster was part of a kickback scheme that not only tilted the scales toward Prime Aid pharmacies, but diverted precious federal dollars so he could enrich himself while ripping off the government, FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie said. If you are an investor or medical professional participating in a fraud scheme for an ill-gotten gain, you should ask yourself if its worth the price you will pay." While orchestrating the kickback scheme, Fleyshmakher diverted a substantial amount of Prime Aid Union City income into a secret bank account between 2012 and 2014. He did not report any of the $33.9 million he deposited into it on his personal income tax returns, causing a $5.8 million tax loss to the IRS. Bribing doctors to line your own pockets and using secret accounts to evade taxes are both very serious offenses motivated by one thing: greed, John R. Tafur, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. Todays guilty plea should send a strong deterrent message to anyone else thinking about participating in this type of illegal activity." A 60-year-old man has become the first French victim of the coronavirus in the country, the health ministry announced on Wednesday. The man died overnight after being rushed to a Paris hospital in serious condition on Tuesday evening, bringing the total death toll in the country to two, said the ministry's deputy head Jerome Salomon. The first victim was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist, who died in mid-February. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. The Afghanistan health ministry has confirmed the countrys first coronavirus case. Government Health Officials say the victim is from Herat and has recently travelled to Afghanistan from Iran. The ministry announced a state of emergency in Herat Province. Fifty-nine new cops are graduating from the Royal New Zealand Police College today, and six of those graduates will be starting their duties in the Bay of Plenty. One of those six graduates is Constable Jessie Latimer. Shes taking up the role because she wants to help make genuine change in her community. Jessie previously spent two years working at a high school in Kawerau, where she collaborated with the school, police and many other agencies to create opportunities for youth in the area. Jessie has also worked as a personal trainer, using those skills to benefit adults with disabilities. For the past three years, Constable Sasha-Lee Graves has been a support worker, helping to look after and look out for people with physical and intellectual disabilities and mental illness. She says while this was fulfilling work, moving into policing will offer her more opportunities to make a difference to others, especially vulnerable people in her community. "Hopefully one day I will be able to help people understand the different aspects of mental health through policing and how we are all connected to it in some way." Sasha-Lee will be posted to Waikato District. Another great role model who will be posted to the Bay of Plenty is Constable Sholto Leaso he will receive the Leadership Award at todays graduation. Sholto is proud of his Samoan/Hawaiian/Maori/Dutch ancestry, and says he can relate to a lot of youth in New Zealand due to his upbringing in South and West Auckland He has previously worked in the Auckland Fish Market, and in a gym as a personal trainer. "I know I can be a role model and someone that young people can trust." Commissioner Mike Bush, other members of the Police Executive, and Police Minister Hon Stuart Nash will be present at the graduation ceremony today. The parade is taking place the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 16:10:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Carrefour China has significantly improved its profit-making ability after being acquired by Chinese e-commerce giant Suning.com, the supermarket chain said Tuesday. Carrefour China has steadily built up its operating efficiency through the digital transformation of its stores. And in Q4 2019, it earned its first quarterly profit in the last seven years, said Tian Rui, Carrefour China CEO. Tian disclosed the information for the first time since the acquisition took place in September 2019. "In terms of digitalization, our existing 209 stores nationwide have completed smart retail transformation to meet the one-hour delivery service within 3 km of the surrounding area and the half-day service within 10 km of the same city," Tian said. During the epidemic, Carrefour China has launched flash delivery services with Suning's convenience stores to meet residents' demands, with the average daily order increasing by 202 percent month on month, according to the company. "In 2020, we will accelerate store upgrades, supply chain construction, and other ecological integration with Suning to recreate the glory of Carrefour in China," Tian said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: The unconstructive position of Armenia is the main obstacle to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while making press statement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trend reports. Ways to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were also discussed, of course, Ilham Aliyev said. I want to thank my dear brother once again for Turkeys continued support of the just cause of Azerbaijan. In all international arenas, Turkey always stands by Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people. However, the unconstructive position of Armenia is the main obstacle to the settlement of the conflict. The extremely contradictory and conflicting statements of the Armenian leadership cause great damage to the negotiation process, the Azerbaijani president noted. They either say that Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia or that Nagorno-Karabakh is an independent state. It turns out that they dont know themselves what Nagorno-Karabakh is. If they dont, we can tell them: Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan! The whole world and we are talking about this. All countries of the world recognize and support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and not a single state recognizes an illegal entity called Nagorno-Karabakh. Of course, the conflict should be resolved within the framework of territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country and the inviolability of our borders. Turkey is a country that provides Azerbaijan with the biggest support on a global scale, Ilham Aliyev added. Thank you very much again for this. For our part, I must note that in all matters and in all international arenas, Azerbaijan always supports the just cause of Turkey. There is no and I am not sure will ever be any issue in which Azerbaijan would not support Turkey. In all the processes currently taking place in the region, the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani people unequivocally stand by the Turkish state and people. Our unity is eternal, and we are certainly building our future on this solid foundation. Therefore, today's eighth meeting of the Council for Strategic Cooperation is a matter of special importance because the countries closest to each other in the world have made very serious decisions on further interaction and cooperation. Corey Robin in the New York Review of Books: It has been more than two weeks since the Iowa caucuses, and we still dont know who won. That should give us pause. We dont know in part because of a combination of technological failing and human error. But were also in the dark for a political reason. That should give us further pause. No one disputes that Bernie Sanders won the most votes in Iowa. Yet Pete Buttigieg has the most delegates. While experts continue to parse the flaws in the reporting process, the stark and simple fact that more voters supported Sanders than any other candidate somehow remains irrelevant, obscure. Americas democratic reflexes have grown sluggish. Not only has the loser of the popular vote won two out of the last five presidential elections, but come November, he may win a third. Like the children of alcoholics, weve learned to live with the situation, adjusting ourselves to the tyranny of its effects. We dont talk anymore about who will win the popular vote in the coming election. We calculate which candidate will win enough votes in the right states to secure a majority in the Electoral College. Perhaps thats why the scandal coming out of Iowa is the app that failed and the funky math of the precinct countersand not the democratic embarrassment that the winner of the most votes doesnt automatically win the most delegates. More here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:15:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China Wednesday expressed deep condolences on the death of Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak and extended sincere sympathy to his family. "Mr. Mubarak made great contributions to the development of China-Egypt relations. The Chinese government and Chinese people will not forget this," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a press briefing. China stands ready to work with Egypt to further forge ahead the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, he said. Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's fourth and longest-serving president, died at the age of 91 after undergoing treatment in an intensive care unit following surgery, state television said Tuesday. Disney-owned Hotstar has not uploaded the latest episode of John Oliver's popular talk show "Last Week Tonight" in which the comedian has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the Citizenship Amendment Act and his handling of the protests against it. The latest episode, "Modi: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", was expected to be available to Hotstar subscribers from 6 am on Tuesday but subscribers who logged in on their apps only found last week's show. Disney and Hotstar did not respond to requests for a response, while an Information and Broadcasting Ministry official said the government has "nothing to do with the matter". An 18-minute video of the 30-minute episode was uploaded on the show's official YouTube channel on Tuesday and has since been watched by more than five million people. A new episode of "Last Week Tonight" is streamed on Hotstar every week Tuesday at 6 am. The HBO show has won multiple Emmys. Oliver decided to focus the episode on India because of US President Donald Trump and his family's trip to the country. The 36-hour visit came as the communal clashes over the CAA broke out in northeast Delhi, killing 20 people and injuring more than 180. From demonetisation and the RSS to anti-CAA protests and the government flagship programmes, the British-American TV star brings up a range of issues in the episode. He explores the rise of Modi in the country while also acknowledging his delivery on campaign promises such as providing cooking gas connections and building toilets. Oliver was praised by many, including activist Prashant Bhushan and comedian Vir Das, for his stinging criticism of the CAA. "Must watch: John Oliver on Modi. A man who fans hate against Muslims and seeks to divide us on religious lines. But the CAA/NRC might end up uniting India against this divisive figure. Modi has certainly brought India to the world map but not in the way he wanted," Bhushan wrote. "I honestly don't care whether you thought the John Oliver episode on Modi was accurate or fair. I'm just happy there's at least one comedian that this govt can't access. Now waiting for Bhakts to boycott Oliver Twist Slightly smiling face," Das tweeted. In an act of self-censorship last November, Amazon Prime Video removed the first episode of season five of American political series "Madam Secretary". The episode's focus was on Hindu nationalism, Kashmir and violence against Muslims and other minorities in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Event The tradeshow that delivers, HOSTEX returns in 2020. The show will run from 01 - 03 March 2020 at Sandton Convention Centre. HOSTEX is an industry platform which provides access to the burgeoning African market, an intersection between industries and exposure to specific, relevant and valuable visitors. Having built a reputation unmatched by any other trade show of its kind, HOSTEX continues to prove itself time and time again as the trade show that delivers innovation and opportunity. Featuring over 250 exhibitors showcasing thousands of innovative products, HOSTEX 2020 is the place where international suppliers and local commerce converges. HOSTEX 2020: One trade show, three jam-packed districts. The show that delivers returns with Tea & Coffee Africa, Contract Furnishing Africa and a brand new district, Food & Drink. Catering to the unique dynamics of the African continent, you do not want to miss this show that sets itself apart with a 34-year track record HOSTEX - Africa's Food, Drink & Hospitality Trade Expo is organized by Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the debate stage Tuesday denied telling a former employee to terminate her pregnancy. Catch up quick: Per the Washington Post, a former saleswoman has alleged workplace discrimination against Bloomberg and his company and says Bloomberg told her to "kill it" when he learned she was pregnant. Bloomberg denied the allegation under oath and entered a confidential settlement with the woman. Sen. Elizabeth Warren checked Bloomberg on the allegation Tuesday while discussing his multiple nondisclosure agreements with women. Warren pounded the mayor on the agreements during the last debate and urged him to release women from the NDAs to allow them to speak publicly on the incidents. Bloomberg has since offered to release women from three agreements and said his company will not use NDAs again. "Categorically never said it. When I was accused of doing it, we couldn't figure out what she was talking about. But right now, I'm sorry if she heard what she thought she heard or whatever happened, I didn't take any pleasure in that," Bloomberg stated. Watch: Go deeper: "It was 30 years ago, get over it": Mike Bloomberg's partner brushes off NDA concerns Kirkland Robinson, 75, passed away Thursday, February 20, 2020 in the Veterans Hospital in Atlanta Georgia. He was a graduate of Howard High School, attended Knoxville College and a Veteran in the U.S. Army. He was General Service Administrator for Hamilton County from 1978-1981, the only black to hold that position. A memorial service will be held at 12 noon Saturday, February 29, 2020 at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church, 4801 Hwy. 58, Chattanooga Tennessee. Courtesy announcement by John P. Franklin Funeral Home, 1101 Dodds Avenue, 423-622-9995. Delta, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2020) - Desert Gold Ventures Inc. (TSXV: DAU) (FSE: QXR2) (OTC Pink: DAUGF) ("Desert Gold" or "the Company") announces that, subject to exchange approval, it will conduct a non-brokered private placement of up to 16,666,667 units at a price of CAD $0.15 per unit (the "Unit") to raise up to CAD $2,500,000 (the "Financing"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the equity of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at a price of CAD $0.25 per common share for a period of two (2) years from the closing of the Financing. The proceeds of the Financing will be used primarily for drilling at the Company's flagship Senegal Mali Shear Zone Project (the "SMSZ Project") in Western Mali and for general working capital purposes. The Company may pay a finder's fee to qualified finders in respect to the Financing. Securities issued as a result of the Financing will be subject to a statutory hold period. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Jared Scharf" ___________________________ Jared Scharf President & Director ABOUT DESERT GOLD Desert Gold Ventures Inc. is a gold exploration and development company which holds 2 gold exploration permits in Western Mali (SMSZ Project and Djimbala) and its Rutare gold project in central Rwanda. For further information please visit www.SEDAR.com under the company's profile. Website: www.desertgold.ca CONTACT Jared Scharf, President and Director Email: jared.scharf@desertgold.ca Tel. No.: +1 (858) 247-8195 This news release contains forward-looking statements respecting the Company's ability to successfully complete the Offering. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in such statements, including the inability of the Company to successfully complete the Offering. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, the strength of the capital markets, the price of gold; operational, funding, and liquidity risks; the degree to which mineral resource estimates are reflective of actual mineral resources; and the degree to which factors which would make a mineral deposit commercially viable are present; the risks and hazards associated with mining operations. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com and readers are urged to read these materials. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such statements unless required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the united states securities act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the united states or to the account or benefit of a U.S. person absent an exemption from the registration requirements of such act. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52819 A province in eastern China has been accused of covering up the true scale of its coronavirus outbreak by seriously under-reporting the number of its daily cases. The health crisis in Shandong Province is up to 52 times worse than officials have admitted, a report revealed today. Between February 9 and 23, the daily infection figure in the region greatly exceeded the official data, with the margin ranging from 1.36 to 52 times, the article said. The health crisis in Shandong Province is up to 52 times worse than officials have admitted. The picture shows patients being treated in a temporary hospital in Wuhan, China A Chinese medical worker is pictured checking a patient infected by the novel coronavirus The shocking revelation was made today by The Epoch Times, a US-based Chinese-language newspaper backed by the Falungong movement. The outlet claimed to have obtained internal documents from the Shandong Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). Although the regional government claimed that there were a total of 755 patients in the province as of yesterday, the leaked papers showed that 1,992 people had tested positive by February 23. The picture shows an overview of the temporary hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus A group of Chinese doctors are pictured looking at a lung CT image at a hospital in Hubei And on February 22, a total of 61 patients - instead of the officially stated four - were diagnosed with the deadly disease. While Beijing claims that the number of cases outside Hubei has been decreasing to single digits in the past week, Shandong Province alone confirmed 274 new sufferers on February 20, the article said. MailOnline cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claims. The news comes after a worrying outbreak was detected inside a prison in Shandong. The picture shows a medical worker in protective gears inspecting a CT scan image in Wuhan Chinese medics are pictured working at a makeshift hospital in Wuhan during the outbreak Seven guards and 200 inmates last week tested positive for the virus at Rencheng prison, the provincial health commission confirmed. Xie Weijun, head of Shandong's justice department, was sacked over the outbreak along with seven other prison officials. Wu Lei, director of Shandong's prison administration, said the new cases showed that 'the implementation of our prevention and control measures has not been effective'. State newspaper People's Daily said the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Chinese authority for political and legal affairs, had set up a special team to investigate the outbreak in the prison in Shandong. It also comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing the two governments of censorship and of trying to cover up the severity of the spread of the deadly illness. Pompeo assailed Beijing for expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters and said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel. It also comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured) on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing them of censorship 'Expelling our journalists exposes once again the government's issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences,' Pompeo said of China. 'Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge,' he told reporters at a State Department news conference. Beijing rebuked Pompeo's 'groundless' allegations. Geng Shuang (pictured), a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged Pompeo to abandon his 'cold war mentality' and 'do more things that would fit for his position' Geng Shuang, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged Pompeo to abandon his 'cold war mentality' and 'do more things that would fit for his position'. Originating in Wuhan, the new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 78,000 people inside China. Hubei, situated in central China, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the confirmed cases and 95 per cent of the deaths globally. The new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - has infected more than 78,000 people in China City authorities around China have demanded citizens wear masks while out as a basic measure to prevent coronavirus. The picture shows people travelling on the train in Shanghai Wuhan, the provincial capital with 11 million residents, went into lockdown on January 23 in the wake of the outbreak. The majority part of Hubei then followed suit. Overnight, the Hubei health officials reported 401 new cases out of a nationwide total of 406 and all 52 new deaths from the country. Outbreaks outside of China, however, have escalated in the past few days. Dozens of countries are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected. Globally, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,771 people, infected more than 81,400 and spread to at least two dozen countries. The Kerala crime branch probing the case of missing bullets from the special armed police camp arrested a sub inspector of police on Wednesday. The crime branch said SI Reji Balachandran was arrested for his role in producing fake bullet cases during an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). In its report, the CAG said 25 INSAS rifles and 12,061 cartridges were missing from the armoury of the Special Armed Police (SAP) battalion in Thiruvananthapuram. It also said the police department was aware of the shortage and tried to cover it up by producing fake bullets before the audit. The report embarrassed the state government which handed over the case to the crime branch. During the probe, crime branch said missing rifles were located in Mainpur where state policemen were deployed on special duty. But they said there were serious discrepancies regarding missing bullets and bullet registers were not maintained properly. It also found that empty bullet cases were melted to make emblems and trophies. The opposition Congress said the arrest of the SI was done to shield high-ranking officials. The CAG report, submitted to the assembly, also found that the state police chief diverted 2.81 crore meant for building staff quarters of his sub-ordinates and used it for building villas for himself and additional DGPs. The report also questioned DGP Loknath Behras penchant for spending lavishly on vehicles instead of using these funds for improving the operational capability of the force. The bullet-resistant vehicles meant for operation in Naxal-infested areas were deployed for VIP security, the report had said. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Sen. Bernie Sanders is currently winning the 2020 race for the Democratic presidential nomination for a reason: progressive ideas are popular. But Warren, looking to put a dent in Sanders recent rise to frontrunner status after wins in New Hampshire and Nevada, argues shes the better bet to get things done in the White House. Getting a progressive agenda enacted is going to be really hard, the Massachusetts senator said at Tuesday nights Democratic debate in South Carolina. Bernie and I both want to help rein in wall street. I dug in, I fought the big banks, I built the coalitions and I won. Warren argued Sanders universal health care plan doesnt explain how were going to get there, how were going to get allies into it, and how were going to pay for it. She said that once she released her Medicare for All plan, after heavy critique from the media and opponents for not detailing how to pay for it, Bernies team trashed me for it. Warrens plan relies on her proposed wealth tax on Americas richest citizens, and, she said, doesnt raise taxes on middle class families. We need a president whos going to dig in, do the hard work and get it done, she said. Progressives have one shot. We need to spend it on a leader who will get things done. Sanders, the Democratic socialist of Vermont, came under fire from just about every candidate for a range of issues including not nailing down a price tag for his health care plan. He cited a Yale University study which found that Medicare for All, would lower health care costs in the country by $450 billion. What we need to do is do what every other major country on earth does, Sanders said. Guarantee health care for all people. Not have several thousand health care plans costing us $500 billion to administer. Citing 87 million people who are uninsured or under-insured and 500,000 people sleeping out in the street, Sanders said the current economy isnt working for the American people. Were going to create a government thats going to work for working people. Coronavirus: Italy launches info campaign - Di Maio Many States have promised no restrictions says foreign minister (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 26 - Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday said the cabinet has approved a specific plan to "correctly inform all States abroad about what is really going on in Italy" in connection with the coronavirus emergency. Di Maio said in a Facebook post after a cabinet meeting the previous night that it is the foreign ministry's task to "contain the spread abroad of incorrect or even fake news" published over the last few days. "The more fake news are broadcast and the more Italy endures damages, also on an economic level". "Over the past few hours we have obtained the guarantee from many States that there will be no blocks or restrictions against us", Di Maio also said. The foreign minister said he was also working on "campaigns" to promote "correct information" aimed at taking off a list of Italian destinations to be avoided due to the outbreak "a series of regions and municipalities that have nothing to do with it". Di Maio also spoke about funding to support Italian exports in the post. "I have organized for Tuesday a meeting to discuss Italian exports and Made in Italy" products, the minister said, highlighting that "300 million euros are ready with the Institute for Foreign Trade in favor of our companies and we will discuss together how to react in the best way to deal with this moment". "An additional 350 million will be allocated for the fund on exports of Sace-Simest", the foreign minister also wrote on Facebook. The first 300 million euros for exports had been announced on February 11. (ANSAmed). VATICAN CITY Pope Francis celebrated the Ash Wednesday ritual that marks the opening of the Catholic Churchs Lenten season in traditional fashion while greeting the public in Rome as other Masses were canceled in northern Italy over fears of the coronavirus outbreak. Francis and a long line of priests, bishops and cardinals walked in a procession through Romes Aventine hill into the 5th-century Santa Sabina basilica for a late-afternoon Mass. Neither the priests nor the faithful wore face masks, but Rome has largely been spared the virus as Italys national case count grew to more than 440. Other Catholic countries took Ash Wednesday precautions. In the Philippines Asias only majority Roman Catholic country priests sprinkled ashes on the heads of the faithful rather than making the mark of the cross on their foreheads to avoid physical contact. Wherever the ash is placed, on the forehead or on the head, the feeling is the same, its uplifting, Editha Lorenzo, a 49-year-old mother of two wearing a face mask, told The Associated Press in Manila. At the Vatican, Francis held his general audience as usual in St. Peters Square and offered prayers to people sickened by the virus and the medical personnel treating them. In the crowd of thousands, a handful had masks on their faces. I want to again express my closeness to those suffering from the coronavirus and the health care workers who are treating them, as well as the civil authorities and all those who are working to help patients and stop the contagion, Francis said. Francis kissed at least one child as he looped through the square in his popemobile and made a point of shaking hands with the faithful sitting in the front row. Usually, he only waves. He also greeted prelates with a handshake at the beginning and end of the gathering, but it appeared most clergy were refraining from kissing Francis ring or embracing him, as they normally would do. In his remarks, he urged the faithful to put down their cellphones during Lent and pick up the Bible instead. It is the time to give up useless words, chatter, rumors, gossip, and talk and to speak directly to the Lord, he said. While Francis went ahead with his usual Ash Wednesday plans, the patriarchate of Venice canceled the Mass scheduled for St. Marks Basilica, after a handful of elderly people in the lagoon city tested positive for the virus. The surrounding Veneto region is one of two northern Italian regions where clusters of cases emerged in Italy. The other is Lombardy. In the Philippines, the Rev. Victorino Cueto, rector of the popular National Shrine of our Mother of Perpetual Help in the Manila metropolis, said the practice of sprinkling ash on heads of devotees was a precaution to prevent the spread of infections but actually is an old tradition based on the Old Testament. Its better to be cautious, said churchgoer Evet Accion. On Good Friday, which marks Christs death on the cross, bishops in the Philippines strongly suggested that churchgoers refrain from kissing or touching the cross, a common practice among Catholics. Instead, the faithful are requested to genuflect or make a profound bow as they venerate the cross, said Archbishop Romulo Valles, who heads the bishops conference. Last month, the bishops recommended that Catholics receive the Eucharistic host by the hand instead of the mouth and avoid holding hands in prayer during Masses as precautions amid the viral scare. In the United States, Catholics filled St. Joseph Cathedral for an Ash Wednesday service in San Diego, where two patients with the virus were recently treated at a local hospital after being evacuated from China. Priests maintained the tradition of placing ashes on parishioners foreheads. Some worshipers said they saw little reason for concern, while noting a reluctance among fellow parishioners to shake hands during Mass recently. Some people nod and wave but personally that hasnt stopped me, said Clarissa Falcon, 47, whose parents live in the Philippines. Im used to the physical fellowship. It sort of goes along with the spirit of this having faith. ___ Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writer Julie Watson in San Diego contributed to this report. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said his government will not allow anyone to disturb the state's hard-earned peace. In his concluding remarks during the debate on the motion of thanks on the Governor's address in the budget session here, Singh said he will deal with Pakistan-based terrorists and gangsters seeking to create trouble in the state with an iron hand. "We have not and shall not allow the hard-earned peace of the state to be disturbed in any manner," he said, adding maintaining law and order has always been a priority of his government. Singh said the nefarious designs of elements trying to disturb peace and harmony in the state will be thwarted. He said the government had worked hard to protect every section of the society, including minorities, weaker sections and women, by ensuring all-round peace, without which there could be no investment or industrial development. "Nobody wants to invest in a place where there is no peace," Singh said. Punjab has emerged as the preferred destination for investment as a result of the prevailing peaceful environment, he added. Since 2017, the Punjab Police has neutralized 2,378 gangsters, seized 1,349 firearms, recovered 614 looted vehicles and busted about 32 terrorist modules in the state, the chief minister said. He said the reservation policy, including reservation in promotions, will continue in the state. Allaying apprehensions expressed on this count by some members in the Punjab Assembly, the chief minister said he did not understand why the issue was being raked up again and again by the opposition when he had made it clear that the reservation policy would remain. Singh also said the work on implementing the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission was in progress. The commission's report will be implemented soon, hopefully this year itself, he said. The government is committed to the welfare of its employees who have been working with dedication to make the various policies and programmes a success, Singh said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said 'India was great' and his whirlwind trip to the country was 'very successful'. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives aboard Air Force One after returning from a two-day trip to India, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on Wednesday. Photograph: Al Drago/Reuters Trump was on his maiden official visit to India from February 24 to 25. He was accompanied by First Lady Melania and a high-powered delegation comprising senior US administration officials, including National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. They visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi before leaving for Washington on Tuesday. 'Just landed. India was great, trip very successful,' Trump tweeted soon after he landed in the US after his 36-hour-long India visit. As Trump left for the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night thanked the American President for coming to India and said the visit has been a 'path-breaking one'. 'India-USA friendship benefits the people of our nations and the world,' Modi said in a series of tweets. During the visit, India and the US on Tuesday finalised defence deals worth $3 billion under which 30 military helicopters will be procured from two American defence majors for Indian armed forces. Trump landed in New Delhi on the evening of February 24 after attending the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad and visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. Bernie Sanders calls Netanyahu a "reactionary racist" during a Democratic debate on February 25, 2020, in Charleston, South Carolina: CBS News Bernie Sanders has called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a reactionary racist, while saying he supports Israel during the latest Democratic debate. Mr Sanders, who is one of the frontrunners in the contest, said he was very proud to be Jewish when he was asked about his position on Israel during the debate in Charleston, South Carolina. I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel through Bibi Netanyahu you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country, he added. Mr Sanders said Israels independence and security should be protected, but that you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. He also suggested he would consider reversing president Trumps May 2018 decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The embassy move was met with international criticism for recognising the contested city as Israels undivided capital when Palestinians have long demanded East Jerusalem as their capital of a future independent state. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognised by most countries but endorsed by president Donald Trumps Middle East plan. Israel Katz, Israels foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Mr Sanderss comment on the embassy was horrifying. Speaking to Israels Army Radio, Mr Katz said Mr Sanders had a history of attacking the identity and national security of Israel. He added: Naturally, people who support Israel will not support someone who goes against these things. His comments come a few days after he raised his concerns about AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobby group, tweeting on Sunday that it provides a platform for leaders who express bigotry. He added that he would not be attending this years AIPAC conference as a result. Mr Sanders is not alone in claiming that Mr Netanyahu is racist. Beto ORourke, who was then a Democratic presidential candidate, described Mr Netanyahu as a racist in April last year, saying he was an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Story continues Shortly before the Israeli election in September 2019, Mr Netanyahus Facebook page was sanctioned for hate speech after one of its post warned against a government composed of Arabs who want to destroy us all women, children and men. As a result, the pages automatic chat function was disabled for 24 hours. Although he denied writing the post, Mr Netanyahu went on to call the Joint List, an alliance of Arab political parties, a terrorist-supporting fifth column in November. The Joint List became the third-largest faction in the Knesset, Israels parliament, after the 2015 elections. His government also introduced the nation-state law in 2018, which controversially states that the right to exercise national self-determination in Israel is unique to the Jewish people, and demoted Arabic as an official language. Critics denounced the law as racist. On the day of the election in 2015, Netanyahu also warned that the Arabs are voting in droves, for which he later apologised. Read more YouTuber Kian Lawley says racism scandal made him a better human Rudiger says racism has won after Spurs fans boo Chelsea defender Majority of ethnic minority MPs experienced racism at Westminster FILM IN LIMERICK, the organisation promoting and developing filmmaking in the Mid-West are in Berlin this week at the The Berlin International Film Festival with a delegation of local Mid-West producers. The four producers, Gemma OShaughnessy, Zeb Moore, Ronan Cassidy and Pete Moles, along with the Regional Film Manager Paul C. Ryan are taking part in the European Film Market, which runs parallel to the main film festival and is its business centre. The initiative by Innovate Limerick in partnership with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board have arranged the training initiative to allow the local producers to experience a working film market and to attend structured training and networking events. BERLIN DIARY As the festival kicks off, the delegation arrives on a cold and frosty February evening to witness a shiny Postdamer Platz - the heart of the festival - where the red carpets of the Berlianle Palast await the stars of the opening film to arrive. My Salinger Year, an Canada/Irish co-production starting Sigourney Weaver and Irish actor Seana Kerslake opened a programme of more than 400 films screening over 10 days. As the delegation starts to get their bearings, they take in a tour of the main venues and got to grips with their schedule for the trip. SATURDAY An early start on Saturday and time for the producers to time get to work at the European Film Market. The producers visit the exhibitors at the Gropius Bau building including meeting the Screen Ireland representatives and hearing from industry experts at the producers programme hub. Later its time to get together with the wider Irish at Berlin group with over 100 Irish filmmakers and industry staff attending the festival. SUNDAY Sunday, and after a busy day of meetings at the market, the producers represent the Mid-West at the annual Irish reception at Berlinale taking place this year at Soho House in the city. Desiree Finnegan, the new CEO of Screen Ireland addresses the audience at the event who are a mix of Irish and international produces as well as filmmakers interested in making films in Ireland. Then the producers make a quick trip afterwards to the Baltic Reception, meeting Estonia, Latvian and Lithuanian producers to end a long and productive day. MONDAY An early networking breakfast event on Monday sees the producers mix with participants from the Screen Skills Advanced Creative Producing Programme and representatives from Market Traders - a film business development programme run by Creative England. A group scooter ride across town afterwards and more talks and events for the team are followed by a private roundtable discussion with renowned Irish producer John McDonnell, whose latest film Vivarium starring Imogen Poots and Jessie Eisenberg opens the Dublin Film Festival this week. TUESDAY The final day of the market for producers on what has been a real eye-opening experience and a great opportunity to network with other Irish and international producers and to also hear from industry experts. The delegation returns to Limerick with new knowledge and experience of a working film market inspired to take their own projects to the next level. The Berlin Diary is brought to you in association with the Limerick Leader and Film in Limerick. [Read more on Brazils Coronavirus cases and deaths.] RIO DE JANEIRO A 61-year-old Sao Paulo man who returned recently from a business trip to Italy has tested positive for the coronavirus, Brazilian health officials said on Wednesday, confirming the first known case in Latin America and sending a shudder through the entire region. Officials were scrambling on Wednesday to track down the other passengers on the flight the man took to Brazil and to find others who had contact with him in recent days. The infection news broke in the midst of Brazils Carnival celebrations, popular with foreign visitors. The first confirmed case also compounded concerns about the potential economic toll on Latin America from the coronavirus, which has since spread to more than two dozen countries around the world. Stock prices plunged in Brazil and Mexico on Wednesday amid growing signs that emergency measures aimed at containing the spread could jam supply chains and impede freedom of movement for a lengthy period. Everything is pointing to this epidemic being longer than we had anticipated, said Welber Barral, a commerce expert in Brazil. Global supply chains are integrated. The remains of a teenaged safari worker were found Wednesday in the lion enclosure at an animal park in the Pakistani city of Lahore, an official said. The boy, Muhammad Bilal, aged 17 or 18, had gone missing two days earlier, said Chaudhry Shafqat, deputy director of the Lahore Safari Park. "We found his clothes in the lion enclosure and then later came across the skull and bones when workers went to feed the animals," Shafqat told AFP. Shafqat added that it was unclear how Bilal ended up in the lion enclosure, noting that a criminal investigation was underway. "There is a safety fence in place, but that is to keep the animals in their enclosures," he said. "People come in vehicles all the time and we haven't had such an incident before." Bilal had done odd jobs around the park, Shafqat said, and his parents had come to the facility to raise the alarm after he went missing Monday. A local police official, Saqlain Shah, said investigators were reviewing camera footage given to them by the park administrators to find out exactly what happened to him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry with Michelle ONeill and Conor Murphy on their Government for Change public meeting tour It was standing room only in the Miller Suite of Newry's Canal Court Hotel on Wednesday night as Sinn Fein's post-election public meetings moved north of the border. Despite some expectation that the party's "appetite for change" message might be lost on some of those living in a different jurisdiction, the opposite was the case. Around 600 seats had been laid out for the event aimed at drumming up support for Sinn Fein to be in government in Dublin after its best general election in the Republic saw it take more seats than Fine Gael and one less than Fianna Fail. The room filled up quickly, with many more people standing around the edges of the conference room. The diverse crowd, some of whom had travelled from as far away as Donegal, was not dominated by young voters, as at previous gatherings in Cork and Dublin over recent days. Alongside selling its "time for change" message, the party was in recruitment mode with flyers on every chair. Newry and Armagh MLA Liz Kimmins kicked off the event, telling attendees that "people had rejected the status quo and want to see their future in a new and better Ireland of equals for all". Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald received a standing ovation as she told those gathered that "venturing to a place as exotic as Newry would be a step beyond" the Fine Gael and Fianna Fail leaders. Expand Close The audience Stephen Hamilton / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The audience She told the crowd: "All is changed and changed utterly. "Just as the unionist majority here in the north is gone so too the duopoly of the so-called 'big two' is no more. "This was a very conscious decision on the part of the electorate. This wasn't a protest vote. "The people have voted for something new. They have voted for change. People are now looking to us to deliver and lead." There were plenty more jibes at Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin during her speech. "They don't want change. They have had it all their own way for 100 years and now faced with the realities, they are trying everything they can to keep Sinn Fein and the people that we represent out of government." Ms McDonald said her party's role in the power-sharing Stormont Executive, re-established six weeks ago after three years of deadlock, shows what "Sinn Fein can do in government". She was accompanied on stage by Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Finance Minister Conor Murphy. Much of the event was devoted to an extensive question and answer session, where Sinn Fein's team fielded queries on issues including relations within the Stormont Executive, Brexit, Irish unity, finance, housing and health. When asked about the prospect of being Taoiseach, the party leader told the crowd Sinn Fein was still in talks with other smaller parties and Independent TDs to "bring about a government of change". While not ruling out the prospect of another election, she said the best outcome was a government without Fine Gael or Fianna Fail and a return to the status quo "would be disappointing and likely to anger the electorate". In answer to a question on British identity, deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said: "This is the time to talk about Irish unity and talk to those who need to be convinced. Let's convince them that they have nothing to fear." A quip directed at Mr Murphy and Ms O'Neill on how relations were going with the DUP leader Arlene Foster in the newly restored Executive prompted the response "so far, so good". Mr Murphy said lessons could be learned in the Republic from his party's work alongside the four other main Northern Ireland parties in terms of forming a government. Mr Murphy has been embroiled in controversy after he repeatedly refused to state publicly that IRA murder victim, south Armagh man Paul Quinn, was not a criminal. He has been under pressure to make the public statement after retracting a claim he made 13 years ago that Mr Quinn had been involved in criminality. One supporter told Mr Murphy: "In relation to what you said a few years ago, you have absolutely nothing to apologise for." Mr Quinn's mother Breege has repeatedly called for the party's MLA to say publicly that her son was not a criminal, saying the slur on his name has compounded her family's grief. Mr Murphy did not respond to the comment from the audience member, something that generated a round of applause. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that community spread of the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is expected in the United States, warning that disruption to everyday life may be severe. During a telebriefing, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the global novel coronavirus is rapidly evolving and expanding." Messonnier said community spread, which indicates that cases of the coronavirus are appearing without a known source of exposure, has been seen within multiple countries, including Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, in addition to mainland China where the virus has killed more than 2,500 people. The CDC said the number of cases in the United States has jumped to 57, which includes three people repatriated from China and 40 cases from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. Despite the relatively low count of total United States-based cases, Messonnier said community spread in the country is inevitable. Its not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen, Messonnier said. While China appears to have had success containing the rate of new infections of the virus recently, the outbreak of cases in other countries has become a major cause of concern for the United States. As more and more countries experienced community spread, successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder, Messonnier said. At this time there is no vaccine to protect against this new virus and no medicine approved to treat it, according to the CDC; however, the Associated Press reported the first clinical trial in the U.S. of a possible coronavirus treatment is underway in Nebraska and is eventually expected to include 400 patients at 50 locations around the world. As community spread increases in countries around the world, the CDC said the coronavirus moves towards being considered a global pandemic, and while health officials said the United States has been implementing an aggressive containment strategy, further measures may be required. In the event of further outbreak in the United States, Messonnier said communities should plan to utilize social distancing measures, like dividing school classes into smaller groups of students, utilizing tele-schooling, closing schools entirely, canceling meetings and conferences and arranging for employees to work from home. Messonnier said Americans should ask their schools about plans for dismissal, and should ascertain whether online classes are being considered in the event the virus spread becomes more serious. Additionally, the CDC said proactive measures, like staying home when youre sick or regularly cleaning surfaces, should be implemented on an individual level. I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming, Messonnier said, but these are things people need to start thinking about now. Some health officials paint a bleak picture of the ability of the United States to limit the effect of the coronavirus. We cannot hermetically seal off the United States to a virus, Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and humans services, reportedly told a Senate panel on Tuesday. And we need to be realistic about that. President Donald Trump reportedly struck a different chord than health officials when he said on Tuesday that the United States was in very good shape in regard to preparing for the coronavirus, and the New York Times reported that the White House requested $1.25 billion in funds to fight the spread of the virus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the request on Twitter long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency. Americans need a coordinated, fully-funded, whole-of-government response to keep them and their loved ones safe. The Presidents request for coronavirus response funding is long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency. Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) February 25, 2020 Globally, there have been more than 80,000 confirmed cases, with more than 900 new cases reported within the last 24 hours, according to the WHO. Currently, there are no confirmed or pending cases of the coronavirus in New York, according to the Health Department. However, Staten Island physicians previously told the Advance that they are on heightened alert for the virus. We are on very, very high alert for coronavirus now, said Dr. Harry Kopolovich, chairman of the emergency department at Richmond University Medical Center. "Our local health services are fully aware and prepared to deal with a pandemic if one does in effect occur. The symptoms of the virus cough, fever and shortness of breath mimic those of other respiratory conditions, including colds and the flu, according to the CDC, and they can range from being barely visible to causing severe respiratory distress and even death. The CDC acknowledged that the test kits it began distributing to state authorities earlier this month have had issues, but said on Tuesday that the issues were actively being addressed. The agency previously said in a statement that performance issues were identified related to a problem in the manufacturing of one of the reagents which led to laboratories not being able to verify the test performance." Testing to determine whether an illness is a confirmed case of coronavirus will take a minimum of 36 to 48 hours and depends on CDC testing capacity. Authorities have cautioned that cases under investigation should not be presumed as likely to be confirmed. Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has signed an agreement with Tribe Accelerator, the first Singapore government supported Blockchain accelerator, to collaborate on knowledge sharing and to partner during joint events. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) follows DIFC Authority and DIFC FinTech Hives recent participation during the Singapore FinTech Festival, the largest financial technology event in the world, boosting DIFCs profile within the region and generating ongoing business development opportunities. DIFC and Tribe Accelerator also partnered on the first Dubai edition of the Tribe Demo Day in December 2019 which showcased nine growth-stage companies with compelling use cases utilising blockchain technology, ranging from Series A - Post-IPO across verticals such as Media & Advertising, Data, FinTech, Healthcare, Supply Chain and Trade Finance, ranging from Series A and beyond. DIFCs dynamic FinTech ecosystem has more than 100 FinTech companies in the Centre, reflecting a three-fold growth in registered FinTech firms since the end of 2018, intimating a sharp rise in 2019 as leading international and regional FinTech companies choose the DIFC as their preferred jurisdiction from which to scale their business in the region. Long-term strategies are in place to attract and retain key players and investors to the financial services sector and the DIFCs thriving FinTech community benefits from the strong relationships the Centre has built with key international accelerators through ongoing delegations, strategic agreements and mutually beneficial partnerships with key global financial centres. Arif Amiri, chief executive officer, DIFC Authority, said: As the leading FinTech hub in the MEASA region, we have been laying a robust foundation for the future of finance for the past 15 years, focusing on developing a pioneering and enabling FinTech ecosystem. Much of our focus has been developing MOUs with organisations and partners who share our vision for accelerating financial innovation. Dubai is the gateway to the MEASA region for aspiring FinTech firms, innovators and entrepreneurs seeking to expand in the region. Our MOU with Tribe Accelerator reinforces the robust and collaborative business relationship between Dubai and Singapore based firms, as well as DIFCs strategic goal to drive the future of finance through an enabling business environment. Singapore FinTechs are proven pioneers within financial technology and dedicated to driving growth through strategic partnerships with like-minded institutions and entities to highlight the wealth of opportunities for FinTech organisations in the MEASA, he added. TradeArabia News Service PORTLAND, Ore. The Oregon Health Authority announced Monday they will begin posting about COVID-19 cases being monitored. OHA said that starting on March 3 they will post weekly updates on their website of cases that are being monitored and investigated. Lillian Shirley, the director of the OHA Public Health Division, said there are still no cases of COVID-19 in Oregon and because of that, the risk to the public remains low. Oregon is joining California and Washington in giving the public updates on cases. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:40:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic Wednesday in Beijing. Wang said that China and Serbia are like-minded brothers who stick with each other through thick and thin, good partners in jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative and good friends in advancing China-Europe cooperation. He called on both sides to uphold the open and inclusive multilateralism, oppose any kind of bullying, and work together with the international society to build a community of shared future for mankind. Noting that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has been operating at a high level, Dacic said the novel coronavirus epidemic has not affected bilateral pragmatic cooperation in all fields. The Serbian side openly and firmly supports the one-China principle, as well as China's core interests and major concerns on Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong issues, he said. Last week, Californias Democratic governor Gavin Newsom delivered his yearly state of the state address. The address was unique in that the governor focused almost the entirety of his remarks on one issue, the states growing homeless crisis. Newsom proclaimed, Lets call it what it is, a disgrace, that the richest state in the richest nationsucceeding across so many sectorsis failing to properly house, heal, and humanely treat so many of its people. Every day, the California dream is dimmed by the wrenching reality of families, children and seniors living unfed on a concrete bed. California Governor Gavin Newsom (AP Photo Rich Pedroncelli, File) The governors remarks made clear however that the homelessness crisis will not be tackled through building affordable housing, or providing mental health services, drug addiction treatment and food assistance, but by providing real estate speculators with a more deregulated construction market to reap immense profits off the crisis. Moreover, an even more ominous aspect of the homelessness plans is a joint initiative by the Newsom and Trump administrations to repurpose government buildings never meant for human habitation into massive homeless shelters. In his address, Newsom mentioned 286 such state properties including National Guard armories which could be used for homeless solutions. California, the largest state in the US, also has the largest number of homeless people. The latest count by the Department of Housing and Urban Development listed 151,000 homeless throughout the state in 2019, a 16 percent increase over the prior year. The number of unsheltered homeless in California, defined as those who regularly slept in exposed outdoor conditions or in abandoned buildings increased by 21 percent during the same period. Nationwide, people with chronic patterns of homelessness, those who are regularly homeless over extended periods of time, increased by 9 percent over the previous year. Homelessness has in fact quickly become the social issue Californians are most concerned about, according to recent polls. Twenty percent of Californians listed homelessness as their top issue, whereas only 6 percent said the same in 2018. The homeless crisis has also spread from concentrated urban areas to the suburbs and even rural parts of the state. Nearly half of respondents to a poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California said they regularly saw tents and encampments erected by the homeless on the streets and in the neighborhoods where they lived. The immense increase in the homeless population and poverty takes place alongside an enormous rise in the fortunes of the states super-rich. California has more billionaires, 163, than any other state. Only two countries, the US and China, have more billionaires than California, while the wealth of these 163 individuals, who could all comfortably fit on an average commercial airline flight, exceeds the Gross Domestic Project of all but 24 countries in the world. The Democratic governor began his political career under the tutelage of this social layer and has unfailingly represented its interests. In his youth, Newsom cultivated particularly close ties to the Getty family, heirs to the Getty oil fortune. His first prominent political act as member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the early 2000s was the Care not Cash initiative. It put him [Newsom] on the map politically, Richard DeLeon, professor of political science at San Francisco State University told KQED. It certainly put a spotlight on him. That initiative went to the ballot box in 2002 when the homeless population in San Francisco had reached peak levels. At the time, there were more than 8,640 homeless residents on a given night in the city. The housing crisis was immediately the result of the dot-com boom, which saw average city rents rise to around $3,500 per month in todays dollars. Regardless of the booms effect on skyrocketing housing costs, it in fact only served to intensify a decades-long assault on affordable housing at both the state and federal levels. To cite only a few figures, between 1978 and 1989 the Federal housing budget shrunk from 7 percent of the total national budget to only 0.7 percent. During the same period, poverty rates across the state doubled as result of the decimation of the manufacturing industry all along the West Coast. By 1986, only 16 percent of housing units in Los Angeles County were considered affordable. Newsoms initiative in the early 2000s involved a public relations campaign including television advertisements portraying the homeless problem as the result of outside vagrants coming to the city for free money. The initiative reduced the monetary aid homeless residents received each month from a maximum of $410 to just $59. In exchange, a portion of program enrollees received a bed at a shelter or a room in a single occupancy hotel. While the homelessness rate in San Francisco is currently only slightly smaller than 2002 levels, the city has saved millions on spending thanks to Newsoms efforts. Last October, now Governor Newsom vetoed a bill brought to him by the State Senate which over five years would have transferred $2 billion in funds meant for public education to provide affordable housing. As has since become clear, however, Newsom vetoed the bill not out of concern for education funding, but instead to clear the way for a partnership with the Trump administration in criminalizing the homeless. After Trump arrogantly declared in December that California must call and politely ask for help on homelessness, Newsom did exactly that. In a January letter, the governor wrote, We welcome the Administrations recent attention and focus on the national crisis of homelessness. I hope we can jointly develop a federal-state-local strategy to utilize the assets you have put on the table, in partnership with city and county governments throughout the state. At an event held on February 13 at the University of Southern California, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson made clear that the state should work to encourage the growth of housing by reducing, if not outright eliminating, zoning and density restrictions for new construction. The secretarys suggestions have now fully been adopted by the governor in his state of the state address. Newsom said, as we continue with these emergency [housing actions], we must eliminate roadblocks to housing and shelter. Last year, because of your leadership, I was proud to sign two important bills. One streamlined the permitting process for navigation centers statewide. The second exempted all shelters and homeless housing from environmental review in Los Angeles. This year, lets expand that law and extend it to all homeless shelters and supportive housing statewide. Trump himself visited a vacant federal office building near Los Angeles International Airport, the local Federal Aviation Administration building, last September. While the administration has kept the reasons for the visit secretthe real estate company in escrow for the building told the Los Angeles Times it too had not been given either advance notice, nor a reason for the eventit was widely interpreted to be part of the presidents plans for rounding up the states homeless population. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, cynically tried to dismiss the presidents visit as nothing more than a hollow attempt at provocation. The playbook out of this White House has been to try to sow fear even when they get nothing done, whether its with immigrants, now maybe with homeless individuals. The president, in fact, has gotten much more than nothing done when it comes to immigrants. In addition to unleashing fascistic border patrol and ICE agents to terrorize immigrant workers in cities and towns across the US, the administration has set up a network of modern day concentration camps, making the US home to the largest immigrant detention system in the world. More than 50,000 are detained in these centers every night subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Similar conditions are now being prepared for the nations homeless. The housing of the homeless in government buildings in conditions more like prisons than homes, can only take place as the result of a massive police crackdown on existing encampments, many of which are already underway. This dangerous state of affairs has been made possible through the full complicity of the Democratic Party with the Trump administrations anti-homeless and anti-immigrant agenda. The legal risks of defaming someone via text message have been laid bare in a WA Supreme Court ruling which saw a former newspaper editor awarded $8000 after being called a "f---head" by a former friend. In a decision based on four text messages sent almost three years ago, one-time editor of The West Australian, Paul Armstrong, had his complaint upheld following a trial. The risks of sending defamatory text messages have been laid bare in the WA Supreme Court. Credit:Glenn Hunt The defamatory messages were sent during what was at the time a heated family dispute, with the sender of the texts Gregory McIntosh the former brother-in-law of Mr Armstrong. And while the text messages were only ever viewed by one other person, with the presiding judge finding there had been minimal damage done to Mr Armstrongs reputation, they were serious enough to have given rise to distress, anxiety and a sense of outrage in the victim. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 17:34:22|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen speaks during the inauguration ceremony of National Road 58 in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia, Feb. 26, 2020. Cambodia on Wednesday inaugurated the China-funded National Road 58, which is a crucial road for economic and tourism development in Western provinces. (Photo by Li Lay/Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Wednesday inaugurated the China-funded National Road 58, which is a crucial road for economic and tourism development in Western provinces. The 174-km road stretches along the Cambodia-Thailand border, connecting Poipet city in Banteay Meanchey province to Samraong city in Oddar Meanchey province. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presided over the inauguration ceremony, which was held in Banteay Meanchey province. Some 12,000 people, who are government officials, local authorities, residents and students, took part in the event. The road was built by the Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd in a period of 43 months, and funded by the Chinese government with concessional loan. "The road has not only helped connect Cambodia internally, but also linked our neighboring provinces with Thailand," Hun Sen said. "It plays a very important role in further promoting trade and tourism between Cambodia and Thailand." The prime minister extended his profound gratitude to China for having provided a great amount of concessional loan and aid to Cambodia for transport infrastructure development, saying that to date, China has built more than 3,000 km of roads and eight river bridges in Cambodia. "The inauguration of this road is a new testament to the excellent relationship and cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said. Ambassador Wang was confident that the road would help boost local economy and reduce poverty in the Western part of Cambodia. "I believe that the National Road 58 will play an important role in helping develop the economy in the Western region of Cambodia, and in bringing hope for the people in the region," he said. Wang said China is committed to working hand-in-hand with Cambodia towards building a China-Cambodia community of shared future. Sarah Boone, 46, of Winter Park, Florida, has been charged with second degree murder after allegedly zipping her boyfriend Jorge Torres in a suitcase and leaving him to die: Orange County Jail A woman allegedly zipped her boyfriend inside a suitcase and left him to die while taunting him on video. Sarah Boone, from Winter Park, Florida, told detectives she had been playing a game of hide-and-seek with her boyfriend Jorge Torres at her home on Monday night. The 42-year-old said they had been drinking alcohol and discussed how it would be funny if he got inside a suitcase, according to WKMG-TV. She told police she zipped Mr Torres, also 42, inside the piece of luggage but then passed out in her bed, the news station reported, citing court documents. Ms Boone claimed she woke up hours later and, realising her boyfriend was still inside the suitcase, called emergency services. Police said Mr Torres had a small cut on his lip and bruising around his eye, according to WKMG. They found two videos on Ms Boones phone which allegedly show Mr Torres shouting that he cannot breathe while Ms Boone laughs. Sarah Boone has been charged with second degree murder (Orange County Sheriff's Office) Ms Boone allegedly said: Yeah thats what you do when you choke me, according to court record cited by WKMG. Thats on you. Oh, thats what I feel like when you cheat on me, she reportedly told Mr Torres as he continued to tell her could not breathe. One video reportedly shows Mr Torres pushing on the suitcase in an attempt to escape while it is facing downwards, and another shows the luggage in a different position as he calls out for Ms Boone. Orange County Sheriffs Office shared a video of her arrest on Twitter, adding: Arrested: Sarah Boone, 42, for second degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr., who died after Boone zipped him into a suitcase, and didnt return for hours. Ms Boone was charged with second degree murder after investigators allegedly found inconsistencies in her statements as well as the videos. She is currently being held in Orange County Jail. Read more Shocking video shows 6-year-old girl arrested for tantrum Man accused of dropping toddler from ship window 'to plead guilty' Man tries to blow up vehicle outside Pentagon Teacher who allegedly washed out student's mouth suspended U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "we should seize the moment," when it comes to setting the groundwork for Afghanistan peace talks. Back in Washington after visiting Africa, Pompeo told reporters that the truce in fighting was holding. "This is the first weeklong break and violence by all sides," he said. The temporary truce between the United States and the Taliban took effect on Friday, setting the stage for the two sides to sign a peace deal next week aimed at ending 18 years of war in Afghanistan and bringing U.S. troops home. If successfully implemented, the weeklong "reduction in violence" agreement, which came into force at midnight Friday local time (1930 GMT, 2:30 p.m. EST), will be followed by the signing of the peace accord on Feb. 29, wrapping up America's longest-running conflict and fulfilling one of President Donald Trump's main campaign promises. Pompeo reiterated that a political solution was needed for Syria, as "the Assad regime's brutal new aggression there, cynically backed by Moscow and Tehran, imperils now more than 3 million displaced persons." He repeated warnings to Russia over election interference in the United States: "The Trump administration will always work to protect the integrity of our elections. Period. Full stop. Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response." Pompeo also offered condolences to the family of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A Portlaoise man has been refused bail charged with breaking into an elderly man's house and slashing him across the face, in an incident which has left the injured party now living in a retirement home. At last week's sitting of Portlaoise District Court, PJ OShea (27), 20 OMoore Place, Portlaoise, was charged with aggravated burglary, and assault causing harm, at St Brigids Place, Portlaoise, on March 16, 2019. Detective Garda JP OBrien gave evidence that when charged, the accused replied: I didnt do it. He said there was a garda objection to bail. Det OBrien said that on March 16 last, two males broke into the home of an elderly man at St Brigids Place. The 85-year-old man lived on his own and his only social outlet was going to the shops for cat food. The two men smashed the rear window of the house and confronted the man in his bed, making demands for money. When the man fought back he was slashed to the right side of his face before the two assailants fled the house. The man got to the door and raised the alarm, before he collapsed due to the loss of blood. Det OBrien gave evidence that when he arrived at the scene he saw the blood from the deep cut the man had suffered. He said there was a lot of blood in the bedroom. The scene fo crime unit was called and a fingerprint was obtained. Det OBrien said the injured party was now in a retirement home, where he will stay until the end of his life. Defence, Mr Philip Meagher said the accused had made no admissions to the charges. He said if granted bail the accused would abide by a curfew and sign on daily at the garda station, but Det OBrien said this would not satisfy the State. Judge Catherine Staines said this was an extremely serious offence and refused bail, with the matter adjourned to February 27 for a book of evidence. INTERNATIONAL An article on Tuesday about the spread of the coronavirus in Iran misstated the first name of a health ministry adviser who disputed claims of a high number of virus-related deaths in Qom. He is Iraj Harirchi, not Ahmad Harirchi. NEW YORK An article on Tuesday about the possibility that the Trump administration will block congestion pricing in New York misstated the amount the Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent on a contract related to the implementation of congestion pricing. The contract was for $507 million, not $570 million. BUSINESS An article on Tuesday about the debut of The Markup, a website devoted to reporting on technology, misstated the position previously held by The Markups new president, Nabiha Syed. Ms. Syed was BuzzFeeds associate general counsel, not general counsel. SCIENCE TIMES A summary with an article on Tuesday about the rediscovery of an insect in Wales misstated its species. The stonefly is in the order Plecoptera, not Diptera, and is therefore not a species of fly. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids will not delay the acceptance of recreational marijuana business applications and wont freeze the ongoing medical marijuana application process. The 4-2 decision Tuesday evening, Feb. 25, by Grand Rapids city commissioners is a reversal of a vote they made at a committee meeting just 12 hours earlier to put a six-month moratorium on those applications. City commissioners, however, failed to reach a consensus on what next steps to take on the proposed marijuana rules before them. The rules would allow recreational marijuana businesses in the city and tweak some existing medical marijuana regulations. Read more: Grand Rapids delays recreational marijuana, suspends medical applications It was not immediately clear whats next for those proposed rules, which were unanimously approved by the planning commission and need to be in place for the city to begin accepting recreational marijuana applications on the target date of April 20. The moratorium, proposed by Third Ward City Commissioner Senita Lenear, would have frozen the 14 medical marijuana facility applications currently awaiting planning commission approval. It would not change the status of the 24 medical marijuana facilities already approved. If you are reading this in your Facebook app, use this link to view the entire gallery of photos. Lenear argued the citys medical marijuana ordinance has not had the desired outcome of allowing local representation into the industry. She wanted a pause to restructure the existing medical marijuana ordinance and the proposed recreational and medical changes so they bring equitable outcomes for people who live within the city and more local presence. Of the citys 24 accepted medical marijuana applications, fewer than five have majority local ownership. Several have some percentage of local ownership, according to the city. There are (14) applications. How many of them will accomplish the equitable goal? Lenear asked her colleagues. We cant use words and keep using buzzwords and think its cute when its convenient. This is one of those moments where we have to vote what we keep saying and stand for something. The moratorium measure passed the commission during a Tuesday morning committee meeting by a 5-2 vote, with only Commissioners Kurt Reppart and Jon OConnor opposed. It then went to the commissioners at the night meeting for a final vote. Commissioners Nathaniel Moody and Joseph Jones reversed their earlier votes for the moratorium, saying they would support a moratorium but only if the 14 business applications were processed. There was some concern that not processing those applications would lead to a lawsuit. A vote on the moratorium with Moody and Jones stipulations failed, as did a vote to set a public hearing on the proposed marijuana rules. Besides Lenear, Commissioner Milinda Ysasi was the only other to vote again for the moratorium. Mayor Rosalynn Bliss was not in attendance at the Tuesday night meeting. OConnor had strong words for Lenear, saying that without holding a hearing on the proposed rules, the commission was only listening to the voices of residents who showed up to voice their concerns without notification. Those residents were largely pastors and members of the faith community from Grand Rapids Southeast Side who were opposed to the proposed allowance of marijuana businesses within 1,000 feet of churches. I find it a bit disingenuous, I find it quite disingenuous as a matter of fact, that were not allowing at least a public hearing to happen to understand the consequences both for and against recreational cannabis in our community, he said. And so the idea that were just going to put a moratorium in place without actually giving an opportunity for people to come here and address us with notice is reprehensible. Before Lenears proposal of a moratorium, the city commission was set Tuesday to establish a public hearing next month for the proposed marijuana rules. Lenear argued that residents were heard and opposed the proposed rules during the public hearing that the planning commission held before they unanimously approved the proposed rules Feb. 13 and sent them to city commission. The majority of people who spoke during public comment Tuesday evening were pastors and churchgoers opposed to the proposed rules and in favor of a moratorium. There were also some opposed to marijuana use in general. Read more: Pastors urge Grand Rapids city leaders to continue waivers for marijuana shops near churches Some others, like Marcel Price, supported a moratorium for the reworking of the citys marijuana ordinance with the hope that doing so would result in more benefits and accountability to the neighborhoods the shops are located in. If were given the power from the city, or the ability from the city, to create a framework to hold these businesses accountable so theyre not coming in making empty promises, we could do some radical things that impact our neighborhoods for way longer than any of us are going to be there, Price said. So I hope you give us the ability to do so, because Im somebody who is very pro cannabis but Im also somebody who cares way more about black than I do green. Grand Rapids adopted its medical marijuana ordinance in July 2018. It set the order to accept its first applications in April 2019 and the citys first medical marijuana shop opened its doors on Feb. 7, 2020. Of the 24 medical marijuana applications approved, only one facility has opened so far. Two employees of that business, Fluresh Provisioning Center, spoke out Tuesday against the moratorium, saying it would hurt their business and local employment. Jacob Fein of Fluresh said the company had planned to invest $30 million by 2021 in their provisioning center and headquarters at the 1213 Phillips Ave. location. That location would also serve as a future growing operation. He said investments might have to go to their Adrian growing location if the moratorium was passed. We expect that our Grand Rapids cultivation facility would employ over 100 people and planned on accepting resumes shortly, Fein said. At this point, our head count number will be far less than planned if were restricted to medical only licenses." Denavvia Mojet, corporate impact strategist with Fluresh, said the city has known for a while that social equity has been an issue. The city of Grand Rapids knew we needed equity we didnt just realize we had a problem today," Mojet said. "Im just super frustrated because we know that equity is important and the city staff dragged their feet on it, and now we have an entire industry of people who are questioning whether or not Grand Rapids is the market for them, because were stalling on their ability to make a profit and thats not what we wanted. Read more: Its about time: Patients can get medical marijuana from facility in Grand Rapids First medical marijuana shop opens its doors in Grand Rapids Weve been waiting our whole lives for this:' Recreational pot shop opens in West Michigan A jury has convicted a man of fatally shooting a woman who was teaching her son to drive. The trial for Matthew Wilks, 35, of Whitefish Bay, began Monday in Milwaukee. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a gun by a convicted felon. The verdict was read in court Tuesday after about two hours of jury deliberations. Wilks fatally shot Tracey Smith, 46, Aug. 30 in front of her 17-year-old son. The homicide was the result of a road rage confrontation. Police said Wilks cut Smith and her son off to make a left turn from the wrong lane, causing a minor collision. When Smith got out of her car to check the damage, she became upset and began yelling at Wilks. Smith's son testified that he heard Wilks threaten, "(Expletive), I'll kill you." Wilks then pointed a gun at Smith and fired one shot. Smiths son testified Monday she collapsed in front of him, saying, "He shot me." Several other drivers stopped to help Smith. They put her back into her car and Smith's son drove her to the hospital, where she died. Wilks attorney Monday claimed Wilks was afraid Smith had a gun in her purse and was going to pull it out. Her son and three other witnesses testified Monday she didnt have a purse with her at the time of the confrontation. Wilks fled the scene and was arrested at his home the next day. He was identified from surveillance video, which was played in court Tuesday. "It appeared that the van's driver door was ajar until it goes off camera," a detective testified. Wilks claimed he acted in self-defense. "Wilks didn't know what was in that big brown purse. He knew it was big enough to hold a gun and he could not risk finding out," his attorney told jurors. Wilks decided not to testify in his own defense. His attorney did not call any witnesses. During deliberations, the jury asked to hear the 911 call a second time. Sentencing was scheduled for May 8. Smith worked as a sergeant with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Wilks also faces a separate drug possession case. Police believe he had a large amount of drugs in his vehicle at the time of the traffic collision. Wilks faces three felony drugs counts in that case. Ryanair has kicked off an influx of 'I didn't know it was a party' memes mocking Boris Johnson after he was forced to apologise for hosting a 'party' in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. The popular low-cost carrier posted an image of the Prime Minister's face edited onto a popular meme showing dancing party-goers with the caption 'Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020' and 'I don't know I'm at a party' next to Mr Johnson's face. Mr Johnson today finally admitted he went to a 'party' in the Downing Street garden at the height of lockdown - but argued he thought it was a 'work event' and 'technically' within the rules. At a stormy PMQs, Mr Johnson said he wanted to 'thank' staff at the event in May 2020 but recognised that in 'hindsight' it should not have happened. He said he understood public 'fury' and 'took responsibility', but said he had believed it was a work event. 'I bitterly regret it. I wish we could have done things differently,' he said. Social media erupted into a hive of memes mocking Mr Johnson, with one showing Ant and Dec in a fit of giggles - alluding to the television presenter's previous jibes at the Government. An Italian multinational company has cancelled its annual convention, which was due to take place in Calvia in March, because of the coronavirus. The Luxottica Group specialises in glasses and optical accessories and is based in the town of Agordo, in the Veneto region of Italy. In the last week the number of cases of the Covid-19 virus in northern Italy has multiplied which is why the convention organisers have cancelled the event. 500 people from all over the world were due to attend the 5-day conference and pulling the event will have a massive effect on a number of businesses in Majorca. All of the hotel bookings, transport, transfers, excursions and restaurant bookings have been cancelled. The measure has also affected the Spanish airline that was supposed to transport guests from Italy. The company is reportedly planning to rebook the event for next year at the same hotels in Magalluf. If the coronavirus crisis spreads from Italy into Central European countries, aside from the health risks, the disease could have a grave effect on the economy, particularly, airlines, transport companies and hotels. The Italian government has already cancelled all study trips and student cultural exchanges within Europe because of the increase in the number of cases of the Covid-19 virus. Tomorrow, Spanish airlines will decide whether to cancel flights to Italy from Madrid, Barcelona and Son Sant Joan. The Minister of Tourism & Treball, Iago Negueruela, said on Tuesday that the Balearic Health Department is co-ordinating with the central government over the coronavirus crisis and will continue to do everything necessary to prevent the virus from spreading. From a tourist point of view, the Government does not believe that due to the coronavirus there is no risk for the next summer season in the Balearic Islands, we are not in the same situation as the Canary Islands, which is now in high season, so we will have to wait and see how events evolve. #PhuketOK aims to rejuvenate local tourism industry PHUKET: In an effort to address the slump in tourist numbers visiting the island, and the subsequent economic fall-out, Phuket has turned to social media for a helping hand. tourismCoronavirusCOVID-19 By Tanyaluk Sakoot Wednesday 26 February 2020, 05:52PM Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai (right) conducts a brainstorming meeting with lecturers from Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus and representatives from the business sector on Monday (Feb 24). Photo: Phuket PR Dept The hashtag Phuket OK has been selected as the slogan as the island fights back against the effects of the China coronavirus COVID-19 and re-builds tourism confidence. Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai told The Phuket News this morning (Feb 26) that a brainstorming session was conducted on Monday (Feb 24) with lecturers from Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus and representatives from the business community. The outcome was #PhuketOK will be utilised moving forward via social media to entice tourists back to the island I realise just how impactful COVID-19 has been to the tourism industry here in Phuket and how the numbers have dropped considerably, Vice Governor Supoj said. The tourists we are seeing now are amongst the final ones to visit and we can clearly see the negative impact this low number is having on tour guides, buses, vans, spas, hotels, and restaurants, he added. This has had a significant impact on workers associated with the tourism industry, with many staff being laid off or being forced to take salary cuts. Now is the time for us to rise up and fight for ourselves. I believe this hashtag can help and my hope is there will be an increase in the number of people using it for online reviews and social media posts. Mr Supoj explained that the hashtag has been used via social media before but he was unsure who had initially created it. We do know it was only used in a small group, he said. But now we want this tagline to be used much more extensively on social media via platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, blogs and elsewhere. The hope is it can become viral and help our tourism industry recover, Mr Supoj concluded. In this regard, in March 2019, Khamenei appointed his lieutenant Ebrahim Raisi, the defeated candidate of the 2017 presidential elections, as the head of the Judiciary branch. Now, the supreme leader intends to appoint another thug Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as the parliament speaker. A look at Ghalibafs Resume Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was one of the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) during the Iran-Iraq war. He was personally responsible for employing many minors and teenagers to sweep minefields with their bodies. In the late 1980s, the IRGC headquarters appointed him as the IRGC commander for Gilan and Mazandaran provinces. Ghalibaf played a key role in the crackdown on protests in these provinces. To thank him for his services, the ayatollahs soon appointed him as the chief of the IRGC Ground Force. Ghalibaf, as the obedient agent of Khamenei, founded the intelligence sector in the paramilitary Basij Force. The sector oversaw the Basijs operation for Identifying and arresting the freedom-loving people and suppressing protesters. In 1994, the-IRGC commander-in-chief Mohsen Rezaei appointed Ghalibaf as the head of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters. Notably, Khatam al-Anbiya base is sanctioned by the United States, European Union, and the United Nations for engaging in Irans covert nuclear projects, producing weapons of mass destruction, and acting on behalf of the IRGC. In 1997, he became the head of the IRGC Air Force. He continued his lip service to the religious tyranny by the expansion of the missile capacity of the regime that is directly used for more aggression in the region. In 2000, Khamenei appointed Ghalibaf as the chief commander of the State Security Forces [Niru-ye Entezami]. Earlier, according to his remarks, he was personally engaged in an oppressive operation against the student protests in 1999. Ghalibaf also founded 110 police, the cruelty flash force that was supplied with advanced equipment to counter the unrest. Notably, the 110 police Force played an essential role in suppressing the impoverished people who frequently protested the leaders corruption and plundering. Later, in 2005, Ghalibaf became Tehrans Mayor as a part of the IRGCs plan to occupy vital positions of power in the country. For twelve years, he was responsible for many oppressive and plundering plans, including gender segregation in Tehran municipality, the establishment of financial institutions that robbed the needy people of their properties and hundreds of thousands of creditors of their investments. Additionally, Ghalibaf was the mastermind of the attack against the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, which was conducted by the ayatollahs club-wielders on January 2, 2016. At the time, he implemented the attack under the order of Khamenei to make a lot of noise in tandem with the nationwide protests against the government. Ghalibafs Friendship with the Slain Quds Forces Commander Qassem Soleimani During the 2005 presidential elections campaign, Khameneis staff supported Ghalibaf. This institute spent huge amounts from the nations wealth to make him the regimes president. However, the supreme leader changed his mind in the last moment and appointed another IRGC member Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president. Ghalibaf remained Tehrans Mayor. Ghalibaf tried his luck again to run for the presidency in 2013. On May 12, 2012, Ghalibaf boasted his services as a club-wielder to Khamenei to persuade his superiors that he is more qualified to improve the governments oppressive policies and preserving the ayatollahs in power. In an election campaign rally with several pro-Khamenei students, Ghalibaf admitted that he was personally involved in suppressing the Students Uprising in 1999. He was also the writer of a joint statement on behalf of IRGC commanders that demanded the then-president Mohammad Khatami to the brutal crackdown on protesting students. Khatami obliged. During the incidents of July 9, 1999, at Tehran University and its dormitory, I wrote that letter. I was with Mr. [Qassem] Soleimani. We stood firm. Many people criticized us. Even now, wherever we go, they still criticize us. When [people in the uprising] approached the leaders [Khamenei] office, I was the commander of the Air Force. My photo exists on a 1,000-cc motorbike with a club in my hand along with Hossein Khaleghi This Ghalibaf was the commander of security forces in the incidents of July 9, 1999, Ghalibaf said. Ghalibafs Methodology for Oppression as Commander of Security Forces Even other oppressive officials know Ghalibaf by his unconventional methods for suppression. After firing the [Tehran] University alley [a reference to the Students Uprising] , I firmly argued in the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and didnt respect the dignity of the council. I told them that tonight, as the commander of security forces, I will crush and gather everyone who come to the streets to [protest]. This [former commander-in-chief of the IRGC Mohammad Ali] Jafari was witness I finally succeeded to take the permission of the military presence and opening fire by security forces, Ghalibaf admitted. In the third round of debates for the 2017 presidential elections, president Hassan Rouhani raised a part of the oppressive role and plundering of Ghalibaf. I had the case of Mr. Ghalibaf in 2005. However, I didnt let it be published and argued with several people in the secretariat of the SNSC. I reckoned that during the elections campaign no one should be informed [about the case]. Mr. Ghalibaf, now, you wouldnt sit here if I didnt do you that favor, Rouhani said in elections debate in May 2017. Mr. Ghalibaf, you always planned to put [protesters] into pipes. Every time, you were saying in the secretariat, Let me put these students into pipes over two hours. If we didnt object to you, now, all the Iranian universities would have been filled with pipes, ILNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying on May 12, 2017. Installing the Billboards at the Expense of Needy People Security forces attacks on the merchant sellers are one of the heartbreaking scenes in Iran. Ghalibaf was the inventor of this inhuman mistreatment to bypass societys real problems. However, he spent most revenue of Tehran for his own publicity expenditures. Tehran Mayor has the worse function toward the impoverished, needy segment and slum-dwellers of the capitals population In fact, Ghalibafs methods were in line to escape the mayor from criticism rather than organizing and solving the workers and merchant sellers His forces hit street vendors when he was criticized over heavy traffic in downtown streetsTehran mayor has raised the city revenue but at the expense of the poor peoples tablecloth. However, it is too bitter when we realize that the revenue has spent on General [Ghalibaf]s publicity billboards and media advertisement Tehran Mayor, in fact, has crushed the needy people by his paths over the past twelve years, the state-run Aftab News wrote on April 26, 2016. The prospective parliament speaker also has a notorious background in plundering cases in his position as Tehran Mayor. His deputies at the Tehran municipality were paid an amount estimated to be the equivalent of around 31-year payment of a worker. Additionally, there is a flagrant rift between Tehran municipalitys incomes and expenditures, according to comments of the chief of the budget committee at Ghalibafs tenure as mayor. During the 2017 presidential debates, Rouhanis first vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri revealed that Ghalibaf had offered Tehrans ten-billion-toman towers to his allies for two billion tomans alone. However, his allies didnt eventually pay the price. Jahangiri also mentioned that the former mayor of Tehran was the founder of fraudulent institutes such as Ghavamin banks, Shahr bank, Sarmayeh bank, which have plundered many of impoverished peoples properties during recent years. Truly, in such circumstances, Ali Khamenei grapples to rescue his system by any means while he is surrounded by breathtaking crises inside the country and abroad. In this context, he reached out to notorious oppressors such as Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to stand against the peoples will for freedom and democracy and the international communitys demands for quitting adventurism beyond. Read More: Irans New Terrorist in Chief Irans Criminal Judges: Mohammad Moghisseh Add to Phrasebook No word lists for English (USA) -> Persian Create a new word list Copy In addition to preparing an appeal in New York, his lawyers are gearing up to fight pending charges in Los Angeles related to two women. An Italian actress he met at a Hollywood film festival alleges he raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him on Feb. 18, 2013, after he showed up at her hotel room. The woman, who has not made her name public, told authorities that he threatened her life if she disclosed the incident to anyone. The next day, in a Beverly Hills hotel suite, he allegedly lured Lauren Young to a bathroom and trapped her, then masturbated while groping her. Local participatory democracy is a favorite catchphrase of Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul, Turkeys largest city. It is also the approach he has adopted for rethinking and revamping the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), one of the biggest public administrations in Turkey. Imamoglu, elected last year and a member of the opposition Republican Peoples Party, has set his sights on shaking up top-down governance and lack of transparency by getting experts and the general public more involved in decision-making processes. In a nutshell, what he seeks is a strategy for the future based on common sense. One obstacle Imamoglu faces is how to overcome government resistance to implementing such a policy, for which the tourism sector has become a test case. Since November 2019, Imamoglu has held high-profile events to launch new permanent structures within the IBB and flexible consultative bodies, the two tools of his new approach. On Feb. 12, Imamoglu presented the Istanbul Planning Agency as the centerpiece of his quest for local participatory democracy and the main pillar of a renewed IBB. He described it as a new beginning for the city, a model set to become an example to the world. The municipality had a planning department in the past, but, Imamoglu explained at the launch, attended by Al-Monitor, It was closed due to a political decision, meaning by Ankara. The new planning agency consists of four sections: Vision 2050, to elaborate long-term strategies and goals; the Istanbul Institute, a scientific agency guided by a network of researchers charged with studying practical issues, such as transport and green spaces; a statistics bureau, to gather data on various aspects of society; and a design division to develop a new identity. On Feb. 17 under the banner Istanbul has a brand new story, Imamoglu unveiled another piece of his reorganization, the Istanbul Investment Agency. The goal of the new agency, he said, is to turn Istanbul into a city that attracts more international investments and entrepreneurs, as well as foreign talents. The new planning and investment agencies will be run by permanent staff while commissions of experts, professionals, and institutional representatives will offer their input to decision-makers on 20 thematic platforms, the first of which, dedicated to tourism, was established last November. Imamoglu's local participatory democracy has become thoroughly operative for the tourism platform and has already produced disagreements with Ankara, including a public war of words. Ozcan Bicer, the administrative coordinator for the Istanbul Tourism Platform, explained to Al-Monitor how it is supposed to work. Our method is to seat everybody at the same table, representatives from the ministry included, and our goal is to elaborate a strategy, a masterplan, he said. According to official statistics, Istanbul welcomed 15 million visitors in 2019. There is, however, no comprehensive strategy to enhance individual experiences and maximize revenues. The last study was made in 2012, through interviews at the airport, Bicer said, adding that data collected by the new planning agency will be used to understand not only where tourists come from but also why they come. At the launch of the tourism platform in November, Imamoglu said his priorities are to strive for inclusiveness in decision-making and advice and to also forge an independent path for Istanbul and for his leadership separate from policies and priorities set by Ankara. The mayor stated bluntly, We have to end in a reasonable time this position of being the cheapest destination in Europe. Since the perception of Turkey as a cheap destination can't change in the short term, we have to create an independent brand of Istanbul. Imamoglu's stated objective is to attract two or three times more visitors than today and for Istanbul to become an attractive destination for high spenders. In other words, he wants quantity, but also quality. Among his first proposals is to train security personnel and municipality employees as tourism ambassadors, people to help tourists at information kiosks and even on the streets, and to make Istanbul and every district along the Bosporus a place of creativity and festivals in every season. Additional priorities were set and ideas offered at the first gathering of the Istanbul Tourism Platform on Jan. 20. Attendees including members of the sector, academia and journalists were divided into sub-sectors, such as lodging, transportation, and so on, and apparently almost every thematic group identified reckless and fraudulent taxi drivers as the most urgent problem. It was established that a digital app that would allow tourists to book and evaluate their rides might be the best solution for reining them in. Many were in favor of decongesting the tourist hotspot of Sultanahmet the historic peninsula that is home to Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque and highlighting lesser-known neighborhoods around the city and making them more accessible. Proposed alternative destinations include the multicultural and historic Galata and Pera in central Istanbul and the ancient Greek settlement of Bathonea on the Marmara Sea some 12 miles west of the city center. Sedat Bornovali, the Istanbul president and national vice president of the Chamber of Istanbul Tourist Guides, agrees with the assessments on taxis and diversifying tourist flows. Also a member of the Istanbul Tourism Platform, he told Al-Monitor, Taxis are for us very important because they link hotels and the start or endpoints of itineraries. The Chamber of Istanbul Tourist Guides have prepared alternative itineraries for experiencing Istanbul one, for example, features the mosques and public structures built by the celebrated architect Mimar Sinan, who was active for most of the 16th century and have informed members about them. The objective is to entice tourists to stay longer than the current average of two or three nights. There is a convergence of approaches and priorities between the IBB and the Istanbul Chamber of Tourist Guides and other professional groups in the tourism sector, but the same cannot be said of the IBB and the central government. In fact, even when the Justice and Development Party, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, controlled every level of local administration Istanbul's central districts, the metropolitan municipality and city government it never developed a common strategy because of personal and political rivalries. Given this, how can common goals be possible today, when Imamoglu and Erdogan belong to opposing parties and take opposing approaches to decision-making? The battle between the municipality and the government is already underway. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced a plan to transform the Galata Tower and its surroundings into an integrated space for cultural events, revoking the municipality's operating rights. In response, Imamoglu launched a legal battle and said the minister's remarks along the lines of well take this, well do that were not nice and that his attitude was far from setting a good precedent on running a great and ancient city. He also invited the minister to cooperate. If they want to contribute to tourism, we are good friends and partners, Imamoglu said. They should not hesitate to meet and talk to us. We are just a phone call away. Another example of the distance between Istanbul and Ankara is even more poignant. While speaking at the launch of the Istanbul Planning Agency, Imamoglu announced that the first project of its public design section would be a workshop and exhibition about the future of Taksim Square, to be held on March 31. In the meantime, on Feb. 15 in the center of the square, the municipality inaugurated the Meeting Point, a temporary open-air amphitheater of wood and steel with a covered space for the exhibitions. Two days later, it was revealed that the structure had apparently not been authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, thus requiring its removal. On Feb. 23, personnel from the municipality began to dismantle it. Imamoglu tweeted, #MeetingPoints Taksim time is ending today. Its beautiful to come together. One day we will surely meet. Very soon. The struggle continues. As the Long Beach Unified School District commits to keeping classes in-person, the city a new testing site opens for LBUSD employees and students only. The city is also ramping up its own testing efforts with a new 3,000-person per day testing site. Research on novel nanoelectronics devices led by the University of Southampton enabled brain neurons and artificial neurons to communicate with each other. This study has for the first time shown how three key emerging technologies can work together: brain-computer interfaces, artificial neural networks and advanced memory technologies (also known as memristors). The discovery opens the door to further significant developments in neural and artificial intelligence research. Brain functions are made possible by circuits of spiking neurons, connected together by microscopic, but highly complex links called 'synapses'. In this new study, published in the scientific journal Nature Scientific Reports, the scientists created a hybrid neural network where biological and artificial neurons in different parts of the world were able to communicate with each other over the internet through a hub of artificial synapses made using cutting-edge nanotechnology. This is the first time the three components have come together in a unified network. During the study, researchers based at the University of Padova in Italy cultivated rat neurons in their laboratory, whilst partners from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich created artificial neurons on Silicon microchips. The virtual laboratory was brought together via an elaborate setup controlling nanoelectronic synapses developed at the University of Southampton. These synaptic devices are known as memristors. The Southampton based researchers captured spiking events being sent over the internet from the biological neurons in Italy and then distributed them to the memristive synapses. Responses were then sent onward to the artificial neurons in Zurich also in the form of spiking activity. The process simultaneously works in reverse too; from Zurich to Padova. Thus, artificial and biological neurons were able to communicate bidirectionally and in real time. Themis Prodromakis, Professor of Nanotechnology and Director of the Centre for Electronics Frontiers at the University of Southampton said "One of the biggest challenges in conducting research of this kind and at this level has been integrating such distinct cutting edge technologies and specialist expertise that are not typically found under one roof. By creating a virtual lab we have been able to achieve this." The researchers now anticipate that their approach will ignite interest from a range of scientific disciplines and accelerate the pace of innovation and scientific advancement in the field of neural interfaces research. In particular, the ability to seamlessly connect disparate technologies across the globe is a step towards the democratisation of these technologies, removing a significant barrier to collaboration. Professor Prodromakis added "We are very excited with this new development. On one side it sets the basis for a novel scenario that was never encountered during natural evolution, where biological and artificial neurons are linked together and communicate across global networks; laying the foundations for the Internet of Neuro-electronics. On the other hand, it brings new prospects to neuroprosthetic technologies, paving the way towards research into replacing dysfunctional parts of the brain with AI chips." ### The research was funded by the EU Future and Emerging Technologies programme as well as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the UK. Professor Prodromakis also holds a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies with a focus on developing energy-efficient AI Hardware solutions. NOTES TO EDITORS The study "Memristive synapses connect brain and silicon spiking neurons" is available in Nature Scientific Reports here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58831-9#Bib1 For further information and interview requests, please contact Steve Bates, Media Relations Office, University of Southampton. s.d.bates@southampton.ac.uk; 02380 593212 / 07342 060429 The attached images depict the communication network of the virtual laboratory, please credit to University of Southampton. All experiments were performed in accordance with the Italian and European legislation for the use of animals for scientific purposes and protocols approved by the ethical committee of the University of Padova and by the Italian Ministry of Health (authorisation number 522/2018-PR). By Kim Jong-nam Working as an organizational development consultant, I undertake many projects related to organizational culture, leadership, and change, that a client company asks my company to address. In doing so, I have been able to identify some trends in the differing perspectives that employees and management often have about their organizations. It is my experience that, nine times out of ten, employees and management hold opposing viewpoints on the very same organization. It is important to examine why they have these different understandings, as this can help corporations pursue a more cohesive cultural direction. First, the comparative habits of the two parties is often different. In general, employees compare their organization to organizations that are more successful and/or better to work for. Since employees naturally value the effort and time that they contribute to their organizations, they want to be compensated accordingly. In order to find a standard to which to compare their own company, they look at better companies. However, the perspective of management is usually different. Management tend to think that their own organization is average, because they are more focused on what they do for their employees. They always look for what their company is doing better than other companies. This is why their usual answer is that, although there may be some things that their competitors do better than them, there are also things that they do better than their competitors. Thus, their final score is generally an average one. The difference between employees and managers may also exist because employees tend to be younger than managers, meaning that they may see organizations and industries differently. Furthermore, older managers are able to use their experience to compare the current state of the organization to its past state, whether correctly or incorrectly. Second, another difference between managers and employees is the level of understanding of their organization. I am not saying that management has a better objective knowledge of the organization; anybody, employee or manager, can possess a deep understanding. If somebody truly grasps the realities of the organization, and can sympathize with its difficulties (for example, in terms of resources), then they will be more willing to play whatever roles they need to play. The level of someone's understanding about a company contributes greatly to what they feel they can expect and what they think they should give up or contribute. A true understanding of the circumstances makes people more willing to play a bigger part and be a team player. Third, how much people see their organization as open to change also affects how much they will participate in an effort for change. If people don't believe that change is possible, any organizational developmental projects will appear useless to them. Furthermore, their expectations are built not upon the present, but upon the past; if they have experienced negative or failed previous attempts, their attitude will be accordingly negative. Of course, if they have experienced positive attempts, then their attitude will be positive; this, however, is rarer. Once again, there is a wide discrepancy here between the beliefs of management and the beliefs of employees. Employees tend to feel that they have endured a lot, and thus don't expect much change in the future. However, management tends to think that any problems have not been their fault, but rather due to environment and circumstance. Thus, management concludes that employees need to participate positively in change efforts in order to bring about change. Fourth, at the end of the day, employees' attitudes are largely based on whether they feel that they have ownership of what they do. If employees are not made to feel that they can take initiative with what they need to do and what they're asked to do, their attitude may be negative and passive. In general, having 'ownership' means that if one does something, one will gain something in return. However, if people begin thinking that they don't have ownership, they will likely conclude that doing anything simply means that additional work will pile up. Who wants to bear a larger burden which brings no fruit? Many managers in corporations are concerned about low ratings in their engagement surveys. However, what they need to worry about is not the results of the surveys, but the low level of their understanding about what employees truly want. On the other hand, before employees are quick to criticize their management, they need to ask themselves how much they know about the situation of both the management and the organization. In other words, both parties must possess the meta-cognition allowing them to see the bigger picture and understand that they might not be able to grasp everything. When people refuse to use any perspective other than their own, things become distorted. In order to see things objectively, we need to use multiple perspectives. To do so, let's first try to understand. To understand, let's communicate. Without enough communication, we cannot understand what other people are feeling. This is the first step to creating an engaging culture in the workplace. Kim Jong-nam is the founding CEO of META (www.imeta.co.kr) and the author of three books on organizational culture and leadership. He works as an organizational development consultant globally. He has an office in Jakarta, Indonesia as well as in Seoul. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-26 07:27:13|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis (3rd R), Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zhang Qiyue (C) and other officials cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony for the launch of expansion works at Piraeus Port Authority's cruise terminal in Piraeus, Greece, Feb. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) PIRAEUS, Greece, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Greek's largest port Piraeus on Tuesday kicked off its expansion project which, once completed, will usher in a "new era" for the port and cruise sector in Greece. The expansion project of the port's cruise terminal, featuring two new berthing positions, aimed to better accommodate "new generation" cruise ships of over 280 meters long, according to a press release issued by the Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA). China's COSCO SHIPPING acquired a majority stake in PPA in 2016 and has already started changing the port's outlook. "It is an important day for the Region of Attica, for the city and the port of Piraeus, the port we hold dear to our hearts. We set in motion one of the largest projects which have ever been materialized in the region," Regional Governor of Attica Giorgos Patoulis said in his speech at a ceremony. The expansion project features quays with a total length of 2,300 meters and depths varying from 19 to 28.50 meters, PPA said. The project also includes a land area of approximately 153,000 square meters and networks of drainage, optic fibers, and supply of electricity and potable water. It is expected to help increase homeporting (start/end of cruise trips from the port of Piraeus), thus bringing more revenues to the local economy, officials said. Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis said that Tuesday's ceremony marked the start of a new era for the port and cruise sector in Greece. "They (the investment projects) will upgrade and strengthen the Piraeus port's competitiveness. Piraeus deserves to be the first port in southeastern Mediterranean, and we are determined to bring it to this rank cooperating with PPA's administration," Plakiotakis told Xinhua. Some 26 million cruises passengers traveled across the Mediterranean annually in recent years, the minister said, stressing that Greece wants to see more than 1.1 million visitors reaching Piraeus every year. Echoing the minister, PPA Chairman Yu Zenggang said: "Piraeus cruise terminal expansion project...will profoundly improve the stature of the port of Piraeus as home port for Mediterranean cruises and promote Greek tourism industry. I believe the future of Piraeus port will be very bright." The expansion project, with a 32-month timetable, was initially budgeted at 120 million euros (130.5 million U.S. dollars) and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Region of Attica, according to PPA. It is part of a wider investment plan worth over 600 million euros implemented by PPA as stipulated in the 2016 concession agreement signed between the company and the Greek government. "The implementation of the expansion program within such a short period of time has been highly recognized by the society," Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zhang Qiyue told Xinhua. (1 euro= 1.09 U.S. dollars) Thomas Markle has slammed his daughter Meghan as he claims she 'dumped him' before her wedding to Prince Harry and says the couple have 'no right to speak to the Queen that way' after the couple hit back over their Sussex Royal branding. The 75-year-old was seen coming out of a shopping centre close to his house in Rosarito, Mexico and told reporters that he was 'upset' with his daughter and her husband Harry who married in 2018. He claimed that the Sussexes didn't have the right to use the word Royal as he launched a scathing attack on his daughter, who has relocated to Canada with Harry and their son Archie, who Mr Markle has not met. Speaking on Monday he said: 'I'm very upset with Meghan and Harry right now. I don't think they have the right to use the word Royal. 'I don't think they have a right to speak to the Queen in the way they have spoken to her, I think it's an insult to the Queen and to the British people. Thomas Markle slammed Meghan and Harry (pictured above) for the way they spoke to the Queen over the Sussex Royal branding issues Mr Markle had been shopping (pictured above) and told reporters that his daughter had 'dumped him' Harry and Meghan make it perfectly clear that they could use the term 'Royal' as part of their branding overseas if they wanted to 'My daughter dumped me one day before she got married, she has dumped my family, she has dumped Doria's family, she has dumped every family and now she is dumping the British family.' After speaking to the press Mr Markle then struggled to get back into his car and seemed to be in pain as he sat in the drivers seat. Meghan and Harry dropped the Sussex Royal brand and made an extraordinary online 'swipe' at the Queen and other royals on Friday night as they announced they will stop using their Sussex Royal brand when they step down as senior royals on March 31. The couple then posted a 1,114-word 'update' on their personal website and 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. After speaking to reporters Mr Markle got back into his car and was visibly in pain as he sat in the drivers seat 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' 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. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pictured above earlier this month. It is said that costs to keep the couple safe are continuing to soar 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 couple stunned Britain in January with an abrupt announcement that they wanted to step back from royal duties. Prince Harry said the move was a 'leap of faith' as he sought to build a more peaceful life - free from the journalists who have filmed, photographed and written about him since the day he was born. Harry and Meghan said Wednesday that they would formally break free from the royal family starting March 31. The prince and his wife will walk away from most royal duties, give up public funding and try to become financially independent. The couple are expected to spend most of their time in Canada while maintaining a home in England, near Windsor Castle. Harry and Meghan will no longer use the titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness but will retain them, leaving open the possibility that they may change their minds and return to royal duties in the future. Prior to their decision to step back from the titles and responsibilities of royal life, Harry and Meghan sought to trademark the term SussexRoyal to protect it from others who would like to exploit the brand. The couple married in 2018 and earlier this year they announced they would be stepping back from their royal duties Harry and Meghan's travels this year and where they are expected to be going in March The latest dig from Mr Markle comes as criticised Meghan and Harry for their security plans. Experts claimed the couple's jet-set lifestyle and move to Canada could leave the police unable to cope as they undertake trips to various countries in order to establish their own brand away from the British Monarchy. Royal author Phil Dampier told MailOnline: 'The cost of security was always going to be a major problem for Harry and Meghan and it doesn't surprise me that the bill seems to be going up and up. 'The travelling they do around North America is going to put an immense strain on resources as both they and their son Archie need to be protected 24/7 and Scotland Yard detectives will tend to work shifts of two weeks on two weeks off. 'If you add the costs of them having to travel to and from the UK for leave it could spiral out of control and become absolutely ridiculous. So in the long term I don't think it is sustainable.' Taxpayers currently pay 600,000 for the Sussexes' team of royal protection officers, with previous forecasts suggesting the bill could rise to between 3million and 6million when they move abroad. ATLANTA, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) today announced that it will hold its 2020 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time at Invesco's Global Headquarters located at 1555 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 1800, Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Invesco shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 12, 2020 are entitled to attend the Annual General Meeting and vote their shares. About Invesco Ltd. Invesco is a global independent investment management firm dedicated to delivering an investment experience that helps people get more out of life. With offices in 25 countries, our distinctive investment teams deliver a comprehensive range of active, passive and alternative investment capabilities. For more information, visit http://www.invesco.com . Investor Relations Contact: Aimee Partin 404-724-4248 Media Relations Contact: Graham Galt 404-439-3070 SOURCE Invesco Ltd. Related Links http://www.invesco.com [February 26, 2020] Meketa Investment Group Hires Orray Taft as Risk Manager Meketa Investment Group (Meketa), a global investment consulting and advisory firm, is pleased to announce that Orray Taft has joined the firm as a Consultant/Risk Manager, effective February 24. In Mr. Taft's Risk Manager role, he will focus on expanding risk analyses, processes, and procedures for the firm's OCIO platform. Mr. Taft is based in Meketa's Portland, Oregon office, which has seen continued growth since the merger of PCA and Meketa in 2019. "Orray brings 20 years of highly relevant financial and consulting experience and we are very pleased to have him join in this newly created role," said Stephen McCourt, Managing Principal and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Meketa. "The Risk Manager role was created to allow Meketa's OCIO platform to continue to grow and add clients efficiently while furthering our efforts to provide the very best in investment strategy, reporting, and operational support to our fiduciary management clients." "It is a thill to join such a highly-regarded and experienced organization and accomplished team," said Mr. Taft. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in Portland and across Meketa to help drive performance and manage risk on behalf of our outsourced CIO clients." Prior to joining Meketa, Mr. Taft was an Associate Consultant at R.V. Kuhns & Associates, assisting clients with the design and execution of investment strategies. Previously, he served for more than a decade with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, managing various aspects of the organization's open market activities. Mr. Taft also served in the Private Equity and Investment Management groups at the Amalgamated Bank of New York. Mr. Taft earned a BA degree from the University of Oregon and an MBA from the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. About Meketa Founded in 1978, Meketa is an employee-owned, full service investment consulting and advisory firm. As an independent fiduciary, the firm serves institutional investors in non-discretionary and discretionary capacities. Meketa's collective client assets under advisement represent approximately $1.4 trillion. For more information, please visit www.meketa.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005144/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Regulatory News: The annual shareholders' meeting (ordinary and extraordinary meeting) of Elior Group (Paris:ELIOR) - whose shares are listed on Euronext Paris will take place on Friday March 20, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at its headquarter 9-11 allee de l'Arche 92032 Paris La Defense (the entrance is situated 17 avenue de l'Arche). The statutory notice of meeting (in French only) was published in France's official legal journal (BALO) on February 12, 2020 and updated on February 26, 2020. In addition, in accordance with the applicable regulations, the initial and updated statutory notice of meeting and the full notice of meeting which includes the agenda, proposes resolutions and information on how to participate in and vote at the Meeting are available for consultation from this day, on the Company's website at www.eliorgroup.com (under Finance/Shareholders/2020 Annual Shareholders' Meeting). The information referred to in Article R.225-83 of the French Commercial Code is included in the full notice of meeting as well as in the 2018-2019 universal registration document, which is also available on the Company's website at www.eliorgroup.com (under Finance/Shareholders/2020 Annual Shareholders' Meeting). All the documents and information relating to the annual shareholders' meeting will also be made available to shareholders at the Company's head office at 9-11 allee de l'Arche 92032 Paris La Defense, France, in accordance with the applicable regulations. Subject to the limits and timeframes provided for in the applicable laws and regulations, shareholders may ask that these documents be sent directly to them by submitting a written request to BNP Paribas Securities, either by post (BNP Paribas Securities CTO Assemblees Les Grands Moulins de Pantin 93761 Pantin Cedex France), or by fax (+33 (0)1 40 14 58 90). About Elior Group Founded in 1991, Elior Group has grown into one of the world's leading operators in contract catering and support services and has become a benchmark player in the business industry, education, healthcare and leisure markets. With strong positions in six countries, the Group generated 4,923 million in revenue in fiscal 2018-2019. Our 110,000 employees feed over 5 million people on a daily basis in 23,500 restaurants on three continents, and offer services on 2,300 sites in France. Innovation and social responsibility are at the core of our business model. Elior Group has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2004, reaching the GC Advanced Level in 2015. For further information please visit our website at http://www.eliorgroup.com or follow us on Twitter (@Elior_Group) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200226005383/en/ Contacts: Elior Group David Warner and Aaron Finch launched a brutal assault on the South African bowlers as Australia piled up 193 for five in the decisive third Twenty20 international at Newlands on Wednesday. With the series locked at 1-1, Australian captain Finch said he was happy to bat first after South Africa won the toss and sent the tourists in. He showed why as he and the left-handed Warner thrashed 75 runs off the six-over power play on the way to an opening partnership of 120 off 74 balls. Warner hit 57 and Finch 55. Both faced 37 balls. Both batsmen were out in successive overs and South Africa did a reasonable job of pulling the scoring rate back on a dry pitch. But a no-ball which reprieved former captain Steve Smith proved expensive. Smith was bowled by Kagiso Rabada at the start of the 19th over but replays showed Rabada had over-stepped. Smith took advantage by hitting 20 runs off the last over bowled by Anrich Nortje, including two sixes, to finish on 30 not out. It was the first time Warner and Smith had played at Newlands since both were banned for a year after a ball-tampering scandal at the same ground two years ago. But in the general hubbub of a hectic 20-overs game neither player appeared to be targeted by a capacity crowd. Top scorer: David Warner celebrates hitting his half century Prince Harry and Meghan Markle failed to notice something significant in their recent statement, and their negligence could ignite catastrophe in their post-royal life. On Friday night, Prince Harry and Meghan released a lengthy message on their website, detailing their transition before they officially leave the monarchy in March 2020. One of the lines read: "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." However, although it was clear the statement was a subtle shade to the Queen and the royal family, one royal expert noted that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "conveniently ignore the country they are currently living in" -- which is Canada. What The Expert Said Prince Harry and Meghan decided not to use their current brand name "Sussex Royal" even though they believe that they could use it overseas. But even if they could have carried it on, Canadian royal expert Patricia Treble said that Canada has rules to follow if they want to use a name "suggesting a connection with the Crown." Apparently though, Meg and Harry are not aware of it. Through her column published on the Canadian news website Macleans.ca, Treble explained that "under Canadian law, federal government permission 'has to be obtained by the applicant where the word 'Royal' is used as a prefix in a corporate name and where it suggests royal patronage.'" The guidelines she shared was based on the document released by the state of Ontario. However, British Colombia -- where the family-of-three are currently staying -- share the same rules. The country requires anyone whose business name has a connection with the Crown to present a written consent from the appropriate authority. The regulation was published on "How to Name a Business or Organization: Naming Rules" section entitled "No Connection with Crown or Royal" on the British Columbia's website. "The use of the words Crown or Royal in combination with other words that do not imply a connection with the Crown or Royal family may be allowed such as 'Triple Crown Painting Ltd.,' 'Royal Star Holdings Ltd,'" the article stated. Goodbye, Sussex Royal Following the bombshell statement on the Sussexes' website, the Daily Mail reported that Prince Harry and Meghan have a new website -- thanks to Duchess of Sussex's best friend Jessica Mulroney. The report mentioned that the newly-registered site through Mulroney's charity "Shoebox Project Foundation" is sussexglobalcharities.com. On Sunday though, the BFF posted on Twitter and clarified that "she never acted on Prince Harry and Meghan's behalf." "If certain investigative journalists were to do their jobs, perhaps they would see that Shoebox Project Foundation is owned by a Mr. Roy in North Carolina and has no affiliations or ties to our charity The Shoebox Project," she wrote. DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- K'dara CBD, a new health and wellness brand founded by a cardiovascular ICU nurse, is thrilled to announce the launch of its pharmaceutical-grade CBD products today. Formulated, tested and approved by an experienced team and pharmacist, K'dara CBD is committed to providing quality products that promote strength, health and wellbeing. K'dara CBD offers an extensive variety of high-quality, organic CBD products ranging from oils, edibles, and topicals to pet treats and bath bombs to empower consumers to find the perfect product for their specific needs. All products are formulated with premium ingredients and offer multiple CBD dosages and absorption methods based on personal preference and individual health goals. Katrina Thompkins, a Dallas-based cardiovascular ICU nurse and founder of K'dara CBD, has seen firsthand the need for a more holistic, natural approach to health. Inspired by her grandmother's legacy of always lending a hand in her community, Katrina partnered with a certified pharmacist to formulate her own line of organic CBD products to help others live their healthiest lives. "Throughout my life, I have felt the passion to help and serve others through my career as a nurse," said Thompkins. "I believe that CBD can be a powerful ally on the journey to health and wellness, and I'm thrilled to introduce K'dara CBD to empower and inspire consumers to invest in their health." All K'dara CBD products are available for purchase online at www.kdaracbd.com. K'dara CBD K'dara CBD is a line of pharmaceutical-grade, organic CBD products on a mission to promote strength, health and wellbeing. Founded by a cardiovascular nurse and formulated by an experienced pharmacist, K'dara CBD makes investing in your health easy with its new line of carefully curated, premium quality CBD products. Made with you in mind, K'dara CBD includes a variety of CBD products ranging from oils, edibles and topicals, to pet treats and bath bombs. To learn more about K'dara CBD and its products, visit www.kdaracbd.com or follow K'dara CBD on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn at @kdaracbd. Media Contact: Bolt Public Relations (469) 371-5641 [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE K'dara CBD Related Links http://www.kdaracbd.com National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang bangs the gavel to announce the start of a plenary session at the National Assembly, Wednesday, wearing a facial mask to protect against COVID-2019 infection. The Assembly reopened earlier in the day after a 24-hour temporary shutdown to allow for disinfection operations. Yonhap By Jung Da-min The National Assembly passed revision bills relating to epidemic prevention and quarantine laws at a plenary session Wednesday in order to better facilitate the ongoing fight against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The bills' passage came just hours after the Assembly reopened, having temporarily shut down for 24 hours after a man who had attended a parliamentary forum there last week later tested positive for the coronavirus. The bills amend three legal acts the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Quarantine Act and the Medical Services Act. 26.02.2020 LISTEN I could smell a rat as soon as the then outgoing President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, promoted Mr. Daniel Yao Domelevo to the position of Auditor-General. I was simply annoyed that a president leaving power within a week was promoting people before his exit. If he felt the man was worthy of promotion, why could he not do it long before he went into election 2016 and woefully lost it? Should the prerogative of promoting people, signing new contracts as it was in the case of fictitiously leasing 75% of the Nyinahini bauxite deposit to his younger sibling, Ibrahim Mahama, not belong to the incoming president? Furious as I was at the promotion of Daniel Yao Domelevo, I decided to publish an article to criticize the whole process and call for the annulation of his promotion. Just as I was about to author the article, a friend of mine who knows Yao Domelevo very well as his father-in-law, pleaded with me to stop, narrating to me how honest he is, although a staunch member of the NDC, he said. Knowing how honest this friend is, I believed him. I stopped putting out the intended publication. However, as an adage holds it true that A leopard can change its name but it can never change its spots, Mr Domelevo could not rid himself of his NDC political colouration and spectacles. He has since been pretending to fighting corruption but selectively in favour of the NDC. Corruption is corruption and like fraud, it vitiates a contract. Therefore, whoever commits acts of corruption, be they NPP, NDC, CPP or whatever political party member, must be held squarely accountable and condemnable. Nevertheless, Mr Domelevo could be seen to be going after people of a particular political party, thus, NPP. Does he intend by his actions to incite public fury against the ruling NPP government and party to ultimately bring back into power NDC, his political party? I suspect so! Nonetheless, as Man proposes and God disposes, some attempts by Mr Domelevo to realise his diabolic aim and objective are backfiring on him. He accused the Senior Minister, Hon Osafo Marfo, (I am not his fan anyway), of entering into agreement with, and making full payment of US$1 million to, Kroll Associates UK Ltd, a United Kingdom-based company without following due procurement process. Mr Domelevo alleges that a government contract with Kroll Associates UK to provide consultancy services was unsatisfactory. It was wrong to use a single-source procurement process, Kroll Associates UK Ltd, contracted in 2017 to review electronic evidence, identify assets abroad and manage a joint Civil and Criminal Assets recovery process. In challenging the arrangement, he explained that by Ghanas 1992 Constitution, the contract required parliamentary approval because it involved a foreign company but Hon Osafo Marfo did not do that. He was on point if indeed Osafo Marfo evasively ignored parliament to do as he is alleged to have corruptively done. However, when Osafo Marfo challenged him and finally referred him to EOCO for investigation for abusing his powers and also finally sued him (Domelevo), he started protesting, whimpering like a cat. This tells Mr Domelevo had got it wrong somewhere. Again, this award-winning man of integrity for year 2019, has come out with names of three or four current Members of Parliament and Ministers accusing them of having benefited from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GetFund) which to him is fraudulent on their part. Mysteriously, all these four persons are members of the ruling political party (NPP). These people benefited from the fund as Members of Parliament during the NDC regime under former President John Dramani Mahama. However, Mr Domelevo has put it out that they availed themselves of the fund in year 2017, thus, under His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos regime. Also, many NDC Members of Parliament, with their rich family members and cronies alike did benefit from it but he left their names out. This is malicious and criminal on the part of Mr Domelevo. His true colours are clear for all to see. It says, The truth will out. It has taken long but indeed, the truth about the entrenched NDC activism and position of Mr Domelevo and his diabolic intents are today exposed. Some people on Boiling Point on Oman FM last night mentioned some of the NDC MPs and their families that have benefited from the GetFund. Again, the GetFund in its rules as read, is not only intended for poor but brilliant students. It is there for certain categories of persons. Please Ghanaians, let us love reading, let us love researching and let us love analytical thinking before we make fools of ourselves. As said by a panellist on Boiling Point, on Tuesday night, 25 February 2020, we had better go back to parliament to seek changes in the laws governing the GetFund or else, MPs and other supposedly rich persons do rightly have access to the fund as are the until now erroneously-believed poor but brilliant students. Shame on Domelevo! As we expose all corrupt officials to make Ghana work for the general good of the citizenry, let us expose the political biases of Domelevo. His intents are disingenuous, spiteful and shameful. He is not as sincere as I was made to believe! As Charlotte Oseis irresponsible behaviours brought her down, so shall be the culmination of the biases by Domelevo. Make a date with me for updates on the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy dispute. With God on our side, the enemies of Kumawuman and the greedy bastards seeking to avail themselves of Kumawuman funds and lands shall be brought down to their frail knees by the grace of God Almighty. God doesnt care if they are politicians, traditional overlords, rich persons or well-educated folks. A word to the wise is sufficient! Rockson Adofo Wednesday, 26 February 2020 Holden dealers will be offering huge discounts this weekend in a bid to clear stock after General Motors decided to scrap the brand. From Sunday, Holden dealerships are expected to slash prices of all cars by as much as $17,500 ahead of the company's closure. Prices of new Trax SUVs will drop by about $7,000, to $13,000. Arcadia large SUVs will be discounted by $11,000, to $31,990. Astras are expected to sell for less than $15,000 when dealers knock off $8,500 from the price. The Commodore, which was discontinued last year, should be reduced by $7500. The biggest discounts are on the Colorado Ute range, with prices dropping between $13,000 to $17,500. The Trax SUV will likely drop to $17,000 each after GM announced the collapse of the Holden brand Arcadia large SUVs (pictured) will be discounted by $11,000, selling for $31,990 The biggest discounts are on the Colorado Ute range, with price dropping to $13,000 from $17,500 Motorsport expert Ian Luff told 7news motorists would be getting a great deal from Holden. 'They're going to get some pretty fantastic bargains with Holden, they'll still have warranty - there will be parts here for years to come. It really is a safe bet.' Dealers who spoke anonymously to Car Advice believe the discounts should help clear all remaining showroom models. 'It won't take long,' one car dealer said. 'I reckon everyone will be sold out of their Holden stock within weeks not months. No-one wants to hang onto them now, we want to get rid of them as quickly as possible or even put them on the used-car lot.' GM committed to providing compensation to Holden dealers to allow them to transition to other brands or close down. The Commodore (pictured), which was discontinued last year, will be reduced to $7,500 The Holden Astra, which was discontinued last year, will also drop below $15,000 While the discounts are good news for bargain hunters, or those seeking to buy a collectors' item, it could cause tension with those who had ordered a Holden at full price prior to the announcement, The Daily Telegraph reported. Those buyers might be able to renegotiate prices, but one unnamed dealer said prices in orders are legally binding. 'If someone has ordered a car, a dealer can enforce it. After all, the dealer didn't do the wrong thing here.' He also said many dealers would be unable to refuse the cash bonuses offered by GM. 'People have to put it all in perspective. Holden is saying this money has to cover any losses a dealer might have to wear on their used car stock, demonstration models or any trade-ins they've committed to.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted General Motors Holden for comment. Last month General Motors announced they were 'retiring' the iconic Australian brand by 2021. It said servicing and parts would be available for a decade thereafter. General Motors announced this month they were 'retiring' the iconic Australian brand by 2021 after plunging domestic sales for Holden vehicles (stock) GM and Holden have pledged to work closely with all their workers offering generous redundancy packages to about 600 staff across Australia and New Zealand. Most will be gone by June. 'We are all hurting,' Holden interim Chairman and Managing Director Kristian Aquilina said in an open letter published in newspapers across the country on Tuesday. The decision to close comes amid plunging domestic sales with demand for Holden vehicles down by almost 29 per cent to just 43,176 in 2019, in a total market down just eight per cent. Holden vehicles sit at a dealership in Adelaide. On 17 February, General Motors announced that it would retire the Holden brand in both Australia and New Zealand Car Advice have seen a confidential Holden bulletin which outlined the plans to 'move quite quickly'. The Holden dealers would also be offered counselling alongside the compensation. 'We are concerned to ensure your personal and emotional wellbeing and will be making available counselling services should you require them,' part of the bulletin signed by Holden boss Kristian Aquilina said. IN ANOTHER boost to Limerick's summer of activity, Dolans Presents has announced major Australian act Crowded House will perform Live at King John's Castle in June. The band, famous for its anthem Weather With You, will perform at the iconic venue on Tuesday, June 30. The announcement comes as part of Dolans 25th birthday celebrations in 2020. With global hits such as Don't Dream It's Over and Weather With You, the band will play their Limerick date as part of a series of summer outdoor and indoor headline shows and festival slots across the UK, Ireland and Europe - their first proper tour for over ten years. Founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour will be joined by Mitchell Froom, Liam Finn and Elroy Finn as part of the tour. Those songs and many that followed are still resonating with audiences today, the former in particular being one of the most covered songs of the last 20 years. Speaking at todays announcement Niall OCallaghan, Managing Director at Shannon Heritage said: Having sold over 10 million albums worldwide, Crowded House are the one of the most iconic bands to have hit the world stage over the past 30 years. We are delighted that they have confirmed their Limerick date at King Johns Castle and we look forward to embracing concert goers for what will sure to be one of the musical highlights of a packed summer events calendar in Limerick city. Promoter Neil Dolan added: We are very excited to be able to secure a Limerick date for Crowded House, a band that have entertained audiences around the world since 1985. Limerick audiences are in for a treat and King Johns Castle will form the perfect backdrop for this major summer gig in Limerick. Crowded House have been the recipients of 26 Platinum Album Sales in Australia, 16 ARIA Top 50 Singles, 5 Australian #1 Albums, 7 UK Top 50 Albums and 4 US Top 50 Albums. In 1994, the Brit Awards named them International Group of the Year, he said. Crowded Houses first incarnation lasted from 1985 through 1995 with 4 studio albums and enjoyed much success worldwide, becoming particularly beloved for their freewheeling and interactive live shows. This lineup said Farewell to the World on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in 1996 with a now legendary performance in front of 150,000 people. In 2005 following the tragic death of Paul Hester, Neil and Nick felt emotionally compelled to bring Crowded House back, to put some more good history, as they described it, into the story of the band. Drafting in new drummer Matt Sherrod and with long time touring member Mark Hart they released the album Time On Earth to critical acclaim and toured the world. Another album, Intriguer, was recorded in 2009. Crowded House was inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame in 2016, at the same time reprising its Farewell shows at the Sydney Opera House with 4 nights of stunning performances. Crowded House is a long standing vehicle for the songwriting talents of Finn. Formed in Melbourne Australia in 1985, the band's eponymous self-titled debut album went on to global success. Following Neils surprise star turn and a very successful world tour with Fleetwood Mac, Neil and Nick have been energized and inspired to begin a new chapter in the Crowded House story. Much like Fleetwood Mac, a new generation seems to have grown up and connected with their songs and now want to experience the band live. In advance of their Limerick gig, Crowded House will be kicking off the next chapter of their story by appearing as a headliner at the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival with an exciting new lineup, which will include a special guest appearance by Crowded House producer and respected keyboardist Mitchell Froom. Crowded House will play Live at King Johns Castle on June 30th 2020. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am. Tickets and booking info can be found at www.dolans.ie Rio de Janeiro: Brazil's government confirmed on Wednesday that a 61-year-old Brazilian man who travelled to Italy this month has Latin America's first confirmed case of the contagious new coronavirus. "We will now see how this virus behaves in a tropical country in the middle of summer, how its behaviour pattern will be," Brazil's Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said in a press conference. The Brazilian man spent two weeks in northern Italy's Lombardy region on a work trip, where he contracted the contagious virus, the health ministry said. Authorities had already said Tuesday evening that a first laboratory test for the COVID-19 virus had a positive result, and were waiting for a second test to confirm. Since the virus began to spread throughout the world from China, Brazil and other countries in the region have registered dozens of suspected cases, all of which previously had been discarded following tests. According to the Health Ministry, the man began to show symptoms compatible with the illness, such as a dry cough, throat pain and flu symptoms. Lombardy is the epicentre of the outbreak in Italy, and there have been hundreds of confirmed cases there as well as several deaths. Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Institute, where the man received medical attention, carried out respiratory tests, and the Adolfo Lutz Institute in the same city carried out the subsequent test confirming the virus The man was in stable condition and in isolation at home in Sao Paulo. Brazil's national health agency Anvisa has been working to map all contact the man had with other people in the hospital, at home, and on the plane returning to Brazil. Yesterday Anvisa requested the flight manifest to investigate other possible cases. Due to the spread of the virus worldwide, Brazil adopted the preventative measure of broadening its criteria for analysis of suspected cases on Monday. The Health Ministry had determined that people with fever and flu symptoms returning from Italy and six other countries should be considered suspected cases. Those countries are Germany, France, Australia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. The countries already on that watch list were China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, North Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.